UFC MMA archive

Sitting on an Amtrak train returning home from a visit to New York City last week, gazing out the window at the dusky landscape, I got to pondering a troublesome moment from my day. It happened during a taping of the online television show The MMA Beat on which I was among a foursome of sports reporters opining about topics of grave importance to the mixed martial arts world. At this time of year, with strains of "Auld Lang Syne" dancing in our heads like sugarplums, our talk naturally had veered toward the year's superlatives. What was the best fight of 2013? Who was the best fighter? We'd bantered about those and other "of the year" matters.

And now I was staring out at the shadowy snow and multihued blur of holiday lights, the cold tracks rumbling beneath me, and an incredulously self-critical question kept running around my head: "What the hell was I thinking?"

When the topic of Fighter of the Year had come up during the TV show, I had blurted out a name that on the most obvious level made perfect sense. The guy fought three times in 2013, won three times in 2013, viciously knocked out three opponents in 2013, each one with a highlight-reel kick to the head. So I had cast my vote for Vitor Belfort.

What the hell was I thinking?

What I was thinking was that the resume items listed above were impressive enough. And they were indeed remarkable. But they're only part of the 2013 Vitor Belfort story, and they are undeniably tied in to the other part: He's one of the growing number of aging fighters who've prolonged their careers by use of testosterone replacement therapy. And the brawny Brazilian stands out from the crowd. At 38 years old, he's more of a caged killer now than he was in the prime years of his 20s. Three straight head-kick KO's over Top 10 guys? He wasn't doing that 10 years ago.

A decade ago, Belfort was known for beating people up, but he wasn't taking our breath away in quite the same way. "The Phenom" was a young man fighting like a young man ... until he no longer was. After winning the UFC light heavyweight championship in 2004, everything suddenly went south. Belfort entered a stretch during which he lost five of seven bouts and appeared to be fading out of the picture. That perception became starkly vivid when, following the 2006 decision loss to Dan Henderson that culminated his slide, Vitor tested positive for the anabolic steroid 4-Hydroxytestosterone.

Since 2007, though, Belfort is 10-2, with losses coming against only the estimable Anderson Silva and Jon Jones. He's fought like a different fighter and even looked like one. His sinewy physique and ageless vigor have raised eyebrows. Would Belfort have had the energy to put in the gym hours needed to chisel out such a figure if not for the TRT boost? Would his dynamic blitzkrieg fighting style still have been possible as he entered his late 30s?

My argument on the TV show, to which I'd given considerable thought, was that with TRT exemptions being routinely granted to fighters by athletic commissions, there's nothing inherently wrong with Belfort's use. "It's within the rules," I had said. "He's not cheating."

That's true. But even as I was stating the case for Belfort, I was situating him within a more nuanced context. The panelist who spoke before me had endorsed flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, and when it was my turn I had used that as a jumping-off point. "I'm going to say that Demetrious Johnson is my organic, all-natural Fighter of the Year, sponsored by Whole Foods Market ..." I began, whimsically, before veering toward Belfort.

Upon further review, I believe I should have stayed with Johnson. Nothing against Vitor, whose three victories this year were awe-inspiring, but he's running on high-octane fuel in a race against vehicles with tanks full of regular unleaded. At some point, athletic commissions and MMA's most influential promotion, the UFC, will resolve themselves to doing away with artificial enhancement and allow fighters to simply age out of the sport, as nature intended. Till that happens, TRT-fueled fighters will continue to do what they do. Among the things they will continue to do: pose a dilemma for those of us who each year try to sort out the criteria for determining who's the best of the best.

So, during my train ride home, I got to thinking about the story you're now reading. Not just the story but the photos that would accompany it. I sat there and pictured the MMA/Boxing page of SI.com with a headline playing off the Fighter of the Year award, and on this imagined page would be a picture of Belfort, his physique bursting out of himself in a way a 38-year-old athlete's simply doesn't ... especially if his physique didn't do so at age 28. And when I finished with the "What the hell was I thinking?" self-battering, I whispered to myself, audible to the iPod-listening person across the aisle from me, "No, no, no."

No, Vitor Belfort is not my Fighter of the Year. I take it back, viewers ofThe MMA Beat. I congratulate Belfort on those breathtaking KO's of Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold, and Dan Henderson. But just as the UFC is prone to skip over challengers to hand title shots to fighters it believes will best serve the bottom line, I'm skipping over Vitor Belfort. I don't care if TRT is within the rules. I'm factoring it in.

So ... no. Simply ... no.

Who's the Fighter of the Year, then?

Let's go with "the organic, all-natural" Johnson. "Mighty Mouse" didn't head-kick an opponent into oblivion in any of his three 2013 victories, but two weekends ago he did send shivers through all of us who watched him starch Joseph Benavidez with a potent fight hand just two minutes onto their flyweight title fight. In his defense just prior, in July, lightning-quick Demetrious dominated John Moraga -- 71 percent accuracy on significant strikes, 12 takedowns, 13 guard passes -- before submitting the challenger. And back in January the 27-year-old Johnson,

It has not been easy on the eyes to watch the greatest of alltime in mixed martial arts end their careers of late. Instead of riding off into the sunset, it's more like being carted off to the hospital — with the fighters routinely referred to as the best ever, but with an undertone of pity.

For example, with all the amazing things Royce Gracie accomplished in the early days of the UFC, it's hard to shake the lasting image of Matt Hughes pounding him into the mat when he decided to make a comeback in 2006 after his best days were already behind him.

Fedor Emelianenko technically retired off of a few wins in promotions that most fans couldn't identify, much less find on an American television network. Prior to that, however, the memory most have of Emelianenko at the end of his career is laying face down after getting whacked by a series of Dan Henderson punches, and that's one fight after he was trapped under the immense power and girth of Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva dropping canned hams on his head for an entire round prior to the bout being stopped.

On Saturday night at UFC 168 the fighter most universally recognized as the best ever inside a cage or ring may have seen the end of his career come courtesy of one of the most gruesome injuries ever witnessed on live television.

Anderson Silva was down a round early in the rematch against the first fighter to beat him in seven years, but he came out confident in round two looking to rattle undefeated champion Chris Weidman using the best weapons at his disposal. In the first contest, Weidman's coaches warned him to be on the lookout for Silva's leg kicks, and it's likely they were on guard for the same thing in the rematch as well.

Silva cracked off a few of them before launching a right low kick that Weidman wisely blocked by raising his own leg off the ground just enough to meet his opponent's shin with his knee. What happened next was visually debilitating on the eyes as Silva's leg snapped, and wrapped like a rubber band around Weidman's leg.

As Silva stepped backwards he crumbled to the mat in obvious pain, his leg shattered and his hopes of regaining the UFC middleweight championship seemed like the least of his worries at that moment. Seeing a fighter so respected and honored as a champion, laying on the ground, writhing in pain was almost too much to witness.

Replays sent a shiver up the spine of anyone in attendance and every person watching at home. The slow-motion video only amplified the true horror that Silva must have felt as he connected with the kick, then fell to the ground in complete and utter agony.

Reporters at the event said that as Silva was carried off on a stretcher he was screaming in pain as he was being taken to the back for medical attention. It's certainly not the way anyone wants to remember Anderson Silva's amazing career, but no matter how much we will try to deny it that's the image we will be haunted by for years to come.

"I'm a big fan and I have been since he came here. It's just one of those crazy things. In a million years you don't expect to see that," UFC president Dana White said about Silva after the event. "This will be a tough thing to over come and come back at his age. He literally left here and is going straight into surgery. Doc Saunders, who is here tonight watching the fights, is following them and he's going to do the surgery, probably in the next hour I guess."

At 38 years of age and with probably at least a year before he could even contemplate training to fight again, the last chapter of Anderson Silva's incredible career may have come to a close on Saturday night with his leg being broken in half. It's been a sad path MMA fans have had to watch as the competitors universally recognized as the icons of our sport have all suffered a lonely exit and a fall from grace.

It's easy to say that Silva's legacy won't be tarnished by what transpired at UFC 168 — the end of his fight happened because of injury and not an actual finish like a knockout, submission or even a judges' decision. Still the last two moments that will be replayed over and over again are the knockout to Weidman and now the leg break heard round the world. It's no different than how Emelianenko's incredible 28-fight unbeaten streak is still marred by the three straight losses that precipitated the end of his career in major promotions.

There's no certainty that Silva couldn't somehow formulate a comeback, but if this is Las Vegas the odds are against him ever returning to the Octagon. The fact is no one could have even contemplated that the last moment of Silva's historic career would be him carried out, strapped to a stretcher, eyes shut and tears running down his cheeks.

"I didn't want to see Anderson Silva get hurt like that," Weidman said after the victory.

Maybe the saddest part about this entire ordeal for Silva is that he's been talking about retirement for a few years now. It first happened a few years ago when he was approaching his 35th birthday, and then again as he headed into the rematch with Weidman. The fact that Silva may not get to make a choice to walk away from the sport he loved for so many years is the real shame in everything that happened on Saturday night.

UFC president Dana White may have summed it up the best when speaking about Silva during the press conference. There's little argument about Silva's accomplishments or standing in regards to historical context to this sport. But how it all ended on Saturday is a nightmarish vision to the charmed dream life Anderson Silva once led.

"Anderson Silva's been amazing. He's one of the greatest of all time if not the best ever," White said. "It's a sh***y way to see him go out, but it's part of the game."



[url=msn-foxsports-com/ufc/story/anderson-silva-is-the-latest-mma-legend-not-going-out-on-his-own-terms-122913]Anderson Silva is the latest MMA legend not going out on his own t

Julie Bruce was looking for something to punch up her workout when she stepped barefoot onto the mat at Life Time Fitness.

“I had been doing a lot of running and high-intensity spin classes and had hit a plateau,” said Bruce, 49, a financial consultant from Shakopee, Minn.

That’s when she discovered Life Time’s “Fight Shape” class, which put her body to the test as she learned to grapple, strike and execute takedowns. “I was thinking, ‘I really don’t want to hit anybody or anything,’” she said, “but I went to the class and I was like, ‘Oh, this isn’t so bad.’”

Bruce is learning mixed martial arts, the fast-growing combat sport popularized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In the UFC, two fighters square off inside a cage, attempting to harm each other with a mix of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling, boxing and other fighting styles. Victory is often decided by a brutal knockout or a suffocating chokehold.

But Bruce doesn’t want to fight. She just wants to get fit.

Unlike the hulking stars of the UFC, Bruce is among a growing number of MMA enthusiasts who come in all ages and physiques. Increasingly, the classes at local gyms are populated by women and even children.

“There’s still a stigma around the sport that there’s going to be blood everywhere, that it’s going to smell,” said Merrick Morland, MMA coordinator for Life Time Fitness. “The majority of people joining (the classes) have no intention of getting into a fight. They want to cut weight like a fighter.”

Fitness lovers have always looked to combat sports such as boxing and kickboxing for a fast-paced cardio workout. But as MMA’s fanbase grows, some boxing gyms are ceding time and space to the sport. These workouts are the latest example of the extreme fitness trend that has made Tabata, P90X and Insanity so popular.

