I would not argue with Wanderlei Silva

As reported on MMAJUNKIE.COM

"I talked with (UFC President) Dana (White) three or four events ago, and I said, 'We need to create a new division at 195 (pounds),'" Silva said. "Because for me, my normal weight is 210 or 208 (pounds). For 205, it's not too much (weight to cut). For 185, it's a lot. For 195, it's perfect."

A feared striker, Silva has struggled in recent years. The 32-year-old has earned just one win in his past five fights, and has constantly been the smaller contestant in his matchups.

Silva knows White already has enough on his plate without the addition of a new division. But the former Chute Boxe fighter also believes a 195-pound class could benefit a range of contestants.

"[White] has got a lot of work," Silva said. "There's a lot of divisions, a lot of fighters. But now, maybe this is the first fight and in the future we'll have a new division. (There's) a lot of fighters in my situation."

In recent interviews with MMAjunkie.com Radio, fighters such as Dan Henderson, Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Houston Alexander have all said they walk around just above 205 pounds, but that the cut to 185 pounds is simply too much.

All "I would not argue with Wandy" jokes aside I think he has a valid point, the LHW division is crowded and clearly some fighters would be better served at 195. Plus the addition of another viable weight class would help in the development of new talent and provide a future home for upcoming stars that fit in the same category.

This is not the first time is has been brought up but hopefully, this time it will gain some traction.

State of Maine: Land of Lobters and Cagefights

As reported by the Seattle Times:

One of the world's top mixed martial arts fighters asked lawmakers to support regulating the full-contact combat sport in Maine, as dozens of other states already have done.Marcus Davis of Bangor, who claims the world's No. 8 ranking in the 170-pound weight class, was among several to back Rep. John Tuttle's bill to license and regulate these events.

In Maine, Tuttle, D-Sanford, called mixed martial arts "the fastest growing sport in the nation" and said two of the state's cities — Bangor and Portland — could serve as venues for the sport if it becomes recognized.

A co-sponsor, Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, said "there's an opportunity, there's an interest, there's a fan base" for the sport, but no "guiding structure to let this happen in Maine."

The committee did not vote on the bill and will review it again on March 27.

This is a slam dunk. UFN Portland, Maine. Summer of 2010.

Bill Goldberg is the worst MMA announcer ever

After catching a rerun of Elite XC (Lawler v. Rua) it is clear to me that Bill Goldberg did some major damage to the retarded beast that was ProElite V1.0. More to the larger issue and undeniable fact: Goldberg is (was?) the worst MMA announcer ever.

Way worse than Tito. At least with Titos incompetence as an announcer there is also some humor...I mean there is some entertainment value attached to his gems of wisdom.As well documented by Cagepotato.com:

"Well, like I said, you show your hand-speed time and time again Vitor, 185 pounds, lady and gentlemen, let's give Vitor Belfort a round of applause, an awesome 105 pounder, you just beat the number two guy in the world, buddy, you're on top of the world tonight!"

"Wow! That’s all I got to say. Vitor at 185 pounds. I don’t know. I see him beating the, uh, what was it, Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart because you have two great boxers, and, man, that was amazing. That was the old Vitor Belfort that we all want to see. Him at 131 years old. He’s back for vengeance."

I mean...that s*** is funny in a very Michael Scott sort of way.

But with Goldberg...there is just...agony. There is nothing funny about inappropriate yelling, forced camaraderie and uncomfortable lack of MMA knowledge. It's the trifecta of annoyance...nothing funny about it.

Keep him away from the Mike that is near the cage and no one gets annoyed.

Frank Shamrock is a role model

As MMAJUNKIE.COM reported:

Frank Shamrock is looking to cast a crew of deserving fighters into a new reality show project. The March 21 Team Shamrock tryouts will provide a chance for a group of young fighters to become overnight stars. "March 21 we've got a massive tryout coming up," Shamrock said. "We've got guys coming in from all over the world. We're also filming it and producing a reality show in conjunction with it."

Shamrock said the winner of the tryouts, being held at the San Jose Athletic Club in San Jose, Calif., will get a chance to train with the former UFC and Strikeforce champion and be the subject of a new reality show.

OK...not a terrible idea. It's not original but it's not terrible. No one can blame him for being an enthusiastic if opportunistic entrepreneur. No, but you can blame him for saying something like:

"We're looking to take on guys and guide them professionally because there's a huge lack of professional guidance in the industry," Shamrock said. "And we're looking for eight guys to really become our talent and to follow them around as they go through this journey."

