UFC 134 has lived up to its hype. The fights were exciting and we’ve witnessed a handful of great finishes. I’ve seen tons of UFC events that are filled with fights that were left to the hands of the judges, but today’s UFC show is an exception.

Four out of five matches in the main card ended via either TKO or KO. The only fight that went to the judges’decision was even awarded as Fight of the Night. UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami (UFC Rio) was definitely a success.

Here are the UFC 134 fight results:

Stanislav Nedkov defeated Luiz Cane via TKO. The debuting Bulgarian fighter, Stanislav Nedkov, wowed the Brazilian crowd after making a quick work of the tough Brazilian striker, Luiz Cane, in the first round, via TKO. Nedkov is undefeated, with an MMA record of 12-0. Cane, who came from an impressive TKO victory over Eliot Marshall, drops to 11-4. All four of his defeats came from the UFC.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeated Brendan Schaub via KO. This KO victory gives Minotauro a sweet return to the UFC after being sidelined due to knee and hip injuries. Brendan Schaub was on a hot streak prior to this fight. He’s won four consecutive fights including a unanimous decision victory over Gabriel Gonzaga and a knock out win over Mirko Crocop. Schaub was looking to propel his career even further by facing Nogueira. His run was halted however by the Brazilian MMA legend in the first round via KO. Nogueira is back and he seems to be eyeing another shot at the heavyweight title.

Edson Barboza defeated Ross Pearson via split decision. This was the only main card fight that went to the judges’ hands. The fight was almost completely a striking battle. Barboza showed speed and athleticism with his punches and flashy kicks. Pearson showed excellent striking as well. The fight ended with the split decision victory going to Barboza. The win could have gone either way but Barboza had a bit of the edge when it came to effective strikes that landed. The back and forth striking exchange between these two talented lightweights earned the Fight of the Night honours.

Shogun Rua defeated Forrest Griffin via KO. This was a rematch between two former light heavyweight champions. Forrest won in their first encounter via rear-naked choke way back in 2007 when Shogun was just debuting in the UFC. It was heavily documented that during their first fight, Shogun was suffering due to an injury. After almost four years, a healthy Shogun had his piece of redemption and finished Griffin quickly via KO in round one. Shogun is back in championship form and is eager to get another shot at the title while Griffin will have to go back to the drawing board.

Anderson Silva defeats Yushin Okami via TKO. Alright, in my previous post, Anderson Silva Defends the UFC Middleweight Title Against Yushin Okami, I mentioned that I was rooting for Okami and I want Silva to finally lose the title. And I choked on those words. Silva, once again, proved that he is indeed one of the greatest fighters to ever compete in the sport of MMA. Okami put in the pressure at the start of the fight but Silva kept his composure. Silva even landed a nice high kick to the head of Okami at the end of the first round. In the second round, Silva started to let loose and became more aggressive. In the middle of the second round, Silva dropped his hands and started counterpunching, similar to what he did in the Forrest Griffin fight. Okami was knocked down twice. During the second knock down, Silva went for the ground and pound to finish Okami and retain his UFC Middleweight Title. Much respect to The Spider.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, the entire UFC 134 card was packed with great fights. The Brazilian fighters rose to the occasion, winning eight of the nine fights that pitted a Brazilian against a non-Brazilian fighter.

Many MMA fans consider him as the greatest of all time, the number one pound for pound fighter in the world. Any one can say otherwise but we can’t take away the fact that Anderson “The Spider” Silva has been the UFC Middleweight Champion for a very long time.

I, personally, am not an Anderson Silva fan. For every title fight that he’s been through, I’ve always rooted for the challenger. I wanted The Spider to lose. But he kept winning. The closest one was his title defense against Chael Sonnen. Silva was dominated for almost the entire five-round fight. I was jumping on my feet as I witness Sonnen take home every single round of the fight, until Silva catches him in a triangle choke.

Anderson Silva is no doubt a great fighter. But I really don’t like him. I was most impressed in his performance against Forest Griffin. But I really can’t seem to embrace his aura. I usually feel intimidated when I watch him fight, as if I was the challenger at the other end of the Octagon. Perhaps the main reason why I don’t root for Silva is because of the arrogance he portrayed in his fight against Demian Maia. It really left a mark on me. His antics were a mix of intimidation and arrogance.

Anderson Silva will be defending his UFC Middleweight Title against Yushin Okami this coming Saturday on UFC 134, also called, UFC Rio. I guess that’s the best time for Silva to lose his title because the event will take place in Brazil, Silva’s home country. Evil grin.

Okami has what it takes to defeat Silva. I can’t say that he is capable of a knock out or TKO victory but anything can happen. I assume Okami will take the fight to the ground. That’s his best chance of winning. Take Silva down and control the fight. Okami can bag a unanimous victory, along with the UFC Middleweight belt.

If Silva successfully defends the UFC Middleweight title against Okami, Vitor Belfort may be next in line for the title again. And yes I know, Silva defeated Belfort in a convincing and impressive way. But as Belfort said, if the knock out front kick didn’t materialize, he could have destroyed the champion. No one can tell for now. Maybe we’ll find out in the future.

UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami is set to take place at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The last time UFC went to Brazil was  in 1998. This will definitely be an awesome event. The card is packed with exciting match ups including a rematch between two former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Forrest Griffin. Another bout features the return of the MMA legend, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. He will take on the rising star and Ultimate Fighter runner-up, Brendan Schaub, who’s been on a roll with a four-fight winning streak on his shoulders.

So who’s your pick? Will Anderson Silva retain the title? Or are we going to see a major upset (and an upset crowd) when Okami takes away the belt? Let me know your thoughts.

Recently, I’ve been into running. I make it a point to run at least once a week. Actually, I’ve been planning to take running seriously (well not that serious) for the past year but I kept on procrastinating. Thanks to my colleagues, I was finally exposed to this healthy activity.

One of my colleagues gave me a copy of Christopher McDougall’s book, Born to Run. He said it is a good read for pro and leisure runners alike. But unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to read the book yet but I am definitely allocating some time for that.

In relation to my new found hobby and the book Born to Run, I would like to tackle the emergence of the barefoot running, and of course, along with that is the rise of the barefoot technology in the shoe industry. As the name implies, barefoot running is simply running without wearing any shoe, foot gear or whatever you may call it. But of course some would say, that is crazy. Who would like to get foot scars and bruises? No one I guess. So here comes the idea of minimalist running, which can be the closest to running barefoot. When you say minimalist running, it is running in thin-soled and flexible shoes.

The shoe industry has been running along with the emergence of barefoot running amongst running enthusiasts. Nike is currently the world-wide leader in barefoot running products with their Nike Free technology, catering to an estimate of 65 percent of the barefoot consumers. Vibram, known for its FiveFingers, currently holds 10 percent of the market.

Adidas finally enters the barefoot market with their latest minimalist offering, the Adipure Trainer. This product seem to cross the line between the Nike Free and the Vibram FiveFingers. Perhaps a hybrid of the two? Of course, plus the trademark 3-stripes. According to Patrik Nilsson, president of Adidas North America, “The Adipure Trainer is a unique piece of equipment for elite level athletes that we’re bringing to our core consumer,” This is indeed a good news for running enthusiasts. I was happy to hear the news about Adidas going barefoot because I’ve been an Adidas consumer for quite some time. I prefer Adidas bags and shoes over Nike. I guess it’s simply because of the 3-stripe design of Adidas that appeals more to my artistic senses as compared to Nike’s trademark check. Well that’s me.

Adidas is slowly stripping off the gap between them and Nike globally. But within the North American region, Nike is still far off the charts when it comes to sales. Joining the barefoot technology will boost Adidas’ influence in the American market so I personally think this is a great idea for the company. If I decide to buy barefoot running shoes some time in the future, I think I’d go for the Adipure Trainer. Well of course I am a heavily biased consumer. But hey, Adidas is Adidas. They are known to deliver in every product idea that they dwell on and can also be considered a household name.

The Adidas Adipure Trainer will hit the North American stores this coming November and will be sold at a price of $90. That’s relatively an affordable price for a brand like Adidas.

UFC 133 served as a catalyst for several fighters’ climb to the upper rankings of their respective divisions. “Sugar” Rashad Evans proved that he is the top contender for the Light Heavyweight title after defeating the re-invigorated, Tito Ortiz. Evans came from a long 14-month inactivity due to a knee injury while Tito Ortiz just came off an impressive submission victory over Ryan Bader last month in UFC 132.

Round 1. Evans opened up the fight with great hand speed and footwork. Ortiz tried to exchange with the Ultimate Fighter winner and eventually attempted for a takedown. Ortiz held Evans for a bit but struggled to completely take the top control. After Evans went back on his feet, he swarmed Ortiz with combinations and caught a huge takedown. Evans continued to swarm Ortiz with punches and elbows until the bell rang, signifying the end of the first round.

Round 2. In the second round, Ortiz seemed a little tentative with his striking, Evans continued to use his speed advantage and secured another takedown, but this time, Ortiz held on to a guillotine choke attempt. The choke hold was tight and Evans seems to be in big trouble but he kept his composure and was able to escape the submission attempt. Evans regained top control on the side and rained down blows on Ortiz. I saw Ortiz doing his best to roll out of the bottom position, using the wall as a springboard for a possible reversal. But Evan’s top control was solid and caught Ortiz in a crucifix position. Ortiz’s last significant offensive move was a knee bar attempt which was easily shrugged off by Evans. When Ortiz got to his knees, Evans connected a lethal knee blow to his solar plexus (between the chest and the stomach region). Ortiz was visibly hurt, tumbled down and curled up. Evans jumped on the opportunity and rained more blows to the aching Ortiz. Referee Dan Miragliotta stops the fight with 12 seconds remaining in the second round.

Title shot for Rashad Evans. Sugar was supposed to face Shogun Rua for the title on UFC 128, but because of a knee injury, he was sidelined and his former training partner, Jon Jones, replaced him and captured the title. He was then supposed to fight Jones for the title on UFC 133 but Jones was sidelined due to another injury. The championship seems to evade Evans. After winning this fight, Evans is again in line for the title and he will face the winner between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and current champion, Jon “Bones” Jones. I personally want to see a Bones vs Sugar fight but a rematch with Rampage can also be interesting.

What’s next for Ortiz? I’d rather make a separate blog post about it.

Vitor Belfort wins Vitor Belfort style. And the “Phenom” is back after knocking out Yoshihiro Akiyama in the first round. Belfort showed to the world why he became so popular and one of the most feared strikers in MMA by quickly demolishing “Sexyama” with devastating punches. Rogan mentioned that Belfort is still the most dangerous contender for Anderson Silva’s title even though he was knocked out in their last fight. If the KO didn’t happen, Silva could have been in a huge trouble. Let’s see if Belfort gets another title shot after SIlva faces Yushin “Thunder” Okami on UFC 134/Rio.

Brian Ebersole stops Hallman. Ebersole defeats another seasoned UFC veteran by putting out Dennis “Superman” Hallman. Ebersole was also given an additional $70,000 for the “thanks for getting those horrifying shorts off TV as soon as possible” bonus.

MacDonald is a rising star. Another stand-out in the UFC 133 event was Rory MacDonald who defeated UFC veteran, Mike Pyle via TKO in the first round. Rogan said MacDonald may be the next GSP or he could be even better.

“Randy has weighed his options and considered the offers and has decided to retire,” This was the announcement delivered by Randy Moss’s agent, Joel Segal.

When we speak of statistics, performance, skills and the right tools in playing football, Randy Moss can be put at the top of the list. If not on top, perhaps one of the top players. To make things short, Randy Moss is a future NFL Hall of Famer.

What happened? After the lockout ended, Moss was looking for the right team as he was currently a free agent. Due to smaller offers, a deal didn’t materialize. The New England Patriots, the team that he loves, signed Chad Ochocinco instead. Other teams weren’t interested to pick him. So the end result? Randy Moss retires.

But is this really the end of the 6-foot 4 wide receiver? Randy Moss is 34 years old, healthy and capable of playing for any team, any time of the day. The retirement decision may have caught many NFL fans especially Moss fans off-guard. But let me ask you, are you convinced that Randy Moss will never play in NFL again? If you’ll ask me, I don’t think so. So I can personally say that I am expecting a Randy Moss come back. Maybe his return might be another surprise waiting to come out of the box when the right time comes. Moss is always full of surprises, color and flash. You can use those adjectives as well to define his performance in the field. Moss raked a total of 954 catches, 153 touchdowns and 14,858 yards in his entire receiving career. He’s simply a beast in the football field.

Randy Moss has played in the NFL for 13 seasons, offering his talent, speed and size to four teams. He played for the Minnesota Vikings upon entering the NFL in 1998, played for the Oakland Raiders in 2005, was traded to New England Patriots in 2007, returned to Minnesota in 2010 and played with the Tennessee Titans for eight games in the same year. Vikings coach Leslie Frazier made some positive remarks about Moss saying, “In a lot of ways, he was the Michael Jordan of offenses in our league. He was a special player for a long, long time.”

I can say that Randy Moss has accomplished a lot in his stint in the NFL. He can be considered as one of the best in the sport and if ever he decides to hang his gears for good, everyone will definitely respect that.

The just recently concluded fight breaks my heart. I am a huge Fedor fan and I would love to see him get back to the winning track. But unfortunately, in his Strikeforce heavyweight fight against Dan Henderson, he succumbs into another saddening defeat. Dan Henderson defeated Fedor via TKO in the first round. I just read about the news on Wikipedia. Yes, I haven’t seen the fight yet and I don’t think I can handle watching Fedor being destroyed. Update: I have already seen the fight, and it’s even worse than just reading about it. Fedor had him for a bit there, but Henderson survived the flurry and landed a huge uppercut from behind which put Fedor face down on the mat. My chest hurts.

Okay enough with the drama-queen mode. Let me tackle Fedor’s future in the MMA world. Will he continue to fight after three heart breaking defeats? I think the initial decision of Fedor would be a retirement. But no one knows for now. I honestly think he should not retire yet. As I mentioned in my earlier post, Fedor still has a good number of years ahead of him. But let’s face it, getting back at the top of the MMA mountain seems to be a fading chance. It is still possible though, but Fedor needs to change things around him.

Fedor needs to change training camps. I personally think that Fedor is not having the best training that he can have. He’s got a tremendous skill set, from striking to grappling and submissions. But all these tools could go nowhere if not equipped with a high level of training partners and coaches.

Fedor needs to surround himself with highly motivated training partners. Motivation is indeed a huge factor in determining whether a fighter can be successful or not. Fedor seems to lack motivation. This was also observed by Henderson. But of course we can never judge the heart of another man. Only Fedor can tell if his motivation is lacking or not.

Fedor can still continue fighting. But in what division? Henderson has been in the middleweight division for the bulk of his fighting career. And he beat Fedor decisively. Will Fedor be fit enough to compete in the heavyweight division? That’s a decision to make for the Last Emperor.

Fedor should be less “wild” in his attacks. This has caused him the fight against Werdum. And this time, with Henderson. Fedor seems to be plunging in reckless abandon mode when he smells blood. Werdum and Henderson capitalized on this by staying calm and collected. Fedor was also caught in the face after aggressively bull-rushing at Henderson during the first 15 seconds of the fight. I think Fedor needs to work on that. Technique over aggression can be the key to his return.

Early stoppage? Fedor mentioned, “I think [the stoppage] was early, I don’t want to say anything bad about the referee or anything, but it seems to me it was early. I was clearly hit, but I wasn’t hit flush and directly. I think I could have continued, but the referee decided to stop it.” Actually when I saw the fight video, it was clear that Fedor went lights out for a second after being hit by Henderson from the back. But when Fedor turned around, he seemed to have regained consciousness and was trying to defend Henderson’s flurry. I don’t know if I’m just being biased. I’m not taking anything away from Henderson. He was the winner of this fight.

For now, no one knows what’s in store for the Last Emperor. Will he continue fighting? Or is it curtains down for the MMA legend who once was considered by many as the best of all time? These questions will be answered soon.

The upcoming Strikeforce event this Saturday will feature a heavyweight superfight between two MMA legends, “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko and “Dangerous” Dan Henderson. Fedor is looking to bounce back from a two-fight losing streak while Hendo will aim to be the third fighter to stop the once unbeatable legend.

Henderson is coming off a two-fight winning streak, beating Renato Sobral via KO and taking the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight title by stopping Rafael Cavalcante.

How can Dan Henderson stop Fedor Emelianenko? The key to this is by using his wrestling. Henderson is an NCAA Division 1 wrestler and has represented the United States in international wrestling competitions. Henderson needs to take Fedor down and control the tempo of the fight. And from there he can inflict damage via ground and pound. In Fedor’s most recent fight, he was man-handled by Antonio “Big Foot” Silva. He lost the fight via TKO at the end of the second round.

But Henderson won’t enjoy the size advantage that Big Foot had. Dan Henderson has competed in three weight classes namely, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. But Hendo is a natural 205-pounder in a 5 foot 11 inch frame. Fedor on the other hand is a natural 230-pounder and is an inch taller than Hendo. We’ve seen in the Big Foot fight that size became a huge factor that helped Silva in controlling Fedor on the ground. What Henderson needs to do is to set-up his takedowns. He can probably open up with his lethal right hand to give him a higher chance of taking Fedor to the ground. But take note, Fedor has a lethal power punch as well and he has excellent submissions from the bottom.

Will Fedor get back to the top of the division? If Fedor wins this fight, it will surely boost his rankings. However, it won’t be that much since Henderson is not a natural heavyweight. But hey, it’s Dan Henderson. A win against Hendo is surely a big one.

Win or lose, what’s next Fedor and Hendo? If Henderson wins, he will be remembered as one of the fighters to ever defeat The Last Emperor and this will boost his rankings as a heavyweight. A light heavyweight title defense is definitely next in line. I can say that Henderson has nothing to lose, given that he’ll be fighting in a different weight class and his Strikeforce Light Heavyweight title is not on the line. The bigger pressure is on Fedor. If Fedor wins, he can get back into the mix by taking on another top heavyweight. A rematch against Fabricio Werdum could be a good path. Or he could probably take on Alistair Overeem. If Fedor loses, I don’t know. I’m not saying that he should retire. He still has a good number of years ahead of him but I do think he should change training camps, further enhance his natural talent and develop more tactics to complement his array of skills. And hopefully he frees himself from the hands of his managers.

I know many MMA fans are excited to see this. Fedor fans are hoping for a huge come back. I am a Fedor fan and I am rooting for him on this one. Strikeforce: Fedor Vs Henderson will be on Saturday, July 30, at Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

Update: Henderson Stops Fedor via TKO in the First Round – After Thoughts

A couple of topsy-turvy situations that involve NFL quarterbacks are soon to be clarified. If reports from the three sports’ giants (NFL Network, ESPN and FOXSports) are true, Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb is soon headed with the Vikings. This will come to reality after he agreed to restructure a contract amounting to eight figures this 2011. Washington on the other hand will have to get two draft picks. This will include a sixth rounder in 2012 and one more conditional draft pick.

McNabb was acquired by the Redskins during last year’s draft. This was perhaps his worst season as an NFL starter and he obviously struggled throughout the season. During the final three games, McNabb was benched and Coach Mike Shanahan considered QB Rex Grossman. However, McNabb’s contract with the Redskins is $78 million for five years. Washington has the option to withdraw now after they have paid McNabb $3.5 million. The trade is quite a hefty amount unless he agreed to bargain. In the 2011 draft picks, the Vikings picked QB Christian Ponder on the 12th. If McNabb is acquired, Ponder will have the time to adjust to the NFL and Shanahan’s Redskins on the other hand will most likely go on with QB’s John Beck and Grossman who apparently is signing again with the team.

According to Ergin Ataman, coach of the Besiktas, “It is a fact that Kobe Bryant’s managers have contacted us.” This development happened after New Jersey Nets point guardDeron Williams has signed with the Besiktas about a week ago.

Through Besiktas’ website, Coach Ergin Ataman mentioned that Kobe is just awaiting Besiktas to formally give the offer. He also said that they hope to find a major sponsor so that they could pay the amount of Bryant’s contract. “Our board will evaluate that,” he said.

Kobe Bryant has given Los Angeles Lakers 5 NBA championships titles. Bryant also had played with NBA All Star for 13 times. The career scoring average of Kobe Bryant is 25.3 points.

Deron Williams’ new head coach in Turkey is pretty much confident that the team’s effort to persuade Bryant to play for Turkey during the NBA lockout will not go to waste. However, Coach Ataman said that it will not be easy to come up with the money to pay for Bryant’s contract. They just hope that they could find a special sponsor soon.

Tennis world’s No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki and US Open champion Rory Mcllroy are being linked romantically now that Mcllroy has officially broken up with his former girlfriend Holly Sweeney. Mcllroy and Sweeney are childhood sweethearts. The split-up was confirmed by McIlroy’s management company. The International Sports Management released a statement saying, “Rory McIlroy’s long-time relationship with Sweeney came to an amicable end before the Open Championship.”

Wozniacki and Mcllroy were spotted having dinner in London after the latter did not get his back-to-back majors at Sandwich. Wozniacki on the other hand is having a photoshoot in UK for her sponsors Stella McCartney and Adidas.

The two sports winners may have started seeing eye-to-eye when Mcllroy guested in the Royal Box at Wimbledon. They met again when Wladimir Klitschko defeated David Haye in Hamburg last July 2. After the fight, Wozniacki tweeted “Fantastic fight! Also met Rory McIlory, who was sitting just behind me:) Really down to earth great guy.”

Since then, the two have been exchanging tweets. In one of his tweets, Mcllroy congratulated the Dane on her 21st birthday. Mcllroy wrote on his Tweeter, “You’re getting old.”

“At least now you will be able to buy me a drink in the US,” Wozniacki then replied through her Tweeter account. “Not only in Hamburg,” she wrote.