my.nwi.com

By Matt Erickson
cagedin.mma@gmail.com

Munster native Stephan Bonnar plans to contest the result of his loss at UFC 110 in Sydney, he told Caged In on Tuesday.

Stephan Bonnar connects with Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 110 in Sydney. (Photo courtesy of UFC)

In the third round of his light heavyweight bout against Krzysztof Soszynski, Bonnar and “The Polish Experiment” accidentally clashed heads. The result was a cut on Bonnar’s forehead that was deep enough for the doctor to stop the fight.

Soszynski was awarded a TKO victory, which Bonnar believes should be overturned. It was Bonnar’s third straight loss, dropping him to 5-6 in the UFC and 11-7 overall.

“It’s only fair to get this overturned to a no contest or draw,” Bonnar said. “In the rules, if after two rounds a fighter suffers a cut from an illegal blow, they go to the scorecard. The judges had it one round a piece, which would have made it a draw.”

Bonnar said the fight’s referee, John Sharp, missed the head butt and claimed the cut came from a legal strike.

“Right after (it) happened, I pointed to my head and told him, ‘Head butt,’” Bonnar said. “Why he didn’t look up at the replay, which they showed about 30 times, I have no idea.”

After the decision was announced, Bonnar pulled his arm away from Sharp, clearly disappointed in the official result. Soszynski, after the fight, went to Bonnar and even lifted him up to show his respect. Bonnar said both he and Soszynski want a rematch.

“Krzysztof acknowledged the cut was from a head butt and would like to finish the fight as well,” Bonnar said. “He was a good sport and a class act. We gave each other credit for a great fight. He knew the clash of heads opened the cut, and like myself would like a rematch. It just shows what kind of sportsman he is. He earned my respect as well.”

Bonnar, who first came to international MMA prominence for his fight with Forrest Griffin to close out the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show, said UFC president Dana White spoke to him after the bout.

“He just told me it was a great fight and sorry I got screwed like that,” Bonnar said.

Bonnar said this situation is a first for him.

“I have never been wronged so bad in a situation that was so obvious,” he said. “I still can’t understand the referee. Yes, I will appeal this decision. I just want what is fair. How do 20,000, people including my opponent and the commentators, see that a clash of heads occurred and the referee not see it? I feel like I’m in a pro wrestling match, where one of the wrestlers hits his opponent over the head with a chair when the referee’s back’s turned. Everyone in the arena sees what happened but the ref, then the ref gets down and gives the three-count and gives the guy the win. It really feels like that.”

Craig Waller, executive officer for Combat Sports Authority, the New South Wales-based commission that oversaw UFC 110, said Tuesday that Bonnar had not yet filed anything to contest the result, but did say a draw would be possible.

“A technical points draw would be the only result if a protest was received and upheld,” Waller said.

Bonnar said he expects to remain in Australia for another week before returning to his home in Las Vegas.

So, a little about Australia. It’s humid as hell, and the sun is twice as intense here. Being Irish, I am constantly applying layers of sunblock that the humidity and sweat soon melt away.

As far as the tourist stuff, we took a bus tour, getting off at St. Mary’s Cathedral, a beautiful historic church.  Then it was off to the Sydney museum, filled with big skeletons of whale carcasses. We also hit up Bondi Beach, where we were treated to a lot of boobs. I asked, “Is this a topless beach?” to an Aussie, who chuckeld and said, “All beaches here, tops are optional.”

My favorite though was the Taronga Zoo we went to yesterday. Alex (Schoenauer), aka “Chili Dog,” went over to a sleeping kangaroo, lifted up one of its legs, and grabbed his b***s. (I know it sounds crazy, but I am just writing about my experience – so I have to share the good with the bad.) I couldn’t believe it. The kangaroo got up with a very confused expression on his face, then looked around as if to say, “Hmmmm … I was just sound asleep and I swear someone just grabbed my b***s.”

This stunt of his gave me a little more courage. I saw another kangaroo eating out of a bucket of carrots. I slowly inched closer and closer to him, as not to startle him. I watched him eat for a while, then I asked him if he wouldn’t mind sharing a carrot with me. He peered up from his bucket at me while munching a little carrot he was holding in his short arms and gave me a look like he obliged. So I reached over, grabbed a carrot out of his bucket and shared an afternoon snack with a friendly kangaroo. Don’t worry. I didn’t grab his b***s.

Along with the lions, monkeys, elephants, chimps and usual animals at the zoo, I got to see a Tasmanian devil. I was surprised – it reminded me of a possum. It was on a tree branch and very indecisive on how to get down. I actually watched him for a good 15 minutes as he went back and forth on the branch contemplating how to get down. And no, it doesn’t look at all like the Warner Bros. “Taz.”

