THE WORLD AND MARTIAL ARTS

DEAD OR ALIVE DIMENSIONS 2011 TRAILER

2011-01-10T00:06:00.000-08:00

The latest entry in the Dead or Alive fighting game series is coming for the brand new Nintendo 3DS! I'm not really a fan of the series and prefer other similar fighters such as Tekken and Soul Calibur, but I've played a few of the entries and find them decent at the least.

What I really found impressive from this trailer is how powerful the graphics engine of the 3DS seems to be. That's some seriously impressive animation coming from a handheld platform! Despite the fact that there is 3D involved somewhere here, the trailer doesn't really give you a clear indication of what the experience will be like. Anyway, check out the trailer below and judge for yourself!

The Japanese version of Dead or Alive Dimensions for the Nintendo 3DS will be released on March 24, 2011. No release dates for other versions of the game have been announced yet.

NEW MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3 VIDEOS AND PICS FOR JANUARY 2011

2011-01-09T00:25:00.000-08:00

Aside from the recent reveals of Phoenix and Mike Haggar as brand new inclusions in the game, there have been a bunch of new videos and pictures out for Marvel vs. Capcom 3:

ALTERNATE COLOR GALLERY

Destructoid has a gallery of alternative colors for almost all of the characters. Here's a sample:

Captain America alternate colors. Love the Ultimate Punisher one!

AWESOME NEW ARTWORK

Event Hubs has posted some brand new artwork by Shinkiro for the game. Below is a hi-res version, but check the link for an higher res one!

New Shinkiro artwork

MORE PHOENIX AND HAGGAR PICS

MSXbox-World has a gallery up that not only includes even more alternate color shots for the characters in the game, but also brand new screen shots of newly revealed characters Phoenix and Haggar in action! Here's a sample:

Phoenix screenshot

Haggar screenshot

DESTRUCTOID VIDEO MONTAGES

Destructoid also recently put up 4 new videos containing brand new gameplay videos presented in a montage format:

GAMESPOT GAMEPLAY VIDEOS

Gamespot also put up its share of brand new gameplay videos:

MACHINIMA HANDS-ON PREVIEW VIDEO

Finally, Machinima has a new hands-on preview video of the game:

YUN AND YANG ENDING FROM SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV AE WITH TRANSLATION

2011-01-08T18:17:00.000-08:00

Here are Yun and Yang's fully animated endings from Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition. The video's in Japanese, but there's also a translation courtesy of Event Hubs:

TRANSLATION

Yang's Ending
Chun-Li: Yang!
Yang: Chun-Li! Are you already leaving?
Chun-Li: Yeah... so, I've heard you left home without a warning... you must had been scolded, right?

Yang: *Giggles* Of course... but it was a good experience, we met many strong people out of this city.
Chun-Li: Thankfully :)
Yun: Oh! You've come!
Chun-Li: I've just come to greet the "Lee elders". And it was brief, but thanks for everything.
Yun: If you ever get to be looking for a help, you can count on me anytime!
Yang: If you ever pass by, come visit us! We will repay you for all the trouble we caused... said my brother.
Yun: Why!? D:
Chun-Li: Ill look forward for it! Bye bye.
Yang: OK! Until some other day!

Yun's Ending
Yun: Wow! That was awesome! I didn't really understand what was up with the last guy, but in the end didn't we get to go to real cool places? ;D
Yang: That's great... but brother, we are almost reaching the city, shouldn't you start thinking about a good excuse?
Yun: An excuse...?
Hoymay: Hey! Aren't you guys just Yun and Yang!? You just disappeared without any warnings! What were you guys thinking making people worried like that!?
Yun: Hoymay?! D:
Hoymay: You're not going to run away! Yang!
Yang: Right, right...
Yun: Yang!? What the hell are you doing!?
Hoymay: Now come along! the elders are waiting!
Yun: Ouch! Ouch! It hurts! heeey... ;(

PHOENIX AND MIKE HAGGAR REVEALED FOR MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3!

2011-01-07T21:44:00.000-08:00

The latest characters to be added in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 are Mike Haggar from Final Fight and Phoenix / Jean Grey from X-Men. Below are their official reveal trailers, plus some hi-res art:

PHOENIX REVEAL TRAILER

MIKE HAGGAR REVEAL TRAILER

HI-RES ART FOR BOTH CHARACTERS

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 comes out for both PS3 and Xbox 360 on Feb. 15, 2011.

UFC 125 RESULTS

2011-01-03T03:35:00.000-08:00

Pretty good card with lots of great finishes and an excellent main event (though it ended rather oddly):

MAIN CARD

1. Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard for the Lightweight Championship -
Draw (48-46, 46-48, 47-47)

2. Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann -
Stann defeated Leben via TKO (strikes) 3:37 of round 1
Stann came out of nowhere and knocked the heck out of The Crippler! Man, he carries some real awesome power in those fists!

3. Brandon Vera vs. Thiago Silva -
Silva defeated Vera via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Silva absolutely dominated Vera on the ground. Silva would take Vera down near the beginning of every round, and Vera would just lay there and take punishment, totally unable to get back to his feet. It was a very decisive victory for Silva, and a very poor showing by Vera.

4. Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim -
Kim defeated Diaz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Similar to the Vera / Silva fight, Kim dominated his opponent on the ground in every round. Diaz was no slouch, though, he kept active as much as he could the entire time, but was just too outclassed. I also found it funny how, in the post-fight interview, Kim would also try to shoehorn "Stun gun" (his fight name) into every sentence (eg: when asked about his game plan, Kim said something to the extent of being unable to finish because he couldn't charge his stun gun that night).

5. Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi -
Guida defeated Gomi via submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:27 of round 2
The wild man is back! Seriously, Guida showcased the oddest and most active head movement and footwork in any MMA fight ever. He looked like he was dancing to rock music and headbanging at the same time. Whatever he was doing, it worked. It shook up Gomi's timing the entire fight, such that he couldn't throw almost any of attacks properly. To top it off, Guida even manages to submit the former PRIDE champ! Awesome performance by The Carpenter!

Clay Guida kept landing head kicks to Takanori Gomi

TELEVISED PRELIMINARY CARD

1. Marcus Davis vs. Jeremy Stephens -
Stephens defeats Davis via KO (punch) at 2:33 of round 3
With much of the fight looking to be fairly even, Stephens manages a very impressive KO near the end. Very exciting finish, but it really can't mean good things for the Irish Hand Grenade's UFC career.

2. Josh Grispi vs. Dustin Poirier -
Poirier defeated Grispi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Grispi was supposed to fight Featherweight champ Jose Aldo but couldn't because of an injury sustained by the champ. Grispi didn't want to back out of the card, though, so he was matched up with Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier instead. I have to agree with Joe Rogan in that maybe it was a good thing that Grispi didn't get to fight for the belt. Poirier dominated the fight in almost every aspect, so if Grispi had fought the champ, he would have been murdered. There goes his top contender spot.

3. Phil Baroni vs. Brad Tavares -
Tavares defeated Baroni via TKO (strikes) at 4:20 of round 1.
I was really rooting for Baroni here, and was excited to see him getting off to a good start at the start, but, man, Tavares pulled off another great knockout for this event! Baroni's expecting to be cut, which is fairly realistic considering how strict the UFC is these days, and it's a bit saddening for me as a fan, but that's just the way it goes, I guess.

Dong Hyun Kim dominated Nate Diaz on the ground

PRELIMINARY FIGHTS

1. Daniel Roberts vs. Greg Soto -
Roberts defeated Soto via submission (kimura) at 3:45 of round 1.

2. Mike Brown vs. Diego Nunes -
Nunes defeated Brown via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

3. Jacob Volkmann vs. Antonio McKee -
Volkmann defeated McKee via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

Brandon Vera was literally helpless against Thiago Silva on the ground

BONUS AWARDS

These fighters were awarded $60,000 bonuses:

1. Fight of the Night - Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard

2. Knockout of the Night - Jeremy Stephens

3. Submission of the Night - Clay Guida

Brian Stann knocks out Chris Leben

Check out more amazing photos of UFC 125 from the official UFC website!

UFC 125 MAIN EVENT REVIEW

2011-01-02T07:37:00.000-08:00

I picked Maynard for this one. It's not that I was underestimating the champ, Frankie Edgar. It's just that, seeing Edgar's style and how he beat BJ Penn (especially in that extremely impressive second outing), I figured Maynard was the man to take him out. Edgar's style is to use his amazingly quick footwork and go in and out a hundred percent of the time and outpoint his opponent, and attempt to finish as quickly as possible if an opening arises, which is very similar to how UFC Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz does battle.

Maynard, however, is an extremely talented wrestler and has power in both hands. He used his wrestling to utterly dominate former top contender Kenny Florian in his last fight and I predicted that he would do something to Frankie Edgar. Edgar's an amazing wrestler himself but I figured that Maynard's abilities would still outclass him, especially considering that he'd already accomplished that before.

BULLY BEATDOWN

Gray Maynard catches Frankie Edgar early in the first round

I was on my feet throughout the first round. My pick was winning and winning decisively! Maynard catches Edgar early in the first round and sends him flying across the Octagon, chasing him down and raining down punches all the way. It reminded me very much of how Cain Velasquez dominated Brock Lesnar to become the new UFC Heavyweight champion. I was extremely certain that this was how the Lightweight belt would change hands.

Imagine my surprise however, when Maynard's beatdown on Edgar lasted until the bell. Edgar took Maynard's punishment for almost an entire round and survived! Oh, wow, Frankie Edgar has an invincible chin, it seems!

GRAY GASSES OUT

Gray Maynard dominates Frankie Edgar in the
first five minutes of the fight

Despite my thinking that this would turn out similarly to how Velasquez defeated Lesnar, the second round was turning this more into how Shane Carwin gassed out and got submitted by Lesnar. After an entire round of just throwing hay-makers and attempting to knock out "The Answer", Maynard looked to be moving slower than he did. What was even more surprising was that Edgar seemed to have recovered almost immediately!

Impossible as it seems, that's how it went down. After getting rained upon by extremely heavy punches for almost 5 straight minutes, Frankie Edgar was moving at his original speed: lightning fast. His punches were as accurate as ever, and he managed to pepper Maynard with multiple jabs before landing a huge power slam, proving without a doubt that he had regained all his energy.

THE FIGHT DRAGS ON

Each fighter now has a round apiece. Unfortunately, though, both fighters seemed to be slowing down more and more as time went on. The rest of the fight was still very exciting and back and forth, but not nearly as action-packed as the first two. What was extremely surprising was that Edgar managed to shrug off almost all of Maynard's takedowns for the last three rounds, which I figured were Maynard's best chances to nab a win. It was exceedingly difficult to score the last three rounds, but apparently, this is how the judges saw it ...

WORST DRAW EVER

Frankie Edgar miraculously recovers and
turns the tables in the second round

Yup, the judges scored it a draw (48-46 Maynard, 48-46, Edgar, 47-47)! At first, I actually thought it would go to Edgar for a split decision. After his full recovery in the second, I began to slowly changed my mind thoughout the fight and was actually cheering for him, instead of my pick! It was just utterly amazing how he managed to not only recover from that first round and come back as strong as ever, but also stuff almost all of Maynard's signature takedowns. He's still only human, though, and he's not Rocky Balboa, so he can't come back and expect a miracle every time. It honestly really sucks, though for a championship fight to end in a draw. The belt defaults to Edgar, of course, but a condition like this makes one feel that it should go to no one, and Edgar, with the extremely disappointed look on his face, probably felt somewhat similar.

INSTANT REMATCH!

Who will win the next time around?

I was shocked, and, despite the fact that I normally hate instant rematches, I hate championship matches going to a draw much more. Sorry, Anthony Pettis, I'm really stoked that you're the new UFC Lightweight top contender, and you certainly earned it, but this is just how I feel as a fan right now. Thankfully, Dana felt the same way, as he changed the UFC's plans at the last minute to make Edgar's next opponent Maynard once again. This is what he said:

"We changed the plans," White told MMAjunkie.com. "After Craig made the announcement, I had a lot of people talking to me, and the reality is, Gray Maynard deserves that fight. We had planned on doing Anthony Pettis next, but Gray went in there and fought his ass off and deserves another chance.

"In the UFC, we do the right thing, and the right thing is to put on this rematch."

Thank you very much, Mr. White! I will definitely be looking forward to that one!

CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER

Now, though, I'm in a bit of a pickle as I have no idea who to root for now. Maynard's power almost took Edgar out in the first, but Edgar has an iron chin and can't be knocked out so easily. Plus, he apparently has Wolverine's healing factor and the extra ability to stuff Maynard's takedowns almost all the time. With that, I guess I'm rooting for Frankie the next time around. I still have several months to think this over, though, but right, Edgar's my man! Awesome fight! I honestly can't wait for the next one!

Check out more amazing photos of UFC 125 over at the official UFC website!

WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2011 MARTIAL ARTS MEDIA

2011-01-01T04:23:00.000-08:00

There's quite a bit to look forward to in terms of martial arts media in 2011, and here's a quick look at what the year has in store:

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

The UFC's bigger than ever now, what with it absorbing the lighter weight classes of the WEC and expanding to all corners of the globe. Since there's a lot more talent now in the organization, fighters have to fight to the best in their ability now and show that they do indeed deserve a spot in the greatest MMA organization on the planet. This is especially true of the Lightweight warriors who need to make sure that their spots don't get usurped by those from the WEC. If you're not exciting in the UFC in 2011, then you're out. And fans all over the world rejoiced.

Preview of the latest poster for Marvel vs. Capcom 3

VIDEO GAMES

The era of Super Street Fighter IV is quickly coming to a close as a new fighting game champion arises to take its place. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 promises to be the greatest crossover video gaming history has ever seen, and from what I've seen, I believe it. Aside from that, there's also other great fighting games coming out this year, including Mortal Kombat, and Tekken tag Tournament 2.

