UFC 86 Preview

Here is a quick preview to UFC 86, which takes place on July 5th. I won't be watching live, as I will be in the wilderness. I'll get a review up once I see all the fights.

Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin (LHW Championship)- Rampage has respect for Forrest's ground game, so expect this one to stay standing. Jackson has been training at a high level, as is Forrest. Both will look to keep this an entertaining fight. Forrest is always in top shape, so don't expect him to gas.

Jackson has six straight victories, including 3 straight in the UFC. Forrest has two straight victories in the UFC since his loss to Keith Jardine. Forrest is coming off a huge victory over Shogun Rua. Jackson is coming off huge wins over Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell and Marvin Eastman. Both have been on the shelf for quite awhile because of The Ultimate Fighter reality show.
*MMA Blaster pick - Jackson via KO, R3 - WRONG

*From Jackson v. Liddell 1

Ricardo Almeida vs. Patrick Cote- This is a grappler (Almeida) v. striker (Cote) match-up. The fight will likely come down to whether or not Almeida can get Cote to the ground. Almeida debuted in the UFC at UFC 31 against Matt Lindland. He had 6 straight wins before he decided to take a four year break. His only fight since his comeback was a Guillotine Choke victory over Rob Yundt at UFC 81. Cote has 4 straight victories since his loss to Travis Lutter in the TUF 4 finale. 3 have been in the Octagon, with his latest a TKO over Drew McFedries.
*MMA Blaster pick - Almeida via armbar, R2- WRONG

Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau- Stevenson's last fight was a submission loss to BJ Penn in January for the LW title. Tibau is coming off a decision loss to Tyson Griffin.
*MMA Blaster pick - Stevenson via rear naked choke, R3- CORRECT

Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle- Koscheck is coming off an impressive victory over Dustin Hazelett. He will look to keep the fight on the ground and away from Lytle's boxing skills. Lytle is coming off a victory over Kyle Bradley at UFC 81. If Koscheck wins it sets him up nicely for a potential title shot or number one contender match.
*MMA Blaster pick - Koscheck via decision - CORRECT

Marcus Aurelio vs. Tyson Griffin- Tyson currently has 3 straight decision victories in the UFC. Aurelio has two straight victories since a split decision loss to Clay Guida. Both are excellent grapplers, this bout has the potential to be very exciting or slow.
*MMA Blaster pick - Griffin via decision - CORRECT

Undercard
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Justin McCully - MMA Blaster pick - Gonzaga via submission, R3 - CORRECT
Jorge Gurgel vs. Cole Miller - MMA Blaster pick - Miller via decision - CORRECT
Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver - MMA Blaster pick - Guillard via KO, R2 - CORRECT
Justin Bucholz vs. Corey Hill - MMA Blaster pick - Hill via TKO, R3 - WRONG
*MMA Blaster Picks- 6-3

Strikeforce Results

In what looked to be a somewhat packed house, Strikeforce put together a pretty good show. It was shown live on HDNet, and will probably be replayed a few more times.

Alexandre Trivino def. Eric Jacob via Sub (Armbar) R1 0:37
Jorge Interiano def. Travis Johnson via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) R2 3:00
Cyrillo Padilha def. Jesse Jones via Dec (Unanimous)
Brian Caraway def. Alvin Cacdac via Sub (Rear-Naked Choke) R1 1:39
Bobby Stack def. Jose Palacios via Dec (Unanimous)
Chris Cariaso def. Anthony Figueroa via Sub (Rear-Naked Choke) R2 4:34
Eric Lawson def. Jesse Gillespie via Sub (Rear-Naked Choke) R1 1:03

Jeremiah Metcalf def. Raymond Daniels via Sub (Rear-Naked Choke) R2 0:59- Metcalf didn't let the WCL star Daniels display any of his black belt karate skills. Metcalf was able to use a body lock to takedown Daniels and punch him. In the second, he got the rear naked choke after getting in full mount.

