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!

Upcoming Fights | Fight Results

No list of top Canadian fighters is complete without mentioning Georges St-Pierre. In fact, you might as well dismiss any such list that doesn’t feature GSP at the top. He has a professional record of 20-2 with 15 of those wins coming in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), which is recognized as the predominant mma organization in the world. He has won 30 consecutive rounds – a UFC record – and outstruck his opponents 1067 to 367 (an almost 3 to 1 ratio). He’s sitting on an eight-fight win streak (the second longest in UFC history) with five successful defenses of his welterweight title, tying the UFC record set by Matt Hughes. There is currently no viable contender for the welterweight belt. That, in itself, is an indication of how dominant he is.

So much has been written about Georges St-Pierre, it seems to be a disservice to the other promising and talented Canadian fighters who rarely get any attention. So here we are with a list of top Canadian fighters other than Georges St-Pierre.

~Top 10 Other Canadians in MMA~

pr	cr	Fighter	MMA Record	Zuffa* Record	Last Fought In…	Streak
2	1	Rory MacDonald welterweight	11-1 (4KO/6sub)	2-1	UFC	1 win
1	2	Mark Hominick featherweight	20-9 (9KO/7sub)	6-3	UFC	1 loss
H	3	Jason MacDonald middleweight	25-14 (3KO/19sub)	5-6	UFC	1 win
3	4	Claude Patrick welterweight	14-1 (3KO/9sub)	3-0	UFC	13 wins
10	5	John Makdessi lightweight	9-0 (7KO)	2-0	UFC	9 wins
4	6	Mark Bocek lightweight	9-4 (1KO/7sub)	5-4	UFC	1 loss
8	7	Sarah Kaufman 135 lbs	13-1 (9KO)	4-1	Armageddon FC	1 win
5	8	Sam Stout lightweight	16-6-1 (8KO/1sub)	5-5	UFC	1 win
6	9	Sean Pierson welterweight	11-5 (6KO/4sub)	1-1	UFC	1 loss
7	10	Krzysztof Soszynski light heavyweight	25-11-1 (10KO/11sub)	5-2	UFC	1 win

*Zuffa Record includes combined record from UFC, WEC and Strikeforce
PR=Previous Ranking
CR=Current Ranking

~Ones to Watch~

pr	Fighter	MMA Record	Zuffa* Record	Last Fought In…	Streak
-	Alexis Davis (Raging Wolf Women’s Champion)	10-4 (1KO/5sub)	1-0	Strikeforce	2 wins
-	Jordan Mein welterweight	22-7 (12KO/7sub)	n/a	SFS	5 wins
-	Antonio Carvalho featherweight	13-4 (6KO/3sub)	n/a	SFS	3 wins
-	Nick Ring middleweight	12-0 (2KO/6sub)	2-0	UFC	12 wins
-	Julia Budd 145lbs	2-1 (1KO)	2-1	Strikeforce	1 win
-	Ryan Jimmo (MFC Light Heavyweight Champion)	15-1 (6KO/2sub)	n/a	MFC	15 wins
-	Dwayne Lewis light heavyweight	12-7 (7KO/3sub)	n/a	MFC	1 loss
-	Ryan Ford (TFC Welterweight Champion)	16-3 (8KO/7sub)	n/a	AMMA	3 wins
-	Adrian Wooley (W-1 Bantamweight Champion)	7-2 (4KO)	n/a	SFS	1 loss
-	John Alessio welterweight	31-14 (9KO/14sub)	0-3	Ultimate Glory	1 loss
-	Chris Horodecki lightweight	18-3 (7KO/3sub)	2-2	Bellator	2 wins
-	Tim Hague heavyweight	12-5 (7KO/3sub)	1-4	UFC	1 loss
-	David Loiseau middleweight	20-10 (13KO/3sub)	8-5	TPF	1 win
-	Denis Kang middleweight	34-13-2-2 (12KO/16sub)	1-2	BFL	1 loss
-	Patrick Côté middleweight	15-7 (5KO/4sub)	4-7	Ringside	2 wins
-	Joe Doerksen middleweight	47-15 (8KO/33sub)	2-7	SFS	1 win
9	TJ Grant welterweight	16-5 (2KO/12sub)	3-3	UFC	1 loss

Upcoming Fights | Fight Results

with advice and encouragement from KTW

Over the past few years, the smaller weight classes in mixed martial arts fighting have been aspiring to be on level ground with the heavier weight classes. For years, these guys have been putting on spectacular fights that many casual fans have not witnessed.

There is a variety of circumstances as to why this is the case.

As with any sport, there has to be depth in talent, a forum to display that talent, and a marketing train that will lead to exposure for the sport. Up until recently, the major promotions in mma have largely ignored the smaller weight classes, mainly due to a shortage of quality talent. But the new year brings with it the good news that we will no longer have to search for “little guy” fights, and the casual fans will now get to see what they have been missing.

Many fighters have become household names over the past ten years or so, and now we have plenty more fighters with the potential to be just as well known. With that in mind, we bring you our picks for the top 35 “little guys” in mma—a pound-for-pound ranking of fighters who routinely weigh in at 145 pounds or less, ranging from featherweight all the way down to strawweight.

~Top 35 Little Guys in MMA~

	cr	Fighter	Promotion	Record	Age	Division
	1	José Aldo (Champion)	UFC	19-1 12KO/2sub	24	Featherweight
	2	Dominick Cruz (Champion)	UFC	17-1 6KO/1sub	25	Bantamweight
	3	Hiroyuki Takaya (Champion)	Dream	15-9-1 11KO	33	Featherweight
	4	Urijah Faber	UFC	25-4 7KO/13sub	31	Bantamweight
	5	Joseph Benavidez	UFC	13-2 3KO/8sub	26	Bantamweight
	6	Manvel Gamburyan	UFC	11-5 2KO/6sub	29	Featherweight
	7	Mark Hominick	UFC	20-9 8KO/7sub	28	Featherweight
	8	Michihiro Omigawa	UFC	12-10-1 4KO/2sub	35	Featherweight
	9	Brian Bowles	UFC	9-1 3KO/6sub	30	Bantamweight
	10	Hatsu Hioki (WVRChampion)	UFC	24-4-2 4KO/12sub	27	Featherweight
	11	Miguel Torres	UFC	39-4 9KO/23sub	29	Bantamweight
	12	Jussier da Silva (Shooto South American Champion)	TPF	9-1 3sub	25	Flyweight
	13	Diego Nunes	UFC	16-2 5KO/6sub	28	Featherweight
	14	Chad Mendes	UFC	10-0 2KO/2sub	25	Featherweight
	15	Zachary Makovsky (Champion)	Bellator	13-2 1KO/5sub		Bantamweight
	16	Bibiano Fernandes	Dream	8-3 3sub	30	Featherweight
	17	Dustin Poirier	UFC	10-1 5KO/3sub	21	Featherweight
	18	Joe Warren (Champion)	Bellator	7-1 2KO	34	Featherweight
	19	Marlon Sandro	Bellator	19-2 7KO/3sub	33	Featherweight
	20	Masakazu Imanari (Champion)	DEEP	23-8-2 1KO/14sub	34	Bantamweight
	21	Norifumi Yamamoto	UFC	18-4-0-1 13KO/2sub	33	Bantamweight
	22	Mike Brown	UFC	24-8 5KO/13sub	35	Featherweight
	23	Erik Koch	UFC	12-1 3KO/7sub	22	Featherweight
	24	Josh Grispi	UFC	14-3 6KO/7sub	22	Featherweight
	25	Cub Swanson	UFC	15-4 7sub	27	Featherweight
	26	Eddie Wineland	UFC	18-7-1 9KO/5sub		Bantamweight
	27	Patricio Freire	Bellator	17-1 6KO/7sub	23	Featherweight
	28	Brad Pickett	UFC	20-5 6KO/9sub	32	Bantamweight
	29	Joe Soto	Bellator	9-1 4KO/4sub	23	Featherweight
	30	Donald Sanchez (Champion*)	KOTC	22-11 9KO/9sub	26	Featherweight
	31	Mamoru Yamaguchi (Champion**)	KOTC	26-5-3 10KO/4sub	33	Flyweight
	32	Renan Barão	UFC	26-1-0-1 6KO/12sub		Bantamweight
	33	Takeya Mizugaki	UFC	14-5-2 4KO/1sub	27	Bantamweight
	34	Yasuhiro Urushitani (Champion)	Shooto	18-4-6 3KO/1sub	34	Bantamweight
	35	Adrian Wooley (Champion)	W-1	7-2 4KO/1sub		Bantamweight

Recognized weight classifications in mixed martial arts:

• Featherweight – 145lbs
• Bantamweight – 135lbs
• Flyweight – 125lbs
• Strawweight – 115lbs

* KOTC names their 145lbs division Bantamweight
** KOTC names their 125lbs division Jr Flyweight

~Honorables~

	cr	Fighter	Promotion	Record	Age	Division
	H	Scott Jorgensen	UFC	12-4 2KO/5sub	28	Bantamweight
	H	Leonard Garcia	UFC	15-7-1 3KO/9sub	31	Featherweight
	H	Alexis Vila	MFA	8-0 5KO/2sub	39	Flyweight
	H	Rambaa Somdet (Champion)	Shooto	8-2 2KO	36	Strawweight
	H	Joachim Hansen	Dream	22-10-1 7KO/7sub	31	Featherweight
	H	John Fraser (Champion)	W-1	8-3 1KO/7sub	33	Featherweight
	H	Koichiro Matsumoto (Champion)	DEEP	12-2 6KO	25	Featherweight
	H	Michael McDonald	UFC	13-1 7KO/4sub		Bantamweight

PR=Previous Ranking
CR=Current Ranking
H=Honorable
KO=Knockouts
Sub=Submissions

Thursday, December 16^th, 2010, from Glendale, Arizona (9pm ET) marks the closing of the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting), as the organization prepares to merge into the UFC. The WEC has primarily focused on the “little guys’” weight divisions, such as the bantamweight (135) and featherweight (145). There is also their lightweight (155) division, which many viewed as the farm league for the UFC’s lightweight division. The WEC is a smaller organization, owned by Zuffa, which also owns the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship).

WEC 53 will be its last show and there’s no shortage of Chicagoland fighters participating on this card’s lineup. Coincidentally, the state of Arizona is the favored mild climate destination for Illinois residents. Arizona has the highest concentration of Illinois natives (4.7%) out of the mild climate states in the top 10, ahead of California, Florida and Texas. It seems you can’t go a day walking around parts of Mesa, Phoenix, and Glendale without meeting a Chicago or Illinois native.

“Chicagoland” is a term liberally applied to the Metropolitan Chicago area, that naturally includes a large chunk of Illinois, but also parts of Indiana and Wisconsin. MMAviewers.com is always proud to support local Chicagoland fighters. In the spirit of neighborhood solidarity, we present these profiles on some established, and some up-and-coming, fighters.

Bart Palaszewski

—Fighting out of Team Curran in Crystal Lake, IL, “Bartimus” is a veteran of 48 fights. At just 27, he has amassed a ton of experience inside the cage. He has won his last four fights, and six of his last eight. The Polish-born fighter is very aggressive, having finished 27 opponents (16 KOs/11 subs) out of his 35 victories. Bart is in a resurgent mode as he’s rededicated himself to his mixed martial arts training. He has been spectacular in his last four fights, including a win over #1 WEC lightweight contender Anthony Pettis. Before the merge happened, with a victory, Bart would have challenged for the WEC lightweight belt.  His opponent Thursday is undefeated British-Iranian fighter, Kamal Shalorus(6-0; 4 KOs). Kamal is a decorated international wrestler/grappler. He didn’t start mma training until 2006, when he moved to the USA. He brings a lot of knockout power along with his wrestling. The winner of this fight will be among the top contenders in the now-crowded UFC lightweight division.

