BlurayMMA.com

So was it a freak show or the perfect MMA fight? And did it overshadow what looked like a cracking match? That’s what I was hoping to find out as I watched UFC 118: Edgar v Penn 2, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain.

The show began with the preliminary bouts, and Andre Winner facing Nik Lentz in the lightweight division.

The best way to describe this fight would be a dogged battle of wills. For the first two rounds Lentz went to great pains to try and take Winner to the ground, but when he succeeded the Brit got right back up again.

Lentz succeeded with his chosen tactic in the third, showing some nice transitions. It was pretty but it was effective.

All three judges scored in favour of Lentz. Well, the style may not have been to the fans’ liking, but it got the job done.

It was also good to see that Bruce Buffer has finally learned how to pronounce Leicester properly!

The lightweight action continued as Joe Lauzon faced Gabe Ruediger. Nice to see that old Gabe was able to make weight on a UFC show.

This was an awesome performance from Lauzon in front of his hometown fans. He absolutely demolished Ruediger, taking him down to the mat, transitioning well and getting the submission with an arm bar just two minutes into the fight. I bet Ruediger wasn’t screaming “put me back in” after that display!

It was up to middleweight for the next fight as Dan Miller went up against John Salter.

A nice back and forth battle saw Salter score with a couple of good take downs in the first round, with Miller able to escape, getting off a few good blows of his own.

The end came early in the second. As Salter went for a take down Miller countered with an anaconda choke that secured the impressive submission win.

The main show began with welterweight action as Nate Diaz faced Marcus Davis.

When Diaz began by taunting Davis you know what kind of fight you were going to get. It was an excellent display of striking, with a combination from Lauzon opening up a nasty cut above Davis’ right eye early on.

As the fight progressed Davis’ eye got worse, but this didn’t stop the great action, even when the Irish Hand Grenade began to resemble Quasimodo at the beginning of the third.

Diaz secured the win in the final minute, taking the fight to the ground and locking in a guillotine. Davis refused to tap, with the referee stopping the fight has he passed out. Boy was this good!

It was back down to the lightweight division for the next fight as Kenny Florian took on Gray Maynard.

An extended feeling out period began this fight, with both fighters testing the waters before Maynard finally scored with the take down.

This was how the rest of the fight played out, with Maynard scoring with take downs and dominating Florian on the ground. Florian sustained a nasty cut above his left eye that clearly bothered him as the fight went on.

Maynard took home the unanimous decision and a shot at the lightweight title. One couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Florian though, one of the most likeable fighters in MMA at the moment.

Action from the middleweight division followed as Demian Maia went up against Mario Miranda.

This was the Demian Maia we weren’t allowed to see during the Anderson Silva fight, a great ground fighter who for the most part dominated Miranda.

Miranda had couple of good moments, but they were scarce as all three judges gave the fight to Maia.

And the ironic thing about this fight was the presence of one A. Silva in Miranda’s corner.

Then it was on to the big heavyweight encounter, as Hall of Famer Randy Couture faced the challenge of boxing legend James Toney.

This was a complete miss-match. Couture got the early take down, and as Toney floundered around like a beached whale Couture unleashed with the ground and pound before going for an arm triangle. It was soon lights out for Toney as he tapped out, giving Couture the submission win.

You know, it’s hard to rate Couture’s performance. Let’s be honest here, this was nothing more than a freak show.

The main event saw B.J. Penn attempting to reclaim the Lightweight title from Frankie Edgar.

Edgar came into this fight full of confidence, and it showed in his performance as he did something I never thought anyone could do.

Edgar dominated Penn in every aspect, from the striking to the ground game to the defensive work. He was also able to take Penn down numerous times.

The former champion was very disappointing, and even though he scored with a couple of take downs he just seemed to be going through the motions, content just to survive. It must be said as well that the advice Penn was getting from his corner did absolutely nothing for him. When they should have been giving him severe tongue lashings they were basically telling him to keep up the good work. The only thing was that the work wasn’t that good.

