5 Potential Opponents For Anderson Silva

5 Potential Opponents For Anderson Silva

Anderson “The Spider” Silva’s (26-4) reign over the UFC middleweight division has been at times less than beautiful, though his superiority has never once been forced into question by any foe to oppose him inside the octagon. Former Pride Fighting Championships title holder and perennial contender Dan Henderson took a round from Anderson, only to succumb to a submission the following frame. Silva easily destroyed another former champ in Rich “Ace” Franklin, and he did it twice without ever facing a trace of danger. Many have challenged for the title, but no one has truly challenged for the title.

With the divisional standings shifting regularly, it’s time to take a look at who may pose a threat to the long time champion, and who may at least make for an exciting clash of styles.

#1 Vitor Belfort (19-8): Belfort’s past mid-fight mental breakdowns are the greatest question mark looming over this potential match-up. Vitor started his career in explosive fashion, disposing of his first four opponents in just over three minutes total combined time. Then he completely collapsed mentally in his first encounter with Randy Couture. There have been many a flash of brilliance since then, and a handful of instances that nearly force a fan to question the man’s mindset.

Through it all however, Belfort has prevailed and seems to have finally found stable legs in the latter portions of his career. The Brazilian native currently rides a five fight win streak, and holds explosive first round victories over former champions Rich Franklin and Matt Lindland in that span. With some of the fastest hands in the division, Belfort will certainly be the pest striker Silva has faced in quite some time. Whether or not he’s the best mixed martial artist or not remains to be scene.

#2 Chael Sonnen (24-10-1): Fortunately for fans we don’t have to wait long to see this one come to fruition. The two are scheduled to collide August 7th in the main event of UFC 117. Sonnen represents a modern grappler versus striker clash, and may just have the tenacity and momentum to dethrone Silva.

Unfortunately for Sonnen, opponents who talk trash prior to the bout tend to get manhandled (by a usually noticeably angry Anderson) far worse than those who pay proper respect. Of course most of Chaels abrasive comments aren’t all too personal, or all that genuine either. The man has become his own hype machine; he lets his mouth go, and the quotes flow. He’s also a ridiculously proud guy with a pretty big heart, which is exactly what makes this fight interesting. Chael Sonnen will wade in the trenches, and he’ll get to Anderson. Can he pull off anything of substance when he gets there is a question we just won’t truly know until August 7th.

#3 Jake Shields (25-4-1): While Vitor Belfort may have the best chance of blitzing Silva with strikes, Shields possesses a truly stifling top game, and some explosive (and extremely improved) takedowns that could present plenty of issues for Anderson. His ground-and-pound attack is relentless, and while he may not pack dynamite in either hand, his continual flurries add up on their opponents, and the score cards. Even more daunting is his lethal submission game; a mix of fairly high risk maneuvers and calculated timing have resulted in 10 submission victories for the California based Strikeforce champion.

Rumors that Shields is on the verge of signing a contract with the UFC continue to swirl. Shields has remained pretty quiet during apparent negotiations, and Dana White hasn’t revealed too much in terms of progress, but indications lean heavily that Shields will indeed sign with UFC. If he does, well, we’ve got a very, very serious new addition to the middleweight division, and perhaps, the greatest dark horse in the game today.

#4 Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1-1): I’ll openly confess that Anderson would likely outclass Wanderlei in embarrassing fashion, at this point in Wanderlei’s career at least (rewind half a decade and we’re talking about a completely different fight). That doesn’t change the fact that when “The Axe Murderer” gets hit, he hits back, quite hard, albeit a bit wild at times. It’s a bout that is sure to create fireworks (while it lasts) and someone willing to engage with Anderson in a pure slugfest would make for one truly memorable clash that would likely cling to the memories of MMA fans across the globe.

Will it be pretty, tactical or competitive? Probably not. It will however make for some extreme violence that should render every arena seat assless for the duration of the bout. It’s the kind of performance Anderson Silva could benefit highly from, and perhaps wash a little of the foul taste that lingers in the mouth after witnessing Silva’s antics against Demian Maia at UFC 112.

#5 Ronaldo Souza (12-2-0-1): This decorated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu phenom brings some of the nastiest submissions the division has to offer. Souza’s had enough success on the grappling circuit to cast concern into any potential opponents; the fact that those BJJ skills have transferred so seamlessly into Mixed Martial Arts competition only adds to the mystique of this surging prospect. While Souza may not pack the most sound all-around MMA game, he can end any fight on the mat if the opportunity presents itself, even a fighter of Anderson’s caliber.

It’s unlikely we’ll see the Strikeforce middleweight in a position to challenge Anderson anytime in the near future. Dana White has shown little recognition of his promise, and seems to have even less interest in acquiring his services for competition under the UFC banner. However, in this business, one big win could change anything. We’ll have to wait to see if these two are destined to meet in combat or not.

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I'm Not a Blood Thirsty Animal - Pat Barry.

I'm Not a Blood Thirsty Animal - Pat Barry.

I'm not a bloodthirsty animal. I've hit guys, and this is bad for me, but I've hit some guys with some real stiff shots and not followed it up. Like -- boom -- then kind of like look at them to see if they're OK. Not OK, but if they're dazed enough that the ref would stop the fight, versus some guy being unconscious, and, while he's unconscious, me hit him six more times before the ref gets to him. That's also bad because I've had guys in really bad situations where if I was to just bump into them a little, I'd finish the fight, and guys have gone from dazed to woken up. If you remember the Tim Hague fight [at UFC 98], when he stumbled back, he was out. He was like dazed. All I had to do was just touch him, but instead I backed up and looked at him. So by the time I got back to him, he was back awake again.

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For one-armed MMA fighter Nick Newell, the real challenge is finding opponents

For one-armed MMA fighter Nick Newell, the real challenge is finding opponents

After we talked for a half hour about his unique, burgeoning mixed-martial-arts career – which includes a coincidental introduction to "The Ultimate Fighter" and a partially developed left arm – Nick Newell sent me a series of text messages.

I had called him, in part, because of his unique physical status. From birth, Newell had a left arm that stopped past the elbow because of a condition called congenital amputation. But he adapted, became a high school and collegiate wrestler, and is now an undefeated MMA professional.

But the balance for Newell has always been training for MMA success while also working to find fights because many potential opponents don't like the idea of fighting him.

Wherever he has gone, Newell has inspired a reaction. But there's only one reaction in which he's interested: Respect for a winner.

"All the people who say, 'Oh he can get hurt' are right; I can get hurt, but so can everybody else who does MMA," Newell told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I'm a smart guy with a college degree. I wouldn't put myself in a situation that I knew I couldn't handle.

"I'm not just going to be a good fighter for someone with one hand. I'm not shooting for mediocrity or to prove that people with handicaps can do things because that's already been proven. I compete to (be) one of the best in the world."

Newell is looking for his next opportunity after starting his career 3-0 as a 155-pounder. The 24-year-old resident of Monroe, Conn., was also 2-1 as an amateur with a belt, and his five-fight winning streak has included bouts lasting less than 10 minutes combined.

And he's done it the way he has lived his life: By overcoming his disability and finding ways to work around it.

"He's got a lot of heart, and he's also just a very good fighter," said Jeremy Libiszewski, who has trained Newell for about three years at Fighting Arts Academy. "And he keeps getting better."

Not allowed to quit

When Newell got home from his first high school wrestling practice, he told his mother he wanted to quit.

They lived in Milford, Conn., and Newell's mother had given birth to him young, worked her way through school and became a nurse. She didn't like hearing the talk about an early stop.

"The first practice was just about the hardest thing I had done in my life," Newell said. "But she told me I wasn't allowed to quit. I can't imagine what would've happened if she had let me."

Instead, Newell became a strong wrestler at 130 pounds by his senior season, hit a growth spurt, and became a 157-pound competitor at Western New England College in Springfield, Mass.

Then he found MMA. A college roommate was a big professional wrestling fan (and has since joined the WWE as Curt Hawkins), and he would flip on "Monday Night Raw" on Spike TV. Then they would leave the channel running into "The Ultimate Fighter," the UFC's long-running reality series.

"I thought, 'I'd really like to learn how to do this,'" Newell said.

Soon, Newell was at Fighting Arts Academy.

"They didn't treat me any differently," Newell said, "and that's what I wanted."

After training for three years, Newell took his first amateur fight in April 2008. A man who started a series called the National Amateur Fight League in Massachusetts came to Newell's gym and watched him train. He offered him a fight on the spot.

His amateur debut, which still frustrates him, ended in a loss. But the passion created by the defeat has led to five consecutive wins, including his final two amateur fights and his three pro fights.

But his professional career path, while unblemished, hasn't been easy.

Finding competition

Abi Mestre was a wrestler at American International College in Massachusetts while Newell was at Western New England, so he watched him at several tournaments before he knew him personally.

"He would beat guys, and they would walk off the mat and just smash stuff," said Mestre, who is now one of Newell's MMA training partners. "I'm not sure they thought they would've lost, maybe because of his arm."

Throughout his wrestling and MMA career, Newell has learned to use his disability as a strength – striking hard with his left elbow and tightening his hand lock because he's reaching for a shorter arm – but he can't control what other fighters do, or what fights they take.

"He should've had at least three more fights by now, but people back out on him or just won't take the fight," Libiszewski said. "I had a manager call me and say, 'I don't want my guy losing to the guy who has one arm.'"

Newell made his pro debut in June 2009 at a Cage Fighting Xtreme show and has followed with wins at International Combat Entertainment and Triumph Promotions events. His first two fights occurred in Massachusetts, which didn't have a commission overseeing MMA at the time.

His third fight was in New Hampshire, which meant he had to gain a license from the New Hampshire Boxing and Wrestling Commission.

"It gave us some pause, and we wanted to make sure we weren't discriminating against him," said John Hagopian, a deputy commissioner of the New Hampshire commission. "Our feeling was as long as he met the requirements and he had an insurer willing to cover him like any other fighter, we wanted him to be able to fight."

Newell doesn't anticipate licensing problems in the future because he feels he has proven he can compete. He also hopes his disability doesn't continue to cause issues finding opponents.

In the meantime, he'll continue to train in hopes of keeping his perfect record.

"I want to keep challenging myself and hopefully step up in competition," Newell said. "I just want to keep growing."

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Phil Davis: "Don't call me talented."

Not long after his successful UFC debut, light-heavyweight prospect Phil Davis let it be known that he was sick and tired of black fighters being labeled "explosive" and "athletic" by commentators.

Now "Mr. Wonderful" is expressing his distaste for another adjective: talented.

According to Davis, his success has come about through hard work, and natural ability has nothing to do with it.

"I'm not real talented, so I have to work on things extra hard," Davis told Purefight.org. "Everybody hypes up me, "He's so naturally talented." I don't even know what naturally talented means. I don't even know what that means. Who says that? I don't want to pick on Joe Rogan, but he says that."

Davis (6-0) has looked impressive in his first two UFC fights, dominating Brian Stann for a decision at UFC 109, and then dispatching Alexander Gustafsson via first-round submission at UFC 112. It's hard to watch Davis fight without being struck by his speed, power, technique, and yes, his athletic ability.

But according to Davis, athleticism should be taken as a given in a professional fighter, and is not something to be praised or looked at in degrees.

"People who are professional at anything are obviously good at what they do," Davis scoffed. "So saying that someone who's a professional athlete is athletic is actually more of an oxymoron. Of course they're an athlete, of course they're athletic. Doesn't it make sense that a professional athlete would be athletic? You know what I mean? Of course they are. They're an athlete, that's what they do. They wouldn't be an athlete if they were not athletic. There's no such thing as an unathletic athlete at a professional level who's any good."

In a sport where athletes are criticized not only for their technique, fitness, and finishing ability, but also for their hair styles, tattoos, and the professions of their wives, many fighters would be glad to recieve any compliment at all.

Not Davis. Seemingly he looks on praise for his talent as a sort of veiled insult, a suggestion that he has achieved what he has without having to put forth a tremendous amount of effort.

For "Mr. Wonderful", nothing could be further from the truth.

"I'm not real talented," Davis clarified. "Meaning that when I learn a skill, I don't get it the first time, or the second, or close to the first thousand

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Chuck Liddell's last hurrah begins with a 'bigger challenge' in Rich Franklin

"I respect Rich and I think he’s a bigger challenger [than Tito] for sure, so that motivates you more to get into the gym and I’ve gotta be prepared. I’ve got to show up ready to go or I’ll pay for it. I don’t see it being a problem. I think [ring rust is] psychological for some guys. At the end of the fight, I’ll decide what I want to do next. I’m planning on making another run at the title -- that’s what I want to do, so we’ll see what happens."

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell talks to the media at yesterday's conference call (via Sherdog.com) and expects opponent and ex-middleweight champion Rich Franklin to present a bigger challenge than original foe Tito Ortiz. "The Iceman" has some pretty lofty goals for the remainder of 2010, including another run at the 205-pound title. Will "Ace" make sure he never gets there? And if he does, what happens against guys like Rampage, Evans and Rua, who already own (T)KO losses over the TUF 11 coach?

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National Wrestling Champion Aaron Brooks Is Determined to be the Best

“Current research indicates that resistance training can be a safe, effective and worthwhile activity for children and adolescents provided that qualified professionals supervise all training sessions and provide age-appropriate instruction on proper lifting procedures and safe training guidelines.

“Regular participation in a multifaceted resistance training program that begins during the preseason and includes instruction on movement biomechanics, may reduce the risk of sports-related injuries in young athletes.

“We have all heard the old misconceptions that kids shouldn’t lift weights at a young age because it would stunt their growth. In reality, appropriate resistance training is not only safe for kids, but it’s also tremendously beneficial.”—Dr. Avery Faigenbaum

Aaron Brooks of Hagerstwon, Maryland, is a seven-time national champion wrestler who has more than 345 amateur wins to his name (and counting) and will compete to break the world record in the bench press for his age and weight on June 12 in New Jersey.

Oh wait…did I happen to mention that this young, athletic phenom is only nine years old?

That’s right—nine!

The current bench press record for eight and nine-year-olds in the 88 pound weight class is 77 pounds.

Considering that Aaron could already do multiple reps at that weight thanks in part to doing vast amounts of push-ups combined with his strong wrestling prowess, Aaron’s goal is to do one repetition at between 90 and 100 pounds and set a new world record.

Aaron’s dream of a world record lift may draw concerns about safety, especially for a developing nine-year-old, but lifting weights has never been Aaron’s main focus.

Just ask his dad—John Brooks.

John Brooks is a hard working father of two young boys—Isaiah (age 12) and Aaron (age nine). He works as a Paraprofessional at South Hagerstown High School and assists specifically with alternative learning opportunities.

When it comes to raising his children, John, the self-described former “army brat,” believes very strongly in the importance of discipline, responsible behavior, education, religious faith, and keeping up on chores around the house.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with John and in my opinion, you will not find a more devoted and loving father. Everything that John does, he does for the benefit of his two children.

This is my interview. Enjoy.

James Ryan: Hello John.

John Brooks: Hello James.

James Ryan: Thank you so much for agreeing to speak with me. You must be one proud papa.

John Brooks: Thank you, I am.

James Ryan: How did this whole business of setting a world bench press record come about?

John Brooks: It’s kind of funny actually. Chad Walker, a senior at the school where I work at, told me about some kid breaking the record on a YouTube video, so my fiancée Googled it and emailed Raw Power-lifting Federation for clarification.

I then spoke with my friend who owns the Gold’s Gym in Hagerstown to see if he would be interested in sponsoring Aaron. It seemed like a great way to promote the gym but also, to help out Aaron.

James Ryan: Why would a nine-year-old need sponsorship? Help with what exactly?

John Brooks: The hardest part for me is getting Aaron around for training and competitions. The biggest challenge is raising funds. I really believe that if the right company were to step in, it could be a win-win situation for sure.

James Ryan: Sounds like a great idea.

Your son has been getting a lot of attention this week from various sporting websites and networks—ESPN for example. Any concerns about how all of this publicity may affect Aaron or his perception of himself?