Miesha Tate def. Elaina Maxwell via Dec (Unanimous)- I had Tate winning 2 rounds to 3. Decent fight.

Bobby Southworth def. Anthony Ruiz via Dec (Unanimous)- Bobby Southworth was able to defend the light heavyweight fight Anthony Ruiz. The fight was pretty slow as Southworth grounded out the unanimous decision.

Billy Evangelista def. Nam Phan via Dec (Split)- I actually gave this one to Nam Phan who scored more combinations and power punches. Evangelista won the first with takedowns and punches on the ground. I had Nam Phan winning the second and third due to the damage he was able to dish out. He had Evangelista stunned and almost KO'd at times. Either way, it was a close fight that had quite a bit of action.

Josh Thomson def. Gilbert Melendez via Dec (Unanimous)- The title bout of Melendez v. Thomson was surprisingly one sided. Thomson did all the damage and dominated the five round fight. Melendez looked somewhat sluggish, as he absorbed kick after kick. While he was able to land some punches in combination, it wasn't enough as Thomson took the unanimous decision and the Strikeforce Lightweight Belt.

TUF Road For Amir

Here is a look at how Amir Sadollah's run on The Ultimate Fighter stacks up to some of the previous season's champs. Amir had to win more times than anyone else, 5, as for the first time there were 32 competitors in the tournament. Amir's first opponent, Steve Byrnes had fought in the UFC. Gerald Harris had two fights in the IFL, and Matt Brown had ample experience.

Season 1
LHW- Forrest Griffin- Alex Schoenauer, Sam Hoger, Stephen Bonnar
MW- Diego Sanchez- Alex Karalexis, Josh Rafferty, Josh Koscheck, Kenny Florian

Season 2
HW- Rashad Evans- Tom Murphy, Mike Whitehead, Keith Jardine, Brad Imes
WW- Joe Stevenson- Marcus Davis, Jason Von Flue, Luke Cummo

Season 3
MW- Kendall Grove- Ross Pointon, Kalib Starnes, Ed Herman
LHW- Michael Bisping- Kristian Rothaermel, Ross Pointon, Josh Haynes

Season 4 - The Comeback
WW- Matt Serra- Pete Spratt, Shonie Carter, Chris Lytle
MW- Travis Lutter- Scott Smith, Pete Sell, Patrick Cote

Season 5
LW- Nate Diaz- Robert Emerson, Corey Hill, Gray Maynard, Manvel Gamburyan

Season 6
WW- Mac Danzig- Joe Scarola, John Kolosci, John Kolosci, Tom Speer

Season 7
MW- Amir Sadollah- Steve Byrnes, Gerald Harris, Matt Brown, C.B. Dollaway, C.B. Dollaway

TUF 7 Finale Results

The TUF 7 Finale wrapped up Saturday night, and it was overall a decent fight card. There was a ton of filler as usual.

*Amir's attempted jump kick versus Matt Brown in his third fight

Rob Kimmons def. Rob Yundt, Submission (Guillotine choke) R1 3:58
Dean Lister def. Jeremy Horn, Submission (Guillotine choke) R1 3:52
Matt Brown def. Matt Arroyo, TKO (strikes) R2 3:40 - This is the second victory that TUF 7's Matt Brown has posted over Arroyo.

Dustin Hazelett def. Josh Burkman, Submission (Armbar) R2 4:46- This fight wasn't shown on the broadcast, but won fight of the night and submission of the night honors.

Andrew McFedries def. Marvin Eastman, TKO (Punches) R1 1:08- This fight was shown after the main event. It was quick as McFedries scored an uppercut to stun Eastman before a barrage of punches to force a stoppage. McFedries won KO of the night for this knockout.

Matt Riddle def. Dante Rivera, Decision (Unanimous) R3 5:00- Riddle looked in shape and sharp as he beat up Rivera for three rounds.

Spencer Fisher def. Jeremy Stephens, Decision (Unanimous)- This fight was a war, but Fisher edged out the decision with takedowns and elbow strikes. Fisher was throwing the elbows across his body. They proved pretty effective.

Diego Sanchez def. Luigi Fioravanti, TKO (Strikes) R3 4:07- Diego came out throwing heavy leather with Luigi. Luigi stayed tough despite being knocked down by punches. In the third, Diego kept up the heat with a left high kick, knee to the face and some punches to force the stoppage.

Amir Sadollah def. CB Dollaway, Submission (Armbar) R1 3:02 - Amir Sadollah proved his win over CB in the regular season was legit as Amir showed heart yet again. After being taken down by CB, Amir weathered a storm of punches before securing an arm. When Amir tourqed the arm, CB tapped once, and that was enough for Herb Dean to call it. Amir had a never say die attitude the entire season. He scored most of his wins in come from behind fashion, never giving up.
*Come on UFC, only a plaque and a contract? What happened to a wristwatch or a Scion? Show Amir some love.

Kendall Grove def. Evan Tanner, Decision (split)- Kendall was able to control the fight for the duration with his stand up game. Tanner's offense was limited to the clinch and takedown. Grove seemed to land knee's, punches and nearly secured the victory. I had it a unanimous decision for Grove, I don't know how anyone could give it to Tanner.
*Kendall has to use his reach and lanky frame to his advantage in his fights. He gets in trouble when fighters get in close.

TUF Drama

The regular season TUF wrapped up on Wednesday night, and there was some drama. We first see the fight between CB Dollaway and Amir Sadollah for a spot in the finals against Jesse Taylor. Taylor had won against Tim Credeur for his spot in the finals.

CB was far ahead in the first two rounds, as he landed every leg kick he threw and got some takedowns. While taken down, CB was able to rain down some elbows which split Amir's face open just below the eye. CB looked to start to gas near the end of the second. In the third, Amir gave up his back, and CB attempted to lock in the hooks and just barely missed sinking the choke in. Amir scrambled and after eating another punch or so locked in an armbar. After a quick tap, Amir sealed the come from behind victory.

With Amir securing his spot in the finals, it stood as Jesse v. Amir. However, after spending a night on the town with Dana White, four fighters decided to rent a limo and stay an extra night. We then see the footage of someone "donkey" kicking the windows out. Pretty crazy. Out walks Jesse Taylor, who according to Dana White, not only kicked the windows out, but "terrorized" women in the casino. On top of that, Jesse disrespected the security and used the ever famous line, "don't you know who I am? I'm a UFC fighter!" Not a good move by JT Money.


Well, Dana decided to kick Jesse Taylor off the show and replace him. Jesse was told to clean up his life and call Dana in a few months. Meanwhile, Dana called Tim and CB into his office and let them know the situation. A couple minutes later and it was Tim v. CB for a spot in the finals. CB probably nudged out the first round because of a takedown after three or four minutes ot CB and Tim trading shots on their feet. CB used that same formula for the entire fight to pull out the win.

THIS SATURDAY NIGHT IS THE FINALS!!

Amir Sadollah v. C.B. Dollaway - For the TUF 7 Championship
Kendall Grove vs. Evan Tanner
Luigi Fioravanti vs. Diego Sanchez
Spencer Fisher vs. Jeremy Stephens
Matthew Riddle (TUF 7) vs. Dante Rivera (TUF 7)
Josh Burkman vs. Dustin Hazelett
Marvin Eastman vs. Drew McFedries
Matt Arroyo vs. Matt Brown (TUF 7)
Jeremy Horn vs. Dean Lister
Tim Credeur (TUF 7) vs. Cale Yarbrough (TUF 7)
Rob Kimmons vs. Rob Yundt

TUF fighter Matt Brown's Debut

Matt takes beat Matt Arroyo at the TUF 7 Finale Saturday night.

