Science of Fights

Brock Lesnar was dethroned as “The Baddest Man Alive” after Cain Velasquez decimated him in UFC 121. It only took Velasquez one round to make it happen as he left Lesnar beaten to a bloody pulp after referee Herb Dean motioned to stop the fight. Velasquez winning the fight did not really surprise me. His well-rounded skills and innate speed is certainly difficult to overcome even for someone like Lesnar. Rather, it was Lesnar’s performance in that fight that made me realize something about the monster. Ever since Lesnar’s prominence in the UFC, I see him as an enigmatic fighter. I definitely revere his awesome size, strength, and athletic ability as they were instantly recognizable but I had lingering doubts about his composure, heart, adaptability, defense, and overall skills as a true MMA competitor. The problem with Lesnar is the hype that surrounds him. It was really difficult to profile him and rank his aptitude in different aspects of the fight game because of the ex...

UFC, as part of its yearly tradition, aims to start its first event of the year with a stacked fight card. 2011 will be no different as UFC announces " UFC 125: Resolution , Edgar vs. Maynard". The event is set to take place in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on New Year's Day. The main event will be a lightweight title fight between the current champion, Frankie "The Answer" Edgar, and the number one contender, Gray "The Bully" Maynard. This fight is also a rematch between the two lightweights as the undefeated Maynard will look to repeat his win over "The Answer". Edgar, on the other hand, will try to avenge his only loss to retain his UFC lightweight belt.

The #1 pound-for-pound fighter, Manny Pacquiao will face Tijuana’s Tornado, Antonio Margarito, for the vacant WBC light middleweight title on November 13. Despite all of the controversies surrounding the two fighters, particularly Margarito, this match will surely provide an action-packed encounter since both fighters are known for their aggression. Both are primarily brawlers. Pacquiao may have shown that he has evolved from a head-on slugger into a boxer-puncher but his instinct for offense is still intact. Margarito, on the other hand, is expected to do what he does best and that is to attack with relentless pressure. However, the Mexican should also be smart and take advantage of his size and reach. Here is a breakdown of their match-up:

Jon Jones’ rise in the UFC is well known. He ends fights impressively. With his combination of powerful wrestling and unorthodox striking, he is exciting to watch. After his destruction of solid fighters like Brandon Vera and Vladimir Matyushenko, he feels that he is ready for the big time. He expressed that he wanted better fighters, particularly fighters that belong in the top five of the light-heavyweight pool. Regardless of his desires, Jones already expected that his next opponent was the winner of the Ryan Bader-Antônio Rogério Nogueira match.

The Bad: Chael Sonnen’s abrupt rise and fall Chael Sonnen, the underdog in UFC 117, gave Anderson Silva a beatdown he has never encountered before. Sonnen frustrated Silva with his wrestling for four and a half rounds but got caught by the champion’s miracle triangle choke in the last round. Despite Sonnen’s loss, some UFC fans were quite contented to realize that Silva, the man who dominated the middleweight division for three years, is beatable. Sonnen, as a fighter, instantly became a hot item. Fans could already imagine him wearing the middleweight belt. Immediately after the fight, talks of rematch resounded. It was even verbally confirmed by UFC president Dana White that a second fight between the two cage fighters would be arranged sooner than many had expected. MMA fans were pumped for the rematch, but it all crumbled down when Chael Sonnen tested positive for natural steroid use. The repercussions of that result were very bad for the organization’s mone...

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is set for another great fight card when it presents “UFC 118: Penn vs Edgar 2” on 28 August at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The much anticipated rematch between Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn for the UFC lightweight championship will top the event. It will also feature the UFC debut of former boxing champion, James Toney, when he goes up against UFC hall-of-famer, Randy Couture.

Before any of you Quinton “Rampage” Jackson fanatics out there come bashing this post, hear me out. Let me put it out there and say that I am a true Rampage fan and I have been following him since his Pride days. I find him to be not only an amazing fighter but also one hell of a personality. His wit and humor, along with his caveman strength and KO power, have made him a fighter you cannot easily forget. He is popular and he can bang with the best fighters MMA has to offer, there is no doubt about that. However, I am also a follower of the evolving sport and, as an analyst, I must be realistic and go against my fanaticism of Jackson and say that he can’t become a UFC champion again.

The Pacquiao-Clottey fight disappointed a lot of boxing fans. The much hyped fight hailed as “The Event” became more of a Pacman exhibition match. Joshua Clottey’s lack of guts to take risks and open up made the main event of “The Event” uneventful. On the other side of the fence, we have Mayweather versus Mosley. Unlike Clottey, Mosley will certainly come to fight. In fact, Sugar Shane will almost certainly come as the aggressor and will not shy away with his punches. This time around, it will be Mayweather doing all the blocking and defending.

As many of you may have already known, Pacquiao is often surrounded with quite a number of people. His entourage is considerably large in numbers, and yes, even in boxing standards. This chosen crowd is dubbed as the Team Pacquiao but most of them are merely there for the champ’s longing for companionship and only a few of them have functional purposes. In case you are wondering about the essential who’s who in Team Pacquiao, this list will certainly shed light on Team Pacquiao’s active (which means purposeful) members.

A knockout punch can end all contests decisively. It can finish fights without dispute and can save your life in grave circumstances. A fighting sports athlete needs it when he is awfully down on points; an up and comer wants to have a lot of wins through knockouts to boost confidence and create an intimidating image. Some people just want that knockout punch to end things in their favor and end things fast. True, the knockout punch is a tool that every fighter should have in their repertoire. It can be used as intimidation and insurance. But before we get into the details on what makes a knockout punch, we must first understand the anatomy of the knockout.

The welterweight standout, Joshua Clottey , is just one of Ghana ’s prominent boxing figures of today. Just like his fellow boxer and countryman, Ike “Bazooka” Quartey, Clottey seems to have the essential tools to become the top dog in the sport of boxing, yet, still falls short by losing to quality opponents rather non-convincingly. Fortunately for Joshua Clottey, he still has plenty of fights left in him and he will have the biggest chance of his life to surpass Quartey’s underachievement by beating the pound for pound kingpin Manny Pacquiao. Let’s take a closer look at the Ghanaian fighter they call “Grandmaster”.

The Roundhouse Kick. No, it is not as fancy as it may sound but it’s one hell of an offensive weapon in fighting. There are lots of Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kick jokes going around especially on the web and many would get a kick out it (pun intended). Yet, I am pretty sure many think of the roundhouse kick as a fancy type of spinning kick. Surprisingly, even people who have been following martial arts and MMA matches would still confuse a roundhouse kick with something else. Let’s get everything straight, talk all about the roundhouse kick and how it’s done.

Are you one of those people who scour the web looking for fights? No, I don’t mean someone who picks fights in forums or comment spaces, not that kind of keyboard warrior but the type who searches YouTube for a Kimbo Street Fight, MMA matches, or compilations of knockouts and fight highlights. If that’s your thing, you are what I call a fight fan . You have the thirst for primal human action and also have the acumen for fight science. Discrimination is not in your vocabulary eventhough you may favor one type of martial art or prefer a particular fighting sport. You enjoy watching and understanding fights. Whether it’s MMA, Boxing, Karate point fighting, Muay Thai, backyard brawl, or a Kimbo Street fight – your interest is genuine and profound. There are different kinds of fight fans. Here’s a short list: