Steven Seagal helped Anderson Silva with KO front kick

Action film star Steven Seagal accompanied UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva to the Octagon at UFC 126 on Saturday night before Silva knocked Vitor Belfort out with a highlight-reel front kick. Seagal was not just there for star power. According to Silva, he learned the kick from Seagal.

"Steven Seagal helped me perfect that kick. That was a kick we were working on before I stepped in," Silva said through a translator at the post-fight press conference. "This was a kick that I trained a lot."

Seagal is known for the movies "Above the Law" and "Out for Justice," but he's also an accomplished martial artist, holding a black belt in aikido, a Japanese martial art, that he earned in Japan. His prowess has helped Silva become Yahoo! Sports' second-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in MMA.

He trains at the elite Black House gym with Silva, UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo and several other high-level fighters, and is seen in this Brazilian video teaching Silva and other Blackhouse fighters.

This wasn't his first time at a fight with Silva, as he accompanied him to the cage before Silva's comeback victory at UFC 117. Now, Seagal can add two-time winning corner man to his resume.

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Oh No!

Santa left one of his reindeer here!

Merry Christmas!

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UFC 126: Unbeaten Mendes dominates Japanese star

The UFC's newest acquisitions are finding it tough tonight in their new promotion. Michihiro Omigawa dropped his left hand throughout his fight against Chad Mendes and was pounded repeatedly by overhand rights. Mendes controlled the fight both on the feet and ground to roll to a unanimous decision victory, 30-27 on all three cards, in the first Spike fight at UFC 126.

Mendes, fighting out of Urijah Faber's Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, showed big improvement with his striking and stamina. A former two-time NCAA wrestling All-American at Cal Poly and the NCAA tournament runner-up at 141 pounds in 2008, Mendes sent the message early that he was more than willing to duke it out with Omigawa. Once he softened up the Japanese star in the standup game, the fight was simple. 

Walking straight forward, Omigawa (12-9, 0-3 UFC) looked stiff from the start and made for an easy target. The Japanese fighter was also shaking his arms out throughout the fight. He ate an overhand right early in the second and hit the deck. Mendes beat him up on the ground for the next minute. The end of the round spelled doom for Omigawa, who again found himself on his back. He absorbed a huge right elbow to the face. The blow immediately split Omigawa's left eyebrow. He was a beaten fighter in the final round.

Omigawa tried to press forward, but got whacked by several big shots. Mendes scored another takedown. He found himself underneath Mendes for the next two minutes and any shot of pulling off a big comeback went bye-bye.

Omigawa remained winless in the UFC. He fought at UFC 76 and Ultimate Fight Night 12, but at 155 pounds. He had great success back home in Japan at 145 and was brought on board as a possible title contender with a few wins. Instead, it's Mendes, who adds another nice win to his resume. The 25-year-old is now a perfect 10-0 after winning his UFC debut.

Earlier tonight, another Japanese legend Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto lost his debut to Demetrious Johnson.  

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MMA Marketplace: The ridiculously-priced Jonny Bones hoodie

Urijah Faber's Form Athletics has made a big splash in MMA clothing in this past year with cool designs and an impressive stable of fighters, including Anthony Pettis and Jon "Bones" Jones. For Jones' fight at UFC 126, they designed this hoodie:

Pretty sweet, right? Understated, interesting stitching and best of all? It doesn't look like a standard-issue MMA design. Unfortunately, it's $87.99, a price out of reach for many MMA fans who are already shelling out $45 to just watch the fights this weekend.

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Could Bill Rancic be Regis? replacement?

With Regis Philbin leaving his famous Live! morning talk show after 28 years, many big names have been suggested to replace him. But for Giuliana Rancic, Neil Patrick Harris, Pat Sajak, and Mark Consuelos won?t cut it ? she?s campaigning for her husband, Bill, to take the 79-year-old?s seat. ?I think Bill would be incredible with Kelly Ripa,? Giuliana tells In Touch of her Apprentice winner and public speaker hubby and Regis? soon-to-be former co-hostess. ?Guys want to grab a beer with him, and girls think he?s the nicest guy. I think he would be really sweet and tell it like it is!? Bill, who is currently hosting a new lifestyle series, America Now, stands behind his wife?s top pick. ?Who wouldn?t want it? It?s a fun, great gig,? he tells In Touch. Like TV icon Regis, Bill certainly knows how to juggle a busy schedule ? in addition to his hosting position and speaking engagements, he and Giuliana are currently NIVEA?s Valentine?s Day Romance Ambassadors.

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Deena shuts down Snooki?s ex!

