Video of the Day - Taylor v. Leites

Here is Jesse Taylor fighting Thales Leites at MFC 25 - Validation which took place on 5/7/10 in Edmonton, Alberta.

Taylor (25-9) will next defend his Cage Warriors middleweight championship at CFCW 54 this Saturday in Cardiff, Wales against John Phillips. Taylor is riding a 5 fight win streak, last defeating TUF 3 champ Kendall Grove via unanimous decision. Taylor has career wins over UFC fighters Dylan Andrews, Tom Watson, Chris Camozzi and former champ Murilo Bustamante.

Thales Leites (20-4) last defeated UFC/IFL veteran Matt Horwich at Amazon Forest Combat 2 last March. He holds career wins over UFC vets Jeremy Horn, Nate Marquardt and TUF 17's Tor Troeng.

Fight starts at 6:25.

Strikeforce Preview - Carano v. Cyborg

This weekend's Strikeforce - Carano v. Cyborg show will take place at the HP Pavillion in San Jose, California. The action will be shown live on Showtime. The event will feature three title fights, with the welterweight belt postponed after a missed drug test by Nick Diaz.

(Gina Carano throwing a kick in practice)

The card is littered with stars such as Dream superstar Gegard Mousasi, Affliction/IFL/UFC vet Jay Hieron and UFC vets Jesse Taylor, Babalu Sobral and Fabricio Werdum. The Carano v. Cyborg fight is one of the biggest women's MMA bouts of all-time.

Gina Carano vs. Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos- This fight is for the first ever Strikeforce Women's 145 pound title. Expect each fighter to keep the fight standing and work powerful combinations. Santos (7-1) will likely look for big shots, while Carano (8-0) looks to work combinations.

(Cris Cyborg pictured)

Champ Renato Sobral vs. Gegard Mousasi- LHW Title Fight- Babalu (35-8), the current Strikeforce LHW Champ has looked sharp since his departure from the UFC winning 5 straight including wins over Mike Whitehead, Bobby Southworth and Sokoudjou. The submission ace will look to get the fight to the ground.

(Babalu pictured)

Gegard Mousasi (25-2) has been on fire as of late, winning the Dream Middleweight Grad Prix and Title. He also has won a K-1 rules match against Musashi. His latest string of 12 victories has included wins over Mark Hunt in the Dream Super Hulk tournament; Jacare, Melvin Manhoef, Denis Kang and Dong Sik Yoon in Dream's MW Tournament; Hector Lombard in Pride and Cyborg Santos in HCF. I expect Mousasi to keep the fight standing and look for a KO.

(Gegard Mousasi pictured)

Champ Gilbert Melendez vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida- LW Title Fight
Jay Hieron vs. Jesse Taylor

UNDERCARD

Mike Kyle vs. Fabricio Werdum
Mike Cook vs. Scott Lighty
David "Tarzan" Douglas vs. Justin Wilcox
Zak Bucia vs. James Terry
Isaiah Hill vs. Alex Trevino

Dream 10 - Mario's World

Dream 10 belonged to Lithuanian Marius "Mario" Zaromskis. The young up and coming 170 pounder scored a major upset, defeating Japanese favorite Hayato "Mach" Sakurai and American Jason High. The card delivered some of the best entrances and exciting finishes of recent memory.

Tarec Saffiedine def Seichi Ikemoto via unanimous dec- WW Reserve bout- Ichimoto threw some crazy techniques in this fight, including a double superman punch, double punch, spinning backfists, and even a double body punch while Saffiedine was grounded. Saffiedine landed the the more powerful shots, landing a big overhand right then jumping right knee near the end of the round.

In the second it was all Saffiedine, as he landed all the power punches and kicks. He was able to get a takedown off a failed attempt by Ichimoto, and worked mount and throw some good shots. Near the end of the round, Ichimoto got a reversal and a couple ground and pound shots. Saffiedine ends up winning a close unanimous decision.

Marius Zaromskis def Hayato "Mach" Sakurai via TKO (strikes) R1, 4:03- WW Bout 1- Zaromskis came out to Europe's "Final Countdown" dressed as a Dragon Ball Z character, including red wig and garb. He also wore a necklace of mouthpieces. Mach Sakurai came out with a massive applause from the Japanese crowd. The announcers described Sakurai's hard time making the weight.

