Fedor vs. Hendo: The Emperor's Last Stand

Yeah, you heard us right. We here at Fan Fight, with our reputed focus on the UFC, are covering a Strikeforce event. Why? Well it helps that Henderson is a former UFC fighter and that Strikeforce is now owned by Zuffa, the UFC's parent company. But mainly we're covering it because its freakin' Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson. I mean, do you need more of a reason than that?

Nope. No more reason than that.

This super fight between two of the greatest legends of our sport is set for July 30th, 10:00 PM ET at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. There are also going to be a lot of other really good fighters in the middle of some very interesting match ups at this event, but we don't really care about them right now. Why? Because none of them are named Fedor Emelianenko or Dan Henderson, that's why.

Dan "Hendo" Henderson, is a true legend of the sport. And with a record of 27/8 spread across four weight divisions its easy to see why. He held both the final Welterweight and Middleweight championships concurrently for the now defunct Pride FC organization, he won the UFC 17 Middleweight tournament, the 1997 Brazil open lightweight tournament, the 1999 RINGS King of Kings tournament, and the Pride 2005 welterweight Grand Prix. This is all in addition to being the current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, and his numerous wrestling accolades. He is currently ranked as the #10 light heavyweight in the world by Sherdog.com, and #2 by Fight! Magazine.

Did we mention that he is turning forty years old, has a cast iron jaw, regularly beats up much younger fighters, still wins championships and that his right hand is called the "H-Bomb"? No? Well maybe we should have, because that just goes to show you how incredibly awesome Dan Henderson is.

The only things bigger than those belts are the size of the lumps on his opponents' faces.

And on the other side of the ring we have the one and only, the legendary, "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko. Who is he? What have you been living under a rock for the past decade? Because Fedor Emelianenko is arguably the most important heavyweight fighter in the history of mixed martial arts.

Why is he so important? Well lets look at his record, it's currently 31/3/1. Yes, that's right, out of the thirty-five fights that this man has fought, he only lost three of them. That means he averages about a ten-to-one win/loss ratio. It also means he was undefeated for nearly a DECADE. He has wins over such notables as Brett Rogers, Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Matt Lindland, Mark Hunt, Mark Coleman (x2), Mirko Filipovic, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (x2), Kevin Randleman, Gary Goodridge, Heath Herring, Semmy Schilt, and Renato Sobral.

During his reign of terror he fought across numerous organizations and was the greatest heavyweight in the world, and many argued the greatest mixed-martial artist of all time. His accomplishments both in mma (five separate major championships), and in Judo and Sambo are literally just too numerous to mention. So we'll cover just the major mma accomplishments, and if you want to see a more complete list of what he has done we suggest you check out the list of his accomplishments on Wikipedia.

Of course with just what we are covering we still have a lot to say because he's the RINGS Open-Weight Tournament Champion; the 2001 RINGS Heavyweight Class Tournament Winner; the 2002 RINGS Absolute Class Tournament Winner; the PRIDE World Heavyweight Champion; the 2004 PRIDE Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion; and the WAMMA World Heavyweight Champion. Sherdog.com currently ranks him as the #8 Heavyweight in the world.

Why just number eight you ask? Well because the legend that is the Last Emperor has been on a decline of late. The nigh unstoppable Russian wrecking machine pulled up short in his last two bouts. Losing first by submission to Fabricio Werdum in the first round, and then to Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva by TKO (Doctor's Stoppage) from swelling around the eye. Because of these losses many fans are now crying out that his reign is over, and that Emelianenko should retire. Something he seriously considered doing after his loss to Silva, and which he may consider again after this bout with Henderson. Either way, we know that his career will hinge entirely around this upcoming fight.

Another reason why he is no longer listed as number one is that his competition of late has been slowing, before his last two fights his notable opponents had been few and far between. In addition the once powerful Russian was not focusing on his training as much as he once had. Why? Well for years he could beat anyone anytime without training as hard he did in his early career. When you are that good, you can gain a few extra pounds and still beat everyone.

What you don't see in this picture is the ice cream vendor with a broken arm who tried to charge Fedor.

So what we have here is a catch-weight match-up between two of the greatest legends of all time, with Henderson fighting at about 205 lbs and Emelianenko at around 230 lbs. Henderson should be in decline but isn't, and Emelianenko should have more years ahead of him but is now looking at possible retirement if he doesn't win the upcoming match.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a fan boy's wet dream. And we are here to provide you with our complete breakdown of the fight. So get ready, because Fan Fight is going to lay down the law all over this place.

Darn straight we are.

Striking: The stand up in this match won't be one of flying high kicks, or roundhouse elbows. No, instead it will feature two of the greatest boxers in mma history. Emelianenko is well known for his powerful hits, precision, and highly technical counter-boxing. Henderson is known for his super powerful strikes, many of his wins coming by KO.

Both men have notoriously strong jaws, neither have ever been knocked out. Although Emelianenko does tend to get cut on his face fairly easily which can result in swelling around the eyes, something that cost him dearly in the Silva fight.

But when we compare who will have more weight behind their punches, and who has gotten hit and stayed standing from more hard strikers we begin to see who will have the advantage in this department. And since we know from experience that technical boxing usually beats power boxing that advantage becomes clearer.

Advantage to Fedor Emelianenko.


Grappling: Another tough choice for who has the advantage. One is a Judo and Sambo world champion, the other is an Olympic level wrestler. Emelianenko will come into the fight weighing nearly twenty-five to thirty pounds more than Henderson, who doesn't use his wrestling nearly as often as he should. Henderson instead prefers to use his heavy hands, and then uses his wrestling if he gets into deep waters or to keep the fight standing. But when he does use it look out, because this Greco-Roman master doesn't take any prisoners.

Emelianenko is a master of sweeps and tosses and possesses an incredible sense of balance. Henderson on the other hand has incredible wrestling, beautiful takedowns, and a true gift at control in a clinch.

Hendo on his day off.

Their two skills-sets nearly cancel each other out but Emelianenko's craft assists in grappling while Henderson's is designed for it.

Slight advantage to Dan Henderson.


Submissions: The advantage here is obvious. Remember where we pointed out that Emelianenko's craft only assists in grappling? Well that's because its designed to let him dominate at submissions. Particularly his trademark move, the armbar.

To show how big an advantage Emelianenko has in this department we suggest that you look at it this way: out of his thirty-one victories eighteen are by submission. Whereas Henderson, who has twenty-seven wins, has only won via submission twice. And one of them was a submission due to blows from Henderson. In addition he was shown to have some weaknesses in his submission defense in his bout against Jake Shields.

Advantage to Fedor Emelianenko

Is there anything that Fedor CAN'T submit?

Athleticism: Emelianenko does get props in this area as he fights as a heavyweight against much bigger opponents than his mere 235 lbs. This is a testament to his strength and power. But, his training has been somewhat lacking of late. While Henderson, the elder, is nearly always in tip-top shape, and has the personal training and discipline necessary to let him fight in multiple divisions. His strength and explosive power are also legendary.

Both men have more than enough endurance to last through a full fight so cardio is not an issue. So with all the cards on the table we have to say that Henderson takes the lead on this one.

Advantage to Dan Henderson.


Experience: A tough one to call. Both have fought quality opponents, both have fought extensively. Emelianenko has been in the spotlight much more, and has fought more big name opponents. Henderson has experience in what it takes to come off of a severe loss and win, something Emelianenko has never really had to go through.

Push. No advantage to either party.


Mental Toughness: This is where this game will truly be fought. Make no mistake, this is a game of wills and concentration. You can expect solemn expressions and plenty of inner fire because both men are world renowned for their mental fortitude.

What makes this aspect really interesting though is that Henderson has perhaps a few more chinks in his mental armor than Emelianenko. Henderson has been known to get a bit frustrated in a few fights, notably against Anderson "The Spider" Silva and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. And on the reverse side Emelianenko is having to deal with the blows to his confidence from his recent back to back losses. Something the humble Russian has never really had to face in his mma career.

Because of those losses Fedor Emelianenko's mental state is up for debate right now. Unfortunately for all of us fight fans, his mental fortitude is so great that it is next to impossible to tell if he is frustrated, angry, happy, or sad. So we the fans are left to conjecture while acknowledging that the man is some sort of Russian robot and that any mental weakness he possesses probably won't be revealed until after the fight is over and we're all looking back in retrospect.

The Soviet Union's ultimate weapon.

Slight advantage to Fedor Emelianenko. It could easily be a slight advantage to Henderson though.


Conclusion: A lot of people are calling out Fedor Emelianenko right now. They are saying he has been on a hype train for the past ten years and that he hasn't really fought anyone of worth. And we at Fan Fight agree that some of that is true, while Emelianenko is arguably the most successful heavyweight mma fighter of all time the claims that he is the greatest fighter period are over the top. And his competition has been slowing of late.

Does that mean he doesn't really have it? That he is all show? No definitely not.  He is a great fighter. This battle isn't for his legacy, but how well his legacy will be remembered. Now that he is under the Zuffa banner for the first time he will have to show to a whole new generation of fans and fighters just how good he really is. This truly is his last stand, if he doesn't make it here he loses relevancy in the modern fast paced world of mixed-martial arts.

Henderson may be in the twilight of his career, but the funny thing is that it doesn't matter with him. Why? 'Cause he's the energizer bunny and he just keeps going and going. Due to his UFC connections and that he is now once again under the Zuffa banner it seems likely that he will one day end up in the UFC Hall of Fame. A win over Fedor Emelianenko will cement those chances and his place as one of the best fighters ever.

What does it all add up to? Well it adds up to one seriously tough match to call.

That said, Henderson has shown some problems against elite submission specialists before and will have to overcome a pretty big size disadvantage. With that in mind we at Fan Fight are going to call a win for Fedor Emelianenko via armbar in the second round. While this fight could easily go to Henderson, we think that there are just better odds of the Last Emperor pulling this off.

We have so much respect for both of these fighters, and no matter what, we are looking forward to this bout. Ladies and gentlemen, be sure to watch it this Saturday because this is going to be one for the record books.

Faaaaaalcon PUNCH!

Injuries in the UFC: Why They're Getting Hurt

2011 may go down in history as the year with the worst streak of last-minute injuries to fighters in the UFC since the dawn of time. Main events, co-main events, preliminaries, and even last minute fights that got thrown together to replace injured fighters have been cut from cards or had fighters on them replaced due to injuries across the board.

The injuries range from busted up knees, to torn up hand ligaments, to diverticulitis, to a rather large share of shoulder injuries. But why is this happening? Is there something new in the air? Is someone gunning for the UFC's fighters and purposefully injuring them? Have the Fertitta brothers been cursed with the malocchio, the evil eye?

Ack! Frank, turn it right side up darn you!

But, while we at Fan Fight are open to the possibility of an evil Italian curse we also believe there is in fact a secret reason as to why so many injuries are occurring of late. In fact it is a combination of three different things, with all three resulting in what has been one of the unluckiest fighting seasons in recent memory.

How do we know what is causing this while countless others are left speculating and asking "Why is this happening?". Well it might be because we keep all our copies of interesting mma articles in a folder so we can reference them quickly and easily. But we like to think its because we're so awesome.

This is our seal. Isn't it beautiful? No, you can't touch it.

1. Unprecedented Athleticism: Yep, you heard us right, one of the main reasons why so many fighters are being cut from the fight cards of UFC events is due to their nearly unprecedented training to achieve the highest levels of athleticism. But in reality this is one particular aspect that is easily predicted. Why? Because the demands for better, more perfect fighters, and the athleticism that is expected of them has been increasing constantly since day one of the UFC.

It is just a fact that there is more pressure on fighters to be stronger, faster, and fitter than ever before. And that those who don't strive for such physical perfection are often left in the dust, never to gain a name or a reputation for themselves. With of course a few notable exceptions.

Allow me to present the former IFL Heavyweight champ and the Season 10 winner of The Ultimate Fighter

#2 Weight-cuts and gains: This one is pretty much a spin off of the first. With everyone striving to be the best; fighters are cutting more and more weight to enter divisions that they feel they would have an advantage in, or they are adding on the pounds to get into the shallower upper weight divisions.

Here's the thing though, weight cuts and gains are tough on the body. Its like stripping down a car and then building it back up, repeatedly. Eventually all the nuts and bolts will get worn out and the body will be damaged.

Fighters are anxious to gain any advantage they can, with so many pressures its easy to see why hormone and steroid abuse is on the rise. Its also easy to see how fighters are getting injured easier, they're burning out their bodies too quickly.


#3 The Insurance: We at Fan Fight love to save the best for last. And that is what we did this time. This is the big one, the real hidden reason, the silent elephant in the room that is the world of mma. All that other stuff is really just icing on the cake, effective, realistic, but in the end not enough to make a whole meal or argument in and of itself.

Because lets face it, yes the weight-cuts and training are more extreme but they were extreme in 2010 also. There must be some new factor that has been added to the equation. Something that has tipped the scales from some injuries, to lots of injuries.

There is only one real answer. The new UFC health insurance plan.

Bah! Health insurance! What kind of fighter would need that?

Doesn't it seem like an interesting coincidence that all of these fighters are declaring their injuries AFTER the new UFC health care insurance plan was announced by Dana White and the gang? But surely that was just some brief ploy to gain news coverage and make the UFC look good in front of the New York legislature to get mma legalized in New York State, right?

