Some of you know nothing about this, but this was posted on Joe Rogan’s twitter account yesterday. I have highlighted the good parts be sure to start from the bottom and work your way up.

In the midst of everything that Tracey Morgan is going through with his statements on homosexuality, it seems a little odd that Joe Rogan would choose this time to remind us that “many black people don’t tip”. First of all that is an assumption not a widely known fact. Secondly as a non black person, Joe Rogan would have to know that his expertise on the spending habits of “many” or any black people or person would be called into question. If by his definition of many, he meant all of the black people that he has known, then that is how he should have stated it. Even by just saying “many” black people it’s still a sweeping statement about a demographic that he is not an expert in. Especially since the spirit of the statement in saying is as hurtful as saying all.

Making an “honest observation” should be followed up with research to come to a viable conclusion, that is normally how the truth of anything is found. Some sort of experiment would be needed to make the final statement that “many black people don’t tip”.

The UFC has many black fighters. Including two champions in their respective divisions. I am sure that they would find Joe Rogan’s commentary on the tipping practices of “many” black people quite intriguing.

Shame on you Joe Rogan, this is blatantly racism thinly veiled as humor.

I’ll still be posting on here but a lot of my articles will be posting on mmagospel.com come on over and check me out.

For awhile there the light heavyweight division in the UFC was in a bit of turmoil. After Rampage Jackson lost the belt to Forrest Griffin, no light heavyweight had been able to hold on to the championship until Lyoto Machida was able to narrowly defeat Shogun Rua. For the seven months since the title has been defended there has been only been a building rumble of activity in the . There has been promise in the new stars that have been signed, such as Lil Nog winning a big fight over Luiz Cane. Then there’s Jon Jones, who is tearing through the division at a rapid pace. Then there was a fight way back in January that you probably forgot about between Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva where Evans clearly dominated the action early in the fight but was almost finished in the waning moments by a heavy handed Silva. Starting this weekend the pace is going to start to move a little quicker as the stage is set for multiple showdowns that all mean huge implications for the UFC Light-heavyweight division.

This weekend we have the champion Lyoto Machida facing a game opponent in Shogun Rua. This will be the sequel to closely contested bout between the two in October of 2009. As long as this fight isn’t another narrow decision we’re looking to have a clear champion after this weekend, which becomes interesting only after the last weekend in May. On May 29th there will be two fights with big implications the first being Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Forrest Griffin, and the other being Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans. The UFC only has to hope for no major injuries in these fights and the following matchups will practically make themselves.

If I’m forced to make picks I’d have to go with Machida Rampage and Nogueira. However with rumors on Rampage getting “fat”, that might change. Regardless we can definitely look forward to an exciting May in the UFC’s Light-heavyweight division.

*Update* Looks like Jason Brilz is stepping in on four weeks notice to face Nogueira in place of the injured Griffin……I’m sticking with my predictions though.

I find myself again with the job of telling everyone in the MMA world to put down their pitchforks and torches for the second weekend in a row. However before i even go there let me first address the fights we saw on saturday night.

Amidst shoddy commentary and even worse production value somehow there were three championship fights in one night, and every one of them went the distance. In my opinion the most impressive victory and performance was that of Jake Shields who was able render Dan Henderson’s ground game completely obselete and dominate him for four rounds of action. Not to mention he did this after almost being knocked out in the early moments of round one.

I wasn’t overly impressed with Gilbert Melendez as I was never one who ascribed to Shinya Aoki being the number 2 lightweight in the world. I think Melendez is a great lightweight, and definitely probably solid number 5 overall. However I think this fight did a lot more to hurt Aoki than it did to help Melendez. The American audience was introduced to Aoki in a fashion not necessarily befitting the Dream lightweight champion and the consensus number 2 lightweight in the world.

King Mo laid and prayed his way to championship and Gegard Mousasi seemed content to allow him to do so. Through five rounds of action I saw no evidence from Mousasi that said he was prepared to engage in a wrestling match with Lawal. Not only that he didn’t do enough standing or even make efforts to keep the fight standing that would suggest that he was ready for the double leg takedown of King Mo. I wasn’t impressed with either fighter on Saturday however King Mo was by far much less not impressive.

And then there was the after party sponsored by the 2-0-9. I really think this goes a long way to show the simple mindedness of the MMA undermedia. By undermedia I mean the underground network of bloggers and twitter fanboys (and girls) myself included that seem to think that every huge event in the MMA world could risk the lifespan of MMA as a sport. Let me just start by saying the only thing that would be actually bad for the sport is a death in the cage. Outside of someone actually being killed inside the cage in front of an audience at a major promotion I don’t think there’s anything that could stop the momentum of mixed martial arts. A champion putting on a bad fight doesn’t hurt it as long as there’s challengers who are looking to “make him pay”, which sells more fights. An unsanctioned fight in the cage in which no one got seriously injured (if injured at all) is definitely not going to do anything to deter growth of MMA. This won’t affect sponsorships as in most cases sponsors will attach themselves to violence more times than not as sponsors know that, much like sex, violence sells.

If anything this might boost ratings for the next Strikeforce show. If I were a Strikeforce executive I would deifnitely be chomping at the bit to establish the re-match between Jason Miller and Jake Shields and start controlling the promotion myself. People love grudge matches, and now that the Cesar Gracie camp is establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with in MMA and now even as a bunch of tough guys outside the ring this will be an easy selling point for fights to come.

As a final note I think that we as the MMA undermedia need to be a little more careful in what we say and give creedence to as it pertains to hot topics in MMA. If we all start legitimizing things that aren’t owed a true second thought we then give issues more momentum than they should have. We have to try to be a little more responsible in discerning what deserves our outrage.

more coming so stay tuned.

Yesterday’s blog addressed all the wrongs of the main event of UFC 112, today we’re going to discuss the rights.

To start with, I think the obvious one is that while Silva did taunt and antagonize Maia he was able to dictate the pace of the fight with ease. During the 1st 2nd and third rounds he was able to hit Maia whenever he wanted and keep the fight at his pace. This was the only reason he was able to virtually break dance during the fight. While i was watching I remember saying to my friend, “Honestly if he decided to cook breakfast in the octagon and Demian could do nothing to stop him, I think that is saying something about how quick Silva really is”. This is of course early in the fight when Silva was able to visble batter Maia and frustrate him enough that not only did Maia remain overly cautious but he was still unable to press the action early. This of course changed as the fight wore into the championship rounds which brings me to my next point.

Demian Maia actually got better as the fight continued. Now i still think in the later rounds Silva was dominant in the control of the fight, however Maia refused to take only what Silva gave him and was able to initiate a few punching exchanges that impressed me. In round three i remember thinking that if I were Maia and Silva were treating me the way he was then I would’ve just started throwing haymakers and throwing caution to the wind. Maia did just that in round 5, and I respect him for that. I have always said that if I were a fighter and I knew that I lost enough rounds to lose the fight by the final round, then i would just go for broke in that round because in that time I knew I would have nothing to lose. Demian was able to work through adversity and adjust his gameplan, however futile it may have been in the end. I think that Maia will grow from this fight, and in future fights he will be able to address this fight as a turning point in his career for the better. Only time will tell.

Finally I want to point out a couple of things you may have forgotten. Regardless of the method in which Silva won let’s remember this. Anderson Silva is undefeated in the UFC. He is the record holder for title defenses with six under his belt (no pun intended). He is also the record holder for consecutive wins in the UFC with eleven not to mention that he has jumped to the light heavyweight division twice. No matter what people think of the method in which Silva has won recent fights, let’s not forget that in between the Leites title defense and the Maia fight on saturday Silva knocked out Forrest Griffin with a jab while moving backwards. Anderson Silva is still a great fighter, and while he was lackluster on Saturday I still don’t think he showed any real holes in his game, and by real holes i mean when he was fighting and not trying to clown Maia.

Tomorrow we’ll address parallels between Silva’s antics and athletes in other sports past and present. Stay Tuned!

1) Anderson Silva is still arguably number 1 or 2 pound for pound in the world.
2) Vitor Belfort is a good fighter, but please be careful in thinking he’s the one to “beat” Silva, however i agree either him marquardt or sonnen will be the ones to PUSH Silva
3) Demian Maia has good BJJ but let’s not act like Silva would’ve been completely lost on the ground, this is not Chieck Kongo we’re talking about here

WoW What a crazy show. Lackluster at best yet steeped in controversy. I’m talking of course about UFC 112: Invincible.

I don’t want to bore you so I’ll start quickly by addressing three key wrongs in and around the main event on saturday.

First of all put down your pitchforks and torches and let’s speak rationally about this.

Anderson was completely wrong for showboating during the fight against Maia. However the word disrespect has been thrown around a lot about this fight and I want to be clear in who i think he was disrespectful to. Many hardcore MMA fans insert themselves into the equation a lot and want to take what Anderson Silva did on Saturday personally. Don’t do that. He wasn’t flippin’ off the crowd and telling you to bring on the boos. What Anderson did in the octagon was directed at Maia mostly. Silva for some reason felt disrespected by Maia so he returned the favor in the octagon. Contrary to popular belief and contrary to whatever fighters say, they do not fight for the fans. Fighters fight for themselves. Yes fans do watch and are entertained and promotions are glad to have them however fans need to stop thinking that by paying money they are in turn own something personally by the fighter. For example, it was kind of wrong for the Colts to not go for the undefeated season last year and bench their starters. However in the grand scheme of things the organization is about winning in the long run not making short sighted milestones at the peril of good players. So yes Anderson Silva was wrong for his behavior in the octagon, but he doesn’t owe me or you an apology, he owes Demian Maia an apology if anyone.

Now earlier I said it was directed at Maia mostly, and I’m sure many of you want to know who else this could’ve been directed at. Well I think maybe this was a message from Silva to the UFC, that he doesn’t want to face pure grapplers anymore. Sure you face whoever the boss tells you to face, but when your boss is touting you as the pound for pound best fighter on the planet then perhaps your opposition should be up to par. I think this match-up was doomed from the moment Vitor Belfort got injured. Silva has never had a boring fight against a pure striker. However injuries and a lack of talent in the middleweight division early on put Silva in favorable yet lackluster matchups. If you don’t believe me, think about the last three MW championship contenders. One has not fought in the octagon in almost two years and before that won a split decision to get the title shot. One is not even in the UFC, and arguably got his title shot due to mistakes made by Nate Marquardt. The most recent literally lucked into his title shot by being in the right place at the right time. The UFC promoted Maia as being the “dangerous submission specialist” but so was Thales Leites and we all saw what happened in that fight. As a direct result of that fight Silva was back in the light Heavyweight division dispatching of Forrest Griffin. When it comes to Anderson Silva, we have to acknowledge that he is too talented to be in the ring with just anyone, and in his case especially the MATCH UP matters. I think the UFC dropped the ball a little bit on this one.

The third wrong is the UFC president himself, Mr. Dana White. White did himself no favors by repeatedly bashing Anderson Silva. We all have come to love and accept White’s full steam ahead say what I feel in your face raw and real attitude. However this situation probably needed a little more downplaying and a lot more spin, and Mr. President and the UFC did not spin it right. Personally I would have talked to the Fertittas and Joe Silva before the press conference and used the conference as a way to promote Silva’s next fight against an opponent that would push him. Perhaps replace another fighter like he did against Forrest Griffin. I would’ve spoke of pushing Anderson Silve to be his best, and about my disappointment in his performance. Then I would’ve stopped taking questions on it, and started talking about Frank Edgar and what he just accomplished. Dana White threw gasoline on a fire on saturday and behaved a lot less like a multimillion dollar executive and more like an angry fan. Admittedly he is a fight fan, but this wasn’t the proper forum to have his heart on his sleeve. For those of you who are football fans, think about Roger Goodell. If something similiar would’ve happened in the NFL, Goodell would’ve addressed the NFL in third person and dealt with the situation swiftly and appropriately. IE: “The NFL will not tolerate this type of behavior” 24 hours later player fined and/or suspended.

I think these were the key wrongs of the main event at UFC 112, tomorrow I’ll continue by addressing the rights. Glad something got under my skin enough to get me blogging again. Stay Tuned.

My experience started with the weigh ins on Sunday. I hadn’t bought tickets so it was my intention to seek out some tickets from Dana White before the show as all of us hardcore fans know he gives out free tickets before every show. I had arrived a little late and missed a Q and A session with Frankie Edgar but i was able to get a picture with and wish him luck on his next fight. (Unfortnately his next fight will probably be with BJ Penn after Gray Maynard’s lackluster fight with Diaz so I don’t think my luck will be enough for him to get a victory)

me and Frankie afer the Q and A

There was still a little time before the actual weigh in so my friend Travis who i came with and I decided to go searching for Dana to get tickets. He tweeted the day before that he saved a few tickets for us in the Fairfax VA, area so I was on a mission to find him and get those tickets. While I was walking around the concourse of the Patriot center I ran into Aaron Riley who i almost called Aaron Simpson, luckily I’m well versed in whose who in the UFC. I congratulated him in his win over Shane Nelson (who i kept wanting to call Shane Primm) but Riley seemed as surprised as I was as I don’t think he thought anyone would know who he was.

me and Aaron Riley

So the weigh ins came and went and I was still on a mission to find Dana White and get my tickets. At this point Travis and I were trying to figure where Dana was going to exit the building. I had another friend there name Ryan who had come with his son and sister and was driving around the outside of the Patriot Center where he saw the loading dock entrance with a bunch of limos and SUVs parked. Travis and I made our way over as we thought this was the most logical place for Dana to make an appearance. We hit the jackpot at this location…….

