Teams USA East and Russian Legion punched their tickets to the 2009 M-1 Challenge finals back in September, and last Thursday M-1 announced the official lineups for both squads. Below are the finals pairings, set to take place in St. Petersburg on December 3rd:

1. Lightweight (154 lbs.): Ivan "Batman" Jorge (11-0 / USA East) vs. Yuri Ivlev (11-5 / Russian Legion)

2. Welterweight (167 lbs.): Gerson dos Santos (3-0 / USA East) vs. Magomed Shikshabekov (5-0 / Russian Legion)

3. Middleweight (185 lbs.): Danilo "Motoserra" Pereira (16-6 / USA East) vs. Ansar Chalangov (10-4 / Russian Legion)

4. Light Heavyweight (205 lbs.): Chuck Grigsby (17-5 / USA East) vs. Besike Gerinava (9-1-1 / Russian Legion)

5. Heavyweight (+205 lbs.): Ness Harris (USA East) vs. Akhmed Sultanov (8-4 / Russian Legion)

it's a horrible day when one of my favorites is starting to show his age! ido believe he won the fight only because brandon did nothing but 2 kicks & a knee! it looked like vera could have finished the fight a couple of times if he could start pulling the trigger again but thats another story. brandon used to be an exciting fighter. the real story here is randy,i for one don't want to see him become a test for everyone & i don't think he will get back into title contention.

  this is where dana & scott coker come into it. dana is always saying he loves these guys but only if they're loyal to the ufc. dana only loves dana ! randy has a dream so why not give it to him? at most he has a couple of fights left in him, here is a chance to show your human. trade him for brett rogers!! it's a win win sitaution for dana & scott but couture gets what he needs before retirement, fedor.
             more people know brett rogers than the rest of the ufc heavywieghts other than randy or brock. strikeforce would get a couple of big fights out of it. the ufc people could make a public relations dream out of it. we did it all for randy!!   if lesnar is really sick & i hope not but juice is not good for health. just think brett vs carwin or lesnar, mir or whom ever !      

                but this about randy, he gets fedor!!!!!  isn't that what every one wants

It is unknown to what extent Brock Lesnar and Nog are sick.  We know that both are seriously ill and will not be fighting anytime soon.

The UFC's Heavyweight Division is not their deepest, and combine those losses with the weight drop of Randy Couture, they just got thin!

Here is a link where I break down exactly what the UFC needs to do!

A few tidbits from the link...

 

If you take Brock, Nog, and Randy out of the 215+ equation, you are left with the likes of Carwin, Velasquez, Mir, Kongo, and Dos Santos.  After that point, the talent level drastically drops off.

In steps The Ultimate Fighter!  The season that was origionally crowned as the Kimbo season, very well could be a saving grace for the UFC.

 

What to do now...

This is what you can expect if Brock and Nog are out of commission for awhile.  Expect Carwin and Velasquez to fight (possibly around 108).  The winner of that one will get the winner of the Mir vs. Kongo fight for the interim title.  That will do two things.  It will give Lesnar and Nog time to hear, as well as give the UFC to begin building their new heavyweight talent from TUF.

If they play their cards right, they can market at least four of the TUF guys (not counting Kimbo).  They can use these brand new guys as a speed bump in the division, seemingly slowing down the movement of the division, and allowing the guys at the top to heal.

You never know if someone from the show can ramble off a few straight wins.  This would only help out the UFC.  Mix this new crop of talent with the current roster and a possible disaster is avoided and downgraded to a small issue.

The Wild card...

The wild card in all of this is Kimbo Slice.  I know what you are thinking, how in the world could the UFC really use this guy…  Just watch, it is going to happen.  He is rumored to be fighting Houston Alexander at the finale.  If he wins that fight (and let’s be honest…Houston is very beatable), then you can use Kimbo wherever you want.  Ask Spike, YouTube, and CBS  if they think people will tune in to watch Kimbo…

Being a Miami Dolphins fan, I usually enjoy Greg Cote's pieces as they can be fairly sarcastic and amusing to read, however after reading his piece today in which he touches on Dana White going to visit the University of Miami as part of an entrepreneurial workshop......

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As usual, Randy Couture found a way to just win. It wasn't pretty, but it sure was effective. Did anyone else feel like they were watching a replay of Tim Sylvia vs. Brandon Vera? It was basically the same deal. Sylvia kept Vera pressed against the fence for the vast majority of the fight. Vera managed a takedown, even passed to side control, but couldn't manage to do much with it. The outcome would be different, of course, given that Vera managed a knockdown against Couture and never really damaged Sylvia, but the gameplan and execution were basically the same. The funny thing is that conventional wisdom after the Sylvia fight said that Vera was just too small to deal with the big heavyweights. Now that he's dropped to 205, he succumbed to the exact same tactic. Seems like the issue is not so much size but strategy.

The thought of Michael Bisping as a standup fighter has always been a little funny to me.  Outside of the weak TUF competition and somebody like Charles McCarthy, when has he ever dominated somebody on the feet in his UFC career?  When he fights legit competition, his striking skills outside of his footwoork are nearly useless.  Even a mediocre striker like Matt Hammill gave him all he could handle.  However, there is cause to use Michael Bising and vicious in the same sentence, and that's when referencing his GnP. 

When he gets top position, that's when Bisping finally does something impressive.  Not only impressive, but vicious.  His GnP is absolutely vicious.  He has utilized it against four fighters in Sinosic, Day, Schafer, and now Kang.  Between these four fighters, Bisping has faced a good mix of mid-high level wrestling and BJJ, and at no point were any of these fighters able to stifle the onslaught.  Not only that, they haven't even been able to survive for a little while.  When Bisping gets top position, the beatdown is almost immediate.

The only problem is that Bisping thinks he's a standup fighter, but hopefully after destroying somebody with GnP for the fourth time, he gets the point and adjusts his style accordingly.

What I ask you guys though is am I crazy, or does Bisping have some truly impressive GnP and could be a true force if he builds his style around that?  He hasn't been fighting scrubs on the ground, but none of them have had any success preventing the TKO.

I love these British cards, I don't know why.  They don't get big names, but these European fighters are usually hungry and full of spit and fire.  The crowds are always hot, too, which makes for an exciting atmosphere.  Your never going to get top tier fights, but when its free on television its a good deal.

1.  Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley

Pearson is good.  Damn good.  Riley is a great fighter, a veteran who can hang with anyone in the cage and it was perhaps the toughest test any TUF winner has gotten for their first time.  Riley is a perfect gatekeeper, a true barometer of how good a lightweight fighter is.  And Pearson looked like a world-beater, like a TUF winner that the UFC could really do some business with.  Riley's great from undercard and prelim fights, but Pearson looks to be the one young British fighter to break free of the European shows and hit the big time in American.  For Pearson, I would love to see him paired up next with either Spencer Fisher or Roger Huerta.  A Pearson-Fisher fight would be epic.  Riley would fight anyone.

2.  Matt Brown vs. James Wilks

As good as he looked on the TUF9 finale, I always thought the wrong man won last season, that Demaques Johnson was the better fighter.  It was a tough fight, per usual with Brown.  Brown is at a crossroads now, where does he stand?  Is he just a tough guy who will take a 10-12 fight UFC career bouncing from undercards to free tv shows?  Or will he make a real run at the top?  A perfect test next for him might be a Mike Swick.  Wilks will probably have to toil on more of these Euro shows now.

