Mitrione interview: Former NFL player wonders if Carwin will ever break through cardio barrier

Matt Mitrione is back and he's feeling pretty confident.

The former NFL player and Purdue defensive lineman has been learning on the fly. One thing he realized immediately was that the stamina needed for MMA is a lot different than football. After a rough time on Season 10 of "The Ultimate Fighter," the big guy seems to have figured things out. For others in the heavyweight division, it hasn't been as easy.

Shane Carwin is way ahead of Mitrione in the heavyweight pecking order, but he may not be able to advance any further if he can't go all out for 15 minutes.

Mitrione joined ESPNRadio1100 in Las Vegas to talk about the heavyweight rankings. On Carwin, he thought the big man was holding back in the first round to conserve energy.

"Gassing is a huge thing to a heavyweight. For it to happen the first time in a major fight (Carwin vs. Brock Lesnar), I think it might have played a little bit of mind games for Carwin," Mitrione said (1:40 mark). "I think it's very serious. Gassing is a big damn deal."

Mitrione said the signs of pre-mature fatigue were there again two week's ago at UFC 131 against Junior dos Santos.

"I heard he said between the first [and second], 'my legs are dead'. I think that's another sign of the adrenaline dump. Adrenaline dump is a bitch and once it sets in it really plays mind games with you," Mitrione (4-0, 4-0 UFC) said. "He has a couple more fights to gets used to it. It can really make or break you."

The show also went on to speak about where Brock Lesnar ranks and what he'll be facing if he returns some time in early 2011.

Mitrione faces 6-foot-7, 265-pound Christian Morecraft this weekend in Pittsburgh at UFC on Versus 4.

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Rossi?s opinion of the Lorenzo negotiations

This quote comes from the Spanish language website elmundodeportivo.es. The message and the sentiment are clear: “You aren’t worth what I get paid Jorge”. From elmundodeportive.es, translation by Fans.Moto.GP (Thanks!): What Jorge is looking for seems presumptuous to me: Arrive at Yamaha, and in his second year ask that he be given the same treatment [...]

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Strikeforce’s Three Stars: Masvidal, Barnett and Cormier

The latest installment of Strikeforce's heavyweight grand prix delivered a bizarre night of fights that featured a no decision, a submission due to strikes, and a weird main event where neither fighter showed off his best work. But who did stand out?

No. 1 star -- Jorge Masvidal: As the non-heavyweights on the main card, Masvidal and K.J Noons had the tall order of showing what the little guys can do. Masvidal lived up to expectations, putting on a show with K.J. Noons' face on the unfortunate receiving end. A kick to the neck leveled Noons near the end of the first round, and Masvidal never looked back. Now, he wants a shot at Gilbert Melendez and the Strikeforce lightweight title.

No. 2 star -- Josh Barnett: After not fighting for nearly a year, Barnett had no problem disposing of Brett Rogers. He used catch wrestling to control Rogers before locking up an arm-triangle choke, and then launched into a speech that showed why fans still love Barnett. Next, he'll face Sergei Kharitonov in the semifinals of the Strikeforce heavyweight GP.

No. 3 star -- Daniel Cormier: You would expect a two-time Olympic wrestler to control a fight with takedowns, but Cormier chose to show off how much his stand-up game has grown in the two years that he's been training in MMA. He stayed away from Jeff Monson's submission game, and stuck to a gameplan that involved peppering Monson with combinations. Cormier told Cagewriter that he would like a chance against Chad Griggs, who put on an impressive performance of his own against Valentijn Overeem, or Shane del Rosario.

Honorable mention -- K.J. Noons: On a night where Valentijn Overeem tapped out from a fight because of strikes, and Fabricio Werdum oddly refused to engage Alistair Overeem, Noons showed true heart in continuing to give his all in a losing effort to Masvidal.

Who were your Three Stars from the weekend? Speak your mind in the comments or on Facebook.

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UFC 131 openers: Beltran wins brawl over Rosa, Elkins takes shaky decision from Omigawa

Joey Beltran and Aaron Rosa won't be modeling for a calendar anytime soon, but those big dudes can dish out some damage. They can also take a beating. The heavyweights, who clocked in at a combined 598 pounds, slugged it out until Rosa got drilled by a knee early in the third. Beltran turned up the heat and pounded out Rosa on the ground for a win at the 1:26 mark of the third at UFC 131 in Vancouver.

Beltran, a 237 pounder fighting out of San Diego, wins for the third time in the UFC. His killer instinct was impressive.

"To be blunt, I knew he was going to be tough as hell. I was able to land some big shots and I am really happy with this performance," Beltran said. "Putting away a tough guy like him is just a testament to how hard of a camp I went through to get ready for tonight."

Just 40 seconds into the third, Beltran (13-5, 3-2 UFC) worked head control and pushed Rosa down into a nasty knee. That seemed to change everything as Beltran scored an easy takedown.

With Rosa (16-4, 0-1 UFC) on his knees and covering up, Beltran landed some body punches and got off 11 shots to the head. Rosa rose to his feet, but was stunned. Beltran dumped him a few seconds later, and as he settled into half guard he came down with the full force of a right elbow to Rosa's face. Rosa was shot. The bigger man ate a flurry of punches. Two left hands through his arms ended things.

"I got tired, but I think I got hit in the back of the head after he took me down and that dazed me. When I got up, he hit me with more hard shots and I never recovered. He's tough and proved that tonight," said Rosa.

Beltran came to Alliance Training Center in San Diego weighing 300-plus pounds. He's slimmed down and looks better each time out.

"I think I'm barely starting to show the type of fighter I am. To succeed in the UFC, it takes a full team effort and my team did a great job preparing me for this fight," said Beltran.

After seeing both fighters sporting some extra beef around the middle, it looked like stamina might be an issue, but it wasn't. Rosa, who's fought in the past at light heavyweight, entered the fight at 261 pounds. He absorbed some huge right hands, body shots and a few good standing elbows through the first round and a half. Rosa came back towards the end of the second, but that big knee from Beltran in the third took away his chances to get a win in his UFC debut.

During the prefight, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva added the note that this was the first time two fighters of Mexican descent went head-to-head in the Octagon.

Japanese star Omigawa loses again in the UFC

This was another big night for Japanese MMA. Michihiro Omigawa, one of the top featherweights from Japan, needed a win after getting dominated by Chad Mendes at UFC 126. It looked like he did enough to take a 29-28 decision from Darren Elkins, but the judges disagreed. Even with multiple cuts on his face and a lackluster third round, Elkins took a unanimous decision from Omigawa, 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.

Elkins (12-2, 2-1 UFC) did some nice work in the opening round. Omigawa bounced around the cage and switched stances every few seconds, but it didn't allow him to land anything very solid.

In the second round, Omigawa landed some good shots around Elkins' right eye and opened two cuts. He also scored a takedown and blasted away at Elkins. In what appeared to be a one-sided final round for Omigawa, more cuts were opened on Elkins' face and he finished all bloodied up. It didn't impress the judges.

A former lightweight, Omigawa (12-10-1, 0-4 UFC) dropped to featherweight and went 8-2-1 before re-signing with the UFC. He's now dropped two straight.

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