We already know Mr.T is handy with large guns, we know dude’s chain game is extensive, we know he can beat up Rocky, and we know he doesn’t like to fly. That’s a pretty robust character, and an extensive list of characteristics. If I died being known as a dude with wild chains and gun skills, I’d look at that as a good life. All of us would. Not Mr.T though. This is also probably why there’s only one Mr.T.

Just to make everyone feel worse about themselves, Mr.T showed up at a Blackhawks game and shot a puck from center ice. No practice necessary—word to Allen Iverson—Mr. T comes through with some Gretzky/Mighty Ducks shit. Let’s all take this as confirmation that if you believe really hard in yourself, get an ill mohawk, wear too much gold and generally look like a maniac; you too can do anything. Secret to life right there.

Good afternoon fellow fight fans. The year’s end is steadily approaching, and with that comes great fight cards. Champions dishing out those last title defenses of the year, fighters itching to get to the top, Santa Klaus bringing it down with the hammer. 

Tonight, young pro boxing prospect, and major fan of Mishka, Zachary “ZUNGRY” Ochoa will be looking to make some heads roll live on HBO Boxing. Making his HBO debut fighting on the same card as Adrien Broner, Ochoa is 2-0, trains 6 days a week and lives a healthy lifestyle, and he does all of this at the age of 20. (Happy belated birthday Zach.) You’re a bad man ZUNGRY, we’ll be rooting for you family!

Hey, how are these guys both holding titles?! Oh yes, Carlos Condit was given the interim title while Georges St. Pierre was out for over a year due to a torn ACL. Tomorrow night at UFC 154 the Interim Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit will finally be exchanging fisticuffs with Welterweight Champion GSP.

Condit is 5-0 in his last 5 bouts and boasts a 28-5 record with a total of 26 finishes.

He’s known for his knockout power but also has 13 victories by way of submission, so you could say this cat is versatile. I don’t like to be one of those guys who is all “THIS IS GSP’S TOUGHEST FIGHT YET!!” but it may very well be.

Although I strongly disagree with his victory over Nick Diaz, he did go in with a game plan and stuck to it. That’s something that we’ve yet to see from any of Diaz’ previous opponents, so perhaps the same will go for tomorrow night. A game plan I mean, not him running around the cage Greg Jackson gym style.

Georges St. Pierre could possibly be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. I know a lot of people are riding this Anderson Silva wave (after defeating Stephan Bonnar lulz) but c’mon. GSP is the definition of domination.

The stand up will get you canned up, the kick game vicious like Bruce Lee kicks is, and that world class wrestling game that he implements at any given time with ease. I’m not saying I believe GSP will or won’t win, I’m simply saying he is probably the greatest fighter of all time. If you don’t agree, you sit tight as Kanye recites one of the greatest songs of all time to go along with these here highlights:

Fighting on the same card are welterweight contenders Johnny “Beard-o-craze” Hendricks against Martin “Look At Me As I Look At You” Kampann. His actual nick name is the “Hitman” but mine goes better with his strange European man demeanor.

These two demigods pack quite a punch and are fighting for that welterweight number one contender spot. Expect blood to spill and teeth to fly, which is what I expect every day when I wake up.

Hello out there. It’s Friday and once again I have devoured a plate of falafel served to me by a man that spends the majority of his days inside of a tiny food cart. How safe and clean is this plate of falafel? I couldn’t tell you, but I CAN tell you it was delicious. Almost as delicious as waking up this morning to find out that we have a new UFC 135lb female champion, Rowdy Ronda Rousey! TMZ managed to somehow break the news before any MMA media outlets got their hands on this monumental piece of information.

If you don’t already, follow SmoogyMMA on twitter for his take on the situation. He claims that the UFC more than likely leaked this information in a business tactic to oust Strikeforce from their Showtime contract. Heavy stuff. He’s also the only MMA news media source fully covering the “Let Me Bang, Bro – - Justin Lane” story.

TMZ also reported that Strikeforce will have its last card in January. Will the organization be revamped as a UFC second tier league? Will it be absorbed like WEC was?

Unfortunate news, although Zuffa began throwing dirt on that coffin as soon as they plucked all of their champions and brought them over to the UFC. Once I get more official word, I’ll put together my personal BEST OF STRIKEFORCE FOREVER post. You’ll enjoy it, trust me.

Our good friend Bloodstain Lane has had his twitter account suspended for posting up a video that apparently violated some sort of term and agreement under Twitter. This was the video and he’s set up a new account @BloodstainLane2.

Be sure to follow him and ask @Twitter why he’s been banned. The video is strongly opinionated, possibly offense, but definitely not threatening. Not that much at least.

Enjoy your weekend, follow me @JoshElijahYO and hit up @MishkaNYC to ask for MMA shorts and gear. Also, watch this great Nick Diaz fight (BROUGHT TO YOU BY STRIKEFROCE) before your day ends.

As many of you are well aware, the Caribbean islands and most of the United States eastern coast have been going through a tough time. Over 6 million people spread of 15 states are without power at the moment. I’m a native New Yorker, I live in the borough of Queens. I am fortunate that the only things I got struck with were boredom and a cable outage. My friends and family are all safe, my home is normal, my neighborhood is normal. Unfortunately about 15 minutes away from me, Howard Beach is completely blacked out. There is looting and home burglary happening deep into Ozone Park. Beyond that, one of Queens’ most historic, almost landmark like neighborhoods; The Rockaways; have been nearly destroyed. It’s a beach town, mixed with very poor to very rich families. As of right now, these people have no homes, no food, no clean clothes, no where to go.

Someone I call a true friend who you may know as Bloodstain Lane works for the city of New York. He has not stopped working since the hurricane hit and he’s cleaning up our city. Today, reading his tweets about the Rockaways, really hit home. It’s a very sad time for New York City. I want to use to this outlet to take the opportunity to thank him, and thank those who are out there doing the best they can to help turn this situation around. We see the lack of decency in humanity every day, through various acts of selfishness and almost pure hatred. Yet, this IS what makes us human. The ability to adapt the way we do. To see men and women giving their time, risking their lives, to help restore a little normalcy in the lives of those less fortunate than us is a beautiful thing. If you live in New York City and are reading this, I encourage you to think about voluenteering to help restore our great city. Monetary donations are helpful too. Anything you can.

You can submit your information and the city will call you if and when they need you. If you have power in your home and are reading this, understand that your fellow New Yorkers have not had power in their homes for four days now, and they may experience that for up to two weeks. So please, consider it. Use twitter, facebook, tumblr to encourage others to help out. I feel strange writing about Mixed Martial Arts today. I’m no big time writer, I do this because I enjoy it. I’m thankful for the opportunity to do it, to show my appreciation for the sport and give my opinion. So I apologize for my lack of a “Friday MMA post”, but there are others still reporting and doing a great job. I commend them and thank them as well for helping contribute to that normalcy that the more fortunate still have. In any case, I’d like to leave you with a little fun video to maybe keep brighten up your day. Watch as Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen show the true colors of their innocent rivalry. Great stuff.

Hey there. Last week went exactly as I predicted. Anderson Silva walked out of the octagon with a flawless victory over Stephan “The American Psycho” Bonnar and was praised as the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. Granted Silva is incredible, the man is highly skilled. I just strongly advise you to look at his record and look at who’s built up this phenomenal record against. That’s another discussion though. Today’s discussion is this crazy Jon Jones vs Anderson Silva match that we’re sort of close to seeing, but also not sort of close?

Immediately after Silva drove his knee into Bonnar’s sternum rendering him useless in terms of any sort of functionality, he went on to say he has absolutely no intention of fighting Jones.The world felt betrayed. Why make your way up to 205 if you’re not going for the house?! Well if you felt betrayed that night, relax. Buy a nice cold can of seltzer water, slice up some limes and lemons, pour the seltzer water into a nice glass of ice, and drop those limes and lemons into that glass. Sip it slowly, calm down. Silva says he is willing to fight Jones at a catch weight. Much better right? I wouldn’t be surprised if Greg Jackson thinks cutting extra weight is detrimental to Jones’ career.

This Silva/Jones talk is not all that is making waves though. The fans were teased with the thought of Chael Sonnen facing Jones and have not let it go. Well Dana White has heard the pleas (DIAZ v SILVA!) and decided that the two stars will oppose each other in the upcoming season of TUF. This will mark the first time I have watched The Ulitmate Fighter since Kimbo Slice was involved. If you’ve read Chael’s book or heard his more serious interviews, you’ll know he’s an incredible speaker and great coach. Watch this “Failure Comes Before Success” speech given to young wrestlers, awesome stuff. An interesting take for me is Jones’ age and experience. Not saying young people are incapable of coaching, that’s not true at all. I am curious to see how Jones is in a coaching situation.

