Fitch Gets the Shaft Again

After being promised another UFC welterweight title shot, Jon Fitch has had the opportunity taken away from him. It isn't the first time.

Instead of biding his time and waiting for a second chance at Georges St. Pierre, and or Josh Koscheck, Fitch has, reluctantly I'm sure, agreed to face Jake Ellenberger at UFC 126 in February. Jake Shields, who was less than impressive in a split decision over Martin Kampmann recently, will assume the top contender spot.

I don't have any gripes with Shields receiving a title shot. None. He's been the top welterweight outside of the UFC for a number of years now and his record speaks for itself. He's as worthy a contender as there has ever been to be quite honest.

Assuming St. Pierre dispatches of Koscheck this December, the truth of the matter is that time is running out for Fitch to receive another crack at the Canadian. A win over Shields will mean that St. Pierre has "cleaned out" the UFC's 170 lb. division. TWICE.

Neither Shamrock Nor White Are Telling the Truth

The never-ending war of words between UFC President Dana White and the company's former embattled middleweight champion Frank Shamrock has found new life once again.

Long a fixture in the San Jose community, Shamrock has opted to put up shop in Manhattan this coming February in hopes of speeding along the quest to legalize MMA in the state of New York, a venture that has been met with much apprehension among state officials who still believe the sport to be barbaric.

Surprisingly, despite being one of the most active supporters of the cause, Shamrock believes that White is actually the biggest reason why politicians have opposed the process thus far.

"The face of our sport is Dana White and out here in conservative New York, the way people think, bald-headed, tattoo'd, swearing people are just not a good representative of our brand and unfortunately people think that Dana White speaks for MMA, and they're confused," Shamrock told MMA Fanhouse's Ariel Helwani on a recent edition of "The MMA Hour". "They don't know he speaks for the UFC. They think he speaks for the entire sport and [they think] the entire sport is made up of Dana Whites.

Michael Bisping Thinks He's One Win Away From a Title Shot... I Think Not

Forgive Michael Bisping. Fresh off a unanimous decision win over a struggling Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 120 yesterday, Bisping believes that he's only a win away from a title shot against reigning middleweight king Anderson Silva. I'm being serious:

"I want to fight the top guys. Whoever it is, I want to fight the best out there. I think one more win against a real credible opponent, I think that should get me a title fight. ... Ultimately, that's up to the UFC, but I feel I'm growing as a fighter. I said it leading up to the fight. I feel like I'm really maturing now, and everything is coming together in my skillset."

The middleweight division is currently lacking some new contenders, but Bisping's body of work pales in comparison to that of Nate Marquardt and Chael Sonnen, and even Yushin Okami if you wanted to stretch things a bit. All three bouts would be rematches for Silva that make more sense right now than giving a Bisping a shot.

I honestly don't know what is causing me to be so upset about the potential of Bisping as a title challenger more: The fact that he wants to be given a shot after a three wins over Akiyama, Dan Miller and a guy like Demian Maia or that I'm completely underwhelmed by his UFC tenure thus far. Don't get me wrong, Bisping is one of the best fighters to come out of the "TUF" program, but his loss to Rashad Evans at 205 lbs aside, he was left for dead against Dan Henderson and dropped a clear-cut decision to an aging Wanderlei Silva, a fight that he continues to complain about to this day while his case for a rematch continues to dwindle down. His resume at middleweight just doesn't impress me.

With that said, I'm all for Bisping receiving a title shot if he works his way up. However, he's not one fight away and I'm pretty sure the UFC brass is aware of that. Three more wins against the cream of the crop at 185 should do the trick. He's essentially in the same position as Chris Leben and Alan Belcher at the moment.. It's time to separate himself from the pack if he wants to prove his worth. We'll see what happens.

UFC 118: Preview and Predictions

We are three days away from seeing whether or not B.J. Penn can goad Frankie Edgar into a "fight" in order to get his belt back and if James Toney has more than a puncher's chance of defeating Randy Couture. Barring any last-minute injuries or problems, the fight card for UFC 118 is set in stone.

Here's a little preview and some predictions:

Frankie Edgar vs. B.J. Penn (UFC Lightweight Title)

Will Edgar be able to pull off yet another upset? I find it hard to think so. While I believe the fight will be close at the start, a refocused and healthy Penn should be able to overwhelm Edgar in the later rounds just as he did to Sean Sherk and Kenny Florian. I'm expecting Penn to mix up his offense a bit more and Edgar to employ a similar gameplan to his original one save a more aggressive approach to brief takedowns. Penn via submission in round three.

Randy Couture vs. James Toney

It still baffles me that some are surprisingly giving Toney more than a puncher's chance in this one, claiming that Couture's increasing age has done a number on his reflexes and timing. In all honesty, a 50-something Couture years removed from the sport would probably beat Toney with ease as well. I'm giving this fight a minute and a half at the most before it's over. Couture will do exactly as he says he will: throw an overhand right, take Toney down and pound him out before sinking in a fight-ending rear-naked choke.

Sorting Out The UFC's Suddenly Cramped Middleweight Title Picture

Let's harken back to earlier this year, specifically the early springtime, when Anderson Silva was preparing to defend his UFC middleweight title against Vitor Belfort, seemingly the only legitimate contender left at 185 lbs inside the Octagon. In fact, things were so barren, that when Belfort went down with an injury, Demian Maia was penciled in as a replacement.

My how things have changed. Chael Sonnen did everyone a favor in upsetting Nate Marquardt and preventing a lackadaisical rematch between Marquardt and Silva. Then Sonnen earned a shot at Silva himself and nearly dethroned the world's pound-for-pound king. (Unless you believe GSP holds that title, like me)

In the meantime, Chris Leben has risen from the dead and reeled off a three-fight win streak that includes impressive wins over Aaron Simpson and Yoshihiro Akiyama. Wanderlei Silva announced his presence at middleweight in February in beating Michael Bisping, but has been on the shelf ever since while recovering from broken ribs and knee surgery and will be out until next year.

Yushin Okami and Alan Belcher also want to believe that they have some say in how this middleweight title mess is going to play out. The popular opinion at the moment is to either make Silva-Sonnen II right away or match Silva up with a fresh challenger in Belfort. However, Belfort has been waiting nearly a year to fight again and Silva looks to be out of action until early next year.

Jake Rossen believes that the UFC should pair up Sonnen and Belfort to create a clear-cut number one contender. While it seems practical, the UFC would essentially be sacrificing one big-money fight for the other, as the loser of the bout would descend back into mediocrity. It's not everyday that you have more than one challenge a fan wants to see the champion face, especially since said champion already cleaned out his division a long time ago.

If I was Joe Silva, things would play out like this: Sonnen came way too close to beating Silva to not give him an immediate rematch. The fans would love to see it again and I'm sure both Sonnen and Silva want it to take place as well. Ask Sonnen if he wouldn't mind sitting out 4-6 months while Silva's heals up before a rematch. I guarantee he won't put up much a fight. Belfort needs to fight, so give him Okami. That way, the next challenger for the belt is already established as the winners of Silva-Sonnen and Belfort-Okami can meet next summer. A potential rubber match between Silva and Sonnen would be put on hold anyway. The UFC has never matched the same fighters up three times in a row.

As for the others, Belcher is currently healing from a detached retina that may not allow his career to continue. If it does, he should be ready to return at the same time as Wanderlei Silva. Match them up. Leben is enjoying some much-needed time off. So let's see how Maia vs. Mario Miranda and Marquardt vs. Rouismar Palhares play out before giving him anymore assignments.

P.S. Michael Bisping isn't a contender. Why people insist in attempting to match him up against guys climbing the ladder is beyond me. Let him string together a couple of wins before hopping on his bandwagon once again.

Diego Sanchez Reunites With Greg Jackson

If you haven't already heard, Diego Sanchez announced yesterday that he has once again joined forces with Greg Jackson, who served as Sanchez's primary trainer from the start of his career and well into his original run as a UFC welterweight.

Usually, this would serve as nothing more than your regular filler news for the week, but I find Sanchez's return to Jackson's camp interesting based on the nasty falling out the two had back in the summer of 2007, spurned on by Jackson's decision to take on then welterweight contender Georges St. Pierre. At the time, St. Pierre had been upset and lost his title to Matt Serra and was preparing to bounce back against Josh Koscheck while Sanchez had just suffered his first professional loss to Koscheck earlier in the year, but was still very relevant in the welterweight title picture.

The move angered Sanchez, who immediately left Jackson's training camp and associated himself with Saulo and Xande Ribeiro as well as The Arena gym in San Diego. He obviously felt slighted with Jackson bringing in GSP as Sanchez wasn't even considering a move to lightweight at that point in time.

The entire ordeal bothered me, and still does, for two reasons. One, Jackson and his crew push comradery and loyalty within its limits to the max. Just ask Rashad Evans, Nate Marquardt and company. All of the fighters under the Jackson's MMA banner would likely never fight each other and take helping each other for upcoming bouts to the next level. If loyalty is so important, then why was Jackson so quick to bring GSP into the fold, despite Sanchez being a win or two away from a title shot.

Secondly, Sanchez's early success in the UFC served as a platform for Jackson and his system to grow into the successful entity it has become today. During Sanchez's six-fight win streak in the UFC, others started to notice the success of other Jackson-trained fighter such as Joey Villasenor and Keith Jardine and a wealth of fighters from all over soon began to request to learn under the tutelage of Jackson. In my opinion, you don't leave your top pupil hanging out to dry, even if the best welterweight in the world wants to join the fold.

Impressions of UFC 117

UFC 117 was the first major event that I've been able to watch live in quite a while. I'm glad I made the decision to do so. The main card delivered something for every type of fan from a heavyweight slugfest to a tactical ground battle to a come-from-behind victory for the ages. It was nice to see.

- Chael Sonnen backed up his trash talk. Who would have thought he would dominate Anderson Silva over four and a half rounds, let alone a single one at all? Not me. When the fight began, I thought that Sonnen would take the first round similar to how Dan Henderson and Travis Lutter had done to Silva in the past. I had no idea he would continue to do so throughout the rest of the bout. What a heartbreaking loss for Sonnen, but props to Silva for staying focused and aware enough to pull off a last-minute submission. An immediate rematch has to be in order. Sorry, Vitor Belfort.

- Jon Fitch looked great in action while Thiago Alves looked exactly the opposite. Be it the weight cut, ring rust, or another unknown ailment, Alves didn't look himself and allowed Fitch to throw him around the cage like a rag doll for fifteen minutes. Fitch was promised a title shot before the bout, but if Georges St. Pierre is victorious over Josh Koscheck in December, I wouldn't be surprised to see the winner of Jake Shields vs. Martin Kampmann receive the honors instead. However, you know Dana white is foaming at the mouth to finally pair Fitch and Koscheck together and throw AKA in a frenzy.

- Although I picked Almeida to win, I was ecstatic to see Matt Hughes not only pick up his third straight win, but to choke Almeida, a highly-ranked BJJ black belt, unconscious. I'm very excited to see Hughes back in the welterweight title picture after being left for dead. I guess it's the nostalgia of the whole thing.

- Joe Rogan's comments during Junior Dos Santos' three-round mauling of Roy Nelson were dead-on: the Brazilian needs to mix up his offense. Knees, elbows and kicks would have allowed him to finish Nelson. Throwing nothing but punches obviously did not. Kudos to Nelson, who now has us questioning whether his chin and heart are bigger than his stomach. As for JDS' shot at the winner of Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez, I unfortunately don't see him having much of a chance against either.

More to come...