“It’s huge right now,” said Dalton Outlaw, co-owner of Elements Boxing & Fitness in St. Paul, Minn., which recently expanded its offerings to include MMA training. So huge, in fact, that the UFC - the sport’s premier fighting league - has branded its own line of gyms specializing in MMA fitness. It has 96 locations nationwide and 85,000 members.

“They want to be able to train without getting a broken nose or getting hit in the eye,” said Adam Sedlack, the chain’s senior VP.

In a typical class, beginners learn the basic moves they might see in a professional bout on TV. Students might learn how to escape a “rear naked choke” (a chokehold applied from behind by an opponent) or the proper way to deliver a leg-sweep takedown. They’ll also throw stiff jabs and kicks at pads and punching bags.

As with any extreme exercise, injuries can happen. At the beginner level, there’s the possibility of twisted knees, muscle sprains or bruises. In the advanced classes, which might include sparring, blows to the head could result in concussions.

Boxing and kickboxing training aren’t the only combat sports feeling competition from MMA. When it comes to kids’ classes, move over karate and taekwondo.

May See Xiong of Burnsville, Minn., said her son Lucas, 10, used to take taekwondo lessons but switched to MMA and hasn’t looked back. Her other son, Lex, 7, has joined him in classes at two local gyms. Xiong and her husband enjoy watching UFC fights at home on TV.

The action piqued the interest of her boys: “My son said, ‘Well, I want to learn how to do that, too,’” she said.



MMA fitness challenges everyday people to get into fighting shape | People | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, LA

WHILE millions of Scots will relax and let their hair down for Hogmanay, two Scottish fighters will end 2013 contesting Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) world titles tonight in Dublin.

It’s a sport on the rise in Scotland. Once looked upon as brutal and barbaric, MMA has revamped its image in recent years, partly due to the rising popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the sport’s premier promotion.

The London-based Cage Warriors Fighting Championship has benefited dramatically from the boom in the sport’s popularity and tonight Cage Warriors will cap off a year in which they set a company record for number of events held with a blowout in Dublin, Ireland’s Helix Arena featuring two world title fights.

Contesting these championship fights are two of Scotland’s finest, as Steven Ray, 23, defends his lightweight championship against Ivan Buchinger and Graham Turner, 26, challenges featherweight champion Jim Alers for his title. Both men have made waves in their respective weight divisions, and neither plans on stopping until reaching the pinnacle of the sport.

After winning a gruelling four-man, one-night tournament to win his lightweight crown at Cage Warriors 60 in October, Ray will climb back into the cage against dangerous submission ace Buchinger at Cage Warriors 63 where he is relishing the return to fighting only once per night.

He said: “It seems a lot better, not because of the two fights but the fact it added up to eight rounds. I’ve competed in four-man tournaments before but this one felt different. After my first fight my heart rate was really high and I couldn’t calm down.”

Ray was eventually able to regain control of his body and went on to defeat Sean Carter in their lightweight tournament final by way of submission in the fourth round, and is now looking to keep what he earned. “It’s one opponent, one fight,” he continued. “I know who the opponent is this time. I’ll be prepared.”

Fellow Scot Turner, on the other hand, is in a different position to Ray as the challenger to a world title belt. Turner’s opponent, Jim Alers, won the featherweight strap on Cage Warriors’ last trip to Glasgow in April, but Turner plans to bring the belt back home with him to Scotland.

Alers’ strengths lie in his grappling, something Turner and his coaches took into account when formulating his gameplan for fight night.

Turner said: “When he gets people to the ground, his control and ability to pin people to the mat lets him do what he wants with them, so I’ll be looking to keep it on the feet.”

Turner and Alers have spent time promoting their fight through Twitter, a medium that many will use to talk trash and demean their opponent. But Turner and Alers have instead used the social networking site to send each other high praise, and promise to deliver the fight of the night.

Turner explained: “We both have a lot of respect towards one another. It’s not personal, it’s just business at the end of the day.”

The Scots pair found their passion for the sport in different ways; one followed a keen interest in traditional martial arts, the other at the insistence of a friend. Turner found freestyle karate at the age of 14 before his talents led to a professional career.

“A class in freestyle karate started in my local area and within six months of training I got called up to for the Scotland karate squad,” Turner recalls.

“I only had my second belt and I was put up against a Second Dan black belt. He only beat me by two points. My coach, James Doolan, saw a lot of potential in me and kept pushing me, and as he progressed with his career into Thai boxing and MMA, I followed.”

For Ray it was less a calling, more a friend’s perseverance that he would enjoy the training that got him hooked on the MMA bug.

Ray said: “My mate just kept saying to me every time I saw him ‘you should come along, you’d be good at it’. I didn’t go at first but when I eventually did, I fell in love with it. I actually used to train in a cabin in the guy’s back garden, it was like a private club. I’ve come a long way since then.”

Both Scots now train and fight out of Glasgow’s Griphouse Gym, which forms the country’s biggest mixed martial arts squad known as the Dinky Ninja Fight Team.

They credit the gym with producing some of the most exciting MMA talent on the circuit at the moment and Ray believes the quality of the team’s fighters has allowed him to thrive in that environment, moulding him into the world champion he is today.

He added: “If they’re a quick learner, they could turn pro really quickly because of the talent we’ve got.”



Scottish MMA duo aim to end 2013 with a big bang - The Scotsman

Jon Jones has walked away from the World MMA Awards with Fighter of the Year honors over the past two years. In 2013, Demetrious Johnson, Chris Weidman, Vitor Belfort and others did their best to ensure the light heavyweight champion doesn't make it three in a row.

Still, Jones did go undefeated over the past 12 months. Along the way, he defeated Chael Sonnen and Alexander Gustafsson to retain his 205-pound strap.

Was that enough for "Bones" to win Fighter of the Year again?

Based on record and level of competition, here are the 10 best fighters from 2013.



Pictures: Top 10 UFC and MMA Fighters of 2013 | Bleacher Report

When Bellator returns to action, the company will do so without one of its standout welterweights.

Veteran Brent Weedman has retired from the sport. The Louisville native, who will turn 30 next month, finishes with a career record of 22-9-1.

Weedman had been a part of Bellator since 2010, debuting with a knockout of Rudy Bears at Bellator 16. He compiled an 8-4 record in the company.

He participated in five Bellator tournaments, and reached the finals of the Season Six welterweight tourney, where he lost a decision to Rick Hawn. His final bout, on Oct. 18, was another loss to Hawn, also via decision.

Weedman's management, Suckerpunch Entertainment, posted a statement on Thursday.

"Brent called us over the holidays to let us know this was a hard decision for him and he is very grateful for all the opportunities he has had along the way," the statement read. "With the latest addition to his family, Brent wants to simply focus on being a dad, husband and his post fight career."

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney commented on Weedman's contributions to the company.

“Brent is a great fighter and even better human being," Rebney said. "I’ve been around athletes for over 20 years and Brent exemplifies what it means to be a true professional. Brent competed for us a record 12 times and will always be a member of the Bellator family. I wish nothing but the best for Brent and his family in the future.”

Bellator veteran Brent Weedman retires from MMA - MMA Fighting

2013 was a simpler time. Those were the days that you could buy UFC fight cards or pay-per-view or see them on cable. You didn't even need to dabble in this newfangled "Fight Pass" sorcery.

Speaking of 2013, we will take a look into the not-too-distant past and use the uncanny power of hindsight to make some observations about a particular group of fighters—namely those deserving of the overrated moniker.

Overrated is a touchy topic in sports, so we'll try to keep it clean and provide a clear justification for each inclusion.

For a full explanation of the criteria used to build this list, check out the next slide. ....Most Overrated MMA Fighters of 2013 | Bleacher Report

Evidently, there are a lot of problems with random acts of violence in Australia and MMA is to blame, if you ask The Sydney Morning Herald and NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione (h/t C.J. Tuttle at mmamania.com for recognizing the piece).

In a piece entitled "Smash, Grapple and Choke: The Unstoppable Force of MMA,” by Matt Buchanan of The Sydney Morning Herald, at first glance the sport seems to be treated fairly, with testimonials from men and women who actually train in MMA. But then there is the introduction of the case of Shaun McNeil, 25 years old, who claimed “I’m an MMA fighter” before putting Daniel Christie into a coma on New Year’s Eve.

From there, the piece just seems to be an excuse to passively link a sport regulated with rules to the actions of thugs who live a life of violence with no rules—or laws, as the case should be—that are enforced with any kind of true gravity equal to the crimes.

But the line they use to link MMA to the case of McNeil paints the kind of picture that is bias to only one end—passing the buck to someone (or something) else: “And, increasingly, MMA and UFC have coalesced in the public's mind as a source of infamy and disgust.”

They even give police commissioner Scipione some time to blame the random acts of violence on MMA, if by no other means than sloppy association; he likened the pictures of bloody fighters to “crime scene photos of victims of assaults on footpaths waiting to be treated by paramedics.”

He also went on to say: “[It is] the fastest growing sport in the world for men and women. You can watch it in your lounge room, they are bloody messes, both men and women with blood streaming from their noses. But if this happened in the street, people would react with shock and horror.”

In the case of McNeil’s “king-hit” assault on Christie, it was not an isolated incident, per a report by Janet Fife-Yeomans and Alicia Wood of The Daily Telegraph. McNeil has spent no small number of years taking advantage of toothless judges; before the Christie attack, McNeil had the following incidents on his record:

Assault in 2006/Sentence: 12-month good-behaviour bond

Assault in 2009/Sentence: six-month jail sentence suspended for six months on condition of six-month good-behaviour bond

Assault in 2011 (which involved excessive consumption of alcohol)/Sentence: six-month good-behaviour bond

Drug possession in 2011/Sentence: fined $300

Assault in 2012/Sentence: 12-month good-behaviour bond

And lastly, there's his assault on Daniel Christie, which is listed as “cause grievous bodily harm with intent.” Of course, that’s not all; he also assaulted three other people that night.

But this wasn’t because he was an MMA fighter, because he’s not—true MMA fighters have the courage to face their opponents, not ambush them.

No, this was because he is a habitual offender who enjoys a system of justice so timid that he has yet to get anything stiffer than a 12-month good-behavior bond. If there is no true penalty for his actions, to expect him to stop is to put a faith in him that was never rightly earned.

McNeil is a dangerous man who has been turned loose upon society several times. MMA is not to blame for his being the cruel, violent man he is, just as MMA is not to blame for the fact that Christie is in a coma, hanging on for dear life.

McNeil is to blame, as are the judges who showed nothing short of gross negligence in their blatant disregard for the welfare of citizens who depend upon their judgment when it comes to enforcing laws that are supposed to be for the good of the people.

And while we haven’t seen these judges acting for the good of the people, thus far, they’ve sure been good to McNeil.

Eighteen months earlier, Kieran Loveridge (who has been tagged as an “MMA devotee”) spent an evening striking unaware passers-by before ambushing Thomas Kelly with a king-hit, killing him.

Now, with a death involved, one would hope that the sentence would fit the crime and be reflective of the worth of human life. Of course, once again, we might as well be wishing on a star.

Loveridge is serving a six-year jail sentence, but he will be eligible for parole in November 2017. His sentence was not even the maximum for the crime, which might be shocking when you consider Loveridge was already on one of those stunning “good-behaviour” bonds when he murdered Thomas Kelly.

You might be wondering how a judge could justify such a weak sentence.

Well, Justice Stephen Campbell was evidently moved when Loveridge began crying in court when Kelly’s family read their victim-impact statements to the court, because, you know, those tears didn’t have anything to do with being afraid of what might happen to him in prison. They had to be because he was sincere in his remorse.

Of course, to honestly believe that, you have to throw out Loveridge’s statement to his friends before the incident: “I swear I’m gonna bash someone tonight,” per The Northern Daily Leader. Clearly that’s what Justice Campbell did, although it is baffling why a judge would disregard what appears to be clear proof of premeditation.

“In my judgment the offender is very unlikely to re-offend,” Said Justice Campbell. “I have a very distinct impression that from the tragic consequences his offending has brought about, he has well and truly learnt his lesson.”

He went on: “I find that the combination of the offender's youth, remorse, prospects of rehabilitation and the need to structure sentences for multiple offences constitute special circumstances.”

Someone needs to remind Justice Campbell that using passive language does not bring back the dead. At 19 years old, Loveridge isn’t an “offender,” he’s a grown man and now a murderer, not some innocent youth. From Campbell’s statement, he spent more time considering the well-being of the criminal than he did the rights of the victim.

So, what’s a life worth these days? Well, if you

A New Mexico mixed martial artist won the fight of his life — outside the ring.

Joseph Torrez, 27, repelled a home invasion, killing one man, injuring another so badly he left in an ambulance and persuading two others to run in fear, authorities said.

Torrez and the men clashed on New Year’s Day at his home outside of Las Cruces, reportedly part of an ongoing feud.

One of the attackers, 22-year-old Leonard Calvillo, called ahead to threaten Torrez, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported, citing court documents.

“I’ll kill you and your family ... I’ll go to your house,” Calvillo reportedly said.

Calvillo arrived shortly after with 20-year-old Nathan Avalos and brothers Sal and Raymond Garces and pounded on Torrez’s door, authorities said.

Torrez’s fiancee, son and the fiancee’s sister were all home at the time, authorities said.

The fiancee leaned against the door of the mobile home, trying to keep them out, but they busted through, authorities said.

There they met Torrez, a 155-pound lightweight with a record of one win and five losses, according to the fight website SherDog-com.

The four men are all gang members, a Dona Ana County Sheriff’s spokeswoman said.

C.J. McElhinney, an attorney for Torrez, told the Sun-News witness said the attackers brought a crude shank and one picked up a knife once they forced their way inside.

Sal Garces, 25, was stabbed to death during the fight. Avalos suffered “severe” facial injuries and was taken to a New Mexico hospital, authorities said.

Torrez endured only minor injuries, his lawyer said.

Calvillo and Raymond Garces were both arrested on charges of conspiracy and property damage after they ran from the house.

Calvillo was also charged with aggravated battery.

Torrez could face charges in the death of Sal Garces, authorities said.

His lawyer said Torrez was only defending himself and his family.

“He was fighting for his life,”

Neighbors told KFOX 14 Torrez moved out rapidly after the fight.

Four or five trucks showed up overnight, and the family cleared out, a neighbor told the station.

Read more: MMA fighter fends off four attackers, killing one during home invasion: police  - NY Daily News

Mixed martial arts fighter Tito Ortiz was arrested early Monday on suspicion of driving under the influence after a single-car collision in West Los Angeles, authorities said.

The champion MMA star, whose birth name is Jacob Christopher Ortiz, was arrested about 4 a.m. after the 2012 Porsche Panamera he was driving crashed on the 405 Freeway near Sepulveda and Santa Monica boulevards, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Ortiz, who is originally from Huntington Beach, was driving northbound on the 405 Freeway when he lost control of his vehicle and struck the concrete center median, the CHP said.

Ortiz, 38, had two passengers in the car, but no one was injured, KTLA reported.

The vehicle was moderately damaged, according to the CHP.

Ortiz was transported to the LAPD's 77th Division, where he was booked without incident, the CHP said.

MMA fighter Tito Ortiz arrested on suspicion of DUI after L.A. crash - latimes-com

A New Mexico mixed martial arts fighter can say he's 4-0 at home after pummeling four intruders who broke into his mobile home. Police said that one of the attackers was killed and another was hospitalized.

One of the thugs threatened 27-year-old Joseph Torrez in a phone call before showing up with his cronies at Torrez's home on New Years Day in Las Cruces. The home invasion was allegedly part of an ongoing feud, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News.

"I’ll kill you and your family ... I’ll go to your house," suspect Leonard Calvillo reportedly said.

The alleged assailants -- Sal Garces, 25, his brother Raymond, 19, Nathan Avalos, 20 and Calvillo, 22 -- forced their way into the mobile home at about 2 a.m. Torrez's fiancee, son and another woman were also inside at the time.

The older Garces was stabbed to death in the ensuing melee, and Avalos sustained "severe" facial injuries, according to the New York Daily News. He was taken by ambulance to an area hospital. :cool:


Joseph Torrez, MMA Fighter, Fends Off 4 Attackers, Killing 1 During Home Invasion: Police

Card after card delivered this year in the world of MMA. So, choosing one "best" event of 2013 is a tough call, to be sure.

Events we expected to be good were excellent and fight cards that were about to fly under our radar instead saw its fighters show out in big ways.

There was August's UFC Fight Night 26, headlined by Chael Sonnen taking on Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in a light heavyweight scrap. "Shogun" is an all-time great former champion in both Pride and the UFC.

On contrast, Sonnen's career highlight has been finishing second twice to former champion Anderson Silva, at the lighter weight class of middleweight, no less. Rua is well-rounded and a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, while Sonnen has been susceptible to submissions throughout his career.

That's why it was so shocking when it was Sonnen who pulled guard and locked in a guillotine choke against Rua in the first round, forcing the Brazilian to tap out. Earlier in the night, Travis Browne provided another shocker against Alistair Overeem in our pick for 2013 Comeback Fight of the Year.

Before that, bantamweights Michael MacDonald and Brad Pickett went to war on the undercard.

UFC 164 exceeded expectations with surprises and competitive fights, both. In the main event, hometown kid Anthony Pettis shocked the world by quickly submitting Benson Henderson to become the lightweight champion.

Lower down the card, Josh Barnett returned to the UFC after a decade away and for the first time since winning the organization's heavyweight title. Barnett jumped all over fellow former heavyweight champ Frank Mir for a triumphant and exciting return to the Octagon.

We also can't forget how featherweight contenders Dustin Poirier and Erik Koch lit up the arena to start off the pay per view portion of the card.

The UFC's last pay per view of 2013, UFC 168 is many folks' choice for event of the year. It had two main event rematches that each exceeded expectations in unique ways. Miesha Tate unexpectedly pushed rival and women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey further than she had ever been pushed before.

Chris Weidman showed that his first win over Anderson Silva in July was not fluke by knocking "The Spider" senseless in the opening round before using deft defense to turn the long-time champion's own offense against him in devastating fashion.

Lower down on the card we also witnessed Travis Browne truly emerge as a contender for the UFC heavyweight strap when he knocked Barnett out in the first round. On the undercard, Jim Miller also won in a way that had us rewinding over and again to watch every little detail of his slick arm bar submission win over Fabricio Camoes.

It is hard to top UFC 168 for drama, especially when intense rivalries and story lines are included. However, our pick for Event of the Year was unmatched in pure, unadulterated action within the fights themselves.

We are proud to announce that the winner of the Yahoo! Sports 2013 MMA Award for Event of the Year is... UFC 166

It seemed that almost every fight on the UFC 166 card overshadowed the last as things got better and better. Sarah Kaufman and Jessica Eye put on a competitive and hard-fought show.

Daniel Cormier and Roy Nelson would have stood out more for Cormier's technical mastery if it were not for the fact that it followed perhaps the year's nastiest blood and guts bout - Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez.

In the main event, Cain Velasquez managed to assert his dominance over rival Junior Dos Santos and the entire heavyweight division in their title rubber match. Velasquez looked better than ever and Junior somehow managed to prove just as resilient and gutsy as he had in their prior bout.

For exceeding expectations and delivering beautifully brutal fight after beautifully brutal fight, UFC 166 is our choice for the best MMA event of 2013.

Tomorrow is our final day of award announcements. We will announce the winners of Trainer of the Year, Television Commentator of the Year, Referee of the Year and Biggest upset of the Year awards.



Y! SPORTS

A Russian rapper has been signed to compete in the world's premiere MMA organisation, the UFC.

Alexander "Bad Boy" Yakovlev may not be your average hip-hop artist - sure, he raps to a (rather repititive) beat, has girls draped all over him and has a strange fascination with scary looking dogs, but he is also a legitimate mixed martial artist.

The UFC caught wind of his impressive 21-4 record - his most recent victory over former UFC fighter Paul Daley - and signed the lyrically skilled MMA fighter to their roster. The announcement was made via twitter.

Take a listen to an extract from one of Yakovlev's tracks titled "Money Power" - and if Russian rap is your thing, you can watch the entire music video on YouTube here.

At MMA Kanvas, we are more about sport than rap and so we'd like to offer the statistics below heading into the "Bad Boys" soon to be announced UFC debut.

Alexander "Bad Boy" Yakovlev quick stats:

He stands at 6"1 (185cm)
Most of Yakovlev's victories have come in Russian promotion M1-Global, known by most to be the promotion favoured by MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko
Three of Yakovlev's four losses have all come via submission
Yakovlev has a healthy mix of TKO/KO (eight) and submission (11) finishes to his name
Yakovlev competes in the welterweight division
All six of his wins between November 2007 and April 2011 were via submission



Russian rapper signs with the UFC | MMA Kanvas

Georges St-Pierre isn't the only long-time UFC welterweight who is taking a break from the sport now. Speaking with MMA Junkie Radio, on-again-off-again contender Martin Kampmann announced that he too will be taking a break from MMA.

"I’ve had a lot of tough fights and even the ones I win, I sometimes make them tough for myself," he said. "I’m just taking a long break."

Kampmann has undeniably been on a tough stretch of late. The Dane suffered knockout losses in his two most recent fights, falling to knees and punches from Carlos Condit at UFC Fight Night 27 and getting punched unconscious in spectacular fashion by Johny Hendricks at UFC 154.

As he stated even in his most recent outings, he has taken beatings. Against both Jake Ellenberger and Thiago Alves, he found himself seriously hurt before landing a hard knee or scoring a buzzer-beating guillotine choke.

As with St-Pierre, while walking away from the sport is always tough for lifelong fighters to do, it is for the best far more often than not. How long he will choose to shelf his gloves is a mystery but one has to hope he finds whatever inner peace he is looking for.

Kampmann originally joined the UFC as part of Zuffa's buyout of the World Fighting Alliance promotion (which was also home to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto Machida) and currently has a respectable 11-6 record in the Octagon.

He owns notable wins over Ellenberger, Alves and Condit and is currently ranked as the No. 10 welterweight in the promotion.



UFC Welterweight Martin Kampmann Announces Hiatus from MMA | Bleacher Report

According to a Jan. 9 report from MMA Fighting, UFC star Matt Brown made a series of controversial comments about women's MMA.

Brown, 32, says female fighters generally don't have the knockout power necessary to finish fights, and that he would only be willing to pay to watch them fight if they were topless.

"The whole fight we have women in one room, men in another room," Brown said of the recent bout between Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate. "Rousey and Miesha come on and all the women just f*****g gather around the TV like it's the f******g Kardashians coming on."

"I always said, 'I don't know why they put women in the UFC.' Now I know why.

"I just think this, if I'm [going] to pay $60 for a Pay-Per-View to watch women fight they should at least be topless."

Brown went on to say that women aren't built to deliver finishes via striking.

"How many knockouts do you see in women's fights? It's not really my thing, I respect what they do, but look, they don't have the body type or the power, all that s**t, for knockouts," Brown said. "If you're not a good grappler in women's MMA then you're behind. It's no different than the 125 [pound] division of men's MMA in that they're just really not built for knockouts."

Analysis: Brown is correct that most female MMA fights go to judge's decision and don't end by knockout. If he would have started and finished his rant with that statement, then he wouldn't find himself in hot water with the WMMA community.

It was his "topless" comment that will likely get him in the most trouble, as WMMA has fought hard over the past few years to be viewed as a legitimate sport and not just a bunch of sexy babes rolling around in bikinis.

Brown's "topless" comment sets the sport back to a time when the majority of MMA fans would watch a female fight only to hoot and holler at the screen to see pretty girls punch each other.

Hopefully the UFC will give him a stern talking to so that he'll realize his comments were insensitive towards the female athletes who compete inside the same cage as him.



Matt Brown makes controversial comments about women's MMA - Long Island MMA | Examiner-com

During the Jan. 10 episode of MMA Jam Live, hard-hitting knockout artist Tonya "Triple Threat" Evinger (13-5) said she would make hair-pulling a legal tactic if she could change one rule in MMA.

Evinger, 32, explained that she would only want hair-pulling to be legal in fights that don't include her.

"I don't know, like if I'm in a fight I don't want this rule to be in effect but if I'm watching another girl fight, I think they should definitely be able to pull hair," Evinger told MMA Jam Live at the 64:30 mark of the show. "That's always exciting, when they can't get away from each other."

Currently, the Unified Rules in MMA prohibit hair-pulling, along with butting with the head, eye gouging, biting, spitting, fish hooking, groin attacks, throat strikes, stomping a grounded opponent, kneeing the head of a grounded opponent, and much more.

It's unlikely that hair-pulling will ever become a legal tactic again, especially after the move was used with gruesome success in the early days of the UFC.

MMA legend Royce Gracie utilized hair-pulling during his fight against Kimo Leopoldo at UFC 3, but it was a rarely utilized technique in the UFC besides that one fight.

Hair-pulling has been illegal in the UFC since UFC 15, but it was a barely used tactic even before it was officially banned.

In South America and Japan, there are still some Vale Tudo fights that feature very few rules, including the allowance for hair-pulling, but those fights are quite rare these days.

Hair-pulling is generally viewed as barbaric and unnecessary in MMA, so fight fans shouldn't expect it to ever make a comeback.


Tonya Evinger wishes hair-pulling was legal in MMA - Long Island MMA | Examiner-com

Anderson Silva suffered a gruesome injury in his rematch with Chris Weidman at UFC 168, but he doesn’t consider his last fight a loss.

The former UFC middleweight champion broke his left leg when kicking Chris Weidman on Dec. 28 in Las Vegas, Nev., but is confident he will be able to fight again one day. And when he does, he won’t enter the Octagon feeling he’s coming off back-to-back losses to Weidman.

"I believe that, if you pay attention to these technical details, you will see that (checking the kick) was instinct, not something that he trained to do," Silva said during an interview to Globo.

"No, I don’t think (Weidman should consider it a win). It was an accident. And I’m pretty sure I would have won the fight."

During the interview, Silva rewatched the fight and said he made some technical mistakes before throwing the leg kick.

"I can see some technical mistakes I did in the fight," he said. "To land the perfect kick, I needed to distract him by punching him in the face so he wouldn’t pay attention to the kick. He was protecting the upper part of his body, and the raised leg instinctively. The kick was so strong he lost balance."

Silva wants to fight again, and he’s not worried if his next fight will be against Weidman.

"I saw my mistake, and now I’m only worried about my comeback," he said. "If the UFC thinks I deserve another opportunity (against Weidman) or if I need to earn it. I just want to do what I do, it doesn’t matter if it’s for the title or not. I want to do what I do well."

Right after he suffered the injury, "The Spider" wondered if he would ever walk again.

"The only thing I was thinking was ‘is it over? Will I walk again?’" he said "I was scared that I wouldn’t walk again. Many things were going through my head at that moment. I’m 38 now, and I will be 39 in April. That’s what I’m afraid of, but I’m confident that I will. I will be back.

"(You should stop fighting) when you feel you need to stop, when your body and head says that. I think I still have a lot of things to do. I don’t plan to stop now. I’m getting stronger every day, and I will be back soon."

The MMA legend is still in pain, and he revealed that sometimes he asks his wife to take him for a ride around Los Angeles so he can just sit and cry away from his kids. Pain is part of Silva’s routine now, and he can’t even sleep without it.

"When I landed the kick I heard a loud noise, the sound of a bone breaking, and the pain was huge. And since I left the hospital, I can’t sleep," he said. "It’s really hard. I think about it, and I wondered why. ‘Why, my God, I had to go through all this?’ I wonder which message He’s trying to teach me at this moment."

The pain will eventually go away one day, and Silva wants to return to the Octagon to end his career as he always planned to - with a win.



Anderson Silva doesn?t think he lost to Chris Weidman - MMA Fighting

Contrary to popular thought, athletes can't sully great legacies by staying in the game too long and not knowing when to retire or stay retired.

They can damage their bodies and brains, perhaps, by not knowing when to quit but loving your craft so much you don't know when to stop is not a character flaw. Making excuses and vainly trying to diminish the accomplishments of your opponents, however, is a sure-fire way to tarnish even the shiniest legacy.

While we were busy wishing former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva a speedy and full recovery and hoping that he ultimately makes the best decision for himself on whether or not he should ever attempt a return to professional fighting after having his leg shattered by Chris Weidman last month, "The Spider" has begun to sully his reputation with delusional comments.

Silva was recently interviewed by Brazilian outlet Globo and MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz translated the fighter's comments. Barring any huge mix up in translation, it appears that Silva has taken an excuse-making, deluded note or two from former rival Chael Sonnen.

"I don’t think [Weidman should consider it a win]," Silva said.

"It was an accident. And I’m pretty sure I would have won the fight."

Deep breath. Alright.

We love Anderson Silva. The all-time great might very well be the best mixed martial artist in history and he has nothing left to prove. That's why it is so frustrating to read such insecure words from the former champion.

Let's recap Silva's two fights with Chris Weidman. In the first round of the first fight, Weidman took Silva down with ease and then smacked him around on the ground.

After Weidman went for and missed a leg lock attempt, Silva got back to his feet. In the second round, Silva tried in vain to mount his own offense with strikes on the feet but could not find the bobbing and weaving Weidman (save for a few hard leg kicks. Let's remember those...) before getting knocked out by the challenger.

In the first round of their second fight, Silva was again taken down in the first round with ease. Once again, he was battered on his back. When he got back to his feet, Weidman actually knocked him out with a short right hand.

The referee did not notice that Silva was out because once his head hit the mat after falling. Weidman hit him some more on the ground. When they got back to their feet in the second round, Anderson threw some leg kicks that Weidman checked.

One of those kick-checks shattered Silva's leg.

Over nearly four rounds, Weidman has dominated almost every second against Silva, knocked him down three times and out twice. If Weidman is "lucky" as Silva suggests, the Long Islander should invest all his money in lottery tickets.

Silva went on, digging his embarrassing hole deeper.

"I can see some technical mistakes I did in the fight," he said.

"To land the perfect kick, I needed to distract him by punching him in the face so he wouldn’t pay attention to the kick. He was protecting the upper part of his body, and he raised leg instinctively. The kick was so strong he lost balance."

So, Silva is now bragging about the kick that may end his career? Saying that leg kick where he broke his own leg in two places was so strong it made Weidman lose balance is like bragging that you bruised a guy's fist when he knocked you out.

Silva is correct in saying that he did not set up his leg kicks with punches. We're not sure why that is supposed to be some major and new observation.

You set crosses up with jabs and kicks up with punches. That's not new to mixed martial arts.

For years, however, Silva has gotten away with not throwing his leg kicks behind punches and from the type of stance that one would ordinarily. He was so much better and quicker and stronger than every other opponent that he was able to get away with those slapping, not set up kicks for years.

Silva could not get away with that the second time around against Weidman, however, so he lost. The fact of the matter is that it appears that Weidman can beat Silva any number of ways, because he already has.

No shame in that for Silva. Weidman is a decade younger, much bigger and has a skill-set that matches up well against Silva.

"I saw my mistake, and now I’m only worried about my comeback," Silva went on.

"If the UFC thinks I deserve another opportunity [against Weidman] or if I need to earn it, I just want to do what I do, it doesn’t matter if it’s for the title or not. I want to do what I do well."

We hope you heal up fully Anderson, and that, if you want to, you fight again. But please, stop wrecking the respect you've earned with your actions through classless words.



Y! SPORTS

Miss United States 2012 isn’t worried about her makeup.

Or falling flat on her face.

Actually, Whitney Miller, it seems, isn’t worried about her face at all.

You can’t be when you’re an MMA fighter.

The former Miss Texas U.S., who is pursuing her Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, is already competing in events around the country, winning medals along the way.

“Sometimes its horrible and I just want to go cry in a little corner,” Miller said in a recent promotional video. “I definitely do that, but you just have to keep going and keep pushing through all of those challenges.”

Not to be confused with Miss USA or Miss America, Miss U.S. is for women aged 20-29 from each of the 50 U.S. states.

“When I told my family I was going to go into combative sports, that was a trip to say the least,” Miller explained. “My mom was crying. My dad is an old Texas banker and he said it was stupid.”

Currently fighting out of Austin, Tex., Miller has trained with UFC fighter Cub Swanson and fellow MMA fighter Tessa Simpson.

“I don’t like to be choked out,” Miller says in the video, complete with highlights from a recent comptition. “I don’t like for someone to almost break my arm. Or throw me on the ground. For some reason I just don’t like it. I thought at the beginning of this journey it wouldn’t be a big deal.”

She hopes her story will motivate others.

“What I want to show is you can go out there and do anything. If a beauty pageant queen can go earn a jiu jitsu black belt, you have no excuses.”

See more of Miller on Instagram and Twitter at Miss2Jits.


Beauty queen Whitney Miller now an MMA fighter | Mixed Martial Arts | Sports | Toronto Sun

Anderson Silva Is too old now...sorry (give It up)