Originally posted at IronSportMMA.

For those who have the seen the video recently posted on mmaopinion, where I work and where the best news and analysis in the sport is.

Now lets forget Bill’s economic stupidity. Let’s forget that the 16-34 year old males are the second most potent viewer groups in the entire country (in, the minds of many producers of big advertisement buyers, like beer companies, the most important). Let’s forget that the sport has been approved by state athletic commissions, that it has fewer fatalities than boxing, hockey or football.

Let’s forget that when John McCain commented on the sport and called in “human cockfighting”, Ken Shamrock destroyed him in civil debate on Larry King’s live interview, one of the crowning moments for the sport, and one I would like to see Shamrock repeat. Personally, I’d be happy to debate O’Reilly myself, since he clearly knows nothing about the sport and about the way that it’s marketed.

As far as the “redeeming moral value” of MMA that the twit Jane Hall, there’s as much redeeming value in mixed martial arts as there is in football.

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How do you know when you have made it in the highly competitive world of sports? For some athletes it is when they sign that first shoe deal. For others, it is when Gatorade calls and wants you to bleed Lemon Lime in a commercial, and the top is when Nike calls and says they want you in the middle of a Nike Sparq “my better tastes like French toast” commercial!

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson joins the ranks such as Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and many other athletes that have done many of the above feats. Rampage now has his own shoes.

If you are a huge Rampage fan or an avid MMA collector check out his shoes here. Don’t get it twisted. These are not PF Flyers that will make you run faster and jump higher. One version has chains, while the other one has the look of a cage. Neither one of these shoes are the next Air Force Ones or Chuck Taylors, but they do show the ever climbing popularity of MMA.

The Rampage Serve shoes will run you about $68.00. They do not come with your very own Rampage chain, or devastating right hand, but if you are Quinton’s number one fan these are a must have.

Bill O’Rielly is at it again. He has returned to bash the sport we love with an uneducated bias that could hurt Mixed Martial Arts. A while ago, Dana White and Rich Franklin joined Bill O’Reilly on The O’Reilly Factor. That video can be seen here. Throughout the great video, Dana and Rich tell Bill about the safe side of the sport and argue about its safety. Bill keeps to his stance and doesn’t waver at all. Dana states several times that there has never been a death or serious injury in the sport in 12 years (the video was taped a prior to the recent death of Sam Vasquez).

In his new video, Bill again states that this sport is brutal, and that CBS is lowering their standards to put it on television. He says that the move is strictly a move for money. I will let you watch the video and make your own decision. There are many people around the world that have the same views as this man. These are the ones that make it hard to sanction the sport in other states. If there is a black cloud following the sport, it is caused by people with this opinion.

It’s not easy for all of us in the United States to easily find and watch Japanese MMA without the aid of the internet. And with the recent news that Tokyo Broadcasting Station (TBS) had dropped the Dream promotion from it’s slot on network television, things were looking even worse for us. Not to mention that the organization itself would have lost potential viewers and future fans by not acquiring any television coverage.

It’s our lucky day, again, as HDNet comes to the rescue with some potentially exciting Japanese MMA to be aired on May 2nd. Granted it’s not live, but we will be watching Dream 2 even before Japanese viewers will get a chance to see MMA action in their own homes. Sure, you can read about the results, chat on the forums, or try to watch grainy videos, but nothing comes close to watching the event in high definition.

So where is the love for HDNet? I don’t routinely find people writing about how much HDNet has done for MMA in the short time that the channel has been airing MMA fights. Do we take the channel for granted or is it just another expensive HD channel that only a few of us can barely afford?

Mark Cuban isn’t on the receiving end of many compliments either these days. As the head of the company, Cuban has rose through the ranks as an entrepreneur who went from being an average joe to a billionaire, but people still write him off as someone who is just cashing in on the sport. While it’s certainly questionable that Cuban began airing MMA fights as soon as the sport began to take off, his company has also taken many risks by airing so many small domestic fights along with the big international fights like Yarennoka. Even the IFL is shown on HDNet after being dropped from their spot on MyNetworkTV. Cuban gets points just for being that guy who is taking a chance on the small MMA promotions that would otherwise receive no reputable television coverage.

Not only does HDNet go out and capture all of these events for our viewing pleasure, their HD feed is amazingly clear. Although the UFC 83 HD quality improved slightly from the previous live pay per view events, they still didn’t even come close to what can be seen on HDNet on a random weeknight. You also can’t find a worthwhile MMA news show on Spike TV like Inside MMA with our friends Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice.

So what’s not to love about HDNet right now? You get both local and international fight cards in high definition with a weekly news show to boot. There’s no Bill Goldberg, no expensive pay per views, and the organization might just stick around for a while. I’m off to watch Reckless Abandon 2 from Dallas Texas. You know, the one with Frank Trigg and Edwin Dewees?

Here are two more Matt Riddle videos courtesy of Spike TV and AOL!