After a pretty even amount of punishment dished out by each and a Sakurai takedown, a cut opened on above and below Sakurai's left eye. Following a long break, Sakurai was nailed with a high left kick that landed perfect sending him to the canvas. After a few follow-up punches, the bout was called. On the replay, you could see Marius faked a left punch and went for the high kick to move to the finals.

Jason High def Andre Galvao via split dec- WW Bout 2- Jason High came out to Jay-Z, with a black bandana over his face, Kansas City Royals cap, and a big gold chain. Coach Antonio McKee was in his corner, with a katana sword. Andre Galvao came out with his black belt and gi to a soul song. The first round was all Galvao, as he got the better of the ground game. Galvao nearly locked in a leg lock/knee bar that High barely slipped out of. Galvao next almost got a rear naked choke, having High's back for about 4 minutes.

In the second it was all Jason High, as he threw snapping body and leg kicks. Galvao had nothing to offer but a few decent knees. High also got some takedowns which Galvao gave up easily to try a submission. However, High kept the pace up throughout with his striking. In the end, the judges gave the split decision victory to Jason High who moves to the welterweight final.
*High and Galvao win MMA Blaster's Fight of the Night

(Jason High pictured)

Katsunori Kikuno def Andre "Dida" Amade via TKO (punches) R1, 3:47- Katsunori Kikuno came out to the 80's song for charity, "We Are the World." Dida meanwhile came out to a Bob Marley's "Could This Be Love" while donning a crazy mask. Katsunori employed an odd karate stance and stalked Dida. Dida landed a coule punches and kicks, while landing a decent overhand punch. After a yellow card warning, Kikuno came out, got a body lock takedown, moved to back then threw rapid punches until the fight was called.

Paulo Filho def Melvin Manhoef via sub (armbar) R1, 2:36- After intro's, Melvin Manhoef had to be wiped down as he was sweating profusely. After a failed double leg takedown by Filho, Melvin started working Filho over with a flurry of powerful rights and left hooks and straights. After Paulo went to the ground Melvin continued with his flurry. It looked as though Filho was in serious trouble when Melvin allowed him up.

After taking more punishment, Filho got a takedown, mount, then armbar. Even though Melvin rolled, Paulo's armbar was too good, and soon Melvin was tapping. Filho survived a wicked amount of punishment, and pulled off an outstanding comeback.
*Paulo Filho wins MMA Blaster's Submission of the Night

(Paulo Filho pictured)

Jesse Taylor def Dong Sik Yoon via TKO (injury), R1, 1:02- Jesse Taylor made a successful Japanese debut, steamrolling Dong Sik Yoon. After Taylor out muscled Yoon for a takedown, he got Yoon's back and nearly got a rear naked choke. Soon after, Yoon bizarrely asked for time and quit. A replay showed that when Taylor was throwing Yoon to the canvas while having his back, Yoon's ankle was caught on the canvas and torqued at a bad angle. Taylor was classy in victory.

Shinya Aoki def Vitor Ribeiro via unanimous dec- Aoki came out in red and white candy cane line pants with board shorts. Aoki began the fight well, landing and attempting kicks at will. Three minutes in, Ribiero had a large red welt on his elbow from blocking kicks. Aoki dominated the stand-up throughout the first round, denying Ribiero's two takedown attempts. Near the end of the round, Aoki squeezed in a knee to Ribiero's chin.

In the second it was more of the same, as Aoki hammered Ribiero with kicks and knees. When Ribeiro went for a takedown, Aoki landed a knee to the face of Ribiero but gave up the takedown. Ribiero got some ground and pound shots in, but did not do enough to win the fight. All three judges gave the win to Aoki.

Marius Zaromskis def Jason High via KO (head kick) R1, 2:22- Zaromskis completed his amazing night of fights with two highlight reel high kicks. The second came at the expense of Jason High, who ate a shin to the jaw.

