Sherdog has the weigh in results for tomorrow night’s Strikeforce fight.

Dustin Neace, who’s scheduled to fight Jeff Curran at 145, but hit the scales at 150.5. He’s on the clock to get down to 146 (a 1 pound allowance is given for all weight classes).

Sherdog is reporting that Fedor arrived late after creating a “security alarm”. He, apparently, set off a smoke alarm while burning incense during a “religious ceremony” in his hotel room.

All praises to the Sweater, who comforts thee.

Televised Card
Fedor Emelianenko (232) vs. Brett Rogers (264)
Jason Miller (184) vs. Jake Shields (184.5)
Gegard Mousasi (205) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (204)
Antonio Silva (263) vs. Fabricio Werdum (242)

Preliminary Card
Marloes Coenen (145) vs. Roxanne Modafferi (140)
Deray Davis (170.5) vs. Mark Miller (171)
Jeff Curran (145) vs. Dustin Neace (150.5)
Shamar Bailey (170) vs. John Kolosci (171)
Nate Moore (184) vs. Louis Taylor (185.5)
Jonatas Novaes (155.5) vs. Christian Uflacker (156)

Neace is trying to cut the extra 4.5 pounds now. I’ll update when I hear the result of that.

O comitê do ADCC acaba de divulgar as chaves para o evento que começa amanhã.

Até 65 podemos ter o atual campeão Rani Yahya contra o talentoso americano Jeff Glover já na segunda luta.

O outro finalista de 2007, Léo Vieira, está do outro lado da chave, com Rafael Mendes e Jeff Curran, entre outros.

Cobrinha se encontra do mesmo lado que Rani, mas só se encontrarão numa eventual semifinal.

Marcelo Garcia na segunda luta de 2007, contra Kurt Pellegrino. Dessa vez ele pode ter Kron Gracie como seu adversário na mesma fase. Foto de Luca Atalla

Marcelo Garcia vs. Kron Gracie na segunda luta até 76kg? É o que poderemos assistir, caso os dois passem pelo primeiro compromisso. Pablo Popovitch está do outro lado da chave.

É muita fera junta, e difícil pensar em prognósticos, mas esperem Tarsis Humprheys contra André Galvão nas semifinais até 88kg. Do outro lado, o finalista de 2007 no peso acima Bráulio Estima tem que encarar algumas pedreiras, entre elas o islandês Gunnar Nelson e Rafael Lovato Jr para conseguir chegar à finalíssima.

O atual campeão até 99kg, Xande Ribeiro pode fazer um clássico do Jiu-Jitsu contra Márcio Pé de Pano na semi. Enquanto o campeão do absoluto de 2003, Dean Lister, tem do seu lado os campeões das seletivas brasileira (Glover Teixeira) e americana, no east coast (Gerardi Rinardi).

Entre os mais pesados, Fabrício Werdum joga como favorito até a semifinal, onde pode cruzar com os mais leves Saulo Ribeiro e Rômulo Barral, se esses passarem pelos seus gigantes da primeira luta.

Jeff Monson está do outro lado, e pode tentar repetir o feito do ADCC 2001 quando raspou Tom Erikson. Cyborg encara o vencedor da seletiva do East Coast, Tom De Blass, na estréia.

No feminino o nível está bastante equilibrado e veremos se a jovem Luanna Alzuguir cumpre as expectativas após o título mundial de Jiu-Jitsu deste ano e chega à finalíssima. Entre as mais pesadas, as favoritas Hannette Staack e Lana Stephanac podem se enfrentar na semifinal.

ATUALIZAÇAO: Analisei algumas chaves na pressa, e errei a fase de encontro de alguns atletas, como Tarsis e Galvão, Xande e Pé de Pano e Werdum contra Saulo ou Barral. Onde estava semifinal é quartas de final. Já corrigi.

With less than two weeks to go till ADCC Barcelona 2009, we took roll to find out who will be sweating up the mats of the Badalona Municipal Sports Pavilion.

Of course there will be last-minute changes and you will be able to keep up with all the flip-flops in names till the first exchange of grips right here. The organization promises 16 athletes for each male category. Now the female division will have eight per category.

Of 2007’s champions, only Demian Maia (under 88kg) and Roger Gracie will be out of this year’s event. Find out who is in as of now, category by category.

