And this weeks action comes courtesy of two distinct but very different flavors. Bellator was in Chicago for the second stop of their 12-week tournament, featuring young hungry fighters you may or may not know.  Strikeforce and company invaded Nashville Tennessee for their second showing on network television, hoping CBS will bring enough eyeballs to compare themselves with the UFC.

For those of you that were downright sick at all the fast and fancy footwork of UFC 112, perhaps you enjoyed the amount ground grindage this week had in store – some good, some bad, and some downright embarrassing. From King Mo’s reign via human blanket, to Shinya Aoki’s humiliating butt scoot, and ending with Shields win by most delicate mount ever, fans old and new were subjected to all sorts of man-on-man positions.

Below are the highlights from both events for those of you who couldn’t sit through all the belly action, or commercials:

We can thank Pat Curran for his big KO of Mike Ricci at Bellator. Other than Hendo’s first round and some flurries in the Reis fight, this was pretty much all of the stand-up action witnessed at both events.

The most controvercial moment of the weekend was when Referee Dave Smith stopped the Ben Askren vs Ryan Thomas fight due to “The Tank Engine” Thomas’ irresponsible opossum impression. Apparently the rules plainly state that you must keep your eyes open for the duration of the bout, or the ref will assume you’re dead and can’t continue. Here’s a gif of the infraction:

Last but certainly not least, was the most shocking moment of the weekend, and possibly what made it all worthwhile. Jason “Mayhem” Miller summoned his inner Kanye West and made a grab at the mic during Jake Shields post fight interview. Unlike Taylor Swift, Jake Shield’s crew ain’t nothing to fuck with, and the entire Cesar Gracie camp immediately retaliated. It was Gangland meets Bully Beatdown – fighting it out on network television to represent MMA to the masses…enjoy:

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While they’re getting these guys [fighters] in, believe me I’ll answer the questions on what a disgrace the main event was, and what an embarrassment it is. I don’t think I’ve ever been more embarrassed in the 10 years of being in this business. And it’s the first time I’ve ever walked out on a main event and given the belt to the guy’s manager and told him to put it on him.

This was a historic event for us.  The arena tonight was incredible.  The energy was amazing, and to end it the way that we did is an embarassment for me, the Fertitta’s, the UFC, and the sport in general.  I apologize, and I will, I don’t know how yet, but I will make this up to the fans that bought this shit tonight.

The Iceman has nothing on these moves.

He’s talking, of coarse, about the one-sided, care-free, nonchalant mauling of Demian Maia at the hands of Middleweight king Anderson Silva. Sure, Silva seemingly could have put the BJJ ace away at any time.  Critics only grievance with ‘the Spider” is that he isn’t always the killer he is capable of being, and when not physically challenged has a tendency to coast.

But at least Anderson Silva’s autopilot includes a beating – Maia’s face was battered and bloodied by the second stanza.  I’m more upset at the co-main event of the evening: the judges scoring was ridiculous; mega-troller Doug Crosby’s 50-45 score for Frank Edgar has to go down as one of the worst in MMA history.  There will always be debate and disgust concerning judge’s scoring of combat sports anyway.  My only hope is that as MMA evolves, we don’t end up with a crop of fighters who rely on shitty judging as a strategy to win fights.

In an interview on CNBC, UFC co-founder Rorion Gracie said he doesn’t follow the UFC anymore, because he doesn’t like the rules.  Rorion said the UFC doesn’t have the best fighters in the world anymore, it has great athletes who are the best at using the rules to win.

Frankie Edgar’s win over BJ Penn illustrated this point perfectly.  It wasn’t even as though Edgar dominated the fight – yes, he physically moved faster, and bounced around more, however he got the worst of every exchange.  At no point did he significantly damage Penn, it was as though his strategy was to look busier and rely on a bullshit decision.  Even his two takedowns were for show, as ‘the Prodigy’ was back to his feet within milliseconds.  As long as regulators allow visually unaware lunatics like Doug Crosby have a say in decisions of MMA fights, we should probably just get used to the Edgar approach.

It’s obvious Anderson Silva has cleaned out the UFC’s middleweight division, and it’s time for him to move up (or down GSP…) to get pushed back to his old self.  It is annoying to see Silva dance-fight a guy when you have blood on your mind, but a formidable opponent looking to do damage will fix that.  The Answer for Edgar (and fighters like him) is not so obvious, as he has enough gas to put a lot of future PPV buyers to sleep – 25 minutes at a time.

