Then and Now: What has changed in MMA since 2005?

A long term dynamic develops in every sport that sticks around for a while. A section of the fan base will inevitably compare the play of today to their heroes from yesteryear.  Whether it is the baseball fan that longs for the day where they didn’t have to worry about someone using performance enhancing drugs after every home run, or the football fan that yearns for the era of hard hitting and less complaining in the NFL. One thing is a common factor; this group wishes things would go back to

The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale: Fighter salaries

Fighter salaries for “The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale” were released today by the Nevada Athletic Commission to MMAweekly.com.
The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that the UFC is required by law to submit to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, but the fighters’ salaries are still public record. Any undisclosed bonuses that a promoter pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic

The King of Trash Talk: Chael Sonnen declared victorious by Jim Rome in 2012 Smackoff

Chael Sonnen stepped into a realm that he is not unfamiliar with this week, and came out victorious. Appearing on The Jim Rome Show, Sonnen participated in Rome’s annual Smackoff against five other ranters, winning the competition with his endless creative smack talk.
However, Sonnen did not win the contest by utilizing his go-to targets of Anderson Silva and Brazil, in fact he did not mention them at all. Instead he went to the well and created a new rant, touching on many subjects in the sports world.

Dana White: Dan Henderson is next in line for 205 title shot

According to UFC President Dana White, he has offered Dan Henderson two fights since he defeated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 139, which took place at San Jose’s HP Pavilion. White has stated that Henderson has turned down both of those fights.
For his part Henderson has made it clear that he is only interested in a title shot, at either middleweight or light heavyweight. 
Earlier this week, White announced that he would capitulate to Henderson’s desires, but made it clear that

Satoshi Ishii is fighting for the future of JMMA against Fedor Emelianenko

If you’ve been following MMA for any amount of time you’ve surely heard the talk that Japanese MMA is on the decline. The fighters that have ventured outside of the Japanese circuit have not met with great success as of late.  Fighters such as Yoshihiro Akiyama, Michihiro Omigawa, Shinya Aoki, Kid Yamamoto and Takanori Gomi have all struggled outside of the confines of Japanese MMA. One young fighter has a chance to right that ship, Satoshi Ishii.
Ishii, a 25 year old Olympic Gold Medalist