« Latest CSAC notes | Home | Iowa newspaper calls for MMA ban (again) »
Friday fight notes: Just say no… to many things
By Zach Arnold | August 3, 2007
I’ve had a few readers who use the Safari browser state that they are having trouble loading this site. I’m not sure what is happening, but one trick to loading the site is to remove the www out of the URL. Try this instead and you should be fine.
UFC and J-ROCK make a package deal. Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Ryoto Machida could be a brutal fight to watch.
Results from the IFL show in New Jersey. Sherdog says the promotion is claiming 7,077 fans in attendance. Wonder how much of it is paid versus papered. Jeff Hamlin has more IFL coverage (as well as MMA Komikazee and The Baltimore Sun). Sam Caplan points out something that might raise an eyebrow, which is that Tim Boetsch fought Vladimir Matyushenko on the IFL show five days after his last fight (last Saturday in West Orange, NJ).
Evander Holyfield vs. Sultan Ibragimov has been booked for October 13th in Moscow, Russia. No state athletic commission oversight… I’m sure Evan Fields is a big fan of this development.
Fightlinker wants to educate Dana White about nandrolone. What a benevolent human being. Plus, Lance Storm talks about the upcoming Congressional hearings regarding WWE’s drug testing policy. Veteran wrestling promoter Jerry Jarrett comments on steroids in pro-wrestling. Plus, Dave Meltzer talks with ESPN’s Bill Simmons about whether or not WWE can recover from the Chris Benoit murder-suicide scandal (audio here). Alex Marvez talks about the future of wrestling & boxing in regards to regulation.
Gossip item of the day – Josh Haynes is now working as a bouncer in the Las Vegas scene.
Latest CSAC suspensions
***** MMA *****
Chris Werner, who last competed for Gladiator Challenge on July 27, 2007 in San Francisco, has been suspended for testing positive for marijuana. The suspension period runs from the conclusion of his bout on July 27, 2007 through October 25, 2007. He has been fined $500.00.
***** BOXING *****
Robert Ryan, who last competed for All Star Boxing on July 29, 2007 in Montebello, has been suspended for testing positive for marijuana. Due to the fact this is the second violation for Mr. Ryan, the suspension period runs from the conclusion of the bout on July 29, 2007 through January 25, 2008. He has been fined $1,000.00.
Onto today’s headlines.
- News 14 (NC): Way cleared for UFC in North Carolina
- Bodog Beat: BJ Penn not happy about steroids in MMA
- MSNBC: Team MMA playoffs will be wild – semifinals likely match-ups of different styles
- Sportsnet (Canada): No apology necessary for GSP
- CBS Sportsline: Interview with Paulo Filho
- The LA Times: Paulo Filho puts his record to the test
- The Long Beach Press-Telegram: Paulo Filho leads a solid WEC fight card
- Eastside Boxing: MMA vs. Boxing – much ado about nothing
- The Oroville Mercury-Register (CA): Local MMA fighter Shawn Bias claims lightweight championship belt
- The Edmonton Sun: Canadian Boxing Federation increasing efforts to stop illegal boxing and MMA shows
- Jordan Breen: Hiroyuki Takaya hopes to face Urijah Faber in the future
Topics: Boxing, Canada, IFL, Japan, Media, MMA, Pro-Wrestling, UFC, WEC, Zach Arnold | 28 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
its funny that UFC gets hold of Nakamura, who even the Japanese fans think is one of the most boring fighters to fight in the defunct Pride org
matching him with Machida defies belief. there’s going to be a booing orgy during this one
Kaz vs. LYOTO is actually sheduled for the main card would you believe it. Now the UFC may not be as worried about boring fights on PPV as they are for fights on Spike, but it’s not like the CA crowds have showed much mercy for even slightly entertaining fights on UFC cards this year. Could get ugly. I wonder if they’ll send out a nice memo to Machida telling him to buckle up and show some agressiveness as he aint getting no ten chances of Rizzo.
On a personal level, this may be my fave fight on the card and I love it đ
In a way, it is brilliant match making. One boring fighter has to lose. Now, I do question this being on the main card and Lambert being on the undercard.
