The Top Middleweights in the Northeast

Only one of the Northeast's top middleweights is undefeated, and he's not so much a true middleweight as he is a fighter who competes at a catch-weight of 175 pounds (the cutoff for welterweight is 170). Yes, I'm talking about ROC and IFL veteran Lyman Good. -Lyman Good- Great on the feet and awesome on the ground, Good is Team Tiger Schulmann's most promising MMA prospect right now, and if he keeps steamrolling over opponents, will likely be the first from his camp to make it on to a UFC pay-per-view. -Mike Massenzio- The winner of the ROC "Beasts of the Northeast" tournament, Massenzio has evolved from a high-level wrestler trying his hand at MMA into a well-rounded mixed martial artist. He's also beaten three top 185 pounders in Dante Rivera, Lance Everson and Dan Miller. -Dante Rivera- As Ricardo Almeida's star pupil, Rivera's got some big expectations to live up to, but with solid submissions and ever-improving striking, this IFL veteran has done so nicely. Rumor has it Rivera is on the upcoming season of "The Ultimate Fighter", so he might be out of the local mix soon. -Lance Everson- Everson is a scrappy veteran, and with his boxing, wrestling and submission skills, made it to the final round of the Beasts of the Northeast tournament. He's always dangerous. Always. -Dan Miller- The brother of Jim Miller, Dan is also a wrestler and badass jiu-jitsu guy, and he's risen to the top by employing his almost flawless ground game to submit the hell out of people. Honorable mention: Muay Thai specialist and TUF 7 competitor Aaron Meisner, boxer/wrestler Alexis Aquino, and "Tournament of Champions" winner Marc Stevens.

The Top Welterweights in the Northeast

In no particular order, the best 170-pounders in the NY/NJ area are: -Eddie Alvarez- A former MFC star and BodogFIGHT champ, and now a jewel in the EliteXC/ShoXC crown, Alvarez is a slugger who's one hell of a crowd-pleaser. He's allegedly moving down to lightweight, but all of his bouts have been at welterweight, hence his spot here. -Delson Heleno- Heleno's an IFL star and an ace grappler, and is what you get when you give a Brazilian special forces jungle assassin a work VISA. -Charlie Brenneman- Don't like getting ground-and-pounded into oblivion? Then don't get in the ring with Brenneman, who used his unstoppable takedowns and fists to win the ROC "Beasts of the Northeast" tournament. -Greg Soto- A wrestler-turned-jiu-jitsu man, Soto rose up the ranks like a rocket, but has been sidelined with injuries since KO'ing Sergio Vinagre at a BCX show. Hopefully, he'll return 100% and kick more butt. -Tom Gallicchio- Scrappy. That's the word that best describes Gallicchio, who's parleyed his wrestling background into an MMA game that's seen him batter oponents before submitting them. Honorable mention: the always-dangerous Doug Gordon, Beasts of the Northeast runner-up Mark Berraciol, ROC "Tournament of Champions" finalist Phillipe Nover, and promising up-and-comer Matt Makowski.

The Top Lightweights in the Northeast

It's time once again for MMA Journalist's list of top fighters in the Northeast, and this post will focus on the lightweights. This list was compiled with the help of a giant supercomputer, a Ouija board and some 20-sided dice, and it's based on 2007 performances only. Also, fighters who've made it to the UFC are excluded. In no particular order, the best 155-pounders in NY/NJ are: -Jim Miller- A badass grappler and all-around scrapper, Miller's racked up wins everywhere. His only loss is to superstar Frankie Edgar. -Deividas Taurosevicius- Tough as nails and skilled as hell on the ground, this IFL fighter has beaten nearly everyone he's faced. Taurosevicius and Miller are far and away the best in their weight class, but they've never fought each other and probably never will, as they share the same Renzo Gracie jiu-jitsu lineage. -Brian McLaughlin- The winner of ROC's "Beasts of the Northeast" tournament, McLaughlin is a submission wizard with a deadly guard. -Kevin Roddy- Another submission stud with a deadly guard, Roddy is a BCX champ who's unafraid to throw leather. -James "Binky" Jones- Binky is a fantastic grappler, and he utilized those grappling skills to win the ROC "Tournament of Champions". He's had some losses since then, but you run that risk when you jump to the next level in competition. Honorable mention: Combat in the Cage champ Jim Bova, Beasts of the Northeast runner-up Dave Sachs, and the well-rounded Eddie Fyvie.

Kimbo Slice Hype Approaching Critical Mass; Internet Meltdown Imminent

Saturday's EliteXC event marked another successful outing for the promotion thanks to Kimbo Slice's marquee bout against aged veteran Tank Abbott - a bout which has generated so much hype that bloggers and webreporters alike have come dangerously close to overloading the Internet. With an estimated 2.1 million pre-show essays posted on various websites, and an estimated 6.4 billion webreports subsequent to the Kimbo/Tank fight, the former bare-knuckle boxer's hype is approaching critical mass. "A meltdown is imminent if this doesn't subside soon," said Eugene Booker, who helps maintain the Internet. "After Kimbo's 2004 fight against Sean Gannon, three of the six big, black boxes that house the Internet started smoking. Since this Saturday, all the black boxes are smoking. One even caught fire, but I poured a Mountain Dew on it and put it out." Added Booker: "If this Kimbo hype goes on for much longer, we're definitely going to lose the Internet."

