In 2009 the UFC has allowed many top fighters and names to fall into the stable of competitor Strikeforce, all while spending time and money in to ,temporarily, marketable faces like Kimbo Slice. Some of these are up and coming fighters, others are ex UFC fighters with a loyal fan base, and some are international stars that could threaten the top fighters of the promotion’s current stable. In the past year Strikeforce has signed Fedor Emelianenko along with Gegard Mousasi and Dan Henderson, who the UFC just listed as one of its Top 10 Fighters of 2009. Below is a short list of 7 fighters I believe would benefit the UFC greatly.

-Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki (that means “Master of Flying Submissions”) 22-4-0

Shinya Aoki is one of the best grapplers in the game. His flexibility rivals that of UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn and ,also listed, Masakazu Imanari. Having finished nearly 60% of his fights via submission, his Jiu-Jitsu and Judo skills are top-notch.  As WAMAA World Lightweight Champion he had an exhibition match against The Last Emperor in April. Fedore took it light on the little guy and eventually tapped him, but Aoki (153 lbs) was surprisingly capable of executing some beautiful Judo throws and submission attempts and even picking up and slamming the 235 lb. Emelianenko. With his funny, easy-going persona, superior ground game, and speed he would make a great addition to the UFC lightweight division. Unfortunately he is currently fighting under the DREAM promotion which shares fighters with Strikeforce, and M1-Global, and he HATES the UFC and Dana White. The one thing UFC has going for it is he REALLY REALLY REALLY wants to fight BJ Penn and BJ isn’t going anywhere.

-Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem (if he can pass a piss test)

A bad ass mofo to say the least, and technically the current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Overeem is a huge man and has the ability to strike with the best K1 kickboxers in the world, but I am not so sure he could pass the anti-doping laws in the US. He is indeed a force to be reckoned with and, if he could pass the drug tests, would be a spectacle to watch in the Heavyweight division of the UFC. Just watch as he does the dutch equivalent of pitying fools (might wanna mute the shit music in this video though)…

-Paulo “Ely” Filho 19-1-0

Paulo Filho, once the WEC Welterweight Champion, didn’t make weight in his last fight in the WEC, losing to Chael Sonnen, and was subsequently released from his contract rather than transferred to the UFC. After defeating Melvin Manhoeff in a DREAM10 match-up and being signed by BCN, he has proven he is still a top contender in the class. With only 1 loss on his record and an extremely hateable persona, he would fit right into the UFC fold.

-Masakazu “Ashikan Judan” Imanari 18-7-2

Imanari is known for his ridiculous submissions. He has a knack for literally tying people in knots (and taking weird pictures with Shinya Aoki..damn Japs). One of the meanest submissions I’ve seen all year belongs to Imanari vs Justin Cruz on Dec, 19 (skip to about 5:33). I’m still not sure what exactly to call that other than effective. Imanari is completely capable of holding his own in a striking match as well. He is lightning fast and has good power in his kicks. I would like seeing him fight against the fast wiry talent already in the 145 class in the WEC.

-Hyato “Mach” Sakura

will update after i eat lol

-Marius “The Whitemare” Zaromskis

will update after i eat lol

-Cung Le

will update after i eat lol

Impressive display of mega kicks.

The rest found at MMA Mixer

I’m trying to fight in March. I’m trying to fight punk ass John Howard, but I don’t think he wants to fight. He got his win over Dennis Hallman. He got the credit to fight me, so why don’t he do it? He signed the contract once to fight me and then he backed out and now he’s renegotiating, or his managers and agents are, whatever, are being dumb about the renegotiating process. Just come on and sign the fight. Sign the contract and fight me and stop running like a little bitch. I want to fight him. I really do. I seen this interview where he said he was going to make me pay for what I said, so I’m looking forward to seeing that. John Howard, put your dukes up. Let’s do this and I’m going to knock your other tooth out because I know you got a fucked up grill. I’m going to give him the business.” – Anthony Johnson

UFC welterweight Anthony Johnson talks about his rivalry with fellow welterweight John Howard, and how he really wants to fight Howard, possibly in March. The feud started after Howard elected not to sign the bout agreement to face Johnson for their proposed bout at June’s TUF 9 finale. Howard claimed that his management made the final decision, however, Johnson saw it different, calling him a “coward” and saying that Howard backed out and did not want to fight him to begin with.

Howard then responded to Johnson’s claims.

“I don’t appreciate him calling me a coward or anything like that. He has to understand that the decisions that are made for me are smart decisions. My job is to fight. I don’t make decisions about who to fight or when I’m going to fight, and I don’t pull out of fights… Anthony Johnson has been in the UFC a little longer than me, and it’s not because I’m a coward. It just wasn’t time… I want to fight him, and the first chance I get the ‘okay’ to fight him, I will. And he’s going to eat his words – definitely. It’s personal. He’s going to regret ever questioning me.” – John Howard

The feud between Howard and Johnson is becoming one of the UFC’s most heated rivalries, and if the fight gets booked expect some testy moments between the two during pre-fight activities such as at the weigh-ins.

Johnson is coming off of a loss against Josh Koscheck at UFC 106 last month. The loss snapped a three-fight winning streak he had put together, which included previous Octagon wins over Kevin Burns, Luigi Fioravanti and Yoshiyuki Yoshida. Johnson has put together a 5-3 record in eight fights in the UFC, with all five of his Octagon wins coming via stoppage.

Meanwhile, Howard scored a dramatic come-from-behind third-round knockout win over veteran Dennis Hallman at TUF 10. The win moved Howard to a perfect 3-0 with the UFC, with wins in his first two UFC bouts against Chris Wilson and Tamdan McCrory.

Scott Smith – $55,000 def. Cung Le – $150,000
Gilbert Melendez – $55,000 def. Josh Thomson – $30,000
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souzav – $65,000 def. Matt Lindland – $50,000
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal – $19,000 def. Mike Whitehead – $30,000
Antwain Britt – $10,000 def. Scott Lighty – $5,000
Justin Wilcox – $5,000 def. Daisuke Nakamura – $200
Alex Crispim – $4,000 def. AJ Fonseca: $2,000

The following is an actual recording of a conversation between Ed Honcho and a would-be Honcho Award winner. We join the action in progress, as most everything prior to this point was boring.

Ed Honcho: Wait… are you trolling for sympathy?

Would-Be Honcho Award Winner: No!

EH: Empathy?

WBHAW: No!

EH: Is this a pity play? Is that what this is?

WBHAW: No! Don’t be ridiculous.

EH: I don’t know, ______, blaming the whims of your coach? Calling attention to the specific game situations? Throwing your teammates under the bus? It feels like you’re trolling for something.

WBHAW: We’re just talking here. If we happen to stumble on certain facts concerning how I may or may not have gotten fucked, so be it. It’s just the natural course of our discussion.

EH: What do you want from me?

WBHAW: You know what I want… one of them Honcho Awards.

EH: Look, I have my standards, and unless this conversation ends with substantial flattery or a more than generous bribe, I’ve got to stick to my guns here.

WBHAW: You’re the best.

EH: That’ll do. I think I’ll also give them to:

- Jerome Harrison, for that absurd, out-of-nowhere game against Kansas City. Seriously… 286 yards and three touchdowns? That’s the third best single game rushing total in NFL history. I’m going to say that again, both for emphasis and because I’m trying to up my word count… that’s the third best single game rushing total in NFL history. Now, while I prefer things of the “best ever” and “greatest of all time” variety, I’m going to make an exception for Mr. Harrison here and give him a Honcho. I’m nothing if not magnanimous.

- Scott Smith, for his stirring comeback against Cung Le at Strikeforce. Smith was on the ropes, and… well, maybe “on the ropes” isn’t the appropriate cliche’ in this instance… against the fence? Alongside the cage? Rubbing the steel? Yeah, that one… let’s go with that one. So Smith was rubbing the steel against Le, just getting pummeled… but he wouldn’t go down. You could practically hear the Rocky music playing in my head (oh, that was just me?). And wouldn’t you know it… in the 3rd round, Smith unleashed a cracking left and KO’d Le. Whenever a performance makes movie music play in my head… that’s a Honcho.

