Top 5 Fights Of April 2011

Hello again fans and friends, and welcome to the start of a new series, several new ones in fact. Today marks the first time I take a concrete look at what happened in the previous month of action, with several definitive lists designed to give my full thoughts on all the MMA I watched the [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/02/top-5-fights-of-april-2011

Dai Shuanghai  Mac Danzig  Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik

Rick Hawn confident on cusp of Bellator welterweight final

With Olympic credentials in judo and an undefeated record in MMA it’s no wonder Rick Hawn feels good about his chances of becoming the top contender to Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren‘s title. However, to hear the 11-0 competitor talk about the likelihood of coming away winner later this evening at Bellator 43 against Jay [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/05/07/rick-hawn-confident-on-cusp-of-bellator-welterweight-final/

Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke Cummo  Jeff Big Frog Curran Dai Shuanghai 

Pro Boxing vs. MMA: The War That Never Ends... But Honestly Needs To

I had a pretty strange feeling come over me late last Saturday night. For several different reasons, I was unable to watch the broadcast of Bellator 43, which was a pretty solid event. A lot of my problems had to deal with everyone watching Manny Pacquiao fight Shane Mosley in what was billed as the [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/09/pro-boxing-vs-mma-the-war-that-never-ends-but-honestly-needs-to

Kultar Gill Allan Goes Takanori The Fireball Kid Gomi Akihiro Gono

MMA Top 10 Welterweights: Few Challenges in Sight for GSP

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Georges St-PierreIt's hard to believe that Georges St. Pierre could win his ninth straight fight, defending his welterweight title in front of 55,000 fans in one of the biggest events in UFC history, and have it feel like something of a letdown.

But that is how St. Pierre's unanimous decision victory over Jake Shields felt to many fans: We've seen this so many times -- St. Pierre spending 25 minutes demonstrating that the other man in the Octagon is simply nowhere near as good as he is -- that it's starting to feel routine. And that's not how one of the greatest fighters in history stepping into the Octagon should feel.

So are there any challenges remaining in the welterweight division? We'll look at that question as we run down the Top 10 welterweights in MMA.

Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/09/mma-top-10-welterweights-few-challenges-in-sight-for-gsp/

Kit Cope  Wesley Cabbage Correira  Patrick The Predator Côté  Randy The Natural Couture 

Diaz vs. Lacy set: Camp Lacy says ‘Left Hook’ isn’t losing to a 1-0 fighter

If contracts mean anything it appears we're closer to Nick Diaz stepping away from MMA to try his hand at boxing. Press releases were sent out today saying the Strikeforce 170-pound champion has signed a deal to fight former 168-pound boxing champion Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy in October.

Lacy's publicist Bernie Bahrmasel said his fighter has signed the deal. ESPN.com's Josh Gross spoke with Diaz's mentor Cesar Gracie, who said the MMA fighter also put pen to paper.

Diaz didn't actually sign a contract to fight Lacy. He's signed a bout agreement with Don Chargin, the promoter, with the understanding that it's going to be Lacy.

It's a surprising matchup on both sides. Lacy, a pro boxer with 30 fights under his belt, has a lot to lose. Diaz, who hasn't lost an MMA bout since 2007, has only fought professionally on the boxing side one time.

"It's a challenge when somebody calls him out," Bahrmasel told Yahoo! Sports. "It's a personal thing when somebody says 'you're this, you're that. I can come and kick your butt.'  And Jeff's like, 'I'm Jeff Lacy pal. I've been a successful boxer for a very long time. You want to step in with me under boxing rules and prove yourself, it's absolutely personal.'

Two weeks ago, Lacy (25-4-1) spoke about Diaz calling him out.

"Honestly, I was a little stunned. Nick has accomplished a great deal in mixed martial arts and is certainly one of the best in the sport. But getting in the ring with me for a boxing match is a path he needs to be very wary of taking. I'm willing to put it all on the line anytime, anywhere!" said Lacy.

"For the right price, I'm more than interested in heading to his turf and put my fist in his mouth and silencing him."

That kind of trash talk surprised his publicist.

"For Jeff to use that kind of language, it's not typically the way he talks," Bahrmasel said. "He's always been very respectful. But you throw a sword in his direction then you're going to get Jeff Lacy."

The Lacy Camp has no worries about losing to Diaz (1-0).

"He's never lost to a guy who's 1-0 in boxing. How's that for a line? I'll leave it at that," said Bahrmasel.

Is Diaz taking a negotiating position to ensure an MMA fight against Georges St. Pierre before the end of 2011 or will he really go through with this? That's what it sounded like when Gracie spoke with MMAFighting. Seems like a risky proposition for Diaz. If he gets destroyed by Lacy, we're not so sure he can just walk back to MMA and expect anyone to promote a mega-fight against GSP in the near future.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Diaz-vs-Lacy-set-Camp-Lacy-says-Left-Hook-is?urn=mma-wp2059

Leonard Garcia Andrew Gardner Tiki Ghosn Dennis George

Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley Fight Video Boxing

Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley Fight Video Boxing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Get the Adobe Flash Player to see this video. Get the Adobe Flash Player to see this video. var s1 = new SWFObject("http://www.mmatko.com/player-viral.swf","JW","480","420","9"); s1.addParam('allowscriptaccess', 'always'); s1.addParam('allowfullscreen', 'true'); [...]

Source: http://www.mmatko.com/manny-pacquiao-vs-shane-mosley-fight-video-boxing/

Aldrin de Jesus  Todd Duffee  Marvin Eastman  Stav Crazy Bear Economou 

UFC, Strikeforce Fighters Get Training Insurance Coverage

Nearly 350 fighters under contract with the UFC and Strikeforce will now have access to accident insurance to cover injuries suffered in training as well as non-training incidents such as car accidents, Zuffa, the owner of both promotions, announced Monday.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/18442/ufc-strikeforce-fighters-get-training-insurance-coverage/

Dai Shuanghai  Mac Danzig  Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik

Trainers agree: Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz bout makes sense

Two welterweight champions defended their belts in April. First, Nick Diaz kept his Strikeforce strap with an exciting, first-round win over Paul Daley on April 9. On April 30, it was the UFC champion's chance, as Georges St-Pierre won a not-so-exciting decision over Jake Shields.

Now that Zuffa owns both the UFC and Strikeforce, wouldn't it make sense to square them off? Diaz is begging for the bout, and their coaches believe it should be next.

Firas Zahabi said that with Diaz still in the wings, GSP still faces enough of a challenge at welterweight to not move up to middleweight. From MMAFighting.com:

"If Georges went up (to 185) right now, he wouldn't have cleaned out the division because there's still Nick Diaz there," Zahabi said. "He's champion, so you can't say he doesn't deserve a shot. I can't confirm anything, but I see it as a possibility. They have two champions. It's always exciting to see two champions go at it. He has a great style. He has beautiful boxing, great jiu-jitsu, and it's very similar to his brother. It's not easy to fight a tall, lanky guy like that. And he's always very busy. It's a whole different style than Jake."

Though Shields and Diaz are training partners, Diaz's boxing background means that he could pose a much bigger threat to GSP's stand-up game.

Cesar Gracie, Diaz's coach, believes that Nick is the man to challenge GSP's safe style. From MMAjunkie.com:

"He's a guy that could press the action against GSP and not let GSP dictate the pace. GSP has been a great champ, and hats off to him. But there has been criticism that he's not really taking risks. With Nick, you have the ultimate risk-taker. He will fight you at your game. He throws caution to the wind, really, because he's more interested in beating you up than winning on points. I think that makes for an intriguing matchup between the two."

In his bout against Daley, Diaz appeared to be in trouble several times because he took chances to try to end the fight. There was no danger like that in the GSP-Shields bout.

Let's face it, both fighters don't have many challenges within their own promotions or weight classes. Their trainers wouldn't suggest these fights if they didn't think it would be good for the fighters and their careers. It's time for GSP and Diaz to fight. Please make it happen, Zuffa.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Trainers-agree-Georges-St-Pierre-Nick-Diaz-bou?urn=mma-wp1968

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen 

UFC 129's "Fight of the Night": Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick

UFC 129 played host to a lot of memorable moments. There was the almost surreal superfight that took place for the main-event of the evening, where former Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields took on reigining UFC welterweight titleholder Jake Shields–albeit a lackluster affair. Then there was the resurgence of Lyoto Machida, as he defeated UFC Hall [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/04/30/ufc-129s-fight-of-the-night-jose-aldo-vs-mark-hominick

Antoni Hardonk Dan Hardy Lee Hasdell Musse Hasselvall

Fight Day Live: UFC 129 Pre-Show with Yahoo! Sports and Heavy

Yahoo! Sports and Heavy.com will host Fight Day Live, a preview show for UFC 129, a record-breaking pay-per-view event at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Join us starting at 6 p.m. ET, 3 p.m. PT on Saturday. Look for Yahoo's own Kevin Iole and Dave Meltzer, Heavy's Matt Brown and MMA Junkie's John Morgan to be joined by UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones, heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez and featherweight contender Chad Mendes.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Fight-Day-Live-UFC-129-Pre-Show-with-Yahoo-Spo?urn=mma-wp1653

Noboru Asahi Marcus Aurelio  Mikhail Avetisyan Luiz AzeredoÂ