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UFC 109 ROUNDTABLE REVIEWS #3: Hyden and Teal rate and review Saturday night's pay-per-view

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:54:48 PST

FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST (6.0)

Best Fight: Marquardt vs. Sonnen
Worst Fight: Maia vs. Miller

I wasn't expecting much from this card so my expectations were slightly surpassed. Randy is just Randy. It's crazy how he just keeps on being what he is. As good as his performance was, it's important to remember that it was against Mark Coleman, not Lyoto Machida. Randy's amazing, but I don't think anybody should jump the gun and think about putting him in there with the elite fighters in the Light Heavyweight Division. It'd be a great story, but this is the real world.

Matt Serra had a great performance, but Frank Trigg just needs to give it up. The guy can't win anymore, at least not against good fighters. Nate Marquardt and Chael Sonnen had a good fight. I thought Marquardt would win, but Sonnen dominated him. Paulo Thiago should now be given consideration to at least be in a number one contender's bout, if not be given a shot at Georges St. Pierre.

All in all, this was a slightly above average show, definitely missable. The only people I would recommend this to would be hardcore Couture fans. Everyone else could skip this, and see any of the highlights on Spike later.

===

BOB TEAL, MMATORCH SPECIALIST (7.0)

Frank Trigg put up almost zero fight against Matt Serra. I would have to assume he is now likely to retire based upon statements he made after the Josh Koscheck loss. He seemed slow and stiff compared to Serra.

The Maia versus Miller fight was pretty much a snooze fest all the way through with neither fighter really proving anything. If I were Dana, I would not be too thrilled with the prospect of airing any of Maia's fights on pay-per-view form this point on. His striking was slightly improved, but then again he was not in there against a skilled striker like Marquardt. He was rarely able to take Miller down and, even when he did, Dan was able to get right back up. Six months ago we were thinking perhaps Maia could be the solution for the problem that is Anderson Silva in the Middleweight Division. After Saturday I would say he definitely is not.

Paulo Thiago had the most surprising showing all night. I thought he would struggle against the hand speed of Mike Swick, but he was patient in his stand up game and waited for his openings. When Swick looked like he was making some head way, Thiago floored him with a counter shot then subsequently put Swick to sleep. Thiago is a solid, game fighter and I am sold on him. At this juncture I would definitely be excited for a rematch between him and Koscheck.

That brings us to Chael Sonnen vs. Nate Marquardt. Chael's performance to me was absolutely the most impressive of the entire evening. He was able to take some shots, including sustaining a nasty cut, and yet he still took Marquardt Down and controlled him while delivering punishment throughout the fight. His performance was masterful and dominating in every way. He executed his game plan to perfection. We have always known Chael was a solid Team Quest fighter with a lot of heart, but it always seemed like he would find a way to lose a fight. It looks as though he has turned a corner in his career and I definitely believe he deserves a shot at the Middleweight Title after what we saw on Saturday night.

Finally Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman pretty much went the way I thought it would. Mark was stiff and one-dimensional and Randy took full advantage. Couture was able to dominate things on the feet. He caught Coleman and shook his tree a couple times. From there Randy was able to play his game which is getting Coleman into the clinch against the cage and delivering all kinds of punishment with his dirty boxing. Finally and mercifully Randy was able to take Coleman down and finish him with a rear naked choke. A good performance from Randy without a doubt, but not a surprise for me.

The show was definitely worth the buy for Thiago and Sonnen's virtuoso performances. But as for the overall quality of the fights, I would give this show a 7. It was not the among the worst cards I have seen by far, but not among the best either.

===

UFC 109 ROUNDTABLE #1: Keller, Perez, Amadi, and Schielke rate and review event

UFC 109 ROUNDTABLE REVIEWS #2: Pelkey, Leet, O'Donnell rate and review event

UFC 109 QUOTEBOOK: Most noteworthy utterances by Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg during PPV telecast

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:16:39 PST

This was originally part of my UFC 109 Live Blog, but in case you missed it, here's the quotes I picked out from the telecast along with some added context...

Joe Rogan: "That was the story of 2009 in the UFC. So many injuries, so may great fights canceled or postponed."

Mike Goldberg in response: "Joe Silva aged about ten years in 2009."

Joe Rogan after the cornermen first attempted to clear ice from a broken ice pack after the first round of the Melvin Guillard-Ronys Torres fight: "Get back in there, you're not done. There's ice all over the floor. There's a hundred pieces of ice still all over the floor... Those cornermen, somebody needs to kick their ass... I still a couple of pieces. I don't want anyone to fall and hit their head. This is ridiculous."

Mike Goldberg in response: "We need a Zamboni."

Joe Rogan: "[Mac] Danzig has publicly stated that if he loses to Justin Bockholz he doesn't belong in UFC. That's a pretty bold statement, but probably correct."

Joe Rogan on down strike elbows being banned in MMA: "It's ridiculous. It's not about safety, it's about ignorance. That's a dumb rule. It's not even the most powerful elbow."

Mac Danzig after his close victory: "I do my best not to ever underestimate anybody, but I don't think I gave him enough credit. This division is so deep. These other guys, no offense to the heavyweights, they don't understand what it's like to fight in this division. Even the guys toward the bottom of the rankings in the UFC are world class."

Joe Rogan: "This is a huge, huge fight for Frank Trigg. So huge he grew out his hair. When's the last time you saw Frank Trigg with hair?"

Mike Goldberg in response: "I don't know if it was was a great decision."

Joe Rogan: "It is a long road to get from being great as a grappler to being great as a striker. They are so completely different. It's like going from football to baseball."

Mike Goldberg in response: "It didn't work out for Bo Jackson."

Joe Rogan: "It's all heating up in 2010, bitches."

Joe Rogan: "So much of this game is about putting your mind into that perfect place. Not too relaxed, not too tense. That performance zone."

Joe Rogan on Nate Marquardt before his fight against Chael Sonnen: "This guy is one of the most well-rounded fighters in all of mixed martial arts. He's excellent at everything. He's one of the best fighters in all of the divisions."

Chael Sonnen: "I believe I can beat any man God ever made."

Mike Goldberg on Couture vs. Coleman: "Maybe they were supposed to meet in 1997, but they're here meeting in 2010."

For full details on what was said in the post-UFC 109 Press Conference including more gold from Sonnen, check out Jason Amadi's detailed report here:

UFC 109 PRESS CONFERENCE REPORT (App Users, just select the MMA News category.)

MMATorch Podcast: Two UFC 109 Roundtables (one hour each) available - subscribe to our podcast in iTunes Store

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:02:50 PST

By Wade Keller, MMATorch Supervising Editor

If you haven't checked it out yet, be sure to subscribe to our MMATorch Podcast in the iTunes Store.

This weekend Jamie Penick and I each hosted separate hour-long Audio Roundtables on UFC 109. Jamie was joined by longtime columnist Matt Pelkey and new columnist Anwar Perez. I was joined by senior columnist Shawn Ennis and new contributor Lane Bradford. The MMATorch Podcast feed also includes the Audio Choke with Collins, Rowland, and Shelby.

We're one of the longest-running MMA podcasts and the fourth return on a "UFC" search in the iTunes Podcast section.

CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE if you're visiting our website. If you're reading us on an iPhone or iPod Touch, simply click on the iTunes link in the lower right corner of your phone and search "MMATorch" or "UFC."

With your help, we can get back into the Top 200 Sports Podcasts Listing!

We also expect to have some big news about a new addition to the MMATorch audio line up this week, so stay tuned.

COLUMN: The History of African-Americans in MMA - part one of our month long series

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:49:26 PST

By Anwar Perez, MMATorch Columnist

For the month of February, we will be looking at important African-Americans during Black History month in MMA. Some were champions, others pioneers for the sport outside of the cage. This week, we take a look at Maurice Smith, who is possibly the first African-American champion in regulated MMA. Special thanks to fellow Torch columnist Bob Teal for clearing up a few facts for this piece.

Maurice Smith was making his UFC debut at UFC 14: Showdown, in a title fight against then heavyweight kingpin, Mark Coleman. Smith was coming into the fight with a 4-7 MMA record from fighting in RINGS and Pancrase. He was a kick-boxing champion in his career before MMA, and after a stint in K-1, decided to try MMA.

Even with a tremendous striking ability, Smith entered the fight as a huge underdog, as Coleman was the heavy favorite going into the fight. Mark Coleman was undefeated in all his appearances in the Octagon, and it seemed that streak was not going to end to a fighter who had such a sub-par record.

At the beginning of the fight, all you could see were signs for Coleman and huge crowd support for the champ. As the fight started, it was going all Coleman's way. Smith had been taken down and Coleman was doing what he does best, and that's the art of ground and pound.

This was Mark Coleman in his prime and there was no one better than him at this sort of thing, but for all the power he put into his strikes from the top, Coleman could not take Smith out. Smith was patient on the bottom, and able to cover-up well enough that ref Big John McCarthy didn't put a stop to it.

This lasted for a few minutes and Coleman could not seal the deal on Smith. Then you could see it. Coleman had gassed himself. When they were back on their feet, Coleman could not stop from taking deep breaths and dropping his hands. Smith was still relatively breathing normally, but many were not sure if he had sustained too much damage to change the course of the fight or sway the judges to his side if the fight went to a decision.

Smith started connecting on some combinations and attacking Coleman on the feet. His leg kicks were wearing Coleman down and did the most damage by taking away Coleman's most-used weapon, the takedown. Anytime that Coleman shot for the takedown, he missed wildly and couldn't spring forward the way he could if he had his legs.

This continued into the sudden death round, and Smith kept picking away at Coleman's legs. No one had defeated Coleman in the cage until that night. When the fight went to the judge's decision, the bout and the championship was awarded to Smith via unanimous decision.

This was also the turning of the tide, as many saw that grappling (wrestling or jiu-jitsu) was the way of the fighter and how you won fights. Instead of a brawler like Tank Abbot, you had a striker in Maurice Smith that picked his shots carefully and was able to not just use his hands, but also his legs in stopping Coleman. That was a skill-set that had not yet been seen in MMA, as most of the dominant fighters at the time were grapplers of some sort.

This was a high mark for a fighter who walked into that fight and had many scratching their heads as to why someone with a record like his had any business fighting the top dog in MMA at the time, Mark Coleman. Maurice Smith won and possibly is able to lay claim as being the first African-American championship belt-holder in MMA. There are many who would argue that he may have not been, but in a time when MMA was black-balled by PPV, the government, and most people outside of the hardcore fans, there were not many organizations in the US, let alone championship belts.

Smith would successfully defend against Tank Abbot, but lose to Randy Couture in a close decision. He fought for the UFC a few more times and also had a stint in Pride, but retired in 2000, only to come back in 2007.

Not only did he bring a new skill-set into the fight game, he also became a trailblazer that night and showed that not only Brazilians or Caucasian fighters could become world champions.

Part two will deal with the contributions that NFL Hall of Fame player Jim Brown provided MMA.

COLUMN: Death of the Guard - Changes to the MMA game evident at UFC 109, especially in Sonnen vs. Marquardt

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:32:20 PST

By Jason Amadi, MMATorch Columnist

In a post-UFC 109 interview done by Mike Straka, Jon Fitch made quite a bold statement. Fitch stated that the closed guard in MMA was "dead." He said that unless you're Shinya Aoki or Demian Maia, if you get taken down by a strong wrestler, you need to get back to feet or suffer a beating.

While that may rattle a few within the jiu jitsu community, he's completely correct. Over the years we've seen MMA evolve many times. While some feel that the sport is largely the same and has been since the institution of the Unified Rules, fans who really look at fights from just a few short years ago, and compare to fights now, will notice quite a few changes.

For one, the mount is no longer the most dominant position to finish a fight. I can't remember the last time a fight was finished with strikes from the mount position. Side control seems to be the preferred position to finish off opponents.

Made famous by Ivan Salavary (as Joe Rogan loves to remind us of this, but I feel Matt Hughes popularized it further), trapping the arms of your opponent in side control, and then raining down blows to the face gives much less space for escape. Even if you don't land significant blows, the referee is forced to stop the fight because you can't escape.

At this point, the mount is fairly low percentage. As we saw with Phil Davis and Brian Stann, the trend these days when mounted is to simply give up your back and hang on to the gloves of your opponent, then hope you can explode over into their guard and reverse momentum that way. Sure, Davis didn't have the best mount, but the survival techniques showed by Stann (guy really needs to practice the hip escape, though) are now likely common practice at all the top teams in MMA.

The guard is in trouble for sure. I agree completely with Fitch, and feel that unless you are a top submission artist, the caliber of Demian Maia, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, Shinya Aoki, Dustin Hazelett, or Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, having a top wrestler in your guard is death.

At the top level, wrestlers are so good at submission defense, as we saw with Chael Sonnen, they no longer have any fear of the guard. Nate Marquardt is a black belt in jiu jitsu, but could get nothing done against Sonnen from inside his guard and paid the price for it.

Jon Fitch has made a career of being inside a tough BJJ black belt's guard and surviving. Tito Ortiz made a name for himself for punishing guys inside the guard as well, and the list of wrestlers who do so just grows more and more by the day. I don't think I even need to discuss the problems that could arise should you find a monster wrestler like Shane Carwin or Brock Lesnar in your guard (Minotauro Nogueira is a brave, brave man).

But the big story of UFC 109 was Nate Marquardt being battered from inside his guard by Chael Sonnen. I think the next evolution in MMA is the rubber guard becoming common practice for everyone involved. We're still seeing 1997 style guards in 2010. It just doesn't work in MMA anymore.

The rubber guard was designed to control fighters from within your guard, break down their posture, and look for submissions from unusual places using flexibility. Anyone familiar with Shinya Aoki's handiwork has seen him perform breathtaking submissions (literally) from the rubber guard.

The problem is that a lot of fighters, who aren't necessarily raised in the discipline of BJJ from the start, don't necessarily have the flexibility. Dustin Hazelett's submission of Tamdon McCrory at UFC 91 was the last time I saw the rubber guard used effectively in the UFC. Generally, we see fighters feebly attempt to grab their ankles, only after having sustained a beating, and then they realize after a few tries that they haven't practiced this technique nearly enough, so they wind up giving up.

Unless a meteor hits the UFC, and wipes out all its elite wrestlers, we're going to be in for a long reign of terror by wrestlers. Couture vs. Coleman wasn't the only indication that we're back in 1997, folks, because the guard in MMA has been rendered almost completely ineffective at the top level.

[Jon Fitch photo credit Wade Keller (c) MMATorch]

UFC NEWS: UFC 109 Press Conference Notes - Summaries of key points made by Dana White, Serra, Trigg, Sonnen, Couture, Coleman

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:18:46 PST

By Laramey Leet, MMATorch Columnist

DANA WHITE: Dana believes in cleaning out a weight class, then moving on to another. He believes that Anderson Silva will stay at middleweight no matter what the outcome of the Vitor Belfort fight will be. Chael Sonnen has a very interesting matchup with Silva and may create problems for Vitor as well. Dana said that Randy Couture is one of the greatest light heavyweight fighters in the world. Dana was asked about the antics that Tito Ortiz pulled after the Mark Coleman vs. Randy Couture fight and he simply said "That’s Tito, who doesn’t have bad blood with Tito!" Commented on how good Phil Davis looked and said that there is more upcoming fighters that are making there rise in the UFC.

PHIL DAVIS: Defeated Brian Stann by unanimous decision. "Day one on the job." Credited Stann for his crisp standup and went on to say that Brian hit him with seven different kinds of smoke! He was very satisfied with his win and he hopes that his coaches are proud. He is looking forward to becoming good at everything, as just being good at one aspect is not good enough.

MELVIN GUILLARD: Defeated Ronnys Torres. Thought that he won the fight no matter what the judges were going to say. He was glad that the judges went to his favor. Torres would take him down, but did not do anything with the takedowns. He went on to say that he thought that Ronnys only landed a couple punches and he thought he was landing almost everything. He said that there is always room for improvement and he is glad that he has a new MMA family with great coaches. He will keep pushing until he gets to the title.

FRANK TRIGG : Loss to Matt Serra by KO in the first round. He did not think that he was out, but understands the judges have a job. He said they stopped it, it is what it is. He is going to go home and talk to his family and see if he should continue fighting after dropping two fights in a row.

MATT SERRA: Defeated Frank Trigg by KO. Really does not have a clue when he will fight again. He is opening up a new gym and will be working on that. He said that he will fight whomever the UFC puts in front of him. He said he "is just a fighter; I am down for whatever." He trained on throwing the body shot then going to the head. He thought that Trigg was going to try and take him down more and was shocked when he wanted to stand. Overall he thought that he fight worked out alright.

DAN MILLER: Loss to Demian Maia by unanimous decision. He credited Maia for being good on the ground. He said that he felt good through the fight. He thought going into the third round that he had one a round and Maia had one a round. He just could not defend against Maia on the ground.

DEMIAN MAIA: Defeated Dan Miller by unanimous decision. He said it felt awesome to have a victory after a loss like he had taken before. He wanted to stand up and prove that he is not a one-sided fighter. He credited Miller by stating that he is a very tough competitor. He said that he followed his gameplan the entire fight. He wants to be fighting for the title and hopes to be fighting for it this year. He was happy that he did the fight in a different way that he was not used to and came out with the win.

PAULO THIAGO: Defeated Mike Swick by submission and won the Submission of the Night bonus as well. He decided to go in for the submission because it was more open than going for the TKO finish. He loves to be a cop and fighter at the same time. If he had to choose between the two, he would be a fighter. He said that he feels more emotion in the cage and it pays better. His game plan was to wait for the Swick to attack due to his aggressive style and try to catch him. He then went on to say that he would fight anybody.

CHAEL SONNEN: Defeated Nate Marquardt by unanimous decision and won Fight of the Night bonus. "It was the most miserable 15 minutes of my life." He did not think that the fight would go the way that it did. He had trained with Nate before and was unable to take him down. He thought that he was going to pass out during the choke, but he was not going to tap. His mental preparation for the fight was knowing that he was going to get beat up, he just wanted to beat him up worst. He would rather Silva beat Vitor because he believes that Vitor is the tougher opponent. "Take the easier opponent!" (And yes, he really said that) He credited his team for being there for him and helping him along the way. He thinks that he needs to get better at everything. My favorite quote: Sonnen said, "If you want to be a fighter and get in the cage and be a big deal at your local strip club, go to Showtime, but if you want to fight real guys, this is the place to do it.

MARK COLEMAN: Loss to Randy Couture by submission in the second round. He said that Randy was a lot better, stronger, and threw crisper punches than he expected. He still said that was the biggest fight in his career. He said that Randy is a legend in the sport and proved it tonight. He tried to be mature at the end of the fight, but Tito got the best of him and he said what he said.

RANDY COUTURE: Only had to cut 8 pounds to make 205 pounds. He said he normally walks around at about 217 or so. The fight could not have gone better. He said that he had a very good training camp. He likes being active and fighting frequently. Everything felt good during the fight. He thought that he had rocked him, but was unable to finish. He really wanted a KO because he has never had a knockout in his career. His game plan was to stay light on his feet and stick and move. He then went on to say that he has no idea what you are supposed to feel like at 46; he is just having fun and training. He said that he cannot compete with the heavyweights due to the weight advantage. Not only are they big, but they are great fighters he said.

Come back in two weeks for UFC 110.

To read Jason Amadi's detailed report on this same press conference, with his analysis of what was said, click here (or App users, please click on the News section).

[Dana White photo by Wade Keller (c) MMATorch]

UFC 109 Prediction and Betting Contest Results

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:17:17 PST

By Matt Pelkey, MMATorch Columnist

Well we got the fairly uneventful show I was expecting out of UFC 109 on Saturday, but the results did make for some interesting outcomes here at the Torch. Both Prediction Champ Godric Louis and Betting Champ Jamie "The Boss" Penick were able to withstand their challenges from #1 contender Paul P. and retain their belts for the first time. Congrats to our champs!

In the pools is where things got interesting. With a few upsets on the card, no one was able to put up a 10-1 or 11-0 mark in the predictions, but Fernando Trejo's 9-2 was good enough to beat out a four-headed monster at 8-3 to earn the #1 contendership at UFC 110. Congrats to Trejo as he'll take on Godric Louis for the Prediction Title.

In the betting pool we had a strange dichotomy. As I said there were a few upsets. Those upsets caused nearly everyone to either make big money or no money. We had a record 14 entrants turn a profit, including four that over doubled their money, and also a record 8 people lose every dollar. In the end, it was Lightning101 who came out on top thanks to a $500 bet on Chael Sonnen and a $300 bet on Paulo Thiago. Despite making an unsuccessful $200, he nearly tripled his money and topped the rest of the field. Congrats to Lightning101, our new #1 contender for the betting title, who'll take on champ Jamie Penick at UFC 110.

Prediction Championship:

Godric Louis 7-4

Paul P. 6-5

Prediction Pool:

Godric Louis 7-4

Paul P. 6-5

Fernando Trejo 9-2

Matthew Scott 8-3

Ryan Wankel 8-3

TURK 8-3

Matt Pelkey 8-3

Rich Boles 7-4

Jamie Penick 7-4

Supernova 7-4

Lightning101 7-4

Brooks Rittel 7-4

Dan Moore 7-4

Danny Mellor 7-4

Jonah Goodman 6-5

Sam Matthew 6-5

Lauton Astinoe 6-5

Scott Hart 5-6

Kubi 5-6

Nick Underwood 5-6

Lane Bradford 5-6

Corry Porter 5-6

Tony Shuck 5-6

Jeffrey Klette 5-6

Aidan 5-6

Justin Nesbitt 4-7

DMK 3-8

Betting Championship:

Jamie Penick- $200 on Serra for $329.03
$200 on Tuchscherer for $300
$100 on Guillard for $176.92
Total Payout: $805.95

Paul P.- $200 on Guillard for $353.85
$200 on Serra for $329.03
Total Payout: $682.88

Betting Pool:

Lightning101- $500 on Sonnen for $2125
$300 on Thiago for $780
Total Payout: $2905

Hans Hoehn- $300 on Thiago for $780
$200 on Sonnen for $850
$200 on Serra for $329.03
$100 on Beltran for $475
Total Payout: $2434.03

Supernova- $400 on Beltran for $1900
$200 on Serra for $329.03
Total Payout: $2229.03

Fernando Trejo- $500 on Thiago $1300
$300 on Serra for $493.55
$200 on Guillard for $353.85
Total Payout: $2147.40

Kubi- $400 on Beltran for $1900
Total Payout: $1900

Jonah Goodman- $500 on Emerson for $884.62
$400 on Serra for $658.06
$100 on Thiago for $260
Total Payout: $1802.68

Matthew Scott- $500 on Serra for $822.58
$300 on Tuchscherer for $450
$200 on Thiago for $520
Total Payout: $1792.58

Daniel Moore- $500 on Serra for $822.58
$400 on Guillard for $707.69
$100 on Thiago for $260
Total Payout: $1790.27

Danny Mellor- $200 on Maia for $240
$200 on Couture for $240
$100 on Beltran for $475
$100 on Thiago for $260
$100 on Guillard for $176.92
$100 on Serra for $164.52
Total Payout: $1556.44

Ryan Wankel- $500 on Maia for $600
$400 on Serra for $658.06
$100 on Thiago for $260
Total Payout: $1518.06

Brooks Rittel- $500 on Thiago for $1300
Total Payout: $1300

TURK- $500 on Guillard for $884.62
$200 on Davis for $272.73
Total Payout: $1157.35

Corry Porter- $500 on Maia for $600
$300 on Serra for $493.55
Total Payout: $1093.55

Godric Louis- $500 on Serra for $822.58
$100 on Thiago for $260
Total Payout: $1082.58

Ken Carter- $200 on Guillard for $353.85
$200 on Serra for $329.03
$100 on Thiago for $260
Total Payout: $942.88

Sam Matthew- $400 on Serra for $658.06
Total Payout: $658.06

Rich Boles- $200 on Tuchscherer for $300
$200 on Davis for $272.73
Total Payout: $572.73

DMK- $200 on Thiago for $520
Total Payout: $520

Jeffrey Klette- $200 on Emerson for $353.85
$100 on Serra for $164.52
Total Payout: $518.37

Scott Hart- $0

Lane Bradford- $0

Nick Underwood- $0

Eric Labrador- $0

Aidan- $0

Justin Nesbitt- $0

Lauton Astinoe- $0

Tony Shuck- $0

Performer of the Night: Fernando Trejo. He topped the betting pool and also more than doubled his money. The most impressive thing about his bets is that he did it without betting any money on either of the big underdogs (Sonnen, Beltran) who pulled upsets. A $500 bet on Paulo Thiago didn't hurt though.

Goat of the Night: Your's truly, Matt Pelkey. Sure there were other candidates, with 8 people losing all their money and a whopping ten entrants going under .500 on their picks. And sure, my 8-3 mark on predictions was pretty nice (especially considering I picked BOTH Sonnen and Thiago to win), but notice my name doesn't appear anywhere in the betting pool. That's because I failed to make my bets before the deadline. I got lazy and lost track of time. The only reason I can even claim the 8-3 mark is because I used my picks I made on our audio preview show. Not my finest hour.

UFC QUOTABLES: Dana White - "Couture fight was probably Coleman's last fight in the UFC"

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:02:59 PST

: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"I think tonight was probably Coleman's last fight in the UFC... I'm not taking anything away from Mark Coleman. I have nothing but respect for him, and I'll say this now, too: Mark Coleman has always been a stand-up guy to me... He'll always be a part of this organization. I just think he'll have a hard time competing with the guys at the top level. Age is a factor with him... This fight was a dream for Coleman. It was a dream of his to fight Randy Couture, and he wanted this thing bad. He said it best at the press conference. He said, 'Randy Couture has accomplished a lot of things and has a lot of things. I want to take some of those things from him Saturday night... He went in there, and he wasn't able to do anything. He didn't get off. Randy pretty much beat him everywhere... It's tough to say, 'It's over, and I've got to hang it up.' It's the toughest thing in the world, and I hate dealing with it. It sucks."

-UFC President Dana White talks about Mark Coleman's UFC future after the post UFC 109 press conference.

Penick's Analysis: White is spot on with his assessment of Coleman following Saturday's fight. Whereas Couture looked to be twenty years younger than his physical age, Coleman was slowed down and completely unable to do anything to Couture as he was getting pummeled against the cage in the first and then choked out in the second. While he had been able to pick up a victory against Stephan Bonnar last July, the simple fact remains that he didn't look anywhere near that shape just seven months later for this fight against Couture. He said after the fight that he would be back, but it's sounding like he may not have a choice in the matter. Unlike Chuck Liddell, Coleman may not be able to argue his way back into a fight in the UFC. At 45, perhaps it's time for "The Hammer" to put it on the shelf and let it be.

[Mark Colema photo credit Mike Lano (c) MMATorch]

App Users: A few notes from the supervising editor on new features, upcoming plans, a request, and more

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:09:06 PST

Thanks to everyone for your support over the past year-plus. We appreciate your visiting us on a regular basis and for your positive feedback and words of support for what we do. Thanks, also, for making us a mainstay in the top 100 free sports apps in the iTunes store (and often top 50 sometimes top 25 around big events)!

We are proud of the new features we've rolled out early this year including new Specialists, the return of the Roundtable, several new Weekly Columnists, and more. (Plus the return of Shawn Ennis's popular "Lay of the Land" features looking in-depth at each weight class's contenders on a regular basis.) I think we've assembled a strong staff of diverse contributors adding a lot of knowledge and entertainment related to the sport of MMA each day, making it worth visiting the MMATorch App and MMATorch.com on your PC/laptop on a daily basis.

We also have updated this week the Champs and Upcoming Events categories, so if you ever want to do quick reference research on current champions, their defenses, or upcoming defenses, check out the Champs category (just click MORE in the lower right). If you want to see a handy calendar of upcoming MMA events or see the latest line-ups for future events, check out the "Upcoming Events" category, which Jamie updated this week and will continue to update as there are changes and additions to future cards.

If you like what we do, by the way, please take a moment to give us a high ranking in the iTunes Store if you haven't yet.

We do have plans soon to upgrade the App with a makeover which would include our most requested upgrade, which is video capability, plus a new interface in general.

Also, last week we upgraded the design of the MMATorch.com website. While it wasn't a radical makeover, I think it's a significant design improvement over the previous look. We currently have a Spotlight box on the home page with links to a half dozen or so UFC 109 related articles. I hope you'll keep MMATorch.com in mind when you're looking for MMA news and features while on your laptop or PC because we are a multi-platform MMA news source. It's also the only place, at this point, to vote in our polls, watch videos, and search past articles.

We're about to enter a very busy MMA season with some highly anticipated fights and top draws in big title fights now through the summer, and we plan to bring you our usual all-original, in-depth coverage including what we believe is the best UFC PPV report format and live coverage in the game. Join us tonight night for live results and analysis of UFC 109 and come back daily for more original news, opinion, and interview content than ever.

(Don't forget to take a moment to rank us in iTunes if you like what we do! Thanks!)

-Wade Keller, MMATorch Supervising Editor

UFC 109 ROUNDTABLE REVIEWS #2: Pelkey, Leet, O'Donnell rate and review event

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:00:12 PST

MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMNIST (5.5)

A very mild thumbs up for me, and the show was really saved by the top two fights. I'ts not that anything was really bad (except for the Rolles Gracie fight, which was the worst fight I've seen in the Octagon in a LONG time); it's just that every fight was starting to look the same, and with the exception of Serra-Trigg (nice gameplan, by the way, Frank) it was Decision-fest '10 last night. Don't get me wrong, I certainly don't mind a fight going to the scorecards if both fighters are giving everything they have (Sonnen-Marquardt), but I don't care for glorified sparring matches (Guillard-Torres and Maia-Miller).

Despite the weak main card, I was intrigued by the debut of three highly touted prospects in three different divisions. Only Phil Davis lived up to the hype, but even he showed he's still at the very beginning of his progression. Torres looked okay, but he ran into a surprisingly mature Melvin Guillard and didn't have the striking to keep up with his takedowns started to fail. And as I said before, Rolles Gracie should be embarrassed by that performance. He was blown up before the fight started. I understand the first-fight jitters, but there's no excuse for being that sloppy and under-prepared for a UFC fight.

Chael Sonnen made me look like a very smart man, as the fight played out exactly as I predicted, only even more dominant in Sonnen's favor. He's earned his title shot... unlike the winner of the main event. Randy Couture is a living legend in the sport of MMA. I get that. What I don't get is on what planet does beating Brandon Vera and Mark Coleman (Couture's only wins since dropping down to 205) earn you a title shot? Sure, Couture looked great. Did I mention that he was fighting MARK FREAKIN' COLEMAN?! All I ask is that Couture beat one - just one - legitimate contender before being granted a title shot.

ANDREW O'DONNELL, MMATORCH SPECIALIST (7.0)

Fight of the Night: Marquardt-Sonnen
Worst of the Night: Maia-Miller
Fighter of the Night: Chael Sonnen and Phil Davis (couldn't decide)

I wasn't expecting these fights to be really great matches, but I was very surprised that some of the sleeper fights turned out to be excellent fights. Rather weird night with some upsets - specifically the Sonnen-Marquardt fight. I was in awe that whole match. It was the exposing of Nate Marquardt who essentially had no answer while on his back. Definitely think Nate took him lightly or underestimated Chael to a degree. I mean, Chael dominated him. Very interesting twist in the division. He's clearly got the tools and experience to beat the winner of Anderson and Vitor for the title.

The prelims turned out a big longer than expected. I thought Torres beat Guillard. I know Ronys didn't fight last year at all, but this was supposed to be an easy match for him. It was pretty average of a fight for free television.

Mac Danzig and Justin Buchholz was a loser leaves town match. I really liked it because they were fighting to just stay in the UFC. I thought Mac should've finished him quicker, but Justin was giving it his all as well.

The PPV seemed to answer a lot of questions about the future. One, Serra ending possibly Frank Trigg's career with that knockout. I'm sure Serra is looking for Matt Hughes next.

Maia and Miller put on one of the worst bouts I've seen on a PPV possibly bringing Maia's credibility down big time as an exciting ground fighter. An embarrassing fight to have friends over for the fights and everyone is yawning during the second fight.

That changed quickly, after Phil Davis and Brian Stann prelim match aired. Phil Davis is a stud. He's an a immediate threat. I can't remember the last time I've been as impressed with someone's first UFC fight in my life. He looked like Kevin Randleman and Mark Coleman with technique and skill.

A Gracie fought on the prelims as well, but not worthy mentioning him because he pulled a Joe Scarola on us. Paulo Thiago and Mike Swick put on an okay fight. Both of them hit hard which caused a stalemate, but Thiago had the advantage on the ground.

The main event Couture-Coleman was a old fashion beatdown. From the looks of it, Coleman seemed like he had been run over. I think Randy knew he was going to choke him out by the entrance song he chose, which was "Stranglehold" by Ted Nugent. A lot of what Randy was doing made Mark Coleman look slow and, well... old. I'm not sure if Randy Couture would've won back in the day. He showed no signs of slowing down anytime soon. He's definitely still the man in that division. Always a treat to watch Randy compete.

A better PPV than I initially thought. If anyone's to blame it's UFC for this title drought, especially knowing that there saving two title fights on the same card in Abu Dhabi.

LARAMEY LEET, MMATORCH COLUMNIST (6.5)

UFC 109 was nothing special. The majority of the fights in UFC 109 had a decent name in it. This event was the exact opposite of UFC 108. UFC 108 had great fights, but few had that BIG (PPV selling) name involved. In UFC 109, we had big names, but we just did not have the excitement in each and every fight. Although we got to watch 9 of the 11 fights, which is a treat coming from the UFC!

Matt Serra vs. Frank Trigg was just another fight where Trigg got Told and argued that he was okay. I am glad to see Serra get back on a winning streak, but he needed a better opponent. Trigg will either be out of the UFC or he will have one more fight and then be cut. Paulo Thiago vs Mike Swick was a good fight. Thiago came out wanting to exchange with Swick, which I thought might be a mistake, but he caught Swick and pulled the submission.

My Fight of the Night was without a doubt Chael Sonnen vs. Nate Marquardt. Just WOW. I did not see that coming at all. Nate can blame the fight on a bad game plan if he wants to, but I did not see anyway that he could have stopped the takedowns. Chael was relentless in the fight and proved to everyone that he is just not a politician with a big mouth.

Worst fight of the night would have to be Demian Maia vs. Dan Miller. Maia did not want a repeat of his last fight and was not trying to push the fight. Miller was trying but just getting frustrated with the striking. It was just a boring fight.

The main event did not disappoint at all. Couture and Coleman came out and wanted to test each other on the feet. Couture took a couple of shots, but Couture kept great footwork and head movement. Coleman on the other hand moved straight backwards (which you should never do) and had almost no footwork or head movement. Couture pulled out the submission in the second for a great Hall of Famers Fight.

