I'm very pleased with the Facebook fan community we've established. Overall a very good collection of people follow our blog and regularly read and comment on our Articles. Very little moderation is required and everyone is generally pleasent.
The one thing I don't like about Facebook is the amount of unsolicited invitations people send, and send, and send. Recently after receiving the Nth suggestion from so-and-so to be a fan of same so-and-so I posted:
"Consider yourself invited to become a fan of me."
Well that didn't work out as expected as my friends all began proclaiming themselves fans and asking where the could sign up. (Thanks all.)
I recently received the following Facebook message:
"hey bro, i have received the invite to your fan page about a week ago but prior to that I had sent you several invites to ours months ago... I'm all about supporting each other but was just curious as to why you wouldn't join our fan page?"
This presented an opportunity for me to voice my opinion on the matter.
"Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'm actually happy to respond.
The only reason you received a fan page invite is because I received one from you. As a matter of fact I received four from you. I only send out invites to 1) people that like or comment on our posts, 2) people that friend me, or 3) people that send me invitations.
I believe that all the above situations constitute some reasonable opportunity for me to send a single invitation.
I don't repeatedly send out unsolicited invitations, because that it spamming.
I don't believe that one should be expected to accept every fan page invitation they receive.
I don't think that one should become a fan of something simply so that someone else will reciprocate.
So, I think the question should be why WOULD I join your fan page, and I mean that sincerely. Have I ever shown any interest in your fan site? Please let me know. Send me a reason why you think I would want to be a fan. As a matter of fact, send me four, one for each invitation."
The story has a happy ending as the sender had a pretty reasonable offer and I'm now a fan of their page.
Not sure if I should be perpetuating the Myth that is Tito Ortiz, but if you're interested - feel free to watch this video of his latest commercial. I promise - no bathtubs full of ice and no Jenna. Now I ask you - doesn't it look like the man has had his nose done? Wandy's nose looked different at UFC 110, no doubt. It was a bit surreal; it was almost like he didn't have a nose before, but now he does.
Here, Tito's nose just looks...different. What do you think?
The February 2010 Independent World MMA Rankings have been released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple web sites. In addition to the numerous MMA web sites that publish the Independent World MMA Rankings, you can also access the rankings at any time by going to www.IndependentWorldMMARankings.com.
February 2010 Independent World MMA Rankings Ballots collected on February 9, 2010
Heavyweight Rankings (206 to 265 lbs.) 1. Fedor Emelianenko (31-1, 1 No Contest) 2. Brock Lesnar (4-1) 3. Frank Mir (13-4) 4. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1, 1 No Contest) 5. Shane Carwin (11-0) 6. Brett Rogers (10-1) 7. Junior dos Santos (10-1) 8. Alistair Overeem (32-11, 1 No Contest) 9. Cain Velasquez (7-0) 10. Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1)
Light Heavyweight Rankings (186 to 205 lbs.) 1. Lyoto Machida (16-0) 2. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (18-4) 3. Rashad Evans (14-1-1) 4. Quinton Jackson (30-7) 5. Anderson Silva (25-4) 6. Gegard Mousasi (27-2-1) 7. Forrest Griffin (17-6) 8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3) 9. Dan Henderson (25-7) 10. Thiago Silva (14-2)
Middleweight Rankings (171 to 185 lbs.) 1. Anderson Silva (25-4) 2. Dan Henderson (25-7) 3. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1) 4. Vitor Belfort (19-8) 5. Nathan Marquardt (29-9-2) 6. Demian Maia (12-1) 7. Jake Shields (24-4-1) 8. Yushin Okami (23-5) 9. Robbie Lawler (17-5, 1 No Contest) 10. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (11-2, 1 No Contest)
Welterweight Rankings (156 to 170 lbs.) 1. Georges St. Pierre (19-2) 2. Jon Fitch (21-3, 1 No Contest) 3. Thiago Alves (16-6) 4. Josh Koscheck (14-4) 5. Paulo Thiago (13-1) 6. Dan Hardy (23-6) 7. Nick Diaz (21-7, 1 No Contest) 8. Matt Hughes (43-7) 9. Paul Daley (23-8-2) 10. Matt Serra (10-6)
Lightweight Rankings (146 to 155 lbs.) 1. B.J. Penn (15-5-1) 2. Shinya Aoki (23-4, 1 No Contest) 3. Eddie Alvarez (19-2) 4. Kenny Florian (12-4) 5. Tatsuya Kawajiri (26-5-2) 6. Gray Maynard (9-0, 1 No Contest) 7. Frankie Edgar (11-1) 8. Diego Sanchez (21-3) 9. Joachim Hansen (19-8-1) 10. Gilbert Melendez (17-2)
Bantamweight Rankings (126 to 135 lbs.) 1. Brian Bowles (8-0) 2. Miguel Torres (37-2) 3. Masakatsu Ueda (10-0-2) 4. Dominick Cruz (14-1) 5. Joseph Benavidez (11-1) 6. Takeya Mizugaki (12-4-2) 7. Damacio Page (12-4) 8. Scott Jorgensen (8-3) 9. Wagnney Fabiano (13-2) 10. Akitoshi Tamura (14-8-2)
The Independent World MMA Rankings are tabulated on a monthly basis in each of the top seven weight classes of MMA, from heavyweight to bantamweight, with fighters receiving ten points for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, and so on.
The rankings are based purely on the votes of the members of the voting panel, with nobody's vote counting more than anybody else's vote, and no computerized voting.
The voters are instructed to vote primarily based on fighters' actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition that they've actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective perception of which fighters would theoretically win hypothetical match-ups.
Inactivity: Fighters who have not fought in the past 12 months are not eligible to be ranked, and will regain their eligibility the next time they fight.
Disciplinary Suspensions: Fighters who are currently serving disciplinary suspensions, or who have been denied a license for drug test or disciplinary reasons, are not eligible to be ranked.
Changing Weight Classes: When a fighter announces that he is leaving one weight class in order to fight in another weight class, the fighter is not eligible to be ranked in the new weight class until he has his first fight in the new weight class.
Catch Weight Fights: When fights are contested at weights that are in between the limits of the various weight classes, they are considered to be in the higher weight class. The weight limits for each weight class are listed at the top of the rankings for each weight class.
When Corey Hill suffered what many considered a career threatening leg injury back In December of 2008, he vowed that he would make it back.
Hill completed his long, tumultuous journey on Saturday night as he won a unanimous decision over Jason Trzewiecznski in Niagra Falls, NY.
No one can forget the gruesome way Hill's leg broke as he threw a leg kick at Dale Hartt at UFC Fight Night 16. Hill had always been questioned why he chose to compete as a lightweight despite the fact the he stood 6'4" tall.
The criticism was even louder after the injury with many people pointing out that he was just too light for his frame.
All of that is in the past now as Hill, who gained popularity on season five of The Ultimate Fighter, is back in action and hopefully will make his way back to the UFC.
Hill exemplifies what mixed martial artists are all about. They are dedicated, loyal and won't let anything get in their way.
It's nice to see Hill back doing what he does best.
The January 2010 Independent World MMA Rankings have been released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple web sites. In addition to the numerous MMA web sites that publish the Independent World MMA Rankings, you can also access the rankings at any time by going to www.IndependentWorldMMARankings.com.
January 2010 Independent World MMA Rankings Ballots collected on January 12, 2010
Heavyweight Rankings (206 to 265 lbs.) 1. Fedor Emelianenko (31-1, 1 No Contest) 2. Brock Lesnar (4-1) 3. Frank Mir (13-4) 4. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1, 1 No Contest) 5. Shane Carwin (11-0) 6. Brett Rogers (10-1) 7. Junior dos Santos (10-1) 8. Alistair Overeem (32-11, 1 No Contest) 9. Cain Velasquez (7-0) 10. Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1)
Light Heavyweight Rankings (186 to 205 lbs.) 1. Lyoto Machida (16-0) 2. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (18-4) 3. Rashad Evans (14-1-1) 4. Quinton Jackson (30-7) 5. Anderson Silva (25-4) 6. Gegard Mousasi (27-2-1) 7. Forrest Griffin (17-6) 8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3) 9. Dan Henderson (25-7) 10. Thiago Silva (14-2)
Middleweight Rankings (171 to 185 lbs.) 1. Anderson Silva (25-4) 2. Nathan Marquardt (29-8-2) 3. Dan Henderson (25-7) 4. Vitor Belfort (19-8) 5. Demian Maia (11-1) 6. Jake Shields (24-4-1) 7. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1) 8. Yushin Okami (23-5) 9. Robbie Lawler (16-5, 1 No Contest) 10. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (11-2, 1 No Contest)
Welterweight Rankings (156 to 170 lbs.) 1. Georges St. Pierre (19-2) 2. Jon Fitch (21-3, 1 No Contest) 3. Thiago Alves (16-6) 4. Josh Koscheck (14-4) 5. Dan Hardy (23-6) 6. Matt Hughes (43-7) 7. Paulo Thiago (12-1) 8. Mike Swick (14-3) 9. Marius Zaromskis (13-3) 10. Paul Daley (23-8-2)
Lightweight Rankings (146 to 155 lbs.) 1. B.J. Penn (15-5-1) 2. Shinya Aoki (23-4, 1 No Contest) 3. Eddie Alvarez (19-2) 4. Kenny Florian (12-4) 5. Tatsuya Kawajiri (26-5-2) 6. Gray Maynard (9-0, 1 No Contest) 7. Frankie Edgar (11-1) 8. Diego Sanchez (21-3) 9. Joachim Hansen (19-8-1) 10. Gilbert Melendez (17-2)
Bantamweight Rankings (126 to 135 lbs.) 1. Brian Bowles (8-0) 2. Miguel Torres (37-2) 3. Masakatsu Ueda (10-0-2) 4. Dominick Cruz (14-1) 5. Joseph Benavidez (11-1) 6. Takeya Mizugaki (12-4-2) 7. Damacio Page (12-4) 8. Scott Jorgensen (8-3) 9. Wagnney Fabiano (13-2) 10. Akitoshi Tamura (14-8-2)
The Independent World MMA Rankings are tabulated on a monthly basis in each of the top seven weight classes of MMA, from heavyweight to bantamweight, with fighters receiving ten points for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, and so on.
The rankings are based purely on the votes of the members of the voting panel, with nobody's vote counting more than anybody else's vote, and no computerized voting.
The voters are instructed to vote primarily based on fighters' actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition that they've actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective perception of which fighters would theoretically win fantasy match-ups.
Inactivity: Fighters who have not fought in the past 12 months are not eligible to be ranked, and will regain their eligibility the next time they fight.
Disciplinary Suspensions: Fighters who are currently serving disciplinary suspensions, or who have been denied a license for drug test or disciplinary reasons, are not eligible to be ranked.
Changing Weight Classes: When a fighter announces that he is leaving one weight class in order to fight in another weight class, the fighter is not eligible to be ranked in the new weight class until he has his first fight in the new weight class.
Catch Weight Fights: When fights are contested at weights that are in between the limits of the various weight classes, they are considered to be in the higher weight class. The weight limits for each weight class are listed at the top of the rankings for each weight class.
On January 10th, 2010, at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV, Tuff-N-Uff and MTX Audio presented FIGHT NIGHT III - a 14 bout fight card, complete with headline fights by Larry Mir and Ryan Couture.
Next, fans saw Larry Mir, cousin of former UFC Champion Frank Mir, fight Chris Barden of Wand Fight Team in the 145 pound bout.
The card also featured the Bowler brothers, Jesse and Colt “45”, both of Filipino MMA in two separate fights.
Before the fights, Barry Meyer, President and Founder of Tuff-N-Uff, said: “We are pulling out all the great fights to highlight our return to the Las Vegas Strip at Fight Night III.” Per Meyer: “This event was private the last two years and this year’s should sell out quick. We should also have some great celebrities in the crowd such as Randy "The Natural" Couture, Frank Mir, Wanderlei Silva and many more!”
To see which fighters had a good time, see the results below!
Fight 1: Joel Black vs. John Hahn --Hahn wins by TKO (strikes) @ 1:28 of round 1.
Fight 2: Jesse Bowler vs. Dustin Chevalier --Chevalier wins by KO (punch) @ 16 seconds of round 1.
Fight 3: Shane Larsen vs. Eric Center --Larsen wins via split decision.
Fight 4: Paul Garcia vs. Charles Lee --Lee wins by TKO (strikes) @ 58 seconds of round 1.
Fight 5: Colton Bowler vs. Jesse Romero --Romero wins via unanimous decision.
Fight 6: Tim Bowman vs. Brandon Donnelly --Bowman wins by TKO (strikes) @ 32 seconds of round 1.
Fight 7: Tommy Gavin vs. Jake Swinney --Swinney wins by TKO (armbar) @ 1:31 of round 1.
Fight 8: Roman Isbell vs. Scott Kelsey --Isbell wins via unanimous decision.
Fight 9: Junior Gomez vs. Richard Junio --Junio wins by TKO (armbar) @ 1:35 of round 1.
Fight 10: Jon Gorton vs. Gil Guardado --Guardado wins via unanimous decision.
Fight 11: Alex Brooks vs. Justin Vadnais --Brooks wins by TKO (strikes) @ 44 seconds of round 3.
Fight 12: Maurice Senters vs. Jimmy Jones (135lbs. Title Defense) --Jones wins by TKO (strikes) @ 2:43 of round 1.
Fight 13: Anastacio Cruz vs. Larry Mir --Mir wins by TKO strikes @ 35 seconds of round 1.
Fight 14: Joe Tussing vs. Ryan Couture --Couture wins by TKO (rear-naked choke) @ 1:07 of round 1.
For more info: This organization was founded in 1994 for the purpose of promoting martial arts shows. Over the years Tuff-N-Uff has established itself as an innovator in the fight promotions industry. Tuff-N-Uff received one of the first MMA licenses in Nevada and has since promoted SHOOTO in 2003, the first MMA tournament in Nevada, co-promoted Chuck Norris' World Combat League, Bodog FIGHT, ADCC North American qualifiers, and was the first to promote amateur MMA in Nevada.
Tuff-N-Uff and MTX Audio Present FIGHT NIGHT III - Live at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
Looks like the Meyer Brothers and Tuff 'n Uff have done it again. Working with MTX Audio, Friday night will feature a 14 Bout Fight Card complete with headline fights by Larry Mir and Ryan Couture. You can figure out who these guys are related to if you have been following MMA for a while. "There will be some great MMA action at our next big event on the Las Vegas Strip,” said Barry Meyer, President and Founder of Tuff-N-Uff. “We are getting some of the top future stars of MMA to fight for bragging rights as the premier champions of Fight Night III."
Next, fans at the event will get to see Larry Mir, cousin of former UFC Champion Frank Mir, fight Chris Barden of Wand Fight Team in the 145 pound bout. Barden is currently undefeated, and in his last fight Barden knocked out his opponent at 1:40 in the first round.
The card also features the Bowler brothers, Jesse and “Colt 45”, both of Filipino MMA, in two separate fights. See an interview of Jesse Bowler back in September 2009 below.
Finally Gil Guardado of California risks his perfect 5-0 fight record against John Gorton of Team Quest in a 155 pound battle. See the video below of Gorton's last fight at Tuff-N-Uff on June 1st, 2009.
“We are pulling out all the great fights to highlight our return to the Las Vegas Strip at Fight Night III,” Meyer said. “This event was private the last two years and this year’s should sell out quick. We should also have some great celebrities in the crowd such as Randy "The Natural" Couture, Frank Mir, Wanderlei Silva and many more!”
If you are interested in No-Gi grappling, Tuff-N-Uff and MTX Audio will also host an open tournament on Saturday, January 9th, starting at 10 a.m. at the Riviera Hotel & Casino. Participant preregistration for the event ends on January 6 and admission to the event will be $10 for adults and $5 for children. For more information, please visit the GrapplingX website here.
How to Get Tickets Tickets for Fight Night III are currently on sale and priced starting at only $25. To purchase tickets, please visit the Tuff 'N Uff site or Battle Pass. Doors to the Riviera Hotel & Casino Grande Ballroom open at 6 p.m. with the first bout starting at 7 p.m. Las Vegas Nutrition Centers across the Las Vegas Valley will also have tickets available at a discounted rate.
Tuff-N-Uff Productions: This organization was founded in 1994 for the purpose of promoting martial arts shows. Over the years Tuff-N-Uff has established itself as an innovator in the fight promotions industry. Tuff-N-Uff received one of the first MMA licenses in Nevada and has since promoted SHOOTO in 2003, the first MMA tournament in Nevada, co-promoted Chuck Norris' World Combat League, Bodog FIGHT, ADCC North American qualifiers, and was the first to promote amateur MMA in Nevada.
With 2009 over and done with, looking back it was a great year of MMA. With 481 fights from 47 major events in 6 promotions, let's take a look at the top 10 fights of the year as voted by fans so far.
Do you remember these fights? What do you recall thinking and feeling when you watched them? What was your favorite fight from 2009? Make sure you vote for it.
For those people looking for a calendar of karate tournaments and events in the Southeast and Tennessee, please see the list below.
Links are provide by Kickgen.com - a great resource for this, and other types of karate information. Click the links to make it easy for you to find specific event information. Karate Tournaments and Events in the SouthEast
Here's a nice thing: if you're unable to attend and support your special karateka, you can view the event on one of the ESPN Networks!
The US OPEN is a place where karateka, from white belt to black belt, can experience high quality competition. Per event officials, over 500 hundred divisions will be available to competitors, allowing for a tremendous variety of competitive experience.
Additionally, the US Open is now using Unlimited Entry competition. This means one can compete in up to four forms and four weapons divisions: Musical, Extreme, Creative and Traditional and Six Team Events (Team Synchronized Forms, Demonstration Team, Self Defense and Team Point Fighting) during this event.
New for 2009, we have added ISKA sanctioned International Sport Jiu Jitsu Association fighting divisions. This form of fighting competition combines elements of continuous sparring with takedowns and submission grappling. It is similar to MMA, but without striking, elbows, and knees. For more information on the separate age and rank Divisions for each type of competition, Click Here.
Types of Competition for 2009
Creative/Musical Weapons
Traditional Weapons
Extreme Weapons
Musical Forms
Extreme Forms
Creative Forms
Traditional Forms
Team Synchronized Forms
Demonstration Team
Self Defense
Individual Point Fighting
Continuous Fighting
Team Point Fighting
Creative Breaking
Power Breaking
ISJA
CLICK HERE for SPECIAL DISNEY PASSES for US OPEN Competitors and Spectators!
No doubt about it, the best way to see Disney World is with the multi-park Hopper Pass that lets you travel freely between the Disney parks as often as you like, and gets you free entry into the Downtown Disney/Pleasure Island Entertainment Complex and DisneyQuest. The great thing is that competitors can get Special Disney Park Passes! Two, three, four, or five-day discount-priced passes available only to competitors, spectators, and guests. Find out more here: Information on specially priced Disney Passes.
Additional Information: Events will be held on the weekend of July 9th through July 10th. To Register Online. To see the Events Schedule.
The heavyweight division has long been the whipping boy of MMA fans, with truly talented big men being very few and far between. This lack of depth is compounded by the fact that this is perhaps the least concentrated division in MMA, with top talent quarantined away in separate organizations. Lastly, this is a time of upheavel in the division, with many of the top fighters having lost recently or won fights against irrelevant opponents.
Let's take a look at recent changes in the heavyweight rankings. Fedor Emelianenko maintains his #1 spot after his second round TKO over Brett Rogers at Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers. Despite the loss The Grim moves from #10 to #8.
I'd like to introduce EliteMMA.com to you guys. They're a MMA gear supplier which focuses on gear for fighters. They sell gear from Combat Sports, Sprawl, Atama, Fairtex, TapouT and more. The site shows live inventory and they appear to have pretty deep inventory. In addition to the gloves, pads and fight shorts, they have t-shirts and Hoodies from Throwdown, TapouT, etc. but like I said, it's mostly gear for fighters.
They've been nice enough to supply a 15% off coupon for purchases between now and the end of the year. The code is mmaratings15. Check out their MMA Gear and take advantage.
If you're new to training, don't forget the mouth guard and cup. If you want to avoid cauli don't be shy about getting ear guards.
Featherweight talent, while concentrated in the WEC, can also be found in great abundance in Sengoku and Dream. With their tournaments wrapped up, it becomes apparent that serious fans must demand bouts between the Japanese fighters and those in the WEC. The upcoming Dream vs. Sengoku matches at Dynamite!! 2009 this New Year's Eve brings us three quality matches in the featherweight division.
Let's take a look at recent changes in the featherweight rankings.
Jose Aldo moves up from #3 to #1 after decisively taking the WEC title away from Mike Thomas Brown at WEC 44. The former champ drops down to #2.
The December 2009 Independent World MMA Rankings have been released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple web sites. In addition to the numerous MMA web sites that publish the Independent World MMA Rankings, you can also access the rankings at any time by going to www.IndependentWorldMMARankings.com.
Note: Will Ribeiro is no longer eligible to be ranked, due to the fact that he has not had an MMA fight in over 12 months.
December 2009 Independent World MMA Rankings Ballots collected on December 15, 2009
Heavyweight Rankings (206 to 265 lbs.) 1. Fedor Emelianenko (31-1, 1 No Contest) 2. Brock Lesnar (4-1) 3. Frank Mir (13-4) 4. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1, 1 No Contest) 5. Shane Carwin (11-0) 6. Brett Rogers (10-1) 7. Alistair Overeem (31-11, 1 No Contest) 8. Junior dos Santos (9-1) 9. Cain Velasquez (7-0) 10. Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1)
Light Heavyweight Rankings (186 to 205 lbs.) 1. Lyoto Machida (16-0) 2. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (18-4) 3. Rashad Evans (13-1-1) 4. Quinton Jackson (30-7) 5. Anderson Silva (25-4) 6. Gegard Mousasi (27-2-1) 7. Forrest Griffin (17-6) 8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3) 9. Dan Henderson (25-7) 10. Thiago Silva (14-1)
Middleweight Rankings (171 to 185 lbs.) 1. Anderson Silva (25-4) 2. Nathan Marquardt (29-8-2) 3. Dan Henderson (25-7) 4. Vitor Belfort (19-8) 5. Demian Maia (11-1) 6. Jake Shields (24-4-1) 7. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1) 8. Yushin Okami (23-5) 9. Robbie Lawler (16-5, 1 No Contest) 10. Jorge Santiago (21-8)
Welterweight Rankings (156 to 170 lbs.) 1. Georges St. Pierre (19-2) 2. Jon Fitch (20-3, 1 No Contest) 3. Thiago Alves (16-6) 4. Josh Koscheck (14-4) 5. Dan Hardy (23-6) 6. Matt Hughes (43-7) 7. Paulo Thiago (12-1) 8. Mike Swick (14-3) 9. Carlos Condit (24-5) 10. Marius Zaromskis (13-3)
Lightweight Rankings (146 to 155 lbs.) 1. B.J. Penn (15-5-1) 2. Shinya Aoki (22-4, 1 No Contest) 3. Eddie Alvarez (19-2) 4. Kenny Florian (12-4) 5. Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2) 6. Gray Maynard (8-0, 1 No Contest) 7. Frankie Edgar (11-1) 8. Diego Sanchez (21-3) 9. Joachim Hansen (19-8-1) 10. Mizuto Hirota (12-3-1)
The Independent World MMA Rankings are tabulated on a monthly basis in each of the top seven weight classes of MMA, from heavyweight to bantamweight, with fighters receiving ten points for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, and so on.
The rankings are based purely on the votes of the members of the voting panel, with nobody's vote counting more than anybody else's vote, and no computerized voting.
The voters are instructed to vote primarily based on fighters' actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition that they've actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective perception of which fighters would theoretically win fantasy match-ups.
Inactivity: Fighters who have not fought in the past 12 months are not eligible to be ranked, and will regain their eligibility the next time they fight.
Disciplinary Suspensions: Fighters who are currently serving disciplinary suspensions, or who have been denied a license for drug test or disciplinary reasons, are not eligible to be ranked.
Changing Weight Classes: When a fighter announces that he is leaving one weight class in order to fight in another weight class, the fighter is not eligible to be ranked in the new weight class until he has his first fight in the new weight class.
Catch Weight Fights: When fights are contested at weights that are in between the limits of the various weight classes, they are considered to be in the higher weight class. The weight limits for each weight class are listed at the top of the rankings for each weight class.
The November 2009 Independent World MMA Rankings have been released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple web sites. In addition to the numerous MMA web sites that publish the Independent World MMA Rankings, you can also access the rankings at any time by going to www.IndependentWorldMMARankings.com.
Note: Due to the fact that Jake Shields has not competed in the welterweight division for over one year and has no plans to do so in the foreseeable future, he is no longer eligible to be ranked in the welterweight division. He is, however, eligible to be ranked in the middleweight division.
Note: Due to the fact that Randy Couture has moved to the light heavyweight division and has no plans to fight at heavyweight in the foreseeable future, he is no longer eligible to be ranked in the heavyweight division. He is, however, eligible to be ranked in the light heavyweight division.
November 2009 Independent World MMA Rankings Ballots collected on November 24, 2009
Heavyweight Rankings (206 to 265 lbs.) 1. Fedor Emelianenko (31-1, 1 No Contest) 2. Brock Lesnar (4-1) 3. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1, 1 No Contest) 4. Frank Mir (12-4) 5. Shane Carwin (11-0) 6. Brett Rogers (10-1) 7. Alistair Overeem (31-11, 1 No Contest) 8. Junior dos Santos (9-1) 9. Cain Velasquez (7-0) 10. Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1)
Light Heavyweight Rankings (186 to 205 lbs.) 1. Lyoto Machida (16-0) 2. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (18-4) 3. Rashad Evans (13-1-1) 4. Quinton Jackson (30-7) 5. Anderson Silva (25-4) 6. Gegard Mousasi (27-2-1) 7. Forrest Griffin (17-6) 8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3) 9. Dan Henderson (25-7) 10. Thiago Silva (14-1)
Middleweight Rankings (171 to 185 lbs.) 1. Anderson Silva (25-4) 2. Nathan Marquardt (29-8-2) 3. Dan Henderson (25-7) 4. Vitor Belfort (19-8) 5. Demian Maia (11-1) 6. Jake Shields (24-4-1) 7. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1) 8. Yushin Okami (23-5) 9. Robbie Lawler (16-5, 1 No Contest) 10. Jorge Santiago (21-8)
Welterweight Rankings (156 to 170 lbs.) 1. Georges St. Pierre (19-2) 2. Jon Fitch (19-3, 1 No Contest) 3. Thiago Alves (16-6) 4. Josh Koscheck (14-4) 5. Matt Hughes (43-7) 6. Dan Hardy (23-6) 7. Paulo Thiago (12-1) 8. Mike Swick (14-3) 9. Carlos Condit (24-5) 10. Marius Zaromskis (13-3)
Lightweight Rankings (146 to 155 lbs.) 1. B.J. Penn (14-5-1) 2. Shinya Aoki (22-4, 1 No Contest) 3. Eddie Alvarez (19-2) 4. Kenny Florian (11-4) 5. Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2) 6. Diego Sanchez (21-2) 7. Gray Maynard (8-0, 1 No Contest) 8. Frankie Edgar (10-1) 9. Joachim Hansen (19-8-1) 10. Mizuto Hirota (12-3-1)
Bantamweight Rankings (126 to 135 lbs.) 1. Brian Bowles (8-0) 2. Miguel Torres (37-2) 3. Takeya Mizugaki (12-3-2) 4. Masakatsu Ueda (10-0-2) 5. Dominick Cruz (14-1) 6. Akitoshi Tamura (14-7-2) 7. Joseph Benavidez (10-1) 8. Damacio Page (12-4) 9. Rani Yahya (15-4) 10. Will Ribeiro (10-2)
The Independent World MMA Rankings are tabulated on a monthly basis in each of the top seven weight classes of MMA, from heavyweight to bantamweight, with fighters receiving ten points for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, and so on.
The rankings are based purely on the votes of the members of the voting panel, with nobody's vote counting more than anybody else's vote, and no computerized voting.
The voters are instructed to vote primarily based on fighters' actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition that they've actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective perception of which fighters would theoretically win fantasy match-ups.
Inactivity: Fighters who have not fought in the past 12 months are not eligible to be ranked, and will regain their eligibility the next time they fight.
Disciplinary Suspensions: Fighters who are currently serving disciplinary suspensions, or who have been denied a license for drug test or disciplinary reasons, are not eligible to be ranked.
Changing Weight Classes: When a fighter announces that he is leaving one weight class in order to fight in another weight class, the fighter is not eligible to be ranked in the new weight class until he has his first fight in the new weight class.
Catch Weight Fights: When fights are contested at weights that are in between the limits of the various weight classes, they are considered to be in the higher weight class. The weight limits for each weight class are listed at the top of the rankings for each weight class.
If you leave a comment in one of my blog posts and I notice in your profile that you have your own MMA blog, do you think there's anything wrong with me asking if you want to publish content on my blog?
Well this guy does. After I asked his girl friend if she was interested in writing at MMA Ratings check out some of the comments I received out of the blue:
Eric, I disagree with everything you stated. By the way do you know when you state something, u put your foot into your mouth. Every blog or tweet you post are some other blog and not yours. Sorry, but do you have any experience with mma or boxing. You solicit people like u did my girl to blog for you to make money for yourself.
This was after I mentioned that Koscheck/Johnson was a fine candidate for Fight of the Night, that Tito had about as much to offer as Baroni, that Volkman looked like a total amateur, that Saunders could deserve Knockout of the Night, that Tito looked okay in the first and by the 2nd it was clear that he had nothing to offer standing, that Tito has a propensity to make excuses after every loss and that doing so it destroys his credibility. Yeah so, I have opinions. :-D
Then he follows up with some private messages that take the cake.
We are creating a complete web site/homepage to inform everyone via primary sources thru my contacts. We do not intend to utilize other blogs that are rumor and secondary sources which inform the public something that is not true. If u have a problem with me tell it to me. If not, quite soliciting my giirl. Do I make myself clear or are you a mamaluke. We live together in North Providence, RI. Your sound like a mama's boy going to my girl Cat instead me. Oh! that's right you want to have blogers so you get sponsors to make money. Can I make this any clearer to youwanna be tough guy.
You don't know anything about mma, boxing nor fighting. I do. If you have a problem with that, you will get over it clown. Oh! I did you happen to check my profile, i know u did. So get lost clown.Feel free to look again at my profile and my pics again. I am not blocking you so you can take a peek about me. I also went to NYU and a RPT plus a personal trainer. Take care, I don't care, lol
I got a laugh out of this. I hope you did as well.
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I just came back from New York City's first ever World MMA Expo.
It was filled with the usual things you would expect at this sort of event: grappling demonstrations, MMA clothing merchants, supplement dealers, scantily clad ring girl wannabees. Overall I have to say the whole things was a bit unimpressive. That said I still had a good time for the few hours I hung around. Wanderlei Silva was there all day signing autographs in an octagon, and the line out side it was so long I think it might have taken me that long to get one. I settled for this picture from outside the cage.
I talked to Rich Clementi for a while. He was really cool. He has a fight coming up in Cage Wars. I asked him about the fight between Anthony Johnson and Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 104 tonight (considering that Rich submitted Anthony Johnson at UFC 76). He was pretty down on Johnson for not making weight, but he predicted that Johnson will still knock out Yoshida, as this was why the fight was made. I'm glad I got to tell him that I for one enjoyed his fight with Gray Maynard (and that's the truth).
I met Phil Nurse, the trainer from Jackson's Fighting Systems who recently appeared in an episode of The Ultimate Fighter. He was really nice. I wanted to ask him if he would take a picture with me rubbing Vaseline on my chest, but after watching the Muay Thai demonstration he had done earlier I didn't think it was a good idea.
While I was there I met with Dr. Silk. He gave me a free posture check and realignment. It was all good. But I have to say that Miguel Charles from 24/7 Bodyworks, the man in the picture, really worked some magic on my back and gave me some words of wisdom that I really appreciated. I highly recommend looking him up if you have some back or neck pain!
When you're hitting the heavy bag, do you ever wish that the bag would move like a real opponent? Like when you throw a kick and then you have to step back and reset? I always wished I had a heavy bag that would move around when you hit it. Well these guys over at GlideBoxx have made that machine. If you look at the contraption holding the heavy bag, it allows the bag to move in every direction and adjustable bungees let you modify the give. We all tried it out and it works exactly like you would hope. Kudos to them.
There were also some cool Muay Thai, BJJ and Judo demonstrations. I was originally planning on going tomorrow, but I think I'll take my kids to the zoo if the weather holds up.
“The fights were exciting and fast paced, quickly highlighting the emerging skills of these amateur fighters as they progress in their careers. The crowd was once again treated to a full display of MMA techniques including stunning submissions and spectacular knock outs.” (Jeff Meyer, Vice-President of Vice-President of Tuff-N-Uff Productions.) As reported by me here, this past weekend’s Tuff-N-Uff and Xtreme Combat Weekend partnered to put on a show stopping event to raise funds for Randy Couture’s Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation. Show stopping because numerous MMA celebrities were in attendance including: Randy Couture, Frank Mir, and UFC President Dana White who posted a video blog about the fights.
According to Meyers, "Dana came to our very first show in Las Vegas in 2003 and a lot has changed since then. We’re really glad that he got to see first hand how the UFC’s efforts to grow our sport have trickled all the way down to the amateur ranks."
Jeff Meyer and Tuff-N-Uff met the fundraiser challenge issued by Absolute Cage Fight’s Rick Hunley. In spite of our country's economic downturn, and all the naysayers complainging about lack of funding, it's nice to see a small town support the hero's of our country.
According to Meyer, “The whole weekend was awesome and we’re super excited to have been part of it. The weekend is literally the talk of the town - so much so that there’s already talks of doing semi-annual shows up in Mesquite. Admittedly, we were a little nervous about attendance because Mesquite is so far from where we usually promote fights but the turn-out was awesome.”
Official Results:
• Jesse Bowler Defeats Justin Bonner Via Armbar 55 Sec. Rnd. 1
• Ahmed Sanchez Defeats Don Johnson By Unanimous Decision
• Colton Bowler Defeats Junior Gomez By Unanimous Decision
• Joe Downs Defeats Howard Schmitz Via Rear Naked Choke At 1:16 Rnd 3
• Drayton Woods Defeats Mike Hillcoat By Unanimous Decision
• Rob Isenor Defeats Alex Brooks Via Ko 20 Sec. Rnd 1
• Lyndon Allen Defeats Casey Milliken Via Tko (Cut) 20 Sec. Rnd 2
• Gennelle Calkins Defeats Christy Tada Via Tko 1:41 Rnd 2
• Chris Barden Defeats Justin Vadnais Via TKO 1:40 Rnd 1
• Jimmy Jones Defeats Shane Larson By Unanimous Decision
• Jace Crawford Defeats Larry Mir By Unanimous
“Our fighters were thrilled to fight in front of the President of the UFC and we are truly honored that Dana White came to support the Xtreme Couture GI foundation,” said Barry Meyer, President of Tuff-N-Uff.
According to all reports the fundraiser was crazy successful, and the total amount raised will be available for publishing soon.
For more info: Tuff-N-Uff was established in 1994 and promoted amateur kickboxing for their inaugural event on June 18th 1994 in Chicago, Illinois. In 2003, Tuff-N-Uff received its promoter’s license in Nevada. In 2007, Tuff-N-Uff created “The Future Stars of MMA,” amateur series of fights which has sold out every show since its inception.Contact: Jeff Meyer, Vice President; Tuff-N-Uff Productions, Inc.; Phone: 888-965-TUFF ext. 2 Fax: 435-608-TUFF (8833).
By Eric Kamander 
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