UFC 98 Happening This Very May 23rd

...And oh what an event it threatens to be. Tapped for May 23rd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena (you can catch it on PPV starting 10 PM Eastern), this event showcases a main event title fight between two of the toughest mugs still carrying unbeaten records. Light Heavyweight kingpin Rashad Evans (13-0-1) puts his belt on the line in his first defense against the elusive Lyoto Machida (14-0), who has yet to drop a single round in any of his 14 contests. Evans took the belt in spectacular fashion last late December by smashing everyone's boy Forrest Griffin in to the mat with some powerful right fisted ground and pound midway through the 3rd round of Griffin's first title defense. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was initially given the first crack at Evans' crown after he outpointed the champ's stablemate, Keith Jardine, in a back and forth battle during the main event of UFC 96 (and even had a memorable smacktalk/staredown session with Rashad following the contest), but reluctantly relinquished his number one contender status to the ready Machida to heal some nagging injuries. Brazilian standout Lyoto Machida may be a bigger challenge to the crown than former champ Jackson for numerous reasons, the most telling being that no one that has faced him has figured out how to score points against his attack and retreat -then repeat- style. Machida holds dominant victories over the likes of Rich Franklin, BJ Penn, Stephan Bonnar, Sokoudjou, Tito Ortiz and most recent, previoulsy undefeated fellow Brazilian Thiago Silva, in a buzzer beating knockout destined for highlight reels for long times to come (Sidenote: Machida drinks his own urine each and every morning. Dedication to like this to gaining antibodies could not go unmentioned). Now, I don't quite have the bookie stats for this battle, but I'm sure they would read as Evans being the underdog, as he has rarely recieved the go ahead nod from the odds makers. As far as I personally see this going down, it's really a toss-up: Evans' lightning quick reflexes and superior knockout power against "The Dragon"'s secret ninja style of avoiding any damage. It's too hard to call, boys. We'll have to leave this one to the action.
In the next segment I will discuss the co-main event match up rife with bad blood between former Welterweight champions Matt Hughes and everyone's favorite little Long Island shit kicker, Matt "The Terror" Serra. Stay tuned,..

Alright....All I had to do was figure out how to get back to this blog site that I started- in order to start it back up. Granted, I have taken a break from blogging, as if I had even really started, but I had to let the drama catch up in comparison to the stupid crazy shit that I let in to my own parameter of a sad little life. There seems to be the demand of at least two other people that may so far find this crap worhtwhile, so I will now recontinue to churn out the best and most reputable MMA news on the goddamned internet tubes...Gonna start tomorrow...really....The fuck...the fuck.

Strikeforce return tapped for April 11, Nick Diaz vs. Frank Shamrock Rumored for Main Event

The California based promotion, Strikeforce, is putting the pieces together quickly after acquiring assets from the defunct Pro-elite corp and some of the results can now expect to be put on display as a scheduled return to televised action is set for April 11 at the HP Pavillion in San Jose, CA. The good folks over at fiveounesofpain.com are reporting a possible main event pairing of former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Frank Shamrock (23-9-2) against UFC, Pride FC, and Elite XC veteran, Nick Diaz (18-7). Announcements could be made official as early as this evening.
This will mark a return to action for both fighters after sitting out a combined 18 or so months.
Shamrock hasn't fought since losing the Strikeforce Middleweight strap to kickboxing phenom Cung Le back in March, 2008. Shamrock chose to stand and bang it out with Le as promised, but suffered a broken arm from relentless kicking attacks and was unable to answer the bell going into the championship 4th round.
The MMA pioneer will be participating in a media phone call at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT with Showtime Senior VP Ken Hershman and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker in attendance. A source or two close to the event indicate that a formal announcement of the matchup could be made at that time.
As for Diaz, this will be his first fight under the Stikeforce banner. The brash older brother of UFC Lightweight standout Nate Diaz will look to keep a three fight win streak in tact, the latter of those a TKO victory way back in July over mma journeyman Thomas Denny. This will also mark a departure from the lighter weight classes (160 and 170) for Diaz as the fight will presumably take place at Shamrock's natural fighting weight of 185 lbs.
More on this as it develops.

