What Happened to BostonThrowdown.com?

Well we have been absolutely inundated with e-mails, phone calls, message board comments, etc., with one question, what happened to BostonThrowdown.com? As many of you know Rich Keefe (of The Sports Brief with Besse & Keefe) works for 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, MA. The station decided to dedicate some time to the world of MMA with a group of knowledgeable fight fans and gave them a section on the 985thesportshub.com website, entitled Boston Throwdown, which could be visited by simply going to BostonThrowdown.com. They had/have a twitter page (@BostonThrowdown) and facebook fan page. It was really taking off. Tens if not dozens of people had heard of the site and even considered checking it out.

However sometime last month the CBS owned 98.5 The Sports Hub website changed formats to become CBSBoston.com, check out CBSNewYork.com and it's the exact same thing. The new look site is strictly dedicated to local stories. Therefore an MMA section devoted to the UFC, Strikeforce, DREAM, Bellator, etc., was not in the cards. Boston Throwdown could have been saved but the 4 writers did not want change the concept and only follow the small up-and-coming fighters and even smaller events in the greater Boston area.

It is not a shot at the small shows, everyone has to start somewhere, but for the purposes of the website it just didn't make sense. We are sorry if BostonThrowdown was one of your destinations for MMA news and opinions, but rest assure that Besse and Keefe will continue to keep mixed-martial-arts on their agenda right here at The Brief.

UFC 118 Preview Show on Boston Radio

Tune in to 98.5 The Sports Hub on Saturday, August 28th, from 6:00-7:30pm to hear a special UFC 118 Preview Show hosted by Rich Keefe and Nick Cattles.

To listen just go to 98.5TheSportsHub.com or find it on iTunes.

For the latest on UFC 118 and everything else MMA follow Boston Throwdown on both twitter: @BostonThrowdown and facebook.com./BostonThrowdown

UFC 117 Recap

On the latest edition of The Throwdown we recap a great night of fights from UFC 117 in Oakland. Anderson Silva, Chael Sonnen, Junior Dos Santos, Roy Nelson, Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, and Matt Hughes all took part in this fantastic card. Check out the podcast below.

The Throwdown: UFC 117 Recap

-Keefe

Jorge Rivera on 98.5 The Sports Hub

I had a chance to talk with UFC Middleweight and Massachusetts native Jorge Rivera when I was filling in for DA on The DA Show last Thursday and Friday from 7:00pm-12:00am on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, MA.

Unfortunately for Jorge, an injury in training forced him out of UFC 118 at the TD Garden in Boston at the end of the month. He still talked about the upcoming card and his thoughts on Anderson Silva, Randy Couture vs. James Toney, and the Red Sox.

Click here for the full interview with Jorge Rivera from BostonThrowdown.com

-Rich Keefe

Throwdown Podcast: UFC 116 Recap

Rich Keefe and Nick Cattles of BostonThrowdown.com discussed the exciting UFC 116 card that featured Brock Lesnar, what to expect from Anderson Silva, and the UFC coming to Boston in their latest podcast. Click on the link below to check it out.

Throwdown Podcast: UFC 116 Recap


Also, how lame is LeBron James?

UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin Preview

The Heavyweight belt will be unified this Saturday night in the UFC as champion Brock Lesnar squares off with interim champ Shane Carwin. Yoshihiro Akiyama co-headlines the card in his 2nd UFC bout against Chris Leben, who steps up on short notice for the injured Wanderlei Silva.

We break down the main event event in a podcast on BostonThrowdown.com

Throwdown Podcast: UFC 116 Preview

-Keefe

Fedor!

The man, the myth, the legend, Fedor Emelianenko is fighting on Saturday night at Strikeforce & M-1: San Jose. His opponent is former UFC and Pride Heavyweight Fabricio Werdum. Check out the story and highlight video courtesy of BostonThrowdown.com

Fedor Fights

-Keefe

Machida vs. Shogun II at UFC 113

The UFC's Light Heavyweight Title is on the line this Saturday night in Montreal. The Champion Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida faces Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in a much anticipated rematch.

Check out the story from BostonThrowdown.com to see why the belt will change hands.

Why Shogun Will Beat Machida

UFC 112 Predictions

UFC 112 on Saturday night features 2 championship bouts. Lightweight Champ B.J. Penn puts his belt on the line against Frankie Edgar and Middleweight Champ Anderson Silva squares off with Demian Maia. Also on the main card is a match up between two past their prime legends Matt Hughes and Renzo Gracie in a Welterweight showdown.

Keefe's Picks:

Anderson Silva def. Demian Maia via TKO in Round 2
B.J. Penn def. Frankie Edgar via submission in Round 3
Matt Hughes def. Renzo Gracie via unanimous decision
Terry Etim def. Rafael dos Anjos via submission in Round 1
Mark Munoz def. Kendall Grove via KO in Round 1

Post fight prediction... after both dominating their fights to retain their respective belts; Anderson Silva will face Georges St. Pierre either at 185 or at a catch-weight of 177; while B.J. Penn will leave the Lightweight division and possibly match up with a Jon Fitch, Dan Hardy, Josh Koscheck, Thiago Alves at Welterweight.

If you want more in depth coverage of UFC 112 check out the Boston Throwdown UFC 112 Preview

As always, enjoy the fights,

-Keefe

Throwdown Podcast: Tim Sylvia

Rich Keefe had a chance to talk with former 2-time UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia, as he prepares for his May 21st fight against 5-time World's Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski at Moosin: God of Martial Arts in Worcester, MA.

Here is the Throwdown Podcast: Tim Sylvia

(Courtesy of BostonThrowdown.com)

Tim Sylvia (25-6)

Notables wins: Andrei Arlovski (2), Brandon Vera, Jeff Monson, Ricco Rodriguez, Mike Whitehead (2), Ben Rothwell

Notable losses: Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera, Randy Couture, Andrei Arlovski, Frank Mir

Boston Throwdown

If you want your MMA fix of news, stories, blogs, rankings, podcasts, etc., hit up the all new www.BostonThrowdown.com Rich Keefe of The Sports Brief will be 1 of 4 contributors focused on all things MMA.

The Sports Brief is not going anywhere, there will still be plenty of MMA here as well, but with baseball season coming up stay tuned.

Right now on BostonThrowdown.com... UFC 111 Preview, an interview with UFC Lightweight contender Kenny Florian, and much more!