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The list of struggling international stars looking to regain lost glory with Britain’s Cage Rage promotion now includes the infamous “New York Bad Ass” Phil Baroni. The voluble American star will be the main event attraction at Cage Rage 27 this Saturday in Wembley Arena in London.

A journey to Britain has been a mixed blessing for stars looking to get back on track. Vitor Belfort was able to rack up three big wins in Cage Rage, while Ken Shamrock and Tank Abbott had less hospitable welcomes. Baroni, a former UFC and PRIDE middleweight contender, is confident that Cage Rage will be the first step on the long road back to the top of the sport. Not only is London a change in scenery, the fight will also be a much needed change in weight class. At 185 pounds, Baroni was packed with plenty of superflous muscle mass. The 170 pound Baroni should be leaner, quicker, and hungrier.

“I train with a lot of the best one seventy pound fighters in the world. And have always thought about dropping to one seventy,” Baroni told the MMA Torch. “I just feel I match up better with welterweights. I’m not short for welterweight, I am as fast as any welterweight and feel very strong when training with one seventy pound fighters. I always thought if I could just make welterweight I’d be a champion. And with a lot of discipline and hard work I can.”
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Following the final bell of last night’s UFC light heavyweight championship title bout, Forrest Griffin could be heard thanking the cornermen who helped him reach this moment:

“Thank you guys so f—ing much… Seriously, I don’t say it enough.”

Griffen had yet to be declared victorious in the bout, but had already proven more than capable to go blow for blow with the world’s very best. His transition from the brawler of three years ago to today’s tactical world class Mixed Martial Artist is complete, with more than a little help from his friends. It was a Forrest Griffin I never expected to see.

The only response from his cornermen came (appropriately enough) from UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture, who quietly replied, “it was an honor.”

For the rest of us, it was a moment to remember — one of many in last night’s classic UFC title fight and my “fight of the year” so far.

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Goldberg says this card is stacked top to bottom. He’s kind of right.
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When historians look back at the history of MMA (and they will), Forrest Griffin will stand out as one of the most important fighters in the sport’s brief history. When the UFC needed a great fight, when The Ultimate Fighter concept was still hanging by a thread with SPIKE TV executives, Griffin delivered. His legendary slugfest with Stephan Bonnar at the first Ultimate Fighter Finale helped introduce a legion of new fans to the sport.

And it wasn’t just Griffin’s crowd pleasing style that made him a big star. He and the UFC have also carefully manufactured an everyman persona. The television Forrest is always cracking jokes and is the model of the self deprecating good guy. Sometimes that shell cracked a little, like when Forrest was such a jerk about traveling to Northern Ireland that he actually had to apologize for his attitude, and people saw the real Forrest Griffin. Despite being a product of the reality television show, Griffin hates it. Too much like work. “It was annoying. I didn’t really like cameras or having to be certain places,” Griffin said. “It felt like you always had to be somewhere doing something stupid you didn’t want to be doing.” That’s the real Forrest-the guy who is notoriously difficult with reporters and single-mindedly ambitious. But that’s just real life. The TV character Forrest Griffin is who’s important here and he’s finally getting a title shot.

“It’s the biggest fight of my life,” Griffin said. “I realize that. And I’ve done everything right for it. So I’ve got no doubts and no worries. Quinton makes fun of me because I don’t hit that hard, but he doesn’t realize I was a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and if you hit too hard you get penalized for it. So, I’m working on the hitting harder thing.”
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Your Roundtable:
Lee Casebolt (LC)
Dave Walsh (DW)
Alan Conceicao (AC)
Chris Henderson (CH)
Kendall Shields (KS)

Can Griffin buck the odds and legitimately become THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER? Our staff opines.

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In this edition of Total MMA Radio, we interview Jake Shannon from scientificwrestling.com, take a look at UFC 86, and look back at Strikeforce and the week in boxing. With Jonathan Snowden, Dave Walsh, Alan Conceico, and Iain Liddle.

Total MMA Radio 4th of July Edition (UFC 86, Strikeforce, week in boxing, Jake Shannon from scientificwrestling.com)

 

 Total MMA Radio (UFC 86, Strikeforce, Boxing, Jake Shannon from scientificwrestling.com) [58:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Lorretta Hunt is reporting that the Association of Boxing Commissions, the body responsible for the Unified Rules which make modern mainstream MMA possible, have made a few clarifications and modifications to that code.  What, exactly, constitutes “the back of the head” has been specified.  The rarely enforced and never understood downward elbow rule has been abolished.  Smothering the opponent with the hand has been ruled a foul (take note, Matt Hamill!). 

More signifcantly, the official weight classes of mixed martial arts have been altered and expanded.  The ABC now recognizes fourteen weight classes for men, starting at 105 pounds and moving upward in ten pound increments to 205 pounds, then 205-225lbs for the light-heavyweight class, 225-265 for heavyweights, and 265+ for super heavyweights.  Ten female weight classes (alas, unspecified by Ms. Hunt) were likewise delineated. Read the rest of this entry »

MMA Junkie reported yesterday that Kazuhiro Nakamura has been released from his UFC contract after his second loss in the organization, and his third consecutive loss overall, dating back to the late days of Pride FC. Quite rightly, Junkie suggests that “with his crowd-pleasing and colorful entrances and willingness to fight all-comers, Nakamura will likely be picked up quickly by another organization.” Sengoku seems the most likely destination, given the strong Hidehiko Yoshida connection, and DREAM presents another viable option as well. No doubt he will land on his feet. We needn’t worry; this isn’t the last we’ll see of him. But the end of Nakamura’s UFC tenure is, I think, significant, in that it was Nakamura’s UFC tenure, however brief, that most fully revealed his character: fundamentally, Kazuhiro Nakamura is a guy who wants to do judo and get high, and not necessarily in that order.

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Editor’s Note: This is the second of three parts of our epic preview of this weekend’s UFC. We covered the undercard yesterday, the televised card today, and the main event on Friday.

Your round-tablers today:
Lee Casebolt (LC)
Dave Walsh (DW)
Alan Conceicao (AC)
Chris Henderson (CH)

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Editor’s Note: This is the first of a three-part preview of this weekend’s UFC. We’ll cover the undercard today, the televised card tomorrow, and the main event on Friday.

Your round-tablers today:
Lee Casebolt (LC)
Dave Walsh (DW)
Alan Conceicao (AC)
Chris Henderson (CH)
Read the rest of this entry »