Category Archives: mma

Sports Crush: Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey is more than just a pretty face. She is a mixed-martial artist with a focus on judo. She won the bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She then moved into MMA fighting at the beginning of 2011. She currently holds an undefeated record of 6-0.

She is the first female fighter in the UFC. UFC President Dana White recently awarded her the Bantamweight Championship. She is due to face Liz Carmouche at UFC 157. The fight shares top billing with Dan Henderson vs. Lyoto Machida. Rousey has defeated every opponent in the first round, so please time out your bathroom breaks accordingly.

After Ronda “Rowdy Rousey” defeated a past “sports crush” Miesha Tate, she had my attention. And if she didn’t already have my respect, she went on Jim Rome’s new show and said, “I try to have as much sex as possible before a fight.”

Yep. She’s a keeper. Follow her on Twitter at @RondaRousey.

Here is a picture gallery for our latest sports crush, Ronda Rousey. Continue reading →

10 Possible Surprise Entrants in the 2013 ‘WWE Royal Rumble’

Every year the WWE puts on the ‘Royal Rumble” pay-per-view with much fanfare. The 30-man battle royal is one of the most popular matches of the year. The winner receives a title match at wrestling’s biggest event, ‘Wrestlemania’. Over the past decade, many old WWE superstars have come back to appear in the event. Kevin Nash, Booker T., Honky Tonk Man and Mick Foley are some of the names who were surprise entrants.

The Rumble match itself has taken a backseat to the return of The Rock. He comes back to face CM Punk for the WWE Championship. It is expected that a few big surprises will happen in their match, since The Rock has already been slated to appear at this year’s ‘Wrestlemania’.

There is speculation who this year’s surprise entries will be. No need to speculate. Here are ten possible surprise entrants in this year’s WWE ‘Royal Rumble’. Continue reading →

UFC 151 is Cancelled, Who Will Jon Jones Fight at UFC 152?

This has to be the craziest day in UFC history and a fight didn’t even take place.

Dan Henderson, who was supposed to face Jon “Bones” Jones for the light heavyweight title at UFC 151, injured his knee and is unable to fight. UFC president Dana White scrambled to put a fight together and asked Chael Sonnen to fight Jones on short notice. He accepted, but Jones didn’t want to risk his title by only having eight days to prepare for Sonnen.

Sonnen used his mic skills and called Jones out, but Bones shrugged it off.

White cancelled UFC 151 due to a lack of a main event.

The next UFC pay-per-view will be UFC 152 on September 22nd in Toronto. Who will Jones fight at the event? We have the answer and it’s a strange trip.

After Jones refused to fight Sonnen, White decided to offer Lyoto Machida a title shot at UFC 152. He earned a title shot after beating Ryan Bader impressively just three weeks ago.

Machida’s people prematurely accepted the fight, but said they would have to run it by him. He was currently in a remote location in his native country of Brazil. It was hours until they were able to reach him, but he turned down the fight. He earned a title shot and I understand that he wouldn’t want to rush into it.

According to MMAFighting.com, Vitor Belfort will move back up to 205 pounds from middleweight to face Jones at UFC 152 in Toronto. He has been preparing for a bout against Alan Belcher for UFC 153 in Brazil. He will now step out of that fight and move up a weight class to compete for the light heavyweight title against Jones.

It has been a wild day. You should expect some more chatter from Sonnen to keep escalating from this incident. It will be interesting to see if it will turn into something big.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Sports Crush: Miesha Tate

“The Ultimate Fighter” could be getting…hotter?! A rumor that’s floating around is that the competition could be getting its first ever women’s season of TUF. The rumored coaches are Miesha Tate and current Strikeforce bantamweight champion Ronda Rousy. Rousey beat Tate to win the title back in March.

Miesha Tate is a Gina Carano-esque beauty who could kick your ass. Don’t let her nickname of “Cupcake” fool you, she’s an excellent mixed-martial artist. Tate is 12-3 and has a fight tonight with Julie Kedzie (16-10).

