So much for that Frank Mir/Brock Lesnar rubber match.  Shane Carwin had something to say about that.

The pace started slow, Mir looking for spots to throw with Carwin looking to clinch.  Carwin kept Mir pinned up against the fence and tried to wear down the former champ with punches and knees to the legs.  Referee Dan Miragliotta made another questionable separation before Carwin found himself pressing Mir against the cage yet again.

If you blinked you might have missed Carwin’s power.  He landed two massive left uppercuts that dropped Mir.  Miragliotta gave him plenty of time, allowing Mir to take punishment.  Mir made a desperation kimura attempt, but kept getting hit in the face for his troubles.  He eventually flattened himself face down on the mat while Carwin rained more punishment.  Miragliotta must have won a bet because he let Frank take even more shots until mercifully stepping in to end the bout.

Carwin (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is a tremendous physical specimen with strong athletic credentials, including a NCAA Division II championship and two national runner-up trophies in wrestling, and two-time All-American honors in football.

Carwin’s elite athleticism has translated well to MMA so far and gives him a dominant wrestling ability and brutal ground and pound. The 34-year-old Colorado native has never been outside the first round in a fight and has his opponents in an average of a little more than a minute. Carwin is now training with Greg Jackson’s elite camp in New Mexico alongside elite standouts such as Georges St-Pierre, Rashad Evans and Nate Marquardt.

Frank Mir (13-4 MMA, 11-4 UFC) is a skilled grappler and holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu under Ricardo Pires. Mir is a jiu-jitsu technician but lacks elite cardio and wrestling skills, and he historically has been regarded as limited in stand-up skills as well. Mir has appeared to many to showcase improved standup skills of late, but I believe Mir’s technical standup skills may not match up to the hype they’ve been given.

First, don’t let Mir’s one-sided beatdown of Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira at UFC 92 trick you. Nogueira was suffering from a severe injury and a severe staph infection, both of which required hospitalization after the fight. “Minotauro” had absolutely no business being in the cage that night, and Mir’s victory should be completely disregarded by the serious handicapper because he wasn’t fighting a capable opponent but a shambling, static punching bag with essentially no ability to fight back.

Second, I don’t put significant stock in Mir’s recent victory over Cheick Kongo. Yes, Mir was able to clip Kongo early and drop him. If you look at the tape, Kongo was clearly expecting Mir to come out and take the fight to the ground and was caught unaware by Mir moving forward to strike. That said, Mir was able to drop Kongo with a shot to the chin, but Kongo recovered immediately and appeared close to reversing the situation by putting Mir on his back against the cage. Unfortunately, Kongo exposed his neck during the takedown attempt, and Mir was able to capitalize by slapping on a quick guillotine.

All credit to Mir for the win, of course. I’m just saying that as a handicapper, I can’t draw a lot of information from that fight. Mir didn’t showcase elite standup skills. He landed essentially a single punch to an opponent who was thinking “defend his shot” vs. “defend his punch.” That single punch certainly had good form but didn’t have the power to put Kongo out for long. Mir slapping on a quick guillotine when Kongo made a mistake likewise didn’t tell me much; we knew going in that if Kongo did something stupid like exposing his neck, the fight would be over quickly. In other words, while Mir looked great and got a solid win, I can’t really draw any serious information from the fight as a gambler.

This is why I’m still not sold on “Frank Mir 2.0″ and why I think he’s being overrated here against Carwin. Carwin’s power and chin are both incredible. Carwin is an elite physical specimen, and I think that Mir’s newfound confidence in his standup skills is going to get him in a lot of trouble. Unlike Kongo, Carwin has elite wrestling and takedown defense and doesn’t have to worry about Mir shooting on him as a primary tactic. Mir should be able to keep focused on Mir’s standup and respond with his own. While Mir might be a more technical striker, Carwin has gobs of power, and I believe it’s just too likely that he can overwhelm Mir. We’re still not too far removed from Frank Mir getting obliterated standing by an undersized Brandon Vera.

Mir certainly has the tools to capitalize on any mistakes made by Carwin and end the fight by submission, but I believe that given Carwin’s significant edge in weight and strength, Mir will likely find those opportunities few and far between. Look for Greg Jackson to have Carwin well-schooled in employing Lesnar-like techniques on the ground and to use Carwin’s advantages in strength and wrestling to neutralize Mir’s technique.

I expect Carwin wins via strikes in the first round while catching Mir with a big shot and overwhelming him with a fast follow-up.

While we’ve not seen Carwin’s cardio tested. As an NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion and overall elite athlete – not to mention training at altitude in his home state of Colorado – he should be expected to have a cardio edge over Mir, even carrying all that muscle mass. As such, even if he can’t finish the fight early, Carwin should gain the advantage the longer the fight goes.

Prior to the Howard fight, the night’s early candidate for “Knockout of the Night” honors came from “The Ultimate Fighter 10″ runner-upBrendan Schaub, picked up his first official UFC victory in dominant fashion with a brutal first-round knockout of Chase Gormley.

Feeding off a crowd of fellow Coloradans, Schaub overwhelmed his opponent from the opening bell, dropped him within seconds of the bout’s start, and then sent him face first into the mat with a subsequent exchange mere seconds later. One more knockdown and a half dozen follow-up rights made for a quick, 47-second TKO victory for Schaub.

Schaub, a former member of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and AFL’s Utah Blaze, has now posted every one of his wins via knockout since a move to pro MMA. But he admitted that Gormley’s striking prowess had him concerned.

“I was really worried about Chase’s boxing, so I worked hard on it,” he said.

Schaub, who suffered a KO loss to Roy Nelson in the TUF 10 Finale back in December, moves to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the UFC. Gormley, now at risk of getting his UFC contract terminated, drops to 6-2 overall and 0-2 in the UFC.

Brendan Schaub shifting gears after first loss

Blasting through the competition during the last season of “The Ultimate Fighter” made Brendan Schaub a fan favorite that many thought would take out veteran Roy Nelson when the two met in the heavyweight finals.

Things didn’t go the way that Schaub had imagined. He caught a big punch behind the ear from Nelson in the first round that handed him his first career loss and Nelson the title of “Ultimate Fighter” champion.

Now back on track, Schaub speaks honestly about the tough times that followed the loss and what it took to get him ready for his upcoming fight in Broomfield, Colo., against Chase Gormley at UFC on Versus 1.

“For me, it was tough to deal with,” Schaub said about the loss.  ”I think everyone would know if I was like, ‘Oh, not a big deal, man. I just got back to training.’ It’s a tough pill to swallow.

“It took about a month for me to get back in (the gym) to be honest with you guys. ”

What brought the former NFL player back were some words shared with one of the very best in the sport, who underwent extreme scrutiny and mental stress following the toughest loss of his career.

“I went up to Montreal and Georges (St-Pierre) said it best when he said, ‘You know, same thing happened to me when I fought Matt Serra. You’ll come back 10 times the fighter.’ That was my mentality and I worked hard. I’ve never trained like this before for a fight,” said Schaub.

Training for this fight, he spent time in Montreal, but worked primarily with his home camp at the Grudge Training Center in Colorado. Having training partners like top heavyweight contender Shane Carwin, and fellow UFC fighters Nate Marquardt and Rashad Evans to learn from has been invaluable.

“It means the world man. Seeing those guys every day and training with those guys. You hear how they cope with losses,” said Schaub.  ”They’ve been in my shoes; they know what I’m going through. You see the success they’ve had after a big loss. Without those guys, I definitely wouldn’t be where I’m at. My mindset wouldn’t be where it’s at also.”

Fighting in his home state in the UFC is a dream come true for Schaub, who will face a tough wrestler in Chase Gormley, who is also bouncing back from a loss in his last fight against Stefan Struve.

“Chase, he trains with a good team at Team Blackhouse. He’s getting the same world class caliber guys that I’m getting here,” said Schaub.   ”He’s a wrestler, so he has that wrestler’s mentality. He can box a little too. He has a boxing pedigree.

“It’s the UFC man, there’s no easy fights. I train like I’m fighting for a title fight every camp. ”

Obviously, there is a certain amount of pressure on any fighter coming off a loss, but Schaub believes he’s in the right place physically and mentally to get a win on Sunday night, and he hopes to get the Denver area crowd ready for the night of fights ahead.

“I think I’m one of the most athletic heavyweights in the UFC, so I think you’re gonna see some cool stuff, some different stuff, switching it up a little bit,” Schaub said.

Brendan Schaub will take on Chase Gormley in the undercard of the UFC on Versus 1 at the 1^st Bank Center Sunday night in Broomfield.

Shane Carwin weighs in on James Toney in MMA

After stalking UFC president Dana White for several months, former boxing world champion James Toney is ready to try his hands in mixed martial arts, something a boxer of his caliber has thus far been reluctant to do at the highest levels of the sport.

He’ll get back in the squared circle for a warm-up, but has plans to make his Octagon debut sometime this summer.

Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight contender Shane Carwin has his sights set on an interim heavyweight title if he can best former champion Frank Mir at UFC 111 in New Jersey next weekend, but he took time out with MMAWeekly.com recently to relay his thoughts on the brash boxer putting his dukes up in the cage.

“I think that’s great,“ Carwin told MMAWeekly Radio. “I think it’s some excitement. If people are talking about it then that’s good. I guess we’ll see how he does. It will be interesting who they match him up against.”

Carwin comes from an extensive wrestling background and is critical of a boxer’s chances in mixed martial arts. A wrestling background is a proven asset for successful fighters in MMA while the jury’s still out on how former elite boxers would perform inside the chain link fence.

“I think that boxing is typically harder (of a transition than wrestling) without having any ground game behind them. It’s tough to box somebody when you’re on your back,” said Carwin.

“It’s definitely harder for them to stop the takedown when they’re committing to their punches. MMA is a different game,” added the UFC heavyweight contender.

Toney’s MMA future will unfold in due time, but what Carwin likes most about the former boxing champion turned mixed martial artist is his gift of gab.

“I just like to hear him talk,” said Carwin.

After Months of sacrifice, Eliot Marshall looks to prove his time is now at UFC on Versus 1

BROOMFIELD, Colo. – UFC light heavyweight Eliot Marshall (8-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has a lot going on right now.

As if being a new father to a 15-week-old son isn’t enough, Marshall is also wrapping up training camp for a fight in front of his hometown crowd.

But on the eve of his fight against the highly decorated Vladimir Matyushenko (23-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) at Sunday night’s UFC on Versus 1 event, Marshall has holed himself up in a Broomfield, Colo., hotel room no more than a mile from his house and is focused solely on one thing: victory.

“I’m a routine kind of person,” Marshall told MMAjunkie.com(www.mmajunkie.com). “I like to do what I normally do when it’s time to fight, and that’s not sitting at home watching my TV on my couch and looking at my computer. It’s staying in the hotel room and making weight and suffering.”

So despite the fact that he’s fighting in what one could easily call a “home game,” Marshall is sacrificing even more time with his family in order to treat the contest just like any other.

“I’m so sad,” Marshall admitted. “I haven’t seen my son for three days. I’m sad, but on Monday, I get to go see him. It’s my gift after the fight.

“Obviously, I want to see my baby, but it’s good motivation for me. It’s been great motivation the whole camp for me.”

While the strong emotions in his family right now are obvious motivations for Marshall, the fact that he’s facing the most well-known opponent of his four-year career probably doesn’t hurt either. But while a win would be Marshall’s fourth-straight in the UFC, he insists he only worries about what he brings to the table, not what the bout means in terms of his career.

“I don’t even think about that kind of stuff,” Marshall said. “When it’s my time, it’s my time. When it’s not my time, it’s not my time, you know? You can’t control what other people are going to do. You can’t control what other people are going to say. All I have to do is go do my thing. That’s it.

“I can’t think about, ‘Beat Vladdy this,’ or ‘Lose to Vladdy that.’ It’s nothing. It’s other people’s perceptions.”

Matyushenko will provide a nice measuring tool with which to gauge Marshall’s progress. “The Fire” sees it more as a chance to prove the days of “The Janitor” may be limited.

“He’s a tough veteran,” Marshall said. “He’s a real wrestler. Nothing that’s going to happen is going to rattle him in there. But I feel like I’m just the new generation of fighter. I put it all together really well between the striking and the wrestling and the ground. I just think I have what it takes.

“He’s older, and sometimes you get stuck in your ways. You’re doing the same things the same way and have had some success, but [this fight is] a little passing of the guard, maybe.”

Some would argue that Matyushenko’s wrestling prowess matches or exceeds that of “TUF 8″ winner Ryan Bader, who defeated Marshall during the Spike TV-broadcast competition. Marshall believes while comparing the skills of the two opponents may be fair, comparing his own progress as a fighter during those two time periods is impossible.

“You saw what happened with Jason Brilz, right?” Marshall asked regarding his UFC 103 win. “I did not get taken down one time. That’s a different Eliot Marshall. I was a totally different fighter from when I fought Brilz to when I fought Bader. I’m even a better different fighter now from when I fought Jason Brilz.

“I took my week off after my fight, and that’s it. I trained through some injuries. I trained through a baby. I’m a different fighter.”

Marshall looks to prove to the world that he belongs among the 205-pound division’s top fighters in his preliminary card contest with Matyushenko. And with the professional and personal sacrifices that Marshall has made to make it to the cage, he’s ready to shine.

