Event Primer - UFC on FX: Belfort vs Rockhold

Welcome to Leg Kick TKO, a MMA blog that doesn't understand how Pancrase never had rampant eye poking problems.

Preliminary Card (Facebook/YouTube)

Lightweight - Lucas "Mineiro" Martins vs Jeremy Larsen

• Martins's Style - Striking, BJJ
• Martins's Nickname Translated - Lucas "Guy From Minas Gerais What Speaks the Dialect of Mineiro" Martins
• Larsen's Style -  Striking
• Prediction - Martins by TKO

Flyweight - Jussier "Formiga" da Silva vs Chris "Kamikaze" Cariaso

• da Silva's Style - BJJ
• da Silva's Translated Nickname - Jussier "Ant" da Silva
• Cariaso's Style - Striking
• Prediction - The Ant-Man via submission
• Thoughts - Cariaso looks like a goblin-man. It is quite disconcerting.

Flyweight - John "Mao-de-Pedra" Lineker vs Azamat "Tough Guy" Gashimov

• Lineker's Style - Punchin'
• Lineker's Translated Nickname - John "Hands of Stone" Lineker
• Gashimov's Style - Wrestling 
• Alternate Gashimov Nickname - Azamat "Dagestani Hacksaw" Gashimov
• Prediction -  Lineker by KO
• Thoughts - Yay, back-to-back flyweight prelim fights! Should be super rad!

Preliminary Card (Fuel TV)

Light Heavyweight - Fabio Maldonado vs Roger "The Hulk" Hollett

• Maldonado's Style - Boxing
• Hollett's Style - Striking
• Prediction - Maldonado by TKO 
• Thoughts - I love Maldonado's body shots, I don't care what that big metal jerk, Jack Slack, says about Fabio's boxing, tummy punches are the best.

Bantamweight - Yuri "Marajo" Alcantara vs Iliarde Santos

• Alcantara's Style -BJJ
• Alcantara's Nickname Translated - Yuri "Dude from the Island of Marajo" Alcantara
• Santos's Style -  BJJ
• Prediction -  Santos by decision

Welterweight - Paulo Thiago vs Michel "Trator" Prazeres

• Thiago's Style - Grappling, Cop
• Prazeres's Style -BJJ
• Prazeres's Nickname Translation - Michel "Tractor" Prazeres
• Prediction - Thiago by decision

Lightweight - Gleison Tibau vs John Cholish

• Tibau's Style - Wrestling, cutting weight
• Cholish's Style - Grappling
• Prediction - Tibau by decision

Lightweight - Francisco "Massaranduba" Trinaldo vs Mike "The Wolverine" Rio

• Trinaldo's Style - Punching
• Trinaldo's Nickname Translated - Francisco "Some Grumpy Sitcom Character" Trinaldo
• Rio's Style -  Wrestling, grappling
• Trinaldo by KO

Featherweight - Hacran "Barnabe" Dias vs Nik "The Carny" Lentz

• Dias's Style - Grappling
• Dias's Nickname Translated - Hacran "Civil Servant" Dias
• Lentz's Style - Grappling 
• Prediction -  Lentz by decision
• Thoughts - Carnies are not to be trusted, always remain vigilant around a carny.

Main Card (FX)

Middleweight - Rafael "Sapo" Natal vs Joao "The Brazilians Samurai" Zeferino

• Natal's Style - Grappling, tennis 
• Natal's Nickname Translated - Rafael "Frog" Natal
• Zeferino's Style - Grappling
• Prediction - Natal by submission

Lightweight - Rafael Dos Anjos vs Evan Dunham

• Dos Anjos's Style - BJJ
• Dunham's Style - BJJ, not being Lena Dunham
• Prediction - Dos Anjos by submission

Middleweight - Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs Chris Camozzi

• Souza's Style - BJJ, bein' a alligator-man
• Souza's Nickname Translated - Ronaldo "Regional Chris Kaman" Souza
• Camozzi's Style - Muay Thai
• Alternate Camozzi Nickname - Chris "Ini the Hot Stepper" Camozzi
• Prediction - Souza by submission 
• Thoughts - It's gonna be cool to see Souza do his gator chomp 'n' crawl around Bruce Buffer and Joe Silva

Middleweight - Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort vs Luke Rockhold

• Belfort's Style - Boxing
• Rockhold's Style - Kickboxing, Surfing
• Prediction -Rockhold by TKO
• Thoughts - Rockhold has the best hair in all of MMA. I dare anyone to dispute this or present an argument for anyone else.

