From JDS to Mark Hunt: Breaking down future Heavyweight match-ups

Recent developments in the UFC’s schedule for 2012 have shown that the Heavyweight division will be full of many exciting matchups.  With UFC 146 featuring an all-Heavyweight main card, the coming months will cause dramatic changes to the Heavyweight landscape of MMA.  Coupled with the Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix final featuring Josh Barnett vs. Daniel Cormier, these developments prove that the heaviest of weight classes is ready to step to the forefront of Mixed Martial

UFC 143 Recap: Carlos Condit becomes the Interim UFC Welterweight Champion

Leading up to UFC 143 many thought that Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit would be a striking battle with two of the most accomplished strikers in the Welterweight division just throwing down and going for it. Things didn’t exactly go that way, instead Carlos Condit used a perfect game plan to counter Nick Diaz’s style and take home the interim UFC Welterweight title after the five round battle.
Questions after seeing Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit:
-Did the UFC just see a lot of pay per view buys

UFC 142 Preview: Rumble With The Phenom

This Saturday, UFC 142 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, brings an intriguing matchup to the table with a Middleweight bout between Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.  The co-main event features two of the best knockout artists in the UFC today, and will give the winner a healthy climb up the Middleweight ladder. With the striking talents of both fighters, this should be an exciting and unpredictable war that may end swiftly in brutal fashion.
Many serious

Brock Lesnar: A farewell to the former UFC Heavyweight Champ

If the words he spoke on Saturday night are to be believed, we have seen the last of Brock Lesnar in the Octagon.  In an MMA career that spanned just eight fights he accomplished more than some fighters do over much lengthier careers. Love him or hate him, you have to, even if it is begrudgingly, show some respect for what the man accomplished after joining the UFC after just one professional fight.
As Dana White recalled at the post UFC 131 press conference, “Brock Lesnar came to me one night

Satoshi Ishii is fighting for the future of JMMA against Fedor Emelianenko

If you’ve been following MMA for any amount of time you’ve surely heard the talk that Japanese MMA is on the decline. The fighters that have ventured outside of the Japanese circuit have not met with great success as of late.  Fighters such as Yoshihiro Akiyama, Michihiro Omigawa, Shinya Aoki, Kid Yamamoto and Takanori Gomi have all struggled outside of the confines of Japanese MMA. One young fighter has a chance to right that ship, Satoshi Ishii.
Ishii, a 25 year old Olympic Gold Medalist

Brock Lesnar pleads guilty to hunting charges

Former UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar found himself with an unwanted distraction last week when it was announced that he was facing charges in Alberta, Canada relating to a hunting trip he took in November 2010.
Today, a lawyer representing Lesnar, was able to put the case behind him with a guilty plea to one count of improper tagging of an animal.  Lesnar was fined $1,725 and given a six-month hunting suspension. Two other charges, spoiling of skin and edible flesh as well as possession of a

Remembering Cro Cop: A look back at the career of Mirko Filipovic

When I was ten years old my uncle bought me a brand new Playstation game that has helped blossom my love and interest in combat sports.  K-1 Revenge came out in 1999 and it introduced me to many kickboxing legends that I admire and still enjoy watching today. Names like Ernesto Hoost, Peter Aerts, the late Andy Hug, Mike Bernardo, and many more. One name in the game that really stood out to me at the time was Mirko Tiger. Not because of his style or the way he played, but it was his name itself that I

What’s wrong with JMMA?

Once upon a time, the center of the Mixed Martial Arts universe was the land of the rising sun. During the late 90’s / early 2000’s while MMA was struggling to be a legitmate sport in North America, it was a hot ticket in Japan with many options to watch. PRIDE of course was the best known and most popular brand of MMA to come from the country, but pioneers Shooto, Pancrase, and RINGS paved the way. Many of the greatest fighters this sport has ever seen made their name in PRIDE, but many of those same