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Glendale, Ariz. – UFC, are you ready for “Showtime?” Because he’s coming soon. On a night wrapped in historical overtones, Anthony “Showtime” Pettis dethroned WEC lightweight champion Benson Henderson at Jobing.com Arena to earn a UFC title shot. Both fighters waged a back-and-forth battle that was worthy of Fight of the Night and may have been decided in the final 80 seconds of the fifth round. With the fight apparently up for grabs, Pettis went airborne, acrobatically bounced off the cage fence and executed a beautiful high kick that landed flush on the hometown champ’s jaw and dropped him to the canvas. It was an electrifying and unprecedented move that no one in press row had ever seen, like something out of a “The Matrix” movie. It sent the live crowd at the arena into mass hysteria. Henderson gamely weathered the crucial assault and got back to his feet, but that sequence may have anchored his defeat by unanimous decision. The riveting match was fittingly the last bout ever for the decade-old WEC, which is set to merge with its sister organization, the UFC. That means Pettis, a Milwaukee native who starred in an MTV episode of “World of Jenks,” is slated to fight the winner of the Jan. 1 bout between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and unbeaten challenger Gray Maynard. An emotional Pettis, whose father was murdered during an armed robbery in 2003, credited his coach Duke Roufus for the one-of-a-kind kick that made a lot of people’s jaw drop. “We practice that all the time,” Pettis said, “and I’ve got 10 more kicks like that coming when I get to the UFC.” Roufus called the kick an “Ong Bak” kick, noting it is an old Muay Thai technique. Pettis dropped Henderson on another occasion with a stiff right hand, but barely survived a rear naked choke in the fourth round that was close to being dead on. Pettis was not the only man to make history Thursday night. Dominick Cruz did, too. Cruz’s handsome reward for a night’s work: Two world titles and a slice of history. The super-quick Californian used his ‘catch-me-if-you-can’ striking style to beat up No.1 challenger Scott Jorgensen for five rounds to become the UFC’s first-ever bantamweight champion.

The most graceful finish in all of combat sports, the submission win can come in a number of ways, but the end result is always the same – a victory for the man pulling off the move, and a look of ‘what happened?’ from the victim. 2010 had its share of memorable wins by way of submission, and in part III of the Highly Unofficial awards, here are the best. 10 – Jim Miller gives Oliveira his first “0” Jim Miller felt a little disrespected in the lead-up to his UFC 124 bout against unbeaten phenom Charles Oliveira, and despite his lengthy win streak in the Octagon, he was seen by many as the underdog. So how did the Jersey native respond? By doing what veterans do. In this case, Miller walked through a few kicks to the head, took Oliveira down, and then finished him off with a kneebar less than two minutes into the fight. Don’t expect any disrespect to be thrown Miller’s way anymore. 9 – Davis breaks new ground against Boetsch ? Already known for his wrestling and ground and pound, Phil Davis’ submission game is starting to get some positive notices as well, not surprising since three of his five finishes have come via tap out. In his most recent bout at UFC 123 in November, “Mr. Wonderful” even went as far as to create his own move, a modified kimura that finished veteran Tim Boetsch and which is already being dubbed “The Philmura.” 8 – Palhares introduces Drwal to the heel hook If there’s one fighter in the UFC that you don’t want around your feet or legs, it’s Rousimar Palhares. In March, he gave a quick and deadly demonstration why, as he caught and submitted Tomasz Drwal with a heel hook in just 45 seconds. And while these moves happen so fast that they never look like much, a glance at the pained face of the fighter on the receiving end speaks a thousand words when it comes to the devastating effects of a well-placed move like the one the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt specializes in. 7 – Dogged Dollaway hangs on to finish Doerksen Ever since his Peruvian Necktie finish of Jesse Taylor in July of 2008, fight fans have been waiting for another submission to remember from The Ultimate Fighter alum CB Dollaway. They got it at UFC 119 in September, when Dollaway showed the continued evolution of his game in submitting veteran jiu-jitsu black belt Joe Doerksen. After locking in a guillotine choke, Dollaway had to weather a feverish escape attempt from the Canadian, but he held on and modified the choke to finish matters at 2:13 of the opening round. 6 – Lesnar roars back, finishes Carwin After taking a hellacious beating from Shane Carwin in the first round of their July bout, Brock Lesnar’s odds of making it out of his corner for round two, let alone winning the fight, were slim. But the then-heavyweight champion showed his warrior’s heart by roaring back, taking down a winded Carwin, and finishing matters with a memorable arm triangle. 5 – Bocek wins battle of black belts with Hazelett A lot of times, if you match up two Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts, a kickboxing match breaks out. Not this time, and Mark Bocek made sure that his UFC 124 bout with Dustin Hazelett went to the ground almost immediately. In pre-fight interviews, Hazelett said he was just fine with that prospect, but Bocek sapped the joy out from the Kentucky native quickly, finishing the bout via triangle choke just past the midway point of the first round, and establishing Bocek as one of the game’s top groundfighters. 4 – Double Trouble – Lytle Surprises Foster and Brown When you’ve been around the fight game as long as Chris Lytle has, you develop more than a few veteran tricks.

UFC Event Saturday, August 27 live from HSBC Arena; Tickets Go on Sale in May Las Vegas, NV (USA) – It started in academies, gyms and even in the streets of Rio de Janeiro. “Vale Tudo” or “anything goes” fights pitted modern-day gladiators of various fighting styles against each other for bragging rights and to prove which academy was the best. It was exciting, it was beautiful, it was – the birth of the sport of mixed martial arts. Now two decades, rule changes and improvements later and after its explosion on American soil with The Ultimate Fighting Championship® leading the charge, Brazil’s gift to the rest of the world is making its way back to the cradle of MMA. Backed by the extensive lineage of proud Brazilian UFC® fighters, the world’s leading mixed martial arts organization, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is pleased to announce it will return to Brazil for the first time since 1998. UFC owners Frank Fertitta, III, Lorenzo J. Fertitta, and Dana White announced today that the same Brazilian city that will be home to the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Rio de Janeiro, will also be home to an international UFC event at the HSBC Arena on Saturday, August, 27, 2011. “We couldn’t wait to host our first-ever UFC event in Brazil’s biggest city,” said White. “Brazilians have given so much to the growth of this sport. I’m excited that we can give back to the country that has given us so many great fighters. From Royce Gracie and Vitor Belfort to “Shogun” Rua, Anderson Silva and Jose Aldo, these fighters are all champions and are so proud of their roots. It’s time for us to bring a live UFC event here and show the people of Brazil how much this sport has grown.” “This is another giant step forward in our global expansion and in growing UFC into the biggest sport in the world,” said Lorenzo Fertitta. “By bringing world-class fights back to Brazil, we not only secure a foothold in a major international market but we also give back to the people who have supported UFC for nearly 20 years.” The Fertittas and White delivered today’s announcement live at 2:30 p.m. local time in a press conference held at Palacio de Cidade, the official residence of Honorable Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Antonio Pedro Figueira de Mello, President of Riotur attended and spoke at the event, along with UFC Hall of Famer and first-ever UFC Champion Royce Gracie, former Light Heavyweight UFC Champion Vitor Belfort and current UFC champions Anderson “The Spider” Silva (185lb/Middleweight), Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (205 lb/Light Heavyweight) and Jose Aldo (145lb/Featherweight). ? The original UFC champion, Royce Gracie brought his family’s style of jiu-jitsu to the states in the early 90s and it has never left. A revolutionary fighter, the Rio de Janeiro native changed the way the game was played and stressed the importance for mixed martial artists to learn the ground game. Gracie earned four victories in one night at the first Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a UFC Hall-of-Famer. Arguably the greatest pound-for-pound fighter ever, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has gone from his Brazilian city of Curitiba to international stardom. A true finisher, Silva has won a UFC record 12 fights inside the organization with 10 finishes. The long-reigning undisputed champion has held the middleweight title since October of 2006. Another champion from the great city of Curitiba, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua currently holds the UFC’s light heavyweight title with his recent win over another acclaimed Brazilian, Lyoto Machida. The dynamic 29-year-old is world-renown for his devastating striking skills and his relentless attack. A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Vitor Belfort is another on a long list of exciting Brazilian fighters. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt that is known for his superior boxing skills, the 33-year-old Rio de Janeiro native will look to earn the UFC middleweight title when he takes on Anderson Silva at UFC 126 in February. A winner of 18 of his first 19 professional fights, Jose Aldo made history by becoming the first UFC featherweight champion in history. A native of Manaus, the 24-year-old Brazilian reminds many of a 145-pound Anderson Silva because of his vicious striking and strong ground game. More information about the UFC Rio taking place Saturday, August 27, 2010 at HSBC Arena including main event matchup, undercard bouts and ticket sale dates and prices will be announced in the near future. ?

