I know, I know - this is an MMA blog so don’t post stuff about boxing - but I couldn’t resist with this clip. I found it on CNN.com and it talks about a British boxer with a 31-256-12 record. Where is the man’s title shot?

The guy reminds me of TUF3’s Ross Pointon. Just a tough as nails dude who doesn’t have much talent, but is willing to fight anyone at anytime. There is something you have to respect about that.

In honor of this boxer, I took a look at some of the worst fighter records in MMA and found these ones thanks to the Sherdog fight finder:

Akira Omura - 0-10
Kenneth Allen - 1-27
Mike Suttles - 1-26
John Pankey - 1-15
Dan Wheatley - 2-25

My hat’s off to them for stepping in there - logical thinking be damned.

-Ken
http://www.IntelligentlyDefending.com

I have a new column up at MMArated.com looking at some tricks and treats from around the MMA world…

Growing up, every Halloween there was one house in our neighborhood that gave out full-size candy bars. All the kids knew to knock on this door. On the flipside, there was always a person on the block who gave out pennies. Their house was egged every year – and deservedly so.

That’s the thing about Halloween - sometimes you get a trick and other times you get a treat. So in honor of this phenomenon, let’s ‘trick or treat’ around the world of MMA.

Check out the full column right here.

-Ken
http://www.IntelligentlyDefending.com

This is the classic “David vs. Goliath” fight between Keith Hackney and Emmanuel Yarborough from UFC 3.

He only has four fights, but Hackney has two of the most famous early UFC moments – this bout and the time he punched Joe Son in the nuts about 10 times at UFC 4.

I’m not 100% positive, but I believe this was the biggest weight discrepancy in UFC history with a difference of over 400 pounds between the two men.

-Ken
http://www.IntelligentlyDefending.com

I have a new column up over at MMArated.com talking about Marcus Davis and his thoughts on a fight with Chris Lytle.

It looks like Marcus Davis (15-4) may be getting too big for his britches.

The UFC welterweight, who recently scored a submission victory over Paul Kelly at UFC 89, had this to say in a recent interview with Yahoo! UK Sports about a possible showdown with veteran Chris Lytle (26-16-5) at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland, on January 17, 2009:

“I like Chris and think he is a great guy but I don’t know whether he deserves a fight against me,” Davis said. “People always say that Chris is the ‘gatekeeper’ to our division, but I think that I am past the gate at the moment.”

Check out the full column.

-Ken
http:www.IntelligentlyDefending.com

UFC 90 is in the books, so lets grade my predictions and give some thoughts.

Middleweight Championship: Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Cote

I said:

You know, Cote seems like a really cool guy… I don’t really know what else to add.

Prediction: Silva, TKO, Rd. 1

Silva won, but it certainly wasn’t in the fashion I predicted. Grade: C (2.0)

- I’ve heard Silva acted the way he did because he ‘couldn’t find a rhythm,’ but I’m not buying it. To me, it seemed like Anderson was overconfident and too concerned with putting on a show for the crowd. I’m a huge fan, but his antics were crossing the line by the end – offering to help Patrick up from the ground was particularly absurd.

Silva won’t be dancing in his next fight thanks to the backlash coming from Saturday. He took zero damage this weekend, so we shouldn’t have to wait long for his return. Maybe a LHW bout on the stacked UFC 92 card?

- As for Cote, we probably won’t be seeing him for at least a year - that injury was brutal.

He never deserved a title shot in the first place and he didn’t make the most of the opportunity. While Silva was juking, Patrick should have been firing. Instead, he was sitting back and seemed content to simply survive which was an awful decision. Too his credit though, he took that flying knee right on the kisser and didn’t even flinch.

A rematch won’t be happening anytime soon, if at all. Cote has a ton of rehab in his future and it’s hard to predict where Silva will be in a year considering his ventures at LHW and retirement talk swirling.

Josh Koscheck vs. Thiago Alves

I said:

This one is all about Kos’ takedowns. If he can get Alves down, he will win. If he can’t, he will lose. Pretty simple – and I’m banking on Josh being able to get this to the ground.

