Lesnar Once Again Undisputed Champ

I was thinking TKO in the second round, but Brock surprised everyone by securing an arm triangle choke for the submission victory. We all used to speculate how dangerous Lesnar would be when he started to get some experience as a real fighter, and he's given us a glimpse by sprinkling in some Jiu-Jitsu to compliment his wrestling acumen and freakish athleticism. Perhaps more impressive than the choke was the beating that Brock somehow survived at the hands of Shane Carwin in the first round. Lesnar took something like 50 punches from Carwin, which would probably be enough to kill any normal human being. Heck, it would probably be enough to kill most human beings twice. And here's the thing: I can't think of anyone that hits harder than Shane Carwin, and if he couldn't knock out Brock, then who can?

Lesnar Out With Ruptured Intestine

What doctors had originally diagnosed as mono turned out to be a big ol' hole in Brock Lesnar's intestine. It's as yet unclear as to what effect this will have on Brock's fighting career. Dana has gone on record saying that he's unsure whether or not Lesnar will ever fight again, while Lesnar's coaches have been saying that he'll be ready to go in 6 months. Whatever the case, Lesnar has had this problem for about a year now according to his doctors, which means that Brock beat Randy Couture for the title and dominated Frank Mir while his intestine was ruptured. Alrighty then.

Brock vs Carwin Postponed

Brock forced to pull out of the fight due to illness. Bummer. The fight has been rescheduled and will now reportedly take place at UFC 108 in January.



So Tito Ortiz/Forrest Griffin II gets bumped up to the main event slot. I'm kind of interested to see the reaction that Griffin gets. Ortiz will no doubt get a huge ovation upon his return, but Griffin will probably take a little heat from the crowd after his embarrassing knockout at the hands of Anderson Silva. I mean, no shame in getting knocked out by Silva, but did Griffin really have to run away afterwards? (cue the "run Forrest" jokes)

Rampage, Cro Cop Done

Weird week in the MMA world, as two of my favorite fighters, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, have announced their respective resignations from the UFC. Rampage's case is especially disheartening because he's fighting at his peak right now. Aside from dropping a questionable decision to Forrest Griffin, Jackson has won all of his fights since coming to the UFC, including convincing victories over Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, and Dan Henderson. Rampage is slated to play B.A. Baracus (of Mr. T fame) in the new A-Team movie, and it looks like he'll be pursuing a career as a full-time actor. You know, he's one of my favorite fighters and I hate to see him go, but if he can make a living without giving and receiving concussions, then good for him. Just would have been nice to see that Evans fight before he threw in the towel.



With Mirko, the writing was on the wall. Everybody gets old sooner or later, and it was about time for Cro Cop to hang up the gloves. His UFC run will inevitably put a dent in his overall legacy, but MMA fans will remember how scary a striker he was in PRIDE.



"Right kick, hospital. Left kick, cemetery."

Fedor + UFC Not Happening

Rumors were flying that Fedor Emelianenko was close to signing a deal with the UFC, but Fedor opted instead to ink a multi-fight contract with Strikeforce. Many fans thought that they'd finally get to see Fedor in the octagon, especially considering the lucrative deal that Dana White was reportedly offering. Reports suggest that Emelianenko's camp had a 6 fight deal worth $5 million per fight on the table, not to mention an immediate title shot against UFC champ Brock Lesnar. Money aside, Fedor was presented with the opportunity to cement his status as the greatest heavyweight in the world, yet for one reason or another, he turned it down. A lot of people are suggesting that Fedor is ducking Brock, and while Lesnar is indeed a scary, scary dude, I don't really buy the idea that Fedor is "scared" of anyone. As usual, Dana White is pissed.

...Fedor is a [expletive] joke. He turns down a huge deal and the opportunity to face the best in the world to fight nobodies for no money. I feel sorry for the real fight fans. I wanted to make the deal, but it takes two and it is very obvious Fedor doesn't want to fight the best, and doesn't give a [expletive] about the fans.

