We are very proud to be able to bring you these rankings. We sincerely hope that they will not only serve as a good and credible reference for you, but also provide some good talking points as well. We have done our best to create a system that provides the most objective rankings possible. If you’d like to read more about how we compute our rankings, click here for details.
Q2 2010 Fighter Rankings
Pro Fighters
| Pound for Pound Top 10 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Chad Robichaux | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 1.75 |
| 2 | 2 | Sam Hoger | Hoger MMA | 2.25 |
| 3 | 4 | Levi Forrest | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 4.25 |
| 4 | 3 | Rey Trujillo | Paradigm Training Center | 4.5 |
| 5 | - | Will Campuzano | 5.75 | |
| 6 | 6 | Mike Bronzoulis | Paradigm Training Center | 7.33 |
| 7 | - | Ray Blodgett | Elite MMA-Houston | 7.5 |
| 8 | 10 | Humberto Deleon | Bushi Ban | 9.25 |
| 9 | - | Jon Kirk | Aztlan Fight Club | 9.5 |
| 10 | - | Brian Melancon | Paradigm Training Center | 9.75 |
| Flyweight (125lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Humberto Deleon | Bushi Ban | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | Andy Sandoval | Death Row MMA | 2.25 |
| 3 | 3 | Brian Garmon | Silverback Mixed Martial Arts | 2.75 |
| 4 | - | |||
| 5 | - | |||
| 6 | - | |||
| 7 | - | |||
| 8 | - | |||
| 9 | - | |||
| 10 | - | |||
| Bantamweight (135lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Chad Robichaux | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 1 |
| 2 | - | Will Campuzano | 2 | |
| 3 | - | Stephen Garcia | 3.5 | |
| 4 | - | Vincent Libardi | 4.25 | |
| 5 | - | Francisco Barragan | 5.25 | |
| 6 | - | Arnulfo Cortes | 5.5 | |
| 7 | - | Nate Garza | Rocky Long MMA | 7.5 |
| 8 | - | Navied Sadeghi | 8 | |
| 9 | 2 | Lewis Mackenzie | 9 | |
| 10 | - | Joseph Ramirez | 9.5 | |
| Featherweight (145lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | - | Chas Skelly | 2.25 | |
| 2 | - | Jose Santibanez | Silverback Mixed Martial Arts | 2.75 |
| 3 | - | John Bedford | 3 | |
| 4 | 1 | Daniel Pineda | 4 oz Fight Club | 3.25 |
| 5 | - | Chris Manuel | 5.5 | |
| 6 | 3 | Tim Snyder | 5.75 | |
| 7 | 2 | Rocky Long | Rocky Long MMA | 6 |
| 8 | - | Greg Bellomy | Gracie Barra Texas | 7 |
| 9 | - | Jimmy Guzman | 9.25 | |
| 10 | - | Leo Torres | Silverback Mixed Martial Arts | 9.75 |
| Lightweight (155lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Rey Trujillo | Paradigm Training Center | 1.25 |
| 2 | 4 | Ray Blodgett | Elite MMA-Houston | 2 |
| 3 | 3 | Brian Melancon | Paradigm Training Center | 3 |
| 4 | 2 | Jesus Rivera | 4 oz Fight Club | 4 |
| 5 | 6 | Arron Barringer | Hoger MMA | 5.5 |
| 6 | 7 | Lane Yarbrough | Death Row MMA | 6.75 |
| 7 | 5 | Jace Pitre | Team Tooke | 8.75 |
| 8 | - | Jason Carter | 646 MMA | 9.25 |
| 9 | - | Casey Hobson | Rising Sun Karate | 9.5 |
| 10 | - | Lee King | 10 | |
| Welterweight (170lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Levi Forrest | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | Mike Bronzoulis | Paradigm Training Center | 2 |
| 3 | 4 | Jonathon Harris | Submission Boxing Academy | 4.5 |
| 4 | 3 | Ricardo Talavera | Elite MMA-Houston | 4.5 |
| 5 | - | Marcelo Azevedo | Gracie Barra Texas | 4.5 |
| 6 | - | RJ Knepp | 646 MMA | 6 |
| 7 | - | Jeff Rexroad | Paradigm Training Center | 6.25 |
| 8 | 5 | Jason Wright | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 8 |
| 9 | - | Patrick Hutton | Rising Sun Karate | 8.25 |
| 10 | - | Tony Concepcion | Muay Thai G.R.I.P. Academy | 10 |
| Middleweight (185lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 6 | Jon Kirk | Aztlan Fight Club | 1.75 |
| 2 | - | James Stelly | 3.5 | |
| 3 | - | Cleburn Walker | 3.5 | |
