The Good:

Frankie Edgar: Frankie Edgar came into this bout as both champion and underdog.  He won the belt in a controversial decision against the man who was supposed to be an invincible killing machine at 155 lbs. and had to make lightning strike twice in order to keep it.  Edgar did just that.  He uses footwork and solid combinations to frustrate the former champ to the point he had given up halfway through the second.  For Edgar, this fight was more than just the validation of his place as champion; it was proof that new knows how to defeat BJ Penn at lightweight.

Nate Diaz: Diaz had a few rough spots in the first round against Marcus Davis, but he soon found his range and dominated “The Irish Hand Grenade” from that point forward.  Diaz used his jab and a series of well timed straight left hands to open at least two deep cuts over Davis’ right eye.  These cuts and the resulting swelling had all but closed Davis’ eye by the start of the third where Diaz continued to use his reach and speed to punish his opponent before securing a fight ending guillotine choke near the end of the third.  Diaz needed to announce his arrival to the 170 lbs division loud and clear, and that’s just what he did.

Demian Maia: There was little doubt about who was in control during Maia’s middleweight tune up bout against Mario Miranda. The Brazilian grappling ace moved seamlessly from submission attempt to submission attempt and from position to position in a brilliant display of technical submission fighting.  While Maia failed to finish his foe, he clearly displayed just how superior his ground game is to the rest of his division and more than likely has set himself up for a second meeting with one time title challenger Chael Sonnen (24-11-1).

Mario Miranda: It’s a very rare thing indeed to find a fighter who just lost his second fight in three in “the Good.”  It’s even rarer to find a fighter who’s only UFC win is over a sub par opponent listed here, but Mario Miranda showed a glimmer of excellence in his loss against Demian Maia that proves he truly belongs in the UFC.  Miranda was clearly out classed by the BJJ master, of that there is no doubt, but he did manage to do something that only one other Maia victim has managed to do.  He made it to the final bell.  Mario diligently fought submission attempts from every position and even countered the dangerous Maia on several occasions.  Hopefully, Mario gets his due from the UFC and faces an opponent more his level next.

Randy Couture: Captain America came forward to defend the honor of MMA against loud mouthed boxer James Toney and showed us all again why he is still considered one of the best in the world at age 47.  Randy launched himself at least six feet for an ankle pick within the first 30 seconds of the fight and easily snatched the WBO heavyweight champ to the floor.  Everyone expected Couture to take Toney down, but to do so in such an insulting fashion as to use an easily defended low single simply proved to hammer home the point that Toney would soon pay the piper for his trash talk.  The piper came at 3:19 of the first when Randy sealed the deal with an arm triangle from the mount.

The Bad:

Gray Maynard: Gray Maynard has finally earned the title shot he has sought for years and he did so by defeating one of the most respected lightweights in the game, Kenny Florian.  So how is it that he’s listed in the bad?  It’s simple: Gray Maynard is not and never has been a fighter.  In fact, Gray has only finished two opponents in his MMA career, amateur or professional, outside of the exhibitions he fought on TUF.  With the heat the UFC has been taking over “Rush” George St. Pierre (20-2) stalling to defend his belt and “The Spider” Anderson Silva (27-4) boring fans with childish displays of offensive indifference, Maynard’s take no risk, extremely boring style of turning MMA fights into NCAA Div. 1 wrestling matches will ensure that the first time he stumbles, he’ll never see a belt across the ring again.  Dana White will only watch his fans go for a bathroom break en masse when his champion comes out so many times before he starts pushing them into fights designed to get the belts away from them.

Marcus Davis: Davis took an almost criminal beating at the hands of Nate Diaz.  Despite his boxing credentials that should have given him the edge standing, Marcus had absolutely no answer for Diaz’s overwhelming reach advantage.  By the end of the first he had two cuts over his right eye.  Following the second, Davis looked like the elephant man as a result of the excessive swelling.  Davis has now dropped three of his last four bouts and is staring a pink slip in the face if he didn’t find one in his locker after he woke up from the guillotine that ended his night.

