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I spent most of last Saturday at a family dinner but I was able to make it back to watch the UFC 92 card at East End Submission in downtown Hamilton. Thanks to all the guys that invited me, I had a great time.

I didn’t make it there in time to catch the Rampage/Silva fight so if someone could comment with some details about that fight that would be great.

I was shocked to see Mir dominate Nogueira like he did. Congrats to him on a big victory. It was nice to see him do so well after the crap he went through with the motorcycle accident. I was a little disappointed that the fight never made it to the ground, where I think Nogueira might have had a better chance to win that night.

I had picked Rashad to win his fight which he did, but it wasn’t an easy job for him to pull out the win. Forrest is a huge dude! I think the height difference made it tough for Rashad to land some of his big punches throughout the fight plus Forrest can take a pretty good shot.

Overall I was hoping to see more ground fighting, since there were some great grapplers on the card but it seems like everyone just wants to strike these days even if that is the weakest part of their games. It’s probably due to the pressure the fighter’s feel to be a fan favourite which is understandable, because accomplishing that, will ultimately bring them higher paydays in the future.

What did you think about the card?

UFC 92 is right around the corner and I must say the card looks very exciting. Here’s how I think it’s all going to play out.

Quinton Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva
This a fight between two intense, extremely aggressive fighters, each with a ton of experience. I think Rampage has the more refined striking but Wanderlei’s aggression may really pay off for him if he lands some good shots early. Rampage went through some tough times a short while back and it will be interesting to see if it affected his training at all. I’m kind of leaning towards the “Axe Murderer” Silva in this one because I kind of have the feeling that he is due for a win.

Pick – Silva (2nd Round KO)

Antonio Nogueira vs. Frank Mir
This should be an interesting match-up between two highly skilled Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu stylists. Mir’s strength is definitely his ground game but I feel that Nogueira has the better ground game of the two. He has also been through some unbelievable wars in Pride and has the fantastic ability to quickly turn dangerous situations into his favour.

Pick – Nogueira (3rd Round Submission)

Forrest Griffen vs. Rashad Evans
This fight between two fan favourites should prove ultra entertaining. We all know Forrest can take a pretty good punch, but I think Rashad might throw a little bit too much power for him come fight night. Forrest might attempt to take the fight to the ground to test Rashad’s ground skills but I have a gut feeling both of these fighter’s are going to keep this fight standing in an attempt to delight the crowd.

Pick – Evans (Decision)

Other Main Card Picks

CB Dollaway vs. Mike Massenzio – Dollaway (2nd Round Submission)
Cheick Kongo vs. Mustapha Al-Turk – Kongo (Decision)

Found this video on the net. Good stuff.

I’ve been sick for the last week or so. I haven’t really been able to do much except sit around watching tv and using this computer. Anyone else catch the flu?

I’m going to go in to teach a class tonight at Joslin’s MMA and we are open tommorrow night also. After that we are closed until January 2nd.

Hope everyone has a great holiday season!!!

Rickson Gracie has long been regarded as the best in the Gracie family. After his brother Royce won the original UFC events he stated that Rickson was better than him. I had the opportunity to meet him one time, around 15 years ago when I was only a whitebelt and it was a great experience.

I’ve dug up a couple videos of him from youtube. Some of them are old and the quality is not so good but I think you’ll enjoy them.

Peixotinho X Rickson Gracie – 1984

First of all let me say that the “Ultimate Fighter” reality show has been the best thing for the sport of mixed martial arts as it has brought our once underground sport to the mainstream masses, given fighters recognition and has provided us with the opportunity to watch the U.F.C on free television.

To be honest I haven’t really watched the ultimate fighter show in the last few years athough I do remember not missing an episode of the earlier season which had Nate Quarry, Chris Leben, Koscheck and Florian in it. After that I’ve had no desire to watch the show. I think it’s partially due to my personal experience at the TUF tryouts a few years back when I nearly made the 185 lb. season (I believe Kalib Starnes represented Canada on that one).

I won’t get into the details right now as to why I didn’t make the final cut but that day I realized that the fighter’s who make it to the show are chosen not because they can fight well, although a few can, but because they fit the mold as to what the producers believe will draw ratings.

I think it’s fair for the producers to do choose fighter’s using their own criteria based on what works for reality tv. It’s their butts on the line if the show fails miserably and honestly who wants to watch a bunch of calm, respectful, professionally acting fighters sitting around the house without beer, arguments and the occasionally scrap. That would be boring as hell for most viewers.

As a fighter I prefer watching the Pay per view and Fight Night events over the reality show because the the technical ability of the fighters during those UFC events is higher.You don’t see as much wild wailing during standup striking and rarely do you see a fighter who does not have a clue about ground fighting.

What do you guys think about the show?

Trust your instincts

Learn to trust your instincts and listen to what you intuition tells you. When you feel something doesn’t seem right, bring your senses to full alert and be prepared to fight and escape as soon as possible.

The last few weeks haven’t been the greatest.

About a week or so again I irritated my knee while doing Brazlian Jiu Jitsu. I’m not sure if it was because of training so much or the fact that we’ve matted our entire large (originally hardwood) gym with new tatami style mats that have yet to be broken in.

As of today my knee is beginning to feel much better but now I have the flu!. I’m looking forward to getting back to training in a few days once this sickness has passed…

I’m going to start posting techniques from my online MMA training website http://www.master-mma.com each month. Here is one from the stand-up section of the website.

There was a lot of action during last night’s UFC Fight Night on Spike Tv. Josh Koscheck scored a great knockout finish as did Mike Swick, who lived up to his nickname “Quick” by finishing his fight in quick time.

There was also an insanely gross moment when Cory Hill snapped his leg when his low kick attempt was checked by his opponent. Ouch!!!!!!!

Watching the fights, I was surprised to see some guys fighting, in the world’s top organization with glaring weaknesses. Some had next to zero striking ability and others had extremely weak ground games. It’s very frustrating to watch from the sidelines. Hopefully when I am able to get back at it I get a few nice build up fights .