DREAM 15 was a very middling event for me just because while it was a good event, most of my favorite guys lost haha. It happens, but some of the fallout is what I will find most displeasing. Also, I decided to structure my recaps more like Sherdog's post-event analyses, so let's see how that goes.
Shinya Aoki (Champion) def Tatsuya Kawajiri via Submission (Achilles Lock), Rd 1
My prediction: Kawajiri would practically be a Japanese Melendez in the fight, and dominate Aoki while staying out of trouble en route to a decision win.
What happened: Aoki shot in immediately, got stuffed, and snatched the leg. Kawajiri fought valiantly for over a minute, but once Aoki has you caught in something, it's a pretty safe bet that it's over.
Thoughts: Kawajiri is one of my favorite lightweights, so it was hard to see him lose from a split-second mistake like that when he'd been waiting so long for an epic title fight. I still think he's a better fighter than Aoki, but Aoki's game is latching on quick subs. If he does, you're in big trouble. If not, he's borderline useless. Don't mind my love-hate relationship with Aoki; I tend to alternate between rooting for and against him because he has qualities I strongly like and dislike as both a person and a fighter. I still think Kawajiri and past victims like Joachim Hansen (although i dunno as of late), JZ Cavalcante, and Eddie Alvarez can beat him down on any given night. But all the props to Aoki for the win; he's the ultimate opportunist of the division, and he makes the most of people's mistakes on the ground. My biggest problem is that I really thought Kawajiri was better for the job of avenging DREAM against Strikeforce and Gilbert Melendez. Kawajiri vs. Melendez would make for a much more competitive match that I think Kawajiri has a chance at winning. Aoki wants to rematch Melendez now, and I don't see the rematch going any differently.
Next for Aoki: He says he's fighting Melendez again in September, and realistically there aren't anymore viable challengers in DREAM who have earned a title shot at the moment. Whoever won this title fight would be in that predicament.
Next for Kawajiri: I guess losing creates more matches for Kawajiri. He can fight JZ again, Katsunori Kikuno, or Vitor Ribeiro. A fight with Eddie Alvarez could also be possible, but I'd still rather see a Kawajiri/Melendez pairing.
Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante def. Katsunori Kikuno via Decision (Split), Rd 2
My prediction: Kikuno would keep things interesting and competitive on the feet, and may even have the edge, but JZ would dominate the mat game for a submission win.
What happened: pretty much everything above, except Kikuno was able to show enough sub defense to last to the final bell and lose a competitive decision.
Thoughts: Like Kawajiri, Kikuno is one of my favorite lightweights around. I like that he has successfully integrated traditional Kyokushin karate into a very effective style of MMA standup. I'm also very impressed with the fact that, like Lyoto Machida, he can utilize a traditional karate stance that leaves him wide open to a knockout, yet he remains difficult to hit cleanly. With that said, he needs to start focusing on the ground aspect of MMA. He does very well against opponents who will stand with him or don't have the skills to take him down (his takedown defense is far from impenetrable, but also far from terrible), but once he does go to the ground he's at a distinct disadvantage. In this fight he showed much improved ground defense against a far, far superior grappler, so he just may be working towards a better ground game. JZ looked pretty good in his return from a year layoff and two straight losses, and should be making his way into the title mix.
Next for JZ: I take it he will be making his Strikeforce debut next, which opens up some nice matchups for him. I personally think a fight with Josh Thomson would be wildly entertaining. And if KJ Noons wasn't being fed (surprise) Jorge Gurgel I might suggest him, so that Noons can stop getting gift-wrapped opponents. Like Kawajiri (also a possibility) there are a good number of matches for JZ.
Next for Kikuno: Like the Alvarez fight, this is a real indicator of the fact that Kikuno could move so much higher in the lightweight ranks if he had a ground game. I think Vitor Ribeiro would make for a nice striker vs. grappler match that would majorly test his ground game, but also keep him comfortable on the feet.
Gegard Mousasi def. Jake O'Brien via Submission (Guillotine Choke), Rd 1
My prediction: Easy win for Mousasi, wherever the fight goes.
What happened: Even easier win for Mousasi than I thought. O'Brien left his neck gift wrapped and wide open during a sloppy takedown attempt.
Thoughts: First off, I have to say that I'm disgusted with Jake O'Brien. How do you show up (or not show up) at weigh-ins for a light heavyweight (205 lb) fight weighing 226 lbs?! Especially being a wrestler?! Maybe there were some legitimate reasons for his terrible display of professionalism, but as it stands right now he is a disgrace. He came into the fight looking pudgy and awful, immediately shot in for a sloppy takedown, and got what he deserved: choked out.
Next for Mousasi: Tatsuya Mizuno. It's a tournament, folks.
Next for O'Brien: Who knows. I highly doubt DREAM will want him back after this debacle, and surely no other major or semi-major promotion will want anything to do with him, at least for a while. He seriously needs to sit down and do some reflecting.
Tatsuya Mizuno def. Melvin Manhoef via Submission (Kimura), Rd 1
My prediction: Manhoef would run roughshod all over Mizuno's ass standing up, and if by some chance Mizuno got it to the ground, he still wouldn't be able to do too much. Manhoef by Sub Zero style head and spine rip.
What happened: Mizuno survived Manhoef's early blitzkrieg special, almost locked in a kimura from the bottom, then did the unexpected once the fight returned to the feet: blitzed Mahoef, dropped him, pounded on him a bit, then did the decidedly more expected: submitted him.
Thoughts: This was definitely the upset of the night. I'm a fan of Manhoef, but it's hard not to be happy for former salaryman-turned fighter and all around nice guy Mizuno after such a big win. Too bad he'll be murdered by Mousasi in the final, but it's still a big confidence booster for him to make it to the final I'm sure. This tournament was obviously constructed to arrange a blockbuster rematch between Manhoef and Mousasi (Manhoef was triangle choked in the first match). Mousasi held up his end of the bargain, but Manhoef continues his recent string of bad luck. And if there ever was a fighter that suffers tremendously from his lacking ground game, it's Manhoef. He can out-strike almost anyone in his weight class, but can't grapple worth a damn. There have been too many fights he was dominating, only to make it to the ground and get exposed. I remember him saying he was working diligently on his ground game a while back, and well, it doesn't seem to be working too much. I really hope he can turn things around for himself, and soon.
Next for Mizuno: Mousasi. And the end of a 3-fight win streak.
Next for Manhoef: Manhoef has lost 2 straight for the first time in his MMA career, so it may be time for a tune-up fight just to get his confidence back. But purely for my own interest, I'd like to see him rematch Robby Lawler, maybe this time in DREAM. He utterly destroyed Lawler before being caught with a Hail Mary bomb, and I think he deserves the chance to avenge that loss. Just hope his weak chin isn't exposed yet again.
Michihiro Omigawa def Young Sam Jung via Submission (Guillotine Choke), Rd 1
My prediction: Jung has no business being in there with Omigawa, and this was clearly a gift-wrapped fight to welcome Omigawa to DREAM. Omigawa by whatever he wants.
What happened: See above, except Jung was a bit tougher than expected.
Thoughts: I've been full throttle on the Omigawa bandwagon for a while now. Controversial decisions and all, he always comes to fight, he's gritty, durable, and in my opinion was easily the most improved fighter of 2009. He was thrown to the sharks and horribly managed at the start of his career, and fought at lightweight despite being a natural featherweight. To turn around and go from a tomato can 4-7 lightweight, to a top 10 ranked featherweight (currently at 11-8-1) is nothing short of amazing. And I don't know what it is about the Yoshida Dojo, but its Judo converts quickly develop relatively strong boxing. Omigawa's seemingly overnight change from plodding rudimentary striking to slick footwork, excellent head movement, and a snappy, effective 1-2 combo accounts for a large part of his success. Okay, enough of my fawning over Omigawa. Jung showed great heart in this fight, and got out of some situations that no one really expected the winless Korean to escape, including being dropped and almost finished early, and a tight guillotine that he escaped. He also threated Omigawa from his back with consistent up kicks and armbar attempts. A win would have been huge, but I guess it's back to obscurity for Jung.
Next for Omigawa: I love that Omigawa has defected from Sengoku to Dream. There are so many good matchups that await him. If you want to hot shot him, a rematch with Hiroyuki Takaya (whom he TKO'd at Dynamite! 2009 DREAM vs Sengoku) would put him in the title mix. If not, pairings with Joachim Hansen, Hideo Tokoro, Mitsuhiro Ishida, and Kid Yamamoto would all make for very entertaining bouts. And of course I would love to see him take on Bibiano Fernandes for the title someday.
Next for Jung: Back to Korea in search of his first professional win (althought he claimed he was actually 7-3 prior to this fight). He shouldn't have to search too long as he showed some good heart, and Korean MMA generally sucks (just kidding....not really).
Mitsuhiro Ishida def. Daiki "DJ Taiki" Hata via Decision (Unanimous), Rd 2
My prediction: Another fight, another grinding decision of top position dominance from Ishida.
What happened: See above.
Thoughts: This really came as no surprise. Ishida was a strong wrestler for an undersized lightweight so he should be absolutely dominant with his move to featherweight, and this match displayed that. DJ had moments of brilliance, and showed a great deal of toughness and a never-say-die attitude. But it just wasn't enough for a top position specialist like Ishida, who has endless cardio and an exceptionally strong base. Good to see Ishida snap a 2-fight losing streak as well. I was never too familiar with DJ, except for his love of cosplay (which he unfortunately didn't display for this match), and being exceptionally tough. The toughness definitely showed in this fight, and he has never been finished in 7 losses.
Next for Ishida: With his move to featherweight comes a wealth of matches. You can pretty much insert Omigawa, or anyone on the list I made for Omigawa, minus Ishida of course. I think a fight against Joe Warren could be very interesting, with both of them coming from a strong wrestling base and don't have exceptional striking.
Kazuhiro Nakamura def. Karl Amoussou via Decision (Unanimous), Rd 2
My prediction: Amoussou has fast, powerful striking but not much of a ground game. Nakamura has pretty good boxing (Yoshida Dojo), a good chin, and is a Judo black belt (again, Yoshida Dojo). Nakamura would get it to the ground and work out a decision.
What happened: See above
Thoughts: Kazuhiro Nakamura is much like his master Hidehiko Yoshida: he should not be judged by his record. If you look purely at their records, as well as their styles, it would seem that Amoussou was prime to blitz and knock out Nakamura. Nakamura's record is 15-10. Pretty unimpressive, eh? But take this into consideration: Nakamura has only fought in major organizations, and is even a 2-time UFC vet; 6 of his 10 losses have come to current top 10 fighters, including light heavyweights Mauricio Rua (#1), Lyoto Machida (#2), Antonio Rogerio Nogueira twice(#6, and their first fight was Nakamura's MMA debut), and middleweights Dan Henderson (#5) and Jorge Santiago (#9). And that's not all. All of his remaining losses are to former top 10 fighters Wanderlei Silva (PRIDE Middleweight Champ and top 3, if not #1 at 205 at the time), Josh Barnett (former #2 Heavyweight), Sokoudjou (fresh off a loss to Machida, but still hot off knockout upsets of Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona in PRIDE), and Kazuo Misaki (pretty sure he was a top 10 middleweight at some point haha). He has lost to nothing but top guys. On top that he has wins against Murilo Bustamante (former UFC Middleweight Champ), Kevin Randleman (former UFC Heavyweight Champ), Igor Vovchanchyn (PRIDE 2000 World Grand Prix runner-up), Yuki Kondo, Evangelista Santos, and his own master Hidehiko Yoshida in what was Yoshida's final match. So yeah....this guy's pretty legit. Amoussou by comparison is largely untested. Whew. So was this fight really that much of an upset?
