Gals Guide To MMA

Top 5 Potential Replacements for Vitor Belfort Against Wanderlei Silva

2012-05-27T13:25:42Z

In case you missed the bad news - I did, I went off to sleep and just found out about it now - Vitor Belfort broke his hand, and got surgery. His bout with Wanderlei Silva at UFC 147 is clearly off. This is good news... for Wanderlei Silva. He almost certainly doesn't get blasted into unconsciousness again, although that depends on who his next opponent is. In this, I count down five people currently under the Zuffa umbrella of fighters who aren't already booked in a bout for June or July.

5. Glover Teixeira - This would have to be a catchweight/Franklinweight bout, which is why it's down at #5. Brazilian fans probably already know who he is, having fought there six times since 2010, and it gives Tex a big name to further introduce him to the casual fans. Not sure if the want to feed Wandy to a young lion, though.

4. Yushin Okami - Yushin already has a bit of a name in Brazil thanks to the Anderson Silva match, and while not too many of his matches are all that exciting, there's a distinct chance that this could. End in a win for Wanderlei that is. He's been TKO'd twice in a row now, and while he's got a strong wrestling base, every single person has managed to get out from under him as well. If Wandy can push the pace, he's got a legit shot at knocking off a top10 guy in one of the last matches of his career.

3. Josh Koscheck - The infamous Fraggle Rock has hinted and mentioned a few times that he'd move up to 185, and he's a big enough name where the UFC wouldn't mind him being in a main event. The bad-guy personality would work as well, seeing how the card is in Brazil and Wandy's the hometown hero.

2. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza - Dana White, Joe Silva and company would LOVE to get another Brazilian to replace Vitor, and this is the perfect opportunity to get Souza out of Strikeforce where he's fighting the Joe Villasenor's and Bristol Marunde's of the world and get him back into the spotlight.

1. B.J. Penn - BJ's wanted to fight Wandy since PRIDE, and I mean, let's face it... Wanderlei isn't making a title run anytime soon. Go wild here with the rest of his career. Baby Jay would pull in the most eyes and ears of anyone available. I know Dana has that gripe about carnival-style bookings, but for crimminy's sake, is this really any worse than James Toney vs Randy Couture?

MAKE SOME MAGIC, DANA!

Poll

Who should Wanderlei Silva's next opponent be?

Maybe you missed the fight, here's a summary

2012-05-27T04:14:26Z

Maybe you missed the fight, here's a summary

UFC 146: Open Post

2012-05-27T00:07:47Z

Another night of fights is here, and this one is a heavyweight doozy. You know we have a stacked card when Jacob Volkmann is fighting on Facebook and Dan Hardy vs. Duane Ludwig is stuck on FX. Pair that with the return of Cain Velasquez and a title fight between Junior Dos Santos and Frank Mir, and we have quite a night to look forward to. Join us, won't you?

Fight Card

Junior Dos Santos vs. Frank Mir - Dos Santos, R2 via TKO
Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva - Velasquez, R1 via TKO
Roy Nelson vs. Dave Herman - Nelson, R1 via TKO
Stipe Miocic vs. Shane Del Rosario - Miocic, R2 via TKO
Stefan Struve vs. Lavar Johnson - Struve, R1 via submission
Diego Brandao vs. Darren Elkins - Elkins, R3 via decision
Edson Barboza vs. Jamie Varner - Varner, R1 via TKO (I can't believe I just typed that)
Jason Miller vs. C.B. Dollaway - Dollaway, R3 via decision
Dan Hardy vs. Duane Ludwig - Hardy, R1 via KO
Jacob Volkmann vs. Paul Sass - Sass, R1 via submission
Kyle Kingsbury vs. Glover Teixeira - Teixeira, R1 via submission
Mike Brown vs. Daniel Pineda - Mike Brown, R3 via decision

The Recap So Far: Friday Night (and Saturday Afternoon) Fights

2012-05-26T22:22:00Z

At the halfway point of a stacked weekend full of combat sports, there's a lot to mull over, so I'll go light on the commentary and bring (mostly) just the facts, ma'am. I'll hide all the results til after the jump, so you don't get shocked if you DVR'd one of these. Do note that I am talking about a couple of results here on the front page, so skip this if you don't want your rewind spoiled.

Bellator 70 concluded it's season in New Orleans, LA last night with a card of nearly all finishes. Cole Konrad is clearly the best heavyweight in the promotion and it's a joke how easy it's becoming for him to rack up victories. 35-year old former Olympic Judoka Rick Hawn took the lightweight tourney in a close but solid victory and Luis Noguiera (Tiny Nog?) outclassed Nakamura to set up the Bantamweight final against Marcos Galvao.

The finalists for this season of The Ultimate Fighter are set and it's Urijah Faber's first round pick Al Iaquinta squaring off against teammate Michael Chiesa, Faber's 5th round pick. Next weekend, they'll co-main event on the finale in Las Vegas alongside Martin Kampmann vs. Jake Ellenberger.

Titan Fighting Championship 22 also went down on Friday and the main attraction was rising burgerweight star Anthony "Apple Crumble" Johnson taking on the undersized grappler David Branch. Cheap shots aside, Johnson missed weight YET AGAIN, failing to even come in at 185, forcing a catchweight bout with Branch. Branch fought a very tentative fight, as he was clearly concerned (possibly even afraid) of the striking power of Johnson, but even when it went to the ground, Branch did very little. He didn't look for many sweeps or subs from the bottom, instead keeping mostly a closed guard and tying up on the few occasions it went south. Really a terrible fight. Don't bother wasting your time finding it online.

Finally, in kickboxing action, Glory World Series kicked off the Final 16 of their own 70kg tourney to rival K-1's. The event just ended a couple hours ago, so all of my chitter-chatter about this will go under the cut, since I don't want to spoiler anything. The card also had a couple of MMA bouts, but the real names here were Giorgio Petrosyan, and the heavyweights: Gokhan Saki, Errol Zimmerman and Semmy Schilt.

Middling commentary about the GWS and all the rest of the results under the cut

Saki KO'd the overmatched journeyman Carter Williams while Semmy dominated a surprisingly overmatched Zimm. I say surprisingly because while obviously Errol isn't some dominant force in the sport, he was on an 8-fight win streak that included Jerome Le Banner and Stefan Leko among others. Zimm just had nothing for Semmy however. He was getting absolutely rocked by that telephone pole of a jab and aside from a brief spurt in the second round, had almost no offense.

Bellator 70
Heavyweight Champion Cole Konrad def. Eric Prindle by 1st round Kimura (1:00)
Lightweight Tourney Final: Rick Hawn def. Brent Weedman by unanimous decision
Bantamweight Semifinal: Luis Nogueira def. Hiroshi Nakamura by 3rd round TKO (1:58)
Rich Clementi def. Derek Campos by 1st round guillotine (4:18)
Kelvin Tiller def. Jeremiah Riggs by 3rd round Kimura (3:38)
A.J. Matthews def. Charlie Rader by 2nd round KO (3:34)
Derek Arcement def. Blake Dufour by unanimous decision
Jonas Billstein def. Mike Seal by 1st round rear naked choke (2:55)

The Ultimate Fighter
Michael Chiesa def. James Vick by 2nd round TKO (1:55)
Al Iaquinta def. Vince Pichel by unanimous decision

Titan Fighting Championship 22
Anthony Johnson def. Dave Branch by unanimous decision
L.C. Davis def. Bill Kamery by 2nd round TKO (2:59)
Andrew Whitney def. Jose Vega by 1st round KO (2:55)
Fabio Mello def. Angelo Duarte by 1st round submission (arm triangle) (4:34)
Rudy Bears def. Nick Nolte by 1st round submission (punches) (3:57)
Mirsad Bektic def. Willie Mack by 2nd round TKO (0:27)

Glory World Series Final 16 Note that I was unable to find the recorded stoppage times. I sent off a tweet to Glory to see if they could point me to some place that included these, and hopefully I can update the post to be more accurate.

MMA: Jason Jones def. Dritan Bartamaj by 1st round submission (armbar)
MMA: Ilir Latifi def. Tony Lopez by unanimous decision

Shemsi Beqiri def. Yoshihiro Sato by split decision
Tim Thomas def. Dennis Schneidmiller by unanimous decision
Robin van Roosmalen def. Dzhabar Askerov by unanimous decision
David Kyria def. Kem Sitsongpeenong by unanimous decision
Ky Hollenbeck def. Michael Corley by 1st round TKO (Ref Stoppage)
Sanny Dahlbeck def. Warren Stevelmans by unanimous decision
Albert Kraus def. Mohammed El Mir by unanimous decision
Giorgio Petrosyan def. Fabio Pinca by unanimous decision
Nieky Holzken def. Alex Harris by TKO (3 Knockdowns/Liver shots)
Gokhan Saki def. Carter Williams by KO (Left Hook)
Semmy Schilt def. Errol Zimmerman by TKO (Corner Threw In Towel) before Round 3

Look Out For Falling Genius: The Gals' UFC 146 Predictions

2012-05-25T20:00:57Z

Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas! We are back in sin city once again for a big UFC event. I mean big, literally. It's huge and full of heavyweights. That means either fabulous finishes or some potential really tired dudes waiting out a decision. In any case, drink up and it will be fabulous! It seems that the Facebook prelims for UFC 146 will be starting at 6:45 PM ET/3:45 PM PT on Saturday, followed by the prelims on FX at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT, and then the big pay-per-view show at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT. Be sure to check it out. Now, let's get to the picks!

Main Card (PPV)

Junior dos Santos vs. Frank Mir (Heavyweight Championship Fight)

Beth: Oh man. What to do here? Call me a hopeless optimist but I'd like to think that Frank Mir has a chance here. It would sure be fun to see him on top even if it's just for a little while. I'm doing it! Mir by Submission.

Kat: I like Frank Mir but I adore Junior Dos Santos. In addition to adoring the adorable Junior Dos Santos, I also think he's a beast and that he will strike Mir down before Mir has a chance to do much damage. Junior Do Santos by KO.

Cory: Let's pretend we know nothing about either fighter and had to look up from scratch how they've managed to win and lose fights. Frank has beaten the following people by TKO: Wes Sims (not a very good fighter), Antonio Noguiera (had a staph infection at the time, not bad, though) and Mirko Filipovic (way, WAY past his prime). Not a fantastic list; there's a couple nice names, but they have large asterisks that should be noted. Frank has also beat the following people by submission: Noguiera, Cheick Kongo, Brock Lesnar, Antoni Hardonk, Tim Sylvia, Tank Abbott, Pete Williams, Roberto Travern and Dan Quinn (yes that Dan Quinn). That's a much better list. Lesnar was green and Pete was on the end of his career, but Timmay was in his prime, and Nog has been widely regarded as one of the best HW BJJ practitioners ever.

On the other side of the ledger: Frank loses only one way: getting punched in the face. Now there's no shame in losing when Brock Lesnar or Shane Carwin punch you in the face, but he's also lost to such heavyweight *ahem* luminaries like Marcio Cruz, Brandon Vera and Ian Freeman. The Cruz fight gets one of those asterisks, as he was coming back from the accident, but that isn't an inspiring list. Add to the fact that Nog made him stanky-legged with a jab and the questions about his chin are more like dissertations. It's bad.

Let's drop the facade. JDS has a ton of knockout wins and hits very, very hard. His one loss is to submission early on in his career, but he also managed to avoid the takedowns of Carwin and annihilated Werdum before he could even try (spoiler warning: he blasted both of them). JDS wins this 49 times out of 50. Junior by Mir doing an in-ring planking.

Jackie: I'd really like to pretend that there is a chance that JDS will be careless enough to let Mir take him down, which would end badly for Junior. But I just can't kid myself. So, Dana, Joe Silva, when Frank loses this fight, go ahead and schedule Mir/Barnett and make me a happy girl! JDS by KO/TKO

Rachel: Dos Santos is relatively untested on the ground. As much as I love Mir's grappling, I doubt that Mir will be able to take the fight to the ground or hold Dos Santos there. On top of that Junior is arguably one of the best heavyweight strikers in the world and FRANKly (see what I did there ;) ) Mir's chin isn't made of iron. JDS via Decision.

Keren: Junior's striking is miles ahead of Mir's, but I'm sure Mir's grappling is miles ahead of Junior's, however, I doubt Mir will be able to get JDS down and if he attempts to come in close he'll get KO'd. JDS by TKO/KO.

Knitty: I'm with Jackie 110%. I don't think JDS will let himself get into an awkward position on the ground, and he'll be able to find a way to win this fight, and then when can get our Mir/Barnett on. JDS by decision.

More picks and genius after the jump!

Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva

Beth: Oh man, I can't wait for this fight. I'd so much rather see this one than the original Velasquez vs. Mir. It's nice to see Silva fighting with the UFC. It's not so nice that I think Cain is going to have his way with him in a very uncomfortable place (the back of a Volkswagen). Velasquez via TKO.

Kat: Cain Velasquez is good and I think he'll have his groove back for this one. And, knockouts are fun, right? Velasquez by KO

Cory: Cain is one of the more athletic heavyweights out there. His training partner, Daniel Cormier danced circles around the mostly plodding Silva in their match and dangadadanged him up something fierce. Cain, late TKO

Jackie: Bigfoot is just not in the same league as Cain. The length of this fight depends solely on how long Velasquez wants to drag it out. Velasquez by KO

Rachel: Bigfoot is bringing a knife to a gun fight. Bigfoot won't be able to use his reach against Cain like he did to Fedor. He has a lot of physical potential but he just isn't a top heavyweight. Cain via TKO.

Keren: This fight reminds me of Cormier v. Silva and we all remember that, right? Velasquez by TKO/KO.

Knitty: Silva is just not ready to fight a fighter like Velasquez. Velasquez is near the top of the heavyweight rankings, and Silva is just... humongous. Velasquez by TKO.

Dave Herman vs. Roy Nelson

Kat: Is it true that Dave Herman was doing Jell-O shots and upside down margaritas at a frat party a few weeks ago? It may not be true but I'm not taking any chances. Roy Nelson by Decision

Beth: Have you guys seen Roy Nelson lately? He appears to be going through some kind of life-changing, inner peace finding, listening to gurus phase in his life. I'm not messing with that. Nelson via Decision.

Cory: I like both of these dudes. They're firmly in that eccentric/quirky model of life and have done a good job with their own talents. That said they're both a bit on the "never fully lived up to their talents" side of the ledger as well. Dave Herman is the mid-level fighter that Roy Nelson has feasted on (hurrrrrrrrrr) for years. Nelson, Decision

Jackie: Well, we know that Herman isn't going to KO Nelson. But while he tries, Nelson will be beating him to a pulp. Nelson by UD

Rachel: I am sensing an underdog victory. I can see Big Country not being able to find his range and losing the decision. Fingers crossed on sunday we will have some fabulous slow motion shots of Roy's moobies.

Keren: Nelson's striking and grappling are superior than Herman's. This fight will probably stay standing and of the two, Nelson's chin has faired better. Nelson by Decision.

Knitty: I've looked at the fight possibilities, and at pictures of both fighters, and I really hope Roy does something wacky with his hair this weekend. Nelson by decision.

Stipe Miocic vs. Shane del Rosario

Kat: This is a toughie but I think Shane del Rosario can pull it off. Del Rosario by KO

Cory: Not sure what to make of this nice little battle of heavyweight prospects here. I'm leaning towards Stipe because Shane has been out of action for so long. Miocic, TKO.

Beth: I'm going with what Cory said! Miocic via TKO.

Jackie: I hate to pick against a guy in his first fight after an injury, but that's not going to stop me from saying Miocic by KO

Keren: It looks like I'm going against the grain, Shane del Rosario by TKO.

Knitty: I'm with the grain here, Miocic by TKO.

Lavar Johnson vs. Stefan Struve

Kat: This is another tough one to pick. I was tempted to pick Lavar Johnson via some sort of knock out thinger but I'm thinking Struve can get Johnson down and handle him all over the place on the ground. Struve by Submission

Beth: I'm a porter on the Struve train and I'm riding this baby all the way to victory! Struve via submission.

Cory: Things to weigh here: Lavar Johnson has no ground game, and Stefan Struve has a very good one. Lavar Johnson hits very hard and Stefan Struve has a fragile chin. This is literally a matchup of glass cannons here. The question is which person will explode the other's horrific defense first? I'll say Lavar gets it because I've picked against him twice in a row now and lost both. Johnson, TKO

Jackie: All things considered, I'm betting that Struve gets this fight to the ground early and ends the fight quick. Johnson doesn't have a chance. Struve by submission

Keren: I'm a bit torn on this one but I'll go with Struve because I think fighting back to back fights in three weeks (especially against heavyweights) is too much for Johnson. Plus, Struve's reach and submission game might also prove too much for Johnson. Struve by Submission.

Knitty: I think this fight is going to be a LOT of fun. I doubted Johnson last time, and I think he'll be able to reach Struve and knock him out, if he can toss aside a limb or two. Johnson by KO.

Prelims (FX)

Diego Brandao vs. Darren Elkins

Kat: Brandao seems like a crazy dude and I like to pick them. Brandao by Decision

Jackie: I'm going to have to pick Elkins here, just because I've not seen much of what Brandao is capable of. But Elkins made Omigawa look like a scrub (sorry Michi!!), and has earned my grudging respect thereby. Elkins by UD

Cory: I've been waffling on this pick a lot. Brandao had a fantabulously slick armbar on Dennis Bermudez at the TUF finale, but he was also getting pounded on before that happened. I think that Elkins manages to stave off the submission attempts and grind Diego down. Elkins - Decision

Jamie Varner vs. Edson Barboza

Kat: Jamie Varner may be in over his head here. I have to go with Barboza by Decision

Jackie: I just can't imagine Varner winning this fight. I mean, why is he even back? Beating someone like Fickett into submission is hardly proof that he belongs back in the UFC. But anyway, I am still firmly perched on the Barboza bandwagon and expect him to continue his streak here. Barboza by submission

Cory: I don't know what Jamie Varner did to upset Joe Silva, but quite frankly, I rather like it. Edson probably takes this however the hell he wants, but I'll go with Barboza - Submission

Knitty: If anyone else wants to board the Barboza bandwagon, you're getting on after me. I don't really see how Varner can win this fight, and it's just too much for him. Barboza by decision.

C.B. Dollaway vs. Jason Miller

Kat: I don't know what was up with Jason Miller against Bisping but C.B. Dolloway is no Michael Bisping so I think Miller wins this. Miller by Submission

Jackie: Even after such a lackluster performance in his last fight, I'm picking Miller here. Mostly because I can't stand Dollaway, but also because Dollaway just doesn't have the experience or talent that Miller does. Miller by TKO

Cory: Jason Miller is not as bad as he looked against Michael Bisping. He's not a world beater, but he's by no means a bum. Dollaway, however, is a shade closer to the latter than he is the former. Miller - Submission

Knitty: Mayhem, do not break my heart again. I may have expected way too much from you against Bisping (but frankly, I think if Bisping wasn't knocked out, no one would care...) but I think he can totally beat Dollaway. Miller by decision.

Duane Ludwig vs. Dan Hardy

Kat: Another tough one! I think this could be an excellent fight to watch (which may keep Dan Hardy in the UFC for one more fight) but I think Duane Ludiwg gets the win here. Ludwig by Decision

Cory: Coin flip to me. Hardy isn't terrible, but he's not very good either. Ludwig is about as hit or miss of a fighter as it gets. I'll go with Hardy - career saving TKO

Knitty: Oh look Dan Hardy is fighting. Can he still corner Roy? He's coming off four straight losses, and I don't think he can beat Ludwig. Ludwig by decision.

Prelims (Facebook)

Glover Teixeira vs. Kyle Kingsbury

Kat: Meh. Glover Teixeira by KO

Cory: I think that Kyle Kingsbury is the type of fighter that will drag Glover Tex into deep waters and eventually wear him out. Kingsbury - late TKO

Paul Sass vs. Jacob Volkmann

Kat: I already fell asleep just thinking about this one. I'm OK with Volkmann winning as long as he doesn't make any jokes. Volkmann by Decision

Cory: Bathroom break! Let me know when 15 minutes have passed and Christmas picks up another decision win. Volkmann - Decision

Mike Thomas Brown vs. Daniel Pineda

Kat: I went back and forth on this one and finally settled with Pineda by Decision

Cory: I can see avenues to win for both fighters. MTB hits pretty hard, but Pineda has never been knocked out, so that's a bit less likely than Brown wrestling and out-landing the mostly submission based attacks of Pineda. Daniel, obviously, can latch onto a limb at any point. I think that Brown has shored up his defense enough to the point where he won't be submitted and will grind it out. Brown - Decision

K-1 Rising 2012 Preview: Catch K-1's Return to Action Sunday May 27th

2012-05-25T19:00:24Z

This weekend (Sunday, May 27th), K-1 will hold its first full event since September 25th of last year when K-1 Rising 2012 goes down in Madrid Spain. It's been a very rough road for the promotion since the old owners, FEG, suffered from severe financial difficulty that led them into bankruptcy. The new K-1 is owned by EMCOM Entertainment under the name "K-1 Global Holdings Ltd." based out of Hong Kong.

On this card will be the K-1 World MAX 2012 World Championship Tournament Final 16 in the 70kg division (154 pounds for those of us using REAL measurement systems) as well as five heavyweight bouts. There's a lot to look forward to here, so without further ado, here's a gander at a few things to look for:

Mirko Filipovic is fighting. This is probably the biggest draw for the MMA fan amongst us and he's got an entirely winnable matchup vs Loren Javier Jorge. Jorge is a veteran of the sport fighting out of the Netherlands by way of Tacoronte, Spain. He's a fairly durable fellow, but not a dynamic striker by any means. This is a well-booked match that the promoters are clearly hoping is a showcase for Cro Cop.

The rematch between Iron Mike Zambidis and Chahid Oulad el Hadj could be badonkas. If you haven't seen their first fight, I'm telling you to stop reading now and check it out from under the cut. Veteran announcer Mike "The Voice" Schiavello lost his shit in so many ways that it's almost comical - if we weren't watching two men do their damnedest to knock each others jaws into different zip codes.

Famous kickboxing faces Badr Hari and Daniel Ghita are also the recipients of somewhat favorable bookings and stand a very good chance of looking fabulous at the end of the night, collecting an enormous souvenir check, trophy and a peck on the cheek from some hot Asian women.

Back to the tournament side, the favorites here are easily Andy Souwer and Artur Kyshenko. Souwer is definitely in the "grizzled veteran" stage of his career, despite being only 29. Wikipedia credits him with 154 total fights, and while that's probably not wholly accurate, it's close enough to the point where the mileage has started to show a bit. That said, he hasn't been knocked out in close to six years and he's an incredibly accomplished kickboxer who's won this tournament before.

Kyshenko is a younger and more... explosive than Souwer is at this stage. The 25-year old Ukranian also holds a win over Souwer just eight months ago. There aren't any gimme's in this sport, but these are the two obvious choices to win the tourney.

After the jump, info on where to watch this online (legally!) as well as the aforementioned Zambidis/el Hadj contest.

The show will be available on K-1's UStream channel (K1GlobalTV) ~~at a price of $19.99.~~ [UPDATE]: It's free, but it won't be in HD and there's a good chance it will be choppy. It's a little confusing exactly when it's starting as there are two times listed. at 12:15 EDT (Eastern USA), the channel starts, so most of us are under the assumption that there will be some prelim action. The opening ceremonies beginning at 2:00 p.m. EDT, so if you're still recovering from the post-UFC/Saturday night hangover, you won't miss too much if you wait until then.

All the heavyweights that will be fighting at UFC 146. That's big right there. Via UFC Facebook...

2012-05-25T18:58:39Z

All the heavyweights that will be fighting at UFC 146. That's big right there.

Via UFC Facebook Page.

A Paean to the Korean Zombie, Chan Sung Jung: My New Favorite Fighter

2012-05-25T12:00:17Z

First of all, hi. I'm the new face in town and happy to be here - let's rock n' roll.

I'm the type of person who cares more about the sport of MMA in general rather than players. Aside from some local dudes who I feel obligated to support, there aren't too many fighters that I will cheer for over others. I just want to see good fights. Good fights make me happy. UFC Championship fights get me amped up more than your average fight, simply because I know that I'm watching two of the very best athletes in the world compete in their discipline. Occasionally however, there's a fight or fighter that really sizzles my bacon.

As you have clearly figured out by the title of this piece, Chan Sung Jung has ascended that pinnacle of my own personal fandom to take his place as my favorite fighter. I hope he's done the same to you, because quite frankly I think he's becoming what every fighter should strive to be: an exciting winner.

When you can combine both of these facets in MMA, you become a very rare individual. There's something commendable about being Jon Fitch or Jacob Volkmann, grinding out wins by being some combination of bigger, stronger, more technical and having a bigger will to win. Being a winner will almost always make you more money than being a loser, Bob Sapp shenanigans aside, and quite frankly, everyone wants to be a winner. If it takes scraping and clawing to cross that finish line first, so be it. The problem with being that style of winner in a business where style matters (don't let anyone tell you differently), is that when you stop winning, you've got no fallback. When you're clinging to that ledge and someone steps on your hand, it's a long, long fall. Just ask Jon or Antonio McKee.

On the flip side, if you're an exciting fighter, but not winning, things do go downhill, just not as fast. It isn't as bad as McKee being bounced from the UFC for the rest of his days after a split-decision loss, in fact, the UFC is still employing the likes of Dan Hardy (loser of four in a row), Yoshihiro Akiyama (four as well), Wanderlei Silva (loser of 5 out of 6 at one point) and Mirko Filipovic had to retire (lost his last three). It's worse for your pride and ego rather than your state of employment, but it'll eventually catch up with you. However, if you are able to combine the two, you can ascend to greatness incredibly quickly in this sport.

Wandy in his prime did it. Chuck Liddell is another good example. Fedor Emelianenko. Anderson Silva (Leites, Maia and Cote fights aside). Jon Jones (personality aside). Dan Henderson post 2008. And now, the Korean Zombie.

There's so much to like. I've always been an intellectual to some degree. I'm not a large person, but I loved competing in sports, and always had to figure out ways to get an added edge. I did some coaching for a while, too, and finding out extra ways to maximize yourself makes me happy. Following his WEC 51 loss to George Roop, TKZ would post this on his blog (note, this is a translation from Korean):

In the end, a fighter who is all talk.
Who showed and proved nothing.
Drunken by the chants of 'ZOMBIE!!! ZOMBIE!!!'
Not even a single mark left on my opponent's face.
Even until the end, I was going for that one big shot...
As if going for a takedown were a sin, I didn't even consider it.
So, that is how scary and painful it is to get knocked out.
I can feel a similar pain in my heart...
On the way to the hospital - as they drew my blood and performed the CT scan - I could only think one thing...
That I would never fight again.
All I could think about was my friend, Jun Seok. I would go learn his trade and work alongside him, like my friends - at a regular job.
Returning to the hotel...after seeing the fans...and the smirk from George(Roop)...
I went to my room and sat down with my team, where the atmosphere was much more relaxed and calm.
As I continued to question my relevance in MMA...
Suddenly the words of advice that Brian had offered to me at the hospital, came to mind.
Fighting in Korea...fighting in Japan...overcoming all those odds, to end it like this?
Is this why I delayed going to the army?
Is this why I've been competing since high school?
The worst part being...
Is this the best I can do?
Am I only good enough to lose to a fighter who was perceived as mediocre by MMA fans?
So, I've decided to give this one more shot.
But, the pride I once had for fighting 'Zombie Style' has been shattered.
I'm going to change.
It's okay if you take away my Korean Zombie title.
It's okay if everyone boos me.
It's okay if no one in the world ever cheers for me again.
For everyone who has supported me thus far, that I have let down...
I make this promise to you...that I will never fight with the same style, ever again.

- Jung, Chan-Sung

It was definitely emotional and probably overly dramatic, but it also signaled the beginning of Jung's terrific run to what is hopefully a title shot. It was the second loss in a row, but the judging for the first fight against Leonard "Hypnotoad" Garcia is basically a load of hot garbage that no one recognizes as legitimate. The Jung of now is not merely a plow-ahead brawler, but a fighter using crisp head movement, solid counterpunching and ability to move laterally to go along with his durable chin and willingness to swing for the fences.

Putting his poetic license aside, we all know the awesome run that TKZ has been on, but seriously, his last three bouts have been such a wondrous variety of MMA that the sheer embodiment of this sport bears yet another look.

In his last three fights he has done:

and

gifs are courtesy of ironforgesiron, romerobrooks, and bloodyelbow.

Look at this. LOOK AT THIS GLORY! We've got one of the rarest submissions in MMA, including the first time it's ever been done in the UFC, a seven-second knockout and one of the most absurd 20 seconds in any round you will see in your lifetime. Flying knee, multiple uppercuts, dirty boxing, Thai knees, and a roll-through of a power double straight into mount. I have adrenaline just watching that gif and typing those words. Chan Sung Jung is about the perfect embodiment of what Mixed Martial Arts is. Action, punches, kicks, knees, grappling, submissions. He is this sport personified, and he has made a mostly dispassionate fan of the sport root for him until the end of my days.

Thank you, Korean Zombie, for making one person's love and enjoyment of this sport that much bigger.