As for the IFL, I think the biggest story coming out of the semi-finals is the number of fighters who didn’t compete on this card due to injury. What is the point of a team championship if half of the “best” fghters aren’t even competing? Imagine and NBA semi-finals or an AL/NL Championship Series with over 1/3rd of the teams best players out due to injury. It would kind of undermine the entire concept of the tournament.
And this is one of the major reasons why this concept stinks. I believe NJ released paid attendance and I find it highly unlikely that the paid attendance was above 5,000…..
Uh… am I the only one who enjoys watching Nakamura fight? I’m actually pumped that he’s coming to the UFC. I grant that he’s been dull at times in the past, but his last two fights were very exciting. And he’s improved his standup markedly.
Machida, on the other hand, is boring. No way around that one. It may turn out that Nak fights to the excitement level of his opposition. Let’s hope not.
Evander Holyfield is currently not under suspension from any Athletic Commissions, has fought several times in the US (mostly in Texas) since his NYSAC suspension back in 2003 expired, and is now ranked in the top 15 of several sanctioning bodies. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him as little as a 3-1 betting underdog in this fight either, though I would very much disagree with such an assessment. Besides, the money right now is overseas for heavyweight boxing, which is why this bout is scheduled for Moscow and not the Seminole reservation in Florida.
As for the IFL, I think the biggest story coming out of the semi-finals is the number of fighters who didnât compete on this card due to injury. What is the point of a team championship if half of the âbestâ fghters arenât even competing? Imagine and NBA semi-finals or an AL/NL Championship Series with over 1/3rd of the teams best players out due to injury. It would kind of undermine the entire concept of the tournament.
Umm, it would be less of an issue if the IFL had more teams and what not. Typically in real sports, teams with lots of injuries don’t go far. Then again, there’s plenty of examples of when they do.
Dana White got owned
Nakamura seemed to bring a little more to the table the last time he fought in the USA. As boring has he has been in some outings, I think he is more exciting against strikers and i bet he will be extra amped about fighting in the US again.
“What is the point of a team championship if half of the âbestâ fghters arenât even competing?
And this is one of the major reasons why this concept stinks.”
That is the point. They are a team and not just one individual. I never had a problem witht the team concept and you can always just watch the individual fights.
“I believe NJ released paid attendance and I find it highly unlikely that the paid attendance was above 5,000âŠ..”
5000 paid for a minor league promotion is outstanding nowadays. I had been checking ticketmaster for a few weeks and the prime seats were not available. They were definitely selling better than the Bodog show. I have no problem believing 5000+ paid.
What sports league do you know that allows fighters to compete in the PLAYOFFS when they have never competed in the regular season first? Most sports leagues have a cut off period for trade deadlines and for what players have to be playing in order for them to be eligible for the playoffs. The least we could ask is for the fighters to have previous fights for the season.
5 of the 16 fighters never competed in the IFL before. That isn’t a “team concept”. That is a failed experiment.
Personally, I think the major issue with the team format has to do with the talent pool depth of the roster. Given the relative lack of quality talent versus the amount of fighters per team (including alternates in case of injury like at the semi-finals of the GP), the format is not sustainable in terms of quality match-ups over the long haul. Instead of seeing the best facing each other in the match-ups, you often see the big talents like Ben Rothwell facing less-than-great opposition.
“What sports league do you know that allows fighters to compete in the PLAYOFFS when they have never competed in the regular season first?”
Pretty much all of them. Hell, it’s rare, but some guys even stand out. Jarome Iginla made a great debut in the NHL playoffs.
45 Hudddle….why just not save your breath and every day just post:
UFC: brilliant
All other MMA: sucky
If Lyoto vs Nak was taking place in any other org, you wouldn’t give a shit about it.
Good article from Eastside boxing. I never understood the Boxing vs. MMA debate. Last night I was watching the ShoXC broadcast from last weekend. At one point Mauro announced the ‘upcoming sporting events’ on Showtime, and they consisted of a mix of EliteXC cards and Showtime Boxing events. Why can’t the sports be marketed in this way? I’m a fan of Boxing, Kickboxing and MMA, and it seems that there is room for huge growth by combining and sharing the audiences.
