Who's contention is this anyway?

For this post I am focusing on the clusterf@$% that is the UFC's light heavyweight devision. While there are no problems with the indisputable (by his last performances) champ, Rampage Jackson, the contenders below him nipping at his heels is what makes the situation so confusing.

Let's start with Keith Jardine. Jardine recently pummeled Forrest Griffin into the canvas, only to receive a even more vicious punishment at the hands of Houston Alexander. Jardine is offered a fight with Chuck Liddell to once again establish himself in the UFC. Like most strategies effect in the UFC (Serra) this backfired on them as Jardine fought a hard 3 rounds to emerge the victor over once champion and now back to back loss holder, Chuck Liddell. So during this Houston Alexander is on a warpath which claims Alessio Sakara, knocking him from contention. Forrest was at the time looking for a way back to fame from the Jardine fight and offered to fight against Shogun Rua, who was making his debut. Forrest stunned the world by defeating Shogun, who holds a win over Rampage Jackson, making things just that more confusing. Meanwhile, Houston Alexander was just exploited by Thiago Silva, another member of Team Chut Boxe, dropping him from contention.

This would be fine and dandy, but now we have Wanderlei Silva entering the mix to take on former champ and UFC poster boy Chuck Liddell. Wanderlei holds 2 previous wins over Jackson, who holds 2 wins over Liddell. The winner of this fight will be catapulted back into contention, which makes the entire situation more confusing considering the extremely healthy amount of talent that the LHW division is bulging with. Assuming Wanderlei does win, it makes an interesting situation between him and Shogun, who is still a contender.

All in all we have Wanderlei trying to establish himself, Chuck trying to prove he's not over the hill, Forrest Griffin beating Shogun and both deserving to be in contention, Thiago Silva who's proving to be well rounded by smashing Houston who beat Jardine who beat Chuck and proved that he belongs in the contention and last but not least we have Jackson who is at the top of the pack with two people who hold a combined 3 losses against him trying to take his belt. This is the most complicated weight class there is.

UFC 78 Recap.

Alot has happened this weekend in the UFC. Two of their rising stars have suffered defeats because of it. Winners of the Ultimate Fighter Seasons 2 and 3, Michael Bisping, and Rashad Evans squared off in the octagon, leaving the decision to the judges, who scored the bout to Evans, via split decision. While Michael Bisping did not really wake up until the second round, like he has been known to do in previous fights, he was taken down repeatedly by Rashad, though neither fighters were able to connect with big shots or cause much damage to each other at all.

Houston Alexander on the other hand, has now tasted defeat in the octagon, and must be bittersweet to someone who was simply running through the division until now. Thiago Silva managed to avoid the early storm by Houston by clinching him against the fence and tying him up, and then proceeded to take Houston down and finally expose his abilities on the mat, or lack there of, should I say. Silva established a full mount position which Houston could not escape, Silva soon rained down heavy punches which left the ref no choice but to step in and rescue Houston. If I was Houston Alexander at this time, i would be drilling mount escapes repeatedly until they are second nature.

Otherwise, Ryo Chonan fought a hard fight against Karo Parisyan and though lost via decision, definitely proved he belongs in the UFC and has looked better than other PRIDE fighters that had made the transition into the octagon. The fight was not exceptionally exciting but showcased the talent of the two competitors.

FIGHT VIDEOS *May Not Last*

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EliteXC Recap.

Following in the year of upsets KJ Noons effectively picked apart Nick Diaz's offense, and delivered damaging punches which cut Diaz at the end of round 1, effectively ending the fight. Diaz is prone to cuts and was extremely dissapointed by the outcome, raising his middle fingers as he exited the cage, upon hearing the news. Diaz insisted that he could see and that he should be able to continue, but the doctor felt he couldn't. It seems since Takanori Gomi inflicted so much damage to Diaz during their fight, that perhaps Diaz is now more susceptible to eye injuries thanks to a broken orbital bone.


The other headliner fight, Kimbo Slice Vs Bo Cantrell was most disappointing. Kimbo effectively used the cage to corner Bo, checked a leg kick well, and delivered a combination followed by a forearm which struck Cantrell behind the ear. Cantrell collapsed and immediately started tapping the mat, as Kimbo delivered some follow up punches until Cantrell was saved by the referee. This was supposed to be a test for Kimbo, but now he is left with as much credibility as when he went in. We know he's a hard worker and Bas puts all his faith in the world in him as a trainer, but he still hasn't really proven anything to establish himself in the organization. I am most disappointed in Cantrell, he simply just gave up, immediately. I honestly feel bad for Kimbo for having to fight someone with such little heart.

Here are all the fights.

Nick Diaz vs K.J Noons EliteXC Renegade
Uploaded by Princenino

Kimbo Slice vs Bo Cantrell EliteXC Renegade
Uploaded by Princenino

Antonio Silva vs Jonathan Wiezorek EliteXC Renegade
Uploaded by Princenino

Jake Shields vs Mike Pyle EliteXC Renegade
Uploaded by Princenino

Oldies but Goodies.

For those who do not know, Strike Force is about to hold the first sanctioned tournament in the United States on November 16th. It is scheduled to be a 6 man tournament featuring Cung Le, Paul Buentello, Luke Stewart, Joe Riggs, Bobby Southworth, and Falaniko Vitale. Seeing as how history is going to be made and the potentiality of tournaments making a comeback i have been recently watching some fights from tournaments of the past, and some older fights in general. Here are some fights that took place a long time ago and are still some incredibly match ups.

Gonzaga Vs. Wedum - Jungle Fight. This fight is even more interesting now seeing as how both fighters are schuled to meet for a second time in the cage at upcoming UFC 80.

Part 1.


Part 2.


Part 3.

Cyborg Santos Vs Michal Materla
Uploaded by ganjamandu59

Lyoto Machida vs. Rich Franklin
Uploaded by psykojojo

Kawajiri vs Gomi
Uploaded by tatsuyakawajiri

EliteXC - Diaz and Kimbo.

This weekend, on Saturday, the 10th of November will be the date which EliteXC holds its latest mixed martial arts event. This event will feature the arguably best lightweight fighter in the world, Nick Diaz as he returns to the EliteXC cage for the second time, this time to face KJ Noons, and the true MMA debut of Kimbo Slice.

Diaz gained popularity from being a successful and entertaining fighter during his public debut on "The Ultimate Fighter" but was recently propelled into the limelight after defeating Takanori Gomi who at the time was being billed as the most dominant lightweight fighter ever. Diaz and Gomi made histroy, giving an exciting battle which has yet to be bested, as fight of the year. Diaz won that fight, but due to the NSAC (Nevada State Athletic Commission) the result was overturned to a NC (No Contest) after it was found that Diaz had, within 3 weeks of the event smoked Marijuana. (Meanwhile other fighters are allowed to keep their victories while testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, such as steroids.) This has led Nick Diaz and many of his fans to believe that there is a conspiracy against him, but that is a story for another day. Below is the link for the Gomi fight, for those who have not seen it.

Kimbo Slice will also be debuting at EliteXC, as his first fight (an exhibition against former boxing heavyweight champion of the world, Ray Mercer) was not really considered an official fight, and his record remains 0 - 0 - 0 in the Sherdog database. For those who do not know who Kimbo is, he is a street fighter from Miami who gamed infamy over the internet for dismantling his opponents in unsanctioned backyard bare knuckle fights over the internet. He will face his first true test as a mixed martial artist, when he faces Bo Cantrell on this Saturday. Cantrell having achieved a record of 10 - 10 in his career, is not necessarily a stepping stone for Kimbo, as Kimbo has just recently started his career in MMA (at a late age, i remind you).

Slice has been training under the legendary Bas Rutten, who has been showering him with praise due to his ability to learn and his work ethic. Many people doubt Kimbo, but I think he will pull off the victory against Cantrell. However, the future is indeterminable for someone his age, who is just starting the sport.

FIGHT VIDEOS

Gomi vs Nick Diaz
Uploaded by gomi_gomgom

Takanori Gomi V.S. Nick Diaz

Kimbo Slice - King of The Streets
Uploaded by 2MHD2

Kimbo Slice Highlight

K-1 Hero's most recent event took place last night in Korea. This event features the comeback of Denis Kang, the return of Min Soo Kim after his disappointing loss and early submission against Brock Lesnar and the debut of Marcelo Gracie. Here are all the fights, each one of them is good. *Videos May not Last Long*

Denis Kang vs Yoshihiro Akiyama Hero's Korea 2007
Uploaded by Princenino

Marcelo Garcia vs Dae Won Kim K-1 Hero's Korea 2007
Uploaded by Princenino

Ikuhisa Minowa vs Min Soo Kim K-1 Hero's Korea 2007
Uploaded by Princenino

Zelg Galesic vs Taiei Kin K-1 Hero's Korea
Uploaded by Princenino

Bernard Ackah vs Poai Suganuma K-1 Hero's Korea 2007
Uploaded by Princenino

Bernard Ackah vs. Hyung-Pyo Shin
Uploaded by BOXEN99

M-1 Global. Now Officially featuring Fedor.

Yesterday, Monday October 22, 2007 was a monumental day in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. The #1 most sought-after free agent, and widely believed by many to be the greatest fighter alive, Fedor Emelianenko announced his signing with M-1 Global. Fedor did this at the press conference M-1 Global Held in New York. The second "surprise " to take place at the conference, was the announcement of the CEO and beneficiary of the fledgling organization. The CEO is none other than Monte Cox, MMA trainer and well known identity in the sport.

The most important issue surrounding the signing of Fedor is exactly who he will be competing against, or the level of competition. Much speculation has come to the fact he may be fighting lower ranked fighters, therefor he will lose his #1 spot. However, it has been announced that Fedor's contract with M-1 Global will allow him to fight for other organizations, which allows him to fight the champions of other organizations, more importantly, the UFC. The president of M-1 Global, Maxwell Mitchell stated that they would intend to offer the UFC champion fighting Fedor a hefty 1,000,000, should he win.

This is definitely a best case scenario. As they say, it is always darkest before dawn, and some light is finally beginning to appear. Hopefully, if Randy Couture settles his contract disagreement and returns to the UFC, the dream match which many have been longing to see can take place.

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