Michael Bisping (ufcmedia.com)

Australia is currently the hotspot for MMA action, as we get ready for UFC 110, which will occur in Sydney. Highlighting the Main Card is the much anticipated Nogueira vs. Velasquez. However, there is another fight that may draw more attention.

Only separated by three years of age, middleweights Wanderlei Silva (33) and Michael Bisping (30) are more dramatically separated by eight years of professional experience. With his first professional bout in 1996, Silva has risen to become not only a great fighter at 32-10-1 (1 NC), but also a great leader and teacher, starting his own fight team (Wand) in Las Vegas, Nev.

Bisping, on the other hand, began his professional career in 2004 at Pride & Glory 2: Battle of the Ages, in which he won the fight in 0:38 with an armbar over Steve Matthews (2-4-0). Since then, Bisping has generated an 18-2 record – his only losses occurring within the past two years. He was undefeated with a record of 14-0 until a loss to Rashad Evans (14-1-1) in 2007 at UFC 78 on a split decision.

More recently, Bisping, also known as “The Count,” added his only other loss against United States wrestling specialist Dan Henderson. Prior to the fight, which occurred at UFC 100 in Las Vegas, Nev., Bisping and Henderson squared off in a different venue: The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom. Bisping coached the UK’s team, as he grew up in Clitheroe, Lancashire.

In a fight with implications of a shot at Anderson Silva for the Middleweight Championship Belt, Bisping looked to improve his record to 15-1 and contendership, but Henderson had other plans. In what seemed to be an evenly matched first round, both fighters exchanged blows using their hands and feet, which is not surprising, beings that Bisping’s style indicates a background in kickboxing, BJJ and Muay Thai.

By the end of the round, it was quite obvious that Wolfslair MMA Academy’s own, Bisping, was fatigued, and at 3:20 in the second round, after another match of punches and kicks from both fighters, Henderson landed two big punches to defeat Bisping via an absolutely ruthless knockout.

Bisping would rebound nicely, as he ventured off to his homeland of England where he would face off against Canadian BJJ specialist Denis Kang at UFC 105 in Manchester.

The fight would win Fight of the Night honors, and featured a much different Bisping. Contrary to Bisping’s prior fight, his opponent gained complete control of the first round, mounting Bisping twice in the early-going.

Bisping followed with a statement kick to the head, which grazed Kang, and then followed up with two of his own takedowns. After a few jabs and another takedown, Bisping mounted Kang and finished him off with punches and knees. The referee stopped the fight at 4:24 of the second round, declaring Bisping the winner by TKO.

So, will Silva’s quick and aggressive Muay Thai and BJJ style, paired with the extra eight years of professional experience, bode well for the 18-2 Bisping? Bisping certainly thinks so, especially after tweaking his defensive posture, according to an interview on Bisping’s website.

Bisping vs Silva (mmafight.com)

“I’ve been working a lot of my defense, obviously since the Dan Henderson fight,” he commented. “I had no choice. I got knocked out there, and I’m not in a rush for that to happen again. I’ve been working on my defense, and I’ve got no qualms standing with Wanderlei.”

UFC 110 will air on February 21, 2010, and we will find out if Bisping has what it takes to handle a veteran and rank among the top middleweights in the world.

Black House MMA is home to some of the most accomplished and promising fighters in all of MMA. Tough Media’s Ed Soares and Jorge Guimaraes founded the private facility, based out of Los Angeles, CA, in order to provide a place for the fighters they represent to train when in the area.

Tough Media is a management company headed by Soares and Guimaraes, co-owners and operators of Black House MMA.

Guimaraes and Soares are extremely influential and successful figures in the MMA world.  Guimaraes came to America with the Gracie family and quickly became an ambassador for the sport of MMA.   Guimaraes has worked with Pride and the UFC and in 1997 launched “Passing The Guard,” a show focused on MMA news and coverage: the first of its kind.  Soares, owner of Sinister Brand Clothing, joined Guimares to produce the show on American television in April of 2004.

Ed Soares and Anderson Silva

“Black House is not so much a team, but a facility for all the fighters,” said Ed Soares in a recent interview via telephone.  ”Each fighter has a different set of trainers, depending upon who they’re fighting next and their strategy.  Each fighter has a camp tailored to his needs.”

Black House hosts an impressive list of MMA superstars including, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, UFC light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Junior Dos Santos, Pedro Rizzo, Paulo Filho, Wagney Fabiano, Thales Leites, Diego Nunes, Chase Gormley, Andre Galvao, Fabricio Camoes, Glover Teixeira, Mario Miranda and Rafael Cavalcante.

Black House fighter and UFC heavyweight contender, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, has an upcoming match-up against Cain Velasquez on Feb. 21 in the main event of UFC 110. Nogueira left Brazilian Top Team to train with Black House in 2007 and has gone 3-1 in the UFC since.

Rodrigo Nogueria with trainer Luiz Alves

Nogueira is currently training in San Diego with training partners Mark Munoz and Junior Dos Santos, according to Soares. Nogueira is working with his boxing coach Luiz Dorea and his new muay tai coach Billy Schiebe in preparation for the fight.

Nogueira’s regular muay tai coach since 2000, Luiz Alves, suffered a stroke and crashed his car into a post in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on Jan. 26. Alves, president of the Brazilian Muay Thai Federation, remains hospitalized. The accident marks a huge blow to Nogueira’s camp.

Dominant UFC middleweight champion and arguably the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Anderson Silva, is in preparation for his main event title defense against Vitor Belfort on Apr. 10 at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. Silva is currently training with coach Josuel Distak, a former trainer of Belfort, for his upcoming fight, according to Soares.

Anderson Silva's Training Crew

Silva is working with his muay thai coach Daniel Woirin, stregnth and conditioning coach Rogerio Camoes and boxing coach Cesario in preparation for the fight. He often works on his boxing with legendary trainer Freddie Roach as well.

Silva is working with his training partners, Andre Galvao, Rafael Cavalcante and Ronaldo Souza. Silva and Nogueira often train together as well.

“It’s not so much the coaches. It’s the group of people he trains with. Anderson is different. He puts on a good camp,” said Soares.

Mark “The Hammer” Coleman’s Team Hammer House has fallen on hard times as of late.  However, Coleman hopes to turn the trend around as he meets another MMA great and fellow UFC Hall of Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture this weekend at UFC 109 Relentless.

Team Hammer House is a MMA team operating out of Columbus, Ohio, focused on amateur wrestling, and made up of mostly former NCAA wrestlers.  The team has cross training deals with notable fighters and camps such as Matt Serra, Pat Miletich, and Xtreme Couture MMA.

The main strengths of Team Hammer House are its wrestling and ground-and-pound.  Coleman is credited with being one of the first American MMA fighters to successfully use the strategy of ground-and-pound, which has earned him the nickname of the “Godfather of Ground-and-Pound.”

Coleman, the founder of Team Hammer House, holds numerous accomplishments in the world of professional MMA.  He is a UFC Hall of Famer, the first ever UFC heavyweight champion, and the winner of the UFC 10 tournament, UFC 11 tournament, and 2000 Pride openweight GP tournament.  Coleman, like many of his teammates at Hammer House, is a former NCAA collegiate wrestler.

Team Hammer House holds a roster with several prominent fighters, including four UFC veterans: two of whom are former UFC champions. The team’s notable fighters include: Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Wes Sims and Branden Lee Hinkle.  Phil Baroni, a UFC, Pride and Strikeforce veteran, is a former member of Team Hammer House.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman is a senior member of  Team Hammer House. Randleman, a former collegiate wrestler and two time Division I NCAA champion, was defeated by Mike Whitehead via unanimous decision in June of 2009 during his Strikeforce debut at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields.  The fight marked his first fight in over a year due to a shoulder injury, as well as his first fight in America in nearly seven years.  In his most recent fight Randleman was defeated by Stanislav Nedkov via split decision at World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 11.

Wes Sims, three-fight UFC veteran  and The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights cast member, recently fought Bobby Lashley on the main card of Strikeforce: Miami. Sims was stopped in the first round via technical knock out (2:06).

