From its days of infancy to its now exponential growth as the fastest rising sport on the planet, Mixed Martial Arts is, don't get it twisted, a glorified freak show. From the first UFC featuring Royce Gracie taking on the dude with one boxing glove, to James Toney fighting Randy Couture as a "co-main event", It is clearly evident that regardless of however "mainstream" this sport becomes, there will always be a story that makes you want to just scratch your head.
Former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL player, Herschel Walker, is one such story. From a stellar career at the University of Georgia to a lengthy career with several teams (including a stint in the old United States Football League as a New Jersey General), Walker was always some sort of "freak" athlete, one that took care of himself non-stop, was committed to being a better team player and person. Despite all of his credentials, he is arguably remembered for 2 things that never happened on the football field (being part of the largest trade in NFL history that gave the Dallas Cowboys all their draft picks and elevated the team to their '90s Super Bowl dynasty, and being the brakeman for the '92 US Olympic bobsled team). When he retired, he was still a solid contributor to his team (he still caught 12 balls and rushed for 2 scores in his last year in Dallas in 1997, as well as returning kickoffs).
From then on, Walker has remained primarily out of the spotlight, only occasionally showing up "here and there" to tell us that he suffers from "Multiple Personality disorder" (now known as Dissociative Identity Disorder), in his autobiography (published in 2008) and that he can't even remember his Heisman winning season. He also showed up on a Celebrity edition of "The Apprentice" being kicked off despite his owning of a food service company due to issues on a project.
So when he decided he was going to go into MMA, most people sat there and scratched their head. This Mixed Martial arts thing is really a "Freak Show" as some put it.
It turns out, that while it may be a freak show, Herschel Walker is probably one of the most exciting stories in MMA today. This 48 year old (soon to be 49) had his debut just over a year ago and defeated a lesser known opponent by punches in the 3rd round. On Saturday Night, he fought an opponent, Scott Carson whom despite having 10 years off, returned just over a year ago to the sport. Despite having a superior record to Walker, Carson was rocked early and the fight was ended at just over 3 minutes of the opening frame. Afterward, Walker said he is still a "young" fighter and there were things to improve. He also talked about fighting more than once this year. At 49 years old.
Aaliyah once sang a song that age was "nothing but a number". I firmly believe in Walker's case that is true. To him, being 49 is an asset not a liability. What's more, is that he's donating his little purse he gets (about $5,000 from his first fight, his second fight not yet revealed) to his church. It doesn't matter to him if he's a champ, he just wants to show the rest of the world how hard "being an MMA fighter is". He knows he'll never be top 10, but his trainer at the American Kickboxing Academy (who houses none other than UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez) is convinced had Walker taken the sport up earlier, like say his mid to late 20's, he'd have been an "all time great". Given his athletic background, i firmly believe that's true.
Joe Rogan said that Randy Couture is his "hero" more often than not. Well, Mr. Rogan, you can have your hero. Because I certainly have mine. His name is Herschel Walker.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Strikeforce : Diaz vs Santos re-hash
Saturday's Strikeforce card in San Jose at the HP Pavilion had the buzz of a big time fighting event. The main event featuring local California product Nick Diaz and Brazilian Slugger Evangalista "Cyborg" Santos didn't disappoint, as both put on an entertaining first round highlighted by Cyborg leg chopping Diaz on numerous occasions, followed by Diaz staggering the Brazilian to end the round. The second was more of the same, as both fighters kept going forward and throwing punches. With about 40 seconds left in the second, Santos executed a takedown that would be his undoing. Diaz reversed position and locked in an armbar, causing the challenger to tap out with about 20 seconds left in the 2nd.
Next for Diaz : That (long delayed) fight with Jason "Mayhem Miller.
Next for Santos : to console his wife, Women's 145 lb. Champion Cristine "Cyborg" Santos, who showed her emotions, sobbing at ringside when her husband tapped. How anybody would let their wife sit by while they're getting their ass kicked is beyond me, but this is NOT your typical married couple!
In the other title fight, Black House team member Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza improved to 14-2 (with one no contest) after a successful defense of his Strikeforce Middleweight title against challenger ruthless Robbie Lawler. The first round saw Jacare pushing Lawler around early and securing a takedown trying for several submissions. After a mad scramble that featured Souza going for a standing Guillotine, Lawler escaped and landed a knee followed by several shots that had Souza on Dream Street. Lawler followed him to the floor and Souza was able to weather the storm by pulling Lawler in to his guard. After they were stood back up by Referee John McCarthy, Lawler attempted to put Jacare out again. But Souza got a takedown as the first round ended.
The second and third rounds featured more dominance by Souza on the ground after executing a takedown. He had several submission attempts that just never panned out, like an armbar and a heel lock. The only highlight Lawler had was the reversal and escape but that was towards the end of the second. Souza finally ended things with a rear naked choke at just 2 minutes of the 3rd round.
Next for Jacare : He seemed uninterested in a 3rd fight with "Mayhem" Miller in a post fight interview. Wonder if Gegard Mousasi is interested?
Next for Lawler : He needs to finish a fight and needs to work on his Jiu-Jitsu. If he wants to throw bombs, throw him in there with Cung Le and see what happens.
Herschel Walker improved to 2 wins in 2 fights against journeyman fighter Scott Carson. Herschel took a high leg kick to the face that seemed to bring out his "inner fighter" and he controlled the overwhelmed Carson with some powerful stand up and a suplex attempt before finishing him at 3:13 of round number one due to TKO.
Next for Carson : the unemployment line.
Next for Walker : Well, people insist he's nothing more than a "can crusher". Ok, he needs to fight somebody his "own age". Gotcha. You know what? Get Scott Coker to go sign Mark "The Hammer" Coleman. He's about the same age and is a "name" in the sport. Wonder what would happen if Walker were to beat Coleman. Dana White probably wouldn't say a word because there are guys on his roster Coleman's already beat!
In the first fight of the night, we also saw Roger Gracie improve to 4-0 with a first round rear naked choke of Trevor Prangley. Uneventful and hardly worth mentioning.
Next for Diaz : That (long delayed) fight with Jason "Mayhem Miller.
Next for Santos : to console his wife, Women's 145 lb. Champion Cristine "Cyborg" Santos, who showed her emotions, sobbing at ringside when her husband tapped. How anybody would let their wife sit by while they're getting their ass kicked is beyond me, but this is NOT your typical married couple!
In the other title fight, Black House team member Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza improved to 14-2 (with one no contest) after a successful defense of his Strikeforce Middleweight title against challenger ruthless Robbie Lawler. The first round saw Jacare pushing Lawler around early and securing a takedown trying for several submissions. After a mad scramble that featured Souza going for a standing Guillotine, Lawler escaped and landed a knee followed by several shots that had Souza on Dream Street. Lawler followed him to the floor and Souza was able to weather the storm by pulling Lawler in to his guard. After they were stood back up by Referee John McCarthy, Lawler attempted to put Jacare out again. But Souza got a takedown as the first round ended.
The second and third rounds featured more dominance by Souza on the ground after executing a takedown. He had several submission attempts that just never panned out, like an armbar and a heel lock. The only highlight Lawler had was the reversal and escape but that was towards the end of the second. Souza finally ended things with a rear naked choke at just 2 minutes of the 3rd round.
Next for Jacare : He seemed uninterested in a 3rd fight with "Mayhem" Miller in a post fight interview. Wonder if Gegard Mousasi is interested?
Next for Lawler : He needs to finish a fight and needs to work on his Jiu-Jitsu. If he wants to throw bombs, throw him in there with Cung Le and see what happens.
Herschel Walker improved to 2 wins in 2 fights against journeyman fighter Scott Carson. Herschel took a high leg kick to the face that seemed to bring out his "inner fighter" and he controlled the overwhelmed Carson with some powerful stand up and a suplex attempt before finishing him at 3:13 of round number one due to TKO.
Next for Carson : the unemployment line.
Next for Walker : Well, people insist he's nothing more than a "can crusher". Ok, he needs to fight somebody his "own age". Gotcha. You know what? Get Scott Coker to go sign Mark "The Hammer" Coleman. He's about the same age and is a "name" in the sport. Wonder what would happen if Walker were to beat Coleman. Dana White probably wouldn't say a word because there are guys on his roster Coleman's already beat!
In the first fight of the night, we also saw Roger Gracie improve to 4-0 with a first round rear naked choke of Trevor Prangley. Uneventful and hardly worth mentioning.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Open Mike : Does Nick Diaz know when to stop running his mouth?
Happy Tuesday to everybody. Almost doesn't feel like a Tuesday, more like a Thursday. But the reality is that it really is Tuesday and we should get to the topics at hand.
Nick Diaz (23-7, 4-0 in Strikeforce) takes on Evangalista "Cyborg" Santos (18-13) this coming Saturday night, January 29th. I am looking forward with great anticipation to this fight, and not because I want to see Diaz outbox Santos for 5 rounds like he did with KJ Noons last October. Its also not because I want to see the husband of "Cyborg" Santos KO him to win the title.
Rather, I'd just like to see what soundbyte comes out of his mouth.
Last week, Diaz not only came out that he would like to have a fight with Jason "Mayhem" Miller. The 2 have had a bad feud that spilled over onto network TV that escalated into a full scale riot at the end of "Strikeforce : Nashville" (and nearly came to blows after Diaz defended his title against Noons backstage in Ocotber). But he said he'd have be shown big money in order to fight Miller at 185.
"They were talking about making me move weight. I said, 'Tell his ass to get in [expletive] shape like I do.' It's [expletive] hard enough for me to make 170 pounds. And he acted like he wouldn't be able to do it. He doesn't want to work hard like me. That's the problem. So he can work his ass off and make 170 pounds or 175 pounds. Or somebody could pay me a couple of [expletive] million dollars and I'll move up to 185 pounds and fight him." Said the outspoken Strikeforce champion.
Its real simple : If its so "hard" for Diaz to work down to 170, why not just go up and fight at 185?? The fact is that Strikeforce simply does NOT have a million dollars to throw around like that, Nick. Its a second tier organization who barely garner 10,000 fans for a card (that's if they're really lucky).
So why not just head back to the UFC? Well, Diaz just signed a 4-fight extension (with an option for a 5th fight). So he's kind of stuck as the 2 organizations never have (and most likely never will) sign any kind of deal to co-promote.
Of course, that didn't stop Nick Diaz. After his tirade against Miller, at a conference call late in the week, he was quick to call out UFC champions Anderson Silva and George St. Pierre.
His animosity was clearly geared toward the Canadian, saying that he not only believed his training partner, Jake Shields, can take the champion out, but also that the Champ was fed easier fights than Diaz during his initial run in the UFC.
So, I decided to look into it. GSP fought BJ Penn, Matt Hughes, (who were all arguably top 10 welterweights, at the time they fought St. Pierre) as well as Sean Sherk, Karo Parisyan and the aforementioned Miller.
Diaz not only lost to Sherk and Parisyan, but hasn't fought Miller yet...and probably won't until he gets his "million dollars".
So why doesn't Diaz shut his mouth and fight? Because he has to keep talking to stay relevant. Its clearly obvious that he is in the same general category as his stablemate Shields (Good fighter at best, not championship material). As a fighter, I can see him cracking the top 5 in the welterweight division, but unless GSP decides to move up and fight the superfight against Anderson Silva, he's going to own the 170 division for quite a while. With or Without Diaz.
Nick Diaz (23-7, 4-0 in Strikeforce) takes on Evangalista "Cyborg" Santos (18-13) this coming Saturday night, January 29th. I am looking forward with great anticipation to this fight, and not because I want to see Diaz outbox Santos for 5 rounds like he did with KJ Noons last October. Its also not because I want to see the husband of "Cyborg" Santos KO him to win the title.
Rather, I'd just like to see what soundbyte comes out of his mouth.
Last week, Diaz not only came out that he would like to have a fight with Jason "Mayhem" Miller. The 2 have had a bad feud that spilled over onto network TV that escalated into a full scale riot at the end of "Strikeforce : Nashville" (and nearly came to blows after Diaz defended his title against Noons backstage in Ocotber). But he said he'd have be shown big money in order to fight Miller at 185.
"They were talking about making me move weight. I said, 'Tell his ass to get in [expletive] shape like I do.' It's [expletive] hard enough for me to make 170 pounds. And he acted like he wouldn't be able to do it. He doesn't want to work hard like me. That's the problem. So he can work his ass off and make 170 pounds or 175 pounds. Or somebody could pay me a couple of [expletive] million dollars and I'll move up to 185 pounds and fight him." Said the outspoken Strikeforce champion.
Its real simple : If its so "hard" for Diaz to work down to 170, why not just go up and fight at 185?? The fact is that Strikeforce simply does NOT have a million dollars to throw around like that, Nick. Its a second tier organization who barely garner 10,000 fans for a card (that's if they're really lucky).
So why not just head back to the UFC? Well, Diaz just signed a 4-fight extension (with an option for a 5th fight). So he's kind of stuck as the 2 organizations never have (and most likely never will) sign any kind of deal to co-promote.
Of course, that didn't stop Nick Diaz. After his tirade against Miller, at a conference call late in the week, he was quick to call out UFC champions Anderson Silva and George St. Pierre.
His animosity was clearly geared toward the Canadian, saying that he not only believed his training partner, Jake Shields, can take the champion out, but also that the Champ was fed easier fights than Diaz during his initial run in the UFC.
So, I decided to look into it. GSP fought BJ Penn, Matt Hughes, (who were all arguably top 10 welterweights, at the time they fought St. Pierre) as well as Sean Sherk, Karo Parisyan and the aforementioned Miller.
Diaz not only lost to Sherk and Parisyan, but hasn't fought Miller yet...and probably won't until he gets his "million dollars".
So why doesn't Diaz shut his mouth and fight? Because he has to keep talking to stay relevant. Its clearly obvious that he is in the same general category as his stablemate Shields (Good fighter at best, not championship material). As a fighter, I can see him cracking the top 5 in the welterweight division, but unless GSP decides to move up and fight the superfight against Anderson Silva, he's going to own the 170 division for quite a while. With or Without Diaz.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
UFC Fight Night 22 : Fight for the Troops 2 re-hash.
Happy Sunday to all. Hope everybody got a chance to watch the NFL conference championship games, and well after those its time for Saturday night's review.
So, I picked right 3 out of the 4 fights. Unfortunately I'm sure that most of you go for the style points and get it exactly right (which i was only right on one). Either way, for the year, I've got a 3-1 record, and I'm going to stick with that.
Melvin Guillard improved to 45 wins overall in his MMA career with a 1st round TKO over Evan Dunham in the main event. Although I thought Guillard might swarm early, He overcame a quick takedown attempt from Dunham and used his boxing skills to keep beating Evan to the punch. When they were able to stand back up, Guillard rocked dunham with a couple of heavy shots and a knee before swarming him and earning a victory at 3:20 of the 1st round.
Next for Guillard : Perhaps throwing him on the Toronto card against Matt Wiman, who earned a victory over Cole Miller. The judge giving Miller a round was given a twitter lashing by none other than UFC president Dana White.
Next for Dunham : Perhaps that highly anticipated fight with Kenny Florian.
Mark Hominick had a potential World Featherweight title shot on the line when he took on Team Tompkins teammate George Roop. He earned every inch of the faith bestowed to him by Dana White when he weathered an early storm by Roop, and followed it up with his superior technique by pinpointing several strong jabs on Roop's chin. Roop, who staggered more than once, was finished off by a couple of shots as the ref stepped in at just 1:28 of the first round.
Next for Hominick : A fight at Rogers Centre against who I believe is the pound-for-pound king, Jose Aldo, with the Featherweight World Title hanging in the balance. Hominick is 3-0 in the UFC (he'd fought twice at 155 in the Octagon before Saturday Night), while the champ will be making his debut on the World's biggest MMA stage. Advantage : Hominick.
Next for Roop : Heading back to Team Tompkins (he'd trained in Arizona prior to this fight), and learning how to strike as hard as Hominick does. Perhaps a fight against former champ Mike Brown (who lost on the card to Rani Yahya on the free prelims, and, four of his last six bouts).
Matt Mitrione, the man who stopped Kimbo Slice, took on Tim Hague in the co-main event. I said that Tim Hague's 7 second loss to Todd Duffee was no fluke, and Mitrione didn't disappoint. By using his superior footwork (which has improved dramatically since his time on the Heavyweight season of "The Ultimate Fighter") and his low leg kicks to Hague's left leg, he was able to land a shot that stumbled Hague to the mat, and finished him off with several left hands to earn the finish at just under 3 minutes of the first round to improve to 4-0 in the UFC.
Next for Mitrione : Tough One. Perhaps Shane Carwin when he's ready and healthy to fight.
Next for Hague : A return to the local "King of The Cage" circuits in Alberta. Perhaps he can win the heavyweight title up in Northern Alberta, but unless his skill improves dramatically, he isn't going to last in the UFC.
Finally, Journeyman Yves Edwards took on GSP graduate of TUF and undefeated Cody McKenzie on the final preliminary fight. McKenzie took the fight right to Edwards as the beginning and went for a quick takedown, but was controlled early and often. It almost appeared as if everytime McKenzie tried for a takedown, Edwards kept sprawling. McKenzie showed that he was no one trick pony, as when he did finally get Yves down he was able to put a body triangle from below. The first round ended with McKenzie very frustrated, and Edwards very confused as to where the heck McKenzie was able to execute the body triangle.
In the second, Yves Edwards peppered McKenzie with a lot of strikes and knees in the first few seconds. Although McKenzie smiled, he was very hurt by the barrage of shots coming his way and was obviously frazzled, though he was able to hit Edward with a couple of spinning elbows of his own. Edwards kept pushing forward and hitting with leg kicks both high and low that Cody simply was not checking (or seemed to be worried about). Out of desperation, McKenzie got a single leg and switched over to get Edwards back. It seemed that McKenzie would debut a new submission, as he had a body triangle in on Edwards and had the rear naked choke lined up. Though Edwards was able to get out, McKenzie got into a full mount and then into North South position. McKenzie finally managed to get back to taking Edwards back, had the body triangle locked in and was pounding away. Edwards got back up from warnings from the referee, then a 3rd attempt to take his back failed for McKenzie and Edwards got a full mount reversal. From a ground and pound position, McKenzie gave his back and Edwards locked on a rear naked choke, as McKenzie refused to tap and went to sleep.
Next for Edwards : Kind of difficult to gauge a dude who's notched 40 wins in this sport. Perhaps a rematch with Joe Stevenson?
Next for McKenzie : a 3-fight extension. He proved he's no one trick pony and had a known veteran in some very, very tough spots, and on just a few weeks notice, to boot. Perhaps a fight against Tyson Griffin, I'll bet these guys could definitely put on a "Fight of the Night".
-Dana White says Machida in a "must win" fight vs Couture in Toronto.
As reported by MMAJunkie.com, at a Friday Q&A session for Saturday's "Fight for the Troops 2", Dana White said that he never thought former Light Heavyweight Kingpin Lyoto Machida was ever going to lose. He also said in the same breath that the former champ is fighting for his job.
"I didn't think he [Machida] was ever going to lose"said the UFC president "Shogun beat him, and then he just lost to 'Rampage' too. Now he's fighting Randy Couture. Its a must win for him".
Reading the comment feedback at the bottom of the article, People think this is a hype trip by White or him merely crying Wolf. But scroll back to my comment on UFC 129 2 weeks ago (on January 8th), and you'll see something that closely resembles what White just said. I said it was a mere "hunch" but it appears that Dana White is on the same wavelength.
The bottom line on Machida is (and I'm a supporter of his elusive style), He needs to refine it after his loss to "Rampage" Jackson. Don't get it twisted; I am putting my money on Machida, but I think writing Couture off is a little premature, and Machida can't do the same counter punching, elusive lacksadasical style that everybody is used to. We need to see a new killer instinct from "The Dragon". Plus, come on people, Its a fight between a former Light Heavyweight kingpin as well a former 2-time, 2 division and Hall of Famer. Does White really need to hype that up?
-Hominick says Aldo "has never faced a striker" like him
Following his KO victory over George Roop at Saturday's "Fight for the Troops", Mark Hominick earned a title shot against Featherweight title holder Jose "Junior" Aldo. In the post fight press conference, Hominick was very happy with his journey to the top.
"This is huge, but the thing with me. I've been fighting professionally for 10 years. I've gone through the bottom, and now I've got a chance to go against the top - The best of the best. Those are the guys I've always wanted to face." Hominick said.
