Hey folks,

Am currently reworking my site, so it's a little messy at the moment, but I wanted to advertise my newest post a little. It's basically a reading list for strikers, only the first part mind you - there is plenty more to be said. You might have read all of them but I would love to hear in the comments how you feel about my first choices, and what you would recommend to a young beginner or a veteran striker alike.

http://www.fightsgoneby.com/2012/01/strikers-reading-list-part-1.html

Also, please notice my swanky new domain name www.fightsgoneby.com

Bookmark me and add me on twitter @JackSlackMMA

Cheers,

Jack

Hi Guys i write on a blog called 'What i talk about when i talk about fighting'. i cover mma, kickboxing and boxing. im going to the netherlands this weekend for Kickboxing and have written a little preview for the event. I will also write a follow up post a few days after.

At the end of this month I have the good fortune of attending the biggest kickboxing event since the demise of the Japanese promotion K1. The event is being held by the Dutch promotion ‘It’s Showtime’ who are undoubtedly looking to take other the helm as the premier organisation for the sport. The event is bizarrely taking place in the northern Dutch town of Leeuwarden due to political pressures inside the Netherlands as well as the promoters hoping to steer clear from the Dutch equivalent to the Hell’s Angels whom have links to many fighters in the sport.

The event features 7 of the top ten heavyweight in the sport as well as good selection of fighters at lighter weights. The most prominent name on the card is the always controversial Badr Hari, whose talent and knockout power is often overshadowed by moments of madness both in and outside the ring. Having been twice disqualified from fights for illegally kicking downed opponents, most notably in his fight against Remy Bonjasky in the 2008 K1 Grand Prix final. Hari has also spent time in Jail for assault and was once spotted wearing a t-shirt in support of a recently incarcerated drug lord. However, Badr Hari remains the most potent attacking talents in the sport with an extensive list of knockout wins over a who’s who of kickboxing (Peter Aerts, Ray Sefo, Alistair Overeem, Glaube Feitosa, Semmy Schilt, Stefan Leko, Errol Zimmerman, Ruslan Kareav…). Despite this Hari has announced the fight on the 28th of January will be his last as he will attempt to transfer is talents to the sport of boxing. The decision for Hari’s departure from Kickboxing is no doubt due to the collapse of K1 and lack of sizeable paydays in a sport that appears to be dying.

His opponent will be fellow top Heavyweight Gokhan Saki. While Saki possesses perhaps the most technical stand up in the division he seems to suffer from the lack of a proper crusierweight division in kickboxing. At 5’11 and 15 stone he is often a lot smaller than his opponents, despite this he still has garnered success in the division. Saki qualified for the 2010 K1 Grand Prix after knocking out Freddy Kemayo, and progressing to the semi-finals after a gruelling battle with Daniel Ghita. In the semi final Saki would take on the eventual winner Alistair Overeem, Saki went into the fight with a broken arm and gave a tremendous effort even knocking down Overeem with a spinning kick (which was wrongly not counted by the referee), before Alistair landed a kick to the broken arm of Saki which forced him to stop fighting.

Saki’s biggest strength are his lightening fast combinations which he usually punctuates with kicks, for these to be truly effective he will need to get on the inside of Hari’s long reach, which wont be easy. At 6 foot 6 Badr Hari uses his reach to fire devastating straights down the pipe, always getting the better of opponents who try to match him blow for blow. The fights which Hari has lost in recent years are were all against opponents who were patient enough to counter his aggresivness and land shots on his Achilles heel, his weak chin.

Despite his 63 knockout wins, Hari has been on the receiving end of 7 KO’s perhaps suffering due to his early start in the sport that saw him fight men much older than him while he was still a teenager. While kickboxing is generally a volatile sport where even the very best are prone to brutal knockout defeats (Ernesto Hoost, Peter Aerts, Andy Hug…), Hari’s chin is far more susceptible to giving out on him due to the damage its already taken in his career, such as his 2006 loss to Australlian Peter Graham’s spectacular trademark kick ‘Rolling Thunder’. However given the disparity in reach and size I would expect Hari’s jaw to be mute issue as he remains one of the most destructive fighters on the planet and will probably be able to stop Saki within the first three rounds.

Ironically, Saki perhaps has the better boxing skills than Hari and would probably benefit more from a move to boxing provide he fought as a cruiserweight. The Golden Glory fighter will also be leaving the sport of Kickboxing to become a mixed martial artist, a career move that has the potential to go either way.

The co-main event of the evening is a rematch of Hesdy Gerges and Daniel Ghita for the ‘It’s Showtime’ Heavyweight title. The original fight took place in march 2011 and while it only lasted 9 minutes it was filled with exciting back and forth action, especially the second round where Ghita dropped his gloves and let Gerges fire countless punches to his exposed jaw. The fight was not without controversy as a low blow to Ghita was counted as a knockdown by the referee, and while Ghita came back in the third round the ruling definitely affected the judges decision.

Hesdy Gerges famously won the title by disqualification after getting illegally kicked in the face by Badr Hari in 2010. While it would be somewhat harsh to describe that as good fortune, Gerges needs a big win here to cement himself as one of the best in the world after failing to qualify for the 2010 K1 GP losing to Semmy Schilt and recently losing a shock upset loss to up and comer Rico Verhoeven in a close but controversial decision. Similarly, Ghita has alos lost some of the momentum he built on the back of his clinical knockout win over Errol Zimmerman in 2010 and his devastating barrage of leg kicks that stopped the tough Russian Sergei Kharitanov back in 2009.

Both men have similar styles and statures (Gerges 6’6, Ghita 6’5), with both being reliant on leg kicks. Their first fight showed Gerges to have the speed advantage in the earlier rounds, where as Ghita began to find success going to the body of the Egyptian. The rematch is now scheduled to go 5 rounds, probably an attempt to avoid the controversy a 3 round title fight can generate. The extra rounds should give the advantage to Ghita should he come on stronger in the later rounds given Gerges tendency to noticeably tire after the first round.

For the rest of this entry go to http://talkaboutfighting.blogspot.com/2012/01/its-showtime-55-leeuwarden.html

From your MMA-loving friends over at SB Nation's fantasy sports blog, here's a brief look at the underdogs for Saturday's UFC on Fox 2 show.

Click over for the full story

http://www.faketeams.com/2012/1/25/2735209/ufc-on-fox-2-underdogs

Saturday's UFC on Fox 2 show is going to be a can't-miss sporting event. The main card kicks off at 8 PM Eastern on Fox. Here's a look at the three big fights from the perspective of the underdog.

Phil Davis +175 (fighting Rashad Evans -165)

Saturday's main event is a fight that nearly happened five months ago back in August at UFC 133. As it turned out, Davis was injured and Tito Ortizfilled in as Rashad Evans's punching bag for the night. Phil Davis will fare better than Tito Ortiz did against "Suga" and Davis has the goods to win this fight. A win for Davis ruins the much-anticipated Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans showdown. Yet if Davis wins impressively, UFC fans will jump on Mr. Wonderful's bandwagon.

Rashad Evans has more UFC fights (13) than Phil Davis has in his pro career (9). Entering his sixth UFC fight, Davis is taking a big step up much like Evans did in his sixth UFC fight (vs. Tito Ortiz at UFC 73). With wins against top-level light heavyweights like Nogueira and Gustafsson, Davis has earned his shot at Evans and the #1 contender status.

Davis can beat Evans, especially if he has healthy and has made continued progress in his stand-up game since his last fight in March 2011. Against Evans, Davis will have the size advantage. The biggest question in this fight is who has the wrestling advantage? And it's an answer we'll only know once the fight starts. Five rounds is a long time for two skilled light heavyweights to battle without a finish, so if you are going with the underdog here, go with Davis by submission to hedge your bet.

