…and why everyone’s so eager for it to get here.

When the UFC arrives in Canada, they will hear a chant that has become so popular that even some of the New Yorkers there may join in. And while the yell of “G-S-P, G-S-P” (even more familiar to me than “U-S-A”) may be punctuated by the occasional “eh” it won’t diminish the fact that the man they are screaming for is an icon, not just for Canadian MMA, but for everyone.

There’s something about Georges St. Pierre that people love. Maybe it’s his struggle to speak coherent English, maybe it’s getting to watch him develop on the world stage, maybe it’s just that great combination of exciting performances in the cage and amiable modesty outside of it. Frankly, even though I don’t know why, I like the guy.

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“He really impressed me and he had great finishing technique,” exclaimed Forrest Griffin. Quinton Jackson said “it was one of the most gruesomest knockouts I’ve ever seen.” Now you can hear what Matt Riddle had to say about his first fight on The Ultimate Fighter 7, episode 2 against Dan Simmler. I met up with Matt Riddle for a few minutes after the second episode of TUF 7 to talk about the first round of the fight, what his parents though about him fighting, and what Quinton Jackson said to him after the fight.

Juanito Ibarra was in your corner for the fight, what did he tell you to do?
“Box like a Southpaw.” I’m a Southpaw and I only got like two minutes with the corner guys and they were like “what’s your style?” and I was like “I’m a wrestler and jiu-jitsu guy with heavy hands” so they said “box like a Southpaw.” So that’s what I did and you can see that it worked out for me.

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UFC 83 will be one spectacular event as Matt “The Terror” Serra will look to prove all of the doubters wrong and have his hand raised yet again. Inside the cage spectators and fans will see the same grueling battles that are expected, however on the color commentary will sound a bit different. Kenny “Ken-Flo” Florian will step in for the always colorful Joe Rogan. On the same night, Joe Rogan will be hosting his own live comedy show on Showtime and the conflicting schedules will allow Florian to step in and showcase his play by play skills.

Ken-Flo told MMAWeekly:

“I’ll be commentating actually, start to finish, my first, my debut as the co-commentator,” said Florian on MMAWeekly Radio Friday night. “I’ll be there with Goldie. Goldie will be leading the way; he’ll be the quarterback. I’ll be the kind of back up.”

“I’m looking forward to it. It’s not only going to be a tremendous night of fights, but it will be a great experience for me to get in there and commentate and watch these amazing fights real up close and do what I normally do on the couch, and yell and scream, except do it on TV,” Florian stated.

This is the ideal time for Florian to showcase his play by play talent. It is anticipated that this event will have the biggest live audience ever to attend a UFC event. Combine that with the amount of PPV buys and Florian will get an insane amount of exposure. The fight card isn’t too bad either. It will feature the return of Matt Serra as he tries to prove that he isn’t a one hit wonder, Rich Franklin will be trying to stay on his feet and KO Travis Lutter, and Michael Bisping will make his 185 debut.

Things are looking up for Kenny Florian. He is on a four fight win streak in the cage in which he has finished every single opponent before the final bell. His most recent win was against rising star Joe Lauzon in April 2^nd’s UFC Fight Night. Florian is on his way to the top and could be 1 fight out of a title shot. Florian has great jui jitsu and has deadly elbows that could propel him straight to the top of the 155 division.

Few people have ever visited the small town of Palmerton, Pennsylvania. Situated in the mountains of the northeast region of the state, it’s home to The Ultimate Fighter’s newest sensation, 22 year old Matt “The Answer” Riddle. While Matt Riddle isn’t the only fighter from the show to come out of a small town, he certainly comes out with a big mouth and even bigger actions to back his words up. If you watched the second episode of The Ultimate Fighter, you saw Matt Riddle deliver one of the most brutal knockouts in the show’s history. A knockout that Quinton Jackson called “knockout of the century.” The young fighter, however, is probably one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He’s always smiling and more than willing to help anyone learn jiu-jitsu at the facility where he currently trains.

Going back a couple years to 2006, Matt Riddle begin his MMA experience at Jay Russell Jiu-Jitsu in upstate New York. After moving from New York to Pennsylvania to live with his family and train locally in April of 2007, he placed 2nd at the NAGA World’s in the Expert Division. Next came NAGA’s Battle at the Beach where Riddle took home the belt in the mens no-gi Expert division along with a win at Grapplers Quest, and at the Copa Atlantica BJJ tournament. While Riddle was winning these tournaments, he was still a white belt with less than two years of jiu-jitsu experience. He recently won his first amatuer MMA fight with a keylock at the “Battle of the Sun II” before trying out for The Ultimate Fighter in Newark, New Jersey where he was selected to be a part of the show.

Not only has Riddle gone further than most fighters in only 8 years, he also doesn’t train at a large regional facility hosted by a big name UFC star or a well-known trainer. Instead, you can find him in Palmerton, at Rat Pack Fighting Systems. MMA Opinion sat down with Matt Riddle tonight during the second episode of The Ultimate Fighter, Season 7 to discuss his past, training with a Gracie Black Belt, and his move from junior high school wrestling to Division 1 wrestling.

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Can the man who supposedly worked with the disputed #1 heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko, last year as the leader of M-1 Global finally get an organization together? Or will Adrenaline MMA turn into another defunct company filled with empty promises like it’s Russian counter-part?

Steve Sievert of the Houston Chronicle has an informative article about Monte Cox’s involvement in MMA throughout the past 13 years and 500 events. Most of the article focuses on working with the Russian heavyweight, Emelianenko, and why the deal with signing him failed. A difficult language barrier coupled with an immense loss leader with signing Emelianenko to $2 million per fight led to the breakdown of the to-be-signed contract that Emelianenko never signed. Instead, he had signed a letter of intent and was given a signing bonus of $1.5 million which he has since returned.

The newest supposed stars of Adrenaline MMA will be IFL heavyweight Ben Rotherwell and UFC heavyweight Tim Sylvia. While Sylvia recently left the UFC on his own after losing two of his last three fights, Rothwell was forced out of the IFL after the 2007 season due to contractual reasons. He left the organization on a 13 fight win streak including prior wins in other organizations before moving to the IFL. What makes it somewhat interesting is that both fighters have already fought each other, back in 2001, when Sylvia proved to the judges that he was deserving of the decision win over Rothwell. Now seven years later, both men may end up fighting again - who knows if the hype will still be there, however.

What’s great about Monte Cox, all issues with Emelianenko aside, is his ability to get things done for MMA. The Adrenaline MMA organization will begin with an inaugural show near Chicago, a major city that could appreciate some big-name MMA action. Then the organization will move to the smaller city of Joline, Illinois and then hopefully throughout the rest of the U.S. during the summer months. While the IFL has been focusing on the east coast this year and the UFC headquarters is Las Vegas, the Midwest is in need of something new and big. Can Cox deliver like he has done for over a decade? With reported numbers of $3 million for Syvlia per fight and Rothwell seeing paychecks he has never dreamed of in the IFL, I sure hope so. This will be an interesting summer for MMA fans for sure.

For those of you who remember the poll that I put on the site a couple weeks back, this post might not be a big surprise. I had asked readers if they thought the State Athletic Commissions should allow fighters to use marijuana if the drug was legalized in the state they were fighting. Out of 24 responses, 17 of you said that fighters should be allowed to be under the influence of THC, the common chemical compound found in the drug. Only seven readers though that marijuana should still be banned even if it is legal in the state where the event is being held.

I’m sure you may already know this - the facts of drug use in MMA are still alarming. You may not know, however, that the California State Athletic Commission has suspended fighters for marijuana use almost 200% more than performance enhancing drugs like anabolic steroids. Even with all of the associated health risks with bringing smoke into human lungs, why are so many fighters smoking marijuana?

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It seems like common sense, doesn’t it? If you don’t get punched in the face, it’s going to be hard to get TKO’d. Still, it took fighters a long time to learn how to efficiently break down their opponents.

The common dictum in modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is that an opponent without posture is not going to pass your guard, he’s not in a position to attack. He’s more or less forced into the defensive, because his arms are easy to control, his hips have no power and his head is buried in your chest, greatly limiting his ability to see what you’re doing.

Historically speaking, the strategy appears in part at UFC 4, but Royce Gracie didn’t really break down Kimo Leopoldo’s posture, he just spent alot of time trying.

The fact is, you can’t performa triangle choke on a postured opponent. You can’t pull a guillotine or a kimura off the bottom against an opponent who’s got his balance, so the fact that this development is really only used by BJJ blackbelts like Gabriel Gonzaga (see his fight with Carmello Marrero) and Fabricio Werdum during his Pride career. It’s a standard procedure in the Royler Gracie lineage of BJJ, and most purple belts can pull it off, but the advent of the can opener and other neck cranks out of the guard position has made the game extremely uncomfortable for anyone fighting a strong wrestler.

Still, expect to see the game more and more in the coming years, especially from the UFC lightweight and heavyweight divisions, where there are plenty of blackbelts comfortable fighting off of their backs.

This is the second in a four part series. Here’s the link to part one.

There was a very positive response to my pieces on Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson, so I figured that leading up to the fight between Serra and St. Pierre I would run a piece covering the greatest welterweight in the world and the greatest underdog the sport has ever seen. I figured that, sense Serra needs a bit more of an explanation, I’d start with him.

Matt Serra is not the most dominant fighter in the world, he is not the most dangerous fighter in the world, and he is not the most feared fighter in the world. If anything, he is the cinderella of MMA, and so many fans seem to be watching the clock like school kids at the brink of summer, waiting for it to strike midnight.

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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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Brock Lesnar is the new car in the garage. The plastic is still on the seats; it still has the dealer tags, and still has that new car smell. Like a new car, many fans feel that Brock Lesnar is far better than he really is. I enjoy going on the different MMA forums and blog sites and reading how he is the savior of the heavyweight division, how he could beat Fedor, or how great he is. I have nothing against Lesnar at all, but I am not on his large bandwagon.

Lesnar has had an interesting life. He has done much more than the average person and he has a great athletic ability. In 2000 he was crowned the NCAA Heavyweight Champion and the year prior he finished second. After college he moved on to another type of wrestling, professional wrestling. His recent venture takes him into the sport of MMA.

In his first fight in the UFC and second fight in MMA ever, he was paid $250,000; more than anyone else on the fight card that night. It is no question why he was paid this much - Lesnar has a drawing power that other fighters just don’t have. The UFC is banking on Lesner to have a huge following from his pro wrestling days and I believe it is an outrageous paycheck for a guy that was 1-1 in MMA and his first fight in the UFC.

I do not have a problem with Lesnar, and I feel that in the future he could do very well. This however is not a given, as many of the fans want to believe. Although there is a huge upside to Lesnar, there is also a huge downside. Brock Lesnar is similar to Kimbo Slice in the fact that they are not great all around fighters. Brock Lesnar has a great wrestling backgroung, but in my opinion this is his only strong suit. This alone can not propel you to be a champ; Josh Koscheck is the most prolific college wrestler in the UFC, yet he isn’t a champ or even top 3.

The downside of Lesnar starts with his inexperience in the cage. He has 1 fight and lost. Some fans have said that his experience from pro wrestling and being in front of people will transfer into the cage. I feel that this is a stretch. Pro wrestling has nothing to do with getting punched in the face or completely choked out. Lesnar had tons of experience in front of people, but I promise you he was nervous!

Brock Lesnar at this point in his career has many question marks regarding his overall MMA game. First of all we do not know if he has a solid chin or a glass jaw. He also has little ground game. Look at Houston Alexander. You can be very dominant on your feet, but when you go to the ground you have to be able to stop submissions and get back to your feet. It was once said that 95% of all fights end up on the ground. He proved against Mir (an overrated past his prime Mir) that a superior submission artist will give him problems. His standup hasn’t been tested yet. He hasn’t had the chance to show that he can stand and bag with the big guys in the division. If he has boxing training he is keeping it a secret. Another aspect of his game, which is one of the most important, that hasn’t been tested is his heart and conditioning. In his pro MMA career he has only fought for 2:39 combined. He hasn’t proved how he fights when he is severely fatigued. He also hasn’t show whether he has the conditioning to go a full fight (yea I watched the All Access too, he has to prove it in the cage).

The UFC is a business. Part of this business is putting fans in the seats. At this time Brock is an exciting addition to a weak division, especially with the apparent loss of Tim Sylvia and the inability to sign Fedor. If the UFC is smart (and they are), they will feed Brock formidable but beatable opponents. They should avoid scheduling him fights with BJJ black belts, submission artists, or guys that are bad matchups. They need Lesnar to win to keep drawing in the fans. Once Lesnar’s overall game comes together, he could be a force and challenge for the title. Brock has good ground and pound, and is a monster of a man. He has a huge upside and should (I repeat SHOULD) be well worth the money the UFC is paying for him just by his fan following. Many feel that Lesnar could be up for a title fight in 2 or 3 more fights. Lesnar has a huge upside, but then again has tons to prove. It will be interesting as we all watch him mature in the cage, and possibly blossom into the fighter Dana thinks he is. As of right now Brock Lesnar is not that fighter. Right now he can’t beat Nog for the title. Many fans need to be reminded that he is new to MMA. Stop anticipating that he is the next heavyweight force to dominate the UFC, and enjoy his growth in the sport. If he has unreal expectation, he will almost certainly fail.

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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“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!

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.

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.