Chris McNally – “This is where I train”
By Erich Vowell on Mar 09, 2010
On a cold early morning in Charleston, South Carolina a successful amateur fighter is doing pull ups on a multi-colored swing set made for children. Chris McNally is sharpening his skills for his upcoming battle at the Charleston Colosium. “This is where I train” McNally says exuberantly. McNally trains in his backyard, to the left he shows me his worn down tractor tire along with a rusty sledgehammer. McNally picks up the crumbling sledgehammer, “I have a tire and sledgehammer just like the other gyms out there.” Next he directs me to his daughters’ swing set, “My daughter doesn’t like it much when I use her swing.” McNally laughs, it’s clear he is blessed to train in his backyard rather than a large facility away from his family.
McNally celebrates after a win
McNally then ecorts me to the garage. The room is covered in faded blue mats. “I went around asking folks if they could let me have some old mats they didn’t need.” McNally continues, “As you can see I converted my garage into a mat room.” McNally gazes proudly at his gym. As McNally is showing me all his training tools, it feels like I am walking through an elegant museum looking at priceless objects. “I got all his DVD’s!” McNally gingerly hands me a “Boxing for MMA” DVD by Anderson Silva. In the very back of McNally’s training facility he has a TV and DVD player set up so he can practice the techniques he learns from the instructional DVD’s. McNally point to an old taped up Thai bag in the corner of his garage. “I’m getting much better.”
Miguel Torres realizes that he will never be a model
By Brandt DeLorenzo on Mar 08, 2010
Those were his words when he posted this image of himself after his WEC 47 fight. Ouch!
WEC 47 Results
By Josh Stein on Mar 06, 2010
Main Card
Dominick Cruz def. Brian Bowles by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) @ 5:00 of Round 2.
Jose Benavides def. Miguel Torres by Submission (Guillotine Choke) @ 2:57 of Round 2.
Javier Vasquez def. Jens Pulver by Submission (Armbar) @ 3:41 of Round 1.
L.C. Davis def. Deividas Taurosevicius by Majority Decision
Bart Palaszewski def. Karen Darabedyan by Submission (Armbar) @ 4:40 of Round 1.
Undercard
Scott Jorgensen def. Chad George by Submission (Guillotine Choke) @ 0:31 of Round 1.
Fredson Paixao def. Courtney Buck by Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) @ 2:39 of Round 1.
Ricardo Lamas def. Bendy Casmir by KO @ 3:43 of Round 1.
George Roop and Leonard Garcia Draw. (29-27, 28-28, 27-29)
Anthony Pettis def. Danny Castillo KO @ 2:17 of Round 1.
Chad Mendes def. Eric Koch by Unanimous Decision.
The Argument for James Toney
By Josh Stein on Mar 04, 2010
Don't let Toney's mouth distract from the fact that he'll be one of the UFC heavyweight division's best strikers.
Well, the UFC has signed James Toney (0-0 MMA, 72-6-3-2 Boxing) and the contention over whether or not he’s a legit force in MMA is going to start. The opposition to Toney has already spoken. I have to say, I was skeptical of the UFC signing him at first, but I’m going to change my tune a little bit (for a minute). Part of that is to play Devil’s Advocate (which is always fun) and part of that is because I think Toney is good for the UFC, and the UFC could do a lot worse.
Toney is a top forty boxer, and is a pretty competitive fighter, even as old as he’s getting. There’s definitely something to be said for the athletic credibility of any world class athlete who steps in to the cage. Of course, that’s not an argument that has ever convinced me, and it shouldn’t convince you. It doesn’t mean much when someone comes from another sport, especially if it’s not a combat sport. But Toney is a little different than Herschel Walker (1-0 MMA), if for no other reason than that the guy (while not in his prime) is still competing periodically and seems to be in pretty good shape. Of course, he’s not in the shape that he was when he TKO’d Evander Holyfield, but his conditioning is solid as an athlete.
What’s more, there are plenty of fighters in the UFC heavyweight division that Toney can, for lack of a better term, kick the ever-loving crap out of. When a fighter like Kimbo Slice comes into the UFC, there can be speculation that the guy is the worst fighter in the division. That can’t be said for Toney, and I think we’ll see that in his first UFC fight, both in the hype leading up to it and once he steps into the cage.
Kamal Shalorus Not Cleared for WEC 48
By Josh Stein on Mar 04, 2010
WEC 48 is going to lose the lightweight bout between former WEC champion Jamie Varner (16-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and undefeated up-and-comer Kamal Shalorus (6-0-1 MMA). Shalorus was not cleared as a result of a few lingering injuries, according to a report by MMAJunkie.
Shalorus was looking to make this third WEC fight, after a Unanimous Decision win over M-1 veteran and previously undefeated David Jansen (14-1 MMA) back in January. A win over a former title holder like Varner would put Shalorus in title contention.
