Video of the Day - Carneiro v. Silva

Here is UFC champ Anderson Silva fighting Roan "Jucao" Carneiro at Meca Vale Tudo 6 which took place in Curitiba, Brazil on 1/31/02.

Anderson (33-5, 16-1 UFC) will next attempt to reclaim his middleweight title in a rematch with Chris Weidman at UFC 168.

Carneiro (15-9) is certainly no slouch in his own right, picking up wins in the UFC against Rich Clementi and Tony DeSouza. He has also defeated Matt Horwich, Jorge Patino and Luis Ramos in his career.

*You might recognize that the ref for the bout is none other than Pedro Rizzo.

UFC 168 takes place on December 28, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. It will be broadcast on PPV, FX and Facebook.

PPV Card

Chris Weidman v Anderson Silva - MW Title
Ronda Rousey v Miesha Tate - Women's BW Title
Josh Barnett v Travis Browne
Fabricio Camoes v Jim Miller
Diego Brandao v Dustin Poirier

FOX SPORTS 1 CARD - 8 p.m. ET

Uriah Hall v Chris Leben
Michael Johnson v Gleison Tibau
Manny Gamburyan v Dennis Siver
Siyar Bahadurzada v John Howard

FACABOOK CARD - 7 PM EST

William Macario v Bobby Voelker
Estevan Payan v Robert Peralta

Video of the Day - Barnett v. Mighty Mo

Here is Josh Barnett fighting Siala Mou "Mighty Mo" Siliga at Dream 13 which took place on 3/22/10 in Yokohama, Japan.

Barnett (33-6), a former UFC HW champ, next fights Travis Browne at UFC 168.

Video of the Day - Johnson v. Kyle

Here is Anthony Johnson fighting Mike Kyle at WSOF 8 which took place in Hollywood, Florida on 1/18/14. This was believed to be the last fight on Johnson's current WSOF fight contract.

Skip to 8:25 for the start of the fight, it is a quick one.

Video of the Day - Holdsworth v. Limon

Here is TUF 18 competitor Chris Holdsworth fighting Gustavo Limon at Gladiator Challenge "Legends Collide 2" which took place on 2/20/11 in San Jacinto, California.

Holdsworth (4-0) will fight Davey Grant (8-1) at the TUF 18 Finale.

Video of the Day - Hose v. Marshall

Here is Doug "The Rhino" Marshall fighting Kala "Kolohe" Hose at Bellator 82 which took place on November 30, 2012 in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

Marshall next fights against Alexander Shlemenko at Bellator 109.

Where does Renato "Babalu" Sobral fall in MMA History?

After suffering his third TKO loss in four fights, Babalu Sobral (37-11) hung up his gloves after falling to Jacob Noe at Bellator 96. Age and the injury bug seemed to finally catch up with the veteran Brazilian fighter. I was asked recently by a couple readers where he fell in the history of MMA.

Babalu was a solid submission grappler who loved to kick box, sometimes maybe a little too much. If there were yearly all-star teams in MMA, Babalu would have earned spots on the 2003 and 2005 teams. So I guess you could say he would belong in the "Hall of the Very Good" but not quite the "Hall of Fame."

Babalu went 4-0 in 2003 defeating Marcelo Azevedo (8-8) in Heat FC 1 before entering the IFC Global Domination light heavyweight tournament on September 6, 2003 in Denver, Colorado. Babalu ran the table, defeating UFC veteran Trevor Prangley (30-9) via decision, submitted then undefeated former UFC champ Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (21-7) via guillotine choke then defeated well traveled UFC vet Jeremy Horn (89-21) via decision.

Babalu had a solid 2004, winning a decision over Brazilian MMA pioneer Jose "Pele" Landi Jons (27-15), then tapping out UFC veteran Cyrille Diabate (19-9). In 2005 Babalu submitted Pierre Guillet with punches in Cage Rage, before entering the UFC and submitting Travis Wiuff (68-18) via armbar and title challenger Chael Sonnen (27-13) via triangle.

Babalu's streak would come crashing to an end in 2006, when Chuck Liddell iced him with a highlight reel head kick finish. Babalu's return fight somehow ended worst, as he got KO'd by Jason Lambert. In his most infamous and bloodiest bout, Babalu would comeback to defeat David Heath (18-7) with an anaconda choke that was held a second or two too long. The incident would earn Babalu his walking papers from the UFC. All in all, Babalu had a solid career.

(Babalu following the choke)

Babalu would catch on with Affliction and Strikeforce, where he notched big wins over Robbie Lawler, Sokoudjou and Mike Whitehead. Throughout his career, Babalu seemed to only lose to top fighters. He notched some career defining wins. Babalu will continue teaching at his California based gym, the next time you see, he might be coaching the next up and coming prospect.

Video of the Day - Smith v. Shamrock

Here is Maurice Smith fighting Ken Shamrock at Pancrase - King of Pancrase Opening Round which took place on Fridady, December 16, 1994 in Tokyo, Japan.

Shamrock was coming off a submission win over Alex Cook in his preliminary bout earlier that night. The next day, he would submit Masakatsu Funaki then take a decision over Manabu Yamada to claim the King of Pancrase championship.

Video of the Day - Hendricks v. Gamble

Here is Johny Hendricks fighting Richard Gamble at an EFL: Extreme Fighting League which took place on 3/15/08. Hendricks won the NCAA wrestling championship 2 times in the 165 pound division and was a 4 time All-American.

Hendricks (15-1, 10-1 UFC) next fights Georges St. Pierre (24-2, 18-2 UFC) for the welterweight title at UFC 167.

Rising Undefeated Heavyweight Prospects

The heavyweight division is where the biggest and baddest of MMA superstars reign. One punch from a powerful heavyweight and it is lights out. The UFC is always looking for the next great heavyweight. Here are guys who have the potential to make it one day to the MMA world's grandest stage.

The overall success of these fighters is dependent on many factors. Almost all need better technique in their stand-up game and better conditioning. Hopefully they can stay healthy while putting in hard work. Here is a look at some current undefeated heavyweights that will look to breakthrough to the big leagues.

Vitaly Minakov (12-0)- This 4X Sambo world champion from Russia made a successful Bellator debut in November, TKO'ing Vladimir Starcencov in the second round. He since has KO'd Ron Sparks and Ryan Martinez. Minakov has 1st round KO wins over UFC vets Eddie Sanchez and Fabiano Scherner. The 6'3" Minakov has weighed from the mid 230's up to the mid 240's. His striking has been on point lately.

Volkan "Cousin" Oezdemer (9-0)- The Turkish born Swiss fighter primarily relies on his Muay Thai game and possesses a blue belt in BJJ. On March 13th, he won 3 fights in one night to capture the Valhalla "Battle of the Kings" tournament. The HW champ of Lions FC, Oezdemer will have to improve his grappling when he moves to the next level of competition. He next fights Matti Makela at SHC 8.

Blagoy Ivanov (8-0)- The 2008 Combat Sambo world champ successfully bounced back from being stabbed in February of 2012 to defeat Manny Lara at Bellator 99. Ivanov has three wins in Bellator, and also TKO'd Ricco Rodriguez in an MMA event in Moscow.

Karl "The Wrecking Machine" Etherton (9-0)- This English fighter has finished 8 of his opponents in the first round, including his Bellator debut against Jason Fish (2-3). Etherton, the UCC HW champion has not faced quality competition thus far in his career. Bigger fights are on the way for this heavy handed Brit. Etherton's grappling needs to improve by leaps and bounds for him to remain undefeated.

Marcin "Tybur" Tybura (9-0)- Tybura is a Polish heavyweight with 4 submissions and 3 TKO's on his resume. He seems to be at his best when he throws a few punches, backs his opponent against the fence, then lands a takedown. From there, Tybur has a solid submission game from top position and strong ground and pound. He has 3 straight wins in M-1, last submitting Konstantin Gluhov (26-13) and TKO'ing Chaban Ka (6-2) and Denis Komkin (13-12) to take the M-1 Grand Prix. He should face a tough test in Kenny Garner next for the M-1 HW title.

Levan Razmadze (5-0)- The Georgian(Russia) is a big heavyweight who has finished all opponents earning 3 submissions and 2 KO's. Razmadze was a member of the Georgian national judo team and an alternate in the 2008 Olympics. He has primarily competed in the Deep organization, with submission wins over Ryuta Noji (16-7) and Kazuhisa Tazawa (7-2).

Jan "The Saint" Jorgensen (6-0)- The 26 year old former defensive end from Brigham Young University utilizes his big power standing and his highschool wrestling background to get the fight to the mat. He has fought exclusively for the Utah promotion "Showdown Fights" earning 4 KO's and 1 submission as a professional. Jorgensen needs to improve his submission game when he does get the fight to the floor.


Rapheal Butler (6-0)- The 6'3" Minnesotan currently fights right near the 265 pound heavyweight limit. In his Bellator debut, Butler KO'd Jeremiah O'Neal. Before that, he KO'd previously undefeated Brett Murphy (6-1) in just 13 seconds. Butler is (35-12) as a pro boxer and will need to dramatically improve his wrestling and ground game as he progresses to the next level of competition. As a pro boxer, he TKO'd Lyle McDowell (27-13), Dan Ward (29-19) and MMA's Iron Man Travis Fulton.

Denis Smoldarev (5-0) Nicknamed "Brock Lesnar" in Estonia, this 6'5" 250 pound fighter has combat sambo, judo and kickboxing skills in his arsenal. 4 of his victories have come in M-1, last TKO'ing Ibragim Ibragimov (5-2). A shoulder injury forced him out of his last scheduled bout in M-1.

Gheorghe Ignat (5-0)- This 8X national Greco Roman champion from Romania currently trains at The Arena in San Diego. He is training BJJ with legends Saul and Xande Riberio and boasts 3 submission victories on his resume. His striking needs to improve greatly to get to the next level in MMA.


Hrvoje Slade (5-0)- This 23 year old Croatian 220 pound heavyweight might make the drop to 205 in the near future. He threw punches in bunches in his last fight to KO Marko Igrc (9-4), a light heavyweight, at House of Gladiators 1.

Ken Hasegawa (7-0)- At 5'11" this 220 pound Japanese heavyweight would likely drop to 205 in a bigger organization. So far he has fought all 7 times in the Deep organization, last earning a first round KO over Hirohid Fujinuma (12-5).

Jared Cannonier (4-0)- This Alaskan heavyweight has yet to fight outside his home state. He defeated Josh Ofir (7-3) in his last bout. All 4 of his fights have resulted in first round finishes.

Steve Mocco (3-0)- I'm adding Mocco because many fighters are declining bouts against him. A 2008 Olympian and NCAA champion in wrestling, Mocco recently has trained at American Top Team. After winning his first two bouts via submission, Mocco won a unanimous decision against Lew Polley.

*If you know of any undefeated heavyweight fighters who are under or close to 30 years old, have not yet fought in UFC, and have at least 4 wins with at least one win in 2012, please list them in the comments section and I'll have them posted.

Video of the Day - Galvao v. Estima

Here is Andre Galvao grappling Braulio Estima in the superfight at the 2013 Abu Dhabi Combat Championships in China.

Galvao is a 2nd degree blackbelt in BJJ who took gold in the 2011 ADCC 88KG and Absolute divisions. Estima, a 3rd degree black belt, took gold in the 2009 ADCC 88KG and Absolute division. Each has several other world titles to their credit.

Estima Helicopter Arm Bar

Here is submission wizard Braulio Estima grappling Ryan Gregg in a Brazil v. USA grappling event in 2002. At the time, Estima was a brown belt and Gregg was a black belt.

Video of the Day - Nakao v. Kikuno

Here is Katsunori Kikuno fighting Jutaro Nakao at Deep - "Cage Impact 2013" which took place on 6/15/13 in Tokyo, Japan.

It is rumored that Kikuno and Tatsuya Kawajiri have been signed to the UFC. Kikuno (21-5), with his unorthodox Karate style, currently has a five fight win streak. The fight starts at the 4:00 minute mark.

Video of the Day - Rickels v. Chandler

Here is Michael Chandler fighting David Rickels for the Bellator lightweight belt, which took place on 7/31/13 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

Rickels earned his way to the title shot by defeating Lloyd Woodard, Jason Fischer and Saad Awad to win the tournament title. Coming into the bout, Chandler had won 8 straight Bellator bouts, including submissions over Eddie Alvarez, Marcin Held and Rick Hawn.

Chandler will next defend his title against Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 106. Rickels defeated JJ Ambrose via TKO in his last bout at Bellator 103.

Top 20 Fighters of the Past 20 Years

A reader recently asked me who the top 20 fighters were of the past 20 years. With the start of the UFC in 1993, I find the question to be quite relevant.

I have decided to go year by year, trying to add fighters as they entered or were in their prime. Unfortunately, I only have a few minutes to work on this a night, so it is currently a running list.

1993- Royce Gracie- Royce was the scrawny Brazilian hand picked by Rorian Gracie to show the world the effectiveness of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Royce steamrolled the competition at UFC 1 and 2, notching wins over Ken Shamrock, Gerard Gordeau, Jason Delucia, Remco Pardoel and Pat Smith. He fought an epic battle with Kimo Leopoldo at UFC 3, and came back to win the UFC 4 touranment.

1994- Dan Severn- The Beast broke onto the no holds barred scene with an insane suplex sequence before submitting Anthony Macias at UFC 4 before submitting Marcus Bossett. After winning the first 15 minutes against Royce Gracie, he was submitted in the finals of UFC 4. He came back to win the UFC 5 tournament, TKO'ing Oleg Taktarov and submitting Joe Charles and Dave Beneteau. Won superfight(HW) belt at UFC 9 against Ken Shamrock. Insanely long career with well over the 101 documented wins include career wins over Forrest Griffin, Travis Fulton, Mario Neto and Paul Buentello.

1995- Bas Rutten- A former King of Pancrase and UFC champion, Rutten was one of the first great kickboxers to learn the submission game. Rutten went 8-1 in 1995, submitting Maurice Smith twice, submitting Jason Delucia and winning a decision over Frank Shamrock. Rutten would notch wins over Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Guy Mezger, Masakatsu Funaki and Kevin Randleman.

1996- Mark Coleman- UFC 10 tournament champion, UFC heavyweight champion, 2000 Pride World Grand Prix champion, Coleman was the godfather of ground and pound. An NCAA and Pan Am champion wrestler, he'd hit you with everything including the kitchen sink when he got the takedown. Wins over Dan Severn, Don Frye, Igor Vovchanchyn, Shogun Rua and Stephan Bonnar.

1997- Igor Vovchanchyn- "Ice Cold" was the first top fighter to emerge from the former Soviet Union out of the Ukraine. Using his kickboxing prowess, he threw punches in bunches, winning several tournaments in the Eastern Block including IFC 1, Powerman SEKAI, DNRF, IAFC Russia and World Vale Tudo 5. He became a star in Pride with wins over Mark Kerr, Gary Goodridge, Kazushi Sakuraba and Yuki Kondo. In 1997, Igor went 9-0 with 7 KO's.

1998- Frank Shamrock- Frank was dominant in both Pancrase and the UFC, winning the first UFC 205 pound title by armbarring Olympic wrestling champ Kevin Jackson in 16 seconds. In 1998, Shamrock defended the title 3 times, slamming Igor Zinoviev in 22 seconds for a KO, submitting Jeremy Horn, and submitting John Lober via punches. His last UFC fight was a 4 round battle of attrician against Tito Ortiz, where Shamrock eventually defeated Ortiz via submission via elbows and punches. Shamrock had other victories in his career over Bas Rutten, Masakatsu Funaki and Phil Baroni.

1999- Kazushi Sakuraba

2000- Randy Couture

2001- Antonio Rodrigo Noguira

2002- Wanderlei Silva

2003- Matt Hughes- Hughes, a 9X UFC champ is known for his wrestling, submissions and ground game defended his 170 pound title for the fourth and fifth time in 2003. Hughes holds victories over Frank Trigg, Georges St. Pierre, Carlos Newton, Royce Gracie, Renzo Gracie, Sean Sherk, Hayato Sakurai and split with BJ Penn.

2004- BJ Penn- after submitting Takanori Gomi at the end of 2003, Penn subbed Matt Hughes at UFC 46 to take the welterweight championship, then ventured to K-1 where he submitted Duane Ludwig before winning a decision over Rodrigo Gracie. Won the UFC lightweight championship by submitting Joe Stevenson, defended with a TKO of Sean Sherk, after dropping a fight to GSP, defended the LW title by subbing Kenny Florian and TKO'ing Diego Sanchez.

2005- Dan Henderson- Won the Pride Welterweight 183 Grand Prix by KO'ing Ryo Chonan and Akihiro Gono before winning a split decision over former UFC champ Murilo Bustamante. Career wins over Fedor, Shogun, Michael Bisping, Rich Franklin and Toquino. UFC 17 tournament champion, Rings Kings of Kings champion, Pride Middleweight champion, Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champ.

2006- Chuck Liddell- Liddell will always be remembered for his epic knockouts of his opposition. The Iceman notched UFC wins over Kevin Randleman, Vitor Belfort, Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Wanderlei Silva and owns Pride wins over Guy Mezger and Alistair Overeem.

2007- Quinton "Rampage" Jackson- In 2007, he KO'd Marvin Eastman and Chuck Liddell before winning a decision over Dan Henderson to unify the Pride and UFC belts.

2008- Fedor Emelianenko

2009- Georges St. Pierre- GSP, a 10X UFC champ, has TKO's over BJ Penn and Matt Serra, while submitting Matt Hughes and taking decisions over Dan Hardy, Jake Shields, Thiago Alves, Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck. Other victories over Sean Sherk, Josh Koscheck, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Frank Trigg, Jay Hieron and Karo Parisyan.

2010- Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

2011- Anderson Silva- Worked over James Irvin, Stephen Bonnar and Forrest Griffin in the first round at 205. Won the belt in his second UFC fight over Rich Franklin and has defended eight more times. Victories over Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin 2X, Nate Marquardt, Travis Lutter, Thales Leites, Demian Maia and Chris Leben.

2012- Jon Jones- Jones has dominated all foes, looking vulnerable only on one occasion when Vitor Belfort had an armbar briefly locked in. Jones has won over Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson and recently Chael Sonnen despite a dislocated and gnarly toe injury.

On the fence- Josh Barnett, Cro Cop, Ken Shamrock, Masakatsu Funaki, Takanori Gomi, Tito Ortiz, Vitor Belfort, Jake Shields, Rich Franklin, Guy Mezger

Video of the Day - Lombard v. Silva

Here is Hector Lombard fighting UFC veteran Jay Silva in Bellator 18 which happened on 5/13/10 in Monroe, Louisiana.

Lombard next fights Nate Marquardt at UFC 166 in what is probably the last fight on his current UFC deal.

Video of the Day - Alvarez v. Chandler

Here is Eddie Alvarez fighting Michael Chandler from Bellator 58 which took place on 11/19/11 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Michael Chandler and Eddie Alvarez will meet again at Bellator 106 this Saturday.

Epic finish.

Bellator 106 takes place on November 2, 2013 in Long Beach, California the card will be shown on Spike TV and Spike.com.

SPIKE TV MAIN CARD

Michael Chandler v. Eddie Alvarez - LW TITLE
Muhammed Lawal v. Emanuel Newton - INTERIM LHW TITLE
Pat Curran v. Daniel Straus - FW TITLE
Mike Bronzoulis v. Joe Riggs - FIGHTMASTER TITLE
Mike Richman v. Akop Stepanyan

SPIKE.COM PRELIM CARD

Jesse Juarez v. Joe Williams
Brandon Halsey v. Hector Ramirez
Mike Guymon v. Aaron Miller
Joe Camacho v. Cleber Luciano
Darren Smith v. Josh Smith

Video of the Day - Anderson v. Machine

Here is Vaughn Anderson fighting War Machine at Bellator 100 which took place on 9/20/13 in Phoenix, Arizona.

War Machine will next fight Ron Keslar at Bellator 104. War Machine currently has a three fight win streak and is dating Christy Mack, a porn star.

Video of the Day - O'Grady v. Kitaoka

Here is Dom O'Grady (15-6) fighting Satoru Kitaoka (32-12) at Pancrase 252 which took place on 9/29/13 in Yokohama, Japan.

Video of the Day - Pearson v. Kanehara

Here is Masanori Kanehara (23-10) fighting Joe Pearson (48-18) at Pancrase 252 which took place on 9/29/13 in Yokohama, Japan.

Kanehara is riding a 6 fight win streak, and has career wins over UFC veterans Chan Sung Jung, Michihiro Omigawa and Kid Yamamoto.

Pearson has 39 career submission victories, 20 via triangle, while competing primarily in the midwest fight circuit. He has submission wins over Yoshiro Maeda (30-13), Jay Estrada (23-9) and John Strawn (38-12).

