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Rashad Evans didn’t scream about demanding respect in his prefight interviews because hes smart enough to know that respect must be earned. He earned it and then some with a devastating 2nd round TKO of Chuck Liddell in the main event of UFC 88.

If Evans needed any more validation of how little respect he was getting, he could have taken a look at the UFCs text message prediction poll of the main event which favored The Iceman by a whopping 81% to 19% margin. Or he could have listened to the UFC announcers, who had all but penciled Liddell in for a return to light heavyweight title contention after his inevitable victory.

From the opening horn, Evans showed no fear of Liddell’s once legendary power. Instead, he danced and moved (which was dumbly criticized as showboating by the UFC announce team), using his slick footwork and speed to dart in and out of range of Liddell’s punches. In the process, he was able to use his superior handspeed to get off first. His punches weren’t exactly highlight reel power shots at this point, but were nonetheless effective as evidenced by a cut opened under Liddell’s eye. For his part, Liddell scored with a few shots of his own, but was clearly frustrated by the evasiveness of his opponent.

Evans highlight reel power shot was to come in the 2nd round. Liddell backed Evans up near the cage wall and went to throw an uppercut. Simultaneously, Evans responded with an overhand right that landed quicker, harder and more accurately. The perfectly placed punch knocked Liddell out cold. Evans’ KO was one of the most devastating in the history of the sport, and made all the more so by the status of the man on the receiving end.

Rashad Evans raised his record to 17-0-1 with the TKO victory. Liddell, meanwhile, saw his record drop to 21-6″with three of those six losses coming in his last 4 fights.

Liddells loss notwithstanding, it was a good night for UFC veterans as Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson won their fights in impressive fashion. Franklin looked particularly sharp in dismantling tough Matt Hamill, eventually prevailing by 3rd round TKO. Hamill had trouble getting inside for the takedown he needed to compete in the bout, and every time he closed the distance he was met with a barrage of Franklin punches and kicks.

This was the UFC’s first trip to Atlanta and despite a good attendance the crowd itself was somewhat disappointing. In a marked contrast to the knowledgeable and enthusiastic fans at the Target Center in Minneapolis for UFC 87–arguably the best MMA crowd ever at a US venue–the live crowd at Phillips Arena often acted as if they were at a taping of Georgia Championship Wrestling. Every foreign fighter was booed mercilessly–including South Korean Kim. Kim was treated like legendary Gary Hart managed pro wrestling heel Pak Song as he had to endure a USA chant during his fight. Perhaps the audience didn’t realize that South Korea has been a US ally since its establishment after WW II. The fighters from other “longtime adversaries” of the United States–Brazil and Holland–fared somewhat better.

More problematic was the crowds utter lack of respect for the fighters postfight. Poor Dong Hyun Kim was booed during his postfight interview like he was Professor Toru Takana cutting a heel promo on Mr. Wrestling 2 after winning the Georgia Heavyweight Title by throwing salt in his opponents eyes while the referee was distracted. Not quite the respect that a 4th degree judo black belt whod just won a very tough fight deserves. Kim’s treatment by the fans cant be written off as a reaction to a close split decision victory; Rashad Evans was booed after his victory over Liddell, and short of decapitating ‘The Iceman’ there was no way his win could have been more decisive.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on baseball 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 an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

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.

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. Strikeforce agreed to co-promote with M1 Global, a Russian based promotion company owned by Fedors manager Vadim Finkelchtein and to allow the fighter a non-exclusive deal that would enable him to compete in Japan and Eastern Europe. These had been major stumbling blocks to signing with the UFC.

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 noted:

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. The Minnesota native was originally being groomed by Elite XC as an opponent for street fighting phenom Kimbo Slice. After the demise of that promotion, Kimbo ended up on the UFC reality show The Ultimate Fighter while Rogers went to Strikeforce.

