MMA Classic Photo #4 Sudo Respect

Mixed Martial Arts Hall Of Fame

MMAFO has noticed that there is no universal "Hall Of Fame" for mixed martial arts and free fight warriors. We aim to remedy that situation with the 1st 10 inductees into the soon to be hallowed hall. This is not a popularity poll, but based upon their career body of work and talents.

• Rickson Gracie 11-0 Though the legend has him at around 400-0, in Jiu-Jistu, Sambo, freestyle wrestling, and Vale Tudo fighting. There is no doubt he is a Sambo gold medalist, 2-time Brazilian wrestling champion, and Middle-Heavyweight and Open Weight World Jiu-Jistu champion for almost 2 decades. The cocky 8th degree blackbelt is without a doubt a pioneer of the sport
• Royce Gracie 14-3-3 At 6'1, 171 lbs., Royce began the rise of Jiu-Jistsu in America by besting much larger and stronger opponents winning the UFC tournaments for UFC 1, 2, and 4! Royce had legendary fights against Kimo, Ken Shamrock, Hidehiko Yoshida, and an hour and a half fight with Kazushi Sakuraba. Royce was a submission master before the art was even known in most parts of the world and is still legendary in many fans eyes
• Fedor Emelianenko 28-1 The "Last Emperor" has tasted defeat once in a 9 year MMA career via a cut, which he would later avenge. He would command the MMA team the "Red Devils" and has won 2 Rings Heavyweight Tournaments, 2004 Pride Grand Prix, the Pride FC Heavyweight Championship, WAMMA Heavyweight Championship, as well as Russian National Champion in Judo, and Sambo Championships in 1997 (2), 1998, 2002 (3), 2005, 2006, 2007 (2), and 2008. Widely considered the best pound for pound fighter in all the world, the Russian is one of the most well rounded MMA artists who has 6 (T)KO's and 15 submission wins. Emelianenko holds wins over Antonio Nogueira (2), Mark Coleman, Mirko Flipovic, Heath Herring, Renato Sobral, and Mark Hunt
• Wanderlei Silva 32-8-1 The "Axe Murderer" was the Pride Middleweight Champion for 6 years, the 2oo6 Pride Grand Prix Champion, and IVC Light Heavyweight Champion. Known for his brutal non-stop stand up attack style, Silva had impressive wins over Kazushi Sakuraba (3 times), Quinton Jackson (twice), Ricardo Arona, Hidehiko Yoshida, Kazuyuki Fujita, and Keith Jardine. He is a devastating striker with an amazing chin and ability to withstand punishment.
• Kazushi Sakuraba 24-11-1 "The Gracie Hunter" is known as a cerebral fighter with amazing submission skills and unorthodox striking. Always gentle and smiling outside the ring, inside he bested such fighters as Carlos Newton, Vitor Belfort, Royler Gracie, Royce Gracie, Renzo Gracie, Ryan Gracie, Quinton Jackson, and Ken Shamrock. Sakuraba came from "Professional Wrestling" but fought any man at any weight class becoming the biggest star in all of Japan. He is an UFC Ultimate Japan Tournament Winner and has come back from almost certain defeat to claim victory in many a match.
• Matt Hughes 42-7 The greatest Welterweight fighter of all time held the UFC's title for 3 years overpowering and out thinking opponents like Frank Trigg (2), BJ Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Royce Gracie, Carlos Newton (2), Hayato Sakurai, and Sean Sherk with his patented wrestling and submission style. Matt Hughes at one time had an 18 fight winning streak (T)KOing 15 and submitting 18 men in his professional career!
• Bas Rutten 28-4-1 "El Guapo" was the perennial all around fighter winning 12 fights by (T)KO and 13 by submission. A 3 time King Of Pancrase, UFC Heavyweight Champion, had a 22 fight winning streak and though retired in 2006, he had not lost a fight since 1995! Bas has notable wins over Frank Shamrock (2), Guy Mezger, Maurice Smith (2), Vernon White, and Kevin Randleman.
• Dan Henderson 23-7 "Hendo," or "Hollywood," helped to form the MMA squad called Team Quest and is the only fighter to ever hold the Pride FC Middleweight and Pride FC Light Heavyweight titles at the same time. Dan was also a 2 time Greco-Roman Wrestling Olympian for U.S.A. and won the UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament as well as the Pride FC 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix. His right hand is known for its KO ability and he has successful wins over Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Renato Sobral, Murilo Rua, Murilo Bustamante (2), and Kazuo Misaki.
• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 31-4-1 "Minotauro" is the current "Interim" UFC Heavyweight Champion, was the 1st Pride FC Heavyweight Champion, the King Of Kings 2000 Tournament winner, and is a Brazilian Blackbelt genius who has never been stopped in a 36 fight career! With 20 submissions on his resume, "Big Nog" has beaten Mark Coleman, Jeremy Horn, Heath Herring (3), Bob Sapp, Semmy Schilt, Josh Barnett, Mirko Flipovic, Tim Sylvia, and many more.
• Mark Coleman 15-8 "The Hammer" was almost unstoppable at the height of his career winning UFC Tournaments 10 and 11, was the 1st ever UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the Pride FC 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix. A two time Mid-American Conference wrestling champion Coleman also competed on the 1992 Olympic team. The "Godfather Of Ground And Pound," Mark helped invent the ground punishing style in almost every MMA fighters tool box today. He founded the successful fight team Hammer House and has beaten Don Frye (2), Dan Severn, Kazuyuki Fujita, Igor Vovchanchyn, and Allen Goes.

If you are wondering why Randy Couture, Oleg Taktarov, Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Don Frye, Dan Severn, or Pat Miletich were omitted from the Hall Of Fame list, they either aren't 1st ballot entries, or possibly don't belong. Something to discuss either way. MMAFO wishes you a happy Thanksgiving and remember, this list is unfallible.

MMA Melee 11/24/08

While older brother Fedor Emelianenko suffered his 1st combat loss since 2000 at they recent Sambo Competitions, his younger brother Aleksander Emelianenko (14-3), scored a first-round knockout of South Korean prospect Sang Soo Lee (10-5) at M-1 Challenge 9. Aleks has won 5 fights in a row and I would love to see him signed to fight for any of the MMA promotions in America!

Alistair Overeem will most likely face Mirko Cro Cop in a rematch at the New Year's Eve K-1 Dynamite show. Their 1st meeting ended with Overeem landing at least 4 knee's to the groin on Mirko causing a doctor's stoppage. The bad blood has continued as Alistair continues to call out Cro Cop saying, “I’m afraid Mirko is trying to run from me again. FEG wants to make it happen, I would like nothing more than get my hands on him again and I know that the fans would like to see a definite ending as well, so the only obstacle here is Cro Cop. He’s the one who hasn’t signed the contract yet and he’s the one who is trying to avoid fighting me again because he knows that he will get his ass kicked again.” Mirko is a man of honor and win or lose, expect him to sign this contract.

It is official and Denis Kang signed a 4 fight deal with the UFC. His 1st opponent looks like Alan Belcher at UFC 93 in January.

Jon Fitch you're fired! Oh wait, they have hired you back again. The bad ass Welterweight was recently fired by Dana White after a dispute over his likeness being used in the UFC video game. It should be noted this is one of the reasons Randy Couture walked away from the UFC after their most recent dispute. Jon fights with "Crazy" Bob Cook's AKA gym and has always had a heated partnership with Zuffa. Initially fired, Fitch was resigned after an undisclosed agreement was reached. Fellow AKA members Josh Koscheck, Christian Wellisch, and Cain Velasquez. All the fighters are asking for is to be paid for their likeness being used in the video game instead of getting absolutely nothing. Dana White, you're a dick.

