“It’s not a fight for me, it’s a sport.” – Bobby Reardanz

I’m not a man of many sports, but I am an admirer of sportsmanship.  We don’t get to see enough of it through main stream media.   With the media giving their attention to the fighters who talk trash and speak the loudest, it’s the humble and respectful fighters who get left behind.  The world does not get to see good sportsmanship in MMA nearly enough.  This could possibly play a factor in the misunderstanding of the sport as a whole.

Take season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter for example.  The coaches were Josh Koscheck, who’s one of the most disrespectful people in the sport, and George St. Pierre, probably the most honorable athletes in mixed martial arts.  The commercials gave Koscheck all the attention for his antics but it was GSP and his values that were the big winner of season 12.

Ward (white shorts) hugs Rhodes after their Bout

In a recent interview with GSP’s Tri-Star training partner Ivan Menjivar on the Verbal Submission radio show, Ivan had plenty to say about respect in MMA.  ”The fans love stuff like that (trash talk) but it’s not natural to me to get up face to face with a guy and touch his nose to my face.  It’s not me.  For me I want to go there, be professional, have a good show with you.  After the fight we can go hang out together, get a drink together.  I don’t fight you because I hate you, no.  I fight because I’m a professional.  Fighting is a beautiful art.  I do my show in the fight, spinning kicks and back elbows, that’s my show.  My opponents have a family like me.  They do the sport because they love the sport, just like me.  We do it for the same reasons so I respect them just like I want them to respect me.”

We are used to seeing more sportsmanship in the local MMA scene than we are on the big screen.  Recently we were covering a local MMA event Hoosier Fight Club 6 and witnessed a couple great examples of sportsmanship.  The first came about half way through the event after a match between Adam Ward and Lydell Rhodes.  After 2 rounds of non-stop technical action the fight was ended with a Triangle Choke by Adam Ward forcing Lydell Rhodes to tap at 4:02 of the second round.  Immediately after referee Jeff Mallott stopped the bout, Rhodes sat up in disbelief.  He was then met by a victorious and gracious Ward, who proceeded to hug his opponent and offer up a few words of encouragement.

“I told him that it was a great fight,” said the victorious Ward.  ”I was too out of breath to say anything poetic, but Lydell Rhodes was one of the toughest fights I’ve ever had.”

Bobby Reardamnz and Andy Main kneel for a post fight prayer.

Suitably the next act of sportsmanship came at the end of the evening after the main event. Following a magnificent display of hands, submission attempts and submission defense, there came a crowd-moving display of sportsmanship that would have been a tough act to follow.  Bobby “The Believer” Reardanz and Andy Main went to the center of the cage for a post fight prayer.

We caught up with “The Believer” to ask him if the prayer together was planned, and he had this to say.  “No, it wasn’t planned.  I went over to him and congratulated him on his win and he replied with, ‘you’re amazing and have amazing faith.’”

Reardanz went on to say he expressed to Main that he usually prays in the center of the cage, and invited him to join in.  Main said “absolutely” and didn’t hesitate to kneel and pray as Reardanz took lead in the prayer. “Not only did I say one, but after I said ‘amen’, he said that he wanted to say one too, and did.  It was amazing. Having Andy Main go to the center of the cage and pray with me was well worth having a loss.”

We can only hope moving forward that the fans appreciate honorable moments like this as much as they do Chael Sonnen’s trash talk.

UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre will put his belt on the line again while once again surrounded by the comfy confines of a Canadian crowd, as UFC President Dana White has publicly confirmed the popular title-holder is facing Jake Shields on April 30 in Toronto. UFC 129 will mark the promotion’s debut in Ontario and is expected to draw the largest audience ever in North America for a Mixed Martial Arts event.

St. Pierre’s previous in-ring outing came in Montreal, a dominating decision win over Josh Koscheck last month at UFC 124, and played a major role in drawing more than 23,000 fans to the Bell Centre to set the current record for attendance. “Rush” improved his record to 21-2 with the performance, his eighth straight victory in the Octagon.

