After a long and extensive process, esteemed colleague Brent Brookhouse and I are proud to bring you the 2011 Bloody Elbow Tournament of Bad, an idea from the local Chicago sports radio show, Boers and Bernstein. The concept is simple: compile a list of 64 of the worst things related to the sport of MMA and pit them against one another in an NCAA Tournament-style bracket. You, the readers, vote on each match up until we have our ultimate champion.

Congratulations to Mike Goldberg, human sound board; MMA judging; FIght of the Night bonuses to bad brawls, and Chris Leben and alcohol for advancing to round two of the tournament. Voting for the second half of the Jon Hess region is still open until midnight ET tonight.

We have an interesting lineup for you today, and I swear to you that this was not planned. It was an act of serendipity.

(1) Chael Sonnen's credibility vs. (16) UFC Fight Club (aka "Scalper's Paradise")

(8) Bully Beatdown vs. (9) Joe and Dana's Five-Minute Shoutfest

(5) Thanking God during postfight interview vs. (12) David Spade's airplane shooters

(4) State of Japanese MMA vs. (13) Referee catchphrases

Photos courtesy of Google, Taro Irei, Jeff Sherwood, Sherdog, and my private UFC collection.

Voting after the jump. Polls will stay open until midnight ET tomorrow.