UFC on Versus 2 Preview

Jon "Bones" Jones is poised to let his star shine even brighter this Sunday night on UFC on Versus 2. The electric fighter will look to build on his KO win over Brandon Vera with a statement win over grizzled MMA veteran Vladimir Matyushenko. The fireworks will be broadcast live on Versus and take place in San Diego, California.

Jon Jones 10-1DQ) burst into the UFC was his lightening fast stand-up, superb wrestling skills and improving submission game. The 6'4" Jones debuted at UFC 87 with a decision over Andre Gusmao, then took a decision win over Stephen Bonnar, guillotine of Jake O'Brien, then faced Matt Hamill at the Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale and was DQ'd due to illegal elbows. Look for Jones to use his quickness to pick apart Vladdy standing.

(Jon Jones' suplex over Stephan Bonnar)

Vladimir Matyushenko (24-4) has over 13 years of MMA training and fights under his belts, defeating the likes of Yuki Kondo, Pedro Rizzo and Travis Wiuff in his first run in the UFC,leaving in 2003. The international freestyle wrester went on the win the IFL 205 pound grand prix and title defeating the likes of Jamal Patterson, Tim Boetsch and Alex Schoenauer. Since returning to the UFC, he has defeated Igor Pokrajac and Eliot Marshall. Look for Vladdy to go for takedowns to acquire top position.

(Vladimir on the Tokyo Dragons in the IFL)

Mark Munoz vs. Yushin Okami- This is a battle of two excellent grapplers in the 185 division. Munoz will look to impose his will in this fight and get to the floor quickly. Okami will likely try to work strikes and knees while in the clinch.

After taking the NCAA division 1 crown at Oklahoma State University, Mark Munoz (8-1)has gone from assistant wrestling coach to rising prospect. Mark has an improving stand-up game with excellent wrestling. Munoz won two fights in the WEC before getting KO'd by Matt Hamill at UFC 96. He has since ran off 3 straight wins over Nick Catone, Ryan Jensen and Kendall Grove.

(Mark Munoz pictured)

Yushin Okami (24-5) first came on the scene winning an amateur MMA tournament that took place before Pride 4. He has used his grappling skills to grind out wins with top position. Okami has defeated Mike Swick, Jason MacDonald, Dean Lister and Evan Tanner in the UFC.

(Yushin Okami punching Rory Singer)

Takanori Gomi vs. Tyson Griffin- Former Pride champ Takanori Gomi desparetly needs a win in this fight against the energizer bunny known as Tyson Griffin. Gomi was unsuccessful in his UFC debut against Kenny Florian, getting out-grappled and out-struck, losing in the third round via rear naked choke. Griffin meanwhile also looks to rebound from a close decision loss against uber prospect Evan Dunham.

Look for Gomi (31-6) to keep the fight in mid-range and work inside Griffin's solid leg kicks. Gomi was a dominant force in the lightweight division of Pride during his prime, defeating the likes of Mitsuhiro Ishida, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Hayato Sakurai with solid boxing and wrestling skills.

(Takanori Gomi pictured)

Tyson Griffin (14-3) may work leg kicks from the outside, or try to bully Gomi with his solid wrestling skill. Griffin is a fire-plug, who seems to easily go through 15 minutes of action pushing the pace. He has defeated Marcus Aurelio, Thiago Tavares and Hermes Franca in the UFC.

(Tyson Griffin pictured)

Jake Ellenberger vs. John Howard- John Howard (14-4) is at his best when he can push around his opponent and overwelm him. That may be hard as Jake Ellenberger (22-5) is a top level wrestler who brutalized Mike Pyle in his last UFC fight winning via TKO. Expect each fighter to be looking the fight quick, but Ellenberger holding the advantage in the wrestling department.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Paul Kelly vs. Jacob Volkmann
DaMarques Johnson vs. Matthew Riddle
James Irvin vs. Igor Pokrajac
Mike Massenzio vs. Brian Stann
Darren Elkins vs. Charles Oliveira
Rob Kimmons vs. Steve Steinbeiss

Video of the Day - Matyushenko v. Kawaguchi

Here is Vladimir Matyushenko fighting Kenji Kawaguchi in Vale Tudo Japan which occured on 10/25/98. Vladdy is fighting Jon Jones next on UFC: Versus 2 this Sunday.

Affliction: Day of Reckoning Preview

Here is the rumored card for Affliction: Day of Reckoning which takes place this Saturday. The under card will be shown live on HDNet. The fights will take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

MAIN CARD

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski- Fedor's lone mma appearance in 2008 was a 36 second destruction of former UFC champ Tim Sylvia. Fedor will most likely try to bring the fight to the ground in an attempt to submit Arlovski. Then again, Fedor may try to use his boxing to take out Arlovski.

A highly decorated fighter that some call the greatest of all-time, Fedor has beat the best fighters at their primes. We will see how much longer Fedor's reign can continue. Fedor holds wins over Tim Sylvia, Antonio Nogueria, Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Semmy Schilt, Ricardo Arona, Heath Herring, Gary Goodridge, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Mark Coleman, Mark Hunt, Matt Lindland, Naoya Ogawa, Kevin Randleman and Kazuyuki Fujita.

(Fedor choking out Tim Sylvia)

If Arlovski has one thing going for him, its a lack of ring rust. Arlovski fought three times in 2008 earning TKO/KO wins over Jake O'Brien, Ben Rothwell and Roy Nelson. The former UFC heavyweight champ will likely try to utilize his boxing skills that he has been honing recently with legendery boxing coach Freddie Roach. Arlovski has beat Vladimir Matyushenko, Justin Eilers, Tim Sylvia (w/two losses), Paul Buentello and Ian Freeman in the UFC.

(Andrei Arlovski pictured)

Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel- Barnett is an absolute monster in the submission game. In his three appearances in 2008 Barnett won over Jeff Monson via unanimous decision, Hidehiko Yoshida via heel hook and in his most impressive performance KO'd legendary striker Pedro Rizzo.

Josh Barnett has victories over Mirko Cro Cop, Aleksander Emelianenko, Semmy Schilt, Dan Severn, Mark Hunt and Yuki Kondo in his career. With 14 of his 23 victories won via submission, common logic would seem to lend Barnett going for a submission. Barnett should have a weight advantage in this fight.

(Josh Barnett pictured)

Gilbert Yvel (35-12) is a controversial figure in the mma world. He infamously has eye gouged Don Frye and KO'd a referee. What's lost is that he has a solid resume with 30 wins via KO/TKO and 5 sumission victories. His big wins have come against Semmy Schilt, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Cheick Kongo, Valentijn Overeem and Fabiano Scherner. Gilbert will look to get a KO on a takedown attempt.

(Gilbert Yvel throwing the knee)

Vitor Belfort vs. Matt Lindland- These two ten year UFC vets will fight in an interesting 185 pound contest. Vitor Belfort (17-8) last defeated UFC vet Terry Martin at the first Affliction with flashes of his devastating striking style. Vitor is currently on a three fight win streak and has victories over Randy Couture, Heath Herring, Wanderlei Silva and Gilbert Yvel.

(Vitor Belfort pictured)

Matt Lindland, the former Olympic silver medalist in Greco Roman wrestling will carry a chip on his shoulder after a decision victory of Fabio Nascimento at the first Affliction. Previous to that fight, Lindland lost to Fedor in Bodog Fight. Lindland has victories over Jeremy Horn, Carlos Newton, Joe Doerkson, Travis Lutter and Pat Miletich.

(Matt Lindland pictured)

Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Paul Buentello vs. Kiril Sidelnikov

UNDER CARD (HDNet)

Vladamir Matyushenko vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Jay Hieron vs. Jason High
L.C. Davis vs. Bao Quach
Antonio Duarte vs. Albert Rios
Patrick Speight vs. Brett Cooper

*Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon- scratched due to a Horodecki bulging disc.

Old School On You - IFC: Caged Combat Montreal Canada

IFC: Caged Combat Montreal took place on April 2nd, 1999. The event took place at Kahnawake Sports Complex, Quebec, Canada. The broadcast features a ref with one of the craziest haircuts ever. It was a mullet with shaved sides featuring a full braided pony tail at the end.

The interesting thing about this event is that they wore 7 oz gloves as opposed to the traditional 4 oz gloves of the UFC. Matches were 15 minutes straight before a two minute break. Then there was a five minute overtime round. Championship bouts were 20 minutes straight with a 5 minute overtime.

The first bout saw Jordan Damon v. David Guigui. Damon won via a rear naked choke to advance in the Middle Weight tournament finals in around 6 minutes.

Next, JF Bolduc versus Reuben Lopez in the MW tourney. This was a rather uneventful fight with Bolduc winning the bout via a long decision.

Jeremy Horn (then 26-4-4, now 80-18-5) faced Todd Butler in the first of the heavyweight touranment bouts. Horn was denied a takedown, and then taken down himself. While on the bottom, he absorbed some blows before sinking in the arm bar. He was patient and got the elbow very extended before the bout was called. Butler looked to be in some pain after that arm bar.

Mike Morris v. Kristof Midoux (then supposedly 8-0)- Morris came in sporting a beard while looking a bit out shape at 250 pounds. The Frenchmen Midoux was sporting a background in Kyokushin Karate. Right as soon as this match started, Midoux bum-rushed his opponent smashing him with nasty low kick, then a right, left and right hand punches to the face before a nasty kick to the face sending in the ref. The KO was brutal as Morris lay unconscious for a little longer than normal. Morris was KO'd way before the ref stopped it, but he got up and was OK. It was a nine second KO.

Canadian LW (143) Championship- Richard Nancoo came out to a sweet Method Man song. Mark Fraser came in specializing in BJJ and Tae Kwon Do. Nancoo got the first take down before the fight was stood up. After tons of fence grabbing, the ref finally called a fence grab. Fraser got a deep guillotine in the first after the stand-up. Nancoo fought it for about a minute and a half before having to let it go.

There were some crazy exchanges from Nancoo and Fraser from the guard. The bout also featured a 30 second butt scoot segment. The championship bouts were scheduled to be 20 minute bouts with 5 minute OT's. Despite being completely exhausted, Nancoo was able to get an arm bar and tap out Fraser around 10 minutes in the first round. Nancoo ended up 8-3 according to Sherdog.

Women's World Heavy Weight Championship- this was the first women's mma bout in Canada and featured challenger Angel Amoroso 5'6", 175 pounds against Zee Vjesalicu, 5'4" and 192 pounds, who looked a little manly. She came out to Rush and look intense. Amaroso and Zee exchanged shots to the body in the beginning of the fight. Amoroso tried a guillotine but ate shots to the body. Zee then got an excellent throw take down landing in side control. Zee then got the arm bar and the tap for the belt in 3 minutes and 13 seconds. Zee is still undefeated in MMA having last fought in 1999 with a 7-0 record according to Sherdog.

MW Championship (170) Jordan Damon from Syracuse, NY entered to a Vanilla Ice, "Ice Ice Baby" rock remix for the finals. Damon faced JF Bolduc who came out looking a little fatigued after his 20 minute battle. Jordan Damon immediately got a take down as Bultuc got weak guillotine attempt.

Next Damon was taken down but looked for opportunities. Damon seized the arm from the bottom and looked to extend the arm bar pretty good before getting the tap out in 3:38 seconds of the first round. Jordan Damon got the sweet MW Belt Tournament belt. Damon would go on to go 5-2 according to Sherdog, but that record probably isn't very accurate if you took his announced record at the time of the fight.

Next was the IFC HW Tourney championship, which started with Jeremy Horn came out to "Working Overtime" for the championship bout. Unfortunately, Midoux extended his elbow and was not able to compete. You would think it would be hard to get injured in 9 seconds, but Midoux was able to do it. Horn won the IFC Heavyweight Tourney Championship via default.

The World Heavyweight Superfight contest was between the ironman Travis Fulton at this time 71 fights total and being referred to as the Iron Man versus Vladimir "The Janitor" Matyushenko.

Kindly, The IFC showed lengthy highlights of two tournament championship fights. His first IFC bout was against Fout Moller, whom Fulton destroyed by throwing a vicious right and left for a KO. They also showed a fight against Eric Hill which Fulton worked over. Hill got a take down, but Fulton sunk the arm bar and extended his arm all over the place. Next Fulton rolled that to a triangle and Hill was tapping. At that point Fulton came in at a fit looking 224 pounds.

