Video of the Day - Aldo v. Young

Here is Jose Aldo fighting Micky Young at FX Battle of Britain which took place on 10/15/05 in the UK.

Aldo (25-1, 8-0 UFC) will be fighting Conor McGregor (18-2, 6-0 UFC) at UFC 169 this Saturday for the unification of the featherweight title.

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

UFC Title Picture

Here is the title picture for the UFC.

HW Champ- Cain Velasquez
Contenders- Junior Dos Santos, Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar
*Velasquez fights JDS at UFC 138 for the title
*Velasquez defeats Lesnar at UFC 121 for the title
*Dos Santos defeats Shane Carwin at UFC 131 for #1 spot
*Frank Mir defeats Roy Nelson at UFC 130


LHW Champ- Jon Jones
Contenders- Rashad Evans, Rampage Jackson, Forrest Griffin, Phil Davis, Lyoto Machida
*Jones fights Rampage at UFC 135 for the title
*Evans defeats Ortiz at UFC 133
*Rampage defeats Matt Hamill at UFC 130
*Griffin defeats Rich Franklin at UFC 126
*Griffin fights Shogun Rua at UFC 134

(Jon Jones pictured)

MW Champ- Anderson Silva
Contenders- Yushin Okami, Brian Stann, Vitor Belfort, Mark Munoz
*Anderson Silva defeats Belfort at UFC 126
*Okami defeats Marquardt for #1 contender at UFC 122
*Silva fights Okami at UFC 134 for the title
*Belfort KO'd Akiyama at UFC 133
*Stann on three fight win streak
*Munoz defeats Maia at UFC 131

(Anderson Silva pictured)

WW Champ- Georges St. Pierre
Contenders- Nick Diaz, Jon Fitch, Carlos Condit, BJ Penn, Diego Sanchez
*GSP defeats Jake Shields at UFC 129
*Fitch and BJ Penn fight to a draw at UFC 127
*Nick Diaz relinquishes Strikeforce belt
*GSP will fight Diaz at UFC 137 for the title
*Condit KO's Kim at UFC 132

(Georges St. Pierre pictured)

LW Champ- Frank Edgar
Contenders- Gray Maynard, Clay Guida, Benson Henderson, Melvin Guillard, Anthony Pettis, Dennis Siver
*Edgar fights to a draw with Maynard at UFC 125
*Edgar and Maynard out with injuries
*Guida defeats Pettis at the TUF 13 Finale
*Guillard wins 5th straight over Roller at UFC 132
*Siver wins 4th straight over Wiman at UFC 132
*Henderson defeats Miller at UFC on Versus 5

(Frank Edgar pictured)

FW Champ- Jose Aldo
Contenders- Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes, Manny Gamburyan
*Aldo defeats Hominick at UFC 129
*Chad Mendes defeats Yahya at UFC 133
*Florian defeats Nunes at UFC 130
*Aldo v. Florian likely for the next title bout

(Jose Aldo pictured)

BW Champ- Dominic Cruz
Contenders- Demetrious Johnson, Scott Jorgenson, Brian Bowles, Joe Benavidez
*Dominic Cruz defeats Faber at UFC 132
*Johnson defeats Torres at UFC 130
*Bowles defeats Mizugaki at UFC 132

(Dominic Cruz pictured)

Top WEC Fighters Coming to the UFC

Here is a look at the best fighters in the WEC who will soon make the venture to the UFC. The most interesting thing will be to see how WEC 155 pounders do in the UFC.

Also, what undersized UFC 155 pounders decide to make a drop to 145? Keep in mind it is unclear which contracts will be renewed and what fighters will not make the transition to the UFC.

135 - Bantamweight

1. Dominick Cruz (17-1)- WEC Champ with well-rounded skills, has wins over Joe Benavidez, Brian Bowles and Charlie Valencia. Cruz defeated Scott Jorgenson in a unanimous decision to close out his WEC career.

2. Brian Bowles (8-1)- Former WEC Champ has wins over Damacio Page and Miguel Torres. Has struggled with injuries as of late.

3. Scott Jorgenson (11-4)- 3X Pac Ten wrestling champ. Wins against Brad Pickett and Antonio Banuelos. Next in line for a title shot.

4. Joe Benavidez (13-2)- The high energy spark plug fighter has wins over Jeff Curran, Miguel Torres and Rani Yahya. Benavidez won via guillotine choke over Wagney Fabiano at WEC 52, and wants to fight in UFC's coming 125 flyweight division.

5. Urijah Faber (25-4)- Faber, the former WEC champ, has stopped Dominick Cruz, Bibiano Fernandes and Raphael Assuncao. Urijah defeated Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 52, and is rumored to possibly coach TUF 13 or be fast-tracked to a title shot.  He is rumored to fight Eddie Wineland in the UFC.

5. Miguel Torres (38-3)- Former champ stopped his 2 fight losing streak with a submission win over Charlie Valencia at WEC 51. Other wins over Chase Beebe, Yoshiro Maeda and Takeya Mizugaki. Torres fights Antonio Banuelos at UFC 126.

145 - Featherweight

1. Jose Aldo (18-1)- Aldo has looked unstoppable in his run to the WEC title, currently riding an 11 fight win streak. The Muay Thai striker has defeated Urijah Faber, Manny Gamburyan, Mike Thomas Brown, Alexandre Franca Nogueira. He fights Grispi at UFC 125.

2. Manny Gamburyan (11-5)- Manny turned a runner-up performance on a talent rich TUF 5 into a brief stint in the UFC, followed by a 3-1 effort so far in the WEC with his lone loss coming to Jose Aldo. Manny's WEC wins have come over John Franchi, Leonard Garcia and Mike Brown.

3. Chad Mendes (9-0)- Mendes has looked solid in his 3 straight 2010 victories in the WEC. Mendes has bested Cub Swanson, Anthony Morrison and Erik Koch. Mendes defeated Javier Vazquez at WEC 52, securing his spot in the UFC. He fights Mike Brown at UFC 125 for a likely title shot.

4. Diego Nunes (16-1)- Nunes is coming off a split decision over Mike Brown in his UFC debut. His other big wins have come over Rafeal Assuncao, Cole Province and Rafeal Dias.

5. Dustin Poirer (9-1)- A drop to 145 did Poirer wonders in a dominant decision win over Josh Grispi at UFC 125. Poirer closed out his WEC career with a TKO over Zach Micklewright.

5. Mike Thomas Brown (24-6)- Thomas, who won the WEC title over Urijah Faber, recently bounced back with a win over Cole Province. Brown is a big 145, having previously fought at 155 in the UFC. He fights Mendes for a likely title shot at UFC 125.

155 - Lightweight

1. Anthony Pettis (13-1)- With an array of stand-up skills and a slick ground game, expect Pettis to make waves in the UFC. He has looked impressive in his last three bouts, KO'ing Danny Castillo with a head kick, then scoring triangle chokes over Alex Karalexis and Shane Roller.

2. Benson Henderson (12-2)- The former college wrestler has developed a nice submission skill-set, submitting Donald Cerrone and Jamie Varner in his last two outings. Smooth also has wins over Shane Roller and Anthony Njokuani.

3. Donald Cerrone (13-3)- One of the more interesting characters of the WEC, the Cowboy has solid Muay Thai and legit submission skills. Big wins have come over Razor Rob McCullough, Ed Ratcliff and Jamie Varner.

4. Kamal Shalorus (7-0-2)- Split decision win over Bart Palaszewski at WEC 53. Iran wrestling stand-out has 4 TKO's, with wins over Will Kerr and Dave Jansen.

5. Bart Palaszewski (35-13)- Former IFL stand-out has excelled in the WEC with 3 straight WEC victories, his last two include a KO over previously unbeaten Zack Micklewright and armbar over Karen Darabedyan.

Slick prospect- Maciej Jewtuszko (8-0)- With 4 TKO's and 4 submissions on his resume, his last outing was an impressive 1st round TKO over Anthony Njokuani.

Video of the Day - Aldo v. Bigola

Here is WEC champion Jose Aldo's MMA debut against Mario Bigola in Eco Fights which took place on 8/10/2004 in Brazil.

Aldo defends his 145 pound WEC belt against Manny Gamburyan at WEC 51 on September 30, 2010 in Broomfield, Colorado.