Prediction: Koscheck, Decision

I was nowhere close, except for predicting that Kos would lose if he couldn’t take Alves down. Grade: D (1.0)

- This was a great performance for Thiago as he was hitting Josh with everything and hurting him often. Alves stuffed the takedown with regularity which was probably helped by the fact that he looked freaking monstrous. I have no clue how this guy makes 170.

He has now beat Karo, Hughes and Koscheck in his last three fights – time for his title shot. If GSP beats B.J (which he will), a fight with Alves would be a great chance to see Georges take on a top-notch striker. And if the Hawaiian butterball somehow wins the gold in February, a Penn/Alves showdown would also be excellent.

- Props to Koscheck giving a huge effort in this fight on short notice. He may have lost, but hopefully Josh shed his ‘boring fighter’ stigma once and for all. He never stopped coming at Thiago and even landed some nice combos of his own. Kos also showed he is one tough customer by refusing to be finished even when he was getting pummeled on a few occasions.

His original plan was to fight here and then honor his obligation to take on Yoshida in December, but that probably won’t happen seeing as how Josh’s legs are going to be 15 different shades of black and blue for the next two weeks. When he does return though, I would love to see a showdown with Karo.

Gray Maynard vs. Rich Clementi

I said:

I’ve heard this pun roughly 10 billion times at this point, so one more won’t hurt: look for Maynard to “bully” Rich around and get the win.

Prediction: Maynard, Decision

I hit the nail on the head with this one, but it wasn’t like I was going out on a limb. Grade: B (3.0)

- Gray Maynard continues to win, but is now being called a boring fighter. I expected it in this fight though, as it was going to be hard for him to do much damage to a veteran like Clementi who has some slick BJJ.

Gray has all the tools, but is still young in the sport. He is going to keep improving and hopefully these decision wins will start turning into finishes soon.

How about Maynard vs. Pellegrino?

- While I’m on this fight I need to mention how I wanted to go through my TV and strangle this ref. Telling fighters to work when A) they have been on the ground for 5 seconds or b) they already ARE working is atrocious. Here is hoping they start educating these guys better,

Fabricio Werdum vs. Junior Dos Santos

I said:

I know nothing about Dos Santos and I have no reason to believe Werdum will lose… BUT, for some reason I smell a Jardine/Alexander in this fight.
Don’t ask me why.

Prediction: Dos Santos, KO, Rd. 2

It wasn’t like I was using any logic other than a gut feeling and the Jardine/Alexander precedence, but I’m still giving myself the full monty here. Grade: A (4.0)

- In a division being built around grapplers, Dos Santos could be a hot commodity. We didn’t get to see that much of him Saturday, but he clearly has solid stand-up and knockout power. If his sprawl is decent he could be a rising young gun at heavyweight. We’ll have to wait and see.

- So much for a title shot for Werdum. He really screwed himself by losing here. He wasn’t that marketable to begin with and he now has a 2-2 UFC record. I look for his next fight to be against Heath Herring on a prelim or maybe a Fight Night main card.

Tyson Griffin vs. Sean Sherk

I said:

People have said it has the potential to be boring, but I think it is going to surprise everyone.

Sherk still has some gas in the tank and will be able to both out-box and out-wrestle Tyson. I also think Sean is going to – gasp – finish the fight.

Prediction: Sherk, TKO, Rd. 3

The bout was Fight of the Night and Sherk won so I get points for those, but I lose some for being dumb enough to think Sherk could actually finish a fight. Grade: B+ (3.3)

- I was happy for ‘The Muscle Shark’ here because he got to display his underrated stand-up in this Rock ‘em, Sock em Robots type contest. Afterwards, Sean said that he wants the winner of Florian/Stevenson, but that won’t happen if Kenny wins because the UFC would be risking a big money Penn/Florian showdown. If Joe wins though, I can see a Sherk/Stevenson bout with the winner getting another title shot by virtue of there being no other clear-cut contenders.