The Truth Comes Out: Mark Cuban is the Other Woman

Mark Cuban's HDNet Fights filed suit against Zuffa in a Texas court this week, a move that reveals Cuban as the "other woman" in the bitter divorce between Zuffa and Randy Couture. Okay, not really. There's no evidence to suggest HDNet Fights has tried to bed Couture while the legendary champ is under contractual lockdown with his UFC masters. But the suit, which asks the court to render a declaratory judgment on the merits of the promotional contract between Zuffa and Couture (the suit Zuffa filed against Couture only focuses on the employment contract and avoids the promotional contract issue), is a pretty good indicator of where Cuban is coming from and what he's trying to do. How so? Well, clue number one is Cuban's standing for the lawsuit (i.e., his right to sue), while clue number two comes from his comments in interviews regarding the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act and whether its protections for boxers should apply to mixed martial artists. Cuban is a promoter who wants fighters, and he wants to test the chains binding some of the sport's top talent. MMA Journalist would have to read a copy of the Cuban's complaint to give a more detailed assessment, but from a distance, this is one is a no-brainer: Cuban wants to reshape the UFC-dominated market, and he's not afraid to use the courts to do it.

Kimbo/Tank Duel Set for Dawn on Saturday; Pistols Optional

Gentlemens Kimbo Slice and David "Tank" Abbott have finally agreed upon their terms and are now set to duel at dawn this coming Saturday, with pistols at 20 paces a possibility but fisticuffs the most likely method. The duel is a result of Mister Tank's confronting of Mister Slice following Mister Slice's victory at CFFC 5 last year. At that time, Mister Tank removed his gloves and threw them down, demanding satisfaction from some perceived offense, though it is unclear just what that offense was. It is expected that Mister Slice will be seconded by Sir Bas Rutten. The field of honor will be the Bank United Center in Miami, Florida, though curious bystanders may tune in to the broadcast on Showtime's EliteXC programme.

Observations from My Couch: WEC 32

-Former UFC Heavyweight Champ Frank Mir is a knowledgeable and articulate commentator and an asset to the production. However, when he interviews these bantamweights who are a fraction of his size, I often wonder how many of them he would have to eat before feeling full. -Miguel Torres wrecked Chase Beebe with such technical prowess, for minute there I thought I was watching a jiu-jitsu instructional. -Jamie Varner kicked some serious ass in an exciting bout, and the newly-crowned WEC Lightweight Champ is now the number-one 155-pounder not good enough to fight in the UFC. -Carlos Condit successfully defended his welterweight title against Carlo Prater. Meh.

Did Dana White Sell the UFC's Soul for 250,000 Pieces of Silver?

At UFC 81, Brock Lesnar was paid $250,000 just to show up for a bout lasting only a minute and a half, and when former champ Frank Mir submitted the pro wrestler with a kneebar, it marked the end of weeks of hype and anticipation - and the perhaps the end of an era. For while fight fans and fake-fight fans likely tuned in in droves, the "Superbowl of Mixed Martial Arts" was suddenly about a co-main event featuring a man who was 1-0 when he set foot in the Octagon. Yes, Lesnar's record consisted of but one fight. Did Dana White sell the UFC's soul for pay-per-view buys? And if so, was it worth it? When the Mir/Lesnar bout was announced, I thought about January 10th, 2002 - the night before UFC 35 - and the Zuffa-hosted press dinner. I had the filet mignon, Joe Silva had a cheeseburger, Lorenzo Fertita had a martini, and Dana White promised those of us in attendance (Josh Gross, Jeff Sherwood, Kirik Jenness, et al.) that the UFC absolutely did not want to court pro wrestlers as potential fighters. Something about credibility and wrong demographics and "We'd rather have pro boxers - what's Shannon Briggs up to?" My how times have changed.

Charges Pending in Boetsch/Heath Assault

Fans watching UFC 81 on Saturday night got more than they bargained for when the preliminary bout between Tim Boetsch and David Heath was aired. In the bout - which was Boetsch's Octagon debut - the newcomer battered his opponent repeatedly and threw him head-first against the cage, then continued the beating until the referee called a halt to the fight. Adding insult to injury, the former Lock Haven wrestler subsequently rifled through the fallen Heath's pockets, taking credit cards and an undisclosed amount of cash. It was nothing short of a mugging, and according to sources within the Clark County district attorney's office, criminal charges are now pending. "We are reviewing the tape," said a spokesman for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. "If Mr. Boetsch did in fact commit a crime, he will be brought to justice." Said UFC President Dana White, who was no doubt pleased with Boetsch's action-packed performance: "Do you want to be a fucking mugger?"

"Big Dog" Ready to Take a Bite Out of Opponent at UFC 81 (Plus Other Lame Metaphors)

Ricardo Almeida, a.k.a. "Big Dog", returns to the dog house known as the Octagon at UFC 81, where he'll take a bite out of last-minute replacement Rob Yundt. When news broke that original opponent Alan Belcher had left the yard with his tail between his legs, the word around the kennel was that Almeida would have no one to play with - until Zuffa announced Yundt as the new chew toy. Has the Big Dog learned any new tricks since his last MMA outing nearly four years ago? Will Yundt be able to resist the urge to roll over and play dead? Or is he nothing but a hound dog? We'll know on Saturday!