It is that time of the year again, time for the MMA Year End Awards. 2011 was certainly an interesting year in and out of the octagon for the UFC and MMA. A promotional acquisition and the emergence of a young prodigy are arguably the two biggest headlines of the year.

MMA Fighter of the Year

Eric Gargiulo – Jon Jones: This was probably the easiest award to pick here and maybe any other year. I can’t remember an MMA fighter with as strong a year as Jon Jones. Four fights, a championship win, and two successful title defenses thrust Jones to the top of the list.

Hardcore MMA fans were well aware of Jones and his vicious elbows before he stepped into the octagon at UFC 128 and dismantled Shogun Rua. The potential was never in question, yet some wondered if the UFC were taking things too slowly with Bones. How would Bones do with ramped up competition? The answer is simple, he is even better than anyone thought.

Fighting four times in one year in the UFC is an accomplishment in itself. Handily winning three fights against the elite of the division is something else altogether. In a matter of eight months Jones has dominant wins over Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson, and Lyoto Machida. Sure champions fight more than once a year in the UFC, but rarely is their competition as good as Jones’.

Jones finishes the year with a highlight finish over Machida. Entering 2012 he is looking at potential fights with Rashad Evans and most likely Dan Henderson. At this point I can’t imagine anyone picking against him. The end game here has to be Anderson Silva. Whether Silva takes the fight or not is another story. Without the Silva fight in 2012, at this current pace he could clean out the division by next year’s end.

He may not be your favorite, but I don’t think anyone would have a hard time with giving this guy his props for a phenomenal MMA year.

Honorable Mentions: Nick Diaz, Dan Henderson, and Junior Dos Santos.

Brett Clendaniel of WrestleChat.net- Jon “Bones” Jones: If you would have told Jon Jones at the beginning of the year that his opponents in 2011 would be Ryan “Darth” Bader, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, he probably would have settled for going 2-2 and getting a bit of experience under his belt. It was these 4 fighters, Jon Jones, and Rashad Evans that made up the Top 6 in the most stacked, competitive division that the UFC has to offer. Instead of backing down from the task at hand and wilting from the pressure, Jones rattled off four incredible victories that has many MMA pundits calling it the greatest single year for a fighter in MMA history. Not only were they four victories, but they were all dominating, decisive stoppages that earned Jones the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. He entered 2011 as a young, promising, up-and-comer who had the potential to be great one day. Instead, he proved to be a fighter who very well may dominate his weight class like Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre have. The only fighters that could potentially cause a problem for Jones are Rashad Evans (who he was set to fight twice over the course of the year), Phil Davis (whose tall, lanky frame and A+ wrestling ability could prove to be a threat), and Dan Henderson (who has never been stopped and can KO anybody). Those three fighters are almost definitely on the agenda for Bones in 2012. If Bones gets through those three, you might as well give him the 2012 Fighter of the Year Award as well.

Honorable Mention: Dan Henderson, Nick Diaz, Ben Henderson, and Junior dos Santos

Jay Perrone – Jon Jones: I will get right to the point: Jon Jones. It’s true that fighters like The Hendersons (Ben and Dan), Frankie Edgar and Donald Cerrone all had great 2011’s, but Jones was on another level. From LHW contender to champ to defending the belt twice within one calendar year, Jones finished all four of his opponents, three of whom were former champs (ok, Shogun actually WAS the champ, so he is now a former champ…again). Barring any injuries, I anticipate another dominant year for Jones in 2012.

Lee McGregor of Source4MMA.com Fighter of the Year: Jon “Bones” Jones: In my opinion, no one had a better year than Jones in 2011. What criteria would one use for judging a fighter of the year? Let’s see…. Wins? Jones had four of them, all over consensus Top 15 Fighters. Losses? Jones had none. Stoppages? All four of Bones’ wins came via stoppage (3 Submissions and 1 TKO.) Titles? Jones defeated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in dominant fashion to win the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, then defended it twice. Most UFC Champions don’t fight more than twice in a year, Bones did it four times and dominated every fight that he was in.

MMA Fight of the Year

Eric G – Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber, July 2, 2011 (UFC 132): Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber will go down as one of the great main-event fights in UFC history. These two guys fought at a frenetic pace for 25 minutes, never slowing down for five full rounds of action. I think that at the end of the day this fight came down to a few takedowns in favor of Cruz.

These guys barely left their feet nor slowed down throughout the entire fight. I can’t remember seeing a five round fight with this much excitement in a long time or maybe even ever. Cruz went for takedowns but Faber popped right back up. Faber regularly connected on Cruz coming out of the clinch which I thought may have been a difference maker here. Both men were rocked a few times, yet I never got the impression that either man was close to being knocked out or tapped at any point of the fight.

In addition to delivering a classic, Cruz and Faber had a world of pressure on their shoulders and they delivered. As the first bantamweight fight to headline a UFC pay per view, anything less than a great fight would have set the entire division back. The UFC took a big risk here putting the smaller guys in the spotlight and it paid off. I think what Cruz and Faber did at UFC 132 has been understated. UFC fans now get just as excited to see the smaller guys fight in the top spot as they do the big boys.

