Rampage Jackson v. Forrest Griffin

Light heavyweight champ Rampage Jackson (29-6, 3-0 UFC) and TUF 1 star Forrest Griffin (15-4, 6-2 UFC) will apparently serve as coaches for The Ultimate Fighter season 7. The show debuts April 2nd immediately following Ultimate Fight Night 13. As UFN 13 will run 3 hours, there will be 4 hours of UFC action. After the show wraps, they will probably fight for the light heavyweight title at UFC 86.

There are also many changes in the show that have been planned for the seventh season. One is that there will be 32 fighters starting out. They have to win on the first day to stay in the house.



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), IFL vet Gerald Harris (6-2), 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), IFL vet Dante Rivera (10-2), and IFL vet Mike Dolce (3-4).

WEC 33 Results

Review by the MMA Blaster

Brian Stann def. Doug Marshall via TKO (strikes)- R1, 1:35 - The slugfest occured as predicted as Stann and Marshall traded flurries of punches. After a Thai clinch, Stann was able to drop "the Rhino" with a vicious left hand. The Marine Stann is now the new LHW champ of the WEC.


Chael Sonnen def. Bryan Baker via unanimous decision- Sonnen dominated all three rounds and won the decision.

Marcus Hicks vs. Ed Ratcliff via sub (guillotine choke)- R1, 1:42 - As predicted this was a short and entertaining fight. After eating punches, Ratcliff defended guillotine attempts before eventually sucombing. Hicks' nickname is well deserved, he is a "wrecking ball."

Steve Cantwell def. Tim McKenzie via sub (rear-naked choke)- R1, 2:13- Cantwell overwelmed McKenzie with big kicks and punches for the eventual forearm rear naked choke.

Hiromitsu Miura def. Blas Avena via KO (punches)- R1, 2:35
Brock Larson def. John Alessio via DQ (illegal knee)- R1, 1:50
Richard Crunkilton def. Sergio Gomez via unanimous decision
Alex Serdyukov def. Ryan Stonitsch via sub (triangle choke)-R1, 1:35
Chris Manuel vs. Kenji Osawa via split draw
Logan Clark def. Scott Harper via TKO (strikes)- R1, 4:37

NCAA Wrestling Championships 2008

Review of the 2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships - by the MMA Blaster

The NCAA Wrestling Championship tourneys have concluded and champions were crowned on March 23rd. Many of these elite athletes will try to continue a path of amateur wrestling, but some will come to mixed martial arts. Strength, conditioning, mental toughness, the ability to cut weight, and quickness are all traits of most high level wrestlers. The biggest skill that transfers to mma is the ability to take someone down and defend the take down.

125- Angel Escobedo (Indiana) def Jayson Ness (Minnesota) 10-3
133- Coleman Scott (Ok St.) def Joey Slaton (Iowa) Fall :49 R1
141- J Jagers (Ohio State) def Chad Mendes (Cal Poly) 5-2
149- Brent Metcalf (Iowa) def Bubba Jenkins (Penn State) 14-8
157- Jordan Leen (Cornell) def Michael Poeta (Illinois) 5-4
165- Mark Perry (Iowa) def Eric Tannenbaum (Michigan) 5-2
174- Keith Gavin (Pittsburgh) def Steve Luke (Michigan) 4-2
184- Mike Pucillo (Ohio State) def Jake Varner (Iowa State) 3-3
197- Phil Davis (Penn State) def Wynn Michalak (Cent. Mich) 7-2
285- Dustin Fox (Northwestern) def J.D. Bergman (Ohio State) 4-2


Final Team Scores

1. Iowa 117.5
2. Ohio State 79
3. Penn State 75
4. Nebraska 74
5. Iowa State 72
5. Oklahoma State 72
7. Central Michigan 69
7. Michigan 69
9. Cornell 67
10. Minnesota 61.5
11. Missouri 48.5
12. Indiana 43
13. Northwestern 41
14. Illinois 40.5

Ultimate Fight Night and TUF 7 Preview

Ohhhhhh my. There are three hours of Ultimate Fight Night and one hour of TUF 7 on Wednesday night. I can barely contain myself. The best part is that UFN 13 is absolutely stacked, with a card that is probably better than UFC 83(minus GSP v. Serra).



