If I counted correctly there are currently 52 TUF veterans in the UFC, I have listed who I believe are the most successful guys since their stints on the Ultimate Fighter in order.  This shows that the reality show has been a success in producing talent, gaining fighters exposure and a fan base, and even producign future champions.  Six of these guys have fought for a UFC title, several have appeared in and lost number one contender fights, one has a title shot scheduled (D. Sanchez), and two are scheduld for number one contender bouts (Mike Swick and Gray Maynard).  On top of that many of these guys are consensus top 10-20 in the world int heir prospective divisions.  Let me know what you think. 

Top TUFers

Note: The list does not fairly reflect the future success TUF 9 veterans like Ross Pearson or James Wilks since they have yet to fight after the finale.  The later season guys have good chances to move up on a list like this.

UFC Middleweight Rankings

UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueria / Cortesía UFC.com - Copyright Zuffa, LLC: All Rights Reserved.

Una de las diferencias centrales entre la WWE y otras empresas de lucha profesional de MMA vs  UFC , es que el tema del control de sustancias de depende de un tercero, en este caso, las comisiones atléticas locales, eligen al azar a un grupo de peleadores para efectuar las pruebas correspondientes.

La Comisión Atlética del Estado de Oregon confirma para durante  la funcion de UFC 102 fueron revisaron a los siguintes peladores: Randy Couture, Todd Duffee, Evan Dunham, Chris Leben, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira y Aaron Simpson. y que todas las pruebas resultaron negativas por uso de sustancias prohibidas.

Es pertinente mencionar este tema en ocasión al arresto de Jeff Hardy, pues sin duda habrá medios señalando que las políticas de WWE no han sido adecuadas como medida de  prevención, mientras que UFC es independiente en el tema (Las comisiones atléticas ortorgan las licencias)

Real swingy card this, as those that read my last post will know, I was looking forward to this card quite a lot, and for the most part it didn’t disappoint.

Brandon Vera and Krystof Soszynski was dull, to put it mildly. I had Vera winning it 30-28, chopping the second. Vera’s striking was better in the first, landing more kicks and punches, but without any real power, second was closer and Soszynski was able to control with the clinch more, but the third was clearly Vera’s as the Polish Experiment looked to be gassing somewhat in the latter half of the round. No need to catch up on this one if you missed it.

Marquardt – Maia was one I was looking forward to a lot. Quite a few writers I respect had Marquardt as a solid bet even at the -170 or so that he was at, which I didn’t really get, thought Maia would at least be a live dog. Of course, this was dependent on Maia getting it to the ground, and he got to the ground via Marquardt’s first punch. Oh dear. It’s a shame when you’ve got two contrasting styles and what should turn out to be a really interesting ground battle, and it’s over in 20 seconds.

Leben – Rosholt was decent, I don’t care for either fighter much really. I gave the first to Rosholt, Leben didn’t do a huge deal with strikes, and while they were level in number of takedowns, Rosholt did a little bit more with his. Can understand that being given either way, but the second was obviously Leben’s round, his striking was much better and more consistent. A potentially pivotal third round resulted in Leben just getting subbed very quickly.

Hague and Duffee is worth watching, because it was over faster than a Usain Bolt 100m.

Jardine – Silva was also pretty quick, seemed like somewhat of a flash knockout by Silva, somewhat unexpected but it was always going to be fairly close.

Herman – Simpson is another fight worth watching, Simpson ran Herman over like a train in a very impressive first round, with Herman looking like he injured his knee badly late on. If there was doubt before, it was confirmed early in the second when it went ping. Don’t think he should have come out for it really.

Couture – Nogueira is one that you have to see if you haven’t done so already. Possibly one of the best obvious 30-27 fights I’ve ever seen, this was back to vintage Big Nog after the farce that was the Mir fight, it was only Randy being Randy that prevented this being stopped, which Minotauro had plenty of chances to do but couldn’t quite manage it. I wasn’t overly interested in this fight prior to it, but it surpassed expectations by a long way. Nog should get the next shot at Lesnar, which is going to be in 2010 at some point seeing how Carwin is lined up for him first. As for Couture? Don’t know, personally I like him moving down to 205 (again) as he’s clearly never going to beat Lesnar, and I don’t see how he beats Nogueira either in a rematch. Only trouble is is that division is extremely crowded. A somewhat logical fight would be against Forrest Griffin, that’d definitely sell tickets and I think it makes sense for both fighters, neither is anywhere near a title shot right now, but could angle towards a contenders’ fight with a win.

The bonus Aurelio – Dunham fight saw Marcus get screwed in my opinion. First round was Dunham’s, this is obvious. Stayed on the feet, he outstruck him. Final round was Aurelio’s, this is obvious, got the takedown early, threatened to finish, Dunham offered nothing after escaping. The second round is debatable, but the striking was a lot closer and Aurelio got the takedown, controlling a decent chunk of the round. Can understand a 29-28 either way (I obviously had it to Aurelio), but how the hell did one judge give it 30-27? That’s just insane.

Some quick beers:

203 – Leeds Midnight Bell (4.8%) – 8, very nice dark beer, with hints of treacle and fruit amongst other things

204 – Rudgate Brewski (4.1%) – 6.5, light ale, initially mundane, but improves, slightly floral with a dry aftertaste

205 – Williams Brothers 80/- (4.2%) – 7.5, more or less what you expect from an 80/-, and it does it well

Great, great night of fights capped by a historic main event. Sorry this post-fight reaction isn’t out sooner. School and the partying of college life has slowed down my blog updates. I went 7 for 11 with my picks last night which is way better than I usually do since I started this blog, but I got all the big fight predictions wrong (I picked Couture, Jardine and Maia). Before I give my thoughts, here are the quick results from UFC 102.

• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeats Randy Couture-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Thiago Silva defeats Keith Jardine-1st Round TKO (Punches)
• Jake Rosholt defeats Chris Leben-3rd Round Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke)
• Nate Marquardt defeats Demian Maia-1st Round KO (Punch)
• Brandon Vera defeats Krzysztof Soszynski-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Aaron Simpson defeats Ed Herman-2nd Round TKO (Knee Injury)
• Gabriel Gonzaga defeats Chris Tuchscherer-1st Round TKO (Punches)
• Mike Russow defeats Justin McCully-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Todd Duffee defeats Tim Hague-1st Round KO (Punches)
• Mark Munoz defeats Nick Catone-3rd Round Decision (Split)
• Evan Dunham defeats Marcus Aurelio-3rd Round Decision (Split)

Now onto my thoughts on the fights:

Couture/Nogueira Fight

This fight definitely lived up to the hype. It was marketed as a fight between two legends of the sport, and similiar to the Chuck/Wandy fight over a year ago, it lived up to everything that was placed on it. Do we wish we could’ve seen these two men in their primes fight one another? Sure. But what we got last night was more than satisfactory. Nog proved me wrong and looked like the Nog back from Pride last night. He displayed real crisp boxing and his jiu-jitsu was amazing last night. He was able to drop Couture a few times in the fight, had a couple near submissions (anaconda choke and arm triangle) and even swept Couture into mount twice. Despite what looks to be domination on paper, this fight was entertaining as hell. Couture was able to survive everything Nog threw at him and dished out some punishment as well. This made for an exciting fight made even more electric by the hometown crowd cheering for Randy the entire fight. The Nog we saw last night is one that I believe could be a threat to anyone in the heavyweight division. He still displays little head movement and tends to block punches with his face which will be his downfall against big heavyweights like Lesnar and Carwin, but his boxing was tight and his jiu-jitsu was as good as ever. I personally would love to see Nog against the winner of Lesnar/Carwin in November, but I think the UFC will give him one more fight against a top guy before they put him in for a title shot. As far as Couture, he still looked like he belonged in their with top guys, but I have to say his chin is very diminished. He was knocked down a couple of times by a guy who isn’t known for having knockout power. I do think all the shots on Couture’s chin that he’s taken over the years plus his age has made him more prone to being knocked out. I still think he can beat most anyone in either the heavyweight or light heavyweight divisions. It seems like he wants to continue fighting as he was reported to have signed a 6 fight deal with the UFC before this fight. My suggestion for his next fight would be a superfight against Rich Franklin after he’s done with Belfort.