He went on to say that his current tear through the featherweight division has been less due to training and more due to a refined mental game. Following a string of 5 fights between 2007 and 2008 in which he went 2-3, I would tend to agree. His confidence is clearly soaring following his 5th straight win.
Then he kind of went a little too far by saying "No disrespect against Jose Aldo. I think he's the best pound for pound fighter, fantastic striker. But he's never faced anybody with my striking capability. We'll see how he does against it."
Hold on a sec, Mark. While I think he has impeccable striking and pinpoint accuracy, his style is what Jose Aldo hasn't faced. I think more or less, if he can keep going forward he definitely has a chance against the dominant Brazilian. Certainly his confidence is on a high, but what happens after he holds his hands down once too many times and Aldo lands square on his chin?
That's what we're going to have to wait to see.
Questions? Comments? Want to get back to me? Hit me up at MMArmaggeddon@gmail.com or feel free to tweet me at Twitter.com/mmarmaggedon
until next time, fight fans!
So, I picked right 3 out of the 4 fights. Unfortunately I'm sure that most of you go for the style points and get it exactly right (which i was only right on one). Either way, for the year, I've got a 3-1 record, and I'm going to stick with that.
Melvin Guillard improved to 45 wins overall in his MMA career with a 1st round TKO over Evan Dunham in the main event. Although I thought Guillard might swarm early, He overcame a quick takedown attempt from Dunham and used his boxing skills to keep beating Evan to the punch. When they were able to stand back up, Guillard rocked dunham with a couple of heavy shots and a knee before swarming him and earning a victory at 3:20 of the 1st round.
Next for Guillard : Perhaps throwing him on the Toronto card against Matt Wiman, who earned a victory over Cole Miller. The judge giving Miller a round was given a twitter lashing by none other than UFC president Dana White.
Next for Dunham : Perhaps that highly anticipated fight with Kenny Florian.
Mark Hominick had a potential World Featherweight title shot on the line when he took on Team Tompkins teammate George Roop. He earned every inch of the faith bestowed to him by Dana White when he weathered an early storm by Roop, and followed it up with his superior technique by pinpointing several strong jabs on Roop's chin. Roop, who staggered more than once, was finished off by a couple of shots as the ref stepped in at just 1:28 of the first round.
Next for Hominick : A fight at Rogers Centre against who I believe is the pound-for-pound king, Jose Aldo, with the Featherweight World Title hanging in the balance. Hominick is 3-0 in the UFC (he'd fought twice at 155 in the Octagon before Saturday Night), while the champ will be making his debut on the World's biggest MMA stage. Advantage : Hominick.
Next for Roop : Heading back to Team Tompkins (he'd trained in Arizona prior to this fight), and learning how to strike as hard as Hominick does. Perhaps a fight against former champ Mike Brown (who lost on the card to Rani Yahya on the free prelims, and, four of his last six bouts).
Matt Mitrione, the man who stopped Kimbo Slice, took on Tim Hague in the co-main event. I said that Tim Hague's 7 second loss to Todd Duffee was no fluke, and Mitrione didn't disappoint. By using his superior footwork (which has improved dramatically since his time on the Heavyweight season of "The Ultimate Fighter") and his low leg kicks to Hague's left leg, he was able to land a shot that stumbled Hague to the mat, and finished him off with several left hands to earn the finish at just under 3 minutes of the first round to improve to 4-0 in the UFC.
Next for Mitrione : Tough One. Perhaps Shane Carwin when he's ready and healthy to fight.
Next for Hague : A return to the local "King of The Cage" circuits in Alberta. Perhaps he can win the heavyweight title up in Northern Alberta, but unless his skill improves dramatically, he isn't going to last in the UFC.
Finally, Journeyman Yves Edwards took on GSP graduate of TUF and undefeated Cody McKenzie on the final preliminary fight. McKenzie took the fight right to Edwards as the beginning and went for a quick takedown, but was controlled early and often. It almost appeared as if everytime McKenzie tried for a takedown, Edwards kept sprawling. McKenzie showed that he was no one trick pony, as when he did finally get Yves down he was able to put a body triangle from below. The first round ended with McKenzie very frustrated, and Edwards very confused as to where the heck McKenzie was able to execute the body triangle.
In the second, Yves Edwards peppered McKenzie with a lot of strikes and knees in the first few seconds. Although McKenzie smiled, he was very hurt by the barrage of shots coming his way and was obviously frazzled, though he was able to hit Edward with a couple of spinning elbows of his own. Edwards kept pushing forward and hitting with leg kicks both high and low that Cody simply was not checking (or seemed to be worried about). Out of desperation, McKenzie got a single leg and switched over to get Edwards back. It seemed that McKenzie would debut a new submission, as he had a body triangle in on Edwards and had the rear naked choke lined up. Though Edwards was able to get out, McKenzie got into a full mount and then into North South position. McKenzie finally managed to get back to taking Edwards back, had the body triangle locked in and was pounding away. Edwards got back up from warnings from the referee, then a 3rd attempt to take his back failed for McKenzie and Edwards got a full mount reversal. From a ground and pound position, McKenzie gave his back and Edwards locked on a rear naked choke, as McKenzie refused to tap and went to sleep.
Next for Edwards : Kind of difficult to gauge a dude who's notched 40 wins in this sport. Perhaps a rematch with Joe Stevenson?
Next for McKenzie : a 3-fight extension. He proved he's no one trick pony and had a known veteran in some very, very tough spots, and on just a few weeks notice, to boot. Perhaps a fight against Tyson Griffin, I'll bet these guys could definitely put on a "Fight of the Night".
-Dana White says Machida in a "must win" fight vs Couture in Toronto.
As reported by MMAJunkie.com, at a Friday Q&A session for Saturday's "Fight for the Troops 2", Dana White said that he never thought former Light Heavyweight Kingpin Lyoto Machida was ever going to lose. He also said in the same breath that the former champ is fighting for his job.
"I didn't think he [Machida] was ever going to lose"said the UFC president "Shogun beat him, and then he just lost to 'Rampage' too. Now he's fighting Randy Couture. Its a must win for him".
Reading the comment feedback at the bottom of the article, People think this is a hype trip by White or him merely crying Wolf. But scroll back to my comment on UFC 129 2 weeks ago (on January 8th), and you'll see something that closely resembles what White just said. I said it was a mere "hunch" but it appears that Dana White is on the same wavelength.
The bottom line on Machida is (and I'm a supporter of his elusive style), He needs to refine it after his loss to "Rampage" Jackson. Don't get it twisted; I am putting my money on Machida, but I think writing Couture off is a little premature, and Machida can't do the same counter punching, elusive lacksadasical style that everybody is used to. We need to see a new killer instinct from "The Dragon". Plus, come on people, Its a fight between a former Light Heavyweight kingpin as well a former 2-time, 2 division and Hall of Famer. Does White really need to hype that up?
-Hominick says Aldo "has never faced a striker" like him
Following his KO victory over George Roop at Saturday's "Fight for the Troops", Mark Hominick earned a title shot against Featherweight title holder Jose "Junior" Aldo. In the post fight press conference, Hominick was very happy with his journey to the top.
"This is huge, but the thing with me. I've been fighting professionally for 10 years. I've gone through the bottom, and now I've got a chance to go against the top - The best of the best. Those are the guys I've always wanted to face." Hominick said.
He went on to say that his current tear through the featherweight division has been less due to training and more due to a refined mental game. Following a string of 5 fights between 2007 and 2008 in which he went 2-3, I would tend to agree. His confidence is clearly soaring following his 5th straight win.
Then he kind of went a little too far by saying "No disrespect against Jose Aldo. I think he's the best pound for pound fighter, fantastic striker. But he's never faced anybody with my striking capability. We'll see how he does against it."
Hold on a sec, Mark. While I think he has impeccable striking and pinpoint accuracy, his style is what Jose Aldo hasn't faced. I think more or less, if he can keep going forward he definitely has a chance against the dominant Brazilian. Certainly his confidence is on a high, but what happens after he holds his hands down once too many times and Aldo lands square on his chin?
That's what we're going to have to wait to see.
Questions? Comments? Want to get back to me? Hit me up at MMArmaggeddon@gmail.com or feel free to tweet me at Twitter.com/mmarmaggedon
until next time, fight fans!
Friday, January 21, 2011
UFC Ultimate Fight Night 22 : Fight for the Troops 2 preview
Alright folks, I'm back, and its time for a preview of Saturday nights card. I'm only going to pick the 4 fights i find interesting, and if you don't like that, well tough :
Evan Dunham (11-1) vs Melvin Guillard (26-8-2, 1 NC) :
In what no doubt is being billed as a classical "Striker vs Grappler" matchup, prospect Evan Dunham, coming off a decision loss to Sean Sherk, takes on veteran Melvin Guillard. Dunham might have the Jiu-Jitsu skills to submit Guillard, but we saw in the Sherk fight that a muscular wrestler who can swarm Dunham may cause him some problems. Expect Guillard to swarm him early, then use his technique boxing to eeke out a close split decision.
Matt Mitrione (3-0) vs Tim Hague (12-4) :
The Co-Main event features TUF alumnus and killer of the myth that was "Kimbo Slice" Matt Mitrione, take on Canadian Tim Hague. Its really hard to cipher Hague : was that loss to Todd Duffee just a fluke, or does he really have no chin? I'm going to have to no, it was no fluke. While he won't go down in 7 seconds like he did to Duffee, Mitrione still had some serious power to keep Kimbo off balance, and he had a chin. Mitrione by TKO
Mark Hominick (19-8) vs George Roop (11-6) :
A fight that has featheweight title implications will feature another Canadian, Mark "The Machine" Hominick take on Team Tompkins teammate and "Korean Zombie" killer, George Roop. It has been stated should Hominick win, he will take on the World Champ Jose Aldo for the 145 pound strap (in Toronto in April). But Roop is fighting for a title shot as well, and may give Hominick more than he bargained for. That being said, expect Hominick to walk away with a split decision.
Yves Edwards (38-16-1) vs Cody McKenzie (12-0) :
Has anybody else ever noticed that if Cody McKenzie wears his hear down, he looks just like V from the film "V for Vendetta"? That being said, I think Edwards is smart enough to avoid trying to go for a takedown in the early going, but eventually will end up on the ground. From there, can i see McKenzie going for his signature move? Has Bart Simpson been unfunny since the writers from "The Simpsons" started recycling jokes back in 1998? the answer to both questions is yes. but will he get it locked in? Not sure, but from the last fight i seen with McKenzie, face crunching hurts. McKenzie by submission.
Ok folks, Opinions? Disagree? agree? think i'm just crazy? Well get back to me. MMArmaggeddon@gmail.com, or tweet me at twitter.com/mmarmaggedon
Until next time, fight fans!
Evan Dunham (11-1) vs Melvin Guillard (26-8-2, 1 NC) :
In what no doubt is being billed as a classical "Striker vs Grappler" matchup, prospect Evan Dunham, coming off a decision loss to Sean Sherk, takes on veteran Melvin Guillard. Dunham might have the Jiu-Jitsu skills to submit Guillard, but we saw in the Sherk fight that a muscular wrestler who can swarm Dunham may cause him some problems. Expect Guillard to swarm him early, then use his technique boxing to eeke out a close split decision.
Matt Mitrione (3-0) vs Tim Hague (12-4) :
The Co-Main event features TUF alumnus and killer of the myth that was "Kimbo Slice" Matt Mitrione, take on Canadian Tim Hague. Its really hard to cipher Hague : was that loss to Todd Duffee just a fluke, or does he really have no chin? I'm going to have to no, it was no fluke. While he won't go down in 7 seconds like he did to Duffee, Mitrione still had some serious power to keep Kimbo off balance, and he had a chin. Mitrione by TKO
Mark Hominick (19-8) vs George Roop (11-6) :
A fight that has featheweight title implications will feature another Canadian, Mark "The Machine" Hominick take on Team Tompkins teammate and "Korean Zombie" killer, George Roop. It has been stated should Hominick win, he will take on the World Champ Jose Aldo for the 145 pound strap (in Toronto in April). But Roop is fighting for a title shot as well, and may give Hominick more than he bargained for. That being said, expect Hominick to walk away with a split decision.
Yves Edwards (38-16-1) vs Cody McKenzie (12-0) :
Has anybody else ever noticed that if Cody McKenzie wears his hear down, he looks just like V from the film "V for Vendetta"? That being said, I think Edwards is smart enough to avoid trying to go for a takedown in the early going, but eventually will end up on the ground. From there, can i see McKenzie going for his signature move? Has Bart Simpson been unfunny since the writers from "The Simpsons" started recycling jokes back in 1998? the answer to both questions is yes. but will he get it locked in? Not sure, but from the last fight i seen with McKenzie, face crunching hurts. McKenzie by submission.
Ok folks, Opinions? Disagree? agree? think i'm just crazy? Well get back to me. MMArmaggeddon@gmail.com, or tweet me at twitter.com/mmarmaggedon
Until next time, fight fans!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
On the mend : Velasquez starts the road to recovery.
Thursday, January 20th, 2011 :
A good Thursday to all! Lots of stuff to talk about that has happened in the last 7 days. Among them :
-UFC Champ Velasquez has successful surgery.
The first heavyweight champion of Mexican decent in any combat sports, Cain Velasquez has had successful surgery to repair his injured rotator cuff. As reported first by MMAJunkie, The surgery will sideline him for 8 months, which will mean we won't see the champ back in the cage until at least September, with his next opponent already lined up as Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos will fight at UFC 131 to determine it.
According to sportsnet.ca, UFC president Dana White said about Cain that the champ is ""He's doing great, actually. They were saying the recovery time is usually eight months, and hopefully he can do it a little quicker than that, but we'll see."
I hope the Champ makes it back quicker than expected like Mr. White. I've long said that Cain is probably the best Heavyweight of this era, but to see that I'd like to see how he fares against Dos Santos. Because a rematch with Lesnar would probably end up the way the first one did : With Velasquez's hand raised and Lesnar beaten to a pulp. Would have loved to have seen Cain and Dos Santos in Toronto, but with the surgery, I like all will have to wait.
-Coker hints at Toronto possibly hosting a round of upcoming Strikeforce GP
Speaking of Heavyweights, it appears that Scott Coker might want to cash in on the recent legalization of MMA in the province of Ontario. According to (who else) MMAJunkie, he is pretty adamant about possibly hosting a round of the Heavyweight Grand Prix in Canada's largest city. He also said the possibility of Japan also hosting a round. Coker has deep connections to Fighting Entertainment Group (FEG), the founders and owners of DREAM and K-1, and was instrumental in helping the promotion host numerous K-1 events in Las Vegas.
I for one would love the possibility of it. Living in Toronto, I was disappointed that the biggest heavyweight fight of this era, between Dos Santos and Velasquez have to be derailed due to the aforementioned surgery to the UFC kingpin. No doubt bringing the next biggest heavyweight fight to this city would be huge. Though it would only be worthy if it were to feature the 2 biggest names outside of the UFC in it, that being Alistair Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko.
If these 2 fighters were to make it that far, Mr. Coker, please make it happen!
-UFC turns to Facebook to air Ultimate Fight Night prelims
Those of you who have Facebook, be sure to click "like" on the UFC's fanpage on it. In doing so, you will be able to watch the prelim fights for Saturday's "Ultiimate Fight Night : Fight for the Troops 2" in Fort hood, Texas on it, starting at 8pm. Those fights will feature Yves Edwards (38-16-1) taking on Ultimate Fighter 12 participant Cody McKenzie (12-0, 11 wins by guillotine choke), and DeMarques Johnson (11-8) face Mike Guyton (12-4-1).
According to Dana White "I'm always looking for ways to give fans fights for free, and this is just another example of that. Facebook is such a great tool for people to stay connected, and we're excited to put two live fights on our UFC page for free."
Its a great idea. Though for people who never use this site (and I know quite of few who don't), it means I'm going to have to log in for them? Man. Whatever happened to just streaming it on UFC.com? LOL.
-UFC announces Ultimate Fight Night 24 lineup.
Looks like the worst kept secret going has finally been announced. The UFC has formally announced their first foray into the Pacific Northwest, Ultimate Fight Night 24 which will be from the KeyArena in Seattle on March 29th. 3 fights were announced this week, among them the main event featuring Antonio Rogerio Noguiera (Lil Nog) take on former UFC light heavyweight kingpin "The Huntington Beach Badboy" Tito Ortiz.
Really, Dana? Tito can't even get on a preliminary card on a PPV anymore? Its gotten so bad that he has to headline a free card? I mean he gets beat up regularly. This guy hasn't won in the cage in nearly 5 years (last win being in 2006, over Ken Shamrock) and yet you keep this guy on the roster. He lost to Matt Hammil his last time out, and instead of releasing him, you make him fight a member of the Black House clan. Wow, it seems as even IF Tito did finally decide to retire, you wouldn't give him a nice cushy job like you did your busom buddy and former UFC champ, Chuck Liddell. I mean, Tito has a degree too! Give him a bone! I don't want to see this guy get dominated anymore.
Well, like Porky Pig once said "That's all Folks!". For now. Keep your eyes peeled for Friday, when I'll have my Ultimate Fight Night 22 preview.
Until then, Fight fans!
A good Thursday to all! Lots of stuff to talk about that has happened in the last 7 days. Among them :
-UFC Champ Velasquez has successful surgery.
The first heavyweight champion of Mexican decent in any combat sports, Cain Velasquez has had successful surgery to repair his injured rotator cuff. As reported first by MMAJunkie, The surgery will sideline him for 8 months, which will mean we won't see the champ back in the cage until at least September, with his next opponent already lined up as Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos will fight at UFC 131 to determine it.
According to sportsnet.ca, UFC president Dana White said about Cain that the champ is ""He's doing great, actually. They were saying the recovery time is usually eight months, and hopefully he can do it a little quicker than that, but we'll see."
I hope the Champ makes it back quicker than expected like Mr. White. I've long said that Cain is probably the best Heavyweight of this era, but to see that I'd like to see how he fares against Dos Santos. Because a rematch with Lesnar would probably end up the way the first one did : With Velasquez's hand raised and Lesnar beaten to a pulp. Would have loved to have seen Cain and Dos Santos in Toronto, but with the surgery, I like all will have to wait.
-Coker hints at Toronto possibly hosting a round of upcoming Strikeforce GP
Speaking of Heavyweights, it appears that Scott Coker might want to cash in on the recent legalization of MMA in the province of Ontario. According to (who else) MMAJunkie, he is pretty adamant about possibly hosting a round of the Heavyweight Grand Prix in Canada's largest city. He also said the possibility of Japan also hosting a round. Coker has deep connections to Fighting Entertainment Group (FEG), the founders and owners of DREAM and K-1, and was instrumental in helping the promotion host numerous K-1 events in Las Vegas.
I for one would love the possibility of it. Living in Toronto, I was disappointed that the biggest heavyweight fight of this era, between Dos Santos and Velasquez have to be derailed due to the aforementioned surgery to the UFC kingpin. No doubt bringing the next biggest heavyweight fight to this city would be huge. Though it would only be worthy if it were to feature the 2 biggest names outside of the UFC in it, that being Alistair Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko.
If these 2 fighters were to make it that far, Mr. Coker, please make it happen!
-UFC turns to Facebook to air Ultimate Fight Night prelims
Those of you who have Facebook, be sure to click "like" on the UFC's fanpage on it. In doing so, you will be able to watch the prelim fights for Saturday's "Ultiimate Fight Night : Fight for the Troops 2" in Fort hood, Texas on it, starting at 8pm. Those fights will feature Yves Edwards (38-16-1) taking on Ultimate Fighter 12 participant Cody McKenzie (12-0, 11 wins by guillotine choke), and DeMarques Johnson (11-8) face Mike Guyton (12-4-1).
According to Dana White "I'm always looking for ways to give fans fights for free, and this is just another example of that. Facebook is such a great tool for people to stay connected, and we're excited to put two live fights on our UFC page for free."
Its a great idea. Though for people who never use this site (and I know quite of few who don't), it means I'm going to have to log in for them? Man. Whatever happened to just streaming it on UFC.com? LOL.
-UFC announces Ultimate Fight Night 24 lineup.
Looks like the worst kept secret going has finally been announced. The UFC has formally announced their first foray into the Pacific Northwest, Ultimate Fight Night 24 which will be from the KeyArena in Seattle on March 29th. 3 fights were announced this week, among them the main event featuring Antonio Rogerio Noguiera (Lil Nog) take on former UFC light heavyweight kingpin "The Huntington Beach Badboy" Tito Ortiz.
