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.
Monday, June 21, 2010
The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale recap
Pretty good night of fights. Let's get right to it.
Court McGee dec Kris McCray via Submission (rear-naked choke) Rd 2
Court McGee is the new Ultimate Fighter and he deserves it. It's pretty crazy how both finalists were previously knocked out of competition; McCray was chosen as the wild card entry (having lost in the quarterfinals), and McGee falling victim to a bullshit decision and getting lucky with Rich Attonito had to bow out with an injury. This match boiled down to who the better wrestler was. McCray had been using his wrestling to rack up victories during TUF, but McGee had shown a bit of a more well rounded game. Well McCray said McGee hadn't faced anyone with takedown defense like his, but whether or not that was true didn't matter because McGee took him down several times and it didn't look too difficult for him. After asserting his dominance early in the fight, it was clear who the better fighter was and it was just a matter time before McGee collected the W. Personally thought this one would go to the judges, but I'm glad it didn't.
Matt Hamill def Keith Jardine via Majority Decision 3rd Rd
I was really rooting for Jardine here just because I didn't want to see him lose 4 in a row, which I'm sure has put him on the chopping block if he isn't already cut. Jardine could be a top 10 fighter if he could just be more consistent and learn that there is such a thing as defense. Jardine always gets exposed by aggressive fighters because his defense is shit, so you know he's going to wilt if you put a lot of pressure on him. He started things off very nicely and displayed a solid gameplan in staying outside and scoring with leg kicks and jabs, but when Hamill wanted a firefight Jardine unwisely obliged. It left him bloodied up and on the defensive later on in the fight. And for the record I think the point deduction for the eye poke was complete bullshit, not that it would've helped Jardine win the decision anyway (he would've lost by split decision instead). If Jardine is actually allowed to stay with the company I think he should be given an opponent who isn't a top fighter and doesn't present a bad matchup for him. His UFC record is pretty lackluster at first glance, but that's because he's given top dogs all the damn time. Cut the guy a break. Hamill hasn't exactly looked fantastic as of late; maybe he needs a fight to get his confidence back as well.
Chris Leben def Aaron Simpson via TKO (punches) Rd 2
I had Simpson winning this fight due to his wrestling pedigree and good chin/heart. I didn't think there'd be much Leben could do to stop Simpson from taking him down and subbing or decisioning him. Once I saw that Simpson couldn't get Leben down I changed my tune. For me Simpson was only really dangerous if he got Leben to the ground, where Leben is a game opponent with a decent guard, but not enough technique to prevent a wrestle stomping from Simpson. Without those takedowns, it leaves us with Simpson's overrated knockout ability (the commentators made him sound like a KO machine...he's not) trying to get the better of a chin made of adamantium. I knew that if Simpson had to stand it was a matter of time before he feels Leben's power and realizes that his strikes aren't going to do much to stop Leben from moving forward. That's pretty much how it went down. I thought the stoppage was weak, but at the same time I don't think Simpson would've turned things around anyway. I'd like to see Simspson rematch Ed Herman as Leben requested, as Simpson hasn't looked so great in his last couple of outings with the step up in competition. As for Leben, I think Demian Maia could be a nice test for him, and vice-versa.
Dennis Siver dec Spencer Fisher via Unanimous Decision rd 3
I thought this was a very close fight that Siver just eked out. He threw a high volume of strikes, but initially Fisher was beating him to the punch by throwing tighter and more precise strikes. As the fight wore on Siver landed more and more, and dictated the pace with well timed kicks and punches. Fisher started to come alive in the 3rd but it was too little, too late. Siver has enjoyed a steady diet of kickboxers, so I'd like to see him take on a grappler next. Someone like Gleison Tibau should give him a challenge. Fisher is still a game opponent, and despite losing two straight I don't think he's fallen too far. A rematch with Aaron Riley would be a helluva fight.
Rich Attonito def Jamie Yager via TKO (punches) Rd 2
I didn't like Yager at all during TUF (mission accomplished for the producers I'm sure), but he was pretty classy in defeat here. He did well in the beginning of the fight as usual by throwing fast and powerful strikes that beat Attonito to the punch; and as usual he slowed down fast and broke down at the first shot that connected with his face. Yager's a talented guy, but he'll get nowhere if he doesn't learn how to take a punch and use skill and technique instead strength and athletic ability alone. Attonito looked relatively sharp and weathered the early storm to take a quality win, though he's still got a ways to go if he really wants to compete with the higher-ups at 185. Next for Yager: who cares? They probably won't even keep him on. Next for Attonito: It'd be interesting to see him take on Court McGee, seeing as how McGee took his spot in the house following Attonito's injury. It would almost prove who the real winner of the competition is.
Travis Browne def James McSweeney via TKO (punches) Rd 1
McSweeney looked pretty good early, showing nice footwork and working a measured range game of striking. Then Browne closed in. Browne dropped him with a right and swarmed in, and although McSweeney held on for a bit, Browne's strikes were too much for him and his position too dominant. The ref had to intervene. I don't know much about Browne other than he's very big and that hes a good prospect. For some reason I want to see him fight Mike Russow. McSweeney is one of those guys I don't know what they should do with. He won't really make it anywhere in the division, but at least he's not terrible to watch with his minutely flashy kickboxing style. Maybe Antoni Hardonk would match up well with him.
I didn't catch the rest of the fights, as they were unaired. The only impressions left on me from the results were that Josh Bryant looked shitty against Kyle Noke (one of the early favorites to win the competition), which was surprising given his performances on the show, which weren't fantastic but decidedly less shitty; and that Brad Tavares had a much harder time defeating Seth Baczynski than was thought. He needed all 3 rounds, and Sherdog even thought Baczynski should have taken the decision. Hopefully it was enough to keep him because I want to see where he goes from here, although I don't see any of the guys from this season apart from possibly McGee (and even then, I'm not holding my breath) amounting to much in the middleweight division. Well that's all for tonight. I'll have to wait to start the WEC 49 recap, as it's now late as hell and I need sleep.
