LAS VEGAS — Brock Lesnar took one last kick to his stomach and crumpled at the side of the cage, unable to fight back when Alistair Overeem pounced.

Lesnar had been finished by a 6-foot-5 Dutch kick boxer in the first round at UFC 141. A few minutes later, the UFC’s former heavyweight champion finished his own meteoric mixed martial arts career.

Lesnar retired from the UFC after Overeem stopped him with one vicious kick to the body at 2:26 of the first round in their heavyweight bout Friday night, leaving the UFC heading into 2012 without its biggest pay-per-view star.

“This is the last time you’ll see me in the octagon,” Lesnar said.
Largely thanks to his fame from a career in pro wrestling, the hulking Lesnar (5-3) played a significant role in expanding the UFC’s profile and fan base over the past four years. He beat Randy Couture in 2008 to win the heavyweight title, defending it twice before losing the belt to Cain Velasquez last year.

But Lesnar has fought just three times in the past 2½ years while dealing with bouts of a lower-intestinal ailment that nearly killed him. The accumulation of pain and rehabilitation finally undid Lesnar, whose famed strength and stubbornness couldn’t overcome diverticulitis.

“I’ve had a really difficult couple of years with my disease, and I’m going to officially say tonight is the last time,” Lesnar said.

Lesnar’s return from a 14-month injury absence was a short, one-sided beating. After taking damage from two knee blows early on, he couldn’t recover from a kick to the liver from Overeem (36-11), who made a stellar UFC debut despite getting cut near his right eye by a punch from Lesnar.

The 34-year-old Lesnar’s announcement stunned fans who already realized he faced a difficult matchup in the UFC’s traditional end-of-the-year event in its hometown. The matchup was a classic MMA clash of styles, with Lesnar’s brute wrestling contrasting sharply with Overeem’s vicious striking.
“I had no idea he would do that, (but) am I surprised? No,” UFC President Dana White said. “Brock Lesnar has made a lot of money in his career and has achieved a lot of things. … He brought a lot of excitement to the heavyweight division. What he accomplished in a short amount of time is amazing, but I get it. It doesn’t shock me.”

Overeem is three years younger but much more experienced than Lesnar, hurting the former champion at least twice earlier in the round while Lesnar failed in his attempt at a one-legged takedown.

“I promised my wife and my kids if I won this fight, I would get a title shot, and that would be my last fight,” Lesnar said. “But if I lost tonight … you’ve been great.”

Overeem will get the next shot at UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos, who watched from a seat near the octagon.

Overeem is a champion kick boxer who has fought in multiple promotions over the past decade, winning titles in Dream and Strikeforce with nearly unbeatable striking and size. He joined the UFC in September, finally presenting his formidable skills and intimidating physique to the sport’s largest audience.

“My experience in UFC was, it’s huge,” Overeem said. “I think it’s like 100 times bigger than Strikeforce. K-1 (kick boxing) is big, but this is a lot bigger. I was a little bit blown away, still am. I loved every second of it.”

White might have given an immediate title shot to Overeem if the timing had been better, but Dos Santos only claimed Velasquez’s belt in early November. Overeem welcomed a debut against Lesnar, even guaranteeing a knockout in the first two rounds.

“First or second round, I promised,” Overeem said.

Lesnar hadn’t fought since losing his heavyweight belt to Velasquez in October 2010, cancelling a bout against Dos Santos last June in Vancouver after another flare-up of diverticulitis. The former NCAA wrestling champion and fake WWE wrestler kept his unparalleled popularity during his recovery, and Lesnar used the time off to modify both his diet and his standup game, attempting to improve his biggest weakness.

As it turned out, Lesnar couldn’t improve enough to contend with the supremely skilled Overeem, who embraced Lesnar afterward.

The undercard at the MGM Grand Garden featured two upsets: Lightweight Nate Diaz won a bloody unanimous decision over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone with superior boxing, and Johny Hendricks stopped welterweight star Jon Fitch with one punch just 12 seconds into their bout.

In the co-main event, Diaz (15-7) backed up his tough talk and rude behavior in a fight that had the sellout crowd on its feet as he battered Cerrone, nearly a 3-to-1 favorite in the MGM Grand sportsbook, for most of the three-round standup fight.

Diaz, the brother of bad-boy welterweight Nick Diaz, picked apart Cerrone’s defense for most of the fight, leaving Cerrone bloody after his first loss in seven fights since September 2010.

Cerrone (17-4) knocked down Diaz at least a half-dozen times with kicks and leg-whips, but Cerrone refused to fight Diaz on the ground, repeatedly allowing Diaz to get up.

The unusual strategy showed respect for Diaz’s ground skills, but also minimized the importance of those knockdown shots in the eyes of the judges, who scored the bout 30-27 twice and 29-28 once, all for Diaz.

Hendricks (12-1) ascended to elite status with one sneaky left hook that caught Fitch (27-4-1) right on the button, flattening the favored San Jose fighter, whose return from a 10-month absence was stunningly brief. Hendricks, a two-time NCAA champion wrestler at Oklahoma State, completely stunned Fitch, who had lost just one fight since December 2002.

Early in the pay-per-view portion of the card, Swedish light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson (13-1) stopped veteran Vladimir Matyushenko with a perfect left hand midway through the first round.

Unbeaten featherweight Jim Hettes got new fans’ attention with a comprehensive thrashing of veteran Nam Phan, repeatedly threatening to finish the fight with strikes and ground work.

Ohhhhhh ya!!! It’s back baby!!

Hard to believe that the UFC is once again coming to Toronto…..seems like it just left. On December 10th get ready for UFC 140 fight fans. The ACC is a smaller venue for the UFC this time around, but this will still be a mind blowing weekend for the big city as well as for fight fans.
As most listeners know, I am a HUGE fight fan. I have also trained in MMA for quite some time. My recently torn right shoulder is proof of that, lol. Being involved in this sport means training hard and also doing a lot of reading and research. There is a TON of material out there to be learned before you should even attempt to climb into a cage or rumble on a mat. Its the little things like a proper warm up that should always be on the mind. There are a few excellent MMA writers out there that I follow who talk about things like that and more, but I came across this interesting and very accurate article on the big fight!!!
Enjoy. I have put the entire fight card at the bottom.
Keep listening Rock fans!

