Strikeforce: King Mo Dethroned By Feijao

The Brazilian fighters in Strikeforce had a good night in the main and co-main events. 

King Mo lost his 205lb title last night to the Brazilian Bomber Rafael Cavalcante via TKO. It was a tough first defense of his title and he was stopped by Feijao. Mo was winning the first two rounds even though the Brazilian was able to avoid the majority of the takedowns due to his superb TD Defense. While having his hands low and goading Rafael into an exchange Mo was caught with a right that led to the barrage on the ground that ended the fight. Feijao is an excellent fighter and I am looking forward to both a remathc with Mo and a fight with Mousasi. the rest of the results are below.

MAIN CARD
Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante def. Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal via TKO (strikes) - Round 3, 1:14
Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza def. Tim Kennedy via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) - for vacant Strikeforce middleweight title
K.J. Noons def. Jorge Gurgel via KO (punches) - Round 2, 0:19
Chad Griggs def. Bobby Lashley via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 5:00
PRELIMINARY CARD
Daniel Cormier def. Jason Riley via submission (strikes) - Round 1, 1:02
Andre Galvao def. Jorge Patino via TKO (strikes) - Round 3, 2:45
Vinicius Magalhaes def. Rocky Long via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Adam Schindler def. Keir Gooch via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 1:58
Reynaldo Trujillo def. Jose Santibanez via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 0:28
Chad Robichaux def. Humberto DeLeon via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Artenas Young def. Chad Cook via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

Video: EA MMA's Online Gameplay

It looks amazing, and if EA MMA turns out to be the "Fight Night" series of Mixed Martial Arts it should be an awesome game.

UFC Officially Announces Jake Shields Signing

The worst kept secret in recent UFC signee history Jake Shields has officially been announced as a Welterweight competitor for the company. Shields upset the order of things when he bested Dan Henderson in a fight the promotion pretty much bet against their Champion Shields hoping that Henderson would hold the Strikeforce Middleweight torch. Jake Shields is normally a Welterweight fighter, but due to lack of name competition in the division in Strikeforce he moved up to Middleweight where he beat the aforementioned Henderson, Robbie Lawler, and Jason Miller. Strikeforce inherited Shields contract from the defunct EliteXC and because of that contract being without a Championship clause Shields was able to leave while holding a title. After the jump the full press release from the UFC.

Exclusive: Benji Radach Eyes Return Late This Year, A Reality TV Show, and More

Knockout artist Benji "Razor" Radach has had a long history of exciting fights and a go hard or go home style that has always produced fan friendly contests. Radach unfortunately has also had a long history of injuries that have kept him sidelined for extended periods of time. Benji talks to us about his most recent set of injuries that have kept him out of the ring for over a year now. Radach expects to be back in action later this year in November or December to finish the last fight on his Strikeforce contract and see where he lands from there. Benji also talks to us about a reality show that he just finished the pilot for, his picks for the Brock vs. Carwin fight, the Strikeforce Middleweight division, and more.

King Mo Draws Feijao In First Title Defense

Newly minted Light Heavyweight Champion King Mo will put his belt on the line for the first time against dangerous Brazilian Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante. King Mo Lawal has been on a tear since starting his MMA career in Sengoku overseas after a hugely sucessful wrestling career where Mo competed internationally. Some fans and writers critized Mo's fighting style in the fight against Gegard Mousasi in which he used his wrestling to dominate Gegard on the mat. The fight was a departure from Mo's previous contest where he had knocked out several opponents. 

Feijao looked to be the next star at 205 before a surprising knockout loss to Mike Kyle put him out of the running for a title shot at 205lbs. Now that Feijao has put together a string of victories and looks like the blue chip prospect he started out as, he makes his way from prospect to challenger to face his toughest test to date. Feijao trains with Team Black House so he has a great camp surrounding him for the training and he will need it to try to dethrone the power punching wrestler from Texas. 

The fight is expected to take place on August 21st in Dallas Texas. 

Fedor Loses To Werdum: Is The End Nigh?

The Mayan Calendar only gives until 2012 before the world ends, and if indeed we only have that long left on this Earth we will know that June 26th 2010 started off the chain of events that inevitably lead to our demise. Febricio Werdum became the first man to legitimately defeat The Last Emporer last night when he submitted Fedor just seconds into their contest. The world was shocked and the Fedor haters and UFC fanboys will undoubtedly have a field day with the talk of Fedor being overrated in the fight game. 

