Strikeforce Heavy Artillery - Great Success

I don't think there is an event this year that can even compare itself with Strikeforce Heavy Artillery. The fight card was great, the action was great, the commentary was poor as tradition but then you can't have it all.

Overeem is a beast, he looks on top form, at his peak and Vadim should be even more afraid then he was before. They don't want him to fight Fedor because look at him. He made Brett Rogers look like a child.

Respect to Brett Rogers, but he really needs to get in the gym. He has been exposed as a novice and he really needs to get his wrestling going and submissions too. He seemed to just collapse and then on the ground he looked even worse. Hard training is the only way to get better.

Jacare is the new golden boy of Strikeforce and he really deserves to be. He is such a great talent but also a really hard worker. He is really getting those takedowns but also landing the accurate strikes.

Andrei Arlovski just does not look like himself anymore. He did look slow and not controlling the action at all. Antonio Silva was not threatened even for a minute there. Something needs to change.

I like Andrei, but all this stuff on youtube he does it is just over the top. You look the way he trains and then you look how Brock Lesnar trains. You can then see why Brock is the HW UFC Champion and Andrei is on the way down in Strikeforce.

Roger Gracie I enjoyed a lot in the cage. The guy basically didn't do much MMA preparation, just jiu jitsu but I loved the way he delivered those jabs on Kevin. In the end I would have loved to see some more ground work but still it was cool. Kevin did the right thing trying to avoid going to the ground but it was going to happen eventually.

Great event, thank you Scott Coker!

Shogun, is he one of the top pound for pound fighters?

I think the thing is that MMA especially at the top level is extremely demanding and not only physically. Guys like Anderson Silva, GSP, Fedor and BJ Penn indeed have managed to accumulate great records but there are many explanations. There are so many factors are at work.

The important thing is that Shogun took the UFC LHW title. He is no doubt the number 1 light heavyweight in the world. The pound for pound rating has no value in reality. Shogun accomplished an enormous amount and will now make a lot of money for sure.

What is now interesting is how well his career is going to go. He has some very tough competition in his own division including Rashad Evans and Rampage coming up. Shogun does not need to use much jiu jitsu, striking will make the difference here. Couture I don't think is any threat either.

The really exciting fight that it would be really exciting to see is the fight with Anderson Silva. Shogun is one of the few that has the stand up to take Silva on. UFC should really make this fight happen.

Strikeforce Heavy Artillery Showcase for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Wrestling has really done so well in the UFC, particularly with the dominance of powerful wrestlers in the heavyweight division, that some have even started to discount brazilian jiu jitsu in favor of boxing and wrestling.

This weekend we will have an opportunity to see some huge BJJ stars, demonstrating what they are capable of in the cage.

Firstly we will see Roger Gracie, perhaps the best grappler and jiu jitsu player ever, testing himself against the well-known but at the end of his career Kevin Randelman.

Roger will have to make sure he does not get knocked out by "the Monster" who is known to be a hard puncher, knocking out Mirko Cro Cop back in the days of Pride.

Nevertheless, it is certain that Kevin will be no match for Gracie on the ground. I can see Roger going for the RNC choke after taking the back or doing his classic armbar from the guard which he used to submit Ron Waterman.

The fight really puts Roger on the map in Strikeforce and I agree with observers who see Roger on a fast track to meet with Mousasi, Sobral and King Mo Lawal.

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, who is scheduled to meet the very tough Joey Villaseñor will likely be no less exciting and I can see this fighting being more competitive.

Joey has good hands and it will be a task for him to keep the alligator at bay which may be tough to do considering Souza's great takedown ability both from the top and bottom.

On the ground, there is no doubt that Jacare will dominate anyone in his division and I think it is only time before he comes in to face Henderson or Mayhem Miller.

One of the main reasons in fact for Jake Shields to leave the UFC right now is Ronaldo Jacare. Following the win over Henderson, Jake Shields is in a great bargaining position with the UFC. Better than every before.

At the same time in Strikeforce there is a high probability that Shields will lose. Having delivered a less than stellar performance against Miller, nearly getting submitted in the process, Jake Shields will most likely have difficulty delivering a win against Ronaldo Jacare. Jake is simply not at this level in grappling. He has great takedowns, but once he is on the ground, he will likely get submitted by a guy that has overwhelming technique from the top and bottom.

Watch the trailer below:

Shogun Rua Defeats Machida!

Shogun is an incredible fighter. His jiu jitsu is great, he did amazing things in Pride and now he has taken the UFC belt after such a struggle with health.

Having gone through some ups and downs with health myself, I really see how well he has done and I see that he has put in a lot of work to get back in the ring. Mr. Anderson Silva should be the next opponent. Thats what everyone wants to see. Well done to him!

How Many Lessons a Week Does Your Academy Offer?

A real issue I think for many training a bit more seriously in BJJ is how many sessions per week does you academy offer. My BJJ academy for example only offers 3 lessons per week which for some may be fine but for many this may not be enough.

Unless you are studying at a really big jiu jitsu academy which has five or more sessions per week, you may want to or have to cross train.

Right now I am cross training in Judo (2 sessions per week) in addition to my jiu jitsu/grappling (3 sessions per week). Three sessions a week is kind of the minimum I think if you want to progress reasonably fast and therefore I think this is a real issue for some of us.

What worries me is in fact that too many academies now look to satisfy not high level jiu jitsu fighters but MMA fans. They add boxing and muay thai instead of adding more hours for BJJ guys devoted to instruction. Unfortunately this is an issue. Some of the guys could devote more time to BJJ but the academy does not offer this and private lessons may be expensive or not convenient. This is I think a problem bearing in mind.

Devoted BJJ guys that want to grow need long sessions, lots of technical practice and sparring and more hours on the mats. Academies cannot afford to instead opt to offer other martial arts just because its suits better the demand. My opinion

Grappling Proves MMA Wrong

While it has been virtually accepted that to win an MMA fight against the best you have to be a well-rounded fighter, today guys with great grappling continue to prove people wrong.

Grappling is a difficult and sophisticated art to master. The ADCC, the Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Championships is the biggest event in the sport so far but it is clear that there are few who can deliver an all rounded game in grappling.

Grappling seems to have two crucial elements. The first is takedowns. Takedowns are critical in an MMA fight, but in grappling they can mean the difference between winning and losing against a strong jiu jitsu player. Freestyle wrestlers perhaps have the best takedowns in the sport. UFC fighters like Brock Lesnar, Velasquez, Matt Hughes, GSP and many others have shown that their ability to take down their opponents makes them superior fighters.

Jiu jitsu is the second part of grappling however. If you have great takedowns, you also need to pass the guard and submit your opponent. Most wrestlers who for the first time meet a jiu jitsu fighter struggle here. Jiu jitsu guys are phenomenal fighting from the guard and their amazing guard retention makes it difficult not only to escape every submission attempt but also to get anywhere from there.

Judo is a great takedown martial art but it is mainly a gi-focused art. Judo without the gi can be difficult to do when you have a freestyle wrestler facing you who is looking for a single or double leg.

Don't get me wrong. I am a great fan of the gi game and Judo, but to be successful in grappling you need to have a great takedown defense. You have to defend a single leg and counter yourself and I think Judo does not prepare you in this case.

Jake Shields is a great example of a guy that is not the king of grappling but has mastered it well enough to cause trouble for guys even as good as Dan Henderson. You can't submit Henderson but he has shown that you can consistently take him down, pass his guard and cause trouble. This is something that GSP has managed to do in his division as well.

Other guys like Frank Mir and even Shinya Aoki have shown the opposite. Their wrestling is poor and they try to rely on unorthodox and less effective takedowns . Once they are on the ground, they can do their magic, but without a good takedown they are not going to win the match against a great striker and here is the great flaw.

Jake Shields I think just proves how effective grappling is though. Dan Henderson was so much better at the strand up striking game but by setting up his takedowns and getting the fight to the ground Shields managed to defend his title against a guy that was highly favoured to win and who seemed a lot bigger and more powerful than him.

Taking the Back

One of the major principles of brazilian jiu jitsu is position before submission. Your ability to take the back of your opponent from different positions can mean all the difference in sparring and competition.

There are so many ways of taking the back of your opponent and sometimes he may give his back to you especially if you have already mounted him, but most of the time you have to work to get it.

Below are some clips that I found on youtube on taking the back. The first one, taking the back from north south is a move that I think is fundamental to BJJ.










Now check out this video of a gi match between a judoka and Leo Viera (BJJ World Champ). Watch the beautiful back take by Viera 1:00.

Watch Mundials Live For Free

Check it out. Budovideos.com give us the BJJ Worlds 2010 live. This is the most important jiu jitsu event of the year and you have to be there, watch it and experience it. More to follow

Blog Poll Results Review - Who Fedor Should Fight

It looks like out of the 58 votes made so far, the result is obvious. Even though some of us truly believe that Fedor does not have to join the UFC and trade Vadim Finkelstein for Dana White, 50% of you believe Fedor should fight Brock Lesnar.

Brock Lesnar is the #2 fighter in the world. He is the UFC champion, champion of the organization that has four out of five top heavyweights in the world. Brock is also as many say a great big threat to Fedor and M1 Global/Vadim Finkelstein.

The second most popular vote is Alistair Overeem and I am not surprised. Overeem is in Strikeforce and wants to fight Fedor. He also challenges Fedor and says his management have been evading him. Why? Because they are genuinely worried Fedor may actually lose to this guy vs. Fabricio Werdum who most agree does not have the skill set to defeat Fedor.

If you try to be objective about this, the following logic clearly does not work. Vadim Finkelstein keeps saying that he would rather have Fedor fight Barnett then Overeem. Why? Because Overeem is a "steroid bully". But the argument breaks down when he says that he would rather have Fedor face Barnett. But Barnett can't fight in the US because of steroid abuse. It is very convenient also because this way Fedor can't fight neither Barnett or Overeem. Huh!

The truth is though, if Overeem is not a candidate, then Fedor will fight someone not in the top-10. Antonio Silva does not deserve to fight Fedor and there is no one else. All the top fighters are in the UFC and Fedor has to go there.

BJJ Belts

For those that love jiu jitsu, belts are not so important I think. It takes time and hard work and eventually we may get there. Progress is the most important and if you are doing well on the mats, then you are getting better. If you are winning competitions in your category, this means you are training hard and are making progress. Belts themselves is just appreciation from your teacher I guess.

I like the statistic or guesstimate from the Draculino blog though:

"Of all the white belts that start 15-20% of those will make it to the blue belt.
Of that 15-20% that make it to blue, about 10% will stay until purple.
Those people that make it to purple, 15-20% will go on to brown.
If you make it brown most of those people reach the black belt."

So there you have it. If you take the lower figures, you get 15% x 10% x 15% = 0.2% make it to brown belt and probably black belt. So for every 1000 people that walk in to the gym and take some training, only 2 guys make it to brown or black belt. That just shows how much dedication is required.

BJJ Training Injuries

When you start training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, you feel like you can sprint it. I am sure that some of us really can do it. I tried to do it myself. Training six-seven times a week will benefit your skills no doubt and there is nothing that will improve your technique more than mat time.

Neverthless I recommend to all to supplmenent your jiu jitsu with weight training and rest. Your body (at least mine) cannot take so much exercise without take risk of injury and injury can really hurt.

I had surgery on my shoulder. The total time away from training was about 10-11 months. If only I did more exercises and strengthened my shoulders, I feel that there was no need for this injury to happen in the first place.

If you are in pain, don't go training. Rest, take time off. If the pain stops, go to the gym and do some passive exercises to strengthen areas of your body. If you shoulder is in pain, the worst thing you can do to it is to go training and tear something in a sparring match. There is no need for this. If you have to train and the pain is minimal, train gently, focus on technique. If you have to do sparring, do it in a controlled manner, lose if you have to but don't use your strength.

There are some exercises like the omoplata and kimura that can get your shoulder injured if it was in pain before you even came to training. Be aware of this. Injury is something that can be avoided.

There are also some creams that I can recommend you use. They basically warm up the muscles of your body and help prevent injury.

The only person that can help prevent injury is you. Wear knee pads when training. I wear gum shield as well. You don't want to go to the dentist and it is expensive. It is no likely that you will hurt your teeth but it can happen.

Vadim Finkelstein and MMA

There are many controversial personalities in the young sport of MMA that is only starting to evolve and is growing in many countries from USA to Japan and as far away from Brazil as Russia. Dana White and the UFC have secured their dominance in the US market and are now expanding abroad while the old Pride remains have risen to form the organization that is now known as Dream FC that features some of the old greats like Sakuraba and Yoshida as well as the new breed of fighters like Gegard Mousasi and Shinya Aoki.

Fedor Emelianenko is a phenomenon that appeared in the late Rings promotion fights and then exploded on to the Pride arena defeating the likes of Nogueira and Mirko Cro Cop among others in a colourful career that lasted between 2000-2005. Those were the years when Vadim Finkelstein took over the management of Fedor and the troubles really began to emerge.

Late into this part of Fedor's career it became clear that the talent of the Pride Heavyweight Champion is phenomenal but also that the team around hin are careful in selecting fights, often choosing to mix it with some weaker, one-dimensional and clearly underdog opponents. October 2005 marked the end of this part of the career and started to be a stage for Fedor's domination of underdog fighters who had no business fighting the best fighter in the world at the time. After the victory over Mirko that year, Fedor fought Zuluzhinho and later defeated Mark Coleman for the second time.

Pride was clearly in its final months of existance and it is understandable that a weaker opponent can sometimes be chosen to please the fans that may demand a show such as Zuluzhinho. There was no such popular support however for Zulu or Mark and therefore there was no logic to this fight.

If you take March 2006 Heavyweight Rankings, under Mirko and Nogueira there was Andrei Arlovski, Kharitonov, Aleks Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum, all of which were great fighters that Fedor could have met. Instead he chose to fight Zuluzhinho and Mark Coleman.

In February 2007, the top ranked were again Fedor, Cro Cop and Nogueira but under them the positions changed. Josh Barnett, Tim Sylvia, Brandon Vera and Arlovski featured as the next best. Who did Fedor fight? He fought Mark Hunt and Matt Lindland. At the time MMA Ranks.com rated Hunt as #1 fighter in the Super Heavyweight Division that does not exist. Moreover Hunt did not achieve anything special to justify such a position in the rankings. Matt Lindland was a middleweight ranked number eight in the world. Hardly someone who should have been fighting against apparently the greatest heavyweight in the world.

The contrast is all the more visible when you look at the guys that Mirko Cro Cop fought during these two years. Firstly he defeated the highly rated Josh Barnett who featured #3 in the world in 2007 and thereafter signed with the UFC to face Eddie Sanchez and Gabriel Gonzaga.

