The Ultimate Writer 12.19.11: Strikeforce Melendez vs. Masvidal Results, MMA Christmas Gifts, Strikeforce/Showtime Deal, More
Posted by Dustin James on 12.19.2011
From a time machine for Fedor Emelianenko to erase his recent past and a bigger fanbase for Jon Jones to the ability to finish a fight for Gray Maynard and more, 411's Dustin James gives his Christmas wish list for the MMA world! Plus news on the TUF: Brazil coaches, the results from Strikeforce's show and more!
Welcome back to "THE ULTIMATE WRITER"! As you should be accustomed to by now, I'm your host Dustin James aka "The Ultimate Writer" and HOLY ASHTON KUTCHER PEOPLE! How in the world did the Kansas City Chiefs pull off the miracle and defeat the Super Bowl champion and previously undefeated, Green Bay Packers? I don't know how the Chiefs did it, but if they played like that every week, they would probably actually win a playoff game for the first time in almost 20 years. I've been a Chiefs fan living in Oregon for the past eighteen years or so and yes, they have been a hard football team to watch at times. However, taking out the mighty Packers this past weekend was one of the most amazing things I've been able to experience as a Chiefs fan. Hey now, us Chiefs fans don't get good news like this often.
Speaking of cursed professional sports teams. The Portland Trailblazers finally did something right when they signed Jamal Crawford to a two-year deal last week. The Blazers players and fans were highly recruiting Crawford on Twitter and the Seattle native decided to pick the closest team to home and it brought the organization some much needed good news following the retirement of Brandon Roy. I can't wait for the NBA season to start and I even broke down and bought NBA 2K12 a few days ago. As a matter of fact, I'm dying to play some more NBA 2K12 and the only thing standing in my way is this column.
What do you say we get this thing started already?......
So................
Without any further adieu.........
Like every week.............
Top Stories:
UFC/Strikeforce
Strikeforce "Melendez vs. Masvidal" Results
Doesn't this poster look like an advertisement for a new "Fast & Furious" movie?.....
Looks like all the talk about Strikeforce being a "dead promotion walking" were a little pre-mature. Not only did the news come over the wire last week that Strikeforce had a new deal with Showtime and would be around for the foreseeable future (more on that later...), but they also had a pretty huge card to close out the wacky year that was 2011. Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez is one of the best fighters in the world and he really had a great opportunity to take a step closer to being the top-ranked lightweight fighter in the world with a gigantic win over #1 contender Jorge Masvidal. Could Masvidal pull off the upset and knock Melendez from the top of the rankings? How about Cris "Cyborg" Santos finally making her long-awaited return to Strikeforce to defend her title? How would she look after taking so much time off? When you throw in all of that along with the potential exciting fight between Gegard Mousasi and Ovince St. Preux, than of course I'm all-in for this card. So how did things pan out? Let's take a look.....
Strikeforce "Melendez vs. Masvidal" Prelim Card Results:
-Herman Terrado (7-2) def. Chris Brown (6-3) via submission (armbar) in Round 3
-Eddie Mendez (6-0-1) def. Fernando Gonzalez (17-10) via split-decision
-Devin Cole (20-9-1) def. Gabriel Salinas-Jones (5-1-1) via unanimous-decision
-Roger Bowling (10-2) def. Jerron Peoples (4-2) via KO in Round 1
-Caros Fodor (7-1) def. Justin Wilcox (11-4) via KO in Round 1
Strikeforce "Melendez vs. Masvidal" Main Card Results:
Lightweight Bout:
-K.J. Noons (11-4) def. Billy Evangelista (11-2) via unanimous-decision
My pick: K.J. Noons, Decision
This was actually a fun little fight, which was surprisingly more than I expected. It was definitely an even back-and-forth fight that I had tied going into the third-round. I really wanted to dock some points from Evangelista for smiling the entire fight (for some reason, I hate when people smile while fighting...), but I had to resist the urge. Either way, Evangelista had the advantage when the two were in close, but Noons easily had the advantage from a distance due to his superior boxing skills. It wasn't until the third-round that Noons really turned it up and brought the heat though. He was landing jabs and uppercuts pretty much at will and even almost ended the fight with an awesome head kick. Noons was able to capture the victory with his performance in the third-round and now he possibly has his sights set on Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez. I know, I know. That fight doesn't exactly sound like an even fight, but considering Noons at least has a puncher's chance of taking out Melendez....you have to be a little interested in seeing it. Right? RIGHT?!!?!?! Ahhhh screw it. I'll leave it up to Strikeforce to try and hype their own crappy fights.