Jardine/Silva Fight

Not a good pick on my part. Had Jardine winning the fight by knockout, and instead he gets knocked out. Not too much to say about this fight. Jardine, as always, has trouble with aggressive guys with knockout power. Jardine awkward style leaves him open to getting countered and it happen here tonight. Jardine went in throwing loopy shots and Silva expertly kept his hands up and countered with a left hook midway through Jardine’s combo and from there it was over. Silva did look improved over his last fight against Machida as he displayed a lot more technical striking. I think Silva can remain in the top ten in the UFC light heavyweight division, but I’m still not sold on him as a title contender. Silva probably gets another tough guy in his next fight. Maybe Brandon Vera? Jardine probably put himself into gatekeeper status with this one. Unfortunately for him, he just doesn’t have the athletic gifts or chin to be consistent on the top level. I have to reiterate that his movement in this fight was awkward to put it nicely. It seems like he can’t do anything right technically. He’s a bit of an enigma in that he can look so good against guys like Liddell, Griffin and even his loss against Rampage, but then can get steamrolled by other top guys like Wandy, Houston, and now Thiago Silva. We’ll see what the UFC does with him from here on out.

Marquardt/Maia

Wow, I thought this fight was a toss-up. Really not much to say about this one. Marquardt beautifully countered a Maia kick with an overhand right and it was goodnight Irene. I think all this fight proves is that the days of being great at only one aspect of this sport (Maia being amazing at only BJJ) and being a champ, are over. Maia’s weakness at striking was exposed in this one. Marquardt has really been on a roll since his loss to Anderson Silva. His last three knockouts have been spectacular over real tough opponents (Kampmann, Gouveia and now Maia). The callout of Anderson Silva after was awesome and Anderson’s reaction on the big screen was priceless and really got me hyped for the fight. UFC has a dilemma here as both Marquardt and Henderson are coming off spectacular knockouts and both deserve a rematch. UFC should probably put together a number one contender fight between those two men to see who should get the rematch against Anderson Silva. Maia gets knocked down the ladder a bit, but he’s young enough to re-climb it. He needs better develop his striking though if he ever wants to get back into title contention.

Leben/Rosholt

I thought Leben was winning the fight, but Rosholt was impressive on the ground. Rosholt was able to seemlessly blend his wrestling and jiu-jitsu together to get the choke out win over Leben in the 3rd. I almost wonder why Rosholt didn’t just do that earlier in the fight, but he was probably cautious of Leben’s power. Rosholt is a good young prospect and should probably get a fight against another young up and comer. Leben will probably remain in the UFC as he always delievers entertaining fights.

Vera/Soszynski

Vera wins, but once again did not look good. Soszynski really had nothing to offer in terms of threatening Vera, yet once again Vera was resistant to pull the trigger. It really is frustrating to watch, especially when you know Vera is so much better everywhere than his opponent. Vera wants to be a counter fighter, but his counters are weak and sometimes non existant. He looks more willing to outpoint his opponents rather than finish them. He hasn’t looked good in any of his fights at light heavyweight even though he has won 3 out of 4. I’d let Vera fight Thiago Silva in his next fight, a guy that would make him actually fight and not lay back trying to outpoint his opponents. Soszynski just doesn’t have the tools to be a top guy in the division, but he’s a useful mid-level guy who can give his opponents tough fights, so we will be seeing more of him in the UFC.

Undercard Thoughts

• Dunham definitely won 2 rounds to 1 against Aurelio. Hope Aurelio gets another crack in the UFC because that fight was entertaining.
• Holy crap, Duffee is certainly someone everyone needs to watch in the UFC Heavyweight division. He destroyed Tim Hague, who deserved it for walking into a jab with his hands down and face up. Duffee certainly has the size and athleticism to compete. I’m very excited to see more of him in the UFC ASAP. Congrats to him for the fastest recorded knockout in UFC history (7 seconds).
• I’m surprised the doctors let Herman continue to fight after he severly injurred his knee in the first. Herman then proceeds to throw a kick which is caught, planting on his bad knee. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tore something as that looked nasty. Very entertaining fight while it lasted. Congrats to Simpson on the win.

First of all, reports of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira being a decrepit shipwreck of a fighter are greatly exaggerated. The exact same can be said about Randy Couture, as well. That was about as exciting as a mostly one-sided fight can ever be. Seriously, aside from Fedor, when is the last time you saw someone on the ground for every round against Big Nog and not tap out? It’s also abundantly clear that Staph infection he had right before the Mir fight played a huge role in the outcome.

The idea from both Anderson Silva’s camp and from some writers (Jake Rossen from Sherdog/ESPN for one) that Dan Henderson should fight Nate Marquardt in a contender eliminator only makes sense if you look at it from the following standpoint: you want Silva to only defend his title one more time before his contract is up. If Hendo and Nate have to fight – probably late in the year given the timing – then another three months or so assuming the winner doesn’t get hurt in that fight, and Silva won’t be defending the belt until late winter in 2010. I’ll also point out that given you have two dynamic strikers going at it, I’d venture that the odds of the winner taking a few shots and maybe needing some medical time off would go up. However, if you give Hendo the shot at say, 104 or 105, then Marquardt simply waits ’til early 2010 to get his crack (again, assuming no injuries to the winner). This also means that Silva fights in his weight class twice and has less of the superfights we’ve come to enjoy lately.

Can we please not ever see Chris Leben on a main event card ever again? That was a poor fight on a number of levels. First of all, there’s this:

That looks like punches I would throw. Check that. That looks like punches I’d be embarrassed to throw and I’m a lover, not a fighter. Rosholt seems to have improved his game, which is good. Leben has not, which is bad, considering it wasn’t much to begin with.

Finally, Yves Lavigne has gone from one of the better refs in this business to having some of the most high-profile blunders over the past year or so. Missing the feeble tap from Leben and letting him go unconscious and twitching… yeesh.

It was a sleeper night of fights on Saturday in Portland.

On paper, the cavalcade of lumbering heavyweights, augmented with fights of questionable significance gave skeptical and seasoned fans cause to lament. No, the presence of a YAMMA veteran on this card wasn’t enough to evoke the frenzied excitement from fans and media like UFC 100 (who doesn’t enjoy round numbers we can all get down with), or UFC 94 (guys, its an epic battle of two UFC champions).

It actually proved to be one of the better UFC cards of late, and not just because Todd Duffee entered to the Judgment Night soundtrack classic, Another Body Murdered by Faith No More and Boo-Yaa Tribe. The fights themselves proved very entertaining, short of what has become an all-too-familiar Brandon Vera performance to open the PPV telecast of the event. Vera is not fun to watch. He hasn’t been since pre-contract dispute. The remainder of fights on the PPV however, did not disappoint. Fans were treated to a dynamic, back-and-forth main-event between two legends of the sport, and a victor was crowned decisively.

“This is a battle for the ages.” “Amen.” UFC broadcast teammates Rogan and Goldie are never ones to lay it on thick.

The main event of the evening between former UFC heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion Randy Couture and former Pride heavyweight and UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira proved to be everything fans could have hoped for.  Going into this fight, more questions surrounded Minotauro after his disastrous performance against Frank Mir at UFC 92 in December 2008. Couture, on the other hand, put on a relatively good showing in his last outing against current UFC heavyweight champion and stalwart advocate of congenial marital relations, Brock Lesnar. Despite being stopped in the bout against the much larger Minnesotan, Couture used his inimitable brand of dirty boxing from the clinch to frustrate Lesnar, and land some of his own meaningful blows before he was TKO’d in the second round.

While the UFC’s phone polls leading up to the fights typically generate some light frivolity, the question of Couture or Nogueira seemed hardly in doubt according to participants. Broadcasters Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan lamented on the discrepancy in what to many observers was a pick ‘em fight. Pollsters were close to 80% in favor of Couture, the Zombie-Nog that served as Mir’s punching bag last December obviously still fresh in their minds.

What audiences saw, however, was that Nogueira’s time as a competitor is far from over, as he dominated the American icon for all three rounds.

Knocking down Couture on two separate occasions, Minotauro also nearly finished the former champ with a D’arce (pronounced D’ARRSEE – ignore Rogan’s ignorance) choke in the first round. Nogueira also showcased his ground game, working for an arm-triangle choke as well as sweeping Couture twice to wind up in full mount and dominating position. Couture was always in the fight however, and the back-and-forth exchanges on the feet between the fighters brought the Oregonian crowd to its feet more than once. The judges (despite a lone malcontent who evidently suffered a mild seizure and lost consciousness for an entire round, snapped out of it and arbitrarily scored it for Randy) made the right call, and “Big Nog” was awarded the unanimous decision.

Fun Fact: Did you know it took Bruce Buffer 16 seconds to read Noguiera’s name from the start of “Antonio” to the end of “Noguiera”? Whatever 16 seconds of expensive PPV time costs, you had better believe it was worth it.

In other action from the night, Damien Maia got his head punched off in about eight seconds in his bout with former King of Pancrase (why quantify it further), Nate Marquardt. It was actually 21-seconds and rest assured, Maia’s head is still firmly attached to his body. The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu phenom looked light on his feet in the bout’s opening moments. Looking for an outside low kick to Marquardt’s leg proved disastrous however, as Nate loaded up and unleashed a furious right hand straight to the jaw of Maia, sending him flying back into the canvas and the brink of unconsciousness. After the performance Marquardt challenged middleweight champion Anderson Silva, proclaiming that he would be the one to “get in there and kick Anderson Silva’s butt”.  Silva, who was in attendance in the arena, played to the crowd with his amused reaction.

Jake Rosholt showed that there was good reason for hype surrounding his potential in mixed martial arts. After getting the better of exchanges between himself and hard-nosed opponent Chris Leben in rounds 1 and 2, round 3 saw Rosholt transition seamlessly from half-guard to an arm-triangle choke, leaving the former Ultimate Fighter cast member sprawled out cold on the canvas.

Thiago Silva showed just what “awkward style” really means by knocking out the owner of the “herky jerky, awkward style” just one minute and thirty five seconds into their bout. Jardine waded in throwing looping punches and Silva caught him with a textbook left-hook that sent the Jackson’s Submission Fighting rep to the canvas. Showing his killer instinct, Silva pounced on Jardine, pounding him out cold for the round 1 stoppage. While we cannot know for sure whether or not Jardine’s refusal to enter as the famed Techno Viking – opting instead for another entrance to the strains of Moby – contributed to his downfall, one certainly can’t help but wonder.

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Duffee era.

In preliminary action, Todd Duffee lived up to his extremely masculine and tasteful choice of entrance music, knocking Tim Hague out in just seven seconds. Meanwhile, Aaron Simpson ran game on Ed Herman, showing that despite an advanced age, his wrestling could provide a formidable base in the UFC’s middleweight division. Owner of the scariest mug in MMA, Gabe Gonzaga smashed Brock Lesnar training partner, YAMMA-vet, and notable training partner of Brock Lesnar, Chris Tuchscherer, who by the way, I understand trains with Brock Lesnar.

In other action from the night, Russow, Dunham and Mark Munoz won in their respective bouts. Brandon Vera was awarded the victory in his fight to open the PPV portion of the card, but the fight continued a general trend of uninspired performances since his return after a contract dispute. Regardless, The Truth took home a unanimous decision of 30-27 scores on all judges scorecards, and put a halt to Soszynski’s post-TUF hot-streak.

I’d like to start off by apologizing for not updating this blog as often as I usually do. Ever since college started back up again, I’ve been busy/lazy to update this thing. But with UFC 102 this weekend, I figured I’d share my thoughts on the fights. Once again I’ll be using the bloodyelbow.com rankings system to give you an idea where the fighers rank in their divisions. Definitely check those out as the rankings have been updated for August. I’d like to point out that I had written a really detailed preview earlier this week, but when I tried saving it, it erased everything, so this preview will be a lot shorter than usual.

Main Card:

Heavyweight Bout: #5 Randy Couture (16-9 Overall, 13-6 in UFC) vs. #4 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-5-1 Overall, 2-1 in UFC)

Two legends and former champs square off for the first time. Nogueira looks 46 while Couture is 46. Both these men are coming off losses. The winner gets right back into title contention, the loser probably starts speculating retirement. Nog has looked bad in his last two fights. It seems that all the punishment he has taken throughout his career is finally catching up to him. Couture on the other hand, was extremely competitive against the super-hulk known as Brock Lesnar. Couture’s style over the years has led to him taking less punishment than usual because of his tight Greco-Roman clinch game and his safe top game approach. Nog has to be accurate with his punches and keep this fight in the center if he wants to win. Couture may try to outbox Nog and if he does take him down, he will look to grind him against the fence. I feel Nog is shot as a top fighter and Couture still has the goods left in the tank. Prediction: Randy Couture 2nd Round TKO

Light Heavyweight Bout: #6 Keith Jardine (14-6-1 Overall, 6-4 in UFC) vs. #13 Thiago Silva (13-1 Overall, 4-1 in UFC)

The co-main event of the evening as two hard-hitting sluggers battle it out. Both Jardine and Silva are coming off losses to top fighters in their last fight against Rampage and Machida respectively. The winner here gets back into contender status while the loser drops further down the totem pole. Neither of these men, IMO, have what it takes to be a champ in this division, but that makes this fight no less exciting. Jardine’s herky-jerky, unorthodox striking games has made up for his deficiencies in athleticism and confused his opponents. Silva is a straight Muay Thai brawler who has very good jiu-jitsu and a devastating top game on the ground. I feel that Jardine is the more polished striker of the two, and this fight will probably take place entirely on the feet. Prediction: Keith Jardine 1st Round KO

Middleweight Bout: #3 Nate Marquardt (31-8-2 Overall, 7-2 in UFC) vs. #5 Demian Maia (11-0 Overall, 5-0 in UFC)

Two top contenders square off here with the winner probably getting a title shot against pound for pound king Anderson Silva. It’s no secret here where either man wants this fight to take place. Marquardt wants it on the feet, while Maia needs it on the ground. Marquardt is very well-rounded and will look to punish Maia on the feet using his superior stand-up abilities. Maia is one of those rare BJJ experts who is fantastic on the ground, but has also shown better than decent wrestling. This really is a tough fight to pick. How good is Maia’s chin? Can Marquardt keep this fight on the feet? I give the edge in this fight, slightly, to Maia. Marquardt is the more well-rounded fighter, but Maia’s one huge skill in BJJ trumps anything Marquardt has to offer. Maia has beaten better wrestlers than Marquardt, and once this fight hits the ground, it’s game, set and match. Prediction: Demian Maia 2nd Round Submission – Guillotine Choke

Middleweight Bout: Chris Leben (18-6 Overall, 8-4 in UFC) vs. Jake Rosholt (5-1 Overall, 0-1 in UFC)

Rosholt is one of the best wrestlers to ever come into MMA and was considered a hot prospect, but his last two fights have been less than impressive. Leben is coming off a steroid suspension, but will be looking to get a win in his hometown. Rosholt has shown rudimentary striking at best, while Leben can and will knock your head off. Rosholt does have amazing wrestling though, and I see him decisioning Leben on the ground. Prediction: Jake Rosholt Unanimous Decision

Light Heavyweight Bout: #20 Brandon Vera (10-3 Overall, 6-3 in UFC) vs. #24 Krzysztof Soszynski (19-9-1 Overall, 3-0 in UFC)

