Written By: Dennis Fratella

About a week ago I wrote an article on what encompassed the journey of the loser of this heavyweight battle that’s getting ready to go down tomorrow night. Rather than make a prediction then, I wanted to save it for now, because I really needed time to make up my mind not only for the headliner, but also the undercard as well. I think this card—at least these three fights I’m writing about, have to be some of the most well matched fights I’ve seen in some time.

I came to what will likely be—the bitter truths of these 3 fights I’m going to review in this article, and I found that we’re going to have a heavyweight brawl, a coin flip, and a wrestling match.

Erik Koch

There is a very good interview here done by Erik “New Breed” Koch.  This rangy featherweight has all the tools required to cement himself as a title contender. He’s got a terrific reach advantage over most foes, slick counter punching, shocking speed, terrific head movement and solid take-down defense. That’s just about all you can ask for, but just to accentuate my point I’ll note the trio of brutal knockouts he’s delivered. This kid is two or three fights away from a shot at gold, and the only true test he must be subjected to prior to his bid, is a bout with a remarkable wrestler.

We’ve all seen the previews. We know how big they are. We know what’s at stake. I’m not going to focus on the styles or match-ups yet. I could write on this forever. But rather, I want to echo the previous post, “UFC Heavyweight Fight: Lesnar vs. Overeem“, and add my own $.02 if I may, on the possibilities that may be facing the heavyweight division after this all goes down on December 30th.

I agree with our contributor Jeff Herbst in that the heavyweight division was in all sorts of trouble about 3 years ago, and it still has a lot of work to do. There are two great fighters in the UFC at heavyweight right now, that being Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez. We had the two best in MMA go at it in November and we all loved it in all of its 64 second grandeur. Lately, it seems nobody has really done anything in the division to warrant a third person involved in this conversation.

Sometimes fans are forced to deal with dry years in regards to mixed martial arts events; let’s face it, not every card assembled is going to produce monumental fireworks. That, is a simple stigma fixed to a sport that is perhaps more unpredictable than any other form of professional competition. When it comes to MMA, you just never know what might happen

Fortunately for loyal fans, 2011 was a stellar year that produced a handful of unbelievably gratifying events. While I could probably list a solid 10 events that exceeded expectations, but I’ll minimize my banter and highlight a select handful that stood head and shoulders above all other cards.

He may very well go down as one of the best submission artists in UFC history with numerous highlight reel finishes.  I am talking about former heavyweight champion Frank Mir.  Over the past few years we have had the pleasure of seeing Frank Mir at the top of the mountain and down to the point of obscurity.  Many wrote him off after his fatal motorcycle accident.  However, like a true warrior, Mir overcame the odds and losses exploding back onto the MMA scene.

At UFC 81, a resurging Mir shocked the world when he submitted Brock Lesnar.  This led to his coaching role on the 8^th season of The Ultimate Fighter.  Mir was pitted against fellow heavyweight and Interim Title Holder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.  Mir showed his first stage of evolution in their match up at UFC 92 when he defeated Nogueira by TKO. This was the first time Nogueira was ever defeated in that fashion.

Written By: Marvin Blue

As we enter the day after UFC 140 many criticisms were laid to rest. One that seems to stick with all fight fans was the chin of UFC Light Heavyweight Jon Jones. Jones rise to the top has been meteoric to say the least. However, it has not been without controversy. Jones replaced former teammate and close friend Rashad Evans in the fight that earned Jones the UFC title.

Next up was the possible injury that postponed the fight between the former teammates and the accusations from Rashad Evans that Jones was ‘swagger jacking’ and ducking out of the fight with him. However under all that controversy, Jones has kept a cool head and remained focused on being the best. Lately, Jones has had to fight the criticism that he didn’t have a chin.  He was never really tested against Rampage Jackson and in all his fights his opponents have not been able to get anything going against his unorthodox style. Then came UFC 140 and the chance for Jones to fight one of the most unorthodox fighters in the UFC, former champion Lyoto Machida.

With a face that even some who’s illiterate could read, it’s not hard to tell that Erik Koch enjoys his job. What does he do you may ask? Well, in addition to watching the Food Channel non-stop, Tweeting about the Food Channel, and wanting to eat the food he sees while he’s watching the Food Channel, the guy is a UFC fighter. And a pretty damn good one to boot.

Currently Koch is a top contender in the featherweight division (145 lbs), and in between all the food watching, has compiled a solid 13-1 mark, including a KO of the Night in his UFC debut. I sat down with Erik recently to discuss training, his roots, the journey he’s on, and where he’s going.

By Jillian Bullock

When people look at MMA champions Georges St. Pierre, Jon Jones or Anderson Silva, many MMA fans, commentators and reporters believe they are pound-for-pound the greatest mixed martial arts fighters in their division. Many also believe that since they are superbly dominant as fighters and they have the ability to go through each opponent who stands before them that there are no other MMA fighters who can actually beat these amazingly talented warriors during a bout.

The 29 year-old Welterweight champion, St. Pierre, 22-2, hasn’t lost a match since 2007. To understand how impressive St. Pierre is as a fighter, it should be noted that he has not lost a round, not one round, in over three years. What St. Pierre has going for him other than his unrelenting MMA cardio conditioning, which includes gymnastics in his regimen, but his striking game is superior. He is also considered one of the most disciplined athletes in the world, which helps St. Pierre stay focused even when his opponents trash talk him. He doesn’t give in to the mind games.

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Written By Last Ronin

As a martial artist Christmas time is a wonderful opportunity to swap out some of your old nasty gear for some new MMA Gear. There are a lot of great products on the market right now like we mentioned on our first MMA Gear Christmas list and if you are looking to get something for that martial artist on your list then I will show you the place and roughly how much you are going to have to shell out. If you are looking for a Gi, MMA shorts, MMA gloves, head gear, and more then make sure to continue reading this Christmas martial arts buying guide.

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Written By: CR Hess

At 6’2, 184 pounds, Anderson “The Spider” Silva is without a doubt the most successful mixed martial artist to date. From his debut in the UFC in June of 2006 against hard hitting knockout artist Chris Leben, to top Japanese contender Yushin Okami in 2011, Silva has carried the weight of everyone’s expectations from the start.