Will Ben Askren have a big “hometown advantage” against Dan Hornbuckle in Bellator?
By Zach Arnold | June 17, 2010
Tonight’s the night these two meet in Kansas City. Josh Gross and Jordan Breen on the Sports Illustrated podcast talked about this at length:
JOSH GROSS: “June 17th in Kansas City, Bellator Welterweight final… It’s a tournament that I think some people have said has disappointed but I’m not sure we can be disappointed with this final. Dan Hornbuckle was the favorite in most people’s estimation, he’s there. And Ben Askren has survived his way into the final. I think Hornbuckle’s got a big shot here, I mean he’s the big favorite as far as I’m concerned and Askren may be able to take him down and control him a little bit but I don’t see that happening for 15 minutes. What are your thoughts?”
JORDAN BREEN: “I’m with you on this. To me this is all about the judges. Are these judges in Missouri going to be assess Mixed Martial Arts properly and are they going to be able to get past the fact that frankly Ben Askren is one of the most celebrated athletes in the recent history of the state of Missouri? I mean, he won two Danny Hodge trophies, he was a four-time All-American, two-time national champion at Mizzou, an absolutely brilliant wrestler, one of the best collegiate wrestlers ever and certainly the best in the history of the University of Missouri, but as for his Mixed Martial Arts career, he just hasn’t picked it up as quickly as people would have hoped. A lot of people looked at his grappling style which was always predicated on rolling around, the funky style, taking interesting positions instead of you know really wrestling and grinding it out the way we’re used to seeing it. Folk-style wrestling, people figured that would translate to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu because certainly it looked more like submission grappling than folk-style wrestling. The problem and what you saw in the second fight with Ryan Thomas is his wrestling style was one that allowed him to take positions for two or three seconds to score points but he has no command over these positions in Mixed Martial Arts. He can take side mount, he can take full mount, he can take back mount, but those positions are ephemeral, they don’t last more than the blink of an eye and if Ryan Thomas is able to sweep, get back up, avoid being submitted, I see no reason Dan Hornbuckle’s not going to be able to and certainly far better offensively and defensively in every respect than Ryan Thomas is. I know that when I have to turn in a score card and people ask me what I think, I’m confident that I will have it scored for Dan Hornbuckle. My only concern ends up being will the Missouri judges feel likewise and that’s something that is kind of becoming a trend for Bellator. I felt Toby Imada deserved the nod over Pat Curran, as did most people, and looking forward I have extreme trepidation about Joe Warren taking on Patricio Pitbull in a fight where I’m confident Pitbull will have more offense than Joe Warren and will likely deserve a decision. Whether or not it is seen that way is another matter entirely.”
JOSH GROSS: “I think it’s interesting that Askren chose to continue to try and compete at wrestling, he failed to qualify what was it for the world’s?”
JORDAN BREEN: “Yes.”
JOSH GROSS: “You know, I don’t think you can do both, I really don’t. I mean we’ve seen Joe Warren stumble to try to do both, it doesn’t compute, it doesn’t work and I think it’s going to cost [Askren] in the end. Hornbuckle is going to be the guy to win and fight Lyman Good and I actually think it’s going to be a good competitive Welterweight fight.”
JORDAN BREEN: “Five rounds of that, that sounds like Fight of the Year stuff to me. Bellator actually has the makings of some real potential Fight of the Year stuff because of their champions being in five round fights. If you put Hornbuckle/Good and I think also a Joe Soto/Patricio Pitbull fight, either one of those fights you know with the length of time they could really let good action and a bit in-fight drama percolate and come out. I think those are real Fight of the Year contenders.”
Topics: Bellator, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Martial Combat 3 event results from Singapore
By Zach Arnold | June 16, 2010
ESPN Press Release
Martial Combat 3 Returns Back with a Bang with at Resorts World Sentosa
Jong of South Korea overpowers Steele of USA on first night of Resorts World® Sentosa Martial Combat™
SINGAPORE, 16 June 2010 – The third installment of Asia’s biggest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Championship was highlighted by a dramatic late victory for veteran Korean fighter Jong Man Kim in his featherweight title superfight against American Aaron Steele.
Witnessed by an enthusiastic crowd at Resorts World Sentosa, Jong used all his experience to reserve some energy for a final flourish with his opponent visibly tiring. The judges were all set to render their decisions after a five-round stalemate when the Korean sent his opponent crashing to the canvass with barely a minute to go in the fight. Perhaps fearing he was behind on the scorecards, Jong moved in for the kill and unleashed a barrage of blows on the stunned American.
With a Martial Combat Superfight belt on the line, the referee gave Steele every chance to recover, but with less than 30 seconds remaining he had seen enough and stepped in to stop the fight and save him from further punishment.
Said an elated and exhausted Jong: “I was extremely tired. I didn’t expect it to go to five rounds and thought I could win the bout in the first. But the Americans are known for their stamina and power. Going into the fifth round, I knew I was behind on points and when I saw an opening I knew I had to take advantage. I am very happy and it was an honour to fight for Martial Combat and I am pleased to take the belt back to Korea.”
Held at the Compass Ballroom, Resorts World Sentosa, the Martial Combat series featured five fights of explosive knock out action. The event, presented by ESPN STAR Sports and Resorts World Sentosa, saw 10 world-class mixed martial arts fighters battle over five fights to an almost-capacity crowd, culminating in the Superfight Championship Showdown between Jong and Steel.
Continue reading this article here…
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Strikeforce 6/16 Los Angeles (Nokia Theater)
By Zach Arnold | June 16, 2010
- Lightweights: KJ Noons vs. Conor Heun
- Middleweights: Trevor Prangley vs. Tim Kennedy
- Welterweights: Marius Zaromskis vs. Evangelista Cyborg
- Catch weight (195 pounds): Robbie Lawler vs. Renato Babalu
(I’m listing this here since it’s on SF’s site)
Cyborgs girlfriend, Evangilista is up next. Looks super tough, a little ruff around the edges though.
Cyborgs girlfriend wins. I wonder who will be the pitcher and who will catch tonight? Should be on national geographic.
Oops, Renato takes it. Unanimous decision, Babalu looks busted up and speaks inglish like my uncle.
And I hope he doesn’t spell his English words like you do, junior.
As far as the main event, it exposed a lot as far as Strikeforce’s booking is concerned. Just like the Jake Shields/Dan Henderson match, the promotion books a disgruntled fighter in the main event (Robbie Lawler) who was a former Welterweight-turned Middleweight (one of their top Middleweight guys) versus a man who’s a natural Light Heavyweight who may — may drop down to Middleweight.
The irony, of course, is that Babalu is also a frustrated man given that this was his first fight in a year.
Unlike the last time Scott Coker did this, this time it didn’t backfire on him and I’m sure we’ll hear the ‘genius’ of how he’s now created two Middleweight contenders so that when Jake Shields leaves he’ll somehow have a rematch set up for a tournament of sorts.
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 23 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Should MMA adopt a figure skating-style judging panel system?
By Zach Arnold | June 16, 2010
I had to make that the headline because it’s a part of the discussion brought up by the Pro MMA radio team recently in regards to a debate about just how awful the judging is these days in Mixed Martial Arts.
Every time I bring this topic up, I always say that I have no magical solution to fix the problem and the response to this comment usually consists of “UFC doesn’t mind the screw jobs, it helps their matchmaking out” and an example pointed to is the rematch between Mauricio Shogun and Lyoto Machida.
I don’t say this as a defense of the awful judging in Mixed Martial Arts right now, but I will say that bad officiating is a huge problem in all the major sports now. It’s especially bad in Major League Baseball and has gotten to the point where the commission has appointed hard ass Frank Robinson to keep tabs on out-of-control umpires. In the NFL, there’s about one controversy every week with someone like a Jeff Triplett type figure. In the NBA, we all know about Tim Donaghy and Joey Crawford. I could go on and on about this topic all day long (and sports talk radio usually does, anyways).
The passage you’re about to read continues multiple arguments and layers to each one. Take note of the argument about monitors, which is an argument that Joe Rogan has brought up before. Take note about a figure skating-style panel system where you have at least five judges and you throw out the top and the bottom score.
But there’s one argument by Larry Pepe and Neil Davidson that is unwittingly made and I want you to read the passage and try to spot it… It’s like the elephant in the room that people don’t want to acknowledge or don’t realize that they are, in fact, acknowledging it.
Continue reading this article here…
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Video interview: Jon Fitch contemplating move to Middleweight (185 pounds) in the UFC
By Zach Arnold | June 16, 2010
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Chael Sonnen quits his unwinnable Oregon state senate election race
By Zach Arnold | June 16, 2010
He was running for election in the deepest blue part of Oregon in the Portland area and stood no chance to win. Then he started going crazy on BS’ng everyone and cutting promos to hype an Anderson Silva fight. Suddenly, he had to face heat when major news and political outlets started covering his remarks. After one round of Huffington Post coverage in conjunction with local papers, Sonnen started denying that he had a Twitter account and that it wasn’t him making those remarks online.
A couple of days ago, round two started on Huffington Post and suddenly acting like an ass to hype up a fight wasn’t going over so well with people interested in politics. With little chance to win his political election in the first place, his chances became 0% after his media routines. He’s now quietly abandoned the race and quit, stating that a legal issue from 2006 dealing with a real estate case is his reason for getting out.
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An update on the media’s favorite ‘heart-ripping cage fighter’ Jarrod Wyatt
By Zach Arnold | June 16, 2010
He plead not guilty by reason of insanity in Del Norte court. He actually plead twice — not guilty and then not guilty by reason of insanity.
Jarrod Wyatt’s legal team debates over costs for doctors to do mental evaluation
Flashback: About that ‘heart-ripping cage fighter story”…
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Jake Shields wants to fight Georges St. Pierre within the next year
By Zach Arnold | June 16, 2010
But he’s still on the fence, publicly, as far as signing with UFC. That’s the gist from a radio interview spot he did last night with Hector Castro of MMA Die Hards.
HECTOR CASTRO: “As soon as you beat Dan (Henderson) and your contract with Strikeforce was semi-up, I noticed a lot more face time on The Ultimate Fighter. I’m not sure if you caught that as well.”
JAKE SHIELDS: “I’ve actually missed the last few episodes. I’ve been traveling so I keep missing them. I think they’re probably already edited, so it’s probably just random. I don’t know, but who knows?”
HECTOR CASTRO: “Well, now there’s been a lot of talk obviously about you signing with the UFC or going back to Strikeforce. I know you’ve out to the a lot of events. You were at the UFC Fan Expo and I know that you know you’ve been in contract talks there. There has been a report by according to this guy who claims he’s one of your friends on the UG mentioning that you have signed with the UFC.”
JAKE SHIELDS: “It’s rumors. There’s been no signing. But nothing signed, nothing… you know, I mean, obviously there are starting to be talks but nothing’s that close to coming along. Decisions aren’t made yet. We’re still in the early stages and obviously I’m a big UFC fan and have been for years but it’s still not 100% at this point.”
HECTOR CASTRO: “OK, understood. And how was, I mean, your relationship with Strikeforce, you guys are still negotiating. It’s not like a done deal with UFC, which a lot of people are pretty much expecting.”
JAKE SHIELDS: “We’re still talking. I mean, I don’t know, my manager handles this. I’m just kicking back, training, and traveling doing expos and all that and I let him figure everything out.”
HECTOR CASTRO: “Is going to the UFC, is that something you always had on your career goals?”
JAKE SHIELDS: “My career goals have always has been to go out there and you know fight the best fighters, you know before it was UFC vs. PRIDE and UFC vs. Strikeforce and just you know I love fighting. I’m looking to fight wherever I can fight the best match-ups possible.”
