Rain, rain, rain.  Something about rain that is conducive for writing.  Creates a pensive mood here on Broadway and 77^th in the Big Apple.

*My first MMA interview was with Kalib Starnes at UFC 71 in Las Vegas.  Starnes beat Chris Leben at that event, the under card of Chuck Liddell v. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.  Oh how Starnes and Leben’s careers have gone in different directions.  Starnes recently lost to Patrick Cote at RingSide MMA 10 in Montreal.  Leben will be in a featured fight against Wanderlei Silva at UFC 132.

*Will we ever see a long shot outside of the top six in a division get a title shot, a la Matt Serra upset of George St. Pierre at UFC 69.  With each division so stacked (more-so with the Strikeforce acquisition), it is hard to envision. Watching VCU make a tremendous run in the NCAA basketball tournament and golfer Charl Schwartzel surprise most us at the Masters this past weekend, reminded me how fun it is for the underdog to come from nowhere to challenge for a big title.  Unfortunately, as the UFC grows and so much money is on the line with every event, I fear we will never again see a long shot get a title shot, unless a large tournament format is adopted.  Not likely.

*Frankie Edgar has a new website and branded T-Shirt.  Looks good.  I am intrigued and curious just how much money these top fighters make aside from their formal fight paychecks.  Understandably, careers are short, and they have to cash-in while their name is hot.  I suspect most make strong five figures just for the signage on their shorts.  Most now have signature T-Shirts for each fight … more $.  Then, many do seminars for a nice payday and more and more own MMA gyms.  If they play their cards right – with a solid 2-3 years on UFC PPV shows, many guys can set themselves up for a long time, as they should, this is a dangerous game.

*Mark Bocek has a fun promo video for his fight in Toronto at UFC 129.  Check it out here.

*Foo Fighters have a new album.  Very Good.

*I first met UFC fighter Matt Brown in 2007, when he was a trainer at Crunch Fitness on 83^rd St between Amsterdam and Columbus. One day, I saw him shadow boxing around the heavy bag and asked if he was a fighter. He was living in NY for a short time and soon to try out for the Ultimate Fighter show on Spike TV.  He had a very average pro record and was almost signed to the IFL, which would have prevented him from going the reality TV show route. My goodness, he turned out to be far from a typical NYC gym trainer.  Hope he picks up a win next time out.

*On the case of first encounters …  I first met Frankie Edgar in Neptune, NJ, also in 2007.  He was wielding a blowtorch installing urinals at the local high school that day.  We were doing a feature on him for NBCSports.com.  After eight hours working as a plumber he logged four hours in the gym.  I learned that day Frankie Edgar is a hard worker, to put it mildly.

*Ricardo Almeida will soon be judging MMA fights in New Jersey.  Ex fighters becoming judges is a huge plus for this sport.  Hopefully, in the future, all judges will be required to be ex fighters.

*I hope George St. Pierre watched Nick Diaz fight last Saturday.  Unfortunately, I don’t think it will change his ways any time soon.  Meaning: his preference for safety over going for it!

*I have stopped following two people today on Twitter.  Too much noise.

*Fights at UFC 129 I am excited about:

-Jose Aldo v. Mark Hominick

-Nate Diaz v. Rory McDonald

-Jason McDonald v. Ryan Jensen

-Randy Couture v. Lyoto Machida

*Charlie Sheen played Radio City Music Hall last night.  As a media strategy – he would have done better just continuing to offer himself out in short bursts, on Ustream, Twitter, Blog video.  I think we like him in short bursts of crazy talk, not sitting for two hours, 100$ poorer.

*I am glad Chael Sonnen is back on the scene.  I love his honesty, bravado, machismo, salesmanship, huge ego, and carnival barker ways … all wrapped in one.

Time to face the rain.  Cheers.

Now that both men are officially in the regional circuit in the mixed martial arts community, their hoping that with a win here, they could make it back to the big leagues.

I guess it’s just too bad that it’s two countryman pitted against one another, with the loser left embarrassed before their native Canada this April.

Patrick Cote has been officially announced as a recent signee for the Ringside MMA organization, a promotion which is based out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada–Cote’s original stomping grounds.

The likable middleweight star was recently released by the UFC following a string of three-defeats inside the octagon. Patrick originally secured his shot at the promotion’s 185-pound title against reigning title holder Anderson Silva in October of 2008 when the Quebecer was able to put together a four-fight win streak inside the cage over the likes of notables Scott Smith, Drew McFedries, and Ricardo Almeida. However, he lost any chances of claiming the title when a lingering knee injury left him unable to continue in the third round, resulting in a TKO loss.

Cote returned later in May of 2010 following extensive time spent on surgery and rehabilitation, when he took on former middleweight contender Alan Belcher. The 30-year-old ultimately succumbed to a second-round rear-naked choke. An additional loss to Tom Lawlor at UFC 121 last October officially signaled his release, and he hasn’t fought since.

For Starnes, his time spent away from the UFC has been far more extensive, and is still most likely permanent. After a “Fight of the Night” performance against Chris Leben at UFC 71 in May of 2007, Kalib inevitably lost to Alan Belcher in his next outing when he suffered a grotesque cut to his forehead, thanks to some vicious elbows. The fight was stopped on the doctors advice. However, it was bout against Nate Quarry at UFC 83 in April of 2008 that truly solidified his banishment from the organization. After suffering a broken foot in the first-round, Starnes back peddled for the next 10-minutes of their three round fight, losing a lopsided decision and ultimately drew the ire of the entire mixed martial arts community.

Since his release, the 36-year-old has gone 3-2, with losses to former top-10 middleweight Falaniko Vitale and current Bellator champion Hector Lombard.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the middleweight fight? How many wins will it take for Cote to reenter the UFC, or do you ever see him returning for that matter? I guess the more relevant question would be–who do you think takes this fight? It all takes place on April 9 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Sound off in the comment section below.

After a venture back to his native Hawaii, Falaniko worked his way through the popular Icon Sport promotion, eventually garnering the organizations’ middleweight strap. However, he didn’t keep the title too long. When Niko met fellow UFC veteran Robbie Lawler, it seemingly began the descent of this once great fighter.

Niko, who stood at an impressive 20-3 at the time, lost to Lawler by knockout when thee former Miletich product connected on his patented hooks, dropping Niko to the canvas and hailing an end to the bout.

Following the bout, which took place in July of 2005, Vitale met with the colorful Jason “Mayhem” Miller, but turned in a not so colorful performance. The grappling ace ended up succumbing to a rear-naked choke by his lanky foe, and lost inside of the second round. After another loss to Lawler, which the promotion graciously allowed Niko to vie for his lost middleweight crown, Niko was hot and cold for the remainder of 2006 into 2008.

After a layoff in order to allow his body to recover and assimilate a better training regime, Niko returned in 2010 with a victory of former “The Ultimate Fighter” alumni Kalib Starnes–an Ezekiel choke submission, inside of the first round in Niko’s native Hawaii.

While Niko looked every bit the world beater he used to be in the bout with Starnes, it was his most recent victory–a title fight against challenger and fellow Hawaiian Kala Hose, that let everyone know that Niko was and still is relevant in the sport of mixed martial arts.

After a strong first round with Hose, at “X-1: Heroes” event just last night, which included ample take downs, effective positioning on the ground and submissions, Hose wasn’t completely out of the fight. The former Icon Sport middleweight champion (Hose) rallied back in round 2 and 3, clinching Niko against the cage and roughing him up with short punches and elbows.

However, in round 4 is where Niko found most of his success–well, all of it, since he finished the fight.
After taking down his fellow Hawaiian once again, Niko was able to turn the tables and again apply his famed Ezekiel choke to cinch the victory and retain his title.

Niko is finds himself in rare space, as the Ezekiel choke is a difficult submission to pull off in a fight, and he has done it since not once, but twice–in a row. It can be likened to the difficulty in applying a gogoplata. It just doesn’t happen all that often.

Niko’s next move is uncertain, though the 36-year-old is now riding high and is a force to reckoned with.

So, MMA fans, what so you about Niko? Does he still have some good fights ahead of him? Where would you like to see him? Against whom? Let your opinions be heard in the comments section below.

When are we going to see any of his infamous Judo skills put to the test?

Since his inception to the aforementioned organization, Lombard has done everything to solidify himself as contender in the discussions of being a top-10 caliber fighter, one that would make Mike Tyson proud, finishing 4 of his 5 Bellator appearances by way of knockout.

While keeping himself busy outside of Bellator, awaiting his next title defense against season 2 tournament winner, Alexander Shlemenko, “Shango” has racked up three wins outside of the promotion, against UFC veteran Kalib Starnes, Art Santore, and Joey Gorczynski.

His time inside Bellator, however, has been nothing but squeemish, coming back strong in 2010, with a 6 second victory over another UFC veteran in Jay Silva (his only loss by knockout in his career).

Tonight, however, might be his most devastating knockout to date. When former NFL player Herbert “Whisper” Goodman signed his contract to face Lombard, he might as well have signed over the right to render himself unconsciousness.

Lombard wasted no time against Goodman, a noted striker in his own right, wading in with powerful hooks, before finally staggering Herbert with a strong right hook against the cage, and one more on the chin sealed the deal. While Lombard would follow to the ground with additional strikes, the damage had already been done, and the American Top Team product notched up his 14th straight win, and 15th knockout victory.

After a failed contract with the now defunct EliteXC promotion, and visa issues with the UFC hindered his debut, Hector Lombard has finally arrived here in the states while in Bellator.

Should Lombard be considered a top-10 fighter in the middleweight division? Assuming he gets passed Shlemenko, who should he fight next?

This seemed like a pretty good match-up on paper. Starnes had just rebounded from a TKO loss to Yushin Okami with a Unanimous Decision win over Chris Leben. Both men are very talented UFC mainstays and remain that way to this day. If Starnes was looking to cement his status in the UFC as a potential title contender one day, a win over veteran Nate Quarry would make a strong statement. Meanwhile, “The Rock” was in the middle of a comeback following a highlight-reel KO loss to Rich Franklin and subsequent back surgery that put him on the shelf for almost two years. Quarry had just finished KO’ing Pete Sell, and with another big finish he would have also cemented his status as a potential title contender.

Both men had relatively little to lose but quite a lot to gain should they come out of the fight with an emphatic KO or submission. In a perfect world, this would have given both men all the motivation they would ever need in order to steal the show and make this fight memorable. Not only that, but Starnes would have the fans on his side, since their fight was taking place in Canada and Starnes is from British Columbia. In addition to all that was already at stake, national pride seemed to be working its way into this fight. So the fight had all the right ingredients… except for the simple fact that Kalib Starnes didn’t want to fight.

I’ve heard many reasons (more like excuses) for Kalib’s poor performance. Some say he was protesting how little he was getting paid. Others say he had some type of injury and was playing it safe. I say: who the hell cares? It doesn’t matter what his reasoning was, all that matters is that he turned in one of the worst performances in UFC history. Starnes did little more than backpedal for the majority of the fight, to the point where the heavily partisan Canadian crowd began cheering the American Nate Quarry. I don’t think anyone will soon forget Nate Quarry busting out the Running Man in one of his last attempts to get Kalib to engage, only to be greeted with a middle-finger salute by Starnes. That lone finger seemed to be pointing at the MMA world as a whole, not just Quarry. And the MMA world returned that salute tenfold. Not only was Starnes ostracized and immediately given the axe by the UFC, his performance was so atrocious that it’s become a running joke to reference Starnes whenever an opponent seems gun-shy in a fight and is unwilling to engage.

Regardless of whatever record he has and whatever fighters he’s beat once all is said and done, this moment in time will forever stand out as the defining moment of Kalib Starnes. There’s simply no coming back from a performance like this, and that’s what makes it an “Infamous Moment in MMA History”.

So what about you, fans and friends? What are your opinions on the fight, and is there anything you’d like to see me cover in future editions of IMMMA?

TUF 3

Starnes rose to infamy during his UD loss to “Rock” Nathan Quarry (10-2) in Montréal 19 April.

After breaking his foot, Starnes backpedaled and refused to engage…or, if you prefer, fight Quarry, earning him one judge’s score of 30-24.  He parted ways with the UFC after the fight.

Hose TKO’d Rolando Dominique (1-1) in Honolulu 2 August, coming off of a rear naked choke loss to “Bubba” Robert McDaniel (11-4) in Honolulu 14 June.

Both fighters have demonstrated enormous promise.

Starnes won a UD over UFC 89 main event fighter “Crippler” Chris Leben (18-4) in Las Vegas May 2007.

In Honolulu 15 March, Hose TKO’d “New York Bad Ass” Phil Baroni (13-10) for Icon’s belt.

When middleweight Kalib Starnes (8-3-1) was being derided as a coward after losing to “Rock” Nathan Quarry (10-2) last month, I took his word that he broke his foot early in the fight, tried to look at the fight through his eyes, and posted the best defense I could.

Fighters deserve the benefit of the doubt.

Wednesday, The Pit boss John Hackleman told Fight Hype, “I talked to the coach at ATT (American Top Team) and they kicked [Kalib Starnes] off.”

Again, I gave Starnes the benefit of the doubt and, as Fighters.com always does, sought his side of the claim.

Starnes told me, “Nobody from American Top Team has contacted me and said any such thing.  What kind of team would turn on you for losing a fight?  Do you think it would be reasonable for them to kick me off of the team for losing?  If they were the type of team who would drop you because you lost a fight or had some bad press, I wouldn’t want to be there anyway!”

Fine.

American Top Team didn’t respond to my request for confirmation.

Someone needs to tell Starnes when he’s said enough.

Starnes continued, “If the same people that elected George W. Bush twice and made Britney Spears the most searched name on the Internet think that I’m not a good fighter or a good person because I lost a match, well, I guess that I’ll just have to live with that.”

Huh?  Is that a poke at Americans?

Whether or not you like G-Dub or Britney Spears, it was Starnes’s fellow Canadians that booed him out of the Octagon, though I’m sure Americans would’ve been content to do the same.

That’s not even reasonable.

Starnes’s match-up versus “Rock” Nathan Quarry (10-2) should’ve never been broadcast to begin with.

At the risk of sounding like a Monday morning QB, I was confused why it was on the televised portion of the card before the event.  (Easy to say now, huh?)

Though Quarry looked much-improved in his February KO of “Drago” Pete Sell (7-4), Starnes got picked apart last October by “The Talent” Alan Belcher (12-5).

In an e-mail sent by Starnes to Fighters.com this morning, he contends, “I was then injured in the bout [with Belcher] and received a huge gash on my forehead, which caused the doctor to halt the bout prematurely.”

Starnes is wrong.  The doctor stoppage in October was entirely warranted because Starnes didn’t do enough in the one round with Belcher to convince anyone further punishment may result in a Starnes victory.  Why let a fighter bleed out in the Octagon when there’s no evidence he’s in there to win?

Why then match the same fighter versus a man who proved he’s on a mission in his previous fight?

At least three other 83 match-ups should’ve made the broadcast over Quarry v Starnes even before the fights were fought.

The all-Canada rematch between “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (20-9) and “El Dirte” Joe Doerksen (39-12) was bound to be a war.

“No Love” Rich Clementi (31-12-1) and “Hands of Stone” Sam Stout (13-4-1) were on surges totaling six straight wins between them before Saturday when Clementi preserved his streak with a unanimous decision.

Both “Road Warrior” Jonathan Goulet (22-9) and Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-5) are tough bastards.  Goulet hadn’t won or lost in the judges hands in nine straight.

The results Saturday night prove my admittedly late assertion.

All three “…of the Night” bonuses were awarded to fighters on the untelevised undercard, Goulet and Hironaka winning “Fight of the Night” and MacDonald pocketing 75 grand for “Knockout of the Night”.

Starnes claims, “Dana White…made comments after the fight insinuating that I would have been better served allowing myself to be knocked out.”

You’ve got to wonder if slumping Starnes was matched versus better-than-ever Quarry to serve a highlight reel KO to the broadcast audience?

Starnes called Quarry, “…a real monster in the ring, I think that they should keep him in a cave somewhere and feed him raw meat!”

Even if that’s true, Starnes’s performance was embarrassing.  If you don’t want to be in the Octagon, don’t take the fight.

To be fair, I know fighters like Starnes have slim bank accounts and it’s not easy to turn down a guaranteed purse.  And, Starnes maintains he had broken his right foot early in the match and was doing all he could to work his jab.

All in all, the whole incident is a non-event.  A B-level fighter asks to be released from his contract after a pitiful performance.  Big deal.

However, even if I don’t particularly care to see Starnes fight again anywhere, it’s hard for me to blame anyone who steps in the Octagon.

Blame the UFC for a poor match-up that should’ve never been seen by anyone paying $44.95 for the PPV.

Saturday at UFC 83 in Montréal, Starnes lost a unanimous decision to “The Rock” Nate Quarry (10-2) after avoiding confrontation for three rounds.  After the fight, Starnes, a Canadian, was heavily chided by the Centre Bell crowd of over 21,000.

“Fuck you,” Starnes replied to his fellow Canadians amidst roaring boos.

Quarry won over the crowd with a vigorous performance and was cheered in Montréal.

“Joe Silva told me that he would [release me from my contract],” Starnes told Fighters.com, “but, that it would take a couple days for their legal department to complete the process and he would send me the appropriate forms once they were completed.

“I couldn’t be happier about being released from my UFC contract,” Starnes added.

Former UFC Middleweight Champion and Fighters.com’s second-ranked 185-pounder “Ace” Rich Franklin (23-3) also found the land of maple leaf friendly in a second-round TKO of “The Serial Killer” Travis Lutter (9-5).

TUF Champions “The Count” Michael Bisping (15-1) and Mac Danzig (18-4-1) debuted in new weight classes with stoppages.

Les habitants “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (20-9), “Dooms” Jason Day (17-5), and Jonathan Goulet (22-9) also had success for the home team, while “The Rock” Nathan Quarry (10-2), Demian Maia (7-0), “No Love” Rich Clementi (31-12-1), and Cain Velasquez (3-0) scored wins as visitors to the true north, strong and free.

Though seven of the 11 duels on 83′s lineup featured St. Pierre’s fellow countrymen, this French-Canadian bon soirwas entirely the Quebecois phenom’s. He entered the Octagon blazing a crimson gi with the strength of 22,000 at the Centre Bell.

Serra had played a clever villain during the event’s promotional tour, but had no quips for “Rush” as St. Pierre packed him into the mat upon stuffing Serra’s initial shot.

St. Pierre mauled “The Terror” with short, sharp elbows as Serra pedaled through guards, all passed by St. Pierre. Serra finally crawled up the cage to his feet.

In the center of the cage, St. Pierre blasted Serra with a Superman punch, setting up a double-leg takedown near the end of round one.

Serra, a mouse puffing beneath his right eye, emptied his tank about 90 seconds into round two as “Rush” tagged “The Terror” with five snapping jabs before planting him back onto the mat with a double-leg takedown.

St. Pierre’s G’n'P onslaught poured on, driving Serra into turtle guard. A series of unanswered rib-rattling knees persuaded referee Steve Mazzagatti to end the fight at 4:45.

“I tired him out,” explained the best 170-pound fighter in the world.

Serra countered, “I ended up coming up short, no pun intended.”

Welterweights Goulet and Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-5) both pocketed 75 grand for battling the “Fight of the Night” in the card’s opening bout.

Goulet got the worst of it in the punch-up’s first round. Attempting to press his striking advantage, Goulet got tagged with a short Hironaka left hook. The Japanese fighter fell the Canadian and followed with a mix of fists and elbows to close the round.

“He tried to finish me,” Goulet admitted after the fight, “but he got too excited. I was careful because of my experience.”

The two fighters traded evenly to open the second before Hironaka was stunned with a punch that backed him to the cage. Goulet stalked with a flurry that dropped his opponent for a TKO at 2:07.

In the co-main event, Franklin also rebounded from a lost first round in which Lutter took the former champ to the mat and worked his jiu-jitsu juju. Franklin was nearly tapped in an armbar before he countered in a nifty maneuver that rolled him into Lutter’s full guard.

Lutter had worn himself weary by the second round and got caught with head kick as he shot for single-leg takedown. Franklin hammered “The Serial Killer” and motioned for the referee to stand him up. “Ace” picked Lutter apart on their feet with a combination of slick boxing and knees until the referree stopped the fight at 3:01

Danzig predicted to Fighters.com that Mark Bocek (5-2) is susceptible to a knee and the debuting 155-pounder delivered three big knees to set Bocek up for a rear naked choke submission at 3:48 of the third round.

“I paced myself, and I needed that; because, if I didn’t pace myself I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did in the last round,” Danzig said.

His fellow TUF Champion Bisping debuted at 185-pounds with a dominant TKO “W” over “Chainsaw” Charles McCarthy (10-5), who was unable to continue due to an arm injury after round one.

“Charles couldn’t get up,” “The Count” expalined after the fight.

Middleweight Quarry chased down a timid Kalib Starnes (8-3-1), who probably ran himself out of the UFC, for a unanimous decision.

Middleweight MacDonald added $75,000 to his bank balance with a “(T)KO of the Night” versus Joe Doerksen (39-12) at 54 seconds of the second round.

Middleweight Maia also earned 75 grand for “Submission of the Night”, a triangle choke of “Short Fuse” Ed Herman (14-5) at 2:27 of round two.

Middleweight Day made a successful UFC debut with a 3:58 TKO of “The Talent” Alan Belcher (12-5).

Lightweight Clementi ruined Canadian “Hands of Stone” Sam Stout‘s (13-4-1) homecoming with a split decision victory.

Finally, touted heavyweight Velasquez only spent 2:10 in his Octagon debut before TKOing Brad Morris (9-3).