Cagewriter - UFC

There is no competition. Mixed martial is the sport made for bloggers. The fights are great but with trash talking fighters, a headline stealing UFC president, rival organizations and hot chicks it made for an unreal 2008 in MMA. Picking the big fights or who was going to be the next big star was a dangerous proposition. Let's run down the best of the best from the cage fighting blogosphere.

Story of the Year: One punch, one radio interview and lots of bad business decisions. The Kimbo Slice upset and EliteXC subsequently going out of business garnered more attention on the web than anything that happened in the UFC all year. Seth Petruzelli hastened the fall of the struggling fight promotion with his fight fixing statements.

Honorable Mention: A close runner-up on pure comedic value was the Andrei Arlovski-Tim Sylvia love triangle. Arlovski later dropped his infamous pee-pee line ... Affliction's owner Todd Beard sounded hammered during a satellite radio appearance and Randy Couture called him out during an interview with Cage Writer. Less than a month later he "resigned" from the company when it came out that he had a lengthy criminal record ... Female fighters Gina Carano and Tonya Evinger made us happy with their party photos. Evinger took it to another level when she said that she wanted a piece of the internet punks who were calling her ugly ... Tito Ortiz stole the show at the UFC 84 weigh-in with a t-shirt and then topped himself by nearly getting tossed from the post-fight press conference ... It was happy day when Couture ended his contract squabble with the UFC ... There were sadder days when Rampage Jackson was arrested and even worse when former champ Evan Tanner passed away.

Video of the Year: Things really heated up towards the end of the year. A brawl in the stands at UFC 91 that started between a fat woman and a K-1 fighter got over 400,000 hits on Youtube. The fighter Ray Sefo told Cage Writer that he was more afraid of the woman than his 7-foot-3, 360-pound opponent two weeks later.

Honorable Mention: If you were looking for gross vids, MMA delivered with the Corey Hill snapped shin matched by this 2006 fight and this injury to Pele Landi in February ... Chuck Liddell got hit in the face by Ron Jeremy's kick (that's right KICK) ... Ortiz bloodied up some dude on MadTV ... Carano violated a lucky fella, Phil Baroni did the same to a radio host and then rubbed up against a female reporter ... Two guys were wrestling in a cage when they were joined by a naked guy ... This Liddell fan sang the blues after "The Iceman" lost to Rashad Evans ... Kimbo actually lost his first fight to David Blaine.      

Honest-To-Goodness Reporting and Analysis of the Year: A crooked cop tried to bilk Matt Hughes out of major bucks. Hughes was asked to apply a choke for a fan photo. He was taken to court but the suit was tossed out of court in June.

Honorable Mention: Referees go wild as EliteXC ref Jorge Ortiz costs Roy Nelson a chance at an upset while UFC ref Steve Mazzagatti lets Jason MacDonald get in extra shots on Joe Doerksen ... A female fighter allegedly beats the snot out of her hubbie ... UFC partner and supplement maker Xyience is raked over the coals by a blogger ... UFC fighter Jon Koppenhaver doesn't go to jail for choking out a civilian on the street ... Good thing he didn't mess with this 63-year old ...  Budding journalist Ricco Rodriguez told us what (expletive) Sandwich is ... The obnoxious Jim Rome of Canada found out that Dana White sucks at geography

Media Bird-Doggin' of the Year: Cage Writer took a lot of media folks to task for their coverage of this fledgling sport. Gus Johnson was our biggest victim with his screams of Rocky! Rocky! when Seth Petruzelli pulled the mild upset on Kimbo.

Honorable Mention: His partner Mauro Ranallo ruined an earlier EliteXC with his over-the-top hyperbole ... The UFC tested the Minneapolis market only to be greeted by a hoard of 70-year old writers ... Mike Wilbon sounded just as clueless when claiming that Kimbo fight was thrown ... Deadspin drew a correlation between a mouthpiece and a murder-suicide ... ESPN is worried about steroids in MMA but won't address the topic in the NFL ... A Dallas writer said the XFL and MMA will have the same life span ... Bill O'Reilly said he couldn't show an MMA highlight because it was too violent but immediately followed it with video of a man hit by a car ... ESPN the Magazine writer LZ Granderson likened Kimbo to Roots' character Kunta Kinte.

The Best in Guest (Fighter) Blogging: Fighters sure do like MySpace and Facebook. It was a must read when you saw a new bulletin posted by Jon Koppenhaver War Machine. After seven months of maniacal posts, he topped himself when he told everyone why he changed his legal name to War Machine.

Honorable Mention: The creepiest moment of the blogging year was Tanner foreshadowing his own death on his SpikeTV blog ... Shockingly, one of the most boring fighters is the most boring blogger ... Junie Browning wasn't the craziest guy on The Ultimate Fighter 8 ... There's one fighter who's not getting it done with the ladies ... Sylvia needed spellcheck and Jenna Jameson tried too hard to sound smart ... Japan brought us Akihiro Gono who talked about not being able to use his left in the bedroom and now he can't even pay for help.

The Year in Lists: Definitely the meanest but most rib rattling list of the year. Why did my favorite Octagon Girl Edith miss UFC 80?  

Honorable Mention: The 10 worst cuts in MMA history was just disgusting ... Cage Potato's list of top MMA photos was exhilarating and gross ... Four fights that should've never happened was right on the money ... MMA can be funny in the cage or ring.

The Year in High Fashion: Does it get any better than Carano wearing a skirt while doing the worm?

Honorable Mention: Sylvia told everyone that he wore his title belt while servicing a lady ... This fighter had an awesome pornstache while Dustin Hazelett and Petruzelli won Facial Hair of the Year ... A middleweight title contender partied in a diaper weeks before his fight with Anderson Silva.

Interview of the Year: This one is a slam dunk. Cage Writer got to talk to President-elect Barack Obama on the eve of the election and ask a question using Matt Hughes' political theories.

Honorable Mention: White ranted about how EliteXC was ruining things for everyone ... Kim Couture called Jared Shaw a pervert ... Liddell talked about having sex right before fights ... ESPN's Tom Farrey almost got a Lesnar boot in the face ... Karo Parisyan was in no mental state to fight and this fan Corrie, isn't stable enough to be around White or Cage Writer ... Octagon Girl Arianny Celeste struggles with jiu-jitsu and the spoken word.

What huge, funny or interesting stories did we miss in our MMA blogosphere recap?

More Y! Sports year of the blog posts: The Y! Sports Blogs (general), Shutdown Corner (NFL), Big League Stew (MLB), Ball Don't Lie (NBA), Puck Daddy (NHL), Dr. Saturday (NCAAF), The Dagger (NCAAB), From the Marbles (NASCAR) and Devil Ball (golf)

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12 Comments

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  1. Demarcus B
    1. Posted by Demarcus B Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:08 pm EDT

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    Yeah this year was crazy. I think that's why this year went by so fast because we all just had so much to think about in MMA and in America in general. Cofield, I'm not going to bash you but you rushed when you write your blogs? I'm not a writer so I'm terrible at it but aren't you getting paid to do it or are you doing it for free (then I understand)? I understand a mistake here and there but I always find errors in your writing and I suck at writing. Are you doing on purpose because all the ppl who really talk crap to you about so you give them something to say each time (then I understand that too)? I know your not going to answer my question but I just thought I'd ask in case you read these. Either way, MMA rules. BJJ can stop bullets! Good luck in 09 Rampage, Anderson, and you too Pit Bull!
  2. colin c
    2. Posted by colin c Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:50 pm EDT

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    Still hate hearing the 'kimbo upset', would unmasking be more appropriate?
  3. vudusup
    3. Posted by vudusup Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:38 pm EDT

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    What a great way to end the year! And we still have more Cro Cop vs Hong Man Choi coming up!! One of the most feared strikers and the tallest mofo in MMA history going head to head (chest to head?). Remember Cro Cop is the guy that destroyed Bob Sapp's orbital bone a few years ago. Devastating!!
    Look for Kimbo Slice to bounce back in a fierce way. The number one import from the US will be liquidating the flimsy ears of the fighters in Japan. The trail of blood and fleshy lobes will lead to the fight of the century late in '09. Yep... Fedor vs Mr. Slice! Fedor I think will pull off his cyborg routine and pull it out with a late surge for the descision. Believe it!
  4. colin c
    4. Posted by colin c Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:50 pm EDT

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    Vud: Dont take the yellow acid!!
    oh, too late.
  5. MJ touched hearts and kiddies private parts
    5. Posted by MJ touched hearts and kiddies private parts Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:52 pm EDT

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    Another week goes by, and yet another mention of Gina Carano. Even though she hasn't foughts for months, and will not be fighting for months, you still take every chance you can get to mention her name. God knows how many keyboards and quarts of bodily fluidyou go through while typing her name and looking at her pics. Put it away please.
    P.S Why no blog yet of how your selections went at UFC 92?
  6. Karl A
    6. Posted by Karl A Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:47 pm EDT

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    Vudusup, I'm glad you didn't let us down. You actually said you think Fedor will win!!!!! Only if he is in TIP TOP shape and trains like a man possessed. LOL Fedor would destroy Kimbo but you and I know it will never happen, Kimbo can't win enough fights to get a shot at Fedor. Maybe a rematch against Petruzelli. Maybe the actual fight against Shamrock. Why the hell am i commenting on this? I must be bored.
  7. Darkness!
    7. Posted by Darkness! Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:45 pm EDT

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    Mickey Da C Man said: "yet another mention of Gina Carano"
    U say that like it's a bad thing. I wouldn't say I've gone through quarts of bodily fluid- that'd be ridiculous... it's only like, a tablespoon every couple of days or so...
    : p
  8. g e
    8. Posted by g e Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:24 pm EDT

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    Mickey Da C Man is obviously Mickey Da G Man, with G standing for Gay. Mickey must be Gay if he gets mad at Gina Carano pictures.
  9. HD guy
    9. Posted by HD guy Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:45 pm EDT

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    vudusup, you have to be on dope to think that Mr. Ferguson will ever fight in a major event against a major opponent. He was a publicity stunt and was K'dTFO by a mall rat. Be serious.
  10. Thomas S
    10. Posted by Thomas S Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:10 pm EDT

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    First of all this was an ok year in MMA. You really only had 10 fights that everyone wanted to see. The biggest story in MMA no matter what anybody says was Kimbo Slice. Wether you loved him or hated him..........you all watched him. As far as him being KO'd by a mall rat. Do you know about MMA. Plenty of the top fighters lost matches early in their career. MMA's is a sport of maturation. Most of you are casual fans of MMA and have no idea what you are talking about. That being said, I have no idea wether Kimbo will be back at all. If he does all the haters and lovers will watch him and he will captivate the MMA world. I still dont understand all the hype into Fedor. I have watched him fight and im not overly impressed. He has fought a bunch of tomato cans, so how do we really know he is as good as advertised?
  11. HD guy
    11. Posted by HD guy Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:45 pm EDT

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    So your trying to sell that Seth Petruzelli has somehow matured into a great fighter? To say that he is now or has ever been better than average is an overstatement. You would be more credible to say that Slice just got caught, when we all know he wasn't very good in the first place. And on the topic of Fedor. Did you see what he did to Silvia? Check youtube, and if your still not convinced, buy the Affliction PPV and watch what he does to AA. Who is a legit heavyweight and no tin can.
  12. nicho382
    12. Posted by nicho382 Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:37 pm EDT

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    I think the best thing about the whole Dana White Tito Ortiz beef was the post fight press conference. One of the reporters asked Wanderlei if he would fight Tito, Wanderlei pulled the mic up close and said, "No, no. He isn't going to fight in the UFC again, I am a UFC fighter." moves the mic away and does it all without smiling. Haha!

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Steve Cofield

Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

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