****The author is a Marine Corps veteran and actually served under Maj. John Caldwell who is cited in this article. The author's opinions are not that of the Marine Corps and have no official endorsement by either the Marine Corps or the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It is purely a matter of personal opinion shared by a Marine Corps veteran and journalist for U.S. Combat Sports****

All good things must come to an end. And in the case of one of the most recognizable partnerships inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship's Octagon, the U.S. Marine Corps and the UFC have officially cut ties.

The three-year partnership between the two came to an abrupt halt November 30 after a push from members of Congress, women's groups and labor unions. The Marine Corps Recruiting Command came under a lot of pressure after labor union, Unite Here, launched a massive campaign to ban and prohibit spending on marketing and advertising expenditures with the UFC.

UFC President Dana White is finally warming up to the idea that women have a place in his organization. White, who had previously been extremely critical over women inside the octagon, now entertains the idea ever since he laid eyes on one, "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey.

Rousey, currently the women's bantamweight champion for the Zuffa owned Strikeforce, has been destroying her opponents each within the first round of competition and is currently ranked the number one female fighter on the planet.

Of course, before Rousey there was Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, but Santos derailed her own train after testing positive for a banned substance. The one-time queen of the featherweight division was stripped of her title and banned from the sport for one year.

There is no sport more demanding than wrestling. Wrestling is a team sport that requires individual effort to accomplish the ultimate team goal of being successful.

This is a sport that has been around longer than any other high school athletic activity and dates back to the beginning of mankind, which requires strength, power, speed, and mental toughness.

If you're a high school student and find your self interested in staying in shape or bored during the winter, check out your local high school's wrestling team as all high schools are always looking for individuals to participate on the team.

Last night the unfortunate and saddening news broke that rapidly rising featherweight Erik "New Breed" Koch was forced to pull out of his UFC 153 title bout against 145-pound killer Jose Aldo.

Koch, who was pegged to be the first Roufusport fighter to ever fight for a UFC title, was obviously extremely disappointed by the situation. But what did other fighters, promoters, and fans think about Koch being replaced by former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar?

Check out some reactions from people in all walks of life about the injury to "New Breed" and the new UFC 153 main event from the industry's best including Koch, Edgar, Dana White, Anthony Pettis, Ariel Helwani, Mike Straka and more.

Watching fights nearly every weekend is a hardcore mixed martial arts fan's dream. But sometimes dreams are interpretations of a reality that easily drift too far away.

The recent cancellation of UFC 151 not only sent shockwaves through the sport and ultimately may define fighter legacy in Jon Jones, but it may have also brought UFC executives back down to earth.

The perennial king of MMA, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has been promoting one to two or sometimes even three events per month. Who could complain about that, right?

Wrong. The sport is evolving so much, and so quickly that the list of well-rounded fighters on the roster is continually growing.

On this edition of the Low Blow we discuss an exciting night of fights that featured Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Lyoto Machida getting huge victories on national television.

We also talk about the men of the USA Boxing's failure to bring home a medal and the women team's stealing their thunder. The hosts also debate whether or not Jon Jones can be a good role model after getting his new global Nike deal and we discuss UFC 150.

Take a look back at the world of mixed martial arts five years ago. Middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva was just beginning to create his legend within the UFC, televised MMA was a privilege not a right, and youth MMA was only a portion of what it is today.

With the combative sports world continuously growing each day, read along as US Combat Sports Reporter Carl Lange recounts the firsthand observations he has witnessed within the fight scene on a handful of topics.

In a performance very similar to the previous five opponents of UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, Rashad Evans struggled to get anything going. He was unable to put Jones on the mat and his striking was virtually nonexistent aside from a couple punches here and there.

And why should we be surprised? Jones has a reach that is similar to Stretch Armstrong and his takedown defense is perfect in the UFC. However, if we look closer to the prefight hype, we should have known this was going to happen.

This fight was billed as an exciting battle, filled with emotion and ill will between the two. Many believed that this fight had a chance to be a Fight of the Year candidate. This sounds a lot like another fight involving Evans, a 2010 fight with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. And while "Suga" defeated Jackson, the fight was very boring. The pre-fight smack that Evans talked was just that, talk.

This Saturday night in Atlanta the drama-filled feud between Jon "Bones" Jones and "Suga" Rashard Evans will finally be settled the way men handle problems, with their hands. These two former teammates will meet in the Octagon with the coveted UFC title on the line.

As the fight draw closer, the indecisive guessing of who will be the better man continues by fans. Much like having a favorite football team, fans attach themselves to a fighter supporting them through their careers. Both hailing from New York, which one these empire state fighters will have the upper hand in Saturday night's title match?

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones is on top of the world. The 2011 Fighter of the Year worked four fights into his calendar year last year, earning an impressive victory every time.

But just winning four times over the past year isn't what makes Jones so special. What does is that the last three fighters Jones squared off against were once all proud owners of the title he now carries. And before those three he manhandled number one contender Ryan Bader to earn the title shot.

For Jones, the sky is the limit.