On 9/19/11, I wrote this “Keep an Eye Out For…” article:

“[#35FW] Daniel Pineda (14 – 7 – 0) has rattled off 4 stoppage wins, after losing via kneebar to [*] Chas Skelly (7 – 0 – 0) at Bellator 19 in May 2010.  These wins include

• 1st round rear naked choke on lightweight [*] Reynaldo Trujillo (8 – 7 – 0) in July 2010
• 1st round heel hook on lightweight prospect [#332LW] Levi Forrest (6 – 1 – 0) in January 2011
• KO in under 1:00 of the 1st round over lightweight [*] Ray Blodgett (5 – 1 – 0) in April 2011
• 3rd round rear naked choke on WEC veteran [#141FW] Frank Gomez (10 – 4 – 0) in July 2011.

Pineda has won every one of his victories via stoppage, and he has only gone to a decision once in his career.  These aren’t 0-1 fighters he is beating, they are legit prospects and tough veterans.  At 26 years old, the Houston, Texas native has a lot of time to hone his skills and make it to the big show.”

Pineda is now ranked [#40FW] and sports a (15 – 7 – 0) record with a 5th stoppage win in a row in December 2011 over featherweight [*] Gilbert Jiminez (5 – 4 – 1).  He will be making his UFC debut this friday at UFC on FX 1 against undefeated St. Paul, Minnesota fighter [#227FW] Pat Schilling (5 – 0 – 0).  Pineda has the edge in experience, but Schilling is a finisher.  In fact, 4 of Schilling’s 5 wins come by way of submission, while Pineda has lost 6 times by submission.  With both of these guys being relatively unknown to the general UFC audience at this point, this could be either fighter’s coming out party.

Twitter – @Jonathan_Grand

On 10/17/11, I wrote this “Keep an Eye Out For…” article:

[#48HW] Edinaldo Oliveira (12 – 0 – 1) has yet to taste defeat.  At 6’7″ and 238lbs, he is a very lanky fighter that has used his reach to secure 7 (T)KOs and 2 submissions out of his 12 victories.  In the past 17 months, Oliveira has amassed a formidable list of victories over Brazilian heavyweights.  The most notable victories in this time span are:

• 1st round TKO over [#151HW] Jair Goncalves (9 – 4 – 0) in September 2011
• 3rd round unanimous decision over [#167HW] Ubiratan Marinho Lima (13 – 6 – 0)  in July 2011
• 2nd round TKO over [#230HW] Edson Franca (13 – 6 – 0) in May 2011
• 1st round TKO over [#192HW] Geronimo dos Santos (24 – 13 – 0) in December 2010
• 5th round unanimous decision over the one man to defeat [#3HW] Junior dos Santos, [#139HW] Joaquim Ferreira (11 – 6 – 0)  in May 2010

Oliveira’s nickname is “Lula Molusco” or “Squidward” in English, due to his rangy physique.  If he were so inclined, Oliveira could possibly fight at 205lbs.  It would be interesting to see how Lula Molusco would fare against greater competition on bigger shows.  Here’s to hoping we get the opportunity.

On 11/16/11, BloodyElbow.com reported that Oliveira, now (13-0-1) and ranked at [#46HW], will make his UFC debut at UFC 142 in Rio.  He will be facing British heavyweight [#82HW] Rob Broughton (15 – 7 – 1).  Both these fighters are meeting at a veritable crossroads in their respective careers.  It will be an interesting bout; one which will indicate where each fighter belongs in the UFC at this point.

Twitter – @Jonathan_Grand

[#48HW] Edinaldo Oliveira (12 – 0 – 1) has yet to taste defeat.  At 6’7″ and 238lbs, he is a very lanky fighter that has used his reach to secure 7 (T)KOs and 2 submissions out of his 12 victories.  In the past 17 months, Oliveira has amassed a formidable list of victories over Brazilian heavyweights.  The most notable victories in this time span are:

• 1st round TKO over [#151HW] Jair Goncalves (9 – 4 – 0) in September 2011
• 3rd round unanimous decision over [#167HW] Ubiratan Marinho Lima (13 – 6 – 0)  in July 2011
• 2nd round TKO over [#230HW] Edson Franca (13 – 6 – 0) in May 2011
• 1st round TKO over [#192HW] Geronimo dos Santos (24 – 13 – 0) in December 2010
• 5th round unanimous decision over the one man to defeat [#3HW] Junior dos Santos, [#139HW] Joaquim Ferreira (11 – 6 – 0)  in May 2010

Oliveira’s nickname is “Lula Molusco” or “Squidward” in English, due to his rangy physique.  If he were so inclined, Oliveira could possibly fight at 205lbs.  It would be interesting to see how Lula Molusco would fare against greater competition on bigger shows.  Here’s to hoping we get the opportunity.

