brashleyholland

Vitor Belfort has Hepatitis A. Crazy. Shouldn't prevent him from fighting etc as it's a very treatable form of Hep. Hopefully he gets it sorted soon and doesn't miss any time.

I'm with you...Davis' striking is pretty cack, while one of Rashad's best qualities is his head movement. He got clocked by three really good/powerful strikers, but only one was able to finish him. I see Evans using his wrestling in reverse and dishing out a boxing clinic.

And this will always be the trouble with MMA compared to other sports - MMA isn't a sport in the same way that Soccer, Baseball, Golf etc are. There's no international governing body to regulate things....hell, neighboring states don't always have the same regualations. The UFC technically *is* the sport when it comes to pushing through changes and getting things done, but even they are at the mercy of commissions that don't want to play ball and outside of the US is another story entirely. For now at least, the majority of states that do sanction MMA don't do it as a priority, therefor the funding for education and training and monitoring of judges and officials just isn't there. It amazes me how far MMA has come in the 14-15 years I've been watching/involved with it...it equally amazes me how far it has to go

My favourite Chuck Wolfe quote goes something like this: "If you're going to score a round 10-10, you might as well just pick a winner" No, really, he actually said that (or words to that effect, I don't have the exact quote infront of me). Jimmy Smith had an idea...when there is a dubious/questionable/confusing stoppage in Bellator, he tries to grab the ref and get them to explain on camera and to the crowd why he called the stoppage. We don't always catch a fighter's eyes rolling back for a brief moment, or an arm going limp for a second etc, so the ref can at least explain why he made the call he did. Now Smith's idea for judging is to make judges accountable in the same way. So in the case of the Warren Galvao fight, Smith would have interviewed Chuck Wolfe on camera to explain why he scored the bout the way he did. I dunno if I like it. On one hand, if guys are being lazy or bias, it might prevent that if they know they could be hauled up infront of a camera/house mic to explain themselves. My worry is that it would simply lead to shows being held up by up to three judges explaining their scoring while the crowd boo's so loudly that nobody can hear them anyway. You could even argue that judges may be swayed to score close bouts the way they think the crowd wants them to go, to avoid getting hauled up infront of them. If it's simply a case of a lack of ability on the judge's part though, making them take responsibility in that particular way isn't going to help. The dream solution is a standardised, nation-wide Unified Rules judging qualification with regular refresher courses/tests...but that just isn't going to happen.

Who are ya? (pronounced Oooh-aaah-yah): Chanted at anyone making a scene, being too big for their boots etc. Usually reserved for overpaid, crybaby footballers who make a tit of themselves, then throw a hissy fit. They were also chanting "That's Illigal" when he lit the ciggy, because we have a smoking ban here in the UK. I seem to remember some theatre company getting an excemption because smoking was a key part of one of the characters in the production they were putting on. Dunno if that applies to every 'entertainment' show put on, or was just a one-off. If it's the latter, your man could be in for a fine :-p

I dunno about ease...an un-injured Griffin took three rounds and a fair old beating to put away a seriously injured Shogun in the first fight. I'm not saying Forrest can't beat him, but now that he's in worse shape than Rua injury wise, it's certainly not gonna be a walk in the park.

I feel you. Part two is gonna be 80's cartoons, I've gone with Voltron and Centurions. I'd love to see both on the big screen, but I fear what Hollywood would do to them. Voltron is apparently already a go...

Shameless plug time...I'm writing a series of articles on movie adaptations I'd like to see...comic books, cartoons, video games, remakes etc. First one is comic books, I'll post the rest as they go up... http://www.rhinoballs.com/2011/04/15/movie-adaptations-that-need-to-happen-now-part-1-comic-books/ Enjoy!

The DREAM Japan Bantamweight Grand Prix is official!!! Top three fighters will get a spot in the World Bantamweight GP, although that may be a case of chickens being counted before they are hatched, considering DREAM's financial state. Still, good news! Keisuke Fujiwara, Masakazu Imanari, Yoshiro Maeda, Kenji Osawa, Takafumi Otsuka, Hideo Tokoro, Darren Uyenoyama and Atsushi Yamamoto are the line up, and there could be super fights with Joachim Hansen, Coal Uno, Shinya Aoki, Katsunori Kikuno and Mitsuhiro Ishia to boot.

He's actually pretty well thought of with the UFC brass. I don't know that Dana is good buddies with him like he is with guys like Chuck, but the business relationship that exists between the Wolfslair, Bisping and the UFC is a really good one. Obviously they weren't happy with the spitting thing, but he's getting off a lot easier than many guys would. Me. No, seriously, there will never be British MMA fighters that are good at wrestling in the way that Americans are good at wrestling. We don't have the programmes and even if guys like Dan Hardy can go and live and train full time in the states, or Bisping can bring over top-quality wrestling coaches, they're fighting guys who have been on the mat since they were 10 years old, or younger. We don't even have judo or boxing in schools any more...it's too big of a gap. I'm not saying that as the sport gets bigger over here that there won't be guys who can overcome the deficit, or individuals who are just natural wrestling talents, but on the whole you're never going to see Brits in the Octagon winning with wrestling against Americans. There is a British-based kid called Gunnar Nelson who is a 22-year-old Renzo Gracie BJJ blackbelt. He has pretty good natural wrestling ability but again, he's more of an exception to the rule. Plus he's not technically British (in fact, I don't even think he lives here any more), but we like to claim him as our own :-p

Bisping is, and will be for some time, their biggest British star. They don't need him to be likeable, he works just as well as a guy you love to hate. He gets a reaction, that's all that's important, and the crowds go nuts for him here in the UK. As for others, you've got Brad 'One Punch' Pickett, who has a big fight with Miguel Torres coming up. He's an ex-boxer who has been training and living in the states for a while now, super-talented both standing and on the ground and incredibly exciting to watch. Torres could be a bad match-up for him reach-wise, but a win would put him right up there in the title hunt. Personally I rate Ross Pearson a lot. Trouble he doesn't have the personality of guys like Hardy and Bisping. When it comes to guys they haven't signed yet, there are a few dudes on the UK circuit they've been looking at. Ronnie Mann could be a big star, he's signed on with Bellator at the moment but don't be shocked to see the UFC go after him if he keeps winning. Alex Makhonin and Che Mills are another couple they've been looking at. Hathaway and Hardy shouldn't be written off, either. If Hardy can get three wins under his belt against lesser opposition his losing streak will be forgotten. The UFC think very highly of him; he's one of the few Brits that the American fans get behind. Hathaway is still very young; one loss against a talented veteran like Mike 'Universal Soldier' Pyle doesn't mean much in the long run.

It's going to be an interesting styles clash; Gomi's heavy-handed slugging vs Edson's faster and more varied attack. Could even see some vintage Gomi taking the fight to the ground if he can't deal with the speed. One thing is for sure, now that 95% of notable MMA fighters are under the Zuffa banner, we're starting to see some quality match ups on the big stage.

To be upfront, I haven't watched Tough Enough (saw a little of last weeks)...but from reading this thread, it seems like there are a lot of similarities with a very similar show which is more my neck of the woods, namely The Ultimate Fighter. A lot of the issues people have with it are the same issues many MMA fans had with TUF years ago. London hit the nail on the head with the highlighted phrase...Tough Enough isn't about finding the next big WWE star, otherwise the Miss World (who I'm assuming has no wrestling background) wouldn't have even made the second call back. The Afro guy who was too unfit to run across the ring would have been turfed out; he's not going to get super fit in the few weeks that it takes to film these shows. All TE is there for is to provide the TV network with 12 weeks of good ratings. End of. Its the same with TUF, talented fighters are turned away from the trials and casting calls in droves in favour of TV-friendly personalities, many of whom can't fight for s**t. I've been to TUF trials and casting before and believe me, the UFC brass who are filmed watching them have basically no say whatsoever as to who makes the final cut. They don't even do full record checks until the final stages of elimination. Amir Sadollah lied about his record to get on (he was 0-0, with a couple of amateur bouts) but the Spike TV peeps wanted him in because he was a good personality. Point being, so what if this Matt guy was the best wrestler on the show. The show isn't about finding the best wrestler, it's about 12 weeks of passable TV.

I thought it was an absolute war. Nearly had a vodka and Japanese dumpling induced heart attack when Daley knocked him down!! Spoke to Paul very, very briefly just now, he's very pragmatic. Personally, I think it'll be the end of his career in top flight (read: Zuffa-owned) MMA. BAMMA, MFC, Shark Fights....here he comes. EDIT: As for the stoppage, absolutely fair.....although, who wouldn't have wanted them to let it go for another couple of seconds? :-p

It's not that black and white...fights are judged on a percentage system....so if a greater part of the offence in the fight is takedowns (i.e. there is more offensive time spent on takedowns and their aftermath), then they are weighted more heavily in the scoring. I'm not saying it's ideal, but that's the way it is. By the letter of the law, it was a draw.

As far as the JArdine/Mousasi goes...morally, we all know who won the fight...but by the letter of the law, it was a draw. 10-8, 9-10, 9-10. You get four takedown in 5 mins in American MMA and it wins you the round. The point deduction was justified without a warning by the letter of the law, so that's a 10-8 in my book. Two 10-9's to Mousasi makes it a 28-28 draw. Japanese MMA is...different. Mainly because most Japanese fighters come up through the Shooto system. Shooto isn't a promotion like the UFC or Strikeforce...it's a governing/sanctioning body. The promoters are companies like Sustain, which is the main Shooto promoter. In Shooto, you have to have licences to fight at certain levels. You start off in the amateur ranks and progress to B and A class Pro ranks. You have to train at a Shooto-approved gym. Anywho...as for the Japanese style...firstly, they cut little to no weight. Secondly, no elbows. Thirdly, the ground game is more Judo/Catch based than BJJ based. Finally, the haircuts are 300% more gangsta.

