Props: Zombie Cage Fighter

By CagePotato Contributer Jake “KillBurnDestroy” Richards

Let’s be real, no matter how trendy, no matter how played out, we all still fantasize about the zombie apocalypse on a daily basis. While there will always be the NRA member who has a weapons cache in their basement, some won’t be so fortunate. This one goes out to them.

HONORABLE MENTION- Running Away

("What has two thumbs, wears a red jersey and has an insatiable hunger for Hot Pockets right now?" PicProps: Ultimate Fighter.com)

Not to get sidetracked by the psychology of it all, but clearly a certain amount of success in athletics must be based on not thinking about it too much. Hence, the stunning percentage of dumb guys who are also professional athletes. Now, we’re not trying to say that Cody McKenzie is dumb, per se, only that he sure doesn’t appear to over think things. In fact, perhaps that blind confidence – coupled with a freaky guillotine — is his greatest strength as a fighter. There’s something about McKenzie’s particular blend of boundless enthusiasm and wanton hubris that we find incredibly endearing. His surprising run on “TUF 12,” during which he performed the MMA equivalent of continually poking a sleeping grizzly bear with a stick by talking an endless stream of shit to Josh Koscheck, was enough to win our hearts. His choke-out of Aaron Wilkinson at the show’s live finale? Well, that was just hilarious.

From the outside looking in, it appears the UFC may be just as bemused by McKenzie as we are, perhaps vowing to just keep giving him fights in rapid succession until somebody beats him. That – paired with the fact the kid just doesn’t seem know any better – would explain why the company is moving him straight from his victory over Wilkinson earlier this month into a short-notice fight with Yves Edwards on Jan. 22. It would also explain why he’s prone to say stuff like this: “I’d love to be able to cut down to 145 and fight (Jose) Aldo,” McKenzie told MMA Junkie this week. “I respect the guy, but I think that would be a war.”

Yeah, no. Clearly a complete inability to conceptualize your own limitations can only take you so far.

(Those wacky Brazilians. They even make the gym look fun.)

We’ve heard some great explanations for losing in our time covering mixed martial arts, but Ricardo Almeida has a new one: boredom. That’s what he says cost him in his split decision loss to Patrick Cote at UFC 86, according to Setanta Sports:

“I lost because I got bored…Whatever I say, I know it’s gonna sound biased,” said Almeida, who moved to 9-3 in his MMA career.

“It wasn’t a great fight. I felt I dominated the first round. Then I had the incident with the glove [which needed cutting], and something happened to me mentally right there.

“Even physically, I was just dead in the second round – very very tired. I felt I bossed the third, some good jabs, I got a takedown – and the only reason he got on top was because I tried the guillotine.

“My corner told me to stay on top with 60 seconds left. But I guess because the fight was so boring, I wanted to try a submission and he finished the fight on top – which probably swung it.”

You know, usually post-fight excuses are pretty lame, but this one actually has some merit in a weird way. Guess that’s why you don’t bring Almeida to your niece’s dance recital. He gets bored and it’s almost guaranteed that he’ll attempt a guillotine on you just to liven things up.