Event Primer - UFC on Fox: Johnson vs Dodson

Preliminary Card (Facebook)

Welterweight - Simeon "The Grin" Thoresen vs David "Daudi" Mitchell

• Thoresen's Style - BJJ
• Mitchell's Style - BJJ
• Prediction - Mitchell by decision

Preliminary Card (FX)

Middleweight - Rafael "Sapo" Natal vs Sean "Black Magik" Spencer

• Natal's Style - Tennis, Grappling
• Spencer's Style - Striking
• Prediction - Natal by submission
• Thoughts - "Blag Magik" is a really dumb nickname

Heavyweight - Mike Russow vs Shawn "The Savage" Jordan

• Russow's Style - Submissions, HAMMERFIST OF DEATH
• Jordan's Style - Striking
• Prediction - Russow by TKO (via HAMMERFIST OF DEATH)

Light Heavyweight - Ryan "Darth" Bader vs Vladimir "The Janitor" Matyushenko

• Bader's Style - Wrestling, punches
• Matyushenko's Style - Wrestling
• Prediction - Matyushenko by TKO
• Thoughts - Bader is probably going to be a Bellator champion next year.

Welterweight - Mike Stumpf vs Pascal "Panzer" Krause

• Stumpf's Style - Grappling
• Krause's Style -Boxing, BJJ
• Prediction -Krause by decision

Featherweight - Clay "The Carpenter" Guida vs Hatsu Hioki

• Guida's Style - Wrestling
• Hioki's Style - Grappling
• Prediction - Guida by decision

Lightweight - TJ Grant vs "Handsome" Matt Wiman

• Grant's Style - BJJ
• Wiman's Style - BJJ
• Prediction -Wiman by submission

Main Card (Fox)

Featherweight - Erik "New Breed" Koch vs Ricardo "The Bully" Lamas

• Koch's Style - Kickboxing
• Lamas's Style - Grappling
• Prediction -Koch by KO

Lightweight - Anthony "Showtime" Pettis vs Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone

• Pettis's Style - Kickboxing
• Cerrone's Style - Kickboxing, BJJ
• Prediction -Pettis by submission
• Thoughts - This fight should be a whole bunch of fun on a whole bunch of buns.

Light Heavyweight - Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs Glover Teixeira

• Jackson's Style - Boxing, wrestling
• Teixeira's Style - Striking, BJJ
• Prediction - Teixeira by KO
• Thoughts - Quinton will be a top challenger to Bader's Bellator title next year.

Main Event

Flyweight Title - Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson vs John "The Magician" Dodson

• Johnson's Style - Wrestling, boxing
• Dodson's Style - Striking, flips, chittering
• Alternate Dodson Nickname - John "We've Got" Dodson
• Prediction -Dodson by KO
• Thoughts - Oh man oh man oh man this fight is going to be so cool. I hope my eyes are fast enough to keep up with everything. That is not even a joke, I have real concerns I won't be able to physically watch this fast enough.

Fantastic Finishes - Manhoef vs Hunt

Welcome to Leg Kick TKO, a MMA blog that's more hated than Chael Sonnen in Brazil.

This time on Fantastic Finishes, the finish is the entire fight. It's also a testament to how fucking scary Melvin Manhoef's punching power is (But I don't want to get ahead of myself).

Melvin "No Mercy" Manhoef vs Mark "Super Samoan" Hunt - K-1 Dynamite!! Power of Courage 2008 (December 31, 2008)

Who Are These Guys?

Melvin Manhoef is a Dutch/Surinamese kickboxer that wears a gladiator skirt and dog collar and dances to the ring because nobody is going to say anything about it. He currently has a 93% knockout rate.

Mark Hunt is a former K-1 World Grand Prix champion, which means he is a very good kickboxer. Also, Samoan stereotypes are true, because he once did this in a K-1 fight (Absorbing punches with the face is never a smart choice, unless you are Mark Hunt/Ray Sefo)

What's so Special about this Fight?

In his combined MMA and kickboxing career up to that point, Mark Hunt had only ever lost by submission, decision, a corner stoppage TKO, and a body shot TKO. The fact that a man outweighed by close to one hundred pounds managed to knock out Hunt while back pedaling is either bullshit or magic, I can't decide.

What Did We Learn?

• Don't let Melvin Manhoef punch you
• Even a stereotypical Samoan skull can be compromised
• Don't let Mark Hunt punch you (I know it wasn't demonstrated in this fight, but it needs to be said)

Event Primer - UFC on FX: Bisping vs Belfort

Welcome to Leg Kick TKO, a MMA blog that's more allusive than Lyoto Machida.

Preliminary Card (Facebook)

Lightweight - Francisco "Massaranduba" Trinaldo vs CJ Keith

• Trinaldo's Style - Kickboxing
• Keith's Style - Wrestling,
• Prediction -  Trinaldo by TKO

Preliminary Card (Fuel TV)

Light Heavyweight - Wagner "Caldeirao" Prado vs Ildemar "Marajo" Alcantara

• Prado's Style - Striking
• Alcantara's Style - Striking
• Prediction - Prado by decision

Bantamweight - Yuri "Marajo" Alcantara vs Pedro "The Rock" Nobre

• Alcantara's Style - BJJ
• Nobre's Style - Striking, BJJ
• Prediction - Alcantara with a submission

Lightweight - Edson "Junior" Barboza vs Lucas "Mineiro" Martins

• Barboza's Style - Muay Thai
• Martins's Style - Striking, BJJ
• Prediction - Barboza by KO
• Thoughts - Barboza, to quote the amazing Pat "Hype or Die" Barry "THROWS THUNDA"

Featherweight - Diego "The Gun" Nunes vs Nik "The Carny" Lentz

• Nunes's Style - BJJ, striking
• Lentz's Style - Wrestling, BJJ
• Prediction - Nunes by decision

Middleweight - Ronny Markes vs Andrew Craig

• Markes's Style - BJJ
• Craig's Style - Wrestling, BJJ
• Prediction - Craig by decision

Featherweight - Godofredo "Pepey" Castro vs Milton "Miltinho Vieira

• Castro's Style - BJJ
• Vieira's Style - BJJ
• Prediction - Vieira by decision

Main Card (FX)

Lightweight - Thiago Tavares vs Khabib "The Eagle" Nurmagomedov

• Tavares's Style - BJJ, Muay Thai
• Nurmagomedov's Style - Sambo, wrestling
• Prediction - Nurmagomedov by TKO

Heavyweight - Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga vs "Big" Ben Rothwell

• Gonzaga's Style - BJJ, striking
• Rothwell's Style - Kickboxing
• Prediction - Rothwell by KO
• Thoughts - This should be a good fight between a guy that vlogs and a guy that punches people into memes.

Middleweight - Daniel Sarafian vs CB "The Doberman" Dolloway

• Sarafian's Style - Judo, karate, BJJ
• Dolloway's Style - Wrestling, BJJ
• Prediction - Sarafian by submission
• Thoughts - His name is Clarence Byron.

Middleweight - Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort vs Michael "The Count" Bisping

• Belfort's Style - Boxing (Rabbit punches), BJJ
• Bisping's Style - Kickboxing, defensive wrestling
• Prediction - Bisping by decision
• Thoughts - Part of me really wants Belfort to KO Bisping with a flurry of questionably-placed punches. On the other hand, if Bisping wins, he'll probably get a shot at Anderson Silva, and seeing a cool knockout preceded by several minutes/rounds of dancing by Silva would be awesome, too.

Bellator Season Eight Preview

Welcome to Leg Kick TKO, a MMA blog that's crazier than Charles Bennett.

Bellator Fighting Championships is all about tournaments.  It's how fighters earn title shots, which I really like.  The only thing required of a fighter is "win the tournament", no matter how impressively the wins come.

The following tournaments will be contested over the course of Bellator's eighth season (Possibly going past season 8 and into season 9)

Lightweight

• Champion - Michael Chandler
• Challengers - Rick Hawn, Marcin Held/Dave Jansen
• Tournament Favorites - Patricky Freire, Lloyd Woodard

Welterweight

• Champion - Ben Askren
• Challengers - Karl Amoussou, Andrey Koreshkov
• Tournament Favorites - Douglas Lima, Ben Saunders

Light Heavyweight

• Champion - Christian M'Pumbu
• Challenger - Attila Vegh
• Tournament Favorites - Seth Petruzelli, Muhammed Lawal

Check out the rest of the season 8 preview after the break.

Event Primer: Strikeforce - Marquardt vs Saffiedine

Welcome to Leg Kick TKO, a MMA blog that marches to the beat of Nobuhiko Takada's drum.

Welp, it's time for everyone to grab their best black finery and get out the vigil candles, Strikeforce is on its deathbed.  The last ever event is set for tomorrow night, and after the initial promise of multiple title defenses, everyone ended up getting hurt so now the card is a shambles of random folk fighting established names.  Strikeforce isn't going down with a fight, it's curling up in a ditch, belly full of turpentine and anti-freeze, and hoping to go peacefully in its sleep.

Farewell, Strikeforce, you had some cool fights!

Preliminary Card - Unaired (I'm not sure if Showtime or Strikeforce is to be blamed, but they are both A Bad)

Lightweight - Michael Bravo vs Estevan "El Terrible" Payan

• Bravo's Style - Striking
• Payan's Style - Freestyle
• Prediction - Payan, I guess.  I don't know anything about these guys.

Lightweight - Jorge Gurgel vs Adriano Martins

• Gurgel's Style - Not using jiu-jitsu
• Martins's Style - Striking
• Prediction - If Gurgel tries to Stand and also Bang, he'll probably lose by KO.  He does that a lot, so that's my pick.
• Thoughts - I wonder how long until Jorge is the third-best fighter in his family (Behind wife Zoila and sister-in-law Stephanie Frausto)

Preliminary Card - Showtime Extreme

Lightweight - Ryan Couture vs "King" KJ Noons

• Couture's Style - BJJ, wrestling
• Noons's Style - Striking, hair adjustments
• Prediction - Couture will do a bunch of grapples and Noons will flip his hair over his ears a lot.
• Thoughts - Randy's dumb weiner kid versus a fellow dumb weiner?  Blugh at this fight.

Middleweight - Tim Kennedy vs Trevor "Hot Sauce" Smith

• Kennedy's Style - Army
• Smith's Style - BJJ
• Prediction - Kennedy by TKO.
• Thoughts - Kennedy is a cool dude.

Middleweight - Roger Gracie vs Anthony "Lionheart" Smith

• Gracie's Style - BJJ
• Smith's Style - Freestyle
• Prediction - Gracie by submission

Lightweight - Pat "Bam Bam" Healy vs Kurt Holobaugh

• Healy's Style - Submissions
• Holobaugh's Style - Submissions
• Prediction - Healy by decision

Main Card - Showtime

Catchweight (194)/Franklinweight - Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs Ed "Short Fuse" Herman

• Souza's Style - BJJ
• Herman's Style - BJJ
• Prediction - Souza by submission

Light Heavyweight - Gegard "The Dreamcatcher" Mousasi vs Mike "MAK" Kyle

• Mousasi's Style - Kickboxing
• Kyle's Style - Striking
• Prediction - Mousasi by decision
• Thoughts - Fuck Mike Kyle

Heavyweight - Josh "The Warmaster" Barnett vs Nandor "The Hun" Guelmino

• Barnett's Style - Catch wrestling, pro wrestling
• Guelmino's Style - Submissions
• Prediction - Barnett by Bow and Arrow hold
• Thoughts - Barnett is awesome at open workouts and promos

Heavyweight - Daniel "DC" Cormier vs Dion "Soldier" Staring

• Cormier's Style - Wrestling
• Staring's Style - Kickboxing
• Prediction - Cormier by TKO
• Thoughts - Here are two Dion Staring facts: 1. He lost to a man named Can and 2. He has defeated one current UFC fighter, Featherweight Akira Corassani.

Welterweight Title - Nate "The Great" Marquardt vs Tarrec "Sponge" Saffiedine

• Marquardt's Style - Punch-kicks, kick-punches
• Saffiedine's Style - Karate
• Prediction - Marquardt by crazy-ass KO.

Fighter Retrospective - Bas Rutten

Welcome to Leg Kick TKO, a MMA blog that will always let you bang, bro.


This time on Fighter Retrospectives, I’ll be taking a look at a Dutch maniac, Bas “El Guapo” Rutten.

Who is this guy?

Bas Rutten is a guy from Holland that was very good at killing people’s faces.  He began his martial arts career in Tae Kwon Do and Kyokushin karate, then later transitioned into Muay Thai kickboxing (I think 80% of all Dutch people are skilled in Muay Thai), before participating in mixed martial arts.

He started in Pancrase, a Japanese organization that had a fair amount of professional wrestling influences (Combatants were allowed rope breaks for submissions during a match, for instance, and closed fist punches to the face were illegal.  The rope breaks were in finite supply, though, and once you used them up, the next rope grab would end the fight.).  Bas was initially very good at knocking out people with his excellent striking background, but would quickly become lost when a fight went to the ground.  One of the top stars of Pancrase, Masakatsu Funaki took on Bas and several other fighters to train submission skills simply to give himself more of a challenge (Rest assured, I’ll be writing about Funaki in the future).  Rutten learned the ground game very well and started submitting people with numerous different holds.

Were any of his fights any good?

Boy howdy, were they!  Bas had some very impressive and fun fights with such peoples as Jason DeLucia, Frank and Ken Shamrock (Individually, of course, this was Pancrase, not ZST), and Masakatsu Funaki.

Rutten versus Frank Shamrock III - The Fighting Clown, Frank Shamrock

 Bas struggled against the Shamrock family, going 2-3 overall with the grappling brothers.  This fight is to unify Bas's King of Pancrase title with Frank's interim KoP title.  Bas is on commentary because he's awesome.  There's a good mix of grappling, striking, and conversation to start things off.  Oh, they also spill out of the ring during a takedown attempt by Frank.  Crazy times in Pancrase!

It's not really until the latter stages of the fight that Frank starts goofing around.  He throws a turtled-up backhand, and during a leg lock attempt, just pulls ridiculous faces as Bas tries to punch his way out.  Frank ends up with a cut over his eyebrow, and that's the official reason for the end of the fight, but Bas says, and I'm inclined to agree, that Shamrock just looked like he was done, cut or no cut.

Check out more about Bas after the (splits) jump!