(OLD) UFC 94

Alright, tonight is UFC 94, St. Pierre VS Penn 2. Jake, I know that you are as of yet not a fan of the sport of the future, but with this blog, my hope is to have you flooding out fight predictions yourself very soon, and while I can bet that you won't be watching this fight, I'll make sure that you know how the thing was resulted every time that we talk. But enough about Jake...
BJ Penn, "The Prodigy", is considered by most that follow the sport to be either the best 'pound for pound' fighter in the world, or at least ranked among the small group of martial arts practitioners that would garner that particular moniker. His record (13-4-1) could be deceiving at first glance, but taking a closer look you'll see that his losses were to men that have a combined record of 94 wins, 20 losses with just a lone draw. The names on BJ Penn's win list are a who's who of some of the best to ever compete in mma; Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver, Din Thomas, Matt Serra, Takinori Gomi, Sean Sherk, Joe Stevenson, Caol Uno and even a pair of Gracies ( the legendary Renzo and younger brother Rodrigo). He submitted Gomi in the third round of a fight that was to determine the best lightweight in the world.
BJ received his Black Belt in Jiu-Jitsu after just three years of training, giving to his nickname of "The Prodigy". He became the only American to win the Brazilian Jui-Jitsu world championship before making his debut in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, defeating Joey Gilbert by KO in the first round.
In past fights, BJ has shown an Achilles heel in the form of poor conditioning. Because of seemingly natural skills coupled with a privileged upbringing in Hilo, Hawaii, training wasn't a main priority for the talented fighter as he relied more on instinct and heavy punching power to get the job done. But since the third round TKO loss to Matt Hughes (a fight that he was dominating until a severe rib injury occurred toward the end of the 2nd), BJ has shown a more dedicated approach to the fight game, tightening up his training and dietary habits, and has been undefeated since. But he will have to crank that dial if he hopes to get past his next opponent, a huge roadblock in the form of a French-Canadian superstar.
Georges St. Pierre, more common to casual fans of mma, is a monster phenom of the sport. With victories over Josh Koscheck, Matt Hughes (twice), Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Sean Sherk, Frank Trigg, Karo Parisyan, and most recently, Jon Fitch, the resident of Montreal, Quebec, Canada has accomplished more in the fight game at the young age of 27 than most hope for in the span of a lifetime. He carries a belt, the Welterweight championship of the UFC, that he has once already won and relinquished, winning a decisive rematch over Matt "The Terror" Serra, one of only two men to defeat him in 19 professional bouts. In fact, Georges St. Pierre already has a win over the man that he will meet tonight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. A 2006 return to the Octagon for BJ Penn saw him drop a razor sharp split-decision to "Rush" that was mired in controversy. After a blood-splattered dominating first round by Penn that left GSP with a lacerated face, a bleeding eye and broken nose, the French-Canadian put on a wrestling takedown clinic in the 2nd and a lone takedown in the third frame that won the nod of the judges over a BJ Penn that had slowed down due to said poor conditioning. After the fight, BJ was quoted as saying "He (GSP) spent the night in a hospital, I spent the night partying at a bar". From my point of view, Georges won that fight with the takedown in the third and edged it out. But tonight they meet again, going on three years after the first battle, and they both come in very different fighters. Both have had to overcome roadblocks that still haunt them in the eyes of naysayers and critics. When GSP lost his belt to Matt Serra via knockout (actually tapout), he was criticized for seeing a sports psycologist to help him get over reaching such success at a young age in a metioric rise and losing it all because of being convinced by hangers on that on his worst day he could beat the seemingly outmatched Serra. Like Penn, he has gone undeafeated since then and eventually earned the title back from Serra in dominating fashion. BJ Penn has proven that he has fixed the problem in regards to his cardio, but as each of his fights loom closer, it is still the number one criticism against him. It is said that if either win or lose, it will be due to these issues; Penn for his conditioning, St. Pierre for his intermittent mental weakness. At the weigh ins yesterday, neither of their respective issues seem to be present, as Penn's size was almost equal to his opponent, while there was an intensity in GSP's eyes and body language that rivaled that of his Hawaiian counterpart.
I am not going to pretend anymore to know who will pull this one out tonight. Although my bias would give BJ Penn the nod by KO in the third, objectively, this is THE hardest fight that I've ever tried to predict. I will, however, go ahead and stick with that sentiment...
Keys to Victory:
GSP: You are without a doubt the better athlete. Your fighting style, stemming from a Kyukoshen Karate base, is much more technical, and you've shown that you can keep the intensity level very high for the entire 5 rounds. This is where you will win this fight. If you can take this fight to the later stanzas, you will increase your chances of notching another win over "The Prodigy".
Penn: You are a natural born fighter, your fighting style is much more instinctual as it seems that your body knows what to do in nearly every presentable situation while under fire. As well, you are bringing knockout power with you up to the welterweight level. Your Jui-Jitsu is unrivaled. If this fight is to end before the 5th round bell signals it so, it will be you that has your hand raised, and on to a brilliant legacy.