Honorable Mentions: Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio Shogun Rua (UFC 139), Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley (Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley), Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler (Bellator 58), Nick Diaz vs. BJ Penn (UFC 137), Clay Guida vs. Ben Henderson (UFC on Fox), Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard (UFC 125), Mark Hominick vs. Jose Aldo (UFC 129)

Jay P – Chandler vs. Alvarez Bellator 58 & Shogun Rua vs. Dan Henderson UFC 139 (tie): Unlike Jones, who I truly believe is damned near impossible to argue against for Fighter of the Year (yes, I concede this is all subjective), there were two fights in 2011 that stood out. Michael Chandler versus Eddie Alvarez for the Bellator LW strap was a four round contest of awesome with fantastic back and forth boxing, several near finishes and an ending that saw Chandler get the upset win by rear naked choke. As great it was, however, Dan Henderson’s decision over Shogun at UFC 139 (which happened to occur several hours later on November 19, 2011) was nothing short of cinematic and, in my eyes, takes the honor for Fight Of The Year. Sure, the technical proficiency was not on par with the Chandler/Alvarez fight, but that is like saying Rocky vs. Ivan Drago in Rocky IV was less epic in the later rounds since it essentially became a street fight (yes, I know it was a movie, folks, but you see my point). Henderson landed some bombs in rounds one through three that would have put most men out. Shogun, bloodied, broken and bruised, pulls a Frankie Edgar-esque rabbit of his very short trunks and not only endures, but taps into his reserve gas tank and puts a two-round beating on Henderson to go the distance. It was the kind of war that goes down as one of the most memorable fights of all time and will be talked about for years to come.

Lee M – MMA Fight of the Year: Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua – UFC 139: I went back and forth a lot between this bout and the Bellator Lightweight Championship bout between Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler. In the end what sealed the deal for me was that this fight went all five rounds and each round was a war jam packed with excitement. Where most fights usually have a lull in the action or a slow round this fight didn’t. These two warriors threw everything at one another and didn’t slow down and the fifth round is one of the most memorable in history. Knowing he needed a finish to taste victory, Shogun threw everything including the kitchen sink at Henderson, but Hendo was able to hang in there. Add in the fact that these were two storied veterans of the MMA game who were meeting for the first time in their respective careers, it was a very special fight. Throw in the post-fight photo at the hospital… win. http://cdn0.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/2319846/shogun-hendo-injured_large.jpg

Brett C – Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (UFC 139): Going in to UFC 139, many people (myself included) really doubted the quality of the card as a whole. Henderson was in his first fight back in the UFC since 2009 and fresh off his stunning knockout of Fedor Emelianenko. Rua was coming off a pretty quick, easy victory over Forrest Griffin at UFC: Rio. Both of these PRIDE legends were on a roll heading into their matchup. It ended up being a fight that has already been heralded as one of the best fights in the history of mixed-martial arts. Even UFC honcho Dana White was comparing this fight to that of Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonner in the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. It was a brutal battle that saw both men out of breath and drenched in blood. Either fighter was thought to be “on-the-ropes” a few times over the course of the fight. I can recall four times off the top of my head where I thought this fight was over. Nonetheless, both of these warriors continued to battle back and just refused to quit. In the end, it was Dan Henderson who was awarded the decision. What’s next for either guy is anyone’s guess. Henderson is considered to be in the mix at both 185 and 205, but I think the big money for the UFC is an immediate rematch between Henderson and Rua.

Honorable Mention: Michael Chadler vs Eddie Alvarez (Bellator 58), Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard II (UFC 125), Nick Diaz vs Paul Daley(Strikeforce: Diaz vs Daley), Ben Henderson vs Clay Guida (UFC on Fox 1), Diego Sanchez vs Martin Kampmann (UFC on Versus 3), Cheick Kongo vs Pat Berry (UFC on Versus 3), and Jose Aldo vs Mark Hominick (UFC 129)

MMA Upset of the Year

Eric G – Tito Ortiz submits Ryan Bader at UFC 132: I had a real hard time with this award, real hard time. I went back and forth between this fight and Antonio Silva’s win over Fedor Emelianenko for quite a while. However, when I went back to look at the betting odds going into the fight, Tito was a bigger underdog than Silva so I went with Tito.

Now as much as I like Ortiz, I think there is a serious question that needs to be asked. Did Tito really pull off the upset or was Bader overrated? I tend to lean towards Bader being overrated and overhyped, however if you judge by the betting odds Ortiz pulled off the bigger upset.

I don’t want to minimize Ortiz’s win here. He had more pressure on him than in years. He was told flat out that a loss would send him out of the UFC. Ortiz had not won a fight against anyone not named Ken Shamrock since 2006. That is five years! Now he is going in there with a kid reputed to be faster, stronger, and comparable on the ground with him and he pulls off the choke in 1:56 of the first round? On top of that, Ortiz hadn’t finished a fight with a submission since cranking Yuki Kondo at UFC 29 eleven years prior. This win was huge.

Honorable Mentions: Antonio Silva defeats Fedor Emelianenko in the Strikeforce Grand Prix Opening Round, Dan Henderson defeats Fedor Emelianenko (Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson), Charlie Brenneman defeats Rick Story (UFC Live 4), Joe Lauzon defeats Melvin Guillard (UFC 136), Clay Guida defeats Anthony Pettis (TUF 13 Finale), Dan Henderson defeats Rafael Cavalcante (Strikeforce: Fejiao vs. Henderson), Rick Story vs. Thiago Alves (UFC 130), Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeats Brendan Schaub (UFC 134)

Lee M – MMA Upset of the Year: I’m going to go with Michael Chandler over Eddie Alvarez in Bellator for the Lightweight title. There were a couple of big upsets in 2011 Ortiz over Bader, Brenneman over Story and Joe Lauzon over Melvin Guillard all come to mind, but I’ve got to give props to Chandler. He may not have been the biggest betting underdog out of that list, but no one expected him to shed his prospect status and un-seat Alvarez as the Lightweight Champion of Bellator. You’ve got to consider the stakes of this fight and give Chandler a bit of a boost because of the championship status of the bout.