Sydney, Australia – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® organisation returns to the Land Down Under in 2011, as Sydney’s Acer Arena hosts UFC 127: PENN v FITCH on Sunday, February 27. One year removed from the record-shattering UFC 110 at the same venue, the world’s biggest combat sports group returns to Australia with a card stacked with pivotal fights which will set the tone for the New Year. Headlining UFC 127 will be the intriguing clash between former two-division UFC champion BJ Penn and rugged contender Jon Fitch in a bout with huge implications for the welterweight division. Tickets – priced $75, $100, $175, $275, $400 and $550 – are available from http://premier.ticketek.com.au. Tickets are available to UFC Fight Club members from noon Tuesday Dec 14, and to UFC Newsletter subscribers from 10am Weds Dec 15 before going on general release on Thursday Dec 16 at 9am. Leading 185lbs (84.1KG) contenders Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping and Jorge Rivera meet over three rounds while Australian interest will no doubt peak the moment lightweight George Sotiropoulous enters the Octagon to meet German striker Dennis Siver in a battle of 155-pound (70.5KG) buzzsaws. Also flying the flag for Australia will be New South Wales’s own Kyle Noke, a former star of The Ultimate Fighter, who meets Chris Camozzi in a thrilling middleweight encounter. Finally, rounding off the main card action will be a certified barnburner between welterweight bangers Chris Lytle and Carlos Condit, both of whom have hit a career purple patch and have sights set on the 170-pound (77.3KG) title. UFC Managing Director of International Development Marshall Zelaznik said: “The UFC couldn’t be more excited about bringing another huge show to Sydney following the success of UFC 110 in February 2010. We put on a tremendous event at the Acer Arena in February and we’re looking to do exactly the same in the New Year with a card which features fight after fight with huge implications for 2011.” The pride of Hilo, Hawaii, BJ ‘The Prodigy’ Penn (16-7-1) requires little introduction following a career spent among the mixed martial arts elite. Considered one of the true pioneers of the sport, 32-year-old Penn has won both UFC Lightweight and Welterweight titles and remains one of only two men to ever win UFC belts in two separate divisions. Currently campaigning as a welterweight, Penn is fresh from a stunning 21-second annihilation of former welterweight champion and Hall of Famer Matt Hughes at UFC 123. In addition to now twice beating Hughes, Penn also boasts victories over Diego Sanchez, Kenny Florian, Joe Stevenson, Jens Pulver and Sean Sherk. The Hawaiian legend has excelled as both a lightweight and welterweight champion and now looks to launch another raid on the UFC 170lbs (77.3KG) title. Penn said: “I’m excited to fight Jon Fitch. I have considered him to be the number two welterweight in the world for a long time now and I am looking forward to matching skills against an elite wrestler. ?? ? “I can’t wait to fight in Australia. As two-time champion, I believe the UFC is all about fighting the best competition anywhere in the world. Competing overseas, dealing with travel and different time zones, it is all part of being a world-class fighter. I’ve also been told the fans down there are crazy for the UFC and I can’t wait to perform for them.” In Australia, ‘The Prodigy’ will have to go through Fort Wayne, Indiana grinder Jon Fitch (26-3, 1 NC), a man renowned for his hard-nosed work ethic and conditioning. The 32-year-old grappler has won 13 bouts inside the Octagon and strung together an impressive eight-bout win-streak before challenging for the UFC welterweight title in August 2008. Since competing for the belt, Fitch has gone on to grab five further victories and claimed the scalps of contenders Thiago Alves, Ben Saunders and Paolo Thiago. One of the most successful UFC fighters of all time, Fitch knows victory over Penn in Sydney could well earn him a second stab at the UFC Welterweight Title. Fitch said: “This is a fun fight for me, I haven’t been this motivated since I fought for the title. BJ has roots at the AKA Gym where I train and my own coaches talk about him and what he did in the gym back in the day. And I am kinda sick of hearing it; I am like the younger brother who wants to outshine the cool older brother who achieved all these things. To be a legend, you have to kill a legend and I want all the stories to be about how good I am after UFC 127. “I am a homerun hitter who has hit a slump. But in my slump, I am still beating top guys pretty easy. Now with the improvements I’ve made in the gym, the slump is over and I am going to hit a homerun on BJ Penn. I am going to be a world champion, and I know before that happens I need to finish BJ Penn.” England’s Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping (21-3) has yet to compete for the UFC middleweight title, but plans to change that in 2011 and is willing to go through any and all competition to earn his shot. The Manchester warrior has long been considered one of the premier contenders in the 185-pound weight-class and, with back-to-back victories in his rear-view mirror, hopes to continue his rich run of form at UFC 127. A former winner of The Ultimate Fighter®, Bisping has since flourished as both a light-heavyweight and middleweight and has scored recent victories over Yoshihiro Akiyama, Dan Miller, Denis Kang and Chris Leben. The torch-bearer of British mixed martial arts, a fired-up Bisping returns to Australia in February with the intention of ending Jorge Rivera’s own title aspirations. “Jorge has made a couple of comments and said he wants to ‘mess’ me up,” explained Bisping. “I don’t know what his problem is, but, to me, he is just another opponent that is going to get beat. I am fired-up for this fight and I can’t wait. I think he is tailor-made for me. He is going to get beaten worse than ever before

