10 Legendary MMA Fighters You've Probably Never Heard Of

January, 2012

“Strikeforce: Rockhold vs Jardine” Weigh-In Results & Video

I’m sorry, is that Mauro Renallo or J.T.??? (Video: Youtube/AllElbows)

If you’ve been sleeping on tonight’s Strikeforce event, we’re not going to throw stones. When even the defending Middleweight Champion has trouble getting excited for his bout, how can you be expected to? And though the MMA world may be talking ‘Strikeforce’ this morning, it has very little to do with what’s going down at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino this evening.

But the truth is that Showtime subscribers (and you filthy, rotten streamers) can rightfully expect a night of action packed fights. This card has a great mix of seasoned veterans and wildly unorthodox strikers, and last night they all hit the scales. We won’t dangle any false promises of funny weigh-in costumes or pushing-and-shoving; there was little in the form of excitement at these proceedings. On the bright side, everyone (eventually) hit their mark.

Weigh-In results after the jump. Make sure you come back tonight—we’ll be liveblogging this card like nobody’s business.

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Cris Cyborg Tests Positive for Steroids, Stripped of Strikeforce Title

Bad news for…well, everybody, really. The California State Athletic Commission put out a press release earlier today announcing that Strikeforce featherwight champion Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Santos — the most dominant female fighter in the history of the sport — has tested positive for an anabolic steroid. As a result, her license has been suspended, and the result of her last win over Hiroko Yamanaka on December 17th will be changed to a no-contest. Here’s the full release via BloodyElbow:

CALIFORNIA STATE ATHLETIC COMMISSION SUSPENDS LICENSE OF FIGHTER CRISTIANE JUSTINO SANTOS – a.k.a. CRIS CYBORG

Mixed Martial Arts fighter tested positive for anabolic steroid in December 16, 2011 test

The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) has suspended the license of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Cristiane Justino Santos, better known in MMA circles as Cris Cyborg, and has fined her $2,500 as the result of a positive test for a banned substance.

Santos’ December 16, 2011 drug test came back positive for stanozolol metabolites. CSAC learned of the test results December 23, 2011 and suspended Santos’s license, with the suspension applied retroactively to December 16, 2011. In accordance with Rule 368, the result of her last fight between Hiroko Yamanaka will be changed to a “No Decision”.

“Our primary concern is for the health and safety of fighters,” said CSAC Executive Officer George Dodd. “Anabolic agents and other banned substances put not only the users of those agents at risk, but their opponents as well. The commission simply will not tolerate their use.”

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Friday Afternoon Link Dump


(What Xenophon did over the holidays)

- Franca Pleads Guily, Sentenced to 42 Months in Prison (OregonLive)

- Toughest MMA Tattoos on the Weakest Fighters (Complex)

- Louis C.K.’s Million Dollar Online Experiment (TheRugged)

- Leticia Zuloaga is a Bikini Model You Should Know (Guyism)

- MMA Training Misconceptions and How to Correct Them (MuscleProdigy)

- HBO is Totally Cock-Blocking NetFlix (ScreenJunkies)

- How to Recycle Your Xmas Tree (MadeMan)

- 13 Fighters Who Never Disappoint in the Cage (BleacherReport)

- 5 Movie-Themed Rides to Replace Jaws at Universal Studios (HolyTaco)

- Who’s Dated Who: The 2012 NFL Wildcard Weekend Edition (WorldWideInterweb)

- Okami Returning to Team Quest (FightersOnly)

- King Mo Calls Mousasi Boring, Calls for Media Ban of Him (LowKick)

- Unnecessary Sequel Alert: Horrible Bosses 2 (FilmDrunk)

- Who’s the Best at Dramatically Reading Awful Pop Songs? (WithLeather)

- 10 Real Survival Guides for One Very Fake Apocalypse (Cracked)

- 7 Unappetizing Movie-Inspired Junk Foods (Clutch.MTV)

- Crazy Women You Should Stay Away From (AskMen)

- Mayweather’s Jail Sentence Pushed Back Until May (TerezOwens)

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Bahadurzada vs. Thiago Inked For UFC on Fuel 2


(Hopefully this one goes the distance for the fans.)

