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MMA Live (June 18th, 2009) show recap

By Zach Arnold | June 19, 2009

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If you want me to continue doing these recaps, please leave a comment on this post. Even if you aren’t interested in the recaps, at least let me know if you have no interest. I need to gauge the interest level here. Thanks.

This week’s show hosts: Jon Anik, Miguel Torres, and Franklin McNeil

Guest hosts: Jon Anik, Miguel Torres, and Franklin McNeil

The opening segment reviewed Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva from UFC 99. Torres said that the first time he watched the fight, he gave the decision to Wanderlei. Watching it a second time, he gave it to Rich Franklin. He noted that Wanderlei is still a dangerous fighter even after the beatings he has taken and has strong clinch power, so Rich did a great job with strategy in the fight. Franklin said that Rich was more active and in control of the fight, to the point that he thought Rich won all three rounds even when SIlva did catch him in R2.

Interview time with Rich Franklin… Rich said that he executed the game plan he had in mind, using two punches at a time, moving in and out, and focuses on angles that his boxing coach told him to work on. It wasn’t until the second round that he got caught by Silva because he stood in front of him, then went back to his game plan and recovered quickly. He was confident that he won the fight and thought he won all three rounds. He said Wanderlei was never in control of the fight.

As far as a next move is concerned, he said that a re-match with Wanderlei Silva didn’t make any business sense. As far as establishing a 195-pound Cruiserweight division, Rich said that this is fan talk. Initially the fight was asked for 185 pounds, but Rich said no. He said he’d take the fight at 195 and both parties agreed. Rich thought that the cut to 195 pounds was tough for Wanderlei.

Next up was panel talk on Cain Velasquez vs. Cheick Kongo. The fight raised more questions than answers. Miguel said that Cain showed he could adapt in a fight (from boxing to ground game) and that his cardio is good. As far as Kongo not being able to fend off Cain’s attack, Miguel said that it’s not Kongo’s fault and that his camp should have better prepared him to fight a wrestler and learn how to defend a takedown. Franklin said that Cain didn’t take punches from Kongo very well and that he will need to improve his technique better because he won’t be able to takedown every opponent. He expressed disappointment in Kongo, saying that the guy is a seasoned veteran and that the loss says something about Wolfslair and their inability to prepare guys the right way. Franklin noted that the same camp didn’t prepare Rampage Jackson properly for his fight against Keith Jardine.

Next was talk about Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy. Both Miguel and Franklin gave the fight to Davis.

Interview time with Marcus Davis. Did he think he won the fight? He did. Marcus said that if you focus on guys who look damaged after fights, then he’s always going to come out looking worse for wear because he gets cut and it can swell up and look horrible. Davis thought that until the last 45 seconds of the fight, he was in control and dropped Hardy with a straight left hand in R3. Marcus ended up with a black eye and two stitches on his nose, the result of a tiny little cut that bled and left a big impression in the minds of the judges. When it came to grappling and octagon control, Marcus thought he won.

Marcus admitted that Dan had the psychological edge on him. Normally in his corner, all Marcus normally thinks about is his game plan. However, when he looked at Hardy, he saw him laughing and smiling and it filled Davis with nothing but anger and anxiety. He just wanted to run over and start hitting him. Davis is begging for a re-match against Hardy, but doesn’t think that UFC will book it. Davis said that he’s not all crazy and pissed off at Hardy right now and he said that Dan didn’t win to win this way just like Marcus didn’t want to lose this guy. Marcus said that if Ken Shamrock could get three matches against Tito Ortiz and get streamrolled everytime, then he should get a re-match against Hardy so that both men can show a better performance.

Next up is a preview for the TUF 9 finale this Saturday in Las Vegas.

First up, talk about Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida. Miguel said that Diego needs to hit-and-move and stay away from takedowns because Clay is dangerous in a scramble. Keep the fight standing. Clay is not as good of a grappler as Diego, but he’s great at ground and pound. Franklin said that Diego needs to use his height and reach advantage, which means Clay has to get inside on the stand-up game to make it work.