Next for Nakamura: I'm glad Nakamura came to DREAM from Sengoku along with Omigawa. There are plenty of decent matches left for him, but I think a battle with Sakuraba could be pretty entertaining.
Next for Amoussou: Back to Strikeforce. Since now he and Trevor Prangley are coming off losses, I think it's a good idea to schedule a rematch of their controversial technical draw from earlier this year. Let's see who still has some relevance haha.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
UFC 116 recap
I just want to start off by saying that this was arguably the best UFC event of 2010. It had everything you could ask for in a PPV: impressive knockouts, sick submissions, drama, and improbable comebacks. Each of the main card fights were phenomenal to watch. So on with it.
Brock Lesnar (c) def Shane Carwin via Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) Rd 2
This match proved two things: that Brock is the real deal, and that Shane wasn't as prepared to go 5 rounds as he thought. I made no secret of the fact that I like Brock Lesnar and want to see him do well (I like heels, especially when I know that most of their behavior is simply playing everyone to sell a fight), but that first round had me on the edge of my seat. When Shane hot Brock with that first uppercut and started backing him into the cage, I knew it wasn't good. When he hit him with that knee and dropped him, I was already counting Brock out, saying "It's done. Shane is the new champ." But Brock survived. He took everything Shane had, which was much more than enough to KO just about anyone else. Upon first watching the fight I actually kind of wondered why the ref didn't stop the fight at some points, but after re-watching it I could see that Shane didn't connect cleanly with most of the shots, and that whenever he did Brock would make efforts to defend. Great call by Rosenthal. I'm also impressed with Brock's Rocky-esque tactic of letting Shane wear himself out. Once he noticed Shane's punches getting lighter, he decided it was better to play possum than stand back up and risk more pummeling. It paid dividends. He managed to actually stand up in the final minute, showing that he was clearly not as hurt as people thought. By the second round, Brock was battered but fresh; Shane was a zombie. Brock quickly took the fight to the ground, worked from half guard to full mount, and quickly locked in an arm-triangle. It was an impressive display, and very surprising to see Brock attack so quickly with a sub. It'll be interesting to see how Brock fares against Cain Velasquez next. Cain has both more technical striking and better cardio than Shane, but if Shane's cinderblock fists couldn't put Brock away, I have a hard time believing Cain can do it. Also, Cain won't exactly have the wrestling advantage this time around. An interesting match-up indeed. As for Shane, hes prime for the loser of Junior Dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson.
Chris Leben def. Yoshihiro Akiyama via Submission (Triangle Choke), Rd 3
So the triangle choke is the new upset weapon of choice now, eh? I am a fan of Leben, but an even bigger fan of Akiyama so I think you know who I was rooting for. Many people didn't give Leben much of a chance, but I knew that Leben is legit and dangerous in a firefight. This was fight of the night bar-none. The fight was going just as I often hope it does when two fighters I like square off: relatively close, but my favorite guy clearly winning the fight. For all the adroitness Leben showed on the ground, Akiyama was clearly dominating him there and seemed to be letting Leben attempt subs just because he knew he could shake them off. The fight changed pace in the 2nd stanza, as they brought the 4th of July fireworks early. We all know Leben loves a firefight, and can take a punch just as well as he can give one. But Akiyama really reinforced the fact that he's no slouch in a firefight either. He walked through some good shots, and generally outstruck Leben on the feet with superior technique. At one point he had Leben out on his feet, but as we've seen before, Leben's granite chin only switched him to zombie mode, which makes him arguably more dangerous. In the 3rd round, Akiyama was noticeably fatigued and Leben got his second wind. Up two rounds, Akiyama tried to play it safe and cruise to a decision, but his fatigue and complacency left him wide open to an improbable triangle choke from Leben, tapping with just 20 seconds left in the fight. Akiyama had been letting Leben walk his legs up for subs the whole fight, and this time he was too tired to fight it off well enough. Needless to say, I was happy for Leben but extremely disappointed overall because I wanted Akiyama to win, and he seemed to have the fight in the bag. I'd still like to see either of these guys face Wanderlei Silva (who you know I'll be rooting for either way), but I'm kind of leaning towards Leben, because the prospect of Akiyama fighting Michael Bisping has me intrigued. Although Leben's really staging a comeback, so I could see him fighting the winner of Mark Munoz vs Yushin Okami to get closer to a title shot.
Chris Lytle def. Matt Brown via Submission (Straight Armbar), Rd 2
How this didn't win submission of the night is beyond me. Sure, it was very unexpected to see Brock sub Carwin, but I could argue that it was even more surprising to see Leben sub Akiyama 20 seconds from losing a decision. But even that pales in comparison to the awesomeness that was Lytle's mounted inverted triangle choke-straight armbar combination. Sure, it wasn't surprising to see Lytle win by sub, but c'mon...that sub was too impressive to get overshadowed by a simple arm-triangle. Anyway, Brown brought the fight in the 1st as he usually does, and almost subbed lytle with a tight D'arce choke, but Lytle managed to hold on until Brown had to let go for fear of gassing his arms. Once in the second, Lytle used a guillotine attempt to scramble and beautifully transition into a mounted triangle position, and the rest was academic. Lytle is the exact definition of a gatekeeper; just keep giving him exciting fights. Brown always comes to fight, but his resolve seems to die when hes on the ground. He needs to work on that. A ground game would go a long way for him. Amir Sodallah should make for a good fight to test his overall game.