Of the 75 fighters making their UFC debuts in 2010, the big names were undoubtedly international stars Takanori Gomi, Jake Shields, Renzo Gracie, Mark Hunt and Gilbert Yvel. Yet most of the newcomers who truly made an impact in the Octagon were the fighters you may not have even heard of before the New Year began, but that you certainly know now. The Highly unofficial UFC awards season begins now… 10 – Claude Patrick Winner of ten in a row (all finishes) when he stepped into the Octagon for the first time in June, Toronto’s Claude Patrick kept the streak going with a second round submission win over Ricardo Funch. And while his decision win over James Wilks four months later was far from a barnburner, the 30-year old jiu-jitsu ace is going to be a tough out for anyone at 170 pounds in 2011 and beyond. 9 – Rory MacDonald Just 21 years old, Rory MacDonald entered the UFC with plenty of hype behind him, and he kept the buzz going with a first round submission victory against veteran Mike Guymon in January. But the kid from Kelowna, British Columbia, made believers out of the staunchest skeptics in June, when he battled tooth and nail with Carlos Condit, a legit and longtime contender who no 21-year old should be holding his own with. But MacDonald is far from your typical youngster, and though he got stopped in the third round of UFC 115’s Fight of the Night, expect big things from him in the future. 8 – Jonathan Brookins ? Jonathan Brookins’ previous MMA claim to fame was a hard-fought loss to Jose Aldo back in a 2008 WEC bout. But two years later, the humble kid from Florida reinvented himself as a star in waiting, as he scored four victories on the 12th season of The Ultimate Fighter before winning the series earlier this month with a come from behind win over Michael Johnson. There are still holes in his game that need sewing up, but as he told me before the Johnson fight, “I’m embarking on a change process that is proving to take longer than I anticipated, so I think the best of me is still yet to come.” 7 – Daniel Roberts With the way he fought in the early going of his UFC debut against John Howard in March, Daniel Roberts could have been 3-0 this year. Unfortunately, Howard ended Roberts’ first night in the Octagon via first round knockout. Undeterred, the skilled and creative grappler bounced back with a safe, but solid, three round decision win over Forrest Petz in July before showing off his goods with a 73 second Submission of the Night over Mike Guymon. Now scheduled for a Jan. 1st bout with Greg Soto in which he hopes to get 2011 off to a rousing start. 6 – Joey Beltran Brought in on short notice to face highly-touted Rolles Gracie in February, Joey Beltran was expected to be the welcome mat for the latest unbeaten prospect from the first family of MMA. Beltran didn’t get the memo though, and he rebounded from a slow start to stop Gracie in the second round. Three months later, ‘The Mexecutioner’ traveled to Montreal to take on home country favorite Tim Hague and again he overturned the apple cart with an entertaining three round win. Beltran’s hot streak ended in September with a decision loss to Matt Mitrione, but with a Fight of the Night bonus and a growing fan base that knows just what they’re getting with Beltran – a fight – 2011 should be an exciting one for the Californian. 5 – Court McGee A fighter whose inspirational comeback from the throes of drug addiction overshadowed his fighting ability slightly during the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter, Utah’s McGee reminded the world just what he could do in the Octagon with his dominating second round submission win over Kris McCray. It was a victory that opened up the door to what should be an interesting run through the UFC’s middleweight division, and if his stirring third round comeback win over Ryan Jensen in October wasn’t enough to get your blood pumping, you’re watching the wrong sport. 4 – Kyle Noke The fact that he split two fights with George Sotiropoulos and battled Hector Lombard to a draw in his pre-UFC life should tell you all you need to know about Kyle Noke, but in spite of this, the Australian veteran came in under the radar to the mainstream fans on season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter. Yet with two ultra-impressive post-TUF wins over Josh Bryant (TKO2) and Rob Kimmons (Wsub2) that have seen him look comfortable wherever the fight goes, Noke may be entering the ranks of middleweight contenders sooner than you think. 3 – Charles Oliveira If he would have notched his third straight UFC win over Jim Miller last Saturday night in Montreal, Oliveira might have sailed up to the top of the list, but the New Jersey contender let the youngest fighter in the UFC know that a little bit more seasoning was needed before a move to the next level. But the loss far from diminishes what “Do Bronx” brought to the Octagon – energy, athleticism, skill, and a will to win that led him to submission wins against Darren Elkins and Efrain Escudero. If he’s able to take the Miller defeat as a learning experience, this 21-year old will be scary in 2011. 2 – Jake Shields The credentials are impeccable – jiu-jitsu black belt, All-American college wrestler, pro wins over Dan Henderson, Robbie Lawler, Dave Menne, Yushin Okami, Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, Carlos Condit, Mike Pyle, Jason Miller and Paul Daley, among others. But whether Jake Shields’ success was going to translate into the Octagon was the big question heading into UFC 121 in October. Well, there was good news and bad news. The bad news was that it was far from vintage Shields in Anaheim that night as he struggled with fatigue from his weight cut.

