Ok, let's have a little fun. Things have been pretty stressful around here, arguing about some of the events of this past weekend, so it is time to lighten things up a bit.

I really want the UFC to have a full ppv event in Denver soon, and it got me thinking what the card could look like. I am going to put a location, venue and maybe 6-8 fights that would be a draw for the area and sell ppvs. Now don't go crazy with four title fights or some ridiculous stacked card, just try to put together a legit, solid UFC ppv with realistic fights and draws for your area. Will it be easy? Or perhaps a little more difficult than you might think? Anyone can put together a dream card, but this is your chance to form a solid card with fights you want to see that will also make $$$. Good luck!

Here is Mine:

Denver, CO

Pepsi Center

via www.pepsicenter.com

Main Event: MW Championship- Anderson "The Spider" Silva vs Nate "The Great" Marquardt

HW contender- Shane Carwin vs Cheick Kongo

LW contender- Joe Stevenson vs Sean Sherk

WW- Anthony Johnson vs Mike Swick

LHW- Eliot Marshall vs Vinny Magalhaes

MW- Jeremy Horn vs Ricardo Almeida

LW- Alvin Robinson vs Jim Miller

LW- Shane Nelson vs Cole Miller

So what would yours be???

This Fan Post was promoted to the front page by Nick Thomas.

Sam Caplan has the report up over at 5 ounces. In my opinion, this is a HUGE jump up in competition for Carwin and could very well set up the next challenger for the belt. It looks to me as though Shane has jumped ahead of Cain Velasquez in the UFC pecking order. Could it have anything to do with the AKA/likeness rights fiasco? It always appeared to me that the UFC had more plans for Cain, but this clearly is the biggest opportunity for either rising star, so far in the UFC.

As for Gonzaga, a win over one of the UFC's up and coming heavyweights, would certainly cement his place as one of the top contenders for the championship. This would be a big fight between two huge fighters. Very compelling match up to say the least. Let's hope it comes to fruition:

Even though the event has yet to be officially announced, the UFC is poised to return to the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio for the third consecutive year with UFC 96 on Saturday, March 7.

And while no matchups have yet to formally be released to the public, FiveOuncesOfPain.com can exclusively report that a heavyweight clash between former heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga and former NCAA Division II wrestling champion Shane Carwin is now set to take place.

Yeah Eliot!!!!!! Way to go!

Ok, now that I got that out of my system, lol, let me start with a couple of things.

Awesome job by the UFC, using their platform to give back to our soldiers via the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Agree or disagree with the war, supporting our troops and their families is absolutely neccessary and anything short of that is despicable.

Thanks to Zuffa for 3 free cards in the past week and a half. No matter how the cards turn out, having these events makes it much easier for me to justify the money I spend on ppv each month. And by "free" I mean not having to pay an additional amount beyond my normal monthly bill and watching commercials. Sorry, but there is always somebody ready to redefine the term, "free".

So the sometimes entertaining, often disgusting season has come to an end. The ripple effect has yet to be seen...

-One last thought on the antics. When TUF 1 came on, it was a new venture and nobody knew what to expect. We all saw the drama that surrounded Chris Leben and the attention that brought him. I can say without hesitation, that he probably would have been out of the UFC long ago, if not for the recognition TUF garnered him. So, we shouldn't be surprised that the amount of poor behavior has escaleted to this point, when fighters know they can get as much, or more, attention from misbehaving as they can from fighting. The question now is, "who will be the new and improved Junie Browning in future seasons?". Fasten your seatbelts and grab that little paper bag from the seatback in front of you.

-Junie vs Kaplan. Very impressive performance by Junie, albeit against a clearly inferior opponent. Refreshing statements from him, but it is going to take a lot more than that for me to forget TUF Junie and support UFC Junie.

-Eliot vs Jules. Very impressive performance by Eliot, albeit against a clearly inferior opponent. Noticing a trend here? Was Eliot's striking impressive? Yes. Was his ground attack? Of course. But most impressive was his focus, determination, confidence and overall mental state. I'm glad we got to see a couple of guys like Eliot and Krystof get televised, they deserved it. Now obviously, Jules needs to go back to the minors, but the confidence a win like this gives a fighter, can not be overstated.

-Krystof vs Primm. Mildly impressive performance by Krystof, albeit against a clearly inferior opponent. I think Brookhouse may be correct in the misplacement of all the Krystof love appearing on the net. He is just such a cool dude, that I think we all want him to be a world beater. I hope at this point in his career, he can still find ways to improve.

-Wilson vs The Athlete. Wilson is clearly on the upswing and i just don't know what MacDonald's place is right now, though it appears to be gatekeeper. I hope he doesn't get cut by the UFC, but he really could use a big win soon.

-Johnson vs Burns. Pretty good fight, though I had Johnson winning both rounds. I think Johnson's size is amazing and difficult to deal with. I hope he continues to improve  and round his game out. Oh, by the way, OUCH! Best head kick since Gonzaga vs CC?? Burns is also very tough and should have a nice UFC career before it is done.

-Bader vs Vinny. Damn, Vinny is huge at 205. My guess is we will see him several more times at least. Note to Darth Bader: Metallica does a version of "The Imperial Death March", get it and use it! Bader fought smart and has a lot of power in his strikes. When he caught Vinny and put him down, I think what won him that fight, was his ability to control himself and not dive onto Vinny, who went down and rolled to replace guard. Bader stayed up, avoided the ground and landed the hammer strikes that finished the fight. Job well done. Lot's of potential in the TUF 8 LHWs.

-Nover vs Efrain. Good fight, not a great fight. I still believe that Nover has more skills, but Efrain used the Kryptonite and took him down at will. Efrain put the fight where he wanted it and controlled position, was more effective and forced Nover to swing for the fences, which he easily ducked and slipped. I really look forward to seeing both of these guys in the near future.

Overall, I think it was a pretty good show, even though it didn't have the coaches fighting or any traditional fan favorites to anchor it. We saw some devastating strikes, some good subs and some competitive fights.

I know that some people don't have a lot of interest in the preliminary fights, but i view it as a nice reward for guys that contributed to TUF and otherwise may not ever get the chance to fight on a UFC card.

I really appreciated the flow of the broadcast tonight. I watched it live and it still seemed to flow very well in comparison to past Fight Nights and Finales. The one thing I truly dislike about free cards is not seeing the corner time between rounds, so this was a big improvement to me.

Lastly, I can't wait to see Mall Cop, featuring MMA supporter Kevin James and some bald headed Dutch guy...I mean very handsome Dutch guy. Damn, that scene where he was rolling in front of the glass doors so awkward and slow, really had me laughing!

Next up in 2 weeks, UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008, should be a great event!

I have to say, I was already a Renzo fan, but after watching Legacy, I find myself even more fascinated by him. How can he be such a family man, such a good guy, be so funny and good natured, yet so crazy and intense?? As a student at a Renzo affiliated school, I get to hear stories and get some insight into the Gracie family. My Professor and owner Amal Easton, was one of Renzo's first American Black Belts and I have to say, everything I have heard about him seems spot on. Renzo just is who he is and doesn't put on for anyone. What you see is what you get.

The movie gives us a little history of the evolution of BJJ and the Gracie family. If you are interested, here is a link to a Gracie Family Tree.

We get to see the evolution of Renzo's career from Gracie kid to Vale Tudo fighter to MMA pioneer. Some highlights are:

-Renzo's last Vale Tudo fight, which erupted into a full blown riot and contributed to the sport's controversial image in Brasil. You will not believe what happens and the way the crowd behaves during the fight.

-The events leading up to his fight with BJ Penn, which show a little bit of the political side of the sport.

-A lot of behind the scenes footage from his fights. This is very interesting to see how a world class athlete reacts before and after fights.

Also there is a lot of footage of him training, including:

-Training Daniel Gracie for his fight with Wes Sims in the IFL. Hilarious, shocking and motivating.

-Rolling with his brother, the late Ryan Gracie. The action on the mat was amazing, some of the best straight rolling I have seen.

Best of all, there is a ton of interview footage with the man, himself. Some great quotes, motivational wisdom and just plain crazy stories from his life.

The movie was very entertaining, flowed well and had excellent narration. My only complaint was that it isn't twice as long! I definitely didn't want it to end and got the feeling that it could have just gone on and on and on.

There is a lot of strong language, but beyond that, I would recommend Legacy to everyone, whether you already are a fan, or are looking for a little insight into an amazing family.

To me, Renzo is what BJJ is all about. He has built himself, his academy and his family through hard work and dedication. He has a great sense of humor, but is one of the most intense guys I have ever seen. He loves to fight and will take on anyone who challenges him. He has overcome adversity and exceeded family expectations. If you haven't seen Legacy, do so, you will not be disappointed.

So this was supposed to be the biggest UFC card ever. Probably not, but no doubt it will be highly successful. So considering the headliner, are we to assume that many casual fans and FOLs (fans of Lesner) bought the ppv? If so, and I agree, then the UFC may have struck gold. They had a card full of exciting fights that would surely impress even the least knowledgable viewers. I think that even if this doesn't approach UFC buy records, it will be a giant success that will boost the sport even more in the future.

Let's start at the top:

Brock--UFC HW Champion. Like it or not, he is. Brock is improving every time out, and the fact that he could stand and hold his own in the striking department is pretty scary. This sets up a big fight with Mir, which can be touted as the revenge match OR it sets up a huge match with Big Nog, which is what I expect to see. I give Brock props, but also keep it in perspective. He fought a 45 year old guy that hadn't been in the cage for a year. If he next beats Mir, I will be pretty convinced and if he beats Nog, I will be completely convinced. Of course, even then, there is the one thought I always end up with no matter who we are talking about...could he beat Fedor? We can only hope one day, to have all our questions answered. I think the UFC is doing a pretty good job of doing as much as they can to give us some of these answers.

Randy--So many questions. Certainly, can he still fight, is not one of them. Dude is a freak to be doing this at 45. Unfortunately, to an extent, he is a man without an island. At this point in his career, I see him having a lot of trouble with guys like Lesner, Carwin, etc.. Big explosive guys need a class of their own. I am all for a 206-235 weight class, maybe cruiserweight. It would extend the careers of guys like Randy and Chuck and set up the opportunity for even more "superfights". It would also give the UFC the opportunity to promote another title fight for their cards and shrink a huge division that currently spans 60 pounds. I think this has to get done and would have many benefits with few drawbacks. I don't see Randy as a LHW anymore and I don't think he can win regularly against the future of the HW division. If he continues fighting, it will have to be in carefully selected fights. Randy is no gatekeeper.

Florian--Is this guy the least scary looking fighter out there, lol? But you better believe he is for real and should never be overlooked. Unfortunately, I think he "poked the bear" last night and will get hammered by BJ. Of course, losing to BJ is no demeaning thing. This was the most impressive victory of the night for me. Was it his BJJ? No. His striking? No. It was the apparent added strength he displayed. Joe is strong, and Ken seemed to control him with relative ease. Ken deserves the title shot, and may hold the belt someday if BJ vacates. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I would like to see a Ken/Sherk rematch at this point.

Stevenson--Sometimes, even great fighters need to take a step back. Something just doesn't look right with him. Not sure if it his mindset, his gameplan or what, but I think he may need to take a break and re-evaluate his training, technique, coaching or something. Maybe he just needs a break. I still think he is very dangerous, but he definitely needs a change of some type.

Hazelett--Shave that creepy beard, lol! What a fun guy to watch. UFC needs to do a good job of promoting him, as he is entertaining and a fan favorite. Would anyone like to see him fight Condit in the UFC?

McCrory--6'4"?? Damn, some more good training and that could get him places. I hope the UFC has some patience with him. And "The Barncat" has got to be one of the best nicknames around.

Gonzaga--The exit of Werdum opens a huge door for GG, imo. Honestly, this is the guy that should be the future of the HW division. He has good striking, powerful kicks and amazing BJJ. He is big and strong and athletic. If he had Florian's mindset, he would be unbeatable. Hopefully he has regained his mojo, can face either Mir or Nog (whomever loses) and get in the mix for a title shot. Anything but wearing the belt is underacheiving for him, in my eyes.

Maia--I absolutely love watching this guy fight. He has proven himself to be a legit top 10 type of fighter, so let's see some of the matches we know will be great. Almeida, Palahares, Marquardt, etc... Just like the LWs, imo, take the top guy away and the division is very competitive. Not ready for Anderson...yet.

Quarry--I think we all knew what was coming for him last night. Maia is just to  good on the ground and he is on a roll. Get Quarry a fight to keep him on track and let's see him in entertaining slugfests where he excels.

Gurgel and Robinson--Please get these guys in the WEC. Gurgel can take a beating and Robinson has a lot of heart, but it is clear they do not belong in the UFC.

Bocek--He needs to get his game rounded out, but his BJJ is awesome. I hope he lasts long enough to develop.

Riley--Some great striking, could provide us with some entertaining fights before he faces BJJ guys that actually use their ground skills.

Brown--Definitely a tough guy, but I see him as a .500 fighter in the UFC. I hardly recognized him without his goatee, lol.

Dos Anjos--I think he has a future, but...

Stephens--...look out for the uppercut!!! All I have to say is, DAMN!

