Slice underwhelms…but shows growth as a fighter

The highly anticipated bout between Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and Houston “The Assassin” Alexander underwhelmed. What was thought to be a short, fireworks filled slugfest turned out to be a 15-minute bout with a couple of sparks. After the final bell sounded, Slice, 35, and Alexander, 37 were exhausted.

While the bout was a disappointment by the standards set in the run up, the victory for Slice shows his progression as a fighter—and more importantly, a mixed martial artist.

Slice burst onto the national scene during a series of back yard fight videos that made their way to the Internet. To put it simply, he was a marketers dream: a fully bearded big guy who could knock people out.

With the popularity of MMA rising right along with Slice’s notoriety, it seemed only a matter of time before brawls in the backyard turned into bouts in the cage. In 2007, Slice made his professional debut, beating former boxer Ray Mercer just 19 seconds into their three round fight. Those who followed Slice on the Internet were ecstatic. MMA purists were livid.

Victories over former UFC fighter Tank Abbott and James Thompson followed; Slice’s stock once again rose to casual and new fans of the sport. Diehard fans remained unconvinced—citing Slice’s lack of competition.

UFC President Dana White was one of those skeptics.

“They’re feeding him fucking bums,” White told Fight News back in 2008.

“The guy wouldn’t win the fucking Ultimate Fighter.”

And just like that, the proverbial gauntlet was thrown down. Slice saw his stock plummet after a 14-second TKO loss to Seth Petruzelli. After some time away from the spotlight, Slice reemerged on the UFC’s hit reality TV show.

Though season winner Roy Nelson booted Slice out of contention with a second round TKO, only a fool would believe that Slice would be watching the finale from the stands instead of mixing it up in the ring.

When the bout with Houston Alexander was confirmed, fans and commentators alike expected Slice to revert to his old ways. The truth of the matter is that Alexander—who gained notoriety in the UFC by knocking out Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara—looked like a man who had never been in a professional fight in his life. The Nebraskan’s attempts to get Slice to engage failed, allowing Slice to get the better of the few exchanges taking place in that 15 minute time span. The victory says less about Alexander—who, more than likely has seen his last bout in the Octagon—and more about Slice’s evolution as a fighter.

“The goal was to come in and fight,” Slice said before adding, “but you’ve gotta be smart about it.

Slice then went on to break down his strategy, his opponent’s strategy, and his reactions to that strategy as though he’s been training and fighting MMA all his life.

“We trained and prepared for his attacks. I wasn’t prepared for the ring riding he did,” Slice said of Alexander’s unwillingness to engage.

Give Slice all the credit in the world for realizing that patience made the difference between having his hand raised and going down in bitter defeat. “If I would’ve run in there foolishly I would’ve gotten knocked out. A few times, I called him out; I had to call him out of his name, like ‘Let’s do this.’ He stuck to his plan so I wasn’t going to be foolish and run up on him.”

What did happen in the fight turned out to be just as much of a sight as the action that didn’t take place. Slice wowed the crowd, by taking down Alexander in the opening round. Two suplexes and a submission attempt later revealed a markedly different Kimbo Slice than the world had previously known—courtesy of training at American Top Team.

“When I took his back, I was going for the choke hold,” Slice revealed. “When I realized I didn’t have it and he turned into me, I went for something else.”

At this point, Kimbo is a hard man not to root for. Though he was arguably given too much, too fast, he fully understands that MMA is a serious sport. As a result, he’s gotten serious about training.

“I was really thinking street for a minute, but I had to bite down hard and fight smart,” Slice said about his thought process during the bout.

In a moment of candor similar to the many fans were treated to during this season of The Ultimate Fighter, Slice went a little deeper. “It’s hard, it’s not an easy thing,” he continued, discussing the transition from the streets to the pros. “I first was a street fighter. There was no training, I just went in there with my instincts, watched the guy’s movements and countered him. At this level, you have to be almost genius type smart because you have to bottle a lot of things all in one.”

One thing Kimbo hasn’t bottled up is his sense of humor. After openly discussing the difficulty in trimming some 20-pounds from his muscular frame, Slice says he was able to put a few pounds back on in a nontraditional way.

