FB Live Podcast 2-18-17 - SBS on 97.3 FM ESPN AC

Josh Hennig, host of SBS on 97.3 FM ESPN Atlantic City Saturdays from 12-2pm.  On 2-18-17, Josh talks whats wrong with NBA and how to fix it, thoughts on the Philadelphia Sixers at the All-Star break, if Eagles should bring back Desean Jackson this offseason, thoughts on Basketball Hall of fame Finalists, shots fired by Terrell Owens-Cris Carter, and reaction to latest MMA/UFC news

The Rubik's Cube that is the UFC Rankings

When I was ten years old I asked my parents to let me take martial arts classes after I saw a Bruce Lee film and an amazing journey began for me.  My love for Martial Arts has grown over the years and led me to start watching Professional Mixed Martial Arts almost two decades ago.  I remember watching online replays of Bas Rutten Pancrase matches and Royce Grace vs Sakuraba PRIDE Superfight. I also watched the nights Vitor Belfort’s speed blitzkrieg of Wanderlei Silva and Tank Abbott, when Rich Franklin defeated Evan Tanner to become the UFC Middleweight champion, and the amazing technical war between Cung Le and Frank Shamrock in Strikeforce. 

I have been allowed the privilege, thanks to my many years in the radio industry and background in MMA, to cover several Bellator and UFC events.  I have seen the sport grow from a misunderstood “combat sport” to one of the top five highest grossing professional sports in the world.  But along the way a lot has changed, for better and for worse.  The “better” is what gets frequently publicized such as major sponsorship dollars MMA athletes have in today’s world and the mainstream acceptance of MMA.  That acceptance, thanks to fighters like Ronda Rousey, Randy Couture, and Ken Shamrock, paved the way for MMA fighters to crossover into the Television and movie industries.  The major television contracts that the UFC has with FOX, Bellator has with Viacom (Spike, CBS Sports), and World Series of Fighting with NBC Sports has put MMA on television on a weekly basis.

One common thread is that the UFC is the king of professional MMA world, where the most of the best fighters on the planet compete.  The UFC led the way in the 1990’s and helped bridge the gap to bring MMA into mainstream sports conversation.  But the UFC also has made promises to the casual and hardcore MMA fan bases that have loosely been kept.  When the UFC took over MMA organizations PRIDE, WEC, and Strikeforce, the plan was for those organizations to keep going forward and there to be crossover fights.  In each case the UFC slowly absorbed fighters into their own ranks and then dissolve the organizational structure, ending their existence. 

In 2015 the UFC is again giving something that frustrates fans and media alike, whether most of them are willing to admit it or not.  On the UFC’s website there are weight class rankings, allowing fans and media alike to have a gauge of where different fighters stand in relation to potential to championship matchups according to them.  Yet we have seen numerous times the UFC neglect their own rankings and put together fight cards headlined by title fights most people did not expect.

UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler is set to face Carlos Condit in November even though Condit has a record of 2-2 since his title fight loss to George St. Pierre in 2012.  Condit, the former WEC Welterweight Champion, is currently ranked 4^th in the UFC rankings, so he leap frogged three men for his title shot.  Meanwhile Johnny Hendricks (number one contender ranking) and Tyron Woodley (number 3 ranked Welterweight) are facing off in October at UFC 192.  Both men have previously defeated Condit while also having better overall records over the last few years.  Woodley has a 5-2 record since arriving in the UFC in 2013, with his only losses coming via judges’ decision.  Hendricks has 3-2 record over the same time period, his only losses coming via controversial split judges’ decisions.  Yet the UFC chose Carlos Condit for the title shot despite him being ranked behind Hendricks and Woodley.

Another example of mixed messages from the UFC is with the evolving conundrum of the UFC Women’s Strawweight division.  Current Women’s 115 lb. champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk is set to face Valérie Létourneau at UFC 193 in November, yet Letourneau is the number 10 ranked fighter in the division according to UFC rankings.  Letourneau is leap frogging Claudia Gadelha (number one contender in the division), Carla Esparza (former champion and number two ranked in division) and Tecia Torres (number 5 ranked fighter and undefeated in her pro career).  Both Gadehla and Esparza are out of action due to injuries so many people expected Torres would be next in line to fight for the belt.  Instead Torres is scheduled to fight Michelle Waterson next; Waterson is the former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion.  Meanwhile on her way to a title shot Letourneau has a 3-0 record in the UFC, all victories over women who are currently not ranked in the UFC’s top fifteen for the weight class.

The reality is the UFC is an organization that signed multiple big money media contracts at a time when they MMA landscape was very different.  A few years ago the UFC’s biggest stars were Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, and George St. Pierre.  Whether people were fans or haters, they tuned in every fight to watch these men either win or lose.  The UFC was also building the brand of Cain Velasquez, Frankie Edgar and Anthony Pettis after their famous championship winning fights.  In recent years since UFC signed media and sponsorship deals grossing the organization billions of dollars here’s what has happened to their stars:

-Jon Jones is currently suspended indefinitely due to his legal problems after a Hit and Run accident; he has been stripped of his title.

-Anderson Silva lost his title for Chris Weidman and since then tested positive for steroids after his fight with Nick Diaz.

-George St. Pierre retired after his controversial win over Johnny Hendricks in 2012; St. Pierre has stated he is not coming back anytime soon.

-Cain Velasquez has won, lost, won again, and lost again his Heavyweight title all while dealing with injuries.

-Frankie Edgar lost his UFC Lightweight Title in 2012 and has moved down to the Featherweight division where is working towards another title shot.

-Anthony Pettis lost his title in 2015 to Rafael Dos Anjos months after being a featured athlete on Wheaties boxes.

In 2015 the UFC is attempting to bank their marketing power around three current champions:

-Ronda Rousey, A woman who has said she will retire by 2017 and wants to spend more time pursuing an acting career.

-Chris Weidman, A talented fighter from New York whose coach is former UFC champion Matt Serra.

-Connor McGregor, A brash Irishman coming from a boxing background who just recently won the Interim UFC Featherweight title.

So with this shortened list of marque marketable fighters, why is the UFC insisting on putting together title fights that conflict with their own rankings?  The whole point of having these rankings published and updated almost weekly is to attract more fans interest in upcoming fight cards. 

One of the UFC’s biggest media deals is with Brazil’s Globo and is potentially in jeopardy due to poor TV ratings.  It does not help that three years ago there were several Brazilian UFC champions and title contenders.  In 2015 only two Brazilians hold UFC titles, one being Jose Aldo who has been dealing with injuries.  The other is Fabricio Werdum who is not even in the top five list of most popular MMA fighters in Brazil.

Certainly it is perplexing the UFC’s reasoning for many of their recent fighter matchups.  The truth is that the UFC needs the MMA fans to continue their support for the king of MMA in order to maintain financial strength and media visibility.  Their current deal with Reebok is still unpopular in many MMA circles since it cut off many sponsors from the UFC arena and some fighter’s lifelines.  There is nothing wrong with calculated risks, but only time will tell if this Rubik’s cube the UFC has placed in front of the media and fans will continue to produce results or if it will be tossed away due to the inability to be understood.

The Rise and Fall of Professional Boxing

Reports have come out that the recent Floyd Mayweather-Andre Berto Pay-Per-View fight card only generated between 400,000 and 550,000 buys and the crowd at the MGM was well short of sellout capacity. In the end, the overall event did not net a major financial profit despite this supposedly being the “Money Mayweather” final fight. Despite all the hype from Showtime and other media outlets, the collective sports world did not put their money up to see Floyd Mayweather dance in circles and play his counter-striking game one last time.

Whether you are a fan or hater of Mayweather, there is a reason he has the nickname “Money” because he has been very profitable for himself and his promoters for over a decade. Despite the 49-0 fight record, the truth is that it does not stack up against the likes of Mohammed Ali, Rocky Marciano, “Sugar” Ray Leonard and “Sugar” Ray Robinson. Furthermore Mayweather’s career is arguably a weak overall resume compared to contemporaries Andre Ward and Oscar De La Hoya in the fact that Floyd never won an Olympic Gold medal. Over the last 55 years all the great boxers from Ali to Joe Frazier to Leonard won Olympic Gold medals. Mayweather supporters would say he was “robbed” at the 1996 Olympics but most of Floyd’s life has been mired in controversy. From the domestic assault charges and convictions to being stripped of his WBO championship title to him hand picking fights with guys who are “past their prime”; some people say Floyd Mayweather has done more hurt the reputation of Professional Boxing than any other fighter.

But I contend Mayweather is just a bi-product of what big time Professional Boxing has become: A convoluted mess. From the alphabet soup of organizations to corrupt promotors to judging controversies, Boxing over the last 30 years has fallen from its pedestal as one of the premiere sporting events. Even the skills of Olympic Boxing competitors has dropped off during the last few Olympics. Let us also not forget that according to the online Journal of Combative Sport 2007 research since 1960 over 667 deaths directly resulting from boxing related injuries in the USA alone. The sport known as “The Sweet Science” sure has left a sour taste for many over the years.

Still, millions of dollars are made every year off a sport whose fighters lack the refined skill of years ago. Men such as Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, Ali, Frazier and Leonard were considered among the greatest athletes of their generations. In today’s world the greatest athletes are training to be the best in other sports. You see phenomenal athletes playing sports such as Football that would have been found fighting in the ring 30 years ago. That is because boxing was considered a way out for those who came from working class or poor economic backgrounds. These men would channel their anger and rage against the world into hours at the gym in order to exact that violence on another man to make the money they couldn’t get working at the factories and warehouses across America. In today’s world many great athletes who come from the same backgrounds look to the NFL and NBA to raise themselves and their families out of poverty.

Also the rise of Mixed Martial Arts has drawn men who would have gone to the boxing gym into the local kickboxing club or convinced young kids to wrestle in High School and College. Anyone who has watched MMA champions such as Cain Velasquez, Jon Jones, Nick Diaz, and Connor McGregor know that they have the natural skills needed to potentially be championship Boxers. Instead Jones and Velasquez were amateur wrestlers; Diaz trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu since his mid-teens; McGregor has formal boxing training but found professional MMA more appealing so he later trained in Kickboxing, Taekwondo, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Furthermore, MMA is overall a less brutal violence sport than Boxing. Many MMA fights are ended via submission or Technical Knockout via referee stoppage. Even though MMA is a fairly young organized compared to Boxing, we have not seen older or retired MMA fighters suffering from the same psychological and money issues as retired boxers. In fact, there has been only one Professional MMA injuries related death and that was because that organization did not have their fights or fighters sanctioned and overseen by a reputable Athletic Commission. After that incident, that commissioner was removed and there was an overhaul in that state’s MMA regulations.

But still Professional Boxing generates hundreds of millions of dollars every year while MMA grosses out only a quarter of the amount only thanks to television contracts.  Boxing has been making a dent into the television market but many of the cable television fight cards are relegated to average TV slots or they are stuck going head to head with more popular sporting events like the NFL or College Football. The UFC, who is the king of Professional MMA, has a multi-year TV deals with three different media companies internationally and those deals total around a billion dollars. MMA has not been able to draw the casual or hardcore boxing fans mostly because these people do not find the submission and grappling aspects of MMA appealing.

The truth is that the casual boxing fan tunes in for the excitement or violence of the sport.  Similarly to the people who watch sports because they have money invested, these watchers do not appreciate the game or skill involved, they want their money’s worth whether that is made off winning a prop bet or seeing the explosive entertainment they expected. The reality is that most of the people who watched the Floyd Mayweather fight just wanted to see him win or lose and cared less about the rest of the fights on the docket that night.

If Floyd Mayweather is truly done with boxing, it will be a blessing and a curse for the sport. While he made many promoters and opponents money, he also lost many people money and cast a dark shadow over the sport. Mayweather was a counter-striker with great speed who outside the ring had numerous domestic violence charges who promoters and the media turned him into a money making villain. Gone are the days of Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones Jr., Oscar De la Hoya, and Mickey Ward giving the fans an event to tune in for; without Mayweather, Boxing potentially sees their last cash cow walk away.

The future does not look very promising for the professional ranks of “The Sweet Science” with the numerous other sports options out there for people to take interest in and spend their money on. The mainstream sports media has Football, Basketball and Baseball deals that produce money and drive ratings.  Also media corporations such Fox Sports, NBC Sports and Viacom have invested a lot of money into the UFC, World Series of Fighting, and Bellator MMA already, so you know those events will get publicity and marketing dollars. NASCAR is another sport growing in popularity, getting big advertising dollars and TV contracts. Let’s not forget that the NHL and college sports conferences like the Big Ten, PAC 12 and SEC now have their own television networks. 

The market share for Boxing is shrinking with the all the other options out there and most people have no idea who Gennady Golovkin or Roman Gonzalez are, yet both men are undefeated champions. How can Boxing keep the money train going without the recognizable names to sell tickets and PPVs to fans? How will they keep the financial commitments from media outlets and advertisers? The clock is certainly ticking on that conundrum.  

5 Things Learned from UFC 191

Last night’s UFC 191 Fight Card was overlooked by many casual fans, no thanks to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s “Go Big” press conference on Friday.  That press conference cast a shadow over an event that included one of the top fighters on the planet, a match-up of two former UFC Heavyweight Champions, and a top contender in the light heavyweight division.  So here are the top five things the Mixed Martial Arts world learned from last night:

1.  Demetrious Johnson is one of the most underrated, dominate MMA fighters on the planet.

This may appear like a hyperbole, but the casual MMA fan has not seen all of Demetrious’ fights since the 125 pound division was formed in the UFC.  Since winning the UFC Flyweight Championship in in 2012, Johnson has defended his title seven straight times while looking better and more dominant in each match-up.  Johnson has been so exceptional in the octagon that he has made very talented fighters such as Joseph Benavidez, John Dodson, and Ali Bagautinov look underwhelming.  Johnson’s footwork, high MMA IQ, speed, wrestling skills and undervalued striking all set him apart from his competition.

At 29 year old Demetrious still has time to get better and more dominant, which will be a problem for his future opponents.  The UFC has the dubious task of trying to schedule great fights moving forward thanks to most of the fighters in the weight class doing little to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.  Ronda Rousey and Demetrious Johnson both have that in common: they are both dominant in their weight classes and finding future fights for them will become more difficult.

2. “Going Big” can backfire on a fighter, just ask Frank Mir.

The Heavyweight division in MMA is the only weight class that does not have strict weigh in restrictions.  At weigh-ins the major requirement is that a fighter be under the 265 pound weight limit.  This means that the fighters could weigh anywhere between 220-265 pounds.  Frank Mir was hanging around the weight limit thanks to his plans to get big and be the new “big” heavyweight in the UFC.  Mir saw in years past that guys like Brock Lesnar and Steve Carwin had past success as men who had to cut down to 265 pounds in order to compete. 

The problem with this way of thinking is two-fold:

-First of all, Mir has worked to gain weight and become a bigger man.  Lesnar and Carwin have been that size and weight most of their adult lives with most of that weight being muscle.  Mir had a gut last night and physiologically looked sloppy, his footwork was awkward and lacked the speed he has had in the past.  In previous fights Mir had come into the fights weighing between 10-18 pounds less and looked better.

-Secondly a natural side effect of competing at a weight heavier than what an athlete is use to is the potential to be tired more quickly.  Last night Frank Mir was tired early in the fight and it showed as his opponent, Andre Arlovski, was able to stay nimble and energetic.  Carrying that extra weight hindered Mir’s ability to execute his game plan and as a result the fight was underwhelming to watch.

There were expectations for this fight of two former Heavyweight champions, both looking to make another run at the belt.  Instead it was a fight in which one fighter looked like he didn’t belong; Mir looked slow, tired, and lacking initiative.  If Frank Mir has a future in MMA he needs to get back to the aggressive, balanced fighter he was four years ago.  Since his loss to Junior Dos Santos in 2012, Frank has lost four of his last six fights; in those losses he has looked slow and indecisive.

3. Anthony “Rumble” Johnson deserves his number one contender ranking.

Anthony Johnson with his Knockout victory last night showed why he deserves that number one contender spot in the Light Heavyweight rankings.  Johnson’s last fight was a loss to UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier, a fight that he did not perform his best in.  Outside of that loss, Anthony has not lost any fights since January 2012.  His showing at last night’s match-up with Jimi Manuwa was another example of Anthony at his best: staying aggressive, good side to side movement, and was calculated.

With excellent striking power and a good wrestling background, Anthony Johnson has the tools to be a UFC champion.  The weakness of Anthony’s game has been simple over the years and that is his susceptibility to being submitted.  The reality is that four of his five career losses have been by submission.  “Rumble” Johnson has the physical skills to be a champion and after last night he is clearly next in line for another shot at the belt.

4. Corey Anderson is an example of why who you train with is so important.

In his win last night, Corey Anderson showed well rounded striking and grappling skills.  A collegiate wrestler, Corey never aspired to be a Mixed Martial Arts fighter.  But after meeting former longtime Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askrin, Corey Anderson was convinced to come out to Ben’s MMA gym.  After a few pro fights, he got the opportunity to compete on season 19 of The Ultimate Fighter.  The show known as “TUF” is the UFC’s reality TV development/talent evaluation proving ground.  Corey would go on to be the Season 19 TUF Winner; the winner of the Ultimate Fighter wins a guaranteed UFC contract.  As part of that contract, he is required to fight on at least one Pay-Per View fight card; this is a big deal because fighters who compete on PPV cards get paid more since they also earn shares of PPV sale.

Corey Anderson has grown from a raw, athletic wrestler to an up and coming all-around MMA fighter.  This happened because he moved to New Jersey to be coached by Mark Henry and Richardo Almeida after working with former UFC Lightweight champion Franke Edgar on TUF.  Henry is a boxing coach with a high fight game IQ and Almeida is a high level Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and coach.  Working with great coaches and training in the same facility with top level fighters such as Franke Edgar, Edson Barboza, and Marlon Morales, this type of an environment helps athletes grow and develop their skills.  Anderson has gone from a wrestler with no interest in Mixed Martial Arts to an up and coming MMA fighter who has a bright future in the UFC.  Amazing what happens when an athlete is in the right kind of environment.

5. The sky is the limit for Paige Vanzant.

At 21 years of age, Paige Vanzant is rising up the Women’s MMA ranks and getting attention from advertisers too.  Now one of the faces of Reebok’s MMA promotional campaign, Paige has rewarded the faith placed in her by going 3-0 during her time in the UFC.  Vanzant, who trains at Team Alpha Male, has shown the progression of getting better with each fight and last night she won by submission, utilizing excellent jiu-jitsu skills.

Her all-around MMA skills have been developing at a solid pace and it has been smart for the UFC to bring her along slowly.  Paige Vanzant has the potential to be a UFC champion and also the future face of Women’s MMA.  Ronda Rousey has said publicly she doesn’t want to keep fighting into her 30’s and with a budding acting career, she doesn’t have to.  Paige has everything the UFC needs to build her into the next Women’s MMA star: she’s attractive, good with the media, talented, and fans like her.  Now yes, some fans may like her because of her looks, but her growing set of skills cannot be ignored by any objective viewer of her fights. 

Paige’s only potential downfall will be how she handles adversity in the future.  If she can handle losses inside and outside the Octagon the way she has handled everything else fame has thrown at her, her potential as a fighter is limitless.

Ronda Rousey: Making Sense Of An Enigma

UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey will be facing Former WBF Boxing Champion Holly Holm, January 2, 2016, at UFC 195 in Las Vegas.  This announcement comes as a surprise since UFC President Dana White had stated weeks ago that Rousey’s next opponent would be former Strikeforce Women’s Champion Miesha Tate.  Tate, who is on a four fight winning streak, has faced Rousey twice before and is the only woman to take a fight last beyond the first round (UFC 168) versus Ronda.

Rousey will be defending her title for the eighth time at UFC 195 and she had dominated her competition over that time.  With a career record of 12 wins and 0 losses, many claim Ronda Rousey is the greatest Women’s MMA fighter on the planet.  This claim is disputed though, by Christine “Cyborg” Santos-Justino, the current Invicta FC Women’s Featherweight Champion.  “Cyborg” has not lost a fight since 2005 and has talked publicly about fighting Rousey in the UFC.  Since UFC parent company, Zuffa, also owns Invicta FC, there is nothing legally or contractually holding this match up from happening.

What is holding the fight back is the lack of agreement on the when and how to make the matchup happen.  “Cyborg” has fought at 145 lbs for most of her career and UFC President Dana White has said that she needs to cut down to 135 lbs to fight Rousey.  This issue has put the potential women’s “Superfight” on the back burner. It doesn’t help that Rousey has no willingness to make an attempt at compromise, saying the fight “should” happen at 135lbs.

While Rousey is a great fighter, the “Dog and Pony Show” from her and the UFC is getting old.  Almost every opponent for Rousey is billed as “the most dangerous opponent yet” and Rousey typically talks about how hard she is preparing for the fight knowing how she must be ready for anything.  Then fight night comes along and she dominates, walking away with her title again and again.  This is by no means a disparagement of her opponents, who all are talented in their own right.  Top tier MMA fighters such as Cat Zingano, Miesha Tate, Liz Carmouche, and Sara McMann all presented unique challenges for Rousey, but no one has yet to figure out the enigma that is Rousey in the octagon.

While it is true Holly Holm is a dangerous fighter, what makes her such an underdog against Rousey is the same as most of Rousey’s opponents over the years: Rousey is a former Olympic Silver Medalist, Holm is not.  Yes, Holly Holm has won six different boxing championships during her pro career as a fighter, but she has never faced a fighter of Rousey’s pedigree.  The truth is, very few women’s MMA fighters ever have seen anyone like Rousey until now.

What makes Rousey great isn’t her undefeated record; instead it is how she got to this point and what sustains her.  She is not motivated like most athletes, because most athletes could never compete in the Olympics.  In order to be an Olympic athlete, that individual must work their way up the ladder of competition for years, preparing for the chance to be able to go to Olympic Trials.  At the Olympic Trials the athlete must compete for the chance to represent their country at an elite competition that is hosted every four years.  Once chosen, that athlete then goes to the Olympics and has to compete against the best every nation has to offer, all who have spent many years preparing themselves for that moment.  In that moment, all those years of preparation can either prepare that athlete for victory, or compromise them, leading to defeat.

Rousey won the Bronze Medal in Judo at the 2008 Olympics. Judo is a Martial Art discipline that is equally a demonstration of mental chess match as executing physical technique. Most of the women who comprise the professional MMA landscape have Wrestling, Boxing, Muay Thai or Kickboxing as their fight game foundation.  These four fighting disciplines test mental toughness while requiring physical endurance and fluid execution of technique.  Fighters with years practicing these disciplines faced issues decades ago when Royce Gracie won 11 straight fights utilizing a Martial Art discipline similar to Judo: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  Like Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is as much of a mental competition because both involve the manipulation of the opponents’ momentum, joints, and offensive mentality.  Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are counter-offensive disciplines based in strategic defense.  When you have a fighter who has been trained for years to take advantage of opponent’s aggression and weaknesses, that fighter has a built in advantage in competition against fighters are not trained with the same mentality.

Like Ronda Rousey, Royce Gracie seemed invincible early on, even when he was in trouble in a fight, he would find a way to walk away with a victory.  But will history view Rousey as they do Royce Gracie twenty-two years later, as a legendary pioneer yet as a fighter who was outpaced by competition that evolved their game plans?  The greatest difference between Ronda and Royce is that she has worked tirelessly to improve the weak areas in her fight game instead of being overly dependent on her strengths. Rousey on many occasions said her goal is to finish her career undefeated, whether that happens or not only time will reveal.

Is Holly Holm the most dangerous opponent Rousey has ever faced?  The argument can be made since Holm has competed as a professional fighter for 10-plus years and has won multiple titles.  This championship fight at UFC 195 is the classic “Striker versus Grappler” matchup, but both fighters are working with coaches who are skilled at the all-around Mixed Martial Arts game plan.  The fighter who comes into the matchup most prepared to handle their opponent’s strengths and can execute properly, that fighter will walk away with the UFC belt.  Rousey’s “legend” only grows with each win, but it is her background as an Olympic Judo fighter that has laid the foundation for her excellence in the UFC Octagon.

