brashleyholland

Not really. What's more damaging? A) UFC showing that ESPN creatively edits its interviews to present things in a certain context (which everyone knows anyway, and has gone on since journalism was born). B) ESPN brings to the public's attention via mainstream media an issue that has only previously been discussed amongst hardcore online fans/talking heads? Plus the argument that Lorenzo made about ESPN only paying bottom level fighters $100's was both factually inaccurate and an irrelevant comparison. With that said, the ESPN piece had its flaws. Glaring ones at that. I think if anything though, the UFC's reaction to it has only served to give the issue more publicity. I did lol at ESPN wheeling out bitter, broke old Kenny Shamrock though, and the UFC's little "F*** you, Ken" at the end of their clip.

And you've been to all these places and listened to the live crowds to know who they are, and are not, cheering/applauding/booing, yes? Because what you don't see/hear on the TV paints a very different picture. Favouritism is no more or less blatant in Brazil than it is anywhere else in the world. Just so happened that there was a particularly loud, vocal crowd last night. Mike Pyle was applauded by some sections of the crowd on his way out of the Octagon. So was Mendez. I'm sure others were too. ...maybe not Rumble

Congratulations - you just described nearly every sports fan everywhere.

He's definitely got something different for Anderson to worry about. I'm all for a Palhares/Silva fight this time next year assuming they both keep winning. Could be a great 'passing of the torch' from one Brazilian superstar to the next if Palhares can pull it off.

The first UFC I can remember watching at home, on my own, just sitting back with a nice cold Pepsi and some Chinese food, enjoying the fights. Loved it. Barboza looked great. Silva looked great, and the bad call won't blemish his career. Palhares is quickly becoming a killer at MW, there's definably the fear factor when fighting him as well. Rumble got what he deserved, I guess. Shame that it'll be tainted by some shoddy stand ups. Aldo looked like a monster, and this could be his coming out party. Great night, all in all.

Lol, especially funny if you know that what the crowd are chanting is basically "You're dead". And not in a "X Fighter is gonna kill you" pro-wrestling way, more like a "You will be beaten to death tonight, one way or another" :-p And wow, what a finish. Jose Aldo sparks Mendes with a knee, pounds him out, then runs out of the cage and sparks a near riot. Classic moment in the history of the sport right there.

It's a shame that silly little issues like this can't be cleared up with some specific wording in the unified rules. The fact is, it *IS* open to interpretation of the ref, but the 'mohawk' is the readily accepted standard as opposed to the 'earmuffs'. Either way, you stop the fight, take a point and assess, if you think the blows are illegal. Don't wanna rag on Yamasaki too much, refs have a crazy hard job. Like you said, you could see that he knew he'd dropped a clanger. Also, lol at Joe and Goldy repeatedly saying that Rumble got very close to making weight. They're either haven't seen the statement from Rumble's manager saying the lowest he got was 192, or having to lose 7lbs in less than 3 hours is 'close' in there book. I guess it sounds a whole lot less unprofessional for all concerned though.

Terrible call by Mario Yamasaki. One shot to the back of the head at the very end. Remember, the back of the head is defined to fighters as a thin, mohawk-like strip down the back of the skukk to the base. I counted one illegal shot there. Boo. I'm sure Silva will get his win $$$

http://d3j5vwomefv46c.cloudfront.net/photos/full/496250330.gif?Expires=1326599966&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIYVGSUJFNRFZBBTA&Signature=qWR3CUrX~xvOmnCrByXGEoFTxemBiOy7eI3ooalcLBHzbdDKypZJXEuGfiuLOlwBUeMuOSSMtDc9iH8dugkQywvQWqh4GQhCcQWKrvVRdw4LUWOD1IRBIVZr3kAZOmw~q-8EWmGaLcWfKChmQOlP8-cMMrcbjjDXPoHWlg~ovNE_

Nope, MANBEARPIG. I'm super cereal.

How was that fight in any way boring? Any, never mind that....we just saw the best KO in UFC history.

How can clinical mean bad in relation to this, lol? Just solid, basic technique, going through the motions like he was on the practise mats.

Clinical performance from Gonzaga, but Oliveira didn't look good by any stretch. Gonzaga vs Phil de Fries in England later this year...yes please! Interesting fact: Napao is Portuguese for Man-Bear-Pig.

Vitor just weighed in at 205.6lbs, Johnson just weighted in at 211lbs, according to Dana White.

They're going to decide after the event.

Yes he did, the replay showed he did. From the angle that they only showed once.

Exactly. I've been saying this for the last 24 hrs: The worst part of this is the horrible position it puts Belfort in. Regardless of what's happened, Johnson's attitude has been appalling. The only thing he should be saying now is 'sorry', not telling people he doesn't care over facebook, or looking for sympathy. I speak to a lot of people who are starting out in the management game and managers who are just embracing new technology. The first thing I tell them is "get your guy a twitter/facebook". The second thing I tell 90% of them is "never let him use it". I believe some of the more confrontational statements were taken down from his facebook, but however this plays out, Rumble won't come out of it looking good. Shame, as this could have been a massive coming out party for him. EDIT: I'm being told that Vitor is being compensated quite handily by the UFC for taking the fight, in addition to the 20% of Johnson's purse

Nope. He was 191.5 yesterday morning according to his manager. He was told to rehydrate 3hrs before weigh in. He never got down to 186, but his manager said he could have had he not been ill. I'm a little doubtful to be honest - I'd hate to be treated by a doctor that clears a guy to fight after hearing that he can't feel his legs hours before a weigh in. The missing piece of the puzzle is *when* the UFC were informed. If this rehydration did indeed start 3hrs before the weigh in, they should have been informed straight away so that Vitor could also stop his weight cut. So Johnson needs to pick a side: He's either massively unprofessional, or shady as hell.

Rumble weighed in at 204.2lbs. Fight is on.

You know as much as me as to why I'm afraid. I've not seen him since early December. I would assume its a lack of money/fights situation, but I don't know for sure, just that he's definitely out of the fold this time.

Big John's book is great. I think its on Amazon, not sure (I was sent a copy by the author). Really good insight into his early life and career as a police officer. When it gets to the UFC though, it gets really good. Some great 'back in the day' stories. He's also very honest and doesn't toot his own horn, like a lot of the ghost-written MMA books. Also try No Holds Barred by Clyde Gentry, A Fighter's Heart by Sam Sheridan and Total MMA by Jon Snowdon. Jens Pulver's books are amazing and disturbing. The film about his life, Driven, is a great companion. Don't read Chuck Liddell's book, whatever you do.

...and correct. Both were said to be fixed by John McCarthy - who reffed both - in his autobiography

Kong is no longer with BAMMA. Its funny, I was actually promised the exclusive on the whole BAMMA 9/Nate thing from BAMMA themselves. But BAMMA being BAMMA told their publicist to 'leave it till Monday' so Lex (Nate's manager) went public with MMA Fighting. D'Oh! I did get the first official statement from BAMMA though, and it is what it is. They moved Nate's debut back for the second time, and the guy needs to fight/earn money. The implication in the press release is that ties were severed purely because of the date changes, the latest of which is being put down to logistics with new TV deals/business developments. What I do know is this; Nate's deal was £20,000 to fight, £20,000 to win...and what I'm hearing unofficially is that they don't have the money. BAMMA 9 is now officially moved to March 24th. There should be some fights released on Monday. With no Kong, Daley or Nate, it's gonna be interesting to see who they go with. Jimmy Wallhead vs Yoshida maybe? Neil Grove was talking to them about fighting when we were all out in Nottingham before BAMMA 8. Who knows?

MMA Trivia (Try not to Google it!): Tito Ortiz wasn't paid by the UFC for two of his fights with the promotion. Why? Mark Coleman's Pride 2000 GP win is forever tainted due to the towel being thrown in his semi-final fight with Kazuyuki Fujita before a single blow was landed. Had Pride not pulled this little trick, who would Coleman have fought in the semi's? What was the outcome when the two unofficially fought years later? Name two UFC fights claimed to be fixed by an official (ref or judge) who was involved in the fight? Royce Gracie's legendary bout with Sakuraba should never have happened. Why?

The cut off for most commissions at MW, within the LHW limit is a 12lb difference. Johnson made this. That is to say, if a fighter misses 186, the opponent is allowed up to 197. This is not a written rule though, more of an accepted cut off point for commissions. At the end of the day though, it's down to the fighter. If Vitor weighs in at 185.1lbs, by the rule book he's a light heavyweight anyway. This fight will go down in history as a light heavyweight bout, assuming Rumble makes 205lbs tomorrow. If this was in Vegas..it'd probably still go down. If it was under a commission with which the UFC didn't have as much influence...who knows?