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Bloody Elbow
Bloody Elbow (www.bloodyelbow.com) has great MMA: Mixed martial arts news, photos, videos and more
Today
Bloody Elbow Exclusive: Lyoto Machida Talks Challengers, Title Shot
LM: I can face anyone. Rampage is a tough guy and some people feel he beat Forrest in their last fight and should be the champion. How do you think the fans would react if I finished Rampage when Forrest did not? But I will fight against anyone. Give me the job and I will get it done. Rampage, Couture,...
WEC 37 Fighter Payouts
Brian Bowles defeats Will Ribeiro via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:11 of round three Shane Roller - $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win) Mike Budnik - $4,000 Shane Roller defeats Mike Budnik via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:01 of round one
ProElite/EliteXC to Rise From The Dead Via KOTC
The likelihood of a ProElite sale to a new owner raises the possibility that fighters under contract to EliteXC will not be granted free agency. While select fighters are being allowed to fight outside of their current deals on a one-off basis, the bulk of their fights could potentially co...
Saturday on MMA Nation on 106.7 WJFK: David Samuels, Scott Christ
Saturday on "MMA Nation" we'll be talking to David Samuels, writer and author of The Atlantic's "Rampage". We'll talk about the origin of the article, Dana vs. Lorenzo and the ascendancy of MMA. We'll also check in with boxing blogger Scott Christ of BadLeftHook.com. He'll help us breakdown D...
Enzo Maccarinelli interested in MMA
From The Sun ENZO MACCARINELLI has fuelled rumours he could quit boxing to move into Mixed Martial Arts after admitting holding talks with UFC president Dana White. Most of the amazing fighters are already in the UFC but there are still others elsewhere, such as Fedor Emelianenko, who the...
Kimbo Slice to Make (Kickboxing) Commentating Debut
Joining the broadcast team of Michael "The Voice" Schiavello, four time K-1 WGP Champion Ernesto Hoost and FEG USA's Mike Kogan will be none other than Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson. Kimbo was invited by FEG and HDNet to be a guest commentator for K-1's US début.
Dana White: Machida is Anderson Silva's Successor
In a exclusive interview with Sensei SporTV via Tatame Brazil Dana White says that Machida could become the best pound for pound fighter should Anderson Silva retire. [The full translation is available here.] I was a bit surprised to see that Dana White holds Machida in such high regard. "Ma...
TUF's Controversy Sends Wrong Message About MMA
I suppose this makes for good ratings. Heck, the commercial finally got me to watch a full episode of this season of TUF. But what message is the UFC - the world's premier MMA organization - sending about sanctioned mixed martial arts? That one of its functions is to solve street violence?
Miguel Torres: Overrated?
To become a truly elite athlete in this sport, a fighter must score victories over a significant amount of top opponents. To be fair, until the inception of the WEC bantamweight division, there has been no place outside of Japan for Torres to display his apparent skills at the high level a Zu...
Jon Fitch vs Akihiro Gono UFC 94
I just read this on mmajunkie.com and I'm not one to be "fighter bashing" , but personally i think Jon Fitch could of gotten another fight. For someone who's ranked right under GSP and Alves (or in the top 5 for the matter), a match between Gono right now won't be doing much for your resume. IMO, If...
DreamFighters.com Donald Trump Interview - Talks Tito and 3rd show
DreamFighters.com: Any word on your former “The Apprentice” contestant Tito Ortiz, and any news on if he will sign with Affliction? DreamFighters.com: You made it public that Affliction will be apart of the MMA reality show with M1, “Fighting Fedor” - can you tell us about it and what we can...
Yesterday
MMA News: UFC 91 $$$, Tim Sylvia, Fighter Paydays
MMA News: UFC 91 $$$, Tim Sylvia, Fighter Paydays
UFC 92 in Links
MAIN CARD Champ Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans (for UFC light heavyweight title) Champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir (for interim UFC heavyweight title) C.B. Dollaway vs.Mike Massenzio Quinton Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva Mustafa Al-Turk vs. Cheick Kongo
Kurt Angle Is Still Lying About Competing in Mixed Martial Arts
Kurt, you're lying. You've been talking about entering MMA for over two years now without a shred of progress. You've constantly got an excuse for not yet signing on the dotted line, yet you're perfectly willing to suggest you're capable of beating the top-end fighters. You've got no kickbo...
Tuesday, Dec 2
I'm Certain the WEC Does Not Need Gina Carano
Gina Carano is named 5th most influential women in 2008 by Yahoo. Who on earth could use a fighter with such little appeal? HT: MMA Mania
MMA DVD's for Dec. 2nd
This is a big week for any MMA fan, well... DVD wise anyways. And finally we have EliteXC: Lawler vs. Smith 2, with the highly anticipated rematch of Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith after their first fight ended somewhat controversially, they had to finish the job.
The latest fight card for UFC 93 according to MMA Mania: Main card (Televised): 205 lbs.: Rich...
205 lbs.: Rich Franklin (24-3) vs. Dan Henderson (23-7) 205 lbs.: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (16-3) vs. Mark Coleman (15-8) 185 lbs.: Denis Kang (31-10-1) vs. Alan Belcher (13-5) 205 lbs.: Andre Gusmao (5-1) vs. Antonio Mendes (15–3) 155 lbs.: Nate Mohr (8-5) vs. Dennis Siver (12-6)
Monday, Dec 1
Lauzon to fight Franca UFN 17
Lauzon to fight Franca UFN 17 A recently rumored lightweight clash between Hermes Franca (19-7 MMA, 6-4 UFC) and Joe Lauzon (17-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is a go for the as-yet-unannounced UFC Fight Night 17.
Gilbert Yvel vs. Josh Barnett at Affliction: Day of Reckoning
Yvel, 33-12-1, who is known for the strong Muay Thai skills he developed while training in his home country of Holland, has been competing in mixed martial arts since 1997. Over the years, the veteran fighter has recorded notable victories over K-1 standout Semmy Schilt, current UFC heav...
Matt Lindland Interview With ESPNRadio1100
UFC is growing, it's a great organization. And it may be the only organization. If you're not with them then who are you? If you're not fighting for the UFC then you're not fighting in the big leagues." HT: Yahoo MMA Sports Blog and ESPNRadio 1100.
Sunday, Nov 30
Alvarez vs Aoki Set for NYE K-1 Dynamite!! + More
After losing to Fedor Emelianenko last July, Tim Sylvia plans for a big return. K-1 DYNAMITE!! 2008: DECEMBER 31, 2008 IN JAPAN venue: Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan Also Rumored: Tim Sylvia (# 6 HW in the World)* , Kimbo Slice, Mirko Cro Cop.
Takanori Gomi defeated DREAM Lightweight GP Quarterfinalist Katsuhiko Nagata via points (1-0) in...
Takanori Gomi defeated DREAM Lightweight GP Quarterfinalist Katsuhiko Nagata via points (1-0) in the finals of the All-Japan Combat Wrestling Open Championships (think of Combat Wrestling as MMA without any strikes) 73 kg class yesterday.
Saturday, Nov 29
Why New York Matters
Dana White often talks of getting to the next level of popularity, where everyone knows the big UFC stars. Achieving that level will depend on that first fight in Madison Square Garden, with hundreds of press members, both national and international, instead of a few dozen in Houston Tex...
Friday, Nov 28
On this week’s HDNet "Inside MMA," Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice were joined by Middleweight champions C...
On this week’s HDNet "Inside MMA," Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice were joined by Middleweight champions Cung Le and Robbie Lawler. (video)
Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans: Underrated
Because most year-end awards seem to come with time left on the clock, pundits likely won't make Griffin (16-4) "Fighter of the Year." But if people are willing to wait, and he manages a victory over Evans (12-0-1), the No. 1-ranked Griffin, who took the title against "Rampage" in July, coul...
