Contrary to what some sources are reporting UFC Hall of Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture did not go to Minnesota to coach UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. He did, as was obvious by the Youtube video we posted, go there to help the former WWE wrestler train for his upcoming bout against Shane Carwin. Confused? Here’s Couture’s take via Sherdog:

“I think the whole reason I went out there was to see what they’re doing in their camp, what their strength and conditioning is like, what kind of partners and situations is he putting himself in to face another wrestler in Carwin… It wasn’t about me going out there and training him or feeling like I’m going to contribute to helping him beat Carwin or any of that. None of that went on…Obviously, there was some technical adjustments that could be made, but I wasn’t there to be a coach. I was there to be a workout partner.”

In the article Couture also talks about Lesnar’s health, saying that the fighter is certainly 100 percent and that he may be more technically better than before. That’s not good news for Carwin, but this matchup should be great. The MMA News will carry live coverage of the July 3 UFC 116 with all the pre and post news you expect.

(pictured Court McGee and Kris McCray via MMAWeekly.com)


An emotional Court McGee dedicated his victory over fellow “The Ultimate Fighter” 11 finalist Kris McCray “to anyone who’s struggling,” in reference to his past issues with drug abuse, and to his coach Chuck Liddell, as part of his victory speech in the main event of Saturday’s “TUF 11″ Finale.

The Utah based fighter used takedowns to earn the nod in the first round, using his ground-and-pound and striking effectively. The second was similar, except McGee utilized his take downs to attempt a couple of submissions.

After taking McCray down with a double leg takedown near the cage, McGee was able to take his opponents back to sink in a rear-naked-choke, forcing the Team Oritz/Franklin fighter to tap at 3:41.

McGee had quite the journey to get to this point.

He went to a third round in the opening elimination bout against Seth Baczynski and was picked twelfth overall by Chuck Liddell. He lost to Nick Ring in the sixth prelim fight of the “TUF 11″ series in a close fight that had UFC president Dana White calling for a third round.

McGee stepped in for Rich Attonito in the quarter-finals after Attonito broke his hand. The Utah fighter defeated James Hammortree via submission in the second to move on to face fellow teammate Brad Tavares. Both men went to a third round in their semi-final bout which McGee ended with a rear-naked-choke submission.

McGee was presented with the “TUF” trophy and the six-figure contract by Dana White and was also awarded with the “Submission of the Night” bonus.

LAS VEGAS - For former drug addict Court McGee, his road to recovery has been a matter of overcoming the odds and fighting for small milestones.

All that hard work and perseverance finally led to a major milestone: the title of "The Ultimate Fighter 11" show champion.

McGee, one of coach Chuck Liddell's final draft picks, made the most of his second chances - in life and on the Spike TV reality series - and submitted Kris McCray in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

Whose performance stood out the most at UFC 115? Is it time for Tyson Griffin to dip down to 145 pounds? What WEC 49 bout has you more pumped than the others? Should Keith Jardine receive his pink-slip this weekend if he loses a fourth straight fight in the UFC?

Keyboard warrrrriors….come out to plaaaay-yay!

If you’re reading these lines you’ve made it through another work-week and are back in the friendly digital confines of “Grappling with Issues”, our site’s resident Friday feature highlighting insight and opinion from Adam Tool and myself on six subjects plucked from the Mixed Martial Arts landscape. However, just because we staffers get the fancy set-up, please don’t feel precluded from dishing out your own thoughts on each matter in the comments section at the bottom of the column…

True/False – Tyson Griffin needs to seriously consider dropping to featherweight.

Adam Tool: False. I find it kind of funny that people are talking about how small Tyson Griffin looks and how he needs to drop down, when he actually looks a bit bigger than current lightweight champion Frank Edgar (although both fighters are 5‘6“). Griffin and Edgar are on the shorter end of the lightweight spectrum, but they’ve each proven that they are more than capable of handling a number of other fighters at 155 lbs. Manny Gamburyan had two tough losses in the UFC before he decided to drop down, so let’s at least give Griffin the benefit of the doubt and see how he does in his next fight before declaring him too small for the lightweight division.

Besides, at this point what does Griffin stand to gain by moving down? He’d likely be accepting a paycut by going to WEC, and he would undoubtedly be fighting with far less exposure in the featherweight division. It’s much easier for a light heavyweight fighter to make the move to middleweight, since they know they’ll still be fighting in the UFC. For a lightweight fighter the move down in weight also means a move down in organizations, and I fail to see how that could be truly beneficial in this case. Griffin holds wins over a number of respected lightweight fighters, he’s well-known amongst the fan base, and he’s been one half of five different “Fight of the Night” match-ups. The loss to Evan Dunham certainly sets him back, but it’s much too soon to think that he can’t hang in the UFC anymore.

Brendhan Conlan: If Griffin’s motivation as a Mixed Martial Artist is to solidify his legacy in the sport as a great champion and pinnacle of his division he absolutely needs to give the move some thought; if his motivation is purely based on fame and fortune then he should sit tight in the UFC. I happen to believe he leans towards the former, as most fighters do, and as such I’ll be answering this topic as “True”.

Tool is right when he says Griffin has proven he can hang at lightweight. After all, the Xtreme Couture OG is 7-3 in the UFC. He’s also gone to the judges in eight of those ten bouts with his only finishes coming against David Lee nearly four years ago and a portlier-than-normal version of Hermes Franca at UFC 103 last September. Fighting smart is one thing; not being able to submit/TKO mid-tier competition is another.

What does Griffin stand to gain from a drop to 145 pounds? For one, a chance at being the best in the world at featherweight when such a goal is almost certainly unobtainable at 155. If Tyson can out-work larger opponents then imagine how he might perform against competition similar, even smaller, in size. For another, an opportunity to headline cards and be featured in marquee match-ups. WEC has already dipped their toes in the PPV market once with plans to do so again in the near future and it seems inevitable the promotion will end up on Spike TV at some point too. Griffin vs. Faber II, Griffin vs. Aldo, Griffin vs. Brown, etc. – the list goes on and on in terms of who he could be paired against, as WEC features the world’s deepest featherweight division. Yes, he would sacrifice some money and exposure in the short term, but there are still plenty of both to be had in UFC’s sister promotion. Also, let’s not forget there has been talk about the UFC absorbing the WEC featherweights, so if that ever happens then the finance/fame stuff becomes a moot point.