| 4 | 2 | Chris Spicer | Death Row MMA | 3.75 |
| 5 | - | Charles Byrd | Saekson’s | 5 |
| 6 | 3 | Demond Landry | 6 | |
| 7 | - | Ken Laney | 7 | |
| 8 | 7 | Larry Hopkins | Team Dynamite | 8 |
| 9 | - | |||
| 10 | - | |||
| Light Heavyweight (205lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 2 | Chris Reed | Gracie Barra Texas | 1.5 |
| 2 | 1 | Ike Villanueva | Rocky Long MMA | 2.25 |
| 3 | 3 | Chad Cook | Gracie Barra Texas | 3.5 |
| 4 | - | Mark Pelc | 4 | |
| 5 | - | Brian Lightfoot | Gracie Barra Texas | 4.25 |
| 6 | - | Artenas Young | Hoger MMA | 4.5 |
| 7 | - | Joshua Foster | 5 | |
| 8 | - | Dwight Gipson | 7.25 | |
| 9 | - | Jonathan Mack | Rocky Long MMA | 8.25 |
| 10 | - | |||
| Heavyweights (206lbs+) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Sam Hoger | Hoger MMA | 1 |
| 2 | - | Derek Lewis | Silverback Mixed Martial Arts | 3.5 |
| 3 | 3 | Johnathan Ivey | Scientific Street Fighting (TN) | 3.66 |
| 4 | - | Patrick Miller | Grapplers Lair | 4.25 |
| 5 | - | Nick Mitchell | Rocky Long MMA | 6 |
| 6 | - | Larry Crowe | Silverback Mixed Martial Arts | 6.25 |
| 7 | - | James Hall | 6.5 | |
| 8 | - | Christapher Taylor | 8.5 | |
| 9 | - | Ruben Davila | 8.75 | |
| 10 | - | Jared Taylor | 9.25 | |
Amateur Fighters
| Pound for Pound Top 10 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 4 | Craig Gardner | West Side MMA | 3.75 |
| 2 | 7 | Raymond Bell | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 4 |
| 3 | - | Alex Black | Bushi Ban | 4.25 |
| 4 | - | Drew Ratichek | American Combative Systems | 6.75 |
| 5 | - | John Malbrough | Kingwood MMA | 7 |
| 6 | - | Akira Smith | 4 oz Fight Club | 7.75 |
| 7 | 2 | Patrick Bierschwale | West Side MMA | 8.5 |
| 8 | - | Jared Chaffee | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 8.5 |
| 9 | 3 | Jordan Rivas | Elite MMA-Houston | 8.75 |
| 10 | - | Jimmy Flick | 8.75 | |
| Flyweight (125lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 2 | Bobby Powers | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 1.25 |
| 2 | 1 | Joe Cruz | Texas Powerhouse MMA | 1.5 |
| 3 | - | Rafael Breton | 3 | |
| 4 | 4 | Matt Thompson | Brazos Valley MMA | 4.5 |
| 5 | 5 | Martin Garcia | Gracie Barra Texas | 5.25 |
| Bantamweight (135lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | - | Jared Chaffee | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 1.75 |
| 2 | - | Akira Smith | 4 oz Fight Club | 1.75 |
| 3 | 1 | Gerzan Chaw | Bushi Ban | 3.25 |
| 4 | - | Jimmy Flick | 3.75 | |
| 5 | - | Rodrigo Rodriguez | CTC | 5 |
| Featherweight (145lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Alex Black | Bushi Ban | 1 |
| 2 | - | Brandon Acosta | 2.75 | |
| 3 | - | Jimmy New | 3 | |
| 4 | - | Adam Longoria | 3.5 | |
| 5 | - | Marc Rameriz | Urban Jungle Self Defense | 5.25 |
| Lightweight (155lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Raymond Bell | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 1 |
| 2 | 3 | Nick Felder | Gracie Barra Texas | 2.25 |
| 3 | - | Olya Sinboyla | Hoger MMA | 3.25 |
| 4 | 4 | Cody Phillips | Bam Bam Martial Arts | 3.5 |
| 5 | 5 | Frank Solinas | Submission Boxing Academy | 5.75 |
| Welterweight (170lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Craig Gardner | West Side MMA | 1 |
| 2 | - | Eric Elliot | Metro Fight Club | 2.25 |
| 3 | 2 | Jordan Rivas | Elite MMA-Houston | 2.75 |
| 4 | - | Alex Morano | Gracie Barra The Woodlands | 3.75 |
| 5 | - | Hossan Walker | 5.75 | |
| Middleweight (185lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 5 | John Malbrough | Kingwood MMA | 1.25 |
| 2 | 2 | Patrick Bierschwale | West Side MMA | 2.25 |
| 3 | - | John Thibeault | 4 oz Fight Club | 3 |
| 4 | 3 | Terrance Ferguson | West Side MMA | 4.25 |
| 5 | - | Noel Ligon | 4.25 | |
| Light Heavyweight (205lbs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | - | Edgar Verdin | Submission Boxing Academy | 1 |
| 2 | - | Andre Kavanaugh | 3.25 | |
| 3 | 3 | Jermaine Anugwon | Windy Sport & Fitness | 3.75 |
| 4 | 4 | Jason Sullivan | American Combative Systems | 3.75 |
| 5 | - | Quan-Thien Nguyen | 4.5 | |
| Heavyweights (206lbs+) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prev. | Name | Gym | Avg Rank |
| 1 | 2 | Drew Ratichek | American Combative Systems | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | Jason Frank | Rising Sun Karate | 2.5 |
| 3 | - | Taylor Hebert | 2.75 | |
| 4 | - | Josh Booty | 4.5 | |
| 5 | - | Jay Ross | 5 | |






@Billy i am the biggest ass in the gym i was just hungry that day so i kept it to a minimum.lol. Just so everyone knows I told Edgar the night of the fight that he did his thing. Just like everyone else in this sport we have confidence in our guys and at times we can let that gt the best of us.
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@rasta..lol..well put
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I’m not sure that all the fighters in the “fan favorite” are correct. Mike B. is like one of the most well known fighters in houston, why is his name not on that list? I think it should be out of the top 10 lb/lb fighters.
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then go create your own damn website and you can bublish whatever amount of fighters you want bub! next time I want your opinion, I will LET you use one of mine your crying ass retard!
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got me laughing with that one bro. ^^^^^^ reminds me of “when i want your opinion ill give it to you!”
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i just wanna fight the best and the ones who run their mouth the most and machine gun does both plus i think it would be a hell of a fight!!! i wanna fight at 185 and 205 cause i feel like i can do some damage and have good fights in both!!! i wanna thank all the haters!!!!
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i just like to fight and fight and fight. . . . … GOD will take care of me and protect me on my journey and everythin will line up when it needs to IN JESUS NAME. . . . .AMEN
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Walking Tall we took the top three ammy’s and the top three pro’s for the poll.
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im confused. sorry. after the fight, edgar walked over to machine gun and called him out. machine gun gets in the cage to talk. the fat mexican corner man (im 300lbs so im allowed to use the term fat lol) starts talking shit. the guys from sub boxing get in the cage. we are a family, a team, and very united, so we do the same to make sure our guys are good. anyone would do the same. the fact that you disrespect my coach shows the class you have. if you actually knew sam, and had trained with him, they i guarantee youd have nothing negative to say. and say what you want about him, but that man has forgot more about mma than youll ever know.instead of being a mouth piece, maybe you should be in the gym training and let edgar do his own talking because all youre doing is making the guy and your camp look bad.you dont see any of us getting on here calling people out or talking shit about anyones camp or coach because were only thugs when its necessary and we have respect for all other camps. if he wants to fight chico, its between him, chico, and whatever promoter they set it up with (hopefully mick and ragan). nuff said.
barry and rich, great job with the rankings. its incredible when i look at the houston scene 10 years ago, and now, and how much its progressed. keep up the guy work everyone.
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@Jermaine…Good talk man!!…personally Machine Gun will destroy Edgar..and for people to disrespect Sam or Machine Gun, are only haters, they do all the talking in the ring…They are both Great Guys, people that dont know them are scared to understand them…Basically they are weak individuals that are intimidated…lol…whatever!!!!!!!!!!!!
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man you guys are brutal..i feel tention
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personally i have seen edgar fight, he is alright, lots of heart from that kid but he hasnt fought anybody really good, he needs to brush up on his skills a little bit if he is going to call people out..
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Man im gonna tell you this. Ray (the guy he just beat) is GOOD. Believe me. It may have been his first fight but there are plenty of peole who have trained with Ray and plenty of really good pros who have trained with Verdin. He deserves the credit hes getting. he didn’t land one lucky punch he landed a combo that was well timed and he adjusted on his feet and took out a VERY tough guy. You guys will see when Ray fights next that he is a very competitive fighter and im sure that Verdin will show well in the pros.
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mmm
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I Seen the Fight between edgar, and ray. Are you kidding me, Ray got whooped on,he through an ugly kick that got him pummeled…Now i know its his first fight, so how can you say he is tuff, didnt look that way..but then again i have followed edgars fights as well, not to much going on there either…
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well im not a hater jus telling it how “I’, see it. Good luck to both young men, i hope they have bright futures
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@blog_king Ray is a tough guy. He just got caught. Would you say Chuck Liddell is not tough because he got caught by Rich Franklin, Keith Jardine, Or Evans. In this sport EVERYONE has a puncher’s chance. (no disrespect intended to Edgar so guys don’t jump down my throat.)
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@rastaman,
Did you just compare Ray to Chuck Liddell…are you insane? Ray got knocked out in the first exchange, i was there, i blinked and the damn fight was over. He has alot to prove after that show is all im saying.
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@blog_king its rasta420 not rastaman. There have been several people who have lost their fight on the 1st exchange.Once again in this sport everyone has a puncher’s chance. And I actually like that you are talking about Ray it shows that our school is on the forefront of your mind.
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@Rasta420
Sorry bout the name. Anyhow I’m not Talking bad things just what i witnessed live, i go to plenty of events, and know plenty of fighters, and if they get whooped on i call it. Contructive Critisism. And what school are you with again?
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Verdin had a very lackluster performance a couple fights ago but his boxing looked crisp, his timing was on and he had his range and power right where he needed it. Believe me, at the local level and at the heavier weights if you think these guys are not good then you need to adjust your perspective. Obviously with Ray you don’t have much to go on. Thats where guys like me who aren’t eve from his gym come in and can provide some insight into his skills. Ray is not just decent but good. Id say one of the best 205 in houston ammy or pro. He dropped his hands a little against a heavy hitter and with 4oz gloves its easy to go out when your fighting heavy guys. Im just curious who you do think is good at the heavier weights if you feel your insight is good?? Everyone is entitled to their opinion im just curious not trashing you.
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GOODLUCK next week Drew Ratichek,let show these boys how we do it in Texas
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@Black beast I saw you are fighting in Colorado soon. Good Luck and like you told Drew…show them how we do it
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rasta420 thanks bro.I’m fighting the same night Drew fighting vs Shawn Jordan next Friday,then i got this guy in Colorado his name is Ryan Martinez,then i got My boy Tim Buchanan again,then who ever wants some after that.I’M HUNGRY TO FIGHT
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Tim trains with me and is still an ammy. Ignore him. I tell him all the time he talks too much trash
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@Drew
Your right Edgar came with it that nite. Do you mean in your area? or any local pros? Because im not from Texas.
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BlackBeast!! Yeah so is it gonna be you or me that walks out to Paul Wall They Don’t Know….? Im game. we gotta go out there and in the words of the Great George Foreman “…put some Houston Texas on that ass” I Promise that this home town hero Shawn Jordan is in for the fight of his life with BlackBeast. This guy is gonna think someone is trying KILL him when Beast gets ahold h him.
Blog- yeah preferably from this area but ill take anywhere if your not from here. i have seen The Houston area guys do pretty well when they venture outta state but im open to here your opinion. Thanks.
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I dont understand why Antonio Flores is not in the top 10 for 170. I personaly think he belongs in the top 3 ATLEAST…
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@Ken – he hasn’t fought in Houston in at least the past 2 years so he’s not eligible.
Read the link posted at the top about “how we calculate our ranking” for more info.
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Todd Moore has a fight scheduled, doesn’t that make him eligible?
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mark pelc aint fought in years and why aint manny lazona or carlos jimenez on this list
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Manny and Carlos are both 1-1.. Swimming at 500. Please explain how they rank above anyone above them..our 5th place guy is 3-0
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@Levi – Scheduled fights don’t count.
@bkat – Pelc fought at URC back in Aug of 2008, thus he is in fact still eligible for our rankings.
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can someone explain to me why edgar verdin ranked #1
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Hey guys this is coach, on your ranking y’all have Christopher Taylor pro heavyweight. He fights out of our gym silverback fight club. My only remarks are, I don’t understand why are ray and machine Gunn taking this fights, if they are fighting in July. Guys I pray y’all are taking those fight seriously, because the guys y’all are fighting are some powerful fighters. What happens if you get tko or cut, there goes y’all chance to fight in the big show. I also think Mick deserves more respect than that, and strikforce. Also the fans that are buying tickets for those events, we where offer a chance to fight on strikeforce for Derrick. Also a chance to fight in Denver, for a title shot. I called the promoter and told him, that if we got the shot we where not going to fight. We didn’t sign nothing, until we knew for sure. Well we didn’t get the call, so we are fighting in Denver for a title shot. All am saying is guys don’t cheat the fans out off some great fights in July. We all want to fight in the big shows, put you have to give the promoter who gave y’all your break first more respect. Once you sign on that dot your obligations belong to that paper and those fans who bought those tickets to see you fight also to the promotion company. God bless, please don’t take my opinion the wrong way. vatos locos for ever viva Mexico hueys and the united states too shit. Also sorry Drew good luck on your next fight, need anything just come on over son we love you. Who is the most handsome Mexican in Houston.
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How in the world is Chad Robichaux ranked P4P best? He wont even take a fight with Steve Garcia for fear of getting knocked out!
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You know what I’m confused with….Hey drew who exactly were you supposed to fight…and I’m asking you directly for YOU AND I to set something up for US to bang it out. That means I’m telling you…I WANT TO FIGHT YOU. All caps doesn’t mean I’m yelling….I just want to emphasize and specifiy that it’s YOU I WANT. Please no alternatives and no I don’t need to fight Derek Lewis…no disrespect to derek but seriously I have shit to gain fighting him again. I’m sure anyone here can understand that point if they gave a shit…lmao. SO…….DREW WRITEACHECK can we please with sugar, icecream, cherry, maple syrup, a corvette, a chew chew train, a helicopter and a free trip to disneyland on top and set something up I’ll even throw in a playstation 3 with the new x-box360….Just say yes and I’m sure with your ju juitsu skills and your super hands you’ll knock me the f*ck out. Now please lets do this because I’m getting old and my teeth are falling the f*ck out…ok bro? Lets just do this and get this shit off the bucket list…ok..ok…good!
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@JAYRAW and blog_king187
I’ve moved your posts to the appropriate location…the shit talking thread in our forums, found here:
http://www.thecagedoor.net/forum/index.php?topic=169.msg2390#msg2390
This comment area is the place to discuss our rankings, not talk mess and call people out.
The forums are free to join and we don’t have many “rules” there. I would encourage you both to join and continue the banter their.
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Cool a big crap taking room. Thanks. I will definetley take it there sorry.
See you there rawboy!!!
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I mean crap TALKING.lol
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