Issue 040

August 2008

With so much MMA action happening around  the world, we break down the stand out performances from the month of  June.

Controversial moment

Depending on your viewpoint, Nick Diaz crashing KJ Noons’s post-fight celebration was either a disgrace to the sport or a shining example of how to hype up a fight and make sure every single person in attendance is desperate to buy a ticket. Everyone seems to have strong opinions one way or the other. We’ll admit, we were pretty entertained by the chaos.  

Best performance

Urijah Faber

Five rounds of domination is not just impressive, it’s damn near inhuman.   

KO of the month

Matt Wiman’s brutal KO of Thiago Tavares. Stunning.  

Most frustrating performance

Brandon Vera has all the talent (and the mouth) to make him a huge star, but once again came up short against an accomplished heavyweight. His pride seems to have obscured the fact he badly needs to watch his diet and drop to 205lb.  

Underdog of the month

Jeff Burns’ triangle win over Roan Carneiro. Burns, a lowly blue belt in jiu-jitsu, tapped out a top-tier black belt with this picture-perfect submission.  

Submission of the month

Shinya Aoki’s gogoplata -– who would have thought he’d do it again?   

Unprofessional behaviour

Gina Carano and Nick Diaz take joint honours for turning up massively overweight. Alves may have been four pounds over, but an ankle injury prevented him from making weight. Carano only trained for three weeks due to TV commitments, whereas Diaz didn’t even bother making an excuse. For shame. 

Upset of the month

Thiago Alves taking out Matt Hughes. The torch has been passed.   

Best ring attire

Maybe we should rename this the ‘Shinya Aoki’ award. Looking sharply ludicrous in his rainbow coloured tights, Aoki’s dress sense never fails to amuse and inspire in equal measure.

Fight of the month

Urijah vs Jens, Miguel Torres vs Yoshiro Maeda, Hideo Tokoro vs Darren Uyenoyama – we honestly can’t decide! This has been one of the best months for MMA in ages.