Kalib Starnes Is Still A Wuss

Kalib Starnes made a statement of his horrible UFC 83 performance. He basically admitted to being afraid of being knocked out.

Here's his writeup:

I was never on any Montreal radio show. If anyone knows what radio show that I allegedly appeared on, or has any recording of it or any evidence of it whatsoever I would love to know about it. So far I've only heard rumors and allegations. I did not throw the fight, the fight was not a protest against the UFC.

I will say again what I've said before; I had the game plan of circling and moving to stay out of exchanges and to work off of my jab because he hits so hard, to avoid the clinch because he was very strong and I'd taken knees and elbows there in my previous fight, and to throw some kicks as the fight wore on.

I threw 35 punches in the first round and I would have thrown a lot more had I landed any of them, but I found him very difficult to hit and he was counter punching whenever I would step in, with one of those counter punches almost dropping me early. Most of my takedowns come out of the clinch and when I tried to switch it up and get position in the clinch to take him down I couldn't do it because he seemed much stronger than me.

In the second round it was more of the same except that he almost knocked me out again early which made me more hesitant to throw punches so I decided to throw some kicks and at about 2 minutes into round two I threw a low right roundhouse kick that hit his shin awkwardly and I broke my foot, which stopped me from throwing anymore kicks, other than a few tentative kicks with my left leg. **That is not an excuse for losing it is simply something that happened and for me to mention it I think is quite reasonable.

I found myself in a fight where I couldn't stand with the guy, he was awkward and he hit hard having almost knocked me out three times in the fight, I couldn't take him down and work my ground game (I got him down only once and just managed to land a few shots because he got up so fast), and so I felt like I could either keep moving or get knocked out. Then late in the third he started to mock me out of frustration, but really at that point, I was just a solidly beaten fighter who was trying not to get knocked out, and had fallen into a pattern that I couldn't get out of. It was the worst athletic performance of my life.

Afterword his cornerman was swearing at me and calling me names, I responded to him by calling him names and telling him that he should get in there and fight then, meaning fight in the UFC, not fight me. He apologized to me afterword I suppose realizing that he was out of line, and so did Nate and I know that they were both acting out of frustration and so I forgave them and apologized in return for losing my temper. I think it's rediculous that he be made into some kind of hero for mocking a guy that he just beat the crap out of, and I felt forced into retreating because he had such a good offense. I didn't choose to do it as some kind of protest. I did try to win that fight and I did show up to fight, I don't care what Dana White says, I just wasn't good enough on that day to do it. I have no excuses for losing the fight.

If you want a copy of my medical records the guys at Sherdog can contact me, or Primo at ATT and you'll be provided with that. I can't speak for anyone else, but I have never said that the UFC does not cover a fighters medical expenses, I'm dealing with their medical claims department right now regarding my broken foot and other injuries sustained at UFC 83, and up until this point they have honored their obligations.

I have as much right to discuss what fighters are paid as anyone else and I know a lot about the subject having fought for the organization in some capacity seven times. Believe me, you're paid if you win and tossed aside like garbage if you lose. Until these guys learn to market themselves the payouts are going to remain pathetic compared to boxing and the UFC's little traveling circus will roam from town to town with the billionaires raking in the cash while the fighters split up about five percent of the take between them.

What prompted me to discuss it were comments about it being wise to get knocked out as opposed to moving out of the way, apparently from brain injury advocates who've taken their own advice. I'm not retiring and I've already been offered more than I ever made at the UFC, which was $5,000 and $5000, plus $30000 fight of the night (which they gave me because I had no heart), plus an additional $25000 (because I don't belong in the UFC presumably). That's $65,000 you clever little monkeys, but remember that if I'd lost I would have walked away with a sweet $5000 and a kick in the ass, because they only pay the winners. The only problem with that is, somebody loses every time.

He doesn't care about running like a pussy but I'd rather get knocked out then run. It's like me saying I don't want to make tackles in rugby because I'll get a head injury or I won't body check a guy because I'll get hurt in hockey. He's a UFC fighter who didn't have a fighter's mentality.

If given the choice, I'd step in the ring to get knocked out in 5 seconds.

UFC 82 Predictions: Silva vs. Henderson

Just a quick post.

Dan Henderson vs. Anderson Silva

Winner: Henderson
I'm rooting for Spyder though. Henderson is such a great all-round fighter, Silva may be screwed.

Cheick Kongo vs Heath Herring
Winner: Herring.
Not a fan of Kongo, his defeat over Cro-cop was lackluster.