Strikeforce Melendez v. Thomson

Tonight, HDNet will be airing Strikeforce: Meledez v. Thomson live. Melendez at (14-1) has been consistently ranked in the top ten at 155 for some time. He has big wins over Rumina Sato, Kawajiri, and Olaf Alonso. Thomson (14-2) is another star in the 155 division, with six straight victories. His big wins have come over Hermes Franca, Duane Ludwig and Nam Phan.

It will be interesting to see how Raymond Daniels fares. He was 18-0 in Chuck Norris' WCL. The WCL featured full contact kickboxing rules.


Bobby Stack vs. Jose Palacios
Eric Jacob vs. Alexander Trivino
Jorge Interiano vs. Travis Johnson
Cyrillo Padhillo vs. Jesse Jones
Bryan Caraway vs. Alvin Cacdac
Jesse Gillespie vs. Eric Lawson
Billy Evangelista vs. Nam Phan
Chris Cariaso vs. Anthony Figueroa
Jeremiah Metcalf vs. Raymond Daniels
Champ Bobby Southworth vs. Anthony Ruiz- world light heavyweight title fight
Miesha Tate vs. Elaina Maxwell
Champ Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thomson - world lightweight title fight

*Drew Fickett vs. Luke Stewart- This bout has been called. Shonie Carter originally had to pull out of the fight due to a hand injury. Then Joe Riggs stepped in and was denied a license by California, then Fickett tried to step in and was denied by MFC, a fight org that he signed to fight for in the next month.

Mark Kerr Video

Here is an old school video of Mark Kerr teaching takedown techniques. It looks to be done when Kerr was in his prime.

TUF Jesse Taylor Edition

This episode featured mainly on fighter Jesse Taylor. Taylor is a 6 foot tall mound of muscle that can eat and drink whatever he wants while still being a monster. He has a tremendous amount of energy, and after a drunken episode bounces around the house like a crazy person.

Of all people, his opponent Tim Credeur is the one to tell Jesse to settle down as he is in the semi's. They decide a soak in the hot tub to help Jesse sober up. Moments later, Jesse has on a swimsuit and proceeds to pee himself in the house before going outside. While in the hot-tub, Jesse tries to hold his breath to sober up, but ends up having to be dragged out of the hot-tub as they think he might be drowning himself.

The actual fight between Tim and Jesse was one where Jesse was able to take down Tim and throw down elbows and punches. Tim was so close to a submission victory with numerous arm-bar and triangle attempts, but just missed it every time. In the second, he used butterfly guard and actually came close to having Jesse's back, but it just didn't work. Tim fell one submission to short, and Jesse won the unanimous decision.

After the show is where the controversy starts. There is a video shown that seemingly shows someone kicking out a limo window before being arrested. It was pretty crazy to say the least. Dana ends by saying that, "he can't be in the Finale." Whether it is Jesse, or the winner of CB v. Amir is not known. It really could be any fighter who is still left on the cast.

UFC 85

Paul Taylor def. Jess Liaudin via split decision
Antoni Hardonk def. Eddie Sanchez via TKO- R2, 4:15

Martin Kampmann def. Jorge Rivera via submission (guillotine choke)- R1, 2:44- Very good to to see Danish fighter Kampmann do well in his comeback. He has been sidelined for over 15 months with various injuries after injuring his knee. Kampmann now has 4 straight victories in the UFC.

Matt Wiman def. Thiago Tavares via KO (punch)- R2, 1:57- Both fighters got the fight of the night bonus' for their efforts. It was a back and forth battle with both fighters getting punched, going for submissions, and defending. In the end, Wiman was able to rock Tavares for the KO. Quietly, Wiman now has four straight victories.

Kevin Burns def. Roan Carneiro via submission (triangle choke)- R2, 2:53- This fight won submission of the night. Burns was able to submit Carneiro, who is a black belt in BJJ. Burns has fought mainly in Des Moines, Iowa.

Luiz Cane def. Jason Lambert via TKO (strikes)- R1, 2:07- Cane landed the crisper shots while Lambert was looking for a takedown. After Lambert was dazed, it was all over as Cane capitalized and forced a ref stoppage.

Fabricio Werdum def. Brandon Vera TKO (Punches)- R1, 4:40- This was a controversial fight in that Vera was able to stun Werdum with strikes in the beginning of the round. After a takedown and scramble, Vera ended up covered up and eventually mounted. Werdum threw quite a few strikes, seldom of which landed, most of which were blocked. Unfortunately, the ref stopped the fight. Vera was very angry at the stoppage. While I agree it was an early stoppage, Vera should have done something to improve his position. With the win, Werdum has moved higher up the heavyweight ladder.

Thales Leites def. Nathan Marquardt Decision (Split)- Marquardt basically lost the fight on an illegal knee and strike to the back of the head point deductions. Back in the day, Marquardt would have probably won the fight. Regardless, not a convincing victory.

Mike Swick def. Marcus Davis Decision (Unanimous)- Swick basically took down Davis and used position to win the fight.

Michael Bisping def. Jason Day TKO (Punches)- R1, 3:42- Bisping came out and dominated Day from start to finish. After a trip takedown, Bisping rained down punishment until the action was called.

Thiago Alves def. Matt Hughes TKO (Knee and punches)- R2, 1:02- The first round was close, but Hughes was rejected in his takedown attempts and then Alves landed some clean shots before the bell. In the second, Alves landed a knee clean to the body and followed it up with shots to the face to finish off Hughes.
*After two losses in a row the only logical fight for Hughes would be Matt Serra.
*Alves has moved up the ladder in the 170 pound class, the win is blemished by him being overweight. I wouldn't be surprised in a fight with Josh Koscheck or Diego Sanchez.

TUF Final 4

The final four in the The Ultimate Fighter have now been determined. The show has been condensed this year, with most episodes showing two fights. In this episode we saw Dan Cramer v. Tim Credeur and CB Dollaway v. Cale Yarborough.

First up was Cramer v. Credeur, and Cramer was ready to fight. Cramer landed virtually all his punches standing, and got one takedown too many. Next thing he knew, Credeur had one of the first heel hook submission wins in TUF tournament history. Credeur was not happy with being beat up for a minute and a half before the submission.

CB took the fight to Cale Yarborough, landing everything he needed to get the fight to the ground. Once there, Cale "turtled" up and took punishment until the fight was called. CB has looked incredibly dominant in the tournament so far, and Rampage is proud of his boy. Meanwhile, Forrest is unhappy about CB being an arrogant guy who backs it up.

FINAL FOUR

Jesse Taylor v. Tim Credeur
CB Dollaway v. Amir Saddaloah


*Pic of Jesse Taylor from photobucket

Thank You!!

Thanks to all the readers of MMA Blaster. We now have over 200 posts and 10,000 visits! If you are new to the site, check the right hand side of the page for archived stories and video's about your favorite fighters. Thanks for your comments!


Thanks to the top 20 cities who read MMA Blaster: Chicago, IL, Des Moines and West Des Moines, IA, Brooklyn, NY, New York, NY, London, UK, Urbandale, IA, East York, Canada, Roselle, IL, Houston, TX, Honolulu, HI, San Francisco, CA, Marietta, GA, Minneapolis, MN, Peterborough, UK, Weston, Canada, Denver, CO, Las Vegas, NV, Monterey Park, US, Vancouver, Canada, and Sydney, Australia.

Flying Submissions

They rarely work, but they look cool.

TUF Vet Blake Bowman's Debut

Here is video from TUF veteran Blake Bowman's professional debut. In the show, Blake lost to Richie Hightower and tore a ligament in his knee. At that time he only had amateur fights under his belt. This is from Legends of Fighting which took place on May 16th.

