UFC 122, other thoughts

I was pondering the state of the game while watching 122, and the one guy right now that really stands out to me as a game-changer is Dominick Cruz. His style is baffling to opponents, and his one majorly underestimated aspect is his ground game, which he deployed to brutal effectiveness against Benvinidez. I picture him being a pretty badass UFC champ for a long time.
I'd love to see Denis Siver at 145lbs. That looks like his weight, despite that frankly awesome win over Andre Winner. Both guys looked good.
While I was stoked for Bang Ludwig to steal that decision over Ohoweveryouspellit, I got some admiration the guy for the twoish rounds Slick Nick threw down for. I honestly was surprised as hell that Bang took that win. The end of the fight often pushes the win.
Amir Sadollah's fight bored the shit out of me. It's weird for me to wish that Dolloway had won a fight, but it would have been nice to not have to watch Sadollah carefully and with great technical ability not come close to finishing a fight. Indeed he seems disinterested, or actively upset, by the very idea of finishing.
Karlos Vemola did what he was brought in to do. Seth Petruzelli is always fun for me. I like that dude, win or lose. If they could just have Vemola and Petruzelli fight each event, that would be a pretty good starting course.
I was extremely pleased with the number of fights shown vs. the number of commercials shown. I know they have to pay for this shit, and I accept that, but it felt like they hit the sweet spot tonight on the tape-delay.
Yushin went and trained with Chael Sonnen after being beat, maybe a loss to Nate would have been the best thing that could have happened to him...training with Greg Jackson would help him. God damn if Yushin just threw nothing but jabs he'd beat 99% of middleweights out there. Holy shit he has to fight Anderson Silva now. Wow. I hope we see the same aggressive Yushin there...he's a great fighter.
OK, more later.

Lame shit

1: Fighters bitching about "keyboard warriors" or other people who talk shit. Man the fuck up. Remember, slings and stones and Cain Velazquez may break your bones, but words should really never hurt you, unless you're a thin-skinned whiny dipshit. What the fuck do you care what people say? Grow the fuck up!

2: People bagging on champs because they don't like them, or they liked the other fighter better. This goes out to Lyoto Machida, Zoila Frausto, Frankie Edgar (though he's backed up his win since), and all the other champs.

3: Everything that happens on TUF.

4: Everything within 5' of Josh Koscheck.

TUF tonight, other crap

Dude...Josh Koscheck is either the world's worst douchebag, or the TUF editors are made of some kind of evil jelly. He comes off as more of a douche than ever. The whole Kos-Medic "drama" is retarded beyond belief.

The fight was relatively boring. That Stevens character...hopefully he either gets in a good camp and actually learns how to fight before the Finale show (if he's invited after two losses), or he gives up and just starts brawling, because he's definitely not a major-leaguer at the moment. Are any of these kids other than maybe Jonathan Brookins? I know it's hard to judge watching this shitty show, and guys often turn out different afterwards (Cole Miller, Gray Maynard, Georges Roop and Sotiropolous spring to mind) but damn, son, this gang of fighters seems pretty half-assed. Moreso than the England vs USA season (remember that abortion?).

Honestly, I'll be happy when it's over.

Stuff

UFC-WEC "Merger"? Not really a merger is it? The WEC is disappearing, like it did in that PPV event. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the UFC adding divisions. I think we need a 125 and to have the HWs divided up as well, a cruiserweight, light heavy, heavy, and super-heavy division would be good. But I'm like that.
There's quite a few UFC lightweights that can head to featherweight right now, although they may want to wait for Jose Aldo to head up first. Jeremy Stephens, Spencer Fischer, and Sean Sherk jump to mind. There's certainly more. I wonder if a guy like Clay Guida keeps his gas tank and strength ten lbs lighter? Interesting.
I had a lot of MMA over the last couple weeks, some good, some OK, some crap. I'm sick of hearing people bitch and moan about Zoila's win. She fought a decent fight and took it to the cards. She did enough to win. Tough luck, Mega Megu. Get more than one takedown, next time. Alexander Schlemenko sure can take a punch.
Cain-Brock was entertaining if one-sided. I was surprised to see the flying knee attempted by Lesnar. Probably not a good choice though. Of course gameplans are harder to implement when you're getting hit by an angry Mexican freight train.
Looking forward to Yushin-Marquardt, even on tape delay. Another big MW for Nate to battle, another overseas headliner for Yushin. I like both fighters, so I am going to root for a good fight, and guess that Okami pulls out a slim decision.

UFC 118 Notes, MMA Thoughts

Cross-posted at MMA-Report. Image by Esther Lin, at Allelbows.com. Best in the business.

So UFC 118 has come and gone. James Toney demonstrated that he's an old fat guy who barely trained for MMA. He also demonstrated that heavyweight boxers aren't good heavyweight MMA fighters because they're too small. Can you picture him getting in the cage against Shane Carwin, Cain Velazquez, or Brock Lesnar? Please. It was a paycheck for a washed-up boxer who can't get the big fights he wants. Plan achieved, paycheck received, please, let's not see him in the UFC again.
Randy did, admirably, what he needed to, a company man through and through. He took the guy talking shit out back and roughed him up. For all this trash Toney was just hyping a fight like boxers do. Hopefully MMA fans got a good look at what "hype" looks like and are sick of it.
On the other hand, maybe Toney's horrible performance, in which "survived a short while" is the most charitable description, will prompt other boxers of higher caliber to come to the cage and give it a serious shot. Dana White has a high knowledge of boxing, he should be able to help ID worthy fighters. Just a possibility.
Frankie Edgar is a seriously bad matchup for BJ Penn. I didn't think BJ looked hurt or unhealthy, he's just not as good as Frankie. I don't see Edgar beating Maynard, and that is a terrible, terrible thought. But he could. If he stands and boxes Maynard and pops off the occasional leg kick, stays on his bike and moves, and punctuates things with a surprise takedown, he can beat Maynard. It'll be tough though.
Kenny Florian...sigh. Dana White says Kenny choked. Maybe. Maybe it's psychological, or he was tired. I can't see him staying with Cru Dellagrotta after this. He's gotta get the fuck out of Boston and shake things up.
Where does BJ Penn go from here? This loss has to be absolutely crushing. Does he still have the passion? I can picture him retiring. But then again he's a warrior, and I can see him making another run. Time will tell.
Nate Diaz proved he has a lot of ways to win fights, and he has a big chin. There's a lot of fights for him in the UFC. I'm glad I turned off the sound though. Hearing a Diaz talk is like getting a live centipede shoved up your pee-hole.
A decent card, overall. "Serviceable" comes to mind. A bunch of Boston/Northeast fighters on a Boston card.

So I did it.

Cross-posted at MMA-Report. Go check out the reviews of MMA equipment!

I managed to stay away from UFC 117 in a possibly (entirely) misguided attempt at a protest. I did follow the updates from ringside at various sites. Sounds like some good fights. I question the need for Sonnen-Silva 2, however, without Sonnen winning a fight. Same thing with Vitor Belfort, though, I don't get why he has an immediate title shot when he's never once won a fight at 185lbs in the UFC. The guy who deserves a shot, in my eyes, is Yushin Okami, but it's hard to say go on that fight since he got beat so thoroughly by Scumbag Sonnen already.

I went 8-3 in my picks for 117, missing on Hallman, Hughs, and Story. Great win for Rick Story, by the way. Where the hell does McLovin Hazelett go from here? He's on a bit of a stumble.

Junior Dos Santos took a great step forward in handling a very, very tough heavyweight. I don't like his chances against Brock Lesnar or Cain Velazquez, to be honest, but he can find anyone's chin. Nelson is great at protecting his chin and absorbing shots. I don't think either of the fighters scrapping for the belt next are as good at keeping their chins protected, so it should be a short and violent contest with JDS.

Can we finally, once and for all, for the last time, stop calling Thiago Alves a welterweight contender? While he's got ferocious strikes, if you can't make your goddamn weight, which he's failed as often as not to acheive, you're not a fighter at that weight class. He's not a 170lb fighter. End of story. I think he'll get dominated even worse at the upper echelons of 185, too. I can see him catching some KO's, and being "durable", but he's got to make some serious changes and find a way to make 170. I think he gets killed at 185 against anyone at say Alan Belcher's level.

And to everyone who doubted Captain Caveman Clay Guida? Nyahhh!

Random thoughts UFC on Versus 2 edition

I posted some thoughts over at MMA-Report.
Unrelated: I read a lot of stuff in my news feed, and I end up seeing CP and MiddleEasy and Fightlinker report on War "John "War Machine" Koppenhaver" Machine a lot. I don't want to. That guy is irrelevant to the sport, and boring. I know some people get a laugh out of it but I don't.
Dan Severn won his 94th victory. Dude is 52. GO DAN.
It's old news that Roxy got KOd, and I'm still bummed out about it, but I'm looking forward to her triumphant return. Roxy, you're the best! Defeat will only drive you higher!
Good fucking lord I cannot wait to see Randy Couture grab a clinch on Toney, throw him on the ground, and elbow his face until it looks like burned lasagna. There is no one more annoying than him in the sport right now. And this is a sport that features Chael Sonnen, so that's quite a feat. Also, can everyone, please, stop talking up Toney like he's one of the best ever in boxing? He was an overrated boxer with excellent KO power who got dinged TWICE for juicing. He put on 30lbs of cheeseburger weight to get to heavyweight and schooled some dudes, sure. But he's no goddamn all-time great. It disrespects the real all-time greats like Robinson, Ali, Chavez, Leonard and Hagler to call him that. NOT SO. Don't fuck around on the feet, Randy. Drag him down, pound him out, send him the fuck home. Dude should have taken Kimbo.

Bellator, etc

Because of the utter deliciousness of the Lakers' 16th NBA championship and the accompanying press coverage, FSN didn't bother showing Bellator anywhere near where I thought they would, and I just read up on the fights. Apparently Hornbuckle just got smothered by Askren. It doesn't sound like lay and pray either. I'm looking forward to a spirited bout with Lyman Good, who is a beast. I wonder why he hasn't fought since winning the tournament, like Eddie Alvarez and Joe Soto have? Odd.
Askren controlling Hornbuckle's sub attempts makes me wonder if he's got very good sub defense or if he's just fought subpar fighters? Hornbuckle looks legit, but you can't tell. If Askren's a top-tier guy we'll have to see him against other top-tier guys.
The Strikeforce: Los Angeles show was damn weird. The main event was an eyesore, having to listen to Mauro Ranallo talk hurt my head, and can we FINALLY stop mentioning Zaromskis ever again?
Looking forward to the approximately nine million commercials I'll get to digest during the TUF Finale. Nothing like the same game commercials over and over and. over. again. to make your brains bleed into your spinal column.
Couture-Toney is "official"...why do I feel sad?

UFC 115 thoughts: Death of an Iceman

I've been posting pretty regularly at MMA-Report, so if you feel interested in what I've got to say (weirder things have happened) check it out. I'm going to be careful to cross post here from now on.

What else can you say about Chuck Liddell that hasn't been said a million times? Guy is a great athlete, he showed every facet of MMA last night except one: a chin. Whatever it looked like in real time, the replay showed he got hammered hard by that right hand. Still, a top light heavyweight needs to be able to take that shot and weather the storm. Chuck can still fight. There's a hundred thousand LHWs out there he can beat. But does he want to go down the Dan Severn road and whup on nobodies for (probably sizeable) paychecks? Or does he want to call it a career as one of the most respected fighters of all time? Plus a likely long and involved blowjob from Dana White.
Middleeasy.com shows Chuck's journey from ER to partying with "Gayface" Shields.
I missed one of the prelim fights, so I'm rewatching now. Mac Danzig is a case study in how terrible 99% of TUF fighters are. Remember how clearly he dominated that show? No one was even close to his game, his experience. Then they throw him in the UFC and he gets clownschooled constantly. Sure he's showed some flashes, but really he was matched up just right against Matt Wiman in a #1 gatekeeper bout. Maybe it's the vegan lifestyle.
All that said he did get robbed pretty badly. Of course, if a ref shakes your hand to see if you're out, you should give him the thumbs up to let him know you're fine. Good job saying that Lavigne has a tough job. Danzig was pretty classy about this. Rematches however are annoying as shit.
Side note: I watched Australia vs Germany in World Cup. HOLY SHIT I thought the Aussies had a good chance in that game. It looked like little boys playing against grown men.
Evan Dunham says, in politer terms, what I was thinking: What the fuck is up with a judge giving that fight to Tyson Griffin? What a load of shit. Dunham is a great up and comer, but where does Tyson go? He's a talented dude, but he's lost to the top of the division pretty consistently. Does he move from Xtreme Couture? In a related note, is Ariel Helwani related to Nosferatu?
Carlos Condit vs Rory MacDonald...the blogosphere is up in arms about the stoppage, but it seemed pretty justified to me. It seemed like any time in the last minute and a half or so it could have been stopped, regardless of how many animated GIFs someone posts about the fighter on the bottom moving his hands. As MacDonald himself said: "it was a just stoppage. He was kicking my ass." From the mouth of baby fighters. I am looking forward to Rory going forward though, he's a talented young fighter. Condit may have won, but he's got a lot of questions that need answering, especially his inability to start out strong.
Pat Barry and Cro Cop...the hugging has to stop. Barry needs to find a way to get that killer instinct fired up. He's a powerful striker, and young, but he has to find a way to finish guys when he hurts them. It did turn out he had a broken hand (my brother and I spotted it while he was fighting, I was proud of myself) and foot, but he had Crop Cop hurt and down and let him off the hook. Congratulations Mirko, even if I'm not 100% convinced you're "back".
Mike Pyle vs Jesse Lennox...as much as I think Pyle is a talented fighter, he's equally as much of a cocksucker. I totally root for him to get beat, especially after his bullshit in EliteXC about female fighters. He's a petulant shit. He has technique, but god I hope they put him up against a top 170 pounder so he can get his ass kicked.
Overall, however, that was one of the best cards the UFC has put on in a while. There were multiple "Fight of the Night" candidates, and some back and forth wars. Rothwell-Yvel was the only fight that was a real dud...talk about throwback heavyweights. That was a high-quality Joe's Backyard Brawls bout. I hope we don't have to watch either of those guys again any time soon. Other than that I was glad to have found a way to catch this card.

Daley is "genuinely contrite"

Well, no shit. He just got fired from the world's biggest MMA promotion. Why wouldn't he be?
But this is the last thing I'll say on this incident: Daley shouldn't come back because he's a lousy mixed martial artist. Great striker, lousy MMA. End o' story.

More two-facedery

I dunno if two-facedery is a word and I don't care. Dana White said some nice things about Kimbo Slice, but he still got cut. The article brings up a valid point, why not just pay the guy to sit on the bench? It'll keep him out of Strikeforce or MFC's bouts, or whoever else has the cash to throw him in against tomato cans.
While White says letting Kimbo go is about the "integrity", he still has fat, slow-talking, former world-class knockout artist James Toney coming into the UFC. What's with that? I guess the "boxer fighting MMA" angle is all right, but honestly no one cares that much. Bring in a boxer in his prime against a mixed martial artist in his prime, that's what I'd like to see.
Also, I think Randy Couture will get knocked out by Shogun if they match up after the Toney fight. PLUS! Why the hell are they talking about not even lining up Rua's first defense until probably December? Holy shit, it's MAY. That guy needs to fight at least once more time before 2011. Hopefully twice. The UFC is turning very boxing-like with the huge delays between title defenses.

Daley says he's sowwy

After having "time to consider" his fuck-uppery, Paul Daley issued a statement apologizing. He misses the point that, even though his knee didn't connect, it was clearly illegal anyway, and thrown with the damn intention to foul. Koscheck was on all fours, for dog's sake.
One thing that keeps getting repeated is that it would be good to give "such a talented fighter" another shot. Correction: Daley is a talented big puncher. He is NOT a talented fighter. A talented fighter can get out from under Kos, or not get taken down in the first place. A talented fighter is multi-dimensional, and a one-trick prick like Kos wouldn't sit on him and rub afro-sweat in his stupid mug all night. A talented fighter is someone like George St. Pierre, who can fight from wherever he ends up.
Paul Daley is NOT A TALENTED FIGHTER.

Paul Daley Saves Josh Koscheck

I'm sure it's been said already, but Paul Daley saved Josh Koscheck's ass at the end of that aesthetic abortion of a bout last night. If Daley hadn't pulled one of the cheapest bullshit fucktard moves in history, we would be talking about Kos YET AGAIN proving what a complete assclown he is due to the Premier League-level fakery from the whiffed knee Daley threw and nothing else. Both guys brought MMA to new lows, but unfortunately, Kos will get rewarded for it because of Daley's massive stupidity. Kos gets fucking rewarded.
Don't forget, he pulled some of that bullshit in his fight against Rumble too. Both fights he was winning. My brother thinks Koscheck has started 'roiding. I don't know, but he's definitely a different fighter.

TUF thoughts

Thank god I had the DVR working last night. I like how they have started making Tito look like he's a fuckup in advance of booting him/his retirement/whatever the fuck lead to him lobbing Jenna around.
That kid Josh looked like a lot of the fighters they have on that show, solid chin, excellent power, but no discipline or skillset. If he'd just listened to Hackelman he would have KOd that clown easily. I'd like to see him develop a lot, he could have potential. He's a little short for 185.
Again, what's with guys showing up with no cardio? It's like, over eleven seasons, no one has figured out that they go on the show to fight for up to fifteen minutes. I've speculated before that the adrenaline dump may be partly a factor (not original thinking, stuff I've heard from fighter blogs and interviews etc), plus the weird situation of fighting in front of a handful of people and almost as many cameras. Still...they know that's going to happen too. Just once I'd like to see a fighter who's not utterly sucking air at the start of the second round.
The Dana White-Chuck Liddell "mad dog" teaser was a bit of a curveball. Of course, they're 'bros' as I believe the children say these days, which in turn would mean they are in front of 'hos'. Thus it is unlikely the spat is anything more than just that.

Jim Genia rules

He makes wit da funzors:

Controversy has once again reared its ugly head, this time with the news that, in a bout between Jenna Jameson and Tito Ortiz that occurred earlier in the day at the pair's Huntington Beach residence, the much-maligned cageside judge Douglas Crosby scored all three rounds in favor of the ex-pornstar.

My stepbrother this morning texted me with "I bet Tito gassed out after about a minute". Stay classy fellas! This signals the end of my attention and concern for Tito Ortiz, as he ceased being a viable damn mixed martial artist five years ago.

There are few things I won't shell out $45 for

• Jose Aldo seemed to be sticking to a gameplan like glue. I thought he could have finished Faber more than once, but didn't want to give even the hint of an opening to the California Kid. And yes, Faber is overrated. He's a top-tier fighter, but he's no longer a top five featherweight.


• Manvel the Anvil broke my heart. I thought MTB would get him.


• Leonard Garcia was given a very early Xmas gift.


• Benson Henderson, random exclamations at invisible sky people aside, is the fuckin' man. One small mistake by the cocky Cowboy and it's all over. And the way Cerrone tapped you know that choke hurt.


• It was weird seeing Goldberg and Rogan announcing the fights, but they did a fine job.


• Cowboy and Mike Thomas, despite being some of the best fighters in the world (in my book), need to do some serious thinking on their games. Changes are in order.

Diaz brothers didn't instigate

Rodriguez does it again. Takes a whole point ("EVERYONE SAYS THE DIAZ BROTHERS STARTED IT!") and misses badly. It's not who started it, which was petty clearly Mayhem and Shields (Jason deserves blame too), it's that fucking Nick and Nate were pounding on Mayhem while he was held down, including kicking him in the ribs, on the part of Nate I believe.
That's the point. That Shields or Melendez threw a punch matters little. That the whole Gracie camp is a bunch of retarded thugs does, however, matter. I scrap between two fighters, with some shoving, is one thing, it happens. The full-on gang warfare type attitude the Diaz brothers and the rest of the Gracie kids display is fucking idiotic and shouldn't be rewarded. It made me sick to watch.

Anyone

EXPLAIN TO ME WHY DIAZ STANDING THERE KICKING A DOWNED MAN IN THE RIBS, WHILE HE'S BEING HELD, IS ANYTHING OTHER THAN A FUCKING DISGRACE. Fuck these idiots. Nick and Nate were the reason this shit happened, period. Fuck those guys.

Mauro Ranallo, you're more of an idiot than I initially thought. Stupid.

UFC 112 kind of sucked

• Anderson Silva, whatever the fuck was going through your head, get it out. You should have finished that fight a million times. If you want to prove something to Demian Maia, prove it by knocking him unconscious. You're a great fighter but you lost a lot in my eyes.


• Dear everyone who is making a stink about the 50-45 scorecard in Edgar-Penn (Which I too think is ridiculous): You cannot say the judge, who's flitting around the internets, did not explain himself. He said this, "And, in my considered opinion, Edgar dictated the tone of the fight, successfully implemented and executed a strategy, landed better strikes, and basically outworked Penn." End o' story.*


• BJ looked like he knew he lost going to the scorecards. Something's wrong with him, he had a lot of doubt in his eyes and he looked wobbly as hell on that wrapped knee.


• Renzo needs to learn how to check kicks, or how to be ten years younger.


• Who was that pretending to be Rafael Dos Anjos? He looked awesome, whoever he was


• I can't imagine the oppressive cloud of knock-off cologne that was choking that arena to death...hopefully there was a breeze or something

*Please Note: That doesn't mean I think he's right, or that the scoring was accurate. It DOES EXPLAIN WHAT THE JUDGE WAS THINKING.

Jones-Vera?

If Brandon Vera wants a blueprint for countering guys who have unusual angles, wild attacks, unpredictable moves and great athleticism, just re-watch Mike Brown taking Urijah Faber's belt at their first meeting. Stay solid, and punch hard when there's an opening.

Bowles-Cruz

Okay, Cruz certainly won the first two rounds, but the nut-embrace going on for him is still a little silly. He was ten minutes into a 25 minute fight. I've seen plenty of fights where one guy comes out on fire and ends up losing. And Bowles didn't break his hand punching air, he broke it smacking Cruz upside the head. While I think Bowles may have continued, it was their call. But everyone out in the blagosfeer yakking about how dominant Cruz was...well, that was 40% of the fight. I'd like to see an immediate rematch when Bowles' hand is healed.

Barry vs. Cro Cop

I like this matchup. But I'm getting tired of people predicting that "feared knockout artists" aren't going to go to the judges. Of course they can. Especially if it's two of them, and one doesn't have a clear-cut advantage somewhere. We've seen it often, especially with counter fighters.
I'm still jacked for the fight. Either Barry does his Cain Velasquez impersonation and steps way up against a legend, or Cro Cop continues his lateral climb to retirement. Either way, it should be good.

