UFC 125: Resolution

Saturday night, we get the first UFC event with a name in a while. Though the Co-Main went from Nelson/ Country to Aldo/Grispi and finally to the much less anticipated Leben/Stann, the whole card is stacked with very intriguing match-ups, with 8 of those fights scheduled to air. 5 on pay-per-view, 3 on Ion television. The Ion television channel is a weird choice for free mma fights, but the keyword is free, so I'm on board.

The Main Event is the classic Speed vs Power match up, as champ Frankie "The Answer" Edgar takes on Gray Maynard for the UFC Lightweight belt. Both have great records, with Maynard being undefeated and Edgar's lone loss coming at the hands of Maynard, so both know little to nothing about losing. Maynard has the tools to once again defeat Edgar and comes in to the fight as the favorite. All he needs to do is use his size and power advantage to take Edgar down again and again like he did in their first fight and has done against most of his opponents. His punches pack power but if BJ's deadly boxing proved to be ineffective against Edgar, Maynard's big looping power punches have little chance of landing. Edgar has awesome footwork, quick, crisp striking, great wrestling, and his ability to seamlessly mix it all up got him his belt, but the key to winning this fight is avoiding the takedown. If Maynard can take him down at will, it will play out like the extended version of their first meeting and so will the Maynard/Pettis match up. If Edgar can avoid the takedown, his fast hands should do the rest and it'll set up for a much more intriguing UFC/WEC title unification bout with Anthony "crazy, off-the-fence ninja kick" Pettis. Edgar always rises up to the challenge. No one gave him a chance against the bigger, stronger Sherk, but he still came in and dominated. Everyone thought Penn was going to steamroll through him like all his other opponents, and Edgar still came in and shocked the masses twice. He comes in as the underdog in his 3rd consecutive title fight, but I think he's going to do what he always does, step up, prove everyone wrong and with a win, maybe get the respect he should've gotten the day he beat BJ Penn for the very first time.

For the Co-Main Event, it's heavy handed slugger Chris Leben vs former WEC champ Brian Stann. Leben has strung a couple of wins together and is looking the best he's ever looked but like it's always been, his brawler style leaves him susceptible to be outpointed by the more crisper strikers of the division, and Stann is seasoned and skilled enough to do just that.

Thiago Silva vs Brandon Vera is an awesome match up. Both are very good strikers with a slick jiu jitsu game and though Vera's Muy Thai is very pretty to look at, Silva's drastically improved boxing and his power advantage should get him the win.

Nate Diaz takes on Dong Hyung Kim and though Diaz is the more known fighter, Kim is the more skilled fighter. Diaz has very good boxing and jiu jitsu, and though he's deadly off his back, strong wrestlers are his kryptonite. Diaz has trouble against strong wrestlers and that's exactly what Kim is. Kim's Judo style of grappling is very submissions-oriented, so he should be able to defend submissions effectively all the while smothering Nate. Kim takes this by decision and hopefully the win brings better competition for him.

Takanoroi Gomi vs Clay Guida puts the Fireball Kid's hands against Guida's hyper-activeness. Gomi made up his submission loss to Florian by KOing Tyson Griffin out cold. Winging punches is Gomi's only path to victory, and unless Guida walks in as the wrestler who wants to strike with the striker like Griffin did, Guida should be able to take him down and beat him up, and if Gomi can't handle the pace, it might even end in TKO.

The prelims on Ion are also stacked. Marcus Davis takes on Jeremy Stephens for what is bound to be a stand up affair, and though I love the Irish Hand Grenade, Stephens is the younger, faster, more powerful fighter and he probably gets the KO. Josh Grispi takes on Dustin Poirer instead of Aldo due to Aldo's injury. Poirer is a solid fighter but Grispi wants Aldo and Poirer won't be able to get in the way of the beating Aldo has in store for Grispi. "The New York Bad Ass" Phil Baroni takes on Ultimate Fighter stand out Brad Tavares. Baroni has heart but absolutely no cardio, so as long as Tavares weathers the early storm, he should be able to take over late in the first and for the rest of the fight. The card is crazy stacked, and just like most UFC events, it's a can't miss event for all MMA fans.

TUFF: MILITARY MAYHEM

Frank Powers & TUFF will start the New Year right with TUFF: MILITARY MAYEM! The all day event is set for Jan. 8th with an open house from 10am – 2pm and with their live fights starting at 7pm! Location is at PUSH Fitness & Athletic Training Facility 6440 Gateway East Bldg B, El Paso Texas 79904

Fighters on the card will include Fabian Salas, Scott Goodblanket, James Wento vs. Curtis McNeil and Mike “The Storm” Chupa will defend his title against George Sheffey! Daily 4 MMA will cover the all day event, have pre/post fight interviews with the fighters and have an exclusive interview with Tim Kennedy before his upcoming fight with STRIKEFORCE!

UFC 124: St. Pierre/Koscheck II

Tomorrow night, we get to see GSP perform. He takes on Koscheck, whose wrestling credentials and power currently pose the biggest threat to GSP's awesomeness. The card lacks a solid Co-Main Event but the Main Card is filled known fighters and what looks to be some exciting fights.

In the Main Event, Georges 'Rush' St. Pierre defends his title for the 5th consecutive time against #1 contender Josh Koscheck. Both have already fought before. Koscheck didn't think GSP could take him down. GSP proved to be the better wrestler and outstruck in the few instances the fight was on the feet. Both have gotten better since then, but GSP seems to still be both the better wrestler, striker, and just overall MMA fighter, with only the power advantage going to Koscheck. The biggest factor of the outcome of this fight is going to be whether Koscheck can stop GSP's takedowns now that he knows how good of a wrestler he is. In their first fight, Koscheck was so sure of his wrestling, he didn't really train wrestling and focused mostly on his striking. People smell upset, but GSP always dominates and has no holes in his game. Koscheck has a puncher's chance but is just too good at everything to be beat right now.

For the Co-Main Event, it's battle of the giants the two tallest guys in the UFC, Stefan Struve and Sean McCorkle, duke it out. McCorkle's UFC debut saw him break Mark Hunt's arm in a straight arm bar, though this was after ending on his back due to a crappy takedown attempt. Stefan Struve has 6 UFC fights, 4 wins and 2 losses, under his built but always gets beat up in his fights, so he hasn't proven to be too dominant at anything. It's a pretty even match but I say Struve has the slight advantage and takes it by TKO.

The rest of the card has awesome match ups. Thiago Alves takes on fellow striker John Howard. Both are skilled fighters but Alves has fought tougher opponents and should be able to outstrike Howard. Jim Miller takes on Charles Oliveira. Miller is 8-1 in the UFC with his only loss coming from the current #1 contender, Gray Maynard. He's an alright striker but is pretty good at controlling the fight on the ground. Oliveira is fairly new to the UFC. Both of his wins have been submissions, one coming withing the first minute of the first round and the other in the third round. Both are really good fighters but Oliveira's skillset is bound to either drop Miller or submit him. Ultimate Fighter winners Joe Stevenson and Mac Danzig also fight on the main card. Danzig is a pretty good striker and is an alright grappler but Stevenson is just more powerful and will probably take him down and either submit him or TKO him. This card is a good way to end the year.

Strikeforce: Henderson vs Babalu

The MMA calendar is packed this month. A WEC event with 2 titles on the line 2 weeks from now, GSP defends his against Koscheck next week, and tomorrow both the Ultimate Fighter Finale and a Strikeforce event air. The UFC is hands-down the best promotion around, but tomorrow night, "Strikeforce: Henderson vs Babalu" is the event to watch.

The Main Event puts 2 of the best light heavyweights outside of the UFC against each other as Dan Henderson takes on Renato 'Babalu' Sobral for the next shot at the Strikeforce 205-pound belt. Babalu has always been know as an alright wrestler with a strong submission game but outstruck a striker in Robbie Lawler in his latest outing by outpointing him with small shots a la Bisping. Henderson is coming off a loss to Jake Shields but has torn through everyone he's fought, with his only losses in the UFC coming to Anderson Silva and Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson. He doesn't need to cut much weight at 205 and has a decisive wrestling advantage. He's not the most technical striker but only needs to land his big right hand to end the fight and is really good at doing just that. I say this ends up looking exactly like Henderson/Bisping, with Sobral out cold and Henderson smiling when Buffer announces the winner.

The Co-Main Event is striker vs striker as Paul 'Semtex' Daley takes on Scott Smith. Both are heavy handed but Daley is by far the better striker and knows how to put his heavy hands to better use. Though in his UFC run he proved he was a bad sport by sucker punching Koscheck and a crappy wrestler by getting taken down left and right, he also showed he can put away anyone who chooses to stand with him and Scott Smith is exactly the type of person who will. Smith always gets beat up in his fights and either continues to get beat up or turns around and knocks his opponent out of nowhere, but I say Daley finishes him before he gets his 2nd wind in the 3rd round.

Other interesting match ups in the card include Robbie Lawler vs Matt Lindland and Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva vs Mike Kyle. Lawler is a good striker with good power. Lindland is a very strong, high-level wrestler. Both have fought in the world's best promotions but are very inconsistent in their performances. It's a close one but I say Lindland wins by contol with his wrestling. I would put both Silva and Kyle at around the same level in terms of skill and experience, but I know Kyle as a light heavyweight, so Silva takes this by size and reach advantage, as well as the fact that Kyle took the fight on short notice.

TUFF UPDATE

Daily 4 staff met up with Frank Powers last night to discuss the next TUFF event. Frank was supposed to have their event this month in December but due to scheduling conflict with the Tigua Recreation Center, Frank will have to reschedule for next month in January. We are excited for their up coming event because their going have some great fights coming our way. They will have the debut of George Steffey which so happens to be the cousin of Ben “SMOOTH” Henderson, Zach Beck vs. Adam McGurk (both had impressive wins at TUFF: The Return), Jonathan Pelletter vs. Fabian Salas ( Pelletter coming from a tough loss against McGurk and Salas winning by TKO in 37 seconds of the 1^st round) and Curtis McNeil trying to bounce back from his loss against the 145 pound Champ Adrian Gamboa. Nothing is official yet but seems to be looking great for Frank Powers and his promotion TUFF.

Note: If you think you can fight and want to fight step up and fight for TUFF! Contact tuffregistration@yahoo.com or daily4mma@gmail.com  

The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale

Tonight, the final episode of The Ultimate Fighter, a 2-hour special on Spike, airs. The Finale, which usually consists of a card filled with succesful TUF alumni and fighters from the current season, airs on Saturday.

For the Main-Event, it's a Light-heavyweight bout between Stephan 'The American Psycho' Bonnar and Igor Pokrajac. Both are coming off a win but are 1-2 in their past 3 fights. Pokrajac started his UFC run with 2 losses before choking out James Irvin in his 3rd fight. Bonnar is always in exciting fights and is pretty good at just about everything except takedown defense. Both are well-rounded, but I say Bonnar is the better fighter of the 2. No matter what, Bonnar will make it an interesting one.

The Co-Main Event has not been announced yet as it will be between the 2 finalists of this season's Ultimate Fighter. The Semi-Final bouts pit Jonathan Brookins vs Kyle Watson and Michael Johnson vs Nam Pham. Kyle Watson has a very good ground game but I see Brookins in the Finale no matter what. He's dominated everyone he's fought in the house and I don't see this fight being any different. Michaels Johnson vs Nam Pham is going to be awesome and crazy close. Johnson was the #1 pick on GSP's team because of his wrestling but Pham is good at everything. Regardless of who makes it to the finals, I have Brookins as the favorite to win the whole thing.

Demain Maia takes on Kendall Grove in a fight that I see ending with a submission from Maia. Grove is a good striker but Maia's advantage on the ground is greater than Grove's advantage on the feet.

This card airs on the same night as 'Strikeforce: Henderson/Babalu 2.' If you have Showtime, I would suggest the Strikeforce event. The Strikeforce events don't happen that often and this one has a lot of good match-ups. If not, the Finale airs on basic cable. If you have DVR and Showtime, well I envy you deeply.

UFC 123: Machida vs Rampage

Tomorrow night, the fight I've been waiting for since May 8th finally goes down. Machida takes on Rampage to see who stays at the top of the 205 divivsion and who goes on a two-fight skid, legends BJ Penn and Matt Hughes go at it for a third time to see who walks away the winner of the Saga, and several prospects look to take the next step in their respective divisions.

For the Main Event, Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida takes on Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Machida is coming off a nasty, horrible, disgusting, hard-to-look-at KO at the hands of Shogun. Rampage was outwrestled by Rashad in a unanimous decisions. Both are excellent strikers, and this is a guaranteed stand-up affair but I'm gonna say it already. Machida has this one in the bag. Rampage has become a one-dimensional fighter who's only threats are his heavy hands. He can KO pretty much anyone who stands and bangs with him but his style is practically taylor-made for Machida to showcase his skills. Machida's coming off a knock out loss, but it was given to him by a fighter much more diverse in his striking than Rampage. It was Shogun's speed and accuracy, coupled with his ability to cut off Machida with kicks when he was circling, that led to the KO, and aside from maybe accuracy, those are skills that Rampage does not possess. Rampage's only chance of winning is catching Machida with a haymaker, but without the fear of being taken down or even kicked, Machida is just going to be evasive, frustrate Rampage and outpoint him to a decision, with maybe a couple of sweeps when Rampage isn't expecting it. All this is of course coming from a huge Machida fan. We'll see.

For the Co-Main Event, BJ Penn takes on Matt Hughes for the rubber match. BJ Penn is coming off 2 losses to a smaller, faster guy than him. Hughes is on a 3-fight win streak over decorated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners. The fight is going to come down to whether Hughes can take Penn down and if he can defend Penn's submission attempts once there. Penn has completely dominated both fights with his great take down defense and the advantage in the boxing department, though he gassed at the end of the 2nd round in the 2nd fight, which led to Hughes coming out victorious. Hughes seems to be getting better, but I see it going the same way the first 2 did, with Penn outboxing Hughes while defending the takedown and hopefully this time time he doesn't fade halfway through the fight or finishes it before then.

The rest of the card is stacked. George Sotiropolous takes on Joe Lauzon. Both have a killer ground game, but Sotiropolous' advantage in the stand up wins him this fight. Phil Davis takes on Tim Boetsch. Boetsch is a tough fighter, but Davis is a fast-rising star and Boetsch is just another stepping stone. Davis takes it by complete wrestling domination and possible submission. Miquel Falcao faces Gerald Harris. Harris is supposed to be the next big thing because of his slam KO, but I'm not impressed. He's lost to a welterweight in Amir Sodollah, and with Falcao's 23 of 25 victories coming by way of KO/TKO, I hope he takes it. The card is filled with crazy awesome match ups. Hopefully Machida wins me some money.

Mario Ramos

Tonight, El Paso's Mario Ramos will be fighting in G-Force promotion's Bad Blood 4, which takes place in Miami, FL and will air on MTVtres. G-Force has been the launchpad for fighters such as this Ultimate Fighter's seaon's Michael 'Bruce Leroy' Caceres and favorite to win it, Jonathan Brookins. Ramos is currently undefeated and looking to stay that way. His hands and the confidence he has in them is what has gotten him to where he's at, so expect a KO if things go his way. We wish him the best of luck!

UFC 122: Marquadt/Okami

Tomorrow night, we get treated to a free UFC event on Spike. Though aside from the main event, where Nate Marquadt and Yushin Okami fight for a shot at the Middleweight belt, all the other fights are irrelevant in their division, they are all match ups designed to be exciting with the casual fan in mind. There really aren't any big names on the card and the fighters seem to have been chosen to appeal to the home crowd (Germany), but with it being free and us being a week away from Machida/Rampage, there's really nothing to complain about.

