Source: http://surfingartculture.blogspot.com/2010/11/surf-artist-dominique-amendola.html
During the many chapters of his life, Kyle Noke has seen it all. He's looking to make the MMA chapter his most interesting. A former bodyguard for Steve "The Crocodile Hunter" Irwin, Noke stormed to a 3-0 mark in the UFC after an easy win tonight over Chris Camozzi in the pay-per-view opener at UFC 127.
A native of New South Wales, Australia, Noke served as one of Irwin's bodyguards for three years and also worked with his Aussie brother on his martial arts skills. Irwin, who passed away in 2006, was a huge MMA fan.
"Strong, very strong," Noke told MMAjunkie.com of Irwin's ability. "He had that strength from wrestling crocs all his life from pulling them in and holding them tight. We'd never let him get on top because he would just hold you down as tight as he could."
Irwin did more than employ Noke, he backed his fighting efforts.
"He's one of the reasons why I'm here where I am now. He sponsored me and paid for my first flights to the States. He really pushed me to follow my career and follow my passion," Noke told the Sydney Morning Herald. "He used to help us prepare for fights. He had such an eye for detail through what he had been doing for so many years. You only have to watch the guy on TV to know how much passion the guy has got. If I could channel that passion in fighting for wildlife then that's a great start."
Irwin was an MMA devotee and according to Noke, The reality star even entertained fighting and donating the proceeds to charity.
Noke looked inspired from the opening seconds. Camozzi charged him for a single-leg takedown attempt, but the Aussie thwarted the effort with some underhooks. He showed his power by pushing forward, scoring a takedown and falling into the mount position. Camozzi did a solid job of avoiding big shots for a few seconds, but allowed Noke to crawl up his body.
Noke (19-4-1, 3-0 UFC) appeared to be setting up an armbar or inverted triangle when Camozzi tried to escape out the backdoor. Noke was quick to react by taking Camozzi's back. The Aussie flattened out Camozzi and tapped him with a rear-naked choke at 1:35 of the first.
Camozzi was a familiar opponent for Noke. They were castmates on Season 11 of "The Ultimate Fighter." Noke lost via unanimous decision to Kris McCray during the TUF 11 quarterfinals, but he appeared to be one of the better prospects on the show.
Fighting out of Jackson's MMA in Albuquerque, Noke, 30, is just moving into his prime. He has a well-rounded game and a chance to do some damage in the UFC.
Angela Marcello Angelina Jolie Anna Faris Anna Friel Anna Kournikova
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/02/26/ufc-should-shut-down-homophobic-slurs/
Ivana Bozilovic Ivanka Trump Izabella Miko Izabella Scorupco Jaime King
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SurfingStoke/~3/a7Fp95wEspE/
Britney Spears Brittany Daniel Brittany Lee Brittany Murphy Brittany Snow
Nick Ring stepped into the cage on Saturday for the first time since suffering a serious knee injury when he was an Ultimate Fighter contestant a year ago, beating Riki Fukuda by unanimous decision at UFC 127. But it's hard to find much to celebrate in the win for Ring, as it was lousy judging that took the victory from Fukuda.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/02/26/ufc-127-results-nick-ring-wins-riki-fukuda-robbed/
Amy Smart Ana Beatriz Barros Ana Hickmann Ana Ivanovi Ana Paula Lemes
Veteran fighter Brian Ebersole won his UFC debut 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 over Chris Lytle in an exciting bout at UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia.
Ebersole -- who had an arrow pointing up shaved into his chest hair -- opened with his trademark cartwheel kick, but it got him nowhere. Lytle, a UFC veteran, remained calm and continued to land hard shots and avoided the first takedown attempt. On the next one, he allowed Ebersole to take him down while catching a guillotine. Ebersole flipped out of the guillotine twice, but Lytle held on and continued to work on the choke. Ebersole finished the round on top of Lytle and opened a cut on his face just before the rounded ended.
In the second round, Ebersole continued to show off an unorthodox style, trying a spinning back kick and some strikes that can only be described as odd, peppering in conventional leg kicks and strikes. After a takedown attempt, Ebersole knocked Lytle to the ground with a knee. Ebersole followed up with hammerfists and a choke attempt and then frenzied stand-up followed with a slam.
Ebersole had the momentum going into the third round, and again tried the cartwheel kick. Lytle moved away from it, and then threw a ton of strikes. Ebersole defended with a takedown, and again, Lytle tried for a guillotine. Again, he couldn't finish it. The two returned to their feet, and worked the clinch with Ebersole throwing elbows and Lytle hitting inside shots.
Lytle and Ebersole are from the same town -- Indianapolis -- but traveled to Australia to fight. Before Ebersole made Sydney his home, he fought all over the Midwest where he would often see Lytle, but this is the first time they fought. At just 30 years old, Ebersole is 47-14-1. Lytle is now 30-18-5.
Ana Hickmann Ana Ivanovi Ana Paula Lemes Ananda Lewis Angela Marcello
Kyle Noke: 'It's Good to Be Home' Video by UFC 127Source: http://mmalice.com/ufc-127/kyle-noke-its-good-to-be-home-video_13bfb88f9.html
Eliza Dushku Emilie de Ravin Emma Heming Emma Stone Emma Watson
All fighters get old. The game catches up with them and moves along. Combine those absolutes with the fact that we live in a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately era and you get what Fedor Emelianenko has had to hear the last few days after his loss to Antonio Silva.
A guy goes without a loss for 10 years and now he was never really that good? Essentially a fraud?
We addressed the topic on ESPN1100 in Las Vegas, discussing the premise that most athletes from previous eras were never really that good because they wouldn't be able to compete with the modern-day athlete. Should they all be disrespected?
If that's the case, let's eliminate all pre-1980 NFL offensive linemen from the NFL Hall of Fame. After all, those 250 pounders would get destroyed today in an era of 300-pound behemoths. Frankly, 6-foot-6 power NBA Hall of Fame power forward Dave DeBusschere sucked and Joe Louis wasn't really a great heavyweight boxer. The guy fought most of his career between 195-205 pounds.
Ridiculous, right?
Not according to guys like Jim Rome, who teed up Fedor and smashed him out the park on Rome is Burning:
"Now it’s pretty obvious why he didn’t want to sign with the UFC. While Strikeforce does have competitive heavyweights, he didn’t want to fight the best of the best on the biggest stage, he knew better. He refused to take any chances; he milked it for all its worth and he got paid and then exposed and now it’s over."
Which company has a better heavyweight division is certainly up for debate. As far as "not taking chances and milking it," Rome is off base. Fedor wasn't afraid to face the UFC heavyweights and anyone who follows the story knows it's never been the fighter who's making the decision. If critics want to kill M-1, that's fine. But the fighter himself faced all comers and was a dominant forced from 2001-2006. Just like Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva and Matt Hughes, the other dominant fighters of the time deserve respect, so does Fedor.
Tip via MMAConvert
Jennifer Morrison Jennifer ODell Jennifer Scholle Jennifer Sky Jenny McCarthy
The Octagon is Down Under again this weekend for UFC 127, a fight card that is a step down in quality from the star-studded UFC 126 card of three weeks earlier, but does have a main event that pairs off two of the best fighters in the world in B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch.�
Permalink�|�Email this�|�Linking�Blogs�|�Comments
Jon Fitch and B.J. Penn battled for 15 minutes, with little determined after the fight was scored a majority draw. Penn had his moments in the first two rounds, while Fitch completed dominated the third. Wouldn't it be nice for all MMA main events to be five-rounders regardless of whether there's a title on the line?
That's not the case now and this draw leaves the UFC's welterweight division with a lot of question marks.
Adam Hill from the Las Vegas Review-Journal joined us to break down the scoring and what the future looks like in the UFC's welterweight division.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MostlySkateboarding/~3/uxRWjHDESf8/slacking.html
The biggest name in women's MMA, Gina Carano, surprised fans with a special appearance at the Strikeforce World Grand Prix to announce her return to the sport.Anna Kournikova Anna Paquin AnnaLynne McCord Anne Marie Kortright April Scott
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cotw/~3/S7TwgCkDoXs/surf-artist-leandro-silva.html
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cotw/~3/LN30mp9fY-c/surf-photographer-shelli-bankier.html
Cameron Richardson Camilla Belle Carla Campbell Carla Gugino Carmen Electra
The weigh-ins for UFC 127 in Sydney went off without a hitch and the UFC even stifled any pushing and shoving that could've occured.
Jon Fitch and B.J. Penn went nose-to-nose during the staredown. Penn is the much smaller fighter. He weighed in at 167.2 but he was also wearing his jeans. Fitch is likely to walk into the Octagon with a weight advantage of somewhere between 15 and 20 pounds.
It was also no surprise to see Michael Bisping so hyped up that he was ready to deck Jorge Rivera. Bisping weighed in at 185.2, drank a full bottom of something to begin the rehydration process and then walked aggressively across the stage. UFC president Dana White was johnny-on-the-spot stepping in between the two middleweights.
Nineteen of the 20 remaining fighters made weight and provided few highlights before, during and after they hit the scale. There was an issue with Denis Siver, who weighed in at 156.6. Siver was given an hour to get down to 156.
UFC 127 weigh-in (Courtesy MMAjunkie):
MAIN CARD (pay-per-view)
Jon Fitch (77.2 kg/169.8 lbs.) vs. B.J. Penn (76 kg/167.2 lbs.)
Michael Bisping (84.2 kg/185.2 lbs.) vs. Jorge Rivera (84 kg/184.8 lbs.)
Dennis Siver (71.2 kg/156.6 lbs.) vs. George Sotiropoulos (70.8 kg/155.8 lbs.)
Chris Lytle (77.2 kg/169.8 lbs.) vs. Brian Ebersole (77.2 kg/169.8 lbs.)
Chris Camozzi (84.2 kg/185.2 lbs.) vs. Kyle Noke (83.6 kg/183.9 lbs.)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ION Television)
Spencer Fisher (70.2 kg/154.4 lbs.) vs. Ross Pearson (70.6 kg/155.3 lbs.)
Alexander Gustafsson (93.2 kg/205 lbs.) vs. James Te Huna (93 kg/204.6 lbs.)
Riki Fukuda (84 kg/184.8 lbs.) vs. Nick Ring (84 kg/184.8 lbs.)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
Tom Blackledge (93.2 kg/205.2 lbs.) vs. Anthony Perosh (93 kg/204.6 lbs.)
Jason Reinhardt (66 kg/145.2 lbs.) vs. Tiequan Zhang (66.2 kg/145.6 lbs.)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Mark Hunt (119.2 kg/262.2 lbs.) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (118.6 kg/260.9 lbs.)
Maciej Jewtuszko (70.2 kg/154.4 lbs.) vs. Curt Warburton (70.8 kg/155.8 lbs.)
Watch UFC 127 right here on Yahoo! Sports.
Blake Lively Blu Cantrell Bonnie Jill Laflin Bridget Moynahan Britney Spears
James Te Huna was a little too wired fighting in front of the home crowd in Australia. The Sydney resident fought at a frantic pace in the opening minute, then faded quickly before becoming a first round rear-naked choke victim of Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 127.
Less than 30 seconds into the fight, Te Huna (12-5, 1-1 UFC) scored a takedown and was incredibly active on top. Gustafsson did a nice job of weathering the storm. Te Huna was throwing punches and elbows from side control and looked to have an easy pass for the mount, but never seized the opportunity.
Gustafsson settled Te Huna down by getting him, first in his half guard and then full guard. The Swede got back to his feet with three minutes left in the round. A minute later, Gustafsson scored a takedown against Te Huna, who was clearly winded. He scored another when he reversed a Te Huna takedown attempt and quickly took his back with 1:10 left. Te Huna didn't provide much opposition on the ground. Gustafsson flattened him out and applied a rear-naked choke. Te Huna survived and spun out, but Gustafsson stayed with it and got the New Zealander back to his stomach where he latched on the finishing submission. He got the tap at the 4:27 mark of the first.
At 6-foot-5, Gustafsson, 24, is an intriguing light heavyweight prospect. He's now 3-1 in the UFC with his only loss coming against super-prospect Phil Davis. He's also got wins over Jared Hamman and veteran striker Cyrille Diabate.
Adrianne Palicki Aisha Tyler Aki Ross Alecia Elliott Alessandra Ambrosio
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MostlySkateboarding/~3/7PoCiTpMaCM/pushy-leftovers.html
Angelina Jolie Anna Faris Anna Friel Anna Kournikova Anna Paquin
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MostlySkateboarding/~3/xE_LGhoBokk/mofo-vacation.html
Janet Jackson January Jones Jennie Finch Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Gareis
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cotw/~3/h2o0A2l3HqA/happy-holidays-from-cotw.html
Bar Refaeli Beyoncé Bianca Kajlich Bijou Phillips Blake Lively
When two fighters grapple for nearly 15 minutes, it's not often a crowd refrains from booing, but even the most novice group of MMA fans could appreciate the non-stop battle between Pat Healy and Lyle Beerbohm. After dozens of transitions, lots of takedowns and several submission attempts, Healy got the nod on all three cards, 29-28, for a unanimous decision victory in the main event of Strikeforce Challengers 14 in Cedar Park, Tx.
It was Beerbohm's first loss after starting 16-0, but it was nothing to be embarrassed about. Healy was just a little bigger and had more gas in the tank in the final round.
"If they want a rematch ... anytime," Healy (26-17) said. "I think I outworked him. I won the exchange on the feet and I had a couple of real close submissions."
Keep in mind earlier in the evening, the same crowd actually booed some lackluster standup just 55 seconds into the Ryan Couture-Lee Higgins fight. In the final fight of the night, they enjoyed the technique, fortitude and stamina shown by Healy and Beerbohm as did Showtime's broadcast team of Mauro Ranallo, Pat Miletich and Stephen Quadros who were howling in approval late in third round.
That was the round that sealed the fight for Healy. Healy scored a takedown with 3:25 left and got Beerbohm's back where he was able to lock on a tight rear-naked choke. It was a rare moment in the fight, where the Energizer bunny Beerbohm actually stopped moving for a while.
The 31-year-old former drug addict and dealer was able to turn into Healy and free himself from danger. Beerbohm scored his own takedown with just over two minutes left in the fight but could never get Healy, a former wrestler at Southern Illinois, settled. The fighters traded dominant position over the final 100 seconds of the fight before a short stand up exchange to close it out.
Healy said he'd like to face the winner of the Billy Evangelista-Jorge Masvidal fight. That one goes down on Mar. 5 in Columbus, Oh. Evangelista holds a win over Healy's twin brother Ryan.
Healy credited his work with B.J. Penn and his camp in Hawaii for some of his nifty transitions and submission attempts. He was very dangerous in the second round.
In that round, Beerbohm kept pushing the fight to the cage and working for double-leg takedowns. On three occasions, Healy was able to push his head down and drop to the ground with inverted triangles. Beerbohm was actually in big trouble in one of those inverted triangles when Healy had him in a key lock. Beerbohm is resilient though and freed himself.
Healy, 27, is an interesting case. His record looks very pedestrian, but it includes losses to the likes of Jake Ellenberger, Rory Markham, Carlo Prater, Jay Hieron, Chris Wilson, Chris Lytle, Dave Strasser, Chris Leben, Brad Blackburn and Denis Kang. He said he needed the money in the past and took a lot of fights on short notice. He's also at the perfect weight now. He's a huge welterweight. He took a big step up last time out and nearly pulled the upset on former Strikeforce welterweight champ Josh Thomson.
Donna Feldman Drea de Matteo Drew Barrymore Ehrinn Cummings Elena Lyons
With the UFC invading Sydney for UFC 127, the media was on hand as fighters Matt Mitrione, Jon Fitch, Stephan Bonnar, James Te Huna and Kyle Noke met with Sydney's rugby team, the Roosters.
For a former football defensive tackle, Mitrione showed some pretty good hands with the larger rugby ball (Fanhouse video). Although the narrator in this Roosters' video said, the fighters "weren't really impressing with the ball."
Mitrione and fellow Purdue Boilermaker Stephan Bonnar reminisce about the drunken days at Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium. Mitrione was playing for Joe Tiller, so he wasn't the drunken viewer. He also loved the grass at the Sydney Roosters' stadium.
If you're wondering what Steggles sells, fittingly, it's a poultry company.
Check out all of Tracy Lee's photos from the event.
Watch UFC 127 right here on Yahoo! Sports.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rock-climbing-blog/~3/US4y7aAlJk8/philsheard
Carla Campbell Carla Gugino Carmen Electra Carol Grow Carrie Underwood
Happy Presidents' Day! In honor of this day that salutes our commanders-in-chief, Cagewriter took a second to ponder: which fighters would be at home in the Oval Office?
