Weekly Knockout (UFC) - GRASSO vs. ARAUJO

October 13, 2022

Written by LineStar contributor, combat sports enthusiast, and practitioner, Chris Guy. Instagram: @therealsethgeko | Twitter: @DadHallOfFamer

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LFG GRASSO VS ARAUJO FLYWEIGHT

“Alexa, who is the worst Chef in America?”

After letting Russell Wilson cook for a congregation of roughly nine hundred people, they all died.

At first, it was believed red Kool-Aid spiked with a Phenobarbital was the cause of the mass deaths, but it was later determined to be mass food poisoning, which led to mass bubble guts and hence mass dehydration, and eventually death. It is now a federal law that no one ever let Russ cook again, as he has been labeled the worst Chef in America.”

“Alexa, who will win the 2023 Super Bowl?"

“The Dallas Cowboys, universally regarded as America’s Team, will win their sixth Lombardi trophy on February 12, 2023, in Phoenix, Arizona.

“Alexa, who will win the World Series?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure, but I can tell you who won’t. The New York Yankees. In fact, Antonio Brown has a better chance of becoming a YMCA lifeguard than the Yankees do of winning the World Series.”

“Sheesh. Was that necessary, Alexa?”

“Very necessary.”

“Alexa, what is the worst main event in UFC history?”

“The worst main event in the history of the UFC took place on June 12, 2020, between Cynthia Calvillo and Jessica Eye. To date, no one remembers who won the fight, but a recent poll revealed people would still rather watch that fight than the 2022 week five NFL matchup between the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts.”

“Thanks, Alexa. Can I take a selfie with you?”

“Oh, yeah, sure.”

“Can you pretend to choke me?”

“Of course. Rear-naked or arm triangle?”

“I was thinking Peruvian necktie…”

Alexa Grasso shrugged, “Okay.”

It was tricky holding the selfie stick at the right angle, but I got the shot. “Good luck this weekend, “ I said and walked up to the counter and put ten dollars on pump twelve. Suddenly, it struck me, “Oh, Alexa!” I yelled.

She turned around on her way out the door. “Yes, how can I help you?”

“I wouldn’t use the bathroom here if I were you. I’d try to hold it until Primm.”

She gave me a puzzled look, then turned it in the cashier's direction.

“That’s probably a good idea, miss,” he said.

“Uh, okay. Thanks, guys,” she said, sounding creeped out.

We’ll find out this weekend if she took heed of my advice.

Main Card

Grasso: DK: $9k |Araujo: DK:$7.2k

Is this thing on? I’m likely typing to myself right meow. After a quick glance, this email was likely reported as junk. But those who stay will become champions. Alexa Grasso vs. Viviane Araujo is a Jean- Claude Van Damme vs. Dolph Lundren Universal Soldier style matchup. Alexa Grasso is the smaller, quicker cyborg whose humanity has survived the mind-erasing weapons of DARPA's most evil scientists. And Vivian Araujo is the bigger, stronger cyborg whose moral conscience has been replaced with hatred for the human race. As a symbol of her vitriol, she removes the ears of her opponents and wears them around her neck like Mr. T rocking gold chains. It has been said; the prized ear of her collection belonged to Van Gogh, a family heirloom handed down.

This is a classic matchup of technique and fundamentals versus power and aggression. Alexa Grasso is a technical boxer who remains defensively responsible at all times. She’s a Flex Seal representative, no leaks. She initiates every exchange from a high hand guard and rarely gets caught with heavy shots. The stiff boxer’s jab is a main weapon of Grasso’s, and she tends to engage mostly with short combinations.

The underrated aspect of Grasso’s game is her grappling. All three of her career losses came to elite wrestlers, so it’s easy to overlook her ground game. But she has recently shown slick grappling, specifically back control, and is coming off a first-round rear-naked choke submission of Joanne Wood.

Grasso is one of those fighters whose strengths double as her weaknesses. Her strict fundamentals often blunt her creativity. There’s no deviation from the planes of attack; they always come from a singular angle from her face. She’s a stock Ford Escort with roll-up windows and a one hundred disc CD holder under the passenger seat. It almost looks like she’s Wii boxing at times with repetitive, predictable combinations. True story: my brother once broke his wrist Wii bowling. Now back to our regularly scheduled program. Since all her strikes come straight down the middle, it’s easier to cover up and defend. Changing hand positions is an excellent way to add wrinkles to your stand-up and can help create fight-ending sequences. Grasso’s most glaring weakness? Like Germany this winter, she has no power. Her career record is 14-3 with only four career TKO/KO’s and one sub. In noine career UFC bouts, she has one finish, and it was her recent submission of Joanne Wood.

Viviane Araujo is a killer, so don’t push her. At least for a couple of rounds she is. She has dangerous one-punch striking and will be the bigger finishing threat for the first half of the fight. Like Grasso, her best weapon is a boxer’s jab, but Araujo’s is a power jab that can sit you down. Unlike Grasso, though, she fires her jab from different angles and doubles and triples it. She rarely throws her right hand without a lead hand escort and moves off her right hand at angles to set up follow-up shots. Her overhand right is a four-seam fastball from the stretch, and she throws every strike with one hundred percent power. Araujo also has the wrinkles that Grasso lacks. She will switch stances mid-combination with a step-in right hand to close the distance as she turns the power cross into a lead right hook.

Her major malfunctions? Although she has a similar output to Grasso, averaging nearly five significant strikes landed per minute, she’s a one-punch striker and tends to slow down as the fight progresses. Her gas tank barely gets her across the finish line in three round affairs, so a five round bout will favor Grasso if it goes to the championship rounds. Also, she’s fairly stiff on the feet with an upright posture and no head movement. Araujo will run straight into the opponent’s offense and often fall into take-one-to-give-one exchanges.

This one is heavily favored (-240) to go over four and a half rounds and will likely end in a decision. A decision favors Grasso, and her fantasy value will be in high significant strikes reaching over one hundred with a long shot at a late finish if Araujo’s gas tank springs a leak late in the fight. Araujo will also be near the one hundred strikes mark, but she also has the extra value of being able to secure takedowns and clock top control time. Her best bet is to try to steal rounds from the top position and salt away some of the clock. Although she has visible power, Araujo hasn’t finished a fight since her debut six fights ago.

The main event-winning streak came to an abrupt halt two weeks ago when Mackenzie Dern was unable to submit Yan Xiaonan. This may be the most difficult main event pick since. Alexa Grasso via decision.

Winner: Alexa Grasso | Method: Decision

Martinez: DK: $8.8k | Cub: DK: $7.4k

Banger. Straight up and down, straitjacket. This fight could serve as a defacto main event. There are very few OG’s with more stripes than Cub Swanson; this will mark his thirtieth fight in the UFC and the forty-first of his career. And Jonathan Martinez is a Civil War surgeon with a bone saw for a left leg that amputates clean with one stroke. This is a clash of extreme styles, the back alley street brawling style of Cub Swanson versus the pristine tea and crumpets style of Jonathan Martinez.

Cub Swanson's hands have hydraulics, and he makes them bounce like a LoLo, slanging them from his waist. You hear Still D.R.E. playing in the background whenever Cub starts throwing hands. You can't help but bob your head, screw your face up, and start throwing air punches at all your demons at the Chiles bar when Cub starts letting loose. This dude Cub Swanson, gets low to the earth like Paul Wall with the gold fronts and lobs overhand grenades from his feet and even busts out some HORSE granny shots. In his last bout against Darren Elkins, Cub landed a spinning wheel kick to score the ‘e’ and finished him off.

Swanson will be the more versatile striker in this matchup and is an aggressive kickboxer/brawler with heavy, long punches and kicks. He uses both stances but is a natural orthodox fighter, and his right cross is his fight-ending strike. The dart punch is a sneaky way to land the power hand without taking much risk of getting countered. When you throw the dart, you square your hips and shoulders and use only your arm to propel your fist while exiting the pocket towards your lead hand side. The strike's power is decreased dramatically, but it’s a good way to touch the opponent and work off at angles.

Swanson’s defense is his offense, and his mantra is to bomb first and ask questions later. He rarely raises his hands above his waist and uses virtually no hand guard to defend attacks. Cub relies on distance management to stay just out of range to defend and also likes to use same-time counters to time opponents and beat them to the punch. Cub combines one-punch KO power and overwhelming volume to end fights and will be the bigger finishing threat against Martinez. In forty-career fights, Cub has been finished noine times but only twice by TKO/KO, and Martinez isn’t known for his submission prowess.

Jonathan Martinez is a Gus Fring striker who relies heavily on his dominant side strikes like he’s missing half of his body. His left round kick and left hand are deadly, but if you over play his right side he’s virtually harmless. Most importantly, Martinez likes everything to be pretty. He eats three square meals a day with white cotton linens. He puts exactly one drop of syrup in each square of his Eggo waffles. He wipes with one square of toilet paper at a time and folds it in quadrants using a protractor. Martinez thrives when he can dictate the pace and engage on his own terms. But he struggles under pressure when facing heavy volume and has to avoid an ugly fight against Swanson. His MO is staying on the outside and picking his opponents apart with a variety of long range kicks.

