BIG ARTICLE ON UPCOMING UFC 116 THIS SATURDAY:
http://ping.fm/VFRtq

EVANS v. RAMPAGE aka LANG v. CREED

As we approach the 1 week and counting mark of UFC 114, there was something that I realized when I was watching this week’s UFC: Primetime. The Evans/ Rampage "beef" started in 1982 actually and is finally coming to a head . 

 What do I mean? Well if you think back a long time ago (you 80’s babies will remember this), a little movie called Rocky III featured a brief exchange of words between a brash and powerful fighter named Clubber Lang and a smooth, polished Apollo Creed. It would have been nice to see them go at it, but of course the film was called Rocky and not the Creed/Lang show. Anyway, fast forward 28 years and now you have 2 real life versions of these characters finally coming to blows.  Here is the break down:

RASHAD EVANS aka APOLLO CREED

 Rashad like Creed is a fighter that relies on his speed and technique to get him through fights. In addition, he is the more eloquent and refined of the two fighters. This will be his first fight since UFC 108 in January where he barely escaped winning via decision over Thiago Silva. Similar to Creed he’s a bit cocky, has a ton of swagger, and is not afraid to show it.  However, the one glaring weakness that Evans shares with Creed is that he has a problem with power punchers and can’t take a good shot. Creed’s speed and skill often got blunted once he got hit hard enough by Rocky, and it actually ended up killing him when he faced Ivan Drago in Rocky IV.

During his fight in January, Evans knew that he was facing a man known for his power in Tiago Silva and did his best to out wrestle him and keep the fight in his wheelhouse. However, after some taunting by Silva in the 3^rd round to engage, Evans got rocked pretty well almost to the point that he could’ve have been KO’d.

RAMPAGE JACKSON aka CLUBBER LANG

 James “Clubber”Lang and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson are almost like mirror images of each other. Strong as hell, big power punchers, that came from tough neighboorhoods. Ironically, Jackson will be starring as B.A. Barracus which was the very same character that made Mr.T(Lang) famous back in the 80's when the A-Team movie comes out this summer.  Just like Clubber, Rampage is stubborn and unwilling to change his game plan; often seeking the quick knockout rather than the trying to pick his opponent apart. This was evidenced when he fought Forrest Griffin for the Light Heavyweight championship back in 2008. Griffin while not a very high level fighter, was able to land key low kicks that often went unchecked by Jackson and slowed down his power and explosiveness just enough for Griffin to eek out a decision that cost Rampage his title. 

I often wonder what would have happend if Lang and Creed had actually fought who would come out the winner. I guess we'll find out on the 29th.

UFC 112 Review

Hey MMA Nation:
Ok so here is my recap of the 3 main fights which took place yesterday in Abu Dhabi.
UFC 112 was a pretty historic event when you consider these 2 facts:

- It's the first outdoor UFC event under the Zuffa management. The previous owners, SEG,had a very forgettable outdoor event back in the day.

- As the company continues to expand it's brand dominance, it's the first event in Abu Dhabi.

Overall, I must say that I was not impressed with the card. Here's a little breakdown as to why:

RENZO GRACIE v. MATT HUGHES
Background:This is a match between 2 MMA legends. Matt Hughes is a former welterweight champion. Basically, he was GSP before GSP destroyed him to take his title a few years back. He was dominant and looked to be unstoppable in his time, but with all great fighters eventually someone finds a way to beat you.

Renzo Gracie is part of MMA royalty. As you may have guessed, he is a part of the legendary Gracie family, who are responsible for starting the UFC and the growth of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the US.

This had the makings of being a decent matchup considering the history between the two camps. Hughes had beaten Renzo's cousin Royce about 5 years ago as well as Renzo's student Matt Serra.

