MMA Photography

by Derek Constable

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will reach a historic milestone on July 11 — UFC 100 — and while some of the sport’s original critics chose to believe that mixed martial arts would be a passing fad (like rap music) … 16 years later fight fans are religiously tuning in for monthly PAY-PER-VIEWs and always on the couch Wednesday night’s where they can catch a weekly installment of Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter series.

UFC 100 has been billed as the event to top all events this year, but in reality its an average fight card with a very memorable thee-digit number attached to it. UFC 94 in January for instance featured George St. Pierre vs. B.J. Penn as the main event and never have I seen such support for MMA amidst a Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas. Sure, there were Cardinals and Steelers jerseys to be seen around the casinos, butt in reality it looked like a civil war had been moved to the desert and lines were clearly drawn between Hawaii and Canada.

I met two fight fans from Montreal that trip who told me that they’d bought one way plane tickets, two passes to UFC 94 and then emptied the rest of their wallets at the sports book with a $1,000 each on ‘GSP.’ Now, that’s dedication!

UFC 100 is more about the number than the matchups themselves. It proves to everyone that MMA is not “human cockfighting” … it’s a sport and one which deserves as much respect as any of the others recapped on ESPN day in and day out.

It features athletes from the United States and abroad and is one of the only sports which can truly claim to crown “World Champions.” I’ve never seen the Yankees play a team from overseas in the World Series but I’ve certainly watched men from the United States face the toughest in the world (Brazil, Russia, Canada, etc.) while defending the coveted UFC Championship.

Breakdown of the fights for UFC 100 on July 11 in Las Vegas, NV

UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: BROCK LESNAR v. Frank Mir

How is it Frank Mir defeated Brock Lesnar before he ever became champion and yet Mir is the underdog going into this fight. It’s disgraceful that Lesnar got a title shot against Randy Couture so early in his career. While every one else from Rashad Evans to Thiago Alves had to earn their way to the top, Lesnar got to cut in line because of his pure size and popularity from World Wrestling Entertainment. He’s got a long way to go before he get’s the respect a UFC Champion deserves. Knocking out Randy with a toaster sized fist to the back of the head does not impress me.

PREDICTION: Frank Mir by Submission R2.

UFC WELTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: GEORGE ST. PIERRE v. Thiago Alves

I said a year ago I thought the only weltweight in the UFC with a shot at beating GSP was Thiago Alves and now it seems I’ve gotten my wish. The guy’s got crazy jiu-jitsu but never really needs to use it since he’s so exposive on his feet. Alves is every bit as dangerous a striker as GSP and I don’t see him being taken down as easily as B.J. Penn was for just that reason. Thiago’s also got no neck, so if he and George get into a headkicking contest I don’t see Alves getting into trouble there.

PREDICTION: Thiago Alves by TKO R2.

Dan Henderson v. Michael Bisping

the two coaches from the most recent edition of Spike TV’s TUF series will finally meet in the cage after a ton of hype’s been built up by the T.V. show. Bisping is a former contestant on the show but never got a title shot at 205 and now is looking to build reputation as a top contender at 185. Henderson is a former dual title holder in PRIDE and was champion at both middleweight and light heavyweight a short time ago, but he wasn’t able to dethrone champions Anderson Silva or Quinton Jackson when he signed with the UFC in 2007. Henderson is coming off two straight wins including one over former UFC Champion Rich Franklin. Both of these fighters have good boxing, but Bisping doesn’t really carry any knockout power and Henderson’s Olympic level wrestling should prove far superior. Look for Hendo to dictate the action in this one and either knockout Bisping on his feet, or wrestler like there’s no tomorrow maintain good position.

PREDICTION: Henderson by split decision.

Jon Fitch v. Paulo Thiago

Jon Fitch… legitimate badass, went five rounds with GSP for the welterweight title! Enough said. Paulo Thiago… he’s Brazilian and his name is Paulo Thiago! I mean the guy’s last name is just as badass as his first, come on! Thiago just KO’d Josh Koscheck in under two minutes to improve to 6-0 and the only place his name shows up before the UFC is with the very repuatable Jungle Fight organization where he won five fights consecutively by decision or first round submission. This will be a war where either Thiago gets the best of Fitch with a crazy submission or Fitch be in his face the entire fight for a win clear cut decision.

PREDICTION: Fitch by unanimous decision.

Jon Jones v. Jacob O’Brien

O’Brien will be coming down from heavyweight to light-heavyweight after two consecutive losses to heavyweight powerhouses Cain Velasquez and Andrei Arlovski, but unfortunately for him he’ll be facing the 205 division’s newest sensation Jon “BONES” Jones.

Both of these guys are wrestlers, both of these guys have wins by TKO, but Jones is too fast, too elusive and too good to be stopped in his prime by this guy. I don’t know any better wrestlers than Jon at 205 except maybe Rashad Evans and at 6-foot-5 he’ll control the fight on his feet too, even against a big boy like O’Brien.

Completely biased opinion here — Jon’s a friend of mine — he’s gonna smoke this fool just like he did Stephon Bonnar.

PREDICTION: Jon Jones by TKO R1.

Jim Miller v. Mac Danzig

Everyone is really impressed with Mac Danzig and for good reason. He’s got over 20 fights, a winning record, and was the eventual winner of TUF Season 6, but don’t sleep on Jim Miller from Sparta, N.J.

Miller trains with UFC veteran Frankie Edgar and is the younger brother of UFC middlweight fighter Dan Miller. While Dan’s resume includes a handful of first round submissions and plenty of wins by decision, Jim is just the opposite, usually winning his fights by decision or third round submission.

His cardio is excellent, his wrestling and boxing are good and he never quits on himself. If Miller isn’t controlling the tempo, he’s merely grinding out the minutes and waiting for that one opportunity to strike. This will be a tough test for Miller, but I bet he’s up for it.

PREDICTION: Miller by Submission R3.

other notable matchups for 100 include:

Stephan Bonnar v. Mark Coleman

Alan Belcher v. Yoshihiro Akiyama

Tom Lawlor v. C.B. Dollaway

Jonathon Goulet v. Dong Hyun Kim

Shannon Gugerty v. Matt Grice

RESULTS

Marcus Maciel def. Chris Chappell by knee bar :32 R1.
John Bachman def. Ryan Quinn by knee bar :55 R1.
Bobby Gorham v. Mark Rodriguez ruled a No Contest.
Nate Woodger def. Kym Sturdivant by TKO 3:55 R2.
Joel Burgess def. Edson Junior by RNC 2:06 R2.
Justin Corneglia def. Brian Barnicle by side choke 1:38 R2.
Sam Elliott def. Matt Pestena by split decision.
Phil Parish def. Pat White by KO 1:17 R1.
Ryan Tottenham def. Kevin Camara TKO 2:54 R2.
Jessica Miele def. Kaline Medeiros by UD.
John Clohasy def. Mike Donovan by armbar 1:18 R1.

by Derek Constable

Making $100,000 as an MMA fighter is no easy task. There are no guarunteed contracts, no signing bonuses — fight and win — that’s how these athletes put food on the table. But a chance at 100-Grand is just the what the Bellator Fighting Championships is offering its athletes, those competing within its tournament of champions.

Jared Hess (8-0-1) is one of these competitors, an undefeated middleweight wrestler from Oklahoma, whose currently one win away from becoming the first ever BFC Middlweight Champion. Hess heard about Bellator through his manager when he was 6-0 in the sport and he jumped at the opportunity to compete in a tournament style format for a six figure purse.

He said, “My manager called me up about a year and half ago and asked me, ‘Hey, are you interested in fighting for $100,000?’ so I said, ‘YEAH! Tell me where to sign.”

“I was a wrestler [before MMA] so being part of a tournament is how I’ve always known how to compete. It’s how I love to fight. It doesn’t really give you time to rest, but if you stay healthy and you’re not getting too banged up it’s really good,” Hess said. “Never taking that down time … always maintaining that high intensity of training … and your conditioning gets better and better. Hopefully, if Bellator keeps going strong this will be the way they keep doing it.”