===

UFC 109 ROUNDTABLE #1: Keller, Perez, Amadi, and Schielke rate and review event

UFC NEWS: Randy Couture earns a quarter of $944,000 disclosed payroll for UFC 109

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:54:53 PST

Randy Couture made an extremely successful return to prominence in the light heavyweight division Saturday night at UFC 109, looking better at 46 years old than in any fight he's had in the last few years. Couture being Couture, he was of course the top earner of the night, and as far as total disclosed payroll is concerned he earned a little over a quarter of the night's total payroll. Other top earners of the night were Matt Serra, Chael Sonnen and Demian Maia. Full disclosed salaries for the event are below:

-Randy Couture: $250,000 (no win bonus)
-Mark Coleman: $60,000
-Chael Sonnen: $64,000 (includes $32,000 win bonus)
-Nate Marquardt: $45,000
-Paulo Thiago: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus)
-Mike Swick: $43,000
-Demian Maia: $62,000 ($31,000 win bonus)
-Dan Miller: $15,000
-Matt Serra: $150,000 ($75,000 win bonus)
-Frank Trigg: $30,000
-Mac Danzig: $40,000 ($20,000 win bonus)
-Justin Buchholz: $8,000
-Melvin Guillard: $28,000 ($14,000 win bonus)
-Ronys Torres: $4,000
-Rob Emerson: $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus)
-Phillipe Nover: $10,000
-Phil Davis: $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus)
-Brian Stann: $17,000
-Chris Tuchscherer: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus)
-Tim Hague: $7000
-Joey Beltran: $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus)
-Rolles Gracie: $15,000

[Randy Couture photo credit Mike Lano (c) MMATorch]

UFC 109 PRESS CONFERENCE REPORT: Dana White reacts to event, Fight of the Night, Fighter Interviews, More (w/Amadi Analysis)

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:32:06 PST

Dana White starts the press conference by reading off the numbers for the event. The event was a sellout with over 10,000 in attendance and a $2.27 million gate. He went over the Fight of the Night bonuses which were $60,000 each. "Fight of the Night" was awarded to Chael Sonnen and Nate Marquardt, "Knockout of the Night" went to Matt Serra, and "Submission of the Night" went to Paulo Thiago.

Amadi's Analysis: Interesting that Randy Couture didn't get it for choking out Mark Coleman, but Thiago deserved it more, and I doubt with how much bread Couture is raking in for his performances that he needs the bonuses as much.

First question of the night goes to Chael Sonnen after his dominating performance over Nate Marquardt. When asked about his confidence going into the fight, and whether he felt wrestling was the difference was between he and Marquardt Sonnen, he said, "Yeah, that's what it turned out to be, that wasn't how I saw the fight going." He mentioned how he worked out with Marquardt five years ago and wasn't able to take Nate down once, and how he was actually outwrestled by Nate. He was surprised that he was able to control the wrestling so easily.

Amadi's Analysis: Anyone who saw this fight knows Sonnen basically did whatever he wanted in the fight and didn't stand much with Nate at all because he knew what his advantage was and exploited it. He was completely dominant with the wrestling and battered Nate on the ground. Nate wasn't able to do much of anything off of his back and was overwhelmed by Sonnen from bell to bell. If and when Georges St. Pierre moves up to middleweight, I think Sonnen would be a nightmare match up for him. Oh yeah, he gets a shot at that Anderson Silva guy everyone is talking about, should Silva get past Vitor Belfort at UFC 112.

Next question was for Matt Serra: Would he return to action sooner than his typical once-a-year approach. Serra replied with a laugh and said: "You want me back right away, don't you buddy." Cute. He went on to talk about the opening of his new jiu jitsu school in Long Island. He said he'd think about it after that

Amadi's Analysis: If anyone takes a gander at Serra's record, there's usually a long gap between his fights, mostly because he makes a comfortable living with his jiu jitsu schools and doesn't necessarily need to fight as often as other fighters. Kudos to Matt Serra for having options.

Questions for Demian Maia followed. He was asked about how it felt to rebound with a victory after his crushing KO loss to Nate Marquardt in August. Demian responded: "It's always sweet when you have a victory after a loss, especially for me now. I just want to prove myself, and prove to everyone that I could fight standing up. I was just doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, that's what I do, and that's what I always will do, but I need to feel I'm a complete fighter, not just in training, but in the Octagon. That's why I didn't try to shoot all the time, and I wanted to try my boxing, and it works at least." Later in the conference Maia was asked if he was surprised at how difficult Miller was to takedown and how good his BJJ was. Maia stated that he didn't really try too hard to get into a jiu jitsu battle with him, and that if he wanted to, he could have just pulled guard like he has in the past.

Amadi's Analysis: It wasn't pretty, but it's good to see that he's at least competent standing up. What was so unique and so interesting about him before was that he was submitting guys left and right, with no striking to speak of. When Nate Marquardt introduced his face to a solid shot, he was forced to become a really complete fighter, and that's a plus for his career. Unfortunately for viewers, we didn't get to see his professional ground game, and were forced to sit through his amateurish boxing.

Chael Sonnen was then asked if Oregon was ready for an "Ultimate Fighting Politician." I really hate the phrase "Ultimate Fighting," for the record. It has a negative connotation, dating back to the "human cockfighting" days. Chael went into politician mode and excitedly replied: "Yeah, absolutely. You know, politics are important and that's a tough job. Some people in our industry need to get out there and do it in a professional matter." He went on to say that it's time someone from the company go out and do that. By "that" I assume he means run for the House of Representatives in Oregon. Later Chael went on to describe the fight with Marquardt as a "miserable experience" and said that when he took a big knee from Nate, everything "went white for a second."

Amadi's Analysis: Chael Sonnen reminds me of a nerdy pro wrestling heel, but in the best way possible. He really turned up the trash talk (pretty much about everyone on the UFC roster) before this fight, which was smart. He got a lot of attention on himself from the media, he won his fight in a dominating fashion, he's running for the House of Representatives, and he comes off squeaky clean (aside from the gaping head wound Marquardt managed to deliver) in the process.

Talk finally moves on to Randy Couture, who was victorious in the UFC 109 main event, after a dominant performance over Mark Coleman. Randy detailed his gameplan, and suggested that everything went according to plan, and that he knew Coleman hadn't changed his game a lot, and wanted to get into the clinch and make it difficult for Coleman to get a takedown. He went on to chronicle the fight in brilliant detail. Later in the conference, Couture said that the close proximity of his fights and training camps have been productive and really helped raise his overall skill.

Dana was asked what was next for Randy, and Dana didn't answer definitively, but gave his usual "in the mix" line.

Amadi's Analysis: Hardcore fans like to rag on Randy Couture because he has a record of 18-10 and because he has been gifted a few title opportunities, but this performance should put a lot of discussion to rest. Mark Coleman is a year younger than Randy Couture, and Couture performed as if he was twenty years his junior. He is a very special athlete and belongs with the top fighters in his division, and not the Mark Coleman's of the world. Especially at light heavyweight, Couture has the ability and the strength to give a lot of fighters problems and is definitely one of the top guys in his division.

Questions moved back to Dana White regarding whether or not Anderson Silva would remain at 185 lbs. in the event of a victory over Vitor Belfort. Dana talked up Chael Sonnen as top competition for either Vitor or Anderson, and notes that Chael is perhaps the final fight Anderson needs to clean out the Middleweight Division. When Chael was asked whom he'd rather fight, Chael responded: "I hope Anderson wins, because I think Vitor is a much tougher fighter." Oh boy. He said Vitor has never lost a fight in the stand up realm. Chael went on to rip StrikeForce when he said, "If you want to be a fighter, get in the cage, and be a big deal at your local strip club, go to Showtime." Dana White loved this, and Chael got a big laugh from the room.

Amadi's Analysis: I love Chael Sonnen.

Paulo Thiago's presence at the conference was finally taken advantage of, as he was asked why he went for the submission rather than follow up with a few punches more for the TKO stoppage. Silly question, yes, but Thiago, through his translator responded: "The possibility for submission is much bigger." Dana White then heaped praise on Thiago as well.

Amadi's Analysis: The American Kickboxing Academy must now hate this guy. I wouldn't be surprised if Herschel Walker and Cain Valasquez plan on throwing down the challenge as well after he stopped Koscheck and Swick. Frankly, Mike Swick needs to go back to middleweight. He looks too skinny and drawn out at welterweight, and probably should have never made the drop to begin with. I think he made a poor decision after being manhandled by the enormous Yushin Okami, and is now getting beaten up by top welterweights as a result.

Dana kind of shrugged off questions on Tito Ortiz following his berating of Mark Coleman. This was probably in an effort not to ruffle Tito's feathers now that they've become BFF's again.

Amadi's Analysis: Tito Ortiz is desperately trying to keep his name out there and be mentioned as much as possible now that he's gone years without a victory. It's sad that Tito would go to these lengths to try to get a fight with Coleman after he lost in such decisive fashion to Randy Couture. I suppose you have to get wins wherever you think you can.

Dumbest question of the night was asked to Paulo Thiago. Thiago was asked whether being a special officer in Brazil or an MMA fighter was "more fun." In true badass style without cracking a smile, he said through a translator that he loves both, but the emotion he felt in the Octagon that night was priceless.

Final question went to Dana White, and was on the subject of Donald Cerrone or Ben Henderson possibly fighting B.J. Penn in the UFC, and Dana responded: "We own both companies, obviously that's not impossible."

UFC 109 RESULTS: Randy Couture puts the "Stranglehold" on Mark Coleman, gets back into Light Heayvweight Title picture

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:39:42 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

In one of the more prophetic choices of entrance song in UFC history, UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture entered the Octagon on Saturday night at UFC 109 to Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold." After dominating the first round with superior striking and masterful dirty boxing in the clinch, Couture took fellow UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman to the canvas in the second round and locked on a rear naked choke, putting Coleman out cold.

Both fighters came into this one with something to prove, to show to fans everywhere that at 45 and 46 years of age, respectively, they both still had what it takes to compete with the best in this sport. For Couture, he showed exactly why he's been able to have success this late in his career, fighting his best fight in the last few years.

The rear naked choke was Couture's first submission victory in four and a half years, and the overall performance was better than any he's had since a Heavyweight Title defense over Gabriel Gonzaga in 2007. He was crisp in his striking, his dirty boxing battered Coleman against the cage, and he finished it off convincingly in the second.

For Coleman, this fight showed that the doubters were likely correct. He did not look good in any facet of the fight, getting thoroughly outclassed and looking every bit his 45 years of age. It was simply clear that Couture has consistently evolved his game throughout his career while Coleman has simply stayed the same fighter he's always been.

The impressive win vaults Couture right into the Title picture in the light heavyweight division, and a fight with perhaps the winner of Forrest Griffin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira could be the next step for him to get another crack at the Light Heavyweight Championship he held twice before.

UFC 109 RESULTS: Chael Sonnen dominates Nate Marquardt to earn future Middleweight Title shot

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:45:52 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Nate Marquardt came into Saturday's UFC 109 event on a mission to get back to a rematch with Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. He was listed as a -500 favorite over Chael Sonnen on most betting sites, and fans and writers alike believed he was destined to get back to the top of the division to face off with Silva once again. Sonnen, however, had something else in mind.

After a number of quotable interviews and pre fight comments heading into this one, Sonnen played spoiler to perfection by employing a dominating top game for nearly the entire fight. Gaining takedowns seemingly at will, Sonnen held Marquardt on his back and pummeled him with punches to the body and face for nearly 13 minutes of the three round, fifteen minute affair.

Marquardt kept things interesting, however, opening up a nasty cut over the right eye of Sonnen in the first round with a vicious elbow from the bottom. Sonnen admitted after the fight that he was afraid the fight may have been stopped because of the cut at some point.

In addition to really the only offense Marquardt had in the first round, he nearly pulled off a massive come from behind victory in the final minute of the fight. After scrambling out of one position, Sonnen stayed on the grappling attack, but Marquardt slapped on a guillotine choke. It looked to be locked in tight, but Sonnen was able to loosen the grip and pop his head out, riding the top game for the final seconds en route to the victory.

The career best performance of Sonnen sets him up for a possible match up with the man he's disparaged to anyone who will listen in Silva. Should "The Spider" successfully defend his Title in April against Vitor Belfort, a bout with Sonnen will be in the cards for the middle of 2010. After dominating victories over two of the divisions toughest fighters in Yushin Okami and Marquardt, Chael Sonnen has turned himself from a fighter pegged to be boring to a guy many are finding they love to hate. Someone's got to be the bad guy, and Sonnen's comments, along with his ability to back them up in the cage, are making him a much more marketable fighter for the UFC. On Saturday in Las Vegas, he backed it up once again and took as his own the Title shot that seemed to be Marquardt's for the taking.

UFC 109 AUDIO ROUNDTABLE #2 (64 min.) - Penick, Pelkey, Perez review PPV event fight by fight

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:29:43 PST

MMATorch Editor-in-Chief Jamie Penick is joined by MMATorch Columnist Matt Pelkey and MMATorch Columnist Anwar Perez to discuss and break down last night's UFC 109 event. The three run down the card fight by fight and touch on what's next for the night's big winners, as well as where some of the losers go from here.

DIRECT LINK: MMATorch Audio Roundtable #2 - UFC 109 with Penick, Pelkey, Perez

APP USERS: Here's the direct link URL:
http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/uploads/1/20100207MMART.mp3

OR... Search "MMATorch" in the iTunes Store for our MMATorch Podcast RSS feed to download this now to your iPhone or iPod Touch.

UFC 109 ROUNDTABLE REVIEWS #1: Keller, Perez, Amadi, and Schielke rate and review event

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 03:47:44 PST

JASON SCHIELKE, MMATORCH COLUMNIST (6.5)

Considering what it was, I thought 109 was a pretty decent card. The biggest surprise of the night definitely had to be Chaell Sonnen's total dominance over Nate Marquardt. Many, including myself and Anderson Silva, thought that Marquardt was going to be the air apparent to Anderson Silva. However, I think my opinion may have changed after seeing how Sonnen dominated Marquardt for about 13 and a half minutes. Now I have absolutely no idea who will be able to beat Silva.

Serra-Trigg and Thiago-Swick weren't anything special, but they weren't horrible fights by any means.

Worst fight of the night, hands down, was Maia-Miller. It was just an eyesore to watch. It was bad. I really don't have anything else to say about it.

Best fight of the night goes to Couture-Coleman. I don't think that the fight itself was the best of the night, but if you combine the fight walk-in's and the post fight interviews, it wins hands down. From Randy pulling a Babe Ruth by walking out to "Stranglehold," to Randy's complete ownage of Coleman, to Coleman's post-fight comments directed to Tito Ortiz (if you say you've never wanted to call Tito what Coleman called him, you're a liar); this fight goes down as an instant classic to me.

And on a side note, I can't wait to see Phil Davis fight again. He's still rough around the edges, but Davis looked pretty good against a very game opponent. With only five fights under his belt, Dana has another potential star in his lineup in Phil Davis if he is matched up correctly.

With that said, I would give this card a 6.5 on the "ordering the replay" scale. I was one of the people who really wanted to see the Couture-Coleman fight, even if it happened 10 or so years too late, and I wasn't disappointed at all. Also, I can't emphasize enough how damn impressive Sonnen was against Marquardt. It's something you just have to see to believe.

===

JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST (7.5)

Best Fight: Chael Sonnen vs. Nate Marquardt. Worst Fight: Rolles Gracie vs. Joey Beltran. Good night of fights for sure. The only real dip in the flow of the fights was the Demian Maia-Dan Miller fight, and that was mostly because the fight didn’t hit the ground too much, and that is their strength as fighters.

But for certain, Chael Sonnen turned in the best performance of his career after a seemingly never ending tour of controversial comments in the media. He talked himself up, and then beat Marquardt down for three rounds. Going in to the fight, no one gave him a chance, and he absolutely dominated Nate Marquardt. Nate was so highly touted and looked all set for his rematch for Anderson Silva, but Sonnen played spoiler to perfection.

Matt Serra’s KO of Frank Trigg was something to see, and is probably the end of Trigg’s career. Paulo Thiago really owns the American Kickboxing Academy (sans Jon Fitch) and another big story coming out tonight was the debut of Phil Davis. This guy is enormous for 205 lbs, and an amazing athlete, with unlimited potential.

Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman was interesting. It showed just how amazing Randy Couture is. If you put a fighter of similar age against Randy Couture, it’s completely unfair. He performed like he was twenty years the junior of Mark Coleman. Coleman, had nothing to offer Couture, clearly isn’t on his level and made Couture look even better. Couture belongs with the youngest and the best, and he showed that tonight. Overall amazing night of fights.

===

ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST (5.0)

It certainly wasn't the worst PPV, but as far as fight quality it wasn't the greatest either. It reminded me a lot of last years PPV with Dan Henderson facing against Rich Franklin. It was just a so-so PPV that just seemed to come and go.

The preliminary fights on Spike were nothing to write home about, as both Guilard and Danzig did enough to win their fights. The PPV did start out good though, with Serra taking Trigg out via TKO and at the time, setting the tone for the night. The Maia-Miller fight was rather boring and Maia looked very tentative, as well as frustrated since he couldn't take Miller down at will. A very disappointing fight. I thought the Swick-Thiago fight was great, as it showed two guys ready to just let loose and let the gloves fly, and when they did, they connected and it paid off, more so for Thiago. Thiago looked like a fighter that is more than a "lucky punch" against Josh Koscheck, and hopefully we will get to see him climb closer to the title.

The Sonnen and Marquardt fight was the most surprising of the night. Not many people in the room though Sonnen was going to take it to Marquardt like he did, but he did, and came out the victor. He showed tremendous wrestling and didn't let up one bit. A good fight for Sonnen that will get him his shot at the champ, Anderson Silva.

The main event played out like everyone had thought, with the only surprise being that Couture got Coleman on the ground and choked him out, as opposed to displaying a ground-and-pound session. Couture obviously looked like the better fighter this night and it's only a matter of time before Couture is knocking on the door of being the number one contender in the light-heavyweight division.

After the fight was still interesting, as Coleman gave Tito Ortiz a piece of his mind and threw some profanity laced comments at the former champ. Who knows? Later in the year, we could see Ortiz vs Coleman.

The other prelim fights that were on the PPV, such as the Stann/Davis and Gracie-Beltran fights, were good. Davis had a true showcase fight as he was able to showcase his skill in his UFC debut against former WEC champ Stann. The Gracie fight was quite embarrassing for the Gracie family member. Beltran had less than a week to prepare for the fight, yet was able to beat Gracie, as it seemed that Gracie had gassed very early in the fight.

Not sure if there was other extenuating circumstances to him gassing early, but one would suspect that this does not bode well for his UFC career. Overall, the card was alright. I would give it a 5 out of 10 rating. Not really worth buying, but if you truly want to see it, it did have its moments.

===

WADE KELLER, MMATORCH SUPERVISING EDITOR (6.5)

If you ordered this show expecting more than this, you don't really have a good case to be upset. This delivered about what it looked like it'd deliver on paper. It had a memorable KO (Serra over Trigg), some memorable submissions, a stunning upset (Gracie losing), a boost for the 46 year old Randy Couture's case for another title fight, a couple stars on the rise (Sonnen especially, plus Davis), and some other good strikes and near submissions mixed in throughout the card.

On the downside, there were some boring rounds, no title fights, and nothing close to a true classic. We did have some comedy relief with the spilled ice (and Joe Rogan's verbal thrashing of the poor job of clean-up the crew did) and another pro wrestling style angle with Tito Ortiz prodding the easily-prodded Mark Coleman to set up a their "feud."

I'd recommend the replay tentatively, but Gracie's borderline disgraceful debut, Davis and Sonnen giving wrestlers everywhere reason to celebrate, Serra's case that he's still relevant, and yet another amazing performance from a 46 year old Couture make this a thumbs up show overall. Just fast-forward past Maia-Miller.

I would have given Marquardt the third round. I think he was the only fighter who had a chance to finish that fight and who did any damage. Sonnen deserved to win the fight, but 29-28 sounds better. And it wouldn't have been a total outrage if the judges gave Marquardt the fight 28-29 just because he actually seemed capable of finishing it and causing damage. That all said, Sonnen was damn impressive neutralizing Marquardt as much as he did.

UFC 109 TEAM COVERAGE: Penick Fight Report, Keller's Live Blog, Audio Roundtable, Text Rountdable, Press Conference Report

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:57:30 PST

Randy Couture [art credit Cory Gould (c) MMATorch]

It wasn't one of the more highly anticipated UFC events in history, but it turned out to be a moderately entertaining evening of fights. It had dramatic submission wins, a decisive KO, a couple new stars on the rise shining, spilled ice, a big prelim upset, the likely the end of at least one UFC career, and a Tito Ortiz cameo.

MMATorch presents its UFC PPV Team Coverage from many angles including editor-in-chief Jamie Penick's unmatched PPV fight card report including fight results, analysis, and star ratings. Also, supervising editor Wade Keller's live blog commentary, a post-event Audio Roundtable with Keller, senior columnist Shawn Ennis, and contributor Lane Bradford, and more to come including another audio roundtable hosted by Jamie Penick, UFC Press Conference coverage, text roundtable reviews, and more.

-PENICK'S UFC 109 FIGHT REPORT

-KELLER'S UFC 109 PPV LIVE BLOG

-UFC 109 AUDIO ROUNDTABLE #1 (58 min.): Keller, Ennis, Bradford dissect and analyze entire show

-UFC 109 BONUSES: $60K "Fight Night" bonuses go to Thiago, Marquardt, Sonnen and Serra

-UFC 109 ROUNDTABLE REVIEWS #1: Keller, Perez, Amadi, and Schielke rate and review event

-ROUNDTABLE: What's next for Randy Couture after beating Coleman

UFC 109 AUDIO ROUNDTABLE (58 min.): Keller, Ennis, Bradford review the PPV event start to finish (58 min.)

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:46:14 PST

MMATorch Supervising Editor Wade Keller, MMATorch senior columnist Shawn Ennis, and MMATorch contributor Lane Bradford discuss in-depth the results of the UFC 109 PPV event. They march through the card chronologically, talk about the fight outcomes, the ramifications for the winners and losers, and share some laughs about ice, nut cups, Joe Rogan, Mike Goldberg, and more.

DIRECT LINK: MMATorch Audio Roundtable - UFC 109 with Keller, Ennis, Bradford

APP USERS: Here's the direct link URL:
http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/uploads/1/20100206MMART.mp3

OR... Search "MMATorch" in the iTunes Store for our MMATorch Podcast RSS feed to download this now to your iPhone or iPod Touch.

UFC 109: RELENTLESS RESULTS: Penick's live on-going coverage of Couture vs. Coleman headlined event on Spike and pay-per-view

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:54:49 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

SPIKE TV PRELIM BROADCAST

-Mike Goldberg welcomes the audience to the prelim broadcast here on Spike TV and it's time for UFC 109! He and Joe Rogan run down the fights set for this hour long broadcast on Spike.

FIGHT ONE: MELVIN GUILLARD VS. RONNYS TORRES (LIGHTWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Guillard takes the center and tries a jumping knee early. He catches Torres with a right as Torres shoots in but Torres completes the takedown and pushes Guillard to the cage. Guillard stayed sitting for a minute but Torres got him to his back and took side control. Bad spot for Guillard here. Guillard gets his back to the cage but Torres pulls him down. Guillard scrambles and gets back to his feet. Guillard lands a good left. Torres lands a shot and then shoots in, getting another takedown. He gets into half guard and then got Guillard's back but Guillard reversed and got into Torres' guard. Guillard then got back up to his feet. Torres pushed forward with a jab and a flying knee but it didn't land. Guillard tried a spinning back fist but it didn't land. Guillard got an uppercut in but Torres countered with a good right. Guillard landed a good jumping knee as Torres shot in but Torres pulled his legs out and completed a takedown. Guillard held him in a closed guard as Torres tried to land a few punches. He pushed Guillard to the cage and landed a few punches to the body. Torres continued throwing punches as Guillard tried to scramble with his back against the cage. Guillard made it back to his feet and they exchanged punches. Guillard landed a good left as the round was coming to an end.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Torres. Torres' takedowns and ground work won him the round but Guillard was impressive in his ground defense compared to where that part of his game has been in the past. An ice bag from Torres' corner broke and they took some extra time to clean it off the mat.

ROUND TWO: Torres comes out aggressive and tries for a single leg. Guillard gets out and Torres picks him up and nearly out of the cage but Guillard scrambles nicely. He lands a good leg kick to the thigh. Guillard lands a good one two combo. He comes back with another body kick. He lands a good left. Torres lands a left. Guillard with another left and then lands a knee as Torres shoots in again. Guillard throws another knee as Torres has a single leg. Guillard gets out of the takedown attempt again. He lands a good body kick. He gets in with a right and Torres counters. Guillard lands a good inside leg kick right hand combo. He goes for another one and Torres shoots in for a single. Guillard again gets the knee in and another punch. Guillard again lands a right. He gets in with another. Torres tries to push forward and Guillard gets away. Torres gets in close to clinch and Guillard gives up his back. He tries to roll out and lands on his back. Torres tries to grab a kimura but Guillard rolls through and gets out of it, landing in Torres' guard. Guillard drops an elbow. He postures up and drops another elbow. Torres pushes him off but Guillard ends the round dropping a right.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Guillard. Very nice round from Guillard with his striking and takedown defense taking center stage.

ROUND THREE: Guillard grazes Torres early with an overhand right. He feints another punch and lands a good overhand right. Torres shoots in but Guillard sprawls nicely. He again gets in with the overhand right. Guillard lands a nice jab. He gets in an inside leg kick. Torres lands a left hook. Guillard gets in with a good combo. Good jab lands by Guillard. Guillard lands a good uppercut as Torres shoots in. Torres grabs the single leg and completes the takedown and he gets to side control. Torres tries to advance his position but Guillard holds him off. Torres throws a few punches and an elbow. Guillard scrambles and then gets back to his feet. NIce. Guillard lands a body kick. He gets in with another jab. Torres pushes in and lands a right. Guillard again lands a punch as Torres shoots in. He stays on the leg and gets GUillard to the ground. Guillard is sitting against the cage as Torres continues to try to pull him down. Guillard plays to the crowd a bit as Torres is just holding him. Torres tries to throw a few punches and stays active. Guillard again gets to his feet. Torres takes him down but Guillard lands on top of him and unleashes a big late flurry as the round ends and he could have stolen it right there.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Guillard. Torres wasn't able to do much when he got it to the ground there and Guillard landed a bunch more in that round. Close final round that could make the judgin interesting.

WINNER: Guillard via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

POST FIGHT: Guillard said he was sorry to his fans that he couldn't get the knockout. He said this marks his new career and he doesn't need his other fights, he's 1-0 as of tonight.

STAR RATING: (**+) That was a highly competitive and very even fight. It was perhaps the best fight of Guillard's career, and he showed a much improved ground game as far as his defense is concerned. HIs standup was clearly better than Torres as well and that's what won him the fight.

RAMIFICATIONS: Torres had to shake off the rust here after a lengthy injury layoff, and even though he lost there's plenty of promise in the now 14-2 fighter. Guillard was much more patient than at any point in his career and it's clear the move to Greg Jackson's camp was a step in the right direction. This was a good victory for him but he's got a long way to being a Championship contender like he said he wants to be.

FIGHT TWO: MAC DANZIG VS. JUSTIN BUCHOLZ (LIGHTWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Bucholz took the center and threw a flying knee early but it didn't come close to landing. Danzig pushed forward with a combo. Bucholz tried to push him back but Danzig came in with another combo. Danzig backed away from Bucholz's offense and landed another combo. Bucholz pushed forward and landed a good jab. Danzig pushed back in and shot for a takedown but Bucholz held him off. Bucholz threw a couple of kicks that Danzig blocked. Danzig then landed a few good shots. He got in a knee and another combo. Bucholz threw a kick to the body. He threw a combo but Danzig covered up. Danzig pushed forward and landed a good left. Danzig landed a good leg kick as he pushed forward. Bucholz came in with a head of steam and landed a combo. Danzig landed a big punch. Bucholz landed a punch that wobbled Danzig. Danzig got back up immediately but Bucholz stayed on him with a combo. Danzig responded with a good right. He pushed forward with another good right. Danzig again pushed forward with a combo. Bucholz pushed Danzig back and teed off on the cage but Danzig covered up. Danzig then pushed Bucholz back and landed a good combo. Danzig landed a good straight right and got in with the clinch. He landed a couple of punches and then nearly knocked Bucholz down with a combo. Danzig had a high kick blocked as the round came to an end.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Danzig. Very close round but I'll give it to Danzig for landing the cleaner shots more often. Both had their spots but a lot of Bucholz's offense was blocked by Danzig.

ROUND TWO: Danzig landed a punch early. Bucholz landed a straight kick. Danzig pushed in for a takedown after a combo but Bucholz held it off against the cage. Bucholz got loose from the clinch. Bucholz landed an inside leg kick and Danzig landed a right. Danzig again lands a punch. They both exchange punches. Danzig landed a punch and then shot in again. This time he picked Bucholz up and dropped him, getting to side control. Danzig landed a couple of punches as he tried to get to the mount. Bucholz got it to half guard and then tried to go for a kimura. Danzig got his arm back for a second and then got loose. He got back to side control and landed some elbows and knees to the body. Danzig then moved to the mount. He postured up and Bucholz gave up his back. Bucholz rolled through and Danzig lost the armbar attempt. Danzig started landing elbows from the bottom as Bucholz just held onto him. Danzig landed a few more punches and then reversed back to the mount as the round ended.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Danzig. Much better round for Danzig and a more clear round to his advantage.

ROUND THREE: Bucholz pushed forward early but Danzig covered up nicely. Danzig pushed in with a combo and then shot in and got the takedown against the cage. Bucholz worked back to his feet and landed a knee and a punch. Bucholz landed another jab and then a great right to the jaw. Danzig got back in with a right. Danzig landed a good body shot. Bucholz again got back with a right and then he came in. Danzig clinched him and then truned him around agaisnt the cage. Danzig tried a throw but wound up on his back. Bucholz held off a kimura attempt and stayed in Danzig's guard. Danzig landed a few punches to Bucholz from his back. Bucholz landed a punch but he's just holding onto Danzig here and they get stood up. Danzig landed a good left as Bucholz tried to push in. Danzig lands a great combination. Danzig again with a combo and then a knee. He gets another jab to connect. He lands a good body shot combo and then a big punch. He then clinches and knocks Bucholz to the ground. He gets Bucholz's back late and starts throwing punches. He gets to the mount and lands some more punches. Bucholz gives up his back and Danzig tries to get a choke on as the round is coming to an end. Danzig keeps landing shots as the round ends and he'll get back on the winning track.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Danzig. The final minute sealed it, and he'll get back on the winning track with this one.

WINNER: Danzig via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

POST FIGHT: That first round is what probably went to Bucholz there, and I can see that. Danzig said he was tired and gave Bucholz credit for being a "great" fighter. He said it's such a tough division and said everyone, even those near the bottom of the rankings in the UFC are world class.

STAR RATING: (**) That was just an ok fight. They were very evenly matched, which made for neither being able to do too much, but Danzig was much better on the ground and had some very good flurries on the feet as well to take this one.

RAMIFICATIONS: Plain and simple, Danzig keeps his spot on the UFC's roster while Bucholz won't. There's not much else to take from that one.

PAY-PER-VIEW BROADCAST

-Goldberg and Rogan open up the pay-per-view broadcast by discussing the night's main event. They then run down the rest of the night's scheduled broadcast before we get to the night's first bout on pay-per-view.

FIGHT THREE: MATT SERRA VS. FRANK TRIGG (WELTERWEIGHT)

PRE FIGHT: Serra says he think it's going to be a fun and violent fight. Trigg said Serra's going to lose this fight and go home for good. Trigg said Serra's going to need to figure out how to get some more students because he'll need the extra income. Serra said he thinks Trigg's strengths go to his and he'll be able to take something home with him.

ROUND ONE: Serra lands an early body punch as they circle around one another. Serra again gets in with the body punch but Trigg lands a good combo in a counter. Trigg pops in with a couple of punches as Serra lands some more body shots. Serra again lands the body punch but eats a punch. Serra throws a high kick but it gets blocked. Serra again pops in with a couple of body shots. He lands a left to the head and steps back. Serra lands a good inside leg kick and then gets a big body shot. He rocks Trigg with an overhand right and then lands a bunch more punches on the ground before the ref stops the fight. Wow. Huge finish by Serra. Trigg tries to protest the stoppage but he ate a ton of uncontested shots on the ground. The replay showed he connected right on the jaw to drop Trigg and he hit him on the button three more times on the ground. That was a just stoppage there.

WINNER: Serra via KO at 2:23 of the first round

POST FIGHT: Serra said he's very happy. He said he was afraid he'd show up to his girl's one year old birthday next week looking like a cyclops but it didn't happen. he said he feels his power comes because he's so stocky. He said was working a lot on his left, but he'll take the right. He said he had a lot of respect for Trigg and said he didn't want to deal with Trigg's wrestling in this one.

STAR RATING: (**+) Excellent win by Serra. He worked the body punches beautifully before getting in with that overhand right. Big finish on the ground as well.

RAMIFICATIONS: You've got to believe Trigg won't be around for another fight, or if he is it could be a win or your out fight for him. Serra got another fight in to extend his career and keep any retirement talk on the back burner.

FIGHT FOUR: DEMIAN MAIA VS. DAN MILLER (MIDDLEWEIGHT)

PRE FIGHT: Maia said he's here to win and he's coming to forget the Marquardt fight. Miller said this is something everyone's going to be talking about. Miller said he's coming in to beat Maia to show that he's one of the best in the division. Maia said he's going to do everything he can do to make sure he wins this fight.

ROUND ONE: Maia takes the center of the cage and Miller tries to push him back a few times with feinted combos. Miller gets in with a good right to the body. Miller got in close and landed a couple of good punches, including a good uppercut. Maia got in with an uppercut of his own. Maia got in close and grabbed a single leg against the cage. Maia threw a couple of good knees to the thigh as he held Miller's back against the cage. Miller finally pushed off and got separation. Miller got in a good punch. He then got in a good inside kick. Maia continued to push forward. He landed a good kick to the body and shot in. He got a big takedown, but Miller scrambled to his feet. He appeared to eat a low blow as he got to his feet and Maia landed a big combo before the ref halted the action to give Miller some time to recover. They restarted with two minutes left in the round. Miller got in a good right as they both swung. Miller landed a good inside leg kick. Maia landed a good punch. Maia's standup is much improved here. Maia pushed in and got the clinch again with a couple of punches to set it up. Maia trips MIller up but Miller gets right back to his feet. Maia got a good left in. The round comes to a close with a right from Miller.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Maia. He pushed the action throughout, got a couple of takedowns and landed some good punches of his own in a pretty even standup affair.

ROUND TWO: Miller pushed forward with some punches early. Maia got in with a good body kick. Miller came in with a punch but ate a counter from Maia. Maia lands a good counter right as Miller comes in. Maia again lands a good combo as Miller gets close. Miller lands a good inside leg kick. Miller lands a body punch and Maia counters. Maia pops in with a couple of jabs. He gets a big left hand in that connects. He pops Miller with a right. Maia is looking awesome here right now. Miller lands a good inside leg kick. Miller with an outside leg kick as Maia continues to walk him down. Maia again gets a short combo in and Miller pushes back with a leg kick. Miller lands a good body punch. Maia lands a nice counter right. Miller gets a straight kick in. The crowd gets a little restless as the action slows. Maia gets in a good jab. He pushes in and lands a left again. He pops in once again. Maia lands a good left and backs away from Miller's attempt. Maia again connects. He blocks a high kick as the round ends.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Maia. So much for the ground clinic I was hoping to see. Maia is actually controlling the fight in the stand up exchanges and is winning despite not getting it to the ground.

ROUND THREE: Maia pushes forward and gets in a left again. Miller pops in with a short combo. Maia pushes in and clinches Miller against the cage. Maia lands a good knee but Miller backs him off with an uppercut. Miller landed a punch to the body and he tried to pull guard but didn't have MIller. He got back to him and stayed on Miller and completed a takedown against the cage. Maia postures up against the cage and lands a number of lefts to the head. Maia stays on MIller but MIller got back up against the cage and got separation. Maia landed a punch and shot in again. Miller held it off but then Maia took his legs out from under him. Maia tried to pass as Miller held him in the half guard. Miller tried to scramble but Maia stayed on him and landed a punch. He landed a few more against the cage from the half guard. Miller is showing some good defense here as Maia continues to attempt to improve his position. The crowd starts to boo as the round is winding down and Maia is getting stalemated here. Miller throws up for a triangle but Maia gets out and drops down into Miller's guard with a left. They exchange punches and elbows on the ground as the round ends.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Maia. This was his all the way. Miller didn't land enough on the feet and got taken down a few times in that round. He did great on defense but didn't do nearly enough to have a chance at taking this fight.

WINNER: Maia via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

POST FIGHT: Maia said he came to show he can fight stand up as well as on the ground. He said his boxing's not the best but he did what he could. He said it was his choice to stand for the first two rounds, and he said he made it harder on himself and then he thanked the fans.

STAR RATING: (**+) That was a much improved Maia on the feet but MIller showed some very good defense throughout. Unfortunately for him he just wasn't able to get anything going in that one and Maia was able to do plenty to take it on the judges scorecards.

RAMIFICATIONS: Maia gets back on the horse in the middleweight division, and MIller drops down the ladder a bit. Both fighters are still in the middle of the pack but Maia moved a step further while rebounding from his first career loss.

PRELIM FIGHT A: BRIAN STANN VS. PHIL DAVIS (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: They circle each other early to begin the round. Stann lands an inside leg kick early. He lands another and Davis misses a kick. Davis ducks down and pushes in for the clinch against the cage. Stann holds off the trip attempts and breaks loose. Davis lands a good straight kick. Davis misses an overhand right. Stann lands another inside leg kick. Davis again misses on a combo. Davis lands a body kick. He misses on another overhand right. He finally shoots in again and gets the takedown right to side control. Stann gets it to half guard. Stann tries to scramble and Davis stays on him. Stann gives up his back and Davis gets both hooks in. Stann rolls through and Davis is in the mount. He again gives up his back and then rolls back and Davis is still in the mount. Davis throws a couple of bombs and Stann again gives up his back . Davis continues throwing shots and Stann eats them all before the round comes to a close.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Davis. The final two minutes were all Davis after a tentative start.

ROUND TWO: Stann lands a good body kick to start off the second. Stann pushes forward and grazes Davis. Davis lands a couple of body kicks. He lands an inside leg kick and a big body kick. He throws the overhand right and then shoots in for the takedown and gets it. He gets to half guard and throws a few punches. Davis gets right to the mount after a bit. Davis lands a couple of punches. Stann bucks him off a bit and gets back to half guard. Davis goes for a kimura but Stann defends it. Davis moves back to side control and then back to the mount. Stann gives up his back and Stann tees off briefly. Stann rolls back and Davis is mounted. Davis continues to land punches and Stann again gives up his back. Davis stays on him with punches and gets mount again as Stann rolls back. Davis lands a few more punches as he continues to control Stann. Stann tried to roll out and Davis got back on him and on hie back. He starts landing some huge knees to the body from side control. He throws a few more and Stann is just getting brutalized here. Stann is going to survive another round but Davis lands another big knee as the round ends.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-8 Davis. Stann didn't do much in that round while Davis kept complete control on the ground. His inexperience is showing here but he's dominating.

ROUND THREE: Davis lands a body kick early. He gets in a good combo and backs away. Davis lands a good front kick. Stann tries to push in and Davis drops down. He grabs the double leg and then picks Stann up and completes the takedown. He gets to half guard against the cage. Davis then takes his back. Stann rolls and pushes it to half guard but Davis stays on him. Davis moves to side control. Davis moves to the mount again and then goes for an Americana. He can't get the hold in but lands a few punches in the mount. Stann tries to escape but Davis gets right back to the mount and then gets Stann's back again. Davis locks the body of Stann and then moves back to mount. Davis lands an elbow and then a couple of punches. Davis again postures up and lands a few punches. Stann again gives up his back and Davis gets the hooks in. Davis continues to stay on him but can't finish and gets back to mount. He jumps over for an armbar that would have finished it but the round ends.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-8 Davis. He couldn't finish again but it was all Davis all the time in this fight. Stann just couldn't do anything.

WINNER: Davis via unanimous decision

STAR RATING: (***-) Great debut from Davis in that one. His superior wrestling absolutely outclassed Stann and he picked up a dominating win in his UFC debut.

FIGHT FIVE: MIKE SWICK VS. PAULO THIAGO (WELTERWEIGHT)

PRE FIGHT: Thiago said when he beats Swick he'll got to the top of the division. Swick said he's well prepared and has the key to go in and win this fight. Thiago said he wants to show the world how good his jiu jitsu is and he wants to choke Swick out. Swick said he's going straight after Thiago and he's going to finish him.

ROUND ONE: Thiago takes the center of the cage as Swick circles on the outside. Both are very tentative early here. Thiago throws a head kick but it gets partially blocked. Swick throws an overhand right but it doesn't connect. Thiago throws a left hook but it gets blocked. Nothing connecting early. Thiago trips Swick with a leg kick and almost lands a combo. Swick lands a good left. Swick is starting to stalk here. Thiago avoids a combo and then they go back to circling. Swick lands a leg kick. Thiago gets in with a big leg kick. Swick got in with a good left hook. Pretty even thus far. Swick walks Thiago back against the cage as the crowd gets a little restless. He lands a good leg kick and backs off. Swick throws a number of punches and a body kick but only the kick landed. Thiago pushed in with a combo that didn't land. Swick landed a good counter left as Thiago pushed in. Swick pushed in and got a late takedown and got into the butterfly guard of Thiago. He landed a few body punches and a punch that may have stolen the round.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Swick. He definitely stole it with the late takedown as neither had done much of anything to that point. This could be a 10-10 round but the takedown's going to earn it for Swick.

ROUND TWO: Swick pushes in and lands a couple of early jabs. Thiago lands a good leg kick. Thiago then gets in a good body kick. Swick got in a body kick of his own that was almost caught. Swick threw the overhand right but it was blocked. Swick got a good left in. Swick got a good straight right in. He went in for another one and then Thiago dropped Swick with a left. He then locked in a D'Arce choke on the ground and choked Swick out. Wow. That was a quick change right there. Huge win for Thiago.

WINNER: Thiago via submission (D'Arce choke) at 1:54 of the second round.

POST FIGHT: Thiago said he trained a lot of stand up for this fight. He said it's all about getting that choke in like an anaconda and then said he wanted to be in the UFC's video game.

STAR RATING: (***) The finishing sequence made that fight. A great left to drop Swick was followed by a beautiful choke to finish him off, and Paulo Thiago picked up his most convincing win in the Octagon.

RAMIFICATIONS: That was a huge victory by Thiago, and moves him up the ladder in the welterweight division. That's a tough second loss in a row for Swick, and he'll need a big rebuilding effort to move back up the ladder in the division.

-They plug April's WEC pay-per-view debut with Urijah Faber vs. Jose Aldo on the show. Good thing for them to do to get as many people to tune in for that fight as possible. They can make this a success if they market it well, but it's going to take a major effort for sure.

FIGHT SIX: NATE MARQUARDT VS. CHAEL SONNEN (MIDDLEWEIGHT)

PRE FIGHT: Marquardt says everything Sonnen does, he does better. Sonnen says it'll come down to who's tougher.

ROUND ONE: Marquardt lands a straight kick early. Sonnen tries to push in and Marquardt lands a combo. Sonnen pushes in and gets Marquardt against the cage. Marquardt gets separation. Marquardt tags Sonnen and then Sonnen shoots in. Sonnen completes the takedown and Marquardt had a guillotine. He couldn't complete it, hoever and Sonnen wound up in his gaurd. Sonnen landed a few shots and Marquardt landed a good elbow from the bottom. Sonnen pushed him to the cage and landed a number of punches and elbows. He's landing some big shots from the top right now to the body and face. Sonnen continued to work the ground and pound but Marquardt pushed him off and got back to his feet. He landed a flying knee but Sonnen got in and took him down again. He went to the body shots and landed some more punches and elbows. He got in an elbow again and some short forearms and Marquardt is just trying to lock him up now. Sonnen landed a big elbow to the face and then a few more. He's putting a beating on right now. Sonnen is fighting a great first round right now. Another elbow from Sonnen. Sonnen lands a few more punches to the body. Marquardt lands an elbow from the bottom. Sonnen throws a few more punches. Marquardy pushes him off as the round ends.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Sonnen. Excellent first round by Sonnen, who brought the beating to Marquardt in that round. Nate needs to figure out a way to get off his back or he could be in trouble here.

ROUND TWO: Marquardt lands a good punch early but Sonnen immediately shoots in and gets the takedown. Marquardt lands an elbow from the bottom. Sonnen lands a big elbow. Marquardt tries to go for a kimura. Sonnen throws some elbos to the side. Sonnen gets out of the hold. He throws some more punches as he's in Marquardt's half guard. Marquardt gets to the butterfly guard as Sonnen lands some more punches. Marquardt tries to push him off to no avail. Sonnen lands a few more shots. Marquardt lands a shot that cuts Sonnen. Sonnen steps up and lands a big right. He postures up and lands a few bombs and Marquardt goes for a leg Sonnen gets out and gets Marquardt's back but he's bleeding badly. Marquardt threw a nice elbow behind him that landed. Marquardt lands a few more of those. Sonnen is bleeding profusely right now. Sonnen starts throwing elbows to Marquardt's legs. He keeps control and Sonnen can't get up. Marquardt finally scrambles and gets to his feet but Sonnen takes him right back down. Sonnen gets to half guard and lands a few punches again and ends the round landing shots to Marquardt.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Sonnen. Marquardt needs to do something major in this third round or there goes his Title shot. The cut over Sonnen's eye is bad, though. Marquardt had some power from the back with a huge elbow.

ROUND THREE: Marquardt tried to take Sonnen down to start the third but couldn't and then Sonnen got him to his back again. Not good for nate. Sonnen landed some more strikes to the body and head. Sonnen postures up a bit and throws down some more shots. Marquardt tried to kick Sonnen off but Sonnen took his back as he got to his feet. Sonnen dragged him down again. Marquardt again tried to roll out and Sonnen stayed on top and landed some more punches. Sonnen continued landing punches from Marquardt's half guard. Marquardt finally got back to his feet. He landed a good knee as Sonnen camne in an Marquardt locked on a guillotine as he came in. Sonnen's trying to survive and finally pops out. That was Marquardt's only chance in this fight. Marquardt kicks him off again and scrambles and gets on top of Sonnen! He's only got 50 seconds. Sonnen holds onto him in norht-south position here. Marquardt pops up and tries to unload punches as the round is ending but Sonnen holds on and he's going to take this one.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Sonnen. Marquardt did a little more there and had a near guillotine but he got manhandled throughout that fight and Chael Sonnen is your new number one contender for the Middleweight Championship.

WINNER: Sonnen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

POST FIGHT: Sonnen said the he was hurt from the first round and the last minute was horrible. He said he was scared the cut was going to stop the fight. He said the third round guillotine was deep and tight in the last round. He said he's here to be the king of the mountain or he'll move on in life. Marquardt said he executed his gameplan the wrong way. He said he felt he let Sonnen take control with the takedowns. He said he wanted to use more footwork and got caught trying to slug with him. He said the end was kind of a joke because he couldn't do anything in that position. He said it's a setback but he'll be back. He said next time hopefully it's five rounds.

STAR RATING: (***+) That was an even better performance by Sonnen than he had against Okami. Marquardt's never been manhandled like that before, and it's a major setback for him.

RAMIFICATIONS: Sonnen earned himself a Middleweight Title shot with that fight. He'll be able to challenge the winner of Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort later in the year. For Marquardt, he needs to figure out what went wrong in this fight and it will be a few more fights before he'll have a chance to fight for the Title again.

MAIN EVENT FIGHT SEVEN: RANDY COUTURE VS. MARK COLEMAN (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)

PRE FIGHT: Coleman said he hopes for fans this will be a war, and he's going to find a way to win this fight. Couture said Coleman's going to find his back against the fence with no way to get out of it.

ROUND ONE: Couture circles on the outside and lands a jab early. He lands another. And another. Randy got a good right in. Couture again got in with the right. Couture started to walk Coleman down a bit. Randy with a good left. Coleman responded with a good counter right and got Randy to back off a bit. Coleman landed a good jab. Couture pressed with a right. Randy rocked Coleman with a right and a couple of knees. Randy connects on another straight right and then he clinched him against the cage. Couture landed a left and then an uppercut in the clinch. Couture with some more dirty boxing against the cage. Randy with a big elbow. He's controlling Coleman big time here. He lands another big uppercut. Couture lands a knee to the body. He backs off a bit and lands a couple of uppercuts. He lands another left and keeps Coleman against the cage. He keeps COleman agains the cage and lands another knee to the body. He lands two more big uppercuts and stays on Coleman. Randy continues to press Coleman agains the cage and lands some more uppercuts. Couture again with a right. Couture finishes with a couple more lefts as the round ends.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Couture. That was a great start to the fight by Couture. He had a big combination that rocked Coleman and he kept him against the fence the rest of the round.

ROUND TWO: Coleman lands an early jab. They exchange jabs. Randy presses in an tags Coleman with another shot. He gets Coleman against the cage and takes him down right into the mount. He starts pummeling him and Coleman gives up his back. Couture locks in the rear naked choke and chokes Coleman out cold! That was awesome. Couture's best performance in a long, long time.

WINNER: Couture via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:09 of the second round.

POST FIGHT: Couture said he feels like he's improving every time he gets out there and he feels great being so active. He said he's been working on the chokes a bunch. He said sometimes it works out. He said he's 46 years young. Coleman was very dejected and said Couture was very tough and he was very disappointed. Tito Ortiz yelled something into the cage and Coleman yelled back "Fuck you, Tito" and "Anytime, douchebag." Coleman said he doesn't know what happened but he won't quit.

STAR RATING: (***+) That was just an awesome, awesome performance by Randy Couture. Leaps and bounds better than the win over Brandon Vera and as good as he's looked since defeating Gabriel Gonzaga in 2007. I just can't get over how great that performance was.

RAMIFICATIONS: Couture is likely going to get the next Light Heavyweight Title shot as he looked great in that fight. If Coleman's going to continue fighting it's not going to be against top tier competition. He's got a fight with Tito ready made, that's for sure.

PRELIM FIGHT B: ROLLES GRACIE VS. JOEY BELTRAN (HEAVYWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Gracie shoots in almost immediately and pushes Beltran to the cage. Gracie lands a couple of knees to the body. Gracie throws a punch and clinches again after Beltran had separation. Gracie gets him to the ground and gets to the mpount. Beltran rolls and gives up his back and then rolls over again and Gracie is still in the mount. Gracie tried to posture up but Beltran rolled him over and got into Gracie's guard. Beltran backed out and stood back up. Gracie tried to throw a high kick but ate a right hand. Gracie landed a good right hand and then clinched against the cage. Gracie lands another right. Beltran lands a right. Gracie shoots down and goes for a takedown but Beltran holds it off. Beltran lends a left. Gracie lands a right. He lands another and another and he starts trading with Beltran. These are ugly exchanges. Beltran landed a right. Gracie shot in late and Beltran sprawled and landed a number of shots as the round ended.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Gracie. Beltran tried to steal it late but Gracie landed some more shots and had the ground work in there. This is an ugly fight thus far, though.

ROUND TWO: Beltran tries to push the action early. Gracie shoots but Beltran holds him off. He landed a big knee as Gracie shot in again. Gracie is out of gas here. Gracie tried to shoot in again and Beltran sprawled and started unleashing punches. Gracie just laid on the ground and Beltran continued landing punches until the ref stopped it. Wow. That was extremely ugly but Beltran picks up a huge win in his debut.

WINNER: Beltran via TKO at 1:31 of the second round

STAR RATING: (**-) That was extremely ugly. Gracie was out of gas halfway through the first round and Beltran just stayed alive in the first round. He launched a bunch of punches to finish him off but Gracie seemed to already have a foot out the door by the end of that one. Ugly fight but good win for Beltran.

-Couture gets the "Submission of the Night" for his rear naked choke over Mark Coleman.

UNAIRED PRELIM RESULTS

-Chris Tuchscherer def. Tim Hague via Majority Decision

-Rob Emerson def. Phillipe Nover via unanimous decision

That's another event in the books. Thanks to all for tuning into our live coverage tonight. Stay tuned for the fall out from tonight's event tomorrow and throughout the week as we head towards the UFC's first event in Australia later this month.

UFC 109 BONUSES: $60K "Fight Night" bonuses go to Thiago, Marquardt, Sonnen and Serra

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:32:19 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Despite the UFC 109 broadcast pegging Randy Couture's rear naked choke over Mark Coleman as the "Submission of the Night," that honor went to Paulo Thiago for his second round D'Arce choke over Mike Swick earlier in the night.

The $60K bonuses were announced at the night's post fight press conference. In addition to Thiago's "Submission of the Night," bonuses were also handed out to Chael Sonnen, Nate Marquardt and Matt Serra.

Sonnen and Marquardt earned "Fight of the Night" honors in a fight that saw Sonnen dominate throughout much of the three round affair. Marquardt gave himself a shot in the fight on a couple of occasions, opening up a nasty cut with an elbow from the bottom and nearly completing a guillotine choke late in the third round.

Serra earned the night's "Knockout of the Night" award for his first round KO of Frank Trigg. After pegging him with body shots in the opening minutes, Serra changed levels and dropped Trigg with an overhand right. He landed a number of shots to the jaw on the ground to Trigg before the ref stopped in to end it. While Trigg protested the stoppage, replays showed it was the correct move.

Penick's Analysis:All of the bonuses were well earned tonight. In a night full of decisions, these three fights along with the main event stood out above the pack. Thiago looked awesome in dropping Swick and locking in the quick choke, Serra was great with his knockout and Sonnen fought a career best fight to a dominating decision, while also having to fend off that late submission attempt and a nasty cut early. All in all, this was an enjoyable night of fights while not the one of the UFC's better events.

KELLER'S UFC LIVE BLOG 2/6: Random thoughts in chronological order on fights, production, announcing, interviews, celebrities

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:46:23 PST

KELLER'S UFC 109 LIVE BLOG
FEBRUARY 6, 2010
LAS VEGAS, NEV. - MANDALAY BAY
LIVE ON SPIKE TV / PAY-PER-VIEW

SPIKE TV PRELIMS

-Frank Trigg went from cut to getting co-top undercard billing for this show, although more to due to process of elimination with card changes than anything.

-The ice incident with the corner after the first round of Melvin Guillard and Ronys Torres was a UFC first. Joe Rogan was hard on those cornermen, but they sure did a lousy job trying to clean it up. It was as if that ice was radioactive the way they were rushing to get that cleaned up, but not wanting to touch it for more than a second. Gotta love the crowd booing, which made them even more nervous. That's a SportsCenter moment.

-Guillard-Torres was an okay fight. I agree with Jamie's two-star-plus rating in terms of excitement level and technique on display for all three rounds. I agree with the judges' decision. It might have been a fight that was decided in the last 10 seconds before the time limit. Guillard looked good, but not the type of win that makes him a money draw for UFC. But since he believes he's on pace for at title shot in 2011, he isn't rushing his expectations.

-Mac Danzig-Justin Buckhholz: Danzig secured that second round in the final seconds of the round. Nice ground exchanges by both. It was great to hear Joe Rogan explain the ridiculous rationale behind the downward elbow strikes being banned because the sanctioning body had seen people breaking bricks with their elbows. When Goldberg said it was all about fighter safety, Rogan shot back that it's a stupid rule that's about ignorance, not safety. While covering for the Torch the attempts (many successful) in various states to ban MMA, the level of ignorance among critics in the media, boxing, and politics - with Sen. John McCain leading the charge of ignorant stupidity - was infuriating. Anytime that history of MMA is brought up, it makes me thankful that cooler heads prevailed, although as Rogan pointed out, a few stupid rules might have survived. Ignorance isn't gone, based on what Jackie Chan just said about not liking MMA for some of the dumbest reasons imaginable... Nice finish for Danzig, and a nice showing overall. Two-star-plus fight. I'm a little higher on it than Jamie, who was at two-stars, because there were some nice submission attempts and exciting finishes to rounds two and three... Good to see Danzig representing vegans well... And his daughter's name, Nova, is really cool too...

PAY-PER-VIEW

-Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan did their best to hype the strengths of the Mark Coleman vs. Randy Couture fight and hit all the right points: They're two legends who haven't crossed paths but built Hall of Fame careers; Coleman paved the way for Couture in certain ways; they old but not washed up and training hard and taking this seriously...

-Frank Trigg-Matt Serra: Well, Trigg's next career begins at 7:17 p.m. PT on Feb. 6, 2010 because his UFC fighting career ended... Our "Prediction Specialist" Wesley Walker called this pretty much exactly right, making up for picking Buchholz and Torres in the prelims for upsets... I give it a two-star rating. A nice KO is usually worth a two-star rating even if there's nothing else to the fight...

-Celebrity Sighting: Holly Madison, prompting Goldberg to call the crowd "star-studded." More evidence, please.

-Dan Miller-Demian Maia: No surprise that the ref turned out to be Steve Mazzagatti who missed the low blow to Miller in the first round. I would not want to be an MMA referee, though. Talk about pressure. I got nervous scoring/ref'ing sparring fights in karate class, so I'd crumble under the pressure of refeerring UFC fight... Boring first two rounds. Rogan said it turned into "an amateur kick-boxing fight." That's insulting to amateur kick-boxing fights... Where is Mauro Ranallo when you need him to throw out some cliches about this "being a cure for insomnia" or "as exciting as watching paint try" or something like that... It's a fight where you're glad there are time limits because otherwise it might have gone past the Super Bowl kick-off... Right call with Maia getting the win unanimously from the judges. Maia apologized for not finishing the fight, but he said he wears his heart on his shoulder (I think that's what he said) and fights for the fans. "I love everybody here," he said. The crowd wasn't very forgiving. It wasn't technically bad, but it was two people standing who just don't specialize in standing and it came across as sparring 85 percent of the time. It had some decent moments, but overall felt tentative... I give it a one-star-plus rating...

-Chuck Liddell shown in the crowd. Goldberg says he's in the midst of filming The Ultimate Fighter with Tito Ortiz as the other coach.

-Prelim Phil Davis vs. Brian Stann then aired: Davis's cornerman told him "fights over" after the second round. I get that he was up two rounds in scoring, but it still sounds like a dangerous strategy going into the third...

-Mike Swick-Paulo Thiago: The crowd definitely getting restless after this first round because it resembled the Miller-Maia match a little too much. Swick took Thaigo down late in the crowd, a smart strategy from the standpoint of scoring the fight... Can you score a round 8-8 in a 10-point-must-system? Okay, it wasn't that bad, but it was tentative and neither came close to finishing it... Swick seemed more hyped up at the start of the second round, trying to goad Thiago into making a mistake in being aggressive since he likes to counter... What a finish! Swick scored his best shot of the right, and Thiago countered and then seemed to put knock him out with some invisible chloroform rag. Credit to ref Herb Dean for being all over that and stopping the fight as soon as he did, realizing that despite being under Thiago, that he was out that quickly... Three-stars for that with a great KO/submission combo finish.

-A commercial airs for the WEC PPV. They show highlights of Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber. Fans are used to seeing WEC free. Will they pay? They show them sitting in the crowd. Rogan puts Aldo over as one of the top two or three P4P fighters in the world...

-Nate Marquardt vs. Chael Sonnen: Rogan calls Sonnen one of the best interviews in MMA. He looks like the result of Matt Hughes and Stephan Bonner merging into one person... Very nice choice of entrance music by Marquardt... Great first round for Sonnen. Star-making dominance on the ground, smothering Marquardt from start to finish. They unfortunately went to Sonnen's corner instead of Marquardt's between rounds. I don't get that choice at all... More of the same in the second, with Rogan saying Marquardt has to learn to fight off of his back. He said to compete with Sonnen on your back, you can't just be good on your back, you have to be great off your back. Mid-way into the round, Sonnen bleeds heavily all over Marquardt, who scores with some back elbows, getting a rise out of the crowd. Rogan said that when Marquardt said before the fight he thought whatever Sonnen does well he does better, he was wrong when it came to wrestling. That is an accurate statement...

Twelve seconds into the third, Sonnen had Marquardt on his back again. Marquardt seemed tired and weary physically and mentally after this. He was as surprised as anyone at how this was going. "This is a beatdown!" says Rogan mid-way into the third. At 3:15 Marquardt locked on a strong guillotine, and it appeared he might have him, but after 15 seconds Sonnen slipped out. Marquardt rolled him over and ended up on top with a minute to go. Sonnen, who made a crack about being a Republican and not wanting a man lying on him, got a taste of Marquardt's cup right on his face. Marquardt looked like the better fighter in the final couple minutes. He showed respect toward Sonnen after the horn sounded, acknowledging basically that he was schooled for 2.5 rounds...

Could a judge decide that Sonnen controlled Marquardt, but didn't do damage or come close to winning or even try to win, and give Marquardt one of those first two rounds as a result? After all, Marquardt bloodied him with elbows and locked on a guillotine and went for submissions multiple times... Nope. Unanimous 30-27 from all three. I'd give that third round to Marquardt because it's not just duration of controlling a round (3 minutes to 2), but how close you come to winning or at least doing damage and trying to win... Marquardt said he didn't utilize a gameplan well and said he thought he should have won that fight. He said he wanted to use more footwork, but ended up trying to slug with him and got taken down each time. He said he still believes he's the man to win the Middleweight Title. "It's a step back, but I'll be back," he said. He added, "Next time, hopefully it's five rounds." He might have won a five round fight... Everyone waiting to take a shot when Goldberg said "class" regarding a fight, take a shot now. He didn't say "class act," which he used to say about even jerks acting like jerks, but he said regarding Marquardt, "He's full of class"... Three-star-plus fight...

-They showed Rashad Evans shadow-boxing at ringside.

-Couture-Coleman: Couture came out to the best entrance song ever, Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold" (Disclaimer: My list of Best Entrance Songs Ever is about 10 deep.) Kevin Von Erich came out to Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold" in World Class Championship Wrestling back in the early 1980s, and only his brother Kerry Von Erich's "Tom Sawyer" entrance song rivaled it at the time. Rogan determined that Couture is planning to submit Coleman based on his choice of song. "Man I'm pumped for this!" exclaimed Rogan, definitely earning his paycheck. Highest total age of any UFC fight ever at 91 (46 for Couture, 45 for Coleman). Speaking of pro wrestling, was that Santino Marella standing behind Couture during ring intros screen-left?... Couture almost made my first round TKO win for Couture prediction come true. He outboxed Coleman early, rattled him multiple times against the fence, and definitely won the round. Coleman earned Couture's respect, though, with a couple punches mid-round... Rogan: "This is the best Randy has ever looked striking." He took Coleman down, mounted him, pounded him, and then got his back. He applied a choke and knocked out Coleman... That was a dominant win, probably earning him title shot consideration... Rogan notes how appropriate his intro music was... Couture afterward said it feels good to be so active with three fights in seven months...

QUOTEBOOK

Joe Rogan: "That was the story of 2009 in the UFC. So many injuries, so may great fights canceled or postponed."

Mike Goldberg in response: "Joe Silva aged about ten years in 2009."

Joe Rogan: "Get back in there, you're not done. There's ice all over the floor. There's a hundred pieces of ice still all over the floor... Those cornermen, somebody needs to kick their ass... I still a couple of pieces. I don't want anyone to fall and hit their head. This is ridiculous."

Mike Goldberg in response: "We need a Zamboni."

Joe Rogan: "Danzig has publicly stated that if he loses to Justin Bockholz he doesn't belong in UFC. That's a pretty bold statement, but probably correct."

Joe Rogan: "It's ridiculous. It's not about safety, it's about ignorance. That's a dumb rule. It's not even the most powerful elbow."

Mac Danzig: "I do my best not to ever underestimate anybody, but I don't think I gave him enough credit. This division is so deep. These other guys, no offense to the heavyweights, they don't understand what it's like to fight in this division. Even the guys toward the bottom of the rankings in the UFC are world class."

Joe Rogan: "This is a huge, huge fight for Frank Trigg. So huge he grew out his hair. When's the last time you saw Frank Trigg with hair?"

Mike Goldberg in response: "I don't know if it was was a great decision."

Joe Rogan: "It is a long road to get from being great as a grappler to being great as a striker. They are so completely different. It's like going from football to baseball."

Mike Goldberg in response: "It didn't work out for Bo Jackson."

Joe Rogan: "It's all heating up in 2010, bitches."

Joe Rogan: "So much of this game is about putting your mind into that perfect place. Not too relaxed, not too tense. That performance zone."

Joe Rogan on Nate Marquardt: "This guy is one of the most well-rounded fighters in all of mixed martial arts. He's excellent at everything. He's one of the best fighters in all of the divisions."

Chael Sonnen: "I believe I can beat any man God ever made."

Mike Goldberg on Couture vs. Coleman: "Maybe they were supposed to meet in 1997, but they're here meeting in 2010."

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PREDICTIONS - UFC 109: Walker's last second betting odds overview, predictions, and recommendations

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:10:34 PST

By Wesley Walker, MMATorch Specialist

Main Event: Randy Couture -400 vs. Mark Coleman +300

Prediction: Randy Couture dominates decision victory.

Betting Advice: No money in predicting Randy to win, therefore gamble with Coleman or take a gamble on the under 2 and half rounds.

Co-Main Event: Nate Marquardt -500 vs. Chael Sonnen +350

Prediction: The difference in this fight in my mind will be Nate’s size and strength to sprawl on Chael Sonnen’s shots. I am giving Chael more respect than Las Vegas to win the fight. Sonnen has a great chance if he can get the fight to the ground with his slight edge in wrestling. Marquardt to win by decision.

Betting Advice: No money in predicting Nate straight to win, therefore gamble with Sonnen. I believe Sonnen has a great shot to win, especially with all the pressure on Marquardt to win.

Undercard Fight: Demian Maia -400 vs. Dan Miller +300

Prediction: In this fight the two ground specialists might stand and bang or a grappling match could break out on the ground. I believe the latter will happen and Maia will be able to get Dan Miller to the ground, but I see Dan being able to survive submission attempts by Maia with his fine ground game. Demain Maia should be able to control the fight to gain a decision victory.

Betting Advice: Take and put a couple dollars on Dan Miller to win with a big payoff due to the high odds against him. I believe Vegas has set a lot of the lines to high on many fight especially in this fight Miller has a grind style that gives him a great chance to win in my mind. Demain Maia to gain a decision victory.

Undercard Fight: Matt Serra -145 vs. Frank Trigg +115

Prediction: Matt Serra is a strong powerful striker as he showed in the Matt Hughes fight knocking him down whenever they stood in the fight. Frank Trigg struggles with powerful strikers who load up in their punches. For example the Josh Koscheck fight where he folded under the pressure of Koschecks’ punches.

Betting Advice: Take Serra I believe Matt is more of a favorite than Vegas is giving him credit for. In my mind Trigg is in a bad style match up lacking the same striking skills as Hughes, but not having the superior wrestling to get Serra to the ground. Trigg will give up his back again late in the 1st round.

Undercard Fight: Mike Swick -220 vs. Paulo Thiago + 175

Prediction: The biggest edge for Swick in this fight is that he has had two teammates already fight Paulo Thiago. He can exploit the areas where Thiago struggled in the fights with Koscheck and Fitch.

Betting Advice: Take Swick he’s not an overwhelming favorite plus I believe he will run threw Thiago with superior striking like Koscheck, but being more careful when he attacks.

Swick by TKO 2nd round

Undercard Fight: Mac Danzig -400 vs. Justin Buchholz +300

Prediction: Mac Danzig won the Ultimate Fighter and looked on the fast track to the title but has fallen on hard times with losses to Josh Neer and Clay Guida. The biggest factor in this fight is Danzig’s superior ground game.

Danzig by submission late in 2nd round

Betting Advice: Buchholz is a huge underdog and I believe he has an adequate shot to win this fight take a gamble if he can keep the fight standing he should be able to stay close in the fight

Undercard Fight: Ronys Torres +105 vs. Melvin Guillard -135

Prediction: The most underrated fight on this card is Torres vs. Guillard. These two fighters are mirror images of each other. Melvin has a slight edge in wrestling, but Torres is very strong and fiery.

Betting Advice: Take Torres and the upset he is very well rounded and should be able to bait Guillard into his fight. He should get Guillard to the ground by power and strength.

Torres by decision in an upset

Undercard Fight: Rob Emerson -135 Vs Philipe Nover +105

Prediction: Nover looked great on the ultimate fighter show, but has not been successful in the big shows. Emerson though is very overrated in my mind and has stayed in the UFC with a lucky KO of Manny.

Betting Advice: Bet Nover he is more well-rounded than Emerson and should take the fight where he wants.

Nover by decision in a slight upset

Undercard Fight: Brian Stann +210 vs. Phil Davis -280

Prediction: Phil Davis is going to be a star in the future of the light heavyweight division. He is a former all American wrestler and an extremely powerful guy.

Betting Advice: I love Davis in this fight as long as he doesn’t slug with Stann

Davis dominates to a decision win

Undercard Fight: Chris Tuchscherer -200 vs. Tim Hague + 160

Prediction: Tuchscherer is a training partner with Sean Sherk and Brock Lesnar look for him to control the fight on the ground while hammer fisting Hague in the face.

