Jorge Barbosa vents on the controversial decision at UFC 104 that left Maurico 'Shogun' Rua WITHOUT the UFC light heavyweight title.

Philadelphia has the reputation of being a tough city filled with diehard fight fans.  It is a city that embraces combat sports through several avenues.  Looking at the NHL in the 70's, the Wachovia Center was home of Philadelphia Flyer fan favourites, the Broad Street Bullies; a line up that intimidated other teams with their violent, yet effective tactics on the ice.

The landscape of the WEC’s featherweight division is a very competitive one, as it is stacked with tremendous athletes who continually put on excellent fights.  It is a division that holds several worthy opponents for current featherweight champion Mike Brown.  Due to the inflation of top tier talent such as Urijah Faber, Leonard Garcia and former IFL featherweight champion Wagnney Fabiano, matchmakers have the ability to put together a number of compelling bouts that have “main event” written all over them.  Amidst all the talent in the division, there is yet another fighter matchmakers can introduce to the featherweight equation, that being Jose “Junior” Aldo; the man who has been causing a stir in the star-studded division.    

It was the second time the UFC rolled into Montreal and while MMA supporters left the Bell Centre disappointed with the main event, it was an eventful night nonetheless.  The stakes were high in a co-main event that lived up to its hype, and despite an off-putting performance by one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world, Anderson Silva made it into the UFC record books and told the fans how he really felt after the fight.

There has only been a hand full of boxers to have retired with a clean record –Rocky Mariano, Ricardo Lopez and Sven Ottke to name a few.  More recently Joe Calzaghe has added his name to the list, and although Floyd Mayweather also falls into the same category, I would not be surprised to see him make a return if the money is right.

Jorge Barbosa takes a look at the score cards of some of the top Brazilian fighters over the last few weeks.

In 2008, MMA fighters outside of the UFC began seeing their options in North America diminish, as a number of MMA promotions went out of business. 

The year is coming to a close and UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 is rapidly approaching. The UFC will give their fans a holiday present, as we will see three major bouts each worthy of the main event spot.  We'll see Forrest Griffin make his first title defense against another graduate from the Ultimate Fighter reality show, Rashad Evans.  In addition, Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira will face Frank Mir in a heavyweight bout for the interim title.  To add to the excitement of this card, fans will be treated to the third chapter in one of the biggest feuds that started back in Pride Fighting Championships.  Old wounds will rip open as "The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva collides with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in what promises to be the most explosive bout of the evening.  Before we get into the breakdown for the Silva vs Jackson fight, let's turn back the clock and review our history notes.   

With his seminars in Brazil, Rickson Gracie looks to reinvent the sport of jujitsu.  He talks about improving his style with his experience.  Since living in the United States, he has learned more techniques and is adapting them to his teachings in Brazil.  His goal is to help maintain Brazilian dominance within the sport of jujitsu, thus he continually looks to develop his style.  A key point that is passed on to his students is to understand that jujitsu is a tool that can be improved; consequently it requires continual learning.  (Watch out for the next generation of Gracie's as Kron Gracie begins to make his own impact on the sport).

Prior to Rich Franklin's tenure as champion and the arrival of Anderson Silva, it seemed as though the UFC's middleweight division was not being recognized or popularized to the degree that it is today.  This division just merely existed in the eyes of the casual UFC fan due to the lack of buildup it was receiving.  Yet educated MMA fans will recall names like Frank Shamrock, Evan Tanner, and Phil Baroni when thinking about the middleweight division.  The average fan may not remember those fighters because they were not as heavily marketed as Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture or Tank Abbott.  In addition, many of the UFC's pay-per-views had been centered on the other divisions with primary focus on the Light Heavyweight (division which continues to be their flagship division).