John Brooks: No, not really. He’s a very down-to-earth kid. We all attend church every Sunday and Aaron and his older brother even do bible studies during the week.

I don’t worry about Aaron as far as him being famous. My responsibility as his father is to worry about that.

Ever since my kids were young, I knew that they were very special kids with very special talents. I have tried to instill in them the importance of being good leaders.

Aaron has been blessed with a gift and if people want to be entertained by that gift, then that’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with sharing his talent with others.

Aaron will also do a lot to help other kids as well. We could be at a competition and he’ll be working with some of the other boys and he’ll be showing them and teaching them new things—even the kids that he’ll be going up against.

It’s never been about the wins but rather, how he is affecting the world around him.

James Ryan: Wow, Aaron sounds like a very special boy and it sounds like he has a great support system which is also very important.

How is your other son, Isaiah, handling the attention that Aaron seems to be receiving right now?

John Brooks: My boys support each other. Part of the reason why Aaron is so competitive is because of how good his older brother is at wrestling. Having another State Champion in the house has encouraged Aaron to be just like Isaiah in that sense.

James Ryan: And speaking of competitiveness—how much of Aaron’s accomplishments are as a result of his own motivation to succeed? Given his young age, it would be easy to see why some people might think that you are one of “those” parents who pushes his kid too hard.

John Brooks: I really don’t push my kids. When Aaron was five years old, he immediately became very focused on the wrestling mat. It’s just his nature.

Unlike a lot of other kids his age, he didn’t really find wrestling to be cute or funny. He took it seriously right away and when I asked him about whether or not he wanted to try competitions, he replied by stating “I’d like to be the best.”

So I showed him what the best looked like—I showed him footage of great athletes like Walter Payton and Jerry Rice. Saying it is one thing and it’s a nice dream but I just wanted to make sure that he was aware that it would take a great deal of commitment in order to make it happen.

Like I said, I really don’t make him work that hard. He is a naturally driven and motivated kid.

James Ryan: Very rare in this day and age—good for him! What does his current training schedule look like?

John Brooks: Training is pretty relaxed until crunch time—usually when we are preparing for the Nationals, we will increase his training schedule a bit, but I feel that it’s important not to treat every match like it’s a world championship.

During the season, Aaron will always take Mondays and Fridays off.

On Tuesdays, he will practice for two hours of wrestling, which includes conditioning and technique.

On Wednesdays, Aaron will train with dumbbells and cardio for one hour, plus some drilling at home for a combined two hours in total.

On Thursdays, Aaron will practice wrestling for two hours and then on Saturdays, he has matches and Sundays are off unless he has a tournament.

In the off-season, Aaron will only practice on Thursday for two hours and then he’ll fit another two workouts in for strength training whenever we can.

Aaron realizes that he’s not going to win every match and we place a high emphasis on sportsmanship in our training. Aaron respects when another boy wins—it just means that it was his turn and Aaron is genuinely happy for him and congratulates him.

James Ryan: How important is education in your house? Are your boys good students or are they too focused on sports?

John Brooks: Aaron is a about a B-average student and Isaiah usually gets all A’s and B’s. Isaiah just made the honor role this year, but both could probably do a bit better in their reading.

More than anything, at their age, I’m less concerned about them getting all A’s, as opposed to just making sure that they don’t have any negative comments about their behavior.

Both of my boys are required to read no less than one hour per day all summer long.

James Ryan: What about video games? Most kids are glued to them. I even lost one of my football players this summer because he decided that he would sooner stay at home and play video games than play football. The worst part, in my opinion, was that his parents accepted it.

John Brooks: Wow. My sons play video games a bit but mostly they play outside. They play a lot of tag and I feel strongly that there must be a trade-off between physical activity and video games. At least one hour of exercise, three times a week.

Aaron’s favorite video game is ‘Call of Duty.’ Isaiah’s is ‘Madden Football.’

James Ryan: So many parents are afraid to let their kids play outside which is part of the problem with today’s inactive youth. How do you ensure that your boys are safe?

John Brooks: We live in a cul-de-sac and they always stay within eye range or closer. We also have great neighbors and we all watch each other’s kids and communicate regularly with each other.

James Ryan: Do you think that your son will ever have any interest in Mixed Martial Arts?

John Brooks: Recently Aaron started studying jiu-jitsu with a friend of his at a local martial arts club. He loves MMA.

James Ryan: Who are his favorite fighters?

John Brooks: He really likes Josh Koscheck, Brock Lesnar, Anderson “Spider” Silva, and “Rampage” Jackson.

James Ryan: Cool choices. What would you want the skeptics to know about your son?

John Brooks: Aaron is doing exactly what he wants to do. He’s just an unusual and exceptional kid in that sense. He wants to be great, so as his father, I am committed to helping him anyway that I can.

James Ryan: I have always said that I am my son’s biggest fan. Do you feel the same way about your boys?

John Brooks: Yes, absolutely—without a doubt. Everything that I do, I do to help them to achieve their dreams.

James Ryan: Dreams are very important for children.

Anyone that you would like to thank?

John Brooks: Definitely. My boys have really great coaches and practice partners. We are very fortunate to have such good people around us.

Also, I think that “family” is very underrated in the personal success of children. The family unit is very important and a good home makes a huge difference.

Having my fiancée and a step-mom around now has certainly helped my boys. Adrienne has definitely brought balance to our house.

I would also like to thank Kevin Cabezas from Carried Out Fight Gear for helping me out. His son Matthew is also a very good wrestler and is also a nine-time National Champion. Recently, he and Aaron competed against each other at the ‘Tournament of Champions’ in Ohio, which is like the Super Bowl of wrestling. It was a close match but luckily Aaron came out on top.

James Ryan: Well, this has been a great interview John. I always enjoy meeting parents who are so committed to the success of their children. The world needs more guys like you.

And let’s hope that those sponsors step forward soon so that Aaron can continue to compete at the highest possible level and train with the best coaches that this country has to offer.

John Brooks: Thank you so much James, and keep up the great work.

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The Lowlight of mma Video. Balls and eyes.

10 minutes of nut kicks and eye pokes.

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Fighter loses part of ear in fight. (graphic pictures)

Here’s one of those uplifting, Mitch Albom-style stories to get your weekend started: MMA Fighting.com Japanese correspondent Daniel Herbertson reports from last night’s “Pancrase: Passion Tour 5” event that Shigeki Uchiyama’s bout with Masaya "J-Taro" Takita had to be called off when, uh, a good chunk of Uchiyama’s cauliflower ear got torn off during a takedown attempt against the ropes.
Now, listen. We’re just going to say this once: Only follow the jump if you want to see a photo of Uchiyama’s ear lying on the canvas after it’s been severed from his body. Seriously, people …

Herbertson reports that Uchiyama appeared headed for victory in the fight after bloodying Takita with strikes and successfully dictating the pace of the contest, but that the bout was stopped as soon as the referee realized what had happened. From the initial report:

"Things were looking good for the Grabaka fighter until somehow, during a double leg takedown that fell through the ropes, the top off his ear was torn off.
It was not clear how the cauliflowered ear was torn but blood could be seen on the top and bottom ropes. Most likely, Uchiyama's ear was caught in the vertical ropes that keep the horizontal ropes even, although no blood could be seen on them."

The bout was stopped at 2:57 of the second round. Takita was declared the winner by TKO (doctor stoppage, obviously). It was just Uchiyama’s second professional loss, dropping his record to 9-2. Takita advanced to 10-12-2. The victory snapped a three-fight losing streak for the fighter, dating back to October of 2008.

It should be noted that this is not the first time a cauliflower ear and a ring rope have met up with disastrous consequences, just the first time in recent memory that it’s happened during an unscripted bout.

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Watched Anthony Johnson Inside MMA, I think he's a HW now

He looked, very, very round last night. I know he's hurt with a knee and such but DAMN!!!

They also had Maia and Jones on, pretty good show but AJ needs to start eating some salads.

