TKO REPORT

2010 Award Nominees

james — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 22:45:10 +0000

MMA Awards 2010

January 12, 2011

James B. McDaniel, Esq

Note: We are currently undergoing formatting difficulties. Thank you for your patience.

2010 has come and gone, and Mixed Martial Arts has continued its push as one of the fastest growing sports in the United States, if not the world. When The Ultimate Fighter made it’s debut in January of 2005 part of its luster was the uniqueness of a new MMA fight on TV once a week for 13 weeks.

Now here we are just six years later and there is rarely a night that MMA cannot be found on SpikeTV, MTV2, FSN, HDNet ,Showtime and even CBS and NBC. The sport has grown by leaps and bounds, and in the history of this young sport 2010 stands out as one of its most memorable.

Today on Fox & Company the Professor Nick Harrison and I will be discussing and naming our picks for the finest moments of 2010 in the following categories: Fight of the Year, Fighter of the Year, Comeback Fighter of the Year, Fight Card of the Year, Knockout of the Year, Submission of the Year, and Story of the Year.

Below I will give my own personal short-lists in each category and encourage you all to give feedback, either as comments or through calls and emails at 4:00, on who you think should win in each category.

Story of the Year:

- The return of Brock Lesnar: In late 2009 UFC Heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar came down with a mystery illness that was later confirmed to be Diverticulitis. It was later revealed that at one point Brock was near death and moments away from a career ending surgery. In January it was revealed that Brock had a near miracle recovery and would be making his return in the summer against the winner of Shane Carwin – Frank Mir. Whether you love him or hate him Brock Lesnar is the biggest star and the biggest draw in MMA history. His illness was the biggest story of 2009, and his return has to at least be in the discussion for the biggest of 2010.

- The UFC – WEC merger: At the end of October UFC president Dana White made an announcement that changed the face of the UFC forever. Zuffa’s UFC and WEC brands would merge under the UFC banner and for the first time in its history the biggest name in MMA would now be home to both Featherweight (145 lb) and Bantamweight (135 lb ) weight classes. Not only has this resulted in a deeper roster with a higher level of talent, but it brings with it more title fights and deeper fight cards.

- The rise and fall of Chael Sonnen: In 2010 Chael Sonnen became an superstar. Sonnen started the year with a bang. He garnered loads of mainstream press in winning the GOP nomination for a state Senate seat in Oregon, and then claimed a shot at the UFC Middleweight title by running through top contender Nate Marquartd. In the build to UFC 117, Chael singlehandedly did what no one had been able to do in the previous three years, and that is to bring real hype, excitement, and mainstream attention to an Anderson Silva title fight via one of the greatest builds to in UFC history. Then on August 7 he did the unthinkable in dominating the best pound for pound fighter in the world for 25 minutes in what is now being called one of the greatest fights in the history of the sport. Despite the shocking last minute defeat at the hands of the champion, Sonnen emerged from UFC 117 as one of the biggest stars in the sport. However in June Chael mysteriously dropped out of his Senate race due to “legal issues.” In September he was busted for performance enhancing drugs in the Silva fight, and then at the end of December rumors swirled about his legal issues resulting in his pleading guilty, in Federal court, to Money Laundering resulting in the possibility of fines, jail time, and a suspension by the UFC.

- Fedor loses: Coming in to 2010 Strikeforce’s Fedor Emelianenko held a near mythical status in the world of MMA. “The Last Emperor” had gone undefeated for a decade and appeared to be the only truly unbeatable fighter in the sport. Over the past decade he had faced and defeated some of the greatest strikers and grapplers in the sport and had come away almost completely unscathed. When Fedor walked into the cage against Brazilian Jiu Jitsu master Fabricio Werdum, the question wasnt if Fedor would win, but how and how quickly. In fact the only man in the sport that anyone considered a credible threat at the time was UFC champion Brock Lesnar. This, however, is why fights do not happen on paper as it took Werdum just one minute and nine seconds to lock on a triangle choke, submit Fedor and bring to an end the myth of the unbeatable fighter.

Fight of the Year:

Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen: The placement of this fight on the list may be controversial to some. If you were a casual fan or complete outsider you might have found this to be a middling fight. Sonnen came in, knocked Anderson down and then pummeled him on the ground for five rounds until getting caught in, literally, a last minute submission. However, longtime fans of the sport saw something else completely. Hardcore fans saw a one dimensional and unheralded wrestler walk into the cage against an unbeatable and unpopular champion ( possibly the greatest pound for pound fighter and definitely the greatest striker in the history of the sport), out-strike him and then dominate a man for five rounds who has never been dominated for a single minute of his career. Even though Chael beat Anderson to a pulp in the first round, fans knew that the second Silva got to his feet he would end the fight with one punch. Anderson did get back to his feet on multiple occasions but the magical knockout punch never came, and this only served to increase the drama and anticipation more and more with each passing moment. Sonnen stepped into the fifth round with a massive lead on every scorecard. All he had to do was fight conservatively and survive the round and the title was his. As it turned out Chael had other ideas, as he took the fight to Anderson yet again and pummeled the champ until, with only thirty seconds left in the fight, Silva pulled victory from the jaws of defeat by catching Sonnen in a triangle choke and forcing him to submit.

Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin: Brock Lesnar was the most dominant heavyweight champion in UFC history, he drew the biggest pay per view numbers in UFC history at UFC 100, but then he got sick, sat out and entire year and almost died. Going into this fight no one knew how bad his illness would affect his performance, no one knew how a years worth of ring-rust would affect his performance, and the media had widely publicized the fact that Lesnar’s bout with diverticulitis had knocked nearly 40 pounds off the champs imposing frame. During the champs layoff Shane Carwin demolished former champ Frank Mir to win the UFC Interim Heavyweight title and made everyone wonder if, even at his best, Brock Lesnar could defeat this man who was now 12-0 having never left the first round. I say all of this to highlight that the greatness of this fight is so heavily tied to the story of this fight. At the main event of UFC 116 Brock Lesnar stepped into a buzzsaw in Shane Carwin. Brock, who had likely never lost a round in his UFC career (save for the Frank Mir kneebar), got pummeled mercilessly for five full minutes during which many pundits and fans thought the fight should have been stopped. It was without one of the most one sided rounds in UFC history, no to mention in a fight for the world heavyweight title. Then in the second round not only did the old Brock Lesnar emerge in taking down Carwin, but a new Brock Lesnar emerged in sinking in the first submission of his career and silencing the critics who had previously called him one-dimensional. This fight had some of the greatest drama of any fight I have ever witnessed, and featured one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the sport, all in the midst of a fight for the most prestigious title in MMA.

Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama: This fight, at UFC 116, took Chris Leben from being a popular fighter to being a bona-fide star. Leben took this fight just two weeks after a battle with Aaron Simpson at the Ultimate Fighter 11 finale. This fight really had almost everything you would want in a great fight – You had a popular underdog in Leben coming in on short notice to face a foreign, more decorated, and many assumed more highly skilled favorite. Then you had Leben getting taken down multiple times in the first round, battling back in the second, ending with the underdog brawler winning a submission war in the third. This fight had a great story, high drama, techincal skill, true ebb and flow, and an exciting finish.

Anthony Pettis vs. Ben Henderson: This was the last fight on the last card in WEC history and will forever be known for “THE KICK.” Pettis’s wall-walking “showtime” kick was a thing of legend the moment this fight ended. The kick may go down as one of the greatest moves in MMA history, and in a way may hurt the fights legacy in overshadowing the fact that this was one of the most highly skilled and competitive title fights of this or any year.

Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung (The Korean Zombie): This fight at WEC 48 was one of the greatest slug-fests in MMA history, and undoubtedly one of the most entertaining fights of 2010. Unfortunately this fight has one big negative working against it in that neither fighter showed that much actual skill in what was a sloppy brawl between two fighters who both ran out of steam early.

Comeback Fighter of the Year:

Brock Lesnar: In 2010 Brock Lesnar came back from a life and career threatening illness, overcame a full year layoff and overcame the greatest beating of his career to finish Shane Carwin to highlight not only one of the greatest in-ring comebacks in UFC history, one of the greatest real life comebacks in the history of the sport.

Chris Leben: Coming in to 2010 it was uncertain as to whether or not Chris Leben even had a future in the UFC. Leben had lost 5 of his last 8 fights, been suspended for banned substances, and hadn’t notched a victory in the octagon since March of 2008. Despite these factors, he still had name recognition coming off a standout performance on The Ultimate Fighter three years earlier so Dana White gave Chris another shot in matching up with Jay Silva in January. Leben won the Silva fight via decision and was matched up with undefeated up and comer Aaron Simpson at the Ultimate Fighter 11 finale on June 19. Leben went into this fight as an underdog but ended up walking out with the knockout of the night award and the satisfaction of giving Simpson his first loss. If that was not already enough Chris then agreed to step back into the cage in just TWO WEEKS against Japanese superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama, a Judo sensation who had not lost a fight since 2005. As you should already know, Leben went on to put on the performance of a lifetime, finished the favored Akiyama, and claimed a spot as one of the most popular fighters in MMA.

Fight Card of the Year:

UFC 116: This show featured two of the top contenders for fight of the year in Lesnar – Carwin and Leben – Akiyama, but also had excellent fights in Soszynski – Bonnar II, and Chris Lytle – Matt Brown.

UFC 117: This show was highlighted by top fight contender Silva vs. Sonnen, but also featured a great match between Junior Dos Santos and Roy Nelson, the return of Matt Hughes with a unique submission over Ricardo Almeida, and a memorable match between Clay Guida and Rafael Dos Anjos. The one downside was that the semi-main event was the typical Jon Fitch snooze-fest over Thiago Alves.

WEC 48: This card held a fight of the year candidate in Leonard Garcie vs. The Korean Zombie, a huge win for Manny Gamburyan over former champ Mike Brown, and two exciting title fights in Donald Cerrone vs. Ben Henderson and the main event of Jose Aldo vs. Urijah Faber.

WEC 53: The final event in WEC history featured a fight of the year candidate in Anthony Pettis vs. Ben Henderson, saw Bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz tear through Scott Jorgenson, and is said to have featured one of the better unaired undercards of the year.

Knockout of the Year:

This is a pretty straightforward category so I just included the URL’s for animated gifs of each knockout.

Carlos Condit over Dan Hardy: http://cdn2.sbnation.com/fan_shot_images/152323/y2icd.gif

Paul Daley over Scott Smith: http://ezpicshare.com/images/daay.gif

Eddie Wineland over Ken Stone: http://www.yorkblog.com/mma/slam.gif

Robbie Lawler over Melvin Manhoef: http://i46.tinypic.com/2lo6d02.jpg

Submission of the Year:

Usually you would have a lot of more unknown fighters in this category. Many guys such as Bellator’s Dan Hornbuckle and Dream’s Shinya Aoki had amazing submissions this past year, but unfortunately for them 2010 was a year of big submissions by big fighters in big fights, so I narrowed my top three down to these (gifs included):

Anderson Silva over Chael Sonnen via Triangle Armbar: http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t169/Inspectorchao/UFC%20117/HQSonnenTaps.gif

Fabricio Werdum over Fedor Emelianenko via Triangle Armbar: http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t169/Inspectorchao/MMA/FedorTAPS.gif

Brock Lesnar over Shane Carwin via Arm Triangle: http://i49.tinypic.com/sv6ey0.gif

Fighter of the Year:

Jose Aldo: Aldo took home a number of FOTY awards in 2009 and continued his streak of excellence in 2010 successfully defending his title against Urijah Faber and Manny Gamburyan before being named the first ever UFC Featherweight champion.

