Bas Rutten "Advises" Using Toilet Paper as Weapon

So I'm playing Grand Theft Auto IV on the 360, experiencing the irony of running folks over with an ambulance. In all fairness, I did have my sirens on. But, my ADHD flares up. I can't stop carjacking people! So I get to a "save point" but before I save, I decide to watch some television. (All this is happening within this crazy video game, mind you). I'm flipping channels and who do I see? None other than "El Guapo" Bas Rutten! He's co-hosting a talk show called, "The Men's Room." Rockstar Games definitely knows how to appeal to the 18-34 male demographic and it's nice to know that good ol' Bas is one of the reasons this game is rated Mature. Listen to Bas as he recounts an encounter with a drag queen.

Anderson Silva's Danza Macabra

MMA fans are a creative bunch. Here's one of my favorite MMA Photoshop images.

Anderson "The Spider" Silva has never looked more sinister as this Photoshop image personifies him as a deathly Apocalyptic figure. Wearing a black cloak and scythe in hand, Silva sits comfortably atop the UFC's middleweight division. I can't help but notice how sad Travis Lutter looks. Click the image for a larger version.

A Potpourri of MMA Girls

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Georges St. Pierre: Nice Guys Finish Fights

When the word "nice" comes to mind, you may not immediately think of a professional MMA fighter, unless you're talking about Georges "Rush" St. Pierre. At UFC 83, St. Pierre became the youngest UFC fighter to regain a title by defeating Matt Serra in Montreal, Canada.

Affectionately known as GSP by fans, St. Pierre is also known as "Rush" because early in his career, he would beat his opponents quickly, usually winning in the first round. Born in Saint-Isidore, Quebec, Canada, St. Pierre may very well be the nicest guy to ever compete in mixed martial arts.

But don't mistake his nice guy demeanor as a weakness. St. Pierre is anything but nice when he's fighting in the octagon. With a remarkable record of 16-2-0, he is considered, pound for pound, one of the best fighters in the world.

When he isn't fighting, Georges enjoys dancing, hockey and playing chess. It's no wonder he is a smart and tactical fighter. In fact, he won regional chess tournaments and was ranked in the top 25 of Quebec. He is also a big fan of all the Star Wars movies and enjoys reggae and hip hop music.

St. Pierre began training in Kyoskushin Karate at the age of six in order to defend himself against a school bully. After his karate teacher died, he trained in other fighting disciplines such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling and boxing. At 16, he won his first amateur bout by knockout against a 25 year old opponent.

Sculpt a great-looking, sexy set of six-pack abs

In 1993, St. Pierre watched the first UFC tournament and it changed his life forever. Watching a skinny fighter named Royce Gracie choking out larger opponents made a huge impression on St. Pierre. He decided that fighting was what he wanted to do. St. Pierre considers the UFC championship as the most important title in all sports.

At UFC 65, his dream came true when he defeated Matt Hughes to win the UFC welterweight title. However the glory was short lived when St. Pierre in his first title defense, lost to The Ultimate Fighter 4 reality show winner, Matt "The Terror" Serra in one of the biggest upsets of 2007.

Later that year, Serra was slated to defend his title against Matt Hughes at UFC 79, but was forced to pull out due to a back injury. GSP immediately seized the opportunity and stepped in to replace Serra. With only a month to prepare, the short notice did not matter as he was already training for an Olympic wrestling tryout and was in great shape. GSP out wrestled Hughes and defeated him via an arm bar submission in the second round to become the interim UFC welterweight champion.

Though happy about winning, GSP was not satisfied with the interim belt and felt Serra was the true champion. After a year, the score was finally settled last Saturday at UFC 83 as St. Pierre completely dominated Serra to become the undisputed welterweight champion. I'm sure the fighters are relieved that it's over as there was a lot of pressure built up going into the fight. Serra lost due to strikes late in the second round, but was gracious in defeat and even received cheers and applause from the Canadian fans during his post fight interview.

St. Pierre is set to fight Jon Fitch next, who is on a 15 fight win streak. Dana White has stated that Fitch is "next in line for a title shot."

My Thoughts on UFC 83

Spoiler Alert
Prior to last night's UFC 83 event, Georges St. Pierre had said, he was going to do something to Matt Serra that nobody's ever done to him before. I wondered if it was just talk to hype up the fight or if he really had something planned. Well, it turns out St. Pierre did have something up his sleeve and personally, I've never seen a move like this or at least not the way St. Pierre executed it.

Here's what went down. In the closing seconds of the first round Georges St. Pierre threw a short left hook that connected and while Serra was reeling from the strike, St. Pierre immediately shot in for a take down. It all happened simultaneously in a split second. It was just one of the many impressive tactics St. Pierre used to outsmart Serra, avenge his loss from a year ago and win the UFC welterweight title.

On the other hand, there's Kalib Starnes; a fighter that does not belong in the UFC. Running away from a fight is pretty pathetic. Joe Silva, the UFC matchmaker, totally missed the mark with this fight. I can't blame Nate Quarry. He did what he could, but it's difficult to fight an opponent who backpedals for three rounds. I wish the fight were a preliminary and off PPV.

I figured Travis Lutter's only chance would be in the first round. Once again he let the fight slip through his fingers (literally) as he couldn't finish Rich Franklin with an armbar. He probably has the talent to beat Franklin, but he didn't have the cardio. It's an example of a fighter beating himself, more so than his opponent. At this stage, if a fighter lacks cardio, it means there's a big hole in his game.

Wow! Watch out for Demian Maia! Though the fight wasn't aired, they showed a brief clip of him choking and pounding Ed Herman, that left Herman looking zombie-like with eyes rolling into the back of his head. Maia is a scary-good grappler and a great addition to the middleweight division.

Matt Serra: Hero or Villain?

In the world of mixed martial arts, you've got The Iceman, The Pitbull, and the Spider.

And then there's The Terror.

With an MMA record of 16 wins and 4 losses, Matt "The Terror" Serra exploded to the front of the MMA scene by defeating Georges St. Pierre in April of 2007 to win the UFC welterweight championship.

As a youngster, Matt Serra was introduced to martial arts by his father. He later studied Jujitsu under Renzo Gracie and became the first American to earn a black belt in Gracie Jujitsu.

Prior to making his UFC debut in 2001, Serra had won several grappling tournaments including a Gold Medal from the Pan Am Brazilian Jujitsu games in 1999, won a Worlds Brazilian Jujitsu Championship in 1999, and was an Abu Dhabi Qualifier Winner in 2000.

For casual MMA fans, Matt Serra's name wasn't widely known until the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show, dubbed "The Comeback." On the show Matt Serra not only showcased his fighting talent, but also displayed his excellent coaching and leadership skills. During the first episode, he motivated his teammate, Shonie Carter, by shouting instructions that helped Carter win a unanimous decision over
Rich Clementi.

During one episode, Serra locked horns with Brazilian Jiujitsu trainer, Marc Laimon, as the two got into a shouting match. As a seasoned Gracie student, practitioner and trainer, Serra was not happy with the level of disrespect that Laimon showed when he said disparaging remarks about the Gracie family and gloating over Royce Gracie's loss to Matt Hughes at UFC 60. The shouting match with Laimon became one of the top 25 greatest moments in TUF's history.

Matt Serra is a tough guy, but is also good natured and charismatic. During TUF 4, he showed respect for all the fighters, including those on the opposing team. In his bout for the welterweight championship title against Georges St. Pierre at UFC 69, he was considered a huge underdog but pulled out one of the biggest upsets in mixed martial arts history.

Tomorrow night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada is the rematch. Serra knows it's a very tall order to defeat the talented St. Pierre twice, especially in his home country of Canada. But Serra would want nothing more than to prove that his victory of a year ago, was no fluke.

Jens Pulver Enlists for Duty

Jens “Lil’ Evil” Pulver, the three-time UFC lightweight champion is boosting his training regimen for his fight against World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Urijah Faber, which takes place on Sunday, June 1st at the ARCO Arena in California. However, Jens is taking time off his training schedule to enlist in Xbox Live’s Game with Fame event where Jens will play Call of Duty 4 with Xbox Live Gold members.

The Game with Fame event takes place this Saturday, April 19th. Jens will be online from 9:00 - 11:00 P.M. Eastern time (6:00 - 8:00 P.M. PT). So if you want a chance to play with “Lil’ Evil”, send a friend request to Gamertag, COD4JensPulver and be sure you’re online a half hour before (8:30 P.M. ET) the event starts.

Jens will also appear this Friday night 8PM est, on G4TV's video game review show, X-Play.

Will Matt Serra Shock the World...Again?

Matt Serra knows he's going to get booed plenty Saturday night at Montreal's Bell Centre. So part of Serra's preparation for this weekend's fight against Georges St. Pierre is having his training partners boo him.

Does Matt Serra have Georges St. Pierre's number? Stylistically Serra can be a bad match up for St. Pierre. Serra has developed decent boxing skills, he keeps his hands up and is very defensive, but has only one TKO victory, that being against St. Pierre. St. Pierre isn't known for knocking opponents out either, having most of his TKOs stemming from ground and pound, but he has an excellent jab that works as a feint, which allows him to set up a roundhouse kick or take down.

St. Pierre is known for manhandling wrestlers, but Serra's fighting style is different from a wrestler. Serra brings a world class Jujitsu game, so unlike a wrestler who is uncomfortable on his back, Serra has plenty of tools should the fight end up on the ground. It's interesting to note that Matt Serra is a black belt under Renzo Gracie. When preparing for his bout against B.J. Penn back in 2006, Georges St. Pierre drove five hours to New York and trained with Renzo.

If St. Pierre wins, he may reign as the welterweight champion for a long time which can lead to a possible match up against UFC middleweight champ, Anderson Silva (Silva has stated he's willing to drop to 170lbs). If Matt Serra wins, it will be more shocking than the first time.

Serra is keeping things in perspective though.

“The worst thing that can happen for me when the match is over is that after two fights, we end up even.”

Tonight at 11pm est Spike TV will present Countdown to UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre 2. Here is a video preview of the show.

T.O.P. Army Fighter

This is the Army's version of Ultimate Fighting - but the difference is, the Army trains their warriors to cope with real-world life or death battles. Now the cruiserweights, welterweights, and light heavyweights face off for the championship title.

Season premier of T.O.P. Army Fighter airs tonight at 10pm est on the Military Channel.

Dan Simmler vs. Matthew Riddler, Brutal Knockout on TUF 7

Matthew Riddler KOs Dan Simmler in brutal fashion on Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest.

Rampage

When it comes to powerful slams in mixed martial arts, the name Quinton "Rampage" Jackson comes to mind. At eight years old, Quinton was given the name "Rampage" because of his bad temper. Quinton literally rampages through his opponents, so it's no wonder that his nickname stuck.

Trained and managed by Juanito Ibarra, Rampage's success has given him much to be happy about. He has notable wins over some of the best MMA fighters, including Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland. He was a big star in Japan's now defunct PRIDE Fighting Championship. When he moved to the United States, he quickly made his presence known when he signed on to fight with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. After defeating Marvin Eastman in his UFC debut, he went on to defeat UFC favorite Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell for the light heavyweight championship title.

As most hardcore MMA fans know, Rampage defeated Chuck Liddell in their first bout back in Japan, but for many new fans, this was a devastating loss for the UFC's favorite champion. Rampage's win over Chuck prompted many boos from the U.S. crowd, but Rampage quickly won the fans over with his charm and humor.

Quinton is a family man with four kids and is also a born again Christian. Three of his sons share the middle name of Rampage while his daughter's middle name is Page. In his spare time he enjoys playing video games and records rap music. With his witty personality and innocent charm, he is easily one of the funniest and likable fighters in MMA. His hilarious quips as he answers questions from reporters and talk-show hosts make his interviews memorable and entertaining.

It is this charm and humor that I look forward to seeing in the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest. Rampage will act as coach in the April 2nd debut of TUF 7, which airs on Spike TV. He will train 8 middleweight fighters opposite season one winner, Forrest Griffin, who will coach the other 8.

On July 5th at UFC 86, Rampage and Forrest will fight for the light heavyweight title.

UFC 71 Pre/Post Fight Interviews With Quinton Jackson and Chuck Liddell

Here is an entertaining video showing a behind the scenes look at UFC 71, before and after the Quinton Jackson, Chuck Liddell fight.

Great Week/Month of MMA Action

Spoiler Alert

It's been a great week for MMA and it started with last week's WEC 33 event where Brian Stann knocked out Doug Marshall to become the WEC light heavyweight champion.

Then, last weekend Elite XC showcased its first epic fight in which San Shou fighter Cung Le, defeated Frank Shamrock to win the Strikeforce middleweight championship. In an amazing back and forth battle, Shamrock came close to finishing Le in the last minute of the third round, but Le managed to survive and finished with a nice flurry of strikes forcing Shamrock to concede defeat due to a broken forearm.

Great MMA action continued last night with UFC Fight Night 13 on SpikeTV despite the high altitude in the Broomfield Event Center near Denver, Co. Houston Alexander suffered the fastest knockout in UFC history as James "The Sandman" Irvin Superman punched his way to victory, tying Don Frye's fast knockout of eight seconds back in UFC 8. TUF 5 champ, Nathan Diaz continues to impress as he raised his arms in victory while locking in a triangle choke that forced Kurt Pellegrino to tap seconds later. Thiago Alves humbled Karo Parisyan with a vicious TKO from a knee strike. Karo appeared out of shape and may fade from becoming one of the top contenders in the welterweight division if he doesn't take his training seriously. In the main event, I was not surprised that Kenny Florian beat Joe Lauzon despite an impressive first round by Lauzon. I hope to see Florian vs. Huerta later this year.

There's a lot of MMA action left this month as The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest reality show premiered last night. There will also be another ShoXC event taking place this Saturday, April 5th. On April 19th, UFC 83 takes place in Montreal, Canada with the Countdown to UFC 83: Serra vs St-Pierre 2 airing April 15th on SpikeTV.