All three judges gave every round to Edgar, and rightfully so. This was Edgar’s best performance in the UFC, the complete opposite to Penn’s disappointing showing.

A second showing of the Lauzon/Ruediger fight rounded out the show.

In conclusion – apart from the freak show that was Couture/Toney, UFC 118 was a great show filled with great performances, and once again the main event stole the show as Edgar dominated a man we never thought could be dominated in that way.

So overall, great stuff. Just don’t put any more professional boxers in there Dana!

King Mo Lawal (left) v Rafael Feijao

Two title fights, a controversial referee’s decision and the next step in the career of a former WWE superstar were the talking points as Strikeforce presented their latest show in Houston, shown this past Monday night on Bravo 2 here in Britain.

The show began with heavyweight action as Bobby Lashley faced Chad Griggs.

This is the fight that will end all of those Brock Lesnar comparisons. Lashley began extremely well with a series of take downs, but a knee in the clinch against the cage clearly hurt him, and moments later Griggs connected with a blow that opened up a nasty cut underneath Lashley’s left eye.

Although Lashley began the second round strongly Griggs began to work his way back into the fight as Lashley visibly tired. Griggs connected with an uppercut as Lashley went for the shoot, and it was all downhill from there. Griggs connected with more blows to the head as the round ended, with Lashley quitting seconds later, giving Griggs the win that nobody expected.

It was down to the lightweight division for the next fight as K.J. Noons took on Jorge Gurgel.

This was a fight full of incident. After some great exchanges in the first round Noons connected with a left that sent Gurgel crashing just as the round ended.

Noons kept up his attack into the second as another big left sent Gurgel down again. Noons then hesitated for a second, expecting the referee to stop the fight, before unleashing with a few more blows, including a knee while Gurgel was still grounded, a move that is illegal under MMA rules. However the referee, in his infinite wisdom, missed this blow completely as Noons was given the knockout win, despite the fact that he clearly should have been disqualified.

The first title fight of the show saw Tim Kennedy taking on Jacare Souza for the vacant Middleweight title.

An entertaining five round affair with very little ground work was an even looking striking contest, with both fighters giving a good account of themselves. Kennedy sustained a nasty cut above his left eye that worsened as the fight went on, although it didn’t stop him from getting the take down as the fight came to an end.

All three judges scored in favour of Souza. I wouldn’t be surprised if these two are matched up again in the future.

The main event saw King Mo Lawal defending the Light Heavyweight title against Rafael Feijao.

The proved to be a very good fight. Mo looked good early on with his massive slam, but Feijao showed some great defensive work as he popped straight back up.

That was how the fight played out for the first two rounds, until Feijao unloaded with a barrage of fists and knees. Mo grabbed hold of the Brazilian and held on for dear life, but it didn’t stop the elbows as the referee stepped in and called a halt to the proceedings, giving Feijao the highly impressive knockout win.

In conclusion – apart from the blind referee in the Noons/Gurgel fight this turned out to be a great night for Strikeforce, with the main event between Mo and Feijao the best of the bunch.

I do wish they’d sort out the refereeing decisions though!

Check out this video, Dana White talking Toney vs Couture with legendary boxer ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

UFC 118: Edgar vs Penn 2 & Couture vs Toney

The bank holiday weekend is here! While many are travelling to the seaside or music festivals, Saturday August 28, 2010 is a huge date for fight fans, who will be glued to their sets when the action kicks off in the earlier hours of Sunday morning.

Not only will BJ Penn get a chance of redemption against Frankie Edgar in a return contest for the lightweight belt, but Zuffa are also treating us to a boxer versus mixed martial artist co-main event match-up -- Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture against boxing champ James Toney.

I’m agreeing with Tom Watson, who picks BJ Penn as the winner, in his bout with defending lightweight champ Frankie Edgar. If Penn is in tip top condition and chooses the right game plan he’s the man getting his hand raised by the referee. BJ needs to go in for the finish earlier on, Edgar is a durable fighter, with great cardio, whereas Penn has to drop quite a bit of weight to make the cut to 155 lbs.