Ricardo Lamas

—Ricardo stated on his Facebook that he would miss his high school reunion due to his preparations for fighting at WEC 53. The native of Chicago, fighting out of Elmhurst, IL, he is a two-time community college conference wrestling champion. He pits his 9-1 record against a WEC newcomer, Brazilian Yuri Alcantara (20-3; 8 KOs, 11 subs). Not much is known of Yuri, but Ricardo hopes to continue his strides up the lightweight division, a journey that began with a win over Bart Palaszewski at WEC 39, in March of 2008. Ricardo likes to control the fight from start to finish. He’s comfortable enough on his feet, and can rely on his wrestling background. He has won most of the rounds that he’s fought. Lamas is right there knocking on the door for title contender considerations. With the merge, it is unknown how the fights will be aligned with the mixing of the two lightweight divisions, but with a win on Thursday, Ricardo is sure to be in that mix.

Eddie Wineland

—A full-time firefighter, Wineland was the first WEC Bantamweight champion back at WEC 20 in May, 2006. He lost the title to Chicago native Chase Beebe at WEC 26 about a year later. The Northwest Indiana resident is eager to insert his name back into the mix in the 135lb division. Wineland (17-6; 8 KOs, 5 subs) was fighting for the WEC before Zuffa bought the organization. And with a win this Thursday against newcomer Ken Stone (9-0; 4 KOs, 5 subs), Wineland(26) will move himself closer to a return to title contention. All but one of Stone’s victories have come in the first round, so Wineland will be well-advised to push him to later rounds – or finish him quick.

Anthony Pettis

—The Milwaukee product has raised his stock in the WEC lightweight division. Roughly just over an hour north of Chicago, Pettis is putting mma on the map in Wisconsin. He has a huge following through the Milwaukee region. He has been nicknamed “Showtime” because of his flashy style of fighting, which includes a muay thai background. Three impressive wins a row have led Showtime to this title shot against current lightweight champion Ben Henderson. The winner of the Pettis/Henderson fight will face the winner of the UFC’s lightweight title fight between champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray Maynard (January 1, 2011) in a unification match, to be announced later. He takes on the champ Ben Henderson(12-1; 8 subs), who fights out of Glendale, Arizona.

Danny Downes

—This relative newcomer to the WEC lost his debut fight six months ago to Chris Horodecki; Downes took the fight on only a few days notice. Downes (6-1; 5 KOs) is a native of Chicago, and fights out of Milwaukee. He trains at the same gym (Roufusport) as Pettis. Downes is also a graduate of Marquette University. With a focus in muay thai, he hopes to show its effectiveness against his opponent, who has a sanshou (kickboxing) background. He faces the undefeated up-and-coming Chinese import Zhang Tie Quan (12-0; 3KOs, 9 subs), who has finished all of his fights in the first round.

WEC 53
Official fight card

Main card (Versus and The Score – 9PM ET)

• Lightweight Championship bout: (#2) Ben Henderson (c) vs. (#10) Anthony Pettis
• Bantamweight Championship bout: (#3) Dominick Cruz (c) vs. (#16) Scott Jorgensen
• Lightweight bout: (#12) Donald Cerrone vs. Chris Horodecki
• Lightweight bout: (#13) Bart Palaszewski vs. (#11) Kamal Shalorus

Preliminary card(unaired live)

• Lightweight bout: Zhang Tie Quan vs. Danny Downes
• Lightweight bout: (#18) Jamie Varner vs. (#19) Shane Roller
• Bantamweight bout: (H) Brad Pickett vs. Ivan Menjivar
• Bantamweight bout: (H) Eddie Wineland vs. Ken Stone
• Lightweight bout: Danny Castillo vs. Will Kerr
• Lightweight bout: (#14) Ricardo Lamas vs. Yuri Alcantara
• Bantamweight bout: Renan Barão vs. Chris Cariaso

MMAviewers.com Top 20 WEC Little Guy Rankings

This is a list of the top bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight fighters of the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting). These guys may be small in stature, but they have warrior attitudes that are as big as the big guys—if not bigger!

The WEC has the most elite “little guy” fighters in the world. It’s unfortunate that these guys don’t receive the compensation and recognition as the bigger guys, especially those in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). The WEC is a smaller organization, owned by Zuffa, which also owns the UFC.

Over the years, the WEC has dissolved it’s higher weight divisions, watching its fighters go to the UFC. The WEC ended up being the exclusive home for elite bantamweight and featherweight fighters, though their lightweight division was often looked at as a sort of farm league for the UFC.

