The author of American Shaolin tells a hilarious and fascinating insider’s account of mixed martial arts, the fastest growing sport in the country.

Since the first Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993, mixed martial arts (MMA) has punched, kicked, and wrestled its way into the public’s consciousness. MMA is an often brutal sport that combines any and every unarmed fighting technique with pure grit. Today, the gross yearly profits of Ultimate Fighting Championship-the sport’s premier professional league-exceed that of professional wrestling, boxing, and even the Boston Red Sox. In Tapped Out, Matthew Polly gives readers his on-the-ground take of training and fighting in MMA.

At the age of thirty-six, Polly was out of shape and totally unprepared for what was ahead: a grueling journey through leading MMA training facilities in Bangkok, St. Petersburg, Rio de Janeiro, New York, and Las Vegas. After being utterly beaten down and built back up, he fought his first match against a fighter nearly fifteen years younger-and not only won, but sent his opponent to the hospital. Polly intersperses his own narrative with the history and background of fighting and interviews with top UFC stars such as GSP, Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture, and Gina Carano. Evocative of George Plimpton’s classic Paper Lion, Polly’s honest, funny, and eye- opening account of his experiences will appeal to the millions of devoted MMA fans who are as hardcore as the sport itself.

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Tapped Out: Rear Naked Chokes, the Octagon, and the Last Emperor: An Odyssey in Mixed Martial Arts is a post from: MMA Clothes

• UFC 104: Machida vs. ShogunLyoto Machida electrified the mixed martial arts world in the Spring of 2009 with his stirring knockout of Rashad Evans. But there’s no rest for “The Dragon,” who makes the first defense of his UFC light heavyweight crown in the main event of UFC 104 against former PRIDE star Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who was coming off back-to-back knockouts of Hall of Famers Chuck  L

UFC 104: In the main event, Lyoto The Dragon Machida will make his first defense of his UFC lightweight crown against former PRIDE star Mauricio Shogun Rua, who comes off back to back knockouts of Chuck Liddell and Mark Colemen.

UFC 105: UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture returns to the light heavyweight division for the first time in three years and faces Brandon The Truth Vera in the main event.

Includes Special Download code for accessing Special Features online!

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In round 1 Rafael had surprised Dan Henderson with a power right of his own to the face of Hendo that knocked him to the ground, but Dan was able to get up quickly and grab Rafael and take him to the mat where Dan used his ground control game to re-group and recover from the knockdown. Feijao also landed a huge leg kick in round 1 that bruised the thigh above the knee on Hendo.

Round 2 seen Henderson use his dominant wrestling skills to takedown his larger opponent a couple of times to win a closely contested round. Rafael went for an early takedown but was stuffed by a sprawling Henderson. Rafael showed some strong resolve by reversing position when Henderson had top position but he could do nothing effective with it. After being seperated from ref Mirgliotaa, the round came to an end without much more action.

In what was an all but even fight to this point, round 3 got off to a bang when Henderson’s right hand came over the top to land with concussive force and Rafael landed head first into the mat with a loud thud. Hendo quicky jumped on top to land a few meaningless shots before the ref Dan Miragliotta mercifully stopped the bout at the :50 second mark. At the age of 40 yrs and 6 mths Dan Henderson became the second oldest man to win a major mma championship behind only Randy Couture’s 43 years. Henderson has shown that he can compete and win against men half his age and bigger then him with his wrestling skils and haymaker of a right hand that must put fear into any opponent that faces him.

Written by Choke Slam

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The UFC has five weight classes. Each weight class, with the exception of heavyweights spans 15 lbs and each class has their own sets of tried and true stars and outstanding performers.

The lightweight class goes from 155lbs to 170 lbs and features such great fighters as Sean Sherk, Spencer Fisher, Frank Edgar, BJ Penn, Joe Stevenson, Hermes Franca and Kenny Florian.

Welterweights go from 170lbs to 185 lbs and has such notables as Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, Diego Sanchez, Jon Fitch, Karo Parisyan, Josh Koscheck and Georges St Pierre.

Middleweights are between 170lbs and 185lbs. Top level UFC middleweight fighters include Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin, Evan Tanner, Dan Henderson (sometimes), Yushin Okami and Jason MacDonald.

The UFC light heavyweight division is perhaps the most talent deep of all the divisions in the UFC and covers 185lbs to 205lbs. The light heavyweight division has fighters such as Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Keith Jardine, Shogun Rua, Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Wanderlei Silva and Houston Alexander.

Heavyweight is the heaviest of all divisions in the UFC (there is no super heavyweight division). The UFC heavyweight division with it’s recent resignation of Randy Couture has a bit of an identity crisis, but features fighters like Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Mirko Cro Cop, Tim Sylvia, Brandon Vera and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Out of these five divisions, I could only find four fighters that I would bet on no matter who they were fighting (within their own divisions), but even having said that there is always one guy who you think might, just might take them down.

As far as I’m concerned, the king of all lightweights in the UFC isn’t even the current title holder, in fact he’s never held the UFC lightweight title. BJ Penn is best known to new UFC fans as a former coach on the Ultimate Fighter TV series and for holding a win over Jens Pulver. Long time fans will remember the younger BJ Penn who completely dominated competition in the UFC lightweight division before being defeated by Pulver and then leaving the UFC. Penn returned to the UFC as a welterweight and defeated then welterweight champion Matt Hughes by submission. In a re-match event, Penn dominated Hughes early on, but was eventually defeated by ref stoppage. It was later determined that BJ Penn had suffered a broken rib in that match up. BJ also had a very good showing against another top UFC welterweight, Georges St Pierre. In that fight BJ hurt St Pierre early on, but eventually lost a very close split decision. If there was one lightweight in the UFC who I would bet on every time, it would be BJ Penn. Honorable mention in this category goes to Sean Sherk, who I would bet on every time, except when he fights BJ Penn.

The UFC welterweight division is full of talent and full of matches which could go either way. For instance Matt Serra poses a problem for many UFC welterweights, but for others I think he is outmatched in size and strength. There is one guy in the UFC welterweight division who I believe stands head and shoulders above the rest, Georges St Pierre can match any of the other welterweights in size, strength, speed, stand up abilities and wrestling. He is likely the most well rounded fighter in all of mixed martial arts. Even with Georges physical advantages you need to look at Matt Hughes as well. Hughes has a victory over St Pierre, but St Pierre avenged that loss with a dominant TKO stoppage of Hughes. If there was one welterweight in the UFC that I would put money on every time, it is Georges St Pierre.

Of all the divisions in the UFC, the middleweight division is the easiest to pick out a dominant fighter. Anderson Silva has dominated just about every match up he’s been in since joining the UFC middleweight division mid way through 2006. Silva has taken out 5 top UFC middleweight fighters and could be king of that division for a long time. In fact, the only guy who I see giving Anderson Silva trouble is his next opponent. Silva will take on Pride 185lb champion Dan Henderson in what should be an outstanding match up at 185lbs, still you’ve got to make Silva the odds on favorite given his performances over the last year and a half.

I do not have a pick in the UFC light heavyweight division. Sure, Quinton Jackson has looked great in his matches against Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson, but still I wouldn’t pick Quinton against say Wanderlei Silva. I believe Wanderlei Silva would have trouble with his former Chute Box team-mate, Shogun Rua, or maybe even against Chuck Liddell, a fight which takes place on December 29th. I cannot find a single light heavyweight fighter in the UFC who I believe can defeat all top contenders, that’s the true mark of a talent laden division.

Since Randy Couture has left the UFC heavyweight division I do see a top dog emerging. That top dog is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Big Nog has defeated Cro Cop, Barnett and just about every fighter (except Fedor) that Pride has put in front of him. I expect Nogueira to do the same against all of the existing UFC heavyweights. Fighters like Lesnar aren’t ready for him, fighters like Sylvia and Cro Cop aren’t well rounded enough to compete with Nogueira on the ground. I could see Gabriel Gonzaga giving Big Nog a good match after about another year of experience.

Five divisions, four sure picks to win any match up within their divisions. The UFC is stacked with talent and there are some truly outstanding fighters-athletes who make watching mixed martial arts a real joy. Penn, St Pierre, Anderson Silva and Nogueira are all stand out fighters in their respective UFC divisions and I expect each of them to be title holders some time during 2008.

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• Navarre Exclusive 16 of the best unsigned mixed martial artists compete for the Ultimate prize -a six-figure contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization. During the show, the competitors will take their training to a higher level. They will be brought to Las Vegas where the UFC® brand has its National Training Center. For the next seven weeks the competitors will be

Sixteen of the best unsigned mixed martial artists compete for the ultimate prize – a six-figure contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization.

During the show, the competitors will take their training to a higher level. They will be brought to Las Vegas where the UFC has its National Training Center. For the next seven weeks the competitors will be under the strict supervision of two of the most successful and famous UFC fighters and trainers on the planet, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture and UFC Light Heavyweight #1 Contender Chuck Liddell.

The competitors will endure the most grueling training and intense pressure of their lives. They will train together, live together, and fight against each other inside and outside of the storied UFC Octagon. The men are split into two teams, Team Liddell and Team Couture. The two squads compete against each other within their weight classes to avoid elimination. At the end of each week, one fighter from each team must fight in the Octagon to avoid being kicked out of the UFC Training Center until only two remain in each weight division. In the end, The Ultimate Fighter will be decided by a competition match — a head-to-head fight to the finish inside the Octagon.

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• UFC-ULTIMATE 100 GREATEST FIGHTS MOMENTS (DVD MOVIE)

UFC: Ultimate 100 Greatest Fight Moments features clips and highlights from the first 100 UFC events chosen by the fans. Featuring the biggest stars, this compilation shows the most memorable, hard-hitting fights in the history of the sport.

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UFC: Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights (8pc)

• UFC-ULTIMATE 100 BOX SET RPKG (DVD MOVIE)

For 16 years, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been the gold standard in combat sports. Now you can re-live the 100 greatest fights in UFC history with this once-in-a-lifetime collection. Featuring all the greats of the Octagon, from Royce Gracie and Chuck Liddell to Matt Hughes and Randy Couture, this set contains the most dramatic, explosive and memorable battles of the UFC in their entirety from 100 down to the greatest UFC fight of all time.

Stills from UFC: The Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights (Click for larger image)

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• UFC-ULTIMATE 100 BOX SET RPKG BLU-RAY (BLU-RAY DISC)

For 16 years, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been the gold standard in combat sports. Now you can re-live the 100 greatest fights in UFC history with this once-in-a-lifetime collection. Featuring all the greats of the Octagon, from Royce Gracie and Chuck Liddell to Matt Hughes and Randy Couture, this set contains the most dramatic, explosive and memorable battles of the UFC in their entirety from 100 down to the greatest UFC fight of all time.

Stills from UFC: The Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights (Click for larger image)

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Ultimate Guide to Mixed Martial Arts Book is a post from: MMA Clothes

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The Best of Mixed Martial Arts: The Extreme Handbook on Moves, Techniques, and the Smash-Mouth World of MMA is a post from: MMA Clothes

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Randy Couture’s Team Quest have been using the “Ultimate MMA Gloves” all all their local “Sport Fight” Shows in Oregon. Top Grade Leather with open thumb and palm! These Gloves are Light, and Heavy Duty! The Ultimate MMA Glove comee in S,M,L,& XL. Colors. Red, Yellow, Blue & Black.

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