Fabricio Werdum you're fired. Wait, oh yes, he is still fired. Werdum had no idea he was canned from the UFC after losing to Junior dos Santos until the media began calling asking what he was going to do next. The guy who should have gotten the title shot against Randy Couture was not informed by the UFC that he would not get the final 4 fights on his contract until later in the week. Look for Werdum to land on his feet at any of the major MMA promotions. Dana White you're a dick.

The WEC and Strikeforce are currently in the lead to land female MMA's leading lady Gina Carano. After stating he would never have a woman's division, Dana White offered Carano a spot on the WEC shows where she would fight in feature bouts where an opponent would be brought in to face Gina, but there would not be a female division. I'm voting for Strikeforce.

Chuck Liddell is not going to fight Anderson Silva as previously rumored, instead being offered a Heavyweight fight against Randy Couture for the 4th time. Randy won their 1st bout and was then KO'd twice in following fights. This is simply a "name vs name" fight to take place in Germany where Randy speaks the language fluently. I see no reason for this fight whatsoever and would much rather see the Anderson Silva bout. Zuffa has yet to ask for my opinion on the matter.

And finally, Josh Thompson is feeling his oats as the Strikeforce Lightweight Champion saying, "I'm looking for big fights. I'd love to fight Ralph Gracie. I'd love to fight Frank Shamrock. I'd like to fight Eddie Alvarez. I'd like to fight those guys. And those to me, and Joachin Hansen, they warrant coming in off the street to get an automatic title shot -- or like a union fight or superfight." Careful what you wish for "Punk" but I would like to see the tough champion tested.

Fedor Emelianenko Loses Sambo Championship To Blagoi Ivanov

Fedor Emelianenko Loses To Blagoi Ivanov In World Combat Sambo Semi-Final (Nov. 16)
The WAMMA Heavyweight Champion of the world, Fedor Emelianenko, was defeated this past weekend in the Semi-Finals of the World Combat Sambo Championship. Fedor, considered the #1 MMA/Sambo fighter in the world, lost to Bulgarian challenger Blagoi Ivanov with a score of 8-5.
Fedor and Blagoi participated in a Sambo tournament back in February of 2008, where the Russian completely dominated the Bulgarian with a score of 8-1. Fedor had acquired his ninth straight victory in Sambo competition.
According to some reports, Blagaoi had much better throwing skills throughout the match which earned him an 8-1 lead with one minute remaining. Fedor quickly answered back with a brilliant knockdown, but it was just too late for the former Sambo champion to catch up. Fedor acquired the bronze medal, his first since 2000 when he competed in Orenburg, Russia.
Here's a snip from Fedor himself:
"I have no excuses for my loss...I lost fair and square. Ivanov is better with his throwing techniques than with his striking. In general I dont think I am bad with my throwing skills, but I was not able to grip him (referring to his gi) properly and Ivanov made the better throws. With the remaining time, I was not able to catch up"
Fedor is scheduled to fight Andrei Arlovski at the Affliction 2: 'Day of Reckoning' event, scheduled to take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California-- January 24th, 2009.
Thanks to UFC Fight.com for the information.

Strikeforce "Destruction" Results

Renato "Babalu" Sobral is a badass coming in winning 13 of his last 15 fights and a reputation that scares people before they even fight. "Worthless" Bobby Southworth did not care as he was in great shape ready to defend his Light Heavyweight title in his home town. Babs looked as if he wasn't concerned about anything as he strolled around the cage before the fight. Once active, Babalu and Southworth would clinch each other and do little until one of Renato's elbows finally cut Bobby deep over the right eye. It was a bad cut forcing a doctor to stop the bout between rounds making Renato Sobral your new Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion.
A couple of notes here: Bobby actually looked well prepared for this fight, and though an awfully boring fighter, I hate to see fights ended on cuts. A rematch needs to happen. Sobral has got to start taking fights seriously! The guy has been on cruise control ever since he lost to Chuck Liddell. Granted his talent gets him the wins, but I'd like to see a hungry Babalu again. If this nonchalant fighter shows up in January to face Matt Lindland at Affliction, he may not be so lucky. Finally, do you want to know how to get back to your feet after being taken down? Watch Sobral's fights. Hook a leg or arm, they get off balance, you do the twist, and climb back up. His skillz are a thing of beauty.
Scott Smith made short work of the short Terry Martin as he KO'd him with a right "Hand Of Stone" in 24 seconds. A good win for Smith and Martin's career is really heading into the toilet. How about Smith vs Cung Le Strikeforce?
Poor Yves Edwards lost again to friend Duane "Bang" Ludwig via decision. The "Thug-Jitsu" practitioner just cannot seem to find his game anymore and after his 50th pro bout, may be looking at the end of his career. He'll still get fights but that elite level he once was at, seems to be slipping away. Bang gets another nice win in his up and down career.
Kim Couture (1-1) got her 1st MMA win over Lina Kvokov (0-2) who obviously didn't want to fight and most likely needs a new line of work. The female Couture attacked her opponent in this Catfight with abandon while Lina slapped at her and turned away as if she has zero MMA training. Kim doesn't show my anything in the potential fighter realm but her name is what will propel her in what I predict to be a short career. Nice to see the always stunning Gina Carano in her corner.

Finally, Joe Riggs put the stomp down on Luke Stewart getting a TKO in the 2nd round to end the bouts with people we have actually heard of.

Strikeforce is putting together some really nice shows so if you are an MMA fan you need to be checking them out.

UFC 91: Brock Lesnar Crushes Father Time

Matt Brown bested Ryan Thomas by Submission and who cares?
Mark Bocek had a spirited affair with Alvin Robinson but submitted the Jiu-Jitsu "wizard" by RNC, bouncing him from the UFC.
Jeremy Stephens had the KO of the night for sure as he uppercutted Rafael dos Anjos out of the cage and into the cheap seats. That was a video game punch to behold.
Aaron Riley and Jorge Gurgel get "Fight Of The Night" honors as they went to war throwing everything in their arsenals and Jorge yet again ignores the pleas of his corner and ignores his fabled ground game losing on points. Again. Aaron is tough as they come but I'm not sure he's exactly going to make a dent in the stacked Lightweight division.
Demian Maia straight schooled Nate Quarry with a "Lion Choke" submission that was a thing of beauty. Maia needs to beat someone like Thales Leitas, Yushin Okami, or Nate Marquardt and he will earn a, quicker than most, title shot. Dude is sick wit da Jits and scaring all in the Middleweight division.
Gabriel Gonzaga steamrolled Josh Hendricks by KO and did his lovely monkey scream dance. How about two monsters going at it with Napao getting Shane Carwin next?
Dustin Hazelett is a hero to the skinny set as he submits Tamdan McCrory by reverse armbar. McLovin is oh so talented on the ground and at 22 has all the time in the world to improve into the future of the Welterweight division. Absolutely glorious beard as well. Tamdan is a stud as well and will bounce back with more exciting fights. 2 guys to keep an eye on for sure!
It ain't your daddy's Kenny Florian (get it) as the new and improved Kenflo embarrassed Joe Stevenson by mounting him with ease, striking like an assassin, and locking in a RNC so deep his arm had to be surgically removed. Ken is the most improved fighter in all of MMA from where he began, and calling out BJ Penn ensures his future title shot while hopefully gaining Penn's interest as he says he only wants "big time fights" from now on. Kenflo=impressive and I am not sure where Stevenson goes from here.
Finally Brock Lesnar pounded out 45 year old Randy Couture who has yet to see the end coming. Randy wishes to continue to fight while the athletic freak named Lesnar is just a babe in the sport and already a major champion. Brock "brings the pain" and hate him all you want, but you can't deny his athletic gifts and desire to win. I am however calling it right now, when Antonio Nogueira defeats Frank Mir, he'll go on to tap out Brock via armbar to unite the belts. You heard it here 1st.

