UFC 102 Results: Nogueira, Marquardt, Silva, & Duffee The Big Winners!

Always go with your 1st instinct people. UFC 102, which was panned by critics as lackluster event, delivered on exciting fights and a stellar Main Event many thought would be drab considering the age and supposed condition of the fighters. MMAFO will go over the results, Mondays probable cut list, and the important notables within the event.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira defeats Randy Couture in a spirited "Fight Of The Night" style bout via hard earned decision. Around 73% of the polled UFC fans thought "The Natural" would overcome the old too soon staff riddled "Minotauro." They would be wrong as "Big Nog" pulled the upset win in "Captain America's" hometown! Antonio took an early punch from Couture that cut his right eyebrow (shocker; he bled) but stormed back taking over on the feet and even dropping Couture to the canvas and came oh so close to submitting him with the D'arce choke. Randy showed the heart he is known for fighting through it as Nogueira was forced to relinquish the hold or burn his arms out. Still the round was all Rogerio though Randy came back with some good striking and a takedown in the 2nd. I sensed danger for Tony when he pulled a beautiful sweep to put himself back on top of Couture though he once again could not tap him out with a nice looking Arm-Triangle choke. In the final stanza, Couture would again show his resolve coming out with some great striking, but Antonio stood in the pocket with him as they brought the crowd to their feet with a punching melee. It would be Nogueira again who landed a shot that sent Randy crashing to the canvas though he could not finish him. "Captain America" had one last gasp in him sweeping "Big Nog" but unable to finish him bringing the inevitable unanimous decision win for Minotauro.

After the fight, Nogueira expressed his desire to face Champion Brock Lesnar and Mr. Couture said he wants to continue on with "interesting fights." A great Main Event and two class act legends the rest of the card could learn from. Just a side note, Brock Lesnar was cage side cheering on Couture hoping for a rematch and the dollars that would generate.

Thiago Silva put Keith Jardine to sleep in the very 1st round. The "Dean Of Mean" looked good backing up Silva early as the fight started fast. It would be a stiff left hook that floored Keith and the follow up barrage of strikes that left the "Dean" unconscious and flattened out. Thiago looked very impressive putting himself back in the Light Heavyweight title scene and we are left to wonder if Jardine's questionable chin will keep him from ever factoring into the top of the UFC heap ever again. Chute Boxe is not going away people!

Nathan Marquardt took 20 seconds and 1 punch to put the Demian Maia hype to sleep, literally. Maia went to throw a kick and Nate just turned his lights out with a right hand and graciously pulled up before inflicting more unnecessary damage. Royce Gracie 2.0 my ass.

Brandon Vera looked off yet again but did enough to outpoint Krzysztof Soszynski in a decent but a bit of a let down fight. Vera just doesn't look to have that offensive killer instinct he possessed at Heavyweight. Brandon lives to fight another day while Krzysztof didn't look bad and taking 3 fights on short notice for the UFC keeps him in good standing as well.

Jake Rosholt seemed like a bit of an asshole as he put Chris Leben, another asshole, to sleep with a deep Triangle Choke. Neither guy looked like a world beater and this fight should not have been on the PPV in my humble opinion.

Gabriel Gonzaga got the expected TKO win over Brock Lesnar's training partner Chris Tuchscherer, but not without controversy in just an odd fight. Napao came out with a powerful inside leg kick that caught no leg and all testicles. It was so strong that Chris hit the floor and found himself coughing and almost vomiting his insides onto the Octagon floor. The doctors wanted to stop the fight which would have given Tuchscherer the DQ win, but he threw a fit and summoning up some real guts, convinced them to let him fight after a lengthy delay. You can't tell me that didn't affect his performance, or that he would have won the fight had the foul not occurred. Things happen and the fight resumes with Gabe landing a big Cro Cop sized head kick followed by some good old fashioned G&P that bloodied Chris and ended the fight. The strange goings on may have kept Chris from the dreaded Monday morning UFC cut list, but credit the guy for not packing it in and giving the fans the fight they wanted.

Aaron Simpson and Ed Herman went to war in what would have been the fight of the night had "Short Fuse" not injured his knee toward the end of the 1st round. It was a really good back and forth fight with Simpson pulling ahead when during a takedown Ed screamed out in pain and grabbed his knee. The Team Quest stalwart hung in there and made it to the 2nd round. Warned by the referee to protect his knee or the fight would be stopped, Herman gave it the college try but collapse in pain halting the fight via TKO injury. I would really like to see this bout again and hopefully the Zuffa brass will give Ed the chance.

Todd Duffee is frightening as hell and the Heavyweight division had better watch out. Todd set a UFC record (fastest KO) by starching Tim Hague a mere 7 seconds into their bout and in Duffee's debut for the organization. Todd is so big and scary that he has to have an impact on the division as he called out to Dana White to give him "something to eat."

Evan Dunham had a good showing winning the Split-Decision over Marcus Aurelio though the fight should have been scored 29-28 for the Xtreme Couture upstart. "Maximus" showed his toughness taking the fight on short notice and even won the final round though it would not be enough for the win. Dunham just came off like a spoiled cocky prick.

Mark Munoz had more trouble than was expected taking a Split-Decision win over Nick Catone as they fought the full 15 minutes.

Finally and thank your fake god, Mike Russow defeated Justin McCully by decision to send the Team Punishment bitch packing on his way to a smaller promotion, or if we are lucky, retirement.

8-3 on the picks but if not for the false last minute information and second guessing myself, it would have been 9-2. Oh well, great night of fights and more to come as the UFC brings its next event to us for free on Spike TV. Expect Nick Catone, Marcus Aurelio, and mercifully Justin McCully to head for the unemployment line Monday. Bet.

UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira Nose Picking

The UFC finally comes to Portland, Oregon, which just happens to be Mr. Couture's hometown. We see 2 former UFC Heavyweight Champions who are each legends, a strikers war with another Silva and the inconsistent Jardine, the return of a steroid user (Leben), the potential contenders to Anderson Silva's throne, quite a few up and coming fighters, and lots o' Heavyweights stacking an interesting card.

PPV
Heavyweight bout: Randy Couture vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Can you believe people are asking if the 33 year old "Minotauro" is finished instead of the 46 year old "Captain America?" A "dream bout" comes true and it doesn't even seem too late with both men coming into the fight in great condition. Randy is heralded for being old in a young man's game and doing OK against Brock Lesnar. "Big Nog" was Mr. Durable until a staff riddled performance made everyone question if he is going the way of fellow Pride veteran Wanderlei Silva. I am growing tired of the obnoxious love of "The Natural" who is a wife divorcing, money hungry, Team Quest ditching, somewhat overrated fighter, so my vision may be a bit skewed on this one. Still, Randy has 2 career submissions while Nog has 20. 20 people(!) though Couture hasn't been tapped since 2002. Even with the crowd in his corner, I don't see Tony being stupid enough to try a clinch game fight with Randy, instead opting to use his boxing skills to keep Couture at bay, and possibly taking a shot at submitting him on the floor. If Rodrigo is taken down I don't think it will be a problem, and maybe an advantage, for the Jiu-Jitsu genius. This may all be Pride FC love bias.**UPDATE-After more researching and finding out Nog was KO'd more than once in training for this fight, and his own camp saying things look bad, I am changing my pick to sadness. Damn it.

WINNER-Randall Couture by decision
Light Heavyweight bout: Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva An intriguing fight on paper, but my only worry is the "Dean's" chin status. He's gotten caught by Houston Alexander and Wanderlei Silva but went the distance against Rampage in his last bout though he was dropped a couple of times. He could get caught again but the percentages tell me Thiago has exposed his weakness in his last bout with now Champion Lyoto Machida by being too aggressive and possibly having a suspect chin of his own. Lettuce not forget Keith has the best camp in the business (Greg Jackson Fighting) who will not doubt arm him with a killer game plan.

WINNER-The Dean Of Mean by exciting decision
Middleweight bout: Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt How does Leben, an average fighter who is coming off a steroid suspension, deserve a spot on the PPV. Its just baffles me. Anywho, we know what the "Crippler" is all about but its Jake who everyone is really watching. An "upside" prospect from the Xtreme Couture camp, many people think he can be the real deal. I don't see his striking doing much to Leben's granite chin, and I'm not even sure wrestling will be a factor in this bout. Unfortunately, Chris has the advantage and if he doesn't shut down Rosholt, expect a judges nod in his direction.

WINNER-Chris Leben by who cares?
Middleweight bout: Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia Everyone is awe struck by the "Submission Magician" Maia and rightly so, but Nate is an elite specimen who can strike much, much better and has a little something called cardio which remains quite questionable with Demian. Also, I don't like how slow Maia throws his strikes and I think that leads to his undoing as the relentless Marquardt avoids the ground (unless he is insane) and picks apart Wanderlei's protege before stopping him completely.

UPSET PICK WINNER-Nate Marquardt by turning out the lights
Light Heavyweight bout: Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski Dontcha hate it when 2 really good personalities collide in a fight? Me either. This fight is going to be explosive and fun. Sure Krzysztof has a decent all-around game, but Vera's striking is at another level. On the floor, Brandon hasn't exactly wow'd me but he also claims to be back on his game after getting cocky and lax on his training. The "Polish Experiment" takes yet another fight on short notice (5 weeks) but it has served him well garnering a 3-0 record in the UFC. Krzys says he'll eat a barrage of punches to land a good hard shot and that is just not a good plan.

WINNER-"The Truth" by points

Prelims
Middleweight bout: Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson This is the hardest fight to pick on the entire UFC 102 card. Herman has a lot of talent but is inconsistent and generally fails against upper tier fighters. The "A-Train" is a KO specialist with solid wrestling but only has 5 professional fights to Ed's 22 and a career spent learning with Team Quest. Still, I'll take the up and comer over the "Journeyman" which is a label for eventual disaster.

WINNER-Aaron Simpson by tough decision
Heavyweight bout: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer Ummm, Chris is in trouble. "Napao" is going to curb stomp him in the most lop-sided bout of the evening. This won't last long.

WINNER-Napao by TKO Rd.1
Heavyweight bout: Justin McCully vs. Mike Russow I see Mikey winning a boring fight here though it won't be close on the judges card. Russow is a much better wrestler and Justin isn't a very good fighter anyway, but he also lacks offense instead opting to lay and pray in his fights. Russow won't allow that outworking him at every turn. By the way, McCully is a total douchebag and even his homo-erotic friendship with Tito Ortiz and Kendall Grove won't save his job in the UFC after this bout.

WINNER-Mike Russow by decision
Heavyweight bout: Tim Hague vs. Todd Duffee I like the cut of Tim's jib, his journey to the UFC, and his big upset of an overconfident Patrick Barry in his debut. Unfortunately, the Tim Sylvia clone is about to meet ATT's beast of a fighter in Todd. The "Duff Man" is a freestyle fighter who by the way knocks the crap outta people. Should be a decently close fight but expect Todd to get the better striking his way to a debut win. (Remember my rule: "Never pick the fighter making his debut.")

WINNER-Duff Man by TKO Rd.3
Middleweight bout: Nick Catone vs. Mark Muñoz Marky Mark looks waaay better dropping down to Middleweight and that spells trouble for Catone. Both are good wrestlers, but the Philippine is better pretty much wherever the fight goes.

