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UFC 86 Classic Slugfest: Forrest Griffin Beats Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson

Posted: Jul 5th 2008 11:59 PM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Breaking News, The Word, UFC

UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson lost his title to Forrest Griffin by unanimous decision in one of the all-time great fights in UFC history tonight at UFC 86 in Las Vegas.

It was a classic slugfest in which both fighters gave out and received punishment. Rampage got off to a tremendous start in the first round with a brutal uppercut, while Griffin dominated the second. On my scorecard Rampage got the better of the last three rounds and won the fight, but all three judges disagreed with me.

The key to the fight was the way Griffin hurt Rampage's knee with a big leg kick in the second round. That hindered Rampage the rest of the night.

UFC 86: What You Need to Know to Fight Rampage Jackson

Posted: Jul 4th 2008 7:00 AM ET by Rami Genauer (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Featured Stories, The Word, MMA, UFC

9 COMMENTS

The following guest post was written by Rami Genauer, contributor at FightMetric.

Let's say you wake up one day and find yourself standing across the Octagon from Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. And it's not the jovial, wise-cracking Rampage either; it's the sneering, howling, intense Rampage who is ready to slam you into next Tuesday. Assuming that running away is not an option, what do you do?

To figure out what you'd be facing, FightMetric tracked all 20 of Rampage's fights in Pride and the UFC (and that one WFA show no one likes to talk about). Making some observations based on the statistical record, below are some things you might want to keep in mind. Forrest Griffin ought to study up before Saturday night's UFC light heavyweight title fight.

Be careful relying on the clinch

Many people have watched Rampage fall prey to the Muay Thai clinch of Wanderlei Silva and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and figured that the clinch is where Rampage's game is weakest. That would be a big mistake.

Statistically, the clinch is actually the strongest part of Rampage's game.

EliteXC: Kimbo Slice KOs James Thompson

Posted: May 31st 2008 11:43 PM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Breaking News, The Word, MMA/Boxing, Elite XC

33 COMMENTS

Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson stopped James Thompson in the third round to conclude the first mixed martial arts show on prime time network television in American history.

Slice, who until tonight was best known for fighting on YouTube, showed more skill as an MMA fighter -- not just a brawler -- than anyone expected, and the mere fact that it went past the first round was an upset.

But the fight was not without controversy: In the third round, referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight while Slice was battering Thompson's bloodied left ear; CBS announcer Gus Johnson thought the stoppage was premature and I think Johnson was probably right.

Sorry, Robin Leach: Tito Ortiz, Jenna Jameson and Dana White Story Too Good to Be True

Posted: May 27th 2008 5:01 PM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Featured Stories, The Word, UFC, MMA Media Watch, MMA Gossip

4 COMMENTS

I don't know where former Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous host Robin Leach gets the information for his blog, but I wish he'd stop. He's going to give responsible bloggers a bad name.

Leach breathlessly reports on the spat that took place among UFC fighter Tito Ortiz, his girlfriend Jenna Jameson, and UFC President Dana White at the post-UFC 84 press conference Saturday night. Except that Leach wasn't there, and he gets his information wrong.

I was there, and I wouldn't really care that Leach gets his information wrong, but when responsible media outlets like the Los Angeles Times then repeat that information, I feel the need to offer a correction.

UFC 84: At Octagonside, the Sights Are Impressive and the Sounds Even Better

Posted: May 25th 2008 9:21 AM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Featured Stories, The Word, MMA/Boxing, UFC

4 COMMENTS

Notes on a trip to Las Vegas.

I had a seat about 10 feet from the Octagon for Saturday night's UFC 84 show, and what I'll take away from it, more than anything else, is the sound. Punches land to faces with thuds. Kicks land to sides with thwacks. The Octagon itself turns into a drum when a fighter is slammed to the canvas.

I'll also remember the sheer noise of it all: The fighters' entrance music, the music played between fights, the introductions and the post-fight interviews were all pumped into the MGM Grand Garden Arena at earsplitting decibels. At 31, I must be older than the target UFC demographic, because I spent much of the night thinking the music was too loud. The guy next to me in press row wore earplugs.

