Natal, Brown open UFC 133 with wins

Paul Bradley can't doing anything about his fireplug build, but 5-foot-9 middleweights have a tough time against certain fighters at 185 pounds. Rafael Natal used a five-inch reach advantage to land a boatload of leg kicks and avoid the wrestler's takedowns on his way to unanimous decision victory, 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 on all three cards, in the opener of UFC 133 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa.

Bradley usually fights down at 170 pounds, but he took this fight at 185 on just 12 days notice when Costa Philippou was moved up the card. The height difference was too much to overcome against the 6-foot Natal.

Natal's gameplan of staying at a distance and using an array of inside and outside leg kicks stymied Bradley's wrestling. The former wrestling All-American at Iowa had his lead leg (left) bruised inside and outside his thigh by the end of the fight.

Bradley (18-3, 0-1 UFC) was only good on 3-of-11 takedowns and did minimal damage on the ground. Give credit to Natal (13-3-1, 1-1-1 UFC) as he picks up his first UFC win. He did so with a broken left hand, that he suffered some time during the fight.

Brown survives tough boxing game from Phan

Mike Brown needed a win in the worst way and he set the tone early by scoring a key takedown and pounding away at Nam Phan in the first round. Phan fought even the rest of the way, but it wasn't enough to avoid losing a unanimous decision, 29-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

Back in 2008, Brown (25-8, 1-2 UFC) looked like an unbeatable force as the featherweight champ with the WEC. The division caught up to him and looked like it was passing the 35-year-old. Brown entered this one a loser of two straight and 3-of-4.

His takedown in the first with 3:58 left in the round, turned into a beatdown the rest of the way. Phan got flattened out and Brown pinned his right arm on the mat. Over the next 3:38, Brown got off 50-plus punches and landed most of them with a thud on Phan's face. In the final minute of the round, Brown unloaded with some back elbows as well. It very easily could've been a 10-8 on all three scorecards. Only one judge gave the 10-8 to Brown.

The second and third rounds were much more even. Phan (16-9, 0-2 UFC) did a phenomenal job avoiding the takedown. Brown was just 1-of-8 as he tried to get the fight to the mat. Phan landed some excellent combos in the second, but couldn't pushed the pace as much in the final round.

Nuvo Gene Tea
Boresha Bsweet
B Latte
Boresha Argmatrix
Boresha Comp Plan

Strikeforce on tap: Judo champ Rousey ready to take over women?s MMA

Ronda Rousey is one of the feature fighters on tonight's Strikeforce Challengers 18 card in Las Vegas (Showtime 11 p.m. ET/PT). The 24-year-old two-time Judo Olympian could be the next big thing in women's MMA. Rousey steps up to the big stage against Sarah D'Alelio (4-1) in the Las Vegas at the Palms Casino Resort.

Rousey is only 2-0 in her young career, but MMA fans are raving about her potential to dominate the 145-pound division. She's unbeaten in five fights overall. Those wins took a combined two minutes and 57 seconds. The armbar is her weapon of choice. Rousey's dislocated three elbows.

Rousey's worked with some of the best in the business, including martial arts legend "Judo" Gene LeBell, who raves about this MMA prodigy.

"She gets in that ring and she owns it mentally. She says, 'This is my house. This is my bedroom, my kitchen, my garage and my front room,'" LeBell, 78, told the L.A. Daily News. "She's gonna annihilate you. She's gonna mutilate you. She's gonna assassinate you."

Rousey has quickly grown to love MMA.

"Winning in MMA is different than in Judo. When I won in Judo, I felt more relief. When I win in MMA I just I feel like I'm in love with everyone in the room. There's nothing that can bring me down on that day. I can just kind of ride that high. It's an adrenaline rush. It's a sense of pride you can't from anything else," said Rousey.

She's got the respect of her male counterparts. Rousey trains almost exclusively with experienced male fighters like "Ultimate Fighter" cast members Sevak Magakian, Roman Mitichyan and Sako Chivitchian. Experienced UFC featherweight Manny Gamburyan is also part of the camp.

Nuvo Gene Tea
Boresha Bsweet
B Latte
Boresha Argmatrix
Boresha Comp Plan

Husqvarna Nuda 900 Base Model Breaks Cover

Husqvarna’s foray into true-blue street bikes has unsurprisingly taken a two-pronged approach (for an “R” version to exist, a base model must exist as well, right?), as the Swedish brand has unceremoniously dropped photos of the base model Husqvarna Nuda 900. Sporting lower-spec components, and having a noticeably absent “R” missing from its nomenclature (that’s called product differentiation), the Husqvarna Nuda 900 is no doubt going to be Husqvarna’s more affordable version of the Nuda 900R. Though we ...

Nuvo Gene Tea
Boresha Bsweet
B Latte
Boresha Argmatrix
Boresha Comp Plan

Kimbo Slice returns to action tonight as a boxer

The last time we saw legendary street fighter Kimbo Slice he was wincing in pain after taking a bevy of leg kicks from Matt Mitrione. The UFC decided to cut bait and release Kimbo after UFC 113. It's been 15 months since the 37-year-old has seen any sanctioned fight action. Tonight, he climbs back in there, but it's in a ring not a cage.

The fighter who cut his teeth on the streets is ready to strap on the big gloves.

"I'm ready to go baby, my blood is boiling," Slice told the Miami Herald. "I was born to fight and [mess] people up."

Kimbo faces James Wade (0-1) at Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Okla. He makes his pro boxing debut in a four-rounder. Kimbo is the main event on seven-fight card. Surprisingly, Showtime Super Six participant Allen Green is also on the docket on the undercard.

Slice has high hopes for his boxing career. A 235-pounder, Kimbo says the heavyweight division needs an action fighter.

"The problem with heavyweights now is they don't have that fighting mentality," Slice said. "I am a nonstop fighter. My thing is nonstop aggression. When you fight me, two things are going to happen ? I'm going to knock you out or you're going to knock me out."

Former UFC fighter Charles McCarthy mans the mic for this solid sitdown with Kimbo. Part two is here.

Nuvo Gene Tea
Boresha Bsweet
B Latte
Boresha Argmatrix
Boresha Comp Plan

UFC on Versus 5: Miller ready to prove he?s among the best lightweights

MILWAUKEE -- You can count on Jim Miller to always bring some good facial hair. At today's open workouts for UFC on Versus 5, a red mustache and pointy goatee sprouted from his face. He explained that it's all for the children.

"I'm having a little boy in September, and his name is going to be Wyatt, so I wanted to greet him with the nice Wyatt Earp curled mustache. With my daughter, I grew a nice thick protest beard, once she was born, I shaved it into a celebration mustache," Earp Miller said. (He assured Cagewriter that the protest was just because he was jealous that his wife got to hold the baby throughout the pregnancy, and the celebration was for when his daughter was born.)

You can also count on Miller to win. He has strung together seven straight victories, but still finds himself just short of a title shot in the stacked lightweight division. That doesn't seem to bother him as he prepares for his bout with Ben Henderson.

"It's pretty easy, because I'm here to fight the best, and I know I can beat anybody in the world. The way the title picture has worked out, you can't expect anything. You gotta wait it out and let these guys settle it. And I've been training my butt off so I can beat them."

Miller has been patient about waiting for the title shot, not complaining publicly about how he is often forgotten among the best lightweights. He happily takes the fights assigned to him, but lately has become more confident in speaking out on his own behalf.

He claims it's not an attitude change, but an increase in comfort around media.

"I've pretty much had the same attitude. I knew I could hang with these guys. I feel great, I feel sharp, I'm learning new things every day. It's more just getting comfortable with the mike in my face. It comes out a lot easier than it did three years ago.:

Blatte
Bskinny Coffee
Argmatrix
Boresha
Boresha International