MMA Universe

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - Who are you? "I'm Brian Foster from Oklahoma." With those five words, Brian Foster from Oklahoma turned his life around and began on a road that would not only put him in the UFC Octagon, but in Sydney, Australia for his third straight bout in mixed martial arts' premier organization this weekend against Chris Lytle.

Martins Denis, UFC - Prior to his MMA (then called NHB) debut in his homeland of Australia in 1997, Elvis Sinosic was simply known as 'The King'. Seven right hands later - enough to force his opponent Matt Rocca to quit, the commentator of the 8-man 'Caged Combat 1' tournament started saying that Elvis wasn't not only the King, but that our majesty had more, as he was now 'The King Of Rock and Rumble'.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - Keith Jardine doesn't have much to say about Ryan Bader. It's not that he dislikes the former Arizona State wrestling standout or hasn't seen how he's progressed in a mixed martial arts career that has seen him put together a stellar 11-0 pro record. It's just that as his UFC 110 bout against Bader approaches this weekend, 'The Dean of Mean' has other things on his mind. Like himself.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - Sacrifice. If you're not willing to do it, you won't make it too long in the sport of mixed martial arts. Lightweight contender Joe Stevenson knows all about the idea and practice of sacrifice.

Martins Denis, UFC - If you have a good memory, you will recall the statement Zadar, Croatia's Goran Reljic made in his only fight inside the Octagon as he impressively stopped Wilson Gouveia at 3:15 of the second round at UFC 84. But do you remember when it happened?

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - The long road. It's not easy, it's not glamorous, and sometimes the journey of years can lead to a disappointing dead end. Not for Krzysztof Soszynski though.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - On April 12th in Abu Dhabi, lightweight contender Frankie Edgar will step into the Octagon for the biggest fight of his life against 155-pound champion BJ Penn. Ricardo Almeida will also have plenty at stake at UFC 111 on March 27th when he makes his welterweight debut against Matt Brown.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - Ask Ben Rothwell what went wrong in his UFC debut against Cain Velasquez last October, and he almost chuckles as he answers. "Besides everything?" he asks, not expecting an answer back because he already knows what it is. And though it really doesn't matter what happened during his second round TKO loss to the unbeaten Californian, he responds anyway.

Elliot Worsell, UFC - So here's something worth stating from the outset - Australians Chris Haseman and Elvis Sinosic don't like each other. There are no Christmas cards exchanged, no pleasant handshakes, no smiles, no nods of appreciation and no words of respect between these two. The lively light heavyweights remain two of Australian's most prominent mixed martial artists and yet they can't stand to be in the same room together.

Rhett Butler, UFC - At The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Finale last June, where Chris Lytle the fireman extinguished Kevin "The Fire" Burns via unanimous decision, the world saw "Lights Out" get back on the winning track following a hard fought split decision loss to Marcus Davis at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland earlier in 2009.

Elliot Worsell, UFC - Rumours were circulating that the UFC had Australia on their mind, and James Te Huna heard them at every corner. He was working as a bricklayer in Sydney at the time and compiling a noteworthy career as a mixed martial artist on the side. A talented fighter with more wins than defeats, Te Huna's biggest opponent to date was a troublesome shoulder injury.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - Randy Couture is 46 years old. There's no getting around it and it is certainly the 800-pound gorilla in the room whenever the UFC Hall of Famer gets around the media. But I'll let you in on a little secret - he doesn't really care about what the date on his birth certificate says.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - Mark Coleman is living the impossible dream. Of course, he'd probably disagree with that assessment, considering he's spent the last 40 days of his life in Las Vegas, torturing his body in the gym while he misses his two daughters back in Ohio.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - Matt Serra had been here before, most notably against Karo Parisyan and in his first fight with Georges St-Pierre. He had just hurt rival Matt Hughes in their UFC 98 grudge match last May, and was about to put an emphatic finish on their long running feud.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - Sitting in a bathtub in Oklahoma City with 17 stitches in your forehead isn't the usual spot for a life-changing 'a-ha' moment, but for Justin Buchholz, it would have to do.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - Move over Keith Jardine, there's another "Dean of Mean" in the Greg Jackson camp, and his name is Nate Marquardt. Yes, it's true, one of mixed martial artists' nice guys has started turning the switch when the Octagon door closes on fight night, leaving his last three opponents - Martin Kampmann, Wilson Gouveia, Demian Maia - on the canvas and knocked out.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - If you were looking to get away from it all, Los Angeles probably wouldn't be the destination at the top of your list, but for lightweight Mac Danzig, a return to his old stomping grounds after nearly two years in Las Vegas was just what the doctor ordered.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - If there is one trademark of the Gracie family, it's the remarkable ability to perform and persevere in situations that would break most people. Whether it was Royce fighting and beating those who were bigger, stronger, and faster than him in the early UFC's, Renzo refusing to tap out to Kazushi Sakuraba's kimura in PRIDE, Rickson's overall brilliance in competition, the understated grace of Royler, or the intensity of Ryan, the members of the first family of mixed martial arts have been remarkably proficient at defusing pressure when the lights are at their brightest.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - Finally, Mike Swick was going to take a vacation. After being in the American Kickboxing Academy Gym non-stop for most of 2009, the welterweight contender was just waiting on his visa to come in so he could go to Brazil, relax, do some training and basically unwind from a year that saw him hit the highs and lows of his profession - a KO win over Ben Saunders in June and a decision loss to Dan Hardy in November.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - You would have a tough time getting a bunch of writers to agree on anything regarding mixed martial arts, but last August 29th, an entire press section - at least the male part - groaned in unison when Chris Tuchscherer was dropped to the canvas by an inadvertent kick to the groin by Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 102 in Portland.