My own reactions to the sounds aside, UFC 84 was terrific night of fights. A few other thoughts are below.

UFC 84 Video: Jenna Jameson on Tito Ortiz

Posted: May 25th 2008 1:59 AM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: The Word, MMA/Boxing, UFC, MMA Videos, FanHouse Interview

3 COMMENTS

Notes on a trip to Las Vegas.

After her boyfriend, Tito Ortiz, lost in UFC 84, Jenna Jameson talked to me about her thoughts on the fight:

Video link / Watch on YouTube

Jameson said she was pleased that the fans supported Ortiz, that she thinks Ortiz will be the star of another MMA organization now that he's leaving UFC, and that she feels both scared and proud when she watches him fight.

UFC 84 Preview and Predictions

Posted: May 21st 2008 8:55 PM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Fighting, Featured Stories, The Word, MMA, MMA/Boxing

2 COMMENTS

Saturday night's UFC 84 begins what might be the best stretch of three straight weekends that American MMA fans have ever had. It's a great card in Vegas on Saturday night, and it comes just a week before EliteXC and World Extreme Cagefighting both have the biggest events in their histories, and two weeks before yet another major event, UFC 85. It's a good time to be an MMA fan.

Here are the details for Saturday night's action:

What: UFC 84: Ill Will

Who: In addition to the B.J. Penn-Sean Sherk main event for the UFC lightweight title, four light heavyweight fights are part of the televised undercard: Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto Machida, Wanderlei Silva vs. Keith Jardine, Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Mendes and Wilson Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic.

When: Saturday, 10 p.m. ET

Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas

How: Pay-per-view, $44.95 ($54.95 in HD), or just follow along with Josh Alper's FanHouse live blog and my coverage live from Octagonside.

Predictions after the jump.

Chuck Liddell Injured and Out of UFC 85

Posted: Apr 21st 2008 10:54 PM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Fighting, Breaking News, The Word, MMA, MMA/Boxing

11 COMMENTS

UPDATED: UFC star Chuck Liddell is injured and will not be able to participate in UFC 85 on June 7 in London. The news was first reported by MMARated.com and has since been confirmed on UFC's official web site.

Liddell's inability to fight is a major blow to UFC. There's no other fighter they could put in the main event against Rashad Evans and still justify selling the fairly weak UFC 85 card. The UFC 85 main event has already been changed once, as Liddell was previously slated to fight Mauricio "Shogun" Rua before Rua pulled out with an injury. From UFC.com:

"Unfortunately, Chuck Liddell tore his right hamstring during training last week, and being the warrior that he is, he still wanted to fight, which is the reason why everyone in the world loves him," said Dana White, UFC President. "But I wouldn't let anyone fight with his leg looking that way. Let him heal and come back and fight when he is 100 percent."

White vows that he will add more fights to the UFC 85 card and that the show will go on in London.

Latest UFC Photos

Choi Hong-man (L), a mixed martial arts fighter, arrives at an army training camp for recruits in Wonju, about 80 km (50 miles) east of Seoul, April 21, 2008. Former traditional Korean wrestling champion Choi, now a K1 fighter in Japan, entered the training camp for his mandatory military service, local media reported. REUTERS/Lee Sang-hak/Yonhap (SOUTH KOREA). NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES. SOUTH KOREA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN SOUTH KOREA.

Reuters

Choi Hong-man, a mixed martial arts fighter, waves to the media upon arrival at an army training camp for recruits in Wonju, about 80 km (50 miles) east of Seoul, April 21, 2008. Former traditional Korean wrestling champion Choi, now a K1 fighter in Japan, entered the training camp for his mandatory military service, local media reported. REUTERS/Lee Sang-hak/Yonhap (SOUTH KOREA). NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES. SOUTH KOREA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN SOUTH KOREA.

