A Hero's Welcome

It seems newly-crowned UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar got a well-deserved hero's welcome upon his return to Tom's River on Sunday (link here: http://www.app.com/article/20100411/NEWS/100411047/Sirens-fanfare-as-UFC-champ-returns-home ).  This is pure awesomeness on so many levels, especially since you don't get more homegrown than Edgar.  He literally worked his way up from the UCL to Sportfighting, Reality Fighting and Ring of Combat to the UFC, and though everyone who ever sat ringside for one of his local bouts knew he was a stud, the idea that he'd be able to dethrone the legendary BJ Penn seemed like a longshot at best.  Bravo, Frankie.  Bravo.

Observations from My Couch: UFC 112 "Holy Crap Frankie Did It!"

• How the hell did Kendall Grove lose?  He practically had Mark Munoz unconscious, bound and gagged, and set on fire with gasoline.  That bout was like watching an old Bruce Willis action flick.
• I am unmoved by Rafael dos Anjos’ ability to submit one of the UFC’s British “B” team members.  It is the equivalent of tapping out someone on the junior varsity team.
• Phil Davis defeated Alexander Gustafsson… and why should I care?
• Watching Renzo lose was painful.  Watching him lose the same way Paul Varelans lost to Marco Ruas at UFC 7 back in 1995… well, that just plain-old sucked.
• Kudos to Demian Maia for making the most of a bout where his opponent decided halfway through that he no longer wanted to be a fighter and instead wanted to be a ballerina.
• The only time I’d want to see Anderson Silva fight again is if it’s when Vitor Belfort or Chael Sonnen are beating his head in.
• Frankie Edgar didn’t just out-work BJ Penn, he started up a small business, hustled and grew the damn thing into a corporate empire.

April 2010 Independent World MMA Rankings

The April 2010 Men's 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: Due to the fact that Joachim Hansen has moved to the featherweight division, he is no longer eligible to be ranked in the lightweight division. He is, however, eligible to be ranked in the featherweight division.

April 2010 Men's Independent World MMA Rankings
Ballots collected on April 6, 2010

Heavyweight Rankings (206 to 265 lbs.)
1. Fedor Emelianenko (31-1, 1 No Contest)
2. Brock Lesnar (4-1)
3. Shane Carwin (12-0)
4. Cain Velasquez (8-0)
5. Frank Mir (13-5)
6. Junior dos Santos (11-1)
7. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1, 1 No Contest)
8. Brett Rogers (10-1)
9. Alistair Overeem (32-11, 1 No Contest)
10. Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1)

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. Jon Jones (10-1)

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

Welterweight Rankings (156 to 170 lbs.)
1. Georges St. Pierre (20-2)
2. Jon Fitch (22-3, 1 No Contest)
3. Thiago Alves (16-6)
4. Josh Koscheck (14-4)
5. Paulo Thiago (13-1)
6. Nick Diaz (21-7, 1 No Contest)
7. Dan Hardy (23-7, 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 (13-4)
5. Tatsuya Kawajiri (26-5-2)
6. Gray Maynard (9-0, 1 No Contest)
7. Frankie Edgar (11-1)
8. Gilbert Melendez (17-2)
9. Diego Sanchez (21-3)
10. Tyson Griffin (14-2)

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 (8-2)
6. Marlon Sandro (16-1)
7. "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (18-3)
8. Raphael Assuncao (14-2)
9. Michihiro Omigawa (9-8-1)
10. Manny Gamburyan (10-4)

Bantamweight Rankings (126 to 135 lbs.)
1. Dominick Cruz (15-1)
2. Brian Bowles (8-1)
3. Joseph Benavidez (12-1)
4. Miguel Torres (37-3)
5. Scott Jorgensen (9-3)
6. Takeya Mizugaki (12-4-2)
7. Masakatsu Ueda (10-1-2)
8. Damacio Page (15-4)
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.

Mitch the Intern’s TUF 11 Recap: Episode 2

*Editor’s note: Mitch the Intern is an NYU undergrad whose favorite Wednesday night pastime includes the TV in his dorm room, a green beanbag chair and two hits of acid. Enjoy.*

There’s punch drunk, which is a neurological affliction that affects your cognitive abilities and coherence after suffering repeated blows to the head, and then there’s punch intoxicated-like-a-white-trash-uncle-at-his-nephew's-wedding-reception-in-the-trailer-park. Chuck Liddell is the latter.

“The Iceman” is so wasted, athletic commissions give him Breathalyzer tests before allowing him into locker rooms. He’s so wasted, he once mistook a hot dog cart for his car and got 15 miles down the highway before the police pulled him over and informed him of his mistake. He’s so wasted, he’s convinced “Dancing with the Stars” was a fight tournament in Japan.

In short, the man is pure comedy.

First, though, the TUFers are let loose upon their new temporary housing/prison/fishbowl/den of pranks and homoeroticism. Who designs this place? Dr. Seuss? Cypress Hill sprints to a bedroom to claim it but tumbles down a slide made of candy canes into a chocolate pond. Ronnie Kray (yes, the British gangster) picks the room with pictures of assorted fruit on the wall (“These snozzberries taste like snozzberries!”) and Fruit Striped Gum is trapped in a giant glass cube full of bubbles. Congrats, guys.

Then it’s time to pick the teams. Dana is present to flip the ceremonial “f-ing coin”, and coach Tito Ortiz ends up with the first choice. He picks people that mean nothing to us, as we’ve only seen bits and pieces of their fights and none of their training, and Liddell does the same, calling out garbled syllables and gesturing with his hand, even inviting the gym’s janitor, Nevada athletic commission honcho Keith Kizer and a SpikeTV boom operator to join in his cause.

