MMA Insider

Mixed martial arts blog by Mark Chalifoux for baltimoresun.com

Total news: 82
Last news: August 19, 2008 10:38:03

 Guest blogger Kye Stephenson is back in the mix. This time, he has an interview with Chris Thomas.Chris Thomas is a Baltimore resident and highly respected figure in the mixed martial arts community. He has been involved in MMA since its... - [Read more]

UFC 87 delivered in a huge way this weekend. For my money it was the best MMA card of the year to date. "Affliction: Banned" gave us Fedor’s return but not too much else and UFC 84 was very good as well but this show was outstanding. A few quick notes ...

* Demian Maia looked very good in submitting Jason MacDonald. There are a lot of people who only enjoy the standing and banging of a fight but this was technical and exciting at the same time.

* Kenny Florian did exactly what people expected him to do against Roger Huerta. He was more experienced and more technical and just a better all-around fighter. I really like Huerta and I hope he can get his contract worked out with the UFC, but Florian was the smarter fighter and the more well-rounded fighter.

* Cheick Kongo destroyed the random brawler he was given. Big shock there. I think the only surprise among the group I watched with was why they even put that fight into the main card. I know the fight before it lasted less than 30 seconds, but put it at the end if needed.

* Georges St. Pierre put together another dominant performance against Jon Fitch. I knew St. Pierre was a gifted fighter and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport but I thought Fitch would give him more trouble than he did. I still think Fitch is the No. 2 welterweight in the world but GSP showed he, like Anderson Silva, is in a class of his own. Fitch had a ton of heart and it was amazing at how quickly he recovered from some of St. Pierre’s strikes, but he couldn’t generate much offense. GSP is simply the better fighter in all areas, which led to a convincing all-around victory. His future match with B.J. Penn should be one for the ages.

* Brock ... freaking ... Lesnar. I picked him to win the fight but I was still floored with how he manhandled Heath Herring. Herring is a good fighter who has a ton of experience and has faced some of the best heavyweights in the sports history. Still, the rookie Lesnar destroyed him. Brock Lesnar is just a freak of nature. His upper body is scary. I think Lesnar’s conditioning wasn’t where it needed to be as he seemed to slow considerably in the second half of the fight but he did more than enough to pound out the win. I was shocked Herring wasn’t knocked out as Lesnar delivered some tremendous blows. The right hand from Lesnar to start the fight looked like a wrestling move after Herring fell backwards into a somersault. Lesnar still has some noticeable holes in his game but is rapidly climbing the depth chart in the heavyweight division.

First, a few links of excellent fight breakdowns for UFC 87.

CBS Sports has their experts pick the card.

The good people at Five Ounces of Pain analyze the fights.

And, the new fightticker.com has its panel predictions up, including one expert (me) who is simply brilliant.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson made his first public appearance at the UFC 87 press conference. It sounds like he’ll be back in action soon, but I think that could be a mistake. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him face Wanderlei Silva in December. It would be awesome, Silva would win, but I just hope Jackson is ready. If he’s not, I hope they give him someone easier to deal with.

Moving on to my biggest pet peeve when Brock Lesnar fights...

Brock Lesnar’s participation in the UFC has been a hot issue for a lot of media types and for fans. I realize he’s a former professional wrestler and he will probably never escape that. I also realize that many people aren’t happy with the push Lesnar has been given without “paying his dues.” Ive talked to two such fighters -- Tim Sylvia and Brandon Vera -- who were unhappy with it. I also realize Lesnar is a huge draw, will help the event break attendance records (since it’s his homecoming) and will bring in a lot of pay-per-view buys.

Still, how much longer will we have to put up with things like this?

Here is an interview from SI.com with Lesnar. Most of it is fine, until you get to this brilliant question.

SI: How important is it that you and MMA dont head down the pro wrestling road and, instead, keep it real?

Yep. How important is it that you keep your sport legit instead of fabricating the action. Like Dana White is going to walk in one day and say to Chuck Liddell:

“Listen, this fight thing has been OK, but here’s how we take it to the next level. During your fight with Rashad Evans, I’m going to have one of the ring girls distract the official. It should be easy because he is so unprofessional that the mere sight of a female in skimpy clothing will command 100 percent of his attention. At that point, I’m going to enter the octagon and hit Evans in the face with a steel chair. Then, after the fight, I’m going to come in and raise your hand while people shower us with pop bottles and other garbage.”

Lesnar handled the question like a pro and I’m sure he has been asked stupid questions before, but how could anyone at a real media outlet pose that question?

Is anyone asking Gary Bettman questions like, "how important is it for hockey to be played on ice? Is it important to keep the game on ice instead of on a field and played no sticks and a ball instead of a puck?"

Lesnar will ultimately be good for the UFC, especially with the heavyweight division falling apart, but this type of thing gets old very fast.

Just filed my predictions for a number of different places. I know the economy is tight these days, so print this post, take it to Vegas, and almost double your money thanks to my brilliance.

Actually, Im going with the three favorites. Ive never picked three favorites in a row because things just dont shake down that way. I could see any of these fights going the other way, but its uncomfortable to sit on the fence forever. 

Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch: A lot of people seem to be buying stock in GSP these days and it’s not without merit. However, we’ve seen him overlook opponents before (well, once). And I think Fitch is the best fighter Rush has faced since B.J. Penn. He does a lot of things well and is great on the ground. After all of that, I just can’t see Fitch winning this fight. I’ve tried to convince myself for awhile now, but St. Pierre is just too well-rounded and too focused on Fitch. Fitch was an outstanding collegiate wrestler, but we’ve seen St. Pierre handle that before without much trouble (Josh Koscheck). I’ll take St. Pierre in a third-round submission.

Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta: I really like Kenny Florian. I think he’s got the superior jiu-jitsu and the better stand-up. I like Huerta’s power, but I feel that Florian is the better fighter. This could very well be the fight of the night and if it goes the distance, I think Florian takes it. Huerta’s best chance is to go for the knockout. Huerta is never out of a fight though, which is why this should be a great one. I’m taking Florian in a unanimous decision, partly in hope that we’ll get to see several great rounds of action.

Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring: This is the hardest fight to pick, mainly because we have no idea of what Lesnar is capable of. We’ve seen only a few seconds of him against good competition. He should be able to take down Herring at will and Lesnar has power. Lesnar’s exceptional wrestling doesn’t help Herring as he’s shown problems on the ground against wrestlers worse than Lesnar. Still, Herring is a very experienced fighter who has faced some of the top fighters in the world. He hasn’t beaten any of them, but experience counts for something. Herring isn’t a guy that will go down quickly either -- he’ll last awhile. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lesnar gassed halfway through the fight as his cardio is another question. He looked fine in 36 seconds, but hopefully we’ll get more this time around. I don’t think Herring is nearly as big an underdog as Vegas makes him, but I’ll give the nod to Lesnar in a second-round TKO.

Click here for a photo gallery of UFC 87 fighters.
 

We are days away from UFC 87 and this is the card I’ve been looking forward to all summer. Affliction: Banned should go down as the most important event of the summer because it showed that Fedor is still one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but Saturday’s pay-per-view in Minnesota has some very interesting bouts.

The main event is Georges St. Pierre defending his welterweight championship against Jon Fitch. Most people don’t know a lot about Fitch, but hopefully that doesn’t make them take him lightly. Fitch is a very good fighter and one of the best welterweights St. Pierre has faced in awhile. Depending on your point of view on Matt Hughes, Fitch may be the best opponent St. Pierre has faced since B.J. Penn. Im leaning towards St. Pierre, but it could be closer than a lot of people think.

The Kenny Florian-Roger Huerta fight should be excellent, but the fight I find the most intriguing is Brock Lesnar against Heath Herring. Both fighters desperately need a win. A lot of hopes are pinned on Lesnar for the UFC’s heavyweight future and he could be a terrifying fighter. Herring also needs a win because his UFC run has been less than impressive. Lesnar is no Fedor, but a win over him would be Herring’s best UFC win.

Of course, Lesnar excels at one key area -- wrestling. Herring’s big flaw is wrestling and he’s not very good on the ground. On paper, Lesnar should be able to defeat Herring handily. Herring isn’t a bad fighter though and he’s working with some smart people, so I think this could be a closer fight than people think. Lesnar is a fighter with plenty of flaws, but I’m not sure Herring will have the tools to execute. With three big fights, this weekend is shaping up nicely.

I’m turning my picks in on Tuesday -- who do you take?

Because it’s a slower week, we have a guest post today from a freelance MMA writer raising the question of what to do with the light heavyweight division. Kye Stephenson is a freelance writer and MMA enthusiast based in Baltimore.  He has contributed to the Baltimore City Paper, The Source, URB, Village Voice, Allhiphop.com.

Will we see Chuck Liddell vs. Forrest Griffin?

Kye Stephenson

After Forrest Griffin’s systematic defeat of Rampage Jackson for the light-heavyweight championship, many questions remain in that division.  At the forefront is the question of whether we will see the pay-per-view extravaganza of Liddell vs. Griffin.  Some MMA fans feel it is already a foregone conclusion that the UFC couldn’t pass up the revenue they would generate from matching up two of the most recognizable names in all of MMA. That is a very valid point and we all know that without PPV buys the UFC can’t survive.  But I’m not sold on the worthiness of Liddell getting a shot.  

Granted, with an impending fight against Rashad Evans on the horizon, this may become a moot point if he loses.  However, assuming he wins, should he be first in line to fight for the title?  In my opinion, even with a decisive victory over Evans, it’s still debatable. And not so much because of Liddells last few fights, more so the fact that there are other fighters in the division that have stepped up.  For instance, Lyoto Machida seems to be on the top of everyone’s list these days when considering title contenders.  On the contrary, it can be said that Machida’s recent victories (over Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Tito Ortiz) don’t weigh as heavily as Liddells overall track record of dominance in the division.  Instead of the “what have you done for me lately” thinking, the UFC may instead be looking at Liddells previous victories over number one contenders and also what he’s meant to the UFC over the years.   Regardless, now that Machida is scheduled to fight another top contender in Thiago Silva, we should certainly have some questions answered about both fighters.  

In my eyes, now that both Machida and Liddell have top opponents before them, there should be a solid plan in place.  I think a Jackson-Griffin rematch should have been the first order of business.  But that might not be possible considering Jacksons recent arrest.  With Jackson doubtful, I think the winner of Liddell-Evans fights the winner of Silva-Machida.  If the stars align, we’ll see Machida fight Liddell and the winner going on to fight Griffin at the end of the year.

-Personally, if we’re going to have Machida and Liddell fight once more after their current bouts before getting a title shot, I think we have to have Quinton Jackson in the equation. He shouldn’t get an immediate rematch, especially after his episode, but if he can get his head together he should at least get a chance to be in that Machida-Liddell match. I think maybe Silva vs. Jackson again and then if Machida loses to Silva or Liddell loses to Evans, the winner of Wanderlei Silva-Quinton Jackson can step into that match to see who faces Griffin. At least, that’s how I would like to see it -- Mark

The reports are in and EliteXC’s "Unfinished Business" show Saturday night did not fare as well as the first time around. A slight ratings drop was to be expected as CBS no longer had the intrigue involved with the debut of the sport on network TV. Also missing in action were the two biggest stars in the EliteXC, Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano.

It was a fairly decent show, actually. Adam Morgan from FiveOucnesofPain.com has a good writeup on the nitty/gritty from the show, which included some enjoyable bouts. Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith played out pretty much how I anticipated it. Cris Cyborg looked impressive and Jake Shields also had a strong showing. The problem was drawing an audience.

MMA Payout has more on the numbers and what they mean, but it looks like the show will garner close to a 2.0 rating. That means the ratings were down almost 40% from the first show. The next big card on CBS will be in October and will feature Slice and Carano again, but if the ratings don’t improve considerably, that may signal the end of EliteXC and CBS. This makes it all that much more important to keep up the facade of Kimbo Slice, when it’s revealed how important he is to developing an audience. They need Slice to keep dropping mediocre competition because one loss will shatter the allure around him.

If you managed to catch it, what did you think of Unfinished Business?

A few odds and ends. EliteXC makes its return to CBS this weekend with a main event of Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith in what will be a rematch of the most entertaining fight from the first event in May. There’s no Kimbo Slice here so the viewership should be down for this event. But to me, it’s the most important show. Any MMA promotion would’ve pulled huge numbers if they had the first show on network TV. I’m curious to see how EliteXC does without Kimbo Slice and the fresh factor helping them pull in viewers. It’s actually shaping up to be a very decent card, especially for network TV, and is definitely worth watching. Hopefully, the broadcast will be cleaned up a little and there will be a lot less lag time between fights. Honestly, I can’t see EliteXC lasting too much longer, at least in its current form, but competition is always healthy for the sport.