While it's always fun listening to White blow a gasket, he's got a point here. A lot of MMA fans were dying to see Fedor in the UFC, and it's looking more and more like something that'll never happen. The thing about Fedor is that he seems to be very at ease with his life right now. It appears that he's more concerned about comfort than money, he's not willing to sacrifice that comfort for the fans (which is fine), and while MMA enthusiasts might, it's probably safe to assume that Fedor doesn't obsess about his pound-for-pound ranking and how he measures up to the UFC's big dogs. Point being, Fedor is possibly - well, probably - the best fighter on the planet, but he doesn't feel the need to prove it to the world. It's a shame, because a partnership with the UFC juggernaut would have undoubtedly turned Fedor into a global icon. Then again, perhaps that's simply not what Fedor wanted.

Baddest Man On The Planet?

I think that Brock Lesnar needed a convincing win on Saturday, and he delivered just that. Lesnar’s faced a lot of doubters and cynics since he’s made the jump to MMA, but there’s no denying his place among the heavyweight elite after the mauling that he gave to Frank Mir at UFC 100. Aside from a brief flurry that ended with a solid knee early in the second round, Mir got virtually no offense in against Brock, who controlled him on the ground and repeatedly ravaged him with blows to the face. Simply put, the dude is a monster, and I don’t know if there’s anyone in the UFC’s heavyweight division that can realistically contend with him right now. Dana clearly realizes this, as he’s already talking about bringing Fedor in to face Brock. Lesnar's the #2 heavyweight in the world if you ask me, and considering that Fedor is tops and that Brock is only 5 fights into his MMA career, the former "Next Big Thing" is doing about as well as humanly possible at this point.

Grant Hill Decides To Stick Around

And turns down the Celtics and the Knicks in the process. I would have been cool with him going to Boston so he'd have a shot at a ring, but Hill showed a lot of class by returning to the organization that revived his career. Grant's durability will always be a point of contention, but it' a little tougher to question it with him coming off of an 82 game season. The Suns other acquisition, Channing Frye, is a big man who can't board or play defense, but does have a nice jumper. So yeah, he should fit right in. The fact that Hill signed a new contract seems to indicate that Nash is close to an extension and that Amare will be around next year, so I guess we're not blowing things up just yet. They're looking like a playoff team if Amare can stay on the court, but there's absolutely no way that they'll be able to contend with the moves that the Spurs (Jefferson, McDyess), Mavericks (Marion) and Lakers (Artest) are making. It's actually kind of a bummer seeing Dice and Matrix going to teams that I hate so much.

Pretty pumped for UFC 100.



Something tells me that Frank Mir is going to be in a lot of pain tomorrow.

TUF 10 To Feature Kimbo Slice

Kimbo on The Ultimate Fighter? Wow.



Again, wow. I definitely did not see that coming. Given the fact that Rampage is coaching again, we have reason to assume that this will be the greatest season of the show to date. Really, the mere thought of Rampage and Kimbo in the same house is enough to crack me up.

UFC Undisputed 2009 Apparently Pretty Good

Somewhat surprisingly, UFC Undisputed 2009 has been getting some really good reviews. But if you think about it, there’s no reason why you can’t make a decent MMA-style fighter by combining elements from a good boxing game and a good grappler, and THQ apparently did just that.



I’m thinking about having it ported it over from the states since it’s possible that the game won’t see the light of day down here, but I’m also tempted to just wait a year for THQ to iron out some of the rough gameplay wrinkles with Undisputed 2010.

Mirko Cro Cop To Fight At UFC 99

Mirko Cro Cop says that he’s heading back to the UFC, where he was a rather underwhelming 1-2 through his only three fights. According to Cro Cop, he was fighting injured during his initial UFC run, which may or may not explain the two losses. You could make the argument that Cro Cop simply got caught by the Gonzaga kick, and that he was just unable to get any offense going against Kongo after taking all those knees to the junk, but either way, it’s impossible to deny that Mirko looked nothing like the dominant fighter that everyone feared in Pride.

BUT Dana White is pretty good about recognizing when fighters have nothing left in the tank, and he apparently thinks that Cro Cop still has some juice. Along with BJ and Rampage, Cro Cop remains one of my favorite fighters, so I'm really hoping that we'll see him return to form at UFC 99.

