Hand Touch KO

Well, here is a DQ win that I don't think anyone would want. Trying to exploit the rules to avoid kicks to the head is not always a good thing.

Bobonis Defends Combate Extremo Title on March 24th

Pro MMA fighter Shah Bobonis will look to build on his four fight win streak on March 24, 2012, when he fights Rodolfo Rubio in the Combate Extremo promotion. The title fight will take place in Monterrey, Mexico.

Bobonis has been a friend of mine since I did a story on him in preparation for a bout back in 2008. I was recently able to catch up with Shah and ask a few questions about his upcoming bout.

MMA Blaster: You haven't fought since your Bellator knockout victory over Marcos da Matta in September, how has training been going?

Bobonis: Yeah, I havent fought since September of last year. I was supposed to fight on the XFC in December of last year, but my opponent was injured nine days before the fight. My training for the March 24th Combate Extremo title defense has been going great.


MMA Blaster: What members of the FFA team have you been helping out?

Bobonis: We have a great group of small guys at FFA. The list includes Tulio Quintanilla who is also a Bellator veteran; Jason Soares, the FILA 2011 no-gi world champion at 65 kilos; Edwin Sarriar, the 125lbs WFO amateur champion; Edir Terry, a Karate black belt and great kickboxer; and my coaches are some of the best MMA minds in the game.

MMA Blaster: How frustrating is it to have scheduled fights fall through? Is it just part of the MMA game?

Bobonis: As far as fights falling through, I'm used to it. I don't make the same mistakes that I have made before. In the past, I would usually just take a short notice fight at a higher weight class. That accounts for half of my six losses. I'd say once a fight is signed you only have about a seventy percent chance of actually fighting the person originally scheduled, if you get to fight at all.

MMA Blaster: Judging by a video of your next opponent, he looks to have some grappling skill. How do you like to attack grappling oriented fighters?

Bobonis: I agree, Rubio does have decent BJJ. From looking at the tape, I think that is his strength. I plan on taking what he gives me. If he intends on grappling, I have no qualms pounding him out. There is no way I end up on my back in this fight. When punches and elbows are raining down, it's really hard to pull off a submission against a top level guy.


MMA Blaster: What do you like most about fighting in Mexico?

Bobonis: I really like Mexico, and fighting there presents a different challenge. When I fight in the United States there are many high level grapplers who have a huge hole in their striking game. Usually in Mexico it’s the reverse, on average I feel the top guys in Mexico have much better striking then most fighters in the US.

MMA Blaster: Would you like to get another fight in Bellator? Would you be willing to fill in and fight as an alternate in the season 6 tournaments? How do you think you would stack up to the fighters in last seasons Ultimate Fighter?

Bobonis: I’m ready to fight ANYONE in the world at 135 pounds. The best shows in the United States are Bellator and the UFC. Looking at the last season of the Ultimate Fighter reality show, I feel like most of the guys at bantamweight wouldn’t last two rounds with me. There are plenty of guys in the Bellator bantamweight tournament that I would love to fight. I have a good relationship with the south Florida matchmaking consultant for Bellator, so I hope to be on a Bellator card later this year.

MMA Blaster: Many fighters are embracing twitter, what are your thoughts on it? What is your twitter handle?

Bobonis: Twitter is great, I personally love it along with any other form of social media. For some guys I see how it could be a loaded gun with no safety. I have an MMA blog that comes out weekly on a few websites and I always post links to it on my Facebook and Twitter. I wish I was more tech savvy so I could do more. My Twitter handle is @shahbobonis.


MMA Blaster: What were your thoughts on the Diaz versus Condit fight? Who do you think won?

Bobonis: I think Condit clearly won by landing all the clean shots standing. Aggression is great, but it has to be effective aggression. Diaz wasn’t effective at all, he was countered all night. Another thing I’d like to touch on, how is Diaz so angry all the time? Most the people I know who smoke weed are pleasant and laid back. The Diaz brothers are the angriest pot heads I’ve ever seen.

MMA Blaster: Do you have any thank you's or shout-outs?

Bobonis: I want to thank FFA, Brawl and Maul, Trim Nutrition, MMA Solutions, MMA Athlete, all my training partners at FFA and my parents.

UFC on Fuel Highlights

The UFC on Fuel 1 show produced several highlights throughout the show. The Jake Ellenberger versus Diego Sanchez fight proved to be a barnburner, with Ellenberger getting off to a quick two rounds to nothing lead on the scorecards. However, Sanchez fired back, nearly getting a finish in the third frame.

Other exciting clashes included Stefan Struve's second round TKO over Dave Herman, and Ronny Markes split decision win over Aaron Simpson. Each victor had to overcome adversity as they clearly dropped the first rounds of their fights.

Apparently, shows on Fuel TV will release free highlight videos. Take a look.

Ellenberger v. Sanchez:


Struve v. Herman:


Markes v. Simpson


Here are the full results:

Jake Ellenberger def Diego Sanchez via unanimous dec
Stefan Struve def Dave Herman via TKO, R2, 3:52
Ronny Markes def Aaron Simpson via split dec
Stipe Miocic def Philip De Fries via KO (punches) R1, 0:43
T.J. Dillashaw def Walel Watson via unanimous dec
Ivan Menjivar def John Albert via submission (RNC) R1, 3:45
Jonathan Brookins def Vagner Rocha via KO (punches) R1, 1:32
Justin Salas def Anton Kuivanen via unanimous dec
Tim Means def Bernado Magalhaes vis unanimous dec

Video of the Day - Menjivar v. Albert

Here is a condensed version of the Ivan Menjivar versus John Albert fight from UFC on Fuel 1 which took place on 2/15/12 at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska.

The fight earned one fighter a submission of the night bonus.

Video of the Day - Miocic v. De Fries

Here is Stipe Miocic fighting Philip De Fries from UFC on Fuel 1 which took place on 2/15/12 at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.

Video of the Day - Varner v. Fickett

Here is Jamie Varner fighting Drew Fickett at XFC 16 - High Stakes, which took place on 2/10/12 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

MMA BLASTER: TUF 15 Preview

MMA BLASTER: TUF 15 Preview

Video of the Day - Condit v. Tanaka

Here is Carlos Condit fighting Tatsunori Tanaka at Pancrase Blow 9, which took place on 10/25/06 at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Head stomps and soccer kicks were legal under that Pancrase rule set.

Condit narrowly defeated Nick Diaz for the interim welterweight title at UFC 143.

Video of the Day - Tate v. Coolbaugh

Here is Meisha "Takedown" Tate fighting Valerie Coolbaugh in Freestyle Cage Fighting 38 which took place on 1/16/10 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Tate will defend her 135 pound Strikeforce women's belt against Ronda Rousey on Saturday, March 3rd.

Video of the Day - Manhoef v. Akiyama

Here is Melvin Manhoef fighting Yoshihiro Akiyama in K1 Hero's 7 which took place on 10/9/06.

Akiyama fights next at UFC 144 this Saturday.

Video of the Day - Fickett v. Veach

Here is Drew Fickett fighting Matt Veach at MFC 28 which took place on 2/28/11 in Alberta, Canada.

Fickett (41-16) has had an interesting career, notching high level wins over Josh Koscheck, Dennis Hallman, Kenny Florian, Kurt Pellegrino, Josh Neer and Dennis Bermudez. His life outside the cage has been interesting, as he has battled problems with alcohol.

Fickett will fight former WEC champ Jamie Varner at XFC 16 tonight, which airs live on HDNet.