Thank You, ICE President!

How do you compensate someone who was critical in the building of a billion dollar company and did so with literally his blood, sweat and tears, and then with some more blood? Making him an executive after retiring from fighting is one way. Another way, and more appropriate, would be to give him a small piece of the company AND the aforementioned executive position. Zuffa would never be that generous, we know that, but what Chuck has contributed to the growth and development of the UFC is immeasurable monetarily. It was that HUGE. Remove Chuck Liddell from the history of the UFC and from the sport of mixed martial arts itself and you don't have quite the juggernaut that they've both become, period!

The Iceman is one the very few fighters that has transcended the sport and become a mainstream personality. He was spilling blood, his own and other's, in the Octagon long before Zuffa owned the company or was involved in the sport. When you talk about pioneers in the game, Chuck's mohawked dome is at or near the tip, tip, top of the list. To me, he's right behind Royce Gracie, only because Royce came before him, but has contributed 100x's what Royce has to the company directly. Royce and the Gracie family undoubtedly made a much bigger contribution to the evolution of martial arts as a whole, but Chuck carried the UFC on his shoulders for the better part of a decade. The one time Zuffa let one of their fighters represent them in another promotion, who did they send to Japan to fight in PRIDE? Yup, Chuck! To this day he is by far the most recognized figure in the sport worldwide, bar none.

Sure, Chuck's career ended with a rough stretch of fights, but in his prime and for the bulk of his storied career, he was an absolute beast of a fighter. His chin took a few too many shots, and as any fan of combat sports knows, once you start getting KO'd later on in your career, it becomes a re-occurring problem. If you look at the knockouts Chuck took towards the end, they weren't at the fists of slouches. Shogun is the current champion and arguably a Top 3 pound for pound fighter in the world. Rampage and Rashad both have serious power and are both still in title contention. Rich Franklin is still a very viable fighter at this point. What's amazing is that Chuck was more than holding his own, arguably winning, in all those fights up until getting caught with those shots that had him waking up staring at the lights. Once your chin is done, your chin is done, and if you're smart, so is your career. Chuck is many things, smart being at the top of the list.

At a minimum, Zuffa owed Chuck the front office position they gave him in the company. While it is a sweet gig for him, I still believe they could have done more for the man who was instrumental in building their brand. Hopefully Chuck got one of those "undisclosed" checks as a signing bonus, and if he did, it better have been EIGHT figures. Ten million dollars doesn't begin to quantify what Chuck has done to help build a BILLION dollar company. I'm just sayin'!

Giving Chuck the role and title of Vice President of Business Development is a brilliant move by Zuffa but his actual title should be ICE President. This locks him into the company, keeps the biggest name and biggest figure in the sport attached to them and keeps Chuck from doing any kind of business with the competition. If Chuck decided he wanted to continue fighting, he could have moved on to Strikeforce, or one of the Japanese companies, and commanded top dollar. Strikeforce and Showtime would have emptied their vaults for Chuck. The Iceman fighting live on CBS would draw humongous ratings. If they went the PPV route with Chuck headlining, it would be the first non-UFC card to do a very significant buy rate. This is all hearsay because Zuffa did the smart and justified thing by gluing Chuck to their brand. It only makes sense since he built the brand, a brand that is now enormous. Chuck was the tread around the wheels of the tank that the UFC has become. They have the one guy who walks in any room and is instantly recognized by practically everyone as the face of the sport of mixed martial arts. Chuck is a true celebrity, not just an accomplished, now retired MMA fighter.

As a fan, I am both happy and sad that this day has finally come. I knew it was, but I always hoped Chuck would give us a couple more of his trademark knockouts before hanging up the 4 ounce gloves. Those hopes were unrealistic. He's making the best decision by walking away, a decision that is arguably a little late. Some say Chuck might have tarnished his legacy by overstaying his welcome but I disagree. His welcome wasn't in question, his chin was. Everyone loved seeing Chuck fight, fan or not. It was guaranteed excitement. Chuck Liddell was never in a boring fight, ever. As I already stated, even in the late losses in his career, Chuck was doing what he has always done. He was epitomizing the "budo" mentality that is in all true fighter's hearts and souls. Unfortunately, his heart was tougher than his chin.

On behalf of MMA fans worldwide, I'd like to extend a gigantic THANK YOU to the Iceman, now the Ice President, Chuck Liddell. He's the reason the sport is as big as it is right now and he has provided us with too many incredible fights to mention individually. No doubt, he's got ice in his veins, but it was the blood in his veins that he spilled for us and for the sport that he deserves immense respect and thanks for.

Thank you, Iceman, and all for best to you and yours going forward!

The BEST Ever?!?

Georges St. Pierre is somewhat of a rarity in the sport of mixed martial arts these days. As its popularity has grown there are less and less true martial artists left in a sport that is being overrun with "athletes who fight". GSP not only epitomizes what being a true martial artist is, he also happens to be the best fighter in the world. And he might go down as the greatest mixed martial artist in the history of the sport once his amazing career winds down and he decides to hang up the gloves. Thankfully, that's a long way off. As fans, we still get to watch this living legend in action. Only a few names can even come up in a debate on this topic. Actually, very few, as in no more than three. GSP is in very rare company, and incredibly, is just now entering the prime of his career.

Amazingly, Georges just keeps getting better and better at his chosen craft. Its incredible to see athletes like him who stay motivated, even though they are the absolute best in the world at what they do. You shook your head when you saw Wayne Gretsky score several hundred goals and win multiple Stanley Cups, making it look as easy as changing a pair of socks.You shook your head when you saw Michael Jordan win ring after ring after already having more money in the bank than he can spend in 10 lifetimes. You shook your head when you saw Tiger Woods change his golf swing after winning the Masters by 12 strokes. You shake your head when you see Tom Brady this season, already an owner of multiple Super Bowl rings, dragging a mediocre team to a level of play and a record that they have no business being anywhere near. And you shake your head now when you watch George St. Pierre dominate opponent after opponent, defending his coveted championship belt, and do so with relative ease. GSP is rubbing shoulders with the most dominating, elite athletes in their respective sports of the last few decades. He is just that damn good!

On Saturday night, in front of his hometown Montreal crowd of 23,000 screaming fanatics, GSP put on a virtual MMA clinic. Josh Koscheck, a perennial, shit talking loudmouth, was so outclassed, you have to wonder in he even deserved to be in the cage with Georges in the first place. As far as human beings go, he definitely didn't, and as far as fighters go, he really didn't either. That yappin' fool wasn't in that fight for even 1 of the 25 minutes it lasted. He was thoroughly dominated from the first minute to the last. If he deserves any credit at all, its for surviving with literally a broken face (pictured above). Georges broke that punk's orbital bone early in the first round. After all the bullshit drivel that spewed out of that douchebag's mouth, he actually got off easy. Georges didn't bother to entertain any of Kos' verbal shenanigans prior to the fight, he just let his "budo" do his talking for him in the octagon. That's not to say Georges won't tell you he is going to kick his opponent's ass all over the cage. He has and he will again. That's just a confident man telling you what he believes in his heart will happen. It has nothing to do with bragging, its just saying it like it is, nothing more, nothing less. He was a total class act with regard to how he dealt with Koscheck before brutalizing him in the cage on fight night.

If there's any knock on St. Pierre, its that he plays it a little safe sometimes and doesn't finish some of his opponents. While that may be true, its also proof of how smart a fighter he is and how cerebral his approach to fighting is. In the fight game, its best to keep yourself in safe positions and its best to put your opponent in uncomfortable, unsafe positions. That's exactly what GSP does and does extremely well. To knock him for that is ridiculous. And if that is his one flaw, he is doing pretty damn good for himself. You don't have to be a fan of his or like his style but you do have to respect and recognize his greatness.

When you look at what the future holds for GSP, it couldn't really be any brighter. From a competitive standpoint, there really aren't any opponents down the road that are scary for him. Former Strikeforce champion, Jake Shields, is up next. That's certainly not a match-up that people will look at and think is any threat to Georges' strap. No doubt, Jake is a very talented, solid fighter, but he's not GSP, not even close. Georges is better at everything, except maybe jiu-jitsu, but even that is relatively close. After Jake, there isn't any fighter waiting in the wings that will have GSP or his mega fan base shaking in their boots. There are three potential rematches down the road that might be interesting and should somewhat test GSP but nothing that will have him shook. Those are Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves and BJ Penn. A fight with BJ would actually be their third fight. GSP is leading the series 2-0, winning a close decision in the first and destroying him in the second. It will take a lot to convince the MMA world that BJ deserves a third crack at GSP but stranger things have happened in the money driven world of Zuffa. Actually deserving a fight isn't as important as if the fight can make money. Just check out Brock Lesnar's career as an introspective into that reality. Of those three, a highly motivated, in shape, Thiago Silva, has the best chance at victory against GSP. Its not a great chance but its better than either Fitch's or BJ's. Styles make fights and Thiago's style is the worst match-up for Georges of the three. If BJ brings his A+ game, he also has a chance, but again, its hard to even justify a third fight anytime soon. Plus, we still have to see how the upcoming fight between BJ and Fitch plays out.

Interestingly, Georges has shown his humility by recently stating that he does indeed get scared and nervous before every fight. Something tells me his greatest fears are the fear of losing and the fear of not fulfilling his immense potential. He doesn't fear getting hurt or fear his opponents. That's the humility that a true martial artist understands and will admit to. Several years ago I asked Georges what his early karate training meant to his success as a mixed martial artist. His response was, "everything". He said his traditional training not only built his whole foundation but its also what's made him as tough, competitive and determined as he has been throughout his career. Its also what keeps him humble and what taught him about having the utmost respect for his opponents, even when that opponent is a trash talking piece of shit like Josh Koscheck. Kos deserved a hell of a lot worse than a broken face. I think GSP showed pity on him and let him slide. That's the kind of fighter Georges is. In as violent a sport as MMA is, he brings compassion to the game. That's a rare thing. He could have also torn the shit out of Dan Hardy's shoulder with that nasty kimura he had him in. He chose not to. Some call that a lack of killer instinct. Wrong, that's a confident martial artist letting a fellow fighter avoid surgery and a year of rehabilitation, knowing full well that he has the fight well in hand. Kos wasn't as lucky. He needs surgery to repair his busted grill. That conversation happened well before Georges became "GSP, the MMA mega-superstar". At that time, I told Georges that he wasn't only the future of the welterweight division but was the future of the entire sport. Its great to see that that has actually come to fruition and that all the success that he's had hasn't changed him. He's stayed true to his core martial arts beliefs. Georges St. Pierre is a true martial artist, down to his marrow, who exemplifies everything that is right about this phenomenal sport. If there was ever a fighter who should be an ambassador for MMA and represent the sport in its best possible light, its GSP. He still has a long career ahead of him and will continue to carve out his legacy with the blood, sweat and tears of his beloved labor.

Will he go down in history as the best ever? If he doesn't, the fix was in!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!

On Saturday night, Strikeforce reminded me of Johnny Blockbuster, the local punk from my hood who sold and delivered me fireworks back in the day. The only difference was Strikeforce didn't charge me any money for my stash. Here it is, early December, freezing temperatures, and Christmas is a few weeks away. The last thing you expect is fireworks. Well, fireworks we got. Any MMA fan who was smart enough to watch Strikeforce's Showtime card on Saturday night from St. Louis was treated to a night of highly entertaining fights and some of the most vicious knockouts we've seen in a long time. If you chose to watch the UFC's "Ultimate Fighter" finale on Spike TV instead, you made a big mistake. The UFC card was marred with yet another horrendous judging decision and for the most part, lackluster fights. Strikeforce was just about as exciting as ANY mixed martial arts card in recent memory. Actually, in distant memory. Just from a talent level and match-up perspective, it was a no-brainer opting to watch Strikeforce live and DVRing the UFC. On one hand, Strikeforce was showcasing experienced, world class, seasoned fighters in quality match-ups. On the other hand, the UFC was showcasing a combination of up and coming talent with a few veterans sprinkled on top. To expect the UFC to compete with Strikeforce on a head to head basis just isn't fair in this instance. That said, this isn't about which show was better, its about how impressive Strikeforce's card was all by itself. They really needed a show like that to give them a shot in the arm and to prove to all the haters and naysayers that they aren't going away anytime soon. As a company, Strikeforce is as tough, hard and resilient as the fighters they put in the cage on fight nights. To say there was fireworks is actually an understatement. It was more like a scud missile attack. We're talking intense, violent, exciting fights with nasty KO after nasty KO after nasty KO. Did I mention that there were multiple nasty KO's?!?



The show started off with a LHW fight featuring Ovince Saint Preux(OSP) and Benji Radach. Benji not only took the fight on short notice but he also jumped up a weight class. Those two factors along with a 3 inch height and 7 inch reach disadvantage all spelled trouble for Radach. The 1st round was especially brutal for Benji. OSP thoroughly dominated, riding his back for the last 3 minutes while blasting him with several dozen strikes to the back and sides of his dome. Benji must have been hearing thunderclaps in his head after each of those heavy blows he took. The 2nd round was more of the same, same position, same limited defense from Benji. He wasn't "intelligently defending himself" in any way, shape or form. The only good thing for Benji was that after "blocking all those punches with his head" OSP seemed to shoot his cardio load. That's what made the 3rd round interesting. Amazingly, OSP secured the exact same position again after Benji came out throwing bombs, landing a few, but eventually getting caught with a counter punch. The rest of the fight was rather uneventful, both fighters showing the fatigue that the giving and taking of a protracted beating will bring. OSP earned a well deserved unanimous decision. Was it a good fight? Yes, but nothing like what the rest of the card was about to deliver.

Next up was an excellent scrap between Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva and the tough veteran, Mike Kyle. Kyle normally fights at 205 and was outweighed by 44 pounds in this fight. I honestly didn't expect much from Mike but I was quickly proven wrong. Not 30 seconds into the fight, Kyle dropped Bigfoot with a perfectly thrown, BIG, right cross. He proceeded to hammerfist the crap out of the big man who was somehow able to survive. Bigfoot remained active on his back and was eventually able to control Kyle, who seemed a touch winded and didn't want to completely drain his gas tank. Silva rode out the round which could easily have been a 10-8 stanza for the underdog Kyle. Being the absolute beast that he is, Bigfoot came out in the 2nd round determined to show what he's made of. That he undoubtedly did! Silva got a TD and proceeded to brutalize Kyle with some vicious GnP. He almost sunk in an anaconda choke, couldn't quite finish it and transitioned to full mount. It was all over from there. After a dozen or so varied, BIG, punishing strikes, Kyle was out cold. It was a very enjoyable fight with each fighter having a chance to finish, but only one being able to do so. Props to Kyle for taking a fight with such a massive, talented fighter like Bigfoot and on short notice. At 205, Kyle can and will do serious damage. King Mo better be ready for some of that because Mike is coming to make some noise. If they end up fighting, I think Kyle puts a bad beating on Mo. Let's go, Rich Chou, book that fight already, Coker will be all for it!

The third fight on the card was a classic striker/grappler match-up between two old school veterans, Robbie Lawler and Matt Lindland. "Ruthless" couldn't have been any more ruthless than he was in that fight. He ruthlessly and unapologetically put the former Olympic wrestler into practically a comatose state. At least that's what it looked like. The dude was motionless on the mat for a while. Lindland took an unusually long time to wake up from the devastating combination that dropped him and the diving right hand that left him in that unscheduled slumber. This was no cat nap, dude was in a deep sleep! In fact, he was sleeping for at least quadruple the length of time that the entire fight lasted. It was a bit scary for several tense minutes. Lindland finally came to but still didn't seem to have much of his faculties.. He was "on vacation" for quite a while. It was amazingly quick, amazingly violent and amazingly enjoyable to watch!

From literally the second the match-up between Scott Smith and Paul Daley was announced we all knew someone was getting knocked the fuck out. No doubt, this was a quintessential KTFO style fight. With nicknames like "Hands of Steel" and "Semtex", how could it not be explosive? Everyone knew how this fight was going to end. The questions were, who was going to be standing at the end and who was going to wake up not knowing what year it is? Unfortunately for Scott Smith, he took an unexpected lesson in the art of the faceplant. It only took Semtex 2 minutes to land of on the sickest, most brutal left hook knockouts I've ever seen. Smith's hands might be made of steel but his nose definitely isn't. When he finally dragged himself off the mat, his honker looked busted from directly smashing the canvas as hard as it did, not from any punch. Again, amazingly quick, amazingly violent and amazingly enjoyable to watch. Smart move, Dana, who needs Semtex? Dumb ass!

After all of that high paced MMA madness, we still had the main event left. The rematch between Babalu and Hendo was 10 years in the making. Nothing about the first fight had any bearing on the second. Both dudes are completely different fighters now with a decade of training, evolving, experience and dozens of fights under their belts since. Hendo needed the win badly and he got it in superb fashion. Babalu is an excellent fighter who, unfortunately, doesn't always fight like an excellent fighter. This was another one of those fights. Don't get it twisted, Hendo most definitely beat him down, but with Babalu, his inconsistency is always an issue. His chin can also join the party of reasons he's never totally fulfilled his potential. Once Big John McCarthy commanded, "let's get it on", I knew I'd again be reminded of Johnny Blockbuster. After a minute of feeling each other out Hendo loaded up those fists and dropped some heavy artillery on Babalu. Forget blockbusters, Dan has dynamite is his hands, especially his right. As soon as he postured up to start blasting Babalu with his nasty GnP, it was over. Chin issues aside, no one could have absorbed the bombs Hendo dropped. Mauro Ranallo called his right hand, "H-Bomb". That is very apropos. All Dan needed was one word to describe the KO as he watched it on the big screen during his post-fight interview. That word was "ouch". Well said and 'nuff said, Hendo!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did you hear that? The was the sound of Strikeforce blowing a huge hole in the mixed martial arts landscape on Saturday night! Let's just hope the "Average Joe/MMA Fan" heard the explosion as loud as the hardcores did. He deserves to know that there is a BIG mixed martial arts world out there beyond 3 small letters.

Payback is a BITCH!!!!!!!

As any longtime fan of MMA knows, VERY unfortunately, bad decisions are pretty much commonplace in our beloved sport. Judging and referring problems are constant and for the long term health of the sport, need to be fixed, SOON! Actually, IMMEDIATELY! In the main event at UFC 123, Rampage Jackson won a split decision over Lyoto Machida. Right off the bat, split decisions already mean that judges are seeing things very differently. More importantly, when the winning fighter admits to "getting his ass whooped", his words, not mine, you know there's a problem.

Here's some verbal gems from Rampage in his post fight Octagon interview with Joe Rogan:

•"Lyoto whooped my ass tonight, I'm so ashamed of myself!"
•"I consider that an ass whoopin'!"
•"Even though I don't want to, I have to give him a rematch!"
•"I was like, DAMN, homie can fight!"
•"Machida's the MAN, ya'll, he's gonna be around for a long time!"
•"Machida's the MAN, that's all I can say!"

Some might say those are the words of an honest, humble, respectful fighter. While true, I see those words as being an absolute admission of losing a fight and also disbelief that he's actually leaving the cage with a "W"! As Joe Rogan said to Quinton, "You're an honest man.". That's absolutely true, Rampage HONESTLY admitted to getting his ass kicked and losing the fight. You have to respect Quinton for his emphatic frankness.

As telling as his words were, which literally say all that needs to be said, Quinton's post fight actions were even more so. As we all know, actions speak louder than words. Let's start with the second the fight ended. Rampage stands up and immediately pulls Lyoto up, grabs his hand and raises it over his head, acknowledging the beating he just took. He then proceeds to put his back to the cage and slump down to the mat like a beaten fighter. Lance Gibson, Q's lead trainer, implores him to get up and literally drags him to his feet. In other words, "try to at least sort of look like you won the fight, dumbass"! Lyoto on the other hand went about his normal post fight activities looking relatively fresh and unscathed. The reason that's the case is because he barely got touched the whole fight. Continuing with the body language theme here, once the decision was announced, Rampage had a complete, "holy shit" look on his face (pictured above) and looked to the heavens thanking whoever he was thanking. Maybe it was the guy working the lights that drugged the judges before the fight. I'm just sayin'............. Seriously, if there was ever a "holy shit" look on someone's face, Rampage epitomized it right there! He looked like a dude whose girl walks in on him while he's banging some drunk skank he pulled out of his local bar. Not that I know anything about that (wink, wink)! Beyond all of that body language admission of defeat was Quinton's gracious interaction with Lyoto right after the decision was announced. He can clearly be seen saying to Lyoto, at least twice, "you won, you won!" (pictured below) Then he goes up to Ed Soares, Lyoto's manager and the boss of Blackhouse MMA, and says, again, more than once, "he won, he won". Again, seriously, what more do you need to see to know who won the fight? When the winning fighter tells the losing fighter and his manager that he won, its pretty obvious who deserved the decision, no?

Now to the specifics of the fight itself. The third round isn't even worth talking about other than debating whether it should have been a 10-8 round for Lyoto. He clearly won the round in overwhelming fashion. From the outset of round one, Rampage literally didn't throw a single technique for the first 2 minutes. During that span Machida landed 5 solid leg kicks. On the 5th kick, Rampage finally made an attempt at a "one-two" that missed completely. At 2:40 into the round they clinch along the fence. Rampage proceeds to do the most pussy technique in the sport, stomping on Machida's foot. Talk about desperation, and only half way through the first round. They stayed on the fence for a minute exchanging minor, insignificant strikes. On the break, Rampage throws an uppercut and a cross, of which neither lands. I watched it multiple times in super slow motion just to be sure. Machida proceeds to land 2 hard knees and a very hard body kick which both Rogan and Goldie acknowledged as such. They clinch again against the fence where Machida lands at least 5 knees to Quinton's thigh. They bothered him enough that he lifted his leg in an attempt to avoid taking any more. Nothing of significance happened in the last 45 seconds of the round. In summary, the only significant strikes that landed were 2 hard body kicks, 2 hard knees and multiple low kicks from Lyoto. How the hell does Rampage win that round on any judge's scorecard?

The second round starts with a nice knee from Machida 15 seconds in. They again clinch along the fence but are broken apart after Quinton knees Lyoto in the nuts. The fight resumes and a minute and a half into the round, they clinch again with Rampage landing a decent knee. Almost 2 minutes in, Rampage gets a takedown, does nothing with it and Lyoto gets back to his feet within 20 seconds. Hafway into the round they clinch yet again. Nothing else significant happens until almost 3 and a half minutes into the round where Lyoto lands a vicious knee to the liver, easily one of the hardest strikes of the fight. Quinton comes back with, in my opinion, his ONLY significant strikes of the entire fight, that being a nice uppercut/left hook combo. Even those weren't flush. With a minute left they clinch YET again. Other than battling for position nothing happens until the last few seconds when Lyoto lands a grazing left hand that takes Quinton off balance.

As mentioned already, the third round was ALL Machida and could have easily been scored a 10-8 for him. Amongst other things it included a nasty flurry that stunned Rampage, a hard takedown, complete ground control, full mount and a couple of submission attempts. Clearly, this was the only time either fighter was close to finishing the fight.

Compu-Strike had Rampage landing more strikes in the fight but those have to include those lame foot stomps and weak punches to the body and legs during the clinches. None of that had any impact on the outcome of the fight.

Now, back to the title of this piece. Yes, payback is a bitch, we all know this. While I disagree, many people think Machida was given a "gift" decision in his first fight with Shogun Rua. It seems as though there's now a bullseye on his back where judges are afraid to give him rounds that they should be. Then there's the issue of being the "aggressor". That's just plain stupid. Some fighters try to land strikes by moving forward, some do so by moving to the side first. Some fighters initiate exchanges, some counter. Some fighters sit "in the pocket", others create angles with footwork. A fighter shouldn't be penalized because of their style of fighting. Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters like to fight off their back. Should they be "penalized" for pulling guard? Of course not, that's their method of attempting to be in the best position to finish a fight within their style of fighting.

I had Lyoto winning 30-27 and was absolutely shocked that it wasn't a unanimous decision. Even if you give Rampage the second round, he still loses. It comes down to one thing. Don't leave a fight in the judges hands. That's the smartest thing Dana White has ever said. I agree, fighters need to go for finishes. Machida did that and was MUCH closer to ending the fight. Rampage was NEVER anywhere near finishing that fight. Not even remotely close. Unfortunately, as history has shown, we can expect almost anything when an MMA decision is being announced. Expect the unexpected. Rampage obviously didn't expect to hear his name called as the winner.

As hard to digest as bad judging is, even harder would be fixes and corruption. I just hope none of that ugliness has infiltrated this great sport. I'm not saying it has but decisions like this have to make you shake your head in wonder and disbelief. Does the brawling, charismatic, budding actor/movie star wannabee mean more to the UFC than the non-English speaking Brazilian with the eclectic, "elusive" fighting style?!?

I don't know, does he?!?

This, That & the Third!

Anyone who follows combat sports, or any sports for that matter, loves a good rubber match. In the short history of MMA there hasn't been that many yet, but come Saturday night, we will all be treated to an absolute gem in the form of the third fight in the BJ Penn/Matt Hughes trilogy. Personally, I have been highly anticipating this fight since the moment BJ ended up in the crucifix in the second fight. That fight was over once Hughes secured that position. Actually, that fight was over once BJ incurred the rib injury in the 1st round. I firmly believe BJ was comfortably cruising to yet another win over Matt had he not torn his rib. The first fight wasn't even close with The Prodigy thoroughly dominating from the opening bell to the rear naked choke finish towards the end of the first round.

What makes this fight so compelling is the recent direction both of these fighters' careers have taken. Hughes seems completely rejuvenated as of late with 3 straight wins over 3 highly decorated BJJ blackbelts, notably, Matt Serra, Renzo Gracie and Ricardo Almeida. Amazingly, Hughes even subbed Almeida with an old school wrestling front choke. Hughes has seemed to make decent strides in his striking game as well. Granted, he's far from a world class striker, but it appears that his training with Robbie Lawler (since opening a gym together) has paid dividends. To be perfectly honest, outstriking Renzo doesn't say much in the grand scheme of things but he's definitely shown improvements, especially with regard to low kicks. He caught Ricardo with a nice left hook that dropped him, stunned him, and enabled Hughes to choke him out as easily as he did. That might actually be the first time in over 50 fights that Matt has hurt someone with his stand-up. All things considered, at Hughes' age and after this many years in the game, he deserves respect for continually advancing his skillset. As BJ and others have said, Hughes hasn't officially received a BJJ blackbelt from a legitimate instructor but technically he is on or very close to that level. What's especially impressive about Hughes' current streak of wins is that prior to that he seemed to be pretty much done as a fighter. His competitive fire appeared as extinguished as Michael Jackson's pedophile playground at Neverland. He got destroyed twice by GSP and also got dominated by Thiago Alves, losing 3 fights in a four fight span. Here we are, a few years later and the country boy is close to contention again. I'm very impressed and I am far from a Matt Hughes fan.

While Hughes' career is on the upswing, BJ's is on a serious slide. He's on a two fight skid, both losses at LW to Frankie Edgar. This is only the second time he's lost two in a row. Edgar is an amazing fighter, so there's no shame in that. The question is, was BJ really at his best in those fights? Only BJ can answer that. To me, he just didn't look like he was completely there mentally. He had somewhat of a blank look on his face and his killer extinct, or lack thereof, was non-existent. Frustration was the only emotion you could read from him. Frankie deserves much of the credit for that being the case, but a lot has to do with timing. BJ has shown mental lapses in the past and this could very well have been one of those periods where he wasn't at his sharpest. He's a complex dude who lives very differently than most people do. His world in Hawaii is both a blessing and a curse. Hawaii has a sizable MMA community and BJ is the king of it. Most times the king is surrounded by "yes men". A venue change in training camp and a serious upgrade in training partners might be a good idea for him. Its hard to push yourself, which seems to be the case for BJ. And its hard to get better when you are always sparring with inferior opponents. His brother and manager, JD, can only do so much to rectify those situations.

Technically, this is a very intriguing match-up. As aforementioned, Hughes has shown solid BJJ skills and beaten 3 consecutive, high level blackbelts, but he is definitely inferior to BJ in that facet of the game. Matt is great at using his strength to create submission opportunities. In contrast, BJ is much more technical in his approach and incorporates a ridiculous level of flexibility to execute his techniques, particularly his defense and sweeps. Their approaches are night and day. On the striking side of things, BJ is a much better boxer and striker overall, but as mentioned, Hughes has made improvements as of late. The gap there isn't as vast now as it was in the prior two fights. If Hughes can land a few solid low kicks, it could drastically change this fight. The problem with that is the susceptibility to a counter right hand from BJ, which is arguably his best punch. BJ's striking didn't fair well in the Edgar fights because of Frankie's excellent speed, footwork and head movement. Hughes has nothing close to that so BJ should be able to land some significant shots. Matt has the obvious wrestling and strength advantage but can he exploit BJ there? BJ's takedown defense was legendary prior to the fights with Edgar. After seeing how easily Frankie took him down, that perception has completely eroded. So was it Frankie's speed that facilitated those takedowns or was it BJ being mentally "off" in those fights? I would venture to say its a combination of the two. Also of much importance in this match-up is the size difference. Baby Jay is a natural lightweight who has fought at welterweight. Hughes is a pure welterweight who could conceivably fight at middleweight if he chose to. Matt has been quoted as saying that he was "licking his chops when Dana White offered him a fight with a '55er". I can see why that would be the case. Hughes is getting BJ at the perfect time in their respective careers. BJ has reportedly barely made 170 for this fight while Matt is cutting weight to get there. Come fight time, Hughes might easily be 15-20 pounds heavier than BJ.

As both fighters have stated, this fight will be won by whichever fighter can impose their will and gameplan. Both fighters are coming into this fight with vast differences in size, fighting style, overall skillsets, strategy, recent career success and sources of motivation. That's what makes this as great a fight as it will undoubtedly play out to be in the cage. And on top of all that, these guys do not like each other at all! They definitely respect each other, but there is definitely no love there!

Speaking of love, you have to love a good rubber match and this is going to be one of the best! Enjoy it, I know I am!

Is Cross-Promotion the Dirtiest Word in MMA?!?

In the race for mixed martial arts gold no one is going to catch the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Zuffa has built an unstoppable juggernaut, this is a fact. Barring any freak occurrences or some severe out of the blue legal scenario that causes the company to implode, the UFC will remain the kings of mixed martial arts promotions for as long as they choose to. The market share lead they currently enjoy is humongous and insurmountable by the competition. The "dirtiest" word in Zuffa's language is cross-promotion. Remember the M-1/Fedor negotiation fiasco? That very word could and should become prevalent in the vocabularies of both Strikeforce, the industry's #2 promotion, and Bellator Fighting Championship, arguably the industry's #3. With proper implementation of cross-promoting, both companies can increase their own exposure and bottom lines.

There been talk for some time about setting up a superfight between Gilbert Melendez and Eddie Alvarez, respectively, the Strikeforce and Bellator lightweight champions. That's undoubtedly an incredible match-up of two Top 5 fighters that's as or more compelling than any UFC lightweight fight. It appears that Bellator's boss, Bjorn Rebney, is more willing to make it happen, but Strikeforce's top dog, Scott Coker, should come around if it makes sense from a business standpoint. Since Strikeforce is the bigger promotion of the two, Coker is pretty much holding all the cards here. Understandably, Coker doesn't want Bellator to piggyback on Strikeforce to advance their brand. The question is, what does Rebney bring to the table here? Other than some quality fighters and some potentially good match-ups, not a whole lot. Ultimately, Rebney wants to partner up with Coker, combine rosters for a show, and put together a compelling enough card to stage as a PPV. I don't think that's the route they should take unless they are able to do so at a relatively inexpensive price, something in the $20 range. Many more casual MMA fans would consider buying a non-UFC PPV for $20, than would for double that. If exposure is of prime importance, doesn't it make more sense to have 100,000 buys at $20, than 50,000 buys at $40? As history has shown for non-UFC pay-per-views, even those numbers are lofty goals to achieve.