Wrong. Actually the insurance plan covers a fair amount, a surprising amount in fact. And it is given to all 350 fighters under the Zuffa banner which includes both the UFC and Strikeforce promotions. Here are just some of the insurance's highlights as reported by MiddleEasy.com (here)

"Each fighter will have $50,000 USD in annual coverage.

Coverage will be in any type of accident (slipping on ice, automobile accident...etc.) Full coverage.

Separate from if the fighter is injured in an event. Actually, fighters now have two separate policies protecting them.

It doesn't cover if someone gets a cold, flu...etc.

They didn't want there to be any disputes from insurance companies, so they covered every accident.

Very narrow group of insurance companies that wanted to participate.

As long as fighters under contract, they have insurance.

The health plan is for UFC and Strikeforce fighters.

They wanted a full coverage insurance company since day one of acquiring UFC.

Dana White wanted to announce the new insurance policy when Chuck Liddell retired, but the details weren't quite ironed out.

If a fighter is cut after a fight, all damage sustained in the fight will be covered.

Staph infections will probably not be covered.

Name of the insurance company is called 'Houston Casualty'.

No restrictions on what fighters can't do (skiing, bungee jumping...etc).

Ground breaking stuff, never been done in the history of combat sports."

So, what does all that mean? It means that if you break a leg training, you have more options than (a) Tough it out, and (b) go without a paycheck for a LONG time.

All in all, it makes perfect sense that fighters will be taking more downtime. Yeah, many of them will still tough out some injuries, but when it comes to injuries that if they aren't healed correctly may derail their career? Nah-uh, not gonna happen. Now the fighters have the option of playing it safe.

And we the fans are the ones that have to suffer for it. We ask you, is that fair?

Well, yeah. Actually it is. We aren't the ones whose livelihoods depends on being able to get the crap beaten out of us once every six to nine months. Nor are we the ones putting in the time and energy at the gym. All in all, we can't blame the fighters for taking advantage of the insurance. That's why it was built, to help give this sport and its athletes longevity. And you can bet your bottom dollar that because of this plan the shelf-life of all of the fighters with the UFC has been extended considerably.

You can also expect more injuries to keep on getting announced. But, we should also see the amount of injuries we are seeing now begin to trickle back down to manageable levels. Why? One word, overload.

You see that train? That's a UFC fighter. You see those people? Those are accumulated injuries. Get the picture?

You see for the longest time the idea of a health insurance plan specifically designed for combat sports was laughable. Why? Because who was going to risk money on guys not getting hurt in a combat sport? So fighters dealt with, all those little bruises, scratches, sprains, pains, and small muscle tears were ignored. Or largely ignored. They were only dealt with when they couldn't fight anymore.

Overtime those injuries build up. Thus at this time most fighters in the UFC (particularly in the more shallow divisions i.e. light heavyweight) are running with at least a few nagging pains in their limbs and sides. But now with this insurance, they can afford to heal and recover.

We at Fan Fight predict that soon all that healing and downtime will drive the fighters crazy and soon they will be back in the ring, fresh and ready to go. All our favorite fighters will get all healed up, and that nasty overload of injuries will be dealt with.

Or at least that's what we hope. We shudder to think about what would happen if we were wrong.

Hi, my name is Jon Jones. I injured my finger. Sort of. I said was going to get surgery so I pulled out of a championship fight, but then I changed my mind after it was too late to get the fight rescheduled, cause it was only a little boo-boo. Aren't I the greatest?

Suga on Top: Is Rashad a Champ?

It is time for us to look at one of the most dynamic fighters in the UFC, a figure whose polarizing image and well-rounded fighting style has lead to a highlight reel that includes just as many one-liners as it does knockouts.

That fighter is the former two-time All-State wrestler from New York, heavyweight winner of Season 2 of the Ultimate Fighter series, and former Light Heavyweight champion of the UFC. We are of course talking about one of the fighters we at Fan Fight are most fond of; "Suga" Rashad Evans.

Why are we so fond of Rashad? Well other than his bitchin' first name, we think he looks really snazzy in a suit.

Nice tie. Please don't hit me.

That said as anyone who is anyone knows, there is some controversy that surrounds this fighter. His heart has been questioned, his chin has been questioned, his wrestling skills have been questioned, his striking has been questioned, his record has been questioned, and his ability to finish opponents has been questioned along with just about anything else the posters on Sherdog can think of.

In general what people want to know is this, is Rashad Evans a true contender? Is he championship material or is his stardom a fluke? We at Fan Fight will address each of the issues above, giving you our input on it and our conclusions to help make it clear once and for all whether Evans deserves to be in the title picture.


Suga's Heart: This is one you will probably hear a lot. And personally the only criticism of Evans that we hear more about at Fan Fight is his chin, which we will get into later on. But why exactly is Evan's heart questioned?

Has he never gone the distance? Nope. Evans has been the distance several times. Winning a fair number of fights by decision. Has he never faced a challenge? Again no, Evans has gone the distance with several fighters that had him on the ropes more than once before he managed to come back and steal the show.

Does he handle defeat poorly? Well, we've only seen Evans defeated one time in his career, and that was by textbook karate knockout from former Light Heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. The result? He completely changed his game plan. He completely reworked his fighting style, and focused more on his wrestling base against "Rampage" Jackson and Thiago Silva in his next two fights.

This wasn't the first time he had done so, after going to a close draw with Tito Ortiz in 2007 and then a split-decision against Michael Bisping, Evans also decided it was time for a change. He had gone through too many split-decisions to want to do that again so he secretly changed over to a striking based fighting style, brutally knocking out Chuck Liddell in his next fight in what eventually became Knockout of the Year.

So no, he doesn't handle the mental game poorly. In fact he is enough of a tactician to learn from his defeats, near defeats, and controversial decisions to further improve his game plan.

Conclusion, Evans has plenty of heart. And he's not so prideful as to gloss over the weak points in his skills.



Suga's Chin: This is the one you will probably hear about the most. Why? Well a certain rotated still image of Rashad Evans getting knocked out by Machida has been making almost constant rounds around the Internet. I'll give you a small hint about which one...

I dunno, was this hint too obvious?

First off let me add, that as much as we at Fan Fight like Rashad we gotta admit that picture is pretty comical. But then again, you should never judge a fighter by how they look when they are unconscious.

That floor sure looks comfy, don't it?

But lets go ahead and take a look at this. The entire claim about Evan's having a weak chin is that he got knocked out by Lyoto Machida. Now let's be honest, Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida is kind of really good at worming his way past defenses and knocking people out. Yeah, he's had more than his fair share of decisions, but you have to admit that when he knocks people out, he knocks people out.

