Black House Newest MMA Team

Carlos "Carlao" Barreto (14-9), former Brazilian Top Team Member, has formed a new MMA Team that is sure to make some noise in today's fight scene. "Black House," is coming on strong and fast, with major names joining the squad. Jorge Guimaraes will manage the Black House team.

• Anderson "Spider" Silva (17-4) The newest UFC Middleweight Champion, has found a new home since leaving the ill-fated Muay Thai Dream Team. Anderson brings a major title and some notoriety to the team.
• Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort (14-8) Vitor a former Brazilian Top Team member, brings his oddly huge fan following, though he continues to struggle in recent bouts. Maybe this core of fighters can help raise Belfort's game back up.
• Ryoto "Lyoto" Machida (8-0) Former Office Inoki member, brings his undefeated streak, as well as a win along with new team mate Silva over Rich Franklin. Machida has found a home in the WFA, and looks to continue his winning ways.
• Assuerio Silva (11-5) Another former Muay Thai Dream Team member, adds a solid Heavyweight fighter to the stable.

Black House continues to add names to its roster, and we wait and see how they all mesh together in training, in hopes of establishing themselves as not only a great Brazilian team, but a great international MMA squad.

Manny Pacquiao vs Eric Morales 3 GIF

Last weekend, the fight fans of the world were focused on the title fights at UFC 65. Overshadowed, was the rubber match between Manny Pacquiao and Eric Morales in professional boxing. Morales won their first meeting via decision, and Manny got the second fight via TKO in the tenth round.

This time, both men came out, and in very exciting fashion, began to throw very fast and powerful combinations. Both men really fought hard and both landed some really good shots. The fight was high paced and non-stop until Pacquiao dropped Morales with a left hand in the second round. Morales got up quickly, and the fight went to the third round. Manny dropped Eric again, with a barrage of super-fast punches. Eric was hurt, but got up yet again, only to hit the canvas for the last time, from a straight left, right down the pipe. Morales didn't even attempt to beat the count though he was conscious.

Boxing matches like this one could really save this dying sport. If you didn't get to see it, make the effort to find the replay on HBO.

GSP New Welterweight Champion of the UFC

In what can only be described and as completely dominating, GSP emphatically took the Welterweight Title from Matt Hughes. The two men came out and circled feeling each other out. GSP accidentally kicked Matt in the nuts and the match was halted. Both men touched gloves recognizing the unintentional blow, and continued. GSP once again hit Matt in the groin, though this one was questionable. Any any rate, Matt took some time to recover and the action resumed again. Now, GSP began to land jabs and hooks at will. Matt tried for a takedown but GSP's balance and skill got him out of it. The round was drawing to a close, when GSP landed a superman punch to Matt's forehead, staggering him. GSP followed with some punches and a left hook that sent Matt to the canvas just as time expired! Matt, obviously shaken, thought the fight was over and was helped to his corner. He was now missing a tooth and asking his corner men to tell him what happened.
The fight continued in the 2nd none the less, and GSP picked up where he left off. He stopped another takedown attempt from Matt, and continued landing punches. Then, as Matt began a move for a possible takedown, GSP landed a high kick to Matt's temple, dropping him. Matt could not defend as GSP landed punches and then vicious elbows. The ref stepped in and stopped the fight awarding Georges "Rush" St. Pierre the new Welterweight Champion!
Both men showed class checking on each other, and Georges promised Matt a rematch.

Tim Sylvia defeated Jeff Monson by unanimous decision after 5 rounds. The match was constantly boo'd as Monson could not do much with the much larger champ. Monson shot all night long only to be stuffed time and time again. Sylvia landed jabs here and there slowly closing Jeff's right eye. Monson finally got his only takedown in round 3, but could do nothing with it. Sylvia actually did well on the ground, and after that round, Jeff was gassed, and the slow fight got slower until the end.
Vera entered the ring after to be named Tim's next opponent.

Speaking of Brandon Vera, he barely needed a minute to land straight punches and some pinpoint knee's that dropped and bloodied Frank Mir. Mir had no chance and many wonder where his career will go from here.

Joe Stevenson had no trouble defeating Donkojunikasonamon Mishima by guillotine after Mishima continually stuck his head into Joe's arms.

Andrew McFedries defeated Alessio Sakara, wait hold on. Sakara was supposed to be this great striker. He came into the UFC and embarrassed himself in 3 of his 4 fights. These guys exchanged punches and Sakara swung wildly and in the end, just dropped to the ground as if ready to give up. Andrew swooped in and landed a few blows until Sakara tapped out. Pathetic fight and Sakara, the much hyped Italian, must be out of the UFC for good.

Jake O'Brien defeated the War Hammer by decision in a lackluster fight.

James Irvin defeated a very game Hector Ramirez by KO in round 2. Irvin the striker, was out struck by Ramirez for most of the fight. But with Irvin, it takes just one, and that one came with full extension of a right hand that Hector walked right into. Down he went and the fight was emphatically over. If anyone takes Irvin down he has nothing, so I'm not sure how far he can go in the 205 division.

Antoni Hardonk exposed the very old Sherman Pendergarst and then KO'd him with, of all things, a leg kick, that Sherman could not get up from.

Finally, Nick Diaz got a TKO win over Glesion Tibau. The fight was supposed to be on the PPV, but since Nick signed with World Fighter (same group that has signed Frank Shamrock) his fight was not shown:( The UFC is a bitter woman.

We went 7-2 with our picks at this event, and 39-12 in the last six events. A pretty weak card overall, but the GSP ass kicking of the country boy Hughes was worth the price of admission.
Next up, UFC Fight Night December 13th, stay tuned!

UFC 65 Bad Intentions

Saturday is the day when GSP & Matt Hughes do battle again. The card also features some up & coming Heavyweights, as well as established stars such as Nick Diaz, Joe Stevenson, & the Heavyweight title fight between Tim Sylvia and Jeff Monson.

Matt Hughes vs Georges "Rush" St. Pierre-Both of these uber-talented Welterweight stars believe they are better in every facet of the game, than their opponent. Who will establish their will? Much like the BJ Penn/Hughes rematch, I see GSP coming out strong and taking the lead. The deeper this fight goes, I see Matt coming back to take over. Expect the fight on the feet, the ground, and possibly in the stands. This could be one for the ages. In a fight that could go either way, I see this as GSP's time. Somehow he finds a way to shock Matt early, establishing his "riddem," and then out points him to victory.
Winner-GSP by decision

Tim "Maniac" Sylvia vs Jeff "Snowman" Monson-Tim is almost a foot taller than Monson, who lost to Chuck Liddell, another striker who is also much shorter. Monson cannot establish his ground game when he shoots in and catches knee's to the face. Tim will work his long reaching jab early and often frustrating the smaller fighter. If he doesn't catch him early, he'll catch him often. Either way, Monson is in for a disappointing night.
Winner-Sylvia by KO

Frank Mir vs Brandon "The Truth" Vera-Probably the best Heavyweight fight we'll see tonight, or anytime soon. Mir is back in excellent shape, but now he is facing a red hot all around fighter. Vera must establish the stand up, though he is confident on the ground. Don't chance it. In shape or not, Vera is far too fast for Mir who will eat knee's while shooting in and cannot hang on the feet.
Winner-Vera by TKO

Nick "Diablo" Diaz 14-6 vs Gleison Tibau 23-2-There are some good fighters (Thales Leitas, Vitor Ribeiro) in Tibau's Nova Uniao camp, and he is a decent ju-jitsu fighter. That's about all I know. Nick is the always angry, shoulder chipped, Gracie trained brawler. Very smart, and good everywhere and his fights are always exciting!
Winner-Nick Diaz by decision

Joe "Daddy" Stevenson vs Donkushanijamitonosukecon Mishima-Ok, I embellished his name a bit, but Mishima's first name is ridiculously long. Anywho, Donk is no joke, but he isn't good at defending elbows, which Stevenson excels at. Joe is also stronger and should impose his will as he often does. Even when Donk loses, I want him brought back. Daddy moves along in the Lightweight division.
Winner-Joe Daddy via TKO (doctor stoppage)

Alessio "Legionarius" Sakara 14-4 vs Drew McFedries 4-1-Sakara has fallen on hard times recently in the UFC, so, Dana White finally threw him a bone. No offense Drew, but you've already stated you plan to stand with Sakara, the deadly striker. If you planned to take him down maybe, but your plan is wrong.
Winner-Legionarius by TKO

Antoni Hardok vs Sherman Pendergarst-Sherman, heh heh, his name is Sherman, is a Miletich fighter, so you know he is a great wrestler with much strength. Hardok, heh heh, his name is Hardok, is another of those brutal Holland kickboxers I love to watch. He claims a blue belt in Gracie Ju-Jitsu, but who knows. I actually want to see this fight. Both guys are really geared up and talking shit already. Sherman will take it to the mat for the win.
Winner-Sherman Helmsley

James "Sandman" Irvin vs Hector Ramirez-I'll take Irvin for the block. I mean, the UFC re-signed Irvin to keep Strikeforce from making him a star. He's an exciting striker with zero ground game. Hector wants to strike. Hector strikes out.
Winner-Irvin by KO

Jack O'Brien vs Josh "War Hammer" Schockman-Winner of the coolest nickname and last name is newcomer Josh. Brawl, brawl, brawl. This will be a brawl, whether on the feet or the floor. Could be entertaining between two heavyweights who have no chance in hell of becoming champion.
Winner-O'Brien because he is Irish

MMA Fighting News Round Up

Fabricio Werdum defeated Aleksander Emelianenko at Holland's 2Hot2Handle show with a shoulder triangle. Thus ends the contract of Aleks with Pride FC. He has been speaking with the UFC on a possible contract. Given his high marketability and notoriety, I believe a UFC appearance is a high probability even with the loss.

The first season of Bodog Fight has ended and no one seemed to notice. For those interested, Bodog Fight will air its first PPV December 2nd with Roger Gracie making his MMA debut against veteran Ron "H20" Waterman. I don't know how much the PPV will cost, but anything over $5.00 seems too high.

Showtime, known for its boxing in recent years, will jump into the MMA game in February of 2007. The cable giant made it official though no known talent has been mentioned as of yet.

The WFA's second show scheduled for December 9th, has been abruptly cancelled. No reason was given but they will try to put their USA vs Brazil card together again in early 2007.

Strikeforce returns December 8th with Cung Lee taking on Jason Von Flue, as well as Josh Thompson vs Nam Phan, Bobby Southworth vs Vernon White for the new Light Heavyweight title (what a stellar bout that will be), and the 4th fight for former WWE star, Daniel Puder. Shaping up to be a real average, at best, card.

The IFL has named Ken Shamrock and Ian Freeman the two newest coaches in their league. Ken will coach the California Lions while Ian will lead the British Bulldogs. Yes, those are seriously the team names.

In a final bit of hilarity, Tito Ortiz had an invitation withdrawn to be "guest of honor" at an upcoming US Marine Corps ball. The retraction occurred when the Marines found out that Ortiz would be bringing human cum dumpster, and porn star, Jenna Jameson. This had to be a bit embarrassing for the couple, though probably not as embarrassing as having a gang banging, baloney draped, whore of a slut, for your mate. :) or perhaps:0

Oscar De La Hoya vs Floyd Mayweather Jr. Official

Potentially the biggest boxing match up in the last decade is now official. Oscar De La Hoya will face Floyd Mayweather Jr. on HBO PPV, May 5, 2007! The contracts are signed and the venue is either the MGM Grand in Vegas, or the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Oscar (38-4, WBC Light Middleweight Champion) will be putting his title on the line, while Mayweather's (37-0) many Welterweight Championships will not. Interestingly, both fighters have said this could be their final fights. After his TKO win over Mayorga, Oscar mentioned he had one big mega-fight left before he would retire. Mayweather spoke firmly after his recent win over Carlos Baldomir, saying he wanted to fight Oscar to end his career. It should also be noted that Oscar has long been trained by Floyd's estranged father, Floyd Mayweather Sr. for many years. The Sr. Mayweather has not decided if he will train his son's opponent as of yet, but along with the possibilities of this being both men's final fight, this is going to be an epic fight for sure!

The Golden Boy will get around $25 million for the fight while Pretty Boy Floyd will earn around $10 million dollars. Let the press tour begin for this possibly record breaking boxing match!

Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale

With an exciting build up consisting of the lowest ratings ever for the UFC on Spike TV show, the Ultimate Fighter 4 strolled into Vegas, short one main event. Michael Bisping could not secure a visa to enter America on time, and thus his fight will be rescheduled in the future, probably December. On to the fight results.

Matt Serra defeated Chris Lytle in the Welterweight Finals by Split Decision. Anytime there is a split decision you know the fight was close. Still, I and the crowd judging by their disapproving boo's, felt Lytle was robbed! He was the only one who did any sort of damage in this slow, lean against the fence match. The last round easily went to Serra, but the first two should have gone to Lytle. *I have said it before, and I'll say it again, the final round in a fight is always worth more to the judges than it is supposed to. See Ludwig/Suda for example.* It really doesn't matter, because neither man gave a good performance, and neither can hang with GSP/Hughes for the upcoming title shot.

Travis Lutter defeated Pat Cote via armbar in quick, silly, and embarrassing fashion. He did it exactly and he, and everyone else in the world said he would. Sorry Cote, but don't bring boxing to a ju-jitsu fight.

