"The Ultimate Fighter" Season 13's Latest Ratings Are In, And Are Another Indication Of A Larger Problem

?The Ultimate Fighter? Season 13 is, at best, a learning experience. At worst, it?s a firm reminder that all that glitters is not gold, and that the UFC Juggernaut can be breached. Last week, TUF Season 13 recorded an very low 1.0 million viewers, a far cry from the average 1.7 million that watched Season [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/21/the-ultimate-fighter-season-13s-latest-ratings-are-in-and-are-another-indication-of-a-larger-problem

Keith Hackney Matt Hamill Volk Han Joachim Hansen

Off Yearlong Vegan Diet Experiment, Frank Mir Feels Stronger for UFC 130

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LAS VEGAS - A reasonably healthy diet is part and parcel to the lifestyles of most fighters. It's something that just comes with the territory. Even Roy Nelson, as much as he jokes about cheeseburgers, likely has to concern himself with it from time to time.

But very few fighters fall into the vegetarian class, and even fewer heavyweights go that route. But that's what Frank Mir did for a year before deciding it wasn't working for him. Now on a Paleolithic, or "caveman," diet, Mir said he's bigger than he's been in several fights - but more importantly, he's leaner.

"I got on the scale on Monday at 272 - muscle weighs a lot," said Mir, who fights fellow Las Vegan and sometimes training partner Nelson on Saturday at UFC 130. "Going off the vegan diet, I think, helped. There were some good approaches to it that I actually tried to do. ... The dieting thing, I think you have to approach as intelligently as you can. First I started as a vegetarian. And for a whole year, I gave it a shot. And it kept my weight down. But honestly, my body fat wasn't as low - I got a little bit softer. I was getting injured a lot more. I felt a lack of 'umph.' But I was very determined to try and be a healthier person."

After researching the Paleo diet, which focuses on hunter-gatherer foods like lean meats and fish, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and cuts out the processed foods common in the Western diet, Mir decided it might be more in line with his nutritional needs as a fighter.

And then his wife, whom Mir joked at Wednesday's press conference was the real boss, chimed in.

"My wife looked at (the Paleo diet) and said, 'This is the Mediterranean Diet,' Mir said prior to the press conference. "I'm like, 'Yeah, pretty much.' She said, 'This is how we've been eating for like the last 10 years.' Sometimes you've got to come full circle to appreciate where you are now."

After Mir stopped with the vegan principle, he said the weight gain came quickly.

"I was four pounds shy of 300 pounds - I completely shot up," the former UFC heavyweight champ told MMA Fighting. "But my strength felt incredible, and my wind actually didn't feel that bad. The only thing I probably lost a little was footwork - ask a 300-pound guy to dance left and right ... so I worked in the pocket a little for those couple months."




But the weight gain hurt him in training, and it forced him to tighten up his core once again.

"I didn't realize that now that I've thinned out my waistline again, my guard has returned to be pretty manacing again," Mir said. "With the half-guard and guard, if you have a belly it's hard to pull your knees up. I have very flexible legs, so I'm trying to put hooks in and work the omoplata and go off on the side, and all of a sudden I've got this belly that my thigh keeps hitting against. It hurt my style.

"But being a professional you realize if something's in the way of you being a better fighter, it has to go - be it friend, family member, eating habits, sleeping regimen, if it doesn't work to make me a better fighter then it has to go."

Mir has combined the new diet with a new confidence in his wrestling game, as well.

"Six months ago, I couldn't take my wife off her feet unless I threw some jewelry on the bed," Mir joked, his wife Jennifer sitting at his side. "Other than that, my takedowns were horrible. When people are pushing me against the cage, in the past I was more susceptible to allowing it to happen because I had that jiu-jitsu mentality that I'm not going to grind back. Now I'm learning about head position and I like to grind back. If you're going to push into me, you're not pushing me backward. We're going to go down right here."

And the strength he believes he gave up when he went vegan has returned now that lean meats and other proteins are back in the mix - and now that he's developing other skills in the gym at the same time.

"People are saying to me, 'Oh, you're so much stronger,' " Mir said. "But I think it's that I'm finally using my strength. In the past, I would try to use as little strength as possible because strength will get you tired if you explode too many times. Well, get in shape."

And that's just what Mir believes he had to do. And he said if things go as planned against Nelson on Saturday night, people shouldn't be too hard on his opponent.

"If anybody's going to be on his case and feels that he has a bad performance on Saturday, they've just got to realize that he's facing the best version of me that ever existed, that I ever thought could exist," Mir said.

Mir fights Nelson in the co-main event of UFC 130 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/27/off-yearlong-vegan-diet-experiment-frank-mir-feels-stronger-for/

Jason Grace Crosley Gracie Gregor Gracie Ralek Gracie

Bellator 44's "Submission of the Night": Giedrius Karavackas

During the Bellator 44 broadcast, it was clear early that one man’s loss was another man’s gain. Originally, a welterweight tilt pitting former champion Lyman Good and season two-finalist Dan Hornbuckle was scrapped after Good was injured and left unable to compete. The search for a replacement was left in vain and eventually an anticipated [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/15/bellator-44s-submission-of-the-night-giedrius-karavackas

Jason Grace Crosley Gracie Gregor Gracie Ralek Gracie

Top 5 Moments Of Bellator 45

Although it only featured three fights, Bellator 45 had a little something for everybody. We saw not one but two three-round hard-fought wars, and in the main event, Christian M?Pumbu became the first French fighter to win a major championship in a major Mixed Martial Arts promotion. But which stars shined brightest, and what moments [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/22/top-5-moments-of-bellator-45

Dan Henderson Josh Hendricks Ed Herman Heath Herring

Countdown To UFC 130 Rampage vs. Hamill Video

Countdown To UFC 130 Rampage vs. Hamill Video. UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill Date: May 28, 2011 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena Broadcast: Pay-per-view, Spike TV and Facebook MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view) Matt Hamill vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson Travis Browne vs. Stefan Struve [...]

Source: http://www.mmatko.com/countdown-to-ufc-130-rampage-vs-hamill-video/

Royce Gracie Royler Gracie Ryan Gracie Peter Graham

Frank Mir Thinks Roy Nelson Should Be Fighting at Light Heavyweight

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LAS VEGAS -- Watch below as Frank Mir talks about fighting Roy Nelson at UFC 130, the criticism he received after beating Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 119, why he wasn't initially keen on fighting Nelson and where a win over Nelson ranks him in the heavyweight division and more.

Check out the video interview after the jump.


 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/25/frank-mir-thinks-roy-nelson-should-be-fighting-at-light-heavywei/

Josh Barnett  David Baron  Phil Baroni Don Barr

Jon Jones Expects to Fight ?Rampage? or Machida in October UFC Return

UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones expects to face a former champion in Quinton "Rampage" Jackson or Lyoto Machida when he's scheduled to defend the 205-pound title for the first time in October. The UFC?s October schedule includes UFC 136 on Oct. 8 in Houston and UFC 137 on Oct. 15 in Liverpool, England.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/18608/jon-jones-expects-to-fight-rampage-or-machida-in-october-ufc-return/

Shane The Engineer Carwin  Jason Hollywood Chambers Ryo Piranha Chonan  Dan The Sandman Christison