UFC 94 - GSP vs BJ 2

It was really hard finding a video of this match. UFC is really uptight about their matches being shown on the internet. But at last I've found one uploaded on youtube. It comes in four parts. Hope it doesn't get taken down anytime soon. Enjoy!

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski video

Here is the video of the Fedor vs Arlovski match. What a match! Arlovski showed really good striking skills here. But Fedor showed his patience and experience. I won't say anymore for the guys that haven't watched the fight yet. Enjoy!

UFC 94 - Georges St-Pierre vs BJ Penn

Another MMA match that I'll be expecting to see eagerly. It's Georges St-Pierre (GSP) vs BJ Penn on UFC 94, happening on the 01.02.2008. That's about 16 hours from now. GSP is ranked as the best pound for pound fighter in the world. BJ's is known as being a prodigy in Brazillian Jiujitsu, having attained his blackbelt in under 3 years iirc.

These two have met once already in UFC 58, where GSP won in a split points decision. GSP is known for his excellent striking and wrestling skills. BJ is obviously known for his BJJ skills. Very hard to pick this one. Both are masters of their art. GSP have shown to be a very humble and likeable guy in the past. I tend to always favour the more striking orientated fighter being from a Muay Thai background so I'll be cheering on for GSP.

K-1 Dynamite 2008: Mark Hunt vs Melvin Manhoef

Another K-1 vs MMA match BUT this time in MMA rules. Well Mark Hunt used to be K-1 fighter, infact he was the champion back in 2001. Then he turned to MMA and have had mixed success imo. Mark Hunt has never been knocked out and is known for his iron head. He took one of Crocop's head kick flush and stood back up!! Manhoef has primarly competed in MMA in the past but has taken the odd K-1 fights here and there. He is the training partner for Badr Hari. He's know for his ferocious strking skills but has almost zero ground skills which is abit strange considering he's known more in MMA.

My pick is one of these guys must get KOed! No way this is going to the judges. Enjoy!

Hunt vs Manhoef

K-1 Dynamite 2008:Tatsuya Kawajiri vs Kozo Takeda

Kawajiri is a top MMA middleweight fighter. He was number one in Shooto prior to moving to Pride and now K-1. Takeda used to be the Rajamaden stadium champion (one of two top stadiums in Thailand). For you guys who don't know this is like being the world champion in boxing. But this was a long time ago and he is really past his prime, having been KOed in his last number of matches against the top K-1 Max fighters such as of Zambidis & Kohi. Forgot who else KOed him. He's known for his low kicks which while is powerful and has inturn KOed alot of figters in his rise to being champion, is really all he has. He is extremely one dimensional!

Again I and I'm sure most people will think this match will be in Takeda's favour. He was afterall a Muay Thai stadium champion and Kawajiri is a MMA fighter. Again folks, if the embedded clip doesn't work please use the link below.

Kawajiri vs Takeda

K-1 Dynamite 2008:Badr Hari vs Alistair Overeem

I don't know why but the end of the year show of K-1 Dynamite this year is choc full of K-1 fighters against MMA fighters in K-1 rules. This is one of them. Badr Hari is the K-1 bad boy heavyweight finalist this year whow as disqualified for his fouls against Bonjasky. Alistair Overeem is one of the top MMA heavyweights in Japan is more known for his standup skills rather than grappling. Despite saying that though, Overeem submitted each of his four opponents in the European ADCC qualifiers to reach first place back in 2005. This surprised alot of people.

However despite him being known for his standup skills I think most people including myself do not expect him to give Badr Hari much trouble. I had trouble playing this video clip when I embedded it. Incase you guys are having the same problem, just click on the link below.

Hari vs Overeem

Combat Sambo training at Red Devil Club (Fedor's gym)

This is Fedor's gym, the Red Devil Club in Russia. It's a Sambo and MMA gym, hence you see the guys in sambo jackets, guys with mma shorts and gloves, padwork training, etc. I really like Sambo as its Combat Sambo variant seen here intergrates strikes with grappling, making it a good all round style especially to transition into MMA. No wonder Fedor is the world top heavyweight MMA fighter at the moment.

MMA in China: Art of War HL clip

This is a HL clip of the Art of War events in China. Art of War is a professional MMA event. They seemed very professional and surprisingly the MMA rules used seem to be the most NHB (No Holds Barred) I've seen today. It looks like they allow stomps, soccer kicks and even elbows. Even though I am more of a kickboxing fan and stylist, I think it's a great direction for combat sports in China. I've always thought that MMA is a natural progression for most Sanda/ Sanshou fighters rather than crossing over to other kickboxing formats such as K-1. This event seems to have alot of Sanda fighters competing. Enjoy the clip. There are others available that I've yet to check out and even the matches themselves.

Judo - Efficiency

Nice clip of various judo takedowns and throws done in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). When I was only doing kungfu my strong point was throws. It's always good to know a few throws as it can really throw (pun intended) your opponent's game off if he's not used to it or he doesn't know how to breakfall. I always try to do one or two big throws (the legal muay thai style ones) in my matches.