Case in point.

Another argument against Evan's ability to take a punch is that he got rocked a few times by Thiago Silva, and Rampage Jackson. But what's funny about both of those fights is that "Suga" Rashad Evans was able to recover, he got rocked but he went about pulling himself back together, and went on to win both fights.

Does Rashad Evans have a legendary chin? No, he isn't some Chris Leben who can take just about anything you throw at him. Does he have a bad chin? No, he can definitely hold his own as proven by his past experiences.

Conclusion, Evans has a decent chin. And its strong enough to let him compete with such heavy-hitters as Thiago Silva and Rampage Jackson.


Suga's Wrestling: Okay. This is one you don't often hear. But out of the few complaints about Rashad Evans that we at Fan Fight do hear, it is one that actually stands up to some mild scrutiny. Now at this point you are probably saying, "But Fan Fight! Rashad is a fantastic wrestler! Look at how he took down Rampage and Thiago with such ease! He was a two-time All State wrestler in the NCAA 1st Division in New York!"

We know all that. We also know that he is one of the few people to beat the legendary Greg Jones while wrestling.

That's not the issue. The issue at hand is whether or not Evan's name should be up there with the elite wrestlers of the UFC. And when I say wrestling elite I mean fighters like Mark Munoz, Phil Davis, Jon Jones, and Brock Lesnar. The criticism is that Evans is a very very good wrestler, but that he gets credited as a great wrestler. Especially by commentators who are trying to hype up a fight (i.e. Rogan and Goldman).

And it is one of the few criticisms we agree with. Evans IS a very good wrestler, but as his impressive but not legendary wrestling record of 48-34 shows he has a ways to go to earn credentials as a truly magnificent wrestling specimen.

Conclusion, Evan's is slightly overrated as a wrestler.


Suga's Striking: Do we really have to deal with this one? Seriously, we find this to be a rather ridiculous criticism. No, Evan's striking isn't as unorthodox or unique as Jon Jones or Lyoto Machida. Very few people can even come close to matching those two in striking. But Evans is a multi-dimensional striker, using both hands and feet; he is technical and works his way past defenses; and he does have knockout power.

In short, the improvement in his striking from starting out as a pure wrestler has been phenomenal. He is one of the most well-rounded strikers in the Light Heavyweight division.

Conclusion, Evan's can throw a punch. And a kick. And an elbow. And he can do it at the right time, and with enough force.


Suga's Record: This criticism says that Evans was spoon-fed the massive win-streak he held early in his career that eventually led to him becoming champion. The critics who spout this one apparently seem to think that Michael Bisping, Chuck Liddell, Stephen Bonnar, and Forrest Griffin are all walks in the park.

Well in case you didn't already realize it, allow us to be the first ones to tell you that those guys that Evan's defeated are some seriously tough dudes. And they make a living by being tougher, meaner, and badder than all the other world class talent that walks into the cage with them.

They also enjoy using those guys that get into the cage with them as target practice.

And since you didn't know that those were some seriously tough dudes, we figure you are completely new to MMA and didn't know that the two fighters pictured above are Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell and "The Huntington Beach Badboy" Tito Ortiz both former dominant champions, both very good fighters in their prime. Rashad Evans beat both of them. And his knockout of Chuck Liddell earned Knockout of the Year.

In fact it was arguably Evans' knockout of Liddell that helped to retire the "Iceman", as it was the first time Liddell had been knocked out in the ring and the beginning of a three fight losing streak that would eventually end the career of the Hall of Famer.

And since losing the title to Lyoto Machida, Evans' has gone on to face and beat two more world-class fighters; Thiago Silva and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.


Suga's Finishes: Okay so this one actually does make some sense. The criticism is that Rashad Evans doesn't like to finish opponents, and instead he grinds them down with take downs and submission attempts to take the decision. Which is exactly what he did against "Rampage" Jackson and against many other fighters earlier in his career.

So there is some truth in it. But let's be honest also, Evans doesn't do lay'n'pray. Yeah he takes guys down a lot, but he works them too. He is always trying something. Yes, he sets himself up to win the decisions, but he is also constantly looking for the finish.

Conclusion, some truth to it. But also some falsehood. We call this one a toss up.



Conclusions: The results to all this? Yeah, you guessed it. "Suga" Rashad Evans IS champion material and will likely be a fixture in the upper-echelons of the Light Heavyweight division for some time. This guy deserves to be in the title-picture despite what the naysayers would have you believe.

Our hats are off to you "Suga" Rashad, and we personally cannot wait to see you in action at UFC 133

Any questions?

Tito Ortiz: Is This His Comeback?

Well after the tremendous night of fights at UFC 132, we are left with more than a few questions. Will there be a rubber match between Cruz and Faber? Will Wanderlei retire? Is George Sotiropoulos's career in the UFC over? Will Siver ever break into the top ten? And why does referee Mario Yamasaki always make that heart shape at the camera?

"Can't we all just love each other and get along?"

But the biggest question of all is the one that no one is talking about. Go ahead, I dare you to go look for it in Bleacher Reports. Is Tito Ortiz going to make a comeback after submitting top contender Ryan Bader, his first victory since 2006?

Tito Ortiz, the Huntington Beach Bad Boy, and former Light Heavyweight champion, has been on 5 year losing streak. His back was up against the wall, he had to beg Dana White (with whom he has often butted heads) for this one last fight. This one last chance at renewing the fading torch that is his fighting career. No one thought he could do it. You essentially had to be the biggest Tito Ortiz fan in the universe to predict this one, because when Ortiz submitted Bader you can bet they had to edit out the sound of Dana White's jaw hitting the floor before it got streamed out to all the pay-per-view watchers.

It was seriously that loud. Rumor has it that the entire front row of the audience were permanently deafened by the sound of White's jaw thundering down through the stadium floor and into basement.

The UFC main office building after Dana realized he'd have to give Tito yet another fight.

The legendary rivalry between Ortiz and UFC President Dana White aside we are forced to look at what lies in the future for the former dominant Light Heavyweight champ. Can he pull out another win after this? Or was this the grand last stand for the man who was once one of the most dominant fighters in the world? Was it a fluke? Is Ortiz back for good?

Well if you ask most mma analysts they will tell you that no, Ortiz is not back. They will say that at best he will string together a few more wins, maybe get back into the top ten of light heavyweights but that he will never again be champion. Or at the worse he loses fights for another five years and eventually (hopefully) retires.

Here's why.

