Monday, September 27, 2010

UFC 119 Results

I have a feeling that UFC 119 won't be going down as one of the better events in the storied promotions history. The undercard largely produced more fireworks than the slower main card.

In pre-lim heavyweight action, Matt Mitrione went toe to toe with Joey Beltran in a three round slugfest. Each fighter was able to land some heavy punches, but Mitrione had better kickboxing, landing solid leg kicks. Mitirione captured his third straight UFC win and first Fight of the Night with the decision victory.

CB Dollaway used his nifty grappling to secure a guillotine choke win on Joe "El Dirte" Doerkson. With the choke not yet secured, CB bided his time, before rolling and cinching the submission forcing the tap. CB earned the submission of the night bonus.
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(CB Dollaway Pictured)

The main card, well, I thought Evan Dunham was absolutely robbed against Sean Sherk. While Sherk got better takedowns and ground and pound in the first round, the 2nd and 3rd rounds belonged to Dunham. Dunahm did more damage and landed far more strikes, with Sherk not able to land strikes from top position.

Frank Mir KO'd Cro Cop in the third round of a very slow fight. Ryan Bader used takedowns and ground strikes to take a unanimous decision. Chris Lytle landed the more accurate punches to win a decision over Matt Serra. Melvin Guillard and Jeremy Stephens engaged in a very close stand-up fight with Guillard getting the decision.

Full Results:

Frank Mir def Mirko "Cro Cop" via KO(knee) R3, 4:02
Ryan Bader def Antonio Rogerio Nogueira via unanimous dec
Chris Lytle def Matt Serra via unanimous dec
Sean Sherk def Evan Dunham via split dec
Melvin Guillard def Jeremy Stephens via split dec
C.B. Dollaway def Joe Doerksen via sub(guillotine) R1, 2:13
Matt Mitrione def Joey Beltran via unanimous dec
Thiago Tavares def Pat Audinwood via sub(guillotine) R1, 3:47
Waylon Lowe def Steve Lopez via split dec
T.J. Grant def Julio Paulino via unanimous dec
Sean McCorkle def Mark Hunt via sub, R1, 1:03

Video of the Day - Aldo v. Bigola

Here is WEC champion Jose Aldo's MMA debut against Mario Bigola in Eco Fights which took place on 8/10/2004 in Brazil.

Aldo defends his 145 pound WEC belt against Manny Gamburyan at WEC 51 on September 30, 2010 in Broomfield, Colorado.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Video of the Day - Kikuno v. Hironaka

Here is Katsunori Kikuno fighting Kuniyoshi Hironaka from Dream 13 which took place on 3/22/10 in Yokohama, Japan.

Look for Kikuno to fight in Dream "Dynamite" 2010 on New Years Eve.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

TUF 11 - Bruce Lee-Roy

The second episode of the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter featured team selections and the first fight in the second round. The lightweights only season coached by Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck can be seen on Spike TV Wednesdays at 10/9 Cent.

GSP and his team seem to have plenty of tricks up their sleeve, as GSP makes a fake list of picks with Koscheck's former wrestler Marc Stevens at the top. Letting Dana White know that it is strategy, Koscheck forgoes his #1 pick Michael Johnson and takes Stevens. Here is the rest of the draft:

Team Koscheck (Yellow)

1. Marc Stevens (12-5) 4 fight W streak, big KO in opening round
3. Sevak Magakian (8-3) 7 first round sub wins
5. Sako Chivitchian (5-0) Armenian judo fighter
7. Andy Main (4-1) East Coast fighter
9. Nam Phan (15-7) Strikeforce and Sengoku vet
11. Aaron Wilkinson (6-3) UK fighter w/4 sub wins
13. Jeff Lentz (6-1) East Coast fighter w/3 TKO's

Team GSP (Red)

2. Michael Johnson (9-4) Gracie Barra fighter
4. Jonathan Brookins (11-3) WEC veteran, excellent grappler
6. Spencer Paige (5-2) stand-up fighter w/2 head kick KO wins
8. Alex "Bruce Leeroy" Caceres (4-2) flashy fighter from Florida
10. Kyle Watson (12-6) sub specialist out of Hit Squad
12. Cody McKenzie (11-0) 11 submission wins
14. Dane Sayers (7-1) North Dakota fighter

I was a little surprised that Cody McKenzie was not chosen until the 12th pick. McKenzie (11-0) has 11 submission wins on his resume and choked out Amir Killah unconscious in his first round bout.

Writing on his blog, Alex "Bruce Leeroy" Caceres explained that many of the other fighters did not want the first fight due to injuries, he stepped up and asked for Jeff Lentz. Lentz was seen smoking cigerettes and drinking shots the night before the team draft. Arrogantly, Lentz stated that he would never tap to a choke, and rather would go to sleep.

The first round of their match-up saw Jeff Lentz control the first round as he threw some decent high kicks and then pinned Caceres against the fence. With time running out in the round, Lentz nailed a nice hip toss to seal the round.

In the second, Lentz again got Leeroy against the fence, but when he went for another throw, Leeroy was ready. He snuck behind Lentz, but Lentz was able to reverse. From there Leeroy worked for a triangle, controlling an arm and sneaking his legs over. As Lentz went to slam out, Leeroy made the choke tighter, eventually coaxing a tapout.
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(Bruce Lee Pictured With Double Numchucks)

TEAM GSP - 1 TEAM KOSCHECK - 0

Advancing to 3rd round- Alex "Bruce Leeroy" Caceres

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Antonio McKee Not Quite In UFC Yet

Antonio McKee, a dangerous grappler and cardio freak, is currently riding a 14 fight win streak. In his last fight, McKee defended his MFC lightweight title by crushing Luciano Azevedo with a series of elbow shots to the head. McKee has career victories over Delson Heleno, Carlo Prater and Derrick Noble.

Here he is Antonio speaking to Marcos Villegas of Fight Hub TV, friend of MMA Blaster.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Video of the Day - Tyson v. Scaff

Here is Mike Tyson fighting "Slamming" Sammy Scaff. At the time, Tyson was being groomed for a title shot, entering the fight at 14-0. Scaff ended his career at 21-14, with his biggest victories over Burt Hayes and Bobby Thomas.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

TUF 12 - Elimination Round Complete!

The first episode of TUF 12 featured 28 fighters trying to make it into the house. There were some impressive performances from the lightweights, as many are fighting to make it in the UFC. The remaining fighters feature a mix of young upstarts and seasoned vets who have yet to make it to the biggest stage in MMA.

Coaches Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck were seperated by Dana White for the action. Both coaches were scouting the fighters, as they will pick teams next week.

Here is a look at the 14 who made it to the 2nd round:

Cody McKenzie (11-0)- Team Fancy Pants member has 9 straight guillotine wins fighting in the Pacific Northwest. George St. Pierre correctly predicted a McKenzie victory via guillotine as he choked Amir Killah (6-4) unconscious and out of the competition.

Johnathan Brookins (11-3)- Bellator and WEC veteran has wins over Luis Palomino, Stephen Ledbetter, Yves Jabouin and TUF 5's Allen Berubie. Brookins won a dominating decision utilizing his grappling over Ran Weathers (13-7).

Sako Chivitchyan (5-0)- California based Armenian fighter has 3 submission wins. Sako utilized his judo to win a decision over Toby Grear (7-4-1), which was only shown in highlight fashion.

Marc Stevens (12-5)- Ring of Combat veteran is currently on a 4 fight win streak, has fought in 185, 170 and 155 divisions. Marc won his fight quickly, knocking out Iowa fighter T.J. O'Brien (14-3) with a nasty overhand right. Josh Koscheck was formerly an assistant wrestling coach for Mark in Buffalo.

Dane Sayers (7-1)- North Dakota based fighter has 6 first round wins. Sayers, a Cherokee Indian, was involved in the most draining fight of the first round against Ariel Sexton (6-2). The action was back and forth with Sayers, sporting a red mohawk, appearing to be dazed. In the second, he came back and won with a standing rear naked choke. Hopefully Dane gets a break before his next bout.

Spencer Paige (5-2)- The East Coast fighter (also listed at 7-2) doesn't have a recorded MMA fight since 2007, has 2 head kick wins on his resume. Spencer, an admitted stand-up based fighter, fought hard winning a unanimous decision over Steve Magdaleno (6-2).

Andy Main (4-1)- New Jersey based fighter trains with Dan and Jim Miller. Main's fight was shown in highlight fashion, ending in a triangle choke of undefeated Jason Brenton (3-0).