Vladdy came in at 212, definately one of the lightest heavyweight champions in an MMA organization. The announcers showed highlights of his arm bar victory over Vernon White and nasty ground and pound victories over Robert LaLonde and Anthony Macias.

The fight started with the Janitor getting punches before getting a takdown off a failed Fulton guillotine attempt. With Vladdy on top he defended against Fulton's sumbissions and punches. Fulton (then 53-12-4, now 189-45-10) and Vladdy (then 7-0 now 21-3) exchanged some big strikes, each eating some. Travis then pulled guard and allowed some take downs. Vladdy got a front choke that didn't work. He then got a keylock that was defended.

After another standup, Vladdy landed a nasty low kick and then got a takedown, to side control to an awesome side choke to force the tapout. Vladdy got the win to retain the IFC Heavyweight "Superfight" Championship.

IFL New Blood New Battles Results

I have yet to see any of these fights yet as I haven't found them on Youtube yet. The IFL staff will probably post a couple of them for publicity, I'd like to see the head kick by LC Davis and Hieron's dominating performance.

Alex Schoenauer def. Brendan Barrett via Decision (Split)
LC Davis def. Rafael Dias via KO (Head Kick) R3, 3:56
Chris Horodecki def. Nate Lamotte via Decision (Unanimous)
Jim Miller def. Bart Palaszewski via Decision (Unanimous)
Brad Blackburn def. Delson Heleno via TKO (Strikes) R3, 1:50
LHW Champ- Vladimir Matyushenko def. Jamal Patterson via TKO (Strikes) R2, 3:35
FW Champ- Wagnney Fabiano def. Shad Lierley KO (Punch) 1 0:37
WW Champ- Jay Hieron def. Mark Miller TKO (Strikes) R1, 2:10
Emyr Bussade def. Jesse Lennox Sub (Kneebar) R2, 1:25
Mike Ciesnolevicz and Carmelo Marrero No Contest (Cut) 1 1:37

Video of the Day - Schultz v. Horodecki II

This video shows the second fight between Chris Horodecki and Ryan Schultz, this one for the IFL GP 155 pound title. The first encounter left Schultz unconscious and taken out in a stretcher. The IFL posted this video on youtube.



Rest of the results:
Marcello Salazar def. Alex Cook via unanimous decision, round three

Brett Cooper def. Rory Markham via TKO (strikes) at 1:15 of round two - Brett Cooper (7-4, 3 wins in a row) is a great young prospect, this was a slugfest.

Tim Kennedy def. Elias Rivera via KO (punch) at 2:30 of round one - Tim Kennedy overmatched Rivera from start to finish. He next takes on Horwich for the MW title on 2/29/08.



-Belts-
Roy Nelson def. Antoine Jaoude via TKO at 0:20 of round two - Roy Nelson (IFL HW Champ) is (11-2, 3 wins in a row) now and looks to be the new Ben Rothwell of the IFL.

Wagnney Fabiano def. L.C. Davis via submission (armbar) at 3:38 of round one - Fabiano (FW champ)(9-1, 5 wins in a row) is the face of the IFL's new featherweight class.

Jay Hieron def. Delson Heleno via TKO (injury due to strikes) at 4:00 of round one - big upset, ex-UFC WW Jay Hieron (14-4) is now the IFL welterweight champ.

Matt Horwich def. Benji Radach via TKO (strikes) at 1:58 of round two - Horwich (MW champ)(21-9, 3 wins in a row) is certainly an interesting character, but his intense, non-stop fighting style is great to watch.

Vladimir Matyushenko (20-3, 7 wins in a row) won the LHW belt in the first round of the grand prix. Vladdy's has had an excellent MMA career with wins over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (12-3, Lil Nog), Pedro Rizzo (16-7), Travis Wiuff (49-11), Yuki Kondo (48-20-6), Alex Schoenauer (12-9) for IFL belt, Anthony Ruiz (21-10) and Travis Fulton (182-44).