Rumor has it that Anderson Silva's next title defense will not be at UFC 88 in September as originally thought. After Yushin Okami broke his hand in training last week, it was announced Patrick Cote would step in to face Silva. Most thought it would take place at UFC 88 in Atlanta, GA as the main event instead of Liddell-Evans, however with Cote stepping in the fight may be pushed back to UFC 89 in Birmingham, England as the main event that will be broadcast on free tv with Spike TV and the UFC expected to announce within the week that the UFC 89 card will be on Free television. The largest Spike network audience for MMA was for Jackson-Henderson, a matchup that was also in England and was taped delayed to the US. I don't know if the UFC plans on making the event air live at 3 pm est/12 pm pct, or if they will tape delay this card too. Many have rumored in the past that the UFC will feature the event live on PPV and than replay it for free at 10 pm est that night on Spike, but that is still to be decided. I will post to let you know when it becomes official, supposedly later this week that will happen.
Also, I wanted to update Quinton 'Rampage' Jacksons situation. Quinton was in attendance at the Affliction PPV this past weekend but was trying to stay incognieto throughout most of the event. Jackson was arrested last week on felony hit-and-run charges, along with possible other felony charges being added at a later date for reckless driving, evading/fleeing police and other possible charges. Following the initial arrest, Jackson was picked up again the following day and admitted to a California Mental hospital for evaluation. Many thought he was still being held at the hospital, longer than the 72 hour stay it normally is, on Saturday. However, I have spoken with many people who were in attendance at the Affliction PPV and have multiple sources about stating Jackson WAS in attendance. One person told me they spoke with Quinton, and he was very nice and "himself". They said Jackson seemed very spiritual, but nothing out of the ordinary from Rampage. Ill keep you posted as more information becomes available, Quinton your the man and we look forward to seeing you back to yourself and in the UFC again soon.
I will be back at some point in this week with more info and a possible 1st mailbag. So keep the questions/comments coming in and I will try to answer/respond on the first mailbag.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
I return..
Sorry to anyone who might actually read this lol, I was extremely busy last week with all the stuff pouring in from the MMA world and because I had the flu! But anyways, no biggie hopefully and my apologies completely to anyone who reads this to keep up to date with the world of MMA. On to the news:
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson was arrested and released on $25,000 bail (posted by Dana White) early last week. The very next day he was picked up again by police, but this time taken into a mental clinic for evaluation. Apperently, he is so bad off mentally right now they have extended the 72 hour initial window for holding a person and Rampage remains in custody of the mental clinic in California. This all started when Jackson hit multiple vehicles and took police on a 5 + minute chase across SoCal. I in no way am "friends" or want to come across looking like I really "know" Quinton Jackson. I have met the man a few times, but in those few occasions I can say this comes as a complete shock. Anyone who has talked to Quinton Jackson the man, not fighter, will tell you he is a very charismatic business man who knows how to promote himself and is very down to earth. He is a father of 4 and is married. Speaking on behalf of myself and many others I want to wish Quinton a quick recovery and we all hope to see him back to himself soon! GOD bless Rampage!
This past weekend was also the UFC and Afflicition showdown! In case you missed it, Dana White put on a free Fight Night Live on Spike to counter the Affliction PPV. What it really boils down to is this... White is a smart business man and wants NO competition. And why would anyone complain? No competition means all the best fighters in the world would be in the UFC, right? Wrong. Dana is a smart business man, and he DOES NOT want competition to rival the success the UFC has grown too. However, its a double-edged sword. You cannot please everyone, and thus weather it be Pride, Elite XC, Strikeforce or Affliction .. there will always be another outlet for fighters to go and get paid and STILL get TV or media exposure, yes Dana.. you've contributed to making the sport so big there will always be competition. And this weekend showed what seems to be on first glance, the UFCs first legitiment competition.
First, UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas, NV. The undercard was decent looking on paper, tons of interesting, if not intriguing, bouts. First up saw Jesse Taylor, the now infamous member of the TUF show to get kicked out due to bad behaviour AFTER the show stopped taping, vs. CB Dolloway, favorite to win the whole show at the beginning but than suffered a semi's loss to Amir Sadallah and than replaced Taylor in the finals and lost a 2nd time to Amir. Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was trying to hard, or maybe it was just Taylor isnt that good?? But Dolloway dominated the fight and eventually choked out Taylor with a Peruvian Necktie (my new favorite name of a submission, taking the place of the Darce choke.) in the 1st rd. For those not familiar with the submission manuever, it basically involves stretching your legs around someone, while securing your fists clinched together underneath the neck of the opponent, than when secured around the neck, use your legs and arms to stretch and lean back thus cutting off the air supply (BJ Penn showed me this once when I asked him to "show me a submission I never have seen before right now; YES this move hurts). Than, Kevin Burns got a cheap win over Anthony Johnson in what was turning out to be a possible fight of the night canidate. Johnson repeatedly recieved thumbs to the eyes over the course of the fight, and than recieved a poke to the eye and while flying back and going to the ground holding his eye a phantom uppercut that missed seemingly to the official Steve Mazzagatti. In fairness to the ref, I didnt even realize it live. I thought "oh he got caught with the uppercut", than on replay I saw clearly what happened. Its a shame and both men went out with class asking the fans forgiveness basically was Burns and said he didnt want to win that way and Johnson urged the fans to not boo Burns and said he would be back, and I will be watching as Anthony Johnson is really turning into a 'cant miss fight' fighter. Cain Velasquez. That's all I need to say.. you want details on his fight with Jake O'Brien? Beatdown. All hail the future heavyweight champion! He is Brock Lesner with MMA skill! He would quite possibly beat Nogueria in my opinion right this second. I don't see a heavyweight out there outside of Couture and Fedor that would touch this kid. Frankie Edgar than took on former 155 lber title contender Hermes Franca, who is coming off a 1 year layoff following a positive steroid test after his title chance against Sean Sherk. Franca was taken down at will, and although attempting a few submission attempts, really took a beating from Edgar. With the fight in the back, late in the 3rd round Franca landed a few shots that really hurt Edgar but he quickly took Franca down to the mat and laid on top to recover for the last few seconds to take a big win. Edgar was destroyed by former TUF fighter Gray Mayner. Edgar proved much stronger than Franca and that really was the difference. If Frankie can learn to cope with fighters stronger than him, he'd really be a great fighter. As is though, he will remain looked at as a decent fighter instead. Than the most disappointing fight of the entire night. Brandon Vera moved down to 205 lbs to take on little known IFL vet Reese Andy. Vera was expected to destroy Andy and be looked at as a real threat for the 205 belt. Instead, he took home a unanamous decision win in a very lackluster, slow, extremely boring fight that left the crowd boo'ing throughout much of it. Vera said in the post -fight interview that the short notice and his first trip down to 205 really made him more tired that usual and that he felt he could do it 'better' next time out. Vera who also in the past was very vocal about his desire to stay at heavyweight started to back down from that approach saying "ill stay here at 205 if thats what the UFC wants". Even though the fight sucked and Vera let a much lesser fighter hang around all night still in my opinion can be great. If he stays at 205 lbs, and really trains for a fight properly should destroy most of that division. Finally it was time for the main event that featured Middleweight king Anderson Silva's move up to 205 lbs (light heavyweight) and face heavy-handed James 'the Sandman' Irvin who was coming off a UFC record 8 second KO over Houston Alexander in his last fight. A lot of people thought Irvin could hang around atleast a round and could potentially test Anderson's jaw. Instead, Silva showed exactly why he is one of the baddest men around KO'ing Irvin in just over a minute with a devastating 1 punch near KO followed by 8-10 shots from the top of Irvin with the last landing under Irvins eye splitting him WIDE open. At this point and time in the evening, Fedor had not fought yet and I was thinking to myself "well, the UFC won tonight already because of that.". You have to understand my standpoint, James Irvin = Chris Leban, with that win or wins, it gave Anderson Silva an instant titleshot. It was that kind of KO by the way for those wondering why the comparison. If Silva wanted, he could ask Dana White to give him a title shot at 205, and he'd get it. His friendship with Lyoto Machida will make him NOT do that, but Dana White could say "Look, fight Griffin in a 'non-title' fight (something like Hughes .vs. Gracie), even if you have to make it a catch weight (204 or 206), it would be the biggest event ever and Griffin has the bravado to want to fight him, im telling you Griffin would fight a freakin 300 lb 7'3 guy without a problem, and REALLY believe he would win. It would make for great stuff, but I dont think it will happen soon. More likely, Silva will drop back to 185 and now fight Patrick Cote in September, October or November (hearing Sept. still). Cote will replace Okami because he broke his hand (chickened out) and wont be able to fight.
Affliction: Banned on PPV
I want to add on free TV Affliction showed 2 fights including the Phenom Vitor Belfort KO win over Terry Martin. Mike Pyle defeated J.J. Ambrose by rear naked choke in the 1st round. Ambrose started out decently enough at in the early seconds, but soon Pyle's experience really showed and he completely dominated in a much one-sided fight for Pyle and a quick win. Fighters at Xtreme Couture, besides his wife, seem to really be doing well recently. Next was Antonio Rogerio Nogueira's stoppage of Edwin DeWees. Edwin DeWeees stinks, he just got murdered by Frank Trigg and Nogueira did the same. It ended in the 1st round by 'referee' stoppage. Basically what they wanted to do was establish names tonight that may not be familiar with the casual MMA fan or strickly UFC fan. Rogerio Nogueira fits this bill. If you watched PRIDE, you would know this man already and if you saw the highlights of Sokodojou's KO of him, you would think he is terrible. Fact is, Nogueira is an elite light heavyweight and is one of the best guys in the world at 205. He was expected to murder Sokodojou but got caught. Next up is another case, Matt Linland took on Fabio Nascimento (not the model). Lindland has fought everywhere so everyone should have seen him atleast once. He's fought everyone including Rampage, and Fedor among others and won a Silver medal at the Olympics. I had never seen Fabio, but he looked good (no pun intended) throughout and really made Lindland earn the win, which he did with his takedowns and ground and pound. He won a unanamous decision and now a possible Belfort-Lindland match can be made at 185 lbs for the next Affliction PPV. The next fight was Renato 'Babalu' Sobral taking on Mike Whitehead in a clash at 205 lbs. The best fight of the night in my opinion feature the 1st and 3rd clearly going to Sobral and the 2nd was actually pretty close, I gave it to Whitehead. But in the end, Sobral won the unanmous decision win. Sobral looked great, and I have always been a fan of his. I think it was kinda bogus Dana fired him for holding that choke when other fighters like BJ Penn did the same thing. It's just how it goes, he held it for a extra 3 seconds and than let it go. But, either way he looked good against a decent 205 lber and gym legend Whitehead, who never seems to fully get it all together when in the ring. At the gym in training he is legendary with his unbelievable sessions and apperent 'wins' over top flight guys. Heard a rumor he KO'd W. Silva but just a rumor. Either way, Whitehead will have to come out and try again at the next Affliction show. It was a good enough fight fans will want to see him again, and Sobral will likely be paired against Nogueira for a belt. Next was Mike Hominick submitting Savant Young via arm bar in the 2nd round. The first round was terribly boring, borderline Vera-Andy, and the 2nd got a bit more exciting actually. Young took Hominick down but Mike tried several submission attempts and Young attempted a huge power bomb that nearly got Hominick but at the last second he let it go and avoiding major impact. On another triangle attempt he converted it to a armbar and got the tap from Young. If the 1st round was like the 2nd round it would have been great. I guess just a case of some nerves and a feeling out process. Either way Hominick looked good and will definitely be back for Afflictions next show. Than came the heavyweights! Up first was Josh Barnett avenging a loss to Pedro Rizzo by devasting KO in the 2nd round. The 1st round was sluggish and a bit boring but the 2nd belonged to Barnett. Josh opened up Rizzo with a right hand and followed with a left hook that dropped Rizzo cold, Barnett pounced on him and landed 2 hammer fists before the red could jump in and stop it officially. Barnett looked amazing with the KO, and is next in line to face (find out who won the main event below) for the title. Someone he has never faced and would make for a HUGE fight main event, even bigger than this last PPV was. Next up was Andrei Arlovski taking on former IFL Heavyweight Champion Ben Rothwell. This was the fight of the night in most peoples opinion. The first round feature back and forth stand up action that saw Arlovski get the better of it slightly, but Rothwell held his own. The 2nd was the best round of the year in my opinion. Arlovski ROCKED Rothwell and had him in trouble and tried to apply a heal hook but Rothwell escaped and started the ground and pound on Arlovski. The ref stood them up for no reason whatsoever, and Arlovski started to dominate on the feet again. In the 3rd it was all Arlovski and he drilled Rothwell with a series of punches and knees and finally KO'd the bigman and set himself up for a future title shot at some point. Rothwell did no damage to his credability either hanging with Arlovski and showing great heart. FINALLY, it was time for the main event of the evening with former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia taking on former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko. It would only last :39. Fedor would come out and land a few right hands and than a upper cut that lifted Sylvia off the floor and to the mat where Fedor would take his back immediatly, land a few more shots to the face and than strap on a rear naked choke with his hands and force Sylvia to tap out. At this point in the evening I thought "Ok, maybe the UFC didnt exactly win tonight"! It was an amazing showing for Fedor who now FINALLY must be recognized as the best heavyweight in the world, despite what Dana White will tell you. After the savage beating, Fedor was asked who he'd like the fight next'. He took a long pause, and than smiled and said a few words in Russian and than you could hear it loud and clear "Randy Couture". His official statement "My desire is a fight with Randy Couture". They than had Couture come to the ring and make a statement in which he said it would be his desire to have a fight with Fedor as soon as possible but the courts would have to decide. Currently, the UFC and Randy Couture are awaiting the courts decision on if Couture can get out of his contract come October or if he has to fulfill his 2 fight obligation to the UFC. If the UFC does win this case, I dont know what will happen. Fedor is still technically a Free Agent so to speak, so I would think the UFC would throw huge dollars his way to get him to atleast a 2 fight deal. Fedor is a free lance guy, you have to understand. He has a great desire to fight on New Years eve in Japan and has done so 3 years running. He likes to occasionally fight in his homeland of Russia, did so against Matt Lindland for his match in Bodog fight. He wants a 1 fight deal everytime, but it seems like if he gains your trust, he wont screw the company over and would come back to fight and defend the belt if he held it. I guess ego will have to be put aside but I could see it happening. If the UFC loses the court battle, October will be the date Couture will fight Fedor for Afflictions next PPV and it would be the biggest MMA event ever. If not, Fedor would fight again in Affliction against Josh Barnett most likely. You dont lose on either one. Both fights would be tremendous draws and generate great interest. I couldnt imagine and better second PPV would that match on it, and a possible Tito Ortiz return to shake things up. Id love to see Tito fight Babalu Sobral! I think the move to Affliction would rejevunate Titos career and that matchup would be great.
Just a note to those people out there that non-MMA related, anyone who hasnt seen 'The Dark Knight' needs to get out and see it. It is an amazing movie that I highly recommend. Heath Ledgers performance as the Joker is one of the best acting performances I have ever seen. It not really for kids, but if your 13 and over .. definitely worth the 10 bucks a ticket it cost me.
I need a few more questions for a decent mail bag, so please keep sending them and it will be posted soon. I am back now and will be updating daily if possible so keep your eye out for more!
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson was arrested and released on $25,000 bail (posted by Dana White) early last week. The very next day he was picked up again by police, but this time taken into a mental clinic for evaluation. Apperently, he is so bad off mentally right now they have extended the 72 hour initial window for holding a person and Rampage remains in custody of the mental clinic in California. This all started when Jackson hit multiple vehicles and took police on a 5 + minute chase across SoCal. I in no way am "friends" or want to come across looking like I really "know" Quinton Jackson. I have met the man a few times, but in those few occasions I can say this comes as a complete shock. Anyone who has talked to Quinton Jackson the man, not fighter, will tell you he is a very charismatic business man who knows how to promote himself and is very down to earth. He is a father of 4 and is married. Speaking on behalf of myself and many others I want to wish Quinton a quick recovery and we all hope to see him back to himself soon! GOD bless Rampage!
This past weekend was also the UFC and Afflicition showdown! In case you missed it, Dana White put on a free Fight Night Live on Spike to counter the Affliction PPV. What it really boils down to is this... White is a smart business man and wants NO competition. And why would anyone complain? No competition means all the best fighters in the world would be in the UFC, right? Wrong. Dana is a smart business man, and he DOES NOT want competition to rival the success the UFC has grown too. However, its a double-edged sword. You cannot please everyone, and thus weather it be Pride, Elite XC, Strikeforce or Affliction .. there will always be another outlet for fighters to go and get paid and STILL get TV or media exposure, yes Dana.. you've contributed to making the sport so big there will always be competition. And this weekend showed what seems to be on first glance, the UFCs first legitiment competition.
First, UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas, NV. The undercard was decent looking on paper, tons of interesting, if not intriguing, bouts. First up saw Jesse Taylor, the now infamous member of the TUF show to get kicked out due to bad behaviour AFTER the show stopped taping, vs. CB Dolloway, favorite to win the whole show at the beginning but than suffered a semi's loss to Amir Sadallah and than replaced Taylor in the finals and lost a 2nd time to Amir. Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was trying to hard, or maybe it was just Taylor isnt that good?? But Dolloway dominated the fight and eventually choked out Taylor with a Peruvian Necktie (my new favorite name of a submission, taking the place of the Darce choke.) in the 1st rd. For those not familiar with the submission manuever, it basically involves stretching your legs around someone, while securing your fists clinched together underneath the neck of the opponent, than when secured around the neck, use your legs and arms to stretch and lean back thus cutting off the air supply (BJ Penn showed me this once when I asked him to "show me a submission I never have seen before right now; YES this move hurts). Than, Kevin Burns got a cheap win over Anthony Johnson in what was turning out to be a possible fight of the night canidate. Johnson repeatedly recieved thumbs to the eyes over the course of the fight, and than recieved a poke to the eye and while flying back and going to the ground holding his eye a phantom uppercut that missed seemingly to the official Steve Mazzagatti. In fairness to the ref, I didnt even realize it live. I thought "oh he got caught with the uppercut", than on replay I saw clearly what happened. Its a shame and both men went out with class asking the fans forgiveness basically was Burns and said he didnt want to win that way and Johnson urged the fans to not boo Burns and said he would be back, and I will be watching as Anthony Johnson is really turning into a 'cant miss fight' fighter. Cain Velasquez. That's all I need to say.. you want details on his fight with Jake O'Brien? Beatdown. All hail the future heavyweight champion! He is Brock Lesner with MMA skill! He would quite possibly beat Nogueria in my opinion right this second. I don't see a heavyweight out there outside of Couture and Fedor that would touch this kid. Frankie Edgar than took on former 155 lber title contender Hermes Franca, who is coming off a 1 year layoff following a positive steroid test after his title chance against Sean Sherk. Franca was taken down at will, and although attempting a few submission attempts, really took a beating from Edgar. With the fight in the back, late in the 3rd round Franca landed a few shots that really hurt Edgar but he quickly took Franca down to the mat and laid on top to recover for the last few seconds to take a big win. Edgar was destroyed by former TUF fighter Gray Mayner. Edgar proved much stronger than Franca and that really was the difference. If Frankie can learn to cope with fighters stronger than him, he'd really be a great fighter. As is though, he will remain looked at as a decent fighter instead. Than the most disappointing fight of the entire night. Brandon Vera moved down to 205 lbs to take on little known IFL vet Reese Andy. Vera was expected to destroy Andy and be looked at as a real threat for the 205 belt. Instead, he took home a unanamous decision win in a very lackluster, slow, extremely boring fight that left the crowd boo'ing throughout much of it. Vera said in the post -fight interview that the short notice and his first trip down to 205 really made him more tired that usual and that he felt he could do it 'better' next time out. Vera who also in the past was very vocal about his desire to stay at heavyweight started to back down from that approach saying "ill stay here at 205 if thats what the UFC wants". Even though the fight sucked and Vera let a much lesser fighter hang around all night still in my opinion can be great. If he stays at 205 lbs, and really trains for a fight properly should destroy most of that division. Finally it was time for the main event that featured Middleweight king Anderson Silva's move up to 205 lbs (light heavyweight) and face heavy-handed James 'the Sandman' Irvin who was coming off a UFC record 8 second KO over Houston Alexander in his last fight. A lot of people thought Irvin could hang around atleast a round and could potentially test