Frankie Edgar: Frankie Edgar started 2010 as a very good but largely unrecognizable lightweight contender, and left 2010 as an extremely popular UFC Lightweight champ by doing unthinkable …twice. He stepped into the ring as the smaller man against one of the greatest fighters in UFC history, B.J. Penn, and won. I might add that this is a feat which has only been accomplished by one other man, Georges St. Pierre, who outweighed Penn by almost 30 pounds.

Cain Velasquez: For a couple of years MMA insiders have been telling everyone they had better pay attention to Cain Velasquez. In 2010 Cain forced the world to take notice. Velasquez came into the year as an undefeated 7-0 prospect, became the #1 contender by laying out the legendary Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and then TKO’d Brock Lesnar to become the Heavyweight Champion of the world, and the first Mexican Heavyweight champion in the history of combat sports.

Hector Lombard: While Hector is not as big a name as the other fighters on this list, the guy had a great year. In 2010 Lombard held and defended both the Bellator and CFC Middleweight titles, and won five fights in three different weight classes.

UFC 111 Championship Doubleheader

james — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:31:08 +0000

CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLEHEADER CONFIRMED FOR UFC 111

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – Two world titles will be on the line for the first time in 2010 when the Ultimate Fighting Championship^® returns to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey for UFC 111: ST-PIERRE vs HARDY, Saturday, March 27^th, live on Pay-Per-View and presented by TapouT. In featured bouts, one of the best fighters in the game today, UFC^® welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, looks to extend his reign and his six fight winning streak against British bomber Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy, and former heavyweight champion Frank Mir looks to become only the second man in UFC history to win the championship three times when he takes on number one contender Shane Carwin for the interim UFC heavyweight title.

“UFC 111 will see our first two title fights of 2010, and they’re both incredible matchups,” said UFC President Dana White. “Georges St-Pierre is pound for pound one of the very best fighters in the world and has been dominant as welterweight champion, but Dan Hardy has the punching power and the confidence to score an upset on March 27th. And I can’t say enough about a fight that has undefeated powerhouse wrestler Shane Carwin taking on former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir for the interim belt. This fight pits Carwin’s one punch KO power versus Mir’s fight-ending submission game. Both of these matches are ‘can’t miss’ fights in terms of action.”

Tickets for UFC 111 are priced at $600, $400, $300, $200, $100 and $50, not including applicable service charges, and go on sale Saturday, January 9 at 10 a.m. ET at all Ticketmaster locations. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at UFC.com, www.prucenter.com or ticketmaster.com.

UFC^® Fight Club^™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Thursday, Jan. 7 at 10 a.m. ET via UFC.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Friday, Jan. 8 at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC 111 will be available live on pay-per-view on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, BellTV, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95 ($49.95/Canada) for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre (fighting out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 19-2 professional record) has been unstoppable since regaining the title in 2008. The 28-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt holds two career wins a piece over the legendary Matt Hughes and current UFC lightweight champion and former welterweight champion BJ Penn. The 170-pound champ defended his crown most recently against feared striker Thiago Alves at UFC 100 last July, and now St-Pierre makes his fourth title defense against one of the fiercest threats to his crown in UK superstar Dan Hardy.

“Dan Hardy is a very worthy contender and I’m preparing for a war,” said St-Pierre. “He is hungry for the title and that makes him very dangerous, but I’m just as hungry to keep the belt and I am going to train and fight like I am the challenger on March 27^th.”

Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy (fighting out of Nottingham, England, 23-6 1 NC) is unbeaten in the UFC and fresh off wins over Marcus Davis and Mike Swick. A black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the brash 27-year-old is looking to extend his seven-fight win streak as he becomes the first British fighter to contend for a UFC title. With 11 wins by KO/TKO and three by submission, the UK fighter with the 4-0 mark in the UFC always looks for the finish.

“I think I am underestimated by the fans a little,” Hardy said. “But GSP is smart enough to realize that I could knock him out with either hand. He will come fully prepared and I expect to face the very best GSP in March – and wouldn’t want it any other way. When I came into the UFC in October 2008, I didn’t expect to be the first Briton to fight for a UFC world title, but I am proud to make a little bit of history. But the real prize is becoming the first British UFC champion and that’s what is going to happen.”

