Canada day today and so my blog today is the top 5 most impressive performance in the UFC by Canadians. This list could easily be 5 Georges St. Pierre fights so I capped him off at only his two best. In no particular order
*Georges St. Pierre over BJ Penn at UFC 94. This fight was a bout between two of the top four pound-for-pound guys in the sport. It was expected to be a fairly close fight. So what happened? GSP beat the living piss out of Penn for 20 minutes and made him look like a guy who had never fought before. A bit of the victory was taken away by the grease scandal afterwards (which for the record, had NO effect on the fight) but GSP make BJ his bitch that night and then some.
*Carlos Newton over Pat Miletich at UFC 31. Pat Miletich had won 7 straight in the UFC by this point and while Newton was acknowledged as a good fighter, not too many people expected him to win the fight. Instead Newton caught Miletich in one of my alltime favorite submission victories and captured the Welterweight Title in one is generally considered to be one of the best UFC shows ever.
*Sam Stout over Spencer Fisher at UFC 58. Fisher took this fight on short notice and I believe that is the only reason Stout won this fight. Fisher at that time was clearly a much better fighter than Stout. But Stout took the most of the opportunity and looked outstanding as he and Fisher had one of the better fights of the year that night.
*Georges St. Pierre over Matt Hughes at UFC 65. I think everybody knew that GSP would someday be holding UFC gold, they just didn't know when. GSP dominated this fight over Hughes who was 12-1 in his last 13 inside the octagon up to that point. GSP destroyed Hughes and won the title for the first time before being shocked by Matt Serra a few months later.
*Gary Goodridge over Paul Herrera at UFC 8. This 13 second massacre was one of the first hilight reel knockouts from the early UFC events. It's rumored that Herrera made racist comments towards Goodridge before the fight and Goodridge made him pay by catching him in the crucifix position and unloading a barrage of unobstructed elbows to Herrera's face that knocked him silly.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
July rankings
Day early but oh well. Really struggling to find thing to talk about these days, such a slow period in mma right now.
HEAVYWEIGHT
1. Fedor Emelianenko, 2. Josh Barnett, 3. Frank Mir, 4. Rodrigo Nogueira, 5. Brock Lesnar, 6. Randy Couture, 7. Brett Rogers, 8. Andrei Arlovski, 9. Shane Carwin, 10. Junior dos Santos
*Big shake up over the past month. Rogers crashes the rankings at number 7 after upsetting Arlovski who falls from 3 to 8. With Arlovski dropping, Mir, Nogueira, Lesnar, and Couture all move up one spot. Tim Sylvia drops out of the rankings from the 7 spot due to his loss to Ray Mercer. Frabicio Werdum also exits the rankings due to inactivity. This allows Shane Carwin to debut in the rankings at number 9.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
1. Lyoto Machida, 2. Rashad Evans, 3. Forrest Griffin, 4. Quinton Jackson, 5. Mauricio Rua, 6. Renato Sobral, 7. Rogerio Nogueira, 8. Luiz Arthur Cane, 9. Rich Franklin, 10. Thiago Silva.
*Wanderlei Silva exits the rankings from the number 6 spot following his loss to Rich Franklin who enters at number 9. Sobral, Nogueira, and Cane all move up one spot.
MIDDLEWEIGHT
1. Anderson Silva, 2. Dan Henderson, 3. Yushin Okami, 4. Demian Maia, 5. Nathan Marquardt, 6. Robbie Lawler, 7. Jorge Santiago, 8. Thales Leties, 9. Kazuo Misaki, 10. Vitor Belfort
*Lawler drops from 4 to 6 following his loss to Jake Shields which allows Maia and Marquardt to move up one spot each.
WELTERWEIGHT
1. Georges St. Pierre, 2. Thiago Alves, 3. Jake Shields, 4. Jon Fitch, 5. Matt Hughes, 6. Karo Parisyan, 7. Paulo Thiago, 8. Josh Koscheck, 9. Martin Kampmann, 10. Mike Swick
*Nick Thompson exits from the 10 spot following his loss to Tim Kennedy. His departure allows Mike Swick to enter the top 10.
LIGHTWEIGHT
1. BJ Penn, 2. Joachim Hansen, 3. Kenny Florian, 4. Tatsuya Kawajiri, 5. Eddie Alvarez, 6. Frankie Edgar, 7. Sean Sherk, 8. Gesias Calvancanti, 9. Hayato Sakurai, 10. Shinya Aoki
FEATHERWEIGHT
1. Mike Thomas Brown, 2. Urijah Faber, 3. Jose Aldo, 4. Leonard Garcia, 5. Wagnney Fabiano, 6. Takeshi Inoue, 7. Akitsohi Tamura, 8. Hatsu Hioki, 9. Dokonjonosuke Mishima, 10. Marlon Sandro
BANTAMWEIGHT
1. Miguel Torres, 2. Shinichi Kojima, 3. Eduardo Dantas, 4. Mamaru Yamaguchi, 5. Masakatsu Ueda, 6. Akitoshi Hokazono, 7. Yuki Shoujou, 8. Yasuhiro Urushitani, 9. So Tazawa, 10. Brian Bowles
POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Anderson Silva, 2. Georges St. Pierre, 3. Fedor Emelianenko, 4. Lyoto Machida, 5. Miguel Torres, 6. BJ Penn, 7. Rashad Evans, 8. Mike Thomas Brown, 9. Forrest Griffin, 10. Quinton Jackson
HEAVYWEIGHT
1. Fedor Emelianenko, 2. Josh Barnett, 3. Frank Mir, 4. Rodrigo Nogueira, 5. Brock Lesnar, 6. Randy Couture, 7. Brett Rogers, 8. Andrei Arlovski, 9. Shane Carwin, 10. Junior dos Santos
*Big shake up over the past month. Rogers crashes the rankings at number 7 after upsetting Arlovski who falls from 3 to 8. With Arlovski dropping, Mir, Nogueira, Lesnar, and Couture all move up one spot. Tim Sylvia drops out of the rankings from the 7 spot due to his loss to Ray Mercer. Frabicio Werdum also exits the rankings due to inactivity. This allows Shane Carwin to debut in the rankings at number 9.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
1. Lyoto Machida, 2. Rashad Evans, 3. Forrest Griffin, 4. Quinton Jackson, 5. Mauricio Rua, 6. Renato Sobral, 7. Rogerio Nogueira, 8. Luiz Arthur Cane, 9. Rich Franklin, 10. Thiago Silva.
*Wanderlei Silva exits the rankings from the number 6 spot following his loss to Rich Franklin who enters at number 9. Sobral, Nogueira, and Cane all move up one spot.
MIDDLEWEIGHT
1. Anderson Silva, 2. Dan Henderson, 3. Yushin Okami, 4. Demian Maia, 5. Nathan Marquardt, 6. Robbie Lawler, 7. Jorge Santiago, 8. Thales Leties, 9. Kazuo Misaki, 10. Vitor Belfort
*Lawler drops from 4 to 6 following his loss to Jake Shields which allows Maia and Marquardt to move up one spot each.
WELTERWEIGHT
1. Georges St. Pierre, 2. Thiago Alves, 3. Jake Shields, 4. Jon Fitch, 5. Matt Hughes, 6. Karo Parisyan, 7. Paulo Thiago, 8. Josh Koscheck, 9. Martin Kampmann, 10. Mike Swick
*Nick Thompson exits from the 10 spot following his loss to Tim Kennedy. His departure allows Mike Swick to enter the top 10.
LIGHTWEIGHT
1. BJ Penn, 2. Joachim Hansen, 3. Kenny Florian, 4. Tatsuya Kawajiri, 5. Eddie Alvarez, 6. Frankie Edgar, 7. Sean Sherk, 8. Gesias Calvancanti, 9. Hayato Sakurai, 10. Shinya Aoki
FEATHERWEIGHT
1. Mike Thomas Brown, 2. Urijah Faber, 3. Jose Aldo, 4. Leonard Garcia, 5. Wagnney Fabiano, 6. Takeshi Inoue, 7. Akitsohi Tamura, 8. Hatsu Hioki, 9. Dokonjonosuke Mishima, 10. Marlon Sandro
BANTAMWEIGHT
1. Miguel Torres, 2. Shinichi Kojima, 3. Eduardo Dantas, 4. Mamaru Yamaguchi, 5. Masakatsu Ueda, 6. Akitoshi Hokazono, 7. Yuki Shoujou, 8. Yasuhiro Urushitani, 9. So Tazawa, 10. Brian Bowles
POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Anderson Silva, 2. Georges St. Pierre, 3. Fedor Emelianenko, 4. Lyoto Machida, 5. Miguel Torres, 6. BJ Penn, 7. Rashad Evans, 8. Mike Thomas Brown, 9. Forrest Griffin, 10. Quinton Jackson
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Round lengths
In the middle of a few really slow weeks of fight and having trouble thinking of things to blog about. So for this one I figured I would throw in my two cents on the length of rounds and it will branch off into a scoring argument.
There is a lot of rumblings for major non-title fights going to 5 rounds and there are to a lesser extent some people saying that title fights should go to 7 rounds. I am on board for those, but with a twist. If you were to do that, you would get even fewer fights than you do on PPV. I already don't like that I only get 6 or maybe 7 fights on a PPV broadcast. For my $55, I want to see as many fights as I can on UFC cards. If you were to go to 5 rounds for non-title fights and 7 rounds for title fights, the UFC will have to schedule 4 main card bouts and a swing bout for cards with one title fight and for cards with two title fights, you would probably have to have 3 scheduled and 1 swing fight. A normal person could get more on, but UFC always has horrible time management on their PPV broadcasts. No matter how good the fights are, there is a chance you might only get to see 4 fights if they all went the distance. I want more than that for my money. And for the people who say it will mean 15 minute fights that are great even better because you will get 10 more minutes, that argument doesn't fly with me cause it goes the other way as well as really bad fights will have 10 more minutes of crap.
My solution is to go to 4 minute rounds. I really like 4 minute rounds. 3 minutes is too short and 5 minutes can be too long half the time. IFL having 4 minute rounds was one of the things I liked best about their promotion. It gives the ground guys enough time to work despite what some people say. Some people would hate it, but they would whine and bitch about it for 6 months, realize it's here to stay, and stop worrying about it. If the rounds were 4 minutes long, that would make non-title fights 5 rounds and 20 minutes and title fights would be 7 rounds and 28 minutes. Yes you might get one less fight on cards, but I would be willing to sacrifice one fight to give every fight an extra 3 to 5 minutes to decide the outcome. And in theory, more rounds in smaller time frames should lead to more accurate scorecards from the judges.
There is a lot of rumblings for major non-title fights going to 5 rounds and there are to a lesser extent some people saying that title fights should go to 7 rounds. I am on board for those, but with a twist. If you were to do that, you would get even fewer fights than you do on PPV. I already don't like that I only get 6 or maybe 7 fights on a PPV broadcast. For my $55, I want to see as many fights as I can on UFC cards. If you were to go to 5 rounds for non-title fights and 7 rounds for title fights, the UFC will have to schedule 4 main card bouts and a swing bout for cards with one title fight and for cards with two title fights, you would probably have to have 3 scheduled and 1 swing fight. A normal person could get more on, but UFC always has horrible time management on their PPV broadcasts. No matter how good the fights are, there is a chance you might only get to see 4 fights if they all went the distance. I want more than that for my money. And for the people who say it will mean 15 minute fights that are great even better because you will get 10 more minutes, that argument doesn't fly with me cause it goes the other way as well as really bad fights will have 10 more minutes of crap.
My solution is to go to 4 minute rounds. I really like 4 minute rounds. 3 minutes is too short and 5 minutes can be too long half the time. IFL having 4 minute rounds was one of the things I liked best about their promotion. It gives the ground guys enough time to work despite what some people say. Some people would hate it, but they would whine and bitch about it for 6 months, realize it's here to stay, and stop worrying about it. If the rounds were 4 minutes long, that would make non-title fights 5 rounds and 20 minutes and title fights would be 7 rounds and 28 minutes. Yes you might get one less fight on cards, but I would be willing to sacrifice one fight to give every fight an extra 3 to 5 minutes to decide the outcome. And in theory, more rounds in smaller time frames should lead to more accurate scorecards from the judges.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Weekend predictions
Pretty lackluster weekend of fights, although looking ahead to next week, it is jammed back (I believe next weekend only has a M-1 Challenge card). Honestly, the most competitive fight I see this weekend is the DEEP Title fight between Miku Matsumoto and Lisa Ward. There is also a train wreck fight scheduled between Drew Fickett and Shannon Ritch, although that fight may not happen. Also including next Tuesday's DEEP card predictions cause otherwise I will forget. Toughest fight to pick was Yvel/Rizzo. I may even give a slight edge to Yvel, but I promised myself a long time ago that I would never ever pick Yvel in a fight again no matter what. Overall record for the year is 267-129-5-13 for 67.4%.
ULTIMATE CHAOS
Brett Cooper vs Waachiim Spiritwolf - Brett Cooper
Chris Horodecki vs William Sriyapi - Chris Horodecki
Din Thomas vs Javier Vasquez - Javier Vasquez
Gilbert Yvel vs Pedro Rizzo - Pedro Rizzo
Bob Sapp vs Bobby Lashley - Bobby Lashley
UCFC
JC Pennington vs Micah Miller - Micah Miller
Kyle Jensen vs Rich Clementi - Rich Clementi
RITC
Drew Fickett vs Shannon Ritch - Drew Fickett
5150
Joey Gorczysnki vs Marcus Aurelio - Marcus Aurelio
DEEP
Takafumi Ito vs Yoshihiro Tomioka - Yoshihiro Tomioka
Lisa Ward vs Miku Matsumoto - Miku Matsumoto
DEEP
Hiromitsu Kanehara vs Ryuta Sakurai - Ryuta Sakurai
Riki Fukuda vs Yuichi Nakanishi - Riki Fukuda
ULTIMATE CHAOS
Brett Cooper vs Waachiim Spiritwolf - Brett Cooper
Chris Horodecki vs William Sriyapi - Chris Horodecki
Din Thomas vs Javier Vasquez - Javier Vasquez
Gilbert Yvel vs Pedro Rizzo - Pedro Rizzo
Bob Sapp vs Bobby Lashley - Bobby Lashley
UCFC
JC Pennington vs Micah Miller - Micah Miller
Kyle Jensen vs Rich Clementi - Rich Clementi
RITC
Drew Fickett vs Shannon Ritch - Drew Fickett
5150
Joey Gorczysnki vs Marcus Aurelio - Marcus Aurelio
DEEP
Takafumi Ito vs Yoshihiro Tomioka - Yoshihiro Tomioka
Lisa Ward vs Miku Matsumoto - Miku Matsumoto
DEEP
Hiromitsu Kanehara vs Ryuta Sakurai - Ryuta Sakurai
Riki Fukuda vs Yuichi Nakanishi - Riki Fukuda
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Judging in MMA
After a weekend full of split decision, all sorts of discussion has been going around about the current state of judging in MMA today. I for one am convinced that if I took three random people off of the sherdog forums or the underground, I could get three judges who in the very least, would not be worse than the judges currently are today and would probably be better. You can NOT have boxing judges scoring MMA.
The second round in the Diego Sanchez/Clay Guida fight has been hotly debated as to how to score that round. The debate is either a) did Diego do enough in that one 20 second stretch to win the ground out right or b) did Diego do enough in the round off his back to win the round or c) did Guida win the round. Boxing judges give no love to the fighter on the bottom and very, very rarely do they score for the guy on the bottom. In jiu-jitsu matches, in the guard is basically considered a neutral position. And if you get an aggressive guy on the ground trying for armbars and such while the guy on top is just laying and praying, the bottom guy should win the round. But it does not get scored that way very often. This needs to change.
And I realize that it would never happen, cause judges are so entrenched in their thinking on how to score rounds already, but here is what I would like to see. Right now, a 10-9 round is a close one and a 10-8 round is a dominant one. What I would like to see: First off, make 10-10 rounds forbidden. Now I am all for scoring rounds 10-10, but in my scenario it would not work so 10-10 rounds would have to be forbidden. Then, I would like to see close rounds that could go either way scored 10-9 for one guy. The judges have to give the round to one guy 10-9. Then, a 10-8 round would be a round where one guy won clearly, but not in a dominating fashion. This would be most rounds that currently are scored 10-9. Then, a current day 10-8 round would be scored 10-7 under this system. It will never happen as I said cause judges are so entrenched in there current scoring system, but I think that would solve a lot of judging problems if you could get good judges scoring it that way and it would also negate the "fighter a won rounds 1 and 2 barely and then fighter b won round 3 bigger than fighter a won the first two rounds, but fighter a wins anyways 29-28." Under my proposed scoring system, the fight would be a 28-28 draw.
The second round in the Diego Sanchez/Clay Guida fight has been hotly debated as to how to score that round. The debate is either a) did Diego do enough in that one 20 second stretch to win the ground out right or b) did Diego do enough in the round off his back to win the round or c) did Guida win the round. Boxing judges give no love to the fighter on the bottom and very, very rarely do they score for the guy on the bottom. In jiu-jitsu matches, in the guard is basically considered a neutral position. And if you get an aggressive guy on the ground trying for armbars and such while the guy on top is just laying and praying, the bottom guy should win the round. But it does not get scored that way very often. This needs to change.
And I realize that it would never happen, cause judges are so entrenched in their thinking on how to score rounds already, but here is what I would like to see. Right now, a 10-9 round is a close one and a 10-8 round is a dominant one. What I would like to see: First off, make 10-10 rounds forbidden. Now I am all for scoring rounds 10-10, but in my scenario it would not work so 10-10 rounds would have to be forbidden. Then, I would like to see close rounds that could go either way scored 10-9 for one guy. The judges have to give the round to one guy 10-9. Then, a 10-8 round would be a round where one guy won clearly, but not in a dominating fashion. This would be most rounds that currently are scored 10-9. Then, a current day 10-8 round would be scored 10-7 under this system. It will never happen as I said cause judges are so entrenched in there current scoring system, but I think that would solve a lot of judging problems if you could get good judges scoring it that way and it would also negate the "fighter a won rounds 1 and 2 barely and then fighter b won round 3 bigger than fighter a won the first two rounds, but fighter a wins anyways 29-28." Under my proposed scoring system, the fight would be a 28-28 draw.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Hottest female fighters
Really slow time for MMA. No major shows this weekend coming up so to waste a post, in no particular the order, the 10 hottest female fighters today. Kyra Gracie would definitely make this list but she has never fought mma. Can't figure out how to get the photos where I want them to go so click on the link for a photo of each fighter.
1. Gina Carano (http://www.sherdog.com/pictures/gallery/fighter/f_16535/60829/62)
2. Julie Kedzie (http://www.sherdog.com/pictures/gallery/fighter/f_10093/40384/)
3. Sarah Kaufman (http://www.sherdog.com/pictures/gallery/fighter/f_16524/83068/41)
4. Miesha Tate (http://www.sherdog.com/pictures/gallery/fighter/f_26252/63104/)
5. Michelle Waterson (http://www.yorkblog.com/mma/michelle_waterson.jpg)
6. Erin Toughill (http://www.sherdog.com/pictures/gallery/fighter/f_1955/71828/17)
8. Keri Crothers (http://www.womenkickboxing.com/images/KeriCrothersPhoto.jpg)
9. Felice Herrig (http://www.womenkickboxing.com/feliceherrig.jpg)
Monday, June 22, 2009
MMA figures
I think I have mentioned before that I am a big collector of MMA memorabilia. Of course, a big part of memorabilia is action figures. There are three real brands of figures for MMA and I just thought I would make my points on each of them.
Far and away the best figures in my opinion are the Pride HAO ones. The detail on these are incredible and really have to be seen in person to believe. Seeing photos they look alright, but to have one in your hands is needed to really see the detail on them. I got my first Pride HAO figure a few months back (a Bob Sapp one) and instantly fell in love with them. I will for sure be expanding my HAO collection in the future. The only downside of these is that since they are no longer in production, the price of them is quite how nowadays.
Round 5 is the current leader in MMA figures. They just released their third series of figures (Arlovski, Nogueira, Mir, and Big John). The detail on these are also very good and since they are being mass produced right now, they are relatively cheap right now (about 12 bucks a pop at Wal-Mart here in Canada). They are collectibles and not suppose to be action figures like the UFC ones but they do have movable parts. A nice touch is the chaser ones that are produced in limited production. Anderson Silva for example, you can go into any store and get a Silva figure, but to get one where he is wearing a shirt is an extra couple bucks, but much more limited.
The UFC signed a deal with Jaks to produce figures for UFC guys and I am cringing and the photos I have seen of them. They look attrocious! They are more targeted towards playable action figures than collectibles, so they have way more movable parts. But the sheer quantity of movable parts really takes away from the figures. They just look like crap. I am really surprized that the UFC green lighted the project after seeing the inital designs. The first series does not come out for a few more months, so hopely they change the design before then.
Far and away the best figures in my opinion are the Pride HAO ones. The detail on these are incredible and really have to be seen in person to believe. Seeing photos they look alright, but to have one in your hands is needed to really see the detail on them. I got my first Pride HAO figure a few months back (a Bob Sapp one) and instantly fell in love with them. I will for sure be expanding my HAO collection in the future. The only downside of these is that since they are no longer in production, the price of them is quite how nowadays.
Round 5 is the current leader in MMA figures. They just released their third series of figures (Arlovski, Nogueira, Mir, and Big John). The detail on these are also very good and since they are being mass produced right now, they are relatively cheap right now (about 12 bucks a pop at Wal-Mart here in Canada). They are collectibles and not suppose to be action figures like the UFC ones but they do have movable parts. A nice touch is the chaser ones that are produced in limited production. Anderson Silva for example, you can go into any store and get a Silva figure, but to get one where he is wearing a shirt is an extra couple bucks, but much more limited.
The UFC signed a deal with Jaks to produce figures for UFC guys and I am cringing and the photos I have seen of them. They look attrocious! They are more targeted towards playable action figures than collectibles, so they have way more movable parts. But the sheer quantity of movable parts really takes away from the figures. They just look like crap. I am really surprized that the UFC green lighted the project after seeing the inital designs. The first series does not come out for a few more months, so hopely they change the design before then.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
TUF 9 Finale thoughts
Could be short as due to family comments, I only got to see Stevenson/Diaz happen live and then I watched Sanchez/Guida this morning on the internet.....I mean, on a legal television channel.
Sanchez/Guida was a really good fight. I was a little surprised as it was a split decision as I thought it was pretty obvious Sanchez won the first two rounds (I had it 10-9 Sanchez, 10-9 Sanchez, and 10-9 Guida). The first 45 seconds of the fight was outstanding. You always know you are going to get excitement when Clay Guida is in the cage. Sanchez is logically the next contender for the winner of Penn/Florian I think. Nobody else jumps out in my mind as being ahead of him for a shot. They should keep Tyson Griffin on a similar track so that Griffin can get the next shot after Sanchez. It would really be hard to screw up the matchmaking in the UFC Lightweight division right now.
Last night we saw the best Joe Stevenson that we have seen in quite a while. Props to Diaz for getting out of that guillotine as Stevenson's is money. 3 of Stevenson's last 5 victories have been by the guillotine choke. Moving to Greg Jackson's camp for this fight certainly appears to be a great move for Stevenson. As I said before the fight, I don't think Stevenson can improve too much more from what he is. He has been fighting mma professionally for over 10 years now. But he looked really solid tonight against Diaz in a fight he needed to win. He might have been cut had he lost. Next for Stevenson maybe a fight against Guida.
Sanchez/Guida was a really good fight. I was a little surprised as it was a split decision as I thought it was pretty obvious Sanchez won the first two rounds (I had it 10-9 Sanchez, 10-9 Sanchez, and 10-9 Guida). The first 45 seconds of the fight was outstanding. You always know you are going to get excitement when Clay Guida is in the cage. Sanchez is logically the next contender for the winner of Penn/Florian I think. Nobody else jumps out in my mind as being ahead of him for a shot. They should keep Tyson Griffin on a similar track so that Griffin can get the next shot after Sanchez. It would really be hard to screw up the matchmaking in the UFC Lightweight division right now.
Last night we saw the best Joe Stevenson that we have seen in quite a while. Props to Diaz for getting out of that guillotine as Stevenson's is money. 3 of Stevenson's last 5 victories have been by the guillotine choke. Moving to Greg Jackson's camp for this fight certainly appears to be a great move for Stevenson. As I said before the fight, I don't think Stevenson can improve too much more from what he is. He has been fighting mma professionally for over 10 years now. But he looked really solid tonight against Diaz in a fight he needed to win. He might have been cut had he lost. Next for Stevenson maybe a fight against Guida.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Bellator and ShoMMA thoughts
Eddie Alvarez blitzed Toby Imada in the Lightweight tournament final which was not surprising at all. As I mentioned the other day, Alvarez is a legit top 10 fighter and Imada is a journeyman. Although I hadn't realized it, but Imada had been on an 8 fight win streak before last night. But yeah, Alvarez was more aggressive and it was just a matter of time before he landed that right hook that was the beginning of the end. Hector Lombard vs Jared Hess was more one sided than I thought it was going to be. Yes Lombard does have a ton more big fight experience, but I thought Hess was a legit prospect. He may still be, but Lombard walked through him and left him a bloody mess to claim the Middleweight tournament. Hopefully Lombard will face some tougher competition soon an hopefully his VISA issues are all behind him and he can continue to fight in America.
The ShoMMA card was alright. The main even was a tough fight between Joey Villasenor and Evangelista Santos. Side note mini-rant, just once I would like a boxer or mma fighter with the first name of Joe or Joey to not have the nickname "Smokin". Fight went to a split decision. I agreed with the judges and had it 29-28 Villasenor (10-9 Villasenor/10-9 Cyborg/10-9 Villasenor). Each guy however I feel has pretty much reached their limit as a fighter and so I did not have a ton of interest in this bout. Jorge Gurgel/Conor Heun was a very entertaining fight. While Gurgel won clearly and I give him his props for that, that still doesn't mean I like him. Tim Kennedy beating Nick Thompson was a pretty big upset in my eyes. I think the blows that finished the fight where indeed to the back of the head, but I'm not sure if it would have mattered too much in the end. Kennedy was the better fighter last night. And I am very quickly falling in love with Sarah Kaufman. She is an amazing fighter. I can see her fighting the winner of Carano/Cyborg.
Ultimate Fighter Finale tonight.
The ShoMMA card was alright. The main even was a tough fight between Joey Villasenor and Evangelista Santos. Side note mini-rant, just once I would like a boxer or mma fighter with the first name of Joe or Joey to not have the nickname "Smokin". Fight went to a split decision. I agreed with the judges and had it 29-28 Villasenor (10-9 Villasenor/10-9 Cyborg/10-9 Villasenor). Each guy however I feel has pretty much reached their limit as a fighter and so I did not have a ton of interest in this bout. Jorge Gurgel/Conor Heun was a very entertaining fight. While Gurgel won clearly and I give him his props for that, that still doesn't mean I like him. Tim Kennedy beating Nick Thompson was a pretty big upset in my eyes. I think the blows that finished the fight where indeed to the back of the head, but I'm not sure if it would have mattered too much in the end. Kennedy was the better fighter last night. And I am very quickly falling in love with Sarah Kaufman. She is an amazing fighter. I can see her fighting the winner of Carano/Cyborg.
