Months and Months Away

Months away from the blogging game have made me rusty. So much has happened since Fedor was dispatched by Werdum.

At UFc 116 Brock Lesnar showed the will of a true champion, weathering the storm that is Shane Carwin's XXXXL gloves for a full five minutes, from the bottom position, against the cage, with a nasty gash on his forehead after being rattled and dropped with a glancing uppercut. Lesnar came out in the second round and submitted Carwin with a text book side choke...perfect jiu jitsu from the self-described caveman gladiator.

Noteworthy from UFC 116: Chris Leben pulled off a huge come from behind, triangle choke victory as time was about to expire, beating Yoshihiro Akiyama with seconds to spare.

At UFC 117 Anderson Silva put on another classic performance pulling off the come-from-behind triangle choke victory in the fifth round against obnoxious contender, Chael Sonnen. Sonnen dropped Silva early in the fight, stunning all onlookers. He took Silva down in every round, exactly how he said he would. And it looks as though he was on his way to doing the impossible - defeating the UFC champion with the most consecutive title defenses. However, Silva was too resilient and put that "cracker jack" Nogueria black belt to work.

Noteworthy from UFC 117: Dos Santos put on a nice performance, soundly beating "Big Country" to the punch.

More recently, at UFC 118 Frankie Edgar (Jersey, represent!) made it look easy defeating BJ Penn for the second time. Penn has clearly lost a step, or two, or three...but Edgar had clearly improved exponentially as well. His speed and footwork are unmatched and it will take someone very special to knock him off his perch.

Noteworthy from UFC 118: Gray Maynard secured his title shot with a lopsided victory over Kenny Florian. Randy Couture did what was expected by immediately taking down and then submitting the sacrificial lamb that was James Toney. Nate Diaz brutally beat hometown favorite Marcus Davis to a pulp then choked him into unconsciousness...maybe pride is dangerous to your health. And lastly, one hometown favorite made good as Joe Lauzon destroyed Gabe Ruediger.

Back on the train now....so much MMA so little time.

The Ever Changing Business World of MMA

On the celebratory episode for HDNet's "Inside MMA" third anniversary, President Mark Cuban made a big announcement. HDNet, once seen as the prime rival for Dana White and the Ferritta empire, was never able to secure UFC or WEC media access. Weigh-ins, fight footage and all pre and post fight interviews were off limits.

HDNet, who has marketed itself as the one-stop source for all things MMA, was shut out from the largest brand in the industry. But after three long years of bickering between Cuban and White, the two have reached a preliminary agreement allowing HDNet to access UFC events and use footage.

Only time will tell how much Zuffa is permitting but this is a step in the right direction for HDNet. They have been providing some of the best MMA and kickboxing the world has never seen including events from DREAM, World Victory Road, Sengoku and most K-1 events.