The two fighters came out the same exact intro's as their first fights. Right off the bat, Marius went for a jumping knee that was caught by High who completed a takedown soon after. High looked to be controlling, until a scramble had the tow back to their feet.

Next, Marius threw a partial blocked one-two punching combo, then an immediate high kick that landed shin directly to the jaw. A couple punches followed to an unconscious Jason High before the ref jumped in. Marius Zaromskis captured the Welterweight Dream Grand Prix title, along with the Welterweight belt.
*Zaromskis wins MMA Blaster's KO of the Night
*Zaromskis wins Dream Welterweight Grand Prix

(Marius Zaromskis pictured)

Dream 10 Preview

Dream 10 is scheduled for July 20th in the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. Have your DVR's set, as it will be broadcast in the wee hours of the morning on HDNet. The event will feature the finals of the 8 man welterweight grand prix. The odds on favorite in Japanese superstar Hayoto "Mach" Sakarai, who defeated Shinya Aoki in the first round.

The match-up of Shinya Aoki (20-4) v. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro (20-2) is a grappling fans dream. Each has pulled off remarkable submissions in their careers, dislocating some elbows along the way. TUF 7 alum Jesse Taylor (11-3) will look to build on his five fight win streak outside the UFC against judoka Don Sik Yoon.

Here is how it looks right now:

Shinya Aoki vs. Vitor Ribeiro
Andre "Dida" Amade vs. Katsunori Kikuno
Paulo Filho vs. Melvin Manhoef
Jesse Taylor vs. Dong Sik Yoon
Tarec Saffiedine vs. Ikemoto Seich- WW Reserve Bout

Welterweight Grand Prix

Andre Galvao vs. Jason High- Bout 1
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. Marius Zaromskis- Bout 2
Winner of Galvao/High vs. winner of Sakurai/Zaromskis


(Hayato Sakurai pictured)

Ultimate Fight Night 14 aka Anderson Silva at 205

After Affliction's heavyweight all-star card was almost together, the UFC decided to launch a counter-attack. They are bringing a free card on Spike TV that has some star power, mainly in the form of UFC MW Champ Anderson Silva.


As you can see, there are 3 former IFL fighters making their UFC debuts.

Anderson Silva (21-4, 6-0 UFC) vs. James Irvin (14-4, 4-3 UFC)- Expect this to be a stand-up battle. This is Anderson's debut at 205 pounds. Anderson has looked unstoppable in his 6 fights in the UFC so far. In his last fight, Anderson beat Pride Champ Dan Henderson in the second round. Irvin is a stand-up guy, and has some notable wins on his resume over Terry Martin, Houston Alexander, Scott Smith and Doug Marshall.

Brandon Vera (8-2, 4-2 UFC) vs. Reese Andy (7-1, 5-1 IFL)- Vera is coming off two losses in the heavyweight division to Fabricio Werdum and Tim Sylvia. He is making his debut in the 205 pound division, and it is likely his first cut to that weight. He usually comes in around 225 for his heavyweight fights. Reese Andy is making his UFC debut after fighting in the IFL. He has a 4 fight win streak but hasn't fought for a year.

Frankie Edgar (8-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. Hermes Franca (18-6, 6-3 UFC)- Franca has been suspended a year for using steroids in the Sherk fight. Edgar was pushed around by a bigger Gray Maynard in his last fight and lost a decision. I wouldn't be surprised to see the loser of this fight go to 145.

Jake O'Brien (10-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. Cain Velasquez (3-0, 1-0 UFC)- Both of these guys are big time wrestlers. O'Brien is coming off a loss to Andrei Arlovski in his last fight and may look to trade with Velasquez. Velasquez has earned TKO victories in each of his three fights.

Kevin Burns (6-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Anthony Johnson (5-1, 2-1 UFC)- The Iowa based fighter Kevin Burns is coming off an outstanding submission victory over BJJ black belt Roan Carneiro. He has four straight victories. Johnson displayed extreme power in his hands in his KO's of Tom Speer and Chad Reiner. His only loss came via submission to Rich Clementi.

C.B. Dollaway (6-1, 0-1 UFC) vs. Jesse Taylor (6-2)- This was the latest bout announced for the main card. CB is coming off another arm bar loss to Amir Sadollah. Taylor is coming off kicking out a limo window and acting a fool If Taylor wins it could potentially set up a bout with Amir Sadollah, but Sadollah may already be eyeing the 170 division.

Probably Not Televised
Brodie Farber vs. Rory Markham(IFL Vet)
Brad Blackburn(IFL Vet) vs. James Giboo
Nate Loughran vs. Johnny Rees
Shannon Gugherty vs. Dale Hartt

*Interesting Note- The UFC should look at fighter Jason High. He is (6-0) with victories over main card fighter Kevin Burns and under card fighter James Giboo.

*Cool Anderson Silva pic on photobucket

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 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.

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

TUF Elite 8

After tonight's episode of The Ultimate Fighter only 8 fighters remain in the TUF tournament. In the final prelim fight, CB Dollaway was able to dominate Nick Klein in the first round with a barrage of elbows, leg kicks and punches. As usual, Steve Mazagatti had to warn about punching to the back of the head.

In the second round CB pressed the action even more eventually sinking in a guillotine choke for the tapout. To his credit, Nick Klein was able to fight back pretty well and took quite a bit of punishment. The closest Klein came to victory was an attempted knee-bar in the first.

Rampage gave some expert advice when CB was encountered with a deep kimura attempt barking, "put yo' knee on dat elbow!" Needless to say, CB was able to escape.

*Here are the TUF Elite 8*

TEAM RAMPAGE
CB Dollaway
Dan Cramer

TEAM FORREST
Amir Sadollah
Tim Credeur
Matt Brown
Cale Yarborough
Jesse Taylor
Dante Rivera

Quarterfinal Match-ups
1. Jesse Taylor v. Dante Rivera
2. Amir Sadollah v. Matt Brown
3. Dan Cramer v. Tim Credeur
4. CB Dollaway v. Cale Yarborough


*CB Dollaway circa ASU wrestling days

TUF Episode 3

This episode started as the respective teams were picked by Forrest and Rampage. Rampage won the toss and elected to choose the first fighter in CB Dollaway. Forrest went with the experienced BJJ blackbelt Tim Creduer. I was surprised to see Gerald Harris go as Rampage's #5 pick, Dante Rivera as Forrest's #6 and Zacharich go last overall. Here is what I think the teams broke down to:

-Rampage-
C.B. Dollaway
Matt Riddle
Paul Bradley
Daniel Cramer
Gerald Harris
Mike Dolce
Jeremy May
Brandon Sene

-Forrest-
Tim Credeur
Amir Sadollah
Jesse Taylor
Matt Brown
Cale Yarbrough
Dante Rivera
Nick Klein
Luke Zachrich

Afterwards, Rampage is talking to his team and sees a nasty rash on Paul Bradley's neck. It is found to be herpes, and subsequently he is booted from the show. It sucks that he had to give up his wrestling coach job, but with a rumored contract with Elite XC, I don't feel too bad for him. Guess he should have been packing Valtrex. In his place comes Patrick Schultz, one of the few guys who didn't get hurt in his fight. I would have taken Mike Marrelo if I was choosing.

The first match pits Mike Dolce v. Jesse Taylor. Taylor does look somewhat like a Big John McCarthy and Nick Cage love child. Rampage checks up on his team while at the house and talks about life and fighting. He also asks about what his fighters do for a living outside the ring, interesting that Matt Riddle has no driver's license and lives with his mom.

The first prelim fight featured Dolce stuffing Taylor's first takedown and landing some punches. Dolce eventually is reversed, and gives up his back. Dolce fought the choke, got a reversal, but the round was controled by Taylor. In the second Dolce landed another punch on his feet, but was taken down again. This time Taylor was able to land cleaner punches while on the ground, softening up Dolce for the choke. For his win and the stoppage, Taylor won 5K from Burger King, and 5K from the UFC. (How much he makes for just appearing on the show is a mystery)

*Jesse Taylor had a nice victory celebration, throwing up in a bucket.

Team Forrest has control to pick the next fight with the win- 1-0.

