y his teammates for the rest of his career. Oddly enough, | Forum

SACRAMENTO, Calif. Asics Gel Lyte v Nederland . -- Demetrious Johnson had a little something to show anybody who still doubts the UFCs small guys can produce big knockouts. Johnson stopped Joseph Benavidez with a devastating right hand in the first round Saturday night, defending his UFC flyweight title and capping a dominant year for the 5-foot-3 champion known as Mighty Mouse. With his third win of the year, Johnson (19-2-1) remained the only champion in the history of the UFCs lightest mens division. But he did it in a fashion almost nobody expected, catching Benavidez (19-4) directly in the face with an unblocked punch and knocking the challenger senseless 2:08 into the fight. "A lot of people say I dont have knockout power, but Im always getting better," Johnson said. "I just let it go, and I was happy to get the finish." Local favourites Urijah Faber and Chad Mendes also won on a card stacked with mixed martial artists from Northern California, but Johnson -- from the Seattle area -- silenced Benavidezs hometown crowd by winning a rematch against a fighter who inspired him to get into the sport. Benavidez appeared to be out cold before he hit the canvas, and Johnson landed several additional punches before the referee stepped in. Johnson beat Benavidez by split decision in Toronto 15 months ago, claiming the UFCs first flyweight title in a tight matchup. Johnson defended his title twice earlier this year against John Dodson and John Moraga, but Benavidez earned his way back to a title shot with three straight victories this year, the last two by impressive stoppage. "If people want to see me as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, thats totally fine," Johnson said. "My job is to go back in the gym and keep working. It was a great year for me. Had a couple of great fights, and Im happy to come away with this knockout. ... It would be awesome to be the fighter of the year for 2013, but my goal is just to keep on getting better and win fights." Faber stopped Michael McDonald in the second round, knocking the younger bantamweight into the side of the cage with punches before finishing with a guillotine choke. Mendes fought off an illness to beat Nik Lentz by decision. Lightweight Joe Lauzon opened the televised card by beating Mac Danzig in a bloody unanimous decision. Faber (30-6) was fighting in his hometown for the first time in nine bouts since April 2010, and for the first time under the UFC banner. He was a champion in the lighter-weight WEC promotion before it was absorbed by the UFC, and he appears to be rounding into championship form again in the 135-pound division. "People say Im old, but Im 34," Faber said. "Look at what people are doing in their 40s and 50s, and its amazing. The guys on my team prepared me so well for this fight that I never doubted I would get the victory." The Sacramento crowd roared throughout Fabers ring walk to his trademark song, 2Pacs "California Love," and they actively booed McDonald, whos from nearby Modesto. Faber took charge from the opening moments, controlling the fight on the ground and in standup. Faber caught McDonald with punches early in the second round and again midway through the round, knocking his stumbling opponent of the side of the cage with the force of his blows. Faber pounced on the prone McDonald and finished it with one of his trademark chokes, thrilling the crowd. "There is a real sense of community here in Sacramento," Faber said. "We have a lot to cheer about, and Im glad I get to play a role in that. Michael McDonald is a tremendous opponent and I really look forward to watching his career. Hes got so much potential, but tonight was my night." McDonald (16-3) has lost two of his last three bouts, also losing by submission in a title shot against Renan Barao in February. Mendes (16-1) won without much flair, controlling the first round and largely coasting through the final 10 minutes against Lentz (26-6-2). Mendes, who had stopped his last four opponents, said he had a sinus infection. "After the first round, my lungs felt heavy," Mendes said. "But I just had to power through it. I hit Lentz hard, about as hard as any guy I have ever fought. He kept bouncing back." Lauzon (23-10) won every round for just his second victory in his last five fights, leaving Danzig (22-12-1) with a bloody face and a badly damaged nose after his fourth loss in five bouts. Canadian lightweight Sam Stout won every round in an early decision over Cody McKenzie, who fought in plain white shorts with pockets -- and the price tags still attached until referee Herb Dean ripped them off. McKenzie forgot his shorts at his hotel and had to buy a new pair outside the arena. "Thats one of the weirdest things Ive ever seen, and its even weirder that we let it happen," White said. Asics Gel Lyte v Black Speckle . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. Asics Hardloopschoenen Dames . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. http://www.kopennlsneakers.nl/kopen-asics-salmon-toe.html . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead.On Boxing Day, the pursuit of Masahiro Tanaka finally begins. The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. So for the new capped fee of $20 million, any one of the 30 Major League teams can get in on the bidding and getting a deal done by 5pm on January 24. Tanaka was a spectacular 24-0 this season with a miniscule 1.27 ERA. He is the same age Yu Darvish was when he was posted two years ago and, like Darvish, wants the challenge of pitching in the Majors. The Blue Jays were in on the chase for Darvish, but to what extent we will never really know. There were rumblings at the time that the Blue Jays barely lost out to Texas and their winning bid of $51.7 million. But Alex Anthopoulos and the organization would never confirm or deny that and in the end, it was felt the Rangers were actually bidding against themselves just to be sure they got Darvish. Texas signed him to a six-year, $60 million deal but if certain conditions are met, the sixth year turns into a player option. So far its been a good investment by Texas. Darvish is 29-18 over two seasons with 401 innings, 498 strikeouts and 169 walks. He was added the American League All-Star roster his first year, and only missed last years mid-summer classic due to an injury. Most scouts believe Darvish to be a better pitcher than Tanaka, who projects by many to be a number 2 or 3 starter, rather than a staff ace. When Tanaka won the Sawamura Award as top pitcher in Japan in 2011, over Darvish, he conceded that although he had slightly better numbers than Darvish in a couple of categories, he said "as a pitcher, Im nowhere near his calibre". The Blue Jays self-imposed five-year limit on contracts is one thing working against them, although Anthopoulos conceded a couple of weeks ago that the Jays might go to six years for the right player. The biggest thing going against the Jays is the desperation of some of those big-name teams that figure to be in on the bidding and the marquee presence of others. The Yankees pitching staff needs an infussion of youth and talent. The Dodgers havent won a World Series since 1988 and Texas has never won one. Boston is in that year-by-year battle for bragging rights and now that theyve won three World Series titles this century to the Yankees two, they arent going to let up now. Asics Gel Lyte Sale Dames. The Blue Jays may make an offer just to say they did, but Id bet on Texas or the Yankees to be Tanakas ultimate landing spot. A couple of trivia points on Darvish. The first Major League hit he surrendered was to his countryman Ichiro Suzuki and the first home run he surrendered was to Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays on April 30, 2012. Darvish still won that game though, 4-1. Another Babe It was on December 26 of 1919 when the most infamous deal in Red Sox history went down. It was the day Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees. This is the story of another player who went by the nickname "Babe". Werner Birrer was a reliever and occassional spot starter for parts of three seasons in the 1950s with the Tigers, Orioles and Dodgers. Hes better known for his years pitching in the International League, in Buffalo, the city where he was born. He ultimately made it into the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and was a valued member of the community as a teacher and a coach. Babe Birrer passed away back in November at age 85. He had one day in his career where it all came together and earned him the sobriquet "Babe". On July 19 of 1955, Birrer came on in relief in the sixth inning to try and protect a 5-4 Tigers lead over Baltimore. Not only did he pitch four shutout innings of relief to earn his second of four career saves, Birrer slugged a pair of three-run homers to propel the Tigers to a 12-4 victory over the 0s. What was so special about that? Well, those were the only two home runs and only six runs batted inn of Birrers entire career. As far as anyone knows, he is the only Major League player in history to cram all of his home runs and RBI production into just one game. For that one day, that one game, Werner Birrer was called "Babe" by his teammates for the rest of his career. Oddly enough, the two relievers who surrendered those home runs to Birrer, George Zuverink and Art Shallock, are both still alive and amongst the 100 oldest surviving Major Leaguers. Shallock is 89 and 245 days, Zuverink 89 and 128 days. Just a little known page in the book of Tigers history. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '