There’s no denying it. Fedor Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Dana White, Scott Coker and many, many more have made these past few weeks some of the most newsworthy in recent MMA history. And yet, yours truly neglected to comment on any of it. Not a word. So what’s my excuse? You see, the UFC was finally coming to Philadelphia, my Philadelphia, and honestly, I couldn’t focus on much else while cloaked in such thick layers of anticipation and anxiousness. I even declined to write up my standard predictions this time around and I’ll tell you why: No expectations.

Though I have covered most every promotion from Atlantic City to San Jose, I had never before attended a live UFC event. Now, one would be taking place in my own backyard. So I decided I was going to do the most simple and logical thing heading into the big fight weekend: Enjoy it like a fan. Get the full experience. Gone were my notebook and tape recorder, in their place were clicky pens and scratch paper in hopes of attacking a wandering fighter for an autograph.

I didn’t know what to expect when the UFC finally rolled into my town, but finding out would surely be worth the wait. I paid no mind to predicting who would walk away the victor or the loser on Saturday night, I just wanted the quintessential UFC fan experience, whatever it may be. Like a burnt out food critic at a fancy seven course joint, I took off my reporting hat, picked up a fork, and let the servers impress me with their finest offerings. After all, I had paid a hefty 300 bucks for this; dessert should really be on the house.

Well that worked out nicely

Luckily, and I mean that in every sense of the word, Justin (better known around these parts as moderator fr702) had flown in all the way from northern California and was staying at the Loews Hotel on Market Street. This just happened to be the same hotel where most of the fighters and other personnel were holding up. Upon meeting Justin in the Loews lobby on Friday the first thing I notice is that he is a giant (at least 6′6″) who towered over me and looked a bit like Gan McGee (remember him?) Frenzy posters beware, Justin is massive and apparently pretty good with the muay thai. Keyboard warriors might want to keep that in mind next time a comment war erupts.

Before we head off for the day I manage to shake hands with Mark Coleman who was rocking a very grizzly gray beard. The camera isn’t adding any wrinkles, Coleman really does look that old in person. Nice guy though. Justin being the foreigner in a foreign land I take him over to South Street for the classic Philly lunch experience: Cheesesteaks and Water Ice. After Jim’s and Rita’s we stroll through humid Olde City past some of the more historic sights and ultimately back to my car which I had left parked in Chinatown.

So that’s what it feels like

Rolling into the Wachovia Center parking lot I already can’t believe how many people showed up just for the weigh-ins. I guess this town really was itching for a real dose of MMA. Since the doors haven’t opened yet there are thousands of us standing in a makeshift line which BJ Penn’s family takes full advantage of by handing out some Penn-brand swag. Never underestimate the power of free water bottles and car decals.

Once the gate finally opens the line immediately collapses with fans rabidly rushing to form a thick funnel of sweaty bodies squeezing through the all too slim Wachovia Center doors. Justin and I fnagle our way to some of the better seats in the house and Dana White is doing overtime Q&A with the fans, draped in a Shane Victorino jersey. Well played, sir. Some of the questions slung at Dana were actually pretty entertaining. One classy gent asked if he could personally fight Frank Trigg at Virginia Tech’s football stadium, another asked if he and his fiance could get married in the octagon. How do you spell romance? U-F-C.

After showing some of the countdown to UFC 101 footage the weigh-ins kicked off and the only notable thing I recall was how ripped Forrest Griffin looked and how light Amir Sadollah came in (166lbs.) To be honest, I spent a large chunk of time staring about the Wachovia Center’s interior, which I had seen time and time again piled high with Sixers or Flyers fans, but never anyone I considered to be my kind of people.

In case it isn’t obvious, I am very much that kind of MMA aficionado, the one who only follows MMA and could care less about the classic big four American sports. Admittedly, a warm, childlike giddyness came over me as I gazed into the UFC plastered arena; scanning across endless packs of devoted followers sporting their very best fight related t-shirts. Though I was in my own beloved city, it was only then that I felt truly at home in the crowds of a major sporting event. I must have stared at that Octagon for 10 straight minutes. I imagine others did as well. And it felt good.

Enter The Spider

Returning to Justin’s hotel it doesn’t take long to spot a famous face or two. At first we see the other Spyder, Kendall Grove. But before we even get a few steps closer to Grove someone shouted that the real Spider, you know, the one people actually care about, was just outside the lobby. So we immediately ran toward the action and sure enough, Silva was doing his best to appease the swarming mob with autographs, photos, the works. After futilely working to get closer for a signature or decent picture I just about gave up on hounding the middleweight champion, that is until he proceeded to board the elevator where I finally ask him to employ the blue sharpie attached to his hand and sign my shirt sleeve.

Ideally, I would have obtained Silva’s John Hancock on some other type of material, like, I don’t know, paper perhaps, but I was caught off guard and forced to act quickly. So now one of the nicer shirts in my already limited wardrobe has Anderson Silva’s signature on it. Guess its back to Target for me.

I also told this story to my girlfriend later that night who then yelled at me for ruining a perfectly good shirt that she had given me as a present (oops.) I half jokingly explained that I had just exponentially increased the value of said shirt, to which she seemed even less enthused. She’ll come around.

Coincidentally enough Justin and I ended up sharing an elevator with Ed Soares shortly after the Silva run-in and had a brief chat with the manager/translator to the stars. I asked Soares his thoughts on Dan Henderson re-matching Silva at MW, and Soares was surprisingly vocal about being none too happy about it. Seriously, the man does not think Hendo should get another crack at Silva any time soon. Apparently he preferred the Maia/Marquardt winner as Silva’s next MW opponent. I laughed and alleged “Well you gotta talk to Dana, right?” Soares sighed, slightly grimaced, and in a defeated tone said “I have…”

Buffer and Beer…Lots of beer

It’s about 7 o’clock Friday night and Justin and I are in the Loews bar/lounge getting to know some Yuenglings, the finest lager in the world if you ask me. Justin eventually points out a passing by Bruce Buffer and I mark out big time. A short conversation later and I can tell you that Buffer is one of the coolest mofo’s you will ever meet. We talked for a minute about what else but the epic Buffer 360, which sadly will never happen again. Buffer then made his way to a table full of exotic women who fed him only the finest caviar and Remy Martin all night long.

Returning UFC veteran Frank Trigg also passed us by during our tenure at the Loews bar and he seemed less than thrilled to talk to fans, but he still shook my hand with a quick nod to show he wasn’t a total bastard.

A few more beers down the hatch and we decide it’s finally time to hit the town. Hard. Knowing it would be too late to enjoy the nightlife after the show on Saturday (PA bars kick you out at 2am) Justin and I took hold of the precious opportunity and proceeded to get thoroughly inebriated via a haphazard bar tour which ended in Olde City.

Highlights include Justin almost getting into two scraps (though nothing came of it, see everyone, Philadelphians can be civil), a friend of mine asking an Asian couple where the Asian nightclub is located, Justin fending off the advances of a blonde chick nearly as big as he is, seeing Pat Miletich back at the hotel shitfaced with some random floozy on his arm, and of course late night cheesesteaks to soak up some of the lager and liquor. Whiz-with: the only way to go IMO.

Gonna Fly Now

At the crack of noon the next day (a night of hard drinking will do that to ya) I ring Justin up to meet for breakfast/lunch. I’ve got the standard morning after headache and craving comfort food so I took us to Sabrina’s (one of the best spots in the city) for the proper medicine. After gorging some huevos rancheros while Justin attempted to polish off an entire cow (the John Hughes burger, I didn’t even know he had died) it’s a quick tour of the Rodin Musuem and of course, the standard Art Museum run (you might call it the Rocky steps). And then, before we knew it, it was time to head to our first ever live UFC show.

I’ll say this about the Zuffa crew, when they put on a show you know that you’re at a UFC event. About half a dozen massive screens were strategically placed around the top of the Wachovia Center and the graphics, music, and overall production value were absolutely top notch. It was actually difficult to keep focused on the octagon action with those giant monitors distracting you at every angle.

Youth of the Nation

Waiting in various lines throughout the concourse I struck up conversations with folks who traveled from Ohio, Maryland, New York, Virginia, even Toronto just to see a live UFC show. Many for the first time. A 14 year old kid from Delaware told me the story of how he had to sell almost all of his dvd’s and video games to pay for his 101 ticket, not to mention begging his parents for months just to score a ride up to Philadelphia. That’s dedication.

I asked the kid how he got into MMA to which he replied “I used to like WWE a lot but then it got kinda gay, and you know its fake, but in UFC people are really gettin’ knocked out or choked out or beat up or whatever, it’s like the only thing I watch now.”

Strength in numbers

I wish I could say I didn’t catch any of the customary MMA d-bags at UFC 101, however the usual suspects were out in full force. I don’t know why I expected any different, I guess it was just wishful thinking. Some were harmless and reserved in their skin tight Affliction tee’s, and some were more obnoxious than Gilbert Godfrey. Some shouted “Tito Sucks” every five minutes for no apparent reason, some hollered “kick his ass seabass!” as often as they could, and some were just plain racist (Justin has more info on the “wannabe skinheads” for anyone interested).  More importantly however, for every uninformed, brawling, loudmouth, homophobic jackass in attendance, I found many more intelligent, passionate fans who, like me, were just happy to take it all in and soak up the memories.

If I could explain it, I would

For me, the most satisfying morsel offered from the live UFC animal isn’t anything you can really put a finger on. Moreover, what will drive at least this MMA enthusiast back to the Ultimate Fighting Championship are the intangible qualities. The unexplainable enjoyment of uttering the introductions along with Bruce Buffer; looking around only to see everyone else doing the same. That funny feeling of oozing anticipation as the crowd lights dim and the fighters stare each other down from their respective corners. The unbridled shock and excitement when a fighter miraculously escapes a dead to rights arm bar or pops their head out of an air tight guillotine.

And perhaps the best part, when a combatant falls to the canvas and you can already tell he isn’t going to get up. When a truly defeated and broken warrior taps the others arm in utter submission, at that exact moment when the battle ends, you and fifteen thousand strangers simultaneously jump up, scream at the top of your lungs, momentarily collide, and for a brief window in time all revel in the same finite glory.

The live UFC experience sells just that, an experience. One you’ll likely never forget. One that makes you feel like you’re a part of something, where you can smell the camaraderie among the ravenous crowd. Yes, my vocal chords still rasp. My nostrils still smell the smell of stale beer. My shoes still wreak of public bathroom urine and my back still aches from the unforgiving Wachovia Center seats. But I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. You’d be crazy not to.

Most of the articles I’ve been reading around the blogosphere (including some serious debate from you guys) have focused primarily on whether or not Lesnar’s ever-present professional wrestler attitude is good or not so good for mixed martial arts.

Personally, I subscribe to the semi-popular belief that Brock can do no further damage to the sport than what has already been done via TUF antics, the Diaz brothers, or Dana White tirades.  Make no mistake: Nobody, not even Brock Lesnar, can be bad for MMA if they perform and draw the way that Lesnar does. Was Tito Ortiz bad for MMA when his shtick was carrying the UFC hype machine? The guy was a jackass, sure. But he drew. And more eyes felt the warm glow of UFC pay-per-views just to see what would happen to the punk you loved to hate so much.

I say let Brock be Brock. I genuinely don’t care. Maybe its the apathetic nihilist in me, but come on, do you really care that much about what Brock Lesnar says in his post-fight soliloquies? I know I know, this is MMA and the WWE theatrics should be left to McMahon and company, I concede that such remains a legitimate argument. However on the flip side, if a man chooses to play the heel yet continues to compete at the highest level of the sport without becoming too much of a prima donna, I simply do not see the harm.

I don’t work for Budweiser, I don’t care if Frank Mir’s feelings were hurt regarding the eloquent horseshoe comment, and from what I can tell Lesnar’s wife was none too upset at the mention of her champ “getting on top of her” all neander-style. “I beat man, have good drink, take woman to cave.”  It’s primitive, but it’s also fairly accurate in Brock Lesnar’s case. The man ain’t a neurosurgeon, people. He’s an alpha-male, whether he knows what the term means or not.

Here’s a thought, or conspiracy theory rather, so take it for what you will. But I believe there remains an antiquated concept of what mixed martial arts should be that is driving at least some of the latest Lesnar criticism. UFC 1 saw Royce Gracie prove that technique schools size and strength, and it was a glorious thing to revel in.

Those who witnessed the victorious undersized Brazilian could rejoice knowing that the stereotypical schoolyard bully no longer posed the same threat. That dopey bastard would have no idea how to fend off a simple arm bar. It would almost be too easy.  Admittedly, when my MMA addiction first began to take root I was highly taken in by the concept of someone my size (very short and scrawny at the time) being able to force a physically imposing jerk to tap out from some crazy leg lock that I pulled out of nowhere. Sucka.

Ninety-nine UFC’s later; Brock Lesnar comes along and momentarily disproves the core principle of modern mixed martial arts, which early UFC events had largely created. This time the less polished, overpowering, grunting gorilla, who could certainly never maneuver his legs for a proper gogoplata, dominates the smarter, sharper technician. Darwin would not be proud.

And so, some of us freak out feeling as if we have just entered the plutonium fueled DeLorean back to the heydays of Frye, Coleman or Randleman- guys who only made a buck because they were bigger and stronger (and juiced.) Uncivilized, unsophisticated, testosterone-driven men who were all too happy to ground and pound like a pack of wild cro-mags unaware of any other weapons in the MMA arsenal.

But I say fear not to those clinging to fighters like Emelianenko, Machida, Penn and A. Silva. There are plenty of these crafty devils to go around, and when their time has passed others will spawn. Brock Lesnar on the other hand is a mere genetic anomaly. We cannot copy and paste more of them, not that the government wouldn’t try if they thought it possible.

So let’s all take a step back for a second. Let’s relax. Let’s appreciate that the UFC heavyweight division has a champion who creates compelling match ups across the board. Let us wait another fight or two to see if Brock Lesnar’s “era” has truly begun before we start burning down jiujitsu schools and dead lifting until nauseous.  Let us admit without inducing a panic attack that even in 2009, a big oaf with limited technique can rely heavily on his physical gifts to destroy decorated black belts.

It’s not the end of the world. It’s just a jerk who can hit hard and smother people. He happens to come from professional wrestling, and you can tell. But the man is no more harmful to mixed martial arts than any other larger-than-life athlete was to their respective sport. Brock Lesnar’s rise, while controversial, only threatens those who fear change, which is painfully ironic since evolution is precisely what makes MMA the beloved, complex animal that it is. Now can we please talk about Georges St. Pierre for a minute? Alright, next time.