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 writer and noted authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Whenever a person starts to look into the training required to engage in Mma competitions, they are going to quickly find that diversity, flexibility, adaptability, and skill are the answer to competing and winning these types of matches. To discuss the best fighting technique styles suited for Mixed martial arts, it is necessary that you get a summary of what will be required whenever you compete.

Mixed martial arts demands the use of a mixture of combative disciplines. A person is needed to have extremely fast footwork and the ability to fight using all their limbs. When training for this sort of competition, an individual must practice various kinds of martial arts they can easily use interchangeably within the ring.

An essential style that you will use is Muay Thai. This type of martial arts teaches the art of using all your limbs to kick and use your hands, shins, elbows, and knees in striking. Recently, the person having the ability to effectively strike competing is usually at an advantage.

Nevertheless, the sub-sets of the competitions require different martial arts styles. For example, in addition to Muay Thai, a person will need to master Sambo, and Judo to fight effectively in Clinch fighting. For sprawl and brawl fighting, you will need to grasp full contact Karate and Thai boxing. Submission grappling will require you also include Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in your repertoire.

Many Mixed martial arts competitors have started their careers knowing 1 or 2 styles intimately. Therefore, the person that has a well-rounded training that encompasses Muay Thai, full contact Karate, Thai Boxing, Judo, Sambo, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can have the edge in these competitions.

Training and competition require discipline and a chance to adapt styles to meet the requirements of the competition taking place. You have to be able to change and overcome the style that is getting used and effectively take your opponent down using the least effort. Finding the school that will provide the type of dynamic training environment you need under the tutelage of an skilled competitor can be really helpful when you are first entering this type of training.

Since the 90s’ the popularity of Mma is continuing to grow and there are now many schools that teach the multiple styles which are required for any person to compete successfully. By focusing on the styles and learning how to use them properly like a combatant, you are able to successfully win when competing against an opponent who does not have complete control over all the martial arts styles required.

By contacting a professional who has knowledge and expertise within the styles that are required, and the benefits and advantages of every style you will need, you’ll be able to build up the Mixed martial arts style that will be best when you begin to enter competitions. Generally, an individual who is entering Mma training will spend several years in school learning each of the arts before they start mixing them for competition. There is no quick method to learn mma, you will need to be persistent, disciplined and committed in order to achieve your goal.

When practicing MMA be sure to have the proper equipment such as Venum Shorts and MMA Glove it’s important to get the right gear to practice with.

I know, kickboxing karate doesn’t really exist, but it does make a fine translation of arts. When you shift from karate to kickboxing, or shift from kickboxing back to karate, you can win every single contest you are in by knowing the three things I am going to tell you in this article. We are dealing only with the fists, mind you, so you have to control the distance to make sure that you stay at a distance that is comfortable for you to punch at.

If you are going to try to use this data with kicks we would have to set up an art called karate tae kwon do…grin. Or, if you were going to use it with fancy hand traps we might call it shaolin kickboxing. Call it what you will, the techniques will work, but you might have to make some changes.

Before we get into the techniques I should tell you how to set them up. You want to stand with the hands extended, elbows about 135 degrees, palms facing outward, so that the hands are in front of the shoulders. This, incidentally, is an ‘I don’t want to fight’ sign, which is a good thing because it is better to avoid a fight.

The basic concept here is that two objects can’t be in the same place in space. Go on, shove one table through another table. You’ll just end up with fire wood.

First Technique, he is going to have to go around your fist and arms, and you can defend with a hard block and punch. This isn’t a counter strike, this is done simultaneous with a slight body shift/sidestep maneuver. You will have taken the initiative of the fight and can follow up with an attack on the inside line.

Second technique, he is going to try shifting to the front and leading with a jab, and you can just let him pass and punch on his body. With either of these two techniques your opponent is trying to go around you, and this will set him up by shutting his weapons down, or opening his targets up. Either way, you win.

Third technique, and this is the one we want, is when he tries to go between your hands. He can be blocked easily, and, the potential for trapping him, simply by closing your hands, is large. You trap his elbow and his wrist and work an arm bar, and when he tries to back out, or otherwise wiggle, you elbow roll him, and you can work elbow spikes and secondary punches, all while keeping him trapped and unable to fight back.

This kumite technique can further be improved by shifting the body or changing the distance between the fists, thus encouraging your attacker to do exactly what you want. In other words, you will know what he is going to do, and nobody is easier to beat than a fighter who is predictable. So, there you go, that is how you actually apply matrixing concepts to the initial entry into a fight, and when you win that battle just tell everybody you were doing kickboxing karate…heh.

You can get more combat strategies that work, and find out about Matrix Martial Arts at Monster Martial Arts. Pick up a free ebook about Matrixing while you’re there. 3

No one knew quite what to expect in Saturday’s WEC Interim Lightweight Championship battle between Donald Cerrone and Ben Henderson. Henderson was known for his dominating wrestling skills, while Cerrone has a reputation as a punishing striker. Instead of being a clash of styles, however, it was an instance where the differing approaches of the two competitors complimented each other perfectly. The result was a ‘fight of the year’ candidate bout that Henderson won by a narrow-yet unanimous-decision.

Henderson opened the fight with a takedown, but quickly got caught in a guillotine choke attempt. He extricated himself from this predicament only to find himself in a triangle choke that appeared for a moment to be a potential fight ending submission. That would not be the case, however, and Henderson would take control in the last half of the round with his powerful takedowns and ‘ground and pound’ punching assault. The almost even first round would prove to be the decisive frame of the fight.

Rounds two and three were all Henderson, as he took Cerrone down almost at will and began to pummel him on the ground. Cerrone managed a couple of submission attempts from the bottom, and did what he could to keep Henderson off of him with upkicks but nowhere near enough to salvage either round. At times, Cerrone looked downright clueless as to what tactical approach to take.

The tide would turn again in the fourth round, as Cerrone began to time Henderson’s takedown attempts. He became much more difficult to get to the ground, as well as administering punishment of his own after stuffing takedowns with punches and knee strikes. Later in the frame, Cerrone came close to ending the fight when he locked in a nasty and unorthodox choke that WEC commentator Frank Mir described as ‘almost an inverted rear naked choke’. After some tense moments, Henderson was able to escape. Cerrone would also control the final round, evading Henderson’s takedowns while scoring with his striking. He had another potential fight ending submission attempt in the fifth round, as he locked in an arm bar and appeared to have good leverage as he twisted Henderson’s arm into a nasty angle.

The decision itself was somewhat surprising, with Henderson winning all three judges’ scorecards by identical 48-47 scores. He’d clearly won rounds two and three, while Cerrone was the obvious winner of rounds four and five. This meant that all three judges had given the edge to Henderson in the first round, favoring his takedowns and ground punching attack over Cerrone’s two early submission attempts. (The Savage Science scored the fight 48-47 for Cerrone).

Henderson will now face WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner to unify the titles. Varner entered the cage after the decision was announced to ‘cut a promo’ on the winner, and suggested the fight take place in December in Phoenix, Arizona though neither the date nor venue has been finalized.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He 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 energy secretary Donald Hodell.

A day after failing to make weight for his fight against Matt Hughes, Thiago Alves dominated the former UFC welterweight champion en route to a 2nd round TKO victory. The main event at UFC 85 in London was somewhat anticlimactic to the fans at the O2 Arena who considered the semifinal matchup between Manchester’s Michael Bisping and Jason Day the biggest fight on the card.

Hughes didn’t make any excuses following his one sided loss, saying simply that hes a good fighter and he got me. The longtime king of the UFCs welterweight division also gave notice that his career as an active fighter was drawing to a close, suggesting that he had one fight left and challenging Matt Serra in what presumably would be his retirement match. Hughes had no answer for Alves from the opening horn, as he was stuffed on several takedown attempts early on. When he did finally get his opponent to the ground he was unable to do much damage. Alves, conversely, scored effectively with his striking including several damaging knee strikes. He also did considerable work on the ground, with an elbow strike opening up a large cut on Hughes forehead.

The end came early in the 2nd round as Hughes was caught coming in by a devastating knee strike. He fell to the canvas in a heap and referee Herb Dean was jumping in to stop the contest before Alves could follow up with any punches. As the ringside physician entered the ring to check on the fallen fighter, Hughes gave an indication that his knee was injured. Replays showed that his knee buckled under him in a very awkward fashion as he fell and while the extent of the damage is yet to be determined Hughes indicated in the postfight interview that it was messed up.

Michael Bisping simply overwhelmed Jason Day en route to a lopsided TKO victory. Bisping built upon the improved boxing skills he demonstrated at UFC 83 by unveiling an impressive ground and pound attack. Day never really got anything going and by the last minute of the fight was simply trying to cover up to prevent damage from Bispings elbows and hammer fists.

In other action, Mike Swick used an array of high kicks and a 7 reach advantage to coast to a unanimous decision over Marcus Davis. Davis, a former professional boxer, was unable to get inside against his lanky opponent and was never really in the fight.

A controversial point deduction for a strike to the back of the head cost Nate Marquardt his match against Thales Leites. Marquardt was solidly in charge for the entire fight, but suffered a point deduction for an illegal knee strike in round one. While that infraction was valid, replays of the 2nd round deduction for the strike to the back of the head gave the impression that he was penalized for a legal strike to the side of the head.

In the opening PPV match, another controversial ending saw Fabrico Werdum defeat Brandon Vera by 1st round KO. The fight had been evenly contested up until the stoppage, with Werdum scoring a couple of takedown and Vera countering with some effective punching. Late in the first round, Werdum got a full mount and began to fire a series of punches. Vera was clearly defending himself and didnt appear to be hurt at all when the referee jumped in to stop the fight. Vera said that hed answered that he was OK when asked by ref Dan Miragliotta and that he was just trying to ride out the round from that position.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He 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 an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Georges St-Pierre was born May 19, 1981 in Saint-Isidore, Quebec, to Jim and Louise St-Pierre. St-Pierre had a difficult childhood, attending a school where others would steal his clothes and money. He started learning Kyokushin karate at age seven by his father and later by a Kyokushin Karate Master to defend himself against a school bully, Nikolas Mavrikos.

He took up wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after his karate teacher died and also trained in boxing. Before turning pro as a mixed-martial artist, St-Pierre worked as a bouncer at a Montreal night club in the South Shore called Fuzzy Brossard and as a garbageman for six months to pay for his school fees.

St-Pierre has trained with a number of groups in a large variety of gyms throughout his fighting career. Prior to his fight with B.J. Penn at UFC 58, he trained at the Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in New York City. St-Pierre received his brown belt in BJJ from Renzo Gracie on July 21, 2006. In September 2008, St-Pierre earned his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Bruno Fernandes.

St-Pierre began training with Rashad Evans, Nathan Marquardt, Keith Jardine, Donald Cerrone, and other skilled MMA fighters at Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting Gaidojutsu school in New Mexico. Some of Jackson’s students accompanied St-Pierre to Montreal to help prepare him for his fight at UFC 94 against B.J. Penn at the Tristar Gym, including Keith Jardine, Nathan Marquardt, Donald Cerrone and Rashad Evans. Georges’ strength and conditioning coach is Jonathan Chaimberg of Adrenaline Performance Centre in Montral. Georges’ Head Trainer is Firas Zahabi of Zahabi MMA, out of the Tristar gym. The two have cornered all of St-Pierre’s most recent bouts and remain as his close friends. Currently, St-Pierre trains in Muay Thai under Phil Nurse at the Wat in New York City.