HOLLYWOOD

The only Hollywood movie I'm aware of that directly has anything to do with the martial arts is the upcoming Green Hornet film, which I will eagerly behold in Imax 3D on opening day, January 14. Not really a martial arts film, it's more of an action-comedy of sorts, but it does feature the character known as Kato, who was popularized by the immortal Bruce Lee in the 1960's. Jay Chou, who plays the new Kato, looks decent in the trailers so far, and I'm excited to see to do the founder of Jeet Kune Do justice. Check out the trailer below:

There's also this fairly unique boxing movie starring Hugh Jackman showing later in the year, on October 7, called Real Steel. Jackman plays retired boxer Charlie Kenton who makes a living by cornering robot boxers. Very interesting if you ask me! Check out the trailer below:

Aside from those, there are other great action movies that will be released, such as Thor, The First Avenger: Captain America, and Sucker Punch, but nothing directly martial arts-related as far as I'm aware. If you know any, help me out and leave a comment below!

ANIME

This area's where I'm the most clueless, unfortunately. Again, if you could point out some great martial arts anime to me in the comments, I'd be very grateful. I'll edit in your contribution and give you credit!

Anyway, what I am aware of is the anime version of the popular superhero Wolverine, which is the next in line in Marvel's anime series, after Iron Man. I point this out because the plot supposedly deals with Wolverine living in Japan for one reason or another and fighting ninja and samurai. Or something to that extent. I'm of the habit of keeping out of any possible spoilers because I like to keep as fresh as possible when I'm a watching a new movie or TV show. Anyway, in that sense, it has a lot to do with the martial arts, so I'm going to keep a close eye on it. Here's a quick preview:

The Iron man anime actually started out very mediocre, and was greeted with an outrageous amount of fan negativity. It got much better as the series went on, though, and I absolutely loved the climactic last three episodes. Generally knowing what the Madhouse anime studio has in store for these Marvel anime series, I'm going into Wolverine with properly tweaked expectations.

After Wolverine comes two more Marvel anime adaptations, specifically X-Men, then Blade. Not really martial arts anime, but notable nonetheless for the large amount of action they'll undoubtedly show off. Again, if you know of other great martial arts anime titles coming in 2011, let me know and I'll give you credit!

FINAL THOUGHTS

Quite a bit, if you ask me, though the Mixed Martial Arts and Video Game categories have way more to offer than the other two. I'm sure I missed a few titles in some of the categories, though, which will only add to what I think will be a exciting year for martial arts media!

MMA KOMBAT!

2010-12-31T02:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, now this is just perfect! I love Mixed Martial Arts and I love Mortal Kombat, so mixing them together in a single video this well done is just amazing to me! Expertly put together and genuinely funny, this is a treat for any fan of MMA and Mortal Kombat. Thanks very much to lookoutawhale for this presentation! Check it out:

The Todd Duffee vs. Mike Russow fight happened at UFC 114. Check it out if you haven't already!

CHUCK LIDDELL RETIRES FOR REAL

2010-12-30T03:43:00.000-08:00

It's official. After countless urgings by UFC President Dana White for him to hang up his gloves, Chuck Liddell finally made the decision he thought he'd never have to. A pure competitor by heart, if it weren't for his currently suspect chin, "The Iceman" would have never retired.

"I'm just not able to put it together anymore", Liddell said. "I don't know whether it's time or what it is, but I can't take a shot very well anymore. If that's what it is, fine." Though Liddell would have liked to go out on a winning streak, he admits that if he had continued to win he would never have considered retiring.

Being the first real star of the sport and a huge part of why the UFC grew to what is today, Dana White would never let his good friend out of the Octagon without something worthwhile in return. Chuck Liddell is now the UFC's executive Vice President of Business Development, and is now on level and on par with all the top executives. Not a bad retirement if you ask me.

For me, Liddell's retirement was inevitable. I honestly thought that he would retire after getting knocked out by Shogun. He would actually go on for one last hurrah by facing former UFC Middleweight champion Rich Franklin, but then would get knocked out at the very end of the first round. Liddell fought his heart out and was in top condition for that fight, but his body just couldn't take much more punishment. His chin gave out and that's all she wrote.

Liddell's still going to be a large part of the UFC, though, and will undoubtedly make many appearances and still speak up at important press conferences. He was always an impressive ambassador for the sport, and will continue to be as such. Whether in the Octagon or in the board room, Chuck Liddell will always be remembered for the Hall of Famer that he truly is.

TRICKING THE STUNTS OF TRON LEGACY

2010-12-29T03:22:00.000-08:00

I recently saw Tron Legacy in Imax 3D and enjoyed it very much. Critics, however, are very divided with it. It, for example, currently holds a 49% rating over at Rotten Tomatoes, yet top critic Roger Ebert gave it 3 out of 4 stars. Some even speculate that, in order to even like the film, you had to have loved the original. I personally do not believe this to be true. While I did see the original film as a child and liked it, I feel that I did not love it enough to make any significant emotions carry over into my enjoyment of the sequel. I simply enjoyed Tron Legacy for its own merits, no more no less. Here's the official trailer:

Whether you enjoyed the movie or not, it is difficult to deny that it did contain not only some spectacular special effects and computer graphics wizardry, but also some very impressive stuntwork. The stuntwork is highlighted in the battles primarily utilizing the Discs, and one character stands above the rest in this regard: the masked combatant known as Rinzler.

Rinzler is played by French stuntman Anis Cheurfa and, as he reveals in a recent interview with PopEater, his particular brand of stunt work is called Tricking". Here's a bit from the interview:

So it's called "tricking," right?
Yeah. It's a mix between some of the basic martial arts -- taekwondo mostly because it's a lot of kicking -- and we mix it with gymnastics, capoeira, some break-dancing motion and make it our own thing. I've been doing it for eight years.

Anis Cheurfa plays the warrior Rinzler in Tron Legacy

Did the 'Tron' team already have tricking built into the script?
Yeah, they had my character as a very athletic guy -- the best fighter in the whole grid, in the whole 'Tron' world. They wanted him to be like, very fancy with the flips and stuff.

What is the action like in this movie?
Fancy! That's all I can say. It's stuff that would never happen in the real world, for example. It's really flashy and cool-looking.

...

Was there much wire-work?
There were a couple wire gags, but nothing like 'The Matrix.' We just used it for some stunt work, but not a lot.

And here's an interview with E! that Anis did where he also demonstrates some moves from Tricking:

Being a martial arts fan, the capoeira / gymnastics hybrid moves were what stood out the most for me when I saw the stunts. Really brilliant stuff in my opinion, and I really like the fact that they used as little wire-work as possible. I loved the stunts so much that I'm going to write a detailed article on the moves when I get the chance to watch them over and over again after purchasing the blu-ray. There was some really powerful work on this film that I'm sure I won't get tired of any time soon.

NEOGEO STATION AWAKENS FIGHTING GAME NOSTALGIA

2010-12-27T00:07:00.000-08:00

The NEOGEO Station, featuring many classic SNK arcade games from the 90's, became available to the PSN this month. Being the martial arts media freak that I am, I immediately grabbed up all the fighting games it offered at launch. This includes Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, Samurai Shodown, and King of Fighters '94. Check out the official trailer below:

MEMORIES OF THE LONE WOLF

NEOGEO Station Fatal Fury screenshot,
from Gamefaqs.com

I remember playing Fatal Fury in an arcade or two way back in the early 90's. Since I was a little kid back then and couldn't do any special moves or reasonable fighting game tactics, I sucked hard and couldn't even get past the first stage. Still, the game looked pretty back then and its re-release on the PSN awakened a ton of irresistible fighting game nostalgia in me.

Fatal Fury was the only one I played in its original form in the arcades back then. I only ever played the sequels of Samurai Shodown and King of Fighters that were ported onto the PS1 and 2, and I've literally never played an Art of Fighting game until now. Still, they're all a treat to play and I'm glad that they're now all in my PS3 so that I can revisit them any time.

NEOGEO Station King of Fighters '94 screenshot,
from Gamefaqs.com

Out of those four, I have to say that Samurai Shodown and King of Fighters are my favorites. I personally feel that Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting haven't aged well at all, though they do keep some of their old charm. Samurai Shodown and King of Fighters, for me, feel like timeless classics.

SURPRISE SHOOTER

Oddly enough, though, my favorite, by far, among all of the games I bought was the enigmatic fifth one, Metal Slug! I also remember playing this in the arcades and some of its sequels in console form. It's pretty odd that I'd pick this one over the rest, seeing as how I should have predictably felt more overjoyed about one of the martial arts - based ones. But, no, Metal Slug's simple side-scrolling Rambo gameplay and amazing 2D graphics (which honestly still look pretty great to me even now!) captured me like no other.It's definitely one of my best buys this Christmas.

FINAL THOUGHTS

NEOGEO Station Metal Slug screenshot,

from Gamefaqs.com

Here's a more in-depth review of the NEOGEO Station and the other classic games that come with it. Make no mistake that it only includes the five I write about here. It also includes such greats as Magician Lord, Baseball Stars Professional, Super Sidekicks, Alpha Mission II, and League Bowling. I didn't grab those up because I don't carry any sort of nostalgia for them, plus, they're just not my cup of tea. But, they might be yours, so check them out if you have the chance!

Happy holidays, SNK Playmore, and thanks for allowing me to revisit these astounding classics!

Did you buy any of the games from the NEOGEO Station? Which ones do you like or dislike? Share your thoughts and leve a comment below!

TEKKEN TAG TOURNAMENT 2 TRAILER

2010-12-27T00:05:00.000-08:00

The latest title in the popular game franchise, Tekken, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is officially coming out for arcades in 2011! Here's the official trailer:

I loved the first Tekken Tag Tournament so I'm very eager to get my hands on this one as well!

SUPER STREET FIGHTER 4 ARCADE EDITION VIDEOS!

2010-12-26T02:04:00.000-08:00

The Arcade Edition of Super Street Fighter 4 came out a few days ago and there have a been a flood of gameplay videos coming out. Check out some of them below!

MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 3 DECEMBER 2010 TRAILER

2010-12-26T01:51:00.000-08:00

There's a new Marvel vs. Capcom 3 trailer! While it's mostly clips from past trailers, there is some neat new gameplay footage near the end that shows off some cool, new alternate costumes for some of the characters. Check it out!

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is coming out for PS3 and Xbox 360 on February 15, 2011.

KRATOS CONFIRMED IN MORTAL KOMBAT!

2010-12-26T01:44:00.000-08:00

I'm not a big God of War fan. I've never played any of the games outside of the PSN demo of God of War 3. That said, I think it's a great game series and the addition of its main character to the new Mortal Kombat game is absolutely cool. Check it out!

The new Mortal Kombat game is coming out for PS3 and Xbox 360 on April 26, 2011.

UFC 125 PICKS

2010-12-22T03:09:00.000-08:00

MAIN CARD

1. Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard - Gray Maynard
2. Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann - Leben
3. Brandon Vera vs. Thiago Silva - Vera
4. Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim - Diaz
5. Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi - Guida

Agree or disagree? Share your thoughts and leave a comment below! Oh, and ... get excited!

GOODBYE, WEC

2010-12-21T03:15:00.000-08:00

The WEC has officially left the building, but not without a fond farewell. Its final minutes of life, The Last Extreme Cage Fight, was truly a spectacle to behold, unleashing upon the world not just one of the best fights of the year, but also one of the flashiest strikes in all MMA history:

THE SHOWTIME KICK

But those were not the only moments the great MMA organization left us with during its last moments on earth. The main card of WEC 53 was truly spectacular, with exciting fights from top to bottom, including a matchup that had not one, but two titles on the line:

DOMINIC CRUZ VS. SCOTT JORGENSEN

These two competitors fought not just to prove themselves as two of the best fighters in the world at 135 pounds, not just to show that they're more than ready to enter the UFC next year, but to officially enter the history books, as the last WEC Bantamweight champion and first UFC Bantamweight champion. All earned in one night.

Cruz is known primarily for his speed. He has extremely fast hands and feet, which means that he can close the distance and hit an opponent with 6 consecutive punches and back away into safe distance all in the blink of an eye. Scott Jorgensen is known for his fierce fighting style, his never die attitude and his ability to finish almost anybody in his way. It's a hell of a matchup.

Out of the two, however, the current champ, Cruz, was the one more on point. His speed and unpredictable footwork confused Jorgensen much of the fight, such that he really never did a lot of damage to his opponent. Cruz was in and out, in and out, constantly peppering Jorgensen with 1-2's, and keeping his distance safe at all times with exact leg kicks.

He kept that pace and performance the entire 5 rounds, clearly outpointed Jorgensen the entire time and won the fight via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45).

Though it was an admirable and exciting performance, the win will only fuel Cruz's detractors even more. The main criticism against Cruz is that he rarely finishes fights, that he fights only to outscore his opponent, and very rarely to finish them in exciting, memorable fashion. Though Cruz dominated top contender Scott Jorgensen in their final fight in the WEC, he failed to silence his critics.

I, for one, am not against Dominic Cruz in any way. Sure, I would definitely like to see him finish more fights, as I'm sure most fans do, but his fights are always very exciting to watch and I am very grateful for that. I also understand that he's fighting at the very top of the Bantamweight division and thus, all his opponents will be the absolute cream of the crop. As such, they wouldn't be particularly easy to finish off, so saying that he never finishes fights is a bit too much of an exaggeration in my opinion.

DONALD CERRONE VS. CHRIS HORODECKI

I was rooting for "Cowboy" Cerrone the entire time, but Horodecki put up a hell of a fight in the first round. It was pretty back and forth for the first five minutes, with the fight staying mostly on the feet, but also going to the mat on occasion.

The second round starts, and Horodecki quickly shoots in and takes Cerrone down. Cerrone is extremely dangerous off his back and immediately transitions to a submission attempt. Horodecki survives, but eventually falls prey to Cerrone's dangerous Triangle, which eventually succeeds. Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone taps Chris Horodecki 2:43 of the second round.

KAMAL SHALORUS VS. BART PALASZEWSKI

Palaszewski is one of the WEC's more exciting fighters, but I predicted Shalorus would take this fight as I saw him as the more athletic and powerful wrestler. The match went the distance and was very much back and forth the entire time, both standing up and on the ground. Though it wasn't the most exciting fight in the main card, it was still filled with action. Both fighters were very active throughout, making each round very difficult to score. In the end Shalorus got his hand raised via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28).

NEW BEGINNINGS

It's a new dawn for the fighters of the WEC, as they are now officially part of the UFC. All of them will try their best to earn their spots, especially those in the Lightweight division, and that only means more exciting fights in the future! Nerve wracking for the fighters, but very good for the fans. It's going to be one fantastic year for the UFC!

Check out more amazing photos of WEC 53 at the official WEC website!

THE LAST EXTREME CAGE FIGHT

2010-12-19T01:06:00.000-08:00

On the evening of December 16, 2010 at the Jobing.com Arena at Glendale Arizona, the Last Extreme Cage Fight occurred. In it, two lightweight fighters entered the cage in order to compete for the chance to be included in the history books, as the last ever WEC lightweight champion. Both fighters knew what was on the line, and they went for it, all out.

I was cheering for Ben "Smooth" Henderson the entire time during this match. I felt that, while the striking advantage did lie with his opponent, Anthony "Showtime" Pettis, "Smooth" was the more well-rounded fighter of the two.

THE FIGHT STARTS OUT SMOOTH

Henderson comes in with his trademark high energy and seemed to almost dominate Pettis in all areas of the fight thus far. He looked great all around, and the first fight definitely belonged to him. Unfortunately for him, though, Pettis seemed to find his groove at the start of the second, as he ramped up his intensity levels, began showing some of the creative striking he's known for, and basically outworked Henderson during the entire second round. Henderson's not one to be easily intimated, though, and fights back with all this might. From the third round onward, it became a very back and forth fight that would eventually earn the Fight of the Night award.

SCORES TIED

Pettis once again took the third round as he rode Henderson's back for almost the entire five minutes, trying to lock in a rear naked choke the entire time. In the fourth, Henderson, knowing that he was most probably behind on the score cards, picked up the pace and outworked Pettis for most of the fourth round, whether on the feet or on the mat. Entering the fifth, both fighters had to be desperate, knowing the fight was so close and, despite their best efforts, were unable to finish the other. What to do?

THE KICK THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD

Pettis took the larger chance, by executing a Hollywood-style off-the-wall flying kick as Henderson was circling the cage. The most impressive part about it wasn't the kick itself, it was that it actually landed and knocked Henderson down:

As much of a Ben Henderson fan that I am, I was sure that the flashy super kick had finished him off. Henderson's known as one of the more durable lightweight fighters in the world, though, and he quickly scrambles and attempts to take Pettis back to the ground while he recovers. Still woozy from the attack, Henderson is unable to execute anything effective and the round ends.

The Showtime Kick

AND NEW WEC LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION ...

Pettis wins the match via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 48-47), and he did in the most exciting way possible, once again justifying his nickname "Showtime". He will now face off against the winner of the Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard matchup at UFC 125 to unify the WEC and UFC lightweight titles.

SAYONARA, GOOD BUDDY

I've only been watching WEC events for around year, but the fact that this is their last event still feels very precious to me. I became a huge fan after the first card I saw and just grew to love the organization more and more as time went on.

But, with the full integration into the UFC on January 1, 2011, I see this as, like the advertisements suggest, a new beginning rather than an end. The WEC fighters are now on the big stage like they should, and will receive the recognition that they deserve. It's a new dawn for Mixed Martial Arts, and I am incredibly glad to witness it!

Check out more amazing photos of WEC 53 over at the official WEC website!

UFC 124: JABBING HIS WAY TO VICTORY

2010-12-12T05:12:00.000-08:00

Aaaand STILL Welterweight champion of the world! That's right, folks, GSP comes out smiling again, at UFC 124, as I predicted. The fight went the distance and he wins it via unanimous decision.

GSP controlled the entire fight by utilizing his strikes extremely well, primarily his jab. GSP showed true mastery of the technique by controlling the distance the entire time, and landing almost a hundred percent of the time. By the third round, Koscheck's right eye had swollen so badly that, at one point, the fight doctor even seriously considered stopping the match because Kos couldn't see anymore. Herb Dean, thankfully, let the fight go on. Kos is no Daredevil, though, so there was really no way he could have won that fight blind, unless a miracle would occur.

MIXING THINGS UP

GSP controlled much of the fight with the masterful use of his left jab

GSP's brilliance didn't end with the jab, though. He mixed everything up very nicely by changing levels constantly. Whenever Kos became too bothered by the jabs and tightened his guard up high, GSP would throw leg kicks to reduce Kos' mobility. And, when Kos rushed in with his knockout blows, GSP would counter with takedowns.

KOSCHECK'S NO JOKE

Despite being completely outmatched by the champ for 5 whole rounds, though, Koscheck is no joke. He stuffed many of GSP's takedowns and immediately got back up every time he was taken down. He also has a tremendous chin. GSP was hitting him with some fierce hooks much of the fight, but Koscheck never went down. GSP actually, and very humbly, apologized for not being able to finish Kos despite trying his best (and he clearly did), during the post-fight interview.

GSP FRUSTRATED?

Josh Koscheck couldn't see out of one eye in the latter half of the fight

It must be incredibly frustrating for GSP at this point to not be able to finish, since this is the cause of a lot of the negative criticism directed at him. All of his opponents have been genuine top contenders, though, so finishing them off via knockout or submission is easier said than done.

WHO'S NEXT?

Joe Rogan's right, though: who's next for GSP? Koscheck was by far the best fighter in the division outside of the champ, so who's worthy enough to step up to the plate? Jake Shields is the promised next contender, but after his recent showing against Martin Kampmann, I'm not very enthusiastic about it. Shields promised that he wouldn't cut weight so drastically again, though, so he could very well be an honest to goodness threat to GSP if he's fighting close to a hundred percent all five rounds. Whether that fight will be exciting is another matter altogether.

WHO ELSE?

Who's after Shields, though? No matter who wins that match, the UFC has got to be looking at the next top contender in the division. Matt Hughes was riding high on his way to another shot at the belt (I would have really wanted to see a rematch between these two legends, even though I know that GSP would outmatch Hughes), until BJ Penn very recently derailed him. Jon Fitch is another genuine contender, but he's lost to GSP before, and I really don't want to see him fight too much again. Despite continuous criticisms from all sides, he really hasn't shown any initiative to freshen up that boring wrestling game of his. Effective or not, he's a boring fighter, and I really can't root for him being the next top contender.

You know who I'd want to get the next top contender spot? Carlos Condit. That recent knockout of Dan Hardy was spectacular and I'd love to see him face off against GSP (or Shields).

Check out more amazing photos of UFC 124 at the official UFC website!

UFC 124 PREDICTIONS

2010-12-12T05:03:00.000-08:00

MAIN CARD

1. Georges St-Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck - St-Pierre
2. Stefan Struve vs. Sean mcCorkle - Struve
3. Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira - Oliveira
4. Joe Stevenson vs. Mac Danzig - Stevenson
5. Thiago Alves vs. John Howard - Alves

Agree or disagree? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below!

UFC 123 REVIEW: PHIL DAVIS VS. TIM BOETSCH

2010-11-28T01:19:00.000-08:00

ROUND 1

After more than 2 minutes of feeling each other out, Davis takes Boetsch down and attempts an Arm Triangle. Davis is unable to complete the submission, so lets Boetsch's arm go and rains down some ground and pound instead. It's not the most exciting ground and pound ever seen, but it at least allows Davis to maintain a dominant position over Boetsch and control him for the rest of the round. Despite not showcasing the most exciting match in MMA, though he admittedly try to finish early, Davis easily takes the round because of Octagon control.

ROUND 2

Davis continues his strategy of taking Boetsch down and controlling him there for a possible finish as he immediately gets hold of and pins Boetsch against the cage. Despite being controlled for much of the first round, though, Boetsch shows he's no slouch in his wrestling and BJJ either, by not only reversing Davis, but also taking him down and locking on a Guillotine choke.

Phil Davis controlled Tim Boetsch on the ground for much of the fight

Davis escapes the submission, gets top position on Boetsch and locks on what looks like a Kimura, except that Davis seems to be pulling it off with only one arm. What's even more surprising is that he managed to get Boetsch to tap from this variation. Woah.

THE MR. WONDERFUL

Joe Rogan comments, "he finished him with, like, a police move". That submission was very unusual, indeed, and it's one of the things that I love so much about MMA: anything can happen in the cage, and you really can't predict most of it.

The instant replay shows that Davis did use both arms in the submission, though, but Joe Rogan deems the hold different enough from the standard Kimura to give it a name all its own, calling it "The Mr. Wonderful". A brand new submission created on the fly in the middle of a cage fight. Wow, now that's definitely something you don't see every day.

Phil Davis was so happy that he took down one of his coaches in celebration. Not only that, but he set it up with a high five! What an interestingly odd fight. Though it started with a very slow first round, this matchup wound up becoming one of the most memorable of the evening, and that's kind of hard to do considering all the surprises that occurred.

Check out more amazing photos of UFC 123 at the official UFC website!

UFC 123 REVIEW: GERALD HARRIS VS. MAIQUEL FALCAO

2010-11-27T04:45:00.000-08:00

ROUND 1

The round starts out slow, as both fighters patiently circle each other. This process is very typical of almost any mixed martial arts match, but what is not typical is the fact that this lasts for 3 whole minutes. The crowd boos as expected, but there is unfortunately no change in the fighters' demeanor.

Memories of Mir vs. Cro Cop flood back to me as I pray to God that this won't wind up the same. Thankfully, my prayers are answered past the 3 minute mark, as Falcao, seeing an opening, finally rushes into Harris with boxing combinations in quick succession and drops him with a knee to the body.

Falcao immediately jumps on Harris and rains down ground and pound, but you have to hand it to Harris' durability as he survives this onslaught, and even manages to slam Falcao to try and shake him off. Unfortunately, Falcao in unsaved and successfully takes Harris' back. He locks in a rear naked choke and sinks it in deep. But, just when you think Harris is about to tap, he's saved by the bell.

Maiquel Falcao administers some
ground and pound on Gerald Harris

THE MIRACULOUS ERROR

There's apparently some controversy to this as there seemed to be a timekeeping error of sorts where the bell rang a full 6-7 seconds earlier than it was supposed to. In other words, Harris was saved by a literal miracle! If the bell rang at the expected time, then it was all but absolutely certain that Harris would have tapped from that choke. Instead, he gets a second chance at victory. Does he take it?

FALCAO: THE UNKNOWN BADASS

In a word: no. No disrespect to Gerald Harris, though, as he is a very talented mixed martial artist and a genuinely tough guy, but that first round just took everything completely out of him. In a post-fight interview, he admits that the Rear Naked Choke at the very end of the round really drained him, and he was really never the same after the fact.

Despite starting really slow (some would say "patient"), Falcao really took it to Harris. After finding the opening he wanted, he jumped on him and completely dominated him the rest of the round, and took away his strength for literally the rest of the fight. Joe Rogan says it best: "Doesn't mean you've never heard of them before, doesn't mean they aren't badass; Falcao is nasty!" You better believe it!

ROUND 2

Maiquel Falcao throws a head kick

So round 2 starts and Falcao immediately drops Harris with a right straight. Harris scrambles and tries to get back up, but is dropped again with a knee to the body. Falcao jumps on him with more vicious ground and pound and takes his back again. Harris still defends very well, but he's clearly done. There's no way he's turning this fight around.

THE HEART OF A CHAMPION

What Harris lacked in strength and energy for the rest of the fight, he made up with pure heart, though, which is very admirable, but usually not enough. Harris not only manages to get back up, but also reverses Falcao, pins him against the cage, and slams him once again! Woah. Unfortunately, that's all she wrote. Harris goes for the takedown but gets stuffed by Falcao. Harris refuses to get back up and exchange, though, so he just hangs on to Falcao's leg and rides out the rest of the round that way. Smart. Not the most exciting thing to see, but smart nonetheless.

This shows that, no matter how much energy you drain out of these guys, they'll still keep going to the bitter out of pure heart. Though they may not win, they'll still strive to their very best. Honestly, Harris was done after that first round, and he survives 5 minutes of getting beat up to go to a third round. If anyone's got heart, it's Gerald Harris.

ROUND 3

The third round starts and I cannot believe that the fight has lasted this long. If Gerald Harris doesn't finish Falcao soon, and I highly doubt he will, he'll still gain a ton of respect for the heart he's shown.

After that extraordinarily exciting second round, though, what happened next just blew my mind. It went exactly the same way as the start of the first round. Both fighters were just extremely tentative the whole time and did almost nothing but circle each other. Sure, a few strikes were thrown here and there, but the action was kept to an absolute bare minimum.

Harris has to realize that he clearly lost those first two rounds, so he's got to step up to the plate and knock one out of the park. He's going to lose the fight anyway since he's down on the scorecards, so why not try to go all out? Answer: he's just that out of energy. He's probably thinking the exact same thing, but his body just isn't willing anymore.

Falcao, on the other hand, has probably just gotten complacent because he knows he's winning the fight decisively. He's just playing it safe and riding it out to make sure that nothing unexpected happens during his Octagon debut. It would have been better if he just went for it and tried for a finish bonus, especially since Harris is extremely weakened and is primed for it, but, oh, well. Shades of the Marquardt-Okami fight, I guess.

FALCAO: THE WELL-KNOWN SPECTATOR

After four whole minutes of nothing happening, Harris has finally recovered enough energy to launch another takedown. Falcao stuffs it beautifully, but then goes back to doing purely nothing. I'm booing with the crowd at this point. I mean, I respect Gerlad Harris wholeheartedly at this point, but Falcao's just being lazy. And that definitely deserves boos. Laughably, Falcao taunts Harris badly to come at him with only 5 seconds left on the clock. What the hell is he thinking at this point? Does he think that taunting his opponent after doing practically nothing for an entire round is going to win him fans? I am definitely inclined to believe that it just does the opposite.