Also, TUF 7 is premiering, with 32 middleweight fighters trying to make it into the TUF house. I really hope they do some sort of seeding for the first round, as there are 16 fighters who either have less than 3 fights or sub 500 records. It would be a shame if two fighters with 5 or 6 wins had to fight in the first round, while two 0-0 guys fought. Scroll down for video on two of the frontrunners, C.B. Dollaway and Gerald Harris.

UFN 13 Lineup:

MAIN CARD
Kenny Florian vs. Joe Lauzon
Thiago Alves vs. Karo Parisyan
Tim Boetsch vs. Matt Hamill
Houston Alexander vs. James Irvin
Nate Diaz vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard - Swing bout - Showdown of two elite wrestlers in MMA. I think this fight will broadcast as Alexander v. Irvin will probably end quick.

UNDERCARD
Marcus Aurelio vs. Ryan Roberts
Josh Neer vs. Din Thomas
Jeff Cox vs. Manny Gamburyan
Samy Schiavo vs. Clay Guida
Roman Mitichyan vs. George Sotiropoulos
Anthony Johnson vs. Tommy Speer

Elite XC/Strikeforce March 29th

This card has been changing over the past few days and weeks. As it stands now, Shields is definately out, and Nick Diaz is out as well.

Frank Shamrock (24-8) vs. Cung Le (5-0)- This bout for the Strikeforce MW belt and has the makings of a stand-up war. Shamrock coming off a KO win over Phil Baroni is mostly known as a submission fighter. However, Shamrock stated that he will stand and trade with Cung Le. Cung has been unstoppable on his feet using an unorthodox and relentless style of kicks, punches and takedowns. Right now the MMA Blaster poll slightly favors Cung Le in this fight.

Drew Fickett (32-5) vs Jae Suk Lim (9-3)- Lim was originally to fight Nick Diaz (15-7), but he had to withdraw due to not turning in required documents to CSAC. Fickett was originally slated to face Jake Shields for the WW Belt, but he withdrew due to injury. Lim won his only Elite XC fight, and is (2-1) in his last three fights losing to Steve Bruno (11-3). Fickett has won his last three fights.

Gilbert Melendez (13-1) vs. Gabe Lemley (11-6)- Strikeforce LW Champ Melendez will look to rebound from his decision defeat to Mitsuhiro Ishida (16-3) in Dream. Lemley has fought mainly for the Extreme Challenge organization out of Iowa. He has won his last five fights.

Mike Kyle (9-6) vs Wayne Cole (10-6)- UFC vet Mike Kyle hasn't fought since his suspension in 2006. Wayne Cole fought twice for the IFL, and has won his past two fights.

Joey Villasenor (24-6) vs. Ryan Jensen (11-3)- Villasenor has gone (3-3) in his past six fights, (2-1) in Elite XC/Strikeforce. Jensen was on a 6 fight win streak before dropping his last two bouts in the UFC.

Non-Televised Fights

Tiki Ghosn vs. Luke Stewart
Jesse Jones vs. Jesse Gillespie
Darren Uyenoyama vs. Anthony Figueroa


photo of Cung Le throwing a kick pre-MMA

Iron Ring Review - Ep 1 and 2

Review by MMA Blaster

Riding the success of mixed martial arts, BET has put out a MMA reality show by the name of Iron Ring. The basic premise of the show is that celebrities Ludacris, Nelly, T.I. (pre-house arrest), Lil Jon, Floyd Mayweather and Dipset (Juelz Santana and Jim Jones) own MMA teams of three fighters. There is $100,000 of prize money up for grabs, how it is divided is still a mystery.

The first episode introduces us to the celebs and the coaches. I think I heard Mayweather's and Shonie's nicknames around three or four different times. Luda, Nelly, Lil John, and TI all seem to understand that you need a well rounded fighter to win in MMA. A funny/low point was TI claiming, "I invented that move" when he sees a guillotine performed.

The coaches include UFC vet Shonie Carter (Lil John), Pride/Elite XC vet Krazy Horse Bennett (TI), UFC vet Roberto Traven (Mayweather), UFC vet Jermaine Andre (Nelly), Abdul Mutakabbir (Luda)(Inventor of S.W.A.M.), Novell G. Bell (Dipset)(Claims to have trained in Asia).



The second episode features three teams tryouts and selections. Mutakabbir(Luda) and Novell Bell(Dipset) hold tryouts in New York. Mutakabbir gives a little speech stating he wants guys with heart. Bell gives a hip hop rendition about how fighters might not know him, but fighters gotta try to knock someone out.

