Machida Earns Title Shot; UFC on FOX 4 Results

The Staples Center was the site for UFC on FOX 4: Shogun vs. Vera.  The co-main event served as a platform to see who would get the next Light Heavyweight Title shot against the winner of Jon Jones- Dan Henderson next month.  Shogun defeated Vera, but Machida was more impressive in his victory over Bader, therefore Dana White decided to give it to Machida.

Honestly, Jones has beaten all 4 of the guys who were in the mix and none of the fights interest me.

Also on the card, Mike Swick returned to action and got a huge welterweight win, and Joe Lauzon tapped out Jamie Varner... Full result below:

•Mauricio "Shogun" Rua def. Brandon Vera via TKO (punches) - Round 4, 4:09

•Lyoto Machida def. Ryan Bader via knockout (punches) - Round 2, 1:32

•Joe Lauzon def. Jamie Varner via submission (triangle choke) - Round 3, 2:44

•Mike Swick def. DaMarques Johnson via knockout (punches) - Round 2, 1:20

•Nam Phan def. Cole Miller via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

•Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado, no contest (accidental eye poke) - Round 1

•Rani Yahya def. Josh Grispi via submission (north-south choke) - Round 1, 3:15

•Phil De Fries def. Oli Thompson via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 4:16

•Manny Gamburyan def. Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

•John Moraga def. Ulysses Gomez via knockout (strikes) - Round 1, 3:46


-Keefe

Mir Snaps Nog's Arm; UFC 140 Results

MAIN CARD:
Jon Jones def. Lyoto Machida via technical submission (standing guillotine choke) - Round 2, 4:26 (to retain light-heavyweight title)
Frank Mir def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira* via submission (kimura) - Round 1, 3:38
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Tito Ortiz via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 3:15
Brian Ebersole def. Claude Patrick via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Chan Sung Jung def. Mark Hominick via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 0:07

UNDER CARD:
Igor Pokrajac def. Krzysztof Soszynski via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 0:35
Constantinos Philippou def. Jared Hamman via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 3:11
Dennis Hallman def. John Makdessi via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 2:58
Yves Jabouin def. Walel Watson via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Mark Bocek def. Nik Lentz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jake Hecht def. Rich Attonito via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 1:10
John Cholish def. Mitch Clarke via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 4:36

^Tito Ortiz and Big Nog went to the hospital following their losses. Each fighter could very well be done.

*Big Nog refused to tap to a kimura. The results (below) aren't pretty.



-Keefe

GSP Wins, Couture KO'd at UFC 129

Georges St. Pierre defended his Welterweight title with a 5-round unanimous decision victory over Jake Shields. The fight stayed on the feet for almost the entire 25 minutes. Shields hit GSP with what looked like a knuckle to his open left eye, St. Pierre said he could not see out of it. Not completely dominate, but there was no doubt when the horn sounded that GSP was the winner. After the fight he was noncommittal about moving up to middleweight and fighting Anderson Silva.

Couture done like that? Randy "The Natural" Couture said prior to the fight with Lyoto Machida, that he would retire. The 47 year old former champion was knocked out in the 1st round by something out of The Karate Kid. Machida landed a devastating kick to the face that sent Captain America to the ground. That was it... or will he be back?

Jose Aldo (boring) Vladimir Matyushenko (20 seconds TKO punches), and Ben Henderson (decision) were all winners on the night's main card.

-Keefe

Is this the greatest UFC entrance of all time?

Headline says it all, let us know your thoughts.



-Bess

UFC 123 Results

UFC 123 took place last night at the home of the Detroit Pistons, the Palace at Auburn Hills. Here are the quick results.

MAIN CARD:

• Quinton "Rampage" Jackson def. Lyoto Machida via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• B.J. Penn def. Matt Hughes via KO (punches) - Round 1, 0:21
• Maiquel Falcao def. Gerald Harris via unanimous decision (29-27. 29-28, 29-28)
• Phil Davis def. Tim Boetsch via submission (kimura) - Round 2, 2:55
• George Sotiropoulos def. Joe Lauzon via submission (kimura) - Round 2, 2:43

UNDER CARD:

• Brian Foster def. Matt Brown via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 2, 2:11
• Mark Munoz def. Aaron Simpson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Dennis Hallman def. Karo Parisyan via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 1:47
• Edson Barboza def. Mike Lullo via TKO (leg kicks) - Round 3, 0:26
• Paul Kelly def. T.J. O'Brien via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 3:16
• Nik Lentz def. Tyson Griffin via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)

Main Card Picks from the Brief:

Besse: 3-2

Keefe: 3-2

UFC 123 Breakdown and Picks

We are now a day away from UFC 123, which features a headline bout between two former light heavyweight champions in Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida. In addition, the top MMA organization offers us a co-main event between former welterweight champion Matt Hughes and former lightweight and welterweight champion BJ "The Prodigy" Penn. This will be the third bout in what will surely go down as one of the greater trilogies in the history of combat sport. The entire card is very solid, and without further delay, let's get to the breakdown and picks courtesy of The Sports Brief. We'll start with a technical breakdown of each fight on the main card and follow with picks from both myself and Keefe. Enjoy.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson v. Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida

Machida started out his mma career winning 16 straight fights, utilizing his unorthodox striking and karate background to remain elusive and lure his opponents into uncomfortable spots where he was able to capitalize with excellent counter striking. For a while, fans and mma pundits often characterized his style as "boring", noting his failure to finish fights on a frequent basis and excite the crowd. He was certainly not a guy you were expecting to cash in on a "Fight of the Night" bonus. But knocked Thiago Silva out cold at UFC 94, then really burst into the spotlight with his devastating KO of Rashad Evans at UFC 98. He picked Evans apart, almost finishing the fight in the first round before putting Evans to sleep with a barrage of strikes; Evans was left snoring up against the cage, and at the time, UFC commentator Joe Rogan exclaimed, "Welcome to the Machida Era".

Incredibly, that era almost came to an abrupt end at UFC 104, when many thought Mauricio "Shogun" Rua put forth a winning effort before losing a disputed unanimous decision. In the rematch at UFC 113, Rua did not leave it to the judges, putting the champion out on his back and claiming what many thought was his after the first fight: The UFC Light Heavyweight title. The two fights with Shogun were a bit of an eye opener, as it showed someone with effective strikes from the outside that can cut off Machida could score points and flip the script, putting him in uncomfortable positions. If you go back and look at the Tito Ortiz fight, Machida did a lot of back peddling and lateral movement, and Tito chased. He didn't cut him off, just chased him in the direction he was moving. Because of that, Machida could stop on a dime and land a strike or series of strikes as Tito was still coming forward, not expecting Machida to engage. This caught Ortiz off-guard, and ultimately led to a decision victory for "The Dragon".

His opponent, however, is as tough on the feet as you'll find in this sport. Jackson has some of the best boxing skills in MMA and can light up an opponent with power in both hands. He also has impressive counter strikes, ala his KO of Chuck Liddell, and a chin that makes him hard to put down, nevermind put out. He has excellent wrestling skills and his brute strength is incredible; just ask Ricardo Arona:




In order for Rampage to be successful on Saturday night, I think he'll need to force Machida to engage. Take the center of the Octagon, cut him off with angles and footwork, and stand in the pocket and trade. While Machida has shown power and great counter striking, I think Rampage has the ability to take multiple shots while in the pocket in the hopes of landing one that can change the momentum in an instant. If he fails to get in Machida's face, he'll probably end up losing a decision much in the same fashion as his loss to Forrest Griffin. At UFC 86, Griffin seized the belt from Jackson by hurting him with leg kicks and volume striking. Griffin got knocked down a couple times, but managed to strike and move away before Jackson could land a knockout blow.

Matt Hughes v. BJ Penn

The series is tied at one apiece, and Saturday night will put an end to a fantastic trilogy between two of the sports greatest ever. What's so fascinating about this fight is that while the first two seemed like the ultimate grudge matches between two men that truly disliked one another, there doesn't seem to be that same sentiment between the two anymore, at least not in what they're saying publicly. Both appear to have a mutual respect for not only each other's game, but what the two have accomplished over the course of their storied careers.

The key to this matchup will be Hughes decision to either stand or attempt to bring the fight to the mat(t) (pun intended). As we've seen in his fights with GSP, Penn can be brought down and controlled by a bigger, stronger man. The problem is whether or not you can actually get him on his back. GSP's wrestling is probably the best in the game; Hughes' used to be, but isn't anymore. While it's still great, it's not at the same level it used to be. In addition, Hughes had improved remarkably on his feet, as shown in his fights with Royce Gracie and Ricardo Almeida.

The issue is whether or not he becomes too confident on his feet. Penn's boxing is excellent, and against a bigger, slower opponent who doesn't present a threat in terms of power, Penn could have his way with Hughes in the stand up. He's not facing a smaller, faster Frankie Edgar here, so I don't expect him to be outboxed like he was in his two losses to the champion. But what I do fear for Hughes is for this fight to end up much like Penn's fight against Sean Sherk. Sherk had also shown improved standup, and he wasn't able to drag Penn to the floor like he could less talented fighters. So Sherk tried to overpower Penn on his feet and was outboxed for three rounds before Penn put the rubber stamp on (T)KO win.

For Hughes to win, there's no doubt he'll need to find a way to put Penn on his back and control him there. If he does, expect something similar to his performance against Chris Lytle back at UFC 68, where he took Lytle down and basically held him there for three rounds. Penn's guard is tremendous, and even if he can't back to his feet, he'll try and threaten with submissions and offense from the bottom while trying to neutralize Hughes' offense. Because Hughes has been submitted by Penn before, I don't expect he'll go all out in fear of being caught again. But, that's if he can get Penn down, and for me, that's a major if.

Joe Lauzon v. George Sotiropoulos

Sotiropoulos has been plowing through opponents since his stint on TUF, where he was controversially knocked out by Tommy Speer in a semi-final bout. Sotiropoulos suffered an eye poke prior to taking the punch that put him out cold. But that was an exhibition, and he's undefeated at 6-0 in his UFC career, beating the likes of Kurt Pellegrino and Joe Stevenson. There seems to be a lot of hoopla behind him, and this will be a good test to see if it's warranted, or if he's the beneficiary of wins over strictly middle-tier opponents with bigger names than their actual games.

In Lauzon, we have a solid striker with unquestionable jiu-jitsu skills. He transitions from one submission to another in a seamless, flawless way that almost seems fluid and somewhat poetic. That's what makes him so good and so dangerous. But he is long and lean, and Sotiropoulos is more compact and powerful. So I think the course of the fight will be dictated by which fighter is able to handle the difference better. In other words, can Sotiropoulos use his size and strength to his advantage, or will Lauzon be able to nullify it? That's the question, and it's a big one, one that will ultimately determined which of these fighters is actually deserving of a spot in line for title contention.

Phil Davis v. Tim Boetsch

Davis is a prospect, but personally I'll leave it at that. I don't want to say he's a blue-chip, certainly not in the way I considered Jon "Bones" Jones before he legitimized himself as a title contender. Jones, by the way, will have a chance to solidify his stature against another blue-chip in Ryan Bader in February. But back to Davis, who is 3-0 in his young UFC career, and for the most part has look pretty impressive albeit against middle of the road talent, if that. He won a decision on former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann, but in case you haven't heard, "All-American" is dropping to middleweight to face Chris Leben on the New Year's card. That should say something.

Boetsch, meanwhile, fights like his nickname: "The Barbarian". Some of you may remember his mauling of David Heath back at UFC 81, when he tossed Heath around like a ragdoll. It was an incredible scene, and many thought Boetsch may be a force in the UFC until he met Matt Hamill, who silenced him inside of two rounds. Boetsch stepped out of the UFC for a brief three fight winning streak before returning with a lackluster win at UFC 117 over Todd Brown. He has good wrestling, and obviously a ton of strength.

The interesting dynamic of this fight is how Davis will stack up against Boetsch in terms of strength. Davis' wrestling is superior in terms of resume, and his striking is still evolving. If he can handle Boetsch's strength and get him to the mat, working from top position will probably be his best bet. If he keeps it standing in an attempt to display improved striking, it could be a dangerous affair for the up and coming prospect. He'll need to be cerebral and stick with what works. If Boetsch lures him into exchanges, or gets his hands and/or arms on him, he could employ some of that brute strength we saw in the Heath fight, and that could stop the prospect train in its tracks.

Gerald Harris v. Maiquel Jose Falcao Goncalves

Harris is the guy you saw on Sportscenter's Top 10 after slamming Dave Branch to near death at UFC 116. He's a talented guy who was the favorite to win TUF 7, but ran into a guy named Amir Sadollah. A lot of people did the same, and none of them won against the mma novice, so certainly it was nothing to hang his head about. But he's proven his worth with a three fight win streak inside the UFC, and a win Saturday will earn him another step up the ladder. He's still pretty far down, but an impressive win might earn him a couple steps.

His opponent is making his UFC debut, and I know two things: 1) He owns a 25-3 record; 2) He didn't impress me in this training video posted last month:

Here's the thing...he's obviously big, strong and very athletic, but it looks to me like he's not getting enough oxygen to his muscles. He looked fatigued, his strikes, although powerful, were somewhat slow and I anticipate may be predictable to a solid fighter. You have to be careful with guys that come into the UFC with inflated records. Jason Reinhardt made his UFC debut against Joe Lauzon with an 18-0 record, and Lauzon made him look like a training partner he uses to warm up. I sense we may see the same thing here. Goncalves is a guy that can dominate lesser opponents on the small shows, but in against a more competent fighter, even someone still on the rise like Harris, he may struggle. If Harris can avoid serious damage on the feet in the first round, and perhaps take this to the mat for a bit, I could see Goncalves tiring and breaking down. But Harris will need be cautious with his striking. The guy didn't get the name "Big Rig" because he drives one.

And now, onto the actual picks:

Rampage v. Machida

Besse: Rampage via (T)KO late in round 1 - everyone says Rampage won't catch up to him. Shogun did, why can't he?

Keefe: Rampage via (T)KO in round 2.

Hughes v. Penn

Besse: Penn via (T)KO in round 2 - Baby Jay slowly breaks down Hughes in round 1, avoids a late takedown and finishes in the 2nd.

Keefe: Penn via decision.

Lauzon v. Sotiropoulos

Besse: Lauzon via submission in round 3 - Lauzon survives some scary moments and pulls off a leg lock, potentially behind on the cards.

Keefe: Lauzon via decision.

Davis v. Boetsch

Besse: Davis via decision - Boetsch's strength and competence prevent Davis from the stoppage.

Keefe: Davis via submission in round 1.

Harris v. Goncalves

Besse: Harris via decision - Goncalves starts strong, but Harris survives with a takedown and tires out "Big Rig" for a strong decision victory.

Keefe: Harris via KO in round 2.

There you have it. We'll check in after the fights with results and see how both of us did in picking the winners. Enjoy what should be an exciting fight card in Detroit!

-Bess

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

MMA Rankings 2-10-10

Heavyweight

1. Fedor Emelianko

2. Brock Lesnar

3. Frank Mir

4. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera

5. Randy Couture

6. Josh Barnett

7. Cain Velasquez

8. Shane Carwin

9. Alistair Overeem

10. Brett Rogers

Junior Dos Santos, Gabe Gonzaga, Fabricio Werdum, Ben Rothwell, Cheick Kongo

Light Heavyweight

1. Lyoto Machida

2. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

3. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson

4. Anderson Silva

5. Rashad Evans

6. Gegard Mousasi

7. Forrest Griffin

8. Thiago Silva

9. Antonio Rogerio Noguirea

10. Randy Couture

Luiz Cane, Rich Franklin, Jon Jones, Brandon Vera, Keith Jardine

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva

2. Dan Henderson

3. Vitor Belfort

4. Chael Sonnen

5. Nate Marquardt

6. Jake Shields

7. Robbie Lawler

8. Yoshihiro Akiyama

9. Michael Bisping

10. Yushin Okami

Demian Maia, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Ronaldo Souza, Nick Diaz, Wanderlei Silva

