In a year during which the featherweight division has played a pivotal role, perhaps it is fitting that the division's hottest prospect will close out 2009 as its top-ranked competitor. ... Read More
A month full of MMA is already stirring movement in Sherdog’s rankings. Check out the latest update as we move into the second half of a very busy November. ... Read More
While UFC 104 was marked by main event controversy, up-and-comer Cain Velasquez left little doubt about his status as an elite heavyweight prospect. ... Read More
The Weekly Wrap walks readers through the last seven days in MMA, recapping and putting into context the week's top story, important news and notable quotes. ... Read More
This update is exclusively on the slighter end of the scale. The marquee matchups of early October have come strictly at lightweight and below. Dream 11 on Oct. 6 saw Shinya Aoki finally capture Dream’s lightweight title, as he won the rubber match in his trilogy against his Norwegian nemesis Joachim Hansen. ... Read More
For their Saturday night theatrics, Benson Henderson and Donald Cerrone may well take "Fight of the Year" honors when Sherdog staffers convene in January to talk about awards hardware for 2009. It will likely get my vote. But it's not the lightweight fight from the night I want to talk about. ... Read More
Donald Cerrone and Benson Henderson made it difficult to argue against the WEC’s continued existence Saturday: their headlining fight at the promotion’s 43rd event in San Antonio packed more action into 25 minutes than Michael Bay could manage in 120. (Actual running time of “Transformers 2”: over four hours. Look it up.)
Years removed from first-generation guard work -- where opponents might actually take short naps right along with viewers -- Henderson spent much of his early activity posturing up and looking for ways to end the fight with his fists; Cerrone used his rangy 6’ frame to tie Henderson up in knots of submissions. Often, he’d coil up his long legs, shoot them out like they were powered by hydraulics, and send Henderson flying across the ring. It was 2009’s most entertaining fight to date, stained only by a contested judges’ decision -- officials valued Henderson’s work from the top over Cerrone’s submission attempts. ... Read More
Mackens Semerzier surprised Wagnney Fabiano, Sherdog.com’s No. 3-ranked featherweight in the world, and the MMA world when he submitted the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with a first-round triangle choke at WEC 43 “Cerrone vs. Henderson” Saturday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. ... Read More