Hector Lombard Victorious at Bellator 24 (Photo: http://www.tomhillphotos.com)
Last night at Bellator 24 we witnessed the current welterweight champion Hector Lombard (24-2-1) win via knock out in just 38 seconds over former NFL running back Whisper Goodman (16-9). Hector is an impressive fighter with only two defeats both coming by way of decision. A champion of his caliber should not be fighting a Whisper Goodman and it leads me to wonder if the best years of his career are being wasted.
Ground and Pound is a method that has been used since the early days of MMA. It was used in many victories by Mark Coleman, and some could argue that it was perfected by Tito Ortiz who added the submission defense factor in order to combat against the occasional tricky Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specialist. Today the ground and pound has evolved into something that has to be used in a lot more calculating manner than it ever has before. Today’s ground and pound has been combined with not only submission defense but with technical grappling, fighters that use this style are typically described as using a “grinding pace” or “willing to grind it out”. This style has pros and cons.
Tim Kennedy is no stranger to the readers of this site and those that tune in regularly to MMA Gospel Radio. He has been a guest on the show twice and each time there was never a dull moment. From signing Culture Club to talking about the Navy SEALS and why they suck. Now thanks to Ranger Up we get introduced to Tim Kennedy through this video which shows a slightly different side of Tim. I will warn you now, those that always talk about fighters “going to war” will probably never use that term again after watching this and seeing the look in Tim’s eyes.
This Friday, August 13, live on SHOWTIME from Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona will be the first ever Strikeforce women’s tournament. After the break is a graphic introducing you to the four women who will be stepping inside the cage looking to walk away the winner with the chance to face current Women’s Welterweight (135 pounds) Champion Sarah Kaufman.
“This isn’t going to be a war. This is going to be a one-sided pounding and I’m swinging the hammer.” Chael Sonnen (24-11-1) spoke these words and many others in the weeks leading up to a bout he built almost single handedly into a super fight with pound for pound kingpin “The Spider” Anderson Silva (27-4). For these words, he was almost universally mocked across the MMA blogosphere. Those same MMA bloggers and pundits were struck completely speechless on August 7, 2010 at UFC 117 when Sonnen made good on his promises. In this edition of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, we examine the fallout from UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen from the 12 lbs of gold that so narrowly evaded Chael Sonnen to what may be the last hoorah for “Pitbull” Thiago Alves (16-7) in the welterweight division. Who were the real winners of UFC 117 and who did more damage to their careers than the most one-sided of losses and what lies in store for the men who entered the Octagon in Oakland, California last Saturday night? Continue reading »
Photos by Todd Townsend of DeadlyFighter.com
On Friday August 6 The Combat Fight League brought an incredible 7 bout amateur event to West Coast Jiu Jitsu in Oxnard, California with “Ground Zero”, the debut event for the brand new Combat Fight League. CFL founder Julius Mojica and West Coast Jiu Jitsu owner Brian Espinosa packed 400 MMA fans into Brian’s West Coast JJ center that is slated to host most of the CFL’s Ventura County events. At about 3,000 square feet the venue was packed to standing room only with fans and MMA celebs alike who were clearly impressed with a 7 bout card that had many over heard saying “best event I have seen this year”. Continue reading »
“The Voice” Michael Schiavello presents us with the third installment of “The Voice Vs” as he interviews “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz. Tito is never shy and always has some interesting if not controversial things to say. That topped with Michaels’s ability to draw out the tough answers no one else seems to be able to get has me salivating at the thought of how great this could be. So sit back and check out the short 30 second preview of “The Voice Vs. Tito Ortiz” and then watch on August 20 when it premieres on HDNet.
UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva refuses to face off with opponent Chael Sonnen at the UFC 117 weigh-in at Oracle Arena on August 6, 2010 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
On August 7, 2010, the man many believe is the best pound for pound fighter in the world will step into the UFC Octagon to defend his middleweight championship against a man who may be the best pound for pound trash talker in the world. In a much anticipated title fight that has personal stamped on it in bright red block letters, number two ranked middleweight and agitator extraordinaire Chael Sonnen (24-10-1) will face the man many fans all but disowned after his petulant display at UFC 112, “The Spider” Anderson Silva (26-4). This fight is an absolute stroke of genius on the part of Zuffa LLC. With many fans turned off to Anderson after shelling out 50 of their hard earned dollars to watch him dance, skip, and run around the ring as he mocked the clearly outclassed Damien Maia (11-2), the UFC needed someone to sell this fight and hopefully light a fire under their prima donna champion. The perfect man was Chael Sonnen. Between pundits arguing about weather or not Chael deserved the shot and Chael’s own mastery of auditory antagonism; fans have not stopped talking about this fight since it was announced shortly after Anderson defeated Maia. The question we are all left to answer is “Has Chael Sonnen bitten off more than he can chew?” Continue reading »
UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen brings the Ultimate Fighting Championship back to California’s Oracle Arena in Oakland for a night of fights that could potentially shake the foundations of every division in the promotion. In addition to the obvious implications of the middleweight title affair between incumbent champ “The Spider” Anderson Silva (26-4) and verbally antagonistic wrestler Chael Sonnen (24-10-1) and the number one heavyweight contender showdown between “Big Country” Roy Nelson (15-4) and “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (11-1), Dana White and Joe Silva have provided the MMA community with a long awaited welterweight rematch between former GSP victims Jon Fitch (21-3) and “Pitbull” Thiago Alves (16-6). The pair first crossed paths in 2006 at UFC Fight Night 5 where Fitch managed to stop the then 22 year old American Top Team standout in the second round due to strikes. Since that time, Alves has been on fire, winning seven of his last eight with five of those wins coming by way of TKO or referee stoppage. Fitch has won nine of the ten since he last saw Alves, but he has only managed to finish two of those opponents. Brought to this point by two very different paths, this meeting between old rivals promises to be a barn burner that any fan would love as Fitch pits his smothering top control and grinding ground-n-pound against the brutal Thai assault of “Pitbull.” Continue reading »
For the second time in seven days, the UFC returns to California for UFC117: Silva vs. Sonnen at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. Amidst a card that features every one from the best pound for pound fighter in the world, “The Spider” Anderson Silva (26-4) to hall of fame fighter Matt Hughes (42-7) we find a lightweight gem between the “The Carpenter” Clay Guida (26-11) and Rafael dos Anjos (15-3). The two lightweights are firmly entrenched in the middle of the light weight pack with Guida having shown a tendency to be outclassed by upper tier competition and dos Anjos still trying to repair the damage done to his title dreams by losing his first two UFC bouts. The match up is an interesting one that pits Guida’s soul draining style of top pressure wrestling and ground-n-pound against Rafael’s advanced level jiu-jitsu and leg kick oriented counter boxing. The result should be a fairly exciting bout that propels one man back into lightweight relevance. Continue reading »
In the past two years Dana White has been able to change the UFC’s heavyweight division from bloated and overrated, to relevant and exciting. UFC 117 promises just that, a relevant and exciting bout between top contenders. When “Big Country” Roy Nelson (15-4-0) faces off against rapidly rising knockout artist “Cigano” Junior Dos Santos (11-1-0) much more will be revealed about the depth of the UFC heavyweight division. While Roy Nelson is quite obviously the seasoned veteran and former IFL champion he will face his toughest test yet against a very game Dos Santos.
If you ever need a bathroom break during a UFC event the most innappropriate time to go would be during a Junior Dos Santos fight. He has had only one fight go past the first round in his career and that was mostly because Mirko “Cro Cop” wasted a lot of time not engaging Dos Santos in their fight. In this fight I saw no issues with the cardio nor the takedown defense of Dos Santos. He was able to keep the fight standing, and go into the later rounds without slowing down. I mention all of this because this is more than likely the situation he will face when it comes to Roy Nelson.
Nelson will more than likely be looking for the takedown with Dos Santos, but don’t look for this to turn into another Leites-Silva matchup. Nelson has a capable standup game and as long as he believes he can stand with Dos Santos this is where he’ll be most vunerable. If Dos Santos does what he is good at and uses his power and ability to throw “punches in bunches” he will be able to put Nelson away quickly and with relative ease.
