Manny Pacquiao defends his title against Shane Mosley

The cards are down for the next fight of the 8-division world champion Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao.  The boxer congressman is set to defend his WBO Welterweight World Title against Sugar Shane Mosley reportedly this coming March 7, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas USA.  Pacquiao (52-3-2) win-lose-draw, will go back down fighting at 147 lbs after fighting Antonio Margarito at 150 lbs last November winning the open Light Middleweight and his 8th championship title via unanimous decision.  Margarito was reported to have fractured his orbital bone from Pacquiao's punches and had to undergo surgery soon after the fight.  He is now bound to face another taller American fighter Shane Mosley (46-6-1) who squared his last fight against Serio Mora last September and lost against the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. last May.  Mosley, with a 7 inch reach advantage over the filipino will stand a chance to win the Welterweight title once again.  He is a crude welterweight slugger defeating boxing icons like Oscar De la Joya and Antonio Margarito.  Power against speed is the pitch for this match and boxing fans can not just point a finger on either fighter.

A Pacquiao Mosley bout is going to be a significant match up this year but ofcourse the classic Pacquiao Mayweather rivalry is still on hopes. 

Matt Hamill takes on Phil Davis at UFC 129

The Ultimate Fighter season 3 finale winner Matt Hamill (10-2) is on for a Light Heavyweight bout against the undefeated Phil Davis (8-0) at UFC 129 fronting the main event clash of GSP and Jake Shields.  A Greco-Roman wrestler, boxer, and Jiu Jitsu purple belter hammering sensational names in the industry early on in his UFC career.  Losing only twice with Rich Franklin via TKO and from the english fighter Michael Bisping via a controversial split decision.  A rematch was supposed to take hold but later withdrew due to Hamill's knee surgery.  He also took on the lethal Jon Bone Jones and won via disqualification due to illegal elbow strikes.  Hamill's last fight was against his former TUF coach Tito Ortiz and came out with the victory via unanimous decision last October at UFC 121.  He is now expected to fight the still undefeated Mr. Wonderful Phil Davis, a wrestler and Jiu Jitsu blue belter who debuted UFC just a year ago.  Davis has been recently known with his modified Kimura submission winning Submission of the Night in his fight against Tim Boetsch at UFC 123.  Davis' UFC debut fight was against the slugger Brian Stann taking his first UFC victory via unanimous decision at UFC 109. 

A decent matchup between two college wrestling champs, Davis an inch taller and a 3 inches reach advantage over Hamill will definitely utilize his speed and try to put down Hamill and take it from there.  However, Davis must not underrate his contender because Matt is known for his power and will surely come out strong as he did during his past fights.

Tito Ortiz vs Antonio Rogerio Nogueira fight on March 26

The UFC veteran fighter Tito Ortiz (15-8) is scheduled to compete against the Brazilian Minotouro Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-4) at UFC Fight Night that is set to hold in Seattle, Washington.  Ortiz coming back after 3 consecutive losses, with Matt Hamill as the latest at UFC 121, is on for a Light Heavyweight stint with the Jiu Jitsu black belter Nogueira.  President Dana White once mentioned that Tito might be released from the UFC if he doesn't succeed and imprints his fourth lost though none attests that statement to be accurate still.  However, None can fail to appreciate Tito as a UFC fighter being a long time Light Heavyweight Champion for 3 years in his era.  He is a natural slugger beating guys like Wanderlei Silva, Ken Shamrock, Vitor Belfort and a lot more. He may have lost his recent 3 in a row fights and it was a supreme upset for him but surely he is not going to let this fight take him out of the octagon.  Rogerio Nogueira on the other hand is no unfussy.  A win over this brawler is not a clear-cut fact.  Though he has just debuted 2 years ago at UFC 106 last 2009, this Brazilian fighter has tackled a lot of names during his PRIDE days and is ready to punish whoever gets in his way.  His first UFC lost was against the undefeated Light Heavyweight fighter and the Ultimate Fighter season 8 finale champion Ryan Bader who is set to face Jon Jones for the main card of UFC 126 this coming February 5.  It is quite tough to judge this fight but Tito definitely will never let Dana untie his strings and let him drop off yet Nogueira alternatively, is absolutely thirsty for this fight and will certainly take Ortiz down and broom him off.

Dan Hardy and Anthony Johnson is also set to fight at that event for a Welterweight bout along with Amir Sadollah and Duane Ludwig.  See other fights for this event.

