interesting TUF note

just randomly wandering through Sherdog as is the norm, and I noticed that Rob (best fight we've ever had!) Emerson had already fought his opposing coach Jens Pulver way back in his first fight in 2002. Of course, this was Rob's first pro fight in an org called "Ultimate Wrestling", and Pulver's...fifteenth, after he'd already posted wins over B.J. Penn, Caol Uno, and Joe "Daddy" Stevenson. It's easy to forget that MMA has been going on for quite a while, and that a lot of fighters have a long history in promotions other than the "Big Two" Pride and UFC. Jens is a good example, but Joe "Daddy" is a good one too...with 34 professional MMA fights under his belt, Stevenson has fought some real fighters: Mishima, Guillard, Neer, Cummo, Denny, Dewees, and Jens. So before we saw him lay a brutal choke on an over excited Melvin recently, he had a long and impressive resume as a mixed martial artist. The way the UFC promotes fighters, you'd think they were making their debuts when they enter the Octagon.
I'd recommend doing a search on any fighters you're interested in on Sherdog, Wikipedia, and of course Google to see what else they've been up to. You may run into some interesting results. Also, consider finding a way of contributing to the great free sites like Wikipedia. They're an amazing resource that costs very little to access, and it's a good feeling to help them get better. A LOT of articles on combat sports originate in non-English-speaking countries, and it's a small thing to help, say, clean up an article about a kickboxer or SAMBO champ you admire.

So-so UFN

Okay, I thought I'd weigh in briefly on last night's Ultimate Fight Night & TUF 5.

• Kenny Florian is cool. I liked him early and I still like him. He was fired up after that fight, screaming his head off. Anyone know what he was saying? I couldn't make it out. He showed tremendous brains & heart in that fight, getting snagged in the knee bar and escaping. The near tapout was very dramatic, and Florian/Mishima was the best fight of the night.

• Rogan made a great point about Ken-Flo: He's a normal guy who works really hard. I think that's why I like him. I hope he gets another shot at Sherk, or whoever the title holder is. Florian/Franca might be freaking great.

• Guillard has to watch his damn melon. He pretty much stuck his head in there like he was begging to be choked out.

• McNully/Hardonk was boring as hell. Ranks above, slightly, Herring/O'Brien in boredom and ineptitude.

• TUF 5 looks like it'll be loud, but maybe not awesome. The kids seem like they're putting on a show for the cameras, like all of them do. As of now I'm going to Tivo through to the fights, but we'll see.

• Can't wait for Jens and BJ to fight. There's still some prime smack flying.

• The team Jens brought with him to TUF looks great.

• Jens and Lauzon being together has already been mentioned, but is it weird that both of these guys are training fighters they'll possibly have to throw leather with? The whole thing seems set up to make everyone spaz out as much as possible. I guess that's the point.

• This interview with Joe Daddy is pretty good.

More as I think of it.