The roar of the crowd ... the sound of bare feet shuffling against canvas ... the unexplainable electricity inside the building. They are all mere echos today as crowds in the tens of thousands have dwindled down to a fraction of that amount. The Saitama Super Arena, host of this Saturday's (Feb. 25) UFC 144 event, has been home to some of the greatest mixed martial arts (MMA) events in the history of the sport. "Ghosts of Saitama" will take a look at some of those moments, forever preserved and never forgotten.

Ask anyone who was a mixed martial arts (MMA) fan before the boom created by The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) for a list of all-time great events and one name will surely find itself on each and every list.

Final Conflict 2005 at the Saitama Super Arena.

PRIDE Fighting Championships (PRIDE) had, the year prior, collected some of the world's best heavyweight and pitted them against each other to decide who among them was the best. It was Fedor Emelianenko who rose to the top after defeating the likes of Mark Coleman, Naoya Ogawa and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

It should have come to no surprise to anyone as "The Last Emperor" was the reigning heavyweight champion with only one murky loss attached to his name. He had already defeated "Big Nog" to win the title and it seemed the only other heavyweight who could potentially challenge the champion was Mirko Filipovic.

But "Cro Cop" was brutally knocked out by Kevin Randleman in the first round and missed his date with destiny. Eager to get back into the title shot hunt, the Croatian went to work. In the 16 months between the Randleman loss and his fight at Final Conflict 2005 with Emelianenko, the kickboxer fought seven times, finishing all but one of his opponents.

Aside from the most anticipated heavyweight bout in the sport's short history, the event only presented the last three fights in the 203-pound grand prix. Four men -- Mauricio Rua, Alistair Overeem, Ricardo Arona and current champion Wanderlei Silva -- looked to emerge as the tournament winner. Silva had won the previous in 2003 but Brazilian Top Team rival Arona was looking to unseat him.

Little did anyone know it would end up being "The Axe Murderer's" own teammate who would emerge the world's best light heavyweight.

Let's take a closer look.

Continue reading this post »

Losing his last four fights inside the Octagon, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight contender Dan Hardy is seemingly hanging onto his Octagon career by a thread.

A one time title contender, Hardy has fallen on a rough streak over the last two years after starting his UFC career off impressively with four consecutive wins. While admitting that his title shot may have been a bit premature, "The Outlaw," took the challenge of attempting to dethrone the promotion's 170-pound king, Georges St. Pierre, at UFC 111 in March 2010.

After fighting valiantly for five rounds, including surviving several near fight-ending submission attempts, Hardy came up short in his bid to win UFC gold.

From there, his woes only increased, as he dropped his next three bouts to Carlos Condit, Anthony Johnson and most recently, Chris Lytle. Surprisingly, the British brawler was not cut from the promotion, as it seemed that company owner, Lorenzo Fertitta, appreciated appreciated Hardy's efforts.

Hardy recently spoke to Fight Hub TV to talk about his rough two year stretch, which included the passing of his grandfather, and what he feels contributed to his bad run of luck during his losing streak.

Continue reading this post »

Riding a 14-fight win streak into his highly anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut, which included dominant stints under the Elite XC and Strikeforce Banner, Jake Shields' time in the worlds preeminent mixed martial arts (MMA) organization, thus far, has been a rough one to say the least.

After narrowly escaping his debut against Martin Kampmann at UFC 121 with a razor-thin split decision victory, Shields dropped his following two bouts to UFC Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and current top contender, Jake Ellenberger.

Prior to entering his fight with Ellenberger, Shields suffered a personal tragedy, as his father suddenly passed away. A distraught and mourning Shields, showing great composure and fortitude, chose to not drop out of his headlining bought against Ellenberger. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) black-belt was eventually knocked out by "The Juggernaut" in the opening minute of the first round, the first time in 11 years that he had been finished in a fight.

It may have been rough rolling in 2011 but the former multi-division champion is ready to get back on the hog and ride in 2012.

Speaking to MMAWeekly.com, Shields discusses the hardships he went through the past 10 months, including the tough decision to fight two weeks after his fathers passing, as well as the current state of the UFC's 170-pound division.

Continue reading this post »

Two of the best 155-pounders on the planet will meet and the UFC lightweight title is on the line tomorrow night (February 25, 2012) as UFC champion Frankie Edgar takes on former WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson in the main event of UFC 144 in Saitama, Japan.

Frankie Edgar has finally started to come into his own as champion after putting on a serious of some of the best displays of heart in UFC history last year in both of his "Fight of the Year" candidates against Gray Maynard. You can never count him out of a fight and that's why he's champion right now. He's hoping to win decisively on Saturday night and not have to rematch his opponent. for once.

Ben Henderson was an afterthought when he entered the UFC after losing his WEC title, but three straight big wins in a row, including two against top title contenders earned him his shot at the championship belt. He's been on a mission ever since he was brought over and he's staring at the end game on Saturday night.

Will Edgar have "The Answer" for Henderson's grueling pressure-based attack? Can Henderson slow down Edgar's speed and footwork long enough to land his own attack? How does each elite lightweight secure a victory on Saturday night?

Let's find out:

Continue reading this post »

The official weigh in event for UFC 144: "Edgar vs. Henderson" is set to take place later tonight (Fri., Feb. 24, 2012) LIVE from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

The first fighter is expected to tip the scale at 11 p.m. ET.

As usual, MMAmania.com will provide up-to-the-second coverage of the UFC 144 weigh-ins, as well as provide a detailed recap of the festivities as soon as they conclude.

UFC 144: "Edgar vs. Henderson" will be headlined by a 155-pound title fight featuring number one division contender Ben Henderson, fresh off his unanimous decision win over Clay Guida, taking on reigning lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.

In addition, a welterweight clash between Jake Shields vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama is on tap, as well as a light heavyweight tilt between Quinton Jackson vs. Ryan Bader.

Complete UFC 144 weigh in results and live video stream after the jump:

Continue reading this post »

"I love how so many fighter say, I just want a war.. I just listened to a guy who got a quick knockout and then said, I would have rather had a long war. Are you stupid??? I like short fights. If every fight could be quick, Im more than happy with that, but unfortunately its rare. "I just want a war", or "I love getting hit" Really stupid?? Because I dont. Thats why I train, to not get hit & not take damage. This sport is no longer a "tough-man" competition, its a stratigic equation, and most of the time, the more intelligent fighter wins. I don't know about you, but I don't want my brain to be used as a speed bag."

UFC welterweight contender Jake Ellenberger, who punched his ticket to bigger and better things within the 170-pound division with a convincing unanimous decision win over Diego Sanchez earlier this month, tells his Facebook fans he's not interested in seeing how many shots he can take, or how long he can stand and bang against his opponents. "The Juggernaut" would much rather implement an effective gameplan, avoid damage and finish the fight as early as possible. Anyone think Ellenberger has the right approach? Or is the "war" mentality why we love so many of the sport's scrappy fighters?

That slow but steady whistling sound you hear is probably the wind getting sucked from the sails of the Georges St. Pierre fan club, who's been lobbying for his speedy return following knee surgery.

The longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight kingpin recently teased that he was ahead of schedule, giving newly-minted Interim Champion Carlos Condit reason to sit on the sidelines and wait for his return.

A recent report from Japan suggests he's not in any "Rush" after all.

That means Condit could be looking at a title unification bout in November, at the earliest, unless he opts to defend the temporary strap while waiting for the champ to get his ligaments in order.

St. Pierre talks about his long road to recovery with The Star Phoenix, after the jump.

Continue reading this post »