ROCKHOLD REMAINS CHAMPION, JARDINE LOSSES BY TKO

THE ROCKHOLD ERA BEGINS 


On the horn:
Johnny Waugh
LEAD SR WRITER     

Rockhold (left) facing off with Jardine (right) at the weigh ins.

       The middleweight title did not change hands tonight. Luke Rockhold (9-1) retained his title of Strikeforce champion by dismissing Keith Jardine (17-10-2) in the first round.

       The fight began with a light exchange before Rockhold pushed Jardine against the cage to control and wear out his opponent. Rockhold believed that Jardine's weight cut to the 185 lbs instead of 205 lbs would drain him out in the later rounds.

      Well it didn't make it that far because it only took 4:46 of the first round to send Jardine packing and stop the reinvention that "The Dean of Mean" believed he could find in the middleweight division.

       The fight tonight was halted with an exclamation point and brutal fists that saw Jardine take a large amount of punches before referee Herb Dean finally stepped in to stop the fight somewhat late according to Strikeforce commentator Pat Miletich.


(CONTINUED)...

Keith Jardine Made weight- Strikeforce: Rockhold vs Jardine is a go

STRIKEFORCE WEIGH IN RESULTS

On the horn:
Johnny Waugh

LEAD SR WRITER

       Strikeforce: Rockhold vs Jardine is set to go now that Keith Jardine (17-9-2) officially made the 185 lb weight limit for the first time in his professional career. Everyone on the main card came in on weight.

       Jardine is hungry and focused on the opportunity to reinvent himself at a new weight class regardless of the negative attention his appointment to this middleweight title bout has garnered from fans and media.

“The main thing in this fight will be how our opposite stand up styles match up. He likes to stay long and use a broader approach, where I have more of an awkward, get-dirty type of style," Jardine said. 

"We’ll see how those two styles match up, and that will be interesting. Jiu-jitsu and all that will not be a huge part of the game."

"After I hit him a few times, I think he is going to try to take me down, but I don’t see him being a good enough wrestler or big enough to get that done."


WEIGH IN RESULTS:

MAIN CARD (Showtime)

Champion: Luke Rockhold (185) vs. Keith Jardine (185)
Adlan Amagov (186) vs. Robbie Lawler (186)
Lorenz Larkin (206) vs. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (205)
Jordan Mein (169) vs. Tyron Woodley (171)
Tarec Saffiedine (170) vs. Tyler Stinson (170)

(CONTINUED)...   WEIGH IN VIDEO INCLUDED

The Disturbing Resurrection of Fedor Emelianenko

Fedor may have two straight victories, but don't be fooled.


On the horn:
Johnny Waugh
LEAD SR WRITER

       Fedor Emelianenko knocked out Satoshi Ishii (4-1-1) at the Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoko 2011 event that took place Dec. 31, 2011 for his second win in a row.

       This might sound like Fedor is back on the rise but I am going to be frank with you, this small increase in victories for Fedor is completely manufactured. Yes, Fedor still has to fight these guys and win but the match ups are so contrived and put together by interests that want to produce Emelianenko victories that it's impossible to believe.


(CONTINUED)...

Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos - Tests Positive for Steroids

WOMEN'S MMA NOW TAKES A STEP BACK


On the horn: 
Johnny Waugh
LEAD SR WRITER

Cristiane Santos 

       Following her Dec. 17 title defense on the Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal card, Strikeforce women's female featherweight champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos was tested by the California Athletic Commission (CSAC).


       The CSAC announced today that a pre-fight urine sample that was administered to Santos was sent to the World Anti-Doping Agency test facility at UCLA and tested.


       The results of that test, that Santos has the right to appeal, yielded a positive test for metabolites of the anabolic steroid named Stanozolol. CSAC Executive Officer George Dodd spoke to the media in a prepared statement.


"Our primary concern is for the health and safety of fighters," Dodd said. 

"Anabolic agents and other banned substances put not only the users of those agents at risk, but their opponents as well. The commission simply will not tolerate their use."

(CONTINUED)...  Stanozolol Description Included

STRIKEFORCE ROCKHOLD vs JARDINE Predictions: King Mo vs Larkin, Lawler vs Amagov

WHO CAN WE EXPECT TO FINISH THEIR COMPETITION

On the horn:
Johnny Waugh
LEAD SR WRITER




Strikeforce Light heavyweight King Mo



       At the Strikeforce: Rockhold vs Jardine event tomorrow night, airing free on Showtime at 7 PT/ 10 ET, there are still two main card bouts that we haven't discussed.

       They both present very interesting match ups because of the styles of fighting each combatant possess that could potentially end the night early for any fighter at the end of their devastating striking.


Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal vs Lorenz Larkin

       This fight, in the light heavy weight division, will end by knock out almost guaranteed. Lorenz Larkin
(12-0) has won all three of his Strikeforce bouts in just five calendar months.

       Larkin has knock out power in both hands and owns eight knockouts in his career, seven of which came in a row before entering Strikeforce.

       Larkin also has an amateur boxing record of five wins and no losses to go with a 10-0 amateur MMA record as well. This allows him to currently claim something many fighters including King Mo cannot, perfection.

       To be humbling to Larkin, he did win his last two bouts by decision and has been dominated at times by the wrestling talents of some of his lesser named opponents.


       Wrestling that Lawal (8-1) gained plenty of during his time at Oklahoma State University where he was an All-American and Big 12 Conference champion.


       Lawal was the former light heavyweight champion before losing to Rafael Calvalcante at Strikeforce: Houston when the referee stopped the bout by TKO. That is the only loss on Lawal's record to date and he feels confident in his ability to dictate this fight.


"He has more fights than me. He has an amateur background in MMA and boxing, so I think he might feel a little comfortable exploiting some weaknesses he sees in me," Lawal said to Sherdog.


"But the thing is, every fight I’ve fought, I fight different. You might see a fight where I’ve done some things, but you won’t see those things in this fight coming up right here.”


(CONTINUED)...    ROBBIE LAWLER vs ADLAN ADMAGOV

Strikeforce: Rockhold vs Jardine Predictions: WOODLEY vs MEIN, STINSON vs SAFFIEDINE

THE FIGHTERS MORE PRIMED TO TAKE HOME ANOTHER WIN


On the horn:
Johnny Waugh
LEAD SR WRITER

Strikeforce middleweight Tyron Woodley

    Strikeforce: Rockhold vs Jardine takes place tomorrow night, January 7, 2012, at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. This card will be free for cable viewers because it is happening during Showtime's free preview weekend. The free weekend begins Friday, Jan. 6 and runs through Jan. 8.

      Although the main event has been criticized by many MMA fans and media, not because the fight itself will be lackluster but, because of Jardine's poor record (3-7-1 in his last 11 fights) and moving to a new weight class directly before the title bout.

     Regardless of viewers feelings on the merit of Jardine being in the main event, it is happening tomorrow night and there will be winners and losers.

            JORDAN MEIN vs TYRON WOODLEY

      This match up is actually the toughest fight on the card to breakdown. There is a strong case for both fighters to take home the victory but that is what fans ask for and at least Strikeforce delivered.

       Woodley (9-0) is a Strikeforce Challengers series product and has made a name for himself inside the middleweight division by winning his six Strikeforce bouts and beating names like Saffiedine and Paul Daley (29-11-2) during that time.

      His opponent Jordan Mein (23-7) hasn't been finished since 2008. Although mein lost two decisions during that time frame he won 15 of his fights and finished 12 of those opponents by knock out or submission.

       Mein strikes me as a guy that Woodley would have a difficult time controlling in the early going of the fight. Meins fast paced, aggressive style and demeanor has brought him 16 wins by finishing his opponents in the very first round.

(CONTINUED)...

Machida Calls out Sonnen, Stann vs Sakara, Schaub vs Rothwell

ON THE DOTTED LINE:UFC ON FUEL TV, UFC 145


On the horn:
Johnny Waugh
LEAD SR WRITER

Machida in the hospital after surgery. Twitter Pic.

       As many of you may know, Chael Sonnen (27-11-1) has never held back about his feelings toward the country of Brazil, Anderson Silva, and even Lyoto Machida and his urine drinking ways.

      Sonnen has told stories of the Nogueira brother's, obviously fictional, coming to America and feeding buses carrots because of their lack of knowledge of the modern world.

       Sonnen has said, on a UFC on FUEL TV promo clip, that Machida should purchase some mouthwash to freshen his breathe in reference to Machida's tradition of drinking a cup of his own urine every morning.

       Machida didn't enjoy those comments directed at him by Sonnen and, unlike his Brazilian counter parts, called out the middleweight contender on twitter after he underwent successful left elbow surgery.

"Chael Sonnen, I just had surgery but I can still give you your present in the octagon with just one arm," Machida said. "All you have to do is accept."

(CONTINUED)... ON THE DOTTED LINE included

Jardine against Rockhold for the Strikeforce title, Really?

WHY IS HE FIGHTING KEITH JARDINE?

On the horn:
Johnny Waugh
LEAD SR WRITER

Jardine (right) getting puched in another loss at UFC 96

       Luke Rockhold is the Strikeforce sensation that pulled off a huge upset victory over former middleweight champion Ronaldo Souza (14-3-1) at the Strikeforce World Grand Prix.

       He beat the champion in surprising fashion by dominating most of the fight against a 5-time World Jiu-Jitsu Champion, including gold medals in the Open weight class in 03, 04 and 2005.

       Rockhold won a unanimous decision victory and the Strikeforce middleweight title in that fight and is now set to defend that title this coming weekend, January 7th on Showtime.

       Rockhold has finished six of his last seven opponents, all of which in the first round, by stoppage and it a rising talent in the middleweight division.

This begs the question. . .

WHY IS HE FIGHTING KEITH JARDINE?

       Jardine (17-9-2) is 3-7-1 in his last eleven fights and most recently is coming off of a DRAW against Gegard Mousasi (32-3-2). A draw which would have been another loss if not for Mousasi being deducted a point for an illegal up kick, making Jardine's true record 16-10-2 overall and 3-8 in his last eleven.

(CONTINUED)...

27-0, 27 KO's, WBC & WBA CHAMPION, MURDER/SUICIDE: Edwin Valero

A Story of the misunderstood intent


On the horn:
Johnny Waugh
LEAD SR WRITER

       SR Writer Scottie 2 Piece told me about a man who did what everyone in the fight business dreams to do, be a champion and win every fight by knock out. After hearing this story I had to tell the world of "El Inca".

       Edwin Valero is the only fighter in the history of the World Boxing Coucil (WBC) to win all his fights by knock out and arguably holds the record for most consecutive wins by first round knock out, 18.

       That 18th fight also gave him the opportunity to challenge the champion for the WBA Super featherweight title which, although being dropped once, he ultimately won by TKO. That was also the first and only fight Valero ever touched a canvas in any professional fight.

       Valero vacated his title to fight for the WBC lightweight title against Antonio Pitalua (48-4) who he also finished by second round TKO to move his record to 25-0 at the time.

       He finished Antonio Demarco (28-2) on February 6, 2010, which took his record to 27-0 with 27 wins by knock out. Valero was the former four time defending WBA super featherweight champion and the current two time defending WBC lightweight champion.


Two months later on April 18, 2010, he was found hanging from his sweat pants in his jail cell at 1:30 AM in north-central Carabobo state. 


        Federal Police Chief Wilmer Flores told reporters Valero still showed signs of life when they took him down, but they were unable to save him.


       What were the events that caused this horrible loss to boxing and first and for most the loss of another talented human being?


(CONTINUED)... Valero Profile Included

BEST OF 2011- WHO LIVED UP TO THEIR HYPE #4 and #5

WHO LIVED UP TO EXPECTATIONS IN 2011.

On the horn:

Johnny Waugh

  LEAD SR WRITER

UFC welterweight Jake Ellenberger

#4:   JAKE ELLENBERGER


       Ellenberger had two knockout victories coming into 2011 and was on the rise in the welterweight division. He finished Mike Pyle (21-8-1) and John Howard (15-7) by TKO in 2010 and had some true hype behind his ascension in the division. In 2011, Ellenberger continued his trend of winning by defeating a previously unbeaten Carlos Eduardo Rocha (9-1) by split decision at UFC 126. Rocha had nine victories by stoppage before meeting Ellenberger, one by knock out and eight by submission, but was unable to overcome the smashing style of "The Juggernaut" who lived up to his moniker. 


(CONTINUED)...  #5 and GIFS included

Body Blows of 2011- THE BEST KNOCKOUTS BY BODY SHOTS

This year's Brutal knockouts

On the horn:
MattZilla
SR WRITER

Alistair Overeem (right) at UFC 141 knocking out Brock Lesnar (left).

        I've loved body-blow knockouts since I started watching fights because of the visceral nature of the act. Fighters can't often tell you how it felt to get knocked out cold. A fighter can always tell you exactly what it felt like to get a piece of his trunk hacked off.

        A good body blow is like a submission, where the fighter is forced to stop due to an unmanageable amount of pain. Unlike a sub, the trauma is not over after the fight. We got to see some good ones in 2011.


        Here is a top five list of my favorite torso-destroying strikes of 2011. 

5: Michael Bisping pelts Jason Miller's ribs

        It wasn't one single blow that downed Miller, but a succession of strikes that fatigued him to the point of exhaustion. Miller had no energy to answer Bisping's game, and ended up on the bottom, with Bisping firing his knee into the exposed ribs.

(CONTINUED)...  FIGHT FINISH GIFS included: #4 - #1

Best fighters of 2011- Part 2, Mendes and Munoz

WHO DESERVED THEIR 2010 HYPE AND DELIVERED 2011 BEAT DOWNS



On the horn:
Johnny Waugh
LEAD SR WRITER

Chad "Money" Mendes delivering another beatdown.

       Some names may seem like no brainers and others might catch your eye, but all of them did nothing last year that didn't boost their stock in the UFC and in the court of fan perception. Here is your #2 and #3 best UFC fighters of 2011.
#2:   CHAD "MONEY" MENDES

       Coming into 2011, Mendes was 9-0 and just got sucked into the UFC after Zuffa purchased the rights to World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). Mendes fought Javier Vasquez (16-5) at WEC 52, which was one of the final two WEC events, before complete absorption into the UFC.

       Mendes beat Javier Vasquez to move to 10-0 just when Team Alpha Male team mate Urijah Faber moved down to bantamweight at the same WEC 52 event.

       This meant that Mendes had no other team mate in his way to get to the number one contender position and he took full advantage of the opportunity last year.

       Mendes made his UFC debut at UFC 126 against Michihiro Omigawa (13-10-1) who was on a five fight winning streak himself coming in their fight on February 5, 2011.

(CONTINUED)...  #3 included

TOP FIVE FIGHTERS OF 2011, #1 JON JONES

UFC 125-UFC 141: WHO WAS THE BEST?


On the horn:
Johnny Waugh
LEAD SR WRITER

Jon Jones (left) kicking Ryan Bader (right) at UFC 126

       After discussing the fighters that didn't live up to the hype in 2011, now I will offer you the top UFC fighter that did everything he had to do to conquer his division and the MMA world entirely.

       We will also finish out the top five fighters of 2011 that bested the competition hands down in the next article. One man finished above all the rest in the fight business at a speed and learning curve that has never be accomplished before and may not be duplicated for some time to come.

       He is more than worthy of an article solely discussing his transformation from "contender" to "Unbeatable".

IT'S TIME!!!. . . . ONE FIGHTER. . .  IN THE U.F.C. . . THAT SURPASSED THE REST BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS IN 2011!!

#1:   JON JONES

       Yes you may be saying that Jones is the obvious pick, which is exactly why he is number one on the list.

       Jones (15-1) went from light heavyweight contender in January of 2011 to the two time defending UFC light heavyweight champion of the world by December.

       First Jones beat a previously unbeaten Ryan Bader (now 12-2) who had just beaten Antonio Nogueira (20-5) before facing Jones and was hyped as a potential contender for the belt.

       Jones dispatched the Bader machine by guillotine choke in the second round of their UFC 126 bout.

       After wards Jones was offered the chance to fight Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 128 just one month later as the replacement for Rashad Evans.

      Jones accepted and proceeded to dismantle Rua (20-6) by TKO in the third round of a bout that never saw Jones even come close to danger.

       Jones, now the youngest UFC champion of all time, decided to fight Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (32-9) in September of last year at UFC 135.

(CONTINUED)...

UFC 125 - UFC 141, 2011 UFC busts: WHO DIDNT LIVE UP

WHO FELL SHORT OF THEIR HYPE IN 2011




On the horn:
Johnny Waugh
LEAD SR WRITER

WHO IS THIS YEAR'S KIMBO SLICE (BEING KNOCKED OUT)

       This year was a year of UFC that started off with Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard battling for lightweight supremacy at UFC 125 and ended with the biggest heavyweight bout of all UFC time at UFC 141, Lesnar vs Overeem.


       With all the great fights and amazing finishes that happened last year it seems almost too easy to overlook the fighters that we expected much more from in 2011, but failed to produce results.


       Although some of these fighters may have had other things happening in their lives, unknown to the world, which aided in their poor performances, for the sake of this article we are simply looking at their performances under the lights of a UFC banner.


ITS. . . TIME!!!!!!!   5 FIGHTERS. . IN THE U.F.C. . . THAT ARE 2011 BUSTS


#1:   MIRKO CRO COP


       Cro Cop came into the UFC in 2009 at UFC 67 against Eddie Sanchez (13-5), who he was clearly handed to by the UFC in the hopes he would win easily, and has only beaten Anthony Perosh (12-6), Pay Barry (6-4), and Mostapha Al Turk (6-6) during his time in the UFC.


       Cro Cop was 21-4-2 coming into the UFC but finished with a record of 27-10-2 and was 4-6 in the UFC, no where near the hype he had coming into the octagon.

       In 2011, Cro Cop was knocked out twice to run his streak to three straight losses by KO dating back to 2010.

(CONTINUED)...  #2 - #5 included

3 OTHER THINGS FROM UFC 141: VOLKMANN INSULTS OBAMA, AGAIN

EVERYONE KNOWS THE BIG THINGS THAT HAPPENED, NOW THE SMALLER ONES ARE DISCUSSED.


On the horn:
Johnny Waugh
LEAD SR WRITER

Jacob Volkmann post fight at UFC 141

#1: VOLKMANN IS NOT FUNNY, BUT GREAT WRESLTER

       After beating Efrain Escudero (18-4) by unanimous decision, 29-28 on all score cards, Volkmann reflected on his win with Ariel Hawani.

       Jacob Volkmann (14-2) was extremely dominant and kept Escudero from doing anything really effective for two rounds but Escudero was close to choking out Volkmann in the third.

"I looked at the clock and there was a minute and a half left," Volkmann said. "I was like 'Oh my god I have to survive for a minute and a half, but I did."

       The win was the fifth in a row at lightweight for Volkmann, all of which he won by decision.

       The fight wasn't the most interesting to be frank but the post fight interview with Joe Rogan was nothing but awkward to say the least.

       Volkmann called out UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar, after a performance like that it is truly unclear why, and then proceeded to tell Barack Obama that he needed a "glassectomy".

"Obama needs a glassectomy. Ask me what a glassectomy is, Joe,"  Volkmann said.

(CONTINUED)...