By Michael Ford As the UFC seeks to make stars, some will be viewed as Heroes, and others as Heels. Here are five candidates for fame as fight fan favorites.The first piece in this series focused on crucial components for stardom, while the second piece concentrated on the mechanisms by which stars are made. This piece and the one that follows it will focus on candidates for stardom...

By Raphael Garcia UFC on Fox 2: Evans vs. Davis will be broadcast live from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois on January 28th 2012. At the top of the card is a matchup between two light heavyweights who are poised to make a run at current champion Jon Jones. And while a matchup featuring two wrestlers is often shunned by the MMA community as a whole, this fight still has value...

By Raphael Garcia Finishing fights was the theme of UFC on FX: Guillard versus Miller, as eight of the ten fights were completed without the need for the judges’ scorecards. While the card may not have featured all of the biggest names of the sport, the winners from the evening can now expect future matchups that will not only give them opportunities to further their careers...

By Michael Ford With Brock Lesnar retired, and GSP gone for most, if not all, of 2012, the UFC goes into its bona fide network TV debut short on stars. Here's a five-step plan to make more.First off, let me be clear: There will never be another Brock Lesnar. He came along at the right moment, with the right background, the right look, and the right attitude, one that fit the...

By Raphael Garcia It is beginning to get to the point where performance enhancing drugs and professional sports are parading around hand in hand. While many sports fans try to ignore the topic, some of us can’t help but feel upset when another star that we’ve seen rise to glory is brought crashing down when his or her name is linked to steroid use. Now Zuffa is taking steps...

By Raphael Garcia The year 2011 brought us some exciting moments in the mixed martial arts industry. Sit back and enjoy this ride with me down memory lane to some of the moments that will stay ingrained in our minds and the fighters who we have to thank for each of them:Fighter of the YearJon Jones – The current UFC light heavyweight champion had a year that will be hard to top...

By Julie Romine Let me introduce to you an up and coming fighter with a bright future in MMA. His name is Brent Schermerhorn (4-1-0) and he currently fights for ProElite.Q. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.A. My name is Brent Schermerhorn, I was born in Germany and raised in Baltimore and upstate NY would consider myself from Upstate NY area. I joined Military beginning...

By Raphael Garcia The injury bug has unexpectedly created some interesting matchups in the UFC’s middleweight division. Mark Munoz has suffered an injury to his arm that forced him out of his matchup against Chael Sonnen at UFC on Fox 2. With Munoz stepping away, the “hole” has been filled in a way that gives fans two new fights to look forward to. Sonnen will now face off...

By Eric Kamander UFC 142, also known as UFC Rio - though I guess that should be UFC Rio 2 - went down last weekend and I didn't catch it live. Not that I didn't want to. I heard many people criticizing the card, but those are the people this series is aimed at. No, I had some personal obligations that kept me away Saturday night. When I finally finished "taking care...

By Raphael Garcia The Ultimate Fighting Championship took another trip to the “home” of mixed martial arts at UFC 142 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once again some of the best Brazilian fighters defended home turf against fighters from around the world, and at the close of the event, the home team had once again given the fans in attendance, and those watching at home, some exciting...

By Raphael Garcia When you first look at the UFC 142 card, you might think that this event lacks the big name star power to create the kind of spectacular showing that the organization’s most recent trip to Brazil for UFC 134 was able to. However, this event will feature quite a few interesting matchups outside of its main and co-main events. The lightweight showdown between...

By Raphael Garcia 2011 was a great year for mixed martial arts. Major developments made the UFC into a major player in the sports industry, and fans, “experts,” fighters, and promoters alike are now enjoying the repercussions. We witnessed a number of exciting fights that left us with debate topics for days, months, and weeks on end. At MMA Ratings you rate the events to determine...

By Raphael Garcia Exciting fights are going to happen every year. At MMA Ratings you rate the fights to determine the best ones. Let's count down the top 10 from 2011.#10 - Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley (Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley) with 4.37 starsThe lead up to the contest between these two fighters was enough to hold any person’s interest. Diaz and Daley seemed to really have...

By Eric Kamander Here I am again, waiting at the train platform with some extra time on my hands. One of these days the conductor is going to say something about me flipping him the double birds as he's pulling out of the station, but after he saw me running all that way, what can I say, I'm a little pissed.So catching up on those podcasts, you guys haven't let me down...

By Raphael Garcia This past Friday, the California State Athletic Commission released the news that Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos has been suspended for 12 months for the use of a banned substance prior to her bout against Hiroko Yamanaka. In addition to the suspension, it has also been reported that Strikeforce has stripped her of her 145-pound title. This story both damages woman’s...

By Raphael Garcia "Styles make fights." At least that is what we have been told during the last few years of mixed martial arts’ rise to mainstream relevance. At UFC 142 we will see yet another example of the ideal when current featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo will face off against Team Alpha Male powerhouse Chad Mendes. This main event is one of the more intriguing...

By Michael Ford Brock Lesnar is gone, and he isn't coming back. We should let him go, and not cling to hopes that he'll hang around a sport that he never loved in the first place.Brock Lesnar's retirement has prompted many responses across the MMA blogosphere. Some have understated his legacy, while others have lamented his loss. Still others have appeared to assert...

By Raphael Garcia We should thank them for doing what they do. At a moment’s notice, some fighters are willing to jump into the cage against opponents they barely have time to scout, and compete for our enjoyment. While the new fight may not garner the reaction from fans that the original matchup presented, the replacement fighter still deserves our respect for "stepping...

By Raphael Garcia The word "retirement" often barely registers within the realm of mixed martial arts. We have seen many examples of fighters turning away from the sport, but coming back to retest the waters. We can recount various names of fighters who’ve walked away just to come back. Yet after his defeat at UFC 141, Brock Lesnar informed us all of his decision to...

By Eric Kamander I missed the train today so I had a little extra time to read my twitter feed and listen to callers expound on their insights on my regular assortment of MMA podcasts.I was going to respond with some tweets. My responses to the ideas being presented soon turned into something I thought I might post on my Facebook fan page and before I knew it, you idiots had given...

By Raphael Garcia The battle to reach the top of the heap is something that every professional fighter thinks about. Even after they get there, they worry about staying on top of it. No matter what spot you hold though, one factor remains true: the win streak is your ammunition to prove where you should be ranked in relation to your peers. At UFC 141 we saw a few interesting examples...

By Raphael Garcia UFC 141 was a stacked card that brought to a close an exciting year for the UFC and mixed martial arts as a whole. By the time the night was over, we had witnessed the end of a career, the establishment of new contenders, and other fighters showing us where they fit in their respective weight classes. Going into the New Year, here are some fights that we as fans...

By Raphael Garcia Bellator Fighting Championships looks to build off of last season’s exciting featherweight tournament in its sixth season. This tournament has eight competitors ready to join the fray for a $100,000 pay check, as well as a shot against current Bellator featherweight champion Joe Warren. The draw includes Alexandre Bezerra, Jeremy Spoon, Genair de Silva, Roberto...

By Raphael Garcia 2012 is just around the corner, and another year is coming to a close. Yet what a year it was for mixed martial arts fans, fighters, and the sport as a whole. As we approach the new year, one can’t help but be excited for what is to come for this sport in 2012. It really seems like MMA is continuing to push the envelope on how a sport can be developed. Here...

By Raphael Garcia Luke Rockhold holds a Strikeforce championship, yet may be one of the most overlooked fighters in mixed martial arts. While sporting an 8-1 record and holding a rather large title belt over his shoulder is impressive enough, the speed at which his title reign has headed towards irrelevancy is just as remarkable.Rockhold was crowned the Strikeforce middleweight...