Cardio Freak MMA News Report 10.23.08: 60 Million in the Hole

Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 10.23.2008

Cardio Freak is back with a review of a fun UFC 89, a preview of a fun looking UFC 90 show featuring the greatest man ever, and the fall of a company that put all their stock in a street fighter. Plus news on Hughes vs. Serra, Fighting Fedor, and another great Dana White promo. All that and the latest news from around the MMA world. It's more alive than EliteXC, it's Cardio Freak on 411.



Welcome back to Cardio Freak everyone. I am your trainer Jeremy ‘Just Killin Time In Between Fights' Lambert.

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UFC 89: "That was fun" Recap

UFC returned to PPV on SpikeTV for the first time in over a year and I think Chris Leben summed up the night best when he said, "that was fun."

The main event saw hometown favorite Michael Bisping use his superior jab, movement, and footwork en route to a decision victory over Chris Leben. As I stated in the preview column, I thought we would see the best Michael Bisping ever and he did his best to prove me right. He avoided the big punch from Leben and constantly countered with a variety of strikes. Give credit to Chris Leben who withstood every shot from Bisping, kept coming forward, and even dropped his hands at the end of rounds. A lesser man certainly would have gone down.

Next up for Bisping is coaching on TUF9 followed by a likely showdown with Dan Henderson or Rich Franlin. As Bisping stated in his post-fight interview, he's likely a fight or two away from a title shot. Despite his 3-0 record at Middleweight, he has yet to defeat someone who is considered a top Middleweight and UFC seems to want to take their time with Bisping instead of feeding him to the wolf known as Anderson Silva. I've got to believe that UFC wants Henderson to win the upcoming January fight because a Bisping/Henderson winner is an easier sell than the possibility of Rich Franklin winning and getting another shot at Silva. And yes, I'm completely over-looking Patrick Cote.

As for Leben, he'll continue to stick around because he usually has exciting fights and he's a good personality. I don't think he'll ever be a top Middleweight contender but he's a guy with KO power, a great chin, and enough all-around skills to present a tough match-up for most fighters. He also looked to be in great shape for this fight, something that has been questioned in his fighting history. In fact, he looked like one of those WWE action figures with their plastic, glistening look and fake muscles. The cornrows have got to go though. Who does he think he is, Urijah Faber?

One last thing on the fight, what was up with Bisping using his son as an armrest? I understand he was tired after going 15 minutes of fighting but come on, that's your son. Why do you think Joe Rogan does these post-fight interviews? Not because the fighters have anything interesting to say after the fight, but so the fighters can use him as a prop. He's used to carrying Mike Goldberg for three hours at least once a month, he can handle being used as an armrest for a couple of minutes.

In the co-main event of the evening, Keith Jardine won a split decision over Brandon Vera. I don't want to call this fight boring because I consider a fight boring when I yell at my TV, "fucking do something" and I said no such words this past Saturday. The fight was just, what's the word, uninteresting? That sounds about right. Maybe my expectations were that someone was going to get knocked out and that both guys would be aggressive, knowing they needed an impressive showing and a win. Instead we got what we got.

I had the fight 1-1 after two rounds and I thought Vera was doing just enough to win the third round until the flurry at the end by Jardine, which then sealed the fight for him in my mind. You could argue that Vera won and I wouldn't disagree but the fact is, no one took the fight from the other man. You could hear Vera's corner yell at him to press the action in the final minute and he did no such thing. Vera clearly lacks the explosiveness and killer instinct that he once had and he looked sort of disinterested and nervous in this fight. During his walk in, the only thing I noticed was that his left hand and arm were shaking more than a virgin on prom night. Maybe the robbery just a week before the fight was still in his mind and he just wasn't in the right place mentally but whatever hurdle he needs to overcome, he needs to do it quickly because he's lost 3 of his last 4 and his one win was an unimpressive decision over Reese Andy.

As for Jardine, I just can't get into him. He lacks charisma and his "hurky-jerky" style not only throws off opponents but throws me off to point that I have no interest in seeing him fight. I can't knock the fact that Jardine is a good fighter with the skills to beat a lot of people at 205 but I just have no interest in him. It's not, "I want to see you get knocked out" heat. It's more of the "change the channel" heat variety.

Finally, it's official, nipple tweaking works. I now expect this to catch on like the Wildcat offense in the NFL and see every fighter tweak their nipples before a fight. My theory is that if both fighters tweak before a fight, we'll really get to see who the better fighter is because it's obvious that nipple tweaking holds some kind of magical power that gives the tweaker an advantage. Or if both fighters tweak, it will just come down to who tweaked better. In fact, fights will no longer be about who the better fighter is. Fights will then become about who is the best nipple tweaker on a certain night. I expect this trend to cross over into other sports as well, much like the "you can't see me" hand gesture or the "ballin'" jump shot. Don't be shocked to see LeBron James tweak his nipples before every free throw and when it happens, just remember who said it first.

I just typed a paragraph on tweaking nipples, what the hell has this column come to?

Jardine's next opponent could be Luis Cane, who defeated Sokoudjou in the second round. Cane didn't look as good as he did in the Lambert fight but he proved that his KO power is legit and that his chin is solid as well. Sokoudjou was very aggressive in the first round and then gassed himself out before dropping and being overwhelmed by Cane. I told people Cane was legit and he proved it here. His striking is top notch and although we have yet to see his ground game, my guess is that it's pretty good considering Brazilians are born with at least average jiu-jitsu skills. As for Sokoudjou, I was on the hype train when he entered the UFC and I still think he's a good fighter but I didn't like this fight for him and he's showed in 2 of his 3 UFC fights that he doesn't have a gas tank, his ground game is lacking, and he can be easily frustrated. I think the next fight for him will either be Brandon Vera in a "battle of over-paid fighters who have done nothing to justify their money" or a fight with Houston Alexander in a "battle of two big black men who scored quick knockouts and haven't done a thing since then".

In a really close fight that had some people crying about judging once again, Chris Lytle defeated Paul Taylor by decision. Lytle continued with his "balls to the wall" style and it left him completely out of gas by the time the fight ended. He press forward every round, landed big shots, and took a hell of a punch. I thought Lytle won the fight thanks in large part to his ability to press Taylor against the fence and control him from there. The exchanges on the feet went back and fourth and by the end of the fight Taylor was winning them but Lytle hung in there and pulled out the victory. It seems like Marcus Davis is next for Chris Lytle and if that's the case then I guess we'll determine once and for all who the true Welterweight gatekeeper is in the UFC.

Speaking of Marcus Davis, he proved me wrong by putting in a very impressive performance over Paul Kelly. Davis was very light on his feet and used his quickness to get in and out with punches and avoid taking any shots from Kelly. Then Kelly made the classic mistake of shooting in, leaving his neck out there, and getting caught in a guillotine. It was a good win for Marcus Davis, who looked like a completely different fighter against Kelly than he did against Swick (mainly because he wasn't on his back the entire fight). If Davis vs. Lytle happens, it will be a fun fight between two guys who will likely be going after the Fight of the Night and the KO bonus.

For a free show, I don't know how anyone could complain. Yes 3 out of the 5 fights went to a decision but 2 of the 3 decisions were entertaining and you may have been entertained by all 3 depending on your taste. Thumps up to UFC 89, mainly because it was free. Damn all those commercials though.

UFC 90: "UFC must be getting lazy with these names because they've named another event after the main event" Preview

UFC 90 is this weekend in Chicago and despite a "no buys" main event, the overall card isn't that bad with four of the five televised fights meaning something in their respective divisions.

The card is headline by "The Greatest Fighter Ever. All Time. All My Life" Anderson Silva defending his Middleweight title against "The Canadian Not Named Georges St. Pierre" Patrick Cote. The week before these events I usually sit behind my laptop, drink my Dr. Pepper, watch fights from competitors on the card, take some notes, and then type 5,000 words breaking down the big fights. I can't bring myself to do that for this fight. I'll limit this to 3,000 words.

I'm not going to call this fight a joke or say Patrick Cote doesn't deserve a title shot because that would be writing him off before the fight starts. The last time someone in this position was written off as bad as Cote could be, Matt Serra became the UFC Welterweight Champion. Patrick Cote has a chance. This is MMA, "Where upsets happen."

Unfortunately for Cote, this just isn't a good match up for him. Patrick Cote is a good striker who has had moderate success against good strikers. Anderson Silva is arguably the best striker in the game today who has had great success against very good strikers. Cote has a heavy right hand and a solid chin. Silva has heavy hands, knees, and feet, great foot and head movement, and a hell of a chin. I wrote a few weeks ago that the best way to beat Anderson Silva was to "play possum." Take a punch, fall, trap him in the guard, and try to keep him on the ground. Patrick Cote doesn't have the jiu-jitsu to pull this off. So if I were Patrick Cote, what would I do to beat the unbeatable? I'd probably blade over my right eyebrow, get it stitched so I know the commission won't allow me to fight, and let some other poor sap get destroyed. But that's just me. Honestly, I don't think there is a "right" way to fight Anderson Silva. If you attack him aggressively, he moves back picks you apart. If you're patient with him, he gets into a rhythm that has yet to be handled in the Octagon. If you attempt to counter, chances are you're countering his punches with your face. If I'm Patrick Cote and I'm fighting Anderson Silva, I'm going for broke. I'm throwing everything I have at Silva but not getting overly aggressive while also trying to keep him from initiating "Anderson Silva Bounce" sequence. I'd shoot for a takedown early knowing Silva's mediocre takedown defense and just give him something else to think about. I'm trying things you've never seen before, knowing this is could be my only shot at the belt. It's great to be a heavy underdog because if you get destroyed, well, it was supposed to happen. And if you win, you'll probably be called "The Real Life Rocky."

That said, Anderson Silva is going to win this fight. Even if Cote does the things I stated, Silva is just too good. To quote Mike Goldberg, "his precision is precise" and to throw in some more Golbergisms, "his power is powerful and his movement is constantly moving." A big puncher always has a chance but the style most equipped to beat Silva is a decent wrestler with a great top game. Patrick Cote just doesn't fit that bill. The MURDER KILL~! Prediction is currently 0-1-1 (Lesnar Decisioned Herring, Kimbo never fought Ken) but I'm confident it will find the win column with this fight. Anderson Silva via MURDER KILL~! in whatever round he gets bored.

In the co-main event of the evening, Thiago Alves takes on Josh Koscheck in a fight I'm looking forward to far more than the main event. Reports indicate that the winner of this fight will get the next crack at the Welterweight title and the winner of Georges St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn. I don't think I've ever been excited for a Josh Koscheck fight (even against GSP) but I'm truly excited for this fight for a number of reasons.

On the feet, Thiago Alves obviously has the advantage. The "UFC PPV Promo Voice Over Guy" describes him as a, "Muy Thai Wrecking Machine" and that's the perfect description of Alves. He's a guy who looked like a Light Heavyweight in his last fight with crisp hands, great leg kicks, and heavy knees. Josh Koscheck's striking isn't at the level of Alves' but it's improved in every fight and he'll have more to offer on his feet than Matt Hughes did back in June. If it stays standing, obviously Alves has the advantage but I think Koscheck will be able to hold his own and not look completely incompetent on the feet.

Wrestling wise, obviously Koscheck has the advantage. Leading up to the Matt Hughes fight, I thought Hughes would be able to use his wrestling to takedown and hold on Alves en route to a three round victory. I of course didn't expect Alves to weigh in four pounds over and enter the Octagon looking like a Light Heavyweight. Koscheck is a different type of wrestler than Hughes though. Hughes uses his strength to get takedowns while Koscheck uses strength combined with explosiveness. Alves showed improved takedown defense against Hughes but if anyone can takedown Alves, it will be Koscheck. The fact that Koscheck has now improved his striking means he'll be able to get inside with the threat of strikes or he can fake the takedown and come over the top.

The interesting thing here will be what kind of shape Koscheck will be in. He's a guy who stays in good shape year round and is the natural Welterweight but there's good shape and fighting shape. A week and a half isn't going to get you in fighting shape. I think Koscheck will put up a better fight than Hughes and a better fight than Diego Sanchez would have but the short notice will affect him and Alves will march on towards a shot at the Welterweight title.

In a Heavyweight showdown, Fabricio Werdum takes on Junior dos Santos. No one cares about this fight. Here's what you need to know about Junior dos Santos: He's won 6 fights, he's finished them all, 4 of those 6 wins have come against guys with losing records, and one of his victories was avenged just two fights ago. I've seen highlights of the man and he looks dangerous but everyone looks dangerous against complete cans. Werdum is going to win, probably by submission, and then he'll likely be the first guy to challenge Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, Rodrigo Nogueira, or Fran…just those three.

In a fight that could, in fact, be the most boring fight ever, Tyson Griffin takes on Sean Sherk. I'm a big fan of Tyson Griffin but it seems like every time he enters the Octagon he becomes more boring in every fight. I can't stand Sean Sherk and unless he's getting beat to death by Georges St. Pierre or BJ Penn, he's always boring. I doubt Sean Sherk wants to show off his stand up in this fight, which likely means he's going to try and takedown Griffin and hold him down for 15 minutes. Griffin is a good wrestler himself though and trains at Xtreme Couture. I think Griffin is able to stuff the takedown and keep the fight on the feet, where he's a much better striker than Sherk. That or he gets the takedown first and holds him down for 15 minutes. This is a big fight for both guys because a win puts Griffin right behind Kenny Florian for a shot at BJ Penn while Sherk needs to win if he wants another crack at the title. I hope no one tries to watch this fight while extremely tired but chances are it will put you to sleep.

And finally, Gray Maynard returns to action after defeating previously undefeated Frank Edgar. He takes on Rich Clementi, apparently the only guy in the world who wanted to fight Maynard. I have a hard time believing Clementi was the only person who wanted to fight Maynard as I would think plenty of people would jump at the opportunity to fight an undefeated fighter. Maynard is a wrestler who uses his size and strength to hold people down, Clementi is well rounded but is mainly a jui-jitsu fighter. That means the whole fight will consist of Maynard taking down Clementi, Clementi going for submissions off his back, Maynard avoiding the submissions, and Maynard winning the decision. I'm excited, are you?

As I mentioned, four out of the five fights mean something in their division but I can't help but think that we're in for a boring night of fights, minus the homicide in the main event. There are a lot of decision fighters on the card and that's never a good thing. It could be a fun night with the show ending on a positive but it may seem like a long time before we get there.

If you want my official predictions as well as thoughts on the preliminary fights, check out the Roundtable.

ProEliteXCYA Later

When signing up for Fact or Fiction in the SUPER SECRET STAFF FORUM, I joked, "I'm down with 10/8 since that looks like a fun week to review the last EXC on CBS show." Little did I know that I would be correct and that I would witness the show live. Of course I wasn't correct for the reason I believed at first but if you've read this column for any period of time, you'll know that I love being correct and I love it when I can say, I WAS RIGHT! HA!

Heading into the show on October 4th, it was widely believed that the show would need to do a good rating and that if it did, Showtime would purchase the company and it would continue to survive. Well, the show did a good rating. The good didn't survive. Who would have thought that SETH PETRUZELLI would have killed EliteXC? Showtime balked at purchasing the company because they didn't want to be involved with a company under investigation for fixing or influencing fights. I wrote last week, questioning if there has ever been a man to reach the peak of popularity only to fall fast because he opened his mouth. Not only has Petruzelli fallen, he's taken a company with him. We need a new nickname for Petruzelli and I think Seth "THE COMPANY KILLER" Petruzelli works.

Of course, we all know this was a master plan by Dana White. He called Petruzelli after the fight and said, "Hey, go on the radio and say EXC paid you to stand. Make it as a passing comment and then change your story 300 times. If you do this, we'll bring you back and you won't have to face Machida." It may even go deeper than that. I'm beginning to think that Dana called Shamrock and just said, "Hey, get out of the fight with Shamrock and put EXC in a horrible position. We'll bring you back and you won't have to face Machida."

Then again, Dana needs competition. He thrives on it. You know he loves cutting promos laced with the word "fuck" on Fedor, Affliction, EXC, and Kimbo. The sport needs competition because it hasn't reached the level of popularity of football or baseball where everyone will watch no matter what. The sport either needs competition or every top-level fighter needs to be in one company. Neither seems to be happening anytime soon.

As much as I may have bad typed (although I do mouth my words as I type them) EXC in the past, I always enjoyed the company. They made a lot of mistakes in two years including, but not limited to: ProElite pumping a lot of money into a website that never took off, EXC making a title just for Nick Diaz and then catering to him after he lost, Not doing Gina vs. Cyborg when it was right in front of them, hitching their wagon to Kimbo Slice, ect…. But they had some good fighters and some exciting fights a long the way and they were kind enough to let me witness the final punches of the company just feet away.

So what happens now? Well, EXC has cancelled their November show, which is really a shame because I was thinking about heading to Nevada to see the show. And rumors have it that a lot of fighters have been in contact with UFC. Well, of course they have. The MMA world in the US is down to three companies: Zuffa (UFC and WEC), Affliction, and Strikeforce. Zuffa is going nowhere anytime soon, Affliction is one or two shows away from going under, and Strikeforce has found a niche audience in the Western US but has no TV deal (as of now).

I think in this situation, fighters need to swallow their pride and just sign with UFC. Affliction will pay you more money but they're going to be out of business this time next year anyway so you would be trading one nice payday for Dana White probably resenting you for signing with Affliction. They won't get the money they seek in UFC but they'll be fighting most of the best fighters, they'll get good sponsor deals, they'll get the most exposure, and if they win then they'll get more money. EXC has some guys I'd be interested in if I were UFC as well.

Jake Shields is the best Welterweight not in the UFC and a guy who could give GSP a run for his money, at least from an athletic stand point. Plus Shields has talked forever about wanting to fight the best and fighting GSP and now is his big chance. Eddie Alvarez would be a fun addition to the Lightweight division in the UFC, as would Robbie Lawler in the Middleweight division. Wilson Reis will probably find a home in the WEC and Rafael Feijao will probably get a shot in the UFC because he's a good prospect and has connections with Anderson Silva. Dave Herman and Brett Rogers could also find their way into the UFC to add more depth to the Heavyweight division. "Ninja" Rua could end up in the UFC as well, where Joe Rogan will call him "Shogun" the entire fight. A couple of sleepers would be Nick Diaz and Antonio Silva although I don't know what kind of relationship Diaz and White have (my guess is that it's solid since Nate fights for UFC) and I don't think UFC wants to attach their name to another guy busted for horse roids.

If Zuffa is smart, they'll adopt the women's division and put it in the WEC. I can understand not wanting to do it in UFC but Zuffa wants WEC to focus on the lighter (read as: more exciting) divisions and the women's fights are always exciting. Plus the world deserves Gina vs. Cyborg in a company that's going to be around by the end of 2009. Hell, if Zuffa doesn't want to make this fight happen, we'll make this fight happen. You guys let me down when it came to raising money to purchase the IFL but I have faith that we can band together and make Gina vs. Cyborg a reality. We'll do this thing in my backyard if we have to and I'll even make sure Gina is set up with appropriate eating and sleeping accommodations. I'll throw in $3,000 right now, which should be enough to get Gina to make an attempt at making weight. YES WE CAN~!

Some fighters will end up going to Japan although the MMA scene in Japan is no stronger than the US scene minus Zuffa. Maybe we'll see Kimbo show up in HUSTLE where he won't actually have to fight. Then again maybe Dana will sign Kimbo and just have him get destroyed by Brock Lesnar before kicking him out the door. What an awesome spectacle that would be.

The worst part about all this? Michael Wilbon screaming like a fool on Tuesday's episode of PTI, trying to act like he knew something. EliteXC is gone Wilbon, not MMA. Shout out to JA Adande though for knowing what he's talking about. Maybe he'll invite me to the lounge.

And because it has to be said: THEY'RE DONE, GUS!

Playing to Your Strengths

Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra is currently scheduled for April 2009

Everyone wants this fight to happen in New York and I ask, why? That makes Matt Serra the face. Matt Serra was the greatest heel of all time at UFC 83 in Canada. I want this fight to take place on some farm in Hillsboro. I want people showing up in overalls and straw in their mouths just to boo Matt Serra. I want Matt Hughes coming out on a horse like the cheesy mini ring on wheels that took wrestlers to the ring at old Wrestlemania's. I want fans to throw straws of hay in the Octagon as Matt Serra enters. Obviously UFC will do none of this but this is the type of awesome stuff that would happen if I were in charge of a MMA company.

Back to the point, Matt Hughes as the heel in New York makes no sense. The casual fan doesn't see Matt Hughes as a bad person, he's the Welterweight legend looking for one more victory. Matt Hughes acts the way he acts because that's just how he is. Matt Serra can either be the most hated man in the world or the nicest guy in the world depending on what you need him to be. Serra loves being the heel and he embraces it and that's why this fight shouldn't take place in New York or New Jersey.

Of course I'm not believing this fight is happening until the doors are closed and "Country Boy Can Survive" comes to and end.

Stephan Bonnar will return to action at UFC 94 against Jon Jones

Slow news week.

I'm excited to see Bonnar back in the Octagon as I have always felt that he's like the red headed stepchild of the UFC. Forrest Griffin got all the fame and glory for winning their fight at The Ultimate Finale 1 and people tend to forget that it was a razor close decision and that it takes two men to fight. Of course Bonnar hurt his popularity when he was busted for horse roids in the rematch loss to Griffin and despite coming back with two wins, he faded back out of the picture with an injury sustained this past April. Jon Jones is going to be a tough fight for Bonnar as he's crafty on his feet and a really good prospect but I think his inexperience will lead to his downfall.

Studying Tape



"Today is a great day in MMA…ProElite is dead"

Sparring Session

Anderson Silva still wants to retire when he's 35. He has six fights remaining on his current UFC contract

I'm actually starting to believe that Silva will retire when his current contract is up. If he goes undefeated in his last six fights (starting with Cote this weekend) then how much will have left to prove? If I were to map out Silva's final six fights then it would look something like this:

*Patrick Cote, Henderson vs. Bisping winner (praying Franklin doesn't screw this up), Georges St. Pierre (pending he beats BJ Penn), Chuck Liddell, The UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Rich Franklin

You may question Franklin being the final fight of Silva's career but just think about it for a second. If you don't understand the reasoning (and it goes beyond wanting to see Franklin get destroyed for a 3rd time) then stop reading.

Of course if he loses one of those fights, chances are he'll stick around because he seems like a guy that has that competitive fire who doesn't want to walk away when there may be some doubts. When his contract his up, Dana White is going to throw a lot of money his way and then it's up to Silva if he wants to stick around or just move on to coaching and relaxing.

Underwater Ice Bath

M-1 announced "Fighting Fedor" a reality show in which undiscovered Heavyweights will train and compete for a chance to fight Fedor Emelianenko at the end of it all

Basically it's The Ultimate Fighter except instead of winning a contract, you win a death at the hands of Fedor. Congratulations. Here are the problems with this "ground breaking reality show":

*As of now, there's no TV outlet for the show outside of the possibility of HDNet. The goal of this show is to get Fedor over as this big star in America. If the show can't find television, no one will see Fedor. HDNet is a TV outlet but only the hardcore fans watch MMA on it. The same hardcore fans that already know Fedor. If the show finds a television home, it has to avoid coming off as a 2nd rate Ultimate Fighter because people will tune out immediately if that happens.

*They're training with Fedor's Red Devil Fight Team. Just think about that. Fedor's team is training a bunch of nobodies to try and beat their beloved Fedor. It's like a group of nobodies heading to Xtreme Couture to train to fight Randy Couture. Are they really going to learn all that they can learn on this show? My guess is no.

*If there was an untapped Heavyweight on the planet right now, chances are we would know about him. The guys on TUF are on TUF for a reason. They're either young and inexperienced or old and looking for their final shot at the UFC. If they were good enough to be in the UFC, they would go straight to the UFC. Take Cain Velasquez for example. He was 2-0 before entering the UFC but everyone knew what a monster he was, so he went straight into the UFC and not on TUF.

*Imagine if Amir Sadollah got to fight Anderson Silva after winning TUF7. Or Forrest Griffin fighting Randy Couture in 2005 or Michael Bisping fighting Chuck Liddell in 2006. Those fights would have killed the momentum of the TUF winners before they got started. The winner of this show will either get destroyed by Fedor, which proves that Fedor can still destroy cans. Or pull the biggest upset ever, allowing Dana White to cut and awesome promo on how he was right and the internet will probably collapse. After thinking about how stupid the "prize" of this show is, I hope Fedor loses. It just makes for better possibilities.

I hope Fighting Fedor finds a television home because more casual fans should know about the stoic Emelianenko. But I won't be shocked if this show does nothing for no one.

Josh Thomson vs. Yves Edwards is official for the Strikeforce show on November 21st. The bout will be for Thomson's Lightweight title

Although this should be a good fight, I can't help to feel a little bit disappointed because I was really hoping we would get Thomson vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida. Edwards and Thomson have faced once before, with Edwards knocking out Thomson with an enzuguri back at UFC 49.

The only reason I'm not a fan of this fight is because I don't like it when a guy gets a title shot after losing. Edwards lost to KJ Noons and a chance to capture the EXC Lightweight title so now he faces Thomson and a chance to capture the Strikeforce title. I'd say it makes Strikeforce below EXC but EXC is currently six feet under. Both guys usually have exciting fights so I expect this one to be no different and I hope to speak with Thomson again before this fight. I may even head out to California to catch the event although having to watch a Bobby Southworth fight for 25 minutes may put me to sleep on press row.

Jason "Mayhem" Miller officially announced his retirement from MMA

Ok, how was this guy not in UFC? He had one UFC fight (a decision loss to GSP) and that was at Welterweight. He fought mainly at Middleweight over the years and how he wasn't brought back to UFC is beyond me. They need more depth at Middleweight and his personality is second to only Quinton Jackson. Miller is only 28 years old so I think he'll return to fighting before he turns 30 just because he has so much left to give to the sport.

If anything, UFC should pick him up as announcer and put him beside Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan for events. Oh the hilarity that would ensue.

Taking Time Off

A review, a preview, and an obituary. No time off.

Training Partners

Adam Tool, Chris Robinson, and Morgan Marx bring the news.

Todd Bergman debuts his new column. Daniel Plunkett debuts his new column. Dustin James talks Koscheck and Fedor. Matt McEwen talks about turning Josh Koscheck babyface. Larry Csonka gives his take on UFC 89. Scott Kuczkowski gives the good, bad, and ugly of UFC 89. BREN~! presents fact or fiction featuring Larry Csonka and Daniel Plunkett. Jonathan Solomon talks the death of EXC.

John Wilson reviews PRIDE 2.

AND IT'S ALL OVER~!

That's all for me folks. I'll be back next week with a review of UFC 90 and likely fallout from EXC going under. Check out the podcast at podOmatic. Take care everyone.

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