Come on Dana

 Alistair Overeem recently failed a drug test forcing him out of UFC 146 title fight against UFC heavy weight champion Junior dos Santos. Former champions Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez are fighting each other on the same card to see who would get the next title shot. Logic would say since Mir is a top contender and is on a winning streak he should take Overeem’s place and fight for the title. UFC president Dana White has confirmed the Mir- Velasquez will go on as planned. This is a huge problem because no other fight makes sense. No other contender has beaten the quality of fighters Mir has. To have a lesser fighter leapfrog over Mir isn’t fair to him or to Dos Santos who faces the possibility being called a paper champion because of White’s decision not to let the best fighter fight.

MELVIN GUILLARD IN A MUST-WIN SITUATION

Melvin Guillard is arguably the most athletic fighter in the UFC. He has an incredible amount of potential that is undeniable. Potential and natural talent will only get you so far, though. To stay in the UFC, fighters have to win, and Guillard is at risk of losing three straight fights. Guillard's back-to-back losses started with Joe Lauzon, who choked out Guillard in just 48 seconds. Next Jim Miller submitted him at the 2:04 mark of the very first round. It is no secret jiu-jitsu is Guillard's Kryptonite since nine of his ten losses are from submissions. Guillard's next opponent, Fabricio Camoes, is a highly respected BJJ practitioner. If Guillard is submitted again and then gets cut, he will become a sad sports story of an athlete with great potential who just couldn't cut it.

This article took 12th at mmajunkie.com sunday entry

MMA needs an official ranking system

It has been happening a lot more lately when a consensus top contender is passed over for a more popular less deserving fighter. The most recent example of this is Tim Boetsch getting the opportunity to fight former title eliminator challenger Michael Bisping. Boetsch last fight against Yushin Okami was an incredible come from behind victory. But one impressive win should not allow him to leap frog over consensus top contender Mark Munoz. A ranking system would arrange it show the best fighters fought best fighters. It would also allow fighters, fans, and everyone else know where fighters stood for title opportunity.

It would be understandable if Bisping wanted a tune up fight after his controversial lose to Chael Sonnen. But, when there another top contender waiting in limbo Bisping should man up and fight him. Every fighter fights to become champion anyway. Fighting tougher guys helps you get to the position of title challenger so why waste time fighting second tier fighters?

I would love to hear your thoughts please leave a comment  

WHAT IS 'RAMPAGE' THINKING?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has been all over Twitter badmouthing the UFC, saying he isn't being paid enough. In a recent episode of "UFC insider," Jackson showed his huge house that had a pool and his collection of cars that included a Lamborghini. How much money does he need? He has one fight left on his contract. If he were to win, he may be able to negotiate to make more money. Instead he disrespects the UFC, which is responsible for making him a star in the U.S. He is also disrespecting all of the hard working people who don't make the kind of money to buy hundred-thousand-dollar cars. The fact is there are much smarter ways to go about this situation, and I wish "Rampage" would think before he tweets.

This article took 10th place @ mmajunkie.com sunday entry

SORRY, RONDA ROUSEY

Ronda Rousey silenced doubters with a victory over former Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion Miesha Tate. Many people (including me) felt that the former Olympian Rousey had talked her way into a title fight – that she was a one trick pony and didn't have the experience to compete with Tate. We were wrong. Rousey almost single handily promoted this fight doing multiple interviews and boosting about herself so much she would have looked like a fool if she had failed. When it was time to fight, Rousey defeated a well-respected champion while adding Tate to the list of competitors who have fallen victim to her armbar. Who would disagree that Ronda Rousey is now the face of women's MMA?

This article took 4th place at mmajunkie.com sunday junkie

Size Matters

Like many other MMA enthusiast I feel former light weight champion Frankie Edgar should move down to bantam weight. Edgar has had success in the light weight division because he has a “Rocky complex”. He wills himself to move forward and keep fighting regardless of how much damage he takes. He has been able to beat much larger opponents on will alone until UFC 144.

Edgar fought Ben Henderson for the UFC light weight title. Henderson is bigger, stronger, and has the will that matches Edgar’s. Henderson showed Edgar that a strong will, will only get you so far earning a unanimous decision over Edgar to become the new champion. If Edgar is interested in become a UFC champion again fighting people his own size would be his best bet. Size is not everything but it does matter when you’re the smaller person.   

IT'S TIME FOR ELLENBERGER VS. CONDIT II

Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Condit II is a fight that should definitely happen soon. Ellenberger is now on a six-fight win streak following a UFC on FUEL TV 1 win over Diego Sanchez. Three of those victories were finishes, including a KO victory over former title challenger Jake Shields. I completely understand Condit wanting to wait for champion Georges St-Pierre to get healthy, but having the world's top two welterweights inactive until the fall isn't fair to the fans. It would be unfortunate to lose a title shot after winning the interim title, but if you are truly are the best fighter in your division, fighting another interim-title fight should not matter.

This article took 3rd place at mmajunkie.com sunday entry

Is Nick Diaz Serious anymore?

When Nick Diaz is in the cage he’s one of the most dangerous men in the world. Outside of the cage Diaz’s decisions makes me wonder if he takes fighting seriously. Recently, Diaz suffered a controversial unanimous decision lose to Carlos Condit. On February 9^th test came back from UFC 143 and Nick Diaz tested for marijuana again. This means even if he would have defeated Condit the fight would have been overturned and ruled a no contest. The failed test combined with the many missed UFC pressers isn’t consistent behavior of someone who wants to be the UFC Welter weight world champion. It was rumored it would be a rematch between Condit and Diaz in the near future. Due to Diaz’s negligence he now faces suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The new Rashad Evans

After last night's victory over Phil Davis fans will finally get to see Rashad Evans Vs Jon Jones. My only question is which Rashad will show up to the fight? After Rashad's lose to Lyoto Machida at UFC 98 Rashad kind of became a point counter (doing just enough to win the round). This continued until Rashad switched camps and started training at Imperial Athletics. Lately, Rashad appears to be bigger, stronger, and is looking to take people's heads off. I truly hope this new style continues. I just wonder when he fights Jon Jones and gets into trouble (and he will get in trouble) will he go back to point counting? Or push through and fight like the new Rashad we have come to know?

STILL NOT SOLD ON JIM MILLER

Despite his quick win at UFC on FX, Jim Miller is still a second-tier fighter. At one time, Miller was on a seven-fight win streak with a 9-1 record in the UFC. On paper, Miller looked awesome and was being considered for a title shot. Then the worst thing that could have happened, happened. Miller fought Benson Henderson and received a three-round beatdown. The Henderson loss showed how one-dimensional Miller is. If he is unable to use his jiu-jitsu, he becomes a human punching bag. When you look at the winning streak Miller was on, none of the guys were top-10 fighters. Though the win over Guillard was impressive, it was simply a battle of the divisions' two best one-dimensional fighters.

This article placed 5th at mmajunkie.com Sunday entry

ALDO SUPPLANTS GSP IN POUND-FOR-POUND RANKINGS

Many pound-for-pound rankings have Anderson Silva ranked in first place, Jon Jones in second, and Georges St-Pierre third. After Jose Aldo's knockout over Chad Mendes at UFC 142, Aldo should take GSP's third-place ranking. GSP is a great fighter who has accomplished incredible feats in MMA, including six consecutive title defenses. Despite his great accolades, though, he has not finished an opponent since 2009. I understand he is fighting No. 1 contenders, but so are all the other champions. Silva, Jones and Aldo are still able to finish top contenders in impressive fashion, which is why they are ranked so highly on everyone's pound-for-pound rankings. GSP has awesome talent, but he should not hold Aldo's rightfully earned pound-for-pound spot just because he is GSP.


This article placed 3rd at mmajunkie.com Sunday entry

ROUSEY UNDESERVING OF TITLE FIGHT

Ronda Rousey is a promoter's dream. She is a beautiful woman who has a legit background in martial arts. On top of that, she has no problem pulling a Chael Sonnen (trash talking) to help promote a fight. Next to Gina Carano, Rousey may be the most marketable female fighter in the world. Despite all these great qualities, Rousey hasn't done enough to earn a title shot against Strikeforce champ Miesha Tate. Rousey only has four professional fights, and half of those opponents didn't even have winning records. For her to leapfrog over top contenders while having so little experience doesn't make any sense. Strikeforce officials should be ashamed of themselves. As a promotion, they have the responsibility to have the two best fighters fight for the title, not the two prettiest