She’s my current Sports Crush and you can follow her on Twitter at @MieshaTate.

If you’re on the fence about watching Strikeforce tonight on Showtime and Showtime Extreme, let me help you make up your mind by showing you a photo gallery of Miesha Tate. Continue reading →

Must Watch: UFC 148 – Silva vs. Sonnen + Betting Odds

I haven’t been as excited for an upcoming UFC pay-per-view in a long time. UFC 148 has two marquee rematches with the second fight between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen and a rubber match between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin.

Silva and Sonnen have both been vocal about the punishment they want to give out during their fight. Silva said that he wants to break every bone in Sonnen’s body and make him swallow his teeth. Sonnen has been his usual self and quick to make a snarky comeback. The fight is sure to be a bloodbath and possibly 2012’s fight of the year.

I preview the the fight card for UFC 148 and the current betting odds for each fight. I’ll breakdown which underdogs will impress and which fighters stand no chance of losing. It will be a fun one. Continue reading →

UFC 147: Silva vs. Franklin II – Final Results

UFC 147 was supposed to be a clash of the titans, but Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva II couldn’t happen. The fight was supposed to take place at a soccer stadium in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

The second attempt at a mega main event card was to pair Vitor Belfort against Anderson Silva, but Belfort went down with an injury. That fight was going to be held at 60,000 seat Joao Havelange Stadium in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

The third and final attempt at a big main event put Wanderlei Silva against Rick Franklin for the second time. It wasn’t the marquee fight the UFC wanted, but both of these veterans are fighting for their careers. It will be tough for the loser of this fight to keep going.

Here are the live results for UFC 147: Silva vs. Franklin II…

Felipe Arantes vs. Melton Vieira
This featherweight bout was action packed. A lot of offense with a lot of clean blocks. Vieira narrowly missed being put in an armbar in the first and won the round. In the second round, Vieira landed a spinning kick and Arantes looked hurt; the round is tough to call. The third round had a lot of offense with Vieira being the agressor. Arantes countered his offense and easily won the third round. Felipe Arantes and Milton Vieira fight to a split draw (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)

Marcos Vinicius “Vina” vs. Wagner “Galeto” Campos
Each fighter came out looking to end the fight early. Campos nearly hooked an arm-triangle choke, but Vinicius escaped. Campos appeared to win the opening round. Campos once against nearly had a submission hold (kimura), but he escaped. The second round was slow with each trying to just gain control and clearly physically spent from exurting a lot of energy in the first round. I would give Campos the second round, because he had the most control and offense. The third round started out with a front kick that landed on the chin of Campos. Vinicius continued with a knee and pinned Campos against the cage. Herb Dean stopped the fight. Marcos Cinicius def. Wagner Campos via TKO – Round 3.

Thiago “Bodao” Perpetuo vs. Leonardo “Macarrao” Mafra
This is the first fight on FX tonight. Perpetuo and Mafra exchange early blows. Perpetuo is trying to work the body, but Mafra is countering. Mafra landed multiple combinations and wins the first round. Perpetuo dominates the second round by having control throughout the round. Mafra didn’t look good at all throughout the second. Perpetuo won the second and started the third with a big hook…Mafra never recovered. Thiago Perpetuo def. Leonardo Mafra via TKO (punches) – Round 3.

John “Macapa” Teixeira vs. Hugo “Wolverine” Viana
This is a catchweight fight with each fight coming in around 150 pounds. Viana lands a few big rights early on, but Teixeira is well enough to exchange a furry of punches. The first round was pretty even, but I’d give the edge to Viana. The second round was slow and spent mostly on the mat. Teixeira had the most offense that round. Teixeira and Viana are both tired going into the third and Teixeira takes the fight to the mat. Viana keeps getting back up. I would give the third round to Viana just because he showed preserverance. Hugo Viana def. John Teixeira via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Francisco “Massaranduba” Drinaldo vs. Delson “Pe De Chumbo” Heleno
Here’s Herb Dean again to referee this middleweight contest. Drinaldo had control of this fight the entire time. Heleno looks like he bit off more than he can chew. Drinaldo gets Heleno to the mat and nails him with a batch of hammerfists. Heleno couldn’t get up and Dean calls the fight. Francisco Drinaldo def. Delson Heleno via TKO (punches) – Round 1.

