Bloody Elbow: FanPosts

Behind the Fighters

2009-11-20T21:25:10Z

There's a lot of talk about the fighters heading into UFC 106 - both those who are fighting and those who had to drop out because of illness or injury. But behind the scenes, it's the sponsors that make fights like UFC 106 possible for fans around the world.

In an exclusive pre-fight interview, Baroni acknowledged one of his sponsors and talked about his return to UFC.

"I came back to the UFC because the UFC is my home, and I’m ready to come home again. The UFC is a chance to climb back on the biggest stage in mixed martial arts."

"Serious Pimp is an established business that has been around for a very long time. They were sponsoring fighters back when MMA wasn't ‘cool.’ Plus they are OG and, I always get asked where I get my sunglasses!"

Baroni left UFC with a 3-5 record. He makes his return to the UFC at 13-11 following fights in Pride, EliteXC, Cage Rage, and Rumble On The Rock. Having previously fought at 185, he trimmed down to 170 for UFC 106. Fighting on the same card as Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin, Baroni vs. Sadollah is one of three welterweight bouts. Despite mixed reviews, the fight promises to be worthy of UFC fans.

"Phil Baroni is a symbol of this country’s fighting spirit," said Damian Kutzner, CEO of Serious Pimp. "This fight was promoted to the main card after Brock Lesnar announced that his illness would keep him out. Fans should expect some serious, in-your-face action from these fighters."

Shooto Brazil 14 Fight Card

2009-11-20T18:18:58Z

Shooto's South American branch has released the full card for next Saturday's show in Flamengo, Brazil - and, as usual, it's loaded up with talent from Andre Pederneiras' Nova União camp.

In the main event, lightweight prospect Hacran Dias will look to rebound from the first defeat of his career - a contentious decision loss to Ui Cheol Nam in Korea - against Relma Team up-and-comer Luis Carlos.

On the undercard, Dias' stablemate Eduardo Dantas tangles with Carlos "Betão" Alberto for a second time - "Dudu" took the first bout with an armbar submission - and BJJ convert Cláudia Gadelha faces unknown commodity Ana Levi in the first-ever Shooto SA women's scrap.

Shooto Brazil 14
Bennett Methodist Institute Auditorium
Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Hacran Dias (11-1-1 / Nova União) vs. Luis Carlos (Relma)

Amilcar Alves (10-1 / Nova União) vs. Wendell "Negão" Oliveira (6-6 / Gracie Fusion)

Paulo "Guerreiro" Dantas (18-5 / Fighter Sport) vs. Maurício Facção (1-2 / Gracie Barra BH)

Eduardo "Dudu" Dantas (7-2 / Nova União) vs. Carlos "Betão" Alberto (7-1 / Renovacao Fight Team)

Carlinhos Tai (1-0 / Nocaute) vs. Julio Cesar Merenda (0-1 / Tata Fight Team)

Zeilton "Nenzão" Rodrigues (4-2 / Pejor/Delfim) vs. Albino Mendes (2-2 / Minotauro Team)

Cláudia Gadelha (1-0 / Nova União) vs. Ana Levi (Beto Padilha)

Dinarte Silva (10-3 / Nova União Kimura) vs. Julio Beba (Malhado)

Henrique Mello (10-2 / Nova União) vs. Wellington Berguinho (1-0 / Beto Padilha/Pejor)

Felipe Olivieri (5-2, 1 NC / Boxe Thai/Nova União) vs. Alan Chatubinha (1-9 / Relma)

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: "Rodrigo Will Return to Training in a Few Weeks"

2009-11-20T17:09:02Z

With the good news of Brock Lesnar's recovery being announced, comes another. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, or "Lil-Nog" as people call him, says that his brother, Rodrigo is recovering well from staph infection and will be back to training within a few weeks:

"Rodrigo will leave the [staph] infection to heal for about 15 or maximum 20 days. He's good. The arm is already deflating, it had swollen as much as it was going to," he told Brazilian site Terra, adding that he is not sure when his brother will be fit to fight.

"You have to wait for the infection to recede before returning to training. I do not know if he will be ready in time to fight at UFC 109 but within a few weeks he will return to training," he explained.

HT: Translated by Fighters Only from Terra.com.br

Painkiller Addiction to Blame for Karo Pulling Out

2009-11-20T15:59:32Z

Longtime friend and training partner of Karo's, Neil Melanson, has come out with Karo's permission and explained the reason for Karo pulling out of his UFC 106 fight with Dustin Hazelett.

"Karo’s had some problems with an addiction to pain medicine due to an injury he sustained a few years ago. Then when he started having these anxiety problems, it didn’t seem like the anxiety pills were helping him. The only thing that was helping him was the pain medication that he had been taking for his injuries. That’s when he just started down that slope. It’s just one of those situations where you have two guys that sit down to have a drink, and you have one guy that can go home and he’s fine, and the other guy has to go out and get wasted every single time because he’s an alcoholic. I think that maybe with the pills, that Karo is the second guy. Maybe he’s the guy that can’t take them here and there, or can’t use them effectively...