WEC 34 Results

WEC 34 did not disappoint as it was clearly a better event than Elite XC on CBS. The title fights of Faber v. Pulver and Torres v. Maeda lived up to expectations and were exciting fights.

Urijah Faber def. Jens Pulver via unanimous decision- Faber and Pulver boxed and threw vicious combinations throughout the fast paced fight. For a five round decision, it really didn't get slow. Pulver absorbed most of the damage eating punches standing and eventually on the ground. Both Faber and Pulver had gas in their tanks for the duration of the bout, and left it all on the line. Faber took the decision (50-44 twice and 50-45).
*MMA Blaster pollsters were correct 11-4


Miguel Torres def. Yoshiro Maeda via TKO, R3, 5:00- Torres and Maeda put on quite a show for the crowd as well. Both stood and traded punches and kicks. Torres was split open on one of the first punches thrown by Maeda in the first round. The mullet wearing Torres didn't let the blood get him down. When Torres was taken down, he immediately looked for submissions and battered Maeda, who did nothing from top position. An interesting sequence that hasn't been talked about was the toe hold Maeda got. Immediately, Torres started striking Maeda from his opposite leg, and then got his own toe-hold on Maeda. A double toe-hold so to speak. At the end of the third, Maeda had taken too much punishment to his left eye, which was swollen shut and Herb Dean stopped the fight. A good stoppage at the end of the round, and Torres defends the belt.

Mark Munoz def. Chuck Grigsby via TKO (strikes)- R1, 4:15- Grigsby came out throwing his jab attempting to use his significant reach advantage. After Grigsby connected on an uppercut, Munoz decided to get the fight to the ground. After stuffing one takedown, Munoz kept at it, eventually getting the fight to the floor. With Grigsby on his back, Munoz was able to throw a leg and land a punches forcing a referee stoppage win for Munoz.

Rob McCullough def. Kenneth Alexander via split decision- This fight was basically three rounds of circling and attempted takedowns. Not much damage was done by either fighter and could have been called a draw.

Donald Cerrone def. Danny Castillo via submission (armbar)- R1, 0:30- Despite his Muay Thai background, Cerrone has really started to use his submission game to perfection. He was successful again, sinking in a nasty armbar from a triangle to seal the win. It was unclear whether Castillo had tapped at first, and it was later revealed that the submission was verbal.

Mike Thomas Brown def Jeff Curran via unanimous dec
Will Ribeiro def Chase Beebe via split dec
Tim McKenzie def Jeremy Lang via sub (Triangle Choke) R3, 0:40
Alex Serdyukov def Luis Sapo via TKO (No Answer) R1, 5:00
Jose Aldo def Alexandre Franca Nogueira via TKO (strikes) R2, 3:22
Dominic Cruz def Charlie Valencia via unanimous dec

Dreams, Goals, Dedication - Charles "the Reverend" Grigsby

In Depth Exclusive on Mixed Martial Artist Charles "the Reverend" Grigsby, by Joe Egloff

Charles "the Reverend" Grigsby of Team Revolution is an up and coming mixed martial artist fighting out of Des Moines, Iowa. He has amassed a 15-3 record since his debut in 2005 and has been particularly busy in 2007, fighting nine times. Watching the highlight reel below you can see the tremendous potential that "The Reverend" possesses. Future opponents better look out for the Reverend's right hand and right knee because they have the type of power that can put someone to sleep in a heartbeat.

Charles Grigsby grew up in Kansas City, Missouri with his sister, Juanette, and mom, Bernice. As a single Mother, Bernice did a great job raising Charles and his sister. Even with a good situation inside the home, the environment outside was a different story. There were few opportunities in the projects of Kansas City and the climate was that of drugs, guns, crime, and gangs. Despite that environment, Charles persevered and protected younger kids in his neighborhood. He apparently caught a few beatings from that, but it just helped mold him into the person he is today. Charles knew at an early age that he had to stand up for himself, his sister and his mother.

Bernice eventually moved the family to Iowa, where Charles and Juanette were able to get a better education. That education led Charles to Grand View College in Des Moines where he excelled on the basketball team. Charles was offered to to play professionally, and jumped at the chance playing first playing in Brazil, and then in Spain. After three years oversees Charles knew he was meant to do something else with his life and hung up his shoes.

Charles entered the mixed martial arts world professionally in 2005. Describing his early days, Charles said, "I was around 243 pounds so I pretty much used all power back then. I was a heavyweight, and if I didn't knock you out or get knocked out in the first few minutes then it was any one's ball game." Even with relative inexperience, Charles started his career off with a bang winning his first seven fights, most by KO, over the course of May 2005 until August of 2006. Unfortunately, the Reverend was humbled in his next three heavyweight fights, losing against quality veteran opponents with wrestling backgrounds. When discussing the losses Charles said, "I learned that your never as good as you think you are." The Reverend knew he needed to expand his game.

After the setback, the Reverend decided to drop down to 205 pounds, light heavyweight, and has not looked back since, winning eight fights in a row. The weight drop left Charles a more conditioned and technical fighter. This year has also seen the Reverend develop a stronger skill set in his stand-up and ground game. The Reverend has changed from his one dimensional stand and trade days as a heavyweight and is a better fighter for it. At 6'6" he is taller and stronger that most of his opponents and uses his size and reach to his advantage.

When asked about his nickname Charles explained that "the Reverend" nickname came about because he practices what he preaches. The philosophy preached is that of Ginsu, the fighting style employed by the Revered. When asked about Ginsu, Charles said the following, "Ginsu represents being sharp, focused and conditioned."

Currently, Charles "the Reverend" Grigsby is the light heavyweight champion for Victory Fighting Championship and the Midwest Cage Championships promotions in Iowa. When asked about the eight fight win streak Charles said, "every single fight I'm doing new things and dealing with adversity better." When asked about the nine fights in 2007 Charles said that, "I was lucky that I stayed healthy and was able to finish my fights without taking damage." He certainly has made a statement to everyone in the 205 division that he will be a big problem for years to come.

When discussing his current fight plans Charles said, "Well, I've got the call, and by the time people see this I'll be contracted for a fight in spring of 08' in Vegas." During our conversation, Chuck described that he will match up well with his opponent and it will be a good fight for TV. I asked what organization he would be fighting under and he said that it will be either in the WEC or UFC, but the terms haven't been completely finalized. That said, Charles will never be happy about just getting on the big stage, he wants the belt. Even so, Charles doesn't need stardom and wants to be the best in his own mind.

When I asked if the Reverend wanted to send a shout out to anyone, he responded, "I would like to thank everyone that was there from the get go. I have seen alot of people come and go who have said they were down for me and believed in me - but the ones who have endured (and you know who you are) I could have never done this without you- Dreams, Goals, Dedication."





*Big Thanks to the Rev for doing the interview.

Video of the Day - Chuck Liddell

Here are some Chuck Liddell highlight videos.

Kid Yamamoto v. Joe Benavidez

It appears that Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto will be squaring off against Joe Benavidez on July 21st in Dream 5. Benavidez is an undefeated 135 pound fighter who fights out of Ultimate Fitness, Urijah Faber's gym. Urijah has wanted a Yamamoto fight for some time. Here are some old Kid fights.

Kid Yamamoto v. Masashi Kameda


Kid Yamamoto v. Hideki Kadowaki

Elite XC CBS Style

Elite XC on CBS got off to a bang, and then lingered for the rest of the night. Suprisingly, Elite XC was able to stuff more filler in their broadcast than a UFC Fight Night. The first two fights were over in the first minute, yet no undercard fights were broadcast.