BJ PENN via KO, 3RD ROUND
either that, or
BJ Penn via clinic. I expect him to literally throw a clinic at Georges.


What say you guys?

UFN 17 *plus* UFC 94 recap

Good afternoon, fellas-
Time for another break down as we are half a turn of the clock away from Ultimate Fight Night 17, airing for free (!) on the Spike television network tonight at 9 PM EST. Tonight's Main Event will pit Boston's own Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon against the surging Jeremy Stephens in a match-up that will bring the victor one step closer to title contention in the UFC's crowded Lightweight Division. But first, I would like to recap last Saturday's UFC 94 event between BJ Penn and Georges St. Pierre and give some thoughts on the controversy surrounding the Main Event now referred to as "Greasegate" that just won't seem to go away.
As you all know, Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn had a little fight a week ago. There was plenty of hype for this event, mostly generated by the seemingly nonstop smack talk provided by the Penn camp; namely BJ Penn himself, and a three part series on Spike TV called "UFC Primetime" which documented the training camps of both fighters in their respective cities leading up to the moment each boarded planes departing for Las Vegas where the fight took place. My own prediction for the historic bout was a 3rd round (T)KO at the hands of Penn, and I could not have been any more incorrect in my prophecy thanks to the one a sided drubbing given to Penn by the reining, defending, undisputed Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre. Although one sided, the fight was spectacular in that "Rush" controlled every aspect of the fight, keeping a gunshy Penn flustered and without foresight of what might be coming next as the French-Canadian mixed up his strikes brilliantly in the stand-up, never letting Penn know if it was a knee coming next, or a leg kick, or a superman punch or a take down. Most of the first stanza was spent with both fighters in the clinch against the fencing of the eight-sided cage, where St. Pierre was already exacting a brilliant gameplan of leaning on the smaller fighter and wearing down what would eventually expose a flawed endurance game by the Hawaiian. Having trained for this fight since last September, there was no doubt that St. Pierre would be physically ready, but it was his mental game that overall helped him rule the night, using a gameplan of keeping top position on the ground with high posture, disabling Penn from using his superior Jiu-Jitsu from the full guard while causing the blood in his (Penn) arms to flood his shoulders, taking power from his strikes in the stand-up later on in the fight. In the pre-fight talk at the beginning of the program, Georges St. Pierre mentioned something to the effect of wanting to take everything away from Penn, his grappling ability, his striking power, the power of his flexibility, and eventually, his heart, leaving him nothing. Every part of this prediction happened, as Penn ended the fight by quitting on the stool, unable to answer the championship 5th round bell (it was actually Penn's older brother, JD, who threw in the towel on behalf of his brother after BJ could not give response to questions from both his corner and Octagon-side doctors asking "Do you know where you are right now?" and "BJ, do you want this fight?"). Penn had nothing to say in the Octagon once the massacre concluded and left abruptly, leaving St. Pierre and his throngs of fans to celebrate the victory. That celebration, however, was cut short by some very disturbing news concerning St. Pierre's corner applying a greasing agent (Vaseline) to his upper body (shoulders, back, neck and chest) between rounds. The controversy began between the 1st and 2nd rounds when an Octagon side official noticed Phil Nurse, St. Pierre's Muay Thai coach and cornerman, rubbing Vaseline on the champs face, which is not illegal and purposed to help prevent cuts from easily occurring in strike attacks such as elbows. But Nurse wasn't finished, and as Head Coach Greg Jackson gave instruction to the young champion, Nurse's hands moved directly from St. Pierre's face to his shoulders (actually this happened once while Nurse was beginning to rub down the face, when the fingers still had a very ample amount of the lubricant on them), then to his back and chest. The official ran over to inform Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) Director Keith Kizer, who began to pay attention after being told and waited for the next break in the action to confirm this himself. Sure enough, between the 2nd and 3rd stanzas, Kizer witnessed that which he was told by the official earlier, and that was Nurse once again rubbing the back shoulders and chest area of Georges. Kizer sprang into action, entering the Octagon himself and running over to the Welterweight champs corner. "Get your hands off of his back, what do you think you are doing?" he told the cornermen, who replied by telling the director that it was just a breathing exercise that has been used on St. Pierre before to help affect his breathing in a positive way. Kizer himself grabbed a towel and wiped down the back of the fighter before he returned to action. The same occurred a round later and an official was back in the cage wiping down the back and shoulders of the French-Canadian yet again. What makes this news even more disturbing is that some time before the fight started, the Penn Camp mentioned to the commission to pay close attention to Georges corner, stating that in their first meeting 3 years ago, St. Pierre seemed to be a little "slippery". In the days after UFC 94 concluded, several fighters that have faced St. Pierre in the past (Matt Hughes-three times, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Sean Sherk, Matt Serra-twice, Frank Trigg, and recently Jon Fitch) have been quoted to have said- right after their fights with the man- that Georges felt "slippery" or "greasy". Infact, that same knock has gone against several of Greg Jackson's fighters (Jackson is head trainer of Jackson's Gaido-Jistu Submission Fighting in Albuquerque, New Mexico). Tito Ortiz said after fighting Rashad Evans to a draw at UFC 73 "Stacked", that his skin was slick, and Kenny Florian's post fight comments about Roger Huerta being "slippery" were widely documented. A bunch of coincidences or the alternative? Well, even as we speculate here on this blog, a formal request (not a complaint) of investigation has been filed by the Penn Camp to the NSAC, who stated that even if the Penn's ended up not filing anything that the matter would be looked into. Just today it was announced that rules on greasing agents applied to the body were put into place to prevent anything of this effect happening again, but this will not stop the investigation against St. Pierre's cornermen from continuing, which could result in said cornermen's licenses being pulled- but limited to that- as the results of the bout cannot be changed due to this particular matter. St. Pierre has stated his innocence, saying that he has no need for cheating and that they can do it again, this time wearing rash guards so that greasing won't be an issue. Penn has accepted this challenge, but outside of those two, I don't think that anyone else is interested in seeing BJ Penn get owned yet again, but if it would put a cap on this controversy, I'll provide the backyard, which is where their next fight should take place, right next to the stage I built for Hootie and The Blowfish to perform. Still waiting, Hootie...Alright, I blew my wad on this and have no time to break down Lauzon vs. Stephens, so I will give my predictions for the main card, apologize, and kiss Jesse Jackson's ass just to make it right. I'm working everyday this week but I'll find time to go more indepth with some of the upcoming fight cards that the UFC and other promotions have to offer, that is if this rot is reaching any of you to begin with...

-Joe Lauzon(-200) over Jeremy Stephens(+160) via (T)KO 2nd round
-Cain Velasquez(-650) over Denis Stojnic(+475) via Death and Destruction 1st round (this guy is special, and will be making waves soon)
-Mac Danzig(-155) over Josh Neer(-125) via Submission 2nd round
-Kurt Pellegrino(-260) over Rob Emerson(+200) via Decision
-Dan Miller(-200) over Jake Rosholt(+160) via Decision
-Matthew Riddle(-135) over Steve Bruno(+105) via (T)KO 3rd round
-Anthony Johnson(-350) over Luigi Floriavanti(+250) via (T)KO 1st round