World Of Swords

In his second fight in just over a month, Frank Trigg dominated tough veteran Falaniko Vitale wire to wire en route to a unanimous decision victory at Strikeforce: Payback. Trigg looked very sharp in easily handling Makoto Takimoto in Tokyo at Sengoku 4 on August 28th, and his victory here was every bit as impressive. Trigg essentially dictated where and when the fight occurred, and Vitale had no response whatsoever. Aside from a 2nd round takedown, Vitale mustered precious little offense and spent most of the fight trying to counter Triggs sharp striking and takedown attempts. The CompuStrike stats clearly underscored Triggs superiority in the fight, giving him a lopsided 41 to 7 edge in strikes landed.

In the co-main event, Duane Bang Ludwig earned an explosive TKO win over Sam Morgan. After an evenly contested first minute, Ludwig quickly took control with a series of Muay Thai knee strikes which set up a perfectly placed bodyshot to the liver that floored his opponent. Ludwig quickly pressed his advantage and never gave Morgan a chance to recover. Still feeling the effects of the liver shot, Morgan ate another hard punch to the solar plexus and gasping for breath was forced to tap out under the barrage of strikes.

In perhaps the most entertaining bout on the card, highly touted Billy Evangelista survived his second big scare in as many fights to remain undefeated. After a split decision victory over Nam Phan in June, Evangelista found himself in grave danger of a TKO loss early in his bout with tough veteran Luke Caudillo. Caudillo"who goes by the nickname Lil Hulk"opened the fight with a flurry, knocking Evangelista to the canvas three times in the opening minute.

As the rest of the fight unfolded, Caudillo made the mistake of becoming a headhunter looking for a KO punch which allowed Evangelista to take over the fight. Evangelista continued to score with crisp combinations and as the bout progressed demonstrated his superior conditioning"a major factor at the high altitude of the Broomfield, Colorado fight venue. Evangelista would eventually earn a unanimous decision victory though the 30-27 score awarded by one judge was questionable considering that he spent the first half of round one being bounced around the cage like a beach ball.

A highly anticipated womens match took place early in the evening, with former Hooters waitress Michelle The Karate Hottie Watterson easily defeating an overmatched opponent in Tyra Parker. Parker, whod lost her pro debut six weeks ago, may have been rushed back into action too quickly but she came out fighting gamely swinging for the fences with wild, powerful punch attempts. Watterson easily figured out her opponent, however, and The Karate Hottie quickly took over with her more disciplined striking approach. The dnouement came when Watterson landed several big knees from the clinch, took her opponents back and locked in a rear naked choke for the tapout win.

The event marked Strikeforces first visit to Colorado, and another in a series of very entertaining fight cards. Scott Coker and his team deserve a lot of credit for their matchmaking"even in the lower card fights they have a knack for putting together bouts that more often than not are exciting and competitive.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer specializing in mixed martial arts, boxing, soccer betting, falconry and fantasy role playing games. He is a well known expert on sports betting and has made countless TV and radio appearances. He lives in Southern Nevada with his Filipino houseboy, three dogs and a retired racing wombat.

UFC Ultimate fighter is fast becoming one of the biggest shows in America. Will it ever be the number one? Well, I guess that depends on who you ask. I personally think the sport is just going to continue getting bigger. Im not sure if it will ever be the number one sport though. This sport does appeal to a lot of age groups, which could be why the sport is expanding at such an incredible rate.

Why is UFC Ultimate Fighter show gaining such wide audiences? Is it because of the short, fast paced, 5 minute rounds, which can be a non-stop adrenaline rush! With fights ending in knockout or submissions before the first round even ends. Is it because the sport appeals to so many different age groups or is it because its new and exciting, will it phase out in a few years?

With the UFC being noticed now for being athletes, who train just as hard, perhaps even harder than normal athletes! Will this sport finally gain the respect it deserves? It used to be called a blood sport or cock fighting. In fact I believe some people still regard the sport as that. Do people realize the discipline involved now, the constant workouts for strength, conditioning and of course the martial arts training. With the fighters spending weeks in a house together with no television, phones, well basically any outside communication is banned. You can imagine the stress these fighters go through. Hopefully it will be worth it all for one fighter that will win a six figure UFC contract.

This sport has gone through some remarkable transformations over the years. The UFC has done remarkable things for MMA with the UFC Ultimate Fighter show. What one was viewed only by a few thousand people at most, to now broad casted to millions of people over America.

With impressive sales and huge demand, the UFC is the number one place for fighters to go to. If you want to fight the best fighters in the world you will have to break into the UFC ranks. Once there you will be able to make a very nice living, well if youre good.

So if youre new to this sport, and you have just starting to follow the UFC Ultimate Fighter show you are in for a great ride. If youre already a fan and have been following the show for a while, Im sure you will agree with me, this is a fantastic sport which will only get bigger.

If you are a fan of the TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) series then you will want to check out ufcultimatefighter.com. The website has loads of MMA Videos for your viewing pleasure.

From a business standpoint, the UFCs first trip to Germany will clearly fall short of their success in the UK. From poor ticket sales to a downright hostile German media, its been one headache after another for Dana White and company. That was all forgotten thanks to an entertaining if somewhat uneven fight card highlighted by a spectacular main event between Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva. Franklin would ultimately win the unanimous decision victory, but the fight itself far exceeded the expectations of most fans.

For the most part, Franklin picked Silva apart throughout the course of the fight (to quote UFC color commentator Joe Rogan) and deserved the unanimous decision verdict. What made the fight exceptional were the occasional glimpses of the old Axe Murderer. Late in the second and third rounds, Silva tagged Franklin with hard punches that left him clearly stunned. The uncertainty was enough to make the main event a very entertaining and exciting fight.

In the co-main event, heavyweight phenom Cain Velasquez survived a few nervous moments to put in a wall to wall domination of Cheick Kongo. Velasquez was rocked by Kongos punches early in rounds one and two, but quickly recovered to take the fight to the ground where he mauled the Frenchman. The result was an impressive victory for Velasquez over a top level opponent, but his struggles against Kongos standup game left several unanswered questions. The most compelling concern, of course, is that Velesquez might have a weak chin and simply not be able to take a punch particularly well. His problems could also be tactical or simply a case of not having enough patience"rushing his takedown attempts and eating punches rather than work for a less risky opportunity.

The event also featured the UFC return of former PRIDE open weight GP champion Mirko Cro Cop. Cro Cop was making his return to action from knee surgery, and the Croatian striking machine got off to a slow start against overmatched Mostapha Al-Turk as he clearly sought to protect his rebuilt wheels. Of particular note was the fact that Cro Cop didnt throw a kick the entire fight"his bread and butter during his PRIDE dominance, which evoked the mantra right leg hospital, left leg cemetery. Once he let his hands go, however, he demonstrated emphatically that hes still got serious power. He ended the fight late in the first round by flooring Al-Turk with an overhand left followed up with some hammer fists on the ground.

Perennial contender Mike Swick looked impressive as he defeated Ben Saunders via 2nd round TKO. After an uneventful first five minutes, Swick let his hands go and his impressive handspeed proved no match for his adversary. In the opening match of the live PPV, Dan Hardy won a hard fought split decision over Marcus Davis. The two men had feuded back and forth in the UK media, and while the fight may not have settled their differences in a decisive manner it did provide a solid opener to the evenings fight card.

Ross Everett is a freelance sportswriter specializing in combat sports including boxing and MMA. He contributes UFC news to a number of online and broadcast media outlets. He is a frequent sports radio guest and UFC blog contributor. He's currently working on a biography of pro wrestling announcer Gorilla Monsoon.