For the Main Event, it's Nate "The Great" Marquadt vs Yushin Okami. Both fighters are very well-rounded and very evenly matched, with their only recent loss coming to Sonnen's wrestling. Marquadt is very well versed in all aspects of the game. It's his flashy, explosive striking that has gotten him to where he's at and the key to winning tomorrow's fight, but he's got decent wrestling and a solid ground game to go along it, though the Sonnen fight showed he doesn't pose much of a threat on his back. Okami has pretty good striking, nothing flashy or powerful but effective, but it's his size advantage and grappling skills that give him his best chance at winning. Though each has the skillset to win and neither has the clear cut advantage, I see Marquadt being able to outstrike Okami and getting up when he gets taken down.

For the Co-Main Event, it's a battle of the B-level sluggers as Jorge Rivera takes on Alessio Sakara. Both are on a winning streak and though they're more than likely never going to make it to the top of the heap, they're exciting way of fighting got them their spot on the card. It might mean nothing for the rest of the division, but the fight is guaranteed fireworks. It's another evenly matched fight, but I'm going Rivera, mostly cause it was Sakara that had the world thinking that "Houston Alexander is for real!"

The rest of the card is filled with irrelevant fighters who put on exciting fights and Germans. Andre Winner vs Dennis Siver is battle of the fast hands vs spinning back kicks. With rumors of Siver possibly taking the fight to the mat, I say Winner takes it by Siver's lack of confidence in his stand up. Amir Sadollah takes on Peter Sobotta. Sobotta's on a losing streak and it's do or die, and it's more than likely die. Sodollah takes this by way of Muy Thai clinic. Reljic/Soszynski is another fight between sluggers but in the end, I think Soszynski goes back to his chimora winning ways. This card has nothing that'll shake up the rankings, but all are potential fight of the night. Check it out.

The RIver City MMA Battle Aftermath

This past Saturday, we were able to go down to San Antonio to check out a pretty big event and aside from a good night of fights, we also got to see some prospects in their respective divisions. Jose Cabral was one of them. Cabral came out, made his way to the center of the cage, and with his very first punch, made his opponent go stiff. He scored the fastest recorded KO in MMA history with his total fight time being 4 seconds, showing he's got the power to end his opponent's night with a single punch.

Another young up-and-comer fighter who impressed was Luis Anselmo Luna. Luna has fought in El Paso before where he scored a win over Adrian Gamboa in a TUFF Fighting event as an amateur. As a professional, he's had several fights in one of the bigger Texas-based promotions, Shark Fights. With a record of only 4-2, he took on a much more experienced fighter in James King who owned a record of 14-10. Though King has had more than 20 professional fights, Luna came out and showcased his skills in every aspect of the game. King did an excellent job at surviving, but the fight was more of a showcase of Luna's skills. In the fight, he used strong leg kicks and was very accurate and effective with his punches. He also controlled his opponent and the clinch, got several takedowns, and once on the ground, was all over King, going from side control to mount to taking his back. Overall, it was a very impressive performance by Luna. Hopefully we get to see him fight in El Paso in the near future.

In the main event, Darrill Schoonover had a hard fought fight against Richard Odoms. Schoonover controlled the fight early on. He took Odoms down with his Judo trips and where he eventually took his back. Once there, he worked on getting the choke but Odoms was able to get up and slam Schoonover awkwardly on his shoulder. From there, Odoms took control of the fight. He pressed Schoonover up against the fence, was able to take down a couple of times and at one point, worked the Muy Thai clinch. Darrill never gave up but ended up losing a decision. Odoms continues to be undefeated and has 3 huge wins to his name.

The rest of the night was filled with very competitive and exciting fights. Here are the results.

Richard Odoms defeats Darrill Schoonover via Unanimous Decision

Luis Anselmo Luna defeats James King via Unanimous decision

Jose Cabral defeats Dimitre Ivy via KO at :04 of the 1st round

Alfredo Ortegon defeats Chris Kuntschik via TKO at :43 of the 1st round

Jay Peche defeats Robert Cain via Submission at 2:50 of the 1st round

Grand Slam defeats Austin O' Riley via Unanimous decision

Gabriel Guerrero defeats Pedro Ruiz via TKO at 2:35 of the 2nd round

Joe Martinez III defeats Luke Marshal via Submission at 2:01 of the 1st round

Leonard Jones defeats Kyle Simpson via TKO at :44 of the 1st round

Gilbert Gimenez defeats Warren Stewart via Unanimous Decision

Joseph Hinojosa defeats Durwyn Lamb via TKO at 2:48 of the 2nd round

John Hester defeats Johnny Dominguez via Submission at 2:44 of the 2nd round

In the Clinch w/ Mike "The Storm" Chupa

Darrill Schoonover & Richard Odoms post-fight interviews

Our very own El Paso Fighter Darrill Schoonover fell a little short this past Saturday with a Unanimous Decision loss to Richard Odoms. Darrill did get some sort of shoulder injury during the fight. We will have more details soon about Darrill's injury and hopefully is nothing to serious. We wish Darrill the best. Also congratulations to Richard Odoms.



Richard Odoms Wins by Decision (Unanimous Decision) After 3 Round(s)

Ruben Najera Scored the fight 29-28
Rafael Ramos Scored the fight 30-27
Glen Crocker Scored the fight 30-27

In the Clinch w/ Schoonover & Odoms

River City MMA Battle Teaser

Kickass Productions presents The River City MMA battle

The River City MMA Battle Fight Card (All dates and information subject to change and TDLR approval.)

Main Event

Darrill Schoonover vs Richard Odoms (heavyweight bout)

Joe Martin III vs Luke Marshall
Leonard Jones vs Kyle Simpson
James Duece vs Luis Luna
Jay Peche vs Robert Cain
Jose Cabral vs Dimitre Ivy
Micah Franks vs Austin O' Reily
Durwyn Lamb vs Joseph Hinojosa
Chris Kuntschik vs Alfred Ortegon
John Hester vs Johnny Dominguez
Gabriel Guerrero vs Pete Ruiz
Gilbert Jimenez vs Warren Stewart

Weigh ins were today in San Antonio, TX. Footage of the weigh ins and pre-fight interviews with both Main Event fighters will be posted by tomorrow morning.

The River City MMA Battle takes place Nov. 6 at 7:30 pm in the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, TX. The card contains a total of 12 professional fights. Tickets start at $10 and are now available through Ticketmaster. The fight will also be available online through PayPerLive on extremeTVnetwork.com. For complete details and information, visit www.kickassfighting.com.

Richard "The Black Eagle" Odoms: Out to knock out EP's Darrill Schoonover

Don't be fooled by Richard Odoms record. Though only 2-0 in MMA, Odoms went undefeated in his professional boxing career with majority of his wins coming by KO. With MMA growing exponentially, and boxing becoming a combat sport of the past, Odoms decided to try his hand at cage fighting. In his MMA debut, Odoms got a knock out win over Lucas Gomez at :59 of the second round, proving his hands are just as effective in the cage as they were in the ring. Not scared of taking a big leap in competition, he signed his second fight in the very prominent Bellator Fighting Championships promotion. With a top 10 lightweight on their roster, it's FOX TV deal, and huge following, Bellator Fighting Championships is currently the 4th biggest MMA promotion right now, beat only by the UFC, Strikeforce, and DREAM. Though Odoms didn't get another flashy KO, he did get himself a decision win in a big promotion. With his MMA career gaining momentum, and Odoms not wanting to take a step back down in competition, he now takes on El Paso's own Darrill Schoonover, who at 10-2, owns more belts than Odoms does fights. With 2 heavyweights who like to throw hands, this fight is bound to be an exciting, though probably short, one.

The River City MMA Battle takes place Nov. 6 at 7:30 pm in the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, TX. The card contains a total of 12 professional fights. Tickets start at $10 and are available now through Ticketmaster. If you're unable to make the drive down to San Antonio, the fight will also be available online through PayPerLive on extremeTVnetwork.com. For complete details and information, go to kickassfighting.com.

Finally, UFC/WEC merger: Awesome match ups to be had, lots of questions to be answered

Last week, Dana White went on MMA junkie radio with a big announcement, that the UFC was going to add both feather and bantam weights and absorb all of the WEC fighters for their line up. Zuffa has owned both the UFC and the WEC for a while now, but with the rise of Jose Aldo and the WEC close to out of challenges for him, and the constant talk of how the WEC lightweights measure up against their UFC counterparts, the move was inevitable. Since then, a title unification bout has been announced between the winner of Ben Henderson vs Anthony Pettis for the WEC lightweight belt and the winner of Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard for the UFC lightweight belt. With no UFC counterpart, Jose Aldo goes from being the WEC featherweight champ to being the UFC featherweight champ and is set to defend his newly named title against Josh Grispi. The Bantamweight division will probably go unaffected by this, aside from maybe bigger paychecks, but an Ultimate Fighter for these smaller fighters is bound to happen, which'll end up adding more talented fighters to both divisions. The merger will allow smaller UFC lightweight fighters who normally wouldn't have gone down in weight to do it without the paycut, which'll make the 145-division a lot more interesting and give Jose Aldo some better competition with which to show off his skills. With Frankie Edgar being a small lightweight, an Aldo/Edgar match up is the fight to be had. If Edgar can get past Maynard and the winner of Henderson/Pettis, a fight and possible win over Aldo could make him the greatest UFC fighter ever, since nobody else has ever held belts in 2 divisions at the same time. If he doesn't get past Maynard, he can finally go down and fight guys his size. With his fast hands, awesome head movement and foot work, effective leg kicks and sweeps, and strong wrestling, Frankie Edgar is my pick to throw Aldo off his pedestal. He was 'The Answer' to BJ Penn's riddle, and I think he has what it takes to decipher Aldo's as well. All in all, the merger's looking to be pretty exciting.

BORDER BRAWL II

UFC Heavyweight pulls out of fight

Shane Carwin will be pulling out of co-main event fight against Roy Nelson at UFC 125 due to a back injury. News broke out this morning from his own website www.shane-carwin.com . Shane wrote “I am going to pull out of the fight with Roy Nelson. As many of you know I have been having some back pain. I had an MRI yesterday and I have some damage that may really require surgery. If the doctors do not have to perform surgery then I will be out 8-12 weeks. If they do have to perform surgery I do not know how long I will be out of action.” This is just my opinion but we just may see Brock Lesnar sooner than expected and fill in for Carwin to fight Roy Nelson but again that’s only my opinion.

Darrill Schoonover: Putting El Paso on the MMA map

Born and raised in El Paso, TX, Darrill Schoonover's path to the UFC, MMA's most prominent promotion, started at Coronado High School, where he wrestled for the Coronado wrestling team. By the age of 17, he had already added Judo, Japanese jiu jitsu, submission wrestling and Muy Thai to his repertoire. He won all 12 of his amateur bouts and holds the Texas amateur light heavyweight belt. From there, he went on to win his first 10 professional fights, which not only got him invited to the Ultimate Fighter house alongside Kimbo Slice and "Big Country" Roy Nelson, but also won him the XFC light heavyweight belt, the Freestyle Cage Fighting heavyweight belt and the Shark Fights heavyweight belt, which is sanctioned by the state of Texas as the official champion of Texas. His 10 victories also showed his well roundedness, with 5 of the wins coming by TKO and the other 5 by submission. Once in the Ultimate Fighter house, he made it to the quarter finals with a win over Zak Jensen. He received his first professional loss in his first UFC fight to fellow TUF cast member and current UFC fighter James McSweeney. From there, he went on to fight for the #1 contender spot in King of the Cage against Nick Gaston and though he dazed him early in the 2nd round with a big right hand, lost by ref stoppage due a cut over his left eye. Since then, he's started training full time at Ghost Wolf Gym in Miami, FL, and is working on getting his black belt in both Judo and Japanese jiu jitsu.

He is now set to meet Richard Odoms in the main event of the River City MMA Battle, which includes 11 other professional bouts, on Nov. 6 at the Municipal Auditorium. The event starts at 7:30 pm. Tickets start at $10 and are now available through Ticketmaster. If you're unable to make the drive, watch it LIVE on Pay Per Live through extremeTVnetwork.com. For more details and information, visit http://www.kickassfighting.com/.

Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar basically got out classed by Cain Velasquez this past Saturday at UFC 121. Cain deserves all the credit and like he said he thinks he fought the best Brock Lesnar, which I would have to agree. If you know me personally you would know I F’N LOVE BROCK LESNAR, all the way from his WWE days when he was the “Next Big Thing.” Brock is the reason why I eat, sleep, breath and bleed MMA. A lot of hardcore MMA fans love to shit on Brock because where he comes from, PRO WRESTLING (fake). Then they would start to cry when this “Pro Wrestler” would whoop on the “MMA Guy.” They would start to say “It’s because he is just big!” Well I am no Greg Jackson but I would think if you have an advantage in the fight you’re going to fucking use it! When you think of it who really jumps into the elite promotion off MMA in their only second fight? I am always the first to say Brock is not a fighter but he is an athlete. You’re talking about Brock who left pro wrestling and made the practice squad for the Minnesota Vikings. No he didn’t make the team but just to make the practice squad on the highest level of football without playing college ball tells you something. So if you’re writing off Brock I would call you stupid. Brock will come back more focused than ever and will be back in the title picture by late 2011 early 2012. People forget Brock is still very green when it comes to MMA and for him to successfully retain the HW Title twice tells you a lot about Brock Lesnar.

'Si se pudo!' Cain Velasquez dominates Brock Lesnar, newly crowned champ's next challenge already set

Saturday night, Cain Velasquez did what many thought was impossible. He soundly defeated the mountain of a man known as Brock Lesnar to take his belt away and moves his record to 9-0. Though Velasquez had already proven to be quite the kickboxer and wrestler, few thought it'd be enough to negate Lesnar's size and power advantage. The first round would show whether Lesnar would take Velasquez down and pound him or if Velasquez would be able to keep it standing and take advantage of Lesnar's lack of stand up. Lesnar came out in a flurry and though his first takedown attempt failed, he eventually got Velasquez down. Cain got up and with difficulty, Lesnar again took him down. Velasquez got up again and it was over from there. Velasquez worked Lesnar in the stand up but it was Cain's ability to take Lesnar down that broke him. With his supposed wrestling advantage gone, Lesnar resorted to swinging wildly, but Velasquez kept his composure and patiently worked at putting Lesnar away. With his decisive win over Lesnar, Cain is now the heavyweight champ but gets no time to breathe. Waiting to challenge for his belt is KO artist Junior Dos Santos, who can take a punch as good as he can give one. Dos Santos, much like Velasquez, has ran through every one of his UFC opponents, stopping all of them with strikes with the exception of Roy Nelson, who took a horrible beating for 3 rounds. Both guys have been to decision only once in their career, so a 5-rounder seems unlikely. With the 2 guys that have been dominating the heavyweights already set to fight, the rest of the division is left to find the next contender, which shouldn't be too hard. Hopefully Carwin can get himself some cardio and climb his way to the top again.

High hopes for Jake Shields

He's finally here. Currently on a 14-win streak that has taken him through strikeforce, elite xc, some lesser known organizations, and possibly the greatest 170 pound limit tournament at rumble on the rock, he has now arrived to the big show, the UFC. Tonight he debuts against Martin Kampmann in a warm up fight of sorts. Sure, Martin Kampmann is no slouch. He's very fluid in all aspects of the game and is definitely no stranger to stopping win streaks and the champs from other organizations that are riding them. Just ask Carlos Condit. Still, Shields has been brought for one thing and one thing only, a fresh challenge for Georges 'Rush' St. Pierre, and tonight, it's a must win for him. His job might not be on the line, but with the shark tank that is the Welterweight division, it could be a while before he makes his way to the top again. GSP owns a list with wins over pretty much every top 10 fighter in the division he so dominantly reigns and is on his second run through that same bunch. Hopefully, Jake Shields impresses tonight. It'd be nice to see him added to that list.

What's next for 'the natural born killer'

Carlos condit came into the ufc as my favorite to challenge gsp for the belt, a hope that was quickly derailed by Martin kampmann. This past Saturday, Carlos condit impressed with the vicious ko of slugger Dan hardy. When asked what he wanted to do from there, condit showed interest in avenging a loss against either shields or kampmann, who face off this weekend. Condit has showed he can hang with the best strikers in the division, and considering who's at the top of the mountain, now needs to prove he can hang with the elite grapplers of the division. Shields has already been promised a crack at the winner of gsp/koscheck if he is victorious tomorrow, so a shields/condit rematch is unlikely at the moment. Should kampmann be the winner, a rematch might do his ego good, but will only help to keep condit where he already is. Though the winner of Penn/Hughes would be a nice fit, if condit really wants to prove he has what it takes to dethrone st. Pierre, he should set his eyes on Jon fitch. Fitch's lone ufc loss came to gsp, and with his powerful wrestling style, a victory over him puts whoever can do it right in line for a title shot. So if condit is serious about a run at the title, he'd better work on improving his takedown defense and already solid submission game. If all he's interested in is another exciting fight, bring on thiago alves and let the punches, kicks, and knees fly.

UFC Middleweight Allegedly Driving Under the Influence

According to HawaiiNewsNow Chris Leben was allegedly driving under the influence on the freeway when he lost control and crashed into an off-ramp wall. Police say the incident happened a little before 2:00am on Tuesday. Leben did post bail for $1,000. Reports says Leben was also driving without a license and no insurance. Leben is schedule for court on Nov. 22. This is not the first time Leben has been arrested for a DUI. No word yet if this is going to affect his up-coming fight with Brian Stann on Jan. 1 for UFC 125.

KickAss Productions presents: The River City MMA Battle

There's nothing like watching a live fight and with 12 professional bouts to take place, the drive is more than worth it. More info to come on the event including interviews with El Paso's own and main event fighter, Darrill Schoonover, as well as other fighters, full fight card and complete coverage of the event. The fights take place Saturday Nov. 6 at 7:30 pm in the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, TX. Tickets start at $10 and are available now Ticketmaster. If you're unable to make the drive down to San Antonio, the fight will also be available online through PayPerLive on extremeTVnetwork.com.

UFC: 121 Lesnar/Velasquez Breakdown

It's that time again when a UFC belt is up for grabs. 121 not only has a title fight, but is also stacked with big UFC names, both those who need a win to stay in the limelight and those looking to make their way to the top.

In the main event, it's Brock Lesnar defending his belt for the third time, this time against #1 contender Cain Velasquez. In his last fight, Brock showed he can take crazy amounts of punishment and still come out with the win. The fight showed the champ has heart but also exposed his lack of technique both in the stand up and setting up his takedowns. However what he lacks in technique he more than makes up for in size and strength, which is what got him to where he's at in the first place. Velasquez is not only a decorated grappler but a crisp striker who showed he has the enough power in his hands to stop even the most durable fighter. Lesnar overcame size and strength in his last title defense and is now up against cardio and speed. Though Lesnar keeps surprising and improving, I see Velasquez being able to stuff the takedowns, pepper Lesnar with shots, and slowly take over the fight as it goes into the latter rounds, but maybe it's just wishful thinking.

For the co-main event, we have the UFC debut of Jake Shields, who is currently on 14-fight win streak, against Martin Kampmann, who is gaining momentum in the welterweight division. Jake Shields proved the power of his wrestling in his last outing where he decisively decisioned Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler Dan Henderson. He also took Henderson's best shots, and though he did get dazed, was able to continue unlike many other's before him. Martin Kampmann comes in as the underdog though he has all the tools to deliver the upset. He's got very crisp, technical striking and superb ground skills which he showed off in his decision win over jiu jit siu ace and heavy handed Paulo Thiago. Though I see Kampmann being able to compete with Shields on the ground and outstrike him on the feet, I hope Shields takes it in an impressive mannner, for the sake of having another challenge for GSP.

Also on the Main Card, it's master vs apprentice as former UFC LHW champ Tito Ortiz takes on his TUF alumni, Matt Hammill. Though both wrestlers, Hammill's fighting approach is more striking oriented, and though Tito has him beat in both experience and the caliber of fighters they've faced, Hammill is still young, has some good hands, and is catching Tito on the decline of his career. Gabriel Gonzaga takes on Brendan Schaub, Gonzaga looking to stay relevant while Schaub looks for the next step in competition. With the exception of Roy Nelson, Schaub has KO/TKOed everyone whose entered the cage with him but Gonzaga has been in there with the best and has shown power and technique both in his striking as well as his submission game and should have the advantage wherever the fight takes place. In another exciting match up, it's Diego Sanchez vs Paulo Thiago, both coming off losses and looking for a big win. Though similar in their strong jiu jit siu games and semi-predictable striking, Thiago seems to have the advantage in size and power which will more than likely give him the win in combination with Sanchez's frenetic pace. which seems to do him more bad than good nowadays. Sam Stout/Paul Taylor should make it to the PPV considering both are known for their extremely exciting fights. It's a stacked, stacked card. Let's see how it goes

Adrian Gamboa vs. Curtis McNeil

Post Interview w/ CEO of TUFF, Frank Powers

Some inside scoop about Gamboa vs. Chupa and Joe "Diesel" Riggs!

TUFF: The Return Post Interviews

TUFF: The Return results

From stand up brawls to clinch and groundwork, submissions and TKOs, Saturday night, spectators at the Tigua Center were treated to the diversity that MMA has to offer. Though several fighters had to pull out due to a series of unfortunate injuries, what the card ended up lacking in quantity it more than made up for in quality as all the fighters went in and gave their best, making for exciting fights and awesome finishes.

Up first, it was a fight between Zack Beck and Rex McGurk at 165 pounds. The fight started with both fighters instantly meeting at the center of the cage to trade blows with McGurk seeming to have the advantage in that department. Beck quickly took that advantage away by getting the muy thai clinch, in which he delivered several knees. With the advantageous position, Beck went for an unsuccesful guillotine as the round ended. In the second round, Beck came in with a different strategy. He immediately went for a takedown and after scrambling for a couple of seconds, took McGurk's back and sunk in a very swift rear naked choke to end the fight.

Zack Beck defeats Rex McGurk via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:37 of Round 2.

In the second fight of the night, it was Jonathan Pelletter versus Adam McGurk at 155 pounds. The fight started with McGurk immediately getting the better of the stand up. Though having the edge in the striking department, McGurk went for a failed guillotine which left him on his back with Pelletter on top. A scramble ensued which ended with McGurk on top. He immediately took advantage of the position and ended the fight with effective strikes from within the guard.

Adam McGurk defeats Jonathan Pelletter via TKO (strikes) at 2:07 of Round 1.

In the fight before the main event, it was Edgar Delgado up against Fabian Salas at 185 pounds. The fight started with fireworks as both fighters stood in front of each other windmilling punches until Salas caught Delgado with a left hook that took his legs out from under him. Salas immediately chased Delgado. Still dazed, Delgado threw a spinning elbow and though it landed, it didn't slow Salas down, who kept working at putting Delgado away. With Delgado not giving up, Salas changed his approach and easily put Delgado on his back, swiftly transitioned to side control and then mount, where he delivered several unanswered strikes, getting himself the win.

