I hated seeing it happen, even though I didn’t have a favorite for a winner. Big Nog had Frank Mir dazed with punches in the early part of the fight, almost to the point of referee Herb Dean stopping the fight. Ultimately, they ended up rolling around doing some jiu-jitsu, and Frank Mir caught Nogueira in a kimura and broke off his arm from his shoulder. Brutal. Game over. Get well soon Big Nog!

Wow… I guess Frank Mir was so focused on Brock Lesnar that he forgot about fighting Shane Carwin? I couldn’t believe Mir was standing there looking like he wanted to slug it out with Carwin, who continues his streak of ending fights in the 1st round. He has never had a fight go longer than 1 round, and all end by KO.

The main event of the night, was totally dominated by Georges St. Pierre. Many people are saying it was a boring fight, but whatever, it was dominated from start to finish by GSP and his unstoppable takedowns. GSP apologized aferward to his fans for not finishing Dan Hardy off.

Same thing with Jon Fitch… decision, as usual. Three rounds of dominating Ben Saunders for a unanimous decision.

Other fight results were:
Matt Riddle won by DQ after winning the first two rounds,when in the 3rd round his opponent, Greg Soto kicked him with an illegal upkick while Riddle was down. The doctor stopped the fight because it appeared Riddle was not going to recover.

Jared Hamann defeated Rodney Wallace via decision

Rousimar Palhares defeated Tomasz Drwal via nasty heel hook after Drwal slipped while throwing a kick and landed on his back. Palhares immediately locked on a heel hook and didn’t let go, even when Drwal tapped, even when the ref tried to stop it, Palhares kept torquing the  heel hook. Ouch. Palhares apologized afterward.

Ricardo Almeida defeated Matt Brown in Round 2 via triangle submission.

Nate Diaz looked very impressive, beating up the bigger opponent Rory Markham and scoring a TKO stoppage in round 1.

Jim Miller defeated Mark Bocek by decision

Kurt Pellegrino defeated Fabricio Camoes by rear naked choke in Round 2.

I’m thinking this is going to be a good show!

Ricardo Almeida over Matt Brown by submission
Nate Diaz over Rory Markham by sub
Jim Miller over Mark Bocek
Ben Saunders over Jon Fitch
Kurt Pellegrino over Fabricio Camoes
Frank Mir over Shane Carwin
Georges St. Pierre over Dan Hardy

I like Shane Carwin, I hope he does well…but I ultimately hope for a 3rd match between Mir/Lesnar… although Carwin/Lesnar is very interesting also!

Shane Carwin hasn’t showed up.

Dana says the winner of Mir/Carwin will fight Brock Lesnar this summer.

Lots of press kissing Dana’s ass, one begging for free tickets.

UFC considering an event in Orlando (THIS NEEDS TO HAPPEN).

I think some chick just asked Frank Mir to choke her out.

Someone asked Dana about Jake Shields and Fedor Emelianko… Dana says he likes Jake and its obvious that Strikeforce is trying to get him beat by having him fight at 185lbs when he’s the 170lb champ. As for Fedor, Dana says it’s all about negotiations not working out.

Seth Petruzelli gets a shout-out from someone in the audience who asks about bringing him back to fight Kimbo. — I like this.

Lots of people asking for autographs…props to Dana White and the fighters for being patient and signing stuff.

DeMarques Johnson pulled that triangle out quick, he was getting hammered on too, that was nice to see. Edgar Garcia seems legit though.

I had Stefan Struve winning Round 1, and Paul Buentello winning Rounds 2 & 3…the judges obviously saw differently. Maybe I was biased, as I was hoping Paul would win it.

Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez need to fight @ 155lbs now. Diego gave Kenny a beatdown when they were both at 185lbs, I’m interested in see what happens at 155.

I honestly think Frank Mir has as good a chance as anyone at beating Fedor now. Yeah I know that’s probably an unpopular opinion, but I think he has the style to give Fedor a competitive fight.

