They really gotta do something and change the way MMA is scored and this was just another example of whats messed up in MMA.

Hughes has been on a roll lately running through Renzo Gracie and two of his top students but I still think Penn takes this rubber match.  Penn is coming off back to back losses for the second time in his career and I just don’t see him losing three fights in a row. Both men are fighting at a high level but I gotta give the edge to BJ Penn this weekend. Look for BJ to get the better of Matt Hughes in the striking game and put this fight away early.

Jose Aldo has looked nothing but dominate since his arrival to the WEC.  Everyone is calling him the next great thing and all.  His knees are devastating (ask Cub Swanson), his leg kicks leaves his opponents bruised and battered for weeks (ask Uriah Faber), and he has the hand speed and power to match (ask Mike Brown). So why would anyone pick against Jose Aldo?

If he wasn’t fighting Manny Gamburyan then Jose Aldo would be an easy choice.  Gamburyan is a nightmare match up for Jose Aldo because Manny has takedowns, punching power and submissions.  Manny is going to be bigger and stronger then Aldo and he will bring an end to Jose Aldo’s reign of terror before it even begins. This will be one of the biggest upsets of the year so tune in Thursday night September 30th.

Upset Pick #1

Charlie Brenneman takes on undefeated Johny Hendricks.  Johny is a huge favorite and I just don’t understand why.  Charlie is a tough kid and pure gamer.  Brenneman will come ready to fight and its not going to be as easy as most people think.  Charlie is a tough kid and I just got a feeling he will pull of the upset.  I don’t have any logical reasoning behind this but its a gut feeling and I’m stickin with it.

Winner- Brenneman

Upset Pick #2

Matt Hughes vs Richardo Almeida. Here is a no brainer I’m going with the UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes aka the Gracie killer.  I’m not sure if you call this an upset but according to the betting line it is. Matt Hughes has already beaten Matt Serra, Royce Gracie, Renzo Gracie and whats to say he’s not going to be Ricardo Alemeida.  If you ask me Almeida is probably the best match up for Hughes out of all the Gracie guys Hughes ran through but I still don’t see him beating the all time great.

Winner – Hughes

Favorite Pick #1

Junior Dos Santos takes on Roy “Big Country” Nelson.  This is fight is just a no brainer, Junior Dos Santos’s boxing is just too good.  The only thing to debate here is whether Nelson’s large body falling to the canvas will be louder then the roar of the crowd.

Winner – Junior Dos Santos aka “Dos Dos”

Favorite Pick #2

Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen.  After all the shit Sonnen has been talking for months its about time Anderson Silva gets the chance to shut him up.  Silva has remained pretty quiet leading up to the fight and that isn’t good for Sonnen.  That means the Spider is focused and is not playing into Sonnen’s hands by responding to those insane comments.  Good Luck to Sonnen. Hes gonna need it.

Winner – Anderson Silva

There you guys go!

• Silva
• Dos Santos
• Hughes
• Brenneman

UPDATE: Sorry guys.. Result one wrong.  Charlie Brenneman couldn’t pull off the upset.

Out of the top contenders I just named I’d say Rampage Jackson has the best chance to beat him.  Not because Rampage is the most skilled fighter but purely because of his strength and athleticism. Rampage is very strong and poses a problem for any fighter. If Rampage fights like the old Rampage and uses his wrestling ability mixed in with his fierce striking he could give Machida some problems.  If Rampage fights like he did when he fought Forrest Griffin then he’s just gonna get smacked like Rashad Evans did.

The only two people who I see that has a real shot at beating Machida would be George St. Pierre and Fedor and they aren’t even in Machida’s weight class. GSP isn’t going to bump all the way up to 205 and Fedor isn’t going to come to the UFC to fight at 205.  Other then those two I don’t give much of the stacked 205 lb division a chance.

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Kimbo Slice the star of the Elite XC was dropped in 14 seconds by journeyman Seth Petruzelli.  All I want to know is what was going through the minds of the Elite XC executives when their star Kimbo Slice was crashing to the canvas.  It must of been the longest 14 seconds of there lives. Never did they once think Seth Petruzelli was a threat to Kimbo Slice.  Kimbo’s gonna need a Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney after that whooping.

