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UFC 148: Does the Change of Venue Help or Hurt Silva or Sonnen?

By now you’ve heard of the big change of venue that happened with UFC 147 as the Middleweight Championship bout was moved from a soccer stadium in Brazil to the fight capital of the world in Las Vegas, Nev. So does it hurt or help either of the co…

So does it hurt or help either of the competitors to change? The simple answer is both. It both helps and hurts.

For Silva, it actually helps because fighting in front of your home fans can really amp up pressure. He’s already going into this fight as a big favorite but the fact that he’s fighting at home brings expectations to a whole other level. So in Vegas, he can relax and focus in on his training and on defending his title.

The only thing it hurts with Silva is his feelings. It would’ve meant a lot to once again fight in front of his people and would’ve been his chance to create a memorable moment, but that simply won’t happen.

As for Sonnen, it helps tremendously because he doesn’t have to worry about his life being in danger in the event that he wins (or defends, if you hear him say it) the Middleweight Championship.

It’s no secret that the fans in Brazil can get very rowdy if the hometown guy or team doesn’t win. Just this March before a match between Brazilian Soccer teams Corinthians and Palmeiras, two people were shot in a brawl among 1,000 people.

So if they’re willing to shoot each other and riot, just think of what they would do if Sonnen walked out with the belt around his waist. It’s also apparent that the UFC knows this because even though there are scheduling issues, UFC 147 will go on as planned in Brazil, just not with Silva vs. Sonnen on the card.

Who it hurts are the fans of Brazil and to a lesser extent, everybody else. It would’ve truly been a spectacle to see Brazil’s biggest MMA star shine in his home country, and there’s no doubt that waves of fans would have filled any stadium that the UFC put them in. However, that fight is not one they will get a chance to see up close and personal.

For us sitting at home or watching at a bar, either way we will be treated to a great fight. The atmosphere in Brazil would have been insane and would have made what’s going to be a great fight into an amazing fight, so that brings down the match a notch. However, I think the security risk was more than the UFC could stomach and thus the fight was moved.

In Brazil, this fight would have had one of two lasting images. Either Silva would have been in the crowd celebrating with the pumped up Brazilian fans, or Sonnen would’ve run through the tunnel with security surrounding him, his newly won championship around his waist, and all sorts of bottles and trash being rained upon him.

We won’t get that. But we will all be treated with one hell of a Mixed Martial Arts match.

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UFC on FOX 3 Fallout: Nate Diaz Doesn’t Deserve Title Shot, Anthony Pettis Does

We are all guilty of being prisoners of the moment at certain points, and if you believe that Nate Diaz deserves the lightweight championship title fight more than Anthony Pettis, you are a prisoner of the moment.Don’t get me wrong, Diaz had a great sh…

Don’t get me wrong, Diaz had a great showing against one of the top opponents at 155 in Jim Miller. He’s tough as nails and even harder to stop.

However, let’s not forget that “Showtime” Pettis has not only beaten the current champion at lightweight, but is coming off of a spectacular head-kick-Knockout-of-the-Night performance. What else could you want?

I’m of the mind that all current fighters are only as good as their last five fights, and with that said, just look at the fact that in his last five fights, Anthony Pettis is 4-1, while Diaz is 3-2.

Pettis has also received a Knockout of the Night thanks to his Decapitation of Joe Lauzon, Submission of the Night thanks to a Triangle Choke with only nine seconds remaining in the fight, then won a Fight of the Night performance in which he caught current lightweight champ Ben Henderson with a spectacular kick off of the cage.

Add all of this to the fact that Anthony Pettis was promised a championship match almost two years ago and it’s almost as if Showtime is becoming the 155-lb version of what John Fitch was. Continues to win but continues to be overlooked.

Whatever the deal, there’s just no way that Diaz deserves the title shot more that Pettis. It’s the fair thing to do, it’s the right thing to do, and it would actually make for the better lineup of future fights.

Who wouldn’t love to see Henderson vs. Pettis 2, and Edgar vs. Diaz? There’s always good money to be made in a semi-feud and this could be the one that the lightweight division has been waiting on since BJ Penn left.

So do the right thing, Dana. Give the title shot to the man who deserves it most, and put Nate in a contenders match for now. Let’s not be prisoners of the moment, let’s look at the entire picture.

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Alistair Overeem: His Story Checks Out and We All Should Believe Him

One thing to take away from the Alistair Overeem hearing (link from MMA Weekly) with the NSAC is that they actually believed him. One thing today that we don’t realize is that with Twitter and countless blogs, we are in the world of mass media. No matt…

One thing to take away from the Alistair Overeem hearing (link from MMA Weekly) with the NSAC is that they actually believed him.

One thing today that we don’t realize is that with Twitter and countless blogs, we are in the world of mass media. No matter what is going on in the world you can find at least 20 blogs, vlogs, editorials and TV shows about the subject. Everybody has an opinion and a platform to share it which is great. First Amendment at its finest.

But what’s lost in this particular story is that Hector Molina admitted under oath to injecting Overeem with testosterone without telling him. Overeem didn’t ask, so Molina didn’t tell. However, Molina had been part of the Texas State Athletic Commission so why if you’re Overeem would you think that he would inject you with testosterone?

It’s almost the equivalent of Keith Kizer injecting you with an anti-inflammatory. Would you really think to ask Keith if he’s injecting testosterone in your body or would you trust that he knows the rules and regulations and wouldn’t do something like that since he’s part of the NSAC?

I think every fighter would take an injection from Keith Kizer if he were able to administer one. If you fail a test then at least you failed a test only getting injected by a member of an athletic commission. And that’s what Overeem did.

In all reality, I wouldn’t have asked him either. If his inner circle told him that Molina is a doctor that was part of an athletic commission so he’ll put the right things in your body, I’d be on board. No problem Doc, inject me with whatever will help me heal.

So in this case I found Overeem to be very believable. He told the usual story of not knowing what a doctor was injecting in his body, but had the doctor there to collaborate his story and admit to not telling him. The doctor was testifying and making himself a good candidate for malpractice and Overeem looked like a sympathetic figure. That to me is a big deal.

So to me, the NSAC was justified in a shorter sentence for Overeem. I think they genuinely wanted to license him but just couldn’t because of the ripple effect that would cause.

I think it’s also important to point out that Overeem did not test positive for any substance, just elevated testosterone levels which a doctor admitted to administering. I’m not saying that Overeem did or didn’t do steroids or any other performance enhancing drug, I am saying that in this case he had a good excuse for testing the way he did.

Those in the court of public opinion who are ready to banish Overeem from MMA should look at all the facts of this case and see that if this were a court case in which you had to prove without a reasonable doubt that he willingly took testosterone, he would be found not guilty.

There are doubts and concerns, but the self proclaimed “most tested athlete” had a very good excuse for what could have been a career-killing move. And with that, the UFC should welcome him back with open arms for their end-of-year show for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

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Tap Out! the 13 Most Difficult Submissions to Defend

In the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, fighters who had mastered their respective martial arts came together to participate in a tournament to see which martial art was the best.As most people know, Royce Gracie and his Brazilian Jiu …

In the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, fighters who had mastered their respective martial arts came together to participate in a tournament to see which martial art was the best.

As most people know, Royce Gracie and his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu reined supreme over all others in the first two tournaments.

It was then that submission fighting became a necessity for all mixed martial artists, and that the sport went from “best in your respective martial art” to “best in all aspects of martial arts” which is the product that we know and love today.

Jiu Jitsu is based off of control of your opponents’ stature and ability to manipulate their limbs for submissions and chokes and is the most prominent of all submission fighting techniques around. With that being said, let’s take a look at the most difficult submissions to defend.

