The MMA Journalist

Monday, March 15, 2010

Bellator Signs Mexican Soap Opera Star Roger Huerta

Bellator Fighting Championships announced the signing of noted Mexican soap opera star Roger Huerta to their upcoming eight-man lightweight tournament today. Known for his recurring role as an itinerant worker in "La Banana del Amor", and for his gritty portrayal of Juan the Bumblebee in "El Beso de la Rosquilla", Huerta last saw combat at UFC Fight Night 19 in September, where he lost a close split decision to Gray Maynard. But that, plus a loss via decision to Kenny Florian at UFC 87 and a loss to Ryan Schultz back in 2004, mark the only blemishes on what is generally considered an impressive fighting career, and Huerta is the first MMA competitor to grace both the covers of Sports Illustrated and Telenovela Weekly. "We are very pleased to have Roger Huerta join our 155-pound tournament," said Bellator Mega Jefe Bjorn Rebney, who punctuated his excitement by throwing a sombrero to the ground and dancing around it with a rose in his mouth.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Friday, March 12, 2010

Mitch the Intern Tackles the Headlines

*Editor’s note: Mitch the Intern is an NYU undergrad and a fan of MMA. Also, he’s on drugs. Just accept that.*

News headlines on MMA Junkie, MMA Weekly, Sherdog, Bloody Elbow – everywhere! But what do they all mean? Fear not, because your pal Mitch has gathered them all together in one place and deciphered them just for you.

“Georges St. Pierre/Dan Hardy Primetime Special Snags One Million Viewers” – One million people tuned in to watch, of which 900,000 were gay men out for a glimpse of the Canadian’s abs. The other 100,000? A lot of male MMA fans’ girlfriends.
“Hardy Says GSP Sucks or Something” – Really, Dan? This is how you want to spend your 15 minutes?
“WEC Honcho Reed Harris to Jens Pulver: ‘Please, No More Fighting. I Can’t Stand the Crying’” – This one is self-explanatory.
“Josh Barnett to Face Cole Escovedo at DREAM 13” – A heavyweight versus a featherweight? Japan. Is. Awesome!
“Shine Fights Announces Match-Up No One Cares About” – Nick Thompson against Eduardo Pamplona? I can’t hardly wait! Oh, hold on. I think I can hardly wait. Yeah, I can.
“Bellator Signs Everyone Not in the UFC or Strikeforce” – Literally. Everyone.
“The Ultimate Fighter – Season 12 Tryouts Set for Suckville, in No Watch, USA” – Unless Kimbo is a guest coach, there is absolutely no reason to do anything but DVR this season and watch it on fast-forward. No reason.
“Fedor On Ice Until M-1 Global Renegotiates Contract with Strikeforce” – Because, you know, what’s a contract besides a non-binding agreement that you can renege on whenever you think there’s more money to squeeze out of your business partner?

March 2010 Independent World MMA Rankings

The March 2010 Independent World MMA Rankings have been released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple web sites. In addition to the numerous MMA web sites that publish the Independent World MMA Rankings, you can also access the rankings at any time by going to http://www.independentworldmmarankings.com/.

Some of the best and most knowledgeable MMA writers from across the MMA media landscape have come together to form one independent voting panel. These voting panel members are, in alphabetical order: Zach Arnold (Fight Opinion); Nicholas Bailey (MMA Ratings); Jared Barnes (Freelance); Jordan Breen (Sherdog); Jim Genia (Full Contact Fighter, MMA Memories, and MMA Journalist Blog); Jesse Holland (MMA Mania); Robert Joyner (Freelance); Todd Martin (CBS Sportsline); Jim Murphy (The Savage Science); Zac Robinson (Sports by the Numbers MMA); Leland Roling (Bloody Elbow); Michael David Smith (AOL Fanhouse); Joshua Stein (MMA Opinion); Ivan Trembow (Freelance); and Dave Walsh (Head Kick Legend).

Note: Shane Carwin and Quinton Jackson are temporarily ineligible tobe ranked, due to the fact that they have been inactive for over 12full months, and will regain their eligibility the next time theyfight.

March 2010 Independent World MMA Rankings
Ballots collected on March 9, 2010

Heavyweight Rankings (206 to 265 lbs.)
1. Fedor Emelianenko (31-1, 1 No Contest)
2. Brock Lesnar (4-1)
3. Frank Mir (13-4)
4. Cain Velasquez (7-0)
5. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1, 1 No Contest)
6. Junior dos Santos (10-1)
7. Brett Rogers (10-1)
8. Alistair Overeem (32-11, 1 No Contest)
9. Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1)
10. Andrei Arlovski (15-7)

Light Heavyweight Rankings (186 to 205 lbs.)
1. Lyoto Machida (16-0)
2. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (18-4)
3. Rashad Evans (14-1-1)
4. Anderson Silva (25-4)
5. Gegard Mousasi (27-2-1)
6. Forrest Griffin (17-6)
7. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3)
8. Dan Henderson (25-7)
9. Thiago Silva (14-2)
10. Vitor Belfort (19-8)

Middleweight Rankings (171 to 185 lbs.)
1. Anderson Silva (25-4)
2. Dan Henderson (25-7)
3. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1)
4. Vitor Belfort (19-8)
5. Nathan Marquardt (29-9-2)
6. Demian Maia (12-1)
7. Jake Shields (24-4-1)
8. Robbie Lawler (17-5, 1 No Contest)
9. Yushin Okami (23-5)
10. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (11-2, 1 No Contest)

Welterweight Rankings (156 to 170 lbs.)
1. Georges St. Pierre (19-2)
2. Jon Fitch (21-3, 1 No Contest)
3. Thiago Alves (16-6)
4. Josh Koscheck (14-4)
5. Paulo Thiago (13-1)
6. Dan Hardy (23-6)
7. Nick Diaz (21-7, 1 No Contest)
8. Matt Hughes (43-7)
9. Paul Daley (23-8-2)
10. Matt Serra (10-6)

Lightweight Rankings (146 to 155 lbs.)
1. B.J. Penn (15-5-1)
2. Shinya Aoki (23-4, 1 No Contest)
3. Eddie Alvarez (19-2)
4. Kenny Florian (12-4)
5. Tatsuya Kawajiri (26-5-2)
6. Gray Maynard (9-0, 1 No Contest)
7. Frankie Edgar (11-1)
8. Diego Sanchez (21-3)
9. Gilbert Melendez (17-2)
10. Joachim Hansen (19-8-1)

Featherweight Rankings (136 to 145 lbs.)
1. Jose Aldo (16-1)
2. Mike Brown (23-5)
3. Urijah Faber (23-3)
4. Hatsu Hioki (20-4-2)
5. Bibiano Fernandes (7-2)
6. Marlon Sandro (15-1)
7. "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (18-3)
8. Raphael Assuncao (14-2)
9. Manny Gamburyan (10-4)
10. Michihiro Omigawa (9-8-1)

Bantamweight Rankings (126 to 135 lbs.)
1. Dominick Cruz (14-1)
2. Brian Bowles (8-0)
3. Joseph Benavidez (11-1)
3. Miguel Torres (37-2)
5. Masakatsu Ueda (10-0-2)
6. Scott Jorgensen (8-3)
7. Takeya Mizugaki (12-4-2)
8. Damacio Page (12-4)
9. Wagnney Fabiano (13-2)
10. Akitoshi Tamura (14-8-2)

The Independent World MMA Rankings are tabulated on a monthly basis in each of the top seven weight classes of MMA, from heavyweight to bantamweight, with fighters receiving ten points for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, and so on.

The rankings are based purely on the votes of the members of the voting panel, with nobody's vote counting more than anybody else's vote, and no computerized voting.

The voters are instructed to vote primarily based on fighters' actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition that they've actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective perception of which fighters would theoretically win fantasy match-ups.

Inactivity: Fighters who have not fought in the past 12 months are not eligible to be ranked, and will regain their eligibility the next time they fight.

Disciplinary Suspensions: Fighters who are currently serving disciplinary suspensions, or who have been denied a license for drug test or disciplinary reasons, are not eligible to be ranked.

Changing Weight Classes: When a fighter announces that he is leaving one weight class in order to fight in another weight class, the fighter is not eligible to be ranked in the new weight class until he has his first fight in the new weight class.

Catch Weight Fights: When fights are contested at weights that are in between the limits of the various weight classes, they are considered to be in the higher weight class. The weight limits for each weight class are listed at the top of the rankings for each weight class.

Special thanks to Eric Kamander, Zach Arnold, and Joshua Stein for their invaluable help with this project, and special thanks to Garrett Bailey for designing our logo.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Monday, March 8, 2010

Observations From My Couch: WEC 47 "Munchkin Carnage"

Bart Palaszewski took a beating but he got the job done. Barely.
LC Davis and Deividas Taurosevicius did virtually nothing to each other. Did Davis get the nod via coin toss?
Scott Jorgensen… beast. Pure beast.
Who is Danny Castillo and why is he in the WEC?
I don’t know what hurts more: seeing Jens Pulver lose, or seeing him cry afterwards.
Remember that fearsome, nigh-unbeatable Miguel Torres who ruled the 135-pound division with an iron fist? Where did he go?
Dominic Cruz was entertaining as hell. So was Brian Bowles, but only because he got punched a lot.

Evolution AMMA Postscript

Steve Katz runs a smooth ship so everything was organized and concise, right down to the fight card and bios given to the press. Eric Fleming and Lee Burrell had a very competitive bout, and although Burrell didn't tap, the armbar stoppage was justified - a ref isn't supposed to let an amateur get his fully-extended arm broken, is he? Noel Arcibal looked solid, but the "beast of the night" award definitely has to go to Jungle Gym's Bobby Ascolillo with his 43-second rear naked choke on his standing opponent. Good stuff.