The Ultimate Writer 01.09.12: UFC 142 Rio Preview, Strikeforce Rockhold vs. Jardine Results, TUW 2011 Year-End Award Nominees, More

Posted by Dustin James on 01.09.2012

A preview of this weekend's title fight between Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes as well as the rest of the UFC 142 card, a recap of Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine, the nominees for "TUW" 2011 MMA year-end awards 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 the NFL playoffs are officially in high gear. I usually don't care about the NFL playoffs that much unless the Kansas City Chiefs are in them, but I'm waiting by in anticipation for someone to knock Tim Tebow out. Let's face it, the best part about sports is cheering your team on. Well, when you can't cheer your team on, the next best thing is to root against a team or a guy you don't like and in this case....that's Tim Tebow. I could be here all day with evidence that Tebow is a horrible QB and Denver's defense is the real reason they have been winning games, but that argument just seems to go in one ear of Tebow fans and right out the other. Silly fools.

Before I get to the good stuff, you know I'm going to rub it in. The Oregon Ducks FINALLY crossed the threshold and won their first Rose Bowl championship in almost 100 years! The game against Wisconsin was one of the best games of the season and it felt great to see the Ducks finally take a home a BCS bowl game, although it would have been MUCH better to see them defeat Auburn last year for the BCS title. The Ducks are returning a butt load of people next year and will be in the National Championship picture once again. In the meantime.....






Life sure is good sometimes.


Anyway, you came here for some MMA talk didn't you?......


So................


Without any further adieu.........


Like every week.............

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Top Stories:

UFC/Strikeforce




UFC 142 "Rio" Preview


The UFC returns to Brazil, again.....



UFC 142 is finally here and I'm definitely excited to see some featherweight action this weekend. I'm a huge fan of UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and his title fight with Chad Mendes is interesting for numerous reasons. Mendes could arguably be the toughest opponent that Aldo has ever faced and it actually wouldn't surprise me to see a new champion crowned this weekend, but more on that later. Not only do we have the much-anticipated featherweight title fight this weekend, but we also got what should be a great fight between former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort and Anthony Johnson, who just so happens to be making his UFC middleweight debut. As if that wasn't enough to convince you to buy the show, we will also see guys like Rousimar Palhares, Terry Etim, Sam Stout, Thiago Tavares, plus the long-awaited UFC return of GABRIEL F'N GONZAGA! UFC "Rio" doesn't scream "BEST CARD EVER" on paper, but it's definitely not a shabby one either. Let's go ahead and take a closer look at what's coming our way this weekend courtesy of Dana White's brain child.



UFC 142 Main Card Preview:


Lightweight Bout:
-Edson Barboza (9-0) vs. Terry Etim (15-3)


I love this fight and I'm actually kind of shocked that it's scheduled to be the first fight of the night considering it has the potential to be the best fight of the night. The undefeated Edson Barboza is looking to move his UFC record to a perfect 4-0 with a victory over Etim here. Ever since signing with the UFC in 2010, Barboza has compiled victories over the likes of Mike Lullo, Anthony Njokuani, and Ross Pearson. I'm personally still on the fence as it pertains to how high Barboza's ceiling is in the UFC. I mean, he did almost lose that fight to Pearson back at UFC 134 and if he doesn't bring his "A-game" tonight, he's going to get destroyed. Terry Etim is coming off a huge win over Edward Faaloloto at UFC 138 which saw Etim get the victory in just 17 seconds with a guillotine choke. It was definitely one of the most impressive submission victories of 2011 and it helped put Etim back on the map after he missed over eighteen months of action due to an injury. Etim is now 5-1 in his last 6 UFC fights and a win over the undefeated Barboza would catapult him near the top of the rankings. This fight is definitely a contrast of styles as Etim is far superior to Barboza on the ground, but Barboza has some dangerous muay-thai and if Etim chooses to stand and trade with Barboza, it could get ugly real quick. As for what's going to happen? Take your pick. If Etim is smart, he'll take the fight to the ground immediately in hopes of picking up either the decision victory or a submission victory. If he chooses to stand with Barboza, Barboza will likely become the first person to ever knock him out. Which Terry Etim will we see this weekend? The one who lost to Rich Clementi at UFC 84 or the one who decimated Faaloloto at UFC 138? That's the "x-factor" heading into this fight.....