Brian Stann: The Marine-turned-fighter has professed political ambitions, and spends his time away from fighting running Hire Heroes, a not-for-profit that aims to help veterans find meaningful employment after their time with the Armed Forces.
Matt Lindland: One of few fighters with campaign experience, Lindland would also meet the constitutional age requirement for the presidency, and did the MMA world a favor by stopping the run of . He also has plenty of time on his hands, since an injury just forced him out of his planned KSW bout. But I fear how many campaign ads would take advantage of his bad knockouts.
Jacob Volkmann: He already has some strong feelings on the health care policy, but something tells me that having a Secret Service investigation in your background doesn't help you earn the trust of the electorate. (Suggested by Aaron Daane)
Kenny Florian: Through his side job as the lead analyst on ESPN's "MMA Live," Florian has shown an ease discussing many subjects on camera, a key trait for presidents. But what would his ever-dropping weight class do to his judgment? I wouldn't want Florian to have the nuclear codes while he drops down to featherweight to face Diego Nunes, but I would have faith that Vice President Kurt Pellegrino and Secretary of State Miguel Torres would keep Florian in line. (Suggested by Danielle Hobeika)
It's not as far-fetched as it seems. Plenty of presidents were also athletes. George H.W. Bush captained the Yale football team, Gerald Ford played football at Michigan, and according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association, 11 presidents have wrestled, the sport that is the base to so many fighters.
Which fighter would you vote for?
Chloë Sevigny Christina Aguilera Christina Applegate Christina DaRe Christina Milian
Source: http://surfingartculture.blogspot.com/2010/11/vote-for-club-of-waves.html
Grace Park Gretha Cavazzoni Gwen Stefani Halle Berry Hayden Panettiere
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cotw/~3/VTQYR9LFSY4/surf-artist-colleen-malia-wilcox.html
Cindy Taylor Cinthia Moura Claudette Ortiz Coco Lee Connie Nielsen
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cotw/~3/h2o0A2l3HqA/happy-holidays-from-cotw.html
Brooke Burns Busy Philipps Cameron Diaz Cameron Richardson Camilla Belle
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rock-climbing-blog/~3/kB9Hgxz2rko/philsheard
Gina Gershon Gina Philips Gisele Bündchen Giuliana DePandi Giulianna Ramirez
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cotw/~3/Mmg4lROHG3M/surf-artist-mo-ryan.html
Elena Lyons Elisabeth Röhm Elisha Cuthbert Eliza Dushku Emilie de Ravin
Jon Fitch has lost just once in the UFC, but always seems to find himself in a frustrating position in the UFC welterweight division. It happened again Saturday night at UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia. The highly-rated contender at 170 pounds mauled B.J. Penn in the final round but the fight was scored 28-28 on two judges' scorecoards, resulting in an unfulfiling majority draw at Acer Arena. Fitch was a 29-28 winner on the third scorecard.
UFC analyst Joe Rogan asked Fitch if he won the fight:
"I thought so," Fitch said. "I gave up some positioning in the first and second round, but I finished out on top and did some damage of my own. I think I did enough at least to win a split decision."
The "decision" has been the unfortunate story of Fitch's UFC career, but this one was tough to swallow. Fitch crushed Penn in the final round. He got the Hawaiian down for good with 3:39 left and pummeled him with punches, hammerfists and elbows. According to FightMetric, the final strike count in round three was an amazing 149-2. Compustrike said it was 134-0 and the final two rounds were 191-15.
Fitch is now an impressive 13-1-1 with the promotion, but his grinding style has turned off some fans, and UFC management has been reluctant to throw Fitch back in the Octagon with champion Georges St. Pierre. GSP dominated Fitch in a decision victory back at UFC 87.
"I want the title more than anything," Fitch said. "At the end of the day, we don’t make the decision, the guys in the suits do and the fans do."
Things get interesting in April when GSP defends his title against Jake Shields at UFC 129. If he wins the fight, he plans on leaving the division and relinquishing his title to challenge Anderson Silva for 185-pound belt. That would essentially force the hand of the UFC.