Fedor Taking The Manny Pacquiao Route?

(Fedor's primary political rival)

Fedor Emelianenko is allegedly going to run for a congressional seat in Russia as a "United Russia" party candidate. The press release comes via MiddleEasy who got the lowdown on the former Pride FC kingpin's possible run for office, and the even bigger news that he may retire after his Strikeforce bid is up.

The regional political council of the party "United Russia" approved the list of candidates for internal party elections - the primaries. In the list of 58 candidates. No less than 10 000 United Russia vote will determine the best, and who will receive the first place in the party list in the upcoming October elections in the Belgorod Regional Duma.

The list of early voting have 24 newcomers who have never participated in elections to the legislature. One of the achievements was the inclusion in the list not only members of United Russia, but also simply to party supporters and even non-party candidates. This is for example the managing director Combine KMA Ruda Vladimir Tom and CEO JBK-1 Yuri Selivanov. They are not only members of the party, but also by working in obldume fourth convocation, not included in the United Russia Duma faction.

Among the most notable candidates, in addition to the deputies (Anatolia Zelikow, Victor Filatov, Vadim Cage, Valeria Skruga, Ivan Kulabuhova, Vladimir Kulikovsky) - a famous athlete Fedor Emelianenko, the new director of Belarusian State Technological University Sergey Glagolev (by the way, non-partisan), director of the Institute of Public and municipal government BSU Alexander Mamatov.

Fedor vs. Brock looks even more unlikely given the Russian's penchant for things other than fighting, which he says he has never really loved. He is a fighter by trade, but a religious dude who apparently has more interest in politics and russian bath-houses than state-side MMA. Say it aint so Fedor!

Is Aoki's One Dimensional Style Enough To Top The Division?

Gilbert Melendez and Shinya Aoki will square off this Saturday for the Strikeforce 155lb title in Nashville, TN. Many fans are ready to crown the winner of the top of the 155lb food chain after BJ Penn's abysmal performance in Abu Dahbi last weekend and subsequent loss of the UFC lightweight title.
Aoki has been bending, choking, and twisting his way into pound for pound lists over in the land of the rising son for a long time now, but can his one dimensional grappling style transition over to the US where wrestlers like Melendez rule the roost? Bj Penn was the exception to the rule when it came to wrestling because of his inhuman takedown defense and boxing that not many could contend with. Aoki has neither of those things working in his favor as evidenced by seeing the "Tobikan Judan" butt scoot mischievously toward his opponents trying to goad them into a ground war.
If Melendez decides to keep this contest on his feet, the Dream star will find himself in a world of trouble. I desperately want to see Aoki do well in his US debut, both because I am a fan of his and because Japanese fighters coming to the US have not fared very well as of late. If Aoki does pull guard or get some kind of throw to pull Gilbert into his world then it could be an interesting grappling contest.
Melendez is no slouch on the ground coming up under Caesar Gracie and training with Jake Shields will do wonders for you submission game. Both defensively and offensively Gilbert can hold his own, but will that be the case with Aoki?  Melendez was on his way to being considered one of the best lightweights in the world until losses to Josh Thomson and Ishida sidelined that talk for a while. After avenging both losses in dominant and exciting fashion, Gil is right back on track to being the cream of the crop at 155.
At any rate, the fight on Saturday reaps the rewards of co-promotion with Dream and gives the fans here in the US the type of fights that we want. As long as Aoki puts on a good performance on Saturday and doesn't flop on the ground constantly due to frustration, win, lose, or draw it will be worth the anticipation and crown what could be the new leader of the 155lb division.

M-1 Global Delays Fedor's Return, Brings More Drama

M-1 Global is a very small fight promotion with one very big star and co-owner amongst it's ranks: Fedor Emelianenko. They had Gegard Mousasi as well, but he came to his senses recently and left. M-1 Global has always seemed to think that they are worth more than they are, and because they have Fedor to bargain with they have been able to weasel into the promotional picture. Being that Fedor is part owner in the company, he has a vested interest in letting the goons run the show and do whats best for the bottom line while making ludicrous demands to be a major player in a game they have done nothing to build. All this while picking and choosing opponents for Fedor and keeping him more protected than a fighter promoted by Don King. The most recent absurdity to come from the Russian click is the re-negotiating of Fedor's contract with Strikeforce in which they have some problems with the visibility of the M-1 name. If you remember the first Affliction card that was "co-promoted" by M-1, they were unhappy about the prominence of their logo on the fight posters and made a stink about it. This situation is more of the same, and I'm guessing a bit of money was involved as well. Here is a quote from an interview with Evgeni Kogan by Dave Meltzer at yahoo sports:

“The way the show was promoted, that was an issue to us, but we don’t have an issue with Strikeforce over it,” Kogan said. “M-1 isn’t a management company for Fedor Emelianenko. We are a fight promotion. We have done matches all over the world, U.S., Asia, Europe, Japan. But the media didn’t feature the M-1 name [in coverage of the November show]. Specifically, it wasn’t Strikeforce’s fault. They honored their agreement. The way the media perceived the event was it was Strikeforce. M-1 wasn’t promoted that much. That was an issue with us.”

CBS promoted the November show more as “CBS Saturday Night Fights” as opposed to promoting the Strikeforce or M-1 Global brand names. “For us, this is a really big deal,” Kogan said. “We’re concerned about our brand. For us, it’s an important piece of the big picture.”

Kogan needs to remind us that M-1 is a fight promotion because of the fact that no one in the US, or any other part of the world, really cares or has any interest in knowing what they do. The shows that they put on in Russia are largely showcases for M-1 talent and the international shows are filled with fighters still working their way up the ranks.  The fact that they believe that the media should give their brand more name recognition is on a whole other level of absurdity. Mentioning that CBS should rename their "Saturday Night Fights" to accommodate the M-1 brand name gives you an idea of how delusional they really are. As long as Fedor is managed by this group his legacy will forever be tarnished and fans will not get to see Emelianenko face truly elite competition because M-1 wants to milk the cash cow as long as they can and won't risk him losing. Georges Saint Pierre, Anderson Silva, BJ Penn, hell even Brock Lesnar will be higher up on my list of top fighters until Fedor gets back to fighting the best in the world on a consistent basis. That simply will not happen with the group of people surrounding him now. I have no problem with Fedor's people getting a piece of the pie, but this is getting ridiculous.

Gilbert Melendez Calls Out Shinya Aoki

In an interview on Strikeforce Challengers Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez stated that he wants to take advantage of the co-promotional agreement between Dream and Strikeforce to bring home the Dream lightweight title. Melendez is coming off of fight of the year contender against former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Josh Thompson. When asked if the fans were going to see a third meeting between the two Cali residents Melendez stated that it is something that has to happen again. A meeting with Shinya Aoki and Melendez is a match up that I, and many fans, would love to see as he sets foot inside the ring for the first time on US soil.

The UFC's Heavyweight Division: Very Exciting, But Still Has One Missing Link

The UFC has a crop of stars now in it's stacked heavyweight class: Brock Lesnar, a resurgent Frank Mir, Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, Rodrigo Nogueira, Stefan Struve, Gabriel Gonzaga, and a few others. Not all of those names are going to be titlists, but they are good, exciting fighters that can make some very interesting fights. There is still one thing that sticks out like a sore thumb in that line up however, and that is Fedor Emelienenko's name is absent from it. In the opionion of many, including myself, Fedor would come out on top in any one of those match ups because he is Fedor. The thing that is so frustrating for fans is that we will not get to see these fights come to fruition to be sure because of several different forces at work. First of all there is  M-1 global and all of the leeches that are surrounding Emelienenko who insist on co-promotion of a brand that has one asset that anyone is interested in, and that is Fedor. Before the announcement that Gegard Mousasi had left M-1 Global to seek alternative management you could have said that they had two valuable assets. Hopefully Mousasi leaving is a signal that Fedor may be the next follow suit and ease up on the co-promotion aspect of the negotiations (Emelianenko is apparently part owner of M-1 which may also impede any progress). The UFC has built such a strong name and fan base in the US that they have absolutely nothing to gain from co-promoting with M-1 and for them to think any differently is absurd. The second element in this volatile mix is Dana White's brash and disrespectful attitude towards Fedor and his camp. What the UFC really needs is to have Dana stick to promoting the events and stay out of the negotiating process completely. For Fedor to be in the position that he is willing to compete for the promotion I have a feeling that DW will have to be so far out of the promotion that Fedor can't even see the shiny glare from Dana's bald head. As recently as last weekend in Australia the aforementioned White stated that they are still wanting to get Fedor and that it is a possibility, but he has been dangling that carrot in front of fans for way to long for us to hold our breath. I like one match up in the stable that Fedor currently resides in and that is him vs. Alastair Overeem. Besides that fans and pundits alike are really not too thrilled about the other possibilities in the Strikeforce HW division. The only solution to this ailment is to get Fedor where he belongs, with the world's other top heavyweight talent before he gets too old and fans are left wondering what could have been.