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At the show, we’ll be linking up with the Dojo’s own resident “Renaissance Man” Marlon Hightower. Marlon will be painting two Epiphone guitars (provided by Gibson) to be auctioned with proceeds going to The Get A Board Foundation. The Get A Board mission is:

To positively influence at-risk youth through action sports, the arts and education. We accomplish our mission through our various programs that reach out to under privileged and at-risk youth in the local community.

This foundation is a great way to help inner-city kids develop strong work ethic, all while learning to skate and surf. The proceeds from the guitar auction will go to tutoring, transporting, and funding these adventures.

I wear whatever BJ tells me...

Hung Lo Dojo will be onsite to showcase Marlon’s artistic creations, as well as cover the rest of the event’s happenings.  Stay tuned for pictures, videos, and crazy stories from the expo – that is, if you’re too lazy to check it out for yourselves (which is HIGHLY recommended).  You never know which MMA fighters will be at the show, there’s bound to be a few. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for a sighting of the Baddest Man on the Sand – “The Prodigy” BJ Penn.

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Damn you tabloids, specifically UK’s The Sun, who are notorious for creating, spreading, and recycling celebrity gossip.  Fight fans across the globe were duped early this week by several MMA websites reporting on the story.

It was only a matter of days before the vicious rumor was dispelled, but not before imaginations everywhere ran wild.  The A-Team movie spinoff is indeed in production, with stars Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper already signed.  In the spirit of the new film, and as an ode to one of our favorite fighters, we bring you the poster that never was:

I pity the fool, who breathes on me with smelly breath...

Luckily, Rampage fans don’t have to wait long to see him in his second time coaching on The Ultimate Fighter.  This time he wrangles the heavyweights, including the legendary Kimbo.  Wait….that’s who should be the next B.A. Baracus!!  Gimme my bread!!

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So while our darling Gina is sandwiched in between Britney Spears and Katy Perry (savor that mental image), you can enjoy this sizzling morsel from the gutsy goddess herself. Just a sidenote, at the 1:50 mark, she explains that she loves her boobs, because they’re fun to play with. Party on Gina:

x4d3qbcmwt

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As it turns out, Overeem’s hand injury has quite an interesting origin. Apparently, Alistair and his brother Valentijn (also a heavyweight MMA fighter) were involved in a brawl with a pack of bouncers in a nightclub. The European edition of Fighters Only Magazine provides the details from a blog written by Overeem’s manager Bas Boon:

Alistair attended some famous dance club with his brother Valentijn. Went to the toilet and did not have coins to pay the toilet woman. Alistair told her he would pay a euro when he came back, because he did not have change. Then the security guard who was near by started to get involved.

This is the problem with having to pay to piss. Many popular places in Europe charge a fee to pee, leaving you in an uncomfortable situation if you have no change. Good thing there aren’t many toilet tolls in the States, its one less thing to worry about when you’re drunk.

A Bathroom Attendant's Worst Nightmare

While there may not be a meter, some jazzy establishments in the US employ a different tactic: the tube-steak troll. These “Post-Urination Specialist” (as they like to be called) spray their stolen colognes and soaps at you in a desperate attempt at a tip. No thanks buddy, I can do it myself! And when you run into a particularly aggressive golden stream stalker, it is easy to envision a rage crime resulting.

Anyway, back to the story:

Brother Valentijn saw the incident and also started asking what the problem was. They offered to pay, but by then 6 security guards came over surrounding them. The Overeem brothers were asked to leave, Alistair was already outside when he saw his brother Valentine fighting.

Apparently, Valentijn was on his way outside, when one of the security guards hit him in the face with a flashlight. A rumble ensued, and 5 bouncers needed hospital visits when the dust settled. Word is at least one of them was fired.

Not many details came out about when and how exactly Alistair was cut; however, he didn’t seek medical attention right away. It was only when his management urged him to get it checked when he found out he had a nasty infection. Doctors say if he would have waited any longer he may have lost his hand.

Moral of the story: People who pray on any persons urge to pee should be punished. This type of incident has already cost us a heavyweight title fight, and we hate to see an entire team of bouncers beat down for enforcing a Pay-Per-Pee zone.

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After last nights DREAM event, we at the Dojo have adopted a slight variation on the famous acronym, and it involves a different “J.C.” Nowadays, WWJD stands for “What Wouldn’t Jose [Canseco] Do?” So when we’re faced with a difficult set of options, we’re going to choose the one most likely NOT to be the one Canseco would go with. He’s had a track record of poor decisions; however, his latest may have been his greatest:

The rest of the card was pretty damn good, if you were able to stay up till 3 in the morning for the HD Net broadcast (thanks TiVo). The official results are:

Stats provided by: BattleBase.net

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Mike Brown is about 6 weeks away from his much anticipated rematch with Faber, a fight that will cement his name as the best featherweight in the world. Brown credit his team (American Top Team is one of the best) and his long road of hard work as what gave him the mentality of a champion.

