Jones vs. Vera

The future is looking bright for the UFC as the depth they now have in their roster allows them to put together great match ups and props to UFC “matchmaker” Joe Silva for setting this one up. The Brandon Vera vs. Jon Jones showdown is set to take place in a couple weeks at the “Bank Center” in Broomfield, Colorado. It will also be airing live on the VERSUS network.

I’ve always been a Brandon Vera fan because he represents Muay Thai but he’s certainly not a “one trick pony”. He’s a multiple time “grapplers quest” champion and he’s earned a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Lloyd Irvin. On top of all that, he’s a talented Greco Roman wrestler as he used to train alongside Randy Couture at the US Olympic training center in Colorado Springs.

And speaking of Couture, Brandon Vera will be looking to rebound from a hard fought loss against him in a fight that many feel he deserved to win. However, picking up a legitimate over Jon Jones is far from an easy task (as indicated by the fact that nobody has defeated him). Sure, he “lost” on a technicality in his last fight against Matt Hamill but he was far from being defeated.

As a matter of fact, while watching his fight against Matt Hamill, I felt like I was watching a snuff film rather than a sanctioned sporting event - that’s how bad of a beat down it was. He literally tossed Matt Hamill around the ring with ease and then went to work on him with some of the most brutal ground and pound that you’ll ever see, ultimately leaving Matt Hamill a bloody mess.

Jon Jones is now officially 3-1 in the UFC and 9-1 in his career but let’s just say he’s undefeated because as mentioned above, he looked more impressive and dominant in his last fight than he has in his entire career (although the beating he put on Stephan Bonner was extremely impressive as well).

However, Brandon Vera will his toughest opponent to date. He has the Greco Roman wrestling skills that may neutralize Jones’s and if Jones does end up getting Vera in a favourable position, then Vera is fully capable of both improving his position and threatening with submission attempts.

If I’m right and these guys end up neutralizing each other in terms of wrestling ability, then we may be in for an incredible showcase of striking ability. Brandon Vera is a traditional Muay Thai style and while Jon Jones is also listed as a Muay Thai fighter, his style is a little more unorthodox. Any way you look at it, this fight has all the makings of being incredible.

Mir vs Carwin

In about two and a half weeks, we’re going to witness a couple of the UFC’s largest and most talented heavyweights clash in a match up that will determine the top contender in the division. The winner will of course get a shot at Brock Lesnar at the start of the summer (they’re saying July at the moment).

For years, the heavyweight division in the UFC was laughable. So laughable in fact, that Randy Couture came out of his initial retirement and dominated both Gabriel Gonzaga and then Tim Sylvia to become the champion and in turn, he had himself and millions of fans worldwide convinced that he was “the one” that was going to beat Fedor Emelianenko.

Well, that fight never transpired but it’s a pretty safe bet (judging by both Randy’s and Fedor’s recent performances) that Fedor would have been too much for him and Randy’s quick rise to the top was partly due to the lack of depth in the heavyweight division.

Today, things have certainly changed. Brock Lesnar reigns supreme and there’s a stable worthy challengers that are capable of beating him on any given night. Cain Velasquez, Shane Carwin, Junior Dos Santos and Frank Mir ALL possess skill sets that will enable them to get the job done.

The fight between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin is an interesting match up for a number of reasons. Since Shane Carwin is very similar to Brock Lesnar in the sense that he’s a big, strong and accomplished wrestler, I’m excited to see if the “new”, puffed-up and “improved” Frank Mir will be able to match the physical strength of Carwin and avoid the take down.

If Frank Mir - who doesn’t have much of an amateur wrestling background - can somehow use his newfound strength to neutralize Carwin’s takedown attempts and keep the fight on the feet, then it may give us an insight as to how he will be able to fare against Lesnar in a rematch.

However, in order to get that rematch with Lesnar that he’s been obsessing about, Frank Mir will have to get past Shane Carwin, and based on what we’ve seen thus far, “getting past” Shane Carwin is no easy task - especially considering that he’s currently undefeated and none of his opponents have made it out of the first round with him.

Since Carwin has blown through his opponents so quickly, there’s a lot that we don’t know about him. For instance, how is his cardio? In his last fight against Gabriel Gonzaga, we demonstrated that he has a good chin and that he can take a hard shot and keep going. In addition to being able to take it, he can certainly dish it out too as he has devastating power in his hands.

Being an accomplished wrestler, his “top game” is solid as well, but we still haven’t seem him fight off his back yet and we don’t know what sort of submission defence he has yet either. Frank Mir is an incredible submission specialist as well.

Any way you like at it, this Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin fight is quite interesting and regardless of who wins, the UFC hype machine will have a lot to work with when it comes time to promote a fight between the winner of this and Brock Lesnar.

If Frank Mir wins, the rematch between him and Lesnar will have the potential to be one of the most watched fights ever. They genuinely hate each other, the “series” between them is tied 1-1 and Frank Mir has made a lot of powerful statements regarding his dislike for Lesnar and how beating him up is all he thinks about. Plus, he’s packed on about 25 pounds of solid muscle in an attempt to avoid being bullied around again.

If Shane Carwin pulls out the victory, that makes for a very hype-able title fight between him and Lesnar as well. Shane has already voiced his displeasure regarding how Lesnar conducted himself after UFC 100 and basically how he’d like to treat him a lesson (not in those words). Both guys are absolute giants and very accomplished wrestlers. It’ll be interesting to see how they stack up.

GSP vs. Dan Hardy

Within the span of 2 weeks, the UFC is giving us 4 title fights. Well, technically 3 “official” title fights and another one between Mir and Carwin for the “interim” title due to Brock Lesnars inactivity due to illness. One of those title fights is a welterweight showdown between Georges St. Pierre and Dan Hardy. Without even looking at the odds in this one, I can tell you that “GSP” is going to be a heavy favorite, and for good reason.

GSP improves every single time he steps into the Octagon and in the fight hype videos for this, he states that he’s “bigger, stronger, more powerful and more skilled than I have ever been”. That’s certainly not good news for Hardy, who’s seriously undersized compared to GSP to begin with.

However, given all his advantages, GSP still isn’t taking the fight lightly (I think he learned his lesson against Matt Serra). Leading up to this fight, GSP has said that Dan Hardy is the most dangerous opponent that he’s had to face thus far in his career.

Now, it’s a good sign that he’s entering into this fight with that mentality - as he’ll likely be extremely prepared - but when you consider the calibre of opponents that GSP has dismantled so far (Hughes, Penn, Koscheck, Alves and Fitch), it’s hard to believe that Dan Hardy is going to throw something at GSP that he hasn’t already had to deal with.

Dan Hardy is a good striker, there’s no denying that. He trains his boxing with Freddie Roach, so it’s expected that he has good hands. His Muay Thai is pretty solid as well, as is Georges St. Pierre’s. This is nothing new for GSP. GSP has dealt with top notch strikers before, just look what he did to Thiago Alvez.

He fought a smart against Alvez as he realized the threat that he posed in the stand up and he used his superior wrestling ability to take him down, over and over. Thiago Alvez is much larger and more powerful than Dan Hardy is as well and GSP still took him down at will. As a matter of fact, GSP took BJ Penn down at will and BJ Penn has incredible takedown defence - perhaps the best in all of MMA due to the dexterity of his limbs.

GSP has been buzz-sawing through the best wrestlers in the welterweight division (Hughes, Koscheck, Fitch) so it seems unrealistic that he will be unable to take down and manhandle Dan Hardy, who is physically smaller and does not have an amateur wrestling background whatsoever. Dan Hardy is a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Eddie Bravo, but GSP has earned his black belt.

So, when GSP secures a takedown, it seems unlikely that Dan Hardy will somehow be able to slap on a submission from his back. BJ Penn - who’s a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu “phenom” - didn’t have an answer for Georges St. Pierre’s top game so I doubt Dan Hardy will either.

On paper, this should be an easy win for GSP. That being said, it’s a fight and as we’ve seen time after time, ANYTHING can happen in a fight. Dan Hardy has already demonstrated that he has knockout power in his hands so if he’s able to land a clean shot, it could be lights out for GSP. It’s unlikely, but it’s certainly possible. There’s always a “punchers chance” and Dan Hardy can certainly throw hands - just ask Marcus Davis. The “fight hype” is below..

Cain Velasquez vs “Big Nog”

Not only do we get to see what will most likely be an epic showdown between Wanderlei Silva and Michael Bisping, but at UFC 110, we also get to witness a heavyweight clash between Cain Velasquez and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

It’s already been stated that the winner of the fight between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin will end up getting the first shot at Brock Lesnar at the start of the summer but the fight between Cain Velasquez and “Big Nog” seems like a contender match in its own right. The winner of this fight will clearly get a shot at the title in the very near future.

Since he’s entered the UFC, Cain Velasquez has looked nothing short of dominant in all 5 of his victories inside the Octagon. Despite being a relatively small heavyweight, Cain Velasquez has been utilizing his superior wrestling skills to literally manhandle his competition.

Everybody who trains with Cain Velasquez seems to be touting him as being the “next big thing” - a catchphrase that ironically, was used to build up the character of Brock Lesnar back in his “pro wrestling” days. While Cain Velasquez’s strength is clear (that being his wrestling), his weaknesses are equally as apparent as he was clearly out-struck in his fight with Cheick Kongo.

Luckily for Velasquez, Nogueira has only ended 2 of his 39 fights with a knockout. He showcased much improved boxing in his most recent fight with Randy Couture but it doesn’t seem like Nogueira has the power in his hands to KO Velasquez - especially considering the fact that kickboxing sensation Cheick Kongo couldn’t put him out with the perfectly placed shots that he landed.

If Cain Velasquez is getting picked apart on his feet, I don’t believe he will have any trouble getting the fight to the round. However, how he will fare on the ground against the best grappler in the heavyweight division is what makes this fight interesting.

When the fight hits the mat, it will be a classic wrestling vs. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu showdown. Both of these guys are around the same size as well so the strength factor won’t come into play as it did in the fight between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir - which is the last time we witnessed a heavyweight grappling match between a pure wrestler and a Jiu Jitsu fighter.

As for how this fight plays out, well, I see Cain Velasquez being able to take Nogueira down at will. He has never had difficulty getting the fight to the ground in any of his fights and I don’t think he will in this one either. However, how things play out once the fight hits the ground is a different story. Wrestler vs. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner, who you got?

Then again, I left out a few other things; experience a heart. The experience factor definitely goes to Nogueira and as for heart, Nogueira never ceases to amaze me. He seems to always come back and pull out victories from the brink of defeat. Cain Velasquez seems to have a fighters heart as well, but we just haven’t had much of an opportunity to see him perform under adversity - aside from the few big shots that he took in the Kongo fight. I guess we’ll get to see what he’s made of this Saturday.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Michael Bisping

So this is a fight that has been in the making for a while now. In his fight versus Denis Kang, Joe Rogan mentioned that Michael Bisping originally wanted to fight Wanderlei Silva because he wanted to get a win against a top 10 opponent to bounce back against his devastating knockout loss at the hands of Dan Henderson.

Well, at the time, he was unable to get the fight with Silva but instead, he put on an incredible performance against the always game Denis Kang. Kang is a highly ranked Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner (black belt) and Bisping had the opportunity to showcase his much improved ground game as he did a great job and maintaining his composure and re-gaining his guard when he was in some potentially threatening positions in the first round.

While Michael Bisping has gotten back to his winning ways, the same can’t be said for Wanderlei Silva, who has lost 5 of his last 6 fights. In all fairness though, that’s not a good indicator of his performances because in the 3 of those losses that occurred in the UFC, he won “fight of the night” honours for 2 of them - both of which were razor thin decision losses to Rich Franklin and Chuck Liddell respectively.

As for how this fight plays out, it’s fairly unpredictable. Wanderlei Silva is a legend and he’s got to where he’s at for a reason. You can never count him out, even despite his recent losses and Michael Bisping, he seems hungrier and more motivated than ever. After watching his performance at UFC 105 (which Joe Rogan referred too as the “best performance of his career”), it seems as though that the loss to Dan Henderson may have actually been a good thing for him. He needed to be humbled anyway.

Both of these guys leave it all in the Octagon every time they fight so I wouldn’t be surprised if this one ends up going to a decision and gets put into the hands of the judges. I also wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up taking “fight of the night” honours as well. However, anytime you’re on the same card with “Big Nog”, there’s going to be some serious competition for that bonus.

Initial Impressions of the Hard Training and Wild Nightlife

So once again, it’s taken me almost a month between updates and for that I apologize. I’ve been slacking a bit, but that’s just because I’ve been having so much fun. I’ve also been working on a side project that I’m stoked about. Of course, it’s Muay Thai related and I’m pretty sure you guys will want to check it out when it’s done.

Anyway, as I’m sure you know by now, I love it here and I rarely have anything to complain about but there is a downside. I see a lot of people come and a lot of people go. I’m pretty used to it by now but it definitely sucks when it comes time to say goodbye to some of the friends you made.

There’s been a lot of Canadians here at the camp lately and this past month, 4 of us have been hanging out a lot. There was these 2 guys named Matt and Troy from Ottawa (same city as I’m from) and another dude named Ian who’s from Toronto.

Ian is still here, and he plans on staying until he runs out of money because like myself, he doesn’t want to leave. However, as I’m writing this, Matt and Troy are most likely eating shitty airline food in silence while they’re looking at the pictures of broads and beaches that they’ve taken during the past month they’ve spent in paradise. It’s a depressing feeling. I know first hand.

Throughout their time here, Troy was documenting his experience on his facebook page. He’s relatively new to the sport of Muay Thai (with only around a year of training experience) and it was his first time in Thailand. With this place feeling like a completely different world to first time visitors, there was definitely a culture shock.

His entries were pretty long but they were also pretty funny so I’ll highlight certain parts that stuck out. It’s always interesting to see how people react to a place like this when they see it for the first time. Sort of reminds me if my own initial impressions of it when I first came here about 3 years ago.

