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.