Kenny Florian: Kenny’s fight against Maynard was one of the worst of his career.  For the second time in his career, Kenny allowed a wrestler to control the pace of the fight and set up his takedowns for fear of the very same thing.  Kenny can beat just about any fighter in the world when he presses the action.  The problem is when you put him against a top level wrestler, he shuts down.  He is so wary of the takedown he fails to pressure his opponent into the mistakes that allow him to shine.  Florian is a far more skilled fighter than Maynard and should have easily put him away; instead, he tip-toed around the cage and let Gray pick his shots…literally.   

The Ugly:

BJ Penn: BJ Penn is the most talented lightweight in the world without question.  He is inhumanly flexible, has prodigious grappling abilities, and has remarkable striking power and accuracy.  The problem is he knows this and has known it his entire life.  The result is essentially a spoiled child.  Penn is supposed to win.  He is supposed to be the untouchable lightweight god figure.  Mortals can’t touch him.  So when one does, Penn comes out angry.  Then when coming out angry in the second doesn’t work, he shuts down from the rest of the fight.  Look at the comparison. Spoiled kid wants something, he doesn’t get it so he throws a tantrum, that doesn’t work so he pouts and looks foolish.  BJ Penn is supposed to be unstoppable, he gets out boxed in the first by Frankie Edgar so he gets pissed and comes out swinging, Edgar keeps cool and controls Penn even more thoroughly so Penn pouts the rest of the match, drops the decision and looks foolish. I’m sensing a pattern.

James Toney: James Toney combined a boxer’s unbridled arrogance and sense of superiority with a pro-wrestling heel’s offensive brand of personally insulting trash talk and a dangerous lack of foresight and intellect to become the only boxer to successfully coax both a big pay day and a vicious ass beating out of the UFC brass.  In UFC 1, Art Jimmerson (0-1) faced Royce Gracie (14-3-3) and tapped out when he realized that his career as a cruiser weight boxing champion provided him no means to escape the mount.  Sadly, the second boxer to try his hand against the MMA elite ended in the same position.  Toney is a step down from Jimmerson for two reasons: he didn’t have the intelligence to tap when he realized he didn’t have an answer for Couture’s ground skills and unlike Jimmerson, he had plenty of film and history to study before stepping in the cage.

At UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2 “The Answer” Frankie Edgar (12-1) will defend his belt against the man many felt should have retained it in their first match, “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-6-1) in front of a sold out crowd in Dana White’s hometown of Boston.  This bout is one of the most bizarre in recent memory, not because of the fight itself, but due to the circumstances surrounding it.  Edgar won the belt in a decision win that was far more questionable than many others in the past few years, yet for some reason there wasn’t the massive public outcry usually associated with bad judging.  This is mainly due to the state of shock everyone was in as a result of Penn’s incredibly lackluster performance against an opponent he was supposed to destroy. This fight has also been all but overshadowed by the hype surrounding the co-main event fight between “The Natural” Randy Couture (18-10) and “Lights Out” James Toney (0-0).  In fact, this fight may be the least talked about title fight, and certainly the least talked about title rematch, in UFC history.  Never the less it remains an interesting contest between a man widely regarded as one of the most skilled fighters in MMA history and a young champion striving to prove that the belt around his waist belongs there.   

At First Glance: Just as it was in the first fight, anyone looking at the surface of this bout sees an easy win for Penn.  BJ is easily the more well rounded fighter, and not only that, he is actually superior to Edgar in every aspect of the game.  In the first fight, Penn was stiff, slow, and passive and he still won the fight on every scorecard in the country except for the three morons who were seated at cage-side.  This time, BJ is out for blood and it appears that Edgar will be the one to shed it.

Inside and Out: Edgar is in a tough spot against Penn.  He doesn’t have the wrestling to get Penn down, he doesn’t have the grappling to survive if he gets there, and he doesn’t have the kickboxing to beat Penn on his feet.  Edgar won the first fight by stalling.  The judges stated that Edgar won because he controlled the pace and thus displayed Octagon control in a fight that was largely damage free.  With Penn fighting in his usual form, especially with a chip on his shoulder for having his belt stolen, Frankie isn’t going to be able to sit back and leg kick/jab his way to the judges table in hopes of another gift wrapped decision.  On the ground it gets worse, as Penn is an absolute monster on the mat.  BJ’s submission game is second to none and Edgar’s base isn’t strong enough to prevent “The Prodigy” from gaining the position necessary to apply those submissions.