He told me that he was on pain medicine, but he wanted to get off. He had a plan and he was working his way to get off of it. About a month ago he was taking about half the amount that he usually does and he was pretty optimistic. He was really trying to push it. He was going through some withdrawals and he would try to push it as hard as he could to get off the stuff. He really had a plan to be off three weeks prior to the fight and he really wanted to clean up. He really wanted to do this right. It was really important to him and his family. I hadn’t spoken to him for just a little bit, and I guess he tried, but he couldn’t.

He contacted me and told me about the situation, and I said, ‘Look, just sleep on it and we’ll talk about it tomorrow’. I met with Greg Jackson and we had a little conversation about everything. From there I called Karo and I just told him, ‘Well you’re better off being honest now than piss testing and getting in trouble with the commission’. He did the right thing there and told them. He messed up, but people shouldn’t hate him for it. The guy has a legit problem right now. He did the right thing; he didn’t cheat, he didn’t lie, he didn’t do anything wrong. He just had a problem that he tried to overcome and he couldn’t do it. I think that everybody can sympathize with that. Karo has put on great shows in the past, and I think that he felt a lot of pressure to do that again...

My heart goes out to him. I know he’s suffering right now. With the UFC dropping him, he’s a mess. He’s a complete mess. Just imagine what it’s like to have an addiction problem, and to lose everything like this all in one day. But at the end of the day he still did the right thing by coming clean and not trying to test, or fight, or lie, or anything like that. So before people start hating on him I hope they realize that when push came to shove, he did the right thing.

He could have disrespected the sport by going out there and fighting. A lot of people try to beat the test somehow. He could have done a lot of things to make the sport look bad. He could have done that because he was greedy, or because he needed money, or whatever it was, but instead he did the right thing and he didn’t make the UFC look like jerks by testing dirty. I know Dana is saying some things right now because he’s really upset about it, but Dana cares about him. Dana has always been really good to him. I know he’s probably pretty upset, and I would be too. He’s pulled out of a couple of fights before, and if you’re a promoter that would piss you off pretty bad.

Once he gets cleaned up and back on his feet, he’ll probably go out there and compete. If it’s not with the UFC it will be somewhere else. If Karo got clean and worked hard he’d be back in the top five again. He was ranked in the top five for his weight class for over three years. You don’t do that by being a slouch."

Melanson explains how Karo did the "right thing" by not fighting and fessing up. The right thing would have been to check himself into rehab and not accept a fight until this whole thing was cleared up. That being said, sober up Karo and hope to see you back one day.

Neil Melanson Interview

Dan Hardy A Bad Challenger at a Good Time

2009-11-20T15:39:09Z

Following his upset victory over Mike Swick last weekend, does Dan Hardy deserve a title shot?

If we are being entirely honest, the answer is no. In reality though, the welterweight division is a bit of a mess right now as far as challengers go. Jon Fitch is working towards another shot, but he's not there yet. A win in his upcoming rematch with Thiago Alves will likely put him in that position, but he has to win first. As for Alves, he will need another win or two beyond a victory over Fitch to get back in discussion for a title shot. Josh Koscheck is still trying to rebuild himself after that KO loss to Paulo Thiago, and champion Georges St. Pierre handled him pretty easily in their fight in 2007. The Swick/Maritn Kampmann contest was supposed to decide a title challenger, but that got blown out of the water, and then Kampmann got blown out of the water by Paul Daley. Daley could become an attractive option as a future challenger, but only has one fight in the UFC and needs another win or two to get to a title shot.

That leaves Anthony Johnson, who couldn't make the 170lb limit in his last outing. He'll need to show 1)that he can still make the weight limit, and 2)handle the BIG step up in competition he's making against Koscheck. If he does both of those, he's realistically still another good win or two away from a title shot in an ideal world. He's still young, and you get the feeling the UFC would love to have Johnson as a centerpiece of either the welter or middleweight divisions.

As for Hardy, he's built up a bit of a fan base with a run of exciting fights. Does he finish them all? No, but when you can put on exciting three round fights, you don't necessarily need to in order to build up your reputation. On one hand, a win is a win is a win, and on the other, an exciting decision is just as good as a KO. The man is also a talker. He's already trash talked GSP a bit in the lead up to the Swick fight, and expect him to keep that up in building to title shot. Since he'll be the first Brit to challenge for a title, the UFC can do the fight in London or in Montreal and bring in a huge gate, and probably some solid PPV numbers.

And then GSP will smash him. It's a good comeback fight for GSP. Hardy can do some damage with his fists, but GSP with take him down and pound a win fairly easily. You get a PPV main event, use Hardy's limited appeal to it's full ability and you don't risk damaging their lone remaining, easy to deal with, easy to market, top 3 pound for pound fighter. Plus, you also don't rush a strong challenger and waste a big money fight. Koscheck's visibility and notoriety could make him a good challenger with a couple of wins, and Johnson takes his first real step towards being a contender Saturday by being in the semi-main event for the first time.

So, in a pure 'sport' sense, Hardy probably doesn't deserve a title shot. But it's not entirely outlandish seeing as GSP has cleaned out the top of the division already, and it makes good business sense.