Hard fight for me to find someone to root for as Vera is Filipino and Soszynski is Polish (and I am both). Vera is the better all-around fighter, but he has everything to lose in this fight, as Soszynski is taking this fight on short notice and isn’t expected to win. I think Vera will put it together in this fight and display the promise he showed earlier in his career by demolishing Soszynski with his Muay Thai. Prediction: Brandon Vera 1st Round TKO

Preliminary Card:

Middleweight Bout: Ed Herman (17-7 Overall, 4-4 in UFC) vs. Aaron Simpson (5-0 Overall, 1-0 in UFC)

Battle of wrestlers who like to work a strong top game. Simpson is the better wrestler, so I see him taking out the hometown boy. Prediction: Aaron Simpson Unanimous Decision

Heavyweight Bout: #18 Gabriel Gonzaga (10-4 Overall, 6-3 in UFC) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (17-1 Overall, UFC Debut)

Gonzaga looks to bounce back in this fight from a tough loss to Shane Carwin. He gets a big, strong wrestler in Tuchscherer here who trains with Brock Lesnar. Gonzaga will be too much for Tuchscherer with his all around skills and the fact that he has faced similar opponents before and won easily. Prediction: Gabriel Gonzaga 2nd Round Submission – Kimura

Heavyweight Bout: Justin McCully (9-4-2 Overall, 2-1 in UFC) vs. Mike Russow (11-1 Overall, UFC Debut)

Two guys who like to work their top games battle it out here. Russow is the better wrestler, so he’ll be able to pound out McCully and send him his walking papers from the UFC. Prediction: Mike Russow 2nd Round TKO

Heavyweight Bout: Tim Hague (10-1 Overall, 1-0 in UFC) vs. Todd Duffee (5-0 Overall, UFC Debut)

Hague had a miracle come from behind victory over Pat Barry back in May. There will be no miracles here though, as the UFC is high on Duffee and rightfully so. He’s a big strong heavyweight with good all around skills. Duffee destroys Hague here. Prediction: Todd Duffee 1st Round KO

Middleweight Bout: Nick Catone (7-1 Overall, 1-1 in UFC) vs. Mark Munoz (5-1 Overall, 0-1 in UFC)

Another fight between two grapplers who like to be on top. Munoz is dropping to 185 in this fight for the first time and that weight should suit his frame well. I gotta go with Munoz here because he’s a great wrestler and he’s Filipino! Prediction: Mark Munoz 2nd Round TKO

Lightweight Bout: Marcus Aurelio (18-7 Overall, 2-3 in UFC) vs. Evan Dunham (8-0 Overall, 1-0 in UFC)

Aurelio makes his UFC return here against the tough Dunham. I can see this fight going either way. Aurelio could win on the ground or Dunham could outpoint him on the feet. I’ll go with Aurelio here. Prediction: Marcus Aurelio Split Decision

Interview: Chris Leben Explains Steroid Use

While UFC 102 is not the most stacked card in recent times, it does offer some interesting matchups and I just placed my bets on it so now it holds value for me.

Thus, I’m going to provide a light breakdown of who I believe will win and why.

Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

Honestly, Brandon Vera has not looked the same since wayyy back when he was competing against Frank Mir and the big boys. He’s been spotty at best, dropping a split decision to Keith Jardine and getting TKO’d by Fabricio Werdum, who is a less than proficient striker. His last two wins have been against relative nobodies, Mike Patt and Reese Andy. Krzysztof Soszynski is a big light heavyweight who specializes in BJJ and boxing. One of his past losses actually includes a split decision vs. Reese Andy. Although we know that using MMA logic (Transitive Property) is often very faulty, I believe that Brandon Vera’s intensity and quickness will give him an edge over Kryzsztof. Brandon Vera’s jiu jitsu and ground game are underrated and it is very unlikely that he will get caught with a submission. Therefore, Krzysztof will have to rely on his power to catch Vera and work for a TKO. Although a small play on Soszynski is still valid here, I believe that Vera will simply out strike and out class Kryzysztof and earn himself a unanimous decision. Brandon Vera by unanimous decision.

Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia

To me this fight is by far the most interesting of the night. At first glance, Nate Marquardt looks like he will simply overwhelm the smaller and less athletic Demian Maia, who is less than imposing. However, while Marquardt holds a black belt in BJJ, Demian Maia’s jiu jitsu is on a whole nother planet. He has some of the most fluid sweeps and trickiest submission moves in actual MMA. His sternest test to date was against a very game Jason MacDonald, who provided a back and forth battle for his third Submission of the Night award in a row.  Look for  Marquardt to keep the fight standing, where Demian’s chin has not been truly tested. Marquardt’s stand up prowess should easily give him an edge over the less experienced Maia, who has never really experienced a striker on Marquardt’s level. However, if Demian can get Marquardt down, either by a straight takedown or more likely, pulling gaurd, it will only be a matter of time before Nate finds himself in a vulnerable position and get choked. Overall, due to his strength and experience, the odds are stacked neatly in Marquardt’s favor. This fight will reveal how much heart Maia has and his overall MMA progression. He definitely has a shot at taking this, and I will be banking on it. Maia by submission (Rear Naked Choke) in the third round.

Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt

To me, this fight could swing either way. Chris Leben always has a chance of catching someone and putting the dude down due to his aggressive nature. However, Jake Rosholt’s very impressive wrestling pedigree (including a 105-20 College record and 3 NCAA championships) should nullify Leben’s striking and control him the entire fight. If Rosholt chooses to use his takedowns and wrestling rather than trying to stand with Leben, he will easily take this fight by decision. Leben has not shown his submission offense abilities (other than an armbar vs. Edwin Dewees back in 2005) to be able to give a strong wrestler such as Jake Rosholt any trouble. I see this fight going much like the Josh Koscheck vs Chris Leben fight from The Ultimate Fighter, where Chris was getting outwrestled and frustrated. Jake Rosholt by unanimous decision. (good play here, definitely worth a bet).

Thiago Silva vs. Keith Jardine

This is another fight that can swing either way. Thiago Silva is solid fighter who despite being 13-1 is still relatively unproven. His loss to Lyoto Machida really didn’t show us anything, except that Lyoto is the boss at 205 (although Anderson is here to stay?). Thiago’s primary skills are Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and being from American Top Team, aggressive Muay Thai. While Thiago certainly presents some problems for Keith Jardine and his questionable chin, I believe that Keith should have the upper hand due to his experience, wrestling, and boxing. Jardine has shown the discipline to stick and move effectively as well as stick to Greg Jackson’s excellent game plans. Unless he gets caught by a big punch Jardine should have this fight locked due to his boxing and wrestling skills. Keith Jardine by unanimous decision.

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

This is actually one of the more intriguing match ups of the night because despite Big Nog’s seemingly lackluster performance vs. Frank Mir, he is still one of the heavyweight division’s top submission artists. His last lost was in part due to a staph infection and a knee injury, which slowed him down considerably during the fight. Also, another of Nog’s perceived weaknesses, his age, is also false. Big Nog is actually 33, which means he is more than a decade younger than Randy Couture and only a year older than Brock Lesnar. Finally, Nog has only lost 5 times in his entire career, and two of those losses coming to the unstoppable Fedor Emelianenko. On the other hand, the older and smaller Randy Couture has 9 losses in his career, most recently to the large Brock Lesnar. To me, the odds are definitely stacked in favor of Randy, who has not been submitted in the past 8 years. His wrestling abilities are able to control anyone (including Brock Lesnar until he got caught). Randy’s boxing abilities are also underrated. He has shown decent head movement and excellent dirty boxing throughout his career, which is enough to stifle Nog’s stiff stand up. The only way I see Randy losing this fight is if he gets caught with a punch or somehow leaves an arm hanging out for Big Nog. Don’t get me wrong, Nogueira is a viable play but I see Randy taking this fight by unanimous decision.

Submission of the Night: Demian Maia vs Nate Marquardt
Fight of the Night:  Demian Maia vs Nate Marquardt

If you do a YouTube search for Demetrius Johnson, you’ll see footage of him wrestling Alan Calahan at the USA Wrestling National Junior Duals.  You’ll also find a highlight reel from his college basketball days with the Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) Mastodons.  And you’ll find his “I’ve Got My Strength Back” sermon, based on the story of Samson and Delilah.

