Keeping the mixed in mixed martial arts

That's what a punch looks like when a national champion wrestler tries to be a boxer. Not technically sound at all and pretty ugly. Please use your wrestling again Josh Koscheck.

In the early 1990s when the UFC was first starting, no on thought it would grow beyond the cult following it had. It was an underground sport that was deemed barbaric and dangerous.

And it was.

As a result, it almost went bankrupt. The decision to market mixed martial arts as a bloodsport limited the growth of the audience and turned athletic commissions away. UFC found its saving grace when Zuffa purchased the company.

The UFC implemented a strict set of rules, weight classes and signed the most respected fighters in the disciplines of jujitsu, boxing, wrestling and muay thai. UFC was legitimate and it was ready for the whole world to see. It was a change I was glad to see, the more fans it has the bigger the sport can become and that is always great.

There was one problem however, and that was the amount of fans watching the fights just because they wanted to see blood and knockouts. I love a good scrap, but mixed martial arts is not boxing, and the sport is so unique and often beautiful because of the strategy it requires and all the different techniques that are displayed.

The thirst for the knockout put pressure on fighters to change their style. If they wanted to be popular with the fans and earn a title shot, they would have to know how to put someone to sleep. On one hand, it helped fighters become much more well rounded, which is good. But the problem is fighters who get to the big dance on their wrestling prowess abandon what they know best and want to be a kick boxer.

A perfect example of this would be Josh Koscheck this past Saturday against Paulo Thiago.

Koscheck was clearly the better fighter, even on the feet, where he was dominating Thiago. But Koscheck is a two-time national champion in collegiate wrestling and he did not attempt one takedown. He hung out on his feet for too long, got caught with a devastating uppercut, and was knocked out by an inferior fighter.

I know if I were as good as Koscheck at wrestling, I would have taken Thiago to the mat after I softened him up on his feet. Koscheck would have easily been able to land shots had he secured a takedown.

I don't blame the fans for the change in fighters' mentalities. The fighter should know that if they fight to their strengths and mix things up, the fans will like them either way. Georges St. Pierre is the most popular fighter in the UFC and he often takes his opponent down and works ground and pound.

However, the UFC management does send mixed signals at times. Fighters like Yushin Okami and Lyoto Machida are due for title shots, but because they are not the most exciting fighters, they are put on the back burner. I think Joe Silva is a tremendous matchmaker, but that would be my one gripe with the business angle of the UFC.

It's disappointing to watch fighters such as Koscheck and even Joe Stevenson go into a match and not use their strengths to win a fight. If Demian Maia can become a fan favorite, so can other fighters that don't go for knockouts.

Maia is a dominant submission artist and he knows it, so he takes his opponent down and makes him tap. The fans love every second of it. The fans are becoming more educated too. When a fighter passes from full guard to side mount, the crowd applauds. That would have never happened five years ago.

As the fans become more educated, I hope the fighters do to. I don't want to see a great wrestler with average striking skills turn a fight into a boxing match. First off, it makes for a bad match and gives me an urge to turn a real boxing match so I can see some decent technique. Secondly, it works against the fighter and limits him from winning and moving up the ranks.

Let's make sure the mixed doesn't leave mixed martial arts.

The Quick Hits

I wouldn't mind seeing this fight one more time after the dominating performances from both men in their most recent fights.

It was another top notch weekend of fights and there is a lot to go over and not much time, so I will highlight the main stories and some of the things I saw that got my attention.

Cotto and Pavlik bounce back
The first loss of a fighters career is always a hard reality to accept. But like the old adage goes, a true champion will get back up and learn from the loss, which is exactly what Miguel Cotto and Kelly Pavlik did Saturday.

After losing to Antonio Margarito in an absolute war back in July, Cotto was finally ready to get back in the ring and take on Michael Jennings in Madison Square Garden. Cotto put on a show for the fans at the Garden and looked as impressive as ever.

Cotto had the snap on his jab and power on his hook that has made him one of the most feared boxers in the game. In the fifth round, he unleashed a blazing combination that overwhelmed Jennings and brought the fight to a close.

It was a fight Cotto was supposed to win and he did so convincingly. Now that he has his career back on track he is ready for another big money matchup. I hope he takes on Shane Mosley. Cotto took down Mosley in a very close decision in 2007, but I think it would be even closer the second time around.

Meanwhile Kelly Pavlik proved he belongs at middleweight and should not try to move up in weight. After he lost to Bernard Hopkins in October, Pavlik was ready to put his belts on the line and did so in impressive fashin against a game Marco Antonio Rubio.

Pavlik didn't land any of his famous power shots, but he landed good shots consistently and put on a clinic until Rubio did not answer the bell at the end of the ninth. Now that "The Ghost" is back to dominating, he too is ready for a big money fight.

I would like to see him step in the ring against the super dangerous Arthur Abraham or take super athletic Paul Williams if he is willing to move up in weight. It was nice to see two of the best boxers back in top form.

UFC 95: Forget Thales Leites, you got Demian Maia
If there was anyone doubting the skills of Demian Maia, I think he answered the questions Saturday. The hottest middleweight prospect in the UFC dismantled another opponent by submitting the tough Chael Sonnen in the first round.

Not only did Maia submit him, but he did it with plenty of style. After securing a full mount, he locked in a triangle, rolled to his back and applied the pressure. Absolutely amazing. Putting on the triangle from the full mount is very difficult and he did it in seconds. He is now 5-0 in the UFC with five submissions.

I'm not saying he could beat Anderson Silva, because I don't think anyone can. But he is truly more deserving than Thales Leites, and that is not a knock on Leites. He is a very impressive 14-1, but you can tell when he fights that he is outclassed in every area when matched against Silva. Maia, on the other hand, is the best jujitsu player in the UFC.

After Silva makes his mandatory defense against Leites at UFC 97, please give Maia a shot at the strap as quickly as possible.

In other action, Nate Marquardt looked back to his usual self after some uninspiring performances the last few times out. He beat a dangerous Wilson Gouveia soundly. He used his superior counter punching to dictate the fight and didn't even have to do a lot of work on the ground where I thought he would have the biggest advantage.

As a fellow fan and good friend of mine pointed out, Gouveia could have gotten the better of the stand up action if he threw the leg kick when pushing the pace. He even forced Marquardt into the cardinal sin of moving straight back at one point instead of circling.

Instead of going for a Muay Thai clinch and delivering knees and short, powerful punches, Gouveia let him off the hook by swinging wildly and missing. My friend and I both agreed Gouveia could have made that fight much closer and possibly won with a better strategy.

In the main event, Diego Sanchez defeated Joe Stevenson in a solid effort for a unanimous decision. He looked a lot healthier than I thought he would at 155 and said later he planned on staying in that division for a while. If he does, I hope he keeps his walk-around weight at 170 so he does not have to make such an extreme cut.

Stevenson was unimpressive, trying to show a striking game that he could never get going. He did not throw enough punches, couldn't find a comfortable range and struck from poor angles. Sanchez looks like a threat at lightweight, but Stevenson needs to get back to the drawing board and reinvent his game.

Cut it out Diego Sanchez

That's what Diego Sanchez looked like in the welterweight division (170 lbs). On Saturday, he will make what I think is a dangerous cut to the lightweight division (155 lbs).

Before every match, fighters undergo one of the most impressive and insane rituals in all of sports.

A 200-plus pound man will cut weight until he weighs in at a slender 185 pounds. A fighter who walks around at 170 pounds will get down to 155 for a fight. Cutting weight is a necessary process for a fighter that wants to be champion and it is also an impressive display of discipline and athleticism.

But like all things, too much of anything is a bad thing, which brings me to Diego Sanchez.

Sanchez, who is set to headline Saturday's UFC event against Joe Stevenson, will be making his lightweight debut. When Sanchez first entered the UFC he fought at middleweight.

Let me put that into perspective. Sanchez's weight during his first fight: 185 pounds. Sanchez's weight during Saturday's fight: 155 pounds.

Yes, that is a 30 pound difference.

That is an absolutely mind boggling difference, but in Sanchez's defense, he was out of his natural weight at 185. I would say Diego would walk around at about 180 to 185 pounds, meaning the cut to 170, which is the welterweight division, would be where he should be.

His cut to welterweight was tough enough, but it also allowed him to fight at his peak athletic performance. Just as fighting at a weight that is too heavy for a competitor is a disadvantage, so to is fighting at a weight that threatens conditioning and strength.

Sanchez has already stated that the cut to 155 has been a struggle, but that he enjoys the challenge. And while it's great he enjoys a challenge, it could also hurt him in the cage, especially against someone as good as Stevenson.

By cutting so much weight, he is going to struggle with his conditioning and stamina as well as with his strength. With all the work he must have to do and with all the nutrition and water he must have to sacrifice, he will be exhausted by just walking to the cage. In fact, Sanchez said he has been eating slightly over 1,000 calories per day for the last few weeks.

For a strong, explosive athlete, that might as well be starvation. Michael Phelps eats something like 10,000 calories, so Sanchez is really having to push himself.

I understand cutting weight is part of the sport. I think the best fighters should cut between 10 to 15 pounds for a fight. Any more than that and it gets dangerous. Very dangerous.

Cutting weight is much different than losing weight. When someone cuts weight, they lose mostly water weight. The dehydration makes a significant difference in weight and it is easier to take the 24 hours between the weigh-in and the fight to rehydrate and put on some extra weight before fighting.

Clearly dehydrating is not very safe. If you have ever seen UFC welterweight Anthony Johnson fight, you can get an idea of what a fighter looks like after cutting a lot of weight. He comes down about 20 pounds to make 170 and every muscle on his body is extremely defined because of the lack of water.

It's a dangerous practice when cutting weight is taken to the extreme. While Congress is worried about its beloved baseball players taking steroids and getting bigger, there are other athletes doing the exact opposite though the consequences can be just as dire.

I don't think athletes should stop cutting weight, I just think there should be limits. I hope Sanchez realizes after Saturday that the welterweight division is where he belongs. If he decides to stay at lightweight, then I hope he LOSES weight in between fights instead of just cutting weight.

It's a dangerous aspect of the sport and trainers and the fighting community cannot forget to monitor the weight cutting that fighters do. Anyone who thinks extreme weight cutting isn't as serious or more serious than steroids just has to look at a great documentary HBO did on jockeys in horse races. It has ruined lives.

The road to redemption

Kelly Pavlik hopes to avoid this situation in his first match back on Saturday since losing to Bernard Hopkins.

In 2008, two of boxing's biggest stars had a first-time experience.

A loss.

Miguel Cotto and Kelly Pavlik were in almost every top-10 pound-for-pound rankings heading into their respective fights last year. Cotto took on the dangerous Antonio Margarito in July and Pavlik took on the legendary Bernard Hopkins in October.

Cotto looked like the best boxer in the world early on in his fight against the Tijuana Tornado, but eventually the power and pressure of Margarito was too much and Cotto's corner was forced to throw in the towel in the 11th round.

Three months later Kelly Pavlik took the squared circle against Hopkins. The undisputed middleweight champion was outclassed from the very beginning and could never get on track. His habit of trying to move straight back to avoid punches caught up to him as Hopkins kept finding a home for his counter right hooks.

Both fighters could claim legitimate excuses for their losses, but they didn't. After it was discovered Margarito loaded his gloves against Shane Mosley, many believed he very well could have loaded his gloves against Cotto. But Cotto would only say Margarito was the better man that night.

Pavlik had to move up in weight to fight Hopkins. He was visibly slower and more fatigued from moving up in weight, but Pavlik did not use that as an excuse.

Now the undisputed middleweight champion is back at his comfortable weight ready to get back on the winning track against a dangerous contender in Marco Antonio Rubio. Pavlik will be defending his titles in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, which should give him an extra confidence boost after a crushing loss.

"The Ghost" felt some pressure from his promoter to switch up coaches and seek the services of Freddie Roach, but Pavlik stayed with the team that got him to the top. Saturday's fight against Rubio should be a telling sign of whether or not Pavlik's intangibles are good enough to make up for his slight lack of technique.

The two biggest criticisms of Pavlik in his last fight were that he would move straight back to avoid punches and get too close when throwing his jab. Pavlik's power and work rate should be enough to keep him on top of the middleweight division come Saturday.

Cotto, on the other hand, has a slightly easier road to the top. The former champion will take on Michael Jennings at Madison Square Garden. Jennings is a great story, but his boxing skill and the level of competition he has faced is far inferior to Cotto.

The Puerto Rican native should have no trouble reminding everyone that he is going to be the king of the welterweights once again, especially with Margarito suspended for one year.

Jennings does not have much power as evidenced by his 16 knockouts in 34 wins and Cotto tends to be much too fast for anyone to handle. The only way Cotto loses this fight is if he gets too distracted from all the talk about if he thinks Margarito cheated in his fight. This is almost a 100 percent win for Cotto.

It's not often two fights of this magnitude happen within the same month let alone the same night though. So even though Cotto should win, the Pavlik fight should still be competitive and boxing fans get to see two legitimate stars on the same night.

There has been a lot of unfair criticism to the fighters ever since they lost, especially Pavlik who has been written off as "good" instead of "great." I disagree with those experts and think Pavlik and Cotto will show why they are two of the best in the world when they start their road to redemption.

So nice I want it twice

Kermit Cintron would not have had his hand raised Saturday if boxing had instant replay.

There has been a lot of criticism about instant replay in professional sports, especially football.

It slows down the game and sometimes the referees fail to get the call right even after watching the play in slow motion. Instant replay isn't fool proof, but I still think boxing needs it and Saturday was more proof as to why.

Rising star Sergio Martinez was taking on Kermit Cintron in a match that definitely had title implications. Aside from not breaking the clinches, the referee was doing a fine job through the early rounds except for one extremely important punch.

Martinez jumped to the inside and looked to deliver a quick flurry. When he jumped in, he led with a perfect left cross that landed right on the eyebrow of Cintron. The shot caused a cut above the eye, a cut that should have racked up points for Martinez.

Instead, the referee ruled it an "accidental clash of heads," which is understandable because the fighters' heads did get close to colliding. The ruling of a head clash could have been heartbreaking for Martinez. If the cut above the eye was bad enough for the doctor to wave off the fight, the result would have been a no contest instead of going to the scorecards.

If it was ruled as a punch, as it should have been, it would go to the scorecards or be ruled as a TKO for Martinez.