My pick: Edson Barboza, Decision



Welterweight Bout:
-Erick Silva (13-1) vs. Carlo Prater (29-10-1)


I'm quickly becoming a huge fan of Erick Silva. The young gun from Team Nogueira is fighting in front of his home country on the biggest stage in MMA and that HAS to have the kid jacked to show everyone that's he's something special. Since 2006, Silva is 9-0 including an impressive win over Luis Ramos in his UFC debut that saw him pick up the victory via TKO in just FORTY SECONDS! Silva kind of caught a break when his original opponent, Siyar Bahadurzada, had to pull out of the fight due to an injury. While it's crappy that we won't see the UFC debut of Siyar at UFC 142, we should still see an awesome display put on by Erick Silva. Silva's opponent is making his debut in the UFC, but he's no stranger to the MMA game. Strikeforce and WEC veteran Carlo Prater has dreamed of fighting in the UFC for years now and his dream will come true this weekend. After going 4-0 in 2011, Prater is ready to show MMA fans that he can create some noise in the biggest MMA organization in the world. This will definitely be a good fight, I just don't know how Carlo Prater wins it. Maybe by pure luck? Maybe by praying to the Brazilian gods? Or maybe he's actually more skilled than Silva and I'm just totally unaware? Guess we will find out this Saturday....


My pick: Erick Silva, Submission, Round 1



Middleweight Bout:
-Rousimar Palhares (13-3) vs. Mike Massenzio (13-5)


I've been a fan of Rousimar Palhares since he entered the UFC in 2008. I've long felt that Palhares was probably the most under-appreciated talent in the UFC's middleweight division. The guy is a brick shit house and even though he fights at 185 pounds, I'm pretty sure his legs make up for more than half that weight. If it wasn't for a stupid mistake against Nate Marquardt at UFC Fight Night 22 in 2010, Palhares would be 7-1 in the UFC and no doubt would have challenged for the UFC middleweight title by now. Unfortunately, Palhares suffers from something called "stupidity" and makes controversial decisions sometimes during his fights. However, the guy is one of the most talented fighters in the UFC's middleweight division and this fight with Massenzio is a "gimmie" fight for Palhares in my opinion and I would be shocked to see Massenzio pick up the victory. These two share a common advantage in the submission game and this fight will likely come down to who's got the better ground game. There's not a whole lot of fighters in the middleweight division who have a better ground game than Rousimar Paul Harris and Massenzio is going to find that out this Saturday night.


My pick: Rousimar Palhares, Submission, Round 2



Middleweight Bout:
-Vitor Belfort (20-9) vs. Anthony Johnson (10-3)


Vitor Belfort needs this win in the worst way. After this fight with "Rumble", Belfort is scheduled to be a coach on the first-ever season of "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil" alongside Wanderlei Silva. Taping is scheduled to begin real soon and you know the UFC has to be hoping and praying that Belfort walks out of his fight with "Rumble" this weekend unscathed so they can keep "TUF: Brazil" on schedule. It really takes some balls for the UFC to schedule Belfort for something like this considering his fight with "Rumble" is far from a "gimmie" fight for Belfort. Johnson may be making his middleweight debut this weekend, but after a stint that saw him go 7-3 in the UFC's welterweight division, he's looking to make an immediate impact in the middleweight division. Johnson is coming off a huge win over Charlie Brenneman at UFC on Versus 6 and a lot of people are wondering why "Rumble" is moving up in weight. The answer is simple. Johnson is a pretty big dude and there's been times where he's had to cut up to 60 pounds just to make weight for a welterweight fight. That's absolutely insane. By moving up to the middleweight division full-time, Johnson doesn't have to cut as much weight and can focus on other things, like improving his fight game. This fight with Belfort will show us where "Rumble" belongs though. Johnson easily has all the tools and talent to take out Vitor, I just don't know if he will. Belfort's best chance at winning this fight is to hope for a KO victory in the early stages of the fight. I know, that's quite the shocker. The longer this fight goes, the more it favors Johnson. Belfort is 2-1 since returning to the UFC and like I mentioned earlier, he NEEDS a quick KO victory here so he can move on and focus on filming "TUF: Brazil". And you know what? I'm crazy enough to think he's going to get it.....


My pick: Vitor Belfort, TKO, Round 1



UFC Featherweight Title:
-Jose Aldo (20-1) vs. Chad Mendes (10-0)


This is a great fight for numerous reasons. On one hand, you have one of the world's best pound-for-pound fighters in UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo. Aldo is currently on a 13-fight win streak and has taken out any opponent who has gotten in his way since signing with Zuffa back in 2008. Back when he was tearing through the WEC, everyone was predicting that Jose Aldo was likely going to be on top of the featherweight division for sometime. Then Aldo finally came over to the UFC last year and something has just looked different about the guy. It seems like he's no longer that dangerous dude who came out and beat Cub Swanson in eight seconds. It doesn't seem like he's the same guy who picked up 7 of his 8 victories in the WEC via (T)KO. There are reports that Aldo is having to cut a lot more weight than he used to and that's caused him to look a little more human in the two UFC fights he's competed in thus far. I tell you what though. If Aldo fights like he did against Kenny Florian and Mark Hominick, we could be seeing a new UFC featherweight champion crowned this weekend. The undefeated Chad "Money" Mendes is no joke. Mendes is 6-0 since signing with Zuffa in 2010. His wrestling combined with a striking game that's better than a lot of peope give him credit for is enough to cause Aldo some fits in this fight. We've really yet to see Mendes in any kind of trouble in his MMA career thus far. I know Aldo is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but if we get the Jose Aldo that fought Hominick and Florian this weekend, I'm thinking Mendes will capitalize on that and we are going to see a new UFC featherweight champion crowned. However, if Aldo comes out looking like the guy who decimated anyone who crossed his path in the WEC, I'm thinking we will see Mendes suffer the first loss of his professional career. It really all boils down to which version of Jose Aldo we get. Something tells me that fighting in front of his home country will be an extra bit of motivation for Aldo though and he'll be able to come out and secure the win by keeping the fight standing. Either way, something tells me that we are getting to the end of Jose Aldo's run in the featherweight division and it wouldn't shock me one bit to see him move up to the lightweight division win or lose after this weekend.


My pick: Jose Aldo, Decision



And that's that. The UFC returns to Brazil once again this weekend with what should be a pretty exciting card. The Aldo/Mendes fight is incredibly tough to pick and I could honestly see it going either way. The Belfort/Johnson fight is also incredibly hard to pick and if that one doesn't end with an explosion of a finish, I'll be highly disappointed. I can't wait to find out what happens this weekend and I'm sure the majority of you are in the same boat as myself. Let's hope the UFC kicks off 2012 with one hell of a bang this weekend.....

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Strikeforce "Rockhold vs. Jardine" Results


Keith Jardine on a poster is just never a good thing....


The first Strikeforce card of 2012 was a very under-whelming card on paper and not one that had a lot of buzz surrounding it. I'm as big of a fan of Strikeforce as anyone, but I literally heard NO ONE talking about this show. Of course, that's what happens when you over-saturate the market like Zuffa is currently doing. The next few weeks, we will see a constant flux of UFC & Strikeforce shows which will test even the biggest MMA fans love for the sport. Do we REALLY need a card every weekend? I mean, some of us MMA writers could use a break over here every now and then, just saying. Either way, it is what it is and Strikeforce's inaugural card of 2012 is officially in the books and it was a good one for what it was. With guys like Luke Rockhold, Keith Jardine, Robbie Lawler, "King Mo" Lawal, & Tyron Woodley on the card, expectations weren't very high, but there was still a little buzz in the air. People wanted to see how Luke Rockhold was going to look defending his Strikeforce middleweight title for the first time. Everyone wanted to see if "King Mo" Lawal would be able to continue his winning streak en route to a rematch with Gegard Mousasi for the vacant Strikeforce light heavyweight title. Those and many other questions were finally answered this past Saturday night so without any further adieu, what do you say we take a look at the results already?



Strikeforce "Rockhold vs. Jardine" Prelim Card Results:


-Estevan Payan (13-3) def. Alonzo Martinez (35-16-1) via unanimous-decision

-Ricky Legere Jr. (14-4) def. Christopher Spang (4-1) via unanimous-decision

-Gian Villante (9-3) def. Trevor Smith (9-2) via TKO in Round 1

-Nah-Shon Burrell (8-1) def. James Terry (11-4) via split-decision


Strikeforce "Rockhold vs. Jardine" Main Card Results:


Welterweight Bout:
-Tarec Saffiedine (12-3) def. Tyler Stinson (22-8) via split-decision

My pick: Tarec Saffiedine, Decision


Apparently I was watching a different fight, because there's no way this one was a split-decision. Stinson came out like a wild animal in round one and easily took the round in my opinion. Stinson had a huge reach advantage over Saffiedine and it showed. There was even a time in the first-round where Stinson nailed Saffiedine with an elbow that almost put him down for the count. However, Saffiedine survived and that was pretty much the last time he would be in trouble during this fight. In the last two rounds, Saffiedine apparently remembered where he does most of his MMA training and finally started getting some takedowns on Stinson and used the ol' Team Quest ground and pound to fight his way to a split-decision victory. I honestly don't know how any MMA judge can give Stinson either round two or round three, but someone did. Stinson looked pretty good in the first-round, but somewhere along the way, Tarec Saffiedine remembered where his bread was buttered and ended up taking home the victory to move his overall Strikeforce record to an impressive 4-1. Tarec's definitely "in the mix" (right Dana?) for a shot at the Strikeforce welterweight title so it'll be interesting to see what the company does with this guy in the next few months....



