Going into UFC's foray into Pittsburgh Sunday evening, the big story was surrounding Nate Marquardt and his surprising release from the promotion. After all, the card was initially hyped up as being the former Middleweight contenders debut at the lighter 170 lb. division, against a guy who took his first "true" test in the cage and ran with it, in Rick Story. That, coupled with the fact that the main event was now Frenchman Chieck Kongo and American Pat Barry, left fans with a bitter pill to swallow due to the fact that while an interesting matchup, Kongo vs. Barry is likely the 4th spot on a Pay per view card at best.
After the event Sunday night, fans can honestly say that while it didn't have star power, the main event did show us one of the freakish comebacks in recent history.
For the first minute or so, we saw both kickboxers by trade circling, Kongo exchanging leg kicks with Barry though not thoroughly engaging. An early attempt by the American was stuffed by Kongo, the Congolese born Frenchman who now calls Paris home. Just as it had appeared that the main event was going to be a dud, fireworks exploded with a heavy right hand landed by Barry that had Kongo dropped and reeling, hoping to secure a takedown. After being warned by referee Dan Margliotta to defend himself, Kongo got up and received another heavy shot. While getting up and being woozy akin to roller skates, Kongo got up and walked back to the cage with Barry swarming. Barry however, left himself open and Kongo responding with a heavy uppercut, that dropped Barry clean out. In doing so, Kongo defeats Barry via 1st round TKO.
Next for Kongo : Definitely still an exciting fighter that knows how to put on a show. I'd say throw him Joey Beltran.
Next for Barry : Definitely a guy who just keeps getting stung by bad luck. How about Christian Morecraft?
Heavyweight prospect and former NFL player Matt Mitrone fought Christian Morecraft on the main card's opening fight on Versus. The first round got off to a solid start, with Morecraft landing some leg kicks while Mitrione was able to tag the Ithica, New York native to the floor, while just laying up and allowing his opponent to get back up. Mitrione cruised throwing his left hand and dropped Morecraft about a minute left in the 1st, with Morecraft scrambling back up losing his mouthpiece just before the clock reached 0. The second round saw Mitrione pushing forward and Morecraft throwing wildly, trying to keep the former lineman at bay. Mitrione threw a leg kick, though missed, and again finding a home with his left tearing Morecraft's face to shreds. A takedown after the 2 minute mark by Morecraft nullified Mitrione temporarily, with an inside clinch and an elbow allowing Mitrione to work; Another takedown by Morecraft got him down and passed Mitrone into full guard, though not doing enough for about a minute before the referee stepped in and got them back up. After that, Mitrione showed his superiority and standup prowess, stuffing another Morecraft takedown attempt and throwing a heavy combination with 30 seconds left in the middle stanza to win by KO.
Next for Mitrione : Either Pat Barry or Chieck Kongo.
Next for Morecraft : Joey Beltran.
Honorable Mention : Hats off to Mitrione for backing off after dropping Morecraft. He could have thrown 2 more shots that gave him a concussion, but was content in his win. Also, both former lightweight standouts Tyson Griffin and Joe Stevenson are going in different directions. Both making their featherweight debuts, Griffin earned a majority victory over former 145 lb. title challenger Manny Gamburyan, while Stevenson looked rather timid against his opponent, Javier Vasquez (no relation to the baseball player), and lost via unanimous decision. Also Charlie Brennerman, who while taking the fight versus Rick "Horror" Story on 24 hours notice, dominated the would-be main eventer in earning a decision victory. Such a thing could be compared to Seth Petruzelli shocking the world against Kimbo Slice in 2008....but, seeing as how Kimbo's career ended up, it shouldn't have been a surprise in the first place.
2-0 for my picks for the night. Brings me to 30-16-2 for the year. which would give me a winning percentage of .625. Not bad.
Look for more about the Nate Marquardt situation on this blog in the coming days, as well as a preview of this weekend's tilt between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber.
Until next time, fight fans!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
UFC on Versus 4 : Barry vs Kongo preview.
You see, folks, this is why I don't post a preview until the day of the event. The UFC comes to Pittsburgh for the very first time on Sunday, but 24 hours before it, UFC president Dana White dropped a proverbial bombshell that left most MMA fans speechless : Former Middleweight challenger Nate Marquardt, who was supposed to headline the card versus Rick Story, failed a medical clearance and in doing so, has been dropped from the promotion. Though this puts a huge dent in the card, there is an age old analogy that the "show must go on", with Barry and Kongo being pushed up to main event status.
Though there should be more fallout coming from Marquardt's release in the coming days, there's more to be discussed. Like my picks :
Pat Barry vs Chieck Kongo - This will be a kickboxing heavy contest. Expect Kongo, who's tough as nails but lacks a real ground game, to shoot early and often and expect Barry to have worked on his rather soft grappling skills. Both men's strength is stand up, so it will be a matter of time before one of them falls. I plan on the skills favoring the Frenchman.
The Pick : Kongo by TKO.
Matt Mitrione vs. Christian Morecraft - Heavyweight prospect and noted "Kimbo Slayer" Matt Mitirone fights on the first fight of the main card, taking on 7-1 Christian Morecraft, who's known for taking out Sean McCorkle. Expect Mitrione to show his ever improving stand up skills, avoiding takedowns, and cruising to a victory.
The Pick : Mitrione by decision.
I'm only picking 2 fights on this card. With Story having to move on to face Charlie Brennerman due to Marquardt's release, it will be interesting to see how he does regardless.
Tune in tonight at 7 pm for the preliminary fights airing on Facebook, with the main card starting on TV at 9.
Until next time, fight fans.
Though there should be more fallout coming from Marquardt's release in the coming days, there's more to be discussed. Like my picks :
Pat Barry vs Chieck Kongo - This will be a kickboxing heavy contest. Expect Kongo, who's tough as nails but lacks a real ground game, to shoot early and often and expect Barry to have worked on his rather soft grappling skills. Both men's strength is stand up, so it will be a matter of time before one of them falls. I plan on the skills favoring the Frenchman.
The Pick : Kongo by TKO.
Matt Mitrione vs. Christian Morecraft - Heavyweight prospect and noted "Kimbo Slayer" Matt Mitirone fights on the first fight of the main card, taking on 7-1 Christian Morecraft, who's known for taking out Sean McCorkle. Expect Mitrione to show his ever improving stand up skills, avoiding takedowns, and cruising to a victory.
The Pick : Mitrione by decision.
I'm only picking 2 fights on this card. With Story having to move on to face Charlie Brennerman due to Marquardt's release, it will be interesting to see how he does regardless.
Tune in tonight at 7 pm for the preliminary fights airing on Facebook, with the main card starting on TV at 9.
Until next time, fight fans.
Bellator 46 recap.
For the first time this summer, we got a card not named "UFC....", as Bellator kicked off its debut "Summer Series", Saturday night from Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino from Hollywood, Florida. Matches featured from last night were entrants in a Bantamweight tournament, for Joe Warren's 145 lb. strap.
The main event featured Season 2 lightweight winner, Pat Curran, drop to his more "natural" weight class of 145 (which is strange, considering he walks around at 175) take on season 1 alum Luis Palomino. The Peruvian Palomino, who's best known in promotional circles via a controversial decision loss to Yahir Reyes, was dominated early on from the bell, and Curran wasted little time tapping Palomino at just under 4 minutes of the opening round. Just to add insult to injury, the particular submission that made Palomino tap just happened to be a Peruvian necktie.
The co-main event saw Sengoku and Pancrase vet Marlon Sandro take on Genair De Silva. Sandro, who's stablemate (and UFC featherweight kingpin) Jose Aldo was at cageside, looked every much his 34 years as the vet struggled, but ultimately prevailed in a 3 round split decision, scores of 30-27 and 29-28, with the 3rd judge having it 29-28 for his opponent. In winning, he moves on to the semi-finals.
Other winners included Nazareno Malagarie, who ended his losing streak at 1 with a 3rd round submission of Jacob DeVree, as well as Sengoku veteran Ronnie Mann, who showed his "Kid Ninja" skills with a devastating knockout of Adam Schindler. A catchweight special feature bout was also included after the main event, with Brazilian Alex Bezerra defeating American Sam Jones by 1st round rear naked choke in a bout that was contested at 152 lbs.
Honorable Mention : Curran's Peruvian Necktie just happened to be on a Peruvian, and the second I've ever seen in my long viewing of MMA after TUF veteran CB Dolloway's. Curran gets way more style points doing it due to his draw of opponent. Ronnie Mann's KO of Adam Schindler, after a notable slugfest started out with some heavy bombs early, had Mann throwing Schindler off by circling outside of his power, throwing jabs and keeping the American at bay. His right hand that dropped Schindler was reminiscent of a certain "Stanky Leg" from "Razor" Rob McCullough and Patricio "Pitbull". Jacob DeVree, who told the television audience at home that aside from fighting he had "no backup plan", certainly needed one as the native Argentinian Nazagare dominated him from the get go, seemingly not being able to put DeVree away until the 3rd round. Let that be a lesson to all aspiring Mixed Martial Artists : Stay in School, kids!.
Tune in next month, as Bellator comes north of the border for the very first time, with the semi-finals of the Featherweight tournament from Casino Rama, with a 5 round main event featuring current Featherweight kingpin Joe Warren and challenger Patricio "Pitbull". And yes, I plan on being there.
Until next time, fight fans!.
The main event featured Season 2 lightweight winner, Pat Curran, drop to his more "natural" weight class of 145 (which is strange, considering he walks around at 175) take on season 1 alum Luis Palomino. The Peruvian Palomino, who's best known in promotional circles via a controversial decision loss to Yahir Reyes, was dominated early on from the bell, and Curran wasted little time tapping Palomino at just under 4 minutes of the opening round. Just to add insult to injury, the particular submission that made Palomino tap just happened to be a Peruvian necktie.
The co-main event saw Sengoku and Pancrase vet Marlon Sandro take on Genair De Silva. Sandro, who's stablemate (and UFC featherweight kingpin) Jose Aldo was at cageside, looked every much his 34 years as the vet struggled, but ultimately prevailed in a 3 round split decision, scores of 30-27 and 29-28, with the 3rd judge having it 29-28 for his opponent. In winning, he moves on to the semi-finals.
