Clearance Sale

MMAJOE is having a going out of business clearance sale.  Enjoy the lowest prices on your favorite MMA clothing while supplies last!

Joe

RIP Evan Tanner

A body believed to be that of former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner was found in the Palo Verde mountain area, the Imperial Valley Press has reported.

Tanner, 37, had embarked on a camping trip some time around Sept. 2 into the desert-like region north of Brawley, Calif., approximately two and a half hours east of San Diego.

Tanner will be greatly missed but never forgotten.

Congratulations GSP

For reclaiming the UFC’s welterweight championship belt in a re-match with Matt Serra in the main event of UFC 83.  Serra had TKO’d the former champ months ago in a shocking upset coming off his victory on TUF.  Leading up to the re-match this past Saturday, Serra, the champ was revered to be a severe underdog by many, but some thought he may have GSP’s “number”.  Also, there were some rumblings that GSP did not have the mental toughness necessary to be a champion. 

 

All doubt was put to rest by Georges St. Pierre in a dominating two round victory.  GSP was in control for the entire fight with strikes, takedowns, and controlling the pace.  It seemed Serra’s only chance in the fight was standing up, carrying his hands low trying to bait GSP in so he could deliver a KO blow similar to their first fight.  Unfortunately for Serra, GSP’s attack was relentless and extremely effective.  GSP included one of the most impressive combos ever seen involving a double left-right superman punch followed by side kick in his victory.  Once again GSP is the UFC’s Welterweight champion, and with his tireless physical condition, athleticism and arsenal of MMA tools, it doesn’t look like he will be losing his belt again soon. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Proven King of San Jose is…

San Shou Kickboxer and still undefeated Cung Le (6-0)!  Strikeforce has a new world middleweight champion, Le defeated the former title-holder Frank Shamrock (24-9-1) via broken arm.  That’s right, broken arm, Frank was deemed unfit to fight after an epic third round which resulted in fight stoppage.

The fight was a stand up battle, which was the game plan for both fighters despite Shamrocks obvious advantage on the ground.  Weeks leading up to the fight, Shamrock revealed that he would stand and trade with the famed striker. Shockingly and to the dismay of many, Shamrock did just that, and while exchanges were relatively even through out the bout, which was scheduled for five rounds, the third round was the demise of Shamrock. 

The first two rounds consisted of solid exchanges from both fighters although Le had the edge in both.   It was a apparent these former sparring partners had a lot of respect for each other tapping gloves after good exchanges and smiles.  In the third round the smiles disappeared as Le picked Shamrock apart with counter-punches, strikes to the midsection, and dangerous head kicks. The kicks eventually eventually broke Shamrock’s right arm.  A final two head kicks sent Shamrock stumbling back to his corner after the third round.

As the third round came to a close, Shamrock’s arm injuries were obvious with redness and swelling as commented by announcer Bill Goldberg

The injury forced a stoppage before the fourth round and Le was the new Strikeforce world middleweight champ and king of San Jose.

World Victory Road Debut!

On March 5, in Tokyo the inaugural World Victory Road(WVR) event took place. 

Congratulations to Takanori Gomi who TKO’d opponent Duane Ludwig in the first round.  This was Gomi’s first fight since the defeat he suffered against Nick Diaz, a bout which many were dissapointed with the Fireball kid’s performance. 

Also, congratulations to Josh Barnett for finally finding a new home in the WVR and his third round submission of Hidehiko Yoshida via you guessed it, a heel hook.

WVR road seems to be filling the void that PRIDE left, with exciting fights and excellent production, I look forward to future events!

The New Best P4P Fighter in the MMA World….

Is Anderson Silva!  This position was formerly held by the great Fedor Emelianenko, who by most is considered to be part machine, but due to his relative inactivity and quality of recent opponents, has been surpassed by Mr. Silva.  Unfortunately, Fedor hasn’t fought any one significant in his weight class since 2005 (almost 3 years ago) when he fought Cro Cop.  It is tough for a fighter to get demoted from this postion with out suffering a loss, but Anderson Silva has put on performances so dominant and against such elite talent that he is the current best P4P MMA fighter.

Anderson Silva has amazing striking abilities with power and pin-point accuracy that allow him to dismantle any opponent.  He is also a BJJ black belt which gives him skills on the ground to submit such experts as Travis Lutter.  Aside from possessing some of the best offensive skills in the fight game, ‘The Spider’ is also able to defend against most strikes and take downs from elite fighters such as Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson.  Silva has not put any of his last five matches in the hands of the judges, but has instead won by submissions and TKO’s leaving no doubt in th minds of spectators and opponents alike, of his greatness.

 Anderson Silva is an amazing fighter with offensive and defensive skills, and the ability to take shots and conserve energy better than most.  His thin, long and agile body along with his dedicated mindset to be the best fighter in the world has allowed him to accomplish what most only dream of.  Anderson Silva is the best P4P fighter in the world of MMA today!

The Varner “Time Out”

In the Feb. 13 WEC, Jaime Varner vs. Rob McCullough, Varner called a time out after being dazed in R3 to put his mouth piece back in.  This is a questionalbe call since fighters have never called time outs for anything and it is up to the referee to stop the fight in situations like this. 

I’m not sure if there should be much Varner bashing on this subject.  He pushed the pace and pretty much dominated R1 and R2.  Yes the TO was complete garbage, and came at a time when Varner was in deep trouble, but in the sport of MMA, the mouth piece is essential.  Now I do think Mazz stopped the fight for too long.  I say if you lose your mouth piece, a  TO should be called by the fighter if not by the ref and you can pick it up off the ground and put it in.  None of this both fighters go to your corners and wash it off!  How many people who train MMA or even football lose their mouth pieces and wash it off before putting it back in!?

Good fight and win for Varner, but lets keep the TO’s to a minimum…this is MMA!

Lesnar the Favorite?

What was the reason for Lesnar to be considered the favorite in his recent match that took place at UFC82?  This was a sanctioned MMA match, not a scripted WWE affair!  They say odds makers sway the odds to ensure they get an even amount of bets on both fighters.  So with Mir at (+140) vs. Lesnar(-160), it’s clear the gambling public had decided the former Heavyweight UFC champion Frank Mir was the underdog and the former WWE superstar, power house, with gigantic paws, Brock Lesnar, was the favorite.  In reality, there was no reason for anyone to consider Lesnar the favorite in this bout, but he does have potential to be a force as a UFC heavyweight. 

If you haven’t heard by now, Lesnar lost the heavily-hyped bout. It took Frank Mir all of 90 seconds to seal Lesnar’s fate with a heel lock.  I will say that Lesnar was active while the fight lasted, and managed to convince the industry that he has promise in the sport. In addition to being physically overpowering, he’s incredibly quick, with great work ethic, attributes stemming from his days as a collegiate wrestler. 

Lesnar’s future in MMA will be determined by how motivated he can remain after being defeated in the first round and showered with boo’s all the way up to the post-fight interview.  I like his chances against cardio challenged fighters, but Brock has a long road ahead of him before he can be considered Heavy weight contender.  If Lesnar continues to develop his striking and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with great determination, he will certainly continue to make BIG waves in MMA.

Unfortunately for Lesnar the submission specialist Frank Mir was the worst match up for him stylistically.  Mir looked far better than he has in recent bouts, mainly due to his conditioning and training ethic.  I can’t say the former Heavyweight UFC champion has returned to pre-motorcycle accident form, but if he stays focused, watch out…and lets get ready for Mir vs. Nog Battle Royal!

Should Elbows be Allowed?

Absolutely!  Fights are arranged for the enjoyment of the fan, but to ultimately determine the better of two fighters, offensively and defensively.  Even though fights stopped due to a cut because the fighter is rendered “unfit to fight” may prematurely end a fight maybe disappointing to the fan  may be disappointing, nothing can be taken away from the victor.  Certain organizations, RIP PRIDE, EliteXC, and IFL do/did not allow vicious elbows to rain down in from the mount or to graze the face in the clinch, yet the UFC allows one of the hardest body parts to inflict pain on the opponent.   

Many fans have expressed interest to ban elbows in the UFC.   These people maintain this point of view for any number of reasons, mainly because they are too brutal(amount of blood caused by these gruesome gashes) or end fights prematurely with out really determining the ‘most talented’ fighter.   

Elbows should  NOT be banned.  A vicious cut may cause a fighter to struggle to maintain energy and focus, but the bottom line is that a fighter should be able to defend against all strikes.
 

If you don’t want to get elbowed, avoid getting put on your back and if you end up on your back keep a close guard or stand up!  Fighters should be able to get out of positions that allow the other fighter to rain down elbows. If a fighter can’t avoid elbows, they probably weren’t going to win the fight anyway, which removes one of the main arguments of elbow nay sayers. 

Fan beware the UFC does not allow knees to the head of a downed opponent, foot stomps or kicks to the groin which all could very well be part of a fighters arsenal, the ladder being the worst of the three, but these strikes are not allowed.  If they banned elbows, what is next, high kicks, uppercuts and hooks(all have KO potential)? 

Maybe down the road the UFC will ban elbows in order to prevent fountains of blood and possibly enter the ‘main stream’ media event era, but for now let’s enjoy the fights and let the best fighter win, elbows included!  

Can the Chin be Trained?

The more I examine the question of ‘can the chin be developed’, I think ‘a chin’ can be developed. When I refer to ‘a chin’ I mean the relative ease of a fighters ability to absorb a punch with out being effected greatly. Obviously things like location , velocity, power of a punch or kick can potentially KO anybody. However it is clear that it takes more to KO some fighters over others.

When anyone first starts to train MMA punching(knuckles), kicking(shins), BJJ(flexibility) causes much pain the respective areas of the body because the body is not used to the punishment. After weeks and months of punching and kicking, or rolling around on the ground, the nerves in the hands and shin get used to the pain and the body gets more flexible. I believe the ‘chin’ will react in a similar manner, in that the body will react and become accustomed to the pain. This point is difficult to prove, because not many people want to train every day with out head gear repeatedly taking shots to the chin/face! I haven’t had the opportunity to visit many training camps, but was surprised when watching the last UFC All Access with Wanderlei Silva, and WAND sparred with out any head gear! I thought to myself that’s crazy tough! After watching WAND take the punches from Chuck during their match and not go down, I realized the chin can probably be trained. The question is, who is willing to train their chin…