UFC 91

The teaser on this one form the UFC website pretty much is dead on the money
"It's the biggest fight in mixed martial arts history! 3-time UFC® Heavyweight Champ Randy "The Natural" Couture returns to the Octagon™ and puts his title on the line against the biggest opponent of his career, wrestling powerhouse Brock Lesnar. Can the legend prevail? Or will a new hero rise? "
I like Randy in this one, due to his experience. It has the makings of a great fight and could determine the outcome of the Heavyweight/ Interim Heavyweight Belt "tourney" thats pitting Mir/Nogueria as well. I see this one going to the ground early on, Randy using the ring (like he does superbly) and ending either 2nd or 3rd round. No one has tested Lesnar's chin, and I don't think Randy will stand in the middle of the ring and trade punches. I can see him using the cage and "dirty boxing". Win or lose we are in store for a great fight saturday!!

check out the events website http://91.ufc.com/

Joe "Daddy" Stevenson awarded Black Belt

UFC lightweight contender Joe Stevenson (29-8 MMA, 6-2 UFC) was awarded his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt in a ceremony this past Saturday. He received the belt from grappling legend and trainer Robert Drysdale.
for more info check out this article at MMAJUNKIE
Congrats to Joe!!
http://mmajunkie.com/news/13206/joe-stevenson-awarded-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-black-belt.mma

flying armbar

whoa!!!

The social networking site

GSP "very impressed with Alves"

Ok I know I said it on Sunday, but please put this fight together!! I might be jumping ahead of myself, if so I appologize. Anyway, after knocking out my Prison Workout this morning, rightt after Brock's 4:15 am feeding; I was checking out Georges St Pierre's blog. I am a fan of GSP do to his ability, his personality, and the fact he is constantly improving. In fact I still remember the first time I saw him fight. Its incredible how much he has evolved as a fighter, although I suppose that is somewhat of a blanket statement as this sport evolves more and more... Anyway it was a good read, it appears he recieved his Black Belt from Gracie Barra, is going to be on an upcoming cover of Mens Health,and seems to be very impresseed with Thiago Alves! I thougt you all might want to read for yourselves so heres a link
http://www.yardbarker.com/mma/articles/On_The_Move/357754

check itout and let me know what you think

As a faithful follower of the Trinity Training Prisoner Workout, I can attest to the benefits of body weight training. I am coming back after a 90 day layoff due to a nasty torn adductor/pelvic stress injury. I got hurt training in BJJ, with my eyes on an upcoming tournament. Since starting the program a couple weeks ago I am starting to feel and look like the old me. I'm still not ready for BJJ, but I am getting better every day.
I see the similarities in the Prison Workout to Crossfit, which is where I discovered it in the first place...Funny thing is I always thought that Crossfitters were outside the box, under the radar so-to-speak. Imagine my astonishment when I opened MSN today to find Crossfit in the headlines.
Read the article&discuss

http://health.msn.com/fitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100217215&page=1

What A Night!

Well what did youu all think of that one? I think we can all agree that Mr Sean Sherk is back, another performance like that one and he will get a rematch against BJ. Junior Dos Santos is for real, :80 seconds after the first bell and a victory in the UFC is his! I heard he trains with Anderson Silva and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira...I just wonder if "Stanky" is his striking coach!

Anderson Silva- wow we saw a fighter take him past the second round only to blow ouut his knee early in the third. Silva never engaged like in the past keeping his distance and sizing up Cote's stance. Give Cote credit he switched stances almost each he threw/blocked a strike. I would assume Mark Dellagrotte at Sityogtong is to think for that. Silva looked relaxed and calm, almost like this was a sparrring match; a testament to his confidence-not an underestimate of his opponent. He had one leg kick in the 2nd round which spun Cote around completely. Other than that he danced "capoeria" style just outside of Cotes reach.

Thiago Alves looked very impressive once again in his decision over Josh Koscheck. I hope they put him in the ring with St Pierrre soon, it will be a War!! In fact I think Alves is really the only legitemate contender in the Welterweigt division. I think this fight holds more pertinence tan the Penn-St Pierre Superfight or the proposed "catch weight" St Pierre-Anderson Silva match up. Dana White, I mean Mr Dana White please make it happen!



Anyway here are the results from last night, the undercard(which can be seen FREE here

http://www.ufc.com/
Welterweight bout: Pete Sell vs. Josh Burkman
Sell defeated Burkman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Lightweight bout: Hermes Franca vs. Marcus Aurelio
Franca defeated Aurelio via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
Middleweight bout: Matt Horwich vs. Dan Miller
Miller defeated Horwich via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Lightweight bout: Spencer Fisher vs. Shannon Gugerty
Fisher defeafed Gugerty via submission (triangle choke) at 3:56 of round 3.
Middleweight bout: Thales Leites vs. Drew McFedries
Leites defeated McFedries via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:18 of round 1.

and the Main card results
Lightweight bout: Sean Sherk vs. Tyson Griffin
Sherk defeated Griffin via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
Heavyweight bout: Fabricio Werdum vs. Junior dos Santos
dos Santos defeated Werdum via KO (strikes) at 1:20 of round 1.
Lightweight bout: Gray Maynard vs. Rich Clementi
Maynard defeated Clementi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Welterweight bout: Thiago Alves vs. Josh Koscheck
Alves defeated Koscheck via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27).
Middleweight championship bout: Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Côté
Silva defeated Côté via TKO (injury) 0:39 of round 3 to retain the Middleweight Championship title.

Awards
Fight of the Night: Sean Sherk and Tyson Griffin
Knockout of the Night: Junior dos Santos
Submission of the Night: Spencer Fisher

Let me know what you thougt of the fights...

UFC 90

Tomorrow night's card inChicago looks promising. Dana White I don't mind handing you $45 for this one, especially after last weeks freebie... Thats almost like buy 1 get1 free!
I discussed Silva-Cote earlier this week and I think the general consensus is Anderson Silva will retain his title, no problem. In addition to the middleweight title fight, there are some really interesting fights to be televised.
Josh Koscheck vs Thiago Alves - Koscheck stepped in once Diego Sanchez was injured, Kos is to fight again in Dec 10 making 4 fights in 9 months! The winner of this fight, should get a title shot.
Gray Maynard vs Rich Clementi-I think this one will be a good one. Gray is like a machine, and Rich is a seasoned vet.
Fabricio Werdum vs Dos Santos- Size wise these guys are well matched, anxious to see Santos' performance as he trains with Anderson Silva.
Sean Sherk vs Tyson Griffin-Here we go, the match ups I like. Solid Strikers with INCREDIBLE ground game. Sherk is coming off of a suspension due to a banned substance and a loss to BJ Penn. I think this could be Fight of the Night, and I see this one coming down to points,possibly a split decision.

Be sure to check back late Saturday or early Suunday for posted results.


I read a great article over at Elite FTS posted by Jude Hackett a fighter out of Alabama
Its really insightful, check it out
http://www.elitefts.com/documents/powerlifting_to_mma.htm

Kimbo Slice in UFC?

With The ELITE XC filing bankruptcy, it has left several notable fighters( Robbie Lawler, Jake Sheilds, Gina Carano) as well as the much hyped, internet sensation Kimbo Slice, unemployed and looking for work. Seems that once again the Kimbo question has been raised to Dana White.
Check out the article below from USA TODAY...

By Michael McCarthy, USA TODAY
NEW YORK — Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has said that EliteXC headliner Kimbo Slice couldn't even compete with the UFC's entry-level mixed martial artists on Spike TV's reality show, The Ultimate Fighter.
After watching the former backyard brawler get beaten in 14 seconds by Seth Petruzelli on CBS' third EliteXC Saturday Night Fights telecast this weekend, White says the only way Slice will get into the UFC is by starting at the bottom.
"I think you're going to see him fighting at barbecues again," said White about the former YouTube sensation during a party here launching Viking Studio's new book Fighter: The Fighters of the UFC. (The collection of black and white photos of fighters such as Chuck Liddell and Matt Serra by Coach creative chief Reed Krakoff goes on sale Oct. 16).
If Slice wants a place in the he UFC, he'd to have to earn it by beating the other entry-level contenders on Ultimate Fighter.
"I wasn't going to offer Kimbo Slice a chance to fight in the UFC — but a chance to fight his way on to Ultimate Fighter. If you want to be in the UFC, go do the reality show," said White.

What are your thoughts on Kimbo? Is he legit? Sould he try out for TUF?

TV tonight

Anybody check out Brock Lesnar on E:60 tonight? I was glad they showed some highlights and gave him some background credibility. This dude was a stud in JUCO and D1 national champ in collegiate wrestling.
Too bad he didn't transition into MMA earlier, sounds like he went through some drinking/pain med issues. Thankfully he recognized the behavior and didn'tcontinue the downward slide.
When the interviewer hinted at Brock's size, he abruptly ended the interview. Good for him, theguy is huge, but he's beeen a freak since college. When they asked Dana White, his responsee was something along the lines of-Anybody would be STUPID to use steroids in this sport. This is due to the amout of testing these guys endure.
Anyway, seems as if everyone on the UFC 91 come back clean on their preliminary drug test...
What are your thoughts on steroids in MMA? Do you think professional sports are stringent enough in their testing? Let me know!

The Big 3-6

Happy Birthday to me! The big 3-6 has arrived. Funny isn't it how each year your idea of whats young and whats old change somewhat. I will admit that having a soon to be 7 week old son has presented me with a new outlook on sleep and nighttime activities in general. My wife always gets me just what I wanted and has came through once again. She bought me a copy of BJ Penns "Book of Knowledge" and a cool TAPOUT tshirt.

Being week 2 of the Prison Workout (http://octagonspot.blogspot.com/) I have a nice workout in front of me today and hope to spend some time with my family enjoying the beautiful day. Brock really enjoys being outside and it has a calming effect on him.

In MMA news I read an interesting article on MMAweekly which I will be posting below, basically how Dana White regards Brandon Vera after his loss to Keith Jardine. I feel kind of sorry for Vera, after the drama at Lloyd Irving's home invasion during his camp, and the split decision loss to Jardine- who by the way has had some big wins(Chuck Liddell,Forrest Griffin). I am not defending Vera for the loss, nor am I stating the decision should have been in his favor. It was a pretty even fight and just didn't go his way. At times it looked as if Vera might have played it too safe and could have diplayed a little more offense. Hard to prepare for a guy like Jardine who is extremely well rounded and fights out of Greg Jackson's camp( perhaps the BEST camp out there in my opinion). With one fight left on his current contract could we see the 205 pounder leave for another promotion? Could we see Vera regain the 20 pounds he cut(apparently at the request of the UFC) and once again be a heavyweight? Possibilty then lingers for a Vera-Tim Sylvia rematch??? Anyway here is the link as I promised http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=7387&zoneid=13

Getting this ball rolling

Well what did you all think of the fights last night? For those of you that missed them I will post the results at the bottom of this post. I saw alot of standup fighting, which is something I think they have in mind when matchmaking for these free fights...show alot of big punches and generate a buzz of excitement.

I think there will be a decent amount of standup in this Saturdays main event, Anderson Silva vs Patrick Cote. I don't know Cote's strategy but I would be leary in standing and trading blows with Silva-his Muay Thai is incredible(great range, great clinch,nasty knees) as many of his opponents know first hand. His jiu jitsu is solid too, in fact the only(and this is extremely subjective) strategy may be to use wrestling to gain position. I know this is Anderson Silva we are talking about and this guy really is no joke.

I just wouldn't use Dan Henderson's strategy, wherein he didn't control the pace and allowed himself to stand and trade blows with "The Spider" as opposed to using his Olympic level wrestling talent to control the tempo. Again this is Anderson Silva and with no flaws to expose, its difficult to say how ANYONE could pull off an upset.



On another note, I have bounced back from the torn adductor/pelvic stress injury. 90 days of no activity(other than therapy), while enjoyable from a relaxation point of view(hypothetically due to the birth of our son halfway through)-has left me incredibly detrained. I might even go so far as to say out of shape! I started up the Prison Workout from here http://trinitytraining.blogspot.com/ last week and couldn't be happier.

The WOD are reminiscent of my past experience with Crossfit metcons. I do think the beauty of these workouts for almost all people(let's face it elite level athletes only make up a fraction of the world's population) is the simplicity of exercises, need for elaborate equipment(or a gym for that matter) and commitment of time required. Saturday I spent more time warming up than executing the WOD! I love this workout and the time it allows me to spend with my wife and 6 week old son.

Here are the results from UFC 89 like I promised
Per Eklund beat Samy Schiavo by third-round submission (rear-naked choke)Jim Miller beat David Baron by third-round submission (rear naked choke)Terry Etim beat Sam Stout by unanimous decisionDavid Bielkheden beat Jess Liaudin by unanimous decisionShane Carwin beat Neil Wain by first-round TKO (strikes)Dan Hardy beat Akihiro Gono by split decisionMarcus Davis beat Paul Kelly by second-round submission (guillotine)Chris Lytle beat Paul Taylor by unanimous decisionLuis Cane beat Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou by second-round TKO (strikes) Keith Jardine beats Brandon Vera by split decisionMichael Bisping beat Chris Leben by unanimous decision

first off and foremost

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog. What I plan to do is give you some insight to mixed martial arts and brazilian jiu jitsu from a christian perspective. As a fan/practioner of combat sports I often find it hard to visit some popular websites and not feel overwhelmed by the worldly influence. Some of these sites border on pornographic and I hope to create an avenue here that is work/family safe. As Christians we are to share our faith with the world and reach out to those who don't have a personal relationship with our Lord. I hope this page does that.
Secondly, I want to share a little of my training with you and hopefully get some feedback from those of you who engage in martial arts training. I will post some strength/conditioning and nutrition posts as well. I don't claim to know everything, and by all means I am no expert.