Jay in London – very new very cool blog
Its been a long time coming but a good friend of mine has now successfully started his own blog.
Jay had a dedicated section on betalabs, he is a very talented mixologist and we have spent many a time drinking tequila for me, rum for me discussing the finer aspects of life!
His blog will have a dedicated section on his bar Nighthawks (formily Jrink), it is based in Soho London and I am often in there enjoying a good drink or two.
Anyways check his blog out jayinldn.tumblr.com/
You can also catch him on twitter @jaynewell
Danny D
Tweet This :) 
Digg This Post 
Facebook
Why the UFC will dominant MMA for many years to come
The UFC has been around since 1993.
Since the introduction of MMA it has evolved every year, especially in recent years.
The UFC has many advantages over newer competitors -
Existing brand, the UFC brand is huge alone in the US, let alone the cult like following in Canada and now has a huge influence in Britain and Ireland. UFC is the second “fighting” based organisation behind pro wrestling in the world.
Better fighters, I would say best fighters but there are a few select fighters like Fedor in rival organisation Strikeforce. Unfortunately for most UFC can boast BJ Penn, GSP, Anderson Silva, five top light heavyweights including Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans and Shogun Rua. Five of the six top heavyweights in MMA.
Bigger budgets, many people discount the fact the UFC have the budget for promotion including international advertising, sold out international cards and most important the money to pay the top fighters the best wages available. Bar Fedor which will bankrupt Strikeforce the UFC openly pay the best wages and fight bonuses. Just ask Dan Henderson how good they are at negotiating contracts.
Successful audiences in vital demographics, the UFC has basically created a niche for MMA, as previously suggested they have wrapped up America, ensuring their huge part in gaining licences to be granted in 46 states. They have also wrapped up the international market already hosting events in UK, Ireland, regular events in Canada, new successful venture into Sydney, Australia and soon to hit Abu Dhabi.
Mainstream and PPV viewers, consider this, what other than boxing and WWE can boast both mainstream success and pay per view success. Spike, Versus, paid for online streaming via Yahoo and ESPN, Virgin 1 and channel 5 in UK. With boxing in decline and many fans transfering to MMA it won’t be long before boxing looks up to the UFC.
Dana White and Joe Silva – think what you like about Dana White but the guy has almost single handily pushed UFC into every country and majority of US households since he and Zuffa took over the UFC back in
Joe Silva is the match and fighter man, he arranges the fights and is the protagonist in gaining figures and ensuring the best fight cards available. He also is like a scout in football/soccer where he watches fighters and choices them for the UFC.
Without the pair the UFC maybe struggling to keep fighters and fans happy.
Many people suggest the UFC need competition, I for one suggest they is a requirement but what do can other organisations do to challenge?
Start with mid range fighters, unless they receive huge financial backing they won’t be able to attract top fighters, Henderson might have picked Strikeforce but that’s because he wants to be number one and automatically gets a title shot and wanted a huge contract, both in the minds of many fans and UFC were too ambitious.
Attract the top fighters from abroad, maybe target DREAM fighters, the problem is UFC is such a stacked organisation many Asian fighters struggle to make the grade in the UFC as the size and training is more intense.
Get the up and coming Brazilian fighters, simple if MMA was at the next Olympics my honest opinion would be they would probably win the golds!
Go out and attack wrestling fans, piggy back of events.
Danny Denhard
Tweet This :) Digg This Post Facebook
Top 5 UFC rankings lightweight division February
Here are my top 5 rankings for all current lightweight UFC division.
1. BJ Penn
2. Kenny Florian
3. Frankie Edgar
4. Gray Maynard
5. Tyson Griffin
What else can you say about the best ever lightweight to fight in MMA? The Hawaiian 155lbs champion has beaten all fighters thrown at him at 155lbs, his recent destruction of Diego Sanchez, Kenny Florian, Sean Sherk and Joe Stevenson. BJ defends his title against Frankie Edgar at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. If a win at UFC 112, it is widely anticipated he will step up to welterweight to challenge the top 5 and another rematch against GSP.
Second for me is Kenny Florian, Kenny could and has beaten the majority of the top 5 contenders already. Kenny has lost two title shots, BJ Penn defended and beat Florian at UFC 101. Florian next fight is against Takanori Gomi on March 31st at Ultimate fight night. If Florian wins expect him to have one more fight before another title shot.
Third comes number one contender Frankie Edgar, Edgar has been impressive since his introduction to UFC back in February 2007. Edgar has only lost once, that was to other contender Gray Maynard. Edgar beat former champ Sean Sherk in May of last year. I am not expecting Edgar to really challenge BJ at UFC 112 but he is a real contender and hope for the future of lightweight division.
Fourth is wrestling and now striker Gray Maynard, Maynard is technically unbeaten in MMA. He has beaten 9 fighters including Frankie Edgar and Tyson Griffin. Maynard was due for a title shot however with his last fight against Diaz he struggled to contain his emotions and admits he wasn’t ready for a title shot. Maynard is a big guy for lightweight, he will need to mentally focus and keep improving, with another win he could challenge for a title shot in the near future.
Fifth for me is Tyson Griffin, Griffin is another fighter for the future, he has lost two fights in his short but impressive career. Griffin is widely known as fight of the night winner, he has already made real buzz around him, he has a good strong base and trains at the right champ Extreme Couture. He is definitely the future and look forward to fighting at a higher standard in the very near future.
Danny Denhard
Tweet This :) Digg This Post Facebook
Top 5 UFC rankings welterweight division February
Here is the top 5 UFC Welterweights rankings for February.
1. George St Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Thiago Alves
4. Josh Koscheck
5. Paul Daley
Number 1 has to go to champ and dominant force is Canadian GSP. GSP has beaten everyone put in front of him, his skills are ever evolving and has beaten Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves and Lightweight champion BJ Penn. He defends against British contender Dan Hardy at UFC 111 on March 27th.
Second is impressive all round fighter Jon Fitch, Fitch has already lost to GSP but hasn’t lost to anyone else in the UFC. He has taken apart all the other fighters, he takes on Thiago Alves at UFC 111. This is due to crave out the next contender for the welterweight title.
Third for me is Brazilian Thiago Alves, he is arguably the most explosive fighter at welterweight. As previously mentioned he has already lost to GSP and is out to revenge his previous lose to Jon Fitch back in 2006 at UFN 5. Alves has not fought since July 11th 2009 since his lose to GSP.
Fourth is Josh Koscheck, Kos has openly suggested he is number one contender. Koscheck has actually lost two fights in recent fights, Paulo Thiago and Thiago Silva, and before then he lost to current champ GSP. Koscheck fights number one striker in UFC Notthingham finest Paul Daley.
Fifth is Paul Daley, in his short yet explosive time in UFC has sent shock waves through the welterweight division, he brutally knocked out former number one contender Martin Kampmann and then BJJ specialist Dustin Hazelett. Koscheck and Daley fight at UFC 113, can’t wait for that!
Danny Denhard
Tweet This :) Digg This Post Facebook
Sade – Soldier Of Love – official video
She is back, Sade returns with her classic sounding rnb track, soldier of love. This woman made some amazing tracks in the 90’s and 2000’s. Love this track!
Has a real Timbo sound to this don’t you think?
Danny Denhard
Tweet This :) Digg This Post Facebook
MMA light heavyweight top 10 rankings
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (205-pound limit)
1 Lyoto Machida – current UFC light heavyweight champion
2. Rashad Evans
3. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua – fighting Lyoto Machida at UFC 113
4. Quinton Jackson
5. Anderson Silva – current UFC middleweight champion
6. Gegard Mousasi – current strikeforce light heavyweight champion
7. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
8. Forrest Griffin
9. Thiago Silva
10. Jon Jones
Other notable light heavyweights include Randy Couture and Brandon Vera
These are MMA weekly’s top 10 for January 2010.
Danny Denhard
Tweet This :) Digg This Post Facebook
The A Team 2010 official trailer
The A Team returns with an all star cast! The cast includes Bradley Cooper as Face, Liam Neeson as Hannibal, Sharlto Copley as Murdock and UFC’s Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson as B.A Baracus.
Cast also includes current Mrs Timberlake Jessica Biel as Lt. Sosa, Patrick Wilson and the original face and my favourite character Dirk Benedict.
Danny Denhard
@betalabs
Tweet This :) Digg This Post Facebook
Must have applications for blackberry users
I have had my blackberry for a few months now and I am surprised I have not posted about it many times before!
I often write posts and articles via my blackberry curve, it definitely has been a crackberry for me!
Must have apps –
Blackberry messenger: This is the place to communicate for me, I used to be a text addict but since I have a large number of friends on BBM it has replaced the need to text! It allows you to send pictures, send voice files, location (for the stalkers and partners out there) and generally just keep in contact.
For those who do not know where it is go to instant messenging and then blackberry messenger, you get a unique pin which allows your fellow blackberry messenger contacts to add you and chat. The best and easiest way of getting your pin is typing in mypin into BBM or text and will give your pin straight away.
Opera mini: Everyone hates the web browsing on their blackberry so well known browser king Opera have developed their very own, most PDA users use Opera and some more techy users of newer mobiles.
The main benefits are, it is fast, much quicker than blackberry browser, it offers full web access which most do not and you can have speed dials so its a lot quicker to access the sites you wish. Download it here
Google sync: I am a real gmail sorry googlemail for the newer users power user. I have had gmail for ages and since being unemployed it has helped me organise my emails, contacts and life.
Google sync is basically where you can sync all your blackberry contacts with your googlemail contacts, it does have an annoying bit where it can duplicate data but you can delete or edit in either.
If you use gmail and your blackberry then download this. Also check out the google suit for blackberry its really good and offers maps which is actually quite helpful.
Social media everyone’s favourite time waster and some people’s lively hood has been made so much easier on the BB.
Ubertwitter: Ubertwitter is the best mobile client I have used, I am not a fan of the web version of twitter and as I have more than just a few twitter accounts I can manage in one place. To me its a mobile version of hootsuite (which is the best web client for twitter) and offers some really easy features. You can add your location (not for me) you can upload pics in a click of a button (no need to mess around with twitpic) and is so quick. Download here
Facebook: Yes we all love to check facebook on the go, upload a quick picture to annoy your mate and update your friends on what you are doing. Anyone that has used the mobile version gets annoyed but the BB version is actually really good and allow you to do most things you would on a computer/laptop. It also can sync into your contacts and calender which reminds you of birthdays, events and give you a nice little mug shot of your friends. Honestly if you like facebook and use it on your BB check it out.
A silly battery draining app but I love is buzzme pro only app which cost me any money but allows you to manage the number of vibrates, the colour light that flashes for emails, texts, phone calls etc. You can even create your own colour how cool is that!
Check it out but I do warn you it does drain your battery.
Anyways check these out and if you want to add me on anything just ping me a line,
Danny Denhard
@betalabs
Tweet This :) Digg This Post Facebook
UFC 108 – the hating stopped after fight one
UFC 108, the card that a lot of MMA fans didn’t want to see was one of the best fight nights over the last few years.
The card included two champions pull out of the card, firstly middleweight and pound for pound champ Anderson Silva pulled out due to elbow surgery, the second was heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar.
It also included withdrawal of Carlos Conduit, heavyweights Gabriel Gonzaga and title contender Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, lightweight hopeful Tyson Griffin and welterweight Rory Markham. It also included the last minute withdrawal of former WEC champ Steve Cantwell.
This appeared to have a determental effect on the card and many MMA fans questioned whether it would be worth the PPV fee in the States or worth the ESPN monthly subscription.
Dana White the UFC president came back with one of the best challenges to MMA fans, if you don’t like it don’t buy it….anyone who missed the event from Sin City Los Vegas you have missed a classic.
I can safely say this was one of the most enjoyable and skilled based MMA cards for years.
It had everything, silky submissions, big knock outs and a three round decider of top light heavyweight contender between former title holder Suga Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva.
There were some real credible wins and important wins –
Heavyweight take note now – dos Santos is coming with bombs!
Junior dos Santos sent a warning to all heavyweights with his TKO of MMA veteran Gilbert Yvel. I know that I have been a fan of dos Santos since he destroyed Fabricio Werdum and then Stefan Struve, but he definitely must have won a few more after 108.
The way he made Cro Crop submit (it was not a TKO) should have worried the division!
I like Frank Mir but in his MMA live build up of UFC 108 on ESPN he discounted dos Santos as a contender, for me that was wrong and if Mir beats Carwin he might have to fight dos Santos for the title in the future.
dos Santos ran over Yvel and throws him in the mix for the title.
He must now be behind Nogueria, Velsaquez, Carwin and Mir for the title, if not before Nogueria and Velsaquez. A great fight would be dos Santos and Velsaquez, for the division and the MMA fan.
Lesnar also is being assesed this week so this will clear up the title and contenders fight outcomes.
For me dos Santos is number two contender behind the winner of Mir and Carwin.
Note to all heavyweights do not stand up and trade with Cigano you will lose!
Welterweight’s do not expect to stand and bang with Semtex
Paul Daley, the English fighter from Nottingham shook up the UFC at UFC 103, after beating lightweight contender Martin Kampmann back in November.
Paul Semtex Daley faced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specialist Dustin Hazelett, this was the striker versus the BJJ master. Many tipped Hazelett to win by submission but to be fair he did not get near Daley until he was on his back knocked out.
Daley clearly had a good plan and waited his time to drop the huge left bomb. That was deadly.
I can say without hesitation that noone will want to fight Daley in the welterweight division, the likes of Koscheck and Anthony Johnson might have to step up but not even these two huge welterweight will fancy their chances against Daley.
This in my opinion makes him number 3 or 4 contender in the title challengers line. Many UK MMA journalists have got excited and said he is behind Dan Hardy but Kos, Fitch and Johnson would all have something to say about that.
Light heavyweight division lackluster??
Rashad Evans is a force attacking not so good defending big punches……
Rashad Evans won the battle but maybe not the war with his win over Thiago Silva. Rashad when he attacked his Brazilan opponent Silva he controlled the fight, whever he attacked Silva had no answer.
In the first two rounds Rashad displayed all the skills which has made him dominate his opponents and even helped him win the ultimate fighter heavyweight show.
Rashad demonstrated his game plan two of the three rounds, the third was a slightly different story.
Was it a question of conditioning, was it a case of Rashad thinking he won and couldn’t get knocked out by Thiago?
My personal opinion was Rashad and his corner thought he already won, then the huge right from Silva rocked Rashad and gave him the chicken legs (thanks for the laugh Joe Rogan). That could have ended the title dream from Rashad.
Ultimately a win is a win and ensures the Rampage and Evans fight we have craved for since UFC 100 will happen!
If Rashad thinks he can trade with Rampage he will be sadly mistaken and his take downs will need to be tighter than against Silva as Rampage will train hard on defence at Wolveslair. Rashad will need to take down Rampage and hold him there and ground and pound, people may have forgotten already Rashad even when taking Silva down did not control or take a real dominate poisition.
In the long run the light heavyweight division might still be struggling for a long time title holder, with recent champions Rampage Jackson, Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida.
I still can see Dana White calling Anderson Silva and Ed Soares asking for a step up after his middleweight defence against Victor Belfort, especially if Shogun beats Machida.
The real winners of UFC 108 were the UFC, the fighters who stepped in to fight and ultimately the UFC, they now know they have a huge rooster of fighters who fight every second in the octagon and love doing it!
Fighters that have made headways in the UFC since their wins at 108 were Junior dos Santos, Sam Stout, Rashad Evans and the biggest winner was without doubt was Paul Daley, I can’t remember anyone else sending shockwaves after just two fights!
Fight winners at UFC 108 -
Rafaello Oliveira
Jake Ellenberger
Mark Munoz
Cole Miller
Martin Kampmann
Junior dos Santos
Jim Miller
Sam Stout
Paul Daley
Rashad Evans
Danny Denhard
Tweet This :) Digg This Post Facebook
Guest post – Are internships just cheap labour?
Are internships just cheap labour?
As we all know, there is a glut of graduates fresh from university, ready to take on the world and the workplace but have nowhere to go, so they turn to internships hoping that in 3-6 months they will be rewarded with a job for all their hard work…the word ‘naïve’ springs to mind.
It seems that since the recession hit, businesses are turning to internships to fill the employment gap. But cynical as it might sound I have trouble deciding – are internships just cheap labour?
I recently had the misfortune to experience an internship with a small fashion pr company, although my situation being different from that of a graduate (i.e. I am currently employed full time and can only work for a short period of time), I wanted to expand my skill set and gain some industry experience.
I arrive on my first day, the woman who I secured the internship with wasn’t even in the office – that should have been my first clue – another intern showed me round the main office then took me through the showroom to what could only be described as a cupboard with a desk, an ancient computer and barely working printer shoved into it. He then surveyed the area like a king looking over his kingdom and said with enthusiasm “this is where the interns sit!” Shocked doesn’t even come close!
He showed me the ropes, one computer programme to be precise, and left me to it. Sending out clothes to magazine shoots, creating delivery notes, and booking clothes back in is only fascinating for so long…great, that’s learnt – what next?
But nothing came next. This was it. I would spend my time bagging up clothes and writing address labels. When was I going to learn what a Fashion PR Account Manager actually does? Well, never. Even when my mentor did arrive, the conversation was as follows:
Mentor: “who are you?”
Me: “I’m Tiffany, starting my internship today, I’ve learnt the following…..”
Mentor: “Right”
That my friends, was all the contact I had with her for the next 3 days.
I couldn’t take anymore and chose not to return.
The long and short of it is – I was bored! Not to mention disappointed. I had been so excited for the opportunity to witness first hand people working in an industry I am thinking of moving into, and I got nothing.
I feel angry for people who do this for months on end, with their only reward being their travel expenses paid. There’s got to be something better than this?
And, maybe there is. I cannot base my whole theory of internships on one very very bad experience, but I’ve yet to hear anything different.
Internships should be challenging, fun, and eye-opening, helping you to decide if this is the career path you want to choose and if not teaching you some new skills and giving you new experiences.
There must be companies out there who take time to teach and impart their knowledge on people that could be the future of their industry, but I have a nagging feeling that cheap labour with no commitments is a far easier option to take.
P.S: I sent in an email to thank the company for the opportunity, while explaining why it wasn’t right for me and why I decided to terminate the internship. I have yet to receive a response. Point proven….
Tiffany Sabrina Hamilton-Atkins
@tiffanysabrina
LinkedIn
If you want to see my LinkedIn profile, click on this button:
