Video of Junie Browning at Xtreme Couture

Found this video of Junie Browning today on one of the mma blogs on Yahoo:

Check after the jump for the video and my thoughts on it.



A lot of this is typical Junie, like when he says "Half the stuff I did I don't even remember cause most of the nights were a drunken blur."

However, I think there are hints that his maturity level has gone up some. He talks about his time at Xtreme Couture as a positive thing, as well as the fact that he's signed with Denaro Sports Marketing and that he's been living with Shaun Thompkins. For anyone not familiar with Denaro, their clients include such fighters as Mac Danzig, Gabriel Gonzaga, Luis Cane, and so on. (However, they're not immune to having troublesome clients, as they also represent Melvin Guillard and Chris Leben.)

Regardless, I think it's evident that someone has worked on Junie's public persona, whether it be his new agents, Couture, or somebody else -- he seems like he's calmed down some, and he says that he hasn't "gone out" since he's been in Vegas and that the only thing he's been drinking is water. I think that's probably an exaggeration, but I think everybody would agree that they run a tight ship at Xtreme Couture.

Finally, I think it's interesting that Junie said he felt that he wasn't being used by Dana White or the UFC. He didn't elaborate on it too much more except to say that he thought TUF was designed not so much for the hardcore MMA fan, but for the more casual fan, to get people watching the UFC who might not otherwise watch it.

While this may be true, I think that last week's episode was one of the nastiest we've seen in a while, if not ever, and even though it may not turn the casual fan away from the UFC events, it's definitely going to turn fans off from the show. Just take a look at all the posts that sprung up after last week, of people criticizing the show.

In spite of all that, I'm interested to see what Junie does with his time at Xtreme Couture. He's got a wealth of opportunity there -- I, for one, am hoping he doesn't waste it.

-PreView

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Interview with Dr. Randy Borum, Combat Sport Psychologist

In my campaign to share with you as many aspects of mma as possible, I'd now like to introduce you to someone who holds a role I think many of you would definitely consider to be "outside the box." Please meet Dr. Randy Borum, a Combat Sport Psychologist.

I first came across Dr. Borum's blog, CombatSportPsychology, and found a number of things he had to say very interesting and informative. He authors a monthly column for Black Belt Magazine and has worked with fighters from numerous professional combat sports organizations.

Check after the jump for the whole interview.


First, thanks for agreeing to the interview. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself; your official job title(s) and your educational background?

My pleasure. Thanks for your interest. I am a Professor at the University of South Florida where I teach and do research on violence and national security issues. I have a doctoral degree in clinical psychology. I am a licensed and board-certified psychologist and a Certified Sport Psychologist. For several years, I was a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), and I did some strength coaching for my University's Boxing Team back when it was active.


What inspired you to get into the field of combat sports psychology?

I was a police officer for a while before I was a psychologist and I began studying sport psychology and motor behavior principles back in the mid 1980s to help understand how they might be applied to help police officers perform well (mentally) in high-stress, high-risk situations. I knew some competitive grapplers and professional mma fighters who talked to me about the mental aspects of their game. I saw some applications of what I had learned back in the 1980s combined with new sport psychology research and other things I had learned about psychology and human performance. I shared it with them and they found it to be helpful. I figured that there must be a lot of sport psychologists working with combat sports, so I did some searching to network and share ideas. I was surprised to find that there were very few sport psychologists who had worked at all with combat sport athletes, and none of them really specialized in those sports. I began writing some articles integrating research and scientific findings with critical aspects of the mental fight game and applying them to practical challenges these athletes sometimes face. I don’t really know many other sports well enough have a good sport-specific understanding of the mental skill nuances, so I really focus only on combat sports.


What is your favorite combat sport, and who is your favorite fighter?

I like different things about different disciplines – BJJ, boxing, Muay Thai, wrestling, judo – they each have really interesting mental skill components that play out in different ways. I am more drawn to striking, but overall, if I had to choose a “favorite”, it would probably be mma because it is integrative and draws from so many disciplines and styles. As for my favorite fighter, I try not to play favorites, but I really admire those who commit to being respectful and I most enjoy watching those who have precise, strategic, and somewhat unorthodox striking games. Who does that sound like? I do like Anderson Silva’s game, but I have a group of “favorites” – ranging from champions to those who are relatively unknown.


I understand if you can’t answer this next one, but let me go ahead and ask - With what fighters have you worked? Also, inasmuch as you can disclose such information, was the time you worked with these fighters before a general fight, or before something bigger like a championship fight?

I understand the question, but as a matter of professional ethics, it’s not really appropriate for me to mention specific names. I can say that I do a very limited amount of direct consultation with athletes – mainly pro MMA fighters – some have fought in the UFC, KOTC and other international promotions. I have also consulted with some professional boxers, MuayThai competitors, and elite-level grapplers. Some have been prior to championship or other critical matches; others just wanting to hone their mental game or work though a particular performance problem.


Are you typically contacted by the fighters themselves or by a larger organization, like a training center or fight team?

Typically, the fighters themselves will reach out directly. I have been contacted by a fighter’s manager and medical advisors to organizations, but most initial outreach comes from the competitors.


When you work with an athlete, do you tailor a program to the individual athlete or do you have a set curriculum you follow?

It’s always individually tailored. There are some core skills and core competencies that most fighters need to learn if they are competing at the elite level, but how they apply those skills most effectively varies from person to person. This is not a “one size fits all” kind of thing. I suppose some people can put together a set curriculum or canned program – and it may help some people – but my experience is that at the upper levels of competition that the nuances become increasingly important. It’s generally not right to think that just because a skill works for me or for any other specific person, that it will work the same way for everyone.

Here’s a practical example: generally speaking, competitive fighters need to learn how to manage and regulate their levels of physiological arousal and intensity. But the optimal “zone” is not the same for everyone. Some fighters need to feel calm, others need to feel controlled aggression, still others need to engage at a vigorous or high level of intensity. So sport psychology interventions work best when they are framed in terms finding a good “fit”. There are a few “right ways” and “wrong ways”, but mostly the key is finding what’s right for you. I try not to take away from a fighter any skill or strategy that works effectively for him or her. Instead I try to give him additional tools or help him to use his existing strategies in a slightly different way that will facilitate his or her best performance.


Regardless of the approach you take, what are some of your favorite techniques to use and which ones have you found to be most successful?

Techniques, exercises, drills – whatever you want to call them – are just tools. Those tools are used to build skills. Sport psychology is about building an effective sport-specific mental skill set. But building skills takes practice. It's interesting that most fighters will tell you that mental skills are really important, but in their own training, they spend nearly all of their time on physical training and very little on enhancing mental skills – even though physical conditioning usually peaks out before mental conditioning. Some fighters don't realize or don’t believe that psychological skills can be trained and developed, but they can. So I can teach a technique like progressive muscle relaxation or diaphragmatic breathing, but unless the athlete makes a commitment to practice – just like learning a submission or striking combination – the skill won’t develop and it can’t be applied most effectively to improve performance.

I try to look at the skills needed and how they are being applied, then I’ll think about which techniques might offer the best starting point for a specific fighter to move toward enhancing that skill. At the broadest level, there are three behavioral components of fight performance that are affected by psychological factors: Thoughts (Cognition); Feelings (Emotion) and Physical (Somatic).

Skill sets usually focus in some way on regulating thoughts, feelings and physical responses, each of which can affect the others in different ways at different times. A negative thought like "I'm gassing- I won't make it to the end of the round" may lead to feeling discouraged and having physical sensations of fatigue. On the other hand, rehearsing confident thoughts like "I am strong and powerful and completely prepared for this match" may lead to feelings of excitement, which produce physical sensations of energy.

Some of the core skills are the ability to stay fully in the present moment (a state of “flow” or being “in the zone”), regulating arousal or intensity, confidence, focus/attention, and goal setting.


How much of a fighter’s win or loss would you generally attribute to the mental aspect of their game?

Over the years a lot of combat sport trainers and athletes have said that 80-90% of a fighter’s success comes from mental factors. Pat Miletich said it about MMA. Freddie Roach said it about boxing, and Dan Gable said it about wrestling. In reality, I guess there's no way to precisely measure these things, but it does all point to the fact that psychological factors are critical for effective fight sport performance. It may be particularly important at the elite levels because fighters are already matched up on size, experience and skill.


Are combat sports something you follow on your free time as well, or would that be too much “taking the office home” with you?

Sure, I follow them on my free time. I enjoy them and I learn from them. I do what I do in combat sports because I love the sports and I enjoy helping participants achieve their potential. My wife also enjoys watching mma.


What exactly is Crazy Monkey Defense and what is your affiliation with that program?

The Crazy Monkey Defense Program was created by Rodney King of South Africa (not the guy from LA). Rodney is an innovative martial artist, a skilled striker and has black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Rigan Machado. The term “Crazy Monkey Defense” really just refers specifically to a striking defense in which your elbows and forearms are in constant motion shielding your face, so that your head is protected and incoming strikes are more deflected than absorbed. You see lots of guys use variations of it. Rampage is one example. But Rodney has evolved a program that goes beyond just the defensive maneuver. He has done the “competition” thing in the past, but he is interested now in transforming the way martial arts are taught, coached and experienced. He asked me if I would be willing to serve as the official Performance Psychology Advisor to the program. I agreed. Rodney collaborated in creating a training journal for martial artists. You can get it as a free e-book if you register on the Crazy Monkey Defense site (also free). It’s definitely worth checking out the CMD site. Rodney has some great training videos and some exciting new ideas about martial art training. (PV's Note - check out CMD on the web here.)


Two of your colleagues, Drs. Ted Butryn and Matt Masucci are working on an MMA Sport Psychology Research Study. As much as you are able, tell us about this study, what the goals of it are, and how you think it will affect combat sport psychology, since it is one of the first of its kind.

They are terrific guys and thoughtful researchers. They are interested in the stressors faced by MMA athletes, and how they cope with stress in their matches, as well as during training. They are interviewing fighters from across the US and Canada and doing follow-up interviews with some to see how things evolve over time. They presented preliminary results at the largest Sport Psychology conference in North America last September, and they hope the final published results will be of use to academics, coaches, and fighters.


Studies like this can obviously prove very beneficial – what kind of study would you like to see completed – what kind of study (and what kind of subjects) do you think would provide the most useful information?

In fact, I have recently collected data from about 400 combat sport athletes. People were very gracious about participating. I have a series of questions I would like to pursue, ranging from some basic science issues like understanding the link between recurrent concussions and depression, to exploring the role of mental toughness and to identifying strategies that successful competitors use for self-regulation and improvement in different combat sports. One very basic product I hope to generate is a brief paper-and-pencil instrument that combat sport competitors can use to assess their own strengths and growth areas in sport-specific mental skills. I don’t want to sell it, but rather to make it freely available to whoever would want to use it – maybe online. It will be a few months before I have the data analyzed to ensure the instrument’s reliability and validity. Then, I’ll have to think about the dissemination plan. I’m hoping some people will find it useful.


How have you seen your field grow in the past 5 years?

The field of sport psychology, generally, is growing. Psychologists have been studying sport performance since the late 1800s, but they really didn't begin performance consulting with athletes until the 1960s. The U.S. Olympic Committee only hired its first full-time sports psychologist in 1985.

The systematic application of psychology in combat sports is really just beginning. What we have seen over the past five years is some combat sport athletes who publicly have discussed their consultation with sport psychologists and the benefit they derived from that. So, I think competitors have become more interested and receptive to what sport/performance psychology might have to offer. That’s a good start. It helps to get us past the hurdle where people think sport psychology is only for people who have mental disorders. At the same time, it has opened the door to increase discussion about some very common problems that many people – including fighters – struggle with – including depression. There are tools that help combat sport athletes improve their competitive performance, but also enhance their quality of life. We’re making progress.


Where do you see your field going in the next 5 years?

Sport psychology still is not used as systematically or as effectively as it could be. With FILA's recent recognition of grappling as an international sport and the explosive growth of Mixed Martial Arts in particular, I hope there is an opportunity to make sport psychology a regular part of combat sport training.

I suspect the next five years will see continued growth in understanding and acceptance of psychology’s contributions to combat sport training and competition. We will probably see more competitors and more training camps making use of sport psychologists. I also hope the enthusiasm spreads to young sport psychology and sport science researchers who can help build our base of sport-specific scientific foundation of knowledge to improve performance.


You write a monthly column for Black Belt magazine – how do you think exposure like this helps your discipline and the fighters who study it?

Although the magazine is very popular among traditional martial artists, I’m not really sure how many people read the “Psyched!” column. But it’s the only martial arts or fight-related publication I know of that has a column dedicated to sport/performance psychology in every issue. My hope is that it exposes martial artists and fighters to some new ideas that can help to improve their performance.


Obviously, all of the information you’ve learned can’t be imparted in just a few days, but have you ever thought about offering a weekend clinic or seminar, for fight teams or individual fighters to attend, to help with some of the pre-fight and training techniques you offer? Or would such mass learning not be possible due to the personal nature of what you offer?

I do think it is possible to convey some basic skills and information in a seminar-type format. I am not opposed to the idea, but I just haven’t actively sought opportunities to do it. We have an awesome cadre of pro mma fighters here at my home gym, Gracie Tampa, and I am doing some overview seminar stuff for them, but I haven’t tried to market anything publicly.


Individually, on a short-term and/or long-term basis, what do you hope to accomplish within your field?

Well… in advancing sport psychology for combat sports, I don't have a specific "ultimate goal" in mind. I do the writing and work I do in this area mostly because I love the sport and I enjoy helping fighters achieve their potential. I'm not trying to build an empire or even a cottage industry. What I have been doing is just trying to share information and ideas about how psychological principles might contribute to combat sport training. As I said, I think that people know the mental side of the game is important, and they may even know how to discipline themselves and be tough, but they don't necessarily know how to assess and build a mental skill set to complement the strength, conditioning and fighting skills. Some don't even know that factors like concentration, confidence, relaxation, and mental toughness are skills that can be learned, practiced and developed.

So I guess my first goal is get more fighters and trainers to think systematically about their mental game in the same way that they think about fighting skills, conditioning and nutrition as parts of the big picture. Many elite-level fighters or fight camps have a strength and conditioning coach or a sport nutritionist that they consult with – but how many have a sport psychologist? Sure - psychologists can help people who are depressed or who have serious psychological problems, but those with an understanding of sport psychology can also do so much more – not just to provide treatment, but to enhance performance and to take their fight game to the next level.

My second goal would be to help encourage the next generation of sport psychologists – researchers and clinicians – who are interested in focusing on combat sports. There are a bunch of really interesting research questions yet to answer and, and there are increasing opportunities to help fighters and other combat sport athletes to achieve their potential.


Where did you come up with the monkey logo on your blog?

The monkey with boxing gloves is one of the old logo elements from the Crazy Monkey Defense program. Their artist and designer really does great work.


So far, what has been your most enjoyable experience as a combat sport psychologist?

I don't know that I can identify a single experience, but I always find it to be incredibly rewarding when I can consult with a fighter who is genuinely interested in improving his game or who is struggling with a particular problem that is holding him back – then he follows through on what we discussed and comes back to say: "That really worked" or "That was really helpful." This is one of the few things I do professionally where I get feedback at the individual level. For me, those are probably the best moments.


Thanks for all of your time – is there anyone you’d like to thank?

I’d like to thank the fighters and other combat sport athletes who have taught me so much about the sports and who have trusted me to support them. I am also grateful to those who participated in my research study. Combat Sports International helped out by providing a discount to people who completed the surveys. They were very generous. Kirik Jenness, President of MixedMartialArts.com also helped to get the word out. He is a true gentleman who is strongly committed to MMA, and has always been incredibly supportive of my efforts.

