Pee Wee Herman Wins Again

Emerging heavyweight prospect Dave "Pee Wee" Herman recorded a win over Chris Guillen at a King of Kombat event this Saturday. Herman stopped Guillen at 1:36 of the first round, landing shots to put Guillen to his knees, eventually earning the TKO stoppage.

With the win, Herman is now 13-0, with four straight TKO's in 2008. Under the Elite XC banner, Herman defeated Mario Rinaldi, Ron Waterman and Kerry Schall. Now Herman believes he is free of his Elite XC contract, and stated on Inside MMA that he is looking to get one fight deals and a possible fight in Japan.

Herman, at 6'5", 245 pounds, is a towering heavyweight with natural fighting ability. He is the most intriguing heavyweight prospect out there right now with a wrestling pedigree from University of Indiana coupled with a solid Muay Thai game. Herman doesn't like to delve into his background or training in his interviews. After the Schall fight, he basically said he trained with Frank Mir for a week and trained the rest in his garage. An interesting character to say the least that will be making big money soon enough.

TUF Episode 10 - Roop's Hand

This episode featured the final first round match-up between lightweights John Polakowski and George Roop. Both are good stand-up fighters, but George believed he held the edge on the ground. Unfortunately for George a few days before his fight he got a finger jammed into the fence and it injured his hand.

The episode featured John's affection for hugs and George's injury. John is seen in a montage giving hugs to all members of both teams including the coaching staff. Funny to see John try to give Mir a hug. The hugs even get to tough guy Junie Browning, as Junie says that he likes the guy.

George's injury seems pretty bad as his hand swelled pretty huge. Throughout the episode the hand was either submerged in water or being massaged.

The fight started with one of the oddest things I've ever seen, a hug in the ring instead of the glove touch. I don't even want to see the glove touch, so I'm definately not a fan. Save the hugging for after the fight.

Roop was able to land some high kicks while John tries to work punches inside. When stepping forward, Roop is able to get a takedown. Roop then lands ground and pound before getting John's back. John is able to reverse and throw some ground and pound of his own to close out the round. I gave the round to Roop.

In the second, Roop eats some hard straight punches to the face and looks rattled. Roop begins throwing punches with his bad hand and eventually gets the takedown. From there he locks in a body triangle with John's back and rides out the fight. I thought the round was pretty even. The decision comes back for George Roop.

(George Roop pictured)

The final four in each bracket are decided next. Not too many surprises as Junie had previously called out Efrain Escudero and Eliot Marshall called out Ryan Bader. They will be showing two fights in the final two episodes.

LW Match-ups-
Junie Browning(Mir) v. Efrain Escudero(Nog)
George Roop(Mir) v. Phillipe Nover(Nog)

LHW Match-ups-
Eliot Marshall(Mir) v. Ryan Bader(Nog)
Vinny Magalhaes(Mir) v. Krzysztof Soszynski(Mir)

WEC 37 Preview

WEC 37 will be playing prior to the Ultimate Fighter doubleheader. The event will feature a match between two of the best 135 pounders in the game with Miguel Torres putting his title on the line against Manny Tapia. Below are the announced bouts.

MAIN CARD (TELEVISED)

Champ Miguel Torres vs. Manny Tapia (BW Title)- expect a scrappy and hard fought match between these two young stars. Torres is lightning quick with excellent grappling. He also has a good muay thai game, with dangerous elbows. He has 15 wins in a row with 3 straight in the WEC. His big wins have come over Chase Beebe, Jeff Bedard, Joe Pearson, and Yoshiro Maeda in a fight of the year fight.

Tapia is known for his boxing and ground and pound offense. He will throw wild and powerful strikes, and may look for the big punch against Torres. This will be Tapia's first fight since a knee injury put him on the shelf for 12 months. His big wins have come over Antonio Banuelos, Shad Smith and Brandon Foxworth.

Brian Bowles vs. Will Ribeiro- The winner of this fight will likely move to the number one contender at 135. Bowles is 6-0, going 3-0 in the WEC so far. His three wins in the WEC came over quality fighters in Damacio Page, Marcos Galvao and Charlie Valencia. Ribeiro is 11-1 with a recent split decision win over Chase Beebe.

Wagnney Fabiano vs. Akitoshi Tamura- Fabiano (10-1) was the IFL's only 145 pound champion. He is extremely fast with a fantastic submission game. He went 6-0 in the IFL with 5 submissions and a KO over Shad Lierley. Tamura is a Shooto veteran with wins over top fighters Takeshi "Lion Takeshi" Inoue and a recent win over Ruminato Sato.

Joseph Benavidez vs. Danny Martinez- Benavidez is a strong prospect with an 8-0 record, with a recent win at Dream 5 over Junya Kudo. Martinez has a record of 12-2, with three straight wins.

