Lots of blood

I'm gonna shock the shorts off of a lot of you. This middle aged mother of 3 is a fan of the UFC. And if you don't know what I'm writing about, where have you been? Under a rock? Hanging out with Nell?

There is a lot to like about the UFC. It puts all martial arts under scrutiny. It is like the board game Heroscape. Heroscape answers the question that a lot of people have wondered for generations. Simply this. Who would win? Lizard warriors vs. Amazons? The Huns vs. Cylons? Men in Black vs. Gladiators? Super Moms vs. Highheeled shoes? Okay, maybe not the last one. And in that contest, the shoes clearly would win. But the world of mixed martial arts answers the question: Which martial art, training, mix of skills works best? It pits discipline against discipline. It challenges the athlete to balance cardio, striking and wrestling skills.

Along with that, they have the fun nicknames for the guys. My favorite being "Cabbage" from Hawaii. That is an awesome name. Totally neutral and hysterical. Cabbage is known to have said, "My head full of concrete." I personally think your name shouldn't be so puffed up that when you suffer a defeat, it looks stupid. Like if your nickname is "Killer," and you get beat by a guy who is named, "Watercress," you look like a jerk. My hubby thinks his own nickname would be, "The Tapper."

There's also the great entrance songs. My favorite is Matt Hughes's entry song "Country Boy Can Survive," by Hank Williams. It is perfect. It crescendos just about the time he enters the octogan. My husband's would be Celine Dion's, "It's Coming Back to Me Now." The line, "if you touch me like this, and if I touch you like that..." he thinks is very fitting for the sport.

Sure, a lot of it comes down to the individual. There is no shortage of men out there who are willing to devote their lives to fighting in this sport. All with distinct personalities. There's Tank Abbot who has admitted that he goes to bars just because he loves a good barfight. The guy is seriously off base. But you would never say that to his face. There is of course "the Natural" Randy Couture. The first guy to take belts in 2 weight classes. Few things I love about Randy. He's older than me. He's from the Pacific Northwest. He is articulate. The last being an unusual skill in this group. He uses his brain just as much as his body to dominate the octagon. And now he's retired (for a second time). The first time he retired, he had been beat by the then invincible "Iceman" Chuck Liddell. Randy said, "You won't see these gloves again in the octagon." But I think he must have gotten new gloves because he earned and then defended the heavyweight belt, retiring with that belt on. And of course there is "Rampage" Quinton Jackson. When he enters the octagon, he howls. No joke. And his stare down is like looking in the eyes of crazy. He gets right up into the face of the opponent close enough to kiss, with a look that withers. Its message, "I'm gonna crush you, little man." And so far, Rampage has delivered. He defeated the Pride dual belt holder, "Dangerous" Dan Henderson (a.k.a. Hollywood). To Dan's credit, he has always said that Rampage is a friend and he never trash talked him. I like Dan Henderson. A Texan that I like, imagine that.

But this post isn't supposed to be a litany of the personalities in the UFC. It is all about the only champion for whom I actually scream at the television. (Okay, that isn't exactly a true statement. I scream at the t.v. during a lot of these matches.)

The Prodigy, reigning UFC Lightweight Champion, BJ Penn

BJ won his UFC 80 match against Joe Stevenson, which had been upgraded to a title fight because the reigning champ, Sean Sherk, had been suspended. The Sherk fight will be BJ's first defense of this belt.

But I have to tell you about the Stevenson fight. Oh man. There was a lot of blood. BJ came out explosive and Stevenson went down in the first moments of the fight, but to his credit, he came back and fought well, delivering one of the bloodiest fights I've ever seen. It was like out of some horrible B movie. BJ delivered a wicked fast elbow strike to Stevenson while on the ground -- briefly holding Stevenson's left arm out of the way, and in the next breath, BJ's right elbow surgically flew in to cut a gash in Stevenson's forehead. At first, it didn't seem that big a deal, but those head injuries bleed hard. I suppose that it must be demoralizing, as a fighter, to see your lifeblood covering the guy who cut you. Anyway, at some point, that cut went from oozing to squirting. With every heart beat and every strain, Stevenson was covering the both of them and the mat (and I think the spectators in the front row) with blood. It might have been a good time to change my color television to black and white. Seriously, I'm a nurse, and the blood was grossing me out. Ultimately, BJ was able to get a rear naked choke on Stevenson and the fight ended by submission. Giving BJ your back is never ever a good idea.

The first time BJ won a UFC belt, he cried. He had defeated his idol, Matt Hughes, who had been heavily favored to win that fight. This time he didn't cry, but he did an absolutely disgusting thing. After he won, his corner came in and hugged him. Ugh. Without latex body suits. Yuck. And then after they toweled him down, he licked his gloves. Ewww, ewww, ewww!!!

But either way, I'm just thrilled that BJ is back.

Go BJ!

Oh, by the way, if you're still undecided about whom to vote for in the presidential race, remember that it was John McCain who wanted to outlaw the mixed martial arts. Look, I like McCain. In fact, back in 2000, if it was destined that a Republican take the White House, I wish it had been McCain. But he tried to get rid of the whole sport! Unforgivable.

*Update -- 2/5/08 I know this is a little late for an update but I just had to say how thrilled I am that Nougeira beat Silvia. I don't really like Silvia all that much. And how AWESOME is it that Frank Mir is back? I seriously thought that Mir was going to be breathing through his nose in the back of his head, that guy was pounding him so hard. But submission ruled the day. Yay! It will be fun to watch a Mir/Nougeira fight.