Winner of four of his last five fights, former two-time heavyweight champion Frank Mir (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev., 13-4) has put on the necessary muscle and weight to face the biggest challengers in the heavyweight division, and he is refocused on earning back the world title. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with immensely improved striking, the 30-year-old knocked down feared striker Cheick Kongo at UFC 107 and then proceeded to submit the French contender with a guillotine choke, putting him firmly back in the title picture.

“Shane Carwin is an extremely dangerous opponent and being matched up against him is an honor,” Mir said. “It’ll be a great challenge to face him and get to match wits against his coaches. Greg Jackson is like the ‘Yoda’ of mixed martial arts and I will need a strong gameplan heading into this fight.”

Originally scheduled to face UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, No. 1 contender Shane Carwin (fighting out of Denver, Colo., 11-0) has been on a tear ever since he stepped foot into the Octagon™. A former national wrestling champion with dynamite in his fists, Carwin has made quick work of all three of his UFC opponents, finishing Christian Wellisch, Neil Wain and Gabriel Gonzaga within 91 seconds each. Now he takes the next step in his career against Frank Mir.

“It’s an honor to not only fight for the interim UFC heavyweight title, but to do so against a respected former champion like Frank Mir,” said Carwin. “This is going to be a fight to remember for the fans, and I plan on making it one of my most memorable performances as well. Beating Frank is going to be a test, but I’m confident that it’s a test I will pass with flying colors.”

For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit UFC.com, UK.UFC.com, GERMANY.UFC.com, UFCJapan.jp or UFCEspanol.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

LASHLEY SIGNS WITH STRIKEFORCE

james — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:27:58 +0000

BREAKING: UNDEFEATED FORMER WWE CHAMP BOBBY LASHLEY SIGNS WITH STRIKEFORCE

NEW YORK (December 10, 2009)- Former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) heavyweight champion and undefeated mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter has signed a multi-year agreement with STRIKEFORCE and will make his debut for the world championship MMA promotion at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida on Saturday, January 30.

The 6 foot 3 inch, 250 pound Lashley, also a former collegiate wrestling star for Missouri Valley College and member of The United States Army, will face an opponent that has not yet been determined during the live, SHOWTIME® telecast of STRIKEFORCE: Miami, the historic, first-ever STRIKEFORCE event in the state of Florida.

In his last MMA start on June 27, 2009, the 33-year-old pulverized and scored a first round (3:17) TKO on 6 foot 5 inch, 350 plus pound goliath Bob “The Beast” Sapp with a barrage of punches in Biloxi, Mississippi. The win brought Lashley’s overall MMA record to 4-0.

“I’m looking forward to fighting for STRIKEFORCE and challenging myself by taking on some of the top heavyweights in MMA,” said Lashley, a native of Junction City, Kansas and resident of Denver, Colorado.

After getting his feet wet with several matches in both the WWE Raw and SmackDown! shows in 2005 and 2006, Lashley captured the WWE United States Championship by defeating rival competitor “JBL.” During this stint with the league and another in 2007, Lashley wrestled several top superstars, including The Big Show and John Cena.

Lashley made his MMA debut on December 13, 2008, earning a 41 second TKO over Joshua Franklin after Franklin sustained a cut that would not allow him to continue their fight.

Earlier this year, Lashley joined Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling. In his first appearance with the league on July 30, he helped tag team matchup partner Mick Foley defeat superstars Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash.

Tickets for STRIKEFORCE: Miami officially go on-sale tomorrow/Friday, December 11 at the BankAtlantic Center ticket office as well as online at www.Ticketmaster.com <http://www.ticketmaster.com/> or by phone at (800)745-3000.

FEATURES

admin — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:16:48 +0000

UFC 136: MAIN CARD BREAKDOWN

WEIGH IN RESULTS, LIVE 4PM CST / PROS PICK EDGAR-MAYNARD III