Roy Jones Jr.

They say desperation is the easiest thing to smell on a person. Perhaps it is radiating from once unstoppable pugilistic powerhouse Roy Jones Jr. When Jones Jr. was denied his offer to step out of the ring and into the UFC octagon with Anderson Silva, I thought little of it and assumed that Jones would stop there in terms of his MMA pursuits.

I was wrong.

Apparently, Jones has also been turned down from the only other major thriving MMA promotion in the country, San Jose based Strikeforce. Jones Jr.’s second attempt at competing in mixed martial arts was met with similar disdain after rumors swirled about him meeting veteran Nick Diaz under the Strikeforce banner.

While Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker seemed at least indifferent to the notion of R.J.J. stepping up to the MMA challenge, the idea was thoroughly squashed after Showtime executive Ken Hershman voiced his distaste for playing host to the 40 year old boxer’s foray into the cage. Via teleconference, Hershman was quoted that he believes it is “an insult to the integrity of mixed martial arts to think that Roy Jones or any professional boxer could just come in and fight Nick Diaz in a mixed martial arts context.”

Color me pessimistic, but I get the distinct feeling that Jones Jr.’s recent cross-combat quest has less to do with discovering a new love for MMA and more to do with padding an offshore back account. For those who are more in the know about boxing feel free to answer this question, did Roy Jones blow through all of his cash a la Mike Tyson or something? Because that would explain a lot.

(At this point I will say, if you want a proper write up of the results, with no opinion, you are in the wrong place, and should instead go here, otherwise read on.)

On the top of my list, I wanted to see how Bobby Lashley would fair. Lets just say, he’s no Brock Lesnar. Lashley carries a lot of muscle, has decent speed and comes from a collegiate wresting back ground (prior to his WWE days), and his quick for a heavyweight, but the similarities end there. Lashley does not have the reach advantage that Lesnar has, he weighs in at fourteen pounds less than Lesnar “officially” weighs in at, doesn’t seem to possess the knockout power that Lesnar does, and frankly his wrestling was less than impressive (partly due to the use of a Boxing Ring, more on this later). Going into the fight, Guida decided he was going to engage in some trash talk, which many of us thought would lead to Lashely via murder in the first round. What happened instead was a general lay ‘n pray style unanimous decision victory for Lashley, which was very nearly stolen via guillotine by Guida in the third round. I think Lashley still has potential, but he will be well served to remain in the lower level promotions for the time being. I also think it’s a good thing for Lashley that his originally scheduled opponent, Ken Shamrock, was unable to compete, as I believe Shamrock is dangerous enough that he could have found himself on a two fight winning streak after this event.

Next on the list, there were a lot of things about this event that I found interesting, besides the fights. One was the fighting surface, which was a boxing ring. This was not an MMA style ring like you see in DREAM/Sengoku/Affliction, this was a proper boxing ring. There was little room for the fights to take place inside the smaller ring, causing a lot of action to end up in the ropes. The ropes themselves were far less firm than those you find in one of the previously mentioned promotions and really inhibited the ability of the fighters to obtain take downs, Lashley in particular. At one point during their fight, Lashley had a single leg on Guida, and Guida was basically laying back in the ropes letting them hold him up (Guida also “conveniently” got his arm tangle in the ropes). I personally am a fan of the cage over the ring for MMA anyways, but this ring was far worse than what I’ve seen in other MMA events.

The officiating was questionable to say the least. The referees they had seemed to be boxing referees and not really MMA referees. In the instance of the previously mentioned rope grabbing by Guida, the referee came over to get him to let go of the of rope, then ended up separating the fighters, despite the fact that Lashley had superior positioning, and the only reason Guida was still standing was the rope grabbing. The next questionable situation arose later in the same fight, as the referee separated the fighters and called for move out of the ropes closer to the center of the ring, literally as Guida switched his hips and threw his legs up for an arm bar, that he actually had a good chance of locking in. The final instance was when the referee for the headlining Jones vs. Sheika boxing match waved off the fight as Jones was lighting up Sheika, while Sheika was still moving forward and trying to close the distance on the longer Jones. I don’t exactly follow boxing, but I just don’t understand how a man who is showing no signs of being “out of it” and is walking forward deserves to get stopped. Sure, he wasn’t acting like he was going to do much else in the bout, but let him at least get knocked down once before you stop the fight for crying out loud.

As far as the judges are concerned, I think they had Cecil Peoples writing out all three score cards. Just before the Monson v. Nelson fight they aired a six round preliminary fight that went to a decision, which I unfortunately wasn’t paying attention to, but I determined was judged incorrectly based on the reaction of the live crowd (mostly boxing fans) as well as most people in a chat room I was following while watching the fights. Next was the Monson v. Nelson fight, Nelson dominated the first round and much of the second, before Monson got up and into a clinch and threw some knees to the body of Nelson. By my count the fight was 20-18 at this point, but I was really curious as to how the judges would score the knees by Monson. Monson took the third, but it was close, so I scored the fight 29-28 Nelson (as did some of the other MMAFrenzy.com members that I have talked to). Well, if you’ve read the results, you know it went 29-28 unanimously for Monson, in a Hamill v. Bisping like decision.

Now for the minor points. It really was painful to watch MMA that was taking place in a venue where the vast majority (I would venture to say over 90%) of the people are in attendance to see Roy Jones Jr. in a boxing match. They booed clinch work, they booed submission attempts, they booed take down attempts, they ignored the massively impressive escape by Monson (he basically just picked Nelson up off of him with one arm to get out of side control and back to his feet), they even booed ground and pound. Granted, the event wasn’t the greatest display of the finer points of grappling, but it wasn’t terrible either. The fans in attendance were very quick to boo, and as someone who loves all aspects of MMA, it was rather frustrating to endure. It didn’t help that they intermingled the card, they had boxing and MMA on the prelims, then the majority of the MMA bouts for the main card, followed by one boxing match, then the Monson v. Nelson fight, then the headlining boxing match. It is my personal opinion that the Main card should have been separated, all the MMA bouts, then the two boxing matches.

The main announcer/commentator for the broadcast, who was present for all portions of the card was Colonel Bob Sheridan. They brought in Seth Petruzelli for his “expertise” during the MMA portions of the card, and a boxer whose name I forgot for the boxing portions of the card. During the MMA portion of the card the commentary seemed rather neutral, and Sheridan was trying “let the boxing fans knows” that the fighters were actually doing something when they were grappling. However, when Petruzelli went off mic, and it was only the two boxing guys, it was evident that they preferred boxing over MMA, and seemed to point out some of the differences between the two sports in a “boxing is better than MMA because…” kind of way.

The best thing to come out of the commentary on the night, in my opinion, came from the mouth of Colonel Bob Sheridan during the Jones v. Sheika fight. As Jones was pummeling the clearly outclassed Sheika, Sheridan made the commented that even though Sheika was losing the fight, he was still going to get paid pretty well, then he said “That’s what professional boxing is all about, making money.” A comment that sums up, to an MMA fan at least, all of the reasons boxing is dying, and why there was a pay-per-view being held for Jones to fight a clearly outmatched opponent, and somehow come away with a championship.

Madison Square Garden

With the regulation of MMA in Pennsylvania yesterday, and South Dakota last week, along with the expected regulation of MMA in South Carolina in the not too distant future things are look promising for the legalization of MMA in the USA. However, the one major stand out to still have an outright ban on MMA is the state of New York. While the usual scapegoat for the cause of this is ignorance, as some prominent political figures in the State still say that MMA is too violent, Adam Swift of MMAPayout thinks its Unions.

In brief summary, UNITE HERE is embroiled in a bitter struggle to unionize Station Casinos in Las Vegas. Coincidentally, it is also registered to lobby on the subject of Mixed Martial Arts in the state of New York. Disclosure forms show that it has actively lobbied on the topic for the past two years (See reports: here, here, here, and here). In fact outside of the UFC, it is believed to be the only group that has registered to lobby on the subject.

There was recently a poll conducted in New York, which found that 67 percent, of the 438 people that responded to the poll, said they opposed making MMA legal in New York. Apparently this poll was conducted by a Communications firm with ties to the SEIU. The article details what that may mean:

For those unfamiliar with labor politics, the SEIU is one of the largest and most powerful unions in the country. Coincidentally, it is also closely aligned with UNITE HERE. Both are members of the Change to Win Coalition of labor unions and according to Wikipedia have a joint local union chapter in New York called Service Workers United.

Someone paid the group to produce the poll and appears to have had a good idea of how they wanted it to turn out. I doubt a group of outraged citizens of New York is responsible, if such a group were behind it they most surely would have taken credit. Now on the other hand if a labor union were the benefactor, they might have good reason to keep there efforts hush hush.

I suppose that the fact that the poll was handled by a pro-union firm with ties to SEIU and UNITE HERE could be a coincidence. However, considered in light of the other facts and circumstances, I believe the logical conclusion is that opposition from pro-labor forces to the legalization of MMA remains alive and well.

While this may seem a bit like something from a “Conspiracy Theorist” to some, it is important to note that labor unions in New York have a lot of power. For example, it takes up to two years to fire a bad or unqualified teacher there, and said teachers are instead sent to “rubber rooms” where they get paid to sit in a room with several other bad or unqualified teachers all day. That being said, I think he may be on to something.

A lot has gone on in the world of MMA in the last four weeks:

1. Mauricio Rua looked less than impressive in getting back in the win column against the aging, and clearly out of gas Mark Coleman.
2. Dan Henderson fought Rich Franklin at Light Heavyweight to garner yet another decision victory. This victory locked in his position as the US coach for “The Ultimate Fighter 9: US v. UK” which will presumable lead to a bout at Middleweight against UK coach Michael Bisping.
3. Fedor Emelianenko obliterated yet another former UFC champion, who the UFC no longer saw fit to employ.
4. Vitor Belfort showed that he can still be a devastating fighter with his scary KO of Matt Lindland, but then immediately showed he doesn’t care about stringing together wins and called out Fedor.
5. Jens Pulver got beaten for the third consecutive time, leading him to consider calling it a career.
6. A controversial illegal knee put Jamie Varner’s career at risk, but at this point no news seems to be good news for his return.
7. Nate Diaz finally lost, hopefully the first of many.
8. Eight Consecutive fights went to a decision.
9. Lyoto Machida finally put on an exciting showing. KOing Thiago Silva just before the bell at the end of round 1
10. BJ Penn got obliterated by GSP, then we got “Grease Gate”.
11. ProElite Assets were sold, but ProElite still exists, but now Strikeforce has a lot more fighters, and now the fighters are (presumably) out of limbo.
12. Dan Miller stepped in and won on short notice, again.
13. Anthony Johnson once again confirmed that he’s got a lot of potential.
14. Mac Danzig is working on securing his position as one of the worst TUF winners, he has now lost twice consecutively.
15. Joe Lauzon confirmed that he’s a real contender at 155

The point of listing all that is to show just how many significant things have taken place in the past four weeks alone, in the world of MMA. You’ll notice, however, that the title of this entry is “Under the Radar.” The reason for that is, that something has flown in, “under the radar.” In the midst of everything that’s gonna, with all the coverage of both the ProElite/Strikeforce deal, and “Grease Gate”, there is one story that no one seems to be covering:

Lately, I can’t help thinking that those who are simply fans of great MMA, and those who are specifically fond of BJ Penn should be more thankful for baby Jay’s “super-fight” loss to Georges St. Pierre. Of course it would have been nothing short of spectacular if BJ had pulled off such an epic victory, but after that he more than likely would have retired at the tender age of 30, never to be heard from again inside the octagon. Think about that for a second. At the apex of his career, one of the most gifted and dominant mixed martial artists of all time would call it quits, leaving a massive gap in MMA as we know it. That’s even worse than pulling a Frank Shamrock, who at least comes out to fight about once or twice a year, albeit against questionable opposition.

While Penn’s loss has understandably damaged his ego along with his face, it will however help to keep him an active competitor for at least the here and now. The biggest difference between someone like BJ Penn and Georges St. Pierre is not physique or nationality, but something much more internal. While St. Pierre is known for his determination to constantly prove himself inside the cage, BJ Penn conversely requires a greater tangible drive to pursue fighting with any real dedication. Enter the beating undertaken from GSP and voila, you get BJ Penn on the hunt for victory yet again. Because let’s face it, nobody wants to retire on a loss.

At the end of the day, BJ Penn only has to answer to himself regardless of what I or anyone else has to say about a premature retirement. Such a decision is his and his alone. However as a long time fan of Penn, an admitted fanatic of mixed martial arts, and as a person who simply hates to see wasted talent, I would argue that BJ’s losing effort was possibly the best thing that could happen to the niche, but always passionate MMA community. Even if a pithy destruction of Kenny Florian is the last performance we ever see from BJ Penn, it will be one more shining moment that we can say we witnessed before “The Prodigy” hung up the gloves for good. Sometimes losing isn’t so terrible after all.

Even though he got worked over like a red headed stepchild for the majority of the bout, “The Prodigy” has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in only his fifth career loss. BJ Penn truly has a gift that only a handful of people on the planet will ever be blessed with, but even with such natural talent he was undeniably in over his head trying to combat the size, strength, speed, endurance, and sheer aggressiveness of Georges St. Pierre. To Penn’s further credit, it is extremely difficult to realistically envision anyone at this stage putting a stop to GSP’s dominance. Perhaps Thiago Alves, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Honestly, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just a little bit worried that BJ Penn will become discouraged from this loss and grow disenchanted with the MMA game yet again. My hope is that Penn accepts that GSP is simply the better welterweight fighter, and comes back with some renewed fire to continue wreaking havoc in the lightweight order. But you can never really tell where BJ Penn’s head is. Hey, if I had a beautiful sandy beach just outside my living room I might get discouraged from a fighting career as well.

And I almost forgot, if you were wondering if I thought there was any significance to Penn’s latest Vaseline accusation, my answer is a resounding no. Could there have been too much Vaseline on St. Pierre’s back? Absolutely, and from what I hear there probably was despite the commission rubbing a portion of it off. But I look at their first fight and see St. Pierre working the exact same positions with Penn still unable to mount any offense from his back. Not to mention the additional “back greasing” would have had no bearing on GSP’s boxing and takedown domination. Personally, I think GSP could have worn long-sleeve under armor and Penn still wouldn’t have been able to secure anything better from the bottom.

But we have to acknowledge that GSP’s corner did technically go afoul and should have known better than to pull something like that in such a high profile fight. We don’t need any asterisks or question marks after what should be a definitive victory, but I don’t think any of those typographical symbols will be necessary after viewing the fight for the third time now. Sorry BJ, but you got legitimately outclassed and methodically beaten. It happens. Please take your aggression out on Kenny Florian at your earliest convenience.

Moving on…

I understand its standard for a fighter to raise their hands after a thoroughly contested bout, but who did Nate Diaz think he was fooling hoisting his fists after every round? Am I the only one who thought that was kind of ridiculous? Its not like he took any round convincingly (in my opinion.)

Clay Guida might only have tenacity and wrestling on his side, but it seems to be more than enough against what I would consider very solid competition in Nate Diaz. It’s likely he will never become our lightweight champion, but it’s also easy to see why someone like Guida always has a home in the UFC. Now if he would only work on that boxing…

Keep in mind this sentiment comes from a big Karo Parisyan fan, but in my opinion Karo lost or at best tied his contest with fellow judoka Dong Hyun Kim. I’ve re-watched the fight in the light of day and I still wouldn’t score more than one round for Karo, who apparently preferred to use a Modell’s discount mouthpiece. What the heck was that about?

While were on Parisyan, why is it he was not granted the customary quickie Joe Rogan chat after that razor thin decision? Was there just not enough time on the broadcast to squeeze that in? In the words of G.O.B. “come on!”

Say that Stephan Bonnar has never been a world beater, but Jon Jones looked like a beast in only his second UFC bout against very game and much more seasoned opposition. Jon Jones is obviously a more unconventional fighter and maybe should play it a bit safer in the future (see Faber vs. Brown for an example), but the man has undeniably well versed skill and infinite potential. If he can figure out how to keep the gas tank full then 2009 will be very good to “Bones.”

Lyoto Machida surprised me.

I admit, I have never been terribly pleased that Lyoto Machida racked up so many UFC victories via a drawn out decision. But Machida really pushed back hard against Thiago Silva and I am officially impressed that he went in for the kill and ended things definitively. I may never enjoy the “elusiveness” of Machida, but the man deserves the title shot regardless of how he goes about earning it. Because honestly, I wouldn’t want to fight the guy. Not on his worst day.

Unrelated Note*

Saturday night started off a little hectic for me. An evil bartender wrongfully informed me that their bar would be showing the UFC pay-per-view just as they always had in the past. Once 10:01 came around I asked a different barkeep why the fight hadn’t been turned on the televisions yet (they were still showing the Flyers losing effort) and low and behold, he tells me they didn’t order the fight. So I pounded my beer and got the hell out as fast as I could. Short on time and unable to drive (I was already drinking quite a bit) I ran back to my girlfriend’s apartment and ordered the event at 4:22 of the first round of Diaz vs. Guida. So screw you, uninformed blonde bartender bitch. You just lost yourself a customer.

UFC 93 is officially in the books and while I can’t say it was the most disappointing pay-per-view to date, it certainly left me feeling a bit dirty and cheated. At least UFC brass caught a nice break with Dan Henderson securing the other TUF coaching spot, now Dana and crew don’t have to hard-sell Rich “Please no not Vegas again” Franklin as the coach who could care less.

Speaking of Rich Franklin, does anyone know if he has a friend or family member on the judging staff or something? Not that he didn’t do well, I’d say he absolutely grabbed the final round as Hendo started to gas out a bit, but are we really supposed to believe that Rich earned a 30-27 one of the scorecards? Epic overseas judging fail yet again.

I don’t mean to say that Michael Bisping isn’t that good, but….

There is just no real nice way of saying that Dan Henderson should tear through Bisping with mild to moderate effort. But I guess that’s the road one must travel to get back to Anderson Silva.

While we’re on the subject of match ups, UFC 93 also pumped out two underwhelming fight announcements. First we hear that Quinton Jackson is going to meet Keith Jardine at UFC 96, and then of course it’s Mauricio Rua vs. Chuck Liddell at UFC 97…as the main event. So we get to see Rampage put a beating on Keith Jardine and believe me, it will be a beating, and then we get to see if Shogun can defeat another former champion who is only somewhat past his prime. Woo-hoo.

Shogun might as well have lost…

Despite some other little nuisances, Mark Coleman vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is what really pushed my dissatisfaction for UFC 93 over the edge. I don’t know that I can accurately describe it, but it was sort of like watching two dying seals fight over the last salmon. Neither is really in any condition to be fighting, but they both want that damn fish.

Mark Coleman gassed out hard in the very first round and looked like a battered tree stump before meeting his ultimate TKO demise. But I am almost willing to give Coleman a pass since Coleman is A. Very old. B. Admittedly outclassed in every other aspect but wrestling, and C. Had to cut down to a meager 205lbs for the first time in his career. So yes, “The Hammer” put on a terrible showing, but he’s been around the block and this very well could have been his last rodeo. At least I hope it was. I know that Coleman said he actually wants Mauricio again for the rubber match, but I just can’t support that idea.

