THE WEEK THAT WAS
Fighters of the Week:
1. Bibiano Fernandes (Dream) - Defends his Dream Featherweight Championship with an upset split decision win over Joachim Hansen.
2. Junior dos Santos (UFC) - Gonzaga, Werdum, Struve, Cro Cop, Yvel. That's this man's resume in the UFC, and none of these went to the judges. JDS is a monster and I can't believe he's not fighting for a title. He's absolutely deserving of a title shot. I think moreso than Velasquez.
3. Jon Jones (UFC) - An elbow from the depths of Hell puts away Brandon Vera and catapults Jones into the LHW elite in the main event of an extremely strange night of fights.
4. Hiroko Yamanaka (Jewels) - In a matchup of two Top-25 women in the main event of Jewels 7, Yamanaka defeated Hitomi Akano by a split decision and catapulting her into the Top-20.
5. Josh Barnett (Dream) - Love the guy or hate him, he did make an impressive return with a first-round kimura of Mighty Mo.
6. Paulo Goncalves (Shooto Brazil) - Claimed his Shooto South America Lightweight Championship over Giovani Diniz via unanimouis decision.
7. Falaniko Vitale (X-1) - Retained his X-1 Middleweight Championship by stopping Kalib Starnes in the 2nd round at X-1 Champions II.
8. Willamy Freire (Shooto Brazil) - The Shooto World Lightweight Champ defeted Mikael Lahdesmaki by unanimous decision in the semi-main event at Shooto Brazil.
9. Jason MacDonald (W-1) - The former UFC vet stopped former Chuck Liddell-nemesis Vernon "Tiger" White with a third-round triangle choke in the main event of W-1 Bad Blood.
10. Ricco Rodriguez (XKL) - The longtime vet just keeps winning fights. This time TKO-ing up-and-comer Brian Ryan at XKL Evolution. I wouldn't mind Ricco getting one last shot in the UFC.
Quote of the Week:
"As far as him saying I’m not a martial artist… Because he walks out in the Octagon in his pajamas, he’s a martial artist and I’m not?" - Dan Hardy
Upset of the Week:
Bibiano Fernandes def. Joachim Hansen
Event of the Week:
Dream 13
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March 23-30
THE WEEK THAT WILL BE
[:: Strikeforce Challengers: Johnson vs. Mahe ::]
March 26
Save Mart Center
Fresno, California
TV: Showtime
Notable Fights:
Lavar Johnson (HW #79) vs. Lolohea Mahe (HW #215)
Andre Galvao (WW #51) vs. Luke Stewart
Bryan Travers (LW #89) vs. Justin Wilcox (LW #75)
Miesha Tate (#41) vs. Zoila Frausto
[:: KOTC: Legacy ::]
March 26
Silver Legacy Casino
Reno, Nevada
TV: HDNet
Notable Fights:
Jon Murphy (HW #116) vs. Mike Kyle (HW #30)
Jaime Jara (MW #82) vs. Nick Gaston (HW #186)
[:: UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy ::]
March 27
Prudential Center
Newark, New Jersey
PPV
Notable Fights:
UFC Welterweight Championship: Georges St. Pierre (c) (WW #1) vs. Dan Hardy (WW #6)
UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship: Frank Mir (HW #4) vs. Shane Carwin (HW #10)
Jon Fitch (WW #2) vs. Thiago Alves (WW #4)
Ben Saunders (WW #27) vs. Jake Ellenberger (WW #18)
[:: Ultimate Challenge MMA: Adrenaline Rush ::]
March 27
The Troxy
London, England
Notable Fights:
UCMMA Middleweight Championship: Mark Weir (c) (MW #177) vs. Jack Mason
UCMMA Lightweight Championship: Francis Heagney (c) (LW #147) vs. Michael Pastou
UCMMA Featherweight Championship: Dave Lee (FW #127) vs. James Saville
[:: Freestyle Cage Fighting 40 ::]
March 27
Firelake Grand Casino
Shawnee, Oklahoma
Notable Fights:
Jennifer Tate (#36) vs. Shayna Baszler (#22)
Adrienna Jenkins (#21) vs. Jan Finney (#30)
Chris Lozano (MW #190) vs. Jeremija Sanders
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Fighters I'm Rooting For This Week:
1. Frank Mir
2. Jake Ellenberger
3. Lavar Johnson
4. Rory Markham
5. Jim Miller
Best Cards:
1. UFC 111
2. Strikeforce Challengers: Johnson vs. Mahe
3. FCF 40
4. KOTC: Legacy
5. Ultimate Challenge: Adrenaline Rush
Fights I'm Looking Forward To:
1. Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin
2. Dan Hardy vs. Georges St. Pierre
3. Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves
4. Ben Saunders vs. Jake Ellenberger
5. Andre Galvao vs. Luke Stewart
In Closing:
Big week here as the most stacked UFC card since 107 and probably earlier rolls into old friend Jersey, Andre Galvao debuts and Lavar Johnson returns from being gunned down on July 4 for Strikeforce, and the Spring of MMA is now in full swing. Enjoy!
