The Good Ji-Hoon Kim vs Yakubu Amidu – If there were no other fights this weekend I could’ve based this entire column on this past edition of ESPN2s Friday Night Fights alone. For now I’ll stick to the opening bout between FNF favorite Ji-Hoon Kim and Yakubu Amidu which was the first fight of this season that brought the excitement featured so often last year on Friday nights. After putting together a string of wins with entertaining performances Kim recently hit a rough patch losing back to back fights decisively to Miguel Vazquez and Lenny Zappavigna respectively. After a bounce back win over nondescript opposition Kim looked to get back on track against twice beaten Amidu. The contest looked intriguing on paper given the styles but fortunately for Kim, Amidu played right into his hands choosing to trade punch for punch for the majority of the bout. This benefited Kim who was the bigger and stronger of the two. Amidu was often off balance as well with his head straight up thus accentuating many of Kims punches. The 10 rounds were competitive but in the end the Korean fighter would earn a well deserved unanimous decision and remind FNF viewers of why he is a fan friendly fighter both for better and worse.   The Bad UFC on FOX 2 – UFC looked to improve on their debut on FOX with a three card bill that figured to go one of two ways, unfortunately based on the feedback of many fans it ended up being worst case scenario. The event as a whole was not terrible by any means as the preliminary bouts featured a few entertaining fights and some exciting finishes. However the fights shown on FOX themselves offered little to be excited about and no finishes as all three contests went to decision. [...]

The Good UFC on FX – The UFC has been on a roll of late with their events and that continued Friday with their debut on the FX network. On paper the card didn’t look anything to get too excited about yet that is exactly what we got. The show got off to a blazing start as the first three preliminary bouts all ended in the opening round which if you add the last four fights from the previous event, UFC 142, saw 7 first round finishes in a row inside the octagon. Most memorable of the three was Nick Denis making a successful UFC debut knocking out Joseph Sandoval with standing elbow strikes to the head, a technique rarely seen used with such results in mixed martial arts. Things slowed down with Charlie Breneman grinding out a decision over Daniel Roberts but picked back up as Jorge Rivera was triumphant in his final fight stopping Eric Schaefer in the second round of their contest.   The momentum continued once the main card on FX began where Pat Barry after surviving two early submission attempts dropped Christian Morecraft with a sweeping left hook and subsequently finished his grounded opponent with four power punches putting Morecraft out. Next up bantamweights Mike Easton and octagon new comer Jared Papazian engaged in a back and forth three round scrap that saw numerous toe to toe exchanges. After 15 hard fought minutes from both Easton would have his hand raised via majority decision.   The final two fights of the night shared similar results as the victorious combatants would battle through early adversity only to turn the tables and finish their opposition all before the first round was complete. First Josh Neer survived a flash knockdown and later being hurt to the body by Duane Ludwig before getting the fight to the [...]

  Melvin Guillard vs Jim Miller – Coming off a tremendous event in Brazil the UFC will make it’s debut on FX this Friday night headlined by Melvin Guillard taking on Jim Miller. This is one of the few occasions I can recall where an event features two fighters coming off losses featured in the main event and while typically that might be frowned upon this match is an exception to the rule. Before each of their losses both Guillard and Miller were poised at a title shot in the lightweight division before being upset by Joe Lauzon and Ben Henderson respectively. In theory had they both won their previous outings them facing off would’ve been as likely as this scenario. As for the matchup, you have to assume the explosive Guillard will want to keep it standing where he is one of the fastest and most powerful punchers at 155 pounds. Miller is an above average wrestler and grappler and being as the ground has often been Melvins kryptonite I imagine he’ll be looking to take it to the mat asap. Who has the advantage, hard to say but we shall attempt to anyhow.   916Chris’ pick – You would think with Guillard having struggled in the past with grapplers and coming off a loss to an opponent who may not be as good as the one he’s facing here Miller would be the smart bet. Well, nobody has ever confused me for class valedictorian. If Melvin can keep it together, which is no sure thing, I think he can box up Miller and possibly stop him. That said, if Miller gets him to the ground Guillard will likely to go into panic mode before getting choked out. For better or worse I’m going with the outcome I’d prefer to see, Guillard by [...]

The Good Luke Rockhold – Let’s start this off by stating the obvious, Keith Jardine had no business challenging Luke Rockhold for the Strikeforce middleweight championship on this past weekends Strikeforce. That said, Rockhold went in there and did what you are supposed to do when you feel you are facing inferior opposition, he won in dominant and definitive fashion. Both fighters were content to stand and trade strikes, unfortunately for Jardine his less than granite chin was once again his downfall. During an exchange Rockhold staggered Jardine with a right hand that landed behind his ear. Jardine stumbled back towards the cage as a hard charging Rockhold followed up with a series of punches that dropped Jardine who was all but out as the champ landed a couple finishing strikes before referee Herb Dean stopped the fight. A good first defense for Rockhold despite the opponent. Fans can only hope Strikeforce is able to summon a more credible challenger for Rockholds next bout. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal – King Mo took another step towards regaining his Strikeforce light heavyweight championship with an easy win over previously undefeated Lorenz Larkin. Much like teammate Luke Rockhold, Lawal did what was expected as he went in the cage and used his superior wrestling to take Larkin down and control him and the fight. In the second round Lawal had Larkin down, trapped against the fence and blasted him with right hands until Larkin was clearly out and unable to defend himself. Unfortunaely referee Kim Winslow was slow to stop it leading to Larkin absorbing a few unnecessary shots which I’ll further address shortly. As for King Mo, after resigning with the organization this past week look for him to be a centerpiece of Strikeforces 205 pound division moving forward. Omar Figueroa – ShoBox rebounded from a [...]

The Good Pat Curran: Saturday brought the finals of Bellators Featherweight Tournament in which Pat Curran showed why he can no longer be overlooked as he emerged victorious in spectacular fashion. Curran was in familiar territory as he had previously won Bellators lightweight tournament but fell behind early to Marlon Sandro. Much like in his losing performance against Eddie Alvarez, Curran was reluctant with his offense while the wild swinging Sandro was anything but. After being cut around his left eye from a Sandro punch in the second round Curran fought cautiously while the Brazilian kept his foot on the gas. Then it happened. Seemingly out of nowhere, Curran threw and landed a devastating right high kick that landed flush on Sandro sending him crashing to the mat. Curran landed a few more meaningless punches before the referee could dive in between the fighters and stop the fight. And with that Pat won his second Bellator tournament, his second $100,000 check, and gave fans another “Bellator moment.”   Hank Lundy vs David Diaz: In the season finale of ESPN2s Friday Night Fights Hank Lundy and David Diaz put on a fight symbolic of the season FNF had in 2011. Diaz, the former title holder at lightweight appeared to be on the downside of his career heading into the fight while Lundy has rebounded from his sole defeat to John Molina. Lundy certainly looked the part of the fresher fighter as he outboxed the much slower veteran. By the fourth round perhaps Lundy, much as in his loss to Molina let his confidence get the better of him and allowed Diaz to get close and land a solid enough shot that sent “Hammerin” Hank stumbling towards the floor. Lundy got right up only to be met by an all out assault from Diaz who trapped his dazed [...]

The Good Dan Henderson: In a fight between what many consider two legends of MMA it would be Dan Henderson who would emerge victorious over the man once considered the best fighter in the sport, Fedor Emelianenko. Despite the numerous accolades and achievements each fighter had accumulated throughout their careers this was looked at as a legacy fight and before it even started it felt so. Being as MMA is still a relatively new sport you rarely have a fight where both fighters elicit loud applause for both participants which happened here. Once the bell rang both fighters came out swinging wildly and while Fedor appeared to land first it would be Henderson who placed the first effective punch catching a charging Fedor with a left hand that put him on his heels. After some clinching against the cage the fighters seperated and started swinging for the fences. Once again it would be Emelianenko who would land first and it appeared he may have hurt Hendo as he stumbled backwards off balance. Fedor rushed Henderson who fell to his back and much like in his loss to Fabricio Werdum, Emelianenko got overeager in his attempt to finish the fight. Fedor was dropping punches down on Henderson but Dan swept him, got side position from behind and hit Fedor with a hard right hand uppercut dropping Emelianenko face first to the mat. Henderson landed a few more punches on a downed Fedor before referee Herb Dean was able to stop the contest. There were initially some protests that the fight was stopped too soon but given Fedors position and the refs perspective I see no issue with the stoppage. Regardless of any controversy, credit to Dan Henderson who added yet another impressive win on his ledger and at age 40 shows no signs [...]