MMA Knockouts Submissions 2009 North American Finishes Part 4 DISCLAIMER: No Copyright Infringment Intended. I do not own any of the footage or music used in this video. All rights are reserved to the respected owners. This is not meant to be plagiarizing the owners of the footage and music in any way. This was made for pure enjoyment with no profit.

UFC asked:

81.ufc.com – Former WWE Champion BROCK LESNAR debuts in the UFC on Saturday, February 2. Lesnar will have the toughest test of his life as he faces former UFC Champion FRANK MIR inside the Octagon. Plus, Tim Sylvia faces former Pride champ Minotauro Nogueira for the Interim Heavyweight Title. Don’t miss this event!

Where have all of MMA’s Heels gone?  That is the question.  But first, let’s define the term “Heel”.  Heel is commonly used in professional wrestling to describe a “villain” character or “bad guy”.   A heel is typically opposed by a “babyface” or more simply, “face” (crowd favorite) and he is often portrayed as behaving in an immoral manner, breaking rules or otherwise taking advantage of his opponent outside the bounds of the rules of the match.  Some heels do not (or rarely) break rules, but exhibit unlikeable personality traits.  No matter the type of heel, the most important job is that of the antagonist role.  Heels exist to provide a foil to the face men.  If a given heel is cheered over the face, a promoter may opt to turn that heel to face, or to make the wrestler do something even more despicable to encourage heel heat.

So does the term heel translate to MMA?  Well, sorta.  But in MMA, since the fighting is real and the championship belts are real and matches aren’t fixed the way they are in pro wrestling, the heels are created organically by the fighters themselves as opposed to being contrived by the promotions.  What it really comes down to is that some guys are assholes that people have a tendency to dislike (see Top Ten Biggest Douche Bags in MMA) and some guys are likeable.

There are a few rare cases however, as with Tito Ortiz (15-6-1), where a fighter intentionally makes himself into a heel in order to generate fan interest and ultimately sell more tickets.  The “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” has ingeniously made himself MMA’s biggest heel, which has brought him both love and hate from fans, all the while making him one of the biggest draws in the sport for the past ten years.  Whether you love him or hate him, it’s hard not to talk about Tito Ortiz.  Most people probably thought he was truly a heel until season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).  It was then that most of us witnessed the caring, nurturing, father figure of a coach that Ortiz was to his team as he led them to victory over Ken Shamrock’s team.  Since parting ways with the UFC after his loss to Lyoto Machida in May of 2008, Ortiz has undergone back surgery, but has tried to stay in the spotlight taking commentating jobs with Affliction and Elite XC.  He plans to make a full recovery and return to action in the Fall of 2009 with an organization other than the UFC.

Speaking of Ken Shamrock (27-13-2), he is a prime example of a true heel.  He’s an egomaniacal dick, who in my opinion warrants all of the negative attention he gets.  This was also made clear during TUF season 3, as Ken couldn’t relate to his team and didn’t seem to care enough to improve the situation.  In the cheating spirit of a true heel, Shamrock tested positive for steroid use after his fight against Ross Clifton in February of 2009.  Over the years he has been loved and hated, and many loved to hate him.  In the early days of the UFC, he was the heel that everyone rooted for, probably because of his comic book hero physique and good looks.  At one point he actually left MMA to pursue a professional wrestling career, where he took on the role of a heel.  Upon his return to MMA, Shamrock was a more polished showman and took his heelism to the max in a rivalry with Ortiz.  Shamrock, a UFC Hall of Famer, and one of MMA’s first big stars, is now in his mid forties and on the verge of retirement.

Tim Sylvia (24-5) is another definite heel.  During his reign as the heavyweight champion of the UFC, Silvia was by far the most disliked and disrespected champion.  The “Maine-iac’s” cockiness and arrogance combined with his awkward style of fighting, his unathletic build, and his New England accent, in my opinion seemed to rub fans the wrong way.  He also tested positive for steroid use after his fight against Gan McGee at UFC 44, which added to the building dislike for him.  Unfortunately for Big Tim being a heel didn’t make people want to watch him fight, it did however make for some great bash threads in the online forums.  Since being let go by the UFC after a loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 81 in February of 2008, Tim has fought once on an Affliction fight card.  He is no longer a relevant heel due to his inactivity.

David “Tank” Abbott (10-14-0) is one of MMA’s original heels.  He burst onto the scene at UFC 6 with a brutal knockout of John Matua in 18 seconds.  As Matua lay on the octagon floor convulsing, Abbott mocked him.  When shown a replay of his handiwork during the post-fight interview, Abbott talked about how it made him sexually aroused.  These antics created a bad boy image that made him UFC’s most talked about star for a couple of years.  Over the years Tank has lost more often than he’s won, but fans still love to see this “Pit Fighting” stylist get in the cage or ring, because you never know what might happen.  Approaching 45 years of age, “Tank” only has one or two more “side show” fights left in him.

Phil Baroni (13-10-0), aka the “New York Bad Ass”, is one heel that is still relevant today.  Baroni started his career fighting in the UFC and then went on to fight in Japan’s premier organization, PRIDE, but has been relegated to fighting in the “B” level organizations as of late.  Between his theatrical entrances, his non-stop banging in the ring, and his mouth outside the ring, love him or hate him, Baroni is pure entertainment.  The NYBA is another fighter who has tested positive for steroids.

Frank Trigg (19-6), known as much for his mouth as he is for his fighting, was one of the UFC’s biggest heels from 2003 to 2005 when he was the arch rival of the then welterweight champion Matt Hughes.  The amount of trash talking he did was matched only by that of the New York Bad Ass.  After dropping two fights in succession to Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre (both by rear naked choke), “Twinkle Toes” left the UFC and moved on to fight in smaller organizations.  He also put his gift of gab to good use by commentating for various fight organizations and hosting a daily MMA radio show on the Tagg Radio Network.

Gilbert Yvel (35-13-1), Holland’s number one heel, is the dirtiest fighter to grace the sport of MMA.  As a testament to his poor sportsmanship, his record includes disqualifications for biting, eye gouging, and knocking out a referee.  This menace of a mixed martial artist has been fighting in the premier organizations of Europe and Japan since 1997 and continues to garner the hate and attention he did ten years ago.  Look for “The Hurricane” to fight again for the Affliction promotion.

Wes Sims (22-12-1), one of the tallest combatants of the sport at 6 feet and 10 inches tall, is known for his unorthodox fighting style, his amazing strength, and the many illegal blows he has delivered to his opponents.  He solidified his reputation as a heel during a controversial fight against Frank Mir at UFC 43, in which Sims got up while Mir was on his back against the fence and proceeded to stomp on Mir’s head several times while holding the fence for extra balance.  The fight was stopped and Sims was disqualified.  Much like Tim Sylvia, Wes Sims is a heel that MMA fans love to hate.  Sims continues to fight in smaller shows, but is not relevant among the mainstream of MMA.

The heels of the early days of MMA helped the average fan relate to this emerging sport.  The characters and storylines made the technical complexities of the sport more palatable and the fights more personal.  It forced fans to choose a side and get more emotionally invested.  Mixed Martial Arts without heels is like an action movie with all good guys.

So who are the heels of today?  Chris Leben, Josch Koscheck, Brock Lesnar, Nick Diaz, and Junie Browning are the first few that pop into my head.  And Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, and BJ Penn straddle the line between face and heel.

As a diehard fan of MMA I don’t need anything special to keep me watching, but I have to admit that I love the dynamic between a face and the heel.  In my opinion, MMA needs a new group of heels to spice things up.

Tell us who your favorite heels are!

MMA or mixed martial arts refers to a fighting competition that combines techniques form many other fighting styles such as boxing, wrestling, kick boxing, and martial arts. MMA fights begin standing up and resemble kick boxing with opponents trading punches and kicks. Almost all MMA fights make their way to the ground and then opponents continue to fight in a manner that resembles wrestling although the object is not to win by pinning your opponent. MMA became popular in the U.S. early 1990’s and the UFC, the biggest U.S. MMA organization was founded in 1993. Originally, MMA competitions were met with great controversy from politicians and concerned citizens because the UFC claimed to be a no-hold-barred competition and proved to be extremely violent with only a few rules. The idea behind the UFC was not a new one and the idea of creating a competition to determine which fighting style was the most effective began in the early 1900’s. MMA type competitions were popular in other countries and after their brutal introduction into the U.S. in 1993, they did not seem like they were going to stick around.

The initial disdain for the violent competition actually caused MMA fights to be banned from 20 states and even Pay Per View stopped televising MMA events. After a few years of shame, the UFC added rues and regulations and actually got sanctioning to become a legal sport. MMA has since become very popular and is loosing some of its brutal stigma. Rules were added to give the sport less violent image and prohibit, biting, eye gouging, fish hooking, hair pulling, foul language, spitting, small joint manipulation, groin strikes, head butts, and kicking the head of an opponent while he is on the mat. Originally, the UFC had no weight classes, which only helped perpetuate the unruly image. The UFC now has weight classes and even screens fighters for drug use prior to entry into the ring.

MMA fights are won by knock out, submission, judge’s decision, or referee stoppage. Time limits were also added so that fights lasting longer than the set amount of rounds would be decided by judges. The referee and fight doctor can also stop a fight if they think that one fighter is not longer able to intelligently defend himself. Fighters must wear mouth guards and special fingerless gloves that protect the knuckles while allowing fighters to grapple.

Even thought the UFC and MMA fights were originally considered barbaric, they have come a long way since then. The UFC is gaining popularity and some PPV MMA fights have even outsold PPV boxing matches. With clear rules and sanctioning, MMA has made a comeback in the U.S. and is set to become the most popular combat sport. MMA already draws millions of fans and more and more fighters are conditioning themselves to be able to compete in the MMA ring. Even though it had a rocky start, MMA in the U.S. is quickly gaining ground and more and more people are accepting it as a legitimate sport.

WatchMojo asked:

www.WatchMojo.com learns more about the man credited with bringing mixed martial arts to the mainstream, Chuck Liddell. Charles David Chuck Liddell, also known as The Iceman is a American mixed martial artist (MMA) who fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He started his career in the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the age of 17, having studied karate, wrestling and eventually Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Known throughout the community for his outstanding takedown defense and knockout …

thefightnetwork asked:

The Fight Network presents a special feature on the history and eventual demise of Affliction Entertainment. Go to www.thefightnetwork.com for more.

SNETCF asked:

Roy Jones Jr. says he could face Anderson Silva when Silva’s UFC contract is over.

ArielHelwani asked:

The boxing promoter talks to FanHouse’s Ariel Helwani about why Pacquaio vs. Mayweather will never happen and why he detests MMA.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is so popular these days that MMA fight gear has skyrocketed in demand in a short period of time. MMA is a sport that derives from a variety of martial arts and fighting techniques. It is a full contact combat sport that many critics and the media usually portray as rather brutal. Both traditional martial arts techniques and non traditional ones are used in competitions. Contrary to most other sports, both striking and grappling is allowed, whether the fighters are on the ground or standing up. The Ultimate Fighting Championship was formed in 1993, launching MMAs popularity. Initially, the UFC operated under the basis of finding the best martial arts moves for real unarmed combat situations. There were very few rules or worries about safety. Nowadays, there are many more rules for increasing safety to gain more public acceptance of the sport.

The different fight gear that fighters use help prevent injuries and promote their safety. There are many different categories of MMA fight gear, ranging from gloves to mouth guards and helmets. Also, warm up sweatshirts, mitts, and shorts are big sellers. MMA gloves are available in open palm and closed palm styles. The gloves are very popular because they do not interfere with flexibility or grip. The gloves vary in heaviness, and also will not inhibit the wearers dexterity.

MMA Gear that is considered just as important as any other piece of equipment is the focus mitt. Trainers claim that focus mitt training is just as important as the bag training. The mitts are comfortably curved to fit excellently, which also prevents hand cramps. They fit securely to help you improve your accuracy and timing with coordination.

Probably the most critical piece of MMA fight gear that must be worn is the mouth guard. Many people think that a mouth guard only protects your teeth and mouth. It does, but wearing a mouth guard properly will also prevent you from suffering a concussion with a blow to the teeth. Protecting the mouth and teeth will help decrease your risk of getting knocked out, getting cuts inside your mouth, and getting your jaw broken.

For those who are looking for protection during their stand up training and fighting, included in MMA fight gear are helmets that are made from thick, rubbery material called Bayflex. These helmets are heavier, more durable, and more expensive than other helmets, but the protection they provide is invaluable, especially when one is the only thing standing between you and a coma.

This is just a small sample of the MMA fight gear that is available to MMA fighters. Before you start training for or practicing for Mixed Martial Arts, be sure to go get some MMA fight gear first!

UFC asked:

Get inside UFC 104 When Lyoto The Dragon Machida defends his title against Mauricio Shogun Rua. UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun – Saturday, October 24th, live on ESPN at 3am GMT from Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Replays on Sunday and Monday nights. Check guides for times.