UFC 78: Put It in the Books

The highlight of the night was absolutely Bruce Buffer telling Ed Herman, "Yeah, you fucked him up," after knocking out Joe Doerksen. As for the fights themselves...nothing special at all.

- I expected a lot more from Frankie Edgar-Spencer Fisher fight, but Edgar had no problem taking Fisher down whenever he wanted, so it's hard to argue with what works. Edgar may not have pleased the crowd, but he scored takedown after takedown and did some damage on the ground. Fisher, on the other hand, mounted virtually zero offense for 15 minutes. Good win over a dangerous veteran for Edgar.

- Rashad Evans beat Michael Bisping, just as I expected, and I'm still not sure how one judge scored the fight for Bisping. Bisping's takedown defense was good, but Rashad took him down enough to impress the judges. Neither fighter did much damage on their feet, but Rashad seemed to have gotten the better of those exchanges in my estimation. If this fight launches Rashad to title contention, Rampage has nothing to worry about. Also likely is the possibility of Rashad fighting Tito Ortiz again. Yes, again.

- Once Joe Lauzon got Jason Reinhardt to the ground, it was lights out as expected. This was nothing more than a showcase fight for Lauzon, who wasn't really tested. It was good to see Lauzon back in action, though.

- I thought Joe Doerksen was going to pull off the submission, but Ed Herman was saved by the bell and went on to score a vicious KO in one of the better fights of the night. It's hard for me to get excited over this win because Herman is still a middle-of-the-pack middleweight who's no match for Anderson Silva (not that he's in line for a title fight).

- I thought that Houston Alexander and Thiago Silva were going to slug it out, which is why I went with Alexander, who for some reason or another decided to clinch with Silva early. he was then promptly taken down and beaten like he stole something. Silva pounded the seemingly invincible Alexander from the mount and at one point was bouncing Alexander's head off the mat with punches. I like Silva. I like his Chute-Boxe camp, I like his tattoos, and I like the way he snarled after finishing off Alexander.

- The Karo Parisyan-Ryo Chonan fight went down as expected pretty much. Karo controlled his body for 15 minutes, avoided any real damage, and took home a one-sided victory. Anyone else think Karo's ready for - and deserving of - some tougher competition?

Finding The Answer: An Interview with Frankie Edgar

(Rob Guarino, Frankie Edgar)

On a wet, disgusting Tuesday morning in Brick, NJ, I find myself in the Rhino Fight Team training facility. The guys are already at work. There’s Steve De Angelis, the nineteen-year-old Battlecage Xtreme 145-pound champion; Shawn Forman, a promising amateur; Carl Beams, a dangerous boxer and kickboxer; Kevin Roddy, a Reality Righting and Battlecage Xtreme lightweight champion; and Chris Liguori, the Reality Fighting welterweight champion.

The man behind Rhino is Rob Guarino, a talented fighter in his own right who’s helped the Rhino Fight Team become one of the deepest, nastiest teams on the East Coast. Guarino runs a no-frills, all-business operation. There are no t-shirts for sale, no beginner classes, no belt color system, and no membership specials at the Rhino gym. Guarino’s chief concern is making sure his Rhinos keep racking up the wins. Nothing more, nothing less.

Guarino’s indefatigable commitment to building the most devastating fight team around is embodied by 26-year-old badass Frankie “The Answer” Edgar. After a decorated high-school and collegiate wrestling career, Edgar’s maiden voyage into MMA came shortly after he began training with Guarino two years ago. Rob took Edgar, Jay Coleman, and a few other Rhinos into Bronx for a “local” show in a small gymnasium. With a raucous crowd very much against him (and the rest of his team) and a much-hyped opponent in Eric Uresk across the ring, Edgar shook off a huge knee to the face early in the round, scored a vicious takedown, and pounded out a gritty first-round win. He’d gone into enemy country and gave their boy a beating. Not bad for five weeks of MMA experience.

Edgar made his pro debut shortly thereafter, earning his first win in dominating fashion over Mark Getto at Ring of Combat 9. Edgar has since been on a tear, earning dominant wins over Jay Isip, Steve Macabe, Deividas Taurosevicius, Jim Miller, Tyson Griffin, and Mark Bocek.

More impressive than Edgar’s 7-0 record is the level of competition he’s faced already in his burgeoning MMA career. Edgar wanted so badly to fight at Ring of Cage 10 that he weighed in with sneakers and sweats on to make 160 lbs. so that he could fight Macabe at welterweight; he finished Macabe in the first round with a chin choke (Guarino had just taught Edgar the move). Taurosevicius, now a rising star with the IFL’s NY Pitbulls, and Miller, the Reality Fighting featherweight champion and Cage Fury Fighting Championship lightweight champion, suffered his only career loss to Edgar. Tyson Griffin was not only undefeated, but he’d stopped world-class striker Duane “Bang” Ludwig and WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber, and the UFC had trouble finding someone who’d fight him. As for Mark Bocek, a Grapplers Quest U.S. National Champion and a World Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Champion, he had yet to lose an MMA fight. Edgar dominated them all.

Up next for Edgar is what promises to be his toughest test to date. At UFC 78 in Newark, NJ on November 17, the rising star from Toms River, NJ will step into the cage with hard-hitting veteran Spencer “The King” Fisher. I visited the Rhino headquarters recently to speak a little with Edgar about his fight with The King and his surging MMA career…

Your wrestling has transitioned particularly well to MMA in a very short amount of time, and you seem to have a slightly different look for each fight. What type of training are you doing?

I surround myself with these guys (Team Rhino) all the time. They travel with me and are always around me. For Tyson (Griffin), I trained here because it was short notice and stuff like that, but for Bocek, I concentrated on my jiu-jitsu a little more and trained out in Dallas and Philly. You’ve got to change it up to your opponent, you know? Right now for my wrestling, I’m coaching at Rutgers right now. I help out there, and I trained at AKA (American Kickboxing Academy) a little bit for this one.

Talk to us about training with the AKA guys.

There was (Josh) Thomson, Dave Camarillo – he’s the jiu-jitsu guy, Jon Fitch was in a little bit, Koscheck a little bit. I got to surround myself with some pretty good guys out there.

What was the biggest benefit from working with those guys?

Just the intensity level and the fact that they’ve competed at such a high level. They’ve been there and they were able to help me with a lot of the experience they’ve gained so far in the sport.

What’s the most special thing about being a part of the Rhino Fight Team?

Just the camaraderie. We’re all local kids, all a similar type.

Before you came to Rhino, had you studied any fighting discipline other than wrestling?

It was just wrestling. And maybe a couple of bar fights.

There’s a crop of exciting young UFC lightweights right now, and of them, you’ve had the biggest wins over the toughest competition. You like it that way, don’t you?

You’re in the UFC and you’re going to fight a tough guy no matter what, so you might as well fight a name because that’s going to prepare your career that much more. You know, you don’t want to keep fighting guys you’re supposed to beat. You want to fight the guys you’re not supposed to beat. That’s how you’re going to get your name up in the rankings.

This is your third UFC fight, but you recently signed an extension, correct?

Yeah, I have three more fights now after this one.

What do you expect from Spencer Fischer at UFC 78?

I’m expecting a real tough fight, man. He never has a boring fight. I’ve seen him fight many times, and I know he’s going to bring the fight to me, so I’m not going to have to go look for a fight in that cage.

You’ve already cut your teeth in the UFC and are well on your way to being an established star at 155 lbs. in the UFC. What can fans expect to see from you at UFC 78?

They’re going to see the progression – progressing more as a fighter in experience and talent and everything all around. I want to show that I’m getting better, working hard to be the best I can be.

Has the UFC indicated at all what could be next for you if you beat Spencer Fisher at UFC 78?

Nothing. They didn’t give me anything, which is good, you know. I just want to concentrate on this one.

Is there any extra pressure fighting in front of hometown fans?

Not really. One you’re in the octagon, you kinda forget where you are. I’ve fought in Vegas and I’ve fought in Sacramento, and I could have been fighting in my backyard. It’s the same thing. This next week might be a little different being home, being bothered a little bit. I try to turn my phone off and think about just taking care of business. So I’m trying not to get too caught up in it. One I step in there, I don’t think it’ll affect me at all.

Did you request to be on the UFC 78 card in Newark, NJ?

Well, they kind of approached me about it, and I think they new I wanted to be on it.

When you step into the cage, is it an athletic competition or is it a fight?

It’s always a fight, you know what I mean. Preparing for it is an athletic competition because you worry about technique and skill. You get in there and get hit in the face, and it turns into a fight real quick.

Where do you see yourself in terms of the UFC lightweight division as a whole?

I’m still pretty new at this – only 2 ½ years in it – so, I’ll do whatever they want me to do. I think I’m nowhere near where I need to be yet, but I still think I can compete with anybody in there right now. So I think it’s kinda nice to know that I still have a lot of proving to do, and I still feel that at this level I can compete with anybody.

Let’s say I come back here and talk with you in a year. Where do you hope to be by then?

Honestly, I’d like to be right there in title contention, if not holding the title.

As a fighter and as a fan, which fighters do you particularly enjoy watching?

Chris Liguori, man (laughs)! Definitely my work-out partners. They’re in there just like you’re in there. As for the guys in the UFC, you know, you watch one guy for a little bit, and you just say “Oh yeah, I like this guy.” The whole 155-pound division is great because everyone’s ready to go. We’re non-stop fighters. St-Pierre is also great to watch, very well-rounded. Shogun is very fun to watch. And Randy Couture is just a legend, so I always enjoy his fights.

By the way, how did your nickname come to be?

(Laughs) To tell you the truth, Chris (Liguori) just gave it to me and it stuck. I was always answering back, you know.

There’s been a lot of attention over you still working as part of the family plumbing business, so let’s touch on that a little. When your fighting career is done, would you like to remain in the sport as a coach, or do you hope to take over the family business?

If everything goes as planned, I’ll be fighting for a long time. That’s what I want to do. I don’t know how long the business will even be around for me to take over, but I enjoy this sport. I enjoy working out, I enjoy helping people. I’m coaching now at Rutgers. I’ll always be involved in wrestling, and I’ll always be involved in mixed martial arts. That’s my future.

Are any of the wrestlers over at Rutgers looking to get into MMA after school?

(smiles) Yeah, I think so.

I’m going to throw out a few names to get your quick thoughts. Easy enough. Here we go:

Joe Stevenson – Tough, tough fighter; one of the toughest guys in my weight class.

BJ Penn – The best guy in my weight class.

Sean Sherk – Uhhh…another tough guy in my weight class.

That’s a very political answer about Sherk – (laughter)

Dana White – the boss.

Joe Scarola – F----- queer.

Serra vs. Hughes – Serra. I’m going with the Long Island boy.

What’s the one thing that aspiring young fighters might not understand about becoming a top-level fighter?

The commitment level that you need. I know a lot of local tough guys. The average street fight lasts 30 seconds, but you’ve got to be 100% committed to this sport. Anyone can jump in a ring and throw a couple punches and say, "I did it." But to be successful, you need 100% commitment. You’ve got to be ready to commit your whole life to this.

Before we go, I have to ask this: For UFC 78, is there an after party, and am I invited?

Yes, there is. Bliss in Clifton, NJ. You’re more than invited.


***For more on Frankie “The Answer” Edgar, check out FrankEdgar.com, MMAInstructional.com, and RhinoMMA.net.***

Edgar vs. Fisher at UFC 78!

Two Kodiak MMA favorites, UFC lightweights Frankie Edgar and Spencer Fisher, will face each other at UFC 78 in New Jersey on November 17 in what will surely be one of the best match-ups of the card. Edgar recently confirmed the rumors that he'd be fighting Fisher during an appearance on Inside the Cage Radio. Not too many lightweight matches excite me as this one, so if this match isn't televised, I'll most likely kill someone.

Morning Droppings

- Undefeated UFC lightweight and NJ native Frankie Edgar is reportedly in preliminary talks with the UFC about appearing on a tentatively scheduled November 17 card in Newark, NJ. Keep your fingers crossed! For more on this story, click here.

- I was just reading an MMAWeekly piece about heavyweight Jeff "The Snowman" Monson, who has two scheduled scheduled within a two-week period. I knew that, but I guess I forgot. Tomorrow, Monson will face Chris Guillen as part of the Golbal Fighting Championships, and on September 1, he will face Pedro Rizzo for the IFA championship. Damn!

- A GracieFighter.com post from early this morning explains that the exclusivity of Antonio McKee’s IFL contract, as well as the threat of legal action by the IFL, will prevent McKee from fighting Jake Shields in October. Shields is awaiting a new opponent.

- Eighteen-year-old Ryan Shamrock, the son of Ken Shamrock, is scheduled to make his MMA debut at a Ken Shamrock Promotions event on August 25.

2007 Kodiak Half-Ass Awards

Since we’re halfway through what has been an excellent year for mixed martial arts, it is my pleasure to present to you the first ever Kodiak MMA 2007 Half-Ass Awards. The captain has asked that you bring your seats to the upright position and turn off all cell phones, pagers, and electronic devices.

Best Fighter: Dan Henderson

Not only did Hendo move up from 185 to take the 205-lb. belt, but he became the first non-heavyweight to knock out Wanderlei in 9 years. That goes a long way in my book.

Like he did in their first fight, Henderson stood in Wanderlei's face and threw bombs against the stronger, larger opponent. Adding to the glory of this fight was not only the dramatic KO win, but the overall pageantry that only a Pride title fight can deliver. Makes me sad a little, actually...

Soon enough, Henderson will hold the UFC light-heavyweight strap after he beats Rampage Jackson at UFC 75, but let's not get off topic.

Randy Couture also receives special recognition, but I'm giving this one to Henderson for holding two of the sport's most coveted belts at once, and for being a better pound-for-pound fighter.

Best Fight: Nick Diaz - Takanori Gomi

After 3 straight UFC losses to Diego Sanchez, Karo Parisyan, and Joe Riggs, Nick Diaz made his Pride debut against explosive lightweight champ Takanori Gomi at Pride 33 on February 24, 2007. Long story short, Diaz took some serious punishment from Gomi but ultimately outlasted Gomi, picking him apart with stinging jabs and hooks and finishing him in stunning fashion.

Unfortunately, Diaz tested positive for Delta-9-THC, and the fight was ruled a No Contest, but it remains one of the greatest fights that I have ever seen.

Best Submission: Nick Diaz Gogoplata

Please tell me the last time you saw a decorated champion be submitted by his opponent's shin. The best part of this submission was that my man Diaz held onto it - and possibly tightened it - for a little bit after Gomi tapped.

Biggest Upset: Matt Serra over Georges St. Pierre

Long Island's own Serra not only beat the younger, faster, stronger, heavily favored welterweight champ in his first title defense, but it's how he beat him that earns him this distinction. Serra is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu wiz who truly did shock the MMA world when he overwhelmed St. Pierre with punches and stopped him in the very first round without ever employing any of his BJJ skills.

Rampage/Liddell - Not an upset at all. Gonzaga/Cro Cop - At least some people were giving Gonzaga a chance, considering his strong ground game in the cage.

Best KO: Gabriel Gonzaga

The relatively unknown Brazilian heavyweight scored a shocking KO win over Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic with the Croatian’s own trademark move, the head kick, and left the former Pride star lying virtually lifeless in the center of the octagon.

Best Newcomer: Frankie Edgar

The Team Rhino fighter opened eyes with an awesome win over the heavily favored Tyson Griffin at UFC 67 and then showed us that he’s for real at UFC 73 when he handed Mark Bocek his first MMA loss with a with a Round 1 TKO.

I fully understand that this honor belongs to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, who's beaten much better competition in more convincing fashion and has better hair, but something about Edgar gets me fired up.

Best Fight Camp: Team Quest

Dan Henderson now holds two Pride championship titles, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou scored stunning KO wins over Ricardo Arona and Antonio Rigiero Nogueira, Matt Lindland stepped up and fought Fedor Emelianenko like a bastard, and Ed Herman - yes, Ed Herman - displayed very slick submission skills over Chris Price and Scott Smith in the UFC's talent-starved middleweight division. And Chris Leben has pink hair.

Best Champion: Urijah Faber

Faber, the WEC featherweight champion, has not only made 3 title defenses so far this year, but he submitted all 3 challengers in the very first round with both chokes and strikes. In addition, he's scheduled to fight again as part of WEC's September 30th card. The "California Kid" is for real.

Best Fight Card: Pride 33 (2/24/07)

This was a no-brainer. Pride 33, the penultimate Pride event as we knew it, gave us 9 fights in 2 hours and15 minutes, and only one went to a decision.

- Dan Henderson KO Wanderlei Silva
- Nick Diaz sub Takanori Gomi
- Shogun Rua KO Alistair Overeem
- Hayato Sakurai TKO Mac Danzig
- Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou KO Antonio Rogiero Nogueira
- Joachim Hansen sub. Jason Ireland
- Frank Trigg def. Kazuo Misaki via decision (and then did color commentary)
- Sergei Kharitonov sub. Mike Russow
- James Lee sub. Travis Wuiff

Best Post-Fight Interview: Din Thomas

After tapping out Jeremy Stephens at UFC 71 (May 26) with an oh-so-lovely armbar, "DinYero" addressed members of the boxing community who had been knocking MMA. Thomas clearly felt slighted by their remarks about the UFC and MMA and issued a challenge to Kermit Cintron and Floyd Mayweather: “You wanna fight? I’m the mothaf***a to fight!”

Best Mike Goldberg Quote:

“That’s the best looking BJ we’ve seen in a long time!”

He also referred to the UFC 73 card as "the greatest card top to bottom in the history of combat sports." Nope.

Biggest Moron: Phil Baroni

Baroni called out Frank Shamrock, talked plenty of gahbage, got his ass whooped, and then tested positive for two types of anabolic steroids. Shortly thereafter, Baroni posted homophobic slurs about Georges St. Pierre and offended all of Canada on MySpace.

Worst Overall Beating: Houston Alexander vs. Keith Jardine

Jardine wasn't too thrilled with having to face newcomer Alexander UFC 71 and felt that he deserved tougher competition. Early on, Jardine landed a solid right hook that staggered Alexander. Jardine pursued but Alexander recovered, muscled Jardine against the fence, and landed 19 unanswered hooks, uppercuts, and knees that ultimately left Jardine face down on the mat with his mouthpiece a few feet away.

I watch this fight at least once a week, not only because of Alexander's awesome display of punching power, but because I absolutely cannot stand Keith Jardine. His jerkoff nickname bothers me, and he throws the ugliest punch I think I've ever seen.

Biggest Disappointment:

Diego Sanchez’ girlfriend is UFC ring girl Ali Sonoma. In case you were curious, Ali is a modelactressstudent who likes seafood and OutKast and is turned on by "confidence, optimism, and great sense of humor." Damn you, Diego.

Let’s do this again in six months, shall we?

UFC 73 Ruminations

I re-watched UFC 73 last night and would like to share with you the follwing observations:

1) I'm still sour that the UFC did not televise Frankie Edgar's first-round TKO win over Mark Bocek. They could have shown it. There was plenty of time after the Florian-Robinson beating. Either way, I'm ready for Frankie Edgar vs. Roger Huerta.

2) Sean Sherk dominated Hermes Franca. There are really no two ways around it, but I think that finishing Franca would have sent a scary message to the rest of the division. After a while, Sherk's complete control became a bit predictable. Still, I am in awe of how he absolutely suffocated and manhandled a very tough opponent in Franca.

3) The Ortiz-Evans draw was better the second time around. I was impressed with Tito's aggression (especially the head kicks) and found Rashad's boxing to be underwhelming. Tito definitely doesn't like to get punched, and I feel that Rashad could have let his hands go in combinations.

For me, the best part of the fight was the clinch work against the cage when both fighters were working for position. I could see how it may bore some of you who aren't that into wrestling, but I really enjoyed it and appreciated how Tito looked to land some nasty elbows as the action broke from the fence. Nonetheless, I'm not dying to see the rematch, but I might be warming up to it a bit.

4) I love how Kenny Florian reminded the fans - and the rest of the 155-lb. division - that he finishes fights! Kenny looked excellent against a very powerful, very aggressive Alvin Robinson.

5) I thought that Nate Marquardt fought well, charging in immediately, grabbing Anderson Silva's leg and taking him down, and later taking a very heavy shot, only to drop down and go for another takedown. As for Silva, he looked phenomenal. Poised, confident, and almost surgical in his punches. I think that a rematch with Rich Franklin will once again go to Silva, and I think I'd rather see Franklin fight Marquardt. I see Marquardt taking Franklin down and beating him up on the ground.

6) Heath Herring is a guy I definitely hope to see more of. He landed some big shots, took some big shots, and showed tremendous skill on the ground against Nogueira.


As for that Round 1 head kick from Herring, I have no problem with referee Yves Levigne not stopping the fight. Nog looked dazed but didn't seem completely out of it (maybe just 90% out of it). Herring needed to have pounced with only seconds left in the round but instead waited for Levigne to stand Nog up, which he did -- eventually. I can understand Herring's hesitation to get into Nog's comfort zone on the ground, but that was ultimately his best opportunity all night.

Overall, I thought both fighters showed a lot of heart; Herring fought like a bastard against a more skilled opponent who's beaten him twice already, and Big Nog pressed on to win the fight after a head kick that would have put most men down for the night.

7) I would like to have seen the Bonnar/Nickels and Lytle/Gilliard fights, which were stopped in the very first round. The UFC should at least show highlight clips from the undercard fights, especially when they ended as quickly as these two did. Maybe next time.

8) It was very cool to see WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber in the crowd. My bet is that most fans had no idea who he was.

9) Mike Goldberg was OK. Nothing too stupid.

10) I'm sorry, but Bruce Buffer is insufferable. I don't care who his brother is, the UFC needs to jettison this dead wood. Even his suits sound terrible.

Straight Talk

"Tenacity. I know it’s not a technique, but it is one of the most important traits that a fighter should have. And it is cool to say."

- UFC lightweight Frankie Edgar discusses his favorite "technique."