The best part of the zoo was when we were just a little late to see them feed the giraffes. The zookeeper had some sympathy for us and decided to make our day. He brought us down to the giraffes and gave us apples and carrots to feed them. One giraffe was much like myself and kept turning down the carrots and insisting on getting the apples. My favorite giraffe, “Andora,” was the friendliest. After feeding her carrots, she even gave me a kiss. She must have got the wrong signals, because she then came back and tried to give me some tongue. Let me tell you, their tongues are about a foot long – so it was a little scary. She also liked getting pet, so I scratched under her neck like she was one of my cats.

The funny thing is, all of these stories I am telling you have been documented on video. So if you wanna see them for real, keep your eyes peeled – they will be up soon at Ngaugeinc.com and www.Switch-fighter.com

Well, that’s about all for now.  I’m sure I will have some more stories soon.

I’ve been in Sydney about five days and I’m feeling pretty settled in, so let me share with y’all my experience so far.

I got in on a very wet, rainy day, tired as hell. I find it very hard to sleep on a plane. I dozed off for maybe an hour at a time, tops. I was very fatigued and after grabbing my luggage had a very long walk to the rental car. The UFC does provide transportation, but I rented a car to experience this beautiful country. I was driving to the hotel, jet-lagged as hell, and everything was backwards. The steering wheel is on the opposite side of the car. I’m driving on the opposite side of the road. And every time I go to turn, the windshield wiper goes off because, of course, the turning signal is on the opposite side of the car. My navigator was having trouble, as well. I kept hearing the painful computerized voice saying, “Recalculating.” I kept missing turns. A lot of these roads are very narrow and one-way, and I would love to tell you more, but in doing so, I would be incriminating myself. So let me just say, the rental car is a little worse for the wear.

I finally get to the hotel and all I wanted to do is stash the rental car, get to my room, defecate, shower and lay down. Unfortunately, I was intercepted in the lobby by the UFC, who need to interview me, do paperwork, check my weight, etc. All I kept hearing from people was, “What’s wrong? I haven’t seen you smile once.” Or, “That was the worst interview you’ve ever given.” My feet were swollen like and old woman’s from retaining water during the long flight and when they checked my weight, I was pretty heavy. I also really didn’t feel like talking about “the rental car.”

Don’t worry – things start brightening up. The rest of that day, I just ate two more meals, rested in my room and drank a lot of water  before bed. Morning came around and I checked my weight again. Voila! I had magically peed out 10 pounds in less then a day – take that, Jenny Craig! Of course, the first training session was miserable. But after I sweated out the rest of the jetlag, I felt GRRREAAAT! Like Tony the Tiger.

I’ve had some good training sessions with my old coach Duke Roufus and my right-hand man Alex Schoenauer, aka “Chili Dog Willis.”  Chili Dog has been great at monitoring my diet. At the breakfast buffet, he watches me like a hawk – constantly confiscating the bacon from my plate. He also brought a propane grill and turned our hotel room into his mess hall. And let me tell you, he is a hell of a cook. At night, I am not allowed to have too many carbs. So he has been making the most delicious spinach salads with avocado, cucumber, tomato, onion and balsamic vinegar with olive oil. After this masterpiece of an appetizer, I will have a big ol’ porterhouse steak with grilled onions – medium rare, bloody as hell. Just the way I like it!

After my workout yesterday, I was only 212 pounds, which can only mean one thing: I get rewarded with some carbs tonight! So after the delicious salad, he whipped up some of the best beef ravioli I’ve ever had. If this wasn’t enough, I finished this meal with one of my
favorite dishes of all time – rack of lamb.  We used the steam from the teamaker to heat the sauce and his camping set to cook everything else. I woke up this morning at 215 pounds. Hell yes! Who would have known weight cutting could be so much fun!

I’m leaving in one day. As mentioned before, it’s going to be a relief. I’m ready to fight and can’t wait to get the hell outta here!

As if the training camp isn’t enough, it seems I’m being hit from every angle with people wanting interviews and appearances. Between the medical exams and tying up all the loose ends, since I’m leaving for a while, I’ve been really busy. I average about three interviews a day, each one about the same topic: my upcoming fight. On top of that, random texts from unknown numbers keep pouring in wanting interviews about – you guessed it – my upcoming fight. So if I haven’t gotten back to everyone, let me use this opportunity to sincerely apologize.

And if anyone has a request to talk about my recent favorite movie picks, it’s on – I’d be eager to talk about them! Recently, I saw “Youth in Revolt,” which is freakin’ awesome! Since my life is filled with pain and violence, I love a good comedy the most. As far as rentals go, I recently saw “This Boy’s Life” with (Robert) DeNiro and (Leonardo) DiCaprio, which was also freakin’ awesome! Next to a good comedy, a dysfunction family drama is my next choice. Now if you combine these and make a dark comedy/dysfunctional family drama, why that takes the cake!

Oh – I did my last shark bait today. **** yeah! Now I am an official graduate of “Chum School.”

If you didn’t get a chance to see the fights this past weekend, spoiler alert! Chael Sonnen fought his heart out to win a decision over Nate Marquardt. Hats off to Chael. A very impressive fight, and sorry for everybody’s parlay he ruined – he ruined mine. And it serves Nate right for stealing my wakout music. Paulo Thiago got a HUGE submission victory over Mike Swick, which moves him up the ranks at 170. And last, but not least, Mark Coleman provided little resistance to Randy (Couture). This is the first fight of his long career where he didn’t attempt a single takedown. Damn, that would have been nice.

So the next time you hear from me I’ll be Down Under. And what exactly do they mean by “Down Under”? I plan to find out! So I Googled it for y’all, and unlike South America and Africa, the entire continent of Australia lies in the southern hemisphere. That’s the boring answer. Also, I hear it’s the closest you can get to hell without getting burned. I like that one a little better.

So, “See you in hell, Krzysztof!”

By Matt Erickson
cagedin.mma@gmail.com

All fighters made weight on Friday for their Saturday bouts at UFC 109: Relentless in Las Vegas.

Saturday’s card will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center and features a main event light heavyweight bout between UFC Hall of Famers Randy Couture and Mark Coleman. Both of them weighed in at 205 pounds for their bout. Couture is a significant favorite at -575 to Coleman’s +375. Coleman was the first heavyweight champion in UFC history; Couture is a former heavyweight and light heavyweight champ.

“I feel great. I’m excited, I’ve got a lot of engery, I’m ready to go. I’m gonna win this fight,” Coleman told Joe Rogan after making weight. “I’m just looking to fight the best, and Randy’s one of the best of all-time. Nothing but respect for him, but I want a little piece of what he’s got. That’s it.”

Couture, 46, said each fight for him is important.

“I feel blessed each and every time I get to step back out there in the Octagon,” Couture said. “This is another chance for me to go out and show the things I’ve changed, show the ways I’ve gotten better, become a better athlete all the time – and Mark Coleman is a great challenge for me. I’m looking forward to it.”

The co-main event is a middleweight fight between Nate Marquardt and Chael  Sonnen that is likely to determine the No. 1 contender’s spot for the title currently held by Anderson Silva. Silva defends his belt at UFC 112 on April 12 in Abu Dhabi.

The weigh-ins, which were streamed live here at Caged In, featured no real fireworks and no weight-cut controversies. In fact, the biggest surprise to some fans may have been seeing Frank Trigg with a full head of hair; he has typically fought with a shaved head. His bout with former welterweight champ Matt Serra has become a war of words.

UFC 109’s main card begins at 9 p.m. Central on pay-per-view. Additionally, two preliminary card fights will be aired live on Spike TV starting at 8 p.m.

Here are the official weigh-in results:

Preliminary Card
Heavyweight: Joey Beltran (238) vs. Rolles Gracie (247)
Heavyweight: Chris Tuchscherer (263) vs. Tim Hague (263)
Light Heavyweight: Phil Davis (205) vs. Brian Stann (205)
Lightweight: Rob Emerson (155) vs. Phillipe Nover (155)

Spike TV Preliminary Card
Lightweight: Ronys Torres (156) vs. Melvin Guillard (155)
Lightweight: Justin Buchholz (156) vs. Mac Danzig (156)

Main Card
Welterweight: Frank Trigg (171) vs. Matt Serra (169)
Middleweight: Dan Miller (185) vs. Demian Maia (186)
Welterweight: Paulo Thiago (170) vs. Mike Swick (171)
Middleweight: Chael Sonnen (185) vs. Nate Marquardt (186)
Light heavyweight: Mark Coleman (205) vs. Randy Couture (205)

By Greg Beacham
AP Sports Writer

While the fighters’ combined age is easily the biggest in the history of UFC’s main events, this is no sideshow. Although Couture (17-10) is the favorite to claim the victory and a likely light heavyweight title shot against Lyoto Machida or Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Coleman (16-9) thinks he can continue his improbable late-career resurgence.

“This is by far the biggest fight of my life,” Coleman said. “I’ve been in some big fights, but none of them compare to this. There’s a lot on the line for me. … That’s about the No. 1 question I’ve been asked by everybody for about the last 10 years: When are you going to fight Randy?”

The bout is Couture’s third time in the octagon in less than six months, a remarkable stretch for a fighter who hasn’t been this busy in more than eight years. Couture has plenty of interests outside the ring, with a burgeoning acting career and businesses that demand his time.

Yet when a series of injuries to UFC’s top stars left president Dana White a bit short on names, Couture was thrilled to step in as a headliner.

“Randy Couture is a testament to God knows what,” White said. “I don’t know what he eats and does, but everybody should be eating and doing it. These guys have both been fighting at the top of the game for who knows how long, and the big thing is these guys really wanted to fight each other. They can both still compete and work hard. There’s no doubt about either of them.”

The UFC’s first major card in a month also features 185-pound contender Nate Marquardt against Chael Sonnen, Paulo Thiago’s 170-pound return against Mike Swick, and former welterweight champion Matt Serra’s return from an eight-month absence against Frank Trigg.

Couture and Coleman actually fought once before — at the 1989 Olympic wrestling festival in Stillwater, Okla., where Coleman won by one point. They were slated to meet at UFC 17, back when purses were a fraction of their current size, and Couture pulled out to prepare for a national wrestling tournament.

Couture actually contributed to Coleman’s revival when he allowed Coleman to train for his most recent fight at his Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas. Coleman surprised 32-year-old Stephan Bonnar with a unanimous decision at UFC 100, and was in line to fight Tito Ortiz late last year before getting injured in training.

Coleman was crushed by missing what he thought might be his last chance at a big payday. After a career in which he acknowledges lapses in his training and discipline, Coleman finally feels comfortable leaving his children at home in his native Ohio to chase UFC glory.

“I felt like I lost out on a huge opportunity, and I didn’t foresee being able to top that matchup,” Coleman said of his injury pullout against Ortiz. “I anticipated maybe fighting a younger guy and being a gatekeeper.”

Coleman helped to define the brutish MMA style known as ground-and-pound, while Couture has remained competitive with a well-rounded approach. Neither fighter is likely to overwhelm his opponent with dazzling striking abilities, so the fight could be decided by endurance — and both of these 40-something fighters have plenty.

After they finally meet, neither fighter expects to be finished. Both Couture and Coleman intend to keep pursuing their MMA career to the doorstep of 50.

“This is what I do,” Coleman said. “This is what I love to do, and I’m still willing to put in the time. … If losing a fight is the worst thing that happens to you in your life, you’re doing pretty well.”

Shine Fights on Wednesday announced the signing of Nick “The Goat” Thompson, a veteran of the UFC, Strikeforce, World Victory Road, Sengoku and many other regional promotions.

Thompson (38-12-1) wrestled collegiately at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and spent the bulk of his early career fighting in Midwest promotions, including XFO and Extreme Challenge. Thompson made his major promotion debut at UFC 56 in November 2005, where he won a unanimous decision over Valparaiso-based Keith Wisniewski.

In 2007, he beat the highly regarded Eddie Alvarez to win the Bodog Fight welterweight title, which he successfully defended twice afterward. Those victories were part of a 12-fight winning streak. But he has dropped two straight bouts and three of his last five.

Thompson, who trains at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy with UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk and Brock Larson, owns high-profile wins over the aforementioned Alvarez as well as current UFC welterweight contender Paul Daley and Josh Neer. But he’s had setbacks against Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields, Yushin Okami, Karo Parisyan and Ed Herman.

Thompson said in a statement from Shine that his decision to sign with the promotion had to do with its willingness to keep him busy.

“Over three years, I’d gone 22-2 at welterweight, and I couldn’t get a fight,” Thompson said. “It was really frustrating. If you look at my record, I had 50 fights in five years, and all of a sudden I’m going down to two fights in a year. I’m going out of my mind. I want to be the No. 1-ranked guy in Shine Fights, plain and simple.”

Shine matchmaker Ron Foster lauded the promotion’s newest signee.

“Nick is a world-class fighter, and we’re extremely excited to feature him in our shows,” Foster said. Thompson is expected to make his debut with the promotion sometime this spring.

UFC 109: Relentless takes place Saturday night, and Caged In will have the weigh-ins for the card streaming live right here.

The weigh-ins will begin at 6 p.m. Central and take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, site of Saturday’s card.

UFC 109 features a main event between Hall of Famers Randy Couture and Mark Coleman, meeting for the first time since they met each other in an amateur wrestling match in 1989, and a co-main event of Nate Marquardt vs. Chael Sonnen, which is expected to determine the No. 1 contender spot for the middleweight title.

The main card for UFC 109 starts at 9 p.m. Central on Saturday on pay-per-view. In addition, two preliminary card bouts will be shown on Spike TV starting at 8 p.m. Central leading into the pay-per-view telecast.

By Matt Erickson
cagedin.mma@gmail.com

Purdue product and former NFL lineman Matt Mitrione will fight former streetfighter Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson at UFC 113 in Montreal on May 8.

Caged In learned of the bout last month and MMA Junkie today confirmed it with UFC president Dana White in Las Vegas for Saturday’s UFC 109 card.

Mitrione and Slice were both contestants on Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” and both were at times controversial members of the house. Mitrione contributed an exclusive weekly Q&A to Caged In during the season and he is expected to be a regular blogger for Caged In during his training camp for Slice.