Video of the Day - Aldo v. Young

Here is Jose Aldo fighting Mickey Young at FX3 - Battle of Britain which took place on 10/15/2005. Aldo will be defending his WEC featherweight strap against Urijah Faber this Saturday on PPV.

WEC 48 Preview

WEC 48 will be the promotions first ppv event, with the ppv being handled by Zuffa's team. Familiar voices Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg will be commentating, and the WEC fighters paychecks will be adjusted accordingly.

In the main event, hard hitting 145 pound champion Jose Aldo (16-1) will be fighting former champ Urijah Faber. Aldo won the featherweight strap by TKO'ing Mike Thomas Brown in the third round. Aldo has the universal number 1 featherweight in the world, mixing his hard hitting striking with a BJJ blackbelt.

(Aldo throwing a trademark flying knee)

Urijah Faber (23-3) held the WEC belt for 2 years before losing to the aforementioned Mike Thomas Brown. Faber mixes a high energy style with good boxing and excellent wrestling. Faber owns WEC wins over Rafeal Assuncao, Jens Pulver, Jeff Curran, Dominick Cruz and Bibiano Fernandes.

(Urijah Faber pictured)

In other action, rising star Benson Henderson will fight Tapout show veteran Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone for the WEC 155 pound title. The two were involved in one of the best fights in 2009 with excellent stand-up and ground work. Expect Henderson to look for the takedown early and often, with Cerrone trying to connect with his refined Muay Thai game.

PPV CARD

Jose Aldo vs. Urijah Faber (FW title)
Champ Benson Henderson vs. Donald Cerrone (LW title)
Mike Brown vs. Manny Gamburyan
Anthony Njokuani vs. Shane Roller
Antonio Banuelos vs. Scott Jorgensen

SPIKE TV PRELIMS

Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung
Alex Karalexis vs. Anthony Pettis

UNDERCARD

Demetrious Johnson vs. Brad Pickett
Chad Mendes vs. Anthony Morrison
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Rani Yahya
Tyler Toner vs. Brandon Visher

MMA Blaster 2009 Awards

2009 was a great year for mixed martial arts. We saw some devastating KO's, crazy submissions, and entertaining fights. Unlike the sham that is the World MMA Awards, as it should be called UFC awards, these awards look at fights that occur worldwide.

Fighter of the Year Zuffa: Jose Aldo- Jose worked his way up the WEC's 145 pound ladder with ease. His year was highlighted with a stunning TKO of Mike Brown for the title. Jose also KO'd Cub Swanson with a flying knee in 8 seconds and TKO'd Chris Mickle and Rolando Perez.

Runners Up: Anderson Silva, who defended his belt against Thales Leites then KO'd Forrest Griffin. Georges St. Pierre, who won a decision over Thiago Alves, then TKO'd BJ Penn. Lyoto Machida, who had two big time KO's over Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva. However, he got extremely lucky in the Rua fight.

Fighter of the Year Outside Zuffa: Marius Zaromskis- Marius went 4-0 in 2009 winning the Dream Welterweight Grand Prix. The head kick was Zaromskis' weapon of choice, as he annihilated Mach Sakarai, Jason High and Myeon Ho Bae with the devastating strike. In the first round of the tournament, Zaromskis defeated solid veteran Seichi Ikemoto.

Runners Up: Gegard Mousasi who was 4-0 with a submission of Mark Hunt and TKO's over Babalu Sobral, Sokoudjou and Gary Goodridge. Fedor Emelianenko who had two big headlining KO's of Brett Rogers and Andrei Arlovski.

Fight of the Year: Diego Sanchez v. Clay Guida TUF 9 Finale - This fight was 100% action as both fighters laid everything on the line. Diego threw everything and the kitchen sink at Guida, including a barrage of uppercuts, head kicks, takedowns and ground and pound.

Runners Up: Randy Couture v. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mike Brown v. Urijah Faber, Nate Quarry v. Tim Credeur, Donald Cerrone v. Benson Henderson, Abel Cullum v. Hideo Tokoro, Conor Heun v. Jorge Gurgel, David Heath v. Mike Nickels

Knockout of the Year Leg: Dan Hornbuckle's head kick KO of Akhiro Gono at Sengoku 9th Battle. Hornbuckle set up the kick by grabbing Gono's right foot, planting his own left foot and then driving his right shin into Gono's head. Gono dropped like a stone with his neck landing on the rope and his head smashing against the canvas.

Runners Up: Marius Zaromskis' head kick of Jason High for the Dream WW GP title, Marius Zaromskis' head kick and punches over Mach Sakarai, Jose Aldo's knee over Cub Swanson, Dave Herman's seated heel kicks over Jim York

Knockout of the Year- Hands: Fedor Emelianenko's KO of Andrei Arlovski at Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Andrei Arlovski was winning the stand-up battle early, landing punches and utilizing his height advantage. However, Arlovski got a little cocky and went for a flying knee. He was met with a right hand heard round the world and the one punch sent Arlovski into the astral plane.

Runners Up: Dan Henderson's KO of Michael Bisping, Lyoto Machida's KO of Rashad Evans, Fedor Emelianenko's KO of Brett Rogers, Yahir Reyes's spinning backfist over Estevan Payan

Submission of the Year: Toby Imada's inverted triangle over Jorge Masvidal at Bellator Fighting Championship 4. From a scramble off a misguided Masvidal single, Imada locked in the rare inverted triangle with Masvidal standing, eventually choking him unconscious and sending him to the canvas.

Runners Up: Shinya Aoki's hammerlock over Mizuto Hirota, Demian Maia's triangle over Chael Sonnen, BJ Penn's rear naked choke over Kenny Florian, Naoyuki Kotani's head scissors over Daisuke Nakamura

Top Up and Coming Fighter- Zuffa: Johnny Hendricks- The NCAA champion wrestler went 3-0 in 2009, pushing his record to a perfect 7-0. Hendricks burst on the scene in 2009, TKO'ing TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah in his UFC debut. He also had dominant decision wins over Ricardo Funch in the UFC and Alex Serdyukov in the WEC.

Runner Up: Evan Dunham- The Oregon native went 3-0 in 2009 including 2 victories in the UFC over Marcus Auerelio and Per Eklund. He has 2010 off to a bang with a nasty submission win over TUF 8 winner Efrain Escudero. Now has a perfect 10-0 record.

Top Up and Coming Fighter- Outside Zuffa: Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal- King Mo went 4-0 in 2009, TKO'ing Mike Whitehead, Mark Kerr and Yukai Nakao. He also had a dominant decision over Ryo Kawamura. King Mo, who possesses insane athletic ability and wrestling skills, seems poised to take the next step in competition.

Runner Up- Tyron Woodley- former University of Missouri star wrestler went 4-0 in 2009, pushing his record to 6-0. All of his fights ended in submission, including 3 in Strikeforce.

WEC 39 Results

WEC 39 produced some exciting moments and was a decent show. With Frank Mir out training, Jens Pulver was on the mic doing the commentary. Mike Thomas Brown looked strong and dominant as he defended his 145 pound belt for the first time.

Mike Thomas Brown def Leonard Garcia via sub (head and arm choke) R1, 1:57- Mike Brown again came out looking like the stronger fighter. Brown connected with an overhand right that fazed Garcia. From there, it was all Brown as Garcia tried to recover. After cutting Garcia with a couple elbows, Brown locked in the fight ending choke in under two minutes. In the post fight interview, Brown said that he would love to fight Urijah Faber again.
*Brown earns Submission of the Night.

(Mike Thomas Brown pictured)

Ricardo Lamas def Bart Palaszewski via unanimous dec- Late replacement Ricardo Lamas came up big in his WEC debut defeating long time vet Bart Palaszewski. Lamas consistently scored takedowns in the fight and dished out some punishment. Bart almost got close to a triangle choke, but just wasn't there. Lamas' best offense came in the first round when he nearly got Bart's back and when standing Lamas kicked him from behind in the face.

Jose Aldo def Chris Mickle via TKO (strikes) R1, 1:39- Aldo was on his game and Mickle kept his hands low. Those two things didn't mix as Aldo landed kicks and punches before a flying knee. Aldo didn't stop until the ref intervened.

Rob McCullough def Marcus Hicks via majority dec- This fight was a snoozer in the first round, and the fans let their disdain be known. The second round had the most action, as Hicks stunnd McCullough and almost got his famous guillotine choke locked. After Rob got out of the choke, he went to work on Hicks with kicks and punches doing some damage. In the third the fight slowed down again with Rob being more active.