Court McGee dec Kris McCray via Submission (rear-naked choke) Rd 2
Court McGee is the new Ultimate Fighter and he deserves it. It's pretty crazy how both finalists were previously knocked out of competition; McCray was chosen as the wild card entry (having lost in the quarterfinals), and McGee falling victim to a bullshit decision and getting lucky with Rich Attonito had to bow out with an injury. This match boiled down to who the better wrestler was. McCray had been using his wrestling to rack up victories during TUF, but McGee had shown a bit of a more well rounded game. Well McCray said McGee hadn't faced anyone with takedown defense like his, but whether or not that was true didn't matter because McGee took him down several times and it didn't look too difficult for him. After asserting his dominance early in the fight, it was clear who the better fighter was and it was just a matter time before McGee collected the W. Personally thought this one would go to the judges, but I'm glad it didn't.
Matt Hamill def Keith Jardine via Majority Decision 3rd Rd
I was really rooting for Jardine here just because I didn't want to see him lose 4 in a row, which I'm sure has put him on the chopping block if he isn't already cut. Jardine could be a top 10 fighter if he could just be more consistent and learn that there is such a thing as defense. Jardine always gets exposed by aggressive fighters because his defense is shit, so you know he's going to wilt if you put a lot of pressure on him. He started things off very nicely and displayed a solid gameplan in staying outside and scoring with leg kicks and jabs, but when Hamill wanted a firefight Jardine unwisely obliged. It left him bloodied up and on the defensive later on in the fight. And for the record I think the point deduction for the eye poke was complete bullshit, not that it would've helped Jardine win the decision anyway (he would've lost by split decision instead). If Jardine is actually allowed to stay with the company I think he should be given an opponent who isn't a top fighter and doesn't present a bad matchup for him. His UFC record is pretty lackluster at first glance, but that's because he's given top dogs all the damn time. Cut the guy a break. Hamill hasn't exactly looked fantastic as of late; maybe he needs a fight to get his confidence back as well.
Chris Leben def Aaron Simpson via TKO (punches) Rd 2
I had Simpson winning this fight due to his wrestling pedigree and good chin/heart. I didn't think there'd be much Leben could do to stop Simpson from taking him down and subbing or decisioning him. Once I saw that Simpson couldn't get Leben down I changed my tune. For me Simpson was only really dangerous if he got Leben to the ground, where Leben is a game opponent with a decent guard, but not enough technique to prevent a wrestle stomping from Simpson. Without those takedowns, it leaves us with Simpson's overrated knockout ability (the commentators made him sound like a KO machine...he's not) trying to get the better of a chin made of adamantium. I knew that if Simpson had to stand it was a matter of time before he feels Leben's power and realizes that his strikes aren't going to do much to stop Leben from moving forward. That's pretty much how it went down. I thought the stoppage was weak, but at the same time I don't think Simpson would've turned things around anyway. I'd like to see Simspson rematch Ed Herman as Leben requested, as Simpson hasn't looked so great in his last couple of outings with the step up in competition. As for Leben, I think Demian Maia could be a nice test for him, and vice-versa.
Dennis Siver dec Spencer Fisher via Unanimous Decision rd 3
I thought this was a very close fight that Siver just eked out. He threw a high volume of strikes, but initially Fisher was beating him to the punch by throwing tighter and more precise strikes. As the fight wore on Siver landed more and more, and dictated the pace with well timed kicks and punches. Fisher started to come alive in the 3rd but it was too little, too late. Siver has enjoyed a steady diet of kickboxers, so I'd like to see him take on a grappler next. Someone like Gleison Tibau should give him a challenge. Fisher is still a game opponent, and despite losing two straight I don't think he's fallen too far. A rematch with Aaron Riley would be a helluva fight.
Rich Attonito def Jamie Yager via TKO (punches) Rd 2
I didn't like Yager at all during TUF (mission accomplished for the producers I'm sure), but he was pretty classy in defeat here. He did well in the beginning of the fight as usual by throwing fast and powerful strikes that beat Attonito to the punch; and as usual he slowed down fast and broke down at the first shot that connected with his face. Yager's a talented guy, but he'll get nowhere if he doesn't learn how to take a punch and use skill and technique instead strength and athletic ability alone. Attonito looked relatively sharp and weathered the early storm to take a quality win, though he's still got a ways to go if he really wants to compete with the higher-ups at 185. Next for Yager: who cares? They probably won't even keep him on. Next for Attonito: It'd be interesting to see him take on Court McGee, seeing as how McGee took his spot in the house following Attonito's injury. It would almost prove who the real winner of the competition is.
Travis Browne def James McSweeney via TKO (punches) Rd 1
McSweeney looked pretty good early, showing nice footwork and working a measured range game of striking. Then Browne closed in. Browne dropped him with a right and swarmed in, and although McSweeney held on for a bit, Browne's strikes were too much for him and his position too dominant. The ref had to intervene. I don't know much about Browne other than he's very big and that hes a good prospect. For some reason I want to see him fight Mike Russow. McSweeney is one of those guys I don't know what they should do with. He won't really make it anywhere in the division, but at least he's not terrible to watch with his minutely flashy kickboxing style. Maybe Antoni Hardonk would match up well with him.
I didn't catch the rest of the fights, as they were unaired. The only impressions left on me from the results were that Josh Bryant looked shitty against Kyle Noke (one of the early favorites to win the competition), which was surprising given his performances on the show, which weren't fantastic but decidedly less shitty; and that Brad Tavares had a much harder time defeating Seth Baczynski than was thought. He needed all 3 rounds, and Sherdog even thought Baczynski should have taken the decision. Hopefully it was enough to keep him because I want to see where he goes from here, although I don't see any of the guys from this season apart from possibly McGee (and even then, I'm not holding my breath) amounting to much in the middleweight division. Well that's all for tonight. I'll have to wait to start the WEC 49 recap, as it's now late as hell and I need sleep.