“I put some weight on last night. I ordered up room service—twice.”

Ladies and gentleman, welcome to “The Kimbo Slice Show” courtesy of the UFC.

Slice looking for the knockout

Story by Anthony Springer

From the moment the promos began to run for the highly anticipated tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, the rumors began to fly. In addition to a pair of coaches who have next to no love for each other in “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans, all eyes were on one particular fighter.

That man was Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson.

Slice became an Internet sensation through a series of backyard fight videos that made their way to the Internet. After building up a rep—matched by a look that gave off a Mike Tyson-esque “I’ll eat your children kind of vibe, the backyard brawler made the transition to MMA.

After a disappointing 14-second TKO loss that triggered the demise of his last promotion, Slice made his way to the big stage courtesy of the UFC’s hit reality show.

In the series most anticipated and most watched bout, Slice tasted defeat courtesy of eventual finalist Roy Nelson in the second round. The loss didn’t stop the Slice-Train and the fighter who just wants to bang will find himself once again the subject of much anticipation this weekend at the TUF finale.

The man staring across the Octagon will be another fighter known for slugging it out—Houston Alexander.

Looking at the track records of Slice and Alexander, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know this one isn’t going to the judges. Slice is more than upfront about his expectations for Saturday’s contest.

“I like to stand up, knock a guy out or get knocked out—that’s what you get with me,” he said.

“The Assassin” also sees this as an opportunity to put on an exciting show for the fans.

“I think they saw two guys with the same type of style, that go-getter type of style,” Alexander said in a brief analysis of the bout. “Joe Silva is a great matchmaker; this is a good fight for both of us.”

Not surprisingly, Slice and Alexander have similar feelings about the way the fight is likely to go. Neither man was willing to discuss many of the “what ifs,” signaling that the time for talking is over.

“I want to knock him out,” Slice said. “He’ll knock me out or I’m going to knock him out. I came here to fight. That’s where my mind is at right now.”

The thought of going to the canvas hasn’t entered either man’s mind, but both insist their ready if the fight hits the mat.

“Wherever it goes, it goes,” Alexander stated when posed with the question of fighting on the ground. “I think both of us will be ready for it.”

Hurry Up and Weight

Slice will face Alexander at a 215-pound catch weight fight. The weight cutting process for MMA has cost many fighters come fight night and how Slice deals with cutting 20 pounds from his muscular frame could be the difference in a win or a loss.

Admittedly, the cut has been anything but heaven for the full bearded fighter.

“I’m going to be straight-up honest with you, man, the last time I was at this weight was in middle school,” Slice said of the process. It’s not good. Not good. I’m moody. You just don’t feel the same, it’s mental, but it’s not a good feeling, to be honest with you. I’m a little anxious.”

Conversely, Alexander feels right at home fighting at 215 pounds.

“I’m at my natural weight so I’m good,” the Nebraska fighter stated.” I’m not going to lose anything.”

While Slice acknowledges the changes in his body, his heart and mind are still as strong as ever.

“I’ve got heart and determination and I’m not scared to get hit.”

Griffin edges Ortiz at UFC 106

Octagonside by Andreas Hale and Anthony Springer Jr
Photos courtesy of Josh Hodges, UFC.com

Three years ago at UFC 59, former light heavyweight champions Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin locked horns for the first time. The back-and-forth fight left the crowd electrified, and the judges undecided on who the winner was. When the final bell rang, the judges awarded the bout to the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” via a razor thin – and much debated – split decision.

Since then, Griffin has gained and lost the light heavyweight strap, beaten two of the best 205-pounders in Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Ortiz, on the other hand, suffered a loss to current champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and disappeared from the UFC after failing to come to terms on a new contract. The Southern California fighter has also had a well documented surgery and subsequent recovery for an injured back.

With two storybook careers meeting in the Octagon for a second time, the stage was set for a memorable end to a memorable night.

Forrest entered the cage to Chumbawumba’s 90’s hit “Tubthumping.” The song’s chorus—“I get knocked down, but I get up again, you’re never gonna keep me down”—describes the massive light heavyweight’s career to date. After back to back losses courtesy of Rashad Evans and Anderson Silva, the former police officer emerged from the ashes to headline UFC 106 against the man who narrowly defeated him in their first bout.

On this night, Griffin would have his redemption, using pure work ethic to even the score en route to a razor thin split decision of his own.

True to his word, Ortiz came out looking to make a statement early. He displayed improved striking in the opening moments, catching Griffin with a right cross. A trademark Ortiz takedown followed shortly after, drawing a raucous applause from the Mandalay Bay crowd of 10,529. From the dominant position, Ortiz went to work, battering Griffin’s body and face with punches and elbows. As a big 205-pounder, Griffin would not be kept on the mat for long. After getting out from under Ortiz, Griffin was again hit with an Ortiz combo. But in a sign of what was to come, stuffed an Ortiz takedown late in the opening stanza.

Round two opened up with another overhand right from Ortiz followed by a takedown. With the dominant position once again, Ortiz did indeed make a statement. A left elbow opened up a cut on the left side of Griffin’s face, sending the original Ultimate Fighter’s DNA running like a leaky faucet. The second round would end in seesaw fashion with Griffin sweeping Ortiz to overtake the top position. As the seconds ticked to a close, many believed—rightly, as it turned out—that Griffin stole the round with the sweep and subsequent forearms from the top slot.

With the crowd on their feet as the two cage warriors rose for a final five minutes of battle, Griffin proved that superior cardio makes the difference between a win and a loss. Ahead on one score card, down on another, and all even on the third, Griffin went to work on a visibly exhausted Tito Ortiz. With a gassed Ortiz assuming the role of human punching bag, Griffin punched and kicked his way to what could’ve been an arguable 10-8 round. However, when the bell rang, the capacity crowd was unsure of whose hand would be raised. Ortiz felt he won the fight; Griffin remained unsure.

The judges scored the contest 30-27, 28-29, and 29-28.

With the outcome of the bout now in the history books, Griffin wasted no time advocating for a rubber match.

“Tito, I think we’re going to have to do a third, we’re one and one man,” he said. – Anthony Springer Jr

UFC 106 Post Fight: Ortiz asks for rubber match

Story by Anthony Springer Jr

“I’ll be back.”

Those three words escaped the lips of “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz countless times at the UFC 106 post fight press conference.

Despite dropping a razor-thin split decision to Forrest Griffin, Ortiz was optimistic about his future in the UFC. The hope for the future did not drown out the agony of defeat considering Ortiz feels he won the fight.

“I gave my heart and soul out there and I come out and I fight,” a visibly disappointed Ortiz said. “I don’t look for excuses or anything. I thought I won the fight two rounds to one.”

“I’ll be back…I’m sorry I let my family down, I came in and fought my heart out,” Ortiz added, fighting back tears.

Emotional statements aside, Ortiz was right immediately back at work doing what he does best: selling fights. With a forthcoming rubber match with Forrest Griffin inevitable, Ortiz went to work advocating for himself and Griffin to be coaches on the eleventh season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Griffin and Ortiz have personalities made for television; however, White remained non-committal about the pairings for the next season of the hit reality show.

“I don’t know. I gotta look at it,” White said when asked.

Ortiz, on the other hand, is already convinced. “It’d be awesome,” he said of an Ortiz vs. Griffin season of TUF. “We’d break records with that one.”

Griffin is on the same page as Ortiz—as long as White agrees to the pairing.

“I think me and Tito have the same strategy, which I think I kind of got on board before Tito,” Griffin said jokingly. “It’s do what Dana says. That’s what’s best for you. That’s pretty much been the strategy for the last five years of my life, and it’s worked out pretty good. So I’ll keep doing that.”

The eleventh season of TUF will air on Spike in the spring of 2010. Obviously, no coaching decisions were made last night.

 

Griffin rematches Ortiz at UFC 106

Story by Anthony Springer
Photo by Chris Cozzone

The UFC suffered a major blow when heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar was forced out of his UFC 106 title bout with Shane Carwin due to a severe case of the flu.

With time ticking away and no main event in sight, what did UFC president Dana White do?

He simply bumped the night’s slated co-main event—a rematch between Forrest Griffin (16-6) and Tito Ortiz (16-6-1)—to headlining status.

“It sucks when we have to go rip down some billboards and put up new ones,” a calm White said when asked about the loss of the card’s headlining fight. “In boxing, this card would’ve had to be cancelled, but we stacked this card with great fights.”

Ortiz-Griffin 2 is perhaps the best representation of MMA’s selling power. Griffin is coming off two straight losses and Ortiz has been sidelined for nearly two years. The first bout between the pair of former champions ended with Ortiz having his hand raised and fans split on who should’ve won the fight.

The paths of the fighters diverged from there. Following consecutive victories over Ken Shamrock, Ortiz found himself on the losing end of fights with Chuck Liddell, a draw with Rashad Evans, and a loss to current 205-pound champion Lyoto Machida. To top it off, the lopsided defeat at the hands of Machida was the last on “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’s” previous UFC contract; sending the bleach blonde fighter out on a sour note.

Griffin, on the other hand, found himself on the fast track to the top of the light heavyweight division. The original Ultimate Fighter bested Stephan Bonnar in a rematch of the historic bout Dana White credits with saving the UFC, and rebounded from a disappointing loss to Keith Jardine to beat Hector Ramirez and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. The win over Rua vaulted Griffin to an Ultimate Fighter coaching slot against then champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and a title shot. As history shows, the tenacious Griffin grinded out a five round decision victory and became the first Ultimate Fighter winner to get a taste of UFC gold.

MMA’s favorite underdog found his meteoric rise cut short by fellow Ultimate Fighter winner Rashad Evans at UFC 92. Griffin was pounded into oblivion in the third round. Without the duties of a champion, Griffin found time to pen a book and was tapped to challenge middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 101.

The result wasn’t pretty, and the much larger Griffin found himself on the receiving end of a knockout jab from the champion. When asked if the book and subsequent book tour were distractions for the Silva fight, the Georgia native is quick to give “The Spider” his props.

“I trained for that fight for a good 13 weeks,” Griffin said. “I think Anderson Silva was pretty much the problem and not the book tour.”

Back-to-back losses may have diminished Griffin’s stock in the eyes of the fickle fan, but one person who won’t be sleeping come fight night is the other man occupying the main event slot—Tito Ortiz.

“Forrest is a great opponent and he puts it on the line,” Ortiz said of Griffin. “I think we’re going to put on the fight of the year.”

The Forrest Griffin entering the Octagon Saturday night will not be the same Forrest Griffin that Ortiz faced at UFC 59. Griffin describes the loss as a “wake up.” Judging by his performances following the controversial end, Griffin is no longer asleep at the wheel. While both men are workhorses inside the cage, they take different approaches to the main event. Ortiz emphatically states that he is looking to not only win, but make a statement; Griffin takes the opposite approach, preferring the W by any means necessary.

“I’m not looking to make a statement, I’m looking to win a fight any way that can happen,” Griffin stated. “I’ll take anything. I really just want to win.”

Griffin is many things. One thing he is not is underprepared. Respected by other fighters for an unrivaled work ethic in the gym, Griffin—who makes a living fighting— surprisingly enjoys training more than being punched in the face in an actual fight.

“If it was up to me, I would probably never fight,” Griffin said before adding, “But I’d be the most ready guy in the world; when you keep [training consistently] you break down and you don’t have the pop you have in the beginning. I’ve got to get with my people and maybe schedule some work outs a little different.”

Pop or not, Griffin will be ready to rumble for three rounds of action in the UFC light heavyweight division. The light heavyweight fighter with the awkward sense of humor will also come into the fight with a new lease on life.

So what’s gotten into Griffin these days? A new training regimen? Main event status?

Neither, Griffin revealed candidly. The smile on Griffin’s face and his renewed fighting focus is due to his status as a newlywed.