Yushin Okami vs. Evan Tanner
Winner: Okami
Okami is too good, he should see himself get the next title shot.

Jon Fitch vs Chris Wilson
Winner: Fitch
I see Fitch getting a title shot soon as well.

Diego Sanchez vs. David Bielkheden
Winner: Sanchez
He needs this.

Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O'Brien
Winner: Pitbull

Koscheck will win, don't know about the two other fights.

UFC 78: Validation Predictions

I have run into a sports blogging hiatus...mainly to work on the music site that actually gets readers.

Rashad Evans vs. Michael Bisping
Winner: Rashad Evans. Mainly because I hate Bisping. I think Evans is too well-rounded anyway for Bisping.

Karo Parisyan vs Ryo Chonan
Winner: Parisyan, don't know enough about Chonan to honestly say. Parisyan needs this to get back into the thick of things.

Houston Alexander vs. Thiago Silva
Winner: Houston Alexander. I haen't seen Silva enough but this one could go either way. Alexander is an aged veteran though and he needs this.

Spencer Fisher vs. Frank Edgar
Winner: Edgar.

Ed Herman vs. Joe Doerksen
Winner: Doerksen.

UFC in Montreal Put On Hold Again

Another disappointment with the UFC. Basically a scheduled UFC event was to take place in January in the Bell Centre (Montreal). We have a few fighters who represent us well though I think we would all like to see a UFC event here as Europe has received many shows but we arguably have one of the better fighters in the world in GSP.

I really don't have much to contribute in the way of content today but bring the UFC to Canada already!!

It would be a good excuse to visit Montreal if they organized an event...

UFC 77 Hostile Territory Picks

Another month, another UFC event. There has been some news stories that have overshadowed this event I would say but either way it should be good (going to have to watch this next week).

Here are my picks

Anderson Silva vs Rich Franklin:
Winner: Anderson "The Spider Silva". I personally think he is too good standing up that we will see a fight like the rematch. Silva has proven to be an elite striker.

Brandon Vera vs. Tim Sylvia
Winner: Brandon "The Truth" Vera. Vera hasn't fought in awhile and he has been shown in some replay fights as very impressive. I think just based on excitement factor I'll pick Vera to win the fight.

Eric Shafer vs Stephan Bonnar
Winner: Stephan Bonnar. Bonnar is probably going to try to catch up to his TUF counterparts including the light heavyweight contender Forrest Griffin. People will be rooting for Bonnar despite the steroid issue.

Kalib Starnes vs Alan Belcher
Winner: Kalib Starnes. How can I pick against a Canadian? Starnes impressive win over Chris Leben means a lot more now especially since Belcher lost to Grove so easily (and Grove lost to Cote).

Yushin Okami vs. Jason MacDonald
Winner; Yushin Okami. I was impressed at the last part of the match when Okami faced Frankin. Okami has the skills to win and get back near the top of the middleweight ladder.

Dana White Needs to Stop Insulting the Fans

Dana White has continuously insulted "The MMA Web Sites" for the news that is reported and generally the content found regarding the MMA World and that usually involves their UFC fighters.

Things like Sherdog are a great asset to fans. Dana White has been critical of the rankings saying certain fighters don't belong as number one fighters. One of these involves the ranking of Fedor Emelianenko who is considered the number one heavyweight almost everywhere.

He claims these guys are being constantly overrated as they have yet to stop the octagon. It's a fair enough argument but White is obviously trying to posture himself to get better leverage and that's hard to do with all the MMA web sites. After all it is what the fans opinions are and that's how White is inadvertently saying a "F-- You" to the fans without actually saying so.

Even if White feels as if Emelianenko is not the #1 heavyweight, the fans won't change their opinion unless he actually fights against one of UFC's top challengers. That window has seemed to pass and more fans are upset that they won't see the perceived #1 fighter in the world.

White needs to get the fights we want to see. Isn't that his job?

Picture from Knuckle Pit

Randy Couture Resigns from UFC, To Join Fedor?

The UFC before was looking for challengers for Randy Couture for the Heavy Weight championship.
On Thursday a big news story was that Couture was Resigning but not retiring from the UFC. Basically that means that the UFC is without a real top flight heavyweight which is supposed to be the classes of classes.

Some rumors going around is that Couture is expected to fight Fedor but we will have to see if that happens.

I think it is big news because this may start the beginning of the end for the UFC. Some guys with big wallets are looking to enter the game (Cuban) and it can really start a war and inflate money given to the fighters. It will be an interesting angle to watch just like WWE vs the WCW.