The Wild Card: Edgar wants one thing, respect.  He won the belt, weather he deserved it or not, and the only thing anyone had to say was that he got lucky, Penn was off his game, and the judges gave him the belt.  A fighter with nothing to lose and everything to prove is a dangerous thing.  If Edgar loses, all he risks is an “I told you so” from the fans and the media.  While you will never see Edgar pull off a flying scissor heel hook, you may well see him put it all on red and gamble his belt on one all out assault.

The Verdict: Edgar desperately wants the respect he feels he’s due as champion.  Expect to see that desperation shine through as he goes for broke in an effort to put Penn away.  He knows he won’t be able to stall out another decision so that is his only option.  Also expect it to not be enough.  Penn will embarrass Edgar on the feet before putting him to sleep in whatever fashion he chooses.  More than likely, we will all see a repeat of Caol Uno (25-13-5) and “The Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (34-4-1) when Edgar launches an all out blitz and catches a knee to the chin for his trouble.  Penn by KO 1^st.

The UFC comes to Boston on Saturday, August 28 at the TD Banknorth Garden the continuation of “The Answer” Frankie Edgar (12-1) vs. “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-6-1) at UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2.  Dana White and the crew have provided the fans with a card filled with interesting fights featuring top ten fighters like Demian Maia (11-2), “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (13-4), and “The Bully” Gray Maynard (9-0), but perhaps the most interesting bout on the card is the heavyweight tilt between “Lights Out” James Toney (0-0) and ”The Natural” Randy Couture (18-10).  This bout has all but stolen the limelight from the main event lightweight title fight for a number of reasons.  The first is that this marks the first time a current major boxing title holder has stepped into the Octagon under the unified rules.  The second reason is the parallels between the two men’s careers.  Toney is a four division boxing champion and is the current IBA heavyweight champion, Couture is a former heavyweight and light-heavyweight UFC champion.  Both men have won five major titles (though Toney has also won a multitude of lesser boxing titles as well) and both men have participated in at least 15 major title bouts, and both have won three of their last five fights.  The third and perhaps most intriguing reason is that both men are at very similar places in their careers.  At 42 and 47 years of age, both fighters have proven ageless but most certainly feel fangs of time snapping at their heels, and it has shown in their most recent performances.  While this fight is certainly not the top pound for pound boxer vs. the top pound for pound MMA fighter, it is also far from the failing fighter switching sports to get a few more novelty fight pay days.  Here we have two fighters who may be facing the twilight of their careers, but are still very relevant in their respective sports.

At First Glance: The obvious pick in this fight depends entirely on who you ask.  Any boxing fan will point out that Toney has been fighting 10 and 12 round fights for the past two decades and is five years younger than Couture.  This would imply that Toney will stay fresh longer.  They would also say that while “Lights Out” was never known as a one shot power puncher, he certainly hits harder than most MMA fighters and Randy has been known to lack a strong chin.  Ask a long time MMA fan on the other hand and you’ll see the vast holes in Toney’s fight game pointed out.  He has only six months of wrestling training, no where near enough to stop an Olympic level Greco-Roman specialist like Couture.

Inside and Out: Randy Couture has a vast number of ways to win this fight where Toney has only one.  To make matters worse for Toney, he was never an offensive boxer.  Toney’s striking is a rolling counter punching style that relies on the openings created by his opponent’s attacks.  This works strongly in Randy’s favor.  As long as he looks for the clinch and the takedown and doesn’t get it in his head to try and box the boxer, Randy should have no trouble picking and choosing his shots.  A more aggressive boxer like Mike Tyson or Vitali or Wladimir Klitschko would be a far more dangerous opponent for Couture.  As it is, even if Toney had trained wrestling for six years instead of six months, he will have no answer for Captain America’s takedown and clinch assault and he certainly won’t be able to rely on counter boxing to stop it.

The Wild Card: James Toney is certainly not an opponent to be taken as lightly as the majority of MMA fans believe.  While Randy is certainly the more well rounded fighter, he has a glass jaw that has only grown more fragile with time.  Toney may not be  known as a power puncher, but he hits more than hard enough to turn out Couture’s lights if he lands.  Randy has shown a tendency to box his way into the clinch that may provide the counter punch opportunity Toney needs, the same way it provided “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-8) the opening he needed to KO Randy, twice.

The Verdict: On August 28, it will be Randy’s game plan that decides the night.  If he decides to dance Toney’s dance for any length of time, he will wake up staring at the lights.  However, Randy is known as a master strategist and this will certainly not be the case.  Look for “The Natural” to put on a wrestling clinic that ends in something that falls along the same lines as when he spanked “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-7-1) at UFC 44 before securing the TKO victory early in the fight.  Don’t take your eyes off Toney’s right hand as it always has the potential to end the fight, but don’t place your money on it doing so either.  Randy Couture by TKO in the 2^nd.

Saturday, August 28 the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston will host the lightweight title rematch between “The Answer” Frankie Edgar (12-1) and “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-6-1) at UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2. The card features an all star cast including boxing legend “Lights Out” James Toney (0-0), UFC Hall of Fame member and five time multi-divisional UFC champion “The Natural” Randy Couture (18-10), middleweight BJJ ace Demian Maia (11-2), and a lightweight bout between one-time title challenger “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (13-4) and undefeated decision machine “The Bully” Gray Maynard (9-0). Maynard has been campaigning for a title shot for some time now and supports his request with a seven fight win streak that includes names like “El Matador” Roger Huerta (21-4-1), “The Mongoose” Jim Miller (17-2), TUF season five winner Nate Diaz (11-6), and current lightweight belt holder Frankie Edgar. To earn the shot he’s after, he will have to get past “KenFlo”, a man who has finished all but one of the opponents he has faced in his 12 UFC victories. The two men have both maintained active schedules, fighting at least three times a year since 2007, and both men have proven very dominate over fighters of every style and background.

At First Glance: Right out of the gate this match looks bad for Gray Maynard. While both men have an impressive collection of high profile wins, Kenny Florian has finished every opponent he has defeated in the UFC except for Roger Huerta; Maynard hasn’t finished since September 2007. Also, Kenny Florian has had little trouble with wet blanket wrestlers like Maynard. In fact his sole loss against a wrestler came at the hands of “The Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (33-4-1), who was later busted for steroid use, in 2006. Maynard, on the other hand, has shown a weakness against skilled submission grapplers, often relying on creating scrambles to avoid sweeps and maintain top control.

Inside and Out: This fight is Florian’s to lose. In the past three years, he has faced two stand out wrestlers in recent history, “The Carpenter” Clay Guida (27-11) and “Daddy” Joe Stevenson (31-10), both of whom he finished easily within the halfway mark. He also survived to see the championship rounds against BJ Penn, arguably the best ground fighter in the sport. Add to this Florian’s razor sharp elbows and far superior stand-up and the future looks even darker for Maynard. Gray has also struggled to control skilled grapplers in the past. Against “No Love” Rich Clementi (37-16-1), a mediocre fighter at best, Maynard spent the entire fight defending sweeps and leg locks. He maintained top control and won the decision, but was unable to mount any significant offense during the bout. He had similar issues with Jim Miller. “KenFlo” is a grappler well beyond the kin of these men and has shown an ability to do real damage from the bottom as well. That doesn’t bode well for “The Bully.”

The Wild Card: Gray’s ability to create and win scrambles is always a factor. Several fighters with much more well rounded skill sets and many more offensive weapons have fallen to Maynard. His wrestling and his ability to turn sweeps and submission attempts into brief, fast paced positional battles allow him to use his athleticism to maintain top control against more skilled opponents. Gray has more than enough stamina to scramble all night and if he can prevent Kenny from controlling him from the bottom, he can grind out a damage free decision.