Jeff Wagenheim of Sports Illustrated wrote:

It was an important enough occasion for Dana White to travel all the way to the fight capital of the world. What’s the big deal, you say, since the UFC president already lives in Las Vegas? Well, Dana wasn’t referring to Sin City on Wednesday when he sang the praises of the locale hosting his UFC 140 news conference. He came to tout Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida, but first he had to tout Toronto.

“Vegas has always been known as the fight capital of the world,” said White. “Well, in our sport, Toronto is becoming well known for that.”

White and everyone else with a stake in Zuffa have good reason to feel that way. Just over six months ago, UFC 129 drew nearly 56,000 to the Rogers Centre, home of the Blue Jays, the Argonauts and the occasional monster truck show. It didn’t hurt that national hero Georges St-Pierre was at the top of the bill, defending his welterweight belt against former Strikeforce champion Jake Shields. It also helped that Mark Hominick, who lives just a curling stone’s icy throw away from Toronto, was on the card, challenging Jose Aldo for the bantamweight title. But 56,000 tickets for a $12 million gate? I don’t care if you’ve got Chuck Norris vs. Ditka on your hype poster, that’s impressive.

So the UFC isn’t wasting time before returning. UFC 140 will be Dec. 10 — not at the Rogers, though, but at the Air Canada Centre, home of the Maple Leafs, Raptors and fewer than 20,000 seats. In answering a reporter’s question about why the smaller venue, White again fell all over himself in praising Toronto. It’s “the biggest market on the planet” for the UFC. He’d do a fight there every week if it were feasible. He would live in the southern Ontario metropolis if it weren’t so damn cold. (I don’t remember if damn was the word he used.) And before he was done, Dana inadvertently veered into the territory of the question I have regarding this event. “We’ll do another massive fight here,” he said, “when we have the right fight.”

White didn’t intend to question the magnitude of “Bones” vs. “The Dragon.” In fact, he banged the drum pretty loudly for the light heavyweight title bout, talking up champion Jones as “incredible” and ex-champ Machida as “a legend” before adding, “This one is fun. I like this fight stylistically.”

There is where we differ.

To me, Jones-Machida looks intriguing … on paper. OK, I hate that term — on paper — because it’s so often spoken as if it were a legitimate factor, as if a fight or a game or anything other than an essay contest could play out on a sheet of paper. But I used the term because I do mean it literally. I think this matchup is most interesting if you’re holding Jones’ resume in your hand, whereupon you’ll notice that Machida will be his fourth opponent this year and the third straight reigning or former champ. The fight becomes even more fascinating when you put down that resume and pick up Lyoto’s, and are reminded that he most recently put an emphatic close to the Hall of Fame career of Randy Couture and, before that and probably more significantly, won the title by brutally knocking out Jones’ nemesis, Rashad Evans.

Off paper and on a mat in the octagon, however, I find the fight less mysterious. It’s not that I’m uninterested in watching, but my eyes will be glued to the cage simply because I can’t get enough of Jones. I want to see what type of attack the indomitable manchild will employ this time, since Machida is different from anyone he’s faced before. That uniqueness, of course, is what some people are banking on to make this a fight. “Machida is very evasive,” said White. “He strikes from different angles. He’s hard to hit.”

True, true and true. But will he be able to reach Jones with his distant strikes, and if not, will he dare close the distance against that airbus wingspan? And if he does venture in close, how long will he manage to remain standing against a guy with the wrestling chops to take him down any time he lays a hand on him?

It should be noted that Jon Jones is a bad matchup for anyone this side of Stephen Seagal. But at least Rashad, despite having been handled by Machida a couple of years ago, has the tools to possibly keep a fight against Jones where he wants it, and he has the demystifying experience of having trained with Bones. And wasn’t he supposed to get the next title shot, anyway? “I never said it was going to Rashad,” White said when asked that very question at the news conference. “You guys said it was going to be Rashad.” Um, Dana, was it press row that sent Evans into the cage following Jones’ stoppage of “Rampage” Jackson three weeks ago at UFC 135 in Denver, to face off against the champ for some TV hype? Didn’t think so. Unfortunately for the promotion, though, “Suga” Rashad needed a little more time to heal a hand injury. And, you know, the show must go on.

Now, just because I don’t like the matchup for Machida, that doesn’t mean I’ve already marked down, in ink, a W for Jones. It’s true that Lyoto has lost two of his last three bouts, with the losses coming against Jones’ most recent victims. But only “Shogun” Rua really beat up Machida; the Rampage decision was highly disputable. And before those fights, the karate man was practically untouchable. He’s a legitimate challenger.

Two fighters other than the combatants will play key roles in determining Machida’s chances. One is Anderson Silva, who already has contacted Lyoto, whom he trains with in Brazil, and offered to come to his camp and, as Machida put it at the news conference, “show me some things.” If anyone is equipped to mimic Jones’ movement, unpredictability and overall athleticism, it’s “The Spider.”

The other fighter who’ll be a factor? Rashad. Bones seems obsessed with him. Asked at the press conference about a potential Evans fight, the champ offered more than an obligatory, terse answer. He went into a rap about how he doesn’t like to get too wrapped up in an opponent — “I’m taught, don’t fight the legend, fight the body” — but how with Evans, “it’s different. I don’t want to lose that fight.” He called it “a huge fight” . . . even though it’s not even been scheduled yet and he was there to talk about a fight that has been. Someone had to throw a bucket of cold water on Jones to douse his daydream and redirect his focus on the guy standing between him and Rashad.

Jones does have eight weeks to get his mind where it needs to be, though. Sure, Machida fits the profile of a guy who just might slip under the 24-year-old’s radar. His quiet, respectful demeanor is not going to get the blood boiling like Evans and trash-talking Rampage have. And his karate, so uncommon in MMA and therefore difficult to duplicate in the gym, is not the kind of aggressive approach that heightens an opponent’s sense of danger — and therein lies its danger. But let’s be real: Jon Jones has seized every moment he’s spent inside the cage to this point in his young career. And he understands what needs to happen on Dec. 10. “The way I plan on dealing with Lyoto’s style,” said Jones, “is just being myself.”

That plan has never yet failed him.

UFC 140 FIGHT CARD:

Jon Jones (14-1) vs. Lyoto Machida (17-2)

Frank Mir (15-5) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (33-6, 1 NC)

Tito Ortiz (16-9-1) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-5)

Mark Hominick (20-9) vs. Chan Sung Jung (11-3)

Claude Patrick (14-1) vs. Brian Ebersole (48-14-1, 1 NC)

Preliminary Card:

Mark Bocek (9-4) vs. Nik Lentz (21-3-2, 1 NC)

Dennis Hallman (50-14-2, 1 NC) vs. John Makdessi (9-0)

Igor Pokrajac (23-8) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (26-11-1)

Rich Attonito (10-4) vs. Jake Hecht (10-2)

Mitch Clarke (9-0) vs. John Cholish (7-1)

Yves Jabouin (16-7) vs. Walel Watson (11-2)

Jared Hamman (16-3) vs. Constantinos Philippou (11-2, 1 NC)

with files from mmamania.com

ROCK 107 FIGHT FANS……….is this gonna be the biggest fight of the year? The decade? Ever?

Anyway you slice it, UFC on FOX is kind of a big deal. How big? Big enough to run with just one fight, a heavyweight battle featuring reigning champion Cain Velasquez against division number one contender Junior dos Santos.

And it all goes down tomorrow night (Nov. 12, 2011) live from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Shall we talk about this HUGE dance????

265 lbs.: Cain Velasquez (9-0) vs. Junior dos Santos (13-1)

Nostradumbass predicts: I don’t think it’s a stretch to call Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos the two best heavyweights in the UFC. How do they match up? Pretty damn close, actually.

In seven fights under the Zuffa umbrella, Velasquez has competed against opposition with a combined record of 110-31 and an average winning percentage of 76-percent.

His top three opponents were Cheick Kongo, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Brock Lesnar.

Dos Santos, also stepping into the Octagon for seven fights, has competed against opposition with a combined record of 133-41 and an average winning percentage of 74-percent.

His top three opponents were Fabricio Werdum, Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin.

Velasquez has stopped six of his seven victims in the UFC and eight of nine overall. Dos Santos has finished five of seven and 11 of 13 overall.

As far as their accomplishments, it’s pretty much neck-and-neck. But on Saturday night in Anaheim, it won’t be.

Here’s why:

Cain has been out of action for over a year. Can he come back with enough cardio to last five rounds? Probably. But there’s one area where you can’t pick up where you left off and that’s timing.

When you face a guy with the hands of Dos Santos, you really don’t have a round or two to be working out the kinks. It’s life or death from the word go. And timing isn’t limited to just his hands either, as setting up the shoot, which he may or may not need to establish with strikes, requires its own degree of coordination.

Let’s also not overlook that his self-imposed layoff wasn’t for a cruise to Honolulu or to feed the starving pygmies, it was for major shoulder surgery. How will that affect his power? His ability to maintain a dominant position? The clinch?

We just don’t know.

However, there is one fatal flaw in the history of Cain’s otherwise stellar run that we can’t overlook, and it came at UFC 99 just over two years ago.

His name is Cheick Kongo. Here was the the play-by-play:

…Kongo lands a quick right and then another big right and Cain’s knees buckle and he falls.

…Cain rushes in and Kongo lands another HUGE right and Cain is rocked again and falls. WOW.

…Kongo to his feet and is now landing some knees to the stomach and Cain looks winded. Kongo now lands a punch and Cain looks rocked AGAIN…

It cannot be overstated how impressive Velasquez was in that fight, because he had the heart, will and determination to come back and defeat the Parisian. Give credit where credit is due.

But he was in deep, deep trouble.

The reason it’s such a red flag is because I have yet to see Dos Santos get hurt by his opponent. Is he easy to hit? Yes, as “Cro Cop,” Nelson and Carwin all landed clean.

Junior didn’t budge.

My concern for the Brazilian is his conditioning. It’s not unlike him to fade away after two rounds of “Hulk smash.” If Cain can stay in his face and force him to defend, the champ could ride him out and start to mix his lethal combination of takedowns and ground-and-pound.

Velasquez’s biggest asset is his wrestling. But we don’t yet know how Dos Santos will respond to the takedown. The good news for “Cigano” fans is that every fight starts on the feet.

And what’s a wrestler’s biggest fear? The uppercut. Who throws the uppercut better than any heavyweight in the UFC? Junior dos Santos.

Just ask “Vai Cavalo.”

It all comes down to this fight fans>>>>>> Velasquez will be able to take Junior down, just as I believe Dos Santos can land cleanly on Cain.

We ARE going to have a new champion!!!!!!!

My Prediction: Junior dos Santos WILL WIN against Cain Velasquez via KNOCKOUT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are some other predictions……..but these are all toss ups:

155 lbs.: Clay Guida vs. Ben Henderson — Holy bad hair day. Clay Guida is a good wrestler and an even better belcher. But he’s not well-rounded enough to defeat Henderson, who can also wrestle and will hurt “The Carpenter” on the feet before choking him out with a guillotine.

135 lbs.: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Darren Uyenoyama — I “kid” you not, Yamamoto, who technically is the superior fighter, will continue to struggle in the UFC, allowing Uyenoyama to make this a much closer fight than it needs to be. Norifumi by split decision.

145 lbs.: Dustin Poirier vs. Pablo Garza — I like Garza’s ground game and he’s dangerous off his back, but Piorier is not gonna have any part of that and will use his superior striking to keep it upright (see Grispi, Josh) and batter his way to a unanimous decision win.

145 lbs.: Cub Swanson vs. Ricardo Lamas — Swanson is maddeningly inconsistent and I think Lamas is going to use his wrestling to keep this thing grounded. He won’t get the finish, but he’ll do enough to grind out the unanimous decision win.

145 lbs.: Robert Peralta vs. Mackens Semerzier — Mack has been a “menace” to no one but himself and Bruce Leroy. Three straight losses to leave the WEC? Peralta is a serious up-and-comer and will give his opponent too many “problems” en route to a technical knockout stoppage.

185 lbs.: Paul Bradley vs. Mike Pierce — Bradley already lost to Pierce at “Brotherly Love Brawl” back in 2009 and hasn’t beaten enough quality opponents to prove the second go-round will be any different. Pierce on the other hand, in losing efforts, has shown he can hang against guys like Jon Fitch and Johny Hendricks. Pierce by UD.

205 lbs.: Matt Lucas vs. Aaron Rosa — I like that Rosa is competing at his natural weight class (finally), but there is no way in hell I can pick against a fighter who goes by the nickname “Luke Duke.” Ain’t happening. This good ol’ boy wins by TKO.

135 lbs.: Alex Caceres vs. Cole Escovedo — Both fighters are desperate for a win, but Escovedo has fought much harder competition and has 10 years in the fight game. Bruce Leroy, with all four losses coming by way of submission, is getting choked out in the first round.

170 lbs.: DaMarques Johnson vs. Clay Harvison — Johnson has looked flat and uninspired in recent fights, but if he’s got his head on straight, he wins this fight against Harvison. He’s simply the more talented fighter and I’m taking him by unanimous decision.

HOPE YOU CAN GET OUT IN OR AROUND BELLEVILLE TO SEE THE SHOW FIGHT FANS!!! COME BACK SUNDAY MORNING FOR ALL THE RESULTS!!!!
REMEMBER THIS IS ALL GOING TO BE FOR FREE ON FOX NETWORK!!!
ENJOY!

With files from mmamania.com

“I want to thank all the fans for their love and support. I have decided to take some time off to enjoy life, train and teach. I will keep you posted with what’s next.”
B.J. PENN

B.J. Penn today took to his website (BJPenn.com) to release his first statement following his surprise retirement announcement after his loss to Nick Diaz this past weekend (Oct. 29, 2011) at UFC 137.

With his left eye nearly swollen shut, a distraught Penn told Joe Rogan in his post fight speech that he did not want to go home to his family looking the way he did and that he was done. “The Prodigy,” shockingly, retired from mixed martial arts (MMA) just like that.

Later in the evening, Penn’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach, Allan Goes, posted this message, which was relayed to him by Penn, on his Facebook page, saying “I’ll be back,” giving all fans hope that the former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion may have spoken prematurely.

UFC President Dana White was also not 100 percent convinced that Penn’s retirement would last long, leaving the door open with his remarks at the UFC 137 post-fight press conference that the proud Hawaiian had not seen the inside of the Octagon for the last time.

Read his remarks in the extended entry:

“B.J. is a warrior, what happened to him tonight has never happened to him in his entire career. What he’s thinking tonight he might not think eight weeks from now.”

Penn was a no-show at the UFC 137 post fight conference because of a post-fight trip to the hospital.

Nonetheless, from the sound of things, if time does indeed heal all wounds, “The Prodigy” will possibly grace us with his presence once again in the world famous Octagon.

And maybe more.

B.J. Penn has ALWAYS been one of my favourite MMA fighters. I know that we have NOT seen the last of him. I am not ready to have seen the last of him folks….lol!!!
I shall keep you updated.

Hey fight fans! Brian here once again and I decided to show the top ten ranked MMA fighters in the word at this very moment! This is courtesy of fighting-mma.com!

1. Georges St. Pierre

Nick Name:
Rush
Record: 22 – 2
Born: May 19, 1981
Country: Canada

Club: Kyokushin, wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Height: 5′9
Weight: 169 lbs
Style: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling, Kick Boxing, Kyokushin

Why?

Geroges St Pierre has cleaned out the 170 division. In 2008 and in 2009, he was named the Canadian Athlete of the Year by Rogers Sportsnet, as well as the 2008–2009 Most Outstanding Fighter by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Georges St-Pierre also won the Fighter of the Year award by the 2009 World MMA Awards. He has beaten every top 170pound fighter in the UFC like Dan Hardy, Thiago Alves, BJ Penn, Jon Fitch, Matt Serra, Matt Hughes, Josh Koscheck, Matt Hughes, Sean Sherk and Jason Miller. He has beaten everyone and he is set to beat everyone for a second time.

2. Anderson Silva

Nick Name: The Spider
Record: 28 – 4
Born: April 14, 1975
Country: Brazil

Club: Black House
Height: 6′2
Weight: 184 lbs
Style: Muay Thai

Why?

Is there actually anyone left for Anderson Silva?No one can even touch Anderson Silva. There is no competition in the UFC at the 185 pound division and after UFC 82: Pride of a Champion where he dismantled Dan Henderson he stands alone as the best pound for pound fighter in the world. The UFC will have to bring in more fighters to even give Silva a test. He is so good he is bored in the fights and plays with his opponents.

3. Jose Aldo

Nick Name: Junior
Record: 20 – 1
Born: Sept 9, 1986
Country: Brazil

Club: Nova Uniao, Black House
Height: 5′7
Weight: 145 lbs
Style: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Why?

Aldo now appears to be untouchable in the featherweight division. Since June 2008, Aldo is 6-0 with six stoppages, including four in 2009 alone. He dismantled Urijah Faber and Matt Brown. He has everything in a fighter. He can grappling, strike and is super fast. It doesn’t look like there is anyone that can step up to Aldo.

4. Cain Velasquez

Nick Name:
Record: 9 – 0
Born: July 28, 1982
Country: USA

Club: American Kickboxing Academy
Height: 6′2
Weight: 245 lbs
Style: Wrestling

Why?

Velasquez just dominated Brock Lesnar and beat the biggest most powerful heavtweight with pure technique. He has already beaten former pound for pound fighter Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira in the first round. Cain has speed, power and great wreslting abilty.

5. Jon Jones

Nick Name: Bones
Record: 13 – 1
Born: July 17, 1987
Country: USA

Club: Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts
Height: 6′4
Weight: 205 lbs
Style: Wrestling

Why?

At only 23 yesars old Jon Bones Jones just destroyed one of the best pound for pound fighters in Shogun Rua. He beat Shogun so bad he made him look like a white belt. Jones has destroyed every fighter he has faced and his speed and agility and quickness might make him a champion for a long time. While he has looked virtually untouchable to this point in his career, Jones’ path will get no less bumpy from here: in his first title defense, “Bones” will meet former titleholder, pound-for-pounder and now ex-teammate Rashad Evans.

6. Frankie Edgar

Nick Name: The Answer
Record: 14 – 1 – 1
Born: Oct 16, 1981
Country: USA

Club: Ricardo Almeida Jiu-Jitsu
Height: 5′6
Weight: 154lbs
Style: Wrestling, Boxing

Why?

Frankie Edgar shocked the world by beating BJ Penn as a huge betting underdog. We will have to see how many title defenses he has as champion. And than he shocked the world again by dominating him a second time around.

7. Jake Shields

Nick Name: –
Record: 26 – 4 – 1
Born: January 9, 1979
Country: USA

Club: Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
Height: 5′11
Weight: 170 lbs
Style: Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Why?

Jake Shields had to move up to fight in the middleweight division because there was no one left for him to fight at welterweight in Strikeforce. He outclassed Dan Henderson and the Strikeforce middleweight champion now boasts a 14-bout winning streak and top-five credentials in two separate divisions.

8. Jon Fitch

Nick Name: Extreme
Record: 21 – 3 – 1
Born: February 24, 1978
Country: USA

Club: American Kickboxing Academy
Height: 6′0
Weight: 170 lbs
Style: Wrestling, Kickboxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Why?

Fitch is the ultimate work horse. He works hard and pressures every fight and he has beaten almost every welterweight in the division except Georges St Pierre. Fitch has 13 wins and only one defeat inside the UFC’s super-competitive 170-pound division. He is a fighter you can submiit and you can’t knock out. You only have to outwork him.

9. Mauricio Rua

Nick Name: Shogun
Record: 19 – 4
Born: November 25, 1981
Country: Brazil

Club: Chute Boxe
Height: 6′0
Weight: 201 lbs
Style: Muay Thai

Why?

His lost to Jon Jones had dropped Rua down to 9th place. We will see how the former champion will rebound after his brutal lose to Jon Jones. The first true knockout of the Brazilian’s career, and perhaps the first when Rua never looked competitive. The former champion will likely remain a threat to most any fighter in the UFC’s 205-pound division.

10. Dominick Cruz

Nick Name: Dominator
Record: 17 – 1
Born: September 3, 1985
Country: USA

Club: Alliance MMA, Team Lloyd Irvin
Height: 5′8
Weight: 135 lbs
Style: Boxing, Wrestling

Why?

He is the first and current UFC Bantamweight Champion, and is ranked the No.1 Bantamweight and No.10 pound for pound fighter in the world by our rankings. He also holds the only victories over previously undefeated Brian Bowles and top contender Joseph Benavidez, having beaten Benavidez twice.

!

UFC® 137: ST-PIERRE vs. CONDIT features the can’t-miss welterweight title fight between champion Georges St-Pierre and knockout artist Carlos Condit, as well as former two-division champion BJ Penn battling the fiery and unpredictable Nick Diaz. With action inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center, as well as in the South Seas Ballroom, the resort now has become the ultimate destination for fight fans to witness this epic card. I know I will be watching this big fight at one of Belleville’s watering holes lol and I hope you can get out and watch this too!
Both of these guys are incredible fighters and both have solid boxing and unreal wrestling. After Nick Diaz was pulled from this main event, I have been seriously excited for these two to get it on.
I know for a fact that GSP fights the way he does because it works and it is an almost impossible style to win against. Even though he has the best jab in the game, he won’t stand and trade blows with anyone, much less Condit and I thinnk this fight is likely to be very similar to the Koscheck fight last year. Probably will end faster however and be a lot more entertaining.
I have to go with GSP for the win as I truly feel he no match with any of the welterweight fighters the UFC has to offer. Like many of you, I keep dreaming for the biggest fight of all time to get signed and a date set. You hearing me Mr. Silva?? GSP is coming to you soon!

The Giffin Guess?
GSP over Condit in the 4th via submission!
Hope you can see this next Saturday folks

Will Jon Jones successfully defend his light heavyweight title for the first time, or will Rampage Jackson get the belt back? Can Matt Hughes show he still has something left, or will Josh Koscheck send Hughes another step closer to retirement? Will the unbeaten Travis Browne take another step forward in the UFC heavyweight division?
Among the bettors, there’s a very clear favorite in tonight’s UFC 135 headliner between light-heavyweight Jon Jones and challengers Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

Oddsmakers have the champ at a substantial four-to-one favorite.

But among MMAjunkie.com readers, is Jackson really being given just a 20 percent chance of winning?

That’s the questions we asked in our latest MMAjunkie.com/”Inside MMA” poll, and the results were revealed on Friday’s new episode of HDNet’s weekly MMA news show.

Tens of thousands of votes were cast, and when fans picked with their hearts instead of their wallets, Jones’ lead diminished significantly. In fact, just 60 percent of voters predicted a victory for Jones (13-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) while the other 40 percent went to Jackson (32-8 MMA, 7-2 UFC).

Broken down further, 47 percent chose a Jones’ victory via KO/TKO, 6 percent via submission, and 7 percent via decision. As for Jackson, 38 percent predict a win via KO/TKO, 1 percent via submission, and 1 percent via decision.

Jones, of course, is younger, quicker, more athletic, and has a significant one-foot reach advantage. But compared to his proven opponent, he’s less experienced, his chin hasn’t been truly tested, and we don’t know what his conditioning would produce in championship rounds. Additionally, though Jones won a national JUCO wrestling championship, Jackson already has defeated two Olympic-level wrestlers in Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland.

So who wins tonight’s fight? I know that I cannot wait for this one folks!!!
I am gonna go with Jones in the 2nd via KO!!!!!
We shall see!

THE SECOND BIG FIGHT OF THE NIGHT………

n the co-main event of the evening at UFC 135 on Saturday in Denver, Colorado, UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes (45-8) will attempt to buy himself a little more time before retirement as he battles former UFC welterweight title contender Josh Koscheck (15-5). Hughes was originally expected to fight The Ultimate Fighter season one winner Diego Sanchez, but a broken hand forced Sanchez out of the match-up. Koscheck took the fight on nineteen days notice.

Hughes enters the contest following a crushing knockout loss to B.J. Penn at UFC 123 in November. He had previously rattled off three straight wins, edging Matt Serra on the scorecards at UFC 98, finishing Renzo Gracie at UFC 112, and submitting Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117. The wins were nowhere near the relevance of his past dominance at the top of the division, but they diminished any notion that he was finished in the sport.

Penn’s twenty-one second slaying of the legend was a rude awakening however. The 37-year-old Hughes may not be finished in the sport yet, but it’s going to take a miraculous feat for him to regain his former glory. Josh Koscheck stands in his way, and he’s a tall task considering the fact that he was vying for the UFC welterweight title only nine months ago. If Hughes can somehow get past Koscheck, it could go a long way to making a miracle happen.

Realistically, it’s hard to imagine Hughes running through Koscheck, beating another elite level welterweight, and then giving Georges St. Pierre a run for his money. In fact, it seems impossible at this late stage of his career. Furthermore, Koscheck, even on short notice, is a very dangerous opponent for Hughes. He has better wrestling on paper, superior striking, more power, and he’s younger.

There is some concern surrounding Koscheck’s mentality in regards to the eye injury he suffered against Georges St. Pierre. If he overprotects the eye, it could leave openings for Hughes to take advantage of. I don’t think that will be a factor, however, as Koscheck has stated he’s been training for months without a hitch.

Hughes will need to power through Koscheck’s defenses and take him down to win this fight. His striking has never been great, and Koscheck has improved considerably in the stand-up department in the latter part of his career. That limits where Hughes can be effective. Vintage Matt Hughes will need to show up on Saturday night.

I HIGHLY DOUBT that Hughes of old can show up though. Koscheck can win this on the feet, and take his chances against a below average puncher like Hughes while maintaining his legs. I think that’s the easiest and least dangerous way for Koscheck to take home a large paycheck, and I think Koscheck knows it. Koscheck batters Hughes on the feet on his way to a decision victory on Saturday at UFC 135.

Jon Jones vs. Quinton (Rampage) Jackson
Matt Hughes vs. Diego Sanchez
Damacio Page vs. Norifumi (Kid) Yamamoto
Nate Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi
Tim Boetsch vs. Nick Ring (Cdn)
Aaron Riley vs. Tony Ferguson
Mark Hunt vs. Ben Rothwell
Rob Broughton vs. Travis Browne
Ricardo Romero vs. James Te Huna
Diego Nunes vs. TBA
Cole Escovedo vs. Takeya Mizugaki

Hey Rock 107 fight fans! Sorry for the shortage of posts this month…it’s been a busy summer. Speaking of busy, two light heavyweights are about to get busy….in the octagon!

As expected, Tito Ortiz (16-8-1 MMA, 15-8-1 UFC) has replaced injured Phil Davis (9-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and now meets Rashad Evans (15-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) in the headliner of next month’s UFC 133 event.

The light-heavyweight fight is now official, and the event has been renamed “UFC 133: Evans vs. Ortiz.”

It takes place Aug. 6 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, and the main card airs on pay-per-view.

The bout came about after a daylong fiasco on Wednesday. With Davis out due to a knee injury, the UFC sought a replacement. As UFC president Dana White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), Lyoto Machida initially accepted the bout before his team came back, and according to White, demanded pay similar to that issued to UFC middleweight champ and pound-for-pound kingpin Anderson Silva.

That incensed the fight executive.

“I said, ‘Are you [expletive] kidding me?” he said. “‘I’ll tell you what. You tell Machida (if) he achieves what [expletive] Anderson Silva has achieved, then maybe he’ll make Anderson Silva money. Have a nice day.’”

Ortiz, who initially turned down the fight, then offered to take the short-notice slot once he learned Machida was out.

White said that even with a loss, Ortiz is in no danger of losing his job because of that decision.

“The storyline is what’s so interesting,” White said. “Tito went from, ‘You’re about to be cut,’ to now, if he beats Rashad Evans, he’s back in the mix. He’s back in the picture.”

Ortiz and Evans met four years prior at UFC 73 and fought to a draw, though the decision was a result of a point deduction given to Ortiz when he grabbed the fence in the second round of the fight; the bout otherwise would have been scored in his favor.

Ortiz, of course, comes into the rematch after a triumphant victory over Ryan Bader at UFC 132, which was his first victory in five years. He’ll have just 35 days between fights.

The latest UFC 133 card now includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz
Rich Franklin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Vitor Belfort
Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara
Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya

PRELIMINARY CARD

Brian Ebersole vs. Dennis Hallman
Ivan Menjivar vs. Nick Pace
Johny Hendricks vs. Mike Pierce
Mike Brown vs. Nam Phan
Rafael “Sapo” Natal vs. Costantinos Phillippou

Hey Rock 107 fight fans! Brian here again, and just wanted you to read a good article I came across! Hope you can get a chance to see this FREE card on Sunday! I’ll be on the radio next Saturday to talk about the results and man, this card is gonna be more exciting then some people think!

Sunday’s UFC Live event in Pittsburgh is filled with intriguing storylines, fan-friendly matchups, and a handful of TUF alumni looking to keep the ship moving in the right direction. Casual fans may not recognize all the names, but if this is someone’s inaugural experience with the UFC, they are in for a real treat if the fights even come close to living up to their potential. Rather than focus my pre-fight breakdown on the main event, I thought it made sense to give a quick rundown of the three fights have the biggest potential for fireworks.

MARQUARDT VS. STORY

Nate Marquardt has hovered around the top of the middleweight division since his successful UFC debut against Ivan Salaverry nearly six years ago. Yet a one-sided loss in his only title challenge, as well as back-to-back losses in subsequent title eliminators, left “Nate the Great” wondering whether he would ever take his UFC career to the next level. Rather than continue trying to climb the growing middleweight mountain, Marquardt opted to follow in the footsteps of former champions Randy Couture, Evan Tanner and Rich Franklin in search of UFC gold. Each of those men refined their diets, increased their commitment to cutting weight and moved one division south in search of a title, when the prospects at their more natural weight class began to fade.

On Sunday night on Versus, Marquardt will make his debut in the welterweight division. It is a weight class ruled by his good friend and training partner Georges St-Pierre. Other elite competitors also call the 170-pound division home. Guys like Jake Shields, Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Thiago Alves, Nick Diaz, Carlos Condit, and BJ Penn (from time to time) all rank among the very best in the game. Marquardt wants to enter that exclusive fraternity of welterweight contenders. To do that, he must defeat another man on the cusp of contender status, Rick Story.

Story is in the midst of a six-fight winning streak, after coming up just a bit short in his UFC debut. What is truly impressive about the streak is that Story’s opponents have progressively gotten more difficult, culminating with a solid win against perennial title contender Alves just under a month ago. A win over Marquardt will undoubtedly put him at or near the top of the “next in line” list.

The two big questions lingering over this matchup are whether Marquardt can successfully handle the cut down to 170 pounds without losing any strength or conditioning and whether Story is ready for someone of Marquardt’s caliber only 29 days after defeating Alves.

Marquardt will likely seek to keep the fight on the feet. He is a very versatile striker, effective with his fists, elbows, knees and shins. He is equally effective when pushing the pace or countering. Marquardt will look to set the distance with the jab so that he can land a big right hand. Nevertheless, his biggest standup key against an aggressive, come-forward wrestler like Story will likely be his ability to control the action and exact damage from the clinch.

Marquardt will want to secure the Thai plumb as soon as Story rushes in. From there, he can use hard knee strikes when the pair jostle in the clinch in the center of the cage. He will rely more on elbows once the action moves to the cage. Alves had some success in the clinch against Story, though he refused to slam the petal to the metal in the final round, when it seemed likely that Story was on his way out. Marquardt won’t make that mistake.

Story knows that standing and striking with Marquardt is a bad idea. He also knows that clinching in the center of the cage is not the right answer. He wants this fight on the ground, and the best way to get it there is to crowd his opponent against the fence and then drag him to the ground. Once the action hits the mat, Story should first focus on getting Marquardt stacked up against the cage and then force Marquardt to carry his weight by using heavy hips and lots of ground and pound.

Nobody knows how Marquardt will fare in a grueling match after his first official cut to welterweight. Maybe the extra cardiovascular work shedding those last few pounds will sap his typically deep gas tank. Maybe the extra dieting in the weeks leading up to the fight will render his gas tank before the cut a little less full than normal. Maybe. Maybe not. Marquardt has no idea. His coach Greg Jackson has no idea. Story needs to make him answer that question.

The problem, of course, with Story forcing a grueling fight is that he last fought on May 28. Assuming he gave his body a week to recover before jumping back into hard training, will three weeks of preparation, including the typical weight cut, be enough time to refill his gas tank? If he didn’t take a week to rest and recover from the tough battle with Alves, will his muscles suffer from early fatigue memory, sort of like batteries suffering from short cycling? Just like with Marquardt, nobody knows the answer to that question. Yet, fighting that type of fight gives Story the best chance to win, no matter what his conditioning state happens to be come fight time.

Story is as hot as any welterweight in the world not named GSP or Diaz. Regardless, this is a major uphill battle for him. Marquardt represents the most complete test he has faced in his career to date. And if Marquardt handles the cut without any deleterious effects on his strength and conditioning, he will be facing one of the biggest, strongest and best conditioned opponents of his career. All else being equal, those advantages are often enough to decide the fight, though all else is not equal. Marquardt is the better all around fighter, period. And he has been fighting at the top of the sport long before Story began his career, so there is a major advantage in terms of experience.

The saving grace for Story is Marquardt’s biggest weakness is his wrestling, and that is where Story excels. I don’t think Story’s wrestling advantage will be enough, in light of the short preparation time, to carry the day, but we’ll all find out soon enough.

KONGO VS. BARRY

If you have never before watched mixed martial arts and you only have time to watch one fight next weekend, this is the one you need to see. You won’t need to bother trying to learn the nuances of the ground game. You won’t need to turn to your friend or jump on the Internet to interpret what the announcers are talking about as they call the action. Cheick Kongo versus Pat Barry will be a good old-fashioned slugfest, assuming Kongo doesn’t shock the world (and disappoint the fans) with a series of takedowns.

For those who don’t know, Kongo and Barry were both highly successful professional kickboxers before tossing their hats into the MMA arena. Their standup skills stand above all others in the heavyweight division, both in terms of technique and raw, bone-crushing power. And both need a decisive win to take a step away the middle of the division pack.

Kongo has one monstrous advantage heading into the fight, and it will be apparent the second the pair stand opposed at the pre-fight weigh in to pose for the media. The Frenchman enjoys a full five-inch height and nearly an eight-inch reach advantage. Those are often insurmountable odds when two equally skilled strikers go to war, particularly if Kongo commits to keeping Barry on the outside with a machine-gun jab and lead leg kicks. Setting the distance at the end of his punches will prevent the shorter, somewhat more explosive Barry from moving into striking range.

Barry is a short heavyweight. He knows that. He has been a short heavyweight his entire career, and it hasn’t really mattered that much yet because he has an innate ability to slip an opponent’s punches and step inside where he is able to exact tremendous damage. He did that against Antoni Hardonk and Mirko Cro Cop. There is no reason to think he cannot do the same thing against Kongo.

Once on the inside, Barry has a significant striking advantage against the much taller Kongo, assuming he can stay out of the clinch and away from knees. But again, knees are a major risk for Barry against every standup specialist opponent, so he is very accustomed to avoiding them. Barry is very good at exploding upward with leaping right hands and left hooks. He is also excellent at digging to the body, an often underutilized strike in MMA. Kongo will likely look to tie Barry up once he penetrates the perimeter, and, if history is any indicator, work for the takedown. Kongo has shown an increasing propensity to take down opponents who pose any threat to him on the feet, something that is surprising for a fighter of his background.

That will be an unfortunate result, if it happens, because a standup battle between these two has the potential to be the Fight of the Year and certainly is the odds on favorite to win an event bonus check, whether for Fight of the Night or Knockout of the Night. The fact remains, though, that this is MMA, not kickboxing, so Kongo would be well served to take the action to the ground, where Barry is his weakest. The taller, longer Kongo will be able to pound away at Barry from inside the guard, tiring and battering him, without having to try and pass the guard or otherwise improve his position. Even though that will possibly rob the fans of a spectacular, jaw-dropping finish, it is the more intelligent path to victory for Kongo, if he finds Barry able to slip his strikes and counter.

Based on the physical advantages, this should be Kongo’s fight to lose. The operative word there is “should.” Nothing is certain when Pat Barry steps in the cage because this guy has the power, skills and athleticism to touch anyone on the chin at any moment and bring down the curtains in an instant. I actually think he will find a way to win this fight, despite the fact that it appears to be a significant uphill battle on paper.

BROWN VS. HOWARD

Matt Brown and John Howard are both going through a serious rough patch in their respective UFC careers. Brown has lost three in a row, succumbing to submissions in the second round of each of those bouts. The fact that he is being brought back after three losses is a testament to his fighting spirit and ability to entertain the fans with his all-action style. Despite those desirable traits, four losses in a row almost certainly guarantees a stint in one of many smaller promotions before receiving another opportunity in the UFC.

Howard is coming off back-to-back defeats after starting his UFC career with four solid wins. Back-to-back defeats aren’t a rarity among top contenders. Parity is the reality of fighting in the UFC. Nonetheless, few fighters receive the opportunity that Brown was given, so Howard must operate under the assumption that this is a one-and-done situation, if he comes up short.

It suffices to say that these two are fighting for their short-term UFC futures. Sure, if they put on a tremendous back-and-forth show, it is possible that both will remain on the active roster, but nothing is guaranteed.

That added bit of pressure can lead to stifling results. I don’t see that being the case with these two. Brown and Howard are fighters deep down in their DNA. They live for a good scrap. And that is precisely what this should be.

Brown is a brawler’s brawler. The guy has good technique, but he is almost exclusively an offensive fighter. He isn’t afraid to take one on the chin in order to return the favor, and that is often his game plan because his toughness is a thing of legend. Keep in mind that he is one of only a very few UFC competitors with 10 or more career losses without ever having been stopped due to strikes.

Howard is an explosive striker in his own right. Before running into his current rough patch, Howard scored spectacular back-to-back knockouts over Dennis Hallman and Daniel Roberts, two excellent opponents. The problem, though, is he doesn’t have the same set of whiskers as his opponent. One-third of Howard’s six career losses came by way of knockout. That is something Brown hopes to exploit.

This fight isn’t about Xs and Os. Brown won’t let it be. He will come to fight, likely sending any pre-fight game plans right out the window. My guess is that Howard will want to bait Brown a bit so that emotion makes him come out swinging wildly. That will open the door for Howard to change levels and shoot for a double leg. Brown’s Achilles’ heel is his ground game. And that seems to be Howard’s best path to victory.

Regardless of what the future holds for Wanderlei Silva, his legacy is secure as one of MMA’s first great champions, an intimidating presence who boasted knockout power in bursts of aggression that bordered on frenzy. That fan-friendly physical style made him a legend, but it also took a toll on his body over time. The last few years have not been so kind to the 34-year-old “Axe Murderer,” who has lost five of his last seven fights. And on the heels of his most recent bout, a UFC 110 decision victory over Michael Bisping in his UFC middleweight debut, Silva disappeared.

First, he was sidelined by broken ribs that took him out of a proposed UFC 116 fight. Then, he had his right knee surgically repaired, knocking him out of competition for months. But at July 2’s UFC 132, Silva returns from the longest layoff of his career — a 16-month absence — with hopes of a career rebirth. Given the wars he’s taken part in, and the physical price paid by his body, fans are left to wonder how much he has left.

Stylistically speaking, a fight with Chris Leben isn’t the easiest return bout one can have. Like Silva, Leben fights in an aggressive, physical style that virtually ensures neither fighter will leave the cage quite the same way they walked in. Yet for Silva, the same type of firefight that’s always excited him still motivates him today.

“The fight is really important for me,” Silva said. “I’ve been out. I had a hard year for me. I really trained so hard for the fight. Finally, I’m going to fight with a guy [that] I think is going to fight with me, because my other opponents run. Some guys stay in front of me for a couple minutes and then start to run. My next opponent Chris is going to really come to fight. The fans are going to have a great show on July 2nd.”

The fight essentially came at the request of Leben, who replaced the injured Silva at UFC 116, defeated Yoshihiro Akiyama, and then asked to be the man to welcome Silva back to action.

At the time though, it was clear that Silva wouldn’t be back for quite a while, and Leben had a bout in the meantime, losing to Brian Stann in a first-round KO on New Year’s Day.

Meanwhile, Silva was back at home struggling through physical rehabilitation and the emotional upheaval caused by his inability to do what he loves most.

“I’m a competitive guy. I like to be in the octagon and fight my whole life,” he said. “I had a really tough year. But I have unbelievable support from my fans. My fans send me messages every day and give me good support. For that, I really want to give a good show because the UFC is going to all the homes in the world. It’s unbelievable. I want to show the real and the best Wanderlei Silva for all my fans around the world in the fight.”

Despite Silva’s rough recent stretch, his weight-class shift could have him in title contention in short order with a few W’s. His win over Bisping has him 1-0 in the division, and victories over Bisping and Leben would certainly put him in the conversation of contenders, given the fact that current champion Anderson Silva has mowed through most of the rest of 185’s best.

Silva admits that he still thinks about winning another major championship, but that after being out for so long, his focus is solely on his dangerous bout with the hammer-fisted Leben.

“I think this is a really important fight for me. A lot of guys asked me because I [asked] the boss, Can I fight Chris Leben? The guys asked me ‘Why?’ I said because I watched his fight with Akiyama. He did very well. He fought very well with Akiyama, a tough guy. [Leben] has a style like my style. He fights like me. This is the fight I asked for because I know we can make one of the best fights of the year, maybe the best fight of the year. I don’t know about him but I love money. I want a check for the best fight of the night, and maybe the best fight of the year.”

But more than money is fighting for the future. The past is secure, and stories of his prime will live on for years. It seems that a 34-year-old should still have some good days ahead, but after 16 months away, will he be reborn or rehashed? Silva is wise enough to know that July 2 will begin to answer that question. The fact that it comes against a fighter who he describes as a younger version of himself encapsulates the symbolism of the bout; Silva isn’t just fighting Leben, he’s fighting time.

Should be a great fight!!