So, overall, i would say this was a very entertaining card. We saw about everything there is to see, without a lot of controversy and negatives. I think what we witnessed was a preview of what should be a very interesting 2009 for the UFC and the sport of ultimate fighting...I mean mma, lol.

And finally, if you are declaring the sport tainted by the fact that Brock was a wrassler, then you clearly have issues. This guy is a world class athlete, great wrestler and developing mma fighter. If anyone thinks just any pro wrestler can cross over into mma, then they are ignorant to the sport. Many of today's mma fans originated as pro wrestling fans, and found something real and better in mma. I think this will only continue as the sport grows.

Ok, so the train derailed last night. I won't go so far as to say this was a bad card, but the main event always leaves a lasting impression, and this one wasn't good. UFC has put on some great shows this year, and I can live with the quality of 90, in that respect.

-Silva. I have called for him to retire, but that is just me being a selfish fan. I actually don't want him to even consider it. I do want him to come in and be the pro that he is, and destroy subpar competition. Cote was out of his league and should have been finished early in this fight. Some have called Silva cautious, but in reality, he was bored, clowning and trying to put in a show. He failed. MMA has room for flamboyant, flashy stars, but the respectful, professional is always appreciated.

-Cote. I like Cote, but he is what he is, a very solid, but not contending, fighter. Hanging your hat on getting to the 3rd round with Silva, is not something to brag about. You did absolutely nothing to Silva. Go rehab, keep training hard and get back at it. While I don't see him ever being champ, if Silva is gone to 205 or retires, there isn't any one I wouldn't at least give him a slugger's chance against.

-Alves. What a great fight it would be against GSP. Two large WWs getting after it. I think  we need to see Alves destroy Diego, while GSP battles BJ. Then, whether GSP wins or loses, Alves vs GSP. I do think GSP's superior technical striking, will help keep Alves at a distance and make for a very interesting fight.

-Koscheck. Great athlete with amazing recovery. I expect him to improve every time out, and even in a battering loss, he showed a lot of good things.

-Maynard. Many people think he is the next great LW. I think he almost bored me to death last night.

-Sherk. Not sure if he won, but what a great fight. Two guys whose ground game cancelled the other's out, resulting in 15 minutes of slugging it out. Damn, the LW's are deep and muddled, lol.

-Griffin. See Sherk.

-Werdum. Damn! You just knew this was going to happen. I really wanted Fabricio to be the HW tournament spoiler, but we can forget that for a while.

-Dos Santos. I think this guy maaayyyyyy have some striking power. I'm not going crazy about him, but lets see him vs Kongo.

-Franca/Maximus. Where was the most intriguing match of the night? Why do we not see this fight (or Miller/Horowich) instead of McFedries getting choked and 20 minutes of Rogan and Goldy? This was a perfect opportunity to make up for the main event, and instead they only made it worse.

-Rogan and Goldy. Please shut up. These guys are really starting to grate on me. Please stop describing a turd like it is a bar of gold. Just tell us like it is, we can handle it.

High points...Rachelle Leah, Chicago, Sherk and Griffin and Kos and Alves, oh my.

Low points...main event, Maynard and Clementi, lackluster card to an extent.

If 89 and 90 were combined, we would have a very nice card. is the UFC getting diluted? Or was it just a hiccup in scheduling/match making?

The answer? UFC 91. If this card lives up to its potential, we will forget the low points of the last two weekends.

Another decent card, knocked back by a couple of messes.

-Olivera was very impressive until the vagina on his head opened up. Seriously, that was one of the nastiest cuts I have seen. Thank You HD!!

-Schlemenko/Mcdaniel looked to be a great war, until it ended. Great knee and good job by the ref to get the correct outcome. I can't remember the last time I saw a fighter writhing in pain like that. I look forward to seeing both of these guys fight again.

-Lapsley/Stumpf. Not sure what to say, but it was a good action filled fight. Did they only have one ref last night?

-Guida/Khalidov. Oh man, just when I thought Jason couldn't look any creepier, lol. If nothing else, ShoXC had great sound last night! Listening to the ref vent his frustration while searching for the mouthpiece was great. Guida acted like a loser, and that is exactly what he was. Khalidov showed some great moves and I would really like to see him and Feijao get it on. Guida might need to concentrate on training his brother and give up fighting.

-Pee Wee/Meat Truck. The names alone were worth it! Herman has some serious talent, but his flashy style is going to get him destroyed against a top HW. The thing is, I think he is smart enough to not pull that against a serious threat. Enough with the cans, let's see Rogers/Herman. His sense of humor is great, but doesn't really fit the crowd, lol.