Video of the Day - Hassan v. Ngalani

Here is kickboxer Alain Ngalani fighting Mahmoud "Hellboy" Hassan at One FC 10 which took place on 9/13/13 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Ngalani, a Kyokushin Karate black belt, has accumulated many Muay Thai and kickboxing titles over the years. He has defeated Michael McDonald, Carter Williams and Bob Sapp in kickboxing bouts. The fight starts around the 4 minute mark.

MMA World Grand Prix!

Rather than having the Olympics butcher MMA, why not an MMA World Grand Prix held outside the Olympic banner?

A World Grand Prix could consist of eight countries competing over three events that are spread out over four months. The rule-set would be the unified rules without elbows to the face of a downed opponent in an effort to reduce cuts. You could have weight classes from 135 up to heavyweight and a women's competitor.

The biggest challenge would be getting the best fighters in the world. As such, the competition would probably have to be co-promoted by the UFC, Strikeforce, One FC, M-1, Shooto and Bellator. If each promotion would be able to make money from the event, promoters might be agree to the idea.

We could see teams from Brazil, USA, Canada, Japan/South Korea, Russia, United Kingdom/Netherlands/Sweden, and Australia/New Zealand. Have the 8 team tournament fights play out over 3 events in 4 months like the old IFL. Allow teams to substitute fighters in if injuries occur. What country would win it all?

For the teams I've compiled below, you can qualify for the team if you were born in the country, are a citizen of the country, have a parent born in that country, or have trained or lived in the country for six months or more. I'm trying to compile two fighters per weight classes in case of injury. I'm working on the list right now, if you have suggestions, please post below.

BRAZIL

Captain and Head Coach: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

135- Renan Barao, Bibiano Fernandes (OneFC)
145- Jose Aldo, Pitbull Freire
155- Gleisen Tibau, Thiago Tavares
170- Demien Maia, Thiago Alves
185- Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort
205- Shogun Rua, Lyoto Machida
265- Junior Dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum
Women's 135- Amanda Nunes (Invicta), Vanessa Porto

UNITED STATES

Captain and Head Coach: Randy Couture

135- Urijah Faber, Michael McDonald
145- Pat Curran, Chad Mendes
155- Ben Henderson, Gilbert Melendez
170- Carlos Condit, Johny Hendricks
185- Chris Weidman, Luke Rockhold
205- Jon Jones, Dan Henderson
265- Cain Velasquez, Daniel Cormier
Women's 135- Ronda Rousey, Meisha Tate

TEAM FAR EAST: Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Philippines

Captain and Head Coach: Kazushi Sakuraba

135- Takeya Mizugaki, Masanori Kanehara
145- Hatsu Hioki, Chang Sung Jung "Korean Zombie" (S Korea)
155- Shinya Aoki, Takonori Gomi
170- Dong Hyun "Stun Gun" Kim (S Korea), BJ Penn (Korea/USA)
185- Yushin Okami, Riki Fukuda, Cung Le (Vietnam)
205- Brandon Vera (Philippines), Satoshi Ishii
265- Josh Barnett (Japan/USA)
Women's 135- Rin Nakai (11-0, Pancrase/GCM), Hitomi Akano

TEAM CANADA

Captain and Head Coach: Carlos Newton

135- Yves Jaboin (Canada/Haiti), Ivan Menjivar (Canada/El Salvador)
145- Antonio Carvalho, Chris Horodecki
155- TJ Grant, Mark Bocek
170- Georges St. Pierre, Rory Macdonald, Claude Patrick
185- Nick Ring, Francis Carmont (France/Canada), Pat Cote
205- Ryan Jimmo, Krzysztof Soszynski (Poland/Canada)
265- Steve Bosse, Smealinho Rama (6-0)
Women's 135- Sarah Kaufman, Alexis Davis

TEAM RUSSIA: Armenia, Belarus, Croatia, Lithuania

Captain and Head Coach: Fedor Emelianenko

135- Azamat Gashimov (Russia)
145- Dennis Siver (Russia/Germany), Deividas Taurosevičius (Lithuania)
155- Khabib Nurmagomedov, Alex Sarnavskiy
170- Marius Zaromskis (Lithuania), Magomed Shikshabekov
185- Alexander Shlemenko, Karlos Vemola (Czech Republic/UK), Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (17-2, Bellator, Russia)
205- Gegard Mousasi (Armenia), Vladimir Matyushenko (Belarus), Igor Pokrajac (Croatia)
265- Alexander Volkov, Stipe Miocic (Croatia/US), Sergei Kharitonov
Women's 135- Milana Dudieva

TEAM WEST EUROPE: United Kingdom, France

Captain and Head Coach: Ian Freeman

135- Brad Pickett, Vaughn Lee
145- Ross Pearson, Andy Ogle
155- Terry Etim, Paul Sass
170- Dan Hardy, John Hathaway
185- Michael Bisping, Tom Watson
205- Jim Manuwa (UK/Nigeria), Cyrille Diabate (France),
265- Cheick Kongo (France), Philip De Fries (UK)
Women's 135- Rosi Sexton (125), Aisling Daly (125)

TEAM SCANDANAVIA: Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Denmark, Iceland

Captain and Head Coach: Bas Rutten

135- Sirwan Kakai (Finland), Mikael Silander (Finland)
145- Joachim Hansen (Norway), Bart Palaszewski (Poland)
155- Reza Madadi (Sweden/Iran), Anton Kuivanen (Finland)
170- Martin Kampmann (Denmark), Gunnar Nelson (Iceland), Pascal Krause (Germany)
185- Mamed Khalidov (Poland/Russia), Tor Troeng (Sweden)
205- Alexander Gustafsson (Sweden), Marcus Vanttinen (Finland)
265- Alistair Overeem (Holland), Stefan Struve (Holland)
Women's 135- Marloes Coenen (Holland), Shiela Gaff (Germany 125)

TEAM AUSTRALASIA: Australia, New Zealand

Captain and Head Coach: Ray Sefo

135- Michael Mortimer
145- Daniel Hooker, Richie Vaculick
155- George Sotoropolis, Adrian Pang
170- Kyle Noke, Brian Ebersole (USA/Australia)
185- Hector Lombard (Australia/Cuba), Dylan Andrews (15-4, NZ)
205- James Te Huna, Anthony Perosh
265- Mark Hunt (NZ), Soa Palelei
Women's 135- Kate Aroa, Fiona Muxlow

Video of the Day - Pitbull v. Borba

Here is Patricio "Pitbull" Freire fighting Vinicius Borba Zani on 9/26/09 in the Eagle Fighting Championships in Sao Paulo Brazil.

Pitbull KO'd Diego Nunes at Bellator 99 in the opening round of Bellator's featherweight tournament.

Video of the Day - Arlovski v. Cole

Here is Andre Arlovski fighting Devin Cole at World Series of Fighting 1 which took place on 11/3/12 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Arlovski (19-10) captured a decision victory over Mike Kyle at WSOF 5.

Video of the Day - Fifty Fists

Here is Andrew Jenks of "World of Jenks" documenting the lead-up to Anthony "Showtime" Pettis' fight with Danny Castillo at WEC 47.

Pettis (17-2) defeated Benson Henderson at UFC 164 with an armbar, capturing the lightweight title.

World of Jenks - MTV Shows

Video of the Day - Rothwell v. Soszynski

Krzysztof Soszynski fighting Ben Rothwell at IFL - Legends Championship 2006 which took place on 4/29/06 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Rothwell next fights Brandon Vera at UFC 164.

Video of the Day - Bartlett v. Spong

Here is star kickboxer Tyrone Spong making his MMA debut against Travis Bartlett at WSOF 1 in Las Vegas, Nevada which took place on 11/3/12.

In the past two years, Spong has kickboxing wins over Rey Sefo, Melvin Manhoef, Peter Aerts and Remy Bonjasky. Spong next fights Angel DeAnda at WSOF 4.

*Wow moment at 3:20

Video of the Day - Rama v. Hackert

Here is rising HW prospect Smealinho "The Prince" Rama fighting Mike Hackert at MFC 36 which took place on 2/15/13 in Edmonton, Canada.

Rama (6-0) fights next on October 4th at MFC 38 against Anthony Hamilton for the vacant MFC HW title.

Dan Severn - MMA Legend

Memories by the MMA Blaster


On a cold winter night while in high school back in 1996, my friends and I went to the local Family Video and rented UFC 1-4. All we needed to see was "No Rules" to know that we wanted to rent those tapes. 17 years later and I am still watching.

Dan Severn (101-19), an Olympic alternate, was a hero of those early tapes for the wrestling crowd. As a high school wrestler, it was nice to see tactics I used work effectively in a fighting situation. In his debut, with a week or so of training, Severn suplexed Anthony Macias twice before executing a crude rear naked choke. That moment was the first jaw dropping use of wrestling in modern mixed martial arts.

Severn cruised his way into the UFC 4 finals against Royce Gracie, whom had previously won UFC 1 and 2. Severn was able to take down Gracie, and held him there while throwing strikes until Gracie secured a triangle choke just before the 16 minute mark. However, the Beast was born that night.

Severn came back with a more rounded game and won UFC 5, the UU 95 Tournament and the Superfight Belt, now heavyweight championship, at UFC 9. Severn continued to utilize his superior wrestling skills throughout his career while adding submissions and BJJ black belt to dominate his opponents. He was the third member inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame.

Dan's notable wins come over a who's who list of MMA from old to new school- Oleg Taktarov, Ken Shamrock, Forrest Griffin, Paul Buentello, Mario Neto, Dave Beneteau, Wes Sims, Paul "Polar Bear" Varelens, Travis Fulton, Justin Eilers, Dan Christison, Dennis Reed, Brad Kohler, Anthony Macias, Robert "Buzz" Berry, Cal Worsham, Ruben Villareal and Tank Abbott. With the amount of Indian reservations he fought at, his number of victories is likely upwards of 150.

Video of the Day - Metcalf v. Soriano

Here is rising prospect Sean Soriano fighting Lee Metcalf in CES "Extreme Measures" which took place on 2/3/12 at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

In Soriano's (8-0) last bout he defeated Elvin Brito at CFA 11 for the interim featherweight title. Expect him to fight again in the CFA, which is shown on AXS TV or get a call-up to a bigger promotion.

Worst Martial Arts Demo Ever

This is perhaps the worst martial arts demo ever attempted.