me and the ring girls but especially Arianny

me and the big boss Lorenzo Fertitta

me and Mike Goldberg

Not only did I get pictures with these guys but I also shook hands with Brad Blackburn, yelled good luck to Nate Diaz, told Gilbert Melendez to come to the UFC, and yelled hello to Joe Rogan. I also saw Chieck Kongo who was a jerk and avoided us. He’s probably still upset about that whole Mir incident. All of this was nice but I was still waiting to see Dana White and get my tickets. Finally after freezing for about a hour and a half, Dana came out and made everything better by giving us the sweetest tickets you could ever get free. We were four rows away from the floor and about 30 feet away from the octagon. It was amazing……

Can’t wait for the next one……

It’s been a good holiday season but now it’s time to go back to work.  Christmas was good, those of you who follow me on twitter know that my parents hit a homerun and bought me Madden ’10 and a second controller for my PS3.  It’s wonderful to be a 25-year-old kid.  The Cowboys clinched a playoff spot and will win the division and a home game next weekend.  I’m anticipating a solid run for the superbowl, that’s the only playoff win that actually matters.

Now on to MMA, this is a very slow news week so I really nothing to repeat.

Big Baby quit MMA that’s probably best for him and the sport he was too old to develop an effective striking game.  This is why you should start with a strong standing base before you develop a sophisticated ground game.  The fight starts standing.

Gilbert Yvel makes his UFC debut this Saturday against Junior Dos Santos.  Unfortunately this is worse news for the heavyweight division than you think.  If Dos Santos beats Yvel impressively it’s going to crowd the title picture even more so than it is right now.  Somebody please call a doctor and get the heavyweight division healthy so we can restore order.

I hate to defend Frank Mir (even though I secretly love him) but the media needs to stop hyping his comment.  He didn’t say Brock should be stripped, he only brought into question how long the UFC should wait before they strip him.  Everyone needs to relax.

Ok there’s really nothing else to report here but you know what?  I’ll preview UFC 108, I’ll give an in depth breakdown of a couple of the fights, and I’ll give quick picks for the entire card look for that later on this week.

Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve
Heavyweight Non-Title Bout

Paul Buentello KO Round 1

The UFC is touting Struve as the next big thing in the Heavyweight division, however after seeing him get destroyed by Dos Santos a couple of fights ago I don’t think he fares well against people who will move forward and actually hit him. I think Struve definitely has a good chance to win but if Buentello overwhelms him quickly and early it will be a short night.

Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida
Lightweight Non-Title Bout

Kenny Florian unanimous decision

I don’t buy into the hype of Clay Guida. He has lousy standup and I don’t think his wrestling is as effective as people make it out to be. For instance I don’t think he beat Nate Diaz. On the other hand Florian is strong in all areas and he’s notorious for having a good gameplan and effective training camps. He might be able to submit Guida, but if not he’ll grind out an easy UD.

Jon Fitch vs. Mike Pierce
Welterweight Non-Title Bout

Jon Fitch unanimous decision

I would like to see Mike Pierce win because I hate that AKA refuses to fight each other. Fitch being a number one contender is not good for the welterweight division as long as Koshchek and Swick continue to fight well and not fight each other. However Fitch is the truth and easily the number one contender in the division and should be able to grind out an impressive win against a tough opponent in Mike Pierce. I will say that Pierce has a chance if only a small one to pull the upset.

Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo
Heavyweight Non-Title Bout

Mir submission Round 1

Kongo is too stubborn to work on his ground game even after the beatdown he suffered at the hands of Cain Velasquez. He has won two many fights with his heavy hands. Unlike Velasquez, Mir will be able to do more with his position on the ground and end the fight quickly. Don’t blink or this one will pass you by quickly.

BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez
Lightweight Championship Bout

Penn split decision or round 3 TKO

I’m not the biggest Penn fan many people will tell you. However he has been starting to win me over. Starting with changing up his training for the Florian fight he’s honestly changed the way he trains and fights effectively making him more of a prodigy now than before. Diego has great cardio but his advantage as of late has been his ability to bully smaller opponents in the division such as guida and stevenson. This will be his toughest opponent to date and his inability to mount an effective gameplan with frustrate him and more than likely cause his breakdown and defeat. His early aggression will play into Penn’s strengths later in the fight. I don’t see this one going into the championship rounds.

Quick Picks:
Burns
Johnson
Palhares
Hendricks
Wiman
Gouveia
Fitch
Struve
Florian
Mir
Penn