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Anti-Doping Agency feels UFC needs tougher testing

April 28, 2011 / Drew Ellis

In an article that hasn’t gotten a lot of play nationally, I discovered this piece by Steve Keating from Reuters.com

The article discusses the World Anti-Doping Agency and their desire to see the UFC step up their drug testing for their fighters.

With a record 55,000 mixed martial arts fans expected to pack into the Rogers Center on Saturday for UFC 129, organizers say every fighter stepping into the cage for a title bout will be tested for performance-enhancing drugs.
But the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the Canadian Center for Ethics in Sport (CCES) and USADA say they have had no role in the UFC’s anti-doping efforts and have not tested a single fighter.
Instead, testing has been left to individual state and provincial athletic commissions, which USADA chief Travis Tygart describes as woefully inadequate.
“They want, for public relation and marketing reasons, to say they have something that makes them look better than they truly are,” Tygart told Reuters.
“Why don’t they have better rules to give athletes and sports fans comfort that there is not a rampant culture of cheating with dangerous drugs going on in their sport?
“They’re trying to pull a fast one here.”

The UFC may be dropping the ball a little bit for this event when it comes to drug testing, but as a whole, the organization has seemingly done a good job of keeping fighters honest.

Events, Fighters, News, UFC

Chael Sonnen Sean Sherk Thiago Silva Tim Sylvia UFC

Hughes vs. Sanchez in the works for 2011

April 28, 2011 / Drew Ellis

In a little bit of surprising news, MMAMania is reporting that the UFC is working on a future bout between welterweights Matt Hughes and Diego Sanchez.

Hughes, a current UFC Hall of Famer and former welterweight champion, is coming off a 21-second knockout loss to B.J. Penn at UFC 123, but had won his last three fights prior to that.

Sanchez is coming off back-to-back decision wins over Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann. He is 2-1 since making his return to welterweight after losing to Penn for the lightweight championship back in December of 2009.

This fight would be intriguing as Sanchez has a high motor and is somewhat reckless. He relies on his grappling and pressure to really win fights, but will be facing a stronger grappler in Hughes. Hughes also shows more composure and patience with his fighting.

I am a little surprised to see Hughes taking this fight as I felt like he was leaning toward retirement following the loss to Penn. If he was to fight again, I thought it would be more along the lines of another fight with Matt Serra or a fight against an older fighter to allow himself a better chance to go out on a win. This is a tough fight for Hughes, but is still one that he can win.

Events, Fighters, News, UFC

B.J. Penn Diego Sanchez Martin Kampmann Matt Hughes Paulo Thiago UFC Welterweight Division

Top 10 Welterweight Rankings

April 27, 2011 / Drew Ellis

This week I turn my rankings to the welterweight division.

Like my middleweight rankings, the No. 1 spot is quite obvious and everyone else isn’t really all that close.

Still, here is my take. If you need to go back and find my pound-for-pound, heavyweight, or light heavyweight rankings, click on the links.

1. Georges St. Pierre (21-2) – GSP is the clear leader of this group and close to being the best fighter in any weight class. I would argue that St. Pierre is the most complete fighter in all of MMA as he exhibits diverse striking, superior wrestling, and solid submission skills. The beauty of GSP is, he is always looking for ways to evolve and stay ahead of the game and I am curious to see how he attacks his UFC 129 fight with Jake Shields this Saturday.

2. Jon Fitch (23-3-1) – Fitch is the fighter that can do no right. All he does is win, for the most part, but he isn’t able to do it in a flashy fashion, so he is often overlooked. He dominated B.J. Penn in the third round of their fight in February, but a slow start forced a draw and unfinished business. If St. Pierre is to beat Shields and move up to middleweight, I would suspect that Fitch is the favorite to become the new 170-pound champion in the UFC.

3. Jake Shields (26-4-1) – I am still a little unsure of what to think about Shields. He has some impressive wins, but I think he is kidding himself if he thinks getting St. Pierre to the ground is going to be a walk in the park. He is a world-class grappler, but I would dare say he is one of the worst strikers in the division. You would think a guy of his talents would really work at striking to become a complete fighter, but he still clerly lacks in that department. A win over St. Pierre on Saturday would be an upset, but it would surely catapult him to the top of my rankings.

Fighters, Strikeforce, UFC

B.J. Penn Carlos Condit Dong Hyun Kim Georges St. Pierre Jake Shields Jon Fitch Josh Koscheck Martin Kampmann Nick Diaz Strikeforce Thiago Alves UFC Welterweight Division

A look back: GSP’s first MMA bout

April 27, 2011 / Drew Ellis

As Georges St. Pierre preps for what could be his final bout at welterweight this Saturday at UFC 129 against Jake Shields, I found the current UFC champion’s first MMA contest.

GSP stepped onto the scene on Jan. 25, 2002 when he took on Ivan Menjivar at UCC 7.

While St. Pierre wasn’t crisp in all areas, he still showed the promise to become the great champion he is today.

Even for a first-time fighter he showed a rare combination of diverse strikes and solid takedown defense. Typically a debut fighter is strong in one area and lacking in the other.

Unfortunately, the fight ended with a bit of controversy, but GSP was still clearly winning the fight and it was the beginning of a historic career.

Events, Fighters, UFC, Videos

Georges St. Pierre Ivan Menjivar Jake Shields UFC UFC 129

UFC looking to use monitors for judges at UFC 130

April 26, 2011 / Drew Ellis

The judging system in MMA has long been debated and criticized over the years.

Now, with one of the most controversial bouts in UFC history set to have its rematch, the UFC is looking to avoid more controversy if at all possible

Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting reports that the UFC is looking to have monitors present for each of the judges at UFC 130, which takes place May 28 in Las Vegas.

The main event of UFC 130 is the third contest between UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray Maynard. Their last contest at UFC 125 ended in a draw after 25 minutes of action.

Marc Ratner, the UFC’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, informed MMA Fighting that the organization has formally submitted a request to the Nevada State Athletic Commission to install monitors as a backup viewing option for the judges assigned to score the bouts at UFC 130.

“I’ve emailed [NSAC Executive Director] Keith [Kizer] and asked him to put the request on the next agenda. We believe these monitors will be another look to help with the judges,” Ratner wrote via e-mail.

According to the UFC, California is the only state to ever provide monitors for judges while scoring MMA bouts.

I am all for helping judges make better decisions and if this will do it, sign me up.

I think judging in general is a hard issue to tackle because everyone has a different view of a fight and the 10-point scoring system leaves the door open for questionable results.

I for one also scored the Edgar-Maynard II bout at UFC 125 as a draw, with Maynard taking round one 10-8 and Edgar winning three of the remaining four rounds 10-9.

Hopefully UFC 130 will bring some closure to this rivalry and allow the UFC to move on in its stacked lightweight division.