Bobby Lashley (3-0)

Bobby Lashley defeated Mike Cook by submission to keep his undefeated record alive. According to reports, Mike Cook was clowning around and came to the ring with a Rey Mysterio mask on, obviously taking a shot at the fact that Lashley was a former WWE pro-wrestler. This seemed to tick Lashley off, as he refused to touch gloves with Cook before the bout, then proceeded to choke him out in a mere 24 seconds. While professional wrestling is certainly scripted, it's kind of funny that some fighters are still questioning the legitimacy of guys like Lashley and Lesnar. I guess it's fair that they want to make a name for themselves, but damn, if I were going to rile up someone, Lashley would not be my first choice.

Next up for Mr. Lashley:



Bob "The Beast" Sapp. That'll be a sight. Sapp can still be a scary striker when he isn't acting all goofy for the Japanese cameras, so it could get interesting.

The End Of The Iceman

Looks like things could be up for Chuck Liddell. After losing his latest bout, again by TKO, the once unbeatable light heavyweight looks to be leaning towards retirement. Dana White is really pushing hard for him to hang up the gloves, citing concerns for Liddell’s health, and though there are times when illogical doesn’t even begin to describe the stuff that comes out of White’s mouth, it’s tough to argue with his reasoning this time around. I really don’t think its so much that Liddell’s ability has deteriorated, as much as it is that people have simply stopped fearing him. Everyone was scared of Mirko Cro Cop for the longest time until Gonzaga kicked his head off, and Mirko’s career has yet to really recover from that fight. Same thing with Liddell. Chuck maintained an aura of invincibility for a good couple of years until Rampage came along and put his lights out. Since then, it seems like Chuck has been getting laid out in every fight that he’s been in; Jardine, Evans, Rua...it hasn't been pretty. Liddell’s last win came over Wanderlei Silva, and in hindsight, that would have been the ideal fight to close his career with.



I’ve never really been a big fan of Chuck, but it’s tough to dispute his status as one of the greatest light heavyweights that the sport has ever seen. The final chapter of his career may have been a forgettable one, but at least he’ll always have those two wins over Randy Couture. Dana apparently wants to give Liddell a job as a spokesman for the UFC, but somehow I don’t think Chuck is the guy that you want in a suit representing your company at board meetings. Just saying.

Lashley Versus Shamrock Fight In The Works

Bobby “Battletoad” Lashley is reportedly set to take on Ken Shamrock in his next mixed martial arts fight. Lashley quietly won his first MMA bout by TKO, but it remains to be seen whether he is capable of having the type of impact that fellow former wrestling star Brock Lesnar has had. The similarities are there: freakish build/strength, excellent agility, an amateur wrestling background, etc., but oddly enough, much like he did as a WWE superstar, Lashley comes off as a guy who does a decent Lesnar impression (hence the "Black Lesnar" nickname) but isn’t quite as good across the board. Either way, age will likely be the determining factor in the Lashley/Shamrock fight. Lashley could very well fall due to his inexperience, and Shamrock due to the fact that he’s rapidly approaching fossil territory and is 3-7 in his last 10 fights. It’s a pairing that might be better suited to a wrestling ring, but it’s also one that should have the casual fans interested. I'd expect Lashley to overpower Shamrock and win handily, but you never know.

Pittsburgh Steelers Champs Again

It’s funny, I was sitting at my desk taking care of some work this afternoon when one of the history teachers walked by, and in Japanese, informed me that the Steelers had won the Super Bowl. There’s something markedly strange about finding out in Japanese, at work, on a Monday, who won the big game, but the peculiarity of the situation was quickly superseded by the thrill of hearing that the Steelers had won. Despite being a lifelong sports fan, my teams have a history of not winning championships, but with two titles over the past four years, the Pittsburgh Steelers are pretty much the exception to that rule. Not being able to watch the game live was a huge bummer, especially considering that people are hailing it as one of the best Super Bowls ever, but I suppose I’ll live. Big up to Big Ben, Santonio Holmes, James Harrison, and the rest of Steel Curtain 2K8.