Ultimate Fighter Finale tonight.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Weekend predictions
A lot of good-but-not-great fights this weekend that I am really excited for. Kaufman/Baszler, Lombard/Hess, Stevenson/Diaz, and Guida/Sanchez all have me drooling. Overall record for the year, after a pretty good weekend last weekend, is 254-121-5-13 for 67.7%. Baring a miracle, my goal of 75 of the year won't happen.
BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Rosi Sexton vs Valerie Coolbough - Rosi Sexton
Eric Reynolds vs Jorge Masvidal - Jorge Masvidal
Fabio Mello vs Sami Aziz - Sami Aziz
Hector Lombard vs Jared Hess - Hector Lombard
Eddie Alvarez vs Toby Imada - Eddie Alvarez
SHO XC
Duane Ludwig vs Lyle Beerbohm - Lyle Beerbohm
Dennis Hallman vs Justin Davis - Dennis Hallman
Sarah Kaufman vs Shayna Baszler - Sarah Kaufman
Conor Heun vs Jorge Gurgel - Conor Heun
Nick Thompson vs Tim Kennedy - Nick Thompson
Evangelista Santos vs Joey Villasenor - Joey Villasenor
UFC
Cameron Dollar vs Jason Dent - Jason Dent
Frank Lestor vs Nick Osipczak - Nick Osipczak
Mike Ciesnolevicz vs Tomasz Drawl - Mike Ciesnolevicz
Brad Blackburn vs Edgar Garcia - Brad Blackburn
Gleison Tibau vs Melvin Guillar - Gleison Tibau
Joe Stevenson vs Nate Diaz - Nate Diaz
Chris Lytle vs Kevin Burns - Chris Lytle
Andre Winner vs Ross Pearson - Andre Winner
DaMarques Johnson vs James Wilks - DaMarques Johnson
Clay Guida vs Diego Sanchez - Diego Sanchez
BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Rosi Sexton vs Valerie Coolbough - Rosi Sexton
Eric Reynolds vs Jorge Masvidal - Jorge Masvidal
Fabio Mello vs Sami Aziz - Sami Aziz
Hector Lombard vs Jared Hess - Hector Lombard
Eddie Alvarez vs Toby Imada - Eddie Alvarez
SHO XC
Duane Ludwig vs Lyle Beerbohm - Lyle Beerbohm
Dennis Hallman vs Justin Davis - Dennis Hallman
Sarah Kaufman vs Shayna Baszler - Sarah Kaufman
Conor Heun vs Jorge Gurgel - Conor Heun
Nick Thompson vs Tim Kennedy - Nick Thompson
Evangelista Santos vs Joey Villasenor - Joey Villasenor
UFC
Cameron Dollar vs Jason Dent - Jason Dent
Frank Lestor vs Nick Osipczak - Nick Osipczak
Mike Ciesnolevicz vs Tomasz Drawl - Mike Ciesnolevicz
Brad Blackburn vs Edgar Garcia - Brad Blackburn
Gleison Tibau vs Melvin Guillar - Gleison Tibau
Joe Stevenson vs Nate Diaz - Nate Diaz
Chris Lytle vs Kevin Burns - Chris Lytle
Andre Winner vs Ross Pearson - Andre Winner
DaMarques Johnson vs James Wilks - DaMarques Johnson
Clay Guida vs Diego Sanchez - Diego Sanchez
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Bellator this weekend
Ultimate Fighter finale this weekend by I am honestly way more excited for the Bellator card this weekend. Not as many big name fighters, but Bellator is fast becoming one of my favorite promotions and I can not wait for the fall season to be broadcast on English language television.
The main event is Eddie Alvarez against Toby Imada. Imada will not win this fight, but he can take solice in the fact that he already is locked in for submission of the year with his sick reverse inverted triangle win over Jorge Masvidal. Imada is still just a journeyman fighter and Alvarez should have little troubles with him. Alvarez is a top 10 Lightweight for a reason and he should have limited problems, if any at all, on his way to beating Imada.
The other tournament final is a way better fight as veteran fighter Hector Lombard is taking on young undefeated prospect Jared Hess. A lot of people did not expect a lot out of Hess before the tournament but he has impressed me and everybody else. Hess is exactly the type of fighter that Bellator targeted, a young undefeated fighter who they hoped and prayed would turn out to be a good prospect. It worked out great for them at Featherweight with Joe Soto and if Hess wins this fight, it will be Hess as well. However Lombard is so well rounded that it will be tough for Hess to get the W. I am giving a slight edge to Lombard, but it will be no walk in the park for him.
The undercard has some nice fight. Jorge Masvidal will be looking to bounce back from his lost to Imada as he fights Eric Reynolds. Sami Aziz will be making his North American debut finally. The interesting fight with Brad Pickett fell through however and he is now in a less challenging fight against Fabio Mello. And Rosi Sexton, one of the better female fighters in the world will be fighting Valerie Coolbaugh, a fighter who I know nothing about so Sexton should be able to get a great win there. Going to be a great night of fights.
The main event is Eddie Alvarez against Toby Imada. Imada will not win this fight, but he can take solice in the fact that he already is locked in for submission of the year with his sick reverse inverted triangle win over Jorge Masvidal. Imada is still just a journeyman fighter and Alvarez should have little troubles with him. Alvarez is a top 10 Lightweight for a reason and he should have limited problems, if any at all, on his way to beating Imada.
The other tournament final is a way better fight as veteran fighter Hector Lombard is taking on young undefeated prospect Jared Hess. A lot of people did not expect a lot out of Hess before the tournament but he has impressed me and everybody else. Hess is exactly the type of fighter that Bellator targeted, a young undefeated fighter who they hoped and prayed would turn out to be a good prospect. It worked out great for them at Featherweight with Joe Soto and if Hess wins this fight, it will be Hess as well. However Lombard is so well rounded that it will be tough for Hess to get the W. I am giving a slight edge to Lombard, but it will be no walk in the park for him.
The undercard has some nice fight. Jorge Masvidal will be looking to bounce back from his lost to Imada as he fights Eric Reynolds. Sami Aziz will be making his North American debut finally. The interesting fight with Brad Pickett fell through however and he is now in a less challenging fight against Fabio Mello. And Rosi Sexton, one of the better female fighters in the world will be fighting Valerie Coolbaugh, a fighter who I know nothing about so Sexton should be able to get a great win there. Going to be a great night of fights.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
TUF 9 Finale this weekend
This weekend is the finale for the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. Like the last half dozen season of this show, I have not watched this season. On a side note, I will for sure be watching the tenth season when it airs later this year. Kimbo and Wes Sims in the same house will provide the drama, and there are a few legit good fighters on the upcoming season such as Roy Nelson, Jim York, Darrill Schoonover, as well as a few young prospects who could be very solid.
As soon as the fighters were announced, I said that Andrew Winner would be in the Lightweight final. Santino Defranco was my other pick for the final and it is a shame that they ended up fighting each others in the quarter-finals instead of later in the tournament. The welterweight tournament was more open and I was not sure really who was going to make the finals. DaMarques Johnson has obviously benefited greatly from training under Jeremy Horn as he has improved ten fold since he first started in mma. I don't see him being a world champ or anything, but if he keeps developing at the pace he has been, he could be decent.
What most people are excited about for the finale is the two other televised fights. Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida could be a very good fight. Sanchez obviously is a top 15 guy and Guida is very rarely in a boring fight. This will be Sanchez's second fight at 155 and is probably being used as a test to see where he stands in the lightweight division. If he gets by Guida, and I think he will, I would love to see him fight Frankie Edgar next. The other fight is Nate Diaz vs Joe Stevenson which is a really close fight to call. Stevenson is looking to avoid dropping his third straight, but he will be in tough against Diaz. Stevenson I think has reached his limit as a fighter, he has been fighting for so long that he is not going to get much better over time. Diaz on the other hand is still learning the game and I think is the sexy bet in this fight. Diaz is three years younger in terms of actual age, but Stevenson has been fighting for 10 years where as Diaz has been fighting for only 5.
As soon as the fighters were announced, I said that Andrew Winner would be in the Lightweight final. Santino Defranco was my other pick for the final and it is a shame that they ended up fighting each others in the quarter-finals instead of later in the tournament. The welterweight tournament was more open and I was not sure really who was going to make the finals. DaMarques Johnson has obviously benefited greatly from training under Jeremy Horn as he has improved ten fold since he first started in mma. I don't see him being a world champ or anything, but if he keeps developing at the pace he has been, he could be decent.
What most people are excited about for the finale is the two other televised fights. Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida could be a very good fight. Sanchez obviously is a top 15 guy and Guida is very rarely in a boring fight. This will be Sanchez's second fight at 155 and is probably being used as a test to see where he stands in the lightweight division. If he gets by Guida, and I think he will, I would love to see him fight Frankie Edgar next. The other fight is Nate Diaz vs Joe Stevenson which is a really close fight to call. Stevenson is looking to avoid dropping his third straight, but he will be in tough against Diaz. Stevenson I think has reached his limit as a fighter, he has been fighting for so long that he is not going to get much better over time. Diaz on the other hand is still learning the game and I think is the sexy bet in this fight. Diaz is three years younger in terms of actual age, but Stevenson has been fighting for 10 years where as Diaz has been fighting for only 5.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
UFC Fighters by Country
Here is a list over all time UFC fighters by country. Not some of the fighters may be debated. I don't really have a set formula for which country people are listed under. I try to do where the people have lived most of their live. So for example, even though Kimo Leopoldo was born in Germany, he is listed as American because he has lived the majority of his life there. So yeah, some of it's up into interpretation. The one I have gotten the most debate on is Yves Edwards. He has lived in the US for a lot longer than he did in the Bahamas so I list him as USA instead of Bahamas.
USA - 431
Brazil - 66
Japan - 32
Canada - 30
England - 17
Russia - 7
France - 7
Australia - 6
Holland - 6
Korea - 2
Belarus - 2
Croatia - 2
Northern Ireland - 2
Sweden - 2
South Africa - 2
Italy - 2
Germany - 2
Puerto Rico - 1
Finland - 1
Venezuela - 1
Philippines - 1
Israel - 1
Iran - 1
Latvia - 1
Peru - 1
Denmark - 1
Bulgaria - 1
Poland - 1
Cameroon - 1
Ireland - 1
Bosnia & Herzegovina - 1
USA - 431
Brazil - 66
Japan - 32
Canada - 30
England - 17
Russia - 7
France - 7
Australia - 6
Holland - 6
Korea - 2
Belarus - 2
Croatia - 2
Northern Ireland - 2
Sweden - 2
South Africa - 2
Italy - 2
Germany - 2
Puerto Rico - 1
Finland - 1
Venezuela - 1
Philippines - 1
Israel - 1
Iran - 1
Latvia - 1
Peru - 1
Denmark - 1
Bulgaria - 1
Poland - 1
Cameroon - 1
Ireland - 1
Bosnia & Herzegovina - 1
Monday, June 15, 2009
Mercer ko's Sylvia
Never, in my wildness dreams, did I ever imagine that I would be writing the following sentence: 48-year-old Ray Mercer knocked out former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia in 9 seconds in their fight this past weekend.
Mercer, who had never fought a professional MMA fight in his life (his fight with Kimbo Slice was an exhibition), shocked the world in beating the former UFC heavyweight champion in 9 seconds. This fight had problems right from the beginning as no one would sanction it as a boxing match so in the end, it became a MMA fight two or three days before the fight happened. Now if it had been a boxing match, and Mercer had knocked out Sylvia, I would not have at all been surprised. Yes Mercer is 48, but he is a professional boxer and Sylvia is not. I would not have expected it to happen in 9 seconds, but I still would have expected it to happen. But this was a MMA fight. This is what Sylvia has trained for a long time and was once damn good at. Now, he is the biggest laughing stalk in the MMA world today.
I did not see this coming. Anyone who did say this was stoned out of their mind when they said it before the fight. Even when Sylvia came in at 310 pounds, nobody in their wildest dreams expected Sylvia to go down in defeat to Ray Mercer in this fight. Sylvia is an MMA fighter and Mercer is not. Tim Sylvia was a top ten fighter coming into this fight. Mercer was a 48-year-old guy who had never fought mma before. Barring me knocking out Fedor in December, this will be the biggest upset of the year and something that people will remember for a long, LONG time.
Mercer, who had never fought a professional MMA fight in his life (his fight with Kimbo Slice was an exhibition), shocked the world in beating the former UFC heavyweight champion in 9 seconds. This fight had problems right from the beginning as no one would sanction it as a boxing match so in the end, it became a MMA fight two or three days before the fight happened. Now if it had been a boxing match, and Mercer had knocked out Sylvia, I would not have at all been surprised. Yes Mercer is 48, but he is a professional boxer and Sylvia is not. I would not have expected it to happen in 9 seconds, but I still would have expected it to happen. But this was a MMA fight. This is what Sylvia has trained for a long time and was once damn good at. Now, he is the biggest laughing stalk in the MMA world today.
