from my article for SB Nation

This video comes to us from MMA Girls via Middle Easy, and it is spectacular. If you read the headline to this article I don’t really think I need to explain much more to you, but there’s just something so darling about seeing a father spend time with his little girl. Whether it’s a Sunday stroll through the park, or choking it unconscious, I think it’s important for a child to get this kind of one-on-one parenting during these early, formative years. Why should you waste perfectly good Jack Daniels on an unappreciative infant who won’t sleep? Never again!

Behold, and become a witness to progress.

from my article for SB Nation

You seem to have shifted away from your roots in western boxing in favor of a more traditional muay thai style, which was pretty apparent in your fight with Big Nog. Have you gone back to boxing to prepare for your upcoming fight with James Toney?

I’m still doing both. I have a coach for each style and I think you need tools from both of them. You just need to be able to plug them in with the appropriate opponent. Boxing wise, for this fight it’s more about the defense, the footwork, and the angles than it is about the exchanges and the combinations. I don’t need to get into big fire-fights and try to box it out with James, that would be stupid. But I do need to know where he’s coming from and what kind of combinations he’s trying to throw, and the way he’s going to move and set up his punches, where his jabs are coming from. So I’ve been working with my boxing coach to focus on those areas. He’s teamed up with my thai coach because the boxing stance presents particular vulnerabilities, especially with kickboxing.

How do you feel about James Toney’s comments hyping up the fight? He’s really gone off the radar on some of the interviews he’s done lately.

I’ve only heard stories. I haven’t really watched or listened to any of it, and I don’t intend to. It all boils down to fight night walking out there and doing what you’ve trained to do. That’s all that really matters. The rest of it’s just a bunch of crap.

I wanted to ask you what you thought about Fedor’s recent loss to Fabricio Werdum. I know that’s a fight you’ve been very intrigued by for years now, has that feeling soured since the loss?

I kind of got over that fight quite a while ago. The clock is ticking, so I cant spend a lot of time trying to facilitate that fight into happening. It didn’t look like it was ever going to happen, so I kind of had to put that to rest and put it where it belonged. Just focus on getting back to competing and doing what I wanted to do. He’s still a guy I would love to fight, and he’s a great fighter regardless of his loss to Werdum. Everyone loses in this sport. Nobody is going to walk around undefeated forever. I think he summed it up best by saying that ‘those who have never fall, will never stand up.’ It was a pretty interesting comment.

Since Fedor has essentially been dethroned, and you’ve gone up against Brock Lesnar and trained with him over at Death Clutch with Marty Morgan, do you think he’s the legitimate number 1. heavyweight right now?

I think he probably is, yea. I think the level of competition he’s been competing against lately is certainly some of the best in the world. He’s taken on some pretty substantial challenges, and I think that puts him at the top of the heap right now. He’s progressing each and every time he gets in there, and he showed more progress this last time with Carwin, managing to survive that first round. He did something no one would have thought he’d have ever done by submitting him.

I’ve only been up at Death Clutch for about 5-6 days during his Carwin camp, and it’s a very interesting place. He’s got a great camp and he’s done a great job up there. Brock’s got a lot of big guys, and it’s really something to see that many 6′5, 265lb plus guys in the same place. It’s a very peaceful, focused, and interesting place to train. I liked it. Whether I go back up there or whether he comes to train at my gym in Vegas is yet to be seen, we’ll see what happens.

You’ve said you’re very interested in solving problems that your opponents present. You like taking certain fighters, game planning and figuring them out, so what do you think about someone like Anderson Silva who hasn’t really been figured out too well. How would you prepare for someone like that?

I definitely think being tentative and standing around allowing him to find his rhythm and range is a mistake. Obviously he’s a tremendous striker and he’s got great accuracy and power. He uses those long arms to set up his exchanges, and if you allow him to find that reach he’s going to make you pay. I think the style Chael Sonnen brings to this fight on [August] 7th will give Anderson trouble. He’s not going to try to stand with him, he’ll cut right to the chase and try to get his hands on him. If he can do that without getting caught with something on the way in, he can make it a rough night for Anderson. It should be interesting.

Would you be interested in that fight at 205 with Anderson?

I’m definitely interested at fighting at 205. I think Anderson would be a great fight. I’m not sure what his perspective has been the last couple of times, though. I think since the Cote fight he’s taken on a different style and hasn’t been as explosive, not trying to finish fights early on. I don’t know if it’s concerning, but it’s interesting where he’s coming from with that. He certainly still has that capability. Maia, Cote, he could have finished those guys if he wanted to take the risk, so I’m not sure what’s going on where he doesn’t want to step up and take that risk. I think he’s a fantastic fighter, and if that’s someone they want me to compete against I’d be all over that.

Would you be more interested in the Machida fight?

He’s a whole other animal. I was very impressed with his fights, and he’s got a very unique style. Obviously, Shogun, I think, figured out how to solve that problem twice. I thought he won the first fight as well. He’s still a great fighter and another one that would be interesting to fight.

You’re widely known as the best game planner in MMA, the guru. So many of your fighters from Xtreme Couture claim you’re the best at figuring out an opponent, so who do you turn to for advice?

I feel like it’s a team effort. I’ve got several different corner guys who all have different backgrounds and expertise’s. We all sit down and watch tape together, then I go and develop my own opinion of what I think about potential weaknesses and areas that can be exploited for a certain opponent. I get their input because of their specialized backgrounds and sort of formulate a game plan based on it. I take it all under consideration to be put in the best position to win. I have to take the same mindset when I’m looking at tape on behalf of someone else. I’ve looked at tape for Gray Maynard, Tyson, different guys that I’ve trained with, and they ask me how to approach opponents, and it’s exactly the same process. I have an idea about my guys’ skill sets, and I try to get a feel of where the other guy is coming from, realizing where he doesn’t like to be. Once you get an image in your head of how that all fits together, you can decide where you want to try to put them.

MMA has progressed so much in the past ten years that it could be very interesting to see how far it can go in the future. Where do you see yourself fitting in a landscape like that with MMA rising amongst some of the more traditional sports? Do you see yourself as a coach? an announcer? maybe politics? or going further into your acting career?

There’s probably three things there that are true. I definitely see myself continuing to transition into more acting roles. I’ll always be a coach. I’m always going to have a training center, always going to work with guys that are looking for some input and want help. I love commentating, and that’s something I can always go back to and enjoy doing. There will be more and more opportunities to do that in the future.

Can you tell me about your role in ‘The Expendables?’ Was it a stretch playing him or did you fit right in?

I play a character named ‘Toll Road.’ He’s a college educated warrior, basically, and he’s part of this group of mercenaries. He’s more of the cerebral type, but when push comes to shove he’s perfectly capable and comfortable with breaking your neck. He runs around quoting Nietzsche and has a great mind, but at the same time is very physical.

I felt great about it. You have to find ways to relate to the characters you get to play. Put it in terms and in a context that speaks to you. Whether it’s killing someone or whatever he’s doing, find a way within you to tell the truth. I felt pretty comfortable playing Toll Road. I enjoyed his character and thought he was an interesting guy to play.

How was it working with that whole group of action heroes?

