Archive for May, 2009

Mixed martial arts is blowing up people. If you have not jumped into this sport, then this is the time to get in on the ground level; yeah, ground level. If Dana White and the other companies’ execs can avoid all the pitfalls that the old fogies and boxing zealots have set for them, the sky is the limit for MMA. We have just begun to see this sports potential. Think about it, everyone has taken some kind of martial defense course as a kid: karate, judo, taekwondo, judo, wrestling. Almost every breathing person has some sort of connection to the base of the sport, something other major sports cannot boast. It is certainly the most accessible of all the sports. Anyone can train, anyone can watch, anyone can learn the strategy and game planning. There are no trade secrets gripped closely to the vest. They don’t try to robotize their athletes like the NFL. Sure a referee can make a bad call but it doesn’t destroy an entire franchise or end a run at a championship, the fighter can just get another fight and the promoters are so deeply involved in the growth of the sport that if a fighter gets screwed, he will get another chance. Just ask the San Diego Chargers, Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns if they would like that kind of fairness and interest from the people running their sports. Hell, ask the Oklahoma Sooners that later this year when they have to play Texas Tech in Lubbock after the inevitable Mike Leach tirade against Big 12 officials. I am sure it will make three trips in a row with blatant, terrible, irreversible, irreconcilable, championship-ending calls.
On Tuesday, Jim Rome and his producers committed their entire Final Burn segment on Rome Is Burning to MMA. A small portion was about the Jose Canseco freak show this past weekend, but a vast majority was devoted to UFC 98. I want to give Jim Rome props. Most of the ESPN elite do not want to give MMA its due because they are old and it is not their particular brand of blood sport. Look curmudgeons, football is blood sport…boxing is blood sport…NASCAR is blood sport. That is not even close to being a cogent argument against the sport. The ESPN producers and their sycophant, mouth piece on-air personalities have a grudge against MMA because it is replacing their precious boxing. I love boxing too gentlemen, but they killed themselves. Boxing opened the doors to MMA. Dana White walked through that door with a Bill Belichick-esque game plan. ESPN and the sports mafiosos need to put pettiness aside and be professionals for once. Learn about the sport, give it its proper coverage, and prove that sports journalism is not dead. I am sure that TO, and Roger Clemens, and Michael Vick, and Manny Ramirez, and their families could use some time without the vultures hovering over their homes.
UFC 98 turned out to be a really good card and the crowd at the Warren in Moore was a lively one. There were several decisions and when we get that many fights going the distance there are usually some stinkers. But to Joe Silva’s credit, the fights were action packed and exciting. There was zero “armadillo-ing” but of course there was no Anderson Silva to terrify poor little fighters. However, one man may be on his way to becoming as frightening as The Spider.





Phillipe “The Filipino Assassin” Nover vs Kyle Bradley 155-Lightweight
Unfortunately, the story of this fight was not the fighters. We are starting off with this, because Yves Lavigne was jeered the rest of the night. He has already gotten some flack for a mistake he made at UFC 96 with the Sell-Brown fight and he will continue to garner attention for the wrong reasons. The fight hardly went long enough to catalog any action with both men pushing the pace on their feet. Less than a minute in, Bradley threw Nover to the ground hard from the clinch, then proceeded to punch from a standing position. Nover turned to his stomach, trying to roll out and back to his feet and Bradley caught him square in the left temple with a hook. For a small moment in time, it appeared that Nover went limp as his body flattened to the ground. In that half a second of judgment, Lavigne stopped the fight. Nover recovered and rolled over, looking for his opponent but Lavigne was already between the fighters. You know, I think it was probably the right call to make considering his delay in the Sell-Brown stoppage. In the same situation, I would have done the same thing. It is a weird situation because for the safety of the fighters, he made the right call, but for the career of the fighters, it was a terrible call. Bradley was robbed of a clean victory, and Nover was denied the chance to fight back. I think a public reprimand of some sort for Lavigne and an immediate rematch would be the best way to handle the situation.



Nover: Stay Tuned Bradley: Stay Tuned







”Diamond” Dave Kaplan vs George Roop 155-Lightweight
This was the only fight that went to a decision that also went un-aired. Both men were cast members of TUF 8, and were both very active striking from the horn. They battled and jockeyed control of the fight, with Kaplan finally getting a takedown. The second round was decisive for Kaplan, and the third easily went to Roop who felt the desperation. It was an active fight and all around good brawl, but their was very little technique displayed. Kaplan just laid on Roop when they went to the ground, and Roop could have submitted Kaplan at any time on the ground if he knew a modicum of Jui Jitsu. Ultimately and surprisingly, the fight went to Roop in a split decision. Kaplan came into the fight with a huge gash on his nose and I think the judges misinterpreted his bleeding as excessive damage. I like both guys a lot, but unfortunately neither has impressed in their last two bouts.



Kaplan: Look Away Roop: Look Away






Yoshiyuki “Zenko” Yoshida vs Brandon Wolff 170-Welterweight
Most of this bout was spent feeling out and then Wolff went immediately to the clinch with double underhooks after landing a clean right hook. This went badly for Wolff. They traded in the clinch for a bit, Yoshida getting the best of it, while Wolff tried to take him down. After one attempted throw, Wolff left his neck out and Yoshida sunk the Guillotine Choke in. Yoshida took him to the ground, passed from half guard to full, Wolff reversed to top position, and Yoshida just wrenched harder, twisting Wolff’s neck. It appeared on replay, that Wolff actually tried to tap twice and Yoshida felt terrible he had to keep the vice on until the referee stopped the match.



Yoshida: Stay Tuned Wolff: Look Away






Krzysztof “The Polish Experiment” Soszynski vs Andre Gusmao 205-Light Heavyweight
Krzystof is back after just a few weeks of rest to attempt another Kimura victory. He came into this fight replacing the injured and rapidly aging Houston Alexander. Both men start the fight aggressive and ready to fight. Gusmao was on top of Krzystof and it looked like all the fights in so little time would catch up as Gusmao landed a series of combos. But then Krzystof unleashed his own flurry, connecting with a right hook to the chin. Gusmao dropped and The Polish Experiment quipped, “The boy hits hard, but I hit harder.” Superstar in the making, ladies and gentlemen.



Soszynski: Look Out Gusmao: Look Away






Pat “HD” Barry vs Tim “The Thrashing Machine” Hague 265-Heavyweight
This was one of our two crazy, free preliminary bouts after the main event. Honestly, Barry dominated poor Hague in the stand up. He had the big guy on the ropes, but got really sloppy and Hague recovered to the ground, where Barry proceeded to do nothing. Hague finally got the Guillotine Choke in for the win. Barry needs some ground game, and Hague needs to figure out how not to take a punch.



Barry: Look Away Hague: Stay Tuned








Brock Larson vs Mike “Quicksand” Pyle 170-Welterweight
This bout was a submission clinic and the second of our free post main event fights. I was super excited to see the Brock Larson fight and am quickly becoming a fan of his. Remember, his only two losses are to last WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit, and Jon Fitch. The fight action goes to the ground fairly quickly giving Larson the takedown. Pyle proceeds to prove his moniker “Quicksand” as he just grinds Larson with submission after submission attempt. He goes from Guillotine to Triangle to Omoplata to Knee Lock to Toe Hold. Larson takes his back and tries to sink in a Darce Choke, while Pyle returns to his leg chaining strategy, looking for a submission that will stick. However, Larson catches him with an Arm Triangle for the win.



Larson: Look Out Pyle: Stay Tuned






Sean “Muscle Shark” Sherk vs Frank “The Answer” Edgar 155-Lightweight
Wow, this was a really good action packed match but I have no clue what Sherk game-planned. Edgar’s was obvious. He was going to be aggressive, counter punch when Sherk came in for a big shot, move constantly, and he had a couple of planned combos for certain situations. Once during the second round, Edgar attempted a takedown only to set up a clinch knee and then throw a kick at Sherk’s head. He came very close to connecting and maybe ending the fight; that’s good strategary. Sherk stayed aggressive and plodded towards Edgar, striking all the way, much like he did against BJ Penn. In the 3rd Round, he hit Edgar with a lightning quick double-leg takedown, but Edgar almost immediately escaped. Towards the end of the round, Edgar stuffed another takedown attempt and sunk in an exclamation Guillotine Choke. Really no clue why Sherk did not even attempt to take Edgar down more. I guess he was intimidated by Edgar’s equally impressive wrestling background, but I think Sherk would have had more success using this strength. The Muscle Shark has become too reliant on his conditioning and others are catching up, because Edgar was moving constantly; non-stop; continuously and did not look all that tired at the end. Edgar looked really good, and Sherk got his first loss not to a man named BJ Penn, GSP, or Matt Hughes.



Sherk: Stay Tuned Edgar: Look out






Dan Miller vs Chael Sonnen 185-Middleweight
I watched Sonnen a bit in the WEC, so I was a little familiar with him and he had fought in the UFC before. Sonnen just kept putting Miller into the mat and pounded away to an easy Unanimous Decision. On Sonnen’s first quick takedown, Miller got him in an arm-in Guillotine Choke and from then on, Miller’s arms were gassed. Miller was in a bad spot, with his head pressed up against the cage. He continued to position for a Knee Lock but took a lot of damage in the process. The first round was a very dominant performance for Chael Sonnen. The second round was even more dominant. Miller went for another arm-in Guillotine Choke, but his arms were just noodles. He got another chance to get an Armbar but Sonned postured up and put the submission out of reach. It was an easy round to Sonned, maybe a 10-8. The third round was much the same, except for no submissions attempts. I would definitely have scored the 3rd a 10-8. One weird thing, Sonnen’s corner kept warning him not to take Miller down. It seemed pretty good to me. I know they feared Miller’s Jui Jitsu but Sonnen’s sizable experience advantage was more than enough to avoid submission. Sonnen is the uncrowned WEC Middleweight Champion for god’s sake. At the end of the fight, Rogen summed it up perfectly, “Sonnen wins unless he has a stroke.” This might sound stupid and a bit premature, but if Sonnen gets a couple of more wins under his belt, I would like to see him face Anderson Silva for the Middleweight Title. He may get beat badly, but he at least seems like a guy that would go full speed.



Sonnen: Look Out Miller: Stay Tuned






Drew “The Massacre” McFedries vs Xavier “The Professor X” Foupa-Pokam 185-Middleweight
Why Joe Silva, why? I have a theory. Lets say XFP has a certain amount of contracted fights. He gassed so hard a month ago, that the UFC does not want him around anymore. James “The Sandman” Irvin woke up from Anderson Silva knocking him out and realizes he has a torn meniscus. He can’t fight. Hey, lets bring in internet sensation Xavier Foupa-Pokam and he will be one KO closer to being out of the company. At least, that is how it may have happened. I decided to give XFP the benefit of the doubt coming into this fight. Sometimes people gas; hell, I gassed today working out and I have no idea why. He said he was nervous coming into his fight against Kang last month. Well, maybe he still had butterflies when the horn sounded against The Massacre, but he acted like he was at Masada and just rolled over and died. McFedries jumps him and drops him twice and hammers XFP. Professor X climbs to his feet and gets tagged again. The referee calls the fight with XFP delirious and still trying to recover. However, the battered fighter needed the signature wheel chair of his namesake. Real professional fighters-2, Internet sensations-Suck.



McFedries: Stay Tuned Foupa-Pokam: Look Away






Matt Hughes vs Matt “The Terror” Serra 170-Welterweight
The grudge match of the century finally happened. Both men come to the ring focused and ready for blood. Serra’s whole posse is dressed in a nice Tokyo Five shirt. I ordered one on pre-sale the other night. From the beginning of the fight, you can tell each man wants to win so bad, that they fear the other man beating them. They pace for the first part of the round and finally move in to trade blows. Hughes get rocked and replay reveals it was a result of an inadvertent headbutt. Serra gets in several shots but Hughes has a tough chin. Hughes gets in a clinch and throws Serra right into side control in classic Hughes fashion. Hughes works to Serra’s back and tries to sink in a Rear Naked Choke but runs out of time. I think from the perspective of the judges, they would have to grade this round for Serra, but knowing the big shot was a headbutt, the round would go to Hughes. Hughes starts the second round by taking Serra down early and working him over good, inflicting damage. Serra never can get to full guard and kind of just sits there waiting for the referee to stand them up. This was a big mistake. The Jui Jitsu guy is on the bottom waiting to be stood up when he should be throwing submissions. Instead the round goes to Hughes, easily. Hughes comes out in the third round with good striking and eventually takes the fight back to the ground. Serra finally starts to work his Jui Jitsu transitioning from an Omoplata attempt to a Triangle to an Armbar, before ending up back in full guard. The referee stands the fighters back up and Serra even gets a takedown of his own. This is a close round, but it should go to Serra. He matched Hughes in every way, but had the submission attempts over him. The decision goes to Hughes, even though from the judges perspective Serra should have won two rounds. Regardless, the fight ended up going to the right man, since Serra did close to nothing in the second round. They each showed each other the proper respect at the end of the fight. You could tell Serra still does not like him, but he had just been beat up by the man, so respect to Serra. From what I have seen, I think both of these guys will make excellent coaches when they hang up the gloves.



Hughes: Look Out Serra: Look Out






Rashad “Suga” Evans vs Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida 205-Light Heavyweight Championship
The big fight of the night did not disappoint. I thought that Machida’s style might make for a slow, counter-striking match. And I was right for the first round. The match started out with measured planning and counter punching, but it seems Machida had figured Evans out by the end of the round when he had him rocked. The second round, Machida came out so fast that Rashad had no idea what hit him. He jumped on Evans, rocked him, and just pummeled him until he collapsed. Evans showed great recovery, snapping to in the middle of the torrent of punches, but at that point Machida was just too fast and full of killer instinct. Kevin said to me, “He is video game fast.” I said, “No, he is Quicksilver fast. He is fast in slow motion.” Really, Machida has style speed. Not only are people confused by his Karate stance, the stance puts the origin point of his strikes closer to their destination point. That is a deadly combination with this man’s ground ability. I wonder if there is one weakness to the stance though. Machida’s upper body is almost leaning back from his legs. This does keep his head out away from serious blows, but I would think it would make him susceptible to a really good wrestler. It looks like he will face Rampage next, so we will get to find out. A new candidate for baddest man on the planet? I would like to see him defend the jumping bean Light Heavyweight Title at least once first. He still has not lost a round in his career. “Viva Karate,” indeed.



Evans: Look Out Machida: Look Out



All in all, it was a great card and a great event. I think there were some serious title contenders that came out victorious. Evans will be fine, it was his first loss after all. There are a lot of interesting events coming up as we speed towards UFC 100. I will definitely cover Strikeforce: Lawler vs Shields on June 6 and WEC: Brown vs Faber 2 on June 7. I will get my review of the last two TUF 9 episodes up shortly and anything else interesting that happens over the next week.