Stephan Bonnar def Krzysztof Soszynski via TKO (punches), Rd 2
Much needed win for Bonnar. Although his previous fight with Sos (I will call him this from here one because the Polish are ridiculous) wasn't a real loss since it was stopped off of an accidental headbutt, it's still a loss on his record, and a loss in the rematch would put him at 4-straight losses. The fight was textbook Bonnar, with sloppy brawling and his face getting busted up, but entertaining to watch as he keeps up a frantic pace and is damn near impossible to finish. This has been called a return to form and a renaissance for Bonnar, but I honestly don't see where all this talk comes from. As impressive as this win was, you can't deny the fact that in both matches with Sos, Bonnar was losing up until the finish. I take nothing away from Bonnar's win, but he didn't prove that he can hang with better competition in this fight anymore than he has in the past. He's a solid gatekeeper, and that is all. I'd like to see him take on a more technical striker who won't be so easily drawn into a firefight, like Brandon Vera or Cyrille Diabate next. Sos is still a solid 205er, and I think he'd make a great do-or-die opponent for Luis Cane to show how well his standup is evolving while he continues to work on his ground game. It's hard to gauge your striking against a masochist like Bonnar.
George Sotiropoulos def Kurt Pellegrino via Unanimous Decision, Rd 3
Saw this one coming from a mile away. Kurt thought he had the edge in the standup and on the ground; he got tooled in both. He was pretty much beaten to the punch in both areas by a technically superior fighter. By the time the 3rd round rolled along it was clear Kurt knew he wasn't going to win the fight. Up until then the only offense he could muster were a few takedowns, of which he could do nothing to capitalize on while in George's slick guard. A end of the fight knockdown saw Kurt almost pull off a potential come from behind TKO, but it was too little too late, and George looked to have recovered very quickly from it. George has earned his way into the lightweight title picture with 5 straight wins in the UFC, and deserves some top-shelf lighweight next. Evan Dunham and Jim Miller are great wrestlers who are around the title mix, and as great wrestlers I think they would offer suitable tests for George's game. Kurt's still a solid guy, but George really exposed some flaws in his standup. I kind want him to test that out, along with his wrestling, against the rejuvenated Melvin Guillard.
Prelim Thoughts and Notes
Brendan Schaub looked great once again with a quick 1st round TKO of Chris Tuscherer. He's showing ever-improving boxing and speed. I think it's time for him to take a slight step up in competition, or Matt Mitrione. Maybe Gilbert Yvel could serve as a good test for him as well. I've never been high on Chris and in my opinion he's lost all 3 of his UFC fights. If not for his gutsy performance against Gonzaga and ties to HW champ Lesnar, I'd give him the boot.
Seth Petruzelli beat the crap out of hot prospect Ricardo Romero in the first round, and not being able to secure the finish pretty much sealed his fate. He came out noticeably slower in the second, and after some uninspiring grappling was caught in a straight armbar that may or may not have broken that arm. For such a big prospect, Romero looked like an amateur on the feet (though he can take a shot), and didn't show enough to indicate that he wouldn't be torn apart by better competition. If Seth paced himself better he might have taken him out. I don't even know where to go with these two next.
Gerald Harris brought the excitement to an otherwise dull affair with a thunderous KO slam in the 3rd round to Dave Branch. Branch showed a nice chin and good footwork, but what the hell was he thinking trying to jump into guard against a wrestler like Harris? I think playing it safe en route to a competitive decision loss looks much better than ending up on the wrong end of a highlight reel knockout. Harris got KO of the Night, by the way.
Kendall Grove vs Goran Reljic was boring. Reljic was supposed to be a solid prospect before his back injury, and since returning he's just been disappointing. Grove showed me that he can actually take a punch without dying for once, and the only highlight of this fight was a sick up-kick he landed that took Reljic's feet right out from under him. I still think Grove is nothing more than a gatekeeper for the division, but he had a decent performance this time around, although I gave the fight to Reljic by a small margin.
I didn't see the last two fights. May check out Petz vs Roberts if it's available because of the close nature of the fight (Roberts by split decision), but I have very little interest in watching Jon Madsen fight (vs Karlos Vemola). He's boring as hell to me and I knew he'd take home the lackluster decision.
