Author: kmowatt

Let’s be honest here, not everyone was losing their minds when the UFC announced that Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell were going to fight for a third time. For fight purists, the bout’s confirmation screamed out ‘been there done that,” not only has Liddell stopped Ortiz on two different occasions, but neither man is knocking at the door of champion Lyoto Machida (Tito already had a chance to kick down that door at UFC 84 and didn’t even make it up the front steps…). For other fans, their response to the bout’s confirmation was probably similar to “hell, it’s not like I’ll turn the TV off.”

Well, due to the smack talking, ‘is it slanderous,’ efforts of Mr. Ortiz lately, it seems like the buzz about Liddell vs. Ortiz III is starting to build  (Although claiming that your opponent is an alcoholic isn’t exactly the conventional way of hyping a fight).  Speaking to Fanhouse’s Ariel Helwani this past weekend at UFC 109, not only did Liddell deny Ortiz’s recent comments, “The Iceman” seemed pretty damn choked about the allegations.

“I was taking this as a tune-up fight, I mean I’ve knocked the guy out twice, so what is there to get motivated for? Now I’m going to try to kill him, so good job Tito.”

“I don’t know what his problem is. He always says something stupid. What else is he going to say? He always runs his mouth trying to get attention; that’s what he does.”

Comment Mr. Coleman?

It wasn’t long ago when MMA die hards were frantically scouring the internet to hear ‘the latest’ on the prospect of a bout between former teammates Wanderlei Silva and middleweight top gun Anderson Silva materializing. The two engaged in a back-and-forth of comments that was, shall we say, not exactly complimentary, after Wanderlei announced his intention of dropping down to 185.

What happened? Well, after losing by UD to Rich Franklin last June,  talk of  Wanderlei getting a crack at Anderson cooled off faster than you could say ‘I thought Wandy won that fight.’ Although if Wanderlei takes out Michael Bisping in “Axe Murderer,” leaving faces bruised, bloodied and broken style on February 20th, maybe a glimmer of Wanderlei vs. Anderson will resurface? Well let’s just see how he fairs against the British star first.

In a recent interview with Tatame Magazine, Anderson conceded he has moved past all the drama with his former teammate, and even considered helping Wanderlei get ready for Bisping.

Unfortunately my life is full of stuff, I have my things, he has his… Sometimes there’s no time, we doesn’t match the appointments but I’d like to help him with this fight. Unfortunately I can’t, but he has a good team. Master Rafael Cordeiro is supporting on techniques and he will be okay on this fight. I hope he brings this victory to Brazil.

 To bet on Wanderlei vs. Bisping, which is going to be damntastic, head here.

Chael Sonnen not only pounded his way into the number one middleweight contender slot last night at UFC 109, but the tough vet earned an extra $60,000 in bonus money for his efforts, as he and opponent Nate Marquardt were awarded Fight of the Night honors. Of course Marquardt would have rather taken the win but getting an extra 60 g’s should help take the edge off. (Hopefully Nate didn’t blow out on the craps table afterwards…)

As for Sonnen, we suggest he invests that money in a documentary crew who will follow and record the fighter’s every move. Chael has always rivaled fighters like Tito Ortiz in the ‘please bend our ear’ category, but now that he’s finally receiving the spotlight, Sonnen ‘zingers’ could be coming to an internet near you daily. Case in point, check out his post fight interview with Ariel Helwani, where before telling Anderson Silva that his “15 minutes of fame are up,” he offers some nice ‘Sonnens’ regarding various training methods (including screaming ‘yes’ a bizzillion times as you walk to the Octagon; I think it’s safe to say he’s talking about you Diego…)

Sit back and enjoy the ride folks; the middleweight title picture is getting a healthy dose of drama.

Other fighters that took home bonuses last night included Matt Serra for his KO dismissal of Frank Trigg and Paulo Thiago for his nighty-night D’arce choke on Mike Swick.

According to a report from MMA Junkie this afternoon, “a well placed source” has informed the outlet that the UFC is looking at booking an event for July 3^rd in Las Vegas, Nevada, although neither a venue nor a date has been officially confirmed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The story also states that UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar could return on the card.

Due to the fact that Lesnar will be making his return having recovered from a severe tussle with diverticulitis, we, as well as thousands of others, are excited to see him bash bodies once again.

That said, we’re just a wee bit disappointed the UFC didn’t do this proper WWE style and have Lesnar come back three weeks earlier at UFC 115 in Vancouver (likely only those not equipped with electricity are unaware of Brock’s recent Great White North / healthcare drama). Think about the possibilities; Lesnar could have been escorted to the Octagon with a full on Mountie escort as Canuck’s (Canadians not hockey players from Vancouver’s NHL team) railed verbal obscenities at the champion for his recent remarks. Bret Hart could have been in attendance and challenged Lesnar to a ‘healthcare’ match…See what happens when you don’t consult MMA Fix? Oh well.  

On another Lesnar note, the UFC has also announced that the heavyweight will ‘grace’ the front cover of the next “UFC Undisputed 2010” game. The next THQ offering comes out on May 25^th.

There was a time when news confirming that two of the UFC’s best welterweights were going to throw down, would drop the productivity of hardcore MMA fans working that day to less than our interest in seeing “Valentine’s Day” starring Ashton Kutcher. But now in this new era of totally awesome MMA saturation (and no we’re not being sarcastic), today’s confirmation by the UFC that Jon Fitch will toss leather with Thiago Alves for a second time at UFC 111, might actually get lost in the mix. After all, the March 27^th card is already set to feature a welterweight title fight between GSP vs. Dan Hardy, as well as Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin for the interim heavyweight strap.

All this aside, we’re pretty damn excited about seeing this bout, as should you be. Fitch continues to be arguably the UFC’s best welterweight who isn’t named St. Pierre; aside from his August, 2008 decision loss to the champ, the guy has gone 11-1 in the Octagon. If anyone is in position to diss Hardy’s title shot, Mr. Fitch certainly could be the frontrunner.

Alves has always talked publicly about his desire to rematch Fitch; the “Pitbull” lost by TKO to Fitch in June, 2006, but since then the ATT fighter has blown out notables like Matt Hughes and Karo Parisyan, in addition to earning a UD win over Fitch’s buddy and teammate Josh Koscheck. Thiago’s yet another welterweight beast who couldn’t get past GSP…

And in case you’re wondering, yes, the bout is scheduled to be on the televised portion of the card. Some things are just meant to be…

Earlier this week we implored newbie MMA fans to check out Spike’s “Best of Pride” series, as a good way to get up to speed on Takanori Gomi; the former Pride champion and dude that is fighting Kenny Florian on March 31^st. If you read MMA Fix regularly then you also know we miss the good ole ‘Pride days’, back when Wanderlei Silva was stomping out opponents like a sh-t-bag on fire…

Anyways, for new fans to the sport that are checking out action from Pride for the first time, you’ve probably come to the stunned realization that yup, ‘ultimate fighting’ in Japan is a little different than what you see in the UFC. On his personal blog recently, UFC color man and comedian Joe Rogan wrote an interesting post about Pride rules, not just about the fact that they allowed foot stomps to the head etc, but also how the organization judged fights; here’s a sample:

What they were allowed to do however, is stomp each other in the head while they’re down and soccer kick each other in the face while they’re down. THAT is some pretty brutal shit, and there’s something about that added element of danger that just cranks the dial up on the excitement meter considerably when you’re watching it.

 Check out the rest here.