St-Pierre had dreamed of becoming a UFC champion since watching Royce Gracie fight in 1993 at UFC 1. St-Pierre had his first amateur bout when he was only 16 years old. He said, “When I won my first amateur (MMA) fight, I was 16 years old and I beat a guy that was 25. I was only a Kyokushin karate fighter and the guy I fought was a boxer. At the time my ground skills were very poor, I didn’t know anything on the ground.” St-Pierre won his fight by knockout, going low with several leg kicks and then going high with a kick to the head.

St-Pierre’s pro debut was against Branden Macfadden and the fight ended in a first round to-knockout win by St-Pierre. In only his second fight, St-Pierre’s challenge for the UCC belt against Justin Bruckmann. He won by an arm bar in the first round. He then went on to defend his title twice. The UCC aka Universal Combat Challenge was then converted to TKO Major League MMA and he was named the champion. He fought on November 29, 2003 against Pete Spratt in a non-title bout at TKO 14. St-Pierre defeated Spratt with a rear naked choke in the first round. Following his second win in the UFC, he faced Matt Hughes at UFC 50 for the vacant UFC Welterweight Championship. Despite a competitive performance against the much more experienced fighter, St-Pierre tapped out to an armbar with only 1 second remaining in the first round. The loss was the first of St-Pierre’s career and he has since admitted that he was in awe of Hughes going into the title bout.

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When golf legend Jack Nicklaus was still a young upstart in the sport and only starting to tear up PGA courses, legend Bobby Jones commented following ‘The Golden Bear’s”65 Masters win that “he plays a game with which I am not familiar”. Following his absolute destruction of Rashad Evans in the main event of UFC 98, there’s likely a few MMA fighters saying the same thing about the new light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida who made it look easy en route to a 2nd round TKO victory.

The fight started slowly, with each man trying to get a feel for his opponent and wait him out to see who blinked first. Evans, who prefers to counter punch, quickly began to become uncomfortable with facing an adversary who didn’t come right at him. Late in the first round, Machida went on offense with frightening suddenness, flooring Evans with a nice straight right hand. Evans was able to recover and survive, but it only delayed the inevitable as Machida used another right hand to send his opponent down again and did so for the third time in the fight with a crisp combination that displayed the handspeed that hadn’t before been seen from ‘The Dragon’ . Evans gamely tried to fight back, but a final right hand from the Shotokan Karate master left him out cold.

After the fight UFC announcer Joe Rogan proclaimed the start of the Machida era and this is not just mere hyperbole. Machida is unlike any fighter before him, rooted in mastery of traditional martial arts but with the versatility of a modern MMA competitor. He’s essentially a Mortal Kombat character come to life–in a more realistic cross disciplinary comparison he shares many of the same characteristics as boxing great Floyd Mayweather, Jr. as he combines insane handspeed, underrated stopping power and nearly impenetrable defense into an unorthodox and extremely lethal package. Like Mayweather, hes a tough opponent to prepare for as there’s simply no way to replicate his skill set in sparring. In another similarity with boxing’s recent pound for pound king, Machida has been bred to fight since birth. His father is a first generation Japanese –Brazilian and a Shotokan Karate legend, Yoshizo Machida. He began training in his fathers discipline at the age of 3 and by the time he was 12 years old had earned a black belt.

Outside of the cage, Machida is a modest and respectful gentleman who is quick to give credit to his father and his karate teachers for his MMA success. He spent most of his UFC 98 postfight interview not singing his own praises, but imploring others to strive to realize their dreams. In the past, his limited English was seen as a potential marketing liability here in the US but on this occasion he demonstrated vastly improved fluency in the language as a Portuguese translator stood by.

An odd trivia note about Machida serves as further repudiation for MMA neophytes who think that the sports kinship with pro wrestling began with Brock Lesnar: Machida was discovered by Japanese wrestling legend Antonio Inoki, and became something of his protege. He trained for some time at the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in Tokyo.

Perhaps the most frightening thing about Machida is that hes only now reaching his full potential as an MMA fighter. In other words, hes only going to get better which is a scary prospect for opponents given the fact that hes never lost in MMA competition. In his recent bouts hes shown a downright lethal ability to end fights. He stopped Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at UFC 79 with an arm triangle choke, and blitzed Evans and previous foe Thiago Alves with punishing punching combinations en route to TKO victories.

Machida will very likely face Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson at some point in the future and, with all due respect to the PRIDE/UFC veteran, its difficult to see him faring much differently than Evans did. One thing working in ‘Rampage’s’ favor is his greater experience and a resume filled with high level opponents of various fighting styles.

In the co-main event of the evening, Matt Hughes defeated Matt Serra by unanimous decision to gain the upperhand in their long running feud. It was a surprisingly entertaining fight, with Serra taking the first round with his power punching before Hughes used his takedown and ground control abilities to win rounds two and three.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on soccer 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 energy secretary Donald Hodell.

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Reigning lightweight champ BJ Penn entered his main event battle against welterweight kingpin Georges St. Pierre looking to become the first man in UFC history to simultaneously hold titles in two weight classes. GSP never gave him the chance to make history, as he stopped Penn after four increasingly dominant rounds to retain his belt with a TKO victory.

During ring introductions, both men received enthusiastic cheers tempered with a few boos. After the opening horn sounded, however, the Penn backers had little to cheer about . The first round was fairly evenly contested, with St. Pierre trying to get a first hand feel for Penn’s often unorthodox takedown defense. GSP made several takedown attempts, but had them repeatedly stuffed.

Boxing guru Freddy Roach recently praised Penn as the best technical puncher in MMA, but he had no opportunity to bring this weapon to bear as he had trouble finding the range from the outset. GSP mixed up his look perfectly, either staying just outside Penns range using his 6 reach advantage effectively or more often smothering his opponent on takedown attempts.

GSP began to assert his dominance in round two”with Penn starting to fatigue he was no longer able to fend off St. Pierres single leg takedown attempts by balancing on one leg. GSP got a takedown early in the frame and began to mount a ground and pound assault while moving around in Penns legendary guard almost at will moving from half guard to side control with frightening ease. At this point, it was apparent that GSPs superior strength and insane physical conditioning were going to figure prominently in the outcome of the fight.

The eventual outcome was foretold between rounds two and three, as the obviously exhausted Penn required a pep talk from his entourage that his fatigue was all in his head. Across the cage, GSP calmly sipped water looking for all the world that he could go 12 rounds.

Round three was similar to the previous one, with GSP taking his opponent to the mat with a decreasing level of resistance and mauling him with punches and elbows once he got there. His complete control over the BJJ black belt Penn was incredible, but hardly surprising given the way that GSP dominated four time NCAA All American wrestler Josh Koscheck on the ground during their matchup.

The fourth round was a wall to wall rout for the welterweight champion, who started by effectively trading strikes with Penn before taking him down once again and resuming his highly successful ground based attack. At this point with GSP moving around at ease and Penn mounting little resistance it was apparent that the challenger was physically spent. St. Pierre almost ended the fight on the ground, as referee Herb Dean repeatedly reminding Penn that he needs to fight back. Penn survived the round on instinct alone, moving around just enough to keep the referee from stopping the proceedings. After the horn sounded to end the fourth round, however, it was evident that Penn had nothing physically or emotionally left and the fight was stopped by Dean on advice from the ringside physician.

Displaying his characteristic class, GSP delayed his celebration until he had crossed the cage and kneeled by his vanquished foe to honor his competitive spirit. After a quick celebration among GSP and his team, he faced his next challenger in the person of Thiago Alves. While clearly brought into the cage to start the fight promotion early, Alves appeared somewhat in awe as he congratulated the welterweight champion on his victory.

Earlier in the evening, Lyoto Machida kept his undefeated professional MMA record intact with a first round TKO victory over Thiago Silva. Machida may be the best in the world at fighting while backing up, and Silva found his aggressive style working against him. Machida took his opponent down and knocked his opponent down twice”all counters as Silva was coming forward and Machida backing away. As the first round entered its final seconds, it appeared that Silva started to ease up in anticipation of the horn. Machida used this opportunity for another takedown, and then nailed his surprised opponent with a powerful punch that ended the fight.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and highly 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.