Diego Sanchez to face Martin Kampmann - UFC on Versus

The 29 years old fighter, Diego "The Nightmare" Sanchez (22-4) is going to compete against Martin Kampmann (17-4) at UFC on Versus this coming March 3 at Louisville, Kentucky.  Sanchez, after defeating Kenny Florian at the Ultimate Fighter season 1 finale middleweight division has earned successive victories over his last 6 bouts before he tarnished his UFC winning streak record with 2 consecutive losses from Josh Koscheck and John Fitch.  Following another 4 wins before losing to BJ Penn and John Hathaway as he went back to fighting as a welterweight.  After defeating the Brazilian Paolo Thiago at UFC 121, Sanchez is now bound to face Martin Kampmaan, a 28 years old Muay Thai wrestler from Denmark who has lost his recent fight against Jake Shields at the same event where Sanchez took on Thiago.  Kampmann, a natural middleweight fighter went down to 170 lbs to fight as a welterweight after losing from Nate Marquardt at UFC 88 3 years ago.  He was then supposed to pull a shot for a welterweight title match with GSP should he win his match against Mike Swick at UFC 103.  However, Swick had an injury and was replaced by Paul Daley to fight but not for any title contendership anymore.  With Sanchez and Kampmann sharing almost every stats evenly is definitely a good match up.  Sanchez just an inch taller should  not come easy on this young fighter though we all know Sanchez is undoubtedly lethal and wicked.  Kampmann in the other hand, is not a fighter to be underrated, strong and aggressive and is certainly hungry for victory.  Check out the fight card for this event.

Frankie Edgar Gray Maynard III - UFC 130

UFC president Dana White confirms a 3rd title match between Frankie Edgar (13-1-1) and Gray "The Bully" Maynard (10-0-1) at UFC 130 this coming May 28, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas Nevada.  After a contentious "draw" judges decision of their last fight last new year's day at UFC 125 , White finally put a date on a 3rd match to settle the real score.  Maynard, still remains undefeated, is keyed up to spend 25 minutes of onslaught with Edgar for the third time and finally seal their classic rivalry for the Lightweight division.  Frankie Edgar, a very promising fighter in 155 lbs division with only 1 lost (from Maynard) will definitely just not let The Bully take his title straight off.  We all witnessed Edgar's remarkable resilience during their last fight being beaten up and slugged with 97(recorded) spot on punches from Maynard at the first round yet still managed to comeback in the succeeding rounds and square the game.  Edgar came back with some wicked punches and take downs dominating the rest of the fight pushing the game to a draw.  Now a 3rd match is set to close the deal and see who will own the Lightweight crown.  Maynard however should pump himself up more for this fight so he wont fall short of power brawling for 25 minutes and never underestimate an aggressive championship fighter like Edgar. 

Quinton "Rampage Jackson facing the Brazilian fighter Thiago Silva (as rumored) for the  Light Heavyweight division is also confirmed at UFC 130 for the main card fight of the event.  Silva after winning a fight against Brandon Vera at UFC 125 will surely come out strong bringing his deadly strikes as his weapon to put Rampage down.  Rampage however, after getting a win over Lyoto Machida via split decision at UFC 123 last November won't make this fight easy for the Brazilian brawler.

Dana White confirms Jake Shields vs. Georges St. Pierre at UFC 129

Jake Shields (26-4-1), after defeating Martin Kampmann last October at UFC 121 is set to go against the French Canadian all time Welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre (21-2) at UFC 129 on April 30 for the Welterweight Championship which will take place at Toronto Canada.  Shields first official UFC bout was against Kampmann and winning the said fight earns him a title shot against the winner of the GSP Josh Koscheck fight which happened to be GSP.  St. Pierre is on for another title shot after defeating Josh Koscheck via unanimous decision (50-43, 50-44, and 50-45), dominating the entire fight by unloading vicious jabs breaking Koscheck's orbital bone.  GSP displayed a diversed kind of fighting that night totally different from what he demonstrated during their first fight at UFC 74 4 years ago, showcasing his boxing skills and proving his verstaility as a mixed martial artist champion.  GSP has defended his title from a numerous distinguished names in the industry like John Fitch, BJ Penn, Thiago Alves and Dan Hardy.  Now Jake Shields is all set to try putting more muscle and train hard to beat GSP down and take the Welterweight title.  President Dana White has stated that St. Pierre could move up to middleweight should he win this fight, and set a bout against the Spider Anderson Silva. A Silva GSP fight is definitely going to be an explosive fight, all MMA fans would surely check on. 

