Well UFC 61 is starting to shape up (I know I haven't even finnished putting up my UFC 60 analysis yet) and it looks to be a pretty interesting card. Here is the line up for UFC 61 on July 8th so far (Updated June 16th): Heavyweight Championship Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock Undercard Cheick Kongo vs Gilbert Aldana Joe Stevenson vs Yves Edwards Frank Mir vs. Dan Chrisitenson Josh Neer vs Josh Burkman Joe Stevenson vs Yves Edwards Jim York vs Christian Wellisch Chiek Kango vs Gilbert Aldana Drewe Ficket vs Kurt Pellegrino Jeff Monson vs Anthony Perosh And while were at it, Zuffa has put up their webpage for UFC 61 already. As of yet there's not much content but you can get some free wallpapers. UFC 61 The card for the season finale of The Ultimate Fighter 3 on saturday June 24th has been released: Main Event Kenny Florian vs. Sam Stout Light Heavyweight Finals: Michael Bisping vs. Josh Haynes Middleweight Finals: Ed Herman vs. Kendall Grove Undercard Keith Jardine vs. Wilson Gouveia Matt Hamill vs. Jesse Forbes Kalib Starnes vs. Danny Abaddi Rory Singer vs. Ross Pointon Solomon Hutcherson vs. Luigi Fioravanti Mike Nickels vs. Wes Combs Am I the only one who's wondering where Tait is?

There will be a public memorial service for Ryan Bennett in California this Saturday (June 10th) at 10am. It will be held at the church where Ryan attended every Sunday. There will be several family members of Ryan's in attendance, as well as several others who will pay tribute to Ryan. The service is open to the public, so all are welcome to attend. We will hope to see you there. The address and directions are located below. SATURDAY JUNE 10, 10:00AM Address: The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 2600 Ramona Road Atascadero, CA 93422

Thought I would share an article about Brandon Vera from the Washington Post with you guys. All in all the article is pretty positive about MMA and Vera. But I should warn you guys, this writer's need for the dramatic was downright laughable at some points in the article. Vera Article

Well another UFC has come and past and in the next few days I'll be breaking down the fights and giving you my thoughts about what happened this weekend and what to look forward to in the near future. This UFC was pretty crazy, and my initial thoughts are that it was a very satisfying weekend. We only had one decision the whole night which was pretty crazy, all the other fights ended by TKO/KO in either round one or two. I'll be back later today.

Dean Lister vs. Alessio Sakara Light Heavyweight Fight I wrote earlier that UFC 60 has some very interesting match ups, this fight is one of them. Match ups makes fights, and this one has me drooling. Dean Lister is probably most familiar to people from the current season of the Ultimate Fighter. He is the submission coach on Team Punishment. He is also one of the biggest names in the submission game today. Lister is a two-time National Sambo champion, as well as the ADCC Absolute Division Champion. On Saturday he is making his long awaited UFC 60 debut. While his submission skills are top notch, they have exactly led to sucess in the world of MMA. He faces Alessio Sakara who is coming off a brutal beatdown of Elvis Sinosic. That fight may have ended in a decision, only because Sakara broke his hand punching Sinosic so many times. As a former boxer Sakara has heavy heavy hands and he knows how to use them. Sakara may not be a Jiu-Jitsu star like Lister, but he has skills. He trains with some famous Jiu-Jitsu fighters out of the Brazilian Top Team and can hold his own on the ground. Lister on the other hand doesn't really have a very good stand up game. Lister's bread and butter is grappling, especially foot and leg locks. If Sakara can keep Lister at bay on the ground, look for him to punish Dean standing up leaving him a bloody mess. Lister is a good fighter but facing Sakara in his UFC debut is going to be too much. Sakara by decision. Joe Riggs vs. Mike Swick Middleweight Fight Oh man, this is going to be a great fight and I doubt it will go all three rounds. Both fighters love to bang and they will come out swinging. This is Swick's first real test in the Octagon and he better be prepared because Riggs is one tough competitor. Riggs another fighter to come out of the Miletich camp. Though most of his work lately has been under the training of Horn and Billy Rush. Riggs is a very balanced fighter with strong wrestling and striking skills. Like I said, both are agressive and will look to bang. Look for both to land to land early, where Riggs will slip inside and start bullying Swick around. Riggs is going to be too strong for Mike, and his wrestling base will allow him to throw Swick around easily. On the ground look for Riggs to let his brutal ground and pound game to bust up Mike pretty good. If Swick can't estabilsh his striking through his superior speed and reach early he is going to be in a lot of trouble. This one could go either way because each can knock the other out. But if Riggs keeps his hands up and stays agressive he has the advantage. Regardless, don't blink cause this one is going to be fun. Riggs by tko in round 2. Diego Sanchez vs. John Alessio Welterweight Fight This fight was originially going to happen back at UFC 58 untill Diego Sanchez got sick and had to drop out. If you are a fan of the UFC, Diego Sanchez really doesn't need an introduction. Winner of season one of TUF, his combination of Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling have taken him far. He's also one of the wierdest people in MMA today. Or should I say eccentric? His win over Nick Diaz proved to everyone that he was for real. In that fight, he kept Diaz off balance for the entire three rounds using his great wrestling takedowns to get the decision win. The only knock on Diego are his stand up skills. And that's exactly where Alessio's strength lies. Most people remember John Alessio, if they remember him at all was his fight against former champion Pat Miletich. It was a pretty easy fight for Pat, Alessio was way over his head that night and got armbarred rather easily. He had no business being inside the Octagon, just way too inexperienced for a fighter like Pat Miletich. Well times have changed and the rookie is now the seasoned vet. Forget about what you remember about Alessio cause he a totally different fight now. He has a very well rounded game now, with stand up being his speciality. He has ko power. And has the ability to ko Diego given the chance. Look for Alessio to sprawl and brawl. Deflecting Diego's takedowns so he can keep it standing. If he can do this Alessio can win. The problem is Diego is a very good takedown artist, his ability to change levels is amazing. I think this fight will look a lot like Diego fight with Diaz, with Alessio fighting off of his back for the most part. But like I said, Alessio has the stand up so don't be too surprised if Alessio takes Diego out on Saturday. This fight is a lot closer than most people think. Sanchez by decision. Brandon Vera vs. Assuerio Silva Heavyweight Fight Now this is a heavyweight fight I'm looking forward to. Vera has quickly become a favorite in the heavywieght ranks with his ko victories in the Octagon. He's got some great Muay Thai stand up with knees and kicks to put people to sleep. Silva is an underrated fighter with his lone Octagon loss against current champ Tim Sylvia. Tim was just too big for Silva. Vera on the other hand is not. Look for Silva to come out and ground and pound Vera. If Silva can keep Vera down, stay agressive and bully Vera he'll get the decision. Problem is Vera is way too fast and mobile for Silva. He may take him down but he won't keep him there. Vera has a solid Jiu-Jitsu foundation and he will get back up eventually. Once standing Vera's length will keep Silva on the outside looking in. If Brandon can keep his distance and pepper Silva with jabs and kicks in the begining he can eventually set Silva up for a big knee to the face. Vera by tko in round 3. Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie Welterweight Fight Well this is it, the fight we've all been waiting for. The Legend versus The Champ. I hate to say it, but I think Matt's going to run right over Royce. I'm not going to call it a lock, anything can happen in a fight so Royce always has a shot at winning. But in the end Hughes is just too strong for Royce. I think Hughes is out to send a message and he's going to win this fight with strikes. Matt will look to stand up every time it goes to the ground. Royce may try to stand with him up after eating a couple of shots he start dropping to the ground trying to get Hughes to enter his guard. Matt's too smart to play with Royce at his own game and will dictate how the fight goes. Hughes by decision.