Video of the Day Condit v. Trigg

Here is Carlos Condit vs. Frank Trigg from Rumble on the Rock 8 which took place on 4/21/06.

Condit next fights Martin Kampmann at UFC Fight Night 27.
Fight Night 27 takes place on Wednesday, August 28, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The card will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2 and Facebook.

FOX SPORTS 1 CARD - 8 PM EST

Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann
Donald Cerrone vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Brian Melancon
Court McGee vs. Robert Whittaker
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Erik Perez
Robert McDaniel vs. Brad Tavares

FOX SPORTS 2 CARD - 6 PM EST

Papy Abedi vs. Dylan Andrews
Justin Edwards vs. Brandon Thatch
Darren Elkins vs. Hatsu Hioki
James Head vs. Jason High

FACEBOOK CARD - 5 PM EST

Ben Alloway vs. Zak Cummings
Roger Bowling vs. Abel Trujillo

Video of the Day - Chlewicki v. Daley

Here is Paul Daley fighting Lukas Chlewicki at Cage Warriors 57 which took place on July 20, 2013 in Liverpool, England.

The 30 year old Paul Daley has won 4 straight since a split decision loss to Kazou Misaki in Strikeforce, and is 10-3 since his release from the UFC.

Video of the Day - Amagov v. Lawler

Here is Robbie Lawler fighting Adlan Amagov in Strikeforce which took place on 1/7/12 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Lawler returns to the cage at UFC on Fox 8 against Siyar Bahadurzada. In his return fight to the UFC, Lawler KO'd Josh Koscheck. Meanwhile, Amagov defeated Chris Spang via decision in his UFC debut.

Video of the Day - Yves Edwards

Here is an old school event where Yves Edwards fights three guys in a row in a no holds barred like event held in a gym. Obviously gloves are optional.

While Yves record reads 42-19, he's had many more fights like this that aren't listed on his record. Yves next meets Spencer Fisher at UFC on Fox 8.

Video of the Day - Shogun v. Babalu

Here is Mauricio "Shogun" Rua fighting Renato "Babalu" Sobral at IFC - "Global Domination" which took place on 9/6/03 in Denver, Colorado.

Sobral recently announced his retirement from MMA with a career record of 37-11. Rua will next fight Chael Sonnen at UFC on Fox Sports 1. The "Global Domination" tournament was one of the most star studded and unheralded events in MMA history. The tournament featured Forrest Griffin, Chael Sonnen, Jeremy Horn, Trevor Prangley and the aforementioned Babalu and Shogun.

Video of the Day - Petruzelli v. Lawal

Here is Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal fighting Seth Petruzelli at Bellator 96 which took place on June 19, 2013 at the Winstar Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The winner is scheduled to fight Jacob Noe at Bellator 97.

*Note the awesome awkward hand shake/fist bump combination between Randy Couture and Jason Ellis as the video begins.

Video of the Day - Diabate v. Sobral

Here is Renato "Babalu" Sobral fighting Cyrille Diabate at Cage Rage 9 which took place on 11/27/04 in London, England.

Sobral announced his retirement this Wednesday night after losing to Jacob Noe in Bellator.

Video of the Day - Hughes v. Pele

Here is Matt Hughes fighting Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons at Shidokan Jitsu Warriors which took place on 2/8/01 in Kuwait.

Hughes would go on to capture the UFC welterweight title just nine months after the fight, and eventually become inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Pele is known for being one the first high level Muay Thai practicioners in MMA, notching TKO's over Pat Miletich, Jorge Patino and Cyborg.

*Watch Pele's right knee/leg at the 7:30 mark.

Video of the Day - Maruyama v. Choi

Here is Doo Ho Choi fighting Shoji Maruyama at Deep - Cage Impact 2013, which took place on 6/15/13 at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

Choi (11-1) has won 9 straight since his split decision loss to Yusuke Kagiyama 3 years ago.

UFC Hall of Fame

Commentary on the UFC Hall of Fame - Who's Next by MMA Blaster

The UFC is the only mixed martial arts organization with a Hall of Fame. As of now, the members of the hall include Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Mark Coleman, Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz. The late, Charles "Mask" Lewis was inducted as a contributor to the sport.

(Dan Severn Pictured)

Tito Ortiz (16-11-1, 15-11-1 UFC) (LHW belt holder) is the latest entrant into the Hall.  Ortiz kept the UFC in the limelight during the dark ages, winning the LHW belt after Frank Shamrock left the UFC. He defended the belt five straight times, a mark just tied by Jon Jones. Victories over Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin, 3X Ken Shamrock, Jerry Bohlander, Ryan Bader, Evan Tanner, Yuki Kondo, Vladimir Matyushenko, Wanderlei Silva and a split with Guy Mezger anchor his resume.

Hall of famer Chuck Liddell's UFC career came to a crashing halt at the hands of Rich Franklin at UFC 115, marking his 3rd straight loss.  However, Liddell will always be remembered for his epic knockouts of his opposition.  The Iceman notched UFC wins over Kevin Randleman, Vitor Belfort, Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Wanderlei Silva and owns Pride wins over Guy Mezger and Alistair Overeem.

9X UFC champ Matt Hughes (45-8, 18-5 UFC) was another recent entrant. Hughes, known for his wrestling, submissions and ground game, is the most dominant 170 pounder in the history of the UFC. Hughes holds victories over Frank Trigg, Georges St. Pierre, Carlos Newton, Royce Gracie, Renzo Gracie, Sean Sherk, Hayato Sakurai and split with BJ Penn.

My hope would be that the UFC would look at inducting Don Frye and Pat Miletich into the Hall of Fame next. Each is long overdue, especially considering what they have accomplished inside and outside the UFC. Bad blood was definitely created when each joined the IFL as coaches, but I believe that has passed.

Don Frye (20-9, 9-1 UFC)(UFC 8, UU96 belts)- Plowed through the competition in UFC 8 to win the belt. Won the UU96 and UFC 8 title's in a epic fashion defeating Tank Abbott and Gary Goodridge, respectively. Runner-up at UFC 10.  Was an innovator with solid stand-up with excellent take down defense. 


Pat Miletich (29-7, 8-2 UFC)(UFC 16 Lightweight tourney winner, WW belt holder)- Won two bouts to take UFC 16. Won a slim decision over Mikey Burnett to take the WW belt. Defended 4 times before losing to Carlos Newton. Other wins over John Alessio and Shonie Carter. Bigger impact may be in the UFC champions he has trained over the years.

Locks for the Hall of Fame:

1. Georges St. Pierre (24-2, 18-2 UFC)(WW belt holder)- Currently, Georges has looked unbeatable during his 9 fight win that has spanned four years. GSP has TKO's over BJ Penn and Matt Serra, while submitting Matt Hughes and taking decisions over Dan Hardy, Jake Shields, Thiago Alves, Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck. Other victories over Sean Sherk, Josh Koscheck, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Frank Trigg, Jay Hieron and Karo Parisyan.


2. Anderson Silva (33-4, 16-0 UFC)(MW belt holder)- Has crushed all comers while rarely getting touched in his matches. Worked over James Irvin, Stephen Bonnar and Forrest Griffin in the first round at 205. Won the belt in his second UFC fight over Rich Franklin and has defended eight more times. Victories over Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin 2X, Nate Marquardt, Travis Lutter, Thales Leites, Demian Maia and Chris Leben.


3. Rich Franklin (29-7, 13-5 UFC) (MW belt holder)- Won MW belt from Evan Tanner and defended twice. Victories over Yushin Okami, Jason MacDonald, Ken Shamrock and Evan Tanner 2X. More recent wins over Chuck Liddell, Travis Lutter and Matt Hamill with a close decision loss to Dan Henderson. Was crunched twice by Anderson Silva at 185. Defeated Wanderlei Silva at a 195 pound catch-weight then was TKO'd by Vitor Belfort.


4. BJ Penn (16-9-2, 12-8-2 UFC)(LW and WW belt holder)- Won the LW belt over Joe Stevenson and then defended against Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez as the most dominating 155 in UFC history. Won WW belt from Matt Hughes in a great fight, recently scored a KO over Hughes. Victories over Din Thomas, Matt Serra, Caol Uno and split with Jens Pulver. Two of his losses are to GSP at 170.


5.  Jon Jones (18-1, 12-1 UFC)(LHW belt holder)- In 5 years, Jones has gone from JUCO wrestling champion to the greatest 205 pounder to ever fight in the UFC.  He has dominated all foes, looking vulnerable only on one occasion when Vitor Belfort had an armbar briefly locked in.  Jones has won over Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson and recently Chael Sonnen despite a dislocated and gnarly toe injury.

6. Forrest Griffin (19-7, 10-5 UFC, LHW belt holder)- Two back to back victories over the number one light heavyweights in Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson. Won a decision in one of the sports biggest fights over Stephen Bonnar in the 1st Ultimate Fighter.  Lost the LHW belt to Rashad Evans, then was crushed by Anderson Silva. He rebounded with a victories over Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin. Dana White has stated that Griffin will be inducted to the Hall of Fame in short order.

Former champs who are close:

1. Frank Mir (16-7, 14-7 UFC)(HW belt holder)- Biggest win by far was the arm break of Tim Sylvia for the HW title and then the knee bar come from behind win over Brock Lesnar. His most recent wn was an arm breaking victory over Antonio Noguira for the interim belt following his stint coaching TUF.  Other wins over Pete Williams, Tank Abbott, Roy Nelson, Cro Cop, Cheick Kongo and Roberto Traven.

2. Rashad Evans (18-3-1, 13-3-1 UFC, LHW belt holder)- Won the LHW belt over Forrest Griffin, but then was KO'd by Lyoto Machida in brutal fashion in first defense.  Has since rebounded with wins over Thiago Silva, Rampage Jackson and Tito Ortiz. Defeated Sean Salmon with a nasty high kick. KO'd Chuck Liddell and Jason Lambert. Decision victories over Dan Henderson, Micheal Bisping, Stephan Bonnar and Brad Imes for the TUF 2 HW belt.

3.  Lyoto Machida (19-3, 11-3 UFC)(LHW belt holder)- Won LHW belt with brutal KO of Rashad Evans, took a controversial decision win in first defense over Shogun Rua, before being KO'd in the rematch.  Brilliant kick to the face of Randy Couture for KO win in last fight.