Supermatch

Robert Drysdale (absolute champion of  2007) vs Ronaldo Jacaré (2005 absolute runner-up)

Men

Over 99kg

1. Jeff Monson (USA)
2. Tom Erikson (USA)
3. Jon Olav Einemo (Norway)
4. Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu (Brazil)
5. Rogent Lloret (Spain)
6. Saulo Ribeiro (Brazil)

7. Fabricio Werdum (Brazil) –  ADCC champion
8. Denis Roberts (Australia) – Pacific trials winner
9. Asa Fuller (USA) – North American East Coast trials winner
10. Janne-Pekka Pietiläinen (Finland) – European trials winner
11. Tomasz Janiszewski (Poland) – European trials winner
12. Antoine Jaoude (Brazil) – South American trials winner
13. Kouji Kanechika (Japan) – Asian trials winner
14. Tom De Blass (USA) –North American West Coast trials winner
15. Gabriel Gonzaga (Brazil)
16. Karol Bedorf (Poland)

Under 99kg

1. Renato “Babalu” Sobral (Brazil)
2. Vesa Vuori (Finland)
3. Vinícius “Pezão” Magalhães (Brazil)
4. Dean Lister (USA)

5. Alexandre Ribeiro (Brazil) – ADCC champion
6. Anthony Perosh (Australia) – Pacific trials winner
7. Rafael Davies (USA) –American East Coast trials winner
8. Andreas Olsen (Norway) – European champion
9. Radek Turek (Poland) – European trials winner
10. Glover Teixeira (Brazil) – South American trials winner
11. Yukiya Naito (Japan) – Asian trials winner
12. Gerard Rinaldi (USA) –North American West Coast trials winner
13. Márcio “Pé de Pano” Cruz (Brazil)

Under 88kg

1.Tarsis Humphreys (Brazil)
2. Kazuhiro Nakamura (Japan) – Asian trials winner
3. André Galvão (Brazil) – South American trials winner
4. Kassim Annan (France) – European trials winner
5. Trond Saksenvik (Norway) – European champion
6. Jason Selva (USA) – North American East Coast trials winner
7. Igor Praporshchikov (Australia) – Pacific trials winner
8. Chris Weidman (USA) –North American West Coast trials winner
9. Gunnar Nelson (Iceland)
10. Rafael Lovato Jr. (USA)
11. Daniel Tabera (Spain)
12. Bráulio Estima (Brazil)
13. Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares (Brazil)
14. Bruno Bastos (Brazil)
15. Jorge Santiago (Brazil)
16. Tom Lawler (USA)

Under 77kg

1. Marcelo Garcia (Brazil) –  ADCC champion
2. K-taro Nakamura (Japão) – Asian trials winner
3. Murilo Santana (Brazil) – South American trials winner
4. Marcelo “Uirapuru” Azevedo (Brazil) – European trials winner
5. Toni Linden (Finlândia) – European champion
6. Don Ortega (EUA) – North American East Coast trials winner
7. Rodney Ellis (Austrália) – Pacific trials winner
8. Enrico Cocco (USA) – North American West Coast trials winner
9. Kron Gracie (Brazil)
10. Pablo Popovitch (Brazil)
11. Yoshiyuki “Zenko” Yoshida (Japan)
12. Milton Vieira (Brazil)
13.Bill Cooper (USA)
14.Ben Askren (USA)
15. Gregor Gracie (Brazil)
16. Leonardo Santos (Brazil)

Under 66kg

1. Rani Yahya (Brazil) –  ADCC champion
2. Kouhei Yasumi (Japan) – Asian trials winner
3. Rafael Mendes (Brazil) – South American trials winner
4. Nicolas Renier (France) – European trials winner
5. Timo-Juhani Hirvikangas (Finland) – European champion
6. Ryan Hall (EUA) –North American East Coast trials
7. David Marinakis (Austrália) – Oceania trials
8. Jayson Patino (USA) – North American West Coast trials
9. Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles (Brazil)
10. Leo Vieira (Brazil)
11. Baret Yoshida (USA)
12. Jeff Glover (USA)
13.Hiroshi “Iron” Nakamura (Japan)
14.Justin Rader (USA)
15.Jeff Curran (USA)
16.Urijah Faber (USA)

Women

Under 60kg

1. Kyra Gracie (Brazil) –  ADCC champion
2. Sayaka Shioda (Japan) –  ADCC champion
3. Megumi Fujii (Japan) – Asia pacific trials winner
4. Michelle Tavares (Brazil) – South American trials winner
5. Laurence Cousin (France) – European trials winner
6. Ina Steffensen (Denmark) – European champion
7. Hillary Williams (USA) – North American trials winner
8.Luanna Alzuguir (Brazil)

Over 60kg

1. Hannette Staack (Brazil) –  ADCC champion
2. Penny Thomas (USA) – ADCC champion
3. Hitomi Hiraiwa (Japan– Asian Pacific trials winner)
4. Rosângela Conceição (Brazil) – South American trials winner
5. Ida Hansson (Sweden) – European champion
6. Shanti Abelha (Denmark) – campeã européia
7. Lana Stephanac (USA) – seletiva norte-americana
8. Cris Cyborg (Brazil)

Nickname: California Kid
Born in 1979
Home: USA
Style: Wrestling/Kickboxing
Team: Alpha Male
Division: under 65.9 Kg

MMA record: 22 – 3 – 0

Urijah Faber is now one of the names that pop up when the MMA forums, magazines or  MMA fans are doing their best pound for pound list.