Anderson's jaw. Instead, Silva showed exactly why he is one of the baddest men around KO'ing Irvin in just over a minute with a devastating 1 punch near KO followed by 8-10 shots from the top of Irvin with the last landing under Irvins eye splitting him WIDE open. At this point and time in the evening, Fedor had not fought yet and I was thinking to myself "well, the UFC won tonight already because of that.". You have to understand my standpoint, James Irvin = Chris Leban, with that win or wins, it gave Anderson Silva an instant titleshot. It was that kind of KO by the way for those wondering why the comparison. If Silva wanted, he could ask Dana White to give him a title shot at 205, and he'd get it. His friendship with Lyoto Machida will make him NOT do that, but Dana White could say "Look, fight Griffin in a 'non-title' fight (something like Hughes .vs. Gracie), even if you have to make it a catch weight (204 or 206), it would be the biggest event ever and Griffin has the bravado to want to fight him, im telling you Griffin would fight a freakin 300 lb 7'3 guy without a problem, and REALLY believe he would win. It would make for great stuff, but I dont think it will happen soon. More likely, Silva will drop back to 185 and now fight Patrick Cote in September, October or November (hearing Sept. still). Cote will replace Okami because he broke his hand (chickened out) and wont be able to fight.
Affliction: Banned on PPV
I want to add on free TV Affliction showed 2 fights including the Phenom Vitor Belfort KO win over Terry Martin. Mike Pyle defeated J.J. Ambrose by rear naked choke in the 1st round. Ambrose started out decently enough at in the early seconds, but soon Pyle's experience really showed and he completely dominated in a much one-sided fight for Pyle and a quick win. Fighters at Xtreme Couture, besides his wife, seem to really be doing well recently. Next was Antonio Rogerio Nogueira's stoppage of Edwin DeWees. Edwin DeWeees stinks, he just got murdered by Frank Trigg and Nogueira did the same. It ended in the 1st round by 'referee' stoppage. Basically what they wanted to do was establish names tonight that may not be familiar with the casual MMA fan or strickly UFC fan. Rogerio Nogueira fits this bill. If you watched PRIDE, you would know this man already and if you saw the highlights of Sokodojou's KO of him, you would think he is terrible. Fact is, Nogueira is an elite light heavyweight and is one of the best guys in the world at 205. He was expected to murder Sokodojou but got caught. Next up is another case, Matt Linland took on Fabio Nascimento (not the model). Lindland has fought everywhere so everyone should have seen him atleast once. He's fought everyone including Rampage, and Fedor among others and won a Silver medal at the Olympics. I had never seen Fabio, but he looked good (no pun intended) throughout and really made Lindland earn the win, which he did with his takedowns and ground and pound. He won a unanamous decision and now a possible Belfort-Lindland match can be made at 185 lbs for the next Affliction PPV. The next fight was Renato 'Babalu' Sobral taking on Mike Whitehead in a clash at 205 lbs. The best fight of the night in my opinion feature the 1st and 3rd clearly going to Sobral and the 2nd was actually pretty close, I gave it to Whitehead. But in the end, Sobral won the unanmous decision win. Sobral looked great, and I have always been a fan of his. I think it was kinda bogus Dana fired him for holding that choke when other fighters like BJ Penn did the same thing. It's just how it goes, he held it for a extra 3 seconds and than let it go. But, either way he looked good against a decent 205 lber and gym legend Whitehead, who never seems to fully get it all together when in the ring. At the gym in training he is legendary with his unbelievable sessions and apperent 'wins' over top flight guys. Heard a rumor he KO'd W. Silva but just a rumor. Either way, Whitehead will have to come out and try again at the next Affliction show. It was a good enough fight fans will want to see him again, and Sobral will likely be paired against Nogueira for a belt. Next was Mike Hominick submitting Savant Young via arm bar in the 2nd round. The first round was terribly boring, borderline Vera-Andy, and the 2nd got a bit more exciting actually. Young took Hominick down but Mike tried several submission attempts and Young attempted a huge power bomb that nearly got Hominick but at the last second he let it go and avoiding major impact. On another triangle attempt he converted it to a armbar and got the tap from Young. If the 1st round was like the 2nd round it would have been great. I guess just a case of some nerves and a feeling out process. Either way Hominick looked good and will definitely be back for Afflictions next show. Than came the heavyweights! Up first was Josh Barnett avenging a loss to Pedro Rizzo by devasting KO in the 2nd round. The 1st round was sluggish and a bit boring but the 2nd belonged to Barnett. Josh opened up Rizzo with a right hand and followed with a left hook that dropped Rizzo cold, Barnett pounced on him and landed 2 hammer fists before the red could jump in and stop it officially. Barnett looked amazing with the KO, and is next in line to face (find out who won the main event below) for the title. Someone he has never faced and would make for a HUGE fight main event, even bigger than this last PPV was. Next up was Andrei Arlovski taking on former IFL Heavyweight Champion Ben Rothwell. This was the fight of the night in most peoples opinion. The first round feature back and forth stand up action that saw Arlovski get the better of it slightly, but Rothwell held his own. The 2nd was the best round of the year in my opinion. Arlovski ROCKED Rothwell and had him in trouble and tried to apply a heal hook but Rothwell escaped and started the ground and pound on Arlovski. The ref stood them up for no reason whatsoever, and Arlovski started to dominate on the feet again. In the 3rd it was all Arlovski and he drilled Rothwell with a series of punches and knees and finally KO'd the bigman and set himself up for a future title shot at some point. Rothwell did no damage to his credability either hanging with Arlovski and showing great heart. FINALLY, it was time for the main event of the evening with former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia taking on former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko. It would only last :39. Fedor would come out and land a few right hands and than a upper cut that lifted Sylvia off the floor and to the mat where Fedor would take his back immediatly, land a few more shots to the face and than strap on a rear naked choke with his hands and force Sylvia to tap out. At this point in the evening I thought "Ok, maybe the UFC didnt exactly win tonight"! It was an amazing showing for Fedor who now FINALLY must be recognized as the best heavyweight in the world, despite what Dana White will tell you. After the savage beating, Fedor was asked who he'd like the fight next'. He took a long pause, and than smiled and said a few words in Russian and than you could hear it loud and clear "Randy Couture". His official statement "My desire is a fight with Randy Couture". They than had Couture come to the ring and make a statement in which he said it would be his desire to have a fight with Fedor as soon as possible but the courts would have to decide. Currently, the UFC and Randy Couture are awaiting the courts decision on if Couture can get out of his contract come October or if he has to fulfill his 2 fight obligation to the UFC. If the UFC does win this case, I dont know what will happen. Fedor is still technically a Free Agent so to speak, so I would think the UFC would throw huge dollars his way to get him to atleast a 2 fight deal. Fedor is a free lance guy, you have to understand. He has a great desire to fight on New Years eve in Japan and has done so 3 years running. He likes to occasionally fight in his homeland of Russia, did so against Matt Lindland for his match in Bodog fight. He wants a 1 fight deal everytime, but it seems like if he gains your trust, he wont screw the company over and would come back to fight and defend the belt if he held it. I guess ego will have to be put aside but I could see it happening. If the UFC loses the court battle, October will be the date Couture will fight Fedor for Afflictions next PPV and it would be the biggest MMA event ever. If not, Fedor would fight again in Affliction against Josh Barnett most likely. You dont lose on either one. Both fights would be tremendous draws and generate great interest. I couldnt imagine and better second PPV would that match on it, and a possible Tito Ortiz return to shake things up. Id love to see Tito fight Babalu Sobral! I think the move to Affliction would rejevunate Titos career and that matchup would be great.
Just a note to those people out there that non-MMA related, anyone who hasnt seen 'The Dark Knight' needs to get out and see it. It is an amazing movie that I highly recommend. Heath Ledgers performance as the Joker is one of the best acting performances I have ever seen. It not really for kids, but if your 13 and over .. definitely worth the 10 bucks a ticket it cost me.
I need a few more questions for a decent mail bag, so please keep sending them and it will be posted soon. I am back now and will be updating daily if possible so keep your eye out for more!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Silva - Okami OFFICIAL!
After being reported here yesterday, today manager of Anderson Silva Ed Soares told TAGG Radio Okami is next in line for the UFC middleweight champion Silva. Soares also said the fight date had not been scheduled or planned yet, and wouldn't be until after the fight with Irvin. All indications from what I was told is as long as Silva makes it through the Irvin fight without injury or major damage, the fight would take place at UFC 88 in Atlanta on September 6th (a little over a month and a half after the July 19th Irvin fight). Also, the Patrick Cote fight this past weekend was still considered a #1 contender shot, he just won't be first in line for Silva. Apperently, Cote will be next in line after Okami for the title shot. Also confirmed on TAGG radio today by Soares was that Silva has no immediate plans to take a shot at the Light Heavyweight UFC title because his training partner and close friend, Lyoto Machida, is in the title picture and Machida and Silva both do not want to fight each other.
Interestingly enough I think a Machida-Silva match would be great. How good is Silva's striking against a 100% defensive first fighter. Could he get in their with his kicks and punches? No one has yet and I feel Machida shouldn't have much trouble with future opponents if he can repeat his Sokodjou preformance against strong punchers in the division. IE: Liddell, Jackson, W. Silva. As for Anderson Silva, not much more is to do at 185lbs, it reminds me of Roy Jones dominance of a division where no matter how good a person was, he made them look foolish. If Silva destroys Okami (Okami holds a victory over Silva by DQ for an illegal kick to the head when Okami was on the ground), and than beats Cote as well, the only thing that makes sense is either going to 205 lbs or hoping a big name drops to 185 like Shogun or W. Silva or a big name raises up from 170 like St. Pierre or Alves. Either way, Silva will be considered the best p4p in the business if he continues to run through competition like he has been. Another interesting possiblilty would be if Paulo Filho came from the WEC to the UFC which has been rumoured recently. However, Filho needs to beat his own demons before that can be considered as he recently postponed a title defense in March to check himself into a rehab clinic in Brazil for substance abuse. Hopefully, the undefeated fighter can rebound quickly, put his past behind him and prepare for a possible super-fight with Silva.
Stay tuned for more MMA info as it comes available and remember to keep sendind comments and questions for the weekly mailbag that will start soon!
Interestingly enough I think a Machida-Silva match would be great. How good is Silva's striking against a 100% defensive first fighter. Could he get in their with his kicks and punches? No one has yet and I feel Machida shouldn't have much trouble with future opponents if he can repeat his Sokodjou preformance against strong punchers in the division. IE: Liddell, Jackson, W. Silva. As for Anderson Silva, not much more is to do at 185lbs, it reminds me of Roy Jones dominance of a division where no matter how good a person was, he made them look foolish. If Silva destroys Okami (Okami holds a victory over Silva by DQ for an illegal kick to the head when Okami was on the ground), and than beats Cote as well, the only thing that makes sense is either going to 205 lbs or hoping a big name drops to 185 like Shogun or W. Silva or a big name raises up from 170 like St. Pierre or Alves. Either way, Silva will be considered the best p4p in the business if he continues to run through competition like he has been. Another interesting possiblilty would be if Paulo Filho came from the WEC to the UFC which has been rumoured recently. However, Filho needs to beat his own demons before that can be considered as he recently postponed a title defense in March to check himself into a rehab clinic in Brazil for substance abuse. Hopefully, the undefeated fighter can rebound quickly, put his past behind him and prepare for a possible super-fight with Silva.
Stay tuned for more MMA info as it comes available and remember to keep sendind comments and questions for the weekly mailbag that will start soon!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
UFC 89 FIGHT ADDED!
THIAGO ALVES .VS. DIEGO SANCHEZ has reportedly been made for the UK's UFC 89 show in Birmingham, England. Nothing official has yet been announced, but both camps have confirmed through media outlets the fight will take place.
