I covered the UFC 118 Conference Call with BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar for Fighters Only yesterday.   There were two things that really stood out to me:  the way that fan anticipation and excitement for a big fight can be boosted incrementally with modest and respectful answers instead of incendiary shit-talking, and the fact that both Penn and Edgar admitted that they are unsure what "octagon control" is or how it's scored.


Let's start with the latter, considering my ongoing warpath on MMA scoring and judging.  I asked the two best lightweights in the world how they thought octagon control played out in their last match, because it was a considerable point of debate when analyzing the scores rendered by the judges, and could have made the difference in the fight.  If you'll recall, Frankie adopted a very cerebral range of motion, upholding a ridiculously frenetic pace and knifing in and out of striking range, where Penn mostly adhered to stalking and trying to corner the animated Edgar.

"I would have to say that Frankie was more 'all around the ring', so I would have to say that he had octagon control (I guess).  I guess maybe I was pushing or I was walking forward, but... it's just hard for me to talk about that fight because I feel like I could've did so much better in so many different ways.  But, you know... honestly, I don't even know what octagon control means." -BJ Penn


"Yeah, same thing:  octagon control, I'm not really exactly clear on exactly what that means.  But 'in and out', that's kind of how I fight.  I try to use my tools and things I'm good at it, and it seemed to work." -Frankie Edgar

Forrest Griffin is one of the UFC's most colorful characters.  He is always good for dropping a funny quote and he's always honest in his interviews.  Honest to a fault, perhaps, but it makes for great entertainment.  In the follow video clip, Forrest is asked on the Jason Ellis show about the rumor that he's fighting Jon "Bones" Jones.  His answer:  "I hope I'm not fighting Jon "Bones" Jones.  He then goes on to talk about his humiliating defeat at the hands of Anderson Silva.  Great stuff from one of MMA's funniest fighters.

Our own Shawn Baran was down at the Zealous Nation seminar with Fedor Emelianenko and got some exclusive footage.  This clip shows Fedor teaching students how to use proper footwork in MMA.  He also demonstrates how to protect yourself when using the guard against an opponent who is trying to ground and pound you. 


We'll have more Fedor videos up soon.  Learn how he rolls, because that's how we roll.

WEC 50 is in the books and the card was, as usual, outstanding.  In the main event Dominick Cruz retained his title with a five round split decision over Joseph Benavidez.  Benavidez did better than a year ago when these two first fought, but it still wasn't enough to beat Cruz, who will now more than likely take on Urijah Faber.  Faber is the man who handed Cruz his only loss, and Cruz will be looking to avenge when they meet again.


All in all a very entertaining night of action.  These lighter weight classes are truly fun to watch and the action is intense.  There's still talk of the WEC merging with the UFC, but for right now they are doing great as a stand alone organization with many great match ups down the road.


Here are the complete results of the evening:

Team Renegade did well at ACOM's grappling tournament last month.  The team is definitely making good progress on all aspects of MMA, from grappling to striking, from stand up to takedown.  Here's a clip of some tournament highlights.  Congrats to all the winners!

The following video was shot at Fedor's invitation-only seminar at Oleg Savitsky's Zealous Nation MMA school in NJ a couple of weeks ago.  In it, Fedor shows how he holds his hands while punching and cautions students to not shift their weight when moving around.  We have lots more footage that will be coming out soon from the seminar, so stay tuned for that.

Now, go forth and punch!

Ouch!  The following video by ix3623 shows some of MMA's most brutal fight ending slams and throws.  Take two aspirin before watching.  Better yet, take morphine.  Lots of morphine. Check it out.

Tatame first reported that Thiago Tavares will be facing Pat Audinwood at UFC 119 on September 25th in Indianapolis.  I've confirmed the fight with Pat's management at Team Bombsquad and I'm excited to see Audinwood get his shot inside the Octagon.  He's one of a few UFC fighters who I've been following well before they made it to the UFC and he definitely deserves his chance in the big leagues. 

With Tavares, the UFC once again shows that new guys get thrown into the deep end of the pool.  In the UFC, there really is no shallow end, so it makes sense that Pat is fighting such an experienced opponent. 

In his last pre-UFC fight, Pat won a unanimous decision over tough Robert Conner, a fight that I had the pleasure of ring announcing.  It was that dominating performance that caught the eye of the UFC, and landed Pat in the big time.

We'll have lots more on Awesomely Awesome over the next month and a half, including an interview with the fighter himself.