Strikeforce LA recap
It's been a very, very busy week in MMA so I'll try to keep this brief (at least brirf for me) because I have other events to cover. I know I'm way late but I'd still like to offer my recap of the Strikeforce: Los Angeles event. Thankfully, the only fights Strikeforce really airs (or are even relevant, for that matter) are the main card bouts.
Renato Sobral def Robbie Lawler via Unanimous Decision Rd 3
I've always liked Sobral and I'm glad he's back on the winning track with this fight. It was actually a pretty close fight and was hard to score because while Sobral (and surprisingly) outstruck Lawler with volume, it was Lawler who scored the more damaging strikes. What really won the fight for Sobral was his penchant for body kicks and overall willingness to throw. He was definitely the more busy of the two, which looks good to the judges, and Lawler was visibly slowed down and worried by the body shots. Lawler's problem in this fight was the same problem he's pretty much always had: he relies too much on a hypothetical hail-mary KO shot. It saved his ass against Melvin Manhoef, who was utterly destroying him until he got a little too aggressive after sensing a finish and left himself wide open to a haymaker right to the chin. Sobral fought too smart and cautious to let that fight ending shot land, and got a well-earned decision to show for it. I'm actually glad Sobral doesn't want King Mo for the belt next; I think Mo will lay n pray his way to victory just like he did with Mousasi. Plus, the rematch with Dan Henderson he requested actually does intrigue me. As for Lawler, the loss shouldn't keep him out of the inevitable middleweight tourney. But if it were up to me, I've always wanted to see Lawler fight Cung Le.
Evangelista Santos def Marius Zaromskis via TKO (punches) Rd 1
I didn't really expect this one to go past the first round, as both fighters tend to throw with ill intentions from the opening bell, but I thought it would go the opposite way. Ignoring Santos' obvious size advantage, I just thought Zaromskis' speed and overall technical advantage would notch him another highlight reel stoppage. Santos had other plans, as he decided to take a much more methodical approach and used his reach advantage to land repeatedly. The opening was pretty even, then Santos just found his range and started tagging Zaromskis repeatedly. After getting rocked a couple times Zaromskis for whatever reason decided a blindly executed flying knee would get him out of harm's way. It just got him punched in the face and dropped out of mid-air, then finished. I feel bad for Zaromskis, as his run in DREAM really made him out to be a contender, but his 0-2 Strikeforce run really shows the competition gap between the US and Japan. Give him a doable fight in Japan to get his confidence back up. I think Santos can do some damage at welterweight if he stays with the more conservative gameplan. He's finally not small for his division so he could pose problems, but let's see how his cardio holds up. OK, thats the last long one. I swear.
Tim Kennedy def Trevor Prangley via Submission (rear-naked choke) Rd 1
Kennedy really solidified his mark as an up and coming contender at 185 with a great showing against Prangley. I had Kennedy pegged to win, but not before Prangely roughed him up a bit and gassed. Prangley did score a couple nice throws as expected, but Kennedy popped right back up and ended up controlling Prangley en route to a quick RNC victory as Prangley was still standing. I'm pretty sure Kennedy will get a slot in the middleweight tourney for his troubles. As for Prangley, he's been in the game a while but he's still got the skills to hang with some notables at 185. A fight with Joey Villasenor might be a novel idea, keeping in mind how well he did with Jacare's takedowns and ground game.
KJ Noons def Connor Heun via Split Decision Rd 3
I agree that Noons has some of the best boxing in MMA, but seriously, where's that KO power I keep hearing about? But my hat goes off to Heun even more than Noons for not only taking the fight on short notice, but for really taking the fight to Noons. He was by far the more aggressive of the two and wasn't afraid to jump in for heated exchanges despite being a grappler. He even came close to ending the fight in the first, but props to Noons for showing some skills at getting off the ground. But broken rib or not, Noons hasn't looked impressive enough since his return for all this talk of him taking the 155 and 170 lb belts. And next I would really like to see him rematch Krazy Horse. Since Noons won't be looking to take it to the ground (where KH is 90% guaranteed to lose), Krazy Horse has a legit chance at landing another big upset.
Renato Sobral def Robbie Lawler via Unanimous Decision Rd 3
I've always liked Sobral and I'm glad he's back on the winning track with this fight. It was actually a pretty close fight and was hard to score because while Sobral (and surprisingly) outstruck Lawler with volume, it was Lawler who scored the more damaging strikes. What really won the fight for Sobral was his penchant for body kicks and overall willingness to throw. He was definitely the more busy of the two, which looks good to the judges, and Lawler was visibly slowed down and worried by the body shots. Lawler's problem in this fight was the same problem he's pretty much always had: he relies too much on a hypothetical hail-mary KO shot. It saved his ass against Melvin Manhoef, who was utterly destroying him until he got a little too aggressive after sensing a finish and left himself wide open to a haymaker right to the chin. Sobral fought too smart and cautious to let that fight ending shot land, and got a well-earned decision to show for it. I'm actually glad Sobral doesn't want King Mo for the belt next; I think Mo will lay n pray his way to victory just like he did with Mousasi. Plus, the rematch with Dan Henderson he requested actually does intrigue me. As for Lawler, the loss shouldn't keep him out of the inevitable middleweight tourney. But if it were up to me, I've always wanted to see Lawler fight Cung Le.
Evangelista Santos def Marius Zaromskis via TKO (punches) Rd 1
I didn't really expect this one to go past the first round, as both fighters tend to throw with ill intentions from the opening bell, but I thought it would go the opposite way. Ignoring Santos' obvious size advantage, I just thought Zaromskis' speed and overall technical advantage would notch him another highlight reel stoppage. Santos had other plans, as he decided to take a much more methodical approach and used his reach advantage to land repeatedly. The opening was pretty even, then Santos just found his range and started tagging Zaromskis repeatedly. After getting rocked a couple times Zaromskis for whatever reason decided a blindly executed flying knee would get him out of harm's way. It just got him punched in the face and dropped out of mid-air, then finished. I feel bad for Zaromskis, as his run in DREAM really made him out to be a contender, but his 0-2 Strikeforce run really shows the competition gap between the US and Japan. Give him a doable fight in Japan to get his confidence back up. I think Santos can do some damage at welterweight if he stays with the more conservative gameplan. He's finally not small for his division so he could pose problems, but let's see how his cardio holds up. OK, thats the last long one. I swear.
Tim Kennedy def Trevor Prangley via Submission (rear-naked choke) Rd 1
Kennedy really solidified his mark as an up and coming contender at 185 with a great showing against Prangley. I had Kennedy pegged to win, but not before Prangely roughed him up a bit and gassed. Prangley did score a couple nice throws as expected, but Kennedy popped right back up and ended up controlling Prangley en route to a quick RNC victory as Prangley was still standing. I'm pretty sure Kennedy will get a slot in the middleweight tourney for his troubles. As for Prangley, he's been in the game a while but he's still got the skills to hang with some notables at 185. A fight with Joey Villasenor might be a novel idea, keeping in mind how well he did with Jacare's takedowns and ground game.
KJ Noons def Connor Heun via Split Decision Rd 3
I agree that Noons has some of the best boxing in MMA, but seriously, where's that KO power I keep hearing about? But my hat goes off to Heun even more than Noons for not only taking the fight on short notice, but for really taking the fight to Noons. He was by far the more aggressive of the two and wasn't afraid to jump in for heated exchanges despite being a grappler. He even came close to ending the fight in the first, but props to Noons for showing some skills at getting off the ground. But broken rib or not, Noons hasn't looked impressive enough since his return for all this talk of him taking the 155 and 170 lb belts. And next I would really like to see him rematch Krazy Horse. Since Noons won't be looking to take it to the ground (where KH is 90% guaranteed to lose), Krazy Horse has a legit chance at landing another big upset.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
UFC 115 recap
Rich Franklin def Chuck Liddell via KO (punch) Rd 1
Up until the end of the fight I was pretty impressed with Chuck's game. He looked faster and more powerful than Rich, and he absorbed some blows that I thought would test his chin and just walked through them. I picked Rich to win a decision but I was beginning to think it would go in Chuck's favor, then BOOM. One punch KO from Rich. Regardless of how good Chuck looked before that, it doesn't matter. He's done, and hopefully he realizes that. He thought he had Rich in big trouble against the cage, got reckless like he always does, and paid the price. And I could totally see that Rich was playing possum a bit and wasn't as hurt as he led on. Good tactic. It's also impressive that Rich broke his arm earlier in the match and continued to fight like nothing happened. However, Rich did look a bit slow and tentative in this fight, even for himself. I'm hearing talk about Rich being ready for LHW elites, and I personally think he'd get steamrolled by Bones, picked apart and beaten again by Lyoto, and all it would take is one clean shot for RAmpage to put him away (although I think this is the most intriguing of the 3 matches).
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic def Pat Barry via Submission (rear-naked choke) Rd 3
It's no secret that I'm a huge Cro Cop fan, and even I thought he was doomed in this match and is damn-near irrelevant. Pretty ecstatic he proved me and everyone else wrong. I've encountered some opinions that Cro Cop didn't look good in this fight, but I think that's far from the truth. They say he looked as bad as he has in past fights during the first round, where he was dropped twice. He did absorb some shots but hardly seemed to be affected, and he was a lot less reluctant to pull the trigger and actually attack Barry. I consider that a big difference. In the 2nd round he turned it up, landed some nice shots, and took things to the ground where he controlled and peppered Barry. The 3rd was all Cro Cop, and I was very impressed with his hands. There was the issue of Barry being tired, as well as reportedly suffering a broken and foot during the fight, but I don't think that takes anything away from Cro Cop's dominating performance. I thought he might actually finish Barry during the late flurry, but the RNC was a sweet finish. Not sure who I'd like to see Cro Cop fight next; maybe they should actually get that match with Rothwell going. It could definitely be exciting since Ben has a lesser chance of laying on him. As for Barry, he really needs to work on his ground game and killer instinct but I think another kickboxer should be given to him while he learns. Maybe Yvel can get another shot. Oh, and that mid-fight embrace between Cro Cop and Barry was one of the most awesome things I've seen in a while.
Martin Kampmann def Paulo Thiago via Unanimous Decision Rd 3
Kampmann impressed the hell out of me. I predicted Thiago grinding out a hard-fought decision with top control, and the exact opposite happened and Kampmann absolutely dominated. This was an important fight in the welterweight division to prove who could be next in the title picture, and Kampmann showed that he could be a viable threat. We all knew he had the technical and speed advantage on the feet, and he punctuated that by simply outclassing Thiago and his wild haymaker style in the stand up. However, it was very unexpected that he'd also outclass him on the ground, and threatened with several chokes that would've put Thiago away if his defensive BJJ wasn't more solid than the majority of welters out there. Another 30 seconds and I think Kampmann would've put Thiago to sleep with the arm triangle he had locked in at the final bell. Next for Kampmann, the winner of Fitch vs. Alves. Next for Thiago, how about Carlos Condit?