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Aldo vs. Gamburyan not a lock; WEC 49's Davis vs. Grispi could impact title picture

Although facing lethal WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo probably isn't on the top of most fighters' to-do list, defeating the Brazilian striker is now a requirement to take the belt.

Former UFC lightweight contender Manny Gamburyan did his best to stake his claim to a title shot at WEC 48 with a stunning knockout of former champ Mike Brown.

But WEC general manager Reed Harris recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) he isn't ready to declare him a No. 1 contender just yet and said this month's WEC 49 show – and its co-main event – could play a factor in the decision.

WEC 49, of course, takes place June 20 and features a bout with two additional featherweight contenders with Josh Grispi (13-1 MMA, 3-0 WEC) taking on L.C. Davis (16-2 MMA, 3-0 WEC) at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Both 145-pounders are 3-0 in the WEC, and their bout co-headliners WEC 49's Versus broadcast, which assures plenty of exposure for the winner and possible title challenger.

Gamburyan (11-4 MMA, 3-0 WEC), of course, garnered some headlines of his own when he viciously knocked out Brown during the WEC's first-ever pay-per-view event back in April. And like Grispi and Davis, Gamburyan also is 3-0 in the WEC.

So who gets the title shot?

It depends on a few factors, Harris said.

"We've got June in front of us, and then after that we've got a show in August that we haven't announced yet," Harris told MMAjunkie.com Radio. "The fights after that, we're just not there yet. We like to see what happens in these fights. That way the best guy, the freshest guy, is the guy competing."

After all, defeating Aldo (17-1 MMA, 7-0 WEC), who won title from Brown in November as part of his current 10-fight win streak, is no easy task. And attempting to do it while at less than 100 percent is far from a sound game plan.

That's why the nod may go to do Gamburyan, who's already had a month and a half to recover from the Brown fight.

And Harris thinks the Armenian's accomplishments – and his confidence – would suit him well for the challenge if he does, indeed, get the title shot.

"I think everybody [at WEC 48] was surprised (about the win) except for Manny," he said. "Manny wasn't surprised. He came up afterward and said, 'Dude, I knew that was going to happen.'

"With striking like that and his wrestling and judo, he tells me he thinks he can beat Aldo. Manny has been in some big fights. He fought for the UFC. Here's a guy that's seasoned and has a good camp."

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Claude Patrick and The 13-year Journey to the UFC

As he left his gym in Mississauga, Ontario earlier this week, Claude Patrick couldn’t help but smile. And he had good reason to. After years of toil on the mixed martial arts scene, fighting everywhere but his home province, where the sport is still not legal, Patrick is about to make his UFC debut on June 12th, and in Canada, no less, as UFC 115 touches down in Vancouver.

But a smile crossed Patrick’s face for another reason – one that showed just how far the sport has grown in his country over the last few years.
“I just left the gym and I was hearing somebody talking about a kimura,” recalled Patrick. “It’s insane. Three, four years ago, these guys would have thought that was a chicken wing sauce or something. (Laughs) I just kinda smiled and kept moving.”
It’s been a long journey to this point for the 29-year old from Toronto, one in which he’s practically had a ringside seat to the growth and explosion of MMA in his country and abroad as a training partner and friend of current and former UFC welterweight champions Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Newton. But his exposure and connection to the sport came even earlier.

“I’ve always been involved in martial arts, especially Ultimate Fighting, even before it was popular,” he said. “I’m not a guy that when 2000 came about I was suddenly into it. I definitely pre-date The Ultimate Fighter and any of that stuff. (Laughs) UFC I, I was already watching fights as a kid, constantly rewinding those tapes and studying everything.”

The next step was to get involved, and he began training in 1997, a lifetime ago compared to other UFC debutants.
“I’m about as old-school as it gets. I’ve put so much of my life into it, it would be silly to not pursue it and just kinda be an armchair quarterback saying I could have, should have done this or done that.”

And despite studying computers and logistics, and working in, as he puts it, “just about every job capacity except the food service/restaurant industry,” Patrick went all in on his budding fight career. By 2002, he had turned pro with a first round TKO of Guillaume Desrosiers, and though he would lose his second bout via decision to future UFC fighter Drew McFedries and take nearly three years off from the game, when he returned in 2005, it was with the intention of making his mark on the international scene.

“It wasn’t feasible to be fighting in North America,” said Patrick of the early years, “but I was lucky enough to know Carlos Newton and to train with him, so I always had it in the back of my mind that I was gonna train, maybe get a shot in Japan and get some cash going over there. And then when it skyrocketed here, I was like ‘well, fabulous, now it’s even more popular than I thought it would be.’”

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Paulo Thiago weighs in on Martin Kampmann and the UFC welterweight title

Paulo Thiago will be looking to take one step closer to an elusive UFC welterweight title shot when he faces dangerous veteran Martin Kampmann at UFC 115 on June 12.

Thiago (13-1) has been off to a fast start in the UFC, notching up impressive victories against Josh Koscheck and Mike Swick that respectively earned him knockout of the night and submission of the night honors. A win against Kampmann (16-3) would put Thiago in the mix of a select few fighters at the top of the welterweight division, which is going to be looking to sort itself out over the next few months as champion Georges St. Pierre takes some time off from defending the belt to coach opposite Josh Koscheck on season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter.

Taking on Kampmann is a challenge Thiago looks forward to.

"Martin Kampmann is a complete athlete, won seven times by knockout and six times by submission, so he is a dangerous guy both standing and on the ground," Thiago told Tatame.com. "I had to train it all, I trained a lot my ground game, my boxing, my takedowns, fall defenses and a lot of Wrestling so I don't get surprised by something I didn't train."

Kampmann fought for much of his career in the middleweight division, with wins over Thales Leites and Jorge Rivera, but Thiago doesn't think size will be a factor in their fight.

"I don't believe so, he has to be on the same weight as I am...," Thiago stated. "My first six fights were in the middleweight divisions as well, so I believe that after the weight, he must come just I will do."

Although the welterweight division has been dominated for years in the UFC by familiar faces like Georges St. Pierre, Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, and Josh Koscheck, Thiago feels the time is coming to stir things up.

"There are lots of tough guys (in the UFC welterweight division) and it seems that Jake Shields, Strikeforce's champion on the middleweight division, is coming to UFC to fight on the welterweight, do it'll be another tough one in the dispute and I'm waiting for my opportunity," said Thiago. "I try to win one fight at a time and I've been waiting for my chance, and I'll sure get one. This fight will be very tough, I'm aware of that, but I'm trying to focus only on my win... I have to win this time and wait to see what they will say."

Despite defeating Koscheck in his UFC debut, Thiago has no hard feelings that Koscheck will be the next in line to challenge St. Pierre.

"Koscheck is much more respected than I am and deserves this opportunity more than me," Thiago stated. "He has a long history, has beaten much more tough guys and will be a tough one to fight against (Georges) St. Pierre... He will get there with chances to win. I believe Koscheck is better on the trade of punches than St. Pierre and is as good as him on Wrestling... I think that the Jiu-Jitsu will be the decisive part, maybe one of them got the other... I believe Koscheck has chances, because he has great takedowns and Georges is more aggressive on his standing game."

As for himself, Thiago hopes his chance is coming soon.

"I try not to think about it otherwise it'll disturb me on my fight against Kampmann, but I think it's coming close...," Thiago admitted. "Winning this...

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Dana White with hair, UFC 30 interview.

Hey guys, I think this is Dana's first UFC interview.

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What Kind of Dream Card would you put together ?

