UFC 102: End Result

UFC 102 was packed full of great match-ups. Veterans, new names and 1st timers alike made their impressions in the cage tonight. Fallen warriors were lifted up to new victories, and fan favorites came up short. Surprise finishes and some that we expected. UFC 102 was able to bring all that is MMA into one night with amazing fashion. This is what keeps us coming back. Forever I shall be a fan. What a great night of competition, heart and the will to win. All my respect goes to those warriors that step into that cage.

The inside Effects

The weights have been established and the signatures have dried on the contracts. Months & months of sweat, spit & tears have converged in one place. Rose Garden Arena in Portland Oregon for UFC 102. The marching sound of seasoned and not so seasoned fans begins to increase with every step. The sweeping sound of the broom on the mat, preparing for the stomp and blood of world class warriors. The sound in the arena is mellow and quite calm, but knowingly anticipating a war of fists and grip. As the seats start to get warm and folks have had their ''what ups'' ''handshakes'' and ''winks'' that atmosphere will change. In the stands and around the cage, conversations turn Into shoutversations and excuse me turns into a sharp shoulder to your chest. A sharp dressed man starts to make his way to the cage. Then the heads turn ignoring the current topics of the day. Some eyes at the screens some forward to the iron battle ground. the man in suite waves his arm in a ("Snap!") whip like action that would make Indiana Jones blush. Then: ROAAAAARRRRR! And these are some of the reason why I cannot get enough of the addiction they call MMA.

Fedor "I Have Nothing to Prove"

FanHouse interview in New York City. Fedor stated that he has nothing to prove against Brett Rodgers. Video Blog. Here is the link if you want to see the video. http://www.mmafighting.com/news/2009/08/27/fedor-i-have-nothing-prove-against-brett-rogers

Randy "The Natural" Couture vs Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira. 3 Days To Go

Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira are 2 of the best mixed martial artiest in the game. Men that have been throwing blows for many years in many organizations and always in the top 10 of MMA greats. They have a combined record of 47w - 14l - 1. Many wars have been waged, and countless rounds fought by these two men. They are men of skill, experience, and the will to win. Randy Couture was at the fore front of the early days of MMA, and at that time he was always competing at its highest level. Randy held many titles early in his career. Nogueira was a Pride sensation winning the Kings 40 man tournament and his debut in Pride. Big-Nog has also ran into Fedor Emelianenko, losing a decision by ground and pound. Both these men have fought the best of the best that MMA has to offer at their respective weight classes. Truly will be a great time in MMA history when these two enter the octagon.

What comes to question as always is age and how it has affected the skills of an individual. Both men are coming off losses. Randy lost to Brock Lesner UFC91. Big-Nog lost to Frank Mir UFC92. Which fighter will be able to overcome the metal side and be confident to showcase their skills and come out a winner. Many people talk about athlete decline. The physicality that MMA requires and a fighters aging body are all part of the formula for decline. Nog has been the fighter that takes a beating in order to tough out a win by decision or catch a fighter in a submission in the later rounds. This style of fighting will take its tool to any athletes body. Randy Couture has also been in long wars with many of the best MMA fighters in the world. Big-Nog looked like decline had come early against Frank Mir. He looked slow and sluggish, no answer to Mir's striking skills. Can Randy utilize that same tactic to bring down the Big-Nog or will there be some type of training secret that the Nog shows up with? I really do not take this aging thing to literally. I mean, athletes that age rely mostly on heart and mental toughness to make things happen. I believe that heart and a motivated mind are ingredients that can make any man forget about how his body is feeling and do great things. Can Randy keep his mind clear and focus on the fight without being side tracked by personal issues? Can Nog weather the storm and show all the critics that he can still smash and tap his opponents?

These are two men that MMA fans have been wanting to see fight for a long time and the time is near. Both careers have spanned a decade and many battles have been fought. They will step into the octagon (August 29th, from the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon) and bang for the first time. Hold onto your seats it is going to be one to remember.

MustacheSpitsMMA

DAMN! Dude got Knocked the F&%ked OUT

http://withleather.uproxx.com/2009/08/i-blinked-and-missed-this-knockout

I Wonder

I wonder what it feels like for a mma fighter to know a battle is brewing? I wonder what is going on in the mind of a warrior before the war is raged? In the dressing room, what is the biology of the fighter at that point? The screams of the crowd as they make their walk to the mat of triumph or defeat. The mind as the bare feet hit the mat and gear up for the collision. LETS GET IT ON!