So...the problem is that there is a lack of professional guidance in the indusrty and the solution is...Frank Shamrock?

Let's be open and honest...he has a long list of bad decisions, a super-cheesy-game-show-host persona and a 2-2 record in the last 3 years...right, any young fighter would certainly gain from his professional guidance. Please.

Having said all of that...I am going watch that show and so are you.

Jason "Mayhem" Miller is the new MMA PR Rep

First off...I am going to watch this show. Even though it has the potential to be bad...REALLY REALLY bad. It's a risk I'm willing to take...Mayhem is a funny bastard and I would probably watch it even if it were hosted by Tito Ortiz. In fact, at this point, I would watch a group of MMA fighters paint a house.

At face value, this looks like a good thing for MMA. MTV is a great springboard for reaching the tween/teen/college crowd. In addition, any current MMA fans will still be a fan regardless of how bad it is.

However, this could be a"new fan repellent" if it stinks. People that are not fans currently or those on the fence could see this as a reflection of the sport and if that reflection is unsightly...they will judge and move away quickly.

Yes I know...TUF sometimes does the same thing. The only difference is that with TUF everyone on the show are actually fighters striving to move up a level. This show just has a "bully" fighting an MMA fighter...seems fair.

Plus, it seems clear that TUF has actually increased the number of MMA fans. That may not be the case with this show...I mean...it's MTV. If you think that the sport doesn't need new fans then you are foolish.

There is a direct correlation between number of fans a sport has and the amount of money that the athletes of that sport can make. There is also a correlation between money that an athlete can make and the quality of the athletes playing. The last jump is the easiest...the better the athlete the better the fights and the healthier the sport becomes.

To continue to grow, MMA needs new fans.

So, the reality is that Jason "Mayhem" Miller (and MTV editors...yikes) may hold a certain amount of sway of how many incremental fans the sport acquires over the course of the shows life.

I have my fingers crossed, you should too.

Last call out of MMA town for Kimbo Slice

Ups to the The Nassau Guardian, (a newspaper that sounds like a bodyguard)

“Boxing is really my first desire. I have a lot of love for it and believe I can do pretty well. [The sport of] MMA is somewhat of a project for me. Boxing is one dimensional while there are a lot of dimensions in MMA. I don’t think it would be a hard transition from MMA to stand-up boxing because of my fighting style. Not taking anything away from boxing preparation, MMA training is extremely hard. When you consider martial arts training, you have to prepare for kicks to the head and legs, and opponents wanting to grapple and throwing you to the ground, pounding you with their knees and hands, whereas in boxing you just have to be prepared to weave and bob although the training can be just as intense. At this point in my career, I want to take that same drive and focus that I invested in MMA and put that into training for pro-boxing cards.”

Uh-huh...sure it's your first desire. I don't respect this guy, never have and I probably never will. However, I would have respected him a lot more if he had just said "MMA is too difficult to master...I am simply too one dimensional for the sport...I am fine with just punches." Regardless of the reason why...his departure from MMA is a good thing...he has been exposed as the joke that true MMA fans knew that he was. If fact, there is a question as to whether or not Elite XC even wants him to fight his last two contract fights.

The end could not come soon enough for Kimbos MMA career. Good riddance Kimbo...you will not be missed.

Lyoto Machida, Cage Fighter with Elusive Tendancies

What would happen if Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida were to
fight himself?

Clearly there would be the potential for a very boring fight. It certainly would not have the pace of a Guida v Guida or a GSP v GSP.

Now, For the record, I love watching him fight and I think he will be a legitimate contender for years. I also like the fact that his base is Karate and that he DIDN'T wrestle in college. Having a diverse mix of top fighters is better for everyone and in that regard, Machida is a breath of fresh air.

He is perceived as a "boring" fighter by some fans...8 of his 14 fights have gone to the Judges scorecard. People like seeing fights finished...plain and simple. However, there is also a group that find his style intelligently elusive...a progression in the evolution of the Mixed Martial Artist.

A big part of Machidas game is waiting for his opponent to strike and then mounting his offense as a counter. In some cases, he just skips the counter strike part altogether...simply moving away from his opponent. As "elusive" as he is...he is also very deft in picking apart the holes in his opponents defense and has the ability to mount a devastating offense (Silva UFC 94, Ortiz UFC 84, Franklin 2003 Inoki Festival etc...) when given the opportunity.

