Friend of our site


MMA Headlines


UFC HP


Bleacher Report


MMA Fighting


MMA Torch


MMA Weekly


Sherdog (News)


Sherdog (Articles)


Liver Kick


MMA Junkie


MMA Mania


MMA Ratings


Rating Fights


Yahoo MMA Blog


MMA Betting


Search this site



Latest Articles


News Corner


MMA Rising


Audio Corner


Oddscast


Sherdog Radio


Video Corner


Fight Hub


Special thanks to...

Link Rolodex

Site Index


To access our list of posting topics and archives, click here.

Friend of our site


Buy and sell MMA photos at MMA Prints

Site feedback


Fox Sports: "Zach Arnold's Fight Opinion site is one of the best spots on the Web for thought-provoking MMA pieces."

« | Home | »

Shark Fights 9/11 Amarillo & Sengoku 10/30 Ryogoku Kokugikan fight cards

By Zach Arnold | September 10, 2010

Print Friendly and PDF

The card line-up for this Saturday’s Shark Fights card in Amarillo, Texas:

Sherdog will have the undercard fights streaming live on their web site.

The Glendale News-Press has an interview with Karen Darabedyan before his Saturday fight. MMA Junkie will have the Shark Fight weigh-in results later today.

Other headlines

MMA Junkie reports that George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Lauzon has been added to the PPV undercard of the Quinton Jackson/Lyoto Machida UFC event this November at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

USA Today reports that Bellator has booked Ricco Rodriguez vs. Dave Herman for 9/30 in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Boxing Scene has an article about the relationship between Wladimir Klitschko and Jacob “Stitch” Duran.

Dan Hardy’s comments about wrestlers in the UFC not finishing fights has sure created an uproar amongst a lot of fighters. Maybe the wrong messenger to deliver the message, perhaps?

Josh Gross has an update on what’s next for Todd Duffee. The last two nights on both Twitter and FB, the conversation has been all about Duffee and where he’s going next. UFC did invest some PR capital in building him up only to cut him abruptly… BTW, we have links on the sidebar for both Twitter and FB, so hop on board…

In a where are they now kind of story, Doug “Rhino” Marshall lost to Kyacey Uscola last night at Tachi Palace Fights in Lemoore, CA.

AFP has a report stating that Satoshi Ishii wants to challenge triple-world heavyweight champion Teddy Riner of France. Notice in the report that Ishii wants to fight Riner… as a US citizen?

Sengoku 10/30 Ryogoku Kokugikan card line-up

Topics: Japan, Media, MMA, Sengoku, UFC, Zach Arnold | 34 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

34 Responses to “Shark Fights 9/11 Amarillo & Sengoku 10/30 Ryogoku Kokugikan fight cards”

  1. Chuck says:

    Ah, so now that Dave Herman is fighting Ricco, any and all problems Herman had with Bellator are now water under the bridge. It’s true what they say……money heals ALL wounds. Just ask Bret Hart.

  2. 45 Huddle says:

    1) BJ Penn said he is fighting in November. That Machida/Rampage card needs a few more big fighters on it. So far what is being rumored is junk besides the main event.

    2) Hardy is certainly the wrong guy to be complaining about wrestling. He has no takedown defense and wants to cry about it?

    3) Shark Fights looks like a pointless PPV. It’s UFC Fight Night material.

    4) That Sengoku card just shows how irrlevent MMA has become in Japan. There is nothing of interest in that card. It’s like a DEEP card really….

  3. Jonathan says:

    Figure I would be the first one here that I know of to report on it:

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100910/ap_on_sp_bo_ne/box_mayweather_domestic_battery

    Looks like “Pretty Boy” is in some hot water!

  4. robthom says:

    @ Hardy and Lay and Pray tactics:

    I guess I kind of agree with the concept of some of the things Hardy said, if not particularly the examples.

    If a wrestler is just laying on an opponent for position and not attacking or attempting to do damage thats the same as a clinch in boxing IMO.

    Warned and then separated.

    And there is no reason that a wrestler should be able to circle for 4 minutes and then get a takedown to win the round because that would be 4 minutes of stalling.

