With GSP vs Shields Coming Up, & Penn vs Fitch a DRAW, What Happens to WW Title Picture?

As I posted before, UFC President Dana  White has made statements saying that should current Welterweight (170lb) Champion Georges St. Pierre defeat #1 contender Jake Shields, then he would vacate the title and move up to Middleweight (185lb) to fight there full time and face the division's champion Anderson Silva. Prior to the recent UFC 127 event in Sydney, Australia, White had also announced that the winner of the main event between 2x former champion BJ Penn & longtime contender Jon Fitch would become the new #1 contender to face the possible winner of the title match, though this seems to have changed due to the result of this bout.

UFC 127 Aftermath

The second trip to Australia was a success with one of the fastest sell outs & a super enthusiastic crowd that absolutely loves the sport of MMA. The event did not go without controversy with a questionable decision, an illegal strike during an emotionally hyped bout, upsets, and even a draw that nobody expected in predictions.
Results:
Warburton receives Unanimous Decision Win over Jewtuszko
Hunt receives Rnd2 KO Win & Knock Out of the Night over Tuchscherer
Tie Quan receives Rnd1 Submission Win over Reinhardt
Perosh receives Rnd1 Submission Win over Blackledge
Ring receives Unanimous Decision Win over Fukuda
Gustafsson receives Rnd1 Submission Win over Te-Huna
Pearson receives Unanimous Decision Win over Fisher
Noke receives Rnd1 Submission Win & Submission of the Night over Camozzi
Ebersole receives Unanimous Decision Win over Lytle & both received Fight of the Night
Siver receives Unanimous Decision Win over Sotiropoulos
Bisping receives Rnd2 TKO Win over Rivera
Penn & Fitch go to a Majority Draw

UFC Live on Versus 3: Sanchez vs Kampmann

The UFC will hold present their third official event on the VersusTV channel and their first official event ever in the state of Kentucky on March 3 at the KFC Yum! Center. While this card has been plagued with fighters dropping out of this card due to injuries and personal problems, this event still has great potential to turn out some action.

MAIN CARD BOUTS:
Diego Sanchez (22-4-0) vs Martin Kampmann (17-4-0)

C.B. Dolloway (11-2-0) vs Mark Munoz (9-2-0)

Alessio Sakara (15-7-0(1)) vs Chris Weidman (4-0-0)

Brian Bowles (8-1-0) vs Damacio Page (15-5-0)

For this event, fans with access to the channel VersusTV will be able to view this event free with commercials in between rounds and bouts.

A "Positive" Test Result for Thiago Silva, Means the Rehiring of Brandon Vera

UFC 125 on Januray 1, 2011, was the stage for a dominant performance from powerful Light Heavyweight Thaigo Silva as he took Brandon Vera down and grinded him for most of the fight towards a Unanimous Decision win which resulted in a broken nose and release papers for the once rising star that was Vera. Vera was released after receiving his third consecutive loss. The first of the three came with a Unanimous Decision loss to UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture in a bout that Vera felt he had for sure won, the second came via TKO by devastating elbows from new rising star Jon Jones as he broke bones in three places in Vera's face.

This performance lead to a possible top contention bout between the winner Silva & Quinton "Rampage" Jackson as both racked up wins to put them back in the title picture. These plans changed however after the Nevada State Athletic Commission released a list of test results from the New Years Day event that presented a list of fighters cleared with negative test results looking for Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED), that is all but Silva. Silva has since maintained his innocence insisting that he had not taken any PEDs, though this does not change the fact that a positive test result scares away any offer for a fight with a potential suspension on the horizon. Silva has since been replaced for his bout with Rampage by heavy handed wrestler Matt Hamill.

With a positive test coming with a win, it is protocol for the commission to replace the win for Silva and the loss for Vera with a "No Contest" that will remain on both of their records. After speculation arose with a positive test result, Vera was quick to voice his opinion saying he should be given an automatic second chance in the UFC. Vera is now readmitted into the UFC's 205lb division and will wait to be booked for his first bout  in returning to the Octagon.

While the second chance is justified, will Vera abandon his cocky sometimes overly confident attitude and take a new approach now that he has been on the receiving end of release form the biggest stage for any mixed martial artist to make a name for themselves?

UFC 127 Penn vs Fitch-The Return to Australia

UFC 127 Penn vs Fitch marks the second official event that the Ultimate Fighting Championship will hold in the land down under.

Main Card:

Penn (16-7-1) vs Fitch (23-3-0)

Bisping (20-3-0) vs Rivera (19-7-0)

Sotiropoulos (14-2-0) vs Siver (17-7-0)

Lytle (30-17-5) vs Ebersole (46-14-1(1))

Noke (18-4-1) vs Camozzi (14-3-0)

This event may not seem so important to many fans who don't have the sufficient funds to purchase every PPV the UFC schedules, though the bouts involved being amped up in importance may lead them to reconsider.

Dana White Says GSP Would Vacate Title & Move to 185lb Should He Beat Sheilds...So What does that mean for Penn/Fitch Winner?

UFC President Dana White has stated that he & current reigning 170lb champion Georges St. Pierre are comfortable that should he successfully defend his title against #1 contender & dangerous BJJ black belt Jake Sheilds, then the Welterweight kingpin would vacate his title to compete at 185lbs as a Middleweight & face champion Anderson Silva. Facts and technicalities are mixed as White has also announced that the winner of the upcoming UFC 127 170lb Main Event between 2x Champion BJ Penn & long time contender Jon Fitch would become the #1 contender for the title.

Should GSP win and vacate his title, that would mean Jake Shields would have to lose. If GSP were to vacate the title, then the division would be without a champion. Would the winner of Penn/Fitch be automatically crowned the new champion following a GSP victory? Or will a new title fight be arranged similar to when Penn fought Joe Stevenson for the vacant 155lb title after Sean Sherk was stripped of it? If the latter is the case, then who would be the second fighter to contest for the title? Depending on hiwws probable method of defeat, Shields may be offered the title fight again to face the winner of Penn/Fitch for the title.Would this be justified?

Should Shields lose and possibly be offered a second title shot, which match up would be more interesting? Penn is once again known for his KO power after his best-out-of-three win over fellow former champ Matt Hughes at UFC 123, and is well known  as The Prodigy being a record holder for becoming one of the fastest people, especially as an American, to earn a black belt in BJJ. Fitch on the other hand has been seen as a mirror image of GSP in technique and performance ever since his loss to the champion in 2008 at UFC 87, as he followed his only loss in the UFC with five consecutive Unanimous Decision wins. Either match up would put Shields, or whom ever the UFC decides to put in this bout, against a top veteran in one of the most stacked divisions in the sport.

A lot rides on the line just on this one match as the most important bout in both GSP's & Shields' career with great potential to follow. With a win for GSP, he would have successfully defended his title for the sixth consecutive time along with breaking the record for most consecutive title defenses as UFC 170lb champion, and will relieve himself of his long held title to seek new competition in the division just above his own. With a win for Shields, he would be next to Anderson Silva as having won a UFC title in only his second bout under the UFC banner, he would become the second fighter to pull an upset over GSP in a title bout along with being only the third fighter to hold a victory over him, and would face top competition in either Penn or Fitch; or even an automatic rematch between him & GSP.

So much rides on this one bout, so much that their is no doubt the atmosphere will be thick with anticipation just for the weigh ins alone for this event.

MMA Is Still Not Legal In The State of New York. So Why Should Non-New Yorkers Care?

Mixed-Martial Arts (MMA) is one of, if not thee greatest sport in the history of this planet. MMA is legal to be put on display in forty four states in the entire United States of America; not including Native American reservations that can choose on their own to permit MMA events on their own sovereign boundaries. In MMA news constantly, is the fact that the state of New York has repeatedly shot down votes and arguments to legalize the sport to be put on live display within their boundaries. So one question that many of us MMA fans who reside within the permitting forty four states ask is: why should we care if the Empire State doesn't want MMA?

I myself being a proud Californian who obviously loves this great sport asked the same question long ago before I realized the importance. New York has had a strong loving relationship with the traditional sport of Boxing. The debate about which sport is better will not be brought up here, but it does play a role obviously. New York State is seen by many devoted MMA fans and followers as the final stronghold of boxing. Many who are old enough to remember can recall when US Senate Congressman John McCain led a crusade to ban what was then called "Ultimate Fighting" from television, Pay-per-View, & even entirely from being put on live display. Those of you would recall that Sen. McCain was also being financially backed and used by boxing promotions to simply crush what would become their ultimate rival in the years to come as the drawing power of the sport began to fade.

It is no secret that New York loves the sport of boxing with being host to two of the three Ali-Frazier bouts. And it is no surprise that boxing promotions are dumping their money into one big pot to keep New York legislators from potentially adding a nail to the coffin of the dying popularity of the sport. Boxing is protecting New York like its sacred land and Madison Square Garden is their castle.

The importance of MMA being legalized in NY is not just about the war of words between boxing & MMA, but about the importance of being recognized as a legitimate sport. Many of us who follow & love MMA see it as the greatest sport in the world, but there are those out there who do not know what it is or even consider it a sport. NY is an important state economically & politically in the USA. With NY being the final stronghold of boxing, legalization in the state would mean true recognition as a legitimate sport. Legalization alone would attract even more recognition and maybe go a long way to move the sport even close to becoming an Olympic event. The fan frenzy, media coverage, & "A" list attendees that would personally witness the first ever sanctioned UFC event in MSG would bring millions of dollars alone to New York City. Any fighter who would be displayed in the first ever UFC MSG card would get great recognition & a big payday. So many NY born & based fighters have dreamed of competing in the most recognized arena in the world and even more to just be on the main card. Former UFC Champions Rashad Evans & Matt Serra, as well new Light Heavyweight champ Jon Jones are a few NY born fighters who would love to for once have the home field advantage fighting in front of friends, family, & the hometown crowd.

With the sport of MMA being so young as compared to boxing, there are plenty of dream matches that are reasonable to set as many of those fighters are in their prime or heading into the twilight of their careers anyway. Such matches include Silva-GSP, SIlva-Jones, Edgar-Aldo, & many more as more prospects and contenders rise every day. Boxing really only has the dream bout that all combat sports fans have been calling for with Pacquiao-Mayweather, though the chances seem to be fading faster as Pacquiao focuses on his commitments as an elected official in his homeland, and Mayweather dealing with image destroying legal troubles. The sport of MMA needs a victory in New York state to progress further into legitimacy, and it will possibly by the end of 2011.

Welcome to MMA Fan HQ

Welcome fans, new comers, & visitors :)

We are die hard fans of the great sport of Mixed Martial Arts. Here we will post blogs & stories on the latest that is MMA from news, fighters, predictions for upcoming events, interviews, & fan perspectives independent from any promotions.

Primarily the views on promotions will involve the top two with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) & Strikeforce, as well as the rising promotion Bellator Fighting Championship (BellatorFC/Bellator). Occasionally we will mention promotions like Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC), DreamFC, Sengoku, & even what local promotions that we may attend.

This is a blog specifically by MMA fans to give a perspective in anticipation and admiration of everything MMA. This will include asking our fellow fans their own opinions like certain fights the fans want to see like Strikeforce vs UFC match-ups, super fights, criticism of judging & reffing, & reviewing fights. We intend to involve credibility as we encourage our fellow MMA fans to use the 10-Point-Must scoring system "honestly" to get the perspective of a judge. As fans we will even bring up debates like should MMA judging be reformed from the 10-Point-Must scoring system, & if so then what would replace it?

MMA is a grand and wonderful sport. It very well may be the best sport in the history of this earth. Welcome and enjoy to all :)