If that ruling wasn't bad enough for Martinez, he was wronged again in the seventh round. As the round was coming to a close, Martinez hit another powerful left hand that sent Cintron stumbling backwards to the ropes where he fell to his knees.

The shot was ruled as another clash of heads, then a knockdown and then Cintron sort of got up but never really did. It's possible to think Cintron got up before the 10 count, but just because Cintron claimed it was a headbutt, doesn't mean it actually was.

Looking at the replay, it was clear to see it was a left hand (it's scary to think a punch is powerful enough to make someone think it was a headbutt). So instead of Cintron getting the standard one minute rest between rounds, he was given close to five minutes while the referee tried to sort the mess out.

If round eight would have start as scheduled, Cintron would have still been reeling a little and Martinez could have kept the pressure on. And if the referee would have known to start the 10-count right away, Cintron may never have made it to his feet in the seventh.

After all of that mess, the judges delivered a terrible decision and the fight ended in a draw though Martinez was clearly the better boxer on Saturday.

The fight was a perfect example of how a replay system could help. There could be a "judge" who is designated to watch replays throughout the fight and let the referee know of any changes that should be made in scoring between rounds.

With the excellent camera work that boxing allows, there should be no reason to miss a call. We have all seen the super slow motion shots on HBO and Showtime, the detail is amazing.

The tools needed are already at boxing's dispense. They would not have to take any extra time to view a replay and it could really help in determining illegal blows and head clashes. Give it a chance all you boxing commissions, it will be worth it.

If nothing else, it's another excuse to watch the cool super slow motion shots that truly show the power of a solid punch.

Not even paper's champion

No matter how many belts Nate Campbell wins, he just wasn't meant to be a superstar.

When there are four recognized world champions in each weight division in boxing, it's easy to get overlooked. 

Despite holding three of the four major titles in the lightweight division, Nate Campbell was never one to command much attention and Saturday night was no different. He always had to fight his way to the top the hard way and work through difficult times. 

When he stepped on the scales at the weigh-in Friday, his story of tough luck and hard breaks continued. He was three pounds over the weight limit, meaning he would be stripped of all his titles.  

Campbell had plans to move up the 140-pound division after the fight, but losing titles and a loss in the fight would have meant the end of the career for the 36-year-old who worked tirelessly to win the titles after a huge upset over "Baby Bull" Juan Diaz last summer. 

Campbell was never groomed to be a champion such as Roy Jones Jr. or Miguel Cotto, so a loss would end his chance to secure big money fights. Losing his titles by not making weight already hurt, but Campbell said at 36 years old his body just wasn't able to make the cut anymore. 

Just a few months earlier he was scheduled to fight Joan Guzman for $400,000, but Guzman had to pull out of the fight and Campbell was left again with nowhere to go. Saturday was Campbell's first fight since beating Diaz and he had to take on Ali Funeka. 

Funeka is a giant at 6 feet, 1 inch tall — a four inch difference compared to the 5-foot-7 Campbell. The South African brought a story of his own to the ring. Despite being 30-1-2 with 25 knockouts, he could hardly get noticed in his own country, which has always been a hotbed for boxing prospects. 

He finally had his chance Saturday and he showed why he has compiled 30 wins. He was knocked down with a violent right hand in the second round, but bounced back and used great technique and strategy to win rounds three through nine. 

On one hand, Campbell was about to see everything he worked for slip away in his first ever defense, and on the other, Funeka was about to open the door for a better life. After taking poundings in 30 fights for small purses, he was about to get a payday that could support his family. 

But then the momentum started to slowly shift in the 10th round. Funeka was not throwing as many punches and Campbell was finding his way inside and throwing punishing blows to the body. 

In the 11th round, Campbell was in control again and knocked down Funeka once more. Campbell went on to dominate the 12th round and win the fight via majority decision. He only won because of his two knockdowns as he was out boxed for a majority of the match. 

Funeka knew it too. He fell to his knees in his corner, put his head down and cried. He completely broke down and wept because he knew this was the match that could have taken him from a man struggling in South Africa to a man making championship money. 

Campbell raised his hands in the air and was lifted up by his corner men because everything he worked for was still in tact. For at least one more fight, he would be able to attract a big payday against a top opponent. 

It took nine years for Campbell to become a champion and more than 10 years for Funeka to get his shot. Funeka went back to South Africa with his dreams of big paydays dashed. Campbell stayed in Florida ready for a run to become champion at 140. 

It was an intensely emotional night for both men and it was a story they told with their punches, their willingness to pick themselves up off the mat and their tears. 

But it was not on pay-per-view and it wasn't in a big arena. A holder of three world titles was fighting on HBO's Boxing After Dark. 

Campbell and Funeka proved they have the heart and desire of a champion, but because they were not groomed to be at the top and they are not hyped by big-shot promoters...

Well...they are not even paper's champion.

Strikeforce strikes back

Jake Shields is one of the best fighters in the world, and one of the few not in the UFC. Strikeforce hopes he can carry the promotion into UFC territory.