Brock Lesnar (c) def Shane Carwin via Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) Rd 2
This match proved two things: that Brock is the real deal, and that Shane wasn't as prepared to go 5 rounds as he thought. I made no secret of the fact that I like Brock Lesnar and want to see him do well (I like heels, especially when I know that most of their behavior is simply playing everyone to sell a fight), but that first round had me on the edge of my seat. When Shane hot Brock with that first uppercut and started backing him into the cage, I knew it wasn't good. When he hit him with that knee and dropped him, I was already counting Brock out, saying "It's done. Shane is the new champ." But Brock survived. He took everything Shane had, which was much more than enough to KO just about anyone else. Upon first watching the fight I actually kind of wondered why the ref didn't stop the fight at some points, but after re-watching it I could see that Shane didn't connect cleanly with most of the shots, and that whenever he did Brock would make efforts to defend. Great call by Rosenthal. I'm also impressed with Brock's Rocky-esque tactic of letting Shane wear himself out. Once he noticed Shane's punches getting lighter, he decided it was better to play possum than stand back up and risk more pummeling. It paid dividends. He managed to actually stand up in the final minute, showing that he was clearly not as hurt as people thought. By the second round, Brock was battered but fresh; Shane was a zombie. Brock quickly took the fight to the ground, worked from half guard to full mount, and quickly locked in an arm-triangle. It was an impressive display, and very surprising to see Brock attack so quickly with a sub. It'll be interesting to see how Brock fares against Cain Velasquez next. Cain has both more technical striking and better cardio than Shane, but if Shane's cinderblock fists couldn't put Brock away, I have a hard time believing Cain can do it. Also, Cain won't exactly have the wrestling advantage this time around. An interesting match-up indeed. As for Shane, hes prime for the loser of Junior Dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson.
Chris Leben def. Yoshihiro Akiyama via Submission (Triangle Choke), Rd 3
So the triangle choke is the new upset weapon of choice now, eh? I am a fan of Leben, but an even bigger fan of Akiyama so I think you know who I was rooting for. Many people didn't give Leben much of a chance, but I knew that Leben is legit and dangerous in a firefight. This was fight of the night bar-none. The fight was going just as I often hope it does when two fighters I like square off: relatively close, but my favorite guy clearly winning the fight. For all the adroitness Leben showed on the ground, Akiyama was clearly dominating him there and seemed to be letting Leben attempt subs just because he knew he could shake them off. The fight changed pace in the 2nd stanza, as they brought the 4th of July fireworks early. We all know Leben loves a firefight, and can take a punch just as well as he can give one. But Akiyama really reinforced the fact that he's no slouch in a firefight either. He walked through some good shots, and generally outstruck Leben on the feet with superior technique. At one point he had Leben out on his feet, but as we've seen before, Leben's granite chin only switched him to zombie mode, which makes him arguably more dangerous. In the 3rd round, Akiyama was noticeably fatigued and Leben got his second wind. Up two rounds, Akiyama tried to play it safe and cruise to a decision, but his fatigue and complacency left him wide open to an improbable triangle choke from Leben, tapping with just 20 seconds left in the fight. Akiyama had been letting Leben walk his legs up for subs the whole fight, and this time he was too tired to fight it off well enough. Needless to say, I was happy for Leben but extremely disappointed overall because I wanted Akiyama to win, and he seemed to have the fight in the bag. I'd still like to see either of these guys face Wanderlei Silva (who you know I'll be rooting for either way), but I'm kind of leaning towards Leben, because the prospect of Akiyama fighting Michael Bisping has me intrigued. Although Leben's really staging a comeback, so I could see him fighting the winner of Mark Munoz vs Yushin Okami to get closer to a title shot.
Chris Lytle def. Matt Brown via Submission (Straight Armbar), Rd 2
How this didn't win submission of the night is beyond me. Sure, it was very unexpected to see Brock sub Carwin, but I could argue that it was even more surprising to see Leben sub Akiyama 20 seconds from losing a decision. But even that pales in comparison to the awesomeness that was Lytle's mounted inverted triangle choke-straight armbar combination. Sure, it wasn't surprising to see Lytle win by sub, but c'mon...that sub was too impressive to get overshadowed by a simple arm-triangle. Anyway, Brown brought the fight in the 1st as he usually does, and almost subbed lytle with a tight D'arce choke, but Lytle managed to hold on until Brown had to let go for fear of gassing his arms. Once in the second, Lytle used a guillotine attempt to scramble and beautifully transition into a mounted triangle position, and the rest was academic. Lytle is the exact definition of a gatekeeper; just keep giving him exciting fights. Brown always comes to fight, but his resolve seems to die when hes on the ground. He needs to work on that. A ground game would go a long way for him. Amir Sodallah should make for a good fight to test his overall game.
Stephan Bonnar def Krzysztof Soszynski via TKO (punches), Rd 2
Much needed win for Bonnar. Although his previous fight with Sos (I will call him this from here one because the Polish are ridiculous) wasn't a real loss since it was stopped off of an accidental headbutt, it's still a loss on his record, and a loss in the rematch would put him at 4-straight losses. The fight was textbook Bonnar, with sloppy brawling and his face getting busted up, but entertaining to watch as he keeps up a frantic pace and is damn near impossible to finish. This has been called a return to form and a renaissance for Bonnar, but I honestly don't see where all this talk comes from. As impressive as this win was, you can't deny the fact that in both matches with Sos, Bonnar was losing up until the finish. I take nothing away from Bonnar's win, but he didn't prove that he can hang with better competition in this fight anymore than he has in the past. He's a solid gatekeeper, and that is all. I'd like to see him take on a more technical striker who won't be so easily drawn into a firefight, like Brandon Vera or Cyrille Diabate next. Sos is still a solid 205er, and I think he'd make a great do-or-die opponent for Luis Cane to show how well his standup is evolving while he continues to work on his ground game. It's hard to gauge your striking against a masochist like Bonnar.
George Sotiropoulos def Kurt Pellegrino via Unanimous Decision, Rd 3
Saw this one coming from a mile away. Kurt thought he had the edge in the standup and on the ground; he got tooled in both. He was pretty much beaten to the punch in both areas by a technically superior fighter. By the time the 3rd round rolled along it was clear Kurt knew he wasn't going to win the fight. Up until then the only offense he could muster were a few takedowns, of which he could do nothing to capitalize on while in George's slick guard. A end of the fight knockdown saw Kurt almost pull off a potential come from behind TKO, but it was too little too late, and George looked to have recovered very quickly from it. George has earned his way into the lightweight title picture with 5 straight wins in the UFC, and deserves some top-shelf lighweight next. Evan Dunham and Jim Miller are great wrestlers who are around the title mix, and as great wrestlers I think they would offer suitable tests for George's game. Kurt's still a solid guy, but George really exposed some flaws in his standup. I kind want him to test that out, along with his wrestling, against the rejuvenated Melvin Guillard.
Prelim Thoughts and Notes
Brendan Schaub looked great once again with a quick 1st round TKO of Chris Tuscherer. He's showing ever-improving boxing and speed. I think it's time for him to take a slight step up in competition, or Matt Mitrione. Maybe Gilbert Yvel could serve as a good test for him as well. I've never been high on Chris and in my opinion he's lost all 3 of his UFC fights. If not for his gutsy performance against Gonzaga and ties to HW champ Lesnar, I'd give him the boot.
Seth Petruzelli beat the crap out of hot prospect Ricardo Romero in the first round, and not being able to secure the finish pretty much sealed his fate. He came out noticeably slower in the second, and after some uninspiring grappling was caught in a straight armbar that may or may not have broken that arm. For such a big prospect, Romero looked like an amateur on the feet (though he can take a shot), and didn't show enough to indicate that he wouldn't be torn apart by better competition. If Seth paced himself better he might have taken him out. I don't even know where to go with these two next.
Gerald Harris brought the excitement to an otherwise dull affair with a thunderous KO slam in the 3rd round to Dave Branch. Branch showed a nice chin and good footwork, but what the hell was he thinking trying to jump into guard against a wrestler like Harris? I think playing it safe en route to a competitive decision loss looks much better than ending up on the wrong end of a highlight reel knockout. Harris got KO of the Night, by the way.
Kendall Grove vs Goran Reljic was boring. Reljic was supposed to be a solid prospect before his back injury, and since returning he's just been disappointing. Grove showed me that he can actually take a punch without dying for once, and the only highlight of this fight was a sick up-kick he landed that took Reljic's feet right out from under him. I still think Grove is nothing more than a gatekeeper for the division, but he had a decent performance this time around, although I gave the fight to Reljic by a small margin.
I didn't see the last two fights. May check out Petz vs Roberts if it's available because of the close nature of the fight (Roberts by split decision), but I have very little interest in watching Jon Madsen fight (vs Karlos Vemola). He's boring as hell to me and I knew he'd take home the lackluster decision.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Strikeforce/M-1 - Fedor vs. Werdum recap....FINALLY
Okay, I've finally gotten over the shock and bullshit that followed this event, so let's just get to the recap. Just to warn you, most of this will consist of a rant about the main event.
Fabricio Werdum def. Fedor Emelianenko vis Submission (Triangle Choke), Rd 1
Wow. Just....wow. Of all the fighters I thought Fedor might fall to, I never imagined it'd actually be Fabricio Werdum. Not that I take anything away from Werdum, I thought he had a much better chance than everyone gave him. I knew that if the fight went to the ground Fedor wouldn't be able to just blast through him. By all means I thought Fedor would just destroy him on the feet and avoid spending too much time on the ground. Well he didn't. The fight started off just as most of us thought, with Fedor blitzing Werdum with punches until he went down. When Werdum dropped I didn't think he was hit cleanly enough by any of the punches to be put down, and this proved to be key. While I'm sure a loss of balance had something to do with it, I'm also sure Werdum went down the way he did to lure Fedor in. Now I imagined Fedor, being the savvy veteran with a near perfect record through 10 years of competition, would either a) cautiously test the waters before committing, or b) opt not to go to the ground at all. Well he didn't. He dove, guns a-blazin', into the guard of perhaps the best BJJ guy in the division. This wasn't the key mistake. Once he dove in there, Werdum immediately went for an armbar, which Fedor defended. Okay, lesson learned, get out of there. Right? Wrong. He stays in Werdum's guard chasing the finish. Now as soon as this happened, I say out loud "What the hell are you doing?" And just as fast as I say this, Werdum locks in a triangle (alternating with an armbar as well....nice). Which Fedor hesitates before trying to escape. Fedor taps at the 1:09 mark of round 1. It was a rookie mistake committed by the man who doesn't make mistakes. It's hard to swallow, but these things happen. The loss didn't seem to affect Fedor at all, and an ecstatic Werdum showed a lot of humility by not claiming to be the best now that he beat the best, even going so far as to say that Fedor is still the best in the world.
What got under my skin was the aftermath. Now that Fedor improbably lost this match, not only does it throw the whole division into chaos, but it brings out all the haters. Those who discredit Fedor's past achievements, call him a can who never fought anyone, claim to have known he would lose and be exposed. It's pretty ridiculous. I'm not really a fan nor a hater of Dana White, but the childish grudges he holds and stances he takes on certain issues really leans me in the hater direction. Of course he would use this opportunity to claim Fedor was never that great, and that Werdum couldn't hack it in the UFC and was supposed to be an easy fight for him. Of course Dana would say these things....after he tried his damnedest, on multiple occasions, to get Fedor into the UFC. After he himself admitted that Fedor was great before talks between the two parties went south. Now he parades around with his chest out, no better than the idiotic haters who think this one loss proves that Fedor is garbage. Anderson Silva, one of Dana's golden boys, had two embarrassing losses AFTER he was touted as a big deal after dominating Hayato Sakurai (who was widely considered the #1 welterweight at the time). Look where he is now. Dana White is an idiot. And don't get me started on Tito Ortiz, as he and Dana are clearly butt buddies in this issue. I was not in favor of a rematch because Werdum earned his title shot fair and square, but after all this annoying talk I actually want a rematch now, just so Fedor can do what he was supposed to do the first time: knock out Werdum. I really like Werdum (and always have since his PRIDE days), but they both want the rematch so why not have it? Fedor would prove that the first fight was an anomaly, bet on it. Okay, enough of that.
