Helio Gracie, the man who invented Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (bjj), died today in Brazil. He was 95 years old.  With bjj, he made vale tudo (MMA with no gloves) popular in Brazil.  Today, it’s a widely known sport in the country.  His son, Rorion, is credited for establishing UFC (how I became an MMA fan).  His other son, Royce, became a champion in the UFC.  Without Helio, there’d be no BJ Penn, Fedor or Anderson Silva.  It’s a sad day in the MMA world.  He was a legend in the sport and we’ll miss him.…

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The main event: Fedor vs. Arlovski

Affliction: Day of Reckoning, was a pretty exciting event. Mongoose and I bought nosebleed seats for $50 a pop.  We arrive at the Honda Center at around 4:00 pm. John Spartan called us and told us that he’s also coming down, we told him to buy the $50 ticket and we’d meet up inside.  Going in, I was excited and nervous because I knew  that Andrei Arlovski had a good chance of knocking out Fedor.…

Affliction will have their second show this coming Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim. You’ve never heard of it? I’m not surprised because to put it nicely, their marketing sucks. It’s almost non-existent. Many of their fighters are UFC rejects, but they have fighters that can sell tickets if they market them the right way, fighters like Fedor Emelianenko. He is ranked by many experts as the the #1 HW in the world. Nobody knows who he is because Affliction is not marketing him properly. Last I heard, Affliction sold less than 2,000 tickets 2 weeks ago. That’s bad news …

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Nerdsociety was able to get press passes for a local MMA show called Long Beach Fight Night. I went  as the main photographer. I brought with me 2 cameras, a DSLR and a 35mm SLR. I used the DSLR for the most part, but switched to my film camera when i got the chance. I used a 3200 ISO film for the low-light conditions, which means that I’m able to shoot without using flash. The trade-off are the grains. If you look closely to the shots below, you’ll notice tons of grains. Most people hate the grains, but I like it …

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If you guys haven’t already read part 1 of the interview,  make sure to read it as Enson discusses Pride FC’s backstage politics; saving somebody from a severe beating; his fighting philosophy, and more.  In this second and final part of the interview, Enson discusses a wide variety of topics including his thoughts on Japanese MMA phenom, Shinya Aoki; Enson’s upcoming book release, and his recent legal trouble.…

Enson Inoue has some impressive accomplishments, such as being the 1st Heavyweight World Shooto Champion and submitting UFC legend Randy Couture. However, he will always be remembered for his warrior spirit. Win or lose, Enson never gives up. It’s been five years since his last match but MMA fans still remember him like he just fought yesterday.

Today, Enson trains fighters in Japan, has several schools around the world and a clothing line at Pure Bred USA. We were fortunate enough to catch up with Enson and discussed topics ranging from MMA to music. In this first part of the …

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Coleman accidentally breaks Shogun’s arm. The rematch is on for UFC 93.

UFC 93 will air this Saturday, Jan. 14th at 3PM Eastern, live on PPV.  Tape delay also available at 10PM Eastern.

Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson
– At 205, Franklin will be way bigger than Henderson. With that said, I think that Henderson will win via KO. He’s pretty upset by the way he lost to Anderson Silva. He’s probably training like an animal, and will come out with a victory. Franklin has lost his fire ever since he got demolished by Anderson Silva, twice.
Prediction: Henderson via KO.…

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Even though I’ve been an MMA fan since the early UFC’s, I’ve never been to local show. All the MMA events I’ve attended consisted of K-1, Pride and UFC events. I found out about Long Beach Fight Night through a friend and decided to check it out. I was surprised about the great production value for a “small” show: the ring was well lit, fights continued smoothly throughout the night and everyone had a good view of the ring. What’s even more surprising was the amount of people that showed up.…

 

Wow, what an event! Most of the fighters I was rooting for lost, and a new light-heavyweight champion was crowned. I will only write about the 3 fights that were significant to the rankings of the UFC.

Let’s start with the Wanderlei Silva fight. He fought Quenton “Rampage” Jackson for the third time. Silva knocked Jackson out twice before, but not this time. Jackson had other plans, it was called the left hook. The massive left hook from Jackson took Silva out late in the first round. Silva flopped backwards, and Jackson delivered 3 more blows before the referee stepped in. …

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Here comes another big event for the UFC. It showcases some new talent and the 3rd rematch between Jackson and Silva. So, here are my predictions.

Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans – This one is hard to call. Both fighters came from the Ultimate Fighter show, and now they’re fighting for the belt. Evans is a solid fighter, but never been tested until he defeated the former champ in Chuck Liddell. Griffin has more fights against experienced fighters under his belt, like his wins against Shogun Rua and Quentin “Rampage” Jackson. I pick Griffin to win this due to experience and …

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