Strikeforce Results: Diaz Stops Zaromskis to Take 170lb Title in Miami

Bobby Lashley stops Sims in one
Bobby Lashley didn't take long to get Wes Sims on his back and pound him out to get the victory on his Strikeforce debut. The stoppage seemed a bit premature at first, but after a second look Sims was not doing enough to get out of the way of the vicious ground and pound of the beastly one. Lashley is the antithesis of his UFC counterpart Brock Lesnar as he is respectful and gracious to his opponents both on and off the mat. I look forward to seeing more of Lashley as he progresses and takes on some tougher opposition as Wes was not.
Lawler KOs Manhoef Something Serious
This fight ended the way most people expected, via knockout,  although it looked like Lawler would be the one sleeping by the conclusion of this contest. Melvin stalked Robbie and landed devestating leg kicks and combinations to Lawler until Robbie caught him with a counter coming in to drop Manhoef before finishing him on the ground. Manhoef's eyes were rolling back for a moment while he was tended to by ring physicians.  Lawler puts himself back in line for a title shot with the come from behind win, although he will probably need to nurse that lead leg after the whipping that Manhoef put to it.
Hershel Walker Victorious in Debut
Walker made his debut in MMA and Strikeforce a sucessfull one as he stopped opponent Greg Nagy in the third round. Walker controlled the contest with superior position on the ground and good takedowns. Walker has definately picked up some things training with Cain Velasquez at AKA because his style looked similar to the Heavyweight's. Walker was grateful for the opportuninty to fight but was unsure of his next steps in MMA and weather or not he would continue fighting.
Cyborg stops Coenen in three
The machine that is Cris "Cyborg" Santos continues on the path of dominance with a stoppage win over the tough Marloes Coenen who put up a tougher fight than Cyborg's last opponent Gina Carano. Although Marloes put her best foot forward, she was unable to deal with the ferocity of the Chute Boxe Champion as she was stopped in the third round via G'nP strikes. Next up for the beastly 145lb queen could be Erin Toughill.
Diaz stops "Whitemare" to take 170lb Strap
Nick Diaz put on another exciting fight to win the welterweight title against the tough Marius Zaromskis. Diaz and his opponent went blow for blow with Diaz landing more and more accurately. Zaromskis landed some good shots as well and bloodied the Stockton, CA homies lip, but Diaz went on to catch the head kick ace to  drop him and stop him in the first. Next on the roster should be Jay Hieron but that is no guarantee as Heiron is now a free agent after his win against Riggs.


OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Nick Diaz def. Marius Zaromskis via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 4:38
• Champ Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos def. Marloes Coenen via TKO (strikes) - Round 3, 3:40
• Herschel Walker def. Greg Nagy via TKO (strikes) - Round 3, 2:17
• Robbie Lawler def. Melvin Manhoef via knockout (punch) - Round 1, 3:33
• Bobby Lashley def. Wes Sims via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 2:06

PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS

• Jay Hieron def. Joe Riggs via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Joe Ray def. John Clarke via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 3:14
• David Gomez def. Craig Oxley via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Pablo Alfonso def. Marcos DaMatta via submission (armbar) - Round 1, 1:47
• Hayder Hassan def. Ryan Keenan via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 2:42
• John Kelly def. Sabah Homasi via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 2:48
• Micahel Byrnes def. David Zitnik via majority decision (29-29, 30-27, 30-27)