With the recent absorption of the WEC into the UFC, this will be the final WEC rankings leading up to the final WEC event, WEC 53, to be held Thursday December 16, 2010. Look for our new “little guy” rankings in the new year.

~Top 20 WEC Little Guys Ranking~
~Bantamweight/Featherweight/Lightweight~
~Fighters~
[post-WEC 53]

pr	cr	Fighter	Record	Weight	Height	Age	Next Opponent	Next Fight
1	1	Jose Aldo (Featherweight Champion)	18-1 12 KOs	145	5’7”	24
2	2	Ben Henderson (Lightweight Champion)	12-1 8 subs	155	5’9”	27	Anthony Pettis	12/16/10
3	3	Dominick Cruz (Bantamweight Champion)	16-1 6 KOs	135	5’8”	25	Scott Jorgenson	12/16/10
4	4	Joseph Benavidez	13-2 3 KOS; 8 subs	135	5’4”
5	5	Miguel Torres	38-3 9 KOs 23 subs	135	5’9”	29	Antonio Banuelos	02/05/11
6	6	Brian Bowles	8-1 3 KOs 5 subs	135	5’7”	30
8	7	Josh Grispi	14-1 6 KOs 7 subs	145	5’11”	22	Dustin Poirier	01/01/11
9	8	Mike Brown	24-6 5 KOs 13 subs	145	5’6”	34	Diego Nunes	01/01/11
10	9	Urijah Faber	24-4 7 KOs 13 subs	135/145	5’6”	31
11	10	Anthony Pettis	11-1 4 KOs 6subs	155	5’9”	23	Ben Henderson	12/16/10
12	11	Kamal Shalorus	6-0-2 4 KOs	155	5’8”	32	Bart Palaszewski	12/16/10
H	12	Donald Cerrone	12-3 10 subs	155	6’0″	27	Chris Horodecki	12/16/10
14	13	Bart Palaszewski	35-13 16 KOs 11 subs	155	5’9”	27	Kamal Shalorus	12/16/10
15	14	Ricardo Lamas	9-1 2 KOs 2 subs	155	5’8”	28	Yuri Alcantara	12/16/10
17	15	Diego Nunes	15-1 5 KOs 6 subs	145	5’9”	28	Mike Brown	01/01/11
18	16	Scott Jorgensen	11-3 4 subs	135	5’5”	28	Dominick Cruz	12/16/10
7	17	Manvel Gamburyan	11-5 6 subs	145	5’5”	29
13	18	Jamie Varner	16-4 5 KOs 9 subs	155	5’8”	26	Shane Roller	12/16/10
19	19	Shane Roller	8-3 5 subs	155	5’10″	31	Jamie Varner	12/16/10
-	20	Eric Koch	11-1 2 KOs 7 subs	145	5’10″	22

Lightweight Champion
Featherweight Champion
Bantamweight Champion

~Honorables~

pr	cr	Fighter	Record	Weight	Height	Age	Next Opponent	Next Fight
-	H	Takeya Mizugaki	13-5-2 4 KOs	135	5’7″	26
-	H	Eddie Wineland	17-6-1 8 KOs 5 subs	135	5’8″		Ken Stone	12/16/10
-	20	Brad Pickett	19-5 6 subs 9 KOs	135	5’6”	32	Ivan Menjivar	12/16/10
19	H	Jung Chan Sung	10-3	143	5’9”	23
11	16	LC Davis	16-4 5 KOs 6 subs	145	5’8”	30
-	H	Chad Mendes	9-0 2 KOs	145	5’6″	25	Michihiro Omigawa	TBD
-	H	Leonard Garcia	15-6 3 KOs 9 subs	145	5’9″	31
-	H	Cub Swanson	15-4 7 subs	145	5’7″	27

PR=Previous Ranking
CR=Current Ranking
H=Honorable

---

Dana White called Georges St-Pierre the most famous athlete to ever come out of Canada. The Canadian media had a fit, calling out “Gretzky, Gretzky”. But Dana White pointed out that GSP can go anywhere in the world and be recognized, because mma is a globally enjoyed sport. Hockey, on the other hand….