_________________

UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin 2 Pre-Fight Interviews (Part 2)

2009-11-20T14:15:18Z

Click here for part 1.

HT: mma.fanhouse.com, Sherdog.com, fightersonlymagazine.co.uk , heavy.com, Cagewriter.com

UFC 105 Medical Suspensions

2009-11-20T14:04:27Z

From MMA Unlimited mag via mma.tv

Hardest hit is Aaron Riley who has a mandatory 60 days no contact after getting roughed up by Ross Pearson; the only suspensions that would run longer were if Swick, Kelly, Brown, Wilks and Hamman don't get favourable news from their doctors, in which case each could be out as long as 180 days - ouch!

Full list after the jump.

Randy Couture
30 days no contest, 21 days no contact

Brandon Vera
30 days no contest, 21 days no contact

Mike Swick
60 day no contest, 45 days no contact
180 days or cleared by doctor for possible broken left orbital

Denis Kang
60 days no contest, 45 day no contest

Matthew Brown
180 days or until right hand and elbow x-ray and cleared by doctor
45 days no contest, 30 days no contact

James Wilkes
180 days or until cleared by ophthalmologist and doctor for nasal fracture
60 days no contest, 45 days no contact

Aaron Riley
90 days no contest, 60 days no contact

Paul Taylor
60 days no contest, 45 days no contact

Shannon Gugerty
30 days no contest, 21 days no contact

Matt Riddle
no contest 60 days, 45 days no contact

Paul Kelly
180 days or must have facial fracture and abdominal contusion cleared by doctor. 60 days no contact
60 days no contest, 45 days no contact (note: copied verbatim - not sure why 60 days no contact & 45 days??)

Jared Hamman
180 days or left eye injury must be cleared by ophthalmologist. 60 days no contact
60 days no contest, 45 days no contact

Roli Delgado
60 days no contest, 45 days no contact

Hard-nosed wrestlers

2009-11-20T05:45:39Z

I was introduced to MMA as a casual boxing fan, so it's no surprise that I was among the many new fans that valued the striking portions of matches over mat work. And like so many of those fans, I figured out pretty quickly that the vast majority of the boxing in MMA was being done by scholastic wrestlers that needed that extra dimension to make some real noise. While that practice continues to turn off lots of boxing enthusiasts, it immediately appealed to me as a completely different skill (which it obviously is), and actually got me interested in wrestling, which I had never been curious about in my entire life.

To this day, wrestler/boxers take a pretty considerable lead over other archetypes when I think of my favorite fighters, past and present. Of course there are those who make people cringe with ineffective flailing or the dreaded lay'n'pray, but whose ass hasn't been out of its seat at some point while watching warriors like:

Hendo

Randy!

Rampage

Pulver

Tyson Griffin

Fitch

Rashad

Mike Brown

Tyson Griffin

Koscheck

And even guys just beginning bright careers like Brian Bowles. And while I am NOT a fan of his theatrics, I'll watch BROCKLESNAR fight any day of the week.

Who else out there loves an all-american meatgrinder that doesn't mind trading leather? And which of those guys did I forget to mention?

Bloody Elbow Betting Game: UFC 106 Ortiz vs. Griffin II

2009-11-20T01:18:30Z

Another week, another event. So join already.

Rodriguez over at Fightlinker somehow thinks he is capable of leading a charge against Bloody Elbow, the biggest betting camp on MMA Playground and vanguard of a new cultural innovation. This notion is immediately refuted by a personal performance which results in $260 spendable, fake dollars, a loss of $740 off the starting amount, and a 57% picking percentage for fights. One can compare this to BE's camp leader who manages $27,582 in phony cash and a picking percentage of 70%. As for the MMA4Real, we are tied or nearly tied as a camp in the judged criteria after 7 events, which, of course, really pains me to write or admit.

We still have time to step our performance with the three events remaining in the season. Beat MMA4Real. Destroy Fightlinker.

Reminder on prizes. UFC 105 Results. UFC 106 Playground lines in extended entry.

Important: If you wish to join the BE betting camp, send me a message on MMA Playground with your BE user name or leave a comment in this thread so I can send you an invite. Please make sure your MMA Playground login name is the same as your BE name or as close as possible so we can give you the proper credit.

~ Camp Results After 7 of 10 Events ~

~ BE Camp Leaders After 7 of 10 Events ~

Tyron Woodley: Road To Stardom

2009-11-19T21:53:08Z

I recently had another chance to speak with top Strikeforce welterweight prospect Tyron Woodley for Tapology in order to discuss his upcoming fight against Rudy Bears tomorrow night on Showtime.

On fight against Bears:

Tapology: You are scheduled to face Rudy Bears in the main event of a Showtime Strikeforce card on
November 20. What do you know about Bears aside from his record?

Woodley: I was actually supposed to make my pro debut against him. He is from a Karate and Kickboxing background, and he finishes most of his opponents, so I’m looking to test myself against an opponent who’s proven that he’s a good striker.

