November: A pivotal month in MMA history

The month of November marks the anniversary of the UFC’s Denver, CO debut back in 1993. On that fateful night, an event that was at the time regarded as a brutal spectacle more than a true sport launched something that would grow into much more. Royce Gracie dominated those early events (although ultimately not the first), but now fighters have evolved into something altogether well-rounded. MMA is a worldwide phenomenon, with UFC events popping up all over the world as they continue to expand in rapid

News in Review: Jon Jones, GSP vs. Silva, Weidman vs. Boetsch, ONE FC

In less than two weeks, we’ll finally have a good reason to forget about Jon Jones’ controversial decision to decline the fight with Chael Sonnen at UFC 151. But until then, it’s time to look back at four of the biggest news topics that made headlines in the world of Mixed Martial Arts over the past few weeks.
We had Tito Ortiz adding his name to the list of fighters upset with Jon Jones’ decision-making process, the talk about Anderson Silva vs. Georges St. Pierre being in works

Then and Now: What has changed in MMA since 2005?

A long term dynamic develops in every sport that sticks around for a while. A section of the fan base will inevitably compare the play of today to their heroes from yesteryear.  Whether it is the baseball fan that longs for the day where they didn’t have to worry about someone using performance enhancing drugs after every home run, or the football fan that yearns for the era of hard hitting and less complaining in the NFL. One thing is a common factor; this group wishes things would go back to

UFC President talks Women’s MMA, Strikeforce and the Olympics

Dana White was available for a scrum with the media today in advance of UFC on Fox 4 and the UFC President spoke on a number of subjects including Strikeforce’s Ronda Rousey and her upcoming title fight in September: “I am a huge Rousey fan, I want to go, If I’m in town I will be there.”While on the subject of Strikeforce, the UFC President confirmed that Josh Barnett might be making his way back to the Octagon, since his loss in Strikeforce to Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier: “Barnett is healing. He

Three legends retire: Fedor Emelianenko, Tito Ortiz and Peter Aerts

The Last Emperor, the Huntington Beach Bad Boy and the Dutch Lumberjack are hanging up their gloves. The worlds of MMA and Kickboxing will be a smaller place without them; these three champions have thrilled fans for decades and 2012 is the last time we will see any of them fight. Although this writer does not like to loosely toss around the word, “legends”, in these three cases, the word is wholly appropriate.
Fedor Emelianenko fought his last bout on June 21 with a knockout victory over Pedro Rizzo in

Five misconceptions about Fedor Emelianenko

As Fedor Emelianenko heads into what has been billed as his “farewell bout”, misconceptions about “The Last Emperor” continue to swirl around the internet. It is one thing for a fighter to be called “the greatest martial artist of all time” by promoters, fans and management times; it is quite another to receive such praise from a fighter’s peers. Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez and others have gone on record saying that Emelianenko was one of the best.
Despite his record of 33 wins, 4 losses and 1 “No