Efrain Escudero looks to bounce back from a submission loss (armbar) to Evan Dunham at UFC Fight Night 20 in January.  The Mexican-American fighter will next fight Dan Lauzon at UFC 114 in Las Vegas in May.

Some fighters bounce back from losses very well, while others mentally break under the added pressure.  Escudero continues to reflect on the fight – and hopes to earn a rematch – and has learned from the fight.

“Really that I am human and prone to mistakes.  My training camp could have been better, my focus could have been better.  I am regrouping and hoping to come back as a better fighter. Evan is a tough, unknown prospect and I think time will show us all how good he is.  I hope to get another shot at him.”

Despite a very tight arm bar that appeared to seriously injure him, Escudero said his arm feels good two months from fight time.

“Good, I am rehabbing the arm but still training hard.  I was just in Big Bear helping Shannon Gugerty and Brandon Vera prepare for their (upcoming) fights.  Overall I feel great and I am hungry to get back into the cage.”

The relatively new superstar continues to train with Ben Henderson, Edgar Garcia and other strong fighters.  “Still helping them and a whole lot of great people supporting me through Team MTX.  I also plan on traveling some more and training with a lot of great camps around the country.”

His training has been “busy” in Big Bear, with Escudero following thee fight schedules of Henderson and other fighters who have bouts sooner.  Escudero is working diligently to prepare for Lauzon, who trained with him in Arizona for  a few months about three years ago.

“I know Danny well,” Escudero explained.  “I  expect a brawl.  He is a game fighter and knows how to bring it.  Look for fireworks (made in Mexico),” he joked.

The UFC is an extremely difficult organization to stay in, especially after consecutive losses, and Escudero has such a bright future he doesn’t want to see snuffed out for Lauzon’s sake in the lightweight division.

Win or lose his upcoming fight, Escudero plans to uphold a promise to his parents that he would graduate from college and get his degree.  He is still able to train full-time, and slips cram sessions in whenever he can.

If all goes according to plan, expect Escudero to have an extremely bright future in MMA.

Efrain wanted to thank the fans and the following sponsors for their support:  Dethrone Royalty, Bud Light and MTX Audio.

First, there was Brian Bowles breaking his hand right when the first punch flew. Bowles didn’t really seem present in the first two rounds of this fight, and that explains it right there. Surprisingly, Bowles has actually gotten some criticism for not continuing in this bout… which I think would be really appropriate if they were coming from people who had successfully fought five rounds with broken hands. Dominick Cruz’s fight style wasn’t pretty, but it was certainly impressive as he demonstrated nimble footwork and landed punch after punch after punch. Still, the win was probably not quite as satisfying as it could have been had Bowles been less distracted and the fight had gone the distance. And for die-hard Bowles fans such as myself, it was just really hard to watch.

Another heartbreaker was watching Miguel Angel Torres never really show up for his fight. I love Joseph Benavidez, not least because he shares my height (and weight–on a good day), but it was just sad to see Torres so hesitant. Benavidez had great strategy and execution, but one can’t help but wonder if things would have looked different had Torres come out with his trademark aggression and confidence.

But the heartbreaker of the night was watching Jens Pulver get pounded in what may be his last fight. He’s such a good guy and so not the fighter he used to be, but watching him go through his fifth straight loss was just tragic. “I love you all way, way, way too much to put you all through this again,” Pulver said in a post-fight interview. Whether or not he will retire remains to be seen. It would almost have been nicer to see him do so in a blaze of glory after defeating, say, Cub Swanson over two years ago.

It was a good night of fights, but definitely not easy to watch… but I guess that’s how it goes when you get emotionally invested in the sport.

Shields trains alongside Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz, UFC fighter Nate Diaz, BJJ brown belt fighter Dan Marks, and other strong fighters in the camp.

“We’ve been training together for so many years that it feels really good for all of us to have the belts (Shields, Diaz and Melendez),” Shields recently told MMA HQ during an interview.  “We train with some of the other fighters around the Bay Area and people drop in from time to time.  So we’re always mixing it up.”

Fighters such as Melendez also receive support from the Scrap Pack, while Shields and other members of the team occasionally cross train with the strong American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) camp.

Shields faces his biggest challenge in his first Strikeforce middleweight defense, when he fights former UFC and PRIDE superstar Dan Henderson.

“I always train hard and always treat all of my opponents like they’re the best and in this case, Henderson is one of the top fighters in the world.  I’ll make a few small changes based on Henderson’s style.  Mainly I’m working with some bigger guys.”

Shields recently wrapped up filming the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, serving as one of Chuck Liddell’s assistant coaches.

“The Liddell coaching team worked really well with each other, so I had a lot of fun and was able to get in some good training.  It was a good place to start getting ready for this fight..  Chuck is training for a fight and I got to train with the other coaches, like Olympic gold medal boxer Howard Davis Jr., John Hackleman and Scott Epstein — and guys on the show were big, hard working fighters.