There's no way, even with this draw, to justify not putting Fitch (23-3-1, 13-1-1 UFC) into an interim title fight, should St. Pierre vacate the title. The only alternative would be some sort of mini-tournament at 170 pounds, something the UFC has never put together since Zuffa took over the company back in 2001.
Penn (16-7-2, 12-6-2 UFC) didn't exactly sell the fans on the fact that the fight was a draw. He openly admitted in the Octagon that he didn't think he'd done enough to get the decision.
"I think I got some dominant positions in the first and second, but he kicked my butt in the third," said Penn.
Penn said he was open to a rematch.
"I guess I wasn't really sure what I would do with my career if I lost the fight," Penn said. "Since the gods were nice to me and gave me a draw, if he wants to do it again, I'll do it again."
Fitch echoed the sentiment, but also expressed some frustration with his position in the division.
"I'm down for whatever. I'm here to fight. If my 13 wins in the UFC isn’t enough to already put me in the spot for a title shot, I'm willing to prove myself more," said Fitch.
Fitch gave Penn credit for confusing him in the first two rounds. Penn, the smaller fighter with better boxing, was expected to try to keep the fight standing. Instead, he charged forward at the start of the fight and tried to outgrapple the wrestler.
"It just threw me off," said Fitch. "I didn’t train at all for B.J. shooting takedowns. I did zero defensive wrestling this whole camp."
Penn scored takedowns in the first and second, that he turned into threats for a rear-naked choke. Fitch did a great job of defending against the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. In both cases, he fought off Penn and spun into a dominant position. That said, heading to the final 75 seconds of the second round, he was probably headed for a 2-0 deficit. After the second round escape, he capitalized on the top control by pounding away at Penn. Fitch set the tone for the final round and on the Cagewriter scorecard, stole back the second to even the fight.
"I was looking for him to come out, counterbox and counterwrestle," Fitch said. "I wasn’t expecting that at all. It was a great gameplan. It took me until the second round to really catch my groove."
The third round was an absolute blowout. A tired Penn made a terrible tactical error, swinging wildly at Fitch and attempting a flying knee. Fitch took him down easily and pounded away at Penn. The Hawaiian got back to his feet a minute later, but was taken down two more times. That last time spelled doom for Penn, who just couldn't contend with Fitch's size anymore.
This writer scored it 29-27 for Fitch, as did Adam Hill from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. FightMetric also gave it to Fitch 29-27.
Jennifer Gimenez Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Morrison Jennifer ODell Jennifer Scholle
In an incredibly questionable -- to put it nicely -- judges decision, "The Ultimate Fighter" alumnus Nick Ring continued his unbeaten streak, winning a decision over Japanese fighter Riki Fukuda. All three judges saw it 29-28 for Ring.
Fukuda started the first round with a takedown. Ring tried to work an armbar from the bottom, but he couldn't finish it and kicked out from the bottom. When the two returned to their feet, Fukuda used kicks to batter Ring's legs and move inside to land strikes. Fukuda finished the round with a takedown.
In the second, Fukuda beat up Ring's face and managed another smooth takedown. He clinched with Ring, using knees and short punches to inflict damage. He wasn't overwhelming, but Fukuda definitely controlled the action.
Fukuda picked it up in the third round, coming out with quick strikes and then taking Ring down. They returned to their feet, and Fukuda landed undercuts and then got another takedown. Though he was clearly behind, Ring never went for broke in the final round. He looked beyond rusty in his first fight since appearing on the 11th season of TUF.
Ring looked slightly surprised as his name was read as the winner, and UFC commentator Je Rogan expressed shot by the judges call. Fight Metric had the fight 30-27 for Fukuda, as did Cagewriter. Even UFC president Dana White tweeted his displeasure, "Judges [expletive] suck again!! Fukuda got robbed!!!"
Swiss skate tool maker Mabasi has a lengthy tour video that is worth taking a look at.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MostlySkateboarding/~3/SL3KUYUDS5Y/mabasi-swiss-tour.html
Ali Campoverdi Ali Larter Alice Dodd Alicia Keys Alicia Witt
Minutes after a bad loss, don't take a man's words at face value. It turns out Scott Coker was right, Fedor Emelianenko sounds like he wants to fights on.