“Is it me or did Chuck’s choices suck?” Dana says to Ortiz when the dust settles.

“I alternate between hating and badmouthing you and liking and respecting you depending upon the stage of my contract,” Ortiz replies.

“I know what I’m doing,” says Liddell, and he picks up a stationary exercise bike, carries it outside and attempts to ride it to the local store for a snack run.

Oh no! Fruit Striped Gum is all banged up from the fight that got him into the TUF House, and he may or may not have a torn rotator cuff, scurvy, scabies and potato famine. Hearing this, Ortiz jumps on his back – literally – and rides him – literally – to, I don’t know, motivate him to work through it? Come across like a douche? Get close to another man? Who knows.

It’s time for choosing the first fight, and as Ortiz got first pick of the fighters, Liddell gets to decide who gets into the Octagon. He chooses Crocodile Dundee versus the water fountain, a decision that leads to confusion. Eventually, Dana convinces him to pick someone else, so Liddell picks Fruit Striped Gum.

Back at the house and it’s prank time! Hawaii Five-O, Cypress Hill and Ronnie Kray! Air horns! In the middle of the night! Aggravated fighters standing around in their underwear, rubbing the sleep from their eyes and trying to act menacing! Somewhere an entire targeted demographic cheers.

It’s the next day and the doctor lays out Fruit Striped Gum’s MRI and talks about what he sees. “No damage to your rotator cuff, no damage to your muscle tissue, just fluid on your bones, a bad hairstyle and a flavor-stripe down your middle.”

Then we get some insight into Team Liddell’s Crocodile Dundee. Yes, he’s Australian, and apparently Australia is so small, everyone famous there is connected to everyone else. For instance, Crocodile Dundee used to be Steve “Crocodile Hunter” Irwin’s pool boy. He also used to be a roadie for Men at Work, and he once ate at the Outback Steakhouse. Small. Freakin’. World.

Lest we forget that there’s supposed to be some sort of drama between the coaches, Ortiz hangs a piñata that looks like Liddell. It’s tougher and can even fight better than Liddell, absorbing a number of blows to the cranium before going down for the count and being carried out on a stretcher.

Fight time, and Crocodile Dundee and Fruit Striped Gum circle, engage, and mix it up. Fruit Striped Gum quickly finds himself in a triangle choke, tapping out.

Post-fight and Fruit Striped Gum is dejected. Ortiz, ever the coach, pleads for him to join him on the mat for some drilling of the defense to triangle chokes. I guess it never occurred to Ortiz to teach his wards this stuff before their fights, eh?

Fade to black.

Predictions for UFC 112: "Ultimate Allah Akbar"

The UFC in Abu Dhabi!  Under a giant tent in the desert!  Flying carpets!  A singing genie!  And if this weekend’s ground-breaking edition goes off without a hitch, expect Octagon ventures in such exotic locales as Antarctica (UFC 119: “Ultimate F-ing Cold”), Zimbabwe (UFC 124: “Ultimate Raped by Mandrills”) and Tibet (UFC 131: “Ultimate Yeti Sighting”).  Predictions!

• Rafael dos Anjos versus Terry Etim and Kendall Grove versus Mark Munoz are the kind of match-ups you get when spend all your budget on the fighters in the marquee bouts.  Seriously, I think dos Anjos, Etim, Grove and Munoz’s combined salary for this one is about three camels.
• Untouchable lightweight champ BJ Penn gets a softball in the form of challenger Frankie Edgar.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love Edgar and think he’s a top fighter, but I still stand by my statement from last year: Edgar, Gray Maynard and Jim Miller have a shot a defeating the Hawaiian MMA legend - but only if they all attack him at once.
• Middleweight champ Anderson Silva is fighting Demian Maia because… everyone else was injured and the Sheik wanted to see Silva fight I guess.  This one has “ugly rape” written all over it.
• Renzo Gracie – the most beloved and capable of all fighters in the Gracie clan – finally sets foot into the Octagon as a competitor, and his “tune-up” fight is Matt Hughes?  If that right there doesn’t establish that Renzo sports a gigantic pair of balls, I don’t know what else would.
• Go Renzo! 

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Another Happy Customer

"I just read your article in the NY Post [sic] and saw one of my Zen fighters – Lorenzo – on the front page (He’s the kid with all the blood – there are better pictures – like when he knocked out Doug in the third round). But the cover picture is good from one viewpoint – while Doug was trying to choke out Lorenzo, the kid moved into a deep meditative state – allowing him to slow time and see what is real without fear. He can then do what he needs to do to turn things around.

If you would like to take this week’s story to the next level we could talk about how classical Zen training is being used with underground MMA fighters to give them a competitive advantage. Jonathan Figueroa is another Zen fighter and you can see him drop into deep states of Zen awareness as he waits to go into the ring as well as at key points during the fight. Peter Storm is familiar with what we’re developing as is Bruce Kivo. And the technology works – Lorenzo avoided being choked out and did come back to win the fight by a knockout.

You can do due diligence on what I’m presenting by going to peaceonthestreet.com. Take a look and let me know if you want to continue this conversation."

M-1 Global "Selection" Postscript

Despite the small venue - a ballroom in Bally's - it was definitely a high-caliber (i.e., organized and well-funded) international show, and guys like Mike Geurin, Plinio Cruz, Zach Makovsky and Dennis Bermudez made the most of the spotlight.  George Sheppard didn't really "defeat" Mervin Rodriquez as much as just hold him in a corner, and John Salgado's decision win has to be considered an early Christmas present for him (he did fight hard and entertain, though).  Over all, it was a strong event, and props to matchmaker Fran Evans for putting together some worthwhile talent.

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