In what could be one of the final Podcasts (not sure if they are continuing into the summer yet), our MMA expert Kyle Norton joins me to discuss, what else, UFC 83 this weekend in Montreal. Not only do we break down the entire card (with a focus on Canadian content), but we look at the impact of this event on the Canadian MMA landscape and where George St. Pierre sits amid the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

It is up on a Wednesday so that you can use it to get sufficiently excited for the event, and, as now guaranteed, is under the 20 minute mark. And yes, I’ll be there live, and that’s real talk.

Guest: Kyle Norton
Topic: UFC 83

The On Deck Circle Podcast Volume 10

This article has been submitted by Kyle “Free Lunch” Norton and is a weekly feature here at The ODC.

UFC Fight Night 13 Recap
Kenny Florian put himself one step closer to getting back into title contention on April 2nd with a win over the always-tough Joe Lauzon. Florian looked polished and vicious at the same time, finishing the fight with strikes from the mount. It’s hard to say where Florian stands in the lightweight rankings in the UFC due to the sheer amount of talent. Also on the card, Nate Diaz submitted BJJ black belt Kurt Pellegrino with a picture perfect triangle choke and in true Diaz form, Nate flexed for the cameras before finishing the choke. James Irving caught Houston Alexander with a gorgeous superman punch just eight seconds into their bout to set a new UFC record for fastest knockout. Gray Maynard put on a wrestling clinic and showed some solid striking, defeating Frankie Edgar by decision and Thiago Alves finished Karo Parisyan in round two by what some are calling an early stoppage by referee Steve Mazzagatti.
More after the jump!

This article has been submitted by Kyle “The Anti-Virus” Norton and is the debut of a new series on non-UFC MMA promotions.

As any hardcore MMA fan remembers, one of the most popular topics of debate in Internet forums was the UFC vs. Pride debate. Who had better rules? Who had the best fighters? Who put on the best events? As Pride Fighting Championships approached the date of its American debut, Pride 32 – The Real Deal, on October 21, 2006, questions were raised as to whether Pride could contest the Ultimate Fighting Championships in North America. The event was a moderate success with an attendance of over 11,000 and 8,000 paid tickets. Pride then followed up with Pride 33 – The Second Coming on February 24, 2007, which was, again, only a moderate success with similar ticket sale numbers (although, in my opinion, Pride 33 was the most exciting event in the history of MMA). Shortly after the Second Coming, Pride was purchased by the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa, for a paltry (rumored) $70 million. Pride FC was stripped of its fighters and summarily disbanded, leaving the world with only one major MMA power, the UFC.

The UFC retained their stranglehold on the MMA industry for the better part of 2007 but in recent months, new competitors have arisen and some are showing promise while others are not. This series of articles will examine the other big players in the MMA industry, discerning who are the contenders, the pretenders and even the dark horses. Today, I look at Elite XC.
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This article has been submitted by “The Anti-Virus” Kyle Norton.April 2nd will mark the thirteenth iteration of UFC Fight Night on Spike TV, headlined by a duel between fighters with two of the worst nicknames in the business, Kenny “Ken-Flo” Florian and Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon. This will be the UFC’s first trip to the state of Colorado since the Zuffa take over, being broadcast live from the Broomfield Event Center in Broomfield, Colorado. I won’t be breaking down the full card because there are eleven fights in total and only five will be aired. I also refuse to preview fights that are contested between fighters like Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, Roman Mitichyan, Tommy Speer or Jeff Cox.
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This week in MMA is a weekly feature submitted by Kyle Norton.

UFC Fight Night 13 – KenFlow – J-Lau
With WEC 33 wrapped up, Zuffa will launch its next event in five days. UFC Fight Night 13 is headlined by a lightweight showdown between BJJ black belt and Sityodtong Muay Thai fighter Kenny Florian and BJ Penn understudy Joe Lauzon. There are a number of great fights on the card, which could all potentially be main events. A more in depth breakdown will follow.
More after the jump!

This Week in MMA is a weekly feature submitted by Kyle “Nortron” Norton.