White makes the example of going to the Philippines and seeing St-Pierre mobbed. That wouldn’t happen to Wayne Gretzky in the Philippines. The media point out that Gretzky can’t go anywhere in Canada without being recognized, while St-Pierre could go most places – especially when there is no UFC event coming up – without being recognized. Certainly that would be the case. And White can’t understand why Canadians don’t embrace GSP as our new sports hero.

As big as mma is in Canada, it really isn’t that big. Canada may be the second biggest market for mma outside of the USA, but most people you talk to still give you a blank look when you mention mma. “You know,” you explain, “UFC.” Oh, that. Sure, Canadians are aware of the sport, but most only know it because of the bad media coverage of it. You know, the news journalists who think they are cracking a big story when they report on the barbarism of mma. They conveniently forget to point out that their information is over ten years old. That wouldn’t make as sensational a story.

But I digress! Wayne Gretzky will likely always be the top Canadian athlete of all time to most Canadians. There is no questioning that. But drop him in Sydney, Australia or Abu Dhabi and see if anyone knows who he is. Dana White had a point. MMA is a global sport. You can go to almost any country in the world and find more people who know the current champions of the UFC than know NHL hockey players who have been retired and out of the public eye for over ten years.

Some more open-minded media have pointed out that the most famous Canadian athlete is most likely Ben Johnson. This was probably true 20 years ago, when he was famously stripped of his Olympic medals and world records for doping, but these days I think you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who knows who he is. (I had to google him.)

35 million Canadians know who Wayne Gretzky is. Presumedly most American hockey fans know who he is. A handful of countries in Europe probably know him. How many people in England know him? I would guess more Britons know Dan Hardy than Gretzky. And if they know Hardy, then they know GSP! Who wants to pretend that Kenyans know who Gretzky is?

Dana White likes to make outrageous statements and controversial claims. But in this case, I think he just may be justified.

Addendum: Georges St-Pierre was named the Canadian Athlete of the Year for the third year in a row in 2010, beating out Olympic hockey hero Sidney Crosby.

Fight Videos | Upcoming Fights | Fight Results

Within the past two or three years, the heavyweight division in mixed martial arts (mma) has had a rebirth of a sort. During the quiet years of mixed martial arts, it appeared that it wasn’t as many talented fighters in comparison to today’s numbers.  And with that, the talent pool was hit and miss, especially in the big boy division. There simply wasn’t any true heavyweight that was able to garner the attention of the casual fan, which is the fanbase that has recently fueled the rebirth of mma. And as we’ve seen with boxing, if there’s not one or two dominating and well-known heavyweights, the entire sport seems to border on the realm of obscurity to the general masses.

This is a comprehensive list of up and coming heavyweights from around the world. Also within this list are those heavyweight mixed martial arts fighters who may not be well known to the casual mma fan. So, fighters who have fight experience as well as being relatively known amongst the American fanbase such as a Fabricio Werdum, Roy Nelson, & Ben Rothwell … to name a few, aren’t included in this list.

