~ Get your popcorn ready! ~

The UFC is coming to Chicago and we have the full rundown of all the activities and festivities planned for the week.

Check out fighter appearances, autograph session, after-parties and so much more. Come on over to our Meetup page for the full schedule!

Watch UFC 128 at a local bar in Chicago with other cool fans.  It’s quite the experience watching with others.   For more information on where to meet up with other exciting and new UFC fanclub members….Read More!

Saturday, on Spike TV

This weekend marks the inaugural merger of the UFC and WEC. The WEC (World Extreme Championships) is a subsidiary of Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC. WEC carried only the lightweight (155), featherweight (145), and bantamweight (135) divisions. The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 12 Finale will mark the beginning of the merger of the smaller weight divisions into the UFC.

The WEC has long served to shed light on the smaller weight divisions. However, with the rising success of the WEC over the past few years, it has become apparent that the timing of this merger of the two elite mixed martial arts organizations is indeed the perfect opportunity to incorporate the bantamweight and featherweight divisions into the UFC’s lineup. The UFC has carried the lightweight division for over a decade.

The first UFC bantamweight fight was at UFC 26, in June of 2000. Popular American fighter Jens Pulver defeated Joao Roque, of Angola, via unanimous decision. It should be noted that the bantamweight division during this time in the UFC was for any fighter under 155 pounds. UFC 28 was the last time they held a bantamweight fight. On Saturday, for the first time ever, the UFC will begin carry the featherweight division.

TUF is an American reality television series that focuses on mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters, produced by Spike TV and the UFC. The show features largely unknown, professional mma fighters living together in Las Vegas, Nevada, and follows them as they train and compete against each other for a prized contract with the UFC. Generally, two separate series are put together each year. However, in the Finale, other mma fighters that may have name recognition and more experience fill out the fight card.

TUF Finale, Saturday December 4, 10pm ET

Airs live in USA on Spike TV (and eventually airing on Rogers Sportsnet in Canada at various times across the country)

Main card

• [155]: TUF 12 Series Finals: Jonathan Brookings (TUF) vs. Michael Johnson (TUF)
• [205]: Stephan Bonnar vs. Igor Pokrajac
• [185]: Demian Maia (5th ranked mw) vs. Kendall Grove
• [170]: Johny Hendricks vs. Rick Story
• [145]: Nam Phan (TUF) vs. Leonard Garcia

Preliminary card

• [155]: Cody McKenzie (TUF) vs. Aaron Wilkinson (TUF)
• [145]: Tyler Toner vs. Ian Loveland
• [155]: Sako Chivitchian (TUF) vs. Kyle Watson (TUF)
• [135]: Will Campuzano vs. Nick Pace
• [145]: Fredson Paixão vs. Pablo Garza (TUF)
• [185]: Rich Attonito vs. Dave Branch

Popular fighters being absorbed into the UFC from the WEC include:
-Jose Aldo [145 champ]
-Ben Henderson [155 champ]
-Dominick Cruz [135 champ]
-Urijah Faber
-Miguel Torres
-Mike Brown
-Donald Cerrone
-Chad Mendes
-Jose Benavidez
-Anthony Pettis
-Eddie Wineland
-Cub Swanson
-Brian Bowles

In mixed martial arts, non-title matches are generally sanctioned for three 5 minute rounds. So at UFC 123, why did Gerald Harris and Maiquel Falcao only fight for 14:53?

Maiquel Falcao only seconds away from tapping out Gerald Harris

Crazy as it sounds, the first round of this middleweight contest ended seven seconds early. Falcao locked Harris in a rear-naked choke in the closing seconds of the round. The time clock disappeared with eight seconds left, and a mere second later, the round was over.

Ultimately, this gaffe didn’t cost Falcao the fight – he ended up winning via decision. That this happened is worrying enough, regardless of the decision. Of course, it doesn’t help that MMA fans were subjected to a third round more boring than I could describe.

Mistakes like these can potentially cause harm to fighters. Falcao and Harris fought two full rounds beyond the first which may not have been necessary. What if one of these two fighters was severely injured?

It also reflects poorly upon MMA as a whole when such a simple problem arises. MMA has enough issues with poor judging and refereeing; the last thing the sport needs are more reasons for embarrassment. For the sake of the fighters, the fans, and the sport as a whole, here’s to hoping that mistakes like these can be avoided in the future.

WEC 52 fight card starts at 9pm (EST) in the United States on Versus. In Canada, you can catch the fights live on The Score.  Everywhere else, you can jump online and watch at UFCLIVE.com.