I got two MMA Dream Cards to put together ........ using the UFC, Dream, Strikefore, WEC and Bellator etc..... there's just so many fighters that are popping in my head 12 fights on each card hahaha ok

Event 1
Main Card Fights:
WAMMA HW Champion/UFC HW Champion ~ to Unify the Belts
- (C) Fedor Emelianenko vs (C) Brock Lesnar
UFC LHW Champion/Strikeforce LHW Champion ~ to Unify the Belts
- (C) Shogun Rua vs (C) King Mo Lawal
Contenders Fight
- Rampage Jackson vs Lyoto Machida
Legend vs Legend LHW
- Randy Couture vs Dan Henderson
Dream LW Champion/Bellator LW Champion ~ to Unify the Belts
- (C) Shinya Aoki vs (C) Eddie Alvares

Spike TV Free Fights:
TUF 1 Coach vs Student
- Chuck Liddell vs Forrest Griffin
HW Fight
- Josh Barnett vs Frank Mir

Perlim Card:
Strikeforce WW Championship
- (C) Nick Diaz vs Thiago Alves
LHW Fight
- Rashad Evans vs Jon Jones
HW Fight
- Cain Velasquez vs Junior Dos Santos
LW Fight
- Kenny Florian vs Diego Sanchez
LW Fight
- Josh Thomson vs Gesias Cavalcante

Event 2
Main Card Fight:
UFC MW Championship
- (C) Anderson Silva vs (C) George St.Pierre *still UFC WW Champion
Strikeforce HW Championship
- (C) Alistair Overeem vs (C) Shane Carwin *still UFC Interim HW Champion
Strikeforce LW Champion/UFC LW Champion ~ to Unify the Belts
- (C) Gilbert Melendez vs (C) Frankie Edgar
The Trilogy Fight WW
- BJ Penn vs Matt Hughes III
WEC LW Championship
- (C) Benson Henderson vs (C) Jose Aldo *still WEC FW Champion

Spike TV Free Fights:
LHW Fight
Tito Ortiz vs Ricardo Arona
MW Fight
Vitor Belofrt vs Gegard Mousasi

Perlim Fights:
Strikeforce MW Champion/Bellator MW Champion ~ to Unify the Belts
- Jake Shields vs Hector Lombard
Teammates Collide WW
- Jon Fitch vs Josh Koscheck
HW Fight
- Bobby Lashley vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Dream FW Champion/Bellator FW Champion ~ to Unify the Belts
- Bibano Fernandes vs Joe Soto
WEC Featherweight Championship
- (C) Dominick Cruz vs Joseph Benavidez

so what do you guys think ??

i know i missed out on some guys like Cro Cop, Wandy, Lil Nog, Torres, Filho, Lawler, Franklin, Hansen etc...etc...but i just went with it.

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Guillard Wants Piece of Lil’ Heathen

The dust had barely settled on his latest victim before Melvin Guillard turned his attention to a new target. Enter Jeremy Stephens.

Guillard crumpled Bellator Fighting Championships veteran Waylon Lowe with a brutal knee to the body in their preliminary lightweight matchup at UFC 114 “Rampage vs. Evans” on May 29 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Now, he desires a dance with “Lil’ Heathen.”

“That’s the guy I want,” Guillard told the Sherdog Radio Network’s Savage Dog Show. “I think that would be a great fight for me. I really want to fight that guy.”

The 24-year-old Stephens, a heavy shoot-from-the-hip puncher, has won back-to-back fights and earned a split decision over Sam Stout at UFC 113 last month. His 2008 knockout against Rafael dos Anjos has become a staple of UFC highlight reels.

“I want to fight exciting fighters,” Guillard said. “He’s a good guy. I have no grudge against him or anything. I have a lot of respect for him as a fighter. I think he has a lot of punching power, and I think he’ll give me a run for my money. I’ll respect him as a person, but as a fighter, I don’t think he’s a better fighter than me.”

Enjoying a renaissance of sorts under the wing of famed trainer Greg Jackson and his many disciples, Guillard has won five of his last six bouts. Now based at Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts in Albuquerque, N.M., he has begun to fulfill his potential.

“It’s definitely been a life-changing experience,” Guillard said. “I’m at a great gym full of great guys and great girls. Everybody’s so supportive. Coach Greg and coach [Mike] Winkeljohn have really put the time and effort behind me, [which is] something I’ve been looking for for a long time. That was the biggest thing in my career I was searching for.

“I can’t deal with people that are selfish,” he added. “When everybody’s there [and] can help each other, that’s something you look forward to.”

Guillard, a 27-year-old New Orleans native, believes the potential reward in fighting someone like Stephens far outweighs the risk. Neither man has ever been knocked out.

“I know for a fact it will be a knock-down, drag-out brawl of a fight,” Guillard said. “That’s what they want in the UFC. I would rather fight a guy like that and take that chance at a guy having knockout ability than to fight another black belt jiu-jitsu guy that’s just going to lay on me, not do anything and make the fight boring.”

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Frank Mir Considering Dropping to Light Heavyweight?

Frank Mir Considering Dropping to Light Heavyweight?

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Chuck Liddell Plans to KO Rich Franklin, Wants Tito Ortiz in Return From Surgery

After nearly 14 months away from fighting and a series of camps designed to bring him back in pristine condition, legendary UFC star Chuck Liddell is set to return to the octagon at UFC 115 in Vancouver.

Though Liddell (21-7) returned with the expectation of fighting Tito Ortiz at the conclusion of the currently airing season of The Ultimate Fighter, an injury knocked Ortiz out, leaving an opening filled by former middleweight champion Rich Franklin.

In an interview with MMA Fighting, the 40-year-old Liddell spoke about the Ortiz fallout, facing Franklin, changing his lifestyle and whether his June 12 fight is a must-win affair.

Mike Chiappetta: We've seen some pictures of you lately that your girlfriend posted on her Twitter page and you look to be in incredible shape. Is this the best physical shape you've been in in a long time?

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Chuck Liddell: It's the best shape I've been in for a while, yeah. I was sort of in shape since Dancing with the Stars, since I made that bet with Dana to get down in weight in September. In November, I started training camp to get ready to coach the show. I wanted to be in shape for the guys when I got there. I did kind of a mini-camp for seven weeks. I kept training and working out and went right back into camp after it ended. I made some changes and it's put me in the best shape I've been in in a long time.

When's the last time you were in shape like this?
It's been a while. I don't know for sure, but it's been a while. I'd say since back to the days when I had to be ready to fight any time. Back then a few years ago, you never knew if someone was going to fall out and you'd have to take a last-minute fight, so you always kind of stayed in shape.

What are you weighing right now?
About 216, 217.

Is that weight-wise normally what you're at this close to a fight?
I had been hoping to be 218 this week. I've been down under 220 for three weeks now. In the past, I got my weight up in the offseason and worked most of camp trying to get my weight down and get in shape. In training, I was doing everything I should do when I was there, but spent a little too much time putting on weight and not doing things I should have done when I wasn't training.

What did you do differently diet or workout wise to get in this kind of shape?
Quite a few things. The first thing was watching what I eat. Eating healthier the whole time. I cut my weight down and tried to keep it down for this. I started making a lot better choices with my meals and keeping my weight under control. I've been working a lot harder in the offseason, started doing fitness and resistance stuff.

Did you do it with a fitness expert or nutritionist?
I did it mostly on my own. My girlfriend helped me quite a bit. She likes eating healthy and eating clean, so that helped a lot. But it was really changing my lifestyle. I treated it like camp getting ready for The Ultimate Fighter, so I stopped drinking and got in shape to coach the guys. It was like a minicamp training them and then I went into my own camp, so it's sort of been like one long camp.

Being in this shape has to give you a lot of confidence for the fight. It's one less thing to worry about.
Yeah, I feel great. One of things is that I realize I didn't spend as much of my training camp just trying to get in shape; I spent it trying to get better at things and working on new things and getting my game to flow better. Working on my timing and concentrating on the things I need to be concentrating on instead of just getting in shape and getting through the workout.

What does your body feel like overall after the time off?
I think the time away was very good for me. Both mentally and physically I'm back into it. I spent a lot of the time off working out and lifting. I didn't hit mitts until December. We did some jiu-jitsu but I wasn't striking at all until December, so when I came back, it felt good. It made me hungry. I wanted to get back in there and learn more.

Your old foe Rampage Jackson just came back from a 14-month layoff and he said he didn't want to think about ring rust beforehand but later said that he experienced it during his fight. Your layoff is also going to be 14 months from fight to fight. What are your thoughts on that?
I'm not worried, and I'm not going to worry about it. My timing is on, my training is on, so I can't see that affecting me in the fight. I don't think it's going to make a difference. Like I said, being in shape the whole time, it's not like I'm cutting a bunch of weight. I didn't take a year off and get fat. I've been in shape for a long time. I didn't start my camp at 250. I started at 224.