Long story short, if Griffin stays at lightweight he’ll win more than he loses but I don’t think it’s likely he’ll ever be champion. You can make comparisons to Edgar if you want but there are lots of people out there who think BJ Penn deserved to retain his belt (enough to where Frank’s first defense will come against the former champ). The title-shot was also a very fortunate opportunity for Edgar and lightning won’t necessarily strike twice with Griffin as the recipient. If he wants to really take a crack at making a significant impact in MMA he HAS to consider featherweight. After all, he’s shown he’s familiar with coming out on the favorable end of “decisions”. This is just one more he needs to deal with.

UFC 115 featured two more incidents where fans got “hands on” with fighters during an entrance. Is that aspect of “fighter safety” something the UFC needs to address or a situation not worth paying attention to?

Tool: While the stealing of hats may not be worthy of Zuffa’s attention, it’s just a short step to fans getting too close to the fighters and potentially doing something far more damaging. Arena security is supposed to be taking care of this sort of thing, but as we saw on Saturday the guys walking with the fighters to the cage aren’t necessarily doing their job. Stronger security measures are needed before something truly bad happens, and this may be a case where Zuffa needs to step in and do something about it themselves.

Conlan: In the words of Diego Sanchez, “Yes, yes, yes!!!” Last November I wrote a piece called “The Exit of the Entrance” based on a few similar incidents at UFC 105. Essentially, my concern is this:

We live in a culture where Average Joes and Janes will do nearly anything for fifteen minutes of fame. People have rushed the ring at WWE events, attacked on-field coaches in MLB, and streaked on countless fields across the world. If the audience at a UFC show is in close enough proximity to take an item of clothing from the fighters’ heads then they are also able to do a multitude of things with the pathetic hope of getting a reaction or making a highlight reel on cable/sports news. Do we need to see a drink poured on an athlete’s head or punch thrown before the issue is truly examined? Do we want to see a main event ruined because one of the participants is distracted by an unnecessary occurrence? The answer is clearly “no”, so why wait for something to happen when the odds dictate its almost guaranteed?

Should Keith Jardine receive his walking papers if he drops a fourth straight bout by losing to Matt Hamill at the Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale?

Tool: I believe so. Keith Jardine is the biggest enigma in the UFC. He’s got wins over respected opponents like Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, and Brandon Vera. He’s also had his share of crushing defeats to Thiago Silva, Wanderlei Silva, and Houston Alexander. He’s more than capable of putting on exciting fights, but at this point his chin has been more exposed than Britney Spears’ private parts. The UFC’s light heavyweight division is one of the most competitive weight classes in the world, and if Jardine can’t hang with most of his opponents than he really has no place in the organization. He’s got a winnable fight on Saturday so we’ll have to wait and see what happens then, but if he ends up unconscious in the octagon again it will probably be for the last time.

Conlan: No, but a fifth straight should merit the proverbial axe swing. With the exception of Alexander his losses have come to highly-touted opponents. Even Hamill is a respected competitor as far as wrestling and power goes. “The Dean of Mean” has lost five of his last seven fights, so he’s definitely on thin ice as is and being released on the heels of a possible loss to “The Hammer” wouldn’t surprise me, but I think he deserves a step down as far as adversaries go before the company makes the decision to cut him. Win or lose, putting him against a lesser-skilled fighter would give Jardine a chance to get a little confidence back or prove he’s a liability the UFC can’t keep around.

Of all the winners at UFC 115, whose performance impressed you the most?

Conlan: Evan Dunham with Rory MacDonland a very close second. I felt confident in Dunham’s ability to beat Griffin based on size and technique but he looked more convincing doing so than I’d expected. He’s definitely shown he deserves to make a lateral, if not vertical, move where competition is concerned. That could possibly mean a date with the loser of Ken Florian vs. Gray Maynard, or more likely the winner of a fight closer to occurring like Kurt Pellegrino vs. George Sotiropolous (UFC 116) or Takanori Gomi vs. Joe Stevenson (UFC on Versus 2). At 11-0, and with three consecutive wins against tough opponents, Dunham is definitely a 155-pounder that has to be watched and is in position for a nice push within the organization.

Tool: This is a tough one, because there were so many awesome performances on the show. Rory MacDonald and Chuck Liddell certainly get the nods for “Best Showing In A Losing Effort,” but as far as the winners go I’m going to have to cheat and pick two.

First up is Martin Kampmann. Like most everyone else I picked Paulo Thiago to emerge victorious on Saturday night, but apparently I had some sort of mental blockage that made me forget just how great Kampmann can be. We all knew he would likely have the edge in a striking battle, but what really impressed me was the way Kampmann continually threatened Thiago on the ground. Most fighters, when matched up with a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, would simply do everything in their power to keep the fight standing while avoiding any ground action at all. Kampmann was not only willing to go with the mat with Thiago, he was the one attempting numerous submissions to try and end the fight. At no point did it look like Thiago was going to tap (seeing as how he’s fought out of these situations far too many times), but kudos to “The Hitman” for showing what a complete mixed-martial artist he is.

Secondly, I’d like to give some much-deserved props to Rich Franklin. In the days following UFC 115 there’s been so much focus on the end of Liddell’s career, with hardly anyone talking about what a dramatic victory this was for “Ace.” While some people will discount the win seeing as it’s coming at the end of Liddell’s career, it’s fair to say that Franklin was facing the best version of the “Iceman” that we’ve seen in years. Franklin took Liddell’s best shots and kept on coming. He broke his arm early in the fight yet powered through the injury and pulled off the win. On top of that he proved the doubters wrong that said he didn’t have KO power, and his $85,000 bonus check was the perfect icing on the cake.