The Verdict: This fight comes down to Maynard’s ability to adapt. Against a fighter with the grappling skill of Florian, he won’t be able to rely on wrestling alone as he has for his entire career. Keeping the fight on the feet favors Florian as well as he has far superior striking to “The Bully.” Unless Maynard has some how managed to develop either world class striking or GSP level top control ground and pound since January he has no chance of scrambling his way to his typical wet blanket decision. Look for Florian to cut Maynard, take his back, and put him to sleep. Florian by RNC in the Second.

If there’s a true underdog in this Saturday night’s lightweight title fight it is “The Answer” Frank Edgar (12-1-0). This may seem strange to some because in his first matchup with “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-6-1) Edgar was able to defeat a man who has dominated his division for the past three years. Now Edgar has the unfortunate position of having to prove his worth by defeating Penn for a second time.

There was some controversy on the Penn side during the aftermath of their first encounter as Edgar thought that Gray Maynard should have the first shot at his title. Seeing as how the only loss on Edgar’s record is to Maynard one could see how he would think defending his title against Maynard and not Penn would be warranted. This is an argument that truly can be seen from either side, however the problem is that Edgar’s opinion on this issue has created one of the most feared creatures in MMA; a motivated BJ Penn.

In their first fight Frankie was able to do everything right. He was able to look at Penn’s most recent fights and avoid the pitfalls that Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez were victim to. He first established his standup game by using superior footwork to get the better of standup exchanges. By establishing his standup game and was able to avoid playing into Penn’s counter-punching style. Diego Sanchez attempted 27 takedowns against Penn and was unsuccessful with every attempt. Edgar attempted takedowns but abandoned them quickly if he saw they weren’t working. By not wasting energy on wrestling Penn to the ground Edgar was able to last longer into the championship rounds while staying light on his feet.

Frank Edgar will be stepping into the octagon with a very different opponent this Saturday at UFC 118. He may have seen the face of his opponent before more than likely will have not seen the skillset. Penn was not one to create excuses for his performance but multiple sources from in and around his camp stated that he didn’t enter the bout completely healthy. Frank Edgar will have a solid gameplan against Penn and he already has the psychological edge of defeating him once. The longer the fight goes the better it is for Edgar and if he can weather the storm that is BJ Penn early he might be able to pull off yet another upset.

For MMA Gospel’s new Technique of the Week segment, we called on 5^th dan Hapkido black belt Ed Perdomo and his student and assistant instructor John Rodriguez to provide our readers not just with quality grappling techniques they can take with them to the cage, but with those finer points that make specialists out of the merely proficient.  Over the next three weeks we will cover not just three techniques from the guard, but the small refinements that take them to the next level and how to chain those techniques together.  This week, Ed Perdomo demonstrates how to gain head control and establish an armbar from the closed guard.

We start with John in Ed’s closed guard preparing to rain down punches. Ed keeps his head off the mat and his hands at the ready to defend against John’s attack.

John attacks with a right punch and Ed defends by deflecting the blow across his body with his left hand while simultaneously sitting up to gain head control by hooking his right hand behind John's Head.

Take special note of Ed's arm position. With his elbow placed tightly inside John's upper arm, it traps John's arm against his thigh, making it difficult for John to pull the arm free to strike.

Here we see the incorrect arm position. With Ed's elbow outside of John's upper arm, he no longer has any means of preventing John from freeing his arm and continuing his ground and pound attack.

After gaining head control, Ed moves quickly for the armbar. He first controls John's right wrist, opens his guard and posts his left foot against John's right hip.

Ed next uses the head control he established with his right hand to both pivot his hips and push John's head to the outside.

After turning his hips, Ed brings his left leg around John's head, isolating the arm. Notice that he maintains head control until he begins squeezing his knees together. Another common mistake is to release the head control as the leg is brought around in a rush to finish the technique. By retaining control of the head until the armbar is set, Ed ends up with a much tighter submission that is more difficult to defend.

To finish the submission, Ed squeezes his knees together hard without crossing his feet, slides his right hand back to John's wrist, and extends his hips. Hand position is extremely important. John's thumb should by pointed upwards away from Ed's chest to insure maximum pressure against the joint.

