By UFC, Thomas Gerbasi

LAS VEGAS, June 19 – Following disappointing performances in their previous fights, both Keith Jardine and Matt Hamill needed to pull off something big in their light heavyweight bout at The Pearl at The Palms Saturday night, and they did, engaging in a memorable three rounder won by Hamill via majority decision.

Scores were 29-27 twice and 28-28 for Hamill, who improves to 10-2; Jardine, who has now lost four in a row and five of his last six, falls to 14-9-1.

Hamill – who was coming off a DQ win over Jon Jones last December - took the fight to Jardine from the opening bell, and he kept his foe off-balance with his standup attack. Jardine adjusted well and began implementing his own offense, scoring particularly well with his kicks before moving upstairs with a flurry of punches. As the round progressed, Jardine was even more on target, with Hamill needing to readjust his gameplan for the second stanza.

The first three minutes of the second round continued to go Jardine’s way, but then a slugfest broke out, with Hamill appearing to turn the momentum in his favor before an inadvertent poke in the eye by Jardine brought a momentary halt to the action and cost ‘The Dean of Mean’ a point on the scorecards from referee Herb Dean. In response, Jardine went after Hamill with both hands, but ‘The Hammer’ was able to rock his foe and leave him bloodied from two cuts on his face before the bell sounded.

The cut on Jardine’s forehead started bleeding immediately as the third round began, but it didn’t stop the Albuquerque product from taking the fight to his foe. Hamill was the fresher of the two though, and he was able to get Jardine to the mat. After a brief stall in the action, Dean had the Octagonside physician check Jardine’s cuts, but he was given the green light to continue. Jardine’s response once the action resumed was to land a flurry and toss off a Hamill takedown attempt, and now fatigue was becoming an issue. Now though, it looked like Jardine had more gas in the tank as Hamill walked forward with his hands down. And while it was Jardine landing the crisper shots as he kept Hamill from getting the takedown, he ultimately couldn’t keep the Ohio native from the victory.

Fiolek Invited to Food City 500

A race at Bristol is as much about feel as it is sound, from the thunder of a 43-car herd on the track to the roar of the 160,000 fans seated above. Ashley Fiolek will rely on feel as she takes in Sunday’s Food City 500 with Red Bull Racing Team. Ashley’s a 19-year-old Red Bull athlete and superstar motocross racer. And she’s been deaf since birth, but that hasn’t stopped her from achieving the ultimate in motocross.

Nicknamed "The Fastest Woman in Motocross," Ashley won back-to-back WMA Pro national championships in 2008-09. She won her first X Games gold medal in women’s moto X super X in 2009 (right) and also received an ESPY nomination for "Best Female Action Sports Athlete."

"Before a race, I can’t hear people talking smack to me or bothering me at the line," she once told ESPN The Magazine. "If somebody is coming up behind me, I don’t have the pressure of knowing they’re there. But if I’m coming up on someone, they have that pressure."

Ashley, who reads lips quite well, often relies on her mother, Roni, to translate. Ashley will take a pace car ride Sunday morning and follow drivers Brian Vickers and Scott Speed through their race day routines. She’ll watch the Food City 500 from atop the Red Bull Racing Team pit boxes.

Reprinted from The Paddock Talk

UFC Live: Jon Jones or Brandon Vera

by Richard Lopez Contributor

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

The light-heavyweight division (186 lbs-205 lbs) in the UFC has long been considered one of the most entertaining divisions in all of Mixed Martial Arts. Many people still consider this weight class to be the premier division in all of the UFC, and for good reason.

The division is comprised of a champion who was thought to be unhittable at times, fighting legends, former UFC champions, talented veterans, and some of the brightest prospects in all of Mixed Martial Arts.

This is the division that carried MMA through the roughest of times, and brings together exciting wars all the time.

On the night of March 21, 2010, one of the most anticipated fights in the near future will take place. We get to see Jon “Bones” Jones take on the talented veteran Brandon “The Truth” Vera. This fight matches up possibly the brightest prospect in all of MMA against a man who once owned that same title.

Many people are counting out Brandon Vera in this fight, and are already considering Jon Jones the next champion of this incredibly tough division. There is no denying the fact that Jon Jones may be the brightest prospect in all of MMA, but let’s not overlook Vera in this fight.

Upon entering the UFC, Jones made a quick splash with his unorthodox striking and wrestling skills. His second fight was considered a true test in the form of “The American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar.

Despite nearly finishing Bonnar in the first round, Jones was unable to finish the tough veteran. It was during this fight that his cardio came into question, as he was visually exhausted during the third round. Despite this, he still cruised to a unanimous decision.

Jones proved that he was not to be taken lightly during this fight, and it was time for Jon to fight tougher competition.

After beating Stephan Bonnar convincingly, Jon Jones decided to start training with Greg Jackson, possibly the best trainer in MMA. We would see how this would pay off in his next fight against another rising prospect in Matt Hamill.

Matt Hamill had been in some big fights, but is still seen as a prospect because he is still in the learning phase of his game. Some predicted that Matt Hamill’s wrestling would neutralize the wrestling attack of Jon Jones. Jones had other plans though, as he tore through Matt Hamill like a hot knife through butter.

The way he destroyed Matt Hamill was beyond amazing. Matt Hamill has been in the octagon with the likes of Rich Franklin and Michael Bisping, yet had never taken a beating the way Jon Jones handled him. If not for an illegal elbow strike, Jon Jones would have easily walked away from this fight as the clear winner.

Matt Hamill dislocated his shoulder, and the beating he took should have been easy to justify a stoppage.

Jones uses his diverse and unpredictable striking skills to set up his wrestling. Ironically, for most fighters, this is backwards. This may also be the reason he stands out above other prospects.

While he remains a difficult puzzle to solve, his unorthodox striking may be the key to beating him. Jones can attack from all angles, but he has never faced an opponent who will not let him set up throws with his striking. In fact, he is facing a man who may have better striking than he does. That man is Brandon Vera.

Brandon Vera started off his career with unlimited potential. He was at one point in the very same boat that Jon Jones sits in now. He was considered to be one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC—someone that could one day own both the Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight belts.

Despite his immediate impact on the sport, Vera took a hiatus from UFC after knocking out Frank Mir, due to a contract dispute. Upon his arrival back to the sport, he took on the man he was to fight before the contract dispute happened, Tim Sylvia.

Despite breaking his hand during the fight, he still fought through the pain, and lost a unanimous decision. After another loss in the Heavyweight division, the UFC decided it would be best for Vera to move down in weight.

In this fight, many people were expecting Vera to dominate an over-matched Reese Andy, but Brandon won a lackluster decision by simply outpointing the IFL import. People were quick to write this off as a result of a tough weight cut, figuring that he would be back to his old form of knocking people out in his next fight.

His next opponent, “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine, had other plans. While it is still contested today who actually should have won, the record books show that Jardine was the better fighter on this particular night.

After winning his next two fights, Vera went on to fight Randy Couture. Once again, a controversial decision went against Vera.

In what can easily be the most overlooked match, because of how impressive Jones has looked against recent competition, one should not count out Brandon Vera in this fight.

Despite underwhelming results for a man who has potential to be the most exiting fighter in MMA, Vera is still a dangerous fight for anyone.

While Jon Jones’ striking may prove to be a problem for most fighters in the division, Brandon Vera is not in that group. Vera possesses a real threat on his feet, as he can pick apart just about anyone in the division with his superior Muay Thai skills.

Vera has the technique to slow down Jones and make this fight go into the later rounds, where Jones has shown he can get tired. If Jones gets tired, look for Vera to make a huge statement in the last round.

If anyone looks to the wrestling edge Jones should have in this fight, let’s not forget that Vera is also trained in the same discipline of wrestling that Jones has. Remember this; Vera was able to take Randy Couture down, while Couture was unable to do any real damage to Vera.

Now while many people discredit the work of Randy Couture, do remember this is the same man who gave Brock Lesnar a run for his money until he got caught.

Despite the fact that Jon Jones has shown that he does possess submission abilities, Vera has been in the fight game much longer. His training with Lloyd Irvin should not be overlooked, as Vera is very dangerous from the ground, and he did submit Assuerio Silva (BJJ Black belt). I give “The Truth” the advantage in the submission department.

This fight is a real test for Jon Jones, and will let us know exactly where he stands in the Light Heavyweight division. While Brandon Vera may not have the same killer instinct that you find in the younger and faster Jones, he has the technique to make this a very difficult match.

I find myself counting down days until this one goes down, because I can’t wait! This should be an electrifying fight between two evenly matched opponents. No matter who wins in the cage, the fans are the real winners in this fight.

Reprinted from The Bleacher Report

Teen motocross racer Ashley Fiolek named 2009 Professional Athlete of the Year

Posted February 9, 2010

Ashley Fiolek began riding motorcycles when she was only seven years old. It took her only 10 years to become the best in her sport, and in 2009 -- at the age of 18 -- she again won the WMA Pro National Championship. But it didn't come easy for Ashley, who clinched the title only after suffering a collarbone fracture in the final race. She finished the race and still made it to the podium with her team. Earlier last Summer, Ashley also scored her first gold medal at the 15th X-Games and inked a lucrative multi-year deal with Honda Red Bull Racing.

Adding to her amazing success, Ashley is, as she describes herself, "profoundly deaf" since birth. The Touchdown Club of Columbus has named Ashley Fiolek the 2009 Professional Female Athlete of the Year, and honored her achievements during their 55th Annual Sports Awards Banquet on Saturday, February 6, 2010 in Downtown Columbus, Ohio.

Reprinted from the American Motorcyclist Association