Ben Rothwell def Gilbert Yvel via Unanimous Decision Rd 3
Boring-ass lackluster fight. I like both Rothwell and Yvel, but I found myself rooting much more for Yvel during the course of the fight. Why? Wrestling, thats why. I respect and often enjoy the application of wrestling in MMA, but at the risk of sounding like a typical absent minded Sherdogger, this wrestling shit is gettin' outta hand. Both Rothwell and Yvel like to stand and bang, so you figure we'll get an explosive stand up war that won't last long, right? WRONG. Instead we get a sloppy as hell ground match. I was more impressed with Yvel's two sweeps from the bottom than anything Rothwell did during the fight, and Yvel easily did the most damage during the fight with his 2nd round barrage. But this is a 10-point must system right? So Rothwell still won the fight 29-28 on my card. If Yvel wouldn't have gassed it would've been a very different fight, but that's a lot to ask when you have a 265+lb dude laying on you. As frustrating as it was to watch this fight, I can't imagine how frustrating it must've been for Yvel, who was the only one to land any real significant shots. Next for Rothwell, Cro Cop. Next for Yvel, Barry or a pink slip.
Carlos Condit def Rory MacDonald via TKO (punches) Rd 3
First of all, great fight. Second of all, Condit needs some damn defense. It's been very apparent in all 3 of his UFC fights that he has very poor stand up defense and just tends to wade in and hope for the best. Even worse, he doesn't learn from his mistakes once opponents time him. In the first 2 rounds MacDonald looked very impressive and definitely won the rounds, though when read it (I read the results before watching. wish I hadn't) they made it sound like Condit was getting destroyed, and he wasn't. Condit really turned it on in the 3rd and really beat the crap out of MacDonald. I thought the stoppage was a bit iffy, but MacDonald was on dream street. When you're done, you're done, and Condit did enough damage to warrant a finish. Next for Condit: now that I think about it, a rematch with Martin Kampmann might be in line. Or Paulo Thiago. Next for MacDonald: he's proven that he's no joke, but I still think they need to build him carefully and get him a few more wins. Jacob Volkmann or Ronys Torres might be nice tests, while still keeping victory well within range.
Onto the Prelims - results and notes
Evan Dunham vs Tyson Griffin bored me, but I was impressed with the fact that Dunham took down and controlled Griffin in a way no one else really could. Should have been a unanimous decision victory, but either way it showed that Dunham should be thrown into title mix sooner rather than later.
Matt Wiman vs Mac Danzig showed was complete bullshit. Yves Levigne did a terrible job calling that finish, and although Danzig has had really tough luck in the octagon I don't think he should get the boot for this fight. An immediate rematch should be scheduled, and that should decide who stays since both of them really needed a win. For the record, I think Danzig probably would've been submitted, but how about we let it actually happen before calling the match, eh Yves?
Claude Patrick looked great against Ricardo Funch. He showed a very well rounded game and had control of the fight the whole way through. I want to see him develop even further against slightly stiffer competition.
The remainder of the fights I didn't see, but its kind of a bummer to know David Loiseau was pounded on for entirely too long before the fight was stopped, and that this really signaled the end of his relevance. However, it did give Mario Miranda a good chance to show why he's considered a such a good prospect at 185. James Wilks apparently played his usual good ground/shitty standup game against Peter Sobotta, and managed to survive this time, taking the unanimous decision. Wilks is very solid on the ground, but if he wants to actually go anywhere in the welterweight division he needs to get some semblance of stand up. Mike Pyle beat Jesse Lennox by outworking him for 2 rds, taunting him in the 3rd, getting put on his ass for his troubles, but luring Lennox into a guillotine. Thats all for tonight folks.
Up until the end of the fight I was pretty impressed with Chuck's game. He looked faster and more powerful than Rich, and he absorbed some blows that I thought would test his chin and just walked through them. I picked Rich to win a decision but I was beginning to think it would go in Chuck's favor, then BOOM. One punch KO from Rich. Regardless of how good Chuck looked before that, it doesn't matter. He's done, and hopefully he realizes that. He thought he had Rich in big trouble against the cage, got reckless like he always does, and paid the price. And I could totally see that Rich was playing possum a bit and wasn't as hurt as he led on. Good tactic. It's also impressive that Rich broke his arm earlier in the match and continued to fight like nothing happened. However, Rich did look a bit slow and tentative in this fight, even for himself. I'm hearing talk about Rich being ready for LHW elites, and I personally think he'd get steamrolled by Bones, picked apart and beaten again by Lyoto, and all it would take is one clean shot for RAmpage to put him away (although I think this is the most intriguing of the 3 matches).
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic def Pat Barry via Submission (rear-naked choke) Rd 3
It's no secret that I'm a huge Cro Cop fan, and even I thought he was doomed in this match and is damn-near irrelevant. Pretty ecstatic he proved me and everyone else wrong. I've encountered some opinions that Cro Cop didn't look good in this fight, but I think that's far from the truth. They say he looked as bad as he has in past fights during the first round, where he was dropped twice. He did absorb some shots but hardly seemed to be affected, and he was a lot less reluctant to pull the trigger and actually attack Barry. I consider that a big difference. In the 2nd round he turned it up, landed some nice shots, and took things to the ground where he controlled and peppered Barry. The 3rd was all Cro Cop, and I was very impressed with his hands. There was the issue of Barry being tired, as well as reportedly suffering a broken and foot during the fight, but I don't think that takes anything away from Cro Cop's dominating performance. I thought he might actually finish Barry during the late flurry, but the RNC was a sweet finish. Not sure who I'd like to see Cro Cop fight next; maybe they should actually get that match with Rothwell going. It could definitely be exciting since Ben has a lesser chance of laying on him. As for Barry, he really needs to work on his ground game and killer instinct but I think another kickboxer should be given to him while he learns. Maybe Yvel can get another shot. Oh, and that mid-fight embrace between Cro Cop and Barry was one of the most awesome things I've seen in a while.
Martin Kampmann def Paulo Thiago via Unanimous Decision Rd 3
Kampmann impressed the hell out of me. I predicted Thiago grinding out a hard-fought decision with top control, and the exact opposite happened and Kampmann absolutely dominated. This was an important fight in the welterweight division to prove who could be next in the title picture, and Kampmann showed that he could be a viable threat. We all knew he had the technical and speed advantage on the feet, and he punctuated that by simply outclassing Thiago and his wild haymaker style in the stand up. However, it was very unexpected that he'd also outclass him on the ground, and threatened with several chokes that would've put Thiago away if his defensive BJJ wasn't more solid than the majority of welters out there. Another 30 seconds and I think Kampmann would've put Thiago to sleep with the arm triangle he had locked in at the final bell. Next for Kampmann, the winner of Fitch vs. Alves. Next for Thiago, how about Carlos Condit?
