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I grew up on boxing. Some of my earliest memories involve watching the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier "Thrilla in Manilla" live on ABC TV in the afternoon with my big brothers. I was the only devoted Larry Holmes fan in my sixth grade class. I mean devoted as in I wore my Larry Holmes t-shirt to school weekly. During the golden era of great middleweights, I even took up lawn mowing to pay for the HBO subscription my mom wouldn't get just to keep up with "Sugar" Ray Leonard, "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler, Thomas "Hitman" Hearns and Roberto "Hands of Stone" Duran. 

But somewhere something changed, and the last few times I tuned in for a non-Manny Pacquiao boxing bout, I was bored stiff. Instead of fighting to win in a convincing finish, too many boxers today are content to use movement and speed to outscore their opponent with frequent-but-meaningless blows, then dance away from danger. The preeminent example of this is Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Zzzzz. Just the mention of his name makes me drowsy. Pitter, patter, dance, pitter, patter, dance, repeat for 12 rounds. 

Dave Doyle points out that this menace is not safely contained in boxing, but has begun to infect MMA:

(Frankie) Edgar, meanwhile, could be on the cusp of an MMA style shift. His blazing speed, unpredictable hand and foot movement, and ability to dart in and out of range and score points en route to a decision victory might not make him the world's flashiest fighter, but it sure has made the Toms River, N.J. native effective. It's similar to the method Dominick Cruz has employed as WEC bantamweight champion. And while this style hasn't yet been given a catchy nickname, success breeds imitators, so if this keeps up, this over-the-top, stick-and-move, point-scoring standup game could be the next wave in MMA's evolution.

I have great respect for Frankie Edgar and his abilities as an MMA fighter and an athlete. Ditto for Cruz. But God save us if we have to battle a two-front war against lay and pray on the one hand and jab and jive on the other. 

Or does Brian Knapp have a better name for it:

Cruz danced and dodged throughout the 25-minute affair, scored timely takedowns and eked out a split decision over Joseph Benavidez in the WEC 50 "Cruz vs. Benavidez 2" headliner on Wednesday at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Two of the three judges sided with the champion by 48-47 and 49-46 scores; a third scored it 48-47 for Benavidez.

I watch MMA to see conclusive, unpredictable battles between athletes determined to get a dramatic and definitive win over their opponent. Submission, knockout, it's all good. Hell, I even prefer a really dominating Fitch'ing to one of Cruz' dance dance decision type bouts. 

But until other athletes can solve this riddle in the cage, those of us who merely write about MMA can only try to document the atrocities. What do you think this new menace should be called?

Poll

What should this hideous new style of MMA be called?

• Dance N Dodge
• Jab N Jive
• Stick N Move

  2240 votes | Results

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PUJI Capital is conducting an internal review of Fighting and Entertainment Group's (FEG) assets and liabilities in advance of a push to attract investors to the struggling fight promotion.

"The actions they're taking are similar to an audit," FEG's U.S. representative, Mike Kogan, told MMAjunkie.com on Monday.

Kogan said the Japanese investment bank hopes to raise $230 million for FEG, which operates MMA's DREAM promotion and the K-1 kickboxing organization, over the next five years. But with the company's current financial condition, that timeline may need to be shortened.

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Strikeforce fighter Brett Rogers will meet fellow heavyweight Ruben "Warpath" Villareal at an October event in Canada.

The W-1 MMA organization hosts the show, "W-1: New Ground," on Oct. 23 at the Halifax Forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The organization recently announced the 11-bout fight card for the show, and a Strikeforce official confirmed with MMAjunkie.com that Rogers received permission to compete at the event.

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While it’s not a mega Toronto debut inside the Skydome, I think we can all agree that GSP vs Koscheck 2 has found a decent home in Montreal on December 11th. It works out perfectly for everyone … Georges gets his first hometown fight since 2008, the UFC gets a mega-event in Canada that’ll moisten Toronto’s orifice for 2011 penetration, and Josh Koscheck gets to walk that talk he made the last time he was in Montreal. You remember that, right? It went something along the lines of “Fuck your hockey team, and I’m going to fuck your champion too!”

Oh, and living in Montreal, I get a higher chance of seeing Koscheck get sucker-punched again. Probably outside the cage this time. Win!

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Warrior One MMA (W-1) will showcase its next event live from the Halifax Forum in Canada on Saturday October 23, 2010 with Brett Rogers vs. Ruben "Warpath" Villareal as the main event:

Brett "The Grim" Rogers (10-2)
Loss Alistair Overeem - TKO (Punches) Strikeforce
Loss Fedor Emelianenko - TKO (Punches) Strikeforce
Win Andrei Arlovski - TKO (Punches) Strikeforce

Ruben "Warpath" Villareal (18-18-3)
Loss Mike Cook - Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) TWC 6
Win Luke Arzola - KO (Punches) Gladiator Challenge
Win Austin Achorn - Submission (Punches) Gladiator Challenge

Click here for the full card which also includes Jamie Yager.

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This past weekend's "UFC Prelims" special on Spike TV drew a series-low 1.1 million viewers, officials today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com via email.

Nevertheless, the one-hour special drew a 0.83 household rating and was the highest-rated cable program in its timeslot among men 18-49 and men 18-34.

However, in a rare occurrence, the ratings actually diminished throughout the broadcast, which could be blamed at least partially on a lackluster bout between Nik Lentz and Andre Winner that opened the Aug. 28 broadcast.

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After all the punk-ass bitching out of fights we’ve experienced over the past few weeks, it’s almost a surprise to hear that Anderson Silva really wants that rematch with Chael Sonnen. Here’s one of his trainers talking about the fight:

“Sonnen was 100% and showed what he’s got… Now it’s the time for him to see Anderson from the right angle. I want to see how it’ll be like this time”, said the trainer, reminding that Anderson had a rib injury, what might have affected his performance during the fight. With the rematch predicted to happen on 2011, the “Spider” will have plenty time to recover. “Anderson Silva is taking care of himself in order to be 100% recovered from this injury. I think he’s coming back to Brazil to train with the team and, for sure, now you’ll see Anderson at his best. It’s not just him, but Anderson also wants this rematch to happen”, concluded.

Of course this is generally how things are supposed to work. But between Diaz vs Miller, Overeem vs Fedor, and – let’s face it – prior behavior from Silva, I wasn’t all that sure it was the case. Fortunately it sounds like he realizes he owes Chael for 23 minutes in the cage, 3 months of smack beforehand (plus interest), and whatever extra insult Sonnen racks up between now and Superbowl weekend. I figure that comes up to one lump payment of 27 knees to the face. Give or take a few matrix punches.

(via Bloody Elbow)

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(TMZ? Roger wasn't kidding when he said he was goin' Hollywood.)

Bellator lightweight Roger Huerta will finally break his silence about what really happened in the Texas street fight he had with former Texas Longhorns linebacker Rashad Bobino.

Interestingly, though, he has chosen to do it on gossip site, TMZ, rather than via one of the many MMA news sites that have undoubtedly been clamouring to get  a statement from "El Matador" about the incident.

Hopefully TMZ gets to the bottom of what happened when the camera panned away from the fight and whether or not Huerta was the guy who stomped Bobino as he lay sprawled out on the ground.

I wonder if they'll discuss anything of substance, like say, his upcoming Bellator fight with Eddie Alvarez in October or if they'll ask him about Snooki and Octomom.

The segment airs live on TMZ.com at 1:30pm PT.

News Bellator lightweight, Roger Huerta, street fight

Here’s how DigitalRoyalty, the firm that handles the UFC’s ’social media strategy’ explains this video:

Dana White has personally embraced social media and he’s arguably the most accessible sports president out there. He recently shared his phone number with 4.5 million fans and invited them to call him directly. Digital Royalty developed this concept in an effort to bridge the virtual and physical worlds, providing value to fans when, where and how they want to receive it.

Translation: Dana White is still geeking out over twitter and after accidentally posting his phone number up last month he’s decided to do it again on purpose as a publicity thing. That’s not to say it ain’t still cool. While Dana is interacting and asking fans who they think is going to win at UFC 118, Scott Coker is still recovering from the single tweet he sent back in February.