Ben's fantasy pick: Phil Davis by submission round 5

Click over for the full story

http://www.faketeams.com/2012/1/25/2735209/ufc-on-fox-2-underdogs

Make sure to exercise your fantasy fight pick muscles by entering your picks on:

Sherdog MMA Pick Em Game

MMA Playground

MMA Weekly's Head-to-head Fantasy Leagues

MMA Junkie's Head-to-head Fantasy Leagues

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MMA2DAY Show a Sweet Sports and Entertainment Production began airing June 6, 2010.

Some Past Guests:

Jeff Monson, Jen Boronico, Tony Johnson, Travis Browne, Daniel Cormier, Marcus DaMatta, Bruce Buffer, Cole Miller, Jessica Aguilar, Shonie Carter, Cung Le, Matt Hughes, Frankie Edgar, Clay Guida, Jake Shields, Lacey Schuckman, Angela Magana, Sarah Kaufman, Chael Sonnen, Jacob “Stitch” Duran, Brian Stann, Shane Del Rasario, Vladimir Matyushenko, Steve Mazzagatti, Joe Soto, David Mitchell , Spencer Paige, Mark Stevens, Rich Attonito, Josh Thompson, Mike Guymon, Billy Evangelista, Igor Almeida, KJ Noons, Donovan Craig, Diego Sanchez, Jorge Rivera, Fight Time Promotion’s CEO/Founder- Howard Davis Jr., Miesha Tate, Mike Bruno, Tim Kennedy, Dan Henderson, Mike Miller- Owner/Promoter of X-1 World Events, Gilbert Melendez, Erik Paulson, Danny Downes, Fabricio Werdum, Justin Wilcox, Gray Maynard, Jeremy Stephens, Jimmy Ninja Chaikong, Anthony Pettis, Nick Hinchliffe, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney, Mike Van Arsdale, Michael Shoffner, Kim Couture, Rich Franklin, Rashad Evans, Bellator Announcer- Sean Wheelock, Ronnie Mann, Thiago Alves, Mike Swick, Din Thomas, Combat Consulting- Robert Hines, Marcus Davis, Mark Munoz, Antwain Britt, Roy Nelson, Felice Herrig, Urijah Faber, Cub Swanson, Mike Pierce, Ben Saunders, Ed Herman, Melvin Guillard, Lucas Johnson, Carlos Condit, Referee- Kim Winslow,MMA2DAy Show Special Guests Sunday, Jan. 29: Strikeforce Women’s 135lb WORLD CHAMPION: Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey & actor Frank Grillo, starring in THE GREY

http://twitter.com/RondaRousey

https://twitter.com/#!/mieshatate

Ronda sent Miesha the following tweet:

Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate will defend her title for the first time when she meets Ronda Rousey March 3. It will broadcast live on Showtime from Columbus,OH.

https://twitter.com/#!/FrankGrillo

Interview with Frank Grillo, who played Frank in Warrior. For this role Frank trained with well known mixed martial arts trainer Greg Jackson.

Frank Grillo, is now playing Diaz in The Grey.

THE GREY Trailer 2012

In Alaska, an oil drilling team struggle to survive after a plane crash strands them in the wild. Hunting the humans are a pack of wolves who see them as intruders.

The Grey movie hits theaters on January 27, 2012.

Liam Neeson leads an unruly group of oil-rig roughnecks when their plane crashes into the remote Alaskan wilderness. Battling mortal injuries and merciless weather, the survivors have only a few days to escape the icy elements — and a vicious pack of rogue wolves on the hunt — before their time runs out. The Grey movie trailer 2012, official teaser trailer, is presented in full HD 1080p high resolution.

THE GREY 2012 Movie Cast: Liam Neeson, Dallas Roberts, James Badge Dale, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo Director: Joe Carnahan Genre: Action

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Ok well sorry I didnt post this yesterday but here is a very simple and basic recap of an absolutely AWESOME training session. The teacher yesterday was Henrique Rezende,who has been training under Marcelo since he was 14. He is a really nice guy and holy crap he is so damn good at what he does. I got lucky and was paired up with a purple belt who was actually assisting Henrique in the drills so I could not have had a better training partner. He also taught me some cool little tricks that were not part of the lesson and was surprised how quickly I picked up on the moves, which felt good to hear. The first thing we learned was a take down and after we learned two reversals from the half guard. I don't have the time to go into detail about it now but one of the reversals we ended up taking the back leading to a rear naked choke and the other was a sweep into the other guys half guard. I really am hooked and I was so eager to learn and still am! I cannot wait until tomorrows training session because it will be awesome. Keep all tips and advice coming because I want a need it all plus I appreciate it as well. Thanks!

Just for a laugh, MMA fighters and their doubles:

• Randy Couture – Jason Statham
• Rich Franklin – Jim Carrey (too obvious I know!)
• Forrest Griffin – Tommy Lee Jones
• Josh Koscheck – Harpo Marx
• Don Frye – Tom Selleck
• Dan Severn – Freddie Mercury
• Stephan Bonnar – Christopher Walken
• Kenny Florian – Ben Stiller

Not all of them are strictly 'look-a-likes', some are just people who for some other reason strike me as having similarities.

Any others you'd care to suggest?

This week, I fully expected to write a blog focused, somehow, on all the outrageous trash talkin’ coming out of the Bisping vs. Sonnen “battle of the jerks”. After all, the primary reason I even come onto the Internet is for a good “jerk-off” (a meeting of two jerks – why, what did you think I meant?).

Only one little problem: there really isn’t any trash talk happening at all.

Bisping has gotten on record with some trash talk, hitting the long-awaited “only has one testicle” note that was inevitable in Sonnen’s post-steriods fiasco future. Then he called into question Sonnen’s questionable submission defence. If I wanted wit of that level, I’d go back in time a year and a half and log onto the Sherdog forums.

As of this writing (Ed note: Right after I posted this, Chael went off with his fake belt/hating Kenny Rice warpath...so I suppose there's SOME trash talk now) the only bit of trash talk Sonnen has offered up is this little bon mot:

“They have got the Oxford English Dictionary, and it if wasn’t thanks to us, it would be the Oxford GERMAN Dictionary.”

And it’s a good one, a tried and true zinger that so many Yanks bring up when they want to silence those pesky Europeans. But is it true? Would England be “speaking German” if not for the good old U S of A?

Continue reading this post »

Before I get started, a quick shout-out to theslynx and his two fanposts that got me interested in this.

Fightmetrix: Please don't sue me. This is your data, and I love you for that. Share the love.

I'll save any real analysis for later, but wanted to get the raw numbers out here so that you folks could see them.

One thing that did jump out at me while working with this data was just how much the UFC grew after 2004 (and TUF season 1). Total fights doubled in 2005, then doubled again in 2006, and have been climbing ever since. The last 30% of the UFC's lifespan (beginning in 2006) has accounted for 75% of its fights.

Anyway, on to the results by weight class.

First, here's the consolidated data for every weight class (including open weight and catch weight):

A few unsurprising trends, including a gradual reduction in finishing rates and corresponding increase in decisions, but...

What I find most interesting here is that, after a couple big dips in the first 4 years, submission finishing rates have more or less leveled off in the 25-33% range. While there are certainly many other plausible explanations, what this says to me is that submission grappling training suffers from significant diminishing marginal returns (at least as pertains to MMA submission defense). It is logical to assume that, after the first two BJJ-dominated years of the UFC, fighters quickly wised-up and began devoting more training to submission grappling. Within two years, submission rates had fallen to a level they more or less remain at today. For me, this implies that the difference between 0 years and 1 or 2 years of dedicated submission grappling training, is significantly greater than the difference between 2 years of and 5 (or 10, or 20).

Before I get carried away chasing that thread, let's move on to the numbers by weight class, starting with Lightweight:

At lightweight we find a notably lower KO/TKO finishing rate, but a generally higher submission finishing rate, and, other, than a blip in 2006, roughly equivalent overall finishing rates beginning in 2007. I find this interesting, as it implies that LWs attempt to make up for their relative lack of KO power by working more for submission finishes.

I'm off to lunch now. Rest of the numbers are below, I'll update with analysis if I have time later.

