Evan Tanner A Case In Longevity

Evan Tanner has spent the majority of his life seeking adventures, knowledge,and stories to tell. He has been a slaughterhouse worker. He has built beach houses in South Carolina and worked night security at a ski resort. He has bailed water out of a sinking boat in the Pacific Ocean in a frantic attempt to make it to shore before he went down with it. His thirst for new experiences has led him down many diverse paths in 37 years -- some of them good, and some of them less so.He took his first MMA fight in 1997 because he thought it would be a fun story to tell.That's the kind of guy Tanner is. It turned out that Tanner was a natural. Almost 40fights and 11 years later, Tanner battles Yushin Okami at UFC 82 on Saturday. "It's going to be a tough fight," Tanner said. "He obviously has a very good ground game.He's very solid in the clinch. I understand he's extremely strong. I expect him to utilize that clinch work, and his strength and ground work in the fight." Tanner is back, and he's focused. (UFC) At 26, Okami (20-4 overall, 5-1 UFC) has polarized observers who bemoan his boring-but-effective method of winning. While he's no crowd favorite, Okami's record speaks ...read more

Antonio Silva Bigger More Doesn't Mean Better

Antonio Silva was making the point that he feels quicker and more athletic when he’s small.But to Silva, small is a relative term. Because at 6 feet, 4 inches, 260 pounds with a size-16shoe and fists the size of ham hocks, Silva’s small is most folks’ XXXXL. And there aren’t as many guys of his size and his thickness who are able to do a cartwheel, as Silva is able to do.He tried one after a recent fight as a promise to his daughter, Anne, and it turned out to be a miserable failure.He’s about the size of 2½ gymnasts combined, but defending his less-than-artistic success by pointing out that “people were coming into the ring to congratulate me and I was tryingto get it done too fast before I would hit anyone.” It may be promoter Gary Shaw who does acartwheel tonight – or at least thinks of doing one – if Silva is able to impressively defeatRicco Rodriguez on a Showtime-televised Elite XC card ...read more

Brock Lesner Developing Into A Legimate Force

Although short, this fight lived up to the hype. Questions about Lesnar’slegitimacy were answered and Mirproved he had heart and exhibited flawlessjiu-jitsu. Lesnar was overwhelming; his sheer strength will be unrivaled in allof MMA. He was able to instantly gain a takedown while making it look effortless.The ground-n-pound Lesnar administered was vicious and relentless. Even when striking, Lesnar landed good looking jabs and seemed sharper on his feet than Mir. One thing is certain, Lesnar is the real deal. As he continues to progress, I foresee him becominga legitimate force in the division. Despite the damage he took, Mir was able to surviveand transitioned from an arm bar attempt into a perfect knee bar. There is no question Mir is phenomenal on the ground but once again, his striking looked suspect. He alwaysseems to be flatfooted and waits to attack, letting his opponent dictate the strikingpace. Mir doesn’t have the hand speed to be an effective counter puncher so he needsto stick with his leg kicks, jab, and ground game. With his big win, Mir propels himselfback into title contention and sets up potential fights with Nogiera, Fabricio Werdrum, or even a rematch with Tim Sylva ....read more

The Real Fight Club

He’s going to kick you in the head!” A fight has just started at Gold Rush Saloon, but thereare no cops in sight. The participants are using a combination of boxing and martial arts, whilebrawling in the largest fighting cage in Alaska. So brutal is the fighting, the referees wearrubber gloves because they take on a dual role of medic in the ring as well. It’s GladiatorProductions’ “Mass Destruction 2” and the event is filled with all types of people: young, oldmale and female, all straining for a view of local fighters engaging in mixed martial arts, a fairly new sport that is gaining popularity with its flagship league, Ultimate Fighting Championship.Blood, sweat and exhaustion mingle in the 24-foot ring. After his round, fighter James Mormon III throws up bile into a cup ringside and continues vomiting in the makeshift locker ....read more

Who Will It Be Henderson Or Silva?

For the second time in six months, the stage is set to definitively answerone of the fundamental questions burning in the collective minds of middleweightfight fans worldwide: who is the real champion? Reigning UFC 185-lb champion Anderson Silva will face reigning PRIDE 183-lb champion Dan Henderson to end thedebate, at least for now, as to who is the unchallenged ruler of the mixed martialarts middleweight kingdom. Silva is on the verge of the most successful middleweightchampionship run in UFC history. His March 1 unification fight will be the thirddefense of his title. If successful, he will break his current tie with former championRich Franklin and set a new standard against which all future middleweight championswill be measured. Henderson is the only 183-lb champion that PRIDE has ever known, winning the title by defeating Murilo Bustamante at PRIDE Shockwave 2005. Two yearslater, Hendo shocked the word by savagely knocking out then-205-lb champion WanderleiSilva to become the only simultaneous two-division champion that the sport has ever known...read more

Carl Prater Wins Battle Loses War

Carlo Prater won the fight, but Carlos Condit went on to become champion. Prater handed Condi t his first loss in nine pro bouts, submitting the then 20-year-old by triangle choke in Condit'shometown of Albuquerque, N.M., in 2004. The defeat was a wake-up call for Condit, who admittedto underestimating Prater and not training seriously for the fight. Since the loss, Condit hasgone on to become one of the world's top 170-pound fighters. He beat John Alessio to claim theWorld Extreme Cagefighting welterweight title a year ago.Prater hasn't been short for wins either,but without the opportunities afforded Condit, those victories have come out of the spotlight in"off Broadway" shows like Freestyle Fighting and Art of War. That changes Wednesday when Pratergets the breakthrough fight he has sought for years. The native of Brazil, who lived and trainedin Houston from 2003 to 2005, faces Condit a second time in a nationally televised prime-timebattle ...read more

Good To Last Drop Jaime Varner

Other than a bottle of wine or two, Jamie Varner assures there is no alcohol in his home.And he is proud of that. liquor," the 23-year-old revealed. "I very rarely go out and drink.I sometimes drink on weekends. But I don't drink at all eight weeks before a fight."Such information would be irrelevant but for this: Alcohol, Varner said, once played a prominentpart in his household.“Growing up, both of my parents were alcoholics," Varner said. "I washumiliated, degraded, embarrassed. My parents were embarrassing when they were drunk. My realfather wasn't the best man. But one thing my dad did well was he never accepted mediocrity. Being a 'C' student or average was not acceptable at all. You had to be the best at whateveryou did. He used to say, 'If you're not going to be the best then why do it?'" Jamie Varner expectshis father to be ringside Wednesday for the biggest fight of his life, against WEC lightweightchampion "Razor" Rob McCullough. The father's presence in Albuquerque will represent huge stridesin their once-strained relationship. "About eight months ago I re-established a relationship withhim," Varner said. "This fight with Rob is the first fight he's going to go to, that I've everinvited him to. I treat him more like a friend than as a father. He quit drinking. He's been soberfor maybe like a year now. The way Varner sees it, past tensions with his father only added to hisdetermination to be the best fighter he could be. Varner claims the father who once molded himto be a perfectionist, and used to make Jamie take extra batting and fielding practice in baseball,eventually changed his tune once Jamie hit adulthood. The father then advised, you're not going ...read