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The sport of mixed martial arts definitely takes some aspects of its inner workings from the pro wrestling world. Fighters playing the role of "heel" in the lead-up to fights, but then hugging each other after a three-round war is a frequent occurrence in this sport, and the back-and-forth jawing between competitors within the MMA community and through the media is always a way to create a little hype for an upcoming bout. One of the absolute best in the business in terms of showmanship and being able to trash-talk his way into relevance is PRIDE and UFC veteran Phil "The New York Badass" Baroni (13-11, 3-5 UFC). He'll get one more crack in the UFC as he's tapped to take on The Ultimate Fighter Season 7 winner Amir Sadollah (1-1, 1-1 UFC) in a welterweight match-up.

Baroni enters the contest following a loss to fellow UFC veteran Joe "Diesel" Riggs back in June at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields. Riggs was able to easily outwork Baroni in the later rounds, and his stand-up skills were much more honed than that of "The New York Badass". Baroni did, however, show some slightly improved conditioning, and he may have potentially tipped off a slight change in his workout routine that could benefit him in this match-up.

Sadollah's second professional bout took place at UFC 101 against a beefy NCAA D-I wrestler in Johny Hendricks. Surprisingly, Hendricks showed quick, powerful striking to down Sadollah early and finish him off in only 0:29 seconds. It was a huge disappointment for Sadollah, but he's a rather green mixed martial arts fighter at this point with only two total professional bouts, both being on the biggest stage in MMA.

Stylistically, Sadollah has all the advantages with the exception of power punching. He holds a black belt in Sambo, which gives him some advanced submission capabilities, and he also has a white belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a color that will probably increase quickly with his experience in Sambo. He trains at Xtreme Couture with some of the best athletes in the sport, and he should be the all-around better fighter.

Poll

Phil "The New York Badass" Baroni vs. Amir Sadollah, Who's your winner?

43%

Phil "The New York Badass" Baroni

552 votes

56%

Amir Sadollah

713 votes

1265 votes | Poll has closed

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Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Lyoto Machida	100	UFC	1
2	Mauricio Rua	92	UFC	4
3	Rashad Evans	91	UFC	2
4	Quinton Jackson	84	UFC	3
5	Forrest Griffin	79	UFC	5
6	Gegard Mousasi	74	Strikeforce	8
7	Thiago Silva	72	UFC	7
8	Anderson Silva	60	UFC	6
9	Antonio Rogerio Nogueira	55	UFC	9
10	Luis Arthur Cane	52	UFC	10
11	Rich Franklin	43	UFC	11
12	Keith Jardine	32	UFC	13
13	Dan Henderson	31	Free Agent	12
14	Renato Sobral	29	Strikeforce	15
15	Jon Jones	25	UFC	18
16	Chuck Liddell	24	UFC	14
17	Brandon Vera	24	UFC	16
18	Sokoudjou	21	Strikeforce/DREAM	22
19	Vladimir Matyushenko	20	UFC	20
20	Matt Hamill	20	UFC	19
21	Mark Coleman	20	UFC	24
22	Wanderlei Silva	19	UFC	16
23	Vitor Belfort	19	UFC	22
24	Paulo Filho	18	DREAM	25
25	Tito Ortiz	17	UFC	21

Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.

In the time we've been compiling these rankings, I've never seen a fighter shoot up to #2 after a loss, but #2 Mauricio "Shogun" Rua's loss to #1 Lyoto Machida at UFC 104 was no ordinary loss. Even though the judges unanimously concluded that Machida won the first three rounds, virtually every observer, including the official judges scored the last two rounds for Shogun.

Clearly Rua "solved" the mystery of Machida karate. The X factor in the rematch is whether or not he'll be able to apply that knowledge in such a way that he is able to win the majority of the rounds or finish the fight. Pushing the pace could expose Rua to the kind of blistering counter-attacks that fell so many previous Machida opponents.

#3 Rashad Evans will now headline UFC 108 against #7 Thiago Silva. This is a far cry from the UFC 107 bout against #4 Quinton "Rampage" Jackson that fans of The Ultimate Fighter's most watched season ever have been hoping for. But Hollywood and a sudden collapse in the relationship of Jackson and UFC boss Dana White first postponed and now have seemingly curtailed that grudge match.

We'll see if Jackson holds true to his pledge to retire from MMA. But if he does attempt to return and tries to fight for anyone other than the UFC, expect legal fireworks.

