Strikeforce Slap Game - Daniel Cormier, Mayhem Miller, King Mo

Here's Daniel Cormier, Jason "Mayhem" Miller and Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal playing a slap game before a Strikeforce event.

Video of the Day - Dos Santos v. Silva

Here is Junior dos Santos fighting Jailson Silva Santos at Demo Fights 1 which took place on 7/16/06 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Soccer kicks were legal for this fight.....

Dos Santos will look to reclaim the heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 211.

Video of the Day - Dos Santos v. Maiorino

Here is Junior Dos Santos fighting Eduardo Maiorino in MF 5 - Minotauro Fights 5 which took place on 12/9/06 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Dos Santos next fights Stipe Miocic at UFC 111.

Jeff Lawson Gi Grappling

Here is judo black belt and former TUF competitor Jeff Lawson using his skills in a GI submission grappling match against Paul Richards.

Valentina Shevchenko's Early Bouts

Here are some of Valentina Shevchenko's early MMA bouts. The first is against Mi Choi Kim at WXF which took place on 12/3/03 in Seoul, South Korea. The second is against Roza Kalieva in KFP which took place on 3/22/05. The last is against Kyung Aeh Kim at WXF on 7/9/05.

Valentina (14-2, 3-1 UFC) recently submitted TUF champ Juliana Pena at UFC on Fox 23 via armbar, and promptly did the victory dance in the second video. In the bout prior, she defeated Holly Holm in a dominant unanimous decision. She will likely be looking for a rematch against Amanda Nunes next. Valentina has a litany of muay thai, kickboxing and tournament titles.

Tim Elliot v. Jens Pulver

Here is former UFC lightweight champ Jens Pulver fighting TUF 24 champ Tim Elliot at RFA 1 which took place on 12/16/11 in Kearney, Nebraska.

Elliot, the current Titan FC 125 pound champ, won The Ultimate Fighter 24 earning himself a title shot against Demetrious Johnson this Saturday.

McKenzie v. Mircea

Here is Cody "AK Kid" McKenzie fighting Valeriu Mircea at Venator FC 3 which took place on 5/21/16 in Milan, Italy.

Lawlor KO's Dave Kaplan on TUF

Here is Tom Lawlor appeasing Dave Kaplan and knocking him the *@#% out on TUF 8.

Lawlor(10-5, 6-4 UFC) next fights Corey Anderson(7-1, 4-1 UFC) at UFC 196.

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.

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."

TUF 20 Cast and Favorites

The 20th season of the Ultimate Fighter will features an all female cast, with sixteen fighters vying for the 115 pound straw weight championship. Four straight wins and you are the champ, just like that.

There are several high ranking fighters on the cast, including about 5-6 of the top 10 fighters at 115 pounds. It is a shame that WSOF snagged #1 ranked Jessica Aguilar (18-4, 2-0 WSOF), who won the WSOF 115 pound championship subbing Alida Gray, then following it up with a decision win over Emi Fujino. Aguilar beat season favorite Carla Esparza via split decision at Bellator 46 and has defeated cast mates Angela Magana and Lisa Ellis.

The UFC doesn't seem interested in having foreign speaking fighters on TUF 20. I can't imagine having 2 or 3 translators for 7 hours a day would be very pricey. It would bring an interesting dynamic to the show. Top ten fighter Mizuki Inoue (7-2) has wins over cast mates Bec Rawlings and Alex Chambers. Karolina Kowalkiewicz (5-0), out of Poland, has been getting hype out of the KSW promotion and borderline top 15 fighter in Tina Lahdemaki (5-0) of Finland fights Claudia Gadehla at UFN 45.

UFC signee Claudia Gadehla (11-0) of Nova Uniao is considered a top 5 fighter in the division and was rumored to be on TUF, but dropped out because she didn't believe she could make weight for the duration of the show.

Here are my rankings:

1. Carla Esparza (9-2)- The reigning Invicta FC 115 pounder has college wrestling experience and fast hands. She has used grappling successfully to dominate most fights, where her submission game has been improving and she has solid GNP. Carla defeated cast mates Felice Herrig at XFC 15 and Bec Rawlings in Invicta via unanimous decision.

                (Carla Esparza GNP)

2. Joanne Calderwood (8-0)- The Scottish striker holds several Muay Thai titles including the ISKA World Flyweight title, IKF European title, the WKL European title and the WBC UK title. Joanne's best wins have come over highly touted Katja Kankaanpaa (9-1) and Lena Ovchynnikova (9-3).

           (Joanne Calderwood throws a knee)

3. Tecia Torres (4-0)- Training out of American Top Team, the Muay Thai specialist has 7 additional amateur wins on her record. Fighting exclusively in Invicta FC, she defeated UFC signee Paige Van Zant and fellow cast mates Felice Herrig and Rose Namajunas via decision.

4. Jessica Penne (11-2)- Most recently competing at 105, making weight won't be difficult for the former Invicta 105 pound champ. Penne has defeated cast mates Lisa Ellis via TKO and Angela Magana via submission. She has also submitted Jewels 105 pound champ Naho Sugiyama.

                                  (Jessica Penne GNP)

5. Justine Kish (4-0)- The RFA veteran and former Golden Gloves boxing champ has competed and trained in Muay Thai in Thailand. Training out of Blackhouse, she owns wins over  Jin Tang (12-4) and fellow cast mate Randa Markos (4-1).

                                 (Justine Kish body kick)

6. Aisling Daly (14-5)- The current NAAFS 125 pound champ will drop down to 115 for TUF. Fighting out of Ireland, Daly recently submitted Karla Benitez via armbar and has a win over UFC fighter Jessica Eye (10-2).

7. Felice Herrig (9-5)- The spunky striker has a reported kickboxing record of (23-5) with strong leg and body kicks. She has decision wins in Bellator over Patricia Vidonic, cast mate Heather Clark and TUF 18 runner-up Jessica Rakoczy.

                              (Herrig kicks Patricia Vidonic)

8. Bec Rawlings (5-3)- The well rounded Australian fighter has decision losses to season favorite Carla Esparza and highly touted Mizuki Inoue, with an armbar win over Jasminka Cive (5-2) and TKO win over Christina Tatnell (5-1).

                     (Bec Rawlings, formerly Bec Hyatt)

9. Rose Namajunas (2-1)- The Grudge Training Center fighter previously trained at Roufus Sport, fighting pro exclusively in Invicta. You probably know her name considering the 12 second flying armbar she pulled off at Invicta 5 over Katrina Catron (4-3) and relationship with former UFC fighter Pat Barry. Rose has a 3rd round sub over cast mate Emily Kagan (3-1), with a decision loss to cast mate Tecia Torres. She went 4-0 as an amateur with 2 KO's.

(Rose Namajunas with Pat Barry)

10. Alex Chambers (4-1)- The 5'3" Australian will be moving up from 105 for TUF. Her last bout was in Invicta where she subbed Jodie Esquibel, then 3-0, in the 1st round. She also has a TKO wins over Mika Nagano (14-9) and Claire Fryer (4-1).

11. Lisa Ellis (15-8)- With over 10 years of MMA experience, Ellis has not competed since a 2012 armbar win over Amy Davis (4-4). Ellis' biggest wins have come over cast mate Aisling Daly and a 2006 submission of Jessica Aguilar, who was making her pro debut.

12. Angela Magana (11-6)- The seven year MMA veteran has been around the block, normally fighting at 125, and possessing split decision wins over highly ranked Jessica Aguilar and Barb Honchack. Magana will enter the tournament on a two fight losing streak, having been subbed by prospect Stephanie Eggink and losing a decision to 135 pounder Jessica Eye.  Two of her losses have come to the aforementioned Aguilar.

                               (Angela Magana pictured)

13. Randa Markos (4-1)- The Canadian grappler has 3 wins via submission on her record, with a loss to cast mate Justine Kish.

14. Emily Kagen (3-1)- A Jackson-Winkeljohn fighter, Kagen narrowly won a split decision over Ashley Cummins in Invicta in her last bout.

15. Angela Hill (1-0)- Hill is a Muay Thai fighter out of Maryland has a reported undefeated 14-0 amateur MMA record and 2-0 kickboxing record.

16. Heather Clark (6-4)- An XFC and Bellator veteran, Clark has 2 TKO's and 3 submissions on her resume.

Video of the Day - Dillashaw v. Suarez

Here is TJ Dillashaw fighting Michael Suarez in Rebel Fights - Domination that took place on 10/2/10 in Roseville, California. Dillashaw wrestled for Cal State Fullerton.

Dillashaw (10-2, 6-2 UFC) will defend his bantamweight title against Renan Barao (32-2, 7-1 UFC) at UFC 177 on August 30th.

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 - 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 - 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 - 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

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.

TUF 17 Cast

It appears the "wildcard" is back for the 17th installment of The Ultimate Fighter as the UFC released the 28 preliminary 185 pound TUF fighters.

The debut episode will be a two hour affair for the middleweightfighters to get into the house. Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen are the coaches, and you can be sure Sonnen will be talking major trash throughout the season.

My initial thoughts on the cast is that there are several decent veterans along with some unknown undefeated fighters. There are some interesting prospects who have big time knockout power. One fighter is rumored to have the whole house scared to fight him.

Uriah Hall (7-2)- The Jamaican born, New York trained kickboxers 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.

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.

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.

Nik Fekete (5-1)- An All-American wrestler out of Michigan State, Fekete suffered his lone defeat via submission in Bellator. He has fought primarily at 205, picking up wins over Ovince St. Preux and Mark Griffin in Bellator.

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.

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.

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).

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.

Mike Jasper (6-0)- The Elite MMA fighter has won twice in BAMMA USA, last defeating Manny Murillo (previously undefeated at 4-0) via split decision.

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.

Jake Heun (3-2)- The former fullback and linebacker at the University of Hawaii has fought exclusively at heavyweight during his career, only losing to NCAA champ Mark Ellis and undefeated Richard Odoms. He has tons of power, but is very raw with 2 KO wins and 1 submission on his resume.

Timothy Williams (7-1)- The "Southside Strangler" has 5 wins via choke submission and 2 TKO's. Williams has defeated UFC veteran Andrea Gusmao, Bellator veteran Tiawan Howard and Joey Kirwin. His only loss is to UFC vet Dustin Jacoby.

Scott Rosa (4-1)- The 6'6" normally fights at 205 and has KO'd UFC vet James Irvin.

Kito Andrews (9-2)- Fighting primarily on the west coast, the oldest fighter in the cast at 34 years of age, has won 7 straight.

Leo Bercier (7-2)- The Montana trained fighter and Native American swings for the fences and has 6 KO wins.

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.

Nicholas Hohring (3-0)- The Cesar Gracie fight team member in undefeated but hasn't fought since 2010.

Kelvin Gastelum (4-0)- The 5'9" spark plug has 2 KO's and 2 submissions while fighting less than stellar competition.

Eldon Sproat (3-1)- Not one of the Hawaiin brawler's fights have gone past 2:14 in the first round.

Clint Hester (7-3)- Fighting pro for 4 and half years, the former boxer has several quality wins fighting in the southeast.

Gilbert Smith (5-1)- The Colorado fighter has 4 submission wins.

Andy Enz, (6-1), 21, Anchorage, Ala.
Collin Hart (4-1-1), 23, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Eric Wahlin (5-1), 29, Taylorsville, Utah
Ryan Lee Q. Bigler (9-3), 28, Guam
Fraser Opie (10-5), 25, Milton Keynes, England
Kevin Casey (5-2), 31, Hawthorne, Calif.

Big Country Goes Big

I have gotten a couple questions emailed to me lately inquiring about my thoughts on Roy "Big Country" Nelson's fighting skills, coaching job on TUF 16, his rankings among UFC heavyweights and a potential drop down in weight. Here are my thoughts:

Roy Nelson is an elite martial artist and gifted athlete. That has been evidenced several times, including KO's over Brendan Schaub, Stefan Struve, Cro Cop, Dave Herman and now Matt Mitrione. He has a legit BJJ black belt and has defeated Frank Mir in a grappling match. He can impose his will in fights, possesses an iron chin, and has excellent punching power combined with hand eye coordination.

I don't think Roy will ever drop to 205 pounds and have the prototypical UFC body. At 250 plus, I just don't see Roy wanting to lose that weight. Most fighters at 205 are faster than Nelson. There are some grapplers at 205 that could take Nelson down every round and stay away from his power.


Roy is at his best striking when he is able to counter and avoid power punches from big guys with reach on him. Long strikers should be peppering Roy with the jab and hitting him with kicks at distance. As far as his ranking, I'd guess Roy has a few more years left around number 10 with wins still left in the tank.

As evidenced by his championship TUF 10 run, Roy doesn't really like people telling him what to do. He knows what works for him and wants to do that. As a coach on TUF 16, it seemed like the fighters on Team Nelson wanted more instruction and harder practices. Roy deflected that sentiment by saying he couldn't teach heart, but really Roy probably just thought that's how his fighters should be trained to win the tournament.

Roy wasn't the best TUF coach, but look at the results. His fighters won 8 out of the 15 fights in the TUF tournament. His fighter Colton Smith emerged the champion of the show fighting the same way throughout the tourney. Smith imposed his will, got takedowns, threw elbows and attempted submissions. It wasn't the most pretty tournament run, but it was effective.

In the very first episode of TUF 16, Roy did say that the show is a marathon, not a sprint, and fighters should do anything they could to win. The goal is to win 3 fights in 6 weeks in the house to make the finale. The two worst things a TUF coach can do is burn his fighters out and pushing them too hard right before a fight or having a fighter get hurt during a practice. Neither happened under Roy's watch.

(Nelson was the first and only IFL HW Champ)