BJ Penn just totally outclassed Diego Sanchez. That was brutal, and I’m a bigger Diego fan now. Who’s left for BJ Penn to fight at lightweight? Sure, there are many good fighters, but I think BJ is far ahead of the pack right now. I wouldn’t mind seeing a 3rd fight between BJ Penn and Matt Hughes.

Yeah, I know my picks don’t matter, but still…

Kevin Burns over TJ Grant
Demarques Johnson over Edgar Garcia
Rousimar Palhares over Lucio Linhares
Johnny Hendricks by something brutal over Ricardo “Golden Boy” Funch
Matt Wiman over Shane Nelson
Alan Belcher over Wilson Gouveia
Paul Buentello by KO over Stefan Struve
Kenny Florian by submission over Clay Guida
Jon Fitch by decision over Mike Pierce
Frank Mir by submission over Cheick Kongo
…and the main event is a tough one for me, I hate to see either guy lose, but I think I’m gonna have to pick BJ Penn on this one, although Diego is an animal and always comes to fight.

Why was Jon Fitch vs. Paulo Thiago the final fight? Regardless, Fitch won a unanimous decision.

Brock Lesnar looked great again, as he did against Couture. He smashed his way through Frank Mir for a 2nd round TKO. We need to see a Part III to make Lesnar/Mir a trilogy.

I’m very glad Georges St. Pierre was victorious over Thiago Alves. It will be interesting to see who GSP fights next. Anderson Silva?

Dan Henderson absolutely smashed Michael Bisping into unconsciousness. Hendo landed his trademark overhand right to Bispings jaw and knocked him out, but wait, there’s more! (I typed that with pitchman Billy May’s voice in my head). After Bisping was already on his back KO’d, Dan Henderson flies in (literally, his whole body in the air) with a gnarly forearm smash to Bispings face, all 185lbs of Dan Henderson came crashing down on Bispings dome. Bisping laid there asleep for several minutes.

Yoshihiro Akiyama defeated Alan Belcher by judges decision

I’m glad to see Mark Coleman defeated Stephan Bonner by decision. I’m not happy that they didn’t show the fight on the PPV broadcast. Sounds like Coleman’s gas tank was ok?

Jim Miller defeated Mac Danzig by decision.

Jon Jones submitted Jake O’Brien by guillotine in round 2

Dong Hyun Kim defeated T.J. Grant by decision.

Shannon Gugerty defeated Matt Grice by guillotine choke in round one.

Tom Lawlor got submission of the night for his guillotine victory over CB Dollaway in round one. Tom Lawlor also had the weirdest entrance of the night (VIDEO BELOW–and the guy on the leash in the video is Seth Petruzelli).

First of all, the main event of the night for me will be Bruce Buffer doing a 360 spin as he introduces the fighters.

I’d like to see Tom Lawlor kick CB Dollaway’s ass, but I’m not really thinking it’s going to happen. I feel basically the same way about Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar…I’d like to see Frank Mir win again, but I don’t really think he’ll be able to…but how shocking would it be if he somehow KO’s Brock Lesnar and leaves him unconscious?

Jon Jones is going to destroy Jake O’Brien. Jones seemed unstoppable last time he fought.

I have Jim Miller beating Mac Danzig..

MARK COLEMAN over Stephan Bonnar…WTF? The UFC website says this fight “May not be broadcast”…my ass.. it better be broadcast.

Alan Belcher will defeat Yoshihiro Akiyama.

I seriously hope Dan Henderson KTFO of Michael Bisping.. I predict Bisping running and backing up much of the fight, refusing to exchange punches.

Jon Fitch will win his match against Paulo Thiago.. and I just noticed we have two guys named “Jon” on this fight card.

I’d love to see Georges St. Pierre get a dominant win over Thiago Alves, and set up a future bout with Anderson Silva.

As I already said, I’d enjoy seeing Frank Mir get a tapout, or an unbelievable knockout over Brock Lesnar…I just can’t see it happening again, but I seriously hope I’m wrong.

A lot of people were expecting this to be the best UFC show ever, and the fight card certainly had some great match-ups.

Ryo Chonan vs. Brad Blackburn – Brad Blackburn won via decision

Dan Evensen vs. Pat Barry – Pat Barry won via TKO from kicks to the leg.

Matt Hamill vs. Reese Andy – Matt Hamill won via TKO from punches.

Antoni Hardonk vs. Mike Wessel – Hardonk won via TKO from punches.

Yushin Okami vs. Dean Lister – Okami won via decision.

Cheick Kongo vs. Mustafa Al-Turk – Cheick Kongo won via TKO from punches.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Rampage Jackson – Rampage won via KTFO out of Wanderlei.

CB Dollaway vs. Mike Massenzio – CB Dollaway won via TKO, but he got rocked early on and then it damn sure looked like he started to tap from a guillotine but the referee didn’t see it. I’ll need to see a .gif or replay.

Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira – Wow, total domination by Francisco Mir. TKO’d Nogueira in round 2.

Rashad Evans vs. Forrest Griffin – Rashad Evans won via TKO in round 3.

The Ultimate Fighter wasn’t on last week due to the holiday, but this week they showed two episodes back-to-back to catch us up.

I think at the beginning of tonights episode, the narrator Mike Rowe called Ryan Bader “Bryan”.. not that it matters, just what I noticed. I also think Nogueira calls him Bryan sometimes.

Anyway, first fight of the show is Ryan Bader vs. Eliot Marshall. Gawd what a shit fight, imo. Bader score tons of takedowns, but did ZERO with any of them, I kept expecting him to ground-and-pound, but he didn’t do shit. Sure, he controlled the fight, and won, but damn. I sure hope we don’t see him win like that much more. He literally looked almost asleep laying & praying on Eliott’s chest.

Phillipe Nover defeated George Roop, as expected.

Vinny submitted Krysztof Soszynski with an armbar. I was hoping Krysztof would win this, but now I really hope Vinny submits Ryan Bader quickly at the finale, or we’re in for a long boring fight with Bader on top avoiding submissions. However, if Bader had been fighting Vinny earlier instead of Eliot Marshall, he would have been submitted already. Where Marshall was having trouble pulling an omoplata, Vinny won’t have a problem. As soon as Bader is just being lazy in Vinnys guard and puts his hand on the mat, Vinny will get the omoplata and at least take control — in other words, I don’t think Bader will be able to lay-and-pray to control Vinny like he did Eliot Marshall, but we’ll see.

And finally, it was nice to see Junie Browning choked to submission.

“THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER: TEAM MIR VS TEAM NOGUEIRA,” FEATURING FIGHTERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, PREMIERES SEPTEMBER 17

Two Of The UFC’s Top Heavyweights, Interim Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Former Champ Frank Mir, To Serve As Coaches

New York , NY , August 18, 2008 – They come from all over the globe, spanning Brooklyn to Israel , including far-off locales such as Russia , Nova Scotia , England , and Hawaii . Their diverse backgrounds range from a former Division 1 college football player to a CIA recruiter and include the brother of “The Ultimate Fighter 2″ winner.

For these 32 up-and-coming mixed martial arts fighters, there is one goal, to win a six-figure contract with the preeminent mixed martial arts organization in the world, The Ultimate Fighting Championship.®

Season eight of Spike TV’s wildly successful original series, “The Ultimate Fighter,” premieres Wednesday, September 17 at 10:00pm ET/PT, with 16 lightweights (155lbs) and 16 light heavyweights (205lbs) under the watchful eye of the coaches interim UFC heavyweight champion, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir.

Each of the 32 contestants must fight his way into the Ultimate Fighter House by winning a preliminary bout that will be featured during the first two episodes (Sept. 17 and 24). The remaining 10 episodes will feature the victorious 16 fighters and their quest for the coveted “Ultimate Fighter” crown.

During the six-week taping of “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Mir vs. Team Nogueira,” these 16 men who survived the prelims endured a grueling regimen of jiu-jitsu, judo, muay thai, karate, boxing and wrestling. The intense competition between the fighters continues after they leave the gym – at The Ultimate Fighter House. These warriors must live together, knowing that any day they might be forced to fight each other in the famed UFC Octagonâ„¢.

The two finalists will square off in a live finale Saturday, December 13 on Spike TV, when the two weight class winners will be declared The Ultimate Fighter® and net the aforementioned contract and a cash prize. UFC President Dana White will once again serve as host of the series.

After each show, Spike.com users will get exclusive extended footage from each episode and an exclusive video leak of the upcoming episode.

Craig Piligian of Pilgrim Films and Television, Frank Fertitta III, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White of Zuffa, LLC, and Kevin Kay of Spike TV are the show’s executive producers. Brian J. Diamond, senior vice president, Sports & Specials, Spike TV is co-executive producer and Christopher Martello is executive in charge of production for Spike TV.

Ok, maybe Frank Mir doesn’t explain his opinion perfectly, and I don’t agree with him on every point, but I do agree that the world would be a better place if decent humans carried weapons. If good citizens with weapons outnumbered violent criminals with weapons, there would be less violence.

However, Frank will not be allowed to use a weapon in his fight with Nogueira. Also, Joanne the MMA girl is hot. Oh and one more thing, sign up on our MMA Forums and post something, help it get started. We’re not as censored as some forums.

SPIKE TV AND THE UFC TURN TO SOME REAL HEAVY HITTERS FOR SEASON EIGHT OF “THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER®”

Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira And Former Heavyweight King Frank Mir To Star In New Season Beginning September 17

New York, NY, May 12, 2008 — The coaches for season eight of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter,” the most successful original series in network history, will feature two of the UFC’s all-time top heavyweights. Interim UFC heavyweight champion, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, will star in the new season featuring light heavyweights (205 lbs) and lightweights (155 lbs) premiering Wednesday, September 17 at 10:00pm ET/PT. Nogueira and Mir will square off in the Octagonâ„¢ for a to-be-announced UFC pay per view event. UFC President Dana White will once again serve as the show’s host.

The Brazilian native Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1), known as “Minotauro” (a Greek mythological creature), is one of the sport’s most successful heavyweights. Nogueira’s incredible career almost never happened as he was involved in a life-threatening accident at age ten when he was run over by a truck in his native Brazil. Fortunately, he survived and avoided permanent damage, thus his mixed martial arts pursuits were not deterred.

He began his professional career in MMA in the United States in June of 1999 with the World Extreme Fighting organization. However, Noguiera truly made a name for himself in the sport when he joined the RINGS organization in Japan and posted an 8-1-1 record from 1999-2000, losing only to Dan Henderson.

Nogueira’s leap to MMA stardom came when he joined PRIDE in Japan and, from 2001-2003, proceeded to defeat the biggest names in the division including Bob Sapp, Mark Coleman, Heath Herring, Enson Inoue, Sanae Kikuta, Semmy Schilt, and avenged his earlier loss to Henderson. A tough loss to Fedor Emelianenko in March 2003 stopped his impressive winning streak, but “Minotauro’s” career rebounded with a close decision win over former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez in August 2003.

The defining match in his career in PRIDE came in November 2003 with a memorable victory over Croatian Mirko Cro Cop via submission to gain the PRIDE heavyweight belt. ‘”Minotauro” would go 8-2 with one no contest in the final three years of his stay in Japan, including avenging a previous defeat to another former UFC heavyweight champ, Josh Barnett, with a decision win in December 2006.

Nogueira made his UFC debut in July 2007 at UFC 77 with a victory over a familiar nemesis, Herring, whom Nogueira had beaten three times previously in his career. This past February, “Minotauro’ defeated Tim Sylvia in a stirring comeback via submission in the third round to claim the interim UFC heavyweight belt. The 31 year-old Nogueira lives in Brazil but spends time in south Florida training with the renowned MMA organization, America’s Top Team.

Although he’s only 28, Frank Mir has endured quite a professional and personal rollercoaster ride since his UFC debut in November 2001 at UFC 34. Following a first round loss to Ian Freeman at UFC 38 in July 2002, Mir, a young, highly touted mixed martial arts star from Las Vegas was at a career turning point. Mir regained credibility as an emerging star with an impressive
victory over UFC great Tank Abbott in February 2003. That victory led Mir on a journey to the ultimate prize in mixed martial arts, the heavyweight title. Mir defeated Tim Sylvia at UFC 48 in June 2004 in an unforgettable arm-breaking submission that UFC fans still discuss to this day.

In a span of a few months, Mir went from the heights of UFC heavyweight champion to the lows of nearly dying in a grisly motorcycle accident. The severe injuries he suffered in the horrific accident led to him being stripped of his title as he rehabbed his broken leg.

Mir returned to the Octagon almost two years later in February of 2006, but was stopped by Marcio Cruz in the first round. A subsequent decision win over Dan Christison put Mir in the win column once again, but a loss to rising star Brandon Vera put Mir back on the comeback trail. Now, after two straight victories including a first round submission of Brock Lesner, a former All-American wrestler at the University of Minnesota and WWE superstar, Mir is ready for another shot at the title.

The eighth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” goes into production in late May. The entire cast will be announced in early September.

Craig Piligian of Pilgrim Films and Television, Frank Fertitta III, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White of Zuffa, LLC, and Kevin Kay of Spike TV are the show’s executive producers. Brian J. Diamond, senior vice president, sports & specials, Spike TV is co-executive producer and Christopher Martello is executive in charge of production for Spike TV.

Spike TV is available in 96.1 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com.

Brock Lesnar came out and took Frank Mir down, and commenced dropping jackhammers on Frank Mir’s head, and I wondered a few times if Mir would survive the attack. The referee took a point away from Lesnar for punches to the back of Frank Mir’s head. After they stood back up, Lesnar drops Mir with a punch to the grill, and Lesnar goes to the mat with and keeps dropping hammerfists on Mir’s dome. Frank Mir goes for an armbar but Lesnar breaks free. Lesnar ends up in Frank Mir’s guard and then stands back up and leaves his leg there for Frank Mir to crank. Lesnar taps out.

I’ll be posting these up whenever I get them. Once again, thanks to Firepowr.net for sharing the photos with me!

While watching the UFC 81 Countdown show on Spike TV, I noticed how much Brock Lesnar likes to refer to himself in third person. He uses the words “Brock Lesnar” quite often, and for that reason alone, I hope he gets tapped out by Frank Mir. When Brock kept referring to himself as “Brock Lesnar” it seemed really WWE to me, I kept expecting him to bust out with “Can you smell-l-l-l-l-l, what The Rock,errrr.. I mean, Brock Lesnar is cooking?!?!”

Anyway, I’m thinking Brock will probably be able to win this fight tonight, but I’m hoping for Frank Mir to walk away with a victory.

Seriously. He’s a decent commentator as far as explaining the techniques to viewers, but it’s painful to watch the WEC fights on TV and have to listen to him say the word “gots” over and over again. I remember kids in elementary who did that all the time, but I think they eventually added the word “has” to their vocabulary.

Examples of Frank Mir’s lingo:

“He gots that armbar in tight”

“He gots side control”

“He gots his back”

“See how he gots the figure-4 body lock?”

Ok, maybe I shouldn’t be so harsh on Frank Mir’s vocabulary, but damn it’s irritating.
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