According to a report by Swedish MMA site MMANYTT.se, a welterweight clash between Golden Glory standout Siyar Bahadurzada and Paulo Thiago has been added to Zuffa’s first Swedish event, UFC on Fuel 2 April 14 at Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm.

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Video of the Day: The Street Fight Equivalent of Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin


(#FacesofDeath

You know, it’s rare that we come across a filmed street fight with a video quality above that of The Blair Witch Project, and even more rare that we see one with any sort of technique involved whatsoever. Sure, Eddie Bravo will straight choke you to death if you cross him on camera, but it’s fair to say that most of the fights we catch on the Youtubes often involve two drunken nightclub patrons attempting to knock the glitter covered dragons off each other’s Ed Hardy v-necks using a fighting style that can only be described as “Tasmanian Devil-esque.”

We’ve tried to persuade you from this kind of thing, while understanding that it is bound to happen nonetheless. So what we’re saying is, if you plan on following the path of Lionheart in the near to distant future, you should do two things:

1. Take a couple lessons away from the following video.

2. Pray to your God that Jorge Masvidal isn’t the one you find yourself against.

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CagePotato Comments of the Week: No, Seriously


(Watch out for that metal thing? / Props: Maury Povich via ScreenJunkies)

God damn you, ReX13. His running gag this week inspired us to revive an old, dead CagePotato feature, in which we take a moment to recognize some of your efforts in the comments section. Will we forget about this by next Friday? Maybe. Maybe not. All we have is this moment. And now, the eight greatest comments of the week…

ReX13 on “Report: Miesha Tate to Defend Strikeforce Title Against Ronda Rousey on March 3rd” [selected highlights]:
- “If you weren’t pretty, it wouldn’t matter what you said or didn’t say. That’s why you’re getting this attention.” – Miesha Tate
- “Man, Stalin was a real asshole, killing his own people like that.” – Pol Pot
- “Wow, that Bachmann chick is stuck on turbo-crazy. The only reason people are giving her the time of day is because she’s a relatively attractive woman in the Republican party. Does she hear the words that are coming out of her mouth?” – Sarah Palin
- “Goddammit, I’ve spent fifteen years in this neighborhood trying to increase property vaules, and a whole fucking passel of kettles just moved in next door. With their hippity hop music and Tyler Perry movies…..we better get a dog, honey.” – Pot
- “Bobby Flay is kinda a douche, you guys.” – Guy Fieri
- “The Duggars should stop having children. Can they even handle the children they already have?” – Nadya “Octomom” Suleman
- “That Octomom is such an attention whore.” – Kate Gosselin
- “Fuck you, bitch.” – Nadya Suleman

ElDandy on “Video of the Day: Fabricio Werdum Is as Inappropriate as We Are and Fedor Isn’t Impressed
Fedor’s high priest looks like every dude I’ve ever seen at a Widespread concert.

Fried Taco on “Aw Geez, Now BJ Penn is Calling Nick Diaz a Cheater“:
At least BJ is right about one thing. No one will ever accuse him of being the bigger man.

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Video: MTV Puts The Ultimate Fighter on Notice with New MMA Reality Show

(Video courtesy of Yahoo! – HT NomadRip)

In an attempt to appeal to a wider breadth of demographic than The Ultimate Fighter, MTV has created a new reality show that is loosely based around the MMA aspirations of a group of small town Louisiana kids.

The show is basically 16 and Pregnant and the “babies” they are expecting are their upcoming fights. Truth be told, the concept is a good one since it’s more “reality” TV than TUF has become and most of us will likely be able to convince our spouses and girlfriends to watch a show like this one strictly for the train wreck factor. The fact that it will air immediately after Jersey Shore on Mondays and prior to the JS rebroadcast will mean big numbers for the show — maybe even more than TUF 15 on Fox.

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Diaz’s Camp Fires Back at Penn For Yesterday’s Random Twitter Salvo


(“See, where I come from bitching like that will get you backhanded.”)

Well, it didn’t take long for Team Cesar Gracie to return fire on BJ Penn after “The Prodigy” launched a random Twitter attack on Nick Diaz yesterday.

Here’s what they had to say about Penn’s latest bitchfest via a posting made today on Cesar’s official blog, GracieFighter.com.

Say It Ain’t So BJ…

JANUARY 6, 2012

BJ Penn has apparently not come to terms with the beating he received at the hands of Nick Diaz. Below is his latest posting on his Twitter account:

@nickdiaz209 Look how much bigger you are in this pic..I thought you were gonna scrap from the beginning homie? What was that coward fence holding strategy to tire out the smaller man? Street fighter my ass! I made you fight like glass jaw @jonfitchdotnet poser!
I’ll be ready for that weak bs next time we fight!

At some point it is up to those around you to protect you from yourself. To take you aside and let you know you are wrong and help save you from your folly. Unfortunately for Penn he is surrounded by “Yes Men” that are unwilling to do that. The outcome will be predictable, resulting in a fighter that will never push himself to the fullest and will always have excuses for his losses.

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Do Over Alert: Mackens Semerzier vs. Robbie Peralta Rematch Booked For UFC on FX 2


(Linka was always Peralta’s favorite Planeteer, but stealing her wind-based attacks?! The man is out of control!) 

Chalk one up for justice. When their original bout back at UFC on FOX ended via an accidental headbutt that knocked Mackens Semerzier out cold, Robbie Peralta was initially gifted a TKO victory. Referee Big John McCarthy and the audience alike were confused to say the least, but assumed that Peralta had managed to sneak in some sort of phantom punch in the mess of things. However, a quick look at the replay revealed a clash of heads to be the cause of Semerzier’s sudden case of narcolepsy, and “Mack Da Menace” immediately appealed the decision to the California State Athletic Commission. In a rare bit of good judgement, the commission sided with Sermizer and changed the bout to a no contest.

Now that all has been rightfully adjusted, these two featherweights are set to battle once again, this time at the UFC’s second FX event, which features a welterweight clash between Martin Kampmann and Thiago Alves as well as the debut of the UFC’s newly added flyweight division.

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‘Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine’ Press Conference Highlights + Smash Reel


(Props: YouTube.com/Strikeforce)

Strikeforce held a press conference yesterday plugging this weekend’s “Rockhold vs. Jardine” card at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Some highlights…

- Keith Jardine hasn’t weighed 185 pounds since the ninth grade.

- King Mo plans to “put them thangs” on Lorenz Larkin. Man, I hope that doesn’t mean what we think it means.

- Scott Coker thinks Robbie Lawler vs. Adlan Amagov won’t make it out of the second round. As usual, Lawler is as silent as a cigar-store Indian.

After the jump: A highlight reel of the fighters in action. The editor wisely chose to use a clip of Jardine’s TKO of Forrest Griffin from 2006 rather than his sole appearance in Strikeforce.

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Win or Go Home, ‘TUF’ Edition: Mac Danzig vs. Efrain Escudero Booked for UFC 145


(“It kind of feels like my nose might be shoved into my brain. Oh God, is that bad? That’s bad, isn’t it.”)

The UFC confirmed yesterday that TUF 6 winner Mac Danzig and TUF 8 winner Efrain Escudero will meet in a lightweight bout at UFC 145 (March 24th, Montreal). Danzig has lost five of his last seven outings, most recently dropping a unanimous decision to Matt Wiman in a rematch of their controversial first fight. Meanwhile, Escudero just lost a decision to #1 Obama-fan Jacob Volkmann at UFC 141, coming in as a short-notice replacement for TJ Grant. It was Escudero’s first UFC appearance since getting booted from the promotion last September.