Georges St. Pierre

UFC 128 - Shogun Vs. Evans

Rashad Evans is going against the Brazilian UFC Light Heavyweight Campion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua this coming March 19, 2011 at the Prudential Center, Newark, NJ. Shogun's last fight was almost a year ago at UFC 113 on a rematch against Lyoto Machida where he won via KO winning the Light Heavyweight Crown.  The first Machida Rua fight took place at UFC 104 where Rua lost via unanimous decision leading to controversies and arguments that immediately settle on the said rematch. Rua is now set to defend his title against the vicious American former champion Rashad Evans at UFC 128. Rua has a 3-2 (win-lost) UFC career and this is going to be his first title defense against Evans who recently won a title shot after defeating Quinton "Rampage" Jackson via unanimous decision.  Rashad Evans who was former Light Heavyweight champion lost his crown and got knocked out from Lyoto Machida back in UFC 98.  A very sensational knock out by Machida landing very accurate punches on the 2nd round putting Evans on the floor unconscious and winning the Light Heavyweight crown.

The Japanese Yoshihiro Akiyama is also set to fight at the event against Nate Marquardt who took the place of Chael Sonnen after getting thrown out from the match of UFC 128 due to his recent money laundering case.  The fight cards of the events as listed:

Urijah Faber vs Eddie Wineland

Jim Miller vs Kamal Shalorus

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs Nate Marquardt

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs Brendan Schaub

Luiz Cane vs Karlos Vemola

Edson Barboza vs Anthony Njokuani

Ricardo Almeida vs Mike Pyle

Kurt Pellegrino vs Gleison Tibau

Joseph Benvidez vs Ian Loveland

Manny Gamburyan vs Rapahel Assuncao

Dan Miller vs Nick Catone

MMA Inside out: Batista shifts to MMA

MMA Inside out: Batista shifts to MMA: "The Filipino-Greek PRO-wrestler Dave Batista is ready to try shoving a career in MMA and follow the footsteps of Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lash..."

Mixed Martial Arts - Jiu Jitsu

Jiu Jitsu - is one of many martial arts discipline that focuses on grappling and ground fighting.  The main tought is that a smaller fighter can literally defend or compete against a bigger and stronger competitor by using a special technique of imposing joint-locks and chokeholds on vital areas of the body to beat the opponent. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is commonly trained for sport grappling tournaments and mixed martial arts fight or plainly for self defense.  Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was popularized in the UFC by the Brazilian legend Royce Gracie and was able to promote this discipline to the whole fighting industry not just in the U.S. but overseas as well.  He has, in fact, dominated the octagon and defeated fighters like Ken Shamrock who were almost twice his size and became long time champion during his era.  At present, a lot of new fighters have acquired this form of fighting and mixed them with other styles like boxing, Muay Thai, and wrestling.  Some famous Jiu Jitsu artist in the UFC are BJ Penn, Anderson Silva, George St. Pierre, Thiago Silva, Rashad Evans and a lot more.

UFC 127 at Sydney - BJ Penn Vs. John Fitch

The Prodigy is set to fight against John Fitch for the main event of UFC 127 set to take hold this coming February 26, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney. John Fitch, a very versatile fighter & relentless striker with a UFC record of 13 wins and 1 lost (from GSP) will surely not choose to disapoint his fans.  BJ Penn coming from a recent sweet victory over his fight against Matt Hughes is in preparation as well.  In fact, Penn hired Floyd Sr. as his new boxing trainer to teach him boxing stuff he has never learned before for this fight.  This is definitely going to be a good match up to look forward to.  The english fighter Michael Bisping is also set to fight the american Jorge Rivera fronting the main event.  Fight cards of the event are listed below: 

Main Card

Bj Penn vs John Fitch (Welterweight match)

Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera (Middleweight match)

George Sotiropoulos vs. Dennis Siver (Lightweight match)

Carlos Condit vs. Chris Lytle (Welterweight match)

Kyle Noke vs. Chris Camozzi (Middleweight match)

Preliminary Card

Ross Pearson vs. Spencer Fisher (Lightweight match)

James Te Huna vs. Alexander Gustafsson (Light Heavyweight match)

Nick Ring vs. Riki Fukuda (Middleweight match)

Mark Hunt vs. Chris Tuchscherer (Heavyweight match)

Maciej Jewtuszko vs. Kurt Warburton (Lightweight match)

Anthony Perosh vs. Tom Blackledge (Light Heavyweight match)

Tiequan Zhang vs. Jason Reinhardt (Featherweight match)

UFC 126

UFC 126 is going to be held at Mandalay Bay Events Center Las Vegas Nevada USA this coming February 5, 2011.  The main event is going to be "The Spider" Anderson Silva's title defense against Vitor Belfort.  The undercard fights before the main match are listed below.

Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin

Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha

Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader

Miguel Torres vs. Antonio Banuelos

Donald Cerrone vs. Paul Kelly

Chad Mendes vs. Michihiro Omigawa

Paul Taylor vs. Gabe Ruediger

Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Demetrious Johnson

Kyle Kingsbury vs. Ricardo Romero

Mike Pierce vs Kenny Robertson

Mayweather Sr. trains BJ Penn

"The Prodigy" BJ Penn hires Floyd Mayweather Sr. as his trainer in preparation for his fight against John Fitch at UFC 127.  A lot of fans would certainly ask why Mr. Floyd.  According to the news, Penn wants to improve his boxing skills and went and dropped most of his old trainers and picked Mr. Mayweather Sr. to train him and improve his punching skills.  The Prodigy has no problem with his ground game being a jiu jitsu champ and what he wants to improve is his striking game.  Penn really has to improve and develop more than what he does.  By looking at his consecutive losses against Frankie Edgar, Penn's performance didn't seem to take off that much which is a lot different than what he usually had before though he was able to knock Hughes out in their recent match.  Losing twice from a versatile and very agile fighter like edgar is what might have pushed Penn to improve his fighting skills.  And now he hires Mr. Mayweather to train him for his upcoming fight against John Fitch at UFC 127.  Penn was originally training boxing with Roach and then drops him and went to hire Floyd Sr. 

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Facts Of Fighting - Flower Ear Deformity

The Flower ear or the boxer's ear is a common deformity of the outer ear acquired through fighting.  People that get this injury are mostly boxers, martial artists, wrestlers and fighters.  When their ears are struck during fighting and blood inside starts to clot, the link of the cartilage to skin is disturbed.  The cartilage, losing its supply of nutrients from the skin because of the clot eventually dies increasing risk of ear infection.  When left unattended, the cartilage contracts and withers the outer ear causing a deformity looking like a flower. 

Top 5 MMA Inside out Power Punch knockout

5. Takanori Gomi

       Takanori Gomi Vs. Tyson Griffin - UFC on Versus 2 - A frustrated Griffin was in protest after the referee stopped the fight as a solid right hook was landed on him by the japanese fighter that put him down. 

4. Rich Franklin

       Rich Franklin Vs. Chuck Lidell  - UFC 115 - A lucky strike by Rich putting the Iceman to sleep.  Chuck made a huge miss giving Rich a wide open shot at his face. 

3. Rampage Jackson

       Rampage Jackson Vs Wanderlei Silva - UFC 92 - A sensational left hook by Quinton knocking out Silva just in a matter of time after the fight has begun.

2. Lyoto Machida

       Lyoto Machida Vs. Rashad Evans - UFC 98 - A huge knock out power punch made by Machida to end Evans' Trash talking and put him flat on the floor

1. Rashad Evans

       Rashad Evans Vs. Chuck Lidell - UFC 88 - Another Sensational knockout in less than 2 minutes at the beginning of the fight by Evans beating Chuck and putting him to sleep.

Brock Lesnar Vs. Junior Dos Santos - UFC 131

Brock Lesnar will take on number one Brazilian heavyweight contender Junior Dos Santos in June at UFC 131.  Dos Santos was supposed to fight the reigning Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez but the champ has to undergo surgery and will be out for a matter of time.  Lesnar is coming now from his recent lost against Cain and is now eyeing to get the championship belt back around his waist.  This is going to be fiery bout for both.  Lesnar without a doubt wants it back and will surely show a huge amount of aggression to feed every ounce of his frustration from the last fight.  Dos Santos in return, hungry for a title will surely do everything he can to knock the former champion out.  Both men are coaches in the 13th season of The Ultimate Fighter as well.

Batista shifts to MMA

The Filipino-Greek PRO-wrestler Dave Batista is ready to try shoving a career in MMA and follow the footsteps of Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley.  What do MMA fans could expect from a 41 year old newbie who has no amateur wrestling or fighting career?  We definitely couldn't tell if he could do any good though but his spirit to step into the octagon alone, which is arguably a little late, is promising.  He is going  to have to engage himself in some serious trainings and aquire some real ground game and probably put himself back to square 1.  He obviously can not use any of his wrestling antics from WWE inside the octagon though.  It was reported that Batista is on a forthcoming deal with Strikeforce and rumors tell he is going to take on Bobby Lashley for his MMA debut though these information have not been confirmed.  Batista's quest for an MMA career will surely excite some fans though some will surely pitch their skepticism in his ability.  MMA fighters spend years of training in order to perfect and enhance their skills.  Something Batista has to do if he wants to succeed.