—————————————————————————————————– Overall Prediction Grade: C+ (2.66) – bad calls on the two main events keep me just shy of B-.

We had two excellent fights, a sweet knockout, one snoozer and a head-scratching main event – in the end, I would give the UFC’s first Chicago effort a slight thumbs up.

- Ken
http://www.IntelligentlyDefending.com

We got a few comments over here this week, so lets check them out:

1) In response to UFC 90 Predictions:

“Hmmmm. UFC needs some poster design help on this one. Not their strongest effort in a while. ” – Jason S.

I got to agree with you Jason – this one doesn’t compare to other recent posters like the UFC 87 one, which kicked 8 different kinds of ass:

More than the poster though, the thing I’m disappointed with is the name of the event. Silva vs. Cote? Come on, they can do better than that. It’s not like its “Couture vs. Lesnar” where the names alone sell the fight.

They should have called it ‘UFC 90: Murder’ – at least that gives a description of what’s going to happen.

2) In response to UFC 89 Thoughts:

“I agree…it was a so so night overall….nothing spectacular…

Lytle vs. Taylor was the most exciting fight of the night.

Bisping just flat out fought smart against a striker and didn’t put himself in a place to get in trouble…
Great assessment” – Jason C.

My thoughts exactly, Jason.

I love how people criticized Bisping for not standing toe-to-toe with Leben. Did they want him to play right into the hands of Leben’s only hope of winning? Give me a break.

Bisping was head-and-shoulders the better fighter as proved by the fact that Chris had no answer for his stand-up whatsoever. Leben’s face was also a mess afterwards, so this notion that Michael was running the whole fight is absurd. Maybe if your definition of running means repeatedly punching your opponent’s face while strategically avoiding getting hit – then yea, I guess he was running.

3) On Mediocore UFC Fight for the Troops card finalized.

“I think Kos is a fan fave over Alves. Kos has been insanely agressive and exciting in his last two fights. Alves doesn’t make weight, takes laxatives and should really be a middleweight. Beating “panic disorder” Karo and post-GSP Hughes does not a challenger make.

Totally agree about Edgar. This is a guy with wins over Tyson Griffin and Spencer Fisher! I’d much rather see Tom’s River Frankie da Plumbah against Joe Daddy, No Love, Guida or Diaz. Wiman vs.. Huerta seems like a much more reasonable match-up, strategically. Damn you, Joe Silva!

I believe that all problems with lightweight match-ups right now have to do with BJ Penn’s selfishness stalling the division. After winning the title, BJ doesn’t even CONSIDER defending it against Florian. I guess, in his mind, his quest for P4P supremacy is more important than the integrity of the division. I hope GSP rocks him back to Hilo.

Anyway, I’m sure these fights will be better than the awful Sanchez v. Riggs debacle. Knee to the head from the ground? No fair! And wasn’t Shonie Carter on that card? Yowza!” – Nick B.

In a perfect world, the fans would choose Kos over Alves – but, I don’t think they will tomorrow night because Alves knocks people out and Kos doesn’t (yet). On top of that, fans just can’t get past Josh’s Justin Timberlake hair-do. Personally, I don’t think it looks half-bad.

You’re definitely right about the progression of Koscheck as a fighter. His last few fights have been very exciting and he is showing more versatility each time he enters the cage. I really expect a big performance from him Saturday.

As for B.J., it’s ridiculous. He hasn’t won at welterweight in years, yet he is getting a title shot. Hopefully, after GSP dishes out an ass-kicking at UFC 94, Penn will focus on the stacked lightweight division.

————————————————————————————————–
As always, thanks to everyone who has commented… Keep ‘em coming.

-Ken
http://www.IntelligentlyDefending.com

I ran across a sweet interview with Gina Carano conducted by video game blogger Matthew Hawkins at Fort90.com.

It’s a good read where Gina talks about her upcoming appearance in the video game Red Alert 3, American Gladiators as well as fighting Christiane Cyborg.