The dreaded calf kick is Martinez’s special weapon; he amputates legs and hides them in the walls of his house and displays some in formaldehyde jars in the basement. Leg kicks will be the key for Martinez against Cub. One thing you don’t want to get in the habit of is catching leg kicks; that’s how you eventually get kicked in the head or break your arm. Cub’s low hand position will make it inevitable that he’ll try to defend leg kicks by catching them, and that will open up the head kick. Martinez is a rare fighter whose kicks are better than his hands. His boxing is solid but not nearly as dynamic as his kicking game.

I was kind of shocked to see Martinez as the (-200) favorite, and you already know what time it is. Bring ‘em out, bring ‘em out! Bust out the Piso Mojado signs. Cub Swanson will be dripping with value. He throws wild, heavy bombs at all times, and his aggression and forward pressure will cause Martinez problems. I also think Cub is the bigger finishing threat. The odds (-135) favor the fight going the distance, and a Cub Swanson TKO/KO will return (+500) odds. I can’t see Martinez finishing Cub, so the play for Martinez is a decision valued at (+125). Give me the OG, give me the dog; Cub Swanson via TKO, round three.

Winner: Cub Swanson | Method: TKO Rd.3

Cub 83

Askarov: DK: $9.2k | Royval: DK: $7k

This is going to be a cartoon skirmish, just a roiling dust cloud of flailing limbs, cats and dogs, and household appliances. Askar Askarov is a human JanSport backpack with stifling grappling and Velcro back control, and Brandon Royval is an ADHD ball of kinetic energy released ungoverned in a cage. This will likely be a grapplers delight and one of the highest paced ground scraps you’ll see. Like Sammy and Mark McGwire in 1998 brought back baseball, these two can bring back high octane grappling matches. Chicks dig the ground game.

Askar Askarov is one fight removed from being held up at gunpoint in the handicap stall of a sinister Valero dead in the middle of a barren stretch of Las Vegas desert. He lost a close decision to Kai Kara-France, a fight that came down to the third and final round. Neither fighter did much in the third but Kara-France did nothing at all and had his back taken in the round. Anywho, Askarov can put himself right back in the title hunt with an impressive victory over the always-fun Brandon Royval.

It’s grappling or bust for Askarov, whose striking is his major weakness. Askarov has relentless takedowns and a romantic ground game. It’s like he’s in the Victorian era expressing his undying love for the opponent in the way he embraces and caresses opponents into fight-ending positions. There are no explosive movements, just slow, methodic adjustments until he eventually takes the back. No matter what’s happening in a fight—the arena falling down around him, Antonio Brown reclining in an inflatable wading pool in the front row like he’s in Dubai—his demeanor always remains stoic. His O face looks like a mug shot (don’t ask how I know); he didn’t even cry at the ending of The Red Badge of Courage. Under pressure or front running, Askarov remains steadfast in his approach to get the fight to the mat.

Askar’s major malfunction? His stand-up is like the last person to see the victim alive, the person who had the most to gain from the victim’s death, suspect. It ain’t terrible, but it ain’t great either. Royval is far from being Israel Adesanya on the feet, so Askarov won’t be outclassed by any means, but his path to victory is and always will be with takedowns, top control, and submissions.

Brandon Royval will gas you out just watching him scrap. You’ll be walking around your living room disoriented, looking like Tua by the end of the first round. His fights look like they’re on x4 fast-forward. His style on the ground and the on the feet is hectic, chaotic, and infinite. It’s a never-ending assault of movement and swinging limbs. He pulls spinning attacks out of hats and can even execute them from the bottom position from his back. No BS. From his back, he’s Costco with the submission attempts, wholesale. He shops at submission depot and has reward points racked up.

Royval is the CEO and senior spokesman for my Be First & Be Often brand of throw pillows on sale at most fine retailers. Early next year, we'll be releasing our new line of Be First & Ask Questions Later hand towels. He’s a Makaveli track one First To Bomb representative wherever the fight ends up. But like many fighters, his strengths can double as weaknesses. His aggressiveness often lands him in bad positions, and he’s kind of flimsy on the feet. Because he's always bouncing around, leaping in and out of the pocket, he often runs into the opponent’s offense, and he doesn’t take strikes well. It looks like Broadway special effects every time he gets hit; he flies clear across the cage. Also, he lacks power. Royval can overwhelm with pace but isn’t much of a finishing threat on the feet.