Shogun Rua on the other hand gets no leniency for this second piss-poor octagon performance. I’d like to ask him what exactly his excuse is this time for showing up with the cardio of a geriatric emphysema patient. Especially after all the ridiculous B.S. spouted from Joe Rogan about how everyone would finally get to see the thoroughly prepared, ever-ready Shogun that made waves in Pride. The scary thing is Rua probably wouldn’t have finished Coleman if not for an incorrect forced stand-up. Lord only knows what the scorecards might have read…

If this really is the type of fighter that Rua has become, he might as well be cut from his contract and on a plane back to Brazil. Shogun’s last two performances were not that of a top ten or even top twenty light-heavyweight fighter, regardless of how many other notables he managed to destroy over in Japan. The UFC’s stacked 205lb division is simply no place for someone who has to build themselves back up from scratch.

The rumors were always bubbling below the surface about Shogun juicing while in Pride, which would certainly account for his lousy UFC showings (and noticeably softer physique.) But I always hoped that the rumors were just that, so maybe Shogun can put such chatter to rest when he faces off against Chuck Liddell in April. Talk about a do-or-die match.

Jeremy Horn still lost, but he looked miles better than in his last two outings and held up remarkably well against the uber-strong Rousimar Palhares. You keep on truckin’, Jeremy. Also if you didn’t catch it during the broadcast, Jeremy Horn apparently does not like the nickname Gumby, despite the fact that it has been his nickname for quite some time now. So no more Gumby, you hear? How about Pokey?

And can anyone shed some light on why Rousimar Palhares was so emotional during his entrance? I can understand crying after the fight a la Forrest Griffin, or the happy I’m-trying-not-to-cry a la Marcus Davis, or even crying during the fight which is probably what I would do if you threw me into the Octagon, but crying during your walk-in? Not that I’m judging since it clearly didn’t effect your performance, but what was that all about Toquinho? Will this be a regular thing?

I thought it was straight up stupid that Marcus Davis and Chris Lytle absolutely HAD to stand and trade the entire fight. There is a reason its called mixed martial arts and not kickboxing, their little pact was lame and pointless. Chris Lytle could have shot a few times and probably earned enough points to win that fight, and who knows maybe we even could have seen a submission attempt from one of those guys. I know, I know, that’s just crazy talk.

My point is the “stand and bang” agreement actually prevented the fight from going places which could have made it more exciting. Its not like Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar decided to have an all out striking war, it just happened that way. Why don’t we all just agree to the general MMA rules and see what unfolds naturally next time, okay fellas?

Alan Belcher came up with the upset that I actually called him to make. So thank you, Alan. If I had been confident enough to place a bet on my prediction I would indeed have some extra scratch right now. D’oh. Denis Kang looked impressive right until the moment he got guillotined like a French infidel, though it was his octagon debut, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he should be able to secure a victory the second time around. Unless the UFC totally screws him and throws him to Nate Marquardt or something.

“…Forget about considering the move, it’s time to just go ahead and make it. Silva is not what he once was and can no longer swim with the sharks in the UFC’s stacked light heavyweight division. He needs to move down in weight in an attempt to reinvent himself in a division that isn’t anywhere near as deep as 205 and contains fewer power punchers.”

I will agree that Silva has been looking less and less like his former self these past two years, but declaring that a move to middleweight would solve The Axe Murderer’s problems is a weak argument at best. The unfortunate reality is that if in fact Wanderlei’s game is suffering that heavily, a move to middleweight will not turn him back into the world beater who dominated the Pride circuit.

Does anyone really think that there aren’t guys at middleweight who could put Silva down just as badly as Jackson did? Silva’s devastating KO losses aren’t merely due to light-heavyweights packing more of a punch, but also because of the glaring fact that Silva has always thrown his hands in kind of a wild, “hope I connect because if not I’m wide open” sort of way. That’s his style and I doubt it will change any time soon.

Furthermore, without turning this into a Men’s Fitness piece, I can’t say that Silva’s 5’11’’ frame seems all that well suited for a 20lb drop. The difference between 205lbs and 185lbs is massive, and the light-heavyweight Silva looks damn near picture perfect. Silva cuts a bit of weight to make 205lbs and probably walks around at least 10-15lbs heavier when not in training. There are also plenty of fighters who have cut to a smaller class and done well after the move. But those fighters were not nearly as seasoned and battered as Silva, who at 32 has seen more wars than a five star general.

Of course I’m not going to act as if I wouldn’t be curious to see how Silva fared at middleweight should he opt to go that route, because there are obviously some very intriguing match ups there. But if the best in the light-heavyweight division can handle Silva, then I am inclined to believe that the best in the understandably scarce middleweight division could handle him as well. If Silva indeed wishes to keep fighting, I see no reason for him to have to finish out his days as a depleted middleweight as opposed to a healthy light-heavyweight.