Check out these exclusive pictures from WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan by Tracy Lee. Look now to see Gamburyan resemble the bat boy, Donald Cerrone's flying knee, and Aldo wearing the belt that goes with everything.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Fight of the Year? Just wait, several more candidates on tap to close 2010
MMA stars like Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Anderson Silva, Fedor Emelianenko, Rashad Evans all may be sidelined until early 2011, but that doesn’t mean 2010 won’t close with a bang. There’s plenty of good fights to focus on down the stretch this year. Which fights will produce the most fireworks before and during the fight? ?
1. Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck -- UFC 124, Dec. 11
Nothing can match the hype produced by months of reality television. You may think the trash talk on Season 12 of "The Ultimate Fighter" will be one-sided. But all of it won't be from Koscheck. GSP will get in his little digs. He’s a confident guy bordering on cocky and the show should be able showcase that a bit. That said, on fight night Koscheck will be battling 21,000-plus angry Canadians in Montreal and 95 percent of the audience watching will be rooting against him.
Fans really should embrace Koscheck in this fight, because for those of you who are tiring of GSP’s wrestling dominance, Kos should be able to make this into a stand-up war. That should bring the best out of St. Pierre, who’s gone away from his dynamic striking game. A devastating knockout win from GSP should only strengthen his spot as MMA’s best pound-for-pound.
2. Nick Diaz vs. K.J. Noons -- Strikeforce, Oct. 9
This has all the makings of a mega-fight. Unfortunately, outside of MMA websites and hardcore fans it won’t get much attention. Clearly Diaz, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace, should take this one to the ground against the self-proclaimed jiu-jitsu white belt Noons, but he won’t. Noons is primarily a boxer who took out Diaz in 2007. Diaz, who’s volume-style of striking has been devastating opponents, will want to brawl with Noons.
Noons will be a big underdog, but he’s got a good shot at winning. Diaz is great, but you have to question the competition during his recent seven-fight win streak ,. Diaz is also willing to take a few shots to deliver his own. Will he survive if Diaz cracks him with a clean shot on the chin?
If Diaz chooses to participate in media functions next week, the fight could also possess the best trash talk of the fall.
3. Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez -- UFC 121, Oct. 23
After watching the first round of his fight against Shane Carwin, all the talk of Lesnar being unbeatable has gone out the window. Is Carwin just that good or does Lesnar have huge holes in his game? We’ll find out a lot about the UFC’s heavyweight champ against a thoroughbred like Velasquez. If Velasquez can stay out of the monster’s clutches and be mobile, he could tear apart Lesnar on the feet. Lesnar has switched up his training camp by adding smaller heavyweights who can strike. Does he have enough time to fix the issues that allowed Carwin to tee off at UFC 116?
Velasquez has been touted by many as a beast and the future of the division. We’ll find out if a 240-pounder can compete with the guys at the top of the class who cut weight to get to 265.
4. Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit -- UFC 120, Oct. 16
Condit’s time in the UFC might be a bit of a disappointment from a win/loss standpoint, but his three fights have been fight of the night quality each time out. That’s good and bad. Great for the fans but too often Condit brawls instead of fighting to his strengths. You know Hardy will unload verbally on Condit over the next few weeks. The former WEC welterweight champ should respond by taking him down at will and pounding the Brit on the ground but he won’t. This will be a stand-up war and we’ll find out quickly if Condit has a chin.
5. Scott Smith vs. Paul Daley -- Strikeforce, Dec. 4
If you appreciate wrestling and have a thirst for high-level jiu-jitsu turn off your televisions when this one comes on. Daley will deliver some solid lines before the fight and then test Smith’s chin from the get-go. But don’t forget, Smith (pictured, on right) is coming down from middleweight where he’s taken punches from some big hitters over the year. This could be the nastiest stand-up fight of the year or it could end in 30 seconds.
6. Lyoto Machida vs. Quinton Jackson -- UFC 123, Nov. 20
This is a counter-striker dream. Machida should be even more cautious now that he was steamrolled by Rua. That should leave an opening for Jackson to close space and get back to his bread and butter, the takedowns. But can Jackson execute that kind of game anymore? Does he still possess the athleticism to pull off the big slams?
He’s only 32 years old, but you think he was 45 by some of the talk following his close loss to Evans at UFC 114. On the flip side, if Machida can land his big shots on the feet, does he have the power to take out Jackson? In 38 fights, "Rampage" has only gone down for the count against in the Wanderlei Silva and Rua fights.
7. Eddie Alvarez vs. Roger Huerta -- Bellator 33, Oct. 21
Huerta dropped a fight since his exit from UFC, but he still carries the promotion’s name into this one against a guy that many consider a top-five lightweight in the world. Alvarez (pictured, on right) completely wrecked UFC-veteran Josh Neer in his last fight. He’s got it all showing off solid wrestling and knockout power while winning 10-of-11. Huerta’s gas tank is in question and so is his defense standing. In his defense, before he left the UFC he lost a close decision to lightweight title challenger Gray Maynard and went the distance with Kenny Florian.
8. Ben Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis -- WEC 53, Dec. 16
This is a real litmus test for the fighters and the promotion. Is Henderson way ahead of the class in the 155-pound division of the WEC or are Donald Cerrone and Jamie Varner just average fighters that allowed him to shine? At 23, Pettis is the new breed of mixed martial artist. He’s not coming from a particular background and trying to shore up weaknesses. Pettis has trained all aspects of MMA from an early age. This is a great showcase for two guys who probably belong with the big boys in the UFC’s lightweight division.
9. Sarah Kaufman vs. Marloes Coenen -- Strikeforce, Oct. 9
Kaufman stepped up in her last fight and finally delivered a finish, with her devastating slam of Roxanne Modafferi. Now she steps in with a big 135-pounder who can trade with her and probably use her power to get the fight to the ground. Kaufman is more skilled with her hands than the other Strikeforce women’s champ, Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos. Now we get to see if she can win more impressively against Coenen than Cyborg did.
10. Tito Ortiz vs. Matt Hamill -- UFC 121, Oct. 23
Neither guy is anywhere close to a top-10 light heavyweight in the world but Ortiz keeps talking about being healthy and making a run at his old UFC title. This is where it starts or really ends. If Ortiz gets destroyed by Hamill his career may be over or he's headed for side-show/senior-tour status. It’s a tough matchup for Ortiz, who's still primarily a takedown artist. Hamill may have his weaknesses, but outside of Jon Jones, who’s been able to muscle the former college wrestling champ? If Ortiz can’t get the fight where he wants it does he have more than eight minutes in his gas tank?
This list is incomplete until we know what Japan has planned for the close to the year. DREAM's event in December will probably feature Shinya Aoki with the possibility that he's facing Gilbert Melendez or Diaz. We could also see Alistair Overeem in a superfight. Strikeforce's December card is also still in the planning stages.
The New and Exciting
One thing I’ve come to see in my short time in the skydiving world is that skydivers are the ultimate live-in-the-moment creatures. This is something that I love, mostly because it’s taught me how to live in the moment more in the other aspects of my life…which, I think, makes life more enjoyable. But of [...]
Scuba Diving in Marshall Islands
Who, Where and What Are the Marshall Islands? The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is an island country in the North Pacific ocean. It is often simply grouped with the other island countries in the area as Micronesia. The country is made up of five high islands and twenty-nine atolls that roughly form into [...]
Friday, October 8, 2010
Top Ten Ways To Conserve Your Air
Everybody Is An Expert? There is a rule on every dive boat that is neither written nor spoken, yet every diver abides by it: if you perceive yourself to be a more experienced diver then you must thrust your advice onto the novice diver, whether it is sought or not. Usually this makes for either [...]
WEC 51: Miguel Torres Submits Charlie Valencia
by Michael David Smith
Miguel Torres has bounced back.