The finishing threat is no doubt Askar Askarov. Royval throws himself head first into the depths of Mr. Doom and will often be in bad situations. If he gives up his back, and he will, Askarov can finish him. I don’t see a clear path to victory for Royval except possibly on the feet, but he’d have to keep it standing and out-point Askarov for the better portion of fifteen minutes. Askarov is the (-265) favorite, and the over/under for the fight going the distance is dead even. The play here is an Askarov submission valued at (+250). A Royval decision will return (+550) and is likely his only means of pulling this out. Askar Askarov via rear naked choke, round two.

Winner: Askar Askarov | Method: Rear-Naked Choke Rd.2

Askarov 79

Wright: DK: $7.5k | Dusko: DK: $8.7k

This is a battle of the Island of misfit toys ass mf’ers. Humans are synonymous with flaws; we learn from failing and making mistakes and eventually grow to embrace our shortcomings, but these two take flaws to a different level. There are levels to this ish. No one can fall asleep and catch a full eight hours of sleep quicker than Jordan Wright. He’s human anesthesia. This guy steps into the cage and can’t wait to fall asleep like a kid on Christmas Eve. And Dusko, I didn’t forget about you. Dusko Todorovic is a double-end bag on the feet, one of those inflatable Baby’s First punching bags that just keep bobbing right back to the center after you wallop it. Needless to say: bust out the Happy Nappers, feety pj’s, and sleep apnea machines, someone’s going nighty-night after this one.

“The Beverly Hills Ninja” Jordan Wright is a mall karate stand-up fighter who learned under the precise tutelage of a world-renowned Karate expert named Rex in Idaho. He has a nifty highlight reel of spinning wheel kick KO’s to his name but hasn’t been able to channel his master Rex’s energy in the Octagon. He has a career 12-3 record and is 2-3 in the UFC. All but one fight ended in the first round, and three of those times, it was Jordan Wright gagging on the smelling salt.

Wright will be a high-risk/high-reward Fantasy option this weekend. If he throws caution and his Captain Underpants chonies to the wind and comes out throwing board-breaking rigid hand chops and triple gainer flying wheel kicks, he can KO Todorovic. His issue will be remaining on his feet and avoiding the takedown. When he ends up on his back, Wright often has to file police reports because he becomes a victim. Wright’s value is in him swinging for the fences like its batting practice and hoping to catch Dusko slippin’.

Dusko Todorovic looks like a giant Gerber baby, but don’t let that fool you into thinking he doesn’t have any skills. He’s actually pretty dangerous standing and on the mat, but he has major red flags. Defensively on the feet, Todorovic doesn’t defend strikes at all. He often uses a lazy “pull” to defend but always immediately returns his head back to the center. When you use pulls to avoid strikes, you have to then roll or slip before returning to the centerline. Dusko doesn’t, and he gets blasted in the face a lot because of it. In his last bout, Chidi Njokuani dropped Todorovic with a nasty standing elbow that left Todorovic on his back in the diaper change position like he was on the Koala Kare table at the mall.

Dusko’s value and path to victory will be in the clinch and on the mat. He has nasty ground and pound and top control and can score TKO/KO’s on the mat and the feet. Jordan Wright fights reckless and wild on the feet, and Dusko will have to avoid getting caught up in a firefight. Wright will flip a coin and take his chances, so Dusko has to look to use Wright’s aggression against him and level change and work takedowns.

Todorovic is the (-210), and Wright will be the (+170) dog. The fight is heavily favored (-550) to end before the final bell. The under for one and a half rounds is (-225), and the over (+170). I like the over but just barely. If you believe in the principles of Rex Kwon Do, the play for Jordan Wright is a TKO/KO (+265). A Todorovic TKO/KO will return even money, and a submission (+400). Dusko Todorovic via TKO, round two (eight minutes and thirty seconds).

Winner: Dusko Todorovic  | Method: TKO Rd.2

Dusko 72

Cirkunov: DK: $7.3k | Menifield: DK: $8.9k

This is another scrap with little to no chance of going the distance. I was infamously catfished by Alonzo Menifield’s last opponent, Askar Mozharov. I received a call before the fight in the middle of the night saying he was dead, and I had just dedicated my Fantasy Football season to him. His record went from like 25-5 to 15-13 overnight, and he looked nothing like his pictures. Anywho, Alonzo Menifield proceeded to crack his ass from the opening bell and walked away with a first-round TKO.

Menifield is a huge wrestler with heavy power in his right hand and is a Contender Series alumnus. Since his debut in 2018, Menifield has fought high-level competition and has had some ups and downs. He has a notable win over Paul Craig and has won three of his last four bouts. His bread and butter is his power wrestling, but he will be up against a savvy submission grappler in Misha Cirkunov. Menifield often runs into trouble on the feet, but he’s also very dangerous there. He’ll have a massive power advantage and should look to gas Misha early on the feet before looking to score his own takedowns.

For better or worse, seven of Misha Cirkunov’s seven of his last noine fights have ended in the first round, and during that stretch, he has gone 3-6. Cirkunov is a one-round warrior and grappling dynamo, like the guy wrapped up in Christmas lights in The Running Man. He times power double legs that look more like the Goldberg Spear, waiting for his opponent to engage so he can change levels and shoot. If/when Misha gets you to the mat, you’re gonna have a bad time.

Misha Cirkunov has a roadmap to the mount he follows after securing top position and rarely deviates from it. He’ll pass to half-guard with distracting strikes, then go to side mount, where he’ll look to pin one arm with his legs in a half crucifix position. If he can’t secure the far side arm with his head, Cirkunov will go straight to the mount and use the opponent’s desperation to escape to hunt for chokes. Cirkunov’s specialty is head and arm chokes: arm triangles, D’arce, Anaconda, neckties, etc.

Cirkunov’s value is in a first-round submission. He has a career 15-8 record with five TKO/KO’s and eight subs. The problem with betting on Cirkunov is that he’s working within a small window. When the clock strikes five minutes, his wrestling shoes turn into well-thrown chanclas.

Alonzo Menifield is the (-220) favorite and Cirkunov the (+175) dog. Cirkunov’s only path to victory is on the mat and via submission, which will return (+400). After the first round, a Menifield TKO/KO (+125) will be all but inevitable. Alonzo Menifield via TKO, round two.

Winner: Alonzo Menifield  | Method: TKO Rd.2

Menifield 76

Mana: DK: $8.5k | Davis: DK: $7.7k

This should be a crunchy little groove, a tasty little banger. You can’t always judge fighters by their records, and Brandon Davis is proof of that. He’s in his second stint with the UFC and holds a promotional record of 2-6. But he’s been an Apocalypto sacrifice for almost every one of those scraps, having fought the likes of Giga Chikadze and Zabit Magomedsharipov. Across the cage will be Mana Martinez, a tough young fighter who lost his way into the UFC by way of the Contender Series and has gone 1-1 since.

Here’s the long and the short of it; Brandon Davis is a live (+130) dog with a major advantage in one attribute, experience. This guy has been in there with some of the best in the world and has that dog in him. He can hang around and hang around like Mr. Hanky when you’re using the in-law’s bathroom. Twerking and violent bouncing is rarely enough to pinch this guy off. Davis has well-rounded skills and should look to make this an MMA fight against Mana Martinez, make things ugly, and drag the young fella into AB-infested waters.

Mana Martinez is that dude who’s like any other dude. He’s just a dude on the couch that no one seems to know, but no one asks to leave. If he were an action figure, and you were having a draft in your driveway with the neighborhood kids, he’d be one of the last ones picked, looking around anxiously, hoping someone takes him before Chase Sherman. He’s got decent hands and likes to switch stances, and has an excellent finishing rate, having won eight of his noine career dubs by TKO/KO. And he’s got some dog in him, too, and is a glutton for punishment.

Martinez’s biggest hole is in his ground game. He’s not quite a Life Alert patient on his back, but he has twelve percent takedown defense and struggles to get back to his feet. He’s got Tiny Tim in a hurricane takedown defense. His path to victory is staying on the feet and using pressure and volume to break down Davis.

Mana is the early (-160) favorite, and the odds are dead even for the fight going the distance. I think both fighters can finish this fight with accumulated damage, but it would likely happen late. But both fighters can take a lot of damage and are tough to finish, so I’d play a decision one way or the other. Mana Martinez via decision.

Winner: Mana Martinez  | Method: Decision

Mana 64

Prelims

Value Menu

Assuncao: DK: $6.9k | Henry: DK: $9.3k

Victor Henry had one of the most impressive wins so far this year when he stepped in on short notice and upset the killer Raoni Barcelos. You may remember Barcelos from two weeks ago when he had Mark Zuckerberg’s wife looking like she was watching a Denis Villeneuve-directed snuff film from the front row. She looked like she was playing Marco Polo at the Ramada Inn swimming pool, opened her eyes, and saw AB lounging in the three-foot section. This dude, Victor Henry, is cooler than the other side of the pillow. Henry displayed intricate striking that Raoni Barcelos was in no way prepared for. He can strike while moving in any direction, switching stances mid-combination and maintaining a constant barrage of never-ending combinations.

Henry will be facing a veteran’s veteran in Raphael Assuncao, who is at the tail end of a very underrated career. This is the classic matchup of two fighters moving in opposite directions, and the ascending Henry will have a really good shot at making a statement by finishing Assuncao. In twenty-seven career scraps, Henry has never been finished and had an extensive pro career before getting the call-up to the UFC.

Here’s why I’m highlighting this fight: (+1100). That’s the return on a Victor Henry submission. For his career, Henry is 22-5 with six TKO/KO’s and eight submissions. In thirty-six career scraps, Raphael Assuncao has only been finished by submission twice, but career-wise, the timing is set up perfectly for Henry to catch Assuncao slippin’. I’m betting on Henry creating a fight-ending sequence on the feet that leads to him snatching Assuncao’s neck. Dropping an Andrew Jackson on a submission and hitting at (+1100) will have you showing off your Beverly Hills mansion for the season premiere of a Cribs reboot.

Henry 92

Twenty-Twen-Twen Sleepers

Twenty-Ten-Twen Sleepers

Cub Swanson (+175): As a straight up dog, Cub Swanson is inundated with value. One major difference between Cub and Jonathan Martinez is that Cub has that dog in him, and Martinez doesn't. When the going gets tough, the Jonathan Martinez's get to breaking. Wavey Davey Grant KO Martinez and, in doing so, dropped the blueprint like Jay-Z. Pressure and combinations in volume are the keys to beating Martinez, and Cub will bring both of those things.

Viviane Araujo (+175): The main event is a complete toss-up. Both ladies have experienced highs and lows inside the Octagon and are (no offense) far from elite fighters. Much like Jonathan Martinez, Alexa Grasso can be bullied with power and volume. Viviane Araujo doesn't have the volume, but she has the power and speed with solid takedowns and top control. She can steal close rounds with a takedown here and there.

C.J. Vergara (+200): This dude has some perro in him; he's a stage five clinger that a 7.0 on the Richter Scale couldn't help you shake off. C.J. Vergara is fighting a highly touted grappling killer in Tatsuro Taira. In his debut, Taira displayed a filthy ground game and ground and pound but also found himself in a dogfight against Carlos Candelario. I think Vergara is better than Candelario, but he'll have to survive early and find a way to keep it standing long enough to chip away at Taira on the feet. But Vergara will likely hang around, and hang around, and..

Pick 'Em

 

Winner: Victor Henry

 Method: Rear-Naked Choke Rd.3

 

Winner: Jacob Malkoun

 Method: Decision

    Winner: Joanderson Brito

 Method: Decision

    Winner: Piera Rodriguez

 Method: Decision

    Winner: Tatsuro Taira

 Method: Decision

    Winner: Pete Rodriguez

 Method: TKO Rd.3

Thanks for reading LineStar Weekly Knockout! We'll be back next Thursday with another one. Until then, good luck and support your local MMA Gym.

About Me

My name is Chris Guy, and I’m an avid combat sports enthusiast and practitioner. I’ve been a fan of MMA since the early 2000s when Limewire was still around, and I downloaded Bas Rutten’s Big Book of Combat. In 2004, I started training Muay Thai at City Boxing in San Diego, CA. I competed as an amateur for many years, and I've also dabbled in Jiu-Jitsu. I follow many different disciplines, such as Combat Ji-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Glory Kickboxing, Boxing, and MMA.

I’m equally as enthusiastic about the craft of writing, and in addition to writing about combat sports, I also write short fiction and music. I hope to bring unique prose to sports writing, and along the way, encourage people to not only become Martial Arts fans but to also become Martial Artists themselves.

In the future, you may see me refer to the Thunderdome; it's an ode to the old Mad Max movie and refers to the world-class training facility I built in my one-car garage. It's complete with throw dummies, wrestling mats, heavy bags, and six months' worth of Chef Boyardee cans from when I thought the world was going to end back in March. I hope you enjoy my work, and if you don’t, the Thunderdome has an open door policy.

Check out my Podcast The Whiskey (S)ick Podcast on Apple and Spotify. Parental Advisory Warning