Technique Appreciation Station - German suplex

Welcome to Leg Kick TKO, a MMA blog that's never met an opponent it didn't try to duck.

Well lookie here, a new article category that I'm sure will be used once or twice and then forgotten or ignored! This time, instead of talking about dudes what do cool moves, I'm just going to focus on cool moves done by a bunch of different guys, because screw analysis, let's just look at GIFs!

There are a lot of different grappling arts at play in mixed martial arts, and since every fight starts standing (Wheelchair karate bouts notwithstanding), they all include various methods of getting an opponent to the ground. The cooler arts include throws, because the ancient masters knew that hucking some dorkus through the air and onto his face looked pretty sweet. Wrestling has some exceptional throws, which makes sense since it was devloped initially by thick-necked farmhands as a means of transporting livestock. The raddest of all wrestling throws is the suplex, and at the top of the suplex list is the German variant (Or belly to back if you want to be a lame pedant about things)

Soup-Flex, You Say? Do Go On!

First of all, this ain't no portmanteau, it's a dang suplex, so get it right, or pay the price. Second of all, fake dumb reader I constantly berate, I think we should watch a brief tutorial on how to properly suplex some jamoke out his (Or her!) shoes.

Now that proper suplexery has been explained to us, it's time to see the German in action for real. Check out a plethora of GIFs and videos after the jump because I don't want to explode anyone's browsers or however that works.

Event Primer: UFC 159 - Jones vs Sonnen

Welcome to Leg Kick TKO, a MMA blog that has a mauve belt in Ameri-Do-Te but no slacks that match.

Preliminary Fights (Facebook/YouTube)

Featherweight - Steven "Miller Killer" Siler vs Kurt Holobaugh

• Siler's Style - Submissions
• Holobaugh's Style -Striking
• Alternate Holobaugh Nickname - Kurt "Ain't No" Holobaugh "Girl"
• Prediction -Siler by submission

Welterweight - Nick "The Jersey Devil" Catone vs James Head

• Catone's Style - Wrestling, BJJ
• Head's Style - Striking, BJJ
• Prediction - Catone by decision

Featherweight - Leonard "Bad Boy" Garcia vs Cody "AK Kid" McKenzie

• Garcia's Style - Brawling, clubbering, decision theft
• McKenzie's Style - McKenzietine
• Prediction - McKenzie by McKenzietine
• Thoughts - Shit's gonna get real!

Preliminary Fights (FX)

Lightweight - Rustam "Tiger" Khabilov vs Yancy "Frisson" Medeiros

• Khabilov's Style - Suplex
• Alternate Khabilov Nickname - Rustam "Hobby Lobby" Khabilov
• Medeiros's Style - Striking, wrestling
• Prediction - Khabilov by suplex-related KO

Women's Bantamweight - Sara McMann vs Sheila "The German Tank" Gaff

• McMann's Style - Wrestling
• Gaff's Style - Striking
• Prediction - McMann by decision
• Thoughts - Holy cow, Sara McMann is friggin SHREDDED

Light Heavyweight - Gian Villante vs Ovince "OSP" St. Preux

• Villante's Style - Football, wrestling
• Unofficial Villante Nickname - Gian "John" Villante
• St. Preux's Style - Football, wrestling
• Prediction - St. Preux by KO
• Thoughts - Strikeforce vs Strikeforce match-up! Hofstra football vs Tennessee football match-up! The storylines run deep on this fight! Also, I hope St. Preux wins and then takes another fight in two weeks and then again two weeks after that, like he did towards the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, because that was the best OSP.

Bantamweight - "Brutal" Johnny Bedford vs Bryan "Kid Lightning" Caraway

• Bedford's Style - Wrestling, BJJ
• Caraway's Style - Cruising, having a more famous and better fighter for a girlfriend, threatening to beat up his girlfriend's opponents (Oh, wait, this is the "Fighting Style" section, not "Reasons to laugh at Bryan Caraway" section).
• Prediction - Bedford by KO

Main Card (PPV)

Lightweight - Jim Miller vs Pat "Bam Bam" Healy

• Miller's Style - Grappling
• Healy's Style - Grappling
• Prediction - Miller by submission
• Thoughts - Holy rigatoni, this fight is going to be nutso good (I hope)!

Light Heavyweight - Vinny "Pezao" Magalhaes vs Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis

• Magalhaes's Style - BJJ
• Davis's Style - Wrestling, grappling
• Alternate Davis Nicknames - Phil "Body Triangle" Davis; Phil "Have I Told You My Nickname Comes From My Missing Or Stolen College Cat?" Davis
• Prediction - Davis by decision
• Thoughts - Poor Phil Davis, being partially associated with unfortunate people or entities. First the dude is a Penn State alumnus, and then he's a Lloyd Irvin student.

Heavyweight - Roy "Big Country" Nelson vs Chieck Kongo

• Nelson's Style - Boxing, BJJ, incredible intestinal fortitude (Also known as havin' tons o' guts)
• Kongo's Style - Savate
• Alternate Kongo Nickname - "Cup" Chieck Kongo
• Prediction - Nelson by KO
• Thoughts - They say styles make fights, and there isn't a better juxtaposition in body styles than this fight.

Middleweight - Michael "The Count" Bisping vs Alan "The Talent" Belcher

• Bisping's Style - Kickboxing, British wrestling
• Alternate Bisping Nicknames - Michael "The Count, Minus the O" Bisping
• Belcher's Style - Muay Thai, BJJ
• Prediction - Belcher by TKO
• Thoughts - These two gents either for reals don't like each other, or are cleaning up in the wolf ticket department.

Light Heavyweight Title - Jon "Bones" Jones vs "The American Gangster" Chael P. Sonnen

• Jones's Style - Wrestling, striking (poles)
• Alternate Jones Nicknames - Jon "Snitchster Christian" Jones, Jon "Snowball King" Jones
• Sonnen's Style - Wrestling, fraud
• Prediction - Jones by TKO
• Fantasty-Land Prediction - Chael P. Sonnen by submission (Omoplata)
• Thoughts - I like Sonnen, both as a bloviating so-and-so, and also as a head down, driving forward fighter, but I think Jones is just too good to get wrestled upon for twenty-five minutes, which I see as Chael's only avenue for victory. Sorry, Chael, but you're pretty great at analysis, and hopefully soon, commentary.

Fantastic Finishes - Overeem vs Fujita

Welcome to Leg Kick TKO, a MMA blog that's more ridiculous than the average Jonathan Goulet haircut.

Today on Fantastic Finishes, we take a look back at the time Alistair Overeem's foray into fighting large-headed monsters didn't end with him getting murdered via hubris (Of course, it helps that Fujita is about five hojillion times worse at the mixing of martial arts than Antonio Silva).

Alistair Overeem vs. Kazuyuki Fujita - Dynamite!! 2009 (December 31, 2009)

Who Are These Dorks?

Alistair Overeem is a Dutch kickboxer that packed on an entire Demetrious Johnson worth of muscle in about two years, allegeldy through a steady diet of horse meats. His knees are so powerful, they have been known to shakedown the Tunguska event for its lunch money.

Kazuyuki Fujita is a Japanese (pro) wrestler born with Homer Simpson Syndrome, otherwise known as a slightly thicker than average skull. He's used this X-gene to absorb his opponents' punishment and gently nudge their exhausted bodies over for glorious knockouts (technically) (Or, in the case of Ken Shamrock, force a heart attack).

Why Is This Fight Special?

In all his history as a punching bag, Fujita had never gone entirely unconscious. He had several TKO stoppages on his record, but they were either from cuts, his corner calling off the fight two seconds in thanks to injuries, or, in the case of his bout against Wanderlei Silva, Fujita was on his way back to his feet (For I believe the sixtieth time) when the ref waved off the contest.

Against Overeem, though, Fujita went out entirely. In fact, he went super out, so much that Overeem ran into Fujita being taken to the hospital on a stretcher in the back of the arena. Fujita went so unconscious, I don't believe he retired from MMA so much as he just hasn't woken up yet.

What Did We Learn?

• Alistair Overeem's knees will murder your brain so hard your parents will forget you ever existed
• A person needs more than a thick candy shell around their head to be a successful mixed martial artist
• Knee Death claims another victim, having previously stopped a man's heart, and later, drained a man of all his head-blood.

Event Primer: UFC on Fox - Henderson vs Melendez

Welcome to Leg Kick TKO, a MMA blog that holds a candlelight vigil every night, hoping that Chad Griggs and his muttonchops return to the octagon soon.

Preliminary Card (Facebook/YouTube)

Middleweight - Clifford Starks vs Yoel "Soldier of God" Romero

• Starks's Style - Wrestling
• Romero's Style - Wrestling
• Prediction -  Romero by TKO
• Thoughts - Yoel Romero pulled off the best ankle pick in the history of takedowns.

Lightweight - Anthony "The Assassin" Njokuani vs "Relentless" Roger Bowling

• Njokuani's Style -Striking
• Bowling's Style - Wrestling, striking
• Prediction -  Njokuani by KO
• Thoughts - Remember that time Njokuani head kicked a fleeing Chris Horodecki? That was hilarious, mostly because Horodecki looks like he's twelve years old, and there isn't anything funnier than a child taking a head kick.

Bantamweight - TJ Dillashaw vs Hugo "Wolverine" Viana

• Dillashaw's Style - Wrestling
• Viana's Style - Boxing
• Prediction -  Dillashaw by submission

Preliminary Card (FX)

Lightweight - Tim "The Dirty Bird" Means vs Jorge "Gamebred" Masvidal

• Means's Style - Striking
• Masvidal's Style - Muay Thai
• Prediction -  Masvidal by KO

Flyweight - Joseph "Joe B-Wan Kenobi" Benavidez vs Darren "BC" Uyenoyama

• Benavidez's Style - Grappling, Joe-Jitsu
• Uyenoyama's Style - Grappling
• Prediction -  Benavidez by Joe-mission

Lightweight - Ramsey Nijem vs Myles "Fury" Jury

• Nijem's Style - Grappling
• Jury's Style - Kickboxing, BJJ
• Prediction -  Jury by submission

Middleweight - Francis "Limitless" Carmont vs Lorenz "The Monsoon" Larkin

• Carmont's Style - Grappling, stealing decisions from Tom Lawlor
• Larkin's Style - Striking
• Prediction -  Larkin by TKO

Featherweight - Chad "Money" Mendes vs Darren "The Damage" Elkins

• Mendes's Style - Wrestling
• Elkins's Style - Wrestling
• Prediction - Elkins by decision
• Thoughts - Mendes is the highest Team Alpha Male on the card, so he gets the traditional TAM video link.

Main Card (Fox)

Welterweight - Jordan "Young Gun" Mein vs Matt "The Immortal" Brown

• Mein's Style - Striking
• Brown's Style - Grappling
• Prediction -  Mein by KO

Lightweight - Nate Diaz vs Josh "The Punk" Thomson

• Diaz's Style - BJJ, Boxing
• Thomson's Style - Grappling
• Prediction - Diaz by submission
• Thoughts - I am surprised Thomson hasn't gotten injured in training yet, but there's still plenty of time!

Heavyweight - Daniel "DC" Cormier vs Frank Mir

• Cormier's Style - Wrestling
• Mir's Style - BJJ
• Prediction - Cormier by TKO

Lightweight Title - Benson "Smooth" Henderson vs Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez

• Henderson's Style - Grappling
• Alternate Henderson Nicknames - Benson "And Hedges" Henderson, Benson "Bendo" Henderson, Benson "Robert Guillaume" Henderson
• Melendez's Style - Wrestling, letting his Soul Glo
• Prediction -Henderson by submission
• Thoughts - Team Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (WHAT?!) is going to end up 0-4 in UFC title fights. Hilarious.

Fantastic Finishes - Henderson vs Bisping

Welcome to Leg Kick TKO, a MMA blog that's got a white belt in comedy.

Today on Fantastic Finishes, we celebrate AMERICA!

Dan "Hendo" Henderson vs Michael Bisping - UFC 100 (July 11, 2009)

Who are these guys?

Dan Henderson is a wrestler that posses a megaton warhead in his right fist known as the H-Bomb. Michael Bisping is a kickboxer that has been called out by ever fighter that's ever made the UFC roster. They spent several weeks coaching against each other on The Ultimate Fighter were Dan was charming and funny, and Bisping was contentious, smarmy, and a big dumb jerk.

What's so special about this fight?

This fight is pretty much the best knockout in the history of knockouts. To the people that watched the entire season of TUF and saw Bisping constantly complaining, and making fun of people, but unable to handle even the slightest bit of joking at his expense, it was sweet revenge.  It spawned hilarious photoshops, the best of which is this one:

Uncle Sam says BLAMMO!

What did we learn?

• Don't circle to the left against Henderson (Bisping's corner SCREAMS this at him between rounds)
• AMERICA RULES, BRITAIN DROOLS

Event Primer - TUF 17 Finale

Welcome to Leg Kick TKO, a MMA blog that's shocked a guy named "Meathead" would have fucking atrocious opinions on anything.

Preliminary Card (Facebook)

Featherweight - Justin "The American Kidd" Lawrence vs Daniel "The Pit" Pineda

• Lawrence's Style - Striking
• Pineda's Style - Wrestling
• Prediction - Lawrence by KO

Featherweight - Sam Sicilia vs Maximo "Maxi" Blanco

• Sicilia's Style - Wrestling, striking
• Blanco's Style - Wrestling, striking, knee to the butt
• Prediction -  Blanco by KO

Featherweight - Cole "Magrinho" Miller vs Bart "Bartimus" Palaszewski

• Miller's Style - Submissions
• Palaszewski's Style - Striking
• Prediction - Palaszewski by TKO

Preliminary Card (FuelTV)


Middleweight - Clint "Headbussa" Hester vs Bristol Marunde

• Hester's Style - Striking
• Marunde's Style - Wrestling
• Prediction - Hester by TKO

Middleweight - Dylan "The Villain" Andrews vs Jimmy "Crash" Quinlan

• Andrews's Style - Wrestling, boxing
• Quinlan's Style - Wrestling, BJJ, stories
• Prediction - Quinlan by submission

Middleweight - Luke "The Bigslow" Barnatt vs Collin Hart

• Barnatt's Style - Striking, tall
• Hart's Style - Wrestling
• Prediction -Barnatt by TKO

Middleweight - Josh Samman vs "King" Kevin Casey

• Samman's Style - DOUBLE PUNCH
• Casey's Style - BJJ, rapping
• Prediction - Samman by TKO
• Thoughts - I would prefer the meteor to win this one.

Main Card (FX)

Middleweight - Bubba "The Menace" McDaniel vs Gilbert "Jamal" Smith

• McDaniel's Style - Losing hilariously
• Smith's Style - Complete inability to wear shirts
• Prediction - Smith by super destruction. Bubba is a big honkin' pile of dumb.

Heavyweight - Travis "Hapa" Browne vs Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga

• Browne's Style - Striking
• Gonzaga's Style - BJJ, life tips
• Prediction - Gonzaga by submission

Women's Bantamweight - Miesha "Cupcake" Tate vs "Alpha" Cat Zingano

• Tate's Style - Wrestling
• Tate's Former Nickname - Miesha "Takedown" Tate
• Zingano's Style -BJJ
• Zingano's Maiden Name - "Hey, Hey, Hey, It's" Cat Albert (I'm not saying divorce Mr. Zingano, but Cat Albert is such a boss name, maybe be an 'independent' married lady for a hot minute).
• Prediction - Zingano by decision
• Thoughts - Winner gets to do the following unenviable things: 1. Coach against Ronda Rousey in, according to Joe "DURR" Rogan, the sure to be rape-filled madhouse that is the upcoming co-ed season of TUF. 2. Fight Ronda Rousey, attempt to win the women's Bantamweight title, or at the very least, keep all limbs intact.

Middleweight TUF Finals - Uriah "Prime Time" Hall vs Kelvin Gastelum

• Hall's Style - MurderDeathKickboxing
• Gastelum's Style - Wrestling
• Prediction - Gastelum by TKO
• Thoughts - Holy cow, this was a great season of TUF, and I really like both these dudes.

Bantamweight - Urijah "The California Kid" Faber vs Scott "Young Guns" Jorgensen

• Faber's Style - Brozilian Bro Jitsu, Thong-Bang Muay Thai
• Jorgensen's Style - Wrestling
• Prediction - Jorgensen by decision
• Thoughts - If you've been to this blog before, you know what this is. TEAM ALPHA MALE