It is the staple of the grappling game and without it, a fighter on the bottom would be unable to defend himself. The game is constantly evolving, and the guard has done just as much to keep up as any other. This is part one of a four part segment I’ll be posting on the new innovations in the guard that make it difficult to stay on top.

The first is the most visible, and really the most rudimentary, but when it is used effectively, it works. We’ve seen its effectiveness in the games of the Nogueira brothers and many other top fighters in the upper weight classes. We see it primarily in the upper weight classes because it’s not a finesse game, it’s a strong man’s game.

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UFC Fight Night 13, one of the most anticipated Fight Night events in UFC’s history, can not come soon enough! From elite strikers, grapplers, brawlers, to ground & pound and jiu jitsu experts, the explosions are guaranteed to go off throughout the night. Stacked with top talent, this fight card may very well be bigger than many of UFC’s Saturday night Pay Per View events. With this exciting night just a few days away, I caught up with one of UFC’s intense seasoned grapplers Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino (17-3) as he prepares to face off against the recent Ultimate Fighter series winner Nate Diaz (8-2) on Wed. April 2 Live on Spike TV.

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“If you have a body, you are an athlete.” Those were the words of Nike’s co-founder Bill Bowerman. This business man helped create one of the largest sports mega corporations in the world and nearly everywhere you go, you will see the famous Nike symbol. At one time it was so popular people were getting Nike tattoos. Nike is all things sports and they currently have a stronghold in every major sport. They sponsor college sports teams, sell millions of dollars worth of clothing a year, and have sold more shoes with the initials “MJ” than most other companies sell all shoes combined. They sponsor other major athletes as well; Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, and Derek Jeter. In sports, Nike has realized that there are endless ways to reach fans and one new way they are reaching out to fans is by marketing one of the most charismatic fighters in the UFC. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is filming a commercial with Nike titled “Human Chain.” Jackson isn’t the first MMA star to be apart of a Nike commercial as Randy Couture and his famous cauliflower ear was the first to be part of a Nike ad campaign.

“Human Chain” will be an advertisement that will focus on a true athlete’s ability to pick themselves up after defeat, but Rampage will not be in this commercial alone. He will be joined by the king himself, Lebron James, as well as other sports superstars. One of the things Rampage is known for is his huge chain that he wears as he enters and leaves the octagon. Is it a coincidence that he wears a chain and the name of the commercial is “Human Chain”? We will all have to see when the advertisement finally airs.

This is not the first time that a MMA athlete has been the recipient of a big time showcase. In October of 2007 rising star Roger Huerta was the first UFC fighter to grace the cover of the famous Sports Illustrated. The popular sports magazine showcased Huerta and did a great article about him. Not only did this give Huerta and his undefeated run in the UFC, it opened the door for other opportunities such as interviews with ESPN.

The sport of MMA is on fire of late and it is great. The sport is on the “sports leader” - ESPN, in magazines, and mainstream websites are starting to MMA sections. The UFC and other organizations could be one major sponsor away from supremacy in the MMA game. Bud Light recently announced that they are the beer of the UFC. If the UFC could land another premier advertiser such as Nike it could make them almost unreachable from the other organizations. Imagine watching the upcoming NCAA tournament and see a commercial with Chuck Liddell and his painted nails having a conversation with Michael Jordan. Think about the great exposure of seeing B.J. Penn showing Derek Jeter how to do a triangle. In the future these concept commercials could be reality. A year ago we could have imagined seeing Rampage Jackson in a commercial with Lebron James. That is suddenly a reality, as well as the huge popularity of the fastest growing sport in America!

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was a guest on the famous Opie and Anthony Show. This is not the first time he has been a guest on the show so as many fans know, Rampage is a fighter that is full of character and he loves to talk the talk.Early in the interview with Rampage, he is asked about his 2 losses to Wanderlei Silva “The Axe Murderer”. Wand is knows for that because of the way he used to dominate his opponents in the cage. Rampage simply said I don’t know how much I can say about that. However, he did continue to talk about the referees and some unfair bias. Rampage hinted that the organization has crooked and that the refs at times seemed like they were paid. Quinton backs up this point by saying there were times that the refs stood the fighters back to their feet several times when it shouldn’t have, to give Wand the advantage. Rampage also said that Wand was the Chuck Liddell of Pride, getting beneficial treatment. He continues to say that if the two were to fight in the UFC he believes that he would beat him. Rampage also speculated that the old Pride organization may have also had the benefit of inside organizations like the government or other very influential groups. Rampage also says that Wand is the type of guy that thinks everyone should bow to him, that he thinks he is better than everyone else. He says that I am not afraid of him, and that the two are not on speaking terms.

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If so, they deserve that television contract.

With three rounds of nearly non-stop action, Frank Shamrock and Cung Le helped to solidify EliteXC as worthy of prime time MMA viewing. Why, you ask? Well, there’s quite a few reasons.

1. Frank Shamrock is hilarious in the cage. Cung Le wasn’t too bad himself. Whenever there was a chance to showcase some personality, both fighters didn’t waste any time. With finger pointing, hit counts, and smiles between the fighters, there wasn’t a time during the fight that I wasn’t laughing at the antics between both fighters. The casual fan could enjoy the display of personality and hopefully it could help some people see that both men were more than just punching and kicking machines.

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May 31^st will be a huge day for the sport of Mixed Martial Arts as EliteXC is going to be the first major MMA organization on regular prime-time television. Saturday night will have a new show called “Saturday Night Fights” and EliteXc is going all in with this opportunity to show the world their skills. The first card is lining up with their some of their best talent to draw as many viewers as possible. Not only will they showcase one of the most popular street fighters in Kimbo Slice, but they will also show a true gladiator in Gina Carano. The fight card is also rumored to showcase MMA journeyman fighter Robbie Lawler along with Scott Smith, Maurilo Ninja Rua, and Phil Baroni.

Kimbo needs no introductions. The YouTube phenom is as popular as ever. The fans love him, EliteXC loves him, and Bas Rutten loves him. Kimbo is a huge draw for the organization, but he hasn’t been tested yet. He is 2-0 in less than 1:10 of professional fighting and because of that, he is something that people want to see. On May 31^st there will be a handful of people that will be logging in just to see Kimbo fight. EliteXC will grab as much money as they can from Kimbo as he is an an interesting draw. Many are rooting for him, but there are just as many rooting against him.

The American Gladiator, Gina Carano, herself looks to continue her impressive undefeated record on the same night. EliteXC is hoping that her popularity on the first season of the new gladiator show will leak over to Saturday nights on CBS. Like Kimbo she is another big draw, but for far different reasons. She is the most dominant female MMA fighter on the planet. She has a decent ground game, great Muay Thai skills, and is an attractive draw for the MMA organization.

Robbie Lawler is a fighter who has fought almost everywhere; UCF, Pride, IFL, Icon Sport, and even a few other places. He fights out of Team Hughes and will look to use Hughes’ consistent pressure and excellent training to be victories. Lawler is 15-4 and has heavy hands. He is an exciting fighter that can bring old school MMA fans to this new avenue of viewing the sport.

Phil “The New York Badass” Baroni will also look to use this television venture to up his stock. This Hammer House athlete will be in great shape and look to get back on his winning ways. He has lost his last two fights to Frank Shamrock and Kala Hose. Baroni also fought in Pride, UFC, and other organizations. In most of his fights he either knocked his opponent out, or got beat.

This is going to be a good card, and a great opportunity for EliteXC, as well as the sport overall. It is the first step in trying to take some of the wind out of the UFC’s wings. It is going to be a weekly showcase that could bring in new fans, as well as bring back some of the old ones. Don’t get me wrong, this is not the end all be all for MMA. The UFC is still going to dominate the sport for now, but this is huge. There are still questions that stick out in my mind about this journey? Kimbo and Gina can’t fight every card. What happens when Kimbo loses two in a row?

Rumors of late are that Fedor and Tim Sylvia may sign with the organization. If this is the case it raises the competition dramatically, but it won’t be long before the fans want to see Kimbo vs. Timmy, or Fedor. Currently the most dominant fighter in this organization is American Top Team fighter Antonio Silva. He is a true big man that could fight with the likes of Sylvia and others. It has been said that he is the next man to challenge Fedor. If EliteXC can sign Fedor it makes for a good matchup. Dana White and the UFC should be a little worried about this arrangement. Between this and the other organizations, talent is constantly improving and everyone is looking to dethrone the MMA giant; the UFC.

Rampage Jackson and Forrest Griffin will be joined by TUF Alumni Cole Miller, American Top Team’s Gleison Tibau, and UFC newbie Steve Bruno. The American Top Team announced that all three of these fighters will be fighting on the card.

Cole Miller is another one of those “TUF” guys as he was a part of season 5 of the UFC reality show. Although he didn’t win, he had a successful tenure and the exposure from the show helped get him a UFC contract. Cole started training with the American Top Team in 2006. He is currently 13-3 in his MMA career.

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Finally, a sign of life coming out of the DREAM organization as they announced that they have officially added 3 bouts to their upcoming Middleweight GP on April 29th. The confirmed bouts are:

• Denis Kang vs. Gegard Mousasi
• Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Masakatsu Funaki
• Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Andrews Nakahara

The only real bout really seems relevant is the Kang-Mousasi fight. Obviously, that is a great bout with 2 potential GP winners eliminating each other. This definitely offers to be a great fight, especially compared to the other bouts. Kang’s journey to try and repeat his incredible run begins with a tough competitor in Gegard Mousasi, who is definitely one of the early Dark Horses in the GP. Mousasi’s last 2/3 bouts have been fought in Canada at the Hardcore Championship Fighting organization and his last win was at the M-1 Global Slamm show earlier this month.

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Dana White is a hero to most. Just look at what he has done for the sport of MMA, completely bringing it out of extinction and into popular existence. It is because of him, the hard core MMA fans can quench their thirst with 2 to 4 big events a month. I am one of Dana’s biggest fans, but lately it seems that maybe he has lost sight of his vision. Every other week there is something being said, from fighters speaking out against the UFC to Dana putting down other organizations, leaving you to wonder if Dana believes that MMA is apart of the UFC or if this the UFC is apart of MMA.

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Previous generations of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu players have experienced much easier days. With more and more stand up artists learning the basics of grappling, the balance of power has certainly been tipped in their favor. Take Chuck Liddell as an example. During his tenure as champion, he tore through every grappler he faced, compiling a seven fight win streak. Wrestlers have also been taking the submission game very seriously, taking time to learn the basics of BJJ and now themselves the ability to dodge all submissions with their usually superior strength and also giving them the chance to unleash far more brutal ground and pound.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu artists must evolve with the sport or be left behind, so now do we have to wait for someone to invent a crazy new style of BJJ before we can have hope for our favorite ground players?

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Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic is an athlete that has certainly had his ups and downs through out his career and this latest win over Tatsuya Mizuno may be just another part of that roller coaster ride . From being brutally knocked out by Kevin Randelman and Gonzaga to becoming the Pride OWGP champion and also giving Fedor all he could handle, no one really knows which “Cro Cop” will show up. Cro Cop’s greatest obstacle to holding a divisional title has never been the likes of Fedor, “Minotauro” Nogueira, or Josh Barnett but his very own psyche and game plan has been whats holding the Croat down for these past years.

Cro Cop really didn’t face much trouble in Pride until he fought Nogueira, which is where the fatal weaknesses in his mental gameplan where brought out into the open. Nogueira, unlike many of Mirko’s opponents, seemed to be immune to the KO that had slain so many other and he was also persistent with his TD attempts. He kept coming at Mirko despite the brutal punishment he was taking, upsetting the trend of opponents constantly backing away from the Croat and fearing him. Cro Cop has always been a fighter that could sniff out the slightest sense of fear or doubt and could turn into your living nightmare within the first minute of the fight, just ask Igor Vovchanchyn.

In many people’s opinions Mirko lost his fire when he couldn’t topple Fedor and this is certainly true in some aspects. Unlike Nogueira, Fedor’s win was not brought to him by an unbreakable chin, but by just being better at every aspect of the game that night. Mirko had been defeated, not by a lucky punch or a freak chin, but by sheer skill and better game plan giving him his first utter defeat in MMA. Everyone was counting him out after he dropped yet another loss, this time to the human tank that is Mark Hunt, losing in a very similar manner that cost him the Nogueira fight.

“Cro Cop” looked washed up and tired of fighting in the Hunt fight, certainly looking nothing like the monster that terrorized K-1 and Pride. Everyone on the internet forums were saying “He’s done, his game has been figured out” or calling him a “has-been” but oh how it all changed in the new year with the Open-Weight Grand Prix on the horizon. Tearing through Minowa in the first round certainly didn’t change the minds of the masses, but after handily defeating Hidehiko Yoshida with some of the most brutal leg kicks ever seen in MMA people started to jump back on the bandwagon.

His true test was in the semi-finals where Wanderlei Silva, fresh off of a brutal TKO win over Kazuyuki Fujita and with a burning hatred for Cro Cop ever since their first fight. Mirko silenced all doubters after giving Wanderlei Silva the most brutal KO loss of his career (Vitor has nothing on this one) and by beating a highly skilled Josh Barnett for the third time in the finals.

Mirko looked to be back on the right path, with a Grand Prix championship belt around his waist and a new contract with the UFC. He looked poised to take over the world once again, but all of the cries for Cro Cop’s take over were silenced during his fight against Gabriel Gonzaga, after being dispatched by the very high kick that had slain so many of his past opponents and sending him crumbling to the mat along with his immediate hopes of capturing the title any time soon. The chance of redemption presented itself in his match against Cheick Kongo but all that the fans were given was a half hearted attempt just to survive the fight, fueling more fans theories that he was once again done.

Anyone who has followed the fight game long enough knows about the “Mirko Cycle” of storming the scene and destroying opponents left and right but ultimately degrading back into timidness and lack luster fights. Will this latest win in DREAM catapult Cro Cop back into success just as the Minowa fight did? Will Cro Cop finally get all of the problems with his mental game plan figured out? Everyone who calls themselves a fan of MMA should certainly hope so because this man has the talent to beat any Heavyweight in the MMA world, including Fedor, if he keeps his head on straight.

The steroid problem is everywhere and in every sport. This past week a professional billiard player got caught doping. Roids are the most important topic in all of baseball. They have also added a black eye to Sean Sherk’s legacy. Many steroid users have talked about a false sense of security that comes with the steroids. You can run faster and jump higher and feel like you can not be stopped. It made Steve Lattimer get his seat at the table in the best College football movie minus Rudy. He also slammed his head into a car window and tried to rape a girl due to the effects of the drug.

This security blanket is something according to brother Frank, Ken Shamrock has. In a hilarious move in sibling rivalry, Frank says that “my brother did them his whole life.” “Why do you think that his mind is so fried? Why do you think he crumbles before the big fights? He’s got no psyche. He let steroids give him a false sense of security and the moment that stuff is gone he’s no longer superman. He’s just a regular man. But without all the hard work and without all the belief in himself that a regular man would have if he got up to that point. He’s the only guy that I’ll tell on, because he’s always in trouble anyway.”

Ken and Frank are not biological brothers, but they are still brothers. Ken was adopted at a young age and was always part of the family. Ken Shamrock is a legend in the sport. He is nicknamed “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” and as one of the sport’s forefathers, he is s a part of the reason the sport is where it is today. Frank is not that bad of a MMA fighter either. He is StrikeForce’s middleweight champion and has a record of 24-8-1. He has beaten the likes of Phil Baroni, Cesar Gracie, Tito Ortiz, Jeremy Horn, and Bas Rutten. The two could be the second family of MMA behind the Gracie Family.

The biggest thing that can be taken away from the interview isn’t the fact that Ken Shamrock is a user, and may have been his whole career. It is the fact that Frank hints that others are currently using. This tells me that there is a problem with steroids in that organization. It is also no secret that the old Pride organization didn’t test for steroids. It is funny how the guys from Pride have either flourished, or fell flat on their faces in the cage. Part of this could be the cage, and part of this could be steroids. Rumblings around the UFC has all but pointed fingers to the former Japan fighters, and said that is why they have struggled.

The last well known UFC fighter to test positive for steroids was the 155 champion Sean Sherk. Sherk was a physical specimen and had amazing workouts. He has never assumed the guilt and always denied all allegations. Other notable fighters that have popped are Hermes Franca and Stephen Bonner.

Dana White told Sherdog “Our policy on fighters using steroids, illegal drugs or any banned substance remains the same,” declared White, “you cannot use them.” Neither Ken nor Frank is in the UFC, but if steroids are being used in other organizations they are being used in the UFC. The world of steroids is a continuous cycle of big brains and muscle heads. The big brains will constantly be in search of a better untraceable steroid, and the athletes that use will be on the look out for such a thing.

There’s been a lot of talk about season 8 of the Ultimate Fighter as being a promise of salvation for the heavyweight division, as the show has produced a lot of great prospects for divisions in the past. After all, even the fourth season, which incurred the wrath of hardcore TUF fans by bringing back unknown UFC veterans to line one of the them up with a title shot resurrected the careers of Patrick Cote and Din Thomas (not to mention putting the stars in position for one of the greatest upsets any sport has seen, ever) and made their divisions a little bit more interesting.It’s hard to deny that the show produces great prospects, and even fighters who lose on the show go on to produce interesting careers and allow us the opportunity to watch as their game evolves on the biggest stage American MMA has to offer. We can’t forget Josh Koscheck, who (while losing in the very first round of the show to Diego Sanchez) went on to become a top contender, and it would unfair to say that even more recent prospects like Nate Diaz and Manny Gamburyan (the winner and runner up of TUF 5) have been less than exciting to watch.

It seems, though, that people care more about revitalizing the heavyweight division then they do about the lightheavyweight season starting next week, and I can hardly blame them. It has nothing to do with Forrest Griffin and UFC champion “Rampage” Jackson being any less than absolutely hysterical television personalities and everything to do with the cast list. Despite the new 32 fighter format, which I think it going to be great because, ideally, it will give us more fights, the UFC has gone to immense length to expand a roster that, by my count, has 4 fighters with losing records and 2 that are batting .500, not to mention the 10 guys that are either unlisted or have yet to make their professional debut.

I’m not saying that this season isn’t going to be interesting, because I think that it will be. I’m not a reality show fan, and tend to record episodes so that I can watch the training in the gym and the fights, as well as the occasional shit talk between the coaches, but I’m a little skeptical about a show that offers what I see as offering a huge roster, with only 11 prospects. This, frankly, would have made a great season of the show, if they had just stuck to 16 guys. Still, I could always be wrong about who the real warriors on the show are.

I’m not convinced, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere on the site, that TUF 8 is going to solve the UFC’s heavyweight woes, and I wish that they had dedicated an entire season to the big men, but I understand as much as anybody that the promise of lightweight fights will balance the potentially slow action of the heavier fighters, as it did on TUF 2.

Still, I’ll be watching this season closely because it gives me an opportunity to watch fights, and I’ll never deny myself that.

The guys I’ll be watching the closest:

Paul Bradley (5-0, 2 TKOs, 2 Submissions)

Steve Byernes (6-1, 6 Submissions)

Dante Rivera (10-2, 3 TKOs, 5 Submissions)

Tim Creddeur (9-2, 2 TKO’s, 7 Submissions)

Nick Klien (3-0, 3 Submissions)

Mike Marrello (7-1-1, 5 Submissions)

Aaron Meisner (2-0, 2 TKOs)

Luke Zachrich (7-1, 3 TKOs, 4 Submissions)

I’d also like to note that, unlike alot of other seasons, there are many great submission fighters in this house. Byernes and Rivera are the two that I think are going to be the most interesting, but there are other guys that have a handful of interesting, tapout victories.

It will be a fun season to watch. I only hope that it’s not overshadowed by the fear that the UFC is procrastinating on dealing with the heavyweight problem. Hopefully the UFC brass’ actions over the next few months can easy those worries and we can really watch the fights to see some interesting up and comers and the inevitable pathetic athletes that slip in.

All that’s left to do is wait and watch.

I’ve been hearing a lot of complaints about the 185 pound division recently, and when I wrote a handful of pieces criticizing the UFC heavyweight division, I got a lot of interesting responses from people telling me that they thought the middleweight division was in similarly bad shape. Now, while I don’t entirely agree with this, I think that there’s something to be said for the status of a division that has seen as dominant a champion as the 185 pounders have in Anderson Silva.The first thing that I think we all have to acknowledge is that there isn’t a contender in the division right now that anyone thinks can beat Anderson Silva. People have suggested Yushin Okami and I’ve suggested either Martin Kampmann (who I believe is next in line for a title shot) and Drew McFedries. But the more Anderson proves himself by dominating guys that we think are going to give him a tough fight, we really have to look for a contender that is going to give the Brazilian wrecking ball a serious fight. There may be some hope in that Dan Henderson lasted as long as anyone, but we also have to recognize that Dan Henderson did not last as long as many fans (myself included) thought he should, and he stands as proof that we, yet again, underestimated the UFC middleweight champion.

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The UFC is in dire need of a few top notch heavyweights to step up and make a run to the title and they are adding to their talent stockpile by using their famous reality show. The MMA reality show “The Ultimate Fighter” in its 8^th season will look to be showcasing lightweights and heavyweights. Rumor has it that if you just happen to be a talented MMA fighter, and in the heart of Red Sox Nation the first week of April, you could run across a TUF tryout. UFC.com has an advertisement for the eighth installment of this show on their homepage. It provides a link to an application.It is no secret that the UFC has a current shortage of big guys. It was no more apparent when they recruited WWE star Brock Lesner and began advertising him more than they did Wanderlei Silva. The UFC hurt themselves when they couldn’t get past contractual issue and sign Fedor. Not only did it not put one of the top fighters in the cage, but also caused problems with their big champion. Most fans are beyond sick of hearing about this, and it also gives Dana haters more fuel to the fire.

The television show “The Ultimate Fighter” has done great things for the sport. Fighters such as Josh Koscheck, Diego Sanchez, Joe Stevenson, Marcus Davis, and Rashad Evans came from just the first two seasons. There are more than 15 fighters on contract with the UFC that were a part of this series. This show is something that the other organizations want, but do not have.

Arguably the weakest division in the world’s strongest MMA organization may get a boost in talent from the show. If the show does indeed center on heavyweights, it could bring in a handful of fighters that would add depth to the depleted division. Constant exposure from the cameras will give the world enough time to fall in love or hate a fighter. This love hate relationship between the fans and fighters is one of the things that draw viewers. If you hate Matt Hughes you will purchase a PPV in hopes that he gets knocked out and if your favorite fighter is stepping into the cage, you will buy it to cheer him to victory.

This show has meant more to the UFC than ever imagined. The 7^th season will begin April 2^nd with a fight your way in mentality. 32 fighters will be cut in half, as they fight to earn their spot on the show. Every season their have been drama and special moments that made each season unique; Chris Leben spitting on another’s bed or the constant drama between coaches BJ Penn and Jens Pulver. I look for it to continue in April. This may be the most talented group of fighters on the show yet. It will showcase All-American wrestlers, Champion Jui-Jitsu practitioners, and fighters from the elite teams such as Team Quest. This was a brilliant idea and will continue to stock up the talent for the UFC leading up to the much needed TUF 8 season.

Before writing this, I did some quick thinking about what the title would be. I guess lots of people are having fun with this whole DREAM thing so I thought I’d spare you a lame title and not beat around the bush. As most of us are now aware, DREAM’s inaugural show DREAM.1 had a less than spectacular draw from the Japanese audiences. Raking in a mere 8.9, I think lots of us are already fearing the worst by now. I was completely stunned when I read this number. I realistically didn’t think it was a huge draw but this was pretty low from what I expected considering Mirko Cro-Cop would be fighting. Mirko did manage to draw an lackluster 12.0, but it is still a lot lower than even the less than stacked K-1 Dynamite!! 2007. Thankfully, attendance wasn’t as low with a solid 19,000+.

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In a few weeks the UFC’s popular television series will premiere for its 7^th time. Rampage Jackson and Forrest Griffin will lead the 32 fighters on their journey throughout the show, and help them pursue their goal to be considered The Ultimate Fighter. This show has provided the UFC with another avenue to increase popularity and provide a stage for the leading MMA organization.

The Cast:

Paul Bradley

Steve Byrnes

Mike Dolce

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