Should Gina Carano Fight Ronda Rousey?

UFC

When it comes to UFC female bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey, there's been a lot of chatter lately over who her next opponent should be. Does Cris Cyborg, the Invicta FC champ with a checkered history of performance-enhancing drug use, deserve it? Should Cat Zingano, who's coming off a bad knee injury, be next? Opinions vary, but one name being tossed about almost certainly shouldn't be getting a crack at Rousey's belt, and yet despite that, it's starting to seem like she almost certainly will.

I'm talking about Gina Carano of course, who may have helped make women's MMA what it is today, but who also hasn't fought since she was crushed by Cyborg in 2009.

Throwback Thursday: Ryan LaFlare's First Fight

NEW YORK

Long Island native Ryan LaFlare will step into the Octagon tomorrow at UFC Fight Night: Abu Dhabi, and though most locals recognize him as the dude who dominated Ring of Combat for years, a select few know him from before that.

Yeah, I'm talking about his first fight, which took place in the Underground Combat League back in October of 2007.

Behold, the Worst Bout-Ending Scream Ever

NEW JERSEY

In a perfect world, a fighter gets KO'd or taps out and the referee steps in and there's no muss or fuss. But fighting is an imperfect endeavor, and occasionally something really awful happens. Such was the case with the International Fight League's April 4, 2008 show at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J.

If you'll recall, the IFL was originally about hokey team names, but towards the end of the promotion's existence, they just said screw it all and let the fighters rep their actual, real-life teams. Therefore, when Emyr Bussade and Jesse Lennox squared off, it wasn't so much the Denver Woodchucks versus the Austin Amoebas as it was a guy from American Top Team taking on a dude from Pat Miletich's camp. Which is fine, and how it should be.

Also how it should be: when a fighter is in danger of getting injured by a submission, he taps out. But Lennox had been pretty adept at avoiding the trouble his opponent put him in, so maybe he grew complacent or over-confident when they end was near. Whatever the reason, Lennox didn't submit to Bussade's bout-ending leglock so much as he let out a blood-curdling scream.

And trust me, I was sitting ringside just a few feet away. That scream curdled my blood.

So here it is, the worst bout-ending scream ever emitted from a fighter's mouth.

UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi Primer: Tatsuya Kawajiri in Action

UFC

UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi is this Friday (the prelims start a little before noon here on the East Coast), and though the main event features two aged veterans in Minotauro Nogueira and Roy Nelson, there's another pair of fighters with a ton of miles on them in the co-main event. That's right, I'm talking about Clay Guida and Tatsuya Kawajiri, whose combined records have them in the ring/cage 86 times.

Official New York City MMA Fighter Rankings - April '04 Edition

NEW YORK

The current form of the amateur MMA scene in New York City (i.e., a scene with tons of shows) is still pretty young, but that doesn't mean a certain number of fighters haven't emerged as apex predators. A number of them have. Which means... it's rankings time!

A few notes about the following list of top NYC MMA fighters:

Flashback: Rumble on the Rails - 5.15.13

NEW YORK

Confession: I will often go to a combative sports event simply because the venue is new and interesting. Maybe you think that was a lame reason to go to an amateur wrestling meet held inside Grand Central Station - a meet that pitted Americans against Russians and Iranians and featured the likes of Kyle Dake and other studs of the squared circle - but believe you me, that event was cool as hell.

Nate Diaz Sick of Making Chump Change

UFC

Nate Diaz ain't scared, homie, and lately he seems to have some beef with his employers. Despite winning a season of TUF, establishing himself as a top ten fighter in the the lightweight division, and fighting for the belt, the younger Diaz brother is not happy with the quantity of Benjamins the the UFC sends his way.

Guess What? Bruce Lee Really is the Father of MMA

UFC

The UFC has announced Bruce Lee as a playable character in their upcoming EA Sports video game, and in the promotional materials, the famed martial artist is hailed as the "Father of MMA". This designation has some crying foul.

Here's what acclaimed journo Jonathan Snowden tweeted on the subject:

Flashback: BAMA Fight Night - 4.12.03

NEW JERSEY

Prior to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board taking an active role in overseeing MMA, the Garden State had as its lone combative sport option B.A.M.A. Fight Night, which was run by "Big" Dan Miragliotta and featured just about every big name in Northeast fighting getting their feet wet in the ring.

It was definitely something special to watch, but it had to end at some point. Here are pics from the last show.

Team MMA Fights Because Why the Hell Not?

AWESOME

Thus far, in 20 years of MMA, we've seen funky tournaments where the grapplers and strikers are kept in separate divisions and meet at the end (the World Combat Championships), we've seen fights take place in a literal bowl (Yamma), and we've seen hokey team competitions (the International Fight League). But now there's a new player on the "WTF" block, and it's the Team Fighting Championships, which is thankfully the closest thing we'll ever get to that gang fight in "The Outsiders".

