sMMAshzilla

Used to have ESPN, but cost too much.

ESPN on Virgin is free this month. You NEED to check it out.

I'll source it from somewhere else though normally, Sunday morning. Takes a little while for me to get a good quality version, but it's worth it (there's a definite element of hit and miss). Have it all watched by Sunday evening (normally whilst doing the ironing).

Just about recovered from some luta livre training on Thursday night (it hurt). UFC 142 will get me in the mood for some more

Belfort vs Johnson is gonna be good. After the controversy at the weigh-ins and with Belfort in front of the Brazil crowd, it's gonna be explosive.

UFC 142 tonight. Here are my predictions:

Featherweight Championship: José Aldo © (win) vs. Chad Mendes

Catchweight (197 lb) bout: Vitor Belfort (win) vs. Anthony Johnson

Middleweight bout: Rousimar Palhares (win) vs. Mike Massenzio

Welterweight bout: Erick Silva (win) vs. Carlo Prater

Lightweight bout: Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim (win)

I've actually put some money on Aldo, Belfort and Palhares to win. Yes, actual cash has been placed on these guys (though I'm up with my UFC bets so far).

Full predictions from me are here:

http://www.smmash.co.uk/1/post/2012/01/ufc-142-aldo-vs-mendes-predictions.html

Just need to now avoid the internet until I get to see all the fights!

It is important to name a child appropriately as to avoid / reduce the chance of bullying. "The Pumpkin" just describes the car perfectly

I'll be there Saturday afternoon, so you may see The Pumpkin briefly then.

Alternatively, if you see a bloke with a big ginger beard sat at a coffee shop, that'll be me

I occasionally go to Winchester, so you may see me driving past you at some point.

Well done with the purchase.

Welcome

Got it this morning. The postman folded it in half (it is big though), not much of a problem though as I've got a load of books on it flattening it out.

It is a VERY good quality calendar, I'm impressed. Excellent choice in pictures.

I'm most happy that The Pumpkin is a focal picture

I think the Cliff Richard calendar might have to be relegated this year.

As a very new owner myself, I'd like to welcome you as well

UFC 141 is a crazy card. Plenty of good fighters and matchups on the card:

All of the below are going to be excellent:

Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem

Donald Cerrone vs. Nate Diaz

Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks

Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Alexander Gustafsson

Nam Phan vs. Jim Hettes

Ross Pearson vs. Junior Assuncao

I sometimes bet on the fights and do pretty well with my predictions, but I really will struggle with most of these. If Brock can take Overeem down, then it's all over. The big word is "IF". Overeem is a fantastic fighter and a lot of people are writing him off without ever seeing him compete.

Cerrone vs Diaz is fight of the night. Cerrone has been very impressive in the last few outings that I've seen. The Diaz brothers are two of my fave fighters, but I can't see much other than Cerrone on this one.

Good to see a UK fighter in Ross Pearson competing on the card. And Nam Phan who is very entertaining.

This will be very good. Dream (Japanese MMA) is also happening happening New Years Eve as well, so I'm excited about what's coming up.

I'll be getting excited about both events even more in the coming week on my facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Smmash-MM ... 4463090120

al

What day was this? It wouldn't have been Tuesday, I was at home in bed feeling sorry for myself!

I don't drive much or often, but when I do, expect to see the car on the M27 quite a bit. Trips from Portsmouth to Southampton are one of my most common journeys (other than to Sainsburys Farlington).

al

p.s. I am sometimes a few inches shorter, sporting a much nicer hairstyle, and have developed breasts. Feel free to flirt with me in this form.

I don't bother with strike force or cage rage as much as I should

Strikeforce needs to sort itself out. It's in transition at the moment since the UFC bought it, but they don't really know what to do with it. A lot of fighters have moved over to the UFC, but hopefully they'll sort it out.

I was never a fan of cage rage, yes I used to watch it, but not really into it. They do have Paul Semtex Daley fighting in February for them though (assuming he makes weight, which he likes to not do).

I would recommend you check out Dream from Japan. The fight card for NYE is pretty decent and hopefully this organisation can keep on going (they've been in a lot of financial trouble). And if the fight card doesn't interest you, just watch it for Michael "the voice" Schiavello, who is excellent at the commentary.

If you are interested in MMA, check out my site www.sMMAsh.co.uk

al

If you didn't get a chance to see Strikeforce last night, then don't bother. It was quite dire.

With a background in Benefit administration, it frustrates me to see people like this struggling, whereas others (entire families) make claiming benefits their career!

This post was really nice to see and just stories like this will breakdown the barriers and give people (like me) more understanding.

Good work people.

We have cycle lanes in Portsmouth and I use them every day when cycling to work. They are sh*t. Cars drive in them. Cars park in them. I get cut off from car drivers 4 out of 5 journeys with people using the cycle lane with their car.

Also, those who plan the cycle lanes clearly don't use them. A cycle lane which goes around a corner and then into the back of a parking space...genius.

As far as insurance to cover for a scratch to a car. Look, if I were to ride my bike into a car and damage it, then yes the car will be scratched. Maybe a mirror will be knocked off at most. The point is that the car driver will be fine (other than annoyed).

If a car drives into me on my bike, there is a good chance I will be dead. That's the difference that some people don't realise.

I'm lit up like a Christmas tree when I cycle. You really shouldn't be able to miss me, but people somehow do! I stop at traffic lights, I don't use headphones, I wear a helmet, I am a very skilled cyclist but I still fear other drivers on the road due to their erratic behaviour, dangerous speeds and lack of consideration for other road users (cyclists and other drivers).

People need to realise that I am not just a cyclist, I am a person. If I get hit by a car I'm pretty f*cked. Give me some space, don't be in such a rush (don't forget that being slowed by me will affect your journey by a whole 3 seconds) and just be more considerate to all road users. I also don't understand drivers who don't let pedestrians cross the road or don't let other drivers out of junctions (the ones who actually speed up to not let people out). It's all very strange. Don't forget, you are a pedestrian as well, and sometimes you need to be let out of junctions.

And I pay my tax and road tax with both of the cars that I own and the job I work in.

Not had a chance to take any nice pictures yet, but here are a couple from my phone.

You should recognise the 350z from the forum

al

Just saw this outside Halfords myself this evening! It has a personalised number plates on it. It's very distinctive.

Anyone?

Also, the Ocean retail park (Halfords etc) has the BIGGEST speed humps I've ever seen. Thankfully I wasn't in my 350z as I would have been stuck.

This meet was the reason I finally bought a 350z!!

Went to the tip next to Port Solent, saw these all lined up, chatted to some of you...6 months later a purchase was made

After driving from Portsmouth to Southampton, then flying to Glasgow, the purchase has been made.

The Pumpkin has a new home

al

Lovely looking car, I'm just several months away from a purchase at the moment. Lots of other things on the go. I might be tempted if it is still handing around in the new year though (hope for your sake it's not).

Make sure you don't puncture the innertube with the screwdriver. I've done that before.

Fixed a puncture, but the tyre back on and created another puncture in the process. Oh the joy.

If you go to Bangkok, then I'd stay there at most 3 nights. It is certainly an experience, but you can see everything in that period of time. Watch out for the dodgy Tuk Tuk drivers and always demand that Taxi they put the meter on. They will rip you off otherwise. Also be careful that when you get picked up from the airport, that they don't drop you off in the middle of nowhere (i.e. at a travel agent, on a random road with nothing for miles, resulting in us having to pay even more for an extra taxi).

I was in Bangkok and Phuket back in October 2010. Had a very memorable experience. It was fantastic, crazy, eye opening and daunting all at the same time. I don't regret any of it.

I will also bump Wiggle as the place to buy your tyres from (actually, the best place to get all your sport gear from).

I bought some gators for my mtb, which are slicks. They are useless off road, but on the road the difference was crazy. No longer are the old folk on their racer bikes flying past me. Not the best grip when wet though. Also they were very very hard to get on my wheel, but they did eventually go on. Don't forget that you'll need different inner tubes to your normal mtb tyres.

I'm doing the Nokia Coast to Coast race in a couple of months, which I need some semi-slicks for. Looks like another purchase will be made

MMA all the way for me.

I used to compete in Kickboxing, winning myself a couple of medals in the process. I also trained in BJJ and dabbled in a few other disciplines. MMA is my true passion in life and I could watch the fights all day (and often do).

I did use to watch boxing on tv, back when Eubank, Benn, Naseem were in their prime. As it went onto PPV more and more, I lost interest (and didn't have the pocket money to cover it). MMA has always been very entertaining for me though. It is just far more technical, but also has much more incredible highlights compared to boxing. You would never ever ever see anything as entertaining in boxing as this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH7oRb5Knjc

If any of you are interested, I have my own MMA Facebook page and a new website on the way very soon. The Facebook page is in it's infancy (sMMAsh.co.uk), so I'm always looking for new members

http://tinyurl.com/sMMAsh

Nope, I definitely won't be getting my Top Gear tickets. It's filming tomorrow and I've not had the elusive phone call. Ah well, back to watching it on i-player with a load of ironing to keep my entertained.

My 3D experience hasn't been so good. First off, I wear glasses when I am at the cinema, which results in me having to wear 2 pairs of glasses at the cinema (normal and 3D). This is not very comfy, and I can never work out which pair of glasses I need to clean.

I've also noticed that a lot of cinemas are only showing the 3D version of the movie, due to being able to make a lot more money from them. I saw Megamind in 3D and it added nothing at all to the film.

I also played Gran Tourismo on the PS3 whilst out in Thailand. I was very focused on the game and didn't really notice the 3D, so again I found it quite pointless.

I'm yet to be sold and it'll take some effort to change my mind. I'm holding out for 4D.