- Ben Roethlisberger, for his 503 yard, 3 TD game against Green Bay, including the winning touchdown pass on the game’s final play. That’s more like it… the “best ever” passing game by a Steeler. That’s what I’m looking for. Get that man an award.

- Zach Randolph, for the 32 points and 24 rebounds he gave the Grizzlies in their victory over the Nuggets, on the heels of scoring 26 points and grabbing 16 boards against the Pacers two nights earlier. That 24 rebounds? That’s the “best ever” for this season. OK, that doesn’t really make sense, but it makes as much sense as Zach Freaking Randolph getting a Honcho, the odds of which I’d have put at 1% at the beginning of the season. And yet, here we are.

- Mariano Andujar, for his seven saves for Catania in their 2-1 victory on the road against mighty Juventus. It’s been 45 years since Catania beat Juventus in Torino, and any time you spearhead a charge that does something for the first time in 40+ years, that’s worth a Honcho. Yes, it’s another stipulation I’m throwing in. The Honchos are complex, I agree, but they’re so worth it.

- Aaron Rodgers, who threw for 383 yards and three TD’s, and rushed for 22 more and a TD. A monster day in fantasy football (especially if you award extra points for long TD’s, a provision I highly recommend). So he was outshined by Roethlisberger. It was still one of the better days a QB’s had all season… and combined with this moustache photo, puts him into some sort of “best ever” category. Something like “best ever day for a QB statistically who also won a Honcho Award which was displayed with an awesome moustache photo”. Oooh, I butchered that from a linguistic standpoint, but I kinda love it.

- Jonas Gustavvson, for his shutout of the high-scoring Bruins. And it wasn’t just any shutout, it was his first career shoutout. And it wasn’t just any first career shutout, it was his first career shutout in his first game back from being sidelined. And it wasn’t just any first career shutout in his first game back from being sidelined, it was his first career shutout in his first game back from being sidelined by heart surgery. And it wasn’t just the first time he did that, it’s the first time anyone, ever, did that… which fits neatly into one of my earlier stipulations for Honcho-awesomeness and subsequent Honcho Awarding. Well done, Mr. Gustavvson.

- Trevor Ariza, for filling up the boxscore in Houston’s 95-90 win over the OKC Thunder. How’s this sound: 31 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 blocked shot. That’s what I call “giving a boost to the old fantasy team”. Regrettably, in my case, “The Old Fantasy Team” is my opponent this week, so yeah, I’m screwed. But my bias doesn’t blur my Honcho-vision… I can still see greatness when it’s right in front of me, kicking my ass. At least he doesn’t play for the Lakers anymore.

- Josh Cribbs, for two kickoff returns of at least 100 yards. What does a man have to do to get any attention around here? He broke the career record for kickoff returns, and tied the single-game record, and he still plays second fiddle to the game his teammate Harrison put up. Let the award soothe your pain, Joshua. Rub it where it hurts.

- Robo Kreps, for something about game-winning shots over division 1-A opponents for the first time ever, and a good season so far, and… oh, who am I kidding. Young Robo is a man/boy after my heart with a moniker like that. And, you know, he doesn’t suck, so it’s not like I’m totally reaching here… OK, I’m reaching a little. I don’t care. Robo, you may pick your Honcho Award up at the Bursar’s Office. Good day.

EH: There, are you happy?

WBHAW: Yes. Yes I am.

EH: About that money you promised.

WBHAW: Yeah… I was lying about that.

EH: Hey! I can edit this!

WBHAW: You can, but you’re not going to.

EH: Oh yeah! Why not?

WBHAW: Look out your window.

EH: Oh. Congratulations then.

WBHAW: Thank you.

Well we had a double dose of MMA awesome last night. On Showtime we had Strikeforce: Evolution and on VS we had WEC 45 Cerrone Radcliff . They where on the same night so why do two separate posts?I watched Strikeforce first since that is what my aunts house had and I DVR WEC and watched it when I got home. We shall start with Strikeforce.The King Mo Whitehead fight went like i thought it would King Mo getting Whitehead to the ground and then some GnP to finish him. I had envisioned a take down though not a punch. Either way King Mo walks away with the win. I really hope they use him at LHW because man he isn’t going to survive against a upper level HW or even a actually decent HW .Some complaint has been leveled against his post fight “antics” where he pulled a Stone Cold Steve Austin and drenched him self in Rockstar drinks . People say that its to “pro wrestling and showy” and bad for the sport. To those people SHUT THE FUCK UP if you think that then you can not be a PRIDE fan or a Ortiz fan. Ortiz was Lesnar before Lesnar was. Complaint is justified against Showtime for not showing his entrance man his entrance is GREAT its not like you didn’t have time to kill.The Lindland Jacare fight lasted longer on the ground then I expected. Lindland still looks far beyond his prime and just looks bad at this point. Jacare looked great now I don’t know about you guys but I want Jacare Mayhem II .Thompson Melendez II was great. Thompson got rocked a lot and was out struck on the feet. They went for it though. Thompson looked like he just gave up towards the end though which is sad to see. In the end I had the fight scored 4 rounds to 1 in favor of Melendez. There is a rumor that they may unify the Strikeforce and DREAM Light Weight titles so hey maybe that will be Aoki’s first fight in Strikeforce.  In the striking department Melendez has Aoki out gunned ( not like that’s hard) on the ground is a mystery since how will he do with out the magic pants?Le Smith was better then I expected and man I am a happy camper Le got KO’d. I’m not a fan of Le’s . This is my blog my opinion I don’t have to be fair and balanced. Le though was doing good though man he had the better striking which is why I picked him . Scott Smith continues to prove that man anything can happen in the cage.TIME FOR WEC.If there is one thing I have come to expect from WEC it is some damn good fights. I may not know every single thing about the fighters in every fight but ill be damned if there is a bad fight on the card.Great KO by Njokuani man you don’t literally turn your back and run from your opponent. In Horedekis case he got kicked in the head for it and lost. Njokuani got KO of the night for that. Interesting Sub from Brad Pickett with a  Peruvian necktie first time I’ve seen one of those.The Main event was not without its drama. Cerrone kept accidentally kneeing Radcliff in the groin causing 2 points to be deducted. That didn’t matter though he went out and took him to the ground and subed him with a RNC. Overall the fight was clearly Cerrone going out there and having fun standing and banging.Great night of fights from both promotions damn its nice to get free mma right?And to my readers If you want you can now become a FAN of MaZZacares MMA on facebook since I made a page for it. Now with this and twitter you can be completely up to date on my latest postings and other insights I want to throw out there. http://www.facebook.com/pages/MAZZACARES-MMA/209401188623?ref=nf so go follow me on Twitter (link in the fan page) and FAN IT UP

December 20, 2009 by Ares-mma.com staff

The Strikeforce event last night, Strikeforce: Evolution, was a solid event from top to bottom. In his Strikeforce debut, “King Mo” Lawal began the Showtime telecast with a first round technical knockout of Mike Whitehead. Whitehead was game, but Mo was beating him to the punch for the entire fight. Mo has the personality and the fighting skills to be a mixed martial arts superstar. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza made a statement in his Strikeforce debut with a first round submission (arm triangle) of perennial middleweight contender Matt Lindland. It seems that Dan Henderson will get the next shot at Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields in April. One more solid win may earn Jacare a shot at the winner.

Gilbert Melendez won the undisputed Strikeforce lightweight title in a unanimous decision in his rematch with Josh Thomson in a great fight. The two fighters are now 1-1 against one another, and a rubber match seems to be inevitable. In the main event of the evening, after a two-year absence, former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le made his return to the Strikeforce cage in a fight with Scott Smith. Cung Le dominated the action throughout with kicks. Le landed several spinning back heel kicks that planted Smith on to his backside. Le thoroughly controlled the action in the cage until Smith landed the left hook in the third round that changed the fight. Le was stunned and went into survival mode. Smith took advantage and threw a series of punches that forced Le into a defenseless position and referee John McCarthy was forced to stop the fight.