I've never been a fan or believer in Sanchez, and this fight will either prove me wrong or right. Alves has been a man on fire lately defeated Hughes, Parisyan, and Lytle in his last 3 by TKO in devastating fashion, and has 6 straight wins overall. His last loss was against Jon Fitch, who will be challenging George St Pierre at UFC 87. It's an intriguing fight, I like the 'pitbulls' punchers and natural strength advantage .. but it seems this could be right up Sanchez's ally. If Deigo can take Alves down, I could see Diego's pace on top being a problem. Even with his recent success, Alves has trouble getting to 170 and looks like a 185 lber naturally. His sheer size advantage when they step inside the octagon will lead people to think he will just blow Sanchez away, but I think people maybe in for a shock and a upset with a Sanchez win. We will see!
I've never been a fan or believer in Sanchez, and this fight will either prove me wrong or right. Alves has been a man on fire lately defeated Hughes, Parisyan, and Lytle in his last 3 by TKO in devastating fashion, and has 6 straight wins overall. His last loss was against Jon Fitch, who will be challenging George St Pierre at UFC 87. It's an intriguing fight, I like the 'pitbulls' punchers and natural strength advantage .. but it seems this could be right up Sanchez's ally. If Deigo can take Alves down, I could see Diego's pace on top being a problem. Even with his recent success, Alves has trouble getting to 170 and looks like a 185 lber naturally. His sheer size advantage when they step inside the octagon will lead people to think he will just blow Sanchez away, but I think people maybe in for a shock and a upset with a Sanchez win. We will see!
UFC 90 in Chitown?
Wanted to update about a rumour swirling around about a possible Chicago debut of the UFC at UFC 90. Tentatively scheduled right now for the week after UFC 89 in Birmingham, England the UFC plans to put the weak UFC 89 card on free TV on spike to pump up and hype the UFC 90 card that will take place in Chigaco the following weekend. The issue at hand is will Spike fork over the cash it will take to broadcast a show from the UK with the main event being a non-fan favorite vs. a fan favorite .. sounds good on paper, until I reveal the names of Bisping and Leban. The main event between those 2 individuals will probably be the breaking point of the deal, and could force the UFC to put the UFC 89 card on PPV as well, which would mean they would most likely bump back the Chicago show and UFC 90 a couple weeks.
In other brief news, Quinton Jackson will resume training soon as his leg turned out to only be a deep bone bruise. Also, his trainer Juanito Ibarra said they plan on filing a protest to the Nevada State Athletic Commission on the outcome of the controversial decision that cost Jackson the belt. Among the reasons for a protest, Ibara said the 2 judges scoring round 1 for Griffin was ludicrous. Ibara also said he wants to be the judges to explain how they scored the 1st round for Griffin based on the criteria used by judges to score rounds. If you didn't see the fight, check out my previous post for a detailed description of how the fight went and highlights of each round. Since the fight, fans from both sides have been very vocal on how the fight went and who they thought won with many calling it a fix. The truth of the matter is, it was a close fight that could have went either way depending on how you scored the 3rd and 5th rounds, of course if you scored the 1st round Jackson, something that bothers Jackson supporters and most MMA fans is that the 1st wasn't scored for Jackson by 2 of the 3 "official" judges.
Fedor Emelianenko plans on fighting 3 times in 2008 says his agent Vadim Finkelstein. The plans right now for Fedor is to fight his bout in July vs. Sylvia, followed by a bout in October for the Affliction brand and than a fight on New Years eve in Japan for M1 Global or another fight promotion. Its been almost guaranteed in the last few years Fedor would fight in Japan on New Years, and it looks like he won't dissappoint the fans in Japan again this year.
And finally, the announcers for the July 19th Affliction show have been announced and they are Jay Glazer, Frank Trigg and former UFC/MMA referee "Big" John McCarthy. Trigg and Glazer worked together from the FSN broadcast of PRIDE, McCarthy will make his announcing debut. Michael Buffer will be the ring announcer for the evening. Also, I wanted to update there will be only 2 FSN televised fights instead of 3. Vernon White recently failed a drug test and has been suspended. Now the 2 free fights will be Paul Buentello .vs Aleksander Emelianenko and Vitor Belfort vs. Terry Martin. I think this a strong move by Affliction considering 3 of the 4 on the free portion of the show are UFC vets and should bring in some viewers based on them knowing them. The main PPV card is also stacked with IFL and UFC vets including Arlovski, Babalu Sobral, Sylvia, Rizzo, Linland and Barnett.
Be sure to keep checking back for daily updates and continue to send questions and comments in for the daily mailbag portion that will take place weekly starting very soon.
In other brief news, Quinton Jackson will resume training soon as his leg turned out to only be a deep bone bruise. Also, his trainer Juanito Ibarra said they plan on filing a protest to the Nevada State Athletic Commission on the outcome of the controversial decision that cost Jackson the belt. Among the reasons for a protest, Ibara said the 2 judges scoring round 1 for Griffin was ludicrous. Ibara also said he wants to be the judges to explain how they scored the 1st round for Griffin based on the criteria used by judges to score rounds. If you didn't see the fight, check out my previous post for a detailed description of how the fight went and highlights of each round. Since the fight, fans from both sides have been very vocal on how the fight went and who they thought won with many calling it a fix. The truth of the matter is, it was a close fight that could have went either way depending on how you scored the 3rd and 5th rounds, of course if you scored the 1st round Jackson, something that bothers Jackson supporters and most MMA fans is that the 1st wasn't scored for Jackson by 2 of the 3 "official" judges.
Fedor Emelianenko plans on fighting 3 times in 2008 says his agent Vadim Finkelstein. The plans right now for Fedor is to fight his bout in July vs. Sylvia, followed by a bout in October for the Affliction brand and than a fight on New Years eve in Japan for M1 Global or another fight promotion. Its been almost guaranteed in the last few years Fedor would fight in Japan on New Years, and it looks like he won't dissappoint the fans in Japan again this year.
And finally, the announcers for the July 19th Affliction show have been announced and they are Jay Glazer, Frank Trigg and former UFC/MMA referee "Big" John McCarthy. Trigg and Glazer worked together from the FSN broadcast of PRIDE, McCarthy will make his announcing debut. Michael Buffer will be the ring announcer for the evening. Also, I wanted to update there will be only 2 FSN televised fights instead of 3. Vernon White recently failed a drug test and has been suspended. Now the 2 free fights will be Paul Buentello .vs Aleksander Emelianenko and Vitor Belfort vs. Terry Martin. I think this a strong move by Affliction considering 3 of the 4 on the free portion of the show are UFC vets and should bring in some viewers based on them knowing them. The main PPV card is also stacked with IFL and UFC vets including Arlovski, Babalu Sobral, Sylvia, Rizzo, Linland and Barnett.
Be sure to keep checking back for daily updates and continue to send questions and comments in for the daily mailbag portion that will take place weekly starting very soon.
UFC 86 Post-Fight & More
So UFC 86 happened over the past 4th of July weekend on July 5th in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card on paper looked weak going in and proved to lack the star power of recent (obviously not the UK show) UFC events. The 1st fight of the evening (not televised) was Cory Hill vs. Justin Buchholz at 155 lbs. Hill, who became widely known from his stint on the UFC reality series The Ultimate Fighter; TUF, came in looking to improve to 3-0. After a good opening round by Hill, Buchholz caught Hill with a high kick that stunned him, than after a brief standing exchange, Hill took Buchholz down but soon lost position and Buchholz quickly took his back and choked him out towards the end of rd 2. In the 2nd fight of the night, Melvin Guillard took on Dennis Siver in the fastest fight of the night. After just 36 seconds of round 1, Herb Dean stopped the fight due to strikes as Guillard blasted away on Siver. Very entertaining and if Guillard could ever get his head on straight, he could probably be a top contender. For those that do not know, Guillard was first suspended most of 2007 after testing positive for cocaine and than lost to a heated rival Rich Clementi in his 1st fight back. In probably the best all around fight of the night, the 3rd fight saw Jorge Gurgel (Rich Franklin's BFF) vs. Cole Miller (former TUF cast member). A great back and forth fight (I had Gurgel winning at time of stoppage), saw it come to a close LATE in the 3rd and final round when Miller caught the Brazilian Ju-Jitsu specialist Gurgel in a deep triangle choke while in guard that forced Gurgel to tap. Another loss for Gurgel, if not for the Franklin connection and respect in the locker room because of his Ju-Jitsu background, this guy would be gone. However, he is looked at the same way Chris Leban is looked at, fans know him, media knows him, he is a decent fighter but will get freight trained by any legit contender, thus is good proving ground to go against up and comming fighters to gauge skill level. Miller now with the win, will probably take a big step up in competition in his next fight. (Maybe Joe Lauzon?) Next up was Justin McCully vs. Gabe Gonzaga in a heavyweight matchup. The fight didn't last much longer than the Guillard fight, and Gonzaga looked nearly as good, if not as good, as Guillard. In the brief moments of the stand up, McCully landed a few leg kicks and than Gonzaga retaliated with his own leg kick that dropped McCully to the mat. Gonzaga jumped on top, took full mount and sunk in a kimura (arm triangle) for the tap-out victory. The main televised card than kicked off with future 155 lb star Tyson Griffin took on Marcus Aurelio. Griffin was dominant as usual, however also as usual showed not much killer instinct to finish his opponent in order to methodically earn a decision win. If this kid really wants to become a legit contender, he will need to do more to become a star.. like finishing a fight with a KO or Submission. Next up for Griffin should be a step up in competition (maybe he will get Lauzon!) The 2nd fight on the televised portion saw Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle. It won bloodiest match of the night by far! After 3 rds of Koscheck taking Lytle down at will and pounding him with elbows to the head and face, Lytle finish with cuts over both eyes and blood POURING litterally from both wounds. Some say the fight should have been stopped, however Lytle never seemed to be close to being "ko'ed" nor did he want to stop. Also, keep in mind cuts on the forehead (above the eyes) pour blood quickly out making for a disgusting viewing, however not much danger to the fighter other than potentially getting into his eyes and causing sight issues.. neither seemed a factor. Either way, Koscheck gets the unanimous decision win over Lytle to get back on track after the GSP beat down. I really don't know what is up next for Koscheck, I guess Diego Sanchez would love another chance at him .. however does the UFC make that fight again after the pitiful show it was the first time? Doubtful. The 3rd fight of the TV card has another TUF vet Joe Stevenson taking on Gleison Tibau. The 1st round was a pretty decent round that saw the final seconds turn into a scare and than laugh for Stevenson. With about a minute or so left, Tibau locked on a americana attempt from the bottom and started to roll but Stevenson caught himself with his knee and the 2 were stuck in a comical stalemate for the remainder of the round with Stevenson making funny faces and glancing to the ref several times about a possible stand up. None came, but the round ended to save Stevenson from any further danger or boredom apperently. In the 2nd, Tibau came charging in and Stevenson caught an arm and his neck to choke out Tibau with a guillotine choke. Tibau was a great test for "Joe Daddy", after coming over the slaughter by BJ Penn, Stevenson really helped himself and his career with this victory. Now with this win, he looks for a possible top contender match in the near future. In the final fight prior to the main event, Patrick Cote battled an out of shape Ricardo Almeida for what was previewed as a #1 contender match for Anderson Silvas 185 lb belt. After Almeida won the 1st by taking Cote down, the 2nd was a disgracefully boring round that ended with Cote landing a shot and dropping Almeida with seconds left to win the rd. In rd 3, it was more low kicks and some punching by Cote that gave him the nod and the split decision victory over a totally out of shape and tiring Almeida. If Ricardo could have kept up his rd 1 intensity, I dont think Cote stood much more than a punchers chance. Instead, he tired and Cote decided to not attacked too much either to just squeek out the win. Neither fighter did anything to strengthen their fan support or hopes of getting the title shot that was pubilicized. Now I hear it will be Yushin Okami with first crack at Silva at UFC 88 in Atlanta, or so the rumors go. In the main event of the evening and final fight of the night, the UFC Light Heavyweight title was on the line as champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson took on challenger and TUF season 1 winner Forrest Griffin. Round 1 showed Jacksons punching power and Griffins recovery ability after Jackson landed a unreal uppercut that floored Griffin. Jackson jumped into Griffins guard but could manage nothing much offensively and eventually Griffin returned to his feet as the round ended. At the beginning of rd 2, Griffin landed a leg kick that had Jackson hurt badly. After another leg kick, Jackson was taken down and Griffin eventually mounted him but could do nothing much.. however most people felt it was a 10-8 round for Griffin due to the zero offensive output by Jackson who was in survival mode from the ground all round. Round 3 saw Jackson come out and look better on his leg, checking the repeated leg kick attempts by Griffin and occasionally jumping in to land some hard shots to Griffins body and head. Round 4 saw Jackson land a few hard shots and take Griffin down early on in the round. Soon Griffin was trying many submission attempts and locked on a triangle choke, however Jackson (with visions of Ricardo Arona in his head) started to lift Griffin up for a huge slam but while at the peak, Griffin released the triangle and fell back to the mat were Jackson again fell into guard. Again, Jackon could mount not much offense and the fighters would get back to their feet. Griffin at this point had a nasty gash above his right eye. Jackson would finish the round up with a few more big shots to end the round. The round that change it all, round 5. For anyone who judged, scored, or just watched the fight knew round 5 was a huge round for both fighters. With a 10-8 round 2 most likely for Griffin, it was clear both fighters needed a big 5th and final round. Instead, both fighters seemed to want to take little chance at being hurt further and mailed in a close and controversial 5th. The opening stages of round 5 seemed all Griffin, leg kicks, a few combos of punches and after about 2 1/2 minutes into the round, most would say Griffin was winning the round. Thats when Jackson decided to be more active and started throwing wild combos, occasionally landing a few shots to the head and body. Uppercuts were landing all night for Jackson and the trend continued in this round as well. The bell sounded as Jackson stalked Griffin down as he back peddled away from another flurry of punches. As the scores were announced, I knew something was fishy in Vegas that night. 48-46, 48-46, and 49-46 and winner by unanimous decision Forrest Griffin. 48-46, I can kinda understand, I had it 47-47 a draw, but the 49-46 scorecard is what really got myself and MMA fans around the globe pissed off. How could you say Jackson only won 1 round? And for the record, that round was round 4 on that judges scorecard, not round 1 in which Jackson dropped and nearly KO'ed Griffin. Conspiracy theorist will say "fix", that the UFC and Dana White want their poster boy Liddell to take on new poster boy Griffin in a title match should Liddell beat Evans at UFC 88. In reality, I don't believe the fix is in at all.. I believe poor scoring and judging is the real blame and has been for a while. Its not the first time in modern sport, nor UFC history, that scorecards are called into question after a fight. When you leave a fight to 3 human beings to decide based on their professional opinion who won a fight based on the 10 point must system, you will get this. In the traditional UFC days, the judges simply selected the fighter who they felt "won" after 3/5 rounds. Since the introduction of the 10 point-must system, more decisions are starting to be critized by media and fan alike. Get rid of the 10 point, and start allowing more realistic scoring (such as John McCarthy's 9.5 rule) and you will see fewer issues. All in all, Id rate UFC 86 4 out of 10 on the scale of how badly you need to see it. Outside of 2 fights, the main event and Gurgel-Miller, it really lacked the star power and fight caliber previous shows have put forth. But after a few month run that saw tons of PPVs, free fights , exc exc from UFC and that continuing with the July 19th "free stick it to affliction" show on Spike, you cant expect the UFC to put out shows stacked from top to bottom everytime out.
In other MMA news, Affliction (mentioned above) will be debuting on July 19th with a double-header so to speak. First, a 3 fight free show will be aired on the Comcast Sports Net/ Fox Sports Net affiliated channels throughout the USA. Following those 3 free fights will be the PPV portion that will feature the main event of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia, also Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell and Josh Barnett vs Pedro Rizzo. The event dubbed "Banned" will highlight what it calls the best collection of heavyweights on the planet on the July 19th card. For pure MMA fight fans this is a can't miss, however many inside the industry feel the name UFC carrys a ton of weight, and with the now planned "free" UFC show showcasing Anderson Silva at 205 lbs many viewers may be turned away to view the freebie. It was a clever move by Dana White and the UFC, but also a move that shows there fear of Affliction in my opinion. The most the UFC has ever done to compete against another organizations show was to run old PPV fights that had never been seen prior on Spike to combat the Elite XC CBS debacle..I mean debut. This live card, featuring the best p4p fighter on the planet shows the serioud threat the Affliction brand poses to the UFC. The pay the fighters recieve in the UFC is not nearly as large as the pay many other companies are paying fighters now, and with Donald Trump backing the Affliction brand, money is there to be spent. Not to mention, a Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko match could be the fight that sells more PPVs than any other MMA event in history, and it looks like if it happens it will be under the Affliction banner. I don't think that sounds too good to the UFC elites, do you?! With that said, the free show makes sense in trying to kill any steam that the Affliction brand could garner while leading up to that possible fight. If the buy rate blows, the free portion draws horribly as well, along with a few other issues that always pop up Affliction could be a 1 trick pony so to speak. However, the head of Affliction clothing and now MMA promotion said they plan on another event happening in the fall.. that event would most likely be with Fedor and Randy on the card, if not against each other (some have rumored Randy would take 1 tune-up fight in Affliction to build the name and work off the ring/cage rust from the long lay-off).
I will be updating soon, so be sure to check soon for more information about upcoming MMA events and results! Also, if you have any questions or comments please feel free to send me an email and I will respond with answers or comments on my daily mailbag portion to be started soon!
In other MMA news, Affliction (mentioned above) will be debuting on July 19th with a double-header so to speak. First, a 3 fight free show will be aired on the Comcast Sports Net/ Fox Sports Net affiliated channels throughout the USA. Following those 3 free fights will be the PPV portion that will feature the main event of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia, also Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell and Josh Barnett vs Pedro Rizzo. The event dubbed "Banned" will highlight what it calls the best collection of heavyweights on the planet on the July 19th card. For pure MMA fight fans this is a can't miss, however many inside the industry feel the name UFC carrys a ton of weight, and with the now planned "free" UFC show showcasing Anderson Silva at 205 lbs many viewers may be turned away to view the freebie. It was a clever move by Dana White and the UFC, but also a move that shows there fear of Affliction in my opinion. The most the UFC has ever done to compete against another organizations show was to run old PPV fights that had never been seen prior on Spike to combat the Elite XC CBS debacle..I mean debut. This live card, featuring the best p4p fighter on the planet shows the serioud threat the Affliction brand poses to the UFC. The pay the fighters recieve in the UFC is not nearly as large as the pay many other companies are paying fighters now, and with Donald Trump backing the Affliction brand, money is there to be spent. Not to mention, a Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko match could be the fight that sells more PPVs than any other MMA event in history, and it looks like if it happens it will be under the Affliction banner. I don't think that sounds too good to the UFC elites, do you?! With that said, the free show makes sense in trying to kill any steam that the Affliction brand could garner while leading up to that possible fight. If the buy rate blows, the free portion draws horribly as well, along with a few other issues that always pop up Affliction could be a 1 trick pony so to speak. However, the head of Affliction clothing and now MMA promotion said they plan on another event happening in the fall.. that event would most likely be with Fedor and Randy on the card, if not against each other (some have rumored Randy would take 1 tune-up fight in Affliction to build the name and work off the ring/cage rust from the long lay-off).
I will be updating soon, so be sure to check soon for more information about upcoming MMA events and results! Also, if you have any questions or comments please feel free to send me an email and I will respond with answers or comments on my daily mailbag portion to be started soon!
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