The second wind: Dan Henderson's new & self-improved status

              Some fighters in mixed martial arts have bigger followings than others. There are fans of the underrated fighters, the overrated fighters, and the extremely popular fighters. And then there are the Fedor-fans. The passionate, worshiping, and sometimes senseless fanatical army of Fedor Emelianenko's was put in a quiet trance just a number of weeks ago, after he was blasted by a "Hendo-bomb". Dan Henderson vacated his belt in the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight division to challenge "The Last Emperor". Going into this match, Henderson immediately had significantly more to gain than Emelianenko. Fedor was coming off two straight losses, and a third, as we now know, would be all bad news for the Russian's career. Even if the undersized heavyweight would have defeated "Hendo", there was not much to be acquired from such a victory as he would have only silenced critics, and ended a losing streak. Spotting worthwhile potential in this scenario, Henderson jumped at the chance for this fight.     

After being defeated in a five round war with current UFC welterweight contender Jake Shields, Henderson would go on to knock out Renato "Babalou" Sobral in their December rematch, and later stop Rafael Cavalcante in March's title bout, earning the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight belt. Following this victory, the Californian had no further interest in any other fights at the Strikeforce 205 pound division. Fedor was who he wanted.        

Once Strikeforce began to formulate this “clash of the titans” breed of a matchup, Emelianenko and his team offered to have the fight at catch-weight, but Henderson promptly declined. His response via twitter was assertive.    "If I’m going to fight him at his weight, then I’m going to fight him at his weight."    

In one of the most exciting battles to ever take place in Showtime's hexagon, a sudden conclusion left millions of viewers utterly short of words.     

Henderson appeared to be hurt in the beginning of the fast-paced brawl as he was initially knocked down, but when an unbalanced, and impatient Fedor lost control and gave up his back in attempts to finish the fight, the tables were rapidly turning. “Hendo” pounced on top of the Russian and threw a sneaking right uppercut that planted Fedor to the canvas, and before everyone's eyes, for the first time in his career, Fedor Emelianenko had been knocked out cold. That is at least for the one and-a-half seconds that he was actually unconscious, before a flurry of following strikes awoke him.  

  After suddenly defeating this mythical creature, Dan Henderson had done wonders for his legacy. He’d leaped higher on the pound for pound list than he had ever before, and was now being considered by some as one of the best ever, yet none of this would be of any immediate significance in his future as a fighter. Sure this feat cemented Henderson as a legend of the sport, and gained him the respect of many, but what he had secretly accomplished all with one punch was finding a second wind of opportunity. Henderson, who now has no remaining fights on his Strikeforce contract, has become the ultimate free agent. He had placed himself in a position of consummate power and the professional mixed martial arts world was now at his disposal. There isn’t commonly an abundance of solid match ups awaiting such an experienced, and older fighter, which is an accurate description of Henderson who has 36 professional fights on his resume (most of which took place in Pride, UFC, and Strikeforce).  Knocking out "The Last Emperor" changed this entirely.

 All at once, some of the most coveted fights in the world were now including Dan Henderson's name, as the media began to analyze Henderson's future. The young, dynamic, and virtually unbeaten Jon Jones would now have a new, and highly riveting opponent. Anderson Silva, who has remained untouched over the last five years, is now a prime candidate for Henderson, who had previously competed against the Brazilian in his UFC days. Even a heavyweight title shot in the UFC now makes sense for "Hendo", given that he is currently in that weight class. Henderson’s adaptability to such versatile opportunity should be attributed to his ability to largely manipulate his weight with relative ease. The potential fights now in talks for "Hendo" are undeniably top of the line, and all owed to beating "The Last Emperor". The latest win on the record of Dan Henderson’s had catapulted him to the peak of Mt. Mixed Martial Arts.    

 It is very rare to hear a 40-year-old fighter in pound for pound or even championship talks, yet the MMA realm is now hearing talks of UFC title shots in three weight classes for Dan Henderson, who is not currently employed by the UFC. You may think the Fedor knockout was a fluke, or that Herb Dean stopped the fight unfairly, or that people are too hard on Fedor, but that isn’t where the importance lies here. The bottom line is that Dan Henderson seriously bettered his career by recognizing the opportunity of a lifetime and seizing it. 

