Cardio Freak MMA News Report 07.10.08: From Reality TV to Champion

Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 07.10.2008

Cardio Freak is back with a recap of UFC 86. Did Quinton Jackson deserve to win? How smart was Griffin's game plan? Does Patrick Cote deserve a title shot? Plus a look at the new unified rules, the last UFC counter-programming, and the latest Mirko Cro Cop pull out. All that and all the news from around the MMA world inside. It's tighter than Joe Stevenson's guillotine, it's Cardio Freak on 411.



Welcome back to Cardio Freak everyone. I am your trainer Jeremy ‘Joe Stevenson's Guillotine' Lambert and I'M ON VACATION~! Yet I'm still doing this column because we're coming off the heels of UFC 86 and I couldn't afford not to recap it. As most of you read this, I'll be en route my super secret vacation spot and enjoying my days off work.

10 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week

"Do You Want To Be A Fucking Fighter?"

Those are the now famous words of Dana White, given in a speech during the original season of The Ultimate Fighter. Months later, Forrest Griffin won the reality series and instantly became a superstar thanks to his fight with Stephan Bonnar and his personality. Years later, Forrest Griffin won the UFC Light Heavyweight title. Dana White credits him for brining the UFC to the top of the world and now he's on top of the world. Who would have thought? Although it didn't really need it, The Ultimate Fighter is validated with this win by Griffin. It's a show that a lot of hardcore fans don't like for one reason of another but that show has now produced a champion in arguably the best division in the UFC.

Forrest Griffin came into this fight a pretty big underdog (giving me a chance to bet on him and win some cash) but people were still giving him a chance. It wasn't like Serra vs. St. Pierre 1 where no one gave Serra a chance and he shocked the world. Everyone knew that if Griffin could use his reach and that if his chin held up, he had a chance to win the decision. Griffin did exactly that.

In round one, Griffin's game plan for the fight was obvious from the start. He used his reach advantage and threw Jackson off balance with some leg kick to Jackson's lead leg. It was a round that I had Jackson winning until Forrest ducked under and got caught with a big uppercut (I told you that was going to happen didn't I?) that put him down. Griffin kept his cool though, controlled Jackson on the ground, ate a few punches, and got back to his feet. I gave Jackson the first round based on the fact that he put him down once and also stumbled him another time. After the first round, Griffin seemed to gain confidence because he survived a big punch while Jackson looked dejected that he didn't finish the fight when he dropped Forrest. Forrest's trainer told him not to duck his head after he throws because that was the only time he was getting caught. All he had to do was read last weeks Cardio Freak to figure that one out.

Jackson came out favoring his leg in the second round and Forrest went right after it. He scored with a leg kick that turned Jackson and followed with two more leg kicks. Jackson went for a takedown but got stuck in a guillotine that never looked too dangerous but it allowed Griffin to get Jackson to the ground. Forrest spent the rest of the round controlling the fight on the ground going from half guard to side control and then mount landing punches and elbows and going for an americana. Jackson did nothing off his back and Griffin dominated the round. Griffin obviously won the round and you could easily argue that it was a 10-8 round for Griffin.

As the third round started my buddy John and I were yelling at Forrest (like he could hear us) to take the fight to the ground. Instead Forrest continued with his original game plan. He started mixing up his kicks and continued to use his reach. Jackson's game plan was to check the leg kicks and move forward with power. It was a tough round to score and it really just came down to your scoring method. Forrest was the more aggressive, diverse and tactical striker but when Jackson moved forward, he connected with more power and you always got that feeling Forrest could go down. I scored the round for Griffin because he landed more strikes and was generally more active.

Jackson came out a lot more aggressive in the fourth round. Jackson landed some strong shots, forcing Griffin to clinch. One of the shots ended up cutting Forrest on the eyelid. It's not a Forrest Griffin fight until he bleeds. Griffin went for the tip takedown but Jackson obviously read the previous column last week and he was able to end up on top of Forrest. Griffin went for a triangle and the moment he had it locked in I think the whole world was ready for a trademark Jackson slam. Jackson picked up Forrest but Forrest was smart enough to grab the leg of Jackson and release the hold in order to avoid the full effect. It will go down as the first official Rampage Slam in the UFC but it was nothing like we're used to seeing. We'll call it a Rampage Drop. Forrest once again showed off his improved bottom control and took minimal damage from Jackson on the ground before getting up and getting hit on the way. The rest of the round was like the entire fight with Griffin punching smarter, Jackson punching harder. I gave the round to Jackson because he was more aggressive this round, cut Forrest, got the takedown and partial slam, and Forrest didn't really score with as many shots as he did in previous rounds.

Based on my scorecard, it all came down to the final round. Forrest continued to do what he did all fight. Throw good combos, use his reach, and mix up his kicks. Until about a minute and 30 left in the round, Jackson didn't really do much. After that Jackson started moving forward a bit more but it may have been a little too late. I scored the round for Forrest for the same reason that I gave him the third round. He was more aggressive for most of the round and he connected with more punches. Jackson once again seemed to land more of the power strikes but given how tired and beat up his leg was, you have to wonder just how much power was really in those strikes.

As both fighters stood waiting to hear the judges decision that look on their faces seemed to tell the story. Jackson looked dejected and defeated like he knew he had lost or that he was just upset it even went to the judges while Forrest seemed to know he won but was praying that the judges didn't suck. Forrest Griffin: Light Heavyweight Champion of the World. "Sounds good brother."

There was some controversy after the fight as some felt that the judging was poor. I can't really agree or disagree. As you just read, I scored the fight for Griffin but every round outside of the second and arguably the first could have gone either way. I actually liken this fight to Floyd Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya from last year (I'll be crucified for comparing MMA to boxing). Mayweather was the more technical boxer and landed more strikes but De La Hoya would always come in and land with a flurry. It again just depends on what you look for in a fight. I think the biggest argument for Jackson is that he was the champ and "to be the man, you've gotta beat the man." Forrest won the fight but he didn't really beat Jackson the way you would hope a challenger beats a champion to win the belt. There's obviously no champions advantage in the UFC (and if their were, Griffin's audience advantage would have nullified it) so it's really a minor point. At any rate, the fact that it was a close decision that could have gone either way easily sets up a rematch, that will likely be even bigger than this fight.

It has now come out that Quinton Jackson's trainer, Juanito Ibarra, will protest the decision. What he hopes to accomplish is beyond me but good luck. He feels that Jackson should have won the first round 10-8 because of the knockdown. In boxing a knockdown constitutes a 10-8 round but in MMA 10-8 rounds are usually only given out when one man dominates another. We all know that judging in MMA isn't the greatest and that it could be improved but I know the best way to improve it. It's called, "finish your fight." As a fighter, if you don't like the judges, finish your fight and then you don't have to worry about the judges. Crazy concept I know.

But before there's money to be made in Jackson vs. Griffin 2, there's money to be made with Forrest Griffin and Quinton Jackson in other bouts. Quinton Jackson's next opponent should be a no brainer. He'll either fight Wanderlei Silva or Mauricio ‘Shogun' Rua. If he fights anyone else, it would be one of the biggest mistakes the UFC could ever make. Either fight would already have a great backstory and the winner could easily be slotted in as the next contender. Luckily for us, we won't have to wait 9 months to see it. As for Forrest Griffin, he'll likely fight Chuck Liddell next, as long as Liddell beats Rashad Evans at UFC 88. If Liddell wins and Forrest fights someone else, it would again be a huge mistake for the UFC because Griffin vs. Liddell could possibly surpass the one million buys mark. If Liddell loses then there's a few ways UFC could go. They could do the immediate rematch with Jackson (something they don't like doing), Lyoto Machida could get the title fight considering he's the most qualified, or they could do Champion vs. Champion with Anderson Silva, if Silva beats Irvin and then Okami. None of that is going to happen though because Liddell will beat Evans.

Finally, love them or hate them, you've got t respect Forrest Griffin and Quinton Jackson after this fight. Not only because they left it all inside the cage but because of their professionalism after the fight. Yeah Griffin dropped some curse words in his post-fight interview but we're used to that with Dana White and considering how happy Griffin had to be, I thought it was almost expected that he would drop some four letter words. You have to respect Griffin and Jackson for being respectful to one another after the fight. They embraced, they put each other over, and they said they were going to do it again. I just hope that Quinton follows up with his promise and gives Forrest his purse because the fight went to a decision and Juanito retires. Neither will happen (especially Juanito retiring) but you never know.

It was everything I said it was going to be and maybe more. Jackson vs. Griffin officially goes into my iPod Touch Hall of Fame, reserved for UFC fights that give you the full experience (pre-fight video, lights down, walk ins, post-fight interviews, ect…). It's a completely biased Hall of Fame but it's my iPod and I'll watch what I want when I should be paying attention in class.

Patrick Cote vs. Ricardo Almeida

In the co-main event, Patrick Cote outlasted Ricardo Almeida en route to a split decision victory. I can't sugarcoat this fight, it wasn't good and I was pretty bored. It wasn't the worst fight ever or the most boring but maybe I expected more from it considering this was the only fight I picked to not go to a decision. In fact, I said to John before the fight that, "this is going to be good. Almeida's getting knocked out or Cote's getting submitted." I was wrong. Instead we got what we got.

Almeida easily won the first round. He avoided damage, he pulled guard, and he got a takedown and ended up on top. He didn't really land any significant damage to Cote and outside of a guillotine choke that wasn't really close, he never threatened with a submission. Almeida won the round but he didn't look overly impressive. The second round was largely uneventful outside of Cote showing off a good sprawl and clipping Almeida at the end of the round. Almeida looked spent after the second round and I gave the round to Cote based on the fact that he nullified Almeida and caught him at the end. The third round was just as uneventful outside of some leg kicks by Cote. Almeida scored with a takedown at the end of the round but I think he made a mistake going for the submission as you could argue Cote nullified the takedown by ending up on top as the round ended. It was a close fight but it wasn't an excitingly close fight.

It was announced at the post event press conference that Cote would get a shot at the Middleweight title later this year. For his sake he better hope that Anderson Silva doesn't have the belt because although Cote is a good striker with power, Silva is a better striker with power and has a great chin. I honestly thought that Almeida could be the guy to defeat Anderson Silva but considering he couldn't get past Cote, he would likely have a much harder time with Silva. I don't where Almeida goes for here but I hope he stays with fighting because a few more wins and he's right back in contention.

Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau

Joe Stevenson returned to the Octagon after failing to capture the UFC Lightweight title and got back to his winning ways against Gleison Tibau. The first round was close with both men gaining the advantage on top for a short period of time. With about two minutes remaining in the round, Tibau went for an omoplata but he couldn't flatten out Stevenson. The rest of the round was spent with Stevenson sitting in an uncomfortable looking position as Tibau tried to tear his shoulder off. Tibau looked very good in the second round, stuffing the takedown of Stevenson and scoring with two takedowns of his own. He had Stevenson mounted at one point but tried to go for a submission and Stevenson escaped. Tibau went for another takedown and that's when Stevenson locked in the guillotine choke and forced Tibau to tap. Joe Stevenson's guillotine choke is now my favorite submission move because it's like that one big knockout punch.

Stevenson got back on track with a win but you have to figure that as long as BJ Penn is holding the Lightweight title, Stevenson won't be the champion. I think with the win he may have solidified himself at a Top 10 Lightweight and this now creates potential fights with Gray Maynard, Sean Sherk, Tyson Griffin, the winner of Franca vs. Edgar, or the winner of Guida vs. Danzig. Tibau will likely have one more fight in the UFC because he held his own against Tyson Griffin and he was beating Stevenson until he got caught.

Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle

Josh Koscheck continued his winning ways, knocking off Welterweight Gate Keeper Chris Lytle. Koscheck said that his game plan was to stand and trade with Lytle (a horrible game plan) but his coaches game plan was for Koscheck to do what he does best and that was to take down Lytle and grind him out (a great game plan). In the end, Koscheck went with his coaches game plan. He dominated Lytle for all three rounds and opened up a number of cuts that led to Lytle losing a ton of blood. I was actually shocked that the fight wasn't stopped because at the end of the second round, Lytle was having trouble getting up and going to his corner due to all the blood lost. He showed great heart though and continued to battle despite the fact that he was losing blood and was being dominated the entire fight. In a classic heel move (and he looked like a heel Ric Flair with his blood red hair) Koscheck basically ran in the final moments of the third round so he didn't get knocked out and lose a fight he had clearly won.

Where does Josh Koscheck go from here? He's obviously one of the top guys in the division but the man on top of the division decisively defeated him last August. Koscheck seems to improve with every fight but he's smart enough to not get away from his roots when he's in a bad spot. Koscheck briefly talked about moving down to 155 to fight BJ Penn but I think that would be a mistake and with Penn possibly moving up to 170, he might as well just fight him at that weight. I think Koscheck will end up fighting Diego Sanchez next, no matter what the outcome might be of Sanchez' next fight against Thiago Alves. If Sanchez wins, the Koscheck fight will probably be for a shot at the belt but if Sanchez loses, the Koscheck fight is nothing more than a grudge fight. As for Lytle, he'll continue with his gatekeeping ways.

Tyson Griffin vs. Marcus Aurelio

Tyson Griffin may have earned a spot as a Top 10 Lightweight with his decision victory over Marcus Aurelio. Griffin looked very good on his feet, sprawled any time Aurelio went for the takedown, and took down Aurelio whenever he wanted. On the ground, Griffin controlled Aurelio and was able to avoid any submission Aurelio went for.

Tyson Griffin has gotten away from his Fight of the Night style and is now looking to knock out guys. So far it isn't working but I admire his recent consistency. With the win I think you have to give Griffin a top Lightweight with the winner getting a title shot. I think a fight against Sean Sherk would be the ideal fight since I feel that with a win, Sherk could easily be considered the top contender again, even if BJ Penn holds the belt. I'm obviously not saying that as a Sean Sherk fan, I'm saying that because a win over Griffin would be huge and I think if Sherk fights his fight against Penn and not the fight he fought at UFC 84, we could see a different result. If he doesn't fight Sherk, a showcase fight against someone like Nate Diaz (who has been talking about fighting Griffin ever since he won The Ultimate Fighter 5) would seem ideal. Marcus Aurelio will be back but that's two losses to two of the top guys in the Lightweight division so he needs to get over that hump and beat some top guys if he wants to stay in the UFC.

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Justin McCully

Gabriel Gonzaga got back to his winning ways as he made quick work of Justin McCully. Gonzaga threw a nice leg kick that tripped up McCully, quickly mounted him, and then finished him with an americana. Gonzaga is still a big time player in a thin Heavyweight division and this win puts him right back on track. I'm thinking if Cheick Kongo wins his next bout then we could see Kongo vs. Gonzaga next. McCully will probably stick around just because UFC needs some Heavyweights and he's now the official Heavyweight decoy but I don't expect him to do much in the division.

Melvin Guillard vs. Denis Siver

Melvin Guillard returned to the Octagon with a quick win over the clearly over-matched Siver. Guillard showed off the hand speed and power that we all knew he had and he dropped Siver very early in the fight. In his post-fight interview, Guillard acted in a more mature manner than usual so maybe his mind is finally catching up to his body. It was reported that Guillard had interest in going to the WEC and I don't see that as being a bad move right now. If he finds success there and continues to improve and mature then he'll be back with the UFC in no time.

Jorge Gurgel vs. Cole Miller

This was a hell of a fight. If not for Griffin vs. Jackson, this was surely taking home the Fight of the Night bonus. Gurgel said that he finally had a game plan for the first time in his career and for 14 minutes and 30 seconds of a 15 minute fight, that game plan was working. Gurgel was getting the better of the stand up exchanges and he even had Miller rocked in the first round. On the ground, where many thought Gurgel would have the advantage, he did well for himself until he got caught in a triangle choke with just seconds remaining in the fight. The purple belt Miller submitted the black belt Gurgel. It was a fun fight between UFC journeymen but Miller still needs to improve his stand up while Gurgel still needs to improve his bottom control. They'll both be back and hopefully they deliver another strong performance.

Corey Hill vs. Justin Buchholz

This fight was a good start to the night. Hill and Buchholz had some very nice exchanges on the feet with Hill getting the better of a lot of them thanks to his reach advantage. Hill controlled the first round on his feet by throwing good jabs and keeping Buchholz at bay for most of the round. In the second round Hill continued to do the same until Buchholz landed a high kick that Hill clearly didn't like getting hit with. They went to the ground with Hill on top and in side control, Buchholz used the cage to float over and take Hill's back, and then he choked him out with a rear naked choke. Hill looks like a guy who could become a major player in the division but he still lacks the experience. I hope he sticks around because he'll continue to improve and given his freakish lankiness for 155, he could give guys trouble. Buchholz had a nice performance and considering he trains with Urijah Faber, he could make a splash at 155 as well.

Overall

When you factor in the dark fights, this was a good night of action. Take those out and you have a mediocre undercard capped off with an excellent main event. Four of the five main card fights went to a decision but I felt that all of those fights with the exception of Almeida vs. Cote were exciting in their own way. Jackson vs. Griffin left the fans with a great taste in their mouths, as a guy they followed from the start became the Light Heavyweight Champion. I'll give this show a thumbs up simply because I was entertained throughout and the main event will go down as the UFC Title Fight of the Year thus far in 2008. The PPV streak continues and I'd imagine that it won't be broken at UFC 87 considering the top three bouts on the card.

Playing to Your Strengths

Association of Boxing Commissions met last week to discuss changes within the Unified MMA rules. The following changes were made:

* Elbow strikes are now allowed at any point except illegal areas such as the base of the spine and back of the head.
* The back of the head is now distinguished as "crown of the head down the centerline of the skull into the spine, with a one-inch variance to each side."
*Smothering an opponent's mouth or nose with your hand is now a foul

And they have changed the weight classes so the structure now looks like this:

MALE

Flyweight (Up to 105 pounds)
Super Flyweight (Over 105.1 to 115 lbs)
Bantamweight (Over 115.1 to 125 lbs)
Super Bantamweight (Over 125.1 to 135 lbs)
Featherweight (Over 135.1 to 145 lbs)
Lightweight (Over 145.1 to 155 lbs)
Super Lightweight (Over 155.1 to 165 lbs)
Welterweight (Over 165.1 to 175 lbs)
Super Welterweight (Over 175.1 to 185 lbs)
Middleweight (Over 185.1 to 195 lbs)
Super Middleweight (Over 195.1 to 205 lbs)
Light Heavyweight (Over 205.1 to 225 lbs)
Heavyweight (Over 225.1 to 265 lbs)
Super Heavyweight (Over 265.1 pounds)

FEMALE

Flyweight (95 lbs. and below)
Bantamweight (95.1-105 lbs.)
Featherweight (105.1-115 lbs.)
Lightweight (115.1-125 lbs.)
Welterweight (125.1-135 lbs.)
Middleweight (135.1-145 lbs.)
Light Heavyweight (145.1-155 lbs.)
Cruiserweight (155.1-165 lbs.)
Heavyweight (165.1-185 lbs.)
Super Heavyweight (185.1 and above)

I'll get to the weight classes in a second. The rule changes they made are pretty minor. Using the point of your elbow as a spike will be something we see when people are on bottom. I actually don't like the changing of the smothering rule. It was a minor thing but also something that I thought was a great strategy that really wasn't used enough. Obviously the biggest omission to the rule changes is the fact that knees to the head of a downed opponent are still illegal. A lot of people thought that when the commission met, that would be something that was added. I don't care either way about knees to the head although I would like to see them added just because it's an added weapon when guys are on the ground, mainly with side control and the north-west position.

Now, leave it to a boxing commission to add more weight classes. Obviously the weight classes were added because they want to cut down on guys cutting so much weight but lets be real, that's not happening. When the sport is filled with so many people who wrestled throughout their life, they're going to cut weight. In fact, they may cut even more weight to gain the extra advantage over a smaller fighter. A guy who normally cuts to 185 but can't make 170, may try his luck at 175. The inclusion of more weight classes obviously means the inclusion of more titles. I don't follow boxing but according to most people who do or used to, the sport is dying because there are so many titles in so many weight classes that they don't mean anything. UFC obviously wants to avoid this and according to Dana White, they will.

