MMA Opinion

One minute you're trying to steal a wallet, the next you're getting axe-kicked in the head.

There’s a story going around about Antoni Hardonk (8-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC), one of the leading purveyors of leg kicks that make me cringe, breaking up an armed robbery in downtown LA after robbers pulled a knife on him and subsequently ran away, deciding that taking on the 6′4, 240+ pound K-1 veteran was not such a good idea.

The extent of the beatdown was probably not quite as intense as some of the beatdowns the Dutchman has dished out to previous opponents, but it’s always nice when an professional fighter chooses to prevent a crime instead of committ it (yeah, I’m talking about you, Lee Murray).

Of course, this isn’t the first time an MMA fighter has been a hero in a situation like this. Dennis Hallman (39-12-2-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and Benji Radach (19-5-0-1 MMA, 1-1-0-1 UFC) stopped an armed robbery in a restaraunt back in 2006 in what has proven to be one of the best feel good stories (and general random knowledge tidbits) in MMA.

I will say, though, having met Antoni Hardonk, I would not pull a knife on the guy. I realize that you can’t see skill, but he’s a huge dude in great physical shape with legs the size of tree trunks. You don’t need to be a hardcore fan of combat sports to realize that he’s not a good guy to try and rob.

Kimmons (right) signed a fresh four fight contract with the UFC.

Well, it looks like the UFC middleweight division has another substantial competitor, as Rob “The Rosedale Reaper” Kimmons (22-4-0 MMA, 2-1 UFC) resigns with the organization for four more fights, which will make him a veteran of seven bouts by the time he steps back to the negotiating table (a number that matters when it comes to exposure).

Kimmons posted first round wins over Rob Yundt (6-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) and Joe Vedepo (7-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC). His submission game is definitely substantial, as he tapped out Yundt with a guillotine and put Vedepo to sleep with the standing guillotine. His one loss in the UFC came at the hands of Renzo Gracie student and wrestler Dan Miller (11-2-0-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC).

Whether Kimmons will move into the top tier of the division is debatable. There are certainly a lot of fighters in the weight class with better submission skills, especially the Brazilians in the weight class (Maia, Almeida and Leites jump immediately to mind). That said, if he can keep working in the division and continue to post impressive victories over respectable opponents, he may be able to assure a steady gig for himself while improving his skills to establish himself a respectable, well known fighter.

A big shot from Carwin left Gonzaga out stiff.

I’ve heard discussion about this matchup for a while, and MMAJunkie has started to assert that it is in the works for a potential UFC 104 bout, at the Staples Center, it’s definitely worth readdressing in a more direct way.

Cain Velasquez (6-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is a great young prospect. With a Division I collegiate wrestling background, the two time All American from Arizona State University (a campus which has produced a lot of great MMA fighters) is certainly coming up in the world. With a win over well respected gatekeeper Cheick Kongo (14-5-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC) the 26 year old Californian is concerned a dark horse in the race for a future UFC title belt.

Still, when all of that is said, the one fighter Cain should be worried about is Shane Carwin (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC, #8 IWMMAR). There is a worst case scenario that every fighter has to think about: what if the guy does everything that you do, only better? Shane Carwin is Cain Velasquez’s worst case scenario.

This is another undefeated fighter with almost twice as many wins, but that’s not the problem here. The problem for Cain is going to be skill sets.

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I will be conducting an interview with UFC lightweight contender Frankie “The Answer” Edgar sometime within the next week. If any of you have any questions you would like me to ask Edgar please let me know. He is coming off a decisive victory over Sean Sherk at UFC 98 and is at the top of the lightweight contender’s list.

Costa Rica has a lot of mysteries. Why do people pay good money to have their luggage wrapped in Saran wrap? How can a country exist without an army? Why are the streets so narrow that two cars can’t fit without driving in the middle of the street and negotiating for space if another car shows up? (Driving around huge potholes makes this even more challenging.) Why do five zillion people swarm you at the airport insisting that you need a taxi and refusing to go away?  Why are there so many amazing varieties of strange fruit? Why do people in the stores constantly try to give Americans incorrect change? And why is it that a country where you can’t get things I’ve come to think of as necessities (such as coconut oil and bubblegum) just so happens to have an 8-man lightweight tournament on the exact same weekend that I happen to be there?

It was almost too good to be true. A friend sent me the link to Fite Nite’s Sin Limites. Read the rest of this entry »

For those of you who aren’t familiar with me my name is Bryan Levick and I have been writing about mixed martial arts for a little over a year now. I first started posting on the CBS.com boards when they were pretty much the only major website that had any MMA news on it. From there a bunch of us who met on the board moved over to FightTicker.com. After awhile I became a blogger and turned that into a prime gig on Five Ounces of Pain. I have been friends with Josh, Curtis, Brandt & Garrett for a long time now so it was only natural that I made my way over to MMA Opinion. You will see news, interviews and opinionated articles from me a lot from here on in.

