Yoshiro Maeda

5. Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le (3/29/08)

Someone had to shut Frank Shamrock up.  Thank God for Cung Le.  Shamrock stayed true to his promise to stand and trade with the San Shou sensation, though maybe it would have been a better idea if he didn’t.  He got kicked in ways he never imagined until a broken arm forced him to give in after three rounds of action, just when it was starting to get really good.  Watching these highlights just makes you mad at Cung Le for running off to be a movie star instead of sticking around in MMA for a while.  It also makes you wonder what would happen to Frank’s new braces if he got kicked in the face like that now.  Perhaps we’ll never know.

4. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin (7/5/08)

They don’t get much closer than this light heavyweight championship fight at UFC 86.  Simply mentioning who you think won the bout (cough*Griffin*cough) is enough to start a message board argument that will produce countless personal attacks and ultimately accomplish nothing, but that just proves what a close battle it was.  Five rounds of back-and-forth action led to a unanimous, though oddly scored decision victory for Griffin, and a few sleepless nights for Jackson.  “Rampage” says he’d like to run it back in ’09.  We’d rather see him fight Evans for the title, but we also wouldn’t complain about seeing a repeat of this scrap.

(Jens Pulver: Rode hard and put away wet.)

The California State Athletic Commission issued medical suspensions to 11 of the fighters who competed at WEC's "Faber vs. Pulver" event on Sunday, and fuck are they brutal. 180-day suspensions were handed out to six fighters including Urijah Faber, Jens Pulver, and Yoshiro Maeda; according to the report, only Faber's and Will Robeiro's can end early with a doctor's clearance. So, we hope whatever Maeda took home from his $6,000 salary after taxes, insurance, license fees and everything else can last him until December. Here's the full list of suspensions, and the ouchies that caused them:

Urijah Faber: 180-day suspension due to a right-hand injury (can be cleared early by doctor)
Jens Pulver: 180-day suspension due to a right-eye orbital injury
Miguel Torres: 60-day suspension due to a cut
Yoshiro Maeda: 180-day suspension due to a right-eye orbital injury
Mark Munoz: 180-day suspension due to a right-hand injury
Chuck Grigsby: indefinite suspension due to a head injury (must be cleared by a doctor)
Rob McCullough: 60-day suspension due to a cut
Will Robeiro: 180-day suspension due to a right-hand injury (can be cleared early by doctor)
Jeremy Lang: 180-day suspension due to a left-ankle injury and a cut
Luis Do Santos: 45-day suspension with no contact for 30 days due to suffering a knockout
Alexandre Nogueira: 60-day suspension due to a cut

The California State Athletic Commission has released the official salary figures for WEC: Faber vs. Pulver, proving that just because you're one of the best fighters in the world, not to mention the marketing face of your organization, doesn't mean you'll be paid like a star. The numbers are below; each winning fighter's salary represents a doubling of their base salary (i.e., Faber earned $22,000 to show, and $22,000 to win). The figures don't include sponsorship money, undisclosed "locker room" bonuses (which we really hope Yoshiro Maeda received), or deductions for insurance, licenses, and taxes.

Urijah Faber ($44,000) def. Jens Pulver ($33,000)
Miguel Torres ($28,000) def. Yoshiro Maeda ($6,000)
Mark Munoz ($16,000) def. Chuck Grigsby ($3,000)
Rob McCullough ($32,000) def. Kenneth Alexander ($3,000)
Donald Cerrone ($10,000) def. Danny Castillo ($3000)
Mike Brown ($10,000) def. Jeff Curran ($10,000)
Will Ribeiro ($6,000) def. Chase Beebe ($7,000)
Tim McKenzie ($12,000) def. Jeremy Lang ($4,000)
Alex Serdyukov ($6,000) def. Luis Sapo ($3,000)
Jose Aldo ($6,000) def. Alexandre Franca Nogueira ($8,000)
Dominic Cruz ($6,000) def. Charlie Valencia ($7,000)
Total: $260,000

Anyway, it's just another reason why Faber should move up in weight and head to the UFC, especially now that he's reached an Anderson Silva-level of domination in his league's weight class. At this point in his career, the only challenges left are a superfight with Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto — who, by the way, will be fighting a complete nobody at DREAM.5 — and a run at lightweight. How much more can the WEC really do for him?

Those left with a bad taste in their mouth from the multiple fiascos of Saturday's EliteXC show got a palate-cleansing burst of brilliant MMA last night, as WEC 34 in Sacramento featured arguably the two greatest bouts in the organization's history.

In the featherweight championship match, Urijah Faber solidified his status as one of the best fighters in the world, wearing Jens Pulver down with explosive striking combos and showcasing his scary conditioning during the first 25-minute match of his career. Faber came out hard in his usual style, landing a couple of big punches and knees in the clinch. Though Faber slipped to the mat while attempting a kick, Pulver couldn't capitalize on the ground and was kicked off. The fight was halted briefly when Pulver was poked in the eye, but Lil' Evil refused to take recovery time. Pulver took Faber's back briefly against the cage, and ate a spinning backfist for his efforts.

The second round began with another brief stoppage as Faber accidentally kicked Pulver in the groin following a punch combo. Faber dominated the next couple minutes, taking Pulver down, throwing some big elbows, then landing a vicious punch combination when Faber scrambled to his feet. Pulver looked rocked, but fired back with his own punches, including a sharp uppercut that shook Faber. Faber answered with a takedown attempt, but Pulver sprawled and nearly secured a front choke. Faber escaped and punished Pulver with punches until the bell sounded. Pulver seemed gassed at this point, and clearly frustrated that he was being outboxed.

The third round was probably the most exciting of the match, starting with a sharp head kick from Pulver. After Pulver sprawled on a takedown, Faber was able to take Pulver's back and slam him to the ground, but Pulver bounced up and began a thrilling striking exchange ending with a devastating body kick that put Faber in serious trouble. Faber shot for a takedown but landed with Pulver on top of him and dropping elbows. Faber reversed the position and landed a couple elbows of his own before the fighters were stood up; Pulver was very slow in getting to his feet.

(WEC bantamweight champ Miguel Torres [33-1] defends his belt against DEEP/Pancrase vet Yoshiro Maeda [23-4-2] at WEC 34 on June 1st. Props to MMAMania.)

(Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Quinton Jackson; Rampage's ballsy but unsuccessful PRIDE debut, from PRIDE 15, 7/29/01.)