This “California Kid” from Isla Vista is a perfect exemple of the modern MMA fighter, because of his love, you can say adiction, for sports and  his  healthy life style combined with a lot of training he is a very athletic fighter, like many other stars he brings a high level amateur fighting background, in his case in college wrestling, also like the new MMA stars he knows that the audience at the arena and watching PPV at home are the main reason that he is there and his job is not only to win, but to win entertaining the fans, and so far he have being doing his job pretty well.

People have being talking a lot about a rematch between Demian Maia and Nate Marquadt at ADCC Barcelona 2009, with Urijah on the card we have also another possible great rematch between him and Jeff Curran.

Now the -66kg card is complete, the best ever, and is just wait.

And man, there’s some nice names there.

Georges St. Pierre
Nate Marquadt
Demian Maia
Renato “Babalu” Sobral
Jeff Monson
Ben Askern (2x NCAA wrestling champ, 2008 US National Champ, 2008 Olympian)
Jeff Curran
Vinny Magalhaes
Rousimar Palhares
Dean Lister
Mike van Arsdale
Ricardo Arona
Fabricio Werdum
Andre Galvao

And on the women’s side we’ve got:

Megumi Fuji
Christiane “Cyborg” Santos
Kyra Gracie

Check out their site including some nice fighter bios and YouTube clips at http://adccbarcelona.com/

Nickname: The Big Frog
Born in 1977
Home: USA
Style: Boxing/Bjj
Team: Team Curran
Division: under 65.9 Kg

Jeff Curran is an American mixed martial arts fighter. He currently fights as a bantamweight in the World Extreme Cagefighting organization. Curran has also fought for several other notable fighting organizations including: Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), PRIDE Fighting Championship, International Fight League (IFL), and King of the Cage (KOTC).

About competing at ADCC Barcelona 2009 the second degree Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Pedro Sauer said “I am really excited to train hard like i do for MMA for ADCC. Its all about stepping up for me and challenging myself,” said Curran.

WEC 42, toimumiskohaks Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Las Vegases. Peaosas 61 kilosed kiired mehed. Tähevalguses Miguel Torres, kellel enne pühapäeva oli 17 võitu järjest ja 37 võidu juures vaid 1 kaotus. Seejuures väidab Torres, et ta tegelik tulemus on 49-1, kuna ta alustas ammu enne, kui ametlikud võistlusandmebaasid kasutusele tulid. Misiganes, igati väärt mees, keda Frank Mir korduvalt on üritanud maailma parimate P4P (pound for pound) võitlejate hulka asetada. Nimetatades teda kõige terviklikumaks tegutsevaks MMA võitlejaks seejuures. Eks üleskiita ole vaja igat üritust ja frank paistab seda tööd oskavat – vähemasti mees tööta peale karjääri lõppu ei jää. Vastaseks õhtu peasündmusel oli Torresele määratud Brian Bowles, mees kellest ma varem suurt midagi ei teadnud. 7 võitu ja kogulugu. Paistis küll nii, et ebavõrdne matš on tulekul, aga läks hoopis teisiti. Kui alles hiljuti võitmatuks peetud Urijah Faber kaalukategooria võrra kõrgemal oma troonist loobuma pidi, siis nüüd juhtus sama kahetsusväärselt tore lugu ka Torresega. Mees läks liiga suure õhinaga viimast võtma, sai lühikese terava löögi lõuga ja hiljem maas enam ei toibunud. Kohtunik oli nii kiirete meest jaoks ilmselgelt täiesti liigast väljas, kuna Bowles jõudis nokauti löödud Torrest lüüa veel oma 3 korda enne, kui kohtunik aru sai, et nüüd läheb kiireks ja vahele “tormas”.  Nüüd on siis pm. jäänud 2 meest kelle pikaajaline troonimine ootab lõppu, sest võitmatuid ei kipu olema. Need mehed on Anderson Silva ja Fedor Emelianenko. Paljud MMA huvilised tahaksid siia muidugi asetada ka GSP, aga tema on olnud järjest võidukas vaid veidi üle 2a ning selle ajaga on siis 6 võitu järjest. Samas kui Anderson Silval on 11 võitu järjest (üle 3a jooksul) ja Fedoril pole ühtki kaotatud MMA matši alates aastast 2001 …

Lisaks on märkimisväärne, et Joseph Benavidezi võiduseeria katkes, ei suutnud mees jagu saada Dominick Cruzi heast plaanist. Benavidez üldse jättis kõige nõrgema mulje siiani. Samuti, mis minu jaoks läheb positiivsesse osasse sellest üritusest, Takeya Mizugaki pigistas raskest matšist võidu välja. Ma küll ei uskunud, et USA pinnal see otsus jaapanlasele antakse, aga nii läks. Ka viie raundises tiitlimatšis Torrese vastu oli ta väga sitke ning loodan, et ta parandab oma tehnikaid ning jõuab kunagi veel tippudele väga lähedale. Südant on tal küllaga.

Tulemused ja samuti summad, mida võistlejad koos boonustega teenisid:

WIKI

Here are the quick results from the WEC event:

• Brian Bowles defeats Miguel Torres-1st Round KO (Punches)
• Dominick Cruz defeats Jospeh Benavidez-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Danny Castillo defeats Ricardo Lamas-2nd Round TKO (Punches)
• Takeya Mizugaki defeats Jeff Curran-3rd Round Decision (Split)
• Leonard Garcia defeats Jameel Massouh-3rd Round Decision (Split)
• Cole Province defeats Fredson Paixao-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous) 
• Shane Roller defeats Marcus Hicks-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Ed Ratcliff defeats Phil Cardella-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Rani Yahya defeats John Hosman-1st Round Submission (North-South Choke)
• Diego Nunes defeats Rafael Dias-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• LC Davis defeats Javier Vazquez-3rd Round Decision (Split)

Sorry for not writing this review last night, got kinda lazy. Anyways the WEC once again provided another quality show. The little guys can really fight and its a shame they’re not getting more exposure in the UFC. Hopefully the UFC can merge with the WEC in the near future. I went for 4 for 11 with my picks last night. Really awful and that makes my overall record since starting this blog 15 for 33. That’s terrible, I stink at making predictions, FML. I will say though there were a couple huge upsets and some shitty decisions on the undercard that affected my picks. Ok onto my thoughts:

Bantamweight Title-Torres/Bowles Fight

Huge, huge, huge upset here. Totally thought Torres would run right through Bowles. Torres had Bowles hurt, but rushed in to finish and got clipped and put to sleep on the ground. Even though Bowles was hurt, I would have given him the round up to that point. He had already knocked down Torres early in the round and wasn’t threatened when he took the fight to the ground. Outstanding performance by Brian Bowles, a guy who I really underestimated. Even though Torres is from East Chicago, I’m actually happy Bowles won. It was becoming very stagnant at the top of each weight class in the WEC and UFC with Torres, Brown, Penn, St-Pierre, Silva, Machida, and Lesnar all looking like dominant champions that would reign for a long time. It’s nice to see change at the top of the bantamweight division, especially since Torres has looked unbeatable. It proved to me once again that anything can happen at any time in MMA and that on any given night anyone can win. Bowles as champion has shook up the division and made things exciting again. I wonder how the WEC will market him though as he’s always been a soft spoken guy with not much charisma. One random note is that he looked huge compared next to Torres and is a huge bantamweight in general. That combined with his good power, wrestling and submission skills make him a worthy champion. Bowles will probably have to defend his title next against Dominick Cruz in what should be an outstanding fight. Torres will most likely get one fight against a tough guy before getting another title shot since he’s reigned so long. Someone suggest Torres vs Mizugaki 2 and I like that idea.

Benavidez/Cruz Fight

Another upset here. I underestimated Cruz in this fight, but it looked like Benavidez was just way too small for him. Cruz is another big, tall bantamweight fighter and he used that to his advantage. He peppered Benavidez from the outside with his long reach and then outwrestled the on paper better wrestler, taking him down multiple times. Really exciting fight though as Benavidez was super active and never quit, getting himself off the ground and always attacking. Unfortunately I think Benavidez may just be too small for the top guys in the division and I would suggest him moving down to 125 lbs when that division gets created. It seems like he has no power in punches at this weight. As for Cruz, again really impressive and a true breakout performance. I think he can be real force in the bantamweight division, with his size, good boxing ability and great timing on his takedowns. He will most likely get a title shot with this huge win against Brian Bowles in a fight that will be a toss-up.

Lamas/Castillo Fight

Big win here for Castillo as the two great wrestlers canceled eachother out in the wrestling department, so the whole fight took place on the feet. The fight was moving along at a decent clip until Castillo rocked Lamas with a huge straight right before finishing him off on the ground. Castillo has probably put himself now in the mix for a title shot in the paper thin WEC lightweight division. Seriously the 155 lb weight class isn’t all that great and I don’t think either of these guys would be contenders for awhile in the UFC lightweight division. The WEC should just fold the 155 lb class into the UFC’s. Castillo probably gets a tough fight in his next bout. I suggest maybe Richard Crunkilton if he wins his next fight. As for Lamas, I don’t really know who he gets next, and I honestly I don’t care.

Mizugaki/Curran Fight

Even though Mizugaki won the fight on the judges’ scorecards, Curran did enough to win that fight. This is another case where the damn judges think the guy on top on the ground is winning. I’d give Mizugaki the first round, but Curran definitely won the 3rd round with his near triangle choke finish on Mizugaki late in the round, which btw was fuckin beautfiul. He baited Mizugaki with a sweep attempt before throwing over his legs for a triangle. It was so masterful and real high level jiu-jitsu. If any judge gave Mizugaki that round for surviving the triangle choke they outta be fired from ever judging MMA. The guy on the bottom that is threatening the guy on top and putting him on the defensive by constantly attempting submissions and sweeps should be the man that gets the round. A takedown alone means nothing if you’re having to constantly defend yourself from the guy on the bottom. Some of these damn judges don’t recognize the fuckin art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and think this shit is Ultimate Wrestling or something. Anyways so the round in contention here is the 2nd round, which I felt Curran won. Curran was outstriking Mizugaki on the feet, and then Mizugaki got the takedown, but was constantly threatened on the bottom by Curran who took no damage and was even attempting a guillotine choke at the end of the round. Honestly, this shit was a robbery and even though I picked Mizugaki, Curran deserved to win. I didn’t understand Mizugaki’s game plan to take down a great black belt like Curran. I thought he could’ve outstruck Curran. Mizugaki gets his first win in the WEC despite a flawed gameplan and will probably get another contender in the bantamweight division. As for Curran, I hope the WEC doesn’t cut him. He’s lost 4 in a row, but all to tough guys. I’d like to see him get a pick-me-up fight on the undercard or something.

Garcia/Massouh

We got a bonus by getting this fight live as it was originally slotted for the undercard. This fight isn’t as bad as the Mizugaki/Curran fight, but I think I would have given the win to Massouh, even though the judges scored it for Garcia. Garcia definetly won the 1st with a knockdown, and Massouh dominated the 2nd. The 3rd round, I feel Massouh did enough to win, but it could have been went either way. Garcia was a little more active on the feet, but he was swinging and missing a lot. Honestly, I feel the judges gave the win to Garcia b/c it was such a close fight and they just went with Garcia b/c he’s more popular. Unfortunately for Massouh, that’s 0-2 in the WEC and he will probably get cut. Garcia should another contender in his next fight. If Mizugaki doesn’t fight Torres next, then I would like to see Garcia vs. Mizugaki. That fight has fireworks written all over it.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, pretty solid even from the WEC. Next event from the WEC will be in September featuring an Interim Lightweight Championship bout b/w Donald Cerrone and Ben Henderson. Should be a pretty good fight.

So this Sunday on Versus (it’s a channel), the WEC will be airing a huge show. It’s kind of being overshadowed right now by UFC 101, which btw was stupid of Zuffa to have a WEC event on the same weekend as the UFC, by that’s another topic for another discussion later. Now if you’re not a big MMA fan, you may not know what the WEC is. It is the same thing as the UFC, a mixed martial arts organization. Same rules, same octagon, same everything. WEC stands for World Extreme Cagefighting, and contrary to a lot of people’s beliefs, they are not in competition with the UFC. In fact, the same entity, Zuffa, that owns the UFC, also owns the WEC. So what’s the difference? The UFC is for fighters 155lbs and up, while the WEC showcases fighters that fight at 155 lbs or lower. The WEC currently has 3 weight classes: lightweight (155 lbs), featherweight (145 lbs), and bantamweight (135 lbs). This Sunday night will pit the top 2 bantamweights in the world along with a host of other great fights. Once again I’m placing the rankings next to each fighter according to http://www.bloodyelbow.com/rankings. I have to admit, I’m not as familiar with all the fighters in the lower weight classes, so my previews for each fight may not be as in depth as they normally are, especially for the undercard bouts, but I’ll do my best.

Main Card Bouts:

Bantamweight Title: #1 Miguel Torres (37-1 Overall, 5-0 in WEC) vs. #2 Brian Bowles (7-0 Overall, 4-0 in WEC)

Undoubtedly the best bantamweight in the world and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world from East Chicago, Indiana, Miguel Torres takes on top contender Brian Bowles in the main event. If you don’t know who Torres is, you definitely need to look him up. This guy is amazing and if he was getting exposure in the UFC he’d be a top star. This man has amazing cardio, great heart, tough chin, great Muay Thai, awesome jiu-jitsu, he has it all. This guy pushes the pace in all his fights and never stops attacking. He has only lost once in 38 pro fights and has been apart of 2 fight of the year fights already in the WEC. He takes on Bowles who is a guy who should not be underestimated. He is undefeated and has looked impressive in all of his fights in the WEC. He has a solid all around game, being able to knock out and submit his opponents.