Tapology: Are you looking to challenge yourself on the feet in this fight or do you think the contest is still yours to win once it hits the ground?

Woodley: I think at some point it wouldn’t be a bad idea to hit the ground, but I train to beat the person in every area. I train to win all the battles. If we are wrestling, I might be favored to win the fight because of my background, but if we are standing, I don’t think he will be favored just because of his background. I think I’m stronger and faster, so I think on the fight this will be my fight to win as well.

Tapology: Do you expect to finish Bears?

Woodley: Every fight I look for every opportunity I get to finish the fight. If I don’t finish the fight, I still have enough gas in the tank to give a quality MMA show for the full 15 minutes.

On fighting on CBS in the future:

Tapology: Are you looking to get onto a future CBS card with a dominating performance over Bears, or are you just going to let Strikeforce handle all of that stuff?

Woodley: With promotional companies, if you trust them, you trust them. There are some companies that have a lot of gray area, but with Strikeforce they have delivered on everything they have said. In order for that to continue, I think the only ingredient I need to bring is to win, and win in a dominant fashion. I think everything else is going to fall into place, and I think CBS is not far away. They are not going to take baby steps with me.

On potential match ups in the Strikeforce welterweight division:

Tapology: I wanted to get your thoughts on the Strikeforce welterweight division in general. They just announced the signing of Dream Welterweight Champion Marius Zaromskis. Are you familiar with him?

Woodley: Yeah, the guy who kicks everybody in the head, right?

Tapology: Is that a fight that you would like to get?

Woodley: There are so many guys in that weight class. I don’t mind fighting anybody, but I do believe there is a time in the season for each fight. I am not egotistical enough to say that I’ll fight anybody at any time, but I focus on whether or not each fight makes sense for my career at the time. Some people in the U.S. don’t even know who he is—he won a very prestigious tournament—but a lot of people don’t know who he is. I want to make sure that each fight elevates me.

Tapology: You don’t seem willing to rush into a fight with guys like Nick Diaz, Jake Shields, and Jay Hieron until you believe you are ready for those fights. Do you thin you are ready for that kind of competition right now?

Woodley: I have a family to support and financial goals to meet, so those guys make a very desirable situation for me financially. I’m confident in my skill level; I believe I can go against the top guys, but I think at this point they [Strikeforce] want to take a wise approach to bringing me up. They want the fans to get to know who Tyron Woodley is, and that will make a bigger and more marketable fight with those guys in the future. It will be that much better when I’m on CBS or a bigger card.

I think they realize that this is the best way to bring me up. I am genuine, and I think I represent something different in that fans want to see real, uncut MMA fighters, and I think that’s what they’re going to see in me.

Be sure to read the full interview to get Woodley's thoughts on his last fight against Zach Light, headlining his first Showtime card, and what he thinks will be the biggest danger he will pose to his opponents going forward.

Mixed Martial Masterpiece (Bojan Elezovic Interview)

2009-11-19T19:31:32Z

I recently had the opportunity to interview MMA artist Bojan Elezovic for Tapology, whom many of your might remember from a video interview he conducted with MMA Fanhouse's Ariel Helwani prior to Fedor's fight against Brett Rogers on CBS on November 7.

On background in art and martial arts:

Tapology: I wanted to start with your background in art and martial arts.

Elezovic: Well, I am an artist. I am a filmmaker, musician, poet, and painter, which kind of makes me a mixed martial artist. As a 15 year old kid, I was a kickboxing champion back in my home country of Sarajevo, former Yugoslavia, and a week after I got my title, war started and changed my life completely.

I never returned to the sport, but I love to watch and I admire the athletes and support them of course. After the war started, I got involved in music, playing the drums. I was very involved in art from that point on, and I moved to Canada in 1997.

On passion for MMA:

Tapology: What is it that draws you toward this sport and these particular athletes?

Elezovic: Basically, my view of art is that it’s a state of mind and body through the artist’s expression, which is also what mixed martial arts is; it’s the conscience and body that these athletes have to cope with in order to compete. Mixed martial arts is the most developed, complex sport today because it is a combination of all of the martial arts, and to compete in that sport you have to be a complete fighter. This day the sport is pretty much at the dawn of development; it’s at one third of its potential in my opinion. In terms of the number of combinations and the way in which these gentlemen fight, the sport is becoming more and more complex.

It is the greatest level of synchronization that the human form is exposed to because it is completely improvised. Every second of the fight is improvised. You have to train and prepare yourself, but the fight is never as you have prepared, so you have to cope with that and go with the flow in a way.

On Fedor:

Tapology: Do you think he is the best mixed martial artist currently competing?

Elezovic: To tell you the truth, I still think that there is no greatest fighter. It’s like saying who is the greatest painter. It is just a matter of your personal choice and admiration for them. He could be the greatest because of his winning streak, and also as a human being, he is pretty much the nicest person competing. His devotion towards his family, his religion, the Russian people, and the sport is incredible. He is the only Russian who comes to America to fight and gets cheered.

On opponents of MMA:

Tapology: What would you say to opponents of the sport?