Anyway, here’s what Troy had to say about his first days of training..

The training here is as ridiculous as the lore of it back home. Yesterday I woke up to go for my morning skip, and my trainer told me I wasn’t allowed to skip anymore for my warm up, and also that I have no choice but to start training twice a day. I have to jog instead (even in the afternoon when the heat and humidity is beyond anything you can possibly imagine). Also, the gym is located up in the mountain, so there’s ridiculously steep hills. I’m talking like an 80-90% incline.

My trainer’s name is impossible to pronounce correctly and hard to remember, but I think he said either Ming or Ning. Or maybe he said Noi, I don’t really know. He calls me Choy, and he sticks to me like flies to shit. I have a problem understanding him, but I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m a potato. My first day, for example, I was skipping and I thought I was warmed up enough so I stopped and started stretching, and he ran over and said: “Five more minutes Choy!!! HAHAHAHA” and kicked me in the ass. He corrects my stance every day, and stretches my legs I’m sure 400% beyond their flexibility.

I probably have at least 100 pounds on him, and the other day I hopped in the ring to spar with him and he beat the fucking shit out of me and thought it was hilarious, throwing his hands up in the middle of the round yelling: “ME MANNY PACQUIAO!!! ME MANNY PACQUIAO!!”….but he would show me what I was doing wrong, and he’s really trying to get me to relax, move and breathe properly when under pressure, which is exactly what I need to improve the most – especially according to how my fight went back home. Just when I feel I’m tired and ready to quit, he’ll tell me to go do 100 situps in the baking sun, or that we have to start jogging up that hill.

While that doesn’t sound appealing to most people. Troy was really enjoying it as indicated by what he wrote next..

I love the daily grind. Getting absolutely SOAKED in sweat and working harder than I’ve ever worked in my life at anything. Training here on a daily basis is almost as hard as my fight was, which is crazy when you think of it. I love the sounds of pads getting smashed as I walk down the hill from my room to the camp. I love the Thai guys yelling: “Ebbou!!” (Elbow) “KNEE!!” “WUN-CHOO” (One-Two) MO POWAH CHOY!!! (More power Troy), I love sitting down and stretching the butterfly while I wrap my hands and tape the blisters on my feet.

I love how fucking TOUGH the Thai guys are here. They fight all the time, and they hardly even train since they spend most of their time training us! They just start jogging about a week before their fights. They literally sleep next to the ring in a little mosquito net, and they use Thai pads for pillows! You know, the same Thai pads that they hold for us to punch and kick during the day.

Even in their down time, the trainers sit there and watch Muay Thai fights on the little TV at the gym. They live and breathe the sport and every time a good strike or especially a good combination gets through, they go crazy and yell: “OHHHWAAAAYYYYY!!!!!”

Thailand is more amazing, dirtier, and comforting than I ever could have hoped for! Tomorrow we go to Patong Stadium to watch our trainers fight. Chok Dee (good luck) to them.

Since I’m really behind on my entries, I just so happen to have some footage of the fights that he’s talking about ..

Anyway, back to Troy’s experience in Thailand. Like any first timer here, he racked up some interesting stories. Here is one of them…

Last Saturday was supposed to be the last time we partied hard here in Thailand, so I wanted to go out with a bang. You can take that metaphorically or literally, whatever you want, to me that night they were synonymous, and I was hot on the prowl for a Euro-chick. Or, in my drunken, perverted slobber: “I WANT SOME EUROPUSSY!!” However, fate had different plans for me. Or perhaps, in the spirit of Thailand and Buddhism, it was karma. Not only did I have the fucking WORST night out in the history of nights out, I got punched by a Thai hooker. I didn’t think it was funny at the time, but Bill, Ian and Matt obviously thought it was hilarious and have convinced me now that it was. Here’s a rough schematic of what led up to this debacle:

Two weekends previous to Saturday, I hooked up with a Thai chick named Daw [Da-oh] at a club called “Hollywood.” I had to do the walk of shame the next morning past all the trainers here at the camp as I brought her back down the mountain. Anyway, I figured she got the message when I didn’t bother to call, visit or even think of her since. I was so drunk that night that I hardly remember anything and I feel as though I didn’t even make the conscious decision to hook up with her myself. So, you can imagine my heart sinking when we walked into Hollywood Saturday (two weeks after that night), and after crushing a bottle of nail-polish-tasting vodka as well as several buckets of alcohol. When she approached me, she attempted to hold my hand and give me a kiss.

Well, with it being my last night out in Thailand, I decided to be honest and inform her of my intent of sloppy-grinding white chicks on the dance floor. She immediately started crying and her friends started consoling her. Being drunker than an Irishman on St. Patrick’s Day, I just stood there swaying to the beat of the music with a shit-eating grin on my face. I mean, I had only spent a few hours with this girl, and I hadn’t bothered to contact her at any point within the last 2 weeks. However, as the boys have correctly pointed out, this would make me an asshole anywhere in the world.

Anyway, I just left her and continued into the back room, ready to get my mack on. I saw Daw’s friends talking to each other and they spread out like wildfire. In Thailand, it’s like a role reversal when compared to our home countries and we (foreigners) get pursued the same way fit, big-titty blondes do back at home. It’s easy to feel like a pick up artist here because you can usually have anyone you want.

For instance, last weekend, Matt informed me in the morning that the night before I was standing behind a Thai girl grinding and exposing her bra/nipple in the middle of the dance-floor while she had a reach-around going. I’m pretty sure I would get thrown in jail for doing that back in Canada, but instead, some guy from Sweden just walked up and gave me a high-five. However, this time around, every Thai girl I tried to dance with, or even talk too, gave me the cold shoulder. I quickly figured out that Daw’s friends had informed every Thai girl in the club that I was a dick.

All hope wasn’t lost at this point though because my buddy Damian assured me that he’d be able to hook me up with some Australian chicks that he knew. Things we’re looking alright! So, I decided to grab another beer and tour around a bit, at which point, I ran into Bill and he was with the hottest Thai girl you could possibly imagine. We had “creeped” this girl in facebook earlier in the night and I knew it was her because she had the “scorpion boob” (a scorpion tattoo on her chest). I was stoked for him, so I left him alone and toured around some more.

Alright, here’s a brief intermission to the story. He claimed that I was with the “hottest Thai girl you could possibly imagine”, but what good is a claim like that unless it’s backed up with some pictures. Luckily, I just so happen to have some of the infamous “scorpion boob” girl. However, I regret to inform you that I wasn’t able to secure her that night. I know, fuck me, right?

BACK TO THE STORY

Anyway, Damian finally introduced me to the Australian chicks and they seemed nice. I was excited and I had a nice buzz going. However, that’s when shit started to turn sour. I suddenly found myself face-to-face with “Daw”, all by herself on a cleared out space on the dance floor. She looked pissed, so I asked her what was wrong. She was yelling broken English into my ear, but all I could hear was the DOOF-DOOF-DOOF of the subs in club Hollywood, and the only words I could make out were “Boom-boom”, which is what Thai people refer to sex as.

I just smiled and nodded, and told her that I didn’t understand a goddamn word she just said. She got soooo pissed! She cocked back her arm and tried to punch me in the jaw. Luckily, I was too tall and she hit me in the sternum instead, then just stormed off. I wasn’t even mad at first, which was surprising, and I just thought to myself “WTF, whatever”, and I toured around the bar again.

I ran into those Aussie chicks that Damien had introduced me too, tried to say hi, and they completely blew me off. Like, it was embarrassingly bad and super rude, I felt like a complete turd. At this point, I was pissed and I just wanted to get out of there. I left the club, got all the way down the street (Bangla Road) and then realized that I had left the key to my room with my buddy Matt (since I was wearing grappling shorts without any pockets).

So, I went back, and at the entrance to Hollywood there’s like a steep cat-walk. Anyway, some hot, white, big-breasted blonde American broad decided to go down it drunk in heels. She lost her balance and tried to stiff-arm me out of the way. I was so pissed off at that point, I just stood my ground and basically setup somewhat of a basketball pick (I weigh 235 pounds). As you can imagine, she bounced off me like a beach ball and basically did a flip, ate shit and landed face-down on the dirty, dirty concrete of Bangla road. I turned in her direction and said: “Thanks a lot, Bitch!!”, left her there in all her “glory”, and stormed up the catwalk.

Surprisingly, as I re-entered the club, all the Thai bouncers were laughing, patting me on the back and giving me the thumbs up. If I was in any other mood, it would have been awesome, but I really just wanted to get the fuck out of dodge. To clarify that I’m not a COMPLETE jerk, this girl did this in such a fashion that was obviously very arrogant and super-bitchy, like her shit didn’t stink. In other words, she got what was coming to her. She made it come down to either her or I eating shit, and I said fuck you and stuffed it right down her spoiled-rotten throat. I’m assuming that’s why the bouncers gave me props….either that or they enjoyed the view of her bare ass as she tried to pick herself off the ground.

Anyway, I got the key and grabbed a motorbike taxi home. However, right when I thought the night couldn’t get any worse, the taxi driver took me to the Muay Thai stadium instead of the gym. I was so fucking pissed and in a sarcastic tone, I said “Ya man, thanks, I really wanted to go to the fucking boxing stadium at 5 o’clock in the morning”. But they don’t understand anyway, so it didn’t matter and I didn’t get stabbed. The driver ended up charging me 300 baht for the ride though, which is insane because you can pretty much buy 3 weeks of gas here for that much money. I paid for it anyway and got the hell to bed.

So, while Troy’s night didn’t pan out exactly the way he wanted it too, at least he WE got a funny story out of it. Of course, seeing as how both him and his buddy Matt were living here for a full month, they’re both heading back to Canada right now with a bunch of other stories and experiences (that have happier endings) and most likely - a whole new outlook on things. Hopefully they’ll be back soon and as Troy put it best at the end of his journal ..

“Gentleman, let us always continue to crush pads, pussy and cheap fruit shakes”

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Buakaw Padwork, New Years Eve and some Lady Drama

It’s been a while since my last entry so first off, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and all that good stuff. Hope all of you enjoyed the holidays because I know I did. I’ll get into all that a bit later but first, I’ll get right into some Muay Thai videos. A couple weeks ago, Buakaw Por Pramuk and Ramazan Ramazanov came through Patong and put on a demonstration at the stadium.

I’m sure all you guys know who Buakaw Por Pramuk is (2 time K-1 Max champion) but Ramazan, being the lesser known of the two, deserves an introduction. He’s the current heavyweight WPMF champion as well as the WMC Intercontinental champion.

So now that you’re caught up with who these guys are and what they’ve accomplished, you can fully appreciate what you’re about to see. These videos were filmed and posted courtesy of Tiger Muay Thai and I’m glad they did it, because their camera is a lot better than mine.

The first video shows the two living legends of the sport doing a “wai kru” - which is a traditional Thai dance performed for good luck before the Muay Thai fights. The second video shows Buakaw Por Pramuk rocking the pads with the same vicious kicks that made him famous.

The third video shows Ramazan doing his thing on the pads as well and finally, the fourth video is the actual demo fight that they put on. Baukaw’s reaction time in that video is incredible. You have to love how he throws Ramazan’s leg over the rope before he counters. So, without further ado, here they are..

Anyway, I mentioned above that I had a good (interesting) new years and if you’ve been reading this site for a while, “interesting” events that occur on holidays that involve alcohol usually involve some sort of girl drama. And of course, this was no exception.

New years started with a party here at the camp. It was awesome actually. Bow (the manager) bought an entire case of Sangsom, along with mixers, and of course, about 20 pounds of meat for BBQ kabobs. And so, we ate, we drank, we laughed and then at around 11 pm, everyone exchanged gifts. I ended up giving one of the trainers a soccer jersey, 2 big bottles of Japanese beer and a phone card.

As for my gift, I got a cool looking statue of Buddha. It’s really nice actually and I’m glad I got it. The only downside to it is the fact that when girls come over and see it, they don’t want to do anything “bad” in front of it. It’s certainly not helping my “game”. Ah well. Anyway, here’s a quick video of the party. The kids (son and daughter of a couple of the trainers) are so cute..

Alright, so to backtrack a little, I met a girl on Christmas day. At the risk of sounding whack, there was an instant connection and we ended up going to an after hours club until about 7 am. The next day, me and my buddy walk by her work and since my vision is garbage, I didn’t immediately see her and walked straight for the washroom.

When I walked back, I was greeted by a semi-jacked - yet still attractive - girl from Issan bitching me out in front of my buddy and everyone else within a 10 foot radius. She was upset that I didn’t acknowledge her right away since we spent the previous night at the after hours place and if she had been talking to her friends about me that night (who knows if she was), then she would have “lost face” as they call it in Thailand.

Anyway, I smoothed it over by explaining that my vision was terrible but I definitely took mental note that if I made this girl angry, she has absolutely no issues about causing a big scene in front of a large crowd of people.

We hung out a bit after that and then we went out drinking on new years eve. At around 4 am, I got a call from an “old friend” that I answered out on my balcony. She wanted me to be her “person” for new years (her words, not mine) but I was legitimately explaining that I couldn’t see her and that I had company. Anyway, apparently the girl didn’t like the fact that I was talking to another girl on the balcony at 4 am, so in the middle of my conversation, I just heard my door slam.

I came in to check it out and she was gone. I tossed my phone on the bed, went outside and saw her literally running away. A few of the trainers actually sleep next to the ring so in the middle of the night, all they saw was a drunken Thai girl running from my room. It must make me look like some sort of sex predator or something. It’s definitely not a good look.

Regardless, I asked my trainer to give me a ride on his motorbike so I could talk to her but since it was New Years Eve, even he had been drinking and the manager of the gym took away all their motorbike keys (smart move). So, he did the next best thing, he chased her down with me (or attempted too anyway). He was hammered and wobbling back and fourth while attempting to walk straight and me, well, I was jogging after her, in a secluded mountain, in the middle of the night, with no shoes on.

At the time, I felt like I was running pretty fast too but I just couldn’t catch up to her. It got to a point where I couldn’t even see her at all. “That’s the fastest girl alive” I said to myself as I was gasping for air. Well, not really, but it definitely reminded me of the scene in “Superbad” where the cop is chasing “Evan”. You know. This scene..

Anyway, I ended up coming back to my room and calling her. She answered. “Hey, where are you?” I ask. “I’m in my room she replies”. “How did you get down so quick?” I ask. Apparently she hopped on a motorbike taxi and made up some crazy story to get a ride down the hill since she didn’t have any cash on her. “Well, are you going to come back or what?” I say. “Do you want me to come back?” she replies. “Um, yeah, come back” ..and so she does.

She stayed here for a couple days after that too but it’s a few weeks later and we’re not talking anymore. Partly her fault but admittedly, partly mine as well. I guess it’s for the best though because the manager at the gym here knows of her and said that she does Yabba and whatnot (which could in part explain her erratic behaviour) but damn, why am I so attracted to these crazy girls? I guess I just love the drama.

On another note, my training is going really well. I’ve based myself out of Patong Boxing Gym (since I like it here so much) but I owe it to you guys to go around and check out some of the gyms that I haven’t reviewed yet. So, I’ll certainly be doing that in the near future (hopefully sometime next week). I’ll post a video of myself training soon as well and hopefully you’ll notice some improvement from the others.

And while on the topic of posting videos, I just got back from another one of the fight nights at the boxing stadium so I’ll post those up in a few days when I get around to doing another entry. In the meantime, here’s a completely unrelated, yet incredibly humorous video of some Guido doing a homo-erotic dance for some unfortunate bar girl. Note his impeccable fashion sense; tight jean shorts (which he most likely cut himself), a sleeveless dress shirt which expose the tattoos on his skinny arms and of course - while unapparent in the video - he had the hairy chest going on as well. Classy.

Josh Koscheck vs Paulo Thiago

Josh Koscheck will finally get the chance to redeem himself for what I personally feel was a fluke loss to Paulo Thiago back at UFC 95. I think it was a fluke not because Paulo Thiago isn’t a good fighter, that’s clearly not the case. I mean, the guy has a black belt in both Judo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - both of which are extremely applicable to mixed martial arts.

I think it was a fluke because Josh Koscheck lost that fight on the feet, which is an aspect of fighting where he certainly has an advantage. Even as the fight was transpiring, Joe Rogan was praising Josh’s crisp striking while criticizing the sloppy, reckless, “chin up in the air” style striking of Paulo Thiago.

They say everyone has a “punchers chance” and I guess it was just Paulo Thiago’s lucky night that night - he should have stopped off at 7 eleven on the way home and bought some lottery tickets. But then again, he won a mini-lottery anyway because that knockout won him “knockout of the night” honors and the $65,000 dollar bonus that comes with it.

Since then, Josh Koscheck - who is now the most active fighter in the UFC stating that he would like to fight every month - has knocked off 2 very impressive victories over Frank Trigg and Anthony Johnson. Paulo Thiago has since been defeated at the hands of Jon Fitch, but let’s be honest, most people lose to Jon Fitch. However, in his next bout, Paulo Thiago shut down the previously undefeated UFC newcomer, Jacob Volkmann.

As for how these 2 guys match up stylistically, I think that Josh Koscheck has the edge. He’s a lot stronger and he’s much more explosive than Paulo Thiago. He’s one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the entire organization having gone 43-0 in his junior year at college and then going on to becoming a 4 time NCAA Division 1 All-American.

His striking has improved leaps and bounds due to his time spent training at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California. And on the slim chance that anyone will be able to outwrestle him and put him on his back, he’s been working on his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and has now earned his brown belt.

Granted, Paulo Thiago is an accomplished Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt but it really seems unlikely that he’s going to be able to out-due Josh Koscheck’s superior wrestling ability and get the fight to the mat. The better wrestler always has the option to dictate where the fight will take place and in this particular instance, I feel as though Koscheck will steer the fight away from Paulo Thiago’s strength and keep the fight standing.

I doubt that lightening is going to strike twice and Koscheck - being the more technical striker - will likely show the world that his previous loss was a fluke. The betting lines for this fight will be interesting considering the outcome of their previous fight so if the odds are anywhere near even (I highly doubt they will be), then the smart money will be on Josh Koscheck.

Randy Couture vs Mark Coleman

THIS SITE USUALLY HAS THE FIGHTS (There’s an annoying survey though).

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Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman; as irrelevant as this fight may be to the light heavyweight title picture, we’re still going to get to see 2 legends of the sport square off at UFC 109. Neither fighter is at the top of their game at the moment, but considering that their combined age is 90, that’s to be expected.

However, that being said, both fighters are actually coming off wins, and wins against noteworthy opponents I might add. Randy Couture recently edged out Brandon Vera for a decision victory at UFC 105 and the last time Mark Coleman fought - which was at UFC 100 - he outwrestled and out pointed Stephan Bonnar.

And that’s what makes this particular fight so intriguing - the wrestling ability of these two fighters. Randy Couture, as we all know, is a very accomplished wrestler (three time Olympic team alternate and three time division 1 all American) and he uses those skills perfectly in the octagon. As a matter of fact, he oftentimes uses the octagon cage to his advantage - as we saw against Gabriel Gonzaga back at UFC 74.

Not to be outdone, Mark Coleman has a pretty serious amateur wrestling background himself as he also wrestled in the Olympics, placing 7th overall back in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain. Randy Couture has been inducted into the UFC hall of fame and well, so has Mark Coleman. As a matter of fact, there are only 6 fighters that have been inducted into the prestigious hall of fame and now, we get to see two of them (the only 2 that are currently active by the way) square off in the main event.

As for how I see this fight playing out, well, there’s a good chance that their wrestling ability, being as high calibre as it is, will cancel each other out. In which case, it’ll come down to who’s sharper in the other areas of the game. I believe that of the two, Randy Couture has aged a little bit better as he’s kept himself in phenomenal shape.

His cardio and fight preparation is never to be questioned and with Mark Coleman, the same thing can’t be said - as we watched him gas in his fight with shogun. Coleman trains out of team hammer house, which is a great stable of wrestlers, but it’s not a well versed team like Randy Couture has at his Xtreme Couture facility in Vegas.

Since they may neutralize each other in the wrestling department, there’s a good chance that this fight may be decided on the feet, in which case, I can certainly see Randy Couture getting the better of the stand up. Randy is an excellent boxer and he seems to be a little quicker than Coleman. And while Coleman has some knockouts on his resume, most of those have come by way of ground and pound - which is a technique that he “godfathered” by the way.

So, all things considered, I’d say that Randy Couture certainly has the edge in this one. He’s a little bit quicker, little bit sharper with his striking and when the odds come out, if they’re anywhere near even, then the smart money should be on Randy Couture.

Grey Maynard vs. Nate Diaz

On January 11th, we’ll get to see a rematch between Grey Maynard and Nate Diaz for free on Spike TV. Recall that these two have squared off once before in the semi-finals of the Ultimate Fighter Season 5 reality show. In that particular fight, Nate Diaz was victorious as he used his superior Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills to submit “the bully” with a guillotine choke in the second round.

Since then however, Grey Maynard has been on a tear and he’s yet to be defeated in his professional MMA career. Maynard, who wrestled alongside Rashad Evans at Michigan State University, has been using his amateur wrestling background to literally “bully” his opponents around the Octagon. As a matter of fact, he is perhaps the most accomplished wrestler in the UFC’s lightweight division at the moment.

If Grey Maynard is able to get past Nate Diaz, the victory will put him in contention for a shot at BJ Penn’s lightweight title. Although I don’t believe that any lightweight in the UFC at the moment has what it takes to dethrone the seemingly unstoppable BJ Penn, Grey Maynard, if anyone, poses the greatest threat.

He’s big, strong, aggressive and he has a legit wrestling background. GSP revealed the key to beating BJ Penn in their last fight and if there’s anyone in the lightweight division that can duplicate that strategy, it’s Grey Maynard. BJ Penn and Grey Maynard also used to train together so I imagine he’ll be able to put together a great game plan.

That being said, in order to get that title shot, Grey Maynard has to first get past Nate Diaz - which is no easy task. Like his brother Nick, Nate is often overlooked and underestimated and because of that, he oftentimes shocks the world with his performances. He’s cocky, but for good reason, and he can certainly back up all the trash talking he does.

Having beat Grey Maynard before, he’ll certainly be entering this fight with the mental edge. And having been submitted via guillotine choke, Grey Maynard will have to be extra cautious when he shoots in for those takedowns.

In terms of how these guys match up, it’s fairly even. Grey Maynard is obviously the more powerful of the two and he’s the better wrestler but Nate Diaz - being a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Cesar Gracie - is excellent at fighting off his back. He always stays active and always threatens from the bottom and if an opening presents itself, he’s quick to slap on that triangle choke - as Kurt Pellegrino experienced first hand when Nate Diaz submitted him and won “submission of the night” honors at his expense.

This is one of those fights that could go either way and it’s got “fight of the night” written all over it. But that’s not a very bold prediction considering that Nate Diaz has won either “fight of the night” or “submission of then night” honours in his last 5 fights. Job security in the UFC is terrible but with the performances that Diaz is putting on, regardless of whether he wins or loses, his job is pretty safe.

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