Brett C – Tito Ortiz defeats Ryan Bader at UFC 132: Tito Ortiz entered his match with Ryan Bader as a 5-to-1 underdog and was admittedly on the chopping block after five straight matches without a victory. In fact, Ortiz’s most recent win had come in 2006 against Ken Shamrock. A loss against Bader would have definitely been the end of his UFC (and, probably, MMA) career. With his back against the wall, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” got the break he was looking for. At little over a 1:30 into Round 1, Ortiz caught Bader with a right hand that sent him crashing to the mat. Ortiz quickly jumped on him with a flurry of punches before sinking in a guillotine choke which caused Bader to tap at just under two minutes in the first round. It was a stunning victory over a rising prospect for a guy that many had thought was done. This victory was enough to give Ortiz two more fights after it in 2011.

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Honorable Mention: Charlie Brenneman vs. Rick Story (UFC on Versus 4), Antonio “Big Foot” Silva over Fedor Emelianenko (Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva), Daniel Cormier vs. Antonio “Big Foot Silva (Strikeforce: Grand Prix), Chan Sung Jung vs. Mark Hominick (UFC 140), Jake Ellenburger vs. Jake Shields (UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger)

MMA Story of the Year

Eric G – Zuffa, LLC purchases Strikeforce: It doesn’t get much bigger than this does it? The UFC for the second time in several years bought their only real competition. While I wouldn’t call Strikeforce competition at the time, they certainly had the most potential to give the UFC some headaches. That all ended this past March when news broke that the parent company of the UFC was now in possession of its rival.

A bigger part of this story may be the slow dismantling of the company since Zuffa took it over in March. Since the acquisition, Strikeforce has lost three of its champions to the UFC. Strikeforce’s two biggest draws in Nick Diaz and Fedor are gone. While rumors of a new television deal to keep Strikeforce on Showtime are running wild, nothing has been confirmed. Additionally, many of the key staff including the fight maker has been replaced.

“Business as usual”, according to Dana White.

Honorable Mentions: Nick Diaz returning to the UFC, Randy Couture retiring, the emergence of Jon Jones, the rash of injuries and match changes in the UFC, five-round non-title UFC main-events, Miguel Torres firing, The UFC-Fox network deal, Brazil TUF, Chael Sonnen’s return, the UFC canceling Diaz vs. GSP UFC 137 over Diaz not showing up for a press conference, GSP’s injury, the signing of Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem, Bellator moving to Spike TV, Fedor Emelianenko not fighting for a major United States promotion

Jay P – Zuffa LLC purchases Strikeforce & UFC on Fox (tie): Standing tall above the many news-worthy MMA stories this year were the UFC’s two huge announcements: its purchase of Strikeforce back in March and their network debut on Fox in November with Velasquez/dos Santos for the HW belt. While it was certainly not the first time an MMA promotion had been aired on broadcast TV (see: Elite XC hastily crossing the network finish line first a few years back on CBS), the Strikeforce deal gets the silver medal and here’s why: market share. Strikeforce, in my eyes, was never going to be bigger than the UFC, simply because the Zuffa machine was so far out ahead of the competition with superior talent (the few exceptions are now slowly trickling over to the Mother Ship), production value and marketing. While the actual HW title fight only lasted sixty-four seconds, the November 12th Fox card kicked off a multi-year deal across several properties including FX, FUEL, Fox Deportes and various regionally-specific Fox Sports Nets. While it is very weird to hear Joe Buck plugging UFC fights during Sunday football, the exposure to a noticeably larger cable/satellite/telco subscriber base and the media coverage that comes along with it could be unparalleled. For years the promotion was waiting for ‘the right deal’ and now, Dana & Co. have it.

Lee M – MMA Story of the Year: For me, it’s the UFC signing up with Fox. This is a landmark television deal for the UFC as the biggest MMA promotion in the world makes it’s debut on Network Television. It’s an absolutely huge deal and one that is going to benefit the sport of MMA for years to come. Their debut event went off with a couple of hitches, mainly Junior dos Santos making the fight last for only 2 minutes, but their second offering looks to be an extremely intriguing night of fights. Add in all of the UFC related programming on Fox Sports Net, Fuel TV and FX including UFC All Access, The Ultimate Fighter and Ultimate Fight Night events, this has to be the biggest story to come out of 2011.

Brett C – UFC Purchases Strikeforce: On March 13, 2011, one of the biggest MMA stories in years happened when Zuffa, Inc. (the parent company of UFC) purchased its main competitor, Strikeforce. It came at a time when Strikeforce was really starting to get their name out there as a formidable number two company. Big names such as Fedor Emelianenko, Nick Diaz, Dan Henderson, Alistair Overeem and Jake Shields called Strikeforce home and their performances had fans clamoring for dream fights that they thought weren’t possible. Instead, Zuffa jumped in, bought the competition (a la WWE/WCW), and the rest is history. Fedor is back in Russia fighting cans, while Diaz, Henderson, Overeem and Shields now call the UFC home. Pretty soon the entire Strikeforce Heavyweight division (unless it just seems that way) will call the UFC home. Don’t be shocked of Gilbert Melendez, “King” Mo Lawal, Gegard Mousassi, and Luke Rockhold follow suit before too long.
Honorable Mention: The Rise of Jon “Bones” Jones, UFC Merges with WEC (January 2011), UFC Announces Five Round Non-Title Fights, UFC on Fox Debut, and The Injury Bug Ravages UFC Main Eventers

MMA Knockout of the Year

Eric G – Cheick Kongo knocks out Pat Barry (UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry): 2011 saw some fantastic knockouts but none was more exciting than Cheick Kongo seemingly coming back from the dead to knockout Pat Barry in spectacular fashion live on Versus. It wasn’t so much the knockout but how and when it came about that still has people talking about this punch.

This was an unbelievable fight that only lasted a little over two minutes. The heavyweight collision saw Pat Barry rock Cheick Kongo early and nearly finish the fight. Barry dropped Kongo and swarmed in with an onslaught of punches. Kongo somehow managed to get up but was dropped again. Kongo then out of nowhere nails Barry (who had his arms down) with a punch and an uppercut and knows Barry out cold for the win at 2:39 of the first round. The visual of this action must be seen to be believed.

Honorable Mentions: Anderson Silva KOs Vitor Belfort (UFC 126), Lyoto Machida KOs Randy Couture (UFC 129), Dan Henderson KOs Fedor Emelianenko (Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson), Nick Diaz KOs Paul Daley (Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley), Chris Leben KOs Wanderlei Silva (UFC 132), Junior Dos Santos KOs Cain Velasquez, Sam Stout KOs Yves Edwards UFC 131, John Makdessi KOs Kyle Watson (UFC 129), Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira KOs Brendan Schaub (UFC 134)

Jay P – Anderson Silva KOs Vitor Belfort UFC 126: How do you define “Knock Out Of the Year”? Do you base it on how hard the recipient gets rocked? The technique? The situation? These are all the things that were running through my head when trying to determine KOTY honors. I originally was going to go with Cheick Kongo’s hail mary KO of Pat Barry at UFC on Versus back in June simply for the “victory from the jaws of defeat” factor. Then I started thinking about Pat Barry’s tendency to make stupid mistakes in his recent fights and wondered if it was more of his running chin first into Kongo than anything else. Instead, yes, I am going with the consensus number one KOTY: Anderson Silva’s “That. Just. Happened” front kick KO of Vitor Belfort. It was beautiful. Silva took a front kick, one that in my novice-level martial arts experience use simply to create some distance when I am getting my butt whipped in the gym, and snapped it like a jab out of hell to put Belfort down before a few follow up shots sealed it. In related news, between that and Machida’s crane kick of Randy Couture, Steven Segal narrowly edges out Greg Jackson as Coach of the Year (just kidding).

Lee M – MMA Knockout of the Year: I have to give this one to Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida for his knock out of Randy Couture at UFC 129. Sure Anderson Silva did it first with the knockout of Vitor Belfort. But I think that Machida’s was just a bit flashier. Throw in the head feint to start it all off and the leaping front kick, magic. You also have to consider a slight bonus point for Machida since that knockout sent Couture straight into retirement, in very highlight reel fashion.

Brett C – Cheick Kongo KO’s Pat Berry at UFC on Versus 4: As opposed to explaining it, I think it’s better that you see this knockout for yourself. There’s a reason that this fight is the Knockout of the Year and an Honorable Mention for Fight of the Year. Take the threeminutes and enjoy! http://youtu.be/JzKEOYO_8TE

Honorable Mention: Anderson Silva vs Vitor Belfort (UFC 126), Lyoto Machida vs. Randy Couture (UFC 129), Chan Sung Jung vs. Mark Hominick (UFC 140), Sam Stout vs. Eves Edwards (UFC 131), and Stefan Struve vs. Travis Browne (UFC 130)

This  post sponsored by Poker.ca Canada

Lee McGregor is the editor in chief & owner of www.source4mma.com.

Brett Clendaniel is the owner and managing editor of http://www.WrestleChat.net.

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I am a big opponent of immediate rematches in MMA for any decision other than a draw. Yet, I must admit that I became a bit of hypocrite after watching Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber tear it up at UFC 132. Unfortunately, there will be no immediate UFC rematch.

However, all is not lost. If both fighters win their next fight, the UFC has given fans that a trilogy would be in the cards for the UFC bantamweight stars. In the meantime, Dominick Cruz will have to get through Demetrious Johnson while the “California Kid” will have to get through Brian Bowles to make that trilogy happen.

The good news here for UFC fans is that Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson will air live on free television. The UFC bantamweight championship match will headline UFC on Versus 6 on October 1. The title fight marks the first time a UFC championship bout has aired on free television since UFC 75 featured Dan Henderson vs. Rampage Jackson for the UFC light heavyweight championship.

Fans will have to pay to see Urijah Faber vs. Brian Bowles square off in the octagon. Here is the rundown of the fight according to the UFC website.

“Two of the top bantamweights in the world will meet in one of the most intriguing bouts of 2011, as Urijah Faber takes on Brian Bowles. This verbally agreed to clash of former WEC champions will take place at UFC 139 in November.”

Dana White also confirmed on the website that Cruz vs. Faber 3 is on deck provided both guys win their fights.

“Before a possible trilogy can be considered between Urijah Faber and his rival, Champion Dominick Cruz, he will take on one of the division’s truly elite fighters, former Bantamweight Champion Brian Bowles,” said UFC President Dana White. “A win over Faber would be massive for Bowles’ bid to challenge for the belt that was once his. The stakes are high and the fight will be intense.”

The fights actually make a lot of sense and should theoretically increase awareness in a third Cruz vs. Faber fight. Exposing a massive television audience to an exciting fighter like Cruz should make him a bigger draw on UFC pay per views. At the same time, putting Urijah Faber on a pay per view in his home town will give casual UFC fans the impression that Faber is a bigger star than he probably is. At the end of the day this is pretty smart booking on the UFC’s part.

It is hard to get upset about seeing two great fights in favor of waiting to see the rematch most fans want to see. I would pick Cruz beating Johnson a lot faster than I would pick Faber beating Brian Bowles. Bowles vs. Cruz would be a fun rematch regardless, but I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to see another five rounds after the Fight of the Half-Year a few weeks ago.

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UFC fighter Jon Fitch told MMACanada.net this week that he is angry at himself, the UFC, Nick Diaz, and just irritated in general. The irony here is that if Fitch fought with this same kind of aggression in the UFC, he probably would be a much more likeable fighter.

Jon Fitch is one of the most polarizing fighters in MMA. There is no denying his skills and the fact that he is one of the best fighters in the sport, arguably the second best overall in his division. Yet Fitch is undefeated in his last six fights and continues to be overlooked in championship fights. Needless to say, Fitch is angry and appears to be done playing Mr. Nice Guy.

For those of you that don’t know Fitch’s story, Fitch fought BJ Penn to a draw in his last fight at UFC 127. Fitch dominated the final round and most felt (not me for the record) that Fitch was robbed of a win. The winner was to determine the number one contender for the UFC welterweight championship. A hand injury canceled their rematch at UFC 132, delaying their fight until October. After agreeing on an October date with Penn, the UFC and Penn have moved on and scheduled Penn to fight Carlos Condit in October, leaving Jon Fitch on the outside looking in once again. Yeah, I may be a little angry myself.

According to Fitch in the interview, he was under the impression that everything was ready to go for a rematch. Fitch noted that he and Penn even agreed to stir it up on Twitter to sustain interest in their rematch. Fitch was surprised and “irritated” when he heard that Penn would instead be fighting Condit on October 29, saying he would have been ready for October or November. He does admit that he hasn’t been able to get medical clearance for the date, which is why the UFC refused to book the fight.

I never particularly liked Fitch as a fighter, but I like the guy I see in this interview. I think Fitch should do more interviews like this and show UFC fans how angry he is. Fitch mentioned in the interview that he was told in the past that he would be getting a title shot, only to have plans change without reason. There is certainly a story here that even his biggest critics can sink their teeth into.

One thing that won’t help Fitch is his continued stance on fighting teammates. It is one thing to say it behind closed doors, but he continues to anger critics when he just outright refuses to fight Josh Koscheck. This is obviously a reason that the UFC is afraid to book him in a championship fight. Fitch says he would rather murder someone than fight his teammate. Now he just sounds downright stupid.

The UFC and Jon Fitch have had a very tenuous relationship over the last few years. UFC president Dana White actually cut Fitch in 2008 because Fitch refused to sign his name and likeness over to the UFC. Of course this all got resolved, but White has been “irritated” at Fitch’s refusal to fight Koscheck. Fitch told White at a press conference that the only way that the fight would happen would be in a gym, to which White responded “That fight would make a lot of money.”

Which made it kind of odd to hear Fitch tell the interviewer he was offended when Nick Diaz insulted the UFC because he is a “UFC guy.” I don’t know if that loyalty has ever been reciprocated by the organization.

Fitch is also not shy about his “love” for Nick Diaz. To put it mildly, he can’t stand him. The interviewer asks him about a potential fight in which Fitch responds, “we’ll fight.” He also says that he doesn’t think Nick Diaz is a complete fighter because of his lack of takedown defense. Well, he is a lot more colorful when he breaks down his analysis of Diaz.

With Penn, Condit, Diaz, and GSP all booked up, he thinks that Martin Kampmann is his next likely opponent. That could be a real fun fight but until he gets doctor’s clearance, he can only sit back and wait.

Jon Fitch is upset and he is letting people know. I don’t know if he ever gets back to Georges St-Pierre, but GSP made some really interesting comments about Fitch. Even though GSP dominated Fitch in their first fight, he called Fitch his toughest opponent. He said Fitch was “unkillable.”

Words like that and interviews like this could turn a boring rematch on paper into a must-see fight in 2012.

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UFC Hall of Fame fighter Matt Hughes was asked about a little upcoming fight you may have heard about between Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz. Hughes not only thinks GSP will win, but also thinks his former rival would take care of The Spider.

Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes knows Georges St-Pierre pretty well. Hughes has fought GSP more than anyone else. As a matter of a fact, he even handed one of GSP’s only two losses in MMA. That is why I tend to give Hughes a lot more credibility in breaking down the fights of someone he spent over twenty minutes of time with in competition.

