Fight Week Previews: WEC 43 Undercard

With just four fights scheduled to appear on the main card of WEC 43, today serves as a chance to give some much needed recognition to the combatants on the preliminary portion of the event.

As per usual, the WEC has put together a loaded lineup and the six match-ups that make up this preview are on par with the four fights higher up on the card.

Featuring former champions Wagnney Fabiano (pictured) and Eddie Wineland, as well as legitimate contenders like Javier Vazquz, Scott Jorgensen and Anthony Njokuani, WEC 43 will surely deliver the fast-paced, entertaining action we've come to expect from World Extreme Cagefighting shows.

Time for the fast and dirty Fight Week Previews.

Javier Vazquez (13-3-0) vs. Deividas Taurosevicius (10-3-0)

Vazquez lost a razor-thin Split Decision to L.C. Davis back in August after their fight was resurrected from the wreckage that was Affliction: Trilogy. While Taurosevicius is tough-as-nails, he hasn't been in the ring since his final fight in the IFL, a loss to Ryan Schultz in May 2008.

Charlie Valencia (10-5-0) vs. Coty Wheeler (10-1-0)

Side-by-side, Wheeler's record looks more impressive, but looks can be deceiving. While Wheeler has piled up wins on smaller stages, Valencia's last six appearances have come in the WEC and those five losses come at the hands of Urijah Faber, Brian Bowles, Dominick Cruz, Antonio Banuelos and Yoshiro Maeda.

Eddie Wineland (14-6-1) vs. Manny Tapia (10-2-1)

Wineland was the first Bantamweight champ in the WEC, but lost the belt in his first defense and hasn't received a win bonus from the company since. Tapia took an undefeated record into a title shot against Miguel Torres at WEC 37. Now he's hoping to break a two fight losing streak. Winner stays, loser leaves town.

Wagnney Fabiano (12-1-0) vs. Mackens Semerzier (6-0-0)

Let's put it this way: Fabiano was skipped over for a title shot against Mike Brown because Jose Aldo was doing crazy-dynamic things in the cage and getting noticed more than the former IFL champ. Regardless, the Brazilian should still be undefeated and "Mack Da Menace" won't be for too much longer.

Scott Jorgensen (6-3-0) vs. Noah Thomas (13-5-0)

"Young Guns" will look to break the Keyboard Kimura curse with a win over the former TUF 5 competitor. Jinxes aside, Jorgensen dominated Frank Gomez, stopping him in 70 seconds, while Gomez laid a beating on Thomas for a round and a half before sinking in an arm triangle.

Anthony Njokuani (11-2-0) vs. Muhsin Corbbrey (13-3-1)

Motivation won't be a problem for Njokuani, who returns home to fight in his home state of Texas and gets to watch the only two men to ever defeat him battle for the belt in the main event. Not that motivation will be a problem for Corbrrey either; if you can get up for a three round war with Nick Diaz, you're good to go.



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A Throwdown with Showdown: The K2 Interview Series with "Showdown" Joe Ferraro

If you’re talking Mixed Martial Arts news and information in Canada, one name comes to mind: “Showdown” Joe Ferraro.

What? You thought I was going to say me?

From hosting his own radio show and delivering analysis on Rogers Sportsnet, to the creation and immediate success of his show MMA Connected, the man simply known as Showdown Joe has quickly become the country’s most recognizable and respected expert on the rapidly growing sport.

Earlier this week, we sat down to discuss everything from the UFC’s expansion into Canada and his path to MMA Connected, to the idea of teammates fighting and the always entertaining Keyboard Kimura Questionnaire.

This is The K2 Interview Series ... with “Showdown” Joe Ferraro.

So everyone who has done an interview with me has lost their next fight, including guys who just thought about doing an interview with me. Any concerns that Sportsnet is going to axe MMA Connected on Monday now that you’re doing this?

Really? Every time someone does an interview with you, they end up losing their fights?

There have been a couple people who haven’t fought yet since we did the interview – Cody Donovan and Sarah Kaufman – but everybody else is 0’fer. Kenny Florian lost to BJ, Sam Stout’s fight got canceled, Tim Hague got stopped in seven seconds. So people are kind of on my now that I’m a curse...

If I lose my job at MMA Connected, I’m coming knocking on your door. But I wouldn’t believe that for a second. Each one of those fighters, they’ve got their destiny in their own hands and they can do what they can to win their fights and it’s just mere coincidence.

It’s like the [the EA Sports Cover Curses]; they’re in charge of their own careers when they step through the cage door and it has nothing to do with your interviews and it’s not a curse.

I hope not.

With that out of the way, how did you get involved in MMA?

The first time I watched Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, we’re talking ‘93-‘94 and I was just “I’m in love with this sport. This is crazy stuff going on here.”

I kept following MMA in general and the UFC and after a while, I started realizing that sitting in the bar, I was the only guy amongst all my friends that realized you could win a fight without knocking a guy out. Without punching or kicking, you can actually take a guy down, control him and submit him and all my friends were all, “No, no, you can’t do that. That’s not how you win a fight” but in the ring, that’s what guys were doing and I realized I gotta take this jiu jitsu stuff.

I have a boxing and a bit of wrestling background and I started taking jiu jitsu and amalgamating everything and got injured all the time. I spent more time off the mat than on the mat and realized that I gotta make a different decision here.

If I wanna be involved with the sport, because I know one day this sport is going to blow up – people are going to want to see this stuff, they’re gonna fall in love with it. People that are watching boxing and karate are going to realize that you can mix everything together and put everything together to create a style, so I was just trying to figure out what I could do and ended up meeting a couple friends and we opened up a clothing line, Showdown Fightwear and Showdown Boxing, which is an equipment line.

From there, we started sponsoring fighters at various events and then I met up with some promoters. They fell in love with the knowledge that I had and how I could break down fights into what this guy needs to do to win and what that guy needs to do to win, and then during the fight I would explain what guys needed to do to get out of a position and they said, “Did you ever think about doing commentary?”

I said, “Not really, but I’ll give it a shot.” They hired me on the spot after I did one fight with them and then it just expanded from there. I started managing, consulting, promoting, and just doing a whole bunch of things and before you knew it, I ended up getting my own radio show and TV show.

What led you to Sportsnet and the creation of MMA Connected?

MMA Connected was an idea of mine from probably 2003. I pitched it to pretty much every network in Canada sports-wise and got shown the door saying we don’t want this stuff, it’s barbaric, but my theory was simple: you’re either in or you’re in the way.

You can choose to get on board first and then follow this or someone else is going to do it. [The response was always],”Yeah, yeah, Joe, whatever. Talk to us later on.” So I kept the idea going and eventually I ended up getting a gig with [sports talk radio station] The Fan 590 in Toronto which is syndicated across the country.

About three or four month in, the guys from Sportsnet started getting into MMA, they started covering the UFC and they decided, “We need an analyst; someone who is involved in the sport and can pick up the phone and call Chuck Liddell or Randy Couture.” So they started looking around and realized that The Fan 590 is owned by the same company as Sportsnet – Rogers Communications – and said, “Who’s this Showdown Joe guy? Let’s bring him in.”

I went in for the audition and basically got hired on the spot and took it from there. As I got my foot through the door, I eventually got really close with one of the producers Bob Torrens and I showed him the idea for the show and his eyes just lit up.

He thought it was a great idea and that we really needed to do it, so we started pitching each executive, each VP separately until they all realized, “You know what? Sponsors want this. We want this. The public wants this. Every time Joe goes online to post an article, every time we post one of his hits online gets all these crazy numbers that are mimicking hockey and baseball, we got something there.”

Next thing you know, they said, “Okay, let’s do the show.” The show took off on April 20th and we haven’t looked back since.

Obviously you’re with Rogers Sportsnet, a network that has fast become the home of MMA in Canada, which I’d like to thank you for by the way.

Conversely, “Canada’s Sports Leader” doesn’t offer up and ounce of coverage on the sport; not a report from major events, not profiles on Canadian fighters, zip. What the hell is TSN’s problem with MMA?

They’re eventually going to wake up and realize that MMA is big, it brings in numbers and you’ll see something coming out of TSN. I’d hate to say it’s not going to happen because sports networks in general, radio networks in general, it’s all about money and MMA brings in money and ratings.

Mind you, TSN have got really good deals with the NHL and other types of sports, so they might think, you know, right now we don’t need it, but eventually it’s going to come.

They’ve got the WEC right now. I’ve always said it, “One day, TSN is going to wake up,” it just depends how far behind the curve they are. They’re smart, they’re a good network, they know exactly what’s going on and I think it’s eventually going to happen at TSN. It’s just figuring out how far behind they are from Sportsnet because Sportsnet is taking off with it.

They’ve got The Ultimate Fighter, they’ve got MMA Connected, they’ve got Ultimate Fight Night, they’ve got regular features; we always talk about MMA or UFC in the Connected shows which is like TSN’s SportsCentre. I’m always sending in updates, there is coverage of Canadian fighters, or Chuck Liddell on Dancing with the Stars or something that’s newsworthy and people want to know without having to wait for it on MMA Connected, so talk about it right now.

I agree that they’ll get their eventually. I just continue to find it amazing that they haven’t done anything with MMA already when they’re “Canada’s Sports Leader.”

The one theory that I have when it comes to these radio stations and these networks, and we’re talking globally, what eventually happens is there is a shift in power where the older guys eventually retire and you start getting guys that are my age or your age into positions to make decisions where its, “You know what? I grew up watching MMA. I grew up watching Royce Gracie, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell and Georges St-Pierre. Why don’t we have it on the network?”

As time goes on and as the sport continues to evolve, you’ll see a change and a shift in power where the decision makers are going to be guys are age who will say, “Hey, we’re going to put MMA on no ifs, ands or buts.”

I said that exact same thing in an article like two weeks ago, so it’s refreshing to hear someone in the industry echoing those thoughts.

What advice would you give to aspiring MMA journalists out there who want to break into the business? How can they get their foot in the door?

Never take no for an answer. More no’s will eventually lead to a yes; it’s a stubborn industry and very difficult to break into. The bottom line is that for anyone that wants to get into any industry, you need connections; you need to be connected with the fighters, you need to be able to pick up the phone and contact a celebrity or a fighter or somebody.

When they start seeing that you start writing articles or doing interviews and people are taking notice of that, it’s all about numbers. If you’re websites or articles start getting the hits, it’s a lot of work, but eventually it pays off.

Nothing great doesn’t come without sacrifice; you’ve gotta bust your butt and believe that you’re going to succeed one day.

D’you know what I think would help? Getting a shout out on an upcoming episode of MMA Connected on Rogers Sportsnet. I’m not greedy; it’s not like I’m asking to guest host or anything, although I would do a better job than Tito and not wear shirts calling you my bitch either.

(Laughs) You never know what can happen. Keep plugging away.