Recap:

1. Gain head control, making sure that you tuck the elbow of the controlling arm inside of your opponents bicep.
2. Take control of your opponents wrist on the opposite side from the side where you have control.
3. Post your foot against your opponents hip on the side where you established wrist control.
4. Turn on your hips moving your head towards the side where you established head control while simultaneously pushing your opponents head towards your hips.
5. While maintaining head control, bring the leg you posted with around your opponents head, isolating the arm.
6. Squeeze your knees together without crossing your feet, release head control, and move the hand up to your opponents wrist.
7. Make sure your opponents thumb is pointed away from you and extend your hips to elicit the tap or the snap.

Next week, we will cover how to counter your opponent with a triangle choke if he manages to defend this armbar. Just as in striking, submissions are more successful when used as part of a combination. Often a fighter misses a submission then moves back to the starting position to try again, much like throwing punches one at a time. Even in weekly video lessons on submission fighting, rarely do the instructors link their techniques together and MMA schools often follow suit. The MMA Gospel Technique of the Week will always be part of a chain, giving our readers not only detailed instruction on individual submissions, but instruction on how to chain them together as a lethal combination of fight ending attacks.

*Ed Perdomo is a 5th degree black belt in the Korean grappling art of Hapkido and is head instructor of the Hapkido Institute in Morris, Il.

UFC 118 is this weekend along with the UFC Fan Expo in Boston. The UFC is headed to Boston this week for a full schedule of events and extra special coverage of the UFC Fan Expo!  Don’t miss Saturday’s live keynotes from UFC President Dana White, UFC Hall of Fame favorite Chuck Liddell, and a fun filled hour with “So You Think You’re Smarter Than a UFC Octagon Girl?” streaming live from the Expo floor leading up the main event of the evening UFC 118 EDGAR vs. PENN 2.

Here is the schedule of events and with the live stream following the break:

Wednesday 8.25.2010

UFC® 118 EDGAR vs PENN 2 Pre-Fight Press Conference – Faneuil Hall Boston, MA

LIVE STREAM: 12:00pm PT (3:00pm ET)

Friday 8.27.2010

UFC® 118 EDGAR vs PENN 2 Official Weigh-In – TD Garden Boston, MA

LIVE STREAM: 1:00pm PT (4:00pm ET)

Saturday 8.28.2010

UFC® Fan Expo Special Coverage – John B. Hynes Convention Center Boston, MA

LIVE STREAM: 10:00am – 1:00pm PT (1:00pm – 4:00pm ET)

EVENT NIGHT

UFC® 118 EDGAR vs PENN 2 Post Fight Press Conference – TD Garden Boston, MA

LIVE STREAM: Approximately 10:30pm PT (1:30am ET)

Underdog and BJ Penn in the lightweight division are typically two things that aren’t necessarily synonomous. However at UFC 118 the lightweight title will be on the line when “The Answer” Frank Edgar (12-1-0) faces off against “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-6-1) and Penn won’t be the one defending it. Penn lost the title in a shocking five round decision lost against Edgar when the two first met at UFC 112 admist a small wave of controversy mostly spawned by Penn believing that he didn’t necessarily lose every round.

Before meeting Frank Edgar in April, BJ Penn was on a five fight winning streak in the UFC lightweight division. He was arguably the best lightweight in world, and some will contend that losing to Edgar did not change this. Penn has the ability to make his opponents look amateurish similar to how some say Anderson Silva makes his opponents look. Penn uses superior handspeed and footwork in order keep his opponents at bay and typically outstrikes whomever he steps in the ring with. His flexibility and proficiency in Brazilian jiu jitsu makes most opponents unwilling to go to the ground with him. When BJ Penn is healthy it’s difficult to determine any lightweight fighter that is able to beat him.

In order for BJ Penn to win his fight on Saturday he’s going to have to come in 100% healthy. He’s also going to have outbox Edgar and it might even be to his advantage to put the fight on the ground at some point to establish dominance in all aspects of the fight. Typically Penn is content to sit back and counter-punch with his opponents and thwart their attempts to take him down, however on Saturday I think he would best service himself by attacking Edgar and moving forward and attempting to keep him off balance.

