For Strikeforce, Muhammad ‘King Mo’ Lawal soundly beat Gegard Mousasi even after some less than stellar early rounds. Gilbert Melendez increased his standing with a win over Shinya Aoki. Most impressively, Jake Shields pulled off a massive upset by defending his Strikeforce middleweight belt against Dan Henderson, and he is now a free agent who could end up signing with another promotion. April really has turned into an interesting month for MMA rankings.

Of course, no discussion of Strikeforce Nashville could be complete without mentioning the massive brawl that ended the event. Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller interrupted Jake Shields’ post-fight interview to ask for a rematch, and then everything went to hell. Gilbert Melendez shoved Mayhem, followed by a massive beating from many members of the Cesar Gracie camp including Nick Diaz and Nate Diaz. In fact, three of the Strikeforce champions were involved, which doesn’t bode well for the promotion. For now, damage control seems to be Strikeforce fully blaming the incident on Mayhem, though many think that his actions did not warrant a group beating. There was cause to admonish him, sure, but not the ridiculous bashing that actually did occur.

That can all stay in the past, though. WEC 48 should wash out any bad taste left by the Strikeforce ‘finale’ as it includes some very intriguing fights. The main event of Jose Aldo vs Urijah Faber has serious implications for the WEC featherweight division. If Aldo wins as is expected, then Faber will be in something of a Rich Franklin position – he can beat most other people in the division, but he probably won’t be able to seriously challenge for the title again. If Faber wins, then there will be a Faber > Aldo > Mike Brown > Faber situation that could lead to interesting times ahead. More than likely, Aldo will win and Faber will be unfairly written off as ‘done’. I really hope he pulls off the upset, though, as it would make for some spectacular match ups in the future.

The WEC lightweight championship match of Ben Henderson vs Donald Cerrone should hopefully bring the fireworks that their last fight did. I’m not sure it will, though, given that they should both have worked on things that didn’t work out for them in the last fight. Nevertheless, I don’t think it will go the distance, as one of them will pick up a submission or knockout this time around.

I’m not sure if Mike Brown is being undervalued or overprotected by the WEC, but this fight with Manny Gamburyan seems almost insulting to the former featherweight champion. I know that Manny is in good form at featherweight, but we aren’t talking about a championship-level fighter. If he manages to even challenge Brown, I’ll be impressed with Manny Gamburyan, but I’ll be absolutely flabbergasted if he wins.

Will WEC 48 be a successful PPV? It has many of its biggest stars on this card, and Zuffa are bringing in Rogan and Goldberg for commentary to make this have more of the feel of a UFC event. This has added to rumors that the UFC and WEC are bound to merge, but I think it may be more of a case that the WEC needs PPV training wheels to start with. When people are used to buying WEC PPV cards, then you can be sure the UFC influences will be slowly reduced until the WEC stands on its own. That, or people are right about a UFC/WEC merger. We’ll see.

First up, Anderson Silva vs Demian Maia is a very interesting match up. Sure, it has only happened due to Chael Sonnen being unable to fight right now, and it is true that Maia has only one fight between now and his first loss. Nevertheless, most of Silva’s losses have come from submissions, and Maia is a phenomenal BJJ practitioner. It is most likely that Anderson will beat Maia into a fine paste, but a submission victory for the challenger is still an outside possibility.

BJ Penn will murderize Frankie Edgar on the weekend. I don’t know if he’ll do it standing or if he’ll just casually choke one more lightweight challenger. Wherever he decides to fight, the only thing that will save Edgar from a Sanchez/Penn-like bloodbath is BJ’s mercy. Will he have any for Frankie Edgar? If he ends it in the fourth, yes (he lets the opponents he respects at least get to a championship round). If he ends it in the fifth after an incredibly one-sided beatdown, no (Diego Sanchez must have crossed a line or something).

Matt Hughes v Renzo Gracie is an unfortunate fight. Yeah, Hughes has the whole Gracie rivalry thing going, but he is massively overmatched for Renzo. Hughes is far younger, at 36 to 43, and he has a record that normally wouldn’t even be casually compared to that of Renzo Gracie, as it is so much better. Everyone knows that this will end with Renzo getting dominated with wrestling, and then either having his face beat in or just holding out for three rounds to a lopsided decision for Hughes.

UFC 112 is kind of top heavy. While it is nice to see Kendall Grove on the main card of a real UFC event against Mark Munoz, a lot of the other fights have little to no casual appeal. It’s almost like they spent all the money paying for the top 3 fights and had practically nothing left for the prelims. Oh well, while that isn’t great for the people who actually go to see this live, it makes little difference to those of us watching from home.

The next few months are going to be very exciting for UFC fans, but let’s not forget Strikeforce, as the Nashville event will see Jake Shields vs Dan Henderson, Gegard Mousasi vs Muhammed Lawal, and Shinya Aoki vs Gilbert Melendez. Those are all championship fights, yet Shields is likely the underdog against Henderson, and Melendez is in for a tough fight against Aoki. It’s a real contrast to the UFC, where the champions are so dominant that many of them keep talking about moving up in weight class.

The main event will see Dan Hardy finally challenge welterweight champion Georges St Pierre, after several months of smack talk. No matter what Hardy’s chances actually are, he sure knows how to foster interest in a fight.

This fight is getting odds of -800 GSP to +500 Dan Hardy. That is insane, but unsurprising. Hardy has not been spectacular in his little title run. He’s mostly just been vocal and won close decisions. His striking is good, but not stellar, and his ground work is decent, allowing him to avoid damage from the bottom while he works on getting back up. Unless he has just been trying to lull GSP into a false sense of security with the marginal wins he’s taken in his last few fights, the belt will be staying with the Canadian champion for a while yet.

The other big fight on this card is Frank Mir vs Shane Carwin, which I have been looking forward to so very, very much. This fight is getting odds of -160 Mir to +130 Carwin. Is it that close? I don’t think so. I think Mir takes this one, especially with his recently increased muscle mass.

Sure, Shane Carwin is currently undefeated after 11 fights, but he only really began to face quality opposition in his last fight against Gabriel Gonzaga. That was now over a year ago, as Carwin has been waiting on a title shot against Brock Lesnar, so it will be interesting to see if Carwin suffers from ring rust. Mir last fought in December, and he has mostly fought the best UFC heavyweights for the past few years. Carwin could win this one with a surprise KO, but a Mir win via submission seems more likely.

Another important welterweight fight at UFC 111 is Jon Fitch vs Thiago Alves. Both have already lost to GSP in title fights, but both are also well-positioned to challenge again. This fight has odds of -140 Alves to +110 Fitch at some bookies, and it really is looking like a coin flip of a fight. If it stays standing, Alves takes it easily, but the same goes for Fitch if the fight hits the ground. Fitch has the advantage of a previous win as well, though it was an unusual victory that was mostly due to an up kick hitting home on a standing Alves. A more likely end to this fight will be a KO victory for Alves or a decision win for Fitch.

The last fight I’d like to look at is Nate Diaz vs Rory Markham, which isn’t getting any love from bookies, but it is an interesting fight. Diaz has moved up to welterweight after some trouble remaining competitive at lightweight. Markham is a solid welterweight fighter, but he hasn’t set the world on fire. This is a much better fight for Diaz than his recent match ups have been, as Markham is very much a striker. Wrestlers have manhandled Diaz at lightweight, and we will only really know whether the increase in weight has helped him after he goes up against a good wrestler, but this theoretically easy fight for Diaz should be a good introduction to a heavier weight division. I expect either a spectacular submission or a spectacular knockout.

April is another so-so month for the UFC in terms of the number of events, but at least it will feature a card with two championship matches and another major Strikeforce event. I guess I’m one of those people who doesn’t think you can oversaturate the market with MMA content.

I was lucky enough to attend this UFC event, and I can tell you that the crowd was revved up the entire time for action standing or on the ground – just so long as the fighters were working! While some late cancellations and replacements led to a particularly one-sided affair (Cro Cop absolutely outclassed Anthony Perosh, as expected) the remaining unaltered fights were a sight to behold.

I’d like to focus attention on 3 fights in particular: Sotiropoulos vs Stevenson, Lytle vs Foster, and Velasquez vs Nogueira. First of all, it did my heart good to see George Sotiropoulos dominate Joe Stevenson standing and on the ground. It was even better to see that George could fight from the bottom, using 10th Planet JJ technique to control Stevenson. Now, I like Joe and I’m sad to see him have to start building up wins again, but Sotiropoulos is an exciting ground fighter who grapples to win. This was a decision only because Joe is so tough – Sotiropoulos made a number of close submission attempts that would have worked on many other less game fighters.

Lytle vs Foster proved that Chris Lytle should be on every card. Of every MMA event. Twice each night, if at all possible. But seriously, that guy always puts on a hell of a show, and while his wild swinging at the start of the fight looked like it might open him up for a spectacular knockout later, he put Brian Foster out of commission for a while with a gorgeous kneebar. That was a thing of beauty to see live, and I couldn’t help but wince as it came on and Foster started tapping furiously. Foster was able to limp on his leg a bit afterwards, so I’m hoping the damage isn’t too severe. Damn good show on the part of Lytle, though my girlfriend thought he was too cocky afterwards.

Finally, Cain Velasquez must have shed his reputation for pillow punches by now, as he knocked Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira down and out in the first round. Considering the number of punches Velasquez was landing with seemingly no effect, I doubt anyone expected a first round KO before it happened. Nogueira looked set to lose that fight from the beginning, though, as Velasquez just kept getting there first with his strikes. This should definitely have earned him a title shot, either against Brock Lesnar directly, or against the winner of Mir/Carwin for the interim title.

It’s hard to get excited for the next event after the huge build-up to 110, but I think I can manage. UFC 111 sees Dan Hardy challenge GSP for the welterweight belt, and I don’t think this will be as one-sided as people expect. While Hardy is primarily a striker, he is fairly obsessed with 10th Planet JJ and actually does quite a bit of work on his ground game. I’m guessing he expects to get taken down, and he probably has a few tricks up his sleeve for fighting from his back against a dominant wrestler like GSP. I doubt Hardy will win, but UFC 111 should prove to doubters that he is a legitimate welterweight contender.

The main event of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Cain Velasquez is getting odds of -115 for both fighters at BetUS and -120 Nog to -110 Velasquez at Bodog. Needless to say, the bookies figure it’ll be a close fight. It’s conventional wisdom not to bet on such close fights, and there’s a good reason for that. You are looking at a fairly even chance of a win or loss, yet neither bet you could make would pay out much. BetUS is also offering over/under odds, but those bets are rarely a good idea.

We’re talking a legend of the sport in Nogueira up against a young undefeated prospect in Velasquez. This is a clear test of whether Velasquez has what it takes to vie for title contention. I think he does, and my feeling is that this will actually be a disappointing technical battle. My other guess is Nogueira by omoplata, but that’s just because I think it would be cool to see.

The other really big fight at UFC 110 will be Wanderlei Silva vs Michael Bisping, which BetUS has at -145 Silva to +115 Bisping, and Bodog has at -154 Silva to +125 Bisping. Anyone who has read this blog knows I like Michael Bisping. And, yes, I think he will win. This is mostly due to the fact that Silva has lost 6 of his last 10 fights, while Bisping’s only recent loss was that spectacular knockout delivered by Dan Henderson. Yep, it was a bad loss, but it didn’t really reveal any fundamental flaws with Bisping’s style. I don’t think Silva will be bringing anything of his old self, nor anything revolutionary that will bring back his winning ways. I call a second round TKO for Bisping, who will knock Silva down and then swarm in for the finish.

Joe Stevenson vs George Sotiropoulos is a really interesting fight. I’ll be happy if either fighter wins, as I like them both, but a win for Sotiropoulos would be far more meaningful. Unfortunately, it’ll be a struggle for him, as he’s the underdog in this fight for good reason. George’s BJJ skills are outstanding, as we’ve seen in many of his fights, but he has yet to fight someone with equally impressive ground fighting. Stevenson is that fight, and he is on something of a tear at the moment, coming back from troubling losses with a couple of dominant victories. If George gets past Stevenson, he’s probably on his way to a title shot in a couple more fights. It just doesn’t seem likely given Joe Stevenson’s great wrestling.

There are just so many excellent fights on this card, and it’s going to be a real treat to watch. Sure, you never know what a fight is going to be like until it happens, but most of these match-ups promise a lot of excitement.

The Wrestlebeast smells blood.

All levity aside, Lesnar was in a really bad way when he was first diagnosed with diverticulosis, but no operation was necessary and he has been given a clean bill of health. On ESPN, Dana White announced that Lesnar’s return will see him face the winner of Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin, or the winner of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Cain Velasquez if the winner of Mir/Carwin sustains an injury.

Lesnar could not intake enough nutrients given his affliction, and he was probably operating at just over half his true potential. Also, he was still 248 pounds at his lightest, and he is back up to 273 pounds now. That’s pretty incredible, and it’s a sign that his body naturally sits at that massive weight. Unfortunately, considering he was struggling to take in enough nutrients before, this could also mean he’ll get bigger and may end up having to cut a lot of weight. We’ll have to wait and see about that, though.

Now, let’s consider the implications of Brock’s return. First of all, he’s keeping his title, though Mir and Carwin will be fighting for an interim title. Secondly, Lesnar has acknowledged Frank Mir as his stalker, and he welcomes another fight with Frank. I think this is hubris, as it’s a dangerous fight for everyone, including the UFC. If Brock wins, Mir is out of title contention, but he’ll certainly be able to eliminate potential contenders. If Mir wins, there’s no way it’ll be the end of his fights with Lesnar. People will just claim that Lesnar wasn’t ready to come back into such a tough fight, and yet another rematch will be certain. Lesnar and Mir would be forever entwined, Lesnar raining down hammerfists while Mir works for a leglock.

Next, while Lesnar says the heavyweight division is getting nervous about his return, I actually think this sickness has robbed him of his mystique. Before, everyone feared whether he was beatable. Now there are several heavyweights considered capable of challenging him and maybe even defeating him. This is good news for the UFC, as now any challengers to the title will seem more legitimate. While an undefeatable fighting machine can be a good image for a champion, there are enough of those as it is. A human Brock Lesnar makes the heavyweight division look like it is full of legitimate challengers, which means better marketing, and a greater legacy for Lesnar if he beats them.

Still waiting for Strikeforce: Miami and I guess UFC 109 will be good too? I don’t know, I’m too excited for UFC 110, which is such a stacked card. Seriously, UFC 110 is ridiculous in terms of fanboy appeal. While the fights are kind of meaningless in terms of title contention, they’re all exciting on paper. Anyway, more news on upcoming events closer to the dates they’ll be held.

I expected Maynard would take down Diaz and win the fight easily with control, but he really wants to get rid of his lay and pray label, doesn’t he? In a move that can only be described as bizarre, Maynard chose to stand and trade strikes with Diaz for 3 rounds, coming away with a split decision that could have just as easily been a draw or even a loss. I also think Maynard’s unwillingness to go to the ground when he knocked Diaz down looked too much like fear of a submission. This is probably why Frank Edgar has just been given the next title shot against BJ Penn, when it could so easily have gone to Maynard.d

While I thought Amir Sadollah wasn’t going to have an easy time against Brad Blackburn, he won a solid unanimous decision, with 30-27 from every judge. Blackburn had a good start in round 1, but the fight changed after an uppercut rocked him later in the first. Rounds 2 and 3 went without question to Sadollah, and a fourth round probably would have seen Blackburn finished off.

Evan Dunham vs Efrain Escudero was a bit of an upset, with Escudero tapping to an armbar in the third round. The armbar was on good and deep before he tapped, and it seemed like his arm was injured thanks to his stubbornness, but he has reported that nothing is broken. It’s a bit of an unfortunate loss, as he was probably on the way to bigger and better things if he had managed to pull off a win.

Other results from UFN 20 included a decision win for Chris Leben, who had clearly fallen a long way. From headlining a card to the prelims of a UFC Fight Night? It could be worse, but not by much, so maybe this win will get him back onto UFC PPVs. I have an awful feeling that the lack of a finish may just squeeze him out of the UFC entirely, though. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Luckily, the injury rate for this event subsided slightly and the card stabilized long enough for an official announcement of the fights. For an event that seemed to fulfill End of Days prophecies, it was a pretty exciting night, with only 3 decisions in 10 fights.

First of all, UFC 108 was bad news for the Lauzons, as both Dan and Joe lost their fights. Dan Lauzon was caught in a bizarre triangle and kimura combo by Cole Miller. Joe Lauzon was simply outmatched in all 3 rounds of his fight against Sam Stout, who has come out looking a much better prospect after his disappointing beginnings in the UFC.

Also on this card was Junior dos Santos vs. Gilbert Yvel. Originally, this was scheduled to be a fight between dos Santos and Gabriel Gonzaga, which was a very exciting fight for anyone interested in Dos Santos’ rise through the heavyweight division. Gonzaga got sick, however, and Yvel stepped up to replace him. Gilbert Yvel is known for three things – fouls, KO victories, and absolutely no ground game. What a surprise, then, when Junior dos Santos chose to stand with Yvel, knocking him down and then finishing him off at 2:07 of the first round. It’s not all that impressive given Yvel’s record in the biggest promotions, but it demonstrates that dos Santos has a good sense of himself and he knows when he completely outclasses an opponent.

I was sad to see Dustin Hazelett lose to Paul Daley so quickly, but he brought it on himself. Hazelett has only ever managed to finish his UFC fights by submission, yet he did not attempt to take Paul Daley down at all. One wonders if he had been training as if he was still going to fight Karo Parisyan. Regardless, it’s a bit of a shame, as that beard of his is spectacular, and it needs merchandising opportunities.

Finally, let’s look at the main event. Rashad Evans edged out a decision against Thiago Silva, and he was in big trouble near the end of the fight. It was the kind of performance that makes you think he’ll probably get another challenge for the title sometime, but he’s unlikely to win it unless he gets to take it from Forrest again. Beating Thiago Silva is impressive, it just needed to be more dominant to really prove that Evans could become a dominant champion in the future. We’ll see how Rashad does against Rampage, I suppose.

Next week we get an Ultimate Fight Night to tide us over until UFC 109 and Strikeforce: Miami. It’s a pretty busy month for MMA if you think about it, but I imagine a lot of it will pass people by due to New Year headaches.

Before the Penn/Sanchez fight, I had my doubts about whether Sanchez had any path to victory. I figured there was a slight chance he could edge out a decision if things kept standing and he was careful to get the attention of the judges. My gut feeling said that he was hopelessly out of his depth, but I’ve never really liked Diego, so I figured my instincts were too harsh. Well, I was wrong, but only in doubting my feelings about Diego Sanchez. He was utterly destroyed by BJ Penn in just over 4 rounds, the fight being stopped due to Sanchez losing enough blood from his face to fill an Olympic swimming pool.

Sanchez never had any business fighting for the lightweight title at this stage in his lightweight career. He had wins over Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida. Stevenson is certainly something, but this was during his period of being crap, and Clay Guida is not an elite fighter – at least not when “capable of challenging BJ Penn” is the necessary requirement for excellence in your division. I think this is the beginning of the end for Diego Sanchez, as he works on a checkered record going up against the true contenders of the lightweight division.

In other news, Frank Mir reminded everyone that he still has the skills to pay said bills. I thought he’d beat Brock Lesnar at UFC 100, which was remarkably naïve now that I think about it. Having said that, Mir has clearly worked on correcting strength disparities, and his victory over Cheick Kongo is testament to his dedication to getting a rubber match with Lesnar. He choked the guy unconscious! What is with fighters recently not tapping out to chokes before they pass out?

The last UFC event of the year/first of next year is UFC 108 on 2 January, AKA The Cursed Card. Injuries galore have changed the line-up of this card over 9000 times already. It’s gotten to the point where people are half expecting it to be cancelled, though that seems a little bit harsh. The current (and hopefully final) main event for UFC 108 will be a match between Rahad Evans and Thiago Silva. This fight is getting odds of -220 Evans to +175 Silva at BetUS, which may favor Rashad a little too much. Nevertheless, Evans should certainly have the edge, with a career fighting much better opposition than Thiago Silva.

Commenting on the rest of the card doesn’t seem too wise just yet, due to the changes that have occurred. Let’s just say that this hardly seems like a card worthy of ringing in a new decade, but what are you going to do? Fighters get hurt sometimes. It’s just odd that so many have been hurt now. Perhaps there’d be value in the UFC having an off-season.

Half-Guard

I know that last time I said guard was the best position to hold if you are on the bottom. Broadly speaking, some form of guard where both your legs control your opponent’s body should be the best situation if you are underneath someone. Personally, though, my guard sucks and my half-guard is pretty decent, so I prefer half-guard.

Anyway, in half-guard, the person underneath has both their legs wrapped around one leg of the fighter on top. This obviously makes it hard for the top fighter to pass to Half-Guard or Mount, but it is still more offensive for the guy on top. Many a BJJ practitioner in MMA has lost by TKO after getting GnPed by someone caught in half-guard.

The advantages of half-guard for someone underneath are several sweeping opportunities, including direct sweeps to rear mount, and a bunch of submission opportunities. Advantages of half-guard for the guy on top mostly have to do with improved striking capability compared to being in someone’s closed guard.

North-South

This position gets a lot of flack from people who know nothing about grappling because it looks… funny. The fighter on top has his head toward the feet of the other fighter, generally with his belly smothering the bottom fighter’s face. I don’t really like North-South, as the bottom fighter’s hips remain quite free, but ground strikers can unload some damage from this position, and submission specialists have something to go for from practically any position. I just use it to crush people and rob them of wind because I’m a lazy grappler with terrible fitness and a lot of weight, but good fighters use North-South much more effectively.

Rear Mount

When you hear someone say ‘He has his back!’ this is what’s being talked about. One guy is behind and has his legs and arms wrapped around the fighter in front. Getting into any more detail is tricky, as there are so many different ways to control a fighter in your rear mount. The most common for MMA is to have over-under hooks with the hands, and to hook your opponent’s thighs with your feet.

I prefer to put on an anaconda, which is one leg across the opponent, hooked under the knee of the opposite leg to squeeze your opponent’s mid-section. Everything I do is based on trying to make the other guy as tired as I am, however, so actually good grapplers will do more. For someone who likes chokes, this is the best position to be in, but strikers will likely try to move to mount, as rear mount isn’t a good position for delivering devastating strikes.

Well, that’s part two done with. Next time we might look at some rarer and more complex stuff, such as the baffling array of different guards, as well as some side control variants.