“I’ve never been happier,” Griffin said of the married life. “A lot of people say that when they first get married, but it’s great. All my needs are met. It’s helped me have a more positive outlook and to start training more to have fun. The last couple of years I’ve trained out of fear and anxiety, ‘am I training enough?’ Now it’s fun. That’s been the difference for me, just being more positive.”

UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin 2 takes place next Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Couture still going strong

Couture still going strong

Story by Anthony Springer

Being a professional fighter beyond the age of 40 would strike most rational minded people as insane. Even the thought of fighting beyond the age of 40 would earn most individuals a white coat with no sleeves.

Consider this: All five reigning UFC champions are under the age of 35. BJ Penn (lightweight) is 30; Georges St-Pierre (welterweight) is 28; Anderson Silva (middleweight) is 34; Lyoto Machida (light heavyweight) is 31; and Brock Lesnar (heavyweight) is 32.

It’s safe to say that MMA is now—and will continue to be—a young man’s game.

Unless your name is Randy Couture.

At 46, “The Natural” still seems to be going strong. The co-founder of Team Quest is slated to meet Brandon “The Truth” Vera in the main event of UFC 105 this Saturday. Prior to the meeting with Vera, it was announced that Couture (16-10) had signed a six fight contract extension with the UFC—in layman’s terms, Captain America will finish his storied career at age 48.

If you’re not familiar with Randy Couture, do not let his record fool you. Less than stellar on paper, Couture has been in the cage with some of the best in the business including Antonio Nogueira, Chuck Liddell, Vitor Belfort, and Tito Ortiz. With the exception of “Big Nog”, Couture owns victories over all of the aforementioned fighters. While Couture would like nothing more than to go out on top with a victory over the unbeaten 205-pound champion Lyoto Machida, the bout with Vera will be business as usual for the man trying to climb to the top of the ladder.

“I like to get to the arena as the first fights going on,” Couture says of his pre-fight ritual. “I try to get a feel for the energy, the crowd and the referees that are working that night. You just kinda get in the groove of the night and then relax.”

Relaxation may be an understatement when you’ve been tasked with the main event in front of thousands of people. Couture may not be relaxed come Saturday night, but the word “nervous” will not be in “The Natural’s” vocabulary.

“I love my job and I’m very excited about the opportunity to compete. If you think about the physical attributes you assign to be nervous which is a negative connotation and the physical attributes to being excited, they’re very similar. It’s simply changing the name that you choose to assign those feelings. It’s a much better feeling to be excited about something.”

While the skeptical fans may be counting out Randy Couture, one man who is not looking past the former heavy and light heavyweight champion is his opponent, Brandon Vera. At one point during a recent conference call, Vera referred to Couture as “Mr. Couture.” Respect aside, don’t look for Vera to get caught up in the aura of fighting a legend of the sport.

“Randy deserves all the respect in the world,” Vera stated. “He is the man. But come fight night, Randy’s trying to whoop my ass. He’s handed out some good ones and I don’t want to be on the receiving end. I’ll be damned if I’m holding back.”

Likewise, Couture remains true to his usual self approaching a big fight. He’s non committal about his future, and remains steadfast in his resolve to take each fight as it comes.

“I don’t have any plans,” Couture said of his final fights. “I’m taking this one fight at a time. I’m certainly not looking past Brandon Vera.”

Velasquez converts the skeptics

Postfight presser by Anthony Springer Jr. Photos by Ed Mulholland With just seven fights under his belt, respect for Cain Velasquez has been a long, slow, uphill climb for some skeptic who believes the California fighter was overhyped. Velasquez arrived in the UFC and quickly impressed, stopping his first two UFC opponents with punches in the opening round. While many believed he would be one to watch in the future, few could predict his meteoric rise up the ranks of the heavyweight division. At UFC 99, Velasquez put tape over the mouth of his critics with a dominant performance over Cheick Kongo, overcoming punches that would’ve knocked out many of the division’s best. The victory earned Velasquez more respect, but some still weren’t convinced. If you’re not a believer in Cain Velasquez after watching him maul veteran fighter “Big” Ben Rothwell, the American Kickboxing Academy fighter may have to slay a great white with his bare hands to convert you. After a brief standup exchange, Velasquez returned to his bread and butter–wrestling–and rag dolled the much heavier Rothwell, who tipped the scales at the heavyweight limit of 265-pounds. While Rothwell got acquainted with the Octagon mat and the lights inside the Staples Center, Velasquez wowed the capacity crowd, putting together combos that should’ve separated his more experienced opponent from consciousness. Less than a minute into round two, referee Steve Mazagatti had seen enough, halting the fight after Velasquez landed four flush punches to the face of Rothwell as “Big” was trapped on the side of the cage. The hasty stop did not go over well with the fans or UFC president Dana White. “I don’t think that guy should be allowed t watch MMA, let alone referee it,” White said bluntly at the post fight press conference. Despite the stoppage, there was nothing but praise from White in the direction of Velasquez. “I think he’s awesome. I’ve been saying that since he started. I think he gets better every time he gets in there. Ben Rothwell was very motivated for this fight and he believed that [this fight] was his destiny. He had a game plan; he had the size advantage and the experience advantage.” Velasquez made Rothwell look like an amateur, and even the able Cain was surprised at the lack of takedown defense on display. “I just felt like he would defend a lot more,” Velasquez noted. There was some speculation that Rothwell dismissed his younger opponent due to the lack of experience. Both Velasquez and White denied that assertion. “I don’t think he did with the experience that he had, he knows how to train for specific fights. I was just a better man tonight,” a humble Velasquez said. “If you look past Cain Velasquez, you definitely didn’t after the Kongo fight. I don’t think anybody is looking past Cain. [Ben] believed it was his destiny and he wanted to win,” White added Velasquez just wanted to win a little bit more. With the dominant victory, don’t be surprised if Velasquez’ next bout finds him headlining a fight for the heavyweight title.

Bowles rattles the WEC cage with upset

Brian Bowles celebrates after knocking out Miguel Torres

 

Octagonside by Anthony Springer Jr.
Photography by Chris Cozzone

Shock and disbelief filled the media room following last night’s WEC event at The Joint inside The Hard Rock hotel and casino in Las Vegas.

Former bantamweight champion and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Miguel Torres (36-2), had been knocked unconscious just minutes earlier.

His 17 fight win streak snapped by up and comer Brian Bowles (8-0).

While many expected Bowles to put up a valiant effort, it is safe to say that no one in the room not named Brian Bowles was ready for the outcome.

Unless your name is Reed Harris.

The WEC’s general manager stepped to the podium and summed up the night’s events with a couple short sentences: “This is why MMA is so exciting. Anything can happen.”

Torres was dropped twice in the fight. The second time put the 135-pound phenomenon down for good, with the referee halting the bout after three unanswered shots left the Illinois native separated from consciousness.

“There’s no excuses for what happens,” a somber Torres replied after the fight.

To the ex-champion’s credit, he took the loss in stride, vowed to come back, and quickly turned the page on the loss.

“It’s not a setback for my career, it’s a new challenge”

Torres almost seemed relieved by the loss. With the pressures of a champion behind him, he can get back to what he loves doing the most: training for fights. He spoke of promotional duties that come with being a champion, lamenting that “everybody wants to know what you’re thinking” when you are king of the mountain.

He spoke of the media crowding his gym, adding an extra element of distraction.

On the opposite end of the stage, the new champion strolled in as if he’s held the title for years. Bowles seemed oblivious to the fact that he’d pulled off one of the biggest upsets in company history—rivaled only by Mike Brown’s upset win over Urijah Faber.

“I was totally convinced that I could beat him,” Bowles stated.

Despite pre-fight talk of a first round knockout—which makes Bowles look like a psychic—he freely admitted that he anticipated a five round war.

The key to Bowles’ was clearly composure. Torres rocked the new champion with a flurry right before falling to the big right hand.

“He had me rattled for a second,” Bowles revealed. “I got my composure and looked up and threw a big right and it landed on his chin.”

