Fedor Emilanenko vs Hong Man Choi from Yarennoka!

Kenny Florian trains with GSP in Canada

From MMAmania.com

Kenny Florian has traveled up north to Canada to train for a future fight against B.J. Penn for the Lightweight Championship belt. This is a smart move by Florian, since St. Pierre just successfully defended his title versus the Hawaiian. Although the fight was controversial with vaseline, the Canadian had clearly dominated Penn in all aspects of mixed martial arts.

Florian who will be entering the fight with an 11-3 record, has not lost in his last 6 fights. His last three fights have been simply large obstacle courses that he has conquered. Florian had finished off Joe Stevenson in his last fight with a rare naked choke in UFC 91 and previous to that Roger Huerta by a unanimous decision, then after Joe Lauzon by strikes.

After his win over Stevenson, he had become the number one contender for the lightweight belt. Florian's move to train with GSP in the Tri-star gym is brilliant, as GSP completely nullified Penn's attacks and implement a strategy that appeared to be near perfect (vaseline aside). The plan versus Penn was implemented by Firas Zahabi is also the head of the gym.

Kenny Florian will not be able to fight like GSP, since he does not pocess the physical abilities that GSP does, however training with GSP will only strengthen his abilities and since he had beaten Penn, it will encourage Florian to train even harder.

UFC 97 at the Bell Centre in Montreal Poster

Main Card:

Middleweight Championship bout: Anderson Silva vs Thales Leites
Light Heavyweight bout: Chuck Liddell vs Mauricio Shogun Rua
Heavyweight bout: Cheick Kongo vs Antoni Hardonk
Light Heavyweight bout: Luiz Cane vs Steve Cantwell
Light Heavweight bout: Brian Stann vs Krzysztof Soszynski

Preliminary Card:

Middleweight bout: David Loiseau vs Ed Herman
Middleweight bout: Dennis Kang vs Xavier Foupa-Pokam
Lightweight bout: Matt Wiman vs Sam Stout
Middleweight bout: Jason MacDonald vs Nate Quarry
Welterweight bout: Ryo Chonan vs TJ Grant
Lightweight bout: David Bielkheden vs Mark Bocek

Cheick Kongo vs Antoni Hardonk in UFC 97 for Montreal

Two heavyweights with winning streaks are set to matchup in Montreal for UFC 97. Cheick Kongo(13-4-1) who is currently on a two fight winning streak, defeated Mustapha al Turk at UFC 92 in his latest bout, is set to square off against Antoni Hardonk (8-4). Hardonk has knocked his last three opponents by TKO.

Rematch: GSP vs PENN III in Summer 2009

From bjpenn.com

“For the past several days I have been reading statements made by St. Pierre and Greg Jackson about our fight on January 31. St. Pierre claims that he is ‘not a cheater’ and that he and Greg Jackson will have ‘no problem with a rematch in the summer of 2009.’ To the untrained eye the grease might not look like much, but every grappler knows the effect that it has. Being able to apply your submissions and sweeps or just being able to hold on to your opponent to defend yourself from being hit is absolutely critical! There is a reason why you are not allowed to put grease anywhere on your body except for the area around your eyes. Because of the grease applied to St.Pierre’s Body the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s executive director, Keith Kizer has stated that the Penn-St. Pierre fight ‘definitely wasn’t fair.’ I hereby accept George St. Pierre and Greg Jackson’s challenge for a fight in the summer 2009. Lets call Dana now and set it up.”

BJ Penn had requested the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) to investigate this "greasing" matter. GSP made claimed that they use the vaseline as part of a breathing technique. GSP has offered Penn a rematch, which would most likely take place after GSP squares off against Thiago Alves. The NASC concluded that the application of the vaseline gave GSP a huge advantage in the fight, since Penn is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu artist, he focuses his fighting style on grappling and especially the ground game.

The controversy has extended to changing the rules of the cornermen.Proposed changes courtesy of SI.com:

- Cornermen associated with the fighters will no longer be allowed to handle the Vaseline used in between rounds to treat and prevent cuts.

- The UFC will now provide one cut man for each corner for the fight.

- Only two people are allowed to enter the Octagon between rounds so if a cut man is necessary to apply Vaseline or work on a cut, one of the other cornermen working with the fighter must exit the cage to allow the cut man to work.

Outside of GSP and Penn, nobody would like to see a rematch, the hype has died down and we would all like to move forward to see GSP vs Alves.

Quinton Rampage vs Wanderlei Silva, PRIDE FINAL CONFLICT 2003

Quinton Rampage Jackson vs Ricardo Arona, PRIDE CRITICAL COUNTDOWN 2004

Fedor Emilanenko vs Tim Sylvia , Affliction BANNED

Fedor Emilianenko vs Kevin Randleman PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004

Shogun vs Rampage PRIDE Total Elimination 2005

What happened to Karo?

Early on in his career, Karo Parisyan was considered one of UFC's most highly touted fighters.

In his UFC 94 fight, Karo appears out of shape and gassed, and it's showing in his performance.
In observance of the Dong Hyun Kim versus Karo fight, I actually thought Karo was out fought the entire match.

Ever since his loss to Diego Sanchez, Karo's never looked the same; he put up a great fight, but reaching such a high and still losing in a close bout must have put a dent in his confidence. I love Karo's skill set, hes a very well rounded fighter. His judo throws and ability to get out of sticky submissions places him as one of the best Jiu Jitsu fighters, but he severely needs to work on his striking; versus Dong Hyun, Karo's striking was inadequate.

Don Hyun had his back for most of the match but never truly capitalized, he still managed to hit Karo more and attempt more submissions on the ground, which makes it hard to believe Karo should have won; this was purely on a name basis and it being Don Hyun's third fight in the UFC with not much name value whatsoever. 

Shogun Rua, a Mirage?

Born in Curitiba in Brazil, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who is at a ripe age of 28, needs to prove to the world that he still belongs in the top rankings of the light heavyweight division. Shogun was highly touted in PRIDE, with big victories by knockout on Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Alistair Overeem, Ricardo Arona, and a unanimous decision over Antonio Rogeiro Nogueira. Shogun was the man to defeat in PRIDE and was feared by many fighters.

However, in 2007, Shogun made his debut in the octagon in UFC 76 against the winner of the first Ultimate Fighter, Forest Griffin. Entering the fight Shogun's MMA record was 16-2 with 13 of those victories by knockout. Shogun was considered as the heavy favorite to win the fight but Forest had different plans for him as he was able to submit him with a rear naked choke. Shogun appeared to gas very quickly in the fight and was unable to keep pace with the gym rat Griffin.

Preparing for UFC 85, Shogun had suffered a ruptured ACL during training which has kept him out of action for a full year. Shogun returned to the octagon in UFC 93 and had his revenge over Mark Coleman who had defeated him in PRIDE 31 because he had a elbow dislocation during a takedown by Coleman. Shogun won by TKO with uppercuts and strikes near the end of the third round. However, even with the win Shogun had appeared very tired and 'gassed' like he did against Forest Griffin. The stoppage by the referee was very questionable and his match was against a fighter who is very much past his prime.

One major transition that Shogun had to adapt to in the UFC was the use of soccer kicks and head stomps. In many of his fights in PRIDE, Rua had made great usage of these two techniques. However, in the UFC, you are not allowed to use knees and kicks to the a downed opponent, these are North America's MMA rules. Which could possibly explain his decline in the UFC.

Shogun's next fight is against Chuck Liddell in UFC 97 on April 19th. This fight is a must win for Shogun to be able to gain his reputation back as is for Liddell to return to the top. If Shogun does not increase his cardio and demonstrate his abilities like he did in PRIDE, Shogun will become what many mma fighters turn out to be, a mirage.