I was also planning on tracking down the St-Pierre/Penn fight, but I didn’t bother since it sounds like Penn lost pretty convincingly. BJ is still tops at lightweight, so that certainly counts for something, but I guess the moral of the story is that you don’t mess around with multiple weight classes. That is, uh, unless your name is Anderson Silva. Somewhat ironically, now the fight that most people want to see is the aforementioned Silva versus St-Pierre. On paper, that’s one of the few fights that could potentially top GSP/Penn in terms of hype, but you inevitably run the risk of killing a title holder’s mystique when you have these champ versus champ fights. Not that I’d be against a GSP/Silva bout, but just for the sake of keeping the title holders looking strong, it might be a good idea to restrict champions to fighting within their divisions.

St-Pierre VS. Penn II

Here we go, BJ Penn/Georges St-Pierre part II, champ vs champ. The hype is that this is the UFC’s biggest fight to date, and I don’t think you’ll find too many people who’ll argue. I’m obviously pulling for BJ, but this should be one hell of a battle. Both guys are a cut above everyone else in their respective divisions, but the fact is that BJ is clearly at his best as a lightweight. Ditto for GSP at welterweight, and given that Penn is the one moving up a weight class for this fight, you probably have to give St-Pierre the slight edge here. It’s definitely hard to pick against GSP given the current roll that he’s on, but the same could be said about Penn. Can’t wait for this one.

Fedor Still Apparently Invincible

A few days late, but I managed to catch Affliction’s Fedor Emelianenko/Andrei Arlovski title fight. Arlovski was looking really good for about 3 minutes and was actually handily winning the fight until he tried to land a flying knee in the corner. Fedor saw it coming and took Adrei out of the sky with a perfectly timed right hook. Arlovski’s biggest weakness is his questionable chin anyway, but that punch likely would have taken anyone out. Despite Dana White’s refusal to acknowledge Fedor as the world’s top heavyweight, Fedor has now disposed of Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski, two former UFC champs, in a combined 4 minutes or so. Josh Barnett looks to be next on Fedor’s plate, and if Brock Lesnar can get past Frank Mir, a potential Fedor/Lesnar bout would likely draw more money than any other fight in MMA history.

Brock Lesnar, UFC Champ

Believe it.

OH, NO WAY!!!

Cro Cop is still kind of a big deal here in Japan, so they were showing highlights from his DREAM.6 match the other night on television. His fight with Alistair Overeem was eerily similar to his fight with Cheick Kongo, as Mirko took what seemed like a thousand knees to the groin before the match was thrown out. I guess opposing fighters have decided that the best way to avoid Cro Cop's head kicks is to clinch and repeatedly knee him in the junk. What's crazy is that trainers ringside were reporting that Mirko had taken a low blow so hard that his right testicle had gone inside his body. Now, I'm no doctor, but I didn't realize shit like that was even possible. The injury is supposedly a lot worse than it sounds, but as far as injuries go, a disappearing testicle sounds REALLY BAD. It's kind of sad how Cro Cop has gone from being the most feared striker in the business to the guy with the giant bullseye on his crotch. As a fan, I'd certainly like to see him return to his former glory, but maybe it's about time for Mirko to hang up the gloves.

Lesnar Dominant Over Herring

His technique still looks a little rough around the edges, but he's so strong and fast that it almost isn't fair.



I actually think that Cheick Kongo would give Lesnar a lot of problems with his striking, but that's a fight that would certainly make for one heck of a spectacle.

Anderson Silva? Or Fedor?

It's official. Silva is a goddamn killing machine.



Elsewhere in the MMA world, Fedor walks right through Tim Sylvia at the Affliction show. I'm just as excited as the next guy about the possibility of Fedor vs Couture, but Couture beat Sylvia by decision after 5 rounds; Fedor was choking Sylvia out 30 seconds into their fight. Not to say that Couture couldn't pull out a win against Fedor, but the top pound for pound guys (for what it's worth) are clearly Fedor and Anderson Silva, with BJ and GSP right on the cusp.