Let’s be real though, we cannot wait to hear the smack talk that Chael Sonnen is going to lay into Jon Jones. This guy’s trash talking is on the caliber of any WWE super star, we all know this. But in case you do not know, now you do. As I was looking for videos to go along with my thoughts for this write up, I ended up at the video below.No real particular reason, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. A little Ronda Rousey a day keeps the doctor away. That’s a bit creepy.

The Ultimate Fighter season CHAEL JONES AMAZING begins shooting at the end of the month and will be made public for our eyes in January. Everyone is pretty excited for this, aside from Dan Henderson. Rightfully so being that as of late, the number 1 HW contender spot has been a game of musical chairs. Keep your head up Hendo, your shot at Jones will come around.

If you’re as interested in the upcoming season of TUF, you can make some sweet potatoes and broccoli and listen to the official phone conference. Chael Sonnen says that The Ultimate Fighter is tougher than the Olympics and the NFL playoffs calling it the “toughest tournament in MMA”. Promotional Chael at his finest.

See Diego Lopez’s Mishka Lookbook, Shot By Ivan Jimenez [Click Here]

Here at Mishka, we appreciate Mixed Martial Arts. So much so that I got caught in a few arm bars during this photo shoot with our own Diego Lopez (shot by Ivan Jimenez). You can’t fake a little elbow extension; take a look at the photos for yourself if you don’t believe me. It was great working with Diego, and we’re happy to see our gear accommodate the aesthetics of a young and upcoming fighter.

Not to take away from grenades and skulls look, but we do feel that our brand has a lot to bring to the table for fighters of all different levels and walks of life. Casually training in our Fall 1 & 2 line, (including that Keep Watch exclusive zip up!) this was something small and low key, everyone had lots of fun, stick around to see what else Mishka has in store for you savages.

Hit the jump for the interview!

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If you’re going to do anything today, be sure to do it Gangnam style please. I haven’t been able to get this song out of my head. When they played it in the sushi thai fused spot I was in yesterday, I wanted to get up and show them what Oppan Gangnam style was all about. I didn’t though. I didn’t have what it takes to begin riding an invisible horsey while making sex faces at women.

PSY has it going on, this is for sure, but let’s not forget the originator. No, not Jaz-O, I’m talking about Genki Sudo. Legendary in his own right for traveling to the 5^thdimension in order to bring us these great videos. If you do it Oppan Gangnam style, don’t forget the World Order.

Tonight from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota; the UFC will bring you Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva headlining against Travis “The Flyin’ Hawaiian” Browne. That isn’t his actual nickname but how great does it sound?

I’m sure it’ll be some sort of brawl. Watch it for free on FX tonight and tell me how it goes.

Now if there’s an MMA event that I am excited for this weekend, it’s this one right here. I’ll be honest; I’m not hip to women’s MMA as far as fighters go. I’ve yet to sit down and fully let the names and faces marinate in my beautiful mind. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it though. Appreciate isn’t the word.

I think women’s sports in general are cool. I’m not much a sports guy though, mostly just mixed martial arts. Watching compete professionally in MMA or boxing has never bored me, in fact, I tend to think some of Strikeforce’s best fights have been women’s bouts. You’re crazy if you disagree.

So October 6^th, sit down in front of your computer or any computer really, preferably not a stranger’s though, and tune into Invictafc.com for a free stream of their event tomorrow night.

It’s going to be great, and if you believe me, please watch this.

Also coming to you this weekend from the other part of town, is ONE FC: Rise of Kings. Legendary master of the limb snatching Shinya Aoki will be facing BJJ Purple Belt Arnaud Lepont. Lepont is 9-1, 7 of which come by way of submission. This should be a fun match, especially for the grappling enthusiasts out there.

The good fellows over at Middleeasy.com sent in Mk. II to capture the weigh ins and threw in some smooth hip hop for us to enjoy. Thanks guys.

ESPN’s most excellent documentary series 30 For 30 began it’s second “season” last night and I couldn’t be happier. Initially started to commemorate their 30th anniversary with 30 documentaries of varying length and from various directors, the series became so critically lauded and popular that ESPN has decided to continue it (thus making the 30 For 30 name somewhat confusing and meaningless but… oh well) with another round of 30. Last nights premiere episode Broke came from director Billy Corben, famous for Cocaine Cowboys and also part of the first series with the Miami Football rabblerouser highlight The U.