#5 Forrest Griffin will headline UFC 106 against #25 Tito Ortiz this weekend. This is another fight that was a substitute for a substitute. Originally Ortiz was to return to the UFC against Mark Colemn, but Coleman's injury created the opening for the Griffin match. Heavyweight Champ Brock Lesnar's illness bumped his fight with Shane Carwin off the card and pushed Griffin-Ortiz into the headliner spot. For a fight between two ranked former champions, it's hard to imagine how the fight could be less relevant to the division.

That card will also see #9 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira make his UFC debute against #10 Luiz Arthur Cane in a fight that could have near-term title implications. Nogueira has expressed a willingness to fight Machida, despite both having trained together and sharing a manager in Ed Soares. Regardless of who wins Nogueira/Cane and Machida/Rua 2 it seems likely that the UFC light heavyweight belt will remain in Brazilian hands for the forseeable future.

#6 Gegard Mousasi pounded out #18 Sokoudjou at Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers and now occupies a unique position in MMA -- being a non-UFC fighter who would be an immediate threat to contend for the UFC title who isn't Fedor Emelianenko or a lightweight (yes, I'm excluding Jake Shields on purpose). it will be very interesting to see if Strikeforce and DREAM can provide Mousasi with credible opposition.

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There are myriad qualities that make Jose Aldo such a special fighter. I encourage readers to list what they believe sets him apart in the comments. I'll get to what really stands out for me in a moment, but AOL Fanhouse's Mike Chiappetta does a nice job of recounting what happened yesterday evening:

Aldo (16-1) is a singular talent in a world of overachievers. Armed with fast-twitch muscle that makes his standup a thing of destructive beauty, a seasoned ground game, surprisingly effective takedown defense and an even fight temperament, the WEC featherweight phenom laid a beating on defending champion Mike Brown, seizing the belt and starting a reign that has every possibility of lasting for years.

In Brown (22-5), the dynamic Brazilian was facing an opponent who was riding a 10-fight win streak. In theory, Brown was supposed to be the kind of fighter who would be Aldo's kryptonite, a rugged wrestler who can take a punch and is able to put nearly everyone on the ground with his tenaciousness. How do you cancel out a puncher's power? Put him on his back.

In practice, it wasn't much of a contest. Aldo was decidedly faster than Brown, getting to his spots quicker, getting in and out with a landed punch or kick before Brown had a chance to respond. He stuffed takedown tries. He outmaneuvered Brown on the ground. It wasn't so much an indictment on Brown as it was a celebration of Aldo, who has authored an early career highlight to rival the greats of MMA history at a similar stage.

Emphasis mine.

Mike's list takes a nice abstract view of things, but I'd like to home in on something more particular that has really stood out: Aldo's reflexive decision-making skills.

In my estimation, what makes Aldo such a terror isn't just his athleticism, speed and well-roundedness (although they are obviously hugely important). Instead, it is his uncanny sharp, snap judgments made when reacting to attacking or moving opponents.

This ability is facilitated by his fast-twitch muscles and athleticism, let there be no doubt. But simply suggesting Aldo throws quick, accurate combinations doesn't properly convey what's happening. He doesn't move forward and duel with opponents. As opponents press forward, throw strikes, lean forward or to the side or just adjust laterally, Aldo is able to read their movements with Matrix-like speed and accuracy. As he is measuring them, he makes lightning fast counterstriking decisions. Not rehearsed or mechanical counterstriking, but improvisational. He reads the moment and reacts. That ability is something he's honed through practice, but is more likely what makes him such a natural at the game. Worse, when his strikes land it's often to devastating effect thereby depriving his opponents of any chance to recover. Most fighters are forced to wade through several series of exchanges to gauge the timing, habits or important eccentricities of their opposition. Not Aldo. He is able to make rapid fire adjustments and decisions, act upon them with ferocity and follow up on damaged or bewildered opponents before they can even defensively cover up. Aldo isn't just winning quickdraw contests; he is fast, yes, but he's actually winning them by being the superior speed chess player. It is his snap judgments made by possible by his athleticism that make him so unique.

Aldo is more than athletic reflexivity. He's an excellent scrambler, hard puncher and well-conditioned athlete. But his ability to play speed chess with dynamite strikes is going to be problematic for featherweights in the WEC. In the blink of an eye, he's attacking openings that are barely there and collapsing the pocket before his opponents even have a chance to react.

Get the highlight reels ready. There's about to be plenty of material.

Photo by Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com.

 

Starring mostly Tiki Ghosn plus Tito Ortiz [at the 4:40 min mark], Chuck Liddell, Anthony Johnson (weighing 180 pounds) and Cub Swanson.