One of Couture's reasoning for leaving was due to the pay scale and he plans to just do movies. I do respect him despite his poor record. He is a great announcer and has proved time and time again as a good coach bringing up many fighters.

I am still going to watch the UFC but as I get more interested in the MMA sport, if other ventures have some really good fights I am not going to be able to resist not watching those.

Jardine beats Iceman, Forrest beats Shogun!!!

UFC Knockout displayed a Pay Per View that has turned up the light heavyweight division upside down.

The two main matches featured former participants of "The Ultimate Fighter" but these upsets were huge. The ones who did say that were chances of an upset weren't all that committed to it as it was a long shot that both would win the fight.

I think I like this part of the UFC as it should be unpredictable and have smaller guys come up big.

This makes UFC interesting and now I've got to see the fights. Totally crazy what happened!

UFC 76 Knockout Predictions

I am going to include the preliminary card as I attempt to expand my "knowledge" or lack thereof.

Chuck Liddell vs. Keith Jardine
Winner: Chuck Liddell. Jardine is not even in the class of Iceman. Liddell lost to arguably one of the better fighters in the world, Rampage Jackson. Jardine is coming off a 48 seconds loss as well (albeit to Houston Alexander). Jardine didn't do anything to earn this fight and I think it's just a stepping stone for Liddell to come back.

Mauricio Rua vs Forrest Griffin
Winner: Shogun Rua. Rua has beaten some pretty big fighters including Rampage. Forrest Griffin has yet to beat a top fighter and while winning this fight will propel him to get a title shot I don't see it happening. I wasn't really impressed in his fight against Ramirez.

Diego Sanchez vs Jon Fitch
Winner: Diego Sanchez. I am choosing this based on Diego really needing to move back near the top of the welterweight division after his loss to Koscheck. Fitch based on his track record could pull off the win and this looks like the best card of the night on paper.

Lyoto Machida vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
Winner: Lyoto Machida. I know nothing about these two fighters and this is based on track record and Nakamura hasn't fought in over a year.

Tyson Griffin vs Thiago Tavares
Winner: Griffin. Based on me seeing Griffin vs Guida. I don't remember much about Tavares but I do remember seeing him.

Matt Wiman vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Winner: Wiman. Don't know anything about Omigawa. Wiman was impressive on TUF and Dana White liked him before his upset against Gamburyan.

Jeremy Stephens vs. Diego Saraiva
Winner: Stephens.

Rich Clementi vs Anthony Johnson
Winner: Anthony Johnson.

Scott Junk Vs. Christian Wellisch
Winner: Wellisch. Ugh saw a pic of Scott Junk...he looks like he eats a lot of junk.

Cuban and WWE To Have MMA Promotion?

It's no lie now that if you follow MMA, you have heard the stories surrounding Mark Cuban and his desire to start an MMA promotion and signing the likes of Fedor Emelianenko away from the UFC.

One of the bigger stories that compels me is that Cuban is looking to team up with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

If this is true the UFC should watch out. With two guys with deep pockets, they can buy away some guys and get considerable TV coverage to boot.

The WWE would be wise to move in the MMA scene as the "sports entertainment" business is failing and people want violence to be real. It would also create a nice bridge from having guys go in between the WWE and MMA and it would probably create a larger fan base among fighters.

There will always be a competitor when it comes to organized fighting and while UFC will probably remain popular, Cuban can make some Tidal waves.

Source: MMA Weekly

One Week After the UFC 75 Debacle

It feels as all of the UFC 75 Media coverage on television didn't do UFC any justice.

The recaps on respected channels available in Toronto and in the rest of Canada, Roger's Sportsnet and The Score both cover results of UFC 75. It was FUCKED when they recapped the Cro-Cop disappointment and the Henderson/Rampage fight basically skipping over the HOT topic all across the internet.

On Roger's Sportsnet they ANALYZED the fights. Such as where Cro-Cop would go from the disappointing loss and Henderson's future as he was 37. They made no mention of the WORST judge decision EVER. It was the the top under card for fuck's sake.

This makes me terribly upset as it's just the media trying to withhold the fan reaction to just the internet junkies and not make it a big story that it actually is. Thankfully Kevin Iole is on the people's side. He wrote another article criticizing UFC 75 and giving up some much needed reaction from UFC President Dana White.

The main topic was the way Bisping acted. Bisping is now enemy number one who acted like a fucking jerk. Saying Hamill should go back to wrestling and thinking he won the fight out right. That was NOT the Bisping I liked. The Bisping I liked was not overly cocky and just did his job when he had to fight. Anyway Bisping was asked that he won the fight and he said "Of Course", the reporter then said "Seriously?". Bisping shot back "What do you mean, seriously?" Bisping said. "Do you want to go three rounds? … Of course I won the decision. Get the (expletive) out of here. Get that smile off your face."

Who's willing to pay to see Bisping now? Hamill is now much more respected and while he had a cocky attitude I think he will be liked much more and will have a better career then Bisping. The records don't matter in the end and fan opinion means much more then some stupid record so Bisping has lost out and he's a loser in our hearts.

Recapping what Dana White said he believed Matt Hamill did win the fight (thank god he didn't bullshit that one). One interesting that Kevin Iole did point out is that the UFC regulates all the fights in the UK since there is no governing body to overlook the weigh-ins, the drug testing, referee selection.

The UFC COULD have rigged it and it's probably unlikely they did because the risk is bigger then the gain but Iole points out that they shouldn't come back to the UK after this debacle but White doesn't want to financially.

The UFC can't make a mistake now though. Everyone is watching and if shit like this happens again, fans will abandon the sport and act on their threats of not watching the UFC ever again. I would suggest firing the two judges that made the mistake when going back to the UK and give Hamill more fights AS IF he won that fight.

Matt Hamill vs Michael Bisping Screw Job!!

Tonight on the main card, the match before the main event featured two guys from The Ultimate Fighter 3, Michael "The Count" Bisping against Matt "The Hammer" Hamill.

Bisping is from England where UFC 75 was held so he was clearly the fan favorite. He was also the pre-match favorite by most as he is a very viscous fighter. Hamill is a deaf Div. III wrestler and has previous shown poor stand up.

I first read the spoilers on Sherdog saying that Bisping had won via split decision.

I watched the fight and saw Matt Hamill dominate all 3 rounds easily. To everyone's surprise it was by stand up and Hamill actually let Bisping up after repeated take downs. Even the announcers were admittedly impressed by Hamill's improved stand up.

Then I thought back to the spoiler results. 30-27 for Hamill, 29-28 for Bisping, 29-28 for Bisping. After seeing that fight I am sure that this match was rigged. The fight was lopsided that one judge agreed with me and a lot of the articles are worded as such.

This one has a bad stench to it since Bisping was the hometown favorite and I hope something is done or else I am going to keep recycling these posts. Making someone lose is just wrong.

Mike Bisping turns to one of the fighters I hate by saying Hamill "should go back to wrestling" when he was clearly defeated. Asshole.

This protest by me and others won't end until Dana White steps in and changes the final decision to this judging disgrace.

Watch the fight and the rest of UFC 75 here.

Here are some links that clearly agree with me (to be updated):
UFC 75 Was Rigged Dana White (YouTube Video with tons of F-bombs)
Sherdog Matt Hamill vs Michael Bisping Match Forum Thread
MMA Forum has many discussions and polls up all with the same thoughts.
MMA News Forums Match Discusion - a lot of people with the same opinion
Brit Fans Boo Bisping/Hamill Robbed (on Yahoo, expert with the same opinion)
Fan Reaction on the Wrestling Observer - Dave Meltzer's website
Kokonut Pundit - Bisping Highly Controversial Win.
Bloodly Elbow - Breaking Down Hamill/Bisping

UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion Predictions

Note: I am still a newbie at this level of UFC/MMA Knowledge

Dan Henderson vs. Quinton Rampage Jackson

The Championship vs. Championship match I am really unsure about. I question motived for having such a fight already as a lot of us here in North America don't know much about Henderson and we were just introduced to Rampage. I'd like to think Rampage will win it. Winner: Rampage Jackson.


Matt Hamill vs. Michael Bisping

This should have been the fight in the The Ultimate Fighter Finale. Hamill was taken out unwillingly due to an arm injury and ineligible to win. These are my two favorite fightings. One is absolutely viscous but not cocky at all and Hamill is great despite being deaf. I am going to pick Michael Bisping due to experience. However Hamill's striking is underrated. Should be a great fight.

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović vs. Cheick Kongo

I have to assume the UFC wants Cro Cop back on track after the Gonzaga upset. Kongo doesn't have the track record or experience so I am going with Cro Cop.

Houston Alexander vs Alessio Sakara

Alexander was impressive vs Keith Jardine albeit in 48 seconds it was very action packed. I know very little about Sakara other then him losing to Dean Lister which makes it easy to pick Alexander.

Paul Taylor vs Marcus Davis
Winner: Marcus Davis. I did get to see Marcus Davis fight and he has been a 9 match winning streak. I expect him to continue winning against the hometown favorite.