Second, Nate Diaz vs. Joe Stevenson. Miguel said that Joe needs to be smart, get inside, and use his boxing because if the fight goes to the ground, Nate’s got a dangerous ground game. So, Joe needs to stay away from submissions and force the stand-up game because Nate doesn’t that hard punching power. Joe can take punches from Nate all day. Franklin said that Joe needs to watch his watch against Kenny Florian and learn from it — take advantage of cutting off the cage and get the fight inside. He noted that Joe looks very uncomfortable standing up and striking.

E-mail: Both Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva advocated for a 195-pound division at UFC 99, but don’t you think such a move would essentially create three shallow divisions? How many fights talk about competing at 195?

Franklin answered that a few months ago he wrote an article about a Cruiserweight division, but he’s not sure right now it would work because there’s not enough talent to fill the void between 185 and 205 pounds. Down the line, however, MMA will have to consider it. Miguel said that in the future it will be a good thing to consider, but each division needs stronger talent pools first.

E-mail: What do you see as the immediate future for the UFC heavyweight division after Lesnar vs. Mir?

Franklin answered that Cain’s performance has messed things up and that Shane Carwin should move ahead of him, maybe even Junior dos Santos. He thinks Shane should get the winner of Mir/Lesnar. If Cain was to fight Carwin, Franklin doesn’t think that Cain could take Shane’s stand-up power.

Next, a segment about Bellator targeting a US broadcast deal and PPV deal with title matches. Then, an interview with Lyman Good (who came off very well here).

Then, an introduction of a new segment called MMA for Dummies. Molly Qerim talked with Miguel Torres and had Miguel demonstrate (with a training partner) the inverted triangle hold that Toby Imada used in Bellator. This was an awesome segment and needs to be a permanent fixture on the show. Miguel calmly, succinctly, and accurately broke down how the hold works and all the different variations of submissions you can use from applying the hold. By far the best use of Miguel out of the three weeks he has been on this show.

Fianlly, talk about today’s Strikeforce challengers show. Both Miguel and Franklin think Joey Villasenor is going to come out guns ablazin’ against Cyborg.

E-mail: Why don’t fighters throw punches to the body from a standing position all that much? I watched Nick Diaz do it to Scott Smith and it seemed to make all the difference. Your thoughts?

Miguel says that body punching makes a huge different but that fighters don’t do it often because when you’re in the heat of the moment, you just don’t think of it. He noted that Nick Diaz trains with a boxing coach and has gotten much better at it. Franklin said that guys who throw body punches leave themselves open to knees and other strikes, which means you can’t just mix it up like you would in a boxing match.

E-mail: As a result of UFC 99, which fight would you most like to see? Silva/Franklin 2, Davis/Hardy 2, Cain/Carwin, Mirko/Dana

Miguel wants to see a re-match between Hardy & Davis, while Franklin thinks Cain vs. Carwin has the most appeal.

Predictions:

Stevenson/Nate – Torres with Joe, Franklin picks Diaz.
Guida/Diego – Torres picks Guida and thinks Clay will make it a scrap, while Franklin picks Diego and says that Diego is getting ready for a future title shot.

Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 10 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

10 Responses to “MMA Live (June 18th, 2009) show recap”

  1. Pontus says:

    I really like these recap. Keep up the good work!

  2. CapnHulk says:

    I enjoy the recaps, especially since I constantly miss MMA Live.

  3. Big Bill Bob says:

    Do you have to pause every couple seconds to transcribe it or are you able to just go freely because you type at 1000wpm? either way i hate watching the show so these definitely are good, even though they look like alot of work.

  4. Crew says:

    The recaps are great, keep ’em up!

  5. mattio says:

    I read them.

  6. rudy says:

    like the recaps, don’t really get a chane to watch this or the edspn show.

    btw did i miss it or did they not really talk about the mercer sylvia fight?

  7. dommy says:

    reading this is 3810382038102831238 times better than listening to franklin mcneil talk for any period of time at all.

  8. jj says:

    like the recaps, keep ’em coming

  9. xtrainwilly says:

    these are great, pls keep up!

  10. hrdy says:

    definitely keep it up.

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