Problem is...if both fighters have the same strategy and they are both waiting for a punch to be thrown from the other guy...that could a while for some action. Even when/if the punch is thrown...the "Other Machida" could simply move away and not counter.

Not exactly a crowd pleasing combination. With that said 2 of his last 3 fights have been finished...choking out Soko and knocking out Thiago Silva with a vicious, last second punch.

Styles make fights and that's why his last fight against Thiago Silva was such a great match up...Silva is a very aggressive striker facing someone who loves to react to strikes. His upcoming title fight against "Sugar" Rashad Evans has the same potential.

What will happen when he faces a fighter with a similar strategy? Who knows...that's one of the reasons why this sport is so amazing...a infinite number of possibilities and outcomes all while being very unpredictable.

A the end of the day, he is a great fighter who has not lost an MMA match while facing "A" grade competition.

It's hard to argue with that.

Welcome to the UFC Mr. Condit

Ricardo Almeida and a few recent TUF grads including the venerable Junie "please think I'm crazy" Browning. PLUS the kick off of the lastest TUF season...USA vs. UK. All of this for the low price of nothing...totally free.

Sign me up.

NSAC...as Spike Lee Says...Do the Right Thing

GSP is a better fighter than BJ Penn.

If they fought 100 times GSP would win 95 of those fights. He is bigger, stronger, quicker and has much better cardio. That fact is not sitting well with BJ "The Prodigy" Penn. So upset was BJ that he latched on to a lapse in judgment by GSPs corner and rode it all the way to a formal complaint.

While I will agree that there is some good that can come from this...Vaseline needs to be handled with more care...the fact that GSP would have won that fight regardless needs to rise above everything else.

Keith Kizer and the rest of the NSAC need to put a procedure in place to avoid this from happening again but they should not overturn the victory or fine or suspend GSP. To do so would validate the ego-centric rants of the king of all Sore Losers = BJ PENN.

GSP > BJ

Video Game Envy...

EA wants to play too...

As reported by kotaku.com

Electronic Arts has long been rumored to have eyes for a mixed martial arts title. IGN got to the EA Sports chief at a launch event and asked, obliquely, if that was so.

Phrasing the question as "which sport he'd like to see EA Sports tackle next," Moore said that, while they're "incredibly excited" about Fight Night, boxing is fading into the distance.

"Boxing, for me, sadly feels like it's the past of fighting and Mixed Martial Arts feels like it's the future of fighting. So when we look at where people's attention is going, that's something we keep a very close eye on."

THQ has the license for an Ultimate Fighting Championship game until 2011, but there are, conceivably, ways to go ahead with an MMA title without UFC branding, just like there are football games out there without NFL licensing. Whatever the case, Moore's comments were pretty direct that mixed martial arts will be part of his division's next big leap.

EA Sports Mixed Martial Arts Title in the Works? [IGN via GoNintendo]

First off...Moore is right. Boxing is a dying sport and MMA is the next evolutionary step of combat sports.

What's more....Zuffa has control over the fighters in Undisputed FOREVER...yes that forever...as in always. It's called perpetuity which is latin for "by the balls". If ANY company wants to make a UFC game with any of those fighters...Zuffa gets a piece. Like him or hate him, Dana White is not stupid. I still can't wait to play this game.

Run Forrest Run!

There is a lot riding on the upcoming THQ videogame...UFC undisputed. THQ has hit rocky times financially and the UFC have not entered the game market in almost a decade. This will either help to save THQ and help to continue Mr Whites dominance of the MMA landscape OR it will push a THQ into deeper waters and well...Zuffa will still be dominant.

One component...what fighter will grace the cover has been decided:

From IGN.com:

March 13, 2009 - THQ and Zuffa today announced that Forrest Griffin has been tapped to appear on the worldwide cover of UFC 2009 Undisputed. Griffin is a former light heavyweight champion after winning his UFC contract on Spike TV "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show in 2005.

Canada will see a special cover that will only be available to Canucks. It features Georges St-Pierre, a Quebec native. St-Pierre is currently the welterweight champion and was recently named Canada's Athlete of the Year for 2008.

By the looks of what is out there...I think both companies are all set...I can't wait to play this game and then have my 10 year old son beat me.

For more on the production of the game and its features go to THQ's official UFC Undispited web site

For the original IGN story, head over to IGN.com

Rember the name...Jon "Bones" Jones