Fight of the Year – Anthony Pettis vs. Ben Henderson (WEC 53)
If you didn’t already know that the WEC always seems to deliver, then it’s too late to find that out now, as this was the last fight in the history of that organization. With the promotion’s three weight classes being dumped into the UF…
WEC 53 marked the final event in the history of the UFC's little brother, but the organization did not go out without a bang. The undercard featured five first-round finishes in seven fights, but the main card featured a fight of the year candidate in Ben Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis. Here is how th…
by David McKinney
Not exactly the PRIDE 06 GP, but we'll take what we can get
The terms “tournament” and “grand prix” elicit so much excitement in the world of mixed martial arts that there are organizations – like Bellator and Shine Fights – who base their entire business models around the bracek…
by David McKinney
2010 was a banner year for mixed martial arts, with more fights than ever before shown on TV and a ton of new stars surfacing with that exposure. Two of those new stars have won my respective male and female fighter of the year awards:
Male Fighter of the Year – Dominick Cruz
Press Release:
New York, NY, December 14, 2010 – Bellator Fighting Championships, a growing force in the world of mixed martial arts, has a new television home, MTV2. It was announced today jointly by Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney and Eric Conte, SVP, Programming and Production, MTV2. The…
by David McKinney
Josh Koscheck was unable to shock the world at UFC 124, but instead UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre showed that he is without a doubt the best fighter in the sport by using a newfound lead jab to keep Koscheck at bay throughout the entire fight. Thiago Alves made a triu…
UFC 124 showed what a dominant champion Georges St-Pierre is, and it also showed what a hotbed the Canadian MMA market is. For the first time following UFC 124, I will post my pound-for-pound MMA rankings:
Pound-for-Pound
by David McKinney
UFC
124 was certainly a banner event for the UFC. An attendance record was set, and
Montreal was the only town outside of Las Vegas to host more than one event
this year. Hometown hero Georges St-Pierre didn’t disappoint the crowd of more
than 23,000 in the main event, as he used a…
by David McKinney
The job for Strikeforce matchmaker Rich Chou is simple - get the three fighters who earned knockouts at "Babalu vs. Henderson 2" title shots. For UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, the job is a much tougher. Not only does he have a new influx of WEC fighters to incorporate into his organiza…
A busy weekend of MMA resulted in a mini-shift in the sport's landscape, especially in Strikeforce. These rankings are official as of December 7, 2010:
Heavyweight
by David McKinney
The top two U.S. mixed martial arts promotions went head-to-head on Saturday night, with Strikeforce holding its year-ending “Henderson vs. Babalu II” card on Showtime while the Ultimate Fighting Championship aired “The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale” live on Spike TV.
The Str…
by David McKinney
We've already heard that mixed martial arts kingpin Zuffa won't be making its fifth consecutive trip to Columbus, Ohio in 2011 to hold an event in conjunction with the world-famous Arnold Sports Festival, but another top organization could be likely to jump on the unique chance to…
by David McKinney
A free stream of the Tachi Palace Fights 7 event on MMAJunkie.com kicked off the month of MMA last night, but there are still plenty of events left throughout the month to keep you busy while you’re making cookies and drinking egg nogg.
Dec 03 – XFC 13:
Unstoppable (HDNet)
I…
by David McKinney
Regional mixed martial arts promotions are constantly
faced with the task of doing something buzz worthy, and Tachi Palace Fights has
piqued the interest of the MMA community by signing top-ranked flyweight
Jussier Da Silva (8-0) to a multi-fight contract.
On top of signing Da Silv…
by David McKinney
I was just reading an interesting piece by USA Today's Sergio Non on the planned 2011 expansion of top organizations UFC and Strikeforce, and it got me thinking: when does a lot become too much? A perfect topic for my Thanksgiving hangover, where the turkey and stuffing and mashed …
by David McKinney
When I heard that there was a documentary featuring Jens Pulver being made, I was one of the first to claim that it was long overdue. Jens is the type of guy who can talk for hours, perfectly able to articulate exactly what he is thinking at any given moment.
One thing I have to…
The 10 biggest stories from the day are right here, so your Google searches can end now.
10. Sexton returns at "CageWarriors 39" (MMASpot)
Her knockout loss to Zoila Frausto in Bellator wasn't easy to watch, but Rosi Sexton is ready to get back on the horse. She'll face Sally Krumdiack at this Sat…
by David McKinney
I mentioned to the buddy I was watching the fights with that UFC 123 was a bit underwhelming, and then B.J. Penn proceeded to knock Matt Hughes out in just 21 seconds. I had been hoping for the "old" Penn to return last night in Auburn Hills, but I just wasn't sure if the fire was …
UFC 123 took place last night in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and the big winners on the night were Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and B.J. Penn. Here are my updated rankings as of UFC 123:
Heavyweight
After a year away from Columbus, the UFC could be returning to the Buckeye State in 2011, MMA Quick Hits has learned.
The UFC hasn't been to Columbus since UFC 96 in March of 2009, but WEC held its first-ever event in Columbus with "WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz" on March 6, 2010.
More than 8,000 fans a…