Age: Tito is not the young buck he once was. In fact he is in his early 40's. Even the perennial annual contender Randy Couture who competed much longer than most fighters had an expiration date, and so does Tito Ortiz. And let us be completely honest, the fighters who can compete at a later age like Couture did are one in a thousand. I seriously doubt that Ortiz has that many years left him in, and unless a rash of injuries occur amongst the top contenders leaving the way to the championship wide open I don't see him having enough time to string together enough victories to make a run at the championship. And that is IF he strings together more victories. And that is a very big if.


Mindset: Ortiz is not known as being cautious, or keeping his eye on the goal. No, Ortiz is the kind of fighter that thinks he is the best even when he loses, always has an excuse for why he lost, and is always looking past his next fight to bigger and better things.

"All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph. Adventure. Heh. Excitement. Heh. A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless. "

It essentially took Ortiz to lose or draw five straight fights over five years, to have to beg on his hands and knees for another chance, to have his family life falling apart around him, and to lose most of his backing from trainers for him to focus on the task at hand and get his mind in the game. After he won the Bader fight, you could see on his face that he had already reverted back to his old overly-confident ways.

I may be wrong, maybe Ortiz has a new outlook at life and will train and fight from that new outlook. Maybe he will keep his head in the game and start focusing on his opponents without making excuses for his own occasional poor performance. But then again, I could also be right and Ortiz's transcendence above his own ego was only temporary. And if I am right, his mental game may revert back to what it once was and he will start losing fights again.


Skills: Tito is known for his wrestling and decent ground'n'pound technique. Occasionally delving into a fair amount of lay'n'pray as well. This style served him well in the earlier years of the UFC but now it may not be enough to compete with the more well-rounded fighters that are in the UFC.

If Ortiz couldn't out wrestle Matt Hamill for a solid win, then it is unlikely it can last long against bigger contenders. He either needs to update his game plan, or increase his wrestling prowess by leaps and bounds if he wants to tangle with the big guys.


Fluke: It may have a been a fluke win. There I said it, and before all you Tito fans get your panties in a twist let me clarify that. It MAY have been a fluke, there is no way to tell yet until Ortiz fights again. Lets be honest, not much happened in the Ortiz vs. Bader fight until Ortiz won. They were both just trying to find their range and Ortiz managed to find it first with a lucky uppercut that gave him a good opportunity to finish Bader.

It may have been skill, it may also have been luck. There is no way to tell, and that one win does not necessarily mean that Ortiz is back. It may be sign that he is. But it could also just be that he got a lucky strike in, and was experienced enough to jump all over it.


Politics: Ortiz is not coming off of a huge winning streak over some big names like he did back in 2006. His rivalry with Dana White is well known, and he had to beg for this last fight. Ortiz will probably get offered a small contract by the UFC. But don't expect much from them. Ortiz will be fighting uphill through six feet of snow in his quest for another fight. Will he get one? Yeah, probably. Will it be as big as it used to be? No. Why? Because it's a poor investment. It would just be bad business. Even if you weren't Dana White and didn't have a personal grudge against Ortiz you wouldn't want to risk too much on a man who many believe to be washed up. IF they give him another contract it will be for two or three fights. If not, then he will be a free agent once again.

And by "free agent" we mean dirt poor.

The conclusion to all of this?

The odds of making a successful comeback after a bad streak are always against the fighter. The odds of Tito Ortiz making a successful comeback after his bad streak are higher than most. While I think it would be really interesting to see what would happen if he pulled it off, I don't think he will. I think Ortiz has only a few fights left in his career and that we are seeing one last moment of glory on his part with Ryan Bader. In fact, if this were a Hollywood film, the credits would've started running right after Ortiz walked out of that cage. The rest of his career summed up in three lines of white text on black background before we began reading the long list of gaffers and electricians.

Good luck to you Tito, you were a hell of a fighter. But you are going to have to do a lot more than this to prove that you are back.

And your 'tude ain't helping me to get convinced bro.

UFC 131: Can Carwin win?

Once again Fan Fight is coming back to you with an exciting, humorous, and insightful view of a main-event fight. And once again we've waited to the very last moment to give it to you. Why? Because we're like that. Because you can't rush greatness. Because the best is saved for last. And because May went by way too quickly.

But we are here now and raring to go. So get ready to receive a complete head-to-toe breakdown of the main event from UFC 131, Dos Santos vs. Carwin. And ask the question that is on every one's mind, can Carwin win? Because hey, that's what you really care about, right? The main event? There aren't any other really cool fights happening at 131 are there?

Other than Ken-Flo vs. Nunes and Maia vs. Munoz and Stout vs. Edwards and...

As many of you already know Shane "The Engineer" Carwin, former UFC heavyweight interim champ, is coming in as a replacement for the former heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar, who was coaching opposite of Junior "Cigano" Dos Santos on the popular Spike.tv show The Ultimate Fighter and who was set to fight Dos Santos in a grand explosion of testosterone and raw tension that would have built up from the rivalry on the show. Or at least that was the plan until Lesnar suffered from a second bout of diverticulitis and was forced to withdraw.

So now we have Carwin, who fought against the Vanilla Gorilla and dominated him in the first round before gassing and getting embarrassingly submitted in the second round by Lesnar. Both Dos Santos and Carwin are knockout artists. These are two guys who are known to be able to knock out people, nearly at will. Both of their ground games have been left relatively unexplored in the UFC, and both are hungry. At stake? A bout with current heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez in the future.

Good luck guys, 'cause as you can tell Velasquez takes no prisoners.

And so the stage is set and the players are about to be set in motion. Let's take a look behind the curtains and see who claims what advantages on paper.

Striking

This is an interesting match-up in regards to striking. Both Carwin and Dos Santos are known as knockout artists, both rely mostly on boxing with very few (if any) kicks being thrown by either party. Dos Santos has a crisp and clean technique combined with great strength, he uses combinations and precise accuracy to knock out his opponents. Carwin on the hand doesn't have a lot of technique. He doesn't need it. Why? Because the man is a beast, he hits people in the head and his sheer strength makes them fall asleep.

If Dos Santos has the strength of Iron Man, than Carwin has the strength of the Incredible Hulk.

That said, the Hulk can't fly at supersonic speeds, nor does he have radar and a built in computer.

The result? A very close match-up in the striking department, whoever manages to get the first bombs in will more than likely win the match. With that in mind we give a slight nod to Junior Dos Santos, whose technique and speed will let him land first. He has also managed to knock out more top-class competition than Carwin.

Advantage Dos Santos.


Grappling

Carwin is a former NCAA Division II national wrestling champion and a serious contender in years previous. His takedowns were good enough to get Brock Lesnar, who is a renowned two-time Division I national champion, on his back. This experience and ability will give him the edge to control the fight up against the cage or by taking it to the ground. Even if he hasn't been able to showcase it that much in the octagon, mainly because he knocks his opponents out long before he gets the chance to do so.