Well, despite Kenflo always being the spoiler, I went a steady 8-1 on the picking side.

Final Notes: Jorge Gurgel, Alvin Robinson, Ryan Thomas, Josh Hendricks, and Matt Brown (despite his win) need to be handed walking papers from the UFC. Nate Quarry still has fight and draw left in him but at 36 I fear time is ticking away and another title shot doubtful. We still love ya Nate. For a card low on talent, they all put on a hell of a show with but 1 fight going the distance and even that one was wildly entertaining. Great PPV Zuffa, I won't deny it.

UFC 91: Randy Couture vs Brock Lesnar

Main card
Heavyweight Championship Match: Randy "The Natural" Couture vs. Brock Lesnar From the moment this bout was signed, I was pissed not just because a 1-1 record in the UFC doesn't deserve a title shot, not because Antonio Nogueira was getting screwed when he is the "Interim" Champ and obviously should be fighting Randy, but because I knew Couture was going to lose. A year layoff, 45 years of age, and a behemoth with dizzying speed equals a new jackass undeserving Champion. Seriously people I love Randy and I hope to your fictional god he wins, but fucking 45 years old people! Look at a picture of him from a year ago and compare it to now. You can just see the guy is simply too old. Knowing he has heard that time and time again let me say, Randy also has a KO chin and Brock broke Heath "Durable" Herring's orbital bone with 1 punch! There are too many ways for Randy to lose including the quick KO or a 5 round bore fest of the monstrous Lesnar laying his 265 lb. frame on top of the old timer. I don't like it, but I see father time coming.

WINNER-Brock Lesnar
Lightweight bout: Kenny "Kenflo" Florian vs. Joe "Daddy" Stevenson I agree with Daddy on this one, why is Stevenson the underdog? The guy has brilliant wrestling, and stood toe to toe with BJ Penn, Kurt Pelligrino, Yves Edwards, Josh Neer, etc. Kenny matched up with Sean Sherk, Roger Huerta, and Din Thomas but Joe has 24 more fights than Florian! Kenny can cut the crap out of you while Joe is thick with power that the Bostonian lacks. My main tide turner is this, when Kenny can't finish someone, he backs off trying to coast to victory like Oscar De La Hoya. Stevenson will attack and push the pace until the bell rings. Reach is also an issue favoring Florian, but if you think Joe hasn't been dealing with that his whole career you are crazy.

WINNER-Upset Pick Joe Stevenson by decision
Heavyweight bout: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Josh Hendricks Josh is an untested tub of lard. Gabe wins by scary TKO and monkey yell/dance.

WINNER-Napao
Middleweight bout: Demian Maia vs. Nate Quarry This is an interesting bout for sure. Maia, Wanderlei's protege, is an absolute ground Einstein. If he gets Nate down, which he will most likely eventually do, Nate could be done. However, Quarry has takedown defense and will throw to destroy not to mention he has great cardio which Demian has lacked in recent fights. Maia is undefeated and Quarry has only been stopped 1 time in his career. In the end, Maia will get Nate down and probably submit him making me a sad panda.

WINNER-Demian Maia
Welterweight bout: Dustin Hazelett vs. Tamdan McCrory Who loves a nerd fight? I know I do and nerds or not these guys fight till the death. The "Barn Cat" is a vicious attacker on the feet while "McLovin" is a Rich Franklin student with a freakish beard. Oh, he is also a good ground fighter. My early pick for "Fight Of The Night" and McLovin gets the hard fought W.

WINNER-Hazelett
Prelims
Lightweight bout: Jorge Gurgel vs. Aaron Riley We have not seen Riley in the UFC since Spencer Fisher broke his jaw back in 2006. Aaron is still tough as nails and has fought (and lost) to some top names like Eddie Alvarez and Ryan Schultz. Jorge, known mainly as Rich Franklin's sidekick, has become a decision machine (winning & losing) while employing a reckless style instead of the Jiu-Jitsu he is supposed to be amazing at. Gurgel's hands don't impress me either and though durable with great cardio, I like Riley to pull the upset and steal the bout in his UFC return.