Penn entered the first match-up a little apprehensive with an apparent knee injury that prevented him from performing at his peak. This is not an excuse for Penn because Edgar had a dynamic performance and was the better man in their first encounter. If Penn can show up Saturday at his best, I have no doubt he will not only win the fight, but make it a short night for Frank Edgar.

Gino DiGiulio get his hand raised following a unanimous decision victory over Shane Camp at G2 Fight Night 3 (Photo: Mallory Mejia/MMA Gospel)

On Saturday, August 21, 2010 staff photographer Mallory Mejia and I attended G2 Fight Nights: “Fight Night 3” in Tinley Park Illinois.  G2 promoter Breea Gilbert provided a 12 fight card that was both efficiently run and well matched.  They provided the estimated 700 people in attendance a professional quality show with a party atmosphere, but the promotion wasn’t without its failings.  Gilbert Grappling (G2) provided the majority of the blue corner bracket, and that’s usually a big issue.  When the promoter’s own camp provides the majority of the fighters it’s hard to believe they’re impartial. However, G2 had the good sense to use an outside matchmaker to book their fights which allowed them to book their own fighters without being open to accusations of favoritism.  They also lack the validation of an outside sanctioning and officiating body and, though they went to great lengths to ensure that they provided impartial officiating for every bout, there were some judging mishaps which could have been avoided with the use of an outside sanctioning body. The show itself was a bit overdone, with money spent on dance platforms for go-go dancers, projection screens, and a film crew that had the sole purpose of feeding the fights directly to the projection screens. While the whole of the production was centered on bringing attention to the fighters (exactly how an amateur show should be focused) these elements could have been scaled down to provide funds that were lacking in more important areas.  G2 provided pre-recorded video interviews with each fighter at the weigh-ins that played on the large projection screens prior to the fighters walk out music hitting the speakers and ensured that ring girls, vendors, and other members of the production were ghosts during walk outs, interviews, and more importantly, fights.  I simply believe that they could have done just as well with half as many dancers and one projection screen.  We know that the fans had nothing but good things to say about G2, but what does MOMMIE have to say?

Dr. Sam Wurster preforms a pre-fight physical. His medical team is one of the best in amateur MMA. (Photo: Mallory Mejia)

Medical: The medical staff at G2 is a cut above.  Led by Dr. Sam Wurster, who is a sports medicine specialist and the preferred doctor for the Combat Consultants sanctioning organization, the team included an LPN to assist and two paramedics, including one who exclusively covers mixed martial arts on weekends.  With four men who have worked over 100 bouts together, the medical care is far beyond the kin of your average amateur promotion.  Fighters were given full physicals including an eye exam, balance test, and complete medical history before the fights and were required to report for post-fight screenings or face suspension with every major sanctioning body in the area.  If you get injured fighting for G2, you know you’re in good hands.

Officiating: G2 brings in area judges and referees through their own connections.  While they don’t use an outside sanctioning body to insure impartiality in their officials, the quality of the referee was top class.  Jay Estrada was the third man in the cage for every bout on August 21 and he proved to be the single best referee I have seen in an amateur show.  Fighters who knew a few of the tricks that often allow them to slip illegal strikes by the average ref, even at the pro level, found themselves being chastised by the hawk-eyed Estrada.  On blatant infractions, Jay didn’t hesitate to take a point.  In fact, he took two points in the first bout from a fighter with no warning due to two separate intentional fouls, then ensured the fighter he faced disqualification on his next infraction, intentional or otherwise.  Stoppages were prompt but never early and Estrada was safety conscious in the best manner, stopping one bout due to armbar to prevent a stubborn fighter from having his arm shattered.  The judging was less impressive.  While all four decisions ended with the proper hand being raised, there were questionable round scorings on each decision.  Also, there was an issue in fact that G2 unknowingly had one judge who was closely affiliated with a camp that provided four fighters on the card.  Only two bouts involving the camp made it to decision and his scores were decidedly in their favor.  In the match between “The Axe” Matt Brax and “Ill” Will Brooks, the two other judges and I saw a cut and dry 29-28 score for Brooks with Brax clearly winning the first.  The judge in question scored all three rounds for Brooks.  The second bout featuring this camp to make the distance, a fight between 0-0 Eric Black and 3-5 Kevin Switella, ended in a majority decision for Black; the same judge scored it a draw with the first round going 10-10 despite the fact that Black landed nearly three times the number of standing strikes in a round that never hit the mat.  Luckily, this judging oversight didn’t change the outcome of any fights.  Hopefully this motivates G2 to involve an outside consulting or sanctioning firm to ensure impartial judging in the future or to at least look deeper into the backgrounds of their judges.

