By Michael Hans

Growing up when I missed behaved my mom and dad would threaten me with the belt. Sometime the threat was enough, sometimes I got it. Either way I learned quickly that when my parents got serious I’d better listen up or pay the price. They got their point across loud and clear. On July 19th the UFC posted on their website that “Sherk & Franca tested positive for banned substances and face possible suspension and fines from the California State Athletic Commission”.

The Lightweight Champion tested positive for Nandrolone Metabolite. A drug originally used to improve the physical performance of race horses. This is not what the UFC or the MMA world needs right now. We are all riding high on a wave of positive press and spectator interest. Sherk already took half a year off because of injury and the Franca fight was his first title defense. If he gets suspended that would mean close to a year and half with no activity. People will start saying “what belt”. I say take belt.

Dana White and the UFC have stated that they will support whatever the CSAC decides to do with the two fighters. But, I think the UFC shouldn’t wait. Strip Sherk of the title. Send a clear message to all of their fighters and fans that cheating will not be tolerated. I suggest that they use their upcoming PPV’s to have a four man tournament for the belt. Spencer Fisher vs. BJ Penn and Roger Huerta vs. Kenny Florian for round one and the winner of those two fights meet for the title before the end of the year.

The fans win by getting to watch three great fights. The UFC wins with the increased viewership, and the fighters win by learning that their health is important and that cheating will not be tolerated. Dana take the belt and get your point across.

Thx2 guest contributor Michael Hans

USA Super-Heavyweight amateur boxer Mike Wilson is fond of wearing a tee shirt stating, “Real men fight in the ring.  Cages are for the zoo.”  In a recent Associated Press article by Arnie Stapleton, multiple boxers were interviewed at the Olympic training compound in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  While some of the boxers stated that the watch MMA and one even said that he wanted to compete in MMA after his boxing career was over, Wilson’s anti-MMA postion got the focus of the article. 

Wilson went on to say that MMA is “real dangerous and an extreme sport…that a real fighter trains daily and is in top physical condition.  That boxing is an artform and a thinking man’s game.”  I don’t know what his experience with MMA is, but clearly he hasn’t been watching the fighters and matches that I have been over the years.  The days of the Tank Abbots are over my friend.  Today’s MMA fighters are highly trained well conditioned athletes.  Just check out a Rich Franklin or Sean Sherk training session on UFC All Access and you will see how hard these guys train.  Boxers like Wilson, just continue to spread the stereotype that MMA is some type of barbaric bar room brawl. 
 
Thankfully, the article ended with an interview with Paul Wade, a co-owner of 3rd Street Boxing Gym in San Francisco, who stated that “most boxers are scared of MMA” the kicks, ground game and small gloves all combine to intimidate them.  The real news in this article wasn’t what some uninformed boxer had to say, it was in the fact that boxing gyms are starting to include cages and MMA training sessions.

Thx2 guest contributor Michael Hans

Jonny T rolled out his top 6 through 10 mixed martial arts fighters of 2006. Now it is time for the top 5. Again, these are not the best fighters per se, but for the best fighters for the year of 2006.

5. Fedor (1-0)
The baddest man in all of MMA. The Pride organization had a terrible time trying to find opponents to sign a match with this guy and was able to scrounge up a descending Coleman. After Fedor commenced the vicious beating of the future Hall of Famer, you can see why this guy doesn’t fight more. Who in their right mind would fight this man…for any amount of money? When you can’t get a fight because your are so extremely bad-ass that fighters avoid you in fear of public humiliation, that tells me you have had a VERY successful year. Your stock is as high as ever, you are well rested, your contracts are substantial due to high demand, and self promotion is not needed through trash talk or other Ali-esque type of antics. He gets the 5th spot, due to inactivity, but there is no better fighter pound-for-pound in the entire sport.

4. Liddell (2-0)
The UFC champ should be ranked higher, but doesn’t fight quite enough in a division which seemed stacked three years ago only to find but a few challengers standing when the dust has settled. Chuck has decimated the very poorly formulated fight plan of “Babalu” Sobral and has retired the best MMA fighter in UFC history with a convincing knockout of Randy “The Natural” Couture. He has one more fight this year with Tito Ortiz, but I see the outcome very similar to that of their first match three years ago. With the UFC’s acquisition of Rampage Jackson, a much anticipated rematch will be very exciting to watch. With low activity and nobody to really fight, The Iceman has missed an opportunity to stand on top of the mixed martial arts podium.

3. T. Sylvia (4-0)
The “Mainiac” has done what everyone thought would be impossible…win back the Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight belt. He has beaten Ausserio Silva, Arlovski (twice), and Monson to go undefeated this year. Unfortunately, he has earned only one KO and the other three have been very lack luster performances. Still, a win is a win and to fight the best the UFC has to offer has got to say something. With the UFC’s acquisition of PrideFC’s Cro-Cop, there possbile meeting to determine who is the best banger in the business may be in our future. With a 4-0 record for 2006 and a true challenger now in the ranks, this guy gets the Bronze medal.

2. St. Pierre (2-0)
GSP has beaten two of the toughest fighters in all of MMA. For starters, he has decisioned the “Prodigy” to a very tough fight and demonstrated great durability and poise to survive a very fast start from BJ Penn. St. Pierre kept his cool and adjusted his game plan to squeaked out the victory. George then comes back and beats the most celebrated welterweight in UFC and MMA history by picking apart Matt Hughes with a knockout, making a statement that he is the future of the sport. It’s only two wins for the year, but you could have not picked a tougher pair of fights to schedule in any weight class. These fights will earn him a Silver medal, but only by a hair.

Drum roll please….

1. Cro-Cop (4-0)
Mirko won the Pride Absolute Tournament with Ws over Jost Barnett, Wanderlei Silva, Yoshida, and Minowa. His lethal striking coupled with his take-down defense makes him the one of the most exciting fighters to warch. After a difficult 2005, he has rebounded to clear out all challengers in Pride Fighting Championsihp and has now been picked up by the UFC for possibly the largest financial contract in MMA history. In my eyes, the clear leader on my top ten and the winner of the Gold medal.

Thank you Jonny T. Til next time…

Well, its been one hell of a year in mixed marital arts and we’ve seen a lot happen during the past 12 months. As the sport of MMA grows and continues to push the media boundaries to a much more recognizable sport, we need to reflect on the fighters who have helped mold this year into a great one.

Our special guest writer Jonny T is here with his thoughts on the subject:

My top ten list is NOT the best all-around fighters, but the athletes that have had the most successful year. My list will goes as follows:

10. Minowa (5-1)
“The Punk” only suffered one loss this year at it was at the hands of fellow “top 10er” Mirco Cro-Cop. Minowa did score victories over Legeno, Cesar Silva, Hyunkab, Esch, and Plothle. He has proven he will fight you anywhere, any place, anytime, and has over 80 fights to prove it. He was far too small to be fighting in an Pride’s absolute division but he accepted the challenge anyway.

9. Matt. Hughes (2-1)
Matt’s sole loss this year was to George St. Pierre, the new UFC welterweight champion and also a top 10er. Hughes did beat the legend Royce Gracie in one of the biggest UFCs ever. He also had a win ofer A-level fighter BJ Pen. To his credit this year, he defeated the living legend and redeemed his last loss. His only blemish is that he clearly outclassed by the new champ.

8. Wanderlei Silva (2-1)
Loss to Cro-Cop, W’s over Arona and Fujita. Knocked out the hardest chin in MMA and redeemed his last loss. Took a beaten from Cro-Cop…tough one to watch.

7. Josh Barnett (5-1)
Yet another top fighter who lost to Mirko Cro-Cop. That fight is his only blemish over 2006. He racked up five wins over five solid fighters. Nakamura, Aleksander E., Mark Hunt, Nogeira, and Nastula.

6. Andersen Silva (3-1)
He would have been higher in the rankings this year, but he did have a loss to Okami and Rumble on the Rocks. On the flip side, he took out Tony Frykland and destroyed “The Crippler” Chris Leben and Rich “Ace” Franklin (who was considered to be one of the best pound-for-pound MMA fighters) to become the new UFC Middleweight Champ.

Up next, and in more detail, are the cream of the crop, my top Five picks. Stay tuned…

We proudly introduce our newest contributer to MMA News, Jonny T. Not only is he a well educated and articulate fanatic of mixed martial arts, but he also was also one of Robert “The Prince of Leglocks” Fergoson’s top students. He comes aboard to help provide his insight into marquee fights.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship 65 will bring us one of the most competive fights in UFC history. Two world-class athletes at the top of their game will be vying for the welterweight title. This really is the cream of the crop, a fight that’s “as good as it gets.”

Jonny T, your breakdown…

Hughes vs. St. Pierre! Just like my good friend simply put, “as good as it gets”. We are looking at the two best fighters (athletes) MMA has to offer anywhere at any time to date. We’re going to witness the seasoned champ and possibly the greatest all-time welterweight vs. the hungry, ultra-talented, and relentless challenger fly into battle this weekend.

Before 23 SEP 06, I was convinced the champ was going to have enough mojo to get passed BJ Penn, but would suffer a loss to St. Pierre this weekend. After the Hughes/Penn II fight at UFC 63, I have been very impressed with Hughes’ composure and sense of confidence during the vicious attack he had to face from BJ during the first two rounds of their second fight. He never panicked or demonstrated a sense of urgency while losing rounds 1 and 2. In the 3rd, BJ was obviously tired and Hughes capitalized as if it were scripted and never, at any point, lost confidence that he would not finish the fight. The laundry list of class A fighters he’s dismantled over the past 4 years is overwhelmingly evident of his pure dominance in the weight division. In his first bout with St. Pierre, I had “Rush” up on the score card both on the ground and on their feet before he was caught with an armbar from the side mount. I believe it was purely a mental lapse on George’s behalf that put himself in a vulnerable position. Both athletes are improved and more complete fighters exhibiting a clear separation from the rest of the division.

St. Pierre: Great conditioning, excellent athleticism, tremendous pressure both standing and on the ground. He made the two time NCAA Champion (Trigg) look like a tune up fight, and was beating the current champ before getting caught in the armbar. He is truly the complete package and the future of the sport.

Hughes: Has been there and done that with the best. Experienced, great training camp, excellent conditioning, vastly improved stand up skills, and the single best evolved wrestler in the history of the sport. Poised beyond his years and has the confidence to overcome any adversity in the octogon. There hasn’t been anyone better up until this point in time.

Analysis: On their feet, advantage to St. Pierre. On the ground, advantage to Hughes. The key to success for both fighters will come down to three key points; 1) conditioning, 2) can Hughes take the fight to the ground and keep it there? and 3) will St. Pierre be able to wash away his image of Hughes as being the next Superman and view him as just another fighter or will he get caught up with the mind games and pre-fight hype?

Prediction: The nod goes to Hughes, but I see the pace being fast and furious. The fighter who is able to stay disciplined long enough to execute his game plan will win by attrition. Which fighter is able to expose the other’s short comings and/or capitalize on the other’s mistake will find their hand being raised in the end. My CHANGED vote will go to Hughes.

-Jonny T