I did not see this coming. Anyone who did say this was stoned out of their mind when they said it before the fight. Even when Sylvia came in at 310 pounds, nobody in their wildest dreams expected Sylvia to go down in defeat to Ray Mercer in this fight. Sylvia is an MMA fighter and Mercer is not. Tim Sylvia was a top ten fighter coming into this fight. Mercer was a 48-year-old guy who had never fought mma before. Barring me knocking out Fedor in December, this will be the biggest upset of the year and something that people will remember for a long, LONG time.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
UFC 99 thoughts
I really want to blog about Tim Sylvia getting ko'ed by Ray Mercer in 10 seconds last night, but I will hold off on that until tomorrow. So my UFC 99 thoughts instead. There were 3 really close fights on the PPV broadcast that could have gone either way. The main event was a really close fight. I went back and forth on this fight before the bout and in the end with Wanderlei. And I did score the bout for Wanderlei (10-9 Franklin/10-9 Silva/10-9 Silva for 29-28 Silva) but the fight was so close that you can not argue the decision one way or the other. Franklin's final takedown with 30 seconds left in the third may have stolen that round and won him the fight. It wasn't much of a takedown, and Wanderlei did get up shortly after, but that very well may have been the difference in the fight. Next for Franklin I would like to see him fight the winner of Thiago Silva/Keith Jardine. Wanderlei needs to go down to 185 and fight a middle of the road guy to get a win. Believe it or not, Wanderlei is 2-5 inside the UFC.
Cain Velasquez showed why he is considered a top prospect as he demolished Cheick Kongo. I still can not believe that some betting lines had Velasquez as an underdog when this fight was first announced. I had it 30-26 for Velasquez (giving him a 10-8 last round). You could argue each round could have been a 10-8 round though. Kongo was catching Velasquez with some shots and still needs to work on his stand-up, but he is a legit prospect. I really hope he gets the Jon Fitch treatment and is given another 3 or 4 fights at least before getting a title show. Some people want him vs Carwin next with the winner of that getting a title shot. I want Velasquez to get the slow burn.
Spencer Fisher verses Caol Uno was another really close fight that could have gone either way. I had it 29-29 even (10-9 Fisher/10-10/10-9 Uno). Unfortunately for Uno, the judges apparently did not like his wrestling. Uno won the third round bigger than Fisher won the first round, but because of the 10 point must system, the fight was scored the way it was.
Dan Hardy finished what he started as he beat Marcus Davis after getting under his skin on the internet. It too was also a really close fight and it was very entertaining. Davis started strong but Hardy came on as the fight went on. I had it 29-28 Hardy (10-9 Davis/10-9 Hardy/10-9 Hardy). I know judges aren't suppose to score on facial damage, but Davis looked like hell after this fight and this being the first UFC show in Germany, the judges may have been swayed by that. Dan Hardy vs Mike Swick I think is the logical next fight for Hardy.
Cain Velasquez showed why he is considered a top prospect as he demolished Cheick Kongo. I still can not believe that some betting lines had Velasquez as an underdog when this fight was first announced. I had it 30-26 for Velasquez (giving him a 10-8 last round). You could argue each round could have been a 10-8 round though. Kongo was catching Velasquez with some shots and still needs to work on his stand-up, but he is a legit prospect. I really hope he gets the Jon Fitch treatment and is given another 3 or 4 fights at least before getting a title show. Some people want him vs Carwin next with the winner of that getting a title shot. I want Velasquez to get the slow burn.
Spencer Fisher verses Caol Uno was another really close fight that could have gone either way. I had it 29-29 even (10-9 Fisher/10-10/10-9 Uno). Unfortunately for Uno, the judges apparently did not like his wrestling. Uno won the third round bigger than Fisher won the first round, but because of the 10 point must system, the fight was scored the way it was.
Dan Hardy finished what he started as he beat Marcus Davis after getting under his skin on the internet. It too was also a really close fight and it was very entertaining. Davis started strong but Hardy came on as the fight went on. I had it 29-28 Hardy (10-9 Davis/10-9 Hardy/10-9 Hardy). I know judges aren't suppose to score on facial damage, but Davis looked like hell after this fight and this being the first UFC show in Germany, the judges may have been swayed by that. Dan Hardy vs Mike Swick I think is the logical next fight for Hardy.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Bellator tournaments
First, I realize the UFC is on right now and some of these people may have already lost, but people who I think will be cut from the UFC if they lose tonight include Stefan Struve, Denis Stojnic, Paul Taylor, Denis Siver, Mustapha Al-Turk.
So yeah, Bellator tournaments. The longer these go on, the more Bellator is quickly becoming one of my favorite organizations. First of all, I love tournaments. Always have, always will. Seocnd of all, these tournaments are getting a ton of good, young fighters. Bellator picked up a bunch of guys that were 4-0, 5-0 who were not names yet but they took a chance on them and hoped that there inexperience did not matter and they are indeed good fighters. And this is working out beautifully for them. Joe Soto was 4-0 before he entered the Bellator tourney, all on local California shows and very few people had heard of him. What happens? He wins the tourney, knocking off tournament favorite Wilson Reis in the semis as well as veteran fighters Ben Greer and Yahir Reyes and all of a sudden you have a guy in Soto who people are interested to see and are talking about. He is obviously not top 10 at 145 yet, but he is only 22 years olds and has a bright future ahead of him.
Lyman Good picked up the welterweight tournament title last night. He is now 10-0 and he is only 24 years old and people are really interested in seeing him fight tougher competition. The Lightweight tournament title should go to Eddie Alvares and the Middleweight tournament final next weekend is a great fight between Hector Lombard and Jared Hess. So just look at who will be their tournaments champions.
FW - Joe Soto, 22 years old, 7-0-0
LW - should be Eddie Alvarez, 25 years old, will be then 18-2-0
WW - Lyman Good, 24 years old, 10-0-0
MW - either Hector Lombard, 31, and 21-2-1-1 or Jared Hess, 25, 10-0-1
Young guys with great record is a great foundation for the future for Bellator. Let's just hope and pray that the second season this fall gets on ESPN or ESPN2.
So yeah, Bellator tournaments. The longer these go on, the more Bellator is quickly becoming one of my favorite organizations. First of all, I love tournaments. Always have, always will. Seocnd of all, these tournaments are getting a ton of good, young fighters. Bellator picked up a bunch of guys that were 4-0, 5-0 who were not names yet but they took a chance on them and hoped that there inexperience did not matter and they are indeed good fighters. And this is working out beautifully for them. Joe Soto was 4-0 before he entered the Bellator tourney, all on local California shows and very few people had heard of him. What happens? He wins the tourney, knocking off tournament favorite Wilson Reis in the semis as well as veteran fighters Ben Greer and Yahir Reyes and all of a sudden you have a guy in Soto who people are interested to see and are talking about. He is obviously not top 10 at 145 yet, but he is only 22 years olds and has a bright future ahead of him.
Lyman Good picked up the welterweight tournament title last night. He is now 10-0 and he is only 24 years old and people are really interested in seeing him fight tougher competition. The Lightweight tournament title should go to Eddie Alvares and the Middleweight tournament final next weekend is a great fight between Hector Lombard and Jared Hess. So just look at who will be their tournaments champions.
FW - Joe Soto, 22 years old, 7-0-0
LW - should be Eddie Alvarez, 25 years old, will be then 18-2-0
WW - Lyman Good, 24 years old, 10-0-0
MW - either Hector Lombard, 31, and 21-2-1-1 or Jared Hess, 25, 10-0-1
Young guys with great record is a great foundation for the future for Bellator. Let's just hope and pray that the second season this fall gets on ESPN or ESPN2.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Weekend predictions
Not a very busy weekend. The Bellator show is the main event and the main event only. The UFC card is actually a lot more decent than I had thought. There are quite a few close fights on this card that could go either way. And I know yesterday I said I was going to pick Franklin, but in the end I just can't do it. Picking Wanderlei. And now that Mercer/Sylvia is a MMA fight, it's going to be brutal. Overall record is 241-117-5-13 for 67.3%.
BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Lyman Good vs Omar de la Cruz - Lyman Good
ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS
John Hathaway vs Rick Story - John Hathaway
Denis Stojnic vs Stefan Struve - Stefan Struve
Paul Kelly vs Roli Delgado - Paul Kelly
Paul Taylor vs Peter Sobotta - Paul Taylor
Dale Hartt vs Denis Siver - Dale Hartt
Justin Buchholz vs Terry Etim - Terry Etim
Mirko Filipovic vs Mustapha Al-Turk - Mirko Filipovic
Caol Uno vs Spencer Fisher - Spencer Fisher
Dan Hardy vs Marcus Davis - Dan Hardy
Ben Saunders vs Mike Swick - Ben Saunders
Cain Velasquez vs Cheick Kongo - Cain Velasquez
Rich Franklin vs Wanderlei Silva - Wanderlei Silva
ADRENALINE MMA
Joe Jordan vs Juan Zaputa - Joe Jordan
Chris Davis vs Jeremy Horn - Jeremy Horn
Rich Clementi vs Sasuka Zaputa - Rich Clementi
Ray Mercer vs Tim Sylvia - Tim Sylvia
BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Lyman Good vs Omar de la Cruz - Lyman Good
ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS
John Hathaway vs Rick Story - John Hathaway
Denis Stojnic vs Stefan Struve - Stefan Struve
Paul Kelly vs Roli Delgado - Paul Kelly
Paul Taylor vs Peter Sobotta - Paul Taylor
Dale Hartt vs Denis Siver - Dale Hartt
Justin Buchholz vs Terry Etim - Terry Etim
Mirko Filipovic vs Mustapha Al-Turk - Mirko Filipovic
Caol Uno vs Spencer Fisher - Spencer Fisher
Dan Hardy vs Marcus Davis - Dan Hardy
Ben Saunders vs Mike Swick - Ben Saunders
Cain Velasquez vs Cheick Kongo - Cain Velasquez
Rich Franklin vs Wanderlei Silva - Wanderlei Silva
ADRENALINE MMA
Joe Jordan vs Juan Zaputa - Joe Jordan
Chris Davis vs Jeremy Horn - Jeremy Horn
Rich Clementi vs Sasuka Zaputa - Rich Clementi
Ray Mercer vs Tim Sylvia - Tim Sylvia
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wanderlei vs Rich
This weekend is one of the most interesting bouts in recent memory in terms of matchmaking. I don't think two many people after each of these fighters last fights thought of this match up as the next fight for either guy. Wanderlei has only one once in his last five fights and this is first fight at a weight lower than 205 in forever. Franklin is .500 over his last four fights, although his two losses were to Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson which is nothing to sneeze at. Franklin is on his way up to 205 because there is nothing left for him at 185, having been beaten soundly by the cream of the crop there.
I really want to pick Wanderlei in this fight but I am not sure if I can. Wanderlei is only 32 I think, but he is way older than that in terms of fight age. Franklin is actually two years older than Wanderlei, but to me it seems like he should be much younger. Wanderlei's first mma fight was four years before Franklin's first fight. This fight is a huge clash of styles which makes it very difficult to pick a winner. Obviously, if it's a toe-to-toe battle then you have to like Wanderlei. Franklin likes to pick his shots a bit more and if he is patient, he should be able to control the fight. Franklin is suspect to the clinch, but Wanderlei's clinch isn't anywhere near what Anderson Silva's is. Both guys have chins that have been questioned recently and it could indeed be the first solid shot wins the fight. Silva has recently had trouble with counter fighters and that is exactly what Franklin is. For that reason, I think I have to give a slight edge to Franklin in this fight, although I want Silva to win.
I really want to pick Wanderlei in this fight but I am not sure if I can. Wanderlei is only 32 I think, but he is way older than that in terms of fight age. Franklin is actually two years older than Wanderlei, but to me it seems like he should be much younger. Wanderlei's first mma fight was four years before Franklin's first fight. This fight is a huge clash of styles which makes it very difficult to pick a winner. Obviously, if it's a toe-to-toe battle then you have to like Wanderlei. Franklin likes to pick his shots a bit more and if he is patient, he should be able to control the fight. Franklin is suspect to the clinch, but Wanderlei's clinch isn't anywhere near what Anderson Silva's is. Both guys have chins that have been questioned recently and it could indeed be the first solid shot wins the fight. Silva has recently had trouble with counter fighters and that is exactly what Franklin is. For that reason, I think I have to give a slight edge to Franklin in this fight, although I want Silva to win.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
catch weight bouts
With the Robbie Lawler/Jake Shields bout last weekend being at a catch-weight, and this weekend Rich Franklin/Wanderlei Silva being at a catch weight, there has been a ton of debate lately over the purpose of catchweight bouts and if they have a place in the sport. Surprizingly, a lot of people really seem to be against these fights and I for the life of me can not understand why.
I want to see great fights. I do not care what weight they are at, if it gives me the chance to see two top 10 guys fighting each other, than I am all for it. I do not care if it happens at 185, 180, or 178.75 pounds. Just putting two guys in the ring or cage together that are close in weight and I am happy. Weight classes are just a number that a number of years ago a handful of people decided would be the cutoff weights. Today, a different set of people would create different weight classes and as a result, different weight classes. Take Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn's fight from this past January. That fight was fought at the welterweight limit of 170 pounds. Now if the fight had been a catchweight bout at 168 pounds, would it have been any different of a fight? Of course not, those two pounds would make no difference in the fight. And yet people would be bitching every which way about it being a catchweight fight and not being a welterweight fight. I got news for you people. If a fight happens at a catchweight and you don't want to call it that, then call it what it is. A fight that is contracted at 182 still falls in the Middleweight division. Call it that. I really see no logical reason why catchweight fights are such a big deal. As long as the title fights happen at the specific weight, I don't care what weight the other ones are fought at. Hell, make the Light Heavyweight cut off be 208.3854 pounds. I could really care less. It's just a number.
I want to see great fights. I do not care what weight they are at, if it gives me the chance to see two top 10 guys fighting each other, than I am all for it. I do not care if it happens at 185, 180, or 178.75 pounds. Just putting two guys in the ring or cage together that are close in weight and I am happy. Weight classes are just a number that a number of years ago a handful of people decided would be the cutoff weights. Today, a different set of people would create different weight classes and as a result, different weight classes. Take Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn's fight from this past January. That fight was fought at the welterweight limit of 170 pounds. Now if the fight had been a catchweight bout at 168 pounds, would it have been any different of a fight? Of course not, those two pounds would make no difference in the fight. And yet people would be bitching every which way about it being a catchweight fight and not being a welterweight fight. I got news for you people. If a fight happens at a catchweight and you don't want to call it that, then call it what it is. A fight that is contracted at 182 still falls in the Middleweight division. Call it that. I really see no logical reason why catchweight fights are such a big deal. As long as the title fights happen at the specific weight, I don't care what weight the other ones are fought at. Hell, make the Light Heavyweight cut off be 208.3854 pounds. I could really care less. It's just a number.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Mirko's return to the UFC
Mirko 'CroCop' Filipovic returns to the UFC this weekend at UFC 99 in Germany as he fights Mustapha Al-Turk. This is his first fight since New Year's Eve and his first fight in the UFC since his back-to-back losses to Gabriel Gonzaga and Cheick Kongo back in 2007. I am very excited to see him back in the UFC as he has always been one of my favorite fighters. From when he was on top of the world when he won the Pride Open Weight Grand prix back in 2006 to the low of getting ko'ed by Gabriel Gonzaga just 7 months after that.
Would I love for CroCop to make a huge run in the UFC and get a shot at the UFC Heavyweight Title a year or so from now? Of course. Do I think that it is going to happen? Not a chance. Baring a major upset that would be bigger than him losing to Gonzaga, CroCop should get by Al-Turk with minimal problems. But after that, I do not know what the UFC can do with him. They could give him another c-level fighter and get him another win, but that would do nothing for him for the hardcore fans. So you have to think they will have to match him up against one of the younger guys such as Shane Carwin or Cain Velasquez, and I believe that both of those guys beat CroCop. And of course he does not have much hope against the top guys like Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Rodrigo Nogueira, etc. He looked so poor against Alistair Overeem, who is a borderline top 10 guy. I do not think CroCop will ever return to the top 10 rankings. Of course he has the talent too, anyone with striking skills that dangerous has a chance in every fight, but overall the game has passed him by I think and until he proves me otherwise, I will have to live with the fact that one of my favorite fighters is no longer the fighter he once was.
Would I love for CroCop to make a huge run in the UFC and get a shot at the UFC Heavyweight Title a year or so from now? Of course. Do I think that it is going to happen? Not a chance. Baring a major upset that would be bigger than him losing to Gonzaga, CroCop should get by Al-Turk with minimal problems. But after that, I do not know what the UFC can do with him. They could give him another c-level fighter and get him another win, but that would do nothing for him for the hardcore fans. So you have to think they will have to match him up against one of the younger guys such as Shane Carwin or Cain Velasquez, and I believe that both of those guys beat CroCop. And of course he does not have much hope against the top guys like Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Rodrigo Nogueira, etc. He looked so poor against Alistair Overeem, who is a borderline top 10 guy. I do not think CroCop will ever return to the top 10 rankings. Of course he has the talent too, anyone with striking skills that dangerous has a chance in every fight, but overall the game has passed him by I think and until he proves me otherwise, I will have to live with the fact that one of my favorite fighters is no longer the fighter he once was.
Monday, June 8, 2009
WEC thoughts
This is probably going to be short and sweet as I actually missed the WEC show last night because of work commitments and I haven't gotten to see any of the fights yet (nor will I be able to for a few days).
The main event didn't surprise me one bit. I did not know what Faber could do differently this time to beat Brown and it showed. Brown by decision I think was the smart decision in this fight and that is indeed what happened. Even if Faber had not broken his hand in the first round, I do not think the fight would have gone any differently. Brown is the real deal and I am hoping and praying, although I am not holding my breath for it, that the WEC gets behind Brown like how they got behind Faber. Jose Aldo again showed he is the real deal as he demolished Cub Swanson in just eight seconds. Aldo verses Brown needs to happen sooner rather than later. And as I mentioned in my post yesterday, in regards to Josh Grispi and Jens Pulver, a reminder to all color commentary guys, guillotine choke with an arm in are still very effective!
The main event didn't surprise me one bit. I did not know what Faber could do differently this time to beat Brown and it showed. Brown by decision I think was the smart decision in this fight and that is indeed what happened. Even if Faber had not broken his hand in the first round, I do not think the fight would have gone any differently. Brown is the real deal and I am hoping and praying, although I am not holding my breath for it, that the WEC gets behind Brown like how they got behind Faber. Jose Aldo again showed he is the real deal as he demolished Cub Swanson in just eight seconds. Aldo verses Brown needs to happen sooner rather than later. And as I mentioned in my post yesterday, in regards to Josh Grispi and Jens Pulver, a reminder to all color commentary guys, guillotine choke with an arm in are still very effective!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
StrikeForce thoughts
StrikeForce went down last night and it was a mix of good and bad. The main event had Jake Shields submitting Robbie Lawler in just two minutes. While I picked Lawler to win, I am not surprised at all by this outcome. Everyone knew that Shields had the better submission game and if he could slap on a submission, the fight would be over. Despite what every tv commentator ever has said, guillotine chokes with one arm in are indeed still legit fight finishers. We've seen that over and over now. Even if the guy getting choked out has an arm in, he is still in trouble. Shields has one or two fights left on his StrikeForce deal and I'm no really sure what they do with him now. Some people want Riggs, and while Riggs did look better last night than I have seen him in a while, he is still no threat at all to Shields. A fight with Nick Diaz is intriguing, and that could be Shields' next fight.
I said all along that if Arlovski and Rogers fought each other two or three years from now, I would go with Rogers for sure, but right now Arlovski just had too much good experience for someone like Rogers. However Arlovski confirmed any doubts anyone had that he does indeed have a glass jaw. Just like the main event, I picked this fight wrong but I am not surprised at all by the outcome. When you put in a heavy handed puncher with someone who has a weak jaw, the puncher has a chance to win at any point. Arlovski with this fight goes from my number 2 heavyweight to probably falling out of the top 10. This fight really puts Arlovski's boxing career in the crapper. Obviously he will not be making his pro boxing debut at the end of this month as planned. If he gets knocked out by MMA fighters, I can only imagine how his pro boxing fights will end up.
Nick Diaz throws a crap load of punches and I don't see anyone in StrikeForce who will be able to handle the sheer volume of punches that Diaz throws. When you throw that many punches, odds are a bunch will get through and they will do some damage. A fight with Shields is definitely something that interests me. Joe Riggs looked better than he has in a long, long time. However it was against Phil Baroni and as I said before the fight, I could care less about this fight. Same went for the Whitehead/Randleman fight which was tough to watch. The biggest upset on the card was in the prelims as Mike Kyle took out Rafael Cavalcante via stoppage late in the second round. Cavalcante went from originally scheduled to fight Babalu on this card to losing a prelim fight to one of the most hated fighters in MMA today. Ouch.
I said all along that if Arlovski and Rogers fought each other two or three years from now, I would go with Rogers for sure, but right now Arlovski just had too much good experience for someone like Rogers. However Arlovski confirmed any doubts anyone had that he does indeed have a glass jaw. Just like the main event, I picked this fight wrong but I am not surprised at all by the outcome. When you put in a heavy handed puncher with someone who has a weak jaw, the puncher has a chance to win at any point. Arlovski with this fight goes from my number 2 heavyweight to probably falling out of the top 10. This fight really puts Arlovski's boxing career in the crapper. Obviously he will not be making his pro boxing debut at the end of this month as planned. If he gets knocked out by MMA fighters, I can only imagine how his pro boxing fights will end up.
Nick Diaz throws a crap load of punches and I don't see anyone in StrikeForce who will be able to handle the sheer volume of punches that Diaz throws. When you throw that many punches, odds are a bunch will get through and they will do some damage. A fight with Shields is definitely something that interests me. Joe Riggs looked better than he has in a long, long time. However it was against Phil Baroni and as I said before the fight, I could care less about this fight. Same went for the Whitehead/Randleman fight which was tough to watch. The biggest upset on the card was in the prelims as Mike Kyle took out Rafael Cavalcante via stoppage late in the second round. Cavalcante went from originally scheduled to fight Babalu on this card to losing a prelim fight to one of the most hated fighters in MMA today. Ouch.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Team MMA
I like team based MMA. There, I said it. I know a ton of people hate it, saying that MMA is an individual sport (which couldn't be further from the truth) and that it is stupid that a team of 5 fighters is being put ahead of any one fighter. I understand what those people are saying, but I do not agree with them. You have to see team mma as an added bonus on top of the individual fights.
Most people look at team based promotions (IFL, M-1 Challenge, MTL) and see team verses team. You can not look at it that way. Say there is a fight and the one team wins the first three fights and have clinched the match-up. People see this and say since the team competition is already decided, the last two fights do not matter at all. You can't look at it that way and in fact, to truly like team MMA, you have to look at things in the exact opposite way. See team based MMA as what it is, 5 individual mma fights. And then, if the first four fights are split and the fifth fight is the deciding fight in the team competition, then that is an added bonus on top of the individual fight. You have to see the team competitions as secondary to the individual fights, and if you do it that way, then you get added enjoyment out of the bouts. Unfortunately, Every team based organization so far has pushed the team aspect first and foremost, not secondary which has hurt them gain legitimacy in the eyes of many.
I enjoy M-1 Challenge currently, despite there not being a Canadian team when there should be. I'm sorry, but a Turkish team instead of a Canadian one? Don't get me started. And I was of course a fan of the IFL. I was a Los Angeles Anacondas supporter and also like the Toronto Dragons. The IFL had a ton of great talent on there shows and all you need to do is look at the current UFC/WEC roster to see all the past IFL fighters fighting in those organizations. It is certainly ironic that the IFL really took off after they dropped the team format and just did individual fights, after promising that the team format would revolution the sport. But by that point, it was too late, the damage had already been done.
Most people look at team based promotions (IFL, M-1 Challenge, MTL) and see team verses team. You can not look at it that way. Say there is a fight and the one team wins the first three fights and have clinched the match-up. People see this and say since the team competition is already decided, the last two fights do not matter at all. You can't look at it that way and in fact, to truly like team MMA, you have to look at things in the exact opposite way. See team based MMA as what it is, 5 individual mma fights. And then, if the first four fights are split and the fifth fight is the deciding fight in the team competition, then that is an added bonus on top of the individual fight. You have to see the team competitions as secondary to the individual fights, and if you do it that way, then you get added enjoyment out of the bouts. Unfortunately, Every team based organization so far has pushed the team aspect first and foremost, not secondary which has hurt them gain legitimacy in the eyes of many.
I enjoy M-1 Challenge currently, despite there not being a Canadian team when there should be. I'm sorry, but a Turkish team instead of a Canadian one? Don't get me started. And I was of course a fan of the IFL. I was a Los Angeles Anacondas supporter and also like the Toronto Dragons. The IFL had a ton of great talent on there shows and all you need to do is look at the current UFC/WEC roster to see all the past IFL fighters fighting in those organizations. It is certainly ironic that the IFL really took off after they dropped the team format and just did individual fights, after promising that the team format would revolution the sport. But by that point, it was too late, the damage had already been done.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Weekend predictions
Busy weekend for MMA, 27 picks to fight. Looking to build off last weekends 100% picking!!! Well okay, there was only 8 fights I picked and one got cancelled, but still, 100% baby! Overall record for the year is 224-107-5-12 for 67.7%
M-1
Gael Grimaud vs Simon Phillips - Simon Phillips
Rob Broughton vs Soufain Elgame - Rob Broughton
Niko Puhakka vs Renato Miliaccio - Renato Milaccio
Lucio Linhares vs Valdir Araujo - Lucio Linhares
Lloyd Marshbanks vs Toni Valtonen - Toni Valtonen
BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Diego Garijo vs Saad Awad - Saad Awad
Bryan Baker vs Matt Horwich - Bryan Baker
Roberto Vargas vs Wilson Reis - Wilson Reis
Joe Soto vs Yahir Reyes - Joe Soto
STRIKEFORCE
Mike Kyle vs Rafael Cavalcante - Rafael Cavalcante
Joe Riggs vs Phil Baroni - Joe Riggs
Kevin Randleman vs Mike Whitehead - Mike Whitehead
Andrei Arlovski vs Brett Rogers - Andrei Arlovski
Nick Diaz vs Scott Smith - Nick Diaz
Jake Shields vs Robbie Lawler - Robbie Lawler
SHOOTO
Noburu Tahara vs Shinya Murofushi - Noburu Tahara
Shintaro Ishiwatari vs Taiki Tsuchiya - Shintaro Ishiwatari
PANCRASE
Satoru Kitaoka vs Yukio Sakguchi - Satoru Kitaoka
Ryo Kawamura vs Yukiya Naito - Ryo Kawamura
Mitsuhisa Sunabe vs Takuya Eizumi - Takuya Eizumi
WEC
Frank Gomez vs Noah Thomas - Noah Thomas
Antonio Banuelos vs Scott Jorgensen - Scott Jorgenson
John Franchi vs Manny Gambaryan - Manny Gambaryan
Jens Pulver vs Josh Grispi - Josh Grispi
Donale Cerrone vs James Krause - Donald Cerrone
Cub Swanson vs Jose Aldo - Jose Aldo
Mike Thomas Brown vs Urijah Faber - Mike Thomas Brown
M-1
Gael Grimaud vs Simon Phillips - Simon Phillips
Rob Broughton vs Soufain Elgame - Rob Broughton
Niko Puhakka vs Renato Miliaccio - Renato Milaccio
Lucio Linhares vs Valdir Araujo - Lucio Linhares
Lloyd Marshbanks vs Toni Valtonen - Toni Valtonen
BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Diego Garijo vs Saad Awad - Saad Awad
Bryan Baker vs Matt Horwich - Bryan Baker
Roberto Vargas vs Wilson Reis - Wilson Reis
Joe Soto vs Yahir Reyes - Joe Soto
STRIKEFORCE
Mike Kyle vs Rafael Cavalcante - Rafael Cavalcante
Joe Riggs vs Phil Baroni - Joe Riggs
Kevin Randleman vs Mike Whitehead - Mike Whitehead
Andrei Arlovski vs Brett Rogers - Andrei Arlovski
Nick Diaz vs Scott Smith - Nick Diaz
Jake Shields vs Robbie Lawler - Robbie Lawler
SHOOTO
Noburu Tahara vs Shinya Murofushi - Noburu Tahara
Shintaro Ishiwatari vs Taiki Tsuchiya - Shintaro Ishiwatari
PANCRASE
Satoru Kitaoka vs Yukio Sakguchi - Satoru Kitaoka
Ryo Kawamura vs Yukiya Naito - Ryo Kawamura
Mitsuhisa Sunabe vs Takuya Eizumi - Takuya Eizumi
WEC
Frank Gomez vs Noah Thomas - Noah Thomas
Antonio Banuelos vs Scott Jorgensen - Scott Jorgenson
John Franchi vs Manny Gambaryan - Manny Gambaryan
Jens Pulver vs Josh Grispi - Josh Grispi
Donale Cerrone vs James Krause - Donald Cerrone
Cub Swanson vs Jose Aldo - Jose Aldo
Mike Thomas Brown vs Urijah Faber - Mike Thomas Brown
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Weekend MMA action
This weekend has kind of snuck up on me as there is quite a bit of quality mma this weekend. This weekend there is M-1 Challenge, Bellator, Strike Force, 2 Shooto cards, Pancrase, and of course WEC to close out the weekend on Sunday night.
Bellator has their first tournament final this weekend as Joe Soto takes on Yahir Reyes for the Featherweight Championship. Joe Soto really shocked me when he upset tournament favorite Wilson Reis and I am finding it very hard to come up ways for him to lose to Reyes. Soto is a well rounded fighter who can finish you either on the feet or on the ground. Reyes was little more than a Mexican journeyman before entering this tournament and there are more than a few people who are surprised that he is in the final. This is certainly not the best tournament final sheduled for Bellator this season. On the undercard, Wilson Reis will be looking to bounce back with a victory as he will be taking on Roberto Vargas.
StrikeForce is Saturday night and I am very excited for this card. The main event is Robbie Lawler vs Jake Shields at a catch weight of 182. Obviously, is the fight stays standing it's advantage Lawler and if it goes to the ground it's advantage Shields. I still am not sure who I am picking in this fight, it's just going to be a great fight between two top 5 guys in their weight classes. Nick Diaz vs Scott Smith should be a toe-to-toe slugfest. Interesting to see how much name value Diaz has coming off his win over Frank Shamrock. Andrei Arlovski and Brett Rogers is a really good late addition to this card. Two or three years from now I would probably be picking Rogers, but right now you gotta like Arlovski with all the good experience he has gotten over the years. And I do not care about Phil Baroni/Joe Riggs or Kevin Randleman/Mike Whitehead.
And of course WEC this weekend has the rematch between Mike Thomas Brown defending against Urijah Faber. Really good fight and people will of course be giving Brown respect this time around and actually believe he does have a chance. The general public still has no idea who Brown is and Faber is a lot more well known. However, I don't see how this fight is going to go any different. The first fight was only six months ago and I think it will go pretty much the same way. It will go longer than the first fight, but the outcome will be the same. Jose Aldo is fighting Cub Swanson and Aldo will continue to show that he is the real deal. Donald Cerrone will be looking to bounce back from his title fight loss to Jamie Varner and he should against James Krause. On the undercard, I am very excited to see Manny Gambaryan finally make his WEC debut at his proper weight class.
Bellator has their first tournament final this weekend as Joe Soto takes on Yahir Reyes for the Featherweight Championship. Joe Soto really shocked me when he upset tournament favorite Wilson Reis and I am finding it very hard to come up ways for him to lose to Reyes. Soto is a well rounded fighter who can finish you either on the feet or on the ground. Reyes was little more than a Mexican journeyman before entering this tournament and there are more than a few people who are surprised that he is in the final. This is certainly not the best tournament final sheduled for Bellator this season. On the undercard, Wilson Reis will be looking to bounce back with a victory as he will be taking on Roberto Vargas.
StrikeForce is Saturday night and I am very excited for this card. The main event is Robbie Lawler vs Jake Shields at a catch weight of 182. Obviously, is the fight stays standing it's advantage Lawler and if it goes to the ground it's advantage Shields. I still am not sure who I am picking in this fight, it's just going to be a great fight between two top 5 guys in their weight classes. Nick Diaz vs Scott Smith should be a toe-to-toe slugfest. Interesting to see how much name value Diaz has coming off his win over Frank Shamrock. Andrei Arlovski and Brett Rogers is a really good late addition to this card. Two or three years from now I would probably be picking Rogers, but right now you gotta like Arlovski with all the good experience he has gotten over the years. And I do not care about Phil Baroni/Joe Riggs or Kevin Randleman/Mike Whitehead.
And of course WEC this weekend has the rematch between Mike Thomas Brown defending against Urijah Faber. Really good fight and people will of course be giving Brown respect this time around and actually believe he does have a chance. The general public still has no idea who Brown is and Faber is a lot more well known. However, I don't see how this fight is going to go any different. The first fight was only six months ago and I think it will go pretty much the same way. It will go longer than the first fight, but the outcome will be the same. Jose Aldo is fighting Cub Swanson and Aldo will continue to show that he is the real deal. Donald Cerrone will be looking to bounce back from his title fight loss to Jamie Varner and he should against James Krause. On the undercard, I am very excited to see Manny Gambaryan finally make his WEC debut at his proper weight class.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Affliction 3 card
So the August 1 Affliction card just keeps getting better and better. Case in point. The original rumored match-up was Gegard Mousasi vs Vitor Belfort. Now instead of that one great fight, we get Renato Sobral vs Gegard Mousasi and Vitor Belfort vs Jorge Santiago. So that's two great fights instead of one. Just look at the current line-up with record and there place in my monthly rankings.
*Fedor Emelianenko (#1 HW/30-1-0-1) vs Josh Barnett (#2 HW/24-5)
*Gegard Mousasi (25-2-1) vs Renato Sobral (#7 LHW/32-8)
*Tim Sylvia (#7 HW/24-5) vs Paul Buentello (27-10)
*Vitor Belfort (#10 MW/18-8) vs Jorge Santiago (#7/21-7)
*Paul Daley (21-8-2) vs Jay Hieron (17-4)
*Chris Horodecki (12-1) vs Dan Lauzon (12-2)
*Ben Rothwell (30-6) vs Chase Gormley (6-0)
*Mark Hominick (16-8) vs TBA (maybe Din Thomas)
That is a great card top to bottom. The main event alone is enough for you to purchase this card but then when there are 4 ranked fighters underneath (should be 5 but Gegard just left the middleweight rankings to fight at higher weights) And to take that further, Fedor/Barnett and Gegard/Babalu alone would be enough to justify putting down $50 or whatever for this card. I really hope Affliction does last longer than just this show. I realize there is no hugely marketable fights after this card by the looks of things, but I hope they do survive. Tito Ortiz could be brought in (him vs Bablau would be good as those two do not like each other). But assuming that Fedor gets by Barnett, there is no real huge money fights left for him. Outside of the UFC, the only three Heavyweights I would be interested in seeing him fight would be Antonio Silva, Alistair Overeem, and Fabricio Werdum. Of course, Silva can not fight in the US for the foreseeable future.
MMA fans are spoiled right now with the UFC holding about 14 numbered UFC events a year and then a half dozen or so fight nights or ultimate fighter finale shows each year. Affliction is currently only putting on two cards a year and I love it. I get excited for Affliction cards two or three months in advance. UFC card I can really only be excited about for two or three weeks because that is how long it is between events. Affliction cards are worth the build and you are excited for a long time in advance, much like the UFC was shortly after Zuffa bought it.
*Fedor Emelianenko (#1 HW/30-1-0-1) vs Josh Barnett (#2 HW/24-5)
*Gegard Mousasi (25-2-1) vs Renato Sobral (#7 LHW/32-8)
*Tim Sylvia (#7 HW/24-5) vs Paul Buentello (27-10)
*Vitor Belfort (#10 MW/18-8) vs Jorge Santiago (#7/21-7)
*Paul Daley (21-8-2) vs Jay Hieron (17-4)
*Chris Horodecki (12-1) vs Dan Lauzon (12-2)
*Ben Rothwell (30-6) vs Chase Gormley (6-0)
*Mark Hominick (16-8) vs TBA (maybe Din Thomas)
That is a great card top to bottom. The main event alone is enough for you to purchase this card but then when there are 4 ranked fighters underneath (should be 5 but Gegard just left the middleweight rankings to fight at higher weights) And to take that further, Fedor/Barnett and Gegard/Babalu alone would be enough to justify putting down $50 or whatever for this card. I really hope Affliction does last longer than just this show. I realize there is no hugely marketable fights after this card by the looks of things, but I hope they do survive. Tito Ortiz could be brought in (him vs Bablau would be good as those two do not like each other). But assuming that Fedor gets by Barnett, there is no real huge money fights left for him. Outside of the UFC, the only three Heavyweights I would be interested in seeing him fight would be Antonio Silva, Alistair Overeem, and Fabricio Werdum. Of course, Silva can not fight in the US for the foreseeable future.
MMA fans are spoiled right now with the UFC holding about 14 numbered UFC events a year and then a half dozen or so fight nights or ultimate fighter finale shows each year. Affliction is currently only putting on two cards a year and I love it. I get excited for Affliction cards two or three months in advance. UFC card I can really only be excited about for two or three weeks because that is how long it is between events. Affliction cards are worth the build and you are excited for a long time in advance, much like the UFC was shortly after Zuffa bought it.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Kimbo Slice on TUF
Sherdog announced yesterday that Kimbo Slice, aka Kevin Ferguson, will be on the tenth season of the Ultimate Fighter. This is the best possible thing that the UFC could have done.
Kimbo Slice and Strike Force broke off talks a few weeks ago apparently and the UFC wasted no time in picking him up and putting him in the TUF house which will have sixteen Heavyweight fighters next season and will be coached by Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson. Kimbo in the house is a great promotional move for the UFC. If he had been signed by the UFC and put on cards right away, they would get blasted by the fans on the underground. And what they would have to pay him, they would have to put him on the main cards. But by putting him in the TUF house, he will have to prove that he is worthy to fight in the UFC and if he does walk through the tournament and win the season and makes his way into the UFC, then he will have earned his place in the UFC and the nay-sayers will have to be silenced....for a while at least.
It goes without saying that The Ultimate Fighter has gotten very stale for a lot of people and that is shown by the fact that the numbers, while still strong, are not as good as they were the first couple of seasons. Kimbo Slice is a colorful, well known personality that the casual fan will tune in to watch. They know him from his CBS shows and he is still holding down the first and third most watched live fights on television (against Thompson and Petruzelli). I've heard a few of the names rumored for this season of TUF and there are some pretty decent fighters that are scheduled to enter the house. Kimbo Slice will certainly have to work hard and beat some solid fighters if he wants to capture the Ultimate Fighter 10 title. I have not watched TUF weekly since the fourth season, since then I have only captured the odd episode each season. But with Kimbo Slice for color and some solid fighters apparently going to be in the house, I just might have to watch season 10 every single week.
Kimbo Slice and Strike Force broke off talks a few weeks ago apparently and the UFC wasted no time in picking him up and putting him in the TUF house which will have sixteen Heavyweight fighters next season and will be coached by Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson. Kimbo in the house is a great promotional move for the UFC. If he had been signed by the UFC and put on cards right away, they would get blasted by the fans on the underground. And what they would have to pay him, they would have to put him on the main cards. But by putting him in the TUF house, he will have to prove that he is worthy to fight in the UFC and if he does walk through the tournament and win the season and makes his way into the UFC, then he will have earned his place in the UFC and the nay-sayers will have to be silenced....for a while at least.
It goes without saying that The Ultimate Fighter has gotten very stale for a lot of people and that is shown by the fact that the numbers, while still strong, are not as good as they were the first couple of seasons. Kimbo Slice is a colorful, well known personality that the casual fan will tune in to watch. They know him from his CBS shows and he is still holding down the first and third most watched live fights on television (against Thompson and Petruzelli). I've heard a few of the names rumored for this season of TUF and there are some pretty decent fighters that are scheduled to enter the house. Kimbo Slice will certainly have to work hard and beat some solid fighters if he wants to capture the Ultimate Fighter 10 title. I have not watched TUF weekly since the fourth season, since then I have only captured the odd episode each season. But with Kimbo Slice for color and some solid fighters apparently going to be in the house, I just might have to watch season 10 every single week.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Rankings
HEAVYWEIGHT
1. Fedor Emelianenko, 2. Josh Barnett, 3. Andrei Arlovski, 4. Frank Mir, 5. Rodrigo Nogueira, 6. Brock Lesnar, 7. Tim Sylvia, 8.Randy Couture, 9. Junior dos Santos, 10. Fabricio Werdum
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
1. Lyoto Machida, 2. Rashad Evans, 3. Forrest Griffin, 4. Quinton Jackson, 5. Mauricio Rua, 6. Wanderlei Silva, 7. Renato Sobral, 8. Rogerio Nogueira, 9. Luiz Arthur Cane, 10. Thiago Silva
*With his victory over Evans, Machida moves up from number 4 to the top spot. Evans, Griffin,and Jackson all drop one spot because of this.
MIDDLEWEIGHT
1. Anderson Silva, 2. Dan Henderson, 3. Yushin Okami, 4. Robbie Lawler, 5. Demian Maia, 6. Nathan Marquardt, 7. Jorge Santiago, 8. Thales Leites, 9. Kazuo Misaki, 10. Vitor Belfort
*Gegard Mousasi exits from the number 7 spot to campaign at higher weight classes so Santiago, Leites, and Misaki all move up one spot. Vitor Belfort joins the rankings at number 10.
WELTERWEIGHT
1. Georges St. Pierre, 2. Thiago Alves, 3. Jake Shields, 4. Jon Fitch, 5. Matt Hughes, 6. Karo Parisyan, 7. Paulo Thiago, 8. Josh Koscheck, 9. Martin Kampmann, 10. Nick Thompson
*With his loss to Matt Hughes, Matt Serra exits the rankings from the 9 spot. This bumps Kampmann up one spot to number 9 and allows Nick Thompson to debut in the rankings at number 10.
LIGHTWEIGHT
1. BJ Penn, 2. Joachim Hansen, 3. Kenny Florian, 4. Tatsuya Kawajiri, 5. Eddie Alvarez, 6. Frankie Edgar, 7. Sean Sherk, 8. Gesias Calvancanti 9. Hayato Sakurai, 10. Shinya Aoki.
*Two big fights shook ip the rankings big time. Frankie Edgar debuts at number 6 following his decision victory over Sean Sherk who drops from 3 to 7. Tatsuya Kawajiri goes from 7 up to 4 with his victory over Gesias Calvancanti who drops from 4 to 8. With the reshuffling, Kenny Florian rises from 5 to 3. Eddie Alvarez rises one spot to 5. And with Edgar entering the rankings, Sakurai and Aoki both drop one spot each.
FEATHERWEIGHT
1. Mike Thomas Brown, 2. Urijah Faber, 3. Leonard Garcia, 4. Wagnney Fabiano, 5. Takeshi Inoue, 6. Akitoshi Tamura, 7. Hatsu Hioki, 8. Jose Aldo, 9. Dokonojonosuke Mishima, 10. Marlon Sandro
*Reshuffling as Hiroyuki Takaya and Hideki Kadowaki exit the rankings. Takeshi Inoue moves up two spots with his victory over Rumina Sato. Hatsu Hioki and Jose Aldo both move up two spots each while Mishima and Sandro both enter the rankings for the first time.
BANTAMWEIGHT
1. Miguel Torres, 2. Shinichi Kojima, 3. Eduardo Dantas, 4. Mamaru Yamaguchi, 5. Masakatsu Ueda, 6. Akitoshi Hokazono, 7. Yuki Shoujou, 8. Yasuhiro Urushitani, 9. So Tazawa, 10. Joseph Benavidez
POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Anderson Silva, 2. Georges St. Pierre, 3. Fedor Emelianenko, 4. Lyoto Machida, 5. Miguel Torres, 6. BJ Penn, 7. Rashad Evans, 8. Mike Thomas Brown, 9. Forrest Griffin, 10. Quinton Jackson
*Machida, with his destruction of Evans shoots up from 10 to 4. Evans with the loss drops from 5 to 7. Torres drops one spot to make accomodations for Machida. Brown, Griffin, and Jackson all drop one spot each.
1. Fedor Emelianenko, 2. Josh Barnett, 3. Andrei Arlovski, 4. Frank Mir, 5. Rodrigo Nogueira, 6. Brock Lesnar, 7. Tim Sylvia, 8.Randy Couture, 9. Junior dos Santos, 10. Fabricio Werdum
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
1. Lyoto Machida, 2. Rashad Evans, 3. Forrest Griffin, 4. Quinton Jackson, 5. Mauricio Rua, 6. Wanderlei Silva, 7. Renato Sobral, 8. Rogerio Nogueira, 9. Luiz Arthur Cane, 10. Thiago Silva
*With his victory over Evans, Machida moves up from number 4 to the top spot. Evans, Griffin,and Jackson all drop one spot because of this.
MIDDLEWEIGHT
1. Anderson Silva, 2. Dan Henderson, 3. Yushin Okami, 4. Robbie Lawler, 5. Demian Maia, 6. Nathan Marquardt, 7. Jorge Santiago, 8. Thales Leites, 9. Kazuo Misaki, 10. Vitor Belfort
*Gegard Mousasi exits from the number 7 spot to campaign at higher weight classes so Santiago, Leites, and Misaki all move up one spot. Vitor Belfort joins the rankings at number 10.
WELTERWEIGHT
1. Georges St. Pierre, 2. Thiago Alves, 3. Jake Shields, 4. Jon Fitch, 5. Matt Hughes, 6. Karo Parisyan, 7. Paulo Thiago, 8. Josh Koscheck, 9. Martin Kampmann, 10. Nick Thompson
*With his loss to Matt Hughes, Matt Serra exits the rankings from the 9 spot. This bumps Kampmann up one spot to number 9 and allows Nick Thompson to debut in the rankings at number 10.
LIGHTWEIGHT
1. BJ Penn, 2. Joachim Hansen, 3. Kenny Florian, 4. Tatsuya Kawajiri, 5. Eddie Alvarez, 6. Frankie Edgar, 7. Sean Sherk, 8. Gesias Calvancanti 9. Hayato Sakurai, 10. Shinya Aoki.
*Two big fights shook ip the rankings big time. Frankie Edgar debuts at number 6 following his decision victory over Sean Sherk who drops from 3 to 7. Tatsuya Kawajiri goes from 7 up to 4 with his victory over Gesias Calvancanti who drops from 4 to 8. With the reshuffling, Kenny Florian rises from 5 to 3. Eddie Alvarez rises one spot to 5. And with Edgar entering the rankings, Sakurai and Aoki both drop one spot each.
FEATHERWEIGHT
1. Mike Thomas Brown, 2. Urijah Faber, 3. Leonard Garcia, 4. Wagnney Fabiano, 5. Takeshi Inoue, 6. Akitoshi Tamura, 7. Hatsu Hioki, 8. Jose Aldo, 9. Dokonojonosuke Mishima, 10. Marlon Sandro
*Reshuffling as Hiroyuki Takaya and Hideki Kadowaki exit the rankings. Takeshi Inoue moves up two spots with his victory over Rumina Sato. Hatsu Hioki and Jose Aldo both move up two spots each while Mishima and Sandro both enter the rankings for the first time.
BANTAMWEIGHT
1. Miguel Torres, 2. Shinichi Kojima, 3. Eduardo Dantas, 4. Mamaru Yamaguchi, 5. Masakatsu Ueda, 6. Akitoshi Hokazono, 7. Yuki Shoujou, 8. Yasuhiro Urushitani, 9. So Tazawa, 10. Joseph Benavidez
POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Anderson Silva, 2. Georges St. Pierre, 3. Fedor Emelianenko, 4. Lyoto Machida, 5. Miguel Torres, 6. BJ Penn, 7. Rashad Evans, 8. Mike Thomas Brown, 9. Forrest Griffin, 10. Quinton Jackson
*Machida, with his destruction of Evans shoots up from 10 to 4. Evans with the loss drops from 5 to 7. Torres drops one spot to make accomodations for Machida. Brown, Griffin, and Jackson all drop one spot each.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Weekend predictions
Not an overly busy weekend of fights. No post tomorrow and doubtful for Sunday. Kinda getting married on Saturday. Monday will be monthly rankings. Record for the year is 217-107-5-12 for 67.0%
BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Chilo Gonzalez vs Nick Ring - Nick Ring
Damien Stelly vs Hector Lombard - Hector Lombard
Jared Hess vs Yosmany Cabezas - Jared Hess
WAR GODS
Bryan Travers vs Tom Belt - Bryan Travers
Kit Cope vs Steve Magdaleno - Steve Magdalenoa
Lew Polley vs Vernon White - Lew Polley
THE FIGHT CLUB
Dave Mazany vs Ryan Ford - Ryan Ford
Isaiah Larson vs Victor Valimaki - Victor Valimaki
BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Chilo Gonzalez vs Nick Ring - Nick Ring
Damien Stelly vs Hector Lombard - Hector Lombard
Jared Hess vs Yosmany Cabezas - Jared Hess
WAR GODS
Bryan Travers vs Tom Belt - Bryan Travers
Kit Cope vs Steve Magdaleno - Steve Magdalenoa
Lew Polley vs Vernon White - Lew Polley
THE FIGHT CLUB
Dave Mazany vs Ryan Ford - Ryan Ford
Isaiah Larson vs Victor Valimaki - Victor Valimaki
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Top 7 Submissions ever
Like all my top lists, in no particular order.
*Ryo Chonan over Anderson Silva (December 31, 2004) - I'm still not sure if what it is listed as in the sherdog fightfinder is accurate, a Flying Scissors Heel Hook, but I do no it was impressive as hell.
*Dustin Hazelett over Josh Burkman (June 26, 2008) - Years from now, it will just be in the recorded in the record books as an armbar submission victory, but how he set that up coming over the top from whizzer position, incredible.
*Toby Imada over Jorge Masvidal (May 1, 2009) - Sure some schools may teach the inverted triangle choke,but nobody ever expected anyone to actually ever pull it off in a fight did they?
*Shinya Aoki over Katushiko Nagata (June 15, 2008) - Maybe it had been done before, but that was the first time I ever saw a gogoplata done from the top.
*Rumina Sato over Charles Taylor (January 15, 1999) - Flying armbars are pretty rare. Flying armbars that happen 6 seconds into the fight? Even rarer.
*Carlos Newton over Kazuhiro Kusayanagi (March 1, 1998) - Newton looked to be in serious trouble with his arm cranked behind his back, and two seconds later he had picked up the armbar submission victory.
*Genki Sudo over Leigh Remedios (July 13, 2002) - Not the submission so much, but the speed in which Sudo took Remedios' back still to this day impresses the hell out of me.
*Ryo Chonan over Anderson Silva (December 31, 2004) - I'm still not sure if what it is listed as in the sherdog fightfinder is accurate, a Flying Scissors Heel Hook, but I do no it was impressive as hell.
*Dustin Hazelett over Josh Burkman (June 26, 2008) - Years from now, it will just be in the recorded in the record books as an armbar submission victory, but how he set that up coming over the top from whizzer position, incredible.
*Toby Imada over Jorge Masvidal (May 1, 2009) - Sure some schools may teach the inverted triangle choke,but nobody ever expected anyone to actually ever pull it off in a fight did they?
*Shinya Aoki over Katushiko Nagata (June 15, 2008) - Maybe it had been done before, but that was the first time I ever saw a gogoplata done from the top.
*Rumina Sato over Charles Taylor (January 15, 1999) - Flying armbars are pretty rare. Flying armbars that happen 6 seconds into the fight? Even rarer.
*Carlos Newton over Kazuhiro Kusayanagi (March 1, 1998) - Newton looked to be in serious trouble with his arm cranked behind his back, and two seconds later he had picked up the armbar submission victory.
*Genki Sudo over Leigh Remedios (July 13, 2002) - Not the submission so much, but the speed in which Sudo took Remedios' back still to this day impresses the hell out of me.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
MMA styles
Four days later and everyone is still going crazy about Machida's domination of Rashad Evans at UFC 98. Machida fought that fight perfectly and like most people, I am still wondering what it was that Evans saw in Machida's style that he said he was going to exploit. But now everyone is talking about how karate is either a) making a comeback or b) going to be the next big thing. Depends on your point of view I guess if at one point back in the day it was effective or not. But the fact that Machida is trying to brand karate now as 'Machida Karate' (much like how it's Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to many people still instead of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) is opening up a whole world of discussion.
Is Karate going to take over the MMA world and in two or three years will all the best fighters be the guys who use karate as there main source of attack? Of course not. You will still need a combination of Muay Thai, Wrestling, and Jiu-Jitsu to be a great fighter. But every style of martial arts has some aspects of it that work in this sport. It is called MIXED Martial Arts for a reason. It takes the best of all elements and combine them into one sport. is Capoeira overall an efficient MMA style? Not a chance, but that did not stop everyone from getting excited about it after Marcus Aurelio's (not the UFC Marcus Aurelio) half moon crescent kick KO a few months back and talking about how capoeira can be effective in the sport. Karate definitely has some aspects that will work very effectively in MMA. Machida is not the first to prove this, but he has been the best. The fact that it is so hard to gameplan for because it is so unpredictable makes it an effective style to use in MMA, but it will not be replacing any of the big three (muay thai, wrestling, and jiu-jitsu) as a style you need to know to be effective in MMA.
Is Karate going to take over the MMA world and in two or three years will all the best fighters be the guys who use karate as there main source of attack? Of course not. You will still need a combination of Muay Thai, Wrestling, and Jiu-Jitsu to be a great fighter. But every style of martial arts has some aspects of it that work in this sport. It is called MIXED Martial Arts for a reason. It takes the best of all elements and combine them into one sport. is Capoeira overall an efficient MMA style? Not a chance, but that did not stop everyone from getting excited about it after Marcus Aurelio's (not the UFC Marcus Aurelio) half moon crescent kick KO a few months back and talking about how capoeira can be effective in the sport. Karate definitely has some aspects that will work very effectively in MMA. Machida is not the first to prove this, but he has been the best. The fact that it is so hard to gameplan for because it is so unpredictable makes it an effective style to use in MMA, but it will not be replacing any of the big three (muay thai, wrestling, and jiu-jitsu) as a style you need to know to be effective in MMA.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Canseco work conspiracy
For the second time in about 10 days the MMA world is abuzz about another major fight being potentially worked. First it was Bobby Lashley in the MFC (and for the record I don't think that fight was worked) and now, after Jose Canseco's comical performance at Dream a few hours ago, the world is saying work again. I honestly don't think the fight was a work. Jose Canseco just had no idea what he was getting himself into. The guy has no MMA training and had no buisness being in this tournament. He was only in the tournament for the freak show aspect of it. Hong Man Choi is by no means a great fighter, but at least he is a fighter. Jose Canseco is a baseball player. Now if a few months from now it came out that this fight was indeed a work, I wouldn't be surprized at all. But until then, I'm saying the fight was real and Canseco is really just that bad of a fighter.
The big news I guess is that Joe Warren might indeed be the real deal. Now Yamamoto had not fought in 17 months or whatever since his "injury" (read: marijuana accusations). But Joe Warren controlled most of the fight and definitly deserved the decision. Say what you want about hometown judging and how Japan always gives close decisions to the Japanese fighters, but lately they have been giving them to the winning fighter. But yeah, Joe Warren looked great and he could definitly have a future in the sport. Warren being a world class wrestler could lead to him being a world class MMA fighter. The main event ending in a no contest is a big disapointment. I'm assuming they will have a rematch at Dream 10. Is anybody really surprized that the four total fights in the first round of the Super Hulk tournament went a grand total of 6 minutes and 19 seconds? For the featherweight tournament semi-finals, I would like to see Fernandes and Warren kept apart until the final cause they are the two best fighters but being Japan, I can see them putting them in the one semi-final together so then Tokoro and Takaya face each other in the semi-final and that way it guarantees one Japanese fighter in the final. But Fernandes and Warren should be in the final in a just world.
The big news I guess is that Joe Warren might indeed be the real deal. Now Yamamoto had not fought in 17 months or whatever since his "injury" (read: marijuana accusations). But Joe Warren controlled most of the fight and definitly deserved the decision. Say what you want about hometown judging and how Japan always gives close decisions to the Japanese fighters, but lately they have been giving them to the winning fighter. But yeah, Joe Warren looked great and he could definitly have a future in the sport. Warren being a world class wrestler could lead to him being a world class MMA fighter. The main event ending in a no contest is a big disapointment. I'm assuming they will have a rematch at Dream 10. Is anybody really surprized that the four total fights in the first round of the Super Hulk tournament went a grand total of 6 minutes and 19 seconds? For the featherweight tournament semi-finals, I would like to see Fernandes and Warren kept apart until the final cause they are the two best fighters but being Japan, I can see them putting them in the one semi-final together so then Tokoro and Takaya face each other in the semi-final and that way it guarantees one Japanese fighter in the final. But Fernandes and Warren should be in the final in a just world.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Dream preview
Dream goes down in about 24 hours. I am very interested in this card for both the good fighters aspect as well as the freak show aspect. This super hulk tournament has a ton of people interested in this card while there are enough good fighters on the card to interest the hardcore fans who don't want to see the freak show aspect. I still am not 100% convinced that Canseco will fight in this tournament. I don't think I am going to believe it until I see it. I am definitly going to be up at 3 in the morning to watch live on hdnet.
While there are a couple good fights on this card but at the same time there are a lot of apparent mis-matches. The Super Hulk tournament only has a few legit fighters, and they are not matched up together in the first round. So it should be easy fights for both Gegard Mousasi and Rameau Soukoudjou. Mousasi, despite being one of the two lightest guys in the tournament, is probably the tournament favorite. Although this is the first time Mousasi has fought at this high a weight so it will be interesting to see how he does. The Lightweight tournament also I think features three mismatches as Kid Yamamoto, Abel Cullum, and Bibiano Fernandez are all significantly better than there opponents. Although Joe Warren had the upset win at the opening round so who knows. The two single fights are both very good. Mayhem Miller and Souza should both be good, although Souza's jiu-jitsu is so much better than Miller's and that I think will be the difference.
After an ugly UFC 98, my record for the year stands at 212-103-5-11 for 67.3%
DREAM
Bob Sapp vs Ikuhisa Minowa - Bob Sapp
Hong Man Choi vs Jose Canseco - Hong Man Choi
Rameau Soukoudjou vs Jan Nortje - Rameau Sokoudjou
Gegard Mousasi vs Mark Hunt - Gegard Mousasi
Gesias Calvancanti vs Tatsuya Kawajiri - Tatsuya Kawajiri
Abel Cullum vs Hideo Tokoro - Abel Cullum
Hiroyuki Takaya vs Yoshiro Maeda - Yoshiro Maeda
Bibiano Fernandez vs Masakazu Imanori - Bibiano Fernandez
Joe Warren vs Norifumi Yamamoto - Norifumi Yamamoto
Jason Miller vs Ronaldo Souza - Ronaldo Souza
While there are a couple good fights on this card but at the same time there are a lot of apparent mis-matches. The Super Hulk tournament only has a few legit fighters, and they are not matched up together in the first round. So it should be easy fights for both Gegard Mousasi and Rameau Soukoudjou. Mousasi, despite being one of the two lightest guys in the tournament, is probably the tournament favorite. Although this is the first time Mousasi has fought at this high a weight so it will be interesting to see how he does. The Lightweight tournament also I think features three mismatches as Kid Yamamoto, Abel Cullum, and Bibiano Fernandez are all significantly better than there opponents. Although Joe Warren had the upset win at the opening round so who knows. The two single fights are both very good. Mayhem Miller and Souza should both be good, although Souza's jiu-jitsu is so much better than Miller's and that I think will be the difference.
After an ugly UFC 98, my record for the year stands at 212-103-5-11 for 67.3%
DREAM
Bob Sapp vs Ikuhisa Minowa - Bob Sapp
Hong Man Choi vs Jose Canseco - Hong Man Choi
Rameau Soukoudjou vs Jan Nortje - Rameau Sokoudjou
Gegard Mousasi vs Mark Hunt - Gegard Mousasi
Gesias Calvancanti vs Tatsuya Kawajiri - Tatsuya Kawajiri
Abel Cullum vs Hideo Tokoro - Abel Cullum
Hiroyuki Takaya vs Yoshiro Maeda - Yoshiro Maeda
Bibiano Fernandez vs Masakazu Imanori - Bibiano Fernandez
Joe Warren vs Norifumi Yamamoto - Norifumi Yamamoto
Jason Miller vs Ronaldo Souza - Ronaldo Souza
Sunday, May 24, 2009
UFC 98 thoughts
Still recovering from that beating I took on my predictions. But I don't think very many people did all that well on this card prediction wise so I feel a little better knowing that.
Wow. I always knew that Lyoto Machida had the talent to be champion some day, but I have no idea just how good he was. He looked amazing in dismantling an undefeated champion. He knocked Evans down on three separate occasions and finished the bout alongside the cage with a devastating left hook that floored the champion. Like most people, I was concerned that this fight could be a snoozer but I was very happy to be proven wrong. Evans did not have much offense at all except for a little early in the second. Machida just dominated him and now has to shoot up everyone's Pound-for-Pound rankings. And it goes without saying that he is the number 1 LHW in the world. Next up for Machida is Quinton Jackson, but I am more than a little upset that we will apparently have to wait half a year for this fight because the word is that they will be coaching TUF 10 first.
Matt Serra gave Matt Hughes a much tougher run for his money than I expected. I was really expecting Hughes to use his size and power to overwhelm Serra and blow through him but that did not happen. It was a really close fight and could have gone either way on the scorecards. I had it 29-28 Hughes but a case can certainly be made for Serra. The second round you for sure have to give to Hughes. But the first and the third rounds could have been scored for either guy. It looked for a bit like Serra would finish Hughes in the first but Hughes survived nicely. I had the first round for Serra and then rounds two and three for Hughes. Hughes says he still has more fights left in him but I'm not sure what exactly. It's not like anyone wants to see Hughes/GSP 4.
Chael Sonnen really impressed me. I thought Miller would use his submission skills to control the fight on the ground but Sonnen put him on his back and kept him there for most of the fight. Frankie Edgar also really impressed me. I thought his huge size disadvantage would be the difference but it was a complete non-factor as he kept Sherk at bay on route to the unanimous decision. Apparently Sherk had a meltdown after the fight and went running through the streets of Vegas in just his fight shorts and gloves. I am still in shock that Tim Hague won. I have seen Hague fight in person before and for the life of him he could not defend a simple leg kick. I thought Pat Barry would leg kick him to hell but Hague got the fight to the ground and won. I still think Hague has no business being in the UFC though. I've read Bradley's victory over Nover was a horrible stoppage but I haven't seen it yet so I can't really comment on it. And while most people have the Soszynski victory as a huge upset, I was not shocked by it one bit. Overall, I would have to give this PPV a 7 out of 10.
Wow. I always knew that Lyoto Machida had the talent to be champion some day, but I have no idea just how good he was. He looked amazing in dismantling an undefeated champion. He knocked Evans down on three separate occasions and finished the bout alongside the cage with a devastating left hook that floored the champion. Like most people, I was concerned that this fight could be a snoozer but I was very happy to be proven wrong. Evans did not have much offense at all except for a little early in the second. Machida just dominated him and now has to shoot up everyone's Pound-for-Pound rankings. And it goes without saying that he is the number 1 LHW in the world. Next up for Machida is Quinton Jackson, but I am more than a little upset that we will apparently have to wait half a year for this fight because the word is that they will be coaching TUF 10 first.
Matt Serra gave Matt Hughes a much tougher run for his money than I expected. I was really expecting Hughes to use his size and power to overwhelm Serra and blow through him but that did not happen. It was a really close fight and could have gone either way on the scorecards. I had it 29-28 Hughes but a case can certainly be made for Serra. The second round you for sure have to give to Hughes. But the first and the third rounds could have been scored for either guy. It looked for a bit like Serra would finish Hughes in the first but Hughes survived nicely. I had the first round for Serra and then rounds two and three for Hughes. Hughes says he still has more fights left in him but I'm not sure what exactly. It's not like anyone wants to see Hughes/GSP 4.
Chael Sonnen really impressed me. I thought Miller would use his submission skills to control the fight on the ground but Sonnen put him on his back and kept him there for most of the fight. Frankie Edgar also really impressed me. I thought his huge size disadvantage would be the difference but it was a complete non-factor as he kept Sherk at bay on route to the unanimous decision. Apparently Sherk had a meltdown after the fight and went running through the streets of Vegas in just his fight shorts and gloves. I am still in shock that Tim Hague won. I have seen Hague fight in person before and for the life of him he could not defend a simple leg kick. I thought Pat Barry would leg kick him to hell but Hague got the fight to the ground and won. I still think Hague has no business being in the UFC though. I've read Bradley's victory over Nover was a horrible stoppage but I haven't seen it yet so I can't really comment on it. And while most people have the Soszynski victory as a huge upset, I was not shocked by it one bit. Overall, I would have to give this PPV a 7 out of 10.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
WAMMA
UFC 98 is hours away but I am blogging today about the apparent death of WAMMA. It's come out over the past few days that Pat Miletich, who had something to do with fighter relations, and Sam Caplan, Cheif Operating Officer, have both left WAMMA saying that they no longer have the same overall vision of WAMMA. All I can say is what the hell was blinding them so badly for the last year and a half?
WAMMA was a joke right from the very start. No one took them seriously and their attempts to legitimize themselves were hilarious at the best of times and down right pathetic at the worst of times. Nobody saw them as what they tried to be, a legit unbias rankings committee. They said they wanted to be seen to MMA what The Ring magazine rankings were to boxing. People were intrigued when they first announced their aim, but then they released their first rankings and people realized what a load of crock they were. Considering that the biggest organization in the world, the UFC, wanted nothing to do with them and did not recognize their rankings, it rendered their organization basically useless. Considering that a great deal of the best fighters in the world fight in the UFC, it is impossible to have a legit world rankings system without the consent of the UFC to recognize the best fighters as the best fighters. The UFC only wants you to recognize there fighters, no one elses.
The basic idea of WAMMA was not bad, but nobody took them seriously from the start and the things they did over the past 18 months has just made it worse. How can you have a "World Lightweight Champion" that does not involve BJ Penn even fighting for the title? The WAMMA belts were arguably the most disgusting pieces of trash in the history of title belts (I feel they were the worst but some people will argue the IFL's snakeskin belts). WAMMA was organized in November 2007. It looks like the beginning of the end happened in May 2009. Unfortunately, it probably should have happened in December 2007.
WAMMA was a joke right from the very start. No one took them seriously and their attempts to legitimize themselves were hilarious at the best of times and down right pathetic at the worst of times. Nobody saw them as what they tried to be, a legit unbias rankings committee. They said they wanted to be seen to MMA what The Ring magazine rankings were to boxing. People were intrigued when they first announced their aim, but then they released their first rankings and people realized what a load of crock they were. Considering that the biggest organization in the world, the UFC, wanted nothing to do with them and did not recognize their rankings, it rendered their organization basically useless. Considering that a great deal of the best fighters in the world fight in the UFC, it is impossible to have a legit world rankings system without the consent of the UFC to recognize the best fighters as the best fighters. The UFC only wants you to recognize there fighters, no one elses.
The basic idea of WAMMA was not bad, but nobody took them seriously from the start and the things they did over the past 18 months has just made it worse. How can you have a "World Lightweight Champion" that does not involve BJ Penn even fighting for the title? The WAMMA belts were arguably the most disgusting pieces of trash in the history of title belts (I feel they were the worst but some people will argue the IFL's snakeskin belts). WAMMA was organized in November 2007. It looks like the beginning of the end happened in May 2009. Unfortunately, it probably should have happened in December 2007.
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