Before getting around to some more insightful and investigative journalism-type questions, let’s run through the Keyboard Kimura Questionnaire:

Favourite fighter?

To me that’s a loaded question. Coming where I’ve come from, seeing my friends get into the business and never having been able to fight a pro fight in my life, anyone who steps through the ropes or steps in the cage gets my love. I respect them all, man.

Most Underrated Fighter and Most Overrated?

In terms of overrated, it was obviously Kimbo Slice because he was pumped up so much and doesn’t really have the skills, but that’s not to say the guy isn’t working his butt off to be the best MMA fighter he can be.

He’s one of those guys that’s going to try his best, but unfortunately due to age and the condition he’s in right now, he might never be a championship fighter, but again, give the guy credit.

In terms of underrated, I think people better really start paying attention to Jon “Bones” Jones, because this guy is going to one day be the UFC Light Heavyweight champion, provided he’s got the right people around him.

This kid is phenomenal; he’s the next evolution of MMA fighters, it’s unbelievable. He pulls off these jab-cross-fake the takedown – spinning elbow combinations. Who does that? That’s just something you see in movies. He’s unbelievable.

Best Prospect – somebody who is slept on or a lot of people might not know?

You gotta think guys that are outside of the UFC. Guys like Joachim Hansen or [Tatsuya] Kawajiri or guys like Jake Shields. People are starting to realize who Jake Shields is but he doesn’t have the mainstream appeal that a UFC fighter would have. Guys of that nature.

I’m really liking Marius Zaromskis, the guy that won the DREAM Welterweight Grand Prix; that kid is ridiculous. The other guy, and if he can keep his head in check, is Joe Warren. In two fights, he beat Chase Beebe and Kid Yamamoto – that’s no joke. I won’t be surprised if this guys pulls off the Featherweight Grand Prix. The guy is unbelievable.

Scotty Jorgensen [whom I also interviewed today] is actually good friends and occasional training partners with Joe and said the same thing.

I completely agreed with him and I completely agree with you; if you can have your first two wins be over Chase Beebe and Kid Yamamoto, you have all my respect.

Best fight you’ve ever seen – live or otherwise?

Wow... great questions. I’ve seen like thousands of fights. If people can see these fights:

Steve Vignault against David Loiseau because they were best friends going into the fight – and are still good friends – but just said one of us has got to win this title in the UCC.

There was Joe Doerksen versus Denis Kang in the UCC. One of the most amazing fights I got to see live was when Jens Pulver got knocked out by Duane Ludwig because all of us were like, “Oh my god, we just signed Jens Pulver” and Duane Ludwig comes in and just totally messes him up.

As far as the UFC, two fights stick out to mind the most:

Randy Couture versus Brock Lesnar because of the atmosphere, but the one that sticks out the most was Georges St-Pierre – BJ Penn 2 because I’ll never forget pretty much 90% of media row that is supposed to be unbiased and sitting down, we were all standing up when BJ Penn walked into that Octagon. You can tell your grandkids you were at this fight.

The very first UFC I got to see live, UFC 79: Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva, I remember just sitting down and going into a shell and realized that I made it. Here I am, Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva, two guys I’ve been watching for years and when they started going at it, I literally had to fight back tears. I’ll never forget that.

Dana White said they’ll be coming to Vancouver this coming summer, but there have been no official announcements or legislative decisions out here to solidify his remarks one way or the other.

Do you think you and I will be enjoying a frosty beverage, watching the UFC at GM Place next summer?

Generally, I would say wait until the announcement comes out, but when Lorenzo Fertitta comes out publicly and says something about Vancouver like he did at UFC 100 at the Q&A with the fans, you tend to believe that something is going on here.

Once it gets solidified with the Attorney General out there, I think it’s going to happen. Vancouver is going to go through a really hot period with the Olympics and then people are going to realize the Olympics brought a lot of money and awareness around Vancouver and I think the UFC will do the same thing in June of 2010.

We both know that it’s not certain until it’s announced, but I’d love to shake hands with you and put down a few wobbly pops and enjoy an amazing UFC event.

We’ve had two successful shows in Montreal, but Ontario still has yet to pass legislation regulating MMA in the province.

What is the current status of that process and when do you think we’ll finally see MMA come to Ontario?

As it stands right now, the UFC has hired a couple different firms to take care of a couple different things: (A) getting it sanctioned in Ontario and (B) taking a look at Section 83 of the Criminal Code of Canada.

I met up with one of the firms a couple weeks ago and they broke everything down for me. It’s going to be a step-by-step process; it’s not going to happen overnight. Is it going to happen? I think we’re fall closer now than we’ve ever been to date.

When you get the UFC hiring the legal firms to get this stuff done, it’s going to happen. Whether it’s 2010 or 2011, the way I feel now is that it makes no difference to me because it’s going to happen, and once it does, the floodgates will open.

You really don’t know how big MMA is going to be until you see it legalized in Ontario. We’re really going to see a different evolution of the fighters coming out of Canada once is legislated in the big cities like Vancouver and Toronto.

We see MFC becoming a choice destination for the best young talent in the country, as well as veterans looking to rebound, and guys just looking to gain more exposure like Bobby Lashley.

What do you think the future holds for the Edmonton-based organization?

They’re doing the right things; they’re building their guys, they’ve got good events, they’ve got their local market pretty much cornered. They understand the importance of putting on good events, selling out they venue and building up fighters which is exactly what you want to do.

So the next thing, the next big step that’s going to happen from the city of Edmonton is a UFC event. They can pull from Calgary and the surrounding area. I would not be surprised if you see a Fight Night there soon, or an Ultimate Fighter Finale or even a full pay-per-view UFC event because the numbers are there and if the UFC knows there are major pay-per-view buys coming out of the Alberta region, so they’re going to hold an event either in Calgary or Edmonton.

Jason MacDonald is a regular contributor to Connected. Do you look at other guys on the UFC roster and wonder how they’re still employed while a guy like J-Mac faces some serious competition and gets dropped?

Obviously it’s part of the business. Do I think Jason MacDonald should be in the UFC far more than some other guys? Of course; there are guys in there who I think don’t belong there, but it’s all about the depth of the division and where you stand in the rankings.

Can you get close enough to be a contender or challenger to whoever is holding that title? They obviously believe that with Jason MacDonald losing the fights that he did, he wasn’t getting passed that certain level, so do we need to hold onto him or do we need to bring in some new blood and see if they can get passed that certain level and become a challenger to an Anderson Silva?

It’s happening right now with Georges St-Pierre’s division, the welterweight division. What’s going to happen with Lyoto Machida and Shogun? What if Lyoto Machida absolutely annihilates Shogun? They got a bunch of fights that he can still have, but...

Look at Brock Lesnar. Who’s next for Brock Lesnar if he takes out Shane Carwin? It’s one of those situations where each division is eventually going to need some new blood if the guys don’t start cleaning each other out and new contenders emerging.

So with Jason, he had a terrible fight with Nate Quarry and he’s the first one to admit it and what happened happened. If he keep beating names that are on the UFC’s radar, he’ll be back.

Time to tackle some of the highly debated topics in the MMA community...

There has been a lot of talk about a potential merger between the WEC and the UFC, as both are owned by Zuffa LLC.

What do you think about such a move? Would it be beneficial for the WEC and their roster or does there become a risk of getting lost in the shuffle by joining forces with a larger organization?

That’s exactly what’s going to happen: if the UFC and the WEC merge, the guys that are in the lower echelon are going to have to find work somewhere else. But do I think it’s a good idea? Yes, because if the UFC is the Super Bowl of Mixed Martial Arts then all the champions that are under their banner, whether it’s the UFC or not, they should be able to fight for the UFC.

A guy like [Mike] Brown and [Miguel] Torres and [Urijah] Faber are stars and they should be champions in that division and they should be the ones fighting under the UFC banner because those guys need pay days.

You know, Miguel Torres and Urijah Faber are always talking about not getting the pay days they deserve and it’s because they’re in the WEC. They’re on free TV, not pay-per-view; they can’t get pay-per-view buys.

Ideally what I’d like to see is championship fights on every UFC pay-per-view. Take nothing away from UFC 103 with Vitor and Rich Franklin – great fight – but a main event to me has a title and if you bring in the WEC champions, then you can guarantee yourself a title fight pretty much on every pay-per-view because you go from five champions to seven champions. If they start bringing in the smaller guys – the featherweights, bantamweights, strawweights – it doesn’t matter what it is, you’ll now have champions from every single division that can fight on every single UFC and that to me is real Mixed Martial Arts.

People love to see championship fights. They want to associate a champion with their division.

One of the things you mentioned in there is guys like Faber and Miguel Torres both talking about that lack of pay and one of the things Urijah Faber has talked about as an avenue to better pay days is a Fighters Union.

Do you think there is merit to the idea or would it do more harm than good?

I think it would be a complete logistical nightmare to actually pull it off because we’re at a stage right now where “Who is going to mess with the UFC?” No fighter is going to step out from under the UFC and say that, unless a guy like Randy Couture retires.

All these guys really want from the UFC in terms of a Fighters Union is to be able to say, “I fought and I can retire, I’ve got benefits and my body is going to get taken care of.” I’m sure the argument was the same before the NHLPA and NFLPA because who is going to step up and who is going to do it when you have nowhere else to go?

Eventually it happened, but will we ever really see a Fighters Union? It’s tough to say because it never really happened in boxing other than the introduction of the Muhammed Ali act. Who is going to be courageous enough to take that step and step away [from the UFC]?

You would need a big name like a Georges St-Pierre to take a stand and do that. It will be very difficult. People are finally starting to get the pay days that they want and you don’t want to bite the hand that feeds you, but eventually you’ve got to take a stand.

It’s going to be a guy like Randy Couture once he retires, if he gets into another scrap with Dana White, that comes out and does something like this. Same thing with Tito Ortiz; these are the guys who would do something like that, but right now, both guys are back with the UFC and I don’t think things are going to be changing any time soon.

Teammates fighting: Dana has always maintained he doesn’t think it should matter, while the fighters themselves have always said they’re not interested.

What are your thoughts? Do these guys need to set aside friendships and get in there to see who is best or do you understand the hesitation?

Understanding the hesitation is 100 percent; does anyone want to get in there and fight their friend that they’ve been training with for the past year or two? Not necessarily, but you’re talking about a pay day here. You’re talking about some big money.

If you put Anderson Silva against Lyoto Machida, it’s going to take a lot of money to get that done. Would I fight my best friend or any one of my friends? Yeah, of course and I’m sure they’d say the exact same thing. If you’re going to put a couple hundred thousand dollars on the line for both of us to show up and an extra couple hundred thousand dollars for whoever wins, let’s do it because we’re going to put some money away for our kids, we’re going to pay off our mortgages, we’re going to get our stuff done.

I’ve never had a problem with friends fighting each other. I don’t have any issues with it at all, but it’s always the fighters. They’ve got to get passed the friends and the mental block to separate from your training partner for at least eight weeks.

I can understand what Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida are saying, but it’s all about fights. People want to see the best fights. Like the American Kickboxing guys, do they want to fight? Maybe not, but then you’ve got Tyson Griffin and Gray Maynard who say they’ll fight any time. It’s money. We’re only getting paid so many times here and we’re one shin kick away from retiring so, let’s get this done.

Alright, last two...

If you could fight anyone - past or present - who would it be and why?

We’ve had some pretty crazy answers, from Osama bin Laden to Achilles. Who would you pick?

That’s a good question. I’d rather fight someone who is far better than me like Georges St-Pierre or Anderson Silva so I can say, “I almost had him, I could have beaten this guy.” I’d love to have that moment like Travis Lutter, mounted on Anderson Silva thinking, “Oh my god, I’m going to win this fight.”

I look at it more as a challenge, facing the best person, whether it’s Fedor or Anderson or St-Pierre. Figuring out Machida’s footwork; being the guy that can say, “I figured out Lyoto Machida’s footwork. I’m the guy that figured out when to get into Lyoto Machida. I’m the guy that faked going to my left because he knew I was going to go to my left, but I went to my right and hit him with a right cross or a right hook.”

That’s the type of fight I would like to be a part of, something like that. It’d be like playing hockey with Wayne Gretzky in his prime or trying to score a goal on Patrick Roy in his prime.

If you could play matchmaker for one day, regardless of organizational ties or anything like that, what three fights would you make and why?

Dana White is always yelling at me for playing matchmaker, so…

Well I think you’re safe for now. I don’t think Dana is going to read this…

He’s literally always telling me to stop playing matchmaker, so if I could put together a whole whack of fights it would have to be Gegard Mousasi at 185 against Anderson Silva, Fedor and Brock Lesnar only to silence most of the critics because you’re never going to silence all of the critics.

I originally wanted to see Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva until I saw what Anderson Silva did to Forrest Griffin, so now I have no interest in seeing that fight at all, so the other would be Kawajiri against BJ Penn. I like that fight.

I’d like to see BJ take on the best lightweights in the world, not just the UFC. I’d like to see Joachim Hansen if he can get down to 145 take on Mike Brown or Urijah Faber to see what he can do. In my opinion, Joachim Hansen should be at 155; the guy cuts like four pounds to make ’55? If he could get to 145 that’d be amazing.

Any shout-outs you need to give? We do reach a guaranteed audience of 47 people…

(Laughs) I have to thank the guys over at Sportsnet, The Fan 590, UltimateBet.net who is the main sponsor on the show. We’ve got Trojan condoms that just signed on, we’ve had NAPA Auto Parts, Dr. Pepper, so yeah, I wanna thank all of them because if it were not for them, I wouldn’t be where I’m at.

And of course all the support I get from guys like you and the fans out there that watch the show and listen to the radio show, because without the ratings, I’m nobody.

Above all, you’ve gotta thank the godfathers of the sport, man. In every interview I do I try to thank the Rorion Gracies, the Royce Gracies, the Dana Whites, the Fertitta, they guys that if they didn’t do what they did, you and I would not be talking right now.

Thanks for doing this.

No problem. Thanks for giving me a shout. I appreciate it.




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Rated Next: Joe Warren

Welcome to Rated Next, a new segment we're trying out here to bring attention to fighters who may be flying under the radar of anyone outside of the hardcore set.

The fighters profiled here will be people that will soon be making a splash with the mainstream set and since I like having the upper hand and knowing about a guy before the Affliction-adorned masses start bastardizing their names, I thought I'd share them with you from time to time.

First up is Joe Warren.

It's not often that I throw my unwavering support behind a fighter who is just 2-0 and will turn 33 in 28 days, one more than it will take for me to turn 31. Send presents.

But Joe Warren is an exception to the rule; he's a former World Champion Greco-Roman wrestler who was favored for gold at the Beijing Olympics before testing positive for THC and being handed a two-year suspension.

As an aside, can someone please tell me how weed is a performance enhancer? Unless you're entering a Cheetos eating competition or a sleep challenge, you're not getting any edge from weed... at least that's what I've heard.

After missing out on the Olympics, Warren began his transition to MMA by joining forces with fellow Greco-Roman wrestling standout and Team Quest founder Dan Henderson. On March 8, 2009, Warren made his MMA debut as part of the DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix against former WEC Featherweight champ Chase Beebe at DREAM 7.

When the fighters separated at the end of the first round, Warren was awarded the win after Beebe was unable to continue due to a cut above his right eye.

A little more than two months later, Warren returned to Japan and the second round of the Featherweight Grand Prix, where he would meet the returning Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto. Once a consensus Top 10 Pound-for-Pound fighter, Yamamoto was coming off a layoff of over 500 days, but was still the heavy favorite, having only lost once in 19 previous fights.

As the judge's decision was read, Joe Warren's hands were raised; the American scored a Split Decision victory over his more experienced opponent and is now set for final two rounds this Tuesday where he'll once again be the underdog in his semifinal fight against Brazilian Bibiano Fernandes (5-2).

To put Warren's accomplishments into perspective a little, the first two victories of his career came over figthers with a combined record of 29-4 with one No Contest prior to having faced the former Michigan Wolverine.

Even if he doesn't emerge victorious in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Warren's star is certainly on the rise and he will be a fighter you hear a lot about in the coming months.

Just as Gegard Mousasi came out of nowhere to become a critic's darling and now full-fledged superstar after winning the 2008 Middleweight Grand Prix, a continued Cinderella performance and tournament victory would do the same for Warren.

