Hosted by none other than your favorite MMA blogger, Alar.
What a year it was!
Sitting here on the couch, I flipped the dial over to FOX Sports 1 and found that UFC Tonight was counting down the ’50 Best UFC Moments’ of the year. I thought to myself, what better time could there be to pen a year-end wrap up blog? First, we will take a look back at the ‘Bold Predictions’ I made to close out 2012 and see how awfully wrong I was about the sport that we know and love. Next, I’ll hand out some of those coveted M.M.A. MMA awards! You know the typical stuff, Fight of the Year, Fighter of the Year, etc. Last, I will make some ‘Bold Predictions’ for 2014 and beyond! Let’s get it on!
My ‘Bold Predictions’ for 2013, written December 2012
How did I do? Not well…
Predicted Champs at the end of 2013
Women’s Division: Ronda Rousey (Hey now! Does Tate have a shot?)
Flyweight: John Dodson (Whoops… Props to DJ!)
Bantamweight: Dominick Cruz will not defend his belt in 2013, Renan Barao retains his Interim belt through the year. (Ding! Ding! Ding!)
Featherweight: Frankie Edgar (Close. If that was a 7 round fight The Answer had it!)
Lightweight: Gilbert Melendez (He beat Bendo. That’s a fact in my twisted mind)
Welterweight: Georges St. Pierre (This situation just angers me.)
Middleweight: Anderson Silva (Still time to get that belt. No clowning this time!)
Light Heavyweight: Dan Henderson… loses the belt to Daniel Cormier at annual the end of year show. (Holy crap, was I wrong here…)
Heavyweight: Alistair Overeem (No comment)
Other predictions
-Anderson Silva won’t fight Jon Jones or Georges St. Pierre in 2013, but he will fight Michael Bisping, in England. (Well, I got half of that one right…)
-Rory MacDonald refuses to fight GSP, moves to Middleweight. (Rory’s star has certainly fallen, eh?)
-Dan Henderson will fight for the Light Heavyweight title, and win it. (Swing and a miss… Oof!)
-After losing to Hendo, Jon Jones moves to Heavyweight. (Hendo’s 2013 could not have been worse. The curse of ALar???)
-BJ Penn comes out of retirement for a fight at 155 lbs., against Nate Diaz. (Close, but no cigar. I’ll gladly take Frankie Edgar at 145, though.)
-Big Nog does not retire, but states he will only fight in Brazil. (Jury is still out here.)
-And last, but not least, Rampage Jackson stays true to his word and leaves the UFC and signs with Bellator. (100%! Call me Miss Cleo!)
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Now for the 2nd Annual M.M.A. MMA Year-end Awards!
Fight of the Year Nominees:
Fireworks!
Brian Stann v. Wanderlei Silva at UFC on Fuel TV: Silva v. Stann
Mark Hunt v. ‘Bigfoot’ Silva at UFC on FOX Sports 1: Hunt v. ‘Bigfoot’
Jon Jones v. Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165
Gilbert Melendez v. Diego Sanchez at UFC 166
Michael Chandler v. Eddie Alvarez II at Bellator 106
Each one of these fights contributes to 2013 being one of the best years ever for the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. For each of these five historic scraps, I was at one point or another jumping around my living room like a some sort of hooligan. For pure brutality, Hunt and Bigfoot deserve noteworthy recognition, but they won’t be taking home this award. The first M.M.A. MMA Award goes to Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson.
In a division that had been transformed to a barren wasteland by ‘Bones’, ‘The Mauler’ rose from the depths of the weight class and proved to be Jones’s toughest test yet. Before this fight, Jones had never truly been pushed to his limits in the cage. Gustafsson’s technical style and similar sized proved to be the 205 pound foil that every MMA fan was looking for. This fight not only sported the violence that us red-blooded Americans love, but it was also a an elite display of MMA kickboxing and game-planning. Jones adapted his plan over the final rounds to ensure victory. After the bout, some believed that the big Swede was the true victor, but upon further viewings I actually agree with judges in this one. Let’s hope the MMA gods don’t ruin our plans for an eventual rematch in 2014. Hats off to Bones and The Mauler for reigniting the competition in the UFC’s Light Heavyweight division!
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Fighter of the Year Nominees:
Holy crap!
Chris Weidman (Defeated Anderson Silva at UFC 162, Rematch at UFC 168)
Urijah Faber (Four wins, three finishes in 2013 after a disastrous 2012)
ViToR BelforT (Three Head Kick TKOs in 2013)
As of right now, the winner of ALar’s Fighter of the Year is Urijah Faber. (Though, if Chris Weidman defeats Anderson Silva for a second time in 12 months on Saturday at UFC 168, the award belongs in Long Island.) For the purpose of this blog that fight hasn’t happened yet, soooooo…. The Cali Kid takes it home!
Most of the MMA community wrote the aging perpetual contender off after his decisive loss to Renan Barao back in July of 2012. In 2013, Faber proved all the doubters wrong. He channeled his inner WEC Champion and rallied off four consecutive victories, each more impressive than the last. When faced with the challenge of upstart and former #1 contender Michael McDonald, Faber eliminated the youngster with relative ease and a trademark guillotine choke. At the end of 2012, NO ONE thought Urijah would sniff another UFC title shot. Now here at the end of 2013, he is waiting patiently for former foes Dominick Cruz and Renan Barao to unify their belts in January. Faber looks like he will get the first crack at whoever walks away from UFC 169 as the Unifiied Bantamweight Champ.
Turning back the clock!
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Now for the award you have all been waiting for…
ALar’s WTF Moment of the Year Award Nominees:
ViToR BelforT and his winning streak
Sal D’Amato, Glenn Trowbridge, and Tony Weeks forgetting to do their jobs at UFC 167
Nick Diaz and his “retirement”
All three of these moments or actions deserve their own recognition, but one stands head and shoulders above the rest as being the most absurd. Sure, Johny Hendricks got ROBBED at UFC 167, but that situation has worked itself out with GSP taking some well deserved time off from the game. Nick Diaz will be back, tune in to the next section for more on that… But seriously, Vitor Belfort? Three wins in 2013, all in Brazil, all while he is loaded up on artificial testosterone??? The UFC has proved the ability to police their fighters competing in other regions (What’s up, Bigfoot?), but the burial of Vitor’s medical records in the jungles of Brazil leaves a terrible taste in my mouth as an MMA supporter. A former steroid cheat (This is key here, as opposed to other TRT users who have never tested positive…) is gaining exemptions from his promotion to continue fighting at a medically aided level. Have you seen those head kicks? They are vicious brain rattlers! Does the UFC really want to let a performance enhanced athlete carry on like that in the cage? I don’t care if you are an old-school ‘Phenom’ fan or what, but his three wins this year are nothing to celebrate.
Am I slightly salty since Vitor became the first man to knockout my favorite fighter? Maybe, but still, if you are any sort of fan of the sport and its ever rising national presence and legitimacy, Vitor Belfort’s 3-0 2013 can’t leave you feeling good about the state of the union. Add in his response to being asked about the topic and we are in WTF City, population Vitor…
viToR belforT
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Now for the fun stuff!
ALar’s Bold Predictions for MMA in 2014:
First, the champs at year’s end 2014:
Women’s Strawweight: Carla Esparza
Women’s Bantamweight: Ronda Rousey
Flyweight: John Dodson
Bantamweight: Urijah Faber
Featherweight: Chad Mendes (Aldo vacates to fight Pettis at 155)
Lightweight: Anthony Pettis
Welterweight: Johny Hendricks
Middleweight: Chris Weidman (Anderson wins at 168, promptly retires)
Light Heavyweight: Daniel Cormier (Defeats Jones. Jones then moves up to Heavyweight, gets immediate title shot)
Heavyweight: Jon Jones
Other Predictions:
The ‘Year of the Superfight’ moniker proves to have come about a year too early. We see Pettis/Aldo and Jones/Velasquez in the second half of 2014.
Nick Diaz comes out of retirement and faces Carlos Condit. And wins.
BJ Penn defeats Frankie Edgar at 145. Announces move back to 155 and faces Nate Diaz.
Chael Sonnen retires from MMA and becomes full-time analyst at FOX Sports 1.
After all the trash talk, Ben Askren loses his second fight in ONE FC.
The UFC’s digital distribution network’s price point proves to be a detriment to sales. $9.99/Month price tag is dropped to $7.99/Month by mid-year.
Bellator folds.
Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket
There it is folks, my bold predictions for the year to come! It should be another crazy 12 months in MMA. Happy holidays!
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Since the kitchen is where you spend much of your time, you should make sure you are going to enjoy
the fixtures in it. Chrome steel is the preferred as a result of
it is simple to scrub and affordable. However, a great number of people
remain concerned about the cleanliness of their favourite restaurants.
One of the main misconceptions about glass is that it is rather dull with practically no privacy. With all the new advances in technology- that is simply just not the case anymore.
Over the years, glass manufacturers have come up with various types
of glass like double glazed windows and patterned glass.
You can use glass doors for your bathroom, patio and other places
at your house to give your home an ultramodern or elegant
look and feel.
So you do not have to worry about the glass being dull or plain. Purchasing
glass that has etched designs of nature like flowers and trees
or any other categories based on your personal taste is possible nowadays.
So finding the right kind of glass to blend with other furnishings in a particular room is
indeed possible. There is no shortage of choices in terms of glass design.
Another benefit of glass is in terms of insulation. Glass is not a good conductor of heat.
During our hot summer season, with all the advances in energy efficiency with glass,
glass will not absorb heat, making the room hotter. During a winter or autumn period, glass will not cause much heat loss.
So you and your family might enjoy a more cooling effect during
summer and a warmer effect during winter or autumn. You also
save money in terms of utility bills. Since there is less heat loss, you can turn down the heating system to a lower temperature,
which results in less energy consumption. During summer, there
would not be any necessity to lower the temperature.
Another benefit of using glass doors and windows is that it just makes your home
brighter and more cheerful feeling. With our famous sunny days,
there might be no necessity to switch on lights to light up a particular place since there is sufficient
natural light.
Revealed: Secret to Reducing Air Conditioning Costs
Certain results indicate how each American household pay an estimate of $1000 for both
heating and air conditioning systems every year. Indeed there
are very good ways to cut down on these expenses without sacrificing the benefit of air conditioning during hot summer days
in any way. The true secret to reducing Air Conditioning costs lies in your
maintenance activities and making the right purchase of air conditioner units based on your needs.
Currently, there are 3 common kinds of air conditioners, central, freestanding and window
on the US market. Each kind has its own pros and cons.
Before purchasing any air conditioners for your home, there is something
that you need to understand. Not all the types of units on the market require the same kind of maintenance.
Think about the possible utility and maintenance costs when you purchase
your unit. What is the cooling coverage that you truly need?
It may seem easy to install a centralized system for your entire house.
But the question is whether it is necessary.
Apart from the high expense of purchasing this system, there are the possible high costs of repair and maintenance.
If you only want cool air in certain rooms because they are the hottest in your home during a hot summer season, then opt for the window or freestanding kind.
The key difference between the freestanding type and the window type is in terms of mobility.
You can move a freestanding air conditioner from one
room to another easily enough.
Buying this type will be a great idea if you intend to rotate the usage of the unit in different
rooms. But if your mind is fixed on having a few
units in specific rooms, then the window type might be a good option. Since the window type would be up on the
wall, it would not take up space in the room like how the freestanding type would.
When it comes to the window type, you have
the choice of selecting one that comes with or without
duct.
Apart from being compact and small, the ductless kind is rather easy to install on any wall.
Compared to the one that comes with a duct, it is also more energy
saving. A good way to cool the temperature in the other rooms that have no air-conditioners is to
use oscillating fans. Another smart way is
to purchase a few 5 ton air conditioners to cover the space for your
entire house instead of buying a centralized unit.
But this depends on how large your home is. Apart from the cost
of purchase, there is the expense for maintenance. Normally, the cost of maintenance of a centralized air conditioning system is much higher compared to the freestanding or window types.
To reduce maintenance costs, think about performing simple maintenance activities on your own.
For example, you can take a look at the filter and change it if it
requires changing. Normally, the frequency for changing
or checking the filter will be mentioned in the air conditioner manufacturer’s manual.
Some findings show that changing the filters can help
in reducing monthly utility costs by 10 to 20%.
Though it is fine to carry out a simple maintenance task such as changing
a filter, it is best to leave the more complex maintenance
or repair tasks to Air Conditioning Experts. Now and then,
call them up to check on the state of your air conditioner
units and do what is necessary for their optimum working condition – an ounce of
prevention is worth a pound of cure.
LinkedIn has a great feature that connects with your existing
email accounts and allows you to invite anyone you have interacted with
to your network. This means that you might reach people you interacted with
once or twice, or people that you haven’t spoken with in a while.
This is a powerful tool, but are you using it effectively in your marketing?
LinkedIn as a Data Collector
Look at all the ways you can collect data from people.
The easiest metric to track for most is their email addresses,
so ask people and promote their use. Create mailers or offer contests
via email registration. Remember, each email you collect is another potential LinkedIn profile waiting to be
connected to. Also, you might convince someone to join LinkedIn when they receive an invite from
you, which means more customers to interact with.
Easy Ways to Connect on LinkedIn
So, what are some easy ways to connect with users and get them to
want to network with you? Many companies have started suing LinkedIn as a corporate blog to promote brand awareness.
These blogs might not even have anything to do with the products being sold,
but they might tie in with corporate culture or offer up some helpful knowledge
or technique. This is called generating substance, and if you want people to see a value in your postings, you need to provide that substance, otherwise they simply won’t care.
The nice thing about this is you don’t have to be a multi-faceted business guru to provide content.
Maybe you promote an interesting link of the day, or maybe
you repost a news story about something company-related (please give credit if you do this.).
It could even be a humorous blurb or story, or even a business-appropriate joke
to keep your network’s attention. The only constant is that the postings
stay constant. If you start it, then maintain it to help build that brand
awareness. Remember, people won’t actively look for
you if they don’t know you exist.
One great way that some companies have started building a loyalty
network is through promoting their employees. Some companies will offer a spotlight on their employees, showing
off the projects they have done or discussing their
high points. This not only helps to ensure your employees feel valued, but it also helps
to paint your company as more human, which is something you want when trying to get people to connect with you.
Pitfalls and Things to Avoid With LinkedIn
Most of what has been discussed here has been the positives of using
LinkedIn for your promotions, but there are some pitfalls you may want to
avoid. Again, not all marketing works for all niches
and some can be turned off more easily than others.
For starters, when advertising with a graphic, consider the
context that your audience will view it in. LinkedIn is business to business networking.
Is your picture one that would be considered safe for
a business networking platform? Yes, attractive,
nearly-naked people tend to get clicks, but are those the kind of ads people at major corporations are going to be more than likely be turned off due to lack of professionalism?
Consider your content in your pictures before posting and make sure your graphics are a
good match to your audience and marketing message.
Second, watch your language. While on the surface, this could
be taken as do not swear, on a deeper level, you have to consider what a company will
filter for and what they will allow. Some words tend to trigger web filters pretty easily, so be careful about your verbiage.
Also, look at the message your words send. Are you
trying to be edgy, dynamic, endearing? Do your words
properly convey the message you want people to
see? Sometimes people get so wrapped up in sending out a strong message that they fail to
consider if it is the right one.
Third, don’t verbally tie yourself to a region or company if
you can help it. While you may want to highlight a company on a
landing page or maybe you are geared towards a certain region of the world,
you don’t want to inadvertently exclude potential customers because they think your ads don’t immediately apply to them.
Remember, you can focus your ads in terms of companies and locations ahead of time, so listing out
that info in the actual ad might prove redundant.
Fourth, don’t slack on your content. It can be easy to start with a big push,
but the number one thing that kills an audience’s interest is inconsistency.
Don’t slouch on your posts. Make sure you dedicate a certain period of time each day to
providing some form of content. If you can’t or think you might have problems with
this, hire someone to do it for you or spend a day or two generating multiple posts so that you can just plug and play.
However you do it, just be sure to keep doing it.
You are setting an expectation of service as accompany when you
post, and to do so inconsistently will send a bad message abour what your company considers
professional.
Fifth, be careful on rebranding. Some smaller companies take the philosophy of experimentation a bit too far and keep trying to reinvent themselves every month or quarter, but the truth
of it is that many companies form bonds over
the long term with clients, and just because you announce a name change or a new logo, that
doesn’t mean that your clientele is paying attention. To build
your brand, you need consistency, so stick to a logo or name and try to avoid being so edgy
that you can’t make up your mind about your name. Remember, you’re a business,
not a rock star.
LinkedIn Final Thoughts
LinkedIn is a wonderful tool for reaching people in the business world.
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