I’M NOT PICKING AGAINST THIS GUY AGAIN Watching Georges St-Pierre basically toss a perfect game against Josh Koscheck, a guy who without a doubt is among the five best welterweights in the world, highlights that he may indeed be the most complete fighter in the game, across all weight classes.? His virtuoso striking performance eliminated any argument that the champion has largely become a one-dimensional fighter over the last couple of years. ? Anyone who read my breakdown of the matchup knows that I viewed Kos as the perfect foil for GSP’s game.? I was convinced that if GSP chose to stand and trade with the challenger, he would leave Montreal with a massive headache and a suitcase that is about 20 pounds lighter thanks to the disappearance of his championship belt. Whoops. GSP proved me wrong yet again.? I’ll bet that I’ve picked against this guy more than anyone else in the business.? I’m not sure why I continually underestimate him.? It is what it is.? The only thing I know for sure is that I’m not doing it again.? I’ll go so far as to say that I’m not picking against him in his next fight, no matter who he faces—Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, Anderson Silva, King Kong or the Loch Ness Monster Ok, those last few names are a bit ridiculous, but I’m standing by my word.? I’ll pick GSP against anyone in his next bout. Of course, that raises the question of who he should fight next.? Jake Shields is next in line.? Much like Kos, Shields has the right tools to unseat the champion because he possesses a world-class blend of wrestling, ground control and submissions from the top position.? If someone asked me prior to UFC 124 who would win between GSP and Shields, I would have said that I liked Shields in that matchup.? Remember my edict.? I’m picking GSP if they fight next. The winner of the late February matchup between Jon Fitch and BJ Penn is another possibility, if something were to happen to Shields in training.? Been there, done that.? GSP dispatched with Fitch in a spirited affair back in August 2008 and then stopped Penn in four rounds five months later.? Just for the record, I picked GSP to suffer an upset loss in both bouts.? I would pick differently if either man faced the champion again. Thiago Alves looked like a more complete fighter at UFC 124 than he has at any point in his career.? Like Shields and Kos, Alves has a blend of skills and athleticism that should give GSP problems, though his skills are based in Muay Thai, not wrestling.? GSP handled him immediately after stopping BJ Penn in their rematch.? Yep, I picked Alves to win that fight.? I do think that Alves would present more problems for the champion today than he did last year.? But I will not pick Alves to win, if he happens to be next up.? I won’t do it. Other than those names, there is nobody who I view as a legitimate threat to GSP’s 170 pound reign.?? Considering the fact that he already has wins over every top contender in the division, maybe it is time for GSP to begin preparation for a fight of fights against fellow pound-for-pound kingpin, Anderson Silva. Again, had someone asked me about that matchup prior to UFC 124, I would have laughed off GSP’s chances at winning.? Silva is far superior on the feet, has long enough legs to control the action with a body triangle, if he were to suffer a takedown, and, simply put, just do darn big.? The Brazilian is probably 30 to 40 pounds bigger than GSP on an average weekday when both are in shape but not focused on cutting weight for a fight.?? Those are massive mountains to overcome.? I’m not picking against GSP, though.? Ok, I’ll admit it.? I probably will pick against GSP if that fight ever comes to light.? But I’ll try not to. ? Vitor Belfort may destroy any interest in a GSP-Silva fight by stopping the middleweight king during Super Bowl weekend.? I’ll break down that matchup in detail as it approaches, but I really like Belfort’s chances.?? I just don’t see anything that Silva does better than Belfort, other than fighting up to his ability just about every time out, something Belfort has struggled with over the years. ? But even if Belfort defeats Silva, I think that GSP’s next fight (or possibly the one after facing Shields) should be against the reigning middleweight champion.? He should insist upon a 179-pound or 180-pound maximum contract weight, just to make things a bit tougher on his larger foe.? But even if he cannot get that term into the bout agreement, I think that a record-setting fight where he tries to simultaneously rule two UFC weight classes presents him with the sort of challenge that will keep him keenly focused and fully engaged. GSP can certainly remain at welterweight and attempt to put together a Bernard Hopkins-like rule over the division where he racks up 20-plus consecutive successful defenses.? There is a reason that no UFC champion has ever successfully defended his title even half that number of times.? Fights can end in literally hundreds of ways, and all it takes is one mistake to forever alter the course of history.? Thus, the odds would be stacked heavily against GSP accomplishing a goal like that. Moreover, there is a very real chance that he may lose focus if he remains at welterweight because he won’t view anyone, other than maybe Shields, as a legitimate threat to his reign.? One doesn’t have to look far to see the realities of such a mistake.? Remember Matt Serra? GSP has mentioned retirement on a couple of occasions over the last year or so.? Retirement?? This guy hasn’t yet turned 30 years old, which means he isn’t even entered his fighting prime.? Such talk suggests that his focus could be waning.? Kos did him a tremendous favor by trash talking him into a state of heightened focus and determination.? Few other opponents will likely have the same impact on GSP. What is next for the champ?? Probably Shields.? Maybe the winner of Silva-Belfort.? Whatever the case, I’m picking GSP. KOS FOUGHT BRAVELY, BUT SOMETHING WASN’T RIGHT Is it just me or did Kos seem more focused on adjusting his shorts and wiping sweat off of his hands than defending the jab in the first round of his inaugural title challenge?? This guy continually pulled up his shorts while standing within striking range.? He repeatedly wiped his hands on his thighs while standing in the pocket.? GSP thanked him for those mistakes by peppering him with jabs each time he lowered his hands and, well, at just about all other moments of the fight. ? What was the problem? I have no clue.? All I know is that Kos didn’t seem like himself in the opening round.? He was far from the calm, focused welterweight contender who dominated Paul Daley, Anthony Johnson and Frank Trigg in his prior three bouts.? He lunged with his punches, rather than sitting down and firing.? He completely ignored his biggest advantage in the fight—his wrestling—aside from a lone takedown at the end of the first.? And he generally seemed fidgety throughout the fight.? In other words, he just didn’t seem like himself. I’m sure GSP’s jackhammer jab had something to do with his performance.? I’m also sure the pressure of a first-time title challenge, particularly in GSP’s native land, had something to do with it. But now it’s back to the drawing board for the talented contender. ALVES PUTS ON CAREER-BEST PERFORMANCE Thiago Alves is one bad man.? Nobody has ever denied that fact.? With 10 wins in 14 UFC bouts, his success speaks for itself.? Nonetheless, coming off back-to-back losses for the first time in his career, Alves knew that he had to make some changes in his game if he wanted to return to the top of the division and earn a second shot at welterweight gold. The Brazilian striking phenom displayed those changes at the expense of a very game, extremely talented John Howard.? Alves not only completely outclassed his foe on the feet, he scored two dramatic takedowns, something few expected from the “Pit Bull.”? I think those takedowns were the most significant moments of the fight because they will forever raise the question of a takedown in the collective consciousness of Alves’ future opponents, and that will make his striking that much more effective. Speaking of striking, is there any welterweight in the world who throws more damaging leg kicks than Alves?? I dare say no.? Watching him hammer away with his right leg is a thing of pure beauty.? The athletic move reminds me a lot of Tiger Woods hitting a driver.? Woods uses his legs to clear his hips long before his hands square up the club face to the ball.? The movement creates a tremendous amount of lag in his swing, which, in turn, generates an insane amount of speed and explosive power.? Guys who clear their hips first in golf hit the ball further than those who don’t.? That is an incontrovertible fact. ? Alves does the same thing with his leg kicks.? His hips clear long before his shin finds the meat of his opponent’s thigh.? He creates the same torque with his hips that Woods does when hitting a driver.? As a result, Alves’ shin arrives at the target with much more speed and explosive power than shins thrown by anyone else in the division, bar none.

Saturday night is the latest “biggest night” of Josh Koscheck’s life. So if he seems low-key, or quiet before his challenge for Georges St-Pierre’s welterweight title, it’s because he’s been here before, whether it was competing for a National Championship in wrestling, participating in big fight after big fight in the UFC, or just in his mind, where he’s probably replayed the scenarios that will present themselves this weekend over and over again. It’s just another night. “I just look at it as if it’s just another fight,” he said. “I haven’t really looked at it too deeply as if this is a monster fight. I’m being conservative and I’m coming into this fight well-prepared. That’s pretty much where I’m at with my mindset right now.” Of course, deep in his heart, Koscheck knows that the UFC 124 main event is not just another fight. A win over St-Pierre will not only net him the 170-pound title, it will change his life forever. When the history of the UFC is written, Koscheck will have his place in the Hall of Champions, something that could never be taken away. He’s also talked about fighting for the money in the past, and having a UFC title belt will significantly impact his bank account in a positive manner. So this is far from just a routine trip north of the border, and he’s smart enough to realize that. But he won’t blink, won’t give a look past the wall he’s built up over the course of an intense training camp. Not now, it’s not time. So when he’s asked if he pictured placing the belt around his waist, his resolve remains strong. “I haven’t thought about it yet, and I’m not worried about it,” he said. “I’ve got a fight to worry about, and I don’t think about the belt. I don’t think about anything but fighting. It’s just another fight for me, and it so happens that I get to go into Montreal, Georges’ hometown, and fight him, and that’s all I’m concerned about right now.” That’s what has brought Josh Koscheck to this moment. He’s the straightest of straight shooters, whether you like what he has to say or not, and he will not play the game just for the sake of playing it. When he does anything, it’s with one goal in mind – to win. And winning has been a habit of his since he was a child. He’s got the accolades to prove it – A 2001 NCAA Division I National Championship for Edinboro University, four-time recognition as an All-American, and 17 mixed martial arts wins against just four defeats, with much of that time spent growing up in public in the UFC. You don’t reach this point without being tough, without having a measure of resolve that allows you to step into an Octagon and be resigned to the fact that another man will punch you for the next 15 or 25 minutes. Every fighter in this sport has that. Koscheck believes he has a little more, and he definitely believes he has more than the champion he faces Saturday night. “I think that is the case on Georges,” he said when asked whether his 2007 appraisal of St-Pierre being mentally weak still applied today. “But the question is, has anybody put him to that test or put him to that point? A couple guys have (Matt Hughes and Matt Serra), and you saw the results. They put him in a position that he wasn’t comfortable with. And that’s the same position that I’ve got to take on this – I’ve got to put him in a position where he’s uncomfortable and make him quit. Every man has a breaking point and I gotta put him in that position to where he’s questioning himself and questioning that he can win this fight.” Years of wrestling will build you into a mentally tough, hard to break fighter, and that’s what Koscheck expects will take him through his first five round bout. In fact, he expects nothing less than to break GSP and to take his belt

Georges St-Pierre and Manny Pacquiao. To fans of combat sports, their names are royalty. But for a few minutes in September, they were just two fighters talking shop while St-Pierre went on a tour of the Philippines and Pacquiao prepared for his November bout against Antonio Margarito. Even now, over two months removed from their meeting, St-Pierre beams when he discusses boxing pound-for-pound king. “He’s obviously the fastest boxer that I’ve seen in my life and he’s the best boxer that I’ve seen in my life as well that I’ve been able to interact with,” said St-Pierre. “He gave me some tips, and I learned a lot from (Pacquiao trainer) Freddie Roach and I can’t wait for my next fight. I think it’s gonna be great. I’m going to be able to use some of the things that I learned from them and put them into practice.” It’s an odd statement, hearing one of mixed martial arts’ best, the UFC welterweight champion and the epitome of a complete fighter, speaking like a fan. And when you bring this up to St-Pierre, he explains what that means to him. “Being a fan depends on how you look at it. For me, it’s to recognize the work of someone and appreciate the work, and try to learn from what he does best and try to incorporate that into your game. Of course Manny Pacquiao has a lot of stuff that I want to bring into my game, like Anderson Silva does, like BJ Penn does, like Matt Hughes does, Like Shogun (Rua), like (Lyoto) Machida, like Fedor Emelianenko. I’m a fan of all these guys.” So when St-Pierre wakes up in the morning and looks into the mirror, it’s simply to wash his face and brush his teeth, not to worship at the altar of GSP. And that may just be the secret as to why no one has been able to touch the Montrealer in the nearly four years since his last defeat, against Matt Serra. “I’m a student of the game and I try to learn and get better every time,” he said. “The best way to learn is to watch the best guys and see what they do best and learn from them.” That’s not just a catchy line either; he means it, but what he forgets to add in is that he doesn’t just learn from the best, but that he can learn anything from anyone in the game, including the prospects he recently coached on season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter. “I learned from a lot of these guys,” said St-Pierre. “As a matter of fact, Cody McKenzie, I learned his guillotine, and I gained just as much as I gave, and maybe even more. It was a good, positive experience.” At least when he was interacting and training with his team. When he had to deal with opposing coach Josh Koscheck – who he will face in the main event of UFC 124 this Saturday night – things weren’t so pleasant, as he dealt with his rival’s barbs and practical jokes. St-Pierre never cracked though, never got into a war of words with Koscheck. Instead, he chose to take the high road. “It’s my nature,” he said. “If I don’t want to break, you’re not going to make me break. Koscheck was trying to be arrogant with me, but it was not smart the way he was doing it. He didn’t get into my head; he just wasn’t fun to be around. I was disappointed in his personality, but that was a good thing because it just made me train harder.” That’s a scary proposition considering that St-Pierre is already known as one of the game’s hardest workers. But he needs to do this. He needs to make the trips out west and to New York to train in order to keep his physical and mental game sharp, especially since he already owns a win over Koscheck via decision in 2007. It would be easy to get complacent, especially when you factor in his dominance over the last three years, but he won’t do that again. The last time he did it, he lost his title to Serra. Since then, he has kept his eyes on the elusive prize of bring the best. Not today, but of All-Time. So when you ask if anything from the 2007 bout with Koscheck is pertinent, the answer is what you expect it to be. “I think it’s gonna be a different fight between two different fighters,” he said. “It’s hard to predict, but I’m well prepared wherever the fight goes, and I’m thinking about what I’m going to do to him and not what he’s going to do to me. I’m gonna dictate the pace of the fight and fight him wherever I want the fight.” He emphasizes the last sentence, making clear his serious intentions and sending a message to Koscheck that if he thinks he’s fighting the same person he did back at UFC 74, he’s dead wrong. “My motivation is the result at the end, and that’s to finish him,” said St-Pierre. If he is able to knock Koscheck out or submit him, it will be GSP’s first finish since he halted BJ Penn in their 2009 super fight. After that bout, he went the five round distance twice, shutting out Thiago Alves and Dan Hardy, garnering criticism along the way for not taking his challengers out before the final bell. But when you consider that since the Koscheck fight he has not lost one of the 23 rounds that he has fought against world-class competition, it puts such criticism in perspective. And not just because he’s winning rounds, but that he’s staying focused and winning late rounds in fights he already has wrapped up on the scorecards. This ability to be dominant over the course of a 25 minute fight gives him an edge that Koscheck can’t possibly argue, since he’s never fought in a championship bout. And if it comes down to traveling into deep waters this weekend, St-Pierre is prepared. “I’m ready for a war,” he said. “The day of the fight, I’m expecting five rounds of war at a very high pace, nothing less, and that’s what I’m training for. I can beat him in the first round too, but I want to fight the best Josh Koscheck and I want this fight to make me grow as a martial artist and make me better. I see my career as a marathon and not as a sprint, so in my next fights, I’ll be stronger and stronger.” This is the real Georges St-Pierre – hard-working, never satisfied, always looking to learn. It’s not all glamour, photo shoots, and seemingly effortless victories over top-notch fighters that he makes look ordinary. But he’s had to deal with that end of things as well, being thrust into the spotlight as an ambassador of the sport as well as one of its champions.

It’s a fact that can’t be confirmed, but it’s probably safe to say that every fighter has done it, practicing what he would say if interviewed by the worldwide media, dreaming of how he would win his debut on the sport’s biggest stage. Most never get that chance, and many who do freeze under the bright lights. Sean McCorkle got his chance earlier this year, chosen to make his UFC debut in his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana against Mark Hunt. It was the classic ‘be careful what you wish for’ scenario, and watching McCorkle in the weeks leading up to the biggest fight of his career was almost like observing a teenage science experiment you almost expected to start sprouting flames and smoke. McCorkle, 34 years old and with a gaudy 9-0 record against a nondescript crew of opponents, was the hometown favorite, but also unproven. In fact, in the lead-up to the bout, the “Big Sexy” got more attention for his pre-fight interviews than for his previous exploits in the ring. It was a recipe for disaster, because it just seemed impossible that he would be able to hold it together during fight week and then in the fight itself. But then a funny thing happened. McCorkle made it to fight week, stole the show with the media, and then as he walked into the Octagon to face the PRIDE and K-1 vet, he didn’t have a deer in the headlights look, but one of confidence, one that said ‘I belong here and I’m about to show you why.’ Then he did, submitting Hunt in just 67 seconds. “This is gonna sound completely crazy, but I never had a doubt in my mind that I was gonna beat Mark Hunt and do it convincingly,” said McCorkle. “I don’t know why, and even walking out there, I’m thinking ‘it’s gonna be so awesome if I go out here and submit him fast.’ I just knew. It’s just a feeling that I have that I feel like I’m finally doing what I was meant to do in my life. Not to get all hokey, but I just feel at home. I thought I would be so nervous, but as I walked around, I was like ‘this is pretty awesome to be able to do this.’” Even back in the locker room after the UFC 119 bout, McCorkle walked around like he was in a dream, prompting a wake-up call from a training partner and longtime fight game vet. “Tom Erikson told me when I came back after the Hunt fight backstage, ‘you know this is real now, you’re not dreaming,’” said McCorkle. “He saw that glassy look in my eyes. I said ‘I hope I’m not knocked out lying in the Octagon right now and I just dreamed that I won.’ That whole night will be tough to top in anything I do because it was in front of my hometown, nobody expected me to win the fight, and I was a 4 to 1 betting underdog.” He wasn’t just an underdog in the Octagon, but an underdog in life heading into the Conseco Fieldhouse, having bounced back in 2010 from a crippling divorce and a three year layoff to run off three straight wins before getting the call to the UFC. “I went through hell for 20 months and it was the worst period of my life,” he said. “I would never say that I was suicidal, but I was on the brink of being down that low to where everything I had ever worked for was taken from me in the matter of three months. And not just money wise, but I had a real bitter, nasty divorce, not from my end, but from her end, and this was someone that I was boyfriend/girlfriend with since third grade. You’re talking a long history there, and the way she did it was just horrendous. I got as low as you could possibly get, so now I appreciate everything that much more, and to have anything go my way is great now. And I just keep hoping that it doesn’t end soon, and maybe that’s why I work so hard at it.” Dropping from over 300 pounds to the 265 pound heavyweight limit, McCorkle showed his commitment for the Hunt bout, but in this game, it’s what have you done for me lately, so just days after his first UFC victory, he got the call to face fellow prospect Stefan Struve at UFC 124 this Saturday in Montreal. On paper, it’s a great style matchup, and with McCorkle at 6 foot 7 and Struve at 6 foot 11, it’s a clash of giants fans will love. But McCorkle wanted more – he didn’t just want a good matchup, he wanted his fight with Struve to be on the main card. So he took his case to the internet, where he has been opening fire on the soft-spoken “Skyscraper” on Twitter. “I had a whole lot of pent-up trash talking from the whole Mark Hunt fight because a guy like him who has accomplished as much as he has and who I was always a fan of, I didn’t feel comfortable saying anything about him and it absolutely killed me because I had great ideas,” laughs McCorkle, who had some reservations at first about engaging in a smack talk war with his 22-year old foe. “I really wanted to be on the main card and I was looking to initiate something with him, but he’s a quiet kid and he seems nice,” he explained. “I kinda hate to do that if he’s not gonna respond, and then he comes out on Twitter and starts saying stuff about me first – and I was like, perfect. Now the chains are off. It’s kinda got out of control, but we got on the main card.” Not just the main card, but McCorkle and Struve will be the last fight before the UFC 124 championship bout between Georges St-Pierre and Josh Koscheck. It shows the power of ‘getting it’ and knowing how to promote a fight. McCorkle gets it, knowing that while this is a sport, people are also paying a lot of money to be entertained. “The UFC is a sport, but it’s also entertainment the way the NFL is entertainment,” said McCorkle. “I always tell people if they want purity of sports, go watch chess or the Olympics or something. (Laughs) This is entertainment and it’s why people come to watch it and pay to watch it – it’s to be entertained. And I look at guys like Struve – no one I know even knew who he was before I was gonna fight him, and he’s fought six times in the UFC. And that comes from just giving the standard answers like ‘I’m really training hard,’ and ‘I’m looking forward to this.’ I consider it as much of a part of my job to entertain people as it is to fight. I’ve seen a lot of guys that don’t have any personality who are really good fighters that the UFC cuts after a boring fight or two and no one cares and no one even knows they fought. If I’m gonna go in there and lose, I’m gonna lose big. People ask me, aren’t you worried about motivating him? No, because number one, Struve’s not the guy to beat me, I can promise you that.