Speculation suggests that Varner will be dropped from the card altogether, meaning that he will likely fight Shalorus at a later date, once Shalorus’ injuries are no longer prevent him from competing.
The UFC signs James Toney…really?
By Brandt DeLorenzo on Mar 04, 2010
James Toney
Not long after Dana White blasted an extremely athletic Herschel Walker for fighting in Strikeforce by stating that Walker would “would be the first death in the UFC“, he signed stalkerish, overweight, and washed-up boxer James Toney to a multi-fight deal in the UFC.
Herschel Walker
Which is better? An active ex-football standout who still looks to be in better shape than most UFC heavyweight fighters (and already won his MMA debut) or an aging boxer-turner-stalker who wouldn’t leave White alone at UFC 108?
Granted looks aren’t everything (the perfect example is Fedor Emelianenko), but blasting Walker after he won his fight only to sign someone who has yet to seriously train for anything except punching is just embarrassing.
No, signing someone who hasn’t seriously trained isn’t a freakshow. Nope, not at all. Let’s just keep saying this over and over about James Toney (but not Walker, even though he has been training) so we believe it, right? Why was Kimbo Slice forced to go through The Ultimate Fighter before being signed? He’s in much shape, physically (and probably mentally, based on his statements about still wanting to learn and train to get better and better) and has trained with world renowned fighter and trainer, Bas Rutten.
Chael Sonnen, Please Stop Talking
By Josh Stein on Mar 02, 2010
For the most part, I like Chael Sonnen (25-10-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC, #3 IWMMAR). He’s a nice guy, very fan-friendly and very charismatic. He trains with a great camp and has a good mind for MMA. But as he waits for a title shot, he should really, really stop talking.
In announcing (again) that he’s going to get a fight against the winner of Anderson Silva (25-4 MMA, 10-0 UFC, #1/#5 IWMMAR) and Demian Maia (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC, #6 IWMMAR) at UFC 112, Chael let this sound-bite out.
You hit it on the head, nobody has come close. [Anderson has] never fought a wrestler and I don’t just mean he’s never beat a wrestler, he’s never fought one. Not in the small shows, not in the big shows. Not ever has he locked up with a wrestler.
Someone should tell Dan Henderson (25-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC, #2/#9 IWMMAR) because either he’s not a wrestler or he didn’t fight Anderson Silva.
The Depressing Schedule of Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia
By Josh Stein on Mar 01, 2010
For those who haven’t been following the recent freakshow fights discussed by the generally respectable Monte Cox as potential bouts for former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia (25-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC), there’s been more movement recently. While Sylvia’s bout with UFC washout Wes Sims (22-13-1-2 MMA, 0-3 UFC) has been moved to Canada from Ohio, there has been some discussion of Sylvia appearing on the Dream 13 card at the end of March. The word seems to be that Sylvia refused a fight with fellow recovering steroid abuser and former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett (24-5 MMA, 4-1 UFC).
It’s not surprising that Sylvia would avoid a fight with Barnett. He hasn’t beaten a top tier heavyweight in a long time and even with Barnett’s recent bust for illegal substances, he’s still a huge step up in competition compared to what Tim’s looking for right now.
That puts Sylvia in a position to end up fighting three times over the course of the next three months: an unknown opponent in Dream, Sims in Canada, and strongman Mariusz Pudzianowski (1-0 MMA) in what would be the five-time World’s Strongest Man winner’s U.S. debut, and a superheavyweight match. Pudzianowski weighs about 320 pounds and, frankly, is a complete freak of nature and unknown commodity in the world of MMA. While his technique looked spotty in his MMA debut, his power is pretty impressive. Unless Tim really kills Sims and whoever he ends up fighting in Japan, I may end up picking the Polish powerhouse over the former UFC heavyweight champion.
Food Fight: Homemade Chocolate
By Yael Grauer on Mar 01, 2010
After grossing everybody out with tales of chicken feet last week (and gettings a fair amount of messages from people who, say, grilled it in the Phillipines or ate it in aspics in Israel or wanted to point me to the wikipedia page), I’ve decided to try to redeem myself to the naysayers by sweetening the pot.
I know very few people who aren’t in love with chocolate, and luckily if you get a bar with a high percentage of cocoa (85% or more), it’s actually somewhat healthy… especially when compared to things like Snickers bars.
But even healthier is making your own chocolate out of the best available ingredients. I like combining about a half cup of raw cacao powder (I buy the nibs and grind them myself for a teeny bit of crunch), a quarter cup of extra virgin coconut oil and maybe three tablespoons of raw honey. You can, of course, add lucama powder, maca powder, nuts and seeds or even berries. Maca is grounding and helps temper the caffeine buzz, and lucama acts as a natural sweetener. Chili powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cherries–whatever you like in your chocolate, just mix it right in, adding more oil as needed. Be creative! (Using powders also helps you save your cacao powder, which isn’t always cheap.) Then use as a sauce, or refrigerate it and cut it into squares.
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