WINNER-Upset Pick Aaron Riley
Lightweight bout: Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael dos Anjos Jear Bear is a bomb thrower while the Gracie Fusion Anjos tickles with Jiu-Jitsu. A classic clash of styles, I like Stephens to use his reach to blitzkreig Rafael into a TKO position.

WINNER-Jeremy Stephens Rd.2
Lightweight bout: Mark Bocek vs. Alvin Robinson The ATT rep Bocek proved one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt in his last fight with Mac Danzig, dude can take a beating. Pummeled and throttled over and over, Mark held on to lose by RNC but impressed many with his toughness. Royce Gracie's prized pupil has never quite lived up to the hype in the UFC and Al needs not only a win, but a good showing. Look for Stephens to break the "Kid" mentally and Celtic tat him out.

WINNER-Boceck by G&P Rd.3
Welterweight bout: Matt Brown vs. Ryan Thomas Ah the "Immortal" Matt, who has a pro record of 7-7 and can do little but punch and complain about lemon chew. Thomas would enjoy a ground battle, but will probably have to endure a stand up bruising as Brown looks to set an example after he felt he was cheated by the judges in his last fight. For the record, he was not cheated and Dong Hyun Kim deserved the nod.

WINNER-Matt Brown TKO Rd.3
This card is ugly as fuck for a PPV. I wouldn't be that excited if it were a Spike TV Ultimate Fight Night card. Still, I bet it gets a couple buys and I'll most likely buy it as well contributing to UFC's shit card monopoly. 2 Upset Picks folks I'm gettin' crazy!

WEC 36: Upsets & Meltdowns

The WEC held its 36th show Thursday which saw a humongous upset of a 13 fight winning streak, and undefeated fighter mentally fall apart before our eyes leaving his career in jeopardy, and an odd goodbye to the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight divisions.

Mike Thomas Brown (20-4) defeated Uriah Faber to halt his 13 fight winning streak and take the WEC Featherweight title. Brown was given more dap than most who are brought in to face the “California Kid,” as he came from the well disciplined American Top Team and cut weight well becoming much bigger and stronger than Faber. Brown used his size and reach to stun Uriah early with a strong right hand and shoved the Champ to the floor which only seemed to anger the young champion as he began to “let it all hang out” as he loves to do. Perhaps a little angry, Faber attacked with abandon and caught a hard left hook and while turned from his opponent, tried to throw a sidewinder elbow. A short right from Brown connected instead sending Faber to the floor where the end became academic. This time, the somewhat careless style cost him as Mike Thomas Brown is your new Champion and someone stopped Faber for only the 2nd time in his 23 fight career. Uriah, always a class act, gave full credit to his opponent calling him stronger and more effective. Also, he may or may not continue to “let it all hang out” as it is just the way he fights. My guess is the rematch will be even better than this one. Faber is already in the gym training for a rematch.

Chael Sonnen halted the BTT juggernaut known as Paulo Filho ending his undefeated record at 16-1. The Team Quest fighter lost via armbar to Paulo in their 1st meeting though he was winning the match, and didn’t actually tapout. The ref stopped the fight and Chael was upset feeling as though he wasn’t near injury and could have fought on. This time the ref would not play a factor. This would be Paulo’s 1st fight since leaving rehab and may have left Filho ill prepared to battle as he looked uninterested and sometimes even stared off in the distance during the fight as if he was looking to be somewhere else. It was so odd to see the once dialed in Brazilian just fall apart in front of a stunned crowd. Paulo came in 5 pounds overweight and thus his title was not on the line which seemed to punish Sonnen for "Ely's" mistake. Chael seemed to take that personally and his striking and takedown defense was superb as he coasted to an easy decision win. What is odd, is that in the final round, Filho seemed to be looking off in the distance and talking to an imaginary figure in the ring. Weird, weird, and more weird from a fighter once though to replace Anderson Silva as the world’s dominant Middleweight.

