Feature

Last Man Standing

“What happened?” asks Jake Shields, sitting on his stool between rounds one and two of the most important fight of his 11-year career. Seconds into round one of his Strikeforce Middleweight Championship defense in April, Shields…
Feature

After The Fall

Luzhniki A giant statue of Vladimir Lenin, the father of the Russian Revolution stands in the courtyard of the massive Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. The statue gazes out across the black Moscova River and onto the city it names. The…
Names in the Game from the Magazine

New Blood

Mixed martial arts is the fastest growing sport in the world. It garners more attention and new fans daily. The emergence of so many new athletes sometimes makes it hard for fans to notice some of the fighters on the verge of making it to…
Names in the Game from the Magazine

Inside America's Gyms

Having covered mixed martial arts full-time since2003, I’ve spent plenty of time in gyms, although that hasn’t helped my fight game much. I have visited the cavernous, 2,000-square-foot state of-the-art training centers, and…
Names in the Game from the Magazine

The MMA Blueprint

The quest for a shortcut in training has been a defining characteristic of my coaching philosophy. I want my fighters to get as good as possible, as quickly as possible. However, I know there are no real shortcuts. According to…
Names in the Game from the Magazine

Don't Look Now

It’s been said with no small dose of historical certainty that champions in fighting and star players in other sports have the ability to slow things down. Geelong, Australia native George Sotiropoulos has proven this ability in the…