Dan Hardy Ready To Silence Georges St Pierre Fans At UFC 111

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UFC’s no.1 welterweight title contender Dan ‘Outlaw’ Hardy feels sorry for Georges St. Pierre (GSP) fans.  Hardy’s confidence continues to grow as we approach UFC 111’s main event title fight between Hardy and GSP, scheduled to take place at the Prudential Center in New Jersey on March 27th.

Hardy seems pretty confident that he’ll be victorious over GSP, disappointing Canadian fans come March 27.  Will Hardy become the new UFC 170-pound champion or will GSP prove once again why still holds the belt around his waist.

From Dan Hardy:

“I know that I can give GSP hell when the times come. It’s so sweet stepping out into the Octagon on the other side saying, ‘I told you so.’ All these GSP fans that are betting the house on him, when they wake up Sunday morning … they aren’t going to be too impressed with themselves”

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Brandon Vera To Submit Jon Jones If Taken To The Ground On March 21

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Brandon ‘The Truth’ Vera seems fully prepared to take on Jon ‘Bones’ Jones as part of the “UFC on Versus 1″ main event, scheduled to take place on March 21st in Colorado.  For those of you underestimating Vera’s ground game, the Filipino-American fighter assures media and fans that he has sharpened up his Jiu-Jitsu and is ready to submit just about anyone who decides to test him.

Will Vera be able to knock out or submit Jones come March 21st?  Or will Jones shut his mouth with some of his Greco-Roman wrestling skills?

From Brandon Vera:

“You take me to the ground this year, you’re going to get submitted…I’ll tell you that much right now…We’re going to bang man. I don’t think he’ll take me to the ground…He’s with a new camp, he’s with (Greg) Jackson’s and them. They’re good game plan people so he might try to take me to the ground, but I tell you this much in 2010, my jiu-jitsu game I’ve been tightening back up…Jones, he’s got the skills; he’ll stand with me. Somebody’s going to go to sleep.”

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Boxing Vet James Toney Signs Multi Fight Deal With UFC, May Fight Kimbo Slice First

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NABO heavyweight boxing champion James “Lights Out” Toney has officially signed a multi-fight deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championships according to several sources.  There is no assigned opponent for him yet nor is there an official date, but sources close to us indicate a possible pay-per-view match-up between the boxing veteran Toney and Miami-based street fighter Kimbo Slice.

Kimbo Slice was scheduled to take on TUF 10 fighter Mike Mitrione as part of the UFC 113 fight card in Montreal.  Since that was taken off the UFC website, it makes it almost obvious that the fight between Toney and Kimbo may be announced sometime soon.  We’ll be sure to keep you guys posted once a bout agreement is official.

Not too long ago, Toney was quoted saying that UFC President was a joke…

From Toney a little over a month ago:

“Dana White’s first offer was a joke and that lets me know he really don’t want to do this … his offer was laughable. That’s the reason I wanted the camera guy in the room with us when I sat down with Dana, so the fans would know that I was serious and if it didn’t happen, it wasn’t because of me.”

It seems like both parties have been able to come to terms as we now find Toney as part of the new UFC roster.  We also found out that the former trainer of Rampage Jackson, Juanito Ibarra, has been selected by Toney himself to prepare him for his first-ever MMA fight.

From Ibarra:

“We have been working on stretching, sprawling and movement, all the things he will need to get a handle on…We get along real well. He’s a great student. He considers me a teacher. Hopefully this chemistry that we have can carry us to a title in MMA. James Toney will fight anybody. It’s up to us to help him figure things out. What I would like to see and what his manager would like to see … Kimbo Slice. It makes sense. The weight factor makes sense. Maybe a 220 [lbs.] fight somewhere in there. Two guys who have great names. I would love to see that fight …I think that’s a great opponent … hopefully the UFC would consider something like that. He’s said it all over the Internet. He calls him Simba. He says he wanted Simba Slice. I’d like to get him down to 205 and fight the winner of a Chuck and Tito. Fights with Kimbo Slice and he goes on to fight the winner of a Chuck and Tito fight …I think it would sell and I think it would be a hell of a fight.”"

We’ll keep you guys posted on the latest news with James Toney and when we’ll see him in the octagon.

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Cain Velasquez Ready For Possible UFC Title Shot Against Brock Lesnar

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UFC’s undefeated heavyweight fighter Cain Velasquez talks about the possibility of facing current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.  Although the winner between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin at UFC 111 may have first dibs at Lesnar depending on the outcome, Velasquez feels physically prepared and mentally ready to take on the 265-pound giant.

Velasquez is coming off a huge KO win over the former UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.  The Mexican-American fighter is a two-time All-American collegiate wrestler from Arizona State and a Junior College National Champ at Iowa Central Community College.  He currently holds an overall MMA record of 8 wins, 0 losses.

From Cain Velasquez:

“Yes. I’m ready. I think I’ve been ready for a while. The way this sport works is you’ve just got to prove yourself when you get the chance. I want to fight the best so I can be the best … I don’t know what I do better than (Lesnar) but I do know I’d be ready. I know what I can do, I know I train with really tough guys, and I know I’d prepare myself to give him a really good fight — I think it would be a really good fight between us … I think I’d have to wear him out for the first two or three rounds, because he’s so big and strong. I’d need to be weary of him at the beginning. I think that’d be my best option, trying to do that. He’s a great athlete, and he has wrestled in the NCAAs, and you have to be a top athlete to do that, but I think that would be my best bet.”

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Anderson Silva Reminds Demian Maia That His Fight At UFC 112 Is MMA, Not Jiu Jitsu

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Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva was originally scheduled to face Vitor Belfort for the UFC middleweight title.  Due to a shoulder injury Belfort sustained not too long ago, Demian Maia was called in as a replacement to fight Silva as part of the upcoming UFC 112 main event in Abu Dhabi.

Maia is known for his expertise in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, acquiring 8 of his 12 wins via submission.  Silva is well aware of Maia’s dangerous ground game, but the current middleweight champion points out a very important aspect in this sport.  Silva vs. Maia will be a mixed martial arts bout, not a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu match.  Although Silva is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he continues to train both the ground game as well as his stand-up skills.

Again, anything can happen when it comes to MMA competition.

From Anderson Silva via Tatame.com:

“This isn’t jiu-jitsu, it’s MMA, a sport that involves many techniques and elements. It’s hard to say that I would beat him standing up and he would defeat me on the canvas. Logically, each one of us owns a specialty but a fight is always a fight. MMA is a new sport and there’s no precise gameplan so we keep training and studying. I’m going to study for the rest of my life. It has been going correctly but it can happen that I won’t give my best showing and it’s over. We’re training and if it’s God’s will to have me stay as champion, I’ll stay. I don’t feel pressure to fight with Demian or any other fighter in this division. I’m worried about how I’m training each day.”

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MMA Could Be One Disaster Away From Getting Tapped Out For Good

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It has been a long 17 years since the Gracie family decide to put on the most successful infomercial the world has ever seen. For many, the early UFCs were inspiration for new endeavors, business ventures, and opportunities. This is especially true for collegiate wrestlers that did not have a league to go to after their collegiate career was over. It started out as a small show and was billed as a “blood sport.” Senator and later Presidential candidate John McCain called it “human cockfighting.” In some aspects, he may have even been correct. After that first UFC hit Colorado like a brick in the face, cages and bar room MMA events popped up all over the country. It took a lot of work and visionaries like Dana White and the Fertita brothers to bring the sport to where it is today.

The first event that I myself competed in was promoted by a very well known MMA fighter who shall remain nameless. It was an awesome evening for me as I was young, confident, and ready to hop in the cage and test my skills. As incredible an evening as it was for me, I realize now just how shady the entire situation and evening was. There was no sanctioning body, no one checking the hand taping jobs, no one inspecting the gloves that were being used, and most importantly, no medical staff on hand. Back then I did not give a second thought about any of these things because I was young and eager. Now that I am older and wiser, I realize that what I was doing was really stupid. As stupid as it may have been, I was one of the many that would show up at a hotel, pizza place, or bar, hop on a scale and go to war. Dumb as it was, people like myself helped pave the way for where the sport was heading. Many of us had dreams of how big this thing called MMA could get, but were never really sure if it would reach that point. Think back to the first UFC event that you watched. Did you ever think that it would be where it is today?

MMA today is a huge global enterprise. Ticket sales are at an all time high and pay-per-view numbers are through the roof. There are more MMA websites than are men drooling over Arianny Celeste. (Check out the new pictures in the UFC Chicks section).  ESPN has a show devoted to MMA and Roger Huerta has even graced the cover of Sports Illustrated.  MMA apparel and gear is a whole new frontier. It has afforded many people new careers and brought a whole new market to the global economy. It seems as though everyone who can make a dime off of the sport is doing so. The question remains, is this a good thing? Is the growth and explosion just setting the sport up for failure and a trip back to the obscure? It is dangerous territory that we are now in and we as consumers, fans, competitors and people on the inside should tread very carefully before we become the reason behind a downfall.

The sport of MMA and its community of supporters have come a long way in the past two decades but there is still a lot of work to be done. We have not reached our destination, we have actually only begun to fill up the tank to begin the journey. In some states the sport is still illegal. In others it is legal but they have no governing body. Each state that has legalized the sport and has a governing body is allowed to make their own rules and guidelines. This has led to uncertainty and confusion. I will be the first to step up and say that things have to change! Amateur fighters are not required to submit to blood testing. This is dangerous and should be illegal in itself. The risk of being cut by an elbow, a knee, or a glancing blow is way too high to not test every competitor for communicable diseases. There needs to be a nationwide or even worldwide governing body that can institute a standard set of rules and guidelines and enforce them! There should be a group to say who can host and promote MMA events. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry that thinks he can make a buck in this industry are putting up cages and promoting events at the fighters’ expense. This is not a game, there are people’s lives at stake and it is time we started respecting that fact.

The year is 2010 here in Louisville, KY. Things are not a lot different than they were when I first competed in my first MMA event. There is now a governing body (The Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Authority) and pro fighters must adhere to blood testing regulations, there is more organization and that is where the improvements stop for the most part. Amateur fighters still do not have to submit to blood testing, no one checks the tape jobs, no one inspects gloves and you don’t have to be licensed to work as a cut man. You don’t even have to be licensed to be a referee. Promoters put fighters in the cage and risk their lives and limbs with referees who in some cases have no experience and then give the fighters a medal that looks like it came out of a gumball machine. There have to be proving grounds for amateur fighters and I realize this but there needs to be new parameters set. There should be an established feeder system set up to keep these shady promoters from preying on untrained fighters. At some point we as fans and competitors of this sport must realize that we are in the infancy stages of this sport and need to make these changes now before everything implodes around us. This is not bungee jumping. This is not something you do for fun on vacation. This is a serious, legitimate sport with serious, legitimate athletes and we need to start treating it that way.

The sport has come a long way and the sky is the limit as long as WE don’t put a roof on it. Fighters need to recognize that they have the power. Without shady promoters, there will still be fights but without fighters there will be no shady promoters. All of the hard work and dedication that has been put into this sport could be easily undone. We are one tragedy and disaster away from being relegated to underground shows in bars, pizza places, and back alleys like the old days. Make the changes while we have a chance and before it is too late. There is a saying that goes, “Crisis precipitates changes.” Don’t let a death, debilitating injury, or spread of disease be the downfall of our beloved sport. If you are a fan, congressman, promoter, or fighter use some common sense and wake up before MMA gets tapped out for good.

-Chris Bowman

About the author:

Chris “The Buzz-Saw”Bowman is a mixed martial arts competitor, school owner, and judge with over 15 years of combative experience.

He owns and operates Louisville Elite Combat in Louisville, KY.  He holds a Yudansha rank in the Japanese art of Bushi Jutsu Ryu and can be contacted at: bowman_combat@live.com

myspace.com/louisville-elite-combat

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Funny UFC 110 Clips and GIFs For ‘Nogueira vs Velasquez’ Event

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Cain Velasquez does the worst fake moves against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira:

Cain Velasquez knocks out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in slow motion:

Cain Velasquez with one of the fastest and most accurate knockouts in his MMA career:

Watch how Michael Bisping does some sort of dance move, but he gets hit on the chin right after by Wanderlei Silva:

Michael Bisping dents Wanderlei Silva’s face with a straight left jab:

Check out Wanderlei Silva’s face as he attempts a very close guillotine choke submission on Michael Bisping:

Wanderlei Silva with two beautiful sweeps which make Michael Bisping land straight on his ass both times:

Wanderlei Silva catches Michael Bisping with a straight left jab (DOINK):

Epic!  Wanderlei Silva shakes hands with ultimate rival Rampage Jackson:

Weak side control by Michael Bisping, which creates a super easy escape by Wanderlei Silva:

Wanderlei Silva shaking off his balls after getting hit by one of Michael Bisping’s kicks:

Keith Jardine and the return of the nipple tweak:

Watch how Keith Jardine bounces off of his face (Funniest UFC 110 GIF)

Joe Stevenson’s worst Superman punch attempt:

Joe Stevenson’s weakest kick ever:

George Sotiropoulos trips up Joe Stevenson:

Joe Stevenson does some fancy dance move, but George Sotiropoulos catches him with a straight left jab:

Chris Lytle throws a wild left hook that lands right on Brian Foster’s face:

Click here to check out Bruce Buffer’s dance moves during Wanderlei Silva’s UFC 110 entrance

Props to Justin over at uofcombat.com for all of the GIFs

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Paulo Thiago Slowly Rising In UFC Welterweight Division, Not Yet Ready For Georges St Pierre

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UFC welterweight fighter Paulo Thiago has won three of four fights since inking a fight deal with the UFC.  The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert holds notable wins over Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick and Jacob Volkmann.  Although Thiago continues to rise in the 170-pound division, he admits that he is not yet ready for a title fight against high caliber champion like Georges St Pierre.

From Paulo Thiago via Tatame.com:

“The UFC guys said I’m starting to shine, but I have to continue. My division is big. I don’t know if I have to wait for another fight. I’m not worried about (the title) yet. On the right time the UFC will give me the chance. I’m getting experience, feeling more comfortable. I’m not ready yet. St. Pierre is very smart, it’s going to be a chess game. Who gets calmer to annul the game of the other, takes it. He works a lot of takedown defense, the ground, the guard… You have to exchange with him, be aggressive. There are a lot of ways to prepare.”

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Boxing Vet James Toney Turns Down UFC Contract Offer: “Dana White Is A Straight Up Ho!”

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James Toney, a veteran to the sport of boxing, tells media that he turned down in what appeared to be a ridiculous offer by the UFC.

Toney refused to fight for the UFC because Dana White offered him a “chump change” 5-fight deal and he could no longer participate in any boxing event.

Fair deal or not?  Hmm, here’s what James Toney had to say:

“Dana White is a straight up ho!  He makes me a 5-fight offer for chump change and said I can’t box anymore if I accept it.  He must have lost his damn mind.  I’m the best of both worlds.   Anyone in either sport that wants to come see me, we can do this.”

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Voice of the Octagon Bruce Buffer Dances To Wanderlei Silva Entrance Song At UFC 110

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Here’s a funny clip of Bruce Buffer, also known as the “Veteran Voice of the Octagon”, dancing to Wanderlei Silva’s entrance song at UFC 110.

To many, Silva provides some of the best songs when entering the Octagon during his UFC fights.

The ‘Axe Murderer’ fought and defeated Michael Bisping via a unanimous decision as part of the UFC 110 co-main event.

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