Do Frankie Edgar and Dominick Cruz Represent a Trend of MMA Going All Floyd Mayweather?
(bloodyelbow.com)I grew up on boxing. Some of my earliest memories involve watching the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier "Thrilla in Manilla" live on ABC TV in the afternoon with my big brothers. I was the only devoted Larry Holmes fan in my sixth grade class. I mean devoted as in I wore my Larry Holmes t-shirt to school weekly. During the golden era of great middleweights, I even took up lawn mowing to pay for the HBO subscription my mom wouldn't get just to keep up with "Sugar" Ray Leonard, "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler, Thomas "Hitman" Hearns and Roberto "Hands of Stone" Duran.
But somewhere something changed, and the last few times I tuned in for a non-Manny Pacquiao boxing bout, I was bored stiff. Instead of fighting to win in a convincing finish, too many boxers today are content to use movement and speed to outscore their opponent with frequent-but-meaningless blows, then dance away from danger. The preeminent example of this is Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Zzzzz. Just the mention of his name makes me drowsy. Pitter, patter, dance, pitter, patter, dance, repeat for 12 rounds.
Ban on MMA sought in Canada
(sports.espn.go.com)NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario -- The Canadian Medical Association is calling for a ban on mixed martial arts in Canada.
Delegates at the annual meeting voted Wednesday to have the doctors group seek a government ban on the sport.
The vote came after often contentious debate among 250 doctors at the meeting in Niagara Falls.
Those in favor of banning the sport say it puts fighters at risk of severe head trauma and other injuries that could have lifelong effects.
They argue that unlike sports such as hockey and skiing, the intent of mixed martial arts is to incapacitate one's opponent.
Seven provinces in Canada sanction mixed martial arts prize fighting. The Ontario government recently changed its stance and will allow mixed martial arts in 2011.
Ex-Texas Longhorn ID'd in Huerta Fight
(sportsbybrooks.com)
While the identity of the man who struck the woman has not officially been released by the Austin Police Department, I’ve learned from multiple sources who threw the punch.Former starting Univ. of Texas Linebacker Rashad Bobino, who last played for the Longhorns in 2008, was the individual who punched the unidentified woman from behind as seen in the TMZ.com video.
Bobino is now out of football after being cut by the Atlanta Falcons before the 2009 NFL season.
Jesse Taylor: I want to out strike Tom Watson as well as out wrestle him
(mmahitpit.com)There can be no doubt that some of the best fighters in MMA have graduated into the mainstream through The Ultimate Fighter. Jesse Taylor showed a great deal of promise while in the house and following on from the show has amassed an impressive 9-4 record, traveling to the corners of the globe to meet new challengers. Jesse took the time to chat with MMA Hit Pit about Tom Watson, fighting in Japan and the life of a fighter.
Bellator: Zuffa lawsuit "a big pile of nothing," company moving forward undistracted
(mmajunkie.com)
They weren't, per se, confidential UFC documents that were being talked about," English said. "It was very simple. Bellator was interested in checking on forms that the UFC typically uses in order to see if it was missing anything in terms of its own forms. The types of forms that we're talking about, by and large – there's a form that the UFC uses making sure that the fighters don't use the same colored trunks. There's forms that notify them that they're not supposed to have sponsorship stuff on their attire. There was a form that dealt with termination of contracts. Those are not confidential documents, and the bulk of what we're talking about is that.
Fistic Medicine: The Sweet Science of Hand Protection
(sherdog.com)Before we knew how good Royce Gracie was, we knew Art Jimmerson was in trouble.
As Jimmerson strode to the Octagon to test his boxer’s skill against an unknown underweight Brazilian at UFC 1, he wore a boxing glove on one hand and athletic tape on the other. His fight was lost before it began. In a sport with stiff penalties for uncertainty, fighters deserve to know the pros and cons of modern fighting gloves.
The original boxing gloves were thin strips of leather that Grecian fighters bound about their clenched fists to protect the small bones of the hand against fracture. The Romans added metal spikes and studs, converting the protective devices into weapons, and irreparably linking boxing with brutality and barbarism in the Western mind. When boxing returned to fringe acceptability, fighters quickly learned that bare-knuckle strikers had short careers and painful retirements.
Interesting article on fightsport gloves.
Sylvia vs Buentello in August
(mmaweekly.com)
Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia takes on former UFC and Strikeforce heavyweight title challenger Paul Buentello will square off in the main event of Powerhouse World Promotions’ “War on the Mainland” on Aug. 14 in Irvine, Calif. The winner will be crowned the promotion’s heavyweight champion.
Ref Josh Rosenthal Explains Why He Didn't Stop Lesnar-Carwin
(mmafighting.com)In the days since Brock Lesnar came back from being absolutely brutalized in the first round of his fight with Shane Carwin to winning the fight in the second, some have questioned whether referee Josh Rosenthal should have ever permitted the fight to get out of the first round, or whether Rosenthal should have stopped the fight and given Carwin a first-round technical knockout win.
Machinda's father would like Lyoto to quit fighting
(mmamania.com)In the video Machida's fathers talks about how the pressure got to Lyoto in the Shogun fight and how he feels he should stop fighting but Lyoto wants to fight until he's 35. He also talk about spiritual recovery that could take 10 years. It's like watching Mr. Miyagi talk after a couple of hits from a bong.
Ask the Fight Doc: What caused Shane Carwin's body to seize up at UFC 116?
(mmajunkie.com)Adrenaline dumping is a very popular phrase in the worlds of fitness and combat sports. It truly is not common medical terminology. The phrase appears to be used to describe some of the characteristics associated with a surge of epinephrine (adrenaline) released during extreme physical exertion (sports and/or fighting).
An epinephrine surge prepares the body for the classic fight-or-flight scenario: significant increase in heart rate, rapid breathing, glucose surge in blood for energy, heightened awareness, sweating, etc.
It is interesting to note that this is the same physiology involved in an anxiety attack.
Sherdogs Latest P4P Rankings Via ESPN
(sports.espn.go.com) For 7½ years, Fedor Emelianenko was a fixture in the rarefied air of pound-for-pound lists. Not anymore. Emelianenko's shocking June 26 loss to Fabricio Werdum radically resculpted the face of the heavyweight division and the pound-for-pound list.
This is easily the most curious list I've seen in a while. I'm sure you could make a case for a couple guys, but I'd have some names on there that aren't.
They Warn You Not To Grab The Cage, Here's Why
(middleeasy.com) Unlike Earl Brown, I will never have to worry about this problem. If, at any point in my life, I find myself locked inside a cage with another man, I will be alcohol-free for the rest of my life. At Ultimate Challenge UK MMA - 'Feel The Pain' this June, Ben Craggy (the guy not on the ground) gives Earl Brown (the guy on the ground) why you should never use your hands to slowly crawl up a cage.
I'm guessing Earl Brown will never be grabbing the cage again. I thought it was pretty funny.
Bellator's Season 3 Female Tournament Field is Complete
(bellator.com)CHICAGO, Ill. (June 23, 2010) - Jessica Aguilar, the American Top Team product and No. 7 flyweight in the world is the latest and final addition to Bellator Fighting Championships' Season 3 Women's Tournament.
Aguilar, a rising star in women's MMA, brings an impressive 8-4 professional record to the tournament, which begins this August. In her latest showing just three weeks ago, Aguilar knocked out Catia Vitoria four minutes into the first round.
Aguilar is the eighth and final fighter to be added to the tournament, and all eight are ranked among the world's 10 best in their respective weight classes. The others are Japanese MMA sensation Megumi Fujii - widely regarded as the No. 1 pound-for-pound female fighter in the world - 11-1 British tae-kwon-do black belt Rosi Sexton, 12-5 Seattle submission artist Lisa Ward, 7-0 Southern California striker Jessica Pene, 8-4 New Mexico-based submission specialist Angela Magana , 5-1 Las Vegas-based powerhouse Lynn Alvarez, and 9-0 Irish sensation Aisling Daly.
MMA in New York? Senate passes MMA bill; moves to assembly.
(poughkeepsiejournal.com)ALBANY -- A controversial bill that would legalize mixed-martial arts events in New York narrowly passed the state Senate on Wednesday, but the bill faces an uncertain future in the Assembly as the legislative session winds down.
If enacted into law, mixed-martial arts would be subject to many of the same regulations currently imposed on boxing and other grappling sports, and the state athletic commission would be charged with issuing licenses to leagues and organizations looking to host an event.
Sen. Kevin Parker, D-Brooklyn, said mixed-martial arts should be viewed the same as any other sport in the state. Parker sponsors the bill in the Senate, while Assemblyman Steven Englebright, D-Setauket, Suffolk County, sponsors the bill in the Assembly.
Hype Yourself in EA Sports MMA
(xbox360.ign.com)
A few weeks ago I sat down at EA's Los Angeles studios to check out EA Sports MMA's online features, or at least one of them. I assumed I was sitting down to check out some sort of new ranking system or a demo of how experience points earned online would benefit your single-player character. Boy was I wrong. Instead, what I saw was one of the most forward-thinking online features I've ever seen in a sports game.
I'm sure EA Sports MMA will have the requisite quick match and ranked match features that we all expect, but the real bread and butter is the Live Broadcast mode. Basically this allows for players to compete for real-world prizes in-game and build up personas online. But how do you earn the right to compete in one of these Live Broadcasts? Well, there are a few ways. The first is obviously just being damn good at EA Sports MMA and ascending the leaderboards. But EA Sports also wants to incorporate active community members into the mix along with members with standout personalities. How can you show your personality in-game, you ask? Well, that's probably the coolest part of all of this.
Angela Magana is latest addition to Bellator's season-three women's tourney
(mmajunkie.com)Former high-school wrestler and amateur boxer Angela Magana is the latest addition to Bellator Fighting Championships' season-three women's tournament.
Bellator officials today announced the signing.
Magana (9-4 MMA, 0-0 BFC) is the fifth confirmed participant for the eight-slot 115-pound tournament, which commences in August.
Magana, 26, turned pro three years ago and has fought for organizations such as the Las Vegas-based TUFF-N-UFF and HOOKnSHOOT. Seven of the jiu-jitsu practitioner's nine wins have come via stoppage, five via submission.
"EA Sports MMA" in stores Oct. 19, Emelianenko and Couture on cover
(mmajunkie.com)UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture and Strikeforce heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko will be featured on the cover of "EA Sports MMA," officials today announced.
Additionally, officials announced an Oct. 19 release date for the videogame title.
"EA Sports MMA," which goes head-to-head with THQ's award-winning and bestselling "UFC Undisputed" franchise, will be available on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms.
Dozens of fighters – mostly from Strikeforce and DREAM – recently have been announced for "EA Sports MMA." Most of the UFC's roster is featured in THQ's rival "UFC Undisputed" franchise, which sold 3.5 million units with its 2009 debut and recently released its 2010 version.
MMA Live presence on ESPN 2 extended to August 2010
(mmamania.com)Congratulations are in order for Jon Anik, Kenny Florian, Franklin McNeil, and the countless others at ESPN who played a significant role in the development and production of MMA Live over the last couple years.
But most of all, congratulations are in order for you, the fans, for making the show as popular as it is today. ESPN has granted MMA Live a three-month extension on ESPN 2 until August due to the loyal viewers, like yourself, that have supported the mixed martial arts news show from jump street.
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