Win or lose, Joe Warren is Rated Next.

(picture courtesy of Sherdog.com)
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Love Me or Hate Me: The 5 Most Polarizing Figures in the UFC

One of the great things about sports is the inevitable debates that come up when certain athlete's names get mentioned.

Best friends can become heated rivals as they take up the argument for and against figures who have as many fans as they do detractors.

Just as every other major sports league has a cast of characters that are equally loved and hated, the UFC is no different.

Here are the Top 5 Polarizing Personalities in the UFC.

5. Kimbo Slice

As his exposure on The Ultimate Fighter continues, more and more people are becoming fans of the man born Kevin Ferguson.

The original disdain for the bearded brawler wasn't even his fault to begin with; blame for the initial opposition to Kimbo belongs squarely on the shoulders of the people at EliteXC, who used an Internet street fighter as a marketing tool in our much loved sport's first foray onto network television.

His lack of experience and fundamentals came shining through, and as quickly as he was built up, Kimbo came crashing down courtesy of a Seth Petruzelli punch. Now he's back on TV and showing himself to be a humble, hardworking man intent on improving his game and learning everything he can to evolve in the sport.

But there are still haters and there always will be. That's just the way it goes.

4. Matt Hughes

On one hand, he's one of the most dominant champions in UFC history; a welterweight Goliath who beat some of the best in the business over seven title defenses and two reigns as champ.

On the other hand, he comes off as one of the most arrogant men to ever set foot in the Octagon. He rarely gives his opponents any credit in victory, rationalizing away his losses because of the mistakes he made, as opposed to getting beaten by a better man.

Currently, he's openly questioning why welterweight up-and-comers are interested in fighting him, despite the fact that he seems more interested in getting his own hunting show than setting foot inside the cage.

Hughes might be the one guy on this list that you can love and hate at the same time without question. Love him for his dominance and stellar career, but hate him for his superior attitude and unwillingness to accept the fact that sometimes, even the best get beaten by a better man.

3. B.J. Penn

It wasn't long ago that Baby Jay would have topped this list. The lightweight champ held down the top spot for a long time, cementing his standing by combining dominant performances in the ring with accusations of cheating and steroid use against the universally-loved Georges St-Pierre.

Whether it was his outstanding performance in defending his title against Kenny Florian at UFC 101 or simply an increase in attention for the two figures to follow, Penn's position in the pantheon of polarizing figures is slipping.

That could also mean that another B.J. outburst is just around the corner, as "The Prodigy" doesn't like being overshadowed by anyone.

2. Dana White

This one is pretty self-explanatory.

Some people praise the UFC President for his business acumen, the impact he's had on the sport as a whole and take no issue with his foul-mouthed rants and occasional lack of tact.

Then there are his detractors, who see him as a tyrannical dictator who is out for one thing and one thing only: his own personal gain.

They despise his frequent use of "The F Word" and the way he ridicules fighters who make decisions he disagrees with, wanting nothing more for the former aerobics instructor and childhood friend of the Fertitta's to fall off the face of the MMA landscape, never to be heard from again.

Somewhere in the middle of the two would probably be best; still passionate and dedicated to the sport, but with a little less cursing and more of a filter from time-to-time would work perfectly.

1. Brock Lesnar

All he does is lay on people. He's not a real fighter. What talent does it take to be bigger than everyone else?

The guy is a freak athlete and the next evolution of the sport. There have been big guys before him and no one had issue with them. Why should Lesnar be any different?

His WWE past has pretty much dissipated from the debate, as Lesnar has been around MMA for more than a minute now and made his mark as a guy who is in this long-term and not just for a quick paycheck.

That being said, he is easily the most polarizing figure in the UFC and probably the sport as a whole. His detractors discredit his wins based on his size advantage and find flaws in his opponents so that his victories are less meaningful in their eyes.

Supporters trumpet him as the next wave of fighters in the heavyweight division, a combination of size and athleticism the likes of which the sport had not seen until the mammoth Minnesota Golden Gopher stepped on the scene.

Let the debates begin...



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Playing Matchmaker: 10 Fights for 2010

Fight fans talk about the dream match-ups they'd like to see whenever they're given the opportunity. We breakdown mythical battles, sizing up the skills of the two combatants and diagnosing the fight as if it were happening before our very eyes.

Often times, we pick pairings that could not conceivably happen; organizational allegiances, differences in weight classes and any number of circumstances and situations make some of these fights impossible.

While much wanted battles like Brock Lesnar versus Fedor Emelianenko and Anderson Silva versus Lyoto Machida are on the slim side of taking place in the coming calendar year, here are ten fights that could take place every fight fan should be interested in seeing.

10. Alistair Overeem vs. Anyone

Strikeforce's Heavyweight champion has yet to defend his belt, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been fighting. The Dutch fighter has spent 2009 competing in K-1 events, recently defeating kickboxing legend Peter Aerts to advance in the World Grand Prix 16.

But it's been nearly a year now since he took part in an MMA event and it's would be nice to see "The Demolition Man" defend his belt for once. Ideally, that defense would come against Fedor, but at this point, beggars can't be choosers and just getting Overeem inside the cage would be an accomplishment.

9. Ronald "Jacare" Souza vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller 3

Technically, Jacare could argue there is no need for a trilogy fight; after all, Mayhem has yet to defeat the Brazilian Abu Dhabi Superfight winner, as their second fight ended in a No Contest after Miller soccer kicked a downed Souza.

However, these two talk more trash about each other than anyone outside of Rampage and Rashad, and you know that should Miller come away with the Strikeforce Middleweight title around his waist, Jacare will be at the front of the line for his first defense.

If that scenario actually transpires, bump this one up to the Top 5 of fights for 2010.

8. Miguel Torres vs. Brian Bowles 2

You know the WEC is eventually going to make this happen, provided Bowles gets passed Dominick Cruz in his first defense and Torres can earn a win in his return to the cage.

Much like there was a need for Mike Brown and Urijah Faber to lock horns for a second time, the same theory applies here. Bowles stopped the long-standing champion and deserves the accolades being bestowed upon him.

But Torres deserves a chance for redemption, just as Faber did.

7. Mike Brown vs. Urijah Faber 3

Normally, trilogy fights when one guy is already up 2-0 don't make sense, but this is one of those cases where an exception needs to be made. Despite twice defeating "The California Kid," many still give Mike Brown's title reign the "Yeah But Treatment":

Person A: Brown beat him clean the first time.
Person B: Yeah, but Faber was trying a spinning back elbow and just got caught.

Person A: Faber beat in all five rounds the second time.
Person B: Yeah, but Faber broke his hand early and wasn't 100%.

Beating Faber a third consecutive time silences what few critics remain, not that Mike Brown really needs to.

6. Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir 3

Speaking of silencing the critics...

The two have traded victories, so a rubber match makes sense on that point alone. Add in the fact that these two just plain don't like each other and Lesnar has more critics than the ocean has fish, and you have a PPV spectacular that would look great atop the marquee at the 2010 year end show in Las Vegas.

5. Eddie Alvarez vs. Joachim Hansen 2

While this one may be a complete unknown to some fight fans, the Bellator Lightweight champ and the Norwegian known as "Hellboy" need to square off again in a big way.

For starters, their first fight was near the top of everyone's Fight of the Year lists for 2008 and with good reason; they beat the hell out of each other for 15 minutes with Alvarez winning a Unanimous Decision and advancing in the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix.

But then came the twist: Alvarez was injured in his semi-final win over Tatsuya Kawajiri, while Hansen earned the right to act as his replacement by defeating Kultar Gill. Guess who ended up winning the finals?

Hansen laid a beating on Shinya Aoki, claiming the tournament and the DREAM Lightweight title. While Aoki is getting the first crack at Hansen and his title, Alvarez certainly deserves an opportunity as well.

4. Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone

Regardless of the results of Cerrone's upcoming bout at WEC 43 against Ben "Smooth" Henderson, this one has got to go down before 2010 comes to a close.

Varner has been sidelined with various injuries since these two first met in January. Cerrone caught Varner with an illegal knee, and when the champ couldn't continue, it went to the scorecards and Varner came away with a Split Decision.

Ever since, Donald Cerrone has looked like a man possessed and talked smack about Varner whenever he could. Once Varner is medically cleared to return to the cage, this grudge match will get signed.

3. Sam Stout vs. Spencer Fisher 3

This one is a combination of Lesnar/Mir and Alvarez/Hansen.

Like the UFC heavyweights, they've split the first two meetings, so breaking the tie certainly seems reasonable and like the DREAM lightweights, each of their encounters has found their way onto Fight of the Year lists.

Stout has said he is very much interested in completing the trilogy and a route to the third installment could shape up in the next couple months, as Fisher meets Joe Stevenson at UFC 106 and Stout has been reported to be facing Joe Lauzon at UFC 108.

2. Rashad Evans vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

Despite what he's said, Rampage isn't retired.

He's angry at Dana White, and rightfully so, which means that for now, he's focused on filming The A-Team. But once the movie wraps and he and El Presidente sit down, swear at each other and end the talk with hugs and hand-pounds, Rampage will be back and his first order of business will be settling things with Rashad.

There is too much real heat between these two for this fight to not take place, not to mention all the money the UFC invested in building the feud even more by pairing the two opposite each other on Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter.

1. Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre

This one might be a longshot, but it is unquestionably the biggest fight that stands a chance of taking place out there right now.

Both have cleaned out their divisions and a pairing of these two superstars would eclipse the largest number the UFC has put up in pay-per-view buys to date.

St-Pierre has said that he would like to add the additional 15 pounds of muscle needed to make the 185 pound limit properly, building muscle and then cutting to weight. With the welterweight division in total disarray, sorting out the standings while "Rush" packs on the pounds could be a possibility.




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UFC Veterans Flocking to Edmonton's MFC

Based in Edmonton, Alberta, Maximum Fighting Championships is quickly becoming one of the premier organizations for fighters looking to re-establish themselves when the UFC shows them the door.

MFC 22 marks the company's 18th consecutive sellout show and will air live Friday night on HDNet, giving fans a card full of former UFC fighters and up and coming Canadians looking to make a name for themselves.

The headliner features two familiar names to UFC fans, as Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald (21-12) meets Travis "The Serial Killer" Lutter (9-5) in a fight that looks more like an Ultimate Fight Night battle to remain relevant than a battle of two fighters trying to work their way back to the UFC.

MacDonald got his walking papers after a 5-5 stint that featured wins over Chris Leben, Ed Herman and Jason Lambert offset by loses to Rich Franklin, Wilson Gouveia and Demian Maia. Across the cage from his, Lutter is best remembered as the winner of Season 4 of The Ultimate Fighter and securing the mount against Anderson Silva in what should have been a title shot for the jiu jitsu specialist.