The UFC’s Fight Night 14 broadcast pulled tremendous numbers on Spike last weekend. The peak audience was more than 4.5 million for the main event between Anderson Silva and James Irvin. Very impressive.

In other UFC news, three more fights have been confirmed for UFC 88. Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans is the main event for the show in Atlanta, but Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson will be on the card as well.


An intriguing fight has been added to UFC 89. A light heavyweight clash between Keith Jardine and Brandon Vera has been added to the card. That should be a great fight and will be important to both fighters.  Jardine needs a win after getting destroyed by Wanderlei Silva and Vera needs a convincing win at the light heavyweight level.

Affliction’s first event seems to have gone well, as far as PPV buys and gate is concerned. It’s still not clear if the promotion can compete with the UFC, but the first show was a positive start. Yahoo! is reporting Fedor Emelianenko will be back in action in October in a fight against Andre Arlovski. There are a number of fighters I’d like to see go up against Fedor and Arlovski is not one of them. I don’t think he has much of a chance, but he should fare better than Tim Sylvia did.


- [Read more]

The former UFC light heavyweight champion, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, has been arrested on charges of felony evading, reckless driving and hit-and-run. Several reports mention Jackson running red lights during the pursuit, driving on sidewalks and sending pedestrians fleeing in terror. Photos from TMZ.com appear to show police arresting Jackson at gunpoint.

In an interesting twist to this story, Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Dana White flew to California to post Jackson’s bail. Seems excessive to me, but it’s good to see White taking a hands-on approach to prevent things from getting out of control. Officers did say Jackson wasn’t intoxicated at the time of arrest, so he’s either literally crazy or incredibly stupid.

The UFC dodged an incredible bullet here. If Jackson was injured or, God forbid, injured someone else, it would’ve been a public relations nightmare. Inexplicably, the entire sport of MMA would be on trial in the court of public opinion. Because the sport is in its infancy on the sports landscape, every incident like this is going to be magnified.

Jackson should be able to bounce back from this with little long-term damage. There are a number of athletes in mainstream sports who have done far worse things and are still competing. Of course, it’s unfortunate that this storyline has to shadow the biggest weekend of the year for the sport.

It’s also unfortunate that incidents like this will draw coverage away from athletes like Anderson Silva (whose Q&A is the post before this! Cheap plug!), but Rampage will bounce back from this. I would be shocked if he didn’t fight again before the end of the year unless there is far more to this story than it appears.

I recently spoke with the UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva through his manager (and translator) Ed Soares. Silva will make his UFC debut at light heavyweight Saturday against James Irvin in the main event at UFC Fight Night 14. The... - [Read more]

UFC heavyweight Brandon Vera is moving down to light heavyweight to take on UFC newcomer Reese Andy July 19 on Spike TV. The main event of the UFC Fight Night card is middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s debut at light heavyweight... - [Read more]

Anderson Silva recently did an interview with tatame.com that fightline.com translated into English. Silva claims he doesn’t plan on sticking around at the light heavyweight level after his fight with James Irvin at UFC Fight Night 14 July 19.

“I dont have intention to fight on this category and I’m only doing this because they (UFC) asked me and I think I can do it. I dont intend to fight for this belt, this belt belongs to Lyoto (Machida) and he already proved that. Im going to fight because I like to fight and because I like challenges.”-Anderson Silva, Fightline.com

I don’t buy this. I can certainly understand his hesitance to go after the light heavyweight belt while a friend is blazing through the division. That isn’t uncommon. Of course, it goes directly against what UFC president Dana White said at the UFC 86 pre-fight news conference about Anderson Silva.

“He wants to hold both the 185 and the 205 pound belt and he wants to defend them both. Normally I wont let guys do stuff like that because its just ... stupid. Ill let Anderson Silva do it.”-Dana White

I think, ultimately, we will see Silva fight more at 205. He claims he doesn’t want to but I’ve covered a few of Silva’s fights and after every one, when asked who he wants to fight next, he basically says “whoever they want me to” fight. He’s made it clear that he will fight whoever the UFC wants him to. Now, when journalists threw out Rampage’s name as a possible opponent, Silva quickly smiled and shook his head, laughing it off. But, if the UFC wants him more at 205, he will fight more at 205. And I highly doubt the UFC would bring him up to light heavyweight for one fight. They have to have bigger plans in store for him.

Im talking to him Tuesday so hopefully Ill have more on the situation then. 

Affliction has put together an incredible card for "Banned," the biggest mixed martial arts event of the year, which is scheduled to take place July 19 in Anaheim, Calif. Headlining the fight is Fedor Emelianenko, the man who has been... - [Read more]

With UFC 86 in the rearview mirror it’s time to look ahead to some of the summer’s other big fights. One of those will be a battle between UFC heavyweights Heath Herring and mixed martial arts newcomer and former professional... - [Read more]

Forrest Griffin prevailed over Quinton Jackson at UFC 86 Saturday in what was easily the best main event of 2008. Some of the reaction from the fight has been downright idiotic, so let’s clear some things up. First, the “fix” was not in. I’ve heard this theory posited on several message boards and in a few e-mails from fans and it’s downright absurd. While Griffin is a homegrown champ, the UFC would’ve been fine with Rampage winning. It would’ve proven he’s a dominant champion at the top of his game. Additionally, the UFC has far too much to lose by fixing a fight than it would stand to gain by having Griffin win the belt. Third, the judges aren’t even employed by the UFC so it’s not like president Dana White is lording over these people. If you try to argue that this fight was fixed, you’re an idiot.

Griffin won the fight, though it should’ve been a little closer than it was on a few scorecards. Next, there should not be an immediate rematch. I’ve heard a few writers suggest this because Jackson did not lose convincingly and has had an impressive stretch lately. I certainly understand their point because it was a terrific fight and a sequel would be pretty awesome. It can’t happen, though. There’s just too much depth at light heavyweight in the UFC to have an immediate rematch. On one hand, I feel like Jackson deserves it. But one of the main reasons he deserves it is the controversy surrounding the scoring and an immediate rematch would be the UFC validating concerns over scoring, and I think that would send the wrong message.

On the other, there are a lot of great fights that can happen to set up a rematch. I’d love to see Rampage take on Wanderlei Silva first and for Griffin to defend his title against the winner of the Chuck Liddell-Rashad Evans fight in September. Of course, Lyoto Machida needs to figure into this somewhere, although I don’t think he deserves a title shot just yet (although I wouldn’t complain if he got one, either).

All in all, it was a great fight that saved a very average and disappointing card. It’s tough to figure the UFC out sometimes. You will get a stacked card worth plunking down nearly 50 bucks for and then one like this, with a whole lot of nothing until a terrific main event. The UFC has had more hits than misses lately and I think the next two events are huge hits, but this one was a one-fight show.  

MMAWeekly.com has an interesting news item on Anderson Silva. During the UFC 86 news conference, president Dana White claimed that the winner of the Patrick Cote-Ricardo Almeida fight would be in line to take on middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the near future. MMAWeekly.com followed up with White, who said the fight could actually happen this year. So, if you’re scoring at home, Silva moves up to 205 to fight James Irvin on July 19. Then, Silva plans to defend his middleweight championship in early September (potentially) against Yushin Okami. After Irvin and Okami, provided he’s healthy, Silva wants to defend his belt again two months later, which would mean the Cote-Almeida winner would get a title shot in November. After that fight, Silva wants to move back to 205 to continue his quest to hold both championships. Dana White seems to be in favor of Silva’s plan.

“When I talk about real fighter, this is the kind of guy Im talking about," White told MMAWeekly.com. "This guy sat down in a meeting with us, literally, two months ago and said youre not fighting me enough, I want to fight more. And he wants to keep proving himself. Hes one of these guys that said my window is this big and I want to get everything in before this window closes.”

I love watching Silva fight and he is the top fighter in the world right now. But, this is a pretty ambitious plan. Neither of the middleweight fights should concern him too much but his debut at 205 will be interesting. I don’t know if he could make a realistic run at holding both titles like he plans. This would be different if he wanted to cut down to welterweight because light heavyweight is the deepest division in the UFC right now. At welterweight he’d have Georges St. Pierre, possibly B.J. Penn and a few other challenges but it would be easier than blazing through the light heavyweight ranks while also defending the middleweight championship.

***

Click here for photos of UFC 86 fighters.

UFC 89 will be held in England and features a main event of Michael Bisping versus Chris Leben.

I’ve never been the biggest Bisping fan, so I can’t say I’m thrilled about that. I am happy because of another match on that card.

According to MMA weekly, Diego Sanchez will face Thiago Alves. Sanchez is coming off an impressive enough win in The Ultimate Fighter Finale and Alves is coming off his TKO of Matt Hughes.

Fiveouncesofpain.com also has the report that UFC 89 could be free on Spike! TV. Alves vs. Sanchez might as well be the main event of that show because that should be one heck of a fight.

******

Click here for photos of fighters scheduled to take part in UFC 86.

 

MMA Mania has posted the odds released by the Mandalay Bay on UFC 86 and Jackson is a -260 favorite. I think that’s about right, but I expected it to actually be a little higher. I’ve had a lot of success with my MMA predictions lately, but I think I may have taken too big of a risk in this Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin fight. I think Rampage is near the absolute top of his game right now. That being said, we’ve had bigger upsets in the past year and Griffin is a very good fighter as well. While internally I’m waffling a little on my prediction of Griffin submitting Rampage in the third round, externally, I’m still on board with it.

And, not for nothing, here’s a lengthy breakdown of one of the top main events we’ve had this year. Of course, it ends with this quote “This fight is impossible to predict.” Still, there is some good analysis from the UFC’s website.

And, finally, some great UFC 86 stories.

Carlos Arias has a great piece on Juanito Ibarra, Rampage’s trainer, for the Orange County Register.

Neil Davidson, of the Canadian Press, has an interesting read on Forrest Griffin.

*****

Click here for photos of fighters scheduled to take part in UFC 86.

This will be a busy week with UFC 86 on the horizon. We’ve got some interesting things in the works here for next week as we move beyond Saturdays big pay-per-view event but first, a few things on this week.

And, because it’s that time of the week, heres my pick for the UFC 86 Main Event. I’m taking Forrest Griffin over current UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. I may be the only person without Griffin as a last name to pick Forrest but someone has to go with the underdog.

I think it’s obvious that Rampage is coming into this fight as a heavy favorite, which is exactly what has me concerned about this fight. It seems so simple on paper. You pick the more experienced and talented fighter. On paper, at first glance, it seems like an easier pick than the Harlem Globetrotters over the Washington Generals (a bet that always makes me cash). That being said, I think Griffin upsets Jackson in this fight.

To do that, I’m fairly certain he’ll have to submit Jackson. Rampage proved his cardio isn’t a concern in his last fight. Then again, it’s been a long time since he’s been submitted as well. Rampage is the better striker and has the edge in wrestling as well. Yet, everyone in the world is picking Jackson, so on a hunch, I’m going out on a limb and going with Griffin with a fourth-round submission.

And really, it’s the smartest pick you can make. You pick Griffin and he wins, you are a genius. You take him and he loses, then no one cares because everyone picked Jackson.

More MMA links

Here are UFC 86 predictions from CBSSports.com writers.

MMAjunkie.com reports that Rich Franklin is looking to fight at UFC 88 in Atlanta, according to a source close to the event, who said the search for his opponent "is in full swing." MMARated.com then reported yesterday that Franklins opponent will be light heavyweight Matt Hamill.

According to both links above, he’ll be fighting at 205, or is at least considering it. That move doesn’t make much sense. The current middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, is moving up to light heavyweight for several fights, so it looks like Franklin can’t escape him. I like the idea of Franklin at 205 if Silva stays at 185 because there are some intriguing fights for him at 205. I’d love to see him fight Henderson at 185 though, but other than that there isn’t much else for Franklin at 185. He’s good enough to beat everyone in the division except for the champ, who he’s lost to twice. He’s got to do something to change up his career and this could be interesting for him. He may have some more juice left but I can’t see him winning the light heavyweight championship.

Georges St. Pierre has been nominated for an ESPY. UFC.com has the news on its home page and asks reader to vote for St. Pierre.

And heres an outstanding Q&A with Jorge Gurgel, who is fighting at UFC 86 this weekend.

Check back later. Ill have more on UFC 86 later today and a Q&A with one of the fighters from the card. 

Kelly Crigger is the author of the new MMA book, Title Shot: Into the Shark Tank of Mixed Martial Arts. He’s doing the first guest post for this blog and has a great “behind the scenes story” from the writing... - [Read more]