While mixed martial arts fighting has only recently become popular in the United States, contests between fighters of different martial arts disciplines have taken place in Japan for many years. They weren’t called “mixed martial arts” until recently, but they were definitely an embryonic form of the now booming sport. Many of the most famous events of this type took place in Japan during the’70′s involving pro wrestling legend Antonio Inoki.

Inoki would often face other martial artists in fights that are widely accepted to have been “worked” (having a predetermined outcome) in the same manner as professional wrestling matches. While Inoki faced a number of karate, judo and boxing champions his most famous match was certainly his fight against world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali.

There are differing accounts of how the best heavyweight boxer in history found himself in a ring in Tokyo’s Budokan Arena against a pro wrestler. One thing is certain–it was viewed as an easy payday for Ali, who’d lost a good chunk of his prime earning years to his controversial stance over the Vietnam war. That’s what got him there in the first place, and that’s what kept him there after the two sides began squabbling over the rules and the outcome of the fight. Some suggest that it was supposed to be a “fair fight” going in and once Ali saw Inoki spar he insisted on rules changes to tilt the fight in his favor. Another more likely version of the story suggests that Ali’s handlers knew that the fight was supposed to be a “work” all along. They made the deal with Inoki’s people based on this fact, and were all on board as to the outcome of the match and how it would “finish”. The “original” plan was to have Inoki win in a controversial manner that would keep his undefeated streak in “MMA” matches intact while allowing Ali to “save face. The only person who wasn’t aware of the game plan, however, was Ali himself. When informed that he was supposed to “take a dive”, even in a convoluted fashion, Ali refused. No agreement was reached between the two camps and at the last minute a legit fight transpired. The promoters were left with a sold out Budokan, a worldwide PPV audience and two fighters who despite every effort to the contrary would actually have to fight each other.

The rules that were in place on fight night were so ridiculously one sided in favor of Ali that it almost defies belief. Inoki wasn’t allowed to hit Ali with a closed fist, nor strike him in the head at all. He was also prohibited from using any sort of choke or submission maneuver. Most problematically, he was prohibited from trying to take Ali to the ground. In other words, Inoki was basically not permitted to do anything that would threaten Ali with any sort of physical harm.

The painfully boring event that ensued was, despite many suggestions to the contrary, an actual fight. Inoki spent most of the match on the ground, unsuccessfully imploring Ali to join him and throwing kicks at his opponent’s legs. Ali did even less throughout the match, throwing a few jabs and trying to protect his knees and legs. The fight was scored on a 5 point system, and ended up in a 74-74 draw. It’s worth noting that Inoki had three points deducted for very dubious infractions: the first for throwing (and missing) with a drop kick, the second for throwing an elbow to Ali’s head and the third for a swift kick to Ali’s ribs. Had these deductions not occurred, Inoki would have won by decision. From a strict standpoint of scoring boxing, he probably deserved to win since he at least tried to execute a fight plan despite the restrictions he faced. For all practical purposes, however, a draw was the proper outcome. Both guys got paid and no one won, least of all the fans.

The fight was officiated by former pro wrestler “Judo” Gene Labell, a legendary tough guy considered at the time to be the ‘baddest man on the planet’. He could have easily beaten up both men, possibly at the same time. That might have provided some much needed entertainment to liven up the tedious charade masquerading as a fight.

After the fight, Inoki’s popularity in Japan was greater than ever. He became something of a hero for trying to fight despite having the rules so decidedly in his opponent’s favor. He’d continue his fights against other martial artists and remain one of the country’s most popular sports figures for years to come. His ‘worked’ martial arts matches can be credited with sparking later hybrid promotions showcasing pro wrestling and martial arts that evolved into PRIDE, RINGS and the major Japanese fight promotions of today.

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