Rodrigo Damm vs. Anistavio “Gasparzinho” Medeiros
Medeiros and Damm exchange punches, but neither of them do any damage early. Medeiros misses a leaping knee and Damm gets back control on the mat. It took a few seconds, but Damm gets his rear-naked choke in and Medeiros taps. Rodrigo Damm def. Anistavio Medeiros via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1.

Yuri Alcantara vs. Hacran Dias
This is the first fight of the pay-per-view. Dias is on the offense with Alcantara scrambling. Dias looks like the better fighter early on. He landed big knees and controls Alcantara’s back. Dias locks in a kimura in a late, but Alcantara is saved by the bell. I would give the first round to Dias. The secound round is more like the first, but with Dias having control throughout the second round. Dias keeps rolling and coasts in the third and this contest goes the distance, but with Dias looking dominant. Hacran Dias def. Yuri Alcantara via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).

Mike Russow vs. Fabricio Werdum
This heavyweight fight will definitely be a good one. Werdum starts off with blows to Russow’s face. His face is as red as a cherry. Russow already looks done and then Werdum lands an uppercut that sends Russow to the mat. Werdum continues with rapid-fire punches and the match is called. Fabricio Werdum def. Mike Russow via TKO (punches) – Round 1.

Rony “Jason” Mariano Bezerra vs. Godofredo “Pepey” De Oliveira
This is the featherweight final of the Ultimate Fighter. The first round was used to feel each other out. Jason scored an early takedown, but Pepey reversed it and controlled most of the first round. I would score the first round for Pepey. The second round was used to catch their breath, but Jason landed a leaping left and barely won the second round. The third round was ugly, but Jason had control after Pepey was clipped by a knee early in the round. There were attempts at submission holds, but none of them were ever hooked. I would give the third round to Jason, but it was pretty even. Rony Mariano Bezerra def. Godofredo De Oliveira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira vs. Sergio “Serginho” Moraes
This fight is for the Ultimate Fighter Middleweight winner. This fight had its fair share of low blows and eye pokes. The first round was sloppy, but Ferreira wins the round, even with a blatant low-blow. The second round has more weirdness with unsportsmanlike conduct. The crowd is confused at who to root for, since the fight is so dirty. The third round is fairly even with each fighter having their moments. When the bell rings, they want to fight some more. Each fighter climbs the cage thinking they have won this decision. This could be the fight of the night. Cezar Ferreira def. Sergio Moraes via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).

Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin
The crowd went crazy when Silva makes his way to the octagon. This is the first time he has fought in his home country (Brazil) in twelve years. He is looking to avenge his loss to Franklin in Germany a few years ago. The first round was even, but Silva did connect with a high leg kick to the left side of Franklin’s face. I would give the first round to Silva. The second round started out very slow. Franklin connected with a hard kick to the body, but Silva connected with a huge leg and followed it by a barrage of punches. The referee did not stop the fight and Franklin survived the second round…barely. In the third round, Silva expends a lot of energy and looks gassed. Franklin connects with a leg and gains half-guard. Franklin drops a lot of elbows and win the third round. The fourth round was uneventful until Silva connected with a brutal low kick with a minute left in the fourth (don’t YouTube or stream this video, it will make your stomach hurt). I would give this round to Franklin, barely. These fighters are saving it all for the fifth round. The fighters waste most of the round saving energy. Silva lands with a few big rights and the last 25 seconds were a tornado. Franklin got a lot of blows in and even landed a straight as the final bell rang that sent Silva to one knee. This fight will be close in the cards. Rich “Ace” Franklin def. Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46).

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Kimbo Slice Wins In UFC Debut (Kind Of)

Kimbo Slice made his official UFC debut tonight against UFC veteran, Houston Alexander. It was billed to be a knock-out, no-holds-barred brawl, but it was more like an episode of “Dancing With The Stars.” See who won the fight and see how Kimbo won this less-than-impressive fight.

Mixed-martial art purists dislike Kimbo Slice and everything that he stands for. He is an internet sensation and they dislike him for not having a ground game. Kimbo has been training with guys to improve his ground attack. In the fight against Alexander, Slice looks much improved with his ground attack. At one point in the 2nd round, he nearly had a rear-naked choke, but was barely out of position and couldn’t lock it in.

The match started off very slow, Alexander was circling the ring and Slice was not looking to make a mistake early. Nearly half of the first round went by and Slice didn’t even throw a punch and Alexander only landed one leg kick. The crowd was booing off and on throughout the fight.

The second round started out very slow again, but a lot of action started when Alexander missed a leg kick and Slice countered with a jab. The jab knocked Alexander off-balance and Slice slammed him to the ground. This is where Slice almost got a rear-naked choke, but he got front mount and did some ground & pound.

The third round was a joke and both fighters were very tired. Alexander did land a leg kick on Slice that looked like it may have re-injured his left knee, the knee that was causing him trouble in the Ultimate Fighter house.

The fight went to decision and Slice won in unanimous decision. This is the outcome that Slice needed, but he would have liked a knockout much more. Dana White has to be drooling for Slice to come out a winner. Expect Slice to start to jump up the ranks in the heavyweight division now that Brock Lesnar is out for awhile with an abdominal condition.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

UFC 92: A Night Of Surprises And Comebacks

Over the last few years, UFC has made the late-December pay-per-view into a must-see. This year’s effort, UFC 92, lived up to the hype. The matches were filled with surprises, redemption, and a certain fighter looking like he’s back. The Rashad Evans/Forrest Griffin main event was worth the buy, but fights like Mir/Nogueira and Jackson/Silva were main-event worthy as well.

The night started off with some nice under-card bouts. Patrick Berry defeated Dan Evenson pretty easy in the first round and Brad Blackburn had the crowd on his side against Ryo Chonan in a unanimous decision for Blackburn. The rest of the early under-card fights could have been mid-card bouts in any other pay-pre-view.

Matt Hamill, who has been on his game lately, faced Reese Andy. Hamill started out very aggressive, but looked like he hit a wall at the end of the first round. Andy took advantage of Hamill’s fatigue and landed some major blows toward the end of the round. After a short breather, Hamill regained his stamina and took the fight to the mat. Hamill took over and broke Andy’s guard and delivered a fury of punches to end the fight. This was a nice win to get Hamill’s career back on track after a loss to Rich Franklin back in September.

Antoni Hardonk faced Mike Wessel in the next match. This was Wessel’s first fight in the UFC and Hardonk has been in the UFC for a couple years. Hardonk took a loss to Frank Mir late last year and has strung up a few wins to get his confidence back up. Wessel started out the fight by out-wrestling Hardonk in the first round. Hardonk did connect with some nice knee shots, but it wasn’t until the second round until he took control of the fight. Wessel ran out of gas and couldn’t defend the barrage of fists he was being delivered. Hardonk won by TKO in the middle of the second round.

Dean Lister had his hands full with Yushin Okami. Okami has a nice resume, he has wins over Anderson Silva, Mick Swick, Evan Tanner. He took over this fight from the beginning and Lister looked lost for most of the fight. Okami won via unanimous decision, he looks like he could be a contender in the middleweight division.

Cheick Kongo, one of my sleeper picks to have a great 2009, faced a newcomer to UFC, Mostapha Al-Turk. This match pits a submission wrestler (Al-Turk) versus a tradition kickboxer (Kongo). Kongo has a long limbs and can really bother fighters who work best on the mat. The fight was marred with low blows by both fighters and a cat-an-mouse atmosphere, luckily it ended early. After a couple restarts, Kongo landed a couple punches that took out Al-Turk. At the end of the match, Al-Turk was bleeding all over the mat while Kongo finished him off with a seven-course meal of punches and elbows.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has had a tough year. He lost his title and had a mental breakdown that lead to an arrest. He faced Wanderlei Silva who he has lost to twice before and needed to win tonight to officially declare a comeback. There wasn’t any love lost between the guys, they didn’t touch gloves. Jackson looked like he wanted to get Silva on the ground, but he wasn’t able to get him down the traditional way. It took a hard left for Silva to hit the mat, but this time, he was out cold. It only took a little more than three minutes for Jackson to prove that he is back.

The interim Heavyweight title was being defended in the Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira/Frank Mir fight. Mir and Nogueira have both looked like monsters in the octagon and it was a perfect pairing of fighters. Mir has been around for awhile and looked really good in his last fight against Brock Lesner, while Nogueira hasn’t lost in the UFC. Mir dominated the fight and Nogueira couldn’t compete with him on any level. Mir took this fight into the middle of the second round until he finished Nogueira with some left hands to become the new champion.

The final fight of the night was hyped up to be the fight of the year. Forrest Griffin won the Light Heavyweight title from “Rampage” Jackson in July and Rashad Evans was the clear pick for his first title defense. Evans hasn’t lost a fight in his professional MMA career, with his only draw coming against Tito Ortiz. This was a nice fight from the start, with Griffin controlling the tempo of the fight. Over the first two round, Griffin contained Evans with controlled kicks and punches. It looked like Griffin was going to win this fight in the cards if it kept at this pace. The third round was when it went bad for Griffin. Evans took him down and thunderstorm of pain was delivered to Griffin. It looked like Griffin was actually knocked out well before the fight was stopped. It was amazing that the referee let the beating go on as long as it did. Evans won the Light Heavyweight title and it will be very difficult to get the title away from this elite fighter.

UFC 92 was one of the best pay-per-views in a few years. The Ortiz/Lidell pay-per-views two years ago could only top UFC 92, this is a high compliment. Wvans and Mir look like they are legit champions, while Jackson and Okami look like possible contenders. Dana White has done a great job with these pay-per-views and I can’t wait until the next one.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

No EliteXC Fight Turns Me Into A Douche Bag

I’m not going to be able to watch the debut of EliteXC MMA fighting on CBS. My local CBS affiliate in Columbus, Ohio isn’t carrying the fight due to a Children’s Hospital telethon. I want to call up the station and raise some hell and I think that makes me a huge tool. I should be supporting the station in its cause, but c’mon! Kimbo Slice is going to tear a guy’s head off and my lady, Gina Carano, is going to look beautiful while turning a girl’s face inside-out. I can’t believe that the affiliate here is airing the telethon on the same weekend as the fight. CBS has been promoting the snot out of this for weeks and I will miss it. Gus Johnson will be announcing the fight and he will seriously lose his voice by the end of the show. Johnson goes crazy with NCAA hoops and I can only imagine his reaction to Kimbo Slice murdering another human.

There was a little hiccup with Gina Carano yesterday. She didn’t make her weight, but she will still fight, but give up a small portion of the purse. I look at pictures of her and I couldn’t place her at anything above 130, but she must be pretty tall ’cause she didn’t even make her 140 weight, she missed it by four pounds.If for some reason Kimbo Slice or Gina Carano loses each of their fights, EliteXC will be in a really bad situation. Slice is their Mike Tyson and Carano is their beauty queen who can draw in the casual viewer. I predict Slice will win in less than a minute and Carano will get a KO by the end of the first round. Let’s hope CBS will get a chance to have another Primetime MMA fight and I’ll actually get to watch it.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.