In his second fight in just over a month, Frank Trigg dominated tough veteran Falaniko Vitale wire to wire en route to a unanimous decision victory at Strikeforce: Payback. Trigg looked very sharp in easily handling Makoto Takimoto in Tokyo at Sengoku 4 on August 28th, and his victory here was every bit as impressive. Aside from a 2nd round takedown, Vitale mustered precious little offense and spent most of the fight trying to counter Triggs sharp striking and takedown attempts.

In the co-main event, Duane Bang Ludwig earned an explosive TKO win over Sam Morgan. After an evenly contested first minute, Ludwig quickly took control with a series of Muay Thai knee strikes which set up a perfectly placed bodyshot to the liver that floored his opponent. Ludwig quickly pressed his advantage and never gave Morgan a chance to recover.

In perhaps the most entertaining bout on the card, highly touted Billy Evangelista survived his second big scare in as many fights to remain undefeated. After a split decision victory over Nam Phan in June, Evangelista found himself in grave danger of a TKO loss early in his bout with tough veteran Luke Caudillo. Caudillo”who goes by the nickname Lil Hulk”opened the fight with a flurry, knocking Evangelista to the canvas three times in the opening minute. Via some combination of wits and toughness, Evangelista managed to survive the barrage and began to take over the fight late in the round with his superior technical striking.

As the rest of the fight unfolded, Caudillo made the mistake of becoming a headhunter looking for a KO punch which allowed Evangelista to take over the fight. Evangelista continued to score with crisp combinations and as the bout progressed demonstrated his superior conditioning”a major factor at the high altitude of the Broomfield, Colorado fight venue. Evangelista would eventually earn a unanimous decision victory though the 30-27 score awarded by one judge was questionable considering that he spent the first half of round one being bounced around the cage like a beach ball.

A highly anticipated womens match took place early in the evening, with former Hooters waitress Michelle The Karate Hottie Watterson easily defeating an overmatched opponent in Tyra Parker. Parker, whod lost her pro debut six weeks ago, may have been rushed back into action too quickly but she came out fighting gamely swinging for the fences with wild, powerful punch attempts. Watterson easily figured out her opponent, however, and The Karate Hottie quickly took over with her more disciplined striking approach. The dnouement came when Watterson landed several big knees from the clinch, took her opponents back and locked in a rear naked choke for the tapout win.

The event marked Strikeforces first visit to Colorado, and another in a series of very entertaining fight cards. Scott Coker and his team deserve a lot of credit for their matchmaking”even in the lower card fights they have a knack for putting together bouts that more often than not are exciting and competitive. Strikeforce is a well managed, first rate promotion that is definitely going places.

Ross Everett is a widely published writer specializing in mixed martial arts, judo, soccer betting, falconry and fantasy role playing games. He is a well known expert on sports betting and has made countless TV and radio appearances. He lives in Las Vegas with his Asian houseboy, three Jack Russell Terriers and a retired racing wombat.

Fedor Emelianenko will make his debut for the Strikeforce MMA promotion this fall, facing undefeated prospect Brett Grim Rogers. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker made the announcement at a Showtime promoted Fedor open workout in New York City. The promotion has yet to announce a date or a venue, though the event is expected to take place in November with San Jose or Fresno being likely locations given their strong support of previous Strikeforce events.

Fedor is considered by most experts to be the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world, if not the best of all time. He snubbed the UFC following Afflictions exit from the MMA promotion business, choosing to sign with the up-and-coming Strikeforce promotion.

After signing with Strikeforce, Fedor gave his usual low key comment:

I am looking forward to going back to work and fighting at the highest level. STRIKEFORCE is a top fight promotion that houses some of the greatest fighters in the world. I am prepared to fight any of them.

Emelianenkos manager, Vadim Finkelchtein commented:

I am very happy and excited about the upcoming collaboration with Strikeforce. We are very pleased that we found a reliable partner and I feel that Strikeforce and M-1 can support each other on many things. This will create big opportunities for both parties to test their fighters against worthy opponents.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker shared his excitement:

We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to work with M-1 Global and Fedor. Fedor has been the reigning king of MMAs heavyweight division for quite some time now so being able to work with M-1 and Fedor will substantially increase the level of competition amongst the athletes in this weight class.

Fedor will put his 26 fight winning streak on the line against Brett Grim Rogers, who himself will enter the fray with an unblemished 10-0 record. His stock shot up precipitously following a first round knockout of former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski in his last fight, and now he takes an even bigger step up in class against The Last Emperor.

Fedor vs. Rogers Strikeforce betting lines have not been posted as of yet, but the Russian fighting god will clearly by a huge favorite.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

One of the stranger sports stories of the past is that of Rick Ankiel. Ankiel became a vital cog in the starting rotation of the 2000 St. Louis Cardinals and as a lefthanded pitcher possessing both velocity and wicked breaking stuff his upside was unlimited. As the playoffs began, injuries had decimated the Cards starting rotation forcing Tony LaRussa to use Ankiel as the game 1 starter against the Atlanta Braves and their ace, Greg Maddux. In the course of an inning, it all fell apart for Rick Ankiels career as a starting pitcher. In the third inning of game one, working with a 6-0 lead, Ankiel allowed 2 hits, 4 walks and 5 wild pitches before being pulled with two outs. Initially, he wrote it off as a bad outing until history quickly repeated itself in game 2 of the NLCS against the NY Mets. He threw only 20 pitches in that game, 5 of which went past catcher Eli Marrero. For the next several years he tried to fix the control problems that suddenly manifest themselves on baseballs biggest stage but was unable to do so. Compounding the frustration of Ankiel and his team was the fact that his control problems werent physical or mechanical, but strictly psychological.

Andrei Arlovski has experienced the opposite problem”after starting his career as the Belarusian wildman who devastated opponents with his aggressive, free swinging style and KO power he suddenly gained too *much* control. After trading victories with Tim Sylvia and two short, explosive and exciting bouts, a rubber match was scheduled for UFC 61 and during the fight disaster struck: Arlovski all of a sudden became a tentative and boring fighter. The five rounds looked like a boxing match, only without all of the punching as Sylvia and Arlovski tentatively exchanged jabs. This inevitably benefited Syliva with his freakish reach, and he won the bout by unanimous decision. The real losers were the fans, and Sylvia/Arlovski 3 is quick to be mentioned when talk turns toward the worst championship bouts in the history of MMA.

After a layoff of nearly 6th months, Arlovski returned to the octagon and scored a first round KO of overmatched Marcio Cruz. Another snoozefest ensued at UFC 70, where he decisioned Fabrico Werdum. Arlovskis contract with the UFC was up about this time and Zuffa management quickly made clear that they had no interest in resigning him.

During the past few years many questions have been raised about Arlovskis desire to continue his fighting career and several retirement rumors have made the rounds. The premise underpinning this talk goes like this: Arlovski is more interested in enjoying his newfound fame and wealth after his difficult youth and adolescence in Eastern Europe. Hes got more money than hes ever dreamed of and a nice life in his adopted hometown of Chicago.

Arlovski insists that hes anxious to continue his MMA career and has enlisted the services of one of boxings best trainers, Freddy Roach. Roach has been charged with trying to find a middle ground with Arlovski, somewhere between the wildly reckless style of his early career and the tentative, plodding style of his recent fights. Furthermore, Arlovski has also appeared to have trouble letting his hands go of late and if Roach cant fix these problems no one can. Theres even been talk of Arlovski pursuing a career as a heavyweight boxer which makes a good deal of sense. Arlovskis more tactical striking game would serve him well in the sweet science and the wide open heavyweight division means that he could quickly put himself in a position of a contender.

Baseball fans know that the Rick Ankiel saga has taken a positive turn of late. After giving up his pitching career in 2005, Ankiel transitioned to the outfield and has reached the major leagues *again* at his new position. Maybe this is the type of change that Arlovski needs and one that boxing would afford him. Despite a solid fundamental groundfighting base (Sambo, wrestling and BJJ) Arlovski has never shown much of a desire to take the action to the mat. It could also be the case that MMA has passed him by”dont forget that he entered the sport along with one dimensional fighters like Ricco Rodriguez, Wesley Cabbage Correira and Vladmir Matyushenko. While on paper Arlovski has a well rounded game, for all practical purposes hes a standup specialist. Unlike some of the other fighters that the rapidly changing sport has left behind, Arlovski has the youth and the skill set to transition into boxing where his standup skills would serve him well. It could be that Arlovski still has the heart and desire to fight, but needs to change sports to get back to a championship level of competition.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Being a mixed kung fu skills fighter takes more than talent. You also have to have all the proper MMA gear both for coaching and for competition. The amount of gear you purchase will depend upon what gear is available at the gymnasium and whether you want to train at all at home. Most training gyms will have all of the larger gear you want, for example the grappling dummies and heavy pads. You will have to get the smaller stuff, like your gloves, clothing, head gear and pads. The way in which you select the gear all is dependent on what you want and how cosy they feel on you.

The protective MMA gear that you’re going to need for coaching and competition are gloves, groin protectors and head and mouth guards. These all are necessary for any fighter, with no regard for his talent level. Most of this gear is reasonably self-explanatory when it comes to choosing them. You just go with what fits and feels comfortable. The only one that is different is the gloves. You are going to want separate gloves for training than you’ve got for fighting. The explanation for this is as the coaching gloves generally are bigger in shape than the contest gloves. Having separate pairs will make for better fighting.

For training, you might want to think about using knee and elbow pads. This is optional MMA gear, but it is the best way to protect yourself from injury before you actually get into the ring. You do not want to get hurt in practice because you thought you were too good to wear protective pads. Another optional gear is handwraps. Many people wear these in place of gloves during training because they feel they are more comfortable. Also, it gives them the break to really feel their competitor, which many wrestlers like.

If you are not already net savvy, shopping online for MMA Clothing and Fight Gear can be an overpowering process. Fortuitously though, it does not have to be. I’ve written this guide to assist in easing you thru the process of choosing the right online MMA retailer to shop with the first time, so that your web shopping experience is a good one.

Select an online store with a big choice of product. If you’re like me, you do not need to have to buy at 3 different net stores to find everything that you would like. I really like to pick a major retailer ( or 2 maximum ) and stick with them throughout the buying process.

Let’s accept it for most of us price is something that we need to consider. When shopping on the net, it’s very advantageous to your wallet to be conscious of the price tag as it can ( and actually does ) vary significantly from site to site.

Not all corners of the Net are regarded as equal. When buying online, be sure to read about the retailer on their “about us” page and learn all you can. It may also be useful to look up reviews in the major search engines, and spend some time surfing gear & equipment forums. Spending even only a few mins to analyze can really tell you a lot about a company, and whether you would like to spend your hard earned money with them or not.

in general though, all MMA shorts have two things in common. Do your old gym shorts wick away sweat and moisture? Are they cut to boost your mobility for grappling? Have they got split seams making your striking vis knees and kicks more effective? Are you keen on getting your hands caught in pockets or a baggy pair of shorts while grappling? If you answered “no” to 1 of these questions, then that should be sufficient reason to speculate in a pair.

MMA gear MMA gear MMA gear

So here are 10 interesting facts you may not know about the UFC.

1. Original promoters of the Ultimate Fighting Championship wanted to include such sensational side shows as alligator moats and electric fences surrounding the ring. UFC Doctors of course warned against them due to the dangers the fighters could face.

2. The UFC was founded by Rorian Gracie and Arthur Davie. It was created to promote the Gracie family’s martial arts school. Before the UFC the Gracie’s were known for inviting fighters of any style to compete against a member of the family or one of their students to prove that Gracie jiu-jitsu reigned supreme.

3. Originally Semaphore Entertainment Group, the company that purchased the UFC, was only going to hold one UFC event. The event was so successful they immediately began to plan more tournaments. Good thing it was so successful.

4. With the exception of UFC 9, every UFC up until UFC 18 used the tournament style format. UFC 23 also used this format. Eight fighters would compete to start out the tournament. The four winners would then compete in semi-final matches. The two semi-final winners would compete for the championship belt. If a fighter could not continue at any point an alternate was brought in to take his place.

5. Early on the UFC would hold events in states without athletic commissions to avoid regulations. In the beginning there were no judges either. When judges were added eventually there were no clear parameters on how to judge the fight.

6. For the first couple UFC events, the referees had very little power. They could not even stop a fight. There only purpose was to make sure that the few rules that existed were enforced. The only rules at that time were no biting, fish hooking, eye gouging or throat strikes. Fortunately after the first few events refs were allowed to stop fights.

7. In 2000 SEG and the UFC almost went under. The face that SEG marketed the sport as brutal and bloody almost led to the UFC’s demise. Luckily an amateur boxer and promoter named Dana White convinced the Fertitta brothers to buy the failing organization. The UFC has since flourished to unbelievable heights.

8. Dana White managed Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz in the early days of the UFC. He also owned three gyms in the Las Vegas area.

9. After many years of “bad blood” Dana White and Tito Ortiz were going to settle things in the ring with a 3 round boxing match on March 24, 2007. Surprise, surprise the fight never happened as Tito Ortiz was a no show at the weigh ins.

10. In 2006 the UFC generated $222,766,000 in revenue, braking the PPV industry’s all time record for a single year of sales, surpassing wrestling and boxing. The largest events reached nearly 800,000 viewers.

I bet you didn’t know some of those facts!

If you a fan of The Ultimate Fighter show TUF then make sure you check out ufcultimatefighter.com. UFC Ultimate Fighter for MMA Videos and MMA news.

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is a reality based TV program on Spike TV based on mixed martial artists (MMA) fighters trying to win the competition and winning a six figured contract with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

The show consists of a bunch of fighters, usually 16 plus fighters living under the roof with no contact with the outside for a few months. All they do is train and fight for the contract.

As you can imagine, having all those fighters living under one rough with nothing to occupy their time with, things tend to get a little crazy in the house which makes for good viewing,. One thing this show has also been able to do is show that the fighters are not barbaric morons. These fighters tend to be well educated people whose choose this profession for the completion and the big money.

The fighters who win a contract at the end of the season receive a large sum of cash for winning plus a contract of approx guaranteed 4 fights afterward, which gives them the potential to make a lot of money. If they win these fights they tend to continue fighting for the UFC making a very good living.

The tenth season of the Ultimate Fighter (TUF) has just finished and the popularity of the show just keeps increasing in popularity. The UFC Ultimate Fighter looks as though it has no bounds, being that the latest season of the show has blown all previous ratings records clean out of the water.

As if the debut episode of the latest season of the show breaking all previous records and pulling in 4.1million viewers wasn’t enough, yesterday’s episode averaged 5.3 million viewers, peaking at a staggering 6.1million during the actual fight between Kimbo Slice and Roy Nelson.

When UFC president Dana White said that the fight between Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and Roy “Big Country” Nelson was the biggest fight in TUF history, he wasn’t kidding. Only time will tell whether the show can go continue to grow and better itself once more.

The Ultimate Fighter show has been a backbone of the UFC’s huge success over the last few years. The UFC in general is just getting bigger by the day with the organization just booked there first show in Australia in 2011.

If you’re a fan of UFC Ultimate Fighter TUF then check out ufcultimatefighter.com for the MMA news, MMA videos and much much more!

Mixed Martial Arts gladiators circling the octagon, searching for the chance, and, BAM, somebody is punched out. The roaring crowd, the price of the ticket, the cost of good brewski, it is all worth it if you can see a good knock out. What most people don’t realize is that a good knock out, given a little thought and hard work, is actually easy.

Four decades ago, in Kang Duk Won Korean Karate my instructor told me that A tight fist is a heavy fist. Man, that was just what the doctor ordered! Just curl the fingers into iron bands, tie them together with a thick thumb, and, zingo bingo, you have yourself a board breaking fist.

The trick, of course, is to be totally relaxed before, and to be totally empty after. This is the idea of focus, and if you understand it you can knock an opponent all the way out. Hard to do it the way they put fists in gloves before a fight, but there it is.

imagine it like this, a radar station is scanning the open skies for incoming targets, it is scanning, and what would happen if the radar screen suddenly filled up with static? The radar operator wouldn’t be able to find the incoming targets for all the static. So when you make yourself loose and empty, and make your fist totally relaxed, you are trying to get rid of the static, make it so you can see what is going on around you.

Then, your perceptions picking up the path of an incoming fist, the emotion, the very intention of the attacker, your fist will move faster because it is empty, and it will hit harder when it becomes tight. Muscular tension will not bind your motion and slow down your fist, and it will fly fast, your radar will better help it find the target. The moment of truth and your fist gets tight, and that increases the weight and mass of the fist, making it hard enough to knock somebody unconscious.

So there are two things a fighter, whether in the UFC or on the street, must do if he is going to get knock out power. The first, of course, is to be empty, loosey goosey, not tied in place by his own muscular tension. This frees the inner radar to pick up the attack, and enables the MMA fighter to move faster because he is not thinking of his body as weighty and heavy.

The second thing is to tighten the fist upon impact, and loosen it immediately afterwards. This is real microsecond stuff here, but it is guaranteed to work. The energy focuses, the power comes to bear, and that which was empty and quick suddenly becomes full and heavy.

If you are an MMA fighter in the UFC or strikeforce, or even a spectator, think about the physics I have described here, and figure out how to use them in your strikes. Empty/full is actually a classical concept from traditional Karate, and it is used extensively in the ancient Shaolin types of kung fu like Hung Gar or Choy Lee Fut. Emptiness and focus, these are the keys that will lay anybody out for the ten count!

Al Case has dissected Kung Fu for 4O++ years. He has written hundreds of articles for the magazines, and had his own column in Inside Karate. You can pick up a free ebook at Monster Martial Arts, or get the straight skinny on hitting harder at Punch ‘Em Out

When studying about what you want to get involved with MMA, you first need to grasp exactly what it is. MMA is a short name for Mixed karate skills. You’ll find that there are several resources online that can provide you with information about this type of fighting. In this type of fighting, the wrestlers are able to use many different types of fighting moves. It’s a mixture of many different fighting styles including martial arts, fighting, and wrestling. A considerable time back, this fighting didn’t have many rules the wrestlers had to comply with.

It was basically just fighting in any form till a winner was determined. However, to make the sport accepted by plenty more folks, rules came into play as well as better MMA training. This coaching is used to ensure wrestlers are in the correct physical condition. It also helps to increase the security of the competitors. You will find that because of this coaching, this sport h increased in popularity. You can view many matches on television as well as many pay-per-view events that are on wire and satellite T. V.

The MMA training has increased significantly for many competitors but there are plenty of different ways you will find to train. You may use the web as a great resource to find out all of the techniques that are being used. There are rivals that base their coaching on their nutrition and physical contentment while others base theirs on the strength that they have. All of the coaching that you will find has different moves that have to be mastered in order to be a top competitor. There are submission holds and many various moves that a rival has to learn.

A few of these moves that a competitor will learn in their MMA training include the arm bar and the bicep slicer. Circuit training is an an incredibly well-liked type of training that’s being used today. This kind of training permits the rival to work on their cardiovascular and their strength all at the same time. You may use this type of coaching to shed some pounds as it will help you to drop a serious amount of calories. This coaching involves completing a number of exercises inside one training session without any breaks between exercises. This is what creates the circuit.

You’ll find on the web, that there are numerous internet sites you may visit for MMA training courses. Which one you choose to do for your training will all rely on the type of competitor you want to be. Most of these coaching programs will come with a fee so you want to make sure that you select the most suitable one for you and your coaching wishes. You should definitely review all the present matches that are posted on the internet to see precisely the way in which the fighting is done. You can also use these videos to get tricks to win over your competitor and come out being the victorious one.

MMA Training Workouts

Current WWE executive, and Vice President Shane McMahon, who will leave the company at the beginning of January, is looking into the possibility of buying a financial interest within the UFC, and has cashed out $50 of his $80 million dollars in WWE stock to do so.

UFC President Dana White has always said that he would be willing to let someone take a ‘piece of the pie’ in his billion dollar empire, and while it may seem unorthodox, Shane McMahon would be the perfect partner. It is reported that Shane and the UFC President have already had meetings, and Shane was also present in the crowd at UFC 91.

It is well documented that UFC are now overtaking the WWE in PPV sales, but whereas WWE has had a 10 year head start on the UFC, Shane believes it will never reach the heights that it did in the early’90’s, and the UFC’s merchandise sales are still suffering. This is where McMahon comes in.

He is well known for securing large international business deals, something the UFC has been trying to do for two years, and during the UFC Fight Club last week in Vegas, Dana White declined to discuss anything that was said in the meeting with McMahon, just citing him as “a good friend” and “you never know.”

I know what you are thinking “this sounds a bit weird with the WWE Shane McMahon buying into the UFC” but all in all this could be an excellent peace of business for the UFC. Shane McMachon has a wealth of business knowledge that can only enhance the UFC image worldwide. The only downside is when people think of Shane McMahon they think of the WWE which can’t be good for the UFC. As we all know WWE is completely unreal a bit like a pantomime with good and bad guys. The UFC however is the complete opposite! Will this have a negative effect on the UFC? I personally don’t think so! However if that thought comes to me then I’m sure it will come to other people.

Either way, without Shane McMahon the UFC will continue to grow its numbers worldwide!

If you like the series The Ultimate Fighter TUF then you will want to check out UFC Ultimate Fighter for MMA Videos and MMA News.

Ultimate Fighting Championship or more commonly known as UFC is fast becoming one of the most recognized sports in the world. They show live shows in over 50 countries ranging from the U.S to Australia. The sport is taking off in such a way no one would have expected. It’s amazing to look back just a few years ago to when the UFC was barely known.

So how did this transformation take place? It seems quite impossible! It mostly took off due to Dana White and the majority owners Fertitta brothers backing. Dana White has turned out to be the Messiah of MMA he has almost single handily made MMA as popular as it is today. Did you know that Dana was born in Manchester, Connecticut? White grew up in Las Vegas, Boston and Levant, Maine. White is a fierce Boston Red Sox fan. During his youth, he bounced back and forth between Las Vegas and Maine. He attended college in Boston for two years but did not finish; however, while there he did launch a boxing program for inner-city children.

White has a background as an aerobics instructor. In’92, White established Dana White Enterprises in Las Vegas. He conducted aerobics classes at three gyms in the Las Vegas area and began managing MMA fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.

While working as a manager, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White contacted childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta, an executive at Station Casinos, and a former commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month, Lorenzo and his older brother Frank bought the UFC, with White installed as its president. White currently owns 10% of Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.

One of the best things Dana has done for the UFC is produce the show “TUF” (The Ultimate Fighter) on Spike TV. This show has taken off in a big way! It’s also helped a lot of people understand the sport more. From what fighters go through training wise to see that they’re actually very normal well educated people, not just barbarians as a lot of people thought.

The UFC continues to grow at an alarming rate and with no end in sight, I see this sport being in the top 3 favorites of the American people within 5 years.

Fan of MMA? Then check out this website for free MMA Videos and news. Also if you like UFC Ultimate Fighter TUF then check this out for fight videos and news.