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!
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