Nearly a year after their breakup, Nicole ?Snooki? Polizzi?s ex-boyfriend Emilio Masella still seems desperate for revenge. The Jersey Shore starlet, who dumped her ex after she believed he had cheated on her while she was filming the second season of Jersey Shore in Miami last April, must have been appalled to hear that Emilio attempted to charm her close pal and MTV castmate, Deena Cortese. While celebrating her birthday at Shrine at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods in Connecitcut, an insider tells In Touch that Deena became so annoyed with uninvited guest Emilio?s advances, she had him removed from the area. ?While Deena partied with her friends at her table, Emilio wouldn?t leave her alone. She asked her team to throw him out!? the insider says. It looks like Deena is a true friend!

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Ndamukong Suh Named Rookie of the Year in Fan Voting

Filed under: Lions, NFC North

Awards that are determined by fan voting almost always go to quarterbacks, running backs or wide receivers. So you know when a player at any other position wins a fan award, he's done something special.

That's certainly the case for Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who was announced Thursday as the winner of the Rookie of the Year award sponsored by Pepsi, which is voted on by the fans. Suh is the first defensive player ever to win the award.

Each week the fans choose a rookie of the week, and Suh was also the only defensive player to get one of the 17 Rookie of the Week honors.

 

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UFC 126 picks, Vegas-style: Jones-Bader and Griffin-Franklin

UFC 126 betting odds (Courtesy Lagasse's Stadium):

Vitor Belfort (+220) vs. Anderson Silva (-300) - UFC middleweight title
Forrest Griffin (+130) vs. Rich Franklin (-160) - Light heavyweight
Ryan Bader (+300) vs. Jon Jones (-400) - Light heavyweight
Carlos Eduardo Rocha (+280) vs. Jake Ellenberger (-360) - Welterweight
Antonio Banuelos (+325) vs. Miguel Torres (-450) - Bantamweight
Demetrious Johnson (-110) vs. "Kid" Yamamoto (-120) - Bantamweight

The Venetian will post the remaining fights on Thursday. Also check MMAFix.com to shop the odds.

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PocketGear Rebrands To Appia; Shifts To White-Label App Marketplace Platform

PocketGear, an independent marketplace that billed itself as the ?World?s Largest Mobile App Store," is rebranding today to Appia and shifting its business model. PocketGear was formerly a consumer focused app marketplace that sold apps for Blackberry, Android, Windows Mobile, Palm, Symbian, and Java phones. Now, as Appia, the startup is powering a white-label content and commerce platform for everyone who needs an app store. And the company now powers mobile app storefronts for more than 40 partners, including four of the world's top five handset manufacturers (Samsung, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon Wireless).

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Barry responds to Browne's nasty Fight for the Troops Twitter rant

Somewhere along the line, Pat Barry rubbed Travis Browne the wrong way. Browne had some pent up anger he wanted to vent and chose an odd time to do so. After Barry made an impassioned speech following his victory at Fort Hood over Joey Beltran, Browne unloaded on the former kickboxer suggesting his speech was a bit phony.

Browne was attacked by several followers and tried to clarify his comments, but it's clear he'd like a fight down the road with the loquacious Barry. 

Shortly after the fight, Barry had no idea why he was under attack.

"He wants to know why am I now talking about my Dad's dog tags versus any other fight? It's because my Dad was in the Army and I'm on an Army base. Kind of makes sense. Seems like an opportune time to actually bring it up," Barry told Hector Castro from MMADieHards. 

Barry was totally confused. 

"I don't why he's mad at me. I didn't do anything wrong to him. I don't even think we've ever met. Travis Browne says a lot of ugly things," said Barry.

He also told Browne to worry about his next fight against Stefan Struve. Browne and Struve square off at UFC 130 in May. Barry closed the interview by saying he would fight Browne if offered the chance.

 

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PocketGear Rebrands To Appia; Shifts To White-Label App Marketplace Platform

PocketGear, an independent marketplace that billed itself as the ?World?s Largest Mobile App Store," is rebranding today to Appia and shifting its business model. PocketGear was formerly a consumer focused app marketplace that sold apps for Blackberry, Android, Windows Mobile, Palm, Symbian, and Java phones. Now, as Appia, the startup is powering a white-label content and commerce platform for everyone who needs an app store. And the company now powers mobile app storefronts for more than 40 partners, including four of the world's top five handset manufacturers (Samsung, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon Wireless).

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Auburn Parlays BCS Championship into No. 1 Recruiting Class

Filed under: Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas, USC, SEC, Recruiting

History has proven that the coach that ends up hoisting the crystal football designating his team the BCS National Champion typically reaps the recruiting rewards from that football's shine 13 months afterward in the following year's recruiting class.

Not so for Auburn on Wednesday's annual National Signing Day, as coach Gene Chizik and the Tigers took full advantage of their BCS title wealth by raking in 24 top-flight recruits and potentially stealing a five-star lineman from their arch-rival.

"It's a great day for Auburn football," Chizik said. "But this is just another brick in our foundation. We are not there yet. We have not arrived."

Auburn's Wednesday began with a pleasant surprise when four-star DB Erique Florence (6-2, 181, Valley, Ala., HS) chose the Tigers over Southern Cal on national television. The Tigers also received a NSD letter faxed from five-star LB Kris Frost (6-3, 210, Matthews, N.C., Butler HS) upholding his commitment offered just eight days after Auburn downed Oregon, 22-19, in the BCS National Championship Game.

Signed letters-of-intent followed from OT Christian Westerman (6-5, 288, Chandler, Ariz., Hamilton HS) who had switched from Texas to the Tigers on Jan. 21, and C Reese Dismukes (6-4, 287, Spanish Fort, Ala., HS) who was an early Auburn commitment.

 

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Will UFC 129 break attendance records?

The UFC announced that tickets will go on sale on Feb. 12 for their first Toronto event, UFC 129 at the Rogers Centre. Tickets will range from $50-800, and approximately 42,000 tickets will be available for sale. That's nearly double the attendance that the UFC has ever gotten for an event.

The deck is stacked for a big event. Canada's favorite son, Georges St. Pierre will fight Jake Shields on the main event. Jose Aldo will put his belt on the line against Mark Hominick, and Randy Couture, always a draw, will fight Lyoto Machida. Plus, it's the first time the UFC willl be in Toronto.

Canada is traditionally a boon for the UFC. Most recently, UFC 124 in Montreal broke the North American attendance record. With GSP as the main event fighter, they pulled in 23,152 attendees.

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Some MMA fans don't get it, Herschel Walker is great for the sport

What Herschel Walker is doing is simply incredible. The 48-year-old has two pro MMA fights under his belt and plans on marching forward. On Saturday, He manhandled Scott Carson. While most fans realize Walker is bringing more eyes to the sport, some hardcore fans and MMA bloggers rip him, calling his competition a joke.

Luke Thomas from Bloody Elbow disagrees:

Strikeforce is handling Walker's MMA career exactly as they should be. The idea that only fighters of certain caliber belong in elite organizations is now a rule of thumb, not a sacred edict. If exceptions to the rule make sense - particularly for a number two promotion looking for a unique leg up - then make them.

[...] Walker is taking a path no different than any other MMA fighter with commensurate experience. The pushback on Walker is as much pushback against Walker's participation in the sport as it is a lack of familiarity with low-level professional MMA.

Fight promotions are part competition, part making money and part building the business. That fact seems to be lost on some observers of MMA.

I often wonder how many of those who decry Walker's participation have ever attended a regional MMA event. Those fights lack the superstar power of Walker, but look no different. They're nasty, brutish and often very short. Perhaps this is part of the reason why local or regional MMA promoters often struggle: not even MMA fans are paying attention to their shows.

During a weekend light on big-time sporting events, Walker caught the eye of the non-MMA fan and general sports media.

Several journalists and fans noted on Twitter last night that many if not all of the main card participants in last night's show were trending on Twitter. Who do you think is responsible for that, Jacare? The mic skills of Robbie Lawler? Roger Gracie's massive pre-fight hype? That credit belongs to Herschel Walker and likely Herschel Walker alone. No one else to my knowledge had a write-up in the Associated Press heading into the bout or the sporting talk radio hype or the curiosity of casual sporting fans. [...] Critics often say it's the "real fighters" who deserve the shine. I don't disagree, but much of the attention paid to last night's "real fighters" is a direct result of a fighter participating in only his second MMA bout.

Well said. The sport is still in the growth process. As long as Walker isn't promoted as a title contender, his MMA journey is well worth chronicling on Showtime.

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TUF 13 media day: dos Santos drops the hammer, says Lesnar can't take a good punch

This season of "The Ultimate Fighter" is going to be all about coaching the prospects, right? Those were the words of Brock Lesnar on Tuesday in Las Vegas. You get the feeling once the cameras are rolling and Lesnar is fed a few lines from Camp dos Santos, his singular focus may change.

Lesnar hasn't had to publicly answer many questions about his loss against Cain Velasquez. It was clear that night that the big guy doesn't like getting hit. Once Velasquez landed a few good punches, Lesnar was on his horse, nearly sprinting from a striking battle.

Dos Santos told the media during the Season 13 media day that Lesnar can't take a punch. From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

"He doesn't accept punches well. I am from boxing, so I have no problem with punches. Guys can punch me and I feel nothing, just keep going. That doesn't happen with him," dos Santos said with a characteristic smile. "I don't know why, I guess he's got a weak chin."

It was surprising for the normally reserved dos Santos to state it so bluntly. He also believes Lesnar is going down again. 

"I believe I can knock him out."

Dos Santos is 12-1, including 6-0 with the UFC. He's one of the better strikers in the heavyweight division with five of those UFC victories coming by TKO or KO. Lesnar (5-2 with UFC) has his work cut out for him and should get plenty of motivation if JDS continues to speak his mind. 

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Don King: Boxing Could Learn a Lot from the UFC

by Michael David SmithThe UFC overtaking boxing as the No. 1 pay-per-view draw in sports over the last few years has led to a number of boxing promoters taking shots at the UFC. But the most famous promoter in boxing thinks thinks it's time to learn from the UFC.

In a live chat with FanHouse readers, Don King said that UFC has been smart about putting good fights on basic cable to attract fans who will become pay-per-view customers while boxing has declined on basic cable and completely disappeared from over-the-air television.

"Unfortunately the television networks are not broadcasting the fighters and that has been a major disappointment," King said. "Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta have done a great job with the UFC and people like what they do."

 

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Timmy Jernigan Boosts FSU Class; Brent Calloway Finally Signs With Alabama

Filed under: Alabama, Florida State, Recruiting, Prospects

Two four-star studs made their college choices official at 11 a.m. ET Wednesday, as DT Timmy Jernigan (6-2, 275, Lake City, Fla., Columbia HS) chose Florida State over LSU, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida.

"Florida State offered me when I was in eighth grade," Jernigan told ESPNU. "My relationship with (FSU defensive line coach) Odell Haggans over there has been strong, and even though I grew up a Gator fan, God works in mysterious ways. I followed my heart, and my heart is in Tallahassee."

Jernigan is coach Jimbo Fisher and Florida State's 26th commitment, further solidifying what is the ACC's No. 1 recruiting class and what many feel is the nation's best recruiting haul.

 

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Barry emotionally wins unanimous decision at Fight for the Troops 2

Pat Barry leg kicked his way to a unanimous decision, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 over Joey Beltran at Fight for the Troops 2 in Texas on Saturday night.

Beltran controlled Barry throughout the round using the clinch, and even landed a few shots to the groin before the two were separated and Barry was given time to recover. Beltran stayed close enough to keep Barry from throwing many damaging kicks, which clearly frustrated Barry.

In the second round, Beltran started with a series of punches and completed a takedown, but also absorbed several punishing leg kicks from Barry. By the end of the round, Beltran was limping, but still ended the round with a flurry of strikes and knees. 

Beltran continued to use the clinch in the third round, battering Barry's face for the beginning of the round, but Barry didn't let Beltran stick around too long. He continued to use leg kicks, and at one point, pushed off Beltran's face to throw a kick. He inadvertently poked Beltran in the eye, stopping the fight for the doctor to come in.

When the bout was re-started, Barry found a second wind, landing kick after kick on Beltran's already wary leg. Beltran tried for a takedown to avoid the kicks, but Barry used his position on the ground to hammerfist Beltran's tenderized leg. Barry returned to his feet and landed several more kicks as the final horn sounded. Beltran collapsed to the ground, his leg clearly in pain. 

Barry was emotional after the fight, speaking of his father, a solider who died 25 years ago. Several of Barry's family members served in the military, giving his bout at Ft. Hood extra meaning. He said that he was surprised that Beltran contnued to come forward.

"That dude is a zombie. I hit him in the face 300 times, and he kept coming forward," Barry said of Beltran.

This win was Barry's first time back in the Octagon since breaking his hand and foot in a loss to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. Beltran has now suffered his second loss in a row, after dropping a unanimous decision to Matt Mitrione at UFC 119.

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Winter Storm Crippling National Signing Day Ceremonies Nationwide

Filed under: Notre Dame, Recruiting, Prospects

Of all things that could put a dent in National Signing Day, the massive winter storm that has blasted much of the country with snow and ice is wreaking havoc with plans to celebrate college choices.

Schools in the Chicago metro area are closed due to blizzard-like conditions that have made roads impassable -- the first such closing for city schools in more than a decade.

Less than two hours away in South Bend, Ind., Notre Dame's school official in charge of verifying national letters-of-intent being faxed into the Fighting Irish athletic department was initially unable to make it to campus before a snow-suitable vehicle was dispatched to fetch him.

Schools throughout Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York were also affected -- as was the signing ceremony of a consensus Top 5 prospect. Five-star OT Cyrus Kouandjio (6-7, 322, Hyattsville, Md., DeMatha HS) was initially set to sign at 8 a.m. ET, but ice and snow has pushed his ceremony back to noon.

And for those athletes who aren't at school today and don't have a fax machine at home during the storm? At least one Big Ten school has come up with another solution -- sending out online maps indicating the location of several available fax machines within a 20-mile radius of each player's home, just in case the schools are closed and players don't have access to a school fax machine.

 

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