Fail of the Century: Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. Butterbean

(Props: PrzerozneFilmy via MiddleEasy)
After a laughably transparent hype-up, Mariusz Pudzianowski and Eric "Butterbean" Esch squared off Saturday night at KSW 14 in Lodz, Poland. The main event was a disaster before the fight even …

(Props: PrzerozneFilmy via MiddleEasy)

After a laughably transparent hype-up, Mariusz Pudzianowski and Eric "Butterbean" Esch squared off Saturday night at KSW 14 in Lodz, Poland. The main event was a disaster before the fight even started. Check out the above video, in which an underprepared Polish soul-singer named Mateusz Krauwurst absolutely murders "The Star Spangled Banner" in a botched tribute to Esch’s homeland/shorts. For reference, here’s a quick phonetic transcript:

"Ohhh say can you see
Mah’downse, duh-early lied
Were so proudly behaaaaaaved
Byyyyy the twilight’s that leaving
[pause, scattered laughter]
Hair the rockets were glare
And the rockets were glurrrrrr…
[singer nervously hums, then quits]"

It didn’t bode well for the 450-pound American power-puncher. And unfortunately, the fight was just as embarassing… 

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Video: TUF 12’s ‘Bruce Leroy’ Chokes Dude Out in the DaDa 5000 Fight Club

(Props: SOULJAHBOY1219)
We’ve already gotten a glimpse of TUF 12 castmember Alex Caceres, the afro’d cut-up who brought his own Bruce Lee costume to the set. Alex sports an MMA record of 4-2 — not including the unsanctioned backyard brawls h…

(Props: SOULJAHBOY1219)

We’ve already gotten a glimpse of TUF 12 castmember Alex Caceres, the afro’d cut-up who brought his own Bruce Lee costume to the set. Alex sports an MMA record of 4-2 — not including the unsanctioned backyard brawls he had in Perrine, Florida back in the day, hosted by Kimbo-esque fighter/promoter DaDa 5000 (of Dawg Fight fame). UG’er joe bruce found the above video of Caceres in one of those fights, scrapping with a gentleman named Chocolate in a 12-foot-square patch of grass. Chocolate is a handful at first, throwing wild punches and slamming Caceres on more than one occasion, but once Alex sets up the triangle choke, it’s only a matter of time before he gets the chill-dog tap. Afterwards, "Bruce" informs us that he takes slams all day, and basks in his instant celebrity. Not bad for a guy whose fight skills come from a delinquency prevention program.

Alex’s path to UFC glory begins this Wednesday night after UFC Fight Night 22 (which we’ll be liveblogging, FYI), when he does battle in the elimination round of TUF 12. For more of Bruce Leroy, check out his extended Ultimate Fighter video profile.

Meet Alistair Overeem’s Next Opponent…

(Photo courtesy of k-1.co.jp/en)
We probably won’t see Alistair Overeem compete again in Strikeforce until Fabricio Werdum recovers from his elbow injury — but the man’s gotta make a living somehow. K-1 confirmed yesterday that Overeem wou…

Ben Edwards K-1 kickboxer Overeem Australia
(Photo courtesy of k-1.co.jp/en)

We probably won’t see Alistair Overeem compete again in Strikeforce until Fabricio Werdum recovers from his elbow injury — but the man’s gotta make a living somehow. K-1 confirmed yesterday that Overeem would be part of the K-1 World GP 2010 championship tournament, which kicks off October 3rd in Seoul with the Final 16 round. The Demolition Man’s opponent will be Ben "The Guvner" Edwards, a 25-year-old Bulldog Gym product who’s been building a fierce reputation in Australia. In July, Edwards won the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Canberra by scoring three consecutive first-round knockouts, with a total fight time of just 3:28. It was the fastest tournament win in K-1 history, smashing Jerome LeBanner’s previous record of 4:04, which LeBanner posted in Osaka nine years ago. Will Edwards make his name off an upset of Overeem? Check out some videos of the Guvner in action after the jump and let us know what you think…

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Classic Fights: BJ Penn, The Early Days

Going into his UFC 118 title rematch against Frankie Edgar, BJ Penn is carrying a title that he hasn’t had since before UFC 80 — former champion. We’re willing to believe that the Prodigy had an off night in Abu Dhabi, but if he wants his belt ba…

Going into his UFC 118 title rematch against Frankie Edgar, BJ Penn is carrying a title that he hasn’t had since before UFC 80 — former champion. We’re willing to believe that the Prodigy had an off night in Abu Dhabi, but if he wants his belt back he’ll have to relocate the kind of violent aggression that got him to the top in the first place. With that in mind, let’s take a look back at four of Penn’s early fights that set him up as a star in the UFC, and laid the groundwork for the legend that was to come…

BJ Penn vs. Joey Gilbert, UFC 31, 5/4/01

As the first non-Brazilian to win the black belt division at the Mundials, Penn entered the UFC with a reputation to uphold. But he wasn’t looking to become the next Royce Gracie. Even from the beginning, the Prodigy was a true hybrid fighter, whose grappling and striking worked in tandem. His Octagon debut was against another UFC newbie, Joey Gilbert (1-1 MMA record at the time), and though Gilbert showed impressive ground defense in neutralizing Penn’s attacks and positions, Penn was finally able to flatten Gilbert out on his stomach and whale him in the head until the ref stopped the fight with three seconds left of the first round. It looked like there might be something to this BJ Penn kid after all.

BJ Penn vs. Din Thomas, UFC 32, 6/29/01

Penn returned to action just eight weeks later to take on another fighter who was making his UFC debut. But even though Din Thomas was new to the Octagon, he’d already been around the block, compiling a 12-1 record with all victories by stoppage and a notable win over future champ Jens Pulver. Penn plays guard for a while (and shows off his famous leg flexibility at the vid’s 2:13 mark), but once Thomas starts to threaten with ground-and-pound, Penn escapes to his feet and turns Din off with a perfectly-placed knee to the jaw. The Prodigy was no fluke, and the UFC’s fledgling lightweight division was officially on notice.

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Knockout of the Day: Maciej Jewtuszko Gives Anthony Njokuani a $10,000 Beating

(Fight starts at the 5:50 mark. Props: MMAVideosPL)
Polish Anderson Silva? Not quite yet, but Maciej Jewtuszko is well on his way to making his name in the U.S. Closing out the preliminary portion of WEC 50 against Anthony Njokuani, things st…

(Fight starts at the 5:50 mark. Props: MMAVideosPL)

Polish Anderson Silva? Not quite yet, but Maciej Jewtuszko is well on his way to making his name in the U.S. Closing out the preliminary portion of WEC 50 against Anthony Njokuani, things started out shaky the WEC newcomer. Jewtuszko got punched out of the air and onto his ass when Njokuani caught and countered his double-kick attempt. Njokuani made Jewtuszko pay with some hard punches from the top, but eventually decided to let Maciej to his feet. It was a decision that Njokuani would immediately regret.

Watch as Jewtuszko finds the right moment to land a spinning backfist/elbow to Njokuani’s chin. The follow-up guillotine choke attempt doesn’t pan out, but the finishing uppercuts certainly do. The win netted Jewtuszko his eighth consecutive stoppage victory, and his first WEC knockout bonus. Expect to see this guy again in the near future.

Related: Njokuani’s nickname on Wikipedia is currently listed as "The Nigerian Money Offer."

Must See: The Greatest Knockouts in Amateur MMA History

ix3623 is a ridiculously prolific editor of MMA/sports videos that are unmatched in their ability to waste large blocks of your time. While checking out ix’s new two-part "compilation of interesting mix martial arts facts" series today, …

ix3623 is a ridiculously prolific editor of MMA/sports videos that are unmatched in their ability to waste large blocks of your time. While checking out ix’s new two-part "compilation of interesting mix martial arts facts" series today, we noticed the above tribute to sick knockouts at local shows, and it might be his most important work yet. First, a point of clarification: "amateur" here means "shot with a shitty camera." (We definitely recognized a few smaller pro leagues in the mix.) But that’s just a minor detail, because my goodness is this stuff hardcore. These are not TKO stoppages. This is nine and a half minutes of guys getting knocked dead-asleep in horrible fashion. Enjoy! We also recommend ix3623’s unsportsmanlike behavior megamix, the 30-part (!) funniest moments in MMA series, and this unrelated but compelling highlight reel.