MMA Planet’s Heavyweight Rankings

Barkann, Oh Barkann

Regular readers are well aware of how much I loathe and despise the self-promoting, self-aggrandizing, self-obsessed, me, ME, MEEEE, Michael Barkann, the Monarch of Me.  Lately, however, I’ve tried to take a more distanced view of this pathetic, egomaniacal man.  And, voila!, suddenly it’s all clear. Barkann is afflicted.  He can’t help himself.  He doesn’t even know what he’s doing.  His “act” is so deeply ingrained, it’s taken root and has a life of its own. So, on goes Barkann, on goes Barkann, on goes Barkann.  Hotter than hot, Barkann is nature’s revenge for global warming.

Comcast Sports Net Telecasts

There’s a lot of sloppiness going on and going on often.  It’s become predictable.  I haven’t made notes, but errors in their graphics have become endemic.  Last Sunday, well after all day games were done, they listed the Giants’ record at “6-5,” when every Eagles fan new the Giants had beaten the Cowboys and were 7 -5. All the other channels had the record right.  Another curious problem is the frequent spelling errors.  For example, the Cleveland Browns were labelled the “Bronws.” Charming work behind the scenes.

Amy Fadool

Most of us know that Fadool won the “camper competition” to pretend to be a real-life sportscaster, despite her sad infirmities, namely marble-mush mouth, and problems speaking simple sentences.  We all know the many times she’s mangled words or simply had to stop and hit the re-start button.  Seriously, Fadool has had to stop speaking  many times, going back to the beginning to try, try again. Is no one at Comcast embarrassed??

But now, Fadool has reached a record high for low dudgeon.  On a recent toss-over from the Monarch, Barkann, Fadool twice referred to him as “Mikey.”  That’s right a double Mikey.  Mikey. Mikey. How humiliating. Do I have to even add, “unprofessional?” Since it’s the end of the school term, Fadool gets a grade duplicating the first initial of her last name, namely, an “F.” It’s time for remedial, Amy.

The Daily News Sportswriters’, well, Crutch

Here’s a copy of an email I sent to Josh Barnett, DN’s Sports Editor, earlier this week.  Naturally, I didn’t get a reply. I have noticed, however, that ensuing articles have dropped the, well, offending well’s.

Dear Josh Barnett,

I don’t know the grammatical term for, well, using the word, ”well,” as a modifier, but I recognize a crutch when I see one. Are your writers under orders to, well, use the word ‘well’? If so, they are doing damned well.

In today’s paper, Paul Hagen goes for a “well” in para 8: ”This is odd on a couple of levels.  One is that, well, that’s not usually how they conduct themselves.” Also in today’s paper, now that you’ve brought Bob Cooney into the starting rotation, he got in his own well in the first paragraph.  Good on ya, Bob.  ”It was a setting that hasn’t been present at the Wachovia Center since, well, since Iverson was there before.

Sam Donnelon is a more frequent well flyer. But the past and present (and probable future) King of Wells, is, well, Mr.R. Hofmann. Hoffy is hitting about .333 in his weekly columns, good for a ball player, but, well, below the Mendoza line for a sports writer.

I’m having a little fun with you, but really, it’s epidemic and annoying. I’ve thought that the Daily News sports pages have been living off their reputations, well, for several years. Certainly, putting an embargo on all well’s for the foreseeable future would, well, be appreciated.

Oh well,

JJ

So i was bored on Sunday and made a list of the people i think Strikeforce should try to sign soon

Tim Sylvia-yes i know he lost to ray mercer he has recently gotten back into the win colomun at Adrenaline MMA 4: Sylvia v Ryliey . Discounting is Loss to Mercer its not like he lost to anyone TRULY bad . Im not saying he’s P4P the greates ever or even a top 10 or 15 HW. He dose have some good name recognition which is something Strikeforce could use atm. With his fight against Hong Man Choi at there NYE show maybe Strikeforce could get him.

Bobby Lashley : There reports of talks . I myself am not a fan of Lashley (MMA Fighter or Pro Wrestler) in his fights i feel he has shown to have good wrestling but nothing but a simple striker . He also brings name recgontion and could maybe carry over some TNA fans . Who dosent want there product viewed more?

Hendo : Mayed the list on Sunday so yeah

Eddie Alverz : He impressed me with his showings in Bellator and the DREAM LW GP . He would add some nice depth to LW div in Strikeforce

Josh Barnett: Yes he is Suspended or something that matter confuses me at the moment but if the guy could piss clean again then why not.

its the Magic Pants

Shinnya Aoki : He is apparently signed with them but until i see him in the ring minus the magic pants he would also add more depth and meat to there LW Div.

Joachim Hansen : This guy stands and bangs with people thats exactly what some people like (myself included) he would also add more meat to the LW div. Did i mention that his nick name is Hellboy?

The picks here mainly focused on the Div with the least amount of meat in them. Im not a big Heavies fan I like Lesnar and all but the lighter weight classes are much more exciting to me. Hence why i think WEC is the best MMA Orginazation out there .

The fight between number one heavyweight in the world Fedor Emelianenko and top five heavyweight, Josh Barnett, that was once scheduled as the main event for “Affliction: Trilogy” looks to be a go again. If you remember, the bout was cancelled due to Josh Barnett testing positive for steroids. The cancellation of that fight led to the cancellation of Allfliction: Trilogy, and essentially causing the folding of Affliction. However, now it looks like Barnett will be signing with DREAM and Strikeforce/M-1 will indeed cross promote to set-up the long awaited fight. The bout is set up for a tentative date of Feburary 2010.

Personally, I’m pumped for this fight. But, since Barnett tested positive for steroids in the United States, one can only assume he will still be juicing in Japan where they do not test for performancing enhancing drugs. So, even if Barnett could pull of the upset, one would have to think everyone would see it as a tainted victory?

Source

Otro buen “spinn-off” de Hitler en la película “Downfall” (La Caída), en esta ocasión el tema es la incapacidad de UFC para firmar a Fedor Emelianenko, aunque el video corresponde a hace algunos meses (Antes de que el duelo Fedor-Barnett fuera cancelado)

Las mejores frases del video (una seria y otra no tanto):

• No me importa si GSP usó Vaselina o no, lo que quiero es ver a Fedor en UFC
• Sólo imaginen, el pudo ser el coach de un equipo en la próxima temporada de The Ultimate Fighter

Sugerencia del compañero Bruno

Otherwise known as “The Heavyweight Division in MMA is the worst one”. Look, I’m not saying they’re bad, just that they’re nowhere near complete fighters. Take a look at Bloody Elbow’s Composite Rankings. Look at the LHW division compared to the HW – you have to go really deep before most of the line becomes dry. You’ve got exciting prospects in Luiz Cane and Jon Jones, people who can fight top level fighters at different weight classes like Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin. Hell you’ve got legends like Lidell and Wanderlei next to people who are getting talked about as possible upcoming players for a UFC title shot like Brandon Vera. All this is in the area of 6-18.

In comparison, you’ve got a 3-time roider who’s busy doing pro wrestling at #5 in Barnett; a widely suspected roider in Overeem at #11 tied with a great wrestler with no apparent punching power (Cain Velasquez). The next names in the list are Werdum (no stand-up to speak of), Jeff Monson (same and considering a drop to LHW to be more competitive), and various other people who can be called incomplete, to be very charitable. It is also worth noting that one of the widely acknowledged best, Randy Couture, is also dropping back down to LHW to remain competitive.

It doesn’t help that the widely acknowledged #1 and #2 are in different promotions, leading to endless speculation from fans of both camps. Compare this to other divisions where the UFC has the lion’s share of talent and we can actually get realistic match ups, and you see the Fedor Problem. Sadly, we will probably not get any solution any time soon, but at least we can still enjoy the fights.

This via Bloody Elboow.

We have been in contact with [Josh] – very loose contact, not serious contact, but he is something that would be interesting for sure.

I think the California State Athletic Commission and Josh Barnett will work their issues out and once he has done that then maybe we will be a little more interested in Josh.

Strikeforce’s CEO Scott Coker.

This comes way too close to an announcement that two major heavyweight division signings are on the way. I still think the leading candidates are Jeff Monson and Bobby Lashley. Barnett still has to deal with CSAC regarding the positive drug test prior to the Affliction show that never happened. It was Barnett’s second positive test.

At this point in his career, Josh Barnett is in the same boat as Andrei Arlovski. He’s been damaged by this second positive test and the stigma that he drove the final nail into the Affliction coffin, and he’s been inactive since January. Prior to that, Josh’s star was still much bigger in Japan than the United States.

Strikeforce’s heavyweight division is in a very odd place. Their champ, Alistair Overeem is overseas kickboxing and fighting for other promotions, which leaves Fedor, the WAMMA champion at the top of the dog pile. With Fabricio Wedrum’s win over Pezao, it would be easy to assume that Werdum is in line for a title shot. The question is: Which title?

One scenario that may play out would be Fedor vs Overeem. Overeem hasn’t defended the Strikeforce strap since winning it in 2007. The two have never met in the cage, and Fedor is actually willing to fight for Strikeforce.

Coker may get one more fight out of Overeem. Fedor would be the heavy favorite to win, and would hold the WAMMA and Strikeforce titles. He would be able to defend the WAMMA title overseas and the Strikeforce strap here in the states. Werdum would get one more fight against Lashley or Monson before challenging for the belt.

Atsushi Sawada y Josh Barnett

Desde hace un buen rato, Antonio Inoki en su empresa IGF ha tenido el cinturón IWGP original, el de primera generación, y esto ha causado el disgusto de luchadores de NJPW, especialmente de Shinsuke Nakamura, que incluso ha lanzado un reto para que el “campeón” de esa empresa ponga en juego su cinturón ante el que ahora ostenta Nakamura (el de cuarta generación), duelo que él quiere que se realice en Wrestle Kingdom IV.

La foto que vemos, corresponde a la función del 3 de Noviembre en el que más de 2700 fanáticos lograron entrar al Korakuen Hall (sede con capacidad para 2105 asistentes), y en ella vemos a Josh Barnett y Atsushi Sawada con el IWGP Original. Abajo una foto del IWGP del IWGP de cuarta generación (el actual de NJPW):

www.njpw.co.jp

While Street Fighter IV made a glorious comeback on next –gen consoles this year, Tekken 6 is still set to make it’s multiplatform release later this holiday.  My personal favorite fighting game, this is the franchise I remember playing growing up while turning away challenger after challenger at the Pacific Mall arcade (still alive and kicking btw).

One of the appealing factors of the Tekken franchise is the variety and distinction it made between the large amount of fighters and their respective fighting styles.  Today, Namco celebrates the Tekken franchise, its next upcoming release with number 6, and the game’s distinguishing assortment of martial arts it offers.  The trailer features reknowned real-life fighters from different disciplines not giving testimonials about the game, but giving testimonials on the beauty of fighting.  Probably one of the best trailers I’ve seen in quite a while.  See you all day one online if you yearn for a pounding…Sean C/shonathan.

Official details below:

SANTA CLARA, Calif., (September 28, 2009) — TEKKEN® 6, the latest installment to the top-selling video game franchise from NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., comes out swinging today with a new trailer packed with the world’s fighting greats. Featuring vignettes of fighters from different disciplines and stages of their careers, the trailer highlights real warriors executing signature TEKKEN 6 moves. The video debuting exclusively online at www.tekken.com includes four-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Evander Holyfield, MMA standout Josh Barnett and professional boxer Vicente Escobedo, who recently vied for the WBO Lightweight World Boxing Championship title.

“TEKKEN showcases a diverse cross-section of martial arts styles, varying cultures, and a deep storyline as distinct as the characters in the franchise,” said In Joon Hwang, brand manager at NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. “The chance to feature the unique sensibilities and motivations of real professional fighters was a fun, authentic and effective way to underscore the legacy that drives the TEKKEN brand in a way that’s cool for existing and new fans alike.”