~MMA’s Top 25~
~Unknown and Up & Coming~
Heavyweights

pr	cr	Fighter	Record	1st Rd Stops	Ht	Wt	Age	Discipline	Origins
2	1	Shane Del Rosario (Strikeforce)	11-0 8 KOs 3 subs	10	6’4″	240	25	Muay Thai	California
3	2	Antonio Silva (Strikeforce)	16-2 11 KOs 3 subs	11	6’4″	265	29	Muay Thai, Karate, BJJ	Brazilian
4	3	Mike Russow (UFC)	14-1-1 4 KOs 8 subs	9	6’2″	265	32	Wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing	Chicago
8	4	Brendan Schaub (UFC)	8-1 7 KOs	6	6’5″	240	27	Boxing, BJJ	Colorado
1	5	Sergey Kharitonov (Strikeforce)	18-4 9 KOs 8 subs	17	6’4″	250	30	Sambo, Boxing, Muay Thai	Russia
19	6	Cole Konrad (Bellator)	7-0 1 KO 2 sub	2	6’5″	266	26	Wrestling	Minnesota
9	7	Daniel Cormier (Strikeforce)	8-0 3 KOs 3 subs	4	5’11″	248	31	Freestyle/ Collegiate Wrestling	Louisiana
10	8	Stefan Struve (UFC)	20-4 4 KOs 14 subs	13	6’11″	245	22	Kickboxing, Jiu-Jitsu	Netherlands
6	9	Brett Rogers	11-3 10 KOs		6’4″	265	29	Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling	Minnesota/ Chicago
12	10	Lavar Johnson (Strikeforce)	15-4 13 KOs 2 subs	12	6’3″	242	32	Boxing	California
11	11	Dave Herman (UFC)	21-2 15 KOs 5 subs	15	6’5″	241	26	Boxing, Wrestling	Indiana
7	12	Aleksander Emelianenko	17-4 11 KOs 4 subs	14	6’3″	255	29	Boxing, Sambo, Judo	Russia
5	13	Damian Grabowski (Bellator)	13-1 5 KOs 7 subs	10	6’1″	230	30	BJJ, Submission Wrestling	Poland
14	14	Bobby Lashley (Strikeforce)	6-1 3 KOs 1 sub	4	6’3″	252	33	Collegiate Wrestling	Kansas
15	15	Muhammed Lawal (Strikeforce)	7-1 5 KOs 2 subs	4	5’11″	218	27	Wrestling	Tennessee
16	16	Patrick Barry (UFC)	6-3 7 KOs	4	5’11″	248	31	Sanshou, Muay Thai	Louisiana
H	17	Jon Madsen (UFC)	7-1 4 KOs	2	6’0″	252	30	Wrestling	South Dakota
17	18	Hae Joon Yang (Bellator)	5-1 5 KOs	5	5’11″	230	22	Wrestling, Boxing, Muay Thai	South Korea
13	19	Todd Duffee	6-2 6 KOs	5	6’3″	253	25	Freestyle	Indiana
18	20	Travis Browne (UFC)	11-0-1 8 KOs 1 sub	7	6’7″	251		Boxing	California
20	21	Chad Corvin	6-0 4 KOs 2 subs	6	6’5″	253	23	Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling	Kentucky
-	22	Sean McCorkle	11-2 4 KOs 6 subs	8	6’7″	265	34	Kickboxing, Wrestling	Indiana
22	23	Dan Christison	18-7 5 KOs 11 subs	8	6’8″	270	38	Submission Wrestling	California
23	24	Stav Economou	11-1-1 7 KOs 1 sub	8	6’1″	250	24	Vale Tudo	Cyprus
24	25	Chris Tuchscherer	21-4-0-1 9 KOs 7 subs	14	6’1″	258	34	Boxing, Wrestling	North Dakota

~Honorables~

pr	cr	Fighter	Record	1st Rd Stops	Ht	Wt	Age	Discipline	Origins
21	H	Brandon Cash (Strikeforce)	5-3 3 KOs 1 sub	3	6’5″	256	29	Boxing	California
25	H	Michał Kita (Bellator)	10-6 6 KOs 4 subs	10	5’10″	240		Wrestling, Sub. Wrestling, Kickboxing	Poland
H	H	Rogent Lloret  (Bellator)	10-2-1-1 1 KO 6 subs	10	6’3″	235		BJJ	Spain
H	H	Kimbo Slice	4-2 2 KOs 1 sub	2	6’1″	225	36	Boxing, Streetfighting	Bahamas, Miami
H	H	Blagoi Ivanov	4-0-0-1 2 KOs	1	5’11″	240	23	Sambo, Judo	Bulgaria
H	H	Mariusz Pudzianowski	3-2 2 subs	2	6’1″	315	33	Kyokushin Karate, Boxing	Poland
H	H	Daniel Puder	8-0 2 KOs 3 subs		6’3″	255	28	Amateur wrestling, BJJ, Kickboxing, Muay Thai	California
H	H	Tony Johnson Jr (Bellator)	6-1 2 KOs	1	6’1″	265		Freestyle Wrestling	Ohio
-	H	Rob Broughton (UFC)	15-5-1 6 KOs 5 subs	6	6’2″	265	27	Freestyle Wrestling, Submission Grappling	England
-	H	Satoshi Ishii	4-1 2 subs	2	5’11″	240	24	Judo, BJJ, Wrestling, Muay Thai, Shotokan Karate	Japan

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~Video Links~

Antonio Silva vs Mike Kyle
Shane Del Rosario vs.  Brandon Cash
Dave “PeeWee” Herman vs.  Jim York
World’s Strongest Man–Mariusz Pudzianowski in his mma debut
Hae Joon Yang vs.  Joaquim Ferreira
Tim Sylvia  vs.  Mariusz Pudzianowski….Article & Video
Damian Grabowski vs.  Michal Kita
Sergei Kharitonov vs.  Mike Russow

Upcoming Fights | Fight Results

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There are a few fighters that can be held responsible for pumping life back into the heavyweight division as of recent years. Arguably one of the best heavyweights ever, Fedor Emelianenko(31-1) of Russia, has been near the top of this list for a few years now, even with the air of unfamiliarity that accompanies him.  His mystique comes from fighting primarily outside of the US in Japan and other international locations. Whether you like Fedor or not, you want to tune in to see what the hype is all about.

Randy Couture (47), in 2007 reinvigorated the UFC and the heavyweight division when he defeated champ Tim Sylvia to regain the title he once had 7 years prior. He was 44 years of age at the time. Couture is a 4 time UFC heavyweight champion. Couture is arguably the most revered American mma fighter amongst the loyal mma fanbase. And this is in part due to his lunch bucket mentality as well as his longevity.

No longer can the talents in the heavyweight division be overlooked. One of the most top tier grappling talents is Frank Mir. Mir, a former UFC champion is 1-1 against Brock Lesnar, and is looking for a rubber match. Lesnar knocked out Mir in their last bout. And in Lesnar’s very brief mma career, he has brought in an array of viewers from his days as an entertainment wrestler. There’s no denying the fan appeal that Lesnar has added to the mma world!  Lesnar recently lost his hw belt to Cain Velasquez, who now has ushered in an influx of casual Mexican fans, much of which was helped by the advertisement ran by the UFC for this fight.

This list entails a variant of talents and skill sets.  There’s the guy who last beat Fedor, Blagoi Ivanov, which was in a Sambo fighting style event….to win Gold from the 4-time champion of this event.  Ivanov has since fallen out of the rankings due to inactivity.  Fabricio Werdum of Brazil recently scored a huge upset Fedor via a triangle choke.   Werdum probably has the best bjj skills amongst all the bigs in mma.   And you have Marius Pudzianowski, The Polish Muscle, who’s known as the Strongest Man In The World.  That alone is scary, however,  he has some mma skills; he’s quick, ultra aggressive, and athletic, and is trained in Kyokushin kaikan karate, and, he was an amateur boxer.  Lavar Johnson, a guy with pure one punch knockout power, was shot 3 times in mid 2009 at a family reunion in which one other relative was killed.  He won his return fight in knockout fashion back in March, 2010, as has since moved up to Strikeforce’s main card after winning his last 7 fights, all by knockout…..all but one in the 1st round.

Two years ago, some parts of the UK faithful were already calling Karlos Vemola a legend, with just 6 fights under his belt.  This guys’ stitch is to walk into the cage and walk right up to his opponent and snarl nose to nose, then turns  his back in pure disregard for his opponent…all before the fight begins.  Vemola(8-1), recented signed with the UFC and has gone 1-1.  His last fight was at light-heavyweight, and weight class that will better suit Vemola.  Vemola was once ranked #1 on this list, buut now fights full-time in the 205pound(lhw) weight division.

And is the Filipino-American Shane Del Rosario the best American Heavyweight prospect to date? Time will tell.  “King Mo” Lawal was impressive in his first few fights as a heavyweight.  But his focus has been on the lhw division; he continues to be on this list in hopes that he’ll return to this weight class which seems to fit his skills better.  The quickest knockout in UFC history belongs to Todd Duffee, another young muscle bound fighter.  And lastly, Kimbo Slice makes this impressive international list, simply from the standpoint of pure grit and knockout power.

(Mariusz P. photo from polonista, a poster on  the forums at mixedmartialarts.com)

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Upcoming Fights | Fight Results

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?

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.

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