Thursday, Nov 27
Chances of Werdum Joining Affliction. "Non-Whatsoever"
According to MMA Lives Frank McNeil, there is no chance Werdum will be signing with Affliction and their talented HW division. The reason... money. Werdum simply wants too much and Affliction is finally realizing you cannot pay a ton of money to fighters who don't bring in a ton of money.
Booyaa Fightwear Banned by Zuffa
Take Booyaa for example. They are sponsors of WEC fighter Mike Budnik(and Donkey lips too) who is fighting at WEC 37on December 3rd. From being sponsors of the local California based King of the Cage to a major promotion such as the WEC is big for Booyaa and could bring in a lot of potential cust...
Eddie Alvarez vs. Shinya Aoki at K-1 Dynamite
One of the world’s premier submission grapplers, Aoki (18-3) last competed in September, when he submitted World Extreme Cagefighting veteran Todd Moore in 70 seconds at Dream 6. More than half (10) of the 25-year-old’s 18 career wins have come by submission. Seasoned by the Pride, Shoot...
Wednesday, Nov 26
The Action Figure Wars: UFC vs Round 5
In addition to former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk, who did a recent interview with FiveOuncesOfPain.com as a part of a Round 5 media tour, action figures designed in the likeness of such UFC superstars as Rich Franklin, Wanderlei Silva, Randy Couture, and Anderson Silva are now a...
Who Will Anderson Silva Fight Next?
UFC 94 in January is already fully stocked, with GSP-Penn II headlining and Machida-Thiago Silva in what I feel should be a #1 contender's match (sorry, Rampage, you'll have to win two fights to get another shot). UFC 95 and 96, however, are nearly bare for scheduled fights, with only two a...
MMA Point/Counter-Point: Yushin Okami vs Dean Lister
Immediately after Cote’s technical knockout loss to Silva, the implication was that, barring an immediate rematch, Okami would take his previous spot in line as the top middleweight title contender. While Cote’s recovery time likely prohibits him from entering the cage for the rematc...
UFC 92 Preview: Forrest Griffin Plus Xtreme Couture’s MMA Instructor Ron Frazier talks training ...
UFC 92 Preview: Forrest Griffin Plus Xtreme Couture’s MMA Instructor Ron Frazier talks training during Thanksgiving.
IGN.com rates UFC Fighters
10- Brock Lesnar 8- Matt Hughes 7- Chuck Liddell 6- Wanderlei Silva 5- Forrest Griffin 4- Kenny Florian 3- Quinton Jackson 2- BJ Penn 1- Anderson Silva 10- Forrest Griffin 9- Kenny Florian 8- Dan Henderson 7- Thiago Alves 6- Quinton Jackson 5- Jon Fitch 3- BJ Penn 1- Anderson Silva
Tuesday, Nov 25
More Bellator
Mixed martial arts to me is a fight that takes place in a cage," Rebney said. "It's very simple. It's very rudimentary. That's where it belongs. And while I have great respect for the fighters that came out of PRIDE Fighting Championships, and that come out of Japan, when I think of mixed martial...
Wednesday, Nov 19
Gina Carano Should Be in the UFC
Enter Gina Carano, the third biggest free television draw in MMA history, behind Tito Ortiz and Kimbo Slice. She may even be bigger than Tito, because she drew ratings completely on her own as opposed to being in a big title fight or in a big grudge match built over months on a reality show. No...
Sunday, Nov 16
UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar Results
There can be no more doubting the game of Kenny Florian. Particularly, anyone who thinks his wrestling is suspect is dreaming. And what really impressed me was how effortlessly he's been able to blend his game of late. All of the different elements to his striking, grappling, wrestling and s...
Opinion: Welcome Your New Heavyweight Overlord
Whether it be the nature of Brock's former profession or his short fight record entering the fight, rumblings prior to the fight shot through the MMA universe that a Lesnar win hurts the sport of MMA. This couldn't be any further from the truth. Fact is, Brock Lesnar will be the best thing fo...
Saturday, Nov 15
Opinion: The Week in Quotes, November 8th - 14th
I'm not worried about Fedor." - Couture, after leaving the company over the Emelianenko fight, now has no care in the matter? (MMA Junkie) Once I’m in the UFC, my first adversary will be Anderson Silva." - Chael Sonnen, dead man walking. (Gracie Mag)
Opinion: Will Followers of Professional Wrestling and Other Casual Fans Buy UFC 91?
Speaking of which, the main event on that show is former WWE champion Brock Lesnar against Randy Couture. Lesnar and fellow ex-WWE superstar Bobby Lashley – who is scheduled to make his MMA debut next month – are the most recent examples of pro wrestlers who have ventured into MMA. Over the pa...
Friday, Nov 14
Showtime Postpones Monday's ProElite Auction
“The Collateral includes all contracts between any Debtor and mixed martial arts fighters (including, but not limited to, Kevin Ferguson a.k.a. “Kimbo Slice“, Gina Carano, Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, Frank Shamrock, Antonio Silva, Brett Rogers, Dave Herman, Scott Smith, Nick Diaz, C...
Monday, Nov 10
Opinion: Why I Believe The UFC Will - And Should - Dominate MMA
Do I think that fighters deserve more than they get? Yes! But I have a different prescription than most for that happening. This is a solution that I've devised to quell two burning desires that I have for the sport: to see the top twenty in every weight class fighting under the UFC/WEC bann...
Friday, Nov 7
Podcast: One More Word on TUF 8 Primate Behavior
First, no one is equating this with StandGate (at least I am not). The point about Kimbo is not his last fight's unethical nature, but the promotion as a "street fighter" he received irrespective of his late ignoble stand. It's about what sort of message his presence and stature as a street br...
Wednesday, Nov 5
CroCop on Ishii, Fedor, Kimbo and More
Fedor. Incredibly dedicated and humble. Admires his approach. He doesn't live the high life but focuses on MMA only. Regrets that he didn't do the same with his career. His fight with Tim Syliva was an anomaly, that sort of attack and aggression was a once off. His fight with Arlovski will be very c...
Saturday, Nov 1
Downfall of EliteXC Opens Doors for Strikeforce
EliteXC on CBS opened up a lot of eyes that MMA can be a succesfull television venture for networks to undertake. Strikeforce already has a deal with NBC and rumors that a live event will be broadcast early next year are becoming stronger everyday. With a primetime network deal and a quality o...
Friday, Oct 31
Gina Carano and the Power of Women's MMA
Carano fought at 140 in Elite XC, and given her issues with making that number, it would be safer to use her in a 145-pound weight class. There are plenty of women who can fight at that weight, including former Elite XC fighters such as Santos, Young, Tonya Evinger, Kedzie, Kelly Kobold and no...
Wednesday, Oct 29
MMA Iconoclasts, the anti-Fedor faction
MMA has come a long way since the 1980s. Instead of putting Rickson down for that, I think he deserves to be given credit for it. Imagine a Rickson Gracie with Muay Thai expertise in addition to his jiu jitsu. That would be the best pound for pound fighter of all time. And if another fighter eve...
Tuesday, Oct 28
Maggie Hendricks WHO THE HELL IS THIS? A SAD DAY FOR MMA REPORTING PLEASE LETS DO SOMETHING LETS GET HER FIRED!
FRIST WHO THE HELL IS MAGGIE DAMN PPL TALKING ABOUT MMA WHERE WERE THEY BEFORE TUF NO WHERE THATS WERE I LIKE THE FREE FIGHTS NOT BUT SHIT EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT SHIT THAT THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL THERE SAYING HOW DO YOU SAY A GUY IS BEING TOYED/DOMINATING WHEN HE WAS PACKING UP AND RUNNIN...
Saturday, Oct 25
UFC 90: Silva Vs. Cote Analysis As It Happens
We have what maybe our first ever Physician as a referee. Well, maybe he has a Phd. Anyhow, Sherk and Griffin decided to throw bombs at each other. Griffin handled all of his takedowns and was even able to get Sherk off his back. Sherk striking looked a alot better than it did when he fought Penn. Bu...