Welterweight

1. Georges St. Pierre

2. Jake Shields

3. Jon Fitch

4. Thiago Alves

5. Nick Diaz

6. Paulo Thiago

7. Josh Koscheck

8. Paul Daley

9. Martin Kampmann

10. Matt Hughes

Dan Hardy, Marius Zaromskis, Matt Serra, Jay Hieron, Mike Swick

Lightweight

1. B.J. Penn

2. Shinya Aoki

3. Eddie Alverez

4. Joachim Hansen

5. Tatsuya Kawajiri

6. Kenny Florian

7. Diego Sanchez

8. Frankie Edgar

9. Gilbert Melendez

10. JZ Cavalcante

Gray Maynard, Mizuto Hirota, Satoru Kitoaka, Sean Sherk, Josh Thomson

-The Sports Brief

The Sports Brief's MMA Rankings 11/23/09

There has been 3 big MMA events since our last rankings, Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers; UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera; and UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin II. Needless to say the rankings have changed since last month. Coming up in December we have The Ultimate Fighter Finale, UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez, Strikeforce: Thompson vs. Melendez, WEC 45, and another SENGOKU event. But before all that let's take a look at the rankings heading into the last month of 2009.

Heavyweight

1. Fedor Emelianko

2. Brock Lesnar

3. Josh Barnett

4. Frank Mir

5. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera

6. Randy Couture

7. Cain Velasquez

8. Shane Carwin

9. Alistair Overeem

10. Brett Rogers

Junior Dos Santos, Cheick Kongo, Gabe Gonzaga, Fabricio Werdum, Ben Rothwell

Light Heavyweight

1. Lyoto Machida

2. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

3. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson

4. Anderson Silva

5. Rashad Evans

6. Forrest Griffin

7. Gegard Mousasi

8. Thiago Silva

9. Antonio Rogerio Noguirea

10. Randy Couture

Luiz Cane, Rich Franklin, Keith Jardine, Tito Ortiz, Babalu Sobral

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva

2. Dan Henderson

3. Vitor Belfort

4. Nate Marquardt

5. Robbie Lawler

6. Yoshihiro Akiyama

7. Jake Shields

8. Michael Bisping

9. Chael Sonnen

10. Yushin Okami

Demian Maia, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Ronaldo Souza, Nick Diaz, Wanderlei Silva

Welterweight

1. Georges St. Pierre

2. Jake Shields

3. Jon Fitch

4. Thiago Alves

5. Josh Koscheck

6. Paul Daley

7. Martin Kampmann

8. Matt Hughes

9. Dan Hardy

10. Mike Swick

Paulo Thiago, Marius Zaromskis, Jay Hieron, Nick Thompson, Carlos Condit

Lightweight

1. B.J. Penn

2. Shinya Aoki

3. Eddie Alverez

4. Joachim Hansen

5. Tatsuya Kawajiri

6. Kenny Florian

7. Diego Sanchez

8. Frankie Edgar

9. Gilbert Melendez

10. JZ Cavalcante

Gray Maynard, Mizuto Hirota, Satoru Kitoaka, Sean Sherk, Josh Thomson

Let's hear it for Brazil!

The 2016 Summer Olympics, Pele, the Brazilian Women's soccer team, so why not add 2 of the very best in the world of mixed martial arts. Saturday night in Los Angeles the undefeated Lyoto Machida put his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship belt on the line against the 18-3 and former Pride Grand Prix Champ Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. I was going to bet on Shogun and his +375 line, however I am at odds with my previously bet taking website, so decided to not wager on the fight.

I am glad that I didn't, because I would have lost my mind, in addition to $25-$50 bucks. (I'm not going to bet the house on an underdog, no matter how good the feeling, just can't do it.) Shogun lost the fight to Machida by unanimous decision 48-47 on all the judges scorecards.

I felt that Shogun definitely won 2 rounds, Machida definitely won 1 run with 2 being toss ups, apparently those 2 went to the defending champ. It looks as though we could see an automatic rematch between these two Brazilian fighters, and that makes sense on a bunch of levels. Rampage Jackson appears to still be retired (the next best 205 pound fighter in the world), and middleweight champ Anderson Silva, who embarrassed former champ Forrest Griffin has said he would not fight his friend and training partner Machida.

Who else is deserving of a shot? Rashad Evans? Not right now he's not. Wanderlei Silva? Nope. Keith Jardine? No thanks, and on down the line. Because it was such a close decision, I love the idea of Machida vs. Shogun II.

In addition to Brazil, let's hear it for Tristan Besse who went 9-2 on his UFC 104 picks including a perfect 5-0 on the main card. Certainly better than BJal's Lock du Jour and Keefe's Pick 3.

-Keefe

*Keefe's 2009-2010 NBA Preview Coming Soon...

UFC 104 picks

Tonight from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA, Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida makes his first defense of the light heavyweight title against a surging Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. This could be one of the more exciting fights of the year, with two prolific strikers doing battle in the Octagon. Rua will no doubt be the aggressor, with his devastating Muay Tai skills contrasting the patient, elusive yet explosive striking of "The Dragon", who has knocked his last two opponents out cold. The co-main event is decent, with rising heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez taking on savvy veteran Ben Rothwell. Velasquez was supposed to be taking on Shane Carwin in a #1 contender spot, but they needed Carwin to step in and face Brock Lesnar at UFC106. This will be a good test for the young Mexican fighter. Here are my picks for tonight's card:

Main card

Machida over Rua via (T)KO in the 3rd round
Velasquez over Rothwell via decision
"Rumble" Johnson over Yoshida via KO in the 1st round
*Note that Johnson's unprofessionalism brought him in at 176 pounds, 5 pounds over the 171 contracted weight. While he's probably reeling from cutting down from 220 pounds, he'll probably weigh almost 190 in the cage tonight.
Tibau over Neer via submission (guillotine choke) in the 2nd round
Stevenson over Fisher via decision

Preliminary bouts

Okami over Sonnen via decision
Hardonk over Barry via (T)KO in the 1st round
Bader over Schafer via decision
Rivera over Kimmons via (T)KO in the 2nd round
Kingsbury over Al-Hassan via decision
Struve over Gormley via submission (rear-naked choke) in the 1st round

Enjoy the fights.

-Bess

The Sports Brief's MMA Rankings (9/21/09)

Heavyweight:

1. Fedor Emelianenko

2. Brock Lesnar

3. Josh Barnett

4. Frank Mir

5. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

6. Alistair Overeem

7. Shane Carwin

8. Randy Couture

9. Cain Velasquez

10. Brett Rogers

Junior Dos Santos, Chiek Kongo, Andrei Arlovski, Gabriel Gonzaga, Ben Rothwell, Fabricio Werdum, Heath Herring, Aleksander Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop

Light Heavyweight:

1. Lyoto Machida

2. Quinton Jackson

3. Rashad Evans

4. Anderson Silva

5. Forrest Griffin

6. Gegard Mousasi

7. Maurcio ‘Shogun’ Rua

8. Luiz Cane

9. Thiago Silva

10. Babalu Sobral

Rich Franklin, Keith Jardine, Brandon Vera, Chuck Liddell, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Tito Ortiz, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Vladimir Matyushenko, Jon Jones

Middleweight:

1. Anderson Silva

2. Dan Henderson

3. Vitor Belfort

4. Yushin Okami

5. Nathan Marquardt

6. Robbie Lawler

7. Jorge Santiago

8. Yoshihiro Akiyama

9. Demian Maia

10. Cung Le

Michael Bisping, Thales Leites, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Matt Lindland, Denis Kang, Chael Sonnen, Paulo Filho, Patrick Cote, Nick Diaz, Kazuo Misaki, Ronaldo Souza, Jake Rosholt

Welterweight:

1. Georges St. Pierre

2. Jake Shields

3. Jon Fitch

4. Thiago Alves

5. Josh Koscheck

6. Mike Swick

7. Paul Daley

8. Martin Kampmann

9. Matt Hughes

10. Paulo Thiago

Marius Zaromskis, Jay Hieron, Nick Thompson, Dan Hardy, Karo Parisyan, Matt Serra, Carlos Condit, Marcus Davis, Drew Fickett, Frank Trigg, Ricardo Almeida

Lightweight:

1. BJ Penn

2. Shinya Aoki

3. Eddie Alverez

4. Joachim Hansen

5. Tatsuya Kawajiri

6. Kenny Florian

7. Diego Sanchez

8. Frankie Edgar

9. Gilbert Melendez

10. JZ Cavalcante

Gray Maynard, Mizuto Hirota, Satoru Kitaoka, Sean Sherk, Josh Thomson, Takanori Gomi, KJ Noons, Nate Diaz, Victor Ribero, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta

Pound 4 Pound

1. Anderson Silva

2. Fedor Emelianenko

3. Georges St. Pierre

4. BJ Penn

5. Lyoto Machida

6. Mike Brown

7. Quinton Jackson

8. Brian Bowles

9. Gegard Mousasi

10. Brock Lesnar

-The Sports Brief

Check out how The Greek did in his Week 2 NFL picks, below.

The Sports Brief's MMA Rankings (8/17/09)

It's time now for another edition of The Sports Brief's MMA Rankings. A few major cards have already taken place this month, including UFC 101 and Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborgs, that have shaken up the Top 10s. One major change is Gegard Mousasi, who defeated Babablu in just 60 seconds time over the weekend in first fight in the US. He is now the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champ, therefore he is out of the middleweight rankings.

The king of the middleweights, Anderson Silva, shows up in the LHW rankings as well after his distruction of Forrest Griffin at UFC 101. Also you will see the return of our Pound 4 Pound Rankings. Take a look at them all and let the debate begin.

Heavyweight:

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Josh Barnett
4. Frank Mir
5. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
6. Randy Couture
7. Alistair Overeem
8. Shane Carwin
9. Cain Velasquez
10. Brett Rogers

Chiek Kongo, Andrei Arlovski, Gabriel Gonzaga, Ben Rothwell, Fabricio Werdum, Heath Herring, Aleksander Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, Junior Dos Santos


Light Heavyweight:

1. Lyoto Machida
2. Quinton Jackson
3. Rashad Evans
4. Anderson Silva
5. Forrest Griffin
6. Gegard Mousasi
7. Maurcio ‘Shogun’ Rua
8. Luiz Cane
9. Babalu Sobral
10. Rich Franklin

Keith Jardine, Thiago Silva, Chuck Liddell, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Tito Ortiz, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Vladimir Matyushenko, Brandon Vera, Jon Jones


Middleweight:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Yushin Okami
4. Vitor Belfort
5. Robbie Lawler
6. Nathan Marquardt
7. Demian Maia
8. Jorge Santiago
9. Yoshihiro Akiyama
10. Cung Le

Michael Bisping, Thales Leites, Ricardo Almeida, Matt Lindland, Denis Kang, Chael Sonnen, Paulo Filho, Frank Trigg, Patrick Cote, Frank Shamrock, Kazuo Misaki, Chris Leben, Ronaldo Souza

We know Cung Le hasn't fought in 20 years (March of 2008 to be exact), but we heard he's coming back to action. Plus someone had to replace Mousasi on the Top 10 and we couldn't find anyone truly deserving.

Welterweight:

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jake Shields
3. Jon Fitch
4. Thiago Alves
5. Martin Kampmann
6. Josh Koscheck
7. Mike Swick
8. Matt Hughes
9. Paulo Thiago
10. Marius Zaromskis

Jay Hieron Nick Thompson, Dan Hardy, Karo Parisyan, Matt Serra, Carlos Condit, Marcus Davis, Drew Fickett, Frank Trigg

Lightweight:

1. BJ Penn
2. Shinya Aoki
3. Eddie Alverez
4. Joachim Hansen
5. Tatsuya Kawajiri
6. Kenny Florian
7. Gray Maynard
8. Frankie Edgar
9. Diego Sanchez
10. Gilbert Melendez

JZ Cavalcante, Mizuto Hirota, Satoru Kitaoka, Sean Sherk, Josh Thomson, Takanori Gomi, KJ Noons, Nick Diaz, Victor Ribero, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta

Pound 4 Pound

1. Anderson Silva
2. Fedor Emelianenko
3. Georges St. Pierre
4. BJ Penn
5. Lyoto Machida
6. Mike Brown
7. Quinton Jackson
8. Brian Bowles
9. Gegard Mousasi
10. Brock Lesnar

-The Sports Brief

The Sports Brief's MMA Rankings (7-20-09)

Not going to hit you with a lot of fluff on this addition of the MMA Rankings. August is going to be a big month with many of our top fighters in action against each other, starting Aug. 1st with Affliction's latest card. Sengoku, Strikeforce, WEC, and two count em 2 UFC events all take place next month. Since our last rankings we've had a few cards highlighted by UFC 100 and last night's Dream 10. Let's get to the rankings.

Heavyweight

1. Fedor Emelianeko
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Josh Barnett
4. Frank Mir
5. Antonia Rodrigo Nogueira
6. Randy Couture
7. Alistair Overeem
8. Shane Carwin
9. Cain Velasquez
10. Brett Rogers

Honorable Mention: Andrei Arlovski, Gabriel Gonzaga, Cheick Kongo, Ben Rothwell, Fabricio Werdum, Heath Herring, Aleksander Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, Junior Dos Santos, Roy Nelson

Light Heavyweight

1. Lyoto Machida
2. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
3. Rashad Evans
4. Forrest Griffin
5. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
6. Renato “Babalu” Sobral
7. Luis Arthur Cane
8. Rich Franklin
9. Keith Jardine
10. Thiago Silva

Honorable Mentions: Gegard Mousasi, Chuck Liddell, Brandon Vera, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Tito Ortiz, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Vladimir Matyushenko, Jon Jones

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Gegard Mousasi
4. Yushin Okami
5. Vitor Belfort
6. Robbie Lawler
7. Nate Marquardt
8. Demian Maia

9. Jorge Santiago
10. Yoshihiro Akiyama

Honorable Mention: Michael Bisping, Cung Le, Nick Diaz, Wanderlei Silva, Matt Lindland, Denis Kang, Chael Sonnen, Paulo Filho, Frank Trigg, Patrick Cote, Frank Shamrock, Kazuo Misaki, Chris Leben, Ricardo Almeida, Ronaldo Souza

Welterweight

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jake Shields
3. Jon Fitch
4. Thiago Alves
5. Martin Kampmann
6. Josh Koscheck
7. Mike Swick

8. Matt Hughes

9. Paulo Thiago
10. Marius Zaromskis*

Honorable Mention: Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz, Dan Hardy, Marcus Davis, Matt Serra, Nick Thompson, Jay Hieron, Karo Parysian, Frank Trigg

*Winner of the Dream Welterweight Grand Prix

Lightweight

1. BJ Penn
2. Shinya Aoki
3. Eddie Alvarez
4. Kenny Florian
5. Joachim Hansen
6. Satoru Kitaoka
7. Tatsuya Kawijiri
8. Gray Maynard
9. Frankie Edgar
10. Diego Sanchez

Honorable Mention: JZ Cavalcante, Gilbert Melendez, Sean Sherk, Josh Thomson, Clay Guida, Nick Diaz, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta, KJ Noons

-The Sports Brief