Forrest is the UFC Light HW Champ

It is still a little hard to believe, especially because of the manner in which he obtained the strap, but for the time being Forrest is the Champ. After 5 rounds of pretty good back and forth action he got the unanimous decision nod as the main event of UFC 86.

Quinton Rampage Jackson believes he won the fight and I feel he has a good argument. As the fight is scored on the 10 point per round system and you could arguably give Rampage at least 3 of the rounds (Forrest dominated the 2nd) it is a tough way to loose the UFC belt.

MMA has got to evolve and the judges and referees used by the various states athletic commissions need to improve thier training and understand the fighting techniques employeed by the MMA fighters. It is not just a boxing match, nor is it a wrestling or Judo match. Ground game, stand up, clinch, striking, all of these need to be understood to properly score an MMA fight.

All due respect to Forrest. He is a tough tough dude and a hard worker, but he did not "beat" the champion. Also Rampage was timid at times due to the damage his left leg received due to strong barrages of well placed kicks, so he could have put a better fight plan together as well. A rematch has been called for buy team "Rampage" and as a fan of the UFC and MMA I would like to see it. There are still unanswered questions about this matchup in my mind.

UFC 84

I went 3 for 3 on my predictions for UFC 84. Not too bad, but I think they were pretty easy fights to call. BJ Penn was very serious in his outing. You could tell that he meant business and he capitalized on Sherk's mental mistakes. Sherk was out of his element on his feet and had no business trying to fight BJ standing up.

Tito Ortiz was way too cautious and paid the price. The fight ended and Tito had very little to show for his 15 minutes. Lyoto Machida fought a very calculated fight and landed some serious blows including a mean knee to the kidney that floored Tito. MMA has evolved and Tito has not. He still posesses a lethal ground and pound game, but other MMA fighters have become very defensive and learned counter techniques to avoid take downs.

Vanderlei Silva reminded us why he is nicknamed the Axe Murderer. He put Keith Jardine out and away early in the first round with devastating striking. He still has a hill to climb to get back on top, but he made a serious statement about his ability to win MMA fights.

We are blessed with more MMA action this weekend (Saturday, May 31st). I will get my thoughts together for these fights later this week.

Tito Vs Machida

I am having a hard time putting my thoughts together on this fight. On one hand you have Tito Ortiz. This is very likely his last UFC fight, as he has had a falling away from Dana White (the UFC president) and will probably show up at one of the other promotions by the end of the year. The UFC would love to send Tito out with a loss, so I have to figure that they believe that Machida will get the win. Tito is a popular fighter who made a name for himself by destroying Ken Shamrock's stable of fighters - the "Lion's Den". He then proceeded to beat Ken himself 3 times over the course of time.

Lyoto Machida on the other hand is no joke. He is undefeated and has been successful of controling fights with his methodical and technical fighting style. He is a superb striker and a great ground technician.

In order for Tito to win this fight, he will have to get the takedowns and maintain the top postition. From there he can unleash his ground and pound game and probably win a decision. However, I feel that the more likely scenario is Lyoto avoiding the takedowns and beating Tito in the stand up game. Lyoto is very patient and I am sure he will have no trouble countering Tito's takedowns.

I see Lyoto taking this in the 3rd round by ultimately getting a submission from the top.

Keith Jardine vs Wanderlei Silva

This is an intriguing UFC/MMA match up for a few reasons. Keith "the Dean of Mean" Jardine is finally getting some props....well sort of. He beat Chuck Liddel last year in a stand up battle and Chuck beat Silva recently in a stand up battle. He did suffer a quick K.O. loss to Alexander Houston, but rebounded sharply with a win over the win over Chuck. Prior to the loss to Houston, Keith beat Forrest. Now Forrest is scheduled to fight for the UFC light heavyweight belt against Rampage Jackson in a few months, so it goes without saying that Keith's climbing a steeper hill than other fighters to get to the top. It might work out best for him, as a victory over a legitimate fighter in Silva could do wonders for his confidence and career.

Wanderlei "the Axe Murderer" Silva is a very worthy opponent and is deemed as sacred among hard core MMA fans. His daring fights with several of the biggest names in the fight game are legendary. He is one of the few guys that actually look as scary as Jardine, not that it matters.

Jardine deserves this fight, based on his recent wins over Forrest and Chuck. I beleive he will want to come out early and control the pace, as Silva is known for rushing the pace and pushing the action. Silva has a lot to prove as he is on a 3 fight loosing streak (all against top MMA fighters in Chuck, Dan Henderson and Mirko Crocop), so I look for him to come out in a rage of fury. I can see Silva getting the win and getting his career back on track. I predict a 3rd round TKO.

BJ Penn Vs. Sean Sherk

I got to say I am looking forward to this fight. BJ Penn is a long time name in MMA. He got his start in the LW division of the UFC several years ago and fought all of the big names back in the day. BJ even held the record for the quickest TKO against Caol Uno and BJ was the underdog in that fight. BJ is a Jiu Jitsu specialist with fairly good hands. He packs some power in his punches and can do some damage. He has never been submitted or knocked out. Needless to say, I have lots of respect for BJ. He is the interim champion, as Sherk lost his belt after being found guilty to steroid use.

Sherk was a seemingly deserving champion as he wrestled his way to the top of the LW division. He was found guilty of steroid use last year and this is his first fight back. There is some seemingly real bad blood between these 2 guys. BJ seems genuinely upset with the fact that Sherk used illegal substances and has made mention to the "wild west" ways of dealing with cheaters (kill them).

There is some obvious hype for this fight. Both fighters are legtimate and well known. BJ's cardio has been lackluster before, so that is his main weakness. Sean is known for not finishing fights, but can impose his will (lay and pray) on fighters. Sean is usually stronger than his opponents, but BJ is stronger than he looks. His fights with George St Pierre and Matt Hughes showed us that.

I beleive BJ will come prepared and should not have any trouble controlling this fight early. I foresee a 2nd or 3rd round KO or TKO. Sean just does not have the versatility to defend against BJ's wide array of weapons (submissions, strikes and take downs). And let's not forget, BJ has excellent take down defense as well.

Looking forward to this fight!

Welcome to the MMA Zone

As there are many sources and of information and opinions on MMA, the MMA Zone will be a place to entertain beginners looking to gain insight into the sport with enough depth to keep the most knowledgeable supporters of the sport interested as well.

MMA is a sport that was originally designed, partially to answer the age old question of which martial art is the best. Is Judo better than Wrestling or Jiujitsu? Can a boxer out strike a Karate guy? Well over the years these questions have been answered to some degree, but as the sport continued to evolve the answer to the questions changed. The result is a great mixture of various formats of martial arts and athletes/fighters that are highly skilled in several defensive and offensive techniques. Fighters often train in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) rather than a single format.

MMA is in an interesting era, as various orginizations are vying for supermacy. The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) is currently the world market leader, with several others in a fight for 2nd place. Japan has long been a hotbed for MMA due to the deep history of martial arts in the country and the general populations' understanding of technique and appreciation for the fighting spirit. Currently Dream is emerging as a strong organization with several big name fighters under contracts.

HDNet - (television network) has recently started broadcasting several different organizations fights from around North America and Japan, including Dream, and have ventured into the promotional side of things as well. Mark Cuban (of Dallas Mavericks fame) is the owner of HD NET and is proving to be a strong advocate of MMA. Ultimately I can see a lot of mergers and aquisitions happening among the top5 to 10 organizations and with HDNet support an organization can give the UFC some strong competition.

Also on CBS on May 31, Elite XC will put on a big promotion. This can prove to be an interesting couple of weeks in the MMA world as the UFC has a pretty big card coming up and Dream is in the middle of a light weight tournament.

Stay tuned for fight cards, predictions, pre and post fight analysis. Please add your comments and thoughts!