A few news items from a painfully slow early July news cycle
By Zach Arnold | July 12, 2010
If you haven’t seen this interview already, it’s Karyn Bryant interviewing Rashad Evans and Rashad telling her that he won’t fight until March (if he has to wait that long) for Shogun. He’s not giving up that title shot and is not interested in an interim title match. Can’t say I blame him.
Jordan Breen filed a report from Brisbane on the first Impact FC event and from the sounds of it, well, not much to speak about there.
More on Strikeforce booking changes — Erin Toughill, who was supposed to get a ‘warm-up fight’ in September in order to set up a future fight against Cris Cyborg, will now be put in a #1 contender’s fight against Shana Olsen on 8/21 in Houston.
Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press reports that Demian Maia will face Alan Belcher on September 15th in Austin, Texas. That card also will feature Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman, Ross Pearson vs. Cole Miller, and Jim Miller vs. Gleison Tibau.
Nagoya Sumo tournament begins on a rocky road
No trophies and prizes at Nagoya Sumo tournament this year. Hakuho got some heat for criticizing the fact that there would be no cup presentation at the event.
The day before the tournament started on Sunday, all the big names involved in Sumo did a public apology at Aichi Prefectural Gym in Nagoya. As for attendance on the first day of the event, the show drew a near-sellout of 7,200 paid. That was to be expected given the curiosity factor of seeing what would happen on the first show of the series.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police went into the home of Kotomitsuki to gather evidence that could be used in setting up criminal proceedings against the admitted gambler.
As for the future of Sumo on NHK, it is shaky right now.
It’s been a brutal last five years for the whole fight business in Japan. Yesterday was the 5th anniversary of the death of Shin’ya Hashimoto and we are about 13 months removed from the in-ring death of Mitsuharu Misawa. (NOAH struggled with their event this weekend in Tokyo at Ariake Colosseum, drawing a half-house. DREAM struggled with their show.) A few years ago, we saw PRIDE collapse after losing their Fuji TV deal. Now, we have NHK backing away from supporting Sumo. Permanent damage to pro-wrestling, MMA, and Sumo in Japan… for someone who spent a lot of his life covering that scene, it is really sad to watch corruption just gut all of those sectors.
Topics: Japan, Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 13 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Two takeaways from DREAM 7/10 Saitama Super Arena event
By Zach Arnold | July 10, 2010
It feels like every show this promotion puts on, the interest in the product continues to gradually decrease.
We had a Lightweight fight that, only for the sake of rankings, meant something. In every other context, it wasn’t a fight that was heavily pushed in Japan nor was it a fight that anyone was even talking about (especially the hardcore fans) in the week leading up to it. Usually with the hardcore fans online, you hear some sort of buzz about what happens in Japan. Perhaps there was no buzz for this fight because of the way Aoki got manhandled by Gilbert Melendez last April in Nashville.
If Crusher Kawajiri had won this fight, he would still be underneath the UFC Lightweights in rankings but at least he’d be right in the Top 6 mix. Instead, he went out and got submitted. It provides true clarity about where the best Lightweights in the world are (UFC), as if that hadn’t already been answered.
The development of Aoki challenging Gilbert Melendez to a re-match is a strange deal. Gilbert has the hand injury, so it’s hard to say if he could even make it to September. Then there’s that little fact that he’s suspended by Tennessee, but of course I don’t think an athletic commission would do a damn thing to him if he fought in Japan. Third, why would Melendez want to fight Aoki again? The only reason to take that fight is because of money or Strikeforce not being able to present any challengers… which actually is a problem with Josh Thomson not wanting to re-match right away. Larry Pepe may have been onto something with the idea of Strikeforce booking Pat Healy for a title shot, since that’s the way SF rolls these days.
(There are now reports that HDNet screwed up about what Aoki said for a “big fight” announcement. Or, they inadvertently let the cat out of the bag…)
For me, however, the ultimate symbolism about DREAM and where it stands right now as a serious promotion came in the form of Jake O’Brien. Here’s a guy who was given a lifeline to fight in a semi-respectable organization in Japan after being a UFC washout. He gets a chance to face Gegard Mousasi at 205 pounds. Mousasi looked terrible against King Mo last April. In fact, Mousasi looked so bad that there were people calling into Sherdog radio wondering if O’Brien could actually use his wrestling against Mousasi and pull off the upset. (Jordan Breen thankfully shot that theory down.)