Now that the season is coming to a close, rank the latest edition of The Ultimate Fighter on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the highest).

Conlan: “6″, which is actually a full point below where I ranked TUF 11 in a previous GWI written a few weeks after the season started. A handful of episodes featured exciting in-ring action but for the most part there was little to get worked up about. Any momentum the season had after the opening round of qualifying fights was sucked dry by the remaining episodes’ one-sided decisions, disqualifications, injury-based substitutes, and Jamie Yager’s refusal to answer the bell and come out of his corner in a quarter-final match-up with Josh Bryant. Hell, both finalists lost earlier in the season. The personal rivalry between team-heads Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell flared up once or twice but remained tame for the most part and Ortiz’s eventual replacement as coach on the show came so late in the season it was somewhat anti-climactic. Overall, it was a vanilla season which was supposed to culminate in a fight nobody wanted to see and instead resulted in Liddell getting knocked out, and likely retired, by Rich Franklin. It’s not to say there weren’t a few positives as well, but definitely not enough to deserve a rating any higher than being slightly above average.

Tool: I’ll go with a “7,” as this was a relatively entertaining season overall. Jamie “Fro Cop” Yager was a constant annoyance, but otherwise the stuff at the house was just fine. Obviously the drama makes for more entertaining television, but I for one am glad that we didn’t get inundated with the kind of in-house shenanigans that have characterized past seasons. In terms of the fights we saw plenty of quality match-ups. The number of fighter injuries is proof that the various cast members left everything in the cage each time (unlike a certain rotund “TUF” champ that did the minimal amount of effort to win). The competitiveness of the tournament goes a long way towards making a quality season, and I’m genuinely interested in seeing who wins the various cast member match-ups on Saturday.

The only real knock I can give this season is the coaches. Chuck Liddell is a legend in the sport and one of the greatest light heavyweight fighters of all time. What he is not though, is a good on-camera performer. Chuck looked mildly uncomfortable in nearly every second he was talking on screen, and most of that time was spent pacing back and forth in small steps. Tito Ortiz was clearly much more comfortable on-camera, but that’s because he spent a good portion of the time talking about his favorite subject: Tito Ortiz. Their rivalry was hardly interesting due to two separate factors; we knew Chuck would almost certainly be winning their third fight, and we knew that fight wasn’t going to be happening anyways.

Which fight are you looking forward to the most at WEC 49 this weekend?

Conlan: There are a few solid match-ups on the card but without a doubt I’m looking forward to Josh Grispi vs. L.C. Davis more than the others. Their combined record is 29-3 with Grispi emerging victorious the last nine times he’s stepped in a ring and Davis winning seven of his last eight fights. Both have above-average striking and grappling skills as indicated by the almost 50/50 split between submissions/TKOs in terms of their finishing performances. Grispi, as a matter of fact, has rendered his opponents unable to compete in twelve of his thirteen wins including seven straight. Both are also 3-0 in WEC. Though I think the card’s main event (Jamie Varner vs. Kamal Shalorus) will be highly entertaining, as should Chris Horodecki vs. Ed Ratcliff, I think Grispi vs. Davis should be more competitive than both and involve more than one highlight-worthy moment.

Tool: I’m going with the slightly easy answer and taking the headliner as my pick. Varner vs. Shalorus may not be a fight worthy of the main event status its been given, but it will most likely be a solid contender for “Fight of the Night.” Varner got out-classed by Ben Henderson, but that doesn’t take away the fact that the former lightweight champion is still a serious threat in the WEC. He’s beaten everyone else he’s faced since coming over from the UFC and with his name value he’s likely just a win or two away from another shot at the belt. Meanwhile you’ve got Shalorus taking on the toughest opponent of his brief career, and a definitive victory on Sunday could shoot him right to the top of the list of 155 lbs. contenders. Looking past what’s at stake in this fight, stylistically these two match up real well. Shalorus has a wrestling background but has clearly favored the stand-up in both of his WEC fights, and we all know that Varner will go toe-to-toe with anybody.

In closing I’d just like to remind everyone that while the WEC 49 card may not be all that impressive on paper, it’s oftentimes the weakest looking cards that end up entertaining us the most. We were reminded of that fact again this past Saturday, so do yourself a favor and don’t miss another (potentially) great event this weekend.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - Chuck Liddell admits that he didn't know much about Howard Davis Jr. when his longtime coach John Hackleman suggested that the two start working together before his 2009 bout with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

Production for the upcoming 12th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” began Monday, featuring coaches UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre and Josh Koscheck. A total of 28 lightweight fighters will be taking part in the 32-man tournament for the tv series.

The reality tv show will debut on Sept. 15 on Spike TV.

As with the current season, “TUF 11″, two eliminated fighters will get the chance to come back to fight in the semi-finals by fighting for a “wild card” position.

Team St-Pierre includes jiu-jitsu aces John Danaher and Shawn Williams, Muay Thai specialists Phil Nurse and Jean-Charles Skarbowsky, and St-Pierre’s longtime MMA coach, Firas Zahabi.

Team Koscheck includes Strikeforce heavyweight/Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier, boxing coach Teddy Lucio, American Kickboxing Academy founder/former kickboxing champion Javier Mendez, AKA head MMA trainer Bob Cook, and noted Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo competitor/coach Dave Camarillo.

Team coaching staff courtesy of MMAjunkie.com and the photos come from Twitter.com/UFC, with a couple more pics after the jump

Tarsis Humphreys celebrates his first gold medal as a world champion after defeating Romulo Barral.

From the proverbial “thirty-thousand foot view” to examination of microscopic details that others miss, not many are able to put together a review as detailed as this piece volunteered by J-Sho on the men’s competition at the 2010 BJJ World Championship. (If anyone would like to contribute a review of the women’s brackets, please get in touch.) All photos courtesy of cohost Dan. Enjoy! – Caleb

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With the free live web stream provided by Budovideos and the live blogging of Caleb on the FightWorksPodcast giving many 1,000s of BJJ fans a window into proceedings, this, the 15th Mundials of the modern era did not disappoint. Upsets, submissions, controversy and the crowning of the greatest player of our generation.

