Kicking off the new year in style, Five Ounces of Pain is offering up a HUGE prize pack from our pals at Mar Clothing. You have the chance to win a fully stocked prize bundle featuring a UFC glove and a UFC 74 poster both signed Josh Koscheck. If that wasn’t enough, the winner will also receive seven (yes, seven) t-shirts from Mar Clothing. Click the thumbnail for a high-res image of the prize bundle

How to win: Submit the best caption/thought bubble for the below photo from UFC 79.
To Enter: Submit your entry via typed copy or edit the image below, then submit a link to it. All entries must be posted in the Comment String of THIS CONTEST POST.
Timing: Contest is over Saturday 1/12/08 @ 11:59pm EST
Judging: Staff of Five Ounces of Pain will announce winner on Monday 1/14/08

Owned & operated by Josh Koscheck, Mar Clothing represents what California coastal lifestyle is all about. The word Mar has various definitions in many different languages, but in English it means; to inflict damage, especially disfiguring damage, on. Mar Clothing is very diverse and offers a collection that caters to children, teens and adults of all races, nationalities and backgrounds. FiveOuncesofPain.com thanks Mar for providing us with the prize bundle for this contest.

What: Yarennoka! (Fedor Returns)
When: 12/31/07
Where: Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan

• Shinya Aoki def. Bu-Kyung Jung - Unanimous Decision
• Hayato “Mach” Sakurai def. Hidehiko Hasegawa - Unanimous Decision
• Fedor Emelianenko def. Hong Man Choi - Armbar Submission @ 1:54 of Rd. 1  WATCH this FIGHT
  
• Kazuo Misaki def. Yoshihiro Akiyama - KO (Strikes) @ 2:12 of Rd. 1
• Mitsuhiro Ishida def. Gilbert Melendez - Unanimous Decision
• Makoto Takimoto def. Murilo Bustamante - Split Decision
• Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Luiz Azeredo - Unanimous Decision.
• Mike Russow def. Roman Zentsov - N/S Choke Submission @ 2:58 of Rd. 1

HDNet is replaying the event (calling it HDNet Fights: Fedor Returns) at 3pm on 12/31 and again on Fri & Sat of the coming week - details here.

The Iceman says the UFC has plans for a title fight in Aug ‘08. He is hoping to get back into the cage sometime in June/July, then fight for the title before the end of 2008.

Video provided by Raw Vegas TV.

Check back for a TON of UFC 79 content on FiveOuncesofPain.com

Here is a video highlight that captures the bulk of what happened at the IFL World Grand Prix Finals on Saturday night.

***NOTE: Good news for any concerned… I got word from the IFL this morning that Elias Rivera was fine after his fight with Tim Kennedy and actually drove himself home from the event.

Check out TONS more UFC 79 content at FiveOuncesofPain.com

Arguably the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko, returns to action at Yarennoka! on @ 6 a.m. ET, tomorrow 12/31/07. Mark Cuban’s HDNet network will broadcast this event live from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

So pour yourself a bowl of Captain Crunch and watch studs Gilbert Melendez, Mach Sakurai, and Fedor on the last morning of ‘07.

Fight Card

• Fedor Emelianenko vs. Hong Man Choi
• Shinya Aoki vs. Bu-Kyung Jung
• Hidehiko Hasegawa vs. Hayato “Mach” Sakurai
• Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Kazuo Misaki
• Gilbert Melendez vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida
• Murilo Bustamante vs. Makoto Takimoto
• Luiz Azeredo vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
• Mike Russow vs. Roman Zentsov

Click for official Yarennoka website. HDNet is replaying the event at 3pm on 12/31 and again on Fri & Sat of the coming week - details here.

In addition to my feature on Chuck Liddell’s win over Wanderlei Silva during UFC 79, I also wanted to provide my full breakdown of the card.

1. Mark Bocek defeats Doug Evans via unanimous decision

I arrived at the show a few minutes late and didn’t see Bocek vs. Evans in its entirety. What I did see, I was not impressed with.

All three judges scored it 29-28.

2. Roan Carneiro defeats Tony DeSouza via TKO (referee’s stoppage) at 3:32 of round 2

The match started off pretty slow but Carneiro’s MMA skills were just too much for DeSouza. The fight ended when the referee stepped in after Carneiro was on the ground with DeSouza and reigning down unanswered blows to the back of his head.

After the fight, Carneiro got on the mic and pleaded for the UFC to give him more fights. With this win and a solid showing in a losing effort to Jon Fitch, I think he’ll get it. It’s a shame that Carneiro and Thiago Alves are both affiliated with American Top Team because that would be one hell of a match.

3. Dean Lister defeats Jordan Radev via unanimous decision.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REMAINDER OF SAM CAPLAN’S COMPLETE BREAKDOWN OF UFC 79; INCLUDING HIS RESPONSE TO THOSE WHO CLAIM SOKOUDJOU WAS EXPOSED; WHERE HE FEELS LYOTO MACHIDA RATES IN THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION; WHETHER CHUCK LIDDLEL IS BACK; WHAT MATT HUGHES SHOULD DO NEXT; IF WANDERLEI SILVA WAS HURT BY LOSING; AND WHERE GEORGES ST. PIERRE RANK IN THE WORLD’S POUND-FOR-POUND RANKINGS.

It was a fight billed as six years in the making but the wait for it felt like a lifetime. After being teased with the prospect of a dream match between Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell so many times only to see it unravel at the seams, I, like many others, began to wonder if it would ever really happened.

And once it was finally signed and sealed, I began to have questions about the delivery. Could a fight that had been built up so big in the minds of diehard fans come anywhere close to matching the hype?

Well, last night in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay the MMA world received its answer and unless you have terrible taste in fights, the answer was a resounding yes.

I made a promise to myself a long time ago that if Liddell vs. Silva ever happened that I would do whatever it took to make sure I was there to see it in person. I had been a fan of both fighters for years. In the States, Liddell was considered the be all end all when it came to light heavyweights. But to more worldly MMA fans, Silva was Liddell’s equal and in the minds of some, his superior.

I never got caught up in the petty PRIDE vs. UFC nonsense. Over the last year I’ve been accused of being a PRIDE “nut hugger” by some while also biased towards the UFC by others. I think I’ve been subjected to that contradiction of opinion because even though I’ve followed the sport a long time, I’ve only covered it as a journalist for slightly over a year. People are new to my writing and my opinions so they read one thing and they make a grand assumption.

I never bothered weighed-in on the PRIDE vs. UFC debate because as a fight fan, I enjoyed both. To me, they were equal yet very different. And I enjoyed the differences. I saw no need to pick a side. I’m a fight fan and I’ll support good fights regardless of what initials are associated with it.

The PRIDE vs. UFC debate extended to a debate as to whether Liddell or Silva was the more dominant fighter at 205 pounds. I never got caught up in that debate either because I enjoyed both fighters. I also didn’t understand why fans were left to make a judgment. This is a sport, let the fighters compete against each other and let’s see who really is the best.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REMAINDER OF THIS ARTICLE ON SAM CAPLAN’S PROELITE.COM BLOG

There is one word that can describe what happened in the Octagon last night: Epic. Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell was everything we’ve waited for, everything we hoped for, and it turned out to be one of the most epic and entertaining fights in the UFC’s short history.

If it had happened one or two years ago we might be talking about this fight as the best fight ever in UFC history. It was well worth the wait. It took the collapse of PRIDE, both men losing their 205 lb. titles, and signing Wanderlei to the UFC to make it happen but the show that Liddell and Silva put on last night was worth all of it and then some.

Not only was the fight spectacular, but it’s what every casual fan wants to see from a mixed martial arts bout. A slugfest. Anyone who is not a big fan of mixed martial arts but caught that fight last night is talking about it today. People who didn’t even see the fight are saying that they heard it was great. Casual fans are seeking the fight out to watch it. Not only was it a classic matchup that we’ve been waiting on for years, it was also a fight that was fantastic for mixed martial arts and the UFC in particular.

Check out TONS more UFC 79 content at FiveOuncesofPain.com

IFL World Grand Prix from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

MAIN CARD

• 155 lbs.: Ryan Schultz Def. Chris Horodecki via TKO (strikes) at 2:51 of Rd. 1
• 185 lbs.: Matt Horwich def. Benji Radach via TKO (strikes) at 1:58 of Rd. 2
• 170 lbs.: Jay Hieron def. Delson Heleno via TKO (injury/strikes) at 4:00 of Rd. 1
• 145 lbs.: Wagnney Fabiano def. L.C. Davis via Armbar Submission at 3:38 of Rd. 1
• 265 lbs.: Roy Nelson def. Antoine Jaoude via TKO (strikes) at 0:20 of 2nd

PRELIMINARY CARD

• 185 lbs.: Tim Kennedy def. Elias Rivera via KO at 2:00 of Rd. 1
• 185 lbs.: Marcello Salazar def. Alex Cook via Unanimous Decision
• 170 lbs.: Brett Cooper def. Rory Markham via TKO (strikes) at 1:15 of Rd. 2

Note: 185-pound fighter Elias Rivera left the ring in a stretcher after he suffered the KO loss at the hands of Tim Kennedy. As more news of his condition comes in, we will be sure to relay it to you.

Georges St. Pierre is the best welterweight in the world.
Interim champion or not, GSP is the best in the world right now at 170. He dominated Matt Hughes tonight in different fashion than their last fight. He outwrestled Hughes, overpowered him, and showed everyone why he is one of the best mixed martial artists in the world today. He beat Hughes at his own game, just like he did to Josh Koscheck. Did you ever think you’d see Hughes screaming “TAP! TAP! TAP!” to the referee to end the fight? St. Pierre will most likely fight Serra in April in Canada to unify the titles. I expect GSP to do the same thing to Serra that he did tonight against Matt Hughes. Don’t expect to see a repeat of their last fight.

Matt Hughes’ days are numbered.
The man said it himself that he’s close to being done in the Octagon. This game has passed him by. Long gone are the days where you could get by on strictly submission wrestling and ground and pound. He was completely overwhelmed tonight. If Serra does lose to GSP in April, I’d love to see Hughes vs. Serra as Hughes’ last fight. If he’s got one more fight left in him he should do his best to make it against Serra.

Chuck Liddell is…back?
Man, did he look focused tonight. I thought the decision being 30-27 on two cards was a bit ridiculous because I thought Wanderlei clearly won the second round, but it didn’t matter either way. Chuck looked very composed, picked his shots, and used his reach and his counterstriking to pepper Silva with hard shots. Shots that would crumple any other opponent. He even went for two takedowns to seal the fight. Silva landed some nice shots on Liddell but it looks like Liddell’s granite chin is back in full form. Liddell getting the victory was huge for Dana White, ZUFFA, and the UFC. Don’t be surprised if Chuck gets an immediate shot at the winner of Forrest vs. Rampage.

Read the rest of this entry »

TELEVISED CARD

• Georges St. Pierre def. Matt Hughes via Armbar Submission at 4:54 of Rd. 2  UFC interim Welterweight Champion
• Chuck Liddell def. Wanderlei Silva via Unanimous Decision
• Eddie Sanchez def. Soa Palelei via TKO (strikes) at 3:24 of Rd. 3
• Lyoto Machida def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou via submission (arm-triangle) at 4:20 of Rd. 1
• Rich Clementi def. Melvin Guillard via RNC Submission at 4:40 of Rd. 1

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Mark Bocek def. Doug Evans via unanimous decision (29-28)
• Roan Carneiro def. Tony DeSouza via TKO (strikes) at 3:30 of Rd. 2
• Dean Lister def. Jordan Radev via unanimous decision (30-27)
• Manny Gamburyan def. Nate Mohr via submission (ankle lock) at 1:31 of Rd. 1
• James Irvin def. Luis Cane via disqualification (illegal knee) at 1:50 of Rd. 1

Check out TONS more UFC 79 content at FiveOuncesofPain.com

The IFO and Steele Cage Promotions held their “Fireworks in the Cage IV” card at the Riviera Events Center Friday night in front of what appeared to be a near capacity crowd.

It was a unique experience for me because the Riviera “events center” is essentially a ballroom. I’ve seen MMA in half cages in small rooms in the inner city and at community centers, but there’s nothing like seeing a circle cage in the middle of a ball room.

The results are as follows:

- Buddy Roberts def. Dennis Bacon at 1:06 in round 1 via rear naked choke in a heavyweight fight. Roberts trains at the Lion’s Den with Ken Shamrock. Roberts’ showing was very underwhelming. Roberts got his back early and flattened him out and that was it.

- Ryan Bader defeated Brad Peterson via unanimous decision. Both guys showed each other a lot of respect and there wasn’t a lot of aggression shown during the fight. Bader wins the award for best walk-in music of the night (a cool remix of “March of the Empire).

- Jeff Cox defeated Joe Cronin via TKO at 0:55 of round 3. The official result was announced as a TKO but it sure looked like a KO to me. The fight was slow much of the day but Cox finished big with a sick looking knockout. Cronin had a lot of supporters there and a lot of them tried to rush into the cage to check on him because they were so concerned. I mean, it was a brutal knockout.

- Dennis Davis defeated Reynaldo Duarte via unanimous decision. This was an interesting matchup because Davis trains out of Xtreme Couture and Duarte trains out of ATT. Davis apologized to the fans after the fight for not being more aggressive but said he wanted to be cautious of Duarte’s submission skills. Duarte entered the ring in a Gi and a black belt but the crowd didn’t really get to see his jiu-jitsu in action on this night.

- Eleina Reid defeated Tammie Schneider via TKO at 2:05 of round 2. Reid is a former pro boxer that’s training out of Xtreme Couture. Apparently there weren’t many opportunities for her left in boxing but things have picked up for her since crossing over to MMA. This was her debut and she received a strong reaction from the crowd. Reid hit Schneider with a big knee against the cage and it was all downhill from there. Both ladies weighed-in at 115 lbs. for this fight. It was the first female flyweight fight I had ever seen. Schneider did not look anywhere near ready for prime-time but I was still impressed with Reid. If any of the major promotions start a female flyweight division, Reid will be a player.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REMAINDER OF THE ARTICLE ON SAM CAPLAN’S PROELITE.COM BLOG

I was feeling well enough to attend the weigh-ins yesterday. I came back to my room to write a report but saw that Paul had done such a good job with it, I was like “Screw it, I’m on vacation and he covered the major points anyway.”

I do have a few minor tidbits to add.

I was surprised during the weigh-ins to hear just how much support Wanderlei Silva got. You know, the UFC is viewed as a hometown sports team here in Vegas and Chuck Liddell is one of the faces of the UFC. You’d think that Silva would be treated as an outside and get booed. Not so. The crowd was excited to see him and reacted to him as if he’s been fighting in the UFC for years. And while I’m not sure they were loud enough to be heard during the live stream, there were a few small pocket of fans that booed Liddell. My guess is that there are some old school PRIDE fans that came out to see this dream match and are pro-Wanderlei.

In regard to the staredown antics, I’ve read a few comments on the Internet suggesting that it looked staged. Who knows for sure, but I couldn’t disagree more. The heat looked legit. It started off as just an intense staredown but it escalated after Wanderlei did a shoulder lunge as if he was going to throw a punch. From my vantage point, it looked like Chuck flinched. Chuck started to move away and gave Wanderlei the finger. Wanderlei got heated again and tried to go after Chuck but a ton of people stood between them. It looked real and intense. These guys have been rivals for so long and are big-time competitors. There’s probably nothing personal between the two, but neither is going to let the other gain an edge going into the fight.

The body language of both fighters was very interesting. Wanderlei was all smiles as he hit the stage. Chuck looked relaxed as usual, but he just didn’t seem as confident as he normally does. That’s probably me just reading too much into it but that’s the impression I came away with. Something just seemed a little off.

Also, if Matt Hughes thought that Matt Serra came off worse during this past season of TUF then he received a reality check when he was introduced to the crowd right before he weighed in. Hughes was almost booed out of the building! In typical Hughes fashion though, he was almost totally oblivious to it and his only reaction was a minor grin. Some of the booing could have to do with the fact that GSP is a huge crowd favorite. I was amazed at how many people traveled from Canada to see him fight at UFC 74 and he had similar support yesterday. There were tons of Canadian flags. My prediction is that when GSP headlines Montreal that it will be the loudest ovation that any MMA fighter has ever received.

Another thing I found interesting was seeing St. Pierre late Friday night.

It was kind of weird because as I was going back to my room following the IFO show, GSP and two friends of his walked right past me on my floor. I guess he possibly has the big suite at the end of the hall? It just struck me as weird because it was approximately 11 p.m. PT when I saw him. I guess I should read too much into it. He didn’t look like he was partying and there’s no sense in him going to bed that early if he’s not fighting for another 24 hours. Perhaps he was just getting something to eat?

As usual, there are a lot of fighters in town for the show. Anderson Silva, Tim Sylvia, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and Clay Guida all attended the weigh-ins. Jackson approached Silva right before the weigh-ins started and the two talked for about 5-10 minutes. It was cool seeing the two top guys in their respective weight class hanging out and talking. I’ve also seen Mike Swick and Evan Tanner hanging around.

One other thing. I just wanted to give the Mandalay Bay buffet a big two thumbs down. Man, this is such an awesome hotel yet their buffet is so underwhelming. They need to step it up.

Check out tons more UFC 79 content on FiveOuncesofPain.com

While I’ve never been a big gambler, I’m not exactly a saint when it comes to sports betting. I learned some of the tricks of the trade from friends while growing up and learned the finer points while working for a sports wire service for a year that had deep ties to gaming and offshore books.

One of my favorite things to do in Vegas is take advantage of the fact that sports betting is legal. I’ve never been a big fan of gambling through illegal means and with new legislation that rendered betting through an Internet sportsbook illegal, I stopped placing bets altogether.

Some will dispute my claim that Internet gambling is illegal and that it’s open to interpretation. Yes, people in the U.S. place bets with sportsbooks on a daily basis but that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to do it. My fear is that if I ignore the legislation that my name will end up published on some list and the government will end up going after me like those poor kids who got caught in the middle of the whole Napster debacle.

But here I am in Vegas, able to bet on MMA legally. I went down to the sports book on Friday morning to scope out the lines. I picked up a betting form with some very appealing lines for a select few UFC 79 fights.

Matt Hughes was +180 ($100 wins you $180 if Hughes wins, making him the underdog)) and Georges St. Pierre was -230 (in order to win $100, you have to put up $230, making him the favorite). Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva were both -115 (making them a pick ‘em) while Ryoto Machida was -140 and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou was +110.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REMAINDER OF THIS ARTICLE ON SAM CAPLAN’S PROELITE.COM BLOG 

It’s finally upon us. How long have we been waiting to see this picture?

Fighters in the UFC 79: “Nemesis” fight card participated in the official weigh-ins moments ago.

Weigh-ins took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center at 4pm PT/7pm ET. All fighters made weight and are cleared to fight.

The official results are as follows:

MAIN CARD

• Georges St. Pierre (170) vs. Matt Hughes (170) (UFC interim welterweight title)
• Chuck Liddell (204) vs. Wanderlei Silva (205)
• Soa Palelei (262) vs. Eddie Sanchez (239)
• Lyoto Machida (204) vs. Rameau Tierry Sokoudjou (205)
• Rich Clementi (155) vs. Melvin Guillard (156)

UNDERCARD

• Luis Cane (205) vs. James Irvin (205)
• Nate Mohr (155) vs. Manny Gamburyan (155)
• Jordan Radev (185) vs. Dean Lister (186)
• Roan Carneiro (170) vs. Tony DeSouza (170)
• Doug Evans (155) vs. Mark Bocek (155)

Chuck Liddell tried to add some last second hype to his fight with an intense staredown with Silva, followed by a middle finger and on-stage scuffle. For those interested in the drama, this may be an enjoyable watch on replay. In other related news, Matt Hughes is definitely not the crowd favorite.

More info on UFC.com.

My latest CBSSports.com is now available for your reading pleasure.

For this week’s topic, I decided to name my award winners in MMA for 2007. Categories include:

• Fighter of the Year
• Promotion of the Year
• Card of the Year
• Match of the Year
• Most Improved Fighter of the Year
• Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
• And much more!

Click here to read the article.

Special thanks to Luke Thomas of BloodyElbow.com, Adam Morgan of FiveOuncesOfPain.com, and Jordan Breen of Sherdog.com for their assistance in determining winners in each category.

Sorry for the lack of updates. My wife and I arrived in Vegas yesterday and we’re staying at the Mandalay Bay. It’s an amazing hotel. Much better than the total dives that I’ve become accustomed over the years.

Not much news to report yet because some loser sitting behind my wife and I on the plane was coughing on us the entire time. We both were violently ill for much of Thursday and are just now bouncing back.

My wife did go down to the spa earlier this morning and saw a bunch of fighters hanging out trying to cut weight for the weigh-ins later today. She for sure saw Tony DeSouza and Melvin Guillard. Guillard had an entourage and was wearing a fur coat.

The weigh-ins start at 4 p.m. PT. I plan on heading down there for them and then coming back up to the room for a report. Then, it will be over to the Riviera for the IFO and “Fireworks in the Cage.”

Sorry that I don’t have better inside dirt for you guys yet, but now that I am feeling like a human being again, I should be able to go out and about and see some things.