Ever since his debut in Ultimate Fighter, Rashad Evans continues to surprise me.  During the Ultimate Fighter season I basically liked him and rooted for him, but I really didn’t think he had that champion work ethic and eye of the tiger.  But there is no denying it now.

Every match I think that Rashad will be outclassed but he has a way of winning and proving me wrong.  I thought for sure the Iceman would beat him, but Rashad triumphed.  After Forrest’s victory over Rampage, I thought Rashad would be a relative cake walk, but I was wrong there as well.  Some way, somehow, Rashad seems to have a talent for pulling out a victory in the end.

You would think I would learn, but in Rashad’s first title defense I am going to predict a Rashad loss–I still can’t believe he is an undefeated UFC champion. 

Evans has arrived!

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Just checking out the UFC site and found their top 10 upsets of 2008 — Mir beating Noguiera made #1.  Not a bad pick, I might have picked Rashad beating the Iceman (#3 on their list).

UFC Top 10 Upsets of 2008

Wow, is all I can say after watching this fight.  Frank looked great, he was aggressive, dominant, dynamic, and fought well on his feet as well as on the ground (amazing to see Frank invite and opponent up off the ground to box - twice!).  Frank completely dominated Noguiera, with three knock-downs.

Kudos to Mir for rising to the occasion for this fight.  There was the brief exchange between Frank and Brock in the audience after the fight–the prospect of a rematch between these two is now looking much more exciting after seeing Frank in this fight. 

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir Video - UFC 92

Found a good article on “Remaking Frank Mir” for this fight.

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Interesting initial study on the way normal to obese adults burn fat relative to the composition of the meal–ie. what percentage of the meal is protein, carbs, fat.

 
Overweight? Add Protein to Subtract Pounds
 

Of course higher protein diets are nothing new to the bodybuilding crowd.

I have long thought that the reason all the one-size-fits all fad diets only work for some people is the inherent gentic and metabolic differences between them.

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Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 screenshot

I got Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 for Christmas. After playing a full campaign (Russian) and a few skirmish battles, I love it so far. Prior to getting the game, I had read a number of reviews that complained of the more “animation-like” or “cartoonish” look of the game and its armies. Personally, I prefer this look to the more “realistic” polygon graphics, as seen in the C&C Generals and Zero Hour games. Prior to this game release I had even been playing the older C&C Yuri’s Revenge with the more cartoonish animation graphics. Red Alert 3 seems like a great next stage evolution to follow in the Yuri’s Revenge game style.

For those that are familiar with C&C style game-play, Red Alert 3 will be very easy to start up with. For new players, the interface and commands are pretty straight-forward so it should be easy to get up to speed. In addition to the Allied and Russian contingents, this game introduces a new foe - the Empire of the Rising Sun.

The EotRS has some pretty cool and innovative army and hi-tech weapon elements that make for great game-play - such as the giant robots (King Oni), Shogun Battleships, and Shinobi infantry - not to mention the annoyingly powerful Yuriko Omega (the EotRS counterpart to Tanya and Natasha).

Many units in Red Alert 3 now have specialized second abilities, such as dogs that have sonic barks to stun enemy soldiers, or the conscripts ability to throw Molotov cocktails. This new feature ads another new facet to combat gameplay.

I found the predictable C&C video storyline to still be enjoyable–it doesn’t take itself too seriously. You will even see some interesting actors/celebrities pop up in the storyline (such as Tim Curry and Randy Couture). The femme fatale eye candy (ex. Zhana, Natasha) is also maximized throughout the story.

Overall, I think the game is a very solid chapter in the Command and Conquer series that delivered up to my expectations and fit like a comfortable old glove.

4.5 beers (out of 5)

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Here is a good MMA blog with a posting of the Fedor vs. Sylvia Affliction fight.

It is amazing how effortlessly Fedor dispatches Sylvia. He dominates and shows off both his standup and submission skills.

How long can Sylvia keep cashing in on his old UFC heavyweight champ status when he keeps getting trashed fight after fight.

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Interesting that Fedor lost this one. I’m not particularly well versed in Sambo, and the video here is so poor in quality it was hard to really see the fight too well. Apparently it was not a case of Fedor being dominated, just technically edged out on points.

Affliction signed the winner, Bulgaria’s Blagio Ivanov, so I’m sure that a well publicized Affliction MMA rematch between Blagio and Fedor will be forthcoming. Fedor will likely own Blagio once the fight is taken to the “no rules” MMA venue.

Next it will be Fedor vs. Arlovski, though. Despite his loss to Lesnar, I still think Randy Couture is the only man who currently has any chance of beating Fedor.

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I’m looking forward to the upcoming Nogueira vs. Mir bout. As another UFC vs. Pride “dream” matchup, and to see who will be next to face Lesnar.

Frank Mir will need to pull a rabbit out of his hat to win this one.  He is a one-dimensional fighter and Nogueira is arguably at least his equal in that one dimension—jiu jitsu submissions. Frank’s legendary disregard for physical conditioning as well as his poor stand-up skills put the odds strongly in Nogueira’s favor.

There’s also the question of “heart.” Mir has never struck me as a particularly indomitable willed fighter with tons of heart, while Nogueira is like the Terminator—he just keeps on going no matter what. My hope is that Mir will be more driven to win this fight due to the “face” at stake and will actually condition and come into this fight in his best ever shape. Time will tell.

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Finally got to see Couture vs. Lesnar (I know, welcome to yesterday…) and was disappointed with the results, although I have to give credit to Lesnar. Lesnar was solid all-around, didn’t get over exhuberant and caught in a newbie mistake like in UFC 81, and capitalized on his opportunity to finish Randy.

Randy is the man, but I think that Brock is just to big for him—it’s not just size though, it’s the fact that he is as big and strong as he is while being incredibly quick and a veteran grappler. All of these things just negate Randy’s usual advantages over big goon types like Tim Sylvia.

I hope Randy comes back again, fighting at the lighter weight, and/or maybe getting that matchup vs. Fedor that he has long sought out.

It will also be interesting to see what the next step is for Brock Lesnar—perhaps a rematch against Mir? Now that he is no longer a MMA virgin, I think Lesnar would probably soundly thrash Mir. If the even newer newbie, Bobby Lashley, wins a couple more fights, then a match between Lesnar and Mir could really be a clash of the titans.

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