The Ultimate Fighter - Season 7 - Fighter Interviews - Matthew Riddle

The Ultimate Fighter - Season 7 - Everything to Lose - Matthew Riddle Confessional

Watch Matt Riddle from The Ultimate Fighter 7 at Grapplers Quest. What’s interesting is that Riddle took the belt for Advanced Men’s No-Gi Light-Heavyweight while his TUF opponent Dan Simmler won his division at Advanced Men’s No-Gi Heavyweight. Perhaps some trash talking and bad blood ensued?

Continue reading to watch the video!

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You saw him deliver a devastating knockout against Dan Simmler on The Ultimate Fighter. You may have seen him dominate at the NAGA World’s or Battle of the Beach. Maybe you were lucky enough to train with “The Answer” before he began his quest on the 7th season of TUF to become to next big middleweight in the UFC. Or maybe you haven’t, so enjoy the following pictures of the guy who walked onto TUF 7 and impressed both Forrest Griffon and Quinton Jackson with his impressive “Southpaw red” knockout. If you want to see more of Matt Riddle, you’ve come to the right place. Many of the images below are property of Rat Pack Fighting Systems in Palmerton, PA. Please contact Nick or Sandy Masington at Rat Pack if you would like to learn more about Matt Riddle. Just tell them that Brandt from MMA Opinion sent you. Keep reading for the pics!

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8 second knockouts, ground and pound referee stoppages, impressive Jiu-Jitsu, and it was all free; what else could a MMA fan ask for? UFC Fight Night 13 delivered the goods at a great price tonight on Spike TV at 7PM EST. Although the program was a little long, which was expected, there were a few extra boring segments which made me pause my DVR and take a walk before returning to some MMA action. Spike TV doesn’t offer anything in HD as far as I know, but the surround sound did a decent job of making up for the poor visuals as I could hear the crowd everywhere in the room. Let’s get to the good stuff - here are some overall thoughts on UFC Fight Night 13.

The opening fight was a slugfest - all eight seconds of it. Both men walked in the cage looking pretty ripped and ready to throw down. But, unfortunately for the fans, Houston Alexander got dropped by James Irivin in the opening seconds of the first round. It wouldn’t have been so bad, but Alexander was dazed and he couldn’t protect himself fast enough before the fight was stopped. He was not happy with the results and called the stoppage “crap.” I couldn’t disagree more - he was done.

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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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Update: The entire gallery of low-res images is located here!

Daniel Herbertson over at DH Fight Photography has provided MMA Opinion with exclusive DREAM1 pictures from many of the evening’s fights. You may notice that Mirko Cro Cop is missing from the gallery, but only because someone has already purchased this set exclusively from Daniel. If you are interested in using some of the 200+ images for your website or magazine, please contact me (so that I may get some credit from helping Daniel!) and I will set you up to receive the original high resolution images at a great price! You won’t find unedited and exclusive pictures from the first DREAM anyone else at the low prices that Daniel is requesting.

Here are a few of the low-resolution images from DREAM1! You may purchase high-resolution images by contacting me or by using the contact form on this page.

More to be added later today!

Please note that all images are copyright Daniel Herbertson and may not be used without his permission anywhere else. Thanks!

There’s always going to be a large movement of fans (not just of fighting, but of anything) who reject the conventional and the mainstream. Those guys are generally credited with being the first MMA fans; guys who turned their backs on professional boxing and wrestling in order to find something new, something different, something off-beat.

The problem is, now the UFC has become so mainstream, so cultured that the reason they started following it to begin with no longer carries any weight. Where do these fans go?

They can’t go to Pride, since it no longer exists. (many left for Pride after the first TUF season, but they’re now looking for somewhere else to go)

They can’t go to the IFL, because, let’s face it, the IFL has worked way to hard to pull itself into the mainstream.

They can’t go to the WEC, because it follows that same formula as the UFC, only with lighter weight classes. (And, on top of that, many refuse to support Zuffa entirely, because of some of its contractual issues with its fighters)

They can’t go Japan, because they know that those organization are unstable. (and the disillusionment has only furthered itself with Fedor’s free-agency)

They won’t go to Elite XC because, besides about 4 fighters, the whole thing is a gimmick show (these are the fans who have been following the sport long enough to know that Kimbo Slice is not legit).

These guys are stuck in limbo, wandering back and forth between organizations. They watch UFC events because their friends (most of whom they got into the sport) are really excited to watch Anderson Silva (who is not, as many have said, the Mike Tyson if MMA, since he doesn’t commit rape and he has all of his teeth) and Rampage.

I wish I could say that the solution was simple, or that an answer would present itself, but the fact is I don’t think that’s the case. I’ve been out looking for other, exciting organizations for a long time. I’ve watched alot of K-1 (very exciting, but I miss the grappler) and have turned to Cage Rage to get some of my fix. Whether an underground titan will emerge soon, I don’t know, but I hope that when it does, these fans will find it, so that the UFC doesn’t just squash it with it’s giant checkbook.

I saw the preview a few days ago and cringed. Guys fighting in trashy environments with small gloves while pretending to be trained MMA professionals. Great. That’s just what we don’t need after hearing Bill Goldberg scream that he didn’t give a damn about traditional mixed martial arts because Kimbo Slice beat Tank Abbott in a staged street fight in a cage. It’s not that I had anything against Kimbo vs. Tank on Showtime because it was a MMA fight between two brawlers and we all knew both fighters were going to stand. It’s just the same old problem that MMA has always had - getting the sport recognized as legitimate and not glorified street brawling. Here’s a quick synopsis of Never Back Down, as told by BoondockVideo on the Sherdog Forums: Read the full story

Before I begin, I want to first offer up my thanks to the folks who take the time to produce free MMA podcasts. The guys behind the Fightworks Podcast, Fight Opinion Radio, MMA Predictions Radio, and the Sherdog Radio programs (Jeff Sherwood, Jordan Breen, Greg Savage, TJ DeSantis, and Josh Gross) along with countless others, have been a big part of keeping the rest of us engaged in the daily events of the sport. I know that I could never produce a broadcast with live callers, an email bag, or advertisements without ignoring my family or losing my job. Nothing bad can be said about everyone who has taken the time to talk about MMA through an audio show, but I think it’s time that we all begin taking these broadcasts to the next level. Allow me to explain before you take the title of this article too seriously (especially those who remember the whole Josh Gross vs. Dana White “Open Letter” fiasco).

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In his own words, of course. On tonight’s episode of Inside MMA, newly crowned IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson was given the opportunity to talk about his feelings on being at the top of the division. While Nelson came off as a respectful and thoughtful fighter, his feelings about where he stood in the Top 10 of the heavyweight division in the world was a bit skewed. Asked where he personally thought he stood in division, Nelson replied that he could hang with the Top 5. These fighters included recently resigned UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture and past champion Tim Sylvia. Yikes.

Although Roy Nelson is nothing to scoff at considering he did hold his own in a fighting promotion during the past year, he hasn’t fought top caliber. Looking at his 11-2 record shows wins over mostly IFL fighters, not UFC or Pride talent. Yet. While Nelson certainly has a chance in challenging some of the more well known heavyweights, he has a little further to go to get to the top of the heavyweight division. To be honest, Roy Nelson might make the Top 20 if I was feeling generous. Top 5? Not quite yet. Sorry Roy.

Thanks to our newest “Crush”, Gina Carano. Here’s a pic of Carano in full Gladiator gear ready to knock some female competitors off their feet.

I wonder if she is allowed to fight while she is working as an American Gladiator? Anyone?

The rest of her photo gallery as an upcoming gladiator can be found here.

If you run a MMA blog or participate in writing about MMA, make sure your writing isn’t being stolen. There is a site called videofights.net that will steal articles so they can capitalize on your hard work with their Google-ads infested website - commonly known as “splogging.”

Apprently (removed as requested) of Chicago-based (removed as requested) is trying to make a quick buck from sites like Irish Whip Fighting, ProMMA.tv, Cage Today, us here at MMA Opinion, and even the Pancrase website by stealing their headline news and posting it on a page littered with MMA advertisements. With little regard for the actual content itself, the page prides itself with a boring layout and no categories to differentiate content. They leave a link to the originating site, but considering there are 10,000 “posts” and 0 comments, the focus isn’t on the writing itself.

This is pure disrespect and it needs to stop. The common practice of linking between the different legitimate MMA blogs to give credit is accepted. Stealing work to make a quick Google-ad buck is not.

I certainly do not appreciate him using the work of MMA Opinion writers. Hopefully this article will get grabbed by the bots he uses to pick up any article with the letters “MMA” in it. Oh the irony.

You can reach (removed as requested) at (removed as requested) or by e-mail at (removed as requested).

So, anyone hear anything about Rampage lately? Still waiting to see what he’s been up to.

You may remember this little writing device from such classics as my Comment Army of One and Comment Army of One: Pt. 2 articles. What? You don’t? Well, that’s why I have links for examples. Essentially I bother someone else’s site with comments on their articles/news items, and then I copy and past it onto MMAOpinion and call it a column. It’s that simple.

This week I’m switching it up, as I go with a semi review/response piece to this past week’s Fight Opinion Radio with Zach Arnold and Jeff Thaler. Zach is always looking for reaction to his audio, and often demands to know (often rightfully) why people aren’t reacting to a certain story, or why someone is getting a pass from the MMA online community. Zach takes and deserves a lot of crap at times for his harsh know-it-all ways, and I’ve definitely given him crap, but this show is timely and relevant. Everyone take a listen, because when Zach is being fair, his criticism really does carry a lot of weight. And don’t forget about Jeff Thaler. When he’s not chumming it up with Zach he’s a perfect counterweight in the conversation.

I take you to my responses via varying multimedia platforms. Their audio to my digital comments. Technology and our advancements all dressed up. I essentially ease drop on two guys having a semi-righteous conversation on a niche topic, and I semi-righteously respond back with a letter. How far we’ve all come.

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