Dos Santos has never really faced a wrestler of Carwin's ability or skill and will be at a clear disadvantage in the grappling department.

Advantage, Carwin.


Submissions

This one is a bit more of a toss-up, Dos Santos is ranked slightly higher than Carwin with a brown-belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu while Carwin holds a purple-belt on BJJ. On the other hand Carwin has more legitimate submissions to his name in his bouts with the UFC and WEC. With five submissions to his name he beats Dos Santos three submissions on record, two of which weren't from an actual submission hold but from fighters verbally yielding due either to hits or exhaustion.

But at the same time we must acknowledge that Dos Santos regularly trains with the Nogueira brothers down in Brazil, both of whom are great jiu-jitsu artists and are world renowned for their submission skills.

Although they are pretty even on paper, we believe that Carwin has landed more legitimate submissions due to his wrestling prowess and being able to take the game to the mat, when it comes to actual skill using submissions we must acknowledge Dos Santos as somewhat superior.

Advantage Dos Santos.


Athleticism

This is another interesting match up because Carwin is definitely the stronger of the two, but Dos Santos has the cardio and endurance to go a full three-rounds (and has proved it more than once) and still look good. The only time we've seen Carwin out of the first round he was completely gassed and was unable to keep on defending himself before Lesnar submitted him.

Carwin has radically altered his diet and lost weight trying to increase his cardio, but based past experience the winner is clear.

Advantage to Dos Santos.


Experience

Both fighters have identical records of 12-1-0. Both are top contenders in the UFC heavyweight-division. Both are experienced fighters.

But when you look at the level of competition the two fighters have face, Dos Santos has clearly faced far more big name opponents than Carwin in the form of wins over Stefan Struve, Fabricio Werdum, Cro-Cop, Gilbert Yvel, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Roy Nelson.

This is opposed to Carwin whose wins over big-names only includes Gonzaga, and Frank Mir.

With that in mind it is clear who takes the cake when it comes to experience.

Advantage Dos Santos.

Do you have tickets to the gun show?

So there we have it. The breakdown, and when you add up the numbers the logical choice is Dos Santos for the win by TKO or KO in the first two rounds.

That's the logical choice.

But my gut tells me it isn't going to play out that way. My gut tells me that Dos Santos may be the logical choice but he won't be walking out with hand raised come Saturday night. I predict that Carwin will shoot for a takedown, take Dos Santos to the mat and proceed to ground-n-pound Cigano into an early TKO in the first round.

Why am I choosing my intuition over my logic? Because my intuition is sexier. That's why. And because in this case, I believe it will be proven right.

Well said Al, well said.

UFC 130: Is it Hammer time?

Well its that time again. The night before the big fight, the day of weigh-in's and last minute predictions. The time when fans compare notes, stats, and fight over who will win the upcoming bouts. Heck, we at Fan Fight take our very name from this time. So lets get down to brass tacks and give you our views on the upcoming bouts at UFC 130.

Fight on crazy fight fans, fight on.

Alright first up we will be going over the Miguel Angel Torres vs. Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson fight. Now this is one fight on this card that has been undeservedly under publicized. You would think that after the title-bout between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard dropped they would have done their best to get a big name like Miguel Angel Torres mentioned a few more times on the ticket, you know to help save their Pay Per View sales. Not the case this time around.

Nope, instead the former WEC bantamweight champ, former US Shooto bantamweight champ, former Ironheart Crown champ, 2008 Sherdog Breakthrough Fighter of the Year, 39-3 record holder, who had a 17 fight consecutive win-streak before losing to Brian Bowles and current #6 bantamweight in the world according to Sherdog.com has been relegated to the free preliminaries on Spike.tv with nary a whisper of his name on the previews released by the UFC.

Originally slated to fight Brad Pickett, Torres will now be facing the #10 bantamweight in the world, Demetrious Johnson, after Pickett withdrew due to injury. This fight that could very well tell us who will be getting a shot at the bantamweight title next. And it is being given away for free. Yeah, nice job Dana, way to help recover your sales for 130.

Of course we shouldn't be too hard on Dana right? I mean its not like they've already lost several big events this year due to fighter injuries, right? Its not like Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard III was the big draw for UFC 130, right? Its not like fans and writers across the world are predicting epic low Pay-Per-View sales for UFC 130, right? And its not like he has a former (and fan-favorite) champ, battling a top contender in a match that could decide the future of the bantamweight division, right?

Wrong. Which begs the question, if Dana isn't paying attention and keeping care of this, what is Dana doing?

Gee, aren't they cute together?

But back to the fight at hand. While Johnson may have a better grappling and takedown game, Torres's advantages in striking, aggression, and submissions are way to huge to overcome. No disrespect to Johnson who is a great fighter, but Torres has the makings of a future Hall of Famer. This fight will be exciting, and full of fireworks between two top contenders. But the only real way I see Johnson winning is if Torres doesn't show up.

Fan Fight's prediction is a win for Miguel Angel Torres by an early second-round TKO.


Next up on the plate is Thiago "The Pitbull" Alves vs. Rick "The Horror" Story. One of the big side-stories of this bout is Alves's continual struggle with making weight, having to make a thirty-pound cut to make the 170 pound limit of the Welterweight division is the kind of obstacle that would have most fighters moving up to Middleweight. Not Alves.

After failing to make weight at UFCs  85 and 117 against Matt Hughes and Jon Fitch respectively, and having previously failed a drug test early in his career after taking diuretics to help him make weight, Dana White stated that it was more than likely that Alves would be moving up to middleweight. But Alves begged and pleaded for a second chance.

And he got it, making weight in his fight against John Howard at UFC 124 Alves put on one of the most impressive performances of his career. And after a victory there he is starting in on the Welterweight division again, against the 5-1 up-and-comer Rick Story. And with a nutritional program courtesy of Mike Dolce, he had no problem making weight this time around.

Stephen King ain't got nothing on this horror story.

Story is on a four-fight win streak, one of them by a controversial split decision against Nick Osipczak. His striking is continually improving, in particular his boxing. And he comes from a strong wrestling base which will give him an advantage in takedowns.

In regards to striking the advantage must go to Alves though. He is arguably the most feared Muay Thai striker in the Welterweight division. Story is certainly no slouch and his ability to put together combinations will let him do some damage standing, but he shouldn't be able to compete at the same level of striking as Alves. With that stand-up advantage given to Alves we also recognize that the stand up game here will be one of the most exciting of the night. Expect plenty of technical combinations from both fighters.

But where this fight will be won and lost will be on the ground. Alves, despite having a black-belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, loathes to take a fight to the mat. If he had his way all of his fights would stay standing. And in the past he has shown a weakness against elite wrestlers once on the ground in the forms of George St. Pierre and Jon Fitch. Fortunately for him his fights rarely go to the ground anymore due to a good takedown defense, a defense that was good enough to stop 4-time NCAA All-American wrestler Josh Koscheck in his tracks.

Story on the other hand is a natural wrestler and won an impressive Fight of the Night/Submission of the Night victory over Brian Foster via arm-triangle. He has good takedowns and brutal ground-n-pound. We haven't seen enough of Story to know just how good he is, but one thing we know is that this kid is hungry as hell. You can see it on his face in his interviews, he wants Alves. He asked to fight Alves. He asked to fight the top 3 contender and "Muay thai wrecking machine" that is Thiago Alves.  Win or lose, he's got guts.

We at Fan Fight are predicting an upset, with Story being able to land his takedowns by setting them up with striking combinations and taking the win by submission in the third round.


Next up we have Brian "All-American" Stann vs. Jorge "The Sandman" Santiago. Santiago is a the 2007 Strikeforce Middleweight Tournament champion, 2008 Sengoku Middlewight Grand Prix champion, and former Sengoku champion. Stann is a former WEC light-heavy weight champion, and received the Silver Star during his service as a United States Marine.

Happy Memorial Day Stann, and thank you for your service.

Santiago already has had an unsuccessful run in the UFC, and this will be his second attempt at breaking into the world's biggest and best mma league. Stann is coming off of a win over Chris Leben, a win that shocked the world as he took it by knock-out from man that has one of the hardest chins in the world and is noticeably more dangerous after he gets hurt a little. In short, Stann has heavy hands. Add in his discipline, his training with Greg Jackson, and the fact that he is a former Marine who will be fighting on Memorial Day weekend of all weekends and we think this will end up being fairly quick bout.

Fan Fight predicts an early win for Brian Stann via KO.


We will also take a quick glance at Stefan "Skyscraper" Struve vs. Travis "Hapa" Browne. We personally haven't seen a lot of these fighters, and so will be relying on second-hand information to judge them. And the way we see it is that Struve, being the tallest fighter in the UFC and a fantastic kickboxer, will be able to use his reach and height to his advantage to hold Browne off and destroy "Hapa" with some striking combinations.

Fan Fight predicts an third round TKO for Stefan Struve.


Next we tackle Frank Mir vs. Roy "Big Country" Nelson. Mir is a former heavyweight champion, and Nelson is a former International Fight League heavyweight champion and and Ultimate Fighter winner, they are ranked #6 and #10 respectively in the heavyweight rankings by Sherdog. Both fighters have been pretty lax in hyping the fight because both have so much respect for one another. Having crossed each others paths more than once in their home state of Nevada.

This is an interesting match up in that they are so similar in style. They are both great at submissions and grappling, and while Mir is a more diverse striker and can arguably hit harder and faster Nelson is a lot tougher than Mir and can take more of a beating. Both have knock-out power in their hands. In fact they both match up so well that we don't see this fight finishing.

Fan Fight predicts that Mir will win by unanimous decision, his broader repertoire of UFC experience giving him the advantage to score more points over Nelson.


And now, last but not least, the main event of UFC 130. Quentin "Rampage" Jackson vs. Matt "The Hammer" Hamill.

I ain't gettin' on no plane, fool!


I don't think a lot of people outside of Randy Couture are predicting that Hamill will take this fight. Former light-heavyweight champ Rampage Jackson is a perennial top 5 contender and he has massive knockout power in both hands. He goes out into the cage looking to mess peoples faces up.

That's his game plan. That is always his game plan. People know what they are going to see when they hear that Rampage is fighting. What people don't know, and what makes this main event exciting, is what they are going to see from Matt Hamill. This is guy who started out as just a wrestler but who has developed a good stand-up and submission game. His game is constantly improving, and we all look forward to seeing what he can pull out of his hat next.

But has he improved enough? That is the question we are asking ourselves tonight. Can Hamill do it? We already know that Rampage can win. Rampage can always win, he has that kind of knockout power. But what about Hamill?

One wonders what is going through his thoughts right now. A deaf collegiate wrestler, he was a three time NCAA Division III National Champion. The Hammer has battled a handicap, biased British judges (who stole a win from Hamill over Michael Bisping), and endless MC Hammer jokes.

Can't touch this!


Rampage has made it quite clear he feels that Hamill is beneath him. Not even a speed-bump to slow him down on his way to the winners-circle. Essentially the only reason he even began training seriously this late before the game was because Hamill managed to get under his skin and the Rampage decided to go ahead and actualy try to knock Hamill out rather than getting the decision. His disregard for Hamill's skills are apparent and could be his undoing.

Hamill has a superior ground-game, and he will probably use that to keep the former champ out of the stand-up game and on his back.

Fan Fight predicts the upset, with Hamill taking the win via a decision. Rampage just isn't taking Hamill seriously enough, and while maybe Hamill isn't ready to fight at Rampage's level that has yet to be proven one way or the other. And after taking out Tito Ortiz and Mark Munoz we know that Matt "The Hammer" Hamill is not to be trifled with.


All in all UFC 130, despite the loss of its orignal main event, is looking like it will produce some excellent fights and possibly even a few Fight of the Year contenders.

Steven Seagal: Front Kick Update

As you are all aware we at Fan Fight have been covering the Seagal situation. And when we say "situation" we are in no way implying that he is holding our staff hostage and forcing us to write more stuff about him.

"What kind of babbling bullshit is this?"

So with that in mind we will continue our coverage.

So, we found an article on Guyism.com through Bleacher Report, which had an interesting video in it that they in turn got from CagePotato.com which in turn got it from some Brazilian website (what a complicated web we weave). That article, found here, quoted Seagal as telling Lyoto Machida to, "use your mind, I don’t care if you kill him. I don’t care. You f%&k him up. You take him out."

We find two things interesting about this. First the note of incredulity that seems prevalent that Seagal would say something so serious. Well, gee, ladies and gentlemen what did you think you were going to get from a self-defense specialist? Did you think that Aikido was all love and kisses? They don't teach aikidoka how to snap bones for nothing.

He doesn't play sports, he plays kill or be killed.

Second, the quote is said to Machida while Seagal is demonstrating that Machida is only kicking and punching the surface of his target, rather then striking through his target. This is interesting as it begins to give us an insight into how Seagal might be helping Team Black House with their training. Machida has often been criticized for his lack of aggression, until the Couture fight, and it would seem that this is something that Seagal is having him work on. Which while good for the fans it spells trouble for anyone who volunteers to spar with the former champ.






Well damn. Since this video was taken before UFC 129 it looks like we at Fan Fight called it. Seagal IS helping Team Black House. Oh no...Wait...Yeah, we said "maybe" didn't we? Damn. Well maybe next time we will manage to call it.

