GSP defends his Welterweight Championship against number 1 contender Jon Fitch, Brock Lesnar faces a very game Heath Herring, KenFlo takes on Roger Huerta. Join us tonight for our UFC 87 live coverage!  Read the rest of this entry »

Tonight is WEC. Three title fights, Carlos f’n Condit and a bunch of debuts. Should be an awesome show, so join us for our live coverage of WEC!  Read the rest of this entry »

HEIWA DREAM.5 Lightweight GP 2008 Final Round
Date: July 21st, 2008
Place: Osaka Jo Hall in Osaka, Japan

10. Lightweight GP Final Fight: Kawajiri/Alvarez vs. Uno/Aoki
9. Heavyweight Fight: Mark Hunt vs. Alistair Overeem
8. Middleweight Fight: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Katsuyori Shibata
7. Featherweight Fight: Hideo Tokoro vs. Takeshi Yamazaki
6. Welterweight Fight: Motoki Miyazawa vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka
5. Featherweight Fight: KODO vs. Joseph Benavidez
4. Lightweight GP Reserve Fight: Joachim Hansen vs. Black Mamba
3. Lightweight GP Semifinal Fight: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Eddie Alvarez
2. Lightweight GP Semifinal Fight: Caol Uno vs. Shinya Aoki
1. 2×5 Minute Special Rules Fight: Daisuke Nakamura vs. Andy Ologun

Read more for results and a few thoughts and comments. Read the rest of this entry »

Paul Buentello vs. Gary Goodridge

Round One

Buentello looks a little less flabby than usual. Confusion in the ring right now. Goodridge is stretching on his back. It’s been 3-4 minutes since they announced the fighters. CSAC is delaying the start of the bout, the announcer says the bout will start in a few moments.

Nope.

The first bout has been delayed…..very unorganized start to the evening.

They’ve re-introduced the fighters….here we go!

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Goldberg says this card is stacked top to bottom. He’s kind of right.
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Real men stay up / get up for Sengoku shows. Join us.

The official Total-MMA.com AIM Sengoku chat is now live. The room is ‘loganclarkforthewin’. Add me on AIM - Iain Total MMA - if there is any problems.

ALAN: I’m excited for the night/early morning/whatever it is wherever you are of fights. A dude who’s been to Saitama is in chat with us, and he’s quite adamant that the building is pretty empty though, which is interesting.

1. Fabio Silva 9-4-0 vs. 28-22-3 Kazuo Takahashi

ALAN: The intro video was done to “The Boys are Back in Town,” so I’m reasonably sure this will be awesome. First round had some good give and take, with Takahashi getting a takedown and controlling in top position, Silva reversing it, and some okay standup between the two. I actually give it to Takahashi and would score it 10-9, but this is Japan.

Round 2 doesn’t go the same way. Silva runs out, punches a lot, and Takahashi falls down. The ref takes his time to stop the fight and so he absorbs some head stomps.

2. Rodrigo Damm 7-1-0 vs. 13-2-0 Jorge Masvidal

ALAN: Masvidal is all sorts of awesome, so I am excited for this also.

Well, he kinda makes my faith worthless. Early knockdown of Damm leads to a takedown by Damm, but that goes nowhere. The fight is back on its feet and its really tenative standup from both. Round 2 is absurdly slow, and then somehow Damm drops a right hand on Masvidal’s chin nearing the end of it that drops Masvidal. Some punches on the ground later and a surprise Damm KO win.

IAIN: That was the outcome I least suspected, but it was a very poor stoppage. Worse than Vera/Werdum last night. Masvidal had won the first but the fight wasn’t terribly exciting and made worse by the inconclusive finish.

3. Choi Mu Bae 7-2-0 vs. 3-2-0 Marcio Cruz

Cruz runs over Choi Mu Bae here. Once it hit the mat Cruz had this on lock and controlled Choi and constantly put him in bad situations. The triangle from being on Choi’s back was choice. Good win for Marcio, who got put in with too stiff of competition too fast.