Comparably, his challenger at UFC 129 has nearly doubled GSP’s streak of consecutive wins, as the former Strikeforce middleweight champ has emerged with his hands raised fifteen straight times including success against Dan Henderson, Carlos Condit, Yushin Okami, Paul Daley, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Robbie Lawler, and of course Martin Kampmann in his UFC debut last October. Shields is 26-4-1 overall in his career with only a single loss by way of a finishing performance. He has not lost in more than six years.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFCSimilar Posts:

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• Jake Shields to Fight for Strikeforce Interim Middleweight Championship in October

Welcome back to another ediition of “MMA Link Club”, Five Ounces of Pain‘s weekly smorgasbord of offerings from our brothers and sisters in the MMA community. Enjoy…

A Conversation with Clay Guida (HeavyMMA.com)

A Breakdown of Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann (Versus.com)

Holly Madison Returning as Special Guest Ring-Girl (CagePotato.com)

Strikeforce’s Best of 2010 Winners (MMAConvert.com)

Jimmy Smith Looks to be Leaving the Bellator Broadcast Team (MiddleEasy.com)

Dog the Bounty Hunter Cornering a Fighter at UFC 125 (WatchKalibRun.com)

Want to Increase Your Riddum to GSP Levels? (MMScraps.com)

Check Out the UFC 125 Pre-Event Press Conference (FIGHT! Magazine)

Mike Swick Off Fight Night 23 due to Injured Opponent (MMAFighting.com)Similar Posts:

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For six weeks during the filming of The Ultimate Fighter 12, Josh Koscheck and Georges St. Pierre saw each other every day in the gym. During that time Koscheck went out of his way to try and get under St. Pierre’s skin. From mocking his robotic tone and answers to wearing tight wrestling shorts similar to those that St. Pierre wears during his fights, Koscheck did what he could to entertain himself and upset St. Pierre.

“What I said on the show was for entertainment and nothing more than that,” said Koscheck on Monday during a media call. “I’m about making money. People will tune in on Saturday because they want to see St. Pierre kick my ass.”

All of the trash talking has seemingly got to St. Pierre who says, “What Josh said about me motivated me for the training. The fact that he was arrogant with me affected my preparation. I’m the best GSP I’ve ever been.” Although St. Pierre said nothing to motivate Koscheck, he didn’t need to. “I don’t need someone to get under my skin to train harder. I’m always motivated to train. I don’t need any motivation from GSP to want to kick his ass,” said the welterweight challenger.

Despite the show being over and the fight being less than a week away, Koscheck is still doing what he can to put some extra money in his pocket, and that includes calling St. Pierre out on his fighting style. “Is GSP going to be a boring Greg Jackson fighter and take me down or is GSP going to have the ball to stand with me? We’re going to see.”

St. Pierre has been often criticized as of late for failing to finish his opponents. After only going to a decision four times in his first eighteen professional fights, St. Pierre has seen the scorecards three of his last four times inside the Octagon.

That’s something St. Pierre is hoping to correct on Saturday. He’s been working with famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach on improving his punching power. In a recent interview, Roach predicted that St. Pierre would KO Koscheck with a left hook.

Koscheck is not impressed with St. Pierre’s training with Roach or Roach’s prediction.

“Working with Roach is all good and all but (he) can’t work on strengthening your chin….My mom predicts a second round left-hook KO for me,” said Koscheck.

Even though he’s venturing into enemy territory, Koscheck looks at this as just another fight and feels no pressure to try and back up all he’s said. “I talked a lot of crap on The Ultimate Fighter…I got under St. Pierre’s skin…he says he’s at his best. What a great story right? Now I gotta go out there and I gotta perform.”

On December 11th all of the trash talking and jokes come to an end when Koscheck and St. Pierre meet at UFC 124 in Montreal, Canada for the UFC Welterweight Championship.Similar Posts:

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You’ve experienced “Brocktober” – now comes “Ranksgiving”!

