The Huntington Beach Bad Boy: A look back at Tito Ortiz’s five greatest fights

With Tito Ortiz being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame prior to UFC 148, now is a great time to look back at the impressive body of work put forth by Ortiz. While many newer fans of MMA have seen Ortiz weather many storms that have impeded his momentum, there was a time when he was a nigh-unbeatable champion in the Light Heavyweight division. Before injuries, age, and a bitter feud with UFC President Dana White got to the former champion, Ortiz used a brutal mix of wrestling, conditioning, and

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

Dana White: I want more fighters to get involved in judging and reffing

UFC President Dana White discusses Wanderlai Silva, TUF: Brazil, problems with judging and UFC 148 with Fuel TV’s Karen Bryant.
It seems for the past four or five events, inconsitent judging and refereeing has been a real thorn in the side of White and last night was no exception: “I think the ref did a great job at not stopping the fight. Obviously, he was able to keep going. I have to go back to the judging again. They had a draw in an earlier fight and they didn’t have a draw for

Preview to UFC 148, can Sonnen finish what he started at UFC 117?

This short video, below,  hearkens back to August 7, 2010 at UFC 117. Anderson Silva faced Chael Sonnen to defend the UFC Middleweight Title and the fans were treated to an all-out beat-down in the Octagon at the hands of Sonnen.
In round one, Sonnen took Silva down after blasting him and dominated him, completely in that round as well as the following three. In the fifth round, Sonnen caught Silva with a left hook and immediately established top position. At the three-minute mark,

Zuffa offering refunds on UFC 147, are fans really that fickle?

For the first time in UFC history, the promotion is issuing refunds to fans who purchased tickets to UFC 147 in Brazil. A spate of training-related injuries and a repeatedly altered fight card has lead to a flurry of complaints from fans who bought tickets to see a very different promotion from the one that has materialized.
The promotion published the following on its web page: “With the change on the main card, fans who purchased tickets for the event will now officially have three (3) days to decide

UFC 147: Sarafian drops out due to injury, replaced by Moraes

Yet another injury has forced a lineup change to UFC 147. According to the UFC, Daniel Sarafian (7-2), from The Ultimate Fighter Brazil, has been injured and cannot compete in this Saturday’s UFC 147: Silva vs. Franklin II.
Sergio “Serginho” Moraes (6-1), originally a Team Vitor prospect who was switched to Team Wanderlei mid-season, will be substituting for Sarafian at the Finale. Moraes, a solid jiu-jitsu expert  will now face Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira (4-2) to determine the first-ever middleweight

Thumbs Down: 5 fights that didn’t happen in 2012

It is midway through 2012, and it seems to be a bad year for injuries in the UFC. Five important fights have been cancelled or postponed this year due to injury, surgery, illness or suspension. These things are all part of the fight game and have been since day one. The nature of the sport is brutal, but injuries are not isolated to fights. Most fighters suffer their injuries in training.  As well-rounded as a UFC fighter is expected to be, it is quite easy to “overtrain”, that is, put the body

TUF Brazil veterans Viana vs. Teixeira, added to UFC 147 preliminary card

Featherweight Hugo “Wolverine” Viana (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will take on John “Macapa” Teixeira (13-0-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on next week’s UFC 147 preliminary card on FX. This will be the first eliminated cast member fight between two fighters from “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil”; reports MMAJunkie.com.UFC 147 is set for June 23 at Estadio Jornalista Felipe Drumond (also known as “Mineirinho”) in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin will fight a rematch against Wanderlei Silva in the

History of Violence: The highs and lows of "The Axe Murderer"

Violence. That is the first thought that pops into the head of any long-time fan of MMA when it comes to Wanderlei Silva. Unbridled, rampant, bloody, violence. The thought is both good and bad for him, as he is not the only to one to inflict pain when entering the ring/cage with another man. From 1996 to the present day of MMA, one of the things you can guarantee is a Silva fight will consist of him moving forward and looking for the finish. Whether he achieved that finish, or turned into a victim himself w