None of these are the Genesis FIGHTS / AX Fighting / Rumble on the Ridge bantamweight MMA champion Demetrious Johnson.  With an ‘o.’

Demetrious 'Mighty Mouse' Johnson, with his girlfriend, Destiny, after another victory.

Known to his friends simply as “DJ,” Johnson is another young star on the rise from the Pacific Northwest.  As the reigning 135 lb. king of three different fight promotions, Johnson has a legitimate claim to be the toughest bantamweight fighter in the Pacific Northwest.

In January, Johnson broke his hand in a match where he claimed his Rumble on the Ridge 135 lb. MMA title.  At the time of the first part of this interview, he was waiting for medical clearance to begin sparring.  He has since been cleared to train and is preparing for a match at Genesis FIGHTS’ next event, “Rise of Kings, Emperors of MMA,” which takes place on June 27^th at the Shoreline Community College.

In a two-part phone interview, Johnson offered insight and reflection on his passion for running, how it translates to fighting, and of course how he deals with being “the smallest guy on the scene.”

JT:  Tell us a little bit about your high school wrestling background.  Have you been wrestling all your life?

DJ:  No, I started wrestling in eighth grade and I did very well in that season.  I only lost one match the whole season, and then I took first in districts, which is the highest level you could get in middle school.  After that I went to high school and my freshman year, I got tore up.  Just mop the mat with me.  Sitting there with a black eye, bloody lip. And it was because I weighed 109 lbs. and I was wrestling 118.  I didn’t want to wrestle JV [Junior Varsity] 112, because I couldn’t beat the 112-pounder, but I could beat the 118-pounder.  So I wrestled my whole high school freshman year at 118, and got beat up, didn’t go nowhere.  My sophomore year, I started peaking a little bit. . . I took fifth [place] in state.  And then my junior year, I dominated and I took second in state.  And my senior year, I was supposed to take the whole state tournament and everything.  Went undefeated throughout the whole tournament season, and then I lost in the third round, to the semi-finals, to get to the finals, to a kid from Sedro-Woolley.  He pinned me.

JT:  That must have been a hard pill to swallow.

DJ:  No, I wasn’t that – I think we were both good.  I think I was better than him, but the whole season, I never fought off my back.  I’d never been taken down the whole entire season of wrestling, and I’m about to go against a freshman that has a very decent record, that’s wrestled all throughout the state and all this other stuff.  And then when I went against him, he took me down. . . And once he got me there, it was like “oh my God, I’ve never been here before.  How do I fight out of it?” . . . Because I had no idea how to fight from there.  It basically broke me, mentally.

I got up and approached my coach and he was like “well, oh well!”

And that’s just like MMA.  If you don’t train your ground game, when you fall to the ground with the guy, the first thing in your mind is “oh shit, I’m on the ground.  What do I do?” . . . And I told myself from then on there, if there’s anything I can do [to keep from] losing, I will do everything in my power not to lose. . . Because I’m not going to repeat that.  I’ve already had my loss, in my career, and as an amateur, I want to go through this circuit as 14-0.

JT:  After wrestling your senior year, you ended up at Vision Quest.  Were you just looking for a workout or how did that pique your interest?

DJ:  Well, I got into MMA right after high school. . . I never knew about MMA until right after the first “Ultimate Fighter” came on. . . I saw how they were training hard.  I said “damn, they’re kicking the bag, [they’ve got] tough bodies.  I think I’m gonna try it.”

So I walked into a gym, Vision Quest, which I no longer go to . . . I’ve always been working out at Vision Quest, ever since they opened. . . since my junior year.  My wrestling coach thought it would be good for me, because there’s a lot more wrestlers that go there.. . . And I just started punching the bag, kicking it.  And (former IFL / UFC fighter) Reese Andy looked at me, he said “hey, can you kick?”  I was like “yeah.”  He said “can you punch?”  I started punching.  He goes “you wanna do MMA?”  I was like “I’ll learn.”  And he set me up with AMC when the classes were at Vision Quest.  And I’ve been with AMC since then.

JT:  Was it the glitz and glamour that got you [interested], or did you know you were looking for release for your sense of competition after wrestling?

DJ:  I’d say competition.  I wanted to keep on competing.  I didn’t want to stop doing a sport and being fat and lazy on the couch.  And go to my 10-year high school reunion and be like “hey guys, I gained 80 pounds, and I’m fat.”

JT:  Was college in the decks for you, or were you going to work a scholarship for wrestling?

DJ:  I did have a couple of scholarship offers for wrestling, but I didn’t want to leave my family behind and go off and do my own thing. . . If I wanted to go to college and wrestle, I would have to go out of state.  One college that I went to was Southern Oregon Community College, but they didn’t have dorm rooms, so I’d have to rent an apartment out there and work out there and I didn’t want to do that.

So I went to Pierce College and I was working a job there too and working out part-time.  Just lifting, trying to get bigger, since I didn’t have to stay at 118 pounds in high school.  I didn’t take any scholarship offers.  I don’t regret or anything, because I’m in a better place now [with fighting than wrestling].

JT:  If I remember correctly, you spend part of your time at AMC South and part of your time at Kirkland, right?

DJ:  Yeah, usually . . . what people don’t understand – there’s AMC Kirkland and there’s AMC South, which is AMC Pacific.  When I train, basically, my instructor, my teacher, was Steve Skidds and Luke Pitman.  And basically Drew [Brokenshire], Taurean [Washington], Brian [Roberge], us little core guys, we basically taught ourselves – not to fight, but that’s what training was like.

Usually, when I go up there on Saturdays, I try to get beat up a lot.  From Caros [Fodor], Trevor, Daniel [Eng], Matt [Hume] – basically, the big dogs, up there.  Because that’s the best thing you can do.  I think you learn from getting beat up. . . I was up there a few weeks ago and I was getting my hard sparring round in.  Me and Caros were just banging away.  Here I am, 140 lbs., and he’s a 180-pounder.  And we’re just going at it.  And after the fight was done, I asked Matt “tell me what I did wrong.”  And he just told me everything that I did wrong.  And I understood him.  That’s why I like going up there on Saturdays, up in Kirkland.  So I get beat up, basically.

'DJ' and Drew Brokenshire, in the midst of high-impact lightsaber training. Note the raised platform for high-altitude conditioning.

JT:  I talked with Drew and he said the same thing.  That you guys drill with each other and beat each other up as the team down south, and then go on Saturdays and test your skills [in Kirkland].

DJ:  Yeah, and it’s funny, because you’ll see me and Drew – we’re main training partners.  I like him to hold mitts for me, because he holds them just perfect, the way I like it.  And same as for him for me.  When we fight, we fight a little bit similar; we have the same pressure, but he’s more stand-up, and he’s developing his ground game.  But me, I like to pressure in fights.  I used to be slick fighter, like “I’ll fight you when I want to fight you.”  So we’re both trying to get adaptable to our styles.

JT:  Am I right in remembering, you guys have a 10-pound difference?

DJ:  Yeah, there’s a 10-pound difference, but when he’s not cutting weight, there’s a 30-pound difference.  If I walk around, on a good day, at 144-145.

JT:  So you keep it down and he does the whole Ricky Fatton [Hatton] thing.

DJ:  You could say that, but [laughs] he walks around like 167, which is really good, and I walk around 140.  And I’ve cut down to 125.  I’ve fought twice at 125, but Matt wants me at 135, just to get used to the weight class up there.

JT:  Tell me your thoughts about being a part of AMC and training under Matt.

DJ:  It’s awesome.  It doesn’t get better than this.  One thing that I love about AMC is that there’s always somebody that can beat you up.  And what I mean by that is an instructor – I really don’t get a chance to spar Matt, Trevor, or Daniel, or Brad [Kurtson] as much as I wish I could, but I know that if I go up there and I’m like “shit, I want to spar,” if they want to, I know they’ll just mop me up.  Even though I mop all my opponents up.