One thing I like to do is go over the previous day’s news and write a brief synopsis on it. It will be brief but it will be thorough and I really hope you enjoy it. Read the rest of this entry »

Rampage Jackson currently filming his second tour of duty as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter took time out of his day to tell MMA fans about his next bout.

According to an interview he did recently with Fighter’s Only Magazine Jackson claims the fight will take place in December in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.

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Many MMA fans may not remember Jorge Santiago’s stint with the UFC. Although he was successful in his debut with the organization defeating Justin Levens via KO in the first round the American Top Team fighter would go on to lose his next two bouts and was shown the door. As they say when one door closes another one opens and it could not be any more truer than it is in the case of Santiago’s. Since leaving the UFC Santiago has railed off nine straight wins and captured both the Strikeforce and World Victory Road middleweight grand prix’s.

With an outstanding record of 21-7 the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has won all but one of wins by either knockout or tapout. With highlight reel knockouts including a flying knee that put Sean Salmon to sleep in the Strikeforce tournament “Four Men Enter, One Man Survives”, Santiago will face his toughest opponent on August 1st when he takes on Vitor Belfort at Affliction III. I recently conducted an interview with Santiago and we covered his past, his present and his very bright future.

Bryan Levick: How is your training going for the Belfort bout?

Read the rest of this entry »

With UFC 100 just around the corner the organization has announced that they will hold the fighter weigh-ins at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Friday July 10th. The weigh-ins are free and open to the public. The doors will open at 3pm with the first fighter expected to hit the scales at 4pm.

UFC 100 will feature two championship bouts with the first being a rematch between interim heavyweight champion Frank Mir taking on UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. Mir was victorious in their first fight at UFC 81 submitting Lesnar in the first round. Georges St. Pierre will face his toughest test yet as he faces off with Brazilian Thiago Alves for the UFC welterweight championship.

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The WEC will look to capitalize on the booming success that the UFC has had in Ohio when it brings its brand of mixed martial arts to Youngstown Ohio on September 2nd.

According to Vindy.comthe Covelli Centre will host WEC 43.

Youngstown is the hometown of middleweight boxing kingpin Kelly Pavlik and has been looking to bring in the UFC for the longest time according to Eric Ryan who is the centre’s executive director.

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You really thought the champ would retire at the age of 24?

Check your sources, people!

Anyone who thinks wrestlers make for boring fights has never seen CB Dollaway. Explosive and dynamic, CB is the definition of effective aggression in the Octagon. Although he is an All American wrestler, the majority of Dollaway’s wins have come by way of knockout.  I caught up with him at Arizona Combat Sports to discuss his upcoming fight, and he was all business– focused as ever.

CB is coming off of two 1st round wins against skilled opponents in the UFC and is scheduled to fight Tom Lawlor at UFC 100 on July 11th. So here we’ve got a future elite level fighter, certainly one of my favorites, scheduled to fight a guy who is best known for pissing on his own fruit salad. “I don’t think he’s the best fighter I’ve fought so far,” CB said, “but I think he’s definitely up there somewhere. He’s a 3-time NWCA National Champion wrestler, so he’s got some skills. We should match up well.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Hoosier state will begin regulating the sport of mixed martial arts today, as legislation goes into effect that allows the Indiana Athletic Commission (which I almost called the Indiana State Boxing Commission; thanks to MMAJunkie for giving me a heads up about the change of name) to regulate the sport.

With Chris Lytle (27-17-5 MMA, 6-9 UFC) looking to run for some form of political office in the state, it’s nice that he has a career (besides firefighting) in something that’s legal. Of course, Indiana isn’t a huge addition to MMA regulation, which seems to be sweeping across the country as fast as ever, and should be legal in all fifty states in the next few years (a prediction I this is realistic, not simply a note of cautious optimism).

It’s nice to add the state to the list of those now legalizing the sport, and to continue to grow the ranks of those who support legalization of mixed martial arts in all fifty states. In some places the battle is harder than others, but it does look like it’s going well.

Josh Stein recently posted on the future of the sport (here).  His article talked about the guys who have yet to suffer defeat.  One that was not on that list is Mackens Semerzier.  You may not have heard about him, but you soon will.

Mackens’ has a record of 4-0 so far in his pro career.  He hasn’t came close to losing.  Mack hasn’t even gone the distance yet.  Semerzier is said to be the next big thing to come out of the local area since TUF Alum Antwain Britt.  He has an incredible ground game, solid stand up skills, and is said to be able to take a punch (but we haven’t seen him take a real shot yet).

In the future we will have more about Mackens, but for now check out the video of his latest fight at the Elite Fighting Challenge in Norfolk Va last weekend.

Here is a link to the video…