Fedor's opponents the following years were no more impressive perhaps except Arlovski who still featured as a top fighter in the rankings. The win over Rogers, although impressive, was not a top-10 win, not nearly.

Vadim Finkelstein in this played a decisive role. His demands for co-promotion with Bodog left him unsatisfied and when Affliction came along, he took this as his moment to convert Fedor's image into cash flow for M1, which is what he did, but the scheme would not last.

The economics of co-promotion with M1 simply does not make any sense and while Fedor can be marketed to the US audiences with moderate success in Strikeforce, gap in the quality of opponents raises serious questions whether Fedor legitimately can be considered the number one heavyweight in the world not to mention pound best.

If Fedor and Vadim Finkelstein really want to fight, and make fights that the fans want to see, then they need to sign with the UFC. The best fighters are there and people don't want to see Werdum or Rogers fight Fedor. They want to see Lesnar vs Fedor badly. Thats what Vadim needs to give to the fans. Here is a link to the poll on who Fedor should fight next.

My Top 10 To Beat Fedor in MMA

1. Brock Lesnar - the guy is too big and too fast. Lesnar will take Fedor down with ease and deliver damage that will be difficult to recover from. M1 are scared of this dude.

2. Shane Carwin - Fedor has fought none that have his style. Fedor fought Mark Coleman but I challenge anyone to say that Mark Coleman can be compared with Shane Carwin in anything other than wrestling abilities.

Carwin will push Fedor against the cage and knock him out within the first round. He is a walking nightmare for M1 Global

3. Junior Dos Santos. The heavyweight with nuclear charged hands that are faster than lightening. Junior Dos Santos is quick and is probably the best striker in the heavyweight division in the world. No one seems to be able to take this guy down.

4. Cain Velasquez. Cain is one of the most hungry MMA fighters of all time. He wants to take the guy down and beat him bad but also can stand and fight with anyone.

5. Lyota Machida - the guy has an awesome stand up. He has also fought at heavyweight and would no doubt give Fedor a lot of trouble.

6. Alistair Overeem. The guy fights weak fighters but is dangerous no doubt. Finkelstein is afraid of this steroid abuser. His face has more muscle than an average man has on his body.

7. Josh Barnett - tough, tough guy who has the tools to take on Fedor.

8. Frank Mir - arrogant but talented. On the ground, I would love to see this fight happen. Frank has little else going for him in the UFC. How about joining Strikeforce and testing himself against Fedor.

9. Roger Gracie - Roger is the greatest submission fighter and jiu jitsu player alive now. If Fedor had trouble against Arona, what would happen if he was to face the best ever.

10. Anderson Silva - he is tall. He cuts from 230. Time to see the idiot Spider face some real competition and make his legacy. I would love to see this fight.

Fedor Emelianenko Ranked Number Four Heavyweight in the World

Fedor Emelianenko and his M1 friends have been picking fights for years. After a scare with Brett Rogers last November, we have not seen any action apart from endless renegotiating for more money and marketing.

At the end of the day, its not just whether you win or not, but who you fight. You can't just avoid fighting the best for five years and then say you are the best in the world. Hell, I could go and fight some people who have never trained a day in their life and win every time. That does not make me the best in the world.

Look at the poll I have running so far. We have 25 votes of which 60% are for Lesnar and only two votes for Fabricio Werdum. Now I am a huge Fabricio Werdum fan and I would rather see this fight than have Fedor do sparring in Stariy Oskol all summer, but beating Werdum does not make Fedor the best in the world.

You have to fight top-5 ranked fighters regularly to be called the best. I don't care if Fedor fights twice or even once a year. I don't like it but at the end of the day thats what he may want, but to say this crap that the guy is the best in the world when he fights guys like Werdum is still not good enough. Sherdog and other guys must realize this now and make an adjustment. The ratings must not be biased and we need to be fair to every fighter. There must be a fair system based on which a fighter is ranked at a certain spot. If he does not get so many points over a certain period but still wins the fights, he should be moved down.

Say Tim Sylvia was winning each fight but was fighting guys outside the top five all the time. Then you had guys like JDS, Carwin, Lesnar and Velsaquez all winning their fights. Tim Sylvia would still have been champion of UFC if he did not face tough guys like MIr and Fedor included. He stepped up and fought top-5 fighters.

M1-Global can shut up about Fedor being the best if he does not fight the best. When Sherdog and others do move Fedor down, this will benefit MMA enormously. M1 would realize that they cannot carry on the way they do marketing to fans over the world that they have the best fighter. They will have to make a deal. Everyone wants a deal. Dana White does. Vadim does not and this is the problem.

Sherdog Move Fedor Down!!!

SENI 2010 Promotional Videos

Guys, SENI 2010 promises to be one of the most exciting events that you have to go to if you have a chance. Royce Gracie and Ronaldo Jacare will be there and many more. I am going to go to the Ronaldo Jacare seminar and compete in the Gracie Invatational as well. This is going to be a busy weekend for sure.

Strikeforce Nashville April 17 2010

Whether you love or hate Strikeforce, there is one thing that one has to admit and that is that they put on great fights. Strikeforce Nashville is going to be one of the most spectacular shows this year with three championship bouts between some of the top rated fighters in the world.

Dan Henderson will have a chance to prove that he is one of the greatest still facing Jake Shields who has been on a winning streak for years, overcoming his opponents with great wrestling and jiu jitsu.

Shinya Aoki will face Gilbert Melendez and here again we will have to see how Aoki can take a well-rounded fighter with striking ability in Melendez. Aoki's judo takedowns and awesome bjj will however no doubt put Melendez in danger.

It is always exciting to see the great champion Gegard Mousasi in action especially against such an athletic and big mouthed US wrestler in Lawal. King Mo will have to show that he is not just a great wrestler with some striking skills but that he can deliver the real deal from all angles of the MMA game.

The bes part about the show of course is that it is actually free on CBS. Watch it live and enjoy the best fighters in the world go head to head.

Here is the trailer below:

Balancing Your Time

When my Girlfriend/Wife/Partner insists that you make a choice between training 5 times a week or her what is a good way to break the bad news to her?

"Make her feel special when you do it. Let know that she is still the most special thing in your life but tell her you're doing it for her so that she gets the benefits of a tight and tort body, a man who can protect her should the need arise, and that the time you spend away from each other will only serve to show just how much you love her and that you can appreciate the time together more." - Gracie Barra UK Forum

The Fightworks Podcast guys have done really well to cover this subject. Here are some of the relevant links:

http://thefightworkspodcast.com/2009/04/19/161-the-mighty-significant-others-bjj-spouses/

http://thefightworkspodcast.com/2009/11/21/spouse-support-bjj/

Most of us face this problem during some point in your jiu jitsu career. Many of us find it difficult and frustrating, trying to explain why we have to train so much and develop all the time. BJJ is a demanding activity particularly in terms of time. Some of us train a lot but also have other things in life like a full time job and a family and it can be tricky to balance the three.

In my opinion you have to do your best to explain that this is an integral part of your life. The only way to fix the problem is to make compromises. You and your partner may have a lot in common but at the same time there are a lot of interesting things that you may want to do apart.

Both of you will have to make compromises. If you have to go to a competition while on holiday, then pick a good location and take her to the ballet which she would really enjoy too. If you have to go somewhere for BJJ reasons, if you have the option, choose a good location that she would like to visit, in Europe if you don't know they are Paris, Lisabon, Barcelona, London etc ( in this order).

ADCC 2009 in Barcelona was the kind of event which you could go with your family and enjoy the weather, the beach and the attractions. Something for everyone but at the same time you got to see guys like Robert Drysdale, Jacare and Marcelo Garcia in action.

Fedor No Longer Relevant

Fedor no longer relevant among the top MMA heavyweights! Brock Lesnar #1, Shane Carwin #2, Junior Dos Santos #3 and Cain Velasquez. By deciding to fight fighters outside the top-5 for five years, he has made himself irrelevant in the MMA Heavyweight Division.

Strikeforce's Fabricio Werdum is the last real challenge for the fighter many called the best ever. Fedor could retire today and will probably be called the greatest MMA fighter ever but if he wants to be rated above the fighters mentioned above, he needs to fight top level talent who have both great striking skills and ground game.

The whole world is baffled by Fedor's willingness to stay with M1 Global and not sign with the UFC, an organization that has signed all the top talent that is around today with perhaps the only exception being Gegard Mousasi and Shinya Aoki.

The story with Gegard Mousasi and the visible interaction between Strikeforce and M1 has done a lot to expose Vadim Finkelstein and M1 Global. Many say that Dana White is the most hated personality in mixed martial arts. I strongly disagree. Both Fedor fans, Fedor haters and all the other fans in MMA unite under one flag. They want Fedor to sign with the UFC and they hate M1-Global and its head, Vadim "The Evil" Finkelstein AKA Frankenstein.

Gegard Mousasi is a great fighter who has been missled by the people around him. The most baffling story was him being paid I think like a total of $4000 for his work in the Fedor vs Rogers show. Amazing. You can see that he was not comfortable to discuss this on youtube and was angry with his managers.

Gegard signed up with Red Devil and M1 because he was interested to learn from the best fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko. But while he got the benefit of learning from Fedor's experience, he was also taken on by Vadim who knew how to extract the benefit from Mousasi while not paying him what he was due.

Appy Echteld (M1-Global) it turned out, appears to have lied to Gegard about the offer UFC proposed which led him to sign with Strikeforce. The refusal of M1 to give Mousasi a stake in the promotion, led him further away from the Russians and the lies and underpayment in the end pushed him to find another great fighter to learn from and get the true story about the UFC and what they are.

Gegard Mousasi turned to Georges St. Pierre to get his help and advice, not only in training but also in the management side. It is good timing that after spending time with GSP's camp and training with these guys, he decided to leave M1. No more brainwashing for fighters, its time to join the UFC to meet the best.

Who does Mousasi have left to fight after Lawal? The answer is Dan Henderson and then nobody. Even if he does not fight Hendo, it was not like Hendo was in the top-10 in the LHW division. Good choice to join the UFC then where you have Shogun, Machida, Rashad Evans and lots of other worthy competition with a diverse range of skills.

I think Gegard made the right decision. He went to the GSP camp, benefitted from the training and its true that Gegard really needs to develop his wrestling further. He also had a chance to hear the real story about what the UFC are and how they treat fighters. Fedor needs to listen and make a decision based on hearing both side and not one. If he fights for the fans, he should do what the fans want from him, which is to fight the best. Its getting ridiculous. Its like having Brazil national soccer team pick matches that they could easily win like playing soccer against India or maybe some small island. Great fighters need to be well paid for their hard training and work they put in but make fights that people want to see.

Check out the poll on who should Fedor fight and lets find out who the fans really want. Maybe Fedor will pay attention and I will send the result to Fedor's website.

Exercises for BJJ

Martin Rooney is the expert in physical conditioning for BJJ. Here are some tips I have remembered from his BJJ radio interview. Martin publishes his articles in the GracieMag, so subscribe now.

Train the Neck
Back and front bridges and any other relevant exercises. The neck is critical as it is one of the focuses. The neck takes on a lot of pressure during training and you have to prepare for this. BJJ veterans know this well.



Pulling strength - chin-ups and pull-ups
Some of the least enjoyable exercises but also some of the most useful. Pulling is one of the most important strengths in jiu jitsu and you use these muscles all the time during sparring.

Abdominal muscles - train your stomach.

Use a medball, look at some of the exercises on the web. These are the crucial muscles you are using all the time. They are very important.

Groin muscles

Work on these for your guard. This exercise prevents injuries and develops these muscles. Roger Gracie trains these muscles.

Hamstring

If you play a lot of half guard, train some hamstring curls.

Train the upper body, lower body and then cardio. Without cardio you have nothing but all these are vital. Leave some time to heal but all of these exercises are important to help your BJJ conditioning.

Martin Rooney recommends at least three work outs a week but doing five works is ideal. My opinion is that you want to work three times a week well rather than doing a little five minute session at home. Do the 45 minute intense session, make it happen and then get out.

Check out Martin Rooney's book, "Training for Warriors: The Ultimate Mixed Martial Arts Workout" or look on the website http://www.trainingforwarriors.com/

Renzo Gracie Movie

Alright guys, just heard on BJJ radio from Fightworks podcast about the Renzo Gracie movie. Renzo really is a great guy and although I have not seen the Renzo Gracie Legacy DVD, this is definitely something to buy if you are a jiu jitsu fan.

For those who have never heard of Renzo, check out the videos below. For those who don't know Renzo, he is one of the biggest BJJ legends today. Not only is he one of the most active members of the Gracie family promoting the sport, he is also an MMA veteran having competed both in the UFC and Pride and now looking to return to competition signing a six-fight deal with the UFC.

Renzo is fighting Matt Hughes, the UFC champion, in April at UFC 112 Invincible and this is a match that you really should not miss.

Renzo Gracie is also one of the most respected fighters and professors. Coming from Gracie Barra he is really doing a lot to promote BJJ. I saw him at ADCC 2009 myself! Also check out RenzoGracie.com

Grappling Open Moscow Competition in May 2010

Lion Sports Club will hold an open grappling competition for all in Moscow, Russia in the middle of May this year. I understand there will be teams from across the country competing from a whole range of disciples including jiu jitsu, sambo, judo and wrestling.

Here is the link for more information: http://sportclublion.ru/portal2/component/content/article/19-introscroller/126-announce

More news to follow, stay here

Back to Training

There is nothing more exciting and enjoyable than getting back into training after a long break. Myself, I have been out due to injury for over nine months and its been a real shame to miss so much training.

BJJ is not a rough sport and is good on your body if you take care. Judo I think is more rough and injuries can occur from standing in my opinion of course depending on your sparring partner.

One injury that I got in Judo was from a throw which made be land incorrectly and hit my head on the mat. That was some years ago but I think if you know how to breakfall it is not guaranteed what can happen if your partner does something different. Some throws can cause injury and I have seen it happen over and over again.

I enjoy training. Learning new techniques and getting myself fitter for competition. Hard training and light training are both great and actually have their advantages and disadvantages.

At some point I was training around 5-6 times a week and it is then that I got my shoulders injured. Slowly this deteriorated into more and more pain especially at night and in the morning when you can't sleep on either side.

I took some breaks to let it heal but it did not seem to do anything. I wait a week and then train and it is back to where I started. The more I trained the worse it got and it seemed like nothing can be done.

First of course I took a more conservative approach, physiotherapy, so pills they game me, hot water and compressors. Nothing like this helped.