What was going through the minds of Elite XC executives? Why would you put your star Kimbo Slice in the ring with a no body?

You could of put the fight on hold and had Kimbo fight Ken Shamrock on the next card.  You built up this hype machine known as Kimbo Slice and were milking him for all he was worth. You were taking care of your hype machine by feeding him a steady diet of old fighters and cans. Ken Shamrock was a perfect opponent and they should of stuck with the gameplan and waited for Ken heal.  Ken Shamrock was idiot for getting hurt in the first place but you should of waited for him.

What does Elite XC do know?

The only thing I can think of is a rematch between Seth Petruzelliand Kimbo Slice. The only way they can rebuild their hype machine is to make the first fight look like a fluke. All Elite XC got now is Gina Carano and right now thats not good enough.

You can argue all night as to who should be known as the pound for pound best fighter in the world. Some say its Fedor, others say its Anderson Silva. I feel there are four fighters right now that are at the top of their game and can equally be called the pound for pound best fighter in the world.

Anderson Silva - He has been lights out. Even though people may argue and say he hasn’t faced the highest level of competition he deserves to be mention as one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. I would say Anderson lost two rounds since coming to the UFC ( First Round Vs Travis Lutter and First Round vs Dan Henderson) and after those rounds he came out and finished the fight in the next round. Anderson Silva is the best striker in MMA right now and his ground game is top notch. Silva just might be the most complete of a fighter in the world of MMA.

Fedor Emelianenko – Fedor is the best heavyweight in the world and he just dismantled Tim Sylvia, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion in 36 seconds. Fedor is one of the most well rounded fighters in MMA. Fedor can wrestle, grapple and strike. He is excellent in the three major aspects of MMA and there isn’t a heavyweight in site that stands a chance with him right now. A showdown with Randy Couture seems inevitable and hopefully they can get rid of all these legal battles and schedule a date for this historical event.

B.J. Penn – Penn’s ground game is second to none. His only weakness is his conditioning and that seems to be corrected. He’s been focused and in the best shape of his life since dropping down to 155. I can’t see any 155lber beating B.J. Penn right now. Looks like we’ll get to see Penn vs St. Pierre II, now thats going to be a great fight.

Georges St. Pierre – The best welter weight in the world. I can’t see anyone beating St. Pierre at welterweight right now. He dismantled Jon Fitch this weekend and proved that he is on a totally different level. The rest of the welterweight division has a lot of catching up to do. Pierre gets better every time out which is scary. Pierre I’d say is the most complete fighter in MMA right now.

What do all four of these fighters have in common? They are the most well rounded fighters at their respective weight class. If they have any holes in their game you are gonna need a magnifying glass to find them. These guys are complete fighters and that’s what makes them so hard to beat. These four fighters are perfect examples of what every mixed martial artist strives to be.

1. Kimbo Slice vs Big D

This is one of the first Kimbo Slice fights I saw on the internet and is still on of my favorite Kimbo Slice fights of all time. In this fight Kimbo messes up Big D’s eye so bad it’s sickening. These underground fights made Kimbo an internet legend and would later lead to bigger things for Kimbo.

2. Kimbo Slice vs Tank Abbott

Kimbo had already beaten up former boxer Ray Mercer and MMA veteran Bo Cantrell in MMA bouts but now he was going up against MMA legend Tank Abbott. Tank Abbott may have been old and washed up but the guy is still Tank Abbott and he is skill a dangerous puncher. Kimbo dominates Tank Abbott and knocks him out. This was Kimbo first big MMA fight and it started putting him on the map as a legit MMA fighter.

3. Kimbo Slice vs Chico

Kimbo struggles a little bit early on in this fight versus Chico but he eventually finds his grove and finishes him off with some brutal hay makers. Chico walks away from this fight with a nice size cut over his eye. Chico was lucky he stopped when he did or his face probably would of ended up like Big D.

4. Kimbo Slice vs The Bouncer

The Bouncer is huge 300 plus lbs and he drops Kimbo early. Kimbo regroups quickly it was probably more of a slip rather then a knockdown, either way Kimbo drops him with uppercut shortly after. The Bouncer stays down on the ground for a while saying he doesn’t want to fight anymore but eventually he gets to his feet and receives another beating. Funny part after the fight they noticed the Bouncer lost a dread in the battle.

5. Kimbo Slice vs Dreads

You know that saying “The bigger they are the harder they fall” this fight is a perfect example of that. Kimbo drills Dreads with a uppercut and he crashes down to the payment like a load of bricks. That punch a lone put this fight into my top five favorite Kimbo fights.

Honorable Mentions: Kimbo Slice vs James Thompson, Kimbo Slice vs Bo Cantrell, Kimbo Slice vs Ray Mercer

Matt should hang around and take care of some unfinished business with Matt Serra (He said he will fight Serra after Alves no matter what). Hughes hates Serra and after dealing with that freak on the show he deserves to fight him and get paid to do it. No sense fighting unless your gonna get paid for it right. Hughes is gonna wreck Serra and send him back to Long Island crying his eyes out. Serra’s victory over Georges St. Pierre was a fluke and it was proven when St. Pierre dismantled him in two rounds. Hughes is going to run over Matt Serra and prove he still has enough left in the tank to compete with the best fighters in the world.

Boxing fans can tell the great stories about “The Rumble in the Jungle” or the “Thrilla in Manilla.” They can go on forever about great fighters like Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali. Mixed Martial Arts is still a very young sport and some of the all-time greats are still fighting today. MMA is building up its history. In a couple years from now MMA fans will be able to say remember Matt Hughes, Tito Ortiz, George St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, Rampage Jackson, BJ Penn and so on. It’s been great watching mixed martial arts grow and continue to grow.

So, when was the last time you were really excited about a boxing fight? Oscar De La Hoya vs Floyd Mayweather you’ll probably answer. Well. when was the last time you got together with the guys for a boxing fight other then the De La Hoya or Mayweather fight? Most people will have a hard time answering that questions. They’d probably say something like the last Mike Tyson fight.

Here is a clip from Bryan Burwell’s article “Latest bout with Insanity comes to CBS”

“Boxing’s decline has nothing to do with a lack of raw action. It has more to do with a void in the great talent that once dominated the sport. All I want is for someone to realize what a distasteful freak show mixed martial arts is in this bastardized form. What I want is for sane folks to slow down this gradual slide into a post-Apocalypic haze in which the worst elements of human nature are sanctioned and celebrated. What I want is for us to stop glorifying the most deviant aspects of our own personalities, the ones in which pit bulls, roosters and human beings can be gored, gouged and brutalized for sport, and where intelligence is a fault and the dumbing down of our society is considered a point of pride.”

1. He’s right boxing’s decline has nothing to do with a lack of raw action. Boxing has plenty of action it just takes forever for promoters to put the top fighters against one another. Prime Example is Roy Jones Jr. vs Felix Trinadad, I wanted to see that fight like 10 years ago.

2. Boxing’s decline has to with poor marketing. The average person doesn’t know who the top boxers in the world are. The Boxing fans may know who Joe Calzaghe, Chad Dawson, Mikkel Kessler, Ricky Hatton, Kelly Pavlik but no one else does.

3. No quality boxing cards. When was the last time boxing put together a card with more then one good fight on it? They need to put a card together with more then one quality fight. The UFC atleast has a main event, sub-main event and another quality match up people care about. Boxing has one fight. Sorry to say but the average boxing fan doesn’t watch the under card bouts.

4. Boxing has plenty of talent. How can the athletes in every other sport get bigger and better each year but boxing has no talent. It’s just poor marketing and MMA is kicking their ass in the area of marketing.

Bryan Burwell is obviously a big time boxing loyalist and very ignorant when it comes to the sport of mixed martial arts. Boxing is a brutal sport, just like MMA. Boxing has two guys going toe to toe in the ring trying to do harm to one another, just like MMA. The only difference is MMA you can kick, perform submissions and take the fight to the ground. For the most part the “Fight of Year” in boxing is usually given to the fight where both fighters are beating the piss out of each other for 12 rounds (Gatti vs Ward 1 and 2). Fight fans go to a boxing or MMA bout hoping to see two guys laying it all out on the line. In the end its pretty much the same thing isn’t it.

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