The three-minute-plus, live-action trailer will appear on the web through www.tekken.com, as well as social media outlets such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube. The trailer will also be posted on sites in conjunction with the company’s media partners and TEKKEN fan base.

The complete roster of fighters featured in the trailer includes:

• World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Evander Holyfield

• MMA standout Josh Barnett
• Professional boxer Vicente Escobedo
• 1984 Olympic and Pan American Games Gold-Medalist Henry Tillman
• 6^th-Degree Kenpo Practitioner Tommy Wish
• Four-time World Muay Thai Champion William “The Bull” Sriyapai
• Defending World Youth Boxing Champion Peter “Lil Pete” Duran
• Light-Welter Weight MMA Champion Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy
• Five-time National Boxing Champion, 2010 Pan American Games team member and 2012 Olympic Team hopeful Patricia Manuel
• MMA fighter and professional skateboarder Jason Ellis
• TapouT Clothing founders Punkass and Skyscrape
• Professional sumo wrestler Tamir “the Giant Killer” Dolgormaa
• 2008 Olympian and professional boxer Javier Molina

From/De: Namco Bandai Games America

Holyfield, Barnett, Escobedo and other fighting luminaries deliver knockout action in Tekken® 6 TRAILER

World Heavyweight and MMA Pros Hit Social Networks and Online Sites with High Impact Trailer

SANTA CLARA, Calif., (September 28, 2009) — TEKKEN® 6, the latest installment to the top-selling video game franchise from NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., comes out swinging today with a new trailer packed with the world’s fighting greats. Featuring vignettes of fighters from different disciplines and stages of their careers, the trailer highlights real warriors executing signature TEKKEN 6 moves. The video debuting exclusively online at www.tekken.com includes four-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Evander Holyfield, MMA standout Josh Barnett and professional boxer Vicente Escobedo, who recently vied for the WBO Lightweight World Boxing Championship title.

“TEKKEN showcases a diverse cross-section of martial arts styles, varying cultures, and a deep storyline as distinct as the characters in the franchise,” said In Joon Hwang, brand manager at NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. “The chance to feature the unique sensibilities and motivations of real professional fighters was a fun, authentic and effective way to underscore the legacy that drives the TEKKEN brand in a way that’s cool for existing and new fans alike.”

The three-minute-plus, live-action trailer will appear on the web through www.tekken.com, as well as social media outlets such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube. The trailer will also be posted on sites in conjunction with the company’s media partners and TEKKEN fan base.

The complete roster of fighters featured in the trailer includes:

· World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Evander Holyfield

· MMA standout Josh Barnett

· Professional boxer Vicente Escobedo

· 1984 Olympic and Pan American Games Gold-Medalist Henry Tillman

· 6th-Degree Kenpo Practitioner Tommy Wish

· Four-time World Muay Thai Champion William “The Bull” Sriyapai

· Defending World Youth Boxing Champion Peter “Lil Pete” Duran

· Light-Welter Weight MMA Champion Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy

· Five-time National Boxing Champion, 2010 Pan American Games team member and 2012 Olympic Team hopeful Patricia Manuel

· MMA fighter and professional skateboarder Jason Ellis

· TapouT Clothing founders Punkass and Skyscrape

· Professional sumo wrestler Tamir “the Giant Killer” Dolgormaa

· 2008 Olympian and professional boxer Javier Molina

About TEKKEN 6:

Spanning over a 14 year legacy, TEKKEN is among the most popular and well-known gaming brands in the world with the entire franchise selling more than 33 million units to date. Displayed in astonishing HD detail, a new era begins as TEKKEN 6 comes complete with intense gameplay modes, new features and environments.

A must-have for fighting aficionados, TEKKEN 6 sees the return of many familiar faces as well as new characters to create the largest line-up the series has ever seen. With a robust character customization feature, online gameplay and a new action Scenario Campaign mode, TEKKEN 6 will be the best “King of Iron Fist Tournament” yet.

Rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB, TEKKEN 6 will be available on October 27, 2009 for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and this fall for the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system.

For more information on TEKKEN 6, please visit: www.tekken.com or www.namcobandaigames.com.

# # #

About NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.

NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. is a leading interactive entertainment software publisher and developer based in Santa Clara, CA. The company is a part of the NAMCO BANDAI group of companies known for creating and publishing many of the industry’s top video game franchises including the PAC-MAN®, SOULCALIBUR®, Naruto™ and Tekken® brands. For more information about NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. and our products log onto www.namcobandaigames.com.

TEKKEN®6 & © 1994-2009 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. All rights reserved.

“PlayStation”, “PS” Family logo and “PSP” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Internet connection and Memory Stick® Duo may be required. Player responsible for Wi-Fi fees.

Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox Live are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Press Release © 2009 NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.

A passion for beating people up…

Two months back I was hired to paint some walls for fighters to shadow box and interview in front of. Somehow this video ties into the new release of Tekken 6. I’m not a video game guy but this clip is kinda cool.

Do you know that Minotauro competed at the ADCC? What about Tito Ortiz, Vitor Belfort or Matt Hughes? Do you remember?

Ever since 1998, the ADCC and its big-money prizes have drawn in a slew of different grappling styles styles, nationalities from the world over and athletes representing all the world’s major fighting events.

Some names have become synonymous with the competition, like Renzo (seven appearances), Saulo Ribeiro, Leo Vieira (six) and Ze Mario Sperry.

Many, though, participated in one or two editions and went on to shine in other fields, MMA for instance. We drew from memory a list of these characters who in but one chapter of the extensive soap opera of the ADCC. If you feel some of the champions are missing, don’t worry, they will have a post all to themselves.

Rodrigo Gracie – He won the under 88kg category in 1998. The next year, a knee injury kept him from defending his title. He returned in 2000 and took fourth in the under 77kg division.

Robin Gracie – The current leader of Gracie Barcelona did just fine in 1998, when he took silver in the under 66kg category. He returned in 1999, in the under 77kg, and fell out in the quarterfinals.

Rodrigo Medeiros – The black belt Carlson Gracie disciple made his appearance in 1998, in the under 77kg category. He lost to Renzo Gracie in the quarterfinals.

Carlos Newton – The Canadian Ronin, who after shining in Pride, competed in 1998, in the under 88kg category. He lost in his second match to eventual champion Rodrigo Gracie.

Oleg Taktarov – A star for the early days of the UFC, the Russian showed up in the ADCC in 1998. He started out well, but dropped out in the under 99kg category semifinal, when he was squashed by American Beau Hershberger. In the absolute, he lost in his first against Ze Mario.

Ahmed Farag – The Egyptian maintains to this day the distinction of being the only Middle Easterner to make it to the winners’ stand in the ADCC. Third place in the under 88kg division in 1998 guaranteed him the honor.

Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhaes – The Brazilian black belt who now teaches in Texas tried his luck in 1999. He fell out in his second match in the under 66kg category, against training partner Alexandre “Soca” Carneiro, who would go on to be runner-up.

Andre Pederneiras – The leader of Nova Uniao competed in the under 77kg category, in 1999. He lost his first match, for taking a throw from Hayato Sakurai, who went on to take bronze.

Fabio Gurgel – The general of Alliance didn’t have much luck in the ADCC. In his first match in the under 88kg category, in 1999, he put Nobuhiro Tsurmaki to sleep, but in his second he lost by a throw to Russian runner-up Alexander Savko.

Luis Orlando – 1998’s under 77kg silver medalist Luiz Orlando returned in 1999, when he fell out in his second match to teammate Ricardo Liborio. He did compete in the absolute, but was overcome in his first match.

Joao Roque – Along with Royler Gracie, he earned the title of best match of ADCC 1999. He lost, but made history.

Murilo Bustamante – The leader of the BTT tried his luck in the ADCC in 1999 and 2000. He had three matches in the under 99kg category. He was eliminated by Saulo Ribeiro in a riveting match. In the absolute, he lost to Ricco Rodriguez in the quarterfinals. One year later, Murilo was overcome by Mike Van Arsdale after 15 minutes of combat.

Carlao Barreto – Yet another Carlson Gracie student to appear in the ADCC, Carlao came up against the boogeyman in Mark Kerr in the over 99kg category in 1999, and dropped out of the running. One year later the one to beat him was Ricco Rodriguez, who in a controversial match overcame the Brazilian.

Wellington Dias – Megaton only had one match in the ADCC. IN 1999, he faced Hawaiian Barret Yoshida right of the bat and tapped to a flying armbar.

Alexandre “Pequeno” Nogueira – The “King of Shooto” appeared in the ADCC in 2000, in the under 66kg category. After winning his first, he lost in the semifinal to Joel Gilbert.

Marcio “Cromado” Barbosa – the leader of RFT team had but one bout at ADCC 2000 and was unlucky to come up against under 77kg runner-up Jean Jacques Machado, who finished him.

Roberto “Roleta” Magalhaes – The inventor of weird-jitsu had two matches in the under 88kg category in 2000. In the second, he faced runner-up Ricardo Liborio and was only defeated in overtime. He returned for the absolute and lost to Comprido in the opening stage.

Jorge “Macaco” Patino – Macaco, who now teaches in New Jersey, reached the semifinal of the under 88kg category, losing dramatically to Ricardo Liborio, after fracturing his arm.

Antonio Schembri – Elvis had two appearances in the ADCC. In 2000, he lost right away to Kareem Berchlov, in a match considered one of the best of the event. Afterwards, in the absolute he also dropped out in his first against Mike Van Arsdale. One year on, Nino made his mark. After submitting Akehiro Gono, he ran rampant over 1999 and 2000’s finalist Alexandre Savko and caught the Belarusian’s arm within seconds, earning the admiration of the gymnasium. In the semifinal, he succumbed to Saulo Ribeiro, but he had already left his mark.

Matt Hughes – The wrestler who would go on to become one of the greatest idols of the UFC appeared in the under 99kg category at ADCC 2000. He overcame Ricardo Cachorrao, but stopped at his compatriot Jeff Monson.

Tito Ortiz – The “Bad Boy from Huntington Beach” put in a great showing in the under 99kg category in 200. He made it to the semifinal losing only to Ricardo Arona, but securing bronze.

Rodrigo Medeiros – Comprido competed at the ADCC 2000 and lost in his second to Jeff Monson, in the over 99kg category. In the absolute, the same deal but eliminated by Tito Ortiz after beating Roleta.

Josh Barnett – The UFC and Pride star showed up at the ADCC in 2000, in the over 99kg category. Unlucky, he came up against his compatriot Mark Kerr right off the bat. In the absolute, another loss in his first match, this time to Ricardo Cachorrao.

Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira – The most popular athlete in the Brazilian MMA scene went out on a limb at ADCC 2000. Mino was submitted by Ricco Rodriguez by kneebar.

Robson Moura – Robson secured bronze in the under 66kg category at ADCC 2001. He dropped out in the semifinal to three-time champion Royler Gracie, but overcame Alexandre Soca in the bronze-medal dispute.

Fredson Paixao – Another Brazilian to compete in 2001 in the under 66kg category. Paixao, though, was unlucky and fell out in the opening stage against Joey Gilbert.

Matt Serra – The Renzo Gracie student took silver in the under 77kg div in 2001. To make it there he went past Takanori Gomi, Jean Jacques Machado and Leonardo Santos. He was only stopped by Marcio Feitosa.

Takanori Gomi – As aforementioned, the Japanese MMA star had one match at ADCC 2001, losing to Matt Serra.

Vitor Belfort – Vitor ventured into the over 99kg category at ADCC 2001. He had a good debut and a takedown secured a win over Hikori Fakuda. In the next match, though, Belfort was overcome by South African Mark Robinson.

Leonardo Castello Branco – One of the leaders of Brasa, he appeared in the ADCC in 2001. In the heaviest category, Leo lost to Sean Alvarez.

Eddie Bravo – in 2003, Bravo shocked the world of submitting three-time champion Royler Gracie. And stopped there.

Fernando Terere – The star from the Cantagalo favela had two matches in the under 77kg category at ADCC 2003. In his first he defeated Jussi Tammelin, but later lost to Otto Olsen.

Ryan Gracie – the late Ryan, always controversial, had an unforgettable match against under 88kg runner-up Ronaldo Jacare, in 2003.

Matt Lindland – the American was Jacare’s second victim in the under 88kg category of 2003.

Nathan Marquardt – Now at the top of the UFC’s middleweight division after drubbing Demian Maia, he wasn’t quite so successful in 2003 and lost in his first to Comprido in the under 88kg category.

Fernando Pontes – Margarida made it to the second stage of the under 88kg category in 2003, to be eliminated by David Terrel.

Eduardo Telles – The leader of Nine Nine did fine in 2005’s under 99kg division. He submitted Antoine Jaoude with a slick straight kneebar, but left his arm in the hands of Roger Gracie.

Daniel Gracie – Took fourth in the under 99kg category in 2005.

Luiz Theodoro – Big Mac fell out in the opening stage of 2007’s absolute. In the over 99kg category he made it up to the second stage.

Did we forget anyone? Please feel free to comment.

Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva disclosed to Tatame that should he win his fight with “Big” Jim York at Sengoku 10 on September 23rd, he will face Josh Barnett for the Japanese promotion’s heavyweight title in November.

Sengoku’s president confirmed that if I win, I’ll face Josh Barnett for the title in November.

While no official announcement has been made, Silva’s statements confirm rumors circulated since Barnett’s departure from active competition in the United States. After a 3rd failed drug screening prompted the cancellation of his marquee bout with consensus number one ranked heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko, it seems unlikely that Barnett will return to action in the United States.

Check out the full story, including more quotes from Silva at Tatame.

Saturday’s Strikeforce MMA event could prove to be a very important night, historically speaking.

For the first time in mixed martial arts a high profile event was headlined by a women’s match.

And what a match it was.

Not content with merely being a part of history, Gina Carano & Cris ‘Cyborg’ Santos went into that cage to fight.

I won't say who's who, the tattoo gives you a clue.

In what was easily the match of the night they put on a thrilling display of skill, determination and good old fashioned violence. This could not (and should not) be described as “a great match, considering it’s women”, this was simply a great match.

Sure, Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral vs. Gegard Mousasi was as exciting as it was brief (especially with the quick TKO), and Fabricio Werdum vs. Mike Kyle delivered a nice guillotine submission after a short stand-up scrap, but the only thing coming out of this event that people will really remember is the emergence of women on the big stage as a credible and exciting aspect of the modern MMA game.

It could’ve been a different story, however… 

This show seemed cursed from the start. First of all Joe Riggs pulled out due to an “adverse reaction to a drug”, then Josh Thomson couldn’t compete in his scheduled match due to a “lingering injury”.

Riggs’ original opponent, Nick Diaz, was then denied a license to fight after no-showing a pre-fight drug test. So, while he didn’t fail any drug tests, a no-show is pretty much an admission of either guilt, stupidity or both. Knowing you’re going to fail, especially with Diaz’ long history of smoking weed was probably (for him) a good enough reason not to show up. After all, considering marajuana is out of your system within a month or so it’s not difficult to get the timing right and go into the fight clean. He’s clearly not learned anything since he said “I promise never to do it again” after he was dumb enough to test positive after his victory against Takanori Gomi.

Still, technically all he did was no-show the drug test and, because he wasn’t licensed at the time, he cannot be suspended. All he has to do is wait until he’s booked for his next fight, test clean and he’s effectively side-stepped a potential 6-12 month ban due to testing positive for a banned substance. This is a loophole that needs closing fast.

This incident, while not being the company killer that Josh Barnett’s recent steroid failure proved to be for Affliction, it’s still not ideal for either Diaz or Strikeforce.

If Diaz was a boring fighter who people didn’t care about maybe he’d be fired already. Fortunately for him, however, he’s not. A one-sided pounding of MMA legend Frank Shamrock in April and a similar performance against Scott Smith in June has ensured Diaz’ presence in Strikeforce, at least for the foreseeable future. It also helps that he’s a dick and the audience loves to hate him.

Thankfully, fate (or more likely vigorous weight cutting) decided that Gina Carano didn’t miss weight this time. Historically she’s had difficulty making weight but not this time. The fight was for the 145lb Women’s Title in the division usually referred to as ‘Featherweight’ in the men’s game, although as there are no weight divisions for women in Strikeforce (yet) it’s simply called the ‘Women’s Title’ for now.

If either had missed weight the match would have been switched to a ‘catch weight’ bout (where the participants agree on a weight, irrespective of division limits). If that had happened then the (newly created and vacant) title wouldn’t have been at stake and we wouldn’t have had a champion at the conclusion of the match.

As it turned out though, both made weight and we did have a champion decisively at the end of the match.

The only (small) controversy about the fight is the referee stoppage at 4:59 of the first round. Although the official time of the match was 4:59, he stopped the fight about one tenth of a second before the horn sounded.

Gina was taking a pretty bad beating for the last ten seconds. You could maybe argue that she could’ve survived and carried on but after Cyborg’s vicious ground & pound it probably would’ve been over in the first minute of the second.

Anyone who says women can’t fight should seriously take a look at these two go at it. UFC and mixed martial arts has a lot of ex-wrestling fans watching (due to wrestling being rubbish these days) and anyone that’s ever watched women’s wrestling on WWE should watch this fight just to be reassured that not all women are brainless talentless bimbos and implants, bleached hair and sun tans do not necessarily a good performer make.

Whenever a women’s match comes on during a wrestling show, that’s usually my cue to either get a drink or hit the ‘forward’ button on the remote. Whenever a womens match comes on during a Strikeforce/MMA show it’s usually the match of the night.

Like I said earlier, these two came to fight and, even though the crowd (and fan) favourite suffered defeat, it was a good enough match that she didn’t lose face or credibility in defeat. This fight was so good it made most of the men fighting on this show look lazy. 

The crowd reaction for the entrances and during match was some of the loudest I’ve ever heard from an MMA event, and there’s been some HUGE crowd reactions for established heroes like Georges St. Pierre, Forrest Griffin and Randy Couture. Everyone in the audience was excited for this fight and, most importantly, believed it to be worthy of a main event, treating Carano & Cyborg like stars. Cyborg was even signing autographs on her way back to the dressing room from atop her husband’s shoulders.

It’ll be interesting to see where both Carano and Cyborg go from here given there aren’t any other big name female fighters out there right now, but that’s not to say they won’t make for exciting or competitive bouts. In fact, maybe now these two fighters have put women’s MMA firmly on the map we may see more and more women making names for themselves. Hopefully the sport will attract new female fans and competitors too.

Moving forward, Strikeforce would be insane not to schedule an eventual rematch between the two if Gina fights her way back to contention and Cyborg retains her title in the coming months.

If promoted properly, a rematch would be even bigger than the first. And, if Carano was to win, a third bout between the two (to determine an unofficial ’best of 3′) could be the first women’s MMA fight to rival the gigantic UFC in terms of putting bums on seats.

Although, as much as I (and the fans) like Gina Carano, she just seems a bit too nice and may lack the ruthlessness of Cris Cyborg. She’d have to embrace a killer instinct to match aggression and plain old scariness.

This woman is tough and looks unbeatable at the moment. It’s going to take either a fluke punch, injury or medium sized car crash to take her out any time soon.

Cris Cyborg: this woman would kill you dead.

Gina Carano; all this and she can fight too.

So, Cagepotato and Fight! Magazine ran a caption contest this week. The prize: a pair of UFC 101 tickets. The pic and our entry:

“Josh, I have better idea than I kill you in ring. Instead, I have plan destroy Affliction, make Dana crazy again, help Strikeforce and give M-1 much money for no do nothing. It all take 2 weeks most. NO…we no look couple of stupid assholes in end!”

The winner’s caption: “Josh Barnett announced that he signed a lifetime contract with Condom Depot’s rival sponsor, Herpes.”

Really Cagepotato? Really?