Like the first episode, jump cuts, soundbites, and select highlights are replayed over and over. We see a long haired guy pull the same submission three or four times, a karate display that you'd never see in MMA three times, a pull-up routine three times, and the same shot of guys hitting the bag three times.

The NY selections of fighters seems arbitrary as you can't really tell who was good at the tryouts. If you are good at pull-ups, are you a good fighter? At the end fighters are picked (can't tell how many) to compete for the 6 spots the next day. It was quick, but I'm pretty sure there was a Joe Camacho (10-11), Carlos Moreno (4-2) and Wes Sims (19-11) sighting. Alex Aquino (5-2) claims to be undefeated and after complaining he is allowed to fight the next day.

TI's selections are different because he doesn't care about training he only wants to see them fight for a spot. This seems fine with 9 year MMA veteren Krazy Horse Bennett (19-14). He claims to have attended two formal practices in his life. So TI stages his own pro fights in a warehouse and lets the potential fighters brawl it out for spots. The fights were probably legal because there was a policeman in attendance. TI, Krazy Horse and posse sat in the front row and had a great time. Thanks to TI, we are able to see the first ever MMA match on BET as afro wearing Jamie Yager (pretty sure 0-0) won his bout over Antonio Hunter (could be 0-2) with a rear-naked choke.


promo photo of TI

This show desperately needs show at least 1 or 2 complete bouts every 30 minute episode. Less jumpcuts, soundbites, and 2 second highlights shown repeatedly.

*I wonder how Shonie Carter and Krazy Horse would run a practice...

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.

Frank Shamrock - MMA Legend

By MMA Blaster

Frank Shamrock (23-8) has had a long MMA career that has had its ups (11 fight win streak, 5-0 UFC) and downs (3 losses in a row). Frank has held belts in the UFC, Pancrase, Strikeforce (current MW champ), WEC and the WKC submission grappling championship (over Dan Henderson). He was initially trained under his brother Ken Shamrock, but has since moved on to his own gym and has trained some of the best in the world. Unfortunately, his IFL team was disbanded as part of their "revamping" period.



Frank started his career in Pancrase on December 16, 1994, were he beat Bas Rutten (28-4) in his first ever MMA bout. He eventually won the King of Pancrase belt from Minoru Suzuki (28-20) and posted victories over Takafumi Ito (33-26), legend Masakatsu Funaki (38-12), Vernon White (25-32) and other veteren Japanese fighters in Pancrase.

Frank Shamrock entered the UFC winning the Middleweight belt (now LHW) over wrestling olympic gold medalist Kevin Jackson (4-2) with an arm bar in 16 seconds. He then slammed undefeated Igor Zinoviev (4-1) into retirement in 22 seconds in his first title defense. He subbed Jeremy Horn (79-16) with a kneebar and beatdown John Lober in his next two defenses. Shamrock defended the belt once more in one of the best fights in MMA history against Tito Ortiz (15-5).

After a disagreement with the UFC, Frank left and fought once in K1 beating Elvis Sinosic. In 2003 Frank came back to win the WEC light heavyweight title in 1:47 with an armbar over Brian Pardoe (12-9). Since his comeback in 2006, Frank looked impressive in his wins against Phil Baroni (10-8) and quick KO of Cesar Gracie. Shamrock did not look very good in his DQ loss to Renzo Gracie.

Highlight Video:




Gif of Frank Shamrock v. Phil Baroni at Strikeforce/Elite XC

WEC 33

Preview by the MMA Blaster

WEC 33 is tonight on Versus. Ed "9MM" Ratcliff v. Marcus Hicks is my pick to be fight of the night. Both will be unleashing a furious stand-up attack. Ratcliff is impressive with his kick and punch combinations and unorthodox style.



Doug "the Rhino" Marshall v. Brian Stann is a 205 pound match-up that may also be stand-up war. Stann (5-0) is a fan and WEC favorite as he has five straight first round TKO victories to start his career. Marshall (7-2) will bring experience and confidence to the fight. He won the LHW belt from former TUF 1 contestant Lodune Sincaid (12-6).

