This has shaped up to be a really great looking event. I’d love to see if Silva bounces back after the Sonnen fight. I’ve also been waiting to see Jones fight again, really like watching that guy fight.

A short and sweet fan post by our resident MMA know-it-all, Walter over at Bloody Elbow.

It brings up some interesting points about rankings within MMA’s Featherweight class.

It’s been a crazy busy and exciting year for MMA. Just take a look back of the happenings of the past year, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Chuck Liddel retired, good for him, he’s done a ton for the sport. Was never really a huge fan of him but really respect all his hard work and dedication. It also doesn’t hurt he seems like a totally cool guy, I really don’t know why I never became a superfan. Glad to see he’s moving onto bigger and better things for the sport (I hope).

GSP retains his belt. GSP still didn’t finish, much to his disappointment and ended up putting on a jab clinic over Josh Koscheck showing he truly is a dominant fighter in all aspects. I don’t think that’s really a huge surprise but, after all the hype on The Ultimate Fighter it was nice to finally see it go down.

WEC getting absorbed into the UFC. In a word…AWESOME. I’ve always felt that WEC was a little underrated so UFC buying it up and getting some truly great talent in the lower weight classes is great for fighters and fans alike. Can’t wait to see some of the match ups with Aldo, Faber, Pettis, Henderson, Cruz, the list goes on and on.

Anthony Pettis’ kick heard round the world. The insane, gravity defying kick that would make most wire-fu choreographers flip their shit was performed in a championship match and closed the final WEC event in an almost unbelievable fashion.

What else was huge news? Brock lost the belt to Velasquez after all the adversity he had been through with illness and an insane face pummeling from Carwin in a previous fight. Even the Undertaker had words after the fight. Silva got dominated by Sonnen for an entire fight only to turn it around in the final seconds…later Sonnen gets a ban for PEDs. That was a let-down. Fedor finally lost legitimately…that seemed really big for a few days and then kinda fizzled out. James Toney showed us that boxers can still box but not wrestle, big surprise there, it didn’t help he fought a legend in the sport.

Outside the cage, Roger Huerta white knighted up and beat down out of some asshat that hit a woman. Sadly, I think he lost his last fight though.

I’m sure there are a lot more, but this are some moments that really stuck out in my mind off the top of my head. Hopefully we’ll get off to a great start in 2011 with UFC 125 and it will be another huge year for the sport.

Happy New Year.

The latest season of The Ultimate Fighter netted 1.9 Million viewers on Wednesday night following UFC Fight Night. Apparently last season had the highest rating with 4.1 Million.

I really enjoyed the fights that were shown and how they were shown it was a great intro the season and there’s a ton of talent so hopefully the viewership doesn’t drop off. I’m also wondering if there wasn’t a huge response due to the recent release of The Ultimate Fighter website where I’m assuming you’ll be able to view the episode soon.

Demian Maia believes all he needs to do is more or less grab a limb and he’ll take Anderson Silva out. Seriously though, the way Silva moves and strikes that like saying, “all I need to do is catch a lightning bolt and hold onto it.” I really like Maia and believe he’s great at what he does, hopefully he’s got some slick tricks up his sleeve.

If you’re online, you probably know what Twitter is, if you don’t, I’m surprised you’ve made it this far. (Kidding…kinda) It’s certainly one of the internet’s largest growing phenomena and with everyone on there we’re compiling a list of our favorite fighters. As we grow we also wanna know everything that’s going with our favorite fighters and they’re up to the second updates.

So here’s our ever-growing list of Fighters that are on Twitter.

The Clinch’s MMA Fighters Twitter List

Of course if you have more or if you’re a fighter of any level leave a comment or add us and we’ll be sure to put you on the list.

So last night I was fortunate enough to be able to see UFC 111 while on vacation. The past week I’ve been in Fort Myers, Florida where I’ve been enjoying the beaches, warm weather and sleeping in. Being in a place where I have no friends or family you could imagine finding people who’s interest in UFC as large as mine might be difficult. I did ask a few people with Tapout T’s on but still no idea of where to find a proper sports bar to watch UFC 111.

So luckily I knew this event would be shown in theaters, now to find one. There’s a theater right up the road from where I’m staying, Hollywood Theaters at Coconut Point. I immediately knew I was in the right place, people sporting their Tapout, Clinch Gear, and Affliction shirts, hats and shorts. I tried to get there a little early to get a nice seat but it seems some hardcore fans really got the best of me here — still the seats were good and comfy. At first I was a little underwhelmed by the number of people who came out but as the first fight was getting underway people started trickling in a little more regularly filling in the gaps to what eventually became a great turn out of people.

The experience was great. A giant screen lots of happy MMA fans — my only gripe would be the sound, not that I was expecting 300’s hits and crunches but it did come off a little flat at times (this could also just be the theater). Watching the fights at such a large scale was a little unnerving at first, some of the close up shots and tight crops made it a little awkward at times. Things that work great for the TV format changed a bit in the theater. Unlike a movie where most everyone is silent you had fans cheering out, standing up and clapping for their favorite fights and fighters. It made the experience that much better.

For the 20 it cost for admission and the few dollars it cost for snacks it was completely worth it and I’d definitely do it again — hopefully with friends next time.

Comments on the interim heavyweight belt which Lesnar says is a, “make-believe” belt and the stirring up of Mir’s comments we’ve all been over 100 times already. Brock’s pick is Carwin, based off Mir’s statement of Carwin being a, “better version of Brock Lesnar“.

Either way, good to see Brock back in good shape and ready to return to the octagon in July.

Game season has been in full effect and UFC Undisputed is definitely in line for games I’m going to be churning through before the warm weather hits in Ohio.

I love when MMA outlets become something larger and get more recognition (especially web based ones). Such is the case with ESPN’s Web show MMA Live, according to MMAMania.com

From MMAMania.com:

MMAmania.com has learned that host Jon Anik, along with analysts Franklin McNeil and Kenny Florian, will soon bring their mixed martial arts news, highlights and analysis to the world’s biggest sports network on ESPN2.

No precise details are known at this time, but the half-hour show is expected to air on Thursday afternoons — new episodes are typically made available online on a weekly basis at this time.

An official announcement is expected to come from the network shortly.

Also according to MMA Torch:

…premieres on ESPN2 on Thursday May 6 at 1 a.m. ET/10 p.m. PT. It will remain in that weekly timeslot throughout May, with the schedule beyond that not yet determined or announced.

Kind of a crappy time for East Coasters but that’s what DVR is for.