Light Heavyweight Bout:
-Gegard Mousasi (32-3-2) def. Ovince St. Preux (11-5) via unanimous-decision
My pick: Ovince St. Preux, Decision
Let's give credit where credit is due. After getting manhandled by "King Mo" last year at Strikeforce "Nashville", it was apparent that Gegard Mousasi had a glaring weakness in his game and that was called "wrestling". Lawal was able to take Mousasi down with ease and Mousasi had no answer at all for "King Mo". I personally thought the same thing was going to happen when Mousasi stepped into the cage with Ovince St. Preux, but I was waaaaaaaaay off! Mousasi was a beast in the first two-rounds of this fight. He was taking OSP apart on the feet, he was able to take OSP down at will, and even came close to finishing the fight on at least two separate occasions. I actually couldn't believe that this was the same fighter that let "King Mo" lay on top of him for three-rounds last year. Mousasi came out like a man on fire tonight, but eventually slowed things down and let OSP gain some ground in the third. OSP ended up mounting Mousasi in the third-round and came THIS close to finishing the fight with a brabo choke before the fight was over. The bad news is, it was too little too late as Mousasi had already done enough in the first two-rounds to have his hand raised and thus ended the six-fight win streak of OSP. The rumor is that Mousasi will now face the winner of the "King Mo" vs. Lorenz Larkin fight scheduled for next month. I don't know about you guys, but I have no desire to see a rematch between "King Mo" and Mousasi, so hopefully Larkin can shock the world and will walk away with his hand raised next month. As for OSP, it looks like he has to start things all over from square one. These last few months have not been friendly to MMA fighters with the letters "SP" in their initials.....
Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Title:
-Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (11-1) def. Hiroko Yamanaka (12-2) via TKO in Round 1
My pick: Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, TKO, Round 2
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos is a bbbbbaaaaaadddddddd man woman! I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't own a DVR and just so happened to have blinked during this fight. In case you missed it, you missed "Cyborg" Santos come out and basically murder Hiroko Yamanaka right in front of everyone. To all you people who thought the long lay-off would affect "Cyborg" Santos.....HAAAAAA! She apparently spits in the face of anyone who thinks taking some time off would actually affect her performance. "Cyborg" came out and smashed Yamanaka's face in just 16 seconds and I don't know how it's possible, but she looks even more dangerous than ever before. She's pretty much the female version of Anderson Silva and that scares the utter crap out of me folks. I don't know where "Cyborg" goes from here, but I'm thinking it may not be that long before she starts petitioning athletic commissions to start letting her fight dudes. Let's be honest here. Who would you pick in a fight between "Cyborg" and let's say....someone like.....Jonathan Brookins? I'm personally going with "Cyborg" as long as she's fighting anyone but an actual cyborg. That's just how dangerous she is and tonight proved it once again.
Well, that pretty much went down exactly like I had predicted. Every so often, I can picture an MMA fight in my head and it goes down exactly the way I thought it would. This is one of those times. Gilbert Melendez is a much better fighter than Jorge Masvidal is and he proved it with his excellent performance tonight. Melendez was really never in trouble and just picked apart Masvidal for five-rounds. It's obvious that training with the Diaz brothers really paid off for Melendez tonight as he was able to pick Masvidal apart with excellent combinations that Masvidal had no answer for. The big question now is, what's next for Melendez? Strikeforce announced last week that Melendez is going to stay a Strikeforce fighter for the time being, but if that's true than you have to ask yourself, why? It's not like Strikeforce is actually screaming with tons of talent in the lightweight department and Melendez is far and away the best fighter on the promotion's roster right now. Wouldn't it make more business sense to bring Melendez over to the UFC to fight the other top-ranked fighters in the world rather than have him chilling over in Strikeforce fighting guys who aren't even ranked in the top 15? C'mon Dana. We want the best fighters fighting the best fighters regardless of what promotion they are in. I understand wanting to keep some big-named guys in the promotion, but a talent like Melendez needs to be fighting the top talent in the world. As long as he's still fighting in Strikeforce, we are going to be seeing mis-matched fights like the one we got tonight. Either bring some more talent in to the promotion, or bring Melendez over to the UFC. One of those two things needs to happen if Zuffa really plans on keeping "El Nino" on the Strikeforce roster.....
All in all, Strikeforce "Melendez vs. Masvidal" was a decent show. I thought Noons vs. Evangelista was nice little opener that set the tone for the rest of the night. It's hard for any MMA show to follow up the excellent show that was "UFC 140" last weekend, but Strikeforce definitely gave it their best effort tonight. I'm excited that Strikeforce is going to be staying on Showtime for the time being as I honestly thought the promotion had one foot in the grave and it was only a matter of time before we saw yet another MMA promotion added to Dana White's tombstone. Isn't that right Dana?
All The Other Stuff:
Because UFC President Dana White has a sick sense of humor, he announced this past week that Vitor Belfort (20-9) and Wanderlei Silva (34-11-1) would be the coaches on the upcoming season of "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil" which is set to premiere in March. For those of you with short-term memories, Belfort murdered Silva back at UFC 17.5 in 1998 when he knocked him out in highlight reel fashion in just 44 seconds and I expect the same outcome to happen when they fight again once the season is over. "TUF: Brazil" is currently not set to air in the United States, but we have been promised that it will air in some fashion (likely on FUEL TV), subtitles and all. Belfort is currently scheduled to fight Anthony Johnson (10-3) next month at UFC 142, so there is still the possibility that Belfort suffers an injury in this fight putting the whole "TUF: Brazil" thing in a total tailspin. I'm probably one of the few people who actually wants to see this fight, but that's just because I have a sick sense of humor. Internet high-five to Dana White!
It looks like former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin (18-7) is planning his retirement already. He mentioned during a recent interview that he believes he only has a few fights left in him and that he wants some good fights before he does decide to hang up his gloves for good:
"For me, I'm realizing that I don't have much left. This is the end of the road for me. I want a couple more fights. Good ones. Fights where I don't get knocked out in the first round. Fights where I like get hurt, bleed a little, but I kind of like rally. Something of that nature."
So basically, Forrest wants another potential bout with Stephan Bonnar (14-7), Tito Ortiz (16-10-1), or maybe even a rematch against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (32-9) and then he's going to head off into the sunset only to be seen again in an MMA corner near you. Forrest is a sure-fire UFC hall-of-famer and if he believes his time is up, then good for him. He obviously doesn't want to be one of those guys who has to get beat into retirement and wants to go out on his own terms and he's realizing that his time is likely up. I say book Griffin vs. Ortiz III because it's an easy sell and both guys are in need of a win. And people think Joe Silva's job is hard.....
Strikeforce's heavyweight division will soon cease to exist (more on that later) and the chips started to fall into place early last week. Last Wednesday, the UFC announced that Fabricio Werdum (14-5-1) would be making his long-awaited return to the company when he takes on Roy Nelson (16-6) at UFC 143 on February 4. Werdum was released from the UFC after getting knocked out by UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos (14-1) at UFC 90 back in 2008. After getting shown the door by the UFC, Werdum headed over to Strikeforce where he compiled a 3-1 record with the company and also was the first man to defeat Fedor Emelianenko (32-4) in over 10 years. Werdum will have a tough test in his return to the Octagon as "Big Country" has shown that he's one of the toughest guys in the UFC to finish (he did go three-rounds with dos Santos after all...) and he definitely has the power to knock Werdum out. This should be a good one as both men are eyeing rematches with dos Santos in the future and if "Big Country" can continue to get into shape and lose weight, he could actually become a serious title contender as funny as that sounds....
For those of you wishing for the death of the Strikeforce brand, I have some bad news for you. Strikeforce and Showtime have come to an agreement on a new TV deal that will include eight live Strikeforce events a year on Showtime. Not only that, but they will also start airing the Strikeforce prelim fights on Showtime Extreme for those of you who are interested in watching that kind of thing. And if you thought that was it, you are just plain crazy. The deal also includes the following:
*Strikeforce's heavyweight division will be merged into the UFC by mid-2012. Daniel Cormier (9-0) and Josh Barnett (31-5) will fight in the finals of the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix and will then likely fight one more time on Showtime before being officially moved over to the UFC.
*Strikeforce will focus only on the light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, and women's 135 and 145 pound weight divisions from now on. They are expected to name new champions in the light heavyweight and welterweight divisions shortly.
*Strikeforce will not be a feeder system for the UFC and Dana White is expected to be front and center promoting the promotion just like he does with all UFC events.
Even though some of us wanted Strikeforce to die so we could see Gilbert Melendez (20-2) in the UFC already, this is actually a great deal for MMA fans as it gives us more MMA on TV. With the UFC's huge deal with FOX and Strikeforce's new deal with Showtime, we should be looking forward to a lot of great MMA on our televisions in 2012.
Remember when UFC heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga (12-6) retired from MMA a few months back? Well, that didn't last long. Gonzaga has reportedly signed a new deal with the UFC and will be making his return to the promotion at UFC 142 against Edinaldo Oliveira (13-0-1). It's definitely going to be fun watching Gonzaga make his return to the Octagon. The guy was 7-5 all-time in the UFC before losing two straight fights last year and deciding to call it quits. He made his return to MMA with a victory over Parker Porter (5-3) at a small MMA show in Connecticut awhile back and apparently that's given the man enough confidence to return to the UFC. Good luck Gabriel, something tells me you are going to need it....
Other fights announced this week:
-Eddie Wineland (18-8-1) vs. Johnny Bedford (18-9-1): UFC on FOX 2
-Aaron Simpson (11-2) vs. Ronny Markes (12-1): UFC on FUEL TV 1
-Jonathan Brookins (12-4) vs. Rani Yahya (16-7): UFC on FUEL TV 1
-Ricardo Funch (8-2) vs. Mike Pyle (21-8-1): UFC 142
-Carlos Prater (29-10-1) vs. Erick Silva (13-1): UFC 142
2011 MMA Christmas Gifts from Yours Truly
Oh Billy Bob, you look exactly like I feel....
It's that time. Christmas time is here. Everyone knows there's not a better time of year. Hear that sleigh? Santa's on his way. Hip, hip hooray for Christmas Vacation! Next Sunday, we will all be opening up Christmas gifts (unless of course....you don't celebrate Christmas that is) and kids everywhere will have brand news toys destroyed in about three hours. It's one of the joys of Christmas and who doesn't love them some Christmas? I'm personally a HUGE fan of Christmas and it just so happens that I'm also a big-time gift giver. That's what ultimately inspired me to write the following. I decided to take some time out this weekend and actually think about the wonderful MMA fighters that bless us with their talents all-year long. What do these guys REALLY need for Christmas? We all know everyone could use something for the holidays, but what could our favorite MMA fighters need? Read on and find out....
To: UFC President Dana White
Dana White is an interesting guy to buy for. You would think that since the man runs the UFC, he would pretty much own anything he already needs. WRONG! There was one thing that Dana White really needed in 2011 and it just so happens that I was able to make it happen a few months ago.....
You're welcome Dana.
To: Anderson Silva
Anderson's another tough to buy for. He's been the UFC middleweight champion for what seems like forever now. I'd love to buy the guy some new credible challengers to his UFC middleweight title, but apparently a bunch of drunken morons have some interest in watching Silva beat the crap out of Mark Munoz. Personally, I feel there's something Anderson needs MUCH more than that. What could that be? How about a t-shirt with the following on it?
Come to think of it. If I actually made a t-shirt with that picture on it, I'm pretty sure I'd keep it for myself.
To: Miguel Torres
Miguel is extremely easy to shop for right now. The guy is unemployed and will likely be broke in just a few months. So what do you get a guy who just got fired for making a "rape van" joke on Twitter? I think we already know, but I'll tell you anyway....
Jeff Foxworthy never says anything bad and offensive in his comedy shows and yet he has a huge fan base. Learn how to be funny without being controversial Miguel, otherwise you are just going to have to get used to fighting on MTV2.
To: Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor had a horrible year in 2011. He lost two straight fights in 2011 and really saw his stock plummet to an all-time low. Remember when people were dying to see Fedor fight in the UFC? Not anymore. I don't think there's ANYONE (well, besides 411's Mark Radulich who has piss poor taste in MMA fights with his love of watching horrible heavyweights fight) who has any interest in seeing Fedor fight in the UFC. So what do you buy for a guy who's had one of the worst years of his life? I think we all know, but I'll tell you anyway....