It goes without saying that contracts are on the line here. If Danzig loses, he might become the fifth Ultimate Fighter winner to be cut by the UFC, following Travis Lutter, Escudero (the first time), Kendall Grove, and Joe Stevenson. If Efrain Escudero loses, he might become the first Ultimate Fighter winner to be fired twice.

UFC 145 still lacks a main event; for more details on the supporting card, go here.

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Jon Jones Repping the UFC Like a Champ; May Defend Belt Three or Four Times in 2012


(“We have four times… Can we hear five?”)

ESPN’s Josh Gross caught up with UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones recently and the 24-year-old fighter proved that he is respecting his role as a champion. According to “Bones” he may come back to compete earlier than he anticipated and says that he may possibly defend his belt three or four times if all goes well this year.

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Aw Geez, Now BJ Penn is Calling Nick Diaz a Cheater


(The “Shaka” is apparently the new “Fingers crossed behind the back.”)

Not that we’re totally surprised by it, considering his history of playing the blame game, but it looks like BJ Penn has switched from feeling sorry for himself after announcing his retirement following his UFC 137 decision loss to Nick Diaz to making excuses why he lost the fight.

Penn randomly today tweeted the following at Diaz, who is preparing for his Super Bowl weekend UFC welterweight interim title fight with Carlos Condit in a few weeks.

“@nickdiaz209 Look how much bigger you are in this pic..” he wrote, referring to the photo above. “I thought you were gonna scrap from the beginning homie? What was that coward fence holding strategy to tire out the smaller man? Street fighter my ass! I made you fight like glass jaw @jonfitchdotnet poser! I’ll be ready for that weak bs next time we fight!”

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This Poster is Probably the Only Time You’ll See the Words ‘Prestigious’ and ‘Bob Sapp’ Next to One Another

Now this…makes us nervous. Many of you probably remember the inaugural ONE FC: Champion vs. Champion event that took place back in early September, which featured a plethora of previously unheard of talent in addition to a ton of great fights. Shortly thereafter, CEO and owner Victor Cui announced that his promotion had big plans for 2012, which included adding over 23 gyms and 15 promotions to their partnership and scheduling three events in three different countries. Though it wouldn’t do much to detract from the UFC’s ever-expanding market, many of us looked at ONE FC as the spark that could possibly reignite the Asian MMA scene, a flame that had long been quelled since the demise of PRIDE.

If the above poster for ONE FC’s second event, entitled Battle of Heroes, says anything, it’s that PRIDE is back. Unfortunately, it might not the epic, blood soaked glory PRIDE that we were all hoping for, but rather, the ridiculous, freak show fight filled PRIDE that we both loved and silently resented for all those years.

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Get to Know Luke Rockhold a Little Better in This ‘Fight Journal’ Video Profile


(Props: allelbows)

Four months after beating the Strikeforce middleweight belt off of Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Luke Rockhold returns to action this Saturday night in a title defense that even he isn’t that psyched about. But considering his 7-0 stretch under the Strikeforce banner — with six of those wins coming in the first round — it’s clear that Rockhold’s biggest accomplishments are still in front of him. If you’re not familiar with the AKA rising star, check out this “Fight Journal” video from allelbows, in which Rockhold makes some media rounds, discusses the downfall of Brock Lesnar, has a run-in with a very humble Keith Jardine, and shows how he puts his championship belt to sleep every night.

Okay, maybe it’s not the card of the year — and four of the five matches are undeniable squash matches — but if you’ll be around on Saturday, come by for our liveblog of the Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine Showtime broadcast, starting at 10 p.m. ET.

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Ronda Rousey Has Had a Tough Road to the Top


(Before she became MMA’s sweetheart, Ronda battled through some tough personal bouts growing up.)

We’ve all read stories about how Ronda Rousey became a beast on the mats training with the tough Armenians like Karo Parisyan and Manny Gamburyan as a girl at Gokor Chivichyan’s gym, but few actually know the real battles the bubbly Strikeforce number one bantamweight contender has gone through in her life.

In a recent feature by SI’s Loretta Hunt, Rousey revealed that her precarious life path began early in life as she could not speak until she was six due to complications at birth.