It was very cool. There was something very special about it. There was no posturing, no antics on set. Everybody got along and we all had fun laughing and joking around. I think [Stallone] created a particular environment with all those guys in the same place, it was almost electric.

from my article for SBN

MMA Mania made mention of this story yesterday, and, well, it looks like the NFL isn’t the king of all things sports, after all. When it comes to Facebook, only the NBA (3.1 million) tops the UFC in fans.  Boasting an impressive 2,269,450 fans, the UFC is crushing the competition to determine whose admirers have more free time on their hands.

per the Chicago Sun-Times-

Sports entity Facebook followers
NBA                           3,180,826
UFC                           2,269,450
2010 Olympics          1,209,379
WWE                            757,845
NASCAR                       702,701
NHL                              574,112
NFL                               508,906
WNBA                           283,779

Major League Baseball came in at an inauspicious 14 place with just 105,495 Facebook fans.  Now, I know that these high numbers don’t necessarily translate to a better bottom line for the UFC, but it’s pretty apparent that their aggressive social media campaign is working.  Dana White even makes his fighters go through a ‘social media boot camp.’  More from Mashable-

“In order to bring his organization up to speed, White hired PR firm Digital Royalty to teach the fighters how to properly use social media. He gave the fighters a simple instruction: “I want you to Twitter your asses off,” recalled Amy Martin, Digital Royalty’s founder and CEO. Digital Royalty ran a one-on-one boot camp with the fighters, churning out 200 new media mavens over the course of three days. After the boot camp, fighter education is still an ongoing effort. “We’re constantly doing one-on-ones with them,” Martin said. “They also have my personal email address and mobile phone number.”

from my article for SBN

With the better part of TUF 12 in the can, Georges St-Pierre dropped in on MMAjunkie Radio to talk about his fighting future, and his inevitable retirement. While fans may be wondering to themselves why a 29 year old fighter in his prime would even ponder such notions, GSP explained it’s all about personal achievement.

“Growing up in my career, I always fix my goals very high,” he said. “And every time I achieve one of my [goals], I fix another goal to reach. It’s important as a martial artist [never to be] satisfied because otherwise there is no point to keep doing what you’re doing.”

“People are going to be shocked,” St-Pierre said of his tentative retirement plan.

The current UFC welterweight champion still has a ways to go before proving he’s the top p4p dog, including a clash of the titans with middleweight champion, Anderson Silva. When asked about moving up in weight for the bout, GSP said it would most likely happen towards the later end of his career.

“If I go up in weight, it’s going to be hard to go down,” he said. “If I put on lean muscle like I already did recently … it’s going to be hard to come back down. So it’s not like I go up and I go down. I have to be very careful with what I do.”

“If one day I fight at 185 pounds for a super-fight to know who is the best pound-for-pound in the world, (and) if I reach my goal, then my goal will be reached,” St-Pierre said. “There will be no point for me to still compete because I’m not going to have a goal left.”

“The fame is the same thing. I didn’t have it in the beginning, and now I have it. But if one day I reach my goal of becoming the best pound-for-pound (fighter) of all-time, it will be time for me to retire. But I don’t know right now, at 29 years old, if I want to retire. So it’s better I have to stick around.”

From my interview for SB Nation

SB Nation caught up with Justin Wren while he was in Miami to train for his upcoming fight July 17th.

With only nine days to fight night, what are you doing in Miami?

I came down to Miami to train with Tony Johnson, the King Of The Cage heavyweight champion. Shane Carwin and Brendan Schaub both fought last Saturday night at UFC 116, and Demico Rogers has a fight coming up this weekend, so with three big guys missing I wanted to get some last minute practice in with a big heavyweight.

I know you recently relocated to Colorado to train at the Grudge Training Center following your time on The Ultimate Fighter, have you purchased your Tim Tebow jersey yet?

No way. I grew up in Texas so I liked the Cowboys, but actually my dad was the a photographer for the Green Bay Packers so we’d go watch games at Lambeau Field. I was a huge Brett Favre fan. He and my dad are friends, we’re kind of family friends with he and his family. They’re both from Mississippi and knew each other before he got real big.

How do you like training at Grudge with fighters like Shane Carwin, Brendan Schaub, Nate Marquardt, and Rashad Evans?

