The city of Albuquerque replaced some landscaping in order to prevent its use in violent protests.

An official at ABQ Ride says bus ridership in the city has declined due to lower gasoline prices.

Holy Holm had surgery in Burque to fix a thumb she busted in Chicago.

The newspaper of the party for socialism and liberation writes that New Mexico, suffering from endemic poverty and violence, "is sick of capitalism."

Here's a BuzzFeed feature on Bernalillo County DA Kari Brandenburg. The article has caused some local controversy and Brandenburg says she was misquoted regarding her opinion of hizzonor Richard Berry.

This week's New Mexico fishing report says it's possible to catch catfish at Tingley Beach using hotdogs as bait. Oh, and Bluewater lake is full of Tiger Muskies.

Inky the octopus managed to pull off a daring escape from a New Zealand aquarium by squeezing through a gap at the top of his tank and slithering eight feet across the floor to a drain pipe that led to the ocean. Gangsta!

New Mexican's Steve Terrell tells us how the state's Republicans are embracing the idea of legal pot. I have to go knock wood real quick and throw a salt shaker over my shoulder with my fingers and toes crossed. Excuse me.

NASA has publicly stated that so-called “Planet 9” is not affecting the orbit of the Cassini space probe. Nevertheless, everyone in the tin-foil hat community already knows it's the long-awaited return of Niburu, the rogue planet. And aliens.

Holly Holm threw out the first pitch at yesterday's Isotopes game as part of a fund-raising event for the Boys and Girls club. No one is blaming the loss of the team's winning streak on her outside pitch. No one.

Check out these Canadian cops meditating. That's right. Peel Regional Police are trying out some new training methods. Somebody needs to pass this on to APD.

A dark matter dwarf galaxy was discovered hiding inside a space time distortion. If you understood that sentence, you might be a character from a bad sci-fi novel.

Still reeling from two violent earthquakes, some Japanese residents were surprised to find their streets filling up with a mysterious foam.

Check out these two assholes claiming to be APD and kicking in a person's door before robbing them. Both men were armed and brazen as hell. There's some pretty good shots of the creeps, so take a look and see if you know them.

Inky the octopus managed to pull off a daring escape from a New Zealand aquarium by squeezing through a gap at the top of his tank and slithering eight feet across the floor to a drain pipe that led to the ocean. Gangsta!

New Mexican's Steve Terrell tells us how the state's Republicans are embracing the idea of legal pot. I have to go knock wood real quick and throw a salt shaker over my shoulder with my fingers and toes crossed. Excuse me.

NASA has publicly stated that so-called “Planet 9” is not affecting the orbit of the Cassini space probe. Nevertheless, everyone in the tin-foil hat community already knows it's the long-awaited return of Niburu, the rogue planet. And aliens.

Holly Holm threw out the first pitch at yesterday's Isotopes game as part of a fund-raising event for the Boys and Girls club. No one is blaming the loss of the team's winning streak on her outside pitch. No one.

Check out these Canadian cops meditating. That's right. Peel Regional Police are trying out some new training methods. Somebody needs to pass this on to APD.

A dark matter dwarf galaxy was discovered hiding inside a space time distortion. If you understood that sentence, you might be a character from a bad sci-fi novel.

Still reeling from two violent earthquakes, some Japanese residents were surprised to find their streets filling up with a mysterious foam.

Check out these two assholes claiming to be APD and kicking in a person's door before robbing them. Both men were armed and brazen as hell. There's some pretty good shots of the creeps, so take a look and see if you know them.

French President Francois Hollande seeks to extend state of emergency to three months, claiming “France is at war” during an address to joint session of parliament.

France bombs Islamic State's capital in Syria in wake of Paris attacks on Friday.

John Oliver tells it like it is.

NM Islamic community leader speaks out against terrorist attacks.

If you've been living under a rock, New Mexico darling Holly Holm beat Ronda Rousey for the UFC Bantamweight title Saturday night.

SNL dares to tell the adventures of young Ben Carson.

Pastafarian woman allowed to wear pasta strainer on her head in her driver's license photo.

Tatooine irl.

Travis Browne and Donald Cerrone, two Jackson-Winkeljohn prospects, grace the UFC on Fox card tonight, with the main card starting at 6pm.

Here's a recent interview I did with Travis Browne, in my capacity as a reporter for BloodyElbow.com, about this fight and other topics, like the violent elbows he lands on people who try to take him down. The interview happened behind the Rt. 66 casino the night of Holly Holm's recent fight, on April 4.

Sorry for the hum during the interview! The ambulance behind us was running, which did something weird to my camera's audio.

As far as why the video is stuck in the right hand margin behind some ads, I have no idea. [UPDATE: Fixed. Sorry about that.] So here's a link to my story on Bloody Elbow.

The Holly Holm train is pulling into the Route 66 Casino tonight where the legendary boxer will face her seventh opponent in chain-link cage, as she continues her new MMA career. Holm has been courted by the UFC in recent weeks, though her management supposedly pissed off Dana White, presumably for asking for too much money (though it should be noted that White gets pissed if the wind blows).

The last time Holm fought, I had recommended that you go see her because it may be your last chance to see her fight in Albuquerque, before she gets swept up by the UFC. But this time, it seems like the opposite is true. If Holm continues to circle outside the UFC, she’ll probably be back at the 66 for at least another fight. If she joins the show and signs with the UFC, it might be in time for the June 7 card, headlined by Diego Sanchez vs Ross Pearson.

Such speculation, of course, is dependent on her winning tonight, which is a safe bet. But things will get interesting if the fight goes to the mat, where Holm is much less comfortable and experienced.

Holm may not want to go to the ground, but that’s what the world needs to see—if not this fight, then some other future fight—before she can be taken seriously as a threat to the UFC Bantamweight title held by Ronda Rousey. The champ has won most of her fights by arm bar, and would look to do the same against the Duke City striker. The best thing that could happen for Holly in this fight would be to slam Werner to the mat and submit her, preferably by arm bar. If she does that and calls out Rousey, Dana White would pee, a little bit anyway, in his pants.

But should Holm win, there is another high-profile fight that will be on her more immediate horizon: Christiana “Cyborg” Justino, the only other female MMA fighter outside the UFC who generates a buzz on par with Holm’s. According to her trainer Mike Winkeljohn, they will be trying to make this happen should Holly win.

I'm just saying: if Holly wins, her vs Cyborg on the June 7th card would tear the roof off of Tingly Coliseum, dontcha think?

Several teammates of "The Preacher's Daughter" will be on the card tonight, including Jackson-Winkeljohn products Clint Roberts and Nick Urso, two homegrown beasts you want on your side. Jesse Tafoya of Wink’s Gym, where Holm teaches and trains, is on the preliminary card.

The main card starts at 9 pm, and takes place at the Rt. 66 Casino on I 40. It will also be on AXSTV. The preliminary card starts at 7:30, and can only be witnessed live.

See you there, so look for the drunk guy in the Hawaiian shirt, and come say "hi."

Sure, it’s a damn shame that the UFC may never do a show in Albuquerque. After all, Duke City has some of the most committed fight fans on earth. On the flipside, we’ve got some of the best fighters as well, with both home-grown talent and fighters hat have immigrated here to train at Jackson/Winkeljohn MMA, as well as some of the other gyms, like FIT NHB. That adds up to local Mixed Martial Arts events stacked with top caliber talent, fighters that may very soon be competing at the sport’s highest level.

Case in point: Friday, Dec. 6, at the Route 66 Casino, the Fresquez Productions’ “Havoc” fight card, featuring Holly Holm vs Angela Hayes at bantamweight (135 lbs). The UFC has already expressed interest in Holm, and UFC president Dana White has acknowledge to being pestered to the point of desperation with questions about when the organization will sign her. Holm is being touted by many fans and media as a potential solution to Ronda Rousey's dominance.

Thus far, no opponent has escaped the first round without tapping to an armbar, much less beaten the UFC champion. Holm, a world champion boxer, and, according to her coach Mike Winkeljohn a “better kickboxer” is a fearsome striker, who has never been taken down or threatened on the ground in five professional MMA fights. But five of her opponent’s six wins are by submission, which means this could finally be the time Holm is tested on the ground. And we have the opportunity to see what happens, live. As soon as Holm gets picked up by the UFC, you might not be able to see her fight in Albuquerque ever again, so take advantage!

Also on the card, flyweight Nick Urso, a Jackson/Winkeljohn product like Holm. SouthWestFightNews notes, “Urso’s combination of speed, technique and natural talent has placed his name front-and-center in the discussion of who is New Mexico’s best fighter not-signed by a major MMA promotion.”

Urso will be fighting Jesus Urbina of Bushido MMA in El Paso. Again, SouthWestFightNews: “Urbina is very tough in all areas of MMA as he can trade punches in and outside of the pocket, he is very good at scrambling in his defensive grappling and he can finish fights when he gets top position on the mat. All of those compliments only accent his respected wrestling game; Urbina in fact has a collegiate wrestling background. “

Another fighter on the card we should be exited to see is Jackson/Winkeljohn welterweight (170 lbs) Clint Roberts, who will fight Eddie Gamboa, also of El Paso’s Bushido MMA. Roberts is a powerful, well-rounded fighter who would likely be making big waves by now if he didn’t keep getting injured. Most recently: a broken hand suffered in his last fight. It the knockout win, he ended up breaking his hand on his opponents’ head.

Many other local prospects will be fighting as well, including Cody East, Chuck Pieritz, Gabriel Benitez, Ricky Esquibel, and Mike Benefiel. The six-bout main card is preceded by a five-fight amateur undercard, which starts at seven. The public is invited to attend the weigh-in on Thursday at 2 pm, at the Route 66 Casino.

Tickets can be purchased online. For info, call 505-884-7484, or visit the Fresquez Productions website.

It was a busy night at the Santa Ana Star Event Center in downtown Rio Rancho. The Bellator 91 fight card delivered a lot of action, including plenty of finishes.

The most anticipated fight on the card, at least for the hometown crowd, was Holly Holm vs Katie Merrill. Holm, a decorated boxer from Duke City, was making her third MMA fight. The crowd erupted as she made her way to the cage

When the bell rang, Merrill ran across the cage, as Holm circled away to keep her at distance. Eventually Merrill closes that distance—it almost seemed like Holm let her. They took turns pressing each other against the cage, and break.

Holm didn’t throw a single punch until about midway through the first. When she finally flashed a combo, the blows came with such speed that it seemed like you could hear them slice the air. At this point the crowd began chanting HOLLY HOLLY. She threw another explosive combo. And another, and began following her punches with kicks to the body and head. At the end of the round she telegraphed a kick, which got caught. The round ended with Merrill on top.

In the second round, Holm threw more hands, grunting like Jackie Chan with every strike. The body punches continued to provide openings for her kicks, which began landing with power.

Holm’s strikes were like meteors, but great drama was nonetheless achieved by the fact that she wanted nothing to do with the ground game. A few times Holms landed with enough power to make you wonder if Merrill would stop, but she absorbed the strikes and kept coming. Free of fear of Holm taking her down, Merrill threw kicks at will.

Merrill tried again to clinch, and Holm went to work on her body like she was a heavy bag, and Merrill had to let go. After a few more nearly successful takedown attempts by Merrill, Holm landed a left hook to the sternum. She then took a step back, as if to get a better angle from which to watch Merrill fall. Merrill tried to absorb the blow and threw a kick back, which Holm caught and dumped her to the matt. Merrill looked done; Holm pounded on her for a few seconds until the ref agreed.

It ended on the ground, but will be remembered as a body shot KO. Twitter blew up with premature demands that Holm take on UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. Alas, Holm’s lack of confidence in her ground game and tentativeness in punishing her opponent early with strikes gives us little reason to believe she would be able to stop Ronda from taking her down and arm-barring her. But if Holm ever wanted to apply herself to developing a ground game, she would be a scary assignment for anyone. Training as she does at Jackson’s MMA, she’s hardly without opportunity to do so.

After being announced as the winner, Holm bounced around the cage like a puppy, looking for her long time coach Mike Winkeljohn. When she found him, he locked his hands together as a step, and she back-flipped off the step. And the hungry, angry beast that is the Albuquerque fight fans was appeased.

In recent years, Bellator fighting championships has solidified its hold as the nation’s #2 Mixed Martial Arts promotion, behind only the UFC in terms of revenue and exciting fights. Well, revenue, anyway. After last Thursday’s Bellator 90, in which there were six fights and six finishes on the main card alone, Bellator has strengthened an already compelling argument that it can deliver the goods.

This coming Thursday, Feb 28—as in, the day after tomorrow—Bellator is coming to the Santa Ana Star Casino in Bernalillo. Several local fighters are on the card, including boxer Holly Holm, who will be taking her third MMA fight against Katie Merrill.

Holm comes in as a favorite, at least in terms of hometown sentiment and big fight experience. But in the world of MMA, both Holm and Merrill are newbies. Merrill has a ground game, if she can get the fight there. Holm, one would expect, wants to keep it standing. The decorated boxer has a mean kicking game as well as boxing, having ended her first MMA fight via kicks to her opponents’ legs. Holm’s world-class striking will be a lethal asset as long as she can stay on her feet. If she gets tested on her back, the hometown crowd will surely be gritting its teeth.

However evenly matched it is, Holm has the most to lose. Just ask Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, who came in as a heavy favorite and ended up on the wrong end of a highlight-reel knockout. “Mo” came out with his hands low, as if he believed merely having Jeff Mayweather in his corner would grant him powers of immunity. Emanuel Newton ended that fantasy with a perfectly placed spinning backfist that hit the “off switch” as perfectly as a single punch could.

Holm, we assume, won’t be bogged down with that kind of hubris, even though she has an even better striking coach in her corner, Mike Winkeljohn. And I can attest that she will come in shape. I saw her last night at Wink’s Gym, where she trains and teaches a weekly cardio heavy bag class. (She won’t be teaching this Thursday; the gym will be closed because everyone will be at the fight).

She wasn’t there to train last night, but to hold pads for a teammate. I briefly chatted with her, and she was relaxed. She may have a lot more to lose than her opponent, but if she couldn’t handle that kind of pressure, she wouldn’t be a fighter.

Tomorrow, look here for updates on some of the other local fighters on Thursday’s Bellator card at Santa Ana Star.

Who's says revenge isn't sweet? Holly Holm got some much need retribution in a unanimous-decision victory over Anne Sophie Mathis on Saturday night at the Route 66 Casino. In December, the pair fought a back-and-forth affair that saw Mathis getting the better of Holm with a seventh-round knockout. In the rematch, Holm used a strategy to outbox Mathis instead of engaging in a brawl to avoid getting knocked out. The gameplan may have not been the most crowd pleasing but it got the job done and impressed the judges to earn the 97-93, 96-94, 99-91 victory. Now the debate begins over what move Holm will make next. Along with being an accomplished boxer, she's also had success with mixed martial arts. Despite women's MMA being relatively new, the sport has already made some popular stars and Holm could be next if she makes the full transition. But in the meantime, Mathis will most likely request a rematch away from Albuquerque and in her home country of France. For now, Holm looks to enjoy some time off, but whatever decision Holm makes, the Burque boxing fans will be watching very closely.

Lebron James has been declared the best player in the world by many NBA experts. James has every basketball ability any player dreams of. But when the NBA Finals began, everyone was quick to declare Kevin Durant the new king. Because of James' past inability to perform in the Finals, it has opened the door for Durant to become the league's best player. Despite tuning the media out with antics such as reading The Hunger Games prior to a big matchup, James seems to have taken his game to the next level by averaging 30 points during the 2012 Finals. In the critical game three, James put his finals nightmares behind him, scoring 29 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. He proved the reign of King James has perhaps only begun by hitting a clutch three in the fourth quarter and outplaying Kevin Durant.

Durant did have 26 points and 6 rebounds, but was in serious foul trouble throughout the game (just like in game two). The Thunder made a run in the fourth quarter to cut the Heat lead, but Miami scored the final seven points to prevent any Oklahoma City comeback. The 85-91 loss puts the Thunder in a 2-1 hole and makes game four a must win. Luckily for the Thunder, it’s been in this situation before, being down 2-0 to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. OKC will need to correct the mistakes if they are going to get back into the series. So far Durant has performed well in his first Finals appearance, but he'll have to find a way to outplay a more determined and focused Lebron James. Game might be the beginning of the King James era, or it may end before it even gets started.

Holly Holm hadn't lost since 2004 and was finally starting to get the attention of the casual fight community. With her successful debut in mixed martial arts in 2011, a win over top contender Anne Sophie Mathis could have broken Holm onto the mainstream sports radar. The two fighters met Friday night at Route 66 Casino in front of a raucous crowd of Holm supporters. What started out as a back and forth war, turned into Mathis hitting Holm with heavy shots that left the crowd in stunned silence. Despite Holm taking a extreme amount of damage in round six, the referee refused to stop the fight and left Mathis to finish Holm off with a brutal knockout. With the loss, Holm's MMA career may take a backseat as she is most likely to seek a rematch. With trainer Mike Winklejohn backing her, this loss shouldn't define her career as Holm processes the ability to rebound and continue her success in whatever combat sport she chooses.

Two Team Jackson Fighters fought on the national stage on “The Ultimate Fighter” season finale. Bantamweight John Dodson has been on the radar of MMA fans with his appearance on the Tapout reality series. Since his run to the finals, Dodson has showed superstar potential with his fighting style and personality. Team Alpha Male's T.J. Dillashaw posed a tough challenge, but Dodson’s punching power proved to be the difference. Despite the early stoppage, Dodson looked impressive and may turn into a future title contender. Diego Brandao looked to upstage his teammate when he fought Dennis Bermudez in the Featherweight final. They delivered perhaps one of the best rounds of the year in a down-to-the-wire fight, Then, during the closing seconds, Brandao nailed a textbook perfect armbar which forced Bermundez to tap immediately. Brandao earned the contract, but Bermundez’ performance shoul guarantee him a spot in the UFC. Brandao proved he's more than one-dimensional with submission skills but will need to improve his conditioning to evolve into a top fighter.

Tim Tebow may be the sports media’s darling, but he's also turning out to be a legitimate quarterback. Since Tebow has taken the starting quarterback position, every sports talk show has ran the Tebow topic into the ground. The constant discussion has overshadowed Tebow’s story of overcoming many critics’ doubts about his ability and unconventional style. Despite facing another mediocre opponent, the Minnesota Vikings, Tebow had the best performance of his young career. Two touchdowns and 202 yards passing fueled another 4th quarter game-winning victory. The 35-32 win gives the Denver Broncos a share of the division with the Oakland Raiders. Whether Tebow turns into an elite quarterback really doesn't matter—his grit and ability to win prove he belongs in the NFL.