Damacio Page def Marcos Galvao via KO (punches) R1, 0:18- Page came out looking absolutely mean in his stare down. Galvao looked a little scared and young, and it showed once the bell rang. Page threw 9 right hand punches, crumpling Galvao before the ref intervened.
*Won KO of the Night.

Danny Castillo def Phil Cardella via split dec
Kenji Osawa def Rafael Rebello via split dec
Alex Karalexis def Greg McIntyre via TKO (punches) R1, 4:19
John Franchi def Mike Budnik via split dec
Mike Pierce def Justin Haskins via TKO (punches) R3, 3:39
Johny Hendricks def Alex Serdyukov via unanimous dec
*Won Fight of the Night.

WEC 39 Preview

WEC 39 will be taking place this Sunday in Corpus Christi, Texas. All fighters have made weight and are ready to go. Here is the line-up of fights:

Mike Thomas Brown vs. Leonard Garcia- This fight is for the 145 pound FW title. Mike Brown won the belt with a knockout of Urijah Faber. Brown (20-4) is riding an 8 fight win streak including fights against Jeff Curran, Yves Edwards and Manny Reyes Jr. Brown usually has a size and strength advantage over most 145 pounders.

(Mike Thomas Brown pictured)

Leonard Garcia (12-3) won his two WEC fights, with knock-out victories of Hiroyuki Takaya and Jens Pulver. Garcia went 1-2 in his 155 pound UFC career, with his two losses decisions to Roger Huerta and Cole Miller. The heavy handed Garcia is better suited at the 145 pound division. Look for him to stand and trade.


(Leonard Garcia pictured)

Ricardo Lamas vs. Bart Palaszewski- Bart Palaszewski (30-11) was victorious in his WEC debut winning via TKO over UFC veteran Alex Karelexis. He is an IFL veteran with victories over John Gunderson, Ivan Menjivar and Ryan Schultz. Ricardo Lamas (5-0) was a late replacement for Richard Crunkliton. His biggest victory was a decision win over James Birdsley (32-6).

(Bart Palaszewski throwing a punch on John Strawn in the IFL)

Marcus Hicks vs. Rob McCullough- Former LW champ Razor Rob takes on former #1 contender Marcus Hicks. McCullough (16-5, 7-3 WEC) is primarily a stand-up fighter who does his best when countering his opponent. Marcus Hicks (8-1) had three straight wins in the WEC before losing a title fight to Jamie Varner. Hicks has a mean guillotine choke and nickname that suits him, The Human Wrecking Ball.

Jose Aldo vs. Chris Mickle- Aldo has looked lightening fast in the striking department in his 3 straight WEC wins. Aldo has 8 T/KO's, and crushed Rolando Perez in his last fight. Chris Mickle (26-11) last won in the MCC beating then title holder T.J. O'Brien. Mickle fights out of Des Moines, Iowa.

UNDER CARD

Phil Cardella vs. Danny Castillo
Marcos Galvao vs. Damacio Page
Johny Hendricks vs. Alex Serdyukov
Kenji Osawa vs. Rafael Rebello
Alex Karalexis vs. Greg McIntyre
Mike Budnik vs. John Franchi
Justin Haskins vs. Mike Pierce

WEC 38 Results

Charlie Valencia def Seth Dikun via Decision (Unanimous)
Jesse Lennox def Blas Avena via KO (Knee and Punches) R2, 0:41
Scott Jorgensen def Frank Gomez via Sub (Guillotine Choke) R1, 1:09
Dominic Cruz def Ian McCall via Decision (Unanimous)
Edgar Garcia def Hiromitsu Miura via KO (Punches) R1, 1:18
Benson Henderson def Anthony Njokuani via Sub (Guillotine) R2, 0:42
Jose Aldo def Rolando Perez via KO (Knee and Punches) R1, 4:15
Danillo Villefort def Mike Campbell via TKO (Punches) R1, 3:53
Urijah Faber def Jens Pulver via Sub (Guillotine Choke) R1, 1:34
Jamie Varner def Donald Cerrone via Technical Decision (Split) R5

Fight of the Night: Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone
Knockout of the Night: Jose Aldo
Submission of the Night: Urijah Faber