Dana White is a Pimp!

Dana White is the president of the UFC and is taking North America by a storm with his signings and promotions. They are raking a huge amount of money and the UFC is only getting better and bigger.

Dana White the man behind it isn't like other men who run a sports franchise. He is to me like the Don King of boxing, Mark Cuban of basketball and the Jeremy Roenick of hockey. Dana White has great camera presence, he is huge and command respects.

He isn't stuck up, as much as he is a business man he is more human. He cusses on occasion on many videos. He generally wears his clothing loose.

He looks like a pleasure to interview since he has that charisma many do not. That is why he is a pimp! I have not heard anyone say anything that would say they don't like Dana White.

If you have not heard of Dana White, you will. The UFC is going to start to find you and when you hear about the UFC you'll see Dana White.

Brock Lesnar close to signing with the UFC?

To say there is interest in seeing Brock Lesnar in UFC is a HUGE understatement. Both my friends who are not fans of MMA and generally people online saw Lesnar's first fight where he absolutely dominated a much weaker opponent.

It's unclear how good Brock Lesnar is but he was impressively against a no name fighter. He looked a lot leaner but more fight ready (less of a WWE muscle man look and more of an athletic look). He is obviously a good wrestler with his championship background but he impressed with his fighting ability.

Here is a statement by Dana White:

"I am pretty much going to guarantee you right here that the UFC will get him. Lesnar should have started with us, but we’ll be happy to have him. We are all booked up through 2007, but we would like to have him start after the new year." From Wrestleview.

Apparently Couture would be interested in fighting Lesnar due to their backgrounds. Kurt Angle also stated he would step in the octagon to fight against Dan Puder and Couture.

I don't care much for WWE these days but it is interesting to see how these former WWE guys do.

Couture Defies Logic by Defeating Gonzaga

Randy Couture on paper doesn't look like a great fighter. He is 44-year's old and coming into yesterday's match versus Gabriel Gonzaga, he held a record of 15-8. Couture is also small for the heavyweight class but he can take a punch. He beat Gonzaga who was much younger and larger and while it was a mis-match on paper, Couture pulled one out of the bag. I had Couture losing despite that I have a lot of respect for him.

Overall on my picks I went 3-2 on the night. Not exactly impressive.

I wasn't shocked to see GSP pull out the victory but I was absolutely SHOCKED to see Canadian Patrick Cote beat up Kendall Grove who had his 4 fight winning streak ended. Grove has to seriously recover and Cote will get a chance to prove himself worthy of bigger matches as I deemed Grove as one of the "next ones".

I am going to actually watch UFC 74 now despite already knowing the outcomes.

UFC: 74 Respect Predictions

I have to be honest with you. When it comes to predictions, probably the most uneducated predictions will be right here when it comes to my MMA picks. I have never really posted anything on the UFC but I am a fan. Since I plan to do all sports with this blog, UFC will no longer take a backburner.

Unfortunately due to my lack of MMA knowledge I can only do main card predictions (for now) so here goes:
Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga:
Winner: Gabriel Gonzaga. As much as I like Couture with his history and his commentator skills, he is 44-years old and unless he can get the match to the ground and let it stay that way I don't see how Gonzaga can lose. Gonzaga should probably try to stay on the ground and possibly knocking out. Gonzaga seems very inexperienced but he was very underrated and while I may be biased by his deafeat over Cro-Cop I am hoping I am right.

Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck:
Winner: Georges St. Pierre. St. Pierre can't afford a lost against him again after surprisingly losing to Matt Serra (who I have a lot of respect for). Who doesn't hatw Koshcheck though. He is the most boring fighter who just stays on top of people after taking them down. He surely can take a punch but GSP can run away with it by avoiding that like he did with Matt Hughes.

Joe Stevenson vs Kurt Pellegrino:
Winner: Joe Stevenson. Stevenson is probably one of the more low profiled Ultimate Fighter guys despite being the season 2 winner. Stevenson is more experienced and has fought in much bigger fighters then Pellegrino.

Patrick Cote vs. Kendall Grove:
Winner: Kendall Grove. I am fan of Kendall Grove as he was one of the winners on Ultimate Fighter 3 along with Michael Bisping. I am not a fan of Patrick Cote despite him being Canadian his 1-4 UFC record will probably worsen.

Roger Huerta vs. Alberto Crane:
Winner: Huerta. Crane is a submission specialist, he is my height at 5'5 with an 8-0 record with 7 by the way of submission. Heurta is 18-1 is 5'9 and has an advantage. There can be makings of an upset but I'll go with the safe pick.