For the record, I'm not getting Fedor a DeLorean time machine so he can go back in time to when he was relevant in MMA. Nope. I'm actually getting Fedor a DeLorean time machine because I think one of the funniest images in the world would be Fedor's big ass stuffed into a DeLorean. I would pay big bucks to make that happen.
To: Jon Jones
2011 was definitely "the year of the "Bones" and it seems like no matter what Santa can pull out of his bag, nothing can compare to the thrill that "Bones" Jones felt when he stepped into the Octagon anytime this year. However, I have managed to find the ONE thing that "Bones" Jones could use possibly more than anything in the world right now. What is that one thing? It's simple.....
No, I don't think the one thing that "Bones" Jones needs is for someone to buy him a chubby white kid in a Tapout shirt. That picture is supposed to represent the "MMA fan base" as a whole and I figured there is no better symbol of the average MMA fan than the picture above. It's no secret that Jon Jones is one of the most dangerous fighters alive today. However, for some odd reason....the guy comes across as highly unlikable and doesn't have a big fan base which is just odd for someone who fights with the style that "Bones" does. Maybe he comes across as a little too arrogant for the general public and that's one reason he gets booed so heavily? All I know is that when a UFC fighter catches a thief and makes the news, he generally would become one of the most popular fighters alive. That didn't happen with "Bones" Jones though. It seems like MMA fans could give two shits about "Bones" and that was apparent when he choked out Lyoto Machida at UFC 140 last weekend and Greg Jackson told "Bones" to "go check on Lyoto and get some fans". Why would Greg Jackson have to tell "Bones" to "go get some fans" in the first-place? Because the guy just doesn't get it. There's just something about "Bones" Jones that makes him unlikable and his team is finally aware of it. Maybe his PR department will fix this issue in 2012? They'd better do something if they want more people to start caring about Jones and the path of destruction he's left behind in the UFC thus far.
To: All the rest of you:
-Brian Ebersole: A razor and a video on how to shave your chest in a "non-douchebag" way.
-Gilbert Melendez: A first-class plant ticket to the UFC.
-411's Mark Radulich: A Fathead of Fedor Emelianenko wearing nothing but MMA gloves. I'll let you guys figure out the rest....
-Jon Fitch: Respect from his peers.
-Nick Diaz: A daily planner so he can keep track of all of the important events going on his life, such as attending press conferences for upcoming title fights.
-Jason "Mayhem" Miller: A treadmill to work on that awesome cardio he displayed against Michael Bisping a few weeks back.
-Donald Cerrone: A guaranteed 18 UFC fights in 2012. If there's an MMA fighter who could fight every week, it's Cerrone.
-Jake Shields: A first-class trip back to Strikeforce. Maybe him and Gilbert Melendez can just switch places?
-Kenny Florian: A new weight class at 160lbs. Florian will find a weight class he can dominate, even if it kills him.
-Gray Maynard: The ability to finish a fight. Never before have I seen someone who gets so close to capturing a title, just to see it slip from his grasp. The horrible part for Maynard is that it happened TWICE in 2011....
-Bryan Caraway: A sense of humor. I was always a fan of Caraway's, until I saw him on this season of "TUF". I lost a lot of respect for the guy after he cried like a bitch when they shaved a bald spot into his hair. Hey Caraway, you had a stupid hair cut anyway. You should be thanking those guys for doing you a favor instead of whining about it like a 16-year old girl.
-Miesha Tate: A new boyfriend. If you really need an explanation, just look above...
-Mauricio "Shogun" Rua: The ability to drop a lot of weight with ease. Just imagine how sweet it would be if "Shogun" was in the UFC's middleweight division.
And that's that for this holiday season. If it just so happens that I forgot someone, feel free to point it out in the comments section at the end of the column. I honestly could have been here all day handing out Christmas gifts, but I have bigger fish to fry right now. Maybe next year will finally be the year that Tito Ortiz receives a baseball cap big enough to fit that gigantic melon of his? Only Santa knows.....
Tweet Tweet!
This feature looks at some of the best tweets posted on Twitter by MMA fighters or anyone else connected to the world of MMA.
Courtesy of @KennyFlorian - "Would be pretty epic if everyone stopped saying "epic"."
Courtesy of @NateDiaz209 "fuck yeah @GilbertMelendez is the man congrats to the #1 lightweight in the world.."
Courtesy of @003_OSP - "Wanna thank everyone for the support... Sorry I couldn't pull the trigger tonight, I'm not done AND WILL BE BACK..."