10 male Black Belt finals, 2 advantage decisions, 1 referee’s decision, 1 close out, 1 injury, 2 submissions, 3 points victories – that was what this weekend came down to.

Some numbers to start us off…

28: Brazilian quarter finalists (from a possible 36). Well, it is called Brazilian Jiu Jitsu…

16: Roger Gracie’s row of submissions in these past 2 Mundials ended by a game Ricardo Abreu

15: The numbers of Black Belt medals Roger has picked up at the Mundials since 2003; the number of Mundials that Wellington “Megaton” Dias has competed in.

10: Roger Gracie’s black belt gold haul since 2003

8: The number of absolute finals Roger has been in since 2003

7: Number of degrees on those Red & Black belts now worn by Mauricio Gomes and Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti (2 of Rolls Gracie’s “Famous Five”) and Sergio Penha.

6: Felipe Costa now has six bronze medals in his division.

5: The absolute silver medals that remind us Roger is human too sometimes; the number of men’s titles Alliance took this year, matching their haul last year – still some way short of the 8 Gracie Barra managed in 2002 (admittedly after Nova Uniao removed themselves from CBJJ competition).

4: The absolute semi finals that Xande Ribeiro has faltered in (2004 Jacare Souza, 2005 Braulio Estima, 2007 Romulo Barral, 2010 Romulo again); the number of Gracies contesting black belt divisions (3 of whom were in Medio); the number of Americans quarter-finalists (Rafael Lovato Jr, Bill “The Grill” Cooper, JT Torres, Ryan Hall)

3: The number of absolute gold & double golds Roger has won; the number of Gracies contesting Medio Black Belt this year (Clark, Kayron, Kron); the number of Japanese quarter-finalists (Naoya Uematsu, Makoto Sawada, Matsumo Yoshihiko); the number of major finals Rafael Mendes has now beaten Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles in (World Pro Gi, ADCC, and Mundials).

2: The number of records Cobrinha missed out on (most titles in one division in a row; most Pan Ams and Mundials in the same year in a row);

1: Closed out finals. Granted a small number of but still 1 too many in my opinion; the number of Gracies other than Roger to have medaled at Black Belt since Royler Gracie in 1999 (Kayron); the round that saw the shock exit of the reigning champ Guilherme Mendes to Paulo Melo; the number of Australian quarter-finalists (Mick Wilson); the number of non-Brazilian Medalists (Lovato).

Tarsis Humphreys’ leg attack ends the Mundials aspirations of Romulo Barral.

Meio Pesado

Tarsis Humphreys (Alliance) vs. Romulo Barral (Gracie Barra)

A repeat of last year’s final (and with the prospect of more déjà vu for Romulo to come) saw Romulo control much of the match from the top before Tarsis caught Romulo’s foot and twisting his leg in all sorts of seemingly unnatural positions. Romulo was forced to submit due to his injury and hobbled past Roger waiting for his own match. Tarsis was ecstatic to get what some may be surprised to learn is only his first black belt Mundials gold. Fans would be left waiting to see if Romulo could possibly recover for the Absolute final or if Roger would get a walkover.

Tarsis wins by leg lock @ 6m23s.

Roger Gracie refrains from snapping Demente’s arm in two.

Super Pesado

Roger Gracie (Gracie Barra) vs. Ricardo “Demente” Abreu (Nova Uniao)

Déjà vu for Roger as well, a repeat of last year’s finals on the cards for him as well. Gracie has submitted all en route to both finals. Would the end of this match be the same as last year? Abreu (no relation to Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu) pulled guard and seemed to try to sweep Roger but Roger’s base was proof against this initially. Another attempt and he swept Roger to get some points on the board but Roger promptly reversed, Demente then reversed, almost took Roger’s back (had the hooks in but no control) forcing Roger to regain his composure and successfully defend the position.

Abreu found himself defending from the half guard, with Roger briefly passing, taking the back, trapping an arm and leg and then engaging in some seemingly armbreaking armbar attempts from different positions. Demente, living up to his name perhaps, did not tap even though from some angles the arm seemed clearly hyper-extended. The commentators speculated Roger was being a good sportsman by not cranking it on further. With a scramble ending out of bounds, Roger pulled guard and then dragged the arm, looking for the back (as per his earlier match vs. Bruno Bastos). Taking the back again and stretching out Ricardo, he secured 4 points to take it to 4-2.

Demente’s attempts to protect his neck were initially successful but Roger then underhooked an arm, rolled to his back and then worked for a choke. Demente had put on a very solid defense, proving more game than any other competitor Gracie had faced this weekend but Roger worked to transition to the mount and started looking for his trademark choke from mount. Demente was again able to put up some very solid defense and Roger was not able to repeat his feats of last year (winning all matches by submission and beating Demente in the final by submission), winning by 13-2. Roger secured his 7th weight division black belt gold in a row and 9th Gold overall and would be left waiting to see if he would contest the Absolute final for his 10th.

Roger wins 13-2.

Galo

Bruno Malfacine (Alliance) vs. Caio Terra (Gracie Elite)

Another rematch from last year saw Malfacine looking to continue his domination of this weight, having won both the CBJJ and CBJJE Mundials last year and the Pan Ams and Brasilieros this year. The match saw Terra, representing the newly formed Gracie Elite team, on the bottom and Malfacine on the top for the majority of the match, doing an excellent job of negating Caio’s guard. Terra’s sweep attempt and scramble to take the back at the death almost unseated Bruno, but the advantage awarded was not enough to snatch victory.

Malfacine wins 0-0 (3-2).

Pluma

Samuel Braga (Gracie Barra) vs. Pablo Silva (Gracie Barra)

The shock exit of Guilherme Mendes to Paulo Melo in the first round was unforeseen; the closing out of the bracket was not. Braga bowed out to Silva, taking his first gold, with Samuel giving up the opportunity to take his third. Braga gets to take this silver home though, having been DQ’d last year after showing disdain at Guilherme Mendes’ post fight celebration.

Silva wins by gentlemen’s agreement.

Rafael Mendes’ hand is raised in another defeat of his rival Cobrinha.

Pena

Rafael Medes (Atos) vs. Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles Maciel (Alliance)

The king vs. the pretender to his throne. With Cobrinha having already submitted former champ Mario Reis again and looking to surpass the kind of featherweights Royler Gracie and take his 5th consecutive gold, Mendes shot straight to pull half guard and then started working for a leg or foot lock rather than going for his trademark 50/50 guard. With Mendes and Cobrinha tied 3-3 in head to heads so far and Cobrinha’s avowed intention to retire from competition (temporarily at least), would the king leave on a high, or would he be forcibly dethroned? Mendes was 2-0 up for an early sweep but Cobrinha returned the favour for 2 points of his own at the 4 minute mark.

Leg spaghetti (trademark Caleb) ensued with both men jockeying for position and both men then going for toeholds. Cobrinha’s flexibility was defense enough but Rafael managed to score another sweep and 2 advantages in the meantime. Cobrinha threatened a kneebar and used that to get another sweep to tie the match on points if not advantages. Cobrinha snapped on a wickedly tight footlock, Rafael took one too but neither man could finish.

A kneebar by Mendes also went nowhere but 2 points appeared and then disappeared from the board for Cobrinha, 4-4 (3-1) for Mendes so far with 90 seconds left and all to play for. Cobrinha looked for another footlock, Mendes replied in kind, the clock ticked on, less than 30 seconds to go. More footlock attempts, Mendes lost his but Cobrinha is dethroned, 4-4 (5-3) and Mendes and Atos have finally stopped the relentless Alliance medal haul this weekend. Let us hope Cobrinha changes his mind and we see these two continue their rivalry.

Mendes wins 4-4 (5-3).

Leve

Michael Langhi (Alliance) vs. Celso Vinicius (Gracie Elite)

With Langhi looking for his 2nd gold and Celsinho his 4th, the number 0 figured heavily here, with no points or advantages scored in the first 9 minutes. A sweep attempt by Langhi saw some frantic attempts by Celsinho to seal his victory as this one went to the referees. Almost nothing to call between them! Would Langhi get it for the near sweep or Celsinho for maintaining his top position? Langhi had done enough with the sweep and took his second gold. By Michael’s own reckoning, he has not lost in more than 2 years. Celsinho will no doubt be looking to break that run at the next suitable juncture.

Langhi wins by referee’s decision.

Marcelo Garcia works to escape the closed guard of Claudio Calasans.

Medio

Marcelo Garcia (Alliance) vs. Claudio Calasans (Atos).

A very strong field this year with all 8 quarter finalists confident of victory (3 CBJJ world champions and 2 world champions under other federations amongst them). The final was another Atos/Alliance contest, with Calasans looking to maintain his momentum of 2010, having beaten ADCC and Mundials champ Braulio Estima twice at the World Pro Gi this year (and under BJJ math, if Calasans beats Braulio and Braulio beats Marcelo, can Claudio beat Marcelo too?). Garcia, who has dominated middleweight since 2004 and the disappearance of Terere from the competition scene, was looking for his 4th black belt gold here and probably some personal redemption having lost out to Pablo Popovitch in the ADCC final last September. He had been impressive en route to the final, but so had Calasans. Calasans attempt to launch Roger into orbit in the absolute of last year was not totally successful, but his top game was initially match for Marcelo’s guard game. Claudio pulled off a butterfly guard pass on no one in particular and then got wrapped up for a footlock sweep by Marcelo.

Calasans worked from guard and looked to work a cross collar choke, but to no avail. Wristlock fans were briefly elated then disappointed. You won’t see Marcelo’s posture in guard advocated on his instructional videos, but when you make the rules, you can break them too I guess (don’t try this at home kids). Calasans working grips to try set up an unconventional looking omoplata, tried to threaten the sweep but could not fix the requisite grips and with the clock moving regularly (even if the competitors weren’t) he would still need to score to prevent the online BJJ community inventing new superlatives to describe Garcia. Calasans shot his leg out but Garcia stuffed it and went for his high step over guard pass. Claudio worked from open, then half guard and was rolled by Marcelo in a scramble. 8 seconds to go. A takedown would be needed to draw. An awesome flurry of sweep and throw attempts by Claudio was not enough and Marcelo’s ownership of the title best Middleweight in the world continues, for the moment at least.

Marcelo wins 2-0.

Alliance’s young title hunter Bernardo Faria defeats Xande Ribeiro.

Pesado

Xande Ribeiro (Gracie Humaita) vs. Bernard Faria (Alliance)

Garcia was all smiles after his final, by contrast when the camera panned to Saulo and Xande, they were deep in thought, Xande not having not had a great day yesterday, tested by Antonio Braga Neto and then beaten by Romulo Barral in the Absolute division. Pesado has seen a number of young guns emerge recently, with Alexandre Ceconi, Cyborg, Faria, Rodrigo Pinheiro adding to the elite ranks of Braulio & Xande. With Braulio injured and Cyborg campaigning successfully at Ultra Heavy this year it was Faria (who has taken double gold at the Pan Ams this year) who made it to the final hurdle. He started brightly, shooting for half guard and starting to look for his omoplata game. Xande’s day seemed brighter on Sunday, storming to another final, the last person to beat Xande in a weight category here was Roger and that was back in 2005 when Xande stepped up to Super Pesado to go after Roger.

Faria working mostly from the bottom and Xande on the top, Faria worked hard for a takedown with Xande desperately defending; Faria even pulling Xande back into the centre of the mat to try to launch the throw. Faria went back to the deep half guard, from the other side this time, 0-0 (2-1) in favour of Xande with little time left. Xande looked to flatten out Faria and work for mount, but with a double underhook Faria managed to sweep and get 2 pts. 0-2 (2-1) with 2 minutes left. The Alliance cheering squad prepared themselves to explode. 90 seconds and Xande trying to work his legs in, but Faria took control and prevented his game plan. Faria then pulled Xande back into the centre of the mat to maintain his momentum and prevent the restart. Xande indicated Faria was stalling to win the match, but he himself has probably benefited from riding out the clock before and he could not break Faria’s grip on his belt, his gi pants, or on the title.

Faria wins 2-0 (1-2).

Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu peers from the depths as Rodrigo Cavaca seals his fate.

Pesadissimo

Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu (Carlson Gracie Team) vs. Rodrigo Cavaca (Checkmat)

An oft-maligned division with few serious competitors, not this year, a very deep talent pool this year with the presence of Peinado, Cavaca, Braga Neto, Abreu, Luiz “Big Mac” Teodoro, Gabriel Vella, Roberto Tozi, Marcio “Pe de Pano” Cruz and Marcio Corleta (4 of them World Champions) making for some intriguing match ups. The surprise of this bracket surely the giant Australian “Big Mick” taking the back and choking the versatile “Big Mac”.

The final came down to Cyborg, seeking revenge for Cavaca beating him by footlock in the absolute quarter finals yesterday and Cavaca having easily triangle one legend of the game (Pe de Pano) on his run to the final, seeking a gold to help blot out the memory of another (Roger) manhandling him yesterday. Cavaca has already won this category at the Brasilieros this year and his run must have left him confident. A different Abreu (in case anyone (Caleb) wasn’t sure) from the one who went the distance with Roger earlier, had triangled Braga Neto in the semis and looked to continue a successful campaign at a weight 2 above his normal division. Cavaca fighting from guard, Cyborg looking to pass, but Cavaca with a sweep to go ahead. Cavaca eying Cyborg’s foot hungrily like Pe de Pano & Big Mac at a churrascaria, he set his grips slowly then changed his mind and went for a straight footlock. Fixing his position, then arching back and Cavaca has his first Mundials black belt title, 6 wins from 7 this year and the memory of his defeat to Vella in the final erased.

Cavaca wins by leg lock @ 2m49s.

Absolute

Roger Gracie (Gracie Barra) vs. Romulo Barral (Gracie Barra).

With Romulo badly injured in his final against Tarsis, and the women’s absolute final closed out by Alliance team mates Luanna Alzuguir and Gabi Garcia, the day’s proceedings were bought to a close. Roger as three time Absolute, 3 time Double Gold winner and now ten time black belt world champion, his 2010 campaign ending on a whimper and not a bang this time, but not before making clear that closing out a division is not an option in his world and additionally that he is going to be back on these mats for some time to come. Barral was clearly disappointed to have not contested the Absolute final, but can take heart in having put on some amazing matches this weekend; we wish him a speedy recovery.

Roger wins by walkover.

And the aftermath

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, like it says on the tin, it’s Brazilian: Still only two non Brazilian gold medalists in 15 years and based on this year, no stand out likely to join them soon. Of the 36 quarter finalists, only 8 were non Brazilian with 4 Americans, 3 Japanese, and 1 Australian all adding up to 1 medal this time around. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu continues to go from strength to strength in the United States and elsewhere and there are many talented and accomplished players, particularly from Japan and the US, but it seems we are still some way from breaking the Brazilian domination of the sport.

Anti-Venom: Mendes proved again he can win by taking Cobrinha out of his comfort zone, albeit the place he takes them to is sometimes light on action. Cobrinha will surely not let the advantage of 4-3 lay with his rival for too long and I think their rivalry will continue shortly.

Many could quickly dismiss this as another 50/50 stall-fest, restating that the goal of BJJ is to positionally dominate and/or submit your opponent, but that is predicated on you actually being able to do that to them. That does a disservice to this particular final, which I think was an intriguing technical battle. Perhaps the casual observer is spoiled by getting to see Roger and others dominate and finish their opponents in short order and this raises an unreasonable expectation as to how a match should look – if you are submitting or dominating your opponent at the black belt level, it is probably because there is a gulf in skill and/or fitness between you and your opponent.

In many combat sports, when two very similarly or evenly matched people are competing, it is probable that the ensuing match will not be visibly spectacular. By the time you reach the semi finals, one should assume that the competitors are all likely to be reasonably matched. An additional consideration, to quote the old chestnut “styles make fights”, not every match is going to be the perfect visual feast of 100 mile an hour acrobatic top game vs. tricky inverse rolling guard game. Sometimes with a clash of styles or where two people with the same style meet, the resulting match will be hard on the eye. This does not mean it is not a skillful affair, just not perhaps to your taste – if you don’t like watching this style of match, then don’t.

Let us give credit where it is due; Mendes handily beat most of his opponents with the exception of Ryan Hall, in part because Ryan Hall plays a similar game to Mendes. Cobrinha blitzed all his other opponents, including a former world champ Mario Reis, seemingly able to impose his game pretty much at will. But he had to engage in the “leg spaghetti” of the final because Mendes is just as good as he is – you don’t become the only black belt to beat Cobrinha (and 4 times at that) just by being able to stall. Cobrinha in this one instance does not possess the necessary incremental skill over his opponent to impose his game or to prevent Mendes from playing his own game. Evolution in positions and movement and tactics and counters is a key facet of BJJ; the 50/50 is just one such evolution that Atos’ opponents are still coming to terms with.

Can’t tap this: Ricardo “Demente” did something improbable this weekend, somehow defending an armbar from Roger Gracie on a hyper-extended limb and thwarting multiple other submission attempts from Gracie to deny him another perfect Mundials. Reports he rushed outside to buy a lottery ticket and discovered the Higg’s Boson on his way to the store are unverified at this time.

All your base belong to us: Alliance repeated their feat of 2009 with 5 of a possible 10 male black belt golds winging their way back to Atlanta. But for Mendes, it could have been 6, a recent record, albeit still short of Gracie Barra’s 8 in 2002 after Nova Uniao pulled out of CBJJ competitions. With champions like Garcia, Malfacine, Faria, Tarsis & Langhi and strong supporting cast in Peinado, Nogueira, Lepri, Moraes & Cobrinha, let alone the small army of warriors at lower belts, they are THE dominant force on the competition scene. They took a very good new addition to the team (Malfacine) and helped him become the most dominant rooster weight in a decade, the first back to back champion at that weight since Omar Salum in 1999/2000.

That having been said, there are still a few gaps in their armory. With the departure of Gabriel Vella, they have lost a decorated veteran campaigner in the Ultra Heavy and Absolute divisions With Leo Leite turning out for his cameo appearances for Brasa these days and Comprido a). also part of Brasa but even so b). retired, they miss their other active Super & Ultra Heavy players of previous years. For a team which can claim 2 of the best 3 or 4 players in the world in Leve and Medio, they are still reliant on one elite individual in Feather and Medium-heavyweight and have arguably had no serious contender in Light Feather since Ricardo Vieira in the early 00’s.

Quibbling over this is may be like trying to point out a small speck of dirt on a fine cashmere jumper, but the Absolute title defines these games to an extent and Alliance have not had a viable challenger for the throne since Comprido back in 2000. Other teams can, for the moment rest easy knowing that there is still gold to be struck out there.

Atos Jiu-Jitsu’s cheering section celebrates Rafael Mendes’ gold medal.

A New Act: Guilherme Mendes was surprisingly defeated in the first round when many (myself included) considered him a shoe-in for the final. Melo deserves full credit for the win, although some will wonder if the weight cut for Mendes was in some way a factor. Regardless, Atos Jiu Jitsu have been consistently showing us that at major tournaments that they have strength in depth in the lighter weights, with their team of Claudio Calasans, Rodrigo Caporal, Bruno Frazatto, Jonatas Gurgel, Gustavo Campos, Gilbert “Durinho” Burns, Eduardo Ramos, Rafael Mendes, Guilherme Mendes. Alliance will have worthy competitors from this team for some time to come.

Gracie Humaita’s cheering section at the 2010 BJJ Mundials.

Look on my works ye mighty and despair: In stark contrast to the riches on their teamsheet for much of the past 15 years, Gracie Humaita have shrunk to having only a handful of potential medalists, one, granted, is one of the best of the last decade, but even he has off days as evidence by this weekend and the next best chance is his student, also in his division, limiting their options for Gold.

Royler, Saulo & Xande make up the most dominant teacher/student force in the history of the sport, with 26 black belt gold and 44 medals at the Mundials, ADCC and Copa do Mundo between them. But with the former two retired, of Humaita’s 8 golds in the last 7 years, Xande alone has won 6 and if he retires to focus on MMA or if training for MMA prevents him from recapturing his past form, does that spell the end of Gracie Humaita as a force at the Mundials at this level?

Lonely at the top: The stats are impressive: 1st 3 time absolute champion; 1st 3 time double champion; 8 absolute finals in a row; 7 weight class finals in a row; 7 weight class gold medals in a row; 2009/2010 run of 16 submissions; 15 black belt medals at the Mundials (10 Gold, 5 silver) and submitted 2 of the other champions at the weekend (Cavaca and Tarsis).

With the records books updated, we must reflect that often a Mundials will be made by Roger being taken to the wire, being beaten, even if just by the tiniest of margins, but with Xande in a poor (for him) run of form, with no Jacare prowling the mats, with Pe de Pano now gone as a force on the mats and despite the emergence of a lot of talent in the Pesado ranks, no other real contender on the scene, how long will the sport hold his interest? For Ali to be the greatest, he needed Frazier, Norton, Foreman to propel him to that peak and keep him there. Roger similarly needs at least one great rival to make next year compelling since this year was another Godzilla vs. Tokyo affair. Either Tokyo needs to learn to fight back, or one of the rival teams needs to perfect their Mecha-Godzilla and fast.

Close outs, a necessary evil?: The odds are stacked against such things happening, but some teams do have real depth in a given division – thankfully we only saw one this weekend, but to many fans it tarnishes the victory of the “winner”, regardless of the arguments that sometimes when people are team-mates and friends, they don’t want to compete against each other. At least Braga didn’t ask for a game of Rock/Paper/Scissors.

(Left to right) Sergio Penha, Mauricio “The Bear” Motta Gomes, and Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti receive certificates for their red and black belts from the IBJJF.

The Three Seven Degrees: Certificates commemorating their elevation to the small group Black and Red belts were presented to Mauricio Gomes and Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti (2 of Rolls Gracie’s “Famous Five”) and Sergio Penha. These men have been living and breathing Jiu Jitsu longer than many competitors this weekend have even been alive. For their legacy, Mauricio has produced (both literally and through coaching) the greatest BJJ player of our age; Jacare, created one of the strongest sport BJJ team’s of the decade and Sergio, also a very successful coach, will always been known as the person who came closest to the impossible feat of defeating Rickson Gracie.

A Free Lunch: An amazing gift to BJJ fans, a free live stream for both days of the weekend. Gone are the days of brief text messages from people at Tijuca Tennis Club to the outside world, now with the FightWorksPodcast live blogging by Caleb, the Live stream and the Twittering by Graciemag and others, technology has helped revolutionise how we enjoy the Mundials, in as much as those not there can actually enjoy it without relying on terrible hand shot footage on YouTube or waiting a few months for the DVD.

Shawn and Caleb again did a great double act presenting the Budovideos live stream and we must all thank Budovideos for that. Having said that, with only one camera and the matches selected at the whim of the producers, often changing mid match, I wonder if there is an opportunity for Budovideos to enhance this offering, maybe have multiple cameras to choose from and to charge an appropriate fee for this service. Few might quibble with paying 20 or 30 dollars for premium access to action over the weekend.

Hail to the Chef: It would be remiss to remark about the free lunch and not mention all those who pulled together this feast of BJJ. From the organization and direction of Marcelo “Siriema” Araújo, Alvaro Mansur and others, to the referees and judges, desk staff, mat officials, first aid team, to the unmistakable voice of Tony Torres and those poor souls he DQ’d and of course to all the competitors, coaches and supporters… well done.

See you next year.

The Tayta Submission Championships in Lima Peru. All images courtesy Dev Kostal.

by Dev Kostal

I missed seeing (and competing in) the Mundials in LA this year. I am currently training in Lima, Peru at Sniper Fight Sports under black belt Leandro Torres. Sunday saw the second annual Tayta Submission Championships, held in the Nacional Videna (Sports Complex) in Lima.

Facility
The Videna is a sprawling complex that was originally built for national-level training for various sports in Peru. Over the past years, it’s seen its fair share of usage, and sadly, it shows. There are still dozens of soccer fields, and a bunch of other facilities, but the building they use for grappling (wrestling, BJJ, submission (how they refer to no-gi), judo, etc) is fairly worn.

Nonetheless, it was sufficient for the number of competitors there (probably 200 or so), and it provided the backdrop for some fantastic displays of submission wrestling. There are a total of 4 mats in the facility – 2 set up for wrestling, and 2 tatame that are used for karate and judo classes. In fact, when we got there (and through part of the tournament) a judo class was going on.

Level Of Competition
They had separate divisions for novice, intermediate, and advanced, as per usual, but in the end it seemed like the novice and intermediate divisions got kind of crushed together to make fights. Because of the size of the competition, I thought this was pretty realistic, and it guaranteed a couple fights for people to advance in a division.

I personally had never competed in no-gi before, and had entered this competition on a whim, just to get some good experience. Part of my apprehension was my complete lack of knowledge of foot and leg locks, which, as it turned out, was oddly prescient. For me, this constitutes a large part of the difference between gi and no-gi competition, as you see a few very significant modifications in strategy that can make a world of difference.

The weight divisions were set up every 5 kg, which isn’t exactly IBJJF standard, but it was fine. There were divisions at 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, and 90 kg.

Organization
If I’m being honest, it was pretty bad. I heard about the tournament word-of-mouth through some guys at the gym, and tried finding any information on google. Nothing whatsoever. I finally got an email address for one of the organizers from a buddy to sign up. When I emailed, though, the organizer said just to show up at 9 AM for the weigh-in. At face value, I’m okay with this, since NAGA does (or used to, anyway) at-the-door signups.

So about 10 guys and I showed up at 9, and we waited. Around 1030 the food guys showed up and started prepping. A guy went around then and started cleaning off the mats, too, which was a good sign. Around 1100 some of the organizers got there and set up the PA system, and we had weigh-ins. Weigh-ins also included hand-written signups.

About 1200 they started calling people up to the announcer’s desk to pay for their entrance. It was 20 Peruvian soles (about $7) to enter, so it’s tough to complain about that.

Shortly after that, the announcer started calling divisions to confirm names. He went through all the divisions except mine, conveniently. I went up and asked, then 2 other guys from my gym, including the coach, went up and asked about the 85 kg division. He waved us all off, saying he’d get to it. It didn’t inspire confidence, needless to say.

About 2 PM, fights finally started, 5 hours after I’d been told to be there. Again, for $7, it’s tough to be hugely critical, but the guys were touting this as a pretty high-level competition in Peru, which I don’t know that I’d agree with.

The rest of the tournament went okay, or at least as well as one could expect with one guy doing the announcing, the bracketing, and the timekeeping.

Officiating
Again, I’m trying to be fair here. This was, for all intents and purposes, a local competition, sort of an “in-house.” So they pulled “refs” from the guys that were there. A couple of the guys were really good, and obviously knew what they were doing. On the other hand, a couple were completely out of their element. Time was kept from the head table, not on each mat, so most of the refs had no clue how much time was left, and if fights went out of bounds, the clock just kept running. The reffing was really just ad hoc. It was, I suppose, sufficient for a friendly in-house tournament, but no more than that.

Additionally, I was astonished to see two of the refs out there in their shoes on the mats. I haven’t had too much of a problem so far with mat cleanliness, but that was a bit silly.

I’m unclear as to which rules they were actually following, but each match was five minutes, except the advanced division, which I think was 8. If a fight was tied after time was called, they had a 1-minute overtime. If it was still tied after that, it went to “first point.” Honestly, I couldn’t see a reason for the 1-minute round. Almost none of the overtime fights were decided in that period – they all went to the “first point” round.

My Matches
I had three fights in total. My first two fights went into overtime, and then to “first point.” In the finals, during a scramble, I got caught in a footlock that I never saw coming. Good job to my opponent.

Overall Thoughts
I was obviously the only gringo in the building, and as I cruised around in my American Standup fight shorts with a big American flag on the front, I was definitely the subject of some side conversations. That said, everyone was fantastically nice and accomodating for my terrible Spanish and my exceptionally average grappling.

At the end of the day, all problems with organization aside, $7 for a full day of grappling – and a whole new experience – wasn’t a bad deal. Yeah, I missed seeing the Mundials finals, but I saw some excellent grappling on display, and I met a bunch of fantastic, energetic guys all of whom just wanted to train and compete.

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Dev Kostal is a wandering blue belt who began training under Daniel Thomas at Zeus BJJ in Monterey, CA. He is currently training with Leandro Torres at Sniper Fight Sports in Lima, Peru.

This is an installment in our Tournament Review Tuesdays column, where FightWorks Podcast listeners submit reports about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling competitions that happened the weekend prior. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of The FightWorks Podcast. Through the rest of 2010, if you submit a Tournament Review Tuesday piece, you might win an Isami gi!

- Caleb

The author in second place.

"The Ultimate Fighter 12" head coach Josh Koscheck has added two more names to his staff of assistant coaches, MMAjunkie.com learned on Thursday.

According to sources close to the fighter, Koscheck has brought on Strikeforce heavyweight Daniel Cormier as a wrestling coach and Teddy Lucio as his boxing coach.

Cormier and Lucio join Bob Cook, Javier Mendez and Dave Camarillo as Koscheck's assistant coaches on the lightweights-only season of the UFC reality show, which debuts Sept. 15 on Spike TV.

Click here to view the embedded video.

UFC welterweight contender Josh Koscheck talks about making his return to the “TUF” house as a coach. He also discusses, what he calls welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre’s weak punching power during the interview.

HT: Fight! Magazine