Coker seems somewhat willing to pursue the possibility of a cross-promotion with Rebney but isn't happy with the Bellator boss' approach in trying to make that happen. Rebney has been planting a lot of stories and blurbs in the media as opposed to coming directly to him and chopping it up. Coker has been quoted as saying, "The thing is, if Bjorn is serious about doing this, then there has to be a business component that has to be worked out. Unfortunately, that hasn't started yet. It's just been a bunch of stuff in the media. He's chosen the media to use as a platform to try to push this thing along, but I think it's maybe a PR move." In other words, if Rebney is really serious about attempting this he needs to pick up a phone(which he claims he has) or get on a plane and begin serious discussions. Very recently, Bellator's PR firm released credible proof of four text messages from Rebney to Coker attempting to initiate talks regarding the two companies working together. To Rebney's credit, he is making an honest stab at this, but publicly proving that he texted Coker isn't very smart. He's basically saying, "see everyone, I'm trying here but Scott isn't responding." This isn't going to make this already bumpy, pothole plagued road any smoother. If Coker was already reluctant to get in bed with Rebney, he might be dead set against it now.

The potential cross-promotion match-ups go beyond that lightweight superfight. After defending his belt at Bellator 34, middleweight champion, Hector Lombard, called out jiu-jitsu ace and Strikeforce champ, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza. It seems like there is a concerted effort by Bellator's fighters to put the cross-promotion concept into the public consciousness. In a recent radio interview on the Savage Dog Show, Melendez continued to push for the superfight with Alvarez, saying, "I think we're getting warmer. You guys are talking about it. Everyone's talking about it. Someone's going to get backed into a corner. We're going to figure out why it's not happening eventually, and that person's probably going to be cornered in and they're probably going to have to give in. Because everyone seems like they're up for it. Bjorn, Scott, Eddie and I. So there's something going on where we can't come to an agreement. I think eventually it's going to come out, and with media and everyone talking about it, I think we're getting a lot closer and a lot warmer." He further elaborated, stating, "Obviously Strikeforce is the bigger promotion than Bellator. That could be it. That does seem like it. I'm not sure if it's Coker or what, but I know Scott has co-promoted before. I think if things make sense, it can work out."

Gilbert is definitely passionate about making this fight happen. If Coker wants to keep one of his top fighters happy and in the fold, he has to make this fight happen. He doesn't want Gil to be the next Jake Shields and fly the coop. Melendez further expounded on how important this fight is to him and how tough a fight it would be, saying, "It would mean the world to me, that's my ultimate goal, to be number one in the world at 155. If I get there, I'll be very happy. I've been working hard and I want to beat all these big names. Eddie Alvarez is one of them. I'm technically ranked above him in the rankings and I still want to fight the guy because I know he's a tougher match-up. I'm not going to heel hook him in one minute like Shinya Aoki. I know that's not what's going to happen. It's going to be a battle, it's going to be a war. I'm not OK with just having the journalists put me number two. I really want to prove it myself. I want to beat the one through 10 on my own. I really want to beat them all. If I'm still with Strikeforce, I think that fight does need to happen." Melendez continued, "The only other way is if I move on and somehow I'm in the UFC(words that must give Coker nightmares) fighting out there. If I beat Josh Thomson again, if I beat Shinya again, it's not really going to do nothing for my status or to make my spot go up. That's why I want this fight."

Beyond that lightweight showdown there are other solid Strikeforce/Bellator match-ups that make sense including:


•Josh "Punk" Thompson Vs Roger Huerta
•Lyman Good Vs Scott Williams
•Ben Askren Vs Nick Diaz


If you throw the big boys into the picture, I could see Bellator's top two heavyweights, Cole Conrad and Neil Grove in interesting fights with some of Strikeforce's heavies. Newly signed Josh Barnett matching up with Conrad is stylistically intriguing. Its a big step up in competition for Cole but his world class wrestling makes it interesting. Josh needs to get his competitive blood flowing again and this could be a perfect fight to do that with. Solid prospect Shane Del Rosario against Grove would be a barnburner. Someone's getting KTFO in that one.


There are undoubtedly possibilities worth pursuing here, but it looks less and less likely to happen due to Rebney's questionable PR tactics. Since Bellator has less to offer you would think Rebney would try and show a bit more tact here. Publicly calling out Coker as being unresponsive is absolutely the wrong way to approach this. On the other hand, maybe this will light a fire under Coker's ass and these guys can start throwing tangible ideas around about the best way to make this happen. Neither company has done a very good job of promoting and marketing their own shows so maybe between the two of them, they can double the effort and effectively market a cross-promotion. The fighters and fights are definitely there to do a very solid card together but the preliminary work has to begin. A phone conversation is a good place to start.


Let's go already, fellas!

Brocktober FINALLY Reveals the Truth!

I hope we have all come back down to earth regarding the Zuffa PR machine produced myth that is Brock Lesnar. I say "we" because for some reason, in the last week or two, I started thinking that I must be wrong about the new "baddest man on the planet" since no one else seemed to agree with my sentiment that he was highly overrated. I actually slightly started buying into the nonsensical crapola that permeated the MMA community. As they say, trust your original instinct. You can't tell me that a dude with SIX pro fights is the best fighter on the globe, but plenty of you tried to and even more of you had him ranked as the #1 heavyweight in the world. As we all saw last night, that was/is a huge steaming pile of stinky BULLSHIT. Penn & Teller need to do an episode on this!


Major props have to be given to Cain Velasquez for slaying the proverbial dragon in the spectacular fashion that he did. The beatdown Cain put on Brock was absolutely phenomenal and incredibly entertaining. As good as his performance was, it fortified serious deficiencies in Brock's very young, inexperienced, highly limited MMA skillset.