“I’m ready to go,” Marshall said. “I’m focused. I’m feeling good, and it is what it is. It’s time to fight on Sunday. I signed up, and now I get to go have fun.

“I don’t have to fight. I get to fight on Sunday. That’s a big difference. If you think it’s something you have to do, it’s not so great. But it’s what I get to go do after all this hard work.”

Paul Buentello talks “HUGE MOVE” to Star Studded Grudge Training Center.

Heading into his UFC 107 contest with Stefan Struve, much of the talk surrounding Paul Buentello’s training camp – or rather, his lack of one.

Forced out of his normal routine at California’s American Kickboxing Academy, Buentello (27-11 MMA, 3-2 UFC) scrambled to find a suitable training home.

But as his UFC on Versus 1 bout with Cheick Kongo (14-6-1 MMA, 7-4 UFC) approaches, little word has escaped about where “The Headhunter” was getting ready. Buentello recently said there’s a reason for that.

“I kept the whole thing of me coming out to Denver and me training here in Denver (a secret), how I’m surrounding myself with these trainers,” Buentello recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio(www.mmajunkie.com/radio).

For the first time in his career, Buentello is training with the star-studded crew of Grudge Training Center for the March 21 fight.

Home to such UFC fighters as Shane Carwin, Nate Marquardt, Eliot Marshall and Brendan Schaub, Grudge Training Center also holds another bonus for Buentello: located across town from the host venue of UFC on Versus 1 in another section of suburban Denver, the facility shares the same mile-high altitude as the 1STBANK Center.

“It was just that the fight was here in Denver in the high altitude,” Buentello said. “I think it’s just a smart move to train where I’m going to be fighting at because high altitude is really hard to get adjusted to.”

Buentello actually began his high-altitude training prior to the start of training camp.

“I went to a nutritionist retreat,” Buentello said. “I was out in the Mojave Desert for 10 days, and all we did was train all day long. It was nothing strenuous like MMA training. It was just all conditioning. I have it on my website at PaulBuentello.com. I have it on one of my blogs.

“Wake up in the morning, do some stretching, run four miles. At that retreat, it was 3,500 feet above sea level. It’s about the halfway point from what Denver is at.”

Known more for his power than his conditioning, Buentello said the retreat helped him to discover a new way of training.

“I’ve always had a problem with numbers,” Buentello said. “If you told me to do 50 or 100 or 300 squats, it kind of bogged me down and got me unmotivated, but I got the workout done. At this place it was really working on pushing the body to different limits because these workouts I was doing was two to three hours long, and it was two to three hours, exactly. It was just over and over repeated stuff, and I did that for 10 days. Then I had three days off, and then I came out to Denver.”

Once in Denver, Buentello added even more surprises to his revised regimen.

“Another secret is that I hired Mike van Arsdale, and I attached him to my hip,” Buentello said. “Basically, he’s with me 24-7, from the morning until the evening, waking me up and getting me to the gym, and he’s totally in charge of all the conditioning and all the wrestling drills.

“You know Mike van Arsdale has a real extensive background in wrestling, and he’s been around a long time, so he knows how to push the body to a different level.”

But while van Arsdale has been pushing Buentello physically, it’s another new face that the Texan credits with sharpening his techniques and focusing his mind.

“I was fortunate enough to get hold of Trevor Wittman through Rashad Evans,” Buentello said. “The thing about it that was so interesting was the first time I met Trevor, he told me to come to the gym at 3 o’clock. I came to the gym with all my gear, ready to go, and the first thing he wanted to do was sit down and have a meeting and talk about my strong points and my weak points. He was surprised that I was thinking of myself as having more weak points. Even in the striking game, I was explaining how I feel I’m weak in this area and weak in that area. He was quite surprised that I was being honest.

“So I asked him, ‘What are we going to do today?’ He said, ‘Nothing. We’re going to have this meeting, we’re going to get to know each other, what we have to work on, and you come in tomorrow, and you’re just going to spar two rounds.’”

Buentello said through the unique approach of Wittman, the added motivation and drive from van Arsdale and the bonus of training at high altitude, he’ll be in peak form for Kongo.

“I think its was a huge move for me; I think it was a perfect move for me to come to Denver,” Buentello said. “The main factor is that it’s a real organized gym. This is probably the most organized training camp I’ve ever had.”

Buentello insisted that his attacking demeanor in the cage won’t be altered at all by his new surroundings, but he hinted that he might have added takedowns into his growing arsenal.

“You never know; you might see it this time,” Buentello said. “Cheick Kongo might come out, and he might be lightning-fast on his hands and feet, and I might have to push him in the cage and do a suplex or something.

“Mike van Arsdale told me a saying: ‘There ain’t a horse that can’t be rode, and there ain’t a man that can’t be throwed.’”

Training with the best fighters in the world has shown to be a key to the success for most champions in the world of mixed martial arts, and there may not be any fighter more willing to go out and work with the best than UFC champion Georges St-Pierre.

As the welterweight kingpin prepares for his latest title defense, against Dan Hardy at UFC 111 in New Jersey, St-Pierre has racked up the frequent flyer miles to ensure he’s had the very best training going into the fight.

His home camp in Montreal will always serve as the base of operations for Team GSP, where he works alongside lead coach Firas Zahabi, and a cast of top fighters and wrestlers from the area.

Working in Colorado just a few weeks back, GSP was training with close friend and training partner Nate Marquardt, while also working with the rest of the Grudge team including UFC fighters Shane Carwin, Eliot Marshall, and Brendan Schaub. The room also included several Team Jackson’s fighters like Rashad Evans and Keith Jardine.

From there the camp moved to New York City and Renzo Gracie’s academy in Manhattan where the training room consisted of Gracie and another top trainer named John Danaher, while also traveling to Muay Thai instructor Phil Nurse’s gym as well.

Beyond the trainers, at any given point in New York City, St-Pierre could be seen rolling and sparring with Kenny Florian, Frankie Edgar, Ricardo Almeida, and others as he prepared for his March 27 tilt with Hardy.

“A great variety of training partners, I’m very lucky to have that circle of friends and training partners, that’s what makes me successful and it’s how you surround yourself sometimes that makes the difference,” St-Pierre told MMAWeekly Radio recently. “They help me out a lot.”

The proof is in the production as St-Pierre is undefeated in his last six fights, including three consecutive defenses of his welterweight title. The Canadian believes the camp he put together for this fight is the best he’s ever had, and it will show when he arrives in New Jersey later this month. Oh yeah, he also just happens to have one of the greatest strategists in the sport’s history in Greg Jackson in his corner for his fight.

“I’ve never been so ready in my career for a fight,” said St-Pierre. “I’m the best I’ve ever been, I can’t wait to get it on and get to the next chapter in my career.”

St-Pierre just recently left New York City to complete his camp in Montreal, along with UFC lightweight contender Kenny Florian, who will spend two weeks with the Tristar team as he finishes up his camp as well.

Of course training isn’t fighting, but St-Pierre has definitely put in the work with all the right people to ensure him the best possible preparation for his next title defense.

Vinny Lopez was the 1st Grudge match of the night, and moves his record to 3-0 with a three round shut-out of local champ Andy Smith. Lopez used a sharp Jab and thunderous right hands when Smith would reach. Lopez just out classes his opponent slick boxing continually rocking the over matched Smith. By the third round Smith was showing the wear and tear of continous punches he was taking. It is a art to watch some one use the sweet sceince like Lopez did.

The 2nd Grudge match of the night would be UFC vet Luke Caudillo vs Sean Wilson. The first round starts with Wilson controlling the distance with power shots and Caudillo applying pressure with low kicks that were just falling short. The round ends with Caudillo getting a nice double leg putting Wilson on the mat as the bell rings. The 2nd round starts with Caudillo finding the distance on his low kicks as one hurts Wilson and then Caudillo lands a nice combination, then Wilson lands a looping left hook that staggers Caudillo and he fights it off to see the ref waiving the fight off and he seems to be fine. I feel this was an early stoppage but the ref is there to protect the fighters and that is our number one concern also. Wilson walks away with the 2nd round TKO over Caudillo.

In the 3rd Grudge match of the night TUF 10 vet Justin ‘THE VIKING’ Wren made easy work of previously unbeaten Omaha Champ Josh Henry. The fight starts off with Justin closing the gap and instantly taking Henry’s back with a body lock. Wren Joust’s Henry in the air with one of his trade mark throws, and then keeps his dominant position using textbook ground-n-pound, landing hooks and uppers for a minute straight. Henry then scrambles back to his feet to finds Wren right back in his face. Wren lands a shot-gun jab and again gets a body lock and follows with another take down, again ground-n-pounding Henry from the back. Wren now gets both of his hooks in and flattens Henry out and continues to pound on him as the ref calls a halt to the contest 4minute 20 seconds into the 1st.

We are proud of all 3 of our fighters as they all performed wonderful. You guys make GTC PROUD, great job!

Congradulations to Chaun Sims! Tuesday March 2nd Amal Easton promoted Chaun Sims to a BJJ Black Belt. We are all proud of you down here at GTC, Great Job.