Jeff Lentz (5-1)- New Jersey based lightweight has 3 TKO's and 1 sub on his resume. Lentz laid a ground and pound assault on BJJ fighter Dan Head (6-2), leaving him a bloody and swollen mess.

Alex "Bruce Leeroy" Caceres (4-2)- Florida based fighter is a KOTC and G-Force vet with 2 TKO's and 2 Subs in his 4 wins. Caceres, coming out in his Bruce Lee tracksuit which was featured in Game of Death, laid a whooping on Paul Barrow (3-0). Caceres threw some high flying kicks, but then finished with a nifty rear naked choke.

Mike Johnson (9-4)- Missouri based Gracie Barra fighter. Mike used solid wrestling, big strength and nasty ground and pound to win a decision over Pablo Garza (7-0).

Aaron Wilkinson (6-3)- Fighter from the UK has 4 sub wins. With subtitles in tact, Wilkinson used solid grappling to defeat former Marine Mike Richman via decision.

Kyle Watson (12-6)- Watson (also listed as 15-6) trains out of Matt Hughes' Hit Gym, he currently has a 4 fight win streak, 10 of his wins have come via submission. The BJJ brown belt used his upper level submission skills to submit Joseph Duffy (7-0) in the eliminator.

Sevak Magakian (8-3)- The tall judo fighter has 7 submission wins in the 1st round. Sevak made it into the house with a somewhat surprising decision. While the judo fighter seemed to be in top control for the duration of the fight, his opponent, JJ Ambrose (12-2) nearly finished him with a kimura.

Nam Phan (15-7)- The popular California based fighter is a Strikeforce and Sengoku veteran, with TKO wins over Saad Awad, Hideki Kadowaki and Shad Smith. Nam earned his way into the house with a hard fought win over WEC veteran and former pro rollerblader Mike Budnick (9-4). Nam landed a devastating shot to the liver to drop Budnick.
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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Video of the Day - Edwards v. Kotani

Here is Yves Edwards fighting Naoyuki Kotani from Euphoria - Road to the Titles which took place on 10/14/04 at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Edwards, a UFC veteran, delivered the best head kick KO in UFC history with a 1st round flying jump kick on Josh Thomson. Edwards defeated John "Guns" Gunderson at UFN 22 in his return to the UFC.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Video of the Day - Josh Barnett to Strikeforce

Here is video of Josh Barnett being interviewed by friend of MMA Blaster, Marcos of Fight Hub TV. Josh plays a little coy regarding his deal with Strikeforce, laying down some jokes. Josh does confirm his IGF pro wrestling match with Tim Sylvia at the end of the month in Japan.


Here is an early Josh Barnett fight against John Marsh in the Superbrawl promotion which occured on 9/7/99.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Video of the Day - Tyson v. Cozad

Here is Mike Tyson in an amateur boxing match against Don Kozad sometime from the early 80's.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Video of the Day - Cro Cop v. Sapp

Here is Bob Sapp fighting Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 on 3/30/03 in the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

Mirko next fights Frank Mir at UFC 119.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

UFC 119 Indy Preview

On September 25, 2010 in Indianapolis, Indiana, Frank Mir and Mirko Cro Cop will fight in the main event of UFC 119 at the Conseco Fieldhouse. This PPV event will also feature free pre-lim fights on Spike TV.

For Mirko Cro Cop (27-7-2), a win over Frank Mir would be the biggest of his UFC career. Cro Cop, a former K-1 kickboxer, has had a rocky road in the UFC, going 4-3. Cro Cop has defeated the likes of Pat Barry, Anthony Perosh and Eddie Sanchez in the UFC. Expect Cro Cop to be defending the takedown and looking to use his kicks.
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(Cro Cop head kick of Wanderlei Silva)

In Pride, Cro Cop was in his prime, winning the 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix with TKO wins over Minowaman, Hidehiko Yoshida, Wanderlei Silva and Josh Barnett. Cro Cop also has KO wins over Igor Vovchanchyn, Mark Coleman and Aleksander Emelianenko.

Frank Mir (13-5) is in need of a win to remain relevent in the UFC after dropping his past two high profile contests via TKO to Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar, mixing in submission win against Cheick Kongo. Mir should look to use the same strategy he used against Kongo on Cro Cop, looking for takedowns and submissions early and often.
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(Mir knee-bar of Brock Lesnar)

Mir earned fame in the mixed martial arts world for his arm breaking submission of Tim Sylvia to claim the UFC Heavyweight title at UFC 48. After the win, Mir was stripped of his title after a devastating motorcycle accident. Mir's second career defining moment came after kneebarring Brock Lesnar at UFC 81. Mir has other wins over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the interim UFC title, Pete Williams and Roberto Traven.

Ryan Bader will be fighting Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the co-main event. Bader, the TUF 8 LHW champ, is an all-american wrestler from Arizona State University. Bader (11-0, 4-0 UFC) has two KO's and two decision wins in his time in the UFC.
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(Ryan Bader Promo Pic)

Antonio Nogueira (19-3, 2-0 UFC), aka the Lil Nog, is coming off a controversial split decision win over Jason Brilz. The striker and BJJ blackbelt has KO wins over Alistair Overeem, Luis Cane and Vladdy Matyushenko. His other victories include Dan Henderson, Guy Mezger and Kazushi Sakuraba.

Here is a look at the full line-up of bouts:

MAIN CARD

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic v. Frank Mir
Ryan Bader v. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Chris Lytle v. Matt Serra
Evan Dunham v. Sean Sherk
Melvin Guillard v. Jeremy Stephens

SPIKE PRE-LIMS

C.B. Dollaway v. Joe Doerksen
Joey Beltran v. Matt Mitrione

PRELIMS (Select bouts air on delay if time allows)

Pat Audinwood v. Thiago Tavares
Steve Lopez v. Waylon Lowe
T.J. Grant v. Julio Paulino
Mark Hunt v. Sean McCorkle

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Ultimate Fight Night 22 Preview

Ultimate Fight Night 22 will be live on Spike TV on September 15, 2010 from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The event will serve as a lead-in for The Ultimate Fighter season 12.

The main event pits two of the top 185 pounders against each other in Nate Marquardt fighting Rousimar Paulhares. Expect Marquardt (19-9) and Palhares (11-2) to be a grinding fight with each fighter looking for dirty boxing, takedowns and submissions. Marquardt is a former King of Pancrase and UFC title contender with wins over Demian Maia, Martin Kampmann, Kazuo Misaki and Dean Lister.

Rousimar Palhares is a BJJ blackbelt and wizard on the ground. Getting caught in a Palhares leg lock can mean bad things for your ACL. Palhares is 4-1 in the UFC with heel hook wins over Tomasz Drwal and Lucio Linhares, an armbar over Ivan Salaverry and decision over Jeremy Horn.

Efrain Escudero (13-1) came in 4 pounds overweight, stating on Twitter that he had hit a wall while trying to make weight. Escudero, the lightweight champion of TUF season 8, is attempting to bounce back from a loss against Evan Dunham. Efrain has wins over Cole Miller, Dan Lauzon and Phillipe Nover.
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(Efrain Escudero Pictured)

His opponent, Charles "do Bronx" Oliveira (13-0) is a lightening fast muay thai and BJJ fighter. Oliveira has used his skills to notch a wicked first round armbar over solid wrestler Darren Elkins in his UFC debut. Oliveira has won 3 or 4 MMA tournaments in his native Brazil.

Here are a look at the full line-up of bouts:

Nate Marquardt vs. Rousimar Palhares
Efrain Escudero vs. Charles Oliveira
Jim Miller vs. Gleison Tibau
Cole Miller vs. Ross Pearson

UNDER CARD

John Gunderson vs. Yves Edwards
Jared Hamman vs. Kyle Kingsbury
Dave Branch vs. Tomasz Drwal
Rich Attonito vs. Rafael Natal
David Mitchell vs. Anthony Waldburger
Brian Foster vs. Forrest Petz

TUF 12 Coaches and Contestants

On September 15, 2010, the 12th season of TUF will kick off pitting coaches Georges St. Pierre against TUF 1 veteran Josh Koscheck. The lid has been tight on rumors surrounding the show, as barely any names have been leaked.
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(GSP punching BJ Penn)

The assistant coach names have all been leaked and are fairly predicatable. St. Pierre has tabbed his striking coach Phil Nurse, John Danaher, Jean-Charles Skarbowsky and Shawn Williams. Koscheck has an AKA heavy presence with Dave Camarillo, Bob Cook, Daniel Cormier and Javier Mendez.
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(Josh Koscheck Pictured)

The show will feature 28 lightweight fighters that will be whittled down to 14 making the house. They will again feature the "wildcard" bout in the second round. In TUF 11, Kris McCray won the wildcard bout over Kasey Uscola and made his way to the finals.