Justin Haskins vs. Johny Hendricks- Johny Hendricks is a former NCAA Champion wrestler with lightning fast takedowns. Hendricks won the 2005 and 2006 championships at 165 pounds. He placed second in 2007. Haskins will want to keep the fight standing or look for a submission off his back. Haskins has a 4-1 record. Hendricks is 3-0 with two TKO's and a D'Arce choke victory.

PRELIMS (UN-TELEVISED)

Alex Karalexis vs. Bart Palaszewski- This is IFL star Bart Palaszewski's first bout in the WEC. The hard puncher will be looking for a knockout. Karalexis had three wins in the WEC before losing to Ed 9mm Ratliff.
Ricardo Barros vs. Mark Munoz
Blas Avena vs. Kevin Knabjian
Diego Nunes vs. Cole Province
Cub Swanson vs. Hirouki Takaya
Shane Roller vs. Mike Budnik


(Miguel Torres pictured)

UFC Cutting Fighters Quick

Thoughts by the MMA Blaster

UPDATE- Looks like Fitch is back with the organization. I'm guessing that he signed his likeness away to the UFC.

It is being widely reported that the UFC will be cutting Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Cain Valesquez, and various other star fighters from American Kickboxing Academy(AKA). The move has come over a contractual dispute regarding fighter likeness in video games.

Apparently, the UFC came to the fighters and requested that they sign away all rights to their likeness for life to the UFC. If they didn't sign, the existing contracts would be ripped up and the fighters cut. Fitch explained that the would sign away for five years or ten years, but not for life.

Dana White, not pleased with the fighters actions, decided to cut the fighters rather than negotiate.

I find that the move represents a unilateral action by the UFC that will only benefit private shareholders of the organization. The video games, DVD's, and clip shows will continue to make money in perpetuity forever. The fighters will not see a dime of that money under the deal Dana wants to force on them. That deal hardly seems to provide any consideration to the fighters.

Dana's main counter was that Jon Fitch made $169,000 from the title fight with Georges St. Pierre, and that Fitch couldn't get that type of money elsewhere. I think Dana is missing the boat with this argument. It isn't about pay for a fight, it is about the UFC being able to make money over the likeness of a fighter for no compensation.

In video games for the NFL, NBA, and MLB, the players association collects a sum of money from the league for use of the likeness and distribute the money. EA recently had to pay former stars of the NFL over 20 million dollars for using their likeness in video games. In the games, former stars names weren't listed, but the exact height, weight, and number were used.

I believe that fighters that appear in the video games should be paid accordingly. It is simply unfair to allow the UFC to unilaterally collect all the revenue for the game. You aren't fighting in the game with a Dana White character.

(Jon Fitch pictured)

UFC 91 Recap

The Brock Lesnar era has officially begun as the behemouth secured his first MMA title in the form of the UFC heavyweight title belt. The card scored a live gate of 4.8 million in a sold out MGM Grand in Las Vegas. I'll keep you posted on the ppv numbers, I believe it will probably break the mma record. I was happy each fight made it to air, as only one fight went to decision. UFC 91 turned out a very good card with exciting fights.

(Brock Lesnar pictured)

Matt Brown def Ryan Thomas via Submission (Armbar), R2 0:57 - Ryan Thomas was consistently able to get takedowns on Matt Brown throughout the fight. However, Brown was able to continue to work his submission game and eventually got Ryan Thomas to over commit on the ground. Thomas ended up in a tight armbar, and was unable to slam his way out of it.

Mark Bocek def Alvin Robinson via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), R3 3:16- Bocek out grappled Robinson throughout the fight, keeping Robinson in bad positions. Bocek landed hard punches throughout the fight and it was only a matter of time before he locked up the choke after being extremely calm while having Robinson's back.

Jeremy Stephens def Rafael dos Anjos via KO (uppercut), R3 0:39- This was an awesome fight as Stephens came back from after losing the first two rounds. Dos Anjos had Stephens in near submissions. In the third round, Stephens loaded up a massive uppercut that found its mark directly to dos Anjos jaw droppin gthe fighter to the ground.
*Given KO of the night fight bonus.

Aaron Riley def Jorge Gurgel via Decision (Unanimous)- This fight was shown after the Lesnar v. Couture fight. The fight boiled down to a kickboxing match and both fighters were content to stand and trade. Riley was a little more crisp with his punches, many of which found their mark. Gurgel scored consistently with body and leg kicks. Riley had a couple takedowns and controlled the fight more than Gurgel. All three judges scored the fight 29-28 for Riley.
*Both fighters awarded fight of the night bonuses.

