Brock Lesnar's Health

Brock Lesnar is a relatively new MMA fighter, but he is no stranger to physical sports. With a background in professional wrestling, Lesnar knows the art of man handling his opponent and viciously bashing their brains in. This mammoth of a man stands at 6’3” and weighs approximately 265 pounds. Brock has a professional MMA record of 4-1, with his only defeat coming from Frank Mir due to a knee lock submission. Lesnar is notorious for his brutal “ground and pound” and his head punches that resemble getting hit by a Chevrolet Suburban. It is no wonder that he is the current UFC Heavy Weight Champion. However, will he be healthy enough to stand in the ring again?

While training for his first title defense against Shane Carwin, he felt terribly ill and missed a total three weeks of camp. Finally he said enough is enough and withdrew from the fight. Diagnosed with mononucleosis, Lesnar was confused because his symptoms (horrible stomach problems) did not fit the bill. To clear his head, Brock went up to Canada to do what he truly loves, hunting. While out on this manly excursion, he still experienced similar stomach pain. The pain eventually caused him to go into shock, rendering him with a 104° temperature and the feeling of a hole in his stomach. He quickly went back to America to seek medical treatment and was diagnosed with Diverticulitis. His doctor prescribed him with antibiotics and urged him to rest and attempt to heal himself and try to evade the alternative.

You will never be able to fight again. These are the scariest words a fighter will probably ever hear in his career. The alternative route to health for Lesnar would consist of removing part of his Colon, and wearing a colostomy bag. The doctors wanted to wait for the swelling in Lesnar’s stomach to reduce before doing the surgery. Brock left the hospital 40 pounds lighter, with a possibly crushed career and spirit. However, after working out like a fiend, he put 30 pounds back on and astonished the Doctors. With full intent to perform the surgery, a miracle happened. The physicians found no signs of his Diverticulitis and after repeated tests, he was given a clean bill of health.

Brock Lesnar is back on schedule to resume his duties as the UFC Heavy Weight champion. He will face the winner of the Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin fight, sometime this summer. Brock Lesnar defeated Randy Couture to gain the UFC Heavy Weight belt, and he defeated Diverticulitis, what’s left?

Rampage, the bone crushing, body slamming...actor?

Latest UFC news: former light heavy weight champion, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson takes a leave of absence to pursue an acting career.

Haha ok time to stop joking, oh wait, you’re serious?! This is exactly what I said when I heard that one of my favorite fighters, Rampage, was leaving the UFC to act as B.A. Baracus in the “A-Team.” Although the cast is respectable (Bradley Cooper and Liam Neeson), let’s be serious, he is a brutal, vicious body-slamming machine! His job is not to say, “Ugh, I pity the fool!” it is to mangle his opponents’ face and shut their lights out.

After Rampage’s brutal knockout punch against Wanderlei Silva, he stood face-to-face with his next opponent-to-be, Rashad Evans. The two were going back and forth with threats and descriptions of how they were going to destroy each other. Rampage looked at Evans in disgust, and his eyes penetrated Evan’s soul while he said, “I will knock you clean out.” It was shaping up to be an excellent event and it would be a fantastic match-up.

They were scheduled to fight at UFC 107. For the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter, the two were chosen as coaches. On the show Rampage and Rashad would constantly jabber about each other’s weaknesses and juvenilely insult one another. For instance, one episode included Rampage’s rant about how Rashad had bad breath. Regardless, the hype was building up and my anticipation was growing exponentially. Unfortunately, the hype is always greater than the actual event, or in this case, no event at all.

I have heard rumors about Rampage and Rashad fighting at UFC 114, but I don’t know what to believe anymore. My mind is telling me no, but my body is telling me yes.

Machida vs. Shogun Rematch

Ding-ding! The relieving sound signaling the end of a grueling match up between two worthy fighters. The announcer stands in the middle of the ring with the final decision, “After five competitive rounds of mixed martial arts, the judges have come to a decision (rips open the envelope) and the winner of the light heavy weight championship fight by unanimous decision is, Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida!” The crowd goes silent, was there a mistake, did the announcer read the card right?

These were the emotions felt by many viewers and UFC president, Dana White, after the light heavy weight championship fight between Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 104 in Los Angeles, California on October 24, 2009. This outraged fans, they felt that the result was a sham and Lyoto was victorious because of his stature and fighting prestige. The judges were viewed as biased because they scored the fight based on their fight predictions, but not what actually occurred. Infuriated, President Dana White did something that he has never done before; he scheduled an immediate rematch set for May 1, 2010 in Montreal, Canada.

As you know, Lyoto is my favorite fighter and I do believe that he won, and to his credit each judge scored the bout the same (48-47). So when I first heard the news of the rematch my emotions resembled a schoolgirl’s going to see The Jonas Brothers in concert. My fellow avid UFC watching friends and I discussed that this is an event that we cannot miss. With some basic planning and the nod from out parents, we are set to witness history. May 1, 2010 marks the day that I, Zachary Harrison Hurwitz, will leave New Jersey a boy and will return, a man (I might get my first chest hair!).

I look forward to sharing details about the fight with my followers after I return from the greatest trip ever.

Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida

As an avid UFC viewer and practitioner, I have taken a liking to one mixed martial artist in particular, Lyoto, The Dragon, Machida. Lyoto is a Brazilian Jujitsu black belt along with a third degree black belt in Shotokan karate. Machida is currently the UFC light heavy weight champion and with a perfect MMA record of 16-0, I think that he is unstoppable.

This fighter is best described by one word, unorthodox. Lyoto’s background in Shotokan teaches him to fight unconventionally utilizing a very wide stance allowing him to be fast, elusive and able to deliver a flurry of powerful strikes. Prior to his most recent win against Shogun Rua, Machida averaged being hit an astonishingly low number of roughly 1.5 times per round. Machida demonstrated these technical striking skills in UFC 98 when he stripped Rashad Evans of his light heavy weight belt and knocked him out cold with a barrage of facial and body combinations. In addition to his use of Shotokan and Jujitsu, Machida’s repertoire consists of Wrestling and Sumo. These styles allow him to escape potential danger, and also to manipulate his opponent into positions for submission. Not only are Lyoto’s fighting methods very interesting, so are his pre-fight rituals.

He starts out with meditation to ironically make his soul, body and mind at rest. Machida clears his mind and his thoughts to achieve ultimate peace and serenity. In addition to cleansing his spirit, The Dragon spends an immense amount of time envisioning his opponent, imagining him, and defeating him. He questions, “How can I finish this fight?”

Lyoto, The Dragon, Machida is a huge inspiration to me not only as a fighter, but also as a role model. He achieved his dream of becoming the best fighter in his division through hard work and perseverance, advice all of our parents stress but not all of us heed. To grow up to be half the fighter and man he is would be a tremendous honor and privilege.

MMA- The Greatest Sport

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is an up-and-coming sport that is taking the world by storm. The practice was revolutionized in 1993 when the Ultimate Fighting Championship, commonly known as the UFC, turned the art into an international televised sport. Although the UFC has only been operating for 16 years, the organization has already created intense battles, heated rivalries and long awaited rematches.

I really began to watch MMA in the spring of 2009 in UFC 98 where Rashad Evans lost the light heavyweight belt to my favorite fighter, Lyoto Machida. Ever since that fight I have been addicted to the league and sport. My day now consists of school, food, lifting and watching UFC. I tune in to Spike all the time to watch either UFC unleashed, UFC ultimate knockouts or The Ultimate Fighter. I cannot get enough of the stuff; UFC is to me like Days of Our Lives is to my mom. However, after an entire summer of watching the sport I wanted to stop being a poser and start actually training and dabbling with the art.

I’ve been around the block, I’ve thrown a football and shot a basketball but nothing compares to my favorite sport MMA. Although I am relatively new to the sport, I am learning quickly. In September of 2009 I drove to where my old Karate studio used to be to see if classes were still being taught. To my surprise and enjoyment, it had been changed into a full-fledged MMA center entitled, The Underground Fight Club.

I now go every Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday. This “fight club” specializes in Muay Thai and grappling. Muay Thai is the art of striking and it views the body as having eight limbs: two arms, two legs, two knees and two elbows. If you really don't like your opponent, a Muay Thai knee to the face should do the trick. Grappling is dealing with more ground wrestling and Jiujitsu practices. It also incorporates submissions, such as rear naked chokes, arm bars, leg locks, triangles, arm triangles, guillotines and other ways to make the pain for your opponent so bad they are forced to give up and tap out. It is a great way to stay in shape and learn a fantastic sport. I strongly recommend MMA to anyone who enjoys having fun and learning to fight.

Georges St-Pierre vs. Dan Hardy

One of the UFC’s greatest fighters, George St. Pierre (28) also known as GSP and Rush, is the current UFC Welterweight champion. He is an explosive black belt in both Brazilian Jujitsu and Kyokushin karate. Known for his brutal head and body kicks, GSP is questionably the greatest welterweight fighter in the UFC’s 17 years of operation. With his most recent victory over Thiago Alves, along with two other title defenses, GSP is looking to be one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters ever. Is there anyone who can stand in his way of infamy?

Dan, The Outlaw, Hardy has been fighting in MMA professionally since his debut loss via rear naked choke in “Extreme Brawl 7” on June 6, 2004. He avenged this loss two months later against Paul Jenkins in MMA event “Full Contact Fight Night 2” via majority decision. He currently holds a record of 24-7 and holds a perfect record of 4-0 in the UFC. To the MMA world he has apparently proved himself worthy of a title fight against my favorite welterweight fighter, GSP.

Ok, I personally cannot stand Dan Hardy. His ego is eclipsing his potential talent and I pray the GSP will knock him out with one of his brain rattling head kicks. Dan Hardy is currently the Cage Warrior welterweight champion, congratulations that’s the equivalence of the skinniest person on the Jenny Craig diet. Dan Hardy might think that he is a true contender and possibly the next champion, but he has yet to see what the UFC competition is really like. His only UFC fights consist of a couple of wash ups and two inexperienced fighters.

My prediction for this fight is that Rush will destroy the so called “Outlaw” and mangle his face to a point of it being unrecognizable. Get ready Dan Hardy I know GSP is.