This book or audio book is something to pick up if you like autobiography type reads on one subject matter in particular. In Eugene Robinson’s case it is about fighting. He goes through his life describing all of his fighting and training experiences mixing it up with big name fighters as well as real life tough guys. He interviews a couple of people about certain types of fighting and the fighting philosophy.

He has a unique way of describing these experiences as if he was on a stage doing some type of rant poetry. Some of the stories mesh together and it is hard to follow. It takes a little getting used to, but once you do you can appreciate the insight Eugene has dug up and has provided in this book. If you are plugged into the current world of mixed martial arts some of the names he drops will be interesting to the MMA fan. His journey through the fight world is as unique as his narration in this book. He doesn’t seem to draw the line anywhere when it comes to fighting and takes any opportunities to explore fighting in its raw form.

It has some brawling experiences that might seem all to familiar with some of his readers. Maybe some hard gritty experiences that would make some reader cringe. Either way everybody should tape their knuckles up, go out and get this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Everything-Wanted-Ass-Kicking-Afraid/dp/0061189227

On Sunday, June 1, 2008 Featherweight Champ Urijah Faber will take on former UFC Champ Jens Pulver at the Acro Arena in Sacramento, CA.

New Podcast interviews !!!

Urijah Faber interview
http://sinuatemedia.com/WEC/Faber1.mp3
http://sinuatemedia.com/WEC/Faber2.mp3

Jens Pulver interview
http://sinuatemedia.com/WEC/Pulver1.mp3
http://sinuatemedia.com/WEC/Pulver2.mp3

May 31 EliteXC Saturday Night Fights show. The event, airing live on CBS, takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. This is going to be a good fight between two of the best women in MMA. Kaitlin is reported to be in great shape, but Gina has been rumored to have only started training a few weeks ago for this fight. Kaitlin is the longer leaner fighter and Gina is a little bigger.

Check out the video of Kaitlin doing some caveman training.

With the highly anticipated fight between BJ Penn and Sean Sherk coming up, it might be easy to forget the matchup between Pulver and Faber, not to mention, it will be free. Faber is at the top of his game, in his prime, and Pulver is born again in the WEC’s featherweight division. This championship bout will either cement Faber’s position as the featherweight champ of the world or breathe life back into an older MMA icon.

Faber Vs. Pulver
WEC - World Featherweight Championship
Live June 1st at 9PM Eastern Time on Versus
Check TV Listing on http://versus.com/faberpulver

Source: http://www.versus.com/wec

Quinton’s movie career isn’t off to a bad start among other MMA stars that have tried to grace the silver screen. He has been in a few movies, but one of the recent ones that has been released did exceptionally well. In 2008 on April 13th in the Beverly Hills Film Festival the film “Bad Guys” won Best Picture, Best Lead Actor, Best Producer and the Viewers Choice Award.

Movie Trailer Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dffCzKBRaNA

Movie Link:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454402/

Jackson’s Acting History Link:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1961693/

BHFF Link:
http://www.beverlyhillsfilmfestival.com/

The terms “knockout” and “technical knockout” are not foreign to the modern world of boxing. MMA, however, had to come up with rules as its sport has evolved. MMA’s rules have to encompass more rules so they may include ground fighting and striking. Some of the striking rules are similar to the boxing rules. Some of them being what actually define the differences between a TKO and a KO.

Boxing has been around for hundreds of years, its modern Marquis of Queensbury rules were first adopted in 1867. Even then they adopted a difference between the terms TKO and KO. “In Boxing, should the referee count to ten, then the knocked-down boxer is ruled “knocked out” (whether he or she is unconscious or not) and the other boxer is ruled the winner by knockout (KO). A “technical knockout” (TKO) is possible as well, and is ruled by the referee, fight doctor, or a fighter’s corner if a fighter is unable to safely continue to fight, based upon injuries or being judged unable to effectively defend themselves.”

In MMA however, many things can happen that sometimes make it hard to determine the difference between a TKO and a KO. Since New Jersey was one of the first states to come up with MMA rules, we will use them for the comparison. The New Jersey Athletic commission defines a KO as, “Knockout by failure to rise from the canvas.” They go on to say that a technical knockout is determined by, “Referee stops bout, Ringside physician stops bout or when an injury as a result of a legal maneuver is severe enough to terminate a bout.”

Others, like the late PRIDE organization, chose not to include the KO ruling in their rules. PRIDE had only the term “technical knock out” defined as, “If the referee sees that one fighter is completely dominant, to the point of endangering his opponent, the referee will stop the match. In the event that a fighter is injured (via fair methods) and cannot continue the match, his opponent will be declared the winner. The ring doctor will be the one to determine whether the fighter can continue or not. In the event that an injury was caused by illegal methods, the perpetrator will be disqualified. A fighter’s corner throws in the towel.”

Without the 10 second count, like referees in boxing have, MMA referees must quickly decide whether a fighter is defending himself or that he is unconscious. Not only that, but the referee’s ruling will dictate when a fighter can fight again. Depending on weither it is a KO or TKO can as Steve Mazzagatti states, “makes a differnce as to how long the commission will not let a fighter fight.” Maybe to a seasoned referee it isn’t as complicated as it sounds, but in a few fights I have watched and wondered, just what made that a KO and not a TKO?

Sources: Knockout Wiki, PRIDE Organization Rules, Boxing Wiki History Source, MMA Wiki History Source, New Jersey MMA Rules Source

I am sure Elite XC wasn’t thinking of Yves Edwards when they said that people in this would become street certified after fighting in this event. Back in the day, Yves was fighting dudes in a high school gym NHB tournament just to get some experience in. When people think about some of the original threats in the UFC, Yves is on the list.

Yves is one of the UFC’s great lightweights, and one of the best strikers at his weight, but he has been overlooked over the past year or two because of some losses. Yves even made a comment about his fighting style during those losses with Sherdog, “I was doing the wrong things, like preparing for MMA fights, but going at as if I was a boxer and solely a boxer. That was, I think, the biggest problem.”

Known best for his great striking finishes, Yves admits himself that he forgot about the other parts of MMA that make it so appealing. Chuck Liddell recently has learned the same lesson. In Chuck’s last fight against Silva, Chuck threw in a couple of takedowns.

With all that being said, and Yves now training at American Top Team, I think he will continue on his winning warpath. Yves even mentioned possibly getting back in the UFC and doing some damage.

Article Source:
http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=11294

Last night at UFC 81 might be a blast from the past in regards to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Remember back when you only had to be good at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to beat up guys in the UFC? With all the talk about the importance of being a well rounded MMA fighter over the past few years, UFC 81 may have come a shock to some. We saw two heavyweights take a serious beating from their opponents, only to submit them. Lets take a look at both of the heavyweight fights from UFC 81.

Brock Lesnar came in powerful as ever as he had to cut weight just to make the 265 lb. limit for the heavyweight division. Mir weathered the storm and started fishing for submissions, going after the arm bar first. He couldn’t get it locked in due to the shear size of Lesnar’s arms. Mir said that wrestlers were prone to leaving themselves open to foot locks. Well, he was right, because even with Lesnar’s impressive wrestling background, he left himself wide open for a knee bar.

Everybody was saying that Nog was training hard for this fight and he looked to be physically in great shape. When the fight started, Sylvia proved to push the pace and pick Nog apart slowly with strikes. Tim got out of every guard Nog had him in. Nog got him down in side control, but it was at the very end of the round as the bell rang. Tim clinched well and really left the fight out in the open utilizing his strikes. Nog’s face was really a bloody mess. Nog tangled Sylvia in his guard and never let him out and worked for a couple of submissions until Tim made one mistake, that was all he needed to catch Tim in a Guillotine. Nog hasn’t ever been knocked out, even fighting the greatest in MMA history. Nog proves that if you can’t take a good BJJ guy out he will catch you sooner or later if he is given enough time.

I am not saying you don’t need all the tools to be a MMA fighter. Alberto Crane and Marcelo Garcia have learned this early in their MMA careers. The MMA evolution has appeared to have early fighters great at one and hardly knew any other arts. Then fighters became great at one and practiced the other arts just to be familiar with them. Still, a lot of fighters these days are able to know all of them, but be great at only one. If I had to pick the one, it would be Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. As you can see after last night, it still proves to be one of the best out there in MMA today.

Ok so maybe it is a little late to start a new years resolution, but Brock Lesnar has some pretty high goals.

And Lesnar, 30, said: “I’d like to believe I have the ability to reach the heights of people like Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz — I would like to be one of those guys.

So maybe he is a little ambitous, but why shouldn’t he be. He wrestled for real before WWE and he has been training in MMA for a couple of years now. I think a little less talk before his first octagon debut would prove to be smarter, but he is already used to being a star—just not in the octagon yet. Brock is quick to give suggestions to other WWE stars thinking about the transition.

He said: “Any pro wrestlers wanting to make the transition into MMA don’t have the credentials I have as an amateur wrestler — and you need a strong wrestling background to succeed in this sport.”

With the recent talk from Bobby Lashley about MMA, February 2nd will be either a big buffet of humble pie or the start of a big WWE crossover.

Source:http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/ufc/article727246.ece

It looks like Lesner might be starting a trend. Bobby Lashley—an ECW champion under WWE—is wanting nothing to do with the WWE. He has had a bad fallout with these guys and is considering MMA. I dont know how much practice he has had, but seriously, he reminds me of another Kevin Randleman. He is still fairly young at the age of 32 so he still might have a little time to learn some MMA.

Source:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/341-01242008-1476637.html