The stage is set today for WEC 52 in Las Vegas, Nevada for a top tier showdown of two of the best smaller weight division fighters in the world.  Available free on the Versus cable channel, former WEC featherweight champion “The California Kid” Urijah Faber (23-4; 7 ko’s, 12 submissions) faces off against Japanese mixed martial artist Takeya Mizugaki (13-4; 4 ko’s, 1 submission) in the main event of the night.

Who is Takeya Mizugaki?

A veteran mixed martial artist of 19 professional fights, Takeya Mizugaki—the 6th ranked bantamweight in the world—has been fighting in mma since 2005.  Before making his WEC debut against then-bantamweight champion Miguel Torres, all of Mizugaki’s fights were in Japan.  (He has a record of 2-2 in the WEC.)

If you didn’t know much about Mizugaki before the Torres fight, he surely made you a believer in his talents, even in defeat, as he lost a close five round decision to Torres.   He was the first fighter to ever push the established mma standout Torres to 5 rounds.

The Mizugaki/Torres fight was one of the best and technically sound fights I have ever witnessed.   The fight won top honors, including Fight of the Night, and was a finalist for the 2009 Fight of the Year.  It is considered by many as perhaps the best bantamweight fight ever.   In four fights with the WEC, Mizugaki has won two Fight of the Night honors.  He has, however, come up on the losing end both times.

I had never seen two mma fighters with so much boxing talent.  This fight was a standup war for the entire 5 rounds.  Both guys were brutally relentless in going after each other. It would seem that Mizugaki should have more than just four knockouts to his credit considering his above-average boxing skills where he usually has a clear advantage over his opponent.   I’d encourage everyone to seek out footage of the Mizugaki/Torres fight.

Does Urijah Faber still have the mojo?

I am tempted to assume that the casual fan will readily concede that Urijah Faber(currently the 4th best featherweight) will be able to get past Takeya Mizugaki, based on mere exposure to Faber alone. However, I am throwing caution to the wind in saying that Faber will have to bring his A-game in order to contain Mizugaki.

Despite having a record of 2-3 in his last five fights, Faber is still heralded as the “posterboy” for the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting).  Many still see him as the face of the WEC.   He first won his featherweight (145lbs) belt at WEC 19 in March 2006.  He defended his belt an unprecedented five times, before succumbing to Mike Brown at WEC 36 in November 2008.

Tonight’s fight will be Faber’s debut at bantamweight (135lbs).  He’s hoping to regain the spirit of winning with his drop in weight class.  With the recent announcement of the UFC/WEC merger, a win by Faber will add to the glamour of introducing the ultra-popular fighter into the massive mainstream UFC fan base.

Fight Analysis

One of the biggest intrigues of this matchup is that both guys need a win to stay afloat in title contention possibilities.   We can only guess how long it would take Faber to get a title shot if he wins as a 135 pounder.  But given his pedigree, if he wins a couple at this weight class, it won’t be long before he’s fighting for another WEC title.  Correction: he’d be fighting for the UFC bantamweight belt.

Faber is the better wrestler of the two.  However in his last few fights, Faber hasn’t been as effective with his takedown and grappling skills.  He has faced many injuries in his past few fights as well.  A talented and all-around and exciting fighter, his fighting disciplines include collegiate wrestling, kickboxing, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  Faber is a very good standup fighter, and likes to take chances with crowd-pleasing attacks.  He’s very elusive, quick, and hard to finish.

As mentioned by Miguel Torres recently on an episode of MMALive (ESPN), Mizugaki is very strong, hits hard, and has very good takedown defense.   This fight with Faber will be entertaining, especially for the casual fan.   Mizugaki is an excellent striker.  Each of his four WEC fights have gone the distance.

I suspect this fight will also go the distance, which will favor Urijah Faber.   Faber however, should be very careful with Mizugaki’s boxing and shooto skills.  Mizugaki has no problem standing in the middle of the ring and throwing punches all night long.   At times, he’s willing to take a few punches just to get in a few punches of his own.

Top 20 MMA Little Guys Rankings

WEC 52

Main Card (Versus and The Score)

• Urijah Faber vs Takeya Mizugaki
• Chad Mendes vs Javier Vazquez
• Erik Koch vs Francisco Rivera
• Joseph Benavidez vs Wagnney Fabiano
• Damacio Page vs Demetrious Johnson

Preliminary Card (not televised)

• Raphael Assunção vs LC Davis
• Anthony Njokuani vs Edward Faaloloto
• Zach Micklewright vs Dustin Poirier
• Clint Godfrey vs Michael McDonald
• Cub Swanson vs Mackens Semerzier
• Yves Jabouin vs Brandon Visher

It seems to me that the most painful thing a man can endure without drawing blood is a blow to the crotch. Hell, even squeezing tightly can make a man scream like a little girl. But folks, this is combat fighting. You’re gonna get hurt! Yes, it seems as if a shot to the nuts can be debilitating, but so can a shot to the liver and that‘s legal. Now I’m not advocating the legalization of a nutshot! (At least, I don’t think I am.) It seems like a pretty cheap way to win a fight. But then, so is slamming your opponent onto the floor to knock him out. But that’s another matter.