Other winners included Nazareno Malagarie, who ended his losing streak at 1 with a 3rd round submission of Jacob DeVree, as well as Sengoku veteran Ronnie Mann, who showed his "Kid Ninja" skills with a devastating knockout of Adam Schindler. A catchweight special feature bout was also included after the main event, with Brazilian Alex Bezerra defeating American Sam Jones by 1st round rear naked choke in a bout that was contested at 152 lbs.
Honorable Mention : Curran's Peruvian Necktie just happened to be on a Peruvian, and the second I've ever seen in my long viewing of MMA after TUF veteran CB Dolloway's. Curran gets way more style points doing it due to his draw of opponent. Ronnie Mann's KO of Adam Schindler, after a notable slugfest started out with some heavy bombs early, had Mann throwing Schindler off by circling outside of his power, throwing jabs and keeping the American at bay. His right hand that dropped Schindler was reminiscent of a certain "Stanky Leg" from "Razor" Rob McCullough and Patricio "Pitbull". Jacob DeVree, who told the television audience at home that aside from fighting he had "no backup plan", certainly needed one as the native Argentinian Nazagare dominated him from the get go, seemingly not being able to put DeVree away until the 3rd round. Let that be a lesson to all aspiring Mixed Martial Artists : Stay in School, kids!.
Tune in next month, as Bellator comes north of the border for the very first time, with the semi-finals of the Featherweight tournament from Casino Rama, with a 5 round main event featuring current Featherweight kingpin Joe Warren and challenger Patricio "Pitbull". And yes, I plan on being there.
Until next time, fight fans!.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Demolished : Are Alistair Overeem's expectations of himself too high?
In 2005, The Ultimate Fighting Championship's heavyweight division was not the robust division one talks about now. In fact, it wasn't even close; To make the argument that it was a joke is probably being a little too generous. Its Heavyweight champion was Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia, who everybody knows looks quite awkward throwing punches and standing there in a ring. Frank Mir had been injured in a car accident. Andrei Arlovski's chin was in the best days of his career. It got so bad that at one point, the Zuffa brass coaxed a then retired Randy Couture out of retirement and got him to move up to heavyweight, so he could challenge Sylvia for the title.
Over in Japan, The Pride Heavyweight division was a who's who of the game, with Mirko Cro Cop, Mark Coleman, Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira and of course, Fedor Emelianenko.
Of course, The UFC has recovered from those doldrums. Now featuring a fantastic division with the likes of Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, a now recovered Frank Mir, Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar, its no secret that the majority of the world's top 10 (2/3rds at least) fight in the UFC.
Yet, there might be one person who disagrees with that argument : Alistair Overeem.
Yes, we all know about Overeem. We know that he went from being a middle of the pack light heavyweight, not seeming to be able to get past the likes of Chuck Liddell, Noguiera (twice), and Vitor Belfort, to being what he is now, a giant hulk of a man people affectionately call "Ubereem", as a play on the size he has put on to make a push in the heavyweight division. He won the Strikeforce Heavyweight strap in 2007 with a victory over Paul Buentello, then through a rash of injuries (most can be attributed to his size), his commitment to K-1 and fights in Japan, He hadn't fought a fight on the North American continent until last year, when he dismantled challenger Brett Rogers.
With the Strikeforce Grand Prix being announced earlier this year, Overeem claimed he was going to prove to everybody that he was "the best fighter in the world". He also blamed his MMA hiatus on Fedor Emelianenko and his management team, M-1 Global, saying they refused to fight him. Everybody in his path had been dispatched of, including a victory over UFC castoff Todd Duffee on last years Dynamite! card in Japan.
So fans figured against Fabricio Werdum last Saturday night in Houston, they would probably see the same.
Instead, we got an ordinary effort from "The Demolition Man", as yes he was dominating with his strength and size, but never seemed to put Werdum away or even manage to get close. Several times, we saw Overeem throw the BJJ world champion Brazilian down, but every time Overeem implored Werdum to get up, as he wasn't going to fall feign to what had happened to Fedor Emelianenko. Several times we also saw Overeem tag Werdum with heavy shots and peel back, as if to not worry about the finish. When we got the chance to finally see the Dutch product's ground game, it was a rather soft one : He was able to hold Werdum down, but could not advance his position past Guard, everytime scrambling and getting back up. It was an odd performance, despite the judges scorecards reading victory for him.
So, is Alistair Overeem's expectations of himself too high? Is it too much to think he is a great heavyweight? At this point, I'd have to say yes. There was the argument that Overeem's victory in the K-1 World Grand Prix last year in Japan made him the best striker, but the performance Saturday night was definitely an odd one. Junior Dos Santos dispatched Shane Carwin with effective striking and making him hurt, unlike Overeem and its safe to say right now he might be the best striker in MMA. That being said, it could have been an off night for Overeem, and we might be able to see him dispatch of everybody in this tournament with highlight reel caliber finishes.
-In Other news, while the effort of Overeem was a little suspect, it didn't hurt the ratings for the Showtime card. About 1.7 viewers tuned in for the card, peaking at about 719,000, reported by MMAJunkie. It narrowly misses the top spot held by the "Silva vs Fedor" card earlier this year. Although perhaps the heavyweights aren't as solid as the UFC, the Grand Prix concept is certainly one I'd like to see return....even though it looks bleak given the lack of fighters in any division in Strikeforce. As well, CEO Scott Coker says the tourney semis are scheduled for the fall.