Ben Rothwell def Gilbert Yvel via Unanimous Decision Rd 3
Boring-ass lackluster fight. I like both Rothwell and Yvel, but I found myself rooting much more for Yvel during the course of the fight. Why? Wrestling, thats why. I respect and often enjoy the application of wrestling in MMA, but at the risk of sounding like a typical absent minded Sherdogger, this wrestling shit is gettin' outta hand. Both Rothwell and Yvel like to stand and bang, so you figure we'll get an explosive stand up war that won't last long, right? WRONG. Instead we get a sloppy as hell ground match. I was more impressed with Yvel's two sweeps from the bottom than anything Rothwell did during the fight, and Yvel easily did the most damage during the fight with his 2nd round barrage. But this is a 10-point must system right? So Rothwell still won the fight 29-28 on my card. If Yvel wouldn't have gassed it would've been a very different fight, but that's a lot to ask when you have a 265+lb dude laying on you. As frustrating as it was to watch this fight, I can't imagine how frustrating it must've been for Yvel, who was the only one to land any real significant shots. Next for Rothwell, Cro Cop. Next for Yvel, Barry or a pink slip.
Carlos Condit def Rory MacDonald via TKO (punches) Rd 3
First of all, great fight. Second of all, Condit needs some damn defense. It's been very apparent in all 3 of his UFC fights that he has very poor stand up defense and just tends to wade in and hope for the best. Even worse, he doesn't learn from his mistakes once opponents time him. In the first 2 rounds MacDonald looked very impressive and definitely won the rounds, though when read it (I read the results before watching. wish I hadn't) they made it sound like Condit was getting destroyed, and he wasn't. Condit really turned it on in the 3rd and really beat the crap out of MacDonald. I thought the stoppage was a bit iffy, but MacDonald was on dream street. When you're done, you're done, and Condit did enough damage to warrant a finish. Next for Condit: now that I think about it, a rematch with Martin Kampmann might be in line. Or Paulo Thiago. Next for MacDonald: he's proven that he's no joke, but I still think they need to build him carefully and get him a few more wins. Jacob Volkmann or Ronys Torres might be nice tests, while still keeping victory well within range.
Onto the Prelims - results and notes
Evan Dunham vs Tyson Griffin bored me, but I was impressed with the fact that Dunham took down and controlled Griffin in a way no one else really could. Should have been a unanimous decision victory, but either way it showed that Dunham should be thrown into title mix sooner rather than later.
Matt Wiman vs Mac Danzig showed was complete bullshit. Yves Levigne did a terrible job calling that finish, and although Danzig has had really tough luck in the octagon I don't think he should get the boot for this fight. An immediate rematch should be scheduled, and that should decide who stays since both of them really needed a win. For the record, I think Danzig probably would've been submitted, but how about we let it actually happen before calling the match, eh Yves?
Claude Patrick looked great against Ricardo Funch. He showed a very well rounded game and had control of the fight the whole way through. I want to see him develop even further against slightly stiffer competition.
The remainder of the fights I didn't see, but its kind of a bummer to know David Loiseau was pounded on for entirely too long before the fight was stopped, and that this really signaled the end of his relevance. However, it did give Mario Miranda a good chance to show why he's considered a such a good prospect at 185. James Wilks apparently played his usual good ground/shitty standup game against Peter Sobotta, and managed to survive this time, taking the unanimous decision. Wilks is very solid on the ground, but if he wants to actually go anywhere in the welterweight division he needs to get some semblance of stand up. Mike Pyle beat Jesse Lennox by outworking him for 2 rds, taunting him in the 3rd, getting put on his ass for his troubles, but luring Lennox into a guillotine. Thats all for tonight folks.
Monday, May 24, 2010
So I took a look at KoF 13....
....and it looks pretty damn good. Looks like they finally have a finished game on the way. They'd better after KoF 12 (or as I like to call it, KoF June '95). It looks like they addressed a lot of the major issues in KoF 12, mostly because the majority of them weren't related to the actual gameplay, but in regards to how unfinished it was. I still think 12 should have been released for a lower price, maybe 30-40 bucks, because it was clearly a test run for the new engine and style SNK were utilizing for the franchise. Thankfully, 13 will actually have a story and a final boss, which I thought the lack of was inexcusable in KoF 12. The characters are also more appropriately updated this time around, although they still do resemble earlier incarnations in many ways.
It really looks like they paid attention to many of the critiques of KoF 12, and they seem to have brought the game closer to the recent installments. The character sprites are no longer huge and pixelated (although I still think they look awesome), which was pretty much achieved by pulling the camera back to where it's been for the other 12+ KoF games. As for gameplay, a multi-livel super move system is implemented, and hopefully characters have more than just one this time around (what's with the sudden minimalist attitude towards the number of super moves nowadays?). From what I've seen, the critical counter system from the 12 has been removed or lessened in importance, and thank god for that. I didn't play KoF 12 incredibly much, but I found the system difficult to use....at least on purpose. There was no real definite explanation of how you initiate it, so whenever I tried I couldn't. But then when I least expect it, it activates and I'm to caught off guard to capitalize on it. Would've been nice to have a little control over it so I could figure out what exactly to do with it. But anyway, I haven't seen anyone use it in the gameplay videos I've seen, and the same goes for their blatant rip off of the focus attacks in SF4.