3.  Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang

Bisping said before the fight he understood he lost some respect in the fight world and he wanted to get it back.  He did.  Denis Kan is no joke, and its the same trolls he dog Bisping every day that cream over Kang.  And Bisping dismantled him in the second round after showing Kang he couldn't do anything to him on the ground.  While his takedowns weren't pretty, its clear that Bisping wans't lying before UFC 100 that he was working on his wrestling.  Bisping has always been at his best standing, as a kickboxer who can mix up his strikes.  Kang clearly wasn't prepared for a MIchael Bisping that would take a shot.  And as clumsy as his takedowns may have looked, his ground in pound was outstanding.  He took that fight from Kang, effectively posturing up and reigning down blows on Kang while smartly avoided submission attempts.  Let the haters hate, but that was Bisping's best performance over a legit top-10 middleweight.  Next for the count?  Chael Sonnen would be an interesting match-up, as would the winner of Wanderlei Silva vs. Sexyama.  As for Kang?  Its either more prelims or Dream.

4.  Dan Hardy vs. Mike Swick

Hardy looked good, but unless he's got some Serra in him, GSP won't sweat it.  But I will say this, Hardy will make a fight with GSP interesting.  The only chink on GSP is his chin, and he's effectively nullified that by being the best takedown wrestler in MMA, not allowing and opponent to truly get a clean shot at him.  Hardy might have the heaviest hands in the welterweight division, and its best boxing.  Hardy's mouth, with talk of "fighter" versus "athlete" should also help drum up interest.  He's a character who can take a punch and give one back.  In an era of dominate champions, perhaps thats the best we can ask for in challengers right now.

5.  Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera

The bad-luck kid is back, Brandon Vera takes another tough loss overseas.  Couture is so beloved, I think any close fight to the judges goes his way.  But Vera is never going to be the fighter we thought he would be.  He's just not.  And while Couture is tough, this was in many ways a replay of the Vera/Jardine fight.  I think thats about the ceiling for Couture right now.  Fight, have fun, he might get a title shot off his name.  But he's not in the class of Rashad Evans, Shogun Rua, Quinton Jackson, Thiago Silva, or Lyoto Machida?  He's tough and he can't be finished, but he can be beat.  However close it was, I see no need for a rematch.  A fight with Jardine might actually make sense next for Couture, and would be a fun one, or maybe a rematch with Tito Ortiz on the UFC senior circut.  But he should be, IMO, at least two fights away from hitting the top of the division.

Promoted to the front page from the FanPosts by Luke Thomas.

Brandon Vera and Randy Couture talked about the controversial decision at the UFC 105 post-fight press conference. Vera, although clearly disappointed, accepts the loss:

"I’m pissed, I’m really pissed, but the sport of MMA, she, MMA, is a b---h and if you let it go to the judges, you let it out of your hands, you know? So, I’m going to take the blame for this loss. I’m going to man up."

"I should have finished it. I had a couple of opportunities to during the fight that I should have finished it. I’m super happy I got to fight Randy Couture, my hero, my legend, and let the rest of the light heavyweight division know that I’m going to whip you’re a-- if you get into the Octagon with me."

Randy Couture wouldn't have been disappointed had he lost the decision:

"You just never know. We've seen this in the past already." Couture told Rogan after the fight. "You just don't know what the judges are looking at and how they see the fight. And that's what ultimately, in a close fight like this, determines the decision."

--

"I wouldn’t have been terribly disappointed had the decision gone the other way. I was very impressed with Brandon."

"I had to kind of shift gears. (Vera) definitely got my attention in the second round. I was protecting my head and he kicked me square in the ribs… I think he moved my heart with that shot."

HT: Sherdog

Like several of my previous posts, I expect this one to also get mixed reviews.  I know going into it that it wont appease everyone, and some are going to completely disagree with me.

I just re-watched the Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera fight.  After the second time around, I came to the same conclusion, Randy lost that fight.

It wasn't as bad as some of the previous wrong doings by the judges, but it was pretty bad.  I have received several phone calls from Couture homers that are pretty upset that Randy was "given" the win.

I broke down the entire story on my site. 

I also want to hear what you guys think about it...

While it was a bad decision, we can not get on Randy (some already are, harshly).  He did nothing wrong, he actually did almost everything right.

