After the fight the MMA messages boards where flooded with some fans celebrating and while others were mourning.  All in all what I did learn from the fight was that NO ONE is invincible.

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I know its only Wednesday but this fight doesn’t have that big fight vibe, well Fedor’s fights never have that big fight vibe.  You would think if the greatest fighter in the world was about to fight someone people would be talking about it.  I guess it just goes to show what a terrible marketing job Strikeforce does for its fighters and fight promotion.

Fedor said “I’m not a UFC fan”, maybe he should start being a UFC fan so people outside the hardcore fans and the Russian community actually care about his fights. I’m pretty sure all the hardcore fans are going to tune in to see Fedor but I don’t see any causal fans tuning into this fight card.  Outside the Fedor fight it doesn’t really offer much other then watching lady beast Cyborg Santos crush another female opponent.  They better start feeding her male fighters just to start making her fights  competitive.

Anyway tune in Saturday night and watch the greatest fighter no one cares about battle it out with another lesser opponent.  This one should end in a brutal knockout but if it doesn’t you might get to witness one of the greatest upsets in MMA history.

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Chuck needs this victory bad and if he can get the W then we’ll start seeing the Iceman’s name being thrown in their with Machida, Rashad Evans, Shogun and all the other top light heavyweights in the UFC.  Well maybe not right away but if Chuck can manage to string together 2 or 3 victories then he’ll be back in title contention.

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So if Diego was the so called #1 contender in the 155 lb division and Penn dominated him that easily then where do we go from here.  Do we just create a new belt and have the rest of the 155 division battle it out to be named the 2nd place champion?? Right now that doesn’t sound like a bad idea..

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Thanks

Gymbo

MMA Stars of the Future

Josh Grispi – Grispi has been on a tear lately through the 145lb division and currently holds a record of 13-1.  Grispi most recent victory comes against former world champion Jens Pulver in just 33 seconds.

Jose Aldo - If you didn’t see his 8 second flying knee KO victory over Cub Swanson then you need to go look it up.  Right now Aldo is one of the most exciting fighters in the 145lb division right now and he might be getting the next crack at 145lb king Mike Brown.

Joe Warren – Is currently 2-0 but holds wins over Chase Beebee (Former WEC Champ) and Kid Yamamoto (Former #1 Ranked featherweight King). Warren is currently in the semi-finals for the featherweight Dream Tourney.

Junior Dos Santos – Currently in the UFC and has two knock out wins in his last two fights.  One of the guys he knocked out was Werdum (Former Top 10 heavyweight). I’m not sure how well rounded he is but all I can say right now is that he’s got some heavy hands.  (8-1 overall 2-0 in the UFC)

Shane Carwin – Shane has dominated everyone they put in front of him so far in the UFC and he continues to work his way through the heavyweight rankings. Recently Knocked out former Top 10 heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga.  I know Gonzaga had him hurt and almost beat him but almost never won a race.. (11-0 overall 3-0 in the UFC)

Cain Velasquez – Another great heavyweight prospect in the UFC.  Cain has scary good wrestling skills and is dominating opponents at will.  Cain has recently defeated Cheick Kongo via unanimous decision at UFC 99. Cain wrestling ability might be the best in the heavyweight division.

Bobby Lashley - Bobby is a former WWE wrestler trying to make the conversion over to real fighting and so far he’s doing a fine job.  Bobby Lashley is taking his time fighting on smaller shows and wants to work his way up to the UFC.

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal – King Mo is known for his flashy entrances where he comes to the ring sporting the look of a King/Pimp and is normally escorted to the ring by beautiful Japenese women. His fighting style kind of reminds me of smaller Rampage Jackson.

Phil Davis – Great wrestler from Penn State trying to make a career in MMA like so many other wrestlers.  Phil is very talent and a dangerous opponent for anyone.  He is currently fighting in smaller shows but expect to hear his name more and more. 

Johny Hendricks – Johny Hendricks was the NCAA Division I wrestling champ 2005 and 2006 and is now making the transition over to MMA.  Mr. Hendricks is 5-0 and he will be making his Octagon Debut at UFC 101 in Philly against the always dangerous Amir Sadollah.

Top 10 Heavyweights

1. Fedor Emelianenko – Simply the best heavyweight fighter right now. He’s just levels above the heavyweight division.  Fedor will face Barnett in August which should make for an awesome fight.

2. Josh Barnett – Great fighter but we’ll see how good he really is when he meets up with Fedor in August. Barnett has the skills to beat Fedor but can he pull off the upset.  We shall see..

3. Frank Mir – Great performance against Nog to win the title.  Now must face Brock Lesnar in a rematch in UFC 100.  I doubt he’ll win the fight against Brock Lesnar this time. For now he’s ranked 3rd.

4. Brock Lesnar – Solid performance against Randy Couture.  He is getting better every fight and that is scary for the rest of the division.  I think he’s gonna rough up Frank Mir and become the official champion.

5. Randy Couture – Fought hard against Brock but was clipped by the very large hands of Brock Lesnar.  He faces off against Nog which fans have wanted to see for a while now.  I got a feeling Randy is going to take it to Nog and face the winner of Mir and Brock Lesnar.

6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira – Looked old against Mir but he will look to regroup against Randy Couture.  If he can beat Randy he’ll get a crack at either a rematch with Mir or a showdown with the big man Brock Lesnar.

7. Allistar Overeem – Possible bout with Brett Rogers on the horizion for the Strikeforce title.

8. Tim Sylvia – Tim will be testing his boxing skills against former heavyweight champ Ray Mercer on June 13th.  I don’t know if beating a 50 year old guy in boxing makes you a good boxer eh but what do I know.  Either way he’s got a good fight withPaul Buentello coming up on the Affliction card in August.

9. Brett Rogers – Some how got a fight with Andre Arlovski and then some how knocked him out in 22 seconds.  This guy saw a golden oppurtunity and didn’t let it go to waste.  I’m not sold on him completely but I want to see him fight more top fighters.

10. Andre Arlovski – I’m not sure what is next for Andre.  He was suppose to box June 23rd but that won’t happen since he was knocked out by Brett Rogers in 22 seconds.  Not only did Brett knock out Andre Arlovski but he put Andre’s pro boxing debut on hold.

Honorable mentions: Junior Dos Santos, Shane Carwin, Mirko Cro Cop, Aleksander Emelianenko, Jeff Monson, Ben Rothwell, Fabricio Werdum.

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Wow!!

I missed the fight live because I was at a local MMA show but once I heard the news I was shocked. I didn’t think Brett Rogers stood much of a chance against a world class fighter like Arlovski but I guess he proved me and everyone else wrong… Maybe he is better then we all thought…

I thought Brett Rogers was a decent heavyweight with good hands but I didn’t think he was a Top 10 heavyweight. Now after he made Andrei Arlovski his human punching bag I’m going to have to put him into my top 10 (atleast for now).  I’m not saying he’s going to go in there and crush Fedor or Barnett but Brett Rogers is definitely a top 10 heavyweight.

Congrats to Brett Rogers on a spectacular performance!!  Brett got a great opportunity and he didnt’ let it go to waste.  Thats what I like to see. Now Brett and his family can definitely get that new house he was talking about..

Wow!! This is strange news considering the fact Dana White has consistently bashed Kimbo Slice by calling him a joke, not a real figther, etc. etc.. Hopefully Kimbo survives and proves Dana White wrong and gets a shot at fighting in the UFC.  I know Kimbo may not be the greatest fighter in the world but give the guy a break he just wants to fight.

Honestly it is a genius idea by the UFC. Ratings have been going down and the talent pool for the reality show is getting awfully slim so going out and getting Kimbo on the show makes a lot of sense.  Kimbo has a huge following and people still want to see him fight despite his 14 second loss to Seth Petruzelli.

One things for sure the move as actually got me in interested in watching the reality show again.  I’m defintely not gonna miss a episode as long as Kimbo Slice is in the house.

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