Betting Advice: Take Chris here he got robbed in the Gonzaga fight with the low blow he should be able to get Hague down and ground and pound

Chris Tuchscherer inks out a decision

Undercard Fight: Rolles Gracie -550 vs. Joey Beltran +375

Prediction: Gracie has superior grappling advantage look for quick rear naked choke on Beltran who is a late replacement for Al-Turk.

Gracie rear naked choke quickly in the 1st round

Betting Advice: If you wanted to place a bet in this fight bet on Beltran don’t see it happening unless he can push the pace because Gracie has never gone past the 1st round

===

Wesley Walker is MMATorch's new Predictions Specialist, analyzing the betting odds of big fight cards and offering predictions and strategies.

SATURDAY ROUNDTABLE: Q: What's next for Coleman if he wins? What's next for Couture if he loses? (pt. 2 of 2)

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:04:42 PST

TODAY'S NEW TOPIC:

-If Mark Coleman beats Randy Couture convincing, what's your pick for Coleman's next fight? And Couture?

===

SHAWN ENNIS, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Should Coleman win, it would be his biggest victory since he beat Igor Vovchanchyn ten years ago to win the Pride Grand Prix. Just throwing that out there. I say he wouldn't be as close to a title shot as Couture, but in reality if the UFC wanted to see Coleman vie for a title, he'd have to do it soon.

So if he were to take Couture out, and if the goal is a title shot, a fight between Coleman and the winner of Griffin-Lil Nog would make sense. You could also go with the loser of Rashad-Rampage, but the former makes more sense as a possible title eliminator (at first glance). As for Couture if he loses, well... how about Tito Ortiz? Okay, so my answers are the same for both scenarios. I can't help it if they both make sense, right?

===

GREG ROWLAND, MMATORCH AUDIO HOST

If Coleman wins, keep him on the retirement circut. Let him fight the winner or Tito vs. Liddell. Hell, let him fight one of those two even if he loses.

===

WESLEY WALKER, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

If Coleman were to win at UFC 109 a lot of avenues open up for the former heavyweight champion. Even with an impressive win, he is not in line for a title shot in my mind unless Shogun win the title that way we can end another trilogy. Another opponent with a win at UFC 109 could be his original opponent at UFC 106, Tito Ortiz, or if Chuck Liddell wins and still decides to fight, he could be an opponent for Mark Coleman in another hall of famer matchup.

===

AIDAN LEAHY, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

If Coleman wins convincingly I would like to see him go against fellow wrestler Matt Hamill or even the winner of Chuck and Tito. A loss for Randy against Coleman would have people questioning him fighting on, but a match up of former champions with Rich Franklin would interest me.

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BJORN HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

If Mark Coleman destroys Couture it’ll be his biggest victory in over a decade, and would put him right in to the mix of things in the light heavyweight division.

Instead of waiting for Tito, I could see the UFC pushing him to wait for Chuck, if he wins. I think the UFC wants Chuck in fights that he doesn’t risk getting knocked unconscious in, while still fighting a big name. It would mark the second time two UFC Hall of Famers entered the Octagon to battle (with UFC 109 obviously being the first.)
If Couture’s chin does indeed shatter into a million pieces like precious broken china, I would HAVE to see him against Rich Franklin. They’re both at the twilight of their careers, and have both voiced their desires to have "interesting fights." It’s easily Main Event or Co-Main Event status.

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ROBERT TEAL, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

If Coleman were to pull off the upset and beat Randy, I think his situation would not be too different from Randy’s. I believe he would be a fight away and that both of these warriors are fighting for a spot to face either Rampage or Rashad for the number one contender position.

I do think that if Randy were to lose he would get slightly more favorable treatment as far as opponents go. I think it would be likely we would get a matchup of Randy versus whoever loses the Machida Shogun title fight. At the very least he gets the loser of Evans vs. Rampage.

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LANE BRADFORD, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

If Coleman wins, like most people, I would like to see him fight Tito. It's a matchup that has to happen for the same Rampage-Evans reason - too much talk. Coleman regardless will never get a title push and Tito would probably be the biggest name he gets. If not Ortiz, I would take a fight between him and Hamill. It would be a passing of the guard essentially, even though I believe Hamill is more well-rounded than Coleman ever was. All their abilties and success come from pure wrestling.

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JAMIE PENICK, MMATORCH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Coleman won't get the title shot that Couture would with a dominating victory, but I'd give him a top tier challenger, that's for sure. We've got some major fights ahead on the light heavyweight landscape, most notable Forrest Griffin vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Rashad Evans vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Should Coleman pick up a major victory over Couture I'd toss him the winner of Griffin-Nogueira, as the Evans-Rampage winner may get the next title shot then. For Couture, a dominating loss may lead to a second retirement, but at the same time he's stated he feels better now than at other times in his career and he could choose to continue fighting.

Because he's Randy Couture, it would mean only bigger named fights going forward, and, with a loss to Coleman, I would not be surprised if he took some time off and returned to face the loser of the Liddell-Ortiz III fight from this summer in a rematch of their past light heavyweight clashes.

===

Click to access a list of all recent Roundtables. (App users, please choose the "OPINION" option on the menu at the bottom of your screen.)

===

UPCOMING TOPICS

Our next batch of Roundtable Topics to be addressed over the next week or two are as follows (so keep coming back to MMATorch every day for this and more exclusive features):

-Who are the two or three current Strikeforce fighters (other than Fedor) you'd be most intrigued to see acquired by UFC. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?

-Who are the two or three current UFC fighters you'd be most intrigued to see leave UFC for whatever reason (perhaps not being given a fair shake, already fought everyone, hit a ceiling, etc.) and be acquired by Strikeforce. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?

-Would you prefer Strikeforce in two years was out of business, close to UFC's equal (in revenue, ratings, buyrates, talent roster), or had surpassed UFC (assuming UFC stays static in the mean time)? Why?

-Should UFC add a women's fighting division?

-What would you do to try to make WEC successful on PPV, even if in general you disagree with WEC going on PPV? In other words, what advice would you give to Zuffa assuming they were open to some outside-the-box or aggressive marketing ideas?

[Mark Coleman photo credit Mike Lano (c) MMATorch]

UFC NEWS: UFC 112 to air on pay-per-view live in the U.S. at 1PM ET, replay at normal 10PM ET slot

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:56:49 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The UFC's first trip to Abu Dhabi will air live on pay-per-view, as expected, and with the time delay in the U.S. the live broadcast will come at 1PM ET on April 10th. As they've done with U.K. pay-per-view events, the replay for the event will run in their normal pay-per-view timeslot at 10PM ET.

The UFC announced the pay-per-view event today, which has been named UFC 112: Invincible. The card features two Title fights with Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort for the Middleweight Championship and B.J. Penn vs. Frankie Edgar for the Lightweight Championship.

The event will also be the first open air event for the UFC, taking place at the Concert Arena in Ferrari World on Yas Island.

Penick's Analysis: This will likely be the UFC's most successful overseas card from a pay-per-view buyrate perspective simply because of the card, as it is the biggest one they've put together as far as a non-US pay-per-view is concerned. It won't be as successful as some of the other events on the docket this spring as the middle of the day live broadcasts don't do as well and people will likely see results for the events before the replay broadcast in the evening, but this is still a big event for the organization.

UFC NEWS: Wisconsin passes MMA regulation bill, UFC likely headed to Milwaukee first

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:37:15 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Late this week the State of Wisconsin became the 43rd to pass regulation for the sport of mixed-martial-arts, opening the doors for a visit from the sport's premier MMA organization by early next year.

According to a report from Wisconsin Combat Sports, the UFC is looking to bring an event to the state possibly before the end of the year or the first quarter of 2011. The UFC's Marc Ratner was on hand in the state for the signing of the bill this week, and told WICombatSports.com that the UFC is "serious about coming" to Wisconsin.

When asked about a possible venue for the first UFC event in the state, Ratner stated, "The one venue that I’ve spoken with is the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Probably our first fight would happen there. But we also like Madison, we like Green Bay, there is a lot of possibilities in this state.

But first thing's first, as Ratner said the state needs to get their commission up and running before the UFC runs there. "Right now we want the commission to be going, we want the commission to have a staff, and we want the commission to have trained referees," said Ratner.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: This is great for the fans in Wisconsin, as while the state has run many un-regulated events in the past, this would bring the big show to town for the first time. With the UFC seriously considering venues like Fenway Park for an eventual event, Green Bay's Lambeau Field may be a future destination for such an outdoor event. The first event for Wisconsin fans is likely to bring a Fight Night event, but with a few cities to run in it sounds like the UFC is planning more than one trip to the state. It's great to see another state get in on regulating the sport, and now only seven remain.

SATURDAY ROUNDTABLE: Q: What's next for Coleman if he wins? What's next for Couture if he loses? (pt. 1)

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:42:42 PST

We have brought back the popular MMATorch Roundtable feature. Most days we will publish a question followed by several staff members' answers. We will run several batches of staff responses to the following question over the next several days, and then introduce a new topic after that.

TODAY'S NEW TOPIC:

-If Mark Coleman beats Randy Couture convincing, what's your pick for Coleman's next fight? And Couture?

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MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMNIST & AUDIO ANALYST

If Coleman beats Couture convincingly, it'll be hard to deny him a fight with a top contender next time out. He should still be ten miles from a title shot, but a fight with the loser of the Rampage-Rashad fight or even taking on one of the young guns like Thiago Silva, Luiz Cane, or Ryan Bader might be fun.

If Couture loses, let's face it, he'll always have a job in the UFC and he just signed a new long term contract so it's not like he's going anywhere. Just like with a Coleman loss, another fight with Chuck Liddell would do big numbers. Plus, the odds of one of them getting hurt are slim, so that's a positive too.

Other than that, I've always wanted to see Couture take on Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin, and those are both fights that seem destined to happen sooner or later.

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JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Should Randy Couture lose a decisive match to Mark Coleman, then Coleman would move into the top contender discussion in line for a title shot. He wouldn’t get the next shot, but would likely be paired up with the winner of Forrest Griffin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. The next title shot after Shogun vs. Machida, will likely go to the winner of Rashad Evans vs. Quinton Jackson.

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BRIAN SWEET, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

I see Coleman fighting the winner of Jon Jones-Brandon Vera. At Coleman's age, he probably wont be fighting more than a year or two longer and needs to finish out his contract quickly. I see Couture vs. the loser of Liddell-Ortiz 3.

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ANDREW O'DONNELL, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

I won't be surprised if Mark Coleman's last fight is Saturday night with a win or loss and, if he were to potentially win, he'd probably get the loser of Griffin-Nogueira regardless if it's convincing or not. Mark Coleman's gastank just hasn't been there. It definitely screws Dana's plans on bringing back Captain America as a top contender at light-heavyweight.

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LARAMEY LEET, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

If Mark Coleman wins the fight it will be the upset of the year! But if he happen to pull it off, he would probably fight a lower ranked opponent still. In his two previous fights his conditioning has been a problem. After Couture beats him, he will only have one more fight left in the UFC and I see Dana and Lorenzo giving him an easier fight for his last. I would assume that he would retire going 2-2 in his comeback! If Couture lost he will still go against a better opponent than Coleman no matter what the outcome! Couture sells fights.

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ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

If Coleman beats Couture, he would need at least two fights before a title fight or, at the least, one high-profile fight, such as a Rich Franklin. For both fighters, Rich Franklin would be a great fight and, if Coleman were to beat "Ace," that would definitely be a huge stepping stone. A more reasonable fight would be someone like a Matt Hamill, who has a newer and similar style to his, and they could decide who the real "Hammer" is.

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SAM MATTHEW, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

If Coleman can prove to be stronger, both mentally and physically, than he's ever been before, and is able to pull out an upset, then he deserves a shot at one of Greg Jackson's boys, Rashad Evans or Keith Jardine. I think it would be interesting to see how he deals with Evans speed, striking, and great wrestling base, while Jardine is so unorthodox and crafty it might throw Coleman off his usual gameplan of takedown to ground and pound.

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FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Brandon Vera would be my first choice. He lost a crap decision to Couture, so he should get a chance to redeem himself against another old fighter. A fight against Griffin might be a good choice, too. If Couture loses, he should fight Matt Hamill.

===

Click to access a list of all recent Roundtables. (App users, please choose the "OPINION" option on the menu at the bottom of your screen.)

===

UPCOMING TOPICS

Our next batch of Roundtable Topics to be addressed over the next week or two are as follows (so keep coming back to MMATorch every day for this and more exclusive features):

-Who are the two or three current Strikeforce fighters (other than Fedor) you'd be most intrigued to see acquired by UFC. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?

-Who are the two or three current UFC fighters you'd be most intrigued to see leave UFC for whatever reason (perhaps not being given a fair shake, already fought everyone, hit a ceiling, etc.) and be acquired by Strikeforce. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?

-Would you prefer Strikeforce in two years was out of business, close to UFC's equal (in revenue, ratings, buyrates, talent roster), or had surpassed UFC (assuming UFC stays static in the mean time)? Why?

-Should UFC add a women's fighting division?

-What would you do to try to make WEC successful on PPV, even if in general you disagree with WEC going on PPV? In other words, what advice would you give to Zuffa assuming they were open to some outside-the-box or aggressive marketing ideas?

[Mark Coleman photo credit Mike Lano (c) MMATorch]

HANSEN: Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler knock it out of the park for MMA, puttiing on a show for mainstream sports reporters

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:52:51 PST

By Bjorn Hansen, MMATorch columnist

On a day that 47 year old former Heisman Trophy winner Hershell Walker attracted extravagant mainstream sports media attention, Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler embodied two of MMA's most popular facets: brutally concussive conclusions and don't-you-dare-blink-for-a-second-or-you'll-miss-it moments.

Now, while Hershell's fight was hard to watch, TUF 10esque if you will, you have to figure at least most of the mainstream sports media crew stayed tuned to get their full money's worth of the PPV. When you know guys such as Tony Reali, Stuart Scott, and maybe even Woody Paige are in all likelihood watching, you want them to come away from it more convinced it's a sport worth covering more regularly.

Devastating knockouts are a fail-proof method of introducing the sport of MMA to the uninitiated male sports fan. Now, if you add impossible come-from-behind drama to the mix as well, you have an exceptionally good chance of converting a non-follower. (Any hardcore fan who has unofficially served as an MMA missionary/ambassador can verify this.)

While the physically imposing Melvin Manhoef was chopping and slugging away at the punch-less Robbie Lawler, no one except Robbie himself could have known that one of MMA's greatest come-from-behind KO's ever was to come next. Knowing Marius Zaromskis' striking pedigree, once he dropped Nick Diaz, I'm sure many thought the fight was over, or at the very least, that BJJ black belt Diaz had made a foolish mistake trying to prove a point fighting on his feet.

Both fighters were under the kind of extreme duress that normally results in a TKO loss on their record. But that's not the form of mettle these fighter's are casted from. In Forrest Griffin's "Got Fight" book, under "Fight Language You Need to Know," he defines "gameness."

"In order for a person to be game, he must have a mixture of toughness, heart, and stupidity. Even if he is getting his ass severely stomped, he will never quit. He shows courage and determination even when the end result might be catastrophic injury to himself. A perfect example of a fighter who has gameness is Nick Diaz."

You could easily switch that name for Robbie Lawler as both fighters are as game as they come. Lawler was getting punished on his feet, yet had the moxie to stubbornly follow his improvised game plan to achieve a stunning highlight reel fixture for years to come. Diaz got dropped, but stuck to his guns and instantly bounced back boxing only to shock the crowd moments later by permanently dropping head-kick knockout artist, Zaromskis.

Diaz and Lawler provided excellent representation as to why this sport inescapably attracts more and more fans each month. Men love fierce physical competition. It's part of the reason the NFL prospers the way it does in the USA. It's what sports is all about. Nothing defines that purer than MMA does. Diaz and Lawler gave those mainstream sports reporters an example of why more coverage of this sport is due.

===

Bjorn "Norwegian Nightmare" Hansen is a weekly columnist for MMATorch. If you've got questions or comments, send them to: bjorn.hansen@fiu.edu...

INTERVIEW: Eric Bischoff, former WCW President, talks about turning down offer to buy UFC a dozen years ago

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:38:15 PST

The following is an excerpt of a "Torch Talk" interview I conducted with former WCW President Eric Bischoff. In this snippet, he talks about being presented with a chance to buy UFC during a low point in UFC's history, pre-Zuffa and Dana White. Bischoff is currently working on air and behind the scenes with TNA, Spike TV's pro wrestling affiliate.

Wade Keller: Did you mention in your book that there was once an MMA project that crossed your desk or was proposed that you might have gotten involved with but passed on?

Eric Bischoff: Yeah, UFC! (laughs)

Keller: Tell me the story on that.

Bischoff: Well, there's not much to tell. I think it was back in 1998 or maybe '99. Don't pin me down on the date, but it was back in the period of time when we were rocking and rolling. Was it Art Davies who originally had UFC. He had been doing it for a while and was miserable, it wasn't working clearly.

Keller: It was off of pay-per-view, banned in several states, John McCain rallying against it.

Bischoff: Somebody brought it up to me and said, "Hey, we'll sell it to you guys for a million and a half bucks" or whatever the number was. I looked at it at the time.

Keller: You personally or Turner?

Bischoff: Me personally, as part of Turner; as president of the company it was brought to me. Wade, you know my background because I think you know I was in martial arts for a long time in Minneapolis because I think you went to the same school that I did.

Keller: Julian Durschmidt was my instructor.

Bischoff: I think Julian was one of my students at one point.

Keller: Jim Albertson took over for him.

Bischoff: Jim was definitely one of my students. I used to pound on Jim Albertson when he was a blue belt and I was a brown belt getting ready for my black belt test. I used to beat him unmercifully. Obviously because of my experience in martial arts, I had an interest in it. But at the time it had such a stench to it and there was such a stigma associated with it. I was willing to take some pretty crazy chances, but that wasn't one of them at the time.

Keller: Any regrets?

Bischoff: Nah. That's another crystal ball thing. How much money did the Fertitas lose on UFC until [The Ultimate Fighter] came along. I've had meetings with them. I had a meeting with the Fertitas going back maybe six years. I was going to do something with them at one time. It was a very superficial conversations. I met them in Las Vegas and we went out to dinner. I think at that time they were probably 40 million dollars in the hole and every time they put on a pay-per-view they were losing money. But to their credit and Dana White's credit, whom I really admire, they stuck it out and made it work. They made the changes that needed to be changed, much like I said about TNA. I'm not trying to put them over in the same way, but when you make a long-term commitment you've got the resources to figure it out, you stick with it, eventually, hopefully it'll work. That's what happened with UFC. They changed the rules, they brought in real athletes and not just tough guys. It used to drive me crazy as a guy who worked pretty hard to achieve my black belt and achieved a fair amount of success as a competitor, it used to make me crazy when I would see people come out of the UFC and go, "He's a professional pit fighter. He's got a black belt in pit fighting." What the hell is that? All these guys really were were bar room brawlers who were good for about three punches and it was horrible. The Fertitas made the decision and started attracting world class athletes, they changed the rules that would allow world class athletes to go, "Okay, I could compete in that." I watched - I sat with my son last night - as much as I say I don't watch television, my son and I sat last night and watched The Ultimate Fighter. I think we watched three hours of it. It's great stuff.

Keller: Had you watched much of the series before last night?

Bischoff: Oh yeah. I try to. I've watched bits and pieces of it because I really enjoy it. The athleticism, the personalities. There are a couple things about it that drives me crazy. Overall, I think it's one of the most entertaining things on television, other than the Pittsburgh Steelers, from a sports point of view.

===

The entire five-hour interview with Bischoff discussing his role in the Monday Night War boom period for pro wrestling in the late-'90s is currently running in regular installments in the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter and www.PWTorch.com VIP website.

[Eric Bischoff photo credit Wade Keller (c) MMATorch]

SATURDAY ROUNDTABLE: Q: What's next for Couture if he wins? What's next for Coleman if he loses? (pt. 3 of 3)

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:34:14 PST

We have brought back the popular MMATorch Roundtable feature. Most days we will publish a question followed by several staff members' answers. We will run several batches of staff responses to the following question over the next several days, and then introduce a new topic after that.

TODAY'S NEW TOPIC:

If Randy Couture beats Mark Coleman convincingly, what's your pick for Couture's next opponents? And Coleman?

===

ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

If Couture beats Coleman, that puts him pretty close the top of the heap for title contenders. As for fights, maybe a fight against someone like Jon Jones (if he gets past Brandon Vera) or even Rich Franklin (since everyone else near or at the top is already locked in with other opponents). Couture would have the closest chance of getting a title shot if he beats Franklin, yet, Franklin beating Couture would do wonders and catapult him pretty darn close to getting a title shot in a pretty stacked division.

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ANDREW O'DONNELL, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

I think Randy will beat Mark this Saturday, but convincingly? I doubt it. If I were to choose Couture's next fight, I think of a potential bad matchup in Rich Franklin returning from the sideline later this year at 205. A win for Randy definitely elevates him into the top five picture at 205 since getting the huge win over Brandon Vera and beating the UFC legend Mark Coleman.

===

LARAMEY LEET, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

If Couture wins the fight convincingly, he needs to fight a top light heavyweight fighter. He is the former heavyweight champ and has still looked impressive in his last two fights (even though he lost to Nog, he still looked good). I would put Couture against a top contender. If Coleman loses he will probably be back on the prelims. He will have gone 1-2 in his return and, let's face it, he has no shot at a title shot no matter what. Maybe he can fight Herschel Walker.

===

WESLEY WALKER, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

I believe with a dominating victory over Coleman, this places Couture back into another shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Title against the winner of Machida vs. Shogun II. If Couture were to lose, I could see him being in line to fight the winner of Ryan Bader vs. Keith Jardine. Also, the possibility looms with a loss to fight the loser of Machida and Shogun.

I believe Coleman has improved in his cardio since the Shogun fight at UFC 93, but this fight is a bad matchup with Couture and he gets completely outclassed in every area. That being said I believe Coleman still has a little left in the gas tank for a couple of more fights. A fight that is very possible is finish the trilogy with Shogun if he loses to Machida in their rematch. Another possible match for Mark Coleman is a fight with Phil Davis to test the young wrestler turned MMA fighter.

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JAMIE PENICK, MMATORCH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

If it's a convincing dominating victory for Couture, he gets the winner of Machida-Shogun for the Light Heavyweight Title. There's too much money to be made and too much of a story from Couture's perspective to tell to not put that fight on should he come out a clear victor one way or another on Saturday night. A convincing beatdown loss for Coleman would mean a serious evaluation of his future by him, and if he fought again he may not get anywhere near a main event caliber fighter as an opponent again. He needs to look good if he's going to lose or his career may be over.

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WADE KELLER, SUPERVISING EDITOR

Dana White is likely going to give Randy Couture a title shot against the winner of Machida-Shogun if Couture wins and looks good in the process. He'll do it due to a mix of economics and the ticking clock of Couture's career. Couture can't afford to wait, and it'd be fitting for him to retire with a championship title belt (after zero, one, or more defenses - up to him and his body). If not an immediate title shot, then perhaps a SuperFight against Rich Franklin or Forrest Griffin. I don't want to see another fight with Couture against Tito or Chuck.

If Coleman loses convincingly, he'll be back in prelims at best. As UFC noted during their Spike TV countdown show, he just doesn't have enough of a history with the majority of UFC fans, who missed most of his career due to PPV blackouts and his fighting in Japan, to justify economically putting him in a semi-main event despite his Hall of Fame caliber history in the sport. He'd be a good gate-keeper for a potential future contender, but nothing more. He needs to stack up impressive upset wins and show something new to be a serious contender for a title shot.

===

Click to access a list of all recent Roundtables. (App users, please choose the "OPINION" option on the menu at the bottom of your screen.)

===

UPCOMING TOPICS

Our next batch of Roundtable Topics to be addressed over the next week or two are as follows (so keep coming back to MMATorch every day for this and more exclusive features):

-If Mark Coleman beats Randy Couture convincing, what's your pick for Coleman's next fight? And Couture?

-Who are the two or three current Strikeforce fighters (other than Fedor) you'd be most intrigued to see acquired by UFC. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?

-Who are the two or three current UFC fighters you'd be most intrigued to see leave UFC for whatever reason (perhaps not being given a fair shake, already fought everyone, hit a ceiling, etc.) and be acquired by Strikeforce. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?

-Would you prefer Strikeforce in two years was out of business, close to UFC's equal (in revenue, ratings, buyrates, talent roster), or had surpassed UFC (assuming UFC stays static in the mean time)? Why?

-Should UFC add a women's fighting division?

-What would you do to try to make WEC successful on PPV, even if in general you disagree with WEC going on PPV? In other words, what advice would you give to Zuffa assuming they were open to some outside-the-box or aggressive marketing ideas?

SATURDAY ROUNDTABLE: Q: Picking the winner of Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman (pt. 3 of 3)

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:21:27 PST

We have brought back the popular MMATorch Roundtable feature. Most days we will publish a question followed by several staff members' answers. We will run several batches of staff responses to the following question over the next several days, and then introduce a new topic after that.

TODAY'S NEW TOPIC:

Predict the winner of the Randy Couture-Mark Coleman fight on Saturday night.

===

LARAMEY LEET, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

In the words of Joe Rogan, "Couture is my hero!" I am predicting Couture to take this with ease! I think that Couture and Coleman will not try to bring the fight to the ground and it will be out of who has the most superior stand up. I see the fight going to the judges, but I see Randy winning every round. Couture's conditioning will outlast Coleman's. I do not see any aspect of MMA that Coleman tops Couture.

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ROBERT TEAL, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

Both fighters are UFC legends and hall of famers. Both are great athletes and wrestlers. But there is where the comparisons end. Randy during his career has shown the ability to adapt and improve after every fight he is in. He has become not only proficient at striking but very good in that area. He does not have explosive power or lightning quick speed but he understands how to put combinations together and he transitions well form the feet to the ground. He has become an all-around mixed martial artist. Mark Coleman is very strong and can definitely hurt you with his hands, but he is not a technical striker and you will never see him in a stand up war voluntarily.

When I pick a winner of a fight, I look to see the areas where a fighter is better than another. I think Couture presents more problems for Coleman than Coleman presents to Couture. Randy has the superior stand up game definitely superior cardio. The only Danger I see for Randy is if Coleman is able to take him down and put him on his back. Coleman is definitely a good enough wrestler to take Randy down, but after all is said and done I think Randy’s conditioning will be the x factor in this fight. I see Randy getting the win via TKO in round three.

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MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

I'll take the easy, safe pick and say Couture wins a slightly dull decision. He's taken his craft seriously for far longer than Coleman, and he's been willing to adapt and evolve as the sport has changed.

Coleman hasn't been relevant in seven or eight years and I find it hard to believe that a year of being "dedicated" will be enough to best an opponent that's everything Coleman could have been if he had realized in 2002 that double legs and ground-n-pound aren't the be all and end all to MMA.

Couture may have lost a step or two, but his game was never based around being the most explosive athlete or dynamic striker. He can still do what he does best: avoid damage, fight smart, and grind his opponents into mush. This one should be academic.

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WADE KELLER, SUPERVISING EDITOR

I'd love to see a classic between these two that surpasses everyone's expectations, but I don't expect it. I actually think this will end in the first round with a TKO for Couture. However, if it goes past the first, I think it'll go to a decision, because it'll be a sign that Coleman's cardio and general prep is better than anticipated, so given how Couture fights, I think Coleman can create a stalemate. He might even eek out a split decision if it goes the distance as he might land more shots and come across as more aggressive.

As usual, with UFC events that look relatively weak on paper, just knowing the fight is hours away makes me more excited to see it than I expected. I'd still rather see these two fighting younger stars because at least something would be learned from that. In this case, whoever wins will face the criticism that they beat an over-the-hill fighter who's last good fight was, well, his last good fight. Whereas if they were to beat a younger fighter, it'd show "they still have it" (plus give a younger fighter the chance to fight a Hall of Fame legend in their career, win or lose).

===

Click to access a list of all recent Roundtables. (App users, please choose the "OPINION" option on the menu at the bottom of your screen.)

===

UPCOMING TOPICS

Our next batch of Roundtable Topics to be addressed over the next week or two are as follows (so keep coming back to MMATorch every day for this and more exclusive features):

-If Randy Couture beats Mark Coleman convincingly, what's your pick for Couture's next opponents? And Coleman?

-If Mark Coleman beats Randy Couture convincing, what's your pick for Coleman's next fight? And Couture?

-Who are the two or three current Strikeforce fighters (other than Fedor) you'd be most intrigued to see acquired by UFC. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?

-Who are the two or three current UFC fighters you'd be most intrigued to see leave UFC for whatever reason (perhaps not being given a fair shake, already fought everyone, hit a ceiling, etc.) and be acquired by Strikeforce. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?

-Would you prefer Strikeforce in two years was out of business, close to UFC's equal (in revenue, ratings, buyrates, talent roster), or had surpassed UFC (assuming UFC stays static in the mean time)? Why?

-Should UFC add a women's fighting division?

-What would you do to try to make WEC successful on PPV, even if in general you disagree with WEC going on PPV? In other words, what advice would you give to Zuffa assuming they were open to some outside-the-box or aggressive marketing ideas?

[Randy Couture art credit Cory Gould (c) MMATorch]

SATURDAY ROUNDTABLE: Q: What's next for Couture if he wins? What's next for Coleman if he loses? (pt. 2 of 3)

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:46:13 PST

We have brought back the popular MMATorch Roundtable feature. Most days we will publish a question followed by several staff members' answers. We will run several batches of staff responses to the following question over the next several days, and then introduce a new topic after that.

TODAY'S NEW TOPIC:

If Randy Couture beats Mark Coleman convincingly, what's your pick for Couture's next opponents? And Coleman?

===

BRIAN SWEET, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

I see Couture getting Thiago Silva or maybe even some sort of superfight with Rich Franklin after the Coleman fight. Either one of those fights would be interesting. I also wouldn't mind a Couture-Akiyama scrap.

===

LANE BRADFORD, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I think Couture will win this matchup against Coleman at UFC 109. I predict he will TKO the "Hammer" in the 2nd round. After he wins I would like to see him take on either the winner of Rampage-Evans, or Nog-Griffin. One of those two matchups winner probably gets the LHW shot so the other winner should get Couture. I have all the respect in the world for Couture and his abilities. He has proven time and time again he can get it done, however a title push to me is not justified. He can game plan with the best of them but I dont see him getting by Evans, Griffin, Nog, Machida, or Rua.

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JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

If Couture beats Coleman, he should probably get a shot at Rogerio Nogueira should he defeat his friend Forrest Griffin. I would suggest the same should Forrest defeat Noguiera, but there’s a chance they may not be willing to fight each other. You could also pair him up with Jon Jones should he defeat Brandon Vera. Should Coleman lose, he should probably consider retirement, but since he won’t, a fight against the loser of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz would suit him fine.

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ROBERT TEAL, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

I believe that if Randy wins this fight he is a fight away from getting a title shot. That may seem unfair within the division but I think that is the reality. I think his next fight would be against the winner of the Rampage vs. Evans to determine a number one contender. I think it is a possibility you could see him against the winner between Little Nog and Forrest also.

If Mark loses I think he will get either Keith Jardine or Thiago Silva. All three fighters will be in need of a win or they face possibly being ousted from the UFC.

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MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMMNIST

I know the UFC will be tempted to strike while the iron is hot and shoot Couture right to a title shot, but that would be unfair to the ten or so guys who SHOULD be ahead of him in the light-heavyweight pecking order.

Beating Brandon Vera and Mark Coleman, two fighters well outside the top-10, should not earn you a title shot. I understand the business perspective of things, but Couture should have beat at least one legitimate contender before a title shot.

Maybe match him up with Little Nog if he gets past Forrest Griffin. That would make for some fun storylines and could be sold as a legit #1 contender fight. Other than Nogueira, I'd love to see him face Jon Jones in an old guard vs. new guard type of fight, provided Jones passes his test against Brandon Vera.

If Coleman loses, he needs to hang it up. I think every fight for him should be a win or go home scenario at this point. He's 45 and, pardon the cliche, not getting any younger. His game hasn't evolved and never fully will at this point. Maybe one more fight against Chuck Liddell could sell if the UFC ever decides to start a "seniors" division.

===

Click to access a list of all recent Roundtables. (App users, please choose the "OPINION" option on the menu at the bottom of your screen.)

===

UPCOMING TOPICS

Our next batch of Roundtable Topics to be addressed over the next week or two are as follows (so keep coming back to MMATorch every day for this and more exclusive features):

-If Mark Coleman beats Randy Couture convincing, what's your pick for Coleman's next fight? And Couture?

-Who are the two or three current Strikeforce fighters (other than Fedor) you'd be most intrigued to see acquired by UFC. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?

-Who are the two or three current UFC fighters you'd be most intrigued to see leave UFC for whatever reason (perhaps not being given a fair shake, already fought everyone, hit a ceiling, etc.) and be acquired by Strikeforce. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?

-Would you prefer Strikeforce in two years was out of business, close to UFC's equal (in revenue, ratings, buyrates, talent roster), or had surpassed UFC (assuming UFC stays static in the mean time)? Why?

-Should UFC add a women's fighting division?

-What would you do to try to make WEC successful on PPV, even if in general you disagree with WEC going on PPV? In other words, what advice would you give to Zuffa assuming they were open to some outside-the-box or aggressive marketing ideas?

[Randy Couture photo credit (c) Mike Lano]

SATURDAY ROUNDTABLE: Q: Picking the winner of Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman (pt. 2 of 3)

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:41:50 PST

UFC NEWS: Weigh-in results for UFC 109: Relentless

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:07:34 PST

Weigh-ins took place this afternoon from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV, for tomorrow night's UFC 109: Relentless event on pay-per-view, and all competitors on the card made weight. The night's main event fighters, former Heavyweight Champions Mark Coleman and Randy Couture, both hit 205 lbs. for their light heavyweight tilt on the first attempt. Full weigh-in results for the event are below:

Main Televised Card

-Mark Coleman (205) vs. Randy Couture (205)
-Nate Marquardt (186) vs. Chael Sonnen (185)
-Mike Swick (171) vs. Paulo Thiago (170)
-Demian Maia (186) vs. Dan Miller (185)
-Matt Serra (169) vs. Frank Trigg (171)

Spike TV Prelims

-Justin Buchholz (156) vs. Mac Danzig (156)
-Melvin Guillard (155) vs. Ronys Torres (156)

Preliminary Card

-Rob Emerson (155) vs. Phillipe Nover (155)
-Phil Davis (205) vs. Brian Stann (205)
-Tim Hague (263) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (263)
-Joey Beltran (238) vs. Rolles Gracie (247)

MMATORCH EXCLUSIVE: Special UFC 109 Preview Audio Update with Penick, Pelkey 02/05 (46min.)

