Rockhold vs Jardine Recap

Pretty good night of fights on Showtime last night. In case you missed it, here's a nice little recap with some of the action.

"The official recap of all 5 fights from the Jan 7th Strikeforce on Showtime event. Relive all of the excitement of headliner Luke Rockhold's title defense against Keith Jardine. Plus, Robbie Lawler vs. Adlan Amagov, King Mo Lawal vs. Lorenz Larkin, Tyron Woodley vs. Jordan Mein, and the bloody bout between Tarec Saffiedine and Tyler Stinson."

Movie Review: Warrior

Synopsis: The youngest son (Tom Hardy) of an alcoholic former boxer (Nick Nolte) returns home, where he's trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament -- a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his older brother (Joel Edgerton). The two brothers face the fight of a lifetime - and the wreckage of their broken family - within the brutal, high-stakes world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

I love MMA but I saw the previews for this and immediately thought it looked like it was full of all the clichés that this genre is known for. I thought it was going to be another MMA version of Rocky meets Miracle with a bit of The Fighter for good measure. Well, I really wasn't that wrong. But I sure was surprised to find that this film totally transcends those cliches with some great gripping action, powerful acting and a whole bunch of heart.

Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton are great as the estranged brothers, but it's Nick Nolte that steals the show with just a fantastic performance. There's a gripping scene in a hotel room that actually had me in tears, and I don't do that watching movies very often. If you think Nolte can't still act, you are dead wrong. Wow.

For fans of MMA, the cage action is somewhat realistic and well done so you're not rolling your eyes the whole time. It does have a bit of the expected silliness. They act like it's winner-takes-all as one guy is fighting to save his house but fans would know that even if he lost he'd get endorsement contracts galore to save himself so it's not like if he loses he's out on the street as they make it seem. And without spoiling anything, there's a fight where a fighter is obviously too hurt to continue but they let him fight anyway, which ain't happening in today's world of MMA. Tim Sylvia got his arm broke by Frank Mir and despite his pleas, it was stopped, and I can think of other exceptions. It's no longer "human cock fighting", but a civilized sport with rules to protect the combatants especially when they can't protect themselves.

But anyway, despite the plausibility of the final fight, I still loved the ending. Hey, it's only a movie. And I thought this one is actually a pretty damn good sports movie.

8/10

Brittney Palmer Sexy Photo Shoot

Found this great video that MMA30tv posted of UFC ring girl Brittney Palmer and I felt it was the right thing to do to share it with you all.

"In an attempt to recreate some classic photos from the movie Showgirls; UFC Octagon Girl Brittney Palmer does her best stripper impression. And, yes, it's as hot as you would imagine."

MMA Link Parade (MMA Fighting.com)

MMA Link Parade: - Pat Barry and Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic Sing a Duet. [Middle Easy]

- Texas Expands Drug Testing for UFC 136. [Sports Illustrated]

- New Legislation Would Give Wisconsin Towns Power to Make MMA Illegal. [Cage Potato]

- Zoila Gurgel tears ACL, forced to withdraw from Bellator 57 fight. [Five Ounces of Pain]

- The 20 Creepiest Fighters in the Sport's History. [Low Kick]

- More Surgery for Shane Carwin. [NBC Sports]

- Ed Soares: 'We'll Probably End Up Having To Fight Chael Sonnen Twice.' [MMA Convert]

- Joe Lauzon Challenges Anthony Pettis to a February Fight. [5th Round]

- Is UFC 137 Still Worth the Money Without GSP? [Bleacher Report]

- Victor Conte Talks Steroids in MMA & Boxing. [The Fight Nerd]

- Nick Diaz Must Make the Most of His Second Chance. [Sports Illustrated]

- Fabricio Werdum 'For Sure' Wants to Come Back to the UFC. [MMA Mania]

- Update on Fox-Direct TV contract dispute. [MMA Payout]

Permalink Email this Linking Blogs Comments

MMA Link Parade (MMA Fighting.com)

MMA Link Parade: Help yourself to these links to stories by our friends around the internet.



- New Bellator lightweight accused of killing 19-year-old man. [Middle Easy]



- Maybe Jim Miller wasn't top three after all. [Sports Illustrated]



- Joe Son and Mike Whitehead Rape Trials Both Start This Week. [Cage Potato]



- Cavalcante vs. Romero added to September Strikeforce event. [Five Ounces of Pain]



- Spike TV announces the departure of "The Ultimate Fighter." [Low Kick]



- Chael Sonnen talks about Brian Stann. [NBC Sports]



- UFC 139: Martin Kampmann vs. Rick Story, dos Anjos vs. Tibau. [MMA Convert]



- Elkins vs. Zhang Added to UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard III. [5th Round]



- Joe Rogan Out, Kenny Florian in at UFC 134. [Bleacher Report]



- "Bendo" raises stock with win. [Sports Illustrated]



- Bellator Champion Cole Konrad discusses season five of Bellator FC. [The Fight Nerd]



- UFC Quick Quote: FOX would love to have Gus Johnson cover MMA. [MMA Mania]



- Tom 'Kong' Watson: "I stand by my training partner Nate Marquardt." [Fight Opinion]



- Bellator remains committed to MTV2. [MMA Payout]

Permalink Email this Linking Blogs Comments

MMA Link Parade

MMA Link Parade: "Links to articles, videos, and more from our friends around the internet.



- Brian Ebersole explains the art of the hairrow. (Middle Easy)



- Post-UFC 133 stock watch. (Sports Illustrated)



- KO of the Day: Dan Hardy Starches Aaron Barrow in 13 Seconds. (Cage Potato)



- 'Judo' Jim Wallhead in for injured Tom Watson against Frank Trigg. (Five Ounces of Pain)



- Chris Lytle plans to come out 'Guns A' Blazin' against Dan Hardy. (Low Kick)



- Chiapetta's Event Guide: UFC Live 5 edition. (NBC Sports)



- Strikeforce Challengers 18 Weigh-In Results & Video. (MMA Convert)



- Manager says probe will show Gatti's death no suicide. (Sports Illustrated)



- Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson: Jon Jones Can't Bust a Grape. (5th Round)



- Houston Alexander Talks Kimbo Slice, UFC and Upcoming PPV. (Bleacher Report)



- Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney on season five, Marquardt & steroids. (The Fight Nerd)



- Nam Phan vs Matt Grice booked for Oct. 8 in Houston. (MMA Mania)



- Dana White loves to stick it to 'lunatic' Fedor fans. (Fight Opinion)



- Flyweights will start in the UFC in 2012. (MMA Payout)



- For better or worse, Dan Hardy about to get his wish. (The Score)

Permalink Email this Linking Blogs Comments"

Fedor vs Hendo Recap

I didn't get to watch it until yesterday, but Saturday night's Strikeforce show on Showtime was fantastic. There was a lot of great action and the main event was really exciting from the walk-outs through the knock-out. Here's a cool little recap they put together in case you missed it. War Hendo!!

"The official SHOWTIME Sports recap of the massive July 30th Strikeforce M-1 Global event. Relive all of the excitement of headliners Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson. Plus, recaps of Scott Smith vs. Tarec Saffiedine, Paul Daley vs.Tyron Woodley, Robbie Lawler vs. Tim Kennedy, and Marloes Coenen vs. Miesha Tate."

Gina Carano Goes Haywire on Channing Tatum's Tush

It looks like a Haywire trailer finally popped up online over the weekend. Why do you care? Well maybe you don't, but I do because that's the movie featuring Gina Carano, former Strikeforce ladies champ who also appeared as the Gladiator "Crush" on American Gladiators. She hasn't fought in the cage since dropping the belt to Cristiane Santos way back on August 15, 2009.

I really didn't have high hopes when I first heard of her signing on for this project but then I heard that Haywire is directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars big names like Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Bill Paxton, Michael Douglas and Antonio Banderas, so I'd think it should be pretty high quality. The trailer looks like she's going to kick all sort of ass in it, as she does to Channing Tatum here. Sweet.

Synopsis: A black ops super soldier (Carano) seeks payback after she is betrayed and set up during a mission by her own agency.

Weekend MMA Hat Trick

There's not 1, not 2, but 3 big MMA fight cards this weekend! Check out this line-up:

* Fri. Jun. 24 - Strikeforce Challengers 16: Fodor vs. Terry (Showtime)

* Sat. Jun. 25 - Bellator 46 (MTV2)

* Sun. Jun. 26 - UFC on Versus 4: Marquardt vs. Story (Versus & Facebook)

I think the biggest and best fight on all those cards is the final fight... Nate "The Great" Marquardt (34-10-2) vs Nate "Horror" Story (13-3-0) on the Versus card. I also love the Tyson Griffin vs Manny "The Anvil" Gamburyan fight that will be on Facebook Sunday night before the main card.

Here's some links and vids for ya:

Nate Marquardt: Rick Story 'Doesn't Know That I'm in a Different League'

The Cut List: Who's in Desperate Need of a Win at UFC Live?

Finally comfortable in cage, Strikeforce's Ryan Couture looks to continue development

No longer hampered by illness, Daniel Roberts looks to shine at UFC on Versus 4

Fight Network previews fight cards taking place this weekend including UFC Live on Versus 4, Strikeforce Challengers 16 and Bellator 46:

Overeem vs Werdum Tonight

There's an excellent Strikeforce card tonight in Dallas that I started to go to back when tickets went on sale but decided I'd stay closer to home for my birthday. I do have the DVR set to Showtime though. Here's some links, the card and a great preview video below.

MMAJunkie.com Preview

Sherdog Preview

Main Card (Showtime)

• Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum (heavyweight grand-prix opening round)
• Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers (heavyweight grand-prix opening round)
• Daniel Cormier vs. Jeff Monson
• Chad Griggs vs. Valentijn Overeem
• Jorge Masvidal vs. K.J. Noons

Prelims (HDNet)

• Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante vs. Justin Wilcox
• Magno Almeida vs. Conor Heun
• Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Joe Ray
• Mike Bronzoulis vs. Todd Moore
• Brian Melancon vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg

Fight News: 'Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum' Preview Show:



For additional coverage of MMA, boxing and pro-wrestling check out TheFightNetwork.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/​FightNetwork