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UFC 145: One-Fight Card or Great Card? Breakdown of Every Fight

UFC 145, to the occasional fan, is a one-fight card. Jon “Bones” Jones versus “Suga” Rashad Evans for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship is the fight that the fans are going to pay for with this card. Rightfully so, but is the rest of the card set …

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Justify It Any Way You Want: TRT in MMA Is Cheating

That’s right. Testosterone replacement therapy otherwise known as TRT is cheating. To truly quantify it as that, we have to understand what testosterone and TRT is. In men, testosterone is produced and stored in the testicles and plays a key role…

That’s right. Testosterone replacement therapy otherwise known as TRT is cheating.

To truly quantify it as that, we have to understand what testosterone and TRT is.

In men, testosterone is produced and stored in the testicles and plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues as well as sexual drive. Testosterone is also essential for health, well-being and healing.

Where it becomes interesting, though, is that testosterone also greatly promotes muscle and bone mass. Quite simply—the more testosterone you have, the more muscle mass you can build. Which in MMA means the heavier your dominant hand is and how much more successful your takedowns can be.

This is where TRT comes in. As men get older, the level of testosterone gets lower, and as a result, body fat increases and muscle mass decreases. What TRT does is replace that declining testosterone, allowing muscle mass to increase and body fat to decrease.

However, what needs to be understood is that the causes of low testosterone go far above just age. Causes for low testosterone range from certain medical conditions to weight cutting. Studies have even shown that repeated head trauma (concussions and brain damage) could also attribute to the loss of testosterone. Where it gets interesting is that steroid use can also lead to testosterone loss. Meaning that a past steroid abuser who’s suffering from low testosterone can potentially benefit from TRT.

With that being said, TRT, when approved by the athletic commission is completely legal. However, many fighters and MMA aficionados feel as if it’s cheating and rightly so. It is. The reason it’s simple—it’s unnatural.

Normal levels of testosterone in men are right at 1-1. Some guys are naturally above, some naturally below and some right at that mark. The Nevada State Athletic Commission flags samples at a 6-1 cutoff. What this does is give incentive to cheat.

One thing that can’t be argued against with this situation is that the guys who do TRT is doing it to enhance their performance on fight night. If that weren’t true then there would be no reason to use it. Last time I checked, taking injections or outside supplements to enhance performance is illegal. That includes steroids, HGH, and hopefully sometime soon, testosterone replacement therapy.

There may very well be fighters who take TRT and stay within normal levels the entire time, however, there’s also a good reason to believe that, for the most part, guys abuse the levels to enhance performance. This should be stopped.

TRT should be banned altogether. It’s just like that old saying that if you give somebody an inch, they’ll take a mile. If some fighters can get this exemption, then whatʻs to stop them from abusing it?

My belief is that if you naturally have low testosterone for whatever reason, fight with low testosterone. Enhancing your testosterone levels just give you a much better advantage than the guy across from you which is in turn- cheating.

I want to see two guys in the cage or ring who are the best because they just naturally are the best. Just think of the uproar that wouldʻve happened had Chael Sonnen beaten Anderson Silva with his levels being 16.9-1 that night. It wouldʻve been a complete nightmare not only for the UFC, but for MMA altogether.

As for someone who loves the sport of MMA and truly wants it to excel to the fullest, I want to see the sport and all of its competitiors clean. People who think that PEDs in sports should be regulated are condoning shortcuts and not appreciative of hard work and dedication to the craft which is mixed martial arts or any other sport for that matter.

There should be a greater premium for guys who do it the right way through hard work and hard work only. Training should win you a fight, not being jacked up off testosterone.

Lastly, let me say that there are people out there who legitimately suffer from low testosterone and need this therapy in order to live life to their fullest. But in a sport where physiques are on display and where more often than not the stronger man wins, there’s no place in mixed martial arts for testosterone replacement therapy. It’s simply cheating.

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