Overall, I think this was another decent showing for EXC on Showtime, where their best cards seem to happen. It was pretty entertaining and they have shown that they do, in fact, have some good young fighters hiding in their ranks. I doubt we will ever see them reach their potential with EXC, but we should be looking for them in places like the UFC in the near future. Unfortunately, I just don't think EXC can move forward with tripping over themselves and falling backwards.

Just heard from one of our instructors that is fighting Friday night, that Phil "New York Bad Ass"  Baroni is off the Strikeforce card in Denver this weekend. It was just a few days ago that he fought in the Palace Fighting Championships, so this is not a big surprise, imo. Apparently he has a cut, above one eye, I believe. To bad, he always adds something to a card, even if it is mostly personality. No word if there is a replacement, or more likely the fight cancelled.

So, I'm watching the first episode of TUF 8, and my initial reaction is...man, there are going to be some great quotes this season. Not neccessarily a bad thing, as it makes for memorable moments.

Dana-""Machette"? More like "Butter Knife"".---Awesome, I was literally laughing out loud!

Guida-"You'll never be forgiven".---Ooooooh, lol!

Guida-"I'm not Gabe Reudiger."---Great reference, unfortunately Guida also missed weight, though to his credit, I think he would have made it if they had allowed him another hour. At least he didn't go the "Put me in B" route.

Junie Browning-""Do I think Jose Aguillar can beat me? He has a better chance of getting me pregnant.."---Another laugh out loud moment. This is not only one of the best lines ever on TUF, but in the entire history of the world. I didn't like Junie at first, but that line and the way he backed it up, changed my mind.

Jose Aguilar-"At least I'm pretty, that's all that matters"---So glad this moron is gone. Weak sauce after a lopsided beating which caused him to give up, after telling us how he fit in with Napoleon and Hitler. After that performance, maybe he was right.

And my sentimental favorite...

TUF voiceover guy-"And one fight turns into a three round bloodbath."---Because it's my guy handing down the beating! Can't wait until next week!!

Sorry for any inaccuracies, going from memory. this season promises to be fun, if the first episode is any indication.

Please feel free to add any quotes, thoughts or comments from episode one!

Well it turned out to be a pretty good card, but no doubt, 88 will be remembered for the brutal KO of the Iceman, Chuck Liddell.

-Many of us gave Rashad a slim shot, and he was underrated for sure. However, I think we may have been as guilty of overrating Chuck. He has been a very good champion, but the style of hands out wide and at his waist, did him in last night. As I rewatched the end of the fight, what stuck with me was the location of his left hand, it was nowhere near a defensive position. We all knew Rashad was the superior athlete and much quicker, didn't Chuck?

-Poor Rich Franklin. The mysterious black left eye and now a right eye that looks like Mike Tyson stopped by for a Midnight snack. Hammill looked huge and I think he has a future, but Franklin's striking looked pretty good. Still not sure how he will fare against a top 8-10 LHW, but I think his future is at 205.

-Dan Henderson, thanks for the win, I just didn't want to see him drop three in a row. This was a very good win and should keep Dan's name in the title shot talk (with another win, of course). Palhares showed he is a tough guy, took some big punches and almost finished Hendo. This dude is legit and I am expecting some big things from him. Where was Henderson's ground 'n' pound? Greatly absent, due to the fact that he knew the ground was no place to be. When a great fighter alters his gameplan like that, it should tell you something about his opponent.

-Nate Marquardt. I remember a couple of years ago, thinking that he wouldn;t be around long, due to his "boring" style. Not that I didn't like it, but I know the mentality of the UFC fans. Kampmann is a good fighter, and Nate looked like he was doing drills on him. Damn, I want to see a Marquardt/Almeida rematch! On a side note, Nate was at the Colorado Open BJJ/Sub Grappling tournament last Saturday, supporting and coaching his students. Even though I am from a rival school, it impressed me that he was there, when he easily could have stayed away prepping for this fight.

-Dong. Dong won, 29-28. Neither guy looked that great and you have to love the boo birds at mma events.

-Jasons. Jason McDonald is tough and I thought he was done in round one, but boy did he look to finish in round two. Lambert, I just don't know. That was a tough fight, so let's see what he does next.

-So we get Rashad/Forrest, not what I would call a big draw. BUT, it is two TUF guys fighting for a title, which lends that much more legitimacy to TUF. Add it to a card with Nog/Mir, and we could have a huge card.

Overall, it turned out to be a pretty good card. Now, hold on, as we get a ton of mma over the next few months!