Elezovic: I could only say that they should educate themselves a bit. I am so disappointed hearing Dana White talking bad about Fedor. He is affecting MMA in the wrong way by doing what he is doing. He is turning it into what happened to boxing with all of the promotional build-up and all of the negativity. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

I can only laugh at Brock Lesnar fighting Fedor because to me Lesnar does not deserve a chance to fight Fedor at this point. He just came into the sport, and he already cannot have the streak that Fedor does because he lost his first fight. Maybe after 15 fights he may be at the point where he can fight Fedor. He is a big, strong guy—that is how he won—but in my opinion he has to prove himself a bit more as an athlete and he should be more respectful towards his fans and sponsors and things like that.

Be sure to read the entire interview to get details on Elezovic's youth in War-torn Yugoslavia, as well as his favorite fighters, current MMA-themed projects, Fedor's reaction to receiving his personalized portrait after defeating Rogers, and the relationship between the aesthetic and combative arts.

UFC 106 Preview: A Statistical Breakdown of Tito Ortiz vs Forrest Griffin 2

2009-11-19T18:06:29Z

UFC 106 is coming up, so here's a quick breakdown that might interest the stat-geek in you.

Forrest Griffin:

• No opponent has gotten past half-guard
• Holds the record for most leg kicks landed in UFC history
• Gets stronger as fight progresses

Forrest Griffin, as shown by that statement above, has very underrated jiujitsu, as he his guard has yet to be passed by anyone he has ever competed against. Stylistically though, this doesn't have much bearing as Tito Ortiz is known to be content on sitting on his opponents guards and just start raining elbows from there. The more important question is, if Tito lands a takedown, will he be able to get up?

Forrest Griffin, holds the highest total for leg kicks landed. The fighter with the second highest? -- Keith Jardine. According to UFC.com, he averages 16 leg kicks per fight. He throws hard leg kicks, and he throws them often, but will he want to get loose and throw them as much against a wrestler who would be looking to take him down?

This guy is known for his heart, and his tremendous work-ethic. He has such good cardio that while most people start slowing down as fights go longer, Forrest does the exact opposite. UFC.com says that on his fights that lasted more than 14 mins, he has averaged 53 strikes in the first round, 62 on the second, and 67 in the third.

Tito Ortiz:

• Had longest title reign in UFC history
• Tied for second most takedowns landed in UFC history
• Lands 61% ground strikes

As marketed heavily by the UFC 106 promos, Tito Ortiz has the longest reign as champion in UFC history. According to UFC.com he held the UFC light heavyweight championship for exactly 3 years, 6 months, and 13 days. During his reign, he defended the belt five consecutive times, which ties him with future hall-of-famers Matt Hughes, and Anderson Silva for the most consecutive defenses in UFC history.

'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy' has the second highest number of takedowns landed in the UFC, a distinction he shares with current welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre. With those takedowns, Tito Ortiz has landed 61% of his power shots on the ground and is currently ranked third with the total number of ground strikes landed. The top two, as earlier referenced in the UFC 105 stats breakdown, is headed by Randy Couture, and Georges St. Pierre respectively. Tito can very well reach the top spot if he gets Forrest down and lands at least 16 ground shots.

Verdict:

Forrest is the more dynamic striker of the two, and as said above, he throws a lot of leg kicks, and even more so in recent fights. Will he throw as much against a guy who's obviously looking for the takedown though? Maybe not. On their first meeting, Forrest only landed 4 leg kicks. One of them actually hurt Ortiz's leg, but he didn't throw them as much as usual. He still managed to win the stand-up exchanges though.

Cardio is also a huge issue in this fight. Both guys are known for their cardio, but with Ortiz's back injury, he hasn't shown it in his last few fights. If you look at their first fight, a fresh Ortiz completed 2 out of 2 takedowns in the first, threw his trademark GnP, and almost finished Forrest. But then he slowly faded and missed his next 9 takedown attempts, until the final takedown in the third, which ultimately won him the controversial decision. Ortiz says it was all because of his back injury, and that he's back to being the cardio-machine he once was. How true this is, has yet to be seen.

Will we see a much more evolved Forrest pick up where they left off, and win the exchanges while stopping the takedowns? Or will a rejuvenated Tito Ortiz deliver a sustained version of his first round performance?

HT: Fight Metric, UFC.com

Bonus Stats and Analysis:

If you would compare the stats of Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture, you'd see that while tito has the most number of UFC fights, with 22, and second in total rounds fought, his stats doesn't go far from Couture's. Randy has landed 16 more ground shots than Tito, and is more accurate with his strikes, both standing and on the ground. Sure, Tito holds the highest total of takedowns landed, but he's also got the most fights and takedown attempts in UFC history. They have similar styles, but I guess those stats sort of explains why Tito lost against Randy.

Georges St. Pierre though, will most probably overtake both guys in the future. With a significantly shorter UFC career compared to those two legends of the sport, he could very well overtake those two guys in Total takedowns landed, and total number of strikes landed, on his next fight alone, and While both Randy and Tito has relied on their wrestling roots their entire career, GSP started out as more of a striker.

If Anderson Silva successfully defends his belt one more time, he overtakes Tito Ortiz, and Matt Hughes for the most title defenses in UFC history.

UFC 106 Buzz: Forrest & Tito a Powerful Combination

2009-11-19T17:31:10Z

Here is the fan buzz preview surrounding UFC 106. While Forrest vs Tito 2 isn't a dream main event for a lot of die-hard fans, it brings together two names with strong casual fan appeal. We'll have a PPV buy prediction up in the next day or so.

Source version: http://www.tapology.com/2009/11/ufc-106-buzz-forrest-and-tito-a-powerful-combination/

When light heavyweights Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz face off Saturday night at UFC 106, they will be plugging a main event hole left by the postponement of a blockbuster heavyweight title fight between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin. While those shoes are simply too big to fill entirely, both Ortiz and Griffin are reliable fan favorites that will draw strong casual viewer interest. A compelling welterweight bout between Anthony Johnson and Josh Koscheck is the co-main event. All in all, despite the injury problems that robbed the show of its biggest stars, the event should generate more publicity and attention than any UFC since August’s 101 card.

Tito and Forrest are both legitimate UFC stars and are in 14th and 15th place in the latest MMA fighter buzz rankings despite their inactivity. When fighting, each has peaked as high as 5th on the rankings thus far in 2009. While the non-title rematch of their 2006 bout may not be the preferred main event for some die-hard MMA fans, a far wider net of casual fans will have this fight on their radars.

Backing up the main event is a welterweight bout between fast-rising prospect Anthony Johnson and Ultimate Fighter Season 1 cast member Josh Koscheck. Both fighters are taking the bout on short notice after injuries forced the UFC to shuffle their plans. Johnson is coming off of a demolition of Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 104, and while Koscheck is a huge step up in competition, this weekend could prove to be a star-making turn for the 25 year old. Riding the wave of buzz from his UFC 104 bout, Johnson is currently 24th in the buzz rankings, not far behind Tito and Forrest. As for Koscheck, his current fan appeal has waned since defeating Frank Trigg at UFC 103 in September, leaving him at 92nd in the latest rankings but with the potential to shoot much higher when actively fighting.

The average buzz rating for UFC 106’s four key fighters is 36. This places the event well ahead of last weekend’s UFC 105 show from Manchester England, and directly in line with the buzz surrounding Strikeforce’s Fedor vs. Rogers card on CBS.

Fighter Latest Buzz Rank Peak Buzz Rank Peak Month

Forrest Griffin 15 5 Aug 2009

Anthony Johnson 24 24 Oct 2009

Josh Koscheck 92 16 Feb 2009

Tito Ortiz 14 5 Apr 2009

Average 36 13

Tapology’s buzz rankings are a measure of fan interest and activity. Tapology uses data from Compete Inc to measure the level of internet users checking out over 800 of the biggest names in MMA. Activity is aggregated across multiple websites and represents United States fans only.

Fighter	Latest Buzz Rank	Peak Buzz Rank	Peak Month
Forrest Griffin	15	5	Aug 2009
Anthony Johnson	24	24	Oct 2009
Josh Koscheck	92	16	Feb 2009
Tito Ortiz	14	5	Apr 2009
Average	36	13

Wilson Reis & Tara LaRosa in action at Pennsylvania show this weekend

2009-11-19T16:43:32Z

It's their first event. Looks like a decent card if you're in or around Philly.

From Extreme Force Press Release

Philadelphia, PA-MMA promoter Tara Galvin of Extreme Force Productions teams up with established fighter/promoter Fran Evans, (Bentley Promotions) to give Philly fans the highest level of talent in MMA than previously offered by local promoters. November 20th, the two promoters are hosting an event "Locked in the Cage 1" at Alexander Hall in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia.

Featured fighters headlining are World Champions Tara LaRosa and Wilson Reis. "We are very fortunate to have fighters of this caliber fighting for us. It is going to be a huge success. These fighters normally fight on cards that air on television or pay-per-view. This event raises the bar for ourselves, not to mention other promoters!" exclaims Tara Galvin.

Tara LaRosa, (17-1) Bodog World Champion, and Wilson Reis (8-1) Elite XC Champion, both are Philly residents, and very eager to fight in their home town. "I'm very excited to fight in Philly-FINALLY! It will be great to have my friends and family there to see me" says Tara LaRosa. Tara's last fight was in March 2009, and Tara is also preparing to participate in a reality TV similar to the Ultimate Fighter, except with women fighters. (More information on Tara LaRosa can be found at www.taralarosa.net) Wilson Reis (8-1), originally from Brazil has lived in the US for 8 years now. He is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and works as an instructor at several schools in the Philadelphia area. Wilson is very much looking forward to fighting Dwayne Shelton, who fought his best friend a couple of years ago.

"Dwayne made fighting a black belt look easy...I am going to show him it is NOT going to be easy." says Wilson. Dwayne Shelton is undefeated in the 145 weight class.

