Ladies and gentlemen, Head Kick Legend is shutting down. This probably isn't much of a surprise to too many of you, as you've probably seen the lack of comments and consistent updates make this once proud MMA and kickboxing blog turn into a much smaller destination - an afterthought to many of the other blogs on this network and even the internet as a whole.

Thank you to the people who stopped by regularly, followed us on Twitter and Facebook and generally helped and tried to make this a better community. All of us here are kind of sad at how this turned out, but we move on with little regret (at least I do), knowing we did our part to engage with all of you from many different platforms. You'll still see most of us around the MMA sections of SBNation, writing and commenting and being the intelligent, snarky bastards you've come to know and love/loathe.

So long, and thanks again.

This is pretty bad. No word yet on interim titles or what, but ACL's are bad news bears. Think of what happened to Georges St. Pierre and how long he's been gone. The only small silver lining is that perhaps people will tune into this Friday's episode of The Ultimate Fighter to see who the new coach will be, upping some pretty dismal ratings.

It's true Cruz blew his ACL. Stay tuned for more info

— Dana White (@danawhite) May 7, 2012

Yup @RondaRousey tore @TheDomin8r 's ACL shoulda known better than to mess w her @danawhite @ufc @BarackObama #messwiththebullugetthehorns

— Urijah Faber (@UrijahFaber) May 7, 2012

Might I suggest an interim title fight against Renan Barao at say... UFC on Fox 4, August 4th from the Staples Center? That gives both Barao and Urijah Faber three months to train and gives that card an exciting title fight for the main event.

UFC on Fox 3 was about the best show that Zuffa could've hoped for. The four fights that made up the FOX broadcast were: first round KO, first round KO, close decision, 2nd round submission. From a personal standpoint, the fighters I was leaning towards didn't do too well, so I'm a bit disappointed there, but from a cold, scrupulous eye of an overall MMA fan, this was a pretty damn good night. The ratings are poor, but quite honestly this was about a perfect storm of bad that you could come up with.

This card had the following poor factors going for it:

1. No "stars". Josh Koscheck, Johny Hendricks and Nate Diaz are not on the radars of the casual fan.
2. Cinco de Mayo. It's a big party weekend, and like it or not, a lot of people aren't MMA fans. I went to a party instead of watching the fights live, and I could count on one fist, the number of MMA fans of the ~30 people there.
3. NBA and NHL playoffs, Mayweather card. Quite frankly, there were quite a few other sports happening that day, and while there are a few people who probably watched two or more of them, there are probably just as many who had to make the choice of which one to watch because of other commitments.
   
4. Speaking of other commitments, it was opening weekend for the Avengers, and it just pulled down over 200 freaking million bucks. This SMASHED the previous record (the last Harry Potter movie) by 30+ million.

All in all, I'm completely unsurprised by the bad ratings, and quite honestly felt this would be about right. The bad news out of the way, the people that did tune in who aren't already part of the die-hard crowd (and if you're reading this, you're probably in it) got a really good show. People may bag on the Fox Sports theme music, but as someone who likes traditional sports, I'm pretty OK with it. It's a brand and I identify it with Fox. Curt Menefee and the other folks in the top part of the broadcast did a solid job in their analyst roles, while Rogan and Goldie did pretty decent work covering it live. This isn't to say it was without rough patches - Rogan freaking out over Jim Miller getting caught with his tongue out in the guillotine was kind of uncalled for, but he also did a good job explaining basics and terminology for the neophytes watching.

Continue reading this post »

UFC on FOX 3: Miller Vs. Diaz

Jim Miller vs. Nate Diaz

Chris - Riding a two-fight win streak with impressive performances over Takanori Gomi and Donald Cerrone, Nate Diaz is looking good going into this event. But I think this is going to be the end of his title run. Although he a very talented submission grappler, Diaz prefers to frustrate his competition through his high volume striking. I don’t expect Jim Miller to oblige him on that front at all. Because of his confidence in his Jiu Jitsu, Diaz has no problem giving up the takedown that Miller is going to be looking for. Once it hits the mat, I expect a similar fight to when Diaz fought Dong Hyun Kim. Miller probably won’t allow Nate to catch him in a submission, but Diaz won’t let himself be dominated on the ground like Melvin Guillard. Jim Miller by Unanimous Decision

Patrick - Miller will be facing a five-inch disadvantage in height and reach, and that disparity combines with Diaz’s volume striking and Miller’s own boxing-centric style to create a bad matchup on the feet for the New Jersey native. If the fight stays there for any amount of time, Miller will be in trouble, and things don’t get any better for him once he gets into the clinch. Miller possesses a great arsenal of knees and solid takedowns from the clinch, but one of the most overlooked aspects of Nate’s game is his ability to fight in tight; everyone expected Cerrone to dominate him there, but Nate significantly outlanded both Cerrone and Dong Hyun Kim (a nasty clinch fighter himself) in that phase. On the ground, things get interesting. Miller’s aggressive guard passes and submission game present a fascinating matchup with Diaz’s excellent guard and ability to attack from his back. If anything, though, I’d call it a wash. I think Diaz takes this one in a wild firefight on the feet, with some brief, inconclusive, and entertaining scrambles on the ground. Miller is tougher than a coffin nail, so Diaz by Unanimous Decision.

Cory - It’s incredibly rare that either of the Diaz brothers are in boring fight, so I’m very much looking forward to this. I do have a bit of a rooting interest, as Jim Miller is also from New Jersey and both Diaz brothers wear the black hat fairly well. Both of these guys have great cardio, and if Miller were more adept on his feet, I wouldn’t have been surprised if this went the way of Carlos Condit when he went against Nick. He isn’t however, he’s a wrestler. And until I see EITHER of the Diaz brothers go out and actually beat a wrestler, I’m not picking against one. This should be a great ground battle, but I’m going with Miller - Decision.

Elliot - Nate looked amazing in his fight with Cerrone- the accuracy he displayed with his punching combinations was very impressive; however, I think that Cerrone really gave away that fight, by just standing in front of Diaz and thinking that his Muay Thai based attack would prevail. Jim Miller will have no such illusions, and has the takedowns, top control, stamina, and toughness to execute the same strategy behind every loss in Nate’s UFC career, and pretty much every single one of Miller’s wins. I simply cannot ignore history. Miller UD

Earl - I have gone back and forth on this fight damn near half a dozen times in the last couple weeks. At first I thought it was all Diaz peppering him from range. Then I thought Miller would grind him out on the mat while dodging sub attempts for the duration of the fight. Now I just don’t know at all. I doubt there is a finish in this fight as both guys are tough as hell. This fight will be awesome and I will officially go with Jim Miller via UD.

Josh Koscheck vs. Johny Hendricks

Chris - This fight is either going to be a lot of fun or very very ugly. Right now, everyone is very high on Hendricks following his 12 second KO of perennial number 2 Jon Fitch. That was very impressive, but I’m hesitant to forget how Rick Story was able to frustrate and stifle Hendricks against the cage. Although Koscheck has shown a love of his "ever evolving" striking skills, he also proved against Paul Daley that he’s not above grinding out a win when he needs it. That said, both Paulo Thiago and Thiago Alves were able to find Kos’s chin and I expect Hendricks to be able to do the same. Hendricks by KO, Round 1

Patrick - Koscheck is one of the most overrated fighters in the UFC. He lands an exceptionally low volume of strikes, isn’t particularly accurate, and has bad timing, so his legitimate power is hamstrung by his lack of technical proficiency; his takedown game relies heavily on his athleticism-powered double leg. Okay, so maybe that was a little negative: he’s a legitimate gatekeeper to the top five. Hendricks, I would argue, belongs in that top five. He’s had the benefit of fantastic coaching since he first got into MMA, and possesses both the athleticism and the strong wrestling base necessary to excel at 170 in the UFC. Like his fellow fast-riser Jake Ellenberger, Hendricks has absolutely vicious power in his hands, and like Ellenberger he has solid (and improving) technical ability. If we were going to see Josh Koscheck, competent kickboxer, we would’ve seen it a long time ago. Hendricks by KO, Round 1.

Cory - Speaking of black hats, hello, Mr. Koscheck. I had the good fortune to be right up next to Kos a couple months ago, and the impression I got was someone who was mad at the world. I think Josh is that type of guy with an eternal chip on his shoulder, but that doesn’t always translate well to his fights. His fights against Georges St. Pierre and Paulo Thiago showed how that chip could work against him - he didn’t alter his gameplan when GSP figured out his and he had a poor one to begin with against PT. I’d love to see Hendricks make a huge statement, but I think this will be mostly a slogger, as both dudes are hard to put away. Hendricks - Decision

Elliot - Unlike many people, I like Koscheck. He’s rarely in a boring fight; although his chances of ever getting the belt are slim, and his skills seem to be declining (either due to age or stubbornness), he is still a handful for anyone. Hendricks is a super talented athlete, with insatiable aggression, gnarly punching power, and the well rounded skill set to deal with most threats. I think Kos has a hell of a time getting Hendricks on his back if he wants it there, and with how much Josh likes to hunt for the KO, I think Johnny will start running away towards a decision by simply following the Xtreme Couture mission statement of just beating the opponent up. As much as I’d like to say Hendricks by form of (T)KO, I will go with a Hendricks Decision.

Earl - Josh Koscheck is still reacting horribly to strikes ever since GSP jabbed his eye into a living death. Seriously, he makes Brock Lesnar look well composed under fire. He was mentally rattled by strikes from both Matt Hughes and Mike Pierce. Johny Hendricks has stupid power in his hands (especially the left) and the wrestling to dictate where the fight goes. Hendricks will make Kos panic in the stand up and "Big Rig" will not let him off the hook. Johny Hendricks, KO, Round 2.

Continue reading this post »

Despite the wealth of controversial story lines in MMA over the last few weeks, I have found myself feeling incredibly jaded as a fan. Both Nick Diaz and Alistair Overeem have been battling the NSAC in failed drug tests and I couldn't drum up an ounce of outrage. The Ultimate Fighter premiered live only a few weeks ago and I couldn't get excited. The UFC return from a six week hiatus with a LHW title defense and Rory MacDonald fight - I wanted to watch, but I wasn't inspired. A year ago, I was like junkie looking for any information, analysis, or discussion on MMA and now I felt little to no connection to any of the story lines. Because of that I wanted to return to my fan roots and remember what really made me a fan, so Earl and me got together to look back at our most influential moments in our fandom.

Please share your own story in the comments

Continue reading this post »

As reported by MMAFighting, Dana White confirmed today that, if he defeats Jim Miller at UFC on Fox 3 Saturday night, Nate Diaz will be granted a title shot against the winner of Benson Henderson vs Frankie Edgar. The only caveat is that the fight is only a title eliminator for Diaz and not for Miller. The most obvious reason for this is that Miller just suffered a loss to current champion Henderson at UFC on Versus 5 less than a year ago, while Diaz has had two very impressive performances since his return to the lightweight division.

This announcement has been met with a bit of criticism, however. Many are questioning Diaz's credibility as a challenger when he'll only be on a three fight win streak if he manages to upset Jim Miller. The real question this brings up is who else would be a more fit challenger at this point? Right now, taking a look at the top Lightweight fighters in the UFC, there's not very many standouts:

#4 Gray Maynard vs. #6 Clay Guida

Despite Gray coming off a loss to former champion Frankie Edgar, he's still a possibility in the title picture as it's not unheard of for a former contender to get another shot after one or two wins. His likelihood as a contender most likely increases if Edgar is able to defeat Henderson in the rematch, as well. After 3 fights Maynard and Edgar are 1-1-1 and the second two matches are rightfully acclaimed as two of the best fights in recent history. That story needs an ending and those two are bound to meet again in the Octagon.

The immediate title hopes for Clay Guida, however, seem more bleak. Considering the fact that he, like Miller, is coming off a recent loss to Benson, it's far more likely that he's going to need at least one more win before the UFC tries to sell him as a contender.

#8 Anthony Pettis

After his UFC 144 Knockout win over Joe Lauzon, many people were clamoring for him to rematch Ben Henderson. Their first fight was an incredible back and forth battle where Pettis simultaneously grabbed the decision and wowed MMA fans everywhere with The Showtime Kick. On the other hand, the compelling rematch seemed to be the only strong argument for his title shot. Since winning the WEC championship at the promotion's closing event, Pettis has gone 2-1. He lost his UFC debut to the grinding wrestling of Clay Guida, but recovered with a strategic decision against Jeremy Stephens and the spectacular KO of Lauzon. While they're solid wins, that streak does not make a strong argument for a contender.

Oddly enough, that is pretty much the end of the list. Every other UFC fighter in the top 15 is coming off a loss to a higher ranked fighter. It's amazing that the division has changed so much since this time last year when there was a complete logjam of contenders waiting for Edgar and Maynard to fight.

It's still hard for me to justify Diaz's title shot here. Right now, he's on a two fight win streak that only includes Takanori Gomi and Donald Cerrone. Despite Gomi's success earlier in his career, he has only one impressive win in the UFC. That fight was pretty much tailor-made for Diaz to have a highlight return to the division. When Cerrone fought Diaz, he was coming off an incredible 4 fight win streak inside of a year of competition. His competition wasn't the greatest, but that kind of activity is still remarkable. Diaz exposed him as a limited striker in a clear decision victory.

Topping that streak off with a win over Jim Miller should without a doubt put Nate in title discussions, but he should need one more win before he gets it. The best case scenario in my mind would be a face-off against Anthony Pettis for number one contender. The UFC will be wasting the potential for a great fight by skipping this opportunity. The loss is doubled by the fact that Diaz will be put on the shelf for at least 6 months while he waits for Henderson vs. Edgar at UFC 150 in August.

I’m a lot bigger than (Junior) Dos Santos and I hit a lot harder. I’m a taller, longer athlete … quicker; I’ll constantly pepper him with shots when he comes in and make him pay when I do hit him with something.

So says the man himself, Francisco Santos Miranda, III, AKA Frank Mir. Quite frankly, I'm terribly skeptical, but that's the lovely thing about this sport, we'll get to find out soon enough.

For the record, Junior Dos Santos is listed at 6'4" and a 77" reach. Mir is at 6'3" and 79". Take all of those measurements with a grain of salt, however. I can speak from firsthand experience, every single program will add a couple of inches and pounds (in non-weight-class sports). JDS has 10 (T)KO's to his credit (Velasquez, Gonzaga, Yvel, Struve, Werdum, and various lesser names from Brazil), while Mir has just three (Sims, Nogueira and Filipovic). Of note, JDS has a "submision" win against Cro Cop, but it was a concession due to accumulated strikes, so we should call that an 11th.

At UFC 145, Eddie Yagin and Mark Hominick engaged in a bloody back and forth battle that saw Yagin hurt Hominick badly with power punches in the first and second rounds, only to tire and have the Canadian featherweight bounce back and put a beating on him in the third round.

Yagin went on MMAWeekly radio last week and made some negative remarks about Joe Rogan, stemming from Joe's commentary during the fight. In a case of poor timing, his interview was on the very same day that the UFC's primary sponsor, Anheuser-Busch, released a statement reprimanding the company (courtesy of adage.com) for questionable remarks made by it's fighters.

Yagin thought that Rogan was biased in favor of Hominick and just like in his fight with Hominick, Yagin pulled no punches:

Continue reading this post »

Before the sweat had a chance to dry on Jon Jones' brow following his dominant performance against Rashad Evans, Dana White had already announced that the next challenger to his 205 pound throne would be Dan Henderson. By early next week, rumors were starting to spread that the fight would take place later this summer, at UFC 149 in Calgary. The UFC has shot those rumors down, instead stating that they would likely hold the fight in the early fall.

By this time, everyone is well aware that there are precious few challengers remaining for Jones at the light heavyweight weight limit. In fact, after Henderson, there is really no one else who fits the bill. Some will argue that Alexander Gustafsson will be ready by that time but he has yet to be booked into a fight following his victory over Thiago Silva at UFC on FUEL TV 2 earlier this month and he has exactly zero victories over top ten opponents in his current five fight win streak, leading me to believe that such talk is a little premature.

With this decided lack of challengers, most of the talk about Jones' future involves a move up to the heavyweight division, and soon. The move seems a foregone conclusion to such an extent that Dana White is already cautioning Jones against doing it too soon.

I have to admit that I'm a little surprised to hear such strong declarations about Jones' future. After all, there has been a grand total of zero UFC champions who have vacated the title in one division to pursue a second title in the weight class above.

Middleweight champion Anderson Silva has twice dipped his toes into the water at light heavyweight, both times destroying his opponents.

Yet Silva has refused to make the jump a permanent one despite going through a considerable stretch of less than stellar challengers, something very similar to what Jones could be facing should he defeat Henderson.

Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre has been long rumored to be on the verge of moving up to the middleweight division to challenge Silva in a highly anticipated superfight but he too has stayed at his natural home.

Continue reading this post »

I caught this post over at fellow SBNation site MMAmania via our old pals at Liverkick, and quite honestly, there's no need to re-write anything. Tip o' the hat, fellows. Check it out:

No UFC ... no Strikeforce ... no problem!

Hard-hitting heavyweight striker Sergei Kharitonov is back in the mixed martial arts (MMA) spotlight, coming to terms with United Glory for an upcoming bout against the dangerous Tony Lopez at the "2012 Glory World Series" on May 26 in Stockholm, Sweden.

News of the pending match-up comes via the fine men and women at LiverKick.com.

Kharitonov (18-5) was last seen kicking the crap out of Mark Miller under the United Glory banner just last month in Russia. It was a nice rebound win (under kickboxing rules) for the former paratrooper, who was bounced from the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix with a submission loss to Josh Barnett back in 2011.

But things aren't getting any easier.

Lopez (31-8) has been on an absolute tear under the King of the Cage (KOTC) umbrella, winning seven straight fights and securing seven violent finishes in the process. Just over half of all wins for "Kryptonite" have come by way of tap, nap or snap.

Check out a video teaser for United Glory's "2012 Glory World Series" after the jump.

Continue reading this post »