-Medical Suspensions were handed out for UFC 131, with Shane Carwin receiving a 60 day no contact suspension with no contact during training for 45 days, thanks to his one handed pasting at the hands of Junior Dos Santos.
-And according to ESPN.co.uk, Tito Ortiz "begged" for his upcoming fight against Ryan Bader at UFC 132, slated to feature a main event between bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. Tito Ortiz needed a bone, I preferred to have him take on Stephan Bonnar. I'm hoping that after what will likely be another one sided victory for Bader, Tito will merely beg to go away.
Questions? Comments? Leave one at the bottom or email me at mmarmaggedon@gmail.com. You Can also follow me on twitter at twitter.com/mmarmaggedon.
Until next time, fight fans!.
Over in Japan, The Pride Heavyweight division was a who's who of the game, with Mirko Cro Cop, Mark Coleman, Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira and of course, Fedor Emelianenko.
Of course, The UFC has recovered from those doldrums. Now featuring a fantastic division with the likes of Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, a now recovered Frank Mir, Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar, its no secret that the majority of the world's top 10 (2/3rds at least) fight in the UFC.
Yet, there might be one person who disagrees with that argument : Alistair Overeem.
Yes, we all know about Overeem. We know that he went from being a middle of the pack light heavyweight, not seeming to be able to get past the likes of Chuck Liddell, Noguiera (twice), and Vitor Belfort, to being what he is now, a giant hulk of a man people affectionately call "Ubereem", as a play on the size he has put on to make a push in the heavyweight division. He won the Strikeforce Heavyweight strap in 2007 with a victory over Paul Buentello, then through a rash of injuries (most can be attributed to his size), his commitment to K-1 and fights in Japan, He hadn't fought a fight on the North American continent until last year, when he dismantled challenger Brett Rogers.
With the Strikeforce Grand Prix being announced earlier this year, Overeem claimed he was going to prove to everybody that he was "the best fighter in the world". He also blamed his MMA hiatus on Fedor Emelianenko and his management team, M-1 Global, saying they refused to fight him. Everybody in his path had been dispatched of, including a victory over UFC castoff Todd Duffee on last years Dynamite! card in Japan.
So fans figured against Fabricio Werdum last Saturday night in Houston, they would probably see the same.
Instead, we got an ordinary effort from "The Demolition Man", as yes he was dominating with his strength and size, but never seemed to put Werdum away or even manage to get close. Several times, we saw Overeem throw the BJJ world champion Brazilian down, but every time Overeem implored Werdum to get up, as he wasn't going to fall feign to what had happened to Fedor Emelianenko. Several times we also saw Overeem tag Werdum with heavy shots and peel back, as if to not worry about the finish. When we got the chance to finally see the Dutch product's ground game, it was a rather soft one : He was able to hold Werdum down, but could not advance his position past Guard, everytime scrambling and getting back up. It was an odd performance, despite the judges scorecards reading victory for him.
So, is Alistair Overeem's expectations of himself too high? Is it too much to think he is a great heavyweight? At this point, I'd have to say yes. There was the argument that Overeem's victory in the K-1 World Grand Prix last year in Japan made him the best striker, but the performance Saturday night was definitely an odd one. Junior Dos Santos dispatched Shane Carwin with effective striking and making him hurt, unlike Overeem and its safe to say right now he might be the best striker in MMA. That being said, it could have been an off night for Overeem, and we might be able to see him dispatch of everybody in this tournament with highlight reel caliber finishes.
-In Other news, while the effort of Overeem was a little suspect, it didn't hurt the ratings for the Showtime card. About 1.7 viewers tuned in for the card, peaking at about 719,000, reported by MMAJunkie. It narrowly misses the top spot held by the "Silva vs Fedor" card earlier this year. Although perhaps the heavyweights aren't as solid as the UFC, the Grand Prix concept is certainly one I'd like to see return....even though it looks bleak given the lack of fighters in any division in Strikeforce. As well, CEO Scott Coker says the tourney semis are scheduled for the fall.
-Medical Suspensions were handed out for UFC 131, with Shane Carwin receiving a 60 day no contact suspension with no contact during training for 45 days, thanks to his one handed pasting at the hands of Junior Dos Santos.
-And according to ESPN.co.uk, Tito Ortiz "begged" for his upcoming fight against Ryan Bader at UFC 132, slated to feature a main event between bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. Tito Ortiz needed a bone, I preferred to have him take on Stephan Bonnar. I'm hoping that after what will likely be another one sided victory for Bader, Tito will merely beg to go away.
Questions? Comments? Leave one at the bottom or email me at mmarmaggedon@gmail.com. You Can also follow me on twitter at twitter.com/mmarmaggedon.
Until next time, fight fans!.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Strikeforce : Overeem vs Werdum re-hash : Overeem lackluster in unanimous decision victory; Barnett advances.
The opening round of Strikeforce's Heavyweight World Grand Prix has provided some great highlights : A highlight reel KO and slugfest, and a monumental upset. Unfortunately, that was the first half, as the second half on Saturday night provided nothing but unmemorable and uninspired tilts that left fans booing and must have had even Scott Coker scratching his head.
In the Main Event, Strikeforce heavyweight kingpin Alistair Overeem took on Fabricio Werdum. While many people figured Overeem would walk through Werdum, they were instead treated to a 15 minute contest that featured the Dutch kickboxer showing his precise striking and strength (throwing the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion down several times) but also confused many, as when Overeem used his grappling prowess he never seemed to posture or use ground and pound, ever weary of Werdum's ground skills. It was also apparent that Overeem's cardio was suspect, as after the final bell during the postfight interview he looked fatigued and obviously frustrated, that factoring in 'Reem leaving a leg free late in the 3rd for a Werdum kneebar attempt. However, despite the disappointing effort, the 3 judges scored it for "The Demolition Man" with scores of 30-27 (twice) and 29-28.
Next for Overeem : Bigfoot Silva.
Next for Werdum : I'd say throw him Chad Griggs, who defeated Alistair's brother Valentjin as the first fight on the card. Either that, or Brett Rogers (but we know how that would end).
The other quarterfinal on the night featured former UFC heavyweight kingpin Josh Barnett and fearsome brawler Brett Rogers. The first round got off to a feverish pace, with both man throwing strikes and trying to feel the pace out. After an impressive takedown by "The Baby Faced Assassin" with a slam, Barnett spent the majority of the rest of the first round dominating from top position, landing a strike here and there and attempting a submission, though not able to put Rogers away. The second round had Barnett reverse a Rogers takedown attempt and land right in a full mount, with him mercifully putting away "The Grim" at just 1:17 of the second round.
Next for Barnett : Sergei Kharitonov.
Next for Rogers : learning how to hip escape. In fact learning some BJJ skills because he has absolutely no ground game whatsoever. Also makes you wonder, was he really just too big for Fedor to tap, or was Fedor just really that sloppy?
Honorable Mention : I said I was looking most forward to the opening tilt of the night featuring reserve heavyweights Chad Griggs and Valentjin Overeem, and it did not disappoint. After a standup stalemate that put neither ahead of the other, Griggs was able to secure a takedown and wore on the Dutchman, finally finishing him with several hard shots that made Valentjin tap. With the victory, he improves to 11 victories in 12 fights. I know he's a can, but he's a tough one. Also, KJ Noons and Masvidal, with Noons showing tremendous heart as Masvidal's superior boxing technique left him a bloody mess, though Noons went for it and never tired, still trying to secure a victory, despite his forehead looking like a leaky faucet.
Josh Barnett doing the entire world a favor, cutting a WWE-esque promo following his victory. Not that the promo was any good, but he actually did something the whole world has wanted for quite a while : He got Gus Johnson to SHUT UP. I've always loved him doing the NCAAs, but as an MMA commentator he just seems a step out of place.
So overall, i went undefeated (2-0) on my picks, which brings me to 28-16-2 for the year.
Until next time, fight fans.
In the Main Event, Strikeforce heavyweight kingpin Alistair Overeem took on Fabricio Werdum. While many people figured Overeem would walk through Werdum, they were instead treated to a 15 minute contest that featured the Dutch kickboxer showing his precise striking and strength (throwing the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion down several times) but also confused many, as when Overeem used his grappling prowess he never seemed to posture or use ground and pound, ever weary of Werdum's ground skills. It was also apparent that Overeem's cardio was suspect, as after the final bell during the postfight interview he looked fatigued and obviously frustrated, that factoring in 'Reem leaving a leg free late in the 3rd for a Werdum kneebar attempt. However, despite the disappointing effort, the 3 judges scored it for "The Demolition Man" with scores of 30-27 (twice) and 29-28.
Next for Overeem : Bigfoot Silva.
Next for Werdum : I'd say throw him Chad Griggs, who defeated Alistair's brother Valentjin as the first fight on the card. Either that, or Brett Rogers (but we know how that would end).
The other quarterfinal on the night featured former UFC heavyweight kingpin Josh Barnett and fearsome brawler Brett Rogers. The first round got off to a feverish pace, with both man throwing strikes and trying to feel the pace out. After an impressive takedown by "The Baby Faced Assassin" with a slam, Barnett spent the majority of the rest of the first round dominating from top position, landing a strike here and there and attempting a submission, though not able to put Rogers away. The second round had Barnett reverse a Rogers takedown attempt and land right in a full mount, with him mercifully putting away "The Grim" at just 1:17 of the second round.
Next for Barnett : Sergei Kharitonov.
Next for Rogers : learning how to hip escape. In fact learning some BJJ skills because he has absolutely no ground game whatsoever. Also makes you wonder, was he really just too big for Fedor to tap, or was Fedor just really that sloppy?
Honorable Mention : I said I was looking most forward to the opening tilt of the night featuring reserve heavyweights Chad Griggs and Valentjin Overeem, and it did not disappoint. After a standup stalemate that put neither ahead of the other, Griggs was able to secure a takedown and wore on the Dutchman, finally finishing him with several hard shots that made Valentjin tap. With the victory, he improves to 11 victories in 12 fights. I know he's a can, but he's a tough one. Also, KJ Noons and Masvidal, with Noons showing tremendous heart as Masvidal's superior boxing technique left him a bloody mess, though Noons went for it and never tired, still trying to secure a victory, despite his forehead looking like a leaky faucet.
Josh Barnett doing the entire world a favor, cutting a WWE-esque promo following his victory. Not that the promo was any good, but he actually did something the whole world has wanted for quite a while : He got Gus Johnson to SHUT UP. I've always loved him doing the NCAAs, but as an MMA commentator he just seems a step out of place.
So overall, i went undefeated (2-0) on my picks, which brings me to 28-16-2 for the year.
Until next time, fight fans.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Strikeforce : Overeem vs Werdum preview.
Late last year, Strikeforce announced that with their heavyweight division was going in a brave new direction : For the first time since Pride's demise in 2007, a major mixed martial arts promotion would hold a "Grand Prix" tournament, featuring such stars as Josh Barnett, Alistair Overeem, Sergei Kharitonov, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva (and of course) Fedor Emelianenko. The tournament's first part of the first round was in February, with "Bigfoot" stopping the legendary Russian and Kharitonov punching his way into the semi finals with a KO over Andrei Arlovski. On Saturday night, 2 more fighters earn their spot in the semi finals, live from Houston, Texas.
Onto my picks :
Alistair Overeem vs Fabricio Werdum - The Main Event features fearsome Dutch kickboxer (who's about as wide as a door frame) Alistair Overeem, against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Fabricio Werdum. Werdum hasn't fought since his monumental victory over Fedor last June, while Overeem has been idle since his one handed dismantling of Brett Rogers last May. This also hasn't been the first time these 2 have tangled : In 2006, The Brazilian handed "The Demolition Man" a loss via kimura in the first round of the Pride Openweight tournament that was won by Mirko "Cro Cop". Since then, Overeem has won the Strikeforce heavyweight title, and K-1 tournaments to establish his striking prowess. I expect Overeem to keep this fight standing, and if Werdum, who's a world BJJ champion can't secure a takedown into a submission as per his repertoire, it might be a long night for him. Actually, it might be a short night if you think about it.
The pick : Overeem by KO.
Josh Barnett vs Brett Rogers - The other quarterfinal in the tourney is between former UFC heavyweight kingpin Josh Barnett and a guy who could pass for Clubber Lang, Brett Rogers. Barnett, who's licensing issues are well documented stemming from a positive steroid test in 2009, has gotten a license from the State of Texas no questions asked. In the meantime, he was fought abroad, winning a pair of fights versus Mighty Mo in Japan and Geronimo Dos Santos in Australia in July of last year. Rogers, meanwhile, recovered from his pasting at the hands of Overeem to win via unanimous decision against Ruben "Warpath" Villareal in Nova Scotia last October (yes, that same Warpath that a 40 year old Bas Rutten leg kicked into submission just 4 years ago).
I expect this fight not to last long. Watch for Barnett to circle, give Rogers angles, and if need be, secure a takedown and go for a submission. Rogers will go for what he's known to do, club and go for a KO. I sincerely doubt that Rogers will get that chance, however.
The Pick : Barnett by decision.
-In other news, several fights were announced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the previous days leading up to this post. The UFC 134 PPV lineup has been announced as full and set, with 5 fights including the main event between middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami (wonder if we'll see a front kick). In addition, UFC 135's main event was announced to feature Jon "Bones" Jones and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, as well as UFC's 138 is set to feature a main event between the 2 best heavyweights in the world today, Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos on November 19th, as reported by MMAJunkie.
-Junkie also reported the winner of the tilt tonight between KJ Noons and Jorge Masvidal is a "frontrunner" to challenge lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez next, CEO Scott Coker has said. Oddly enough, I forgot to mention Noons as a possible challenger when I criticized Melendez's "I'm the best lightweight in the world" comments on Facebook.
-And, I suppose this isn't news but, seeing as how I didn't predict it, the fight I'm looking forward to tonight is between an Overeem....Valenjin, Alistair's brother, and Chad "Wile E." Griggs. It will no doubt be a flat out brawl, with somebody getting their head, ear, or a combination of both getting ripped off.
Questions? Comments? leave one at the bottom or hit me up at mmarmaggeddon@gmail.com or follow me on twitter at twitter.com/mmarmaggedon
Until next time, fight fans!.
Onto my picks :
Alistair Overeem vs Fabricio Werdum - The Main Event features fearsome Dutch kickboxer (who's about as wide as a door frame) Alistair Overeem, against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Fabricio Werdum. Werdum hasn't fought since his monumental victory over Fedor last June, while Overeem has been idle since his one handed dismantling of Brett Rogers last May. This also hasn't been the first time these 2 have tangled : In 2006, The Brazilian handed "The Demolition Man" a loss via kimura in the first round of the Pride Openweight tournament that was won by Mirko "Cro Cop". Since then, Overeem has won the Strikeforce heavyweight title, and K-1 tournaments to establish his striking prowess. I expect Overeem to keep this fight standing, and if Werdum, who's a world BJJ champion can't secure a takedown into a submission as per his repertoire, it might be a long night for him. Actually, it might be a short night if you think about it.
The pick : Overeem by KO.
Josh Barnett vs Brett Rogers - The other quarterfinal in the tourney is between former UFC heavyweight kingpin Josh Barnett and a guy who could pass for Clubber Lang, Brett Rogers. Barnett, who's licensing issues are well documented stemming from a positive steroid test in 2009, has gotten a license from the State of Texas no questions asked. In the meantime, he was fought abroad, winning a pair of fights versus Mighty Mo in Japan and Geronimo Dos Santos in Australia in July of last year. Rogers, meanwhile, recovered from his pasting at the hands of Overeem to win via unanimous decision against Ruben "Warpath" Villareal in Nova Scotia last October (yes, that same Warpath that a 40 year old Bas Rutten leg kicked into submission just 4 years ago).
I expect this fight not to last long. Watch for Barnett to circle, give Rogers angles, and if need be, secure a takedown and go for a submission. Rogers will go for what he's known to do, club and go for a KO. I sincerely doubt that Rogers will get that chance, however.
The Pick : Barnett by decision.
-In other news, several fights were announced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the previous days leading up to this post. The UFC 134 PPV lineup has been announced as full and set, with 5 fights including the main event between middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami (wonder if we'll see a front kick). In addition, UFC 135's main event was announced to feature Jon "Bones" Jones and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, as well as UFC's 138 is set to feature a main event between the 2 best heavyweights in the world today, Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos on November 19th, as reported by MMAJunkie.
-Junkie also reported the winner of the tilt tonight between KJ Noons and Jorge Masvidal is a "frontrunner" to challenge lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez next, CEO Scott Coker has said. Oddly enough, I forgot to mention Noons as a possible challenger when I criticized Melendez's "I'm the best lightweight in the world" comments on Facebook.
-And, I suppose this isn't news but, seeing as how I didn't predict it, the fight I'm looking forward to tonight is between an Overeem....Valenjin, Alistair's brother, and Chad "Wile E." Griggs. It will no doubt be a flat out brawl, with somebody getting their head, ear, or a combination of both getting ripped off.
Questions? Comments? leave one at the bottom or hit me up at mmarmaggeddon@gmail.com or follow me on twitter at twitter.com/mmarmaggedon
Until next time, fight fans!.
Monday, June 13, 2011
UFC 131 : Carwin vs Dos Santos re-hash :JDS leaves Carwin bloody mess, cruises to decision.
Going into Saturday night's main event at UFC 131 in Vancouver, the general consensus was that Junior Dos Santos would have a fair bit of trouble against Shane Carwin. After all, Carwin did almost stop the former heavyweight kingpin, Brock Lesnar, before cardio issues caught up to him and Lesnar was able to secure a victory through an arm triangle choke. And Carwin did stop another former heavyweight champ, Frank Mir, with a devastating uppercut that dropped Mir. Many pundits were assured that between the 2 fighters, who have each 12 KO's in the first round, that once somebody dropped they were going to sleep. After the final bell, nobody did. But Carwin might as well have.
Through 15 minutes, Dos Santos showed his crisp boxing, dropping Carwin with heavy shots as the first round ended and leaving Carwin a bloody mess, as well as an unseen amount of wrestling skill, taking down Carwin in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and cruised to a unanimous decision victory of 30-27 (twice) and 30-26. In doing so, the protege of Antoino Rodrigo "Minotauro" Noguiera secures his long awaited title shot against current Heavyweight kingpin, Cain Velasquez.
Next for Dos Santos : Cain Velasquez.
Next for Carwin : The back injury and the apparent steroid issues clearly had a effect on him. How about the "disappointing" Roy Nelson?
The co-main event saw Kenny Florian make his featherweight debut against 16-1 Diego Nunes. Nunes, who had endeared himself to fans earlier on in the week by wearing a Vancouver Canucks jersey to the weigh-ins, did a lot to frustrate the Massachusetts native, who was booed excessively, due to wearing the jersey of his hometown team (and Vancouver's adversary in the Stanley Cup finals) the Boston Bruins. Amid cheers of "Go Canucks Go" and "Florian Sucks", Nunes reversed a Florian takedown in the 1st and got the former 2 time title contender on the mat, as well as dropping Florian with a shot at the end of the 1st that had KenFlo reeling. In between, Florian used his strength and improved wrestling to dominate Nunes, and despite dropping Florian again in the 3rd before the bell, he was unable to sway the judges his way and lost via unanimous decision, scores of 29-28 (twice) and 30-27.
Next for Florian : a victory over current featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo is clearly a victory away. Either the winner of Hominick-Chan Sung Jung or Josh Grispi.
Next for Nunes : George Roop or Leonard Garcia.
Mark Munoz fought Demian Maia, and Maia came out with a vengeance, throwing several powerful shots and an improving standup game, having the former Oklahoma State wrestler Munoz wobbly a couple of times in the first round. Despite hurting Maia late, Munoz had a so-so first round and I thought the "Black House" product the opening round 10-9. The second stanza got off to a better start for the "Filipino Wrecking Machine", as he dropped Maia and nailed him with excessive shots to the leg, frustrating and fatiguing Maia and wearing him down. Though he went for a Darth Choke and gave his back to Maia, Munoz was able to scramble out and get to his feet, and his wrestling clearly wore on the former Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champ Maia, grinding out a victory through his escapes and his sheer dominance, by unanimous decision with scores of 29-28 (twice) and 30-27.
Next for Munoz : I had picked the upset. Though it will be a long time before he has a chance to catch a whiff of the big fight at middleweight. I say the winner of Mayhem Miller and Bisping.
Next for Maia : Great improvement on the standup, though he shied away from it as soon as he got in trouble. Brian Stann or a rematch with Chael Sonnen.
Sam Stout was able to weather an early takedown from veteran Yves Edwards and a heavy hook and responded with a huge shot that dropped Edwards and securing Knockout of the Night" bonus at just under the 4 minute mark of the opening round.
Next for Edwards : possible retirement?
Nex for Stout : He showed why they call him "Hands of Stone". Good thing too, because I was beginning to forget. A fight with Sean Sherk.
Honorable Mention : Stout's reaction to dropping Edwards was priceless. Not wanting to further injure him, he backed off as soon as he saw Edwards googly eyed. It also shows you why Herb Dean is the "best in the business" (a title I bestowed on him long before DW re-iterated it with comments at the post fight press conference) as he saw it as well. Munoz doing his "Stanky Leg" impression, I'm not sure what Maia hit him with but he did a shuffle. Chris Wiman's standing guillotine. The pro-Canuck crowd giving Florian nothing but disdain for representing his team. People, he's from Massachusetts, did you really expect him NOT to wear a Bruins jersey?
As for my picks, another clean sheet : 4-0. I've won 11 or 12 and it brings me to a impressive 26-16-2 for the year.
Until next time, fight fans!
Through 15 minutes, Dos Santos showed his crisp boxing, dropping Carwin with heavy shots as the first round ended and leaving Carwin a bloody mess, as well as an unseen amount of wrestling skill, taking down Carwin in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and cruised to a unanimous decision victory of 30-27 (twice) and 30-26. In doing so, the protege of Antoino Rodrigo "Minotauro" Noguiera secures his long awaited title shot against current Heavyweight kingpin, Cain Velasquez.
Next for Dos Santos : Cain Velasquez.
Next for Carwin : The back injury and the apparent steroid issues clearly had a effect on him. How about the "disappointing" Roy Nelson?
The co-main event saw Kenny Florian make his featherweight debut against 16-1 Diego Nunes. Nunes, who had endeared himself to fans earlier on in the week by wearing a Vancouver Canucks jersey to the weigh-ins, did a lot to frustrate the Massachusetts native, who was booed excessively, due to wearing the jersey of his hometown team (and Vancouver's adversary in the Stanley Cup finals) the Boston Bruins. Amid cheers of "Go Canucks Go" and "Florian Sucks", Nunes reversed a Florian takedown in the 1st and got the former 2 time title contender on the mat, as well as dropping Florian with a shot at the end of the 1st that had KenFlo reeling. In between, Florian used his strength and improved wrestling to dominate Nunes, and despite dropping Florian again in the 3rd before the bell, he was unable to sway the judges his way and lost via unanimous decision, scores of 29-28 (twice) and 30-27.
Next for Florian : a victory over current featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo is clearly a victory away. Either the winner of Hominick-Chan Sung Jung or Josh Grispi.
Next for Nunes : George Roop or Leonard Garcia.
Mark Munoz fought Demian Maia, and Maia came out with a vengeance, throwing several powerful shots and an improving standup game, having the former Oklahoma State wrestler Munoz wobbly a couple of times in the first round. Despite hurting Maia late, Munoz had a so-so first round and I thought the "Black House" product the opening round 10-9. The second stanza got off to a better start for the "Filipino Wrecking Machine", as he dropped Maia and nailed him with excessive shots to the leg, frustrating and fatiguing Maia and wearing him down. Though he went for a Darth Choke and gave his back to Maia, Munoz was able to scramble out and get to his feet, and his wrestling clearly wore on the former Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champ Maia, grinding out a victory through his escapes and his sheer dominance, by unanimous decision with scores of 29-28 (twice) and 30-27.
Next for Munoz : I had picked the upset. Though it will be a long time before he has a chance to catch a whiff of the big fight at middleweight. I say the winner of Mayhem Miller and Bisping.
Next for Maia : Great improvement on the standup, though he shied away from it as soon as he got in trouble. Brian Stann or a rematch with Chael Sonnen.
Sam Stout was able to weather an early takedown from veteran Yves Edwards and a heavy hook and responded with a huge shot that dropped Edwards and securing Knockout of the Night" bonus at just under the 4 minute mark of the opening round.
Next for Edwards : possible retirement?
Nex for Stout : He showed why they call him "Hands of Stone". Good thing too, because I was beginning to forget. A fight with Sean Sherk.
Honorable Mention : Stout's reaction to dropping Edwards was priceless. Not wanting to further injure him, he backed off as soon as he saw Edwards googly eyed. It also shows you why Herb Dean is the "best in the business" (a title I bestowed on him long before DW re-iterated it with comments at the post fight press conference) as he saw it as well. Munoz doing his "Stanky Leg" impression, I'm not sure what Maia hit him with but he did a shuffle. Chris Wiman's standing guillotine. The pro-Canuck crowd giving Florian nothing but disdain for representing his team. People, he's from Massachusetts, did you really expect him NOT to wear a Bruins jersey?
As for my picks, another clean sheet : 4-0. I've won 11 or 12 and it brings me to a impressive 26-16-2 for the year.
Until next time, fight fans!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)