Strikeforce continues to prove to be the second best promotion in mixed martial arts, and the promotion is quickly getting bigger and better. Competition is important for the sport, and Strikeforce may be the promotion that the sport needs to challenge the UFC for supremacy.

Strikeforce: Evolution – Weigh Ins – Cung Le vs Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith – Josh “The Punk” Thomson vs Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez Also featuring Channing Tatum, Herschel Walker, Javier Mendez, & JV from WILD 94.9

FINALS ARE OVER!!!! Good by stress , cramming, and school for a couple of weeks. Time for the card run down

KNOXX video host Meredith Divita interviews Cung Le. He talks about fighting his upcoming fight with Scott Smith, his surgery and health, Strikeforce, filming movies, his new wife and kids, and being in the new upcoming EA Sport video game.

Cung Le and KNOXX video host Meredith Divita

Frank Shamrock

Cung Le with KNOXX video host Meredith Divita

The fight-ending head kick in UFC 107's main event.

The aftermath; Diego Sanchez looking like he got hit in the face with a battle-axe.

A lot has been said over the last week from a lot of different people about how there is no one at 155lbs who can beat B.J. Penn.  Let me preface my own opinion by first saying that I believe there is no deeper a division in mixed martial arts as a whole than the 155lb weight class.  There are hugely talented lightweights in the UFC.  Guys like former champ Sean Sherk; former challengers Kenny Florian, Diego Sanchez, and Joe Stevenson; wrestlers and boxers like Gray Maynard, Tyson Griffin, and Frankie Edgar; young talents like Nate Diaz and Efrain Escudero; and finally the celebrated gatekeeper Clay Guida.  Zuffa’s other mixed martial arts promotion, WEC, may soon invade these ranks as well with talents like Benson Henderson, Donald Cerrone, and champion Jamie Varner; not to mention the possibility of a future catch-weight fight with a guy like current WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo might be pretty awesome down the line.  But that’s not all, Strikeforce has two lightweight superstars fighting for their championship on Saturday night in Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson, and Japan’s DREAM promotion might have the only really intriguing fights for a guy like Penn.

Kenny Florian rounding out an already powerful striking arsenal by adding great boxing hands, footwork, and timing.

Joe Rogan even said it during the fourth round of UFC 107’s main event.  Who can challenge this guy?  Mike Goldberg was already setting the stage for Penn’s inevitable destruction of either Edgar or Maynard, when Joe Rogan quietly said “we may need to steal Aoki from Japan”.  Joe is clearly a fan of mixed martial arts and not just the UFC, so good for him for speaking his mind.  He’s right, the consensus worldwide number 2 rank at 155lbs is Japan’s Shinya Aoki, who just started fighting in a cage and will probably continue to do so at Strikeforce soon enough, making their division even more interesting, albeit still not as deep.  Aoki is an extremely creative grappler, has unpredictable submissions, and is savvy enough that he could get Penn to the ground.  DREAM also has Joaquim Hansen, Tatsuya Kawajiri, GZ Calvancante, and of course Bellator Fighting’s Eddie Alvarez.  Almost all of those guys are consensus top ten ranked fighters at 155lbs. If I could choose the most competitive opponent for B.J. Penn it would be either Eddie Alvarez or a rematch with Kenny Florian, but if I could choose the most intriguing and exciting match-up it would be with Shinya Aoki.  Anyway, Gray Maynard should be next in line and he’d better work hard on his shot and his top game.  I don’t like his chances because no one can beat Penn at 155lbs right now.

Strikeforce Evolution

Strikeforce has put together a pretty decent card before the likes of superstars Fedor and Dan Henderson get ready to scrap again (I hear they are both fighting for the CBS card in April).  Robbie Lawler has had two opponents get hurt in preparation for him and now he has no one to fight, so he is officially off of the card.  That’s a hit because the preliminary card has really nothing exciting to speak of.  Still some great match-ups here and that’s three major main cards in a row they’ve put together that are strong from top to bottom.  I won’t make predictions for the preliminary card because I’ve literally only heard of two fighters and to the best of my knowledge I’ve only seen one of them fight (Japanese veteran Daisuke Nakamura).  However, candidate for the main card as a replacement for Robbie Lawler’s absence should be undefeated fast finisher Scott Lighty.  I kind of want to see this guy in action.  After the preliminary card, is the main card with predictions on the four fights.

Preliminary Card

• Light Heavyweight bout: Scott Lighty vs. Antwain Britt
• Lightweight bout: Daisuke Nakamura vs. Justin Wilcox
• Featherweight bout: Luis Mendoza vs. Juan Nunez
• Lightweight bout: Alex Trevino vs. Bobby Stack
• Lightweight bout: Alexander Crispim vs. AJ Fonseca

Main Card

• Middleweight bout: Ronaldo Souza vs. Matt Lindland: Two great veterans of the sport.  Lindland must be guarded after getting knocked out badly recently by Vitor Belfort and if Jacare Souza were as good a puncher as he is on the ground I’d be worried for Lindland.  I still am actually, because I don’t believe he has beaten or lasted for any significant amount of time against the competition that Jacare has in recent years.  Whether the fight is on the top or bottom I think Jacare should have an advantage if he stays busy.  This could be one of those polarizing fights that the hardcore fans will love and the casual fans will get frustrated with.  My prediction is Souza by unanimous decision.
• Heavyweight bout: Muhammed Lawal vs. Mike Whitehead: Lawal or King Mo is a great showman.  He’s awesome for the sport and his success could make him another Rampage Jackson personality that attracts more of a mainstream audience.  He has talent but sometimes he does look to be a little too green, even against the low level competition he’s faced so far.  Whitehead is a big step-up for him but tactically it’s just a bad match-up for Whitehead, as King Mo is simply too athletic.  Let’s hope he’s picked up his training and wants to make a major splash in North America, but who knows, the comfort of his fame in Japan could get him thinking less about Whitehead and the Japanese don’t really give a shit if you lose a few times, as long as you come to the ring dressed as a king with an army of half-naked women.  Still, I believe Mo will breakthrough.  My prediction is King Mo by TKO in the second round.
• Middleweight bout: Cung Le vs. Scott Smith: This is a really exciting fight.  Cung Le looked great in all of his fights but it’s been a really long time since we’ve seen him and he is still relatively new to the sport.  Smith is a perfect match-up to force Le’s strengths.  I’d imagine Le would fight conservatively as he usually does and gradually break his opponent down from his angles before finishing him off.  He’s great at that but what happens when he has to fight a fearless granite chinned warrior with dangerous hands?  Well, Cung is going to have to really battle here and his chin might get tested big time.  We might see some serious head kicks in this fight.  My prediction is Le by TKO in the second round.
• Lightweight Championship bout: Josh Thomson (c) vs. Gilbert Melendez (ic): This is the third time this rematch looked like it was going to happen and finally it will.  For those who don’t know Thomson controlled Melendez for all five rounds in their prior fight.  His conditioning was impeccable and I doubt Thomson is a guy who would fight unless he was in the very best condition he can possibly be in.  Melendez has been a very busy fighter though and he has transformed into a conditioning freak himself.  That’s why I think this fight is definitely going the distance, well that and because both have strong chins while neither has truely explosive offense.  It will still be a great fight.  My prediction is Thomson by unanimous decision.
  

FREE giveaways from KNOXX all night!

MMA Planet Middleweight Rankings

Strikeforce light weight champion, Josh “The Punk” Thomson was the special guest at a special comedy show event that evening. The event showcased some talented Bay Area comedians to help benefit the Knock Out Dog Fighting non profit organization. Josh Thomson was given the hot seat at the end of the show where he was interviewed in front of the audience. There were many other fighters there to support this event including Jose Palacios and Cain Velasquez.

Cain Velaquez with KNOXX video host, Meredith Divita

This Saturday looks like one of the deepest cards the UFC has put on in a long while. Whether you love them or hate them, you have some of the biggest personalities of the sport clashing. Frank Mir and B.J. Penn polarize a lot of the fighting fan base, but they’re both proven champions with exciting bouts on their records. The undercard looks to outshine the main bouts with fights from guys like Johnny Hendricks and his awesome beard, and big Paul Buentello whose fights end in KO’s more than not. This is the first time The Couch P.O.V has featured UFC predictions, but I feel like now would be a great time to start covering one of my favorite sports with the respect it deserves.

Kenny “Ken Flo” Florian vs Clay Guida

I’ve become a supporter of Ken-Flo after initially not enjoying his work, but I see Guida becoming the third lightweight on this card to beat Florian. Much in the way Sean Sherk was too much for Kenny, Guida will be two times as much. This will probably be the biggest win of Guida’s career, and I imagine it puts him in line for a title shot with the main event winner. Florian’s greatest hope is to catch Guida in his trademark rear-naked choke, which is a move that’s stopped Guida multiple times in his career.

Prediction: Guida TKO(3:25) 2nd round

Cheick Kongo vs Frank Mir

It’s hard to pick a guy to win with a sub over a guy who has never been subbed, but it’s also hard to pick a guy who’s lost to Heath Herring. Kongo has heavy hands, and Frank has had some trouble with guys who sported such a trait, but I’m not going to be able to pick against the guy who banks at the same place that I do. Frank has gained a lot of confidence in his stand up, but he’s more interested in getting a sure win, and will do his best to catch Kongo on the mat, perhaps while on his back. This is going to be a great challenge for Frank, but champions overcome adversity, and I imagine that’s what’s going to happen here.

Prediction: Frank Mir Submission(4:04) 1st Round

Main Event Light Heavyweight Championship: Diego Sanchez vs B.J. Penn(C)

This is one of those dream match ups. While B.J. Penn was trying to conquer a whole other weight class, Diego Sanchez was down dominating the one he was the champion of. Saturday they will finally meet, and settle any dispute over who the true Lightweight Champion is. Baby J hasn’t been the distance in a bout since his original loss to George St. Pierre in 2006, but I have a feeling this one will end up in the judges hands. Unlike Florian, The Nightmare is on the same level as Penn, and he will push the champ the entire way. I don’t see the title changing hands, but when a fight goes to the judges, anything can (and usually does) happen. Here’s hoping for a hard hitting match, and not just a stand-off due to both being extremely talented.

Prediction: BJ Penn by Unanimous Decision

Hendo Leaves the UFC for a 3 fight deal with Strike Force*: This is sort of stunning to me, but I can’t say I was following the negotiations. I just took for granted that Dana White respected the greatness that is Dan Henderson, but apparently that’s not the case. Henderson apparently wants to fight Jake Shields and Fedor, which would be two super bouts I’m very interested in seeing. I also would like to have seen Henderson get a rematch with Anderson Silva, but I guess that’s never going to happen. Henderson claims Dana White didn’t even know Henderson already beat Vitor Belfort (who jumped an entire division in line for a title shot), which says a lot about how much he cares about his fighters, if true. Somehow, I hope this leads to Henderson versus Cung Le.

*Source: Sherdog

KNOXX Video Host, Meredith Divita, stirs a little bit by asking some touchy questions regarding Josh’s teammates and his close friends.

Part 1: KNOXX video host Meredith Divita interviews Josh “The Punk” Thomson. Josh talks about his recent training for his rematch against Gilbert Melendez, training with Cung Le, fighting for Strikeforce, fighting against Gomi, and fighting against Billy Evangelista.
(** Excuse the background noise, we did this interview at AKA gym and fighters were taking showers after their training sessions)

Part 2: KNOXX Video host Meredith Divita interviews Josh “The Punk” Thomson at American Kickboxing Academy. Meredith gets tries to stir up a some juicy gossip as she asks Josh about his opinions on Koscheck and Johnson fight, a rematch against Clay Guida and Yves Edwards and the come back of Phil Baroni to the UFC.
(** Excuse the background noise, we did this interview at AKA gym and fighters were taking showers after their training sessions)