Of any fighter, it’s fitting that Rousey knows the value of making her voice be heard — she couldn’t put together coherent sentences until the age of six.

Rousey was born with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck; her body was blue and she wasn’t breathing. She was revived in the delivery room, but when her communicative skills quickly fell behind the norm, the doctors thought she’d suffered brain damage or that she might be deaf.

When she began to talk, Rousey’s words were jumbled and she was sent to speech therapy classes. Frustration was a daily occurrence, as nobody could understand her.

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‘GQ’ Releases Four More Fantastic Photos From Gina Carano Shoot

gina carano gq photos mma haywire movie sexy fighter
(Props: GQ. Click all photos for larger versions.)

Following up on the success of The Greatest Gina Carano Photo of All-Time, GQ has released four more photos of Gina in an online gallery accompanying their interview with the Haywire star from the January 2012 issue. We’ve placed the other photos after the jump, along with a bonus photo-shoot video that you’ll also want to see.

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Tito Ortiz Guests on Friday Night’s Episode of CSI: NY With an Obviously Cracked Skull


(“I’d like to speak with my lawyer, Seraldo Babalu.”)

If Tito Ortiz is seriously thinking of acting full time after he finishes up his fight career in July, he may want to reconsider, otherwise his kids could go hungry.

Tito’s latest thespian performance can be seen tomorrow night when he appears on CSI: NY as MMA fighter Derek Petrov —  a suspect in the murder of his last opponent, who pulled a Paul Daley on him after the referee seemingly stopped the fight. As you will see in the clip below, Tito must have been suffering from a cracked skull on the set because nobody is buying his performance, which is sad since he’s basically playing himself with a different name.

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Booking (Rumor) Roundup: Svedish Edition


(Ain’t that the truth.) 

Yesterday, the UFC announced that its second UFC on FUELTV event was set to transpire in Stockholm, Sweden, prompting fight booking rumors to materialize faster than an Ikea entertainment center. First off, a clash between middleweight strikers Brian Stann and Alessio Sakara is apparently in the works, and promises to be what JR would call, “a good old fashioned slobber knocker.”

After putting together a three fight win streak between 2008 and 2010, “Legionarius” has not fought since dropping a unanimous decision to last minute replacement and fast rising middleweight contender Chris Weidman at UFC Live 3. Sakara was set to face Jorge Rivera on two separate occasions, at UFC 118 and 133, but was forced to pull out from both fights due to some bad fish and a torn ACL, respectively. Stann similarly saw a three fight streak snapped at UFC 136, when he was dominated on the mat by Chael Sonnen en route to a second round arm triangle submission. Given Sakara’s somewhat suspect chin, you gotta imagine this match is Stann’s to lose.

When the UFC first announced the location of this event, there were a couple of names, mainly Alexander Gustafsson and Papy Abedi, that most figured would have to be included on the card. Though “The Mauler” has yet to be given an opponent, Abedi has already been booked to take on James Head. Abedi will be looking to rebound from a first round submission(!) loss to Thiago Alves in his UFC debut back at UFC 138 when he takes on Head, who is also coming off an unsuccessful octagon debut. The Oklahoma native was choked out by Nick Ring in the third round of their UFC 131 battle.

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Brock Lesnar Can Return to the WWE, Says Drunk Dana White [VIDEO]


(Props: PopCandiesTv via MMAMania)

UFC President Dana White was recently accosted by fame parasites outside of Agency nightclub in Hollywood, and was drunk kind enough to grant a brief interview. Here’s what we learned

- Tiki Ghosn is everywhere, man. Everywhere.

- Brock Lesnar is free to go back to the WE. Or the WWE, if that’s what it’s called.

- When Dana White is drunk, it kind of affects his hearing. But to answer your question, Jon Jones might be the baddest dude on earth.

- DW doesn’t do New Year’s resolutions, although he does have some advice for the kids: “Don’t get drunk. Don’t drink Red Bull. Don’t stay out too late. Don’t do stupid interviews when you’re drinkin’. That should be your nous’re…yeah, you know what I’m sayin’.”