Steven Seagal: Front kick Master?

Aaaaaaaand we are live!

That's right ladies and gents, after an extended hiatus the lauded, applauded, and caffeine over-dosing Fan Fight blog is back and better than ever. That's right, we're like Rashad Evans beating the crud out of Chuck Liddell after a ten month layoff. We're bigger, badder, and trash-talkier than ever.

Well...We're trash talkier at least...

I pity the fool that don't read Fan Fight! I do! I do! I pity the fool!

So what will we be talking about now that we have returned to action? The surprising number of injuries to main-event fighters in the UFC? Not yet. Hamill vs. Rampage? Some other time probably. Nick Diaz with a possible match up with GSP? Interesting but not relevant. Or perhaps we will be talking about how Anderson Silva will be beating the crap out of Okami at Rio? Boring.

No we will be tackling the biggest, most controversial, silent elephant in the room that is the mixed-martial arts scene: Steven Seagal.

That's right, because Seagal is more important than any championship match, more important than any of the top contender match ups and far more deserving of multiple articles across the mma journalistic scene than anyone else. Yeah you heard me blogosphere, go write about illegal up kicks as much as you want. We at Fan Fight will be writing about the real issues.

I pity the fool that can't detect my sarcasm! I do! I do! I pity the fool!

Alright all joking aside, we at Fan Fight will do our best to put this particular issue to rest; not because it is overwhelmingly important but because we can provide a unique perspective on it, being amateur Aikidoka ourselves.

For those of you who haven't heard, shortly after Anderson Silva managed what was the first front kick knockout in the UFC history against Vitor Belfort, Steven Seagal came out and claimed credit for it. Claiming to have helped train Silva for the fight. This naturally was laughed at by most of the mma community and proclaimed to be a bunch of bull.

But then UFC 129 rolled around and Lyoto Machida managed to get the second ever front kick knockout against Randy Couture, shortly thereafter Machida came out and said Seagal had been working on the front kick with him as well. An interesting coincidence seeing as how Machida and Silva are both on team Black House in Brazil.

Since then Seagal has come out said he is working with other members of Black House, but there have also been various sources saying that its all a publicity stunt to make Black House better known in the States.

So where is the truth? Is Seagal imparting ancient Aikido secrets to team Black House? Is it all just a set up so a Brazilian mma team can put itself on the map? (As if having Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida on your team wasn't enough).

The real question, as I see it, isn't whether or not Seagal is teaching mastery of the front kick to Black House, but if he can. Indeed, there seems to be a definite lack of respect for Seagal's martial arts skills throughout the world. With the exception of his former students.

Seagal, or Take Sensei or Take Shihan as he is called in the Aikido community, is a 7th level Dan in the art of Aikido. He learned directly from the students of O'Sensei (the founder of Aikido) in Japan and opened up a very successful dojo there, being one of the first white Senseis' (if not the first ever) to have a dojo in Japan. What that means is he didn't learn his aikido from some McDojo across from the supermarket. What that means is that he is a master at footwork, speed, balance, in an art form that centers around pain compliance. And when I say that Aikido is an art that centers around pain compliance I mean that in Aikido only the people who can put you in the most amount of pain ever make it to the top.

And Steven Seagal is at the top of the Aikido world.

But how well does all of that translate to mma? On paper, it doesn't translate too good. There are far too many aikido moves that would be considered illegal or that would be hindered by the addition of gloves. Aikido is also a very hard art to learn, leaving little time for a mixed-martial artist to learn additional skills. It is also an art that focuses on grappling, making it not the best choice for someone interested in striking.

In short, Aikido when taught properly can be effective on the street, but less so in the ring. Or so we all thought.

BOOM! HEADSHOT!

With Machida and Silva both giving credit to Seagal, and both managing to KO their opponents in the exact same, and unprecedented, way we are forced to wonder; was Aikido misjudged? Let us not forget that when the UFC first began no one had thought that Brazilian jiu-jitsu would be so effective in mma. And before Karo Parisyan no one thought that judo would be effective in mma either.

And of course before Lyoto Machida emerged, the idea of a karate master becoming a UFC champion was laughable.

In short, it is possible that aikido is beginning to have an influence upon mixed-martial arts. But it really is too early to tell, so I cannot tell you yet if it is the Aikido that Seagal has been sharing with team Black House that has lead to such startling victories.

What I can tell you though is this, if there was one man in this world who would be able to make Aikido applicable to mma it would be Steven Seagal. Yes, shameless self-promoting, pony-tail wearing, bad acting, marital problem having, 7th level Dan Steven Seagal.

Why? Because despite his various personal faults this man is the Aikido community's paragon of Aikido as a form of self-defense. It is very unlikely that in our lifetimes we will ever see another man who has reached the same level of mastery in this art as he. And you can either respect that, or you can go ask Seagal for a sparring session.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

To summarize, whether or not Seagal has succeeded in transferring Aikido to mma can and will only be revealed with time.

Chan Sung Jung's Win: Is the twister legal?

Many fight fans have often heard the assertion that spinal-locks and neck-cranks are illegal. Myself foremost amongst them. As such it came off as quite a shock when Chan Sung Jung won via a Twister submission at UFC Fight Night 24. The twister, which applies pressure to the spine and neck by contorting the body of your opponent, was used successfully for the first time that night.

I had assumed it was the first time because it was largely considered illegal ( See here ). I had assumed that after review the match would be declared a no contest.

I was wrong.

You see the confusion begins in that spinal-locks and neck-cranks are often illegal in amateur BJJ competitions, in fact they are rarely if ever used in competitions that feature combatants below the purple-belt ranking. They are also often illegal in amateur MMA competitions.

They are however considered legal at the professional level of mixed-martial arts. Why? The exact reasoning is unknown but it can be assumed that it is the belief of the Nevada State Athletic Commission that at the professional level the combatants are so skilled and conscientious that they can keep from injuring each other too seriously with a submission.

Riiight. 'Cause that isn't TOO serious.

Well whatever the reason I am sure that the NSAC has the best interests of the fighters at heart. I mean its not like they've already outlawed striking the spine and heel-kicking the kidneys because those can permanently injure fighter and severely shorten their careers. Its not like you can end up paralyzed or anything from a neck-crank or a spinal-lock, which can also permanently injure a fighter and severely shorten their careers. And its not like the other guy in the ring doesn't have your best interests at heart and is instead looking for a way to severely damage you as quickly and as nastily as possible. Right?

Right?

Yeah, that's what I thought. In any case it was an awesome submission, and no one got hurt this time. So congrats Chan Sung Jung on your amazing win, I'm sure that Mr. Bravo is very proud.