By Garth Hansen (garthansen@mmaratings.net) Well, since I last visited the LHW division things have shaken out pretty well. Rashad still holds the title, and despite the common belief that Rampage Jackson was the next challenger, the relatively short recovery and preparation time made ‘Page pass on the title shot, opening the way for Lyoto Machida…
Tag: bygarth2
2008 Irrelevants Awards Winnersss
By Garth Hansen (garthhansen@mmaratings.net) So I’m watching the same episode of House for the third time in like four days, and a sit bolt upright, dislodging the cat and a beer and realize I forgot entirely about my lame awards. After doze- several people took the time to vote for them, even. So I feverishly…
The UFC’s Least-wanted (Best) Light Heavies (revisited)
By Garth Hansen (garthhansen@mmaratings.net) Way back in August I wrote “The Least Wanted UFC Light Heavies”, which featured Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans as the two guys the UFC was “friggin’ desperate to never see wearing their strap”. Well, things have taken quite a turn since then, eh?Rashad hadn’t met with Chuck prior to that…
2008 Irrelevant Awards
By Garth Hansen (garthhansen@mmaratings.net) There’s a lot of awards being given out, and a lot of well-planned and -executed awards being given out, at the end of 2008 and into 2009. Fightlinker’s site is giving out the Worsties (which I named! I’m famous!), Bloody Elbow has some, Cage Tater has some, etc etc. I thought…
Does Werdum Deserve a Shot Yet?
By Garth Hansen (garthhansen@mmaratings.net) Fabricio Werdum has appeared to be the odd man out in the UFC’s latest heavyweight shakedown. The four-man psuedo-tournament soon to open included the richly (rich being the key word) undeserving Brock Lesnar, and Frank Mir, the coach opposite Interim Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The other dude in the mix is…
The Throwaway Quote That Lost TUF
By Garth Hansen (garthhansen@mmaratings.net) While watching the most recent episode of The Ultimate Fighter tonight they showed the full video, which was teased last week, of Junie Browning jumping the cage and doing whatever dim action had invaded his idiot hillbilly head. After the hullabaloo had died down, as his boy Junie exited behind him,…
“Heat” Mirrors Real World
By Garth Hansen (garthhansen@mmaratings.net) The turmoil and uncertainty sparked by the CBS/EliteXC “Heat” event from Saturday night has the mixed martial arts world as scattered, sliding and uncertain as the rest of the country.Allegations are flying all over of fraud, rigged outcomes, and general shadiness. Accusations are being made, the law is starting to take…
What does the future hold for Anderson Silva?
By Garth Hansen (garthhansen@mmaratings.net) With the UFC’s middleweight division being torn to shreds by the skill and power of Anderson “The Spider” Silva, and the worldwide challengers in the weight class seeming to offer little challenge, I decided to explore in this article possible tests that may face Silva in the next couple years. The…
Why Not Iceman vs. Ace?
By Garth Hansen with contributions from Nicholas Bailey As the aftershocks from Evan Tanner’s passing begin to quiet a little, I got back to reading and thinking on the light heavies. UFC 88 changed the division in some truly stunning ways. One of the monsters of the LHWs is looking a lot more human and…
In Memory Of Evan Tanner
By Garth Hansen (garthhansen@mmaratings.net) Evan Tanner died in the California desert in the last few days. He left for the desert after making some blog posts, and joking about how seriously the internet pundits took his latest adventure. “It’s no ‘Into the Wild’ thing” he scoffed. And yet a very simple miscalculation cost him his…
The Least Wanted UFC Light Heavies
By Garth Hansen (garthhansen@mmaratings.net) The picture in the UFC’s light heavyweight division is pretty murky right now, with legends of the sport like Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, “Shogun” Rua, and Tito Ortiz in varying states of viability, age, and injury. There’s also some up and coming fighters that can make a huge splash, a few…