•It is now blindingly obvious that Brock HATES getting hit. If you so much as tap the guy in the face he cowers like a little bitch into the fetal position. As my brother described it right after the stoppage, it looked like how someone reacts when getting attacked by a vicious dog. Brock's attempt at defense was to curl up in a ball and protect his vitals. For a 280 pound, muscle bound "professional fighter", he's the biggest pussy on the planet. Is that the reaction we expect from the UFC HW champion of the world? What does that say about the value of that belt? Just to remind you, big, tough Brock Lesnar did the same exact pussy shit in his prior fight with Shane Carwin. Do you fail to see the pattern here? If it only happened once it might be able to be overlooked, but for him to react the exact same way in two consecutive fights, and in over 30% of his total fights is very telling. Obviously, he doesn't spar hard in training. He might move around with training partners and pseudo-spar but no one is going full blast at him trying to punch and kick his head off. No one in his camp is anywhere near a world class striker, and no offense to Cain, but neither is he. Big, bad Brock obviously never gets hit when he spars. Ask Wanderlei Silva if he takes hard shots to the face when he trains. He'll laugh at you, just like most people with a brain were laughing at Mr. Lesnar after last night.

•Brock's stand-up striking skills are abysmal! Sure, if a dude as big and strong as he is lands something clean, it will hurt you, but that doesn't mean he has any real striking skills to speak of. There is no technique in his punches, they're all arms and incorporate absolutely no hip movement. He doesn't bother throwing any kicks, because he can't. The only decent striking technique he has is knees. In a word, fail! As bad as all that is, his footwork is even worse. His idea of footwork is bumrushing his opponent. That's the skill level of one of the best heavyweight mixed martial artists in the world?!?

•Brock's chin and his ability to take shots also has to be questioned after these last two fights. He drops after any minimal contact to his face. Even his huge, heavily muscled torso crumbled from a single knee from Cain. It was actually a knee that dropped him right before Cain GnP'd his big fat head back into reality. That reality is that Brock is just not that good and has HUMONGOUS problems in his game, some that are not easily remedied. In fact, some of his problems are almost impossible to fix. Its either you "have it or you don't" kind of stuff. Brock doesn't have it! Its tough to teach someone to enjoy getting punched in the face, especially someone like Brock who has such a seemingly innate aversion to it.

•Brock's cardio? Suspect as well. He was stumbling around the cage like a drunken fool from what appeared to be exhaustion. Once he was on his back he stopped moving. His hips were completely immobile. He made no attempt to improve his defense or position. As the ever so eloquent Joe Rogan stated THREE minutes into the fight, "Brock is exhausted!" Yes, you read it correctly, 3 minutes! Is that what we should expect from world class fighters and athletes, complete exhaustion after 3 minutes of competition? I hope Shane Carwin is reading this because he too is in the same "no cardio" boat that Brock is floating around in. Hmmm, do you think these guys are carrying too much muscle? Cain must have been bugging out on how easy it was to cut Brock up and pound his face in. The guy was virtually motionless on his back. Only two things cause that to happen; either complete exhaustion or freezing up in a state of panic. Pick your poison because neither is good for a professional fighter. I happen to think the latter is worse and much harder to fix. The point is, Brock has major issues to deal with. What is blatantly apparent is that he's not a true fighter, he's an athlete who is attempting to fight. There's a huge difference between the two!

I seriously hope these last two fights put the reality of Brock Lesnar into proper perspective. Its outlandish to consider him one of the best heavyweight fighters in the world. If you are in the FIGHT game and you crumble like he did after getting hit, two fights in a row now, you have serious problems. You have to wonder why he chose fighting as a profession in the first place. We all know Brock is a huge, athletic, fast, strong human being. That can only take him so far. Thankfully, Cain has killed the Lesnar hype and his aura of invincibility as well. And it took him only a Mir, I mean, mere four minutes to do so. No one will fear Brock anymore and why would they knowing that if you touch him with anything significant he will crawl into the fetal position. I've seen teenage girls react better to getting punched in the face. I found it extremely humorous watching the post-fight episode of MMA Live on ESPN, where Kenny Florian, Randy Couture and the "big boss" Dana White were all saying that Brock needs to vastly improve his striking and somehow get used to getting hit. That's a first, a world class fighter who is supposedly one of the best on the planet, being spoken about in such a manner. It was hysterical, like they were evaluating some prospect who they just went to see train at a gym somewhere in the woods of Minnesota. Given Brock's lack of real fighting experience, they pretty much were!

Hey Brock, if you can find any headgear big enough to fit your fat head, put it on and let people punch and kick you, you big pussy!

I'm just sayin'.............

"The Answer" is YES!

If "The Answer" is, YES, then what's the question? Well, there are actually two.

Is the BJ Penn era of lightweight dominance over?
Is Frankie Edgar a Top 5 pound-for pound fighter?

As a longtime fan of BJ Penn it was both somewhat depressing and very surprising to see him lose two fights in a row. Especially since they were at LW! Even more surprising was that it was to the same fighter. No doubt, Frankie Edgar is BJ's kryptonite, but is the story deeper than that?

BJ is not an old fighter, but he has fought a lot over his storied career. Has 10 years of pro MMA training and fighting taken their toll on him? If so, it seems to be more mentally than physically. The Prodigy is only 32 years old and realistically should be entering the prime of his fighting career. Everyone has their own motivations. For BJ, money has never been one of them. He comes from a very successful family and doesn't need to make money from fighting. His drive always seemed to be to prove that he is the very best fighter in the world. Arguably, he did that at different times in his career. That's why seeing his rather mundane performance in the Edgar rematch was so shocking and disheartening.

Is the fire gone?

At the start of the second fight, BJ looked very focused and determined. Once he saw that Frankie wasn't just going to go away easily, his whole demeanor changed. I'm not taking anything away from Frankie Edgar. He put on two phenomenal, back to back performances against a fighter not many people expected him to beat. No one gave Frankie a legit chance to win that first fight. Meanwhile, it was that first win that gave life to the second one, the same way the first loss for BJ seemed to plant seeds of doubt in his sometimes fragile psyche. The power of the mind can't be overlooked here. Besides his physical gifts, Frankie has shown he is very strong mentally. Unlike most fighters, he never showed the slightest bit of doubt or fear in the cage with BJ. In the process, he has undoubtedly proven to be the best lightweight MMA fighter on the planet. There's a couple of fighters outside the UFC that might disagree with that assessment, but right now, Frankie is the best.

While BJ has dominated the majority of his LW opponents, Frankie was never in any trouble in 10 rounds and 50 minutes of fighting him. He ran the table on BJ in his first defense, pitching a shutout and winning all 5 rounds on all the judges' scorecards. Frankie isn't a big LW either, walking around at only a bit heavier than his fighting weight of 155. That makes his control of BJ even more impressive. We've seen GSP dominate BJ, but Georges is a much bigger fighter than Frankie is. No lightweight has shown that level of wrestling and almost effortless takedowns against BJ like Frankie has. He's not just a fantastic wrestler either. His striking is very proficient and getting better at a rapid pace, especially defensively. Frankie's footwork is second to none. His feet are constantly moving and working angles for strikes and TD set-ups. His head movement is also top notch. That's what seemed to frustrate BJ so much. All that movement prevented him from landing anything clean and significant. The longer both fights wore on, the more BJ's frustration grew. In this age of excessive weight cutting, what Frankie has done and accomplished is nothing short of amazing.