Plus as a fan service bonus, they brought Mai back in glorious hi rez. Fan boys rejoice. I'm sure that alone will sell some copies. Hopefully KoF 13 will bring the series back into the resurrected 2D fighting genre as and strengthen the case to create even more of them.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
JUSTICE SERVED: UFC 113 re-cap
Mauricio Rua def. Lyoto Machida via KO (punches) Rd 1
The fight I waited 7 months for ended exactly the way I wanted it to. I was definitely part of the majority that thought Shogun won the first fight, and it's good to see that justice was served with interest. I'm a Lyoto fan as well but I thought it was only fitting he lose this fight after what happened in the first one. I actually predicted that Shogun would get decisioned again, or maybe lose by tko just due to the fact that Machida will have evolved and found answers for Shogun's game, while Shogun would stick to the same plan that worked the first time around. In actuality Shogun sort of tricked us all by saying that he wouldn't change his gameplan, then turning around and throwing his hands a lot more, which no one (especially Machida apparently) expected. Machida supposedly had his answers for Shogun's game, but once again Shogun stayed a step ahead of him by changing the questions when he least expected it. And that is the mark of a brilliant fighter that I hope reigns at 205 for a long time.
Josh Koscheck def. Paul Daley via Decision (Unanimous) Rd 3
I want to start off by saying I never liked Paul Daley. I respect his considerable skills as a fighter and I think he puts on entertaining fights, but something about him always rubbed me the wrong way. Even odder, I've always liked Koscheck even though hes a supreme douchebag. Maybe the reason for that is my soft spot for good pro wrestling style promos (Kos berating the local crowds' leading sports team is straight out of Chris Jericho's WWE promo handbook). With that said I was rooting for Kos, and although I had hoped for a finish I'm just glad he won. However, I was very impressed with how Daley handled himself on the ground, as it showed he's really working on his ground game. All that respect for Daley went out the window when he threw a blatantly premeditated left hook after getting dominated by Kos for 15 mins. Not one of those "I didn't realize the fight was over" cheap shots, but a "I'm gonnna walk over to you 5 secs after the ref stood us up and swing at you" cheap shot. What's even sadder is that Daley hit Kos with his patented left hook, which is supposed to be instant lights out. Kos hardly blinked after the shot. The best shot Daley could muster and it was after the match had already ended on a completely unsuspecting target. Apparently he'll never fight in the UFC again. I say good riddance.
Jeremy Stevens def. Sam Stout via Decision (Unanimous) Rd 3
Fantastic fight. I love watching Stout's crisp standup combinations, and was rooting for him to win, although I like Stephens. This fight was very close in my opinion, and I almost would've given it to Stout if he didn't get shy in the closing moments of the round. When he crumpled Stephens and went in for the finish I thought to myself that if he kept it up it would steal him the fight. Once Stephens survived, Stout got tentative for whatever reason. When Stevens took him down with less than a minute left I knew he sealed the deal and lessened the blow of Stout's rally.
Matt Mitrione def. Kimbo Slice via TKO (punches) Rd 2
Oh Kimbo. How I want you to actually get good and silence the haters. Doesn't look like it'll ever happen. Kimbo just looked plain bad in there, save for some impressive takedowns. Mitrione was the real star, as he looked infinitely more improved than he previously has. I thought Mitrione was pathetic on the ground before this fight, but he threatened with subs and never gave Kimbo a chance to mount any real offense on the ground. And the standup war was no different. He exploited Kimbo's glaring leg kick weakness to a T, and just made him look helpless. Props to Kimbo for his heart and chin, but he just can't hang in the UFC.
Alan Belcher def. Patrick Cote via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) Rd 2
You know, Belcher performed well, but I just wasn't as impressed with him as I'm finding other outlets to be. He called out Anderson Silva after the fight, but he showed me nothing that indicated he wouldn't be murdered by Silva if they fought. I think Cote had legit reasoning to complain about the slam he received, he just happened to be wrong about it. It almost looked like Belcher was aiming to spike him on his head, but the fact is he landed on his face, which is legal. I was initially very impressed with Belcher's transition to the choke, then I realized Cote was out from the slam when he did it and wasn't as impressed. Not taking anything away from Belcher, but dropping Cote on his face is what won the fight, not the choke itself. All the same, I feel bad for Cote losing his first fight back after so long in his hometown, and I'm interested to see where Belcher goes next.
Joe Doerkson def. Tom Lawlor via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) Rd 2
Very nice comeback from Doerkson. I honestly thought he was done for in the 1st. Lawlor is no joke, and you could argue he won the fight against Aaron Simpson in his last outing, but I found it eyebrow-raising that he couldn't finish Joe in the 1st. That is nothing against the skills of Doerkson, but rather coming from the fact that he was so close to his lights being turned off for much of the round. He came out renewed in the 2nd round and made the most of it. Hopefully they give Lawlor one more fight to get back in the win colum.
Marcus Davis def. Johnathan Goulet via TKO (punches) Rd 2
Goulet really surprised me with his wrestling and impressed me by getting out of a really tight guillotine in the first, but it was just a matter of time before Davis' superior boxing exposed his notoriously weak chin. Davis needed the win after losing 2 straight, and Goulet kept it competitive but his chin is as weak as his god-awful haircut.
The rest of the fights I didn't see so I won't cover completely. I'll just say that I'm really dissapointed Yoshida lost again. The usual justification I give of Japanese fighters getting a raw deal in the UFC (and you know it's true) doesn't apply to this match because Yoshida shouldn't have had too much trouble getting past Guymon. I fear he may have seen his last fight in the UFC. Also, a speedy recovery to Jason McDonald. I hate freak accidents in fights, not only because it taints the result of the match (sure you can say he lost, but was he really defeated?) but because it puts fighters on hold for so long it has to be incredibly frustrating.
All in all I enjoyed this event more than any UFC in recent memory, mostly because Shogun is the NEW UFC LHW CHAMPION....but I digress. The fights on the card were solid, entertaining, and quick enough so that we got to see 7 fights on a card with a championship bout. I'm guessing the UFC 114 will decide Shogun's first title defense, in which case I actually think Rampage could be a better matchup for him. Until next time!
