From The Rock

The oldest fight sport adage in the world is ‘styles make fights’. For that reason, no one knew quite what to expect in Saturday’s WEC Interim Lightweight Championship battle between Donald Cerrone and Ben Henderson. Henderson was known for his dominating wrestling skills, while Cerrone has a reputation as a punishing striker. Instead of being a clash of styles, however, it was an instance where the differing approaches of the two competitors complimented each other perfectly. The result was a ‘fight of the year’ candidate bout that Henderson won by unanimous-decision.

Henderson opened the fight with a takedown, but quickly got caught in a guillotine choke attempt. He extricated himself from this predicament only to find himself in a triangle choke that appeared for a moment to be a potential fight ending submission. That would not be the case, however, and Henderson would take control in the last half of the round with his powerful takedowns and ‘ground and pound’ punching assault.

Rounds two and three were all Henderson, as he took Cerrone down almost at will and began to pummel him on the ground. Cerrone managed a couple of submission attempts from the bottom, and did what he could to keep Henderson off of him with upkicks but nowhere near enough to salvage either round. At times, Cerrone looked downright clueless as to what tactical approach to take.

The tide would turn again in the fourth round, as Cerrone began to time Henderson’s takedown attempts. He became much more difficult to get to the ground, as well as administering punishment of his own after stuffing takedowns with punches and knee strikes. Later in the frame, Cerrone came close to ending the fight when he locked in a nasty and unorthodox choke that WEC commentator Frank Mir described as ‘almost an inverted rear naked choke’. After some tense moments, Henderson was able to escape. Cerrone would also control the final round, evading Henderson’s takedowns while scoring with his striking. He had another potential fight ending submission attempt in the fifth round, as he locked in an arm bar and appeared to have good leverage as he twisted Henderson’s arm into a nasty angle.

The decision itself was somewhat surprising, with Henderson winning all three judges’ scorecards by identical 48-47 scores. He’d clearly won rounds two and three, while Cerrone was the obvious winner of rounds four and five. This meant that all three judges had given the edge to Henderson in the first round, favoring Henderson’s punching attack over Cerrone’s submission attempts.

Henderson will now face WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner to unify the titles. Varner entered the cage after the decision was announced to ‘cut a promo’ on the winner, and suggested the fight take place in December in Phoenix, Arizona though neither the date nor venue has been finalized.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

When golf legend Jack Nicklaus was still a young upstart in the sport and only starting to tear up PGA courses, legend Bobby Jones commented following ‘The Golden Bear’s”65 Masters win that “he plays a game with which I am not familiar”. Following his absolute destruction of Rashad Evans in the main event of UFC 98, there’s likely a few MMA fighters saying the same thing about the new light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida who made it look easy en route to a 2nd round TKO victory.

The fight started slowly, with each man trying to get a feel for his opponent and wait him out to see who blinked first. Evans, who prefers to counter punch, quickly began to become uncomfortable with facing an adversary who didn’t come right at him. Late in the first round, Machida went on offense with frightening suddenness, flooring Evans with a nice straight right hand. Evans gamely tried to fight back, but a final right hand from the Shotokan Karate master left him out cold.

After the fight UFC announcer Joe Rogan proclaimed the start of the Machida era and this is not just mere hyperbole. Machida is unlike any fighter before him, rooted in mastery of traditional martial arts but with the versatility of a modern MMA competitor. He’s essentially a Mortal Kombat character come to life–in a more realistic cross disciplinary comparison he shares many of the same characteristics as boxing great Floyd Mayweather, Jr. as he combines insane handspeed, underrated stopping power and nearly impenetrable defense into an unorthodox and extremely lethal package.

The comparisons with the insanely talented but equally insanely arrogant Mayweather end when the final bell sounds. Outside of the cage, Machida is a modest and respectful gentleman who is quick to give credit to his father and his karate teachers for his MMA success. He spent most of his UFC 98 postfight interview not singing his own praises, but imploring others to strive to realize their dreams. In the past, his limited English was seen as a potential marketing liability here in the US but on this occasion he demonstrated vastly improved fluency in the language as a Portuguese translator stood by with his hands in his pockets. Almost overnight hes simply become a marketers dream.

An odd trivia note about Machida serves as further repudiation for MMA neophytes who think that the sports kinship with pro wrestling began with Brock Lesnar: Machida was discovered by Japanese wrestling legend Antonio Inoki, and became something of his protege. He trained for some time at the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in Tokyo and made his MMA debut on a NJPW card in 2003, defeating Pancrase veteran Kengo Watanabe.

Perhaps the most frightening thing about Machida is that hes only now reaching his full potential as an MMA fighter. In other words, hes only going to get better which is a scary prospect for opponents given the fact that hes never lost in MMA competition. Early in his UFC career he had a reputation as a boring fighter, but in his recent bouts hes shown a downright lethal ability to end fights. He stopped Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at UFC 79 with an arm triangle choke, and blitzed Evans and previous foe Thiago Alves with punishing punching combinations en route to TKO victories. The so called boring fighter has in the process earned two UFC knockout of the night bonuses by virtue of his evolving power punching skills.

Machida will very likely face Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson at some point and its difficult to see him faring much differently than Evans did. One thing working in ‘Rampage’s’ favor is his greater experience and a resume filled with high level opponents of various fighting styles. Still, everyone comes back to the fundamental reality that no one has ever really seen a fighter quite like Machida before.

In the co-main event of the evening, Matt Hughes defeated Matt Serra by unanimous decision to gain the upperhand in their long running feud. It was a surprisingly entertaining fight, with Serra taking the first round with his power punching before Hughes used his takedown and ground control abilities to win rounds two and three. The two men embraced after the fight so, for now at least, their well known dislike for one another that began during their stint as rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter may have ebbed. After the fight, Hughes backed off his previous talk of retirement after this matchup and clearly indicated that hed like to keep competing in the UFC.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Reading is always an enriching experience for people of all ages. It teaches us many things we need to learn or unlearn.

The topics on books are not restricted so you can learn from things like history, cooking, sports, and romance a lot more.

If you just love books, then you’re one of the people book clubs were made for. You may have many reasons for being a book buff. You have your own favorite authors and you know exactly where to get their latest bestsellers.

First off, these clubs can offer you books at very affordable prices. This is because the people running them are usually in partnership with certain publishing companies which allow them to buy their stocks at great discounts. Hence, the books may also be sold at prices lower than what you would find when buying books on your own. The cheaper the books, the more you’ll save to buy even more. Who knows, you could even open your own club one day where people can just rent your collection.

First off, these clubs can offer you books at very affordable prices. This is because the people running them are usually in partnership with certain publishing companies which allow them to buy their stocks at great discounts. Hence, the books may also be sold at prices lower than what you would find when buying books on your own. The cheaper the books, the more you’ll save to buy even more. Who knows, you could even open your own club one day where people can just rent your collection. As a book lover, you would probably appreciate not just reading good books but being in the know as far as new authors and releases are concerned. When you join these groups of book readers, you will have access to published materials, online or off, that update you on the latest bestsellers as well as their authors and the best time to buy them. If you travel anywhere in the world, you can log on to your club’s website to get information about where you can get that new release abroad. Basically, this club will not only make you feel like a reader. It will make you feel involved in the process of creating those books you love. When we read, we may either enrich our knowledge or derive pleasure from it, or both for those avid readers. Generally speaking, when we read, we are actually feeding our minds so we grow to be full of knowledge and sooner or later, wisdom.

Many parents would agree that one of the great hobbies to promote to your child is reading. From reading, children can not only enjoy great stories but they are exposed to words that they have not yet encountered and eventually learn to use them properly.

Generally, we grow up to be very good in speaking using our native language but when we are asked to write, we find it very difficult. Fortunately for those who grew up around books, writing is rarely a difficulty. When a child is exposed to correct sentence constructions as what he will find in a published book, he will begin to imbibe deep into his conscious the correct use of this written language. Therefore, he won’t be having a problem in both writing and speaking.

If you want your child to be interested in books, you can do this by having your entire family join a book club which offers great books at reasonable prices. Yet even so, book clubs are rarely about the discounts you’ll get. Book clubs can help their members communicate with each other in satisfying ways as they try to support each others interest for books. Many of them have formed lasting friendships or relationships rooted in one very important thing about themselves which they also happen to have in common – reading.

For children, book clubs can provide very good training as they prepare for higher studies and pursue whatever career they are considering. Communication has a very important role in the development of anyone who wants career advancement. By teaching your child proper written communication from an early age, he will be at a plus compared to those who did not get the same opportunity when they were young.

If you’re not sure how to start getting your child into reading, begin online and find such book clubs as the Book of the Month Club, the Literary Guild book club Book Club and so many others. There are membership fees and perhaps, some cash to shell out every now and then, but the long-term rewards are incomparable both for your child and for you as fulfilled parents.

The New Orleans Saints used a 14 point fourth quarter to defeat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 on Sunday to win their first Superbowl in franchise history. Drew Brees broke open a tight game midway through the final quarter with his touchdown pass to Jeremy Shockey, and Tracy Porter scored on a 74 yard interception return as the Colts were driving on the next series to secure the victory. Brees was named Superbowl MVP on the basis of his 288 yard, 2 touchdown, 0 interception performance. He completed 32 passes in the game, tying New England’s Tom Brady for the all time record in that category.

After enthusiasts had come in early on the favored Colts, a good deal of buyback on the Saints had pushed the line to -4′ and the New Orleans backers were enriched by their team’s outright victory. The underdog has now covered three straight Superbowls and taken the money in five of the last seven games. The 48 points scored stayed well under the posted total of 57.

In his postgame comments, a fabulously elated Brees gave much of the credit to the city of New Orleans:

“We play for so much more than ourselves. We played for our city. We played for the entire Gulf Coast region. We played for the entire Who Dat nation that has been behind us every step of the way. It means everything. We’re here because of their strength and everything they fought through here the last few years. They’ve given us so much support, so we owe it all to our fans.”

“Just to think of the road we’ve all traveled, the adversity we’ve all faced. It’s unbelievable. I mean, are you kidding me? Four years ago, whoever thought this would be happening? Eighty-five percent of the city was under water. Most people left not knowing if New Orleans would ever come back, or if the organization would ever come back. We just all looked at one another and said, ‘We’re going to rebuild together. We are going to lean on each other.’ That’s what we’ve done the last four years and this is the culmination in all that belief.”

Never known for his elocution, Peyton Manning had little to say after the game particularly about the decisive interception return:

“Made a great play. Made a great play. Corner made a heck of a play. Certainly disappointing, very disappointing. Disappointing.”

Saints’ coach Sean Payton made a bold call at the beginning of the second half when he called for an onside kick. New Orleans recovered and linebacker Jonathan Casalis suggested it was a game changing play:

“We were really excited when he made the call. That changed everything.”

Payton explained the diva-like decision:

“We’re going to be aggressive. We’d seen the onside kick all week and guys executed it well. It turned out to be a big change of possession.”

The city of New Orleans will celebrate their team’s victory with a parade. With Mardi Gras celebrations already scheduled to begin shortly thereafter, it could be quite some time before New Orleans returns to business as usual.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

International relationships are not at all unusual to see in our time. You or your friends probably know someone. A Russian wife may connect with her Australian husband or an American woman may find a French husband. There are numerous possibilities with more people around the world than there ever have been before.

Many people from many different cultures have found their way to each other and are living a wonderful life together despite the difficulties. Although being in a long distance relationship can be challenging, especially when one of you makes the decision to move to be closer to the other, it can be a highly rewarding and exciting experience and worth the effort of searching online.

Many people don’t know appropriate behavior when they decide to start looking for love online. It’s important to know where to look, how to talk to someone you have met on the internet and how to maintain such a long distance relationship with the hopes of becoming more serious.

Since the internet is relatively new, people still don’t know how they should act when the use it to connect with others. Since it’s such a new medium, there are lots of differences between it and other forms of communication. There are important things to remember when using the web to conduct a relationship with someone far away.

One thing to remember is that the age-old rules that we learned as young people about relationships and relationship behavior are pretty much the same online as they are face-to-face. It’s important to be attentive and interested in what your partner has to say and what they care about. It’s also important to ask about who they are, what they like to do and what their families are like. People like it when others show interest in them.

Something else that likely to assist in the formation of a long distance relationship is to remember that the internet doesn’t have to be the only form of communication. It’s easy to forget this because the web is so simple and efficient to use. There are still other options, like letters, postcards and calling on the phone. These are other possible forms to use to build a relationship, and people perhaps appreciate them more because of the ease of the online option.

There are those around who have great interpersonal skills and are able to give online dating advice because in the end, they are not so different. These people have an idea of the timing and nature of your responses to the person in whom you are interested, and they can also give ideas and support when you wish to extend and deepen your relationship. Cross-cultural compatibility is not so different than next door neighbor love but it can certainly pose a challenge at first.

A Russian wife, an American husband, a French wife, a German husband- people have found love from all corners of the world, and they can thank online dating for that. It’s not such a challenge, and maybe even more simple than other kinds of dating, even though similar etiquette applies.

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