$$ Money Money Money $$

So, the UFC and all other professional MMA organizations are very popular now and you probably think all the fighter make big bucks....but that's not necessarily true!
That's actually not true at all. I learned that some fighters make less than $1,000 per fight! That's not good because they only fight maybe 3 or 4 times a year!
Now the fighters who have been in the game longer and are champions and very skilled make the big bucks! I was shocked to see these salaries though.
It also depends on if they win or not. The fighters get a base payment and if they win they get a bonus check. If they lose they obviously don't get that check and if they don't make weight they can get a deduction from their base payment!
Some fighters like Chuck Liddell for instance at UFC 88 made $500,000! Yes, that is a lot but he is a veteran of the UFC.
Then again sometimes it doesn't matter who you are because Rich Franklin, a veteran and ex champion of the UFC, only made a base payment of $50,000 and a bonus of $50,000 for winning.
I thought that they made WAY more than that, but I guess I am wrong.
It sucks for the fighters who aren't well known because they don't make crap! It's ridiculous! I think some fighters are over paid too.
I mean I understand that the ones who fight better and bring in more fans get paid more, but the ones who aren't well know barely get paid anything! Obviously they have to have another job besides MMA.
I don't know why, but this shocked me. I expected to see like 6 figures on ALL the fighters checks.
A while back when Matt Hughes fought Royce Gracie, Royce got an extra $100,000 even if he lost because he was a legend in the hall of fame! Is that fair? I don't think so!

My ?: Do you think it is fair how some fighters get paid?? Why or Why not??

Go to the link below to see A LOT of salaries!
http://www.mmafighting.com/salaries

Fake or For Real?

The Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Championship and WEC have all been around for a long time now. These types of organizations or sports (MMA) are very different from the usual boxing and deffinitly different from the fake wrestling. But is it that different?
I love the UFC and I love how real it seem and it seems like you are right there in the action when you are watching it on t.v, but how real is it?
It seems so real when they are throwing punches, kneeing faces, and slamming bodies but wrestling seems real to some people too. I'm not saying that the actual punches and kneeing are fake, but is it set up?
It's curious if you think about it. How do we really know?
Personally, I don't think it's fake or setup. I think every blow to the face, every knee to the head, every elbow to the ribs, and every slam to the ground is for real. My dad thinks otherwise. He disagrees with me and thinks that some fights are setup for who is going to win. I disagree with that, but...you can't help to wonder.
I remember when Matt Hughes lost like 3 in a row, I mean he may be old news but did he throw some of those fights?? Some people may be in this sport just for the money, so what if they are paid to throw fights? Would they do it? Some probably would.
I really don't...know if it is set up but I dont believe it is. I mean their slogan is "As Real As It Gets". How real can it get though?
I would probably be devastated if this were true. It would suck because I really do love this sport.

My ?: Do you think the MMA fights are fake or setup???

UFC becoming even bigger

The UFC started back in 1993, 16 years ago.
Ever since then this organization has NOT stopped growing in popularity. A lot of people seem to be drawn to this type of extreme sport, especially men. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is exciting, intense, action packed and great! I can understand why it is a popular sport. I am a HUGE fan of the UFC. I watch almost every pay-per-view and every t.v. event. The ratings for the UFC says that the age range rounds from 18-34. I guess they didn't get me in there but I am close enough.
Dana White, President of the UFC, said once that UFC is the fastest growing sport in todays society. I completly agree with that. It has grown into something incredible. There are more fans, even better fighters, more exciting events, and way better fights. I love this sport and as I said before, I want to be a part of this sport in someway when I get older. That is my dream.
I believe that this sport will continue to grow. Recently at an event in Canada there was more than 21, 000 people there. That is the largest audience in North America to witness a mix martial arts event. That is insane and it is only growing in numbers. The UFC is basically the new boxing. Back in the day and still some today, boxing was the crap and extremely popular. It has died down in todays society and MMA or UFC has replaced it. Although, there is always a thought that maybe people will get tired of this sport and it will fade away, like boxing has somewhat. The UFC is almost to their 100 UFC pay-per-view and it will continue to move on up. I am so excited to see what the future holds for this sport.

? : Do you think this sport will continue to grow or fade out?

Does age matter?

Fighting is a hard and dangerous sport. It wears down and hurts your body over time, just like boxing. When a fighter is young it is easier to heal faster and become stronger, but what about when you age?
Is it harder to get better and stronger when you are injured?I think it is. I believe there should be an age limit of the UFC. I think if you are older than 35 you shouldn't be able to fight. I think that is a good age to stop. There are fighters who are older than 40 and still fight, like Randy Couture and he was a heavy weight champion. I'm not saying you can't still be a good fighter at that age, but you might not realize it at the time but you are damaging you body more than you did in your 20's.
My favorite fighter is Matt Hughes, as I have mentioned before, and he is now 35 years old. Even though I love watching him fight, he has gotten slower, and less agressive. I think he wears his body out and it can't take that anymore. I think he should stop while he is still considered a great fighter. I know most fighters fight for the love of the sport and they don't want to quit it, but they have to realize that the older they get, the longer it takes to gain strength back. 35 years old should be the limit of age in my opinion.
Plus another reason for having an age limit is maybe people get tired of seeing you if you have lost your skill or talent. The older you get, the less you can do. Like i said, Matt has lost his agressivness and that was his signature skill.
I think age does matter in this sport or maybe any sport. It isn't always safe and healthy for them to continue fighting while they are in their late 30's and early 40's.

Do you think age matters?

The Smoky Mountain Brawl

On May 9, 2009 there will be an MMA event called the Smoky Mountain Brawl in North Carolina. It will begin at 7:00 p.m.

This event will be an all amateur event with no well-known fighters.

In this event, there will be about 22 bouts that will be held.

The Smoky Mountain Brawl will be held at the Asheville Civic Center on 87 Haywood Street, Asheville, NC.

If you are interested in attending this event you need to contact Donald Mckeown.

This event is being held by the NC Boxing Authority but it is Mixed Martial Arts, not boxing.

The only negative thing about this event is it is in Asheville, which is about 3 hours away from Mt.Pleasant/Concord. Is it worth driving that far to go see? For amateurs?

Personally I love Asheville and I love MMA, of course(:

I would drive three hours to go see this because I think it would be fun.

And I love watching amateur fighters.

And the title to this event sounds pretty cool too! I don't really know what that has to do with anything, but it does. HA.

The highest price of tickets on http://www.ticketmaster.com/ is $49.00 per person!

That's actually not that bad for an MMA event. I would pay that to go see an MMA event.

I mean im not exactly a hardcore MMA fan that watches it every night and things like that, but I love watching it live. It is so cool to actually see them in front of you in a cafe, instead of watching them on t.v. Anyways....

So, would you drive 3 hours and pay $49.00 to go see an amateur MMA event?

For more information, goto www.mixedmartialarts.com and click on events.

TUF: Real or Really Fake?

TUF is The Ultimate Fighter television show held on Spike T.V and hosted by the UFC and UFC president, Dana White!

On the show there are two teams and two team coaches. The coaches are well known UFC fighters. Many guys try out to be a part of the show. If they make it, the captins watch them train and then choose which guy gets on which team. After they pick teams, both teams start to train (seperatley or at different times) and at the end of each week the coaches will pick one of their guys to fight one of the other guys from the other team! They will fight and whoever wins continues on to the next round! The loser gets eliminated from the competition. The winning side gets points, not that it matters or anything. At the end of the season, there will usually be two guys left and they will fight for a final time. If they win they recieve a six figure contract with the UFC and usually a very nice watch and the coaches usually fight too.