Tuesday, Oct 21
Why MMA and Boxing Struggle to Have Similar Fans and Fighters
Rampage’s" point regarding the international flavor that now characterizes many of boxing’s top athletes illustrates the separate directions in which the two sports are moving. Like boxing, MMA has an enormous number of mixed martial artists not from the United States. However, Ameri...
Tuesday, Oct 14
Podcast: MMA Nation Exclusive: Live Interviews With WEC Superstars Urijah Faber and Carlos Condit
During my live broadcast of MMA Nation from the Patriot Center on Saturday I was fortunate enough to sit down with WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber and WEC Welterweight champion Carlos Condit. We talked about potential dream match-ups, whose next in line for them to fight, predic...
Monday, Oct 13
Bloody Elbow Book Review: Karo Parisyan Judo for Mixed Martial Arts
Like B.J. Penn's MMA Book of Knowledge and Randy Couture's Wrestling for Fighting, Judo for MMA is very well done -- great pictures, excellent organization, and very clear step-by-step instructions for executing each throw, strike, takedown or submission.
Friday, Oct 10
Podcast: UWC: Confrontation Spotlight on Antwain "The Juggernaut" Britt, Marcus Foran
Today on the "Big O & Dukes Show" on 106.7 WJFK two of the fighters competing on tomorrow's UWC: Confrontation card appeared in studio to chat MMA, Kimbo Slice, the UFC, MMA on ESPN (or lack thereof) and even video games. Click here to listen to the whole thing.
Monday, Oct 6
Podcast: ESPN's PTI and Around The Horn Talk Kimbo
MW: Right. MW: Don't you think this is just setting up the big pay-per-view rematch? People are so much more cynical [unintelligible] boxing. TK: A rematch against a guy they took from the stands? MW: They do this in boxing all the time. Someone would win in 35 seconds, they'd be, "Rematch!"
Podcast: Fans Must Demand an Investigation of EliteXC
No," he responded. "Look, even the UFC gives knockout bonuses. Everyone gives knockout bonuses. There’s knockout bonuses, submission bonuses, all sorts of bonuses. I just wanted to keep it standing because I felt I could beat (Kimbo) at his own game."
Monday, Sep 29
Podcast: Join Me at Champps Sports in Fairfax for UWC Pre-Party Saturday, October 4th
Area MMA fans unite for a special Pre-Party in support of the huge Oct. 11 UWC-Confrontation Ultimate Cage Fighting show coming to the Patriot Center. Join fellow fight fans for an MMA meet-and-greet with radio host Luke Thomas of the "MMA Nation" program heard Saturdays on WJFK 106.7 FM an...
Friday, Sep 26
Opinion: What Makes DREAM so Damn Entertaining?
Knees to a downed opponent: If your strong suit is on the ground, then you have a great advantage in virtually every conception of MMA (Royce Gracie proved this in the first 4 UFC's). You need no further advantage, but, the no knees rule gives these grapplers yet another advantage. This adva...
Friday, Sep 19
Podcast: The Week in Quotes, September 13th - 19th
AS AMERICAN TOP TEAM TURNS Well you know it's still America. There's racial undertones in America and that's no secret." - UFC Light Heavyweight title contender Rashad Evans, answering a question about racism at MMA events (Big O and Dukes)
Thursday, Sep 18
Showtime Buying EliteXC?
During the Japanese MMA boom period a few years ago, it was the TV network executives and chief producers (think: Kunio Kiyohara of Fuji TV) who controlled a lot of the shots for PRIDE & K-1’s matchmaking. How would the landscape look with an American TV executive calling the shots in te...
Podcast: Rashad Evans Addresses Race in MMA
Chad Dukes of 106.7 WJFK attended UFC 88 in Atlanta and in this interview with Evans asked if he believed racism or racial preference played a role in who MMA fans (it must be assumed - quite rightly - Dukes felt most fans were white) root for or support.