JT:  There’s always somebody higher on the totem pole, right?

DJ:  Yeah, there’s always someone higher on the scale.  Granted, they’re not my same weight, but I’ve been dealing with that my whole life and that’s just what [propels] me.  Five-four, 145 pounds.  There’s just not a lot of guys around here that weigh that much and are at my skill level.

JT:  How long have you been training at AMC?

DJ:  I’d say I’ve been training MMA, like, four years now.

JT:  And coupled with wrestling training, which certainly is no joke either. . .

DJ:  Oh now, so then you’re going back to wrestling.  So you got four years of MMA.  I started [wrestling] when I was in eighth grade – so about nine years total.

JT:  So that said, I would think by now you’ve developed your own kind of training philosophy or style.  What’s your outlook on training?  How do you approach it?

DJ:  Okay, so, it’s like, I think you train hard and the fight’s easy.  You train like a champion, you fight like a champion.  You train like shit, you fight like shit.  With us being down at AMC Pacific, where it’s just us little core guys, we have to learn to train ourselves hard, because we all don’t live by each other.  Like I’m in University Place, Drew lives in Piala, Taurean lives in Covington.  So does Brian.  And Steve – he’s an Alaska Airlines pilot.  So when we train, we’re not always together.

I don’t need a coach behind me, yelling at me, like “run your sprints.  Do this, do that.”  That actually irritates me a little bit.  I went to college and I could have finished school and got my higher education and went off and done something else, but I decided that I wanted to fight.  And I know what fighting comes with.  And it’s a job to be in top shape when you fight . . . You don’t need to babysit me.  But sometimes I feel that guys are in a world where they need babysistters.  Even pro guys.  If you don’t tell them what to do, they’re just going to sit at home like “oh, I’ll wait until the next time I’m fighting and not do whatever I gotta do.”

JT:  You’re really a self-started and you have to kind of make your own training and regiment, really.

DJ:  As a regimen, Steve Skidds tells me what my lifting should be and what I should be eating and stuff, but as for somebody calling me, waking me up out of bed, and telling me to go to the gym, I don’t need it, and that’s how it’s been my whole life, ever since I was in elementary running.

JT:  What pro fighters has Matt brought in that you’ve trained with?

DJ:  I’ve trained with Rich [Franklin] and Chris Leben.  I got to wrestle with Jens Pulver.

Rich was pretty fun.  He’s a lot heavier.  I was trying to keep up with my pace and try to choke him out.  When I trained with Chris Leben, I didn’t roll with him, but doing stand-up with him, it was a little bit difficult with him, because it was when I was first starting, so I really didn’t understand the southpaw position, but. But he’s beef.  He’s huge.

JT:  Was it difficult to get over the size difference there?

DJ:  No, I’ve been dealing with that my whole life.

JT:  Tell me about that part, always being the smaller guy.  Did you deal with bullying as a kid?

DJ:  When I was growing up, I didn’t really get bullied, but I was an easy target.  So everybody makes fun of me.  When I was in elementary, it wasn’t as bad.  Then when I got to middle school, I had a temper and I was one of those bad kids who stayed out late at night and did bad things.  Just to prove that – you make fun of me at all, ‘cuz I’ll beat you up.  Then, when I got into eighth grade, when I started learning, when I started maturing, nobody messed with me.  When I got physical, in ninth grade, the seniors, nobody messed with me.  They make fun of me, because I was short and I had big ears.  Like a mouse.  But nobody really picked on me at all.  Just being the smaller guy in the room, when I got ahold of them, I could wrestle them and they’re like “oh, you’re a small guy, but you’re not weak like a small person.”

JT:  When did you get blessed with the Mighty Mouse nickname?

DJ:  [Laughs] That came, probably, during when I had been training with Skidds and those guys. . . I’m the smallest guy at my gym right now, besides Scott McDonald, who is one of the new guys.  So I’ll roll with Brian, Taurean, Skidds, Drew, and I’ll give them fits.  . . . And so Skidds gave me the nickname “Mighty Mouse” because I’m small, but I always bring the fight.  I’m always gonna be there, wherever you’re gonna be at.  I’m not just gonna keep it on my feet, because I’m better than you, but I’ll beat you to the ground and submit you even though that’s your aim.  And so he nicknamed me “Mighty Mouse.”  And the way my ears are too, and my structure.

JT:  I was gonna say, it really fits in there.  The whole thing about good things coming in small packages, right?

DJ:  Yeah [laughs].

JT:  For you, what’s the toughest thing about fighting?

Casualty of War - Johnson broke his hand while en route to winning his third 135 lb. MMA championship.

DJ:  Honestly, I love training hard, I love running, I love lifting hard.  I’d say the toughest thing about fighting is the sparring hard. . . Because when you spar, you get hurt, you get bruises, and you can potentially tear something.  Or anything.  But people believe that you need to spar hard to get in good shape.  And I totally disagree with that, because yes, people say that I’m a freak when it comes to cardio, but I can tell you that I don’t spar hard when I get ready for a fight, because you get hurt that way.

When I jump in the ring and I have to fight, I know that I gotta be in perfect condition, and I gotta make sure I train my body to be ready for that aggravating throwing and to work hard and not [get] tired when I throw hard.  And some people don’t train their minds to do that. . . My training is very strict.  I know what I need to do to get ready for a fight, and it’s the same thing what I did for wrestling. . . I [want] to make sure my whole body’s recovered, and make sure, when I fight, I’m at 110%.  Not with all the aches and bruises.  Because you don’t want to walk into a fight with aches and bruises.

Now, when I train, I take care of my body.  I pop my fish oil and my multivitamin.  I make sure I wrap my hands.   I wear kneepads.  I wear shinpads.  Because if I get hurt in practice, let’s say I break my hand in practice. . . That’s a huge setback, because now I gotta have surgery.  There’s another 40 G’s down the drain, because of surgery.  And now that’s the main rule.  When me and Drew spar now, we spar hard, but we spar with our heads.  We don’t try to hurt each other and break our legs.

This body has to last me until I’m 39 or 38, because this is my career.  I stopped going to school, and if I don’t make it like this, it’s gonna be McDonald’s or Jack-in-the-Box, and I don’t want to go to any one of those.

JT:  Well, they also got Dick’s Burgers up there on Broadway too.

DJ:  [Laughs] Dick’s Burger are not a go either.

JT:  I guess that kinda answers my next question.  If you had to make a living outside of fighting, what would it be?

DJ:  If I was to do something, it [would] be in the athletic department.  That would probably have to be it.  Honestly, I would like to be a high school coach, probably wrestling or cross country.

JT:  Is running or fighting more your passion?  Do you still have that same passion for running?

DJ:  Oh no, it really hasn’t taken away from running, because I use most of my running for my training for MMA . . . I used to run half-marathons and street races and stuff. . . Fighting – I look at it as my hobby and it’s my job.  So I take it very seriously.

I ran ever since I was little, and in second grade, I ran [in a group] called track club.  Nobody coached you how to do it; nobody [said] you shouldn’t do it.  You basically go out on the track and you run the whole recess.  So while people were on the swings swinging or playing the monkey bars, I was running laps.  Constantly.  Every recess, for five years.  Every school year.  At the end of the year, the goal [was] to get 100 miles.  At each 25-mile mark, you get something.  25 miles you get something, 50 miles you get something, 75 miles, I remember you get a big pizza party, and 100 miles, you get a medal.  My last year, I had like 117 miles at the end of the year.  So I beat my old personal record. . . And that became a passion for me when I got out of high school.

My mindset in running, it kinda rolls over to MMA for where I go in a long run or I’m running sprints for MMA training.  My technique comes back in running, and it’s like “oh man, I’m so glad that I love running, or this would be a pain in my ass.”

JT:  As a fan of MMA, who are some of your favorite fighters, or some of the best matches you’ve seen?