Pelvic Protector aka "The Jill"

When I played field hockey in high school we were required to wear “pelvic protectors” – a female version of a jockstrap/cup combo. I never saw the point. Boys wear them so girls have to as well? I’ve never been kicked in the cunt, so I can’t say if it would be more painful than a kick in the face. I’ve never had balls to be kicked in, so I wouldn’t be able to compare the pain anyway. Is it comparable? Who can say, really? Maybe a male-to-female transgender – but how many would be willing to take a shot to the crotch – twice – just to compare?

I sometimes think the fighters, in need of a rest, will fake a nut shot or embellish a grazing blow. I saw a fight a while back, possibly in Dream.13 or Dream.14, where a fighter took a nut shot and took the full five minutes to recover, but was still in such pain that they gave him an extra two minutes, after which he was ready to go. At first I thought maybe he wasn’t wearing a cup – this is Japan, after all. But replays showed that, in fact, he was. Either that or he had a large square cock. It is Japan, after all!   So he was wearing a cup but it took seven minutes for him to recover from a nut shot? Honestly, I don’t get it. The point of the cup is to protect your twig ‘n’ berries. So why are these fighters going down like they’ve been shot?

Protective Cup aka "The Jock"

Help me understand this, boys! How do you sustain such great pain when you are so heavily protected? I watched a bit of World Cup soccer this year and what struck me more than anything was the incredible gullibility of the referees when it came to on-field injuries. These guys going down in such extreme pain, only to jump back up and rejoin the game when the opposing player had been penalized. It reminded me a bit of the nut shots I have seen.

Don’t get me wrong – some of the fighters I have seen taking time to recover from a nut shot are fighters I feel have too much integrity to fake it. Which makes me wonder further, how the hell are they getting injured through hard plastic armor? I mean, if the cup breaks, I can see taking the time. But it’s designed to absorb blows, not transfer them to the protected bits and pieces beneath.

I guess I am waiting for the moment a female fighter gets kicked in the crotch to see if she will take her full five minutes, or if she will just shake it off as another body blow she didn’t defend against. (Are women even afforded a five minute recovery period?)

Shine Fight Promotions is a small mma organization, founded in 2009. They held two successful events last year and have been looked at as a decent place for a fighter to earn a paycheque.

They have recently had a run of bad luck though, and it’s difficult to say if they are deserving of the negative press heading their way because of it.

Scheduled for May 15, 2010, Shine Fights 3: Worlds Collide was to be their marquee presentation. The main event, pitting former UFC standout Din Thomas against former WBA/WBC champion Ricardo Mayorga, would prove once and for all whether boxers were better than mma fighters.

Read more »

Sarah Kaufman and Roxanne Modafferi weigh in for Strikeforce Challengers 9

Canadian Sarah Kaufman recently made headlines with her powerslam knockout of Roxanne Modafferi to successfully defend her Strikeforce title. Title in what? Even the broadcasters weren’t certain. They fought at 135 pounds. Normally, 126 to 135 pounds is called “bantamweight”. But Strikeforce was calling it “welterweight”. Showtime, airing the fight, put up a graphic that said “lightweight”. Even veteran fight announcer Mauro Ranallo, who was calling the fight, could only refer to it as the “one-thirty-five division”. Read more »

Catch promising mixed martial arts prospect and Chicago native Louis Taylor fighting this Friday, August 13, 2010 at Strikeforce Challengers 10: Riggs vs. Taylor. This fight card will air live on Showtime (ShoMMA) at 11pm(ET). Read more »

Where To Watch UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen

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The leading cutman in combat sports

There is a guy who gets as much air time during the UFC’s pay per view events as Dana White. You have no doubt seen him countless times, his face is very recognizable – right down to the trademark Tom Selleck mustache.

His name is Jacob Duran, though most fight fans know him simply as “Stitch”, for he is the pre-eminent cutman in mma. He also works with heavyweight boxing champions Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, among others. Stitch is recognized as the best, most popular cutman in the business. You can see him before the fight starts, preparing a fighter, or in between rounds working on the Read more »