Cung Le def Scott Smith via TKO (Body Kick and Punches), Rd 2
For this one, I kept hearing that the outcome was going to be the same as their first fight: Le dominates until he gets tired, and Smith capitalizes to score the improbably comeback KO/TKO. For whatever reason I didn't buy it. Le seemed angry and motivated after his first loss, so I saw no reason why he'd slack off this time around, contrary to other predictions. Smith has a lot of heart, but a careful and accurate fighter can pick him apart without suffering his comeback flurry if they pace themselves or just get rid of him early. Le chose the latter strategy. Smith came in with a seemingly sound strategy: pressuring Le so he doesn't have the openings to throw his flashy kicks. At first it seemed to work, but just forced Le to use weapons he's clearly worked on since the last fight: his fists. He actually showed some sound and accurate boxing in this fight, which just exposed Smith's lack of defense. In time, Smith could no longer keep that pressure up while getting punched in the face, and Le let the kicks loose. After getting rocked and dropped a few times, a body kick took the fight out of Smith and he went down for good. Now anyone who knows me (MMA-wise) knows that I can' stand Cung Le. Guys with undeserving hype usually don't get on my good side. His finishing skills are lacking, and he only finished Smith this time because Scott has the defense of a Rock-em Sock-em Robot (see: none). He's a highly touted superstar despite the fact that his best win was against an over the hill Frank Shamrock who had too much bravado to take the fight to the ground where he could win. Even then, the fight was only stopped because Frank blocked too many kicks and broke his arm in the 4th rd. As for Smith, I've always liked him for his exciting ways and comebacks, but seriously....he needs to learn how to fight. Or rather, to be a mixed martial artist. You can't get far anymore with just heavy hands and a lot of heart. He never uses kicks, has no wrestlig, and no BJJ. If that wasn't bad enough, his takedown defense isn't great either. He could AT LEAST have that if he's gonna be a one dimensional boxer. I really want him to get some skills, so he won't have to take such a beating whether he wins or loses, but he probably won't. I still look forward to his fights, but I'd also like him not to be brain-scrambled by the time hes 35. I want to see Le in the Middleweight tourney just so he can prove himself worthy of his popularity (or not). Smith vs. Manhoef sounds like a sadistic matchup, but I'd like to see if Smith could pull off yet another come from behind victory (and it's kind of sad that I already know that this is the only outcome in which Smith would win).
Christiane "Cyborg" Santos def Jan Finney via TKO (Knees to the Body), Rd 2
I feel bad for Strikeforce regarding their 145 lb division. Cyborg is ahead of her time and is simply too dominant a champion. A lot of women don't want to fight her, and the ones that do have no business being in the cage with her. Cyborg already ousted one of the two prominent women anywhere near her level in Gina Carano, and all that's left is Erin Toughill (and who knows when or if that fight will happen). So Finney was one of those women who had no business in there with Cyborg. She fought valiantly, showed an great chin and heart, but she got straight-up murdered in there. I am of the group that believes the fight should have been stopped after the first round, because nothing was going to change but the landscaping of Finney's face, which already had a number done on it. Please make Cyborg vs Toughill happen. Enough of these undersized women fighting a monster like Cyborg; it's kind of cruel.
Josh Thomson def. Pat Healy via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 3
I won't spend too much time here. This was a very solid fight, where Healy gave Thomson more fight than a lot of people thought. I'll pretty much just reiterate what Sherdog said: this fight could've been much easier for Thomson if he ever utilized a gameplan instead of relying on his talent alone. Add strong planning to Thomsons arsenal and he can once again rise up as a significant force in the lightweight division. Thomson wants JZ Cavalcante and Kawajiri, and I say both those matches would be great, even though they are currently occupied. Healy looked pretty solid, and is a good gatekeeper for the division.
Fabricio Werdum def. Fedor Emelianenko vis Submission (Triangle Choke), Rd 1
Wow. Just....wow. Of all the fighters I thought Fedor might fall to, I never imagined it'd actually be Fabricio Werdum. Not that I take anything away from Werdum, I thought he had a much better chance than everyone gave him. I knew that if the fight went to the ground Fedor wouldn't be able to just blast through him. By all means I thought Fedor would just destroy him on the feet and avoid spending too much time on the ground. Well he didn't. The fight started off just as most of us thought, with Fedor blitzing Werdum with punches until he went down. When Werdum dropped I didn't think he was hit cleanly enough by any of the punches to be put down, and this proved to be key. While I'm sure a loss of balance had something to do with it, I'm also sure Werdum went down the way he did to lure Fedor in. Now I imagined Fedor, being the savvy veteran with a near perfect record through 10 years of competition, would either a) cautiously test the waters before committing, or b) opt not to go to the ground at all. Well he didn't. He dove, guns a-blazin', into the guard of perhaps the best BJJ guy in the division. This wasn't the key mistake. Once he dove in there, Werdum immediately went for an armbar, which Fedor defended. Okay, lesson learned, get out of there. Right? Wrong. He stays in Werdum's guard chasing the finish. Now as soon as this happened, I say out loud "What the hell are you doing?" And just as fast as I say this, Werdum locks in a triangle (alternating with an armbar as well....nice). Which Fedor hesitates before trying to escape. Fedor taps at the 1:09 mark of round 1. It was a rookie mistake committed by the man who doesn't make mistakes. It's hard to swallow, but these things happen. The loss didn't seem to affect Fedor at all, and an ecstatic Werdum showed a lot of humility by not claiming to be the best now that he beat the best, even going so far as to say that Fedor is still the best in the world.