Tuesday, Sep 9
Podcast: Discrepancy of the Day: Race and MMA
Chcuk Liddell was favored because he was the face of the MMA and a good fighter, not because he was white. Chuck Liddell was and is an enetertaining guy. He didn't commit a crime like Michael Vick, so I think it's still acceptable for white folks to like him. Just as blacks still support MV, despi...
Monday, Sep 8
Podcast: Ultimate Warrior Challenge (UWC) Bringing Top Shelf Professional Mixed Martial Arts to Washington, DC
Britt, a product of Virginia Beach’s Hybrid Academy of Martial Arts, is best known for his concrete hands and knock-out ability. The agile striker recently shed more than 30 pounds to enter the light heavyweight division. An acute cage presence and tenacious fighting ability caught the...
Opinion: Thoughts on "UFC to Japan"
Are Japanese fighters stronger than UFC fighters?" - are these really Dana's words? I do not think so. These are just what Japanese fans would like to hear (it should have gained much more attention if it's a year ago, though). Very carefully worded.
Sunday, Sep 7
What's Next for Chuck Liddell?
The conclusion I have come to is that Liddell doesn’t need to retire but instead needs a new camp. He needs a new approach that John Hackleman and “The Pit” can’t provide him. A lot of the mistakes we saw from Liddell last night are the same mistakes we saw in losses to Randy Couture, Quinton “Ram...
Tuesday, Sep 2
Opinion: A Depressing Look at the UFC's Competitors
Even if you are a UFC fan only, you cannot be rooting for bad business practices in MMA. What’s happening now will affect UFC long-term because sooner or later, the talent pool will dry out as less and less fighters can find work on minor shows. Once the money starts drying up, a lot of fighters a...
Thursday, Aug 28
Podcast: Urijah Faber: BJ Penn Has 90 Percent Chance of Beating Kimbo Slice
The Penn vs. Slice "fantasy match-up" is the product of UFC President Dana White's comment just prior to EliteXC's debut on CBS. White remarked that BJ Penn could defeat Slice in a MMA bout. The effort of White was to disparage Slice's talent level by suggesting a lightweight fighter in the UF...
Wednesday, Aug 27
Opinion: Bloody Elbow August MMA Meta-Rankings: Middleweight
This division remains a mess! Despite a wealth of talented fighters and seven major promotions (UFC, WEC, EliteXC, DREAM, WVR, Afflictiong and Strikeforce) booking top fighters, there's more confusion than clarity at 185. First off, Anderson Silva has cleaned out the UFC middleweigh...
Tuesday, Aug 26
Podcast: BloodyElbow.com Exclusive: Karo Parisyan Talks UFC 88, Thiago Alves, Yoshiyuki Yoshida and More on MMA Nation
The Heat" from Armenia joined the show and talked about his UFC 88 opponent Yoshiyuki "Zenko" Yoshida, judo in MMA, his newfound training regime, losing to Thiago Alves, being called a "gate keeper" by UFC President Dana White and much more. Listen to the whole interview here.
Thursday, Aug 21
Opinion: Mark Dion: Terrible Agent
This interview he just did with MMA Junkie really says it all. He knows nothing about what is good for his fighters, and his quotes show it. Look at Brandon Vera," Dion said. "He had a long layoff, but he's making more money than the No. 1 ranked [expletive] fighter in the world, Anderson Silva -...
Opinion: 'TUF' Television for Fans of MMA
Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter left us with quite a few fantastic fighters who still mix it up with the best of them in the UFC including: Forrest Griffin (Season 1 Light Heavyweight Winner), Stephan Bonnar, Diego Sanchez (Season 1 Middleweight Winner), Chris Leben, Josh Koscheck, Ken...
Monday, Aug 18
Mixed Martial Arts and the Olympics
On the same night as the Ibrahim vs. Fujita fight, Rulon Gardner, the 2000 gold medalist and 2004 bronze medalist as a superheavyweight in Greco-Roman wrestling, on a rival show in Saitama, Japan, faced former judo gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida. Gardner’s balance from wrestling enable...
