After a controversial no contest in their first matchup, there was no doubt as to the winner of the DREAM 2 rematch between Shina Aoki and JZ Calvan. Aoki controlled the fight from the opening bell and used a wide repertoire of submission attempts to keep his opponent off balance and on the defensive. Perhaps the most impressive element of the one sided victory was Aokis dominance of the ground game, which many observers considered to be JZs edge in the contest.

Aoki scored early with a takedown and controlled Calvan on the ground, working a heel lock attempt before taking his opponents back and attempting a rear naked choke. In the second, Aoki put on a submission clinic and demonstrated his ungodly flexibility as he spun from an armbar to a triangle choke and back again. Calvan was able to counter or escape, but looked completely out of sync as he generated almost no offense whatsoever over the 15 minutes.

Aoki was very emotional in his postfight speech to the crowd. JZC had grumbled about the no-contest in their DREAM 1 matchup, and the one sided decision made him even more dejected in his postfight press interviews.

With the victory Aoki advances to the semifinals of the lightweight GP tournament. Thats the plan at least, as Aoki made some statements in the Japanese press leading up to the fight that win or lose there would be no way hed be ready for the next round with only half the preparation time as the rest of the field.

The rest of the card was devoted to the opening round of the middleweight GP tournament. Taiei Kin defeated Minowa-man Ikuhisa Minowa in a very closely contested and entertaining fight. Despite Kin taking a 3-0 unanimous decision (DREAM judges, like their PRIDE predecessors, judge the fight in its entirety) the first round could have gone either way. Minowa was clearly tired in the 2nd, and that likely sealed the deal for Kin.

Korean judoka Yoon Dong-Sik also advanced with a unanimous decision victory over Shungo Oyama. Most of the damage in this fight came from Yoons ground and pound from full mount, and he controlled the tempo from the outset. Two one sided contests followed, with Zeleg Galesic submitting Magomed Sultanakhmadov via arm bar in a minute and a half of the first round. That was followed by the MMA debut of former Pac 10 wrestling standout Ian Murphy, who had a worst case scenario draw against BJJ specialist Ronaldo Jacare. From the opening bell it was clear that Murphy was in over his head, and the result was as one sided a contest as youll ever seen on a major MMA show. After withstanding a beating and several arm bar attempts Murphy finally tapped to a rear naked choke.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer who has written on sports betting and how to successfully bet on NFL football. He has appeared as a guest on TV and radio talking about boxing, mixed martial arts and NFL pointspreads. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a lynx.

A day after failing to make weight for his fight against Matt Hughes, Thiago Alves dominated the former UFC welterweight champion en route to a 2nd round TKO victory. The main event at UFC 85 in London was somewhat anticlimactic to the fans at the O2 Arena who considered the semifinal matchup between Manchesters Michael Bisping and Jason Day the biggest fight on the card.

Hughes didnt make any excuses following his one sided loss, saying simply that hes a good fighter and he got me. The longtime king of the UFCs welterweight division also gave notice that his career as an active fighter was drawing to a close, suggesting that he had one fight left and challenging Matt Serra in what presumably would be his retirement match.

The end came early in the 2nd round as Hughes was caught coming in by a devastating knee strike. He fell to the canvas in a heap and referee Herb Dean was jumping in to stop the contest before Alves could follow up with any punches. As the ringside physician entered the ring to check on the fallen fighter, Hughes gave an indication that his knee was injured. Replays showed that his knee buckled under him in a very awkward fashion as he fell and while the extent of the damage is yet to be determined Hughes indicated in the postfight interview that it was messed up.

Michael Bisping simply overwhelmed Jason Day en route to a lopsided TKO victory. Bisping built upon the improved boxing skills he demonstrated at UFC 83 by unveiling an impressive ground and pound attack. Day never really got anything going and by the last minute of the fight was simply trying to cover up to prevent damage from Bispings elbows and hammer fists. Between his move down to the middleweight division and his improved technical striking skills, Bisping looks like a different fighter. His post UFC 83 suggestion that he wanted a fight with Anderson Silva seemed premature at the time, but following another devastating performance its starting to look much more realistic.

In other action, Mike Swick used an array of high kicks and a 7 reach advantage to coast to a unanimous decision over Marcus Davis. Davis, a former professional boxer, was unable to get inside against his lanky opponent and was never really in the fight.

A controversial point deduction for a strike to the back of the head cost Nate Marquardt his match against Thales Leites. Marquardt was solidly in charge for the entire fight, but suffered a point deduction for an illegal knee strike in round one. While that infraction was valid, replays of the 2nd round deduction for the strike to the back of the head gave the impression that he was penalized for a legal strike to the side of the head.

In the opening PPV match, another controversial ending saw Fabrico Werdum defeat Brandon Vera by 1st round KO. The fight had been evenly contested up until the stoppage, with Werdum scoring a couple of takedown and Vera countering with some effective punching. Late in the first round, Werdum got a full mount and began to fire a series of punches. Vera was clearly defending himself and didnt appear to be hurt at all when the referee jumped in to stop the fight. Vera said that hed answered that he was OK when asked by ref Dan Miragliotta and that he was just trying to ride out the round from that position. Mirgliotta was also the referee in the Kimbo Slice/James Thompson fight, and some have suggested that matchup was also stopped prematurely.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Decades before mixed martial arts became popular in the United States, events matching fighters of different fighting disciplines were very common in Japan. They weren’t called “mixed martial arts” at the time, but that’s essentially what they were.There’s an entire history of pro wrestlers fighting specialists from other martial arts (particularly judo) that were leaving out, but during the’70’s Antonio Inoki began to put the concept of “mixed martial arts” on the map with his matches against fighters from other disciplines.

Before and after his matchup against Muhammad Ali, Inoki would frequently compete against other martial artists in what are widely accepted to be “worked” (ie: having a predetermined outcome) matches. Inoki fought boxer Chuck Wepner, judo Gold Medalist Wilhelm Ruska and world karate champion Willie Williams among others. His most famous match internationally, however, was against Ali.

There’s a great deal of uncertainty about many of the stories surrounding how the event came together and transpired, but a few facts are now known. Ali took the fight as it was a large and presumptively easy paycheck. The big money he was earning is what kept him from walking out when his camp started to disagree with Inoki’s handlers over the rules and ‘finish’ fo the fight. Some suggest that it was supposed to be a fair fight going in, but Ali at the last minute insisted on rules more favorable to him. The more likely version of events is that Ali’s handlers agreed to a predetermined finish, only to have Ali balk at the last moment.

The rules that were in place on fight night were so ridiculously one sided in favor of Ali that it almost defies belief. Inoki wasn’t allowed to hit Ali with a closed fist, nor strike him in the head at all. He was also prohibited from using any sort of choke or submission maneuver. Most problematically, he was prohibited from trying to take Ali to the ground. In other words, Inoki was basically not permitted to do anything that would threaten Ali with any sort of physical harm.

The result was an absolutely horrible fight. Neither man showed much interest in engaging the other, with Inoki spending most of the time on the ground doing what he could under the one sided rules. Inoki threw kicks at Ali’s legs, Ali threw an occasional jab and tried to protect himself from his opponent’s leg strikes. The fight ended a 74-74 draw, with the real losers being the fans.

The fight was officiated by former pro wrestler “Judo” Gene Labell, a legendary tough guy considered at the time to be the ‘baddest man on the planet’. He could have easily beaten up both men, possibly at the same time. That might have provided some much needed entertainment to liven up the tedious charade masquerading as a fight.

The fiasco didn’t hurt Inoki’s popularity in Japan whatsoever. Oddly, he became something of a hero for trying to take the fight to Ali despite the one sided rules. He would remain one of Japan’s most popular pro wrestlers and later serve in the country’s parliament. Inoki’s fights against other martial artists remained wildly popular, and are often credited as being the forerunner of PRIDE, RINGS and the major MMA organizations in Japan today.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer specializing in casino gambling, fine dining and sports betting. He has appeared on a number of TV and radio programs offering strategies for successful NFL football betting. He lives in the Nevada desert with three Jack Russell Terriers and a pet llama. He is currently writing a biography of former NFL quarterback Jim Plunkett.

It wasnt the decisive blowout that EliteXC was hoping far to send Kimbo Slices stardom into the stratosphere but with some seriously tense moments for the former street fighter against a game James Thompson everyone concerned is likely happy with a victory of any sort. Kimbo at times displayed some surprising skill on the ground, while at other times looked amateurish and lost.

Though “The Colossus” kept his feet through several punishing combinations, the beginning of the end came when a Slice punch nearly sheared his ear off. The bloody, grotesque ear was clearly at risk of being seriously damaged and Kimbo punctuated this with four or five uncontested power punches. Thompson by this point was out on his feet and the ref jumped in to bring the proceedings to a halt giving Kimbo a TKO victory. After the fight an exhausted and relieved Slice flopped onto the mat, clearly relieved to have survived the toughest test hes faced in his embryonic MMA career.

While Thompson and his corner complained of an early stoppage, given the severity of the ear injury and the four or five uncontested power shots by Kimbo its a tough case to make. Furthermore, it was consistent with the officiating all night which obviously was trying to err on the side of caution in the first MMA event on prime time major network television. The ref was quick to call several of the earlier bouts, and the ringside physician was involved. The fights on the card that ended by stoppage could have arguably been called a second or two early, but as the old saying goes better a second too early than a second too late.

Despite the tough test faced by Kimbo Slice, EliteXC overall has to be very happy with how the event came off. The presentation was highly professional all night, and the announcing was superb. There was no question that Gus Johnson and Mauro Ranallo are solid pros, and Frank Shamrock is obviously a well spoken and experienced expert commentator but the three meshed together exceptionally well.

The emphasis from the start was on selling the sport of MMA. This was done via nicely produced and informative instructional videos, which would be helpful to a first time MMA viewer but didnt come off as sophomoric to the seasoned aficionado. Given the often unpredictable nature of the sport, EliteXC has to be pleased with how everything came off and the results of the fights on the card.

Overall, it was a professionally produced and entertaining night of action. With the exception of the less than decisive victory by Kimbo in the main event, it couldnt have gone better for EliteXC had it been scripted. The end result is that both of their marquee names among the general public–Slice and Carano–remained undefeated.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and widely regarded sports betting expert. He is also a staff handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook and is in charge of setting NFL lines. He has written extensively on sports betting theory along with a wide range of other topics including fencing, boxing and falconry.

Rashad Evans was fighting for respect. He earned it and then some with a devastating 2nd round TKO of Chuck Liddell in the main event of UFC 88: Breakthrough.

If Evans needed any more validation of how little respect he was getting, he could have taken a look at the UFCs text message prediction poll of the main event which favored The Iceman by a whopping 81% to 19% margin. Or he could have listened to the UFC announcers, who had all but penciled Liddell in for a return to light heavyweight title contention after his inevitable victory. Instead of complain, Evans let his fists do the talking and with a perfectly placed overhand right will likely never have to worry about a lack of respect again.

From the opening horn, Evans showed no fear of Liddells once legendary power. Instead, he danced and moved (which was dumbly criticized as showboating by the UFC announce team), using his slick footwork and speed to dart in and out of range of Liddells punches.

Evans highlight reel power shot was to come in the 2nd round. Liddell backed Evans up near the cage wall and went to throw an uppercut. Simultaneously, Evans responded with an overhand right that landed quicker, harder and more accurately. The perfectly placed punch knocked Liddell out cold and referee Herb Dean jumped in to cover him up and wave off the fight without taking a second look. Evans’ KO was one of the most devastating in the history of the sport, and made all the more so by the status of the man on the receiving end.

Rashad Evans raised his record to 17-0-1 with the TKO victory. Liddell, meanwhile, saw his record drop to 21-6″with three of those six losses coming in his last 4 fights.

Liddells loss notwithstanding, it was a good night for UFC veterans as Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson won their fights in impressive fashion. Franklin looked particularly sharp in dismantling tough Matt Hamill, eventually prevailing by 3rd round TKO.

This was the UFCs first trip to Atlanta and despite a good attendance the crowd itself was somewhat disappointing. In a marked contrast to the knowledgeable and enthusiastic fans at the Target Center in Minneapolis for UFC 87″arguably the best MMA crowd ever at a US venue”the live crowd at Phillips Arena often acted as if they were at a taping of Georgia Championship Wrestling. Every foreign fighter was booed mercilessly”including South Korean Kim. Perhaps the audience didnt realize that South Korea has been a US ally since its establishment after WW II.