Recap: Snoozefest. Once again the Gracies fail to deliver in the UFC since it's early days. The fight was fairly inactive till about the last round where Hughes really went to town on Renzo's leg with low kicks. Gracie looked tired, old and ineffective throughout the match, which was mainly on the feet. This really annoyed me since these 2 were supposed to be know for their ground games. FIGHT RATING: 1/5


BJ "The Prodigy" PENN v. FRANKIE "The Answer" EDGAR(UFC Lightweight Championship)

Background: BJ Penn is the greatest Lightweight in MMA history period. He has talent in spades, but until his fight with GSP for the 170# title last January, he never really focused on training hard. After the GSP loss, he realized that he needed to start training better and incorporating a strength & conditioning program.

The changes really started to take effect as he destroyed both Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez with relative ease. He seemed unbeatable and Frankie Edgar just looked like another stop on Penn's path to greatness. Everyone thought so but Frankie Edgar.

In many ways, Edgar actually mirrors Penn. Scrappy, strong stand up skills, and fearless.

Recap: Upset. Edgar was quicker and more explosive than many thought he would be including BJ Penn. Although Penn landed good clean punches. Edgar in my opinion was more active, had good head movement, and managed to get a few takedowns on a guy who is damn near impossible to bring down. After 5 rounds, it went to the judges decision, and Edgar shocked the world by becoming the new Lightweight Champion. FIGHT RATING: 3.5/5


ANDERSON "The Spider" Silva v. DAMIAN MAIA (UFC Middleweight Championship)

Background: Anderson Silva is what many consider the Pound 4 Pound greatest fighter on the planet. His striking is incredible, his ground game (if the fight ever gets that far) is solid and he's fast as hell. This was his first fight since last August when he humiliated former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffen in a "Superfight"(Silva moved up to 205 to fight him). It should have been a no brainer that Maia would be just another victim, but then again maybe that's the problem. As predicted, Maia was no challenge to Silva at all. It actually got to the point that Silva began to clown Maia because he really couldn't touch him in anyway.

Recap: Letdown. At first it was amusing to see Silva toy with his opponent in such a way, it really showed how good Anderson really is. However, at some point in the match it got to the point that Silva just got bored with the whole fight and just became a bit of a douche. He showed poor sportsmanship in not really trying to finish his opponent instead trying to blame Maia for not running headfirst into a knockout. Silva won via decision, but it was a bit annoying to watch.

FIGHT RATING: 2/5

In my opinion, Dana White needs to start forcing these guys into tougher fights. If the UFC wants to start cementing themselves as a top draw worldwide, they need to make a better showing than this.

THE GNP: NEWSLINE

Ok MMA Nation, here is my take on some of the latest happenings in MMA so far this week. Enjoy!

MOUSASI/ STRIKEFORCE DEAL

Strikeforce Light heavy weight Champion Gegard Mousasi is getting ready for his upcoming fight on April 17th with up and coming fighter Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal. This fight has some pretty big implications on whether Mousasi decides to re-sign with the organization.
For those of you who don’t know, Strikeforce is currently the only other MMA organization around which has a legitimate shot at taking a piece of the UFC’s marketshare.. In my opinion, Strikeforce needs to hold on tight to a star like Mousasi, who has indicated that after his title defense next month, he will most likely re-sign. He’s a strong, fast, and an exciting fighter to watch. This is the type of fighter which you can build your organization on. To top it off he’s a smart fighter. He’s proven how smart he is by dumping the career killing M-1 team as his managers and beginning to negotiate his own contracts. I see big things on the horizon for this guy wherever he ends up.