WINNER-"The Philippine Wrecking Machine" by TKO Rd.2
Lightweight bout: Marcus Aurelio vs. Evan Dunham Dunham fights without Peanut against a durable Jiu-Jitsu guy who is becoming a decent striker thanks to his boys over at ATT. Evan is supposed Jiu-Jistsu fella as well, but he also leaves himself open to take strikes. However, according to the experts and the Xtreme Couture camp, this kid is the next small thing and I'll just plead ignorance for now.

WINNER-Dunham by decision

Fedor Emelianenko Signs Fight With Brett Rogers

Fedor Emelianenko has signed his 1st fight contract with Strikeforce to face undefeated prospect Brett "The Grim" Rogers. The date of the fight has not been announced but is expected by November or December.

The Grim is coming off the biggest win of his career via the KO of Andrei Arlovski in a mere 22 seconds. The "Last Emperor" also defeated the "Pitbull" by KO in his last bout. This is no small task (as seen in the picture) for the WAMMA Heavyweight Champion as Brett will be 5 inches taller and at least 30 lbs. heavier.

MMA Melee: A Big Boy Bash & Gina Carano Is Still Hot

Holy crap, the Melee is back! After some technical difficulties that knocked us off the world wide web, the MMAFO has returned to offer the insightful insight, that only our auspicious staff can provide. So we play a little ketchup on the recent MMA news and the aftermath of sweet Gina Carano's destruction at the hands of "Half-man, half-frightening" Femborg Santos.

As previously stated, Chris Santos got the TKO win over the lovely and in wonderful shape, Gina Carano at the last Strikeforce event. Femborg came out strong as expected but Gina was able to weather the storm and fire back some offense of her own. In the end, with a mere second to go, the referee saved millions of heart attacks around the world as he halted the assault on beautiful Carano's punam. Santos is now the 145 lbs. women's champion, and Randy Couture moves in to comfort Gina in her hour of need. Could get awkward considering Kim Couture, the now divorced wife of Randy, is one of Gina's best friends. There will be little problem marketing Gina for her next fight, and once again the women steal the show with a great fight.

Antonio "Lil Nog" "Minotoro" Rogerio Nogueira has finally signed with the UFC and will be joining his brother in tag team action. If only, but really this is a great move by Zuffa to help bulk up an already exciting Light Heavyweight division. He is a very respectable 17-3 in a career with much less abuse than his heavier brother, and has notable wins over the likes of Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem, fellow recent addition to the UFC Vladimir Matyushenko, Dan Henderson, and some fella named Sakuraba.

Takanori Gomi is soon to be a daddy and has decided to take the rest of the year off to be with his youngling.

"These days have been happy for me. I’m going to get married and it makes new sense in my life. The days in Koganezaki (resort) and its beautiful beaches made me think a lot. After all, a new member of the family is coming to give us happiness. If it will be a boy his name will be Isamu, if it will be a girl her name will be Aimi,” he wrote. “The expectation of becoming a father is such an unique sensation and I want to make the most of any moment. Therefore fighting isn’t the goal for this year anymore,” he added.

The UFC Heavyweight schuffle is on as Shane Carwin will now get the title shot against Brock Lesnar at UFC 106 in November. Cain Velasquez who was supposed to face Mr. Carwin at UFC 104 in October, will now face "Big" Ben Rothwell who was supposed to face Chase Gormely, will now get the up and coming ATT member at said event. Chase will fight the lanky giant Stefan Struve. I actually applaud this Zuffa move since Cain and Shane are being groomed for title shots and it would trash the marketable plans. Plus, you got Carwin talking trash about how he hates Brock and how unprofessional he acts. A nice storyline shapes up for UFC's countdown show.

In other recent UFC matchmaking, Denis Kang will get the recovering Michael Bisping and Dong Hyun Kim will face the "Outlaw" Dan Hardy who is coming off an impressive win over Marcus Davis, all at UFC 105. Thiago Alves will destroy Paulo Thiago in a name game match at UFC 107. Also, at UFC 102, Brandon Vera will be fighting Krzysztof Soszynski who is replacing the injured Matt "What?" Hamill.

With Cung Le still not defending the Strikeforce Middleweight title, Jake Shields is getting restless and has started calling out Frank Shamrock. "I am willing to fight anyone. I believe in the old to be the best you have fight the best so definitely Georges St. Pierre. Oh, and Frank Shamrock because he’s been a dick to me for too long, and I am tired of his shit. I keep challenging and demanding to fight him, but he always has some pussy excuse not to fight me. It was a pretty good feeling when Nick destroyed him. I definitely want to add him to the list." Sweet, score another sound byte for the Scrap Pack.

Oh and lest we forget, I went a perfect 6-0 predicting the latest Strikeforce event. I just earned a cookie.

Strikeforce: Carano vs Cyborg Fight Picks

Main card
Women's Championship (145 lb) bout: Gina Carano vs. Cristiane Santos  The biggest bout in the history of women's MMA is here as Gina "Crush" Carano collides with "Femborg" Santos for the 1st ever Strikeforce women's title at 145 lbs.  Both ladies were in great shape for the bout and came in under the limit.  We all know Gina prides herself on being a Muay Thai fighter but she is facing an ultra-aggressive Chute Boxe fighter who may actually be male.  Santos brings the blitzkrieg standing style that will prove deadly to the technically superior Carano, who will not enjoy the beating but will hopefully keep her beautiful face in tact.  Its all good in the end as Gina comes out stronger from facing such a tough opponent and goes on to more feminine things, while Cristiane continues to grow her penis and hopefully an eventual Pound4Pound fight between her and Tara Larosa.

WINNER-Femborg by TKO Rd.1
Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Renato Sobral vs. Gegard Mousasi  "Babalu" came in very good shape for this fight which he hasn't really done in a while.  Still, "Young Vagabond" may have the advantage in every single area except for Jiu-Jitsu.  I look for the Red Devil to wear down Babs with striking and wrestling before the eventual late stoppage.  I'm a big Sobral fan but his career is drawing to a close, and Gegard is just beginning.