So, with no real big career prospects in the American MMA scene, what happened when Jake O’Brien showed up in Japan? He showed up at 226 pounds, over 20 pounds more than the weight he was slotted at for the fight. This was the classic “I can’t make weight, so I’ll show up and my opponent won’t turn down the fight anyways” mentality, in my opinion. O’Brien ended up cutting down… to 212 pounds. Mousasi took the fight anyways because he refused to fight Ricco Rodriguez, who had been told by DREAM that he was going to fight Alistair Overeem.
Naturally, when the fight started, O’Brien went for a shot and got choked out in short order.
Topics: DREAM, Japan, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 38 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
No Middleweight tournament for Strikeforce? Plus Brock/Cain date finalized
By Zach Arnold | July 9, 2010
Sherdog says that there will be a title match between Jacare and Tim Kennedy. But, just because there is a title match doesn’t mean that a tournament should be ruled out — at least if you believe what Scott Coker said last week.
However, if there is no tournament, that to me indicates that they couldn’t get 8 guys to commit to fighting at 185 pounds. If there really isn’t a tournament at the end of the day, that is a red flag about this promotion. Middleweight is the division they have the best chance of making something big happen and if they can’t do an 8-man tournament…
The headliner of the 8/21 Houston event is King Mo vs. Feijao. Headlining a building the size of the Toyota Center?
Strikeforce isn’t the only August show in chaos. Now WEC won’t have Urijah Faber on the WEC 50 card for mid-August when they run in Las Vegas.
Oh yeah, let the Paul Daley/Bellator rumors begin. For the record, the word from Paul’s camp is that he has not signed any deal and that the report was false.
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, WEC, Zach Arnold | 18 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Can UFC sell a rematch between BJ Penn and Kenny Florian?
By Zach Arnold | July 9, 2010
From Sherdog radio on Wednesday, the setup for this question is based on the premise that Kenny Florian beats Gray Maynard and BJ Penn beats Frankie Edgar on August 28th in Boston, therefore leaving the promotion stuck with a rematch that on paper has to be booked but isn’t one that is easy to sell because of how lopsided the first bout was between the two men.
Actually, from a ‘business standpoint,’ a more difficult scenario would be having to do a rematch between Jon Fitch and Georges St. Pierre (something the Sherdog team addresses). However, that match (if it happens) wouldn’t take place until mid-2011 at the earliest.
Onto the radio passage…
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 17 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
About reports of M-1 restructuring…
By Zach Arnold | July 9, 2010
Evgeni Kogan of M-1 is denying what you are hearing in regards to major restructuring. Also said during this interview:
M-1 will sit down with Ken Hershman and Showtime to work out a plan to move forward, which M-1 sees as Fedor vs. Werdum in a re-match. Mr. Kogan said that there is emphasis for a re-match based on a poll they put on their web site where 1,000 people voted and about 75-80% said they wanted to see the re-match take place. Plus, it doesn’t make much sense for Fedor, coming off a loss, to fight for the Strikeforce Heavyweight title.
It’s unrealistic to think that the re-match would happen in Moscow and it will happen in the US, with the expectation that it will happen before the year is over.
Regarding the issue of a ‘champion’s clause’ in a contract, M-1’s official stance is they are open to any possibilities, including a contract extension or no contract extension. They are happy with the current state of their relationship with Showtime and Strikeforce, “which is saying a lot.” Having a champion’s clause in a contract would not be considered a deal-breaker.
As to why Fedor didn’t fight on the CBS show in Nashville, M-1 was at an impasse with Strikeforce. As to why Fedor vs. Overeem hasn’t already happened, M-1 says they were never offered a fight with Overeem in the first place.
Topics: M-1, Media, MMA, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 23 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Report: Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 120 in London
By Zach Arnold | July 9, 2010
Detailed report here, including discussion of Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit.
Guess we won’t see Bisping vs. Vitor Belfort…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 9 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Independent World MMA Rankings – July 8, 2010
By Zach Arnold | July 9, 2010
From the office of the Independent World MMA Rankings
July 8, 2010 – The July 2010 Men’s Independent World MMA Rankings have been released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple MMA web sites, as well as www.IndependentWorldMMARankings.com.
Some of the best and most knowledgeable MMA writers from across the MMA media landscape have come together to form an independent voting panel. These voting panel members are, in alphabetical order: Zach Arnold (Fight Opinion); Nicholas Bailey (MMA Ratings); Jared Barnes (Freelance); Jordan Breen (Sherdog); Jim Genia (Full Contact Fighter and MMA Journalist Blog); Jesse Holland (MMA Mania); Robert Joyner (Freelance); Todd Martin (Los Angeles Times and Sherdog); Jim Murphy (The Savage Science); Zac Robinson (Sports by the Numbers MMA); Leland Roling (Bloody Elbow); Michael David Smith (AOL Fanhouse); Joshua Stein (MMA Opinion); Ivan Trembow (Freelance); and Dave Walsh (Head Kick Legend).
Note: Nick Diaz, Jason Miller, and Jake Shields were all recently issued disciplinary suspensions by the Tennessee Athletic Commission for their roles in the post-fight brawl at the Strikeforce event in Nashville. Like all fighters who are serving disciplinary suspensions, these fighters have temporarily lost their eligibility to be ranked, and they will regain their eligibility to be ranked as soon as their disciplinary suspensions have ended. Shields’ three-month disciplinary suspension began on June 9; Miller’s began on June 16; and Diaz’ began on June 23. Gilbert Melendez’ three-month disciplinary suspension has not yet begun, due to the fact that his consent order has not yet been received, so he has not yet lost his eligibility to be ranked.
July 2010 Men’s Independent World MMA Rankings
Ballots collected on July 6, 2010
Heavyweight Rankings (206 to 265 lbs.)
1. Brock Lesnar (5-1)
2. Fedor Emelianenko (31-2, 1 No Contest)
3. Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1)
4. Cain Velasquez (8-0)
5. Shane Carwin (12-1)
6. Junior dos Santos (11-1)
7. Alistair Overeem (33-11, 1 No Contest)
8. Frank Mir (13-5)
9. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1, 1 No Contest)
10. Antonio Silva (14-2)
Light Heavyweight Rankings (186 to 205 lbs.)
1. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-4)
2. Lyoto Machida (16-1)
3. Rashad Evans (15-1-1)
4. Quinton Jackson (30-8)
5. Anderson Silva (25-4)
6. Forrest Griffin (17-6)
7. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (7-0)
8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-3)
9. Gegard Mousasi (28-3-1)
10. Thiago Silva (14-2)
Middleweight Rankings (171 to 185 lbs.)
1. Anderson Silva (25-4)
2. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1)
3. Nathan Marquardt (29-9-2)
4. Dan Henderson (25-8)
5. Vitor Belfort (19-8)
6. Demian Maia (12-1)
7. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (12-2, 1 No Contest)
8. Yushin Okami (24-5)
9. Jorge Santiago (22-8)
10. Robbie Lawler (17-6, 1 No Contest)
Welterweight Rankings (156 to 170 lbs.)
1. Georges St. Pierre (20-2)
2. Jon Fitch (22-3, 1 No Contest)
3. Thiago Alves (16-6)
4. Josh Koscheck (15-4)
5. Dan Hardy (23-7, 1 No Contest)
6. Martin Kampmann (17-3)
7. Paulo Thiago (13-2)
8. Matt Hughes (44-7)
9. Paul Daley (23-9-2)
10. Matt Serra (11-6)
Lightweight Rankings (146 to 155 lbs.)
1. Frankie Edgar (12-1)
2. B.J. Penn (15-6-1)
3. Gilbert Melendez (18-2)
4. Kenny Florian (13-4)
5. Eddie Alvarez (20-2)
6. Shinya Aoki (23-5, 1 No Contest)
7. Gray Maynard (9-0, 1 No Contest)
8. Tatsuya Kawajiri (26-5-2)
9. Evan Dunham (11-0)
10. George Sotiropoulos (13-2)
Featherweight Rankings (136 to 145 lbs.)
1. Jose Aldo (17-1)
2. Manny Gamburyan (11-4)
3. Urijah Faber (23-4)
4. Mike Brown (23-6)
5. Hatsu Hioki (21-4-2)
6. Bibiano Fernandes (8-2)
7. Marlon Sandro (17-1)
8. Josh Grispi (14-1)
9. Michihiro Omigawa (10-8-1)
10. “Lion” Takeshi Inoue (18-4)
Bantamweight Rankings (126 to 135 lbs.)
1. Dominick Cruz (15-1)
2. Brian Bowles (8-1)
3. Joseph Benavidez (12-1)
4. Miguel Torres (37-3)
5. Scott Jorgensen (10-3)
6. Takeya Mizugaki (13-4-2)
7. Damacio Page (15-4)
8. Wagnney Fabiano (14-2)
9. Masakatsu Ueda (11-1-2)
10. Rani Yahya (15-6)
The Men’s Independent World MMA Rankings are tabulated on a monthly basis in each of the top seven weight classes of MMA, from heavyweight to bantamweight, with fighters receiving ten points for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, and so on.
The rankings are based purely on the votes of the members of the voting panel, with nobody’s vote counting more than anybody else’s vote, and no computerized voting.
The voters are instructed to vote primarily based on fighters’ actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition that they’ve actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective perception of which fighters would theoretically win hypothetical match-ups.
Inactivity: Fighters who have not fought in the past 12 months are not eligible to be ranked, and will regain their eligibility the next time they fight.
Disciplinary Suspensions: Fighters who are currently serving disciplinary suspensions, or who have been denied a license for drug test or disciplinary reasons, are not eligible to be ranked.
Changing Weight Classes: When a fighter announces that he is leaving one weight class in order to fight in another weight class, the fighter is not eligible to be ranked in the new weight class until his first fight in the new weight class has taken place.
Catch Weight Fights: When fights are contested at weights that are in between the limits of the various weight classes, they are considered to be in the higher weight class. The weight limits for each weight class are listed at the top of the rankings for each weight class.
Special thanks to Eric Kamander, Zach Arnold, and Joshua Stein for their invaluable help with this project, and special thanks to Garrett Bailey for designing our logo.
Topics: Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 23 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The media’s countdown for Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velaquez in UFC
By Zach Arnold | July 8, 2010
“I’m really looking forward to that fight because that’s going to be a hell of a fight. I see it as a long battle with both guys having their ups and downs and some striking, a lot of wrestling, a lot of ground ‘n pound… A lot of escapes. I just see this is as, and it’s going to be a long fight most likely, it may, anything can happen in MMA, it can end in one punch. I kind of sense that this will be the classic heavyweight fight of this generation in the sense that you know it’s not going to be the Lesnar/Carwin fight, we knew it would be a quick fight. And this one is going to be the opposite of Lesnar and Carwin and you know it won’t be as dynamic, it won’t be as explosive going in, I think it’s going to be more cautious but I think that it’s going to be more dramatic and more twists and turns and a lot more variety, it ain’t going to be one guy just punching the other guy really hard and knocking the hell out of him because I mean, it could happen, but I just see it as more hurting each other and attrition, you know, so of course we’re months away from that fight, many months away.”
On a lot of radio shows and web sites, I’ve noticed that Cain has become the favorite pick of the pundits to win the fight. Lutfi Sariahmed on Sherdog radio felt that since Velasquez and Lesnar are similar in skills as far as wrestling and that Velasquez has been more active recently as a wrestler, that it neutralizes Lesnar’s big strength heading into the fight. Brock’s performance against Carwin either impressed the pundits (like me) or completely turned them off. Here’s a passage from this week’s Pro MMA radio show talking about why the pundits shouldn’t have soured on what Brock displayed during his fight with Shane Carwin:
JESSE HOLLAND: “What’s interesting about Lesnar’s performance is that there’s really two ways to look at it. You can look at it and be critical of it because of the first round and I thought that it was the first round that he fought scared. And I think if you want to criticize his chin, I don’t think that’s a fair assessment because I believe part of his reason for being turtled up and back-pedaling and landing on his butt has more to do with fighting scared than getting rocked. If you think about what happens to a fighter if they get rocked, Cheick Kongo/Cain Velasquez comes to mind. When the legs give out and they kind of do that zombie lurch forward, and that wasn’t really Lesnar’s thing. And he did take, Fightmetric had it at 60 punches to the head. If you can survive 60 punches to the head in one round against Shane Carwin, who like you said probably hits harder than anyone in the sport, you know that says a lot about who you are as far as your will to survive. Was it a little too easy for Shane? I think it was. I expected him to dominate the stand-up. I didn’t expect Lesnar to become a punching bag but to his credit you know he held on, he persevered, and he came out and a lot of people are critical of his performance because he was dominated so thoroughly in the first round but you really can’t praise a guy like Minotauro Nogueira who in the same position would have been hailed as you know just another one of his amazing comebacks and but then slam Lesnar for the same thing. He survived, he came back, and he won in impressive fashion and I think it says a lot about who he is as a champion.”
LARRY PEPE: “I’m not going to slam the performance. I’m impressed by the importance. I understand that he clearly does not respond well to being hit from a standpoint of defensively, he doesn’t have a great defense on the ground when he’s on his back which is certainly common with most wrestlers. But the other side of the coin was, my question with him was his chin. Not having to respond to being hit, how does he respond in terms of being able to take a punch and if there was ever a test to being able to take a punch, I think getting hit 60 times in the head by Shane Carwin and not going out and really impressively to me he comes out in the second round, Jesse, and aside from the cuts and a little bit of swelling, as far as his physical ability after taking that beating, a one minute rest on the stool and he looked very fresh to me, so he answered that question for me. I think it’s going to take an awful lot to knock this guy out. I think him finishing the fight the way he did with an arm triangle choke and really taking the risky position of leaving a full mount to try to get that choke, he had to have a lot of confidence in being able to get it and he did and I think coming in if you’d have told someone that you have Brock Lesnar by submission, they would have thought it was time to get you to the loony bin and get you a little bit of help. So I think that says a lot about how he’s evolving as a fighter.”
There’s your setup for a lengthy discussion about how a fight between Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez will turn out when they fight in the cage.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 20 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Video: Bruce Buffer introduces “Poker Brat” Phil Hellmuth at 2010 WSOP
By Zach Arnold | July 8, 2010
Watch Phil Hellmuth MMA Fighter Entrance at the 2010 WSOP on RawVegas.tv
If a Full Tilt Poker guy can get along with a UB.net guy, then maybe we can have world peace in Mixed Martial Arts.
Topics: Media, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Strikeforce booking Fedor vs. Overeem makes no sense at all and yet makes all the sense in the world
By Zach Arnold | July 8, 2010
To set the scene here, a passage from Wednesday’s Observer radio show:
DAVE MELTZER: “Well, I mean, you know, I guess the new idea is that they want Fedor against Overeem for the championship and have Fedor sign the champion’s clause, which means if he wins then you know he’s going to be champion, he’s going to stay and defend the championship.”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “So the exact same clause that he refused when they were negotiating with UFC because he didn’t want to be tied down supposedly forever?”
DAVE MELTZER: “Yes.”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “Just checking.”
DAVE MELTZER: “So, but this also could be, I mean, you know you don’t know what chess games are being played here. It could be that… you know, he’s holding that because the idea is if they really want Werdum, I mean the worst thing they could do is put Fedor against Werdum. Actually there’s one even worse. But one of the worst things they could do is put Fedor against Werdum in a rematch, Fedor wins so you got no contender for the championship and then Fedor goes and doesn’t re-sign and he leaves. That’s a complete disaster. So there’s no upside to that. If Fedor agrees to this, to Fedor/Overeem. You know, it is an interesting fighting in the sense if Overeem wins, Fedor’s got two losses in a row and you can ditch him, you know really, you can just say OK I don’t need to deal with M-1 and you know I’ve made my champion because Overeem will have beaten Fedor, you know, and Overeem will be established in this country as somebody, so I mean I can see that upside. Fedor beats Overeem, well, you know, Fedor’s back in the hunt, you know, so that’s a positive because you know no one’s going to go undefeated forever. As long as Fedor wins his next, he’ll replenish a lot of what he lost and what he’s losing right now and Fedor does need a win real, real bad right now. So, I mean I can see all this making sense from Coker’s side even though the idea of a guy losing by submission in 1 minute and 9 seconds in a championship elimination match and then getting the title match is completely absurd under normal circumstances but this isn’t normal, so but yeah, you know the thing is with M-1 and everything, I mean, they are not dealing from power right now for the first time. So, they, you know, we’ll see how this all goes down. But it’s an interesting game. I wasn’t expecting Coker to go with the Fedor/Overeem fight, but I see why he’s doing it.”
Remember that these comments are being made from someone who, right after the San Jose event, was totally blasting anyone who said that SF should book an immediately Fedor/Werdum re-match. Now, all of a sudden, Fedor vs. Overeem “makes sense.”
This passage sets up a longer passage from Pro MMA Radio with Larry Pepe yesterday, who talked with Jesse Holland of MMA Mania about the chaos happening in Strikeforce and how this promotion turns something simple into the biggest disorganized mess you can possibly find. If you haven’t caught up on the latest happenings in Strikeforce, read my article from last week on how the Middleweight tournament on paper is being twisted and mangled.
After a Pro MMA radio passage on this subject, I’ll give you an answer in regards to why this article has the title that it does.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 27 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Joe Rogan’s unvarnished commentary on UFC 116
By Zach Arnold | July 7, 2010
JOE ROGAN: “And you saw that Shane’s punches were coming slower and slower and Shane, unfortunately, just blew his wad. He, you know, he had an adrenaline dump, I’m sure the excitement of the fact that he had the champ hurt and on his back and that he was on top and he’s like, ‘this is over, this f****** thing’s over.’ And he’s pounding him and pounding him and pounding him and then all of a sudden he’s like, ‘f***, there’s two minutes left to go in this round,’ you know and then he’s got to keep going and by the end of those two minutes, there was nothing left. He got back to his corner and literally could barely get up. His legs were barely walking and he was f*****. He said his legs seized up and he said he just went out there and he tried to do whatever he could but his body just was not responding. He just completely adrenaline dumped and completely blew out all of his energy, BUT GOD DAMN DOES HE HIT HIM HARD before that. HOLY **** that fucking Shane Carwin can punch. He hits so hard, he’s so big, but I think he’s too big. I think maybe like because he had to lose 17 pounds to make 265, so he’s you know walking in like at like somewhere around 280ish you know on the day of the fight. So, I think that might be too big for his frame. You know, I think he might be better might off if he was like 250, you know just a little lighter but with more endurance. His punches are still going to be ridiculously powerful. Nobody can stand up to the way that guy hits. His punches will still be ridiculously power, but he’ll have a little bit more cardio, you know. Brock is just physically a bigger guy. Brock really has a 270-pound man’s body, I mean he’s SO WIDE. He’s just a big, giant freak. Carwin’s not as wide, you know, he’s still BIG AS F***, that big giant hands and shit, but you know I think Brock maybe can carry a little bit more weight naturally than Shane can. These guys when they train really hard with weights and power lifting and s*** like that, yeah, it makes you stronger, it gives you a lot more muscle and that muscle’s got to get fed, it’s got to fed by blood but GOD DAMN it was exciting as f*** before it was over.”
SIDEKICK: “Do you still have his mouthpiece?”
JOE ROGAN: “Yeah, I got Brock Lesnar’s mouthpiece.”
SIDEKICK: “Tasted the taste of a warrior?”
JOE ROGAN: “It’s right over there. Um, he stuck it in my pocket after it was over and I said, ‘I’m going to sell that s***on EBay.’ But I’m just going to hang onto it. F*** it. I’m a fan. It’s a trivia moment. Plus, it was, what a comeback when he came out for that second round, his hands were up high and like you know you just knew that this motherf***** is not going away. He got hit with some bombs and he was still there and still in really good shape and that was really the big difference. He took Shane down, got in Shane’s half-guard, passed, got on top on him, got him in an arm-triangle and put him to sleep, it was f****** sweet. Or put him to tap, he would have gone to sleep. He really cranked it tight and Brock is so gigantic. You see they also called it a side choke, there’s two different versions of it. There’s one like this and you do it like this and that’s why it’s called an arm triangle. But the way Brock did it, I think he did with a Gable grip where you do it like this where it’s really more of a side choke, but Brock is so big and so f****** strong that when he just crushes down like that, like you really don’t have any options, man. You’re going to go to sleep. He’s just got much too much power and he’s just going to crush that whole area between your arm and your neck and everything’s going to get smushed and there’s not going to be any air.”
SIDEKICK: “That was one of the best UFCs I think in a long time.”
JOE ROGAN: “F*** yeah it was. I was standing up during the Lesnar fight. It was so exciting I couldn’t f****** sit down. I stood up.”
SIDEKICK: “That’s awesome.”
JOE ROGAN: “When Carwin hit him and you know he went to the ground, it was like the whole thing like there was so much energy in the arena, it was so unbelievable and then when Brock took him down at the end, it was like the whole thing was just so nuts and then when he tapped like it was just F****** CRAZINESS, man, there was so much energy. I stood up like three or four times. I don’t do that, man. That’s the only fight I’ve ever had to stand up in the middle of it because it was so crazy. Like as far as like sheer entertainment value, what a f****** fight. There was a bunch of sheer entertainment value fights that were just off the charts…”
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Ken Shamrock says his comments about legalizing steroids were taken out of context
By Zach Arnold | July 7, 2010
Ken Shamrock is back to clarify remarks he made during an interview on HDNet about steroids.
First, to setup his new comments about the California State Athletic Commission, his usage of steroids, and what he wants to see happen with steroid usage in MMA, he spent the first couple of minutes of the interview talking about his upcoming fight with Pedro Rizzo in Australia. While he was vague about his game plan against Rizzo, Shamrock did say this:
“He’s got to respect my stand-up in order for me to have anything else work. … My stand-up definitely at times has been questionable, so I’ve really practiced and really, really, really studied that stand-up and footwork and angles and punch combinations and kicks and stuff, so that way my takedowns become easier, my submissions become easier because now they have to respect me when I’m on the feet.
Shamrock said that Rizzo is the same fighter that he’s always been and has not improved his overall game.
And with that, we get into his suspension from California over a failed drug test, what his future is, and the push-back he’s received from the interview with Mike Straka on HDNet.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
NHK waves the white flag on airing the Nagoya Sumo tournament
By Zach Arnold | July 6, 2010
Total meltdown.
I’m not sure if this is on the same level as when Fuji TV canceled PRIDE at this time about four years ago, but it’s going to leave a real mark on the Sumo business.
The Nagoya tournament every year at Aichi Prefectural Gym had trouble selling out, but once the gambling/yakuza scandal hit then all the major sponsors pulled out of the event. After that, NHK (Japan’s government-owned channel) backed out of the event.
The big question is just how much money will be lost and how much media coverage with all the empty seats will be displayed throughout the month. Or will the tournament just get canceled at some point to save face.
All I know is that if this was America, the shame factor would not exist like it does in Japan.
NHK not airing Nagoya Sumo tournament is first time network doesn’t air Sumo in over 50 years
What will NHK viewers get to watch instead of the Sumo tournament? Women in spandex stretching.
The decision by NHK to pull the plug on airing the Nagoya tournament live on television was justified, according to the network, due to all the Sumo scandals over the last several years, including what happened with Asashoryu and with other Sumo stars getting in trouble due to marijuana possession. NHK said that over 67% of their viewers told the network to pull the plug on airing the Nagoya series. Even Japan’s Education Minister chided the Sumo association.
Reaction from the Nagoya Sumo tournament participants on the business collapse of the tournament.
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