("You are in luck. There’s a town about three miles that way, I’m sure you’ll find a couple guys there.")
…at least according to AskMen.com’s just-released Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2011 list, their annual ranking of attractive…
("You are in luck. There’s a town about three miles that way, I’m sure you’ll find a couple guys there.")
AskMen collected more than 5 million reader votes for the latest edition of the list, and as is usually the case when you leave it up to the public, the results are all over the map. Blake Lively is #1 for some reason — way ahead of Christina Hendricks (#21), Brooklyn Decker (#36), and Arianny’s TV doppelganger Olivia Munn (#47) — which suggests that AskMen’s masculine readership contains a whole lot of closeted Gossip Girl fans.
One notable omission: Gina Carano didn’t make the cut at all, despite landing at the #68 spot in 2010. Out of sight, out of mind, huh guys? We’ll see if her budding action movie career puts her back in the spotlight next year. You can check out the entire Top 99 list right here. As always, feel free to post your own top ten lists in the comments section…
(Yamamoto def. Federico ‘Kiko’ Lopez via KO, 1:41 of round 1, 5/29/10)
It’s a sad state of affairs when one of the greatest featherweight fighters of all time can arrive in the UFC with virtually zero fanfare, buried on a preliminary card dark-mat…
(Yamamoto def. Federico ‘Kiko’ Lopez via KO, 1:41 of round 1, 5/29/10)
It’s a sad state of affairs when one of the greatest featherweight fighters of all time can arrive in the UFC with virtually zero fanfare, buried on a preliminary card dark-match against a young contender. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto enters the Octagon for the first time this Saturday at UFC 126, and while that would have been a major story three years ago, times have changed.
Yamamoto made his name in K-1’s MMA shows as a lightning-fast knockout artist, but his reputation took a major hit in 2008-2009, when he followed-up a long knee-injury layoff with two decision losses against Joe Warren and Masanori Kanehara. (He also divorced his hot wife in 2009. So, bad times all around.) Last year, Yamamoto dropped to bantamweight for the first time in his career to face journeyman Federico Lopez at Dream.14. Showing flashes of his old self, he finished the fight in less than two minutes, crumpling Lopez with a right hook and smashing him with shots on the ground until the ref intervened.
Of course, it’s too early to say that the Kid is "back" — his opponent, Demetrious Johnson, is a tough customer who’s looked impressive in his last two wins in the WEC, and having a successful Octagon debut is easier said than done. Can Yamamoto jump-start his career in the U.S., or is it too late for him to make an impact? Check out some of his greatest victories after the jump, and remember the good times…
("When you put your focus on one thing, you tend not to focus on the journey. Once you get there, it’s not going to be as big of a deal as you thought it was going to be.")
This Saturday, Rich Franklin will step into the Octagon for the 18t…
("When you put your focus on one thing, you tend not to focus on the journey. Once you get there, it’s not going to be as big of a deal as you thought it was going to be.")
This Saturday, Rich Franklin will step into the Octagon for the 18th time to face Forrest Griffin in the co-headlining feature of UFC 126. During his 12-year career, Ace has experienced everything from championship glory to bitter defeat, and now stands as one of the sport’s most revered statesmen. “I think that what people will remember me for is that I’m a tough competitor who’s put on entertaining fights for the fans all these years," Franklin tells CagePotato. "And I’m happy with that kind of legacy.”
Rich was generous enough to give us some phone-time recently, and instead of asking him about his gameplan for Forrest, we discussed Franklin’s career as a whole, from the moment he decided to pursue MMA as a full-time job, to the fight that changed his life, to every other notable moment that helped forge the fighter he is today. Let’s begin…
The Early Days, 1993-1999 Rich Franklin: “I started training in traditional martial arts in 1993, then I saw the first couple UFCs and started doing some jiu-jitsu. I was training at a Royce Gracie chapter here in Cincinnati, and the guy who was leading my class was a blue belt. By today’s standards, if the best you had in your area was a blue belt, you’d be way behind the times, but in 1994 it was a big deal to have that kind of a resource. So I was doing jiu-jitsu, working with kickboxing coaches, and of course I’d been watching the UFC, learning off instructional tapes and all those kinds of things.
I started fighting at these little local amateur shows out in Richmond, Indiana, and clearly at that point in time, I was just light-years ahead of the competition that was showing up at the event. The promoter told me, ‘These are amateur events, I don’t really have anybody for you to fight.’ But there was a gentleman there who said, ‘You know what, I run a pro show, and I’ll pay you to fight." And he offered me 200 bucks. I was like, ‘Wow, I can make money fighting? This is great. I’m gonna make 200 bucks." I was bankin’.
RICH FRANKLIN (5-0) vs. AARON BRINK (7-4) — Franklin’s first regional title fight IFC: Warriors Challenge 11, 1/13/01 Result: No contest due to accidental injury, after Brink’s leg slipped through the cage.
(Vidprops: teezme420)
After suffering a first-round knockout at the hands of Mac Danzig at UFC 124, Joe Stevenson is once again riding back-to-back losses, and in desperate need of a victory. While a few UFC fighters (including Danzig himself) ha…
After suffering a first-round knockout at the hands of Mac Danzig at UFC 124, Joe Stevenson is once again riding back-to-back losses, and in desperate need of a victory. While a few UFC fighters (including Danzig himself) have been able to drop three straight without losing their jobs, it’s just not something you’d want to leave to chance these days.
According to MMA Mania, "Joe Daddy" will return at UFC on Versus 3 (March 3rd; Louisville, KY) where he’ll face former WEC lightweight contender Danny "Last Call" Castillo. With an overall record of 10-3, Castillo has eaten stoppage losses against Donald Cerrone, Shane Roller, and Anthony Pettis. But after defeating Dustin Poirier and Will Kerr in his two most recent fights, he’ll be coming into his next bout with some momentum. It’s one of those "nothing to lose, everything to gain" situations for the Team Alpha Male member, who is looking to make a dramatic entrance in the UFC. As for Stevenson? Well, he’d better not lose this one.
(Well, that’s what you get for leaving it in the hands of the judges.)
Friends, Romans, CagePotatoans, lend me your ears. We’re all familiar with the UFC’s famous gladiator introduction. And if you’re familiar with it, you probably …
(Well, that’s what you get for leaving it in the hands of the judges.)
Friends, Romans, CagePotatoans, lend me your ears. We’re all familiar with the UFC’s famous gladiator introduction. And if you’re familiar with it, you probably want them to change it. Guess what? It ain’t happening. Dana White (along with most Americans) is fascinated by that era of Roman history and its various dramatic representations, be it in the movie Spartacus, HBO’s Rome or the upcoming movie The Eagle. One can’t help but be infatuated with their tales of valor, violence, and debauchery. We can all go peruse Wikipedia and learn about the roots of MMA in pankration, so there’s no need for us to delve into its lineage and bore you.
Let’s take a quick look at gladiators. Many of them were slaves or prisoners condemned to fight, though there are some who volunteered for the job. While most gladiators’ non-fighting lives were rife with pain and sorrow — I mean, they were slaves after all — stepping into the arena was seen as a blessing, a chance to showcase their skills, a place to hear the cheers of the crowd and the love of the people. Some gladiators were as popular in the arena as the Senators themselves. While outsiders saw combat as barbaric and violent, it was a necessary evil to the combatants in order to attain glory.
For the gladiator, it wasn’t always about winning or losing, though losing could prove to be fatal; it was also about getting the crowd behind you. Most people aren’t aware that many gladiatorial contests were worked (like wrasslin’) in order to garner fan support. Look at it like Chris Lytle making a deal to try and win Fight of the Night. If you fought valiantly, the crowd cheered — unless you kept losing. We’ve all seen that “thumbs up or thumbs down” scene in Gladiator; well that wasn’t exactly accurate, but it wasn’t too far off from the truth. Your life was potentially in the hands of the official over the games and if they weren’t entertained, you died.
(props: burchfootball3)
CagePotato reader Stephen B. writes:
"Not sure who I should send this to, but I thought you would like to see a video from an MMA seminar I went to this past weekend in Charleston, WV. Wandy was in attendanc…
"Not sure who I should send this to, but I thought you would like to see a video from an MMA seminar I went to this past weekend in Charleston, WV. Wandy was in attendance and after demonstrating various techniques, he began sparring with individuals. This was all going pretty well, being that most people understood that he was an animal and respected that at any moment he could destroy their ability to operate their limbs. That is, until a young upstart at the age of 16 chose to show off in front of everyone. It turned out less than favorable for him…Enjoy."
That 16-year-old kid is lucky to be alive after disrespecting Master Silva with his insolent turning side kick. The ensuing bear-slap is pretty epic, and you gotta love how the entire class groans when the kid starts into his Royce Gracie-style heel-chops at the 0:37 mark. I think everyone there learned a valuable lesson at that seminar — when Wanderlei Silva asks you to spar with him, don’t. A reverse angle of the video is after the jump.
