Shawn Tompkins, one of the most respected trainers in Mixed Martial Arts, has passed away at age 37 from unknown medical reasons while sleeping. While his loss as a coach is certainly a blow to the development of both new and veteran fighters, more importantly it has left a hole in the hearts of his friends, family, peers, fans, and scores of  people he had never even met or didn’t know beyond a brief encounter.

Tompkins first came to prominence as a coach at Xtreme Couture before moving on to the TapouT Training Center and eventually landing in Canada to found Team Tompkins where he worked with athletes like Sam Stout (his brother-in-law), Mark Hominick, and Chris Horodecki.

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Kevin Kearns of MMATraining.com shows us how to have a great arm workout while using two hammers called Hammertime. This 4 minute video walks you through a full arm workout with the hammers. Enjoy.

We all heard the big news this week that legendary backyard fighting sensation Kimbo Slice would be entering the TUF household to live with 15 other Heavyweights to fight it out for a UFC contract. Slice has gone from making $500,000 a fight to sharing a room with 3 others and sleeping in a bunk bed. He will be without TV, internet, a phone and virtually any contact with the outside world for 6 + weeks. Does this sound like a good opportunity? Kimbo’s management thinks so and up this point they haven’t missed a step.

Slice is the first mainstream fighter to build his name strictly by fighting goons in backyards across America and putting them on Youtube. He was given a shot by EliteXC to carry their promotion and with almost zero actual MMA Training, became one of the most well known fighters in the world. After putting a few wins together by fighting over the hill former Read More

Well, it’s official. Mirko Cro Cop is back in the UFC and will appear at UFC 99 in Cologne, Germany June 13th. Discussions between the UFC and Cro Cop have gone back and forth over recent weeks and it was only yesterday that the final agreement was signed and Cro Cop’s official return was announced. The biggest loser in all of this is? Mustapha Al Turk, who has exactly 12 days to prepare for the man who was considered the number 2 heavyweight in the world just 2 and a half years ago.

Al Turk is 35 years old from Britain and stands 6’4, 235 lbs. He has a total 10 pro fights and has the worst agent in the history of sports. After only 6 pro MMA wins, his UFC debut came at UFC 92 against top contender Cheick Kongo where he was bullied and knocked around for 4 and a half minutes until referee Steve Mazzagatti finally had seen enough and pulled Read More

Last week the idea floating around was that the next 205 lbs title shot wouldn’t go to the man who claimed he desperately wanted his belt back, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Instead Rampage will coach TUF 10 against Rashad Evans and face the former champion at season’s end. The next title shot will go to former Pride superstar Shogun Rua. Many wondered if Rampage was ducking Machida after watching his dismantling of Rashad Evans from cageside at UFC 98. Regardless how you interpret Rampage’s new found lost desire for the belt, having Shogun fight for the belt makes the most money for the UFC and all the fighters involved. Read More