Bader Nation

Junkie posted my feature on Ryan Bader yesterday. "Darth" is on target for a September return and is confident about his chances if he were to fight Lyoto Machida for the light-heavyweight title in two years. (Thanks to Fanhouse's Mike Chiappetta for the prediction on Twitter.)

The other day, David Cone and I did our second Q&A of the season and have another lined up for Thursday before the Yankees battle the Texas Rangers. The Yankees continue to play fantastic baseball. They're 17-10 this month, have won five out of eight and 14 out of 17, and open their next homestand Tuesday against the Rangers, from whom they took two out of three in the Lone Star State last week. I expect an interesting week of storytelling.

Driving them crazy

Even with my ongoing MMA coverage, I still track and blog the Yankees, and plan on more projects upon their return home next week. The hot topic in Yankeeland, one that won't go away, is this Joba Chamberlain debate. My colleagues had their takes, but mine remains firm: He's a starter. Such fervor has one loyal reader going nuts over where he thinks Joba belongs.

On tap for the Yankees are meetings with the Rangers, Rays, Red Sox and the Mets. To quote a famous wrestling announcer, "Business is about to pick up."

Things aren't slowing down in the MMA world either. Junkie is running my feature on Ryan Bader this weekend and soon an in-depth look at up-and-comer Cain Velasquez. Cain is low-key and soft-spoken, but there are many layers to his story and drive.

I'll stick to writing

There's a reason why I'm not in the prediction business. It turned out I was 1-5 in my UFC 98 forecast. Yeesh. I'll leave that stuff to Performify.

Welcome to the Machida Era, writes John Morgan. I picked Rashad Evans because he was the reigning champ who has had an answer for everyone, and it concerned me how Lyoto Machida would react the first time he was hit with a clean shot. Not only can't Machida be beat, nobody can TOUCH him. I've love to see any available Compubox numbers. I doubt Sugar landed more than 10 blows in the two round before he was knocked out. I see the Dragon reigning at 205 for at least two years; he's got the goods, writes Franklin McNeil. His next bout is against Quinton Jackson, but Rampage won't have an answer for Machida Karate either.

Matt Serra had his chance when an accidental head butt left Matt Hughes dazed, but once Hughes took Serra to the ground, he took control of the fight and won a very close decision that could have gone either way. The Terror has nothing to be ashamed of - nothing. And it was good to see the two embrace afterwards. In the fight game, sometimes being respected is better than being liked.

Not enough people talk about Frankie Edgar. He owns wins over Jim Miller, Tyson Griffin, Spencer Fisher, Hermes Franca and now Sean Sherk. A breakthrough for The Answer, writes Dave Doyle, one that could put him in line for a shot at the winner of B.J. Penn-Kenny Florian in August.

Ever hear of Drew McFedries? It took him a whole 37 seconds to dispose of Xavier Foupa-Pokam. Looke for The Massacre to make his move among the middleweights and most importantly wish him the best in his ongoing battle with Crohn's Disease.

I didn't see the fight, so I can't judge whether it was a quick stoppage, but a devastaing loss for Phillipe Nover, KOed in 1:03 by the previously winless Kyle Bradley. Referee Yves Lavinge later told Nover, "I'm sorry that I stopped the fight," but in MMA you err on the side of caution the second you determine a fighter cannot defend himself. Dana White predicted during TUF 8 that Nover would become one of the great ones. Don't give up on the kid from Brooklyn. He's going to learn from this and bounce back strong.

UFC 98 predictions

For those with a gaming affinity, MMAJunkie.com resident handicapper Eric "Performify" Foster offers his picks for UFC 98 tomorrow night. Here's how I see a few of a bouts shaking out, based on who I've seen in action:

Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida
Tough call in what will be a great fight. Machida is a buzzsaw who owns wins over name opponents. Depending on your point of view, this is either a strength or a smokescreen. B.J. Penn, Stephan Bonnar and Rich Franklin weren't at their peaks, and Tito Ortiz was past his prime. The Dragon convinced a lot of skeptics he's for real with his first-round knockout of Thiago Silva at UFC 94. Sugar Rashad is on a roll off consecutive destructions of Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin. Machida has lost neither a fight, nor a round, in the UFC. That has to end sometime, right? With a win, Evans could defend the light-heavyweight crown against Quinton Jackson. To quote Rampage, it'll be "black on black crime!" Evans by unanimous decision.

Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra
A grudge match that pits two fighters that hate each other beyond the hype. Three years ago, Hughes wins this easily, but Serra had no chance against Georges St. Pierre either. Hughes is 1-3 in his last four fights and comes off a serious injury, while Serra's inactivity ends after 13 months. The Terror loves being the underdog and his unquenchable will to beat Hughes up overcomes any talent and experience disadvantage. Serra by TKO, Round 3.

Dan Miller vs. Chael Sonnen
A similar set of circumstances for Sonnen entering his last fight in which he holds an edge in experience but lacks the submission skills of his opponent. Sonnen was schooled by Demien Maia at UFC 95. He rebounds with a better effort but loses the striking battle. Miller by unanimous decision.

Sean Sherk vs. Frankie Edgar
The sleeper fight of the event. Edgar holds wins over Tyson Griffin, Spencer Fisher and Hermes Franca, but has never faced anyone the caliber of the former UFC Lightweight Champion. Sherk holds victories over Griffin, Franca and Kenny Florian. His three defeats are against St. Pierre, Penn and Hughes - nothing to be ashamed off. Sherk vaults back into title contention with an impressive win. Sherk by TKO, Round 2.

Undercard
Phillipe Nover vs. Kyle Bradley
A destruction device, Nover has learned a lot since falling to Efrain Escudero at the TUF 8 finale, most importantly how to lose. He takes it out on Bradley. Nover KO, Round 1.

Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Andre Gusmao
Soszynski was a popular contender on TUF 8 and 2-o in the UFC. The Polish Experiment takes another small step up the latter. Soszynski by unanimous decision.

Amazing Stories

Think the Yankees' eight-game winning streak (as of this writing) is amazing? Their charitable contributions are priceless. From Brett Gardner to Francisco Cervelli to a team-effort to give a dying boy his greatest day, these guys are a group of Guardian Angels.

Crazy Horse out of 99

It's now Cheick Kongo against Cain Velasquez at UFC 99. Heath Herring was forced out of the bout with a reported illness that's kept him from training the past two weeks.

This throws a change-up to my feature on Velasquez, to be posted in the coming weeks. Herring said he'd be available probably next week while Ryan Bader is set for hopefully tonight.

Yankees are winners of seven straight as of this writing and 9-2 since A-Rod's return. But front and center is CC Sabathia.

Rumble grounded?

Apparently so, reports MMAJunkie. An injured knee has forced Anthony Johnson out of his June 20 fight with Matt Brown at the Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale. A representative of "Rumble" confirmed only that Johnson suffered the injury during training but would not substantiate Johnson's claims on his MySpace page, or those from a source close to Johnson, that he's out of the event.

Anyone have Showtime? Andrei Arlovski vs. Brett Rogers has been added to an already stacked June 6 Strikeforce event headlined by Robbie Lawler vs. Jake Shields. Arlovski is 5-1 in his past six fights, but that one loss was because he got too cute against Fedor Emelianenko at an Affliction show in January. He paid for it when he was knocked into middle of next week.

The MMA media is giving Mike Brown the respect he deserves. Now will MMA fans? WEC 41, one day after Strikeforce, concludes a memorable weekend of MMA that actually does not include a live UFC show (though the WEC is the UFC's sister organization). The event is expected to set new records for the organization.

Meanwhile in Yankeeland, the Yankees are on a winning streak and having a ton of fun. I conducted my first Q&A with former Yankees pitcher and current YES analyst David Cone to talk about what's gone right. We'll be doing these periodically throughout the season.

Lighting a fire under Rumble

Last week FIGHT! Magazine's Web site posted my debut story on Anthony "Rumble" Johnson. A moniker of "Danger" would also work for this rising star that not enough people talk about. Perhaps a win over Matt Brown at the Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale June 20 will turn more heads and earn Johnson a spot on a bigger card.

A few nuggets that didn't make the story due to space constraints:

Johnson burns with an insatiable feeling of being overlooked. Disrespected. Sometimes dissed. Prior to his fight against Tommy Speer, Johnson bumped into Matt Hughes when leaving the locker room and said, "What's up?" Hughes brushed past him like he was a lowly undercard club fighter.

“I do want to fight Matt. He was kind of a dick. Tommy was his boy. He didn’t make any facial expression and just kept going. That’s messed up. If the UFC wants his career to keep going, they better not let me fight him.”

[Does anyone not hate Matt Hughes?]

On how doing honest work on a farm every day molded his work ethic and desire to be the best:
“My granddad beat it in me to be the best person I can be and work hard for what you want. It’s worked out so far and I know he’s happy. If he could complain he still would, telling me to do better than I am right now, but he’s happy. He taught me to be a man.”

Johnson's collegiate coach, Joe Arminas on the credo at Lassen Community college, where Johnson broke assistant coach Joe Carr’s mark of 101 consecutive wins at the school with his own tally 104. You may get beat by somebody, but you make sure that somebody knows who you are. Walk away with a sense of respect win, lose or draw.

“If one guy was slacking in that room, everybody on that team got on him/ You had no choice otherwise you got your ass whooped. I had no doubt in my mind Anthony was going to win. He was a man amongst boys.”

On how much Johnson hates to lose:
“I hate losing a game of checkers or UNO.”

Can Pitbull deliver on bold promise?

Thiago Alves made a bold prediction for his fight against Georges St. Pierre at UFC 100. If anyone can back it up, he can. He's 25, on a seven-fight win streak and is too relaxed to not feel any pressure.

What I can promise is this one will be a classic. Both come from great camps (GSP, Jackson Submission Fighting; Alves, American Top Team), and Alves has been working with Howard Davis Jr., whose influence was readily apparent in Chuck Liddell's fight against Maurico Rua before the Iceman (again) let his guard down. Both are young (GSP, 27; Alves, 25) and while GSP is at the top of his game, the Pitbull is still peaking.

Lined up in the coming weeks are interviews with Ryan Bader, Cain Velasquez, Heath Herring, and various sources from their past and present. Looking ahead to July 11 I'll be attending a ceremony in Glen Cove, N.Y., where the town is naming a street after its native son, Davis.

Another nice win for the Yankees today. That's four in a row, two via the walk-off hit. Today's hero was Alex Rodriguez, who belted a walk-off home run to win it in the 11th, and his postgame quote is a hopefull sign that he's finally growing up.

“I gave you guys something to talk about and write about in the 11th inning and I didn’t have to open my mouth. That’s the way I want things, to stay out of my own way.”

I'm at the Stadium on Monday for my first Q&A of the season with YES analyst David Cone. That will be fun.

Alves predictions kayo of GSP

Another week of Twittering along with coverage of the Yankees and MMA has come to an end, but not before a nice 4-2 road trip through Baltimore and Toronto. Not to shabby for the Yankees considering the plethora of injuries. I see this team being back to full strength by June 15, meaning a lineup with Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and hopefully Xavier Nady, along with a rotation that includes a healthy and productive Chien-Ming Wang. That's when all the excuses come to an end. The Yankees will be healthy and any acclimation period for Mark Teixeira (.203 as of this writing) will be long over. For the all the hype surrounding this team, it'll be put up or shut up, or the season will be over sooner than anyone will want to believe.

I interviewed Thiago "Pit Bull" Alves on Thursday for a story running on Junkie Saturday. Alves is preparing for the biggest fight of his life, a challenge to Georges St. Pierre for the UFC welterweight title at UFC 100. Not only is the robust 25-year-old Brazilian not unnerved by the hype nor the magnitude of the fight and event, he told me this: "I'm not going to win. I'm going to knock him out. I'm going to shock the world. I will make history. I promise you that." This is what's great about covering MMA: Shock value!

Cain Velasquez is an up-and-comer in the UFC's rebuilding heavyweight division, one ruled by Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir and ripe with talent in Velasquez, Shane Carwin and Cheick Kongo. He's facing the biggest challenge of his young career at UFC 99 in Germany, veteran Heath Herring. I expect to be interviewing Cain next week as part of a full-length feature to run the week of the event.

Props to MMAMadness for getting Chuck Liddell's take on whether he's retiring or not. The Iceman hasn't made up his mind, but as John Hackleman told me, he believes Liddell has at least one fight left in him. That feature generated a hell of response and intense debate, which shows you the passion of the Iceman's loyal following.

My Junkie colleague John Morgan has been keeping a video blog of Urijah Faber's preparation for his rematch with featherweight champion Mike Brown at WEC 41 June 7. From what I've read, this could end up the most successful show in the history of the UFC's sister promotion. Every MMA fan wanted a Brown-Faber rematch and they'll get it. Many have "The California Kid" pegged to regain the title he lost to Brown in a shocking first-round knockout, but I'm not so sure. Brown proved he wasn't a fluke with his destruction of Leonard Garcia and he's grounded enough to not let this success swell his head. Like Alves, Brown trains at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla., who recently employed the services of 1976 Olympic gold medalist Howard Davis Jr. Brown, like Faber, is as classy as they come, but extremely intense and focused on keeping his belt. I'm expecting another deep conversation as Judgment Day in Sacramento draws closer.

Hermes Franca is feeling great while continuing to rehab a torn ACL. We traded a few text messages in which he was trying to convince me to come out to Las Vegas for UFC 98 next Saturday. If only money wasn't so tight. Someday I'll get out there and when I do it'll be worth it that much more.

I end today's posting with a flashback of Eric Bischoff's challenge to Vince McMahon. Affliction Entertainment promoter Tom Atencio has challenged UFC president Dana White to a fight. White was on a corporate retreat, but upon learning that Atencio had called him out, the one-time amateur boxer told Yahoo! Sports, "If I were him, I'd want to fight me, too," White said. "I'm the guy who is killing all of his hopes and dreams."

Like I said, shock value!

Twittering and the Iceman's future

I'm now Twittering! MMAJunkie.com editor Dann Stupp suggested a way to promote our work and reach out to our fans. Follow my MMA reports at MMAJunkieJon.

My interview with John Hackleman is on line and it's generated a ton of response from Chuck Liddell's loyal fan base. Liddell's fans want to hear their fighter's side of the story, except The Iceman is on a mini vacation and spending time with family. Hopefully I'll be able to reach him within the next few weeks.

Getting untracked

Three consecutive wins in which the Yankees totaled 26 runs have calmed the waters, at least for now. Another loss and people will again deem the team a bust and call for Joe Girardi's head.

How easy is it just to chill and enjoy the games? To each his own ....

The best part about the Yankees the past few games have been the young players. Robinson Cano has returned to form with a vengeance. Melky Cabrera has taken the center field job away from Brett Gardner. Phil Hughes was awesome on Tuesday and Joba Chamberlain followed it up with his best performance as a starting pitcher since last July. Conclusions: Hughes needs to build on this and Chamberlain should not go to the bullpen. End of story.

Business is again picking up in the world of MMA. UFC 98 is this month and Long Island's Matt Serra has his legacy fight against Matt Hughes. I have an update on The Terror in the works and yesterday caught up with John Hackleman, Chuck Liddell's longtime trainer. Contrary to what Dana White said, Hackleman told me the Iceman is not done yet. He has one fight remaining on his UFC contract and Hackleman implied that Liddell will even figut outside of the organization. How fast will Strikeforce jump at the chance?