Valerie Coolbaugh vs. Tara LaRosa

Wilson Reis vs. Dwayne Shelton

Tuan "Kid Thunder" Pham vs. Shawn Clay

Brylan Vanartsdalen vs. Phillip Ferraro

Tim Ragusa vs. Jabar Moore

Ben Tichy vs. Joe Martin

Kyle Dunham vs. Eddie Bayerdell

Ernesto Perez vs. Vernon Kline

Rachel Sazoff vs. TBD TBD

Harry Dickey vs. Jack Dunkin

Tim Williams vs. Jamall "The X Factor" Johnson

Mike Marlow vs. David Theis

Justin Jones vs. Scott Heckman

Chad Gudmundsson vs. Matt Marquart

Daniel Matala vs. Trevor Patterson

HT: Uniting Locals Through Mixed Martial Arts

Heavyweight Tournament Kills Two Birds with One Stone

2009-11-19T16:19:26Z

Brock Lesnar's future is currently in question and chances are that the UFC will need to put a belt around someone's waist in the near future. But how do you decide who is most deserving?

A number of fighters all have solid arguments for their own title contention, and choosing just two fighters would leave another two or three out in the cold. The solution?

How about an old-fashioned eight-man tournament?

Actually, how about two tournaments – one with the top eight heavyweights seeded and paired off working towards the title, the other with the next eight battling to be alternates?

Now, we’re not talking about old school, three fights in one night tournaments; while the practice of having multiple fights in the same night is still popular in Japan, those days have passed in North America.

However, what could work is a variation of the model Bellator successfully used during their first foray into Mixed Martial Arts.

The fighters would be back in the driver's seat for determining the next champ and the UFC would additionally create a number of marquee matchups to headline a series of events throughout the year.

Read more on the not-so-radical idea for killing two birds with one stone at Heavy.com

No birds were harmed in the writing of this FanPost.

The Untold Story of How Anthony Johnson Injured his Knee

2009-11-19T15:34:54Z

via assets.heavy.com

Anthony Johnson disappointed a lot of fans and supporters by coming in overweight for his UFC 104 bout with Japan's Yoshiyuki Yoshida. Way over the welterweight limit, Johnson blamed a new system trainers had concocted to help him retain as much size as possible going into the cage. But there was another reason he had trouble-an injury had prevented him from training like he should have before the fight.

"You know I hurt my knee last year training," says Johnson. "I think it was the first day I went to Cung Le’s gym and I was just learning how to kick and I end up kicking Thai pads. Whenever you kick you’re supposed to turn your hips. I couldn’t kick to save my life so Cung is holding the Thai pads for me and I kicked the Thai pads then I turned my hips. That caused my meniscus to tear and I just never got it fixed and I was training for Matt Brown and I ended up getting lazy and not turning my hip and kicking again and I messed myself up."

The lesson? Not everyone can throw kicks like Cung Le, and if you try, you will likely break yourself.

More of an exclsuive interview with Anthony Johnson at Heavy.com.

UFC 105 ratings.

2009-11-19T14:32:24Z

UFC 105 did a 1.9 rating with a 3.45 in Males 18-34, a 2.84 in M18-49 and an ave audience of 2.9 million. The show peaked, during the main event, at 3.7 million.

The demos are great, as they beat everything else on television that night, but I think the UFC was hoping for slightly higher overall audience. I can't help but wonder what they would have done with the original Penn/Sanchez or even Couture/Evans. No trying to hate on Vera, but he simply is not known to most casual fans.

Pac/Cotto likely hurt a little, but since it was on ppv, I don't think it was too much of an impact.

Personally, I was expecting an overall aud of a little over 3 mil with a peak of around 4.5 million. These numbers are good, but not great (outside of the demos, which are very strong).

Pride FC Grand Prix 1/30/00

2009-11-19T00:41:46Z

When a sport grows as quickly as Mixed Martial Arts, it is easy to forget the history. In fact, because so many new fans join all the time, and begin to watch the sport and its fighters, much of the history of MMA is unknown. Legends are referred to as "legends" by commentators, writers, and fans, and many people do not know why they are legends, myself included. Watching highlights of youtube provides a window into the past, but a narrow window at that. I wanted a more complete picture of the athletes I read, hear, and talk about.

I have acquired all the videos of the Pride Fighting Championship starting with the Opening Round of the January 2000 Grand Prix all the way through the 2007 Pride 34 Kamikaze show. If the readers of this blog express interest, I will write about each one, briefly describing fights and giving my comments, opinions and impressions of the events. A short written description of these Pride videos will not beat watching them, but readers may be directed to fights they are interested in or simply get an overall impression of a now defunct company, a company that housed many of the Mixed Martial Artists we watch today.

The first match was a "reserved match", Wanderlei Silva vs. Bob Schrijver, and Silva looked young, quick, and sharp. Silva won via a choke, which I found surprising.

Ken Shamrock made an announcement after this fight mentioning that he would fight two fights with pride. He mentioned the WWF.

Next was Tachihikari vs. Gary Goodridge. Goodridge won with a straight-down forearm choke. Bas Rutten, one of the announcers, commented that it was not a difficult choke to escape but that Tachihikari "just doesn't know."

Shoji won a decision in a relatively uneventful match with Ebenezer Fonttes Baraga.

Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Hanse Nyman was next. Fujita won by a neck crank and Bas noted, "A lot of times the wrestlers try to strike but don't have the correct training because they spent most of their careers working on control and takedowns."

Next was Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Guy Mezger. After watching all the highlight reels of Sakuraba, I was not impressed with him in this fight. Mezger looked really good and stuffed Sakuraba's takedown attempts with a ridiculous sprawl. The fight ended in a draw and was going to go to another round but Lion's Den leader Ken Shamrock began to complain to the referee and told Mezger to leave the ring. The victory then went to Sakuraba. Bas explains that the judges ruled that Mezger lost his will to fight and Sakuraba got the win for this reason.

Mark Coleman vs. Masaaki Satake was the next fight. Satake came out to the Godzilla theme music. Goodridge joins the announcing during this match in Bas' absence, who was going to be in Mark Kerr's corner. Coleman submits Satake to a straight neck crank and looks crazy strong.

The next fight was Igor Volchanchyn vs. Alexander Otsuka. Volchanchyn won by unanimous decision but looked like he could have finished it at any time. During the fight Goodridge made the comment that "you should be able to knee or kick to the head any time you want." Pretty funny.

Next was Enson Inoue vs. Mark Kerr with Bas in Kerr's corner. The announcers note that Enson had defeated Randy Couture in 1998. This was a pretty tame fight, despite Kerr being an absolute beast. Enson kept Kerr low with his guard. Kerr won by a majority decision; one judge saw it as a draw.

After Inoue vs. Kerr, Bas rejoins the announcing table for the last match, Royce Gracie vs. Nobuhiko Takada. Apparently, Takada had lost to Rickson Gracie two times before, and had Sakuraba in his corner for this match. Takada held onto Royce's gi for dear life and mounted zero offense. Despite being in guard for the entire fight, Royce won by unanimous decision.

A few things caught my attention during this event. I was impressed with the announcers' ability to explain the moves during the action, much like Joe Rogan does today. The incredible sportsmanship also impressed me. I found it really funny that the announcers kept saying "no holds barred fighting", I wonder when "mixed martial arts" took over. There were also no knockouts or even TKO's, which surprised me.

I know this post is very long, but if I continue to do this I will try to shorten them. Comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.

Medical Doctors: Steroids delay Diverticulitis symptoms

2009-11-18T23:42:54Z

I know I am going to get killed for posting this. I can just hear the comments now...Anyway..haha

NO, I am not saying Brock has, is, or has ever taken steroids at all! I am simply providing the information being released by some of the major media outlets

Here is a link. It has the entire story and info.

Turns out that symptoms often associated with Brock Lesnar's condition are often masked or delayed with the use of steroids.

Here is a lark quote from the link...

Do you guys think steroids will slowly get added to this story?

Easy killer! First and foremost, I am not saying that Brock Lesnar took steroids, not in any shape or fashion. Brock Lesnar is very sick! It has been blogged to death all over the internet. Writers have cited WebMD, random doctors, and tons of websites about his condition. People have dragged this story from one extreme to another and back again. Here is the deal, he is sick! He may recover and fight, he may not! We do not know as of right now, but what we do know is that the use of steroids has been medically proven to delay or mask symptoms of his disease. This may have nothing to do with anything, but…

Again, not saying he is/was/or has juiced…

When I was browsing the internet earlier I came across a post on the Sportsbybrooks website located here . It must be noted that this is a very popular website seen by many sports fans that do not watch MMA or the UFC. They know of Brock Lesnar, but they don’t understand him or the sport (many not all). Sports by Brooks is a great site and I am not hating on them one bit.

On their site they stated this:

“I’m by no means accusing Brock Lesnar of doing steroids, but a quick check on the diagnosis of diverticulitis reveals that steroid use can sometimes play a significant role in masking early symptoms.

In 2003, the New Zealand Medical Journal reported , “One of the lesser known but most life-threatening gastrointestinal side effects of steroids is the perforation of colonic diverticula.”

Meanwhile, in 2005, Holly Salzman, M.D., and Dustin Lillie, M.D. of the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine reported in their article Diverticular Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment: “Steroids also may mask symptoms (of Diverticulitis) and delay appropriate therapy.”

I also want to mention that the docs also say MAY...Meaning that there is a chance, but it also may not...Or, that is the way I read it...You?

The other thing that needs to be repeated is the respect and class of Shane Carwin! I know it was posted in an earlier fan post, but it was very impressive and needs more attention!

Lyoto Machida vs. Shogun Rua will Rematch in May in Montreal

2009-11-18T21:38:49Z

Yahoo's Dan Wetzel just Tweeted: Dana White just told me: Lyoto Machida will defend UFC light heavyweight belt against Shogun Rua May 1 in Montreal.

I'm sure Dana wishes it was next month the way that his fighters have been dropping like Forrest against the Spider. Too bad we'll have to wait for this one for so long, but the hype that the UFC is going to build for this rematch is going to be ridiculous you have to know.

Here's a link to his Twitter.