These 2 men are currently the 2 best in the bantamweight division in the world. This has all the makings for another fight of the year candidate fight. In analyzing this fight, Bowles is good at everything but not great at anything. He doesn’t really pose a threat anywhere to Torres. Torres is way better on the feet and on the ground. The only advantage Bowles has may be his wrestling. Torres has a huge experience advantage and that will be key in this fight. Torres will use his experience to frustrate Bowles standing and on the ground and will catch him making a mistake. This is Torres’ fight to lose. I predict he further cements his legacy with this outstanding performance. Prediction: Miguel Torres 3rd Round Submission – Rear Naked Choke

Bantamweight Bout: #5 Joseph Benavidez (10-0 Overall, 2-0 in WEC) vs. #11 Dominick Cruz (13-1 Overall, 3-1 in WEC)

This fight is the co-main event of the evening and the winner will most likely get the next title shot at the winner of Torres/Bowles. Joseph Benavidez is undefeated and is a protege of popular featherweight Urijah Faber. He takes on Dominick Cruz who since dropping down from 145 lbs to 135 lbs has looked impressive. I’ve seen both men fight in person and this has all the makings for a very exciting fight.

The X-factor in this fight is the fact that Urijah Faber fought and demolished Dominick Cruz already, and Benavidez trains with Faber, so he will have a distinct advantage in knowing how to beat Cruz. Benavidez is an exciting fighter who fights similarly to Faber. He has good wrestling and throws a bunch of unorthodox punches and kicks. His only knock so far seems to be the fact that he doesn’t have much power in his striking and isn’t a finisher. Cruz is very tall for a 135 lb fighter and has pretty good wrestling and decent striking. With that being said, I think WEC wants Benavidez to win this fight and they made this match-up knowing that Benavidez could probably beat Cruz. I see this being an entertaining fight in which Benavidez uses his speed and quickness to beat Cruz. Prediction: Joseph Benavidez Unanimous Decision

Lightweight Bout: Ricardo Lamas (6-0 Overall, 1-0 in WEC) vs. Danny Castillo (7-1 Overall, 2-1 in WEC)

This match-up pits two contenders in the WEC lightweight division. I’m honestly surprised to see this fight on main card instead of Leonard Garcia’s fight, since neither of these 2 guys are all that popular right now. Lamas surprised everyone by coming in on short notice and upsetting Bart Palaszewski in his WEC debut. Castillo also came in on short notice and lost to WEC lightweight title challenger Donald Cerrone, but has since reeled off two straight wins. I see this fight being a match-up of fighters that like to take fights to the mat and pound their opponents. Having seen Lamas fight against Palaszewski, he impressed me enough with wrestling ability for me to give him the nod in this fight. Prediction: Ricardo Lamas 2nd Round TKO

Bantamweight Bout: #4 Takeya Mizugaki (11-3-2 Overall, 0-1 in WEC) vs. #22 Jeff Curran (31-11-1 Overall, 1-3 in WEC)

Japanese contender Takeya Mizugaki takes on MMA veteran Jeff Curran. I saw each of these men’s last fights in person and they both had pretty good performances in their losses. Mizugaki lost to Torres in a fight for the WEC bantamweight title, where he displayed tremendous heart and grit in surviving 5 rounds with Torres before losing a decision in a fight of the year fight. Curran lost at the same event in Chicago to Joseph Benavidez in his first fight from dropping down to 135 lbs from 145 lbs. Both men need a win in this fight to get back into title contention. Mizugaki has a pretty good striking game with decent wrestling and jiu-jitsu. Curran has fantastic boxing and great BJJ. This match-up comes down to who can impose their will. Can Mizugaki keep it standing or can Curran get it to the mat? Both men are well-rounded, but would have distinct advantages over the other in certain areas. Curran hasn’t really impressed me at all in his fights in the WEC, while Mizugaki was very impressive in his fight in the WEC even though he lost. I think Mizugaki gets the big time win here over Curran. Prediction: Takeya Mizugaki 2nd Round TKO

Undercard Bouts:

Featherweight Bout: #6 Leonard Garcia (12-4 Overall, 2-1 in WEC) vs. Jameel Massouh (21-5 Overall, 0-1 in WEC)

A fight that should be on tv, as Garcia takes on Massouh. Garcia is coming off a loss to Mike Brown for the WEC featherweight title in which he got demolished. Despite that, this is a total showcase/pick me up fight for Garcia. If he loses, it will be a huge upset. Prediction: Leonard Garcia 1st Round KO

Featherweight Bout: Fredson Paixao (8-3 Overall, 0-1 in WEC) vs. Cole Province (6-1 Overall, 0-1 in WEC)

Paixao is a top BJJ grappler, while I admittedly don’t know anything about Province. So I’m picking Paixao here. Prediction: Fredson Paixao 1st Round Submission – Armbar

Lightweight Bout: Marcus Hicks (8-2 Overall, 3-2 in WEC) vs. Shane Roller (5-2 Overall, 2-1 in WEC)

2 pretty good wrestlers battle each other in this fight. Shane Roller was considered a highly touted prospect while Marcus Hicks is a former WEC lightweight title challenger. This fight may end up on the feet as two good wrestlers often cancel each other out. I think Hicks has more ways to win than Roller, so I give him the nod here. Prediction: Marcus Hicks 1st Round Submission – Guillotine Choke

Lightweight Bout: Ed Ratcliff (6-1 Overall, 2-1 in WEC) vs. Phil Cardella (13-3 Overall, 0-1 in WEC)

This fight pits a striker in Ratcliff versus a grappler in Cardella. Based on the fact that I love Ratcliff’s karate style striking, I’m going with him in this one. Prediction: Ed Ratcliff 2nd Round KO

Bantamweight Bout: #9 Rani Yahya (14-4 Overall, 3-1 in WEC) vs. John Hosman (13-4-1 Overall, WEC Debut)

Total showcase bout here once again, as Hosman fills in on short notice. Yahya is a world class submission artist and will get Hosman down and submit him. Prediction: Rani Yahya 1st Round Submission – Rear Naked Choke

Featherweight Bout: Diego Nunes (12-0 Overall, 1-0 in WEC) vs. Rafael Dias (13-5-1 Overall, 1-1 in WEC)

2 pretty good grapplers square off in this one. I see this being a total grappling match-up between two guys I don’t know too much about. I’m flipping a coin here and going with Dias. Prediction: Rafael Dias Unanimous Decision

Featherweight Bout: LC Davis (13-2 Overall, WEC Debut) vs. Javier Vazquez (13-2 Overall, WEC Debut)

A fight that was suppose to take place at Affliction is not moved over to the WEC. Two of the top featherweights outside of the WEC finally make their WEC debuts in this one. Davis trains out of the Miletich camp, while Vazquez has been a great fighter that no one has heard about. The winner of this fight jumps right into the mix in the WEC featherweight division. I think Vazquez is too slick on the ground for Davis and catches him. Prediction: Javier Vazquez 1st Round Submission – Armbar

August is a stacked month in the sport of mixed martial arts. Even with Affliction: Trilogy being cancelled at the eleventh hour there are plenty of good fights this month.

UFC 101: Declaration – August 8

A fight that will force Anderson Silva to fight is what fans want to see.  This fight overshadows a lightweight title fight a long time in the making.

• Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin
• B.J. Penn vs. Kenny Florian

WEC 42 – August 9

Torres is one of the top pound for pound fighters and he will face one of his toughest opponents in the well rounded Brian Bowles

• Miguel Torres vs. Brian Bowles
• Takeya Mizugaki vs. Jeff Curran

Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg – August 15

This card initially took a couple of big hits. First, Alistair Overeem was forced out of his heavyweight title bout with Fabricio Werdum with a lingering hand injury. Second, Joe Riggs was forced out of his welterweight title bout with Nick Diaz. Third, Josh Thomson was forced out of his lightweight title fight and re-match with Gilbert Melendez.

• Gina Carano vs. Cristane Cyborg Santos
• Nick Diaz vs. Jay Hieron
• Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs. Gegard Mousasi
• Gilbert Melendez vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida

UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira – Agust 29

An event with a heavyweight match between two of the legends of the sport is a great card.  If you add to that an exciting middleweight fight between Demian Maia and Nate Marquardt you have a big draw.

• Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
• Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt
• Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva

Miguel Angel Torres Vs. Brian Bowles – This will be a great fight. I think both guys are well rounded and have a lot of heart. I believe Torres has the advantage on the ground but has to control Bowles who has a very good ground and pound game. The stand-up should be a war and I think Torres needs to keep his distance and use his kicks.

Jeff Curran Vs. Joseph Benavidez – I really do not know much about Benavidez and he has litle experience compared to Curran. I believe Curran is a well rounded fighter and has a great ground game but has has some bad luck and lost to some top names. He has been in there with a bunch of top guys. He has lost 3 of his last 5 fight but look who he has lost to:

Loss Mike Brown Unanimous Decision
Loss Urijah Faber Submission (Choke)
Win Stephen Ledbetter Unanimous Decision
Loss Matt Serra Unanimous Decision
Win Bao Quach Majority Decision

This week’s episode of Tapout found the crew in Chicago, IL at Curran Martial Arts. The guys were there to check out Pat “Patty Mike” Curran, cousin of MMA fighter & trainer Jeff Curran.

Jeff made a point to poke fun at his cousin’s tattoo, “CCA” that he had on his ankle. It stood for Country Club Acres, that he got when he was 15. The guys took him to get a “real” tattoo. He got a crest with the Curran name and both the flags of Ireland & the United States. Looked like good work.

Curran’s fight was at XFO 23 in Lakemoor, IL on April 25, 2008. His opponent was Lazar Stojadinovic. Pat dominated the majority of the fight and won by decision bringing his record to 2-0.

*Note: After the show was filmed, Pat Curran won a split decision bringing him to 3-0 against Amir Khillah at XFO 25 on August 9, 2008 in Island Lake, IL.

Pictured: Jeff Curran (left) with Pat Curran

We have gotten a few questions about if and who we have sponsored or currently sponsor in MMA. So we thought we would shoot out a list of athletes that we have supported and thank them all for representing the FIGHT CHIX name. Thank you, to each and every one of you for your support and dedication to MMA—and for representing the SEXY side of our sport!

Kim Rose made her MMA debut wearing FIGHT CHIX and fought the well know Kim Couture---and won breaking Couture's jaw in the process.

Kim Rose throwing bombs

Dan SAVAGE LaSavage. He also owns Combat Corner in WI. Dan has rocked our logo in several of his fights—and if you haven’t seen this kid fight—wow—non-stop action, usually resulting in knockdowns and submissions!

Dan SAVAGE LaSavage

Ashley LOCA Sanchez has fought some very tough fights and her last fight earned fight of the night honors.

Ashley NEVER backs down and crowds love seeing her fight!

Amanda Lucas, the daughter of Star Wars creator, George Lucas, was part of the Princesses of Pain. This all female fight team is sponsored by FIGHT CHIX on their trip to New Zeland to battle in a team match. This has blown up into a reality series that should appear on networks very soon.

Amanda Lucas is a member of the Team USA branch of the Princesses of Pain. Fight Chix sponsored Team USA

Adam Maciejewski most recently fought in the Adrenaline show in Chicago. He trains out of Hackney’s Combat and is consistantly improving his all around game.

Adam getting ready to load up a big right hand---Fight Chix logo on the thigh!

This is just a small sample of who we have worked with. We have also worked with Darius Turcinskas, Felice Herrig, Roberto DeLeon, Kristin Niedzielski, Tessa Simpson, Lynn Alvarez and more!

In addition to these fighters we have sponsored, we have provided clothing to the wives and girlfriends of several top flight fighters. These woman stand behind their men as they get ready for battle. As the rock in the support structure that lets these fighters succeed, we wanted to give them some credit. To protect the privacy of these great ladies—we will just list some of the men they support. Andre Arlovski, Jens Pulver, Jeff Curran, Bart Palaszewski, Jay Hieron, Randy Couture, Gideon Ray, and MANY more.

We love this sport and appreciate the chance to give back to it!

One question I want to know the answer to is what is next for “The California Kid” Urijah Faber following his strong performance against Jens Pulver.  Faber is by far the best featherweight in the world.  The question is who is he going to fight next.  He has beaten some good opponents in Jeff Curran and now Jens Pulver.  I think there are a couple of options for Faber. 

1.  He could stay in the featherweight divison of the WEC and keep defending his belt.  There are still a few guys he could beat, but I do not know who can compete with him seriously.  Perhaps Cub Swanson or someone else would make sense, but I don’t think it would be much of a fight.  I just don’t know what else he has to prove in the featherweight divison.  The only talent that can compete with him is not in the WEC.

2. He could move up to lightweight in the WEC.  He is big enough to do it and I think would do well.  I think he would destroy guys liek Rob McCullough or Jamei Varner. 

3.  He could move up to lightweight in the UFC.  He has said he would like to avenge his loss to Tyson Griffin, and Tyson is in the UFC.  That would be an interesting fight, which I suspect will be a reality sooner than later.   I would like to see how Faber would stack up against other UFC lightweights.  I think he would do just fine.  I think he could plow through the Roger Huerta’s of the UFC, but some guys would be tough for him.  A B.J. Penn fight would be a smash hit and huge draw from a marketing stand point, but that isn’t likely yet as Penn will probably next fight the Florian vs. Huerta winner and then move up to fight St. Pierre if he still has the belt. I don’t know the logistics of how it would work, but I look for the Faber vs. Griffin fight to happen and I suspect Faber would have to move up to 155 for one fight at least.  Perhaps by the end of the year the UFC will plan a interpromotional fight card with the WEC.  How would you like to see fights like…Georges St. Pierre vs. Carlos Condit, Brian Stann vs. Jackson/Liddell/Wanderlei, Faber vs. Tyson Griffin, Paulo Filho vs. Anderson Silva ??

4. He could do some inter promotional fights with other featherweights.  Perhaps a fight with Kid Yamamoto or another top featherweight. 

Faber is young and still has a lot of fight in him.  I don’t know who else he will fight.  To me Faber defending his belt against some other WEC opponent would be a let down from the huge Pulver fight.  Perhaps a Faber vs. Pulver II is possible, but Faber was so dominant that I cannot see the logic behind that.