Bellator 49 preview

This Saturday’s Bellator 49 event is the opening of Bellator’s Fifth television season series and opening matchups for the latest Welterweight Tournament. Although we are still waiting for the last Welterweight Tournament winner Jay Hieron to face Bellator 170 pound champion Ben Askren, this next tournament winner is next in line for a title shot. Also, this will be my first live Bellator event and first Bellator event I will cover on site. Here is a preview for this Saturday’s main card that will be featured on MTV2:


1. Chris Lozano and Brent Weedman both have a chip on their shoulders coming into this tournament
These two fighters have more in common than just their weight class: they both lost their previous Bellator fights to men who have won Bellator tournament by Decision. This is significant because both Lozano and Weedman like to finish fights. Four of Weedman’s six career losses are by decision while 17 of his 18 career MMA wins are via Knockout/TKO or submission. Lozano’s only career loss is via decision and all 8 of his career wins are finishes. Weedman still has the sour taste of the controversal decision loss to Jay Hieron at Bellator 40 in his mouth while Lozano lost to former Bellator Welterweight Champ Lyman Good in a fight he knows he could have won. If you want to see an exciting fight, then make sure you don’t miss the fireworks when Weedmen and Lozano throw down.


2. Can Ben Saunders continue to be undefeated outside of the UFC?
Not many fighters can say that they have never lost a fight outside of the UFC yet Ben Saunders has a career MMA record of 10-3 and his record in the UFC is 4-3. Those three UFC losses were to Mike Swick (TKO), Jon Fitch (Decision) and Dennis Hallman (Decision). Saunders is a talented fighter who got lost in the shuffle of the UFC’s deep 170 pound division. Now he has the chance to make a name for himself in Bellator by making his way through the tournament to get a shot to fight for the Bellator Welterweight Championship. Saunders was supposed to fight Rick Hawn but Hawn was injured during training and he has been replaced by little known 13-3 Chris Cisneros. Cisneros is a talented fighter who has the boxing skills to end a fight stand while also being able to finish a fight from the ground as well. Saunders has to be careful to not let Cisneros make a name for himself at Saunder’s expense. Being one of the big name fighters in the tournament doesn’t mean it will be easy-going for Ben Saunders.


3. At 30 years old can Dan Hornbuckle live up to the high expectations or has he hit a career plateau?
Dan Hornbuckle is one of the more interesting fighters in the Bellator organization. Considered an up-and-coming MMA star, Hornbuckle was 19-2 before joining Bellator with 18 of those wins by Knockout/TKO or Submission. But since joining Bellator he is 3-2 and in his last fight lost a rematch with Brent Weedman. Before his last 3 fights Hornbuckle had not been in a fight that went to decision since 2007 but now he has been in 3 fights that went to the judges score cards. Whether the step up in competition is to blame or maybe Hornbuckle has hit a plateau in his MMA career it is hard to know. Yet at 30 years old, Hornbuckle still has time to reinvent himself as a fighter or atleast revist his previous self and fight up to his potential. This will be his 3rd Ballator Welterweight tournament appearance so there is no better time then the present to show the world (and Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney) that he is still a force to be reckoned with in MMA. By the way, Hornbuckle’s opponent is Luis Santos, a fighter who has a career MMA record of 49-6-1 with 26 Knockouts/TKO’s and 10 submissions. This is one fighter Hornbuckle cannot boast to have the edge in MMA experience.


4. Will Steve Carl versus Douglas Lima be Bellator’s version of Brain Stann versus Jorge Santiago?
Okay so maybe I am being a bit stereotypical about this matchup but lets look at the facts: both Carl and Stann are Iraq war veterans with impressive MMA career records while both Lima and Santiago are both Brazillian fighters who train at American Top Team. The difference in matchups is that while Stann and Santiago were known for their standup skills, Lima and Carl are known for their submission skills. Carl has 9 of his 14 MMA career wins by submission while Lima has 11 submission wins to account for his 18 career MMA wins. The major difference is that Lima is the new guy to Bellator, spending the last year fighting in MFC in Canada while becoming the MFC Welterweight Champ. Carl meanwhile lost in the Semi-finals of the Welterweight Tournament at Bellator 19 and has not fought since August 2010 when he earned a spot in the Bellator season 4 Welterweight tournament. It will be interesting to see whose “baggage” will be more of a factor Saturday night: Lima’s step up in competition to debut in Bellator or Carl’s MMA layoff.

An Objective List of the Greatest MMA Fighters of All Time

After his overwhelming victory at UFC 134 there should be no questions that Anderson Silva is not just top Pound for Pound MMA fighter fighting today but the Greatest MMA fighter of all time. Although MMA is a very young sport, Silva is an athlete with amazing talent and if anyone was "born to be a fighter" it certainly is Anderson Silva.

So The question now is: who is next on the list? Every one has fighters they like, dislike, cheer for, and despise so you probably cannot get too much agreement on any list of the best fighters in MMA today let alone a look at the last 18 years of MMA competition. When making any list you have to set criteria for what makes a fighter great. For me, I have decided to use to following criteria in making my list of who are the greatest MMA fighters of all time:

*(CAC): Career record against fighters who have won championship belts in UFC, PRIDE, Strikeforce, and WEC (only Featherweight and Bantamweight)

-This is important because it shows how a fighter has faired against top-level competition during their fighting career. Just to have a winning streak long enough to get into title contention is an accomplishment but beating the best of an era puts you ahead of the pack.

*Have you won a championship and how many belts can you lay claim to?(Championships)

-Like is any sport, the best separate themselves with the number of championships and title defenses they have on their resume. In turn, the best fighters have not just won a belt once and lost it or have only won the title, lost it, then fade into history. No, the best fighters create legacies with their championships and even when they do lose they come back better than ever.

*(CRCF) Career record in championship fights

-A reason why this is important because it shows how fighters handle the big stage, the main event with all the pressure on them. Being a champion is more than luck, it's the product of hard work combined with talent and execution on fight night.

Now you may say that these three criteria doesn't tell the whole story and I agree because a fighter's career tells us his true legacy. For example, I give more credit to fighters such as Randy Couture and BJ Penn for doing what they did in two different weight classes because they proved that their talent and ability to win transcends a weight class. As you will see in my list that fighters like Penn and Couture are weak statistically in comparison to some other fighters in certain categories yet time both Penn and Couture compiled a career of taking on the best of the best in different eras, weight classes, and under different sets of MMA rules. The purpose of these statistical criteria is to weed out fighters who had good careers yet they either did not fair well against other champion fighters, fought weaker competition, or they were at their peak as fighters before the sport had brought along fighters of equal talent.

This proves out when looking at the careers of guys like Mark Coleman, Jens Pulver, Ken Shamrock, and Pat Militech. All four of these fighters are considered pioneers in MMA and are real legends. But when you look at their careers closer you will see that they do not matchup against other all time great fighters. Despite winning three MMA tournaments (2 UFC, 1 PRIDE) Mark Coleman has a career record of 1-6 against fighters who have won titles in major MMA organizations and is 1-1 in Championship fights. Coleman was an MMA pioneer who opened the doors for many star amateur wrestlers to make the transition from wrestling to MMA. I am a HUGE Pat Militech fan, one of my favorite fighters ever! But he also does not belong on a list of MMA all time greats but not because he isn't a great fighter but because when he was great when the sport was still finding itself. Militech also is an MMA pioneer who was one of the first guys who was a major threat on both the feet and the ground. Through his Militech Fighting System he trained other fighters to be champions such as Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver, and Tim Sylvia. Although he was 5-1 in Championship fights he also has a meager record of 0-1-1 against fighters who have won championships. One more example of being an MMA pioneer/legend but not stacking up with other great fighters in Ken Shamrock. Ken was one of the first MMA superstars and he never backed down from a fight which made him even more popular. But by the time MMA had evolved into a major sport Shamrock was already in his early to mid 30's. Despite winning three championships in his careers he compiled a record of 4-6-2 against champion fighters and two of those wins were against a young, inexperienced Bas Rutten while another victory was a submission against Maurice Smith back in 1994 when most kickboxers had little idea about submission fighting.

So now that I have set the ground work, here is my list of the greatest MMA fighters of all time:



12. Frank Shamrock

CAC: 2-4 (Beat Tito Ortiz; 1-2 against Bas Rutten; lost to Nick Diaz & Cung Le)

Titles: 4 (Interim King of Pancrase Champ 1996; UFC LHW Champ Dec 1997-Sept 1999; WEC LHW Champ 2003; Strikeforce MW Champ June 2007-March 2008)

CRCF: 8-2

Frank Shamrock is more than just an MMA Legend and Pioneer, he was one of the first fighters to win championship belts in multiple weight classes and organizations. Shamrock's fighting career covered two decades and is one the fighters on this list who was able to fight high level competition from beginning to end. Also Frank was one of the first fighters to be a dual threat, on the feet and the ground. I am disappointed that his proposed matchup with Pat Militech never happened. Aside from being a great fighter, Frank Shamrock is one of the toughest MMA fighters the sport has ever seen, just go watch his title bouts with Tito Ortiz (1999) and Cung Le (2008).


11. Bas Rutten

CAC: 5-3 (Beat Guy Mezger & Maurice Smith, 2-1 against Frank Shamrock, 0-2 against Ken Shamrock)

Titles: 3 (Interim King of Pancrase Champ then unified with King of Pancrase Belt in 1995; UFC HW Champ 1999)

CRCF: 3-1

Bas Rutten in March of 1995 had a career record of 7-4 with two losses to Ken Shamrock and another loss to Frank Shamrock. Rutten is one of the most talented kickboxers in MMA history but he had to learn grappling and submission fighting. Once he gained grappling and submission skills Rutten would finish his career winning 21 of his final 22 finals (the one non-win was a draw due to injury). Many american MMA fans don't know about Rutten's fighting career because he spent most of his time fighting in Japan. After becoming UFC Heavyweight champion Rutten would sustain a serious neck injury during training that forced him to retire from fighting. If it were not for this injury who knows how great Rutten would have become in the UFC with his famous liver strikes and devastating leg kicks. Rutten would return for one more fight in 2006 after being cleared by doctors: a TKO victory over Ruben "Warpath" Villareall via leg kicks. "El Guapo" would return to retirement, this time on his terms and not because of injuries.


10. Urijah Faber

CAC: 4-4 (2 wins over Jens Pulver; beat Eddie Wineland; 1-1 against Domick Cruz; lost twice to Mike Brown; beaten by Jose Aldo)

Titles: 4 (Gladiator Challenge LW Champ June 2004-Sept 2005; KOTC Bantamweight Champ Nov 2004-Oct 2006; Gladiator Bantamweight Champ 2006; WEC Featherweight Champ March 2006-Nov 2008)

CRCF: 14-5

Although he is only 32 years old, Faber is an MMA pioneer for the lighter weight classes. He was one of the biggest stars in the WEC and without his popularity who knows how long it would have taken for the "small guys" to get the recognition they deserve as fighters. As a guy who has fought in three different weight classes and won titles in three different organizations Faber was a superstar fighter before most people even knew there were MMA fighters who were under 155 pounds. Faber is famous for his wrestling and submission skills with 13 of his 25 career wins by submission. Two of his five career losses were in Championship fights in which he went head to head for five rounds against two guys who are talented strikers: Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz. The full story of Faber's career is yet to play itself out so who knows if he will add a UFC title to his resume and if he does that then I would move him up this list of all time great fighters.


9. Chuck Liddell

CAC: 10-6 (Defeated Vitor Belfort, Guy Mezger, Murilo Bustamante, Kevin Randleman, Allistair Overeem, Wanderlei Silva; 2-0 against Tito Ortiz; 2-1 against Randy Couture; 0-2 against Quinton Jackson; beaten by Rich Franklin, Maurico Rua, Rashad Evans)

Titles: 2 (IFC LHW Champ 2000; UFC LHW Champ April 2005-May 2007)

CRCF: 5-2

Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell is one of the biggest stars to come out of MMA and be known in mainstream media. Originally a talented collegiate wrestler, Liddell took up kickboxing and became a famous knockout artist. From 2001 through 2007 Liddell was one of the most feared strikers in all of MMA and 13 of his 21 career wins have been by TKO or KO. He went 14-5 during that dominant stretch from 2001 through 2007 and two of those losses were to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Despite losing his last three career fights via knockout, Liddell is still a legend in the sport and is a major reason why the UFC became a mainstream sport organization. I still contend that even his prime Liddell would have had a lot of trouble against the likes of Frank Shamrock, Bas Rutten, and Dan Henderson because there were holes in his overall MMA game that Liddell seemed uninterested in fixing. These flaws in Liddell were exposed twice by "Rampage" Jackson and Jackson did so with almost four years in between matchups with "The Iceman".


8. Matt Hughes

CAC: 7-4 (2-0 against Carlos Newton; defeated Sean Sherk, Royce Gracie, Matt Serra; 1-2 against BJ Penn; 1-2 against George St Pierre)

Titles: 2 (UFC Welterweight Champion Nov 2001-Jan 2004; Oct 2004-Nov 2006)

CRCF: 9-3

Having a fighting record of 45-8 is impressive for anyone. But to have that record, be UFC champion for almost 5 years and have to face some of the top fighters in the world makes you a legend and that is what Matt Hughes is. Hughes, the protegé of former UFC Welterweight Champion Pat Militech, seem to make the best of his opportunities in the UFC compiling a record of 18-6 in the octagon. Four of his eight career losses have come against BJ Penn and George St Pierre, so if you are going to lose might as well be to two guys who are all time great fighters. More so, Hughes has beaten both Penn and GSP once in three times against them, not many fighters can say they even have one win against those guys. Hughes was best known for his great wrestling, excellent strength, and ability to find away to finish his opponent. From March of 2001 to September of 2006 had 16 wins by either submission or TKO/KO and 3 decision victories. Hughes only real flaw is that when he got older everyone else got better. And by the way, he hasn't retired yet so he still has time to put more "icing on the cake" of his legendary career.


7. Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" "Big Nog" Nogueira

CAC: 6-6-1 (Wins over Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia, Ricco Rodriguez, Mark Coleman; 1-1 against Josh Barnett and Dan Henderson; 0-2-1 against Fedor; lost to Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir)

Titles: 3 (PRIDE HW Champ Nov 2001-March 2003; Interim PRIDE HW Champ Nov 2003-Dec 2004; UFC Interim HW Champ Feb 2008-Dec 2008)

CRCF: 3-3

"Minotauro" Nogueira tends to get overlooked because he was the greatest heavyweight fighter in PRIDE history not named Fedor Emelianenko. Nogueira is the only man to ever win championship belts in PRIDE and UFC. This is disputed sometimes because Dan Henderson, Maurico "Shogun" Rua, and Mark Coleman won a championship belts in one organization and a tournament title in the other organization. Nogueira is famous for his Brazillian Jiu Jitsu skills and 20 of his 33 career MMA wins have been by submission (Also, "Big Nog" has never lost via submission). It will always be held against Nogueira that he is 0-3 when defending his belt and he never got a win against Fedor. But look at the caliber of fighters he has fought and beaten over a period of 12 years and its hard to deny his place as an MMA legend. Also, notice that Nogueira’s career MMA record is 33-6, which means all of his career loss have been to former champions (he is one of only 3 fighters on this list that has that distinction).


6. Fedor Emelianenko

CAC: 7-1 (Defeated Kevin Randleman, Tim Sylvia, Andre Arlovski; 2-0 against Mark Coleman; 2-0-1 against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira; lost to Dan Henderson)

Titles: 2 (PRIDE HW Champ March 2003-2007; WAMMA HW July 2008-June 2010)

CRCF: 7-0

Despite the three straight losses in the last two years, from January 2001 to June 2010 Fedor went undefeated as an MMA fighter. 13 of his 28 wins during this stretch where by submission and only 6 wins via decision (among the fights who took him the distance we Mirko "Cro Cop" Fillipovic, Nogueira twice, Renato Sobral, and Semmy Schilt). His background in Sambo enabled him to be a great grappler and he has dangerous power in his right hand. The major knock against Fedor has been the type of competition he faced over his career. When he fought Sylvia, Arlovski, and Goodridge they were on the downside of their careers and the same can be said of the second time Fedor fought Mark Coleman. Also, after PRIDE folded into the UFC here are some of the guys he defeated: Matt Lindland (a middleweight fighter), Choi Hong-man (2-3 as an MMA fight with a win over Jose Canseco), and Brett Rogers (only big name win was Andre Arlovski and has been finished by Fedor, Allistair Overeem, and Josh Barnett before the end of the 2nd round). Even while fighting in PRIDE there were rumors he avoided fighting heavyweights such as Josh Barnett, Gilbert Yvel, and Kimo Leopoldo while also turning down super fight matchups with Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Wanderlei Silva, and Vitor Belfort. So while the question of how great he was will always be up for debate I for one cannot take away from Fedor the winning streak or the excellent MMA record he compiled while fighting in PRIDE.


5. Randy Couture

CAC: 8-8 (Defeated Tito Ortiz, Kevin Randleman, Maurice Smith, Tim Sylvia, Mark Coleman; 2-1 against Vitor Belfort; 1-2 against Chuck Liddell; lost to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brock Lesnar, Lyoto Machida, Josh Barnett, Ricco Rodriguez)

Titles: 6 (UFC HW Champ Dec 1997; UFC HW Champ Nov 2000-March 2002; Interim UFC LHW Champ 2003; UFC LHW Champ Sept 2003-Jan 2004; UFC LHW Champ Aug 2004-April 2005; UFC HW Champ March 2007-Nov 2008)

CRCF: 9-6

Randy Couture spent 14 years as an MMA fighter and he is one of the most successful and accomplished fighters in UFC history. He is one of only two men to ever win UFC championship titles in different weight classes (the other is BJ Penn). An Olympic wrestling alternate, Couture went from being a wrestler fighting in MMA to a fighter who is dangerous in every aspect of the MMA game and he seemed to get better with age. He defeated Tim Sylvia to become UFC Heavyweight Champion at the age of 43 and even defended his right to the belt against a fighter almost half his age. Also, he won his first and last UFC heavyweight belts 10 years apart! Couture is a pioneer in MMA not just as a fighter but a role model for other fighters in standing up for their rights as a fighters and not letting anyone choose for him when he was done fighting. Couture was a game plan fighter who tried to use his opponent's weakness against them: he was faster than Tim Sylvia, better at submissions then Mark Coleman, more crafty than Tito Ortiz, and pushed the pace to get wins against Vitor Belfort. A criticism of Couture is that he was never able to defend his title more than two times and never had a winning streak longer than four in a row. Yet those who have these criticisms forget to look at the level of competition Couture took on through out his career; he never took easy fights and instead he was willing to fight anyone at anytime and anywhere. His MMA career record of 19-11isn't very impressive, but having 8 wins against championship level fighters is tied for 2nd among fighters on this list behind Chuck Liddell.