Sounds kind of boring, right? Well to me that does, but that's not exactly all of it! Think about it! A bunch of guys (16) cooped up in one house for almost 3 months.....it's not going to be pretty. They all run their mouths, get drunk, and of course FIGHT! Some have gotten into trouble before and sent home, got beat up, etc. Everything you can imagine happens or has happened on this show. Boys will be boys, right? Is it real though? The guys on this show do learn a lot from the coaches, but are they there to learn or are they there because they want to be famous? This show has put a lot of fighters out into the spotlight and has given them the push they need to make it in this sport. I know a lot of things on reality shows are FAKE, but is it all fake? I think most of the guys there do want to learn from the coaches and honestly do want the expierence of the whole situation, but I also think some are just there to goof off and show their face on camera. Some of the greatest fighters have come from this show. Like Forrest Griffin, Diego Sanchez, Josh Koscheck, Matt Riddle, Rashad Evans, Matt Serra(dont't like him, ha), Joe Stevenson, Chris Leben, Keith Jardine, Michael Bisping, Kendell Grove, and Nate Diaz. There has been 8, going on 9, teams! I think season 3 had the most goof offs there! The coaches are most of the time rivals too, so that doesn't help, but it does help ratings. This season is supposed to have the highest ratings yet! It's the United States vs. the United Kingdom!!

Anyways, my question for you is do you think the guys are there to actually learn or to get that moment of fame?

http://www.ufc.com/ for more information!

UFC 98, Hughes is Back!!

I've talked about this dominate, incredible fighter before and his name is Matt Hughes.
He is a welter-weight fighter in the UFC and is a former welter-weight champion. Matt has NOT fought in almost 10 months!! His last two fights ended in upsetting losses, which sucks. But he is back and, from what I hear, better!
His fight will be UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida on May 23rd, 2009 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. His opponent is his rival, Matt Serra. This will be a grudge match that has been in the making for almost two years now. Both fighters were coaches on the popular show, The Ultimate Fighter and have been enemies ever since.
Matt Serra is the type of guy who talks and talks and...talks a lot. That's just not how Matt Hughes is! He is the humble, straight forward, decent, respectful, kind, nice guy. He will tell you how he is going to beat you, but not to the point where he is running his mouth.
Matt Hughes has been out of the game for awhile now, but I am so excited to see him fight in the cage again. He is my favorite fighter and I have missed him in the UFC.
Im sure that he has been missed by all. He is a legend in the making and one of the, if not the most, the most dominate and excellent fighters ever in this weight division. I wish I could go watch it live, but I will just have to stick to renting it off of pay-per-view. I cannot wait until this fight! As you can guess, all my money is on Matt Hughes!!! Matt Hughes has fought 50 fights and has won 43 of those. He has dominated his opponents most of the time by submission, making it so painful that they have to tap out. He has never really talked crap about anyone and is always kind to fans and others. He is sick nasty in the octagon. I know that he will be put into the hall of fame for UFC one day. He is the most honorable, respectful fighters everr and I love him. haha.

Do you think Matt Hughes deserves to be put into the hall of fame?

MMA in North Carolina??

A few months back there was news about North Carolina banning MMA events! I couldn't believe it because it was ridiculous!

I have been to one VFC fight or Vengence Fighting Championship fight at the Cabarrus Arena. It was really fun and so cool to watch.

According to http://www.mixmartialarts.com/ sponsered by Tapout, there are a few upcoming MMA events to be held in North Carolina. One event that I was reading about was the CQC in the Cage fight. CQC is Close Quarter Combat. I am kind of confused though, because I thought MMA wasn't allowed?! Am I wrong?

Anyways, the fights should be pretty cool to watch. The bad part about this event is it is all the way in Fayetteville, NC. The CQC in the Cage event will be held on April 4th, 2oo9 at 7:30 p.m at the Crown Arena. If you want to learn more about this event or other events from CQC, go to http://www.cqcinthecage.com/! CQC have unknown fighters who are trying to make their big break. I think it's sometimes cooler to watch unknown fighters than pro fighters. I don't really know why, but it's cool watching them try to achieve their goal and obtain success. If this event were in a closer area I would deffinitley go to it.

