A recap of this past week in MMA news and blues.

Here are a few interesting stories that have come up this week in the world of MMA.

• Lyoto Machida survives scare at UFC 104, retains belt with decision win over “Shogun” Rua - There has been an immense amount of speculation to who really won the UFC light heavyweight title saturday night at UFC 104.  Although that is now neither here nor there.  Here is an article from MMAjunkie.com’s John Morgan posted on October 25th that recaps the night. 

• Updates on sanctioning of MMA in New York - With the fight for MMA in New York still an on going battle, here is a little update from NY MMA Examiner Peter Lampasona from Examiner.com that was posted on October 26th.

• Lesnar vs. Carwin scrapped from UFC 106, targeted for UFC 108 (Updated) - Something for those who haven’t heard yet. The fight that had most, if not all, MMA fans a little anxious is now postponed.  With the latest card for UFC 106 not looking all to interesting, the UFC may need to skip right to UFC 107. This is the article written by MMAjunkie.com’s Dann Stupp posted on October 26th.

• Machida: ‘I Was Superior’ - No matter what you say about the Machida vs Shogun fight, there is no doubting Lyoto’s feeling on the decision.  Sherdog.com’s Marcelo Alonso spoke to Lyoto Machida. This was posted on October 27th.

• Jeff Monson vs Travis Fulton, DMX vs Eric Martinez headline Dec 12 mma/boxing event - What could be so interesting about this? One word…DMX! Sure it is only a boxing match, but it is DMX. Check out this article from MMAjunkie.com posted on Oct. 28th.

• UFC 104 CONTROVERSY: THE PEOPLE VS. PEOPLES - It seems no one is happy with this guy!  Here is the article posted on Oct. 28th from MMAweekly.com’s Steven Marrocco.

• If the fighters didn’t take TUF 10 seriously, why should the fans - The performance of Mitrione and Junk on this past TUF was not very impressive. They looked way to out of shape. They train everyday to compete. You would think they would be more prepared. Here is the article posted on Oct. 29th by Cagewriter.com’s Steve Cofield

  

• TUF 10′s Zak Jensen faces wrongful death lawsuit - What a way for the world of MMA to stay in the news! This was posted by Fiveknuckles.com’s Natalia Baage.

• Dan Hardy in Photos - Some pictures of Dan Hardy preparing for his UFC 105 fight with Mike “Quick” Swick from Sherdog.com’s Stephen Albanese.

• War Machine has begun a career in porn - Though many other sites have reported it, this is the article from aroundtheoctagon.com posted November 1st.

NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

Although this has nothing to do with MMA it is good to mix it up. If you haven’t checked out failblog.org you need to. Great example of how stupid people can be!

This link is a great example. Check out this fail from failblog.

If you have any ideas on articles for the next “Cage Clinch Sunday news & blues” contact us and we will work on getting it up.

Anthony Johnson Vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

The first main card bout of the night is scheduled to be between 7-2 Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and 11-3 Yoshiyuki “Zenko” Yoshida.  Although Johnson has a good three inches on Yoshida, he has not been as successful on the ground. Eleven of Yoshida’s victories came by submission.  The one thing “Rumble” does have is knock out power.  He has shown that in five of his past fights, knocking out fighters like Luigi Fioravaniti and Tommy Speer. I think he will use that power to take this one.

CC’s Prediction: Johnson via TKO in the 2nd round

Joe Stevenson Vs. Spencer Fisher

The next bout will be an intense fight between 30-10 Joe “Daddy” Stevenson vs 23-4 Spencer “the King” Fisher.  Even ThoughFisher’s stand-up game is better than Stevenson’s, his  ground game is lacking in comparison. I trulyfeel that if Stevenson is able to take “the King” to the ground andcontrol him he will win. But Fisher does have a solid ground game and is a very dangerous striker.

CC’s Prediction: Fisher by decision

Gleison Tibau Vs. Josh Neer

Next bout is between 19-6 Gleison Tibau vs 25-8-1 Josh “the Dentist” Neer. Withboth fighters coming off of losses, Tibau to Melvin Guillard and Neer to Kurt Pelligrino. Bothwere by submission. Though bothfighters have been successful on the ground Neer has been more efficient standing up.

CC’s Prediction: Neer via TKO in the 2nd Round

Cain Velasquez Vs. Ben Rothwell

This fight is one I have been extremely anxious for, 6-0 Cain Velasquez takes on 30-6 “Big” Ben Rothwell. Having  become a huge fan of Cain Velasquez, I would really like to see him come out on top of this fight. Problem is that I don’t really see that happening.  Rothwell was unbeaten in his IFL career, which he was in the middle of when Velasquez started his pro career.  By experience alone I would give this to Rothwell, but Velasquez has intense power and accuracy.

CC’s Prediction: Velasquez via TKO in the 3rd Round

Lyoto Machida Vs. Mauricio Rua

Now for the main event of the evening.  Also one of the hardest fights I will probably ever try to predict. 15-0 Lyoto “the Dragon” Machida goes up against 18-3 Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.  Both are phenomenal on the ground and stand-up, both have knock out power and both deserve to be champion.  Machida and Lyoto have very impressive resumes. This is a my shot in the dark.

CC’s Predicition: Machida via ref stoppage in the 4th Round

Now for the Preliminary quick picks

Ryan Bader Vs. Eric Schafer: Shafer via RNC in the 2nd Round

Antoni Hardonk Vs. Pat Barry: Hardonkvia TKO in the 1st Round

Yushin Okami Vs. Chael Sonnen: Sonnen via decision

Jorge Rivera Vs. Rob Kimmons: Rivera via TKO in the 1st Round

Kyle Kingsbury Vs. Razak Al-Hassan: Al-Hassan via armbarin the 3rd Round

Stefan Struve Vs. Chase Gormley: Struve via decision

That is it folks! Write them down and see how I did. Shooting for that Unfilteredmma.com title for closest predictions.  Don’t forget to check it out saturday Oct. 24th. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

First time MMA promoter, Ryan Kerwin, was more than optimistic about his premier event. Although the hours leading up to the event had Kerwin more and more frantic. Dealing with issues such as broken cage stairs,  wrong size gloves and fighters not able to compete. Ryan and matchmaker Nate Shook were not shaken by the missteps, utilizing all resources they had to put on a night of great fights.

The evening started with three amature fights, the first in the middleweight division.

Thomas Peck vs Preston Shipman: Shipman wins 16 seconds into 2nd round via TKO

The next two fights were in the welterweight division.

Damon Easterling vs Colin Sharpe: Sharpe wins 1:05 into the first round via rear naked choke

Nah-shon Burrell vs Kevin Myerski: Burrell wins 1:02 into the 2nd round via TKO

The fourth bout was the first professional bout of the night. Which was in the feather weight division.

Tony Abatte (1-1) vs Joel Roberts (1-1)

1st Round:  Abatte comes out of the corner and throws a quick jab. Roberts returns with two kicks, the second stumbling Abatte. Roberts takes advantage and brings the fight to the ground. Working into the mount position and pulling off an arm bar to end the fight.

Roberts wins 1:14 into the first round via arm bar.

The fifth fight was another feather weight Bout.

Daniel Strauss (4-2) vs  Tim Troxell (7-3)

1st Round: Strauss lands a high kick at the start of the round, stuns Troxell and is able to pin him against the cage. Strauss is able to get the fight to the ground and gains the dominate position. Both fighters work back up against the cage. Strauss scores another take down and gets side control. Troxell fights and attempts to pull off an armbar, which is unsuccessful. The fighters work back up and clinch against the cage where they exchange knees. Strauss uses the cage to bring Troxell back to the ground where he takes the dominate position and proceeds to pummel him with elbows and punches until the ref stops the fight. 

Strauss wins 3:51 into first round via TKO

The Sixth fight was in the middle weight division. It was also the start of the Cops vs Cons card.  The idea that had many fans taking the side of the Cons.

Officer Taylor Sensabaugh (1-0) vs Convict John Bryant (2-2)

1st Round: The Fighters lock up and Bryant pulls gaurd. They wrestle around and Sensabaugh goes for a triangle choke. Bryant throws punches from the top to try to break the triangle. He lands more punches but it is not enough to break Sensabaugh’s triangle.

Sensabaugh wins 1:38 into the first round via triangle choke

The seventh bout was in the light weight division. 