The UFC offers their fan club members an opportunity to speak to a UFC star over the weekend at a UFC live event. Matt Hughes drew that duty at UFC 132 and answered a variety of questions from fans at the UFC 132 Q & A. I don’t think anyone should be surprised that Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz was a hot topic at the Q & A.

Add Matt to the list of just about everyone that thinks GSP is beating Nick Diaz.

“Against Diaz, I think he’s (St-Pierre) gonna do real good. This will be the first time that he’s gonna be facing somebody that will be in better shape than he is. Diaz is in great shape and that will be the only thing I think Diaz is gonna have an edge on is the shape. But GSP is not gonna wear out. I think Striking, submissions and ground work, he’s gonna win every one of them,” Hughes said. “I think the only thing, Diaz is so different with his striking. Maybe he’s gonna land something like he did against Robbie Lawler that one time that’s gonna kinda come out of left field, but I see GSP winning. To take that a step further, I think if he fights Anderson Silva, if GSP has his head screwed on straight, I see him winning that fight as well.”

The prognostication on a potential Georges St-Pierre vs. Anderson Silva fight is a very interesting one. I love GSP but I think Anderson would dominate him. My prediction is based more on size than actual technique. Silva reportedly walks around at 210-220. GSP is going to have to work hard just to put on the necessary weight to move up to middleweight. I just think that Silva is going to be too big for GSP to throw around and smother on the ground with his ground and pound style.

While that may sound like glowing praise, Hughes did offer a poignant critique of St-Pierre. Hughes doesn’t believe that GSP has the “eye of the tiger” so to speak. Hughes thinks that GSP has gotten a little too caught up in his own hype and with a little focus, could be even better. Hughes thinks that GSP is more interested in “defending the belt” as opposed to his mentality of “winning a new belt” every time he fought as champion.

“I think mentally is where GSP would have a weak spot (speaking of the Diaz fight). I think he maybe does go in where he has the attitude where he’s the champ right now, he’s making good money and he sees maybe that loss would put a little blunder there. I really think that if he got over that…When I was champion, I stepped into my rematches or my title defenses as not, I didn’t want to lose my belt, but I was gonna go in and win a new belt. So that was my mentality every time I had a defense, it was, ‘I’m gonna win a new belt.’ Not, ‘I’m defending my belt.’ He’s defending his belt.”

Hughes certainly has his own critics but if there is anyone that knows what he is talking about, it is him. Hughes was a beast in his prime as UFC welterweight champion. I was a big fan and what I loved the most was that killer mentality he had when he stepped into the octagon. Matt Hughes currently holds the record for most wins in the UFC with 18. Hughes has also fought in twelve UFC championship matches.

As for GSP, it certainly makes a lot of sense. Remember when GSP stepped into the octagon and would just rock his opponents with strikes? Sometimes I get the impression that GSP uses most of his fights to test or improve his wrestling which is fine, it just doesn’t make for exciting fights for casual MMA fans. I do think that Diaz has the kind of personality to really get under St-Pierre’s skin and bring out the monster in him. Josh Koscheck certainly did a good job of that and had a rearranged face to show for it.

Hughes went 1-1 on his UFC 132 picks. Hughes picked Bader and Leben on his blog.

Thanks to CagePotato.com for the tip!

Made in America: The Most Dominant Champion in UFC History

The Matt Hughes Story

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Wanderlei Silva delivered on his promise to UFC fans at UFC 132. Wanderlei promised a brawl and for 0:27, he gave them one. Silva is being rewarded for this great fight with the possibility of losing his job.

“People love him so much because of the way he fights and his style and the type of person he is,” Dana White said. “But yeah, (it’s) probably the end of the road for Wanderlei.”

Dana White always complains when UFC fighters give fans boring fights. Yet one of the few UFC fighters who promised and delivered an exciting fight is facing the prospect of losing his job for it. Wanderlei Silva promised the UFC fans that he would give them a brawl, he did, and 0:28 later is on the verge of being cut. Wanderlei deserves more, especially at least one more fight before the UFC terminates his contract.

Wanderlei Silva is probably my favorite MMA fighter of all time so yes, this may come off as a little biased. Even as a big fan of Wanderlei’s I know that it didn’t look good seeing Silva get knocked out in 0:27 seconds. I know that Silva’s record in the UFC is terrible. However, an objective look at this situation shows a man that is about to get totally screwed by the UFC.

Here is the deal. It isn’t as if Silva was dropped in 0:27 by a mediocre striker. This is Chris Leben! Leben has arguably the heaviest hands in the entire division. 14 of his 26 wins have come by knockout or TKO. I could see if Silva was knocked out by someone like Demian Maia in 0:27 but he was dropped by a guy who has won over 50% of his fights with his fists. I don’t know of many fighters who could survive a brawl with Chris Leben without being knocked out.

Silva also campaigned for this fight. Why? Because he wanted to pick an opponent that he could have an exciting fight with for the UFC fans. Silva’s last two fights were against guys who weren’t known for their knockout power and both fights went the distance. Neither guy wanted to stand up with Silva which made both dull fights for the most part. Knowing the prospect of winning a slugfest is 50/50, Silva wanted one anyway to give back to the MMA fans.

Not only did Silva want a slugfest, he handpicked arguably the heaviest hitter in the division. Silva turned down several fights to the displeasure of the UFC in order to get the fight against Leben. Wanderlei even used Twitter to campaign for a fight with Leben knowing full well that it would be a standup war.

Silva tweeted, “I think with chris Leben I go have a tuff figth him is good opponent,he want and I want lets go figth(t)“.

Could you imagine if Wanderlei did not engage with Leben after publicly campaigning so heavily for this fight?

I think this sends a bad message to the rest of the UFC fighters. Don’t have boring fights but hey, if you engage and get knocked out, you may be fired. I thought these guys were supposed to be rewarded for having exciting fights? Why would anyone get into the octagon with a heavy hitter and slug it out after seeing Wanderlei cut for delivering as promised? It is a fine line the UFC is walking here if they really do go through with cutting Silva.

This is also not the same as Chuck Liddell who got rocked two fights in a row. Silva has gone the distance in his two fights prior to fighting Leben. Granted he does have three knockout losses in five years, but none came as quickly as the loss to Leben. Wanderlei can still fight, he just doesn’t have the reflexes to stand there and slug it out with heavy strikers.

I think the UFC either owes him one more fight or moves him to Strikeforce. Cutting a legend like Wanderlei outright after losing in these circumstances just isn’t fair. Silva gets knocked out again in under a minute and I am right there with the UFC on their decision o cut him. Until then, give him one more fight. The fans deserve it and more importantly, he deserves it.

How does Wanderlei feel about this?

“I cried, I felt ashamed of you, I thought a lot of crap, but now only think of one thing: Revenge boss”

I love that guy!

Wanderlei Silva “Greatest Hits… Kicks and Knees to the Face”

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The UFC delivered fireworks Saturday night at UFC 132 with exciting fights, fast knockouts, and an absolute classic five-round main-event between UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber.

Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber will go down as one of the great main-event fights in UFC history. These two guys fought at a frenetic pace for 25 minutes, never slowing down for five full rounds of action. I think that at the end of the day this fight came down to a few takedowns in favor of Cruz.

These guys barely left their feet nor slowed down for five rounds. Cruz went for takedowns but Faber popped right back up. Faber regularly connected on Cruz coming out of the clinch which I thought may have been a difference maker here. Both men were rocked a few times, yet I never got the impression that either man was close to being knocked out or tapped at any point of the fight.

Cruz and Faber had a world of pressure on their shoulders and they delivered. As the first bantamweight fight to headline a UFC pay per view, anything less than a great fight would have set the entire division back. The UFC took a big risk here putting the smaller guys in the spotlight and it paid off. I think what Cruz and Faber did tonight was open the doors for both the bantamweight and featherweight divisions. UFC fans will now get just as excited to see the smaller guys fight in the top spot as they do the big boys.

I don’t think anyone would complain about seeing an immediate rematch. I am not a big fan of immediate rematches because I think if a guy lost, he lost. However, this one was just too good not to follow up with a rematch. Cruz really established himself to a new audience as a great champion and Faber will always sell tickets. If I am Dana White, I put these guys in the top spot in Houston at UFC 136.

Chris Leben knocked out Wanderlei Silva in an exciting albeit short co-main event. The fight started as many predicted with a slug fest. Wanderlei swarmed in with reckless abandon and the two went toe-to-toe. Leben connected on a counter and held Wanderlei as he released a series of uppercuts that dropped the Axe Murderer at 0:27 of the first round. Wanderlei was so out of it that he almost attacked the referee when he woke up.

This was a huge win for Leben. Leben was on a roll with a three fight winning streak, one fight away from a probable title shot against Anderson Silva before coming up short against Brian Stann. Leben is back in the mix after releasing the “Silva bullet” as he called it and getting the win. Although I hoped this would go longer, it was fun while it lasted.

The irony here is that Wanderlei Silva was originally scheduled to fight Brian Stann. It likely would have been a much different fight if it were Silva vs. Stann. However, Silva didn’t want to fight Stann (or Vitor Belfort) and campaigned on Twitter to fight Leben instead. I still think Silva would have lost, but I don’t think Brian Stann would have put him down in 0:27. As the old saying goes, “be careful what you wish for.”

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Sadly I think the UFC career of the Axe Murderer is in serious jeopardy here. Silva is now 2-6 in his last eight fights and only has two wins during his second run with the UFC. This was the shortest loss in Silva’s career, his only other in under a minute coming against Vitor Belfort in 1998. If Dana White was serious about cutting Tito Ortiz if he lost, he really has to be thinking long and hard about the future of Wanderlei. I love Wanderlei and he is probably my favorite fighter of all time, but it is time for him to go home.

Tito Ortiz fought his best fight since returning to the UFC. Ortiz tapped out Bader in round 1 of their fight. Ortiz dropped him with a big right hand, swarmed in with punches, and cinched in a guillotine choke that tapped Bader. The fight was exciting for as long as it lasted and was Ortiz’s first win since October of 2006.

The UFC president Dana White told the MMA media coming into the fight that Ortiz would be cut if he lost the fight. Ortiz was literally fighting for his career. It was an amazing performance from a guy who had his back literally up against the wall. After the fight Ortiz thanked White for “pushing him to the limit.”

On the one hand I wouldn’t get that excited about beating Ryan Bader. Bader has been somewhat exposed in his last two fights against Jon Jones and Ortiz as being a bit overrated if you ask me. Everyone made a big deal after the fight that Ortiz beat top competition. I love the story and I am a big Ortiz fan but let’s keep the win in perspective.

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I also think that the stuff about Ortiz being cut was a bit overplayed. I watched Ortiz come out and at the weigh-ins and the guy was arguably the biggest star on the show. He hasn’t been knocked out and has fought decent-top competition during his string of losses. It is one thing to cut or retire a guy after being knocked out by a subpar opponent. It is another thing cutting a guy who has taken all of his opponents to the distance even in the midst of a losing streak.

Overall this was a fantastic show and in my opinion, the best I have seen in a long time from top to bottom from the UFC. UFC 132 had everything from short fights, quick knockouts, and an intense five round championship main-event that delivered as promised. I can’t imagine anyone not liking this show. This now makes two fantastic UFC shows in a row if you take into account the UFC on Versus 4 event last week.

After a busy six weeks the UFC will take a brief hiatus until August 6 when they return with UFC 133. The UFC is red hot right now and summer is just getting started.

Full UFC 132: Cruz Vs. Faber results…
Dominick Cruz defeated Urijah Faber via unanimous decision to retain the UFC bantamweight championship
Chris Leben defeated  Wanderlei Silva via knockout in Round 1
Dennis Siver defeated Matt Wiman via unanimous decision
Tito Ortiz defeated Ryan Bader via submission in Round 1
Carlos Condit defeated Dong Hyun Kim via TKO in Round 1
Melvin Guillard defeated Shane Rolle via knockout in Round 1
Rafael dos Anjos defeated George Sotiropoulos via knockout in Round 1
Brian Bowles defeated Takeya Mizugaki via unanimous decision
Aaron Simpson defeated Brad Tavares  via unanimous decision
Anthony Njokuani defeated Andre Winner via unanimous decision
Jeff Hougland defeated Donny Walker via unanimous decision

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Tito Ortiz called out Ariel Helwani the middle of a UFC 132 press conference for trying to “start sh*t” between him and Ryan Bader but a further look back indicates that Tito may be doing a bit of back tracking. Imagine that.

I watched the UFC 132 press conference on Thursday and was a bit taken back when Tito attacked Helwani for asking Bader about the accusations Ortiz made about Bader’s weak wrestling. Unless I missed something, Ortiz did criticize Bader’s wrestling earlier in an interview earlier in the week with…Helwani! So I took a look back at the original interview and the press conference to see whether Helwani was starting trouble or accurately quoting Ortiz. I’ll give you one guess as to how this is going to turn out?

It all started in mid-week on MMAfighting.com. Helwani caught up with Tito Ortiz during a media day for a video interview. Helwani asked Ortiz some tough questions about whether this was Tito’s last fight or if he actually had to beg to get his job. Ortiz handled the questions well and didn’t appear to have any personal issues at that time with Helwani.

The interview concluded with Helwani asking Ortiz about Ryan Bader. Helwani asked Ortiz, “What are the holes in Ryan Bader’s game that you think you can exploit on Saturday night?” Here is how Ortiz responded to the question.

“His takedowns, his takedown defense, he doesn’t have much of a takedown defense. I look at his fights and there has only been one person that’s shot on him and took him down, Johnny Bones Jones. Nobody else ever took him down. They want to pound, they want to punch with him. Usually a wrestler’s kryptonite is another wrestler. I am going to go in, I’m going to push the game, I’m going to push the tempo, and he doesn’t look that good backing up. We’ll see what happens.”

What do you take out of that answer? Looking at that response (and Tito’s smirk when delivering it), I would think that Tito doesn’t have a whole lot of respect for Bader’s wrestling game. Ortiz was asked point blank about Bader’s defenses and he said point blank his wrestling. That is why I was a bit surprised when Tito completely backtracked on his analysis and tried to embarrass Helwani during the UFC 132 presser on Thursday.

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Helwani asked Bader, “When I asked Tito about weaknesses in your game he brings up your wrestling. Does that surprise you considering your background is in wrestling?”

Now to me, that is a very logical question to ask by a reporter. As a matter of a fact, Helwani wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t ask it considering he was the one that got the comments from Tito, right? Not according to Tito Ortiz.

Ortiz interrupted the answer and said, “I never said he had weak wrestling. What are you starting sh*t for dude?”

Hmm. I am taking either one of three things away from Ortiz’s hostile attack on Helwani. One, he doesn’t want to reveal his game plan to Bader which is to attack his wrestling. Two, he watched recent videos of Nick Diaz and Rampage Jackson bullying Helwani and figured he would jump on the bandwagon and deflect his statements made earlier on the week. Three, he remembers Matt Hamill dominating him on the ground at UFC 121 and doesn’t want to look like a fool for questioning Bader’s wrestling and then Bader pointing back to this press conference as motivation after he smothers Ortiz for three rounds at UFC 132. What do you think?

I am sure it had to be a mistake because Ortiz is certainly no liar. It isn’t like he said a couple of days before his UFC 106 fight with Forrest Griffin that he is 100% healthy and won’t make excuses and then two days later in the post fight press conference made a ton of excuses and blamed his injured back.

Watch the videos and decide for yourself who is starting sh*t and who is telling the truth.

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Relentless: Tito Ortiz -vs- Ken Shamrock: The Untold Truth Behind UFC’s Legendary Feud

Tito Ortiz’s autobiography This Is Gonna Hurt: The Life of a Mixed Martial Arts Champion.

Brock Lesnar’s autobiography – Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival

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