After the jump, check out a battle between Poland and Sweden.

UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi: Ryan LaFlare Doing Work

UFC

Poor Ryan LaFlare. The Long Island-based fighter amasses a spotless record in the Northeast circuit, earns a spot in the UFC, and now has to fly to the ends of the Earth to compete for them instead of getting to fight in the Octagon when it's set up nearby (like Newark or Atlantic City - anywhere closer than Abu Dhabi, really).

UFC Cuts Jake Shields - And That's Not a Bad Thing

UFC

Jake Shields, former EliteXC and Strikeforce champ and one-time UFC welterweight contender, has been cut by the UFC.

The good folks at MMAFighting have the scoop:

"Jake Shields has been released by the UFC. Jake appreciates the opportunities provided by the UFC and thanks Dana White and Lorenzo Fertita. Jake is an elite athlete who is one of the best welterweight fighters in the world with a long history of winning at a championship level.

"Jake and our team are already exploring options. I'm confident that Jake will have a new promotion to call home very soon. Jake thanks his fans for their support and looks forward to competing for them again soon."

The initial reaction to this move by the UFC is probably shock and disappointment that such a high-level fighter could get the axe, but there's more than one way to look at Shields' termination. First, there's very little upside to a grappler whose last submission win was a 2009 guillotine over Robbie Lawler in Strikeforce. Since then, all Shields has done is either win by decision or lose by decision (plus there's a quick TKO loss to Jake Ellenberger in there). How much mileage - exciting, crowd-pleasing miles - does he have left?

Flashback: Underground Combat League - 9.25.04

NEW YORK

Want to know what the MMA scene was like in New York City in 2004? It was the Underground Combat League - true style vs. style, kung fu instructor vs. bouncer with a judo green belt, ultra-secret stuff.

It was glorious.

New York MMA Story Courtesy of Northeast Public Radio

NEW YORK

Northeast Public Radio did a story on MMA in New York, and while it's a piece painted with some pretty broad strokes, it's still worth checking out.

At the crux of the piece is that recent University of Toronto study that tries to quantify the incidence of knockouts in MMA and correlate it to rates of head trauma. Quotes from Uriah Hall and Marc Ratner are in there as well.

TUF Nations Finale Primer: Tim Kennedy in Action

UFC 

The TUF Nations Finale quickly approaches, so to prep you for the main event - which will see mouthy Brit Michael Bisping (who's actually a really nice guy in person) take on real American hero Tim Kennedy - here's a video of Kennedy kicking ass.

Unfortunately for us Northeast folk, the fighter on the wrong end of this ass-kicking is former ROC champ Rafael Natal, but oh well. You can't win them all, and "Sapo" is still a tough dude.

Combat at the Capitale - 4.4.14

NEW YORK

The kickboxing scene in New York City runs deep through the fabric of combat sports entertainment - so deep in fact, that there can be two events going on within 25 blocks of each other on a single night, and there will be enough fighters and spectators to make both events viable. Such was the case on Friday night, with Friday Night Fights going down at a venue near Wall Street, and Lou Neglia's Combat at the Capitale taking place at the Capitale, a nightclub in Chinatown.

While ardent Muay Thai fans tend to gravitate towards the FNF product, those who appreciate MMA lean to what CatC offers - which isn't surprising, given that Neglia is the man behind the long-running Ring of Combat organization, and ROC and CatC often cross-pollinate each other. Case in point: the MMA fighters on the card, which included ROC champ Julio Arce, ROC and Bellator veteran Carlos Brooks, ROC amateur champ Mike Fischetti, and ROC amateur fighter John Bowman.

Is This Man The Next Big Prospect out of Team Serra/Longo?

NEW YORK

I'm still finishing the write-up for Friday night's Combat at the Capitale kickboxing event in Manhattan (short report: it was good), but there was one thing noteworthy out of the affair that deserves its own post. In the co-main event, a Team Serra/Longo fighter took on an experienced kickboxer in Nike Tsigaris, and he did a clear and convincing job of kicking Tsigaris' ass.

That fighter was John Bowman, and according to trainer Ray Longo, who I spoke with afterwards, Bowman is a former Division I wrestler who they've been trying unsuccessfully to get an MMA bout for (according to mixedmartialarts.com he's only had two amateur MMA fights thus far).

Combat at the Capitale: Mike Fischetti vs. Jeff Brown

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Combat at the Capitale: Dom Bingo vs. Billy Rose

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Combat at the Capitale: Remi Singha vs. Nazim Sadykhov

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