WINNER-Gegard Mousasi TKO Rd.4
Interim Lightweight Championship bout: Gilbert Melendez vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida  This will be the "Fight Of The Night" as 2 bad ass Lightweights collide in what has to be a war.  Both can do any aspect of the game well and have cardio for days.  I like both of these guys but I'm staying with my "Scrap Pack" brother to win a spirited decision.

WINNER-El Nino 
Heavyweight bout: Mike Kyle vs. Fabricio Werdum  I still hate the cheating disgusting Mak man and the Chute Boxe fighter is going to prove how average Kyle really is.  All the game in this fight belongs to Werdum as long as he can avoid the heavy hands of his opponent and relies on his brilliant Jiu-Jitsu.

WINNER-Werdum submission Rd.2
Prelims
Welterweight bout: Jay Hieron vs. Jesse Taylor  Bas Rutten's protege takes on the orc that got banned from the UFC.  Jesse is coming down a weight class but his wrestling could pose problems for Hieron.  I like Jay to use his experience and the fact that he actually possesses a brain, to wear on Jesse for the eventual close win.

WINNER-Jay Day by decision

I won't be picking the rest of the fights as they have probably already begun and I am out of time.  

Light Heavyweight bout: Scott Lighty vs. Mike Cook
Lightweight bout: David Douglas vs. Justin Wilcox
Welterweight bout: James Terry vs. Zak Bucia
Lightweight bout: Isaiah Hill vs. Alex Trevino

All Fedor Emelianenko's Fights In 1 Video!

All of Fedor Emelianenko's taped fights in 1 10 minute span!

WEC 42: Brian Bowles vs. Miguel Torres Video

Brian Bowles takes out Miguel Torres at WEC 42 to become the new Bantamweight Champion halting the 17 fight win streak of "Angel."

UFC 101 Declaration Results

Jesse Lennox reps Miletich Camp cutting Danillo Villefort to bring the doctor stoppage in Rd.3
George Sotiropoulos overwhelmed George Roop and got the submission Kimura early in the 2nd.
Matt Riddle gets the decision over Dan Cramer and I couldn't care less.
Alessio Sakara gets the upset win over a struggling Thales Leites via Split-Decision. Thales has fallen quickly since his storied awful performance against Anderson Silva. Leites has now dropped 2 in a row and lost to an average at best fighter, who is 5-4 in the UFC. Now explain to me who the hell has given Sakara 9 fights in the UFC?
John Howard also pulls the upset on the cards taking out Tamdan McCrory with a close Split-Decision. Look for the "Barncat" to head down to Welterweight after the loss.
Kurt Pellegrino gutted out a tough win over the shit talking Josh Neer by unanimous decision. The war of words didn't happen before the bout but during instead. Interesting at least.
Ricardo Almeida gassed out in the 3rd and was still able to win all 3 rounds with Kendall Grove as his mentor Tito Ortiz looked on. "Da Faux Spider" just doesn't have the ground game to hang with a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu student who will soon be joining Tamdan at Welterweight.
Johny Hendricks continues the upset specials getting an early stoppage TKO over Amir Sadollah under 30 seconds into the 1st round. The ref definitely stopped this too early but it's not John's fault though the crowd seemed to think so. Its a learning experience for Amir and Hendricks gets a big win in a career of potential mediocrity.
Aaron Riley got his revenge in a rematch with Shane Nelson who may have over trained for the fight.
Anderson Silva KO'd Forrest Griffin and his retarded game plan. Forrest isn't known for great striking and proved it yet again trying to stand with a master. Throwing awful combinations with zero power and trying to wing punches at Silva, Forrest could not connect as the real "Spider" bobbed and weaved looking like Roy Jones Jr. in his prime. Why Griffin didn't employ his leg kicks or go for the takedown is beyond me, but after that embarrassing performance, I would have left the cage immediately as well.
Finally, B.J. Penn dominated Kenny Florian who gave a valiant effort using GSP's game plan to wear the "Prodigy" down by pressing him up against the fence and working 4 rounds for the takedown that never came. BJ had little problem with it and out struck "Kenflo" with relative ease. Ken showed a lot of heart as always, but Penn is just better and finally slammed Florian to the mat in the 4th, landed some big painful punches, and finally secured a RNC from which Kenny tapped. Love him or hate him, try not to forget how good "Baby Joe" really is in MMA.

Justanotsogood witha da picks at 7-4. What can I say about this lackluster event except at least its over and maybe Zuffa will start putting together better cards. Oh, I just looked at UFC 102, apparently they won't.

UFC 101: A Sad Sequel To UFC 100

Main card
Lightweight Championship bout: Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn vs. Kenny Florian "Kenflo" makes his 2nd attempt at the strap while BJ tries to rebound from a thrashing at the hands of GSP. Besides the kicking affair, name me 1 spot Kenny is better than Penn? His only shot is cardio and with the Penn camp bringing in the brothers Diaz, and a bevy of other super-stars, BJ has had an amazing camp and is in great shape. Florian has improved so much since the 1st attempt at the title versus Sean Sherk, and I highly doubt he runs face 1st into the octagon's pillars again, but he just doesn't have the game to top Penn unless he slicks in a cut to call the bout. I'm all for "Kenflo" here, but he'll tough out a long loss.

WINNER-The Prodigy by decision
Light Heavyweight bout: Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin The Middleweight Champion has been vilified as of late for not delivering the highlight reel stoppages he has been known for. This has led to ignorant criticism, and the "Spider" lashing out angrily in recent interviews. Then comes Forrest 1 of the most beloved MMA fighters of all time with his "aw schucks" attitude. Griffin is tough as they come but doesn't have the skills to stop Silva. Taking this bout to the floor ala his mentor Randy Couture's style won't gain him the win. Even from top position Silva will pop elbows into the easily cut brow of Forrest. The original TUF winner can't submit Andy, and his striking isn't going to take out anyone. This bout screams Anderson stabbing and stalking his way to a decision victory, but Griffin will push the pace to make it interesting.

WINNER-Anderson Silva by TKO (cut) Rd.3
Middleweight bout: Kendall Grove vs. Ricardo Almeida And now the PPV goes straight into the toilet. Grove sucks and Ricky has yet to really impress since returning from a 3 year retirement. Almeida has all the Jiu-Jitsu in the world if he can get to the long limbed Kenny. Still even if I was rich, I would never, never bet on "Da Spider."

WINNER-Almedia by decision
Lightweight bout: Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellegrino 2 tough as nails fighters with 1 being a recent jailbird and the other being a crime fighter. You always pick the hero over the villain right? Its a coin flip fight but I'll take Neer by a hair

WINNER-The "Dentist" via decision
Welterweight bout: Amir Sadollah vs. Johny Hendricks Amir finally gains the health to fight after winning TUF whatever against

WINNER-Amir by personality?

Prelims
Lightweight bout: Shane Nelson vs. Aaron Riley Iron jaw gets his rematch with Shane after the early stoppage in their last bout. I can't see Nelson getting the lucky strike in again on Riley who curb stomps the Hilo boy outta the UFC.

WINNER-Riley by decision
Welterweight bout: Tamdan McCrory vs. John Howard Do you think I'm going against the "Barncat" my favorite awkward fighter? Well, Howard is impressive, but I'm on the fence about whether or not he is for real.

WINNER-Tamdan by submission Rd.3
Middleweight bout: Thales Leites vs. Alessio Sakara The "Legion" gets a million chances in the UFC where he is against the heavily boo'd after his lay down against Anderson Silva, Thales Leites. To the floor we go and an easy pick.

WINNER-Leites by submission Rd.1
Welterweight bout: Matt Riddle vs. Dan Cramer Matt the young douche bag from TUF vs. the 1-0 ATT prospect.

WINNER-Riddler via boring wrestling decision
Lightweight bout: George Sotiropoulos vs. George Roop This is silly and say goodbye to Roop.

WINNER-Sotiroupoulousonlus by submission
Welterweight bout: Jesse Lennox vs. Danillo Villefort Miletich Camp vs. ATT and I'm taking the upset here with the brutal prospect and pupil of Pat.

UPSET PICK WINNER-Jesse the Lummox

The Last Emperor Signs With Strikeforce

Scott Coker's MMA company Strikeforce, has always benefited from failure. They have held their ground, slowly expanding their product, and picking up MMA stars from the defunct IFL and buying up the disaster that was Elite XC. Now Strikeforce benefits from Affliction's death as they sign the biggest free agent in MMA, "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko!

The Red Devil leader will debut for Strikeforce on Showtime in late October or November, said Coker, who agreed to a trio of co-promoted events with M-1 Global, which manages and promotes the 32-year-old heavyweight. Similar provisions for co-promotion were laid out by M-1 during a four-day negotiation period with the UFC last week but Dana White and the boys didn't bite. Blaf responded to the breaking news in his usual PC way. “I’m in Abu Dhabi right now and my reaction is Fedor is a [expletive] joke,” White exclaimed angrily. “[He] turns down a huge deal and the opportunity to face the best in the world to fight nobodies, for no money. Fedor is a [expletive]!” I am personally baffled that Fedor would not want to sign with such a professional.

Dana White may have seen the tables turn on him, as he acquired the services of many former Affliction fighters while Coker was on vacation in Italy. After seeing all the names going to the UFC, Coker returned home and to the negotiating table to begin talks with anyone left unsigned, which included Fedor. The tables turned when Dana White left for Abu Dhabi, and he had to find out that the door had finally been closed on the possibility of Fedor in the octagon, and for less money.

The Fedor contract is a 3-fight deal and you can expect Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem to instantly be in the cross hairs of the "Emperor." After that, Fabricio Werdum, Mak Kyle, Paul Buentello, Kevin Randleman, and of course Brett "The Grim" Rogers, and the bevy of talent that will no doubt come calling to Strikeforce now that Emelianenko is in the stable.

MMA Melee: Affliction Fallout & Kimo

Kimo Leopoldo, former UFC Fighter, died of a heart attack last week. Kimo himself was shocked by the news as tabloid website TMZ.com confirmed his death. Turns out, Kimo is alive and well and the idiots at TMZ once again printed a false story without checking their facts. Kimo is currently in California battling his drug demons.
So as Josh Barnett has tested positive for steroids for the 2nd time in his career, he ruined a legitimate #1 Heavyweight vs. the #2 Heavyweight bout, and killed the entire Affliction PPV. The “Babyface Assassin” can now look forward to a career away from his home of the United States, and begin Pro Wrestling in Japan as well as a bevy of “freak fights” he’ll now be forced to take against the likes of Zulu and Giant Silva. You have successfully ruined your career twice. Nice work and enjoy the fact that your legacy is that of a man who tried to cheat in the 2 biggest MMA fights of his life.
It was thought that Vitor Belfort would forgo his fight with Jorge Santiago and face Fedor Emelianenko though the deal was pulled off the table by Affliction officials. I wanted to see the 2 very talented Middleweights who are at a pivotal point in their careers, face each other, but the entire card was cancelled. Santiago is the guy who won the Strikeforce (2007) and DREAM (2008)Middleweight Tournaments and the “Phenom” was riding a 4-fight win streak as well as beginning to dazzle the public once again. Now this potentially brilliant fight goes by the wayside as Vitor is most likely called up to the UFC and what is initially looking to be a fight with Dan Henderson with the winner advancing to fight Anderson “Spider” Silva.
The absence of Affliction now sets up a great opportunity for the odd man out of this whole ordeal, Fedor Emelianenko. M-1 is having their 1st card in the United States in August and as a shareholder and co-promoter, the “Last Emperor” could take a new fight on to help promote his product. Already in training, he would just have to push a bout back around 20 days and find a new opponent. Besides Vitor Belfort, Jeff Monson, Brett Rogers, Paul Buentello, and Bobby Lashley, who were already in the mix to replace Josh Barnett at Affliction, would jump at the opportunity to face the #1 Pound4Pound fighter in the world. What a coup it would be for Fedor and M-1 to launch their product in America with Fedor fighting on the card! How could you not book Seth “The Kimbo Killer” Petruzelli here?
Nick Diaz rematch with Joe Riggs has been cancelled due to “Diesel” having a bad reaction to some prescribed medicine. Possible replacements include Jay Hieron and Phil Baroni. I would personally vote for loudmouth coward KJ Noons to come up in weight and put some action behind his words and finish business with “Diablo” (their 1st fight was called after doctors deemed Diaz’ cuts too severe to continue the bout).
Tito Ortiz was "welcomed back to the UFC" by President Dana White who has apparently resigned his nemesis. The rumor was launched from Mr. White himself on a "Twitter" so "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" is back.

Light Heavyweight Champion Renato "Babalu" Sobral is now defending his belt against Gegard Mousasi at the August 1st Strikeforce card. Originally slated for the Affliction show, the bout was successfully restored in California and let us hope this leads to more "moved" bouts for the fighters.
Affliction is officially dead as Dana White has allowed Tom Atencio to put his T-Shirts back into the UFC store. Expect ads to soon follow and I personally think Dana told Tom if he just scrapped their final PPV, he'd allow him back in. No hard feelings. God these ladies are bitches.

MMA Rankings

Brock Lesnar moves up in the Heavyweight rankings but still only #3 behind Josh Barnett and Fedor Emelianenko. He's 4-1 and has beaten a can, an aged Randy Couture, a durable Heath Herring and spilt his fights with Mir. Let's not freak out too much over this guy, yet. Frank Mir is #4 but sure to fall quickly as Alistair Overeem is soon to fight Fabricio Werdum in Strikeforce and Randy Couture vs Antonio Nogueira will decide the last standing old timer. Shane Carwin is peeking at the Top 10 rankings.

Light Heavyweights remain the same with little action from the Top 10, and less coming soon thanks to TUF 10 pushing important fights back.

The Middleweights see Michael Bisping fall behind Robbie Lawler at #9 in a division with little movement. You have to punish Mike for the loss, but the division is still pretty obvious, with Dan Henderson back in the mix, Yushin Okami still shut out, and Gegard Mousasi moving up to Light Heavyweight.

The Welterweight Division stays the same, poor Jon Fitch stuck behind GSP, and the soon to be decided #1 contender match between Mike Swick and Martin Kampmann will incur movement.

The Lightweights bring little movement as well prompting one to wonder why this update was needed?

UFC 100 Results: Champions Retain!

UFC 100 Results
Shannon Gugerty gets the early guillotine choke on Matt Grice prompting what would be a trend for the evening, me getting predictions dead wrong.
Tom Lawlor got busy quick pulling the upset and choking CB Dollaway into unconsciousness.
The "Donger" Dong Hyun Kim proved to me you should always go with your 1st instinct and not try to pick the upstart T.J. Grant who lost the decision.
Jon "Bones" Jones took out the ultra-boring Jake O'Brien with a nice guillotine choke in the 2nd.
Jim Miller and Mac Danzig stole the show in the "Fight Of The Night" with their bloody, gutsy war. In the end, the damage caused and superior wrestling got the job done for Jimmy via decision.
Mark Coleman defeats Stephan Bonnar by decision and my head is still spinning over this one. Boner, you just let an 85 year old man beat you. Your career is in serious trouble. Congrats to the Hammer I guess.
Yoshihiro Akiyama stole a Split-Decision win over Alan Belcher and his Kim Jong Il tattoo. "Sexyama" looked small compared to the "Talent" who seemed to have his way after the 1st round and even completely closed the eye of the "MJ Of MMA." The judges said nay to Alan and people on the net agree though I'm not sure why.
Dan Henderson absolutely floored Michael Bisping with that damn right hand and then dropped a bomb on his lifeless body. It was an emphatic demise for Mike's ego and Danny looked great and spry as a 25 year old. Just brutality and reality colliding and "Hendo" may yet get that rematch with Anderson Silva.
Georges St. Pierre ran a clinic on Thiago Alves pitching a no hitter decision win. Alves never got in the game and lost every single round. What can you say except GSP is ridiculously good. He even tore his groin in the 3rd and it affected him not. Geez, this guy is so brilliant to watch just out technique people making them look silly. Rumor says the winner of Kampmann/Swick gets the next shot. Neither deserve it, but they will be killed so who cares?
Brock Lesnar showed the class of a champion as he got the TKO on Frank Mir who tried to outstrike Lesnar's hand with his face. Very little effort on his back as Frankie just got school yard bullied and then Brock decided to talk shit when it was all done. What an arrogant ass and don't get things fucked up people, everyone is beatable, and Frank is known for getting stomped in his guard. Sable looks 60.
Jon Fitch came out cold after warming up all night to take the decision win over Paulo Thiago, who I must admit, looked better in this fight he lost, than he did in his win over Josh Koscheck. Jon is the perennial #2 in the division stuck behind GSP.
Pretty good event all things considered, and I got ran over in my picks going a sad 6-5. Hey, the Main Card is what is important right? Seacrest out. A special to Google Blogger for getting these results published so quickly, and with the picture.

Arturo Gatti Found Dead In Brazil

According to reports, Arturo Gatti was found dead in Brazil on Saturday. Former champion Arturo Gatti, who was scheduled to testify in a trial in New York this week in a lawsuit filed against the New York State Athletic commission by former opponent Joey Gamache, has been found dead in northeastern Brazil, according to several reports.

Gatti, 37, was on a second honeymoon with his wife and 10-month-old baby when his blood-stained body was found in an apartment in Porto de Galinhas, the Canadian Broadcasting Company reported.
A police investigation is underway and foul play is suspected, the CBC reported. Gatti was found in his underwear, with blood stains on his neck and the back of his head at about 6 a.m. Saturday morning, according to the the CBC.
Gatti, who was raised in Montreal and was one of the most exciting fighters in the sport, was scheduled to testify in Gamache's trial on a lawsuit charging negligence by the NYSAC at the weigh-in for the Feb. 2000 fight that left Gamache nearly dead from head trauma and with permanent brain damage. Gatti had knocked Gamache down twice in the first round, then rendered him senseless in the second round of their fight at Madison Square Garden. According to Gamache, Gatti was as much as 19 pounds overweight for the 141-pound fight.
"I feel sad, he did a lot for boxing," Gamache said Saturday when he learned of Gatti's death. "He had a lot of memorable fights. People will never forget what he did for boxing."
He started his professional career in 1991 at 19 and won the United States Boxing Association junior lightweight title and successfully defended it twice. He also won the International Boxing Federation's world junior lightweight title.
Gatti (40-9, 31 KOs) was best known for his three Pier 6 brawls with Micky Ward in 2002 and 2003. He fought often at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, where he was a fan favorite.
In his first fight after the Ward trilogy, which he won 2-1, Gatti captured a world title in his second division, winning a decision against Gianluca Branco for the vacant WBC junior welterweight title.
Gatti would go on to make two successful defenses before losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr. by a sixth-round TKO in June 2005. When most pundits thought his career was over, he came back to defeat Thomas Damgaard. But he lost his final two matches, suffering a ninth-round TKO against then welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir in July 2006. That was followed by a loss to former "Contender" star Alfonso Gomez in July 2007

Bisping's Island

UFC 100: Picking The Anniversary

1st off, congratulations to the UFC on their 100th show. For all the criticism, right and wrong directed at Dana White and Zuffa, they have really built the sport well and taken it to a level none of us thought possible. There is always bad and good but really, great job on a fascinating product and continued success.

Main card
Heavyweight Championship Title Unification Bout: (Rematch) Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir The 2 Heavyweight champions collide to decide the true king of the hill in this interesting bout. I want, want, want Frankie to win this, but lightening won't strike twice. Brock throws the ham sized fists and hurts the hurtable Mir. Damn it.

WINNER-Penis tattoo by TKO Rd.3
Welterweight Championship bout: Georges St-Pierre vs. Thiago Alves The most underrated and overlooked bout on the card is absolutely stellar as GSP looks to employ his technically superior ground game against the 1 punch KO power and amazingly brutal leg kicks and flying knee's from UFC's current "Pitbull." It wouldn't really surprise me if Thiago KO'd "Rush" early in the match, but the longer things go, the more frustrated he'll became as GSP scores almost at will in the points category. Patience and protection are key for the Champ as he finds a way to break the will of the massive weight cutting Welterweight stopping him late in the fight.

WINNER-GSP Rd.4 TKO
Middleweight bout: Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping I have wavered back and forth on this 1 for some time, but I just have this feeling its the "Count's" time. Mike's footwork and striking are better but he lacks the power of Dan's brutal right hand and ground game. I'm going with where I placed my bet though I'm not overly confident about it.

WINNER-Bisping by decision via WAR!
Middleweight bout: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alan Belcher The "Talent" faces his toughest test against the "Michael Jackson Of MMA" as Akiyama makes his UFC debut. That alone means I shouldn't pick him but I've got little confidence in Alan who when hurt, tends to wilt under pressure. Yoshi is real tough and good on the scramble as he puts away Burper.

WINNER-Akiyama by submission following beatdown
Welterweight bout: Jon Fitch vs. Paulo Thiago Say what you will, Thiago was losing against Koscheck and I still don't think there is anyone in the Welterweight division that can defeat the ultra-touch Fitch except for the Champ. Jon bulldogs him like his favorite pet.

WINNER-Fitch by TKO late 3rd

Prelims
Light Heavyweight bout: Mark Coleman vs. Stephan Bonnar Hammer House Rule #1-Fight hard for 1 minute and gas out. Does anyone out of this camp do anything else? Does anyone think "The Hammer" has a shot in hell here save a fluke takedown into a dislocated elbow (i.e.-Shogun Rua)? Me thinks not.

WINNER-Stephan Bonner submission Rd.2
Lightweight bout: Mac Danzig vs. Jim Miller 2 really talented Lightweights and coming off losses, Zuffa would be crazy to cut the loser. The Vegan returns after losing to Clay Guida and the younger Miller brother ran into the "Bully" Gray Maynard. I could really see a replay of the Guida/Danzig fight with Jim going Miller time all over his ass.

WINNER-Milla by decision
Light Heavyweight bout: Jon Jones vs. Jake O'Brien What is up "Bones" Jones the super exciting spinning elbow throwing "man of the moment" style meets the boring ass I will lay on you like a blanked O'Brien. I don't see Jake with any sort of change except the lay n' pray but he'll probably get a back flip axe kick upside his dome.

WINNER-"Bones" by tilt-a-whirl slam
Welterweight bout: Dong Hyun Kim vs. TJ Grant The "Stun Gun" Donger returns against the humble workman TJ. This is a tough 1 to call as TJ will not stop coming with action during the fight, but Kim is far more versed in the game and brings his good Judo. The Donger does seem to fade in fights lacking killer instinct and cardio issues. Lets call the upset for shits and giggles.

UPSET PICK WINNER-TJ Grant by hard fought decision
Middleweight bout: C.B. Dollaway vs. Tom Lawlor Nice "Just bleed" get up at the weigh-ins but this match was made for CB to continue in the UFC with his frat boy sneer.

WINNER-Dollaway by TKO
Lightweight bout: Matt Grice vs. Shannon Gugerty Its wrestling versus Jiu-Jitsu respectively, and in this coin flip fight I'll take the more offensive wrestler in a spirited "Loser leaves town" bout.

WINNER-Grice by decision

MMA Classic Photo #5 "Born To Fight"

Can you spot Nick Diaz in this class picture from the 2nd grade? Some people were just born fighters.-MMAFO

MMA MELEE The #1 MMA News Source 7/5/09

Dan Henderson’s striking coach on the 9th season of “TUF” may have landed himself a job in the UFC. Cyrille Diabate told “Inside MMA” he’s in discussions to join the UFC roster. The "Snake" 14-6-1 with a 3-fight winning streak and his last loss was to some guy named "Shogun" Rua in 2006. The 6'6" Light Heavyweight from France has used his length to out strike opponents with that Holland Kickboxing style. He will need to improve his ground game but I'd imagine Team Quest is working with him on that aspect of the game and he would be a nice addition to the Zuffa roster.
Blagoi Ivanov has become world famous after his shocking upset over Fedor Emelianenko in last years Combat Sambo competition. According to Nightmare of Battle, Ivanov will now face Fedor’s brother Aleksander Emelianenko in a Korean mixed martial arts contest on Sept. 29. An unwelcome to MMA is waiting in the form of little brother who is a top 10 Heavyweight himself, facing an untested fighter. I find it doubtful that Ivanov will take out the younger Emelianenko but who thought Joe Warren would run through the DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix and "Kid" Yamamoto? Anything is possible in MMA but it looks like it will be little brother defending big brother's honor in an interesting fight.
Lightweight Roger Huerta has finally been tapped to face Gray Maynard at UFC Fight Night 19 in Oklahoma on Sept. 16. Huerta was benched after refusing to sign a 5-fight contract with the UFC in order to pursue what has to be a successful acting career. We have all seen how Cung Le, Randy Couture, Bas Rutten, and Chuck Liddell parlayed their MMA careers into Oscar deserving acting performances. "El Matador" last competed in August of last year in a decision loss to Kenny Florian. Looks like matchmaker Joe Silva finally found an opponent they believe can defeat the young prospect and send him away to Hollywood on a loss right before his contract expires. Classy move Zuffa, you treat your fighters well.
Lorenzo Fertitta, the head honcho and part owner of the UFC flew to Zagreb, Croatia with his own private jet to apologize for Dana White's ignorant mouth and try to lure Mirko Cro Cop back to the UFC. Mr. White publicly released a rant on Cro Crop "fucking him" out of an oral contract with the UFC only to find out it was reported by a rumor web site and incorrect. Lorenzo spoke with Mirko for two hours Cro Cop about his desire to fight more frequently, and Filipovic has stated that the UFC heavyweight title is a lifelong dream, though he didn’t want to wait another six months for his next bout. Cro Cop’s value to the UFC has become even more evident with Fertitta himself flying to Croatia. Such a move is almost unprecedented with most deals being handled by UFC president Dana White although it has happened before when "Blaf" screwed up deals with Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture.
WEC will crown an interim Lightweight Champion when the promotion makes its first trip to Ohio on September 2. WEC 43 "Donald Cerrone vs. Ben Henderson" will happen at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown. Current Champion Jaime Varner was none to pleased with the news but his broken hand, broken foot, and reportedly blurry vision is expected to keep him out of action for some time to come. Also of note, UFC veteran Spencer "The King" Fisher may be heading to the WEC and would immediately be in the title hunt. Fisher won his last 3 bouts in the UFC but has gotten stale with management who are looking more and more to move mid-tier Lightweight fighters to the WEC. The interim fight between the "Cowboy" and the MMA Lab prospect will be a great fight!
Gilbert Yvel will replace Tim Sylvia against Paul Buentello at Affliction 3 "Trilogy" on August 1 in Anaheim. Yvel (36-13-1) just brutally KO'd former UFC Heavyweight title challenger Pedro Rizzo on Saturday at "Ultimate Chaos" in Biloxi, Mississippi. It was nasty but impressive as Tim sits on the sidelines after his embarrassing 9 second KO loss to Ray Mercer. Perhaps not taking the fight seriously, making a deal to only fight standing with a former professional boxing Champion, and coming in overweight at 310 lbs. wasn't such a good idea.
Former Welterweight standout Drew Fickett continues his fall from grace as he failed his pre-fight physical and was not allowed to compete at Rage in the Cage 129 in Glove, Arizona. Drew came in "legally drunk" after failing a breathalyzer test. The fighter was once much feared but has now lost 6 of his last 7 bouts due to personal demons which he cannot seem to overcome. I am predicting a sad end to this man's career and possibly his life if someone doesn't step in soon.
Brazilian submission ace and 12-time PRIDE veteran Ricardo Arono (13-5) is scheduled to fight for the 1st time in over 2 years according to a new report from the Portuguese-language website SuperLutas.com. According to the report, Arona will face UFC veteran Marvin Eastman on Sept. 12 at Bitetti Combat in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A couple of tune-up fights should let us know whether or not the former "BTT Tank" can get back to form unlike teammate Paulo Filho who has seemingly fallen completely apart.
UFC 100 cageside tickets are going for as much as $40,000 so get out your mortgage papers if you wish to go.