The lone fighter's team in the corner (a real support system)

By Julien Solomita

In the mind of a fighter, the solitary goal is, “be better than the other guy in order to survive.” When watching a fight (martial arts, boxing, or any other competition) it is evident that significant strategic preparation goes into any given bout, but really the big question is, how much of this groundwork is the fighter solely responsible for, and who is carrying the rest of the load? At the peak level of competition that professional fighters are involved in, it is obvious that a fighter’s camp and team are highly responsible for their success (or failure), but what is it that makes a team so important? Could a fighter in fact be self-trained, self-coached, and completely alone in the entire process, yet still be as great as a team member?

Being that the only people who actually know this answer are those who experience it as their profession, I interviewed one fighter in particular — undefeated UFC light heavyweight contender Phil Davis, a former NCAA wrestling champion who is 4-0 in the UFC. He gave me some insight to how his team helps him do what he does so well —win.

Davis is part of Team Alliance Mixed Martial Arts based out of Chula Vista, California which is home to UFC veterans; Dominick Cruz, Joey Beltran, Travis Browne, and Brandon Vera. The first relevant question was because of the Jones/Evans dispute which all came about because two teammates refused initially to fight each other. When Light Heavyweights Jon Jones and Rashad Evans had trained with each other, the two “friends” quickly became bitter enemies after Evans refused to fight Jones because he didn’t want to fight his teammate.

“I don’t worry about fighting teammates,” Mr. Davis quickly responded.

Davis, who has earned an impressive submission victory over Alexander Gustafsson, is now “a training partner and teammate” of his.

“My team at Alliance is a complete group of fighters.”

Before joining this camp he remembered being able to stay in great shape but “just didn’t have the combination of coaches and bodies to work with and learn from.” Having a team full of fighters helped Phil bring his “game up a couple notches.”

There are currently many figures in the MMA world that have expressed strong opinions that fighting is not a team sport. Whether or not one approves of fighting against teammates or not, I believe that independent fighters cannot thrive as well as those with a team. Before, during and after battle, the fighter’s team is guiding them through the extremely consuming process.

“With all the resources available, and with all of the fighters, I can pick up their habits, and do what they [my teammates] are doing to win.”

In arguably the ‘purest form of competition,’ collaborating strategies, or as Davis notes, “tips and tricks,” are vital to elevating the skill sets of both athletes.

In addition to such teamwork as exchanging moves in practice before a fight, there is even real-time coaching that a team uses during the battle to stay by a fighter’s side. When watching and attending fights, I have always heard the corner yelling at a fighter mid-competition, but until Davis kindly clarified, I believed most of it was ‘Go get em!’ type encouragement. I believed also that even if it was advice being spurted through the cage door, that a fighter would be too focused on their opponent to even allow any of it to register. It turns out that a fighter’s corner can remind the fighter of a game plan while the fight is progressing.

“They yell out either set ups or when they want a takedown. Or if I’m on the ground, striking, they will tell me which position they want next.”

When I asked Mr. Davis if he was always able to understand his coach’s instruction with all of the crowd noise, he confidently stated, “Oh yeah, I can always hear them.” This makes advancing positions that much simpler because the corner will take a fighter through the grappling aspect, and many times the striking game too.

The average person, whether they are a competitive athlete or just have aspirations to be in shape, hires a personal trainer for one reason that many people miss. It isn’t as if a personal trainer holds the coveted secret to being a ripped, lean, and strong person, but rather the role they play in propelling the client to actually never relent in working. Waking up at eight a.m. before a long workday for the common folk can be very tedious, and after a while, trying to put oneself through a repetitive workout schedule can turn into an insurmountable task. Right when the initial burst of motivation dissipates; a personal trainer comes to the rescue. There now is an excuse to force oneself to be at the gym every day rather than fabricating reasons not to go. The mindset becomes ‘I have to wake up now. My trainer is up waiting for me’, or ‘I can’t skip out this workout or I will be letting down someone that is there for me.’

In the scenario of a fighter and his trainer, the bond becomes much deeper. A fighter’s trainer knows the fighter inside and out; strengths, weaknesses, personality, and habits. A fighter’s camp normally consists of a 6 day-per-week, and 2-3 workouts per day regimen. Spending all this time with any one person will undoubtedly strengthen a relationship, but when going through such extreme training, and pushing each other through freakishly tough workouts the two become like family.

Even with such specimens who possess an awe-inspiring amount of dedication and drive, the long and strenuous preparation for battle weighs on them, and being alone through this can break them. Having a team is having a commitment, and it becomes a family of athletes who are constantly working harder and harder in order to better everyone, and push each other past doubt, and towards greatness.

Mixed Martial Arts is no simple sport, and there are many different dimensions to it. Essentially, an MMA fighter must refine their skills in a numerous individual sports to be successful. The need for a well-versed skill set heavily relies on a strong relationship between athlete and coach. The UFC’s hit reality series, The Ultimate Fighter is one of the most entertaining and well-rounded shows on television. One main reason for this is the complexity of the coaching and training in the many different areas of the sport of MMA. The viewer gets to watch the athletes develop in front of their eyes, and also see’s what methods the coaches use to mold their team.

After coaching season 9 of the show UFC middleweight fighter and coach, Michael Bisping discussed his new role as a mentor during an interview with Heavy MMA.

“It’s very rewarding at the end of it, and I think they all left much improved fighters. I was able to show them things that I like to do. It was nice to show them some stuff, and see them listen and put it into practice when they’re fighting or sparring.”

Being able to experience what the different workouts, and training camps consist of gives the viewer a good taste of what really goes into a fighter’s learning process with his teacher. In addition to the abundant entertainment this show provides with its drama and personality, there is the hidden virtue of passing down knowledge, that Bisping reiterates, “was very rewarding.”

Greg Jackson’s camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico is home to some of the top fighters in the world; Jon Jones, Carlos Condit, Melvin Guillard, Georges St. Pierre, Brian Stann. The list goes on and on. Each and every one of these fighters consider each other a part of their own family. The blood, sweat and tears shed in training glue all of these athletes together on a level that only they can understand.

Recently, a well-known head trainer to many top-level fighters passed away. This sudden loss struck the MMA world with devastation as Shawn Tompkins died of a heart attack on August 14th. Fighters were mourning one of their own. The Canadian, Tompkins was even married to one of his fighter’s (Sam Stout) sister, Emilie. Tompkins’ passing was extremely unfortunate as anyone would imagine, and it depicts the level of connectedness of this family of fighters. Tompkins and his teammates were all related on a physical, psychological, and emotional level. Losing a fellow friend often reveals the love for a person, and this was more than evident for Tompkins. Featherweight Mark Hominick and lightweight Sam Stout, among others, were beside themselves upon hearing the tragic news.

“You did so much for me, more than anyone will ever know. Shawn Tompkins “the coach” I’ll miss you for the rest of my life,” Mr. Stout stated on Twitter.

Mark Hominick added, “I would like to thank everyone for the overwhelming support shown to the Team Tompkins family this week.”

The aftermath of this devastating event, reminded everyone in the worst way, that a fighter’s coach is blood.

When accustomed to having a support system, imagining life without it reminds one how important the camaraderie & help is. Phil Davis knows this point better than anyone else.

“I definitely wouldn’t be where I am right now (without my team).”

Whether or not you believe fighting is a team sport, it is important to hear the side of the story from someone who deals with this issue in their profession. A fighter and their team can develop bonds that mend the same wear and tear that breaks a single fighter down. Coming from Phil Davis, who has never lost even at the highest level of competition in the world of MMA, a team is your support system. Although it is a one-on-one battle, it’s not the destination that matters but rather the journey.

Julien Solomita is a student at Chapman University. He can be reached on Twitter@JulienSolomita. His personal web site can be accessed here.

Today, UFC RIO..

UFC 134:
Tonight:
A country's pride brought home an astonishing medley of wins as if they were already carved in the history books.
A legend reminded his country and the world that he is in fact still BIG.
A champion has finished victorious unbelievably once again, stunning the world, and seamlessly continuing to achieve greatness.
A reminder from within became a reality when "shogun" took the stage, as the proud Brazilian sent a big message.
Home field advantage was brought to another level and gave their own athletes an immeasurable advantage.
A fighter decided he wanted a fight to be stopped, and got a reality check.
Bulgaria squeaked out a win in the midst of an all-Brazilian event.
A lightweight battle gave the saying, "don't blink" a whole new meaning.
A president's most critiqued statement about one fighter was solidified in front of everyone's eyes.
A hosting country exhibited class and enthusiasm that sent a biblical proportioned surge of pride through the sport of MMA.
Ever person who loves this sport, was made to feel lucky enough to call themselves a fan of it.
A television network was all at once both happy, and honored to have just joined such an amazing phenomenon.
The UFC was on the top of the world.

Today: UFC Rio Happened.

UFC 134: My Predictions and Breakdowns

    This decorated trip back to Brazil for the UFC is a monumental event, and promises an exciting night of fights. The middleweight contender, Yushin Okami, faces, who Dana White claims to be "the best mixed martial artist ever" for the title in their long "awaited" rematch. Forrest Griffin takes the stage of the co-main event in what he feels to be an "owed" rematch with Shogun Rua. Griffin stunned the world by stopping Rua via rear naked choke at UFC 76, and looks for his second victory over the brazilian saturday night. The Schaub is an up and coming heavyweight that possesses extreme athleticism, and promises an exciting fight against Big Nog. Two other  brazilians, Luiz Cane and Edson Barbosa are  returning home with the UFC, and are both facing tough opponents that will provide solid match ups.

Okami vs. Silva:

    Yushin Okami is one of the most physically strong and powerful 185 pounders in the world. His striking is top notch, and he possesses the scary ability to fully control his opponents on the ground. Okami has great wrestling, is able to overwhelm his opponents by smothering them. At UFC 117, Silva was outwrestled and out-struck by Chael Sonnen who took "The Spider" down and ground and pounded his way to almost winning the title. In order to win, Okami must close the gap with Anderson on the feet, and fight off submissions when on the ground using his relentless power, which seems to be an overwhelming game plan against such a tough fighter. Not only does "The Spider" possess a festive homecoming pride irking him to bring home a win, but after the beating he took from Chael, I dont think Silva will be stopped. At least not yet. The champion will stay at his comfortable distance, and out-strike the Japanese middleweight.

Silva by TKO (round 4)

Griffin vs. Rua:

    The last time these two fought, whether or not you believe it, Rua was battling injuries, and in my opinion it showed. I believe that Griffin has not seen Rua at his best. This is in no way taking anything away from Griffin, as he not only defeated but stopped the former champion before. Griffin has planned to "weather the storm" against Rua this time around, and as we all know that this kid can take a punch, we also know after losing his belt that "Shogun" is now hungrier than ever. I see this fight being fight of the night, with much toe to toe action as Griffin will show a 'TUF Finale 1 display of heart 'and once again reign supreme.

Griffin by Unanimous Decision (FOTN)

Schaub vs. Nogueira:

    Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has been fighting since his new opponent was a child, and the two looked like father and son at the weigh-ins. Despite the vast age difference, Schaub has been on a tear, taking down some of the most highly respected beasts in the heavyweight division. His hands have shown to possess devastating power, and his wrestling and jiu-jitsu are above average. Schaub controls his large body with more control than most his size are able to, and I believe that Big Nog is outmatched in all aspects of this fight.

Schaub by TKO 3rd round (KO of the Night)

Pearson vs. Barbosa
    Ross Pearson since winning The Ultimate Fighter has gone 3-1 only losing to the submission expert, Cole Miller. He goes into this fight very hungry to finish it, as his last three fights have gone to a decision. If he decides to take down Barbosa, and control him he still needs to worry about being submitted. Barbosa on the other hand, has the advantage on the feet, and a scary ground game. And he's returning home.
Barbosa by TKO (2nd round)

Cane vs Nedkov
    I see Stanislav Nedkov getting gassed really easily, and having trouble keeping the fight on the ground. When a wrestler is big and swollen with muscle, the blood tends to pump through quicker, therefore fatiguing them faster. Bigger wrestlers are often a victim of this. In addition, I think Luiz Cane has smoother standup. Cane will win the decision in his return home.
Cane via Unanimous Decision

FOX, TUF, and How Far the UFC Has Come

     For all the true fight fanatics that witnessed the wild, barely regulated shows, saw the first surge of brazilian jiu jitsu make a vociferous clash with traditional "american" fighting, and have seen a tall and goofy Forrest Griffin come all the way from reality tv kid to UFC world champion; August 18th 2011 was an important day. Just hearing the FOX Sports theme song, while seeing Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta gives me [and all MMA fans] the chills. While watching the UFC on FOX press conference, The panel of Championship level UFC fighters is in a league of its own in deserving such spotlight, and it makes me proud to say the day has come: UFC is on FOX.
The UFC has occupied the cockpit of the Mixed Martial Arts space shuttle, and for 10 years now have only steered the sport in the best directions at light speed. While realizing that there have been (and always will be) much criticism of the sport, Dana White, the UFC, and the rest of the hard working grinders involved in MMA have stuck it to the doubting haters by announcing the UFC on FOX seven year partnership. FOX Sports, the longtime top competitor in professional sports broadcasting, has served as home to some of America's biggest sporting events ranging from the World Series, to the Super Bowl, to Daytona 500. The UFC on the other hand is a self built corporation whom has successfully created a sport almost from scratch, and advanced it at such an astonishing rate earning itself much credibility as a "true sport".
     Today, to quote UFC President Dana White, "This is the pinnacle".
  The UFC's hit reality show, "The Ultimate Fighter" for years has developed greatly within itself, as well as boosted the UFC and their roster in a unique fashion. A farmer plants a crop, and as the he continues on to work on the fields, the plant grows and in time will produce and benefit the farm as a whole. If this farmer had created a new crop (that had never been thought of as a legitimate food) that would attract millions of people worldwide, then this would be the perfect analogy. The real message here is that The Ultimate Fighter was just one of the many crops that the UFC planted to build this phenomenon from the ground up. Today with the announcement of many exciting additions and changes to The Ultimate FIghter, the UFC is setting themselves up with an infinite supply of potential and has really excited the MMA and the sports world. With the constant income of viewers and fighters being born from this show, the UFC as a whole (Pay Per View events, television programming, free fights, and fan related events) will continue to thrive with the help of itself.
   The hard work of everyone, whether inside the octagon, or behind the scenes have shown its amazing payoff today. FOX news is a top dog in the sports world, and there now seems to be no limit on what the UFC can do, which includes pushing MMA to the heart of the sports world.

Quick Note: The Little Guys

It seems as though there is now somewhat of an elephant in the room in today’s Professional MMA world. Since Zuffa’s acquisition of Strikeforce, there have been a number of speculations as to what will become of UFC, and in turn, the rest of professional mixed martial arts. It could be said that Zuffa has created a dynasty with the UFC, and will monopolize all competition in due time. From the perspective of some of the smaller organizations such as Bellator FC, or Bamma whom are greatly outmatched by the larger corporations, this situation has presented an ultimatum. This remaining portion of the fight world can either continue to desperately try and bring in the best competition available (which excludes undoubtedly the majority of the best fighters in the world) and hang on by a thread, or they can give in to the powerhouse and attempt to become part of Zuffa.

            No matter where a fighter begins, or ends up, in mixed martial arts every athlete aspires to be the best. Having big name organizations (UFC, Strikeforce) are a perfect way to weed out the champions.  Being the best can be measured simply by possessing the championship belt, and more so by vacating it to face higher challenges (Diaz vs. St. Pierre).

            As simple as it may seem, things get dicey when adding the smaller professional fight corporations to the equation, most of which include fighters who also aspire to become world champions one day. After watching Ariel Helwani’s interview with the current Bellator welterweight champion, Ben Askren, on The MMA Hour, it became clear that there is a potential issue brewing with the current setup of professional mixed martial arts. Askren not only believes he is one of the best in the world at 170 pounds, but wants to prove it by fighting the best competition that he can get. Ben Askren has a contract with Bellator, which means he cannot simply go to the UFC for a fight and then return to his native league. It is one or the other, but when Zuffa decides to give Askren a true test in the welterweight division (whether in Strikeforce, or UFC), what is he to do but take the offer? And what is Bellator to do once their champion vacates the belt, and their organization? Even if Bellator is able to bring in a top 25 fighter that for whatever reason is not employed by Zuffa, upon another title defense, what comes next for the champ if he wins? There is only so much worthy competition that can be found before Zuffa sniffs them out.

            In a world where everyone wants to be the best, as we all know there can only be a handful of fighters in the entire world worthy of that title. As the well-known saying goes, “To be the best, you have to beat the best”. This just isn’t possible for certain fighters. Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez dominates his opponents, and continuously retains his title but shining unnoticeably brighter in his peripheral vision is the UFC title belt.

 Is the grass really greener on the other side?

Jon Fitch: Returning With a New Mental Hunger

   I am an athlete, and just like many athletes I am susceptible to something that is just as frustrating as it is uncontrollable. Injury. It can happen in every sport, from baseball to MMA. I sustained a slight crack in my L4-L5 vertebrae while training for my senior baseball season last year. As of now, I have been out of activity for over 6 months and I have found extreme frustration on a day to day basis, not being able to do what I live for: Compete.

  Jon Fitch is currently going through a similar situation after undergoing shoulder surgery.  He has recently pulled out of his rematch with B.J. Penn due to his torn Labrum in his right shoulder. Fitch has been one of the top ranked and highly respected fighters in the welterweight division for a number of years now, and with most recently earning a decision over Thiago Alves (his second victory over the brazilian), he has surely proved himself.

  The wear and tear that fighters take not only in competition, but also in the grueling training, more than takes its toll on them. This is no news to the fighters as they can often fight through the pain, but sometimes that just is not possible.

   During Jon Fitch's comeback, he has documented his "Road to Recovery" on his youtube channel; Jonfitchdotnet. In every episode of his videos, he explains what he must go through on a daily basis; both physically (rehabilitation, and therapy), and mentally (coping with the situation). The documentation of his journey back to health in itself shows his optimism, as even Jon Fitch knows it can be easy to fall into bad spirits during such dark times.

   I was so curious as to hear what type of positive mentality that a fighter who has been out for so long can take away from such an experience back into action with him. So I called Mr. Fitch (thanks to Boost Mobile UFC fan phone). I asked him simply what positive aspects of this injury will he take to your return in the octagon?

Fitch presented a very relatable argument in his response, "Its given me a lot of focus that I don't normally have. This injury has taken me away from what I love to do, and reminded me of the hunger that I have." Fitch adds at the end of our call "this hunger is helping me, and I think I will be wrecking some people when I am back".

  Many people believe that ring rust is something that can significantly hinder previously injured fighters, but with such positive mentality, it would seem as if one would be able unleash the true beast that they have harnessed in their time of the surgeries and inactivity. Jon Fitch has proven himself a contender for years now with his latest Draw with B.J. Penn at UFC 127 marking his first non-win since he lost to welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre in August of 2008.

   When Fitch returns to action whether it be a rematch with Penn, or facing a different top ten fighter, it will be very interesting to see how such a mentality will serve him. A win by Fitch coming off of his Road to Recovery will put him in place to have another shot an "Rush", which promises to be an epic rematch. Whether we see a successful return for the 170 pounder or not, he has sent out an important message of optimism and perseverance, one of the very few things that an injured athlete can control.