Welterweight Bout:
-Tyron Woodley (10-0) def. Jordan Mein (23-8) via split-decision

My pick: Tyron Woodley, Decision


Here's another fight that I don't understand how it ended up in a split-decision. Seriously though, what was up with the judging tonight? I mean, I know that MMA judging goes really off-course on some nights, but tonight felt particularly weird. Was there a new onslaught of MMA rules introduced at the beginning of 2012 that I was unaware of? Was there a new rule that say's if you get constantly taken down by a wrestler who just smothers you for an entire round, that you actually win the round? That's honestly the only way I could see anyone giving Jordan Mein this fight. Tyron Woodley came out and did what he does. He constantly took Mein down, held him on the ground for fifteen-minutes en route to a very boring decision victory. His style may not be pretty, but it works. Sure, there were definitely times when the ref should have stood them up due to Woodley's inactivity, but that's not Woodley's fault. Woodley did what he had to do for three-rounds to pick up a victory and move one step closer to the Strikeforce welterweight title. But I seriously would love to talk to the MMA judge who gave two-rounds to Jordan Mein. Actually, I wouldn't like to talk to them. I'd like to take their MMA judging certificate, spit on it, and slap them across their fat face with it. It's judges like you that ruin the good sport of MMA because YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING! Can we stop with the silliness already? Anyway, congrats "T-WOOD", it's going to be fun watching you fight either Kazuo Misaki or Paul Daley for the vacant Strikeforce welterweight title.



Light Heavyweight Bout:
-Muhammad "King Mo" Lawal (9-1) def. Lorenz Larkin (12-1) via KO in Round 2

My pick: Muhammad Lawal, Decision


"King Mo" is a baaaaaaaad man. It really sucks that "King Mo" has been given a death sentence to stay in Strikeforce (I still think Strikeforce should be like a farm system to the UFC and not actually feature top-ranked fighters, but that's a story for a different day) as I really think he would be fun to watch compete in the UFC. The guy is a perfect blend of excellent wrestling skills and heavy hands that cause all sorts of problems for anyone who steps into the cage and faces off with him. Lorenz Larkin came into this fight undefeated in his professional MMA career and was riding a three-fight win streak in Strikeforce. Unfortunately for him, he had no answer for anything Lawal threw his way. Lawal got the takedown almost immediately and that set a tone for the rest of the fight. "King Mo" dominated the first-round and ended the fight about a minute into the second-round. Lawal got a takedown on Larkin to kick off the second-round and that's when the shit hit the fan. "King Mo" committed random acts of violence all over Larkin's face before the ref jumped in to save Larkin's life. Lawal is now expected to square off against Gegard Mousasi in a rematch of their 2010 fight which saw Lawal defeat Mousasi via unanimous-decision and capture the Strikeforce light heavyweight title. Will history repeat itself? We'll find out later this year....



Middleweight Bout:
-Robbie Lawler (19-8) def. Adlan Amagov (9-2-1) via TKO in Round 1

My pick: Adlan Amagov, Decision


Well, that was a little odd. Talk about getting justice. Just seconds after Adlan Amagov nailed Lawler with an illegal knee that caused referee Steve Mazzagatti to deduct Amagov a point, Lawler hit Amagov with an impressive flying knee that dropped him. Lawler followed up the knee with some vicious shots on the ground and it was over almost as soon as it began. Lawler picked up a much-needed victory to break his losing streak and he got 2012 kicked off with a bang. As for what's next for him? You are going to have to ask the guy yourself.



Strikeforce Middleweight Title Bout:
-Luke Rockhold (9-1) def. Keith Jardine (17-10-2) via TKO in Round 1

My pick: Luke Rockhold, Decision


Keith Jardine sucks. That was my first thought once the Rockhold/Jardine fight ended. I said last week that I wasn't sure exactly how Jardine got a title shot to begin with, and he proved tonight that he belonged nowhere near the same cage with the likes of Luke Rockhold. Speaking of Rockhold, I'm quickly becoming a huge fan of the kid. He is now 8-0 under the Strikeforce banner and his win over Jardine was impressive. Rockhold was throwing some excellent kicks and punches and it was only a matter of time before he connected with that glass jaw of Jardine's. Once he did, Jardine hit the ground quicker than a bag of dimes and probably took some unnecessary shots in the meantime. Rockhold is quickly moving up the middleweight ladder and if he continues to perform like this, it could be only a matter of time before he's moved over to the UFC for a potential "TITLE VS. TITLE" fight with the UFC middleweight champion. Rockhold probably needs to get by Tim Kennedy before he even thinks of moving over to the UFC though. Kennedy is 5-1 in Strikeforce and is on a two-fight win streak with wins over Robbie Lawler and Melvin Manhoef. A fight with Rockhold is highly likely to take place in the spring and if Rockhold can defeat a veteran like Kennedy, we could be looking at the real deal folks.....



And there we are. Another Strikeforce show is in the books and I'm not particularly sure how I feel about it. It wasn't the greatest show in the world (unless of course you like a lot of wrestling and all that other exciting stuff....), but it had some cool finishes ("King Mo" over Larkin, Rockhold over Jardine), some exciting fights (Tarec vs. Stinson was a good one in my opinion), and left the door open for some potentially exciting fights in the near future. Now, if we could just work on getting Showtime to air Strikeforce LIVE on the West Coast, then we would all be happy. Some of us are getting a little old and it's hard for us to stay up until 10 PM on a Saturday night unless we are in an alcoholic daze. That's the life of a hard working man such as myself I suppose.....





All The Other Stuff:

• The big news of the week was the "shocking" news that Strikeforce 145lb women's champ Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (10-1) had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs following her victory over Hiroko Yamanaka (12-1). Following the positive test result, Santos' win over Yamanaka at Strikeforce "Melendez vs. Masvidal has now been ruled a "no contest" and to the shock of no one, Dana White announced that "Cyborg" will likely be stripped of her title and the 145lb's women division will no longer exist in Strikeforce. "Cyborg" did release the following statement on Sunday regarding her positive drug test:
  
  "I would like to sincerely apologize to StrikeForce, the Zuffa organization, Hioko Yamanaka and my fans for my failed drug test.
  
  I am ultimately responsible for everything I put in my body, and at the end of the day, there is no excuse for having a prohibited substance in my system. I do not condone the use of any performance enhancing drugs by myself or any other professional athlete, and willingly accept the penalties and fines that have been handed down to me by the California State Athletic Commission and those of the StrikeForce/Zuffa organization.
  
  While I was preparing myself for my last fight I was having a difficult time cutting weight and used a dietary supplement that I was assured was safe and not prohibited from use in sports competition. It was never my intention to obtain an unfair advantage over Hiroko, mislead StrikeForce, the Commission or my fans. I train harder than any fighter in MMA and do not need drugs to win in the cage, and I have proven this time and time again! My only mistake is not verifying the diet aid with my doctor beforehand, and understanding that it was not approved for use in the ring. Unfortunately in the end I suffer the consequences and must accept the responsibility for my actions.
  
  I will do everything I can to show my fans that I can still compete at the professional level without the use of any prohibited substances, and ask God's forgiveness for my mistake.
  
  Cris Santos - Curitiba, Brazil January 7th, 2012"
  
  In other words, "Blah, blah, blah, I cheated and I'm incredibly sorry that I got caught." I don't know what's going to happen to "Cyborg" in the future, but I'm pretty sure her relationship with Strikeforce and Zuffa is now over. Dana White is not a huge fan of women's MMA and "Cyborg" had pretty much cleaned out her division already, so it's not like losing her would be some kind of devastating move that would set the company back. There's more interest in the women's bantamweight weight division anyways. If this is the last we have seen of "Cyborg" in Strikeforce, I don't think anyone's going to shed any tears. I'm sure "Cyborg" will actually take a closer took at the WWE if she's no longer employed with Zuffa because what are her other options? She can take a pay cut and go beat bitches up in a promotion that no one watches like Bellator. Or she could consider a move to jump over to pro wrestling where I'm sure she would actually make the diva's division in the WWE entertaining for the first time in years. Then again, Zuffa will probably keep her around and give her another shot once her suspension is up. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened....





• The first ever UFC on FUEL TV show isn't even the books yet but that hasn't stopped the company from announcing the next one already. UFC officials announced this past week that the UFC on FUEL TV 2 special will be held on April 14 at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. I would probably care A LOT more about this card if I had the chance to actually see it. I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but as long as Comcast doesn't carry FUEL TV, I'll be bitching about it in this column every week. You just better get used to it....





• It's no secret that WWE champion CM Punk (0-0) loves him some MMA. Well, now he finally gets to be apart of it. It was reported last week that Punk would actually be cornering Chael Sonnen (26-11-1) for Sonnen's fight against Mark Munoz (12-2) at next month's UFC on FOX 2 special. I absolutely love this. Punk is currently one of my favorite performers in the WWE (the little bit that I actually do watch....) and the combination of Punk and Sonnen together is AWESOME! Let's hope that Sonnen and Punk get together for some mic time during Sonnen's post-fight interview following his victory over Munoz. Oops, I'm getting a little ahead of myself, aren't I?





• In what is arguably the biggest women's fight that Strikeforce can put on, the promotion announced last week that Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion Miesha Tate (12-2) would take on Ronda Rousey (4-0) for the title at the Strikeforce event on March 3rd in Columbus, Ohio. I love this fight for numerous reasons. On one had, you have Ronda Rousey. The undefeated MMA prospect who has looked incredible since making her debut last March. She's 4-0 in MMA with four first-round finishes and none of her fights have lasted longer than a minute. In other words, she's dangerous. On the other hand, you have Miesha Tate. Tate has somewhat taken Gina Carano's place as the "pretty girl who can beat your ass" and has developed quite a nice little fan base. She's on a six-fight win streak right now but I don't think she's ever faced anyone like Ronda Rousey. Like I mentioned earlier, Rousey is dangerous and has the potential to dominate her weight division much like "Cyborg" Santos dominated the 145lb weight division. Tate's going to have to step her game up if she wants to avoid getting submitted by Rousey. Man, I can't wait for this fight....





• In what is sure to be a "loser leaves UFC" fight, "Ultimate Fighter" winners Mac Danzig (20-9-1) and Efrain Escudero (18-4) will square off at UFC 145 on March 24 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. Escudero recently made his return to the UFC after being released from the promotion following his loss to Charles Oliveira (14-2) at UFC Fight Night 22 in 2010. Escudero came up short in a decision loss to Jacob Volkmann (14-2) at UFC 141 and he has to know he's fighting for his UFC career when he squares off against Danzig in two months. Danzig is also on the chopping block considering he's a horrible 4-5 since winning season six of "TUF". He's coming off a tough decision loss to Matt Wiman (14-6) at UFC on Versus 6, but is looking to improve his record against fellow "TUF" winners to 2-0 with a win over Efrain. You would think a fight between two "TUF" winners would get me excited. Usually it would....





• UFC veteran Hermes Franca (22-12) won't be fighting for along time following a forty-two month prison sentence for being a pervert. Apparently Franca was sexually abusing an underage female student at a jiu-jitsu academy in Oregon where he was teaching. Franca initially pled not guilty to seven counts of sex abuse in the first degree and two counts of unlawful sexual penetration in the second degree, but eventually changed his mind and pled guilty to one count of each. Franca will not only serve forty-two months in prison, but he will have an additional four-and-a-half years of post-prison supervision and will have to register as a sex offender from here on out. Way to go Hermes, you really showed how much of a scumbag you really are. Hopefully once your prison sentence is up, you leave the wonderful state of Oregon for good and never come back. You already messed up one girl's life, let's put you out of your misery before you mess up another one.





• Other fights announced this week:
  
  -Mark Hominick (20-10) vs. Eddie Yagin (15-5-1): UFC 145
  
  -Matt Wiman (14-6) vs. Mark Bocek (10-4): UFC 145
  
  -Nick Penner (11-1) vs. Anthony Perosh (12-6): UFC on FX 2
  
  -Papy Abedi (8-1) vs. James Head (7-2): UFC on FUEL TV 2
  
  -Francis Carmont (17-7) vs. Magnus Cedenblad (10-3): UFC on FUEL TV 2
  
  -Brian Stann (11-4) vs. Alessio Sakara (15-8): UFC on FUEL TV 2
  
  -Cyrille Diabate (17-8-1) vs. Jorgen Kruth (5-0): UFC on FUEL TV 2
  
  -Simon Thoresen (16-2-1) vs. Besam Yousef (6-0): UFC on FUEL TV 2
  
  -Siyar Bahadurzada (20-4-1) vs. Paulo Thiago (14-3): UFC on FUEL TV 2
  
  -K.J. Noons (11-4) vs. Josh Thomson (18-4): Strikeforce in March
  
  -Paul Daley (29-11-2) vs. Kazuo Misaki (24-11-2): Strikeforce in March
  
  -Sarah Kaufman (14-1) vs. Alexis Davis (11-4): Strikeforce in March
  
  
  

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The Ultimate Writer Year-End Award Nominations



Yes, it's that time again. The time where anyone with a pulse lists their "year-end" awards for everyone to see. Well, if you thought that "The Ultimate Writer" wasn't going to have my year-end awards....you would be sadly mistaken. The following are my own personal nominations for "The Ultimate Writer Year-End Awards". If you feel strongly about someone winning a certain award, I recommend leaving a comment in the comments section as I'm VERY easy to convince. Make sure you are back here next week when the results for the 2011 Year-End "Ultimate Writer" awards are finally announced.....

And with that. Here are the nominees....


2011 Female Fighter of the Year

-Ronda Rousey (4-0 in 2011: defeated Ediane Gomes via submission in round 1, defeated Charmaine Tweet via submission in round 1, defeated Sarah D'Alelio via submission in round 1, defeated Julia Budd via submission in round 1)
-Miesha Tate (1-0 in 2011: used an arm-triangle choke in the fourth-round to defeat Marloes Coenen for the Strikeforce women's bantamweight title at Strikeforce "Fedor vs. Henderson")
-Megumi Fujii (2-0 in 2011: defeated Mika Nagano via unanimous-decision, defeated Karla Benitez via submission in round 1)
-Sarah Kaufman (2-0 in 2011: defeated Megumi Yabushita via TKO in round 3, defeated Liz Carmouche via uanimous-decision)


2011 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year

-Johny Hendricks (3-0 in 2011: defeated T.J. Waldburger via TKO at UFC Fight Night 24, defeated Mike Pierce via split-decision at UFC 133, defeated Jon Fitch via KO at UFC 141)
-Michael Chandler (4-0 in 2011: defeated Marcin Held via submission at Bellator 36, defeated Lloyd Woodard via unanimous-decision at Bellator 40, defeated Patricky Freire via unanimous-decision at Bellator 44, defeated Eddie Alvarez via submission at Bellator 58)
-Daniel Cormier (3-0 in 2011: defeated Devin Cole via unanimous-decision at Strikeforce Challengers 13, defeated Jeff Monson via unanimous-decision at Strikeforce "Overeem vs. Werdum", defeated Antonio Silva via KO at Strikeforce "Barnett vs. Kharitonov")
-Donald Cerrone (4-1 in 2011: defeated Paul Kelly via submission at UFC 126, defeated Vagner Rocha via unanimous-decision at UFC 131, defeated Charles Oliveira via TKO at UFC on Versus 5, defeated Dennis Siver via submission at UFC 137, lost to Nate Diaz via unanimous-decision at UFC 141)
-Jon Jones (4-0 in 2011: defeated Ryan Bader via submission at UFC 126, defeated Mauricio "Shogun" Rua via TKO at UFC 128, defeated Quinton "Rampage" Jackson via submission at UFC 135, defeated Lyoto Machida via submission at UFC 140)


2011 KO of the Year

-Anderson Silva over Vitor Belfort: UFC 126
-John Makdessi over Kyle Watson: UFC 129
-Lyoto Machida over Randy Couture: UFC 129
-Cheick Kongo over Pat Barry: UFC on Versus 4
-Alexis Vila over Joe Warren: Bellator 51


2011 Submission of the Year

-Chan Sung Jung over Leonard Garcia via twister at UFC Fight Night 24
-Vinny Magalhaes over Viktor Nemkov via gogoplata neck crank at M-1 Challenge 25
-Frank Mir over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via kimura at UFC 140
-Ronda Rousey over Julia Budd via armbar at Strikeforce Challengers 13
-Jon Jones over Lyoto Machida via guillotine choke at UFC 140


2011 MMA Promotion of the Year

-UFC
-DREAM
-Strikeforce
-Bellator


2011 MMA Fight of the Year

-Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua: UFC 139
-Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick: UFC 129
-Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann: UFC on Versus 3
-Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber II: UFC 132
-Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard II: UFC 125


2011 Most Disappointing Fighter of the Year

-Cain Velasquez (0-1 in 2011: KO loss to Junior dos Santos)
-Brock Lesnar (0-1 in 2011: TKO loss to Alistair Overeem)
-Jake Shields (0-2 in 2011: unanimous-decision loss to Georges St. Pierre, TKO loss to Jake Ellenberger)
-Gray Maynard (0-1-1 in 2011: fought to a draw with Frankie Edgar at UFC 125, KO loss to Frankie Edgar at UFC 136)
-Jon Fitch (0-1-1 in 2011: fought to a draw with B.J. Penn, KO loss to Johny Hendricks at UFC 141)


2011 Fighter of the Year

-Jon Jones (4-0 in 2011: submission win over Ryan Bader at UFC 126, TKO win over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 128, submission win over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 135, submission win over Lyoto Machida at UFC 140)
-Dan Henderson (3-0 in 2011: TKO win over Rafael Cavalcante at Strikeforce "Feijao vs. Henderson", TKO win over Fedor Emelianenko at Strikeforce "Fedor vs. Henderson", unanimous-decision win over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 139)
-Junior dos Santos (2-0 in 2011: unanimous-decision win over Shane Carwin at UFC 131, KO win over Cain Velasquez at UFC on FOX 1)
-Nick Diaz (3-0 in 2011: submission win over Evangelista Santos at Strikeforce "Diaz vs. Cyborg", TKO win over Paul Daley at Strikeforce "Diaz vs. Daley", unanimous-decision win over B.J. Penn at UFC 137)
-Anderson Silva (2-0 in 2011: KO win over Vitor Belfort at UFC 126, TKO win over Yushin Okami at UFC 134)


And there we are! Be sure to look for the results next week....

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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 - "Some call Luke Rockhold the "Kenny Florian" of handsome people"

Courtesy of @RockholdMMA - "Thanks everybody feels amazing, can't wait to do it again!"

Courtesy of @KingMoFH - "Me and @rockholdMMA= the nasty boyz, harlem heat, steiner brothers, natural disasters, road warriors, demolition! My tag team partner!!"

Courtesy of @DanaWhite - "@erincoscarelli you are awesome we are looking at your work now and considering u!!! Love ur work. What do u think UFC fans? Hire her?" (Editor's Note: YES and YES!)

Courtesy of @TarecFighter - "Not a 30-27 fight but I got the W! @SteeMon84 is a tough fighter! Thx everyone fr the support!!!"

Courtesy of @SteeMon84 - "Damn..... @tarecfighter is a tough dude. It was very close,I thought I had it. Hats off to Tarec for a great fight to open up 2012"

Courtesy of @ForrestGriffin - "I won the award for husband of the week! Here's a hint it's a blowjob. Now that I think about it who the f$$k won last week?"

Courtesy of @ForrestGriffin - "My new year resolution: get the rest of me as ripped as my penis"

Courtesy of @MiguelTorresMMA - "Every time I see the sun set I remember how beautiful the world is. Then I remember how unfair life is & slap myself back to reality."

Courtesy of @MiguelTorresMMA - "Time to get weird @MattMitrione's gym. His size does not impress me, but the strength of odor coming off his hairy back is impressive."

Courtesy of @ChuckLiddell - "Our baby girl was born at 1209pm 6lb 14 oz I'm a very happy and blessed man"

Courtesy of @MayhemMiller - "From this point on, I shall refer to the couch throw pillows by their technical name, "fart-fanners.""

Courtesy of @MayhemMiller - "Mick Jagger is like 90 years old. I am pretty sure his movements are limited to occasional bowel ones."

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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

Gilbert Melendez - Strikeforce Lightweight Champion

Won the title from Josh Thomson back on December 19, 2009 at Strikeforce: Evolution

Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos - Strikeforce Featherweight Female Champion

Won the title from Gina Carano back on August 15, 2009 at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg

Miesha Tate - Strikeforce Bantamweight Female Champion

Won the title from Marloes Coenen back on July 30, 2011 at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson





Bibiano Fernandes - DREAM Bantamweight Champion

Won the title from Antonio Banuelos back on December 31, 2011 at DREAM 2011 New Year's Eve Fight For Japan.

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

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Upcoming Events:

Here are a few of the upcoming events in the wonderful world of MMA:



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 Easton vs. To Be Announced
-Duane "Bang" Ludwig vs. Josh Neer
-Karlos Vemola vs. Ryan Jimmo
-Kamal Shalorus vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
-Reza Madadi vs. Fabricio Camoes
-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. Nik Lentz
-George Roop vs. Cub Swanson
-Shane Roller vs. Michael Johnson
-Charles Oliveira vs. Eric Wisely
-Mike Russow vs. Jon Olav Einemo
-Dustin Jacoby vs. Chris Camozzi
-Johnny Bedford vs. Mitch Gagnon
-Joey Beltran vs. Lavar Johnson


UFC 143 "Diaz vs. Condit" - February 4 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada

-Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit (for the UFC interim welterweight title)
-Roy Nelson vs. Fabricio Werdum
-Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce
-Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway
-Scott Jorgensen vs. Renan Barao
-Ed Herman vs. Clifford Starks
-Matt Riddle vs. Jorge Lopez
-Edwin Figueroa vs. Alex Caceres
-Rafael Natal vs. Michael Kuiper
-Mike Stumpf vs. Justin Edwards


UFC on FUEL TV 1 - February 15 at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska

-Jake Ellenberger vs. Diego Sanchez
-Stefan Struve vs. Dave Herman
-Aaron Simpson vs. Ronny Markes
-Jonathan Brookins vs. Vagner Rocha
-Stipe Miocic vs. Philip De Fries
-Ivan Menjivar vs. John Albert
-T.J. Dillashaw vs. Walel Watson


UFC 144 "Edgar vs. Henderson" - February 25 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan

-Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson (for the UFC lightweight title)
-Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Ryan Bader
-Jake Shields vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
-Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon
-Cheick Kongo vs. Mark Hunt
-Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch
-Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto vs. Vaughan Lee
-Takanori Gomi vs. George Sotiropoulos
-Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski
-Riki Fukuda vs. Steve Cantwell
-Takeya Mizugaki vs. Chris Cariaso
-Leonard Garcia vs. Tiequan Zhang


Bellator 60 - March 2 at a location that has yet to-be-announced

-No fights are scheduled at this time

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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....

Will we see the end of the "Aldo-era" in the UFC's featherweight division this weekend?....

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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....

Heavyweight:

1. Junior dos Santos
2. Cain Velasquez
3. Alistair Overeem
4. Shane Carwin
5. Fabricio Werdum

Light Heavyweight:

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. Nick Diaz
3. Josh Koscheck
4. Carlos Condit
5. Jake Ellenberger

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. Diego Nunes
5. Pat Curran

Bantamweight:

1. Dominick Cruz
2. Joseph Benavidez
3. Urijah Faber
4. Demetrious Johnson
5. Brian Bowles

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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.....


http://www.twitter.com/411mania
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