Fedor v. Singh

Here is Fedor Emelianenko fighting Jaideep Singh at Rizen FF Day 2 which took place on 12/31/15 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

King Mo v. Brett McDermott Rizen FF

Here is Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal fighting Brett McDermott in the opening round of the Rizen FF Grand Prix which took place 12/29/15 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

King Mo(17-4) will fight Teodoras Aukstuolis(8-2) on New Years Eve, with the winner the winner of Vadim Nemkov(5-0) v. Jiri Prochazka(15-2).

Bob Sapp v. Alistair Overeem - Arm Wrestle!

Here is Alistair Overeem fighting Bob Sapp in an arm wrestling contest as part of a 2012 Japanese TV show.

Overeem (39-14, 4-3 UFC) fights Junior Dos Santos at UFC on Fox 17 this Saturday.

Video of the Day - Fedor v. Ishii

Here is Fedor Emelianenko fighting Satoshi Ishii at Dream's "Fight For Japan - Genki Desu Ka! New Year!" The fight took place on 12/31/11 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. This was Fedor's last bout before his brief hiatus from the sport.

Fedor (34-4) will return on NYE in Rizen FC against a yet to be named opponent. Ishiii (14-4) fights Jiri Prochazka (13-2) on Rizen FC Day 1 in the opening round of the World GP.

Barry v. Lighty

Here is Pat Barry kickboxing Scott Lighty at Shin Do Kumate XI on 12/8/06 in Tampa, Florida.

Kickboxing records are hard to calculate due to such a wide selection in rule formats. Barry had 4 K-1 event wins and 3 wins in Chuck Norris' WCL. He had 4 wins in the UFC including KO's over Shane Del Rosario, Antoni Hardonk and Christian Morecraft while winning a decision over Joey Beltran.

Scott Lighty was a solid kickboxer in his own right, defeating Dewey Cooper and Sean McCully in K-1 events. Lighty was also an MMA fighter, being showcased on the TapouT reality show that was on the Versus network. He won fights in Strikeforce.

Werdum v. Fedor

Here is Fabricio Werdum fighting Fedor Emelianenko in Strikeforce - Fedor v. Werdum which took place on 6/26/10 in San Jose, California.

Fedor will face a yet to be named opponent as the headliner of Rizen's New Years Eve show.

Rizen Fighting World Grand Prix

The new upstart Rizen Fighting Championship is an interesting promotion which is stacking its inaugural event. The fights will take place at Saitama Super Arena in Japan, spanning two dates on December 29th and New Years Eve. An open weight world grand prix will kick off on the 29th featuring a diverse group of mainly 205 pound fighters, each hailing from a different country so far. The event is being broadcast on Spike TV.

Fedor Emelianenko (34-4) will return from a three and a half year retirement to headline the New Years Eve card. He has finally been announded to be fighting kickboxer Jaideep Singh (2-0). Japanese MMA pioneer Tsuyoshi Kosaka (26-18) will fight British slugger James Thompson (20-15).

(Fedor at Rizen Press Event)

One FC champ Shinya Aoki (38-6) will fight Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba (26-16) in the headliner of the 29th card. Kicking off the Grand Prix festivities will be Strikeforce champ Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal(16-4) against a still unknown BAMMA UK representative. UFC vet Goran Reljic(15-5) represents Poland's KSW organization, taking on Russian Vadim Nemkov (3-0). Brazilian Bruno Cappelozza(7-3) is fighting Lithuania's Teodoras Aukstuolis(7-2). Japan's Satoshi Ishii will fight Czech Republic's Jiri Prochazka (13-2) will fight. Valentin Moldovsky (1-0) and Yuta Uchida (0-0) are fighting in the reserve bout.

(Sakuraba at Rizen Press Event)

New Years Eve will feature the tournament final and several high profile debuts. Kickboxing legend Andy Souwer will fight oddball striker Yuichiro Nagashima. BJJ legend and Gracie family member Kron Gracie (1-0) will fight against Japanese wrestling phenom Asen Yamamoto who is making his debut. Women's heavyweight BJJ player Gabi Garcia has been rumored to make her debut against pro wrestler Seini Draughn who will also make her debut. Shootboxing Rene Kubota and K-1 kickboxer Jleana Valentino will fight eachother in their debuts. Kaido Hoovelson, a former judo and sumo fighter, will make his debut.

(Kron Gracie Pictured)

December 29th

Shinya Aoki v. Kazushi Sakuraba
Tsuyoshi Kosaka v. James Thompson
AJ Matthews v. Anatoly Tokov
King Mo v. TBA (BAMMA)
Goran Reljic v. Vadim Nemkov
Bruno Cappelozza v. Teodoras Aukstuolis
Satoshi Ishii v. Jiri Prochazka
Yuki Motoya v. Nam Jin Jo (rumored)
Valentin Moldovsky v. Yuta Uchida

New Years Eve

Fedor v. Jaideep Singh
World Grand Prix Championship
Kaido Hoovelson v. TBA
Hiroyuki Takaya v. Daiki Hata
Andy Souwer v. Yuichiro Nagashima
Kron Gracie v. Asen Yamamoto
Gabi Garcia v. Seini Draughn
Rene Kubota v. Jleana Valentino
World Grand Prix Final Four

(Gabi Garcia at Rizen Press Event)

Video of the Day - Sudo v. Oxley

This is MMA Legend Genki Sudo in his famous match against Craig Oxley from Pancrase - Trans 6 which took place in Tokyo, Japan on 10/31/00, Halloween. As you can see, Genki is rocking an epic mullet in this fight. You'll see a crazy move at 3 minutes in.

(Genki Sudo pictured)

Video of the Day - Fedor v. Rizzo

Here is Fedor Emelianenko fighting Pedro Rizzo in his last bout before a 3 and a half year retirement at M-1: Fedor v. Rizzo, which took place on 6/21/12 in Russa.

Fedor (34-4) returns on New Years Eve at Saitama Super Arena for Rizen FC. Fedor is currently rumored to fight Tsuyoshi Kosaka, though I wouldn't lock that in stone until early December.

Several high profile fighter debuts are planned for the event including kickboxing legend Andy Souwer, BJJ star Kron Gracie, 19 year old Japanese wrestling stand-out Asen Yamamoto, women's heavyweight BJJ player Gabi Garcia and pro wrestler Seini Draughn

Video of the Day - Teixeira v. Eastman

Here is Glover Teixeira fighting Marvin Eastman at Shooto Brazil - Fight for BOPE which took place on 8/25/11 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Glover (23-4, 6-2 UFC) next fights Patrick Cummins at UFN 77.

Choi v. Canseco

Here is one of the most bizarre fights in MMA history, Jose Canseco versus Hong Man Choi from Dream's Super Hulk tournament which took place on 5/26/09 in Yokohama, Japan.


(Jose Canseco pictured)

Krazy Horse v. Nightrider

Here is Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett fighting Drew "Night Rider" Fickett at Shine Fights 3 which took place on 9/10/10 in Newkirk, Oklahoma.

Krazy Horse (27-28) is an entertainer first and foremost, owning KO's in his career over KJ Noons, Yoshiro Maeda and Shad Smith. Whether he wins, loses or gets choked unconscious he is always entertaining. He's had his share of issues outside the ring. Bennett returned to the cage last weekend after a 3 year absense KO'ing Danny Black in less than 2 minutes.


Drew Fickett (42-21) was a very talented submission specialist during his time as a fighter. He has career submissions of Josh Koscheck, Dennis Bermudez, Matt Veach, Josh Neer and Carlo Prater. Fickett has had well documented substance abuse problems outside the cage. He went 1-8 to possibly close out his career in 2014.

Video of the Day - Sudo v. Kim

Here is Genki Sudo fighting Jingwu Kim from K-1 World Max 2002 which took place on 10/11/02 in Tokyo, Japan. Genki had a passion for the spinning back fist and cartwheel manuevers during his kickboxing career. This fight features the infamous Buckethead entrance.

Max Bohanon versus Leonard Simpson

Here is uber prospect Max "The Cobra" Bohanon fighting Leonard Simpson in Ring of Combat 50 which took place on 1/23/15 at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Bohanon (5-0) is a brown belt under Ricardo Almeida and is an instructor at RABJJ. He won an amateur bout against current UFC fighter Paul Felder (10-2) via triangle choke.

Davis v. Northcutt

Here is Sage Northcutt fighting Rocky Long at Legacy FC 44 which took place on 8/28/15 in Houston, Texas.

Northcutt (5-0) will make his UFC debut this weekend at UFC 192 against Francisco Trevino (12-1).

Thrilla In Manila - Ali v. Frazier 3

Here is the end of the trilogy between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. It ocurred on 10/1/75 for the Heavyweight title at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

At the time, Ali was 48-2 with 35 KO's. Frazier was 32-2 with 27 KO's. Ali weighed in at 224, while Frazier tipped the scales at 215. Ali lost the first bout "The Fight of the Century" via unanimous decision, while winning the rematch via split decision.

Video of the Day - Sudo v. Dekker

Here is Genki Sudo against Ramon Dekker from K-1 Hero's 1 which took place on 3/25/05.

Video of the Day - Hall v. DeVore

Here is TUF 17's Uriah Hall fighting Josh DeVore at a WCL kickboxing event in 2008. Hall (12-5, 5-3 UFC) is coming off the best win of his career after he defeated Gegard Mousasi via 2nd round TKO.

Tyson v. Biggs

Here is Mike Tyson boxing Tyrell Biggs for the WBC, WBA and IBF titles on 10/16/87 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. At the time, Tyson was 31-0 and Biggs was 15-0.

Igor Vovchanchyn v. Paul Varelans

Here is an old school match-up between Igor Vovchanchyn and Paul Varelans from IFC 1 Combat in Kiev which took place on 3/30/96. Igor ends up winning the tournament, with Bas Rutten at the mic.

Gomi v. Diaz

Here is the epic battle between Nick Diaz and Takanori Gomi from Pride 33 which took place on 2/24/07 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Diaz was recently given a 5 year ban by NSAC for his 3rd positive test for marijuana.

Video of the Day - Fedor v. Choi

Here is Fedor Emelianenko fighting Hong Man Choi at Yarennoka - NYE which occured on 12/31/07 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

Video of the Day - Oliveira v. Soare

Here is Charles "do Bronx" Oliveira fighting José Carlos Soare in JF 12 - Warriors which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 3/21/09.

Oliveira (20-4, 8-4 UFC) will go for his 5th straight win at UFC 74 against Max Holloway (13-3, 9-3 UFC).

Video of the Day - Vereb v. Askren

Here is Ben Askren wrestling Hungary's Istavan Vereb in a freestyle wrestling match from the 2008 Olympics round of 8.

Askren (14-0) last fought Luis Santos (61-9-1) to a no contest after an accidental eye poke at One FC 26.

Metamoris Mega Match Forecast

Metamoris is a professional grappling organization which holds submission only matches on a square mat. Athletes are allowed to wear gi pants, full tights, wrestling shoes, knee pads and rashguards during the 20 minute round. Each event so far has had consisted of 6 bouts, consisting of BJJ superstars, current/former MMA stars and fantasy match-ups.

After seeing the mega-star match-ups of Eddie Bravo v. Royler Gracie, Andre Galvao v. Chael Sonnen and Dean Lister v. Josh Barnett, Metamoris 5 featured MMA pioneers Renzo Gracie and Kazushi Sakuraba. The pair were involved in an epic battle at Pride 10 which saw awesome scrambles for position with Sakuraba eventually latching on a fight ending kimura. The grappling match didn't quite prove to be as entertaining as it was nostalgic.


With many pioneers of MMA retired or retiring, Metamoris is an event to give them an outlet for competition while promoting grappling. Who are some of the other legendary former fighters and what match-ups are possible? I've conjured up a few interesting names below, ranked from most likely to least likely to compete:

Matt Hughes- the former UFC welterweight champ and UFC HOF'er is rumored to be grappling Renzo Gracie in ADCC in 2015. A former Eastern Illinois wrestler, Hughes placed 5th in the NCAA tournament in 1997. In the ADCC he has defeated Jeremy Horn and Ricardo Almeida, while losing in absolute matches to Tito Ortiz and Jeff Monson. He was known for power slams in MMA, slamming is illegal from the top position in Metamoris. Interesting bouts for Hughes would be against BJ Penn, Frank Trigg, Carlos Newton, Royce Gracie or GSP. Hughes compiled an MMA record of 45-9 with 18 submission victories.


Randy Couture- the former HW and LHW UFC champ and UFC HOF'er has been on the outs with Dana White since his decision to coach on Bellator's Fight Master reality show. Couture is a 2X runner-up NCAA champ, multiple time Greco Olympic alternate and won a Greco Pan Am Games Gold in 1991. Couture was awarded a black belt in Neil Melanson's No Gi submission wrestling system following his arm triangle of James Toney. Couture had an epic battle with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in 2009 and a rematch would make sense. It would be cool to see a rematch against Enson Inoue. The blockbuster would be a bout against former Pride superstar Fedor Emelienenko.


BJ Penn- the former LW and WW champ retired from MMA following his TKO loss to Frankie Edgar, but may still have a drive to compete. BJ was awarded his BJJ Black belt in 2000 by Andre Pederneiras. He won gold at the IBJFF World Championships in 2000, has won a World Jiu Jitsu Championship. There are several former MMA opponents that would lend themselves to huge match-ups, such as Matt Hughes, Rodrigo Gracie, Renzo Gracie and perhaps even GSP. The big X-factor would be whether or not BJ wants to train.


Masakatsu Funaki- The co-founder of Pancrase, Funaki began fighting in 1993, last fighting to a draw against Volk Han in 2012. A two time King of Pancrase winner, Funaki started off in professional wrestling and last took part in a 2013 Wrestle-1 show. While some of the early Pancrase fights were a little suspect, Funaki holds submission wins over Bas Rutten, Frank Shamrock, Guy Mezger and Yuki Kondo. Potential match-ups could include bouts with Sakuraba, Frank Shamrock, Minowaman and Bas Rutten.


Ricardo Arona- At 13-0 in ADCC competition including 3 tournament championships, Arona last competed in MMA in 2009 defeating Marvin Eastman via decision. Arona would win a Rings middleweight title and become a Pride superstar with his performance at the 2005 MW Grand Prix. He holds wins over Wanderlei Silva, Jeremy Horn, Dan Henderson, Sakuraba and Alistair Overeem. Match-ups could include an MMA rematch with Dean Lister or ADCC rematches against Ricardo Almeida or Babalu Sobral.


Carlos Newton- A legend of Canadian MMA, Newton is an IBJJF 3rd Degree Renzo Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt under coach Terry Riggs. While retiring from MMA following a decision loss to Brian Ebersole, Newton has remained active in running Warrior MMA. Newton versus Kazushi Sakuraba in Pride 3 remains one of the most thrilling grappling based MMA contests. Newton won the UFC championship with a bulldog choke submission over Pat Miletich at UFC 31, only to be controversially slam KO'd to lose the belt at UFC 34. Some maintain that Hughes was asleep for the slam. He had other career wins over Erik Paulsen, Daijiro Matsui, Jose Landi-Jons, Renzo Gracie and Pete Spratt. Interesting match-ups would include a rematches with Sakuraba, Paulsen(who probably has a weight advantage), Renzo Gracie or Matt Hughes.


Genki Sudo- With flair and charisma to spare, Sudo was one of the most entertaining and unorthodox fighters to ever enter an MMA arena. Sudo has career submission victories over Nate Marquardt, Mike Thomas Brown, Kazuyuki Miyata and Hiroyuki Takaya, and KO'd Royler Gracie. In 2010 he received his BJJ black belt from Naoyoshi Watanabe at Triforce Academy, and was lightening fast in transition. Re-matches with Mike Thomas Brown, Kid Yamamoto or Royler Gracie make sense.


Fedor Emelianenko- Perhaps the greatest fighter of all-time, Fedor retired from MMA in 2012 following a KO win over Pedro Rizzo. Fedor has taken part in many Combat Sambo tournaments over the years, winning multiple gold medals in the Russian and World championships. He also has a bronze medal in Russian Judo Championships. Fedor accumulated 16 submission victories among his 34 total victories, submitting Tim Sylvia, Matt Lindland, Mark Hunt, Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman during his MMA career. Obvious roadblocks to his potential entrance include his fee, potential co-promoting with his old management team M-1 and whether or not he has interest. He is supposedly considering a return to MMA. Match-ups could include Randy Couture, Josh Barnett, Antonio Nogueira and Mark Coleman.


Royce Gracie- The face of the early UFC and one of the reasons the UFC exists today, Royce and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu revolutionized fighting as we know it today. Royce captured the UFC 1, 2 and 4 tournament titles notching submission wins over Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn and Kimo Leopoldo. He was TKO'd by Sakuraba at Pride GP 2000 and won a rematch via decision in 2007. For the 2007 fight, Royce was failed a drug test for Nandrolone. A 6th degree black belt, it appears that he will be content with running his California schools and teaching private lessons. A rematch with Matt Hughes or Sakuraba makes sense.



Rickson Gracie- An 8th degree red and black belt in Gracie Jiu Jitsu and sporting a 12-0 MMA record, Rickson claimed to be undefeated in over 400 bouts. He acheived much notierity for the documentery Choke, which followed him as he prepared for Vale Tudo Japan tournament. A son of the legendery Helio Gracie, his son Kron Gracie tapped out Shinya Aoki and Otavio Sousa at the first and second Metamoris events. Any competitor over fifty would be a good one for Rickson, such as Dan Severn, though the odds of him returning are slim to none.


*GSP was not included due to his knee ailments. Was on the fence with Mark Coleman, Ken Shamrock, Kevin Randleman, Shane Carwin and Mark Kerr, but they might be too injured to return to a competition like this. I'd also say Dan Severn, but he is 56 years old. Frank Mir and Antonio Nogueira each may retire following their rumored UFC match-up, this type of event would be perfect for them. Lesnar probably would want way more money than Metamoris could offer and this might not be the right type of event for him.

Diamond Dave Kaplan Makes An Entrance

Here is TUF 8's "Diamond" Dave Kaplan making his entrance to fight Junie Browning at the TUF 8 Finale. On the show, Kaplan, then 4-1, made it into the house by submitting Fernando Bernstein, then 2-0, now 4-8. His MMA career took a nose dive after that, as he would be submitted by Philipe Nover in the next round of the tournament. He then challenged 205 pounder Tom Lawlor to punch him as he believed he could never be knocked out, that didn't go well. His final bout of his career was a 2010 TKO loss to Dominque Robinson, finishing his career at 3-4.


*Kaplan would not be done with the spotlight, as he won $50,000 on the television show, "The Singing Bee."

Video of the Day - Rousey v. Budd

Here is the current 135 pound women's champ Ronda Rousey fighting Julia Budd at Strikeforce - Challengers 20, which took place on 11/18/11 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

(Ronda Rousey pictured)

Rousey (11-0, 5-0 UFC) will defend her bantamweight title against Bethe Correia (9-0, 3-0 UFC) at UFC 190.

Video of the Day - Shogun v. Freitas

This fight between Shogun Rua and Rafael "Capoeira" Freitas took place at Meca World Vale Tudo 7 on November 8, 2002 in Curitiba, Brazil.

It is listed on most MMA databases as Shogun Rua's first pro fight. As you can see, it is not the best referee in the business. Soccer kicks were legal in this Vale Tudo rule-set.

Shogun rose to prominence by rattling off vicious KO's in the Pride organization defeating Akihiro Gono, Rampage Jackson, Alistair Overeem, Lil' Nog and Ricardo Arona.

Shogun (22-10) will next have a rematch with Antonio "Lil Nog" Nogueira (21-6) at UFC 190.

Video of the Day - Gurgel v. Eye

Here is Zoila Frausto Gurgel fighting Jessica Eye at Bellator 83 which took place on December 7, 2012 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Eye next fights Miesha Tate at UFC on Fox 16.

Video of the Day - Huerta v. Alvarez

Here is Eddie Alvarez fighting Roger Huerta at Bellator 33 which took place on 10/21/10 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Eddie Alvarez (25-4, 0-1 UFC) will look to rebound from a decision loss to Donald Cerrone when he fights Gilbert Melendez (22-4, 1-2 UFC) at UFC 188.

Fedor v. Sylvia

Here is Fedor Emelianenko fighting Tim Sylvia at Affliction Banned which took place on 7/19/08 in Anaheim, California.

At the time, Fedor had reeled off 24 straight wins since his contentious loss due to cut. He faced Sylvia, who was coming off a loss at UFC 81 via guillotine in the third round against Big Nog after being ahead on the scorecards.

Currently, Fedor (34-4) has resumed training and rumors are swirling regarding a comeback to MMA. The most likely spot would be a one off fight in M-1, but landing spots in Bellator or One FC would not be too surprising. Fedor in the UFC however would cause the MMA world to be flipped upside down.

Video of the Day - Hunt v. Mousasi

Here is Mark Hunt fighting Gegard Mousasi at Dream 9 which took place on 4/26/09 in Yokohama, Japan.

Mousasi will next fight Costas Philippou at UFN 66 which will take place in Pasay, Philippines.

Video of the Day - Herrig v. Lavoy

Here is Felice Herrig fighting Amanda Lavoy at XFO 37 which took place on December 4, 2010 in Lakemoor, Illinois.

Felice (10-5) submitted Lisa Ellis (15-9) in her official UFC debut and next fights Paige Van Zant (4-1) at UFC on Fox 15 this Saturday.

Head Kick Destroyer - Munoz v. Machida

Here is Lyoto Machida fighting Mark Munoz at UFC Fight Night - Machida v. Munoz which took place on 10/26/13 in Manchester, England.

Machida (22-5) has career victories over Shogun Rua, Randy Couture, Gegard Mousasi and Rashad Evans. He next fights Luke Rockhold at UFC on Fox 15.

Fox Main Card

Lyoto Machida vs. Luke Rockhold
Chris Camozzi vs. Ronaldo Souza
Max Holloway vs. Cub Swanson
Felice Herrig vs. Paige VanZant
Beneil Dariush vs. Jim Miller
Patrick Cummins vs. Ovince Saint Preux
Corey Anderson vs. Gian Villante
Aljamain Sterling vs. Takeya Mizugaki

Fight Pass Card

Tim Means vs. George Sullivan
Diego Brandao vs. Jimy Hettes
Chris Dempsey vs. Eddie Gordon

Video of the Day - Nagata v. Cro Cop

Here is Yuji Nagata fighting Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in the "Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2001 - K-1 vs. Inoki" which took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan on 12/31/01. This is Mirko's 3rd MMA fight.

Cro Cop (30-11-2) is coming off back to back TKO's of Satoshi Ishii (12-4) to earn a spot back in the UFC. He next fights Gabriel Gonzaga (16-9) this Saturday at Fight Night Poland.

Video of the Day - Kitaoka v. Brooks

Here is Will Brooks fighting Satoru Kitaoka at Dream 18 which took place on 12/31/12 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

This was the last fight for Brooks (15-1) before Bellator, where he has gone 7-1 with back to back wins over Michael Chandler for Bellator's LW Title. Kitaoka (36-13) is a 15 year MMA veteran with career submission victories over UFC veterans Takanori Gomi, Paul Daley, Kurt Pelligrino and Carlos Condit.

Brooks will next defend his title against Dave Jansen (20-2) at Bellator 136 on April 10th.

Fake Glove Touch Fail - Harris v. Fuller

Here is video of Jonathan Harris fighting JR Fuller(or Kenneth Fuller according to Sherdog.com) in Legacy FC which took place on 7/31/10.

This is one of the oddest and quickest KO's I've ever seen. The fake glove touch doesn't always work.....

Video of the Day - Truex v. Jansen

Here is Dave Jansen fighting Tommy Truex at Sport Fight 22 which took place on 4/18/008 in Portland, Oregon.

Jansen (20-2) won the Bellator Season 7 LW tournament with wins over Magomed Saadulaev, Ricardo Tirloni and Marcin Held. He followed that up with a decision over Rick Hawn before being sidelined with a knee injury. He returns at Bellator 136 to challenge for the title currently held by Will Brooks.

Video of the Day - Manhoef v. Cyborg

Here is Melvin Manhoef fighting Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos at Cage Rage 15 which took place on 2/4/06 in London, England. The fight is widely regarded as one of the best slugfests in the history of MMA.

Mark Hunt Tug of War

Here is current UFC HW star Mark Hunt in a Japanese tug of war competition featuring a sumo, Bob Sapp and a world's strongest man.

Best Champions The UFC Needs

Without a doubt, the UFC holds the vast majority of talent in MMA. However, some legit rising fighters exist outside the UFC who should get a shot in the UFC. I've left off Jake Shields and Rouisimar Palhares, as I think more time needs to pass for either to get a shot back at the UFC. I just don't forsee Cyborg making 135 pounds in the UFC, so I left her off.

Here is a look at the top 10.

1. Ben Askren (14-0) the NCAA champ and Olympic wrestler has been devasting his last 4 bouts earning 3 TKO's and a 1st round arm triangle submission. The current One FC welterweight champ next defends his title against Bellator veteran Luis Santos (61-9). Askren had contract discussions with the UFC, but no offer was officially made and One FC offered Askren good money. With a few fights still on his contract, Askren won't hit the market in the near future. With the best wrestling at 170 and increasingly good submission skills, Askren can compete with anyone in the top 10 right now.


2. Marcin "Tybur" Tybura (11-0)- The Polish HW and BJJ black belt has 5 submissions and 4 TKO's on his resume. The M-1 HW Champ seems to be at his best when he throws a few punches, backs his opponent against the fence and works a takedown. From there, Tybura has a solid submission game from top position and uses ground and pound to set up submissions. Tybura's contract status with M-1 could be murky with a champions clause. Tybura hasn't fought since his 1st round submission of hot prospect Denis Smoldarev (11-1). With an aging HW division, the 29 year old Tybura would fit in well as he is in his prime.

3. Justin Gaeje (13-0)- The 26 year old former wrestler has been dominant as WSOF's 155 pound champion. He last defended the title with a close split decision win over Melvin Guillard in his most lackluster performance to date. Prior to that fight, he had 7 straight T/KO's including a 1st round TKO over JZ Cavalcante and 2nd round TKO's over Dan Lauzon and Nick Newell. Gaethje is on his 6th WSOF fight.

4. Shinya Aoki (37-6)- The insane submission specialist is One FC's current 155 pound champion. He last fought on NYE in Inoki Bom Ba Ye, submitting Yuki Yamamoto with a rare twister. He has won 7 straight since a TKO loss to Eddie Alvarez in Bellator. Aoki may be resistant to a move for the US based UFC, as he has gone just 1-2 stateside. Aoki has career wins over Rich Clementi, Kamal Shalorus, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Lyle Beerbohm and Joachim Hansen. At 31 years old and having been TKO'd 4 times in MMA and once in kickboxing, time is not on Aoki's side.

5. Patricio Friere (23-2)- Bellator's 145 pound champ has been on a tear since a narrow split decision loss to Pat Curran at Bellator 85. Winner of season 4 and 9's featherweight tournaments, Friere won a decision over Pat Curran for the title and defended by submitting Daniel Strauss. He also has KO wins over UFC vets Diego Nunes and Wilson Reis.

6. Will Brooks (15-1)- The tenacious wrestler won Bellator's season 9 LW tourney and followed it up with a split decision win over Michael Chandler, then TKO'd Chandler in the rematch. With 8 career Bellator fights, Brooks loyalty might be with the organization. Brooks next fights Dave Jansen at Bellator 136.

7. Jessica Aguilar (19-4)- The current WSOF 115 pound champion has won 10 straight since a questionable split decision loss to Zolia Gurgel in Bellator. Generally ranked #1-2 in the world at 115, Aguilar holds a split decision win over UFC 115 champ Carla Esparza which took place on 6/25/11 in Bellator. Aguilar holds decision wins over Megumi Fujii, Emi Fujino and Lisa Ellis in her career, with a sub over judo expert Alida Gray. Aguilar's solid grappling would give anyone in the 115 pound division trouble.

8. Vitaly Minakov (14-0)- Bellator’s reigning HW champion has not fought much lately. With a background in Sambo, he knocked out countryman Alexander Volkov to win the Bellator belt in November 2013 and then defended with a decision win over UFC vet Cheick Kongo in April. With crisp boxing to go along with black belt judo, Minakov would be a welcome addition. Questions have arisen due to the long layoff whether Minakov is injured or if he is dealing with contractual issues.

9. Marlon Moraes (14-4)- the WSOF 135 pound champ has won 9 straight fights, defeating former WEC champ Miguel Torres, TUF vet Cody Bollinger and Josh Hill(then 10-0). With Dominick Cruz's career likely over, Moraes would look good on the roster. The 26 year old is 1-2 fights into his new WSOF deal which is a multi-fight, multi-year deal.

10. Liam McGeary (10-0)- The new Bellator LHW champ just dominated Emanuel Newton for five rounds at BFC 134. The 6'6" McGeary had never been to decision before that fight, winning the Bellator LHW tourney with TKO's of Egidijus Valavicius and Kelly Anundson. He has 7 straight Bellator wins.

Ten Potential HW Prospects for the UFC

Many MMA fans whine and cry about the lack of depth in the heavyweight division. Four legit promising HW's are currently on the Bellator roster, with Vitaly Minakov (14-0), Alexander Volkov (22-4), Augusto Sakai (7-0) and Blagoy Ivanov (11-1) starting to make some noise.

The UFC recently signed two promising undefeated fighters in Josh Copeland (9-0) and Alaskan Jared Cannonier (7-0). Copeland, who has shown a powerful brawling style, will fight fellow high level prospect Ruslan Magomedev (12-1) at UFC Fight Night 57. Cannonier, who recently won a split decision over Tony Lopez (34-16), will fight Shawn Jordan (16-6) at UFC 182.

 Here they are:

1. Marcin "Tybur" Tybura (12-0)- Tybura is a Polish heavyweight and BJJ black belt with 5 submissions and 4 TKO's on his resume. He seems to be at his best when he throws a few punches, backs his opponent against the fence and works a takedown. From there, Tybura has a solid submission game from top position and strong ground and pound.

Tybura has 6 straight wins in M-1, submitting Bellator veteran Damian Grabowski with a 1st round north south choke, TKO'ing Maro Perak, submitted Konstantin Gluhov and TKO'ing Chaban Ka, winning the M-1 Grand Prix in the process. The biggest obstacle at this point may be freeing Tybura from his M-1 contract. His last bout saw him dominate fellow prospect Denis Smoldarev finishing him with a 1st round rear naked choke. Having been out of action since the November Smoldarev win, it is unknown if he is in a contract dispute, dealing with injuries or having a tough time finding a fight.


2. Denis Smoldarev (10-1)- Listed between 6'5" and 6'7" the tall 250 pound Estonian bounced back from his loss to Tybura with a keylock submission of Maro Perak (23-5). Smoldarev began training judo at age 12, and also has combat sambo and kickboxing skills. He has 6 career M-1 wins, with a TKO over fellow 6'5" prospect Ante Delija and a decision win over Akhmed Sultanov.

Smoldarev likes to throw heavy leg kicks and power punches standing. From the bouts I've seen, he will look to isolate an arm for a submission when on the ground. Smoldarev is susceptible to the takedown and is not the best fighting off his back.


3. Smealinho Rama (9-1)- The 22 year old Canadian recently won the WSOF Heavyweight Title in his second WSOF bout by TKO'ing Derrick Mehmen (18-6) in the first round. He has other career victories over UFC vet Tim Hague (19-9) via KO and a decision over Olympic wrestler Steve Mocco. His only loss was to current UFC fighter Anthony Hamilton. Rama likely has 2 more bouts on his WSOF deal. Rama should be able transition faster on the ground with increased experience. He is scheduled to fight Blagoi Ivanov at WSOF 21 in June. WSOF has not been good about getting fights to Rama since he joined the organization.   


4. Dmitriy Sosnovskiy (8-0)- The 6'3" Russian has back to back 1st round TKO's over Ivo Cuk and Aleksander Emelianenko. With solid grappling skills and plenty of power, foes will be afraid of his power double leg. He has 6 first round finishes, although the his opponents have generally been sub-par. His kickboxing needs a little improvement as he continues to face better competition.


5. Michal Wlodarek (7-0)- The Polish fighter picked up a decision victory over Szymon Bajor in his last bount, and has a split decision win over current UFC fighter Daniel Omielanczuk (15-3) and a TKO over Michal Andryszak (12-5) in KSW. Wloderk is explosive, with the ability to brawl and work the ground game. Look for Wlodarek to get a couple more KSW bouts against other European prospect before moving to the big show.


6. Chris Barnett (12-1)- fighting mainly at super heavyweight well north of 300 pounds, the 28 year old Barnett has made a commitment to get under 265 pounds. The former football player at USF and Tae Kwon Do black belt has a decision win over former UFC fighters Walt Harris, TKO over former UFC fighter Travis Wiuff and TKO win over Elite XC/Bodog vet Mario Rinaldi (13-5). With deceptive strength, power and agility, Barnett TKO'd Shinichi Suzukawa in IGF - Bom Ba Ye in Japan on New Years which was his last bout.


7. Karol "Coco" Bedorf (12-2)- The 6'2" 260 pound Polish bruiser has five straight wins since a decision loss to Rogent Lloret. The KSW champ, he defended his belt by TKO'ing Rolles Gracie and won the title by TKO'ing Pawel Nastula. He's also won decisions over UFC vet Oli Thompson and midwest vet Karl Knothe (21-9). A BJJ blackbelt and ADCC competitor, his grappling is up to par for high level competition. He next fights Bellator vet and former pro kickboxer Peter Graham (11-7) at KSW 31.


