Joe Luzon however does not fit into this category of fighters who allow a win or a loss to cause crazy, disrespectful words and actions that would tarnish his character.  Instead, Joe Luzon has acted as a positive role model for the MMA community and made a very cool statement on his website congratulating Sam Stout for his win.  Here is what it said on JoeLauzon.com

“Great job Sam. You whooped my ass tonight. I thought I had the Kimura in the first round and thought it was over… but you had other plans. Your standup was crisp and your cardio was way better than mine. I could hear your corner calling out stuff and still couldn’t deal with it.

I am doing fine this morning. I have a pretty nasty canvas burn on my right knee from shooting in… but I feel okay otherwise. My left eye is a little swollen and my left leg feels like I was kicked about 50 times. Overall… I am doing alright. Great job Sam. (the Fight of the night bonus check is making my leg feel a LOT better, hah.)”

I think much can be leaned from the young Joe Lauzon as MMA moves forward as a sport. Just because the sport is about fighting, it doesn’t mean fighters need to disrespect each other.  MMA is good old competition and good sportsmanship is needed and respected like in any other sport.  I tip my hat to you Joe Lauzon.  This MMA could use more Joe’s like you.

Was Aoki angry about something?  Don’t you think he took things past the point of being a sport?  It looks more like revenge.  Give us your thoughts on this in the comments section.

Hardy recently talked to the Las Vegas Review about his lack of love.  Here is what he said:

“I love to upset people. I get doubted all the time.  Regardless of what I do or who I beat, people always underestimate me. They’ve never given me the respect I deserve. Fighting GSP, if I can give him a good beating, people might start to change their mind.

What does Dan Hardy have to say about Josh Koscheck’s comment at UFC 106, that Hardy doesn’t deserve a title shot?

Josh Koscheck’s at the back of a long line of people that have something negative to say about me.  I’ll shut them up one at a time.  I understand that people are a little irked and a little surprised that I’m getting a title shot, but at the end of the day who is left? Georges St. Pierre has done a good job of clearing out the division, adding that two of the other top contenders have already lost to St. Pierre. The two top guys around are (Jon) Fitch and (Thiago) Alves, and they need a couple wins before they get back to a title shot. You don’t want to see the same guys fighting for a title over and over again.

Hardy is also know as a big time smack talker.  Here is what Hardy had to say about talking smack about GSP, who is know to be very humble and quiet.

I never say anything to intentionally upset people. I’m just saying things that are going to make me laugh and make the fans laugh,” he said. “I’ve got plenty of things I’m going to be saying about (St. Pierre), definitely.”

I have to admit that Hardy has some good points about getting his title shot.  He also seems very comfortable and confident that he can compete with GSP, and others in the welterweight division.   It will be interesting to see if he can get GSP fired up enough to get some good smack talk going between them.

According to the LA Times, the same old same came from Dana White when asked what he thought of the Fedor vs Rogers Fight and the ratings received by CBS.

“CBS would be out of their mind to put that rinky-dink [Strikeforce] . . . on the air again . . . and without that backing, [promoters] won’t have the money to pay [Emelianenko]. …The guy just got his face smashed in by Brett Rogers. Do you know what Brock or Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez would do to Brett Rogers? It’s time to bring this guy [Fedor] in, to see Brock Lesnar smash his head.”

From the picture above taken by Fight Magazine, and my personal experience watching the fight, I would say that there is a slight chance that Dana White is exaggerating the suckiness of the Fedor vs Rogers event.  In this photo, I see an amazingly exciting MMA moment that is surly only one of the many exciting moments in the Fedor vs Rogers fight.  I am no Dana White, but as a fan,  I watched the fight and was completely entertained, intrigued and impressed.   As far as I am concerned, it was one of the best fights I have seen in a long time.  Not only did Fedor show the world that he is truly the beast of a world extreme mixed martial artist that everyone has been saying he is, but Brett Rogers, in my eyes has also proven himself to be the kind of fighter who can compete with the top level mixed martial artists in the world.  With that said, assuming that Frank Mir or Brock Lesnar would smash Rogers is not good enough for me anymore.  After Rogers’ amazing performance against Fedor, I will now have to see it before I will believe it.  While Strikeforce may still be a small, unworthy fight promotion opponent to Dana White, you have to admit that the Fedor vs Rogers fight did provide some credibility to Strikeforce’s heavyweight division. Could it be possible that there is more to MMA than the UFC?

“I think I’m the one guy that poses enough dangers [to Silva] style-wise,” he said. “If I were his manager, I’d be trying not to have him fight me as well. I know that Anderson Silva is really trying not to fight me. It’s obvious.”

Henderson said he is plain and simply not interested in a bout against Marquardt and would turn it down to seek challenges at UFC’s light heavyweight division.

“I think he’s right in line for a title shot as well, but I feel I’ve earned that already,” Henderson said. “That’s a fight that more than likely will happen in the future, but I think right now, from the UFC’s standpoint, they shouldn’t be having me and Nate fight each other. They’re going to get stuck without any new opponents for Anderson Silva.

Now, if it were just about any other fighter, I would probably laugh at them saying that Silva was trying to duck him.  Hendo however is a very experienced and very capable fighter who is confident in his skills and has fought a lot of guys. He has no doubt been ducked before.   

“I think it’s an excuse to dodge the top-level competition,” Mir said. “As long as he never proves it, he can keep the No. 1 ranking. If he goes into the cage and loses, he loses that. If he stays out of the cage and doesn’t fight myself, Lesnar, Cain Velasquez, Shane Carwin and some of the top heavyweights, he can always have an argument.”

Frank Mir also went on to say that Fedor has always fought in a ring rather than a cage. The difference he says is that in a ring, when someone takes you down, you can slide under the ropes and continue to maneuver. In a cage however, when someone takes you down and puts you up against the cage you are trapped and must stand up to get out of it.

I think the cage vs the ring analogy definitely carries some weight here. However, to say that Fedor Emelianenko is dodging competition is certainly inconsistent with the history of Fedor’s opponents. Fedor has fought nothing but top level opponents throughout his career. Furthermore, some of the greatest fighters in history will swear up and down that Fedor is the best there ever was and possibly ever will be. Where did they ever get an idea like that about a guy who dodges top competition? It is my belief that the UFC, from a business perspective, is doing it’s best to discredit Fedor’s credentials. If Fedor remains the best heavyweight in the world, what does it make the UFC heavyweight Champion? If Fedor would have signed with the UFC recently, I guarantee that the only thing you would have heard from Dana White and others at the UFC is how they now have the number one ranked heavyweight in the world. Isn’t it funny how the story can change so quickly when money is involved?

In this one, Tito Ortiz beats up on Danny Bonaduce.  

In this one, Tito talks smack about Chuck Liddell.  Some things may never change.

MMA Legend Don Frye wants to step in and take Josh Barnett’s place to fight Fedor Emelianenko at Affliciton’s Trilogy event on August 1^st.  Not only did he offer up his fighting services, but he also said some pretty harsh things about Fedor.  Here is what Fry said:

“If Tom (Atencio) was smart, he’d have me fighting Fedor instead of whoever he’s hiring on a one week notice,” Frye told MMAInsider. “My phone works if he wants a real fight with someone who will sell a fight in four days, somebody who will beat that bald-headed commie too.”

“He ain’t seen anything I have to offer,” continued Frye. “He built his whole reputation (as a) waffle house chef. They’ve been serving him up ham and eggs with a side of canned tomatoes. I’ll bring it. And if he can bring it, you’ll have the best fight you’ve ever seen on the planet.”

I have to admit that I would love to see this happen.  Frye seems to really think he can take Fedor, and if he did, how crazy would that be to see Fry on top again?  Unfortunately, this is an unlikely scenario.    

Quotes from: MMA Weekley

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

According to Dana White’s Twitter posting, he and Tito Ortiz have squashed their long lasting beef with one another.  For quite some time, these two were doing their best to destroy each other, but things apparently have changed and some people are talking about Tito Ortiz getting another run in the octagon.  Many many MMA fans would love to see that happen.  Tito Ortiz, to this day, is still one of MMA’s most popular figures.  

So, will Tito Ortiz get to come back the UFC?  Not so fast says Dana White, here is his twitter post. 

“Yes Tito and I made up.  Doesn’t mean he’s back it means we aren’t smashing each other anymore and we don’t hate each other.”

Sorry Tito Ortiz fans.  Mr White obviously has his reservations, or simply hasn’t made a decision to bring Ortiz back yet.  None the less, there is hope and you never know what Mr. White will do next.