TUF Episode 2

This episode was all fights which pleased me. The match-making was somewhat puzzling in this episode as some of the experienced guys were paired up and some of the the experienced guys were paired. Luke Zacharich explained on his MMA Junkie blog that Dana White actually walked around and randomly paired up fighters. One of the most idiotic things I've heard of Dana do for awhile.

Matt Serra trained fighter Dan Simmler (1-0) learned the hard way that he needs to improve his standup and takedown game. After a first round that where Matt Riddle (1-0) took him down and then Simmler tried subs, the second was fast. As Simmler threw a lazy kick, Riddle dropped him with a right hook directly to jaw dropping him to the canvas. Two more jaw punches followed as Simmler was looking to the stars. After a serious of moaning and a possible broken jaw, Simmler asked, "what happened, was it practice or a fight?" Ouch.

The second fight saw Luke Zacharich (7-1) v. Patrick Schultz (5-1). These two probably should have been fighting some of the 1-0, 0-0 guys as both looked seasoned. Zacharich was in a little trouble after a Schultz takedown. Zacharich's wrestling seems to be good as he got decent position and dropped punches. Schultz' frosted tips didn't prevent Zacharich from eventually getting his back and a rear naked choke. Zacharich probably needs to

Tim Credeur (9-2) took out Erick Charles in a workmanlike performance. He pushed Charles to the fence, took him down, and got the armbar. He is a BJJ blackbelt from Louisiana. Credeur is a legit threat, at (9-2) his two losses have come in Bodog to Chael Sonnen (20-9) and Joey Villasensor (25-6) in KOTC.

Aaron Meiser (2-0) v. Brandon Sene (2-0)- After exchanging kicks and knees, Sene got a takedown eventually got the rear naked choke. The mohawked Sene was gassed at the end.

Gerald Harris (6-2) v. Mike Marrelo (6-1)- IFL vet Gerald Harris used slams, punches to the face, elbows to the face to eventually get the decision. Harris' entry makes all three IFL fighters in the 16.



Jerimiah Riggs (1-0) v. Dan Cramer (0-0)- Dana what were you thinking with this match-up? Horrible match making, I feel sorry for Marrelo and Schultz.

Nick Rossborough (8-3) vs. Jesse Taylor (6-2)- Taylor got a takedown, punches, and then a rear naked choke for a victory. Taylor has a couple quality wins and a couple losses to MMA vet Kenny Ento and TUF 3's Jesse Forbes.

Josh Hall (3-2) vs. Matt Brown (9-6)- Matt Brown despite being a little small at 185 used his experience and skill to beat Josh Hall with 9 seconds left in the round.

*We learn the teams next week.

Gerald Harris Snatched Up for TUF 7

IFL veteran Gerald Harris (6-2) has joined the mix of fighters that are participants in The Ultimate Fighter Season 7. He was a standout wrestler at Cleveland State. His two fights in the IFL ended with a close split decision loss to IFL standout Fabio Leopoldo (5-3) and a TKO to UFC/IFL vet Benji Radach (17-4). Gerald recently defeated Jeremija Sanders (2-5), Gerald has posted victories over Curtis Stout (11-12), Travis Fowler (6-4), Bubba McDaniel (8-3) and Ryan Lopez (4-3) in his brief career.

Other standouts include 2-Time All American wrestler Paul Bradley (5-0), All American wrestler C.B. Dollaway (6-0)(video below, 1st Rd TKO of Hans Marrero (11-5) in HDNet Fights), Steve Byrnes (6-1, 1 loss in UFC), Luke Zachrich (7-1), Bodog Fight vet Timothy Credeur (9-2)(two losses to MMA vets Chael Sonnen and Joey Villensensor), Jesse Taylor (6-2)(two losses to quality fighters, victory over Jorge Ortiz (13-4)), Mike Marrello (6-1-1)(only loss to an undefeated fighter) and IFL vet Mike Dolce (3-4).

-As you can see by the video, Gerald Harris likes to slam and throw punches. He was able to get numerous takedowns on Leopoldo and at least one takedown of Radach.



**Gerald Harris HL video

$$- I wonder if the UFC will edit out any mention of the IFL or if they are told not to bring it up.