After some injections did not help surgery turned out to be the only option. SLAP lesion was diagnosed and basically this put me out of training for another seven months unfortunately as it takes a lot of time to heal up and rehabilitation can last upto a year.

Certainly this is something you never wish that will happen again. After a few months I started to go to the local fitness gym. Training my back, stomach muscles and the shoulders of course. Unfortunately I also managed to catch mononucleosis, something Brock Lesnar actually got I understand which put me out of the sports world for another two months with severe fever and endless headeaches as well as a feeling of complete exhaustion.

Finally today I am back training. With my second training session behind me and the first sparring session for so long, I feel unfit but getting ready for Monday's session once some of the muscles I have no used for for so long have recovered.

Some pain is still there of course but you try to get over it and train with care. After all for me it is all about technique and learning to be a better jiu jitsu fighter and grappler.

It is great to be on the mats with the guys though. Sparring was great and I even had a chance to do some submissions myself as well as playing for positions. We are currently practicing for the upcoming no-gi contest and it is great to practice some takedowns for this that can really improve the stand up game and help you put your opponent on his back.

Watching a lot of tapes, I have really become a great fan of the wrestling part. I prefer to put my opponent on his back and pass his guard. If I can't I will play guard and I prefer to win the takedown and I believe I should be able to do this in most cases unless the guy has a strong wrestling background himself.

Jiu jitsu is truly a beautiful sport. Really enjoy it. Keep training and check out some of the fightworks podcasts on Itunes. Check it out.

Train Hard and Be Persistent

Hard training and being persistent is important to grow in jiu jitsu. You cannot train 20 hours in one week and then not train for two weeks. You have to train regularly and focus on technique.

I believe time and time again that the guy with the better technique will always defeat the strong and bigger guy unless the weight difference is more than 15 pounds. 15 pounds does not make a big difference and even at 30 pounds, you can still defeat your opponents if your skills are substantially higher.

Focus on all the positions and my personal view is to grow from submission defense and into to getting skilled at winning a good position. Only once you can escape every submission of your opponent should you focus on winning good positions such as the side mount and the mount.

Once you can do this easily, then I believe you should focus on submitting your opponent yourself. This is the way Saulo suggests to progress. You can't just attack all the time but you should also be focused on having a good submission defense.

I think it is better to lose some of the positions but escape every submission then winning a bunch of positions and then get submitted several times in a row.

It takes many years to master bjj and you should not think about the time but the development. Focus on who you are fighting in training and practice with different people at your academy, people of different skill level, size and also style.

At my academy I think there are two major styles at work. Those that started from BJJ or from Judo, focus on playing the guard, on sweeps and passing the guard and on the mount.

Others however are very focused on leg locks and winning by submission without valuing the positions they achieve.

Both of these styles I believe I have to get used to and learn how to fight. I have to be able to escape any leg lock attempt they make and then pass their guard. Before trying any submission.

I try to be as relaxed as possible during sparring in my Academy. It does not make sense using strength as many say but I also try to be calm. I think about what submission my opponent is trying to do. As soon as he tries to secure the guillotine choke, I already have my chin down and my shoulder up to make sure he does not get it.

It does not make sense to use so much energy if you can wait, assess the situation, look for an opening in the opponents game and then take advantage of it at the precise moment when he makes the mistake.

I believe this is the essence of jiu jitsu. The youtube match between Bruno Bastos and Lagarto Rodriguez I think best illustrates my point. Rodriguez is calm, looking for the mistake and not spending energy trying to do some fancy techniques.

British Open

Looks like the British Open held brought to all of us by the triple BJJ World Champion and ADCC 2009 Absolute Champion Braulio Estima in Birmingham.

Fightworks podcast discusses this one but in general I think the tournament shows that the sport is growing rapidly and I am sure in the coming years they may need to hold a three day or even four day event to get through all the matches.

Check out the results here: http://www.bjjbritishopen.com/results.html

Videos from BJJ Moscow Seminar Ze Radiola and Max Corvalho, 6-8.11.2009.

Strikeforce Challengers 7 - Andre Galvao vs Luke Stewar

Andre Galvao fighting at Strikeforce Challengers 7 and securing a narrow split decision victory of Luke Stewart, tough Ralph Gracie BJJ black belt himself. Still, I expected more from Andre in this fight.

Check out the videos below:

Strikeforce Heavy Artillery May 15

Tickets on sale now for one of the most exciting MMA events in may featurying some of the best heavyweights in MMA outside of the UFC today including Alistair Overeem, Brett Rogers, Antonio Silva and Andrei the Pitbull Arlovski.

Roger Gracie is also making his Strikeforce debut on the card against Kevin "The Monster" Randelman which should also be an exciting and fun fight to watch.

Weight Training Exercises for the Shoulders

There are many opinions on this subject. There a high level jiu jitsu players who do fine without spectacular strength and weight training. Good examples are Roger Gracie, Marcelo Garcia and Demian Maia. I am not saying they don't train conditioning but their exercises clearly are less strength oriented than you would expect.

On the other hand there are fighters that are extremely strong as well as technical. Jeff Monson is an obvious example and Pablo Popovitch (ADCC Champion 2009) is an awesome sight, but there are also guys like Xande Ribeiro and Ronaldo Jacare Souza, who you do not immediately notice how strong they are, but they are incredibly strong as well.

One of the most important areas of your body to exercise for BJJ I believe are the shoulders. As I have founded out through painful experience, during training you apply a lot of force on your shoulders and if the muscles are not strong enough to withstand this wearing effect, you end up with a variety of injuries over time. Weight training for the shoulders helps prevent this and below I add a youtube video with some exercises that I believe could be beneficial for these purposes.



Apart from these I do also recommend the resistance bands. There is a variety of exercises that you can select from here and I recommend it. There are many more exercises that you can do to strength both your arms and shoulders with these that you could not do with simple weights. Many wrestlers also train with these and you can even see Alexander Karelin the great Greco Roman Wrestling Champion using these for training.

2010 Pan Ams Jiu Jitsu Live Stream Trailer

Live stream for all is going to be great. Sign up for this and take a look at the trailer below. Thanks to www.Budovideos.com

Sambo Super Cup in Moscow 24-27 March 2010

For those interested, the Sambo Super Cup will be held in Moscow this year on the 24-27 March 2010. The event will be held in memory of Kharlampiev and is one of the biggest international sambo tournaments in the world. With over 300 athletes and 30 national teams present, this event will include some of the strongest athletes in the world competing in both Sport Sambo and Combat Sambo.

More information if you follow this link: http://www.sambo.ru/events/worldcup/harlampiev_moskow/

Time table:

24 March : Introductions, judge seminar and weigh-ins

25 March:

10.00-15.00 : Preliminary fights
Mens: 52, 62, 74, 90, +100 kg
Womens: 48, 56, 64, 72, +80 kg

15.00-16.00: weigh-ins

18.30 - finals

26 March:

10.00
Preliminary fights
Mens (sport sambo): 57, 68, 82, 100 kg
Mens (combat sambo): 68, 74, 90 kg
Womens: 52, 60, 68, 80 kg

18.00 Finals and Awards

Generally looks like 25-26 March are the days you want to go to this. Address is Варшавское шоссе, д.118, кор.1. (Varshavskoe shosse, building 118)

Whether Fedor Emelianenko is participating? I doubt it but it is possible. I heard in his latest interview he was talking about this.

For the calendar on future sambo events check out http://www.sambo.com/index-en.html

Dream 13 and UFC Live this Weekend

Some more MMA for those that love the sport. We have two good events that feature some of the top grapplers in the world including Josh Barnett, Vladimir Matyushenko, Gabriel Gonzaga.

The highlights for me on both cards are going to be of course Junior Dos Santos vs Gabriel Gonzaga and Josh Barnett vs Mighty Mo and while the second fight has a predictable outcome, Junior Dos Santos could have his hands full with Gonzaga who will certainly put JDS's ground game to the test, that has not yet been really tested to date. Nevertheless JDS is one of the most exciting prospects in the UFC Heavyweight Division today.

Stay in touch for more.

Fedor vs Hidehiko Yoshida

This is the latest rumor about Fedor Emelianenko competing in Japan on New Years Eve. Fedor is named the likely opponent for Yoshida who is preparing for the last MMA fight of his career.

Yoshida is a well known Pride veteran and one of the most popular fighters in Japan. Since winning the 1992 Olympic medal in Judo, he participated successfully in MMA with wins against Maurice Smith, Royce Gracie and many others.

An exciting match for the Japanese fans who are always keen to see a matchup between the famous sambo champion and the judo champion. Certainly an exciting clash of styles. To make the fight even more exciting for the fans they should both wear the gi I think.

Shinya Aoki Phenomenon

Shinya Aoki is a grappling phenomenon in mixed martial arts. He is the first guy to carry out the Gogoplata submission successfully in an MMA competition. He is credited by Eddie Bravo it be the only MMA star to be able to successfully use the "Rubber Guard". He is the Dream Lightweight Champion but relies almost entirely on his judo/wrestling/bjj in order to overcome his opponents rather than focusing on being a well-rounded fighter like his UFC counterpart are (Anderson Silva/GSP/BJ Penn/Machida).

Aoki is a blackbelt both in Judo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and a top level guy in both. He has won many smaller tournaments both in Judo and grappling but clearly had a harder time competing at the top level in ADCC. Clearly his style relies on his size and of course grappling with Roger Gracie showed how extreme the size difference was. (Roger Gracie easily overcame and submitted Aoki in the ADCC Absolute category)

His most recent performance has been in Dynamite!! on New Years eve and the performance he delivered against the lightweight Sengoku champion is more than impressive. Check out the video below.

This technique (hammer lock) I really learn't myself in Judo a few years back and have used it ever since with moderate success. I have always used it as a technique when you are passing the guard. It creates an element of surprise for most bjj and judo players as they are normally not used to defending against this move. Once you have secured the hand under the back, it is very difficult to get out unless you power through it and convince the guy on top that it is not worthwhile to keep the hold any longer. If you do manage to get this move and secure the hand and the guy fails to defend, it can be quite useful for control in my opinion and Shinya really seems to have taken it to another level. Great performance.

Now he is set to fight in Strikeforce in April against his long time rival Gilbert Melendez who has recently taken the Strikeforce Lightweight title from Josh Thomson. It will no doubt be once again a battle of "well-rounded fighter" vs "grappling freak" and no one can really say what will happen. This fight has been long overdue and the winner is surely the #1-#2 fighter in the world today. (and of course should take on BJ Penn)

If Shinya Aoki wins, he together with Kazushi Sakuraba go into the hall of fame of skilled grapplers making it in MMA without much striking game along with the likes of Royce Gracie. Amazing! All I can say.

Eddie Bravo - a different perspective

This article really gives you a different perspective of Eddie Bravo, recognized as an innovator of brazilian jiu jitsu. His books are well-known and many bjj fans are buying them with the hope of improving their bjj and mma.

The famous match with Royler is well publicized but the guy is also really strange. He does give some negatives to the sport that I don't think he should. Draculino is right about that. Guys that have such high profile and that should develop the sport, can't afford to have associated with things like illegal drugs. These things have nothing to do with jiu jitsu.

Check out this article, it really describes the who 10th Planet phenomenon at what it is all about.

Of course, you have to give him credit. The guy beat the best jiu jitsu player of the 90s. Eventually he was going to lose of course and the triangle is such a universal technique that can catch anyone.

The fact that the guy never fought in MMA but claims to develop jiu jitsu for MMA is not right though. You have MMA legends like Sakuraba, Nogueira and many others who should have more to say on the subject. How can one develop an MMA oriented jiu jitsu system having never fought in the cage?

Braulio Estima vs Rick Hawn

Braulio Estima, last year's under 88kg and Absolute ADCC Champion is set to meet Rick Hawn at Shine Fights III sometime this year, most likely in April or May.

This is a fight that few keen grapplers will want to miss when the ADCC and BJJ World Champion will meet one of the most exciting MMA prospects in Rick Hawn who himself has a background in Olympic Judo.

Rick Hawn is far more experienced in MMA, having already three MMA wins and no losses under his belt, finishing all his opponents by TKO despite the grappling background. His next opponent in Braulio Estima will surely prove a vastly tougher match and if Estima is allowed to take advantage of his incredible submission skills, this should be a short affair.

Many submission grapplers and BJJ fighters have entered the MMA arena recently but with mixed success. On the one hand there is Demian Maia and Jacare Souza who have shown that they are also willing to learn the striking game in order to compete at the elite level. They have used their incredible submission skills to get great MMA records and are fighting now top fighters in the world. Anderson Silva will face Demian Maia at UFC112 while Ronaldo Jacare is to fight for the Middleweight belt at Strikeforce against either Dan Henderson or Jake Shields. Roger Gracie, Andre Galvao and Xande Ribeiro are also exciting prospects but they have not fought at the top yet.

There are however many cases when Judo and jiu jitsu fighters have failed to make a name for themselves in MMA. Everyone remembers how Marcelo Garcia struggled in his debut despite securing a rear naked choke early on in the first round. Fabio Gurgel lost in UFC 11 likewise, Saulo Ribeiro struggled and really even Royler had a hard time in his own weight division which you would expect he would dominate.

There are of course naturals like Shinya Aoki on the other hand who managed great success without much striking prowess, relying instead on incredible Judo and BJJ. Set to debut this April in Strikeforce, the phenomenon seems to defy the logic that all-rounded fighter skills are crucial to success in the sport.

Too many other factors come in to play in MMA that are not important in grappling. One of these is the ability to take a punch. Something that can't be taught and plays no part in BJJ, Judo or grappling matches becomes very important. The old saying goes that "if you punch a bjj blackbelt once, he becomes a brown belt, punch him twice, he becomes a purple belt...". Antonio Rodrigo Minotauro proved this saying during his amazing career in mixed martial arts. This is something that we see over and over again whether it is Sakuraba losing to Melvin Manhoef or Renato Sobral getting KOed by the talented striker Gegard Mousasi.

Some people are not giving Braulio a chance and this is a very tough first fight for him but you can never discount one of the best grapplers in the world today.

Pan American Championships Live!

Budovideos are doing a great job this year. After a great success in streaming live the ADCC 2009 and the no-gi Worlds, now we are going to have the chance to see the Pan Ams live over the internet, an event that is going to be a great success with the talent out there looking to compete.

Stay tuned. Some more news is coming soon. Check here

Online BJJ Training Websites

Nothing will ever replace mat time but in order to maximize your brazilian jiu jitsu development and learning you can use all kinds of materials. DVDs, Books, youtube and other videos. There are so many kinds of materials out there. One item I have not discussed so far that is available out there is of course online bjj training. There are quite a few professional looking sites out there under big bjj names out there and here I list a few that I have managed to find recently.

Draculino BJJ Training

For all Gracie Barra BJJ players and all BJJ players, this is the new website by Vinicius Draculino, Pan-American BJJ Champion, MMA fighter and a legend in the bjj world. His new site launched recently is a model for all teacher and students developing their bjj skills and helps to spread the knowledge of jiu jitsu across the world wherever you are. 

If you are a fan of Draculino, I recommend his latest DVD set with some of the core techniques where he goes through attacks, defense and counters. Here is the link.

Too often the DVD instructionals show a technique but don't give the defense and counter side of this technique. I have seen it too much especially as a complete beginner when I am shown how to do a triangle and armbar many times but not how to defend well against these common attacks and this is something that every beginner should know I believe. (and can learn in class but also should have a chance to review on video)

Marcello C. Monteiro's BJJ Coach.Com

Although perhaps not as accomplished as some of the counterparts, Marcello Monteiro is a BJJ master with a very effective De la Riva style who has produced a very good quality online training facility providing material for all bjj students and competitors. 

If you don't wish to sign up for lessons write away, you can of course consider buying one of his DVD sets. One thing I have noticed, it is very useful to look through the syllabus he has which helps you understand perhaps some of the areas where techniques are a bit more fuzzy and spend a bit more time practicing those.

Jean Jacques Machado Online Training Center

JJ Machado is one of the famous five Machado brothers. He is a 6th degree BJJ black belt and holds too many titles too count. He is perhaps one of the best jiu jitsu player and grappler of the 80s and 90s. 

Whichever you choose, the benefit will for sure be enourmous. Revising, visualising daily details of each technique you wish to practice on the day I believe will generate guaranteed success and propel the development. It is best to mix the techniques in training and sparring and I believe this is the best formula.

Roger Gracie to debut in Strikeforce in May

Roger Gracie, perhaps the greatest brazilian jiu jitsu player ever is set to debut in Strikeforce May event. Roger is 2-0 in MMA so far both delivered via submission and now he is set to take on new competition facing the likes of Kevin "The Monster" Randelman or Rameau Sokoudjou. Roger of course has additional pressure to represent bjj and the Gracie family on the MMA arena after Rolles Gracie's poor performance at UFC 109.

Both are relatively seasoned fighters who have faced tough competition in the past but now both are down on their lack having lost many of their last fights. Kevin Randelman is 17-14 in MMA and former UFC Champion, trains with Randy Couture having previously been associated with team Hammer House. Kevin has explosive power and extreme athleticism but has not been able to take advantage of these qualities as well as his great wrestling skills to win fights as he did in the past.

Rameau Sokoudjou has been last seen losing via TKO to the current light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi and Minowa at Dynamite!!. The guy is 7-6 in MMA and boasts some good judo but has not been able to recently win fights against the current top competition.

Roger has also been helping his fellow bjj player Braulio Estima in his own debut in MMA. Best of luck to them both representing brazilian jiu jitsu on the big stage! Here is the link

New Draculino Website Online

Guys, Draculino the bjj legend has launched his new website at http://www.draculinobjjtraining.com

This is something to get excited about for all of Gracie Barra and bjj players. The site features an entire training program of videos that should help guide bjj players around the world trying to master the gentle art. For those that don't know, Drac has trained many successful fighters and competitors including Romulo Barral and is one of the biggest authorities in brazilian jiu jitsu.

Check out Draculino's interview below:

UFC 110 Feb 21 Preview: Antonio Rodrigo Minotauro vs Cain Velasquez

UFC 110 which will take place this Saturday 21 Feb is one of the most exciting UFC events we have had for a while, at least since Nogueira took care of Randy Couture in a very memorable epic match that made 2009. For the first time we have a very solid card with some big names in the HW and LHW division. Lets take a look at the card:

MAIN CARD

• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez
• Michael Bisping vs. Wanderlei Silva
• George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Stevenson
• Ryan Bader vs. Keith Jardine
• Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Ben Rothwell

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Chris Haseman vs. Elvis Sinosic
• Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
• Brian Foster vs. Chris Lytle
• C.B. Dollaway vs. Goran Reljic
• Igor Pokrajac vs. James Te Huna

What makes this PPV worth the money is of course Nogueira fighting Velasquez for me. Big Nog has gone through so much over the years, taking on the very best and being really defeated only in the single match with Mir which I think he should not have gone in to due to his staph infection. 

Many question Big Nog's ability to take on the young talent that is rapidly emerging in the UFC HW division and I think that the talent pool that is being created really is worth considering. Cain Velasquez is a prime example. The guy has amazing physical characteristics coupled with great wrestling abilities. I predict Big Nog to prevail for several reasons but certainly Velasquez is a very serious opponent and a threat. The main reason is that Nog is so much more versatile. He has proven already that he can fight great wrestlers like Dan Henderson. If Nog can stay in control of the fight and take advantage of the many weaknesses that Velasquez does have in his one-dimensional game, the fight will be in the bag for him. The physical abilities of Velasquez are impressive however and Nog will need to be in the best pysical condition he can be. Nog should keep the fight standing if possible.

Talking about some of the other fights. The other big draws are Wanderlei vs Bisping. This is a classic fight of two respectable fighters that are not really at the top of the LHW division in the UFC but still can put up a good fight. Both have huge fan bases and you have to love both of these guys. I really feel that Wanderlei and Randy Couture are just stars no matter where they are in the rankings. Both should fight each other for the hell of it, neither should feature in a headline fight though as their time is gone.

The rest of the card looks also quite interesting. You have Cro Cop trying to get back in the game for probably the last time fighting "Big" Ben Rothwell. Rothwell really would not have a chance against Mirko of old. I still bet on Mirko to win this match but the way Cro Cop has been fighting recently it is difficult to predict the outcome especially if it goes to the ground.

Joe Stevenson is a fighter that I always love to watch. The bjj black belt under Robert Drysdale has an awesome guillotine choke and being a great fan of bjj and judo myself, I love his style in MMA. Look forward to this one.

Jardine vs Bader is a matchup that is still solid. As Jardine continues to slide down the MMA rankings, this is his chance to keep his UFC career intact. Bader is no pushover though. Undefeated in his MMA career so far, he could present a decent challenge for Jardine who's unorthodox MMA skills are well-known. Lets see what Jardine, "the strange man", has to offer. 

Brock Lesnar is Back

Brock Lesnar after falling seriously ill is back. The man has lost a ton of weight but is eager to come back to the gym and face any challenger in the UFC Heavyweight division. 

After becoming one of the fastest rising stars in the UFC over the last two years, the MMA world was shocked to learn that the UFC Heavyweight Champion has fallen seriously ill and that his career may be over. Challengers have been queing up for the Interim title almost by the dozen. You have guys like Cain Valasquez, Shane Carwin (originally scheduled to challenge Lesnar), Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Minotauro. All very worth challengers who are set to battle for the interim title instead. 

After these guys go about their business, the UFC has still some strong fighters like Gabriel Gonzaga and Junior Dos Santos. JDS in particular has shown that he is up to to the task. A prodigy of Minotauro, he has stepped up and taken on Cro Cop, Fabricio Werdum and Gilbert Yvel in an impressive string of victories. He has also KOed Stefan Struve, a scary striker from Holland standing at 211cm. 

After taking surgery, Lesnar is now scheduled for return in mid-July. Carwin vs Mir will decide who the top dog will be before that and of course if there is a delay the winner will face the winner between Big Nog and Valasquez. 

So much speculation about the guys illness has erupted after the Brock Lesnar sensation taking UFC by storm and conquering the title only after 2-3 fights in the octagon. Such a path is ridiculous but as everyone knows, Lesnar is no ordinary fighter. The guy has a monster physique, incredibly talented athlete and the guy has basically brought WWE to the UFC which has never really happened before. No one has ever seen a guy as fast, strong and at the same as good a wrestler as Lesnar, and of course his fans say that he is the new breed of heavyweight and is unbeatable. 

Critics are less excited. Skill-wise, Brock is less than average with no real striking skill or any submissions. His main goal is to overpower the opponent with wrestling and strength and then deliver nasty hammer fist action on the head of his opponent. So far it has worked fine, but of course there is still a lot of competition both in the UFC and elsewhere i.e. Strikeforce where many believe works the best fighter in the world and in the history of MMA. His name is Fedor. He is not that athletic or muscular and represents something almost completely the opposite to Brock. He is calm and relies on amazing technique, combining mainly boxing and sambo to deliver an unbeaten streak of more than 30 fights. 

The two may never meet as Fedor and the UFC don't seem to be able to come to terms, but if they do some time soon, that is something to look out for. Meanwhile, the mma fans are still happy to see both giants in action who still have decent competition at both organizations. Fedor has had less competition in Strikeforce but then maybe the guy is thinking to retire and does not need to do much these days since he has proven everything already.

Well-Rounded Grappler

There is so much discussion among the MMA fans about well-rounded fighters. You have guys that can strike and have a ground game. I myself however hear little about well-rounded grapplers.

In MMA these guys are Shinya Aoki and Fedor Emelianenko. Guys that have great judo and upper body takedowns and at the same time have strong submission games on the ground. Aoki truly is a wizard but if you take the elite bjj players, there are several that continue to shine.

First of all you have Ronaldo Jacare Souza. A guy that it considered one of the best grapplers ever. Not only is his ground game amazing, he also has terrific takedowns which he takes from Judo. Only Jacare and Xande Ribeiro were able to stall Roger Gracie's game enough to win on points at the Mundials.

I've already had a post about the importance of Judo but I think it cannot be under emphasized. Judo gives you a chance to practice your top game and improves your jiu jitsu. All BJJ fights start from standing and that is why it is pivotal to practice Judo. All the top guys do it: Roger Gracie, Xande Ribeiro, Shinya Aoki (Judo Black belt), Fabricio Werdum (Brown Belt in Judo) and Saulo Ribeiro (Brown Belt in Judo). Antonio Rodrigo Minotauro is a judo black belt.

Flavio Canto, an Olympic Judo medalist and a newaza pracitioner does not differentiate between bjj and judo. It is really one sport with different rules but according to Flavio they should be trained together.

SENI 2010

I know there are so many competitions to be part of in the new 2010, but the one that I am going is the Gracie Invitational. Its not only one of the biggest BJJ events of the year in the UK but also an exciting show with huge stars like Royce Gracie.

Here is the link to the SENI 2010 show which is also part of the event and is worthwhile going to. Check out the youtube clip below!

Strikeforce Evolution Watch Online

Watch Strikeforce Evolution online by clicking here

Main Card

Middleweight bout: Cung Le vs. Scott Smith

Lightweight Championship bout: Josh Thomson vs. Gilbert Melendez

Middleweight bout: Ronaldo Souza vs. Matt Lindland

Heavyweight bout: Muhammed Lawal vs. Mike Whitehead

Preliminary Card

Light Heavyweight bout: Scott Lighty vs. Antwain Britt

Lightweight bout: Daisuke Nakamura vs. Justin Wilcox

Featherweight bout: Luis Mendoza vs. Juan Nunez

Lightweight bout: Alex Trevino vs. Bobby Stack

Lightweight bout: Alexander Crispim vs. AJ Fonseca

I like the Jacare vs Lindland odds by the way, something to think about! (-300 vs 200)

Quote from Roger Gracie

Cool Quote: "Jiujitsu is simple, you just gotta do it right." -Roger Gracie

Bas Rutten Self-Defense Crash Course

Judo for BJJ

Judo can improve your gi jiu jitsu game as I always believed so much that it could make the difference between winning and losing. Judo experts have also been tough to face even for the elite Mundials competitors.

Roger Gracie has been the most dominant athlete for years and the only way he seems to lose these days is from strong judo competitors. His two biggest rivals are extremely well-rounded athletes, I mean Jacare Souza and Xande Ribeiro. Both have won their finals against Roger by points by successfully carrying out Judo throws.

Now take a look at Roger Gracie's fight against Leo Leite in the finals of the 2008 mundials. Leonardo was winning on points and at some point you had to get nervous for Roger not pulling guard sooner.

Simply put, having a judo background only adds to you jiu jitsu arsenal. You have more options. You control the fight and I don't know how many times I've seen it before. A great throw can really demoralize your opponent if you lend right on top of them interupting the breathing.

Take a look at the video below as an example of what Judo can do to improve you jiu jitsu game. Cross training in Judo is a great benefit.

Fedor Emelianenko New Video + Future Fights Comment

A new video covering Fedor Emelianenko has been released by M1-Global together with HDnet Fights.

Please check out the link here

There has also been a lot of discussion as to who will Fedor will fight. There are many ideas but I haev not see a trully definitive list so I thought I would include one here. The following opponents I think would be natural and some are lighter and perhaps would not enter the top-10 but for the sake of history would make a lot of sense. A few superfights would also be great, to read about them click here. (Strikeforce Dream Fights!)

1. Alistair Overeem - current Strikeforce champion and considered in the top-10 in the world but only just. Out of action for a long time but still relevant.

2. Fabricio Werdum - not in the top-10 but still in top-20 and a very solid fighter with good performances including in the UFC.

3. Josh Barnett - good record but his story with steroids is not nice. Still a good matchup that makes sense. Barnett is a monster that could take out any UFC top heavyweight.

4. Dan Henderson - yes, yes, he is light but could be a cool matchup that many would like to see.

5. Bobby Lashley - some believe Brock Lesnar the current UFC HW champ is unbeatable. Lets see how Fedor does against a WWE wrestler for a change.

6. Jeff Monson - Monson is a great wrestler and jiu jitsu player. He does not have the best record or the speed but there is something about him that could make a nice fight for Fedor. It would do nothing to legitimize Fedor as top p4p in the world for sure but Strikeforce could get this fight very cheap as Monson is so convinced that he can beat Fedor he does not want money for it.

7. Roger Gracie - Roger is the best submission artists/bjj/grappler ever. If you put him in the cage with Nogueira Minotauro, known for his submission prowess, you would be worried that Minotauro would be submitted. Roger Gracie has not been submitted since 1999 and the only time he gets beaten ever is by points and usually in the standup game. On the ground, there is no-one like Roger Gracie.

It has also been a long time since a Gracie Jiu Jitsu fighter fought in a major event and this could be it. Gracie Jiu Jitsu against Russia Sambo!

8. Gegard Mousasi - yes, I know they are friends but what better way for Gegard to show he is the new p4p best in the world if he did win. I doubt this fight will ever happen unless Gegard gets pissed off with M1-Global and leaves them.

9. Hidehiko Yoshida -

10. Jason "Mayhem" Miller - would be cool to see how the Slap boxing king does against Fedor. Would be cool to watch.