Joe Rogan just slays me, though, as he comments during the instant replay, "remember back in the old days when things used to be exciting?" Good stuff.

Falcao predictably wins via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28) but I hope he steps up his performance in the future. He clearly has the potential to be one of the most exciting fighters in the division, but he just has to show it. And if he taunts again in the future, make it count. Fans love that kind of stuff if done right, but it's just annoying to literally anybody if done inappropriately.

In just five minutes, Falcao turned what would have been an excellent image of him in his Octagon debut as the Unknown Badass into an extremely negative one by completely becoming the well-known spectator. Fans are going to look at him now and think "Oh, man, Falcao's fighting on the card. He's going to fight for, like 2-3 minutes then just stare at his opponent the rest of the time".

Falcao later reveals that he was just trying to win the fight as safe as possible, so when he was sure that he won the first two rounds, he decided to not take any chances, despite the fact that his opponent was completely done, and just ride out the last round, Anderson Silva style. He says that Dana White heavily criticized him about that and he took it to heart. Now that his debut is over, though, he swears that he will be more exciting in his next fight. I hope so, for everyone's sake.

CUT AFTER ONLY ONE LOSS

Gerald Harris fights back with just pure heart

Harris, unfortunately, has been cut from the UFC, following this loss. I was honestly pretty shocked when I found out because Harris not only showed some unbelievable heart in this fight, but was riding a three-fight win streak in the UFC. Those wins weren't won via boring decisions, either. All of them were knockouts of some sort and two of them were awarded knockout of the night, which all the more confused me.

He may have been outmatched, but he certainly showed that he had the will to fight and win. Unfortunately, though, having the heart of a champion doesn't necessarily mean that you get to be one, especially in the UFC.

Dana White says that it's to be expected, especially after the WEC / UFC merger. There will now be more fighters in the organization, and the UFC can only afford to keep the absolute cream of the crop, so White and the rest of the executives can't be as lenient about keeping fighters as before. It's a new dawn for the UFC, I suppose. One that will leave a lot of fighters cut from the world's best Mixed Martial Arts organization.

Check out more amazing photos of UFC 123 at the official UFC website!

UFC 123 REVIEW: GEORGE SOTIROPOULOS VS. JOE LAUZON

2010-11-26T08:08:00.000-08:00

Crazy. That's one way this fight could be described. Back and forth incredibly fast striking, nonstop scrambles on the ground, and, at least for me, a very surprising ending. I'm a big fan of both of these fighters and feel that they are true top prospects that will eventually get title shots. I predicted that Lauzon would take this, though. Both look to be about equal on the ground, but I figured that Lauzon has the faster, crisper boxing and footwork, and would be able to outmatch Sotiropoulos that way.

ROUND 1

Lauzon's game plan is apparently to keep the fight standing and knock Sotiropoulos out. Sotiropoulos, meanwhile, wants to transition to a takedown via his own boxing and submit Lauzon.

George Sotiropoulos gains top position over Joe Lauzon

Lauzon seems to be the one executing his game plan more successfully, though. He's faster and lighter on his feet and his takedown defense seems perfect.

Near the end of the round, though, Lauzon takes Sotipoulos' bait and follows him to the ground, where George attains the dominant position and eventually gets his back.

Lauzon defends very well throughout, though, and not only manages to defend and escape all the submission attempts thrown at him, but even manages to reverse Sotiropoulos and get in some quick, clean elbows from the top position, just as the bell rings. The first round definitely belonged to Joe Lauzon.

ROUND 2

George Sotiropoulos attempts to submit Joe Lauzon

Oddly enough, Joe Lauzon seems to have gassed himself out after the first round. He comes out not only throwing less strikes, but also defending less. Compared to how he looked in the first round, he might as well have been moving in slow motion this time.

Sotiropoulos, meanwhile, kept his pace constant, and managed to successfully transition to a takedown with his strikes, get Lauzon to the ground and gain the dominant position.

From here, it was just a matter of time. There was no second wind, and no comeback of any sort for Joe Lauzon on this night. Sotiropoulos gets hold of an arm and locks in a Kimura, forcing Lauzon to tap.

FINAL THOUGHTS

My predictions were correct, at least for the first round. I never in a million years would have thought that Joe Lauzon would gas in the second round, though. If he kept up his pace, he would have easily taken the fight. Not to take away anything from Sotiropoulos, though, who turned in yet another magnificent performance, which resulted in a well-deserved Fight of the Night bonus, and maintains his unbeaten winning streak in the UFC. He'll definitely get a title shot in the near future, which I can't wait to see!

Check out more amazing photos of UFC 123 at the official UFC website!

UFC 123 REVIEW: HUGHES VS. PENN

2010-11-21T07:19:00.000-08:00

Wow, just ... wow. I never would have predicted it in a million years. Yup, it's all true. BJ Penn just knocked out Matt Hughes in only 21 seconds. Penn caught him with a right, dropped him, and immediately swarmed on him with some ground and pound. Hughes never knew what hit him and he was out like a light. After he came to, the first thing said he was "what happened?"

SHOWS WHAT I KNOW

No offense to BJ, really. Hell, I predicted he would win both the Frankie Edgar bouts and wanted to see him immediately redeem himself. But when I heard that his next match would be against Matt Hughes. Hoo-boy, you better believe I thought BJ would be outmatched! Penn's moving up from 155 while Hughes is a more natural 170-pounder. Plus, he's a lot stronger and more powerful than BJ, and he's definitely not lacking the speed and agility department. All that meant to me was that Hughes would be able to get BJ down to the ground, control him enough to avoid any awesome submissions coming his way, and pound his way to victory. That's right. I thought Matt Hughes would win via knockout. Shows what I know, huh?

BJ Penn drops Matt Hughes early in the first round

I never count out BJ Penn, though. He's an amazing fighter and still one of the best lightweights in the world, despite losing two times in a row recently. However, if I ever entertained that he would beat Matt Hughes somehow, I would have honestly chosen submission, and nothing else. BJ is an incredible boxer and he's busted up opponents continuously for the past few years, but it's been a while since he stopped anyone via strikes, so I never entertained that notion. Guess I sorely need to rewatch that Sean Sherk bout, huh?

TOO MUCH LOVE

Another reason I didn't see this fight ending the way it did was because of the "love ins" both fighters made during all their interviews prior to the fight. Both fighters aren't exactly known for their trash talking, but the certainly bring it when the opportunities arise. This time, though, it was all respect this, and idolizing that. Both were criticized for their attitudes, with some critics saying that this was the wrong mental state to be in for a fight that means so much for both of them, what with it being a rubber match and all, and especially for BJ, who's coming off two straight losses. I certainly wasn't one of those critics, and didn't really see the harm in all the positive interviews.

What I did think that sort of attitude would bring was the fight going the distance. I figured that the fight would drag on because both fighters' respected each others' skills too much. Even if the fight did end in a stoppage, I thought it would be in the third round. This just makes the stoppage all the more surprising to me.

WHAT'S NEXT?

BJ Penn finishes Matt Hughes on the ground

BJ was the real mystery here, since he just lost two straight fights and moved up to another weight division. Matt, on the other hand, is coming off three straight wins, with two of them being stoppages, so he's still going strong in this division. It's also not like he lost to just anybody. He lost to BJ Penn, one of the all-time greats, so I'm sure that this doesn't do much to his career, especially with him being a hall of famer and all.

BJ, on the other hand, will probably jump between divisions before getting a shot at another belt. He's currently outmatched by both the current champs in either division he's fighting in, so giving him another title shot too early on wouldn't make sense. He'll most probably need several fights in both divisions to prove his contention once again, and once a top contender spot fills up in either division, he'll probably be offered it. Only time will tell, but I'm just glad that it's smooth sailing once again for Baby Jay, even though it was an outcome I never expected.

Check out more amazing photos of UFC 123 at the official UFC website!

UFC 123 REVIEW: RAMPAGE VS. MACHIDA

2010-11-21T06:14:00.000-08:00

Fast action, fighters getting knocked down, mind games on the ground; this match had it all! I really like both of these fighters and have been eagerly awaiting this fight. I'm a bigger fan of The Dragon's, though, and it's the primary reason I predicted that he'd take it.

My prediction wasn't all subjective, though. Rampage's primary method of success in the Octagon is getting hold of guys, slamming them, dealing huge ground and pound, or catching them on their feet with just one punch. I was sure that Lyoto's legendary elusiveness would allow him to avoid all that, and that he would be able to slip past Rampage's defenses and either knock him out like he did Rashad, or take him down and submit him somehow.

Machida utilized his trademark elusiveness throughout the match

I'm not counting Rampage out by any means, though. I'm a big fan of his as well and never dismissed the possibility that he could catch Lyoto at any time during the fight. I'd have been very surprised if he could pull this off, but it's not impossible. Hell, Shogun did it just six months ago.

ROUND 1

The round clearly demonstrates both fighters' game plans: Machida wants to keep his distance from Rampage and jump on any openings to possibly knock Jackson out. Rampage, meanwhile, is keeping his cool and observing Lyoto as much as he can to get in proper distance to land his trademark one-punch knockout.

One thing's clear though: he still ain't checkin' 'em. Lyoto threw at least a dozen leg kicks during the round and Rampage checked none of them. Most of them were probing rather than damaging, though, as Lyoto used his foot instead of his shin to connect. These were mostly for distance control, which is what Machida's style is all about.

Rampage gets the clinch, and I fully expected a takedown or a slam. Surprisingly, this never happened, as Machida not only avoided being taken down by Rampage, he even reversed him on the cage and attempted to take him down instead. Lyoto's a black belt in BJJ, so I could definitely see him submitting Rampage on the ground. Lyoto decides to separate, though, and stick to his game plan of distance control and landing precision strikes.

The round ends and I give it to Machida. Rampage landed a few punches here and there, but Machida landed much more. Pretty much all his kicks connected, and he definitely dealt more damage in that round.

ROUND 2

Much of the fight was spent in the clinch

The bell for the second round rings, and both fighters come out pretty much the same as in the first. This time, however, Rampage manages to take Machida down after he clinches with him. He doesn't manage to deal any damage, though, as Machida manages to immediately stand up. Another thing is that every time Machida separates from Rampage, he gets caught with a punch. It's very dangerous that he doesn't seem to be guarding his head well enough, especially in close quarters, considering who his opponent is.

The round comes to a close and it's The Dragon's turn to catch Rampage. Machida catches Jackson with a straight right just as the bell rings and charges in with a head kick. He immediately breaks out of it and apologizes, though. That's a shame that he landed that strike so late into the round. I would have liked to see this fight be Rashad all over again, since I never, for once, thought that Machida could knock Rampage out.

In any case, I gave the round to Machida, especially considering that last shot. The round's extremely close, though, considering that Rampage managed to take Machida down early on and kept landing shots every time the two broke away from each other.

ROUND 3

Rampage catches Machida with a left hook

It's the final round and Rampage finally wises up and throws a leg kick of his own. One of his downfalls, aside from not checking leg kicks, has always been that he very rarely mixes up his strikes. He just goes for the one-punch knockout most of the time. It was a great relief to see him actually throw kicks for once, but, unfortunately, that was the only one he threw. D'oh!

Machida's no one trick pony, though, and proves that by catching Rampage yet again early in the round with a right hook and swarms Rampage with combinations one after the other. Rampage has a great chin, though, and he immediately comes back with punches of his own.

Machida ducks the punches, though, then he quickly clinches with Rampage and takes him down. On the ground, it is clear what Machida wants: he wants to submit Rampage. Machida transitions for a full mount and tries for an arm bar. This is a classic Rampage scenario, though, so he stands up and tries to viciously slam The Dragon down on the mat.

Machida's no fool, however, so he lets go of the arm and escapes Rampage's knockout move. There's less than a minute left in the fight by this time, though, so Lyoto does the smart thing by clinching Rampage once again and running down the clock. No way should he risk getting knocked out when he's done this well so far. The final bell rings and I predict that Lyoto wins via unanimous decision.

THE GREAT OCTAGON ROBBERY

Machida attempts to submit Rampage

Surprise, surprise, but Rampage wins via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Pretty much no one believes it, not even Rampage. Hell, Rampage raised Lyoto's arm as soon as the final bell rang. If I didn't see it for myself, I wouldn't have believed it. I could definitely concede that the second round went to Rampage, though, despite the fact that Lyoto dropped at the very end, since he did catch Lyoto several times and managed to take him down, but the fist and third rounds were definitely Lyoto's. That Machida got robbed by the judges is definitely subjective, but I sure feel that way.

Anyway, Rampage asks for an immediate rematch with Machida since he thinks it's only fair and concedes that "Daaaamn! Homie can fight!" Rampage is always entertaining with the mic in front of him and it was very interesting to see him concede that Lyoto truly "whupped his ass".

IMMEDIATE REMATCH?

Even Rampage couldn't believe he won!

I am definitely not a fan of immediate rematches, and voiced my opinion against the Chael Sonnen rematch with Anderson Silva several times. After all, that was pretty decisive. Silva came back after four full rounds of beatings and submitted Sonnen fair and square. Split decisions like this one, the first Penn vs. Edgar matchup, and the first Machida vs. Rua fight, I can probably lean towards. After all these immediate rematches that have been talked about for the past several months, this is honestly the first one I'm highly supportive of. I was a bit supportive of the Penn vs. Edgar rematch because I didn't think Frankie won decisively enough to be called the champ (I don't think that now, obviously, and neither should anyone else), but I truly believe that Lyoto was robbed of the decision this time around, and I'd like to see him redeem himself from that. I'm sure that Rampage will come back better than ever as well, as he should have learned a lot from this first encounter. I just hope that the next one (if it happens, and I'm hoping it will) absolutely does not end via decision again, though, just so everything's clean cut and truly decisive.

In any case, I truly enjoyed this fight and find it to be a worthy main event bout. The ending saddens me to no end, but I'm writing this review directly after viewing the fight, so my emotions are still high. I'm sure I'll get over it soon, but this fight really hit me hard in more ways than one.

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