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:58:44 PST

Today marks the return of the Torch Audio Update with a special preview of tomorrow night's UFC 109 card. Torch Editor Jamie Penick and Torch Columnist Matt Pelkey run down the entire Las Vegas card and give their predictions on the fights. In addition, the two discuss the ramifications of the potential results of the night's top two fights.

DIRECT LINK: MMATORCH AUDIO UPDATE 02-05-2010

ALL BUSINESS: Everybody Want's To Rule The World - Strikeforce Makes International TV Deal

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:37:29 PST

by Alvin Benjamin Carter III

Earlier this week it was announced that Strikeforce closed a deal with Shine International in an effort to expand into the global market. According to the Strikeforce's February 2, 2010 press release, "Virgin Media Television’s Bravo in the UK, Turner in Latin America, FX in Portugal, Ukraine’s Megasport, Seven Network Australia and Dahlia TV in Italy have all purchased STRIKEFORCE’s library of TV programming." This is a big move spanning across Europe, Australia and Latin America for the American based promotion that currently finds itself #2 behind the Ultimate Fighting Championship. This deal is not as robust as the UFC's deal with Flash Entertainment as Strikeforce has sold it's library of footage and rights to air the next two years worth of live fight cards, but currently do not have any public plans to host events outside of the states.

Strikeforce is starting to play ball. They have the best heavyweight (and possibly the best p4p) fighter in the world in Fedor Emelianenko, Cris "Cyborg" Santos, Dan Henderson, and a number of fighters people want to see. Combine Strikeforce's growing talent pool with this new and relatively broad international television distribution deal, and you have a company looking to make sure that their brand is viable as mixed martial arts makes a run toward being one of the biggest sport in the world.

This type of expansions is smart because there is very little that Strikeforce has to do programing wise. From what has been made public there are no clauses that add extra fight cards to Strikeforce's schedule. It is just a sale of content and future programing rights. In order to make the best use of this deal Strikeforce needs to make sure all of it's champions are undisputed (if possible) and actively defending their titles. (Alastair Overeem especially!) If this can happen, Strikeforce could be come the promotion of choice for a number international MMA fans who want consistent programing with a fair amount of title defenses. The UFC on the other hand has so many stars that it is easy for them to have a major event that people want to see with out any title defenses. Strikeforce does not quite have this luxury at the moment. (Challengers events not withstanding.)

As far as current promotion supremacy goes, the UFC is still far and away on top. Last weeks Strikeforce: Miami event on Showtime sported a total viewership of approximately 517,000 people. This is only one-forth the amount of viewers that watched the UFCs free counter programming rebroadcast of UFC:107 Penn vs. Sanchez on Spike TV which had over 2,000,000 viewers. So, Strikeforce is in the ring, but at the moment they are Sanchez (a great fighter) and the UFC is Penn (currently dominant).

The payouts for Strikeforce Miami seemed a bit more competitive than usual with Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler making $100,000 for their winning performances. These kind of base payouts will make Strikeforce more attractive to very well known fighters (but, not mega stars) who for one reason or another are not competing in the UFC.

The global expansion battle between Strikeforce and the UFC is like a race to the moon. Strikeforce is loading their ship to launch, but the UFC has already left the atmosphere. What is exciting about this is that it might not matter who gets there first, there might be enough space for both promotions to operate on a large global scale. It would be amazing if that were to occur and facilitate an annual "Dynamite" style event where UFC and Strikeforce could face-off in non-title mega fights. A scenario like that would definitely create a global scene where mixed martial arts could rise to the top as a whole. Still, the reality of it is "Everybody Wants To Rule The World," and not to many folks want to share it.

===

Follow Alvin on Twitter: @AwwwSnap

Alvin Benjamin Carter III is an MMATorch Specialist columnist focusing on the business and statistic side of the sport of MMA. He trains in SanDa / Shan Shou (Chinese Kickboxing) and MMA. He also has a business background in music production, management, and clothing. He has launched two companies which cater to niche markets, giving him experience in examining trends and attitudes that can affect a particular business model, which he applies in his weekly column for MMATorch to the sport of MMA.

UFC QUOTABLES: Nate Marquardt talks about regaining his mean streak and aggressiveness to finish fights

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:43:01 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"I think I’ve always had that mean streak in me, and I kinda lost it there for a little while just because certain things changed in the way I was fighting. Then the loss to Anderson (Silva) gave me it back... For a while, I was kinda fighting in order to not lose, and I had really good control of the fights – good wrestling, good boxing, good defense – but that finishing aggressiveness wasn’t there, and I put that back in. That’s something I had in the past, and I continued to work on skill, technique and stuff, and I got better in all areas, but that’s what’s made the biggest difference, just because I kinda left it out for a while... In the past I’ve always looked at it as both. It is a sport, but it’s also a fight. It’s not a game. You’re out there and you can really get hurt. You could be winning the fight, but at any moment, if you make the wrong move, you can get knocked out or choked out, and vice versa. It doesn’t matter how you’re doing, you’re in there to fight and to finish the guy. For a while, I was looking at it as more of a sport."

-Nate Marquardt talks to UFC.com about regaining his killer instinct in the cage and realizing MMA is more than just a sport.

Penick's Analysis: Marquardy certainly has gotten that aggression and finishing ability back into his game. The Silva fight was a major turnaround for the multi-time King of Pancrase, and he's made it his mission to get back to a rematch with "The Spider," taking out a number of guys along the way. That ability to finish will be key against Chael Sonnen, who could surprise him with an aggressive and suffocating wrestling game if he can't find a way to utilize his aggressiveness to take Sonnen out. This will likely be a very good fight between these two tomorrow night and the winner will emerge as a clear number one contender, something that hasn't been seen for awhile in the UFC's middleweight division with multiple fighters simply being placed into TItle shots against Silva.

MMA VIDEO: ESPN's MMA Live reviews Strikeforce: Miami and previews UFC 109

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:22:06 PST

ESPN.com's MMA Live crew is back with another weekly episode of their online series. This week they review Herschel Walker's MMA debut and the rest of last week's Strikeforce: Miami event before launching into a preview of Saturday's UFC 109 event on pay-per-view. Check out the full show below (App users video available at MMATorch.com):

QUOTABLES: Dana White discusses Nick Diaz and the need to "play the game"

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:21:31 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"I like Nick Diaz very much, and I’ve said this many times, if Nick Diaz would just play the game even this much... but Nick Diaz refuses to play the game. He’s anti-the game... Listen, you have certain rules and guidelines, and last time Nick Diaz was in the UFC he got in a fist fight in the hospital with the guy that he fought here [Joe Riggs]. You can’t do that kind of stuff. The kid is very talented and he probably should be in the UFC, but that kind of stuff has got to stop... I have a great relationship with Nate and I have a good relationship with Nick. It’s not like I hate Nick Diaz. I talk to Nick Diaz every time I see him. Every time I see him he’s a good kid, but it’s the stuff after and the stuff away from the Octagon that’s stopping Nick. So everybody has to play the game at least this much."

-UFC President Dana White talks to MMAWeekly.com about Strikeforce Welterweight Champion and former UFC fighter Nick Diaz.

Penick's Analysis: With Nick Diaz's post-fight comments last weekend about the challengers, or more lack thereof, in Strikeforce's welterweight division, and the fact that the Title fight didn't mean much to him outside of the paycheck, it wouldn't be a surprise at all to see a UFC return in the near future for him. Of course, it will take cooperating with the UFC and going along with what White is talking about here for him to get back to the Octagon, but it's certainly not out of the question for either side at this point. This is one of the issues Strikeforce is facing as they continue to try to branch out, as they will have some of their fighters looking to leave for better competition and better money as they grow unhappy with the challenges in front of them. Diaz and Robbie Lawler are at the top of that list, but there are other fighters on the roster who may eventually jump ship as well. How Strikeforce handles all of that and whether or not they can develop more fighters than what they've done thus far will go a long way towards them finding some longevity in competition.

[Dana White photo credit Wade Keller (c) MMATorch.com]

FRIDAY ROUNDTABLE #2: Q: What's next for Couture if he wins? What's next for Coleman if he loses? (pt. 1)

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:11:30 PST

We have brought back the popular MMATorch Roundtable feature. Most days we will publish a question followed by several staff members' answers. We will run several batches of staff responses to the following question over the next several days, and then introduce a new topic after that.

TODAY'S NEW TOPIC:

If Randy Couture beats Mark Coleman convincingly, what's your pick for Couture's next opponents? And Coleman?

===

BJORN HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Same opponent I wanted for Randy Couture prior to his bout with Mark Coleman was announced: Nogueira. I loved Big Nogueira vs. Couture so much (2009 Fight of the Year, in my opinion), I just have to find out if there’ll be the same fireworks with Lil Nogueira vs Couture.

Additionally, if Lil Nog beats Forrest, whom he is scheduled to fight at UFC 113, they will fall more or less in the same pecking order.

If Coleman loses convincingly, I could see him taking some time off to wait for Tito Ortiz to have his brain rattled by Chuck Liddell yet again. Tito called him a “sissy” for backing out of their originally scheduled matchup at UFC 106, and the trash-talking has continued since.

Or, since Mark Coleman isn’t fighting for belts anymore, you could spice things up and make him fight for his moniker against Matt Hammill: The Hammer Resolution... two men enter, only one man exits as "The Hammer."

===

AIDEN LEAHY, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

If Randy wins convincingly I think the UFC might push him for one last title shot, but I personally would like to see him face Jon Jones provided Jones defeats Brandon Vera in March.

If Coleman looses convincingly I think he should retire but I don’t see that happening, so an opponent like Vladimir Matyushenko or Steve Cantwell (provided he returns) would be a good fit.

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FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

I'd like to see Couture face Forrest Griffin. It'd be a nice match-up, and a hard fight for Forrest. I don't think you can realistically put either guy in there with Rashad or Rampage, unless you're wanting them to get beat down. Forrest could possibly submit or get the decision over Couture, but you're not going to worry for his safety like you would if he was fighting either Rashad or Rampage. If Coleman loses, I'd want to see him fight Matt Hamill or Jon Jones.

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GREG ROWLAND, MMATORCH AUDIO HOST

If Randy wins, I totally see him close to a title shot, even though he wouldn't really deserve it based on these last few matches. I could really see UFC putting him in there with Machida or Shogun to see if lightning will strike for the thousandth time as Randy figures out a gameplan for UFC's top LHW

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SHAWN ENNIS, MMATORCH SENIOR COLUMNIST

If Couture wins, he's probably closer to title contention than Coleman gets with a win. With that under consideration, I wouldn't mind seeing Couture take on the winner of Griffin-Lil Nog, which happens in May.

For Coleman, I'd still like to see a fight between him and Tito Ortiz. Coleman was supposed to be Ortiz's comeback opponent, and I thought that was a pretty good fight. You don't need Coleman fighting as often as Couture wants to, so waiting until after Ortiz's re-rematch with Chuck Liddell would be fine.

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SAM MATTHEW, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

If "The Natural" beats Coleman like most everyone thinks he will, then his next opponent should either be Jon Jones or Rampage. Rampage being such a good wrestler would be hard to takedown and this matchup could hopefully result in a good ol' fashioned brawl. Jon Jones needs to be tested against a top-caliber wrestler and his dynamic approach to striking (i.e. the nasty move he pulled on Jake O'Brien with a fake shot turned into an overhead elbow) could make for a Couture fight that's actually exciting.

The truth is I'd really like to see both fighters retire, both for themselves and the sport. The wrestling approach to fighting is incredibly boring from a spectator's point of view. It's also the biggest turnoff for newcomers to the sport.

While both these fighters proved that a wrestling approach to MMA could be extremely successful by using strikes to setup takedowns, the ultimate result has been a generation of bigger, stronger wrestlers holding down smaller opponents and eeking out unanimous decisions through control instead of damage. I'm ready for the sport to expand and show its progression into kickboxing and submission grappling.

===

MORE PREDICTIONS COMING IN A FEW HOURS. CHECK BACK WITH MMATORCH FOR THE NEXT BATCH.

LISTING OF PREVIOUS ROUNDTABLE ARTICLES

===

UPCOMING TOPICS

Our next batch of Roundtable Topics to be addressed over the next week or two are as follows (so keep coming back to MMATorch every day for this and more exclusive features):

-If Mark Coleman beats Randy Couture convincing, what's your pick for Coleman's next fight? And Couture?

-Who are the two or three current Strikeforce fighters (other than Fedor) you'd be most intrigued to see acquired by UFC. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?

-Who are the two or three current UFC fighters you'd be most intrigued to see leave UFC for whatever reason (perhaps not being given a fair shake, already fought everyone, hit a ceiling, etc.) and be acquired by Strikeforce. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?

-Would you prefer Strikeforce in two years was out of business, close to UFC's equal (in revenue, ratings, buyrates, talent roster), or had surpassed UFC (assuming UFC stays static in the mean time)? Why?

-Should UFC add a women's fighting division?

-What would you do to try to make WEC successful on PPV, even if in general you disagree with WEC going on PPV? In other words, what advice would you give to Zuffa assuming they were open to some outside-the-box or aggressive marketing ideas?

COUNTERPOINT: Why I disagree with Amadi's column arguing against cross-promotion in MMA

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:01:40 PST

By Sam Matthew, MMATorch Specialist

While Jason Amadi makes a compelling argument against cross-promotion in his most recent column, I tend to disagree that DREAM is somehow losing face because of its international efforts. If anything it shows they have the balls to throw some of their best out there and prove themselves.

The whole purpose of cross-promotion is the word "Cross" in which both organizations mutually benefit from higher exposure. Most casual American fans had probably never even heard of DREAM until Zaromskis and Manhoef started getting hyped up for the most recent Strikeforce event.

After seeing some of those highlight knockouts, it's certainly on the radar now. And the American company hasn't even returned the favor and sent some its best to Japan yet. We can only imagine what that's going to do for DREAM's ratings once it happens.

Japan also has a completely different format to their fights featuring Grand Prix tournaments that actually force competitors to have multiple fights in the same night, in addition to different rules, judging styles and arenas. The four-sided ring with ropes is completely different than the fenced-in cage.

Rules in the U.S. don't allow kicks or knees to downed opponents while elbows here are legal, so obviously when DREAM's fighters are sent to compete in foreign territory with new rules, they are at a disadvantage.

I would be interested to see how some of the American contenders fare after a plane trip to the other side of the world (though Diaz does boast one of the most stunning submissions ever with a go go plata over Takanori Gomi in Japan at PRIDE 33).

While being one of the most exciting strikers in the game, Melvin Manhoef has been beaten in DREAM and is not really considered a contender, though he was absolutely dominating Lawler until that one counter-punch landed on the button.

Zaromskis is technically the DREAM welterweight champ but he achieved this title through a Grand Prix tournament that involved multiple fights back to back. The bottom line is that it's hard to compare fighters because of the differences in rules, leagues, and fight formats.

As far as the Aoki-Melendez fight that's being setup, Shinya has absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain by beating a bigger American fighter (Asian competitors rarely cut much weight). I would imagine that DREAM may want Strikeforce to return the favor and send Melendez to Japan for this bout. Hell, put him in a tournament and see how he does. If he can beat Aoki on enemy ground after wearing himself out on a couple other guys, then maybe it will start to downgrade the reputations of DREAM fighters.

So while Strikeforce has been victorious with the home-field advantage so far, they haven't sent any of their guys to compete overseas yet so there's nothing to compare against. They also lost their first outing in cross-promotion to M-1 when Fedor dropped Brett Rogers.

FRIDAY ROUNDTABLE: Q: Picking the winner of Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman (pt. 1)

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:27:16 PST

We have brought back the popular MMATorch Roundtable feature. Most days we will publish a question followed by several staff members' answers. We will run several batches of staff responses to the following question over the next several days, and then introduce a new topic after that.

TODAY'S NEW TOPIC:

Predict the winner of the Randy Couture-Mark Coleman fight on Saturday night.

===

BJORN HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

I hope to god I’m wrong, because he’s one of my MMA heroes, and is the epitome of work ethic, class and strategy, but I think Randy Couture’s chin has been irreversibly cracked by Chuck Liddell, and that will be the difference in UFC 109’s main event. Mark Coleman’s brute strength and size is capable of negating Randy’s usual forte. We’ve seen Randy have problems fighting off his back with Josh Barnett, Ricco Rodriguez, and the current Heavyweight Champ, Brock Lesnar.

Don’t get me wrong, though; I consider Randy’s boxing and head movement above Mark’s (hell, he’s just an overall better fighter), but Randy has been dropped multiple times in his last three bouts (kick by Vera, punches by Nogueira, punch by Lesnar) and consequently I’ve lost all faith in Captain America.

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SHAWN ENNIS, MMATORCH SENIOR COLUMNIST

As much as I love Mark Coleman, and as much as I remember thinking he was unbeatable before Pete Williams came along, this one is all Couture. Coleman is extremely strong and is a good freestyle wrestler, and if he gets on top of you it's still trouble. But his game hasn't evolved a whole lot since his first early UFC events, while Couture has developed into a well-rounded MMA fighter who can do pretty much everything while using his specialties to grind his opponents into dust. I think Couture will stuff Coleman's takedown attempts (which will be telegraphed and slow compared to his former self) and will wear him down in the ensuing clinch war. I've got Couture by TKO in round two.

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AIDAN LEAHY, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I am going with Randy here due to his more all rounded game compared to Mark Coleman’s one-dimensional game and his notoriously poor gas tank. Coleman might have some early success, but his lungs will fail him midway through the second and Randy will get a third round TKO.

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GREG ROWLAND, MMATORCH AUDIO HOST

My pick is Randy over Coleman by decision. Both are great wrestlers, but Randy is far more well-rounded and should be able to score standing up and maybe even work some jiu jitsu on his back.

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BRIAN SWEET, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

I think Couture takes this fight convincingly. There is no denying that Coleman has great determination and a willingness to engage with anyone, but Couture is an animal. I see Randy controlling the clinch well and being able to avoid Coleman's relentless takedowns. A big factor for Coleman is his conditioning. I see him shooting in and getting stuffed and eating several short elbows in the process. The Hammer will gas after one round and be picked apart by Couture early in the 2nd. Couture via TKO 2 mins of round 2.

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FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

I think Couture wins this one. I'm not really looking forward to Age in the Cage, but Randy's shown that he can still get it done. I think about all Coleman has shown is that he can take an ass-whipping. I think the fight will be really boring, and it'll probably go to a decision. I have low expectations for this, so hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised. I think Couture wins a 3 round borefest.

===

MORE PREDICTIONS COMING IN A FEW HOURS. CHECK BACK WITH MMATORCH FOR THE NEXT BATCH.

LISTING OF PREVIOUS ROUNDTABLE ARTICLES

===

UPCOMING TOPICS

Our next batch of Roundtable Topics to be addressed over the next week or two are as follows (so keep coming back to MMATorch every day for this and more exclusive features):

-If Randy Couture beats Mark Coleman convincingly, what's your pick for Couture's next opponents? And Coleman?

-If Mark Coleman beats Randy Couture convincing, what's your pick for Coleman's next fight? And Couture?

-Who are the two or three current Strikeforce fighters (other than Fedor) you'd be most intrigued to see acquired by UFC. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?

-Who are the two or three current UFC fighters you'd be most intrigued to see leave UFC for whatever reason (perhaps not being given a fair shake, already fought everyone, hit a ceiling, etc.) and be acquired by Strikeforce. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?

-Would you prefer Strikeforce in two years was out of business, close to UFC's equal (in revenue, ratings, buyrates, talent roster), or had surpassed UFC (assuming UFC stays static in the mean time)? Why?

-Should UFC add a women's fighting division?

-What would you do to try to make WEC successful on PPV, even if in general you disagree with WEC going on PPV? In other words, what advice would you give to Zuffa assuming they were open to some outside-the-box or aggressive marketing ideas?

[Randy Couture photo by Mike Lano (c) MMATorch]

UFC NEWS: Brock Lesnar return likely for July, will appear on cover of UFC Undisputed 2010 video game

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:04:35 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is expected to make a July return to the Octagon, according to comments from UFC President Dana White to reporters following the UFC 109 press conference on Thursday.

"He could fight probably in July (in Vegas), end of June or July" said White. "We gotta find out what’s gonna happen with the next two fights, the heavyweight fights, and then we’ll figure out what we’re gonna do. This fight (Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira) will happen in Australia first, then we’ll do the Newark fight (Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin), and if those guys come out of that fight healthy, we’ll do that fight."

Lesnar's return will cap off what has been a seemingly miraculous recovery from diverticulosis by the Champ, a condition that nearly claimed his fighting career. Lesnar will face off against the winner of the Mir-Carwin bout in March unless the winner is unable to return that quickly. If that is the case he will face the winner of this month's Velasquez vs. Nogueira winner.

In addition to his Octagon return, Lesnar will grace the cover of the UFC's Undisputed 2010 video game on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The second iteration of the next generation video game franchise will be released on May 25th.

Link to MMAWeekly.com report

Penick's Analysis: Well, that means Lesnar won't be the headliner for the first Boston card, but his July return does mean he may still get in two fights this year after some early prognostications were saying he may not even fight in 2010. It's great to see that his recovery will allow him to make this return, but the question will become whether the illness battle has set him back or if his recovery brings him back stronger than ever. It's going to be a massive money making fight no matter which of the four possible opponents he ends up facing. The video game cover is also pretty cool, and an improvement over last year's game. The Forrest Griffin cover worked great, but this one just pops a bit better. Last year's game was a smash success and this year's will hopefully improve upon the fun but flawed experience that the 2009 version brought. Going up against the EA Sports version of an MMA game may bring out more from the developer's for this version as well, so it will be great to see what each game brings to the table.

PENICK: Previews and Predictions for UFC 109: Relentless

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:34:42 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC 109 is set to air live on pay-per-view Saturday night from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV, and for the first time two current UFC Hall Of Famers will face off against one another. In addition to Mark Coleman vs. Randy Couture, the event features a number one contender bout in the middleweight division as Nate Marquardt faces off against Chael Sonnen. There's a total of eleven fights scheduled for the event, however, so let's get to our fight previews!

Preliminary Card

Rolles Gracie vs. Joey Beltran Rolles Gracie may only have three fights under his belt, but the 2nd degree Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt with the famous last name in this sport is making his UFC debut with a lot of intrigue. The heavyweight grappler will take on a UFC newcomer taking this fight on a week's notice in Beltran. Beltran comes into the UFC with a 10-3 record, with two losses by decision and one by submission. He's coming off a TKO victory over Houston Alexander at a 5150 event last month and also holds a KO victory over former UFC fighter Sherman Pendergarst. This is a bit of a classic striker vs. grappler fight, but while Beltran has the hands capable of putting away many an opponent, taking this fight on such short notice does not bode well for his ability to hold off the excellent submission skills of Gracie, who has submitted all three of his opponents in the first round. Gracie makes quick work of an ill-prepared Beltran with a first round submission, but we'll see more of Beltran in the future.

Tim Hague vs. Chris Tuchscherer: Brock Lesnar training partner Tuchscherer had an unfortunate debut in the UFC. Having compiled a 17-1 career record before his UFC debut with victories over multiple UFC veterans, Tuchscherer drew Gabriel Gonzaga in his debut fight. He wasn't really given a chance in that fight to perform to his potential, as a terrible low blow early in the fight did a lot of damage and, believing he would have to take a loss if he did not continue, he fought on in a clearly weakened state. Gonzaga blasted him with a vicious head kick and finished him off on the ground shortly thereafter. Tim Hague is coming off of the official fastest knockout in UFC history, but he was on the wrong end of that. The loss to Todd Duffee in August followed his debut victory over Pat Barry. Hague's got some skills, but Tuchscherer's superior wrestling is more than enough to give him the advantage in this fight. He's a decent striker and can ground and pound well, and that bodes well for him in this matchup. I like Tuchscherer to get his first victory in the Octagon with a second round TKO.

Brian Stann vs. Phil Davis: Former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion and Marine Brian Stann looks to push his UFC winning streak to three fights when he meets UFC newcomer Phil Davis on Saturday night. After a loss to Steve Cantwell in his final WEC appearance and a consecutive defeat at the hands of Krzysztof Soszynski in his UFC debut, Stann got back on track with a victory over Cantwell in their rubber match and another against Rodney Wallace in December. Davis, a jiu jitsu blue belt and student of Lloyd Irvin, makes his debut riding a 4-0 start to his professional career. In addition to his jiu jitsu background, the 25 year old is also a D-1 National Champion wrestler from Penn State University. In his last three fights Davis has not left the first round, and this light heavyweight prospect is poised to make a splash in this debut. I like him with the second round submission in this one.

Rob Emerson vs. Phillipe Nover: Phillipe Nover was one of the more surprising fighters on the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter, and was the favorite to win the finale after receiving massive praise from Dana White and more during the airing of the show. Following two straight losses in the Octagon and a freak seizure-like event that canceled his last scheduled fight hours before the event, there are nothing but questions surrounding what he may have left in his career. Similarly, Rob Emerson is on a two fight losing streak that has moved his record back to .500, and he's fighting for his UFC career to continue. This is a fight that could legitimately be taken by either fighter, and the loser is likely out of the UFC. At this point I still think Nover's got the bigger upside provided his health doesn't fail him and prematurely end his career, and I think he'll get on track a little bit in this one with a second round submission victory.

Spike TV Prelims

Melvin Guillard vs. Ronnys Torres: Ronnys Torres will finally make his UFC debut against the man he was originally set to debut against almost a year ago. The Nova Uniao fighter is a highly touted prospect, entering his Octagon debut with a 14-1 record, twelve of which have been stoppage victories. Melvin Guillard is looking to finally make good on the promise that his physical gifts have brought his fight career after moving to Greg Jackson's camp. Guillard gave up a victory by nearly handing Nate Diaz a guillotine in their bout last September, a fight he had been winning with his solid stand up. This is a fight for him to prove he's improved his ground defense, because he will likely be challenged there by Torres, and for him to prove he's simply a better fighter than he's shown. Torres has a lot of praise coming into this debut, but Guillard needs to come out and have a great fight in this one for his sake, and I think the move to Jackson's camp will show here. I like Guillard to hand Torres a loss after Torres' lengthy injury layoff in the first round by TKO.

Mac Danzig vs. Justin Bucholz: Mac Danzig is in desperate need of a victory in this fight. There's no two ways about it, the season six winner of The Ultimate Fighter needs to defeat Justin Bucholz or he will no longer be in the UFC. That's just a simple fact that he realizes coming into this fight, and he's said as much, telling MMAJunkie.com that if he can't beat Bucholz in this fight he doesn't belong in the UFC. For Bucholz, he is only 1-3 in the Octagon himself, having lost two straight after picking up his only UFC win over Corey Hill. This is the definition of a "loser's out" fight, and at this point a loss is even more damaging to Danzig. The TUF 6 winner needs to get back on track in a big way, and he needs to get back to finishing fights. Bucholz is an opponent that he can very well do just such a thing against, and he'll absolutely need to finish him after two decision victories in his last three. Danzig gets back on track with a first round submission in this one to give us some more undercard fights on Spike.

Main Televised Card

Matt Serra vs. Frank Trigg: The former Welterweight Champion takes on "Twinkle Toes" in what has been a very entertaining war of words thus far. Both fighters are no stranger to trash talk, and both still have a little something left in the tank after losses in their last fights. This really comes down to which fighter has more. Outside of the famous Shonie Carter spinning back fist, Matt Serra's only been finished by Georges St. Pierre, whereas Trigg has been finished in all seven of his career losses, most recently to Josh Koscheck in August. Trigg is very capable of outpointing Serra in this fight, but I don't think he can finish him. At the same time, Serra very much has the tools to either knock out or submit Trigg. Serra looked good in his loss to Matt Hughes last May, and if he comes into this one fully prepared this is his bout to lose. I very much like Serra in this fight, and think he'll put Trigg away in the second by submission.

Demian Maia vs. Dan Miller: This bout pits two Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belts against one another (Miller received his just last month), but Miller is not on the level of Maia when it comes to the submission game. Both fighters had been on massive unbeaten runs before their last fights, losing to the two men fighting for a Title shot later on this card. Miller's run came to an end by decision, getting manhandled by Chael Sonnen, while Maia lasted just over 20 seconds before getting knocked out by Nate Marquardt. Miller has never finished anyone by strikes, but this fight isn't likely to be contested on the feet with such talented grapplers. This should be a very fun contest, with a submission all but guaranteed. Should that not happen, it could very well challenge the cageside judges to score a bout that's not contested primarily on the feet. Of course, they could always go the route many others have in a grappler vs. grappler fight and stand and trade with each other, but I don't think that will be the case with these two. If it goes as one would expect, Miller's going to put up a fight, but he's not submitting Maia. Demian gets back on track with a third round submission after a great battle.

Paulo Thiago vs. Mike Swick: Swick steps in for injured teammate Josh Koscheck to face the man that knocked Koscheck out in shocking fashion last spring. Following that knockout victory, Thiago has posted a split record in decisions to Swick's other teammate Jon Fitch and Minnesotan Jacob Volkmann. Swick, meanwhile, is looking to rebound from a loss to Dan Hardy in a fight that would have earned him a shot at Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre. Before the loss to Hardy, Swick had been on a four fight win streak at welterweight following his middleweight loss to Yushin Okami. He has not been overpowered the way he was by Okami since then, and that's not likely to happen in this one. Thiago's a strong grappler and will test what Swick has said is his underappreciated ground game, but if Swick can land some early strikes he'll test Thiago's chin for the first true time. Swick is the favorite for a reason in this fight, and by the second round he'll find a way to connect on the kill shot and put Thiago out for the first time.

Nate Marquardt vs. Chael Sonnen: The number one contender's bout for Anderson Silva's Middleweight Title gives Chael Sonnen a chance to pull off a huge upset and take that shot as his own. That's going to be a huge task, however. Nate Marquardt has improved dramatically since the first time he faced Silva, and he is poised to challenge Silva like no other has in the UFC if he gets past a very tough and very legit top ten middleweight in Sonnen. His performance against Yushin Okami was spectacular and earned him this spot against Marquardt, but in "Nate the Great" he's got a more well rounded opponent with the grappling acumen to hang with him and the striking ability to put him down and out. Marquardt is the better fighter coming in, and the betting lines have him as a major favorite for good reason, but that doesn't mean Sonnen can't win this fight. I don't think he will, but he's very much capable of pulling the upset off. However, Marquardt knows a victory here will finally get him the rematch with Silva he's wanted since that loss to "The Spider" in 2007. There's not a chance he's going to let this opportunity pass him up, and he's going to go for the impressive victory on Saturday. Marquardt puts the beatdown on by the third round, taking this one and his Title shot with a TKO.

Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman: The battle of Hall of Famers comes to Las Vegas on Saturday, and both Randy Couture and Mark Coleman are fighting to prove that they are far from done with their fighting careers. For Coleman, a bad performance will simply lend credence to the notion that he's well past his time and that he does not have what it takes to continue one of the sport's longest and most storied careers. On that note, a Couture victory, at least an impressive one, will give the five time Champion an opportunity to be a six time Champion, as he'll likely earn a Title fight against the winner of May's UFC 113 main event between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Coleman doesn't have the same upside should he look good in a victory, but an impressive win on his part would allow him to get another fight with a high level light heavyweight, and another win there may be enough to put his name in the hat for a Title shot. This is not the most exciting fight the UFC has put on in a main event, and in a bout with two very high end wrestlers we may be in for a less than exciting grappling matchup. Then again, it may be an extremely exciting grappling matchup or both fighters may just put on an extremely exciting back and forth stand up battle. I believe it will be one of the latter two, and that we'll be in for the best of what these two have to offer come Saturday night. Despite the fact that Couture is the elder, Coleman has been beaten and battered more in his career his body shows the wear and tear more than does Couture's. This is another bout where the major favorite is that way for a reason, and at this point in their respective careers Randy Couture is the better overall fighter. Coleman may just pull out a performance hearkening back to his Pride Grand Prix victory and UFC tournament victories, but it will take him fighting like he hasn't fought in the last ten years to get past "Captain America." Both fighters deserve respect from fans everywhere for what they've done in the sport and for what they can still do, but on Saturday night Randy Couture is going to leave Las Vegas with his hand raised. I'll take Couture with a close decision in what will hopefully be a very good fight.

For our betting contest, here are my picks:

$500 on Nover

$200 on Tuchscherer

$200 on Serra

$100 on Guillard

THURSDAY ROUNDTABLE: Q: Which fighter would you most like to see change weight divisions? (pt. 3 of 3)

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:26:15 PST

We have brought back the popular MMATorch Roundtable feature. Most days we will publish a question followed by several staff members' answers. We will run several batches of staff responses to the following question over the next several days, and then introduce a new topic after that.

TODAY'S NEW QUESTION:

Who is the one fighter you'd most like to see change weight divisions for at least one fight to test himself or improve his career?

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SAM MATTHEW, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

George St. Pierre needs to move up a weight class in order to really test himself. Being such a big welterweight and phenomenal wrestler, he has the strength and size to dominate 185'ers while both he and Anderson Silva need some legitimate competition. Sure, everyone wants B.J. Penn to step back up, but do we really need to see GSP outwrestle the smaller Penn for a third time?

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AIDEN LEAHY, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

For me this comes down to two UFC champions, George St Pierre and Anderson Silva, who both have virtually cleared out their respective divisions. As Anderson has already moved up, GSP is my choice. The lack of fresh challenger in the welterweight division for GSP to face make me believe that a move to middleweight would provide GSP with bigger challenges and a possible super fight with Anderson Silva.

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ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

The obvious answer, in my opinion, would be Georges St. Pierre. He has ridiculous strength at the welterweight level and seems to just bully and dominate everyone who steps in with him. If he could move up to middleweight to see what he can do against the heavier opponents, that would be a solid step towards cementing his growing legacy. I don't think he should fight Anderson Silva, but he should fight someone that is top three in the division - someone like a Vitor Belfort, Michael Bisping, or possibly his teammate and friend in Nate Marquardt. For other fighters, Urijah Faber or Mike Brown could do well in the lightweight division and solidify their standings among the elite.

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CHRIS PARK, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Rich Franklin. Sorry, couldn't resist that one. Most definatley GSP at 185.

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SAM COGINGS, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Aside from the likes of GSP and Anderson SIlva moving up in weight for bigger challenges, I think it would be really interesting to see Rashad Evans move down to middleweight. If he did it, now he'd only be one fight or so away from a title shot, and if he can keep his power, then he would be a really scary middleweight. His wrestling would be some of the best in the division, giving Anderson Silva a very hard time. He'd be able to keep his speed, too, which would make for some really exciting fights against the top group of the middleweight division. Alan Belcher, Nate Marquardt, and Goran Reljic would all make for a great fight against Rashad.

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ALVIN CARTER III, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

In a dream world, I would like to see Dan Henderson get big and fight Fedor, but sticking to reality, I will have to say George St. Pierre. I would love to see him fight Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort, Nate Marquardt, Damian Maia, and Dan Henderson if he did not jump ship. If only one of those fights could happen, of course I would want it to be against Silva.

