Dude who can't use his legs earns jiu-jitsu blue belt

Eric Ingram just earned his jiu-jitsu blue belt from the esteemed Gracie family. A lot of people do that over the course of a year and a lifetime, but what makes Ingram so special is he's a quadraplegic. The guy can't feel nor use his legs, and he sits in a wheelchair. Yet he put on an absolute clinic in the video below, inducing multiple tapouts from various positions, holds and submission moves. Now I can't, nor I won't, sit here and speculate whether the guy he goes up against, who happens to be his brother, is going all out, but it doesn't really matter. Look at some of the transitions and submission moves he pulls out. For a guy using his legs they're impressive. For Ingram, they're amazing.

After watching this, I should probably stop complaining about pain and soreness after doing a leg workout. This guy makes me look like a pussy.



-Bess

Who's the bigger A-hole?

In the first clip is DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki...



And in the second clip is UFC lightweight contender Diego Sanchez, who recently got sent through a meat grinder by BJ Penn. Wait for the end as he receives the award...



Let the voting begin.

-Bess

James Thompson had a feelin'...

...that it was going to be a good night, singing and dancing along to Alistair Overeem's entrance.



And then they had to fight...



The loss was embarrassing, but not as bad as being choked out by a standing guillotine. What a loser.

-Bess

Ridiculous KO by Gilbert Yvel

Last night at Ultimate Chaos the headliner was Bobby Lashley v. Bob Sapp. While that received a lot of hype, a fight that went forgotten was the matchup between bangers Gilbert Yvel and Pedro Rizzo. You expected a KO either way, but this was ruthless, check it out:

Gilbert Yvel vs Pedro Rizzo
Uploaded by michael_dwayne_jr. - Basketball, baseball, pro wrestling and more sports videos.

Not sure what the referee was doing or looking at, but Rizzo took a couple unnecessary shots. Felt like I was watching a fight on UFC Undisputed for Xbox as he took the last couple punches just laying there unconscious, head bouncing off the floor. For a moment you had to wonder if he was flatlining.

Scary stuff.

-Bess

Bash Brother gets bashed in Japan

Jose Canseco tried his hand at professional mixed martial arts earlier this morning over in Japan, taking on 7'2" goliath Hong Man Choi - he of the armbarred by Fedor variety. Now Canseco didn't come into this fight lacking experience. He was the victim of a lucky punch and poor officiating in his celebrity boxing match with Vai Sikahema and later outslugged Danny Bonaduce in an all out war that made Gatti-Ward look amateurish.

Obviously I'm being facetious. Sikahema embarassed Canseco with a thunderous right hand and blitzed him out of the ring. Then Canseco took on Bonaduce, a former Patridge kid. Really? Not only did Canseco struggle to eeke out a split decision, but it against a guy who was smoking a cigarette on the way into the ring. Not exactly an impressive resume. But Canseco is a draw, especially in Japan due to his baseball playing days, and he admitted he was in need of the cash. I give him props for owning up to that. But it certainly didn't get him anywhere in this fight. Check it out...



Valiant effort by Canseco. Unfortunately he appeared to blow out his knee towards the end of the fight and Choi pounced and took advantage. I'd love to be able to say that the knee injury led to his demise, but let's face it, Canseco had it coming, especially wearing pants like those. What did he have, vericose veins he was hiding? Let's hope he heals quickly and gets back to competing soon. Did I really just say that?

-Bess

Mark Munoz gets his head kicked into the 1st row

For those of you that watched UFC 96, you got to see some exciting finishes to fights. Matt Brown's destruction of Pete Sell was pretty entertaining, as was Shane Carwin's comeback KO over Gabriel Gonzaga. However, neither can hold a candle to Matt Hamill's devastating head kick of Mark Munoz. I've embedded the video below, but I apologize in advance for the shitty quality. It's clearly some bootleg ripoff off some dude's TV with a camcorder. If you want, follow the link to mmatko.com below to see a clearer picture. Munoz was down and out cold for almost five minutes before exiting the cage under his own power. For "The Hammer", this was a much needed win and what better than to do it in exciting fashion. It also earned him KO of the night and a much welcomed $60,000 bonus. We'll go ahead and call this the KO Clip of the Week.



And the link to mmatko.com:

http://www.mmatko.com/matt-hamill-vs-mark-munoz-fight-video-ufc-96/

Enjoy. I've watched this clip about 100 times since Saturday night. It doesn't seem to get old for me.

-Bess

The Sports Brief's UFC 84 Picks

I can't even begin to tell you how excited The Sports Brief is for this weekend's card. Not only do Penn and Sherk settle the score, but someone may die in a fight between the "Dean of Mean" and the "Ax Murderer". It may be one of the greatest nickname combinations ever to step into the Octagon against one another. And to top it all off, Tito Ortiz makes what will most likely be his final stand in the Octagon. So much drama, so much intrigue, let's get to the picks...

BJ Penn (champion) v. Sean Sherk

This is a terrific match-up between a champion and former champion who truly hate each other. Stylistically, I don’t think this is a good one for Sherk. He’s short and will be up against a considerable reach advantage for Penn, who is a far superior striker. And while Sherk will certainly be the better wrestler in this fight, he’ll be playing right into Penn’s strength. “The Prodigy” is clearly the most flexible fighter in all of MMA, and his jiu-jitsu is world class. If put on his back, he’ll be able to neutralize the attack of Sherk and possibly even submit him.

But I don’t think the fight will go there. Sherk, like Matt Hughes, has yet to evolve from a wrestler with a tremendous ground-and-pound to a well-rounded mixed martial artist. Because of that, I think Penn will either score a takedown or pull Sherk into his guard then sweep, taking top control and working his way to a victory. Just look at St. Pierre’s dominant victory over Sherk at UFC 56. Penn, who arguably may have won his fight with GSP (after which GSP went to the hospital), should have the same success.

Penn via T(KO), referee stoppage due to strikes.

Keith Jardine v. Wanderlei Silva

It bothers me that this is Jardine’s first fight since his shocker over Chuck Liddell at UFC 76. But it’s intriguing, because Liddell is the last opponent for both of these guys. Jardine has to be bitter that Forrest Griffin, whom he destroyed in their fight, leapfrogged him for a shot at the Light Heavyweight title. Silva, meanwhile, needs to win here in order to make himself relevant in this division in the UFC.

This will assuredly be an all-out standup war, much like the fight between Liddell and Silva. “The Ax-Murderer” is an exciting fighter who lays it all on the line, win or loss, in every fight. He applies pressure and constantly works. While Liddell kept him at bay with the jab, using his reach advantage and counter-striking ability, Jardine doesn’t have the same technical prowess as Liddell. His kicks are what did in the “Iceman”, and they were successful because Liddell stayed on the outside trying to box and counter. Silva won’t be doing that here. We’ve seen in the past that Jardine’s defense is like a sieve, particularly against the likes of Houston Alexander who dominated him in the clinch and inside. I like Silva to use his superior cardio and apply constant pressure, working inside the jab and kicks to put the “Dean of Mean” to sleep.

Silva via KTFO in the 2 nd round.

Tito Ortiz v. Lyota Machida

I’m actually nervous about this fight. Tito is by far my favorite MMA fighter, and this is a fight that will have me on pins and needles until it’s over. Machida is an underrated, technical fighter who frustrates opponents and constantly outscores them; this is why most of his wins have come by decision. He’s defeated a murderer’s row of opponents, too, including Rich Franklin, Stephan Bonnar and a bloated BJ Penn.

Ortiz, meanwhile, hasn’t fought since July of ’07 when he gassed against Rashad Evans and would have won the fight had he not grabbed the fence. After a long layoff and an appearance on “Celebrity Apprentice”, Ortiz claims to be fully healthy and ready to go. It’s also a contract fight for the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy”, and his feud with Dana White will come to full boil at UFC 84: Ill Will. I can’t help but think that Machida will grind out yet another decision here. But I’m not going to do it. I think Ortiz is in fact motivated and will provide his best performance in years. Look for him to pressure Machida the entire fight and display a vastly improved cardio. I can only hope to join Ortiz in his celebratory “grave digger” ceremony after a victory.

Ortiz via T(KO) in the 2 nd round

Wilson Gouveia v. Goran Reljic

Gouveia is on a four fight win streak in the UFC after a tough decision loss to Jardine back in ’06. Reljic, meanwhile, is a UFC newcomer who comes with five submission wins in seven victories, no defeats. For Gouveia, I think he’s okay here. He’s a jiu-jitsu practitioner and has never been submitted. If he can avoid whatever strikes Reljic throws at him, I think Gouveia should be able to secure victory here. He was impressive in his last win over Jason Lambert which was a spectacular knockout, and I think he’ll continue to prove his mettle in the UFC on Saturday.

Gouveia via Decision

Thiago Silva v. Antonio Mendes

Remember way back when Silva was supposed to fight Rashad Evans on this card? And then Evans got bumped to fill in for Mauricio Rua as the main event against Liddell at UFC 85? And then Liddell got injured and James Irvin was supposed to fight Evans even though it was no longer a main event? And then Irvin got hurt and Evans got scrapped? Remember? Doesn’t that suck for everyone involved, from Silva to Evans to the UFC and the fans. Imagine if that fight was still on this card?

Instead, we get Mendes, a Brazilian riding an 11-fight win streak and 14-2 overall record. This should be a good test for Silva, who has terrific striking ability and showed some explosive ground and pound against highly touted, and now overhyped, Houston Alexander. I personally think Silva is a BAMF and don’t think he’ll have a letdown here. This guy was probably an assassin or enforcer in a past life, or this life even, and I think he’ll put on another impressive performance. Look for an explosion early on, but Silva will prevail.

Silva via T(KO) in the 1 st round

Ivan Salaverry v. Rousimar Palhares

Palhares by submission in the 2 nd round

Rameau Sokoudjou v. Kazuhiro Nakamura

Sokoudjou via Decision

Rich Clementi v. Terry Etim

Clementi by submission in the 2 nd round

Jon Koppenhaver v. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

Yoshida via T(KO) in the 1 st round

Jason Tan v. Dong Hyun Kim

Tan by submission in the 3 rd round

Christian Wellisch v. Shane Carwin

Carwin by (T)KO in the 2 nd round

Please note that these are only my picks. Rich is too nervous about the Tito fight to write anything for this weekend’s card. But he did want me to say hello and also pass along that he’s going Penn, Wandy and Tito. Enjoy, and let me know what you think will happen with this weekend’s fights.

-Bess