Check out the Rock in the ring training for his WWE comeback.

Yes, he does a GSP impersonation.

It’s rare that in MMA we see two guys legitimately despise each other and take the hatred into the fight with them.

The late Ryan Gracie always had a reputation for being a bit of a nutjob. But this time, it may have been too much.

In the summer of 2002, the never ending feud between the Japanese and the Brazilians in PRIDE escalated on August 28th, 2002 at K-1 and PRIDE’s joint mega event: Dynamite 2002. 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist Hidehiko Yoshida, a beloved Japanese athlete, made his MMA debut against MMA pioneer Royce Gracie in one of the feature bouts on the card. Yoshida won via submission, but Gracie protested claiming he never tapped out. The Gracie’s were known to never tap out. Ever. In fact, Royler and Renzo Gracie BOTH got their arms broken by Kazushi Sakuraba for not tapping out. Royce later alleged that there was a conspiracy, because the referee and the judges were Japanese, they screwed Royce and gave the win to Yoshida in front of 91,107 people at Tokyo National Stadium. Needless to say, the Gracie family was already not too happy.

As the fight between Ryan Gracie and Shungo Oyama drew closer, tensions began to build from both camps. Oyama was seen as a rebel and already had a win over Ryan’s brother Renzo. Word got out that Oyama challenged Ryan Gracie to a street fight before they stepped into the ring for their scheduled bout on September 29, 2002 at PRIDE.22. Ryan’s short fuse is legendary, as stories of him challenging people to bar fights on the streets of Brazil were commonplace in MMA circles. He was more than happy to grand Oyama his wishes, but fortunately for the integrity of the sport, that never manifested. Ryan Gracie, in an interview with Stephen Quadros, claimed that after the fight in the ring at PRIDE, he’d be more than happy to rematch him in the hotel room. He was dead serious when he said it.

Heat.
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As I stated yesterday in the FGB UFC 135 Preview , the odds are very long in Jon Jones’ favor in his light heavyweight title defense. Rampage Jackson has become a one-dimensional fighter, the exact opposite of what Jones’ has been able to do early in his career. Can Rampage’s one dimension be enough to win? Most people think not, and I have to admit that I would be very surprised to see Rampage get his hand raised tonight. But with that kind of power, you absolutely can’t put it past him.

It looks like we’re starting with Takanori Gomi vs. Nate Diaz.

1. Takanori Gomi vs. Nate Diaz

Nate’s reach is eating Gomi alive. He was showboating and it was like an amateur against a pro. Nate was hammering him with a long right jab. Gomi dropped down to the ground simply to stop getting hit. Nate got his back. Back up, Nate was hammering him again. Gomi dropped down again and Diaz looked for the arm bar, transitioned to the triangle, and then back to the arm bar for the submission.

Winner: Nate Diaz by way of 1st round submission

2. Rob Broughton vs. Travis Browne

Browne is using his height and length to keep Broughton where he wants him. He’s moving around well. He’s throwing a lead right hand that’s landing. He also landed a huge lead left hook. Broughton’s trying to chop down the tree with leg kicks. Browne got an easy takedown, went into mount, and is having his way with him on the ground.
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Yesterday, word got out that Andre Ward suffered a cut and had to pull out of his October 29th scheduled bout against Carl Froch in the Super Six World Boxing Classic final. Ward’s injury needed stitches and they didn’t want to risk the cut not healing fully by the scheduled fight day. Froch is unhappy with the fight being postponed and thinks the Ward camp is babying the issue.

San Jose Mercury News beat writer Tim Kawakami suggested on his Twitter account that since most boxing promotors don’t like scheduling fights late in the year, we could see the bout pushed to 2012.

Here’s the press release from Goossen Tutor:
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Rampage Jackson may have been a bigger underdog in a Pride fight that I’m not aware of. But he’s never been this big of an underdog before in the UFC. The light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is a 6-1 or 7-1 favorite depending on the time and day. Is Jones that good? Most think he is even if they agree that the odds are way long. Rampage Jackson has never been knocked out or submitted in his UFC career. If Jones can finish him, it would add another link to his growing legend.

We’ll talk about that fight as well as the semi-main even which is Matt Hughes vs. Josh Koscheck. Koscheck hasn’t fought since his loss against Georges St. Pierre in December of last year. He replaces Diego Sanchez in the fight.

The FGB crew along with Stevie J from Angry Marks and friend of the site JP, have predictions on the fights.

Matt Hughes vs. Josh Koscheck

Duan: Koscheck by 1st round TKO
Alan: Koscheck by decision
JP: Koscheck by decision
Stevie J: Hughes by 1st round submission
Big D: Koscheck by 2nd round TKO
GG: Koscheck by 2nd round TKO

Duan says:

My opinion on Hughes has seesawed a lot over the last couple of years. Sometimes I see him as a completely spent force, while on other occasions I still admire his veteran savvy. He’s nowhere near the fighter he once was, but his knowledge of the game is such that he can still beat guys up to a certain level.

The trouble here is Koscheck is couple a steps above that standard, and besides, it’s a horrible match up for Hughes anyway. Josh is a guy Hughes won’t out-wrestle and he will have a massive advantage in the stand up.

Alan says:

Matt Hughes is one of the most mentally strong fighters in MMA, and there is a possibility that Kos may have just had his confidence shaken by the beating GSP gave him. What happens if Hughes dings him with one? Will Kos fold? It’s an interesting question. But I have to err on the side of Koscheck rebounding here and getting back on track. He’ll probably take a cautious approach though so I will say Koscheck by decision.

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