Jonathan Snowden
Combat Sports Historian. The Ringer. "Shamrock: The World's Most Dangerous Man" is available worldwide.
Donald Cerrone is a lot of things. ‘UFC Hall of Famer’ isn’t one of them
A Hall of Fame is a tricky bit of business. If you’re too exclusive, the tiny bust of George St-Pierre gets lonely in the corner of some dusty convention center, a sculpture of Royce Gracie waving sadly from across the room. If you’re too liberal with the inductions you get, well, “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone. Look, […]
UFC 285: Jon Jones reminds the world just who the f—k he is
This is a guest post by Jonathan Snowden of Hybrid Shoot No one knew what to make of Jon Jones heading into his first fight in more than three years. Much virtual ink was spilled on the trappings of his comeback, a bout with Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight championship of the world. Did he […]
Eddie Alvarez And MMA’s Culture Of Quitting
Last year, Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler quit in the middle of the biggest game of his career. Cutler had an injured knee, but nothing that seemed to be more than a nuisance. He didn’t get carried to the training room on a stretcher. He didn’t even have to leave the field. He stood, calmly, […]
Is Elaina Maxwell’s Kickboxing Debut A Sign Of Trouble Ahead For Women’s MMA?
Muay Thai is called the art of eight limbs. For many kickboxers, it’s just a clever turn of phrase. If your career is concentrated in Japan or Europe, it’s likely you really practice the art of four limbs – hands and feet. Only rarely will knees come into the picture. Standing elbows are out of […]
Is Steven Seagal Secretly a Martial Arts Genius?
Greg Jackson had his moment in the sun, but it’s time for the New Mexico based MMA trainer to slide over and allow Steven Seagal to take center stage. The movie star, best know for styling on henchmen with his Aikido inspired moves in hilariously bad action films like Hard to Kill and Under Siege, […]
Georges St. Pierre Holds Back UFC’s Canadian Coming Out Party at UFC 129
It was almost an event for the ages. All week long the UFC and media proxies had been telling fans just how historic UFC 129 was. How they would pack 55,000 into the Rogers Centre. How it would be the biggest UFC of all time. And I’ll be damned if it didn’t almost deliver. Call […]
M-1 Challenge XXV Primer: The Who, What, and Why For the Promotion’s Free Show
M-1 Global fighters are back in action tomorrow and back on their home turf – St. Petersburg, Russia. The show is headlined by a great fight between current WW Champ Shamil Zavurov (19-1) and the latest M-1 signee Yasubey Enomoto (6-2) who fills in for the only man ever to beat Zavurov, Rashid Magomedov. But […]
UFC 129: Ben Henderson Looking to Put Pettis Behind Him
Ben Henderson hears the question all the time, in every interview prior to his fight this weekend with Mark Bocek at UFC 129 in Toronto. He’ll hear the question for years to come – even if he wins the UFC title and reigns for a decade, if he’s the first MMA fighter with a Nike […]
Exclusive Bad Boy Message: Junior dos Santos Looking Forward to Fighting Brock Lesnar
“I’m looking forward for this fight against Brock Lesnar, because it’s going to be a great fight for me to prove I am the number one contender for the title shot and want to make all my fans happy. I just want to say thank you for Bad Boy, Luiz Dorea who is my coach, […]
The UFC Plays ‘Let’s Kill the Prospect’ with Rising Star Phil Davis
Top light heavyweight prospect Phil Davis will step into the Octagon with Rashad Evans at UFC 133. You all know Rashad Evans. He’s in the news almost daily, if not for his fights for his sartorial splendor, his sublime trash talk, and for his awkward fitness videos. Davis is not as well known, perhaps most […]
Is UFC 129 Only Going to Be Big in Canada?
Fifty-five thousand screaming fans will pack the Rogers Centre in Toronto Saturday night to see Canadian hero Georges St. Pierre defend the welterweight title against former Strikeforce star Jake Shields. In Ontario the event feels like a big deal. Toronto is buzzing and local media coverage is everywhere. The city has come out in force […]
MMA World Cup: Results and Analysis
The fantasy MMA World Cup came to a close last night with one amazing upset – Alistair Overeem won heavyweight gold in a razor close decision over UFC champion Cain Velasquez. Overeem was the only top winner who isn’t the current UFC champion in his weight class. That tells me two things: 1. Hardcore fans […]
MMA World Cup: Can Dominick Cruz Cruise to a Gold Medal?
Dominick Cruz tooled Waggney Fabiano, like he has every opponent not named Faber, on his way to a likely gold medal. His opponent will be Brad Pickett who pulled off a minor upset against Takeya Mizugaki. Gold Medal Match: 1. Dominick Cruz vs. 3. Brad Pickett My Take: Who would have thought, watching him in […]
MMA World Cup: Can Aldo Win Gold in Featherweight Finals?
Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes both won one-sided contests in the semi-finals to advance. That sets up an intriguing bout for the bronze as Hioki and Hominick will do battle for the third time for the honor of advancing to the medal stand. Gold Medal Match: 1. Jose Aldo vs. 3. Chad Mendes My Take: […]
MMA World Cup: Japan and America Collide in the Finals
Shinya Aoki scored a last second submission to earn his berth in the gold medal match, narrowly beating German Dennis Siver in a great semi-final contest. Aoki will face Frankie Edgar who crushed Canadian Mark Bocek. Gold Medal Match: 1. Frankie Edgar vs. 2. Shinya Aoki My Take: I think Frankie Edgar is an amazing […]
MMA World Cup: Welterweight Finals
As expected, Georges St. Pierre and Jon Fitch advanced to the gold medal match. Their last fight was a five round shellacking. Has anything changed? Gold Medal Match: 1. Georges St. Pierre vs. 2. Jon Fitch My Take: Put on a DVD of their last fight for an idea of how this might go. Bronze […]
MMA World Cup: The Chael Sonnen/Anderson Silva Rematch
UFC champion Anderson Silva and the man who dominated him for more than four rounds last year, Chael Sonen, both made it out of the semi-finals in convincing fashion. This sets up the rematch of the century, or at least of the year, between two distinctly different middleweight stars. Gold Medal Match: 1. Anderson Silva […]
MMA World Cup: Light Heavyweight Finals
Well, this one seems kind of like a given. Jon Jones and Mauricio Rua advance to the gold medal match – and I think we have a pretty clear picture of how that plays out. The real question is what happens in the Bronze Medal Match. Let’s decide, together you and I. Gold Medal Match […]
MMA World Cup: Can Overeem Upset Velasquez to Win Fictional Gold?
Fedor Emelianenko and Junior dos Santos fought gamely, but ultimately fell to the UFC and Strikeforce champions respectively. It leaves fans with a dream match many have been calling for: champion versus champion for the first gold medal in fake MMA history. Gold Medal Match 1. Cain Velasquez vs. 3. Alistair Overeem My Take: Cain, […]
MMA World Cup: Bantamweight Semi-Finals
Pickett and Fabiano advanced from the opening round, despite Ivan Manjivar giving a game effort against Fabiano. Like their real life counterparts, even fantasy MMA fans are less interested in the little guys – they garnered far fewer votes than the big boys. 1. Dominick Cruz vs. 4. Wagnney Fabiano My Take: Cruz has never […]
The MMA World Cup: Featherweight Semi-Finals
Veteran Joachim “Hellboy Hansen couldn’t overcome the wrestling prowess of Team Alpha Male’s Chad Mendes in the opening round and Mark Hominick barely broke a sweat taking out Deividas Taurovicius. That leaves the four favorites intact as they battle for a spot in the finals. 1. Jose Aldo vs. 4. Mark Hominick My Take: Hey, […]
MMA World Cup: Lightweight Semi-Finals
“JZ” Cavalcante and Mark Bocek fought down to the wire in our closest opening round match yet. Bocek took a split decision, one that will have people talking or years. Dennis Siver, representing Germany, also moves on. 1. Frankie Edgar vs. 5. Mark Bocek My Take: Edgar is the perennial underdog. Will he get his […]
MMA World Cup: Can a Boy Named Kim Do the Unthinkable?
Dong Hyun Kim grounded Paul Daley on his way to an upset win, making him the first lower seed to advance in the World Cup. Can he repeat the feat against one of the best, not just in the division, but of all time? Joining him in the semis is Thiago Alves who made short […]
MMA World Cup: Will Chael Sonnen Earn a Rematch with Anderson Silva?
Mamed Khalidov gave UFC bad boy Michael Bisping a run for his money in the first round, but ended up falling short. That leaves us with four fighters in the semi-finals with a rich history. Sonnen and Okami have both given Anderson Silva trouble, while Bisping has mostly troubled closed captioners and people who hate […]
The MMA World Cup: Light Heavyweight Semi-Finals
In the first round Alexander Gustaffson and Gegard Mousasi rode their mainstream name recognition to easy wins over competitive but less well known fighters. But do they stand a chance against a present and a past UFC champion? 1. Jon Jones vs. 4. Alexander Gustaffson My Take: I think these are two of the three […]
MMA World Cup: Can Fedor Emelianenko Upset Cain Velasquez?
Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem advanced to the semi-finals in overwhelming fashion, setting up two dream matches: 1. Cain Velasquez vs. 4. Fedor Emelianenko My Take: Call me crazy – but I like Fedor here. The problems he encountered in Antonio Silva don’t really exist with Velasquez, who like Fedor, is a smaller heavyweight. Take […]
MMA World Cup: Bantamweight Elimination Round
Bantamweight is a work in progress. After all, it’s been only a couple of years since fighters could even dream of making a living at 135 pounds. Worldwide, the talent pool is almost non-existent and most of the fighters on this list are recent refugees from featherweight. That makes this tournament wide open. The list: […]
The MMA World Cup: Featherweight Elimination Round
A division that is still being sorted out in real life, this one presents the most intriguing mix of fighters yet. I could legitimately see any of these men going far. Unlike the other tournaments, I’d be hard pressed to name a favorite. This is going to get good. The list: Brazil: Jose Aldo Asia/AUS: […]
MMA World Cup: Lightweight Elimination Round
The forgotten weight class, lightweight never really had its feet on solid ground in the United States before B.J. Penn returned to 155 pounds to win his first lightweight title in 2008. For years the division has been dominated by the Japanese and foreign stars who plied their trade in Shooto and Pride Bushido. Now […]
MMA World Cup: Welterweight Elimination Round
Since Matt Hughes first ascended the pound for pound throne, this has been MMA’s most important and competitive division. Hughes gave way to the great Georges St. Pierre. Seemingly unbeatable, is there any doubt GSP walks away with gold? As we learned in 1980, miracles can happen. Let’s see if one does here. The list: […]