Matchmaking: G2 hired an outside matchmaker to book the bouts for their card.  This was an incredibly good move as it takes any validity away from those who complain that they book fights that favor their own fighters, who made up almost one third of the total fight roster.  Of the 12 total fights on the card, only one seemed to be slightly off kilter when a fighter with eight bouts faced first time fighter, and even that bout turned out to be very evenly matched.  This card showed something every amateur promoter should see: the value of using a knowledgeable outside matchmaker who makes it his business to research the fighters before he pairs them. Any fighter who plans on fighting for G2 can count on a fair booking as long as they keep using the matchmaker they used on the 21st.

Juilian Gonzalez tries to recover after an intentional illegal knee from Jeremy Rone. Referee Jay Estrada wasted no time deducting a point. (Photo: Mallory Mejia)

Media: G2 certainly needed more exposure in the local media outlets.  While they have been covered previously by Sports Page magazine and Chicagomma.net, I believe additional advertisement and an effort to reach out to more local news sources would have greatly benefited G2, both in terms of continued growth and ticket sales for that night.  As it was, MMAGospel.com was the only media source that covered the event on August 21, 2010.  G2 did a very good job of putting focus on the fighters, but with the lack of outside media coverage for the promotion itself, they fly under the radar of the majority of regional professional organizations.  Money that was spent on dancers and other peripherals could have been put to better use garnering attention for the promotion.

Insurance: G2 provided their fighters with a comprehensive medical insurance that covered any treatment that wasn’t covered by the fighters own health plan.  This is more important than any other issue to an amateur fighter.  There is no money involved with an amateur fight; he risks his health for nothing but the chance to test his skills.  This means that a fighter who gets seriously injured in an amateur bout could be out thousands of dollars, a career as a fighter, or even his current job if he has to take several days or weeks off due to the injury.  Good fighter insurance ensures that the injured man at least doesn’t have to worry about paying for costly doctor visits or emergency procedures.

Exposure: The second area where G2 fell short was in the exposure department.  As I previously mentioned, the only media presence was MMAGospel.com and we were there to cover the promotion itself.  There was no presence from professional promotions, no scouts, and no local media to provide exposure for the fighters on the card.  Also, as is common with any card dominated by one team, especially if the promoter is affiliated with that camp, the crowd was extremely biased towards specific fighters to the point of hostility towards their opponents.  This means that if there are scouts, fighting against the home team will result in a biased opinion against you from the start as the crowd reacts strongly to the successes of their favored fighters.  More exposure for the promotion to provide a larger, less biased crowd would do worlds to correct this but its all for nothing if the eyes and ears of the bigger pro shows aren’t there to see it.  On the plus side, G2 is very diligent about reporting their fight results to mixedmartialarts.com which provides solid proof of your fight history to show professional promoters.

Kenny Farmer patiently defends Nathan Walkers arm-in guillotine attempt. (Photo: Mallory Mejia)

In the end, G2 proved itself to be a very reputable organization and is the perfect place to start your mixed martial arts career.  The fair matchmaking, excellent referee, and exceptional medical coverage make it a great place to safely cut your teeth without having to worry about blowing a big chance with the regional pro shows.  They provide top quality accommodations for traveling fighters and an efficiently run, professional quality show.  The promoter is open and honest about all aspects of the organizations practices and I have no doubt that, judging from what was only their third show, they will soon be one of best amateur promotions in the region.  As it stands, I strongly recommend G2 Fight Nights for any small fight camp or new fighter who needs a place where they can get cage experience before facing fighters from bigger camps with more pull in the area.   

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