With M-1 heavyweight champ [#51] Guram Gugenishvili injured for a second consecutive fight, Maxim Grishin steps in to take his place against Kenny Garner.  Both men have lost to Gugenishvili via choke.

M-1 Challenge 27 – Garner vs. Grishin
October 14, 2011
Grand Canyon University Arena,
Phoenix, Arizona, United States

M-1 Interim Heavyweight Championship

Heavyweight (265 lbs)
[#81] Maxim Grishin (11 – 5 – 0) vs. [#94] Kenny Garner (7 – 3 – 0)

M-1 Light Heavyweight Championship

Light Heavyweight (205 lbs)
[#65] Vinny Magalhaes (8 – 5 – 0) vs. [#80] Mikhail Zayats (14 – 5 – 0)

Middleweight (185 lbs)
[#87] Eddie Arizmendi (15 – 4 – 0) vs. [#275] Arthur Guseinov (8 – 2 – 0)

Welterweight (170 lbs)
[#190] Tom Gallicchio (16 – 6 – 0) vs. [*] Daniel Madrid (6 – 2 – 0)

Welterweight (170 lbs)
[#97] Yasubey Enomoto (7 – 3 – 0) vs. [*] Joshua Thorpe (10 – 5 – 0)

Most of the regional MMA shows going on tonight:

Free Fight GP – Night of the Gladiators 6
October 1, 2011
Dubrovnik, Croatia

Heavyweight (265 lbs)
[#33] Jeff Monson (42 – 12 – 0) vs. [#72] Maro Perak (20 – 3 – 1)

Fight for Wrestling 4
October 1, 2011
Alex Madonna Expo Center,
San Luis Obispo, California, United States

Middleweight (185 lbs)
[#103] Anthony Ruiz (26 – 16 – 0) vs. [*] Mike Moreno (5 – 4 – 0)

Welterweight (170 lbs)
[#303] Preston Scharf (12 – 12 – 0) vs. [*] Josh Thornburg (7 – 4 – 0)

Lightweight (155 lbs)
[#415] Cruz Gomez (14 – 9 – 0) vs. [*] Darren Crisp Jr. (7 – 6 – 0)

[#87MW] Eddie Arizmendi (15 – 4 – 0) is on a 9 fight win streak (7 by stoppage). Not all of his victories have been over fighters with great records; however, 2 that stand out in this current streak are:

• 2nd round KO via punch over rising middleweight [#120MW] Jason Norwood (11 – 3 – 0) in July 2011
• 3rd round unanimous decision over [#64WW] David Hulett (18 – 9 – 0)  in September 2009

Out of Arizmendi’s 15 victories, only 2 have gone to a decision.  In fact, 17 of his 19 professional bouts have been stoppages.  Arizmendi last lost in June 2008 to UFC fighter [#109WW] Seth Baczynski (14 – 6 – 0) via 2nd round submission (triangle choke). The 25 year old Tuscon, Arizona native will attempt to extend his win streak to 10 when he faces [#272MW] Arthur Guseinov (8 – 2 – 0) on October 14th at M-1 Challenge 27.

[#55LW] Alexander Sarnavskiy (15 – 0 – 0) is one of the hottest young prospects developing in Russia.  Sarnavskiy, 22, has already racked up 15 consecutive wins (since his pro debut in December 2008).  In 2011 alone, Sarnavskiy has won 3 bouts with choke based submissions.  Within the last year, his victories include:

• 1st round rear naked choke on lightweight [*] Marcio Cesar (14 – 6 – 1) in August 2011
• 1st round triangle choke on featherweight [#114FW] Douglas Evans (13 – 9 – 0)  in May 2011
• 2nd round rear naked choke over lightweight [#314LW] Beau Baker (8 – 5 – 0) in March 2011
• Rear naked choke in 0:43 of round 1 over lightweight [*] Arsen Ubaidulaev (8 – 4 – 0) in December 2010.
• TKO via spinning back fish and punches in 0:14 of round 1 over [*] Victor Kuku (8 – 8 – 1) in October 2010.

Sarnavskiy is a definite finisher, going to the cards only twice in 15 starts.  Currently toiling on the Russian MMA scene, it is time for Sarnavskiy to come to the U.S. and ply his trade against higher caliber opponents.  Can he continue his winning ways against tougher competition?

UFC 135 – Jones vs. Rampage
September 24, 2011
Pepsi Center,
Denver, Colorado, United States

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship

Light Heavyweight (205 lbs)
[#1/#7DD] up 0/3 to [#1/#4DD] Jon Jones (14-1-0) def. [#4] down 1 to [#5] Quinton Jackson (32-9-0) via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) in 1:14 of round 4.

Jon Jones is the All-Time #17 ranked Light Heavyweight fighter.
Quinton Jackson is the All-Time #1 ranked Light Heavyweight and #11 ranked Absolute fighter.

Last 3 Fights (prior to tonight’s bout): Jon Jones (3-0-0)
2011-03-19: W vs. [#2LHW/#10DD] Mauricio Rua (20-5-0) via TKO (Punches and Knees) in 2:37 of round 3
2011-02-05: W vs. [#18LHW] Ryan Bader (12-2-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 4:20 of round 2
2010-08-01: W vs. [#22LHW] Vladimir Matyushenko (26-5-0) via TKO (Elbows) in 1:52 of round 1

Last 3 Fights (prior to tonight’s bout): Quinton Jackson (2-1-0)
2011-05-28: W vs. [#20LHW] Matt Hamill (10-4-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2010-11-20: W vs. [#5LHW] Lyoto Machida (17-2-0) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
2010-05-29: L vs. [#3LHW] Rashad Evans (19-1-1) via UD (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Welterweight (170 lbs)
[#8] up 1 to [#7] Josh Koscheck (16-5-0) def. [#17] down 6 to [#23] Matt Hughes (45-9-0) via KO (Punches) in 4:59 of round 1

Matt Hughes is the All-Time #2 ranked Welterweight and #4 ranked Absolute fighter.
Josh Koscheck is the All-Time #7 ranked Welterweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights (prior to tonight’s bout): Josh Koscheck (2-1-0)
2010-12-11: L vs. [#1WW/#2DD] Georges St. Pierre (22-2-0) via UD (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
2010-05-08: W vs. [#23MW] Paul Daley (28-11-2) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2009-11-21: W vs. [#21WW] Anthony Johnson (9-3-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:47 of round 2

Last 3 Fights (prior to tonight’s bout): Matt Hughes (2-1-0)
2010-11-20: L vs. [#6WW] B.J. Penn (16-7-2) via KO (Punches) in 0:21 of round 1
2010-08-07: W vs. [#28WW] Ricardo Almeida (13-5-0) via Technical Submission (Anaconda Choke) in 3:15 of round 1
2010-04-10: W vs. [*] Renzo Gracie (13-7-1) via TKO (Punches) in 4:40 of round 3

Heavyweight (265 lbs)
[#21] up 4 to [#17] Travis Browne (12-0-1) def. [#51] down 19 to [#70] Rob Broughton (15-6-1) via UD

Last 3 Fights (prior to tonight’s bout): Travis Browne (2-0-1)
2011-05-28: W vs. [#48HW+] Stefan Struve (21-5-0) via KO (Punch) in 4:11 of round 1
2010-10-16: D vs. [#14HW+] Cheick Kongo (16-6-2) via Draw in 5:00 of round 3
2010-06-19: W vs. [#100HW+] James McSweeney (6-8-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:32 of round 1

Last 3 Fights (prior to tonight’s bout): Rob Broughton (3-0-0)
2010-10-16: W vs. [#328HW+] Vinicius Kappke de Queiroz (5-2-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 1:43 of round 3
2010-01-30: W vs. [#146HW+] Oli Thompson (9-2-0) via UD ()
2010-01-30: W vs. [#103HW+] James Thompson (16-14-0) via KO (Punch) in 2:28 of round 2

Bristol, England pugilist Alex Owen (19 – 1 – 0) (last ranking [#52FW] in July 2008) was going somewhere in MMA.  From 2002 to 2007, Owen tore through the British featherweight ranks, scoring victories over top fighters such as [#50BW] Paul McVeigh (18 – 6 – 0) and WEC veteran [#27BW] Brad Pickett (20 – 5 – 0).

By then he was 19-0, 14 of those wins coming by stoppage.  However, following his first loss to [*] Emmanuel Fernandez (9 – 4 – 1) (another talented yet inexplicably inactive fighter), everything changed.  An excerpt from an article written by Chris Cork on mmahitpit.com gives some details on the situation:

“…Like most British fighters, Owen trained and competed part-time while holding down a full-time day job.    For the past eight-and-a-half years he has paid the bills serving as a Police Constable with Avon & Somerset Constabulary – a job which permitted him to fight professional MMA.  That was until July 2007 when, following a loss to Emmanuel Fernandez, Owen was told he would no longer be allowed to fight…”

Owen has not fought since.

Fighters who have the luxury to train full-time should feel fortunate. A story like this illustrates the harsh reality that only a select few will be truly successful in the fight game.  If a talent like Alex Owen could be forced to leave the sport he loved (and did remarkably well in) due to financial issues, then it could happen to any fighter.  We can hope that as MMA continues to grow as a global sport, less and less talented fighters will have to suffer similar fates as Owen.

At the end of the article, Owen talks about his possible return to the cage, but unfortunately the article was written in May 2010.  Perhaps (and hopefully) we have not seen the last of Alex Owen in MMA.

Full Article:  http://www.mmahitpit.com/news/alexowenonhiswayback

[#35FW] Daniel Pineda (14 – 7 – 0) has rattled off 4 stoppage wins, after losing via kneebar to [*] Chas Skelly (7 – 0 – 0) at Bellator 19 in May 2010.  These wins include

• 1st round rear naked choke on lightweight [*] Reynaldo Trujillo (8 – 7 – 0) in July 2010
• 1st round heel hook on lightweight prospect [#332LW] Levi Forrest (6 – 1 – 0)  in January 2011
• KO in under 1:00 of the 1st round over lightweight [*] Ray Blodgett (5 – 1 – 0) in April 2011
• 3rd round rear naked choke on WEC veteran [#141FW] Frank Gomez (10 – 4 – 0) in July 2011.

He has won every one of his victories via stoppage, and he has only gone to a decision once in his career.  These aren’t 0-1 fighters he is beating, they are legit prospects and tough veterans.  At 26 years old, the Houston, Texas native has a lot of time to hone his skills and make it to the big show.

Middleweight (185)
[#24] Alexander Shlemenko (40-7-0, 185.5lb) vs. [#141] Zelg Galesic (10-5-0, 184.5lb)

Last 3 Fights: Alexander Shlemenko (3-0-0)
2011-08-05: W vs. [#1083MW] Marcos Antonio Santana (10-5-0) via TKO (Punch) in 1:29 of round 1
2011-05-14: W vs. [#100MW] Brett Cooper (13-7-0) via UD (30-27, 30-28, 29-28)
2011-03-12: W vs. [#181LHW] Nick Wagner (7-3-0) via KO (Punch) in 3:13 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Zelg Galesic (1-2-0)
2011-03-05: W vs. [#528MW] Lee Chadwick (10-9-1) via KO (Punch) in 2:40 of round 1
2009-10-25: L vs. [#182WW] Kazushi Sakuraba (26-15-1) via Submission (Kneebar) in 1:40 of round 1
2008-09-23: L vs. [#13MW] Ronaldo Souza (14-3-0) via Submission (Armbar) in 1:27 of round 1

Middleweight (185)
[#30] Bryan Baker (15-2-0, 184.2lb) vs. [#83] Jared Hess (11-2-1, 185.5lb)

Last 3 Fights: Bryan Baker (2-1-0)
2011-05-07: W vs. [#122MW] Joe Riggs (34-14-0) via KO (Punch) in 3:53 of round 2
2010-09-23: W vs. [#54LHW] Jeremy Horn (88-21-5) via UD (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
2010-06-24: L vs. [#24MW] Alexander Shlemenko (40-7-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:45 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Jared Hess (2-1-0)
2011-04-23: W vs. [#412LHW] Chris Bell (11-4-0) via Submission (Triangle Choke) in 1:40 of round 1
2010-05-27: L vs. [#24MW] Alexander Shlemenko (40-7-0) via TKO (Knee Injury) in 2:20 of round 3
2010-04-29: W vs. [*] Ryan McGivern (13-7-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 1:54 of round 2

Middleweight (185)
[#97] Victor ODonnell (10-2-0, 185.5lb) vs. [#146] Brian Rogers (7-2-0, 185.5lb)

Last 3 Fights: Victor ODonnell (2-1-0)
2011-02-05: W vs. [#494MW] Andrew Riddles (5-1-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 2:40 of round 2
2010-12-10: W vs. [#265MW] Isaiah Larson (12-6-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2010-11-20: L vs. [#61LHW] Marcus Vanttinen (20-3-0) via UD ()

Last 3 Fights: Brian Rogers (3-0-0)
2011-03-05: W vs. [#644MW] Ian Rammel (4-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:23 of round 1
2011-01-15: W vs. [#381MW] Robert Conner (10-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:07 of round 1
2010-10-23: W vs. [#378MW] Marcus Reynolds (8-7-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:32 of round 1