Torres, the former world bantamweight champion who was on a two-fight losing streak, dominated Charlie Valencia Thursday night, winning by second-round submission at WEC 51.
"My two losses showed me I needed room to grow," Torres said, crediting his new coach Firas Zahabi. "I'm only 29. I've got a long way to go."
Miguel Torres has bounced back.Torres, the former world bantamweight champion who was on a two-fight losing streak, dominated Charlie Valencia Thursday night, winning by second-round submission at WEC 51.
"My two losses showed me I needed room to grow," Torres said, crediting his new coach Firas Zahabi. "I'm only 29. I've got a long way to go."
Memories of Nankoweap
On our last day on the river our guide, Ruth, asked us for the one memory we would take with us, to go back to in our minds when we needed to return to the peace and beauty of the Canyon. Those of us who had hiked to Nankoweap all chose it as our memory. [...]
Absinthe Films Coming to Bellingham: Now/Here on October 9, 2010
Appearances by local standouts Lucas Debari and Jake Blauvelt, the Squamish-based YES crew including DCP and Romain de Marchi, and more. Come see it at the Mount Baker Theater and believe the hype.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
MMA Marketplace: More Korean Zombie shirts that you want
Remember how we all went a little crazy for the last shirt from Chan Sung Jung, the Korean Zombie who will fight on Thursday night at WEC 51?
Tri-Coasta has done it again, giving us two awesome shirts for Jung's fight against George Roop. You can go with the blue option for $24.99 or the white shirt -- the actual walk-in shirt -- for $29.99.
K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final 16 Results: Overeem vs. Edwards, More
by Michael David Smith
MMAFighting.com has K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final 16 results of Alistair Overeem vs. Ben Edwards as well as all the other K-1 World GP 2010 Final 16 fights happening at the Olympic Gymnasium 1st in Seoul, Korea.
Also on the card, Semmy Schilt will square off against Hesdy Gerges as well as many of the top heavyweight kickboxers in the world.
MMAFighting.com has K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final 16 results of Alistair Overeem vs. Ben Edwards as well as all the other K-1 World GP 2010 Final 16 fights happening at the Olympic Gymnasium 1st in Seoul, Korea.Also on the card, Semmy Schilt will square off against Hesdy Gerges as well as many of the top heavyweight kickboxers in the world.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
MMA Marketplace: More Korean Zombie shirts that you want
Remember how we all went a little crazy for the last shirt from Chan Sung Jung, the Korean Zombie who will fight on Thursday night at WEC 51?
Tri-Coasta has done it again, giving us two awesome shirts for Jung's fight against George Roop. You can go with the blue option for $24.99 or the white shirt -- the actual walk-in shirt -- for $29.99.
Crypt Lake, Waterton Lakes National Park
You’ll find Crypt Lake on page 113 of Don’t Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies, the Opinionated Hiking Guide. It’s Trip 22. You’ll also find it on the agenda of every visitor to Waterton Lakes National Park who has any interest in hiking. It’s by far the most popular trip in the park, and [...]
Ed Soares Surprised by Chael Sonnen's Failed Drug Test - Ed Soares
Anderson Silva's manager Ed Soares was surprised when Chael Sonnen tested positive to steroids.
Overeem-Spong, Schilt-Kyotaro Among K-1 Pairings
by Michael David Smith
Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem will take on Tyrone Spong as he continues his quest to claim the biggest title in kickboxing, and Semmy Schilt will fight Japan's Keijiro "Kyotaro" Maeda as he seeks an unprecedented fifth K-1 World Grand Prix Final title. Those are the two most significant fights in the K-1 World Grand Prix Final 8 brackets, which were announced Monday.
Overeem and Schilt are on opposite sides of the bracket, meaning they could meet in the final. They'll both be favored to get there, although Schilt's path looks a little bit easier, and Schilt has to be considered the favorite to win the whole tournament.
Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem will take on Tyrone Spong as he continues his quest to claim the biggest title in kickboxing, and Semmy Schilt will fight Japan's Keijiro "Kyotaro" Maeda as he seeks an unprecedented fifth K-1 World Grand Prix Final title. Those are the two most significant fights in the K-1 World Grand Prix Final 8 brackets, which were announced Monday.Overeem and Schilt are on opposite sides of the bracket, meaning they could meet in the final. They'll both be favored to get there, although Schilt's path looks a little bit easier, and Schilt has to be considered the favorite to win the whole tournament.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
WEC 51: Miguel Torres Submits Charlie Valencia
by Michael David SmithMiguel Torres has bounced back.
Torres, the former world bantamweight champion who was on a two-fight losing streak, dominated Charlie Valencia Thursday night, winning by second-round submission at WEC 51.
"My two losses showed me I needed room to grow," Torres said, crediting his new coach Firas Zahabi. "I'm only 29. I've got a long way to go."
Miguel Torres has bounced back.Torres, the former world bantamweight champion who was on a two-fight losing streak, dominated Charlie Valencia Thursday night, winning by second-round submission at WEC 51.
"My two losses showed me I needed room to grow," Torres said, crediting his new coach Firas Zahabi. "I'm only 29. I've got a long way to go."
California River Awards 2010
It’s that time of year when the luminaries of the California Rafting and watershed scene gather for an evening of celebration, hob-nobbing, and fund-raising–yep, get your engines started for the star-studded Friends of the River California River Awards! This year the awards will be held Friday October 8th at the Presidio Officer’s Club in San [...]
Miguel Torres: I Still Have a Lot of Things To Do
Filed under: WEC
BROOMFIELD, Colo. - Eighteen months removed from his last win, and coming off back-to-back losses for the first time in his 40-fight professional career, Miguel Torres made no secret that something had to change. For the first time in a long time, Torres put his fighting life in the hands of a coach, abandoning his pattern of self-training that worked for years - right up until the point it didn't work with losses to Brian Bowles and Joseph Benavidez.
So it should come as a surprise to no one at WEC 51 on Thursday night that when Torres began his walk to the cage, absent was the mariachi entrance music that had become as much a trademark for him as the relentless pace he would keep in fights.
Monday, October 4, 2010
With WEC 51 debut, Zhang hoping to open doors for Chinese fighters
With the help of global acceptance and fighters from every corner of the Earth, mixed martial arts has exploded over the last decade. Amazingly, none of it's been done with any help from the nation with the world's largest population. A big step in changing that happens Thursday night as a Chinese-born fighter will compete for the first time in North America. Zhang Tiequan is the trailblazer at WEC 51 in Colorado against Pablo Garza.
China, a nation of 1.3 billion, with deep grappling and martial arts traditions, was anti-fighting for years. Things have changed. The sport is being embraced. The UFC has opened some doors on the web and television. Now it wants to mine the massive population for its next wave of fighters.
Zuffa, the parent company of both the UFC and WEC, sent matchmaker Sean Shelby to China on a three-week fact-finding mission to see if there were fighters ready for the jump to the biggest promotions in the world.
"The thing that amazed me was the spirit of the Chinese people and the Chinese athlete," Shelby [told Associated Press]. "There's absolutely no quit in them, and that's something you just can't teach an athlete. You either have it or you don't. It's the intangible."
Shelby found plenty of fighters who were well-versed in wrestling and had stand-up skills similar to kickboxers. Now the next step is to get jiu-jitsu widely accepted across the country.
[Shelby said:] "When they have the jiu-jitsu to go with the sanda, there's no telling how far they can go."
But he also believes that the wrestling background is more than enough to allow to the 25-year-old Tiequan (16-0) to be competitive.
"If you're going to be a successful MMA fighter, you have to be a good Greco-Roman wrestler," Shelby said. "They decide where the fight goes. ... If you have that kind of resume, you're set up to do very well, no matter where you come from. Chinese or not, he's got potential."
WEC president Reed Harris sees massive potential in China.