Match-ups:
LHW Championship Doug Marshall (7-2) vs. Brian Stann (5-0)
Marcus Hicks (7-0) vs. Ed Ratcliff (6-0)
Bryan Baker (6-0) vs. Chael Sonnen (19-9)
Steve Cantwell (4-1) vs. Tim McKenzie (11-4)
Blas Avena (2-1) vs. Hiromitsu Miura (8-4)
John Alessio (22-10) vs. Brock Larson (22-2)
Richard Crunkilton (15-2) vs. Sergio Gomez (7-1)
Alex Serdyukov (6-4) vs. Ryan Stonitsch (8-0)
Chris Manuel (6-0) vs. Kenji Osawa (13-7)
Logan Clark (9-1) vs. Scott Harper (8-3)

Charles "The Reverend" Grigsby v. Aaron Stark on April 18th

I have recently received news from Charles "The Reverend" Grigsby (15-3) that he will be facing IFL veteren Aaron Stark (5-4) on April 18th. The fight will take place under the Revolution Fighting Championship banner in Miami, Florida. Rev is very confident and knows this is a big opportunity for him before his debut in the WEC in June.

Stark is a former wrestler at University of Wisconsin. He finished (2-2) in the IFL with wins over Reese Andy and Alex Schoenauer, and TKO losses to Vladimir Matyushenko and Mike Ciesnolevicz. Rev was originally slated to face UFC vet Carmelo Marrero, but he made other plans. Marrero is rumored to be fighting for American Top Team in an IFL event on April 4th.

For a full article on "The Reverend" scroll down.

Dream Results - Rd 1

The first round of the lightweight Grand Prix went down on Saturday night, and there are now even more questions surrounding the event. The potential blockbuster fight between Shinya Aoki and JZ Calvancante faded into an oblivion after JZ threw at least one illegal elbow. The elbow struck Aoki in the neck. After the event, he explained that he would have returned and fought but he was unable to move his right arm.

I have seen most of the fights on Daily Motion and Ultimate MMA Videos. Eddie Alvarez looks to be the dark horse of the tournament. Here are the results.

Non-Tournament Bouts:

Hayato "Mach" Sakurai def. Hidetaka Monma via TKO (strikes) - R1 4:12
Ikuhisa Minowa def. Bum Chan Kang via sub (kneebar) - R1 1:25
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic def. Tatsuya Mizuno via TKO (strikes) - R1 0:56

Tournament Bouts:

JZ Calvancante v. Shinya Aoki no contest (illegal elbow) - R1 3:46
Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Kultar Gill via unanimous decision
Eddie Alvarez def. Andre Amade via TKO - R1 6:47
Mitsuhiro Ishida def. Bu Kyung Jung via unanimous decision
Katsuhiko Nagata def. Artur Oumakhanov via unanimous decision
Luiz Firmino def. Kazuyuki Miyata via sub (rear-naked choke) - R1 7:37
Joachim Hansen def. Kotetsu Boku via unanimous decision

*There are 6 fighters who have advanced, if it is a 16 man tourney you would need 8 for the second round. It will be interesting to see what they do with Aoki and Calvancante, technically, they could pass both to the next round.

Dream LW Tournament

Since Pride's demise after being purchased by the UFC, 3 new promotions popped up to try to compete with K1 for Japan's top MMA promotion. World Victory Road, Dream and M1. So far M1 has been a one trick pony. WVR hasn't really come out in the US, I have been able to catch the Josh Barnett fight and the Gomi fight.

Dream is interesting because of the lightweight tournament they have staged. There are 14 fighters that have been all but confirmed for the 16 man tournament. There has been no word on how they were paired. It doesn't look like it was seeded because Aoki and JZ are probably the top two. Other favorites are Ishida, Kawajiri and Hansen.

Main Bouts:

Mirko Filipovic (22-6) vs. Tatsuya Mizuno (4-2)- After two straight losses in the UFC Cro-Cop desperately needs a win to get back on track. Mizuno has fought all his matches in Pancrase and is stepping in for Nakao.


*Cro Cop high kick

Hayato Sakurai (31-7) vs. Hidetaka Monma (14-7)- Sakurai is known for fights in Pride/Shooto/Deep and his title loss to Matt Hughes in the UFC. Two fights ago, Sakurai knocked out Mac Danzig prior to his TUF run. Monma will come into the fight heavy than Sakurai and doesn't have wins over the same level of competition.