Anderson Silva Vs. Chael Sonnen - UFC 117

The much anticipated fight for Anderson Silva's crown defense.  A huge upset for Chael Sonnen losing from his opponent by submission at the last remaining seconds of round 5.  An arguably lucky win for Silva being beaten up and taken down in the entire match by a very determined and aggressive Sonnen.  Anderson however, remained calm and never stopped finding ways to stop Chael through the entire fight and was able to pull a triangle leg choke on his opponent.  A big break for Silva since he has never won a round in the fight and a clear victory for Sonnen could he never pulled that submission in the last remaining 2 minutes of the fight.  A very surprising amount of strength and agility were showcased by the american fighter not showing any signs of fatigue, throwing vicious punches from the beginning of the fight to the near end.  However, Chael Sonnen has been accused of taking performance enhancers at that fight and was proven positive and his rematch demand was denied eventually.

Frankie Edgar Vs. Gray Maynard - UFC 125 Main Event

It was an upset for Gray "The Bully" Maynard to not be able to take the Lightweight championship belt from Frankie Edgar at the Main event of UFC 125.  A somewhat controversial decision from the judges to declare the fight as draw that displeased both of the fighters.  Maynard was able to land around 97 punches on Edgar on the first round that rocked and knocked him out that nearly finished the fight.  Edgar was wobbly at the first round because of those brutal punches and if Maynard has just landed a solid punch or pulled out a naked choke, he could have ended the fight and walk home with the belt.  Edgar somehow managed to dominate the rest of the rounds by taking Gray down multiple times and landing solid punches on the face.  Gray Maynard remains undefeated and a possible 3rd Edgar vs Maynard fight will set sometime soon.  The winner of the fight was supposed to fight the WEC Lightweight champ but this bout could now be in question since there was no winner.

Brandon Vera's broken nose

It was a little disappointing to see how "The Truth" performed in his last fight against Thiago Silva at UFC 125 as he was brutally punished round after round. Vera was not too aggressive enough to throw some vicious punches and kicks though he was able to hit Silva a couple of times.  In fact he was able to land a kick on the body that beat Thiago down but somehow threw away the opportunity by just celebrating and raising his hands instead of pounding the dude on the floor to pull a win.  Vera is known for his sadistic body kicks but what he did at that fight was too lame for a brawny fighter like Silva that pinned him in almost every corner of the octagon.  Silva even kind of insulted Vera during the 3rd by slapping him on the face and then giving him some wicked punches at the final seconds of the 3rd that broke Vera's nose.  Brandon suffered a major injury from his last fight against Jon Jones and had surgery to fix his broken face.  He is definitely going back to his surgeon again to fix his nose this time.

"The Beginning" - UFC 1 - November 12, 1993

The very first UFC was held almost a decade ago at McNichols Arena in Denver Colorado.  An entirely different set of fights, set of rules, and set of fighters were exhibited that night. The 29 year old Ken Shamrock took on Patrick Smith and was able to get the victor by submission in less than 2 minutes.  The legend Royce Gracie fought and won all of his fights including his fight with Ken Shamrock.  A fight that put Ken in absolute disbelief thinking how a skinny dude in a white karate suit has defeated him.

The first UFC era is quite different from the UFC now.  A lot has changed including rules, restrictions,  weight divisions and outfit. 

Forrest Griffin Vs. Rich Franklin - UFC 126

Rich Franklin is scheduled to take on former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin on February 5, 2011 at UFC 126.  A bout that would challenge both fighters' determination to dominate the octagon and a fight that would put Forrest Griffin's fighting prowess to a test.  Since Franklin has fought and defeated quite a lot of notable fighters in the industry like Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Lidell, Ken Shamrock, and a lot, Forrest is going to have to put more muscle in his punches to rock a fighter like Franklin.  We can't, on the contrary, take Griffin too lightly as a fighter since he is a natural born brawler himself noting that he was the very first Ultimate Fighter champion in the reality series The Ultimate Fighter season 1 several years ago.  His nasty kicks can surely punish Franklin just like what he did with his past opponents.  These two fighters share a lot in common, both had been champion in different divisions. Both has been defeated by Brazilian champion Anderson Silva.  Both of them are strikers and this is certainly a good match up no one can anticipate who can win this fight .