Officer Brian Smiley (1-0) vs Convict Shannon Green (2-2)

1st Round: Fighters come out with a quick exchange. Smiley shoots in and takes down Green. Green gets back to his feet. Smiley keeps Green against the cage, pulls gaurd and attempts guillotine. Green monuvers to half gaurd, postures up and lands punches. Smiley rolls over and Green takes advantage putting in a deep rear naked choke. Smiley is able to get out of the choke and reverses to mount and pulls off a choke from the mount. 

Smiley wins 4:48 into 1st round via submission

Fight number eight was in the middle weight division.

Officer Lamont Lister (6-7) vs Convict Matt Masterson (5-2)

1st Round: Lister scores a takedown as soon as the round begins. Masterson falls into the butterfly and tries to choke Lister by brining his foot around and under Lister’s head. Lister fights choke and eventually gets to side control. Lister lands heavy punches from the side. Masterson regains control and gets into half gaurd. Lister gets onto Mastersons back and lands several punches.

2nd Round: Lister shoots right in for another quick takedown. This time Masterson sprawls and pulls gaurd. Masterson appears to attempt a kimura, but is unsucessful. Lister land punches from the gaurd. Matt Masterson is able to use the cage to get Lister back up and then score a takedown. Masterson goes to half gaurd but can not pass to a full mount.  Lister attempts to sweep but is unsuccessful. Ref eventually stands both fighters back up. After a small exchange that opens a cut under Listers right eye, Lister shoots for a takedown. Masterson immedietly sets up for the guillotine, catches Lister and sinks it in.

Masterson wins 4:35 in the 2nd Round via guillotine choke

 The ninth fight of the night was in the welter weight division.

Officer Chris Kennedy vs Convict Tommy Gallichio

1st Round: Both fighters come out and exchange punches until Kennedy gets Gallichio up against the cage. The fighters start exchanging knees before Gallichio is able to reverse his position and put Kennedy against the cage. He scores a take down falling into Kennedy’s half gaurd. Although Gallichio moves to side control, Kennedy is able to get back to his feet. After that Gallichio throws a punch that was telegraphed enough for Kennedy to duck and shoot for a takedown. He sprawls and the fighters go back to a clinch position.  Gallichio throws some more knees before Kennedy lands a takedown falling into Gallichio’s gaurd. The fighters wrestle around but neither makes progress and the ref stands them up. Kennedy shoots for a double leg but is unsuccessful when Gallichio sprawls. Kennedy takes advantage of his position and attempts a guillotine choke but is not able to sink it in before the round ends.  

2nd Round: Gallichio throws a right hook as the 2nd round begins. Kennedy moves and shoots in for a takedown but is unsucessful. The two fighter lock up, Gallichio lands some knees and then is able to get Kennedy to the ground. Falling into his gaurd, Gallichio uses his position to land punches from the top. Gallichio is able to transition to half gaurd. Kennedy is able to get back to gaurd and attempts to sweep. He then tries to get back to his feet. Gallichio is able to take Kennedy’s back, locks in the body triangle and is able to sink in a rear naked choke.

Gallichio wins 3:54 into the 2nd round via rear naked choke

The final fight of the night was a light weight bout for the XCC light weight title.

Special Agent Johnny Torres (6-1) vs Convict Gabe Greenberg (7-2)

 1st Round: Torres comes right out of the gate and starts throwing power punches and scores a takedown. Greenberg is able to move around and get the superior position and lands body shots from the top. Torres is able to get back to his feet and they exchange punches. Greenberg lands a takedown and they fight back up. Torres shoots for another takedown, but Greenberg sprawls and attempts to pull off a choke when the round ends.

2nd Round: The fighters come out and start exchanging punches. Greenberg leads with a jab and then lands a small combo. He works in another jab and lands a kick punch combo. Torres answers with a nice uppercut, but Greenberg comes back with a strong right. Greenberg continues to utilize his jab and then throws a very hard straight right that stuns Torres, cuting underneath his eye.  Greenberg capitalizes, jumping on Torres and landing numerous elbows until the ref steps in.

Greenberg wins XCC light weight title 4:10 into 2nd round via TKO

Although the action was non-stop, the attendance was less then stellar. With only about 500 people filling in the Sovereign Center in Reading PA, a lot less then what was projected to attend. But for promoter and former convict Ryan Kerwin, he could at least say that he tried to do something and that is more then most…convict or not.

By the way, the referee was amazing! (he asked us to say that)

Fight results brought to you by John “JP” Boyles and Matt “Dubs” Warner of Cage Clinch MMA

Could the discouragement of spending time in prison stop you from trying to accomplish something new? How about spending 10 years in jail? How about the fact that it is something you’ve never tried before? Xtreme Caged Combat’s Ryan Kerwin refuses to allow these stumbling blocks to apply to him, and hopes to show others what can be accomplished through pure determination.

On October 3^rd Kerwin will promote his first mixed martial art event ever, which will take place at the Sovereign Center in Reading, PA.  Though the ideas of gimmicks have never been a mainstay in MMA, Ryan has decided to give it a try. Calling this event “Crime and Punishment: Cops vs. Convicts”.  The gimmick part of the event will be that real cops will go up against real convicts.

People posting in MMA forums have said that this is a “joke event”. Some have claimed that the fighters are just picked off the street and thrown in the cage. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. What people do not understand is that Ryan has gone out of his way to make sure that the main fights of the night are real professional MMA fighters who are also cops and convicts.

So why try to become an MMA promoter?  After Kerwin served his 10 years in prison he decided that he would not take the same path that other convicts would take. For the main reason being that path usually led right back to a jail cell.  He knew he had to do something different to make his mark, and he knew exactly what direction to go in.

Out of the gate the event was planned with animosity towards the justice system. Ryan Kerwin would in no way deny that. After realizing that a change in his mind set would help him grow, he redirected himself and took a more professional direction with promoting. Noticing that people might be intrigued to see how a cop and a convict would react when face to face in a cage.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Another very important aspect of this event and future events is that the former prison inmate wants people to see that the label “convict” does not mean you are a bad person.  Kerwin, himself, has had to struggle with that label when it comes to finding employment.  He would also like convicts to see that they can also steer clear of the path most commonly traveled.

Ryan Kerwin is well aware of the fact that this event may not work out like he hopes. As he said when asked how he would feel if it doesn’t succeed, “well at least I gave it a shot” and that is more than most people…convict or not.

For more info: Check out Xtreme Caged Combat’s website. For more MMA news, issues and opinions keep coming back to Cage Clinch. Also check out Unfilteredmma.com and all the other great writers featured there.

(Vernon Bryant / Associated Press / September 19, 2009)

 It took three minutes and two seconds for Vitor Belfort to show the MMA world he meant business. Even if the fight kind of lagged for the first minute or two, it wasn’t long until we saw why they call him “the Phenom”Speculation was running rampent as veteran MMA fans questioned if Vitor Belfort still contained the skills needed to fight in the octagon. On the other hand the newer MMA fans were unaware of who “the Phenom” was and how he got the chance to fight Rich Franklin.

Coming off a victory over Wanderlei Silva, Rich Franklin seemed very optimistic about this fight. It look as though he was not concerned, but did know he had to take Vitor seriously.

Could he be considered the new Anderson Silva or is this the return of the old Vitor Belfort. Either way, if “the Phenom” fights like he did saturday night, Anderson Silva has his hands full if and when they meet in the cage.

Brandon “the Truth” Vera will face his toughest test to date.  At UFC 105 Brandon Vera will take on Randy “the Natural” Couture. In Vera’s 10 fights in the UFC, he has only lost three fights. Will Randy make that a fourth?

Randy Couture just signed a six-fight deal with the UFC and it seems this will most likely be his final run as a professional MMA fighter. What better way to start that run then by taking on one of  the top up and comers?  Randy Couture is looking to get back to the top of the pecking order and Brandon Vera may not be able to stop that.

Looking at who Brandon Vera has beat in the UFC, Randy Couture would be in a different league then all of them. That could even include the guys “the Truth” has lost to. Could this fight be more then Brandon can handle?

Lets look at the facts. Vera is in his early thirties and ready to rip anyone and everyone apart. Randy Couture is in his forties and hitting the end of his career. But in a fight like this experience will come heavily into play. Couture will have the upper hand in this one, but don’t count out Vera’s knock out ability.

The next UFC event on Sept. 19th takes us to Dallas, Texas.  What this event lacks is a title defense. What it has is a whole lot of action! Here are the Cage Clinch predictions for UFC 103.

Rich Franklin Vs. Vitor Belfort

Vitor Belfort makes his return to the octagon after four years and Rich Frankilin will be there waiting to welcome him back to the UFC.  This will be a great test for Franklin.  Vitor Belfort has gone 6-3 since leaving the UFC in 2005. Winning all of those besides one by knock out. In Rich Franklin’s 13 fights in the UFC he has only lost three of those fights. This will most likely be a stand up bout and could go either way.

CC’s Prediction: Franklin via split decision

Mirko Cro Cop Vs. Junior Dos Santos

 The 25-6-2 Mirko “Cro-Cop” Filipovic takes on UFC new comer Junior Dos Santos.  8-1 Dos Santos is looking to make a name for himself  in the heavyweight division,  but Cro-Cop is not going to let that happen so easy.

CC’s Prediction: Cro-Cop via 1st round KO 

Martin Kampmann Vs. Paul Daley

They call him “Semtex”. I am not to sure what that means, but what I am sure of is that Paul Daley is looking to make heads turn with his first fight in the octagon. Semtex has only lost five of his last 20 fights, beating the likes of John Alessio, Sam Morgan and Duane Ludwig. Not saying thatMartin “the Hitman” Kampmann is a chump. Going 15-2 and beating guys like Carlos Condit, Drew McFredries, Jorge Rivera and Thales Leites. But I think Daley will give Kampmann a run for his money.

CC’s Prediction: Daley via 2nd round submission (Choke) 

Josh Koscheck Vs. Frank Trigg

It is the Return of “Twinkle Toes”.  Like Belfort, Frank Trigg is another name that long time UFC fans remember. The last time we saw Trigg in the octagon was in 2005 where he fought twice. Losing both times, once to Matt Hughes and the next to George St. Pierre.  Josh Koscheck is looking to redeem himself after his loss to Paulo Thiago last February. They both have excellent ground games, but Koscheck is very aggressive and has greatly improved his stand up.

CC’s Prediction:Koscheck via 3rd round submission (armbar)

Tyson Griffin Vs. Hermes Franca

This is a fight I have personally been looking forward to for a while.  Tyson Griffin’s last seven fights went to the judges, so it is safe to assume he is looking to finish this one. 11 of Hermes Franca’s victories have come by submission. Which is where he would have to go to beat Griffin. I think that Griffin is going to come out swinging and Franca might not be able to handle it.

CC’s Prediction: Griffin via 1st round TKO

Now for the Preliminary Predictions:

Escudero over Miller: via 3rd round submission (choke)

McFedries over Drwal: via 2nd round KO

Lopez over Miller: via 1st round submission (choke) 

Lentz over Oliveira: via unanimous decision

Story beating Foster: via 3rd KO

Brilz over Marshal: via decision

Matyushenko over Pokrajac: via 2nd round submission (punches)

Dos Anjos over Emerson: 3rd round KO

That’s it for me, hopefully I am closer then the last time!

Read the rest of the article here

Now that Matt Hughes has resigned with the UFC, I think the question needs to be asked..does he still have it?

Matt Hughes recently posted on his blog  “Last week I went out to Vegas and I signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC, which is much like my last contract. I also brought up the fact that I wanted to do a hunting show and they thought that would be a good thing. They still have to find out who, where and when my next fight will be and I will try to post that info ASAP. Nothing is decided yet, so anything you might be reading on the internet right now is just rumors and speculation. However, one name the UFC did bring up is a person I’ve never fought before.”

In his last three stands in the UFC  the former welterweight champ has gone 1-2. His one win was against another former welterweight champ Matt Serra by decision. The problem is he has been unsucessfull at proving he can still compete with the current champ, losing to George St. Pierre at UFC 65 and UFC 79. Once by submission and the next by TKO.

What can we expect from this Matt Hughes? Will he come out a new and improved version? Will he attempt to ride the success of his victory over Serra?

Not to say that Matt is totally old school UFC, but he could definitely be considered a veteran’s veteran. How ironic would it be to see Hughes step back in the octagon and get treated the same way he treated Royce Gracie? Many would love to see him as the old Matt Hughes, the one who picked up Carlos Newton and slammed him down on the mat. But has that guy come and gone, or is he still in there waiting to explode?

Though, the great thing about Hughes is that he has the ability to make it seem that none of the past is an issue. He is focused on future. His next fight…and of course his UFC sponsored hunting show.