When Michael Jordan played basketball, there was something called the Jordan Rules. This implied that there was a different set of rules for MJ than everyone else. I promise you, tons of people are going to complain about the Randy Couture decision win at UFC 105. They are going to say that Vera was robbed and that the UFC is rigged. I say they are completely wrong! Randy fought the fight his way, and the only was he was going to win. Simply put, he game planned his UFC 105 victory.

Going into the fight, we all knew that Randy Couture was not going to out strike Brandon Vera.  It was no secret that Randy was going to return to his wrestling roots and turn this is into a grappling match.

The grappling match never really showed up, but the dirty boxing Greco Roman wrestling did, a lot.  No, he didn’t do a lot of damage, but he did enough to win.  Like it or not, Randy controlled the fight for all but about thirty seconds.

Those combined thirty seconds or so were not pretty for Couture fans.  He was dropped, wobbly, mounted, and even taken down.  The reason Vera did not win this fight in part is because he could not do anything with his positions.  Sure he took Randy down and mounted him, but he never applied any damage.  Sure, he had Randy on the brink, but he could never push him over the edge.

This was Randy’s game plan the entire time.  He knew that the odds weren’t in his favor to finish Vera, instead he knew that he had to control the fight, use his strengths, and not get beat up.  He did that and he earned this win.

So do you guys agree?  Did Randy win it, or did the judges?

"I think we have a real problem with judging in MMA" - Joe Rogan

My latest column for Heavy.com deals with the fallout from the Randy Couture's victory over Brandon Vera and the degree to which the decision was controversial.

This was not a decision on the level of last month’s Machida v. Rua decision, where one fighter had so clearly done more damage to his opponent that it raised questions about the competency of both the officials scoring the fight and the scoring system itself. Rather, the problem in the scoring of the Couture v. Vera fight was the weight carried by two of the key scoring criterion: damage done and Octagon control. On Saturday in Manchester, England, it appeared that Octagon control was the deciding factor.

It's a shame that the judging even came into question, because I can't help but feel that neither man is in a well defined position. Sure, Couture could be booked against Machida or one of the other top contenders, but did he really prove that he's up to that challenge in the fight with Vera? I really don't think so. 

The other side of the coin is that, questionable decision or not, Randy Couture earned a victory in his return to the Light Heavyweight division. This is likely a double-edged sword. On the one hand, Couture’s stock is such that a victory, any victory, should position him as one of the top two or three contenders to Lyoto Machida’s Light Heavyweight Championship. On the other hand, Randy is still a 46-year old fighter coming off a questionable decision against an opponent who many fans wanted to see Couture dominate. Although we may see Couture in the mix as a top contender in his next match, it’s difficult to say whether or not he can legitimately contend in the division. The questions about Couture coming into the fight with Vera have not been sufficiently answered.

What do you think: am I totally wrong about Couture?

As for Vera, I know I'm in the minority on this one, but the loss has me worried for Vera's position in the UFC. I'd like to think that he acquitted himself well enough that even the haters would give him his due, but let's be realistic. While a good showing against an MMA legend should mean something, the fact that Vera is passionately disliked by so many folks is an unfortunate circumstance that both he and the UFC have to deal with. Could that mean Vera's done with the UFC? Hopefully not, but I doubt anyone would be particularly surprised if that turns out to be the case.

"This does nothing to hurt your career," Rogan told Vera in an attempt to console him. That may not be true. The sentiment has always been that Vera, half-Filipino himself, is something of a star amongst the Filipino community. Still, he’s by no means Manny Pacquiao, nor does the UFC appear to have plans to put on an event in the Philippines in the next year. It would seem rather rash to cut Vera after this particular loss, but the fact remains that Vera has lost the fights he’s needed to win to become a contender, and his victories have not won over the fan base at large. It would be hasty to cut Vera after this particular decision, but the UFC hasn’t exactly shied away from making these sorts of personnel decisions in the past.

Check out the rest of the column, in which I talk more about how this outcome affected Brandon Vera as well as the likely tipping point in favor of Randy Couture.

(art via Heavy.com)