This fight was supposed to be you against Tito. He said on a recent episode of TUF that after his last fight, he was having headaches and numbness in his hands, etc. It seemed like he knew something was wrong even before taking the fight with you. Did you get that feeling while on the set with him?
I knew he was going to back out. I knew it the first week we were there. I heard him say something like, 'I have to be 100 percent if I fight Chuck.' That just hit me wrong. I called Dana that day and said, 'It sounds like he's not going to fight me. What's going on?' Dana told me, 'He signed the bout agreement, so don't worry about it.'

Then a week-and-a-half later, I was told, 'He may need to get neck surgery before he fights you.' This was like 1 1/2 weeks in. I said, 'What the hell is he doing here then? Why didn't he get checked before he did this?' I called Dana again, and again, he said, 'He signed the bout agreement, so don't worry.' And then he did exactly what I thought he was going to do. He was just trying to get on TV, get his Punishment clothing line out there, and then walk away.

You guys were on the set together for five weeks. Did he give any outward indication of being hurt? Did he seem like he was in pain?
I never saw him in pain, but I wasn't really around him enough to say. Luckily on the show I didn't have to deal too much with him. I'd see him for the fights and see him here or there, so I didn't have to see him that much.

Tito's fought only three times since the start of 2007 and now he's facing more time away after serious surgery. Do you think he should retire?
That's his decision, so whatever he wants to do. All I have to say about it is if he's going to come back to UFC, he owes me a fight. Dana shouldn't let him handpick his opponent. He should have to fight me.

So you still want to fight him? At one point you weren't too excited about another fight with him.
I got nothing to prove. I knocked him out twice, I'll knock him out again, but I just don't want him to screw me like that and do the show, get the advertising he wants and then walk away from it and then come back and still get a fight and get paid. If he's coming back, he should have to fight me. I put up with him for six weeks.

Did Dana say that would be the case if and when Tito comes back?
He hasn't said. I told him, and he said, 'I hear you.' He knows what I'm saying, but he didn't necessarily agree to it.

Obviously, the possibility of fighting Tito gave you a lot of motivation and drive. You don't have any hatred for Rich Franklin, so is there any difficulty to continue to drive yourself the way you've been doing?
For a couple days it throws you, because it's such a big change going from fighting someone I really want to hurt to someone I have a lot of respect for. I better be in shape and ready to go. You're not going to get away with stuff with this guy. It's not going to be good to show up out of shape. He's always in shape. It motivates me in a different way, but just as much if not more so just because of his abilities.

You have continued to train with [American Top Team boxing trainer] Howard Davis for a while along with your usual trainer John Hackleman. Are we going to see you bringing a different boxing style to the cage?
John brought him in for a reason. We're known for power, heavy punches. That's what we do. Howard is a stick-and-move kind of guy. Defense, don't get hit, get in, tie him up, get out. So I'm trying to add some of that to game. Work on my defense, move a little more. It's a good mix between what we do and what he does.

You previously said you feel like facing Tito is sort of a tune-up fight for you. With the long break would that have been a better situation for you than fighting someone like Rich? Because it seems like you don't view Tito as much of a challenge as Rich is.
I'm not worried about it. I'm in shape and ready to go. If Rich wants to push, I'll push him as far as he wants to go.

What about the change in style? Rich is a southpaw and well-rounded. Tito is orthodox and is very reliant on his wrestling and ground game.
I had plenty of time to adapt and prepare for Rich. It's not a factor.

Do you think Rich will try to take you down?
I don't expect it. I don't expect it to be part of his plan, but I'm planning on hitting him enough to want to take me down.

On The Ultimate Fighter at one point this season, you said if you can't beat Tito you should retire. Do you feel the same about this fight? Is it do or die for you?
This fight isn't that kind of fight. This guy is a quality opponent and a tough guy. I am planning to knock him out. But I don't have that kind of feeling towards it.

You and Rich were champs at the same time a few years ago. I talked to Rich recently, and he mentioned that the possibility of fighting you was something he thought about. Did you ever think about facing Rich?
No, I never really thought about it once he moved down to 185, but at 205 I thought it was a possibility, and now it's happening.

What about after this fight? Are there any rematches you'd like before you retire, or is there one guy that's on your hit list?
The Tito fight I'm not really worried about. I really don't care. It's just one that if he comes back, he should have to fight me. But I don't really care about facing Tito again after I've already beaten him twice. Rematches, though? I'd like to avenge all my losses if I could. But whatever is the next step moving towards a title shot, that's what I want. That's where I want to get.

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Strikeforce's Scott Coker says no bidding war for Jake Shields, tourney possible

Strikeforce's Scott Coker says no bidding war for Jake Shields, tourney possible

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker is "tossing around numbers" with the manager of his current middleweight champion, Jake Shields, but he will not get into a bidding war for the fighter's services.

"To me, there's going to be a value that we feel is fair, and that's going to be it," Coker today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I don't think it's good business to go into [the bidding] business."

If the two sides can't strike a deal on a new contract, Coker said the promotion likely will hold an eight-man tournament that could begin at a planned Aug. 21 event in Houston. The winner would be crowned the new champion.

"If it works out (with Shields), great," Coker said. "If not, Strikeforce has a bunch of great middleweights, and we'll go into the tournament business. We're still fleshing out the details, but we're leaning toward that."

Shields' manager and father, Jack Shields, today opened the door to non-exclusive negotiations – known as the "matching period" on a fight contract – after the fighter's exclusive negotiation period with Strikeforce expired earlier this week.

Jake Shields (25-4-1 MMA, 3-0 SF) fulfilled his Strikeforce obligations in April at "Strikeforce: Nashville," where he defended his middleweight belt with a win over UFC vet Dan Henderson. However, Shields technically is not a free agent until the matching period expires, and the time of that clause currently is unknown.

For now, Strikeforce has the option to match offers from other companies.

"Jake's a great fighter, and I consider him a friend," Coker said. "It's something that we're working on, but we have a lot of great middleweights on our roster, and we look forward to the future to see what happens."

Of course, fans have buzzed nonstop about Shields potentially moving to the UFC. Although Shields recently has competed at middleweight, he hasn't ruled out a return to welterweight, where the UFC has a stronghold on the world's top talent.

While Shields previously has taken Strikeforce to task for its minimal promotional push behind him, the fighter repeatedly has said he isn't necessarily unhappy within its ranks. He has, however, stated that he wants to test the waters of free agency and fight the sport's best.

All too happy to aid him in that quest is UFC president Dana White, whose ill will toward the San Jose, Calif.-based Strikeforce has been displayed by his recent claim to Shields.

"I don't think it's rocket science," White said this past weekend after UFC 114. "Everybody knows he doesn't want to be there anymore. They suck, we don't, and he's coming here."

Showtime executive Ken Hershman – whom White refuses publicly to acknowledge – has a lot of respect for Shields. He's seen a lot of the fighter over the years – first with EliteXC and then with Strikeforce – as he's risen from a top mixed-martial-artist prospect to a champion.

But if Strikeforce can't come to terms with Shields, Hershman is OK with a change.

"If things don't work out, we wish Jake and his team the best," Hershman, the executive vice president and general manager of Showtime Sports, told MMAjunkie.com on Thursday.

The Showtime executive agrees with Coker that a potential new deal has to make good business sense if Shields is to continue with Strikeforce. While he clearly would like the champion to fight on Showtime, he believes the promotion can survive if Shields moves on.

"I think Jake is a great champion and great proponent of mixed martial arts, and if he and Strikeforce can come to terms that make sense for everybody, then I'd be happy to see him back fighting on Showtime," Hershman said. "But there is no single fighter that makes or breaks any division in Strikeforce."

Coker said he is targeting Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (7-0 MMA, 2-0 SF) for the Aug. 21 event in Houston, and he's targeted Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (12-2 MMA, 2-0 SF) for the possible middleweight tournament. No venue is set for the event, which was first reported by MMAFighting.com.