Unfortunately, Lutter missed weight and missed out on a title shot. Though he looked impressive in the early going, his old nemesis conditioning came calling and "The Spider" was able to secure a win in the second round. A similar story played out in Lutter's last fight, a loss to Rich Franklin at UFC 83.

While both are accomplished on the ground, look for MacDonald to try and tire out the often out of shape Lutter en route to starting his journey back to the UFC with a win.

In addition to Friday's outstanding televised card, MFC recently announced the signing of Thales Leites.

Though some have a negative opinion about the Brazilian after his uninspired performance against Anderson Silva at UFC 97, it was only two fights ago that he faced the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Organizational alumni include WEC lightweight title contender Ben "Smooth" Henderson, current UFC welterweight contender Paul "Semtex" Daley, Nick "The Goat" Thompson and former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley.

With the UFC out of the picture for a couple more weeks and ten days until the WEC invades San Antonio, now is as good a time as ever to catch some regional MMA action and you won't find many cards better than MFC 22.

MFC 22: Payoff - Friday, October 2nd - Live on HDNet

Jason MacDonald (21-12) vs Travis Lutter (9-5)
Antonio Mckee (22-3) vs Carlo Prater (24 - 6) for the MFC Lightweight Title
Luigi Fioravanti (15-5) vs John Alessio (25-13)
Ryan Jimmo (10-1) vs Marvin Eastman (16-9-1)
David Heath (12-5) vs Mike Nickels (7-2)
Pete Spratt (19-15) vs Nathan Gunn (7-0)

Thiago Goncalves (11-3) vs. Jesse Juarez (11-5)
Andrew Buckland (9-4) vs. Joe Christopher (7-2)
Jason Heit (2-0) vs. Paapa Inkumusah (3-0)


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Dan Hardy: Michael Bisping Version 2.0

British? Check.

Marketable? Check.

Earned a close split decision win on home soil that some people question? Check... twice.

Getting pushed as a potential champion despite the fact that his resume isn't nearly as impressive as you want in a title contender? Check.

Just like his countryman Michael Bisping, Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy has benefited from being British and put himself in a position where one more win would mean a shot at the welterweight title.

Not to take anything away from either Bisping or Hardy; they're both talented guys who have done some good things inside the cage during their time with the UFC, and both, as already mentioned, are highly marketable.

But being a marketable British fighter shouldn't carry more weight than your performance in the cage and in both Bisping and Hardy's cases, that seems to be what has transpired.

In pushing to break the British market, the UFC has isolated individual stars and given them the "Great White Hope" treatment, elevating them to top contender status despite the fact that their resumes aren't all that impressive.

Bisping's push coincided with winning Season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter, but first stalled when he lost a close decision to eventual champ Rashad Evans at UFC 78.

In reality, Bisping's previous fight also offered a hiccup, as many believe the Wolfslair Academy fighter earned a home court advantage on the score cards when a razor-thin decision against Matt Hamill at UFC 75 in London came out in favor of the hometown boy.

A drop to middleweight followed the fight with Evans, and while "The Count" certainly showed well in winning performances against Charles McCarthy, Jason Day and Chris Leben, they were winning performances over Charles McCarthy, Jason Day and Chris Leben; not exactly the upper echelon of the middleweight division.

Three straight wins put him opposite Dan Henderson as coaches on Season 9 of TUF and put the two inside the cage together at UFC 100 this past July. Speculation had Bisping earning a title shot at the upcoming UFC 105 if he could defeat the former Pride multi-divisional champ.

Search teams are still trying to locate Bisping's mouth guard in the seats at The Mandalay Bay.

With the UFC returning to his homeland, Bisping is returning to the ring, squaring off against veteran Denis Kang, a talented fighter, but certainly not someone you would put in the title picture at present.

Joining Bisping on the card and following in his footsteps is the flamboyant Hardy, red mohawk and all.

Three wins put Bisping into a title eliminator bout at UFC 100 and the same opportunity has arisen for Hardy, but the similarities don't end there.

Like his countryman, Hardy has come away with a couple close decisions on his home turf in his three-fight career with the UFC.

His debut win over Akihiro Gono ended in a split decision, as did his most recent and well-known fight, a grudge match with Team Sityodtong's Marcus Davis that started as a war of words and ended as an epic slugfest.

In between, Hardy made quick work of Rory Markham, dropping the Miletich product in just 70 seconds at UFC 95.

Now, with three straight wins and two close decisions in his favor, the highly-marketable native of Nottingham will look across the cage at Mike Swick with a 2010 title shot against Georges St-Pierre waiting in the wings.

While Hardy has had success so far, his string of wins is even less impressive than the trio that landed Bisping one fight away from a title shot: Gono is no longer with the UFC and currently riding a three-fight losing streak, Markham has yet to resurface and Davis, while tough-as-nails, has never been more than a mid-card performer.

And yet one stiff shot from Hardy's admittedly dangerous hands could land Swick on the canvas and Hardy getting dragged to the ground and repeatedly beaten by GSP early next year.

Breaking new territories and establishing a presence in international markets is certainly easier with a homegrown talent to put atop the marquee.

But what will make the UFC grow even more in England and abroad is pushing the fighters who have earned their way into title contention by beating the best the organization has to offer, not propping up a fighter with a lukewarm record just because he's from the land of tea, crumpets and Kate Beckinsale.

The first attempt fell flat with Michael Bisping getting knocked into next Tuesday at UFC 100.

Now the second chance comes in the form of Dan Hardy.

At UFC 105, we'll find out if he is a true contender or simply Michael Bisping, Version 2.0.



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