It's a great weekend to be a combat sports fan

Whether your taste is mixed martial arts or boxing, this Saturday you have a couple of exciting fights featuring four very young dynamic evenly matched fighters. If you are a fan of both sports that just makes it twice as good and the best part about the whole thing is that both fights are featured on television, one free and one on a premium channel; thus, you can set your DVR to record one while you watch the other. It's a great weekend to be a combat sports fan!

Oh wait, there's even more; both of these fights in their respective sports are a virtual tossup as all the combatants are champions at the top of their game. In MMA, the UFC is holding their seventh card on the FOX network and the main event for UFC on FOX 7 is the lightweight championship between UFC titleholder Benson 'Smooth' Henderson (pictured above left) and former Strikeforce champion Gilbert 'El Nino' Melendez.

Melendez (21-2, 11 KO's 1 sub) is the old man of this group at the ripe old age of 31. He's probably also the one fighter of this group that may be considered the least known of the four; however, that's not because of any fault of his own. He's been competing in this sport for nearly 11 years; problem is part of that time was spent fighting overseas in Japan and the other part was in the now defunct Strikeforce.

Regardless, wherever he's fought, Melendez has won; and in the last couple of years he's always been universally regarded as a top three lightweight (155 lbs.) in the world. In most circumstances I would like Melendez in this fight; but not in this one. That is solely because of Henderson (18-2, 2 KO's 8 subs).

At 29, the UFC champion is just hitting his stride, especially since he's only been competing since '06 versus Melendez's '02. A former champion in the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting), Henderson is a rising star in an organization filled with star champions. Though his style and Melendez's almost mirror each other, especially with wrestling pedigrees, I just think this is Henderson's time while I believe Melendez's time may have passed.

I totally believe this because had this fight taken place two years ago, I probably would have given the nod to Melendez; but while Melendez was toiling away in Strikeforce fighting sporadically because of lack of competition, Henderson has been flourishing fighting the very best in the division. His overall game seems to be peaking at this moment and for that reason I am picking Henderson in a unanimous decision victory over Melendez.

Moving on to boxing, it doesn't happen often, but this weekend Showtime got it right. They've put together a fight between two champions in their weight class, in this case light-middleweight (154 lbs.), which are both undefeated and truthfully haven't even reached their prime a/o yet. WBA champion Austin 'No Doubt' Trout (pictured above right) and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, the WBC champion; will do their part in unifying the title of world's best light-middleweight.

The 26 year old Trout (26-0, 14 KO's) is coming off his biggest victory to date as he dismantled the talented multi-division champion Miguel Cotto over 12 rounds in December 2012 en route to a unanimous decision victory. Meanwhile, Alvarez last fought in September where he knocked out former light-welterweight (140 lbs.) Josesito Lopez. Yes, I think it's important to point out that he knocked out a talented fighter that came up two weight classes to oppose him.

The reason I make this point is because I am going against the masses here and picking Trout to defeat the favored Alvarez. I expect Trout to pick Alvarez apart and outpoint the young 22 year old Mexican over 12 rounds; if not finish him before. I know I'll get many doubters on this pick and they may very well be right.

Alvarez (41-0, 30 KO's) is a great young talent who hits like a mule; there's no doubting that. The question here is who has he hit? The hit list before the lighter Lopez was an over the hill Shane Mosley, a shot and heartless Kermit Cintron and another fighter out of his weight class in welterweight (147 lbs.) Alfonso Gomez, whose claim to fame was coming in third on the first season of 'The Contender'.

Sure Trout's professional resume isn't necessarily a who's who as the biggest name prior to Cotto is Delvin Rodriguez. However, it's in the amateur record where I see the difference. Though Alvarez has had 15 more pro fights than Trout, he had only 20 amateur fights; Trout meanwhile had over 200. I've been telling people I don't think Alvarez is quite ready to run with the big boys and I think this fight against a seasoned, primed and ready Trout will prove my point.

Regardless of the outcomes, both of these fights have the promise to be barn-burners between four young fighters who are part of the next generation of great names in their respective sports. Whether you love boxing, MMA or both, it's a great weekend to be a combat sports fan. Enjoy the fights!

Never judge a book by its cover

As the old saying goes, never judge a book by its cover. That would be the perfect way to describe Saturday night's women's fight at the UFC TUF Finale between Cat Zingano and Meisha Tate (pictured above respectively). To the casual fan the photo may depict anything from Swimsuit models to Zumba instructors; however, nothing could be further from the truth.

These two ladies, beautiful ladies I might add, are professional mixed martial arts fighters at the highest level and they both proved so on Saturday night. For two and a half rounds in a featured bout on the card, these ladies stole the show and just solidified that women's MMA does belong in the UFC. UFC President Dana White obviously thought so as he awarded them the 'Fight of the Night' honor resulting in each winning an additional $50,000 bonus.

Zingano (8-0, 4 KO's 3 subs) and Tate (13-4, 3 KO's 6 subs) had a lot to prove and a lot on the line as well as they competed in only the second women's MMA fight in UFC history. Following women's champion Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche's historic first ever fight back in February that produced a ton of excitement in less than a full round, Zingano and Tate just about tripled that going nearly three full rounds. In the end Zingano outlasted Tate, but it wasn't without a fight.

Tate, the former Strikeforce bantamweight (135 lbs.) champion, who was looking to garner a rematch with Rousey to whom she lost her title, was aggressive from the outset. She came right at Zingano, figuring her wrestling/ground & pound style and overall experience would be too much for Zingano; and for a round and a half it looked as though she was right. She consistently took down Zingano and also appeared to be beating her to the punch while standing.

The first round was clearly hers, while the second was more of a toss up because Zingano was able to reverse her bottom position on the ground midway through the round. However, while she was on top she did not fully escape as Tate had a hold of her leg, more specifically her ankle, and was working towards a possible heel hook submission. Nonetheless, Zingano proved resilient, as she did throughout, not panicking and striking back effectively while her leg was being contorted; inevitably she escaped and ended the round on top.

That seemed to be where the tide turned because in the third round it was Zingano who shot for a quick take down and worked her own ground attack. For nearly two minutes she smothered Tate who later admitted, "Zingano felt pretty heavy on top." Tate eventually got out and worked her way back to her feet, but that would be the beginning of the end for her.

As she rose, Zingano delivered four successive knee strikes to Tate's pretty face that forced her to drop to her knees again and attempt a faint shot towards Zingano; however referee Kim Winslow had seen enough and she stopped the fight at 2:55 of the third round. The knees and the stoppage were not without controversy though.

In the post fight press conference, Tate voiced her displeasure at the referee's stoppage stating she was only doing what Winslow instructed her before the fight and that was to show she was still alert and active when in trouble. As for the knee strikes, she did not protest, but did bring up that she had been told the initial knee strike may have actually come while her hand was still on the mat; thus making it an illegal strike to a downed opponent.

As stated Tate did not protest, but she was obviously disappointed as she lost not only her opportunity at a title rematch with Rousey, but much more. The winner of their fight was already appointed a slot opposite Rousey as a coach on the upcoming season of 'The Ultimate Fighter' reality TV series. This will be the first season featuring women coaches and fighters; it will also be the first season featuring a coed house as both men and women will be featured in the upcoming season.

With Dana White's announcement that the upcoming TUF season will also be featured on the new Fox Sports 1 network, which means an even broader audience, Tate lost a lot more than just a fight Saturday. However, after the disappointment and bruises wear off, both she and Zingano can be proud of their effort. They clearly showed they are more than just a pretty face, which is why we should never judge a book by its cover.

Bellator's first season on Spike was just the spike it needed

All it needed was a chance and after a couple of lackluster seasons on MTV2, Bellator Fighting Championships got that opportunity with Spike TV. Promoting itself as the toughest tournament in sports, Bellator went out and proved it week in and week out for the last three months. Using a combination of established young stars, rising up and coming fighters and some tough proven veterans; such as Doug 'Rhino' Marshall (pictured above), Bellator's first season on Spike was just the spike it needed.

The season began with stacked tournaments in a multitude of weight classes ranging anywhere from featherweight (145 lbs.) to light-heavyweight (205 lbs.). They crowned new champions, including light-heavyweight Attila 'Pumukli' Vegh who was a previous tournament winner that defeated former champ Christian M'Pumbu and most importantly they delivered some very exciting fights. More than any previous season before that I could recall, Bellator had more knockouts, submissions and first round finishes than anytime in its history ever.

During the course of that process, veterans such as the aforementioned Marshall, a 36 year old former WEC champion and Dave Jansen, also a WEC veteran now 33 years old, saw their careers come back to life with tournament wins and future title shots in the middleweight (185 lbs.) and lightweight (155 lbs.) classes respectively. By the same token, some well known names like Renato 'Babalu' Sobral and Marlon Sandro may have seen their last big shots come and go.

This past season also provided shocking surprises such as Emanuel Newton coming out of relative obscurity to knock out pre-season light-heavyweight tourney favorite Muhammed 'King Mo' Lawal with a spinning backfist in the semifinals; he would then go on to win the tournament. It also showed some things just don't change, such as Douglas Lima and Ben 'Killa B' Saunders' getting through the welterweight (170 lbs.) tournament once again for another opportunity to face each other; this will be a rematch of one of Bellator's most exciting fights.

However most importantly, Bellator showed that it could lose some highly touted free agent former champions such as Hector Lombard and Eddie Alvarez and still survive. That is primarily because their current nucleus of promotion made stars, which include featherweight champion Pat Curran, lightweight champ Michael Chandler and welterweight champ Ben Askren all came strong this past season with successful and exciting title defenses.

Curran, Chandler and Askren may not be as well known or highly touted as their UFC counterparts Jose Aldo, Benson Henderson and Georges St. Pierre, but they are clearly all in the top ten of their respective weight classes and in the case of Curran, I'd argue he may be in the top two or three as far as featherweights go right behind Aldo. Those three, along with all the others I mentioned above are the main reason why Bellator's first season on Spike was just the spike it needed.

In the midst of the latest greatest boxing trilogy

Unfortunately it doesn't come around very often, but when it does it is something to behold. I'm talking about when two boxers come together that are just made for each other. I'm talking such a perfect combination, that the results are evenly matched, super exciting fights that result in a historic boxing trilogy.

Welcome to this generation's offering for inclusion into this special club between light welterweights Brandon 'Bam Bam' Rios (32-1, 23 KO's) and Mike Alvarado (34-1 (23 KO's). On Saturday night these two warriors engaged in a rematch of 2012's fight of the year and the result was just as good, if not better than last year. That is because this time the fight wasn't stopped before the end by the referee, so we got to witness all 12 rounds of this classic and more importantly, Alvarado won the decision; thus creating the need for the much anticipated rubber match.

How perfect are these two made for each other? Besides the fights, which speak for themselves, just look at the little things. Starting with their records, other than two more fights for Alvarado, they are virtually the same; by the way, if you haven't figured it out already the losses on their records are to each other. On HBO's 'Tale of the Tape' before the fight, they measured the same in both height and arm reach and then during the fight came the most glaring stat of them all. After round nine HBO displayed the punch count to that point and it showed Alvarado having thrown just two more punches total through nine and the both of them eerily landing the same amount; that's scary!

However, forget the numbers and the statistics, this is about two fighters that have come together during the peek of their careers and have put on a display of both skill and guts. On Saturday night the fight lived up to the hype, though it looked early liked there would be no reason for a third match. That is because in the second round Rios staggered Alvarado in his tracks with a straight jab of all punches. Alvarado was legitimately shook and struggled to get through the round; yet through his struggle he found the sense to keep throwing punches if you can believe that.

In between rounds he seemed to gather himself because he came out in the third round and during the course of exchanging landed an overhand right (pictured above) that rocked Rios. This was the turning point in the fight for two reasons. One is because it brought Alvarado back into the fight from an immediate two round deficit; and two was because that overhand right would be Rios kryptonite throughout the rest of this installment. Alvarado had found a home for that punch and Rios had no answer for it.

Nonetheless, just like Cameo's 1987 hit single, Rios and Alvarado went "Back & Forth" throughout, though Alvarado clearly separated himself in the latter part of the bout winning the last four crucial championship rounds. By doing so he won the WBO light welterweight title and redemption for his loss back in October 2012. However, the celebration was only minutes old before talks of a rubber match was spurred on by Rios himself.

During Alvarado's post fight interview with HBO's Max Kellerman, Rios barnstormed in yelling about how he had given Alvarado a rematch and now he needed to do the same. Of course Alvarado immediately obliged saying he would, but that next time he wanted Rios to come to his hometown of Denver, Colorado the way he had gone to Rios hometown in their first meeting. Rios said he would and both called upon promoter Bob Arum to make it happen.

For boxing fans like me, the setting can't be more perfect. Meanwhile for the two combatants involved, their place in boxing history will be cemented, assuming the third fight is like the first two, but at what cost? It's no mystery that a trilogy of this caliber takes something from the fighters they can never get back. They put so much into hurting one another that regardless of how good they are, they are never the same afterward; history has dictated such.

Before my time in the early 50's it was Willie Pep and Sandy Saddler; though they fought in an era where boxers fought unbelievable amounts of fights in their career. Between the two of them they combined for over 400 professional fights; that's insane and unheard of today. One can argue the Muhammad Ali/Joe Frazier trilogy in the '70's pretty much ended their careers for the most part; though Ali would defeat Leon Spinks later for his third title.

In more recent history we were treated to two such historical trifectas; Erik Morales versus Marco Antonio Barrera and Arturo Gatti versus Mickey Ward was Rios/Alvarado a decade ago. The six wars those four engaged in were so legendary they are linked to each other for eternity; but it took so much out of them they were never quite the same even with any success attained afterward. So here we are once again, in the midst of the latest greatest boxing trilogy. If you missed the first two fights, I suggest you catch replays if you can; because as I stated earlier, fights like these don't come around very often.

Does the organization make the fighter or vice versa?

With March Madness in full swing, I've been consumed by college basketball the last couple of weeks. Thus, the reason I haven't been blogging as much. However, that is not to say I haven't been watching the fights; thank God for the invention of Digital Video Recording (DVR).

With the use of my DVR I was able to catch replays of both Thursday night's Bellator 93 card and Saturday night's World Series of Fighting 2 card. Both were extremely entertaining, chock full of highlight reel KO finishes and exciting main events; which made me think of a couple of things.

One is it's such a shame that casual fans of mixed martial arts only know and watch the UFC. Both of these promotions, especially Bellator with 93 events under its belt, are proving that their events are just as professional and can provide high quality fights. The second thing I thought of as I watched both events is, is it the organization that makes the fighter or does the fighter make the organization?

The reason this came to mind is because to hear UFC President Dana White tell it, his organization is where the best fighters in the world are. For the most part, this is probably true at the very top of the food chain as the UFC champions, Cain Velasquez, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre, Jose Aldo etc. are clearly the very best in their respective weight classes. However, I'd argue that when it comes to contender and even up and coming star status, the playing field is quite level.

Bellator Fighting Championships has built quite an impressive stable of fighters by implementing a simple formula. They scour the earth for untapped (no pun intended) talent and then use their tournament style setting to create stars within the sport. Sprinkle in a UFC veteran here and there and 93 cards later, the formula has worked to perfection.

If you don't believe me, just look at some of the names that have developed through the Bellator system; Eddie Alvarez, the number one free agent in MMA, Ben Askren, Michael Chandler, Pat Curran and this past Thursday the name Dave Jansen, a veteran of over 20 fights with an impressive (19-2) record, was the latest to come from MMA obscurity to becoming a tournament champion and earning a title shot.

Anyone thinking that Bellator fighters are second rate just because they are not in the UFC, need to take a look and recognize. On another note, The World Series of Fighting promotion, with just two events in its short history, is taking a different approach. Their roster, primarily made up of UFC castoffs and MMA veterans, is rejuvenating new life into well known names while sprinkling in a young gun of their own here and there.

The result has been two very successful events, which included this weekend's main event that featured former UFC welterweight (170 lbs.) Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson, pictured above, fighting at heavyweight as he took on former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. As you can see in his face from the photo above, which was taken in July 2009, Johnson is no stranger to weighing above 220 lbs.

However, at 230 lbs. for this fight, Johnson was neither fat or out of shape and was just as fast and powerful as always as he took it to Arlovski earning a unanimous decision. Other UFC cut fighters featured on this card that looked very impressive in their performances were David Branch, who destroyed former WEC middleweight (185 lbs.) champ Paulo Filho over three rounds and Josh Burkman who took out fellow UFC vet Aaron Simpson. Burkman is now slated to fight recent UFC reject Jon Fitch, possibly for the welterweight strap.

As a guy who has built an extensive vinyl record collection over the years, many of them bought used, I have come to learn that one man's trash definitely can become another man's treasure. The last thing I will do is call any fighter not in or cut by the UFC trash; but I will say that from what I've seen from both Bellator and WSOF, they are definitely reaping rewards from their fighters. Thus, in response to my question above, I'd have to say that the fighter clearly makes the organization; as it should be.

Over the hill or a freak of nature?

At 48 years of age, is a professional boxer over the hill or a freak of nature? In most cases, for the few that do exist, he would probably be considered a bum. However in the case of newly crowned IBF light-heavyweight (175 lbs.) champion Bernard Hopkins, a freak of nature doesn't seem to aptly describe this growing legend.

This past Saturday, 'The Executioner', known more today as B-Hop, continued to defy the odds and boxing logic as he became the oldest person to win a major title when he defeated former champion Tavoris Cloud (25-1, 19 KO's) via unanimous decision. In typical Hopkins fashion, he was able to defuse the younger fighter's strength, in this case Cloud's power, while imposing his own boxing prowess and veteran tricks of the trade. Hopkins (53-6-2, 32 KO's) may not make it pretty, but as Tim Hardaway used to say about his jump shot, "It may be ugly, but it's deadly."

Hopkins who had his first professional fight, a decision loss, nearly 25 years ago is now rated the number one light-heavyweight in the world. That feat alone should be afforded a certain amount of respect; but to do it at 48 years of age when most boxers are reminiscing about their heyday, one has to stand up and recognize. Hopkins is a marvel that continues to make so called experts and people like myself eat their words.

I openly told people before this past Saturday, "Nobody is checking for Bernard Hopkins anymore" and I may be right. Yet, when it came down to it, regardless of how unexciting Hopkins may make a fight, I was there watching with full interest. That is because as long as he keeps making chumps out of this generation's champs, as a 50 year old it makes me feel good.

As Hopkins stated in his post fight interview, he is living proof you can still perform at a high level without the assistance of any performance enhancing drugs. In this day and age when all pro athletes need to be scrutinized, there's no reason to think Hopkins is anything but what he says he is; natural. For 15 years from 1990-2005, regardless of his age, he maintained his weight and level of excellence as a middleweight (160 lbs.)

Say what you will about Hopkins, when it came to his body he's always been disciplined and a true professional. He may have served a five year prison stint before his career, but since becoming a pro, he's never been accused of anything but winning ugly; winning ugly on his way to a record 20 middleweight title defenses and multiple weight division champion.

What's next for this future Hall of Famer and living legend? Who knows? I think at this point to deny he'll still be punching at 50 years of age and at a top level is not out of the realm.  One thing is for sure; B-Hop may be over the hill in boxing age, but that just means he is a freak of nature.

Back to the Future; at least for one night

For six years from 2000-2006, Wanderlei Silva ruled the MMA world in the Land of the Rising Sun, Japan. Already a living legend and future Hall of Famer, the former Pride light-heavyweight champion has seen better days as he had only won three of his previous 10 fights before Saturday night. However, at least for one night on Saturday, the 'Axe Murderer' went back to the future.

On a return trip to Japan, this time as part of a UFC main event, Silva (36-12, 26 KO's 3 subs) turned back the clock as he went toe to toe with contender Brian Stann (12-7, 9 KO's 1 sub) and like he used to do so many times before, took out his opponent in typical 'Axe Murderer' style. However, it was not without anxious moments for Silva and his many fans, myself included, as for the round and a half that it lasted, Silva took as much as he gave.

As a matter of fact, there were a couple of times during exchanges in the first round that Stann buckled Silva with punches and dropped him in his tracks; but Silva was able to immediately recover and shoot for a take down, at the very least to clear his head. Yet, on those couple of occasions he was staggered, he was also able to come back and inflict his own damage; bloodying Stann with a serious cut on the bridge of his nose.

As my buddy Alton Dunham pointed out during an exchange of texts post fight, all respect due to Brian Stann for willing to stand and trade with Silva, which accommodated Japan's adopted son and his fans. Honestly, I, as many, thought that standing and trading with the younger stronger Stann could prove fatal for Silva. Yet, just like a basketball player who is willing to live or die with his jump shot, Silva was willing to live or die by his striking.

Midway through the second round, while aggressively pursing Stann, he caught the former Marine with a straight right hand that rocked him and then dropped him with a crushing left hook follow-up. With Stann falling straight back to the mat, Silva pounced on him with four successive right hands that made their mark and literally stretched Stann out. For one night, 'The Axe Murderer' was back.

Now the question begs, where does he go from here? I personally was hoping he would use the opportunity to go out on top and retire a winner in a main event that took place in Japan where he is revered. He did not do that and while the book is still out on whether he'll fight again, I'm afraid that the warrior he is won't allow him to.

Unfortunately, I think that Wanderlei Silva will fight until he is forced to retire and sadly I think that will be the next time he gets viciously KO'ed; which has happened in four out of his seven previous losses. Nonetheless, instead of dwelling on what may possibly happen in the future, I will rejoice in one of my favorite fighters going back to the future; at least for one night.