    Warned and then point deducted after a minute-90 seconds.

    And that would apply equally to a striker or sub guy.

    (Although I can already hear the complaints by sub aficionado’s how submissions is a subtle struggle for inches that takes time. I guess my answer to that would be that we’re going to need a more aggressive form for the product we’re selling.)

    Also multiple takedowns without any damage or attempted offense from the gained position shouldn’t count for very much, unless you’ve got a one dimensional opponent who has delivered even less in return.

    Boohoo for that guy.
    Your fired!

    Its not a problem with the rules.
    Just enforce them.

    No stalling, stalemating or refusal to engage for wrestlers or grapplers.
    Standing or on the mat.

    • robthom says:

      “No stalling, stalemating or refusal to engage for wrestlers or grapplers…”

      ^^

      Strikers or Grapplers.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      You give the typical stuff I hear from anti-wrestling people. Look at it from another angle…. A logical angle….

      1) If nothing is happening for 4 minutes, then it’s 4 minutes wasted that the striker had the fight where he wanted it but couldn’t capitalize. Florian had Maynard on his feet for the majority of the fight and couldn’t do anything. It’s not Maynards fault that Florian had the fight exactly where he wanted it but refused in engage.

      2) Takedowns should count even if no damage has been made. People underestimate how hard it is to get a takedown. It’s a high level craft that requires years of training at the higher levels. All of that shouldn’t just be relegated to “barely counts”, no matter how much damage is one on the ground.

      3) The idea that a fight should be stood up if a grappler isn’t doing too much on top is stupid. And people who say it are haters. If a striker doesn’t do enough on his feet…. Are you asking for the refs to put the fighters in one fighters guard? If not, then all you are doing is favoring the striker in your “rules”.

      I have yet to see anybody clamouring for the fight to go to the ground when there is a lack of action on the feet. But then they all complain when the oppositive doesn’t happen.

      Let’s try this method instead…. Fighters learn how to wrestler. They don’t go into a fight with GSP and not know how to stop a basical double leg takedown. Or they don’t go into a fight with Gray Maynard by not engaging for minutes at a time because they know they don’t have the wrestling to stop a takedown even once.

      I’m sick of all of this anti-wrestling talk.

      You can change the rules however you want. Jon Fitch still beats Thiago Alves no matter how you score it. Gray Maynard still beats Kenny Florian no matter how you score it. And GSP still beats Dan Hardy no matter how you score it. Even if you make the fighters engage more, all it would have done is made the striker more aggressive and we would see easier takedowns as a result.

      Bad wrestlers need to up their game and spend less time complaining to reporters and more time practicing pure wrestling and how to stop the shots.

      If people want to see pure striking, go watch HBO Boxing or K-1. If they want to see fighting….. They will have to get use to the wrestling. These guys are doing exactly what they need to win and make their opponently look like amateurs in the process…..

      • robthom says:

        I’m definitely not anti-wrestling.
        (Anti-wrasslin maybe)

        I’m a better wrestler than I am at striking.

        2) A takedown is not a finishing or damaging move unless you do something with it.
        Just getting somebody into a certain position seems to me like it should weigh a lot more in point wrestling than in a fight.

        3) I believe that I said that a stalling striker should be warned and eventually docked just the same as a stalling wrestler.
        Didn’t I?

        I agree, everybody needs to have some wresting in their MMA game.
        Most guys will never outwrestle the Randy Coutures or Grey Maynards, but at least pick up enough to Stuff a takedown, neutralize for a standup or make an escape.

        All I’m saying is that wrestlers need to GNP while they’re on the ground. Just wrestling without trying to strike isn’t really fighting IMO.

        Its just positioning.

        Like how you say if you want all striking go watch boxing, if I wanted all positioning I’d watch olympic wrestling.

        This MMA is not boxing nor is it wrestling.
        Those both have to be adjusted for this sport of fighting, and also for a sale-able product.

        • 45 Huddle says:

          “2) A takedown is not a finishing or damaging move unless you do something with it.
          Just getting somebody into a certain position seems to me like it should weigh a lot more in point wrestling than in a fight.”

