How Do MMA Weight Classes Win Their Fights? Expectation vs. Reality

by

Kevin Sampson

Correspondent Written on October 31, 2009

Don't like your poll? You can delete it.

Vote Now! - Author Poll

What is your favorite Mixed Martial Arts Weight Division?

• Super Heavyweight
• Heavyweight
• Light Heavyweight
• Middleweight
• Welterweight
• Lightweight
• Featherweight
• Bantamweight
• Flyweight

vote to see results

After reading a number of recent articles discussing the UFC heavyweight division, The Ultimate Fighter 10: Heavyweights, and the upcoming fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers, I noticed an interesting trend.

Mixed martial arts fans expect knockouts from heavyweights. Other weight classes have substantially lowered fan expectations for knockouts.

Meanwhile, lighter weight classes are expected to see lots of submissions and a higher number of fights go to the judges.

This made me very curious. How well do the respective weight classes live up to their presumed roles? If MMA fans are thinking accurately, we should see significantly more knockouts at heavyweight and far fewer at in the lighter weight classes.

It was a this point that the insane statistic geek inside me went berserk, took over my body for several hours, and pored over Web sites compiling data on the best MMA fighters from each weight class.

So who are the best MMA fighters ever? To keep it very simple, I used the numbers for every UFC and Pride FC title holder, both past and present. I think these clearly represent the best of the best MMA fighters sorted by weight class. Here’s what I found:

Heavyweight

(Mark Coleman, Maurice Smith, Randy Couture, Bas Rutten, Kevin Randleman, Josh Barnett, Ricco Rodriguez, Tim Sylvia, Frank Mir, Andrei Arlovski, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brock Lesnar, Fedor Emelianenko)

• Total Wins = 305
• Wins by Knockout = 88 (29%)
• Wins By Submission = 116 (38%)
• Wins by Decision = 101 (33%)

Light Heavyweight

(Frank Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort, Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson, Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson)

• Total Wins = 225
• Wins by Knockout = 103 (46%)
• Wins by Submission = 44 (20%)
• Wins by Decision = 78 (35%)

Middleweight

(Dave Menne, Murilo Bustamante, Evan Tanner, Rich Franklin, Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson)

• Total Wins = 164
• Wins by Knockout = 60 (37%)
• Wins by Submission = 57 (35%)
• Wins by Decision = 47 (29%)

Welterweight

(Pat Miletich, Carlos Newton, Matt Hughes, BJ Penn, George St Pierre, Matt Serra. Note: The equivalent division did not exist in Pride FC.)

• Total Wins = 129
• Wins by Knockout = 35 (27%)
• Wins by Submission = 61 (47%)
• Wins by Decision = 33 (26%)

Lightweight

(Jens Pulver, Sean Sherk, BJ Penn, Takanori Gomi)

• Total Wins = 97
• Wins by Knockout: 36 (37%)
• Wins by Submission: 27 (28%)
• Wins by Decision: 34 (35%)

So do the weight classes within mixed martial arts live up to the expectations of their fans? No, they certainly do not!

Case in point, the best divisions to watch for knockout are light heavyweight, middleweight, and lightweight, in that order. Light heavyweight is clearly the king of the knockout. The divisions with the fewest knockouts were welterweight and heavyweight.

And which weight classes are the ones to watch for submissions? Apparently, welterweight and heavyweight are the kings of submissions. And light heavyweight is definitely not the division to watch if you love submissions victories.

What do we learn from this?

1. Unlike some other combat sports, mixed martial arts does not see significantly more knockouts in the heavier divisions.
2. The numbers are all over the map.
3. We should probably throw out all generalizations and expectations based upon weight class. After all, the numbers simply don’t add up.

So where do our expectations come from? Most likely from boxing.

To help demonstrate, this, I’ve compiled the numbers on all current champions, throwing in legendary boxers from the past for good measure. For simplicity sake, I’m not going to include all the weight classes (there’s too damn many of them):

BOXING

Heavyweight

(Nikolay Valuev, Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko, Rocky Marciano, Muhammed Ali, Joe Lewis, Mike Tyson)

• Total Wins = 361
• Wins by Knockout = 293 (81%)
• Wins by Decision = 68 (19%)

Light Heavyweight

(Gabriel Campillo, Jean Pascal, Tavoris Cloud, Zsolt Erdei, Juergan Braehmer, Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones Jr.)

• Total Wins = 230
• Wins by Knockout = 157 (68%)
• Wins by Decision = 73 (32%)

Middleweight

(Felix Sturm, Kelly Pavik, Sebastian Zbik, Sebastian Sylvester, Oscar De La Hoya)

• Total Wins = 166
• Wins by Knockout = 100 (60%)
• Wins by Decision = 66 (39%)

Welterweight

(Shane Mosley, Vyacheslav Senchenko, Andre Berto, Isaac Hlatshwayo, Miguel Cotto, Manny Pacquiao, Sugar Ray Leonard, Sugar Ray Robinson, Floyd Mayweather)

• Total Wins = 462
• Wins by Knockout = 310 (67%)
• Wins by Decision = 152 (33%)

Lightweight

(Juan Manuel Marquez, Paulus Moses, Miguel Acosta, Edwin Valero, Michael Katsidis, Roberto Duran, Benny Leonard, Tony Canzoneri, Henry Armstrong)

• Total Wins = 626
• Wins by Knockout = 404 (65%)
• Wins by Decision = 222 (35%)

In boxing, the heavyweight division is far and away the best place to watch for stunning knockouts, with as much as 21 percent more knockouts than other divisions. Mixed martial arts isn’t just different. It’s very nearly opposite from boxing in this trend.

These numbers probably also explain why the light heavyweight division is considered the most exciting division in MMA. More knockouts equals more happy fight fans.

So now you know.

Rampage Jackson: How Did a Man This Stupid Ever Become a Good Fighter?

by

Kevin Sampson

Correspondent Written on October 22, 2009

Don't like your poll? You can delete it.

Vote Now! - Author Poll

Will Team Rampage win any of the first 8 fights?

• Yes
• No
• No Idea

vote to see results

So I got home last night, flipped on my TV and DVR and started playing back yesterday’s The Ultimate Fighter episode, and I must say I'm feeling inspired from it!

This run of The Ultimate Fighter has taught me a number of things:

1.) If there was ever any doubt after his last run on TUF, that doubt has been destroyed: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is an unbelievable moron!

2.) There is such a thing as being a complete and total failure as an MMA coach. If you go a step worse than that, you’re name is probably Quinton Jackson.

3.) A great pre-fight pep talk should include the word “titties” every third word, and should otherwise make absolutely no sense whatsoever.

4.) Picking fights with the guys on the opposite team is cool if your name is Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

5.) We're doomed to see the following headline in the future: "Rampage Jackson beats soccer mom into unconsciousness!"

6.) Don’t worry about consoling your fighters when they lose! Rashad’s got your back, man!

7.) When it comes to throwing out insults and talking trash, Rampage can dish it but he can’t take it.

8.) The Ultimate Fighter is all about the fighters competing in the tournament...unless your name is Quinton Jackson. Then it’s all about you, and the fighters are just a pointless side-note.

9.) Kimbo Slice is the most fired up, eager warrior that will ever be a complete and total failure in UFC history.

10.) I have a better nickname for Roy Nelson than “Big Country.” Ladies and gentlemen, introducing “The Fat Kid that Could!”

11.) Kimbo desperately wants to get another chance at failure. This will be an important teaser on every single episode, to ensure that all the Kimbo faithful keep watching. Then we’ll go all the way through the entire Ultimate Fighter season without ever seeing Kimbo fight again.

12.) Kimbo Slice has the worst ground game I’ve seen since Art Jimmerson.

13.) Size doesn’t matter. Skill matters. This is why the comparatively smaller Team Rashad is 6-0. And Team Rampage is 0-6 because "they're all just crappy fighters" and "you can't teach them stuff."

14.) If you sent Rampage to go buy you a good horse, he’d come back with and ostrich.

15.) I’m actually starting to really, really like Rashad Evans. How weird is that? Maybe it’s because anybody looks awesome next to Quinton Jackson.

16.) I’m completely at a loss—why does ANYONE actually like Rampage Jackson?

17.) Rampage Jackson is going to pick at least one fight with every fighter on Team Rashad—one that almost comes to blows, but not quite. Then he’ll start on his own guys. Then he's going after Dana. After that, he's going to punch out the octagon girl.

18.) There’s stupid and then there’s Rampage Jackson stupid.

19.) This season, Rampage Jackson will probably do more damage to the gym than all of the fighters will do to the house combined.

20.) Quinton Jackson likes to throw tantrums and needs a timeout.

21.) I really, really, really feel like YouTube’ing Rampage versus Wanderlei Silva One and Two and Rampage versus Shogun. I just know that watching Quinton Jackson get beat into unconsciousness repeatedly will make me feel happy inside. I wonder why?

More than anything else, I’m scratching my head and trying to figure one thing out: How is a guy this stupid one of the best fighters in the world? Sure some fighters are idiots, but this is reality warping stupidity we’re talking about folks!

Beyond UFC 104: The Future of the Light Heavyweight Division

by

Kevin Sampson

Correspondent Written on October 22, 2009

Don't like your poll? You can delete it.

Vote Now! - Author Poll

After The Dragon and Shogun, who is the next best LHW in the UFC

• Rashad Evans
• Forrest Griffin
• Thiago Silva
• Rich Franklin
• Wanderlei Silva
• Keith Jardine
• Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
• Tito Ortiz
• Randy Couture
• Anderson Silva

vote to see results

Well, UFC 104 is upon us and everyone is getting more and more excited to see the Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida take on legendary brawler Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Predictions and speculations abound over who will win. I think it will be Machida myself.

But what happens after that?

If Machida wins, it will be the first successful title defense in a long time. Having a little consistency at Light Heavyweight Champion would do worlds of good for the UFC right now. Over the past couple years, the title changes hands so fast that you barely have time to get to know the new champion.

So who would be next for Machida if he beats Shogun? Unfortunately, the answer to this question is complicated. He's already beaten several of your best options: Thiago Silva, Rich Franklin, and Rashad Evans.

The upcoming return of Tito Ortiz, no matter how successful, won't generate a compelling matchup for Machida. Once again, Machida already beat him. If he wins this Saturday, I’m seeing a high chance of rematches in Machida’s future.

If Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida wins:

1. Quinton Jackson : Undoubtedly, Rampage is the best Top-10 Light Heavyweight to send up against Machida. Two things have to happen before you can make this match though. One: Rampage will have to finish with the “A Team” movie and come back out of retirement. Two: Rampage has an obligation to fight against Rashad Evans. I expect this would be his first fight upon returning. Rampage vs Machida is at least a year off, if it ever happens at all.
2. Gegard Mousasi : If the UFC can find a way to sign “The Dreamcatcher” this would be a match made in heaven. Both Mousasi and Machida seem to be unbeatable. This would truly be a fight for “Best Light Heavyweight on the Planet.” But how easily can Gegard be lured away from Strikeforce? He is their champion after all. If the UFC can find a way to sign Mousasi, this would be the best fight possible!
3. Winner of Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera : This would be a great fight for the fans, whether it’s Vera or Couture. I don’t see either of them really challenging Machida, but it puts recognizable names in the octagon with the champion.
4. Winner of Matt Hammill vs. Jon Jones : Neither Hammill, nor Jones have beaten a Top-10 Light Heavyweight yet, so throwing one of them a title-shot seems premature. The trouble is, they just might have to step up sooner than everyone thought. I think both of them are extremely under-rated, particularly Jonny “Bones” Jones.
5. Ryan Bader : If he can beat Shafer, I think it might be high time to put Bader’s undefeated record to the test. Bader is a bit of an unknown. What we do know is that he is a pretty good all-around fighter. He’s undefeated, with four knockouts, three submissions, and two wins by decision. Like Hammill, or Jones, this is asking for a relatively unproven fighter to step up sooner than expected.
6. Rematch with the winner of Rashad Evans vs Thiago Silva : I don’t foresee this as being an extremely compelling matchup. Machida beat both of them so soundly they looked like amateurs. Still, both of them are legit Top-10 fighters with big wins on their resumes. Your best option just might be a rematch.
7. Forrest Griffin : I'm not really crazy about this option, but if Forrest beats Tito, then I suppose you could throw him into an upcoming title fight.
8. Anderson Silva : A fight against the Middleweight Champion is the fight that everyone is clamoring to see. The trouble is, Machida and Silva are friends and training partners. They’ve repeatedly vowed that they won’t fight each other. I don’t foresee this matchup ever happening, at least not anytime soon. But oh what a fight it would be!!

If Mauricio “Shogun” Rua wins: Okay, the “what’s next” picture for Rua is a lot easier. All of the fights above would be options, but with Shogun, you have even more compelling options:

1. Anderson Silva : There is some question whether Anderson would step up and fight the man that beat his best friend. He might decide not to so that Machida can do it for himself. Still, Anderson Silva would need very little convincing to fight Shogun. There’s some bad blood there stemming from the breakup of Chute Boxe. “The Spider” would love to beat down Shogun, make no mistake about it! And this is a fight that has a very good chance of actually happening!
2. Winner of Rashad Evans vs Thiago Silva : The winner of this fight should be an obvious number one contender. Either one should be able to give Shogun all he can handle. And unlike Machida, Shogun has never fought either of them.
3. Winner of Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz : You can believe that Shogun wants to avenge that rude welcome he got in his UFC debut at the hands of Griffin. If Forrest can beat Tito Ortiz, that might be enough of a winning streak to seal the deal. If Ortiz can win, I say “Why not?” Throw him in with Shogun and see how he does.
4. Rematch with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson : This would be a very compelling rematch. Rampage getting a shot at revenge against the other Muay Thai brawler that humiliated him back in Pride. Quinton would still have to finish his stint in Hollywood, come out of retirement, and he’d probably have to beat Rashad Evans too.
5. All of the same things as listed for Machida: Gegard Mousasi, Jon Jones, Matt Hammill, Randy Couture, Brandon Vera, Ryan Bader, etc.

Whatever happens Saturday night, it should be very interesting to see what happens next at Light Heavyweight.

Strikeforce: Fedor Emelianenko Vs Brett Rogers, CBS Is Doing A Better

by

Kevin Sampson

Correspondent Written on October 20, 2009

Don't like your poll? You can delete it.

Vote Now! - Author Poll

Will Strikeforce still exist 10 years from now

• Yes and they'll run the UFC out of business!
• Yes
• No
• No and this next broadcast will be their last!

vote to see results

This is an update for a prior article .

One of the biggest Mixed Martial Arts events in the history of the sport is coming up on Saturday, Nov. 7. “The Last Emperor,” Fedor Emelianenko makes his Strikeforce cage-fighting debut against undefeated Brett “The Grimm” Rogers.

Fedor Emelianenko has won 26 fights in a row. He has 30 wins in his career, and his only loss was highly controversial. He’s beaten all comers, including well known champions, a host of former UFC champions, towering giants and several fighters that you never have and never will hear of. He is effectively 30-0, a mark that no other Heavyweight has ever attained.

As Randy Couture put it, "I don't think anybody's invincible...but he's probably the closest thing."

Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers will air live on CBS. Preliminary fights start at 7:00 PM and the main card begins at 9:00 PM Eastern Time.

The card also includes:

• Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard “The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi vs “The African Assasin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

• Jake Shields vs Jason “Mayhem” Miller for the recently vacated Strikeforce Middleweight Title.

• Fabricio Werdum vs Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva

Considering that this is Strikeforce with its comparatively thin ranks of talented fighters, this card actually looks pretty amazing.

Whether you like Strikeforce or hate them; whether you love Fedor or hate him, this event represents a landmark event in Mixed Martial Arts history. This is the first time that a card this stacked with top fighters has been broadcast by one of the big four networks.

This is the first time that a top-ranked fighter of any weight class has fought on a free live broadcast on one of the big four networks.

So it’s week two of CBS promoting this event. How are they doing now?

Let's take last weeks blip:

“Fedor Emelianenko, the world’s greatest fighter comes to CBS, Saturday, November 7th.”

To this week’s lengthier clip:

"He is a man of mystery.
Who trains in the frozen tundra of Siberia.
Fedor Emelianenko is the number one Heavyweight mixed martial artist fighter in the world.
And he's taking on undefeated knockout artist Brett Rogers.
Live!
Free!
Only on CBS!
November 7th"

Much better! This promotional clip was well delivered. Dramatic pauses with a showman’s flair. It was an excellent teaser that actually gets your attention and holds it.

Unfortunately, CBS stayed true to form and only broadcast it once per football game. Yes they nailed the right target audience for the clip. Football fans enjoy watching grown men batter the hell out of each other, so Mixed Martial Arts ought to be very appealing to them.

But once again, they only ran the clip once per game, and on one game I didn’t even find it once. Compare that with the constant promotions for all of CBS’ regular shows: Repetition 'til you were sick of hearing about it...and that’s exactly the right way to do it.

You need to run the thing more than once or people will forget. One clip per game isn’t going to draw nearly as much interest because people will see it and promptly forget about it. Repetition makes it stick in people's memories.

Other suggestions for improvement:

Like I already said, Fedor Emelianenko looks about as intimidating as a newborn kitten. If you want people to realize what a badass he really is, you can't just tell them. You have to show them.

Here’s how you do it:

• Show the stare-down before the Hong-Man Choi fight to show the size difference between the combatants. Then show Fedor finishing of Choi.

• Show the stare-down before the Tim Sylvia fight. It’s the same idea: Here’s Fedor taking on yet another enormous towering brute. Then show him knocking the crap out of Sylvia. Finally show him choking out Timmy.

• Show the stare-down before the Andrei Arlovski fight. This won’t offer the same “David vs Goliath” feel, but it shows that he’s fighting all sorts. On top of that, Andrei is pretty ripped and Fedor isn’t. Then show the clip of him knocking out Arlovski.

Note: All Pride FC footage is owned by Zuffa LLC, parent company of the UFC. The UFC isn't in the business of helping out their competition, so don't expect to see any Pride FC footage of Fedor.

By taking this approach, your TV audience will begin to catch on: This Fedor guy isn’t all that scary looking, but he can beat the crap out of guys that would give most people nightmares looking at them.

CBS also added this video to their web site.

I’m beginning to get the feeling that CBS is reading the articles here and taking the suggestions offered. So if you’re reading, you’re doing a lot better CBS.

You might want to start mentioning the rest of the fight card in the next week or two. People tuning in for this Live and Free event are going to be rewarded with more than just one fight. Strikeforce is putting on five top-10 fighters into this event. There will be one title fight and one champion fighting in a non-title fight. There’s definitely some promotional material in the rest of the fight card.

Another suggestion: Most people don’t know what “Mixed Martial Arts” means. Most have heard of “Ultimate Fighting” but that’s about it. There is also a lot of bad publicity on the sport. These would actually be very compelling subjects. Remember how Don Frye was fired as both a firefighter and a High School coach for his participation in the Ultimate Fighter tournaments?

Remember John McCain’s self-righteous and misguided crusade attempting to destroy the sport altogether? I think there’s more than enough material in the trouble history of MMA for a run on 60 Minutes or The Late Show .

It would do a lot of good to show how very human Mixed Martial Artists are and demonstrate that the sport is not nearly as barbaric as some people make it out to be.

As I've pointed out so very many times: Since UFC 1, more than 71 boxers have died from injuries sustained in Professional Boxing Matches. The UFC has lost zero. All MMA promotion combined have tallied one fatality. This sport is extremely misunderstood, and far less dangerous than other well-established mainstream sports.

Hey CBS, How Fast Can You Say "Fedor Emelianenko"?

by

Kevin Sampson

Correspondent Written on October 16, 2009

Vote Now! - Author Poll

How fast can you say “Fedor Emelianenko, the world’s greatest fighter comes to CBS, Saturday, November 7th.”?

• Under 10 seconds
• Under 9 seconds
• Under 8 seconds
• Under 7 seconds
• Under 6 seconds
• Under 5 seconds
• Under 4 seconds
• Under 3 seconds
• Under 2 seconds
• Under 1 second (LIAR!!)

vote to see results

One of the biggest Mixed Martial Arts events in the history of the sport is coming up on Saturday, November 7th. “The Last Emperor”, Fedor Emelianenko makes his Strikeforce cage-fighting debut in a highly anticipated battle against an undefeated giant of a man, Brett “The Grimm” Rogers. Fedor, is widely considered the best Heavyweight on the planet. Many also consider him the top pound for pound fighter in the world. He has won 26 fights in a row, has 30 wins in his career, and has only one highly controversial loss on his record. He’s beaten all comers, including well known champions, a host of former UFC champions, towering giants and several fighters that you never have and never will hear of. He is effectively 30-0, a mark that no other Heavyweight has ever attained.

Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers will air live on CBS. Preliminary fights start at 7:00 PM and the main card begins at 9:00 PM Eastern Time.

So how does the overall card look? Considering that this is Strikeforce with its comparatively thin ranks of talented fighters, it actually looks pretty amazing. Gegard Mousasi, the Light Heavyweight Champion will face Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Jake Shields will face Jason Miller for the vacant Strikeforce Middleweight title, and Fabricio Werdum will fight Antonion “Bigfoot” Silva. Every fight on the main card features at least one fighter who is ranked in the top 10 in their respective weight classes. And while Gegard Mousasi, Jake Shields and Fabricio Werdum are likely to easily destroy their opponents, I have to hand it to Strikeforce for coming up with a decent opponent for all three of them.

Whether you like Strikeforce or hate them; whether you love Fedor or hate him, this event represents a landmark event in Mixed Martial Arts history. This is the first time that a card this stacked with top fighters has been broadcast by one of the big four networks.

So what is CBS doing to promote this mammoth night of fights?

Well, not much so far. I remember catching something brief, and cryptic while watching the Denver Broncos vs the New England Patriots game. It was so short I thought I might have imagined it. E Spencer Kyte received a response to his article from CBS Executive VP Kelly Kahl assuring us that CBS had already aired promotional spots during several College and NFL Football games.

Okay so I know I didn’t just imagine it. There really was a promotional clip aired on CBS. Luckily I still had both NFL games saved on my DVR. So I poured through the three-plus hours of the game and sure enough, there it was:

“Fedor Emelianenko, the world’s greatest fighter comes to CBS, Saturday, November 7th.”

Only once per game, CBS aired that clip. It took five seconds maximum. It was a brief clip telling the world that somebody named Fedor Emelianenko “the greatest fighter in the world” would be on CBS on Saturday, November 7th. I had to replay it several times to get all the words down because the guy was talking too fast for me to catch it all.

Okay, so let’s look at this from the perspective of somebody who has never heard of Mixed Martial Arts. If I listened sharply enough, I know that “the greatest fighter in the world” will be on CBS on November 7th. The greatest fighter in the world? It must be a boxer or something like that. And the clip didn’t say anything about what this Fedor person will be doing. Is it a new talk-show? Perhaps a reality television show of some sort? Surely not a fight or they would have said who he was fighting, right? And surely they got the wrong picture. The man pictured in that five second clip certainly didn’t look at all intimidating.

The truth is, Fedor Emelianenko looks about as intimidating as a newborn kitten. I showed one of my coworkers his picture and the first thing that came to his mind was Fedor saying, “I like bunnies.” Then I showed him a few clips of Fedor fighting:

Fedor submitting Hong Man-Choi in the first round.

Fedor pummeling and submitting Tim Sylvia in the first round.

Fedor surviving the ugliest slam in MMA history at the hands of Kevin Randleman, seemingly unfazed. Fedor overpowering and submitting Randleman within the next two minutes.

Then he started to realize that this unassuming, un-intimidating man was actually an incredible fighter, and that there was a lot more than meets the eye to this Fedor Emelianenko fellow.

So here’s the challenge: How fast can you say:

“Fedor Emelianenko, the world’s greatest fighter comes to CBS, Saturday, November 7th.”?

With a bit of practice I can say it intelligibly in just under three seconds. How fast can you say it?

I understand that this is how it’s done: Quick blurbs to let the world know about an upcoming event. That sort of thing is pretty standard. But the clips from this past weekend were less than useless. They did nothing to inform anyone of anything.

If anyone sees more of these stealthy little promotional clips, please post them so we all know about them. If you see something a little more serious about the event, I think we’d all love to hear about it. I do hope that CBS starts taking this Strikeforce event a lot more seriously, and that they promote the hell out of it. This event will offer great exposure for several of the best Mixed Martial Arts fighters in the world. Now if we somebody can convince CBS to go all-out promoting this thing, then we'll really get some attention!