The best basketball players have always gone to the NBA, the best football players to the NFL and the best baseball players to the MLB.

In the short history of modern mixed martial arts, the place to be has always been the UFC. Most combat sports such as boxing, kickboxing and grappling have allowed fighters to float from promotion to promotion, but the UFC has visions of becoming more like than NFL.

And in its effort to be the elite fighting organization, it has squashed its competition. It took down the super successful PRIDE, destroyed the flashy Elite XC, absorbed WEC and is on the verge of eliminating the financial juggernaut that is Affliction.

One company though, has flown under the radar. It went silent for the final months of 2008 but is ready to make a big comeback in hopes of creating an alternative to the UFC.

Strikeforce first splashed on to the scene in March of 2006 with a record-setting event that featured Frank Shamrock versus Cesar Gracie. The event also introduced lightweight stars Clay Guida and Josh Thomson to an American audience.

Strikeforce has gone on to have 15 more successful events and it has made some major announcements within the last month. The company has purchased the Elite XC for a very fair price of $3 million. The deal came with 42 fighter contracts and the defunct organization's video library.

On top of adding world-class fighters to its organization, it also announced a TV deal that will land it shows on CBS, Showtime and HDNet.

I have enjoyed Strikeforce in the past and the fighters it has required will make it even better, but there is a reason they are a far second place to the UFC. The new and improved Strikeforce will put on its first show April 11 and the card is already stacked.

Frank Shamrock versus Nick Diaz will headline the card with a Thomson/KJ Noons and Scott Smith/Benji Radach match already confirmed. Others expected to compete include Robbie Lawler, Gilbert Melendez, Jake Shields and Gina Carano.

If the card lives up to its potential, it could be one of the best shows in 2009. And while I enjoy Strikeforce, it will need to make changes to its presentation and production to really make an impact.

1) I do not want to hear Phil Baroni or Frank Shamrock do color commentary. I am all for fighters doing commentary, but they need someone like WEC's Frank Mir. Mir does a great job explaining the fight in simple terms and giving the viewer an idea of what to expect next in a fight.

2) The presentation also needs to be more professional. I do not need to see cheerleaders dancing around all over the arena. Having a ring girl is fine, it's tradition, but cheerleaders dancing all around the arena comes across very amateurish and adds another stereotype that MMA is a testosterone driven barbaric sport.

3) Your not the UFC, so don't try to copy it. They should feel free to make some visual differences. Put some white trim around the edge of the cage. Let fighters choose what color gloves they wear. It seems simple, but it could go a long way in differentiating its product.

I don't know if any company will be able to really compete with the UFC, but Strikeforce has a great opportunity to make a push. This seems like a great card to start the year, and if it is able to, it should try to run one show a month, even if it is with unknown fighters.

It could build its own stars and running one show a month would keep the organization relevant in the fans' minds.

Mixed martial arts is still growing so the more competition the better. Maybe one day the sport can have a merger like the AFL and NFL and all the best fighters in the world will be in one place. Until then, I wish Strikeforce luck and hope organizations outside the UFC find a way to survive.

The not-so-terrible towel

I don't understand why people in sports fear towels so much.

There are the maniacs in Pittsburgh who swing their yellow towels around, apparently in an effort to intimidate or instill fear in the opposing team. Then there is the "Hate The Yankees Hankies," "The Homer Hanky" and some white towel people swing around for the Philadelphia Phillies.

I don't think I will ever be afraid of towel, but it seems to work in sports so the tradition will probably continue to grow.

While it may be all fun and games in football and baseball, it is a very serious issue to be afraid of the towel in boxing. And believe me, many fighters and trainers are afraid of the towel.

That frightening piece of white cloth was given to corner men so they could throw it in the ring to signal their fighter has had enough in the event the referee is too slow to wave off the fight. Unfortunately, the culture of boxing has evolved into one that makes it taboo for a corner to throw in the towel.

Boxers see it as a cowardly move, but in reality, it prolongs careers and saves lives in some instances. Vic Darchinyan's destruction of Jorge Arce on Saturday was a perfect example of a fight that should have ended two or maybe even three rounds earlier.

While the referee should know when a fighter has had enough, the fighter's corner should know the fighter well enough to realize when their man has no chance of winning. Arce was clearly outclassed. He shouldn't have to take punishment on top of punishment to show his skills, on a certain night, are inferior to his opponents.

I hate comparing boxing and mixed martial arts because they are two completely different sports. But the one thing they have in common is the responsibility to make sure fighters are safe. In that sense, mixed martial arts is executed in a more fighter friendly way, theoretically.

The standard fight only has three rounds at five minutes each. This allows a fighter to get sufficiently tired during a round, which would allow an opponent to take advantage and end the fight. The referee also can wave off the fight after one knockdown.

While the referee can wave off the fight at anytime in boxing, it is much more likely he will let the fighter hit the canvas and give him 10 seconds to recover. This allows for multiple knockouts within the course of a fight.

Ten to 12 rounds at three minutes each allows fighters to get in precarious positions at the end of rounds and have enough time to recover before going back out and getting pounded all over again.

I am all for giving boxers the chance to make a dramatic comeback, but the towel should be respected and used. The ringside physician should be there to examine fighters after a fight, but their role has changed to the point where even the referee looks to the doctor to see if he should stop the fight.

I long for the days when the referee had the courage and confidence to say "I don't care if you are still standing, I am stopping this fight because you are getting beat down."

It still happens, but it should happen more often. And when the referee does not make the stop, I beg you corner men, throw in the towel. Maybe we can make it something more "manly" so they won't be so afraid of those scary towels.

I elect that boxing's sanctioning bodies let corner men throw in a baseball. Not only would it feel more natural to throw in a baseball, but it would be entertaining to see the referee duck away from a Freddie Roach curveball.

Sometimes breaking the rules pays off

Future opponents should be ready to take in that view of Vic Darchinyan.

There are two golden rules in boxing: Keep your hands up and chin down.

If a young, aspiring boxer wants to work towards a world championship, he is taught to keep his hands on both sides of his head and throw counter punches from that position. But Vic Darchinyan lives in a parallel universe.

The undisputed champion in the super flyweight division continued the hottest streak in all of boxing by dismantling a tough Jorge Arce via 11th round TKO on Saturday night. And he did it his way; hands lows, chin up and just daring his opponent to hit him.

Darchinyan has the most unorthodox stance of any world champion I have seen. His shoulders are hunched over, his lead right hand is below his waist and his powerful left is cocked back ready to fire at any time. It's a recipe for disaster for most fighters, but not Darchinyan who is 32-1-1 with 26 KOs and holds wins over world class fighters such as Arce, Cristian Mijares and Dimitri Kirilov.

The Armenian-Australian showcased why he is one of the top-10 pound-for-pound fighters in the world with his dazzling quickness and lethal left hand. It's not often a man fighting at 115 pounds has a left hand powerful enough to drop middleweight, but Darchinyan certainly does.

The first round was a clinic as Darchinyan poked his head out of his akward stance, causing Arce to swing wildly for a knockout. The "Raging Bull" would then quickly step to his right and deliver a left uppercut right to the chin of Arce. The left uppercut landed all night for Darchinyan but he also showed he was not afraid to use his right hand.

Darchinyan has been criticized for focusing too much on throwing his left and not enough on throwing jabs and short hooks with his right. But on Saturday, he delivered beautiful combinations, mainly a right jab, left uppercut and even a left cross, right hook. Those two combinations, which consistently landed throughout the night, showed just how much Darchinyan has improved within two years.

By the time the second round ended, the champion had been so dominant that I seriously started considering moving him into the top-5 of my personal pound-for-pound rankings — but then round three happened.

Round three was the only round I scored for Arce and it was because Darchinyan got tempted into brawling with hard-hitting Mexican slugger. Arce had some great body shots in the round and Darchinyan later conceded that Arce did hit hard to the body. The third round is proof that even with his recent dominance, Darchinyan has a ways to go before he can be considered one of the top-5 boxers in the world.

The rest of the fight was a great display of speed and power from Darchinyan and also a frightening display of courage from Arce who probably should have thrown in the towel by the eighth or ninth round.

It seemed Arce had a chance to gain some momentum after the third round, but for some reason he kept circling to his right. By circling to his right he was walking right into Darchinyan's powerful left hand. His corner failed him by not instructing him to bail left after jumping inside.

Darchinyan proved when he is focused, he is one of the most dangerous boxers on the planet. After cementing himself as the king in the super flyweight division, he appears to be ready to move up to bantamweight or even junior featherweight.

Matches against Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez could solidify Darchinyan as one of the best boxers of this generation and a move up to featherweight where a challenge such as Chris John would be awaiting could definitely make him a legend.

2009 has already showcased two brilliant boxing clinics put on by Shane Mosley and now Vic Darchinyan. Two more great fights are scheduled for this Saturday with lightweight champion Nate Campbell taking on Ali Funeka and Sergio Martinez squaring off with Kermit Cintron.

The last two years have been a nice comeback for boxing and Darchinyan proved again Saturday why he is one of the fighters spearheading the revival.

Thanks Joe

I'm not a boxer. I'm not a fighter. I am just a simple writer.

At 20 years old, I am fortunate to know that I want to be a writer. Many people are still confused as to what they want or where they want to go in life. I know I want to go where the stories are, wherever that may be. 

I didn't get my inspiration from the writers that told the stories, but the characters of the stories. It's why I fell in love with boxing. No story is more compelling than a young, aspiring fighter coming up the hard way and putting a whole city on his back. The fighter works his way through the amateur ranks and blossoms into a seasoned professional with one shot to bring a world championship to his city. Boxing is the only sport where one man has the weight of a city or country riding on his shoulders. 

That story happens in many different ways with many different twists, but it was Joe Calzaghe who lived it best. It was Joe Calzaghe that made me want to become a boxing writer. 

The 36-year-old from Wales announced his retirement Thursday, closing the book on one of the finest careers, and stories, ever seen in boxing. He was 46-0, one of the only undefeated boxers in the history of the sport, and an amazing 22-0 in championship bouts. 

Calzaghe was never supposed to succeed, he was trained by his father who was a professional jazz musician. While his father may not have been from a boxing pedigree, he knew two things — rhythm and the importance of pushing a fighter to the limits in training. 

Calzaghe's training sessions were legendary. Myth has it that he would throw 1,000 punches on a heavy bag at superhuman speeds. I have heard he could throw that many in as fast as three minutes. 

That type of speed is usually only see in lightweights, not super middleweights. The speed he threw punches at sometimes drew criticism from boxing writers because it looked more like slapping than punching. But his ability to sneak in multiple punches on the inside while his opponent tried to throw power punches kept him in control at all times.  

Calzaghe only fought twice in America and defeated legends Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. He only had a few of his fights hyped and shown to the American public, including fights with Jeff Lacey, Sakio Bika, Peter Manfredo and Mikkel Kessler. 

I more or less only caught the final six bouts of Calzaghe's career, which makes him even more special to me. I read about Calzaghe in articles from Europe, and because I could not see his fights he seemed more mythical than man. The stories painted vivid pictures of his speed and dominance. By the time he was about to fight Jeff Lacey, I was one of the few American boxing fans who thought he could win. 

I didn't think he could win because I was smarter than anyone, I thought he could win because I saw Lacey fight before. Lacey fought on American television for a long time and I had every opportunity to see his weaknesses. But Calzaghe...well he was as sure of a thing as the words I read about him. He had no weakness in my eyes, because I watched his fights through words and not screens. 

Calzaghe is beyond a legend in his hometown. He still lives there and when he goes to the little local shop, he sees articles about his past fights all over the walls. He is a true people's champion and his hometown should be proud. 

For as excellent as Calzaghe was in the ring, he was even more excellent out of it. He kept a low profile, was always respectful and stayed active in his community. 

There was always a great story with Calzaghe fights. From the unbeatable Kessler to the "I will never lose to a white boy" Bernard Hopkins fight, Calzaghe made every opponent eat his words. And at the end of the day, it will be the words not spoken by Calzaghe, but written about Calzaghe, that will live on in boxing history. 

Many boxers come back after retirement, in fact, most of them do. But not Joe, he has a "0" he plans on keeping. He left at the top of his game, a hard reality for fans to accept, but a noble move that will secure his spot in history. 

His father and trainer, Enzo Calzaghe, summed up his son's career perfectly when he said, "You we're brilliant Joe." He was brilliant, there is no doubt about that. 

I am sad to see the story that inspired me to write about boxing come to an end, but it has come full circle. Before he fought Lacey, I had never seen Calzaghe in a ring. He was a mythical man from across the Atlantic that I could only read about. Now no one will be able to see Calzaghe in a ring. And once again, he is just a mythical man we can all read about. 

Vaseline and plaster

What's under that glove Antonio?

When I think of boxing and mixed martial arts, images of quick counter hooks and beautiful submissions come to mind. But there has been a recent trend the last two weeks in my favorite two sports and I am not too fond of it. 

Instead of counter hooks and submission attempts, I am now left thinking about vaseline and plaster. 

Yes...you read correctly. Unfortunately, the actions Antonio Margarito and Georges St. Pierre have led me to write a whole blog on two substances I never thought I would have to write about.

Margarito had a tremendous fight with Shane Mosley on Jan. 24 (though he was pretty much a punching bag for most of the match), but that fight could have been badly tarnished if Mosley's trainer, Nazim Richardson, did not have the eyes of a hawk. 

Richardson saw Margarito's hand wraps were bigger than normal, so he asked for them to be unwrapped. Once the wraps came off, pieces of hardened plaster fell out. Margarito went into battle without the aid of his plaster-assisted hand wraps and Mosley made him pay. 

Mosley had no problem picking apart the former welterweight champion through nine rounds, and it was because of his speed. It is ironic that Mosley beat Margarito by getting off his punches faster. Imagine how much worse it would have been if the plaster was in Margarito's hand wraps. His punches would have been slower and Mosley probably would have had an even easier time. 

However, the situation is pretty serious and smuggling weapons inside of gloves is a sure way to open up possibilities for serious injury to an opponent. Boxing is dangerous enough, we don't need stunts like Margarito's to make it more violent. 

The California State Athletic Commission rightfully suspended Margarito last Wednesday. I would like to see the Tornado back in action one day, but only after he is ready to fight with nothing but the power of his own punch. 

If Margarito's suspension was not bad enough, the most hyped match in UFC history had some post-fight controversy of its own. Rumors began flying around that Georges St. Pierre had Vaseline applied to his back in between rounds of his demolition of BJ Penn Saturday night. 

This is a little more comical than Margarito's attempt to cheat, but Vaseline on the back of a fighter in a mixed martial arts fight can be a huge advantage. A world-class jujitsu player like Penn would not be able to control his opponent on the ground if he is slippin' and slidin' all over the place.

While there were legitimate concerns in the hours after the fight, the situation has been examined further and even Penn has come out and said that while GSP may have had a minimal amount of grease on his back, it was not enough to affect the fight. 

It turns out, GSP's corner man was putting vaseline on right above the eyebrows, which is perfectly legal, and then did some weird energy channeling exercise that required him to touch GSP's back. There was a minimal amount of grease left on his hand when he touched GSP's back. 

Normally, this would sound like an insane excuse, but since GSP is fighting out of Greg Jackson's camp, I can believe it. Most of those fighters are very superstitious and believe in those spiritual exercises that channel natural energy. Apparently, rubbing GSP's back and right above his nipple simultaneously aligned the energy within his body. 

I don't know if that works, but like I said, I believe that was actually the case. So it is nice to know GSP didn't cheat, but Margarito tried, and that is very unfortunate. 

Hopefully this trend of controversies in main event fights is just a little fad and will not continue throughout the rest of 2009. This weekend's big fight is between Vic Darchinyan and Jorge Arce. Hopefully these two tremendous boxers will leave their plaster, vaseline, sledgehammers and any other sort of foreign object at home. 

2009 is still young, so let's clean up the little mess that has happened and get back to some quality competition. 

Don't "Rush" To Conclusions

The historic UFC 94 card has come and gone. It was the first time two champions from two different weight classes faced off against each other in the UFC, it brought in a staggering $4.3 million at the gate and was one of the company's most purchased pay-per-views. 

The results of the fights will have, and in many ways have already had, tremendous implications for the fighters' futures; especially BJ Penn and Georges "Rush" St. Pierre. 

The main event between these two champions was hyped more than any fight in UFC history with the three-week program, "UFC Primetime." And while the fight was an impressive display of skill and athleticism, I thought it failed to live up to the epic battle it could have been. 

St. Pierre dominated Penn from the opening bell until Penn's brother waved the fight off before the beginning of the fifth round. The fight was a major difference from GSP's split decision victory over Penn in 2006. 

On Saturday, GSP once again displayed his wrestling prowess by securing multiple takedowns on Penn and impressively passing the guard of the jujitsu black belt at will. In 2006, GSP seemed content to fight in space, which gave Penn a much better chance to get good shots off while the fight was standing.   

Saturday's performance solidified GSP as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and possibly the best athlete in mixed martial arts. But two myths have already been started by the mainstream mixed martial arts media. One claim is that Saturday's victory makes GSP the best fighter in the world and the other claim is that Penn could be done. 

I was surprised how dominant GSP looked against Penn, but I also know he should be ranked the No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva is clearly the best fighter on the planet. His combination of Muay Thai and jujitsu, along with his power, makes him the most dangerous fighter in the world. He has gone 8-0 in the UFC with all of his wins coming via KO, TKO or submission. He also moved up to the 205 pound weight class and knocked out James Irvin in one minute. 

The No. 2 fighter in the world is WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko. The 32-year-old Russian does not seem to be slowing down as he has won his last four fights in the first rounds, including a submission victory against Tim Sylvia and a knockout over Andrei Arlovski. 

St. Pierre is a great fighter and I believe he is the third best fighter in the world, but he still has plenty to prove to be considered the best. A win over the very dangerous Thiago Alves will be another big step forward for St. Pierre. 

As for Penn, he has nothing to hang his head about. He moved up in weight and fought a dominant champion. "The Prodigy" is still young and still extremely skilled. He belongs in the lightweight division and there are plenty of qualified challengers for his title. Matches with Kenny Florian, Tyson Griffin and Roger Huerta would all be interesting to see and there are plenty of promising challengers on the way up. I know Penn loves the megafights, but being a dominant champion in the lightweight division could give him the legacy he seeks. 

So no, GSP is not quite the best fighter in the world yet, and Penn is not on his way out the door. His hunger to compete and win is still too strong to walk away from the sport this early. 

UFC 94 Quick Hits

• Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida had a crazy knockout victory over Thiago Silva with one second left in the first round. Machida is a perfect 14-0 and should get the next shot at the light heavyweight title. Yes, even before Quinton Jackson gets a shot.
• Jon "Bones" Jones looks like the real deal. I picked him to beat Stephan Bonnar, but he looked more impressive than I expected. Once Bones gets his cardio to championship level, he will be tough to beat.
• They should have named this UFC 94: Split Decision. Five matches ended in a split decision. It's a little unnerving to think judges see the same fight that differently.