As far as the rest of the UFC LW division goes, Frankie is clearly in a very good position. His next defense is a rematch with Gray Maynard, who happens to be the only fighter to beat him in 14 fights. Gray pulled out a decision victory at UFC Fight Night 13 in April of 2008. Things have definitively changed in the last 17 months and will be decidedly different the next time around. The Bully will try to bully the champ but in order for that to happen, he has to actually get close to him. That's not going to happen. Frankie's vastly superior speed will be the determining factor in the fight. Beyond Gray, no one in the division seems to have the skillset to really threaten the champ's reign, but there's a couple of fighters lingering outside the UFC who could make things interesting. Bellator's current LW champion, Eddie Alvarez, and Strikeforce's LW champion, Gilbert Hernandez, are two fighters that I'd love to see Edgar fight. We can wish, can't we?!?

Lots of new questions surround Baby Jay:

•Will this second loss to Edgar send him into career purgatory?
•Will he have the desire to continue fighting without immediate title implications being involved?
•Is there a chance of him going back to WW?
•Will he eventually leave the UFC for another promotion?
•Will he hang up the gloves completely?

We'll get some of these questions answered in the coming days, weeks and months. It was recently announced that BJ will be fighting a rubber match with welterweight legend, Matt Hughes. He soundly beat Hughes in their first fight and was beating him again in the second until suffering a debilitating rib injury. This third fight should be very interesting and its outcome will play a huge role in the direction of BJ's career thereafter.

One thing we do know is, BJ Penn is a warrior who fights for the love of fighting. The question is, does he still love it as much as he ever did and enough to still do what is required to compete at the most elite level? Time will tell, but at anything less than 100%, both mentally and physically, he will lose to the seemingly rejuvinated Hughes.

The other thing we do know is this; Frankie Edgar is the best lightweight fighter in the world right now, and looks like he will be for the forseeable future.

Hail the new king!

Edit: This was written the day after UFC 118 in the car on the ride back to NYC from Boston. In the whirlwind that is my life, I completely forgot about it. I found it today in the memo app on my phone. Don't ask!


www.BUDO-MMA-NYC.com

MIR-KO===>Time to Drop to 205!

Mirko, Mirko, Mirko, stop being so damn stubborn, go on a friggin' proper diet and drop to 205 already! Geez, what more do you need to see to come to this realization?


Crocop has ALWAYS been an undersized HW. As a younger, faster, more aggressive fighter he was able to overcome the size difference, most times. Those days are long gone. In this era of huge HWs that he currently attempts to survive in, he is at a HUGE, pun intended, disadvantage. If Mirko wants to continue fighting, and I hope he does, he NEEDS to drop to LHW, immediately. His days of hanging with those overgrown behemoths are OVER!


There are too many reasons for him to drop, and few, if any, for him to stay at HW.

•At 205, he immediately becomes the bigger fighter in most fights, not the smaller one.
•At 205, he should experience an increase in speed, which used to be one of his best attributes.
•At 205, he'd be hard pressed to find an opponent as strong or stronger than he is.
•At 205, he will have much more suitable match-ups to his style; less huge, overpowering wrestlers, more similar sized strikers who will bring out the best in him and provide the most exciting fights.




Let's face it, Mirko is primarily a sprawl & brawl style of fighter. His takedown defense is some of the best in the game. We all know what his left leg is capable of. Other than his propensity for telegraphing it a bit too much, his left hand can also do serious damage. These attributes will only be that much better at 205. With less weight to move around the cage (both his own and his opponent's), he will be more confident in his weapons and really let them fly again. Its as if his best techniques have been locked in a cage (again, pun intended) in some of his recent fights.

How many kicks overall did he throw in the fight with Mir? Six?Specifically, how many low kicks did he throw in that fight? None?!?While he was able to fend off Mir's takedown attempts, it was obviously very physically taxing for him to do so. The primary reason for that is the size difference. All that body-to-body clinch work against the cage sapped the energy he needed to utilize his other weapons. There was nothing left on his punches and he barely threw any kicks. His last win against Pat Barry was a precursor to what his fights at LHW will look like. Barry is also an undersized HW who should consider a drop to LHW as well. That fight looked like two LHWs in the cage. The point is, Mirko was much more able to fight his true style because he wasn't using up all of his energy dealing with a much bigger opponent. Anyone who has ever fought or even just sparred with a bigger fighter knows what a difference that makes. Its not like Mirko is a jits wizard who can slickly and creatively work around being the considerably smaller fighter. He doesn't think that way and he doesn't fight that way. His mentality is to strike but he can't effectively do that when he's spilling all of his gas pushing humongous bodies around. Or more accurately, trying to stop humongous bodies from pushing him around.

Going forward, there aren't really any good match-ups left for Mirko at HW, nor any winnable fights except those against the no-name cans in the division. Although he has been lately, at this point in his career, Mirko Crocop should NOT be fighting cans. Joe Silva and Zuffa aren't showing him the proper respect he deserves. Why that is is a whole other debate. The guy is a living legend of the sport and deserves to be in high profile fights. On the contrary, at LHW, there is a plethora of amazing fights for him. Picture Mirko fighting Randy, Chuck, Tito, Ace, Thiago, Rampage, Lil' Nog, Bones, Machida, Shogun, Bader, Cane, etc. ALL of those fights have fireworks written all over them and he's capable of winning the majority of them. He might not, but he can definitely compete with all of those fighters. There are more than enough big fights for him at 205 to ride out the rest of his career.

Its a no-brainer, Mirko! This is a weight cut that should be very easy for you to make and a move that will lengthen your career. Take your 6 month medical suspension, alter your diet a little, spend some time on your cardio and show up on the scale for your next weigh-in at 206 pounds. You're allowed that extra pound and you deserve that. Trust me, you will make a lot of people very, very happy if you did this, including yourself!

Please, dude, make the move! We all want to see the Mirko Crocop that we've loved over all these years, fighting the way YOU want to, the way WE all want you to, and most importantly, the way you should! Its only around 20 pounds, that's a walk in the nicest Croatian park!

Do it, Mirko! Just do the damn thing already!