With another company poster boy down for the count, it’d be easy to conclude that Reed Harris is scrambling for matchups. Not so, said the excited general manager.

“Because we understand the sport, we never make fights before the fights happen,” Harris said. “We never [look past the fights] to see what happens next.”

Judging from last night’s performance, nobody will be looking past Brian Bowles either.

 

 

Florian, Penn looking to make statements

From FightNews

Report by Anthony Springer Jr.

UFC 101 is aptly titled Declaration. The organization’s first foray into Philadelphia marks the return of one its most charismatic and outspoken champions. “The Prodigy”B.J. Penn (13-5-1) hopes to rebound from a one sided beating at the hands of Georges St-Pierre at UFC 94 and continue to cement his legacy as one of the sports best pound-for-pound fighters.

Standing in his way is the ever improving Kenny “Ken Flo” Florian (13-3) who is looking to make a statement of his own. While Florian has great respect for Penn, he believes UFC 101 will be his time to “kill the master.” This fight marks Florian’s second shot at UFC gold. He dropped a previous title bout to Sean Sherk at UFC 64.

Florian now admits that he wasn’t properly training for the Sherk fight, and insists that his next shot at the belt won’t end like the first.

“Against Sean Sherk, I wasn’t training like a professional athlete,” Florian says. “You can’t just train when you have fights. The only way you get better is to train all the time. My goal when I go to the gym is just to get one percent better.”

Better might be an understatement. Since the loss to Sherk, Florian has finished his last seven opponents via (T)KO or submission. “I use[d] [the losses] as fuel,” Florian says of his dramatic improvement. “I’m never satisfied with each performance I have. I’ll go back and watch it two weeks later and think, ‘Man that was terrible.’”

Despite coming in as a heavy favorite, Penn is not taking the up and coming challenger lightly.

“He’s improved in all areas; he’s much more determined and he’s in better shape,” Penn says of Florian’s skills. “He’s a lot better than the guy that fought Sean Sherk.”

Though Florian has greatly improved, the world of mixed martial arts does not remain stagnant. Look for Penn to rebound from his loss to GSP and come out looking to make a statement.

“I lost my last fight and I want to get back to form. I’m itching and I’m anxious and I want to get in the ring and take care of business,” Penn says.

Penn has already made waves online after a YouTube video of the lightweight champion jumping out of a swimming pool. Another video posted at UFC.com shows a renewed, focused and fit Penn training for the Florian fight. While Penn stopped short of saying we would see a new and improved B.J. Penn, the videos speak for themselves.

UFC 101 will mark a homecoming of sorts for Florian. The Philadelphia location is just hours from his Boston stomping grounds. In addition to a budding career as a broadcaster (which Florian says he put on hold for training), the Bostonian also had to deal with increased requests for tickets—something he handled with ease.

“I just tell everybody to go to Ticket Master,” Florian says. “I just defer all the questions to somebody else; don’t bother me about tickets—I’ve got enough to worry about with my training.”

UFC 100 Recap

Lesnar apologizes for behavior

Post-fight report by Anthony Springer Jr. & Andreas Hale

With his UFC 100 victory over an overmatched Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar solidified his claim to MMA legitimacy. With just five professional fights, Lesnar now has wins over two former champions in Mir and Randy Couture and a cagy veteran in Heath Herring.

On a night that the UFC should’ve been celebrating an historic achievement and heaping praise on what appears to be the beginning of a dominant heavyweight run by Lesnar, Dana White and his newest superstar spent much of the post fight press conference issuing apologies.

The history books will remember Lesnar’s post fight antics as much—if not more—than the actual fight itself. In a scenario that can be described as bad sportsmanship at best and classless at worst, the UFC heavyweight champion said the following: his opponent had a “horseshoe up his ass,” dissed Bud Light (one of the organization’s biggest sponsors), flipped the bird to the fans, and mentioned what he planned to do to his wife after the fight.

To say the least, the Lesnar that arrived at the post fight conference was the total opposite of the brash Brock Lesnar that appeared at the culmination of an event that introduced hundreds of thousands of new fans to the sport. The 265-pound monster strolled into the post fight press conference  carrying a Bud Light (surprise!) and expressed a level of humility seldom seen in the past—courtesy of a “whip the dog session” with UFC president Dana White.

“I’d like to apologize,” Lesnar stated. “I acted very unprofessional after the fight.”

Lesnar also apologized to Frank Mir and Bud Light, adding that he is not biased against the company and that he’ll “drink any beer.”

Dana White pulled no punches regarding Lesnar’s behavior.

“I don’t think in the history of the UFC we’ve ever had anybody do anything like that,” White said. “It’s not who we are and to be honest with you, that’s not who he is.

“He gets in there, the adrenaline starts kicking and the mouth starts moving but the brain isn’t sending shit to the mouth. I don’t know where it’s coming from.”

White also stuck up for Lesnar with the same dose of straight talk he issued in rebuke of the heavyweight’s actions.

“I can tell you, that’s not who he is. If he was a dick, I’d tell you right now: ‘This guy is uncontrollable, he’s and idiot and I don’t know what to do with this guy.’ That’s not the case with him. He’s a smart guy, he gets it but he’s been in the WWE for so long. He thinks he has to jump in there and be the heel. The sponsorship thing was the craziest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. It was craziness and I was blown away.”

At this point, it’s unclear on the reaction Lesnar will draw from casual fans that are still getting used to the sport. One thing that is clear is the view that hardcore fans have of Lesnar.

“Brock hasn’t made himself very lovable,” White said. “They hate Brock.”

Several opponents were floated as potential challengers to the heavyweight throne including up and coming stars Cain Velasquez and Shane Carwin. However, the elephant in the room is one fighter who currently resides outside the UFC and is thought to be the greatest heavyweight fighter in the history of the sport—Fedor Emelianenko.

With Lesnar’s victory and Fedor’s utter destruction, the pair seems to be on the fast track for a super fight.

According to White, the fight will happen one day.

“Eventually Fedor is going to be here,” White said. “I want Fedor. We’ll end up getting that deal done and then we’ll do Brock vs. Fedor and we’ll do a huge fight.”

GSP – Who’s Next?

After tallying up yet another dominant victory and retaining his welterweight title at UFC 100 over Thiago Alves, the question for George St-Pierre isn’t “Who’s Next?” rather it is “Who’s Left?”

“I haven’t even had time to think about his next opponent,” Dana White said during the post fight press conference. “(I thought) If he gets through this one he could be the #1 pound for pound fighter. He walked through Thiago Alves. GSP is amazing but as for his future I have no clue.”

Many fight fans would love to see St-Pierre matchup with fellow pound for pounder Anderson “The Spider” Silva. But GSP is in no rush to make a move up to 185lbs to challenge Silva. GSP is more concerned with the groin injury he suffered in the third round of their five round fight.

“I don’t know what happened, but I am in real bad pain,” St. Pierre said. “It happened in the third round and when I was on my back. … It could have been a very bad night for me if this thing would have turned bad.”

Fortunately for him, it didn’t turn out bad and he continued to cruise to an easy victory. St-Pierre did reveal an exchange between he and Greg Jackson that he found humorous.

“I went to my corner and told Greg that I pulled my groin and he said ‘I don’t care! Hit him with it!’ GSP recalls.

But with the ever looming question of who “Rush” will fight next, the answer for GSP isn’t a simple one.

“It’s a question of timing,” he said of possibly challenging Silva. “I walk around at 185 pounds. I am not that big for a welterweight either. … So if I move up, like I said, I don’t fight to be champion anymore because I am a champion. If I do it, it’s for a challenge, but I am going to have to take the time to gain weight and really take care of business.” – Andreas Hale

UFC 100 Odds and Ends

• The sellout crowd for UFC 100 brought in a live gate of $5.1 million with an attendance of 11,000
• Bonuses of $100,000 were awarded to Dan Henderson (Knockout of the Night), Tom Lawlor (Submission of the Night) and Yoshihiro Akiyama and Alan Belcher (Fight of the Night)
• The accompanying UFC Fan Expo drew an estimated 30-50,000 people