Tournament Bouts:

Gesias Calvancante (14-1) vs. Shinya Aoki (14-2)- JZ's only loss was to Joachim Hansen, since winning 12 straight. He has fought mainly in K1. Shooto champ Aoki is a BJJ/Judo black belt who has fought mainly in Shooto and Pride. He has 9 victories in a row including a rare gogoplata of Joachim Hansen, and recent decision over tourney member Jung. I'd put both in the top 5 of the LW division.

Tatsuya Kawajiri (20-4) vs. Kultar Gill (9-6)- Kawajiri is a Shooto champion and Pride veteren who has a victory over tourney member Firminio and is regarded as a top five of the LW division. Gill's last fight was a KO win in K1. Prior to that he lost three straight.

Mitsuhiro Ishida (15-3) vs. Bu Kyung Jung (0-1)- Ishida is a Pride/Shooto veteren with a victory over tourney member Boku and is a top ten LW. Jung is a judo expert who lost a decision to Aoki in his only MMA bout.

Kazuyuki Miyata (5-6) vs. Luiz Firmino (11-3)- Miyata has fought his last 10 in K1, including a win over tourney member Gill. Firmino hasn't fought since a win in Pride in November of 2006. His biggest win is probably over Masakazu Imanari (14-5)in Pride.

Eddie Alvarez (12-1) vs. Andre Amade (6-2)- Alvarez has recently fought in Bodog and ShoXC with his only loss to Nick Thompson (35-9) at 170. Amade has fought his last four in K1, including a win against Caol Uno.

Artur Oumakhanov (7-2) vs. Katsuhiko Nagata (3-2) - Artur's two losses were in his last fight in Pancrase to Shoji and a K1 loss to Amade. All of Nagata's bouts are in K1, losses to Uno and Akiyama, wins against above .500 competition.

Kotetsu Boku (13-4) vs. Joachim Hansen (16-6)- Boku has wins in Shooto/K1/GCM. Hansen is a Pride/Shooto/K1 vet who just beat tourney member Miyata in K1, and is the only person to beat JZ Calvancante.


*Hansen v. Aoki in Pride

Video of the Day - Silva v. Okami 1

Here is the video from Rumble on the Rock 8, Anderson Silva v. Yushin Okami. At 5:10 you will see the upkick heard round the world.

MMA Blaster on MMA Junkie Part 2

"TUF" HEAVYWEIGHTS NEEDED

If there is one constant rule in MMA, it's that a good heavyweight fighter is hard to find. That's why the UFC should cultivate its own talent with the six-week training course and tournament better known as "The Ultimate Fighter." The obvious obstacle is finding quality competitors, and the twist would be to go international. Advertise it as U.S. vs. World. Get the eight U.S. big boys by sniping some ex-IFL and EliteXC talent, fighters from YAMMA Pit Fighting's eight-man tournament, and tryouts. Internationally, find the fighters from top camps in Russia, Brazil, Australia, Holland, France, UK, Japan and Canada. The dynamic in the house and gaps in cultures would be unlike any other season. For coaches, rather than a six-month layoff for top fighters, go old school. For the U.S., Dan Severn, Don Frye or Mo Smith. For World, Marco Ruas, Pedro Rizzo or Oleg Taktarov.

The Shamrock Doesn't Bring Luck

Ken Shamrock lost again on Saturday night, losing in the first round to Robert Berry. Ken came out with absolutely no gameplan. I expected him to take Berry down and attempt a submission. Instead, Ken chose to stand and trade with Berry, a strategy that has cost him before. Maybe he was upset that his son had lost earlier that night, but he sucked. He didn't use Berry kicks for a single leg takedown, he didn't attempt a takedown when Berry charged.



Dan Severn beat Buzz Berry in June of 2006 via rear naked choke, maybe he should go on and fight in Elite XC.

Here are the results.

Robert Berry def. Ken Shamrock via KO R1 3:26
Masakazu Imanari def. Jean Silva via submission (heel hook) R1 2:30
Rob Broughton def. Neil Grove via decision
Mustapha al Turk def. Gary Turner via submission (strikes) R1 3:19
Tom Watson def. Pierre Guillet via TKO (strikes) R1 2:05
Ivan Serati Roman def. Webber via TKO (strikes) R1 0:48
Henrique Santana def. Michael Johnson via unanimous decision
Aisling Daly def. Aysen Berik via TKO (strikes) R1 1:49
Giorgio Andrews def. Ryan Shamrock via TKO (injury) R1 5:00
John Hathaway def. Marvin Arnold Bleau via TKO (strikes) R1 1:32
John Phillips def. Jake Bostwick via TKO (strikes) R1 4:10

C.B. Dollaway Selected for TUF 7

According to mmajunkie.com, C.B. Dollaway (6-0) has been selected as a cast member in the next installment of The Ultimate Fighter reality show. Dollaway is a highschool state champ, junior college champ, and was an All American wrestler at Arizona State University. Below is a clip from one of his first victories.

World Victory Road

Here are highlights from Gomi v. Ludwig and Hidehiko Yoshida v. Barnett. These are four guys I'd like to see in the UFC or anywhere on the United States circuit.



RESULTS:
Nick Thompson def. Fabricio Monteiro - Unanimous Decision
Ryo Kawamura def. Antonio Braga Neto - Unanimous Decision
Evangelista Santos def. Makoto Takimoto - Submission (Heel Hook) R1 4:51
Kazuyuki Fujita def. Peter Graham - Submission (North-South Choke) R1 1:23
Kazuo Misaki def. Siyar Bahadurzada - Submission (Guillotine Choke) R2 2:02
Takanori Gomi def. Duane Ludwig - TKO (Cut) R1 2:28
Josh Barnett def. Hidehiko Yoshida - Submission (Heel Hook) R3 3:23

Anderson the Destroyer - UFC 82 Results

UFC 82 had three pretty great fights and two well fought decisions. I've been able to watch most of the undercard fights on Ultimate MMA Videos, see friend links on the right side. The fight of the night went to Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson for good reason. KO of the night went to Chris Leben. Anderson also got the submission of the night. Despite being on the undercard, Arlovski and Diego got quite a reception in Ohio. Here are the results:

Anderson Silva def. Dan Henderson via submission (rear-naked choke) — R2, 4:52 - Dan Henderson was able to win the first round after a body lock takedown and controlling Anderson for the rest of the round. This was accomplished by elbows and short hammerfists to the face, but Anderson looked calm and waited for the bell.

In the second, Anderson landed leg and body kicks to Henderson. Henderson threw punches that failed to meet their mark. They both traded blows before Henderson caught a knee to the head and was taken down. Henderson was dazed and the rear naked choke was sunk forcing Dan to tap. Anderson has secured his legacy as one of the best UFC fighters of all time.
**MMA Blaster pollsters were correct - 29 voted correctly, 25 were wrong!
**MMA Blaster pick correct


Heath Herring def. Cheick Kongo via split decision - After Herring tagged Kongo with a punch to the face, Kongo took Herring down and was controlled the rest of the round. The second and their rounds saw Herring controlling the ground game and winning the split decision.
**MMA Blaster pick incorrect

Chris Leben def. Alessio Sakara via TKO (strikes) — R1, 3:36 - Sakara seemed to land more punches and have better technique, but Leben landed a powerful left hook that sent Sakara to the canvas, Leben pounced and finished Sakara off for the victory.
**MMA Blaster pick correct

Yushin Okami def. Evan Tanner via KO (knee) — R2, 3:00 - After a couple minutes of boxing, Okami was able to knock Tanner to the canvas and then control him for the first round. The second saw Okami work Tanner over in the Thai clinch landing a knee directly to Tanner's head.
**MMA Blaster pick correct

Jon Fitch def. Chris Wilson via unanimous decision - Fitch controlled most of the fight by getting more takedowns and controlling the action on the ground. Wilson was able to land some combinations. It was a fairly lackluster fight.
**MMA Blaster pick correct

Andrei Arlovski def. Jake O’Brien via TKO (strikes) — R2, 4:17 - O'Brien tried extremely hard for a takedown in the first round, absorbing some punishment before finally getting one. In the second, while pushed against the fence, Arlovski scored a trip takedown from a body lock. From there Arlovski rained down punches before looking at the ref. A couple more shots and the ref stepped in. I originally thought it was a quick stoppage, but O'Brien was definately hurt lying on the ground and didn't look to know where he was afterwards.
**MMA Blaster pick correct

Luigi Fioravanti def. Luke Cummo via unanimous decision
**MMA Blaster pick incorrect

Josh Koscheck def. Dustin Hazelett via TKO (strikes) — R2, 1:24 - After a pretty even first round, Kos overwelmed Hazelett in the second and got the TKO from strikes.
**MMA Blaster pick incorrect