Jay Hieron's Bumpy Road To The Top

This weekend's Strikeforce Miami card features a Welterweight tilt between Jay Hieron and Joe Riggs. The fight, which I assume will be for number one contendership in the WW division, is not even set to be aired on the main card on Showtime. That must really be a burn for the former IFL champion Hieron. Rewind back to Affliction "Trilogy" an event that Hieron was to be featured on against British beast Paul Daley, and probably getting gobs of cash for his trouble if Affliction followed the same pay scale they did with their other big name stars. Affliction Entertainment folds and leaves a bevy of fighters without a home until the UFC and Strikeforce scooped up the fighters contracts one by one. Heiron was ready to sign with the UFC, but held out because of the promise from Strikeforce that a title shot against Nick Diaz awaited him. The shot against Diaz never came to fruition due to the pesky CSAC's testing policies not favoring Diaz's penchant for the green stuff, so Hieron was left with his junk firmly in hand. That card which was supposed to feature him in a prominent bout instead had him facing TUF cast-off Jesse Taylor on the under card of the event.  Now that the next event has a welterweight title on the line one must assume that "The Thoroughbred" would be in that scenario, one would be mistaken. Strikeforce newcomer Marius Zaromskis takes the slot against Nick Diaz for the WW title. Marius is an impressive addition to the Strikeforce Welterweight line-up, but he has yet to fight for the organization and still leapfrogs Jay Hieron for the shot at gold. Nothing against Joe Riggs, who by the way is no easy fight, lets hope that Hieron can get past him to finally get his shot at that strap atop the 170lb division. For those of you who are interested in seeing the bout on Saturday, EA Sports is going to be streaming the fight live at http://www.easports.com/.

Strikeforce Miami: Line Up Finalized, Lashely vs Sims Set

Over the weekend Strikeforce confirmed that a rumored bout between opponent-less Bobby Lashley and UFC/TUF veteran Wes Sims at Strikeforce Miami this Saturday January, 30. The fight should be Lashley's toughest test to date as Sims has over 30 pro fights to his credit. Should the hulking pro-Wrestler get past Wes in impressive fashion, it would really mark his arrival onto the world's stage as a credible Heavyweight threat. Not to say that he'll be ready for Fedor or anything, but he will be ready for some of the higher tier heavies. Aside from that little hiccup on the Ultimate Fighter where he was chocked out, Sims is on a three fight win-streak professionally. Wes Sims is not one who seems to get intimidated by his opponents so it should be a good fight and good measuring stick to see where Lashley has progressed to as a Mixed Martial Artist. The full fight card is listed below:

• Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis (for vacant welterweight title)
• Champ Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs. Marloes Coenen (for women's featherweight title)
• Robbie Lawler vs. Melvin Manhoef
• Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims
• Greg Nagy vs. Herschel Walker

PRELIMINARY CARD (un-aired)

• Jay Hieron vs. Joe Riggs
• Pablo Alfonso vs. Marcos da Matta
• Michael Byrnes vs. David Zitnik
  
• Sabah Homasi vs. John Kelly
• David Gomez vs. Craig Oxley
• Hayder Hassan vs. Ryan Keenan

FEMALE MMA FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

Could be no one else but the Chute Boxe phenom, Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos. Santos won the Strikeforce 145lb Woman's Champion with a drubbing of the muay thai beauty Gina Carano. Cyborg has just one loss on her record, a leg-lock submission in her pro debut, and has battered every opponent in the cage/ring since. Aside from her trouble making weight, no other female mixed martial artist has come close to achieving the notoriety and success that Santos has in 2009. With her first title defense against Marloes Coenen in January and a proposed deal to pose for Playboy magazine sometime next year you can look forward to seeing a lot more of Cyborg in 2010, literally!

DUMBOUT MMA FIGHT OF THE YEAR

(Melendez-Thomson II)

This year we have had many great fights and lots of talented fighters laying it all out on the line. In my opinion two of the most exciting lightweights in the game went for broke and delivered the fight of the year at Strikeforce Evolution. Josh Thomson vs. Gilbert Melendez II to unify the lightweight titles with Melendez holding the interim belt. Melendez lost the initial contest on points, but Melendez was ready for the man to hand him his second loss as a professional and take his 155 title. There were lots of great fights this year, but this one sticks out in my mind the most, and not just because it just happened. I am looking forward to the third standoff between these two champs.

Jay Green
DumbOut.FS@gmail.com

MMA'S TOP 9 OF 2009

(The Prestigious "Dummy" Awards for 2009)

Opinions are like.... everyone has one and they all stink. Here is my take on some of the most exciting and talented fighters to shine in 2009.

9. Jake Shields

Aside from the much maligned performance that he won the Strikeforce Middleweight title with, Shields has been on a tear for some time now. He did however win the contest and became the Middleweight Champion against the tough vet Jason Miller. Before that dud of a fight Shields quickly submitted former Champ Robbie Lawler in an exciting fight, and the Miller fight was his first to go the distance since 2006.

8.  Brock Lesnar

Although he had just one fight this year, it was a dominating beating of the man to hand him his only defeat, Frank Mir. Lesnar also handed MMA fans one of the best post-fight speeches ever in which he proceeded to blast the UFC's biggest sponsor and disrespect his fallen opponent.  With Heavyweight contenders piling up in the UFC, hopefully Brock will be healthy and able to return to the cage ASAP.

7. Nick Diaz

Aside from Diaz's love from marijuana and his hate for the CSAC, Diaz has put on some of his most memorable performances. He completely dominated the legend Frank Shamrock and smashed the heavy handed Scott Smith all outside of his normal fighting weight as he moved up to Middleweight. Next year may be an even better one for Nick Diaz as he is set to compete for the Strikeforce Welterweight title.

6. Jon Jones

Jon "Bones" Jones is the most exciting prospect in the UFC, period. He burst on to the UFC radar after making his debut against the more experienced Andre Gusmao winning a unanimous decision. His competition didn't get any easier, but that fact was seemingly unknown to Bones. He smashed Stephan Bonner via UD, and just recently steamrolled Matt Hamill, but was unfairly disqualified due to an illegal strike way after the fight should have been stopped.

5. Gilbert Melendez

"El Nino" had a rough 2008 having racked up the two lone losses of his career to Mitsuhiro Ishida and Josh Thomson. The latter loss being the most painful because it was at the cos of his Strikeforce Lightweight strap. Melendez re-focused himself and blitzed through  Rodrigo Damm to earn the Interim belt at 155 and avenging his first professional loss to Ishida in dominant fashion. The last fight El Nino had this year was the much anticipated and long delayed re-match with "The Punk" and it turned out to be one of the best fights of the year. Melendez took the fight via UD to reclaim his spot atop the 155lb division in Strikeforce.

4. Dan Henderson

Dan started the year out with a close split decision win over rich Franklin to win the bid to be coach on TUF. "Hendo" had a tough run with a measly 1 fighter from his team on TUF make it to the finals of TUF USA vs UK. Henderson had his revenge however over the brash Micheal Bisping as he landed a hellacious right hand to put "The Count" out for the count. The former champion also signed a landmark deal with Strikeforce making him one of the biggest UFC stars to jump ship to the budding promotion. We look forward to seeing Hendo on CBS against the best middleweights Strikeforce has to offer.

3. Fedor Emelianenko

The Heavyweight fighter is still a fan-boys wet dream despite not signing with the MMA juggernaut the UFC. Fedor started the year off with a highlight reel KO of another former UFC champion in Andrei Arlovski as well as dispatching the formerly unbeaten Brett Rogers. MMA enthusiasts were treated to a trademark Fedor performance free on network television in his Strikeforce debut. Fans and pundits alike still wish for the former Pride FC star to make his long awaited debut in the UFC.

2. Georges Saint Pierre

The Canadian Middleweight king sent BJ Penn packing his bags back to the Lightweight division with a beating the likes of which Penn has never been privy to. GSP cemented his place at the top of his division with a dominating win over muay thai powerhouse Thiago Alves. Georges earned an award for being Canadian Athlete of the year for the second year in a row.

1. Jose Aldo

With some of the most exciting finishes in the WEC, and striking prowess similar to the UFC's Brazilian Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, Aldo proved his worth with stirring wins over top contenders and Champion Mike Brown. "Junior" had four fights in the WEC in 2009 and all ended via KO/TKO as he pushed his way to the top. Aldo won the title from the ATT ace Brown with quick and accurate strikes to take his place atop the WEC's featherweight division. The 145lb firecracker is my pick for fighter of the year in 2009 and looks to have a bright 2010 ahead.

MMA WISH-LIST FOR 2010

(Holy Hell This Guy Likes Violence!)

It is that time again folks; the time that we make resolutions that we never keep, a time to gain excessive weight from holiday meals, and a time to look at bank statements and regret buying all of those gifts. This is my new year's wish list for the sport of MMA. As the old saying goes sh*t in one hand and wish in the other to see which one comes first.

FEDOR TO THE UFC:

I don't care how it happens or if we have to see an M-1 Global stamp all over the UFC broadcast to get it done, but it needs to happen and soon. This one is on every fan's wish-list every year so lets hope that this will be the magical year in which it happens. Fedor's contract with Strikeforce is only for a couple more fights, so it is within the realm of possibility. Who doesn't want to see the Russian bear come over and pound out Brock Lesnar, or face the other behemoth Shane Carwin? A resurgent Frank Mir would be an awsome match to see just how well Mir fares on the ground with Fedor, or if he can take any of Fedor's power shots before getting to the ground. MAKE IT HAPPEN DANA, FEDOR, AND M-1.

A HEALTHY BROCK LESNAR:

A Wordsworth he may not be, but Lesnar is a dominant and fascinating individual. We hope to see him well again and putting other people in the hospital: The way it shoud be. With title challengers chomping at the bit to get to Lesnar, it should be an interesting year should the Champ return to defend his belt.

BJ PENN STAY AT LIGHTWEIGHT:

There is already talk about a third match between Penn and his arch nemesis Georges Saint Pierre after Penn's dominant performances against Ken-Flo and Diego Sanchez. What needs to happen in my opinion is that Penn needs to stay at lightweight and defend his title. He could be the most dangerous person at that weight and reign for as long as he's healthy and able. His legacy is to be at lightweight and to be a long reigning champion. After a few more performances like his last one, then let's see him move up and face some challengers before getting another crack at GSP.

THE UFC ON NETWORK TV:

The door has been potentially opened for this to happen with Comcast's recent purchase of NBC. The fanfare would be immense and give the fans of this sport what the Boxing fans had with ABC's Wide World of Sports back in the day. Now with the ratings giant Kimbo Slice on the roster along with proven draws like Lesnar, GSP, and Penn the sky is the limit.

THE CONTINUED GROWTH OF STRIKEFORCE:

Scott Coker has been on a teat recently with the high profile signings of some of the sports greats like Fedor and Dan Henderson. In the states where UFC=MMA, Strikeforce could be the Mike Tyson of MMA leagues and finally make the UFC open it's doors to Co-Promotion to make the best possible match-ups.

SANCTIONING IN ALL STATES:

While the UFC's team of people have been doing a crack job of getting it done like the recent sanctioning in Boston, and the UFC's first trip to Philly, MMA has still yet to hit NY. Madison square garden is a pinnacle of fight venues in the county and would really mark the sports staying power when it does happen.

These are some of my MMA wishes for the next year in the fight world. For now we will probably get sh*t on our hands before some of these come true, but here's one guy who will keep trying no matter how much fiber I have to eat.

King Mo Looks to Impress on The Biggest U.S. Stage of His Career

King- noun. a male ruler of a nation or state usually called a kingdom; male sovereign, limited or absolute; the official ruler of a monarch.

"King" Muhammed Lawal burst onto the MMA scene in 2008 with a win over the tough veteran Travis Wiuff, finishing his opponent in just over two minutes. Sengoku was the promotion that gave him his start and they immediately knew they had a star on their hands in Lawal. With a ring entrance fit for a king complete with women and a king's crown, Lawal was a perfect fit for the personality loving Japanese MMA fans. Muhammed didn't just come out of nowhere however, he had been training with one of the best camps in the game in Team Quest. Along with training with some of MMA's elite, Lawal has a wrestling pedigree that is unmatched by many in the fight world today. Lawal is a former three-time U.S. Senior National Wrestling Champion,and former NCAA National collegiate wrestling Champion with Central Oklahoma as well as a Texas State Wrestling Champion. He was also the first and only champion of the now defunct Real Pro Wrestling league. Mo makes his much anticipated Strikeforce debut against the always tough Mike Whitehead at Strikeforce Evolution on Saturday December 19th from San Jose, California live on Showtime. For King Mo, it is his chance to shine on the biggest stage thus far in his U.S. career, and only his second appearance in MMA in the States. In his last fight Muhammed smashed "The Smashing Machine" Mark Kerr via vicious KO in the first round. Look out Heavy and Light Heavyweights King Mo is here to lay claim to his territory.  

M A I N  C A R D
Cung Le vs. Scott Smith
Champ Josh Thomson vs. interim champ Gilbert Melendez (lightweight unification title bout)
Matt Lindland vs. Ronald Souza
Muhammed Lawal vs. Mike Whitehead
PRELIMINARY CARD
Antwain Britt vs. Scott Lighty
Daisuke Nakamura vs. Justin Wilcox
Juan Nunez vs. Luis Mendoza
Bobby Stack vs. Alex Trevino
Alex Crispim vs. A.J. Fonseca

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