You know MMA is mainstream when there are little girls making prediction videos and asking Dana White if they can be UFC cage girls when they grow up. Can UFC Barbie be far behind?

Tags: barbie, lyoto machida, prediction, thiago, UFC

Josh Koscheck used to be insultingly called “The Blanket” because he used his wrestling to hold down opponents for the win.  But it’s obvious that Josh has added an increasingly good stand up game to his arsenal.  His hands are really good now.  Even against a striker as good as Thiago Alves, Koscheck (on short notice)  was able to hold his own.  And against Yoshiyuki Yoshida on Wednesday, he took a page out of Mike Tyson’s playbook, landing a spectacular 2 punch combination that won him fight.

Josh knew that Yoshida was prepared for his overhand right and Yoshida did a good job at first of blocking it.  But then Kos came up the middle with a straight right that rocked Yoshida’s world and stood him straight up and put him out on his feet.  Kos then followed up with a right hook that put Yoshida to sleep.

Here’s a GIF of the KO.

Tags: fight for the troops, gif, josh koscheck, ko, ktfo, UFC, yoshiyuki yoshida

As I mentioned a few days ago, there’s a new MMA promotion on the East Coast called the World Cage Fighting Alliance. The WCA aims to become the premier mixed martial arts organization on the eastern seaboard and their premier event is February 6th at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

I spoke to the WCA’s matchmaker, Gary Marino, about the new promotion.

Garv: Hey Gary, I see you have some big things coming up. What’s going on?

Marino: Well, we’ve got a new show coming out, World Cage Fighting Alliance. Derek Panza is the promoter, brought me on as the matchmaker and it’s gonna be great, it’s gonna be huge.  I’m starting to match some fights now and we’re going to do some big things back on the East Coast here, the Northeast.

Garv: I know you’ve got some big surprises for us in terms of who is going to be fighting. Can you tell us any names yet or do we need to wait in suspense?

Marino: Oh, you’re going to have to wait a little bit, but I’m working on some good ones as always. I’m trying to get back in rare form right away, so you’ll have to wait maybe a couple days.

Garv: Well, I know you’re a legendary matchmaker. You’re the guy that made the Kimbo vs. Mercer fight that started the whole Kimbo craze.

Marino: (Laughs) Yeah, that was fun.

Garv: And now it’s time to recapture the magic in a new promotion. And here’s an idea. If I slip you ten grand under the table, do you think I could do the ring announcing?

Marino:  You’re in!

Garv: (Laughs) All right! Thanks. And I expect a phone call as soon as you sign some of these fighters.

Marino: Garv, you’ll be the first one I call.

OMG, can you believe this?  TheGARV as the official WCA ring announcer?  What are these guys thinking??

Well, it’s too late for them to change their minds now.  A deal is a deal.  So expect to see my mug hamming it up in the WCA cage on February 6th.

And check back here for more info on the promotion and on the fights as they develop.

My bud Zach Lynch owns the website MMAPhotography.com and it’s a great site for MMA action pics. It’s got a search engine that is completely cross referenced. Here’s a random pic from his site:

MMA Photography

Check it out!

Tags: mma photography, pics

Not the bad kind of choke artist. The good kind. Observe.

Major Props to Smoogy

Tags: choke, demian maia, ed herman, gifs, UFC