What got under my skin was the aftermath. Now that Fedor improbably lost this match, not only does it throw the whole division into chaos, but it brings out all the haters. Those who discredit Fedor's past achievements, call him a can who never fought anyone, claim to have known he would lose and be exposed. It's pretty ridiculous. I'm not really a fan nor a hater of Dana White, but the childish grudges he holds and stances he takes on certain issues really leans me in the hater direction. Of course he would use this opportunity to claim Fedor was never that great, and that Werdum couldn't hack it in the UFC and was supposed to be an easy fight for him. Of course Dana would say these things....after he tried his damnedest, on multiple occasions, to get Fedor into the UFC. After he himself admitted that Fedor was great before talks between the two parties went south. Now he parades around with his chest out, no better than the idiotic haters who think this one loss proves that Fedor is garbage. Anderson Silva, one of Dana's golden boys, had two embarrassing losses AFTER he was touted as a big deal after dominating Hayato Sakurai (who was widely considered the #1 welterweight at the time). Look where he is now. Dana White is an idiot. And don't get me started on Tito Ortiz, as he and Dana are clearly butt buddies in this issue. I was not in favor of a rematch because Werdum earned his title shot fair and square, but after all this annoying talk I actually want a rematch now, just so Fedor can do what he was supposed to do the first time: knock out Werdum. I really like Werdum (and always have since his PRIDE days), but they both want the rematch so why not have it? Fedor would prove that the first fight was an anomaly, bet on it. Okay, enough of that.
Cung Le def Scott Smith via TKO (Body Kick and Punches), Rd 2
For this one, I kept hearing that the outcome was going to be the same as their first fight: Le dominates until he gets tired, and Smith capitalizes to score the improbably comeback KO/TKO. For whatever reason I didn't buy it. Le seemed angry and motivated after his first loss, so I saw no reason why he'd slack off this time around, contrary to other predictions. Smith has a lot of heart, but a careful and accurate fighter can pick him apart without suffering his comeback flurry if they pace themselves or just get rid of him early. Le chose the latter strategy. Smith came in with a seemingly sound strategy: pressuring Le so he doesn't have the openings to throw his flashy kicks. At first it seemed to work, but just forced Le to use weapons he's clearly worked on since the last fight: his fists. He actually showed some sound and accurate boxing in this fight, which just exposed Smith's lack of defense. In time, Smith could no longer keep that pressure up while getting punched in the face, and Le let the kicks loose. After getting rocked and dropped a few times, a body kick took the fight out of Smith and he went down for good. Now anyone who knows me (MMA-wise) knows that I can' stand Cung Le. Guys with undeserving hype usually don't get on my good side. His finishing skills are lacking, and he only finished Smith this time because Scott has the defense of a Rock-em Sock-em Robot (see: none). He's a highly touted superstar despite the fact that his best win was against an over the hill Frank Shamrock who had too much bravado to take the fight to the ground where he could win. Even then, the fight was only stopped because Frank blocked too many kicks and broke his arm in the 4th rd. As for Smith, I've always liked him for his exciting ways and comebacks, but seriously....he needs to learn how to fight. Or rather, to be a mixed martial artist. You can't get far anymore with just heavy hands and a lot of heart. He never uses kicks, has no wrestlig, and no BJJ. If that wasn't bad enough, his takedown defense isn't great either. He could AT LEAST have that if he's gonna be a one dimensional boxer. I really want him to get some skills, so he won't have to take such a beating whether he wins or loses, but he probably won't. I still look forward to his fights, but I'd also like him not to be brain-scrambled by the time hes 35. I want to see Le in the Middleweight tourney just so he can prove himself worthy of his popularity (or not). Smith vs. Manhoef sounds like a sadistic matchup, but I'd like to see if Smith could pull off yet another come from behind victory (and it's kind of sad that I already know that this is the only outcome in which Smith would win).
Christiane "Cyborg" Santos def Jan Finney via TKO (Knees to the Body), Rd 2
I feel bad for Strikeforce regarding their 145 lb division. Cyborg is ahead of her time and is simply too dominant a champion. A lot of women don't want to fight her, and the ones that do have no business being in the cage with her. Cyborg already ousted one of the two prominent women anywhere near her level in Gina Carano, and all that's left is Erin Toughill (and who knows when or if that fight will happen). So Finney was one of those women who had no business in there with Cyborg. She fought valiantly, showed an great chin and heart, but she got straight-up murdered in there. I am of the group that believes the fight should have been stopped after the first round, because nothing was going to change but the landscaping of Finney's face, which already had a number done on it. Please make Cyborg vs Toughill happen. Enough of these undersized women fighting a monster like Cyborg; it's kind of cruel.
Josh Thomson def. Pat Healy via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 3
I won't spend too much time here. This was a very solid fight, where Healy gave Thomson more fight than a lot of people thought. I'll pretty much just reiterate what Sherdog said: this fight could've been much easier for Thomson if he ever utilized a gameplan instead of relying on his talent alone. Add strong planning to Thomsons arsenal and he can once again rise up as a significant force in the lightweight division. Thomson wants JZ Cavalcante and Kawajiri, and I say both those matches would be great, even though they are currently occupied. Healy looked pretty solid, and is a good gatekeeper for the division.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)