Matt Hamill is a mammoth of a man when he steps into the Octagon to fight, but with only 5 fights under his belt he's just a baby in MMA. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. While it's certainly an advantage for Rich Franklin at UFC 88 to have over 5 times more bouts (27) in the can compared to Hamill, it is Hamill's room for improvement which can brings forth a sizeable element of surprise. There's always room for improvement in MMA, and if you feel you've past that point it may be time to find a new profession. Nonetheless, fighters with under a half dozen fights of experience certainly have loads of areas to work on, and can enter into their next fight as complete revamped mixed martial artists. It was only a few fights ago that Hamill was blocking punches with his face. But then he stared putting up his hands vigilantly, tucking in his chin more, beautifully slipping fists and countering with his own. And then a huge quantum leap of creativity sprung forth in his fight with Michael Bisping. Expected to get annihilated on the feet, it was actually Hamill who was winning much of the stand up battle in the 3 round fight with Bisping. So much so that many fans were outraged at the judges awarding Bisping the decision. Hamill was a completely different fighter and impressed most of the MMA world with his newfound boxing arsenal he put on display that evening in England. It was something nobody including Bisping anticipated, and that element of surprise is a luxury fresh faces on the MMA scene can use to their advantage.
What new tricks will Hamill bring into this battle versus Rich Franklin? It'll be interesting to see. Sure Franklin definitely is not one to sit back and not learn more about the MMA game, but with 27 fights he has shown much of his arsenal and there's a whole library of tape to study. But for Hamill, the best footage may still be to come.
TAGS: Matt Hamill, Rich Franklin, Ufc 88
POST TOOLS: 
COMMENTS ( 0 )
Ken Shamrock knows his role. Over the past few years he's been used to put over fighters gain acceptance in the mainstream. When Tito Ortiz first took on Shamrock in 2002, Ortiz was being ushered in as face of the UFC to the public. Similarly the organization put up Shamrock against Rich Franklin, looking to gain more cache behind Franklin. Shamrock once again was set up against Ortiz on The Ultimate Fighter reality series, only to take on Ortiz again at the end of the series. These were all bouts where Shamrock was an underdog and expected to be defeated to help bring some cache to his opponents.
Now Kimbo Slice takes on Ken Shamrock in EliteXC--other move made by an organization to use Shamrock to put over an emerging star. It makes sense. Although Shamrock's record over the past 8 years and last 10 fights is 2-8, he is still widely known in the mainstream. Many people don't know much at all about MMA, but are aware of a handful of fighters--oftentimes that short-list includes "The World's Most Dangerous Man", Ken Shamrock. The WWE had a lot to do with the widescale awareness of Shamrock's prescence, and has kept him a well known figure until this day.
Nonetheless, kudos to Shamrock for taking on some tough competition even until the age of 44. He's kept on fighting and maximized the potential his name has drawn over the years, and been able to score some sweet paydays in the process. He knows his role is--his services are being rendered by organizations to create new stars. While being aware of his role of being brought in by EliteXC to be taken out by their cash cow Kimbo Slice, Shamrock knows his job is to dissapoint his bosses and win. He'll try and do just that this October in Florida.
TAGS: Ken Shamrock, Kimbo Slice
POST TOOLS:
COMMENTS ( 0 )
In October 2006 Kenny Florian fought 5 rounds but was defeated via decision against Sean Sherk for the UFC lightweight title. While some fighters may have been discouraged, Florian has been working hard since then to get his way back to the top of the 155 pound division. His win over Roger Huerta this month solidified himself as the number one contender for BJ Penn's lightweight belt. Florian has been a great example of a great work ethic by constantly working to improve in every area of the game. Whether it's BJJ, wrestling, striking, nutrition, cardio or the mental aspect of the game, Florian is committed to working on every element of the MMA game. It's worked wonders as he has defeated Mishima, Robinson, Thomas, Lauzon and Huerta since his loss to Sherk. Before the fight with Huerta, Florian's words makes it evident his dedication to his craft. "People think that, “Oh, Kenny’s getting better all the time”, well, wait until they see the next fight, and the fight after that, and the fight after that. It’s never going to stop", noted Florian. Those aren't just words but Florian has backed it up with massive action and it's been a pleasure watching him work his way back up the top of the lightweight division.
TAGS: Bj Penn, Kenny Florian, Roger Huerta, Ufc
POST TOOLS:
COMMENTS ( 0 )
"I thought 'My God. What am I going to have to do to beat this guy? He's unfinishable", commented GSP after his win over Jon Fitch Saturday night. It's a true statement by the Canadian welterweight champ of the UFC--Jon Fitch may have lost his fight at UFC 87 but gained legions of fans from the heart he showed in defeat. Taking a severe barrage of strikes on the feet and ground from Pierre, Fitch would not stop in rounds 1 and 3, where he received the most damage. Particularly in round one there was an enormous amount of punishment he was enduring, but his warrior spirit would not waver even when his equilibrium failed him. Pierre looked amazing in victory, but huge recognition is deservedly being given to Fitch in defeat. Kudos to an inspirational display of courage and taking St. Pierre the full 5 rounds.
TAGS: Gsp, Jon Fitch, Ufc, Ufc 87
POST TOOLS:
COMMENTS ( 0 )
Photo: UFC.com
Coming into UFC 87, Heath Herring fought UFC heavyweight champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria more times (3) than Brock Lesnar had fought in his career (2). That's a tremendous experiential advantage entering into a fight. Nonetheless, when a fighter is an astounding wrestler and his opponent is not a master in BJJ or striking, there's a good chance that the wrestler can find a way to win. Jake O'Brien was able to pull this off against Herring in the "Texas Crazyhorse's" debut in the UFC. But full credit has to go to Lesnar who was able to defeat a long time vet of the sport in just his 3rd MMA fight. While stylistically it was a good matchup for him, you have to be a special athlete and great competitor to put it all together in the striking aspect and submission defence area to survive against a guy like Herring. Great job on Lesnar's end and it'll be interesting to see how he develops and moves up the UFC heavyweight ladder.
TAGS: Brock Lesnar, Heath Herring, Mma, Ufc, Ufc 87
POST TOOLS:
COMMENTS ( 0 )
Affliction has jumped from being a clothing giant to putting on some of the most anticipated bouts in MMA in the heavyweight division. They're generating old Pride vs UFC matchups which never came to fruition a few years back. With their first card being headlined by Fedor Emelianenko versus Tim Sylvia, it's a throwback to 2003 when both figthers were champs and seemed unstoppable in their respective organizations--Fedor in Pride and Sylvia in the UFC. We can remember at UFC 44 in September 2003 the commentary being "Bring on Fedor" after Sylvia knocked out Gan McGee in the first round of the event. Unfortunately the battle was not able to be put together as the two organizations weren't able to come to terms to make it happen. Even after Zuffa bought out Pride in 2007, negotiations with Fedor and the UFC would end up going nowhere. And thus old Pride vs UFC matchups involving Fedor were out of the question.
While not having the same appeal as in 2003, Affliction was still able to put together the very interesting matchup between Sylvia and Emelianenko last month. Once again another dream matchup of the Pride vs UFC days was set up a week ago by Affliction when Fedor was signed to fight former UFC champ Andrei Arlovski in October--a matchup fans were salivating for when both fighters were tearing things up at heavyweight in 2005. Unfortunatley due to injury, Fedor has been pulled out of the event, but once again Affliction has drafted up a fight between former Pride star Josh Barnett (also a former UFC champ) and Arlovski.
Kudos to Affliction to be able to sign some of the biggest names at heavyweight and put together some of these dream matches that we were hoping to see when Zuffa took over Pride in 2007. If Affliction can now sign Randy Couture to take on Fedor, they will solidify their status as heavyweight kings of MMA.
TAGS: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Fedor, Frank Mir, Mma, Ufc
POST TOOLS:
COMMENTS ( 0 )
2 weeks ago Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was the UFC light heavyweight champion, in the past couple days he's been involved in an alleged hit and run and arrested at gunpoint, and now once again picked up by police. TMZ reports:
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has been picked up by police again.
Sources say around 4:30 PM yesterday, friends who were hanging out with Rampage, waved down an Irvine police car after they were worried about his behavior. This, of course, following the insane chase the day before in which the UFC fighter hit several cars in his monster truck and was arrested at gunpoint.
We're told Irvine cops saw Rampage, deemed him a danger to himself and others, and took him to a hospital for observation. Rampage was very coopertive with police.
Cops won't officially confirm if it's a psychiatric hold.
Rampage was evidently in a bad place even before his loss to Forrest Griffin on July 5th, according to this video interview. Losing a fight is definitely going to make things worse and evidently has for Rampage.
I wish Rampage the best in turning around this negative situation and working his way back up to title contention.
TAGS: Arrest, Jail, Mma, Police, Quinton Rampage Jackson, Rampage, Ufc, Ultimate Fighting Championship
POST TOOLS:
COMMENTS ( 0 )
Quinton Jackson versus Forrest Griffin has become the most debated championship bout in the UFC this year. With the fight going to the judges scorecards after 5 rounds, both competitors put on a great show, but only one could emerge the victor. Unless it was a draw. I actually scored the bout a draw. Although it's the least sexy outcome of a fight, when there is a 10-8 round for an opponent, it heavily increases the chances the fight could end even. And I scored round 3 in favor of Forrest Griffin 10-8.
I scored the fight:
Round One: Rampage, 10-9
Round Two: Griffin, 10-8
Round Three: Rampage, 10-9
Round Four: Rampage, 10-9
Round Five: Griffin, 10-9
Rampage 47, Griffin 47.
Nonetheless all 3 judges gave the decision to Griffin and with that unanimous decision in favor of the new champion in Griffin. While the decision a hotly debated discussion in the MMA community, the unanimous nature of it gives it more credence. While Rampage feels he won the fight, he still admits that he's not a judge and since all 3 of them gave Griffin the decision, he is more willing to accept the outcome.
Both fighters definitely showed a great amount of heart in an action packed 25 minutes of fighting. Griffin showed he definitely belongs with the top of the heap at 205 and Rampage showed a huge amount of heart in recovering from a leg injury from Griffin's kick in round 2 and taking a beat the whole round, to come back and arguably win or at least come close to winning 2 of the next 3 stanzas in the bout.
TAGS: Forrest Griffin, Quinton Jackson, Rampage, Ufc, Ufc 86, Ultimate Fighting Championship
POST TOOLS:
COMMENTS ( 0 )
Quinton "rampage" Jackson and Forrest Griffin will finally collide this Saturday night. Here's a quick rundown on their advantages in each area:
Strength: Rampage
Power: Rampage
BJJ: Forrest
Striking: Rampage
Cardio: About even, Rampage has the experiential advantage going 5 rounds with Henderson
The skinny: Rampage's wrestling skill, strength and striking power and boxing technique give him and edge and he comes in the favorite at UFC 86.
TAGS: Mixed Martial Arts, Mma, Ufc, Ufc 86, Ultimate Fighting Championship
POST TOOLS:
COMMENTS ( 0 )
“Think about this for a second: India has 350 million men between the ages of 18 and 34, and that’s our key demographic. The magnitude of these markets is staggering.”
–Lorenzo Fertitta speaking to Yahoo Sports
UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertita has stepped down from overseeing Station Casinos and completely focussed on the new empire he has helped create in the UFC. Hoards of males 18-34 have embraced the brand in North America and the United Kingdom, but Fertita and UFC president Dana White feel they haven't even scratched the surface on how far they can take the product. The next endeavour will be to conquer the Asian market and one of the big targets will at some point be India. Although Jiu Jitsu can be traced to back to the subcontinent, there isn't a strong thread of martial arts throughout the land as one might find in the rich samurai spirit which pervades a country like Japan. However the choreographed combat of the WWE has been a big hit in India, and White assures that the product sells itself. "I take 2 guys and put them in an Octagon and they can use any martial art they want, it transcends across all cultural barriers, all language barriers", commented White earlier this month on the Opie and Anthony radio show. 350 million males between the ages of 18 and 34, a cultural fascination with all things American, the primal nerve struck by the excitement of MMA and the strong branding of the UFC allows for much potential in the nation for the sport and the UFC.
TAGS: India, Mixed Martial Arts, Mma, Ufc, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Wwe
POST TOOLS:
COMMENTS ( 0 )
Combat Power is dedicated to covering the growing sport of Mixed Martial Arts.
EDITORS
Jatinder Dhoot
send tips/stories to
contact us
click here.
DAILYPIXEL.CA NETWORK
2010Vancouver.ca
Airport.ca
Archive.ca
Audio.ca
CityGuide.ca/CALGARY
Canuck.ca
dailypixel.ca
Dial.ca
Engagements.ca
FluPandemic.ca
Forks.ca
Gadget.ca
Gimme.ca
Greetings.ca
Hell.ca
Hugg.ca
CityGuide.ca/KELOWNA
Lease.ca
Meme.ca
CityGuide.ca/MONTREAL
Naturopath.ca
PrimeMinister.ca
Profit.ca
RRSPS.ca
SearchEngine.ca
Stare.ca
Stylish.ca
Superwoman.ca
CityGuide.ca/TORONTO
Video.ca
VirtualReality.ca
Wager.ca
DAILYPIXEL.COM NETWORK
BallPimp.com
CombatPower.com
dailyBigBrother.com
dailyIdolTV.com
dailyLohan.com
dailyLost.com
dailypixel.com
dailySpears.com
Footblog.com
Survivordaily.com
TAGS
Tag Cloud
DATE-BASED
August 2008 (6)
July 2008 (3)
June 2008 (6)
May 2008 (10)
April 2008 (13)
March 2008 (10)
February 2008 (9)
SEARCH
BREAKING MMA/UFC NEWS...
MMA Spotlight 8.28.08: Georges St. Pierre Doesn’t Have to Fight BJ ... - 411mania.com
Rashad Evans looks forward to date with the Iceman after string of ... - The Amherst Daily News
Cardio Freak MMA News Report 08.28.08: Almost Done, Gus - 411mania.com
Bloody Elbow August MMA Meta-Rankings: Middleweight - Bloody Elbow
UFC: Georges St Pierre vs BJ Penn 2 Fight Update - Sports-Odds.com
BLOGS ON MMA/UFC...
Gone-ito: Jackson leaves Ibarra for UK’s Wolfslair
Ken and Kimbo
Good News For Opponents Of Ufc And Mma Legalization