IAIN: God or Pe De Pano answered my prayers. I requested an early stoppage and they delivered in tremendous style. I am not sure who to thank specifically. Although with Cruz having so many BJJ titles maybe it is not fair of me to differentiate between the two.

4. Sanae Kikuta 26-6-3 vs. 12-5-0 Chris Rice

IAIN: Oh yes, UK MMA is ready to make it’s mark on Sengoku. Excuse me while I stand for the national anthem…

ALAN: Iain will not be please. Kikuta gets this to the ground with the slowest shot ever, and from there positions himself for the slooooooowwwwwwwwessssssst armbar ever. It made Brad Imes’ TUF triangle look masterful.

IAIN: Chris Rice, you have let Britain down. I will no longer be voting for you in the BBC’s Sports Personality Of The Year awards come December. My vote will go to ‘Buzz’ Berry again.

5. Nick Thompson 35-9-1 vs. 9-3-0 Michael Costa

IAIN: Thompson is largely dull it seems, as a character, whereas Costa has dressed up and is dancing to the ring. I cannot overlook this and will be cheering accordingly.

ALAN: First round was pretty nothing. Thompson almost gets an armbar early and then Costa gets out of it and lays in guard for 3 minutes. Second round was a vast improvement. Thompson is nearly KOed by Costa and then put on his back, but he is able to sweep his way to side mount and then gets a kimura to win the bout. Not too bad in the end.

IAIN: Thompson is wearing motherchuffin’ ZUBAS. TJ De Santis on Sherdog was right - people from minnesota really do wear them in a non-ironic way. Half-way through the fight I was questioning how good Thompson was as a fighter. He lost his first Sengoku fight despite the result and was losing this. However he recovered well and got a good victory here. I am not ready to call him World Top Twenty material like some but I am interested in seeing him fight again.

INTERMISSION - WILL AMERICA BE AWAKE FOR THE SECOND HALF?

Intermission ends and they announce a bunch of Russian dudes fighting on the 8/24 show along with Frank Trigg and a lightweight tournament featuring Mitsuoka, Ludwig, Damm, Gomi and a few other guys.

6. Kazuo Misaki 19-8-2 vs. 11-1-0 Logan Clark

IAIN: This is where I win money. Go Clark!

In a strange but pleasant turn of events, Logan Clark’s brother has joined the Total MMA live chat and will be watching the fight with us. Another reason to cheer for him.

ALAN: Not the most exciting fight ever. Misaki went out to channel Lyoto Machida and basically succeeded. Clark just didn’t impose his size and reach here. The jab, when doubled, worked well, but he only did it in combination a couple times in the fight. Misaki just took the bout with low kicks and some sharp, fast, but generally not powerful punching in a defensive performance that was not exactly for the ages.

IAIN: Misaki ran a lot. I thought Clark should have gone for more takedowns and tried to repeat the Frank Trigg / Misaki fight but he chose to stand for the whole fifteen minutes basically. He was not outclassed and great fighters have lost to Misaki but there was the opportunity to win here.

7. Kazuyuki Fujita 15-6-0 vs. 53-11-0 Travis Wiuff

IAIN: Here comes that good up-and-coming fighter (so says John Peretti) Travis Wiuff, YAMMA champion. YAMMA and Bodog champs on this show so far. Sengoku is truly the king of B-league MMA.

ALAN: So there are two guys, and both are noted as wrestlers. What happens? They punch! And in this case, Wiuff lands first and hardest. Fujita just crumples and Wiuff wins the fight as he hammerfists Fujita into oblivion.

IAIN: Never doubt the power of a YAMMA champ. Maybe now people will listen?

8. Hidehiko Yoshida 7-6-1 vs. 12-12-0 Maurice Smith

IAIN: When you’re relying on a main event to save a show, and it features a nearly 50-year-old kickboxer against a washed-up, 40-year-old judoka then it is not a ringing endorsement of the show as a whole.

ALAN: So Yoshida and Smith stand for awhile and nothing happens. And then Yoshida clinches, gets a takedown, gets to side control and has some side headlock/gi choke thing and Smith didn’t tap and goes out. Well, that was not very good.

IAIN: Oh man, avoid this show unless you’re an incredible hardcore. Yoshida is covered in ticker tape and streamers afterwards like he has actually done something worth celebrating.

ALAN: We had a short discussion in chat about how bad this was. I think it was worse than Elite XC’s last show, UFC 83, and that Strikeforce show with Sapp/Nortje. No doubt in my mind. It wasn’t YAMMA bad but that is because there were actually conclusions to these fights generally. There is really no reason to see this.

So, WEC is upon us now, and it is a great card with two huge title fights live from the Arco Arena on VERSUS. After EXC last night this is like dying and going to heaven. Join us on AIM @ FaberByHairProduct.

Dave Walsh and Alan Conceicao will be blogging live for your pleasure (or displeasure) tonight.

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So the crazy MMA calendar has thrown up two high-profile events in two days and as such you’re all being treated to two liveblogs in two days.

Join us from near fight time for live results and thoughts on all the main card action.

In the meantime, go and read significantly fewer headlines than yesterday relating to tonigh’s event. You can also watch some highlights from the post-fight Elite XC press conference where there was an altercation between a very smart man in Brett Rogers and a not so smart in Kimbo.

Picture credit goes to Combat Lifestyle.

And we are off~! The internet prelims are just getting started for the most high-profile night in North American MMA history. Go to proelite.com or CBS sportsline to watch them now.

Iain Liddle and Alan Conceicao bringing you everything you need to know.

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UFC 84!

We are chatting on AIM in the room “Sherkstears” for those interested, and we have a huge, huge card tonight. We are text voting now to see who will win between Sherk and Penn!

On top of that, we have Joe Rogan back… Err, yeah.

Thiago Silva vs Antonio Mendes has the honor to go first.

R1. We start off with Mendes with some awesome standup and NAILS him with an amazing highkick, but Silva rolls through and somehow avoids some GnP. Mendes then with an amazing mid kick to knock him down again. This is awesome. Silva gains the advantage on the ground and now it is domination, ground and pound and its OVER. Brutal.
Tito Ortiz vs Lyoto Machida is up next.

R1. Akin to Lyoto fights, we start off with tentative striking for both. Lyoto stuffing a few takedowns from Tito and keeping the distance with his hands and feet. Lyoto is picking at him with strikes from a distance still, and this seems to be the story of the fight and Lyoto’s life. Maybe Antonio Inoki just kept slapping him too hard and too often and we end up with him being afraid to just let loose. Who knows.

R2. Round 2 is… Lyoto picking at him from a distance. While its not the most exciting thing in the world, it is interesting to watch what is going on in Lyoto’s head and the shots he goes for and how he waits for the openings. Don’t ever let anybody tell you that Lyoto is a shitty fighter, but don’t expect people to be excited by him. Tito finally goes for some offense with a highkick but we end up back in a stand up stalemate. Tito goes for a takedown, sprawl by Machida and Tito able to flip over and pull guard. Tito pops back up.

Andrew likes Tito’s shorts. I concur, as does the knee Lyoto lands. Tito just looks out of his mind mad now near the end of the round, he is essentially just chasing Machida now until the bell rings, and Tito is amped now. He is really, really frustrated, as is most of the audience.

R3. Tito claimed to his corner that Lyoto was running the whole time. Yves Lavigne tried to entertain us by falling over, but he got up, sadly. Any time Tito goes for a strike, Lyoto finds a way to block/duck and then come right back with another shot. It must be completely infuriating. Tito with a clinch and a few good knees and some fists! Hugging Lyoto up against the cage and trying to take him down, and now the fans are finally starting to wake up. Lyoto has amazing balance. WOW. Tito goes for a punch and Lyoto with an absolutely brutal knee to the ribs that sends Tito down, Lyoto following up with some GnP, but Tito able to come to his senses and pull guard.

Wow, that was close. Tito going for a triangle!!!!! He has it locked in, Lyoto tries to roll out of it and Tito on top of him with an armbar triangle and Lyoto gets out. He gets out. Lyoto is just scary. That was just a really amazing round 3. Lyoto by UD.

The text messaging fans have spoke so far, 59% for BJ Penn.

Wilson Gouveria vs Goran Reljic is up now. How in the hell am I going to spell these names for a full fight, let us wait and see!

R1. This fight was just explained as a popcorn match where Herb Dean could destroy either. Laughs. Tentative standup, hey, just like the last fight. Ok, and Wilson gets caught with a kick to the shoulder and then it is more nobody wins stand up. They really love the possibility of a standup battle~ that really, I wish they’d just cut it out. Enough with putting the ‘exciting stand up fighters’ against each other on TV and PPV cards. OK, Goran did a kind of awesome flying guard, but that went nowhere.

R2. Wilson has taken a bunch of kicks to his right arm and is visibly favoring it. Goran fights like this: Just wait and throw a really hard left strike. Wait, left high kick! Wait, left hand! Wait, left high kick! Wilson has him down and Goran kind of has no defense and Wilson is kind of just doing very little. Back up and Wilson eats another straight left with no set up! Goran hits him hard and is now using like the weakest looking GnP imaginable for about a minute straight before Herb just gets bored and calls the fight. It was a, guess what, big left that took him down.

Ninja Gaiden ad on a PPV. So, an ad.. on a PPV..

Christian Wellisch vs Shane Carwin, a prelim is up next.

R1. Carwin rushes in, then hangs back, then absolutely kills Wellisch with a right hand to the chin. :44.

Wanderlei Silva vs Keith Jardine is on now, and oh shit is it ON. Can you tell that I’m big on Wandy? Plus Jardine is a good dude and a pretty skilled guy on top of that. This could be incredible or it could be two guys afraid to go at each other.

R1. I still get chills when Wanderlei fights, even if I get the feeling that he is going to get killed. Standup, and Wanderlei connects, hard! Keith was ducking and ate a few fists, got back and ate a right then ate a lot of scary GnP. Jardine is still down. I don’t know if it is Wanderlei being back or Jardine just completely unable to handle being rushed. But still, rejoice.

Ivan Salaverry vs Rousimar Palharese, a prelim airs next.

R1. Apparently Edith was a call girl from Montreal previously. UFC; a class act. Oh, the fight, Ivan is getting tooled on the ground and we have been watching Palharese trying to work a choke on him for a good while now. Another minute of that, and Palharese slips into an armbar and taps out Ivan Salaverry. Wow.

The text voters now say 56%, oh how they always end up close.

BJ Penn vs Sean Sherk for the Lightweight Belt is coming up. 55/45 for text voting now! Oh my.

R1. Guys, BJ looks to be in good shape. He also looks very, very focused. This is going to rule. Sherk goes for a leg, BJ stuffs it and gets off a few punches. This is as intense as you’d expect ti to be. Both guys look like they just want to destroy each other while the fans chant for BJ. BJ gets caught with a big right but doesn’t even look phased. BJ is just jabbing the shit out of him and is starting to look more relaxed as Sherk looks still to be in a cloud of roid rage. Sherk is just throwing big strikes while BJ is kinda picking him apart with jabs and combos.

R2. Sherk is working the leg kicks now, BJ went for a clinch and Sherk went nutty with the punches while BJ was kneeing him. This is good. The fans are giving a rousing “STERRRRRRRRR-OIDS” chant, which is visibly bothering Sherk, which is hilarious. It is still even, with Sherk maybe having an upperhand, but BJ is landing a lot of clean shots, with Sherk cut under both eyes and maybe his eyebrow. I think it is safe to say that BJ’s jab has been the story of this fight while Sherk is just throwing hard hooks that aren’t really connecting. Sherk’s face is kind of a mess right now, two cuts, one on each cheek right under his eyes.

R3. Another steroids chant, and this fight almost feels like a rope-a-dope where Sherk might be punching himself out while BJ sits back and jabs at him. Its round 3 and this hasn’t touched the ground yet, which for both men is a bit weird. Finally it looks like BJ has just had enough and just absolutely destroys him with a flying knee and some ridiculous punches. YES! BJ just ran back over, wiped his hand on Sherk’s face to get some of his blood and licked it. Amazing.