"As a country, they want their athletes to come to America, and vice versa," WEC general manager Reed Harris said. "Once this sport really grows and develops, I believe they'll be able to compete as well as any country. In the next 10 or 20 years, this is certainly going to become a big deal."
Harris is hopeful Tiequan can compete at this level.
"I'm a realist, and coming into the WEC or the UFC is certainly a huge step in a guy's career," Harris said. "We'll see how he does. Sean's report from China is he's very well-rounded, a really good striker, good on the ground. He's got the record, but we have to see what his level of competition was. I'm excited to see what happens."
Fight fans can be very nationalistic and so is the media in many nations. The first Chinese MMA fighter who becomes a star in the U.S. could jump-start something huge in China. Look to Yao Ming and the NBA as a great example. It's the same approach the UFC took in heavily promoting British fighters to ensure media coverage and tug at the emotions of British fight fans.
Update: The WEC didn't set up Tiequan with a tomato can to ensure an easy win. The promotion called Garza, as a late replacement.
MMA Junkie points out that Garza (9-0) was on the first episode of Season 12 of "The Ultimate Fighter" and lost to show favorite Michael Johnson. He's unbeaten and who knows, if he hadn't drawn Johnson in the first round, we may still be watching him compete on TUF 12.
Downtown Showdown This Saturday
The Vans Downtown Showdown is going down this Saturday, October 2nd starting at 5PM PST. Catch the live webcast here.
A rock climbing training blog - why?
If you are hoping to improve your ability or learn more about training techniques and tools, then this blog will give you some of the answers - because that’s what I’m going to do too!
I’ve been climbing for about three years and have developed enough basic ability to get me up 6a routes. I’ve set [...]
I’ve been climbing for about three years and have developed enough basic ability to get me up 6a routes. I’ve set [...]
'Showtime' Pettis hits MTV on Monday night
The MTV show "World of Jenks" will shine their spotlight on MMA on Monday night, following WEC fighter Anthony Pettis as he prepared for his bout with Danny Castillo at WEC 47.
Pettis already has one of MMA's more interesting backstories, and the bout with Castillo was pivotal for his career. He knocked out Castillo, then beat Alex Karalexis and Shane Roller to earn a title shot. That fight with Ben Henderson is rumored to take place in December.
Tune into "World of Jenks" on MTV on Monday at 10 p.m. ET.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
UFC 119 picks, Vegas-style
UFC 119 betting odds (Courtesy Lagasse Stadium Las Vegas):
Official picks in bold
Mirko "Cro Cop" (+200) v. Frank Mir (-250) - Heavyweight
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (+170) v. Ryan Bader (-200) - Light heavyweight
Sean Sherk (+180) v. Evan Dunham (-220) - Lightweight
Jeremy Stephens (+120) v. Melvin Guillard (-150) - Lightweight
Matt Serra (+115) v. Chris Lytle (-145) - Welterweight
Spike Television
Joey Beltran (+140) v. Matt Mitrione (-170) - Heavyweight
Joe Doerksen (+250) v. C.B. Dolloway (-330) - Middleweight
Non-televised
Julio Paulino (+125) v. T.J. Grant (-155) - Lightweight
Sean McCorkle (+220) v. Mark Hunt (-300) - Heavyweight
Waylon Lowe (Even) v. Steve Lopez (-130) - Lightweight
Pat Audinwood (+180) v. Thiago Tavares (-220) - Lightweight
Middle Fork American: Last-minute Extension!
‘Ain’t that just how it always goes–you announce a deadline, you make plans to pack up and move on down the road, and then wha-bam, the situation changes. Not that we’re complaining…………we just got word that the season on the Middle Fork of the American River has been extended by a week!� Our last trips [...]
Lynch Mob Montage
Kevin Lynch headlines this Lynch Mob montage by Thom Musso. The slams end about a quarter of the way through if you want to skip all that bullshit.
Tim Brauch Memorial Bowl this weekend
Check out the Tim Brauch Memorial Bowl Skate Contest if you are in San Jose or Scott's Valley this weekend
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