Courtesy of @VitorBelfort - "Guys @danawhite just announce that me and @wandfc will be the coaches of tuff Brasil very happy about that"
Courtesy of @DanaWhite - "Just announced Wandy and Vitor as coaches of TUF Brazil! Now headed to Sao Paulo for the casting of TUF!!!!!!"
Courtesy of @StuartScott - "Lotta fun 2nite..hangin out w my dude @Jonnybones at ESPN. YOUNGST UFC champ ever...just beatdown Lyoto Machida."
Courtesy of @MichelleDBeadle - "Take 2! @jonnybones in the house today. Got some tips on crushing people. He also has great taste in watches."
Courtesy of @DanHardyMMA - "If I never had to take the plastic wrapper off a DVD again, I would be a happy man. I've been at this one for 10 minutes now."
Courtesy of @RoyNelsonMMA - "I wonder if the girls of strikeforce have to test for the peds as well as the men or is it just horse meat."
Courtesy of @MayhemMiller - "Holland is a crazy place. Remind me to write a blog about this experience. This needs to be recorded before I forget about it."
Courtesy of @ForrestGriffin - "Thanks to the food network every time I cook I make sure to talk to the studio audience"
Current Champions:
This feature is pretty self explanatory. I list the current champions in each relevant promotion, and you guys sit and read. Easy enough for ya?
Junior dos Santos - UFC Heavyweight Champion
Won the title from Cain Velasquez back on November 12, 2011 at UFC on FOX 1
Jon Jones - UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
Won the title from Mauricio "Shogun" Rua back on March 19, 2011 at UFC 128
Anderson Silva - UFC Middleweight Champion
Won the title from Rich Franklin back on October 14, 2006 at UFC 64
Georges St. Pierre - UFC Welterweight Champion
Won the title from Matt Serra back on April 14, 2008 at UFC 83
Frankie Edgar - UFC Lightweight Champion
Won the title from B.J. Penn back on April 10, 2010 at UFC 112
Jose Aldo - UFC Featherweight Champion
Won the title from Mike Brown back on November 18, 2009 at WEC 44
Dominick Cruz - UFC Bantamweight Champion
Won the title from Brian Bowles back on March 6, 2010 at WEC 47
Luke Rockhold - Strikeforce Middleweight World Champion
Won the title from Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza back on September 10, 2011 at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov
Won the title from Marloes Coenen back on July 30, 2011 at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson
Hiroyuki Takaya - DREAM Featherweight Champion
Won the title from Bibiano Fernandes back on December 31, 2010 at Dynamite!! 2010 New Year's Eve show.
Shinya Aoki - DREAM Lightweight Champion
Won the title from Joachim Hansen back on October 6, 2009 at DREAM.11
Marius Zaromskis - DREAM Welterweight Champion
Won the title from Jason High back on July 20, 2009 at DREAM.10
Gegard Mousasi - DREAM Light Heavyweight Champion
Won the title from Tatsuya Mizuno back on September 25, 2010 at DREAM.16
Cole Konrad - Bellator Heavyweight Champion
Won the title from Neil Grove back on October 14, 2010 at Bellator 29
Christian M'Pumbu - Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion
Won the title from Richard Hale back on May 21, 2011 at Bellator 45
Hector Lombard - Bellator Middleweight Champion
Won the title from Jared Hess back on June 19, 2009 at Bellator 12
Ben Askren - Bellator Welterweight Champion
Won the title from Lyman Good back on October 21, 2010 at Bellator 33
Michael Chandler - Bellator Lightweight Champion
Won the title from Eddie Alvarez back on November 19, 2011 at Bellator 58
Joe Warren - Bellator Featherweight Champion
Won the title from Joe Soto back on September 2, 2010 at Bellator 27
Zach Makovsky - Bellator Bantamweight Champion
Won the title from Ed West back on October 14, 2010 at Bellator 32
Zoila Gurgel - Bellator 115lb Women's Champion
Won the title from Megumi Fujii back on October 28, 2010 at Bellator 34
Upcoming Events:
Here are a few of the upcoming events in the wonderful world of MMA:
UFC 141 "Lesnar vs. Overeem" - December 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
-Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem
-Donald Cerrone vs. Nate Diaz
-Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks
-Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
-Nam Phan vs. Jim Hettes
-Diego Nunes vs. Manny Gamburyan
-Dong Hyun Kim vs. Sean Pierson
-Ross Pearson vs. Junior Assuncao
-Anthony Njokuani vs. Danny Castillo
-Matt Riddle vs. Luis Ramos
-Efrain Escudero vs. Jacob Volkmann
DREAM New Year's Eve Dynamite!! 2011 Show - December 31 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan
-Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka (for DREAM lightweight title)
-Fedor Emelianenko vs. Satoshi Ishii
-Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Takeshi "Lion" Inoue (for DREAM featherweight title)
-Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata
-Ryo Chonan vs. Hayato Sakurai
-Antonio Banuelos vs. Masakazu Imanari (2011 DREAM bantamweight grand-prix semifinal)
-Bibiano Fernandes vs. Rodolfo Marques Diniz (2011 DREAM bantamweight grand-prix semifinal)
--Hideo Tokoro vs. Yusup Saddulaev (2011 DREAM bantamweight grand-prix reserve bout)
-Megumi Fujii vs. Karla Benitez
-Yuichiro Nagashima vs. Katsunori Kikuno (mixed-rules bout)
-Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Peter Aerts (pro wrestling bout)
Strikeforce "Rockhold vs. Jardine" - January 7 at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
-Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine (for the Strikeforce middleweight title)
-Robbie Lawler vs. Adlan Amagov
-Muhammad "King Mo" Lawal vs. Lorenz Larkin
-Tyron Woodley vs. Jordan Mein
-Tarec Saffiedine vs. Tyler Stinson
UFC 142 "Aldo vs. Mendes" - January 14 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
-Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes (for the UFC featherweight title)
-Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson
-Thiago Tavares vs. Sam Stout
-Terry Etim vs. Edson Barboza
-Mike Pyle vs. Ricardo Funch
-Carlo Prater vs. Erick Silva
-Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Massenzio
-Fabio Maldonado vs. To Be Announced
-Antonio Carvalho vs. Felipe Arantes
-Ednaldo Oliveira vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
-Michihiro Omigawa vs. Yuri Alcantara
UFC on FX 1 - January 20 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee
-Melvin Guillard vs. Jim Miller
-Pat Barry vs. Christian Morecraft
-Jorge Rivera vs. Eric Schafer
-Mike Brown vs. Vagner Rocha
-Duane "Bang" Ludwig vs. Josh Neer
-Karlos Vemola vs. Ryan Jimmo
-Kamal Shalorus vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
-Rafaello Oliveira vs. Reza Madadi
-Charlie Brenneman vs. Daniel Roberts
-Joseph Sandoval vs. Nick Denis
UFC on FOX 2 - January 28 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois
-Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis
-Chael Sonnen vs. Mark Munoz
-Michael Bisping vs. Demian Maia
-Evan Dunham vs. Paul Sass
-George Roop vs. Cub Swanson
-Cody McKenzie vs. Michael Johnson
-Charles Oliveira vs. Eric Wisely
-Mike Russow vs. Jon Olav Einemo
-Dustin Jacoby vs. Chris Camozzi
-Eddie Wineland vs. Johnny Bedford
Video of the Week!
If I have to explain to you what "video of the week" is, than please grab a pencil and stick it in your neck for the benefit of society....
One of my favorite scenes from my favorite Christmas movie......
My top 5 MMA Rankings:
These are my current top 5 MMA rankings! I know 411mania.com has their own rankings as a collective unit, but I figured I would list mine for you guys to tear apart each week....
1. Jon Jones
2. Rashad Evans
3. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
4. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
5. Dan Henderson
Middleweight:
1. Anderson Silva
2. Chael Sonnen
3. Vitor Belfort
4. Yushin Okami
5. Mark Munoz
Welterweight:
1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Nick Diaz
4. Josh Koscheck
5. Carlos Condit
Lightweight:
1. Frankie Edgar
2. Gilbert Melendez
3. Gray Maynard
4. Ben Henderson
5. Shinya Aoki
Featherweight:
1. Jose Aldo
2. Chad Mendes
3. Hatsu Hioki
4. Kenny Florian
5. Diego Nunes
Bantamweight:
1. Dominick Cruz
2. Joseph Benavidez
3. Urijah Faber
4. Demetrious Johnson
5. Brian Bowles
And that's it for me this week. Make sure you follow me on Twitter for all sorts of good MMA, NBA, NFL, and other random crap talk. Trust me, I won't let you down.