HECTOR CASTRO: “You had one of the best fighters in the world [Georges St. Pierre] kind of call you out and say that he’d love to fight you and love to obviously give you an opportunity to win the belt if you went to the UFC, so I mean you have the best of the best calling you out. What are your thoughts on that?”
JAKE SHIELDS: “I think it’s awesome that someone like GSP would call me out, you know. I’ve called him out several times in the past and he now agrees I’m the person to fight, I mean that’s showing a lot of respect, you know, calling me out in a respectful way and I think that’s really cool and that’s a fight I would like to have, that I want, he wants, and I think a lot of the fans want so we’ll see in the next year or so if that will come together.”
Later on in the interview…
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 17 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Donovan Craig of Fight! Magazine: Fedor vs. Brock Lesnar would be a 30-second fight
By Zach Arnold | June 16, 2010
From an hour-long radio discussion last week between Donovan Craig of Fight! Magazine and Eddie Goldman, the two men spent some time talking about Fedor Emelianenko’s future and what would happen if he fought in the UFC. Donovan believes that Fedor vs. Brock Lesnar would turn out the same way Fedor vs. Tim Sylvia did in Affliction.
DONOVAN CRAIG: “I think… it’s not necessarily you know (Shane) Carwin or Lesnar or those guys, but like, what about say for example a Junior dos Santos vs. Fedor? I think that guy could be the wild card in that whole division and he’s actually not the biggest but because of his speed and his ability to let his hands go.”
EDDIE GOLDMAN: “I haven’t watched too many of his fights, I’m proud to say, because of the company that he fights in. But I just think that Fedor has found a way, even after he gets battered around a little bit, even by Choi Hong-Man the big (South) Korean, he got banged up, you looked at his face after that, he’s found a way to beat everybody. The question is at what point does he start to slow down? At what point are their conditioning issues because people have raised that question before. We don’t know that. Eventually, that’s going to happen, but maybe he’ll retire before then but I don’t think he’s afraid of anybody. I don’t know that a guy like Brock Lesnar has the skills because I think that he may be bigger and stronger, but I don’t know that if he gets taken down, Fedor’s just not going to sit there and eat punches and on the ground he’s far better than a Frank Mir in terms of getting submission. And again, anybody could knock him out, that’s certainly a possibility. I just think it would have to be someone with professional boxing-level skills and I don’t think there are too many guys like that at this point in MMA in the Heavyweights.”
DONOVAN CRAIG: “I think Lesnar and Fedor is another 30-second fight. I think Lesnar is, I think anybody who goes out there and throws at him is going to quickly knock him out. Fedor’s going to, not anyone, but I think Fedor would. Like I always have thought that Fedor would walk through Randy Couture, you know, I think that Lesnar does not match up well against him. Now, Carwin, dos Santos, maybe a different story. But, you know, another point to bring up about Fedor is you’re saying he’s taking these beatings, sometimes that catches up with you. Look at [Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira], you know, he was you know so famous for having you know this great chin and you know being this warrior that takes one too many and he gets in the ring and becomes old as the saying goes, you see that with boxers sometimes and you can’t take that punishment and then not you know take a toll on your body and it seems to just happen suddenly a lot of times in fighters, you know they’re fine and dominant you know one match and the next time they come in and they’ve suddenly you know the physical toll has started to show so, who knows when that will happen.”
EDDIE GOLDMAN: “And Fedor is fighting less frequently because I wonder if one of the problems also that came up between M-1 Global and Strikeforce was also a way to buy them more time for having him fight that frequently because he did get beaten up in the Brett Rogers fight and he ended up winning that fight.”
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 41 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Increasing number of MMA writers who believe Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz III will happen
By Zach Arnold | June 16, 2010
I got a couple of passages for you from this week’s Pro MMA radio show with Larry Pepe and Canadian Press sports honcho Neil Davidson, whose articles are impossible to miss online.
The first passage deals with Rich Franklin’s position in the UFC Light Heavyweight division.