Wednesday, Aug 13
Podcast: Randy Couture on The Adam Carolla Show
PS - apparently, this post must contain 75 words minimum, so allow me to wax eloquent upon why the Adam Carolla Show is so good. It's intelligent, it's funny, it's irreverent, and it's honest. His sidekicks are his intellectual equal, and the show stays away from the stupid morning zoo cr...
Opinion: Caution: Overuse of Professional Wrestling Tactics Can Lead to Damage
Did you like EliteXC's first, or second CBS show better? It may be more a question of what more people like - including casual fans. However, I tend to believe that keeping the hardcore base of MMA fans satisfied is extremely important for the sport in the long-term. If you are one who belie...
Thursday, Aug 7
Gambling Spotlight: UFC 87
Jon Fitch sports a 17-2 (4 [T]KO/5 SUB) record. Fitch fights out of the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California and currently holds a 15 fight win streak (and it tied with Royce Gracie for most consecutive UFC wins at 8). He sports a good overall MMA game, complementing his wres...
Sunday, Aug 3
Podcast: BloodyElbow.com Exclusive: Loretta Hunt Talks New Book; Mike Brown Talks Urijah Faber
If you missed yesterday's MMA Nation, I'll help you out: Loretta Hunt was on hand to talk about Randy Couture, his new book, her involvement and more. Right up until her cell phone cut out, it was a money interview. MMA Nation podcasts are up and running and available via iTunes.
Monday, Jul 28
Podcast: Heath Herring, Michael Rome Interviews Now Available From This Past Weekend's "MMA Nation"
For those who may have missed it, podcasts by segment are now available from this past weekend's MMA Nation episode. I also spoke with Heath Herring as he prepares for his fight with Brock Lesnar at UFC 87 on August 9th. Click here to listen.
Sunday, Jul 20
Opinion: "Affliction: Banned" Live Report
Speaking of Randy Couture, I expect legal action to come as a result of the end of that show. Although it was not clearly stated, the implication was there that he was promoting a future Affliction fight with Fedor. I don't think they'll go after Randy, I think they'll sue Affliction. I gues...
Sunday, Jul 13
Podcast: BloodyElbow.com Exclusive: Josh Barnett Says "You Get What You Pay for" With Affliction PPV vs. Free UFC Event on July 19th
Josh and I talked about the WAMMA belt, Affliction's weak advertising efforts, Affliction vs. UFC, Rampage Jackson, Dana White's responsibility to MMA and his fight with Hidehiko Yoshida. I am a complete moron for forgetting Barnett left AMC Pankration for Erik Paulson's CSW, so please...
Wednesday, Jul 9
Opinion: The Religion of Independent Rankings
This protection alone is of enormous benefit for all mixed martial artists. Currently, no objective rankings are utilized by any of the major promotions. Title shots should be awarded by merit, and not based upon contracted promotional exclusivity. Fighters and fans alike would benefit...
Wednesday, Jul 2
Opinion: Minimum Wage in the UFC?
Kelsey Philpott has a thoughtful series of posts over at MMA Payout on fighter salaries. The latest installment, which suggests a $10,000 flat minimum wage for fighters, is here: The Solution How does this meet the interests of the fighters?
Opinion: Ali Act Not a Step in the Right Direction for MMA
I will never argue against a bit more oversight on the contracts fighters are signing. And the "hidden agreements" thing could easily be applied to the "under the table bonuses" that fighters are getting. However, I have a feeling if you were to ask the fighters if they'd like to get rid of t...
Monday, Jun 9
Podcast: Speculating on the Speculation: Dana White's Big Announcement
My prediction for Thursday is this: White will announce next that the UFC has signed a long-term agreement with FOX to televise fights on a quarterly basis on network primetime television along with a option to buy a portion of the company over time. I’m betting that the first show will be th...
Elite XC vs. The XFL
The show opened with a 2.1 rating for the Brett Rogers v. Jon Murphy match, did a 2.4 for Baroni v. Villasenor and an increase of 280,000 viewers; increased to 3.0 for Carano v. Young by adding 1,020,000 viewers; 3.8 for Lawler v. Smith, adding 850,000 viewers; and 4.1 for Slice v. Thompson, adding 980,...
Opinion: Alessio vs. Spratt to Headline Combined Boxing/MMA Card in Vegas
After the boxing portion, there will be a 20- to 30-minute intermission to adjust the ring for the MMA card, which will have John Alessio vs. Pete Spratt in the main event at 170 pounds. Libonati said he's not sure whether future boxing-MMA cards will be free. He said there might be a $5 charge.
Tuesday, Jun 3
Podcast: "Pardon The Interruption" & "Around The Horn" Sound Off on EliteXC
ATH's discussion was largely benign - with the exception of the completely irrelevant Jay Mariotti saying the card reminded him of professional wrestling "with a little more realism," host Tony Reali and the panel came off sounding as though they'd done at least a bit of research. Woody P...
Thursday, May 29
Opinion: Dana White = Vincent K McMahon
The MMA industry is going through some very similar growing pains to what the professional wrestling industry went through in the 80's. Yes, I know most people on this website don't like pro wrestling, but as much as you may dislike it there are many parallels between MMA now and pro wrestli...
Wednesday, May 28
Podcast: Jens Pulver & Urijah Faber Talk Featherweight Fight on Versus
Big thanks to VERSUS for asking this site to help out with just a few questions for a special podcast the network held (Sam Caplan moderated) to preview the upcoming Faber vs. Pulver match-up. For reasons I cannot possibly fathom, some folks are sleeping on this incredible fight, but Sam ask...
Friday, May 16
Podcast: The Editor's Note
For a variety of reasons, today is a big day for this site. I'm arguably the most imperfect EIC in history, but I do my best to put everything I have into this site so that someone offers thoughtful, dedicated fans of mixed martial arts a place to go in the blogosphere.
Thursday, May 15
Podcast: Gary Shaw: Kimbo Slice is the Biggest Star in MMA
Slice is obviously a star and the buzz surrounding him at the moment is probably greater than any other fighter. But from a global perspective, one could make the case that Hidehiko Yoshida or even Denis Kang are more popular (this is another debate for another time). What's most important,...
Vote for DREAM Tournament Matches
Head over to the official DREAM website to vote on the matches you want to see in both the Middleweight and Lightweight tournaments. As the site is presented in Japanese, Japan MMA explains who exactly you are voting for: Just to make it easier, here is how the names are written in Japanese:
Sunday, May 11
Different Views of DREAM 3
DREAM.3 wasn't a bad way to kill nearly five hours on a Sunday afternoon. But aside from a fight of the year candidate between Eddie Alvarez and Joachim Hansen, what was so great about it? DREAM might have similar look to PRIDE; use a lot of its unique elements such as the Grand Prix format; and u...
Wednesday, May 7
Podcast: Inside MMA: Roddy Piper, Ray Mancini and More
Bas and Kenny review the April 29th DREAM 2 event from Japan and preview the latest MMA movie Redbelt. Guests include former pro wrestling champion and Hall of Fame inductee "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, former lightweight boxing champion Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, and MMA filmmaker Bobby Razak.
Saturday, Apr 19
Bloody Elbow Book Review: BJ Penn's MMA Book of Knowledge
The two most valuable lessons to take from this book is that first, a style of Mixed Martial Arts fighting should be built off of one main discipline with techniques from other styles added to complement the base style. Second, that the style should be an integrated blend, not a disintegrat...
Monday, Mar 31
Podcast: Whoopass Radio: Kenny Florian, Joe Lauzon and Tracy Lee
Your's truly got the opportunity to speak with the two main event fighters of UFC Fight Night 13 recently. Florian talked a lot of BJ Penn and why Lauzon might think he's Penn (to his detriment). Lauzon defended his mentor and explained why he's as good a coach as he is a fighter.
Opinion: A Word to the Wise
This is the story of Xyience, a private company Pike founded and once managed as CEO. Xyience makes and distributes nutrient supplements, but is best known as the maker and distributor of the energy drink Xenergy, a key sponsor of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a popular televised s...