All of 411's zones are also on Twitter, so make sure you check it out.....
Maybe its because I'm 28, but I don't see myself reflected by that typical MMA fan at all. Looks like a wrestling fan to me, when I think of an MMA fan I think of older early 20's to late 30's. I've been to a few fights(UFC and Strikeforce) and if aything I saw the exact opposite of the kid and just jacked douchebags in their affliction shirts(I do have an affliction shirt but I'm not jacked douche). IDK maybe I don't spend enough time on youtube looking at people posting vids on what they think of the fights, but I find that a misrepresentation of the sports fans. I hardly find Bones polarizing in the world of sports divas, he goes out says hes pretty damn good, then goes and proves it. I find it hard to actually not like the guy, unlike John Dodson who I wish Lensar would sit on accidently and crush.
What Dana is wish for is the end of injuries and the champs fighting about every months.
Posted By: Guest#9843 (Guest) on December 19, 2011 at 12:30 AM
No offense Dustin but UFC would have to lower its standards pretty far before Forest Griffin would be worthy of the Hall of Fame. One fight and one unmemorable title reign does not a hall of famer make.
Posted By: Alan (Guest) on December 19, 2011 at 01:02 AM
Anderson Silva is my favourite present. His last three fights each were classic finishes in their own way. Unbelievable.
Jones is going to be my favourite, but he's not yet as dominant or exciting as the spider, or as creative. But one day I feel he will be.
Posted By: Ibushi (Guest) on December 19, 2011 at 05:33 AM
Forest Griffin 100% deserves to be in a hall of fame. He beat Shogun and Rampage, two guys who when put against Jones, are made huge deals of (cause they are indeed very good).
I think what constantly comes back to hurt Griffin is that Silva fight, which just so happens to be the most dominant fight in UFC history. That walking backwards jab KO and all that matrix like dodging is just a once in a life time thing. Silva was on a mission to prove himself, and unfortunately, Griffin happened to be the victim that night
Posted By: Jameosole (Guest) on December 19, 2011 at 05:39 AM
Curious as to why you think people need to care about Jon Jones? No one cares about Anderson Silva (unless Chael Sonnen is insulting him) and things seem to be working out just fine for him. Bones is that kind of once-in-a-generation dominant fighter, so who cares if people don't like him?
Posted By: Wyatt Beougher 2 (Registered) on December 19, 2011 at 09:27 AM
@Wyatt, Jon himself cares. I think he even said so himself during the presser after last UFC.
Posted By: JK (Guest) on December 19, 2011 at 10:52 AM
Well the UFC already has someone with a mediocre(at best) record in Couture in the HoF so you might as well throw a Gatekeeper like Griffin in there too
Posted By: 420 (Guest) on December 19, 2011 at 12:50 PM
I understand your point by posting that picture of the "average mma fan" but I have been to UFC events and that is not the typical fan. Most fans are more mature and a bit older (late 20's, early 30's). Most aren't obnoxious or wussy looking like that kid. I think that kid represents the "internet hater" who wastes too much time on message boards
Posted By: Sisti (Guest) on December 19, 2011 at 01:18 PM
Beougher, you've got that backwards. No one cares about Sonnen unless he's insulting Anderson Silva. Silva himself has interest based on his talent and ability, Sonnen not so much.
Posted By: Robert Winfree (Registered) on December 19, 2011 at 03:49 PM
I've been to three MMA events. The tickets are very expensive and the average fan base is much older than that kid.
Forrest Griffin is 100% a HOF - First TUF winner, the crazy Bonnar fight to end that show, upset over Shogun, Title win over Rampage - all of those are very big moments in the history of MMA and the UFC.
To me Bones Jones is the first MMA athlete who looks like he could have played any sport he wanted professionally like a Bo Jackson. Spider doesn't, Fedor certainly didn't, GSP is too small - Jones could have been a professional anything and he chose MMA. That is why he is so important. That said - I hope Rashad kciks his ass. I am the last remaining Evans fan I believe.
Posted By: MJH (Guest) on December 19, 2011 at 05:39 PM
Jones don't need fans this is a real sport.Jones needs money. MONEY>FANS any questions!
Posted By: Guest#7614 (Guest) on December 19, 2011 at 10:53 PM
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