Few Updates

-I decided that Urijah Faber is my fav mma fighter earlier today so I wanted to make sure I caught him against Pulver on Versus tonight. I did, and Faber dismantled him in the first round. Like I said in a previous post, Faber got caught when he fought Mike Brown and lost the WEC belt. In the rematch I think Faber tramples him and my wallet might think the same thing. Brown is getting all hyped but he doesn't impress me that much, just a heavy handed brawler and nothing special. Faber is fast, strong, explosive, a former wrestler, can stand with anyone, great submissions, sick tempo, and has maybe the best cardio in MMA. The only way you really beat him is to catch him with a lucky punch like Brown did when Faber went for a flying elbow. Interesting note is that Joe Lauzon and Hermes Franca who are matching up in a couple weekends, both hold submission wins over Mike Brown.

-Ovechkin and the breakaway challenge at the skills competition. Chara also hit 105 on the slapshot competition and set the all time record. Ovechkin really needs his own post though soon. Jesus he is a gap toothed creature.

-We are getting good feedback on the blog so far but we've got some work to do in terms of traffic. Nick checked our old wordpress blog and realized we still get over 500 hits a day and up to 1500 on some days. Thats more than we get here and we haven't updated the old blog in a year. What the? Wordpress tags get scooped by search engines much better than blogspot I guess. We'll figure it out soon enough. Keep spreading the word for us in the meantime.

-I got an Ipod touch yesterday and damn, that thing is extremely ill. If you have wireless in your home, it might be worth getting. Legit life changing possibilities. All the applications, the wifi, the music, google earth, youtube, safari, dvd's, games, shows, etc, are very awesome. Also I have Pandora for it and if you were late to the party on that thing then get on it asap. It just feeds you nonstop music over the internet and it learns what kind of music you like over time and gives you stuff you would like. I could do a whole post on Pandora alone but if you have an iphone or a touch you need this.

-Im copying this from the old blog but oh well. I know some people have already watched this one but I cant risk someone not seeing it. Mullet head got walloped and pwned. Sounded like a gunshot. Look at the look on the punchers face as shes winding up, then the double fast walk away. Check out the old lady at the beginning too. Love this clip so much. Rlol


-This next youtube is actually pretty recent. You know the quote that says trust the art and not the artist? Well that would probably apply to Joaquin Phoenix' decision to pursue music. Great actor, but are you toying with my life man? Get a grip bro. Seriously grab a mach 3 and come back to planet earth.



-Wolfie

UFC Title Rundown

Guest blog from Rich McLaughlin. Richard is finishing up his docorate of physical therapy. Hes one of my best friends in the world and the guy I go to if I need to know the deal with a sports injury. Actually I should ask him break down Brady's knee. (you guys don't want to know what he thinks) Rich is also a big fan of MMA so I asked him to break down the champions for the casual fans who read this blog. This is a pretty general article but it should catch you guys up on the current state of the champions. Thanks for taking the time Rich.

MMA and the UFC in particular are exploding in popularity. As evidenced by the highlights on Sportscenter now, the sport is ready to go mainstream. I love boxing, and Jake will probably keep you guys up to date on it, but MMA needs its due. Lets just hope it doesn't get too WWF on us. And lets hope they build their fighters and find a few superstars to fill the seats. Dana White is hoping this first fighter can be that guy...

Heavyweight Champion (205-265):

Brock Lesnar: Physically, Lesnar is the equivalent of Lebron James rookie year in the NBA. The man is still pretty raw, but physically he is a freak. 6’3’’ 265lbs of straight power. He put together a pretty impressive resume prior to entering MMA. He was a 2 time All-American college wrestler (106-5, one of those losses to New England Patriots guard Stephen Neal), WWE wrestler, made final cuts for the Minnesota Vikings (DE). In 3 UFC fights (2-1), that one loss to the revitalized and interim champion Frank Mir, in Lesnar’s MMA debut (knee bar submission). Man’s fists are the size of 16 oz boxing gloves.

Frank Mir (Interim): Personally not a huge Mir fan, however, his skills are undeniable. He is primarily known for his grappling/ground game, but in demonstrated very impressive striking in his demolition TKO of “Big Nog”, making him the first MMA fighter ever to finish “Big Nog”. Mir is as cocky as they come, but with a 12-3 MMA record, with some impressive wins on his resume including Tim Sylvia(snapped his arm), Big Nog, and Brock Lesnar, who can blame him.

Light Heavyweight Champion (185-205):

Sugar Rashad Evans: Explosive athlete. Appeared on the second season of the Ultimate Fighter, winning the heavyweight class. Sugar Rashad was a National Junior College wrestling champion before wrestling at Michigan State. 18-0-1 MMA record, while fighting some of the biggest names in the history of the sport. Decision victories against Bonnar and Bisbing, KO wins over Griffin and Liddell. Only blemish was a draw with Tito Ortiz. Tested fighter who occasionally appears to be out of shape, but manages to win none the less. Explosive striker, and excellent wrestler. (Liddell KO / headkick video)

Middleweight Champion (170-185):

Anderson “the Spider” Silva: Straight finishes fights. This man is a ninja, and arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world. Even though he is relatively new to the UFC, he is by no means new to MMA fighting (23-4). He is a primarily known for this Muy Thai skills, but no one has found a weakness in his game yet. He is been virtually unstoppable since arriving in the UFC, and seen the 3rd round only once. Wins over Leben, Lutter, Franklin (2), Henderson, Irwin (fought at 205lbs). Arguably the most skilled striker in MMA today. Its as good as over once he locks in the Thai Clench.

Welterweight Champion (155-170):

George “Rush” St Pierre: Possibly the best athlete in the UFC, arguably one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. Demonstrates a scary combination of speed and power. Looks much larger than 170lbs. Holds an impressive 17-2 MMA record with victories over Parysian, Hughes, BJ Penn, Sherk, Serra, Koschek, Fitch. Basically he has beaten the highest quality of fighter in each of his UFC fights. Pushes the pace, rarely fails on a take down, athletically is on another level than his opponents at this weight class.

Lightweight Champion (145-155):
BJ “the Prodigy” Penn: The most flexible fighter I have ever seen. Fights at 155, but will be fighting George “Rush” St Pierre (Jan. 31, 2009) at 170lbs. World renound BJJ fighter, he was the first American born black belt World Jiu Jitsu Champion. Skill set extends far beyond just his incredible ground game. Penn is an excellent striker (just ask Sean Sherk), and an iron head. Holds a 14-4-1 MMA record including wins against Din Thomas, Pulver, Hughes, Stevenson, and Sherk.

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Nice breakdown Richie. I decided to throw in one more youtube for the casual fans trying to get a handle on who's who in the MMA game.

WEC Featherweight Contender - Urijah Faber

The WEC is owned by the UFC. It focuses on lighter weight fighters and holds the majority of their events in California. I wanted to let you know about Urijah Faber, a kid in the featherweight that doesn't even hold the title. Faber got caught and knocked out by Mike Brown in November but that almost doesn't even matter. Faber is 21-2 and dominant in that 145 lb weight class. Lauzon trained with him a little last year when Faber was training to fight Pulver, and he was telling me the guy is just unreal. Very explosive striker, can wrestle, well rounded, and even tapped Lauzon once when they were sparring. And Im pretty sure the only person who taps Joey is BJ. Anyway, Faber will get the title back and if he goes on another long win streak I wouldn't be surprised if they throw big money at him to make a run at the UFC lightweight crown. (which would be hard because hes such a natural 145) Peep the highlight.