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JAMIE PENICK, MMATORCH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Fedor. Now this may be going against the question a bit, as it's really not to see him improve his career or to even really test himself outside of the weight cut, but there are some major super fights that could take place at light-heavyweight between Fedor and a number of fighters. Now, outside of meeting up with fellow M-1 Global and Strikeforce fighter Gegard Mousasi, all of the fights I'd have in mind are in the UFC; so along with the fight with Brock Lesnar that everyone wants to see, if Fedor were to make the drop to light heavyweight we could very well match up two of the best pound-for-pound fighters with him and Anderson Silva. Outside of that would be fights with Lyoto Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. It would make for some extremely compelling fights, and put him against a (perhaps) tougher level of competition than Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski, and Brett Rogers presented.

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WADE KELLER, MMATORCH SUPERVISING EDITOR

Interesting choice of Fedor by Jamie. I'm tempted to vote for that now. But I was otherwise going to vote for GSP. Heck, it's only fair to B.J. Penn that GSP move up and perhaps fail at 185 just so B.J. can restake his claim at P4P being the best without the black mark of moving up and failing. Rashad going down in weight to face Anderson Silva is intriguing, but I just think Silva might destroy him about as easily as he did Forrest (either on their feet or on the ground) and UFC would find themselves with another damaged star who might never get (or want) a rematch to redeem himself. If cornered to make a single choice right now, I'd vote GSP moving up if only to see if he's human. But Jamie's Fedor idea is compelling.

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UP NEXT

Our next batch of Roundtable Topics to be addressed over the next week or two are as follows (so keep coming back to MMATorch every day for this and more exclusive features):

-Predict the winner of the Randy Couture-Mark Coleman fight on Saturday night.

-If Randy Couture beats Mark Coleman convincingly, what's your pick for Couture's next opponents? And Coleman?

-If Mark Coleman beats Randy Couture convincing, what's your pick for Coleman's next fight? And Couture?

-Who are the two or three current Strikeforce fighters (other than Fedor) you'd be most intrigued to see acquired by UFC. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?

-Who are the two or three current UFC fighters you'd be most intrigued to see leave UFC for whatever reason (perhaps not being given a fair shake, already fought everyone, hit a ceiling, etc.) and be acquired by Strikeforce. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?

-Would you prefer Strikeforce in two years was out of business, close to UFC's equal (in revenue, ratings, buyrates, talent roster), or had surpassed UFC (assuming UFC stays static in the mean time)? Why?

-Should UFC add a women's fighting division?

-What would you do to try to make WEC successful on PPV, even if in general you disagree with WEC going on PPV? In other words, what advice would you give to Zuffa assuming they were open to some outside-the-box or aggressive marketing ideas?

[Fedor photo provided to MMATorch by Strikeforce]

UFC NEWS: Kimbo Slice set to make pay-per-view debut at UFC 113 in Montreal against fellow TUF 10 castmember Matt Mitrione

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:44:45 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Following numerous ratings record setting appearances in the mixed martial arts world, Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson will make his pay-per-view debut this May in Montreal. According to UFC President Dana White in a report from MMAJunkie.com, Slice will face off against fellow Ultimate Fighter season ten castmate Matt "Meathead" Mitrione at UFC 113 on May 8th.

Slice was defeated in the opening round of TUF 10's heavyweight tournament by eventual season winner Roy Nelson in what was the highest rated fight of the highest rated season of the show. The former street brawler was the high profile star of EliteXC before its eventual demise in 2008, and continued his ratings draw with his official UFC debut at the season finale for TUF 10, defeating Houston Alexander via decision.

Mitrione defeated Scott Junk in the opening round of the TUF 10 tournament before being submitted by James McSweeney. In his official professional debut at the finale event, he knocked out Marcus "Big Baby" Jones in the second round.

UFC 113 is set to air live on pay-per-view from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The event will be headlined by a Light Heavyweight Championship rematch between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: This is a solid matchup between TUF competitors, and the intrigue for this addition to UFC 113 will be what affect it has on the buyrate for the event. Slice has been ratings gold on every card he's fought on, but the question will be if that will translate to viewers paying to watch him fight. The bout with Mitrione is not an easy one, despite Mitrione's very limited experience. He proved against Marcus Jones and Scott Junk that he's got a hell of a knockout punch, and if Slice tries to turn their bout into a brawl like his fighting style normally dictates, one of them is going down. Mitrione has shown a decent chin in the limited time we've seen his fights, but he's very, very green. Slice actually showed a little bit of a grappling game against Alexander, and if he employs a real gameplan for the first time in his career that may be a way for him to win this one. It may not answer many questions about either fighter when all is said and done, but it should definitely be an interesting heavyweight fight.

[Kimbo Slice art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

CHAMPIONS ROLL CALL - UFC: Status and Background on title reigns of B.J. Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Brock Lesnar

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:19:13 PST

By Aidan Leahy, MMATorch contributor

UFC Lightweight Champion: B.J. Penn (15-5-1 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC)

B.J. Penn won the lightweight in January of 2008 when he defeated Joe Stevenson... Since then Penn has successfully defended the title three times while also being unsuccessful in his attempt in challenging GSP for the welterweight title, a title he previously held in 2004... Penn holds notable victories over Kenny Florian, Takanori Gomi, Jens Pulver, Diego Sanchez, Renzo Gracie, Matt Hughes, and Sean Sherk... Current top contenders to his title include Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Takanori Gomi, Tyson Griffin, and Kenny Florian. ..His next defense of the title is scheduled for April at UFC112 against Frankie Edgar.

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UFC Welterweight Champion: George St Pierre (19-2 MMA,13-2 UFC)

George St Pierre defeated Matt Serra in April 2008 to regained the welterweight title he lost a year earlier to Serra... Since then he has gone on to successfully defend the title three times against top contenders Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves as well as current UFC Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn... Pierre also holds notable wins over Matt Hughes (Twice), Jay Hieron, Sean Sherk, Karo Parisyan, and Josh Koscheck... Current top contenders to his title include Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, Dan Hardy, Paul Daley, and Josh Koscheck... His next defense of the title comes at March 27 at UFC111 against UK fighter Dan Hardy...

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UFC Middleweight Champion: Anderson Silva (25-4 MMA,10-0 UFC)

Silva defeated Rich Franklin in October 2006 to win the Middleweight Title after earning the shot by defeating Chris Leben in his UFC debut... Since then Anderson has gone on to defend the title a record equalling five times while also setting a new record for most consecutive UFC wins... Silva holds notable wins over Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin (twice),Forrest Griffin, and Nate Marquardt... Current top contenders to his title include Vitor Belfort, Nate Marquardt, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Michael Bisping, and Damien Maia... His next defence of the title is scheduled in April at UFC112 against Vitor Belfort...

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UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion: Lyoto Machida (16-0 MMA,8-0 UFC)

Machida defeated Rashad Evans at UFC98 to win the title after winning his previous six inside the octagon... Since then he has defended the title once against Mauricio Shogun Rua in a controversial decision... Machida also holds notable wins over B.J. Penn, Rich Franklin, Thiago Silva, Tito Ortiz, and Stephan Bonnar... Current top contenders to his title include Shogun Rua, Rashad Evans, Rampage Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and Jon Jones... His next defense of the title is scheduled for May at UFC 113 in a rematch with Shogun Rua...

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UFC Heavyweight Champion: Brock Lesnar (4-1 MMA,3-1 UFC)

Lesnar won the Heavyweight Title against Randy Couture at UFC 91 earning the shot with his destruction of Heath Herring. Lesnar has defended the title once against Frank Mir at UFC 100; in doing so, Lesnar avenged his only loss... Current top contenders to his title include Frank Mir, Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira... Brock is scheduled to face the winner of the March bout between Mir and Carwin possibly in the summer...

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Aidan Leahy is a new MMATorch contributor. He takes part in MMATorch Roundtables and will update the Champions Roll Call feature for all major organizations.

COLUMN: A critical look at cross-promotion and how StrikeForce has been a nightmare for DREAM so far

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:52:57 PST

By Jason Amadi, MMATorch columnist

Cross-promotion isn't entirely new in the world where the martial arts are mixed, but it's largely undone these days among top promotions. The UFC has come under fire from fans and media alike for their unwillingness to venture into such practice, and perhaps rightfully so. While the business aspects of such a venture are obviously complex and often go unmentioned by fans, we all are entitled to our opinions, and more importantly, we all dream of super fights.

Luckily, the discussion over whether or not cross-promotion is a prudent practice can cease, for the most part at least. These days, StrikeForce and DREAM have forged a cross-promotional alliance but let's face facts; this is an alliance of absolute necessity. DREAM just crowned a welterweight champion (more on that later), they have no 205lb champion, no heavyweight champion, and their middleweight champion (Gegard Mousasi) decided he no longer cares to fight at that weight.

StrikeForce just crowned a welterweight champion (more on that later), they have a barren lightweight division (albeit with a very solid champion), they essentially have no light heavyweight division outside of “King Mo” Lawlal and champion Gegard Mousasi, but their middleweight division is very strong, their heavyweight division is going places. Obviously these two companies need each other.

However, in practice, this is appearing to be a nightmare for DREAM. On the last StrikeForce card, the newly crowned DREAM Welterweight Champion, Marius Zaromskis, was absolutely decimated by newly crowned StrikeForce Welterweight Champion. It sounded like a great fight in theory, but it was a pretty dominant performance by Diaz, and Diaz has already scoffed at the notion of having his first defense be against DREAM's Hayato Sakurai, who is coming off two consecutive losses.

The Sakurai-Diaz fight, for the record, was proposed by Scott Coker as opposed to giving Jay Hieron the title shot against Diaz he was promised when he signed with StrikeForce in August of 2009. What is going on here? I think it's fairly safe to say that someone somewhere doesn't like Jay Hieron.

On the same card, one of DREAM's most feared strikers was knocked out cold by another StrikeForce fighter, Robbie Lawler. With the talk now being Gilbert Melendez vs. Shinya Aoki, for sometime in the spring, if I were DREAM, I'd think twice about buying Aoki that plane ticket just yet.

The biggest problem with how this relationship has gone thus far is that it's fairly one-sided. If Gilbert Melendez defeats Aoki (I don't believe that belt is for the DREAM LW championship), then DREAM's only two championships substantially diminish in prestige substantially. One could only imagine what would happen if the UFC engaged in dealings the way StrikeForce has gone about it.

StrikeForce hasn't sent any of its fighters to DREAM, who didn't already compete there. With DREAM planning to hold a 205lb Grand Prix to crown a champion in that weight class, perhaps they could send over Renato "Babalu" Sobral, or Gegard Mousasi, but they really don't have much to provide DREAM with outside of those two, and perhaps "King Mo" Lawal.

If cross-promotion is the future of MMA, it would obviously work best right away if it were two huge companies doing a series of super fights, not unlike the idea that the UFC and PRIDE were flirting with, until PRIDE spurned the UFC. With this much instability with DREAM and StrikeForce, it will be interesting to see how much the partnership pays off for DREAM, and how much wins and losses hurt rosters.

[Gegard Mousasi photo provided to MMATorch from Strikeforce]

BELLATOR NEWS: Bellator Fighting Championships teams with Ultimate Bet for second and third seasons

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:54:59 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Bellator Fighting Championships is gearing up for their second season beginning this April, and already they've made major strides to breakout even further from their exciting debut season. In addition to their new broadcast deal that will bring them live in primetime to Fox Sports Net on Thursdays with replay shows on NBC and Telemundo, the organization announced on Thursday a new partnership with online poker site Ultimate Bet.

The deal will bring Bellator's presence to the tens of millions of poker players on UB.net, and will bring a weekly Ultimate Bet presence to Bellator broadcasts. Paul Leggett, chief operations officer of Tokwiro, the owner/operator of UB.net, said in a press release, "Last year, we watched from the sidelines as the new kid on the MMA block delivered some of the most explosive moments in televised fighting sports history; this year, we’re elated to jump in the cage as an active player in the Bellator phenomenon, while exposing the UB brand to more than 250 million homes across the U.S."

The terms of the deal state that "UB.net will have a prominent presence on all Bellator broadcasts and at Bellator.com as well as a substantial on-site presence at each of the promotion’s events in 2010." At the same time, Bellator will have a "major presence" on the UB.net website. The release also states that, "UB.net will also sponsor online tournaments that give players the opportunity to win an all-expenses-paid trip to sit cage-side at Bellator events."

Bellator's second season begins on April 8th on Fox Sports Net.

Penick's Analysis: This is another great business move for Bellator, who are setting themselves up for a great sophomore effort. This brings a good sponsor on board, and for Ultimate Bet it allows them to provide some unique prizes to their players with the cageside package. It's also just the beginning for this relationship, and they could come out with some even more interesting ways to incorporate one another in the future.

UFC NEWS: Griffin vs. Nogueira now expected for UFC 114 in Las Vegas instead of 113 in Montreal

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:15:55 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

A light heavyweight bout between Forrest Griffin and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira looks to be on its way to UFC 114 in Las Vegas instead of UFC 113 in Montreal as originally planned. The card change was reported Thursday by MMAJunkie.com.

The report states that the fight may have always been targeted for this May 29th card, though it's not clear if that was the case. At any rate, with Josh Koscheck and Paul Daley getting co-main event billing at 113, this adds a big light heavyweight co-main event for 114 to compliment Rashad Evans vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Griffin, of course, is coming off of a rebound victory over Tito Ortiz following his loss to Anderson Silva last August. The former Light Heavyweight Champion will get himself closer to a return to the top of the division with a victory over Minotoro.

Nogueira made a successful UFC debut in November at UFC 106, knocking out Luiz Cane in the first round. After a lengthy and successful career outside of the UFC, he made a huge splash with that victory and will climb even quicker up the ladder with a victory over Griffin in this bout.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: It doesn't matter what card this one takes place on, it's simply a great match up. There are legit ramifications for the top of the light heavyweight division in this one, and the winner sets themselves up to be an even more featured attraction later in the year. This should definitely be a lot of fun and it's a great addition to the Vegas card. The Montreal fans will definitely miss out on this one live, but it will be a great fight for fans everywhere in May.

[Forrest Griffin art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

UFC 109 Prediction and Betting Contests

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:59:20 PST

By Matt Pelkey, MMATorch Columnist

Well we had a little over a month between UFC 108 and 109 to catch our collective breaths and prepare for the tsunami of MMA in the upcoming months. We're clearly starting off slow, as UFC 109 is one of the weaker cards in recent memory, headlined by two fighters who were originally supposed to meet at UFC 17 back in 1896 or something. But as we all know, the cards we expect the least from are usually the ones that pleasantly...blah, blah, blah. Unlike UFC 108, this card really isn't filled with great match-ups from an action standpoint. Regardless, that doesn't mean we can't or won't still put our fictional MMATorch belts on the line and see who the better man is.

At UFC 108, first time defending Prediction Champ Jamie "The Boss" Penick was unseated by Godric, but Penick was able to oust LONGTIME Betting Champ Scott "The Fountain of Youth" Hart. This Saturday at UFC 109, our newly minted champs will both put their belts on the line against Paul P. Good luck to our new champs in defending their titles!

Another contest note. I'll be keeping a running tally for the rest of the year, starting with UFC 108, to see how everyone is doing from a cumulative standpoint. At the end of the year we'll crown a yearly prediction and betting champ with prizes galore for the winners of each contest (I may need to look up the definition of galore)! I have no idea what the prizes will be at this point, but rest assured I'll come up with something. You'll have to have entered at least 90% of the contests throughout the year, and you MUST enter the last contest to be eligible. More details to come as I figure them out in my head. Anyway, let's get on to the contests!

PREDICTION CONTEST:

I'm pretty sure everyone knows how this works by now, but just in case...Basically you pick the winners of each fight, including method (e.g. KO, submission, decision) and round. The winner is the one who picks the most fights correctly. Ties will be broken by who had the most number of rounds and methods correctly predicted. In case anyone is wondering, only rounds and methods in fights where you predicted the correct winner count.

Randy Couture (-500) vs. Mark Coleman (+325)

Nate Marquardt (-525) vs. Chael Sonnen (+325)

Demian Maia (-500) vs. Dan Miller (+325)

Matt Serra (-155) vs. Frank Trigg (+125)

Paulo Thiago (+160) vs. Mike Swick (-200)

Mac Danzig (-500) vs. Justin Buchholz (+325)

Melvin Guillard (-130) vs. Ronnys Torres (EVEN)

Rob Emerson (-130) vs. Phillipe Nover (EVEN)

Brian Stann (+215) vs. Phil Davis (-275)

Tim Hague (+160) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (-200)

Rolles Gracie (-550) vs. Joey Beltran (+375)

BETTING CONTEST:

As you can see, there's a number attached to each fighter. That number represents how much money you can make off each fighter. The way it works is, if a fighter has a positive number he's an underdog. The positive number means if you were to bet $100 dollars on him, you would make the amount of the positive number. For example, if you were to bet $100 on Coleman and he won, you would make back the hundred you bet, plus $325 for a total payout of $425.

If the fighter has a negative number, that number represents how much you would have to bet to make $100 on the fighter. For example, if you bet $500 on Couture and he won, you'd make back the $500, plus a $100 profit, for a total payout of $600.

Each contestant has $1000 in theoretical money. You can bet it on as many fighters as you'd like, but you have to bet on at least three. The most you can bet on a single fighter is $500, and bets have to be in multiples of $100.

I'm setting a deadline of 6p.m. (EST) Saturday to get all of your picks in. The lines are courtesy of Bodog.

Note: In the event that one of the #1 contenders fails to show for their title shot, the champ will defend against the next best performer from the previous contest. You've been warned, so bring your A game everybody!

As always you can submit your picks one of three ways: by emailing me at matt6buckeye@hotmail.com, posting them on the message boards, or by leaving them in the comments section right down there. Good luck!

STYLES CLASH: Hall of Famers collide - Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman - a look at how these wrestlers' styles differ

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:23:39 PST

By Anthony Berriola MMATorch Specialist

This Saturday night UFC Hall of Famers Randy Couture and Mark "The Hammer" Coleman will hobble their aged, beaten bodies into the cage for what we all may agree is somewhat of a lackluster main event carrying a pay-per-view card. Both fighters are originators of the sport and deserve all the respect in the world, regardless of how vintage they are, this fight still makes me feel nostalgic and somewhat interested.

THE FIGHTERS

Any fan of MMA, whether new or long-time, knows the name Randy Couture, and for that reason I will not spend too much time stating facts that we all already know about him. At 46 years old he is the oldest fighter in the UFC, five-time UFC Champion and at one time held the title in two different divisions. He is known as a wrestler, even though his skill set is much bigger than wrestling alone, and is probably the most intelligent fighter in the sport of MMA has seen.

And in the opposite corner, not quite as old but probably a bit more broken down, we have Mark Coleman. Two-time UFC Tournament Champion in 1996 and earned the title of the first UFC Heavyweight Champ back on UFC 12 by beating the popular Dan Severn. At 45 years old he is also a former Pride Fighting Champion, like his opponent Randy Couture, he too is known for his wrestling skills and background... Whew!! Breezed through that!

THE FIGHT

With the background, intelligence and experience of these fighters, I would like to see them put on a great show for all of us long time UFC fans, but I am predicting a somewhat boring match.

Randy likes to use the cage to press his opponents and break them down, this technique allows him to hold a dominant position while tiring out his opponent. From here, he patiently waits for an opening to take it to the ground where he can dominate his tired opponent to a victory.

This tactic was noticeable in his last fight against Brandon Vera and even early on against Brock Lesnar before he was TKO’d by the monster. Seeing as Coleman is a bit more weathered than Randy and not quite in as good of shape, I would expect Randy to take the same approach in this fight.

Coleman’s conditioning is no way near where it used to be and not up to par with Randys, making it hard to recover if he is brought to the mat while fatigued. It wouldn’t be logical to immediately take down Coleman at the opening bell because he does have the skill and capabilities on the ground to possibly put away Randy while he is fresh.

Both fighters have knockout power but I would be surprised to see this fight stay on foot and I am expecting ground game for the duration of the match. I’m just going to take it for what it is and enjoy the nostalgia of these two Hall of Famers doing what they are best known for.

PREDICTION

I wish I could give him more credit than this, but I feel Randy Couture will win via decision at the end of three.

CLOSING NOTE

Finally let me apologize for my absence from MMATorch recently as things get busy and priorities shift. With that said, I am happy to be back to state the facts and give my own opinion along the way. We are all critics of the sport and I value your opinion as well, whether positive or negative feel free to comment away.

===

Anthony Berriola is an MMATorch Specialist who focuses on style differences between fighters matched against one another at an upcoming event. If you have a fight you want him to dissect, suggest it via email a mmatorch@gmail.com

[Randy Couture art credit Cory Gould (c) MMATorch]

MMATORCH EXCLUSIVE: The Audio Choke with Collins, Rowland and Shelby 02/03 (50 min) - Strikeforce: Miami review and UFC 109 preview

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:06:59 PST

It's another edition of The Audio Choke on MMATorch.com, and Matt Collins, Greg Rowland, and Toben Shelby are once again bringing their roundtable discussion to the show. This week is a review of last Saturday's Strikeforce: Miami event featuring Bobby Lashley and Herschel Walker's debut along with Nick Diaz's first round defeat of Marius Zaromskis. In addition the three preview this weekend's UFC 109 event.

DIRECT LINK: The Audio Choke: Episode Ten

COLUMN: Mixed Martial Arts, a One Horse Race? What Strikeforce is doing to compete (and survive doing so)

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:58:45 PST

By Steve Sutcliffe, MMATorch columnist

"I did a radio interview with XM radio... they said "you can swear on XM radio." No sh*t, cause nobody can hear it. You can swear in the woods, too!"
-Mitch Hedberg

Strikeforce: Miami was the promotion's way of kicking off 2010 with a bang on Showtime.

You had the major promotion debut of heavyweight prospect Bobby Lashley, a former WWE superstar and current TNA wrestler who had previously stopped Bob Sapp and Jason Guida, Clay's brother, both in the first round. Lashley's opponent was Wes Sims, a guy best known for getting disqualified against Frank Mir for stomping a down opponent and acting as the practical joker on the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Former NFL player and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker was making his MMA debut at the ripe old age of 47 against an unknown who was more than 20 years his junior.

Strikeforce wisely picked the date and location to coincide with the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl, hoping to capitalize on the influx of sports media who were in town for the games. And for serious fans of the sport, the card featured not one, but two title fights. Cris Cybog was going to defend the Women's Featherweight Championship in perhaps her most heated contest to date against Dutch submission specialist Marloes Coenen.

The vacant Welterweight Championship was on the line between Nizk Diaz and Marius Zaromskis. The undercard was rounded out by Jay Hieron and Joe Riggers, the winner perhaps in line for a short at the Welterweight belt.

Title matches, major promotion debuts, female fighters, "freak show" bouts - what was not to like? The good news: ratings were up 52 percent compared to the December 15 Strikeforce show. The bad news? The replay of UFC 107 which aired as counter-programming on Spike TV, had four times as many viewers.

Right now, Strikeforce is cursing in the woods known as Showtime and no one can hear them.

The fight between Strikeforce: Miami event and the replay of UFC 107 was anything but fair. Showtime is a premium cable channel that is available in 12 million homes nationwide. On the other hand, Spike TV is a basic cable channel with a potential audience base of almost 100 million homes. Do the math and you can see that percentage-wise, the comparison tilts in the opposite direction. Based on the ratings, 4 percent of homes that have Showtime watched Strikeforce while only 2.2 percent of the homes that receive Spike TV watched the replay of UFC 107.

But that perhaps is small comfort when you are the second largest promotion by default. Want further proof that Strikeforce is a second-class citizen? The biggest reactions from the often sedate live crowd was for UFC Welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre and recent Strikeforce acquisition Dan Henderson, who has a total of zero fights in the promotion. The audience was far less enthusiastic for homegrown stars like Cung Le.

This isn't to say that Strikeforce is doomed or that there is absolutely no appetite for an MMA product outside of UFC. The first Strikeforce event that aired on CBS averaged a healthy 4.04 million viewers, easily beating UFC's counter-programming.

If Strikeforce is to flourish on a national basis, and not just in the San Jose, Calif. area, the promotion is going to need a more consistent television vehicle than their current deal with Showtime and a lukewarm commitment from CBS.

Do you think the UFC would still be around today if Grifin-Bonnar I aired on Starz instead of Spike? Maybe if every Showtime event featured five must-see match of the year candidates it would make a difference, but word of mouth can only go so far if about 1 percent of people in America get the channel.

They'll also need to commit themselves to building their own stars from the ground up who can become big draws in their own right and not because of what they did in some other promotion that's viewed as more major league. Unfortunately, it looks like Strikeforce's biggest home grown star, Gina Carano, is likely to pursue an acting career rather than go back into fighting.

It's also far too early to tell if the Fedor is going to work out in the long-run, but at least he will be headlining the next CBS broadcast against Fabricio Werdum set for April. Dan Henderson will get some exposure for the promotion when he steps into the cage. The problem is that is if he tears through the roster without breaking a sweat, he can potentially expose Strikeforce as not being competitive.

There's no quick fix solution or business strategy for Strikeforce and company founder Scott Coker; they'll have to continue to put on entertaining fights while working with the limited television resources at their disposal.

One missed opportunity that people may point to is the Carano-Cyborg fight airing on Showtime instead of CBS or even pay-per-view, but that decision was probably made with a ton of pressure coming from the network side.

One thing they wisely haven't done is thrown tons of money at every single fighter that gets cut by UFC or has a falling out with Dana White. With the Fedor and Henderson deals being rare exceptions, Coker has been keen on operating the company with a conservative amount of overhead expenses. Only time will tell if Strikeforce flourishes or if it joins Dana White's collection of defunct MMA company tombstones.

===

Steve Sutcliffe is putting together a brand-new MMA group that will be so totally unlike Elite XC, Affliction, bodogFIGHT and the IFL. Send investment inquiries to steve.w.sutcliffe@gmail.com.

[Gina Carano art credit Cory Gould (c) MMATorch]

PREDICTIONS - UFC 109: Matthew runs down Relentless's entire line-up and makes predictions

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:32:44 PST

By Sam Matthew, MMATorch Specialist

This Saturday's upcoming UFC 109 event features some classic striker vs. grappler matchups that bring the potential for great success or failure when making predictions. Including a battle for bragging rights as two hall of famer's, Mark Coleman and Randy Couture finally meet in the nights main event, as well as fights to determine future contender status both for Mike Swick in the welterweight division, and Nate Marquardt in the middleweight class. Another possibility for fireworks showcases two aging fighters creeping up on retirement as Frank Trigg and Matt Serra look to rebound off losses and keep their careers afloat.

RANDY COUTURE VS. MARK COLEMAN

Finally meeting inside the cage are two legendary fighters with similar wrestling backgrounds and ground n pound fighting styles. While their paths to victory almost mirrored each other, albeit on different sides of the world, these two wrestlers have left a remarkable impact on the world of MMA as even Jiu-Jitsu fighters have found themselves vulnerable on the bottom. By successfully combining the most important aspects of wrestling; strength, size, cardio and cutting-weight, with a new form of "ground and pound" unique to the budding sport of Mixed Martial Arts, The Natural and The Hammer truly deserve their Hall of Fame status.

Since both fighters have the exact same strengths, look for them to exploit the others weakness, the striking game. While neither man is known for kicking, I think that could be a surprise factor here and possibly one of the only chances that Mark Coleman has. With a win over Tim Sylvia, Couture's boxing is better and I also give him the slight edge in the grappling department as well. In my opinion Coleman is over the hump heading downhill fast and stands little chance of winning unless he can keep it standing with leg kicks followed by hard punches.

If Randy Couture can land clean shots early then he will be able to change level at will and take down Coleman to grind out his usual unanimous decision victory. (Opinion - 80% chance of victory)

If Mark Coleman can land leg kicks to take Coleman out of his game while staying off his back then he can edge out a split decision. (Opinion 20% chance of victory)

NATE MARQUARDT VS. CHAEL SONNEN

While Nate Marquardt looks to earn a rematch with Anderson Silva after being snubbed in favor of Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen seeks to prove himself as a factor in the UFC's middleweight division. Both fighters also come from wrestling backgrounds though both Nate's striking and grappling are significantly better. Real champions only get better from losses and Nate has shown a dramatic improvement in his striking after a streak-ending loss to The Spider. Look for Sonnen to take Marquardt down while Nate wants to prove to himself, Silva, and the world that he can stand and trade.

If Chael Sonnen can somehow take Marquardt down then he can grind out a split decision victory. (Opinion - 15% chance of victory)

If Nate Marquardt can showcase the same striking power he finished Martin Kampmann and Wilson Gouveia with, then he can use his wrestling to stuff the takedown and punish Sonnen with uppercuts and knees for his effort. Nate has something to prove here and finishes early with a 3rd minute TKO in the first round. (Opinion - 85% chance of victory)

MIKE SWICK VS. PAULO THIAGO

After a loss in enemy territory to Dan Hardy, Mike "Quick" Swick looks to jump back to the top of the ladder for contention status over an equally hungry Paulo Thiago. Swick has better combos and should be able to smother Thiago with his blitz offense and also has a great guillotine choke to use if Thiago shoots in slow. With only one loss to Jon Fitch marring his record, Thiago has shown some strong punches with a TKO win over Josh Koscheck, but Swick doesn't just stick and move, he likes to throw heavy hands in volume that most opponents can't defend.

If Paulo Thiago can avoid the guillotine and take the fight to his comfort zone on the canvas, then he controls the fight to win a unanimous decision. (Opinion - 40% chance of victory)

If 'Quick" Swick can land his signature lightning-fast combos then he becomes the first man to finish Thiago with an early (2nd minute) TKO in the second round. (Opinion - 60% chance of victory)

MATT SERRA VS. FRANK TRIGG

Two fighters fast approaching the edge of the cliff look to stay in the UFC and possibly get one last shot at the belt. "Twinkletoes" Trigg should look to keep the fight standing and out-box the smaller Serra. Trigg's weakness in the past has been his Jiu-Jitsu defense with multiple losses via choke submissions and you can bet the bank that Serra will eventually get it to the ground and take advantage.

If Frank Trigg can fall back on his wrestling base to stay off the mat then he can use his reach to box with Serra and keep him out of takedown range to win a unanimous decision. (Opinion - 30% chance of victory)

If "The Terror" can get the fight to the ground then he uses his superior Jiu-Jitsu to put on a slick choke submission late (4th minute) in the second round. (Opinion - 70% chance of victory)

[Randy Couture art credit Cory Gould (c) MMATorch]

STRIKEFORCE NEWS: Scott Coker says April CBS card "highly possible" to come April 24th instead of 17th, head to head with WEC 48 pay-per-view

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:54:42 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

With the UFC counter-programming Strikeforce just about every time they put on an event, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker may be getting a bit of that killer instinct rubbing off on him. According to a post from SI.com's Josh Gross, Coker stated that Strikeforce's return to CBS in April is now "highly possible" for the 24th of the month.

The event had been rumored for the 17th, and the date change would now put the return of Fedor Emelianenko to CBS on the same night as Zuffa-owned WEC's first foray into pay-per-view. The WEC had picked a night that was not conflicting with any other events, but with the announcement coming earlier today of that show, it has given Strikeforce the opportunity to respond in kind.

The WEC event is already being heavily criticized for what is perceived to be too expensive a price in a very over-saturated pay-per-view market in April and May, and going head to head with a free event on network television featuring the number one heavyweight in the world and a Title bout between Dan Henderson and Jake Shields would have an incredibly negative affect on the prospects of this WEC event being a success.

Link to Josh Gross' Twitter page

Penick's Analysis: This is a brilliant strike back by Scott Coker and Strikeforce if they pull the trigger on this date change. The UFC has done what they can to counter-program and take viewers away from Strikeforce events with replays, but this is a chance for Strikeforce to really do some damage to Zuffa, which is something they have not been able to do thus far. The WEC card is going to be stacked, and that's going to make an unsuccessful pay-per-view event sting even more. If MMA fans are given a choice between spending $45 for the WEC card and seeing Fedor and Dan Henderson on CBS, they're going to go with the free choice. This isn't picking between Spike and Showtime or Versus and Showtime with the ability to DVR both events, this is asking fans to spend an extra $45 after UFC 112 earlier in the month and UFC 113 and 114 in May. Again, Strikeforce absolutely needs to follow through on this, as it is their first real chance to legitimately affect the bottom line of a Zuffa owned property and really boost their stock in the MMA world. They wouldn't necessarily have the same affect against a UFC pay-per-view, but against this first time pay-per-view for the WEC they absolutely will affect the type of business they're able to do.

UFC NEWS: Nick Osipczak vs. Rick Story a possibility for UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:30:32 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

A welterweight bout between Nick Osipczak and Rick Story appears to be on its way to Abu Dhabi, as MMAJunkie.com reports it is in the works for UFC 112 on April 10th.

Story is 2-1 in the UFC, losing his debut to John Hathaway in a bout that snapped a six fight win streak. He rebounded very nicely with a victory over Brian Foster that earned him an extra $130,000 in bonus money. His second round arm triangle from within Foster's guard took home the "Submission of the Night" and the two took home "Fight of the Night" honors for that event. He won his second straight bout in the Octagon over Jesse Lennox at Fight Night 20.

Osipczak appeared on The Ultimate Fighter season nine as part of Team U.K., losing in the semifinals of the welterweight tournament to runner-up DaMarques Johnson. He went on to defeat Team U.S. member Frank Lester at the finale event and then defeated Matt Riddle in November at UFC 105.

UFC 112 is set to air live on pay-per-view from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, headlined by two Title fights. The Middleweight Championship is one the line as Anderson Silva faces Vitor Belfort, and B.J. Penn defends his Lightweight Championship against Frankie Edgar.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: This is a good fight for these young welterweights should the bout come to pass, and would be a solid addition to any undercard. There's not much more to it than that, as both fighters are still early on in their careers and this is one of the many building block fights toward wherever they end up in the sport. For now it should be an exciting fight for the Abu Dhabi crowd on the preliminary card of this event.