UFC 110

Well, that was a pretty entertaining card all around. Not one of those fights disappointed me, except for Bonnar-Szlkjga;lgjafsadfski not being called a No Contest (hopefully they'll look it over and rethink the outcome, Bonnar doesn't deserve that result from a head strike). I wish Wandy had opened like he finished, and I hope Bisping gets shown the door soon. Ryan Bader had the misfortune of bringing a wonderful KO win when Big Nog was passing the torch in the main event, losing the kid a KO of the Night bonus. Ryan could be a real force at 205 as he grows. Jardine on the other hand may be done in the UFC. I guess it's good to have mid-level gatekeepers, but I don't know that a contract is necessary for that.
Sotiropolous-Stevenson had a shitload of letters and a lot of great grappling. I didn't think Sotiropolous had that much game on his feet, and apparently neither did Jose Padre. Great top control for the underdog. Fight of his career so far.
Cro Cop on the opening PPV fight...he had to win convincingly. I thought he looked good and aggressive. His grappling and sprawl were good. We'll see what happens when he fights a real heavyweight...as FL put it, no one can "squash a can" like Mirko.
Fun night of fights. One thing though, the UFC has to find a way to get at least one five-rounder on every card. It just bugs me. DO it UFC!

Silva-Kondo

I'm watching the Best of Pride show on Spike, and they just showed Silva vs Kondo, where Wanderlei stomped Kondo out. Why did only Rampage point out that Silva grabbed the ropes illegally on his winning series? Where were the gangs of tiny hand-and-rope-grabbers that Pride had generally employed? I think I've posted about this ten times. It bugs the shit out of me.

Not Kosher, Frank Mir

Subo at Fightlinker is pissed about Frank Mir's radio comments. I can't say I disagree with him.

[Frank Mir] “I want to break his neck in the ring. I want him to be the first person that dies to Octagon-related injuries.”

[subo] I’m on the verge of wanting Mir/Carwin called off and Frank being fined and suspended indefinitely.

Honestly, Frank got a little graphic there. He went too far. What's the UFC going to do? My guess is "blow smoke up our asses" and then nothing.

Bravo Jens

Via ProMMA Radio, Jens Pulver isn't ready to hang his shit up yet.

"I was very close. I was done. I just didn't make the announcement. I told Dana and everybody that it was over. The name Jens Pulver was done.... That's the mortality I was talking about after the fight. People were rushing me to say goodbye to something I've done my whole life. I got really bitter about it. This is all I've known my whole life. This stuff saved my life. And people are gonna tell me when I'm done? F**k that. I'm gonna tell myself when I'm done. I don't care if I lose twenty straight fights.... I enjoy training and I enjoy competing. The athlete in me ain't ready to die yet."

As long as he's fighting sanctioned fights and not getting massacred, do what you love Jens. Same with all these guys. Mark Coleman (sorry if I shit on you before), keep fighting if you want it. Randy, Dan, Tank, even Sylvia. Go to town, guys.

I dunno what cage tater is confused about

In a recent post they titled "Whatchoo talkin' bout Bobby Lashley?" CP says that Lashley's statement:

"Either let me fight the way I want to, build up and get a few fights under my belt and then work my way up there, or let me fight the champ."

is

[...]the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Why? He either wants to build up (or "pad" if you're feeling less than charitable) his record and skills, or get the biggest money fight he can get. That's neither dumb nor hard to understand. So I guess what I'm saying is I'm a-maized they're corn-fused.
Sadly for Brett he's in a shitty spot right now...he already lost to Fedor, but he's too dangerous and too unknown for any other top heavyweights to really want to mess with him. A fight with Rogers is a no-win proposition for Lashley, who's got the opportunity to actually make a name for himself provided he runs his game right. Think about it...he main asset right now other than some great athleticism, good takedowns, and decent ground and pound, is his name. He's gotta leverage that as smartly as he can.
I'm constantly surprised by people getting upset that these guys want to get paid for their fights, and want to maximize that paycheck as much as possible. Writers can write all the way up to their last breath. Fighters only fight for a relative few years. What other career outside of athletics are you considered too old for in your forties?

Vitor did the right thing

Or so he says. But did he deserve to fight for the belt in the first place? This whole saga is weird. He's got a couple 185lb wins, Terry Martin and Matt Lindland, and a 195lb win over Rich Franklin...why does that qualify him to be fighting for the belt? I know that question was already brought up but it seemed to be just dropped by the blagassfeer. I know they've got a pretty thin talent pool for people to take that shot, but they honestly could have come up with someone who'd won a UFC fight at 185lbs, I'm guessing. Nate Marquardt or a not-left Dan Henderson, for instance (yes I know Nate lost, but before the Sonnen fight he was on a tear.

I agree with everything CP says

DO NOT SIGN JOSE CANSECO

I feel a little bad for Joey Beltran

Joey Beltran recently had an interview posted where he mentioned he feels "a little bad" for Rolles Gracie. I personally don't feel bad at all for Gracie...whatever his excuse or reason for that performance was, that's his to bear. He did the work he did. The guy I feel bad for is Joey Beltran. He had an adrenaline letdown himself, and fought through it; he took a super-short-notice fight against a much larger guy, and won. Now he has to field questions about how bad Rolles Gracie looked? Fuck that shit. Congratulations Joey! You beat that guy's ass. Good job. Rolles will either get better or go back to pure grappling. Joey deserves a nice fight at 205 or 185 so he can strut his stuff.

Weird thing

UFC 108 and UFC 109 were bereft of championship bouts. Yet there's two coming up that have two championship fights each, one in Abu Dhabi.
I'm annoyed.

What was wrong with Rolles Gracie?

I don't fight in a cage for a living, so I'm not going to dump TOO hard on Rolles Gracie, but honestly, that performance was just crap. He seemed to gas out after a minute. Did no one tell him it was three five minute rounds? I'm actually thinking he had a huge adrenaline rush when the fight started and had nothing after it wore off. He's a young dude, I hope he improves his cardio, or gets over the ring butterflies, because he could be a force in the heavyweights.

Stephen Bonnar is a nutjob

So, Stephen Bonnar says he fought a bad fight against Mark Coleman because he was trying to finish with a spinning back kick. He was trying to do this because God told him to do it in a dream.
It's not clear whether he was screwing around with the "it came from God!" shit, or if that's what he literally feels...but either way, he's a wacky dude.

Strikeforce, etc

Jay Hieron and Diesel Riggs have reason to be pissed they've been bumped to the undercard in favor of Lashley-Sims and Walker-Some Cab Driver. They're legit fighters who've contended for belts on main cards. But Hieron at least is sucking it up.

I'm jacked up for Coenen-Cyborg. That should be war. I hope Coenen doesn't try to stand with Cyborg, or pull what I like to call The McLovin. It doesn't end well for grapplers, in general, to stand up and try to box strikers.

Dear every MMA writer in the world: You don't have to say "fellow countrymen". Just "countrymen". The "fellow" part is kind of implied.

MMA Senior Tour

So I'm browsin' my sites, and here's an article about Frank Trigg, talking about his upcoming fight with Matt The Terra Serra. He mentions Matt's "Renzo Gracie black belt", and that gets me thinking about Renzo-Hughes coming up. Then I realize there's a Coleman-Couture fight as well. Is the MMA Senior Tour already here? I made a joke about it the other day. but it seems to actually be happening. Matt Hughes has said before that he's only interested in fights against other old guys. Serra doesn't seem interested in taking on all comers, or frankly fighting all that often at all.
We've had a de facto senior tour in a lot of smaller organizations for years, with dudes like Dan Severn, Tank Abbott, Ken Shamrock, and on and on still going at it. Dream and WVR seem to have no problem with bringing old guys in either, setting up Fujita and Sakuraba to get killed by young kickboxers for shits and giggles. But the UFC seemed to be immune from that, til now. Maybe it's just a passing trend due to contract situations...Matt Serra has to be a weird guy to schedule fights for, since he catapaulted himself into the upper echelon by surprising GSP. Same with Frank Trigg...both guys, while tough, skilled fighters, are barely relevant based on their recent records.
I suppose the coming months will tell.

Why would anyone take James Toney seriously?

James Toney, tubby, washed-up boxer, has been going hell-for-leather to get a big contract with the UFC, despite having no skills in MMA and no real indication that he's completely sane. When finally offered a contract with the UFC, for some fuckin reason, Toney scoffed because it wasn't enough money, I guess.

"Dana White's first offer was a joke and that lets me know he really don't want to do this ... his offer was laughable. That's the reason I wanted the camera guy in the room with us when I sat down with Dana, so the fans would know that I was serious and if it didn't happen, it wasn't because of me."

1) Fans don't give a shit. Go fight some small-time promotion, like Ray Mercer did, and show that you're worth jack.
2) You asked for an offer, you got an offer. If you don't like it, go be barely-comprehensible elsewhere, you shambling mound of ego.
3) Fans do not give a shit. I'm pissed off at you that I'm writing this post. Go away.

Pleasant surprise: MMA on CW 6

The local CW affiliate is showing IA:MMA, a small promotion that holds events (event?) at the Starlight Bowl here in San Diego. I saw a promo for it an hour before it came on so I got lucky. Especially since I was basically ready to end it all after the fucking Chargers choked on dick yet again. I hereby renounce the Chargers and all they stand for.
Mat Diablo from 91X is the host, along with Heath Herring doing a little commentary. The broadcast is surprisingly good, considering the ghetto looking ring with no sponsors. Two super heavyweights line up to open, Cody Goodale and Jason Williams. Cody's a really pudgy 282lb 19-year-old. I cannot imagine keeping that kid fed. My 90lb daughter eats as much as I can keep up with. Jason Williams is a big-ass Samoan. Little technique, but some aggression. Neither guy has much standup, but Goodale seems to have a little training. Jason Williams is a lot more experienced that I thought he was, with a decent attempt to get out after a takedown and some good choke defense. Eventually the teenager got ahold of a head-and-arm choke after some good full-mount ground and pound (even if the punches seemed a little pittypat). I gotta say I'm pretty impressed all around with the quality of the fight and the production value, for a small-time local broadcast.
Bobby "The Kid" Sanchez vs. Roberto Vargas. Looks like a decent scrap. Kid Sanchez taps to a standing guillotine after a little action against the cage. So, never mind, not much of a scrap. Sanchez was too cautious, Roberto was very aggressive.
Paul Song vs Bailey Byrne, two 185ers. The Cyborg family is in Song's corner, interesting. Takedown for Song, working from the guard. Byrne grabs a triangle choke...now it's locked in even tho Song is blasting his face. Wow, he pounded out of the triangle, I thought it was done. Song and Bailey staredown in range, but then trade knees and uppercuts from the clinch. Bailey is like a big Kendall Grove...easy comparison since he's got the Hawaii tats and he's a 6'4" middleweight. Big mouse under Bailey's eye. Good first round, quite a scrap! Great job for Paul pounding out of that triangle, I didn't think that was a likely way to get out.
They went to commercial break. I can't stress enough how good this is for a local show like this. Coming from someone who's paid for way, way worse PPV's that's sayin' something. I bought YAMMA.
Heath Herring and Mat Diablo are providing some good commentary. I wonder if they taped that afterwards. Diablo is the ring announcer too.
I didn't realize it but this fight is 3x3 minutes, as it's the debut for both fighters, even tho they listed each at 1-0. Dunno. Second round was pretty solidly for Song, even though Byrne threatened with a triangle again. The news lead-in commercials suck. They keep talking about the Chargers' loss. Fuck you Chargers. I feel like Pedro Cerrano finally giving up on Jobu. Fuck you, Jobu!
Commercial every round. Hmph. Good action in the third, and I kinda wish they'd given these kids 5 minutes rounds. Paul Song takes a split decision win, but it certainly looked like it was all Paul. I had a 30-27 fight. Both could turn into good fighters, I'll look for them in the future.
Well, that's the show. Nice work. I wrote a letter to CW 6 saying I liked it, hopefully they'll show some more soon and I'll somehow get the news so I can watch it. Hey CW 6 and IA:MMA...gimme more MMA!

Mitrione-Slice

Zach Arnold is lamenting the terrible matchmaking on display in 2010:

First, Bobby Lashley vs. Jimmy Ambriz and now news of Matt Mitrione vs. Kimbo Slice. I throw my hands up.
Ironically, I had recently been watching New Japan footage circa 2003 and saw Ambriz in a video promo with Sean McCully in Los Angeles doing a truck power stunt. Of course, this was the heat-up for Ambriz vs. Josh Barnett at the Tokyo Dome. I have nothing against Jimmy getting a payday, but to get booked against Lashley…
So far, the booking in 2010 is the kind that just kills your spirit as a supporter of the business.

While I don't debate that Ambriz is just a squash match for Lashley, I really feel that Mitrione beats Kimbo. I don't think Kimbo has anything like the skillset to deal with Mitrione, which is kind of sad. Kimbo's a one-dimensional fighter who says the right things. From everything I've read he's a very kind person, but still...it's not like he's going to improve. Mitrione, for all of the douchery the implied and showed on TUF, is a bit younger fighter with more upside. Honestly, let's see how each one does. Loser goes home.

Ironhead's Skull's Story

Ah Seanbaby...you're made of great.

agreed

Everything Ben said.
How close do you have to get to finishing someone to score a 10-8? Do they have to be unconscious? All I know is Tom Lawlor doesn't deserve a loss for that fight.

decisions, decisions

what the fuck was up with the judging in virginia? at least in the Maynard-Diaz fight someone got something wrong. 28-29, 29-28, 30-27? It looked like 29-28 maynard at first glance to me, but whatever, they both kind of looked like clowns.
Lawlor got a little robbed in my opinion. I thought he won two rounds.
Efrain Escudero needs someone to explain that tapping is what you do instead of rehabbing a torn up arm for six weeks.
Not a bad event, especially if you're a fan of watching the same damn commercials over and over again. What's with the constant emergence of the boobirds? Every show it seems like the come out as soon as fighters stand in front of each other. it's annoying.

Holy shit

I just switched over to cartoon network to set the DVR for Venture Brothers and there's Bas Rutten doing a PSA for handwashing to stop the flu. World! Stop spinning so crazily!

Upon a bit of googling he's apparently done other spots for CN. That's just another layer of awesome on the multi-dimensional awesomecake that is Bas Rutten.

Oh Jaime Varner

You just lost me with your idiotic "I came to fight he came to grapple" bullshit immediately on the heels of your "I came to box he came to kick" comment. What, grappling and kicking aren't part of fighting? Are you stupid? Hopefully you can head off where you belong, on undercards. Good luck with that, you small-time Matt Serra impersonator. I defended you for a long time, but that was just bullshit.

agreed

with what subo said