While Broke doesn’t have the electric cast of The U (and how are you supposed to beat Luther Campbell and Michael Irvin?), it has a more interesting topic that Corben tackles with middling success: the staggering percentage of professional athletes who – despite their unfathomable paychecks – end up going broke within years of their retirements. The fact that 78% of NFL players are “broke” (a term that isn’t fully defined, which belies some of the doc’s failings) within only 2 years of their exit from the league is equal parts frustrating and heartbreaking.

Corben, a consummate sensationalist, seems to at times revel in showing off just how all these athletes burned away their cash (focusing in on people like Andre Rison – who never takes off his sunglasses because… he’s Andre Rison – Bernie Kosar, Curt Schilling, Leon Searcy, and Bart Scott [for no reason]). For this section Corben’s style is perfect, mirroring the incredibly fast pace at which these young men went from either college or high school athletes with no money (or financial know-how) to speak of, to superstars trying to cash 6 figure checks at a western union. While I hate to say it, this portion of the movie is somewhat “fun” as even the athletes light up remembering the “good times.”

Because that, as Corben shows, is the main problem: the need for constant “good times”, and the way the definition of that is manipulated by people around the providers. Multiple mansions, luxury cars, jewelry, bottle service: all of the usual suspects are there, but they are actually the least sinister villains presented here. Where you can really see the sadness creep into these battered retirees eyes is when the subjects of entourages and money loans come up. It’s with truly painful embarrassment that Kosar reminisces about paying over 60 cell phone bills at once for people from his neighborhood.

Buying houses for any and everyone. Searcy remarks how so-called “friends” mapped out his paycheck dates and would wait outside the practice facilities knowing he had money in hand, making it impossible for him to turn them down. Then there’s the agents, “money managers”, advisors and what have you who basically scam them into bad investments and worse salaries (one athlete loses tons of money on an ill-fated enterprise to develop tomatoes the size of watermelons. Yes.). You’ll notice I’m focusing almost exclusively on the razzly tales of money spent, without much diving into any psychology and that’s because that’s what the movie does.

Broke cannot be one of the best 30 For 30s because it refuses to take that extra step into pathos, but for a 75 minute watch, it’s good sports TV. It also – hopefully – will serve as a warning for any young athletes who see it (there’s even a somewhat conspicuous section at the end where an economist breaks down exactly what a young pro should do with his money, information that seems somewhat meaningless to the casual viewer). Broke is short on answers for the retirees however, perhaps because there are none. With an average career span of 3 years and the weight of injury, family, mortgages, etc., the fact is our professional sports paradigm is perhaps not as rewarding as we perceive it to be. Still… people want to play.

I finished last week’s piece by embracing the crazy the NFL had become. Maybe it was Stockholm syndrome. There was a calm once the 70 years of officiating NFL officiating experience took over Thursday’s Ravens-Browns game, half comforting and half Stepford Wives levels of unsettling. That the game transpired without a challenge or even a truly controversial call felt wrong. However, more importantly, it proved to be an exciting game, down to an almost-comeback by the Browns. Sunday brought more action that removed any slight psychotic admiration I had for the replacement refs.

With the first three weeks featuring such unprecedented results, those of Week Four gave a certain legitimacy to some teams that otherwise seemed they might be a fluke. The Arizona Cardinals showed some offensive fortitude in a fourth quarter comeback to force overtime, and win, against the Dolphins. While their defense is unquestionably strong (currently ranked 3^rd in the league), their offense needs improving. A late comeback is likely to inspire some confidence. Still there are a handful of teams better than the Cardinals in addition to the other 4-0 Texans and Falcons, who rallied an even more convincing comeback.  The Packers and 49ers are both better than their records indicate. Green Bay’s offensive line needs to close the holes in order to keep Rodgers healthy. Currently the most sacked QB in the league, a major injury would remove the Pack from any serious contention.  The Ravens, who could easily be 4-0, are also one of the best teams of the league.

The middle of the pack is more muddled, with a lot of mediocre teams who could potentially rise to the top.  The Broncos at 2-2 might seem disappointing but they have also have the toughest strength of schedule so far, with their two loses coming against the best two teams in the league right now, Atlanta and Houston. Their tough schedule continues at New England next week, but now that Manning and his coaching staff are better acclimated to one another, I foresee a close game. Denver’s division rivals, the San Diego Chargers (3-1), fared much worse against the Falcons and though their defense is ranked sixth overall, they are just one of just seven teams to allow 100 passing completions already. When they face a passing powerhouse in New Orleans next week, expect that number to rise much higher and don’t be surprised if the Saints get their first win. The Eagles have gotten their three victories by an average of 1.33 points.

Unless Andy Reid starts to give LeSean McCoy more carries, which would balance his offense and reduce the risk of injury to Vick, there isn’t a lot of longevity to their winning record. The Giants, who gave Philly their third win, are one of the only teams looking entirely familiar. Eli Manning is the best procrastinator in all of sports. He plays like a dope for the first two or three quarters, then gets this in this panicking, jittery mode and starts making improbable passes work.  Next week, the G-Men have an easy home game against the Browns while the Eagles travel to the tougher Steelers. Other teams potentially on the rise: the Rams, Vikings, Bears and Panthers.

Finally, the terrible of the league, and there is plenty of it. The New York Jets have begun their implosion. As if losing Darrelle Revis (and now Santonio Holmes!) for the entire season wasn’t enough, Mark Sanchez is completing a league worst 49.5% of his passes, making Tebow seem like a viable experiment.  Monday marked the second time Tony Romo had thrown a 5-INT game on MNF, something only he has, uh, accomplished. The Jaguars and Chiefs have little to be hopeful for. I’m actually excluding the Browns from this despite their 0-4 record because Brandon Weeden looked great during certain moments against the Ravens. Unfortunately, they are still plagued by dropped balls. I’m not saying they can make the playoffs, but they certainly can turn things around.

Week four was certainly the most normal of the season so far and I’m sure that will continue. While we may not have the absurd theatrics anymore, there will still be all the things that make the game enjoyable. Plus, this season already feels fresher than any in recent memory with three unforeseen unbeatens and a roughly 10 other teams who might be nearly as good.

Good day femme fatales and gents. I gathered the courage to purchase spinach & artichoke hummus after making a long hard decision at Target. I stood there deciding which variation of hummus I would ultimately take home, afraid of not enjoying or appreciating the one I may choose. This is the kind of tough choice making I go through on a daily basis. As you can see, it’s what keeps me a grounded and eternally youthful and beautiful young man. This very same style of decision making is intertwined with watching UFC pay per views.

If your bank account is anything like mine, it’s more than likely the same situation for you as well. In my case, it involves breaking the Badman Shark’s heart, and not bro’ing out at his American Psycho styled pad. Luckily Dana White understands this type of thing. It’s as if his soul is connected to mine. So the UFC does free fight cards on occasion, and tomorrow is UFC on Fuel 5IVE. It’s really 5 but 5IVE looks stylish.

The always exciting, and often very tall, Stefan Struve makes his return to the Octagon against the undefeated Stipe Miocic. With Struve’s 16 submission wins and Miocic’s 7 KO’s, we’re bound to see one of two things.

Struve will be laid out, wide eye’d, staring at the ceilining, or Miocic will be helped out of the cage with a limb hanging from where it’s normally situated and well functioned.

Co main eventing (yes, eventing) is Dan Hardy against Amir ‘Forrest Griffin Jr.’ Sadollah. Sadollah looks, acts, talks and fights like Griffin, so I gave him that nickname. I’m convinced it’s some sort of Solid Snake – Big Boss thing going on.. Hardy is coming off of a KO win over the vicious Duane Ludwig, and Amir is also fighting from off of a win over Jorge Lopez. No, not George Lopez, but Jorge Lopez.

That’s sort of like Jerry Sandusky and Gerry Sandusky. That’s actually exactly the same.

Akira Corassani makes his UFC debut tomorrow against another TUF alumni, 9-1 Andy Ogle. You may recall Akira from TUF: Team Bisping vs. Team Mayhem. He’s a tenacious fighter and his debut will be streamed via Facebook tomorrow.

My instructor from Williamsburg MMA, Roger Mamedov will also be cornering him tomorrow, so look out for that! The 5 preliminary fights will be streamed via Facebook and the 6 main card fights will all air live on FUEL TV. Be sure to pick up some Dr. Peppers and enjoy this one.