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UFC exec Lorenzo Fertitta on potential fighters' union: "That's up to them"

To unionize or not. Lorenzo Fertitta says it's up to fighters.

This past Saturday at UFC Fan Expo 2010, the UFC executive said collective third-party representation – an issue that's long shadowed the sport's explosive rise to popularity – is not under his company's domain.

"We have no role," Fertitta said. "So we're not in a position to say we support it, or we're against it. That's entirely up to [the fighters]."

Fertitta and his brother, Frank Fertitta III, purchased the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2001 for $2 million and hired Dana White as the company's president. The privately held company is believed to be valued at more than $1 billion dollars today.

Unlike many popular team sports such as football, basketball and baseball, whose athletes are represented by a players' union, there is currently no widely accepted union that represents MMA fighters around the world.

While bigger fight promotions such as the UFC carry comprehensive insurance to medically cover its competitors during events, longterm issues on compensation and healthcare typically fall on the fighter and his/her management.

The UFC has clashed with fighters and managers on issues that are often tackled by unions in so-called "mainstream" sports.

MMA veteran Matt Lindland recently made headlines when he said he doubted fighters ever would unionize and placed blame on poor representation.

"Unless you can get the top athletes, you're not going to [unionize]," Lindland told Eddie Goldman. "The fighters [are] all whores; they just fight for the biggest purse, and it's going to be tough unless you could somehow get all the fighters to agree to something like that. There's always somebody going to come up underneath who's not willing to do it.

"There's enough support (for a union), but these guys outside of the cage or outside of the ropes are cowards. You know they would not dare stand up to the powers-that-be."

Lorenzo Fertitta suggested the idea of a union is not practical for the sport of MMA.

"One of the things that's a little bit different is that fighting in general – I know a lot of people have talked about the same issue (with) boxing – fighting seems to be such a individual sport," he said. "And guys have different needs and different motivations, and what's good for a guy like Chuck Liddell is maybe not good for a kid like Paul Kelly coming up.

"They have different needs and are (at) different times in their careers, so I'm not sure if it works or not."

Fertitta said his promotion will continue to do as much as possible for its contracted fighters.

"We do the best we can to tend to them," Fertitta said. "Anybody who gets injured in the UFC, we cover that 100 percent-plus. We carry more insurance than any promoter in the history of the world (and) take care of more things – actually take care of everything for a guy who gets hurt in a fight.

"So we try to tend to their needs as best we can."

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mma.ly for all your MMA news, best source for MMA info.

mma.ly for all your MMA news, best source for MMA info.

Hey guys, just spreading the word about a very cool new site that links all the best MMA news out there. If you want to know what's going on in the world of MMA, check out MMA.ly . Find a story and share it here and give us your thoughts on it. This site replace about 5 or 6 other sites I used to visit to see what was going on, now I do it all here. Not sure how I made it so long without a site like this but I'm glad to have it now. Give it a shot and let us know what you think. Over 50 different websites all in front of you.

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Wanderlei Silva stands up for fans at UFC Expo 2010

Wanderlei Silva stands up for fans at UFC Expo 2010

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Where is the UFC spending their money, should a larger chunk go towards the fighters?

Where is the UFC spending their money, should a larger chunk go towards the fighters?

Ben Fowlkes has an important piece talking about Leonard Garcia and how he spent his first big MMA paycheck, a $35,000 Fight of the Night bonus for his 2007 war with Roger Huerta:

"I just blew through that money real fast," Garcia said. "Coming from being in the smaller shows and then getting all that money all at once, it seemed like it was never going to run out. I just rode it into the dirt."
He did do some good things with the money before it was all gone, like helping his mother pay off her car. He also traded in his own ride and got a Corvette - a car that's now, three years later, finally close to being paid off.
Then there were the days where he walked out of the mall loaded down with shopping bags, convinced that this lavish lifestyle would last forever.
"I had a different pair of sunglasses for every day of the week there for a little while," said Garcia. "I just thought the money was never going to run out because I had gotten it all in one big chunk. I learned real fast that it does run out and you need to learn how to manage it. I learned a lot from that one bonus."

Garcia has learned from his early mistakes:

"I try and look at when my next fight is going to be and then add three months to it, just in case something happens," he said. "Right now, my next fight is supposed to be in September, so I have to plan to pay all my bills up until November or December."
When he pocketed an extra $65,000 bonus for his "Fight of the Night" performance against Chan Sung Jung at the WEC's first pay-per-view event in April, Garcia made sure not to make the same mistakes that depleted his first Zuffa bonus check.
No fancy cars or shopping sprees this time. Instead he opened a three-year CD, renovated the bathrooms in his house, and began looking into an IRA.

The real importance of this story is that all MMA fighters, even the ones like Garcia who fight for the top promotions, live a feast or famine existence.
Managing large amounts of money is a very difficult hurdle for many fighters, one few are lucky enough to have to try and clear.
If you enjoy watching great athletes compete at MMA, it's in your own best interest as a fan for that career to be as financially rewarding as possible. Right now MMA fighters are dramatically under-compensated as a % of the overall revenue of big events like UFC 114.
As our own Micheal Rome wrote when analyzing the numbers from UFC 104:

I've done a lot of research into sports overhead, my guess is the UFC is probably spending between $3 and $4 million in overhead costs for the average event not including salaries.
They spend $500,000 on the countdown show, a six figure fee for the arena, between 500 and a million to broadcast in-house, then you have a very high cost of hotels and flights for all their staff and all the fighters, and finally all the money they spend on ad spots.
This is ignoring all the salaries they pay to staff and such, going to assume those as year-end expenses and not event-specific expenses.
My overall guess ahead of time here is they bring in about 12-13 million and spend 5 including salaries and bonuses. It's a very healthy margin.

In that same post he estimated the UFC keeps 90% of the revenue and the fighters get 10%:
That's roughly half of the entertainment and mainstream sports rule of thumb of 20% of revenue to "talent".
Zuffa may, or may not, be investing that money wisely in efforts to build the sport world wide and get it regulated in the big markets like New York and Ontario, but ultimately that does fighters at the end of their careers, like Jens Pulver no good.
Fans need to realize that what is best for the fighters is what's best for the sport and the fans. Not what's best for Dana White's bottom line.

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Rich Franklin will no longer have to wonder if he can beat Chuck Liddell

Rich Franklin will no longer have to wonder if he can beat Chuck Liddell

"I always thought about [fighting Liddell]. I wondered what it would be like to fight this person or that person, but I never thought the fight would materialize because I was a 185-pounder, he was a 205-pounder. Both weight classes at the time when we were champions had enough contenders in them that you didn't have to worry about who you were going to fight next to defend your title. Neither one of us needed to ... Chuck's already a UFC Hall of Famer and UFC legend. He's got a who's who of victories. Of course recently he's had a little bit of a rougher road, but it's Chuck Liddell."

The former middleweight champion returns from a self-imposed sabbatical to take on another former division kingpin when he throws hands with Chuck Liddell at UFC 115 on June 12 in Vancouver. Like Franklin, "The Iceman" may not be the fighter he once was, but that doesn't mean these two veterans can't put forth an exciting battle from the GM Place. Anyone expecting a gritty, three round war? Or a flash KO to open the first frame?

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Fedor Emelianenko Running for Office in Russia, Could Retire After SF Contract

Fedor Emelianenko Running for Office in Russia, Could Retire After SF Contract

The regional political council of the party "United Russia" approved the list of candidates for internal party elections - the primaries. In the list of 58 candidates. No less than 10 000 United Russia vote will determine the best, and who will receive the first place in the party list in the upcoming October elections in the Belgorod Regional Duma.
The list of early voting have 24 newcomers who have never participated in elections to the legislature. One of the achievements was the inclusion in the list not only members of United Russia, but also simply to party supporters and even non-party candidates. This is for example the managing director Combine KMA Ruda Vladimir Tom and CEO JBK-1 Yuri Selivanov. They are not only members of the party, but also by working in obldume fourth convocation, not included in the United Russia Duma faction.
Among the most notable candidates, in addition to the deputies (Anatolia Zelikow, Victor Filatov, Vadim Cage, Valeria Skruga, Ivan Kulabuhova, Vladimir Kulikovsky) - a famous athlete Fedor Emelianenko, the new director of Belarusian State Technological University Sergey Glagolev (by the way, non-partisan), director of the Institute of Public and municipal government BSU Alexander Mamatov.

