Finally back in the land of earthquakes and G20 riots after some well-spent time in California, where neither of those things ever occur.
For Heavy.com, I analyzed Fabricio Werdum’s chances of pulling off the upset. I also did an exclusive feature for Heavy.com on my time spent with Fedor Emelianenko.
Finally, post-fight, I snagged some time with [...]

I spent last week in Los Angeles in order to meet legendary MMA heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko. My time in the city was very interesting, and thanks to the people at Showtime/Strikeforce/M-1 I managed to both interview Emelianenko and witness some of his training. This is the first piece written for FoxSports.com:
Contrasting with the smug, entitled [...]

The Rashad Evans-Quinton Jackson bout for UFC 114 has been hyped to epic proportions, thanks to the rivalry between the two men that has lasted nearly a year in the media. Check out my column on FoxSports.com to see my analysis:

There’s only one ‘Rampage’ Jackson
Brian J. D’Souza, Heavy.com
Updated May 26, 2010 10:28 PM ET
To make [...]

Had a chance to talk to Randy Couture and Shogun Rua in person over the last week. Randy spoke about the James Toney bout, whereas Shogun reflected on his win over Machida. And of course, both guys wanted to face each other.

Coming up this Saturday is Strikeforce in St. Louis, Missouri. On the card is Brett Rogers, a 10-1 heavyweight who lost a competitive fight to consensus #1 heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko in his last fight. Rogers faces the very dangerous Alistair Overeem, a Dutch K-1 and MMA fighter who holds the Strikeforce heavyweight title.

For more on [...]

I managed to do a solid Q & A with two-division UFC champion B.J. Penn on the subject of his new book, “Why I Fight: The belt is just an accessory.” It appears in the May issue of FIGHT! magazine.

Since the first match was so popular, Shogun Rua and Lyoto Machida will face off again this Saturday at Montreal’s Bell Centre. I had a few thoughts on the event:
Shogun-Machida II: A pound-for-pound star returns
The road to a championship belt is an exhaustive journey—it can be harder to hold on to a title than it [...]

An epic rematch between undefeated Lyoto Machida and legend Shogun Rua is slated for the May 8th UFC show in Montreal, but further down on the undercard, local fighter Jonathan Goulet will also compete. Unfortunately, due to a complex series of issues, his coach will not be in his corner. I spoke with Goulet’s trainer. [...]

Be sure to check out my feature on Zahabi MMA in the April issue of FIGHT! magazine. It features interviews with Georges St. Pierre, Kenny Florian, David Loiseau and many others.

Last week, ESPN: The Magazine did a great feature on former NFL conditioning coach Marv Marinovich working with MMA star BJ Penn. What Marv is infamous for is the strict diet and fitness routine he pushed on his son Todd. While Todd Marinovich excelled in college football, his pro career for the Oakland Raiders was [...]