Welterweight:

Middleweight:

Light Heavyweight:

Heavyweight:

If Interested, you can grab my spreadsheet from here: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B5vOqfH1nzfXMTUwNzQxY2QtNjA4Mi00YTBiLWI0Y2MtNzk4YjM0NWJhZmIy

Highly touted flyweight prospect Andrew Leone is in for a tough test on February 5th when he takes on Kyung Ho Kang at Road FC next month in the opening round of the Bantamweight Grand Prix.

Kang is is Korea's top ranked 135 lbs fighter and has fought for major promotions in Japan and China as well as domestically. He is a veteran of Deep, Sengoku and Road FC and has faced some experienced opponents, running up a workmanlike 8-5 record in the process.

Despite having been active as a professional fighter for five years Kang is still only 24 and looks to have a bright future in the sport. Leone is a couple of years younger and is much less experienced, his record stands at 2-1, and he is coming off a very impressive win over the previously unbeaten Soo Chul Kim who he choked out in under 30 seconds.

Leone has a strong wrestling background and was a two time all state wrestler in New York and a two time county champion. He has also been making waves on the BJJ scene winnng gold medals at multiple tournaments and beating a few black belts in the process.

He currently has a contract with ONE FC which allows him to fight for any promotion within their network including the URCC in the Philippines, DARE Championship in Thailand, Cage Fighting Championship in Australia and DREAM in Japan, as well as Road FC.

After spending his career as bantamweight Leone had planned to drop down to 125 lbs in 2012 and is going to have to bulk up again for this eight man tournament, having already begun the physical process of becoming a flyweight. He has already fought at 135 lbs three times already in his career with his only loss coming to Jasor Ablasi on his professional debut so the size shouldn't be a major issue.

A win would potentially delay Leone's flyweight debut even longer as it would set up a semi final with the possibility of another fight in Korea if he won that. Winning the tournament would give him a lot of momentum which he could carry into the flyweight division but it is quite possible that two best fighters in it have been thrown together in the opening round.

Kyung Ho Kang in kicking action against Min Jung Song at Road FC 5

Road FC 6 is scheduled to take place on February 5th at the Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul and there will be three more match ups in the bantamweight tournament. Jae Hoon Moon will take on Jin Suk Jung, Kwang Su Park will face Dae Hwan Kim, and fan favorite Jae Hyun So will battle Myung Sik Kwak.

The main focus will be on the conclusion of the Middleweight Grand Prix where the first ever Road FC 185 lbs champion will be crowned. Shungo Oyama faces Jong Dae Kim in one semifinal and Eun Soo Lee will take on Hae Suk Son in the other with the final taking place the same night. The tournament winner is also likely to get a ONE FC contract to go with the belt.

Road FC 6, Jangchung Gymnasium, February 5th 2012

? vs ? (Middleweight Grand Prix Final)

Shungo Oyama vs Jong Dae Kim (Middleweight Grand Prix Semi Final)

Eun Soo Lee vs Hae Suk Son (Middleweight Grand Prix Semi Final)

Hyun Suk Lee vs Tae Ho Jin

Seok Mo Kim vs Jung Mi

Eun Soo Kim vs Sang Soo Lee

Andrew Leone vs Kyung Ho Kang (Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarter Final)

Jae Hoon Moon vs Jin Suk Jung (Bantamweight Grand Prix Qualifier)

Kwang Su Park vs Dae Hwan Kim (Bantamweight Grand Prix Qualifier)

Jae Hyun So vs Myung Sik Kwak (Bantamweight Grand Prix Qualifier)

Hey guys, after the unexpected success of my article on the cross counter I was bombarded with other examples fight fans had seen! Some were simply brilliant so I compiled a short list of my favourites in gif form.

There's a fair few so I'll place the link to it here rather than working out how to embed everything. Hope you guys don't mind. If you think of any more, please say and if you've got a gif, even better!

Cheers, Jack Slack

http://fightsgoneby.blogspot.com/2012/01/cross-counter-2-gif-madness.html

Don't forget to add me on Twitter to know what's happening @JackSlackMMA