STRIKEFORCE NEWS: Diaz, Lawler earn $100K to top disclosed earnings at Strikeforce: Miami

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:03:25 PST

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the organization running the Florida Boxing Commission, released the official disclosed payroll Wednesday for Saturday's Strikeforce: Miami event on Showtime. Heading up the night's $469,600 payroll were former UFC fighters Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler, who each earned $100,000 with their victories over Marius Zaromskis and Melvin Manhoef, respectively. Other top earners for the event were Jay Hieron and Bobby Lashley. Herschel Walker's disclosed earnings were $600, though he reportedly made six figures for the event in non-disclosed fashion that was going to charity. The full disclosed earnings for the event are below:

-Nick Diaz: $100,000
-Marius Zaromskis: $30,000
-Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos: $35,000 ($15,000 win bonus and $5,000 "championship" bonus)
-Marloes Coenen: $2,000
-Herschel Walker: $600
-Greg Nagy: $5,000
-Robbie Lawler: $100,000
-Melvin Manhoef: $5,000
-Bobby Lashley: $50,000
-Wes Sims: $25,000
-Jay Hieron: $65,000 ($35,000 win bonus)
-Joe Riggs: $30,000
-Micahel Byrnes: $2,000 ($1,000 win bonus)
-David Zitnik: $1,500
-Joe Ray: $1,500 ($500 win bonus)
-John Clarke: $1,000
-David Gomez: $2,000 ($1,000 win bonus)
-Craig Oxley: $1,500
-Pablo Alfonso: $3,000 ($1,500 win bonus)
-Marcos DaMatta: $2,500
-Hayder Hassan: $2,000 ($1,000 win bonus)
-Ryan Keenan: $2,000
-John Kelly: $2,000 ($1,000 win bonus)
-Sabah Homasi: $1,000

UFC QUOTABLES: Chael Sonnen says Nate Marquardt is one of the rare good guys in a sport full of dirtbags

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:46:20 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"Look, [Anderson Silva's] not my kind of a guy. This is a grown man that’s got earrings. This is a grown man who wears his hat sideways. This is a guy who wears pink T-shirts. This guy wouldn’t make it 12 minutes in my neighborhood. I live in a nice neighborhood and we’d still run him out... I’m not holding back on Nate [Marquardt], necessarily; I haven’t been asked about him. Secondly, there’s not a lot of ammunition there. Every now and then in this sport – and it’s every now and then; it’s extremely rare – but you’re going to come across a good guy. For every dirt bag in this business, you’re going to run into a Nate Marquardt or a Chael Sonnen or a Rich Franklin somewhere along the way. Two decent human beings have ended up getting paired together."

-Chael Sonnen speaks with Yahoo! Sports about his feelings towards Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and his lack of trash talk for his opponent at UFC 109 this Saturday, Nate Marquardt.

Penick's Analysis: Sonnen certainly hasn't been holding back as of late, spouting off against a number of fighters to just about anyone that will listen, but he's got clear respect for his opponent this weekend. In a fight that could land the winner in a bout with Middleweight Champ Silva, Sonnen's certainly trying to make himself a more attractive opponent for that fight should he get past Marquardt on Saturday, and with some of the other things he's said about Silva in other interviews he may just get that fight if he wins on Saturday. Of course, that task is much easier said than done, and it's going to take what would have to be his best performance to get past Marquardt with a Title shot on the line.

WEC NEWS: Aldo vs. Faber, Henderson vs. Cerrone II coming to first WEC pay-per-view on April 24th

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:45:04 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The WEC has officially announced their first move to pay-per-view for their WEC 48 event, which will be headlined by a double main event with two major Title fights. In the top slot, Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo will defend his Title against former Champion Urijah Faber, while Benson Henderson will face off with Donald Cerrone for the second time, this time for the Undisputed WEC Lightweight Championship.

The event will take place on April 24th, not in May as was originally believed, and will be priced at $44.99 for the pay-per-view. The event will take place out of one of the WEC's homebase locations, Sacramento, California's Arco Arena. In addition to the two Title fights, former Featherweight Champion Mike Brown will also be on the card in a fight against former Ultimate Fighter contestant and UFC fighter Manvel Gamburyen.

The move is a gamble for the organization, who will for the first time be charging MMA fans to see one of their events. Said WEC General Manager Reed Harris to the Associated Press, "We wanted to wait until we had this type of card to go to pay-per-view. We didn’t want to do a pay-per-view show until fans would say at the end of the night, ‘This was worth it.’ This will truly be the biggest event we’ve ever done."

Link to Associated Press report

Penick's Analysis: The date change to April was a great one, though the price for the event still bothers me. When they have no history on pay-per-view and their numbers on Versus have only hit a certain level, it's going to be a tough task to pull an extra $45 out of fans' pockets with a UFC pay-per-view earlier in the month, featuring two Title fights of its own by the way, and everything in May that has already been discussed. I'm very curious to see how this pans out for the WEC, as it is going to be a very good card and will be by far the biggest event they've put on, but with so much on the pay-per-view landscape I just can't see this doing a great number on pay-per-view. I hope they prove me wrong, and I hope they can succeed with this, I just don't believe that's going to happen at this point. But, if ever they had a card worthy of charging fans to see, this is the one to go with, no doubt.

UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDER: Upcoming Major MMA Event Dates and Locations

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:45:15 PST

UFC 109: Relentless

February 6th, 2010, Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV- Pay-Per-View

UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez

February 21st, 2010, Acer Arena, Sydney, Australia - Pay-Per-View (February 20th live U.S. airing)

Strikeforce Challengers VI: Prangley vs. Amoussou

February 26th, San Jose Civic Auditorium, San Jose, CA - Showtime

WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz

March 6th, 2010, Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH - Versus

World Victory Road: Sengoku Raiden Championships 12

March 7th, 2010, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan - HDNet

UFC on Versus 1: Vera vs. Jones

March 21st, 2010, The Odeum Colorado, Broomfield, CO - Versus

DREAM 13

March 22, 2010, Yokohoma Arena, Yokohoma, Japan - HDNet

Strikeforce Challengers VII

March 26th, 2010, Save Mart Center, Fresno, CA - Showtime

UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy

March 27th, 2010, Prudential Center, Newark, NJ - Pay-Per-View

UFC Fight Night 21

March 31st, 2010, Bojangles Coliseum, Charlotte, NC - Spike TV

Bellator Fighting Championships Season 2, Week 1

April 8th, 2010, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, FL - Fox Sports Net

UFC 112: Silva vs. Belfort

April 10th, 2010, Concert Arena at Ferrari World on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi - Pay-Per-View

Strikeforce on CBS

April 17th, Venue TBA, Location TBA - CBS

DREAM 14

April 19th, Venue TBA, Location TBA - HDNet

UFC 113

May 8th, 2010, Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada - Pay-Per-View

DREAM 15

May 24th, 2010, Venue TBA, Location TBA - HDNet

UFC 114

May 29th, 2010, Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV - Pay-Per-View

UFC 115

June 12th, 2010, GM Place, Vancouver, BC, Canada - Pay-Per-View

The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale

June 19th, 2010, Venue TBA, Las Vegas, NV - Spike TV

UFC NEWS: Tyson Griffin vs. Evan Dunham coming to UFC 115 in Vancouver

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:24:06 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

A bout between two Xtreme Couture fighters is on its way to UFC 115 in June, as MMAWeekly.com reports that Tyson Griffin and Evan Dunham will meet in a lightweight bout in the UFC's first trip to Vancouver.

Both fighters trained at the Las Vegas based gym for their most recent bouts, but the report states that Dunham will head elsewhere to train for this fight.

Griffin hasn't fought since last September, where he picked up perhaps the most impressive victory of his career in a first round knockout over Hermes Franca. He was set to return in January against Jim Miller, but for the first time in his career had to pull out of the fight due to injury.

Dunham moved his undefeated record to 10-0 in January with an extremely impressive armbar submission over Ultimate Fighter season eight winner Efrain Escudero, a win that earned him "Submission of the Night" honors. He's won all three of his Octagon appearances, defeating Per Eklund and Marcus Aurelio before the Escudero fight.

UFC 115 will be the fourth UFC event to take place in Canada, and the first in Vancouver after three trips to Montreal. It is expected to play host to the third matchup between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, who will fight following the eleventh season of the Ultimate Fighter where they will coach teams against one another.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: Tyson Griffin always puts on a show, and that's evidenced by five "Fight of the Night" awards in the UFC. His two career losses have been by decision, in "Fight of the Night" winners, to former UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk and to B.J. Penn's next challenger Frankie Edgar three years ago. His killer instinct and ability to finish has been questioned many times and it has dogged him a bit in the lead up to previous fights, but he seemed to get over that hump against Franca. This is a huge fight for him, as a victory over a very capable Dunham will put him just a fight or two away from perhaps getting his first Title shot in the UFC. Penn has gone through many challengers, so if Griffin can win this fight and one or two against other top contenders or fighters that have already had a shot at Penn, he may very well get to that pinnacle in this division. For Dunham, this is a huge opportunity to defeat a fighter that has only been beaten by Championship caliber fighters. Already with an undefeated record and coming off of the hugely impressive submission victory over Escudero, Dunham is opening more eyes to him, and if he can pull this one off it will open many, many doors to him in the UFC and it will allow him to get even bigger fights. This is a great matchup and should be an extremely exciting fight for the Vancouver fans.

UFC NEWS: Diego Sanchez draws undefeated John Hathaway in welterweight return at UFC 114

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:49:05 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The UFC continues to fill up slots on their May cards, and the latest to head to the UFC 114 event in Las Vegas is the original Ultimate Fighter, Diego Sanchez. Making his return to welterweight following a loss to B.J. Penn in his shot at the UFC Lightweight Title, Sanchez will take on undefeated Brit John Hathaway.

Sanchez announced the fight on his Twitter account, stating, "finally got a opponent john hathaway he's 12-0 tough kid from the uk. we will be fighting may 29 in VEGAS!!!!! its on!!!"

Hathaway is 12-0 in his mixed martial arts career, including three straight victories in the Octagon. Following his UFC debut TKO victory over Thomas Egan, Hathaway picked up consecutive decisions over Rick "Horror" Story and Paul Taylor. All three of his UFC bouts have been on overseas cards, and this will mark his debut fight in the U.S.

Sanchez is 21-3 overall in his career, and those three losses have all come against top flight competition. After consecutive losses to Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch at welterweight, Sanchez won two more fights at 170 lbs. before making the drop to lightweight. After two exciting victories over Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida, Sanchez was awarded a Title shot against Penn. Unfortunately for him, he was no match for Penn in their bout, landing only eight punches while getting picked apart throughout the fight before ultimately getting opened up by a head kick, a cut which stopped the fight.

UFC 114 is set to take place on May 29th from Las Vegas, NV, and will feature the grudge match between Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Link to Sanchez's Twitter page

Penick's Analysis: This will by far be the biggest test of Hathaway's career, as while Sanchez may have been completely outclassed by Penn, he's still a very good fighter. After cutting to 155 lbs. for three straight fights, a cut that may have been detrimental to his abilities, he will come into this a more rejuvenated fighter and hungrier than ever after getting so close to a Title. This is a very good match up and both fighters should challenge each other. It's also another exciting undercard fight for this event, which is looking to continue the UFC's string of great fights starting this spring to get out of the injury slump that has hampered down these early 2010 cards.

[Diego Sanchez photo provided to MMATorch courtesy Spike TV]

UFC QUOTABLES: Mark Coleman - "Bottom line, I can still fight... I just have to show it."

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:29:14 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"That's just a lot of naive people who don't know what they are talking about [discussing the age factor in the fight with Couture]. I did five five-minute rounds today and they were the best rounds I've had in my entire fight career. Most people reach a certain age and they have no drive, no desire, no determination and they just give up. There are a few people out there in this world, in other sports as well, that hit 40, 41, 42. It doesn't mean they are going to give up. It just means you have to dedicate yourself more and be more strict in all areas. Your diet, everything you do, you have to be more strict. You have to be willing to pay the price. Randy Couture has proven numerous times that he can still fight with the best of us. Hell, he gave Brock Lesnar a hell of a good fucking first round. What more could you ask of a guy? How can you say anything negative about Randy Couture? He's still fighting his ass off. Me, there's some deserved criticism. I haven't prepared properly for a lot of my fights. I blame nobody but myself. I'm going to salvage whatever career I have left and make the most of it. Bottom line, I can still fight. I'm still learning, still improving, I just have to show it."

-Mark Coleman talks to Jonathan Snowden at Heavy.com about a number of topics, including discussing what it takes to stay competitive at this age.

Penick's Analysis: The entire interview with Snowden is excellent and worth a read, but these are very telling comments from Coleman about his and Couture's spots in the sport right now. He takes all the heat for missteps he's had throughout his career with training for fights and he sounds like he's really trying to turn things around and prove in this fight that he is more than capable of continuing in this sport at 45 and beyond. He's saying all the right things right now, and hopefully for his sake we'll see that it's not just talk on Saturday night.

[Randy Couture art credit Cory Gould (c) MMATorch]

UFC NEWS: UFC 2009 Undisputed video game reached "Greatest Hits" sales milestone (press release)

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:28:58 PST

The following press release was sent to MMATorch.com this afternoon:

UFC 2009 UNDISPUTED REACHES "PLATINUM HITS" AND "GREATEST HITS" SALES MILESTONES IN NORTH AMERICA

Debut Videogame Based on Ultimate Fighting Championship® Now Available at Reduced Price Point for Xbox 360® Video Game and Entertainment System from Microsoft
and PlayStation®3 Computer Entertainment System

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. - February 2, 2010 - THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) and Zuffa, LLC today announced that UFC 2009 Undisputed™, the critically and commercially acclaimed debut videogame based on the Ultimate Fighting Championship®, has achieved “Platinum Hits” status in North America for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, as well as joined Sony’s “Greatest Hits” collection in North America for the PlayStation3 computer entertainment system. Having shipped more than 3.5 million units worldwide to date, both versions of the videogame originally launched on May 19, 2009 and are now available for the suggested retail price of $29.99.

“Reaching ‘Platinum Hits’ and ‘Greatest Hits’ status is an honor that speaks to the strength of our software and the power of the UFC brand,” said Vice President of Global Brand Management Brian Coleman. “With a reduced price point, more players can now step into the Octagon and take part in the ultimate virtual UFC experience.”

“We are excited that so many fans around the world have helped us achieve these impressive milestones in our debut year,” said UFC President Dana White. “UFC 2009 Undisputed opened the door for us to further share the UFC brand with videogame and fight fans around the world, and we cannot wait to return this spring with the release of UFC Undisputed 2010 on May 25, 2010.”

===

About UFC 2009 Undisputed

UFC 2009 Undisputed is an explosive fighting game that recreates the action, intensity and attitude of a UFC live event. Players will explore a deep roster of more than 80 top fighters in UFC competition across all five weight classes. In addition, they will enter the Octagon surrounded by the sport’s renowned announcer, commentators, referees, trainers, Octagon Girls and more. Photorealistic models are at the forefront, as players will view amazing ripple effects across the faces and bodies of their fighters from the impact of devastating punches and kicks.

A brand new fighting game engine designed specifically for next generation systems delivers innovative, responsive and easy-to-play controls that enable unparalleled command of fighters, as players take down opponents with a variety of mixed martial arts disciplines, including Muay Thai, Kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The game’s Create-a-Fighter system jumpstarts the careers of future champions through character customization, while a robust Career Mode will develop a fighter’s attributes and skill sets while fighting to enter the UFC Hall of Fame. In addition, UFC 2009 Undisputed lets players revisit key moments in UFC history and attempt to recreate the matchups through a Classic Fights Mode. Furthermore, players may enhance their gameplay experience through online support, including downloadable content.

More information about UFC 2009 Undisputed can be found at www.ufcundisputed.com and www.thq.com.

About The Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts organization and offers the premier series of MMA sports events. Owned and operated by Zuffa™, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC produces over twelve live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers including iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN Entertainment, BellTV, SaskTel Max™, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Viewers Choice, and WOWOW in Japan, and Premiere Combate and SporTV in Brazil, and via the Internet worldwide on Yahoo! Sports, and commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. In addition to its North American distribution, UFC programming is distributed in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit UFC.com, UK.UFC.com, GERMANY.UFC.com or UFCEspanol.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

About THQ Inc.

THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) is a leading worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. The company develops its products for all popular game systems, personal computers and wireless devices. Headquartered in Los Angeles County, California, THQ sells product through its global network of offices located throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. More information about THQ and its products may be found at www.thq.com. THQ and the THQ logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc.

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa™, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC and affiliated entities in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC or other respective owners.

Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, the Xbox logos, and the Xbox LIVE logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

“PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

UFC NEWS: Heavyweight bout coming to UFC 114 between Todd Duffee and Mike Russow

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:50:03 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Todd Duffee made a gigantic splash in his UFC debut last August at UFC 102, knocking out Tim Hague in seven seconds. He's been out of action since then, sidelined with a back injury after what was officially the UFC's fastest knockout, but he's set to return this May, as a report from Caged-In.com states he has agreed to a bout with fellow one-fight UFC vet Mike Russow.

Russow, 33, is a 12-1 professional who moved his winning streak to eight fights at UFC 102 himself with a decision victory over Justin McCully. Russow is a police officer in Chicago, and is a submission specialist, earning eight of his twelve wins by submission. His sole loss came at the hands of Sergei Kharitonov at the Pride 33 event in 2007.

Duffee's victory over Hague moved his unbeaten record to 5-0. The 24 year old has only left the first round once in his career and is one of the more highly touted prospects the UFC's heavyweight division has seen in recent years.

UFC 114 is expected to take place on May 29th in Las Vegas, NV, headlined by the now long awaited grudge match between TUF 10 coaches Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: This should be a great striker vs. grappler match-up, and it's a very exciting match up between some newer faces to the Octagon. Russow's been fighting for a few years and is a bit more than a prospect at this point, but Duffee's a beast and this is a big, big test for both fighters. Both of these guys have the very real chance to inject themselves into the top of this ever growing heavyweight division in the next few years, and it's going to be a blast to see what they can put together at this point in their respective careers in this Las Vegas bout.

STRIKEFORCE NEWS: Strikeforce draws 517,000 viewers on Showtime for Strikeforce: Miami

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:09:33 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Strikeforce drew their second highest rating on Showtime for their Strikeforce: Miami event on Saturday night, which featured Herschel Walker's MMA debut along with two Title fights.

Bringing in 517,000 viewers, the event trailed only the Gina Carano vs. Cris Cyborg headlined event on Showtime from August, which brought in 576,000 viewers. That number represented a nearly 52% increase in viewership from December's event which featured Cung Le vs. Scott Smith in the main event.

The numbers were especially impressive given the UFC's counter-programming effort on Spike TV. The UFC ran the first replay of December's UFC 107 pay-per-view event and drew an excellent 2.2 million viewers for the broadcast during the same timeslot. Of course, Spike is available in 98.6 million homes while Showtime's subscriber base is around 12 million.

Penick's Analysis: Both organizations put up great numbers on Saturday night, and it's clear that the Herschel Walker move worked out for Strikeforce at least in the short term for bringing in viewers for this show. Whether the curious sports fans tuning in for the "freakshow" aspect of a 47 year old former pro athlete making a debut in a combat sport will tune in for future shows remains in question.

They've got to build their own stars to get to these types of numbers for their events and beyond on Showtime, and thus far their biggest events have come with a women's fight they didn't promote very well that was built up by another organization and then with essentially an amateur fight with a big named athlete from another sport.

They've made wonderful strides in 2009, but they do need to find their own footing with their fighters moving forward to fulfill the lofty expectations they're putting on themselves. This was a good showing, but they've really got to prove that they can pull these numbers without Herschel Walker and without Gina Carano, because they haven't done it yet.

UK SCENE: Exclusive interview with two members of Team UK of The Ultimate Fighter, news on Swick, Hardy, Koscheck, Al Turk, Wilks

By Chris Park, MMATorch UK Specialist — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:09:49 PST

As another week goes by in the world of Mixed Martial Arts another Welterweight fighter jumps on the case of number one contender Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy.

Josh Koscheck claiming that Hardy had not faced anyone (a mere seven days after "The Outlaw" took out his team mate) left several people scratching their heads. However, this weeks, is probably the most bizarre of them all.

Mike "Quick" Swick, who really should only be thinking of Paulo Thiago, has stated that Hardy should not be facing champion George St Pierre: "I defiantly don't think he deserves it. I think there's a few people that deserve a title shot sooner than he would."

Swick went onto say (in a conversation posted by Sergio Non) "I think I win Nine of Ten fights (with Hardy) I don't like losing and I want to avenge that loss."

Mike Swick needs to be very careful that he doesn't end up in the same pen as Marcus Davis. Davis became so obsessed and angered by Hardy that he didn't perform properly on the night. Some may say Hardy may have left a long term effect that Davis took into the Octagon with him against Ben Saunders. A fight that handed him his first knockout defeat.

Thiago has already knocked out Koscheck and after losing a decision to John Fitch will be looking to tip a 2-1 balance against AKK fighters.

Regardless of the outcome on March 27 we will have some amazing fights to look forward to at 170. If Mike Swick does want to face Hardy again anytime soon then he will need to put together a two or three fight win streak at least. Beginning with Thiago on Saturday.

TUF TALKING

I visited the Leicester Shootfighters this week and was simply amazed at the amount of people who had turned up for the MMA class. The hall was literally packed with men and women looking to learn more about MMA.

Two gents, who gave some of their time to talk to MMATorch, were "Slick" Nick Osipczak and Dean Amasinger from Team UK of The Ultimate Fighter.

CHRIS: Evening fellas thanks so much for talking to MMATorch – Getting the experience and exposure from TUF is something very few people are lucky to have. How have things been for you both since the show?

DEAN: Things have been going really well. Unfortunately I didn't make it to the semi finals so I didn't get a UFC contract. I have since gone to the international MMA circuit and had two fights since I left the show and finished both opponents in the first round. I have a title fight this Saturday (Feb 6) for the UCMMA Welterweight title against Alberto Mina.

CHRIS: So this is your first big step towards working back to a UFC contract?

DEAN: Yeah. UFC would be great but there is something from Japan on the cards at the minute.

CHRIS: So you have taken alot of positives from the show?

DEAN: Massively; it enabled me to be a full time professional fighter. With the exposure and the amount of sponsorship I have had, I'm able to do this full time. It's what you need to be doing to make you better and both physically and mentally stronger.

CHRIS: So Nick when did you join the rest of the Rough House lads?

NICK: From when we got back from the show so February. I did all my training here for the finale and then for my fight at 105

CHRIS: Defeating Matt Riddle was a great victory for you. You must have been very happy with your performance.

NICK: Yeah I was over the moon to start with a win.

CHRIS: Any idea who you will be facing next?

NICK: Should find out soon. It could be anyone really.

CHRIS: I noticed you were cornering Paul at New Year Dean, is it good to have the contact there with the UFC. Just to keep your foot in the door?

DEAN: Yeah I corner Paul, Nick and Ross so I regularly see people and last time I was there I had just won my last fight so when I saw them I just said "hey I won again".

CHRIS: Brad Pickett told me he used to go over to corner Mike Brown and he would always be dropping into the big wigs that he had just won the weekend before. It keeps you in their minds.

NICK: I saw his fight in December. Really slick finish.

DEAN: Yeah, very impressive. I have watched him since Cage Rage, great fighter.

NICK: He's dropped down now I heard is that because of Mike Brown?

CHRIS: When Brad signed to the WEC Mike was the champion. The WEC wouldn't sign anyone unless it was to make a run at the title so all concerned decided the drop to 35 was the ideal move. Mike held the title and they were best friends.

DEAN: He was quite small for the weight so that's probably good for him.

CHRIS: If his debut is anything to go by it is. One thing I wanted to ask which would be more relative to you Nick. Do you think we should be having "Fight Nights" here now in the UK? Maybe 2 or 3 a year.

NICK: How do you mean? So that we would get on a main card?

CHRIS: I suppose for you it makes no difference as the fight is taking place regardless of coverage. For UK fans though; they want to see you, Ross and Andre on TV. After watching you all on the show you have a following who want to see you compete.

NICK: Yeah I see what you mean it's a good idea maybe two UFC's and two Fight Nights a year.

CHRIS: Nottingham arena? It is maybe too small for a main show but for a fight night could be ideal.

DEAN: I have heard they have booked the Arena for 2 dates but whether they use them or not is a different matter but I think it would work there really well.

CHRIS: Do you want to fight on an American card?

NICK: I would rather fight in Abu Dhabi than in the states. I'd rather fight in London than anywhere else purely because of convenience. I would like to fight in the States again eventually.

CHRIS: I don't really want to talk about Celebrity Big Brother; but it must be satisfying for you that you were the one to eliminate Alex Reid from the TUF prelims

DEAN: Alot of people dislike him and thank me for beating him but it's as if that's my biggest achievement and it's not.

CHRIS: I don't think it should overshadow your achievements it's just good that you got that win in hindsight.

NICK: Probably would have been better if you had finished him.

CHRIS: He was never trying to defeat you was he? He was just trying to....

DEAN: ....To survive, yeah.

CHRIS: For your second fight Dean - There was a bit of a mix up with Bispings no show. Do you think that was the main factor in you losing that fight?

DEAN: At the end of the day I'm the one fighting and I learned alot about myself after I left the house. It disrupted me but it shouldn't have. I should have had the mental strength to get on with it.

CHRIS: From a viewer perspective it was hard to watch at times as every time the door went you expected it to be him to come in late and it would have been good for your moral to have seen him in time.

DEAN: Yeah, there were two fights before me and I saw how great he was and I was really looking forward to it. It was just one of those things. It wasn't deliberate so there are no hard feelings

CHRIS: So you quickly put it all behind you?

DEAN: Oh yeah completely. He was jet lagged he wasn't feeling great so he took some sleeping pills to sort himself and ended up crashing out.

CHRIS: It was really bad to watch as you probably came over as the nicest bloke on the show and for that axe to fall on you was bit rubbish.

DEAN: Yeah a few people have said to me I don't like Bisping now because of what he did to you. I'm not one to hold a grudge. It was a mistake and I have taken many positives from the whole experience. My time will come 2010 is gonna be a big year for me

CHRIS: Starting this weekend!

DEAN: Right

CHRIS: Nick in your preliminary fight you fought southpaw. Was that purposely so you could throw them off?

NICK: That was basically the original plan. My opponent wasn't used to fighting south paw.

CHRIS: Oh so the fact Henderson and Franklin were watching was secondary?

NICK: Yeah, at that point but then when I fought the second fight I used the fact I went south paw to throw them all off.

CHRIS: Yeah you saw in Hendersons face when he realised. They had done all that training for a south paw then did you switch stance in the Octagon?

NICK: Yeah, even at the weigh ins I stood south paw.

CHRIS: Genius and it was great TV.

NICK: After the fight he said it threw him off.

CHRIS: When are you looking to fight next Nick?

NICK: Well ideally I would like to fight in April to be honest.

CHRIS: Do you just keep yourself at a certain level of fitness all year round?

NICK: Yeah that's right, Just tick over work on my skill set and then eight weeks out get in there and spar.

CHRIS: So after the show and Team UK's dominance at the finale, it was Bisping vs. Hendo at 100. How did you feel when you saw him go out?

NICK: Gutted! Obviously. I didn't expect him to lose like that. Was very hard to watch.

DEAN: The way he came back though against Kang was great. A real fighters comeback. The pressure he was under for that Kang fight was unreal. Kang is a tough, tough guy. He was knocked down but he came back so well.

CHRIS: It was a very impressive performance. Best of his career so far I would say. Your all still in contact?

DEAN: We're all mates. We all got on really well and we have all trained together since

CHRIS: He seemed to be such a great coach for you guys.

NICK: Yeah he led by example.

DEAN: Yeah we all sparred with him and he beat us all up.

CHRIS: How do you see the Wanderlei fight going?

DEAN: I see Mike taking a decision. I think Wanderlei is tough to finish.

CHRIS: The weight cut may hurt him. Never really had to cut weight and Mike has such a great cardio.

NICK: Wanderlei has a great cardio too.

CHRIS: Have you seen the All Access special with the snorkel?

NICK: YES! Mixed reviews on whether that's good for you or not.

CHRIS: I won't be trying it any time soon. Thanks for talking to me lads. Dean let's talk again next week once you have won your title.

(Dean Amasinger and Nick Osipczak were speaking exclusively to MMATorch UK Specialist, Chris Park)

UK MMA LEAGUE OF FIGHTERS

For the last two weeks MMATorch readers have been voting for their top five UK MMA fighters. The whole purpose of this exercise was to firstly see who is up there now. Also to repeat this on a quarterly basis to see how the rankings change based upon good/bad performances as well as seeing if new fighters can break in.

The scoring system was simple. Everyone voted 1-5 with first place receiving 5pts second place 4pts and so one. Majority of the votes received starred the same top five almost all had at least four members of the final line up and that line up is:

1 – DAN "THE OUTLAW" HARDY = 512 PTS

2 – PAUL "SEMTEX" DALEY = 387 PTS

3 – MICHAEL "THE COUNT" BISPING = 356 PTS

4 – ROSS "REAL DEAL" PEARSON = 227 PTS

5 – TERRY ETIM = 207 PTS

= ANDRE WINNER = 49 PTS

= JIMMY WALLHEAD = 24 PTS

Others who scored five points or more (in order) were: Osipczak, Kelly, Reid, Pickett, Hathaway, Freeman, Sass, Wilks and Taylor.

From all of the readers who voted 46 picked the five fighters who occupied the table. Unbelievably only ONE person picked the top five in its exact order.

That person is Sam Dixon from Essex. Sam has been an MMA fan for roughly five years and has been training in MMA for the last twelve months. Sam specialises in Jui Jitsu and Boxing and quite clearly knows his stuff. Well done Sam.

I am flabbergasted that only one person got this exactly. Join me again in April for a recount to see how things may change over the coming months.

OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF

-Leicester Shootfighters are to present a seminar on February 7 with Andre Winner and Ross Pearson. Fans will have the opportunity to meet the TUF stars as well as learning techniques and training methods that the UFC Lightweight contenders apply to their game.

-UK MMA legends Mark Weir and Mark Epstein will go toe to toe this Saturday on the undercard to Dean Amasinger vs. Alberto Mina at London's Troxy.

-British Heavyweight Mostapha Al Turk may not be facing Rolles Gracie this weekend after all. Al Turk may have to withdraw over Visa issues. The UFC have hinted that Gracie may well remain on the card with Joey Beltran on hand to step in.

-Strikeforce: Miami was aired in the UK, once again via tape delay last Sunday on Bravo. Fedor vs. Rogers was assumed as a one off but with this event finding the same listing slot it's conceivable that this will be an ongoing thing. – Good times.

-James Wilks looks set for an Octagon return at UFC 115. Wilks was defeated in his (Non TUF) UFC debut by Matt Brown and will look to bounce back in style against Peter Sobotta.

Good luck to Dean Amasinger who will challenge for the UCMMA title this weekend. I shall be catching up with him after his fight. Well done to Sam Dixon; the only person to predict the UK MMA League of fighters exactly. Until next time...

===

Chris Park is the MMATorch UK Specialist. Please email any comments to Chris at mmatorchpark@gmail.com or look us up at http://www.facebook.com/mmatorchuk, our new MMATorch Facebook home for UK fans!

OTHER NEWS: Jose Canseco wants to fight Herschel Walker

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:09:05 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Following Herschel Walker's successful MMA debut on Saturday's Strikeforce: Miami event, another former pro athlete that has "fought" a mixed martial arts bout wants a piece of him.

On his Twitter account, Jose Canseco said the following: "I guess I may have to show Herschel Walker who the real bad Boy of the Sports industry is. If the powers that be are reading, I want in."

Canseco, of course, made his MMA "debut" in Japan in 2009, getting manhandled by Hong Man Choi in the first round of DREAM's Super Hulk Tournament. The former Major League Baseball player and steroid user/whistle blower is now trying to lobby for another chance in the sport.

It would be one hell of a media spectacle for the sport, but if any organization touches this with a ten foot pole it will likely go down as one of the worst ideas in the history of the sport.

Penick's Analysis: This would seriously be the worst idea for Strikeforce to even consider, and I don't think Scott Coker and Showtime are that stupid that they'd go along with even entertaining the possibility. Canseco's an absolute joke, was destroyed in his only MMA fight, would get destroyed by Walker and it would make a mockery of the sport to have it on any type of major event. For his sake I don't think Walker would go along with it, as he's taking things seriously and understands how difficult this sport is, and if he fights again they'd be best suited placing it on a Challengers card instead of hyping it for a major event, as there has been some backlash on such an amateur bout being placed on a more high profile event. Canseco needs to realize that he failed at Celebrity Boxing, he failed at MMA the first go around and there aren't many people that would want to have anything to do with putting him back into a second one.

[Herschel Walker photo by Mike Lano (c) MMATorch]

STRIKEFORCE NEWS: Worldwide broadcasting deals inked for Strikeforce programming

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:47:33 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Strikeforce has made another stride towards moving their former southern California-centric promotion to a worldwide brand in MMA, as the organization, along with Shine International, have announced the sale of more than 70 hours of programming to markets in Europe, Australia and Latin America.

Six networks have purchased the programming, which features the 30 highlight shows that originally aired on NBC, as well as 56 hours of footage from Showtime and live broadcasting of forthcoming events through February of 2012. Those networks are "Virgin Media Television's Bravo in the U.K., Turner in Latin America, FX in Portugal, Ukraine's Megasport, Seven Network Australia, and Dahlia TV in Italy."

Said Chris Grant, president of Shine International, "Strikeforce is the leader in mixed-martial-arts content as proven by the huge demand for their programming around the world. They have the world's best fighters, the world's best events, and they know how to translate that into fast-paced programming that captures what will soon be the most popular sport in the world."

Link to MMAJunkie.com report

Penick's Analysis: This is a big step for Strikeforce and will allow them a more global presence for their brand, but Grant's comments are quite laughable. It's one thing to be confident in your organization and to tout yourself as highly as you can, but to spit out straight untruths as "Strikeforce is the leader in mixed-martial-arts content" or that they have the "world's best events" is something entirely different. They've put on some great fights, they've put on some very solid events, but they're nowhere near being the leader or the best in any category in the sport. No, they've got a long way to go to earn that distinction. This is a great move for them, and will certainly increase their viewership overall, but this is not the "leader" getting a further reach worldwide.

TUESDAY ROUNDTABLE: Q: Which fighter would you most like to see change weight divisions? (pt. 2 of 3)

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:26:07 PST

UFC QUOTABLES: Georges St. Pierre talks training with Gegard Mousasi, being a more knowledgeable fighter

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:34:10 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"I see myself [in Mousasi], but two weight classes above. He's a great fighter. He's very open-minded. He's amazing. He taught me two great techniques. Those two things I learned today are worth my whole trip. I'm very happy, and I'm going to be working on it a lot... [Gegard] does things that he doesn't even know he does well. He does things he doesn't think about. He just does it. It's really amazing. It's something not everybody has. You can't teach that. There is something from him that I know I can learn. If I can help him at the same time, we both are going to gain from each other. It's a great experience. If I could have a choice between money, fame or wisdom and knowledge, I would take wisdom first, without hesitation. I'm already a better fighter than I was before the practice. I have more knowledge."

-UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre talks to Josh Gross at SI.com about training with Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi heading into his UFC 111 bout with Dan Hardy in March.

Penick's Analysis: This is precisely why GSP is right now the greatest fighter in the world. I'd have him above Fedor and above Anderson on my pound for pound list simply for the fact that he's constantly evolving his game and actively searching out as much as he can learn about the sport. And it's not just talk with him, we've seen the evolution of his wrestling game, to the point where he's someone without a wrestling background that would have a legitimate shot at making the Olympics for that sport. That one is a long shot, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. These are also great compliments for the 24-year-old Mousasi, who is gaining tons of respect in the U.S. after his 2009 victories over Babalu and Sokoudjou. It's just great to see St. Pierre continuing his fight evolution, and it could mean a long, long night for Dan Hardy on March 27th.

[Gegard Mousasi photo provided to MMATorch courtesy Strikeforce]

UFC NEWS: Visa issues expected to force Mostapha Al Turk out of UFC 109, newcomer Joey Beltran tapped as replacement vs. Rolles Gracie

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:48:24 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Heavyweight Rolles Gracie is making his UFC debut this weekend at UFC 109 in Las Vegas, but the opponent he's been training for is not expected to make the trip. According to multiple reports, Brit Mostapha Al Turk is having visa issues and by all accounts he's not expected to make it for the fight.

According to a report from MMAJunkie.com, his replacement is expected to be a newcomer to the UFC, the "Mexicutioner" Joey Beltran. The 10-3 heavyweight stated on his official website that he has signed a four fight deal with the organization, and the MMAJunkie report states that he has agreed to the bout.

The UFC is awaiting final word on the status of Al Turk, and the report states that they have not contacted the Nevada State Athletic Commission to discuss a replacement fighter as of yet. The Ultimate Fighter season ten competitor Jon Madsen has also been a reported possibility for the fight, though MMAJunkie states that Beltran is 99% confirmed as the opponent.

UFC 109 is set to air live on pay-per-view Saturday night, headlined by the Hall of Fame light heavyweight bout between Randy Couture and Mark Coleman. This bout is set to take place on the night's un-televised prelims.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: This is an unfortunate issue for Al Turk, who has lost both of his fights in the Octagon, as this was a definite chance for him to rebound. Gracie brings his famous last name to the Octagon, becoming the first in the family to fight in the UFC since Royce lost to Matt Hughes at UFC 60, while Beltran will be coming in as a solid prospect in his own right. All of Beltran's career wins have come by stoppage, and he holds a first round TKO over a former UFC fighter, Sherman Pendergarst at a Bellator event last May. If this fight comes to pass, it will be a solid heavy hitter vs. submission specialist type of matchup that could make for a very good opener for any fans that decide to show up early in Vegas.

UFC 109 RELENTLESS COUNTDOWN: Team Coverage with Predictions, Fight Analysis, Interview Highlights

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:36:25 PST

UFC 109 RESULTS: Penick's live on-going event report

UFC 109 Main Card Predictions by Sam Matthew

STYLES CLASH: Hall of Famers collide - Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman - a look at how these wrestlers' styles differ

UFC QUOTABLES: Randy Couture jokes about the age factor in Coleman bout, unconcerned that Coleman was recent training partner

UFC QUOTABLES: Mark Coleman - "Bottom line, I can still fight... I just have to show it."

UFC QUOTABLES: Chael Sonnen says Nate Marquardt is one of the rare good guys in a sport full of dirtbags

ROUNDTABLE: What's next for Couture if he wins? What's next for Coleman if he loses? (pt. 1)

ROUNDTABLE: Picking the winner of Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman (pt. 1)

QUOTABLES: Matt Hughes disapproves of Strikeforce's treatment of fighters, says the "little things will drive fighters away"

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:50:49 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"There's just a difference on how the fighters are treated. When we walked in the hotel there were a couple of people from Strikeforce in the lobby. By gosh, I don't fight for Strikeforce so don't worry about me [but] you would've thought they would've stood up and shook Robbie's hand but nobody did. It's little things like that where you just don't feel at home. The UFC wouldn't do that... [Jay Hieron and Joe Riggs are] back in the lockerroom and it's been three hours since they fought. And they're still waiting for someone to come and stitch them up. It's the little things that are going to drive fighters away."

-Matt Hughes talks to Steve Cofield at Yahoo! Sports' Cagewriter about this last weekend's Strikeforce: Miami event and his H.I.T. Squad fighter Robbie Lawler's treatment by the organization. The video interview is below (App users video available at MMATorch.com):

Penick's Analysis: This isn't the first time Hughes has talked about his feelings towards Strikeforce in regards to Lawler's treatment, as he sounded off on them on his own website last month when Lawler's December 19th fight was canceled at the last minute.

Of course, these experiences are not indicative to what all of Strikeforce's fighters are subject to, but it's likely situations like what Hughes discusses that could end up with Lawler heading back to the UFC instead of sticking around with Strikeforce.

Also, with what Hieron continues to battle with Strikeforce both with promises not being kept and with this three hour wait to be stitched up following his fight on Saturday, it would not be the least bit surprising if he did not re-sign with Strikeforce. He may not have the leverage to get back to the UFC, considering he's signed on to be a part of the EA Sports MMA videogame, but he may have another option with Bellator Fighting Championships.

For now, I'd expect Lawler to be on his way out of Strikeforce with one of his coaches openly spouting off about the way things are handled by the organization, and considering he's had success in the Octagon in the past he's very likely to want another crack at the organization now that it's a much bigger event than when he was a part of the organization.

MONDAY ROUNDTABLE: Q: Which fighter would you most like to see change weight divisions? (pt. 1 of 3)

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:36:38 PST

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO... "The Smashing Machine" Mark Kerr

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:58:00 PST

By Bob Teal, MMATorch Specialist

Mark Kerr was truly one of the first true superstars of mixed marital arts. At the time he entered the sport he did so with a craving not only for a career but for competition. The combination of his skill set and overwhelming power propelled him quickly into the spotlight of a still young UFC organization. The Smashing Machine's rise and fall seemed to occur within the blink of an eye. Yet his contribution to the sport is still felt to this day.

Kerr was a very good wrestler who tasted success on both the high school and college levels earning championships at both. He was a brilliant competitor who understood the nature of competition and entered the world of mixed martial arts as a way to earn money and still have the ability to compete at a high level. Mark entered into his first Vale Tudo tournament in 1997 and won three successive fights in dominating fashion to win the tourney. Through his utter dominance and force the smashing machine had been born.

Kerr was promptly invited to compete in the UFC 14 tournament where he would dominate once again. He competed and won both the UFC 14 and 15 tournaments impressively over all four opponents. He was so impressive that he has spent less than six minutes inside the octagon through all four of his UFC bouts. Of course at the time MMA was seen as a blood sport and the UFC was banned throughout many states. The company was under heavy financial pressure and could not afford to pay their fighters a fair rate. So Kerr did what many fighters including UFC hall of famer Mark Coleman did; he headed to the land of the rising sun.

The Pride Fighting Championships began putting on shows in 1997. They were able to pull down gates twice the size and more in some cases than the UFC. In doing so Pride was able to bring many skilled and popular fighters over to their promotion. Mark entered went to Pride and competed in Pride 2. At this time he was widely considered to be one of the best mixed martial artists in the world. He was undefeated, dominant and seemed to be unstoppable. After posting astounding victories at Prides 2, 3, 4 and 6 mark seemed poise to go down as the greatest in history. As it would turn out, it seemed the only person that could stop Mark Kerr was Mark Kerr himself.

After years of athletic competition and intense battles mark had developed nagging injuries that would begin a struggle with prescription painkillers. This was well documented in the feature documentary about Mark entitled "The Smashing Machine." The film shows his rise to glory here in the states and then abroad, then depicts the sad realty of his addiction and the subsequent failures that beset him inside the ring. You get an inside glimpse of how personal habits and relationships can damage a fighter from the inside out.

Kerr would suffer an overdose in October of 1999 and would ultimately cancel a scheduled fight and enter into drug rehab. He seemed to emerge from the experience as a better person and focused on his career. He would end a troubled relationship with his girlfriend and would once again seek intense training from his friend Bas Rutten. Kerr appeared to have things back on track when he defeated Enson Inoue via decision at the first Pride Grand Prix in 2000. Enson was a very skilled fighter and Kerr was able to repeatedly take him down and keep him down while delivering his trademarked smashing machine style to Inoue. The victory looked to propel him back into serious contention for the Grand Prix title and back into elite status.

His bid for greatness unfortunately was short-lived as once again he entered back into the same tumultuous relationship with his prior girlfriend and fell back into a negative pattern of behavior. These same habits caused his focus to strain and his training habits to lack. Once again as a result of this he was defeated soundly by Fujita in the second round of the Grand Prix and his career has really not been the same since.

Kerr began his career with eleven straight victories and since that time he has struggled through a period of eleven losses with four wins and one no contest. His last outing was a loss versus "King Mo" Muhammed Lawal at M1 breakthrough back in August of 2009. Kerr was TKO'd by Lawal in just 25 seconds of the very first round, a similar fate that beset opponents of the Smashing Machine early in his career.

It is hard to say if Mark Kerr will ever fight again. At this point it seems as though he will not. It could be likely that he would be brought in by a smaller organization to give them name recognition in order to put butts in seats. But as far as being a serious contender again that is just not a likely scenario.

With that said, Kerr was an early pioneer of the sport who brought ground and pound to a new level, and he was an innovator who constantly looked to improve his game in other areas so he could become as well rounded as possible. Given his pedigree and demeanor I would not rule out seeing him become a top level trainer in the sport. Regardless what happens, Kerr will always be an influential and appealing individual in the world of mixed martial arts, and his status as a pioneer will never be in question.

===

Bob Teal is a lifelong resident of Cincinnati, Ohio. I am grateful for the opportunity to bring you up to date on fighters you might have forgotten about or perhaps never even knew. Are there any fighters you would like me to write about? Submit your suggestions to me. You can email me at robertjteal@aol.com. For those of you who have responded I truly appreciate your feedback! Thanks for reading MMATorch!

COLUMN: Matthews' look at Strikeforce Miami results, and ramifications, including the dramatic Lawler KO of Manhoef

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:50:35 PST

By Sam Matthew, MMATorch Specialist

With two championship title fights, an insane, come-from-behind knockout highlight, and the successful victory of Herschel Walker in his MMA debut, Strikeforce had even casual fans tuned into Showtime with rapt attention.

Shown for free on EASportsMMA.com, a preliminary bout between Jay Hieron and Joe Riggs went the distance with Hieron dominating most of the fight from top position. Hieron used his wrestling to both control his opponent and do damage from inside the guard but also looked good standing up with high kicks and crisp combinations. Riggs almost pulled out the upset at the start of the third round with a clean right hook but Hieron recovered to win a unanimous decision. After this performance, Hieron will be looking on in hopeful anticipation to face the winner of the welterweight championship fight later in the evening.

In Showtime’s opening event, Bobby Lashely pounded out Wes Sims from top position with a TKO victory that was not very exciting or surprising. Given only one week’s notice, it’s hard to imagine anyone, much less funny-man Wes Sims, being truly prepared for a fight. Nonetheless, Lashley showed some weakness in his stiff standup, but also displayed his raw power with strong ground and pound. Lashley really deserves a tough test next after such an easy victory.

Following this bout was one of the most exciting fights Strikeforce has ever televised. Melvin Manhoef was absolutely destroying Robbie Lawler for the majority of the first round with some of the most brutal leg kicks this sport has ever seen.

The boxing Lawler seemed to have no answer for kickboxing Manhoef’s powerful offense until the Dutchman got cocky and came in after a low-kick with his hands down and got caught by a beautiful counter-right from Lawler. This was one of the nastiest knockouts I’ve ever seen and will certainly be shown on highlight reels for years to come.

Unfortunately for Manhoef his aggression is what allowed Lawler to so easily counter. If Manhoef had been patient and simply stayed out of range until the second round, I doubt Lawler would have even been able to stand up out of his corner to answer the bell, but this is why Manhoef is always an exciting fighter to watch, win or lose. Lawler’s lead leg was so hurt that he was limping badly around the cage and probably will be for weeks, while Manhoef may very well have suffered a concussion as he was out cold with blood streaming down his face.

The victorious Lawler’s noncommittal response about who he wants to fight next either means he wants to renegotiate his contract for more money after such a big upset win, or indeed he wants to move back up to the UFC. (****+)

Unfortunately, the MMA debut of Herschel Walker was marred only by the caliber of his opponent, as a much smaller and timid looking Greg Nagy went in there and fought tough but was obviously outclassed. Hell, even in the staredown Nagy avoided eye contact and seemed to know he was in there to get beat. Man did he get dominated by a ferocious Walker who had plenty of stamina as he was taken into deep water with a third round TKO win. Very impressive victory and even more so given how humble the Heisman Trophy winner was towards his opponent and his team at AKA.

The female 145 lb. belt was also on the line as top Contender Marloes Coenen went to war with a dominant Cristiane Santos. Cyborg showed she has no weakness on the mat with vicious ground and pound and perfect control from top position, neutralizing Coenen’s more experienced submission game with punching power. Coenen was a game opponent but seemed out-sized and will probably drop down to fight at 135 from now on.

As far as Cyborg’s next opponent, it might be difficult to find a female capable, or even willing to fight, so I think Strikeforce should promote the first ever co-op fight with Cyborg welcoming a young amateur guy to the cage. A joke, of course, but given Cyborg’s impressive performance and lack of competition, it can be said half-seriously.

In the night’s main event, Nick Diaz and Marius Zaromskis battled it out in a back and forth brawl for the welterweight title. Diaz decided to stand and trade with the Lithuanian and was mostly successful utilizing his longer reach with fantastic punching combinations that set Zaromskis backpedaling. Though he was able to drop Diaz with a good hard shot once, Nick quickly recovered and got back to his feet. The kicking game of The Whitemare was effectively countered by the non-stop, in-your-face style of Diaz that proved successful with a first round TKO finish resulting from brutal head and body shots.

As Gilbert Melendez pointed out, The Cesar Gracie team now runs Strikeforce with three different fighters holding belts in three different weight classes. Jake Shields at middleweight, Gilbert Melendez at lightweight, and now Diaz at welterweight. Shields will likely lose his to Dan Henderson when they fight, but the other two may very well establish themselves as legitimate champs for the year to come. Diaz will likely face Hieron next and should be able to run through him just as easily as he did Zaromskis.

[Bobby Lashley photo by Mike Lano (c) MMATorch]

COLUMN: Smack talk confirms Brock is Back, will campaigning alongside fellow hunter Sarah Palin be next?

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:41:50 PST

By Bjorn Hansen, MMATorch columnist

It may have been Brock Lesnar fearing a colostomy bag, but it was MMA fans who were soiling their pants when they found out the UFC Heavyweight Champ may not only be out of commission for the highly anticipated bout against Shane Carwin, but possibly forever disappear from the Octagon.

After UFC 100, (much to the chagrin of Dana and others), Brock spoke his mind about Bud Light's lack of "payability," his wife's usual sex position (I knew wrestlers are programmed NEVER to be on their back, I just never knew how deeply engrained that mentality was), and how he truly feels about Frank Mir, unconscious or not.

Brock doesn't give a rat's ass about tactfulness. He's an open book, willing speak his mind and fearlessly walk the tightrope of political correctness. While a lot of the nation was still on an Obama high, Brock was boldly complaining about higher taxes. When rumors started to sprout about Brock's colossal physique, he strangely explained to us that he was "built like a black man" (whatever that's supposed to mean).

Brock is proudly and clearly conservative when it comes to his political beliefs, and it would not surprise me to see him side-by-side fellow hunter Sarah Palin, a la Chuck Norris for John McCain in 2008. Think about it, if you're trying to provide a masculine image to quell any of the "I won't vote for a female" electorate, who better than Brock? He might as well already be getting paid by the Republican Party, as he tried to catapult himself as the poster-boy for America's existing healthcare.

Brock speaks his mind and we can expect nothing to change. He's a sound-bite machine; it's the gamesmanship prowess that made him his millions in the WWE. But this isn't so much a game to Brock, as it is jagged-edged sincerity intersecting charisma and charm.

Love it or hate it, Brock is on top of the MMA world, so let's see what MMA life without Brock would have looked like.

Just go over all the dream matchups we fans came so close to forgoing:

-No Shane vs. Brock.

-No Lesnar- Mir III,

-No Brock vs. Big Nog/Cane.

-And you could have certainly forgotten about Brock vs. Fedor.

Brock is not only the UFC's biggest heavyweight (when healthy), in terms of pounds read at scale, but the UFC's biggest answer to any competitive threat.

While boxing is undergoing a recent resurgence with the return of Floyd Money Mayweather and the continued superiority of Manny Pacquio, promoters and fans alike still nostalgically reminisce the old glory days of Boxing's heavyweights, like Ali, Frasier, Foreman, or even Tyson, Holyfield, and Lewis.

While boxing' biggest draw weighs a measly 145lbs, the UFC's answer, is a heavyweight in the truest sense of the word.

Strikeforce claims they have the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. The UFC's answer? How can he be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, when he's not even the best fighter in his division.

When UFC 100 was approaching and Dana was still in "something wrong will happen today" mode, he insanely agreed to BASE jump off the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino if the UFC garnered an "outlandish" 1.5 million PPV figure. Thanks to Brock's media-gravitating, PPV-buying drawing power, we get to see tough-guy Dana screaming like a schoolgirl falling helplessly and dangerously (apparently BASE jumping is a lot riskier than the traditional jump-out-of-an-airplane skydiving.)

When the UFC needs numbers, they summon Brock. When they need a Fedor-counter, they think Brock. When boxing fans yearn for heavyweight dominance, Dana can smugly smirk and make that profanity-laced hyperbolic pitch he's so famous for and point at Brock.

So while, yes, Brock does bring WWE-like antics to the Octagon, the positives he brings to the table heavily outweigh the negatives.

At UFC 108, Paul Daley said he wanted "to be known as one of the baddest motherf---ers in the UFC."

Whereas Brock is recognized by Businessweek as merely ONE of the 100 most powerful athletes in the world, he is undeniably accepted as THE baddest motherf---er in the UFC, and unless he keeps avoiding fiber like its Obama's healthcare plan, his reign of significance and dominance will continue.

===

Bjorn "Norwegian Nightmare" Hansen is a weekly columnist for MMATorch. If you've got questions or comments, send them to: bjorn.hansen@fiu.edu...

[Brock Lesnar photo credit Koichi (c) MMATorch]

COLUMN: Why a top ten ranking system will need to be left to a top media entity and not an official MMA entity

BY JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:23:57 PST

By Jason Amadi, MMATorch columnist

If you look at any major sport in this world, there are plenty of numbers and facts that the hardcore fans love to discuss, and that participants even throw around every so often. As most fans know, the most important factoid discussed universally, among every sport is ranking.

Whether it be football, basketball, golf, there is always a way to tell who is superior through some sort of numerical hierarchy. That exists in MMA, but there is no credibility when discussing fighter rankings, because it almost always depends on whose list you're looking at.

There are certain fighters who are universally ranked at the top of their class, like Fedor, Georges St. Pierre, B.J. Penn, Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, and Jose Aldo. Beyond those select few, it becomes a complete mess.

If you follow the Welterweight Division's rankings for the past few years, for example, you'll have noticed that prior to his title shot, Jon Fitch was universally ranked number two in the world, second best to Georges St. Pierre. After his loss to GSP, he dropped to number three, while Thiago Alves, GSP's next contender, moved up to number two.

After Alves's destruction at the hands of the welterweight kingpin, the whole thing became a mess. Many rankings have him ranked number Fitch number two again; many have Alves ranked number two.

In a similar case last year, in January of 2009, Andrei Arlovski was thought to be the number two heavyweight in the world prior to his clash with Fedor Emelianenko, the world's top heavyweight. After his loss, he stayed at number two for months, until he lost to previously unranked Brett Rogers.

The whole thing is a colossal mess based mainly on individual opinion, yet every so often, you'll hear fighters in interviews make reference to how certain performances can impact their rankings, as if they were concrete, which is embarrassing for some, as often times when they talk about their ranking, hardcore fans often know that they aren't ranked in the top ten at all, among certain websites.

The only viable solution is for a governing body like the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts, to try to rank fighters, but once they got into the business of awarding championships, they lost almost all credibility, since Zuffa won't play ball with them, and they have six of the seven, number one ranked fighters in the world.

The UFC will likely never do a top ten list for each division, because they don't have all of the top ten fighters in each division under contract, despite having the majority in most cases. Also, it is unlikely any organization will ever acknowledge a top ten list on television because it would tie their hands for matchmaking purposes. It would make fights between unranked fighters seem irrelevant, and make number one contender fights like the one between Dan Hardy and Mike Swick recently seem illogical, when neither the number two nor number three fighters ranked fighters are involved.

It will likely take an already respected brand like ESPN to take a more vested interest in MMA and rank fighters in the top ten for there to be a legitimate and universally respected list. This is a shame considering the importance of rank in professional sports and the UFC's lofty goal of making MMA the number one sport in the world.

[Andrei Arlovski art credit Cory Gould (c) MMATorch]

BOOK REVIEW (pt. 4): Matt Hughes's autobiography "Made in America" - Most Fascinating, Most Boring and Missing Chapter

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:36:53 PST

By Eric Hobaugh, MMATorch Specialist

MOST BORING CHAPTER

Chapter two is the most boring chapter in the book, which is saying something, because there are several chapters that are a slow read. Typically, this early in a book, the author is setting the tone for the rest of the book. By the second chapter, you should be on the hook of the author's line.

Chapter two is where Matt Hughes is establishing his relationships with his family (mostly his brother) and begins his early high school years. He spent so much of this chapter explaining how naturally gifted he was, he missed what could have been the best chapter. He left out the awkward, sometimes fun and funny memories surrounding that time in a young person's life.

His inability to make fun of himself makes this book less fun. He does mention some of the early things he learned from his father and his first wrestling coach. He does this in a non-interesting and drawn out way making this chapter boring.

MOST FASCNATING CHAPTER

The most fascinating chapter in the book is chapter 15, in which he tells the story of his first child being born. It is funny and the most introspective chapter in the book. He reveals more about himself and his family in this really short chapter than he does in the rest of the entire book.

His wife is a straight-shooter and takes no crap from anyone, including Matt. She is one of the most fascinating people in the book, but she is only in the book briefly. This is a book about "The Most Dominant Champion in UFC History," and it is ironic that the most interesting chapter is about his wife and child.

THE MISSING CHAPTER

The missing chapter should have included more of his early fighting career and attached that to the old school UFC. It would have tied the book together nicely if Hughes had included details about the difference between the old UFC and the new UFC. It would have been nice to read how he really felt about Dana White.

Also, it would have been really interesting if he would have mentioned how he feels about fighter pay, how the judges score differently, how MMA has evolved, and anything substantial about The Ultimate Fighter television series.

CLICK HERE to read last week's third part of this book review.

NEXT WEEK...

Next week I review the Randy Couture autobiography "Becoming the Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage." Week one will be the basic book review.

===

Eric Hobaugh is the new MMATorch book reviewer. Next week he begins a four-part review of Randy Couture's book.

UFC QUOTABLES: Randy Couture jokes about the age factor in Coleman bout, unconcerned that Coleman was recent training partner

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:19:50 PST

"There's almost 100 years between us. I'm sure one of the old-age factions out there is going to get behind this fight. Maybe the Depends group. My buddies here say we should move it to Caesar's and call it the 'Geezers at Caesar's... I think it's always interesting for me to face another wrestler," Couture said. "Kevin Randleman, Mike Van Arsdale – those were interesting fights. They had a different pace. Different skillsets came into play. Wrestlers have a little bit different mindset and do things a little bit differently in a lot of situations. It becomes interesting to me, personally, to face another wrestler and see how we solve some of those problems... There are no secrets in this sport. Guys that try to keep all that tight to their vest, I think it's silly. It's a different mentality, and in the wrestling world, we don't have that. I've trained in other gyms with other teams. I've wrestled some of my best friends for a spot on the team, and someone is going home disappointed. It's a whole different mentality."

-Randy Couture talks to MMAJunkie.com about the age factor in his fight with Mark Coleman this coming weekend and isn't concerned with the fact that Coleman was a recent training partner at Xtreme Couture.

Penick's Analysis: This is certainly not the most exciting headliner to come to a UFC pay-per-view event, but it should be a very interesting bout that will go a long ways toward seeing what either of these fighters have left going forward in their mid forties. If Couture comes out with a resounding victory, the UFC will be able to put him in a Title fight without a whole lot of backlash and they'll have a good draw with "Captain America" once again fighting for a belt. If Coleman can pull this one out, and do it in more impressive fashion than we've seen from him in recent years, he'll have picked up perhaps the highest profile victory of his career.

[Randy Couture photo credit Mike Lano (c) MMATorch]

BELLATOR NEWS: Featherweight prospect Joe Warren latest addition to season two featherweight tournament; update on season two tournament rosters

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:26:57 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Bellator Fighting Championships is gearing up for their second season, set to begin this April on Fox Sports Net, in addition to highlight shows on NBC and Telemundo. With the season two debut coming up soon, the tournaments for this season in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and middleweight divisions are filling out.

The most recent signing for Bellator is former Greco-Roman wrestling Champion and highly touted prospect Joe Warren, as the organization announced his participation in their featherweight tournament on their Twitter page.

Warren burst onto the MMA landscape in 2009 in Japan's DREAM organization, defeating former WEC Bantamweight Champion Chase Beebe in his debut fight and then shocking Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto in the first two rounds of the DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix. He suffered his first defeat by armbar to eventual Grand Prix Champion Bibiano Fernandes, but he'll enter this featherweight tournament with a lot of excitement behind him.

None of the tournament rosters are quite set, but here's a rundown of Bellator's official list of fighters set for these tournaments, which will determine the number one contenders to Bellator's season 1 Champions:

Featherweight Tournament Participants

-Georgi Karakhanyan (12-1-1)

-William Romero (5-0)

-Patricio Pitbull (12-0)

-Bao Quach (17-9-1)

-Joe Warren (2-1)

Lightweight Tournament Participants

-Mike Ricci (5-0)

-Ferrid Kheder (16-5)

-Carey Vanier (7-2)

Welterweight Tournament Participants

-Steve Carl (7-1)

-Ben Askren (3-0)

-Jacob McClintock (6-0)

-Dan Hornbuckle (19-2)

-Jim Wallhead (18-5)

Middleweight Tournament Participants

-Eric Schambari (11-1)

Bellator Season Two begins on April 8th on Fox Sports Net and will run for twelve weeks.

Penick's Analysis: There's a lot to be excited for with the second season of Bellator. Last season provided some of the most exciting highlights of the MMA year, and with a wider exposure and live events instead of the tape delay from season one this will provide a very exciting weekly series of events for MMA fans in 2010.

UFC NEWS: Dan Lauzon vs. Efrain Escudero reportedly in the works for UFC 114

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:50 PST

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

An exciting lightweight matchup looks to be coming to UFC 114 in Las Vegas at the end of May, as Dan Lauzon and Ultimate Fighter season eight winner Efrain Escudero are reportedly set to face off on the card.

Lauzon himself posted on his Twitter page over the weekend about his involvement in the card, and Dan Duggan, reporter for the Boston Herald, elaborated on his own Twitter page. Per Duggan, "Just heard from a UFC source: Dan Lauzon's next fight will come at UFC 114 on May 29 against Efrain Escudero".

Both fighters were on the wrong end of impressive submissions in their last bouts, with Lauzon losing to Cole Miller at UFC 108 and Escudero losing to Evan Dunham at UFC Fight Night 20. Lauzon is still very young, yet has a number of years under his belt. A victory is necessary in this one for him, however, as he's lost both of his appearances in the Octagon.

The UFC 114 card will be the UFC's second in the month of May, and is expected to feature the grudge match between Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Penick's Analysis: This is a good matchup, and despite both fighters coming off those submission losses, both are more than capable of winning this fight. Lauzon definitely needs this win more than Escudero, as Efrain's got The Ultimate Fighter title to keep him afloat in the UFC despite a loss or two. Lauzon is a good fighter, and had finished eight straight opponents before returning to the UFC and losing that bout to Miller. Escudero's a dangerous opponent for him, and this should definitely be a fun fight.

UFC 109: RELENTLESS - Latest Fight Card

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:16:57 PST

February 6th, 2010, Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV- Pay-Per-View

Main Televised Card

-Mark Coleman vs. Randy Couture
-Nate Marquardt vs. Chael Sonnen
-Mike Swick vs. Paulo Thiago
-Demian Maia vs. Dan Miller
-Matt Serra vs. Frank Trigg

Spike TV Prelims

-Justin Buchholz vs. Mac Danzig
-Melvin Guillard vs. Ronnys Torres

Preliminary Card

-Rob Emerson vs. Phillipe Nover
-Phil Davis vs. Brian Stann
-Tim Hague vs. Chris Tuchscherer
-Joey Beltran vs. Rolles Gracie

UFC 110: NOGUEIRA VS. VELASQUEZ - Latest Fight Card

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:14:10 PST

February 21st, 2010, Acer Arena, Sydney, Australia - Pay-Per-View (February 20th live U.S. airing)

Main Televised Card

-Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez
-Michael Bisping vs. Wanderlei Silva
-George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Stevenson
-Ryan Bader vs. Keith Jardine
-Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Ben Rothwell

Preliminary Card

-Chris Haseman vs. Elvis Sinosic
-Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
-Brian Foster vs. Chris Lytle
-C.B. Dollaway vs. Goran Reljic
-Igor Pokrajac vs. James Te Huna

STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS VI: PRANGLEY VS. AMASSOU - Latest Fight Card

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:11:40 PST

February 26th, San Jose Civic Auditorium, San Jose, CA - Showtime

Rumored Fight Card:

-Karl Amoussou vs. Trevor Prangley
-Takayo Hashi vs. Sarah Kaufman (Women's 135lb. Championship)
-Paul Bradley vs. Luke Rockhold
-Tarec Saffiedine vs. James Terry
-Raul Castillo vs. Yancy Medeiros

WEC 47: BOWLES VS. CRUZ- Latest Fight Card

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:07:39 PST

March 6th, 2010, Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH - Versus

Main Televised Card

-Brian Bowles vs. Dominick Cruz (Bantamweight Championship)
-Joseph Benavidez vs. Miguel Torres
-L.C. Davis vs. Deividas Taurosevicius
-Karen Darabedyan vs. Bart Palaszewski

Preliminary Card

-Jens Pulver vs. Javier Vazquez
-Chad George vs. Scott Jorgensen
-Erik Koch vs. Chad Mendes
-Bendy Casimir vs. Ricardo Lamas
-Leonard Garcia vs. Diego Nunes
-Bryan Caraway vs. Fredson Paixao

WVR: SENGOKU RAIDEN CHAMPIONSHIPS 12 - Latest Fight Card

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:05:52 PST

March 7th, 2010, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan - HDNet

-Jorge Santiago vs. Mamed Khalidov (Middleweight Championship)
-Yuji Hoshino vs. Wilson Reis
-Kyung Ho Kang vs. Shigeki Osawa
-Maximo Blanco vs. TBA

UFC ON VERSUS 1: VERA VS. JONES - Latest Fight Card

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:03:18 PST

March 21st, 2010, The Odeum Colorado, Broomfield, CO - Versus

Main Televised Card

-Jon Jones vs. Brandon Vera
-Junior Dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
-Paul Buentello vs. Cheick Kongo
-John Howard vs. Anthony Johnson

Preliminary Card

-Spencer Fisher vs. Duane "Bang" Ludwig
-James Irvin vs. Alessio Sakara
-Shannon Gugerty vs. Clay Guida
-Eliot Marshall vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
-Chase Gormley vs. Brendan Schaub
-Rob Kimmons vs. Mike Pierce
-Jason Brilz vs. Eric Schafer

DREAM 13 - Latest Fight Card

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:01:34 PST

March 22, 2010, Yokohoma Arena, Yokohoma, Japan - HDNet

-Bibiano Fernandes vs. Joachim Hansen (DREAM Featherweight Championship)
-Ryo Chonan vs. TBA

STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS VII - Latest Fight Card

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:59:53 PST

March 26th, 2010, Save Mart Center, Fresno, CA - Showtime

Rumored Fight Card

-Andre Galvao vs. Luke Stewart
-George Bush III vs. Ron "Abongo" Humphrey
-Zoila Frausto vs. Miesha Tate
-Lavar Johnson vs. Lolohea Mahe
-Justin Wilcox vs. Bryan Travers

UFC 111: ST. PIERRE VS. HARDY - Latest Fight Card

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:56:48 PST

March 27th, 2010, Prudential Center, Newark, NJ - Pay-Per-View

Main Pay-Per-View Card

-Georges St-Pierre vs. Dan Hardy (Welterweight Championship)
-Shane Carwin vs. Frank Mir (Interim Heavyweight Championship)
-Thiago Alves vs. Jon Fitch
-Martin Kampmann vs. Ben Saunders
-Mark Bocek vs. Jim Miller

Preliminary Card

-Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Brown
-Fabricio Camoes vs. Kurt Pellegrino
-Jared Hamman vs. Rodney Wallace
-Tomasz Drwal vs. Rousimar Palhares
-Ricardo Funch vs. Matthew Riddle

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 21 - Latest Fight Card

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:54:24 PST

March 31st, 2010, Bojangles Coliseum, Charlotte, NC - Spike TV

Main Televised Card

-Kenny Florian vs. Takanori Gomi
-Roy Nelson vs. Stefan Struve
-Nate Quarry vs. Jorge Rivera
-Lucio Linhares vs. Yushin Okami

Preliminary Card

-Cole Miller vs. Andre Winner
-Ross Pearson vs. Dennis Siver
-Gleison Tibau vs. Caol Uno

BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS SEASON 2: WEEK 1 - Latest Fight Card

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:52:38 PST

April 8th, 2010, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, FL - Fox Sports Net

Rumored Fight Card:

-Jorge Masvidal vs. Toby Imada

UFC 112: SILVA VS. BELFORT - Latest Fight Card

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:50:16 PST

April 10th, 2010, Concert Arena at Ferrari World on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi - Pay-Per-View

-Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort (Middleweight Championship)
-B.J. Penn vs. Frankie Edgar (Lightweight Championship)
-Matt Hughes vs. Renzo Gracie
-Kendall Grove vs. Mark Munoz
-Rafael dos Anjos vs. Terry Etim
-DaMarques Johnson vs. TBA

STRIKEFORCE ON CBS - Latest Fight Card

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:47:53 PST

April 17th, Venue TBA, Location TBA - CBS

Rumored Fight Card:

-Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum
-Jake Shields vs. Dan Henderson (Middleweight Championship)
-Gegard Mousasi vs. TBA

WEC 48: ALDO VS. FABER - Latest Fight Card

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:46:16 PST

April 24th, 2010, Arco Arena, Sacramento, CA - Pay-Per-View

-Jose Aldo vs. Urijah Faber (Featherweight Championship)
-Benson Henderson vs. Donald Cerrone (Lightweight Championship)
-Mike Brown vs. Manvel Gamburyan