Really, Dana? Tito can't even get on a preliminary card on a PPV anymore? Its gotten so bad that he has to headline a free card? I mean he gets beat up regularly. This guy hasn't won in the cage in nearly 5 years (last win being in 2006, over Ken Shamrock) and yet you keep this guy on the roster. He lost to Matt Hammil his last time out, and instead of releasing him, you make him fight a member of the Black House clan. Wow, it seems as even IF Tito did finally decide to retire, you wouldn't give him a nice cushy job like you did your busom buddy and former UFC champ, Chuck Liddell. I mean, Tito has a degree too! Give him a bone! I don't want to see this guy get dominated anymore.
Well, like Porky Pig once said "That's all Folks!". For now. Keep your eyes peeled for Friday, when I'll have my Ultimate Fight Night 22 preview.
Until then, Fight fans!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Not going anywhere : Brock Lesnar returns
Thursday, January 13th, 2011 :
Well, I've taken a few days off, but I have returned (faster than the 6 months I took last break!). Anyway, a lot of things have happened in the past few days, including :
-It appears that Brock Lesnar isn't done with the UFC, at least not for the time being. Through a conference call on Tuesday, UFC president Dana White has confirmed that the next coaches for "The Ultimate Fighter" season 13 (which was rumored to feature both welterweights and lightweights but will now more likely be 170-ers), will be the former UFC heavyweight champ and #1 contender Junior Dos Santos, who will fight at UFC 131, as reported by MMAJunkie.
This is clearly another attempt by the UFC to cash in on Lesnar's huge marketing potential, as now he's not the champ and its easy to assume that him being on the flagship show of the company will no doubt equal huge ratings. Like him or hate him, you'll tune in on Wednesday nights just to see how he fares as a coach. Well, let's be honest he can't be any worse than Rampage when he was a coach with Rashad Evans!
The early Vegas lines have Dos Santos as a favourite at -155.
-Speaking of UFC 131, It has been announced by numerous MMA outlets that this card will happen on Canada's West Coast, at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C., Interesting considering the City council's 180 on the sport after last summer's UFC 115. Perhaps a lot of discussions will concern this with the UFC brass and the municipal government of the area in the coming weeks ahead.
-Ultimate Fight Night bout has title implications for Hominick
During the conference call, White also announced that Mark Hominick will be the #1 contender for the newly created UFC featherweight title against kingpin Jose "Junior" Aldo. The likely venue for this will be UFC 129, which, if you've been living under a rock for the last little while, will take place at the Rogers Centre in Toronto on April 30th. However (there's always a catch, isn't there), it will mean Hominick must win his fight against Team Tompkins teammate George Roop at Ultimate Fight Night 23 : Fight for the Troops 2 next Saturday, January 22nd from Fort Hood, Texas.
As a Hominick fan (I've met him in person at MMA day last May at Queen's Park in Toronto), I always want to see him do well. His counter punching and crisp boxing will make him a tough out for anybody. That being said, Jose Aldo is a dominant featherweight and it will be a tough night for Mark if he is to pull off the upset.
-Injuries pile up for UFC champions.
You kids at home may think its all roses and sunshine to be a top MMA champ, but ask Mauricio "Shogun" Rua the sacrifices you have to make. He's battled knee injuries the last few years, and is just going to fight Rashad Evans in March after being out for the better part of a year.
Cain Velasquez won the Heavyweight title but will be out for up to 8 months with a rotator cuff injury suffered in his win against Lesnar. Now you can add Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz to that list. The 135 pound kingpin is set to have surgery on his index finger and will be out for up to 6 months recovering, as reported by MMANews.
Geez, these guys are dropping like flies. Cal Ripken would be ashamed :P
Pettis will fight again
-It appears that Anthony Pettis won't sit back and wait to see who the winner of the Edgar-Maynard rubber match before he fights again. MMAJunkie reported that the WEC 155 lb. kingpin will fight in the springtime against an opponent yet to be named.
My pick? Clay Guida or....Tyson Griffin.
-Fighters bring heavy hype in regards to Strikeforce GP.
So i'm surfing on MMAJunkie, and this stuff I'm reading in regards to the upcoming Grand Prix in Strikeforce is astounding. Alistair Overeem saying he can prove he's "The best fighter in the World" by winning, Josh Barnett (who's not going to show up at the drama that is his appeal for his suspension by the California State Athletic Commission granting him a license that's been going on for almost 2 years) saying whomever wins this tournament will be better than UFC champ Cain Velasquez, and last but not least, Brett Rogers saying this tournament will signal his "return to the top".
First of all, Overeem is in a tournament with 2 men who've already beaten him in this thing. He markets himself well, but let's get real. I'd want to see him fight, and dominate people the way he did Rogers before I say he's in the top...3 heavyweights in the world. Did you hear that, Mr. Barnett? whomever wins this tournament is in the top 3, but in no way shape or form can he be on the top of the mountain unless he's in the UFC. As for Brett Rogers, I wonder if the fight with Fedor gave him a little TOO much confidence. Up until his one round showing against "The Last Emperor", The only thing people remembered him for was his post fight scrum with Kimbo Slice after the first EliteXC on CBS. You'd figure that decimation against Overeem would stifle that swagger, but a fight with Ruben "Warpath" Villareal (who's best remembered as the guy Bas Rutten roughed up in his final fight) in Halifax boosted his morale again. Yeah I can see where this confidence is coming from.
Questions, Comments? want to get back to me? email me at mmarmaggeddon@gmail.com or feel free to tweet me at twitter.com/mmarmaggedon
Until next time, fight fans!
Well, I've taken a few days off, but I have returned (faster than the 6 months I took last break!). Anyway, a lot of things have happened in the past few days, including :
-It appears that Brock Lesnar isn't done with the UFC, at least not for the time being. Through a conference call on Tuesday, UFC president Dana White has confirmed that the next coaches for "The Ultimate Fighter" season 13 (which was rumored to feature both welterweights and lightweights but will now more likely be 170-ers), will be the former UFC heavyweight champ and #1 contender Junior Dos Santos, who will fight at UFC 131, as reported by MMAJunkie.
This is clearly another attempt by the UFC to cash in on Lesnar's huge marketing potential, as now he's not the champ and its easy to assume that him being on the flagship show of the company will no doubt equal huge ratings. Like him or hate him, you'll tune in on Wednesday nights just to see how he fares as a coach. Well, let's be honest he can't be any worse than Rampage when he was a coach with Rashad Evans!
The early Vegas lines have Dos Santos as a favourite at -155.
-Speaking of UFC 131, It has been announced by numerous MMA outlets that this card will happen on Canada's West Coast, at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C., Interesting considering the City council's 180 on the sport after last summer's UFC 115. Perhaps a lot of discussions will concern this with the UFC brass and the municipal government of the area in the coming weeks ahead.
-Ultimate Fight Night bout has title implications for Hominick
During the conference call, White also announced that Mark Hominick will be the #1 contender for the newly created UFC featherweight title against kingpin Jose "Junior" Aldo. The likely venue for this will be UFC 129, which, if you've been living under a rock for the last little while, will take place at the Rogers Centre in Toronto on April 30th. However (there's always a catch, isn't there), it will mean Hominick must win his fight against Team Tompkins teammate George Roop at Ultimate Fight Night 23 : Fight for the Troops 2 next Saturday, January 22nd from Fort Hood, Texas.
As a Hominick fan (I've met him in person at MMA day last May at Queen's Park in Toronto), I always want to see him do well. His counter punching and crisp boxing will make him a tough out for anybody. That being said, Jose Aldo is a dominant featherweight and it will be a tough night for Mark if he is to pull off the upset.
-Injuries pile up for UFC champions.
You kids at home may think its all roses and sunshine to be a top MMA champ, but ask Mauricio "Shogun" Rua the sacrifices you have to make. He's battled knee injuries the last few years, and is just going to fight Rashad Evans in March after being out for the better part of a year.
Cain Velasquez won the Heavyweight title but will be out for up to 8 months with a rotator cuff injury suffered in his win against Lesnar. Now you can add Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz to that list. The 135 pound kingpin is set to have surgery on his index finger and will be out for up to 6 months recovering, as reported by MMANews.
Geez, these guys are dropping like flies. Cal Ripken would be ashamed :P
Pettis will fight again
-It appears that Anthony Pettis won't sit back and wait to see who the winner of the Edgar-Maynard rubber match before he fights again. MMAJunkie reported that the WEC 155 lb. kingpin will fight in the springtime against an opponent yet to be named.
My pick? Clay Guida or....Tyson Griffin.
-Fighters bring heavy hype in regards to Strikeforce GP.
So i'm surfing on MMAJunkie, and this stuff I'm reading in regards to the upcoming Grand Prix in Strikeforce is astounding. Alistair Overeem saying he can prove he's "The best fighter in the World" by winning, Josh Barnett (who's not going to show up at the drama that is his appeal for his suspension by the California State Athletic Commission granting him a license that's been going on for almost 2 years) saying whomever wins this tournament will be better than UFC champ Cain Velasquez, and last but not least, Brett Rogers saying this tournament will signal his "return to the top".
First of all, Overeem is in a tournament with 2 men who've already beaten him in this thing. He markets himself well, but let's get real. I'd want to see him fight, and dominate people the way he did Rogers before I say he's in the top...3 heavyweights in the world. Did you hear that, Mr. Barnett? whomever wins this tournament is in the top 3, but in no way shape or form can he be on the top of the mountain unless he's in the UFC. As for Brett Rogers, I wonder if the fight with Fedor gave him a little TOO much confidence. Up until his one round showing against "The Last Emperor", The only thing people remembered him for was his post fight scrum with Kimbo Slice after the first EliteXC on CBS. You'd figure that decimation against Overeem would stifle that swagger, but a fight with Ruben "Warpath" Villareal (who's best remembered as the guy Bas Rutten roughed up in his final fight) in Halifax boosted his morale again. Yeah I can see where this confidence is coming from.
Questions, Comments? want to get back to me? email me at mmarmaggeddon@gmail.com or feel free to tweet me at twitter.com/mmarmaggedon
Until next time, fight fans!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
CRTC Can-Con : UFC 129 starts to take shape.
