VAI CAVALO! VAI CAVALO!

Vai Cavalo is Portugese for "Go Horse."

Fabricio "Vai Cavalo" Werdum is probably the happiest man in the world this week. After barely even being discussed in the media week leading up to his clash with Fedor Emelianenko, Werdum shocked everyone with a 69 second submission victory over the once-beaten Russian.

Fedor came in early looking strong and determined to win quickly. Showing no respect for Werdum's stand up, Fedor jumped in throwing caution to the wind and landing a few glancing hooks before Werdum ditched his standing position for a more familiar one, his back on the mat.

Fedor followed Werdum down, defended an armbar nicely, looked to pass to side control, and then...it began. Werdum grabbed hold of an arm, walked his legs up and attacked with an armbar. As Fedor defended, Werdum adjusted his position to lock his legs. He locked in the figure four and worked to tighten the choke while still attacking the arm. "Vai Cavalo!" which the Werdum team described as Fabricio's ability to attack with multiple submissions at once, was the key to victory. Without the armbar, the triangle wouldn't have been enough to force the tap and vice versa.

The stoic Russian tapped a single time on Werdum's leg and Big John saved him from unconsciousness. It was the Russian's first loss in over nine and a half years. It was Werdum's biggest win to date and he happily offered a rematch in Russia.

What a shake up, Lesnar vs Carwin will now determine the top heavyweight in the sport. Buckle up.

Coming Up

Strikeforce

Fedor and Werdum - "The Last Emperor" better bring a special performance to the table with what Zuffa has in store as a rebuttal the following weekend.

Cris Cyborg ought to maul another sacrificial challenger. (Why not let her and her husband sort out marital issues in the cage..it might be more competitive)

Scott "The Comeback Kid" Smith is hoping to put his hands to use against the versatile and fancy-footed Cung Le, for the second time.

UFC 116

Brock and Shane July 3rd. - 600 pounds of muscle and testosterone in a cage with a combined 16 ounces of "protection." Somebody is going down hard.

Chris "The Cat Smasher" Leben takes his second fight in as many weeks, stepping in for an injured Wanderlei Silva to square off with "The Sexy" Akiyama.

WEC 49

What a weekend. Back to back nights of free fights with great action.

Eddie Wineland put on a great performance against Will Campuzano. The end was drawn out but so damn exciting. Will got dropped, recovered, swang for the fences, but in the end a vicious right straight to the plexus put him down for good in Round 2.

Chris Horodecki put on a clinic against Danny Downes in what looked like a "Meet me at the flag pole at 3 o'clock" battle. Horodecki outclassed Danny Boy and ended it with a rear choke in Round 3.

Josh Grispi looked slick against L.C. Davis, locking up a tight guillotine in Round 1. Nice performance.

Mark Hominick and Yves Jabouin put on the fight of the night in this barn-burner. Eventually, Hominick was too much for Yves to handle. The end came midway through Round 2.

Jamie Varner probably cried all night about his Draw with Kamal Shalorus. The Iranian showed a hefty beard throughout the fight, eating everything Varner threw at him. He even broke Varner's hand with his head. Three inside low kicks to the sack and a broken hand later, Varner got taken down in the third. While Shalorus was entertaining and as humble as a man in his profession can possibly be, he deserved to lose that one. Rematch should be fun.

Good fights, confusing main event outcome and another nice production from the Zuffa folks.

TUF Finale

The fighting pride of Madison, NJ made a wonderful UFC debut. Rich Antonito stuck to his game plan and put a hurting on a tired Jamie Yager in Round 2. Represent.

Dennis Siver eaked out a decision against Spencer Fisher. Two guys with no real chance of title contention but they put on a great display of heart and talent.

ATTENTION PASSENGERS...the A-Train has been delayed...by CHRIS "THE CRIPPLER" LEBEN! I love this guy's fights. He dragged Simpson into a brawl that he had no place in and ended the right with some potent punches.

Matt Hamill rallied from a bad first round, a broken hand, a staph infection and an eye-poke to earn a Majority Decision over Keith Jardine. It was a bloody mess but a much-needed win for my favorite deaf fighter.

Last but certainly not least...Court McGee is indeed alive and well. His won the finale with a Round 2 rear choke. This guy has quite a story and it speaks volumes about what passion and dedication can do for a person. Deeper than fight sports that's for sure.

Good fights.

Old News

Old News...

Chuck got hung out to dry by a one-armed Rich Franklin. Rich broke his ulna blocking a kick early in Round 1. As Chuck tried to close the round with a bang he left himself exposed and Franklin capitalized. A short right hook and a few follow ups put an end to Chuck's evening, and maybe his UFC career.

A self-fulfilling prophecy from Pat Berry. After dropping the Croatian kickboxer twice in Round 1, Barry gassed and got the lumber laid on him. In Round 3 Cro Cop took advantage sinking a rear choke for the victory. Too many Bagel Bites and hero-worship for Barry to realize his full potential.

Martin Kampmann looked great against Paulo Thiago, just beating him everywhere.

Ben Rothwell grinded out a decision against Gilbert Yvel (snoozer)

Carlos Condit beat the clock to earn a stoppage against the rising young Rory MacDonald with only 7 seconds left.

Teammates Evan Dunhma and Tyson Griffin scraped a nice one with Dunham taking the W and setting himself up for future title contention.

Mac Danzig was robbed and handed a loss he did not deserve on a bogus choke stoppage.

Better than the last few PPVs.

Catch Up

Quick run down for last weekend's MMA action. Beginning with UFC 114.

Rampage got out-worked, plain and simple. He knocked Rashad down in the third but was lacking the stamina and/or desire to put him away. (Which he could & should have.)

Michael Bisping outclassed Dan Miller, who seemed to have prepared the worst possible game plan. Although he doesn't have the KO power, Bisping's striking looked crisp and clean.

Todd Duffee looked scary, strong and fast in Round 1. He looked competent in Round 2. Then Mike Russow made him look foolish in Round 3. Russow's comeback KO was an instant classic.

Jason Brilz was robbed. Dropping a Split Decision to Lil' Nog. I saw it 29-28 Brilz. And for the record, F*** Ed Soares. Nogueira spoke perfect English and I doubt he needed the translation.

John Hathaway is dangerous, too bad he couldn't finish it off. He dominated Diego Sanchez en route to a Unanimous Decision win. Sanchez's striking was one dimensional, Hathaway's was not.

Now, moving to the Far East, let's have a look at DREAM 14

Nick Diaz performed well, armbarring Hayato Sakurai in Round 1. It looked "Mach" hurt Diaz early but he turned the momentum his way off his back. Poor armbar defense from Sakurai.

Ralek Gracie beat Sakuraba by Decision and in convincing fashion. Saku had something going with a third round kimura but the referee interrupted to adjust Ralek's shorts. Very strange.

Hiroyuki Takaya blasted Joachim Hansen into unconsciousness for the first time. Right straight, right hook and a few more right hands on the mat for good measure sealed the deal.

Kid Yamamato turned off Kiko Lopez's lights with a counter right hook. Kid's boxing looked efficient and tight. He snaps a two fight losing streak with the win over Lopez.

"Wicky" Nishiura showed some power against Hideo Tokoro in securing a TKO victory. Flamboyant as he may be, he put on an entertaining bout and ended it decisively.

Last but not least, Ikuhisa Minowa defeated Imani Lee by Rear Choke in Round 1. When will the Japanese stop putting together worked matches for Minowa to participate in? Clearly, Imani Lee put forth no effort to defend the choke once Minowa took his back. Personally, I'm tired of seeing the freak show match ups they give him. Show the sport some respect.