I have a blog/site where I have most of my past articles posted: CombatSportPsychology. If anyone is interested in MMA training in the Tampa Bay area, they should definitely check out my home gym Gracie Tampa. Rob Kahn owns the school, and Cristina Rodriguez (2007 World Grappling Games Bronze Medalist) manages operations. They have an awesome cadre of competitive grapplers, and fighters who I learn from everyday. Rob’s a Royce Gracie Black Belt, who is incredibly innovative. His jiu-jitsu game is phenomenal. Gabe Maldonado is one of a best striking coaches I ever had the privilege to work with. Jeremy “Buttercup” Thurlow has built a world-class strength and conditioning program for the school. They have had fighters on five seasons of “The Ultimate Fighter” on Spike.

Grapplers looking for the best tournaments should definitely check out Grapplers Quest. Gracie Tampa’s manager, Cristina Rodriguez, is their new National Event Coordinator and definitely knows how important it is to competitors that events run smoothly, safely and fairly. Grapplers Quest aims to be the Nation’s top grappling promotion.

Thanks to everyone else who takes time to read this interview and other articles on my blog. It’s your interest that will help us collectively to move forward.

---------------

So there you have it. Again, thanks to Dr. Borum for agreeing to the interview - check out his blog from the link above, or the banner at the top of the main page.

Until next time...

-PreView



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Is Liddell Still Relevant In the Title Picture?

Another post I put on FightTicker.com today - I found this article on Yahoo: Sports -a sort of profile of Chuck Liddell after his devastating KO loss to Rashad Evans.

As you'll see after the jump, I don't think Liddell should be written out of the picture just yet.

From Yahoo:Sports:

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell is fighting a battle of meaning in the public eye: can one punch change everything?

Liddell, 38, built his reputation giving and taking punches. From 2004 to 2006, he cleaned out the sport’s marquee division, collecting wins against stars like Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz, who, like him, built the foundation for the UFC’s explosion in popularity.

But a new guard has encroached upon Liddell’s legacy, and chinks have begun to appear in his armor. Spearheaded by the minds at Jackson’s Submission Academy in Albuquerque, N.M., Liddell has lost to three out of his last four opponents, and his light heavyweight title to Quinton Jackson at UFC 71.

A spectacular knockout loss to Rashad Evans at UFC 88 brought the subject of retirement into sharp focus. After the fight, Liddell said he’d decide in the gym, not in the pressroom, whether to hang up his four-ounce gloves.

I think the most relevant thing Liddell had to say was this:

“I have one fight I get caught, and all of a sudden my striking is no good?” Liddell poses. “That’s kind of how you guys feel in the sport. You media guys, (if) you lose a fight – nobody was saying that when I beat Wanderlei (Silva). Nobody was talking about how my striking was overrated. Now eight months later, I lose a fight, and my striking is no good.”

I think this is very true. Yes, Liddell's style can be predictable, and he obviously suffered from this deficit in the Rashad fight - however, I think he's right - nobody was talking like this when he beat Silva.

A fight against another Silva - Anderson - could definitely show people if he's been working on his overall game. He's got decent kickboxing, and he can definitely wrestle, he's just been relying too much on his bread and butter - the counter punching and power punching.

I think Liddell is still relevant in the title picture, but his next fight could certainly determine how relevant, and a win over Silva would definitely send his stock back up. Silva has never fought a guy like Liddell, and Liddell has never fought a guy like Silva. Ultimately I think Silva would come out on top, but I think Liddell has the potential to take Silva to the third round, and legitimately, unlike Cote.

-PreView

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UFC Crushes the Competition, and Gets the Recognition

Thanks to 3L for the heads up on this - if I still had a running stab count going on the blog, I'd retract one because he pointed this out.

After the jump you'll find a link to an article about the UFC on MSNBC - the writer analyzes it from the angle that the UFC has survived (and thrived) in a time when we see mma promotions dropping like flies.


From MSNBC.com:

When Johnny Drama is called into the eight-sided cage by Chuck Liddell during an episode of HBO’s hit series “Entourage,” the mixed martial arts fighter demands that the terrified Drama – who had mouthed off at Liddell in a parking lot – get down on his knees and beg for forgiveness.

In a nutshell, that is how Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) – of which Liddell is a top star – has treated all competitors. Last month, mixed martial arts organization EliteXC failed. In the last few years, UFC has purchased a huge rival, Japan’s Pride Fighting Championships, along with
World Extreme Cagefighting and World Fighting.

Today, UFC is the undisputed champ of the mixed martial arts world. According to Forbes, UFC is likely to generate $250 million this year, about 90 percent of all mixed martial arts revenue. The matches often sell out venues, such as the 13,300-capacity MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, at an average ticket price topping $250. Three of its cable shows – The Ultimate
Fighter, UFC Fight Night and UFC Unleashed – are staples on Spike TV.

”They offer the highest level of product in the marketplace,” said Shawn McBride, vice president of Ketchum Sports Network. “UFC is laser-focused on mixed martial arts. It’s a great case study.”

The article goes on to talk about some of the UFC's sponsorships and the financial situation the UFC was in when the Fertittas bought it.

In spite of the fact that many people wouldn't be exposed to too many new things from this article, I wanted to point it out because of the exposure on MSNBC, and under the "Sports Biz" section.

In addition to that, we don't have a major news outlet talking about how brutal they think the UFC is, or how it's only rednecks that watch it, and so on and so forth. Instead, we have an intelligent commentary on the UFC, and its dominance in the world of MMA promoters.

While this isn't the first article of the sort, I can only hope it won't be the last - hopefully, the recognition of the financial success will lead others to recognize the athletes' successes in the combat sports world as well.

-PreView

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MMA Big Show: Relentless - Amateur Fights and Post-Event Coverage

This event wrap-up will cover the eight amateur fights from the MMA Big Show: Relentless, that I watched last night, as well as some follow-up with the new 155 lb champ Chad Hinton and one of his trainers and coaches, Dahei Haile.

Check after the jump for the coverage, as well as a link to my FightTicker.com live-blog of the three pro fights from the event.



I’ll be putting each fighter’s team affiliation with their name, but in lieu of listing a link with every name, I’ll put the two I have here.

You can check out Cincinnati MMA & Fitness here and you can check out Team Vision here.

Mike Yanez was the referee for all the fights. I recently interviewed Yanez – you can find that out here.

The event was held in the Northern Kentucky Convention Center – for more info on the venue, go here.

Additionally, the vendor House of Pain had a table there, and they gave away a customized gym bag and a $100 shopping spree away to one of the audience members. You can find them on the net here. They sponsor athletes from MMA fighters to bodybuilders.

Also, what follows will be the full descriptions of what transpired in the amateur fights. I know some of you may not be much for reading fight descriptions for a smaller promotion after they’ve happened,, but I couldn’t post them all last night because I had to conserve my battery for the pro fights, as there was nowhere for me to plug in.

As for the fights….

Alex Smith (Cincy MMA & Fitness) vs. Matt Johnson (Independent) (135 lbs)

ROUND 1
At the start, Johnson pushed the action, and the fighters clinched up. Johnson got a takedown and ended up in Smith’s full-guard, and Smith had one of Johnson’s arms wrapped up. Smith looked for a guillotine, but Johnson scrambled, got side control and transitioned to a full mount. Smith swept Johnson and took Johnson’s back. Smith locked in an armbar, but it was too late.

PreView saw the Round 10-9 for Smith.

ROUND 2
Smith initiated the clinch and attempted a standing guillotine. When that didn’t work, he threw some knees to the head, scored a takedown and landed on his back with Johnson his full guard. Smith swept Johnson to gain the top position while Johnson attempted an armbar. Smith threw hammer fists until Johnson gave up his back where Smith ended it quickly by Rear Naked Choke.

Smith wins by tapout due to Rear Naked Choke at 1:30 of Round 2.


Kevin Cantley (Cincy MMA & Fitness) vs. John Heiser (Bushido Fight Team) (145 lbs)

ROUND 1
The fight started with Cantley trying a couple quick jabs that didn’t have much of an effect. He shot in and scored a double-let takedown and ended up in Heiser’s full guard. Cantley worked some ground and pound until Heiser rolled and was able to stand up. Cantley landed a big head kick followed by a right uppercut which knocked down Heiser. Cantley got Heiser into a guillotine, but Heiser was grabbing the fence, which initially prevented Cantley from getting it fully locked in. Cantley persisted, though and won with the choke.

Cantley wins by tapout due to guillotine choke at 1:53 of Round 1.


Elliot Spence (Cincy MMA & Fitness) vs. Bill Bauer (Team Tarhe) (150 lbs)

ROUND 1
This match got off to a quick start as Spence shot in and took Bauer down hard, ending up in Bauer’s full guard. Spence picked Bauer up twice and slammed him, putting him up against the cage. Spence looked for a standing guillotine while throwing knees to Bauer’s body. Spence got another takedown and landed some big right-hands from inside Bauer’s guard. Spence worked out of the guard into side control, then full mount, working ground and pound. Bauer rolled out, swept Spence and stood up, but Spence regained control, got double underhooks and took Bauer down again to end the round.

PreView saw the Round 10-9 for Spence.

ROUND 2
Bauer came out firing with a big right hook that missed and allowed Spence to shoot in and push Bauer against the cage. Spence threw three unanswered knees and utilized dirty boxing while Bauer responded with his own knees to Spence’s body. As the two split, Spence landed a big knee to Bauer’s face, which stunned Bauer long enough for Spence to hip toss Bauer and get side control which he transitioned into a crucifix and used ground and pound until Bauer verbally submitted.

Spence wins by verbal submission at 1:03 of Round 2.


DJ Smith (Team Dobusutai) vs. Eric Funkhouser (Bushido Fight Team*) (155 lbs)

ROUND 1
Smith came out with a right hook, but both fighters backed off, trying to feel each other out. Smith had a significant reach advantage. Funkhouser landed a big right hook that set up a suplex, landing him in side control. Funkhouser landed some knees to Smith’s body while Smith was landing some punches from his back. Funkhouser got full mount and transitioned back to side mount, looking for the kimura. Smith rolled in sort of a backwards somersault that impressed the whole audience, but Funkhouser got back in full mount, and got what looked like to be a kimura, but the angle prevented me from getting an unobstructed view. After holding this position for about 20 seconds, the referee stopped the fight**.

Funkhouser wins via ref stoppage at 2:25 of Round 1

*Our official roster listed Funkhouser as coming out of the Bushido Fight Team, but he was announced as a Four Seasons fighter.

**The ref stoppage elicited a lot of boos from the crowd, with a number of people screaming things like “He didn’t tap!” However, from where I was sitting, this was the right call. If Funkhouser would’ve applied any more pressure, Smith’s arm would’ve been dislocated.


Chris Curtis (Team Vision) vs. Jay Finnegan (Spartan Athlima) (170 lbs)

ROUND 1
Curtis, in a southpaw stance, started things off with a good leg kick. They clinched up and Finnegan attempted to land some knees. Curtis took him down, but Finnegan scrambled back up as both fighters threw knees. Curtis lands another solid leg kick followed by a right hook and a guillotine attempt. As Finnegan attempted to push Curtis off, Curtis landed a three-hit combo. Finnegan tried a kick to the body, but it only grazed Curtis who answered with another big leg kick and a huge left hook that floored Finnegan. Curtis quickly got the full mount and ground and pounded Finnegan until the ref stopped it.

Curtis wins via ref stoppage at 2:01 of Round 1


Ben Cox (Independent) vs. Matt Egner (Cincy MMA) (170 lbs)

ROUND 1
First, I have to give props to Egner. He took this fight on about ten minutes notice as Cox’s other opponent dropped out for an undisclosed reason. In spite of not planning to fight, Egner was definitely ready. This was my pick for Fight of the Night, barely edging out Hinton vs. Ammerman.

Cox started things off with a couple jabs. Egner came out swinging hard as the two clinch and Cox throws knees, setting up a big slam which lets him get the full mount and start the ground and pound. Egner swept, landed in Cox’s full guard. Cox looked for an armbar from the bottom, but Egner picked him up and slammed him and ended up in the full mount. Cox looked for an ankle lock, but Egner swept him again and stood, leaning over to land some head shots. Cox pushed Egner off, but Egner landed more shots as Cox stood. Egner threw a body kick, but Cox caught it, picked Egner up and slammed him, got the full mount and started ground and pound while he looked for an armbar. Cox locked the armbar in tight, right as the horn sounded ending the round and saving Egner*

PreView scored this round 10-9 for Cox.

ROUND 2
Cox started off the round throwing some big shots, pushing Egner against the cage. Cox threw knees to the body while Egner landed a couple uppercuts as the two split. Cox threw a head kick, but missed, followed by a leg kick and a hard jab. Egner was throwing hard shots of his own as the two threw as many punches as the crowd went crazy because of all the action. Egner then threw a jumping/flying knee and the arena exploded with cheers. Cox had no answer for this assault and was now bleeding from his nose. Cox pushed Egner up against the cage and shot in looking for a takedown, but Egner was able to sprawl. Cox rolled and landed in Egner’s full guard, with his nose bleeding all over Egner’s face. Cox picked Egner up a couple times and attempted to slam him as the round ended.

PreView scored this round 10-9 for Egner

ROUND 3
The large number of Cincy MMA & Fitness fans in the crowd started the round with chants of “Egner, Egner”. Egner came out with a jab as Cox landed a hard inside leg kick. Egner landed more unanswered shots which caused Cox to try to clinch where Egner landed some hard lefts. Cox was still looking for the clinch as Egner landed more lefts. Cox landed a big knee to the body, but Egner was still firing off punches as quickly as he could. Cox shot in again, but Egner sprawled again and stood as Cox tried a front kick to end the match.

PreView scored this round 10-9 for Egner

Egner wins via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

*The armbar at the end of the first round was very reminiscent of Penn-Pulver I – had Cox had even 2 more seconds, I think he would’ve submitted Egner, but Egner was saved by the horn. After the event was over, a number of Cox’s people asked people sitting around the cage if we had seen Egner tap due to the armbar. I didn’t hear anyone confirm a tap and if Egner did tap, I didn’t see it, and when the round ended, the two were at the cage almost right in front of the table where I was sitting. The event was taped, and some people said they saw it on one of the big screens around the room, so maybe the footage will reveal something different, but even if it did, it wouldn’t change the result.


Marcus Finch (Cincy MMA & Fitness) vs. Donald Young (Independent) (185 lbs)

ROUND 1
This fight saw Donald Young making his MMA debut* against the 4-0 Finch. Finch came in with a left hook setting up a sweep which allowed him to get the side mount and then full mount. Young scrambled and ended up in Finch’s full guard and landed some lefts to Finch’s head while Finch worked for an armbar from the bottom. Young was grabbing the fence to keep himself from being put down by the armbar, but the ref couldn’t see this from his vantage point. Young landed some body shots as Finch made a triangle attempt. Finch let go and ended up in side control, landing some big shots to Young’s head and body that set up a full mount where Finch started to rain down hammer fists on Young’s face. Finch looked for a keylock as the round ended.

PreView saw the round 10-9 for Finch

ROUND 2
The round started off with the two circling each other before Finch threw out a short front kick to set up a takedown. Young got Finch in a guillotine, which Finch pulled out of, but was still in Young’s full guard. The action slowed so the ref stood them up. Young threw a hard inside leg kick and wrapped up Finch and landed multiple knees to Finch’s head as the two were standing, clearly slowing Finch down, keeping him neutralized until the round ended.

PreView saw the round 10-9 for Young

ROUND 3
Finch came out quick with a double-leg takedown and immediately took Young’s back. Young scramble and managed to turn over, but was still in the bottom position as Finch set up a fight-ending keylock.

Finch wins via tapout due to keylock, at :24 of Round 1


Dave Heidorn (Cincy MMA & Fitness) vs. Seth Chandler (Team Dobusutai) (205 lbs)

ROUND 1
Both Heidorn and Chandler were making their MMA debuts, and I don’t think the fight went the way either had imagined it would. Chandler came out firing with a huge leg kick. Heidorn shot in, but Chandler sprawled and the two stood up. Heidorn landed a left hook and then both were swinging for the fences as they locked up. Heidorn went in for a takedown, which Chandler was able to resist for a few seconds, but eventually fell. At this point, something happened to Chandler’s knee and he immediately indicated to the ref he couldn’t go on. The ring doctor came in and confirmed this.

Heidorn won via doctor stoppage at 1:17 of Round 1


For my live blog of the three pro fights, check here.

After the event, I was able to speak with Dahei Haile, Chad Hinton and Jason Appleton.

Haile, head coach of Team Xtreme out of Cincy MMA and Fitness told me they offer a full program of muay thai, bjj and mma for a complete system. When I asked him what he thought of the event, he said, “We came in, we did the work that we needed to, showed everyone what we’re able to bring. Our fighters came in and did what we planned for them to do, and came out victorious.”

When I asked him specifically about Hinton’s performance, he said “[Hinton’s] performance was as expected. We knew Ammerman was going to be a little wild and try to utilize his reach and his range. We played off of that and took it from there.”

With Haile was Lonnie Scott, a muay thai instructor at Cincy MMA & Fitness, and Corey Boyle, a bjj instructor. Both guys stated they’d been with Team Xtreme since the beginning, and Haile stated the team was a little over a year old.

I asked Haile whether training fighters was a specific goal of his when he got involved with Cincy MMA and Fitness, and he stated that competing was definitely an option, but not a requirement – Haile did stress that he felt anyone they trained would be in fighting shape, whether they actually decided to compete or not.

Cincy MMA & Fitness ended up having seven guys fight, and they went 7-0 for the night, so they’re clearly doing something right over there.


I then spoke to Hinton, the new MMA Big Show Lightweight Champion. I asked Hinton how he felt going into the fight, and he said “I felt great, real confident, conditioning was there, my team was there. My team kind of set the pace for me tonight going into my fight, so I was pretty confident.”

When asked about how he felt about his opponent going into the fight, he responded, “I did my homework on Joe, I knew he was very aggressive, I knew he was very strong and I knew his cardio was there, so I definitely stepped up our cardio and did a lot of takedown defense and takedown execution, so everything went pretty well as planned.”

During the fight, Ammerman was on the wrong end of an accidental eye poke and then Hinton was on the wrong end of an accidental groin kick (and then a couple shots to the face as the ref was trying to break them up). I asked Hinton if he thought this changed the pace of the fight, having to stop and re-start twice. He said, “I don’t think so…things like that happen when you’re in full contact sports. He got me pretty good and hit me a couple times after he kicked me in the nuts, but it’s all good, things like that happen.”

Hinton said he’d been a pro fighter for a little over a year now, and he said that MMA Big Show and Jason (the promoter) had been really good and fair to him, and that he was open to whatever was in front of him because he’s “[t]hirty-seven years old, so I’ve got to kind of take what comes.” Those who saw my live blog likely noted that I said Hinton looked huge going into the ring – however, in spite of the look, he stated that when he came into the fight, he didn’t weigh much over 165 after rehydrating post weigh-in.


Last, but not least, I got a chance to speak to Jason Appleton, the man behind MMA Big Show. When I asked him what his first thoughts were post-event, it gave me a laugh when the first thing he said was “I’m tired and my feet hurt.” Frankly, I think this was probably a gross underestimation of how Appleton actually felt. From observing him throughout the night, it wasn’t hard to see that he is familiar with all aspects of his promotion, and takes great care in making sure he knows what’s going on. When the event didn’t start at the stated time of 7:00p.m., he was quick to get on the mic and let everybody know what the official reason was (commissioner hadn’t shown up yet) and that it wouldn’t be much longer. When it appeared like someone had a problem or needed a question answered, he was the one doing the solving and answering. I know that I personally was very appreciative towards him for the ring-side seat I had and for the time he took to talk with me both before and after the show.

He said he thought both of the main event fights were great, Hinton and Ammerman was a phenomenal fight and that they fought their asses off for three full rounds.

In his second event at the NKY Convention Center (his first event, two years ago, was also there), he said he hadn’t seen the official numbers yet, but he would guess there were about 2,000 people in attendance.

He’s working on another event for February 7th, which will be in Ohio, and he stated that contracts hadn’t been signed on the location yet, but he’s hoping to make a announcement in the next two to three weeks. He also stated that the next show will be “a whole other ballgame” and that Relentless had been a test run for a number of things (i.e. video coverage) they wanted to implement for the next show, where he expects a number of UFC vets to be featured. He expects there to be about 6,500 seats available for that event, which is a marked increase in the number he has tried to fill so far, so as he put it, “We’re going for broke.” Appleton did acknowledge that there were some bugs in the test run, but that overall, things had gone well, and they take steps forward with every show they have.

When asked about Yanez’s decision to stop the Smith fight, he said that at first, it threw him, because he couldn’t see what happened because of the angle, but once it was explained to him that Smith was caught in a submission and was at risk for serious injury, it was the right decision on the part of the ref.

Overall, Appleton said that he was happy how things went, but there was room for improvement. He was happy with the marketing that they had for the show, but said that due to the large amount of radio and billboard coverage, he was surprised the show wasn’t sold out.

I questioned him about how Sammy Morgan (who was supposed to face Roger Bowling in the night’s main event) dropping out only ten days before the show affected his operation and he told me he was “[s]hocked in a lot of ways, because when you’ve got a guy like Roger – in my last event I went through four replacements for Roger – this show, we went through three guys….I don’t know what it is, but when I book a fighter who, his price is high, his record is high, and then his trainers tell me ‘In a nutshell, man, I’ve got to be honest with you, but he’s lost four in a row at this point, he’s in a downward spiral and we want to stop it right here, we don’t think Roger is a good fight for him.’ So, are his ribs broken or not? (Sammy’s stated reason for dropping out was aggravation of an injury he had before his second round TKO loss to Duane Ludwig.) You just can’t trust anybody – guys sign contracts and they back out on them. A lot of these bigger teams have team doctors who will back them up so they can get out of contracts.”

I asked him if situations like this made him want to sign fighters to exclusivity clauses and he said he wanted to do that as soon as his shows stopped losing money. Appleton also told me that ideally, he’d like to put on 10-20 shows a year in various areas, but that he felt in any one given market, if you do more than one show a quarter, you can sell yourself short because the local crowd would thin out if you inundated them with shows.


I definitely enjoyed the event, and I’m looking forward to the next one. The fights were exciting, the crowd was great – Jason Appleton put on a hell of a show.

-PreView


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Q & A with AFL CEO B.J. Santiago

Onslaught of initials aside, this Q & A from Junkie covers a lot of topics - Santiago doesn't let out some of the info I'm sure everybody wants to know, such as exactly who the AFL's financial backers are, and how they're affording to pay for everything, but it's an interesting interview nonetheless.

I've posted a piece of it - you can check out the rest on MMA Junkie here.

Check after the jump for the rest.



MMAjunkie.com: The AFL had promised a pay-per-view card this year. What happened to that planned event?

B.J. Santiago: A lot of the things that we had on our business plan unfortunately just got recently affected by the economy. One of the things that we have is we're probably just a little bit more disciplined than everybody else. We're financed mainly out of some financial institutions out of New York City. So we have a board of directors just like every other major company. We don't have the green light to just move forward on things if the economy doesn't say that's what you need to do.

And unfortunately, we're not as financially big as the UFC. So we have to do things a little bit smarter, a little bit less frivolous. You take a look at the spending habits of some other organizations that have recently gone under; if we had followed that suit, people would just say, 'Are they complete idiots? I mean everyone else has just gone down the drain.' If we slow up a little bit, if we just have a little bit sharper business plan -- delaying things isn't the end of the world. But come 2009, quarter one, when we launch our new season, we'll be better financially prepared to do so.

MMAjunkie.com: Your financial backing has been in question from the inception of your organization. What more can you tell us about the "financial institutions out of New York City" that are behind the AFL?

B.J. Santiago: We have just different funds that work. I'm going to keep those confidential for right now. They're out of Manhattan. We've got a few different really solid groups that are part of a privately held company that are financing us right now.

MMAjunkie.com: What is your reasoning behind keeping those identities confidential?

B.J. Santiago: Same thing as if you asked the UFC for their financials. Nobody is going to really talk about that. If it's a publicly traded company, it's a different story.


As I stated in this post yesterday, I think the AFL is going about this the right way. They're not relying on exclusivity to establish their brand name, but are trusting the fact that people nationwide want more mma, and they're working with multiple affiliate promoters to give the fans what they want.

It sounds like a good arrangement. That way, the fans can see their local fighters while knowing that they stand a shot at performing on a national stage. This shotgun approach the AFL is taking to widen their talent pool seems like a great way to draw from a huge group of fighters. However, given the general state of the economy and the fact that promotions are failing all over the place, only time will tell.

-PreView

Keep Reading...

KY-Based AFL Taking Big Steps

From MMA Junkie:

With the void left on broadcast television left by the folding of organizations such as EliteXC and the IFL, many have wondered aloud which organization -- if any -- may next find themselves on TV.

One candidate currently in negotiations may surprise you: the Kentucky-based American Fight League.

Check after the jump for more from Junkie as well as my thoughts.


More From Junkie:

"We're working on it," AFL CEO B.J. Santiago today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "We're talking to some of the people in New York City. Just trying to see how that gets worked out. We've also talked to the USA network. There's a few out there that we're talking to."

The AFL has come under much scrutiny in recent months. The organization made waves with the signings of Tara LaRosa, Bobby Lashley and others. But those two have yet to see action for the organization, and promises of a large pay-per-view event never materialized. Coupled with sparse attendance at the AFL's only two shows in 2008, many believed the AFL was heading for certain demise.

Santiago said the organization simply slowed down its expansion to match the prevailing economic conditions.

"We're just doing things a little bit more methodically than some of the organizations that have gone out of business trying to be too over-aggressive," Santiago said.


At least they seem to be going about this in the right way; slowly, but surely. Santiago later commented that things were actually going quicker until EliteXC folded, but that clearly caused some apprehension with the various parties.

With this kind of a plan, it seems like the AFL might be able to stand the test of time. In addition to signing some good talent and big names (Tara LaRosa and Bobby Lashley, respectively), the AFL has a number of affiliate promoters across the nation. With that sort of network, the AFL can appeal to a large cross-section across the nation while using their big names to market local fighters.

Not to mention, there is obviously a whole new talent pool to draw from with the demise of EliteXC. Since the AFL is open to female fighters on their roster, they obviously stand a chance at grabbing Carano. And since they're willing to pay for guys like Lashley, I think they could handle a salary for Carano without a problem. Clearly, signing somebody like Carano could take their exposure to the next level.

With all of the EliteXC stable up for grabs, I'm interested to see who they acquire - the fact that they'll let their fighters fight outside of AFL events (i.e. Bobby Lashley) will, I'm sure, appeal to those fighters looking to stay outside the exclusivity of the UFC.

-PreView

Check out the AFL here.

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PreView's Picks for UFC 90

For the first time in its history, the UFC is hosting "numbered" events (i.e. UFC 89 and UFC 90) on back to back weekends. Granted, this one isn't on free tv, but we still have more fights coming.

Five of tonight's fighters are ranked in most expert's Top 10 lists for the different weight classes, and one of tonight's main event fighters, Anderson Silva, is widely regarded as the number one or number two pound-for-pound greatest fighter in the world (depending on who you're talking to).

Check after the jump for my event picks. For the record, I'm hoping to rebound from a loss of my own as I posted a 4-5 in last weeks picks.


No major analysis this time, but if you're interested in what some of my colleagues on FightTicker.com have to say, we did a sort of roundtable discussion for three of tonight's fights. For our analysis on Sean Sherk vs. Tyson Griffin, go here. For Josh Koscheck vs. Thiago Alves, go here. For our final pick for this event, Silva vs. Cote, go here.

On to my picks....

Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Cote - Silva, via KO, Round 1.

Josh Koscheck vs. Thiago Alves - Alves, via TKO, Round 2.

Sean Sherk vs. Tyson Griffin - Sherk, via Unanimous Decision, Round 3

Fabricio Werdum vs. Junior Dos Santos - Werdum, via Submission, Round 1

Rich Clementi vs. Gray Maynard - Clementi, via Submission, Round 2

Hermes Franca vs. Marcus Aurelio - Aurelio, via Split Decision, Round 3

Spencer Fisher vs. Shannon Gugerty - Fisher, via TKO, Round 1

Dan Miller vs. Matt Horwich - Miller, via Submission, Round 2

Thales Leites vs. Drew McFedries - Leites, via Submission, Round 1

Josh Burkman vs. Pete Sell - Burkman, via Unanimous Decision, Round 3

So there you have it. Like I said, I'm hoping to post a better performance than my 4-5 from last week. I guess we'll know by the end of the night.

-PreView


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Great President Bush Spoof

Seeing Will Ferrell on the SNL "Weekend Update" tonight reminded me of a video that Puddin and I used to watch all the time. It never failed to crack us up. Probably my favorite political spoof video.

Check it out after the jump.





"God, they're so fast. They look like they could strike at any moment." Hilarious.

-PreView


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Junie's 15 Minutes (And My Thoughts on BJJ black belt testing)

Well, Junie got another shot at his 15 minutes of fame last night. What ultimately happened? He got his 15 minutes....sure....but fame? Not so much. The match lasted longer than he said it would, he neglected to finish Roli like he said he would, and was clearly gassed at the end of the fight. Not the strongest performance we've seen so far.

A few more weeks.

With a decision win over Delgado last night, that’s what Junie guaranteed himself – at least a few more weeks on the show.

Check after the jump for my thoughts on the episode and on bjj black belt testing (but be warned, I'm definitely not an expert on the latter).



First – the pre-fight shenanigans. For the record, I’m still confused on where/how Delgado got his black belt; I know he posted a video on his blog on MMAWeekly, but that video still doesn’t answer any of my questions. Incidentally, it’s titled “Roli Delgado black belt testing 2/2”, which looked like Delgado on the bad end of an MMA fight before he caught the guy with a weak upkick....cut to him getting his black belt. Wtf? Today, I located part one from a post on Sherdog. You can check it out here.

Let me say this – had I not seen the title of the video, I don't know that I would've guessed it was a black belt testing. (But that could obviously be due to my general lack of knowledge when it comes to many bjj issues.) I didn't see Roli throw any punches, so I would assume the message he’s trying to get across is that his testing was to beat these fighters who were using an MMA style (with gloves) with only bjj techniques (and no gloves). Then he gets his black belt.

However, I still question the validity of that as a BJJ black belt test. Now, “BJJDenver” on here asked me what my impression was of a BJJ black belt test. Although I meant to message him about that, I’ll throw it out there now, and Denver, feel free to comment in reply or send me a message.

I’ll again state that I’ve never taken a bjj class, and of the few bjj black belts I’ve personally known, I’ve never had the chance to ask them about the circumstances behind them receiving their black belts (although I don’t think the topic has ever come up in a normal conversation).

Regardless, the impression I’ve gotten from info I’ve picked up here and there is that there is not a strict uniform system to awarding bjj belts like you would have with karate, where you learn X number of moves then you get promoted. Instead, it’s more a discretionary practice that also draws on a student’s experience in practice and competition in addition to the learning of techniques.

I’m sure there is a particular skill set that one must possess to be considered for a black belt, but I’ve always gotten the impression that the actual awarding of the black belt came after recognition from the coach that the student was ready, and/or after a great personal achievement in the use/practice of bjj (i.e. Frank Mir getting his black belt after breaking Tim Sylvia’s arm).

In that way, I think bjj is superior to many belt/ranking systems in traditional martial arts, because the ability to memorize a certain number of moves doesn’t necessarily mean you actually have an understanding of those moves. With bjj, it appears to me that the coach must recognize that the student is ready, and such a state can be proved by things other than the learning of techniques, but also things like successful application of the techniques, being able to teach them to others, demonstrating a certain attitude about the sport, etc. (Denver, let me know if I’m way off here.)

A number of members of the TUF cast have stated in their post-episode blogs that it took a while for Delgado to explain himself, and if you actually have a black belt, it shouldn’t take you an hour to explain who it’s under. I do agree with that. I understand there are internal politics with any organization, and there are a lot of people out there training in bjj, but the longer you’d take to explain something like that, the worse it sounds to me.

I understand that this gauntlet could have been part of a black belt test, but again, I'll leave it to the people who have actually trained in bjj to give me their opinion.

Moving on….

So Junie rolls up to the fight announcement with a black belt on which he’s written “McDojo BJJ”, which he then proceeds to throw at Delgado and then spit on it. Classy, Junie. Really classy.

Then we see that Junie is having problems making weight after Mir proclaimed that Junie was already lower than he was when he came on the show, so he wouldn’t have a problem. Junie lost the two pounds, though, and we once again see him doing a great job of repping Kentucky when he stated that Kentucky was the capitol of inbreeding. Again…classy, Junie. Really classy. But of course, the TUF editors did a great job of giving us no clue on how the discussion got to that point – it was just Junie talking about inbreeding. But frankly, I don't think setting up the context would have made it sound much better.

Then we have the fight.

As many of you know, Junie posts a weekly blog on UFC.com. You can check out this week's entry here. In it, Junie quickly admits he was gassed by the end of the fight.....and even before he left the locker room.

So when did I know my cardio wasn’t there? After the warm-ups. I hit pads in the back, and I was like #$%$, I’m gassed. That’s why I was trying to keep the pace of the fight a little slower.

Slow or not, it wasn't hard to see that Junie got more in his element in the second round, but he kept failing to follow up when he had the chance. I do think it was smart he stayed off the ground; it showed that even with a potentially questionable black belt, Delgado had enough bjj skills to worry Junie.

I wasn't extremely happy with Junie's performance, but I think it's clear he realized his fight prep was almost worthless. He gassed early, didn't execute a good gameplan (or any gameplan except to win), ate like crap, had a hard time making weight, and so on and so on. Ideally, this would make Junie realize that he needs to change things up and get more serious about the opportunity he has on TUF.

Do I think this will stop him from getting drunk and breaking something on the next episode in his post-victory celebration? Absolutely not.

Do I think this will make him take stock of what he's doing and maybe shape up a little bit? Hopefully.

Post-fight, I think it was respectful that Junie apologized to Nogueira, although I'm not entirely sure Nogueira understood everything he said. What will be more relevant, though, is how he handles himself in future episodes. With Junie, as usual, there's no telling what will happen.

Junie has done interviews with Cage Potato and MMA Junkie this week. Check them out here and here, respectively. (I'm sure all of you are furiously clicking away.)

I think that the most telling thing in the two interviews was from Junkie:

Don't expect Browning to tone it down. He's a step closer to a shot at a coveted UFC contract, one he expects to win his way.

"It's going to be the same Junie for the whole season," Browning said. "If [fans] are turning in to watch all the crazy [expletive], tell them to keep watching. They'll be entertained. I'll put it to you that way."

So in case you missed the memo that Junie is the head of the crazy [expletive] committee, you're now on notice. I don't think he'll be giving up the position any time soon, and I don't think people will stop watching any time soon.

-PreView


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A Confession: PV's Blog on FightTicker

As some of you may have noticed, the articles on my blog have been almost exclusively MMA-related topics and interviews. In addition to that, my posting frequency has slacked a bit.

The truth is, my faithful readers (both of you), I'm not just blogging on here anymore. I'm also blogging for FightTicker.com. Because of the posting requirements, I've been spending a lot of time working on there.

Check after the jump for more info.



Regardless, if you're interested in what I have to say over there (it's strictly MMA and MMA-related topics) feel free to check out FightTicker.com here (or on the sidebar). However, as you may have noticed, I've added another link on the sidebar, that goes directly to my personal blog on FightTicker. You can check that out here.

As I'm sure you'll quickly see, members of the site post articles on their blogs within in the website, and then the head/owner of the blog takes those and posts them on the front page. In addition to that, you'll see three featured articles at the top - when that happens, people are given an actual byline.

See, in exchange for our daily posting, we're given the opportunity to be credentialed as members of the press for various MMA shows. I'll be covering my first MMA Show as a credentialed member of the press on November 1st, at the MMABigShow. You can check out info on that show here.

As you'll notice, there are plenty of things that appear on both this blog and my blog on FightTicker.

Just wanted to give all of you a heads up - if you're an MMA fan and you don't already know about FightTicker, you need to check it out; multiple daily updates on all the latest MMA news.

-PreView


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"It's not hype, I promise." (And MAJOR props to Eliot Marshall)

Although the focus of this article is going to be Junie (as it's my weekly wrap-up of Junie's antics on the show), I wanted to first give MAJOR props to Eliot Marshall with his win over Shane Primm on last night's episode of TUF. That was a dominant performance, man. Got the full mount in 30 seconds, took his back about 15 seconds after that and then worked until you choked him out.

I thought Eliot had great transitions and was able to maintain the dominant position with what looked like a fair amount of ease. For Eliot's point of view on everything, check out FightTicker.com where you can find weekly blog entries by Eliot on TUF. You can find his most recent blog entry here.

Check after the jump for my thoughts on the latest episode of TUF.



"It's not hype, I promise." - Junie Browning

So next week is going to be the time when we get to see whether it really is all hype when it comes to Junie. But let's back up for a minute and discuss Mir's "talk" with Junie. I understand Junie might have finally realized what he was doing, but still -- that talk didn't seem like much.

So Junie is fighting Delgado -- don't know too much about him, so I'll leave out the speculation for now, except to say that I hope if Delgado's BJJ black belt turns out to be legit, that Junie's submission defense is better than it appeared against Efrain when they were rolling (and Efrain allegedly kept tapping him with a guillotine). Delgado blogs for MMAWeekly - you can check out his most recent blog entry here.

In it, he talks about Frank Mir questioning his BJJ black belt in the next episode, and he provides a link to a video of what he says is his BJJ black belt testing, but it seems to be the second of two videos, and I hope the first has a lot more info than the second, because the second didn't really seem like a test for a BJJ black belt...but then again, as I don't have one, and have only heard what the tests are like, I can't say for sure.

I'm looking forward to the fight.

Let's move on to some other things from this episode. First, what is Krzysztof's deal with other dudes' underwear and shrinkwrap? That's a weird fetish. But more importantly, I was happy to see that Nogueira agrees with me that K-So is the one to watch out for when it comes to the pranks in the house. Like I mentioned in my post-TUF entry last week, K-So is going to be the one quietly picking away at everyone in the house until something blows up.

Finally, I'll say that I have the utmost respect for Nogueira, but I do question his going to the house to talk to Team Mir about the pranks. I know Efrain didn't exactly run and tattle to Nogueira, but still, it seems kind of weak that the coach came to try and cut out the pranks.

Now, regardless of that, when Nogueira's talking, people should listen. However, like Eliot said, they're all going to mess with each other and have fun in the house (I'm paraphrasing, obviously). While Nogueira's intentions were good, I still don't think he gets the difference in fighting lifestyles between fighters in the U.S. and fighters in Brazil. Much like in a number of other categories, the U.S. has a more relaxed approach to the overall picture.

Does that mean U.S. fighters are weaker than Brazilian fighters? No. But it does mean that you're not going to hear an American coach come to a house full of dudes and booze and complain that one of his team members didn't get enough sleep the night before. Has Nogueira ever even seen the show before? Does he not realize Junie actually lives in the house, too? I'd say sleep comes at a premium most of the time.

I applaud Nogueira's efforts -- I think everyone would benefit from the house being calmer; I just hope that as the season progresses, he gets a more realistic picture of what happens so he won't get offended when the pranks keep coming. Demanding a higher standard from all the fighters is an admirable goal -- I just think because of how dedicated he is, Big Nog might take it personally when the pranks don't stop (and let's be honest, they'll probably never stop, even if TUF goes on for 100 more seasons).

On a final note, I'd like to say that sparring with Anderson Silva would have to be one of the most amazing, humbling, and scary experiences a person could go through. It was easy to see that Bader was hesitant, but it wasn't hard to tell that Silva was encouraging him to go harder and faster -- I can only imagine that sparring with Anderson Silva, even if he was only going at 1/4 speed, would seem like fighting for your life. But I have a great deal of respect for Silva getting in there and working with the guys, and being as encouraging and persistent as he was. If nobody ever challenges a fighter, that fighter will never get better.

I have a feeling that this time next week I'm either going to be extremely happy and shouting a lot of "In your face", OR I'll be taking crap from members of tons of other sites about Junie being all hype. Hopefully it's the former.

-PreView

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E-Interview with Mike "Highlander" Yanez

I recently had the pleasure of talking with Mike "Highlander" Yanez, an established BJJ competitor and new pro fighter, who owns Highlander MMA in Louisville, KY. The Highlander MMA camp is an established team with a 98-23 overall fight record. I'll be following them as they get to win 100 and beyond.

Check after the jump for the whole interview.




That's Mike, at Highlander ---->

You can check out Highlander MMA online here, and on myspace here and you can see some videos and highlights of some of the Highlander guys' fights here.

How did you come to start Highlander MMA in Louisville, KY?
I lost my first fight and my student Montrell Parker wanted to fight

What kind of classes do you offer at Highlander?
MMA and BJJ

Can your average joe off the street come and in train, long-term, or are you mainly geared towards fighters?
I pride myself on taking an average guy and turning him into more then he thought he could be.

How much time do you usually spend at Highlander on a given day?
3 hours

Where did you get the nickname “Highlander”?
Highlands Ky - a trendy part of Louisville Ky, but the name has taken many forms and fits perfectly.

What do you think of the fact that the Highlander Fight Team has clearly enjoyed some success, with a current record of 98-23.
Even surprised me.

First, are these wins and losses made up of pro and amateur fights, BJJ tournaments, or what?
Pro and Am fights only. Grappling tourney wins are too much to count.

Second, approximately how many people have contributed to these 98 wins?
Some have come and gone, ironically some left as winners and then added to our wining record when they went to another school. Karma is a bitch I guess. The record stands for me in their cornor when they're wearing the colors of Highlander

Third, how quickly do you think win # 100 will come around?
Within our next couple fights for sure!

You’ve been on both sides of the cage, as a fighter and as a coach – do you prefer one more than the other?
I would trade places with any of my teenager students ( I have a few now)

How important is the role of a coach in a fighter’s corner?
Depends I think. I'm really loud and I really get into the opponent's head. I ve had great coaches in wrestling and Jiu Jitsu I have been blessed. I've walked guys through their matches before, and I've met them with their hands raised just to tell me “thanks for showing that, just like practice”

How has playing both roles changed your perception of them?
I realized that coaching can be like a video game when you're trying to control somebody's moves (and I'm good at video games. ha ha)

What is your training background in?
Wrestled 8 years and BJJ for 13

Tell us about your BJJ lineage.
I got my Black belt in BJJ under 10 years from world champion and number 1 ranked Pablo Popovitch and his father Jorge Popovitch who come from the Carlson Gracie side of the family tree. Our style is a very aggressive style, Pablo beat Renzo Gracie 2 years ago 7-0.

What initially inspired you to get into the fight game?
Tired of people saying "That’s just jiu jitsu, its not mma." Well I proved everyone how easy the transition was! I think any idiot can throw a punch- but you have to be a chess master to become the master ground fighter

What is your current record?
That’s the funny part just 1-0 as a pro!

In what promotions have you fought?
Revolution Fight League (PV's note - you can find them on the web here.

Are you able to do a typical “training camp” before a fight, and if so, how long does that generally last?
It depends because I try to work on what im not good at.

How closely do you monitor your diet when preparing for a fight?
It's top priority

Are there any supplements you take?
What ever they tell me (PV note - Mike clarified that "they" were info from magazines, other people in the game he knew and other BJJ black belts).

What’s an average day of training like for you?
Lifting and bjj with a lot of wrestling and kickboxing.

Who do you typically train with before a fight?
I like to get to Nashville mma and down to florida for a bit

What kind of mental preparations do you go through for before a fight?
That’s an everyday thing, like death in life, once you accept the worst that can happen then you can focus on the best witout the fear of loss.

Is there one particular training aspect you single out as being more important than the others?
Good support or isolation, which ever is available just as long as its not negative - you must discard the negative! ( Wives,Girlfriends, drinking buddies, family, etc - if they love you they will be there at the afterparty.)

What is your normal pre-fight routine?
MUSIC!!!! Nine Inch Nails, Deftones and Disturbed.

At this point in your career, if there’s one fight you could do over again, which would it be?
Of course my loss as an amateur fighter.

To date, what do you consider to be your biggest achievement in the sport?
Me as a coach for sure

What is your favorite technique?
Winning

Before fighting in MMA, did you compete in any other combat sports (i.e. BJJ) and if so, in what tournaments did you compete and how did you place in those tournaments?
That’s what I did so much of - 3 Arnold world golds, Budweiser worlds champion, Florida state champion 6x NAGA champion, all mostly as a purple belt.

It seems like fighters are being sponsored by companies from all industries – at any given event, you’ll see logos for mortgage companies, energy drinks and the ever present Condom Depot emblazoned across a number of fighters’ asses – do you think this kind of exposure helps or hurts the sport?
Helps - we need to get paid, so I hope it grows! Ill be a logo whore!

As you recently had your pro debut, did you have sponsors for this fight?
Nah, but I made PLENTY

As a trainer/coach, what kind of things do you to do help your fighters get sponsors?
Everything but prostitution.

Who is your agent and/or manager?
Me.

You recently had your first pro fight, a first-rounds submission win, over Craig Schoonover, at Revolution Fight League – Hostile Takeover. How did it feel going into your first pro fight?
Relaxed - as if it was a movie I had seen 20 times.

Is competing on the pro level something you want to continue to do, and if so, for how long?
I may fight a few more times

How do you feel about organizations like the American Fight League (AFL) out of L-ville?
My team had about 50 wins and 6 losses - we had 4 title holders, 2 undefeated still (have the belts to prove it). When they needed sponsors, their promo videos were footage of mostly my guys - then not one phone call - Guess they never liked us, we hate them - period!

Do you think that promotions like this that start on a local level will ever be able to compete with organizations like the UFC?
Not AFL they have no integrity! John Prisco’s XFC out of Florida can though!

Junie Allen Browning, out of Four Seasons in Lexington, KY, recently made headlines because he landed a spot on Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter – what do you think this kind of exposure does for MMA in Kentucky?
I'm a fan and I'm proud of him, he shows loyalty to his school and instructor and he may be a little crazy, but its TV, no one gets famous being the quiet one!

In the time you’ve been in KY, how have you seen the MMA scene evolve?
We are very evolved, at least the top schools are anyway - some states don’t have amateur fight events so they don’t have the experience a lot of the seasoned pros have here!

A number of websites publish the fighters’ salaries after events along with the winners of bonuses such as the UFC Fight of the Night, KO of the Night and Submission of the Night bonuses, and they do it with a disclaimer that the figures don’t include costs of medical examinations, travel and the like – what kind of expenses do you deal with as a fighter, a trainer, and a coach that most people wouldn’t know about?
Just the standard expenses - mostly training and training supplies. With getting paid, everyone starts low 200 or 300, I just had a fighter go from 300/300 (win/show) to1500/1500 in 5 fights - he's winning of course.

In your opinion, who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world?
Minotauro, but im biased - I've trained with him, and I just like his style!

Who are some fighters, past or present, that you admire?
Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz, Ramino Sato, Genki sudo.

What kind of hobbies do you enjoy in your down time?
Video and art work

How do you your family and friends feel about your fighting career?
If they don’t like it then I'm not around – my team is my family

Thank you for all this, Mike – are there any people or sponsors you’d like to give a shout out to?
Yes definitely! My Instructors Jorge and Pablo Popovitch, Brawl and Maul, My mother for making me as tough as she is - all my good friends Kelly Carter ,Chris Chard, Vagner Rocha, My students most of all for making my journey in this life complete.
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So there you have it. Keep a lookout as I follow Mike and the Highlander guys as they work towards their 100th win.

-PreView

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