See More: TUF 12

Here is a of contestants:

Cody McKenzie (11-0)- Team Fancy Pants member has 9 straight guillotine wins fighting in the Pacific Northwest.

Mike Richman (7-0)- The former Marine has 5 submissions and 2 TKO's while fighting in Minnesota mostly at 145.

Joseph Duffy (7-0)- The Irish uber prospect started as a kickboxer and has since relied on his BJJ skills to rattle off 6 submission wins. Biggest win over Norman Parke who is currently 11-2.

Sako Chivitchyan (5-0)- California based Armenian fighter has 3 submission wins.

Pablo Garza (6-0)- This North Dakota based fighter is also listed at 7-0, with 5 submission wins.

Jason Brenton (3-0)- Colorado based fighter also listed at 6-0.

Nam Phan (15-7)- The popular California based fighter is a Strikeforce and Sengoku veteran, with TKO wins over Saad Awad, Hideki Kadowaki and Shad Smith.

Johnathan Brookins (11-3)- Bellator and WEC veteran has wins over Luis Palomino, Stephen Ledbetter, Yves Jabouin and TUF 5's Allen Berubie.

TJ O'Brien (14-3)- Iowa based fighter is tall with long limbs he uses for the triangle. TJ has 13 submission wins, 11 via the triangle.

Mike Budnik (9-4)- former pro rollerblader went 1-3 in the WEC beating Greg McIntyre.

Dane Sayers (7-1)- North Dakota based fighter has 6 first round wins.

Marc Stevens (12-5)- Ring of Combat veteran is currently on a 4 fight win streak, has fought in 185, 170 and 155 divisions.

Jeff Lentz (5-1)- New Jersey based lightweight has 3 TKO's and 1 sub on his resume.

Steve Magdaleno (6-2)- Pancrase veteran trains at the VMAT gym with Vladimir Matyushenko. Also listed at 5-1.

Sevak Magakian (8-3)- The tall judo fighter has 7 submission wins in the 1st round.

Toby Grear (7-4)- California based fighter has a victory over IFL/Affliction veteran Brett Cooper.

Kyle Watson (12-6)- Watson trains out of Matt Hughes' Hit Gym, he currently has a 4 fight win streak, 10 of his wins have come via submission.

JJ Ambrose (13-2)- AKA product has fought for Affliction.

Aaron Wilkinson (6-3)- Fighter from the UK has 4 sub wins.

Alex "Bruce Leeroy" Caceres (4-2)- Florida based fighter is a KOTC and G-Force vet with 2 TKO's and 2 Subs in his 4 wins.

Andy Main (4-1)- New Jersey based fighter trains with Dan and Jim Miller.

Spencer Paige (5-2)- East Coast fighter hasn't fought since 2007, has 2 head kick wins on his resume.

Daniel Head (6-2)- Indiana BJJ fighter has 6 first round finishes.

Mike Johnson (9-4)- Missouri based Gracie Barra fighter. Record could be 9-10.

Amir Khillah (6-4)- Jeremy Horn trained fighter has 4 submission wins.

Paul Barrow (3-1)- Florida based fighter out of Gracie Tampa.

Ariel Sexton (6-2)- Canadian figher has never gone to decision, fought mainly in Costa Rica.

Ran Weathers (13-7)- Weathers trains out of Team Jackson in New Mexico.


*Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett was originally rumored, but definitely isn't in the cast having fought in June and July. Eric Wisely is also not in the cast having fought in July. Paul Sass (10-0) and Pat Audinwood (9-0) were initially rumored, but were given outright contracts to the UFC.

Video of the Day - Aoki v. Hansen

Here is Shinya Aoki versus Joachim Hansen from Pride Shockwave 2006 which occurred on 12/31/06.

Video of the Day - Alvarez v. Kawajiri

Here is Eddie Alvarez fighting Tatsuya Kawajiri in Dream 5 - Lightweight Grand Prix which took place on 7/21/08 in Osaka, Japan.

Eddie next fights Roger Huerta in a non-title fight at Bellator 33 in Philadelphia, PA.