Night of «Unleashed»

Sitting back in the couch eyes peeping . UFC fighter Chuck Liddell making people sleepy sleeping. Mike Goldberg Joe Rogan spitting MMA. 8 sided octagon bloody stains on the mat....would I get in........No Way. All the bright Lights and sounds. Bruce Buffer spinning cards and viscous points, The UFC: Broken Noses, Jaw dropping KOs and dislocated joints.

Mustache History

Courtisy of http://www.americanmustacheinstitute.org/Default.aspx

Lesner vs Carwin

There is a lot of talk about why did Shane Carwin get the next title shot against Brock and not Cane V. We all do not know what goes on in the heads of the the UFC top dogs, but they do know what the fans want. Your going to have 2 great wrestler's in the octagon going at it. We all know what this means. The wrestling should cancel each other out & we should see a stand up WAR. When Brock fought Couture and his shot was stuffed he got hit a lot. So I think that Carwin has a chance to shock the world. He has the power to knock Brock on his block. Cane will get his chance but I can't wait to see 2 wrestling Beast power houses go at it.

Watching old fight #UFC : Rampage Jackson vs Dan Henderson on @Spike_TV

Demian Maia vs Nate Marquardt at UFC 102

Twitter MMA

If your on Twitter check out who I follow. I have many MMA folks. Most are the real deal. I have not found the real Brock Lesner so if you have please leave a comment with his user name I would appreciate it. Other news: BJ Penn will be defending his Light Weight title against Diego Sanchez before the end of the year. This is a fight I am really interested in. Can the Nightmare do what KenFlo could not. We will see.

News in MMA world

Big news in MMA today. Shane Carwin to meet Brock Lesner @ UFC 106 for the HW title. It is going to be the battle of the Beast

UFC 102 Randy Couture VS Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

UFC 102 August 29th at the Rose Garden in Portland OR. You have the Natrual Randy Couture going up against Antonio Minotauro Nogueira. This is a fight that fans have been wanting for a long time. You have the Greco Roman master Couture and the BJJ Minotauro ready to go 3 rounds in the Octogon. Many are saying that if it goes to the ground Nogueira will be victorious, but that is only if he can get him to the ground. Nogueira has been know to take a beating and still coming up on top so, he made need to just weather an early storm. Randy can try to out strike Minotauro such as Mir did it was affective. There are many things that make this fight great. The two fighters have fought in many wars, many championships and pleased fans all over the world. It is a fight that will be worth watching. Predictions below
Randy Couture vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Antonio by sub 3rd
Keith Jardine vs Thiago Silva Jardine by Dec
Nate Marquardt vs Damian Maia Marquardt by KO in 1st

Carano Vs Cyborg

Well the fight that everybody has been waiting for has happened. Most people did not like the result. Cris Cyborg finished Carano at 4:49 of the 1st round by ground and pound. Carano was not ready for the power and strength of Cris Cyborg. Can womens MMA and StrikeForce survive now that a pretty face is not wearning the belt? I belive that it will be hard to sell it. More to come.

UFC 101 Results

It has been a long time since my last blog. I had my in laws over and they were staying down stairs where my computer is. It was hard to get to the computer. We had some good times and the kids had lots of fun. My other sons finally came home so have spent lots of time with them. We had to spoil them for awhile so spent most of my time doing that.
I did have the chance to watch UFC 101 Florian VS Penn & Anderson Silva VS Forrest Griffin. It was a great card with lots of great fights. As my last blog I had predictions. The Silva vs Griffin fight played out how I thought it would. Anderson Silva did not take long to take Griffin out with precise strikes and great movement. I knew that Silva would be to much for Griffin to handle. Yes Griffin is a big light heavy weight but that also meant he was going to be slower than Silva. This played a big role on the demise of Griffin. Anderson Silva came out as he normally does taking his time just waiting for the right moment. Griffin fired off some shots and Silva danced around them like a movie star in the 9th week of Dancing with the Stars. Silva countered with some devastating straight punches. He dropped Griffin not once, not twice but 3 times. The 3rd time Griffin signaled to the Ref that he did not want anymore. The next thing that happened was a surprise to most people but not me. Griffin gained his composure and rushed out of the octagon and raced to the dressing rooms. Most likely he was on a flight out to Georgia before Silva walked out of the octagon. Griffin came into this fight with lots of emotion. There was all kinds of talk on-line about how it would be Griffin to de-thrown the champion and he was also very confident that he could win. The way that Silva beat him was not only embarrassing but a blow to the ego. As we all remember when he fought Jardine and lost he was very emotional and he stated that he was not going to do that again. Forrest Griffin is a great fighter and I totally respect him still. He is a fighter that fights with a lot of emotion. Do not count him out he is still one of the top fighters in the world. He will be back and he will put on great fights. Anderson Silva is a fighter that is above all the rest. He is truly the best fighter Pound for Pound. He does not duck fights, he does not care about promotions or money, nor does he worry about a tainted legacy(Fedor). He wants to fight the best and fight the biggest fights. Fedor needs to take some lesson on how to be the best from the Spider Silva. Anderson Silva still has 3 fights left on his UFC contract. Does Silva want to stay a Light Heavy Weight? Or does he want to continue to fight and the weight that he has dominated since coming to the UFC. Silva wants to fight the best so if that is at 205 then he will fight at 205. Is there anybody at 185 that can challenge him? If there is he will fight them. There is still Dan Henderson, Nate Marquardt and Damian Maia for him to fight at 185. He has already beat two of the named. Will Anderson be excited and motivated to fight people that he has already beat? Not so much. We know what happens when Anderson Silva gets bored with fights. They turn into unanimous decisions with lack luster action. These fighters have other fights that they need to win to be considered worthy. Did Dan Henderson get close to winning the fight with Anderson? Who knows but the one thing I know is that if they make him fight Hendo again it will not last that long. I hope that all that Fu&*# talk about Fedor is over cause he does not deserve to be in the same sentence as Anderson the Spider Silva. Then there is the talk about him fighting his buddy Lyoto Machida. I hope that fight never happens. Lyoto Machida has not even had the chance to defend his title yet. Lets see him do that a couple of times first. Can he beat a Rashad Evans or a Rampage Jackson. That test needs to be signed and delivered before any Silva fight needs to happen. GSP sounds like he does not want any of Silva either. What would be a good fight to see is Chuck Liddell if he decides to come out of retirement, Wanderlei Silva and many others that I think would make for a great fight. ANDERSON THE "SPIDER" SILVA THE BEST FIGHTER POUND 4 POUND NUFF SAID.

Kenny Florian vs BJ Penn also played out like I thought it would. Kenny did a good job being active during the fight but he never took Penn's confidence away and that is what needs to be done to defeat a fighter like BJ. If BJ does not feel threatened or hurt or frustrated then he will smash you. Kenny was in good shape and seemed ready to fight a BJ Penn but he did not have the game plan to put BJ away. Just like GSP did. GSP won most of the stand-up game and was constantly putting BJ on his back and gave damage while he was down. Kenny was not able to do that. BJ was not worried about losing that fight at all. Kenny will be back, but I do not think he will be able to defeat the master until he figures some of this out. Now BJ is calling out Diego Sanchez. Does Diego have what it takes? I believe he does but he needs to be able to break down BJ and strip him of his confidence. BJ looks unstoppable but any one can get beat at any time. If they fight it will be one worth watching, but I do not think the Nightmare is ready for the Prodigy. There is one fighter that I think can beat BJ right now, Frankie Edgar. I think he has all the tools to beat a BJ. His name has not come up but remember I said this. For Frankie's time will come. There were many other good fights that night but I do not have the time.

UFC 101 - Fedor - StrikeForce

UFC 101 is scheduled to go down on Aug 8th. We have Anderson "The Spider" Silva VS Forrest Griffin at light heavy weight, 205 lbs. In the main event we have the Prodigy BJ Penn VS Kenny "Kenflo" Florian for the light weight title. Both of these fights I have been waiting for. There has been a lot of talk about the Silva-Griffin fight. Everybody is saying not to count out Forrest and that he has already shocked the world with his wins against Sho Gun and Rampage, but I must say that Silva does not compare to either of these two. Silva is a different level then they. He is quick and precise with his stikes. He brings speed and top level counter strikes and above average foot work. People are saying that Forrest is a larger light heavy weight and that it can pose many problems for Silva. A lot of people bring up the Henderson fight and the Lutter fight. Mmmm, let me think........Lutter was submitted but a triangle choke and Henderson a rear naked choke. Silva took a lot of damage from both fighters from the bottom but he still submitted them. Every fighter that goes in to fight Silva wants to take him down and impose their will. Many fighters have tried but have not succeeded. Do not get me wrong Forrest does pose some problems for Silva but he is the type of fighter that will find a way to win and win in a awesome fashion. Forrest is going to come after Silva and kick and strike and he will not run from Silva nor beat himself. This is exactally what Silva wants. Chris Leben tried to do the same thing and we all know how that ended up. Yes Forrest is bigger and stronger but so was Rich Franklin. Rich has been know to say that he was stronger then Silva and bigger. As we all know to watched both fights Silva dominated him and had him all over the Octagon. Is Anderson Silva unbeatable? No, any man can be beat at any time. Can Forrest be the guy to beat him? Maybe. Many people are looking for Forrest to beat him and if he can weather the storm he can win. All this could or could not be the case. What I have noticed about Anderson Silva is that when he wants to knock a fool out he will find the way. Will Forrest be able to impose his will? I really do not see this happening. The one thing that I notice about Forrest is that he sure does get hit a lot during his fights, and you really do not want Silva to hit you many times, most people say goodnight. Forrest is going to try to utilize a lot of kicks and close quarters and the clinch. If he starts to chase Silva that could be the end of the fight due to Silva's great striking ability. My prediction is Silva KO within the first 3 minutes of the fight. I also think that Silva might just rush Forrest with a devastating flying Knee right after the ref starts the fight. It will rock Forrest and then it is just a matter of time before the lights go out.
Penn VS Florian is a different story. BJ Penn is a dangerous fighter, ex specially coming off a loss. If Florian is going to have a chance he better not let Penn pick him apart with the jab and great striking. Is KenFlo ready to take on the best 155 Pound in the world. We will just have to see. The one thing that I notice about BJ is that if the fight starts to slip away from him he will break and will never be able to come back. In all his fights if he starts off well and continues that way no one can stop him. Every time he gets in trouble he does not win. Florian is going to have to beat BJ at the stand up game in order to win. That is a very huge task going up against BJ. I really do not have a prediction for this fight because many things have to happen in order for each fighter to gain the advantage. If KenFlo can take the 1st round then I think he definitely has a chance. If he lets BJ control the standup and take the 1st round he might not get another chance because once BJ smells blood it is over. What Iam wondering is will BJ get on top of KenFlo and will he eat some vicious elbow's. Iam so excited to see these fights. I cannot wait.
The whole Fedor thing has me all pissed off. If you look at all other sports wither it be NFL, NBA, MLB you want to always play with the best. Alot of it could be about money, fame and legacy but when it all boils down to it any champions wants to beat the best to call himself the best. StrikeForce has some good fighters but they are all UFC flunkies or no names. Yes they have titles but are they defending the titles. Fedor may go in and dominate the division but then what. Can StrikeForce continue to put good fighters in front of him to keep him happy. Who knows. I just think that he is going to be the Dan Marino of MMA. Has all the records but no Super Bowel Ring.

Back on the grind

Well back from the Valley and the vacation was great. I visited with my family and friends. We had a great time. We arrived on Friday and started the party that night. All of the people that graduated in 1984 was there and the laughs were immense. It was a great joy to see them all talking about the old times and sharing new life experiences. My mothers house was filled full of laughter and joy. We sure did have a lot to drink. Pictures were being taken and videos also. Most of it is posted on my Face Book. Saturday came along and we all enjoyed a nice parade and then went to the park for the festivities. I can remember when I was young the Covered Wagon Days was much funner. The town has seemed to lost that. We started it off by getting the facility ready for the big party. We set out tables and chairs and prepared the coolers full of beer and other drinks. The DJ started to play music and legs began to move and dancing followed that. It was a great time. The next I spent lounging around with family. It was a great time.

Home soon

Vacation has been great. Hanging out with family. Partied up the weeknd. Will post all details later today.