Flashback: The TUF 2 Tryouts

UFC

The tryouts for season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter went down in Las Vegas, N.V. yesterday, and Bleacher Report ace scribe Jeremy Botter was on hand to witness what has over the course of almost ten years become an event in and of itself. Read his report here, and tell me if you don't get the impression that the tryout process is a well-oiled machine. It is, isn't it?

But the tryouts didn't start out that way. For the first season of TUF, the UFC simply called up a bunch of promising fighters and said, "Hey, want to do a reality show?" Only when that initial season proved to be a runaway success did the word "tryouts" enter into the equation.

Aggressive Combat Championship 6: The Next Big NYC MMA Show on Tap

NEW YORK

The next big MMA show in New York City will be Aggressive Combat Championship 6, which is slated for May 10 at York College in Queens. A preliminary version of the card can be found here, and after the jump you can check out an ACC highlight video.

If you're reluctant to take the "E" train to the last stop and stroll through Jamaica, Queens, to get to the venue, then fear not, because I'll be on scene providing my usual coverage.

NYFE 3 Poster

NEW YORK

Flashback: Night of Macacao - 2.7.09

NEW JERSEY

Picture if you will a one-shot MMA event catering solely to the somewhat substantial Brazilian population of Newark, N.J. Every bout on the card pits a Brazilian against an American, culminating in a match-up featuring the eponymous "Macacao" (a.k.a., vale tudo legend Jorge Patino), and all this occurs before a partisan crowd that could very easily verge on riot should one of their brethren lose in the cage.

Yeah, "Night of Macacao" was pretty awesome. Here are the pics from it:

What's the Opposite of Having a Lot of Heart?

NOT AWESOME



I don't know the backstory to this so I don't know why the fight played out the way it did, but damn did that fighter show a lot of heart.

A LOT OF HEART.

Marcus Surin Defends Belt, Then Gets Into Car Accident

NEW YORK

It was a violence-filled night for VCS lightweight champ Marcus Surin on Friday. First, he went about two and a half rounds with a hungry challenger in Yuting Hong in the cage. Then, after his win, Surin found himself in a car accident.

"We're okay," said Surin when The MMA Journalist reached out to him for a comment. "The car I was in was totaled but no one sustained any injuries."

Observations From My Couch: UFC 172

UFC

• I like Charlie Brenneman and want to see him do well, but he needs to never fight in the UFC again. Brenneman is dominant in the regional circuit; he's on the path to long-term brain trauma in the Octagon.
• For someone so tall and lanky, Jessamyn Duke sure fought like a short person. What the hell was her game plan?
• Takanori Gomi looked woefully out of shape and yet still managed to put forth an exciting, crowd-pleasing bout. Thus is the power of the Gomi.

Tom Muller: A Look Back at One of the Northeast's Most Dominant Heavyweights

NEW YORK

Few things are more annoying than a stud fighter coming onto the scene, making an impact with a win or two, then disappearing forever more. Well, if you were to compile a list of such Northeast fighters, without question, Tom Muller's name would be at the top.

From 2002 to 2004, Muller was a tall, lanky heavyweight who took the jiu-jitsu that Matt Serra taught him and absolutely dominated his opponents in Ring of Combat. In all four times he fought he won via submission, and in his last outing at ROC 7, he dethroned champ Carlos Moreno and took his belt.

Then he retired.

Victory Combat Sports Scores Another Home Run

NEW YORK

The New York MMA bar has been set once again to new heights, courtesy of Victory Combat Sports' Victory V show at Terminal 5 in Manhattan and the 20 fighters who left it all in the cage last night. With 2,100 thrilled onlookers crammed into the venue, battles raged for the sake of two championship belts, and yet even in those bouts where no titles were up for grabs, wars were waged still.

Victory V: Hassan Hope vs. Brad Bateman

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Victory V: Bernardo Cano vs. Rob Ovalle

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Victory V: Rich Pabon vs. Takakiro Ishikawa

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Victory V: Adam Pakiela vs. Ethan Gomes

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Victory V: Bernardo Cano Warming Up

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UFC 172 Primer: Media Day Video

UFC

I wasn't able to make it to yesterday's UFC 172 media day - which pains me because they serve free food there - but here's a video of it that the UFC was kind enough to do for those of us who couldn't get to Baltimore.

What's worth acknowledging is the size difference between Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira. Methinks the champ is going to be picking the challenger apart from long range like a sniper.

Victory V Primer: Bernardo Cano in Action

NEW YORK

Victory Combat Sports' Victory V show is all set for tonight, and easing into the co-main event slot is GMMA champ Bernardo Cano. Since I've already written quite a bit about Cano, and I hate being redundant, I'll just post the videos of his last fight. Watch them and you'll get a sense of what's in store for the crowd at Terminal 5.

Throwback Thursday: Frankie Edgar's First Pro Fight

UFC

In honor of Frankie Edgar's current run as TUF coach, here's a throwback to his first pro fight. Coming three months after his unsanctioned debut at the Underground Combat League, Edgar - a promising fighter out of the Rhino Fight Team camp - stepped into the ring at Ring of Combat 9 on October 29, 2005, squared off against a submission-savvy Mark Getto, and took care of business.

Fun fact: also making their pro debuts on this card were Lyman Good and Uriah Hall. Man, those were good times.

UFC 172 Primer: A Video of Jon Jones Battling the TRT Monster

UFC

You know how I know Jon Jones is a remarkable fighter? Because he stared the fearsome TRT Monster in the face and didn't wither.

Yeah, I'm talking about his fight against Vitor Belfort - the walking, talking test tube full of synthetic testosterone. Here's a video of Jones and Belfort fighting:

One on One with Senator Liz Krueger, New York MMA's Most Vocal Enemy

NEW YORK

Senator Liz Krueger isn't a fan of mixed martial arts. And though her senatorial half of the legislature has been voting to pass the bill that would legalize pro MMA in the state year after year, she's remained a stalwart foe to cause.

"I can't support something where the competitors try to kill each other," she says, sitting at her desk in her Upper East Side office. On her plate are such issues as the legalization of marijuana and a tangle of problems with the lodging website Airbnb, but she feels strongly enough about MMA to talk for ten minutes about that - and it's ten minutes of discourse quite unlike the irrational ramblings of her anti-MMA predecessor, Assemblyman Bob Reilly.

UFC 172 Primer: A Video of Jon Jones Getting His Ass Kicked

UFC

Jon Jones will edge just a step closer to greatness on Saturday when he defends his belt at UFC 172 against challenger Glover Teixeira, but let's not forgot that he's mortal, and that sooner or later someone is going to beat him. Of course, Teixeira probably won't be that guy. Instead, it will probably be someone with a build like Jones', who possesses a rangier kickboxing game and the kind of toughness only youth provides...

Yeah, I'm talking about Alexander Gustafsson, who came damn close to beating Jones when they first met, and who very well could smoke him in the rematch. Don't believe me? Then watch this video: