MMA Fedor Frenzy MMA LIFE SHOP

Fedor Emelianenko?s management team met with the UFC earlier this week in Las Vegas, Nevada, and negotiations continued into the late evening on Thursday. Unfortunately for Emelianenko and UFC fans, they left on a plane back to Russia on Friday without being able to reach an agreement. However, there only seems to be a couple issues that they have requested the UFC to think over.



Pride?s reigning Heavyweight Champion?s managers, Vadim Finkelstein and Apy Echteld, told Sherdog that even though financially, the UFC?s offer is significantly higher than what the other organizations are offering, the other organizations, such as K-1 HERO'S, EliteX, IFL, Strikeforce, and M-1, are allowing Emelianenko the ability to fight for other promotions during his contract, and are willing to guarantee his contract as well.







"The point about exclusivity, the point about his champion's clause, and the point of cutting off the contract are the basic things we have to work on," Echteld told Sherdog. "At the end of the day we are not talking about stupid things. For us it sounds reasonable. We are promoting ourselves; we know how it is to work as promoter, so we think we know how to treat or how to deal with a champion. Fedor doesn't want to be compared to a nobody who is going to start fighting. He is already champion. That's it. We want to have a little bit more respect. I think the UFC has all our points and we expect them to respond to that, not that we have to push and ask for answers."



Since the purchase of Pride FC was finalized by Zuffa, UFC?s parent company, in March, Pride fighters have been scrambling to find new homes. The most logical move for most was to fight in the States for the UFC, the rout that current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton ?Rampage? Jackson, Mirko ?Cro Cop? Filipovic, and Current Pride Light Heavyweight and Middleweight Champion Dan ?Hollywood? Henderson chose to take.



However, when you are dubbed the Best MMA Fighter in the world amongst the MMA community, Emelianenko feels that there are certain stipulations and freedoms that he is entitled to. This has been a long and drawn out process for the UFC in trying to acquire the greatest fighter, but if they are able to close the deal, the reward will be worth the journey.



TOM?S TWO CENTS: Understandably, the UFC doesn?t want Fedor to be able to fight for other organizations, and why should they? If they are investing that much money on a fighter, a rumored Million per fight, it wouldn?t make sense for them to allow him to risk injury fighting for another organization. At the same time, if Fedor were to become UFC Champion and wind up losing a fight as the UFC champion on another organization?s card, that would simply devalue the UFC Heavyweight belt. That is a lose-lose situation for the UFC , and Team Fedor must, and I am sure does, understand that.



Team Fedor?s reasoning for wanting the luxury of fighting in other promotions is so they can better market their fighter. My question is, what organization out there is better at providing exposure and fame like the UFC? There is a reason why White is considered the modern day Don King, he can promote anything and anyone. The UFC is the crown jewel of MMA organizations, there is no other place that he can go that will allow as many eyes to be on him.



For Fedor?s exclusivity, the UFC should concede the guaranteed contract . Sure there is a steep financial risk if Fedor doesn?t perform to his previous abilities, but more than likely he will. The UFC has prided themselves on taking chances in the past, and have always come out on top. This situation should be no different. Fedor is only 29 years old entering the prime of his career, things will only get better for him at this point. Fedor is theirs to lose, and if they he doesn?t fight in the UFC, all MMA fans will lose.

MMA Aftermath Of Being Undisputed MMA LIFE SHOP

Quinton ?Rampage? Jackson left no doubt about who?s the undisputed Light Heavyweight champion of the world. He out-pointed ?Dangerous? Dan Henderson who himself looked very impressive, but just couldn?t get the fight to go his way. I do believe that Henderson will stay at 205 pounds and be a top 5 fighter, and will eventually get a rematch with Jackson. The aforementioned Jackson must now wait for the winner for the Mauricio ?Shogun? Rua fight against Forrest Griffin. If ?Shogun? is victorious as many of us expect, then he?ll be the no-brainer #1 contender for the undisputed champion.



Forrest Griffin will definitely prove to be a game opponent for Rua, and with the recent unexpected outcomes in MMA you never really know what will happen. Assuming though that Rua gets past Griffin, the potential #1 vs. #2 Light Heavyweight bout should take place at the first event of the New Year if both fighters are physically cleared to fight. These are dangerous times for Jackson though, as his new found popularity is going to be a distraction as his trainer Juanito has already mentioned that MTV and several other networks are pitching reality shows at the flamboyant champ.







As we saw with Chuck Liddell, when you have distractions it?s easy to lose focus and forget about what got you to the show. Liddell?s bout on a morning show where he looked like he was drunk was followed up by rumors of excessive partying in the week leading up to his rematch with ?Rampage? Jackson may have cost him his belt. Nobody is exempt from having the lights be a little too bright for their own good.



The only thing that is going to be clear though is that fans are foaming at the mouth to see a rematch between Brazil?s Mauricio ?Shogun? Rua and Quinton ?Rampage? Jackson. There?s no limit to the amount of hype that would be surrounding that fight, the first hurdle has already past, no we?ll have to wait until September 22nd on Pay-Per-View from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

MMA Conor McGregor issues statement, says he's not retired after all - MMA Fighting MMA LIFE SHOP

That's the question that has been bothering me for years. And probably like you, I have a natural bias to support my decision based on what I am... a BJJer. But in spite of that bias, I'm gonna tackle this question as objectively as possible to support my theory. So, just bear with me before you call me an idiot.

Ok, the answer to the question are wrestlers tougher than BJJers is... yes and no.

Why, you ask?

The reason that I say wrestlers are tougher than BJJers is because of the way they train and the mindset that's ingrained (overtly and covertly) within the training. If you've ever been around wrestlers for any period of time, it's easy to notice common traits they possess, regardless of whether they're pee-wee, master/veterans level wrestler, and every level in

between.

And what stands out in my mind about wrestlers are these common characteristics:

- They're always aggressive on the mat

- They usually attack first

- They're not afraid to work hard, even to point of complete exhaustion

- They'll fight anybody, regardless of size

- They're all a little cocky about their skill set

- They believe they can beat anyone in the world that faces them

- They don't quit on themselves during a match and if they do, they're destroying something as soon as the match is over

- They hate losing at anything

- They basically evaluate grapplers in two categories: you're either tough or a punk

Now, are those characteristics that BJJers don't possess? No, that's not what I'm saying at all.

It's not that BJJers can't have that tough mindset that I've mentioned above because many do, especially those schools that are involved in various competitive events (e.g. BJJ Tourneys, MMA Events, etc).

What I believe is the way that BJJ has been marketed (e.g. an art for a smaller man to win against a bigger man, technique not strength, etc.) for average Joe has made it easier for the "toughness" aspect to be downplayed (or even removed) from the daily training, especially when a certain amount of people are paying to learn how to grapple as a recreational activity.

And since instructors must create friendly training environments where all students (from MMAers to couch potatoes) can train and not feel physically overwhelmed, it's easy for an environment to evolve

where an instructor or coach has to:

- "Protect" certain grapplers from training with other grapplers

- Allow grapplers to skip certain part of the workout (e.g. warm-ups) so they won't be too tired

- Allow grapplers to not train because they're getting tired and don't want to lose

- Avoid certain training situations (e.g. takedowns) for fear of injury or it's too exhausting

- Displaying passive behavior on the mat

- Quitting during matches with impunity

And while that may be the "right" thing to do as far as business is concerned, that approach makes it easy to remove the element of toughness that's automatically ingrained within BJJ training to make it "safer and friendly" for the potential student.

And once many students realize how demanding the training can be, they usually quit before ever achieving a purple or even a blue belt.

What's the solution for the BJJer? Well, I think the solution lies in the question itself. I don't really think it's important to improve who's tougher, but I think it's quite obvious that we should lean towards wrestlers to learn how to engrain the tough mental mindset into grappling training, for grapplers of all ages to learn.

MMA ?hollywood? To Put On A Show MMA LIFE SHOP

It has taken nearly nine years, two Pride title belts and a 22-5 record to bring Dan ?Hollywood? Henderson to get back into the UFC. Henderson has already become the only fighter in MMA history to simultaneously hold two title belts in different weight classes, and at UFC 75 will again look to write a new page in the record books by unifying title belts. If Henderson is able to beat Quinton ?Rampage? Jackson for the UFC Light Heavyweight belt, he will be the first ever to become the Undisputed World Light Heavyweight Champion.



Although Henderson has accomplished so much in his MMA career, including his most impressive victory over Wanderlei Silva in his last fight, many people are counting him out against Jackson.







"People may think I'm the underdog because they don't know me. But in my mind I'm not the underdog," said Henderson. "They will definitely know who I am after this fight, especially after I beat the hell out of Quinton."



Henderson comes from a decorated wrestling background, and has deadly knockout power, especially with his left hand, just ask Silva. But in comparison to the reigning UFC Champ, Henderson feels that he has advantages across the board.



"I've got a little bit better grappling. I'm a little smarter when I'm out there," Henderson said. "I don't make as many mistakes. He's athletic, but so am I. I feel I have the bigger heart ... I don't have any quit in me."



Henderson feels that although Jackson is a talented fighter, he tends to take too many chances and is rather unpredictable with his striking and ground game.



"Quinton is more skilled and technical as a striker than Silva," Henderson states. "Quinton's athleticism and explosiveness gets him out of a lot of those mistakes that he makes. He gets caught in triangles and arm-bars and powers out of a lot of stuff that a lot of people don't when they get caught in those positions."



Look for Henderson to try and exploit Jackson?s mistakes utilizing his superior ground game to possibly squeak out a decision. Out of Henderson?s twenty-two victories, eleven of them have been left at the hands of the judges.



However, don?t let that number fool you. As most MMA fighters with strong wrestling backgrounds, they do look to win most of their matches by decision. Henderson is a different bread in a sense that ten of his victories have come in explosive (T)KO fashion.



So Henderson feels that he is ready for anything, and he hopes that the current UFC Champ is too.



"Quinton is going to try to take me down a little more than Silva. He's going to try to knock me out just like Wanderlei did," said Henderson, who's devised a way to counter Jackson's solid striking ability. "I've been working on my left hand a little bit more."



Whether this fight is decided on their backs or their feet, it is guaranteed to be an exciting show. Come September 8th, the lights will be on, the curtain will be drawn and the cameras will be rolling as these fighters look to make history.

MMA Fight Night, Heck Of A Night MMA LIFE SHOP

With the lack of big names that previous UFC Fight Nights have had in the past, many MMA fans looked past Wednesday?s Fight Night 11 in anticipation of UFC 76 on Saturday.



Unfortunately for those that decided not to tune in, you missed a hand full of exciting fights. Nate Quarry and Chris Leban were both on the brink of defeat in their fights, but both managed to dig deep and pull out surprising knockouts.







Kenny Florian continues to show his ever improving MMA game, finishing Din Thomas in a Rear Naked Choke in the 1st Round. Florian stated after the fight that he makes it a point to finish his fights, perhaps again taking another jab at current UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk, who has won his last three fights by uneventful decisions.



This is the second time that Florian has made this comment after a fight, making a similar statement after his last victory over Alvin Robinson at UFC 73. ?Coincidentally,? Sherk had just Lay N? Prayed his way to a five round unanimous decision over Hermes Franca right before Florian?s fight. Thomas seemed to have hurt his knee when he shot on Florian, allowing Florian to set up the choke.



For those of you that missed it, here is a recap of the night's fights:



Undercard Bouts:



Dustin Hazelett beat Jonathan Goulet by an Armbar Submission at 1:14 in the 1st Round



Thiago Alves beat Kuniyoshi Hironaka by TKO due to strikes at 4:04 in the 2nd Round



Gray Maynard beat Joe Veres by TKO due to strikes at :09 seconds in the 1st Round



Cole Miller beat Leonard Garcia by Unanimous Decision (30-27x2, 29-28)



Luke Cummo beat Edilberto de Oliveira by TKO due to strikes at 1:45 in the 1st Round



Main Card Bouts:



Nate Quarry beat Pete Sell by TKO due to strikes at :44 seconds in the 3rd Round



Nate Diaz beat Junior Assuncao by a Guillotine Choke Submission at 4:10 in the 1st Round



Chris Leben beat Terry Martin by KO at 3:56 in the 3rd Round



Kenny Florian beat Din Thomas by a Rear Naked Choke Submission at 4:31 in the 1st Round