“Vegas is a good place to find training partners.  At night I trained several times with Robert Drysdale and Forrest Griffin.”

After his contract with Strikeforce expires, many MMA fans would rather see Shields jump to the UFC’s deep welterweight division – but the BJJ black belt and American Jiu Jitsu fighter remains focused on Henderson only.

“I just focus on whatever is my next fight, so I’m training hard right now.  At the moment Strikeforce is treating me good, so we’ll just have to see what happens.”

Regardless of Shields possibly joining the UFC to one day challenge Georges St. Pierre and other top welterweights, he must first deal with Henderson.  The championship fight will headline Strikeforce: Nashville on Saturday, April 17.

Shields wanted to thank the fans and his sponsors: Tapout, Tapout Sports Nutrition, and Rockstar.  He also urged fans to visit his official Web site and his official Twitter account.

The mixed martial arts faithful have challenged these accusations and insults for years, but the stigma around the sport is still alive. The national television deals that Elite XC and Strikeforce signed and the UFC’s video game deal prove that the sport has began to reach the mainstream audience however there is still a long way to go.

There is still a common misconception among members of society that mixed martial artists are trying to “kill” or “mame” eachother inside of a cage and this is something that the sport has tried to get away from throughout the years.

Over the past two weeks however, unintelligent comments by a few high level UFC fighters have done little to help the sport escape the poor image so many people have.

In an interview with Mark Madden on WXDX Frank Mir Stated “I hate who he is as a person. I want to break his neck in the ring. I want him to be the first person that dies due to Octagon-related injuries. That’s what’s going through my mind.”

Only a few days later, Marcus Davis states that he hopes Dan Hardy “dies of aids.” These are not the first death wishes that have came up in the UFC and likely will not be the last. Before their UFC 94 bout, B.J Penn stated during the primetime series that he wanted to kill Georges St. Pierre.

To be fair both fighters did apologize for their comments afterwards however this does not excuse the fact that it was said in public. Idiotic comments such as these do not only hurt the reputations of the fighters who say them, but it looks bad on the sport as well.

I completely understand that trash talking is part of the fight game. Like in professional wrestling, building up a fight is important because the sports success is so dependant on pay-per-view buys. Fights such as Ortiz vs. Liddell and Penn vs. St. Pierre are among the best sellers because of the animosity built up between the fighters.

When we look at other sports, idiotic remarks resulted in punishment either through suspension of severe fine. National Hockey League player Sean Avery was suspended six games in late 2008 because of a comment about other players falling in love with his “sloppy seconds.” Last year when Serena Williams threatened to shove a tennis ball down a judge’s throat she was fined $82,500 and another comment would have raised this to nearly $200,000.

Perhaps the most serious situation was with MLB pitcher John Rocker in 2000. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, he said he would not play for either of the New York teams because he would not want to take a train “through Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids.” For these inexcusable comments, Rocker was suspended for the entire spring training and the first 14 games of the regular season.

Obviously there are many differences between mixed martial arts and any other professional sport. Not only does it take a completely different mindset to fight, but the amount of times a fighter competes per year in comparison with other sports is much less.

Perhaps suspensions are not an option due to fighters only getting paid for when they fight. When a football or hockey player gets injured or suspended during the season, they often still recieve compensation due to their contracts. Fighters are paid on a fight by fight basis. Simply put, if you are not fighting, you are not making money.

This is not acceptable behavior by world class athletes and perhaps its time that Dana White put his foot down. These fighters who come out and make public death threats or wishes need to be reprimanded for their actions or such activity will continue to happen and make the sport look bad. White needs to do something to curve this activity and set an example that death threats should be left out of the sport.

The added pressure of fighting in front of a home town crowd can make some fighters cracked due to the higher scrutiny, but Denver local Eliot Marshall doesn’t expect to  have any problems.

“I love fighting here in Denver.  We are lucky enough to have big promotions like Ring Of Fire here and they can draw 5-6 thousand people sometimes,” Marshall told MMA HQ during an interview.  “I would say a lot of my family and friends won’t get the chance to come to the event because of the ticket demand.  In the end it is just another fight, I have a tough opponent that deserves my respect and attention and I have been training like that is the case.”

Marshall, The Ultimate Fighter 8 participant, understands  his upcoming fight with Vladimir Matyushenko will be an extremely tough matchup.

“I know he has a good grappling base and is very durable.  I am looking to make a statement with this fight and show the UFC and the fans that I am worthy of their support.  (Matyushenko) likely sees this as a huge opportunity for him to leap into the lime light of the UFC, but I have my own plans.”