Brett Rogers def. Jon Murphy via. KO (Punch) R1 1:01- This fight was the debut of mma on CBS. Rogers and Murphy threw some sloppy punches before the clinch. Then Rogers wailed Murphy with a knee and two rights. Murphy dropped to his knees like a sack of bricks. Rogers, with Big Black from "Rob and Big" in tow, let everyone know that he had just "did work." Later, Rogers called out Kimbo Slice.


Joey Villasenor def. Phil Baroni via. TKO (Punches) R1 1:11- These two did what everyone thought, stood and traded punches. Baroni took too many shots to the face and eventually went down. Villasenor has three wins in a row now, and will more than likely be a challenger for the MW belt soon.

Gina Carano def. Kaitlin Young via. TKO (Doctor Stoppage) R2 3:00- Carano and Young traded some big shots in the first and Young looked as though she had a chance to pull of the victory as the round was pretty even. In the second, Carano began to find her mark with punches and clinch work. After fighting off a rear naked choke attempt after a kick, Young's eye was too swollen for the Doctor to allow the bout to continue.

Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith No Contest (Thumb in the eye) R3 3:26- The first round saw Lawler getting the most of the combinations and Smith backing up. The second was pretty even as both fighters let everything hang out. Both got bloodied up and the war was on. Unfortunately, as Smith threw a punch in the third, Lawler accidently put a finger in Smith's eye. Smith wanted to continue after a minute or so, but the fight didn't continue.

Kevin Ferguson def. James Thompson via. TKO (punches) R3 0:38- This fight was ugly. The ref was horrible. Thompson for some reason didn't think his massive swollen ear would be a problem in the fight. In the third, Kimbo punches it and it exploded. The ref stopped the bout after that. The ref had absolutely horrendous stand-ups in this fight, some when Thompson was in side control dropping elbows on Kimbo. Kimbo may or may not have tapped to a guillotine choke as well. The stoppage was also not good.

Online Fights-
Joe Sampieri def. Mike Groves via. TKO (Strikes) R1 4:58
Zach Makovsky def. Andres Soares via. Decision (Unanimous) R3 5:00
James Jones def. Calvin Kattar via. Sub (Rear Naked Choke) R1 4:49
Wilson Reis def. Justin Robbins via. Sub (Rear Naked Choke) R1 4:06
Matt Makowski def. Nick Serra DQ (Wouldn't Get Up From Butt Scoot) R2 3:57
Carlton Haselrig def. Carlos Moreno via. TKO (Corner Stoppage) R1 5:00
Chris Liguori def. Jim Bova via. TKO (Cut) R1 4:31

UFC 85 Preview

Running on the heels of an awesome UFC 84 card, UFC 85 will be hard pressed to top it. The card has had numerous rumors about participants, as certain fighters fell victim to the injury bug. Chuck Liddell was originally supposed to fight Rashad Evans, but suffered a nasty hamstring injury. The card is loaded with Brazilians and quite a few fights have the potential to be very exciting. The weigh-in results just came out, and Thiago Alves failed to make weight.

MAIN CARD
Thiago Alves (174) vs. Matt Hughes (170)
Michael Bisping (184) vs. Jason Day (184)
Marcus Davis (170) vs. Mike Swick (170)
Thales Leites (185) vs. Nate Marquardt (185)
Fabricio Werdum (247) vs. Brandon Vera (228)

SWING BOUT
Martin Kampmann (186) vs. Jorge Rivera (185)

UNDERCARD
Thiago Tavares (154.5) vs. Matt Wiman (155)
Kevin Burns (170) vs. Roan Carneiro (171)
Luiz Cane (204) vs. Jason Lambert (205)
Jess Liaudin (169) vs. Paul Taylor (169)
Antoni Hardonk (247) vs. Eddie Sanchez (244)

*I'm hoping the UFC can get undercard fights broadcast as was the case in UFC 84. A whopping 9 fights were shown.