The Ultimate Writer 01.30.12: UFC 143 Preview, UFC on FOX 2 Results, Top 5 UFC Fighters To Watch Out For, More

Posted by Dustin James on 01.30.2012

A preview of this weekend's title fight between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit as well as the rest of the UFC 143 card, a recap of the UFC on FOX 2 card, the top 5 UFC fighters to watch out for in 2012 and much 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 it's SUPER BOWL WEEKEND this weekend! It's one of my personal favorite weekends of the year even though my favorite NFL team (the Kansas City Chiefs) never plays in the big game. Still, it's kind of like a little holiday where family and friends get together, stuff their faces with tons of food, watch overrated commercials, and watch what can sometimes be a great football game. I'm expecting the New York Giants to win this weekend (they are playing better football than anyone right now and I've been on their bandwagon the past few weeks) even though deep down inside, I don't care because neither team is the Kansas City Chiefs. I'm just hoping we get a good game, is that too much to ask for?

Did anyone else catch the debut of The Challenge: Battle of the Exes on MTV this past weekend? I know I did. Myself and fellow MMA writer Jeremy Lambert are obsessed with the show. We are so obsessed with the show that we are actually doing a fantasy league where both of us picked teams on the show and whoever wins avoids some major embarrassment, that's all I can really say. Anyway, since the show started, Jeremy's behavior towards me has grown erratic as he jumped on the 411 Wrestling Podcast the other day and told me to "SUCK IT"! NO ONE TELLS ME TO "SUCK IT" ON THE 411 WRESTLING PODCAST!!!! Now I'm actually contemplating driving to whatever stupid state Lambert lives in so I can break into his parent's house and beat him with a pillow case full of batteries. Thanks to MTV and their stupid teeny bopper shows, a once great friendship between two mature MMA writers has been damaged. Oh well, at least I always have Stewart Lange on my side.....

Well, what do you say we finally move on to the MMA talk?..............


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


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


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

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Top Stories:

UFC/Strikeforce




UFC 143 "Diaz vs. Condit" Preview


Finally, we get a UFC welterweight title fight! Well, kind of.....



UFC 143 is this weekend and it's definitely one of the sexiest cards on paper we've seen in awhile. Yes, I know more than a few of you are disappointed we aren't getting the Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz title fight that we were all promised almost a year ago. That's just one of the many unfortunate things surrounding our lovely sport. Injuries are a big part of MMA (it's humans causing physical damage to each other, injuries are guaranteed almost every time out....) and it's something we have all had to grow accustomed to dealing with, whether we like it or not. When the news broke that UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre would be out of action for almost an entire year due to a torn ACL, the UFC decided to act fast and announce the addition of the UFC interim welterweight title with #1 contenders Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit squaring off for the rights to the title. A lot of people were disappointed with this news and I have no idea why. Diaz vs. Condit should be a FANTASTIC main event for what should end up being an overall great card. If your still not sold on the card, just continue reading my preview and I guarantee you will have purchased the sum of a bitch by the time you get to the end of it.....


My 2012 UFC Pick'em Record Thus Far: 11-1 with 4 perfect calls (perfect call means I predicted the round and the way the fight ended perfectly....)



UFC 143 "Diaz vs. Condit" Main Card Preview:



Middleweight Bout:
-Ed Herman (19-8) vs. Clifford Starks (8-0)


Who the hell is Clifford Starks? It doesn't matter because after this weekend is over, we are all going to refer to him as the "guy Ed Herman just dominated"! Seriously though, what in Clifford Starks right mind convinced him to go through with this fight? Does he not know that Ed Herman is the most dangerous middleweight fighter in the UFC at the moment? Since returning from a horrific injury he suffered in 2009, Herman has blasted off two straight wins in the Octagon and both of them were first-round finishes. Ever since he moved away from Oregon and found a new home in Colorado, Herman has looked like a much improved fighter and that's a scary thing for a certain champ named Anderson Silva. This fight is easy for me to pick and it should be easy for you to pick as well.....


My pick: Ed Herman, Decision



Bantamweight Bout:
-Scott Jorgensen (13-4) vs. Renan Barao (27-1)


This fight isn't getting nearly the play it should be, but it's a fantastic fight on paper. I'm not sure why, but Renan Barao gets like no love from the MMA community. The guy is on a 27-fight win streak and his only professional loss came in his debut fight way back in 2005. Barao is 4-0 since signing with Zuffa in 2010, but still has somehow managed to slip under the radar. This fight with Jorgensen is going to be his big break though. It's definitely a "make or break" fight for Barao because a win over top-ranked Jorgensen gets him one step closer to a potential title shot against UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. Barao is coming off a pretty big win over Brad Pickett at UFC 138 in November and if he can pick up a victory over Jorgensen this weekend, it wouldn't shock me at all to see the UFC name Barao the #1 contender and the guy most likely to face off against the winner of the upcoming Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber III fight. Jorgensen is by no means an easy win though. Since signing with Zuffa in 2008, Jorgensen is 9-3 with wins over the likes of Jeff Curran, Brad Pickett, Takeya Mizugaki, and more. His last loss came against Cruz at WEC 53 in 2010 and you have to assume that Scotty the Body wants to avenge that loss in the worst way. Jorgensen is consistently one of the best bantamweight fighters in the world and he'll definitely be a tough test for Barao's here. As for who wins this fight? Flip a coin. I'm pretty sure that's the only way anyone is going to accurately predict the winner of this one....


My pick: Renan Barao, Decision



Welterweight Bout:
-Josh Koscheck (16-5) vs. Mike Pierce (13-4)


I can't wait for this fight. Not because I think it's going to be an all-time classic or anything like that, but because I'm a fan of both guys. I know, I know. It's not normal for someone to be a fan of Josh Koscheck, but I've actually had the pleasure of meeting Koscheck and the guy is not as bad as you would think. As for Pierce, it's no secret that he's an Oregonian and as we all know, I love me some Oregonians. Now that you know I'm totally unbiased with this fight, let's talk about the fight itself. Here we have two highly ranked significantly good wrestlers squaring off. We all know what happens when you have two great wrestlers facing off. That's right, we usually get stuck with a sloppy boxing match. If it comes down to that (and I think it will....), Koscheck will have the advantage here. Koscheck has significantly improved his striking since his time on season one of "The Ultimate Fighter". While he may not exactly be able to stand up and trade jabs with the likes of Georges St. Pierre, he's shown that he can still put some of the top welterweights in the world down with his fists. He's coming off a huge win over the legendary Matt Hughes at UFC 135 and one would have to think that if he's able to beat Pierce in impressive fashion, Koscheck could be in line to face the winner of the Nick Diaz/Carlos Condit fight for the interim UFC welterweight title (I personally think the winner of Diaz/Condit will defend the interim title at least once before GSP returns...). Pierce is one tough son of a bitch though. The guy is 5-2 in the UFC, but if you look at his record there's something that sticks out like a sore thumb. Pierce has four losses on his record and all four losses were decision losses to other wrestlers. I don't know about you guys, but all signs point to Koscheck squeaking out a decision victory here. So we have yet another Mike Pierce fight that ends in a decision? SHOCKER, I know.....


My pick: Josh Koscheck, Decision



Heavyweight Bout:
-Roy Nelson (16-6) vs. Fabricio Werdum (14-5-1)


Who's excited for this one? No, I'm dead serious. I want to know if anyone is actually excited to see these two face off in the Octagon....because I sure as hell ain't. Roy "Big Country" Nelson does nothing for me. He's an overweight tub of lard who happens to have some power in his fists and the ability to take people down, so somehow he's turned that into a pretty successful career in MMA. Nelson is 3-2 in the UFC since winning season 10 of "The Ultimate Fighter" and I don't know why, but for some reason, Nelson thinks he's one of the best fighters in the UFC's heavyweight division. Well, he definitely gets the chance to prove himself right when he steps into the Octagon and faces Fabricio Werdum. Werdum is probably the best BJJ heavyweight around. He's making his return to the UFC after three long years. He was cut from the company after a young upstart named Junior dos Santos knocked him out at UFC 90. Werdum then headed over to Strikeforce where he took the company by storm. Werdum managed to win his first three fights in Strikeforce, including becoming the first guy in ten years to defeat former top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko. Unfortunately Werdum came out and laid an egg in his last fight. In case you have a short memory (or pushed the memory out of your head altogether), Werdum is coming off an ugly loss to Alistair Overeem in June and if he fights like that against "Big Country", Nelson will just sit on top of Werdum like a fat bully picking on a nerd at recess. I really have pretty much little-to-no-interest in watching this fight, I just hope it ends quick so we aren't forced to watch two tired heavyweight fighters bore the ever loving crap out of everyone. NEXT PLEASE!


My pick: Roy Nelson, Decision



UFC Interim Welterweight Title Bout:
-Nick Diaz (26-7) vs. Carlos Condit (27-5)


Much like everyone else, I'm freaking pumped for this fight! I know, it's not exactly GSP vs. Nick Diaz like we had all expected, but it's pretty much the next best thing in my eyes. Condit and Diaz are easily two of the best welterweight fighters in the world and both fighters have been on impressive streaks these last few years. Since arriving in the UFC in 2009, former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit has been on a roll. He's 4-1 with his only loss coming at the hands of Martin Kampmann in a closely contested split-decision fight at UFC Fight Night 18 in 2009. Since that time, Condit has picked up victories over top-ranked guys like Jake Ellenberger, Dan Hardy, and Dong Hyun Kim. He even managed to defeat the previously undefeated Rory MacDonald (a fighter that A LOT of people consider to be a younger version of GSP...) en route to finally earning a shot at the UFC welterweight title. Condit is coming off of two straight first-round finishes in the UFC, but if he thinks he's going to keep that streak going, he's out of his damn mind. Condit's opponent is one of the few welterweights left in MMA who hasn't been destroyed by GSP yet. Nick Diaz has been one of the most consistent fighters these past few years. As a matter of fact, he's finished third in my "Fighter of the Year" awards the last two straight years! Since losing via a stupid doctor stoppage against K.J. Noons at EliteXC: Renegade in 2007 (yes, the stoppage was stupid...), Diaz has compiled an eleven-fight win streak that included a run as Strikeforce welterweight champion. Diaz has managed to defeat guys like B.J. Penn, Marius Zaromskis, Paul Daley, Hayato Sakurai, Frank Shamrock, Noons, and more. It's no secret though that Condit will be the toughest test that Diaz has faced in some time. Condit is a well-rounded fighter who can present problems to Diaz both on the feet and on the ground. However, Diaz is comfortable wherever the fight ends up. If Condit decides to stand and trade with Diaz, no problem. I'm sure Diaz will be more than happy to oblige and continuously jab Condit in the face for five-straight rounds. If Condit wants to take the fight to the ground, he has to be extremely careful. Diaz has one of the best submission games in the welterweight division and would gladly end the fight with a gogoplata to earn himself a "submission of the night" bonus. Yes, it's pretty obvious that I'm taking Diaz here. At the beginning of the year, I asked if we could PLEASE see Alistair Overeem vs. JDS, Jon "Bones" Jones vs. Rashad Evans, Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II, and Nick Diaz vs. GSP in title fights this year. If Diaz can come through in the clutch this week, we will be one step closer to making all that happen. Either way, I'm just praying for a good main event and I'm thinking Diaz and Condit are going to provide us with an absolute war this weekend and I can't freaking wait......


My pick: Nick Diaz, Submission, Round 4





And that's that. UFC 143 is going to be a historic show because it will mark the first time in years that we will have a new UFC welterweight champion (kind of). I know a lot of people are disappointed that we aren't getting GSP vs. Diaz like we should, but Diaz vs. Condit is still one hell of a main event. When you mix that with Nelson vs. Werdum, Koscheck vs. Pierce, and of course, an appearance from ED "FUCKING" HERMAN....it should come as a shocker to no one that I'm jazzed for this weekend's card. After a disappointing UFC on FOX 2 show, I'm dying to see some good UFC fights this weekend and if this card doesn't deliver, I may have lost all hope in humanity as we know it.

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UFC on FOX 2 Results


How did the UFC's return to FOX play out? Exactly like I thought it would.....


Another week has passed and we put to bed another one of the "most important cards in UFC history". The UFC returned to FOX this past weekend and after an overall disappointing show the first time around on FOX, the UFC was hoping to get things back on track by blowing everyone's mind with a card that featured Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis, Chael Sonnen vs. Michael Bisping, and Demian Maia vs. Chris Weidman. While the first UFC on FOX show featured a 90-second UFC heavyweight title fight, the second card featured three bouts that on paper looked like average decision fights to me. Last week while making my picks, I said that all 3 fights would likely end in boring decisions and unfortunately I was 100% correct. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself, aren't I? Let's take a closer look at what the UFC put on our plates this past weekend and why most of us have food poisoning following the show....



UFC on FOX 2 Prelim Card Results:


-Chris Camozzi (16-5) def. Dustin Jacoby (6-2) via submission (guillotine choke) in Round 3

-Lavar Johnson (16-5) def. Joey Beltran (13-7) via KO in Round 1

-Michael Johnson (10-6) def. Shane Roller (10-6) via unanimous-decision

-Charles Oliveira (15-2) def. Eric Wisely (19-7) via submission (calf slicer) in Round 1

-Cub Swanson (16-5) def. George Roop (12-9-1) via TKO in Round 2

-Mike Russow (15-1) def. John Olav Einemo (6-3) via unanimous-decision

-Evan Dunham (13-2) def. Nik Lentz (21-5-2) via TKO in Round 2



UFC on FOX 2 Main Card Results:



Middleweight Bout:
-Chris Weidman (8-0) def. Demian Maia (15-4) via unanimous-decision

My pick: Chris Weidman, Decision


This fight was just bowling shoe ugly and was a horrible way of kicking off what was set to be a huge card for the UFC. A lot of people are saying you can't blame that on the UFC, but c'mon now! Who didn't see this fight turning into a sloppy boxing match? As a matter of fact, just look what I wrote about the fight last week in this very column:

" I honestly don't know how this one is going to pan out, especially considering Weidman took this fight on short notice. I'd like to say it's going to be an all-around classic ground game showcase, but something tells me we are much more likely to get a boring stand-up affair that will make me want to scratch my eyes out."

BOOM! Sometimes I even surprise myself with my dead on accuracy at predicting how a fights going to turn out. When you have two guys with great ground games, they usually tend to cancel each other out and the fight turns into a boring display of less-than-average striking. That's exactly how this one turned out and to make it worse, both fighters were extremely gassed by the time the third-round rolled around. The fight actually resembled 95% of the fights in MMA's heavyweight division and that's not good when it features "two of the top 10 middleweights in MMA". The less I talk about this fight, the better mood I'll put myself in. This definitely wasn't what the UFC wanted to happen to kick off it's second prime time show on FOX, but c'mon....who didn't see this one turning out the way it did? Hopefully Weidman looks better in his next time out because the kid's got potential to be one of the best in the middleweight division, he just needs to work on being in better fighting shape regardless if he takes a fight on short notice or not. Let's put him in the cage against Mark Munoz when he's healthy so we can see if the kid is for real or not....



Middleweight Bout:
-Chael Sonnen (27-11-1) def. Michael Bisping (22-4) via unanimous-decision

My pick: Chael Sonnen, Decision


First of all, I'll give credit where credit is due. I thought Chael Sonnen was going to come out, continuously take Bisping down and ground and pound the ever loving shit out of him. That's not exactly what we got unfortunately. I don't know what was up with Chael tonight, but he hasn't looked as good as he has in his previous three fights. After dominating Anderson Silva for 23 minutes and mauling the always-tough Brian Stann at UFC 136, everyone was expecting Sonnen to come out, keep Bisping on the mat and easily earn a unanimous-decision victory. Bisping had other plans though. The first-round was extremely close, but I gave the advantage to Chael due to Octagon control and takedowns. Yes, Bisping managed to hold Sonnen up against the cage for a few minutes, but Sonnen still managed to score some takedowns and was the aggressor for the majority of the round. Bisping got things turned around in the second-round though. Bisping was hitting better shots and earned points by keeping Sonnen up against the cage for the majority of the round. I had the fight even going into the third-round, and that's when Chael Sonnen FINALLY showed up! Chael came out and worked his ground game like the Sonnen we all know and love to help put the fight in the bag. I was actually surprised at all the various scores for this fight on Twitter once it was over. I was cracking up at all the people across the pond who were disappointed in the scoring. If you go back and re-watch the fight, yes it was close, but when did Bisping ever have the clear advantage over Sonnen? When he was pushing him against the cage? Sonnen won the fight in the third-round by being Sonnen....it was only a matter of time before he finally showed up. Now the world is right again because it looks like we will finally get Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva II in Brazil possibly in June. I can't express how excited I' am to see that fight, but if the Chael Sonnen who fought Bisping tonight shows up to face Silva in June, there's no way that fight turns out the same way it did when they first squared off. Either way, I'm hoping and praying for a classic fight just like we got the first time around......



Light Heavyweight Bout:
-Rashad Evans (17-1-1) def. Phil Davis (9-1) via unanimous-decision

My pick: Rashad Evans, Decision


I said last week that Rashad Evans was a much more polished version of Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis and guess what, I was 100% correct. Davis had no answer for anything that Rashad threw his away and he was completely overwhelmed here. Sometimes MMA experience can pay off and in this case, it did big-time. I don't know if it was nerves or just the fact that he wasn't nowhere near as good as Rashad, but Davis didn't look good here. Evans fought a very safe fight and for good measure, as he's now expected to face Jon "Bones" Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title in a fight that we've been waiting to see for months now. Evans needed to come out of this fight unscathed considering the title fight with Jones is three months away and I think once Evans knew Davis had nothing to throw his way, he played it safe. Unfortunately for us UFC fans, we were treated to a boring main event on a show that was incredibly important for the company. A lot of people consider the first UFC on FOX show a flop considering it had only 90 seconds of actual action. Well, this main event was the total opposite of that fight and once again, people are calling the show a flop. I don't know why people expect a Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua brawl in every main event, but those people are going to be disappointed a lot more often than us realists. There was just nothing about Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis that screamed "exciting" to begin with. As a matter of fact, I believe I wrote in this very column once the Davis/Evans fight was announced that it was the wrong fight to broadcast on prime time television. Oh well, learn from your mistakes I guess? Either way, we still get Jones vs. Evans in a few months so at least something's going right......


And there we are. The second UFC on FOX show is in the books and unfortunately, it was a big time disappointment in my eyes. Even though I predicted the card would have three boring decisions, I was really hoping I would be wrong in that aspect. So far, the UFC has had two big time opportunities to knock a home run out of the park on prime time television and failed miserably. Let's hope this doesn't start some weird kind of trend and hopefully the company has learned from their mistakes and will put on some guaranteed exciting bouts for the next FOX show (Jim Miller vs. Nate Diaz is a great start). May I recommend Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Dan Henderson II now that "Bones" Jones is fighting Evans for the title? Who wouldn't want to see a rematch of the 2011 MMA fight of the year on prime time television? Let's make it happen Joe Silva and Dana White.....





All The Other Stuff:

• A lot of people wanted it (myself included) and the UFC is making it happen! Last Tuesday, the UFC confirmed that Jim Miller (21-3) would take on Nate Diaz (15-7) in a highly-anticipated fight on the next UFC on FOX show on May 5. After Miller's victory over Melvin Guillard (29-10-2) at the UFC on FX 1 show, it seemed like everyone and their mother was demanding that Diaz fight Miller. For instance, look at what I wrote in last week's column:
  
  
  "As for Miller, how about putting him in the cage against Nate Diaz? Both fighters are currently ranked near the top of the lightweight division and you would have an instant challenger to the title no matter who won. Plus, the fight itself would be extremely fun. Sometimes I help make Joe Silva's job a little easier....."
  
  
  This fight is guaranteed to be the best fight in the short history of the UFC on FOX shows (depending on what the main event is of course....), but then again, that's not exactly that hard of a feat to accomplish anyhow. Let's just hope that both fighters stay healthy because this fight is one that HAS to happen.







• "The Ultimate Fighter" season 14 bantamweight winner John Dodson (12-5) will be dropping down to the flyweight division and will face Darren Uyenoyama (7-3) at the UFC on FOX 3 show. It's a good move for Dodson to drop down to the flyweight division as it's a better fit for him, but Uyenoyama is a tough match-up for him. Uyenoyama is coming off a big win against Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto (18-5) at the UFC on FOX 1 show in November and a win over Dodson could put him in line to face the winner of the upcoming UFC flyweight title tournament. Its not like the division is crawling with contenders or anything anyway.





• UFC President Dana White caused a stir this week with his response to UFC.com being hacked:
  
  "I'm not afraid of you. So you want to keep hacking our site? Go for it. Watch what happens. You're hurting yourself. These guys look like terrorists now. And a bill that was about to die is about to come back. Now you guys look like terrorists. Politicians were terrified of the Internet. Now, you're making them mad. And one thing that everybody has to learn and everybody has to know – everybody's saying, 'You can't beat the Internet.' No, you can't beat the fucking government. That's who you can't beat. That's a fight you will always lose."
  
  After Dana made those threats, things got pretty serious. The hacker group reportedly posted Dana's personal information online and left him threatening messages telling him that they didn't want the website anymore, but were now focusing on him instead. Of course, this all boils back to the UFC and Dana White publicly supporting the SOPA bill. Since I refuse to talk politics, I'd just like to say that Dana should have kept quiet and ignored them because nothing good can come out of publicly challenging a hacker group. It's kind of like how Dana pretty much responds to anyone on Twitter with cursing and insults. It's not how the president of a company like the UFC should act, but when has Dana ever acted normal? I guess we are hoping that one of these days he will learn his lesson and just shut up, but it doesn't look like that's ever going to happen.





• Other fights announced this week:
  
  -Takanori Gomi (32-8) vs. Eiji Mitsuoka (18-7-2): UFC 144
  
  
  

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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 - "Sonnen's pressure/td's earned him a close win. Bisping was extremely impressive on short notice. Chael will need some new tricks for Silva."

Courtesy of @Bisping - "As they say don't let it go to the judges. I thought I won round 1 +2 but the judges thought different, congrats to chael. Sorry guys!"

Courtesy of @JonnyBones - "April 21st Atlanta Georgia who's coming?"

Courtesy of @DanaWhite - "This fight is awesome!! I thought it was nuts [Bisping] was a 5 to 1 dog!"

Courtesy of @DanaWhite - "30-27 is soooooooo bad it's insane. That judge should never be allowed to watch a fight again!!!!!" [Editor's Note: This is in response to the score of the Chael Sonnen/Michael Bisping fight.]

Courtesy of @ChrisWeidmanUFC - "Thanks to my sponsors, my family, friends, and fans! This was the toughest 10 day of my life and I'm glad it paid off!"

Courtesy of @ForrestGriffin - "Reason no. 917 why I'm not a douche I've never looked at my abs in the gym mirror. You know who you are"

Courtesy of @ForrestGriffin - "Helpful tip: whenever lifting weights scream "grow" while looking at your arms during every rep. Otherwise people wont take you seriously"

Courtesy of @MiguelTorresMMA - "So I've come to the conclusion that @SonnenCh's shit don't stink. Actually it smells pretty fuckin good."

Courtesy of @MiguelTorresMMA - "If you are going to ask me if I'm still with GSP's camp, my only answer is I don't live in Montreal cause its too fucking cold. #Firas"

Courtesy of @MikePierce170 - "Congrats @sonnench. My turn next week :)"

Courtesy of @MayhemMiller - "Watch Portlandia"

Courtesy of @MayhemMiller - "On my iPhone speaker it sounded like Obama said the millionaires pay less than most "middle class assholes." not households."

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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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Random Top 5 List Time!

Here you will see a random top 5 list put together by yours truly. It may be Top 5 submission fighters, Top 5 stand-up fighters or hell, even the Top 5 ways that Anderson Silva could kill you. Seriously, don't mess with that man. He's dangerous.


The Top 5 UFC Fighters To Watch In 2012: 2012 just kicked off but we already have a slew of great upcoming fights ahead for the remainder of the year. We all know that Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans, Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen, and GSP vs. whoever is the UFC interim welterweight champion are guaranteed big-time fights for the UFC. What we don't know is, who are going to be the guys who sneak up and surprise everyone this year? You know, the breakthrough fighters of 2012? Much like Jon Jones, Michael Chandler, Johny Hendricks, and Jake Ellenberger raised their stocks in 2011, there are fighters who are going to sneak up and become stars in 2012. These are the five guys I personally think have the best shot at making that happen this year.....


5. Rory MacDonald - I've quickly become a huge fan of Rory MacDonald. I think he's one of the most underrated fighters in the UFC's welterweight division and the guy who a lot of people consider to be a "younger" GSP is ready to take the UFC by storm. Since signing with the company back in 2010, MacDonald is 3-1 in the promotion with wins over Nate Diaz, Mike Pyle, and Michael Guymon. His only loss came against Carlos Condit at UFC 115 in a fight that MacDonald probably shouldn't have been in to begin with. He's currently slated to take on Che Mills at UFC 145 and if he can get past Mills (and he should...) that would mark his third-straight win in the Octagon. The UFC's welterweight division is hurting for challengers but if MacDonald continues to improve like he has, the twenty-two year could take the division by storm this year.


4. Travis Browne - I'm not a fan of Browne's by any means, but I really wanted to include a heavyweight fighter here and Browne just fit the bill in my eyes. Browne is 3-0-1 since signing with the UFC in 2010 and is slowly moving up the rankings. After a very disappointing performance against Cheick Kongo at UFC 120 (the two fought to a VERY boring draw for you with piss poor memories), Browne has riled off two straight wins in the UFC including a big-time KO win over Stefan Struve at UFC 130. Browne is scheduled to face off against Chad Griggs at UFC 145 and he should have no problem with Griggs if the fight goes how I think it does. A win over Griggs would mark the third straight win in the UFC for Browne and you would have to think the guy would get a big fight the next time out. Browne may not be the most exciting fighter to watch, but he's good enough on both his feet and the ground to give pretty much anyone in the UFC's heavyweight division troubles. Will this be the year that Browne finally breaks through? I'm stupid enough to bet money on it....


3. Dustin Poirier - Dustin Poirier is quickly becoming one of my favorite featherweight fighters in the UFC. In a division that is dying for new challengers to step up and face UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, Poirier may be the guy to do exactly that. Since signing with Zuffa in 2010, Poirier is 4-1 in both the WEC and the UFC. As a matter of fact, he went 3-0 in the UFC last year and in his last fight, he finished Pablo Garza with a brabo choke in round 2 at UFC on FOX 1. He's scheduled to face Max Holloway at UFC 143 this weekend and a win over Holloway would improve his record to 4-0 in the UFC's featherweight division. Something tells me that Dustin Poirier will be staring down Jose Aldo in the middle of the Octagon sooner than we all think. Can you think of a better candidate to face Aldo right now, especially if Poirier is victorious this weekend? Exactly.


2. Alexander Gustafsson - Alexander Gustafsson definitely has all the talent to be this year's Jon "Bones" Jones. Is he as good as Jones is? No. But he's young and very athletic and appears to be the real deal. He's 5-1 in his UFC career thus far with his only loss coming against Phil Davis at UFC 112 and I think Gustafsson has improved tremendously since that loss. Gustafsson actually has a little bit of "Bones" Jones inside of him as he has finished everyone he faced in 2011 and even has the pleasure of calling himself the "guy who retired Matt Hamill". He's scheduled to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC on FUEL TV 2 (Why the hell is a fight like this on UFC on FUEL TV? Dana knows that not everyone has FUEL TV so therefore this fight won't be viewed by as many people. Way to kill a potential superstar's momentum by showcasing him on FUEL TV....) and if he can beat "Lil Nog", he'll definitely be a player in the UFC light heavyweight title mix. "Bones" Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson for the UFC light heavyweight title in the last half of 2012? Count me in.....


1. Edson Barboza - This one should come as a shocker to no one considering Barboza is already the front-runner to win the "KO of they Year" award following his absolute dominating spinning wheel kick KO win over Terry Etim at UFC 142 earlier this month. The undefeated Brazilian improved his UFC record to 4-0 and also became one of Dana White's favorite fighters in the meantime. I'm thinking that Barboza is going to get rewarded greatly the next time he fights and if he's victorious again, would anyone really be shocked to see him fighting for the UFC lightweight title? Ladies and gentlemen, we could be looking at the new face of the UFC's lightweight division and by this time next year, Barboza could end up on top of one of the most jam-packed weight divisions in MMA. It wouldn't shock me one bit.....

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Upcoming Events:

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




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
-Buddy Roberts vs. Sean Loeffler
-Justin Salas vs. Anton Kuivanen
-Yoislandy Izquierdo vs. Bernardo Magalhaes


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. Eiji Mitsuoka
-Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski
-Riki Fukuda vs. Steve Cantwell
-Takeya Mizugaki vs. Chris Cariaso
-Leonard Garcia vs. Tiequan Zhang


Strikeforce "Tate vs. Rousey" - March 3 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio

-Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey (for the Strikeforce women's bantamweight title)
-Gegard Mousasi vs. Mike Kyle
-Paul Daley vs. Kazuo Misaki
-K.J. Noons vs. Josh Thomson
-Sarah Kaufman vs. Alexis Davis
-Pat Healy vs. Caros Fodor
-Ryan Couture vs. Conor Heun


UFC on FX 2 - March 3 at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia

-Martin Kampmann vs. Thiago Alves
-Joseph Benavidez vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani (UFC flyweight tournament semifinal)
-Demetrious Johnson vs. Ian McCall (UFC flyweight tournament semifinal)
-Court McGee vs. Constantinos Philippou
-Cole Miller vs. Steven Siler
-Kyle Noke vs. Andrew Craig
-Aaron Rosa vs. James Te Huna
-Mackens Semerzier vs. Robbie Peralta
-T.J. Waldburger vs. Jake Hecht
-Oli Thompson vs. Shawn Jordan
-Anthony Perosh vs. Nick Penner


Bellator 60 - March 9 at The Venue at Horseshoe Hammond in Hammond, Indiana

-Joe Warren vs. Pat Curran (for Bellator featherweight title)
-Marlon Sandro vs. Roberto Vargas (2012 Bellator featherweight tourney opening-round)
-Wagnney Fabiano vs. Ronnie Mann (2012 Bellator featherweight tourney opening-round)
-Genair da Silva vs. Alexandre Bezerra (2012 Bellator featherweight tourney opening-round)
-Daniel Straus vs. Jeremy Spoon (2012 Bellator featherweight tourney opening-round)


Bellator 61 - March 16 at the Horseshoe Riverdome in Bossier City, Louisiana

-Eric Prindle vs. Thiago Santos
-Maiquel Falcao vs. Norman Paraisy (2012 Bellator middleweight tourney opening-round)
-Vitor Vianna vs. Brian Rogers (2012 Bellator middleweight tourney opening-round)
-Victor O'Donnell vs. Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (2012 Bellator middleweight tourney opening-round)
-Bruno Santos vs. Giva Santana (2012 Bellator middleweight tourney opening-round)

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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....

For the first time in ages, we will have a new UFC welterweight champion this weekend....well, kind of:

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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. Hatsu Hioki
3. Chad Mendes
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.

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