The fight I waited 7 months for ended exactly the way I wanted it to. I was definitely part of the majority that thought Shogun won the first fight, and it's good to see that justice was served with interest. I'm a Lyoto fan as well but I thought it was only fitting he lose this fight after what happened in the first one. I actually predicted that Shogun would get decisioned again, or maybe lose by tko just due to the fact that Machida will have evolved and found answers for Shogun's game, while Shogun would stick to the same plan that worked the first time around. In actuality Shogun sort of tricked us all by saying that he wouldn't change his gameplan, then turning around and throwing his hands a lot more, which no one (especially Machida apparently) expected. Machida supposedly had his answers for Shogun's game, but once again Shogun stayed a step ahead of him by changing the questions when he least expected it. And that is the mark of a brilliant fighter that I hope reigns at 205 for a long time.
Josh Koscheck def. Paul Daley via Decision (Unanimous) Rd 3
I want to start off by saying I never liked Paul Daley. I respect his considerable skills as a fighter and I think he puts on entertaining fights, but something about him always rubbed me the wrong way. Even odder, I've always liked Koscheck even though hes a supreme douchebag. Maybe the reason for that is my soft spot for good pro wrestling style promos (Kos berating the local crowds' leading sports team is straight out of Chris Jericho's WWE promo handbook). With that said I was rooting for Kos, and although I had hoped for a finish I'm just glad he won. However, I was very impressed with how Daley handled himself on the ground, as it showed he's really working on his ground game. All that respect for Daley went out the window when he threw a blatantly premeditated left hook after getting dominated by Kos for 15 mins. Not one of those "I didn't realize the fight was over" cheap shots, but a "I'm gonnna walk over to you 5 secs after the ref stood us up and swing at you" cheap shot. What's even sadder is that Daley hit Kos with his patented left hook, which is supposed to be instant lights out. Kos hardly blinked after the shot. The best shot Daley could muster and it was after the match had already ended on a completely unsuspecting target. Apparently he'll never fight in the UFC again. I say good riddance.
Jeremy Stevens def. Sam Stout via Decision (Unanimous) Rd 3
Fantastic fight. I love watching Stout's crisp standup combinations, and was rooting for him to win, although I like Stephens. This fight was very close in my opinion, and I almost would've given it to Stout if he didn't get shy in the closing moments of the round. When he crumpled Stephens and went in for the finish I thought to myself that if he kept it up it would steal him the fight. Once Stephens survived, Stout got tentative for whatever reason. When Stevens took him down with less than a minute left I knew he sealed the deal and lessened the blow of Stout's rally.
Matt Mitrione def. Kimbo Slice via TKO (punches) Rd 2
Oh Kimbo. How I want you to actually get good and silence the haters. Doesn't look like it'll ever happen. Kimbo just looked plain bad in there, save for some impressive takedowns. Mitrione was the real star, as he looked infinitely more improved than he previously has. I thought Mitrione was pathetic on the ground before this fight, but he threatened with subs and never gave Kimbo a chance to mount any real offense on the ground. And the standup war was no different. He exploited Kimbo's glaring leg kick weakness to a T, and just made him look helpless. Props to Kimbo for his heart and chin, but he just can't hang in the UFC.
Alan Belcher def. Patrick Cote via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) Rd 2
You know, Belcher performed well, but I just wasn't as impressed with him as I'm finding other outlets to be. He called out Anderson Silva after the fight, but he showed me nothing that indicated he wouldn't be murdered by Silva if they fought. I think Cote had legit reasoning to complain about the slam he received, he just happened to be wrong about it. It almost looked like Belcher was aiming to spike him on his head, but the fact is he landed on his face, which is legal. I was initially very impressed with Belcher's transition to the choke, then I realized Cote was out from the slam when he did it and wasn't as impressed. Not taking anything away from Belcher, but dropping Cote on his face is what won the fight, not the choke itself. All the same, I feel bad for Cote losing his first fight back after so long in his hometown, and I'm interested to see where Belcher goes next.
Joe Doerkson def. Tom Lawlor via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) Rd 2
Very nice comeback from Doerkson. I honestly thought he was done for in the 1st. Lawlor is no joke, and you could argue he won the fight against Aaron Simpson in his last outing, but I found it eyebrow-raising that he couldn't finish Joe in the 1st. That is nothing against the skills of Doerkson, but rather coming from the fact that he was so close to his lights being turned off for much of the round. He came out renewed in the 2nd round and made the most of it. Hopefully they give Lawlor one more fight to get back in the win colum.
Marcus Davis def. Johnathan Goulet via TKO (punches) Rd 2
Goulet really surprised me with his wrestling and impressed me by getting out of a really tight guillotine in the first, but it was just a matter of time before Davis' superior boxing exposed his notoriously weak chin. Davis needed the win after losing 2 straight, and Goulet kept it competitive but his chin is as weak as his god-awful haircut.
The rest of the fights I didn't see so I won't cover completely. I'll just say that I'm really dissapointed Yoshida lost again. The usual justification I give of Japanese fighters getting a raw deal in the UFC (and you know it's true) doesn't apply to this match because Yoshida shouldn't have had too much trouble getting past Guymon. I fear he may have seen his last fight in the UFC. Also, a speedy recovery to Jason McDonald. I hate freak accidents in fights, not only because it taints the result of the match (sure you can say he lost, but was he really defeated?) but because it puts fighters on hold for so long it has to be incredibly frustrating.
All in all I enjoyed this event more than any UFC in recent memory, mostly because Shogun is the NEW UFC LHW CHAMPION....but I digress. The fights on the card were solid, entertaining, and quick enough so that we got to see 7 fights on a card with a championship bout. I'm guessing the UFC 114 will decide Shogun's first title defense, in which case I actually think Rampage could be a better matchup for him. Until next time!
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