4. Georges St Pierre

CAC: 7-2 (Wins over Jake Shields, Sean Sherk; 2-0 against BJ Penn; 2-1 against Matt Hughes; 1-1 against Matt Serra)

Titles: 2 (UCC WW title 2002; UFC WW Champ Nov 2006-April 2007; Interim UFC WW Champ Dec 2007, unified with UFC WW belt to become Champ from April 2008-present)

CRCF: 11-2

Despite the debate about how great GSP is as a fighter, no one can deny that he is one of the top MMA fighters of all time. He has defended the UFC Welterweight belt six straight fights. He has only two losses in 24 fights and both were losses he avenge later in his career. St. Pierre has exhibited excellent wrestling skills and his boxing is sharp also. Despite having an excellent fighting record, the major criticism of GSP has been that he fights not to lose instead of looking to win. He has a record of 17-2 in the UFC but 9 of those wins have been by decision including five of his last six wins (the fight that wasn't a decision was a TKO via corner stoppage). His lack of ability (or motivation) to finish his opponents is something I hold against him because the only other fighter who has more wins by decision than any other type of winning method on this list of fighters is Randy Couture. Couture has won multiple titles in different weight classes while GSP has never fought outside of 170 pound weight classes. Good news for St. Pierre is that he is the youngest fighter on this list so he still has time to build his legacy as a fighter.


3. BJ Penn

CAC: 6-7(Defeated Sean Sherk, Takanori Gomi, Matt Serra; 2-1 against Matt Hughes; 1-1 against Jens Pulver; 0-2 against George St. Pierre and Frank Edgar; lost to Lyoto Machida)

Titles: 2 (UFC WW Champ Jan 2004; UFC LW Champ Jan 2008-April 2010)

CRCF: 5-5-1

BJ Penn is only the second fighter in UFC history to win championship belts in two different weight classes. Penn came onto the MMA scene as a famous brazillian jiu jitsu prodigy (which is where his nickname comes from) and over the years has developed great boxing skills. He is one of the most talented MMA fighters of all time and he has fought some of the biggest names in MMA over the course of nine years. Penn is only the second fighter on this list who has never lost a fight via submission and is only the 6th fighter on this list who has faced at least 10 championship level MMA fighters. He is also one of the few MMA fighters to ever beat two different Gracie family fighters (other famous fighters who have done so are Matt Hughes and Kazushi Sakuraba). One of the knocks against Penn is that in the past he lacked the work ethic to be a great fighter and got by in matchups on talent alone. Yet such a criticism is another example why he is so great (let us remember the same criticism was said of Babe Ruth and look at what he did in his baseball career). Like St. Pierre and Faber, BJ is still in his early 30's and has time to build on his already legendary MMA career so who knows what other great things he may accomplished.


2. Dan Henderson

CAC: 8-5 (Beat Fedor Emelianenko, Rich Franklin, Carlos Newton, Vitor Belfort; 2-0 against Murilo Bustamante; 1-1 against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Wanderlei Silva; Lost to Anderson Silva, Jake Shields, Quinton Jackson)

Titles: 3 (PRIDE Welterweight Champion Dec 2005-March 2008; PRIDE Middleweight Champion Feb 2007-Sept 2007; Strikeforce LHW Champ March 2011-Present)

CRCF: 3-3
Dan Henderson is one of the most accomplished MMA fighters ever. He has won four MMA tournaments (Brazil Open 1997; UFC 17 Middleweight; Rings King of Kings 1999; PRIDE 2005 Welterweight Grand Prix) as well as winning championship belts at 185 and 205 pounds. When the UFC absorbed PRIDE Henderson was the man holding championship belts in two weight class simultaneously! Since 2003 Henderson has a record of 16-5 with losses to Jake Shields (former Strikeforce and Elite XC Champ), Anderson Silva (who has never lost a matchup in 15 UFC fights), Quinton Jackson (The only fighter to ever beat Chuck Liddel twice), Kazuo Misaki (a fighter whom Henderson has beaten), and "Big Nog" brother Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Henderson's MMA career is a list of who's who in MMA history since he has taken on so many fighters over a period of 14 years. In fact, Henderson is the only fighter on this list who has never been Knocked out or lost a fight via TKO while 13 of his 28 career MMA wins are via KO or TKO. A highly accomplished amateur wrestler, Henderson uses his wrestling typically to keep the fight standing so he can be able to use his powerful right hand to try to end fights. Henderson says he still has a couple of years of fighting left in him and he still has time to defend his Strikeforce 205 pound belt and maybe take some more fights in the UFC.



1. Anderson Silva

CAC: 6-0 (Defeated Vitor Belfort, Dan Henderson, Carlos Newton, Forrest Griffin; 2-0 against Rich Franklin)

Titles: 3 (Shooto MW Champ 2001; Cage Rage MW Champ Sept 2004-April 2006; UFC MW Champ Oct 2006-Present)

CRCF: 14-0

The numbers above only tell half the story of how great Silva is as an MMA fighter. Since his debut in PRIDE in June of 2002 Anderson Silva is 23-3 with 15 Knockouts/TKO's and only 5 wins by decision. Silva is one of the best Muay Thai practitioners in MMA history and he is also a threat for submissions with six submission wins in his career. Silva is unique for his ability to beat an opponent with speed or power. His only real "weakness" in recent years is wrestling yet the two wrestlers who able to win a round against him in a fight (Dan Henderson and Chael Sonnen) both lost by submission. On top of all of this Silva has fought at weights from 168 to 205 pounds and has won at every level in MMA competition. Calling Silva the "Michael Jordan" or "Mohammed Ali" of MMA is an insult to Silva since he has been more dominant in MMA than either of those athletes were in their respective sports. At age 36 the question becomes "will" Silva ever lose again in MMA instead of "when" because he may retire before he has another chance to suffer defeat again.