Author: By Jon Lane

The meeting was arranged in a back room of a Gold’s Gym in Bellingham, Washington, shortly after Ryan Couture decided he was fed up with his current state of life. It was a few years earlier when Couture’s athletic career had reached its peak. After failing to qualify for States as a junior, Couture topped off his senior year by placing third in the Washington State 4A wrestling championship. The future was brighter than Einstein’s IQ for the son of a famous father crafting his legend in mixed martial arts. After all, wrestling was in the family genes and Couture was destined for great things … Read the Full Article Here

Urijah Faber isn’t a champion. He hasn’t tasted gold since Mike Brown ended a 31-month WEC featherweight title reign that saw him win 12 straight fights while making five successive title defenses. That hardly matters to the UFC, advertising suits and the paying public. “The California Kid” is still hot stuff. MMA’s Golden Child is being counted on to carry the torch of a UFC bantamweight division whose champion hasn’t competed in nearly two years and an interim king just recovered from an injury that’s derailed him since February. Iuri Alcantara is next on Faber’s hit list Saturday night at U … Read the Full Article Here

Early in his young life, Michael Johnson had designs on playing in the National Football League until he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hard work and persistence landed him a spot on Season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter. He advanced all the way to the final, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Jonathan Brookins. After a fast start to his UFC career, “The Menace” currently finds himself in a potentially perilous position entering what’s expected to be his toughest challenge.Regrets? Hardly. After all, Johnson did parlay a lost opportunity on the gridiron into an MMA caree … Read the Full Article Here

One day sitting in a psychology of sport class at Penn State University, Phil Davis was studying a parabola explaining one’s maximum arousal for competition. Davis the student earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology, the study of the principles of mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement. The theory of Davis the athlete is one he put into practice as a four-time All-American wrestler and individual national champion. He knew what he was trying to get himself to do, to get jacked up but not overly excited for competition.“It’s happened to me so many times,” Davis said. “So … Read the Full Article Here

The expression “must-win” in MMA is tossed around more than a Ronda Rousey opponent, but to Ian McCall, those two little words mean the Earth, moon, stars and the universe.McCall is not one to toss you a generic answer. Too often we’re told that every fight is a must-win, but “Uncle Creepy” is unfiltered, uncensored and real, and come UFC 163 on August 3 in Rio de Janeiro, McCall will be in the fight of his professional life. UFC fighter rankings list McCall (11-4-1 MMA, 0-2-1 UFC) as No. 3 in the flyweight division, but he has no choice than to defeat Iliarde Santos (27-7-1, 1 NC MMA, 0-1 UFC … Read the Full Article Here

Rory MacDonald has been poked, prodded and pin-pricked like the shy, fat kid in the schoolyard wearing a bullseye on his back. He’s quiet, reserved and unassuming, but deep within MacDonald’s reservoir sleeps a lion that doesn’t appreciate being treated like a circus animal. Jake Ellenberger, MacDonald’s UFC on FOX 8 opponent this Saturday at Seattle’s Key Arena, has played the role of ringmaster. Ellenberger has gone on record stating MacDonald (14-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) was nothing special. He threw jabs at him over Twitter. He teed off during a conference call by chiding MacDonald for making the “ … Read the Full Article Here