Nothing came easy to me. I didn’t take any shortcuts. I’ve worked hard. I’m not young. I took the long road. I didn’t get a title shot after five or six fights. I’ve fought everywhere and I’ve had a lot of injuries.

I’ve worked hard for what I got and for years I had nothing. I’m proud. It’s worth it. The reward is much greater when you have to work as hard as I did to get there.

It’s this blue collar mentality that prepared him for the gold. But he hasn’t changed his work ethic one bit since becoming king. Apparently Mike Brown – yes, the same Mike Brown who has since destroyed rising star Leonard Garcia to defend the belt – still sits at the desk and answers the phone at his gym.

Call Me Now - for your free beating

I answer the phones and I call people up and do all that jazz. I’ve been doing it for years. I’m still doing it. My schedule has gotten a little busy with the WEC and all but I still work on Saturdays. I cut myself back to one day a week. 

I like it. I go in and surf the Internet. I answer the phones and talk about fighting all day. I could sit at home and do that and not get paid, or I could go into the gym and do it and get paid.

Of course people sometimes figure it out:

They’ll be like, “Mike? It’s really Mike Brown?” Then your know, some people if they’re a fan they’ll get excited. It’s funny.

That officially makes Mike the toughest receptionist of all times. He’s not only the best 145er in world, but he’s also the best ‘#’ for ‘#’ on the on the phone lines. We’re sure he’ll be in prime shape and give the California Kid another great performance – you can count on that.

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Maximum Fighting Championships took place last night in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and was broadcast live on HD Net. Familiar faces were in the ring, including former WWE wrestler Franklin (Bobby) Lashley, journeyman Trevor Prangley, and the world famous “Beastman” Marvin Eastman.

Below are the results:

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Nope, Nahhh, Negatory

Recent events have forced White to make news for another reason, for saying no. He’s made public rejections on at least 3 occasions in the past 2 weeks, regarding a motley crew of individuals from the fight world: future UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell, boxing legend Roy Jones Jr., and T-shirt mogul (and sometimes promoter / fighter) Tom Atencio.

Chuck was the first subject of Dana’s denial. At the press conference after his TKO loss to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Liddell stated he was unsure about the future of his career, and needed to think about it over some beers…fair enough. The Prez however, thought otherwise, and put a pick in the Iceman’s career, for various reasons. White and Liddell go way back, and he obviously doesn’t want his friend to go too long and get hurt. The benevolent boss caring for the health and safety of his employee — thats more than can be said for most companies out there. The forced retirement caused controversy with Liddell’s trainer John Hackleman, provoking a response that Chuck may still have some fighting left in him. We shall see what the future holds, but are predicting at least one more Iceman appearance, because if it makes enough dollars, it makes enough sense.

There have been rumblings for months between MMA pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva, and serial champ killer Roy Jones Jr. Originally it was Anderson Silva who called out Jones, saying he wanted to pursue boxing after the end of his current UFC contract. Jones seemed to welcome the challenge, but not much more than banter became of the talk, as the earliest date of said event would be well into the future. Then last week on Sports Illustrated, the boxer Roy Jones Jr. said he would be willing to face the Spider in the cage. Great right!?!?! Wrong. Dana nixed the deal stating it wouldn’t be good for MMA. We’re thinking it would be HUGE. Perhaps Dana figures it would be more work than it would be worth at this point, but hopefully he doesn’t stand in the way of these two in the future if they want to pursue the fight. The matchup would definitely be more interesting than Brock Lesnar vs. anybody, and its proving more and more difficult to get Silva motivated to perform.

The most obvious, and ridiculous offer Dana White didn’t entertain happened this week when Affliction owner Tom Atencio formally challenged Dana to a fight…not kidding. Atencio is 1-0 and currently training for his second pro fight later this month. White laughed off the idea, calling his rival a “goof” among other things. There is obviously more to lose for Dana, but that may be nullified if he had rights to the footage. That way he could blast it if he won, or edit it (Contender-style) if he didn’t. We definitely won’t see these two fight in a cage, and is most likely just a failed publicity stunt on behalf of the “T-shirt guy”; but one can dream of a time when rival promoters stop counter-broadcasting one another and settle their beefs with a good old fashioned brawl.”

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