Reuters

Georges St-Pierre, from Montreal, celebrates after defeating Matt Serra, from Long Island, NY, during their Ultimate Fight Championships Welterweight title fight in Montreal, Saturday April 19, 2008. St-Pierre won the match with a second round TKO. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)

** EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT ** Mark Bocek, of Canada, takes a right from Mac Danzig, from Cleveland, during their lightweight Ultimate Fight Championships middleweight fight in Montreal, Saturday April 19, 2008. Danzig won the fight on a third round tap-out. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)

Ultimate fighter Matt Serra gestures at the weigh-in on Friday, April 18, 2008, in Montreal. Serra will fight Georges St. Pierre on Saturday at UFC 83. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Peter McCabe)

Ultimate fighters Mac Danzig, left, and Mark Bocek pose during a weigh-in, Friday, April 18, 2008, in Montreal, for their Saturday UFC 83 ultimate fighting bout. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Peter McCabe)

Ultimate fighter Mark Bocek poses during his weigh-in Friday, April 18, 2008, in Montreal. Bocek will face Mac Danzig on Saturday at UFC 83. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Peter McCabe)

Ultimate fighters Matt Serra, left, and Georges St. Pierre attend a pre-fight news conference in Montreal, Thursday, April 17, 2008. St. Pierre takes on champion Serra for the welterweight title in the main event of UFC 83 on Saturday, in Montreal. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Peter McCabe)

Ultimate Fighting champion and cast member Randy Couture arrives for the premiere of the Sony Pictures Classics film "Redbelt," at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California on April 7, 2008. The film, written and directed by David Mamet, opens in the US on May 9. AFP PHOTO / ROBYN BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

UFC 83: Georges-St. Pierre Beats Matt Serra for Welterweight Championship

Posted: Apr 19th 2008 11:59 PM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Fighting, Breaking News, The Word, MMA, MMA/Boxing

29 COMMENTS

Georges St-Pierre beat Matt Serra for the UFC welterweight title at UFC 83 tonight, thrilling his hometown fans in Montreal with a dominant performance to avenge his knockout loss in 2007.

St-Pierre controlled the fight throughout and won by a second round TKO. Early on he effectively went for takedowns, and as the fight went on he increasingly landed solid strikes. The referee stopped the fight late in the second when they were on the ground and Serra had no answer for St-Pierre's strikes.

Serra entered the Octagon as the champion, although St-Pierre was technically the interim champion because Serra had been out of commission with a back injury. There is now no doubt; St-Pierre is the one and only champion of the welterweight division. Some will also consider him the best fighter in the sport of MMA regardless of weight class.

The crowd was a huge factor in the first UFC card ever in Canada; we noted the crowd as we live blogged both the main event and the undercard.

St-Pierre improves his professional mixed martial arts record to 16-2; Serra falls to 9-5.

UFC 83: Georges St.-Pierre vs. Matt Serra 2 Preview and Predictions

Posted: Apr 15th 2008 7:10 PM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Fighting, Featured Stories, The Word, MMA, MMA/Boxing

8 COMMENTS

Saturday night's UFC 83 is headlined by one of the most anticipated mixed martial arts fights in North American history, as UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra takes on Georges St-Pierre, the man he beat a year ago to take the title belt.

The fight is a big one not just for Serra and St-Pierre, but for UFC itself, which has a lot riding on its first ever show in Canada. Fighting in his home town of Montreal, St-Pierre will be the overwhelming fan favorite for what should be the biggest crowd in UFC history.

Here are the details:

What: UFC 83: Serra vs. St-Pierre 2

Who: In addition to the Serra vs. St-Pierre main event, the televised portion of the undercard features Rich Franklin vs. Travis Lutter, Michael Bisping vs. Charles McCarthy, Mark Bocek vs. Mac Danzig and Kalib Starnes vs. Nate Quarry.

When: Saturday, 10 p.m. ET

Where: Bell Centre, Montreal

How: Pay-per-view, $44.95 ($54.95 in HD), or just follow along with the FanHouse live blog.

Predictions after the jump.