The co-main event old school style boxer vs wrestler bout, pitting UFC Hall of Famer Couture against heavyweight boxing champ Toney has got UFC 118 a lot of mainstream attention. Toney is the highest profile heavyweight pro-boxer to challenge a veteran mixed martial artist.

According to the boxing and MMA competitors quoted in Gareth A Davies article most agree Couture is the likely winner, due to Toney’s lack of MMA experience. Randy’s tactics have got to include getting the boxer to the ground and tapping him out. If he plays his usual game of holding his opponent against the fence and dirty-boxing, it may be his undoing against a boxer of Toney’s pedigree, who’ll trade punches in the clinch and may knock out the former UFC Light-heavyweight and Heavyweight title-holder.

Another bout I’m looking forward to is Marcus Davis facing off against Nate Diaz. Diaz one my favourites from The Ultimate Fighter, has got fantastic Jiu Jitsu and some underrated boxing. Davis is known for his stand-up, but don’t underestimate him on the canvas either. Diaz versus Davis looks to be a damn good scrap. My pick is Diaz by tap-out.

Watch the weigh ins video with interviews.

The advertised card:

TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts is the location, see UFC 118 LIVE exclusively on ESPN in the UK.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

BAMMA champ: Tom 'Kong' Watson

Thanks to that marvellous idea – Facebook, I was fortunate enough to ask Tom ‘Kong’ Watson a few questions, gaining an incite into the world of the BAMMA Middleweight Champion.

What’s your current favourite song?

Cloudburst by Eric Whitacre.

How do you relax between training?

I relax eating flavoured cheese.. French is the best.. Roquefort,  and sitting in the hot tub smoking a Cuaba figurado. Magnifique.

Tabloid rumours circulating at the moment are of your BAMMA 4 opponent and challenger to your middleweight crown, Alex Reid having done a deal  to appear on Ultimate Big Brother for large sum of money. How do you feel about him doing it, considering the timing?

The Reidenator should and will go into the house for around 2 weeks. Most of his sparring will already be complete. With the media attention on him presently I actually believe he can get in great shape (cardio wise) being in the house. What else is there to do when your locked in a house. Unless it is the Foursome House on Playboy.

What impact do you feel being booked to fight Celebrity Big Brother 7 winner and husband of Katie Price has on your career?

It has given me the chance to defend my belt at BAMMA.

In the previous Bravo programme following Alex in training, he tried martial arts not specific to an MMA contest. Do you think he’ll be more focussed training-wise this time around? He’s been pictured with Chuck Liddell…

Who have you been training with? Where?

What does a picture mean? I’ve been pictured with Tamara Witmer, does that mean I’m sleeping with her… I’m training in Montreal with my coaches here Eric O’Keefe, Firass Zahabi, Bruno Fernandes, Howard Grant, Mr Chaimberg and the squad at Bikram yoga. The previous Bravo filming was done much earlier than people realise. Alex wasnt rolling around trying new styles the month before he was due to fight, the show was filmed at the beginning of the year. He’ll be at London Shoot as usual training hard.

You have a fight booked for MFC in Canada, September 10, against TUF veteran Jesse Taylor. Is it wise to fight so close to your BAMMA middleweight title defence? Or do you feel keeping active in MMA competition gives you an edge over Alex?

No my wish is to eradicate poverty and suffering worldwide, fighting Jesse taylor is a chance for me to test my skills up against one of the top guys in the world. BAMMA isnt even relevant until after that fight.

Are there any specific areas you have trained in preparation for the September 25 showdown at the NIA, Birmingham? Which areas do you feel Reid’s a threat?

I train the same for every fight, I just simply try to improve in every area and make sure I am ready for whatever happens in the fight.

What is your prediction for the fight?

I will leave the cage BAMMA champion.

Where do you see yourself ranking internationally?

Maybe top 50. There are still many guys in the middleweight division who are rightly above me.

A-Team or The Expendables?

Expendable as the A-Team would have been better with Rashad as BA.

Couture or Toney?

James Toney… Come on this isnt UFC 1?? Really…

Penn or Edgar?

Baby Jay, but I think the fights the same as last time just this time Penn gets the nod from the judges.

Do you have any websites you recommend the fans visit?

Check out www.tomkongwatson.com and from there you can follow me on twitter and Facebook. Check out Vas.tv for innovative footwear, Headrush for the latest styles in MMA, Tapout because its Tapout baby and go gamble at Full Tilt Poker for the chance to become a legend.

Watch Alex Reid: Fights Back, coming soon on Bravo, for all the build up to Tom’s highly anticipated cage clash with Alex on September 25.

Interview by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

It’s time for one of those strange occurrences again, a DVD review of a pay-per-view I’ve already reviewed, and this time it’s a battle of the legends in the two disc UFC 109: Relentless.

Disc 1 begins with the preliminary bouts, and an appearance from fighting’s first family as Rolles Gracie took on Joey Beltran in the heavyweight division.

When you see a Gracie in a fight you expect a certain standard, and sadly this Gracie couldn’t live up to that standard.

He did okay early on as he scored with a take down, but he visibly tired as the first round went on and as Beltran upped his game.

Gracie looked absolutely shattered as the second round began, and there was actually one moment where referee Herb Dean asked him if he wanted to fight, so it came as no surprise when Beltran got the TKO win after some ground and pound work.

The heavyweight action continued as Tim Hague faced Chris Tuchscherer.

This was one of those fight that had it’s good and bad moments.

A good first round was followed by a lacklustre second in which both fighters were left gasping for air at times.

Hague got his second wind in the third, and as Tuchscherer continued to flounder Hague looked for the win that just wouldn’t come, bringing the judges into the equation as they gave, for some strange reason, the majority decision to Tuchscherer, a decision that left me wondering if this fight had been judged by the three blind mice.

It was down to light heavyweight for the next fight as Brian Stann took on Phil Davis.

Now this was more like it, an exciting three rounder with the debuting Davis putting on an excellent display of ground work, taking Stann down at will and controlling every aspect of the fight.

Stann tried his best but it just wasn’t enough as all three judges scored in favour of Davis, and rightfully so after this tremendous performance.

Action from the lightweight division followed as Phillip Nover went up against Rob Emerson.

The great action continued with these former Ultimate Fighter contestants. Both guys put on good performances, with Nover looking like he was going to get the submission with a guillotine.

Emerson came back well with some good ground work in the second and the third, although Nover managed another guillotine attempt.

So with the fight going the distance the judges gave their unanimous decision to Emerson.

The lightweight action continued as Melvin Guillard faced Ronys Torres.

Another good three rounder which was also a great example of the striker against the grappler. Guillard’s striking display was top notch, but on the other hand Torres’ ground work was just as good, especially his take downs. It was a pretty even fight, with Guillard taking the close judges decision.

The final preliminary saw further lightweight action between Mac Danzig and Justin Bucholz.

Yet another three rounder that proved to be a nice all round affair saw good performances from both men, both in the stand-up game and on the ground.

It was a very even fight, with Danzig closest to getting the stoppage when he took Bucholz’s back and went for a rear naked choke in the final few seconds of the fight.

Yet again the judges were called upon to render a decision, with all three scoring in favour of Danzig.

Then it was on to the main show, beginning with Matt Serra against Frank Trigg in the welterweight division.

This didn’t last long. After the obligatory feeling out period Serra caught Trigg with a big right. Trigg’s legs gave out on him, and after a brief period of ground and pound the referee wisely stepped in to give Serra the TKO win.

It was up to the middleweight division for the next fight as Demian Maia faced Dan Miller.

An interesting three round battle saw both men kind of cancel each other out for the first two rounds. There wasn’t really any ground work to speak of until the third when Maia was able to take Miller to the ground. His offence was effective, although the fans weren’t too happy. The Brazilian came out on top here as he earned the unanimous decision.

Then it was back down to welterweight as Mike Swick took on Paulo Thiago.

Thiago put on a great performance here, beginning his onslaught with the first blow of the fight, a head kick, signalling his intent. Swick was able to keep up with him in the first, but a right/left combination was the beginning of the end. A d’arce choke sent Swick into la-la land, giving Thiago the highly impressive submission win.

The co-main event featured middleweight action as Nate Marquardt went up against Chael Sonnen.

For many this was the fight that put Sonnen on the map. From the moment he scored with his first take down he dominated the majority of the action.

Marquardt had a few good moments of offence, a hard elbow to the forehead that opened Sonnen up, a couple of guillotine attempts, and some ground and pound just as the third round came to an end.

However, it just wasn’t enough, and it was Sonnen who took the unanimous decision and a title shot against Anderson Silva, and we all know how that one played out.

The main event featured the battle of the legends as Randy Couture faced Mark Coleman in the light heavyweight division, the first time that two UFC Hall of Famers had faced each other.

This was vintage stuff from the Natural. Couture imposed his will on the fight from the second it started, and while Couture looked tremendous Coleman looked sluggish and unable to compete.

The ending came in the second round. Couture took the fight to the ground, took Coleman’s back, unleashed with the ground and pound before putting his lights out with a rear naked choke. Another awesome performance from Couture, while Coleman looked like someone in need of retirement.

Disc two is where you’ll find all the usual pre and post-fight stuff.

In conclusion – another good DVD release here, and although I’m still a bit miffed that they still cut out a lot of the non-fight stuff, including the majority of Bruce Buffer’s excellent introductions, it was great to see those remarkable performances from Sonnen and Couture again, and it’s for this reason that this release gets my recommendation.

With thanks to Duane Farr at bluraymma.com for supplying a copy of this release. UFC 119: Relentless is available to buy online at www.fightdvd.co.uk.

In the words of Joe Rogan: Batista joins a bunch of savages

Now this picture is something that grabs my attention as a pro wrestling to MMA convert.

Pictured above is former WWE pro wrestling superstar Dave Batista, alongside the Caesar Gracie camp. Rumour has it muscle-bound freak Batista, who trained in BJJ and Muay Thai before leaving the sports entertainment world, is in talks with Scott Coker’s California based Strikeforce outfit.

A future possibility would be the match-up of Batista versus another former WWE heavyweight and current Strikeforce contracted fighter – Bobby Lashley. First impressions are of sceptisism, featuring 2 former WWE guys in a freak show fight. However after watching this video and seeing who he’s training with, it’s clear he’s focussed and taking the MMA switch seriously.

From Sherdog.com:

Scott Coker had stated that he would be interested to see the 41 year old matched up against former WWE star, and Army wrestler Bobby Lashley claiming that it would be a fun fight for the fans. Only time will tell how interested Batista is in competing in MMA at age 41 it is a little late to pick up the sport.  It is yet to be seen if Batista will be able to handle all the hard work involved in becoming an MMA fighter.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

Pat Barry (left) v Jarrell Miller

This edition of The Two Sheds Review sees us taking our fifth look at the world of hybrid kickboxing, season two of Chuck Norris’ World Combat League. The regular season is now over, and now it’s time to look at the divisional play-offs.

Eastern Conference Final – New York Clash v New Jersey Tigers

A very exciting match with a comeback performance that almost got the job done.

New York began strongly when the debuting Abraham Han knocked out Tom Grimmer. The Clash followed up with two more knockouts from Leo Valdivia and Remi Ibrahim, before future UFC star Pat Barry took a judges decision over John James.

New Jersey’s only win in the first half came when Uriah Hall defeated Jaime Fletcher. However, Jennifer Santiago saw that the Clash ended the half with a victory over old rival Munah Holland, although she re-injured her hand in the process.

New York began the second half well, as Abraham Han impressed again with a KO win over Thad Campbell. But then the Tigers began to claw their way back.

Wins from Lyman Good, David Gonzalez and Jarrell Miller upsetting Pat Barry saw them gradually lessen the Clash’s lead. The only problem was though that they weren’t getting the knockout wins they so desperately needed.

So even though Uriah Hall knocked out Brandon Banna and Melissa Bopp out-fought Virginia Baker it wasn’t enough. New York’s first half dominance gave them the 133-124 win.

Western Conference Final – Oklahoma Destroyers v Los Angeles Stars

This was the most dramatic match of the season so far.

LA began well, although Oklahoma’s Anthony Njokuani was able to hold Jason Bourelly to a single point victory.

Oklahoma took four of the five remaining fights in the first half, with impressive wins for Jesse Lawrence, Alicia Ashley, Thomas Longacre and UFC 1 finalist Patrick Smith. Only the ever-reliable Raymond Daniels kept the Stars in the match as he outclassed Chidi Njokuani.

Oklahoma changed their tactics in the second half, using alternates for all of the fights. It proved to be their undoing.

Randy Blake was their only second half success, and slowly but surely LA began to work they way back into the match, and when Travis McRoberts out-pointed Douglas Edwards the scores were tied going into the final fight.

Raymond Daniels stepped up to the mark again, this time out-classing Scott Clark as LA defeated Oklahoma 144-137 to progress to the final.

In conclusion – these episodes have been by far the best of season two. Splitting the matches so each half took up one episode made for great viewing, although I imagine that some fans would have be waiting for baited breath when they were originally broadcast as a weekly series on television. I would have been, because I hate cliff-hanger endings.

So now it’s on to the third place play-off and the final, and what looks to be a cracking encounter.

With thanks to the powers-that-be at the World Combat League for supplying a copy of this release.

WCL Season 2 Episodes 17-20 form part of the WCL Season 2 box set, and is available to buy wherever DVDs are sold.

Miesha Tate v Hitomi Akano

A catchweight bout, a four-woman tournament and the debut of the son of a legend were the talking points of Strikeforce’s latest Challengers show, shown this past Monday night on Bravo 2 here in Britain.

The show began with the semi-finals of the tournament to find the number one contender to the Women’s Welterweight title, beginning with Miesha Tate against Maiju Kujala.

Fought over two three minute rounds, this fight featured  a controversial moment towards the end of the first when the referee stood the fighters up when Kujala had a guillotine choke applied.

Apart from that we saw a pretty good performance from Tate as she took home the unanimous decision. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if the referee hadn’t intervened in that first round.

The second semi-final saw Hitomi Akano taking on Carina Damm.

An excellent back and forth grappling battle saw both girls putting on great performances, especially in the first round, a round which was again marred by a questionable stand-up.

Akano took the win in the second after some more impressive ground work and a modified triangle.

Then it was on to action from the lightweight division as Mr. Couture’s baby boy Ryan squared off against Lucas Stark.

A quick fight saw Couture get the take down after a brief feeling out period. Stark soon got to his feet and got a take down of his own, only to quickly find himself in a Couture triangle choke with no means of escape. An impressive performance from debutant.

The women’s welterweight tournament final followed as Miesha Tate faced Hitomi Akano.

This was one of the best ground fights I’ve seen in ages. Fought over three three minute rounds this featured tremendous performances from both girls.

Tate certainly lived up to her nickname with some impressive take downs, with some great defensive work from Akano frustrating her all the way.

But despite Akano’s defensive work it was Tate’s attacks that earned her the unanimous decision, and a possible re-match with Welterweight Champion Sarah Kaufman.

The main even saw Joe Riggs taking on Louis Taylor in a catchweight bout made at 182 pounds.

A fight that didn’t exactly set the world alight to begin with saw two tentative performances in the first two rounds. It was almost as if both fighters were looking for counter moves, with neither man willing to make that first move.

But the fight suddenly came to life in the third when a big right from Riggs rocked Taylor, who tried to recover by going for a clinch against the cage.

This only resulted in a Riggs take down, with Taylor tapping out as Riggs went to work with the ground and pound.

In conclusion – despite the somewhat lacklustre main event, Strikeforce Challengers proved to be a very entertaining show.

The highlight for me was the women’s welterweight tournament, and the performances of Tate and Akano. It was a shame that their fight only lasted nine minutes. Just imagine what those two could have done with three five minute rounds.

So in all a good show, with another one just a few days away.