4.  Vitor Belfort (23-10, 12-6 UFC)(HW tourney/LHW belt holder)- A big draw in the early days of the UFC when he won a 4 man tournament at UFC 12 TKO'ing Tra Telligman and Scott Ferrozzo in 2 minutes in total.  He defeated Randy Couture for the LHW belt via cut.  He blitzkrieged Wanderlei Silva for a 44 second KO.  Other wins over Anthony Johnson, Michael Bisping, Rich Franklin and Tank Abbott.

5. Tim Sylvia (31-9, 9-4 UFC) (HW belt holder)- Won HW belt over Ricco Rodriguez at UFC 41, reclaimed at UFC 59 over Arlovski defending twice. Other victories include Brandon Vera, Jeff Monson, Gan McGee and Assuerio Silva. He has gone 1-2 since leaving the UFC, losing in 36 seconds to Fedor Emelianenko, then in 9 seconds to Ray Mercer.

6. Andrei Arlovski (19-10, 10-4 UFC)(HW belt holder)- Won HW belt from Tim Sylvia with an achilles lock. Defended twice against Justin Eilers and a 15 second KO of Paul Buentello. Other victories over Vladimir Matyushenko, Marcio Cruz, Ian Freeman, Fabricio Werdum and Jake O'Brien. His contract expired after the O'Brien fight and the UFC shunned him to the under card. After KO'ing Roy Nelson in Elite XC, he has really fallen off the radar losing four straight.

Too bad - Frank Shamrock (23-10, 5-0 UFC)(LHW, then called MW belt)- Entered the UFC winning the MW belt (now LHW) over 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.

Shamrock then submitted Jeremy Horn with a kneebar and John Lober submitted to punches in his next two defenses. Shamrock defended the belt once more in one of the best fights in MMA history against Tito Ortiz. The UFC has a rocky relationship with Frank, after his retirement as he fought and comments with rival Strikeforce and was a coach in the IFL.

Maybe - Evan Tanner (32-8, 11-6 UFC) (MW belt holder)- Wins over Robbie Lawler, Homer Moore, Phil Baroni 2X and David Terrell (MW belt). Unfortunately, Evan Tanner has passed away. With 17 total fights in the UFC and a title, I think Tanner deserves a spot.

**All text copyright of MMA Blaster**

MMA Blaster Mailbag - Bellator versus Alvarez

If you have a question you would like answered, feel free to email us at mmablaster@gmail.com.

Kenosha Mat asks, "What do you think about Bellator suing Eddie Alvarez regarding the matching provisions in his Bellator contract?"

For over six months, Bellator and Eddie Alvarez have been litigating a contract dispute over the matching provisions in Eddie's most recent Bellator deal. I believe Bellator is fighting a losing battle as its offer is weak compared to the UFC's and simply isn't equal.

The UFC deal, with the PPV incentives, commentator spots, promotional fees and guaranteed money is far superior. The UFC will generate Eddie far more publicity, which leads to higher paying sponsorship opportunities. Nike pays a little more than Wornstar, no offense to Pat Curran.

Instead of paying thousands more in legal fees, Bjorn should cut his losses and look to settle the dispute. Bellator should be seeking the next Eddie Alvarez to fill the void. That guy would seem to be Michael Chandler, who defeated Alvarez in 2011.

Video of the Day - GSP v. Santos

Here is Georges St. Pierre going against Leo Santos at the ADCC 2005 qualifier. Georges St. Pierre last defended his welterweight title at UFC 158 against Nick Diaz.

Dos Santos will fight for the 2nd Ultimate Fighter Brazil final after defeating Luciano Contini, Juliano Wandalen and Thiago Santos. He would lose to Santiago Ponzinibbio via decision, but Ponzinibbio broke his hand and Dos Santos was granted a shot at the title.

UFC on Fuel 10 - Nogueira v. Werdum 2 takes place this Saturday, June 8th in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil at the Paulo Sarasate Arena. The fights will broadcast on FUEL TV and Facebook.

FUEL TV CARD

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira v Fabricio Werdum
William Macario v Leo Santos - TUF BRAZIL FINAL
Rafael Cavalcante v Thiago Silva
Eddie Mendez v Daniel Sarafian
Jason High v Erick Silva
Rony Jason v Mike Wilkinson

FACEBOOK CARD

Raphael Assuncao vs. Vaughan Lee
Derek Brunson vs. Ronny Markes
Felipe Arantes vs. Godofredo Castro
Ildemar Alcantara vs. Leandro "Buscape" Silva
Rodrigo Damm vs. Mizuto Hirota
Caio Magalhaes vs. Karlos Vemola
Antonio Braga Neto vs. Anthony Smith

Video of the Day - Nelson v. Imes

Here is TUF 10's Roy Nelson v. TUF 2 runner-up Brad Imes in an IFL Heavyweight Title Fight which took place on 5/18/08 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.

Roy Nelson has three straight KO wins over Dave Herman, Matt Mitrione and Cheick Kongo. He will next fight Stipe Miocic at UFC 161.

Video of the Day - Silva v. Ayon

Here is Erick Silva fighting Francisco Ayon at Jungle Fight 23 in Belem, Brazil which took place on 10/30/10.

Silva next fights Jason High at UFC on Fuel 10 in Brazil.

Video of the Day - Fernandes v. Maeda

Here is Bibiano Fernandes fighting Yoshiro Maeda at Dream NYE 2012 which took place on 12/31/12 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

Fernandes (13-3) next fights Koetsu Okazaki (8-2) at One FC 9 which takes place at the Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines.

Video of the Day - Cox v. Lee

Here is Vaughan Lee fighting Ian Cox at Fight UK 4, which took place on 6/5/11 in Leicester, England.

Lee fights Rapheal Assuncao at UFC on Fuel 10 which takes place on 6/8/13 in Brazil.

Video of the Day - Belfort v. Lindland

Here are MMA legends Vitor Belfort and Matt Lindland fighting in Affliction - Reckoning which took place on 1/24/09. The fight features one of the best KO's from the promotion's 2 event run.

Video of the Day - Dunham v. Kaneshiro

Here is Evan Dunham versus Eben Kaneshiro from Rise Fighting Championships which took place on 9/13/08 in Eugene, Oregon.

Dunham (14-3, 7-3 UFC) will look to win his second straight UFC win against Rafeal Dos Anjos (18-6) at UFC on FX 8.

Video of the Day - Silva v. Pele

Here is a super heavyweight bout between Antonio Silva v. Eric Pele from Bodog on 12/2/06.

Silva (18-4) is coming off KO wins over Alistair Overeem and Travis Browne. He will look to avenge his loss to Cain Velasquez at UFC 160 for the UFC HW Title.

Pele (11-5) retired from active MMA competition in 2008. His biggest wins came over Bobby Hoffman (36-10), Travis Fulton (249-49) and Dan Christison (20-7).
*Horrible stand-up about 53 seconds in.

Video of the Day - Smith v. Carwin

Here is Shane Carwin fighting Justice Smith at Extreme Wars 3 "Bay Area Brawl" which took place on 6/3/06 in Oakland, California.

Carwin (12-2) announced his retirement from MMA today after dealing with injuries the past two years. The pinnacle of Carwin's career was at UFC 111 when he TKO'd Frank Mir in the first round to claim the UFC Interim HW Title. He had other MMA wins over Gabriel Gonzaga, Neil Wain and Rex Richards.

Anthony Pettis Capoeira

Here is Anthony Pettis showing off his Capoeira stylings in Brazil. Pettis will challenge Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title for his debut in the 145 pound weightclass at UFC 163 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

Video of the Day - Belfort v. Serati

Here is Vitor Belfort v. Ivan Serati from Cage Rage 21: Judgment Day, which took place on 4/21/07. Belfort would go 3-0 in his career in the UK's Cage Rage promotion.

Belfort (22-10) next fights Strikforce's last MW Champ Luke Rockhold at UFC on FX 8 on May 18th.

UFC on FX 8 takes place in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil at the Arena Jaragua and will be broadcast on FX, FUEL TV and Facebook.

FX CARD

Vitor Belfort v. Luke Rockhold
Chris Camozzi v. Ronaldo Souza
Rafael dos Anjos v. Evan Dunham
Rafael Natal v. Joao Zeferino

FUEL TV CARD

Hacran Dias v. Nik Lentz
Mike Rio v. Francisco Trinaldo
John Cholish v. Gleison Tibau
Michel dos Prazeres v. Paulo Thiago
Yuri Alcantara v. Iliarde Santos
Roger Hollett v. Fabio Maldonado

FACEBOOK CARD

Azamat Gashimov v. John Lineker
Chris Cariaso v. Jussier Formiga
Jeremy Larsen v. Lucas Martins

Video of the Day - Striegl v. Sarmiento

Here is undefeated prospect Mark Striegl (12-0) fighting Harris Sarmiento (35-24) in PXC 34 which took place on 11/17/12 in the Philippines.

Sarmiento is a Strikeforce, WEC and X-1 veteran with his best wins over TUF 12 champ Jonathan Brookins, TUF 9's Richie Whitson and Bellator's Ed West.

Striegl will try to find his way in the UFC soon, as he looks to push his record to 13-0 against Yusuke Yachi (9-3) at PXC 37. PXC 37 takes place May 18th in the Philippines.

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.

Video of the Day - Jardine v. Wiuff

Here is Keith Jardine v. Travis Wiuff from Extreme Challenge 46 which took place on February 16, 2002. Ben Rothwell was also on that card, winning the heavyweight tournament.

Wiuff (68-17) has been fighting professional since 2001, defeating notables Jeff Monson, Roman Zentsov, Matt Horwich and Ricco Rodriguez among others.

Wiuff next fights Mike Kyle on May 24, 2013 headlining the CFA 11 card which takes place in Coral Gables, Florida at the BankUnited Center and will be broadcast on AXS TV. Here is the announced card:

Mike Kyle v. Travis Wiuff
Fallon Fox v. Allanna Jones
Luis Palomino v. Robert Washington
Elvin Brito v. Sean Soriano
Czar Sklavos v. Alexis Vila
Oscar Delgado v. Mike King

Video of the Day - Jimmo v. Zellner

Here is Ryan Jimmo fighting Craig Zellner at MFC 15 which took place on 2/22/08 in Alberta, Canada. Jimmo (17-2) would go on to win the MFC light heavyweight belt, and defending twice against Zak Cummings and Sokoudjou before being signed by the UFC.

Jimmo debuted in the UFC with a KO over Anthony Perosh, then dropped a close decision against James Te Huna. He next fights Igor Pokrajac (25-9) at UFC 161.

Craig Zellner, a WEC veteran, holds an MMA win over Mike Nickels. He is also a professional wrestler under the name Race Steele.

Video of the Day - Cutelaba v. Chilikov

Here is Ion Cutelaba fighting Julian Chilikov in "The Battle For Ruse" which took place on 6/22/12 in Bulgaria.

Cutelaba is a 19 year old MMA heavyweight who is currently 4-0.

Fighter Rankings

Heavyweight

1. Cain Velasquez
2. Junior Dos Santos
3. Daniel Cormier
4. Fabricio Werdum
5. Antonio Silva
6. Alistair Overeem
7. Josh Barnett
8. Frank Mir
9. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
10. Roy Nelson

Light Heavyweight

1. Jon Jones
2. Lyoto Machida
3. Dan Henderson
4. Phil Davis
5. Alexander Gustafsson
6. Glover Teixeira
7. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
9. Rashad Evans
10. Ryan Bader

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva
2. Chael Sonnen
3. Chris Weidman
4. Vitor Belfort
5. Yushin Okami
6. Luke Rockhold
7. Mark Munoz
8. Michael Bisping
9. Costas Philippou
10. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza

Welterweight

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Carlos Condit
3. Nick Diaz
4. Johny Hendricks
5. Demian Maia
6. Martin Kampmann
7. Jon Fitch
8. Jake Ellenberger
9. Ben Askren
10. Rory MacDonald

Lightweight

1. Benson Henderson
2. Gilbert Melendez
3. Frank Edgar
4. Gray Maynard
5. Nate Diaz
6. Michael Chandler
7. Anthony Pettis
8. Donald Cerrone
9. Jim Miller
10. TJ Grant

Featherweight

1. Jose Aldo
2. Pat Curran
3. Chan Sung Jung
4. Chad Mendes
5. Ricardo Lamas
6. Clay Guida
7. Hatsu Hioki
8. Dennis Siver
9. Cub Swanson
10. Darren Elkins

Bantamweight

1. Renan Barao
2. Urijah Faber
3. Michael McDonald
4. Eddie Wineland
5. Raphael Assuncao
6. Brad Pickett
7. Scott Jorgenson
8. Bibiano Fernandes
9. Tyson Nam
10. Eduardo Dantas

Video of the Day - Casey v. Minowa

Here is Kevin "King" Casey fighting Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa at K-1 Hero's which took place on 9/17/07 in Yokohama, Japan.

Casey was a contestant on TUF 17 and will fight Josh Samman at the Finale. Minowa (56-34) will look to extend his win streak to 3, next fighting Eun Soo Lee (16-4) at Road FC 11.

TUF 17 Status

The 17th installment of The Ultimate Fighter has gone off without a hitch so far, featuring two awesome KO's in the 2nd round of the tournament. The fighters are coached by light heavyweight champ Jon Jones and challenger Chael Sonnen. The final is now set between Kelvin Gastelum and Uriah Hall.

Finale Match-up:

Uriah Hall (7-2)- The Jamaican born, New York trained kickboxer's only two losses are to UFC title contenders Constantinos Philippou and Chris Weidman. He has a TKO over Edwin Aguilar in Bellator and is currently on a 3 fight win streak. Hall also competed in Chuck Norris' WCL kickboxing league on the New Jersey Tigers. Hall won a tough decision over Andy Enz (6-1) in the first round of the tournament, then annihilated Adam Cella (4-0) with a spinning wheel kick in the 2nd round. Hall blasted Bubba McDaniel in his next bout with a 9 second KO. In the fight to get to the final, Hall outstruck Dylan Andrews in the first round before earning a second round TKO.

The most impressive fighter of the tournament without a doubt has been Uriah Hall. His striking has been downright nasty, as Hall outstruck every fighter he faced, sending them all to the hospital with an assortment of injuries. Look for Hall to try to keep the fight standing utilizing his long range against the stocky Gastelum.

Kelvin Gastelum (4-0)- The 5'9" spark plug has 2 KO's and 2 submissions while fighting less than stellar competition. Kelvin won a razor thin decision over Kito Andrews in the first round. He submitted Bubba McDaniel via rear naked choke in the second round. In his next bout he surprised Collin Hart with a first round knockout. To get to the final, Kelvin roughed up Josh Samman eventually getting another rear naked choke win.

Kelvin Gastelum was the second to last pick of the show, but he didn't let that deter him. Kelvin had decent movement boxing as he likes to get the fight to a brawl standing as shown when he KO'd Collin Hart. He also possesses solid takedowns and a good ground game, submitting Josh Samman and Bubba McDaniel. Look for Gastelum to try to close the distance on Hall, looking for a takedown from the clinch. When Hall's kicks come, look for Kelvin to try to catch them to use for a takedown.

The TUF 17 Finale will take place this Saturday from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card will be broadcast on FX, Fuel and Facebook. The Fuel card features 9 fighters from the TUF 17 cast. The Facebook card features some interesting match-ups with solid fighters as well. The winner of Tate v. Zingano will coach TUF 18 against Ronda Rousey and earn a title shot.

FX CARD - 9 EST

Urijah Faber v. Scott Jorgensen
Kelvin Gastelum v. Uriah Hall - TUF 17 Final
Miesha Tate v. Cat Zingano
Travis Browne v. Gabriel Gonzaga
Robert McDaniel v. Gilbert Smith

FUEL CARD - 7 EST

Kevin Casey v. Josh Samman
Luke Barnatt v. Collin Hart
Dylan Andrews v. Jimmy Quinlan
Clint Hester v. Bristol Marunde

FACEBOOK CARD - 5:30 EST

Cole Miller v. Bart Palaszewski
Justin Lawrence v. Daniel Pineda
Maximo Blanco v. Sam Sicilia

Video of the Day - Page v. Tantawy

Here is rising prospect Michael Page fighting Haitham Tantawy at Super Fight League 7 which took place on 11/2/12 in Mumbai, India.

Page recently defeated Ryan Sanders at Bellator 93 and will likely enter an upcoming welterweight tournament pushing his record to 4-0. Standing 6'3" with a ridiculous reach, Page also posseses rare speed and power with his karate based stand-up style.

How will he do against top level grapplers? We don't really know yet, but we will find out shortly.

Video of the Day - Jansen v. Truex

Here is Dave "The Fugitive" Jansen fighting Tommy Truex at Sport Fight 22 which took place on 4/18/08 in Portland, Oregon.

Jansen (18-2, 5-0 Bellator) submitted Russia's Magomed Saadulaev (14-2) in the opening round of Bellator's lightweight tournament, then won a split decision over Ricardo Tirloni to reach the finale. He will square off against Poland's Marcin Held (15-2, 4-1 Bellator) at Bellator 93.

Bellator 93 takes place on March 21, 2013 in Lewiston, Maine at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. The event will air live on Spike.com then Spike TV.

SPIKE TV CARD - 10 PM ET

Marcin Held v. Dave Jansen - LW FINAL
Ryan Martinez v. Travis Wiuff
Eric Prindle v. Brett Rogers
Marcus Davis v. Waachiim Spiritwolf

SPIKE.COM CARD - 8 PM EST

Vince Murdock v. John Raio
Michael Page v. Ryan Sanders
Brett Dillingham v. Mike Mucitelli
Luc Bondole v. Joe Pacheco
Jason Butcher v. Jack Hermansson
Jesse Peterson v. Dave Vitkay
Jesse Erickson v. Jon Lemke

Video of the Day - Mulhern v. Brown

Here is former KOTC champ Quinn Mulhern fighting Doug Brown at KOTC - Hierarchy which took place on 10/13/07 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The 6'3" Mulhern (18-2) makes his UFC debut at UFC 158 against Ricky Story after a 3-1 run in Strikeforce.

Video of the Day - Ellenberger v. Light

Here is Jake Ellenberger fighting Zak Light in Bodog Fight's "Costa Rica Combat" which took place on 2/16/07 on a beach, probably owned by Bodog's billionaire owner Calvin Ayre.

Ellenberger will fight Nate Marquardt next in Marquardt's return to the UFC.

Video of the Day - St. Pierre v. Bruckmann

Here is Georges St. Pierre fighting Justin Bruckmann from UCC 10 which took place on 6/15/02. This is GSP's second pro fight.

GSP next fights Nick Diaz at UFC 158.

Video of the Day - Mousasi v. Izumi

Here is Gegard Mousasi defending his Dream 205 pound belt against judoka Hiroshi Izumi in Dream 17 which took place on 7/16/11 in the Ariake Coliseum,
Tokyo, Japan.

Mousasi (33-3) is currently riding a 5 fight win streak and will make his UFC debut on April 6th against Alexander Gustafsson.

Liz Carmouche - First Openly Gay UFC Fighter

Liz "Girl-Rilla" Carmouche will officially be the first openly gay fighter to fight in the UFC when she faces Ronda Rousey at UFC 157 this Saturday for the Women's Bantamweight title.

Despite Ronda Rousey getting virtually all the attention leading up to the bout, Carmouche deserves a nod as well. While there are many gay athletes out there, no fighters have came out in the UFC. Carmouche spent five years in the Marines serving three tours of duty in Iraq. She has a stifling top game where she likes to rain down punches in bunches.

Below is Liz Carmouche fighting Kaitlin Young at Invicta 2 which took place on July 28, 2012 at Memorial Hall Kansas City KS. You can follow Carmouche on twitter @iamgirlrilla.

Video of the Day - Yarborough v. Nakano

The smother submission isn't seen very often, but here it is in all its glory. Emmanuel "Manny" Yarborough fighting Tatsuaki Nakano in Shooto - Shoot the Shooto XX which took place on 4/26/98 in Yokohama, Japan.

Yarborough had a short, odd and memorable run in mixed martial arts.

Video of the Day - Manuwa v. Petrescu

Jimi "The Poster Boy" Manuwa fought Valentino Petrescu at UCMMA 14 - Invincible on 8/7/10 in London, England.

Manuwa will look to keep his undefeated record intact fighting Cyrille Diabate this weekend at UFC on Fuel 7 this Saturday in London.

UFC on Fuel 7 takes place this Saturday in the Wembley Arena and will be broadcast on Fuel TV and Facebook.