DJ:  My favorite fighter, hands down, would be Thiago “Pitbull” Alves.  I think his last fight with Josh Koscheck was really good.  How he didn’t get taken down at all, and he controlled the center of the ring. He had a pretty good game plan.  Rampage, he’s another one of my favorite fighters, just because of his attitude.  He keeps it real when he’s fighting. . . He has his fun.  He enjoys his life.  George St-Pierre, he’s one of my favorites too.  He’s more of a game-planner, but at that level, the UFC competition, you have to have a game plan.  You just can’t go in there and try to fight your way like that.

JT:  Who do you like in St-Pierre vs. Alves?  You looking forward to that fight?

DJ:  If I had to put down $100, I’m gonna pick Alves.  And the reason why is because Thiago Alves is a bigger guy and I think he’s gonna come up with a good game plan against Georges St-Pierre.  Because Georges St-Pierre does have a weak chin.  It’s been exposed.  Thiago Alves has real good power in both hands and his knees and in his kicks.

JT:  Run me through your fight career, as far as matches goes. I believe your AMC site said you were 8-0 in MMA and 4-0 in Muay Thai?  When was your first match?

DJ:  It would have to be Brawl at the Mall III, so that was back in 2006. . .

Yeah, I remember how they went.  The first match was mixed martial arts against Oren Ulrich.  After that I did a kickboxing fight against Mike Richardson.  And the reason I did that was because Matt was like “okay, we know you can wrestle, but we gotta work on your stand-up.”  I did that one.  And then my third fight – it was actually a forfeit, so I don’t count that.  It was against Michael Aries, and I remember him showing up nine pounds overweight.  I said I’d still fight him, but he didn’t want to fight.  I think my next fight was at AX [Fighting], at 125 pounds. And this was when I first tried out 125 pounds.  I knocked out my opponent, Brandon Fields in 17 seconds.

I won the Axe [title] first, then the Genesis Muay Thai title.  Then I defended the Axe title.  And then I fought for the Genesis [MMA] title.  And then I fought for the Rumble on the Ridge title.  And [that’s] all four belts that I have now.

JT:  Did you defend the AX title at all?

DJ:  Yeah, I defended it against Jorge Garza, and I armbarred him in the second round.  Because after I fought a kickboxing match, against Scott McDonald, I broke my rib.  And when I came back, Matt told me “You’re already exciting to fight.  You go out there and you bang, but now you have to start finishing people.” So right after Matt said that, I started finishing people in MMA.  I armbarred Jorge Garza.  And that was the first fight that I finished somebody.  After Matt said that comment to me.

JT:  So you’ve fought steadily four times each year, since your debut.  You’ve been busy, man.

Sometimes I’ll fight more in a year, and take it less [next] year.  But if you do a ratio, yeah, it’s like four times each year.

You’ve gotta stay busy.  Because I’m the type of person that, if I’m not hurt or not strapped for cash or anything, I just keep on training. . . Because I want to get to the next level where I’m fighting overseas or anything.  I basically told Matt “what do I need to do to get to Shooto,” and he said “you need to do this and this and this.”  And so far I’ve kept on doing that.

JT:  What’s the next milestone for you?

DJ:  My next goal is to become pro and fight overseas in Shooto.

JT:  Thus far, what has been your best and worst memory of your fight career?

DJ:  Probably when Drew lost his belt to John “Prince” Albert.  Even though it had nothing to do with me, that’s probably my worst memory.  And the reason why I would say [that] is because John came in, and we didn’t overlook him, but the way he came in, and he did everything right; it’s like, that pisses me off because Drew should have been there.  And yes, things happen and stuff, but that’s my worst thing. . . because they never got a chance to fight.  Just like Caros and Taurean.  Caros beat Taurean twice with the same move, and the same sequence.  Guillotine.  But they never got a chance to fight.  Those are my worst memories – Drew losing his belt to John “Prince” Albert and Taurean losing to Caros.

JT:  What about good memories?

DJ:  My best one was probably when I defended my belt at AX and I armbarred [Jorge Garza].  And the reason why that’s probably my best memory is because of two reasons – one, that’s when Matt was saying “in order for you get to that next step, you need to start finishing people.”  And what did I do?  I finished that person.

And the second one was, that whole week, Skidds – we’re working on armbar from side control with the knee ride.  Over and over and over.  And once the chance popped up, I did everything perfect. Pushed the head down, circled around, armbarred him, pulled through, sat on my butt.  Had to break the lock, so I hammerfisted him in the face.  Once he let go, pop the hands up, and finished the armbar.  And then me and Steve had a big hug.  We were like “oh yeah, that’s what we worked on, baby.”  And it was just perfect.  Because we worked it and I wasn’t tired at all.  I could have fought somebody else that night, because I was in such good shape.

Even when flanked by his girlfriend and best friend, 'Mighty Mouse' is still all business.

JT:  Tell me about your downtime.  What do you like to do when you’re trying to step away from the pressure of training and the ring?

DJ:  All I do is I come home and I chill with my girlfriend Destiny.  I like to dance a lot. . . Now that me and my girlfriend have calmed down, we don’t really go out.  But if I ever get a chance to go to an after party and dance, best believe I’ll be on the floor cutting some rug.

When she’s not here, I’m usually playing video games or working out.  And the video games I play are fighting games.  And zombie games too.

JT:  What’s worse – the 28 Days Later zombies or the remake Dawn of the Dead ones?

DJ:  I’m liking the Resident Evil zombies.  I know now, in Resident Evil 4 and 5, they’re not really zombies.  They’re the Lost Project, which is a whole different story.  But I like the whole background, how it’s a bioweapon.

JT:  How many zombies does it take to succumb Matt Hume?  How many before they turn him into a zombie?

DJ:  I’d have to say 24.

JT:  How about Matt Hume and Resident Evil zombies?

DJ:  That’s a good one.   If Matt Hume has the virus that Albert Wurtzker has, I think Matt Hume would destroy anybody in the zombie world.

JT:  Who do you think would win in a match between Matt Hume and the cartoon Mighty Mouse?

DJ:  Umm, Matt Hume. . . I think he’ll take his back and choke him out.

Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is scheduled to fight at the next Genesis FIGHTS event, “Rise of Kings, Emperors of MMA,” on June 27^th, at the Shoreline Community College.

New MMAPlanet Middleweight Rankings:

Others Considered: Alan Belcher, Jason Miller, Hector Lombard, Chris Leben

Note: Gegard Mousasi is not ranked with the middleweight because of his intent to move up and his failure to settle on a weight class.  Frank Trigg, who would be ranked will be moving to the UFC welterweight division.  Rich Franklin is headed to light heavyweight for an indefinite period.  Jake Shields could enter in this division once he settles in a weight class and he would certainly fall into the top 10.  Wanderlei Silva enters the middleweight division and is ranked based on the body of work through his career and a competitive showing against Rich Franklin at UFC 99 at 195 lbs.

This Saturday June 20th brings us The Ultimate Fighter finale. I’m sad that Hendo doesn’t get to punch that british bastard Bisping in the grill this weekend, we’ll just have to wait a couple more weeks.  The finale has yet to be officially announced cuz we’re still waiting on one more welterweight fighter to be decided.  Franky will have his revenge tomorrow night on TUF on SpikeTV.

Damarques really shouldn’t have too tough of a time getting through Saturday night, but it will be exciting with him in the cage nonetheless.

The lightweight fight between Ross Pearson and Andre Winner will be exciting, but we may need to turn our subtitles on.

The main card of the night should be excellent as well. I’m excited for both Diego Sanchez and Joe Stephensen to return to the octagon since their bout. Diego fights a game Clay Guida and Joe Daddy will face Nate Diaz.  This should be a great night for the new TUF guys and the old allum fightin on the card too.

________________________________________

UFC 102 Officially Announced

Randy Couture vs Antonio Noguiera
Keith Jardine Vs. Thiago Silva
Chris Leben Vs. Jake Rosholt
Nate Marquardt Vs. Demian Maia
Matt Hamill Vs. Brandon Vera
Wilson Gouveia Vs. James Irvin

More thoughts on the new card to come soon…. can’t wait for Hamill v Vera.