Fabian Salas defeats Edgar Delgado via TKO (strikes) at :37 of Round 1.

For the main event, it was style vs style as established Karate fighter Curtis McNeil took on decorated wrestler Adrian "Guns" Gamboa for 145 TUFF fighting championship belt. Within the first couple of seconds, it was obvious Gamboa wanted no part in the stand up as he immediately clinched McNeil and took him down with apparent ease. Once there, he transitioned to side control where he kept busy with elbows and attempts at gaining mount. McNeil, still in the fight, fought to improve his position but Gamboa's control was too much. Thanks to his patience, Gamboa eventually gained the mount and from there, punished McNeil while focusing on not losing the position. Though McNeil intelligently defended himself the whole time, he was unable to get Gamboa off from mount and after taking several nasty strikes, the ref had seen enough and decided the stoppage was in place.

Adrian Gamboa defeats Curtis McNeil via TKO (strikes) at 2:47 of Round 1.

"In the Clinch" w/ Pete Spratt

TUFF: The Return

Tonight, it's style vs style as Curtis Mcneil takes on Adrian "Guns" Gamboa for the TUFF 145-pound belt. Adrian Gamboa has the ability to get Mcneil to the mat and keep him there, at least on paper. Though a freestyle wrestling national champ, Gamboa feels he can stand and bang with anybody, and with pressure and his well-roundedness, feels comfortable wherever the fight takes place. He packs a heavy punch and is confident in his stand up, though that might be his downfall considering where his opponent's strength's lie. Curtis Mcneil knows what he needs to do. Get up if he gets taken down, keep it standing and let his Karate credentials take care of the rest. As last year's national Karate champ, Mcneil has the ability to throw good kicks, which might put him at risk of getting taken down but could finish the fight at any point. It also gives him the ability to keep his distance and go in and out at will and strike while staying out Gamboa's reach. The fight is really going to comedown to who can impose their will on their opponent.

The rest of the card is filled with fights in various weight divisions, with both local fighters as well as out of town talent. With this being a regional promotion, and the fighters having nothing to lose but lots to gain, expect several wars and the birth of local fighting stars.

TUFF "The RETURN"

"In the Clinch" with Frank Powers

UFC 120: Bisping/Akiyama

Though today's card has gotten it's share of criticism, mostly from the british fanbase, I, for one, am definitely looking forward to it. It might lack a 'huge' main event, it does have a good amount of interesting match ups, all relevant to their respective weight divion. Besides, as 119 proved, big names don't always make for the most interesting fights.

For the main event, it's Bisping's pitter patter boxing going up against Akiyama's brawler-style striking and mastery of judo. Though I usually look forward to Bisping's fights just to hopefully watch him get beat up, he definitely has the tools to take the win. He's got the size and reach advantage, and his style of boxing has proved to be effective at keeping brawlers at a distance and outpoint them. He also has elite level cardio, which is something that will prove to be useful toward's the end of their 3 round match, since it was obvious that Akiyama was completely gassed in his bout with Leben. Akiyama might have run out of steam in his last fight, but he did show heart and the power to do something very few people have done, daze Leben. Bisping might have pretty good takedown defense, but Judo consists of unorthodox takedowns which Akiyama has been able to put to good use against much heavier opponents. It's anyones fight, but I want Akiyama to climb the 185 ladder and watching Bisping lose is never a bad thing.

For the co-main event, we've got 2 of the more exciting fighters in the welterweight division pit against each other. Though Hardy fell short in his fight for the belt, it wasn't because he's not game. It's just, well, nobody can stop GSP's takedowns. Hardy has shown huge power in his strikes, whether at a distance or in the clinch. He's got punches, elbows and knees, all devastating if they connect. Condit is a very technical brawler who goes all out everytime he enters the octagon, has fought high-caliber opponents all his career, and though he's got horrible takedown defense, he's got a great submission game and is very active off his back. I don't see this fight spending much time on the ground, so it's really going to come down to who's the better kickboxer. Neither has a clear cut advantage, but Dan Hardy has proven me wrong everytime I've doubted him, with GSP as the exception, and though it's going to be a close one, I think his power will get him the win in the end. He might not KO Condit, but dazing your opponent always gets you huge points.

The rest of the card is stacked with potentially exciting fights and up and comers trying to make their way to the top. John Hathaway has impressed since his UFC debut and in his fight with Diego Sanchez, proved he can do so against big names as well. He fights Mike Pyle and hopefully he'll put an exclamation mark at the end of that one. Cheik Kongo fights Travis Browne, who is 10-0, with 8 of his wins coming by ko/tko. One would expect a stand up fight but with the danger that Brown poses in the stand up, we might end up seeing Kongo continue to showcase his mediocre wrestling, as he did with Buentello. With an early finish in any of the Main Card fights, we should get to see Cyrille Diabete VS Alexander Gustaffson, both of whom made it to the UFC based on their very exciting stand up game.

New Year Bash

UFC 125 is now official for Jan. 1. Main event will be the rematch of Gray Maynard vs. Frankie Edgar for the UFC Lightweight Title. Both fighters are coming off a win at UFC 118 in late August of this year. Maynard just man-handled Kenny Florian while Edgar just out classed BJ Penn for the 2nd time. Maynard did pull out a Unanimous Decision win over Edgar back in 2008 and giving Edgar his only loss. This fight will most likely go all 5 rounds because that’s how these two fighters win.

MAIN CARD
Champ Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard (for lightweight title)
Shane Carwin vs. Roy Nelson
Takanori Gomi vs. Clay Guida
Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann
Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim

PRELIMINARY CARD
Thiago Silva vs. Brandon Vera
Phil Baroni vs. Brad Tavares

TUFF Main Event 145 lbs (TITLE)

"THE RETURN"
Saturday October 16th 2010 at The Tigua Recreation Center, Socorrro Texas

MAIN EVENT

#1 Contender Adrian "Guns" Gamboa

vs.

Curtis McNeil (Last Years Karate World Champion)

Tigua Rec Center at 11200 Santos Sanchez in Socorro

for  more info: http://www.tuffighting.com 

JAKE SHIELDS

At a press conference yesterday in Montreal promoting UFC 124: GSP vs. Koscheck II, Dana White himself stated that Jake Shields win over Martin Kampmann will most likely get him a title shot against the winner of GSP vs. Koscheck. Jake Shields did vacate the Strikeforce's middleweight title to jump over with the UFC. Shields is on a 14 win streak with the most recent was against Dan Henderson. I would assume that Shields will need to win in a convincing fashion to become number 1 contender and bump off Jon Fitch. Fitch has tweeted "I say winner of Shields vs. Kampmann fights me for a title shot," Which I think will not be the case at all. There would be more money and hype to see Shields get the title shot.

UFC 119 CLEAN

As reported by MMA Junkie (mmajunkie.com) all fighter’s drug test came back clean. Ryan Bader, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Chris Lytle, Sean Sherk, Melvin Guillard, C.B. Dollaway, Matt Mitrione Frank Mir and Mirko Cro Cop all passed. All 9 fighters came clean for performance-enhancing drugs and tested negative for drugs of abuse (such as marijuana and cocaine). I am so glad these tests came back clean because I believe the UFC can’t afford another Chael Sonnen incident.

UFC 124

As of yesterday UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck is official for Dec. 11. The event will take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal. So St-Pierre will have the fight on his home soil. According to Matt Serra it can be a big disadvantage. I just think that was his only excuse to his TKO title loss to St-Pierre, which happened to be at the Bell Centre in Montreal. This is not football and where the crowd can be the 12th man on the field. Is Matt Serra going to look at his team and call an audible like he is Payton Manning? John OVER OVER! Bump Erick! Steve SWITCH Steve! Which means after round 1 John will squirt the water bottle, Erick will use the wet towel and Steve will inform what he needs to do in the 2nd round. Of course the crowd will be yelling GSP! GSP! GSP! GSP! while the octagon is shaking from all the intensity in the arena. All that energy should motivate Koscheck as well. What I am trying to get at is I don’t want to hear when St-Pierre beats Koscheck for the second time is that St-Pierre had his home crowd behind him.