Demian Maia def Nate Quarry via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), R1 2:13- Maia put on yet another awesome display of ju-jitsu against the hard hitting Nate Quarry. Maia pulled guard, executed a sweep and then eventually got Quarry's back. From there it was only a matter of time before Maia secured the rear naked choke. Maia now has 4 straight submission wins in the UFC and is 9-0 overall. Maia is rumored to be a possible coach for the next TUF reality show.

Gabriel Gonzaga def Josh Hendricks via KO (Punches), R1 1:01- Gonzaga was just too much for Hendricks in this heavyweight clash. Hendricks and Gonzaga clinched before Gonzaga landed a hook and then put a perfect right straigt to Hendricks to drop him. Gonzaga put a couple more punches before the fight was called. Gonzaga has two straight quick victories since his back to back defeats to Couture and Werdum.

Dustin Hazelett def Tamdan McCrory via Submission (Reverse Armbar), R1 3:59- Hazelett withstood an early McCrory flurry to throw a nice high kick that partially connected. When the fight went to the mat, Hazelett looked slick. Hazelett transitioned from an omaplata to a reverse armbar for the finish. Hazelett stated he wanted to be the top BJJ guy in the 170 pound division. That was Hazelett's second win in a row since a loss to Josh Koscheck. Both came via submission.
*Hazelett awarded submission of the night.

Kenny Florian def Joe Stevenson via Submission (Rear-naked choke), R1 4:03- Florian continued on his dominant run imposing his will on Joe Stevenson. Landing some strikes, Florian was taken down, but got back up. Once up, Florian got his own takedown before delivering a nasty right hand. He next mounted Stevenson and eventually got the rear naked choke. With the victory, Florian has set himself up for a title shot against BJ Penn. Florian now has 6 wins straight in the UFC since a title loss to Sean Sherk. All wins have come via submission or TKO.

(Pictured Kenny Florian)

Brock Lesnar def Randy Couture via TKO (Punches), R2 3:07- This fight lived up to the hype as it had everyone in the bar I was at on their feet. Lesnar, an NCAA champion in wrestling, has legitimized his status of an elite mixed martial artist with the win. Lesnar used his size to his advantage in the first round, as it appeared Couture was using more energy in the first. Lesnar and Couture each threw knee's from the clinch, but Lesnar landed them more effectively. Couture punched well in the clinch, sneaking a couple in to Lesnar's face.

In the second, Lesnar landed a punch and elbow in the clinch dazing Couture. From there he threw a massive overhand right that hit Couture near the back of the head. Lesnar followed Couture to the ground and unleased about 10 or more hammerfists to the face before the ref stopped the fight. Lesnar captures the UFC HW belt. "I can't believe it" proclaimed the new champ.

*Lesnar will face the winner of Frank Mir v. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira next.
*I still can't believe that people don't arrive till the 3rd or 4th fight in Vegas.

Video's of the Day - Couture v. Lesnar

Randy Couture

Brock Lesnar

TUF 8 - Krzysztof Style

This episode features a fight between Kyle Kingsbury and Krzysztof Soszynski. Krzysztof is a former fighter from the IFL who holds an armbar victory over Devin Cole and a unanimous decision over Dan Christison at heavyweight. Kingsbury is a former football player for Arizona State University who holds a 7-1 record and has been fighting since June of 2006. Apparently he had only 6 months of ground training before the fight and also came down from heavyweight.

Before the fight, we get to see last week's loser Dave Kaplan hit the bottle. Tom Lawlor and Dave down a bottle of vodka and get a little crazy. Apparently some antics were editted at the last second and that was probably a good idea. Dave says, "I can not be knocked out" and begs Tom to punch him in the face. Finally, Dave is struck in the jaw by Tom and Dave goes completely limp before waking up a few seconds later. Dave still denied being unconscious. Delusional?

Next, the coaches challenge goes down. Mir basically starts hyping himself up again stating that he can beat Nogueira in any contest. Nogueira stated that while soccer is Brazil's number one sport, he was very bad as a kid and never really played. Despite those words, Noguera is physched about winning the 10K for himself and a grand for each of his players. Mir doesn't put much effort in the game and ends up losing to Nogueira who dives after balls and gets into it.

The fight starts and Krzysztof lands a couple punches to Kyle's face. They get to the fence and Kyle lands a couple knees, one of them getting a little close to the cup. After the break-up, the fighters end up in the same position. This time Kyle gets underhooks and gets a takedown. Unfortunately, Kyle doesn't posture quick enough and gets stuck in an armbar.

Kyle takes the loss in stride and tries to pump up his other teammates. Krzysztof meanwhile is icing his injured thumb. He hurt his hand in his first fight and the thumb is still bothering him. We'll see if it affects his performance in the next round.