All of the competitors need only win three consecutive battles to be crowned champion, but with established fighters like Lyman Good, Eddie Alvarez and Jorge Masvidal in the mix — it’s no easy task.

Hess won his BFC debut with a first round submission over Daniel Tabera and earned entrance into June 19’s middleweight championship with a third round TKO over Yosmany Cabezas. However, next Friday’s match with Hector Lombard will be anything but a walk in the park.

Lombard is 19-2 with the majority of his wins coming by KO, TKO or decision. He competed in judo as an Olympian for Cuba, but since has switched to MMA and discovered a knack for knocking out opponents from nearly any position. He’s fast, ferocious and just as eager to take home that money.

“I definitely think that Hector is a wonderful fighter,” said Hess. “He’s been around the world and could probably hang with just about anyone in the UFC, but that might work to my advantage. He might be thinking ‘Who is Jared Hess?’ and may be overlooking this fight, thinking he’ll just come in there and knock me out first round.”

“I’m just going to stick with my gameplan, believe in myself, my ability and what I can do. I feel good going into this fight, I really do.”

Hess and Lombard will be just one of two featured bouts in Fort Lauderdale on June 19 as Eddie Alvarez and Toby Imada will also be competing for the BFC Lightweight Championship. Bellator XII will be the culmination of three months of competition and the final chance for four fighters to become the first BFC Champion in their respective weight classes. Joe Soto has already claimed his featherweight title on Friday, June 12 Lyman Good or Omar De La Cruz will become the new BFC Weltweight Champion.

Accolades aside, all of the tournament’s winners will be ecstatic to take home that $100K purse that they’ve been eyeing since Day One. What will Hess do with his prize money if he wins?

“Not too much, really. I’ll probably invest it more than anything else,” he said. “I would like to pay off my house though. I just bought it like three years ago. Maybe this will give me a chance.”

“I really got to thank my parents not for supporting me financially, but mentally and physcially where I was still able to work, train and balance out life so that I could keep on fighting. I was going to give myself pretty much this year and if i didn’t step up to the next level — be it Bellator, Strikeforce or the UFC — give up, get a job and start a career. Then, Bellator came along and presented this opportunity where I can do this for a living.”

Win, lose or draw Hess has made quite a name for himself since joining the BFC. He’s earned a spot in the middleweight championship, kept his undefeated record intact and gotten plenty of exposure for himself via ESPN deportes and the internet. Hector Lombard will be a tall order for the Oklahoma kid but he’s ready to face the challenge head on.

by Derek Constable 

Where have all the lightweight gone? It seems in the last year every decent lightweight has made the drop from 155 to 145, why? Whose to say, but suddenly all the competition is in the feathweight class and what a time for the Punisher to return. 

About a year ago, no one wanted to fight Spencer “The Punisher” Paige. He burst on the scene in ‘06 as a lightweight fighter for Team Bombsquad and with zero amateur experience, he quickly seized control of Untamed’s 145 pound title. A great wrestler with stellar kicks and punches on his feet, in 2008 he was on the verge of breaking into the WEC. He held a 5-1 record and wins over some of the best men his weightclass had to offer. Paige KO’d current World Championship Fighting champ Dan Ferrer, submitted former Untamed champion Jack Wilmarth and defeated yet another champ in Leandro “Tatu” Escobar at Untamed 14. His lone loss to lightweight Anthony Morrision was the only blemish on an otherwise outstanding career until the Punisher met “The Fluke” Josh Grispi.

Paige and Grispi was one of the most anticipated matchups of 2007 in the Northeast. It took place at Untamed 18 in the dead of winter and felt a lot like when Jim Miller met with Frank Edgar at Reality Fighting 14 before both were called up to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. These were two exciting and explosive young men with a ton of potential and only a single loss apiece. Unfortunately for Paige, Grispi has his number and after weeks of sparring and drilling with UFC veteran Dan Lauzon he was ready to exploit one of Paige’s glaring weaknesses.

“When he comes out ready to fight, he always shakes his head and bends it to his left, almost touching his shoulder, you know?” said Lauzon. “I got to play Paige for a few sparring sessions and all we did was drill that right head kick.”

As predicted by Grispi’s camp, Paige followed his old routine and when his head started to sink to the left, the Fluke’s right foot was on its way up with bad intentions. He dropped Paige instantly and finished the fight by ground and pound in under 30 seconds. Since then Grispi is 3-0 in the WEC with a stunning win by guillotine in only 31 seconds opposite Jens Pulver, while Paige has dissapeared back to Upstate, New York … until now.

This Friday after more than a year off, Paige will face Biff Wallizer in Scranton, Pa., one of the newest MMA towns since the legalization of mixed martial arts in Massachusetts. He claims the time away hasn’t slowed him down one bit and in fact he’s ready to face the best and brightest the 145 pound division has to offer.

“Losing had nothing to do with the fact that I took time off. It had to do with timing and the fact that I live four hours away from Cortland,” said Paige. “It just happened to work out that the Grispi fight was at the end of my last semester of school at SUNY Cortland. Without any student loan money, I couldn’t afford to stay in Cortland and train with the Bombsquad, so I moved home. Plus, I was pretty much set on going into the Federal Border Patrol Academy and becoming a freakin’ cop for the rest of my life … I snapped out of that shit though. I talked with Erik “Chainsaw” Charles about wanting to fight again, and here I am.”

Paige wasn’t looking for an easy fight for his return to the cage either, in fact he talked to Untamed matchmaker Mike Littlefield about calling out Ken Stone the regions undefeated (8-0) featherweight champ, but Stone wasn’t interested in fighting at 145.

“I was originally going to make my return to Untamed on June 19, and as far as an opponent we were under the impression that Ken Stone was a ‘go,’ ” he said. “Then Stone came back to Littlefield and said that he wanted to fight me at 135 or 140. I  said, ‘Fuck that shit!’ There’s no such thing as a 140 weight class … and I can’t make 135. So now, that fight is off and I’m fighting Biff in Scranton this Friday.”

Meanwhile, Grispi is quickly climbing the WEC ladder toward a title shot with Mike Brown or possible a featherweight title qualifier with Jose Aldo. Two very tough fights, but no one has been able to touch him since his rise from Untamed to the VS channel.

“I’m real happy for Josh. I hoped he’d knock Jens’ jaw into the second row at WEC 41. I mean, it only makes me look better,” said Paige. “People know I didn’t lose to no bitch.”

So Paige won’t be returning to an Untamed cage just yet, where he once held a championship belt, but he is back and in the mix, so newly crowned Untamed Featherweight Champ Chris Grandmaison better watch out or may receive a visit from a ghost of Untamed’s past.

“I’m going to be almost the same fighter except I might actually fight on the ground once in a while in my upcoming fights. I ain’t going to be pulling guard or anything like that, but I’m definitely going to start taking advantage of using submissions when guys are constantly shooting in on me and I’m defending takedowns,” he said. “Before I was just a college dude fighting because it was an easy way to pick up drunk girls at the bar. Now, I’ve got a great group of guys around me, I’ve matured a ton mentally and I’ve never wanted anything more. I’m going to be so evil at this sport that I wouldn’t want to fight me. “

CAGED COMBAT RESULTS 

NIGHT 1/WCA @ Trump Marina on June 5

Tom Gallecchio def. Dominic O’Grady by split decision.

Anthony Morrison def. Tim Troxell by UD.

Greg Soto def. Craig Kaufman by UD.

J.A. Dudley def. Hercules Benjamin by RNC 2:12 R2.

Kevin Roddy vs. Marcos Rodrigues DRAW.

Andy Main def. Steve McCabe by armbar :33 R1.

Lester Caslow def. Kyle Gray by RNC 3:24 R3.

Zack Burhans def. Tyler Venice by RNC 2:42 R1.

Ryan Farhat def. Mervin Rodriguez by tapout to strikes 3:48 R1.

NIGHT 2/Extreme Challenge @ Trump Marina on June 6

Justin Haskins def. Doug Gordon by UD.

Richie Lictawa def. Terry Bulman by TKO 4:07 R1.

Sam Orapeza def. Mitch Filer by RNC :47 R1.

Zach Makovsky def. Nate Williams by RNC 2:33 R3.

Jeff Lentz def. Steve DeAngelis by TKO 2:31 R3.

Al Buck def. Joey Brown by KO (head kick) :38 R1.

Mike Geurin def. Plinio Cruz by KO (bodyshot) 2:54 R3.

Chris Presta def. Brandon Hoxie by TKO 2:09 R2.

Everyone is curious who will win the rematch between Mike Brown and Urijah Faber for the WEC Featherweight Championship tonight on VS, but while fight fans await a clash between these two titans, several Northeast fighters will be looking to leave their marks as well.

South Shore Sport Fighting’s Josh Grispi (10-1) will take on Jens Pulver in an effort to remain undefeated as a WEC combatant and Team Bombsquad’s John Franchi is looking to pick up his second with within the organization as he faces former UFC lightweight Manny Gamburyan. In addition, welterweight Mike Campbell from Boston Sityodtong will look to rebound from his WEC debut loss against Danillo Villefort.

Below are a few picks from … DZNUTZ

Josh Grispi (-240) vs. Jens Pulver (+190)

GRISPI

Mike Brown (even) vs. Urijah Faber (-130)

FABER

Jose Aldo (-500) vs. Cub Swanson (+300)

ALDO

Donald Cerrone (-650) vs. James Krause (+450)

CERRONE

Mike Campbell vs. Anthony Pettis

CAMPBELL

Manny Gamburyan vs. John Franchi

FRANCHI

Sticks and stones break bones, but Ken Stone makes his living putting dents in cans.

The alleged 145-pound “champion” who holds a record of 8-0 has done nothing to prove his value in the sport besides beating the formerly undefeated Chris Simmons and pulling off a few exciting backflips to celebrate his hollow victories.

What other 7-0 champion would defend his title against a 5-20 fighter? In factnot a , if you took all of his opponents’ records and added them up the result would be 28-57….  Now, there’s some quality competition.

Stone’s got skills for sure – Joe Camacho’s broken rib at Battle Cage Xtreme IV is proof of that — but he does lack the heart of a warrior. Plenty of have gotten in line to fight the him but Stone continues to bicker with matchmakers and possible opponents over his weight.

He told Untamed Flyweight Champion Paul Gorman (135 lbs, 7-5-1) to gain 10 pounds and meet him at 145, but Gorman too often has been outmuscled fighting above his weight class.

 “I’ve been hearing from a lot of people and it seems they all want me to fight the same guy, Ken Stone,” said Gorman. “The only problem is they want us to fight at 145. I think Stone and myself would make for a great fight because I don’t think he’s faced anyone yet that fights the way I do. I know he beat Joe Camacho and he’s good, but I see plenty of his other opponents just not covering up well at all. If Stone will drop down to 135, we can make it happen.”

Former Untamed Featherweight Champion Spencer Paige (145, 5-2) hasn’t seen a fight in over a year since being KO’d by Josh Grispi at Untamed 18, but even he didn’t come out of retirement looking for a tune up fight. He asked matchmaker Mike Littlefield for Ken Stone.

“I’m making my return to Untamed on June 19, and as far as an opponent we were under the impression that Ken Stone was a ‘go,’ ” said Paige. “Then he came back to Littlefield and said that he wanted to fight me at 135 or 140. I  said, ‘Fuck that shit!’ There’s no such thing as a 140 weight class … and I can’t make 135. So now, that fight is off and Litt’ is going to get me another opponent.”

Also in the mix of potential opponents was Eddie Fyvie (145, 8-2) a lightweight looking to make a switch to 145 for a chance at the WEC. Fyvie fought UFC veteran Jim Miller in his pro debut and his only losses to date remain to Miller and current Reality Fighting Lightweight Champion Tony Leate. He’s taller than Stone, but has a baby face and makes his living on the ground with his jiu-jitsu. It would be an interesting matchup because no one has really tested Stone’s ground game except for Simmons and Fyvie’s skills are far superior.

So there it is in black and white. There’s an 8-0 champ looking for his shot at a big time contract, but whose not willing to fight anyone tough and show the fans what he’s really made of.

PICK YOUR POISON KENNY — 135 vs. Gorman, 145 vs. Paige or 145/155 vs. Fyvie, BUT don’t ask quality fighters to fight outside their weight class just to avoid a real challenge.

 Yours Truly, DzNutz

GET READY FOR KERR STEVENS II

by Derek Constable 

MANSFIELD, Ma. – Featherweight fighter Chris Grandmaison rebounded from a rough fight against Anthony Leone at WCF6 with a decisive victory over respected submission specialist Aguilano Brandao. Grandmaison took it to his opponent for five, five minute rounds and never let up keeping his opponent’s back to the mat for nearly the entire fight.

Up just one weight class in the 155 division, Hitalo Machado made his return to the Untamed cage to face Marc Stevens — the victim of some tough fights and some even rougher decisions by judges his last few outings.

The fight had special meaning to Stevens who’s been itching for a second shot at the current lightweight champion, Will Kerr, since their last go around which eneded in an arguable decision for Kerr at Untamed 23.

 Stevens was composed, but always on the attack against Machado, pressing the action, forcing takedowns and hitting him hard whenever possible looking to end the fight. The opportunity presented itself in Round 3 and Stevens finished Machado by TKO with under a minute left in the round.

“How many peopple want to see me and Kerr go five rounds?” Stevens asked the crowd. “Maybe this time he’ll fight to win … and not fight to not lose.”

Final results

Untamed Featherweight title

CHRIS GRANDMAISON v. aguilano brandao / UD

Untamed Lightweight title qualifier

winner to face Will Kerr

MARC STEVENS v. hitalo machado / TKO 4:13 R3.

Untamed Light Heavyweight title

TRAVIS BARTLETT v. jerry spiegel / TKO :27 R1.

JON SOLA v. chris ramos by arm bar :40 R3.

JAY ‘NASTY’ FORTIER v. jonas fernandez / arm bar 2:19 R1.

JAMIE FRIER v. andy ameraul / triangle 4:14 R1.

JAMES MURRIN v. Cecil Haney / arm bar 1:59 R2. 

SAM ELLIOTT v. chris teir / KO :21 R1.

JOHN BRONSON v. james morrissette / triangle 1:54 R2.

BOBBY SELLERS v. darrin oliver / UD

ROBERT SLADE v. alex luna / UD

ERIC MACHAUD v. jim french / TKO 1:48 R1.

TONY REIS v. phil parish / UD

 by Derek Constable 

by Derek Constable

SENECA, N.Y. — It’s not often fighters get the chance to compete in front of a New York audience, but last weekend’s Raging Wolf II: Rage in the Cage fight card was the exception to the rule as eight matches took place Saturday at the Gil Lay Memorial Arena under the jurisdiction of the Seneca Nation.    It was a big night for Team Bombsquad out of Cortland, N.Y., as all seven of the team’s fighters — who made up just under 50 percent of the entire fight card — won without question in a pro-am event that was highlighted by local talent from Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse.   Fans cheered for Don Carlo-Clauss like the second-coming of Rocky Balboa as he fought Andrew Montanez in his hometown at a catch weight of 160 in the night’s main event. Carlo Clauss had to cut weight while Montanez came up from his usual 155, but the fight was a good test for both men and the win by unanimous decision put Carlo Clauss back on track after getting caught by an arm bar in the first round his last outing at Untamed 25.