Branden Lee Hinkle, three-fight UFC veteran and NCAA Division II national wrestling champion, was stopped by Chris Tuchscherer in round 4 (4:43) of his most recent fight at SNMMA: Beatdown at Four Bears. Hinkle has lost four of his last five fights after going undefeated in his previous nine matches.

Coleman scored a unanimous decision victory over Stephan Bonner in his last fight at UFC 100 after falling to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua via technical knock out in the third round (4:36) at UFC93.  He is currently training with Team Hammer House in preparation for his match with Randy Couture this Saturday Feb. 6 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV.

Live pay-per-view coverage of UFC 109 will begin at 10 p.m. EST.

Strikeforce: Miami saw a nice reception in the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla. The Showtime spectacular featured many up-and-coming fighters, but one team, and one particular fighter, is standing out.

Rated as the number one grappling competition team in Florida since 2000, and, according to UFC commentator Joe Rogan, “the best MMA camp in the country,” American Top Team (ATT) continues to grow.

American Top Team Facilities

With a headquarters in Coconut Creek, Fla., ATT has over 1,000 members, including names like Jorge Santiago, Hector Lombard, Kimbo Slice, Mike Brown and former professional wrestler, Bobby Lashley. To top it all off, the team is built around a core group of instructors with impressive resumes – a defining factor in the notoriety and credibility of ATT.

Founded by former Brazilian Top Team members Ricardo Liborio and Marcus Silveira, and financed/oversaw by Dan Lambert (a hotel executive), ATT built a 20,000-foot headquarters, and has expanded to 20 franchises and affiliate gyms. Liborio, a NAGA Grappling hall-of-famer, remains the Head Instructor. He is backed by 1976 Olympic Gold Medal boxer, Howard Davis Jr. (Head Boxing Coach), Strength and Conditioning coach Stefane Davis, who has a masters degree in Strength and Conditioning Preparation of Elite Athletes, and BJJ instructors Jonatas Gurgel and Marcos Da Matta.

Da Matta, along with Lashley and two other competitors were recently sent to Strikeforce: Miami to compete.

In the undercard, two welterweights from ATT competed, splitting 1-1. Sabah Homasi (2-1-0) was defeated for the first time by John Kelly via submission on a rear naked choke in the second round (2:48).

Also in welterweight action was Hayder Hassan (3-1-0), who handed Ryan Keenan his first professional loss with a technical knockout in the second round (2:42). All three of Hassan’s victories have come by technical knockout, showing his fine ability to pummel his opponents with his hands.

In featherweight action, Da Matta, who was undefeated prior to the event, fell to Pablo Alfonso, submitting to a straight armbar in the first round (1:47). Da Matta was able to bring the fight to the ground, but was quickly put in the defensive, where Alfonso moved from a guillotine choke to the armbar that decided Da Matta’s fate.

Finally, and most notably, Bobby Lashley competed in the heavyweight main card event, squaring off against Wes Sims, who was most recently featured on the television series The Ultimate Fighter. Lashley (5-0) remains undefeated after taking Sims out with a technical knockout in the first round (2:06). The fight was stopped after Lashley put Sims in the defensive and delivered a round of blows.

U of Combat will surely be following ATT competitors very closely in the coming months, as they are proving to be among some of the elite in the nation. You can visit their website by clicking here.

Forrest Griffin started as a fighter and law enforcement officer outside Augusta, Georgia during his college years.  After some time, and some success, he quit his job as a law enforcer to pursue a professional career in Mixed Martial Arts.  Who would have though that a college degree, a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and years of experience would result in him pursuing his dreams? Well, isn’t that hows it’s supposed to work?

Griffin, known best for winning The Ultimate Fighter 1, has since progressed into a 17-6 fighter.  He trains and instructs at the Warrior Training Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.  There, he works with Ricardo Cavalcanti, Rick Davis and Norm Turner to train and help train fighters like Heath Herring, Bryan Humes, John Wood and Brandon Sene.

Griffin strives to improve his fight, having faced Tito Ortiz for the second time just this past Saturday.  This time, unlike the first, he walked out of the Octagon victorious.  Griffin fought smart enough to earn another split decision but with his name as the victor in 2009.

Even though he trains and instructs, he’s had his fair share of defeats.  Most recently, he was knocked out by Anderson Silva in August 2009 in Philadelphia, PA at UFC 101: Declaration.  Griffin was out of the Octagon before the referees could even raise Silva’s hand.  Since then, he has not mentioned the fight other than to say he was not with it that day.

He also lost a controversial match against Ortiz in 2006.  Though he lost the decision, he won over many fans for being able to withstand any punch Ortiz threw at him.

Griffin was also featured as a coach in The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest which aired in 2008 where he coached Luke Zachrich and Nick Klein among others.

In an article published by Brett Okamoto in the Las Vegas Sun, Griffin displayed his true colors.  A fighter and instructor by day, Griffin moonlights as a regular comedian.  Okamoto opened with “In even the shortest of conversations, it’s a safe bet that Griffin will stray completely off topic, make fun of himself and others, and crack at least one joke that no one knows is a joke and, therefore, doesn’t laugh at.”

I guess some guys just get it all; the fight, the gym and a sense of humor.

The Arena: San Diego’s premium mixed-martial arts gym. Training fighters all over the nation in boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, wrestling and of course, MMA. The victorious fighter in the video above, Pat Speight, may look scrawny, but the Arena has taught him well. I mean, just look at how he man-handles Ishmael Gonzalez in just three minutes!

The Arena stays away from traditional classes such as cardio and strength training. Instead, the gym hones fighting skill, both mentally and physically. The result: a cardio-infused, strength-training based, no-holds barred selection of classes to not only keep fighters in shape, but to shape the fighters into warriors.

The Arena needs no publicity; the greatest fighters in the world know all about it. It was, however, given plenty of spotlight recently thanks to a little event called UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez. The Sanchez in that title is one of the Arena’s best known fighters, and as a result, the Countdown show for UFC 107 went to San Diego to go behind the scenes and learn more about Sanchez’s training and coaching. The traditional preview show will debut the second week of December, so keep an eye on Spike TV or good ol’ Youtube.

The gym is home to many famous Californians and MMA fighters, including Jiu Jitsu master Rani Yahya, 6x Jiu Jitsu World Champion Saulo Ribeiro, UFC 107 headliner Diego Sanchez, boxing phenom KJ Noons, and the submission-favoring Fabricio Camoes.

Of course, you probably won’t find one of San Diego’s most well-known residents, anchorman Ron Burgundy, working out there. He’s a little bit busy it seems…

Ever wonder what gym Fedor Emelianenko calls home?  Based out of St. Petersburg, Russia, Emieianenko, his brothers Aleksander and Ivan, his childhood coaches Vladimir Voronov, and Aleksander Michkov, and many other Strikeforce favorites call Red Devil Sport Club home.

Red Devil Sport Club began as a Combat Sambo training ground and as recently as the union of Red Devil and the Emelianenkos in 2005 has migrated with quick succession in the direction of mixed martial arts.  Most of the athletes are Russian or Armenian and train in a variety of specialties ranging from Sambo to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to Muay Thai to MMA.  Founded by Vadim Finkelstein, also the creator of M-1 Global, an MMA promotion naming stars such as Arman Gambaryan and Ibragim Magomedov.

With the strength of F. Emelianenko and currently the rise in fame of his brothers, many MMA stronghands (Victor Nemkov (below) and Aleksander Garkushenko, for example) were drawn to train at the Red Devil.  The team has created a strong name for itself by consistently performing as one of the top MMA teams in Russia since the start of M-1.

For spiritual reasons, F. Emelianenko requested that the Red Devil Team be referred to as the Imperial Team.  The name stuck around after due to Emelianenko’s excessive fame.  He is easily considered the top MMA artist in the sport.

In 2009, A. Emelianenko left Red Devil with little to no explanation but continues to practice with is brothers, coaches, and family friends.

As 2008 M-1 Challenge Champions, Imperial Team entered the 2009 challenge looking for success.  They came up short, failing to win the competition this year, largely due to the constant change in fighters.  Imperial Team often encourages newer fighter to be entered into the fight so that they may gain experience.  While this is a kind gesture and good training strategy for the athletes, it is not helping the team overall.  The team will be looking to reclaim their title in 2010.

Danny Castillo vs. Shane Roller

Shane Roller – Strong wrestling, though did get taken down. Favors the guillotine. During the striking, he had a tendancy to turn his face away from the opponent while covering up for a jab cross, leaving him blind for a 3rd or 4th strike. Managed to survive a mount, and get the choke for the win.

Danny Castillo – Strong punches, especially his straight punches. Tends to loop his hooks a little bit, and square his hips, leaving him open to strikes, especially to the body. Showed strong takedown defense against the accomplished roller, but couldn’t hold off for three rounds, and though gaining the mount once, was eventually the victim of the battle for position, and gave up the rear naked choke.

Roller By Submission in the 3rd
Submission: Rear Naked Choke
Position: Rear Mount

Some called him The Croatian Sensation. Most knew him as a UFC regular. Still others know him as…a trainer?? AND he’s trained fighting greats such as former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia and former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver?! Who is this guy?

Pat Miletich was born in Davenport, Iowa. He grew up wrestling (greatness scouted him early: he shared the high school wrestling mat with future MMA phenom Mark Kerr) and playing football. After a few years, Miletich began MMA training at age 26. He brought his knowledge of wrestling with him, but took up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Miletich won his first 15 fights as an MMA fighter, then in 1998 lit his UFC torch and, with a handful of TKOs and submissions, introduced the world to “The Croatian Sensation.”

Miletich ended his career in the UFC with a loss, and after two comebacks (a 2006 loss and a 2008 win, bringing his record to 29-7-2), he decided to indefinitley hang up his gloves. Miletich was far from being on the outskirs of MMA Land, however; he had a little idea back in 1997 that had grown into one of the most successful training programs in the world by the time he was done fighting.

Miletich Fighting Systems had grown from an idea to a wildly popular training organization that Miletich founded around the time he began his UFC career. The training is specialized from person to person, and there are ten locations scattered all over North America. So, it seems our dear friend Pat is still very much involved in the world of mixed-martial arts and intends to be for a while. He is known anywhere there is an MMA fight as either a brilliant fighter or a brilliant coach. Training an almost endless list of fighters with MFS who have gone on to become champions is certainly something to be proud of.

Miletich went from being a great fighter to a great cornerman who created a world-renowned training org.  And about his future in the UFC? Will there will be another comeback? Well, you’ll just have to watch the video below to see.

It’s Fall, and that means it’s MMA season. New UFCs on Pay-Per-View, new episodes of The Ultimate Fighter and new regional tournaments. OK, I guess you could argue that every season is MMA season. But that’s no excuse for not checking out Lancaster, Pennsylvania for the latest talent showcasing: The Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge III.

The Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square will play host to a 16-bout fight card featuring local amateur and professional fighters duking it out in what has become a standard MMA battleground, a 20-foot hexagon cage. The action doesn’t stop at just plain old amateurs and local professionals though; the headlining fight marquees a rematch between Braden Bice and Randy Smith.

Bice, a 22-year-old from Mercer, PA took the first match between the two over two years ago, when they met for Battle Cage Xtreme II. A two-minute TKO/referee stoppage gave Bice the glory he yearned for. Life for Bice wasn’t all potatoes and gravy after that, however. A mixture of wins and losses over the next two years gives him a 8-9-0 record, and he knows he’s got something to prove Saturday against Smith.

Smith, a 35-year-old out of New York, has found success after his loss on September 15, 2007 to Bice. He is 8-5-0, with six of those wins coming after the Battle Cage Xtreme II defeat. His wins mostly end in TKOs on strikes, and his plans for this rematch are sure to be similar to his recent past success.

Amateurs are fun to watch as well, and fighting-hopefuls can always pick up tips from peers and their duels. So come on out, enjoy a few fights and support your local fighters Saturday. I’ll even buy you a beer if I see you out. Maybe.