They are both out of their mind and apparently desperate for money.  As you may recall Jose Canseco decided to give MMA a try and face off again Hung Man Choi.  It seems that Herschel Walker has decided to give it a go as well.  Walker, 47 years old has signed with Strikeforce to fight.  Like Canseco, Walker has a background in Tae Kwon Do.

The similarity doesn’t end there.  Both men had also appeared on reality shows before deciding to fight in MMA.  Canseco appeared on celebrity boxing and Walker on the celebrity apprentice.  It makes you wonder how bad the monetary situation is for Walker that he would risk his reputation as a Heisman Trophy winner by stepping into MMA at the age of 47.  MMA is a young mans game (with a few notable exceptions).

On the upside, he has signed with Strikeforce and will have a little more legitimacy than Canseco’s fight had.  Strikeforce is attempting to build up to compete with the UFC and they know putting on “freak show” fights is not the way to get the hardcore MMA fans.  I have no doubt this is for publicity but hopefully Walker is put into a safer situation than Canseco was.

Good luck Herschel, you are going to need it!

Chuck Liddell made his first appearance on dancing with the stars.  The only way he could of salvaged that dance was to finish with an overhand right to his partner.  The judges were somewhat hard on him calling him out on his poor technique.  That being said one of the judges nailed it on the head, it was entertaining to watch.  I imagine this is in part due to the contrast between a professional fighter and a professional dancer.  It makes people want to watch.  I have never seen an episode of this show before and never would have if not for Liddell’s participation. 

Since voting is based on viewer phone ins, I think we are going to see Liddell in the competition for a while if for no other reason than to see him dance like a pro fighter.  DANCE FIGHT!

This is a great video that really shows you how far the UFC has come since UFC 1.  It touches on a lot of highlights that the sport has seen over the years.  They seem to have really touched on the emotions and passion that the fighters and fans feel towards this sport.  It makes me excited to see where the sport will evolve when UFC 200 comes around.

I found a very interesting site, www.fightmetric.com It analyzes and provides statistical information of MMA fights.  Not only will this provide interesting information for fans but I imagine it will also be invaluable to fighters as they prepare for fights.  Imagine going up against an opponent armed with the knowledge that the 80% of the strikes come in the form of power shots to the head.  You now have a measurable guide to help formulate a defense.

Check out this sample:

As MMA becomes more mainstream I imagine we will begin to see more and more facts and figures released as you see with most professional sports.  It is very interesting watching a sport evolve from obscurity to mainstream right in front of your eyes.

One thing is for sure, Mike Goldberg is going to have a field day with this information during broadcasts.  “Joe, did you know that GSP landed 67% of his jab attempts to the head in his last fight but interestingly enough Penn only went to the bathroom immediately before his fights 15% of the time”

We all know that there are things that need to be done before a fight, training, safely cutting weight, formulating a strategy, etc…  What about the things you shouldn’t do.

#3  Grease up before the fight:
With all the controversy lately about “greasing” before or during a fight this is a good one to avoid if you want to keep your reputation in tact.  Whether accidental or not, “greasing” is being cracked down on.

#2  Eat a spicy sausage and drink some coke before a fight:
Now I can’t say for certain that spiced meat and carbonated beverages caused Guida to let out some epic burps between rounds but it must of been caused by something.

#1  Kiss your opponent:
You’d think this would be one of those unwritten things that you don’t have to mention to people.  Apparently someone should of told Yoshihiro Nakao before he faced Heath Herring.  Herring didn’t take kindly to the friendly gesture and returned the favour with a “kiss” of his own, knocking out Nakao before the fight even got started.

UFC 100 is to be held on July 11th and it promises to be an exciting card.  This is one of the best cards I have ever seen.  Two titles on the line and a battle between the coaches from the latest season of the Ultimate Fighter.

Mir vs. Lesnar
This is a classic match up of brute strengthagainst skill and technique.  Brock is a top notch wrestler but still has a way to go with his jiu-jitsu and striking.  Mir is excellent at Jiu Jitsu and as we have seen in his latest fight against Big Nog his striking has evolved as well.

In their first match up Mir was being overwhelmed by the more powerful Lesnar.  The fight ended with Lesnar getting caught in a leg lock forcing Lesnar to tap.  I really don’t think that Lesnar will get caught again.  Lesnar has had some time to gain more skills in the jiu jitsu side of things and he should know enough now to avoid a lot of Mir’s attacks.  Is he on the same level as Mir on the ground?  No, but with his strength, explosiveness and more experience he should be able to avoid the majority or Mir’s attacks.  I think we will see a carbon copy of their first fight minus the submission out of nowhere.  Lesnar will be victorious via a first round TKO.

GSP vs. Alves
Alves has been on a tear lately and he looks like a beast at welterweight.  That being said I am giving this one to GSP.  I think GSP has Alves beat in all areas.  Wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu and Striking.  I don’t think there is anywhere this fight will go that GSP can’t dominate at.  Unless GSP has an off night like he did against Serra in their first fight, I think we are going to see an exciting fight withlots of action that will leave GSP with his hand raised at the end.

Bisping vs. Henderson
I can see this one going either way.  In the end, Bisping has been rubbing me the wrong way lately and that makes me want to favour Henderson.  I think Henderson had it right on when he called him a Douche Bag. 

 It would be nice to see that Cocky S.O.B. have his mouth shut.  In addition to the dislike of Bisping I am also think that Henderson is the tougher of the two fighters and I am hoping that his grit and determination will win out over Bisping’s more technical skills.

It seems like it has been a roller coaster ride for Tim Sylvia.  The one time UFC Heavyweight Champ has left a lot of people scratching their heads as of late.

In the latest piece of WTF he fought former boxing great Ray Mercer.  Originally it was supposed to be a boxing match but due to licensing issues it was changed to an MMA fight.  Ray Mercer proceeded to knock out Sylvia in the opening seconds of round 1.  I guess we know how a straight boxing fight would of gone.

For the life of me I can’t figure what was going through Sylvia’s head when he decided it would be a good idea to fight Mercer.  Either he beats an aging boxer and makes people wonder why he is fighting Mercer instead of top MMA talent or he loses like he did making people wonder “how the mighty have fallen”.  Either way it is going to lead to guys like me writing articles like this about him. 

I see zero upside for him.  As a matter of fact, this fight has ended up hurting more than just his reputation.  The KO at the hands of Mercer has forced Sylvia out of an upcoming fight on the Affliction 3 card.

Getting scratched from Affliction may have saved him some embarrassment, well more embarrassment.  Sylvia weighed in at a whopping 310 lbs and looked pretty soft.   The weight limit he would have to compete at in Affliction is 265 lbs.  That is a huge weight cut to make in only 6 weeks. 

You have to wonder if he took the fight with Mercer lightly and didn’t worry about training.  Granted he was never a ripped heavyweight but now it looks like the only training he has been doing is lifting a donut to his mouth.

MMA is a dangerous sport and while every effort is taken to ensure the fighters safety injuries are bound to occur.  Here are some of the more memorable ones.  A word of warning, some of the images and videos are a little graphic.

Number 7:  Joe Stevenson vs. Bj Penn

While not as painful as some of the others mentioned in this list, this fight is worth mentioning due to the amount of blood.  It is like the UFC decided to make a horror film instead of an MMA event.  At one point during the fight while BJ was going for a choke you could see the blood spurting out of Stevenson’s head.  I don’t think I have ever seen so much blood in any other MMA match.

Number 6:  Marvin Eastman vs Vitor Bellfort

This cut makes me cringe everytime I see it.  His eyebrow is split wide open.  Here is what I think would happen if it was me that got that cut.  First your trainer tells me I have one hell of a cut.  I think, how bad can it be.  I look in the mirror.  “is that my skull”  after which I begin screaming like a girl.

Number 5:  Cro Cop vs. Gonzaga

Going into this fight a lot of people knew how it was going to end.  A big kick was going to finish the fight.  The only catch was it was the other guy that got the kick.  Gonzaga landed a huge head kick that put CroCop out instantly.  On the way to the mat his leg got tangled up underneath of him, which twisted his knee in a very weird and painful looking way. 

 Somehow he was able to walk out of the Octagon and back to the dressing rooms.  My theory is when he got knocked out he went completly limp and that help to save him. 

Number 4:  Rich Franklin vs. Anderson Silva

After watching this fight I came to the conclusion that I would rather be in a car accident than in Silva’s clinch.  Once Silva got Franklin tied up it was all over.  Silva punished Franklin with knee after knee until he crumpled.  In the process he decided that Franklin’s nose would look better off to one side.

Number 3:  Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown 2

It was a tough break for Faber in this fight (pun intended).  During the first round Faber broke his hand while delivering a powerful shot to brown.  Faber tried to stay in fight by throwing elbows, knees and kicks but ended in a unanimous decision for Brown.  After the fight and some x-ray’s we got to see how bad the break really was.  You have to respect Faber for going the distance with such an injury.

Number 2:  Tim Sylvia vs. Frank Mir

I will say one thing for Sylvia.  He is one stubborn S.O.B.  Not many men would allow their arm to be broken rather than to tap out.  Mir was able to apply an arm lock to Sylvia that broke the bones in his forearm (radius and ulna for those aspiring doctors).  Not only did Sylvia not tap but he was upset that the ref stopped the fight.

Number 1:  Corey Hill vs. Dale Hartt

We saved the best or worst depending on how you look at it for last.  This is the kind of injury that you can’t bear to watch but you can’t look away either. 

Hill was going for a leg kick, Hartt raised his leg to check the kick and that is when the unthinkable happened.  The bones in his lower leg (tibia and fibula) snapped.  After the kick he tried to take a step backward but the leg was just flopping around at this point.  Just typing this is making me a little queasy.  Check out the video if your stomach is strong enough.

