Fantasy MMA Picks and Wagers for UFC and other MMA Events

As a successful amateur boxer who had competed at international level, Northern Ireland heavyweight Colin Robinson thought martial arts were ineffectual outside of Hollywood blockbusters and Bruce Lee films. So when a friend invited him to train at his mixed martial arts gym one evening, he was expecting an easy time of it. “Back in the day boxing was the ultimate combat sport and that is what attracted me to it,” says the genial Ulsterman, “In my opinion, martial arts didn’t work.” “I came to the gym one day just to show them all how it was done - and the coach tied me in a knot and left me in the corner! “I can remember thinking ‘My god, what is this all about? He is not supposed to be able to do that!’” The experience was a Damascus moment for Robinson, who had never previously considered venturing outside the square circle: “I thought, I have got to learn this, this is great.”

At one time, Justin Eilers was considered a great future prospect in the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division. Having amassed a solid record previous to joining the company, he won his debut in impressive fashion over Mike Kyle at UFC 49 in comeback fashion after being rocked early in the fight. Things seemed to be heading Eilers’ way. That’s where things hit a snag. Over the course of the coming year and a half, Eilers lost three fights in a row, including a devastating defeat to then UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski.

No one in the sport of mixed martial arts can ever question the heart, determination or perseverance of current EliteXC middleweight fighter Scott Smith for his constant effort to stay in and win a fight. During his time with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, he was involved in one of the most memorable knockouts in the promotion’s history during a bout with former “Ultimate Fighter” housemate Pete Sell. As Sell landed a thunderous body shot that seemed to crumble his opponent, Smith jumped up with a huge punch that sent Sell crashing to the canvas. After following up with another shot before the referee stopped the fight, Smith instantly fell down in the cage, still feeling the effects of the punch he endured before unloading his own fight finishing shot to his opponent.

Today I had the honor of talking with UFC rising star Frank "The Answer" Edgar about his recent win over Hermes Franca, his $25,000 fight-of-the-night bonus, and even a little politics. The 26 year-old Edgar boasts a 9-1 record including a notable win over Spencer Fisher and he is the only man to have ever defeated Tyson Griffin. Edgar brings a smothering ground game to the cage and with his extensive wrestling background, Edgar is a tall order for any of the UFC's lightweight division fighters. Here's what was said:

When we last saw Nick Diaz, he was whipping Muhsin Corbbrey at EliteXC: The Return of the King, and advising KJ Noons not to be frightened. Diaz gets back into the cage this Saturday at the second installment of EliteXC’s “Saturday Night Fights” (CBS, 9 p.m. ET/PT), and while he won’t be settling his grudge with Noons, he’ll be facing the very tough Thomas Denny in front of a rabid hometown crowd at the Stockton Arena. The always outspoken Cesar Gracie-trained fighter recently chatted with us about the origins of his bad attitude, why MMA fights should be held in a ring, and why steroids should be legal. Real good interview with Nick Diaz........

Fresh off his unanimous decision victory over Fabio Negao at Affliction: Banned, former Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland already has designs on his next opponent. “I would love to fight (Vitor) Belfort,” Lindland is quoted as saying by Gary Herman of CBSSports.com. “He’s a legend in the sport. I respect him a lot. To get in the ring with a guy like him would be great.” Belfort, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, won his first bout at middleweight during the undercard portion of “Banned” this past Saturday. Fighting against Terry Martin in a bout televised on Fox Sports Net, the native Brazilian knocked out Martin at 3:12 of round 2.

Stockton, Calif. – EliteXC officials announced today during a pre-fight press conference for this weekend’s CBS’ telecast of “Saturday Night Fights” that a lightweight bout between David “Tarzan” Douglas and Marlon Mathias has been added to the card. The swing bout will only air on Saturday if one or all of the three fights before the main event of Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith ends early. If there is no room on the telecast, the swing bout will take place immediately after the main event.

Quoteworthy: “My first reaction was pretty much that I couldn’t believe that the UFC was finally coming to my hometown. Right after that I said to myself, ‘God damn why can’t I be ready to fight?’ … I recently started to get real aggressive with the rehab and my doctor wasn’t very happy about it. I was told to back off a little bit…. As soon as I get the green light it’s going to be all business. I can’t wait to start cracking skulls again.”

Sherdog is reporting that Gina Carano’s management has confirmed to them that she will return on EliteXC’s October 4 card which is likely to be televised on CBS. Carano last fought on May 31 when she defeated Kaitlin Young via TKO at the end of the second round at EliteXC: Primetime, the first ever MMA card on network television. Young’s eye was extremely swollen at the end of the second round and she was deemed unable to continue by the doctors at ringside. Kelly Kobald, a fighter who trains out of Minnesota Martial Arts, has been rumored as the possible opponent for Carano for the October show. Minnesota Martial Arts is the same camp that Kaitlin Young fights out of so she should be well prepared for the fight if she is indeed Carano’s next opponent. Kobald is a veteran of Bodog Fight and has dropped her last two fights to Tara LaRosa and Julie Kedzie. Before that, Kobald was on a seventeen fight win streak.

From IFL Senior VP, Joe Favorito: I apologize for this mass email but I wanted to take a second to let you know that as of July 31 my role at the IFL will be no more as the company goes into its final stage of being sold and/or closed down. We are very proud of what we did here in just over two years, building a brand from nothing into something that people in the industry and outside of the industry actually noticed, and I enjoyed working with so many different people and helped tell some great stories. At the end of the day sometimes the finances don't make sense, but it certainly wasn't for lack of trying. The good news is I think we have gotten all our good junior people placed in some great spots, so we are pretty proud of that. Even our interns landed in good places.

Longtime PRIDE champion and highly ranked lightweight Takanori Gomi (28-3) will fight reigning DEEP lightweight champion Sung Hwan Pang (5-1) at next month's Sengoku 4 event. The Japanese-based World Victory Road today released the Aug. 24 fight card, which includes the opening round of a lightweight grand prix and a former star of the all-but-dead International Fight League. The event takes place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The Gomi-Hwan booking will likely come as a suprise to many fans; IFL star and MMA prodigy Chris Horodecki (13-1) had long been reported as Gomi's likely opponent. However, a source close to the fighter tells MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Horodecki is currently in negotiations with, among other organizations, the up-and-coming American Fight League, an organization that garnered recent headlines with the signings of former WWE star Bobby Lashley, top female fighter Tara LaRosa (with a contract worth more than $500,000) and many former UFC fighters.

Interview with GSP...