UFC 124 (these fights are not official yet)
• Thiago Alves vs. John Howard
• Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira
• Mark Bocek vs. Dustin Hazelett
• Sean McCorkle vs. Stefan Struve
• Joe Doerksen vs. Dan Miller
• Jason MacDonald vs. Rafael Natal
• Ricardo Almeida vs. T.J. Grant

Super Bowl Showdown

A battle between two future hall of fame light heavyweights is set to take place super bowl weekend. Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin are targeted to fight at UFC 127. This rumored card looks really freakin good. With Anderson Silva taking on Vitor Belfort for the title, and Jon Bones Jones fighting Bader. Rich Franklin is coming off an unbelieveable win over Chuck Liddel. He knocked him out with a BROKEN ARM! Forrest hasnt fought for about a year and is coming off his win over Tito Ortiz in a split decision. I believe Rich Franklin will win this fight just because Forrest Griffin has looked flat out awful in his previous 3 fights. I think it will be a knockout in the second round. Also Anderson Silva will keep his belt and Bones Jones will move up the rankings with another dominating win.

Machida done?!?!

'The Dragon'. Half samurai/half Brazilian fighting machine, machida was bred from birth to be the greatest fighter if his time. Raised by wolves? Even better, he was raised by yoshizo machida. Let's see a wolf earn his third degree black belt in shotokan karate. Machida has been training karate since he was three years old and incorporated both sumo wrestling and bjj into his fight game early on, and won competitions in all of those styles before setting his eyes on mma, where he tore through everyone he's faced with the exception of Shogun. He went 15 and 0 without ever losing a single round, or even being in any sort of danger and taking practically zero damage, including his wins over 3 former ufc champs. He's beaten accomplished wrestlers, strikers, bjj blackbelts, judokas, and shown to be awesome in all aspects of the game. He went 5 rounds with Shogun, currently ranked #1 lhw, in a highly contested match that he ended up taking, and dominated him in the first round of their second match up until he eventually got caught by Shogun's exceptional timing and power. Machida has shown no weaknesses nor have any holes been exposed in his game. Shogun was close to winning their first fight due to a near perfect game plan that was made possible due to powerful kicks, great timing, speed and accuracy, a combined skill set that practically no one else possesses. He won the second one by capitalizing on machida's uncharacteristic aggressiveness. Still, neither proved to be dominant over the other, and given that there is currently no one else at their level, they will meet again, and once again, the better fighter will come out victorious, and yes, by that, I mean machida. Rampage has the perfect style to showcase machida's skill and put him one fight away from getting a chance to get his belt back. Rampage is slow, isn't as good of a wrestler as he used to be, and has no diversity in his striking. Machida's going keep his distance, pepper him with strikes, and frustrate rampage until he exposes himself. I say machida takes it by unanimous decision, but with all the weapons at his disposal, he could very well take it by ko, tko or submission. I got a little distracted there in the beginning with machida's awesome background story, but my point is, machida is still the best. No holes have been exposed in his game, he is not done and unless you're Shogun, you're going to be unable to take him down, get frustrated in the stand up, and just like quick sand, slowly but surely, sink into your loss. And if you are Shogun, well you still have to fight the perfect fight and hope it's enough to take it that night.

Shane Carwin and UFC 125

Shane Carwin is expected to return to the octagon at UFC 125 on Jan 1. Carwin tweeted today “I expect to be on the January 1st card. I do not have an opponent yet. Any takers? @UFC” Carwin hasn’t been in action since his title fight loss to the “Vanilla Gorilla” Brock Lesnar at UFC 116. Carwin did expose Lesnar in the 1st round and almost finished the fight. Unfortunately almost doesn’t make you a champion. Carwin was all gassed out by the 2nd round and Lesnar was able to get a take-down then caught Carwin in a sweet arm-triangle choke to successfully defend his Heavy-Weight Title. Also rumored for UFC 125 is Antonio McKee vs. Jacob Volkmann, Thiago Silva vs. Brandon Vera, Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann and for the Lightweight Title, Champ Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard. Nothing is official right now.

Chael Sonnen will appeal his failed drug test with the California State Athletic Commission on Dec. 2. More details coming soon.

The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale

The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale will take place at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on Dec. 4. Obviously that night they will crown a lightweight fighter as the TUF12 Champion. Also added to the card Kendall Grove (12-7) vs. Demian Maia (13-2) and Stephan Bonnar (12-7 MMA) vs. Igor Pokrajac (22-7). The TUF12 Finale will have some TUF Alumni, Kendall Grove (TUF3 Champion) and Stephan Bonnar (runner-up for TUF1).

Machida's Misery

As you all know the once unstoppable Lyoto "the dragon" Machida recieved his first ever loss to Shogun. Machida is saying that this loss might have been the best thing that happened to him. He believes that this loss reawakened the fire in his career. I think not! Shogun exposed the holes in The Dragons game that nobody could figure out. He is exposed and has no more secrets. I think the year of the dragon is completley over, and will never be brought back! Come UFC 123 Rampage Jackson will finish off what is left of the Dragon. Lyoto had a great career but all great things must come to an end sooner or later....Unless your GSP!

UFC 123 OFFICAL CARD

The Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit will host UFC 123 on Nov.20 of this year. Michigan hasn’t hosted a UFC event since UFC 9 which was way back in 1996. Of course the main event is Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida, two former Light-Heavyweight Champs. Both are coming off a loss in their previous fights. Rampage losing a #1 contender bout against Rashad Evans and Machida losing his Light-Heavyweight Belt to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Both men looking for a win to get back in the title picture.

MAIN CARD

•Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida
•Matt Hughes vs. B.J. Penn
•Maiquel Falcao vs. Gerald Harris
•Tim Boetsch vs. Phil Davis
•Joe Lauzon vs. George Sotiropoulos
PRELIMINARY CARD

•Mark Munoz vs. Aaron Simpson
•Matt Brown vs. Rory MacDonald
•Dennis Hallman vs. Karo Parisyan
•Darren Elkins vs. Edson Barboza
•Paul Kelly vs. Gabe Ruediger
•Nik Lentz vs. Tyson Griffin

TUFFIGHTING

MORE DETAILS COMING SOON

BROCKTOBER

It’s finally here…..BROCKTOBER! Spike TV is pretty much dedicating the whole month of October to Brock Lesnar and why the fuck not? Brock can sell a million PPV buys on just his name alone. The celebration kicks off this BROCKTOBER 6th when UFC UNLEASH will show Lesnar vs. Heath Herring from UFC 87 (5:00pm MST) Lesnar vs. Randy Couture at UFC 91 (6:00pm MST) Lesnar vs. Frank Mir II at UFC 100 (7:00pm MST) Also on the same night the debut of 3 part series "UFC Primetime: Lesnar vs. Velasquez" ( 9:00pm MST) BROCKTOBER 7th will also air "UFC All Access: Brock Lesnar" (10:30pm MST) Then BROCKTOBER 20th SPIKE TV will replay UFC 116 Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin. Oct 23rd UFC UNLEASH will also air Lesnar vs. Mir I at UFC 81 (1:00pm MST) I guess that’s for all the Brock HATERS! Brock Lesnar’s only MMA loss and I think will stay like that for awhile. Then of course we end BROCTOBER at UFC 121 Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez. All around the month of BROCTOBER is stacked with MMA. So enjoy because I know I will.

WEC 51: RESULTS

MAIN CARD

• Jose Aldo def. Manny Gamburyan via knockout (strikes) - Round 2, 1:32 (retains featherweight title)
• Donald Cerrone def. Jamie Varner via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Miguel Torres def. Charlie Valencia via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 2:25
• George Roop def. Chan Sung Jung via KO (head kick) - Round 2, 1:30
• Mark Hominick def. Leonard Garcia via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Tiequan Zhang def. Pablo Garza via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 2:26
• Mike Brown def. Cole Province via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 1:18
• Chris Horodecki def. Ed Ratciff via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
• Diego Nunes def. Tyler Toner via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Antonio Banuelos def. Chad George via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Demetrious Johnson def. Nick Pace via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Jose aldo's alright

Jose aldo is alright. He fights, he wins, and he does it all in style. I take nothing away from the guy. He's got impressive wins over 2 of the best 145ers around and the best, and probably only, flying double knee I've ever seen. I just feel people are giving him way too much credit. Frankie Edgar is a natural 145er but fights at 155 because he wants to fight the best and the ufc's the place for that. Bj Penn beat the champ of the weight above, Matt Hughes, who happened to be unstoppable at the time. Gsp has dominated everyone he's ever fought and showed to be dominant in all aspects of the game. Anderson silva's on a 13 fight win streak that includes wins over guys a weight class above including a former light heavy weight champ. Machida went 15 and 0 without ever losing a round, until he bumped into Shogun. Shogun has ran through pretty much everyone he's faced impressively and is the only guy to hold back to back wins over 2 hall of famers. I'm just saying, he's got to challenge himself a little more before people can say he's one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. All he is right now is a really good fighter outside of the ufc. Jon Jones would already be lhw champ if he was fighting anywhere else. I'd like to see aldo at least go up and fight Ben Henderson. If he's really out to prove he's one of the all time best, pull a frankie and come fight in the ufc. I see frankie, Bj and maynard all being capable of handing him a loss. Tonight, he's supposed to beat manny gamburian, and impressively. After all, manny made it nowhere near the top in his ufc run. If he does, he's still needs some proving to do. If he doesn't, well people need to stop putting his name in the same sentence as bj's.

Strikeforce announces Paul Daley vs. Scott Smith

Strikeforce confirmed that Paul Daley’s debut fight will be against “Hands of Steel” himself Scott Smith. Smith lost his previous fight back in June via KO (kick to the body) courtesy of Cung Le. Meanwhile Daley has won his last two fights after getting cut from the UFC when he sucker punched Koscheck after the fight. Daley’s last win was at Shark Fights 13 via Decision (Unanimous) against Jorge Masvidal. Daley and Smith will meet up on Dec. 3 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo for "Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu."

Stefan Struve signs new deal

Heavyweight Stefan Struve signed a new four-fight deal with UFC as of yesterday.

The 22-year-old Dutch fighter Struve (20-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) last fight was at UFC 117 where he knocked out Christian Morecraft and bounced back from a TKO loss courtesy of Roy Nelson in UFC Fight Night 21.

WEC 51

 

WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan

Sep 30, 2010

Start Time: 7:00pm MST

Location: Broomfield, Colorado
Broadcast: Versus

MAIN CARD

• Champ Jose Aldo vs. Manny Gamburyan (for featherweight title)
• Donald Cerrone vs. Jamie Varner
• Miguel Torres vs. Charlie Valencia
• Chan Sung Jung vs. George Roop
• Leonard Garcia vs. Mark Hominick

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Pablo Garza vs. Tiequan Zhang
• Mike Brown vs. Cole Province
• Chris Horodecki vs. Ed Ratcliff
• Diego Nunes vs. Tyler Toner
• Antonio Banuelos vs. Chad George
• Demetrious Johnson vs. Nick Pace

Quick Thought

So how about the mess in the middle weight division? First you have Sonnen taking the juice and now Belfort isn’t injured and is fighting Silva for the belt. I think Silva has this fight in the bag! His stand up, ground game, and clinch are far better than Belfort. This fight was basically a quick signed fight to cover for Sonnen. No wonder Sonnen dominated the whole fight right? He was jacked up on testosterone! If you ask me Silva should step up and move on to light heavyweight. I mean he isn’t going to have another good fight in middle weight now the Sonnen is off the roids so what is he waiting for? He already took out Forrest like nothing so he proved he can fight with the big boys. I would love to see an Anderson Silva vs. Rashad Evans fight. All I can wait for is Silva and GSP! The next contender is between Okami and Marquardt. This should be a pretty good fight but I think Marquardt will take it by a decision. Overall Middle Weight is shaping up to look pretty good I guess. I just don’t see Silva getting any real competition any time soon. That’s all for now until next time! Keep your fists up and keep fighting!

by: Nick Duran

Preview: UFC119

UFC 119

Though the main event, it not being a championship match or #1 contender status, does not have as much relevance as these past couple of UFC events, the Main Card is filled with some pretty cool, potentially exciting fights.

The main event fight, to me, seems a little bit of a mismatch, considering the difference in weight and caliber of recent opponents. It's still a fight I want to see. Maybe Cro Cop will walk in there, stalk Frank Mir, stuff a couple of take downs here and there and pick him apart until he either sends him to the hospital or the cemetery, depending on his mood. More than likely, he's going to get out boxed and/or out grappled and finished within the first 2 rounds by Frank Mir, but people are allowed to dream, and maybe this is the fight where he finally gives us the awesome head kick KO.

In my opinion, the most interesting and exciting match in the whole card; the Co main event puts up-and-comer Ryan Bader against an established top level fighter in Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. The fight could go either way. Lil' nog has pretty crisp boxing and his last name is Nogueira, so I'm pretty sure he's a whiz on the ground. Bader has heavy hands and power wrestling. Due to Nogueira's performance against Jason Brilz and how dominant Bader has shown to be against all his previous opponents, including Keith Jardine, I say Bader takes it. He's young blood and seems to have the tools to make Nogueira another stepping stone but it should be a pretty competitive fight.

Chris Lytle and Matt Serra, both with solid ground skills and a knack for throwing haymakers, are scheduled to duke it out as the third fight of the night. Matt Serra, after losing to Hughes, got himself a win over Frank Trigg and is out to prove he's still a top 170-pounder. Chris Lytle, though he's lost most his fights against top fighters including Koscheck and Alves, he always puts on a show and didn't seem too outmatched by either of the contenders. Though I think Matt Serra will walk away the winner thanks to his big overhand right, Chris Lytle has the boxing skills and reach advantage to make it his fight.

Another battle between experienced veteran and up-and-comer, Evan Dunham VS Sean Sherk is scheduled to be the second fight of the night. Evan Dunham came out nowhere with his undefeated record, submitted Efrain Escudero and out grappled and out boxed Tyson Griffin. He remains undefeated and looks to add and even bigger name to his win list. Sherk has been missing for like a year and a half now, last seen in his loss to current champ Frankie Edgar. Though Sherk climbed to the top and once held the title at 155, he has recently opted to try and box with whoever's in front of him instead of shooting for the takedown, and has resulted in a couple of losses. With recent releases from top fighters due to losses regardless of an exciting performance and more lightweights climbing up the ranks, Sherk should go back to his wrestling roots and fight to keep his job, even if people think it's boring. I see Dunham using his reach to outbox Sherk and his ground skills to control the ground game for a decision win.

by. Enrique Cabral 

Welcome to DAILY 4 MMA

This blog is to keep you updated on what is going on in the MMA WORLD. We would like to bring you world wide news about MMA but also a LOCAL taste of MMA which would be the El Paso, TX area. There is going to be four writers updating DAILY 4 MMA so you will get different opinions. Our goal is to spread this fast growing sport here locally because we think people do not fully understand MMA yet here locally. Also we don’t carry around a Webster dictionary around so don’t ride us if we misspelled any words. Also we just might write a FUCK here and there. Thank You