Diego Sanchez def. David Bielkheden via submission (strikes) — R1, 4:42 - Diego fired out of the gate getting the takedown and systematically found the mark with his strikes.
**MMA Blaster pick correct

Jorge Gurgel def. John Halverson via unanimous decision
**MMA Blaster pick incorrect

MMA Blaster's Post Published on MMA Junkie

Thanks to mmajunkie.com for posting my story on his Sunday Junkie segment. Here is the post:

"EDWARDS VS. BERTO A MUST-SEE"

Tank’s hairy belly and Kimbo’s glistening beard cast a shadow over this years best knee-to-cranium knockout. The strike was delivered by Yves Edwards to snatch his third victory in a row and an upcoming title fight against K.J. Noons. The Berto v. Edwards fight was very entertaining. Edwards and Berto traded leg kicks that cracked like Indiana Jones’ whip. Edwards gave up a takedown, almost got trapped in a tight guillotine choke, remained calm and worked himself out while raining down punches. The fighters were stood back up, and Berto secured a tight single leg. With Edwards bouncing on his plant leg defending the takedown, Edwards used the free leg like a spring and jumped, smashing the knee directly to the temple of Berto for the KO. The precision, technique, balance and sheer athleticism was something to marvel at. Regardless of organization, that KO is a must see.

-by the MMA Blaster

+I'll be submitting another post to Sunday Junkie this week, if for some reason it isn't published, it will be up here.

Video of the Day - IFL Greatest KO's

The IFL has pretty much ditched the team concept opting for traditional belts. The last event staged by the IFL drew little fanfare. Here is the old IFL's greatest KO segment. The IFL posted it on youtube.



*Ben Rothwell claimed two of the KO's, I'd like to see him get off the shelf and fight someone soon.

Raymond Daniels vs Damion Caldwell in WCL

Here is Raymond "Real Deal" Daniels v. Damion Caldwell in Chuck Norris' WCL.

Cung Le - Top Notch Middleweight

Thoughts by the MMA Blaster


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Cung Le (5-0) is definately one of the top middleweight fighters outside the UFC/WEC banner. The problem arises in judging just how good he really is. Watching his highlight reel obviously does not tell you the whole story behind the Cung Le, but you can tell Cung has serious talent. His kicks come from the left and right legs, are brought high and low, spinning back, forward and with some heavy force.

On December 15, 2001, Cung defeated Mr. International Shonie Carter by unanimous decision in San Jose, CA to win the IKF Pro Light-Heavyweight San Shou World Title. San shou is composed of Chinese martial arts applications including most aspects of combat including striking and grappling which is interesting to watch. (see below) Watching Cung Le being able to catch kicks and blast opponents to the ground definately leads to the thought that Cung would excel in MMA.

Sure enough Cung Le has won all five of his professional mma fights under the Strikeforce banner. Unfortunately he may not be leaving this organization thanks to him training near San Jose, the base of Strikeforce, and his penchent for acting (check him out on IMDB). His past four bouts have come against quality competition. Jason Von Flue (12-9), whom Cung Le beat after the fight was stopped by cut, has victories over IFL vet Savant Young and TUF vet Alex Karalexis (9-3). Cung Le TKO'd Tony Frykland (14-9) who has victories over UFC vets Jonathan Goulet, Eugene Jackson, and Zack Light. In his latest win, Cung picked apart another TUF vet, Sammy Morgan (19-10, victories over Duane Ludwig, Aaron Riley) eventually getting a TKO in the third after a devastating body kick.

With his unorthodox and relentless style, I believe Cung Le will be a premier mixed martial artist and has the potential to go toe to toe with someone like Anderson Silva. With Strikeforce beginning to snatch ex-UFC and Pride talent, there are challenges out there. Of course, the upcoming match-up with Frank Shamrock has hardcore fight fans going crazy.
Cung Le Highlight

Vid of the Day - "What is Muay Thai"

Muay Thai uses hands, shins, elbows, forearms and knees extensively. It's elements are used frequently in MMA. Check out this video, it is pretty entertaining.

Current UFC Winning Streaks

In an effort to sift through the UFC title picture, I compiled a list of current UFC win streaks. It almost makes the title picture look a little clearer. Jon Fitch tops the list with eight straight victories. Dana has promised him a title shot after Serra v. GSP.

Heavy (HW):

Andrei Arlovski - 3 wins (contract up, who knows what will happen)
Randy Couture - 2 wins (HW Champ, current dispute with UFC)
Antonio Nogueira - 2 wins (Interim HW Champ at UFC 81)
Eddie Sanchez - 2 wins
Christian Wellisch - 2 wins
Frank Mir - 2 wins
Fabricio Werdum - 1 win
Heath Herring - 1 win
Antoni Hardonk - 1 win



Light Heavy (LHW):
Lyoto Machida - 4 wins
Wilson Gouveia - 4 wins
Quinton Rampage Jackson - 3 wins (LHW Champ)
Thiago Silva - 3 wins
Forrest Griffin - 2 wins
Stephan Bonnar - 2 wins
Rashad Evans - 1 win, 1 draw, 5 wins
Keith Jardine - 1 win
Chuck Liddell - 1 win
Tim Boetsch - 1 win



Middle (MW):
Anderson Silva - 6 wins (MW Champ)
Martin Kampmann - 3 wins
Thales Leites - 3 wins
Patrick Cote - 3 wins
Ed Herman - 3 wins
Yushin Okami - 2 wins
Alan Belcher - 2 wins
Chris Leben - 2 wins
Dean Lister - 1 win
Nate Quarry - 1 win
Jorge Rivera - 1 win



Welter (WW):
Jon Fitch - 8 wins
Marcus Davis - 6 wins
Thiago Alves - 4 wins
Karo Parisyan - 3 wins
Matt Serra - 2 wins (WW Title)
Georges St. Pierre - 2 wins (Interim WW Title)
Mike Swick - 1 win
Akihiro Gono - 1 win
Jonathan Goulet - 1 win
Roan Carneiro - 1 win
Diego Sanchez - 1 win
Josh Koscheck - 1 win
Luigi Fioravanti - 1 win



Lightweight (LW):
Roger Huerta - 6 wins
Gleison Tibau - 3 wins
Sean Sherk - 3 wins (LW Title stripped from steroid violation)
Frank Edgar - 3 wins
Kenny Florian - 3 wins
Nate Diaz - 3 wins
Joe Lauzon - 3 wins (losses on TUF don't count)
Matt Wiman - 3 wins
BJ Penn - 2 wins (LW Champ)
Rich Clementi - 2 wins
Tyson Griffin - 2 wins
Jeremy Stephens - 2 wins
Gray Maynard - 2 wins
Sam Stout - 1 win
Manny Gamburyan - 1 win
Marcus Aurelio - 1 win
Thiago Tavares - 1 win
Kurt Pellegrino - 1 win
Corey Hill - 1 win
Jorge Gurgel - 1 win


*Let me know if I missed anyone notable who is in the UFC title picture or if I made any mistakes

Video of the Day - Nogueira vs Overeem II

Here is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Valentijn Overeem II from the Rings King of Kings Tournament finale on 2/24/01. The tournament played over 3 events.

Video of the Day - Spinning Back Kick

This clip is from the show Human Weapon. Here's Cung Le showing Jason and Bill one of his textbook moves. If you haven't seen Cung Le in action, there are two highlight videos from a previous post. Cung will lauch spinning back kicks at unexpected times, and put Sammy Morgan to the ground with one. Click on Cung Le's Label.

Cage Rage 25 - Return of Shamrock

This Saturday night (March 8th) Showtime will be broadcasting Cage Rage 25. The headline fight is Ken Shamrock v. Robert Berry. Masakazu Imanari is generally regarded as a top ten featherweight in the world. Ken's 19 year-old son Ryan will also be making his Cage Rage debut.

Main Card:
Ken Shamrock (26-13) v. Robert Berry (11-7)
Masakazu Imanari (13-5) vs. Jean Silva (15-7)
Gary Turner (4-0-1) vs. Mustapha Al Turk (4-3)
Tom Watson (4-3) vs. Pierre Guillet (10-7)

Under Card:
Ivan Serati vs. Roman Webber
Rob Broughton vs. Neil Grove
Henrique Santana vs. Michael Johnson
Aisling Daly vs. Aysen Berik
Ryan Shamrock (1-0) vs. Giorgio Andrews (2-0)
John Hathaway vs. Marvin Arnold
Jack Bostwick vs. John Phillips