Din Thomas looked much improved in a nice victory over Rich Clementi. An exciting bout with a lot of stand up action. Din just dominated with precise strikes, and wore down Rich quickly in the second round. Din then began to take over, and would eventually secure the rear naked choke, which was Rich basically asking for Thomas to end it. Thomas looked great at 155lbs. and could really make some noise in this uber-talented division.

Scott Smith won the fight of the night against Pete Sell. The men chose to stand, and really tore into each other, while exchanging high fives and smiles between punches. Scott did the most damage and in the second seemed to be pulling away. Then, Drago landed a vicious body shot that visibly hurt Smith and almost dropped him. Sell ran in fast with his hands down, and Scott caught him with the last punch he had left. It was a beauty, right on the chin, KOing Sell immediately. After the ref stepped in, Smith fell to the canvas for several minutes in serious pain. Great fight that will have people talking!

Martain Kampmann defeated Thales Leites by unanimous decision. Kamp defended the ju-jitsu master's takedowns and dominated the stand up, after he was actually dropped by a punch in the first round. Kamp then took over the bloodied Leites face until the both tired until the final bell.

McCarthy defeated Ray by armbar if you can believe it.

Pete Spratt defeated the always hapless Jeremy "I Don't Deserve Anymore Chances" Jackson, after he suffered a neck injury.

Predictions in the last 5 covered events,32-10

Pride FC Bushido Grand Prix Finals

Tournament Semi-Finals

Denis Kang (25-7-1) vs Akihiro Gono (26-11-7): Kang controls the match but Gono is tough as always, and cannot be put away.

Winner-Kang by unanimous decision

Paulo Filho (13-0) vs Kazuo Misaki (17-6-2): Filho just overpowers and manhandles Misaki until he gets the armbar, to win in the 1st.

Winner-Filho by tapout

FINALS

Denis Kang vs Kazou Misaki: Here is where things go horribly wrong. Filho injured himself in his fight with Misaki, and pulls out of the tournament. Kangs tears his bicep, which rolls up in his arm rendering it useless, and continues to the finals. Pride had no alternates for the tournament, so they allow Misaki, who already lost tonight, to be in the finals vs Kang. The match is very close, but Kang's dead arm hinders him and he loses a very close, split decision.

Winner-Misaki

Non-Tournament Matches

Takanori Gomi (25-3-1) vs Marcus Aurelio (14-3): The rematch is not dominated by Gomi as expected. Aurelio is very good tonight and both men fight a long tough match. In the end, Gomi gets the split decision.

Winner-Gomi

Mitsuhiro Ishida (13-2-1) vs David Bielkheden (10-4): As predicted, Ishida gets the win by decision, and keeps heading toward a title shot with Gomi.

Winner-Ishida

Shinya Aoki (7-2) vs Clay French (8-1): With more time French could've won this. Still, he does enough to be invited back, in my opinion. Aoki gets the decision.

Winner-Aoki

Murilo Bustamante (12-6-1) vs Yoon Don Sik (0-3): Another perfectly predicted fight.

Bustamante gets the decision.

Winner-Bustamante

Minowa (34-24-8)vs Bart Gunn (0-1): Mike Barton, or Mike Plotcheck, or whatever name he is going by today, really did much better than expected. He dominated the stand up and damaged Minowa's face. Minowa never gets the submission, but comes close many times, and gets the decision win.

Winner-Minowa

Luiz Firmino (10-3) vs Nobuhiro Obiya (6-1-1): Firmino gets the win and gives us our 1st wrong prediction of the night.

Winner-Firmino

Gegard Mousasi (13-2-1) vs Hector Lombard (5-1): Mousasi wins by decision.

Winner-Mousasi

Yoshiro Maeda (19-3-1) vs Joe Pearson (15-7-1): Pearson represents for the Miletich Camp, and the USA, catching Maeda in a guillotine choke for the win.

Winner-Pearson

Someone tell me, how Pride, who specializes in tournaments, did not have an alternates match for this tournament? This ruined the whole tournament. Kang who battles through his fiancee dying recently, and a bicep injury that renders his arm useless, loses a split decision to a man who was easily tapped out earlier in the night! There had better be a rematch, just as soon as Kang is healthy. It seems as though Pride tried, and succeeded, to hand the title to one of their home town hero's. Congrats to Kang on showing the heart of a warrior.

We may see a rubber match between Gomi and Aurelio, as this fight was so close. Gomi has a lot of tough talent to fight in the Pride Lightweight division.

The rest of the card was a lot of decisions as we had thought it would be. Not Pride's best show by any means, but still worth watching. -MMA Mafia