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Nate Diaz isn't your ordinary fighter. Walking in the shadow of his brother Nick and possessing the surname of Diaz within the context of mixed martial arts certainly brings about high expectations, but Nate has lived up to those expectations. He's a scrapper, a survivor, willing to fight anyone, anywhere, anytime, over anything. He fits the mold of a Diaz perfectly with great jiu-jitsu and boxing skills, and he has that unique gameness that only the Diaz brothers embody.

He's also inherited family weaknesses, relying on punching prowess and offense over defending counter punches and takedowns. Those weaknesses, however, seem to be disappearing for both himself and his brother, and we may be on the verge of seeing the Diaz name in the spotlight.

Success may be on Nate Diaz's doorstep sooner rather than later. In his second performance at welterweight, Diaz looked nearly unstoppable against the aged former boxer Marcus Davis. Battering him from a distance, it became almost comical as the fight went on. Davis had no answer, and his bob and weaving only planted his head on a more steady pedestal for Diaz to punch. After two rounds of action, Diaz seemed content with the damage he had done on the feet, and quickly worked Davis to the floor and submitted him. It was vintage Nick Diaz, but now his brother is putting those skills on display in dominating fashion inside the Octagon.

Following the fight, Diaz hinted that he may want to try his hand at battling back at lightweight, probably because he feels he won the bout against Maynard. In retrospect, I also felt Diaz got the better of Maynard slightly, and Diaz certainly presents problems for everyone at lightweight with his reach and improving boxing skills. Unfortunately, he's never been able to crack the upper echelon of the division -- most notably because he couldn't defend the spladle against Joe Stevenson.

I suppose the better question is whether or not he can continue his success in the UFC's welterweight division, and if so -- will he stay there in order to attain that success? Marcus Davis doesn't even rank on our USAT/SBN rankings, but I believe Diaz could give guys like Ricardo Almeida, Mike Swick, and countless others scattered throughout the division a run for their money. The problem for Diaz lies in his wrestling defense. Fights aren't five rounds unless they're championship battles, and perhaps he could outlast wrestlers in that format. Unfortunately, guys like Jake Ellenberger and Mike Pierce may prove to be roadblocks.

So, where does that leave Nate, a fighter with a lot of potential who's only 25 years old? I think Cesar Gracie's team is solid, but I wouldn't mind seeing the camp bring in powerful top control wrestlers that are a bit beefier for him. His length is a huge advantage when he's on the bottom, and I've been a big fan of the active guard that Diaz can implement. But strength in the top position is a problem for almost any jiu-jitsu fighter, and Diaz is included in that group.

Furthermore, I'm sure fans will argue that Davis and Markham weren't overly challenging match-ups for him, and perhaps the gun is being jumped as to whether Diaz is actually as good as he's looked against sub-par competition. The losses to Stevenson, Maynard, and Guida point to an entirely different opinion.

Fortunately, Nate has a lot of time, and he has one of the best camps in MMA behind him in his progression to become a top fighter. With every performance, he's becoming one of the true fan favorites, and that should, at the very least, earn him solid paydays and great stylistic match-ups. But he can fight at a much higher level, and I expect we'll see some match-ups that will prove whether or not he's improved enough to be a force near the top of one of these divisions.

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Props: 790 The Ticket (via SportsRadioInterviews)

Quoteworthy:

"Well you never really know what’s going to happen in a fight. I certainly had to take James seriously and I felt like I had a great chance if I took him to the ground that he wasn’t going to be able to learn enough to survive there and it turned out that was an accurate assessment. That made the night pretty easy for me ... I have never had allusions of being a world class boxer. As long as I’ve been wrestling, James has been boxing. I think it would be silly for me to think that I’m gonna go in and do well against a world champion boxer and I think it was silly for James to think that he was going to step in and do well in mixed martial arts. I think given time, he can be an effective mixed martial artist but he’s got a lot of things to learn."

UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture gives fans a little perspective on his post-fight celebration following his easy submission win over fish-out-of-water James Toney at UFC 118 in Boston. "The Natural" was pegged with the task of representing MMA in a match billed as "UFC vs. Boxing" but may not have such an easy time in his next bout -- if and when the part-time Hollywood action hero returns to the cage. Any fantasy matchmakers want to pick his next opponent?

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In a special edition of HDNet Fights Video Vault, we present an early candidate for 2010 Fight of the Year honors.

Earlier this month, Jorge Santiago, the middleweight champion of World Victory Road's Sengoku organization, put his belt on the line in a rematch with Kazou Misaki at Sengoku Raiden Championship 14.

Like their first meeting in early 2009 for the vacant belt, Santiago vs. Misaki II proved an absolute barnburner that wasn't decided until the fifth and final frame.

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(Clearly not bothering to read the fine print. PicPops: Xtreme Couture)

News about Jay Hieron’s contractual status has a funny way of going public before the legal Is are dotted and Ts crossed. Last year, he had to tell us all to just chill when reports that he’d bailed from the Hindenburg that was Affliction and signed with Strikeforce proved premature. Now, Hieron himself admits he “jumped the gun” in announcing his own departure from Scott Coker’s slowly deflating dingy of an MMA promotion. When Hieron tweeted last week that he’d been officially released from Strikeforce and then proclaimed: “Ya’ll know what I’m about to do!!!!!!!” the truth was, not even Hieron himself actually knew what he was about to do.

Though the Xtreme Couture product told MMA Fighting over the weekend that he’ll “definitely” be fighting again before the end of the year, he isn’t quite free from Strikeforce’s clutches just yet. And the UFC return he seemed to be hinting at on his Twitter? At this point, that sounds more like wishful thinking than a done deal, too.

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Honolulu, HI ( USA ): The top Hawaiian fight promotion, X-1 World Events, today announced the full fight card for its next incredible event, entitled "HEROES." This exciting fight card will feature a main event of X-1 World Middleweight Champion Falaniko Vitale putting his belt on the line against devastating KO artist Kala "Kolohe" Hose.

Also taking place at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena that night will be the much-anticipated second round of the X-1 World Light Heavyweight title tournament, as the pairings have been set. Russia's Vitaly Shemetov (7-7), coming off a brutal KO victory over Japanese MMA pioneer Shungo Oyama, will battle Hawaii's own Poai Suganuma (10-3).

Also coming off a big KO win is South Korea 's Sang Soo Lee (14-9), who will lock horns with California 's Roy Boughton (4-0), an undefeated submission specialist. "HEROES" will also showcase two anticipated world title fights, as both the featherweight and bantamweight belts will be up for grabs.

Tickets for this incredible event are on sale now at the Blaisdell Box Office, as well as all Wal-Mart, Kailua Sports Gear outlets, and on Tickemaster.com, or by calling (800) 745-3000. Prices are $200.00 for 1st row/cageside seats, $150.00 for 2nd row seats, $100.00 for floor seats, $50.00 for the risers/lodges, and $35.00 for the upper bowl. Tickets for all military, law enforcement, fire department, and EMT's are available with ID at the Blaisdell Box Office for $10 off of the $50 and $35 seats, and $25 off the $200 floor seats, $150 2nd row seats, and $100 floor seats.

Falaniko Vitale (27-9, fifteen submissions) is one of the most respected Hawaiian combatants fighting today. An experienced athlete who recently celebrated ten years as a professional fighter, Vitale proudly represents the 808 Fight Factory, one of the toughest fight gyms on the Islands, and has fought for some of the most well-known promotions in the world. Fans of King of the Cage, Rage in the Cage, SuperBrawl, Icon Sport, the IFL, StrikeForce, and the UFC have all seen his skill set exhibited.

In his most recent bout, he defended his coveted X-1 strap against former UFC competitor Kalib Starnes, finishing his controversial opponent via submission in the process. Niko, as he is known, has taken on top names in the sport, including "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler, former StrikeForce Middleweight title challenger Jason "Mayhem" Miller, MMA pioneer Jeremy Horn, StrikeForce/UFC veteran Trevor Prangley, and UFC fighter Frank Trigg.

He has beaten notable fighters such as UFC vet Aaron Riley, former UFC Middleweight Champion Dave Menne, UFC middleweight contender Yushin Okami, and the aforementioned Lindland.

Kala "Kolohe" Hose (7-3, seven KO/TKOs) is known for his devastating knockout power, and has garnered a reputation as one of the toughest Island fighters today. He claimed the ICON Middleweight title in August of 2008 with an exciting TKO victory over current UFC fighter Phil Baroni that was lauded by Island fight fans for its great action.

Also a veteran of Superbrawl and EliteXC, Hose will look to add the X-1 Middleweight belt to his list of accomplishments. During his career, he's faced UFC veterans such as Baroni, "Mayhem" Miller, and Reese Andy. He will face what is probably the toughest opponent of his career in Vitale.

In addition, the second round of the heralded X-1 World Light Heavyweight tourney will commence at this event, as former EliteXC headliner and Hawaii native Poai Suganuma (10-3) will match up with "The Dancing Russian" Vitaly Shemetov (7-7), who brutalized respected veteran Shungo Oyama in the first round of the tournament en route to a KO victory.

Suganuma, for his part, defeated Greg Schmitt via unanimous decision on his way to advancing. The other semifinal matchup will feature Gracie-trained submission specialist Roy Boughton (4-0, four submissions), who tapped out Adam Akau with a first round guillotine choke to garner a place in the second round of the tournament, as he faces extremely tough South Korean SpiritMC veteran Sang Soo Lee (14-9).

Lee knocked out Daniel Madrid with a beautiful right hand in order to move on in the tourney. Also featured will be a 145 lb. World Championship bout between Ricky Wallace and four-time Strikeforce veteran Alvin Cacdac, as well as a 135 lb. World Championship fight between Bryson Hanson and Russell Doane.

"I am very excited about this incredible card. Having two great Island fighters like Niko and Kolohe fight for the belt, along with the second round of the tournament, and throwing in two other title matches...what a card!" exclaimed Mike Miller , Owner/Promoter of X-1 World Events. "It's going to be an amazing night of fights."

The full fight card is as follows:

Main Event: 185 lb. World MMA Championship:

Falaniko Vitale vs. Kala "Kolohe" Hose

Light Heavyweight MMA Championship tournament (second round):

Poai Suganuma ( Hawaii ) vs. Vitaly Shemetov ( Russia )
Sang Soo Lee (S. Korea) vs. Roy Boughton ( California )

145 lb. World MMA Championship:

Ricky Wallace vs. Alvin Cacdac

135 lb. World MMA Championship:

Bryson Hanson vs. Russell Doane

155 lbs. - Max "Lil' Evil" Halloway vs. Duke Saragosa

135 lbs. - Raquel Paaluhi vs. Colleen Schnider

135 lbs. - Eddie Perrell vs. Mark Tajon (State Title Match)

170 lbs. - Anthony Torres vs. Thomas Sedeno

145 lbs. - Dustin Kimura vs. Chris Williams

185 lbs. - Collin Mansanas vs. Caleb Price

135 lbs. - Van Shiroma vs. Timothy Meeks

About X-1 World Events

Founded in 2004 by Mike Miller , X-1 World Events is a world-class mixed martial arts (MMA) promotional company based in Honolulu , HI . Locally-owned and operated, X-1 delivers exciting live arena-based entertainment events to fight fans all over the islands.

The events feature some of the MMA world's most talented fighters, including UFC, Pride, and Abu-Dhabi veterans such as former UFC champions Dan "The Beast" Severn and Ricco Rodriguez, UFC veterans Jeff Monson, Kimo Leopoldo, Chad "The Grinder" Reiner, "Sugar" Shane Nelson, Brandon Wolff, Wes "The Project" Sims, Ronald "The Machine Gun" Juhn, Wesley "Cabbage" Correira, and Falaniko Vitale, as well as Pride veterans Chris Brennan and Ron "H2O-Man" Waterman. X-1 World Events can be found online at http://www.x1events.com/

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