          Here is the problem with your logic. It’s a one sided idea.

          So let’s say Jon Fitch takes down Thiago Alves and stays on top for 3 minutes only hitting him with tiny punches.

          From your sie of the arguement, Jon Fitch shouldn’t get much credit for that because he didn’t do much with it. And you would be right. The problem is that you forget to ask yourself about Thiago Alves.

          What did Thiago Alves do during those 3 minutes? If on a scale of 1 to 10, Fitch was a 3…. Then Alves would be a 1. Fitch still wins.

          And no score changing will change that fact. Sure, the wrestlers don’t do much sometimes, but people forget that their opponents literally do nothing.

      • Tom says:

        “I have yet to see anybody clamouring for the fight to go to the ground when there is a lack of action on the feet. But then they all complain when the oppositive doesn’t happen.”

        Because its nonsensical. The fight starts on the feet and is considered a neutral position, for what you say to make any kind of sense the fight would have to start with both fighters on the ground (not considered to be a neutral position), I don’t see anyone clamouring for that.

        Standups when nothing is happening on the ground is a part of MMA (same for when nothing is happening in the clinch), if you don’t like it… I think you know where I’m going with this but I wouldn’t stoop that low 🙂 (Seriously, this elitist attitude needs to fucking stop)

        You mention how difficult it is to score a takedown whilst neglecting how difficult it is to land a clean strike, then you completely contradict yourself by saying this: “…is made the striker more aggressive and we would see easier takedowns as a result”. This implies its more difficult to land a strike than it it is to get a takedown since attempts to land strikes equals easier takedowns, no?

        • 45 Huddle says:

          First, it is harder to get a takedown then land one clean strike. That’s why wrestlers picking up striking much easier then strikers pick up grappling. This has been shown throughout the history of the sport.

          You completely missed my point on the stand-up thing. I’m not asking for fights to be reset on the ground when there is a lull in action on the feet. What I am saying is that people complaining about the wrestlers need to get realistic. Strikers need to learn to grapple instead of complaining about it.

        • robthom says:

          “…The fight starts on the feet and is considered a neutral position,…”

          I think the basic brass tack reason for this is that people do not walk around in a prone or splayed out position.

          Intelligent humans walk upright most of the time.

          Sure, when its time to get dirty and busy we can get in the mud.
          But it still starts at the top with mean mugging, stuff talking, swinging for the nugget, etc.

      • Mark says:

        1) If nothing is happening for 4 minutes, then it’s 4 minutes wasted that the striker had the fight where he wanted it but couldn’t capitalize. Florian had Maynard on his feet for the majority of the fight and couldn’t do anything. It’s not Maynards fault that Florian had the fight exactly where he wanted it but refused in engage.

        Both are to blame. And in most boring fights both fighters do get blamed. It’s just in this case Maynard is so despised by online fans he’s getting the heat.

        2) Takedowns should count even if no damage has been made. People underestimate how hard it is to get a takedown. It’s a high level craft that requires years of training at the higher levels. All of that shouldn’t just be relegated to “barely counts”, no matter how much damage is one on the ground.

        They should count, but not in the same way you’d want to score a jab versus a huge bomb that rocks someone standing. And if someone is working for something, give them credit. If they want to takedown for 2 punches in 4 minutes, that should be counted less.

        3) The idea that a fight should be stood up if a grappler isn’t doing too much on top is stupid. And people who say it are haters. If a striker doesn’t do enough on his feet…. Are you asking for the refs to put the fighters in one fighters guard? If not, then all you are doing is favoring the striker in your “rules”.

        Yes, we hate boring fights. So if being called a “hater” means hating boring fights, I for one am proudly a hater. And we’re not favoring strikers, we’re favoring people who know good ground n pound or submissions to finish a damn fight.

        I have yet to see anybody clamouring for the fight to go to the ground when there is a lack of action on the feet. But then they all complain when the oppositive doesn’t happen.

        I get you’re trying to be provocative with that statement and whatever. But it’s ridiculous.

        Let’s try this method instead…. Fighters learn how to wrestler. They don’t go into a fight with GSP and not know how to stop a basical double leg takedown. Or they don’t go into a fight with Gray Maynard by not engaging for minutes at a time because they know they don’t have the wrestling to stop a takedown even once.

        You can make the same statement saying “Let’s try this method instead…..fighters learn how to finish fights.” Then everybody is happy.

        I’m sick of all of this anti-wrestling talk.

        You can change the rules however you want. Jon Fitch still beats Thiago Alves no matter how you score it. Gray Maynard still beats Kenny Florian no matter how you score it. And GSP still beats Dan Hardy no matter how you score it. Even if you make the fighters engage more, all it would have done is made the striker more aggressive and we would see easier takedowns as a result.

        If they changed the rules for points, Fitch would have to be working a lot more because he can’t coast on takedown points where he does little else.

        And GSP worked the whole fight on the ground and there wasn’t half of the complaints about that fight as there are for Fitch and Maynard’s last fights.

        Bad wrestlers need to up their game and spend less time complaining to reporters and more time practicing pure wrestling and how to stop the shots.

        And boring wrestlers need to up their arsenal and spend less time complaining to reporters about being persecuted when they know they’re in a sport that charges $45 for entertaining fights and nobody but a tiny majority enjoy watching amateur wrestling.

        If people want to see pure striking, go watch HBO Boxing or K-1. If they want to see fighting….. They will have to get use to the wrestling. These guys are doing exactly what they need to win and make their opponently look like amateurs in the process…..

        The same can be said that if you want to see pure wrestling go watch ESPN’s NCAA coverage on Saturdays.

        It’s called MMA and these days you are expected to know every aspect of fighting. People complain when a 1D striker like Pat Barry comes in and they complain when a 1D wrestler like Gray Maynard is probably going to be the new Lightweight champion in a few months. It just happens that a kickboxer knocking someone out is much more entertaining to watch for 99% of the audience than ground control.

        I am not anti-grappling. I love grappling and most of my favorite fighters are grapplers. I am anti-doing nothing to ensure you win. I don’t think they should all be forced to be mini-Cro Cops just to make a bunch of drunks in the crowd stop booing for 1 minute of inaction. But would it kill these guys to up their submission game to add to their wrestling game?

        • 45 Huddle says:

          The blame is still being placed on the wrong fighters.

          Kenny Florian did less then Gray Maynard. Thiago Alves did less then Jon Fitch. The guys making for a boring fight are the non-wrestlers. They don’t know enough part of one game that they turn the fight one dimensional. And they play it safe on the ground by not taking any chances and just trying to survive.

          Strikers have 3 to 5 opportunties a fight to start on their feet. The wrestlers are never given the opportunity to start a round where they are best. So the strikers are already at an advantage. And they are still complaining about it.

          “If they changed the rules for points, Fitch would have to be working a lot more because he can’t coast on takedown points where he does little else.”

          How is that going to change if they change the rules? Whatever Fitch does, his opponents do even less. What did Ben Saunders do against him? Absolutely nothing. What did Thiago Silva do against him? Absolutely nothing. What did Paulo Thiago do against him? Absolutely nothing. You can change those rules, but the fact is that those 3 opponents are incapable of doing ANYHTHING against Jon Fitch, and therefore they lose.

          It’s not a tough concept, but people keep forgetting that. They continue to view things from the perspective of the wrestlers being at fault. They are the ones dominating the action. It’s their opponents who stop taking chances because they know their wrestling isn’t good enough to compete.

        • robthom says:

          @ 45,

          “From your sie of the arguement, Jon Fitch shouldn’t get much credit for that because he didn’t do much with it. And you would be right. The problem is that you forget to ask yourself about Thiago Alves.”

          I said in my first post that if the opponent is so one sided that they cant manage anything other than getting taken down repeatadly, then even if the takedown didn’t count for a lot it would still count for more than no offense at all.

          Fitch still wins.

          And as long as Fitch continued GENUINE attempts to strike (not just a slap here or there to avoid a standup) then he would get to keep working from his position.

          If not he gets stood up and we at least get to watch him go for more takedowns instead of just laying there.

          I’m picturing it the same way that a striker must be required to learn enough wrestling to deal with it, That a wrestler should be required to learn and apply enough striking to attempt to finish his opponent.

          Wrestling by itself does not natively feature a finishing move like a sub or a KO. Thats why Coleman (or whoever) invented GNP. Thats a wrestlers tool to finish and should be a high priority modification for wrestling in MMA IMO.

          Yeah you could say well this is the arena where different styles compare against each other.

          But I think we’re streamlining to a level of sport where the value of that is mostly in its historical significance.

          Also I am not directing my opinion at any specific fighters. I’m only saying that its what I’d like to see in general.

  5. robthom says:

    Ricco/Peewee looks cool.

    I’ve never watched bellator (even though I get it free on my cable service 🙂 ), but I’m gonna watch that.

    I like the shark fights card too.

    It looks more interesting than the next Fight Night IMO.

    Sometimes guys seem to just get burnt in the UFC. Maybe from the constant scramble for positions. And then they start to look a lot better when that pressure is off.

    Hopefully some fun fights just for fightings sake.

  6. Jonathan says:

    For the record, Shine Fights did in fact happen. I got free tickets, free upgrades, got to meet the fighters including Charles Bennett (don’t call him Krazy Horse) as well as Sean Patrick Flannery of Boondock Saints fame. Some crazy stuff happened, overall, was an awesome event and a great night, especially since I only spent money on water for me and beer for the fighters.

  7. Robert Poole says:

    I just wanted to say, watching the Shark Fights stream from Sherdog. Worst. Announcers. Ever. I don’t expect them to be able to afford top level announcers but these guys are horrible. They make the Strikeforce announcers seem like the greatest of all time. I will never complain about Frank Shamrock again.

  8. Robert Poole says:

    LOL I didn’t realize the awful was coming from Don Frye and Bas Rutten. Yeah they are completely horrible.

    • robthom says:

      Bas is so tacky its arguably full circle.

      He’s so bad he’s good!!!?!?!?!

      Jardine dropping again!

      Combined with Shad’s horribly brain dead game plan against Dragon makes me worry that Jacksons might not be the killer brain trust we wanted.

      Not so much worse then every other gym, but only a half step better then every other flaw we still deal with I guess.

  9. grafdog says:

    frye is cool.

    Maybe Jardine can fight Soakaju and get a draw.

    • Brad Wharton says:

      Party animal with money to burn takes drugs on the weekend…I can hardly believe it! What’s next, footballer sleeps with prostitute? Earth is round?

      If Ricky wants to rack up a few lines on a Saturday night, so what? And this ‘friend’ of his who supposedly grassed him up because she was concerned for his well-being…what a piece of work. She was *so* concerned that she took money from a tabloid to hide cameras on every hard surface in a hotel room to catch him in the act. And considering that there were supposedly only two of them in the room…I wonder who hoovered the other couple of lines he left on the side? Hmmm….

      • Brad Wharton says:

        Just to be clear, I’m not condoning what he did…but at the same time, none of us here are stupid enough to think that he is the first or last person to misbehave.

        He certainly doesn’t deserve to be the subject of a calculated attempt to drag his name through the mud for money.

        • edub says:

          Completely agree. She probably got somewhere inbetween 6 and 7 figures to pull that crap off.

          Fucking leach.

          As for the Shark show: I ordered it. Daley again looked like crap but fought very hard to pull off a win in the last round. Masvidal did have a suprisingly quick single. Jardine and Prangley showed what two 3rd tier lhws look like fighting each other. Sokoudjuou again proved that he fights hard for 2 minutes, and gives up after if he doesn’t get the finish. Houston Alexander showed some grit, but would’ve lost badly to either guy in the main even IMO(eventhough he already trounced Jardine once). Overall stupid purchase, but I gave some money to a small fight promotion. It feels like I gave to charity.

          Also 3-0 on the weekend in fantasy. I have Arian Foster in all three leagues :).

Comments to Brad Wharton

*
To prove you're a person (not a spam script), type the security word shown in the picture.
Anti-spam image