When UFC 117 was announced and Anderson Silva will be fighting against Chael Sonnen nobody made interest. Silva who is riding 11 consecutive wins with 7 championship bouts in UFC looks like a walk in the park against Sonnen who has a record of 24-10-1 with only 4-3 in UFC competitions. Nobody gave him a chance in fact when he started his mouth do the talking with all the trash talks and insults people just shrug him off and laugh at the clown whom people forgot to tell him that the joke was on him.

He said bad things against Silva, his manager Ed Soares and former middleweight champion Rich Franklin. He was persistent that people began to notice him and everyone wants to see his ass kick in television. Anderson doesn’t buy the whole thing he never got those trash talking get into his nerves he doesn’t know Chael unlike on his last match against Demian Maia who is a fellow Brazilian and Anderson felt disrespected and mock Demian throughout the fight winning a lack luster unanimous decision.

But last Saturday Chael proved to everyone that when he talks the talk he could also walk the walk. He pummeled the champion from rounds 1 to 4 before Silva was able to lock up on Sonnen on a Triangle choke forcing Chael to tap out at 3:10 in Round 5. It was the champion that took the beating this time getting hit more than in his entire career. Getting hit only 208 times throughout his 31 fights but that night Sonnen hit him 289 times. It was never been close with Nelson Hamilton 40-34, Dan Stell 40-35 and Jon Schorle 40-36 scoring the fight for Sonnen before the choke happened. Anderson Silva fought a losing effort but still escape with a win.

2008 when Anderson was contemplating of retiring he fought every match every fight Dana White offered and over and over again he came out victorious. There was no competition he knock Chris Leben, Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson and made a short workout against the sturdy and game Forrest Griffin. He even thought about fighting Roy Jones Jr. just for the heck of it. And now he found his equal match against Chael Sonnen The superman’s kryptonite and Silva could have lost his belt if not for that bizarre ending.
With only one fight remaining before Silva ends his contract Dana White should make that rematch by hook or by crook. Nobody wants to see a Silva-Belfort fight. Rematch should take place to settle the score. And Sonnen can talk all he wants now and everybody will pay attention. Silva has finally found his match and someone for the longest time has the chance of really winning.

Seeing Brock Lesnar’s huge biceps with his large sword tattoo on his chest is enough to give anyone a second thought facing him in the octagon but Shane Carwin was never intimidated not even a tiny drop of fear. He had been waiting for this moment since their scheduled October 26, 2009 bout last year that was eventually postponed because Lesnar was suffering from an intestinal disorder.
UFC 116 was Carwin’s ultimate redemption a unification bout with Brock to be crowned as the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion of the world after winning the interim belt on a first round KO against a fighter that gave Lesnar his first defeat, Frank Mir.
“It was a good fight, but he’s wearing a belt that’s a make believe belt, I’ve got the real championship belt.” stated Lesnar after Carwin’s victory.
Unlike other fighters Shane is a degree holder in Mechanical engineering as well as a bachelor’s degree in environmental technology so Carwin always has a fall back but MMA was always his first love. He was always drawn to physical sports having been a NCAA division 2 wrestling champion and a two-time All-American football for Western state. He embraces the sweat, the pain and the adrenaline and MMA offers everything he was looking for. He fought 12 times before Lesnar and won all of them in the first round; 7 by knockouts and 5 by submissions. He was destined to be a champion and after taking baby steps all the way to the top a fight with Lesnar is a culmination of everything he worked for. This was his dream and this was his purpose long before he started fighting. He wants to be on top and no one can stop him not even the physically imposing Lesnar.
Carwin has an enormous punching power and as his left hook found its place on the 265 pounder Lesnar in the first round it looks like it’s a short night for Carwin as Lesnar staggered on the cage and was clearly on trouble. He pounded the champion to the ground giving him punch after punch peppered with his heavy elbows but it was not enough to finish Brock giving him second wind going to the next round. Round 2 was an unfamiliar territory for Carwin ending fights with round 1 all on his 12 bouts as he move forward and was caught by Lesnar’s massive arms for a take down wherein he was full mounted before Lesnar finish him with an arm triangle choke.
It was Shane Carwin’s first defeat, his first let down on his MMA career and like they always say the first cut is the deepest. He lost his belt and he lost his chance to become an undisputed champion. But he can always put his head high after two gruelling rounds giving Brock a beating. After his performance for sure there would be a rematch and Carwin would be ready at that time. No one ever won a Chess match by making only forward moves. Sometimes you have to move backward to take a better step forward.

Chuck Lidell walks a little groggy towards the locker room with a tissue on his bloodied nose. A mixture of disbelief and some taste of reality. UFC 115 was supposed to be his homecoming, his graceful exit or a strong statement that he is definitely back in the crop of the MMA superstar circle he wanted to be like his forty something buddy Randy Couture who will also be headlining UFC 118 against a former boxing champion James “lights out” Toney but the only difference is that Couture have been 2-2 on his last four fights winning against Mark Coleman and Brandon Vera while Lidell is 1-3 before fighting Rich Franklin with 2 defeats came from knockouts. It’s the same old story for fighters going past their prime looking for that one big fight and one big chance and for most of them they stumbled into a one big hole.
Rich Franklin was Chuck’s golden ticket he was only 5 years younger and a former middleweight champion who had been struggling while moving up in the light heavy weight division (2-2); a division Chuck have grown his roots since he made a name for himself. Rich is already a household name in MMA and he is a game fighter who doesn’t back out in any fight be it on the octagon or the streets and Chuck knows Franklin’s all out offense is susceptible to his vaunted power punching. The story has been laid out the only difference was Franklin followed the wrong script. Chuck was leading for the most part as Franklin broke his left arm in the first round after blocking a kick from Lidell. As Chuck came on charging missing a shot and Franklin countered with a right hook straight to his chin and Chuck went flat on his back. It was Lidell’s number one asset before when he took Noe Hernandez’s best shot on an overhand right on his UFC debut way back in 1998 it landed straight on his chin and Chuck walked right through it that change the complexion of the fight and now it’s the same strength that slowly betrayed him. Those last two fights against Mauricio Rua and Rashad Evans were both chin shots and both fights Chuck laid flat on his back. Chuck worked hard to strengthen his chin before UFC 115 “I didn’t spar for all that time to give myself a rest and, hopefully, the chin is back,” Liddell said in Yahoo’s Iole column. “They say you can recover it and so hopefully I did. And I’m working hard to try to protect it a little better, too.” But there is no remedy for a glassy chin it’s like a broken vase that no matter how you put it back together it’s still not the same…
All Rich Franklin had to do is find that chin and with a broken arm he only needs one shot to call it the night… Chuck Lidell got back up and walks groggy towards his dressing room nursing a bleeding nose he knows this would be his last fight and as he walks through the crowd still shouting and praising his name going through the tunnel towards the locker room as the last flicker of bright lights hover around Chuck’s ailing body… he knows it’s the end of the tunnel for him and a start of a new beginning.

2009 has been such a memorable year for us. Boxing was alive again but with some minor bumps along the road. Basketball has shifted its crown in the Western division when the LA Lakers won the NBA championship. Mix martial arts have up the notch with it’s no holds barred matchup and now as the year has come to an end we all hope 2010 would be a much better year not only for contact sports but for the entirety of sports. Here are some of my wish lists for 2010:

10. The return of Brock - The current UFC heavyweight champion who had to pull out of his scheduled fight against Shane Carwin because of an intestinal disorder. Brock had to undergo surgery and his return had to be put on hold. He is on his way to recovery and will resume training next year. We all want the best from Brock and what better way to see him defend his title and back to his old self crushing his opponents at will.

9. End of Tiger Woods dilemma - He who doesn’t sin cast the first stone I can’t blame girls go gaga over Tiger Woods. The ongoing controversy made Tiger decide to have an indefinite leave in golf which is not a good move after all. It’s the same dilemma Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and even Manny Pacquiao have been through but what makes them different than Tiger is that after all the distractions and all the legal threat they still keep on playing in the end all those things died down and their legacy intact. We all hope to see Tiger Woods back early next year.

8. One more year for Anderson Silva in MMA- the 35 year old Brazilian fighter is contemplating retirement next year. I can’t blame him with no real competition and lackluster fights recently. Anderson needs something or someone to inspire him. He still has 6 contractual fights with UFC and with one coming against fellow Brazilian fighter Vitor Belfort but looks like one leg has already stepping on the way out talking about a fight against former boxing great Roy Jones Jr. in a boxing match. Anderson Silva still has it in him we all hope he stays fighting in the MMA for another year before thinking about retirement or Roy Jones Jr.

7. Donaire-Darchinyan rematch- After the two fought each other in 2007 Donaire won Darchinyan’s IBO-IBF belt in a stunning fashion that was voted as knockout of the year. After the match both fighters went on a contrasting career Darchinyan move up and went on to win multi-titled belts and now campaigning back to super flyweight when a move to bantamweight wasn’t so successful when Joseph Agbeko got the unanimous decision win last July 11. Donaire on the other hand was inactive most of the time fighting only once in 2008. Fighting with the same division with Darchinyan it is inevitable that they would face each other eventually. Now talks have been resurfacing about a mega fight between the two. Nonito has to face Gerson Guerrero next year in a Feb. 13 clash if Donaire is successful in defending his WBA interim belt then we might see Donaire-Darchinyan match around June or July. We hope so.

6. Lebron James in the Slamdunk contest - He was given an encore non-contested dunk in the All stars last year with his intention in joining the Slam dunk competition in 2010. But to whatever reason James now have a 50-50 chance in joining the competition. The current MVP in the NBA James doesn’t need to prove anything to the public but like what Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Julius Erving had done; it gave them a stamp of greatness and an inch higher in the competition as an NBA player. Actually it would have been better if James never mentioned in joining the Slamdunk contest but when he said he will be joining we all expect him to be a man of his words if you are named as one of the greatest human highlight player in the planet then that is all expected.

5. Pacquiao’s legal battle with GBP and the Mayweathers- There is to a point that you really have to suck it all up and shut up. When does evidence made to just mere instinct? Well they got what they deserved. And I hope this would be a lesson learned not only for boxing but to all sports. We need basis, we need good evidence let’s not take away the victory and achievements on any athlete in order words don’t open your mouth if you don’t have sufficient evidence to back your claim. Comprende?

4. Boston and Lakers rivalry- The Celtics humiliated the Lakers on their last Finals outing that have been an ongoing war since their dynasty days. The Lakers wants to get a piece of Boston and vice versa. The Cavaliers has every reason to spoil the party and for sure San Antonio and co will also try to give the Lakers some stiff competition. But at the end of it all we all want to see the Celtics and the Lakers clashing in for the finals again and i hope 2010 is a magical year for us.

3. Edwin Valero’s chance- I ranked him all the way up here because Edwin has been such a devastating puncher all throughout his career with a perfect KO record. We don’t want to see such a good fighter going down because no one wants to fight him. He is that good those fighters feared him and he is that too risky that no known fighter wants to fight him. Humberto Soto would be a good fight for Valero this 2010 and it doesn’t need the fight to happen in US soil after failing to secure his Visa it could happen in Mexico or any part of the globe. Valero needs competition and I believe this would be a breakout year for him.

2. Another MVP award for Mr. Bryant – He doesn’t have to score big or guard superstars on opposing teams but Kobe wants the competition the Lakers are becoming the complete team reaching to its full potential with their height and versatility. Lebron has a legitimate claim to be Bryant’s top competition but being MVP is not being scored by statistics it’s all about consistency and so far between James and Bryant, Kobe is more consistent. It’s still too early to tell but I believed weather Kobe, James or Dwayne Wade they all deserved it.

1. A March 13 date between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. - The contract has not been signed yet and the fight looks like its looming to be left in the cold with all the controversy and demands but whatever the outcome is I hope the fight will happen. It’s the biggest fight in our era and it would be a waste to see it all in the drain. We don’t want a Pacquiao-Malignaggi fight or a Mayweather-Matthew Hatton fight we want Pacquiao and Mayweather by hook or by crook.

His apartment bills are slowly piling up and Pat Barry is facing eviction on his own apartment if those bills are left unpaid. It has been five months since Pat fought in UFC 98 under Evans and Machida fight. Although the fight gave him some leeway on his bills but Pat lost to a guillotine choke with one minute and 42 seconds remaining on the fight by newcomer Tim Hague it was his first MMA defeat and a very frustrating one for Patrick.
His redemption came 6 months after in UFC 104 under the controversial Machida V.S. Shogun fight he made a short workout against Netherlands native Antoni Hardonk in just 7 seconds giving him knockout of the night and fight of the night award. The fight ended relatively early but his unpaid debts are still piling up each day. Pat had to squeeze deep on his pockets and ended up eating rice with ketchup just to make ends meet. “I could ask someone but then at the same time, how hard are you going to work for something if everytime you get in trouble somebody catches you? I did something to put myself in this position I have to work my way out of It.” quoted in yahoo sports during Pat Barry’s interview in mmascrapradio.com. He went to the fight with little food on his stomach draining every practice without his coach knowledge and if the fight cancelled he would end up in the streets with his old truck.
Swollen with some black eye on his face Pat Barry went into the bank to deposit his $120,000 paycheck it took an hour before the bank manager was convinced it was him. Pat was smiling and told the Bank manager to take his time since he has nowhere to go and probably his old truck won’t start when he goes out.
Now he doesn’t need to eat rice with ketchup he can pay all the bills and keep his apartment he has all the money to do so. Such an inspiring story with a touch of reality this would definitely one of the feel good stories I really love. Now the world knows about Patrick Barry the fighter with the ketchup story.

Juan Diaz grosteque cut on his left eyebrow and eyelid was so open that the blood was flowing profusely even if the renowned Joe Chavez tried to stop the bleeding. The first cut was from a right uppercut that opened the gash on Diaz eyebrow while the second cut was from an accidental clash of heads. Paulie Malignaggi was controlling the entire fight with his precise jabs and quick footwork but the outcome wasn’t that promising thanks to the hometown crowd and ringside judges.

The fight was too closed to call it a unanimous decision with both fighters having no upperhand in the fight. Diaz the pressure puncher has done all he have to do to put Malignaggi out but Paulie went back to being a technical fighter with his fast combination and precise jabs. I think Paulie has also done enough to earn him a W in the end but how in the hell would a judge scored it 118-110 to Diaz or David Sutherland’s 116-112 that is one blow to boxing. “Let me just say that the 118-110 score from Gale Van Hoye is DISGUSTING. “Paul Malignaggi is a great fighter,” stated Juan Diaz that speaks right about everything. Politics stained the good name of boxing causing the depreciation of the sport favoring the Mix Martial Arts as the no.1 contact sport as of today. Hometown crowd or home town decision I feel how Paulie felt when he heard the verdict it’s like being rob infront of your eyes and you knew it was happening but you cant do anything about it. Let me stress out why:
1.) Paulie as great as he is doesn’t have a big following compared to Diaz. He may have a lightning fast footspeed but he doesn’t have the power to back it up. Fans love boxers who fought toe to toe with their opponents and Paulie’s refusing to engage more made him a lesser fan favorite per say.
2.) The Golden Boy connection gave Diaz an instant access although Diaz has fought his heart out on that fight and deservingly won the belt but Paulie also made a good case for himself but the crowd wants Diaz to win and GBP has future plans for Diaz.
3.) Marketability of the two fighters really is a factor and based on the two Diaz came out unanimous with no contest.

I was rooting for Juan Diaz and i think he has given everything to win that fight but the lopsided scoring was clearly unfair to Paulie who also work hard to make that fight exciting. 118-110 is too much give the man some respect… for Christ sake give the man some boxing justice.

In one of Frank Mir’s commercial Mir said that only 10 people in the world on any given night can beat him. It wasn’t a catchy quote or phrase to show how tough he was but it was a declaration that he isn’t afraid of anyone or anything inside or outside the MMA ring. UFC 100 is fast approaching and once again Frank Mir will be on the ring with the person he defeated many nights ago and Brock Lesnar is itching his hands against Mir whom he dominated most of the fight but struggled to free himself when caught by a knee bar. The former professional wrestler is the current heavyweight champion who overwhelms his opponent with his powerful strikes and his most notable win would definitely against future hall of famer Randy Couture in UFC 91.
Frank Mir has his share of heartaches when he had a motorcycle accident in September 2004 and yet a tore ligament and a broken femur on his knee didn’t stop Mir from returning in the ring to be greeted with a TKO loss in round 1 by a new comer Marcio Cruz on his first comeback fight. It was a shocker but it was quite expected after a year of rehabilitating and undergoing surgeries. Losing again to former light heavy weight Brandon Vera was a turning point of Mir’s career he was close to hanging up his gloves only to find himself back in the ring against Antoni Hardonk and executed a Kimura in round 1.
Winning against Lesnar in UFC 81 led him to an Interim belt on which he knock Brazilian Antonio Nogueira in round 2. Now UFC 100 presented an intriguing rematch with Lesnar and Mir for the undisputed heavyweight championship belt. There is no way Mir could over power the 6-foot-3, 265 lbs Lesnar who dominated him and took him down with strikes on their initial match. But even Lesnar who landed some illegal punches on Mir’s head wasn’t able to take Mir out and when he hastily escapes the attempted arm bar; Mir was quick to capitalize on Lesnar’s knee. In order for Mir to succeed in their rematch he will have to be smart in fighting Brock.
Frank Mir confidently walk through the commercial and talked about the 10 people who could beat him. UFC 100 will be this Saturday and although there is no certainty on the outcome but one thing Mir is certain about… Lesnar is not part of the 10 people who thinks that can beat him.

A hit and run incident followed by a high speed police pursuit Quintin “Rampage” Jackson was just being true to his name. After pleading guilty he will have to face charges come 2010.
Jackson after riding a 6 game winning streak grabbing Chuck Lidell’s belt and winning a unanimous decision against Dan Henderson was humbled by Forrest Griffin on UFC 86. He went back to his winning ways against an opponent who twice beaten him way back on his Pride days. Wanderlei Silva got Knockout with Jackson’s patented move the left hook. The hook that shock Chuck Lidell, the hook that gave him an edge against Henderson but other than the power of his hooks there is nothing much to talk about on his arsenal. Jackson is getting to be predictable and sooner or later he will be exposed. His unanimous win last Saturday against Keith Jardine was great but expected. People would want to see their matchup against undefeated Rashad “Sugar” Evans if Jackson wins. Keith Jardine is a tough cookie eating Jackson’s hooks with pleasure although there are several instances that Keith had wobbly legs but he stood up and fought Jackson till the bell ended. Jackson seldom made a submission move and other than some occasional leg strikes he relies solely on his hands although this is a good thing but a well rounded opponent could give Jackson some headaches. Forrest Griffin did just that with his leg kicks although Keith was successful in confusing Jackson but he just doesn’t have the power and the athleticism of a Rashad Evans.
Jackson went face to face with Rashad after his unanimous decision win and said to the champion I want my belt back… He doesn’t care if he is a short handed fighter; he doesn’t care if he wins by knockout he just want it back… The hit and run incident doesn’t even stop him. Evans has to be ready because Jackson is on a rampage… after all his just being true to his name.

2008 has been a good year for sports and sports betting with the emergence of new superstars and breaking of old records all in all it was quite a run.
The Green Machines
Boston Celtics made a historic run against the Los Angeles Lakers gunning for their 17th Championship on their great franchise. A Cinderella run after a dismal 2006-07 season having a record of 24-58, second-worst in the NBA, including an 18-game losing streak but after acquiring Kevin Garnet and Ray Allen on a trade to Minnesota and Seattle respectively the Celtics soared high starting a 26-3 record and ended in a 66-19 record win. It was an uphill climb against the eight-seeded Atlanta Hawks on their first matchup in the Playoffs and went to seven games against Cleveland. The Celtics crush the Lakers in just 6 games in their finals battle. Though the Lakers were leading most of the games but towards the end the Celtics always come back with the win. After 22 years the Celtics had won their 17th NBA championship a truly deserving win for a seemingly down franchise that overcomes adversity and went on to win with their big hearts and strong willed.
8-8-8 fever
The Beijing Olympics opened in August 8, 2008 and American Michael Fred Phelps went on to become one of the greatest Olympian in history as he surpassed fellow American Mark Spitz having won 8 medals the most in any Olympian and breaking 7 world records. Spitz held the record with 7 medals for 36 years until Phelps changed history. It was indeed an 8-8-8 fever with Phelps breaking records with his 8 gold medals.
The fall of the ALA boys
The once undefeated AJ Banal tasted defeat through the hands of unheralded Rafael Concepcion many thought AJ will breezed off a win against a smaller foe but as the fight progresses AJ loss steam and suffered a TKO loss against Concepcion. Z Gorres road to redemption was cut short after a heart breaking decision loss to Montiel, Gorres was awarded a split draw against cocky Vic Darchinyan who floored Gorres for about 3 times in the fight. Though he escapes with a draw but people and boxing observers saw it for Vic with a wide margin. Vic Darchinyan went on to fight for the IBF title which he easily won via knockout and trash reigning WBC champion Christian Mijares in a unification bout. The last ALA boy was Rey “Boomboom” Bautista who everyone thought is already ripe for a title crack again after failing to answer the mandatory count in round one against hard hitting Ponce De Leon in the boxing world cup. But to everyone’s dismay “Boomboom” failed again and this time against a class B journey man in Heriberto Ruiz. Rey has many flaws but still too young to retire. He needs a major change to get back in championship form. The ALA boys who everyone thought would follow the footsteps of Manny Pacquiao failed on their respective assignments. The dream is there for the taking the question would be how much they want it? Will 2009 be a better year for the famed ALA boys? …Will see.
The MMA kings
We all thought Kimbo Slice would dominate MMA this year but it turns out to be all hype. He was slowly self-destructing as opponents exposing his capability to fight. His fight with unknown Seth Petruzelli was a testament of who the real Kimbo is.
Brock Lesnar who shifted from wrestling to American football found his home in UFC. Winning a championship belt is a rewarding accomplishment but winning it against a legendary fighter is a different thing. Brock took Randy Couture’s UFC belt in an amazing fashion. Kimbo should try his luck in UFC if he wants redemption and fighting against Brock would be much much rewarding for him but then again we don’t want it to over hype coz we all know what happens next.
Pacman doing an Armstrong feat
Henry Armstrong fought in the featherweight, lightweight and welterweight divisions all at once and become champion in those divisions the feat was never duplicated especially in this era were a growing number of champions are made with different organizations built. But Manny Pacquiao has changed history fighting Juan Manuel Marquez as a superfeather weight, fought David Diaz as a lightweight and fought Golden boy Oscar De La Hoya as a Welterweight though the Marquez fight was a close one and could go either way but his manner in dismantling Diaz and Oscar was a tactical display of the once one sided warrior from the Philippines. Manny Pacquiao has showed tremendous determination especially against a bigger foe in Oscar. 2008 was Manny’s year and with bigger fights coming this 2009 against Ricky Hatton or Mayweather Jr. we would witness another classic fights in the making.

2008 was quite a good year for sports and could set up a much bigger and brighter future with records to break and titles to earn. It’s nice to reminisce on all the things that happened. But we all have to move on and face a brighter 2009 with a smile.
2008 what a year that was….

Death is inevitable and everything is a cycle.
After Manny’s 8th masterful rounds of boxing against golden boy Oscar Delahoya the undefeated Welsh man Joe Calzaghe stole the main stream as he was heard all over the world with his comments on boxing which he solely describe as a dying sport.
After winning against former champion Roy Jones Jr. which resulted in a measly PPV buys and escaping a split decision win against Bernard Hopkins with a decent PPV outing. Joe Calzaghe has proven his worth but people are picky with whom and who to watch with the economy struggling into bigger heights. Joe is an undefeated fighter in 46 fights and whose fights are mostly on his turf started to gain recognition when he beat Jeff Lacy and went on to a unification bout against Mikel Kessler. Adding two future hall of famers to his already impressive resume with the likes of Hopkins and Jones is an amazing feat but people choose to watch fighters who fights in a telephone booth, fighters who give their all and will fight toe to toe with a warrior’s mentality.
Joe at age 36 doesn’t want to end up like Oscar De La Hoya he just couldn’t see himself being battered and served as a punching bag against a smaller, younger and hungrier fighter but it also doesn’t give him the right to bash on the sport he started and earned his recognition as boxing’s great. With the emergence of Mixed Martial Arts and the promotional battles among promoters in boxing the sport is slowly loosing its luster. Boxing will never be the same again without Oscar but like Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez and Ali where we thought boxing will never be the same without them.
Boxing is one of the oldest sport in history and through thick and thin people will always support the sport they grew up and love. No Joe boxing is not dead maybe careers or your career is coming to an end but its like life and death, everything is a cycle… Legends come and go and when they do another superstar will emerge.