Razor Rob McCullough can’t get back to that title he once held as Donald Cerrone (9-0)defeated him by decision. The winner was to fight WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner who defeated McCullough for the belt. Now the "Cowboy" takes on "C-4" as the once feared Rob needs to do some rethinking about his style of fighting.

Well it was an odd goodbye as the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight ranks will now be absorbed into the UFC. Steve Cantwell, WEC Light Heavyweight Champion and former LH Champ Brian Stann are already signed up for UFC fights while it was thought Filho and Chael Sonnen would be right behind. Even with this embarrassing performance, I see Paulo joining the UFC and Chael’s stock just rose even higher. Unfortunately, WEC fan favorite Doug “Rhino” Marshall may not find spots in the UFC but undoubtedly will reemerge in other MMA promotions. Interesting event non the less and free if you have Versus.

Uriah Faber Upset By Mike Brown @ WEC 36

Takanori Gomi Robbed @ Sengoku 6

gol gom
by martilloko

Sengoku 6 Crowns 2 Tourney Champions

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira defeated Moise Rimbon via unanimous decision in a lackluster affair.
Muhammad Lawal (2-0) defeated Fabio Silva via TKO (strikes - 0:41:R3). The Team Quest product has potential for sure but he did what I thought he would and his "King Mo" character is straight up retarded.
Sergey Golyaev (11-6) defeated Takanori Gomi (29-4) via split decision. Not to discredit the work of Sergey and the Red Devil fight team, but Gomi won this fight. Losing 1 round via flash knockdown does not a decision make. At least WVR announced Gomi vs Kitaoka next for the title since the strap was not on the line here (oddly). This may be what the "Fireball Kid" needs to reinvigorate and re-establish himself as an elite Lightweight.

Lightweight Grand Prix semifinals:
Kazunori Yokota (8-1-3) defeated Mizuto Hirota via unanimous decision.

Satoru Kitaoka (22-8-9) defeated Eiji Mitsuoka via submission (heel hook - 1:16:R1). This one really surprised me and Eiji got embarrassed early.
Lightweight Grand Prix reserve bout:
Jorge Masvidal (15-3) defeated Seung Hwan Bang via unanimous decision.

Lightweight Grand Prix finals:
Satoru Kitaoka (23-8-9) defeated Kazunori Yokota (8-2-3) via unanimous decision. I didn't know the Lightweights well at all as you can tell by my picks. The Pancrase vet gets the nod from the judges but will have to wait for a title shot at Gomi who will be fighting Golyaev for the title in a rematch. Satoru should get the winner.

Middleweight Grand Prix semifinals:
Kazuhiro Nakamura (13-8) defeated Yuki Sasaki via unanimous decision.
Jorge Santiago (19-7) defeated Siyar Bahadurzada via submission (heel hook - 1:10:R1). Jorge continues his domination in tournaments winning yet again in quick fashion.
Middleweight Grand Prix reserve bout:
Joe Doerksen (41-12) defeated Izuru Takeuchi (25-10-6) via TKO (strikes - 0:41:R3). I am just happy Doer didn't go to decision for once.

Middleweight Grand Prix finals:
Jorge Santiago (20-7) defeated Kazuhiro Nakamura (13-9) via TKO (strikes - 0:49:R3). I called this one correct from start to finish. The thoroughbred Santiago is the horse I rode from the beginning. The guy has really come alive recently and has now taken the Strikeforce and Sengoku Middleweight Tournaments in the same year! This American Top Team member's stock is rising fast! It will be interesting to see if he stays in Sengoku or returns to the UFC.

7-3 on the picks but calling the Middleweight Grand Prix finals exactly should garner bonus point.