Fedor will be running for a congress seat in Russia for the pro-Kremlin party 'United Russia'. The party is dominant in the country and holds around 80% of the seats in the senate and Fedor will be representing his region. That's a fact... Now the accompanied rumor is that after Fedor fulfills the last two fights in his Strikeforce contract, he will retire from MMA.

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Jamie Yager and Former TUF 11 Coach Tito Ortiz Embroiled in an Internet Fight

Jamie Yager and Former TUF 11 Coach Tito Ortiz Embroiled in an Internet Fight

(Who'd you rather...punch?)
Apparently Jamie Yager doesn't much like being called a quitter.

After watching last night's episode of The Ultimate Fighter 11, in which his coach Tito Ortiz called him a quitter for failing to answer the bell in the third round in his quarterfinal match-up with Josh Bryant, The Chosyn 1 jumped on Twitter to voice his displeasure with The Huntington Beach Badboy's two-facedness.
Here's the breakdown of the back and forth between the two Huntington Beach natives, courtesy of 5thRound.com:

@titoortiz fuck you pussy I didt know you called me that,look in the the mirror you coward you can’t even face Chuck bitch, he will ko again
@titoortiz you talk your shit behind peoples back you two face coward wannabe brown pride
@titoortiz likes to hit women cause he can’t fight Chuck
I just seen that faggot to
He likes talking shit about his balls when he gets mad , WHAT BALLSFAGBOY
ILL MEET UP WITH YOU FUCKER
not one time did I hear him complain about his neck not once
then Fagboy wants us to sponcer his shit fuck him bitch boy, hiting a women i wasent going to get into this but it’s on now
pussy even wanted us to wear hiks lame ass shorts what a lil bitch
I knew I smelled something when I met that fool PUSSY @titoortiz
(UPDATED 9:23 AM PT)
Ortiz Tweets back: “@The_Chosyn_One its funny how u can talk shit on here! But u can do a signing at my booth for ufc expo. bridge burnt!”
(UPDATED 9:43 AM PT)
@JamieYager claims that his Twitter (“The_Chosyn_One”) got Paul Pierce’ed, “not sure who got my name and talking shit on here but it aint me”

Ironically, in an interview with 5thRound.com on Tuesday, Yager mentioned that he maintains a relationship with his former coach and said that he hoped the persona he witnessed while filming was genuine.

“I hope it was the real Tito [that was on the show]. He looked like he genuinely cared about us. I respect him. I signed [at the Punishment Athletics booth] with him at the UFC Fan Expo [over the weekend]."
“He brought me along a little bit, I talk to him. He picks up my calls and we talk a little bit here and there. It’s not an everyday thing like we’re best friends, but we talk.”
Apparently, it was the real Tito we saw on the show, but Yager didn't get to see Ortiz's true colors until he watched last night's episode.

*UPDATE: The online fight has been postponed indefinitely until Tito is booked for a manicure to repair a broken nail sustained while tweeting.

**UPDATE: Yager posted on his Twitter page this morning that he is unsure who posted the tweets about Ortiz. Either he's doing damage control or his account got hacked.

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Minotauro Nogueira 'anxious' to get back into the heavyweight mix

Minotauro Nogueira 'anxious' to get back into the heavyweight mix

"I hope [my next fight's] soon.There’s nothing scheduled, we had Rogério’s fight this weekend, a hard fight, he did a good fight, worked on his Wrestling on the second round, won the first one, in my opinion, sure won the third and he made his game… It was a great fight! The focus was only on Rogério and now we’re starting to focus on my training, I’ll do a new camp for this next fight. Today we trained ground game, we’ve been training with kimonos, here in San Diego, two or three times a week. We started the training with the kimono and we end it without, we’re trying to improve my Jiu-Jitsu. There’s nothing scheduled yet, but I’m hoping to fight soon, I’m anxious and I have good expectations for this next battle."

Mixed martial arts legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira begins preparations for his next fight in the UFC heavyweight division. "Minotauro" tells Tatame.com that he's anxious to get back inside the Octagon, perhaps to erase the memory of his crushing defeat at the hands of rising star Cain Velasquez at UFC 110 back in February. The former PRIDE champion has nearly 40 fights over his eleven year career and boasts a resume littered with the sport's top names. Is the Brazilian capable of one last run? Or have years of abuse finally caught up to him? And which fight makes sense for him at this stage in his career? Let's hear your take Maniacs.

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Jamie Yager and the Dangers of Social Media

Jamie Yager and the Dangers of Social Media

I'm very excited to announce that Jonathan Snowden, author of Total MMA, the best history of MMA I've read, is joining Bloody Elbow as our new features writer. Please welcome him aboard. Kid Nate.



Last weekend at the UFC's amazing Fan Expo, Zuffa owner Lorenzo Fertitta was like a proud poppa to hundreds of tattooed and muscle bound young men. Fertitta said the difference between the UFC and other major league sports organizations was the unprecedented access to fighters and executives. Not just at events like the Expo, but on Twitter and Facebook as well. Well, sometimes that public accessibility can backfire-and badly.

We all remember the tragic story of War Machine, let go from the UFC because of his uncontrollable tweets. Since then, we've seen explosions of the inappropriate from Chuck Liddell, Marcus Davis, and (of course) Dana White himself. This week, Jeremy Stephens and Jamie Yager got in on the action.
Stephens was the most egregious, using slurs for both homosexuals and blacks in an ill-advised attempt to challenge boxing star Floyd Mayweather Jr. But, Yager, the TUF fighter who quit on his stool last night, is the more interesting tale. Intrigue aplenty after the break....
BE coverage of The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale

After Yager's loss to the unheralded Josh Bryant, coach Tito Ortiz let fly, calling him a coward on national television. Since this is the 2010's Yager replied, not face-to-face or even on the phone, but via 140 characters. I guess that's why he needed 11 different messages to get his point across. Then, the bombshell. A newer, less populated twitter account proclaimed that the @The_Chosyn_One account was a phony. It wasn't Yager who called Ortiz a pussy and a faggot. It was an anonymous internet buffoon.
Mystery solved? Not so fast. Screenshots emerged. Both Yager's Facebook and his management team's twitter account both linked ot the "fake" address.
I contacted Yager's management company, Iridium MMA for comment to get to the bottom of this growing mystery. Ian Ho Whitaker helped shed some light.

We're not sure who @The_Chosyn_One is. As with so many guys who get on TUF, they get a surge of recognition and it sometimes spins out of control. People (fans and/or haters) sometimes set up fake accounts, fighters may have friends handle their accounts and with social media exploding the last several years, it's very hard to control. When this happens, confusion is inevitable and unfortunately, sometimes that confusion has detrimental results. Jamie's #1 focus is training and perhaps for that reason, Jamie was more susceptible to this kind misunderstanding. We're stilltrying to cut through the confusion ourselves, but @The_Chosyn_One is NOT Jamie Yager.

Iridium MMA claims that not only was Yager's Twitter account a fake, so was his Facebook page. MMA Gospel's "The Reverend of MMA" Turk Vangel is not sure he's buying it. He says he interacted with Yager via Facebook, even refrencing conversations the two had in person.
"If they are trying to cover up the remarks, it is simple PR damage control 101," Vangel said. "He said some things about Tito and used deragatory comments towards the homosexual crowd. This is something his management would want to bury very fast so as to not make him look like he is homophobic."

As the plot thickens, the Iridium_Sports twitter account that linked to the allegedly phony Yager account disappeared into the ether. Yager himself will answer questions about the situation from MMA Weekly's Damon Martin tonight on MMA Weekly radio. Whether Yager really made the racist and homophobic comments on Twitter is unclear. What is clear is crystal? Athletes better own their own cyberspace-or someone else will own it for you. And the results may not be appealing.

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