LARRY PEPE: “Where do you see Rich (Franklin) in this 205 division? Because after the fight, Dana was asked and he said, look, he’s right there with Rashad (Evans) and (Lyoto) Machida and (Mauricio) Shogun, etc. the upper echelon of the division. I’m not sure about that. I’m not taking anything away from him, but I’d have to see him fight one of the top five guys in the division before I could really feel like he was on his way to contender status.”
NEIL DAVIDSON: “Yeah, I think when Rich is on and he has a good game plan, he’s a very difficult fighter to go up against. I think he had a very smart plan against (Chuck) Liddell, he was kind of in-and-out trying to stay out of Liddell’s wheelhouse and certainly what you said about his character and his guts is totally accurate. I mean this is a fellow who’s gone through more broken bones and cuts and he’s looked up at himself at the big board between rounds and said, oh boy, that looks ugly, and he keeps on fighting so… You can’t… I think you can’t question his work ethic or his character, but I think there were some you know he showed in the Vitor Belfort fight, he said that his game plan there didn’t work, he hasn’t too sure what to do and he paid for it in that fight. But if you look at his career recently, you know, really the only blemishes on it apart from the Anderson Silva ones was the Dan Henderson fight, which was a very close fight at UFC 93 and the Belfort loss where his game plan kind of left him flat and he got tagged. So I think this win over Liddell really has put him in a situation where you want to see him up against the top Light Heavyweights to see exactly where he fits in and one thing that struck me on Saturday night was a perfect match to see might be a Franklin/Lyoto Machida rematch.”
I decided to put that passage up front because Rich isn’t getting a lot of press, so I figured let’s at least discuss a little bit where he stands right now in the organization.
Now, as far as the prospects of Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz in a third match, I continue to be surprised by just how many UFC fans (the casual and semi-hardcore ones) want to see this fight still. I know The Ultimate Fighter has proven to be a great platform for building up big fights and we certainly saw that with Rashad Evans vs. Quinton Jackson, but that fight meant something for determining the upper echelon of the 205-pound division. A third match between Chuck and Tito doesn’t mean much other than Chuck’s fans want to see him kick ass one more time and have a feel good moment. We saw that Tito alone isn’t moving the needle when he fought Forrest Griffin, but how much would the needle move for a third fight with Chuck in say, December or January?
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 2 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Fill in the MMA sentence blanks and flame away
By Zach Arnold | June 15, 2010
Pick at least three of the items, but if you want to do more or do all of them, be my guest.
The object is very simple — copy the sentence in your comment and fill in the blank by typing your response. I don’t know if I’d like all capital letters, but using the HTML code for bold works very well. If you can’t do either, just add … to the end of word before the blank and …before the start of the word after the blank.
OK? OK.
1. The prospects of Gary Shaw replacing Strikeforce on Showtime is a __________________ idea.
2. Gina Carano’s future in MMA is __________________________.
3. When you describe or talk about MMA to relatives, their initial reaction is ________________________.
4. The meaning of UFC not being able to sell many tickets for their Salt Lake City event means ___________________.
5. Your opinion on listening to MMA radio shows online is __________________________.
6. Brock Lesnar’s battle with diverticulitis will have a ___________________ impact on his upcoming fight against Shane Carwin.
7. The next Light Heavyweight in UFC who will defend the title more consecutive times than Chuck Liddell is ___________________.
8. Mirko Cro Cop should ________________ as far as being an active MMA fighter is concerned.
9. Your interest level in the WEC coming off of their Sacramento PPV last April is _______________________.
10. Whenever you read about the topic of performance-enhancing drugs in Mixed Martial Arts, your general reaction is _____________________.
Topics: Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 26 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC’s Mike Goldberg: Chuck Liddell is the most recognizable athlete in the history of MMA
By Zach Arnold | June 15, 2010
From his interview on Monday with Tapout radio, a warm-up passage of sorts before we get into his thoughts on the end of Chuck Liddell’s career.
HOST: “What did you think of mid-fight in (Mirko) Cro Cop and Pat Barry when they hugged and showed respect? I mean, I personally thought it was awesome. Just curious as to your take on it.”
MIKE GOLDBERG: “I personally thought it was awesome as well. I think that you know when you if you knew the storylines of the excess of you know admiration and hero worship that Pat Barry has had for Mirko Cro Cop since he was a little kid and then not so much to see Pat do it because that’s kind of Pat’s personality, that’s his m.o., but for Mirko to embrace it I thought it was awesome. It showed that these men are competitors, beating the living crap out of each other, but yet they respect each other more than any professional athlete perhaps in any professional sport. The only thing I wonder is did it take away from the ferocity of Pat Barry. Did Pat all of a sudden get caught up in the moment and get too nice? Now we’ve found out what took away the ferocity of Pat Barry was a broken hand and a broken foot which would pretty much do it to everybody except maybe Rich Franklin… who knows what Rich would have done if the fight would have continued into a second or third round, you know we’ve seen Frank Shamrock have to stop before from a broken arm and Randy Couture [fought] through one from Gabriel Gonzaga but yet very much like Rich he finished the fight real quickly but… I liked it. I liked it was you know it was the pinnacle of what was a great storyline, a huge storyline for Pat you know coming from everything that he’s come from and no money a few fights ago and losing his grandmother in Hurricane Katrina and you know fighting his idol, I liked it. I liked it a lot. I wish the fight could have continued with the same ferocity for Pat but I think injuries had a lot more to do than sharing a few hugs and mutual admiration inside the Octagon.”
And now onto Mike’s thoughts about what he saw cage side at UFC 115…
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Canada, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Shane Carwin: “I don’t think any man could take one of my punches if it hits right”
By Zach Arnold | June 14, 2010
DAVE FARRA: “How many hours a day are your training currently?”
SHANE CARWIN: “Uh, you know, it varies, depending on how my body feels. It can be anywhere from you know maybe 4-to-6 hours.”
DAVE FARRA: “I would say that you’re looking huger than ever but I think that’s obvious. What’s your weight right now?”
SHANE CARWIN: “I’m walking about 285 right now?”
DAVE FARRA: “And how are you feeling? I mean, obviously Brock Lesnar’s a big guy, too. Do you feel like you’re going to keep this weight for a little while and then drop down right before the fight or you’re going to carry right up until the week before?”
SHANE CARWIN: “You know it’ll probably come off the day of and the week before. We did a cardio test today and I’m where I need to be so… you know that weight will probably come off at the end of camp.”
DAVE FARRA: “Are you getting excited about the Brock fight or is just like another fight for you the way you are preparing?”
SHANE CARWIN: “Just like another fight, just preparing the same way. Just trying to become a fighter day-by-day and work on the things that I Need to work on.”
DAVE FARRA: “And how do you separate yourself from all of the hype, all of the people chattering?”
SHANE CARWIN: “That’s easy, you know, I never listen to it and you know I’m in this game because I love it and I have a passion for it and it’s that simple.”
DAVE FARRA: “Can Brock Lesnar take one of your punches?”
SHANE CARWIN: “I don’t think any man could take one of my punches if it hits right.”
DAVE FARRA: “If you were to predict how this fight was going to end, would you another say another first-round knockout like you’re known for?”
SHANE CARWIN: “Heh heh. A knockout. I don’t know which round, but a knockout. I hope it’s a bit of a war.”
DAVE FARRA: “Do you want it to go into the later rounds a little bit so you get to tell everyone, look I can go four or five rounds if necessary?”
SHANE CARWIN: “That would be nice. I could stop answering all these questions about later rounds and my cardio.”
DAVE FARRA: “Your cardio’s fine training up in Denver, you got to have pretty solid cardio, yes?”
SHANE CARWIN: “Yeah, you know, I train at 6,000 feet and that I think makes it a big factor for any fight.”
DAVE FARRA: “Do you want it to be standing so that way you can get that knockout shot or do you want him to try to take the shot on you and go to the ground with him?”
SHANE CARWIN: “You know I could see it taking place both spots but I would love for him to try to stand and trade with me.”
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 10 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |