Aug

9

1. The Ultimate Fighter / Spike TV - After reading this you probably have an idea how responsible UFC and Zuffa, LLC are for TUFthe product that MMA is today. They are also responsible for the single most watched MMA reality show ever, which baited and hooked hundreds of thousands of fans. This reality show, which is televised on Spike TV, is so revolutionary and so instrumental to the success of today’s MMA that, without this single show, there would be hundreds of thousands less fans, which means less money to go around, which means less money for the fighters, which means lower quality fights…I know, I know, we’ve already been down this road, but it’s true.

SpikeOk, so the show was and is a big success, but Spike needs a huge pat on the back for taking a chance on this thing. It wasn’t a slam dunk, no matter how popular it is now. No sir, this thing was a risk. Someone’s job was on the line with this one, and they were sweating their jewels off waiting for the numbers to come in that would determine if they were getting fired or getting promoted. After the Forrest Griffin / Stephan Bonnar fight, everyone in Spike’s front office probably got promoted.

Read more about the No. 1 reason for the success of modern MMA

Todays MMA; Top 10 Reasons for the Success of Modern MMA Part VI

Aug

9

Brock Lesnar - The Next Big Thing in MMA?Former WWE star Brock Lesnar will compete in only his 3rd professional MMA bout this weekend during UFC 87: Seek and Destroy. This will be Lesnar’s 2nd time in the octagon. Lesnar made his UFC debut against former Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir, which he lost in 90 seconds of the 1st round via submission (leg lock). Lesnar’s competition will not be any easier as he is set to face former Pride star Heath “The Texas Crazy Horse” Herring. Many people still believe that Brock is nothing more than a former pro wrestler and he doesn’t even belong in the UFC. However, there are other people such as myself, who believe that Lesnar is a true threat in the UFC’s Heavyweight division.

It is true that Brock Lesnar made a name for himself as a WWE Superstar, but there is more to him and his credentials that make him a legitimate contender. Lesnar was a 2 time Big Ten Champion while wrestling for the University of Minnesota. He was also the runner-up in 1999 NCAA Tournament, but his biggest wrestling accomplishment was winning the NCAA National Championship in 2000. Lesnar is one of the most decorated wrestlers to ever step inside the cage. On top of that, I truly believe that there is no one in the Heavyweight division that can match the strength of Brock Lesnar. In Lesnar’s pro debut, he took on Min Soo Kim in the K-1 promotion. Lesnar took Kim down with ease, mounted him, and pounded Kim out in 1:09 of the very first round. In his next bout, Brock took a big step up in competition as he took on former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir. Lesnar was able to take Mir down with relative ease and started dropping hammer fists on Mir’s head. He accidentally hit Mir on the back of the head and was deducted 1 point. The fight started back on their feet and Lesnar put Mir down again and continued where he left off. Lesnar made one mistake and Mir was able to capitalize. He submitted Lesnar in 90 seconds of the first round. Although it the fight ended quickly, we learned a lot about Lesnar as a fighter.

Read more about the prospects for Brock Lesnar in MMA

Brock Lesnar: The Next Big Thing In MMA?

Aug

9

Upcoming MMA Events of Note 

The following MMA events are of major affiliations that will be viewer-accessible.  You will notice that September is chock-full of MMA goodness.  Go check out these events and let us know what you thought of the cards.

Aug. 9th – UFC 87, available on PPV.  Kenny Florian vs Roger Huerta, Brock Lesnar vs Heath Herring, Probably one of the best cards in recent memory.  It’s hard to shell out 50 bucks for a PPV if you’re not a die hard, but this one should be a safe bet for casual fans looking to maximize their bang-for-buck ratio. 

Sept. 6th – UFC 88, available on PPV.  Chuck Laddell vs Rashad Evans, Rich Franklin vs Matt Hamill, Karo Parisyan vs Yoshiyuki Yoshida, and Dan Henderson is also on the card against a youngster.  Not the PPV you want to drop your last 50 bucks on, but who knows.  This card looks like a 25-bucker, but it might surprise.  Buyers beware though.

Sept. 10th – WEC, free on Versus (if you have it).  20-1 All-World Urijah Faber takes on the 19-4, severely under-rated, under-appreciated, and under-acknowledged Mike Brown.  This might go as planned, but we wouldn’t be as shocked as most if it goes the other way.  Also on the card is Chael Sonnen vs Paulo Filho.  Over the last two years Sonnen has been on a tear going 6-1, but that only loss came against Filho who is 16-0.  You want bang for your buck?  How’s free sound?  We’d rather pay 50 bucks for this and watch UFC 88 for free.  That’s more respectable if you ask us.

Click here to read more about upcoming MMA events of note

Upcoming MMA Events of Note

Aug

8

Here is part two of comrad101’s Top 10 MMA Slugfests. So hit play and watch the fighters duke it out.

Top 10 MMA Slugfests Part 2 (video)

Aug

7

WEC LogoWorld Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) may be a “smaller” show but what it lacks in size it sure makes up for in excitement. There is some very intelligent commentary from Frank Mir and simply having Urijah Faber in the organization makes it a local favorite around these parts. That guy is an animal who obviously works very hard and who represents the sport of MMA very well. Faber wasn’t on the WEC 35 card however. He’s scheduled to fight Mike Brown in the WEC on September 10.

One fighter that was on the card is Brian Bowles who is undefeated at 5-0. He matched up with Damacio Page for the first fight of the night. The two bantamweights came out firing bombs and set such a pace that Frank Mir forgot to talk. Bowles got on top in Page’s guard early after Page slipped while throwing a kick. Bowles managed to pass and lock in a guillotine but Page escaped and pressed Bowles against the fence. The two fighters broke up and went at it again on the feet. It looked like Page hurt Bowles with a leg kick because right afterwards Bowles tried to take him down. Page stuffed the shot and then made one of his own. He actually picked Bowles up to slam him but Bowles quickly locked up the guillotine again while being held up in the air by Page. Bowles actually trapped one of Page’s arms with his leg. Page then went for the big slam and for some reason stopped half way through. I guess he was trying to shake Bowles off but it didn’t work and it looked like it only yanked his neck as Bowles held on to get the submission victory with 1:30 left in the first round. Somewhere Domacio Page is walking around a few inches taller.

Read more about the 5 other MMA fights of the night

WEC 35 in Review

Aug

6

I don’t think there is anything more badass in MMA then the war. When two highly skilled fighters go at it and let it all hang out there is nothing better. So today comrad101 and MMA Bulletin brings you the top 10 of MMA’s most badass slugfests, part 1. Enjoy!

Top 10 MMA Slug Fests Part 1 (video)


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