Dana has already stated that he's not going to follow these rules, which is big news considering Dana and the UFC have been preaching all along that every company should follow the unify rules. This is certainly going to turn into a huge battle between the biggest MMA company in the US and the commission. It should be noted that representatives from California and Nevada did not attend this meeting.

UFC will air UFC 84: Ill Will from this past May on July 26th, the same night as EliteXC on CBS 2

Well you knew UFC would put some type of programming on Spike on July 26th to counter EliteXC. I thought running the Ultimate Fight Night with Silva vs. Irvin would have been the right move but thinking about it, I can see why that move wasn't made. UFC and Spike didn't want the live event to possibly suffer because fans could flip back and fourth between UFC and EliteXC. Going up against the Affliction PPV is a battle between Free vs. Pay and a lot of hardcore MMA fans (because casual fans have no clue Affliction exists) will take Free if they're pressed for money or anything like that.

Running UFC 84, arguably the UFC's most stacked PPV this year and one of the UFC's best PPVs this year is a good counter to the EliteXC show. Considering this EliteXC show lacks the buzz that the first one had, UFC could very well outdo EliteXC on July 26th. All the hardcore fans have seen UFC 84 but if any casual didn't order the event and they're not someone who must go on the internet and watch the fight the next day then they might tune in to UFC on Spike to see Ortiz, Silva, and Penn.

Alexandre Nogueira of the WEC will be suspended for one year following a positive test for the steroid Boldenone. Noguiera was planned to fight Jens Pulver later this year

Nogueira took the substance before his recent fight with Jose Aldo, a fight he lost by TKO. Why is it that everyone taking illegal substances nowadays end up losing? This really makes you wonder how much success Nogueira has really had in his career when you considering that all of his fights prior to his WEC debut were in Japan, where we know guys can get away with being on the juice. It also sucks for Nogueira considering he lost to Aldo but still got a chance to fight Jens Pulver. My guess is that Pulver will now face Leonard Garcia, who was recently cleared of his drug charges or Chance Farrar who is 0-2 in the WEC, but undefeated outside of the company.

Studying Tape



That video sums up the rivalry between Forrest Griffin and Quinton Jackson on The Ultimate Fighter 7. The following picture just sums up The Ultimate Fighter 7:



Sparring Session

BJ Penn recently stated that he would be moving up to 170 to fight the Welterweight champion after UFC 87. He will then fight the winner of Roger Huerta vs. Kenny Florian

Ugh. I really wish champions would stay at their weight class until they lose their belt. After that, move around all you want and go after another title but as long as you're the champion, you should defend the belt in your weight class. We all know that if Jon Fitch beats Georges St. Pierre at UFC 87 then Penn will stay at 155 because he wants to kill two birds with one stone instead of two. He wants redemption against St. Pierre and he wants the Welterweight title but he doesn't want two fights to do it.

Michael Bisping is reporting that Fedor Emelianenko could be injured heading into his fight with Tim Sylvia next Saturday

Bisping heard from some people, who heard from some people, who robbed some people, who trained with Fedor, that Fedor was hurt so I wouldn't put too much stock into Bisping's report. I don't think any fighter is 100% coming into a fight so it may just be a minor thing or maybe he is seriously hurt. If he is hurt, hopefully this doesn't become an excuse for Fedor and his fans (mainly his fans) if he happens to lose to Sylvia. I'm guessing that Fedor will be fine and he'll deliver his usual performance a week from Saturday.

James Irvin claims that he's not only going to beat Anderson Silva, but that he's going to beat Anderson Silva in the clinch

Good luck with that. Why is it that everyone thinks they can beat Anderson Silva? Rich Franklin, despite getting destroyed by Silva twice, claims that thanks to the extra work with Matt Hume, he could beat Silva. Travis Lutter claims that he was beating Silva (and he was) and that if he wasn't so drained from weight cutting, he could beat Silva. Nate Marquardt says another fight with Silva would garner a different result than the first. Dan Henderson wanted to fight Silva in the clinch as well and while clinch fighting wasn't a big part of their fight, he still lost and he says that he could beat Silva if given another shot. Now Irvin says that he's going to beat Silva in the clinch. I know anything can happen in a fight and maybe if given another shot those guys could beat Silva (expect Franklin, that's like Ortiz vs. Liddell where even when both guys are 100 years old, Silva is still winning) but it almost makes you look bitter when you say stuff like that. Except your loss, work your way back up, and prove you can beat him. In the interview, James Irvin said all the right things except the "I'm gonna beat him in the clinch" comment. For some reason comments like that irk that me. It's like when Tito Ortiz says he's going to beat Chuck Liddell standing. No, he's not. Maybe Irvin will prove me wrong and he will beat Silva in the clinch but I highly doubt it. If Irvin is going to win this fight, it's going to be with a power punch, not a clinch job.

Underwater Ice Bath

Jay Glazer, Frank Trigg, and ‘Big' John McCarthy were chosen to the Affliction announce team for the company's ‘Banned' PPV

This is a mixed bag for me. I really like the choice of Jay Glazer because I'm a fan of his work. I enjoyed him on the sidelines for NFL games on FOX, I enjoy his articles in FIGHT! Magazine, and I enjoyed him most of the shortly lived I, Max on FSN. He's a professional who will get the job done. I can't stand Frank Trigg. He's very arrogant but I never felt like Trigg accomplished enough to be as arrogant as he is. He provides insight since he was and still is a fighter but I don't find his insight to be very good. He'll add a fighters perspective to the show but that's about it. He's certainly not in the class of Randy Couture, Frank Mir, or even Kenny Florian when it comes to fighters in the booth. As for ‘Big John, I can't really say too much about him. He was a great referee and he comes off very well in his interviews. He'll add a referee's perspective to things and that should be good. I assume he'll get post-fight interview duties, which would normally be awkward considering his big frame but on a show filled with Heavyweights, it will probably go unnoticed.

Taking Time Off

Another top 100 performance on UFC Fantasy for UFC 86. Record wasn't so hot (4-5) but I managed two perfects and got some other bonus points. I'm still due for a crappy performance anytime now where I finish somewhere around 5,000.

We got a new dog. I named it Forrest after the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

I won two free tickets to WWE Monday Night Raw this Monday. Not a big wrestling fan anymore but free is free so how can I say no? Plus it gets me out of working at night.

Two quick movie reviews:

Wanted: Very good movie. A lot of original stuff with curving and clinking bullets. The story was good albeit a tad predictable if you followed closely enough. Angelina looked hot so that's a positive. The movie held my attention the entire time and really that's all I ever ask for.

Hancock: I'm a fan of any Will Smith movie and this was another solid performance. The first ¾ of the movie was awesome but then it just kinda went over the top. Story was pretty predictable but still good. Charlize Theron looked hot. Jason Bateman was funny. Another movie that held my attention throughout.

Overseas Training

Mirko Cro Cop posted on his website that he is pulling out of his DREAM 5 fight with elbow and knee injures

Well that sucks. I'm really starting to doubt if Cro Cop is going to be relevant again. Two years ago this man was on top of the world with his Open Weight GP tournament victory and now he's fighting mediocre at best opponents and dropping off DREAM cards left and right. I hope for Cro Cop and his fans that he returns to 100% because when he's on, he's one of the most feared striker in the world but he hasn't seemed on since that Open Weight GP.

Training Partners

Adam Tool, Stephen DeAugustino, Wendell Mitchell, Larry Csonka, Chris Heyward, and Morgan Marx bring the news.

John Curry wants Affliction to lower their prices, Ryan Seymour breaks down UFC 86. Alex Mattis looks at UFC 86. Scott Kuczkowski looks at the Good, Bad, and Ugly of UFC 86. Dusin James profiles Fedor Emelianenko. Chris Robinson talks Forrest and Cote. BREN~! presents Fact or Fiction featuring Scott Kuczkowski and Adam Tool.

Matt McEwen reviews UFC 45 featuring Hughes vs. Trigg 1.

AND IT'S ALL OVER~!

That does it for me this week folks. I'll be back next week with a preview of Ultimate Fight Night 14 and Affliction. Take care everyone.

Cardio Freak Sources: Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer, Bryan Alvarez and Figure Four Weekly, MMAWeekly, and MMAMania