Good article from Eastside boxing. I never understood the Boxing vs. MMA debate. Last night I was watching the ShoXC broadcast from last weekend. At one point Mauro announced the âupcoming sporting eventsâ on Showtime, and they consisted of a mix of EliteXC cards and Showtime Boxing events. Why canât the sports be marketed in this way? Iâm a fan of Boxing, Kickboxing and MMA, and it seems that there is room for huge growth by combining and sharing the audiences.
Because people feel a need for belonging to something, and the dream that somehow MMA will eradicate boxing from this earth is a “movement” that fills some empty part of their lives?
“Gossip item of the day – Josh Haynes is now working as a bouncer in the Las Vegas scene.”
That would not surprise me if it’s true. There are numerous UFC fighters who work second jobs for financial reasons, and being a bouncer is a common choice— including for Jon Fitch as recently as like two months ago (don’t know if he still is) and Frank Mir even when he was the UFC Heavyweight Champion.
“45 HudddleâŠ.why just not save your breath and every day just post:
UFC: brilliant
All other MMA: sucky ”
Quoted for truth…although I’m always mildly amused to see how idiotic-ly he can state this. The man is a dedicated SHILL.
Tough Crowd today.
First, it is 5 out of 20 fighters not out of 16. And there were at least a few that only had one fight throughout the regular season as well. I think the main concept is being missed. And it is very simple. Look at any major sports league playoff system, and the vast majority of the athletes have competed in the regular season on a team. The IFL has 25% of the guys who have never competed during the regular season. A few more only had 1 fight. I honestly could care less if one guy in the NHL played without regular season experience (as if anybody watches that stuff anymore anyways). So my point is this: The IFL Team Concept does not work for a sport like MMA. Injuries alone make it near impossible, as is evident with what has happened this year. There is little denying this fact.
This has nothing to do with my supposed love for Dana White and the UFC. In fact, I am likely going to be buying tickets to the Grand Prix Finals for December. To me, that concept works. Get the best fighters (not teams) and let them compete to see who the best is. That formula has worked for generations and still works today.
As for Lyoto vs. Nakamura, I’m sure I would. I have been following Machida’s career since his win over BJ Penn. I followed his fight in the WFA and from there. Boring the guy is, but talented he also is.
Again something concerning doping: The online version of “Der Spiegel” (germany’s biggest weekly magazine) had a good article called “Doped – but still innocent” (Gedopt – und trotzdem unschuldig). The article is about the possibility of testing positive for steroids without actually taking any – due to contaminated supplements.
The article has some quotes from german scientists and anti-doping experts, who have tested thousands and thousands of supplements from around the world, ranging from simple vitamin tablets to greens and other stuff. The results vary from country to country, but for example 16% of all supplements from the USA, 11% from Germany and a whopping 24% from the Netherlands are contaminated with various medications, poisons or anabolic steroids like Metandienon or Nandrolone . Even “harmless” stuff like chinese weight-reduction teas are contaminated, for example with Sibutramin, which may cause weight loss, but also strokes and cardiac arrhythmias.
They are also mentioning the “Kölner Liste” (Cologne List), which is now being published annually by the german Center for Doping Prevention in Cologne, which lists all the supplements that have been declared “clean”, so that athletes don’t run the risk of testing positive for something they didn’t even intend to take…
Perhaps camps and fighters should try to get a translated version of the list, so they can check what they’re actually taking…
everyone should appreciate Lyoto Machida. the guy has beautiful technique: he doesn’t even get fucking hit. you can see traces of all kinds of styles in his striking technique; he can pick anyone apart.
I attribute it mostly to his sumu and judu skills. I cannot stress that enough.
The comments that were made in the ESPN interview about the human body’s natural production of Nandrolone were not even close to being correct. Key quote from the article about Nandrolone:
“Olympic laboratories, tasked with ensuring that their tests are fair as well as effective, have researched natural nandrolone production regularly over the past quarter-century, the most recent study being conducted at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
There, of 621 competitors tested after competition, only five produced results where their nandrolone levels exceeded 0.1 nanograms per millilitre of urine (ng/ml).All five were women. The levels in women are marginally higher, as a result of a different hormonal make-up and use of the contraceptive pill. But the levels are still minimal. Nobody in the Nagano tests exceeded 0.4ng/ml.
This just served to confirm the IOCâs cut-off levels – a doping-control speed limit, where anything above 2ng/ml in men or 5ng/ml in women is regarded as an offence. Basic arithmetic suggests that the IOC scientists have set themselves a generous margin for error – 2ng/ml being 20 times what might be regarded as a ânormalâ level of nandrolone in men.”
The solution to the Machida problem is simply to change the scoring criteria so that credible attempts to finish a fight by KO or submission are first in importance.
I have been ignoring, or dozing off at the steroid talk, but reading Ivan’s post got my eyes to widen a bit. Are you telling me that above a .1 is high, but the IOC gives athletes up to 2.0? And the ACS in the US allow up to 6.0? HUH? Everybody could be on steroids and never get “caught”. Sorry if I haven’t been paying attention, but math and chemistry aren’t my favorite subjects.
Quote: 45 Huddle
“What sports league do you know that allows fighters to compete in the PLAYOFFS when they have never competed in the regular season first? Most sports leagues have a cut off period for trade deadlines and for what players have to be playing in order for them to be eligible for the playoffs. The least we could ask is for the fighters to have previous fights for the season.
5 of the 16 fighters never competed in the IFL before. That isnât a âteam conceptâ. That is a failed experiment.”
I don’t think you thought this out well enough.
What sports allow a player to compete in the PLAYOFFS without even sniffing the field in the regular season?
I would venture to say, pretty much all of them.
Injuries happen, and as the backup, you may not get any time on the field.
If the starter gets injured in the PLAYOFFS…who gets to play?
Yup…you got it. The backup. Whether a rookie, or proven veteran.
In most cases, the backup is a significant downgrade from the starter.
But like they say….the show must go on.
“# sprewell rimz Says:
August 3rd, 2007 at 2:54 pm
everyone should appreciate Lyoto Machida. the guy has beautiful technique: he doesnât even get fucking hit. you can see traces of all kinds of styles in his striking technique; he can pick anyone apart”
He didn’t pick apart a naturally smaller BJ Penn.
He lost the standup battle by a small margin.
Or in the worst case…it was pretty even.
Machida is a solid fighter, but ultimately, he’s boring.
The best fighters to enjoy watching are the ones that have equally impressive technique and skill while being fairly aggressive…and someone like Shogun, Fedor or BJ Penn come to mind.
I for one am pretty amped to see Filho, he’s everything Ricardo Arona should aspire to be at 205 – but built into a 185 frame.
The guy’s an absolute physical beast, AWESOME grappler and takedowns and he (*GASP*) attempts to finsh/finishes fights!!
Let’s just hope he doesn’t channel said Arona and turn the mutants against him.
MickDawg,
If those playoffs were filled with 25% of the rosters who never competed in the regular season, and a few others who only played a tiny bit, it would undermine the entire concept of the playoffs.
MMA is not a team sport. The IFL is proving that.
As for Paulo Filho…. I hate to agree with you “The Gaijin”, but I am pretty stoked to see him fight as well. He is the Lineal Pride & UFC Middleweight Champions (if you follow those sort of things). The guy is a true beast.
“If those playoffs were filled with 25% of the rosters who never competed in the regular season, and a few others who only played a tiny bit, it would undermine the entire concept of the playoffs.
MMA is not a team sport. The IFL is proving that.”
The IFL going to a traditional format would only make it another low level MMA org that nobody cares about.
At least with the team concept…some people care.
It may be 25% this year…but it may lower next year. Who knows, right?
In 5 years (if the IFL lasts that long), they will have better fighters and I’m certain there will be teams that have backups that will have prior experience.