More problematic was the crowds utter lack of respect for the fighters postfight. Poor Dong Hyun Kim was booed during his postfight interview like he was Professor Toru Takana cutting a heel promo on Mr. Wrestling 2 after winning the Georgia Heavyweight Title by throwing salt in his opponents eyes while the referee was distracted. Not quite the respect that a 4th degree judo black belt whod just won a very tough fight deserves. Even Rashad Evans was booed after his dominating KO victory.

Ross Everett is a staff handicapper for a number of offshore sports books and an authority on NFL football betting. He’s a published expert on sports handicapping and stock investing theory. He contributes to a number of online media outlets providing insight on how to bet on NFL football, MMA and boxing.

In the aftermath of Brock Lesnars 2nd round TKO victory over Frank Mir the prevailing attitude toward him from mainstream fans has experienced a sudden and seismic shift. Before his past two fights many were questioning whether his credentials justified giving him a shot at the title, with some even unfairly comparing him to EliteXC YouTube sideshow attraction Kimbo Slice. In the aftermath of Lesnars UFC 100 victory the new question surrounding the former WWE champion has become who can beat this guy? Lesnar definitely is a freaky physical specimen combining size and strength with speed and agility. Hes also progressing by leaps and bounds as a fighter with every bout. Still, hes got a big deficit in experience to make up on the job as UFC heavyweight champion.

Lesnar is no doubt a handful for any opponent, but in many ways has been the beneficiary of favorable matchups throughout his MMA career. More recently, Frank Mir made a serious tactical error, thinking that he could absorb a beating on the ground and wait for a submission opportunity. Lesnar had gameplanned Mir perfectly, and implemented a fight plan that allowed him to pound his opponent mercilessly while avoiding the risk of submission. Neither observation is meant to diminish the significance of Lesnars victories, but to underscore the fact that hes not unbeatable. Heres five fighters who could do it:

1) FEDOR EMELIANENKO: While the acrimonious relationship between the Russian fighting god and the UFC brass makes this matchup unlikely, Brock Lesnar made news with his dismissal of Fedor at the press conference welcoming Couture back to the fold. The best news for Lesnar in this matchup is that it probably wont happen. The Last Emperor is as close to unbeatable as anyone in mixed martial arts. Fedor has defeated not only bigger opponents, but freakishly large opponents like K-1 kickboxer Hong-Man Choi and Kamala the Ugandan Giant doppelganger Zuluzhinho (whom he beat in a matter of seconds, essentially with one punch). The WAMMA World Heavyweight champion has striking power, submission mastery, and may be the toughest fighter mentally in the sport. Fedor might get taken down by the new UFC heavyweight champ, but hed reverse it from the bottom and win via armbar.

2) ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUEIRA: Nogueira would present Lesnar with another formidable challenge. The former Interim heavyweight champion has equal, if not superior, BJJ skills and has proven to be tougher and more durable than Mir. His five career losses are all via decision and came to the absolute highest level of competition (Fedor Emelianenko twice, Frank Mir, Josh Barnett and Dan Henderson). The UFC heavyweight division is notoriously thin, but among the current crop Nogueira is by far Lesnars worst matchup.

3) JOSH BARNETT: Barnett is another unlikely opponent for Lesnar, also due to his strained relationship with Dana White and current issues with his positive drug test. Barnett also has a solid wrestling background, with the added dimension of his sizable submission repertoire. As his career has progressed, Barnett has become a more patient and tactically sound fighter and his standup game has improved significantly. Unfortunately for MMA fans, a matchup between Lesnar and Barnett is more likely to happen in an IGF pro wrestling event than in the UFC.

4) ALISTAIR OVEREEM: Overeem is bigger than Lesnar”260 pounds and 65 tall. He went through a rough patch in his career during his tenure in PRIDE, but has compiled a 5-1-1 record in his last seven fights. Mirko Cro Cop suggests that hes the *only* fighter in the world who could beat Fedor Emelianenko at this point. Hes got great standup including a kickboxing background that could cause Lesnar problems, as well as solid ground fighting ability. Hes yet another heavyweight that is unlikely to bend to Dana Whites contractual demands, and currently has a relationship with DREAM in Japan and Strikeforce in the US. Still, hes a dangerous matchup for any fighter on the planet.

5) RANDY COUTURE: Lesnars win over Couture was far from decisive, and it didnt have anything to do with the age disparity. Couture got caught with a big shot and it cost him the fight. Until that point, he was more than holding his own. He was making his opponent work hard, had the edge in the striking exchanges and had opened up a cut over Lesnars right eye. Itll never be a favorable physical matchup on paper for Couture but at the same time Lesnar in no way proved his categorical superiority over The Natural

An intriguing matchup down the road could be against Croatian striking machine Mirko Cro Cop. Cro Cop has battled injuries over the past year or so but if he could come close to the form he demonstrated in winning the PRIDE Open Weight GP he could be another formidable challenge. At his best, Cro Cop is simply the most devastating striker in the sport.

It can be very intimidating to get ready for your first grappling tournament, especially if it’s a tournament that you have entered without the help of the gym. But there are hundreds of people who go through this every single tournament and you should not be worried about it. If you prepared properly in the beginning he should have no problem in the tournament. Here are some tips to help you get mentally prepared to compete and succeed in a grappling tournament.

The most obvious thing to do, but overlooked, is to look over the rules before you hit the mat. Before you start grappling, know that there have been many competitors in competition who have been disqualified, because they did not look at the rules beforehand and end up using an illegal moves or slamming their opponent to their mat. So make sure to look over the rules very carefully. This way, you have less chance of being disqualified for rule that you did not pay attention to. If you end up advancing beyond the first round it would be horrible to lose, because you did not know the rules. So you must be very careful about what moves you’re using. I recommend that you train with those rules three to four weeks at least before competition with your partner or your training dummy or in your mind at least. That way, you have minimal chance of using a move that is not allowed in the competition; so that you do not ruin all the hard work you put into to tournament during the tournament.

Give yourself a pre-match ritual so that you can feel as prepared as possible when it’s time to perform. NBA players, at the foul line, during their free-throw shots usually have a ritual that they go through that helps them feel calm and relaxed. This can be found in neural linguistic programming as well neural linguistic programming is the study of how the brain encodes experiences, so through research, what they found is that if you identify a feeling and associate it to a ritual, you are more likely to bring up that feeling when you need it. This can be as simple as Lebron’s chalking of the hands before a game then throwing it up into the air. Or maybe it’s just certain number bounces in the stretch that you do, but whatever it is make sure you have it so that you feel calm on the mat.

When youre nervous and on the mat, I recommend that you also have a ritual here. So that you can feel relaxed as possible, and when I talk about a ritual, we could be talking about something as simple as snapping your fingers three times, if you can code this to the feeling of being relaxed and calm when you snap your fingers together, you should be able to feel calm. This technique comes from Neuro Linguistic Programming or NLP, which is the study of how the brain encodes information including feelings. So you can code any feeling you want to any ritual that you need. I recommend a ritual that cannot be stopped in the ring. For example, if you are caught in an arm bar, that is almost there, then clapping your hands together three times is probably not a good ritual because you are not going to be able to do it. So we’re talking about finer motor movements, you’ll just have to be careful that you know your sweeps so that while you’re doing your ritual youre not going to hurt yourself when you roll. If you do choose snapping your fingers you’ll have to be careful so that they’re not crushed underneath you and your opponent as you roll into another position.

Of course before you enter your grappling tournament, you should have already been doing some sort of exercises I recommend some of Frank Shamrock’s home work out because it’s based around grappling. You want a workout be as close to the competition that you’re entering or the activity that you’re doing is possible. So the system best way to be ready for the tournament. You may feel stress, which will help you because you’ve learned how to deal with it before hand during your workouts.

If you follow the steps I have outlined here. You are sure to do well in the grappling tournament. Just make sure you don’t expect too much from yourself and give yourself a letdown that something bad if something bad is to happen. Just showing up and competing is a win in itself and as you do more tournaments you will get better and better at it and you will get better results, because you are more used to the situation. I wish you luck in the future with all your grappling endeavors.