If that wasn’t bad enough check out this picture that was taken at the time of the kick.

Any other memorable injuries you would like to share?

        images courtesy of yproductionphotography

MMA4LIFE was able to catch up to Patricia after her second amateur bout.  Patricia faced April Penrod on May 30th at the  Hook N Shoot 14th anniversary show.  You can check out our first interview here.

Patricia won the bout by technical submission (referee stopped the fight due to the imminent danger to Penrod’s arm).

Here’s the interview:

MMA4LIFE:  Tell us about your latest fight.  Did everything go as planned?

Patricia:  I fought April Penrod On May 30th.   It was a pretty good fight, I think.   She landed a few more knees on my than I wanted,  those hurt,  but I worked the clinch and got the throw in like I said I would.  So I’m pretty happy with my performance.   April’s really tough  she’s got a lot of heart.

MMA4LIFE:  The referee stopped the fight without a tap.  Can you tell us how much danger your opponents arm was in and if you think it was a good call?

Patricia:  Her arm was popping.   It was the right call to make.  In amateur competition it’s the ref’s job to keep the fighters safe, and he probably heard the sounds her elbow was making, and saw how tight it was, and that April was not intelligently defending herself so he stopped it.

MMA4LIFE:  You know how tight the arm bar was but some of the fans might not have understood.  Do you wish you had the tap so there is no doubt in anyone’s mind? 

Patricia:  I do, this puts doubt into some peoples mind.  But I don’t think she would have tapped, I think she would have let her arm snap completely and then I would have felt bad.

MMA4LIFE:  Has there been any talk about going pro?

Patricia:  There has.  In fact I was at the MMA Expo this past weekend and attended the W-1 Pro Trials.   It was a lot of fun. Out of about 60 guys ( I was the only girl)  They picked 4 people who they wanted to have fight for them, and I was one of them.  We don’t have any contract details or anything like that yet,  but it looks promising.  They are excited to start having female fights, and I’m excited to be able to maybe fight in my country!

MMA4LIFE:  Now that you have two wins how has this affected your confidence?

Patricia:  It’s helping    But I know what my weaknesses are, and what I need to work on.   I’m trying to evolve as a fighter and I think it’s working. 

MMA4LIFE:  Where can your fans see you fight next?

Patricia:  July 10th at the Orleans in Las Vagas as part of Tuff N Uff’s  Event there.  I think I’m fighting Moa Palmer @ 145.  This will be my first time fighting 145 and let me tell you, I already miss pizza and ice cream   

MMA4LIFE:  Your ground game is very strong; can you tell us where you are at with your striking?

Patricia:  I think my striking is coming along nicely, obviously it’s not on the same level as my throws and ground game but that’s to be expected when I have so much more experience with Judo than Muay Thai.  But I was hitting the guys at the pro trials as much or more then they were hitting me, so I’m confident I can hold my own on the feet against most people.

MMA4LIFE:  Thank you for your time and we look forward to catching up with you after you next fight.  Is there anyone you wish to mention here?

Patricia:  I’d like to thank all my coaches and training partners at Buckley Jiu Jitsu,   Jeff Osborne and Hook N Shoot for giving me another opportunity to fight,  all the guys @ Big Bully for letting me train and supporting me while I was in town, and of course my friends and family for their constant support!

MMAMANIA has an article up about the UFC being called out to due to their refusal to  cross promote to see who really is the best fighter in the world.  Speaking strictly as a fan it is fun imagining the possible fights that could happen.

Speaking as a realist however, it would be stupid for the UFC to let this happen.  UFC has positioned themselves as the premiere brand in MMA.  If they were to cross promote they would be throwing all their weight behind their competitors. 

As an example let’s say that the UFC agrees to do a cross promotion with Affliction.  UFC will now be using the power of its name to help draw attention to a competitor.  Advertising, fan base and the experience of running over 100 events is now being directly used to help the organization that the UFC wants to dominate over.  I know if I was running my own business I wouldn’t want that to happen.

In the end it all comes down to money.  The UFC would be throwing money right out the door an into their compeitors pockets if they were to cross promote.  In order for us, as fans to get quality fights in a stable environment we need organizations that are stable.  Right now that is the UFC and they want to keep it that way.  Would I like to see some dream fights that could be produced from a cross promotion?  Yes I would but not at the possible expense losing or damaging the one source that can continue to give us great fights time and time again.

In addition, the UFC sees how other promotions are struggling to make money.  Why would they set up a fight with another promotion when the possibility is there to pick up those fighters if the struggling promotions ever go under or sell to the UFC like Pride did.  Look at all the talent the UFC picked up from that merger.  Silva, Henderson, Noguera, Jackson…

UFC has the money and the fan base to wait things out and in the end it will only help to make them stronger.  I will miss those fights now but if the UFC keeps playing it smart it is only a matter of time before we see those fights under one banner.