The former PRIDE champ, who suffered a vicious beating at the hands of Antonio Silva, told the Russian media that he still has some fight left in him.
"I rushed to declare my retirement out of frustration. I will fight more. Possibly, I will return to the [Strikeforce] heavyweight Grand Prix," Fedor told LifeSports.ru (translation via Cage Potato). "I am confident that I am capable of having a few more fights. I didn’t make any analysis yet on why I lost. I need to recover. I can’t see very well yet."
Fedor's coaches downplayed the loss to Silva.
"Fedor is quite able to return to the tournament," Emelianenko’s striking coach, Alexander Michkov explained. "Everybody stumbles. This is not as terrible as everyone is making it out to be."
His Sambo coach Vladimir Voronov said Fedor is more motivated now than ever.
"He has a hematoma, but it will go. It’s very good that Fedor still has his fighting spirit, he is ready to break everyone now," Voronov said. "Most importantly for him is not to have any psychological pressure. The loss will make him train with triple the effort."
Is there any doubt Fedor will be re-inserted into the tournament if anyone else gets hurt? That's a bad break for guys like Shane del Rosario and Valentijn Overeem. Strikeforce is paying big money and wants to get maximum bang for its buck.
Ivana Bozilovic Ivanka Trump Izabella Miko Izabella Scorupco Jaime King
It's all coming together perfectly. Georges St. Pierre could be leaving the welterweight division soon and the man to beat will be Jon Fitch. Fitch is a great fighter, but seems to drive UFC management, led by the president Dana White, nuts because he usually wins by decision. When it was time for Junior dos Santos and Brock Lesnar, on the set of Season 13 of "The Ultimate Fighter," to pick UFC 127's main event they had trouble deviating from the usual Fitch script.
Both fighters picked Fitch to take out B.J. Penn via decision. That's not surprising since Fitch has won five straight decisions and his last eight have gone the distance. What was surprising was Lesnar actually throwing down some Fitch knowledge. when he made his selection, he seemed to be aware of Fitch's game.
Each time Lesnar has been asked in the past to pick a fight, it's clear he really doesn't own a computer or watch much television. He fights, but doesn't watch the stuff.
Penn is the smaller fighter at 170 pounds and may have trouble keeping Fitch off him. White's nightmare would be another three-round lay and pray with Fitch rolling to a win and into position to fight for an interim welterweight belt.
White's first vlog for UFC 127 (NSFW) also includes the immediate aftermath of Anderson Silva's amazing kick that finished Vitor Belfort at UFC 126. UFC matchmaker Joe Silva calls the champ some sort of mother[expletive] and White kept saying "I've never even seen that before."
Watch UFC 127 right here on Yahoo! Sports.
Ehrinn Cummings Elena Lyons Elisabeth Röhm Elisha Cuthbert Eliza Dushku
It looks like fans win out again at UFC 127 with more "free" fights. The promotion is throwing a total of four fights on the combination of Facebook and Ion.
Visit the UFC's Facebook page hit "like" at 8 p.m. ET to watch Jason Reinhardt battle Tiequan Zhang plus Tom Blackledge against Aussie Anthony Perosh.
At 9 p.m. ET, ION will air Alexander Gustaffson against James Te Huna, Ross Pearson trying to bounce back against Spencer Fisher and Riki Fukuda's UFC debut versus "the Ultimate Fighter 11 alum Nick Ring.
According to MMAjunkie, the first ION telecast of UFC 125 delivered pretty well with 829,000 viewers. That's half of Spike's normal numbers but the ION deal wasn't announced until a few days before the event and certainly doesn't have the coverage that Spike has and isn't well known to most television viewers.
The photos are from today's UFC 127 workout at Star City Casino.
Watch UFC 127 right here on Yahoo! Sports.
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-127-prelims-on-ION-and-Facebook?urn=mma-324728
Halle Berry Hayden Panettiere Haylie Duff Heidi Klum Heidi Montag Hilarie Burton Hilary Duff
When two fighters grapple for nearly 15 minutes, it's not often a crowd refrains from booing, but even the most novice group of MMA fans could appreciate the non-stop battle between Pat Healy and Lyle Beerbohm. After dozens of transitions, lots of takedowns and several submission attempts, Healy got the nod on all three cards, 29-28, for a unanimous decision victory in the main event of Strikeforce Challengers 14 in Cedar Park, Tx.
It was Beerbohm's first loss after starting 16-0, but it was nothing to be embarrassed about. Healy was just a little bigger and had more gas in the tank in the final round.
"If they want a rematch ... anytime," Healy (26-17) said. "I think I outworked him. I won the exchange on the feet and I had a couple of real close submissions."
Keep in mind earlier in the evening, the same crowd actually booed some lackluster standup just 55 seconds into the Ryan Couture-Lee Higgins fight. In the final fight of the night, they enjoyed the technique, fortitude and stamina shown by Healy and Beerbohm as did Showtime's broadcast team of Mauro Ranallo, Pat Miletich and Stephen Quadros who were howling in approval late in third round.
That was the round that sealed the fight for Healy. Healy scored a takedown with 3:25 left and got Beerbohm's back where he was able to lock on a tight rear-naked choke. It was a rare moment in the fight, where the Energizer bunny Beerbohm actually stopped moving for a while.
The 31-year-old former drug addict and dealer was able to turn into Healy and free himself from danger. Beerbohm scored his own takedown with just over two minutes left in the fight but could never get Healy, a former wrestler at Southern Illinois, settled. The fighters traded dominant position over the final 100 seconds of the fight before a short stand up exchange to close it out.
Healy said he'd like to face the winner of the Billy Evangelista-Jorge Masvidal fight. That one goes down on Mar. 5 in Columbus, Oh. Evangelista holds a win over Healy's twin brother Ryan.
Healy credited his work with B.J. Penn and his camp in Hawaii for some of his nifty transitions and submission attempts. He was very dangerous in the second round.
In that round, Beerbohm kept pushing the fight to the cage and working for double-leg takedowns. On three occasions, Healy was able to push his head down and drop to the ground with inverted triangles. Beerbohm was actually in big trouble in one of those inverted triangles when Healy had him in a key lock. Beerbohm is resilient though and freed himself.
Healy, 27, is an interesting case. His record looks very pedestrian, but it includes losses to the likes of Jake Ellenberger, Rory Markham, Carlo Prater, Jay Hieron, Chris Wilson, Chris Lytle, Dave Strasser, Chris Leben, Brad Blackburn and Denis Kang. He said he needed the money in the past and took a lot of fights on short notice. He's also at the perfect weight now. He's a huge welterweight. He took a big step up last time out and nearly pulled the upset on former Strikeforce welterweight champ Josh Thomson.
Danica Patrick Daniella Alonso Danneel Harris Deanna Russo Denise Richards Desiree Dymond Diane Kruger
Bob Arum irked mixed martial arts followers a few years back when he said the majority of fans were "skinhead white guys."
Even with MMA pay-per-view and arena audiences exploding across the U.S. and the world, Arum still believes MMA's scope is limited.
"It's the same audience over and over," Arum told USA Today. "It's white males, and they have never been able to expand their demographic."
For that reason, the UFC and MMA can only reach certain heights according to Arum.
"The Hispanics don't care anything for it. Most African-Americans don't watch it. Hey, this country is becoming more and more Hispanic, and it's growing African-American (in the) audience," Arum said.
"So the future success of UFC is limited. The success of boxing is not, because boxing reaches those groups. The only demographic that boxing has lost is the white, young males, period."
Arum believes the fight market includes all males and that MMA doesn't draw the eyes of Hispanics and African-Americans. He also hints at the fact that boxing may experience a resurgence if it can mend fences with network television and deliver more of its product for free.
We posted the latest fan video from Strikeforce. The audience at the Izod Center appeared to be pretty diverse.
Ali Campoverdi Ali Larter Alice Dodd Alicia Keys Alicia Witt Amanda Bynes Amanda Detmer
Nick Ring stepped into the cage on Saturday for the first time since suffering a serious knee injury when he was an Ultimate Fighter contestant a year ago, beating Riki Fukuda by unanimous decision at UFC 127. But it's hard to find much to celebrate in the win for Ring, as it was lousy judging that took the victory from Fukuda.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/02/26/ufc-127-results-nick-ring-wins-riki-fukuda-robbed/
Estella Warren Esther Cañadas Eva Green Eva Longoria Eva Mendes Evangeline Lilly Eve