Yea, I honestly couldn’t see myself being a part of any other camp. We’ve got too good of a thing going on at Grudge Training Center. Our trainers are the best, our training partners are the best. I’m very lucky and very blessed to be a part of it. The elevation is another huge advantage out in Colorado. I actually live at 8,800ft elevation on top of a mountain overlooking downtown Denver. I come down to 5,280ft to train. You come down here to Miami, hitting mitts and sparring, and I feel like I can go all day. I also have an altitude simulator for back at sea level to maintain that advantage for as long as possible.  I just put my mouth up to a thing for an hour a day and it simulates my air as if I were at 20,000ft for the day. I’m using it to improve my cardio, it can be a heavyweight’s strongest weapon. It’s one of the most important things in MMA. All the best technique in the world doesn’t mean anything if you can’t put it into action once you hit the second round.

You’re a training partner of Shane Carwin’s.  What do you think about the way people have criticized his cardio coming into the second round of his fight with Brock Lesnar?

Shane was definitely in shape for that fight. It was just a lot of different things going into it.  It was his first fight to go to the second round, he almost finished it earlier in the fight, and he spent a ton of energy trying to finish it. I’m not trying to be biased, but I think eight out of ten refs would have stopped it in the first round. It was a great job by Brock to come back, but I think that if it had been stopped not many people would have complained. That’s also a testament to Brock being the champion, being able to fight through that.

How hard do you guys go in the gym?

Shane and I? It’s fun. Sometimes we’ll just bite down on our mouthpieces and bang. I don’t know if we go 100%, but yea, his punches hurt. It’s something that really rattles you. His hands are so big and he’s so strong and powerful that for Brock to withstand it, says a whole lot. No one has been able to take that punishment from him, not one person.

I’ve heard you guys have had to turn a few people down from coming to train at Grudge.

I’m the new guy at Grudge so I haven’t been around too long. It was definitely a process for me to get in. Luckily, I was on TUF and there were a lot of guys who wanted to come be a part of Grudge after the show, but they only took a few of us. I was the only one immediately invited and I felt pretty amazing about that. They want guys that are positive, that have a good attitude, have a good work ethic, and are really just good people. They don’t want people who are selfish and not team players, guys trying to be a hot shot during training who might end up hurting their training partners.  Everybody helps everybody. We have great strikers, great wrestlers, great jui jitsu guys, we all help each other out. Our sparring days are brutal, but it’s just cool to see the team atmosphere.

I heard you were injured for your first couple of fights, is that right?

Actually, my injury put me into those fights. I wrestled a guy who was the 2002 world champion in greco roman wrestling and I got my arm snapped.  It broke and got dislocated, tore the ulnar collateral ligament so I had to get a full replacement where they took a tendon out of my hamstring and put it in my elbow. I was recruited to Iowa state and was kind of like a medical redshirt. I wasn’t on the team but they kept telling me to stay active. So at the time I was just cornering guys. I flew to Oklahoma City to corner one of my best friends and he had a staph infection and was on crutches. The other guy was talking about how he was gonna knock my friend out. He was like a black belt in tae kwon do and had a karate school and all this stuff, just talking trash. The promoter asked me if I wanted to fight so I said sure. I took the fight the day of weigh-ins and had never trained MMA. I had been a fan of it since I was thirteen years old so I just jumped on the opportunity and won the fight. The same thing happened my second fight. I flew down to corner the same friend but this time he had the flu. I took over for him on a two day notice and won the fight. The third fight was in Iowa. I was in the stands and a guy went into the cage and called out anyone in the arena because his opponent didn’t show up. I raised my hand, won that fight too. I think I had just turned 19.

Did you lose your scholarship due to fighting?

No, I never really lost it. They told me I could fight in the summers as long as I didn’t take any endorsements which would disqualify me from the NCAA.  After a year they said they frowned upon the fighting because it was dangerous. I took seven fights in seven months. If I was going to be a scholarship athlete they wanted to protect their investment, so I just made the decision to pursue fighting. I had actually gotten into wrestling because of the UFC so it’s a decision I’ve never regretted.

I know your mom used to not watch your fights. Is that still the case?

Ha, no she watches them now. She either watches them through her fingers or out in the concourse of the arena. She just waits for the result before coming back down to watch the highlights on the big screen. They love the sport now. They buy all the pay-per views. Once people get educated about it they completely turn their thinking around.

What do you think about people even now who still see it as just a brutal sport?

I think to a certain degree it’s every fighters’ responsibility to be an ambassador for the sport. It’s what we love and what we do day in and day out. It’s a lifestyle for us. The people who think that way just aren’t educated about MMA and haven’t really given it a chance. If you sit and watch the training that goes into it, we are more disciplined and are working out harder, smarter, and longer than any other professional athletes. They have to learn one sport, we have to know multiple sports.

Grudge has a partnership with Greg Jackson. I Know Rashad Evans came to train with you guys in Colorado and it looks like the lighter weight guys are training mostly with Greg. Is there kind of a split with the heavyweights mostly training over at Grudge?

I wouldn’t say there’s a split. I think we just have a great group of big guys. We have some awesome lighter weight guys at Grudge. It’s sort of a thing where Greg has so many great fighters, he might have more guys who fly in for their camp or come in for only a few weeks at a time. Grudge is more of a home base for guys. In Denver, the majority of the guys live there, constantly learning and progressing. Greg definitely helps us with our game planning and technique, but I feel like grudge is Trevor Wittman’s baby. He and Greg are partners, but T is the mastermind behind Grudge.

I know you’ve said that losing to Roy Nelson on TUF turned out being a good thing because instead of fighting Brendan Schaub in the finale you ended up moving to Colorado and training with him. How do you feel about no longer being in the UFC?

I just try to keep positive. Being released has just made me more hungry. I’ve had a taste of the big show. Everyone wants to be there, I want to get back there, but I’m not in any rush. I’m only twenty-three so I have plenty of time to get back there. I’m still working on improving my strong points and my weaknesses. The whole thing was a great experience and I’m working hard to get back there.

Who are you training BJJ with? Are you trying to emulate anyone’s fighting style in particular?

I’m training with Easton BJJ in Colorado. I think they have something like twenty-five black belts in their gym so it’s kind of nuts. Plus they have plenty of big guys to roll with. I’m not trying to fight like anyone in particular, more just trying to prepare for different styles to be able to get either submissions or knockouts.

What do you think of guys like Batista coming into MMA?

Someone like Brock had a real wrestling background. Even Bobby Lashley did. I would love for that to be a match up for me. At least those guys have a real wrestling background. Batista is forty-one years old, so I don’t know what he’s trying to accomplish by getting in the game being a fake wrestler. I think he’s going to get a real rude awakening real quick. I’m not saying that he’s not big and athletic because to do professional wrestling you have to have some skill and talent, and even have some acting skills. In MMA all you have to do is know how to fight, be a hard worker, and be disciplined in all the right areas. He’s getting in too late. I know people like Randy Couture came into the sport later but look at what he did all his life. He wrestled his entire life, he boxed in the army. Batista is coming in trying to fight people who have been training MMA since they were in high school, so he’s going to have a tough time unless they baby him just like they baby Bobby Lashley.

What do you think about Strikeforce? Would you ever sign with them?

I’d definitely think about it. I’d be an honor to fight for Strikeforce but I hope they’re not going down the same road as Elite XC. Advertising Kimbo as the next best thing or having Lashey fight Batista if that happens. I feel like MMA has a lot of integrity, a lot of good people in it. I’m sure it would be a good payday but I don’t know. It’s all about ratings for certain promotions but I wish there was some more integrity behind it. Two pro wrestlers in an MMA fight isn’t something I would want to watch, but I’m sure all the WWE fans want to see it happen. It’s either a publicity stunt or just to be able to say he’s a fighter. Dana White is correct whenever he says every athlete in the world can come in and look up to MMA fighters. It has so many parts to it and is so intricate and detailed. A lot of guys just want to say they’re fighters. It takes more than that. If he’s not smart and he’s not babied he’s going to get hurt. I’m not saying he’s not tough enough to take a beating, because that’s what he’s going to get.

What do you think about guys like James Toney coming in to fight Randy Couture?

It’s a freak show to a certain extent, but not. It’s a little bit of both. Lashley fighting Batista is absolutely 100% a freak show, but you put Randy Couture in there with one of the best boxers in the world and that raises some interest for me. Do I think James Toney will ever be a champion in the sport? No. How is he going to stop a world class wrestler’s takedowns? Or world class grapplers from submitting him? Or even a K1 level kickboxer from kicking or kneeing him in the face? But you know, Randy’s been caught by Brock, by Chuck, and if you give Toney 15-30 seconds on the feet anything could happen. If he doesn’t land that KO punch, the second he’s on his back he’s going to get pounded out or submitted.

I actually thought Carwin was the best heavyweight in the world, and pretty much still do, and with Fedor recently losing it kind of reaffirmed my thinking. I just can’t accept Brock Lesnar being the top heavyweight in the world. Who do you think is at the top of the division right now?

Brock came back, he’s the champion, but I still think Shane’s the best. I think that if he’d gone to the second round before the heavyweight championship and knew how to handle it and not exert all of his energy trying to finish Brock it would have gone differently. In my opinion Shane is number 1 or 2, and Alistair Overeem is the other one.

Dana White has been pretty adamant about Overeem being overrated right now and that he’s not the new number one guy.  He keeps harping about when he was knocked out by Chuck Liddell.

That was before he was UBEREEM. I’ve trained with Overeem and he’s a monster. Shane and Overeem are the two best heavyweights I’ve ever trained with, and I’ve trained with Frank Mir, Randy Couture, a lot of good guys.

How is Dana White behind the scenes?

He’s really relaxed and extremely personable. It was pretty cool meeting him. He was very welcoming. I met him for the first time when I was on The Ultimate Fighter and we’ve hung out. He’s a real nice guy. I think he’s just really passionate about the sport and rightfully so. He’s done more for the sport than anyone else has and I think he looks at it like its his baby. He’s very opinionated but every time I’ve had a personal dealing with him he’s been great.

Can you tell us anything about your upcoming fight? Is it true that your opponent has pulled out 4 or 5 times?

Haha Absolutely. I count this guy as my fifth.  Three other guys accepted the fight and pulled out but I commend this guy for taking it on only fourteen or fifteen days notice. I’m not overlooking him at all but there were some other guys and other styles I was preparing for. I’m just excited to get in there and fight. The fight is in Mississippi, I was born in Mississippi so this will be the first time fighting in front of most of my family.

My fight is July 17th at the Coliseum. I think it’s just about sold out and I’m the main event. I’m very excited about it and I just want to go in there and finish it as soon as possible. I want a decisive victory. After that, I’m sitting down with my coach and my agent to talk about the plan of attack from there. If it’s going back to the UFC or looking at better offers. I’m looking into maybe fighting in Japan since I’ve always wanted to do that.  Might as well do it while I’m young and build some experience. I’m just excited for the future.

from my article over at SBN

Mike Chiappetta is reporting that UFC 119 finally has a co and main event.  Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will get his rematch with Frank Mir in the main event of UFC 119 while his twin brother, Rogerio, will face Ryan Bader in the co-main event.

Rodrigo is coming off a surprising KO loss to Cain Velasquez back in February while Mir looks to rebound off a similarly brutal knockout at the hands of Shane Carwin at UFC 116 in July.  The two fought previously at UFC 92 for the interim heavyweight championship, with Mir taking a second round TKO victory.  This was also the first time Nogueira had ever been stopped in thirty-seven professional fights.

After winning season eight of ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ Ryan Bader has improved on an undefeated record of 11-0 including four straight victories in the UFC, his most recent being a KO victory over Keith Jardine.  Lil’ Nog will make his return after a very controversial decision win over Jason Brilz at UFC 114.  Although 19-3 overall and 2-0 in the UFC, Nogueira needs a convincing victory here to maintain his status as an elite light-heavyweight in the UFC’s stacked 205lb division.  The winner of this fight will garner some chatter of a title shot, while the loser will be knocked down a few pegs and be forced to climb back up a pretty steep slope.

from my article at SBN

Sources close to the situation say that both Sean Sherk and Evan Dunham have conditionally agreed to terms for a fight at UFC 119. Former lightweight champ Sean Sherk will look to rebound off of his disappointing performance vs Frankie Edgar at UFC 98. Hoping to further derail the former champ will be Dunham, who’s star is rising quicker than our national deficit. Dunham is coming off a very impressive decision victory at UFC 115 over his former training partner, Tyson Griffin. Sherk has been plagued by the injury bug lately, pulling out of fights against Jim Miller at UFC 108, and Clay Guida for Versus 1 back in March.

Dunham absolutely dominated Griffin on the mat, and was able to maintain back control throughout most of the match. This looks like a pretty bad match up for Sherk, who will once again be fighting someone with much more reach. Since Dunham just beat what many consider to a younger, more evolved version of Sherk, I’m having a hard time imagining how he doesn’t improve on his undefeated 11-0 record.  We might be looking at the end for the oft injured Sean Sherk, who, at 36, seems to be winding down his very impressive career.  After all, the man has never lost to anyone who wasn’t a UFC champion.

from my article over at SBN

Ariel Helwani is reporting that Dana White has informed MMA Fighting that rumors of Brock Lesnar fighting Cain Velasquez for the UFC’s heavyweight championship at UFC 119 in Indianapolis are false.  UFC 119 has yet to be formally announced by Zuffa, and still has no main event.  The September 25th date would be about a three month layoff between fights for the champ, but with Lesnar’s recent health problems his doctors may want to give him more time off to recuperate.  Fight Scoops also had a story from early April saying that his wife was four months pregnant, putting her due date sometime around September.  I would be willing to bet that has more to due with him not fighting in September than any health problem.  Velasquez hasn’t stepped into the octagon since his KO victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110 in February.  I’m expecting the UFC to save this fight for the end of the year, possibly for New Years.  Quite the long layoff for Cain, though.  With such a young and inexperienced fighter, I really worry about ring rust being a factor.

from my article for sbnation.com

Apparently I wasn’t the only person impressed with George Sotiropoulos’ last few performances inside the octagon.  MMA Junkie is reporting that Dana White has confirmed the former TUF alum is right in the mix for the lightweight title.  With his win Saturday night at UFC 116 over Kurt Pellegrino, Sotiropoulos is riding a six fight win streak since joining the promotion in late 2007.  After submission victories over George Roop and Jason Dent, his profile absolutely exploded after his dominating performance over Joe ‘Daddy’ Stevenson at UFC 110.

“I’m impressed with him,” White said. “I was blown away with his Joe ‘Daddy’ Stevenson fight, and he looked incredible [at UFC 116] against a guy I have a lot of respect for, too. Kurt Pellegrino is awesome.

“[Sotiropoulos] is right there. He’s fought his way into the mix. No doubt about it.”

This could actually be a pretty intriguing fight for BJ Penn…er, I mean Frankie Edgar.  I like George, but I think there’s still a ways to go before getting into that top five of the lightweight division.  The winner of Florian/Maynard is likely the next challenger to the title, but guys like Evan Dunham, and even Jim Miller to an extent, are probably still a bit further up the food chain than Sotiropoulos.  Another win here or there against a top flight fighter and I have no problem putting him into that mix.  I would love to see how his style matches up against someone like Florian or Penn.  Can he hang with the big boys?