8. Cody East (9-1)- East won the Legacy HW title in his last bout, TKO'ing Vernon Davis in the first round. He has a decision over Bellator veteran Nick Rossborough (25-18) and TKO over brawler Lolohea Mahe in his career. A move to Jackson's camp and training with better competition should help East reach the next level. He next fights Brice Ritani-Coe(4-2) at Legacy 40 for the heavyweight title.


9. Dillon Cleckler (8-0)- The Florida based fighter has finished 7 of 8 fights in the first round. The problem, his best wins are over journeymen Richard White (16-17 and Jonathan Ivey (30-53). He'll next fight against Alex Nicholson (4-1) in Square Fight Promotions.


10. Zelimkhan Umiev (5-0)- The 6'5" Russian from Team Berkut has weighed around 240 pounds for his fights. He has not faced legit competition thus far.

Weird MMA

MMA has definitely had some interesting, weird and bizarre story lines and figures since the UFC, Shooto and Pancrase started the modern MMA movement. Here are a few:

Steven Seagal: This 60 year-old action movie star and 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, has found his way into MMA history by aligning himself with UFC champion and legend Anderson Silva and former champ Lyoto Machida. Surprisingly, Seagal stated that he would fight Randy Couture in a street fight with no rules and no witnesses. He has also implied a possible confrontation with Jean Claude Van Damme.

After training for one session (or so) with the now plump Seagal, Anderson Silva unleashed a front kick straight down the pipe to the face of Vitor Belfort at UFC 126. Lyoto Machida then added a jump to his Karate Kid style front kick to KO Randy Couture at UFC 129. Despite the front kick being taught on virtually all levels of Karate and Tae Kwon Do, Seagal took credit for both insanely awesome KO's.

Anderson did say Seagal learned the move from Seagal at the post fight of UFC 126. Bizarre interviews and videos later, and the exact merits of Seagal's contributions are certainly in question.


Joe Son: The diminutive Asian first appeared at UFC 3 as the manager of Kimo. He then took to the octagon himself at UFC 4, infamously carrying into the arena a massive cross bigger than himself. Moments later he was taking multiple punches to the cup from Keith Hackney which were legal at the time. Three more losses including two bizarre ones in Pride and Joe Son's MMA career was done at 0-4. He next appeared in a couple movies, including that of Random Task in Austin Powers.

Then it got really crazy for the inventor of Josondo. In October of 2008, Joe Son pled guilty to vandalism and as part of his plea deal gave a DNA sample. The sample linked him to a 1990 gang rape for which he was convicted of felony torture and sentenced to life. While in prison, Son allegedly killed his cellmate, a convicted sex offender.


Charles "Krazy Horse" or "Kid Khaos" Bennett: This self "trained" fighter has certainly made a name for himself in the martial arts world, helped by his power right hand and odd antics. From facial contortions to the camera before the fight, not shaking hands, back flips off the top of the cage, celebrations mid fight, and double push kicks off the corner post, you never quite know what Bennett will do in the ring.

Outside the ring, Bennett also made a name for himself. He has been arrested on drug charges in 2000 and assault charges in 2007. He also was famously in a brawl with Christian Marcello following his win in Pride over Ken Kaneko, which led to Bennett being choked unconscious.

Bennett is still fighting to this day, owning 1st round KO's over KJ Noons, Yoshiro Maeda and Shad Smith. Odds that he ever makes it to the big show again are slim, but odds are he will keep entertaining crowds in the regional circuit for a couple more years.


Jason "Mayhem" Miller: With his gang of "Mayhem Monkeys" the quirky Jason Miller conquered the art of self promotion in MMA. First using Myspace, then Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler and any other social media he can find he has built a following and odd antics. He has also engaged in plenty of interesting walk-out's before fights, including dancing with Japanese school girls.

All that led Mayhem into getting his own TV show, Bully Beatdown; a TUF coaching gig; a role in the Kevin James movie "Here Comes the Boom" and several other appearances. His personality also led him into one of the most infamous MMA brawls in history at Strikeforce: Nashville when Miller entered the cage during Jake Shields post fight interview. The Diaz brothers and Gilbert Melendez ended up getting the better of him.

With striped hair and a fighting style that usually focuses on grappling, Mayhem has picked up several big wins in his career, defeating Robbie Lawler, Tim Kennedy, Niko Vitale and an aging Sakuraba.

Legal trouble has also popped up for Mayhem, with simple assault and false imprisonment charges in August of 2011. After losing two straight in the UFC, Mayhem was found naked in a church after spraying a fire extinguisher and arrested. A very bizarre interview followed on "The MMA Hour" with Ariel Helwani, where Mayhem referred to himself as "Lucky Patrick." Mayhem has yet again found his way into trouble, being charged with corporal injury of a spouse following his domestic violence charges.


Tiger Mask and Minowaman: Japan's Tiger Mask wrestling persona is legendary in the land of the rising sun. The manga anime styled cartoon was a hit for Japanese kids, featuring a wrestler who is originally is a villain in America who comes back to Japan to become a hero.

The cartoon character was brought to the real professional wrestling arena by Satoru Sayama. After three other Tiger Mask's, Dream's "Super Hulk" champion, Ikuhisu "Minowaman" Minowa has taken the reigns as the 5th Tiger Mask. Minowaman, an MMA veteran since 1996, is a character in his own right, exclusively wearing pro-wrestling speedos in the ring while donning a mullet haircut. Wins usually result in fist pumps that the crowd repeats back.

In the real MMA world, Minowaman has defeated several giants in MMA including Jimmy Ambriz, Bob Sapp, Hong Man Choi, Butterbean, Gilbert Yvel and Errol Zimmerman. Against the big boys, Minowaman (54-34) usually goes for a leg lock, though his biggest win came from a big KO against Sokoudjou to capture the Super Hulk crown.


The television show "Iron Ring:" With the Ultimate Fighter doing so well in the ratings for Spike TV, BET decided in 2008 that they should throw their hat into the MMA reality show business. Instead of finding 16 legit prospects, putting them in a house and having them fight for a tournament championship, they went for a little more of the entertainment factor.

They decided to have teams, coached by an MMA "personality" with a "celebrity" as an owner. What resulted were teams like the Floyd Mayweather's "Money Mayweather Boys," "Team Luda," "Team Nelly," "Team Dipset," T.I.'s "Team Grand Hustle" and Lil Jon's "Headbusters." Some coaches were legit, like The coaches include UFC vet Shonie Carter (Lil John), Pride/Elite XC vet Krazy Horse Bennett (TI), UFC vet Roberto Traven (Mayweather) and UFC vet Jermaine Andre (Nelly). But, there were some that were plain odd like Abdul Mutakabbir (Luda)(Inventor of S.W.A.M.) and Novell G. Bell (Dipset)(Claims to have trained in Asia).

The editing of the show was all over the place with soundbites, jump cuts and ridiculousness. Pretty sure that most of the celebrity coaches were inebriated for most of the filming, who mostly wanted to just see someone knocked out. Jamie Yager eventually won the 185 division, Josh Gaskins the 170 divsion and Ron "Abongo" Humphrey took the heavyweight crown. $100,000 was initially declared the prize money, but nobody really knows how it was divided.

The UFC "Superfight" Champ: In the sports early days, mixed martial arts was "no holds barred" fighting with limited rules, no rounds, no gloves and little thought of weight divisions. One night tournaments were the norm.

Being more "Super" than any other sport, the best in the UFC fought for the "Super" Fight Championship belt rather than a heavyweight championship. Ken Shamrock fought Royce Gracie to a draw at UFC 5 for the inaugural belt. Shamrock then won the superfight belt over Dan Severn at UFC 6. Severn won the belt at UFC 9, then lost to Mark Coleman at UFC 12 as the belt was officially changed to "heavyweight."

Video of the Day - Damm v. Zingano

Here is Cat Zingano fighting Carina Damm at Crowbar MMA - Winter Brawl which occured on 12/10/10 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Video of the Day - Aoki v. Yamamoto

Here is Shinya Aoki fighting Yuki Yamamoto at IGF Inoki Bom Ba Ye 2014 which took place on 12/31/14 in Tokyo, Japan.

Aoki, the One FC lightweight champ, has won 7 straight since his TKO loss to Eddie Alvarez in Bellator.

Video of the Day - Minowaman v. Tanner

Here is former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner fighting Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa in Pancrase - 1998 NeoBlood Tournament Opening Round which took place on 7/7/98 in Tokyo, Japan.

Evan Tanner (32-8) passed away after a trip to the dessert west of Palo Verde, California. Tanner would go on to win the Neo Blood tournament and enter the UFC where he became a champion. Fighting from heavyweight to 185 he has career wins over Justin McCulley, Heath Herring, Paul Buentello, Phil Baroni, Robbie Lawler and David Terrell.

Video of the Day - Manhoef v. Freeman

Here is Melvin Manhoef fighting Ian Freeman at Cage Rage 17 which took place on 7/1/06 in London, England.

Manhoef (29-12), a ridiculous kickboxer by trade, next fights Alexander Shlemenko (51-9) in the main event of Bellator 133.

Ian Freeman (20-7), is a UK MMA legend who went 3-2 in the UFC with one draw, defeating former HW champ Frank Mir and Tedd Williams (7-1). Freeman has announced a match-up with UFC Hall of Famer and MMA Legend Ken Shamrock.

Video of the Day - Curran v. Ricci

Here is Pat Curran fighting Mike Ricci at Bellator 14, which took place on 4/15/10 at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.

Curran (20-6) will fight Daniel Weichel (34-8) at Bellator 133 in the co-main event.

Video of the Day - Hirayama v. Dos Anjos

Here is Rafeal Dos Anjos fighting Takaichi Hirayama at Pancrase Shining 5 which took place on 6/1/08 in Tokyo, Japan.

Dos Anjos (23-7, 12-5 UFC) has won three straight bouts, next fighting Anthony Pettis (18-2, 5-1 UFC) for the LW title at UFC 185.

Video of the Day - Pettis v. Lambrecht

Here is Anthony "Showtime" Pettis fighting Mike Lambrecht at GFC: KO Kings which took place on 3/29/08 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Pettis (18-2, 5-1 UFC) will defend his LW title against Rafeal Dos Anjos (23-7, 12-5 UFC).

Video of the Day - Erikson v. Bigfoot

Here is Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva fighting Tom "The Big Cat" Erikson at K-1 Hero's 5 which took place on May 3, 2006 in Tokyo, Japan.

Bigfoot (18-6) next fights Frank Mir at UFC Fight Night 61.

Anderson Silva in a Muay Thai Match

Here is video of Anderson Silva v. Tadeu Sanmarzino in a muay thai bout. The dangerous and elusive fighter puts on an epic move around the 2:50 mark.

Anderson next fights Nick Diaz in the headliner of UFC 183.

Video of the Day - Gustafsson v. Fadami

Here is Alexander Gustafsson fighting Farbod Fadami in The Zone FC which took place on 2/9/08 in Sweden.

The 6'5" Gustafsson will next fight Anthony Johnson at UFC on Fox 14.

Video of the Day - Aoki v. Hirota

Here is Shinya Aoki fighting Mizuto Hirota from K-1 Dynamite which took place on 12/31/09. The ending is not for the faint of heart.

Shinya (34-6) has won seven straight bouts since his defeat to Gilbert Melendez.


(Shinya Aoki Hammerlock)