Check out the Gina Carano interview

You know, Elite XC made a lot of bad moves during their run, but the promotion of Carano vs. Cyborg wasn’t one of them.

Typically, I don’t care a lick about women’s MMA, but I was really looking forward to that one. Elite XC did great work by making Gina the face of women’s MMA - and also did a solid job of turning Cyborg into a wrecking machine set to brutalize Carano.

Many said that the company should have pulled the trigger on the fight sooner, but the slow build was letting the casual fans get to know the women better and giving their eventual showdown some “big fight” buzz.

Of course, seeing as how Pro Elite tanked this week, it may have been smarter to have had it earlier – but hindsight 20/20 and all.

Anyway, I’m sure this fight is happening regardless – probably at Afflcition’s January show – so its all good… And guys, you better enjoy that pretty face while you can, because Gina won’t be looking so hot after my girl Cyborg gets done with her.

-Ken
http://www.IntelligentlyDefending.com

Only a few days away from the event so here are some predictions.

Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Cote

You know, Cote seems like a really cool guy… I don’t really know what else to add.

Prediction: Silva, TKO, Rd. 1

Josh Koscheck vs. Thiago Alves

While I was super-amped for Sanchez/Alves, it’s nice that the UFC is so deep that they can put together a tremendous fight despite short notice.

This one is all about Kos’ takedowns. If he can get Alves down, he will win. If he can’t, he will lose. Pretty simple – and I’m banking on Josh being able to get this to the ground.

Prediction: Koscheck, Decision

Rich Clementi vs. Gray Maynard

Another example of a deep UFC roster since this replaces the Leites/Reljic bout that was scheduled for the main card. This is a good one, with Clementi riding a 6 fight winning streak and Maynard coming off a big win over Frankie Edgar.

Rich is a wily veteran, but Maynard is going to win here. Gray is a monstrous lightweight with top-notch wrestling and a powerful right hand. His BJJ was suspect on TUF5, but I would bet it is far enough along now that he will be able to avoid Clementi’s submissions.

I’ve heard this pun roughly 10 billion times at this point, so one more won’t hurt: look for Maynard to “bully” Rich around and get the win.

Prediction: Maynard, Decision

Fabricio Werdum vs. Junior Dos Santos

Fabricio Werdum, the odd-man out in the heavyweight tournament, looks to stay on track here.

I know nothing about Dos Santos and I have no reason to believe Werdum will lose… BUT, for some reason I smell a Jardine/Alexander in this fight.

Don’t ask me why.

Prediction: Dos Santos, KO, Rd. 2

Sean Sherk vs. Tyson Griffin

Last week, I wrote a column for MMArated.com talking about the significance of this fight. People have said it has the potential to be boring, but I think it is going to surprise everyone.

Sherk still has some gas in the tank and will be able to both out-box and out-wrestle Tyson. I also think Sean is going to – gasp – finish the fight.

Prediction: Sherk, TKO, Rd. 3

That’s a very solid main card for UFC 90 – aside from what looks to be a non-competitive main event.

The undercard isn’t too shabby either. Thales Leites will look to inch closer to a MW title shot when he fights Drew McFedries. Hermes Franca will battle Marcus Aurelio with the loser losing all relevance in the lightweight division. And Josh Burkman will fight Pete Sell in what has to be a ‘loser leaves town’ fight.

Enjoy…

-Ken
http:www.IntelligentlyDefending.com

This is not good.

Today, my home county of Nassau released its latest “Wall of Shame” pictures. The gallery started a few months back to discourage drunk driving. The message is simple: drive drunk, and your mug shot is getting posted on the internet.

Naturally, I find myself flipping through the pages of ‘the wall’ on a weekly basis. Every now and then I run across someone I know and, most of the time, I’m not surprised by their bonehead decision. Today though, I was shocked to find one of my favorite fighters, and fellow Long Islander, Luke Cummo’s picture posted – unibrow and all.

What is particularly surprising about the whole thing is Cummo has stated many times that he doesn’t drink. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with doing so, but given his strict following of the lifefood diet I figured he was telling the truth. In any case, Luke made a piss-poor decision when he got behind the wheel after throwing a few back. Of course, all are innocent until proven guilty so we will wait and see what develops.