If you want to learn about more upcoming fight in NC or not in NC, go to http://www.mixmartialarts.com/!

I have two questions: Would you rather watch Pro Fighters or Unknow fighters? Am I just imagining things or did you hear that MMA was banned in NC too?

Role Models in the UFC

When people think of UFC fighters, they think arrogant jerks with big egos. Well, that's not necessarily true! There are actually a lot of admirable, respectful athletes in the UFC.

I have a role model in the UFC. His name is Matt Hughes and he is one of the best, if not the best, fighters in the UFC. The picture to the right is Matt Hughes. He is a full christian, family man, honorable, and seems like a great guy. He is straight forward when being interviewed and is such a respectful fighter. Not to mention, he is a straight up country boy from Hillsborro, IL. :) He wrote a book and in it he confessed his mistakes, so you can look at him as a human being not just a fighter. He has made mistakes, but he has owned up to them as well.

Just because people fight for a living doesn't mean they are horrible people. They have values and thoughts and they make choices. Some are bad, but then again some are really good. I am sure there are kids and adults all over the world who look up to fighters. People who disagree with fighting and want to end it need to realize that they will be firing some kids role model.

Lots of girls watch it because of the cute guys without shirts on and that's all they see. That is not why I watch it. I mean yes, they are cute and look good without their shirt on :), but when you hear them being interviewed you can tell what kind of person they are. Fighters like Tito Ortiz and B.J. Penn are NOT role models. They are the arrogant jerks that make the sport look bad. People like Matt, Spencer Fisher, Rich Franklin, Randy Couture, and Matt Riddle are the role models of the UFC. They are guys who don't talk crap and are respectful, admirable fighters. A lot of people would disagree that any fighter was a role model.

What do you think about Matt Hughes? Do you think he sounds like a role model?

STEROIDS

Steroids being used in the UFC? Big Shocker...NOT!

A lot of athletes use steroids all the time, but some never get caught. Unfortunatley, Ken Shamrock (a veteran of the UFC) got caught using steroids on February 2nd, 2009. If you were to see pictures of this guy, he looks huge. Apparently it's not all natural! He was tested positive for 9-norandrosterone and 12-noretiocholanolone and stanozolol. Shamrock was fined $2,500 and was suspeneded until February 1st, 2010. He was scheduled to fight in March, but was forced out of it because his appeal will be after the fight.

Shamrock is NOT the only athlete to use steroids, he's not even the only fighter.
Tim Silvia was once a Champion in the UFC and lost his title due to steroid use. Why do fighters/athletes use steroids? I know they want to get better and bigger, but can't they do it the old timey way?! Just work out and fight with pure skill. I guess not. I think steroids cover up insecurities about a person. They know they aren't good enough, so maybe steroids will help. It's not just in the UFC or MMA world. Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, and Mark McGuire are all Pro Baseball players and they have all been caught or accused of steroid use. I just don't get why you would want to use it when you know you might get caught! It's stupid!

What do you think about athletes using steroids? Agree or disagree with it?

UFC 96: JACKSON VS. JARDINE

On Saturday, March 7, 2009, a UFC Light Heavy-Weight battle will be held on pay-per-view. The fight will be held at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Who will be the warriors in this battle, you ask? None other than former Light Heavy-Weight Quinton "RAMPAGE" Jackson and Keith "THE DEAN OF MEAN" Jardine! They will battle it out to see who is fit for a title shot.
"Rampage" Jackson was dominating the Light Heavy-Weight division when he was champion. He knocked out Chuck Liddell, and soon after that he beat Wanderlei Silva by a bone chilling knockout. Some people will agree with me when i say that Rampage is probably the toughest Light Heavy-Weight in the UFC. Others will disagree with me. I personally like Quinton Jackson. He is a funny guy on camera and is a respectable fighter in the cage. Like all other fighters he talks trash, but knows when to shut his mouth. He is an all around good guy, in my eyes.
Keith Jardine is an aggressive, tough fighter. He has fought the best and dominated them as well. His victims include Chuck Liddell, Stephan Bonnar, Forrest Griffin (the guy who beat Rampage), and Brandon Vera. He can and does dominate in the cage. Most of his wins come by TKO's or Decisions. He has been beaten by Wanderlei Silva, unlike his opponent Rampage. I haven't seen many of Keith's fights, but the ones I have seen are impressive in ways. He is tough to break when it comes to cardio. He likes going to decision and fighting all three rounds. He is a strong fighter, but is he strong enough for Rampage? I guess he will find out on Saturday!
There will be others on the fight card as well. Others include Brandon Vera, Kendall Grove, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Gray Maynard. This pay-per-view will be an explosive one! I am excited to see how all this unfolds. My vote goes Quinton "RAMPAGE" Jackson in the second round! That's my guess. My question to you: who do you think will win between RAMPAGE and THE DEAN OF MEAN?

UFC 95, THE RESULTS ARE IN!

This past Saturday, Feb. 21, was UFC 95. I recently wrote a blog on this fight before it happened. I guess you could say this is the followup to it. I didn't get to watch all of the fights, unfortunatley.

Like I predicted, Diego Sanchez beat Joe Stevenson. Not by knock out or submission, but by decision. Should've seen that coming. Diego can be beat, thats been proven, but if it goes to a decision, he will most likely win. It was a hard fought three rounds. I was personally pulling for Joe Stevenson. I think I told you I wanted Sanchez to win in my last blog, but I changed my mind. I like pulling for the underdog. It makes the fight more exciting when the underdog might have a chance. I watched the countdown to the fights and it showed a video of Joe and his family and he looks like he deserves to win more than Diego. That's my own, true opinion.

Another fact, this was Diego's debut in the light weight division and he made a good first impression.

Josh Koscheck wasn't as lucky as Diego was. He lost to Paulo Thiago in the very first round by technical knockout (TKO). I was rooting for Kos, because he is one of my favorite fighters in the UFC. I thought he would do great, coming off of his speedy knockout in 2008. I guess I assumed wrong. I guess this just wasn't Koscheck's night. This is kind of the point that I was trying to make earlier. Thiago was the underdog in this fight, and he won! Even though I like Kos, it's pretty cool to see the underdog win!

Another great fight was Nate Marquardt vs. Wilson Gouveia! This was probabley the most talked about fight of the night! These two guys are extremely talented and amazing fighters. I pulled for Nate and that's who won! He won by TKO in the 3rd round! I did not get to see this fight, but I am sure it was a close and intense fight. It's too bad I missed it!

What do you think about the results? Were they what you expected?

BJ Penn, arrogant jerk?

BJ Penn is a well known UFC light weight. He was once a champion of the UFC, but those times have past. BJ has tried to climb back up the UFC ladder to be a champion, but has realized times have changed and fights have revolved. In my opinion, BJ Penn is the most arrogant, selfish, all talk punk. All he does is talk, talk, talk. He thinks if he runs his mouth enough everyone won't notice how bad he sucks at fighting. That may be harsh but it's the truth. I cannot stand BJ Penn. Yea, he might have been good years ago but that's in the past.

Recently, there has been news about how he started running his mouth to Kenny Florian by text messages, through other people and things like that. Kenny Florian seems like he would be the kind of guy who is humble and a chill guy. I personally like Kenny Florian's character or personality. To talk trash to someone like that, you've got to be a complete jerk or coward. I do believe that BJ is a coward. When he feels like he is the weakest link in the fight, he lets his mouth do the work. To hide is fear and struggle, he covers it up by talking tough. He tries to get into his opponents head, which isn't a bad thing but he tries too hard. I will literally laugh out loud when he under estimates Kenny Florian or anyone (like he always does) and gets knocked out! Kenny Florian told Fighters Only magazine "BJ likes to play mind games a lot....but what they don't know is they are playing checkers and I am playing chess."

BJ can't out think everyone or even anyone. I honestly think BJ should just shut up and stop running his big mouth and be a real fighter.

What do you think of BJ Penn?

UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson

On February 21, 2009 two of the best fighters will meet in the cage at the O2 Arena in London.

Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez is one of the toughest and craziest light weights in the entire sport, in my opinion. He has sick nasty skills and can beast in any fight. With his record of 21-2, he will be looking to make this his 23rd win. Diego isn't called Nightmare for nothing. He has deadly skills in the cage and looks to defeat his opponent in every way possible. Even though most of his fights go to decision, he has been known to knock some guys out. Joe Stevenson better watch out because in my opinion he's in trouble!

Joe "Daddy" Stevenson is a well rounded fighter as well. I'm not as familiar with his fights as I am with Diego's. I know that Stevenson fights hard, like his opponent, and will not give up! His record of 34-9 will soon be changing on February 21st. Will it be in a postive or negative way? I guess we will find out next Saturday. Stevenson's technique includes more submissions than anything. I think if Stevenson gets Sanchez on the ground, maybe he will have a chance in winning this thing.

If I had to choose the outcome, I would say Diego Sanchez wins in the 2nd round due to a knock out or technical knock out! My question for you is what do you think the outcome of the main fight will be?

Another well known UFC contender who will be on the fight card is Josh "KOS" Koscheck. He will be fighting Paulo Thiago. Koscheck is probabley one of my favorite fighters in the UFC. He is a beast in the cage and such a tough athlete. As many UFC spectators and fans should know, Josh Koscheck gave Diego Sanchez one of the losses in his record. Koscheck fought Sanchez in 2007 and won by a unanimous decision. That was Diego Sanchez's first loss in the UFC. "KOS" is an all around great fighter! He doesn't give in and he tried his hardest in every single fight. Not to mention, for the ladies, he is kind of cute!

There are even more fights on the fight card that night, but too many to talk about. If you want to learn more about this upcoming fight event, go to http://www.ufc.com/!

Who do you think will win between Sanchez and Stevenson? and how do you think the fight will end?

Picture from www.UFC.com

MMA in general

As you can see this is my first blog entry on MMA.

MMA is a well known sport that is becoming more and more popular all around the world. If you don't know what MMA is, well it is Mixed Martial Arts. MMA is a mix of all types of fighting styles and techniques, including kickboxing, boxing, wrestling, ju-jitsu, tae-kwon do, etc. This type of sport takes all kinds of physical and mental strength. It takes endurance, cardio, knowledge, technique, mental preparation for the fight and courage.

I know I couldn't be successful in this sport because I couldn't prepare myself to get beat up. I believe even if you are great at this sport, you're still going to get beat up and maybe even hurt. It's not like you are at the gym with a punching bag, the guy standing in the octagon with you will fight back.

I've heard people say, mostly women, that MMA is a horrible thing and it shouldn't be allowed. I completely, 100% disagree with that. I mean, do you want guys to fight illegally or sneak it and get in trouble? NO! If you don't want that then this is the perfect alternative. Guys who love to fight and knock out other guys will be in this sport and be successful too. I know that if I was a guy and I was physically and mentally strong enough I would be involved in this sport.

MMA is popular now. I know My brothers, Dad, and I watch ALL the UFC pay-per-views that we can rent. I am a girl but I love this sport. I do want to be involved in this sport somehow, that is my dream. I don't care if it is a small job, I would love to get the opportunity to be around this environment. Like I mentioned before, there's not just one division of Mixed Martial Arts. You have different companies, for instance the UFC(Ultimate Fighting Championship), PFC(Pride Fighting Championship), VFC(Vengeance Fighting Championship), WEC(World Extreme Cagefighting), etc. I think the UFC is the most popular division, that's what I watch the most.

I don't understand why people ban and disapprove of this sport.

How can you dislike this sport and why would you dislike this sport?