• The first round of Dream’s Lightweight Grand Prix was contested this week at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan in front of a sell-out crowd of 19,000. The night showcased the exciting nature of Japanese mixed martial arts in Dream’s most talented weight class. Mirko “Cro Cop” also made his return to the Japanese ring with a dominating first round knockout of Tatsuya Mizuno. Dream 1 went off with only one major hitch, a No-Contest decision in the main event of the evening between Gesias Calvancante and Shinya Aoki. “J.Z. Calvan” elbowed Aoki twice to the back of the neck, causing numbness in Aoki’s arm. After ringside doctors called an end to the fight, Aoki gave a tearful speech apologizing to the fans.
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This Week in MMA is a weekly feature submitted by Kyle Norton.

• Rumors have run rampant over the past few weeks regarding Fedor Emelianenko’s contract status with M-1 Global. Since its founding in October of 2007, M-1 is yet to run its first independent event, having only run a co-promotion with K-1 Hero’s on New Year’s Eve 2007. One of Fedor’s managers, Apy Echteld, told ESPN early this week that Fedor and M-1 would be splitting shortly, while M-1 president and CEO Monte Cox stated that the two sides continue to have a working relationship. The bidding war appears to be back on for the number one ranked heavyweight in the world and UFC president Dana White has stated that he is willing to re-open negotiations. White now has extra incentive to sign the Russian after Randy Couture stated intent to leave the promotion at the end of his contract and seek a fight with Emelianenko. Also interested in Fedor’s services are Dream, World Victory Road, Elite XC and the nameless dark horse promotion of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Affliction Clothing.
More after the jump!

This article has been submitted by MMA specialist Kyle Norton. Normally it will appear every Sunday, but today is a special Wednesday debut.

Welcome to the delayed debut of This Week in MMA (TWIMMA). Every Sunday, I will cover the top stories from the week in mixed martial arts.

• Anderson Silva cemented himself as the best middleweight in the world with a submission victory over Dan Henderson at 83. You can catch a full breakdown of this Saturday’s event here.

• It was announced during Saturday’s broadcast that the UFC’s first ever heavyweight champion, Mark “the Hammer” Coleman, will be the next man to take on Brock Lesnar at UFC 87 in Minnesota on August 8th. This is a great move for the UFC because it could give Lesnar a win over a fighter with serious credentials (even though Coleman is washed up and hasn’t been a decent fighter since 2001) or if Coleman were to win, he would have a high profile win allowing the UFC to feed him to heavyweight champ “Minotauro” Nogueira.
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This article has been submitted by Kyle “The Anti-Virus” Norton

Other than the main event, UFC 82 – Pride of a Champion lacked marquee bouts especially when compared to the recently announced UFC 84 card That being said, it was a great night of fights. The middleweight division crowned an undisputed champion, a new heavyweight contender emerged, and the welterweight picture got cloudier than ever.

Fight-by-Fight
Silva v. Henderson for the UFC and Pride Middleweight Titles
The main event of UFC 82 can most definitely be considered a super-fight. Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson were the number one and two ranked middleweights in the world and two titles were on the line, the UFC and Pride straps. Early in the first round, it was evident that both fighters respected their opponents striking ability, as they were slow to engage. After a brief exchange, Hendo took a body lock and Silva, taking him to the ground where he would control from half-guard and side control for the remainder of the round, working short hammer fists and scoring well with the judges. In the second round, the fighters engaged more readily and it was a big mistake for “Dangerous Dan.” Henderson got dropped with a combination of knees and punches and “the Spider” quickly jumped on top to finish the fight. It appeared Henderson was staying safe in half-guard until he turned away from Silva, giving up his back. The BJJ black-belt quickly secured Henderson’s back and ended the fight with a slick rear naked choke, making Anderson Silva the undisputed middleweight champion of the world and quite possibly the best pound for pound fighter in the world, as well.
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This article has been submitted by MMA fighter Kyle Norton.

This Saturday, Dan Henderson will get a second chance to become a UFC champion and unify his Pride FC belt but this time around it will be in the Middleweight division. No other fight on this card needs any hype to sell this event because Silva-Henderson is a massive match for both hardcore and casual MMA fans. UFC brass (Dana White) are touting Anderson Silva as the pound for pound (P4P) best fighter in the world and while an argument could certainly be made there, he is yet to fight the best in the world. Enter Dan Henderson, who many consider exactly that – the best middleweight fighter in the world. Silva has beaten some tough opponents in his career but the only top 10 fighters he has faced are Nate Marquardt and Rich Franklin. This fight will go a very long way in cementing Anderson Silva as the world’s best middleweight and potentially the P4P champ as well.
More after the jump!