Yeah, for six years. Ended up in prison for a year. The story goes that he saw an episode of TUF while inside, and on the day of his release had his dad drop him off at a BJJ school. He had his first ammy bout a week later. There's a film coming out about him this year. I dunno about that...Diaz is a top five WW (top four?), Daley is easily top ten...Mousasi lurking outside the 205 top ten due to inactivity in the division...Aoki and Kawajiri are in with a good shout of being top 10 LW's, Gil Melendez is top 2-3 at 155...Takeya is top ten at 145 (although his fight probably won't get shown)... Plus pretty much EVERYONE on the card is exciting as hell to watch...I'd say it's as stacked a card as we've seen so far this year, especially for a non-UFC, non-PPV effort.

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.

I'm going to hazard a guess that he's finally drank/drugged himself to death. EDIT: Near enough. It's sad, yes. But when someone dies in a car crash or of old age it's sad. When someone does that to themself, I can only feel sorry for their family and friends.

Yes. No, no, no and no :-D I'm actually (and don't ask me why, because I have no logical reason) taking Daley by KO or TKO due to cuts in the first half of the fight. This makes no sense; logic dictates that Diaz takes it to the mat and taps him in five mins. But I have a feeling. It took Diaz three rounds to beat Muhsin Corbbery. It took him nearly six mins to beat Thomas Denny, the guy who lost to the bully on Bully Beatdown. He went three rounds with Scot Smith, got caught hard by Zaromskis and traded with KJ for five rounds. I know how hard Paul has been training for this one...my gut feeling is that *if* Diaz tries to fight Daley like he fought any of those guys, he'll either get creamed early on, or have to take a second trip to that plastic surgeon to have Semtex's elbow imprint ironed out of his face. Daley, second round stoppage (and by that I mean Diaz, 2nd round submission). It bothers me that Kawajiri hasn't been training in a cage. We've seen countless Japanese fighters look lost outside of the ring and while Kawajiri is probably the most tailor-made Japanese fighter for the 'American style', I don't think he can cut it against Melendez. Gil is the better striker, I think we'll see him use his wrestling in reverse for the first few rounds while he works Kawajiri on the feet, before bull-rushing him into the cage and takeing him down as the fight wears on. From there he'll beat on the challenger until he gives up his back for the RNC. Melendez, third round, submission. The only way Jardine beats Mousasi is by getting him on his back, which he isn't good enough to do. Mousasi is too fast, and hits too hard. DoM will throw a leg kick, then eat a right-straight down the pipe and a left hook that will take his stupid looking head off in the 1st. Mousasi, second round KO As for Aoki, I just don't think he wants it anymore. Any fighter that talks retirement at his age raises questions for me. Although, I'd probably never want to show my face in a ring/cage again if I'd just been KO'd by a transvestite. Plus if Lyle loses again he'll be back on the crack pipe. I'm taking Fancy Pants by wedging Aoki into the cage and battering him with punches, elbows and meth sweat. Beerbohm, decision.

Gets even scarier when I tell you that Dan weighed 192lbs for that fight! Fact is though, EVERYONE at WW is going to have a huge size advantage on Penn, because weighs less than 170lbs. Even the smallest guy at welter is going to have 10lbs on him.

I'm thinking second round sub for Big Sexy. I don't really know what all the fuss was about Morecraft.

Well, I'm going on a weekend-long gonzo journalism bender as of 9am Friday morning...erm, sorry, I mean...I'm going to professionally and soberly attend the UCMMA 19 weigh-ins, press conference and fights, so I'll drop my UFN picks before I go. Davis over Lil' Nog. Argh, I hate picking against Rogerio. I think I picked him to beat Bader, but after seeing that fight and the Brilz fight, I don't know what he's going to have that will get him a W against Mr Wonderful. Davis by decision. Johnson over Hardy. Again, a real 'ARGH' pick this one. I like Dan a lot. He's an awesome guy. I even put red highlights in my hair in support of him for this fight. I just get the feeling that Rumble is going to go back to his wrestling after Hardy finds his riddum' on the feet. Rumble by decision. Close decision. Sadollah over Johnson, (T)KO, 2nd round. Meh fight. Jung over Garcia. The Zombie apparently wont be using his Zombie style for this fight, which IMO is a good thing. If history has taught us anything it's that Garcia wins sloppy brawls on the scorecards by default. Jung by submission, 2nd round. Bruce Leeroy, Madsen, Hathaway, McDonald, McCorckle, Hendricks, Simpson and Lentz on the most stacked UFN undercard ever. Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to drink enough wine to wake up suitably hung-over, tired and angry enough to start my Ultimate Challenge weekend properly. I love my job.

The guys in the two posts directly above him :-p I've been hearing a lot of it to be honest...personally I think it's more to do with the card looking *so* good on paper that people were disappointed that it wasn't the BEST UFC EVAR!!!1! I thought it was a really solid event...Jim Miller looked great, the Barboza/Njokuani fight (which I'd been telling anyone who would listen would be fight of the night all week) was sick, Faber-Wineland was good...and we got a gutsy performance and a highlight-reel finish out of the CroCop fight. Each to their own I guess.

^ This right here. The fact that he even calls himself 'Sugar' is an insult to the Ray Leonard's and Ray Robinson's of the world.