The point of this rambling is I thought this would be a good time to talk about why I like Cummo so much.

In my junior year of college they ran TUF2 which Luke was a part of. He stood out among the other loud, tattooed fighters because of his quiet demeanor and nerd-like appearance. He was the last pick and expected to be a non-factor in the tournament.

Given how little I knew about MMA at the time I went along with everyone else and figured Luke had no chance. The way I saw it: big muscles + tattoos = the best fighter. Since Luke had neither, he was going to get destroyed. Duh!

My roommates had the same idea:

“This dork is going to get killed,” and “he belongs at a Star Wars convention” were a few of the zingers that got tossed out during each episode. I couldn’t blame them since from the looks of it, Luke’s high school days were filled with wedgies and stolen lunch money.

Finally, it came time for Luke to fight and something amazing happened: he was good. In fact, he gave Anthony Torres a major ass-kicking. He would go all the way to the finals and give Joe Stevenson one hell of a fight before losing a unanimous decision.

Through Luke, I learned a valuable lesson about this sport: don’t judge a book by its cover.

While Cummo has dropped two fights in a row, I was getting excited for his career due to his rumored drop to lightweight – a division he is much better suited for. Who knows if Luke will even be in the UFC after this incident.

Here’s hoping things work themselves out and that Luke learns from this episode.

- Ken
http://www.IntelligentlyDefending.com

Some thoughts from the show:

- I haven’t seen it, but Shane Carwin was dominant in his fight with Neil Wain. No surprise in this one, but it’s worth noting just how much of a beast Carwin is. He is now 10-0 and has not gone beyond 2:11 in any of his fights. Get him on the main card stat!

- That was a solid, much-needed win for Marcus Davis. I am such a huge fan of this guy. When he was on TUF2 he had absolutely zero ground skills and now, thanks to his dedication, he is baiting guys into guillotines. I’m hoping his fight with Swick was just an off-night for Marcus because I would love to see him fight some of the top guys in that division.

- Chris Lytle vs. Paul Taylor was a very entertaining bout, as expected. These guys either have iron chins or don’t hit very hard because neither was flinching when the other connected.

It was a nice win for Lytle and I don’t see why the UFC wouldn’t honor his request and book a bout between him and Davis on the Ireland card in January. That would be one helluva fight.

- Sokoudjou was exposed in his fight with Luiz Cane. If he can’t land a KO shot with his early onslaught, Sokoudjou gets in trouble. Cane was patient and then went for the kill in the second round. Nicely done.

This is going to be the blueprint for fighting Sokoudjou in the future so he needs to become more versatile. He is still very young and has time to develop, but he looked dejected after this fight which is not a good sign for his confidence.

- An awful fight between Vera and Jardine that was thankfully won by Keith. I am pretty much the last Brendan Vera fan left on the planet, but even I now have to admit that he is a shell of his former self. I have no clue what the problem is, but he doesn’t have the killer instinct he did a few years ago.

As for Jardine, he is back to his winning ways after getting manhandled by Wanderlei. I think a fight with Luiz Cane is in his future.

And for the record, the most entertaining part of this one came during Jardine’s introduction where he gave a hilarious/borderline creepy nipple twist. Got to love that joke.

- Normally, when Rogan and Goldberg say “Fighter A looks to be in the best shape of his life” they are just blowing smoke up everyone’s ass – however, Leben legitimately looked in great shape Saturday. Too bad he had nothing for Bisping.

Michael outclassed Chris from the beginning and avoided Leben’s left hand at all costs. It was a smart win which now sends “The Count” to TUF9 and an eventual date with either Rich Franklin or Dan Henderson. At this point I think either of those two would beat Bisping, but you never know in this sport.

Overall, a ho-hum card with one great fight in Lytle/Taylor and one awful fight in Jardine/Vera – everything else was middle of the road.

- Ken
http://IntelligentlyDefending.com