UFC News & Rants
The Ultimate Fighter Season 11– Meet The Cast
by Rich on Mar.10, 2010, under MMA, UFC News & Rants
March is a great month for UFC fans, with a ton of great events leading the way towards this year’s installment of The Ultimate Fighter. With the UFC on Versus on March 21st, followed by UFC 111 - St. Pierre vs. Hardy on March 27th, and of course, Ultimate Fight Night 21 on March 31 ‚the UFC has all the bases covered in terms of promotion and great events leading towards TUF’s Season 11 premiere — also on March 31st.
This season, a new format will debut that plans to freshen up and reinvigorate the TUF program. With coaches Tito Ortiz & Chuck Liddell, you can expect great coaching, great fights and bad blood between these two that will make this another must-see season.
It’s a great time to be a UFC fan. Here are this season’s competitors:
The Ultimate Fighter premieres on SpikeTV on Wednesday, March 31st — check your local listings for showtimes.
My Take On: MMA & Mainstream Media
by Rich on Feb.27, 2010, under MMA, Strikeforce, UFC News & Rants
It feels like only yesterday when I watched my first MMA event - which happened to be the original UFC Super Fight. After watching, I realized that this sport could only be on PPV due to the sheer amount of violence it presented. Since those days, the UFC obviously has come a long way — not only in terms of fights but also in allowing MMA to transcend the moniker of a “barbaric” sporting event. While the sport has numerous organizations and tons great fighters, the success of sport has always hinged on fans and it crossing over into the mainstream. The UFC slowly started getting real sponsors like Harley Davidson, Burger King and a host of others. MMA was slowly gaining acceptance and companies were embracing the promotion the sport got their products. Companies like BSN, which aren’t usually widely heard of, are a perfect example of MMA helping them become known in mainstream media. Now when I enter a GNC and see a Syntha-6 bottle it has a little UFC logo next to it. It is things like this that help move the sport forward.
Nowadays, you open a magazine and you see MMA fighters (both male and female) endorsing products. Whether it’s t-shirts, supplements or apparel, Mixed Martial Arts has become a viable marketing machine that captures the key demographics for a lot of products across the board.
Let’s not forget that MMA is now seen on broadcast TV, thanks in part to the now defunct EliteXC, as well as StrikeForce, which broadcasts on CBS. In addition to that, companies like Fathead are now acknowledging MMA fighters as “mainstream” athletes with “mainstream” appeal. You can now hear names like GSP, Fedor, Gina Carano, Chuck Liddell and many others mentioned in the same sentences as athletes like Michael Phelps, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade. This shows that combat sports other than boxing have now assimilated themselves into today’s sports coverage and beyond.
Here are just a few examples of how MMA is now part of mainstream media.
After The Bell: UFC 109:Relentless
by Rich on Feb.07, 2010, under MMA, UFC News & Rants
Last night, after some B.S with the cable company, I had the chance to sit down and watch UFC 109. Before I get into the fights, I must say that the card was very good and a lot of the fights had surprising finishes. I also stand by the fact that UFC has the best event preparation in the game today. Strikeforce take notes.
I will give my thoughts on the main card since I did not get to watch the the prelims.
Matt Serra (16–6) v Frank Trigg (19–7)
Everyone I spoke to expected this fight to go the distance. But after the trash talking and the fact that this was a make or break fight for either one of these guys, you knew a lot was on the line. The fight started as you’d expect with Trigg keeping Serra away with punches and Serra working the body. Then the unexpected happened — not a miracle submission or a ground battle but a big right hand from Matt Serra that leveled Trigg. Serra capitalized on the K.O with a pounding and the ref stopped it.
Matt Serra is a favorite fighter of mine because he is tenacious and has a real “no quit” attitude that makes him fun to watch. It helps that he’s a fellow New Yorker, but let’s not let small details like location take away from the fact that he always entertains and surprises me.

Serra by K.O.
Dan Miller (11–2, 1NC) v Demian Maia (11–1)
Demian Maia came in to this fight with something to prove after his KO loss to Marquardt, and Dan Miller was a great opponent for him on his comeback trail.
First round was a healthy mix of standup from Miller with some takedown attempts from Maia. There was an inadvertent strike to the groin that Maia delivered, but the pace was solid and it was a great first round for both guys.
Second round had more striking from Maia, but nothing that really changed the tide of the fight. Miller continued working the striking game but couldn’t hit his stride which annoyed the crowd. Why does the crowd boo this really solid chess match? It boggles my fucking mind.
Third round had Maia really working on some takedowns. Miller continued to land solid shots and even cut Maia but it was not enough.

Maia wins by Decision
Brian Stann v Phil Davis
Phil Davis at first glance reminded me Jon “Bones” Jones due to his athleticism and explosiveness. Stann gave him some trouble in the first half of the round, but Davis woke up and put in some work in the second and third rounds to take the fight via unanimous decision.

Davis by Decision
Paulo Thiago (12–1) v Mike Swick (14–3)
Swick was substituting for Josh Koscheck here and wanted to avenge the losses of fellow A.K.A members to Thiago. Swick and Thiago exchanged a bit in the first, but neither fighter displayed a clear advantage. The second round started fairly the same but Thiago dropped Swick with a left and applied a darce choke for submission victory.

Thiago by Submission (Darce Choke)
Chael Sonnen(25–10-1) v Nate Marquardt (32–8-2)
Chael Sonnen came into this fight with a great performance against Yushin Okami and Marquardt was expecting a title shot after this victory. Sonnen proved to be the spoiler and proceeded to use his superior wrestling to bully Marquardt for the entire fight. Sonnen may have got himself into the title picture with these last two great performances.

Chael Sonnen by Decision
Mark Coleman (16–9) v Randy Couture (17–10)
Coleman gets props off the bat for coming out to Lil’ Wayne. Both of these legends have made some of the greatest contributions to the sport of MMA, and at the end of the day their performances will something we can all remember. Couture came out and proceeded to bully Coleman into the fence in typical Couture fashion. Coleman had no answer for Randy’s offense and Randy easily took the first round. Couture came into the second round using the same game plan and scored a takedown and the submission victory via rear naked choke.

Randy Couture by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
It wouldn’t be a post fight interview without some fireworks and those fireworks came in the form of the one and only Tito Ortiz who made some disparaging remarks to Coleman. I am sure whatever Tito said was far from cordial when it ends with Coleman saying “Fuck you, Tito” and “Anytime douchebag”. I am sure Dana saw some dollar signs with a potential Coleman v. Ortiz match.
Overall it was a solid card with some great fights. Randy Couture continues to improve with age and is a his best every time he fights. He is still dangerous at 205 lbs. and poses a threat in the division. Congrats to him and Coleman for going in there and putting on a great show. Nothing but respect for those two legends.
UFC 109 Relentless Preview– Couture v Coleman
by Rich on Jan.13, 2010, under MMA, UFC News & Rants
On February 6, 2010, legends will collide as the UFC presents UFC 109 — Relentless live on PPV. Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman is your main event. As an MMA fan, when you hear the nicknames “The Natural” and “The Hammer” you know you are in for a good fight. This fight between two Veteran fighters, to me, is a make or break for Coleman, given his recent string of opponents. He’s currently 1–1 in the UFC and a loss to Couture would surely put his future in question, but if there is anything that has been learned in the past, it is that legends can never be counted down and out at any point. This fight has the makings of being an instant classic and given it’s historic nature (this will be the first time these two Hall of Famers have ever fought), it will be watched by millions of eager people, including me.
I am not making a pick on the legends’ main event fight because it would be way too tough, but here are the other notable fights on the card as well as my picks (in orange):
Main Card
Middleweight bout: Nate Marquardt vs. Chael Sonnen — Marquardt
Welterweight bout: Mike Swick vs. Paulo Thiago — “Quick” Swick is dangerous when he is focused. Going with Swick on this one.
Middleweight bout: Demian Maia vs. Dan Miller- I am a big fan of Maia. The guy has incredible talent. I say Maia by Submission (of course).
Welterweight bout: Matt Serra vs. Frank Trigg — I am a big fan of both of these guys but I have to go with my boy from NY. Matt Serra
Spike TV Card
Lightweight bout: Mac Danzig vs. Justin Buchholz — Danzig
Lightweight bout: Melvin Guillard vs. Ronnys Torres — Got to go with “The Young Assassin” Guillard here.
Watch UFC 109 live on PPV on February 6th. Check you guide for listings.
1st Impression:UFC Undisputed 2010 Trailer– Do You Wanna Be A Fighter!!
by Rich on Dec.15, 2009, under UFC News & Rants, Video Game Trailers
I had the chance to watch the Spike VGA Awards this past weekend and while I did not like certain aspects of the award show or some of the winners, I did enjoy some of the trailers for the upcoming titles. As a gamer and an MMA fan, one of the titles that got my attention was of course the newest UFC game which was introduced by “Street Certified” Kimbo Slice. The trailer was simple in execution and wasn’t overly stylish, but that my friends is the appeal of the UFC game. It’s not meant to be pretty - but it is meant to be the most accurate representation of MMA today. With smoother graphics and even more realism this game will be a worthy follow-up to the previous UFC Undisputed. EA may have EA MMA in the near future, but right now the fight game belongs to the UFC.
Are You Ready To Fight?
Be Ready 5.28.10