For more info on Strikeforce and Mousasi, check out the links below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strikeforce
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gegard_Mousasi


EVANS v. JACKSON … FINALLY

Well , better late than never. The coaches from the UFC’s Reality Show, “The Ultimate Fighter” are finally gonna go at it. This fight was supposed to happen in January but, Quentin “Rampage” Jackson had his obligations to filming the A-Team movie ( which will suck outside of the fact that Jessica Biel is in it).
I gotta say that I am only mildly excited about the fight at this point. Traditionally, what happens soon after each season of The Ultimate Fighter is a match between the 2 opposing coaches. This is the formula that the UFC has been following for quite a while now and it’s what has been pushing it to new levels of popularity over the last 5 years.
When the man they call “Suga” Rashad last fought in January against Thiago Silva he looked pretty soft, nearly losing the bout in the final seconds of the 3rd round. I personally believe that he has not fully recovered mentally from losing his title to Lyoto Machida last May.

Nevertheless, I will still check it out just in case….

For more info check these links out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ultimate_Fighter:_Heavyweights
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashad_Evans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinton_Jackson

UFC 110 RECAP

Hey there fight fans. Last night (or this afternoon if you live in Australia) was UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez. This trip marked the UFC's first trip to Australia.

CO MAIN EVENT

• Middleweight Bout: Wanderlei Silva vs. Michael Bisping
Silva defeated Bisping via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Summary: This was Silva’s first match since he dropped to the 185lb weight class, and I must say that he looked awesome. Slimmer, quicker, and still just as aggressive. Overall the fight was pretty even throughout until the 3rd round where Silva really turned in on and landed a take down with some ground and pound to finish the round.

• Heavyweight Bout: Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez
Velasquez defeated Nogueira via KO (punches) at 2:20 of round 1.

Summary: One word … Power. This is the only word that I can use to describe the way that Cain Velasquez used his extremely effective standup to take care of MMA Legend Antonio Nogueira. This bout has direct implications towards the interim heavyweight title chase. Right now Velasquez has placed himself in the top spot to face the winner of next month’s interim heavyweight title match between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin.

IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME … I SHOULDN’T HAVE LEFT YOU

Hello fight fans! Your friendly neighborhood MMA man is back from his ridiculously long hiatus and is ready to roll out with a whole new year of Mixed Martial Arts news and insights. I will be introducing new topics throughout each week, and welcome any feedback that you may have. I am really excited about what this year will bring in terms of fights and my continued training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Bring on a new year and a new decade for the most exciting sport in the world!

THE WHITE BELT CHRONICLES VOLUME 1 - # 3

Seasons greetings GNP followers. Since this will be my final Chronicles entry for the year, I would like to start it off with by quoting the theme song from an old favorite:

Well we're movin on up,
To the east side.
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
Movin on up,
To the east side.
We finally got a piece of the pie.

Today was the semi annual promotions ceremony at my school : Lotus Club Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and I was pretty excited. I had a feeling that I might get a stripe, but didn't wanna get my hopes up cause to be honest getting promoted is all about the Master's discretion. It's about how he or she feels that you've progressed as a student of BJJ. 

THE ANTICIPATION

As the names were called I was eager to hear my name to see what I would get. The school was packed with a ton of students, some of which I had seen on a regular basis, and others I had never met since they were from other Lotus locations. 

 

THE ASCENSION

Once my named was called, I was pretty surprised that I got not just one, but 2 stripes added to my belt! This puts me 2 stripes away from blue belt and now really fuels my fire to train even harder.  

WELCOME SUPRISES 

There were students who were on the cusp of being moved to the next belt color, but had not been moved yet. One of our strongest female students, Louisa Santos (Blue Belt) had been really eager to get promoted to purple but till today was still not getting moved up. She was the final student to be called up for her promotion, and while she assumed she'd be getting a few new stripes added to her blue belt our master pulled out a belt which totally caught her off guard --- PURPLE. It was awesome to see the joy on her face as she was given access to the new level. 

THE BEATDOWN

As the final part of the promotion, all the new color ascended students were lined up for the traditional belt flogging by all the students at the ceremony.Basically your belt is at the end of a gauntlet where you gotta run through and get smacked on the back. Here is a picture of what it looks like:

 All in all it was a good day. A celebration of all the hard work and sacrifices made for this awesome sport.