Yeah I know, I normally only write big news, but I’m trying to expand the site so I’m going to try and make daily contributions with whatever is happening in MMA, Boxing or K-1.
TUF 7 champion Amir Sadollah makes it take three at UFC 101 after pulling out of UFC 91 and then UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs Stephens both with injuries. His opponent with be undefeated WEC veteran Johnny Hendricks and the fight could likely end up on the televised portion of UFC 101 which features a main event of BJ Penn vs Kenny Florian for the UFC lightweight title. Hendricks has solid wrestling credentials as he was a runner-up at the 2007 NCAA division one National Championships (to put that in perspective, guys like Brock Lesnar and Mark Coleman were NCAA National Champions so this guy can obviously wrestle). This fight could be real interesting as Sadollah has very dangerous submissions and striking but his wrestling isn’t all there and with his year long lay off, Hendricks might be able to push the pace on him a bit more then he’ll like.
Another fight added to UFC 101 is Tamdan McCrory vs John Howard. McCrory is coming of a win over Ryan Madigan at UFC 96 where he was up against a complete novice in terms of ground fighting. John Howard should provide a sterner test. The vive year veteran brings a 11-4 record with a 1-0 record in the UFC having edged out Chris Wilson in January by split decision. The two will likely fight on the untelevised portion of the card. Also, Chris Leben is rumoured to be on the Couture-Nogueira undercard at UFC 102 against Jake Rosholt. Leben was serving a suspension for a failed drug test after his loss to Michael Bisping at the UFC 89 main event. Rosholt seems to be a bit of a soft touch for Leben as he has only six pro fights, losing his only UFC fight to Dan Miller in 67 seconds by submission.

The Champion: Anderson Silva

The Top Contender: ?

The Next Tier:

·         Yushin Okami

·         Nate Marquardt

·         Michael Bisping

·         Dan Henderson

·         Demian Maia

·         Thales Leites

·         Patrick Cote

·         Chael Sonnen

On the Rise: 

·         Demian Maia

·         Michael Bisping

Other Notables:

·         Denis Kang

·         Rousimar Palhares

·         Martin Kampmann

·         Chris Leben

·         Ricardo Almeida

·         Nate Quarry

·         Jason MacDonald

·         Wilson Gouveia

·         Goran Reljic

·         Dan Miller

·         Dean Lister

·         Kendall Grove

·         Alan Belcher

·         Ed Herman

·         Jorge Rivera

·         Alessio Sakara

·         C.B. Dolloway

·         Mike Massenzio

·         Matt Horwich

·         Jake Rosholt

·         Amir Sadollah

Scheduled Fights:

·         Nate Loughran vs. Tim Credeur at UFC Fight Night 16 on December 10

·         Jason MacDonald vs. Wilson Gouveia at TUF 8 Finale on December 13

·         Yushin Okami vs. Dean Lister at UFC 92 on December 27

·         C.B. Dolloway vs. Mike Massenzio at UFC 92 on December 27

·         Denis Kang vs. Alan Belcher at UFC 93 on January 17

Match Ups I’d Like to See:

·         Yushin Okami vs. Anderson Silva

·         Thales Leites vs. Rousimar Palhares

·         Demian Maia vs. Michael Bisping

Other Thoughts:

·         The UFC Middleweight division is very, very underrated!  I believe it is because of Anderson Silva’s dominance.  The middleweight division does not have a clear number 1 contender, but from top to bottom I would put this division with any.  Albeit, the UFC’s competitors have some middleweight talents in the likes of guys like Gegard Mousasi, Jacare, Vitor Belfort, Matt Lindland, Jorge Santiago,and  Kazuo Misaki.  Not to mention the few solid middleweights from EliteXC such as Robbie Lawler, Joey Villasenor, Scott Smith, Frank Shamrock and Benji Radach.  The UFC is sure to pick some of those guys up

·         Rumor has it the UFC is in negotiations with top middleweight Yoshihio Akiyama.  I do not know if they call pull him away from DREAM and Sengoku, but that would be a huge add. 

·         The middleweight division is growing with adds like signing Denis Kang, the move of WEC’s division which will add Chael Sonnen and Jake Rosholt as well as guys like Aaron Simpson and Danillo Vilefort likely to come over.

·         Paulo Filho will not be in the UFC…yet.

·         TUF 9 will feature middleweight coaches with Michael Bisping being a lock.  The other names being thrown around are Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, Nate Marquardt and even Demian Maia

UFC middleweight figher Chris Leben was busted for steroid use today and suspended from fighting for 9 months.

Link source:
http://sherdog.com/news/news/ufc-flags-leben-for-steroid-use-15031

Chris Leben è stato trovato positivo agli esami antidoping per quanto riguarda una sostanza anabolizzante vietata conosciuta come Stanazolo ( alla fine della decisione unanime che lo ha visto perdere contro Micheal Bisping nel main event di ufc 89 ”Leben vs Bisping”) nell ‘ incontro svoltosi alla National Indoor Arena NIA) in Birmingam England lo scorso 18 ottobre.

Come da Prassi il Cripppler è stato sospeso per 9 mesi e multato per un terzo del suo compenso pattuito per il combattimento disputato.
Dunque non potrà tornare a combattere prima dell’agosto 2009.
Ovviamente, non fiero dell’ accaduto, Leben non ha mancato di comunicare presso il sito UFC quanto segue.

“Sono reponsabile su ogni cosa ma non posso certo tornare indietro su i miei passi, ed è un grosso dispiacere per me, ma c’è qualcosa che ancora posso fare. Durante il mio periodo lontano dai ring, voglio parlare ai bambini riguardo i pericoli, dei prodotti che accrescono le prestazioni, e metterli a conoscenza.
Ovviamente questo e’ un brutto colpo finanziario per me, ma la cosa che più mi preoccupa è l’opinione di me e dei miei fans.

Mi voglio scusare con l’ UFC e tutti coloro che mi hanno sempre supportato e che mi hanno aiutato in Inghilterra. Spero di potermi rifare e tornare presto con loro a calcare nuovamente il Ring.”

Il Vice presidente della UFC e responsabile della regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner, che è anche ex direttore esecutivo della Nevada State Atlethic Commission, è la persona responsabile di gestire i test e tutta la questione in quanto non ufficialmente regolata dalle norme negli States.
Pertanto sebbene si prenda atto dei risultati portati in commissione e rendendoli pubblici non ci sono certezze su gli ulteriori sviluppi.

Il report indica anche che gli altri rimanenti 21 combattenti del PPV UFC89, hanno tutti superato sia i pre che i post test antidoping.
Spero che le parole di Leben siano sincere, anche se sinceramente mi sembrano un chieder venia liberando dalle responsabilità i suoi secondi e tirare fuori la faccia sia dalla federazione che dai fan, scene che qui in Italia abbiamo ben presenti grazie al ciclismo…..

Ricordiamo quanto negli States si sia sensibili ai casi di doping e steroidi, prendiamo in esame la WWE con il suo wellnes program dopo la morte di Eddie Guerrero e il caso Benoit, anche lui chiamato ironicamente con il nick di Crippler.

Ci sono associazioni pronte in ogni momento a puntare il dito e buttare letame su gli sport da combattimento, a torto o a ragione non mi e’ dato di esprimermi.

Dico solo che è mia opinione che il doping faccia male alla salute degli atleti, ma che dall’altra parte, in una nazione dove a fare da padrone sono le ditte farmaceutiche con i loro fatturati astronomici e i vari derivati del testosterone, tranquillamente sulle mensole dei supermercati, questo tipo di atteggiamento mi sembra decisamente ipocrita.

Non dico ingiusto perché mentirei ed è giusto cercare anche forzatamente di salvaguardare la vita degli atleti, ma ipocrita SI ! e lo sottolineo!

da Cainos e’ tutto I Lie i Cheat i Steal