After the jump, another PopCandies video from earlier the same night, in which a relatively sober Dana gets props from a classy older woman, reminds everybody that Fedor sucks, and denies that his bodyguard is his bodyguard.

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Report: Miesha Tate to Defend Strikeforce Title Against Ronda Rousey on March 3rd


(Can you train yourself to be double-jointed? I’m just wondering, y’know, for Miesha’s sake.)

Though the match has yet to be confirmed by the fighters or the promotion, MMAWeekly and MMAJunkie are both reporting that Miesha Tate will defend her Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title against fast-rising prospect and Olympic judo bronze-medalist Ronda Rousey in Columbus, Ohio, on March 3rd.

Tate is riding a six-fight win streak, but hasn’t competed since July, when she won her belt by submitting Marloes Coenen via fourth-round arm-triangle choke. A relative newcomer to the sport, Rousey had all four of her professional fights last year, winning each one by armbar in under a minute. But all those fights took place at featherweight or above, and this will be the first time she’ll compete at 135.

Because Rousey’s first fight in her new weight class is a title fight (see also: Keith Jardine), Miesha Tate has made it clear that she doesn’t think Ronda deserves the opportunity, telling FightHubTV:

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On This Day in MMA History Fight Flashback: Misaki vs. Santiago I

On this day three years ago, this epic first meeting between Kazuo Misaki and Jorge Santiago took place at Sengoku no Ran 2009 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

The-back-and-forth battle that saw Santiago win the Sengoku middleweight strap after catching Misaki with a rear naked choke at 3:26 of the fifth round would set up arguably one of the top five MMA bouts of all time when the pair met again 19 months later at Sengoku Raiden Championships 14.

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Worst Idea Ever: Dorky NY Comedian Challenges GSP to Fight on His Cable Access Show

Comedian Chris Gethard (imagine having that surname in high school) appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night to issue a challenge to injured UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre to fight him on his New York cable access television show.

According to Gethard, facing a big profile name like St-Pierre could propel him to superstardom if he manages to pull of a win like his fellow New Yorker Matt Serra did against the dominant champ.

“Let’s think of it this way, I’m just a regular dude. When I walked out here all these people were like, ‘Who? Who is that?’ Imagine if a guy just like me manages to beat the champ,” Gethard told Fallon. “It will be just like ‘Rocky.’ Gethard is the new Rocky, man. Like Micky Ward.”

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Video of the Day: Ronda Rousey Trains Like A Boss

If you’re anything like us, then your obsession with the gorgeous and deadly Ronda Rousey has grown greater with each passing day. You’ve likely written no less than twenty Shakespearean sonnets declaring your love for the woman, and though you won’t admit it, in the back of your mind you know that this obsession is destined to end with a restraining order and a harai goshi to boot.

The video, taken from one of Ms. Rousey’s recent training sessions, demonstrates a couple of the “impact conditioning” exercises the Olympic Judoka goes through on a daily basis. Now that she’s been rallying for a match against Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion Christiane “Cyborg” Santos, we imagine the purpose of this drill is to prevent our girl from immediately BM’ing after eating one of the champ’s ruthless body shots. Good luck, Ronda, because being in the same room as Cyborg is enough to make us try out our best Tim Sylvia impression. <— WE WILL NEVER STOP MAKING THIS JOKE.

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Gallery: 10 GIFs of King Mo Being Awesome

In honor of this Saturday’s Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine event, here are 10 of our favorite GIFs of co-headliner Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal kickin’ ass and struttin’ like royalty. Lawal will face undefeated prospect Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larkin in his first match since knocking out Roger Gracie in September. More amazing King Mo GIFs await you after the jump…

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UFC to Travel to Sweden April 14


(Hopefully they leave their vuvuzelas at home)

The UFC announced today that it’s international expansion plans for 2012 include a move into Scandanavia — namely Sweden, where the promotion will hold an event April 14.