FUEL TV CARD

Renan Barao v Michael McDonald
Dustin Poirier v Cub Swanson
Cyrille Diabate v Jimi Manuwa
Gunnar Nelson v Jorge Santiago
Ryan Jimmo v James Te Huna
Che Mills v Matthew Riddle

FACEBOOK CARD

Terry Etim v Renee Forte
Danny Castillo v Paul Sass
Josh Grispi v Andy Ogle
Stanislav Nedkov v Tom Watson
Vaughan Lee v Motonobu Tezuka
Ulysses Gomez v Phil Harris

Video of the Day - Aliev v. Elsner

Here is Sultan Aliev fighting Marcin Elsner in ProFC - "Grand Prix Global Finals" which took place on 12/10/11 in Rostov Oblast, Russia.

Sultan will be dropping from 205 pounds to 185 for the Bellator middleweight tournament.

Olympic Champ Henry Cejudo to MMA - Videos

2008 Olympic Gold medalist Henry Cejudo has announced via that he is making the transition from freestyle wrestling to mixed martial arts. Cejudo has been getting amateur boxing experience, reportedly winning the "Copper Gloves" in Arizona.

While Olympic freestyle wrestling doesn't directly correlate to MMA, the single leg, double leg, high crotch and sprawl all translate. I don't think any fighters at 135 or 125 would be taking him down. More importantly it is about having body control, the ability to change levels, use of leverage to get and defend takedown attempts, sprawl and so forth.

Here is a look at Cejudo in his 55KG, 121 pounds, gold medal match against Tomohiro Matsunaga from Bejing.


Here is the Sunkist Freestyle 55kg Final featuring Henry Cejudo against Danny Felix, go to 5:30 for the end scramble.

Video of the Day - Silva v. Bormet

Here is Wanderlei Silva fighting Sean Bormet from IVC 2 which took place on 9/15/97 in Brazil. Bormet was a 2X All-American wrestler from the University of Michigan and is currently a wrestling coach.

Wanderlei last fought Brian Stann in the headliner of UFC on Fuel 8 winning via TKO. The fight below was conducted under limited Vale Tudo rules with no gloves.

Video of the Day - Gracie v. Kimura

Here is Rickson Gracie fighting Koichi Kimura from Vale Tudo Japan in 1995. Rickson is a legend of the martial arts world, holding an 8th degree black belt in BJJ. He last fought MMA in 2000 winning over Masakatsu Funaki. Rickson's reported MMA record is 11-0, but there could be many more bouts.

Video of the Day - Hioki v. Pearson

Here is Hatsu Hioki fighting Joe Pearson in Shooto: Gig Central 7 which took place on 3/27/05.

Hioki next fights at UFC on Fox 6 against Clay Guida.

Video of the Day - Horodecki v. Njokuani

Here is Chris Horodecki fighting Anthony Njokuani at WEC 45 which took place on 12/19/09 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Horodecki (18-4) who was touted as an MMA prodigy in the International Fight League, would go 2-2 in the WEC and 1-1-1 in Bellator, and currently does not have any fights scheduled.

Njokuani (15-7) made the move from the WEC to the UFC going 2-3 with wins over Andre Winner and John Makdessi. After losing to Rafeal dos Anjos in July of 2012, he has yet to fight again.

TUF 17 - Round 1 Complete

The first round of TUF 17 wittled the cast from 28 to 14. I was happy about most of the fights, however the way it was edited was really annoying. Instead of letting fights that ended in the first round play out, they jump cut to Jon Jones, Chael Sonnen or Dana White jabbering about the fighters.

Sonnen decided to take the first fighter, and Jones picked Gilbert Smith to fight Luke Barnatt. Luke has a big reach advantage over Gilbert, and will need to keep him on the outside. Josh Samman really wanted to fight first.

TEAM SONNEN

Luke Barnatt (5-0)- The 6'6" English fighter has fought in BAMMA and UWC defeating Lee Johnson (5-2) via submission and won a decision over Ben Callum (5-1). Luke used his reach effectively to win a unanimous decision over Nicholas Hohring (3-0).

Uriah Hall (7-2)- The Jamaican born, New York trained kickboxer's only two losses are to UFC title contenders Constantinos Philippou and Chris Weidman. He has a TKO over Edwin Aguilar in Bellator and is currently on a 3 fight win streak. Hall also competed in Chuck Norris' WCL kickboxing league on the New Jersey Tigers. Hall won a tough decision over Andy Enz (6-1) in the first round of the tournament.

Zak Cummings (15-3)- The Bellator and Strikeforce fighter has fought around the midwest, defeating Terry Martin and Rudy Bears. He has 8 submission wins and 4 TKO wins on his resume. Cummings landed one of the fastest KO's in TUF history, with one punch to Nik Fekete's face.

Tor Troeng (15-4-1)- The Swedish veteran fighter is 11-1 in his last 12 fights only losing to Thales Leites. He has submission wins over Rafeal Silva (38-13) and Mark Weir. Troeng submitted Scott Rosa with a rear naked choke in the opening round.

Jimmy Quinlan (3-0)- The Massachusetts fighter was a successful collegiate wrestler and brown belt in BJJ. 2 of his wins are via first round submission. Shown in highlight form, Quinlan scored takedowns and finished Mike Persons via TKO in the first round.

Kevin Casey (5-2)- From California, Casey is a Rickson Gracie disciple who earned a rear naked choke over Eldon Sproat (3-1) in his TUF fight.

Kelvin Gastelum (4-0)- The 5'9" spark plug has 2 KO's and 2 submissions while fighting less than stellar competition. Kelvin won a razor thin decision over Kito Andrews in the first round.

TEAM JONES

Clint Hester (7-3)- Fighting pro for 4 and half years, the former boxer has several quality wins fighting in the southeast. Hester was 3-3 as a cruiser weight boxing. Hester won a dominant decision over Fraser Opie (10-5) in the opening round.

Josh Samman (9-2)- The Florida fighter and WWFC champ last defeated Bellator vet Mikey Gomez via submission due to punches, and has beat Chris Cope via KO. Samman defeated Leo Bercier via TKO in the first round.

Bubba McDaniel (20-6)- The Elite XC and Bellator veteran has won 6 straight with 15 total submission wins on his resume. He has defeated several legit veterans including Eric Schambari (15-3), Johnny Rees and Kala Hose. Bubba TKO'd Ryan Bigler in the 2nd round of the fight.

Gilbert Smith (5-1)- The muscular Colorado fighter has 4 submission wins. He submitted Eric Wahlin in the first round via arm triangle choke.

Collin Hart (4-1-1)- Colin won the fight via submission in the first round via rear naked choke.

Adam Cella (4-0)- A member of Finney's Hit Squad in Missouri, Cella has a kickboxing background. He has 2 KO's and 2 submissions in the first round. Cella may have gotten slammed pretty hard, but he tapped Jake Heun with an armbar in the first round of his match-up.

Dylan Andrews (16-4-1)- The New Zealander has 10 KO's on his resume fighting at 205 and 185 mainly on the Australian fight circuit. He has a win over Shonie Carter. Andrews won a decision over Tim Williams (7-1) in the opening round.

UFC Ultimate Ultimate 2013

I recently got an email regarding who the best 10 fighters are in the UFC if there were no weight classes. That got me in the mood of the mid 90's and I began to construct a tournament of my own.

Since there are athletic commissions now, I have instituted one tournament for above 206 pound fighters and another for 185 and under. I'm playing UFC's match-maker Joe Silva's job, so only Zuffa fighters under contract are eligible, sorry Josh Barnett.

The emailer thought that Jon Jones could beat almost every heavyweight UFC, but some might be able to "get their fat" on them. Jones would come in as the fastest 235 or so and would likely have a reach advantage on most. I would think a big grappler who could get on the inside and force the clinch could have success on Jones.

I have seeded with current actual UFC match-ups in mind. Since we are in 2013, the tournament would run over 4 events over the course of a year.

UU 13 - Open Weight 206+

1. Cain Velasquez- 11-1, Current UFC HW Champ
16. Rashad Evans- 17-2-1, UFC LHW Champ

8. Stefan Struve- 25-5, 9-3 UFC
9. Mark Hunt- 8-7, K-1 GP Champ

5. Daniel Cormier- 10-0, SF HW Champ
12. Frank Mir- 16-6, former UFC HW champ

4. Alistair Overeem- 36-11, SF/Dream/K-1 WH Champ
13. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva- 17-4, Elite XC Champ

3. Junior Dos Santos- 15-2, UFC HW Champ
14. Phil Davis- 10-1, NCAA Champ

6. Fabricio Werdum- 16-5, ADCC 99KG+ Champ
11. Antonio Noguiera- 34-7-1, Pride HW Champ

7. Dan Henderson-29-8, Pride Champ
10. Lyoto Machida- 18-3, UFC LHW Champ

15. Chael Sonnen- 27-12-1, rightful WEC MW Champ
2. Jon Jones- 17-1, Current UFC LHW Champ

Ultimate Ultimate 13 - 185 and Under

Continuing on with the Ultimate Ultimate Open Weight tournament idea, I have crafted a bracket for 185 pound and under fighters.

UU 13 - 185

1. Anderson Silva- 33-4, Current UFC MW Champ
16. Winner- Josh Koscheck v. Robbie Lawler

8. Carlos Condit- 28-6, WEC WW Champ
9. Rory MacDonald- 14-1, 5-1 UFC

5. Luke Rockhold- 10-1, SF MW Champ
12. Jake Shields- 27-6, SF/Elite XC Champ

4. Chris Weidman- 9-0, 5-0 UFC
13. Vitor Belfort- 22-10, UFC LHW Champ

3. Yushin Okami- 28-7, 12-4 UFC
14. Hector Lombard- 32-3, Bellaotr MW Champ

6. Johnny Hendricks- 14-1, NCAA Champ
11. Jake Ellenberger- 28-6, 7-2 UFC

7. Demian Maia- 17-4, ADCC Champ
10. Jon Fitch- 24-4, 14-2-1 UFC

15. Nick Diaz- 26-8, SF/Elite XC Champ
2. Georges St. Pierre- 23-2, UFC WW Champ

Video of the Day - Cormier v. Fekete

Here is Daniel Cormier wrestling against Nik Fekete at the US Nationals in 2008. Cormier next fights Frank Mir at UFC on Fox 7. Fekete will next be seen on TUF 17 fighting at 185.

Video of the Day - Elliott v. Rave

Here is Tim Elliot fighting Josh Rave at RFA 2 which took place on 3/30/12 in Kearney, Nebraska. The fight features one of the nastiest submissions of the year.

20+ Fighters Who Went 3-0 or Better in 2012

In this day and age, it seems that fewer and fewer fighters are getting 3 solid fights per year. As you can see, Bellator has given several fighters the opportunity to get more than three fights.

Unfortunately I do keep finding more, so feel free to mention in the comments any pro fighters with three legit MMA wins without a loss that are documented on MMA fighter databases 12 2012. Here is a look at some notable fighters who went undefeated in 2012:

Mark Striegl (6-0 in 2012): The undefeated 12-0 Filipino fighter worked his way around the Pacific Rim submitting Harris Sarmiento, Robert Wusstig, Alcer Lozada, Marko Huusansaari, Mohd Al Hafiz and Ev Ting.

Andrey Koreshkov (5-0 in 2012): The Russian welterweight won the Bellator tournament and two other bouts in Bellator with KO's over TUF vet Kyacey Uscola, Taiwan Howard, Derrick Krantz, Jordan Smith, Marius Žaromskis and Lyman Good for the BW tourney title.

Alexander Volkov (5-0 in 2012): The lanky 6-7 heavyweight won the Bellator HW championship and tournament, defeating Ricco Rodriguez, Stefan Stankovic, Brett Rogers, Vinicius Kappke de Queiroz and Richard Hale. The Richard Hale championship fight was extremely slow, don't re-watch that.

Smealinho Rama (5-0 in 2012): The Canadian heavyweight got his career off to a perfect 5-0 in 2012. Rama registered submissions over Ryan Fortin, Jordan Tracey and Craig Hudson, while TKO'ing Lee Mein and Demetrius Seguin. Expect to see him in the MFC promotion this in 2013.

Jeff Monson (5-0-1 in 2012): The former HW ADCC champ bounced back from a crushing loss to Fedor in 2011 with 5 wins and a draw in 2012. Monson notched wins over Alexey Oleinik, Jim York, Denis Komkin, Alexander Emelianenko and Dong Gook Kang.

Matt Brown (4-0 in 2012): After going 1-4 in 2010 and 2011, Brown stormed through the competition in 2012, earning 3 TKO/KO's and pulling off a couple big upsets. Brown started the year TKO'ing Chris Cope, winning a unanimous decision over Stephen Thompson and TKO'ing Luis Ramos before upsetting Mike Swick via KO.

(Matt Brown Pictured)

Daniel Straus (4-0 in 2012): The wrestler won 4 times in Bellator beating Jeremy Spoon and Mike Corey before defeating Marlon Sandro for the featherweight tourney title. Straus tacked on an additional win at Bellator 78 by submitting BJJ black belt Alvin Robinson.

Jessica Eye (4-0 in 2012): Eye had an outstanding 2012, capped off with dominating Bellator champ Zoila Gurgel via submission. Her other wins were over Kelly Warren, Anita Rodriguez and Angela Magana.

Lyle Beerbohm (4-0 in 2012): Fancy Pants bounced back from 2 straight losses in 2011 with 3 submission wins and 1 decision win in 2012. Beerbohm defeated Cleburn Walker, Chris Ensley, Marcus Aurelio and Kenny Ento.

Trevor Prangley (4-0 in 2012): The grappler had a resurgence in King of the Cage in 2012, capturing their 205 pound title with a majority decision win over Tony Lopez. He notched 3 additional wins over Baga Agaev, Mike Cook and George Stork.

Joe Riggs (4-0 in 2012): The UFC veteran had a comeback year in 2012 with four finishes. He armbarred Aaron Brink before KO's over Shane Johnson, Josh Cavan and Chris Leyva.

Sergio Pettis (4-0 in 2012): Anthony Pettis' younger brother kept his undefeated career intact with victories over Mike Lindquist, Chris Haney, Tom McKenna and Jimmy Jones.

Benson Henderson (3-0 in 2012): Henderson will win most fighter of the year awards going 3-0 in 2012, winning the UFC lightweight title against Frank Edgar, and defending against Edgar and Nate Diaz.


Shah Bobonis (3-0 in 2012): The high energy fighter followed up his 2011 Bellator victory over Marcos da Matta with victories over Mexico's Rodolfo Rubio, Aaron Williams and the previously undefeated Cornelius Godfrey.

Stefan Struve (3-0 in 2012): The massive heavyweight showed off improved technical striking in 2012 with KO's over Dave Herman and Stipe Miocic while using his lanky frame to lock in an armbar over Lavar Johnson. He'll fight Mark Hunt at UFC on Fuel 8 next.

Mike Pyle (3-0 in 2012): The 37 year old had his best year as a professional with TKO's over James Head and Ricardo Funch and a nasty KO over Josh Neer.

Cub Swanson (3-0 in 2012): Seemingly injury free, Swanson was lights out in 2012, accurate and technical with his striking knocking out George Roop, Ross Pearson and Charles Oliveira.

Constantinos Philippou (3-0 in 2012): The surging 185 pound fighter thrust himself into title contention by notching 3 UFC wins with decisions over Court McGee and Riki Fukuda before TKO'ing Tim Boetsch.

Francis Carmont (3-0 in 2012): The lanky and powerful Carmont now has won 9 fights in a row, taking two dominating submission wins over Magnus Cedenblad and Karlos Vemola in the UFC before a lackluster decision over Tom Lawlor.

Chris Camozzi (3-0 in 2012): Camozzi bounced back from a 2011 decision loss to Francis Carmont to submit Dustin Jacoby, TKO Nick Catone and defeat Luiz Cane via decision in 2012.

Karl Amoussou (3-0 in 2012): The Strikeforce veteran traveled to Bellator to defeat Chris Lozano via rear naked choke, David Rickels via decision and then Bryan Baker via inverted heel hook to take the tourney title. The heel hook submission over Baker was one of the year's best.

Erik Perez (3-0 in 2012): The Mexican bantamweight excelled in 2012 getting three UFC wins including TKO's over Bryan Bloodworth and Ken Stone with a verbal armbar submission over John Albert.

Rick Hawn (3-0 in 2012): The Olympic judoka bounced back from a loss to Jay Hieron to take the 155 pound Bellator tourney title with KO's over Ricardo Tirloni and Lloyd Woodard before a decision win over Brent Weedman for the tourney title.

Rustam Khabilov (3-0 in 2012): The Sambo specialist made a statement in his first UFC bout, suplexing Vinc Pichel into oblivion. He had two other victories in 2012 came over Rodrigo Ribeiro and Jason Dent.

Maiquel Falcao (3-0 in 2012): The Bellator Season 6 middleweight tournament champ defeated Norman Paraisy, Vyacheslav Vasilevsky and Andreas Spang via unanimous decision in 2012.

Marcin Held (3-0 in 2012): The Polish submission grappler cruised to the final of the Bellator season 7 lightweight tournament. He submitted Derrick Kennington via heel hook before winning a decision over Murad Machaev and submitting UFC veteran Rich Clementi via toe hold. He next fights Dave Jansen for the Bellator LW tourney championship.

Dave Jansen (3-0 in 2012): The American WEC veteran picked up his 5th straight win in Bellator 2012 winning via decision over Jacob Kirwan and Ricardo Tirloni while submitting Magomed Saadulaev.

Tim Means (3-0 in 2012): The striker pushed his win streak to 10 with 2 UFC wins in 2012. He began the year TKO'ing Tye Brown before UFC wins over Bernardo Magalhaes and Justin Salas.

Marcos Galvao (3-0 in 2012): The BJJ blackbelt bounced back in 2012 taking the 135 pound Bellator tournament by defeating Ed West and Travis Marx by decision before TKO'ing Luis Nogueira.

Conor McGregor (3-0 in 2012): Pushing his win streak to 8 overall, McGregor picked up 3 wins in the Cage Warriors Fighting Championships in 2012. The CWFC featherweight champ submitted Dave Hill while earning KO's against Steve O'Keefe and Ivan Buchinger.

Josh Burkman (3-0 in 2012): Burkman bounced back from a 2011 loss to Jordan Mein with decisions over Koffi Adzitso and Gerald Harris with a guillotine choke win over Jamie Yager.

Daisuke Nakamura (3-0 in 2012): The grappling ace competed exclusively in Deep in 2012, TKO'ing Takafumi Ito before decision wins over Akihiro Gono and Yasuaki Kishimoto.

Melvin Manhoef (3-0 in 2012): The kickboxing powerhouse scored a devastating KO over Denis Kang at the Dream NYE show, KO'd Ryo Kawamura and a split decision over Jae Young Kim.

Will Brooks (3-0 in 2012): Brooks (8-0 overall) picked up his biggest win of his career on NYE as he won against Satoru Kitaoka via TKO in Dream, his other wins were against Drew Dober via decision and Taurean Bogguess.

Ryan Ford (3-0 in 2012): Ford won twice in Bellator, once in AMMA, KO'ing Ricky Goodell and Luis Santos before winning a decision over Kyle Baker.

Nick Newell (3-0 in 2012): The one-armed fighter improved his record to 9-0 with 3 wins in 2012, including victories over Chris Coggins, David Mays and Erik Reynolds to capture the XFC championship.

Eric Kelly (3-0 in 2012): The Filipino fighter won twice in One FC in 2012 against Jens Pulver and Bae Young Kwon before submitting Brad Terrey via armbar.

Georgi Karakhanyan (3-0 in 2012): Georgi picked up a win in Dream NYE to get his 3rd of 2012, earning a split decision over Hiroyuki Takaya. He also won a decision over Micah Miller and KO over Aaron Mobley.

Felice Herrig (3-0 in 2012): The Lil Bulldog had her best year in 2012, winning two decisions over Patricia Vidonic and one over Simona Soukupova in XFC.

Amy Coleman (3-0 in 2012): Coleman will look to get on some bigger shows in 2013, after picking up wins over Cara Dickey, Catie Dorman and Brandy Davis in 2012.

Michael Mucitelli (3-0 in 2012): Pushing his record to 4-0 in 2012, Mucitelli picked up two wins in Bellator over Matt VanBuren and Matthew Uhde and one over Eddie Hardison in Matrix Fights. All wins were via submission.

Ante Delijja (3-0 in 2012): The Croatian heavyweight pushed his record to 6-0 picking up his biggest win to date over former UFC champ Ricco Rodriguez via decision and also submitted Kristof Nataska and Zeli Zalani in 2012.

Stav Economou (3-0 in 2012): The Crazy Bear had a solid 2012 submitting Deividas Banaitis and Tomasz Czerwinski while winning a decision over Ricco Rodriguez.

Piotr Hallman (3-0 in 2012): The Polish lightweight WFC champ pushed his win streak to 7 by earning 2 TKO's over Vaso Bakocevic and Jarkko Latomaki while submitting Kevin Donnelly.