The Colorado native has gone 3 – 0 since TUF 8, picking up decision victories against Jason Brilz and Vinny Magalhaes along with a submission victory over Jules Bruchez.  Prior to TUF 8 – where he won one fight and lost two – he also lost to Rob MacDonald via  TKO at Rumble on the Rock in 2007.

Marshall looks forward to the Matyushenko fight – and what a win could do for his budding career.  His weight cut has been easy so far, and doesn’t expect to have any trouble making the 205-lb. limit in a couple of weeks.

“The fans and the UFC want exciting fights and in the division with a lot of talent (like the light heavyweight div.) you really have to be a stand out or win the reality show.  I want to be that fighter that everyone wants to see fight.  I have dedicated my life to this sport and I still have a long ways to go to get to the top.”

Matyushenko will look to rely on his in-cage experience to help avoid Marshall’s game plan, though Marshall believes working out with very experienced partners will greatly help.

“I’m in the cage with veterans every day, and I really cannot see him ‘overwhelming me’ with experience.  I am comfortable wherever the fight goes and I will be ready for this fight.”

To help improve his wrestling and grappling, Marshall has continued “training at UNC with Leister Bowling (coach) and guys like Shane Carwin, Nate Marquardt, Rashad Evans, Jon Jones, and many other great wrestlers.  He has wrestling and I have my BJJ — at Grudge we train all aspects of MMA.”

Marshall wanted to thank the fans and his coaches/teammates: Amal Easton, Trevor Wittman, Leister Bowling and my teammates.  Without the coaches and my team absolutely none of this would be possible.  he’d also like to thank the following sponsors:  Performancemma.com,  Blowoutcards.com, Adaptx Labs, TCB Fightwear, and MTX Audio.

A former worker hell-bent on psychoanalyzing me once determined that my love of combat sports and stark indifference towards team sports has to do with my short attention span. This is evidenced by my preference of basketball over football, football over baseball, MMA over boxing, etc. I do love the fast-paced action in MMA. But sometimes I think the fan’s need to be entertained is a bit much.

If I decided to train for MMA (a scenario which is ridiculously unlikely), I would be training to win. I’d work on my boxing, kickboxing, grappling, wrestling. I’d get with my coaches, look at my opponent and come up with a good game plan–to win. And since MMA is pretty unpredictable, I’d be very aware that things may not go as planned. Even with all the training in the world.

Obviously, I have no evidence with which to back up my armchair speculation. But bear with me for a second. In all areas in which I’ve faced competition, I’ve tried my best to overcome my weaknesses and leverage my strengths. This is the same strategy many MMA fighters follow. It just makes sense. But it also elicits a lot of boos from the fans at times, because they too have short attention spans and want to be entertained.

MMA *is* entertainment, and obviously if fans don’t enjoy watching it, they won’t. It’s not like team sports which are on TV for free, and where viewing is dependent on who’s winning and how this plays into an ongoing season. But I wonder what would happen to the sport if fighters only tried to be entertainers.

Although MMA viewers have become far more educated in the sport, casual fans (especially drunk ones) seem to get upset whenever there isn’t constant action. Anything other than a five-second knock-out is too slow. And any time the fight hits the ground, many refs are constantly asking fighters to work even when they are working–trying to gain a dominant position or sink in a submission. Unfortunately, when someone is trying to take your head off and you’re trying to take their head off, efforts are often neutralized. To the untrained eye, this might look like stalling even when it’s not.

I’m not saying that fighters shouldn’t train hard to be explosive, to finish fights. I definitely love watching a quick knockout or submission victory. And I enjoy fast-paced, exciting fights as much as anyone. But even with my short attention span, I recognize that fighters need to be smart about their strategy and leverage their strengths, and that this isn’t always the most thrilling thing to watch. I also know that even the most exciting game plan cannot always be excecuted when attempted against an opponent with a game plan of their own. “Boring” fights notwithstanding, MMA is probably the most exciting, fast-paced sport in the world. And I’m not asking that people stop revelling in the quick wins and action-packed bouts. I just wish that people would recognize that fighters are putting hours and hours of training on the line for what basically amounts to unscripted drama, and they are going for victory. That sometimes this might not go the way that they’d envisioned. That sometimes a choice needs to be made between being flashy and being effective. And I, for one, am okay with the latter.

That brings us to his appearance on sports soup. (below)

At this point I figured the Toney situation was over, he already got an offer and rejected it, so I thought he wanted a number in the millions or something. Apparantly I was wrong, Toney signed a multi-fight contract with the UFC today. Toney is 41 years old, with a boxing record of 72-6-3 and has held many championship titles ranging from Middleweight to Heavyweight. He’s rumored to be training with Rampage’s former trainer Juanito Ibarra and he will likely be competing in the Heavyweight division.

His opponent has not been announced yet, probably not even chosen, but I have a feeling we will be seeing Toney square off with his fellow freak show fighter Kimbo Slice. So what do you guys think? Who will be his opponent? Is this pure freakshow? or does Toney have a shot?

We all know power is the last thing to go and Toney has plenty of that.

UPDATE

Dana White had this to say about the signing:

We threw the kitchen sink at Brock when he came in.  Are we going to do that same thing with James? I don’t know. To be 100 percent honest with you, all [expletive] aside, I haven’t thought it out.  I like James Toney. He’s one of the greatest boxers ever. I have tremendous respect for him. He said he wanted to fight in the UFC and I was interested. Now he’s here and I have to figure out what to do with him. What we won’t do is make a freak show out of it. I’d be the first to scream if someone else did that, so I’m not going to do it.

James is an interesting case. We know how much talent he has as a boxer and he insists he’ll surprise people by how much MMA he knows. I’ve still got some thinking to do. But if we promote him and he does well and that raises his profile and he gets a Klitschko fight and makes a lot of money for himself and Goossen, I’d be cool with that. But James came to me and he literally chased me around the country to do it, so I’m giving him the chance. We’ll get it figured out one way or another.

Toney added his two cents as usual:

Don’t make wise cracks about my weight, because I’ve been working hard and the next time you see me, you’ll be shocked. Dana put his foot in his mouth and said UFC guys are better fighters than boxers. We’ll see. Everyone who knows anything about fighting knows I’m the purest fighter in the game. There ain’t no secrets. I’ve been fighting a long time. I was born fighting. I know what I’m doing. Boxing is still my main focus, but them guys are a bunch of (expletives) and they don’t want to fight. So I called Dana after he put his foot in his mouth and I’m going to prove he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem will finally return to the promotion after a two and a half year absence on the May 15th card. The logical decision would pit mixed martial art’s greatest heavyweight in Emelianenko against the heavyweight champion in a long awaited matchup. Instead, the man whom Emelianenko defeated in his Strikeforce debut, Brett Rogers, will get the first crack at Overeem while Fabricio Werdum takes on the Last Emporer.

With Fedor’s resume, a tune up fight should not have been necessary to receive a title shot, let alone two of them. Since the early 2000’s, Emelianenko has been the top ranked heavyweight destroying all of the competition the PRIDE organization could put in front of him on his way to a near 10 year undefeated streak. This would be the equivalent of Michael Jordan being traded from the Bulls in the mid-nineties and having to have multiple tryouts before getting to play for the major league team. It simply wouldn’t happen.

As if this is not enough, Strikeforce has announced yet a third heavyweight bout for the May 15th card between Andrei Arlovski and Antonio Silva. Three heavyweight matches on the same main card is unheard of in non-tournament events in the modern mixed martial arts era. Most cards try to feature a mix of everything to keep fans of all sorts entertained. Instead, Strikeforce has loaded their May offering with one aspect of what it takes to have a well rounded card, and in doing this will only endear themselves to a portion of the mixed martial arts audience.

On the other hand, the April CBS card that Strikeforce has put together features three title fights that are all five round encounters. Shinya Aoki will make his North American debut against Gilbert Melendez, Gegary Mousasi will face off against wrestling phenom Mo Lawal, and in the main event Jake Shields will defend his middleweight title against veteran Dan Henderson.

As a fan of the sport, there is no need to complain about a card with that many competitive title defenses. However, from a business standpoint, it makes little sense. Not only are you leaving your May card with a nearly complete heavyweight main card, but you also will have little to offer on their summer outings.

Would it not make more sense to put one of the heavyweight fights on the April card in exchange for one of the title fights on the May card? In putting three championships on the line in April and having the heavyweight champion compete on the May card, Strikeforce has left itself with few options for the summer months. Those who compete on the April card will likely be out of action until at least August and those competing on the May card will be inactive even longer. So what does this leave Strikeforce with for June and July?

Last year’s UFC numbers show that the summer months are often the most popular for pay per view purchases as UFC 100 and UFC 101 were the two most purchased cards of the year. Obviously the stacked cards had a lot to do with these numbers, but it does show that fans still tune in during this season.

With four of the champions being used in April and May, it is likely that Santos’s Featherweight Championship and Diaz’s Welterweight Championship will be defended at some point throughout the summer. Erin Toughhill appears to be on tap for Santos and as for Diaz it appears he could be defending against either Hayato “Mach” Sakurai or Jay Heiron. Neither of these champions is able to sell a card on their own especially with these two divisions being so uncompetitive as of late. Even if Strikeforce is able to bring in a few names from the DREAM promotion in Japan, most of their talent is rather unknown in North America and will not significantly contribute to pay per view buys.

Strikeforce has put all of their eggs in one basket this spring. Instead of leveling the cards out, they are loading up and leaving themselves dry of competitive fights for the summer months. The promotion is working with few big stars as it is and will have none of them available for June and July. What can Strikeforce do to stay competitive with the UFC over these months? Only time will tell.