Slated for the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, the event will undoubtedly feature Swedish breakout star Alexander Gustafsson who handed Vladimir Matyushenko a first round TKO last Friday night at UFC 141. Depending on how Reza Madadi does against Fabricio Camoes at UFC on FX 1 on January 20, Gustafsson may only be joined on the card by Papi Abedi and a handful of his fellow countrymen who are brought in for the prelims to add some local flavor.

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Check Out Fuel TV’s First Original Series ‘UFC Champion’s Roundtable’


(Video courtesy of IronForgesIron)

When FUEL TV stated that it will be dedicating a lion’s share of its programming to UFC-related shows as a result of its parent company Fox’s new multi-year contract with the promotion, most of us wondered what the quality of said shows would be like.

If this UFC Champions Roundtable special is any indication, it’s going to be pretty decent.

Hosted by Jay Glazer, the half-hour program that debuted during FUEL’s 24-hour New Year’s UFC marathon, featured a handful of UFC champs — past and present — who reflected on the early days in the sport and how far it’s come since Bonnar fought Griffin on SPIKE TV back in 2006.

Some highlights after the jump.

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Photo of the Day: Matt Hughes Basically Tells PETA to Go F*ck Themselves


(Nah, he’s just sleepin’.) 

Well, at least he attained the proper tags. None other than former UFC welterweight champion and avid hunting afficionado Matt Hughes tweeted this picture early today, which was taken on a recent hunting trip he made to the Midwest. After more than a few of his followers had something to say about it, Matt responded with the following tweet:

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Mark Hominick Given Eddie Yagin for Rebound Fight at UFC 145 in Montreal


(“Of course I remember what happened, Joe. Obviously, I was a groomsman in a gay Asian wedding.”)

It’s hard not to like Mark Hominick, or sympathize with the great personal loss that surely affected his last performance. It’s clear that the UFC likes him too — or else they wouldn’t give him a third consecutive fight in his home country, against an opponent with a 0-1 UFC record.

The promotion announced yesterday that Hominick will attempt to break his two-fight losing streak against Eddie “The Filipino Phenom” Yagin (15-5-1), a former Tachi Palace Fights featherweight champion who dropped a decision to Junior Assuncao during his Octagon debut at UFC 135. The Hominick/Yagin match will take place at UFC 145, March 24th at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Before losing his title challenge to Jose Aldo in April and getting KO’d in seven seconds by Chan Sung Jung — with both losses taking place in Toronto — Hominick had won five straight fights, including wins over Bryan Caraway, Leonard Garcia, and George Roop.

In other UFC 145 booking news…

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Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club: Tito’s Last Fight, Machida Calls Out Sonnen, Fedor’s ‘Diva’ Behavior + More


(Pat Barry lets a seven-year-old haul off on his face for four minutes. This is basically what I imagine Pat’s sparring sessions with Brock Lesnar looked like. Props: LIAM_B)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…

- Tito Ortiz Says His Final MMA Fight Will Take Place in July, Possibly Against Forrest Griffin (MiddleEasy)

- Lyoto Machida Undergoes Successful Surgery, Calls Out Chael Sonnen (MMA Fighting)

- Jim Ross: Brock Lesnar Returning to the WWE Simply Isn’t Happening (MMA Mania)

- Top 10 Best Fights From the UFC in 2011 (The Fight Nerd)

- Luke Rockhold: Keith Jardine Does Not Deserve a Title Shot (Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com)

- FightLine Exclusive Interview With Karo Parisyan (FightLine)

- Michael Schiavello Rips Fedor Emelianenko and M-1 Global for ‘Diva’ Behavior (5th Round)

- UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit Gets UFC Primetime Treatment (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Strikeforce: Robbie Lawler’s 10 Greatest Fights (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Five Big Items of Fallout From MMA’s Two NYE Shows (Fight Opinion)

- UFC for XBox Live a Dud in Debut (MMA Payout)

- A Viking Send-Off for Brock Lesnar (MMA Convert)

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