Sunday, January 9th, 2011 :
Its that day after the party Saturday night. Yes, its the hangover from Sunday morning. You know that one where your stomach is tied up in knots so bad that you can't bare the thought of getting out of bed? Well, don't worry boys and girls, Still loads to talk about when it comes to the world of MMA. Among the headlines :
-It appears as if Dana White has taken the CRTC's "Canadian Content" laws quite literally. Well, of course, We could also look at the fact that he's looking at the strong Canadian content in his promotion and running with it. Either way, it appears as if UFC 129 is taking shape. In addition to the confirmed main even between Welterweight kingpin Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields, several bouts featuring canuck fighters are either "rumored" to happen or in the works. One such fight will feature Daniel "Ninja" Roberts taking on Mississauga native Claude Patrick, who brings in a 2-0 record and a 12 fight win streak overall. Roberts is currently riding a 3 fight win streak with wins over Greg Soto, Mike Guymon and Forrest Petz. MMAJunkie reported Roberts announced his fight with Patrick via his Twitter, although there was no confirmation thru Patrick's camp.
I see this being a good matchup. Both are very good on the ground and can stand and trade with anybody.
In addition, former police academy prospect, Sean "Pimp Daddy" Pierson, fresh off a unanimous decision victory over Matthew Riddle at last month's UFC 124 in Montreal which earned him "Fight of the Night" praise from none other than Dana White, has verbally committed to fighting Brian Foster at the same event. Pierson has for the time being given up his dream of serving in the Police force, as his training schedule and nickname apparently is being forseen as "negative" for the community of Law and Order.
Foster just came off a submission of Matt Brown at UFC 123, and this bout has "Fight of the Night" potential written all over it. Moving on
-Bellator announces more entries into Season 4 tournaments.
It appears as its full steam ahead for the Chicago based Bellator promotion. Fresh off the announcement in late 2010 that their next season will be broadcast live on MTV2 in the US (I'm hoping it goes back to Friday nights on the Score in Canada, because waiting till freaking Sunday and avoiding Junkie all week long was just dragging!) comes the announcement that both Patricky "Pitbull" Friere, brother of current Bellator fighter and featherweight finalist Patricio "Pitbull" Friere, and Brent Weedman have been added to their respective weight classes (lightweight and welterweight)'s season 4 tournaments, according to MMAJunkie. Weedman is 17-5-1 with a 3-0 record in Bellator (in non tourney bouts), while Friere is 7-1, having fought 3 times last year after a 2 and a half year hiatus following his lone defeat.
I, for one, personally like Bellator. The way they structure the events into "seasons" is something that should have been done a long time ago, their CEO is a charismatic one (Bjorn Rebney) and their fights don't pack much in name power, but are nonetheless entertaining. Their champions at Lightweight and Middleweight, Eddie Alvarez and Hector "Shango" Lombard can bang with any of the big boys in UFC or Strikeforce. It will be interesting to see how the network change affects their ratings this year (Like i said, last season was on FSN. it was pre-empted so many times I had to wait until SUNDAY! I'm not doing that this season!)
-Main Event announced for UFC 130
Numerous MMA outlets have reported that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will return to the cage against Thiago Silva at UFC 130 at the Mandalay Events Center in Las Vegas on May 28th. It will be Rampage's first fight in the Octagon since his split decision win over Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida last November at UFC 123 in Detroit, while Silva is coming off a victory over former UFC fighter Brandon Vera last Saturday's UFC 125, which featured him slapping Vera a few times over the face so bad he broke "The Truth"s nose. Expect the fireworks to fly in this one folks. Rampage will be out to prove that he's not washed up, and Silva will be out to prove just that. More on this one to come in the coming weeks, and months ahead.
Questions? Comments? Feel free to get back to me. hit me back on my e-mail at MMArmaggeddon@gmail.com or tweet me at Twitter.com/MMArmaggedon
Until next time, Fight Fans!
Its that day after the party Saturday night. Yes, its the hangover from Sunday morning. You know that one where your stomach is tied up in knots so bad that you can't bare the thought of getting out of bed? Well, don't worry boys and girls, Still loads to talk about when it comes to the world of MMA. Among the headlines :
-It appears as if Dana White has taken the CRTC's "Canadian Content" laws quite literally. Well, of course, We could also look at the fact that he's looking at the strong Canadian content in his promotion and running with it. Either way, it appears as if UFC 129 is taking shape. In addition to the confirmed main even between Welterweight kingpin Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields, several bouts featuring canuck fighters are either "rumored" to happen or in the works. One such fight will feature Daniel "Ninja" Roberts taking on Mississauga native Claude Patrick, who brings in a 2-0 record and a 12 fight win streak overall. Roberts is currently riding a 3 fight win streak with wins over Greg Soto, Mike Guymon and Forrest Petz. MMAJunkie reported Roberts announced his fight with Patrick via his Twitter, although there was no confirmation thru Patrick's camp.
I see this being a good matchup. Both are very good on the ground and can stand and trade with anybody.
In addition, former police academy prospect, Sean "Pimp Daddy" Pierson, fresh off a unanimous decision victory over Matthew Riddle at last month's UFC 124 in Montreal which earned him "Fight of the Night" praise from none other than Dana White, has verbally committed to fighting Brian Foster at the same event. Pierson has for the time being given up his dream of serving in the Police force, as his training schedule and nickname apparently is being forseen as "negative" for the community of Law and Order.
Foster just came off a submission of Matt Brown at UFC 123, and this bout has "Fight of the Night" potential written all over it. Moving on
-Bellator announces more entries into Season 4 tournaments.
It appears as its full steam ahead for the Chicago based Bellator promotion. Fresh off the announcement in late 2010 that their next season will be broadcast live on MTV2 in the US (I'm hoping it goes back to Friday nights on the Score in Canada, because waiting till freaking Sunday and avoiding Junkie all week long was just dragging!) comes the announcement that both Patricky "Pitbull" Friere, brother of current Bellator fighter and featherweight finalist Patricio "Pitbull" Friere, and Brent Weedman have been added to their respective weight classes (lightweight and welterweight)'s season 4 tournaments, according to MMAJunkie. Weedman is 17-5-1 with a 3-0 record in Bellator (in non tourney bouts), while Friere is 7-1, having fought 3 times last year after a 2 and a half year hiatus following his lone defeat.
I, for one, personally like Bellator. The way they structure the events into "seasons" is something that should have been done a long time ago, their CEO is a charismatic one (Bjorn Rebney) and their fights don't pack much in name power, but are nonetheless entertaining. Their champions at Lightweight and Middleweight, Eddie Alvarez and Hector "Shango" Lombard can bang with any of the big boys in UFC or Strikeforce. It will be interesting to see how the network change affects their ratings this year (Like i said, last season was on FSN. it was pre-empted so many times I had to wait until SUNDAY! I'm not doing that this season!)
-Main Event announced for UFC 130
Numerous MMA outlets have reported that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will return to the cage against Thiago Silva at UFC 130 at the Mandalay Events Center in Las Vegas on May 28th. It will be Rampage's first fight in the Octagon since his split decision win over Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida last November at UFC 123 in Detroit, while Silva is coming off a victory over former UFC fighter Brandon Vera last Saturday's UFC 125, which featured him slapping Vera a few times over the face so bad he broke "The Truth"s nose. Expect the fireworks to fly in this one folks. Rampage will be out to prove that he's not washed up, and Silva will be out to prove just that. More on this one to come in the coming weeks, and months ahead.
Questions? Comments? Feel free to get back to me. hit me back on my e-mail at MMArmaggeddon@gmail.com or tweet me at Twitter.com/MMArmaggedon
Until next time, Fight Fans!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Chael To "Jail" : The ongoing saga that is Chael Sonnen
Saturday, July 8th, 2011 :
Happy Saturday to everybody. Still another 2 weeks until the Ultimate Fight Night 23 : Fight for the Troops 2 on Spike (on the 23rd), but there is more to talk about in the meantime. Among more headlines :
-It appears that Chael Sonnen won't be fighting for awhile. Fresh off a reduction in his suspension by the California State Athletic Commission for his failed doping test in his fight against Anderson Silva last summer, comes the report published by The Oregonian newspaper that the former Republican candidate for the House of Representatives in that state has plead guilty to a single count of money laundering in relation to a $69, 091 kickback that he gave to the buyer of a house (He's also a Realtor) back in 2006.
Sonnen told FIGHT! Magazine that "A 2006 legal issue has arisen that needs my immediate attention," Sonnen wrote in a statement published on the Fight! website. "I am not at liberty to disclose the details, but my name was involved in a real estate case that requires a ruling. If the ruling is adverse, I would be disqualified from running for office until 2011." In a statement. Apparently he was looking at 20 years in jail or a fine in upwards of $500,000, but it appears that numerous MMA sources have said it will more likely 2 years probation and a $10,000 dollar fine, as well as his the revocation of his real estate license.
This puts the breaks on a fight between Sonnen and Yoshihiro "Sexyama" Akiyama at UFC 128. In his place, The man that helped elevate Sonnen to a #1 contendership, Nate Marquardt, will fight the Japanese star.
I am incredibly disappointed with this news. Not only did he have to cheat to get an unfair advantage (which didn't work against Silva), but now I'll have to wait to see who will actually get the first dibs when he does come back (its likely it will be Wanderlei Silva, who I hope turns back the clock and teaches him a lesson). Another thing to take into consideration, is that when he does come back, he'll be fighting for a long time to restore his credibility (which as we can see, considering some of his soundbites, wasn't a lot to begin with).
-It appears as UFC 129 in Toronto is starting to take shape. Despite tickets not being available yet, the main events have been announced as Randy Couture vs Lyoto Machida, and The UFC Welterweight Champion, Canadian George St. Pierre will take on #1 contender Jake Shields.
If you remember (and you probably don't) what I mentioned about Shields before last year, Shields matches up to GSP very well on the ground. But he's not a mixed martial artist. He's more of a glorified grappler. He struggled against Martin Kampmann (the weight cut can be argued till the cows come home), looked gassed after 2 rounds and was warned on more than one occasion to not grab his opponents shorts. I had the fight scored 29-28 for Kampmann, and after watching the fight again on the internet, feel justified in that. My guess is he won't be able to take GSP down, and it might be a one-sided boxing session similar to when GSP fought Josh Koscheck in Montreal.
As for the co-main event, Randy Couture is almost certainly the underdog. However, with that underdog status comes the fact that all the pressure is on "The Dragon". People have figured out his elusive counter punching style, and while many thought he defeated Rampage, I must say I disagree. Rampage was the clear aggressor and controlled the pace of the fight and that's why he won. The judges (and some fans) are starting to bore with him. If he can't KO Randy or wins the fight by decision and looks bad (like Gray Maynard did against Nate Diaz) I almost get the feeling the promotion might release him. Its a bold statement and I'm probably wrong, but call it a detective's hunch, or a feeling.
-Speaking of releases, the UFC has sent several fighters packing on Thursday. Among the notable releases include "The Irish Hand Grenade" Marcus Davis, who lost to Jeremy Stephens at last weekend's UFC 125, and former heavyweight contender Brandon Vera, who got embarrassed so badly he was slapped by Thiago Silva in their fight on the same card.
I'm not surprised by either move. Marcus Davis is 38 years old and the former boxer has seen better days. He should take the high road like Chuck Liddell and call it a career, because I can't see him taking a step back to fight on regional cards. Davis has too much pride to continue to take abuse (like he did in fights to Dan Hardy). Vera, who I've long considered nothing more than an overrated gatekeeper, should have been released following his 3 loss in 4 fight span (to Tim Sylvia, Fabricio Werdum and Keith Jardine in late 2007-mid 2008). If Randy Couture is so old, Vera must be really bad, because that was the most recent fight he looked competitive in. And in my opinion, he still lost. Though according to MMAJunkie he said he had several other opportunities from other promotions, he declined to name them. I think if there is any opportunity, it won't matter because i don't expect him to get another call up to the UFC anytime soon or ever again. Another bold statement, I know.
-Strikeforce Challengers 12 aired Friday on Showtime (SuperChannel in Canada). While there aren't a lot of names on the card, the fights featuring Kimbo Slice's cousin Rhadi Ferguson, as well as Olivier St. Prieux (OSP), who was fighting for the 3rd time in just under 2 months, were intriguing ones. Ferguson's opponent, John Richard (himself a late replacement taking the fight on a few day's notice) almost pulled the upset with a rear-naked choke attempt in the early going, but Ferguson escaped and reversed the position in some serious Ground 'n Pound to end the 1st round. Richard's point deduction for repeatedly spitting out his mouthpiece made the first round score 10-9 Ferguson.
Richard took the fight to Ferguson again at the start of the second, but an errant leg kick (which hit the groin), left Ferguson in obvious pain and provoked him to step it up a notch. From a takedown by Richard, Ferguson looked for a knee bar and quickly transitioned to a heel hook, forcing Richard to tap at 2:00 of the first round. The win moved Ferguson to an undefeated 3-0 in his MMA career.
As for OSP, an apparent kneebar attempt by his opponent, Ron "Abongo" Humphrey appeared to have St. Prieux in trouble. But the former football player recovered, and through his solid foot work and effective countering, won the fight by unanimous decision on all 3 judges scorecards 30-27. Got to give the guy credit, he doesn't have a lot of creativity when it comes to picking a name, but 3 wins in 2 months is no doubt impressive.
Did I leave anything out? are you wanting to get back to me? Have something you'd like to talk to me about? Hit me back anytime at MMArmaggedon@gmail.com, or feel free to tweet me (what kind of %#@& is that??!?! tweeting?) at twitter.com/MMArmaggedon.
Until next time, fight fans!
Happy Saturday to everybody. Still another 2 weeks until the Ultimate Fight Night 23 : Fight for the Troops 2 on Spike (on the 23rd), but there is more to talk about in the meantime. Among more headlines :
-It appears that Chael Sonnen won't be fighting for awhile. Fresh off a reduction in his suspension by the California State Athletic Commission for his failed doping test in his fight against Anderson Silva last summer, comes the report published by The Oregonian newspaper that the former Republican candidate for the House of Representatives in that state has plead guilty to a single count of money laundering in relation to a $69, 091 kickback that he gave to the buyer of a house (He's also a Realtor) back in 2006.
Sonnen told FIGHT! Magazine that "A 2006 legal issue has arisen that needs my immediate attention," Sonnen wrote in a statement published on the Fight! website. "I am not at liberty to disclose the details, but my name was involved in a real estate case that requires a ruling. If the ruling is adverse, I would be disqualified from running for office until 2011." In a statement. Apparently he was looking at 20 years in jail or a fine in upwards of $500,000, but it appears that numerous MMA sources have said it will more likely 2 years probation and a $10,000 dollar fine, as well as his the revocation of his real estate license.
This puts the breaks on a fight between Sonnen and Yoshihiro "Sexyama" Akiyama at UFC 128. In his place, The man that helped elevate Sonnen to a #1 contendership, Nate Marquardt, will fight the Japanese star.
I am incredibly disappointed with this news. Not only did he have to cheat to get an unfair advantage (which didn't work against Silva), but now I'll have to wait to see who will actually get the first dibs when he does come back (its likely it will be Wanderlei Silva, who I hope turns back the clock and teaches him a lesson). Another thing to take into consideration, is that when he does come back, he'll be fighting for a long time to restore his credibility (which as we can see, considering some of his soundbites, wasn't a lot to begin with).
-It appears as UFC 129 in Toronto is starting to take shape. Despite tickets not being available yet, the main events have been announced as Randy Couture vs Lyoto Machida, and The UFC Welterweight Champion, Canadian George St. Pierre will take on #1 contender Jake Shields.
If you remember (and you probably don't) what I mentioned about Shields before last year, Shields matches up to GSP very well on the ground. But he's not a mixed martial artist. He's more of a glorified grappler. He struggled against Martin Kampmann (the weight cut can be argued till the cows come home), looked gassed after 2 rounds and was warned on more than one occasion to not grab his opponents shorts. I had the fight scored 29-28 for Kampmann, and after watching the fight again on the internet, feel justified in that. My guess is he won't be able to take GSP down, and it might be a one-sided boxing session similar to when GSP fought Josh Koscheck in Montreal.
As for the co-main event, Randy Couture is almost certainly the underdog. However, with that underdog status comes the fact that all the pressure is on "The Dragon". People have figured out his elusive counter punching style, and while many thought he defeated Rampage, I must say I disagree. Rampage was the clear aggressor and controlled the pace of the fight and that's why he won. The judges (and some fans) are starting to bore with him. If he can't KO Randy or wins the fight by decision and looks bad (like Gray Maynard did against Nate Diaz) I almost get the feeling the promotion might release him. Its a bold statement and I'm probably wrong, but call it a detective's hunch, or a feeling.
-Speaking of releases, the UFC has sent several fighters packing on Thursday. Among the notable releases include "The Irish Hand Grenade" Marcus Davis, who lost to Jeremy Stephens at last weekend's UFC 125, and former heavyweight contender Brandon Vera, who got embarrassed so badly he was slapped by Thiago Silva in their fight on the same card.
I'm not surprised by either move. Marcus Davis is 38 years old and the former boxer has seen better days. He should take the high road like Chuck Liddell and call it a career, because I can't see him taking a step back to fight on regional cards. Davis has too much pride to continue to take abuse (like he did in fights to Dan Hardy). Vera, who I've long considered nothing more than an overrated gatekeeper, should have been released following his 3 loss in 4 fight span (to Tim Sylvia, Fabricio Werdum and Keith Jardine in late 2007-mid 2008). If Randy Couture is so old, Vera must be really bad, because that was the most recent fight he looked competitive in. And in my opinion, he still lost. Though according to MMAJunkie he said he had several other opportunities from other promotions, he declined to name them. I think if there is any opportunity, it won't matter because i don't expect him to get another call up to the UFC anytime soon or ever again. Another bold statement, I know.
-Strikeforce Challengers 12 aired Friday on Showtime (SuperChannel in Canada). While there aren't a lot of names on the card, the fights featuring Kimbo Slice's cousin Rhadi Ferguson, as well as Olivier St. Prieux (OSP), who was fighting for the 3rd time in just under 2 months, were intriguing ones. Ferguson's opponent, John Richard (himself a late replacement taking the fight on a few day's notice) almost pulled the upset with a rear-naked choke attempt in the early going, but Ferguson escaped and reversed the position in some serious Ground 'n Pound to end the 1st round. Richard's point deduction for repeatedly spitting out his mouthpiece made the first round score 10-9 Ferguson.
Richard took the fight to Ferguson again at the start of the second, but an errant leg kick (which hit the groin), left Ferguson in obvious pain and provoked him to step it up a notch. From a takedown by Richard, Ferguson looked for a knee bar and quickly transitioned to a heel hook, forcing Richard to tap at 2:00 of the first round. The win moved Ferguson to an undefeated 3-0 in his MMA career.
As for OSP, an apparent kneebar attempt by his opponent, Ron "Abongo" Humphrey appeared to have St. Prieux in trouble. But the former football player recovered, and through his solid foot work and effective countering, won the fight by unanimous decision on all 3 judges scorecards 30-27. Got to give the guy credit, he doesn't have a lot of creativity when it comes to picking a name, but 3 wins in 2 months is no doubt impressive.
Did I leave anything out? are you wanting to get back to me? Have something you'd like to talk to me about? Hit me back anytime at MMArmaggedon@gmail.com, or feel free to tweet me (what kind of %#@& is that??!?! tweeting?) at twitter.com/MMArmaggedon.
Until next time, fight fans!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
The Prodigal son has Returned : The re-launch of MMArmaggedon
Friday, January 7, 2011 :
Wow, has it been really 6 months since i've updated this thing? Holy crap. Nobody is paying attention anymore. I should post something quick! Well, never fear fight fans. I have taken a lengthy hiatus (for apparently no reason) and Da Hooded Rat has once again returned to blogging. There are plenty of things to discuss the first week of 2011. Among them :
-Let's start with Brock Lesnar. The last time we've seen this guy in a cage, He was doing his best Denis Savard spin-o-rama impression at the onslaught of one Mr. Cain Velasquez. Since he's stepped away, he's said nothing. He's been hunting deer up north in Canada and made no statement as to what's next for him.
Then, there was a report from Dave Meltzer from Yahoo! Sports a week or so ago that caught my eye : It says Lesnar is packing it in, folks. How apparently at his age, Lesnar doesn't want to risk further injury (which, after we saw his fight with Velasquez, might probably happen), and he wants to do another WrestleMania "badly" and he'd get paid in the avenue of $2 Million to do half an hour's work (which is in my opinion and given his WWE background, easy money). Of course, UFC president Dana White refuted his apparent aspirations (MMA is a sport now, kids. Whereas Wrestling is merely entertainment).
Again, I waited for a response from Lesnar. Still Nothing, but then Lesnar surfaced on Tuesday from those same northern woods...to promote his new book. According to "Showdown" Joe Ferraro from Sportsnet.ca, Lesnar says its a "book about a life story," and his "fight to the top, through WWE and the UFC, despite all the doubters.".
Yet, he shed no light on the future of his MMA career.
Its clearly obvious what he has to do. He's got to face the music and let people know exactly what he's doing. If not we all lie in wait and wonder what he'll do and speculate. He's got to be clear cut on this topic, and not run away from scrutiny like he did from Velasquez's punches. If he does that, I'd have to say MMA fans, from mainstream to casual, will give him respect and a little bit of credit, and not keep us in the dark. Next :
-Fans of the UFC in Toronto. DO NOT be fooled by people on the Internet trying to sell you UFC tickets. Remember that episode of the Simpsons where Homer bought the tickets to the Superbowl for his friends and all he received were Premium Plus crackers? Well, that's what you'll get. According to UFC Canada head Tom Wright, Tickets don't go on sale for the event at the Skydome April 30th for at least a couple more weeks (Maybe early February, I'm not even too sure). So if you think you bought your tickets, you'd actually better check your credit card statement to see where the money is really going. And you better call your credit card company to explain there might be some bogus charges on your card.
-Strikeforce Heavyweight GP announced :
Now, this is big big news. I know this is just the Nostalgic "Pride FC" fan in me talking, but....The man once dubbed "The baddest man on the planet" is returning. According to numerous MMA outlets, "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko is coming back for a main event Feb. 12th in New Jersey vs Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva. This will be the first round in a Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament announced by Strikeforce that will feature not only the 2 aforementioned fighters, but also UFC alums Fabricio Werdum (who was the man to give Fedor his only non controversial loss last summer) and Andre Arlovski, but Pride alums Alistar Overeem (the current Strikeforce champ), Josh Barnett and Sergei Kharitonov. An alternate bout between Strikeforce heavyweights Shane Del Rosario and Lavar Johnson was also announced, according to MMAJunkie.
Yes, Fedor is on the downside of his career. Yes, he's looked sloppy since he dropped Tim Sylvia at the first "Affliction" card, entitled "Banned" in 2008. But, honestly on paper, this tournament looks really, really good. I for one would love to see a potential semi-final showdown between Fedor and Kharitonov, due to their shared heritage and team rivalry (Russian Top Team vs. Red Devil Sport Club), but can't see anybody besides Overeem (who just came off a New Year's dismantling of former UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee at Dynamite! in Japan) and perhaps Fedor, winning this tournament. If there is a dark horse, watch out for Kharitonov, who has had back and shoulder problems of recent day to deal with, but in his time in Pride was a dangerous striker (who knocked out Overeem) and could fight on the feet or the ground. However this tournament finishes, it will nevertheless be interesting to watch.
-Speaking of New Year's, the UFC 125 main event between Frankie "The Answer" Edgar, and Gray "The Bully" Maynard, ended in a disappointing draw. The three judges ringside scored the bout 48-46 a piece (one for Edgar, one for Maynard) with the third scoring the bout 47-47. I was clearly not happy with the result.
There is an old analogy that to "be the champ, you've got to beat the champ". The first round saw Maynard drop Edgar on at least 3 occasions, looking to finish the man who stopped BJ Penn off. Yet, try as he might, Edgar didn't give up and didn't slow down. After the first round, it was a much different fight. There is an argument that Maynard won the 3rd with his 2 successful takedowns, but I still gave that round to Edgar based on his reversal and subsequent guillotine choke attempt at the end of the round. I thought Edgar showed tremendous "fighting spirit" by coming back from the 1st round dismantling composed, focused and determined to win. Yet, why was it a draw?
The answer is simple : People haven't given Edgar enough credit where its due. This man defeated the most dominant 155 lb'er of all time, BJ Penn twice (the first fight was iffy, mind you but he still one. The second one was more distinctive) with great textbook boxing, bobbing and weaving, moving his head in and out and effective striking. He did the same thing against Maynard after his falter in the early going. But, he's not BJ Penn. I just don't believe people really want to give a relatively new champion his due because his pedigree isn't as established as a man like Randy Couture or George St. Pierre. A third fight that was announced put the brakes on the WEC's lightweight champ (which was folded into the UFC) Anthony Pettis, fighting Edgar in a unification bout. I believe that Frankie Edgar will come back with a strong showing in the third contest and will decisively defeat Maynard and prove the doubters wrong. All that time, Pettis will lie in wait.
Questions? Comments? Do you really want to beat the crap out of me because I haven't updated this thing in so long? get back to me mmarmaggeddon@gmail.com or hit me up on twitter @MMArmaggedon
Until next time, Fight fans!
Wow, has it been really 6 months since i've updated this thing? Holy crap. Nobody is paying attention anymore. I should post something quick! Well, never fear fight fans. I have taken a lengthy hiatus (for apparently no reason) and Da Hooded Rat has once again returned to blogging. There are plenty of things to discuss the first week of 2011. Among them :
-Let's start with Brock Lesnar. The last time we've seen this guy in a cage, He was doing his best Denis Savard spin-o-rama impression at the onslaught of one Mr. Cain Velasquez. Since he's stepped away, he's said nothing. He's been hunting deer up north in Canada and made no statement as to what's next for him.
Then, there was a report from Dave Meltzer from Yahoo! Sports a week or so ago that caught my eye : It says Lesnar is packing it in, folks. How apparently at his age, Lesnar doesn't want to risk further injury (which, after we saw his fight with Velasquez, might probably happen), and he wants to do another WrestleMania "badly" and he'd get paid in the avenue of $2 Million to do half an hour's work (which is in my opinion and given his WWE background, easy money). Of course, UFC president Dana White refuted his apparent aspirations (MMA is a sport now, kids. Whereas Wrestling is merely entertainment).
Again, I waited for a response from Lesnar. Still Nothing, but then Lesnar surfaced on Tuesday from those same northern woods...to promote his new book. According to "Showdown" Joe Ferraro from Sportsnet.ca, Lesnar says its a "book about a life story," and his "fight to the top, through WWE and the UFC, despite all the doubters.".
Yet, he shed no light on the future of his MMA career.
Its clearly obvious what he has to do. He's got to face the music and let people know exactly what he's doing. If not we all lie in wait and wonder what he'll do and speculate. He's got to be clear cut on this topic, and not run away from scrutiny like he did from Velasquez's punches. If he does that, I'd have to say MMA fans, from mainstream to casual, will give him respect and a little bit of credit, and not keep us in the dark. Next :
-Fans of the UFC in Toronto. DO NOT be fooled by people on the Internet trying to sell you UFC tickets. Remember that episode of the Simpsons where Homer bought the tickets to the Superbowl for his friends and all he received were Premium Plus crackers? Well, that's what you'll get. According to UFC Canada head Tom Wright, Tickets don't go on sale for the event at the Skydome April 30th for at least a couple more weeks (Maybe early February, I'm not even too sure). So if you think you bought your tickets, you'd actually better check your credit card statement to see where the money is really going. And you better call your credit card company to explain there might be some bogus charges on your card.
-Strikeforce Heavyweight GP announced :
Now, this is big big news. I know this is just the Nostalgic "Pride FC" fan in me talking, but....The man once dubbed "The baddest man on the planet" is returning. According to numerous MMA outlets, "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko is coming back for a main event Feb. 12th in New Jersey vs Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva. This will be the first round in a Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament announced by Strikeforce that will feature not only the 2 aforementioned fighters, but also UFC alums Fabricio Werdum (who was the man to give Fedor his only non controversial loss last summer) and Andre Arlovski, but Pride alums Alistar Overeem (the current Strikeforce champ), Josh Barnett and Sergei Kharitonov. An alternate bout between Strikeforce heavyweights Shane Del Rosario and Lavar Johnson was also announced, according to MMAJunkie.
Yes, Fedor is on the downside of his career. Yes, he's looked sloppy since he dropped Tim Sylvia at the first "Affliction" card, entitled "Banned" in 2008. But, honestly on paper, this tournament looks really, really good. I for one would love to see a potential semi-final showdown between Fedor and Kharitonov, due to their shared heritage and team rivalry (Russian Top Team vs. Red Devil Sport Club), but can't see anybody besides Overeem (who just came off a New Year's dismantling of former UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee at Dynamite! in Japan) and perhaps Fedor, winning this tournament. If there is a dark horse, watch out for Kharitonov, who has had back and shoulder problems of recent day to deal with, but in his time in Pride was a dangerous striker (who knocked out Overeem) and could fight on the feet or the ground. However this tournament finishes, it will nevertheless be interesting to watch.
-Speaking of New Year's, the UFC 125 main event between Frankie "The Answer" Edgar, and Gray "The Bully" Maynard, ended in a disappointing draw. The three judges ringside scored the bout 48-46 a piece (one for Edgar, one for Maynard) with the third scoring the bout 47-47. I was clearly not happy with the result.
There is an old analogy that to "be the champ, you've got to beat the champ". The first round saw Maynard drop Edgar on at least 3 occasions, looking to finish the man who stopped BJ Penn off. Yet, try as he might, Edgar didn't give up and didn't slow down. After the first round, it was a much different fight. There is an argument that Maynard won the 3rd with his 2 successful takedowns, but I still gave that round to Edgar based on his reversal and subsequent guillotine choke attempt at the end of the round. I thought Edgar showed tremendous "fighting spirit" by coming back from the 1st round dismantling composed, focused and determined to win. Yet, why was it a draw?
The answer is simple : People haven't given Edgar enough credit where its due. This man defeated the most dominant 155 lb'er of all time, BJ Penn twice (the first fight was iffy, mind you but he still one. The second one was more distinctive) with great textbook boxing, bobbing and weaving, moving his head in and out and effective striking. He did the same thing against Maynard after his falter in the early going. But, he's not BJ Penn. I just don't believe people really want to give a relatively new champion his due because his pedigree isn't as established as a man like Randy Couture or George St. Pierre. A third fight that was announced put the brakes on the WEC's lightweight champ (which was folded into the UFC) Anthony Pettis, fighting Edgar in a unification bout. I believe that Frankie Edgar will come back with a strong showing in the third contest and will decisively defeat Maynard and prove the doubters wrong. All that time, Pettis will lie in wait.
Questions? Comments? Do you really want to beat the crap out of me because I haven't updated this thing in so long? get back to me mmarmaggeddon@gmail.com or hit me up on twitter @MMArmaggedon
Until next time, Fight fans!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)