When I became an editor at Five Ounces of Pain, one of my first orders of business was to re-establish the site’s rankings. Throughout this week I will be providing a list of fifteen Mixed Martial Artists currently competing in a specific weight-class with the intention of subjectively sorting out the involved names from “exceptional” to “pretty frakkin’ good!”

As already alluded to, I’m well-aware that these kinds of lists are not doctrine and won’t insult you by pretending my set of names should be the mirror reflection of your own. In some divisions, it’s difficult to determine who the #1 fighter actually is and the reality is that a sport like MMA thrives on its unpredictable nature. When two finely-tuned individuals step into a cage and let loose the difference between consciousness and looking up at the ceiling is a matter of milliseconds no matter who is ranked where.

That being said, I invite you all to join in on the discussion in the “Comments” section below the article.

Welterweight is a tricky poundage to ponder. While a certain Canadian who recently got an ESPN commercial appears to be the easy favorite for the chief slot, even he has faltered in the past to lesser opposition and has a newly-signed, former middleweight champ hot on his heels. There’s also a sneering, sublimely talented Boilermaker and a son of Stockton to consider towards the top. The rest seem to be poised for “5A” and “5B” designations or are at least skilled enough to dethrone even the best 170er out there under the right circumstances.

And away we go…

1. Georges St. Pierre (20-2)

Was there ever any doubt St. Pierre would be sitting atop the list? While GSP has recently earned a reputation for essentially being too good, and capitalizing on his ability to control opponents in an intelligent fashion, the truth is he’s turned in finishing performances in three of his last six fights and nearly submitted Dan Hardy. It would have also been hard to blame the corners of Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves had they thrown in the towel after the physical abuse each man took at the limbs of St. Pierre.

2. Jake Shields (26-4-1)

Shields receives a lot of criticism based on his approach to competition but his place in the division isn’t based on entertainment value; it’s the result of…well…results. The former Strikeforce champ has racked an impressive number of notches up on his record including wins over Yushin Okami – currently next in line for a middleweight title-shot – and former WEC welterweight champ Carlos Condit on the same night in 2006. Shields also has victories over respected 185-pounders like Dan Henderson, Robbie Lawler, and Jason “Mayhem” Miller. He may not have looked sharp against Martin Kampmann, but he was coming off an extended absence from 170 and still got the win over a “Top 10” adversary. He’s beaten other tough welters and hasn’t lost is nearly six years. Need I say more?

3. Jon Fitch (23-3)

The fan in me wants to rank Fitch at the two-spot but the realist in me doesn’t feel he deserves it. While I’m absolutely an avid supporter of the AKA front-man, he hasn’t shown the ability to finish fighters he should be a definite step above like Mike Pierce, Chris Wilson, or Kuniyoshi Hironaka. He’s a solid #3, but Shields has tapped or TKO’d eight of the last eleven individuals he’s fought and for that fact alone he deserves to come out a nose ahead in the race.

4. Nick Diaz (23-7)

As wonderful as it would be to judge “2010 Diaz” against the essentially 75% of this list competing for the UFC, I can only go by what he’s done outside of the Octagon and as such he definitely deserves to be in the “Top 5”. He’s won eight straight and twelve of his last thirteen while only having been legitimately finished a single time in his thirty-fight career. He’s a threat when standing, or if action hits the canvas, and is more rounded than Fitch or Shields in that regard.

5. Josh Koscheck (15-4)

This is the point the rankings become a little murky for me. Koscheck is only 4-2 in his last six fights and hasn’t beaten a consensus “Top 10” guy since perhaps Diego Sanchez in 2007 (while losing to the other three he faced). Still, he’s an extremely skilled wrestler with good submission skills and the ability to leave an opponent rubber-legged with ever-improving hands.

6. Carlos Condit (26-5)

Condit may deserve to supplant Koscheck in the “Top 5”, as the only blemish on his record since June 2006 is a split-decision loss to the #9 guy on these rankings. However, he hasn’t faced quite as many “Top 10” guys as the polarizing Ultimate Fighter alumnus/coach so it’s difficult to know exactly where he should fall. Still, Condit has won three consecutive fights since the Kampmann loss, including a first-round knockout of the man below him on this list, and had his hands raised in the end leven of the last twelve times he’s entered the ring.

7. Dan Hardy (23-8)

I’m not sure how I can justify Hardy in this spot with back-to-back losses other than to say his relative competition for the designation have also hit hard times over the last 12-18 months and each defeat came to a “Top 10” welterweight. Minus the two losses, and an accidental groin-kick DQ three years ago, the Brit hasn’t lost while racking up eleven victories during the span. He seems to be improving each time out in terms of wrestling and has an underrated ground-game to compliment his speed/striking. As long as he continues to progress, I wouldn’t say he’s too far away from putting it all together and making another legitimate run at the belt.

8. Thiago Alves (17-7)

Also victim of two losses in his previous pair of fights, Alves has beaten a number of highly touted opponents including a trio of competitors on this list. His main fault seems to be an ability to handle high-level wrestling (or the necessary weight-cut to make the 171-pound welterweight limit). If he can figure out a way to slim down without sacrificing his explosiveness, not to mention stuff a hotly-contested takedown, there’s no reason he can’t beat anyone he stands opposite from in the cage.

9.Martin Kampmann (17-4)

Kampmann’s only issue seems to be with taking power-shots to the chin and, frankly, how many fighters can eat leather without crumpling at some point? He took Shields to the limit at UFC 121 and has looked sharp at welterweight since dropping down from a successful stint at 185 pounds. The Dane’s Muay Thai is as crisp as a pretzel and sometimes overshadows his ability to tangle foes up like the baked snack too, as he’s never been tapped in twenty-one fights while having almost an equal number of submissions on his record as he does TKOs.

10. Matt Hughes (45-8)

Like many of you, I found myself starting to believe in Hughes divisional resurgence and was shocked, though satisfied, with the ending to his trilogy with B.J. Penn this past weekend. However, he did beat Ricardo Almeida and Matt Serra prior to the loss, not to mention Chris Lytle before running into GSP and agreeing to fight an overweight Alves on late notice. Hughes has found a lot of success against a number of tough opponents and will remain relevant as long as he fights due to his blend of strength, cardio, and wrestling. The 37-year old may not be able to take a clean strike as well as he might have 5-10 years ago but he will always be a major mountain for any welterweight to climb.

11. Diego Sanchez (22-4)

There’s no question Sanchez is a threat to be reckoned with when he’s focused on the task at hand. He brings great intensity in the cage along with multi-level stand-up and fast, powerful submissions. Still, “Nightmare” hasn’t QUITE been able to get over every highly-ranked hurdle he’s encountered in his career but has wins over some top names like Paulo Thiago, Ken Florian, and the afore-mentioned Diaz. He also took Fitch to a split-decision. I’m willing to write off the Hathaway loss to his return from 155 to 170 but Sanchez was smashed by Penn and still cleanly fell to Fitch, not to mention Koscheck, regardless of how the “L” came about.

12. Tyron Woodley (7-0)

Woodley is the only name you’ll find among the fifteen listed here who has earned his spot based on potential more than who he’s actually beaten. Though none of his seven victories have come against especially notable opponents, “T-Wood” has looked exceptional in every outing. The former Missouri State Champion wrestler has great takedowns, is quick, and can fight from any position. He also reminds me a bit of St. Pierre when the current divisional king first came into the UFC based on pure athleticism.

13. Paul Daley (25-9-2)

Regardless of what you think about Daley’s post-fight sucker-punch of Koscheck, “Semtex” is still a supremely talented striker who has taken out his share of tough fighters. He’s a great addition to Strikeforce and should turn in some classics starting as soon as next week with his upcoming match-up against Scott Smith.

14. Paulo Thiago (13-3)

Similar to a few of the folks who are ranked higher, Thiago is coming off consecutive losses to “Top 10” competition. Dropping decisions to Sanchez, Kampmann, and Fitch a few fights earlier has far less impact than it might if any of the defeats had involved a submission/TKO. It’s also worth considering that Thiago can’t train full time due to his commitments as part of a special Brazilian Police unit.

15. Chris Lytle (30-17-5)

Lytle is still seeking a “career defining” win in the Octagon, which is why he’s this low on the list, but I wouldn’t be surprised to seem him attain at least one of them over the next year or two. The Indiana fireman has won five of his last six fights and is stiff test in any area of the ring. Consider this – Lytle has never been cleanly finished in his 50+ fight career. He’s lost bouts due to cuts and fifteen based on judges’ scorecards but never by a submission or strike-based TKO. It’s a remarkable statistic and one I’d challenge anyone to top.

Honorable Mentions

B.J. Penn (16-7-1): Though Penn’s knockout of Hughes was jaw-droppingly impressive, it was his first win at 170 pounds in six-and-a-half years for Baby Jay. If he can beat Fitch in Februray at UFC 127, which is far from a guarantee in my opinion, he’ll obviously jump up a lot higher in the rankings.
John Hathaway (14-1): The British youngster may have been exposed against Mike Pyle in his first career loss last month, but Hathaway has taken out some tough foes in his short career and appears to have a ton of upside based on the skills he’s exhibited thus far, not to mention his size and age.
Jake Ellenberger (22-5): The 25-year old has won six of his last seven with the lone stumble being a razor-thin decision loss to Condit in which he nearly finished “The Natural Born Killer” on more than one occasion. He’s also beaten the likes of Pyle, John Howard, and Pat Healy, and has upside for days when it comes to how far he could go in MMA if he gets minimally better in all areas.Similar Posts:

• 5 Oz. Official Rankings: Welterweight
• Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves set for UFC 111
• The Fab Fifteen – Lightweights
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• The Fab Fifteen – Light Heavyweights

After the Josh Koscheck vs. Georges St-Pierre matchup for the UFC welterweight title in December at UFC 124, Jake Shields looks like the next likely candidate for a title shot – if he can get past Martin Kampmann when he makes his debut in the Octagon next Saturday at UFC 121.

“If Jake Shields should win against Martin Kampmann, it will probably be him next,”  UFC President Dana White said at the UFC 124 press conference.

Shields is now 25-4-1, and while that looks damn good on paper, he is as yet untested in the UFC. The former Strikeforce belt-holder vacated that promotion’s middleweight title to join the UFC after notching his 14th-straight win with an April victory over UFC and PRIDE veteran Dan Henderson.

It’s hard to argue with Shields’ resume. The first and last Elite XC Welterweight Champion, Shields is the former Shooto Middleweight Champion. He trains with Cesar Gracie and is a member in good standing of what has come to be known as The Scrap Pack along with his fellow Gracie disciples Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez. His last loss game to Akira Kikuchi, and that was 5 years ago. Shields is currently the #3 ranked middleweight in the world in the USA Today Top 25 poll and somewhat prematurely ranked as the #7 pound-for-pound fighter in the world by Sherdog.

Kampmann, now 17-3 for his MMA career, has won 4 of his last 5 bouts, a streak which includes a win in June win over Paulo Thiago.

Here’s my issue with giving Shields a title fight after only one contest for the UFC; where does that leave perennial contender Jon Fitch?

Fitch firmly believes he should get a crack at the winner of the Shields-Kampmann tilt for the next title shot, and that makes sense for a whole list of reasons. The problem is, and it’s a big problem for UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, what do to with current champ Georges St-Pierre in the interim should he retain his title against Koscheck.

St-Pierre is a mighty draw for the UFC, and leaving him on the sidelines as the welterweight contenders sort themselves out is hardly a pretty picture for the UFC.

According to Fitch, that’s not his concern and he’s ready for his shot at the title.

“I would be a little perturbed if Shields got a title shot before fighting me,” Fitch said. “He’s done a lot, but he’d have one fight in the organization and Kampmann’s got losses to guys who aren’t even in the organization anymore.”

That is a very valid point, but it looks like the future holds some annoyance for Fitch regardless of his excellent oratory…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Similar Posts:

• Jake Shields inks with UFC, slated to face Martin Kampmann at UFC 121
• UFC 88: Could Martin Kampmann be closing in on a title shot?
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PRESS RELEASE / Las Vegas, NV (USA) – Standing on a balcony and watching as the street below filled with fans clamoring to catch a glimpse of him, stopping traffic in the process, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre said he felt like “the President of the United States.”

And less than a decade removed from the days when he began fighting in the sport of mixed martial arts, the man known as “GSP” could now add the Philippines to the nations he has conquered.

“I was not expecting to see that many people,” said Montreal’s St-Pierre of his tour of the Philippines last week. “If people think I’m popular in the United States, they should have seen how it is over there. It was insane. I needed to have three bodyguards everywhere I went, and people were stopping the cars and buses in the street to come see me. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It’s hard to believe that the sport is even more popular than even in America.”

If it’s not, it’s certainly on its way to achieving that status, and when you consider that current boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao is not just a Filipino icon, but an elected congressman, that’s not surprising. And this combat sports-rich nation has saved plenty of admiration for trips featuring some of the UFC’s finest, including Chuck Liddell and Brandon Vera. But it may have pulled out all the stops for St-Pierre, who was greeted at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport last Thursday by scores of fans and television news crews shortly before 5:00 AM.

Yes, 5:00 AM.

From there, it was a whirlwind three day ride for St-Pierre, who still found time to get in some training before the camp for his December showdown against rival Ultimate Fighter coach Josh Koscheck begins in earnest.

“I had a very busy schedule, but I always found time to train at least twice a day, so it was perfect,” said St-Pierre, who met with local media, appeared on several television shows, and also found time to catch up with one of his own fighting idols, Pacquiao, who was training with Freddie Roach in preparation for his upcoming bout with Antonio Margarito.

“Manny Pacquiao is one of my favorite boxers and it was a great experience to see him and how fast he is,” beamed St-Pierre. “To see it live and see it on TV is two different things.”

After visiting with Pacquiao and Roach, St-Pierre received the shock he never expected.

“After the training I was leaving the gym,” he recalled. “I was on the balcony and the traffic on the street was stopping. People were pointing at me like ‘hey, this is Georges St-Pierre of the UFC,’ and the traffic stopped. It was like the city was shut down and I had never seen something like this before.”

Photo Credit – UFCSimilar Posts:

• New 5 Oz. Interview with Georges St. Pierre: A Champion Prepares to fight a Champion
• James Thompson explains decision to leave Xtreme Couture
• Josh Koscheck talks Dustin Hazelett, UFC 82, Matt Hughes, thoughts on Swick’s debut at 170 and more in this new 5 Oz. Interview!
• St. Pierre’s title defense against Josh Koscheck slated for Montreal
• Kimbo Slice Confirms UFC Debut in December; Hints at UFC 107

Welcome to MMAjunkie.com's recap for episode No. 2 of "The Ultimate
Fighter 12."

The lightweights-only season of the reality show, which features UFC champ Georges St-Pierre and Josh Koscheck as coaches, airs each
Wednesday (10 p.m. ET/PT) on Spike TV and features 28 UFC hopefuls vying for the famed "six-figure" contract.

For a full rundown of the latest episode, including this season's fighter draft, check out this week's show summary. (Warning: Episode spoilers are
included.)

Click here to view the embedded video.

UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre responds to recent comments by fellow UFC welterweight Dan Hardy who doesn’t seem to have much respect for wrestling as it pertains to mixed martial arts. St. Pierre has some solid points, and you have to wonder if Hardy is just trying to stay relevant after a dominant loss to the champ. Thoughts?