Pros (Rich Franklin) vs Joes

Thiago Alves, The #1 Contender

“It’ll be a great fight. I’m very excited, I can’t wait … It’s going to be great. I saw what he did with BJ Penn and I’ll have to beat him a lot, do my game. I expected and didn’t expect [St. Pierre to dominate Penn] understood? (laughs). I knew he would win, but not this way. He’s much bigger than the BJ, a better athlete, and the sport today, in that level, you have to be the best athlete. I’ll go there to knock him out.”

Thiago Alves is the #1 contender to face GSP for the Welterweight title and it definitely wont come easy. Thiago Alves began his Muay Thai training when he was 15 and mixed martial arts when he was 17, he currently holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Alves's most recent UFC success has come against Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck, both fighters who are highly respected in the UFC. In UFC 85, Alves failed to make weight for the welterweight fight, coming in with 174 pounds. However, Matt Hughes still agreed to fight and it was a big mistake. Alves had surprised the MMA world by dominating the former champion in every aspect. In the first round Alves showed us that he improved his takedown defense, as Matt Hughes could not take him down. Alves went on to earn a TKO stoppage by hitting Hughes with a flying knee and finishing him with ground and pound.

Josh Koscheck replaced Diego Sanchez in UFC 90 and lost to Alves by unanimous decision by throwing excellent leg kicks and knocking Koschek down multple times.

Dana White has announced that Alves, as the number one contender to face the winner of the welterweight championship fight in UFC 94, which we now know is GSP. Alves was surprised that GSP had dominated Penn in such a fashion and if Alves plans to strip GSP of his belt, he is going to have to improve on every aspect of his game.

UFC 96 - Bad Card?

What are your thoughts about the UFC 96 card, do you think the UFC strategizes with poor fight cards knowing the event will still sell out and make future pay per view UFC events easier to advertise and hype up?

The main fight being between Quinton Jackson and Keith Jardine, with extremely weak follow up fights. Both Gonzaga and Matt Hamill's fights to date have been suspect, and Jardine is an extremely inconsistent fighter. Jardine showed great form against Chuck Liddell only to get brutally knocked out by Wanderlei Silva a minute into the fight (reminiscent of Houston Alexander brutal uppercut knockout versus Jardine). Jardine has a suspect chin, and we all know of Rampage's toughness and 1 punch knockout power; this main event is going to be over quicker than I can type Rampage.

Title Shot Imminent?

Lyoto Machida isnt just scary, hes a monster. With a current record of 14 wins and no losses, one has to wonder when he will be getting his chance to contend for the belt. Machida has unquestionably dominated all his fights in near perfect fashion.

Machida started to really get attention after he defeated the highly anticipated Rameau Thierry Sokudjou, by defeating him via submission by arm triangle in the second round. His next task at UFC 84 was Tito Ortiz, whom he defeated by unanimous decision, scoring 30-27 with all judges. 

In UFC 94, Machida has undoubtly convinced many MMA fans that he is legit by knocking out Thiago Silva in the second round. Thiago Silva was also 13-0 and was on his way to UFC stardom with this fight, however Machida has made a quick statement by taking virtually no damage in this fight and winning in a convincing fashion.

No fighter has figured out how to compete with Machida in the octagon, with Machida's very accurate standup and excellent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, one has to wonder how to defeat him. Sokodjou, Tito, and Silva has all fallen to him without dealing any punishment to him. 

Machida should really be the number one contender to face "Sugar" Rasahad Evans for the light heavyweight belt, however it is said that the winner of the Rampage vs Jardine will get the first crack at Evans. With that said, whoever is next better find a way to expose Machida, otherwise Machida will only continue his dominance in the UFC. 

UFC 95 Preview Video

Jon Jones - Up and coming

Fighting out of New York, Jon jones, at the tender age of 21, possesses rare athleticism, speed, and power.

In his 2nd fight in the octagon, Jon electrified the crowd with a rarely seen explosive spinning back elbow. Jon utilized the same elbow versus Andre Gusmao as seen here:


Although Bonnar showed a lot of heart in his first fight back after a long hiatus from the octagon, he took a lot of damage during the fight and rarely made a threat other than during a close clinch.

Appearing gassed in the latter rounds of the fight, Jon never gave in to his own fatigue. Jones was unpredictable, and started off the fight with beautiful combinations, quick jabs, and two powerful consecutive spinning back kicks. later on, Jones showed his strength with a german suplex, followed by a belly to belly over head toss.


The light heavyweight division is by far the best in all of mixed martial arts, and adding such a dangerous opponent who appears seasoned for the division such as Jon Jones, only further boasts UFC's ability to maintain high quality MMA fighters.

Fox News at UFC 94

Mike Straka from Fox News covering UFC 94.

UFC Fight Night 17

UFC Fight Night 17 is just around the corner for the weekend. The event is held in USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla. on Feb 7.

A last minute scratch from training has forced Hermes Franca out of the main event and the fight has been revised to the young and explosive Joe Lauzon (17-4) vs Jeremy Stephen at 155 lbs.

UFC has confirmed the final for Fight Night 17 and here it is:

Main event:

155 lbs.: Joe Lauzon (16-4) vs. Jeremy Stephens (16-3)

Main card (Televised):

265 lbs.: Cain Velasquez (4-0) vs. Denis Stojnic (12-1)
155 lbs.: Mac Danzig (19-5-1) vs. Josh Neer (24-7-1)
170 lbs.: Anthony Johnson (6-2) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (13-4)

Under card (May not be broadcast):

155 lbs.: Kurt Pellegrino (18-4-0) vs. Rob Emerson (10-6-1)
185 lbs.: Dan Miller (11-1-1) vs. Jake Rosholt (5-0)
155 lbs.: Matt Grice (10-1-1) vs. Matt Veach (10-0-0)
155 lbs.: Gleison Tibau (27-5-0) vs. Rich Clementi (40-13-1)
185 lbs.: Nick Catone (5-0) vs. Derek Downey (10-3)
170 lbs.: Matt Riddle (13-4-0) vs. Steve Bruno (1-0-0)

Dana White Video Blog - 1/31/09

Dana white before and after UFC 94 Its nice to see Dana thanking and congratulating his fighters.If you listen closely you
can hear Dana talking about the excessive amount of vaseline on GSP.

GSP Greasing it up - Cheater?

In the latest Mixed Martial Arts news, Our beloved Canadian boy GSP, is being accused of "greasing up" for his most recent fight against BJ Penn. Give me a break, this isn't John Travolta's hit movie Grease Lightning, this is GSP.

Funny how all MMA fighters start complaining only once fight results don't favor them.

Amongst the list of Fighters blaming GSP for putting Vaseline on his back: Sean Sherk, Jason 'Mayhem' Miller, and BJ Penn.

Maybe GSP perspirates heavily in the guard? that could be a reason for the slippage even though Miller has inadvertently referred to GSP as a cheater.

"While locked in my tight guard, I noticed that I was having trouble keeping my opponents head down. I practiced shirtless with my training partners, and never had this much trouble keeping a guy from punching me. Was this guy uber strong or something? Not exactly.
My opponent, now up two rounds, was coated in vaseline! Greasy Bastard, I thought."

Dana White was ticked off after seeing GSP's corner man rubbing Vaseline on his back between rounds and does not hold GSP at fault. A few times during rubber guard, Penn was trying to use his flexibility to perform a triangle and you could see his feet continuously slipping down after every attempt.

While fan's will be blinded by their loyalty and devotion to George St. Pierre's octagon superhero appeal, mixed martial arts hardcorists understand the pain opponents feel losing to what they believe, is a cheater.

Penn's camp has officialy filed a complaint, and the case remains under review.