Mitrione several times drew out the ire of his housemates, including his own teammates. He made the quarterfinals, where he was submitted by James McSweeney. But he apparently won a fan in White for his heavy hands, and he earned a slot on the TUF 10 Finale card on Spike TV. In that fight, his official UFC debut, he knocked out fellow castmate Marcus Jones just 10 seconds into the second round.

Slice was controversial from the start for his inclusion on the show. He lost his preliminary fight to Roy Nelson and was eliminated from the tournament. But the telecast was a ratings boon for Spike and the UFC. Several times on the show, Slice was shown being hopeful that Mitrione might not be able to fight with an injury so he could get another crack.

Slice won his official UFC debut on the TUF 10 Finale, beating fellow striker Houston Alexander in a unanimous decision.

UFC 113 will take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal and is expected to feature a main event light heavyweight title fight rematch between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Machida won a controversial decision over Rua at UFC 104 in October. Many fans, analysts and even White believed Rua won the fight.

Also rumored for the card is a welterweight bout between Josh Koscheck and Paul Daley that will likely determine the No. 1 contender spot for current title holder Georges St-Pierre’s belt. St-Pierre defends his title against Dan Hardy at UFC 111 in Newark, N.J., in March. And Canadian Patrick Cote is expected to make his return to the Octagon in front of his home country fans against Alan Belcher. Cote last fought at UFC 90 in a middleweight title fight loss to Anderson Silva. He blew out his knee in the fight and has been rehabilitating the injury since then.

Caged In is redefining mixed martial arts journalism. From breaking news scoops to in-depth fighter profiles and features and behind-the-scenes Q&As, Caged In has your MMA world covered.

But when we hit the road, we also bring you the fastest live fight coverage on the Internet! From the UFC and WEC to Strikeforce, Bellator and Midwest promotions like the Hoosier Fight Club, our round-by-round and fight-by-fight updates are the best in the business.

This spring, we’re planning to be hitting the road for WEC 47 in Columbus, Ohio; WEC 48 in Sacramento; UFC 113 in Montreal; UFC 114 and the second UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas; and as many local cards as we can take in in between.

So be sure to bookmark Caged In, follow us on Twitter for instant updates every time we publish a new story and become a fan on Facebook, where we have more than 50 celebrity followers, from Urijah Faber to Brian Bowles, Gray Maynard to Matt Mitrione, Joe Rogan and Bruce Buffer, even Olympic Gold Medalist Eric Fonoimoana and Rise Against guitarist Zach Blair!

And we’ll see ya from cageside!

Mark Coleman (UFC photo)

By Matt Erickson
cagedin.mma@gmail.com

When UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman came out of retirement to fight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, he took his share of criticism and had plenty of doubters because of his age.

When the fight, won by Rua with a late TKO ref stoppage, turned out to be one that fans and analysts wound up calling one of the worst of 2009 because of the sluggishness of both fighters, the questioning continued.

But Coleman’s next fight, at the historic UFC 100 card in July against Stephan Bonnar, turned things around for him. He surprised the experts and outmuscled Bonnar to a unanimous decision win. Things were looking up, and the UFC threw another tough test at him – Tito Ortiz, making his return from a long layoff.

But a knee injury forced him out of the Ortiz fight and Coleman wondered if he’d ever get another shot like that one. But Saturday, he’s got that shot and then some against fellow Hall of Famer Randy Couture in the main event of UFC 109.

“This is by far the biggest fight of my life,” Coleman said on a media call last week. “I’ve been in some big fights, but none of them compare to this. Personally, there’s a lot on the line here for me – just by far the biggest fight ever, and I appreciate Randy giving me this opportunity and accepting the fight.”

It will be the first time two Hall of Famers meet in the UFC Octagon, and Coleman is a sizable underdog to Couture’s -500 odds at most sportsbooks. It’s a status Coleman said he understands.

“Well, it’s just kind of what I deserve,” Coleman said. “I guess I deserve to be the underdog with my performance in the past. I haven’t always been able to give 100 percent to the sport. I’ve had other things I’ve had to focus on, or I’ve decided to focus on other things. But for the Bonnar fight, I was able to get away from Ohio and put a nice little training camp together. And actually, Randy was nice enough to let me train at his gym – and I had some great coaches there and some great assistants. If I’m able to put a good camp together and I come in in shape, I pose a threat just about anybody out there.”

It’s interesting how Coleman and Couture have continued to cross paths here and there through their long careers. This won’t even be the first time they’ve faced each other. In 1989, they met in an amateur wrestling match, which Coleman won.
“I remember the match pretty clearly,” Couture said. “It was just following my freshman year at the Olympic festival that they held in Stillwater (Okla.) Mark and I wrestled in the finals of a mini tournament in freestyle, and Mark was firing on all cylinders in his wrestling career at that time and he beat me. He was hard headed – you know, came out and got in my face, and it was a great match.”

And even though Coleman won the match, he said it was a ding to the chin he’ll be looking to return the favor for on Saturday.

“We were banging pretty hard with each other,” Coleman recalled. “He brought it to me, and at the time, you know, I was giving it back – a good, very close match. I remember him being very strong and kind of like he fights. He was in my face the whole time. Actually, he gave me an accidental head butt during the match and I ended up having to get two stitches underneath my chin after the match. So maybe I owe him a little head butt during this one here.”

Already about as accomplished as he can be in the sport, Coleman said being able to fight Couture, especially after having to pull out of his fight with Ortiz in November, is not lost on him.

“I’m very grateful, very honored,” Coleman said. “It was very devastating when I did have to pull out against Tito because that’s an opportunity that you can never get back, and I felt like I really lost out on a huge opportunity and I didn’t foresee being able to top that matchup and I anticipated probably fighting a younger guy and maybe becoming a gatekeeper or something like that. When I (found out) it was going to be Randy Couture, I was a little in shock for a little bit. I knew the magnitude of that fight and I was just really, really happy and surprised because I didn’t think I was going to be able to top a Tito Ortiz matchup. I do feel a little bit lucky to be able to face a Randy Couture because he is, in my opinion, one of the greatest of all time in this sport. So it’s about as big as it gets for me.”

By Matt Erickson
cagedin.mma@gmail.com

Local mixed martial arts action returns to Lowell on Friday as Cutthroat MMA brings “Locked Down in Lowell” to DC’s Country Junction.

The main event features a flyweight championship fight between Jake Rosenbaum (7-1) and Dave Longoria (4-2). Rosenbaum, of Crown Point, fights out of L.A. Boxing in Merrillville and is trained by UFC and Strikeforce veteran John Kolosci, of Portage. Rosenbaum recently spent a month training in Sacramento with Team Alpha Male, led by former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber. Longoria, of Hammond, fights out of Extreme Martial Arts in Schererville.

Also on the card will be rising local prospect Leo Husarik, fighting out of Team Bloody Knuckles in Valparaiso, and Terry House from L.A. Boxing.

The card will feature 13 total fights and begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday. For more information or tickets, contact promoter Mike Davis at (773) 491-5052.

Training camp is winding down. I leave for Sydney in a little over a week. I really looking forward to getting on that plane because once I leave, I know I’m finally done with the training.

Don’t get me wrong – I love martial arts and I love to train. But believe it or not, pushing yourself every day to the breaking point gets old. I know I’m in great shape. I know I’m in fight shape. But I still have to go through a little more of this. I’ve been fighting long enough and have noticed this happens every fight. The last week or so of training is always the hardest because I’m so ready to fight and so sick of pushing so hard every day. No fight could possibly be worse than what I’m going through now. Almost there – I can’t wait!

I shared with you guys a little insight into my training and the joy of the shark bait drills. So I’ll fill you in on another aspect of my training – the strength and conditioning, which I have been doing at the Philippi Sports Institute (P.S.I.). Mark Philippi is one of those meatheads you may recognize from the World’s Strongest Man competition. He is an ox who can deadlift cars. No – seriously. I’m not joking. There are pictures of him in the gym deadlifting cars! The place is great because it makes me do the things I dread and would not be doing on my own, like heavy squats, cleans, snatches and sled pulls. Does that even make sense? I like the place because it makes me do the things I hate. I even feel like a strongman in there. I’m grunting like a wild boar and dropping loaded barbells from overhead all the way to the floor. Anyway, I started there a few months before my last fight and have been going religiously ever since. I’m glad I have. It’s definitely been paying off. My lifts have nearly doubled since I started, and I feel the carryover when sparring. I am just stronger. These big meatheads like the 280-pound Carl I mentioned in my last blog can’t manhandle me like they used to. I no longer feel like a little boy trying to fight his father.

Since this is my blog and I can talk about anything I want, I’m going to have to rant to you a little bit about the last Strikeforce card.

You know what really grinds my gears? I’ll tell you. How about the fact that Strikeforce wastes its precious airtime to show us not one, but two crap fights! Did you guys know that veterans Jay Hieron and Joe Riggs fought in a three-round absolute war of a bloodbath with Hieron winning a close decision to earn a title shot? Well, you should have, damn it! Why wouldn’t Strikeforce show us two battle-proven warriors competing for the No. 1  contender spot at 170? Why!!! In a fight that displayed great technical stand up and ground skills. Why?!?!

Instead, we get to see a novice, Herschel Walker, make his MMA debut against a complete tomato can. Sure, he’s a big name, but come on. The fight was filled with rudimentary MMA skills. Also, we got to see big beefcake Bobby Lashley fight an out of shape, pregnant-looking Wes Sims. Who would have thought that fight would have been exciting enough to air? It wasn’t! The fight didn’t mean anything, either. Was that for No. 1  contender? Hell no!

So come on Strikeforce. You’re making yourself look bad. Give us the talent! Give us the guys with skills developed over years of hard training! Give us the battle-tested veterans who have proven themselves. I wanna see the fights that mean something. Have you not learned anything from the UFC? The next time you think of doing something like that, ask yourself, “Would the UFC do that?” Trust me, it will make the organization look better as a whole. Damn, did that piss me off.

I feel better now. I guess shrinks are right when they say if you are upset about something, just write a letter and let it out. OK. Now that I am on to something, I might as well continue to my next letter.

“Dear Dad … You know what really grinds my gears?”

Wait a second. This letter’s not for the blog. Better keep this one between me and him.

Jose Aldo (Photo courtesy WEC)

By Matt Erickson
cagedin.mma@gmail.com

After talking about the possibility of it for many months and promising it was on the horizon, World Extreme Cagefighting on Wednesday announced its first foray into the world of pay-per-view.

WEC 48: Aldo vs. Brown will take place April 24 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento and will feature a main event featherweight title fight between champion Jose Aldo and former champion – and hometown hero – Urijah Faber.

And while speculation from MMA fans and analysts over a potential WEC pay-per-view always seemed to settle back in at what the price point would be, the WEC announced that the price of the card will be the same – $44.99 for either the standard or high-definition feed – of that of its Zuffa LLC big brother, the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The WEC, though, seems poised to give fans their money’s worth for the card with the Faber-Aldo title fight, plus a co-main event lightweight championship bout between champion Ben Henderson and Donald Cerrone, a rematch of one of the best fights of 2009, which Henderson won in a unanimous decision to win the then-interim lightweight belt. Henderson unified the title with a win over then-champion Jamie Varner last month. Also on the card, former featherweight champion Mike Brown meets former finalist on “The Ultimate Fighter” Manny Gamburyan.

“We are building the most action-packed card we’ve ever done for our first pay-per-view,” WEC general manager Reed Harris said in a statement Wednesday. “The Jose Aldo-Urijah Faber fight is something fans have been talking about for a long time. When those two step inside the cage, it could be one of the best fights in the history of the sport. With the Cerrone-Henderson rematch and the Brown-Gamburyan fight also scheduled, this guarantees that fans get the most bang for their buck.”

The WEC said the broadcast will feature five main-card bouts, the same as most UFC pay-per-views. As always, there is the possibility for bonus coverage to be shown, pending time constraints and the length of the main-card fights.

At 16-1 and unbeaten in the WEC at 6-0, Aldo has become one of the most exciting fighters in the sport. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, he has yet to truly showcase his ground skills in the WEC – all six of his wins have been knockouts, including two Knockout of the Night bonus awards. In Faber, he will get perhaps his toughest test to date, especially fighting the former champ in his home stadium. It will be Faber’s third straight fight in his Sacramento hometown and fifth of six in his home state for “The California Kid.”

“Urijah is a good fighter, but he’s not taking my belt,” Aldo said. “My dream has been to be the world champion. Now that I have the belt, I am not giving it up.”

Faber (23-3, 8-2 WEC) held the featherweight belt for two years before dropping it to Brown at WEC 36. He also lost a rematch to Brown for the title at WEC 41 in Sacramento last June in one of the year’s best fights. After a seven-month layoff with two broken hands, Faber got back in the win column last month with a win over Rafael Assuncao.

“It’s Jose Aldo’s belt right now – but in my mind, that’s my belt,” Faber said. “My belief is that I should have that belt, and I’m gonna go in there and try to get it. I’m out here ready to prove it.”

Tickets for WEC: Aldo vs. Faber go on sale Saturday at noon Central time and will be priced from $40 to $185. There is also an online presale for WEC newsletter subscribers Friday at noon.

Kenny Florian connects in his win over Clay Guida at UFC 107 in Memphis in December. (Photo courtesy UFC)

By Matt Erickson
cagedin.mma@gmail.com

The Ultimate Fighting Championship today announced its Fight Night 21 event for March 31 in Charlotte, N.C., with a main event lightweight bout between Kenny Florian and recent UFC signee and Pride and Shooto legend Takanori Gomi.

The card will take place at Bojangles Coliseum, a more than 50-year-old arena that has played host to NWA and TNA wrestling events, is the home of the Carolina Speed of the American Indoor Football Association and has seen such legendary performers as Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin grace its stages. UFC last visited North Carolina in Dec. 2008 for Fight Night 16, its “Fight for the Troops” card for military charity The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

The main card of Fight Night 21 will be aired live on the Spike cable network and will precede the Season 11 debut of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which this season pits longtime rivals Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz against each other as coaches.

Tickets for Fight Night 21 go on sale to UFC Fight Club members at 9 a.m. Central on Thursday and to newsletter subscribers at 9 a.m. Friday. Tickets for the general public go on sale at 9 a.m. Saturday.

“The UFC has a great history with Charlotte, which hosted UFC 3 and UFC 5, and while the sport has changed immensely since then, one thing hasn’t changed and that’s the loyalty and enthusiasm of the fans here,” UFC president Dana White said in a release by the company. “We’re happy to be coming back here, and we brought one of the most highly anticipated lightweight fights to headline this event. UFC fans know Kenny Florian as a top contender who can do it all in the Octagon, and in Takanori Gomi he’s facing a guy who has dominated in Japan for years and is now looking to do the same thing in the UFC. This is going to be a fight to remember.”

Florian (12-4, 10-3 UFC) will be trying to build on his submission win over Chicago-area native and former Gilbert Grappling trainee Clay Guida at UFC 107 in December. At UFC 101 in August, he lost a lightweight title fight to champion B.J. Penn.

And Gomi (31-5) will be looking to make a quick mark in his UFC debut after years fighting for Shooto and Pride, where he was a lightweight champion, and most recently World Victory Road. At one point in Pride, Gomi put together a 10-fight winning streak. Of his five career losses, two came back-to-back to Joachim Hansen and Penn in 2003.

The co-main event will be between TUF 10 winner Roy Nelson (14-4, 1-0 UFC) and 6-foot-11 Dutch fighter Stefan Struve (19-3, 3-1 UFC). Nelson knocked out Brendan Schaub to win the TUF 10 trophy and his official UFC debut. Aside from being the heavyweight champion for the now-defunct IFL, Nelson is perhaps best known for his win over Kimbo Slice in their preliminary fight in TUF 10. Struve has put together three straight wins in the Octagon after dropping his debut to Junior dos Santos, including a close majority decision win over Paul Buentello at UFC 107 in Memphis.

Also rumored for Fight Night 21 are bouts between Nate Quarry and Jorge Rivera, plus Yushin Okami vs. Lucio Linhares, Cole Miller vs. Andre Winner, Ross Pearson vs. Dennis Siver and Gleison Tibau vs. Caol Uno, though none of those fights have been officially announced by the UFC.

By Matt Erickson
cagedin.mma@gmail.com

Heavyweights Mike Russow and Todd Duffee will meet at UFC 114 in Las Vegas, Caged In learned on Tuesday.

The UFC newcomers, both 1-0 in the promotion after wins on the same UFC 102 card in Portland in August, have verbally agreed to the bout, though agreements have not yet been signed. The news comes from a source close to Russow’s camp.

Mike Russow (Photo courtesy of UFC)

Russow, a Chicago police officer by day, holds a 12-1 career record with one no contest. While he has mostly toiled for Midwest promotions like Adrenaline MMA and XFO, his lone loss came to Sergei Kharitonov at Pride 33. His UFC debut was a decision victory against Justin McCully. Going to the judges was an uncommon concept for Russow in that fight, as eight of his previous nine wins had come by submission.

But where Russow’s strengths lie in his jiu-jitsu game, Duffee, born in Evansville, Ind., and raised in southern Illinois, brings knockout power to the table. His debut at UFC 102 was a UFC record 7-second knockout of Tim Hague. Duffee, 5-0, has all his wins by knockout and has only gone out of the first round once in his five career fights. Duffee trains with the Xtreme Couture team in Las Vegas.

UFC 114 is scheduled for the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on May 29 and will coincide with the promotion’s second UFC Fan Expo leading up to it. While not yet announced, the expected main event for the pay-per-view card is the long-awaited grudge match between former light heavyweight champions and Season 10 coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter” Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson.

By Matt Erickson
cagedin.mma@gmail.com

Shine International, a sales and distribution branch of the Shine Group, will take Strikeforce’s mixed martial arts brand to new international levels, the companies announced Tuesday.

The deal will have Shine selling more than 70 hours of Strikeforce programming in six different markets in Europe, Australia and Latin America. The Bravo network in the United Kingdom, Turner in Latin America, FX in Portugal, Megasport in the Ukraine, Seven Network in Australia and Dahlia TV in Italy all have purchased the Strikeforce programming library for their channels.

“Strikeforce is the leader in mixed martial arts content as proven by the huge demand for their programming around the world,” Chris Grant, Shine International President, said in a release Tuesday. “They have the world’s best fighters, the world’s best events and they know how to translate that into fast-paced programming that captures what will soon be the most popular sport in the world.”

The programming library purchased in the deal will include 30 episodes and 56 hours of fights that have aired already on NBC and Showtime, according to Strikeforce. The deal also includes live fights scheduled through February 2012 as well as Strikeforce’s Challengers series.