Matt Brown snaps losing skid with decision over John Howard

PITTSBURGH -- Before their bout, John Howard predicted that he and Matt Brown would get the Fight of the Night bonus, but that seems unlikely after their fight on Sunday night. Brown won the grappling-filled bout 29-28 on all three judges' cards.

Howard used lots of snapping leg kicks to start the round, until they moved into the clinch. Howard swung the fight to the ground for a second, but they returned to their feet quickly, where Brown made headway with striking. He hit Brown with a kick and two strikes before Howard took Brown down. They stood back up, and Brown continued to show impressive striking, until Howard threw Brown down on his back.

Brown's legs were reddened by the second round from Howard's leg kicks, a weapon Howard continued to use. The fight oddly went to the ground about halfway through the round, as Howard tried for a takedown and ended up on his back. Brown joined him there for a grappling session to finish out the round.

Again, Howard used the leg kick to start the third round, but then tried for higher kicks after that. To stop the onslaught of kicks, Brown got a takedown, but he let Howard reverse his position and take Brown's back.

Brown finally got loose and tried to work his stand-up game, but it didn't work, as Howard got another takedown. Brown finished the round with as much ground and pound as he could.

"I feel amazing on the win.  My team really keeps me on my game, especially mentally. I've got the skills, but now I'm fighting smarter," Brown said. "I think this may have been my smartest fight. But I still have a lot of work to do on my wrestling and grappling. I loved fighting here. I always fight better around my home. Always have, always will.  I wanted a win, even if it meant a decision."

This win straps a losing skid for Brown, who had three losses in a row. Howard is now the one with the three-fight losing streak. He has recent losses to Thiago Alves, Jake Ellenberger and now Brown.

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Monson video: Cormier’s opponent talks motivation while getting a tattoo

Jeff Monson has always struck me as a little bit off. He's clearly a smart cookie with intense political philosophies, but he marches to the beat of a different drum. The 40-year-old, who once challenged for the UFC heavyweight title, is returning to the big stage to battle Daniel Cormier at Strikeforce in Dallas tomorrow.

It's an intriguing matchup. Monson is a nasty grappler with dangerous submissions and Cormier is an Olympic-level wrestler. What happens if it goes to the ground?

I don't think I'm going to bring anything to the table with my wrestling that he hasn't seen before. But, I hope he does (take it down). It's not really a secret that he's a better wrestler than I am. But, it's a weird thing because once he gets me to the ground, we are in my world," Monson told The Times and Democrat in South Carolina. "I don't care who he is or what he is doing, I'm going to do well on the ground. It certainly interests me as a fighter, we have two different styles that are kind of related. You just never know what is going to happen."

Monson is well-aware that Cormier isn't your typical 7-0 MMA fighter.

He wouldn't have been my first choice to fight coming into Strikeforce. (Cormier) knows what it is like to compete at the highest level. Wrestling is the toughest sport in the world. He has less MMA fights, but he is working with King Mo (Lawal) and Cain Velasquez and feeling those guys in the room.

With the buzz of the tattoo gun, this isn't the easiest video to watch, but it is interesting to hear Monson's motivation to continue fighting.

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FTR Entering MotoGP with a Kawasaki ZX-10R Based CRT Machine ? Also Helping Norton?s MotoGP Effort?

FTR, the Moto2 chassis manufacturer, has released a Q&A with its Moto Director Steve Bones. In the exchange, Bones talks about FTR’s involvement in making a claim-rule team chassis for the Spanish BQR team, who will use the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R motor as the basis for its CRT entry. FTR’s racing ambitions don’t end there though, as FTR plans to mimic its success in Moto2 by building a Moto3 offering that will likely use the ...

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Strikeforce workouts: Barnett locks on figure four and does his best Dusty Rhodes

Josh Barnett definitely has a sense of humor. Let's just hope the stiffs from the California State Athletic Commission do as well.

During Strikeforce's workout day, Barnett took the media on a pro wrestling journey. There was a back breaker, chops to the chest and even a figure four leg lock.

When he spoke to the media it got even better:

"I've been sitting on the sidelines, sitting there watching everybody go out and fight. Hard times have been on Josh Barnett. Dealing with athletic commissions. Everybody saying, 'You did this, and you did that. You're the problem for this.' That's hard times. Hard times for my family. Hard times for my friends. Hard times by me. Hard times not being able to get a fight. Hard times is the company, waking up one day, is saying they've been sold out to your competitor! Not knowing what the hell you're going to do. Where's my contract at? Where's my money? Where's my security? Who says I'm going to get that shot now? Having that on your mind? That's hard times."

Barnett then turned his attention to Rogers:

"And then you get this big old Brett Rogers in front of you. He thinks he knows what's tough. He thinks he's going to make a name off of my head. So I've got to get up every morning, break of dawn. I've got to get those running shoes on. I've got to hit that concrete; I've got to get those miles under my feet. My knees are aching, my body is sore. I've got guys like 'Hammer' beating on me every single day. I've got body breaking down, my mind getting pushed, feeling the effects of 14 years of fighting - feeling the effects of trying to put yourself in the best condition you can be in. Waking up every day having to deal with that? That's what hard times is about.

"I'm going to tell you what Brett Rogers. Come Saturday, American Airlines Arena? I'm going to give you a lesson in hard times. I'm going to take all that anguish, all that pain, everything that I have been through, everything all my family has been through, everything all my coaches have been through - I'm going to put that on you, Brett Rogers. I'm going to show you exactly what hard times is about. Who wants to see that? Not you, Brett Rogers. You do not want to see that."

Sound familiar?

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UFC on Versus 4 analysis: Stevenson and Griffin go small, will it work?

Joe Stevenson and Tyson Griffin are playing what could be their final cards. Once upon a time, they were both title contenders at lightweight in the UFC. With bigger and more well-rounded fighters coming from all over the world feeding the division in 2011, both fighters have fallen on hard times. Stevenson's lost three straight and 5-of-7 while Griffin has dropped three in a row. They both make their featherweight debut on Sunday at UFC on Versus 4.

Surprisingly, both UFC vets are big favorites. Stevenson (31-13, 8-7 UFC) is minus-270 in some spots against Javier Vasquez. Griffin (14-5, 7-5 UFC) is minus-180 over Manny Gamburyan. Yahoo! Sports' lead MMA writer Kevin Iole checked in with us and didn't sound super confident that either fighter would roll to a victory.

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Dana White Cuts Nate Marquardt From UFC

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Nate Marquardt will fight in the main event at UFC 122 on Nov. 13.In a shocking twist to an already surprising day, UFC president Dana White has released longtime veteran Nate Marquardt after the fighter was ruled out of Sunday's UFC on Versus main event.

The company president made the announcement through social media on the new video website Tout.com.

"Not only is he out of this fight and out of the main event on Versus, he will no longer be with the UFC," White said.

"I was looking forward to my welterweight debut. I'm sorry I let everyone down," Marquardt said in a short statement released to MMA Fighting.

Marquardt was to make his welterweight debut after 14 fights in the promotion as a middleweight. He arrived to the weigh-in venue on Saturday intent on making the 170-pound limit, but after beginning the process, Pennsylvania athletic commission officials refused to grant him clearance to fight.

Representatives from the commission were not immediately available to explain the decision.

A source in Marquardt's camp said the fighter believed he could make weight before commission members ruled him out.

Charlie Brenneman replaced Marquardt and will face Rick Story on the card.

If it is the end, it's an unceremonious finale to the UFC career of a fighter who was largely considered a consummate professional. Marquardt was 10-4 in the promotion since signing in the fall of 2005. In July 2007, he became the No. 1 middleweight contender and faced Anderson Silva for the championship, but Silva defeated him via first-round TKO.

Though he continued on in the division and was considered a contender thereafter, he decided to try a drop to welterweight after his last fight, a unanimous decision win over Dan Miller at UFC 128. Unless White changes his mind, it will be the last time Marquardt fights in the octagon.

 

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