This fight will be a true test of Junior Dos Santos as a mixed martial artist. We already know that he can knock people out seemingly at will however we haven’t seen extensive use of his brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I’m sure many fans would love to see Dos Santos show another dimension of his MMA game in a submission victory over Nelson. He will have the opportunity to show his skill, if he chooses to engage Nelson if and when the fight goes to the ground. In past fights we have seen Dos Santos stand up quickly when put on the ground and more so look to keep the fight standing with superior takedown defense. Both fighters have skills on the ground and standing so there is no guarantee as to where the fight stays on Saturday.
I truly believe that if Dos Santos can effectively stifle Nelson’s takedowns then the fight will stay standing. He will more than likely settle into his bread and butter game and stand and bang with Nelson. If Dos Santos can execute this gameplan, I believe he can edge out Nelson on the scorecards if not put him away early.
Walking through the front door of the 7,000 square foot Fight Academy at 61 Valley Street in the tony, Mercedes filled neighborhood of South Pasadena, California I was immediately struck by two things; the cool urban feel of the graffiti art on the walls and the hip hop tracks playing in the background. It was clear the Fight Academy was different from the standard Dojo or gym layout that many of us are familiar with. This was not the generic, white walled, mall location Karate Academy full of heavy bags. It is instead a large converted industrial warehouse with 20 foot ceilings and exposed beams. The cavernous space holds a regulation MMA cage, two boxing ring style practice areas, heavy bags, a massive mat area fills the center of the floor with the cardio equipment at the back.
Team Australia's Joey Luciano lands a kick to the body of Team USA's Alex White. (Photo: Mallory Mejia)
On July 31, 2010, the Mixed Martial Arts Sport Federation in collaboration with Team Z Martial Arts came to Bridgeview, IL’s Toyota Center for the international amateur MMA competition Team USA vs. The World. With such a prestigious sounding event on the pass for amateur fighters, MMA Gospel absolutely had to attend. When I arrived, I found a very unusual animal indeed. The production reminded me of a 1970’s boxing event, complete with shills in the crowd raising chants for the home team and an early focus on the accolades and achievements of promoter Rob Zbilski. Each team was brought out one at a time to hear the presentation of their respective country’s national anthem, after which three separate martial arts masters took turns introducing the promoter before he made a short speech. The overall production of the fights was nothing short of top class, but there were a few elephants in the living room that I feel must be addressed. Continue reading »
Just six short days after UFC on Versus 2, the UFC returns in force with a card that shows just how deep the promotion’s roster is. UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen in Oakland, California features top talent in every UFC division including “Pitbull” Thiago Silva (15-2), Matt Hughes (42-7), “Cacharrao” Ricardo Almeida (12-3), “The Carpenter” Clay Guida (26-11), Chael Sonnen (24-10-1), and “The Spider” Anderson Silva (26-4) in addition to a stellar heavyweight bout between “Big Country” Roy Nelson (15-4) and “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (11-1). The fight between Nelson and dos Santos will not only answer the lingering questions about both men as top competitors but will also determine the next challenger for the UFC heavyweight crown. Nelson, a Renzo Gracie black-belt and former member of Ken Shamrock’s Lion’s Den, comes into the Octagon fresh off a 39 second blow-out KO of “Skyscraper” Stefan Struve (16-4) after winning The Ultimate Fighter season 10. Junior dos Santos, a dangerous KO artist out of the Nogueira brothers’ elite Blackhouse camp, brings with him a 5-0 UFC record, all by TKO or KO and all but one in the first round. The questions surrounding both men involve the quality of competition. “Cigano” has only faced two ground specialists, both of which had a synaptic misfire that resulted in them deciding to stand with the Brazilian bomber. “Big Country” hasn’t faced a fighter with any claim to the top twenty since he got leveled by “The Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (14-8) in 2008. On August 7, 2010, we will see the true measure of both men. Continue reading »
While a lot of people are focused on the hype that is surrounding the main event at UFC 117, there are several interesting subplots that are developing and gathering steam. I’m sure I could spend plenty of time discussing each one of them but for now I’d like to focus on one. In the heavyweight division “Big Country” Roy Nelson (15-4-0) will be facing off against “Cigano” Junior Dos Santos (11-1-0) in a bout that will determine the next contender for the heavyweight belt. Many people are looking at this as another opportunity for Dos Santos to tee off on yet another opponent however this bout is quite possibly the most dangerous in his career.
