Friday media fix – Another Japanese love call for UFC
By Zach Arnold | April 6, 2007
K-1 matchmaker Sadaharu Tanigawa issued a challenge to have a re-match between Royce Gracie and Matt Hughes for the LA Coliseum June 2nd event. The underlying theme of the challenge is Tanigawa provoking Dana White after Dana said on March 27th at Roppongi Hills Arena that any MMA group outside of UFC & PRIDE is a joke.
Fight Game video preview of UFC 69.
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Topics: All Topics, Boxing, HERO's, Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, Yakuza, Zach Arnold | 9 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
TUF: Season 5, Episode 1
By Erin | April 5, 2007
Woo-hoo, weekly TUF, woot!
The lightweights should be fun simply because of how fast they are. Not including the in house antics, sigh. I do like the idea of the coaches fighting at the season finale, as it gives the show a big fight automatically.
I’m proud of myself for knowing at least ¼ of the fighters before the season even begins.
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Topics: All Topics, Erin Bucknell, MMA, UFC | 1 Comment » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC Fight Night Live 4/5/07
By Erin | April 5, 2007
Joe and Melvin have a disagreement as to who’s the main event. Getting a touch catty are we boys?
The Pearl is actually a very nice looking mini-arena. I’m sure they purposely built it for such events as it is at The Palms, but still, they did a good job.
Commercial for “The Condemnedâ€, which looks like someone decided to make “Mortal Combat†more realistic and failed badly. It also lacks the fabulously cheesy techno sound track.
Kenny Florian vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima
Yes, I did have to pause the Tivo to make sure that I spelled Mishima’s name correctly.
Round 1. Both guys start out with standup for a few moments before Mishima decides to change it up and tie up Florian against the fence. The fight goes down with Mishima in Florian’s full guard. After some scuffling, Florian manages to switch their positions. Florian works to move to full mount while Mishima uses some up-kicks to fend Florian off. The fight returns to standing with both guys throwing knees and kicks. Mishima goes for a takedown but Florian manages to hold him off until the round ends.
Round 2. Florian busting out with some nice low kicks to start round 2 and Mishima is doing a lot of backing up. Mishima goes for a high kick and ends up on his back. Florian goes into Mishima’s half guard and drops a few short elbows. They go back to standing with Florian sticking to low kicks and Mishima going for a takedown. Florian gets the mount but Mishima manages to work his leg back into the way. Florian stands and backs off to let Mishima do the same. Florian again working the low kicks and Mishima is looking rather tired. Mishima goes for a kinda half-hearted cartwheel kick and an attempt at a spinning back fist.
Round 3. Florian gets a knee shot as Mishima goes for a takedown. Mishima is trying a lot to get back up but not much seems to be working. Florian moves to side control followed by a full mount. Florian lets Mishima up and Florian is right back to the kicks. On the ground Mishima grabs Florian’s leg and almost gets a couple different submissions. Florian works out and gets Mishima’s back followed by a Rear Naked Choke. Mishima taps.
Winner: Kenny Florian via Rear Naked Choke
Line of the night for Florian: “I was gonna wait for my knee to touch my ass, then I would tapâ€. Heee.
Pimping of UFC 69: Two fights I will be into for completely different reasons. I want to see GSP win ‘cause I love him, and I want to see Diego lose because I dislike him.
Antoni Hardonk vs. Justin McCully
“The Insane One� You’re kidding, right? Someone please tell me he’s kidding. Sigh, I guess not.
Round 1. McCully goes for a takedown quickly as Hardonk goes for a high kick. They end up clinched against the fence. They kind of end up stalemated here with McCully working to take the fight down and Hardonk trying to keep it up. McCully succeeds with the take down. Hardonk has his legs positioned rather high while McCully drops some punches and elbows. Hardonk snags an arm for an arm bar, but McCully slips out as the round ends.
Round 2. Round 2 starts pretty much exactly the same as round 1. Hardonk with a high kick and McCully ties them up against the fence before getting the fight to the ground. McCully gets Hardonk a bit bloody and neither guy is looking very spectacular at the moment.
Round 3. The fighters clinch against the fence as McCully tries for another takedown. Hardonk gets a couple knees as he works to separate himself from McCully. McCully gets another takedown and works to side control. Hardonk gets it back to full guard and the fight stays there until the end of the round.
Oh for fuck’s sake, not only does “The Condemned†not have the “Mortal Combat†music, it has a horrific cyber-billy rip off of “Black Bettyâ€. Yikes. Is this really what you are reduced to these days Austin?
Winner: Justin McCully via unanimous decision.
Apparently the censors are not quick on the trigger as they only get half the “fucks†in McCully’s post fight speech. Even on my timed-delayed broadcast.
Why is there a Dodge Charger in the middle of Ghost Recon? That doesn’t seem like a very incognito car.
Pulver and Penn pimp their hatred of each other. I half expected them to start catfighting over the top of poor Rogan. Jens says he wants to do TUF again, BJ emphatically disagrees.
Kurt Pellegrino vs. Nate Mohr
Too bad Roommate Jen isn’t here, she’s a huge Batman fan, so she’d either love Pellegrino or hate him for co-opting the nickname.
She definitely wouldn’t approve of the neon-pink hair though. That’s not so good for hunting vigilantes through dark allies there buddy.
Round 1. Both guys are fairly quick with the stand up. Mohr tries to grab an arm as Pellegrino gets the takedown. Pellegrino moves to side control and then into full mount. Mohr moves them back to full guard and Pellegrino grabs an ankle lock. Mohr taps out followed by Pellegrino doing some less than talented dancing in celebration.
Winner: Kurt Pellegrino via ankle lock.
Umm Dana vs. Tito? Didn’t this not happen? What are they airing and why?
Joe Stevenson vs. Melvin Guillard
Melvin is entirely too confident for his own good.
Too many fighters come down to such serious music. Can’t someone just come down to something fun and stupid like “Rock Me Amadeus†or “I’m Too Sexy� They’d automatically get my love.
Round 1. Melvin refused to tap hands and the Ref makes him come back to do it. Stevenson gets a straight right to Guillard’s chin followed by a take takedown. Stevenson scrambles and grabs a guillotine after trying for a leg. Guillard taps. Whoa, that was quick. Melvin is understandably upset.
Winner: Joe Stevenson via Guillotine Choke.
Topics: All Topics, Erin Bucknell, MMA, UFC | 2 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC Fight Night
By Zach Arnold | April 5, 2007
Everything UFC-related on Thursday night goes here. Multi-purpose post.
Results from the UFC Fight Night event. No real surprises. Except that internet hardcores are buzzing about Kenny Florian faking the process of drinking from a Xyience can.
FWIW, there is one surprise. Our iTunes feed for the radio show is magically working now. If you are subscribed to it, it is finally updating.
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Topics: All Topics, Fight Opinion Radio, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 10 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Report: Fedor not locked to a PRIDE contract
By Zach Arnold | April 5, 2007
By Zach Arnold
On March 24th, Yomiuri Hochi (Shimbun) reported that PRIDE Heavyweight champion (Emelianenko) Fedor was not under lock-and-key with PRIDE (DSE) and that he was going to fight in BodogFight long-term. Today, the estimable Sam Caplan at CBS Sportsline is reporting that a contract extension to stay in PRIDE was not ‘officially completed.’
Emelianenko’s comment to CBS SportsLine contradicted what UFC president Dana White said at a press conference last Tuesday. White, when asked about Emelianenko, indicated that he was locked in with Pride.
“He is signed with Pride,” White said.
Rumors recently circulated that a long-term deal with Bodog Fight could be on the horizon, sending Emelianenko’s status into a state of confusion. Emelianenko has a one-fight contract with Bodog Fight for a bout that was believed to have been negotiated soon after his last Pride deal expired.
On an interesting side note, Sherdog says that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is at tonight’s UFC Fight Night event.
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Topics: All Topics, BoDog, Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | 12 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Bas Rutten reacts to CSAC drug report
By Zach Arnold | April 5, 2007
Like Cesar Gracie, Bas Rutten states his frustration online towards the California State Athletic Commission. Full-page view gets you Rutten’s personal statement. One interesting item in his statement is his claim that he has video that will back him up in defense of some of the charges.
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Topics: All Topics, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 10 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Thursday talking points: Dana White says UFC fans are rich
By Zach Arnold | April 4, 2007
A very interesting report from KamiproHand (Kami no Puroresu), which claims that PRIDE producer Daisuke Sato (who worked closely with Nobuyuki Sakakibara & DSE for PRIDE event production) will stay on with Zuffa under the ‘new’ PRIDE. Sato was the man behind PRIDE Bushido events and part of the core matchmaking group of DSE. Will Sato remain close to Sakakibara?
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Topics: All Topics, Boxing, IFL, Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, UK, Zach Arnold | 25 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Cesar Gracie: I didn’t use marijuana
By Zach Arnold | April 4, 2007
A busy day here at Fight Opinion headquarters.
I didn’t use marijuana: That is Gracie’s claim on Sherdog. This is in response to Ivan Trembow’s MMA Weekly story yesterday about 23 MMA fighters failing drug tests (most of them marijuana-related).
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Topics: All Topics, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 8 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
K-1 4/4 Yokohama Arena event results
By Zach Arnold | April 4, 2007
Ameba presents K-1 WORLD MAX 2007
4/4 Yokohama Arena (claiming 11,628 paid)
Results in Japanese
Full-page view gets you the results.
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Topics: All Topics, Japan, K-1, Media, Zach Arnold | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Cage Warriors President Arrested
By Mark Pickering | April 4, 2007
CageWarriors Fighting Championships President Dougie Truman was arrested on Thursday due to an alleged connection to a convicted drug dealer.
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Topics: All Topics, Mark Pickering, MMA, UK | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Wednesday War Room: The Japanese message to UFC about PRIDE
By Zach Arnold | April 4, 2007
By Zach Arnold
Printable version of this post at BoxingScene.com.
Caleb (of The Fightworks Podcast fame) on whether or not UFC’s purchase of PRIDE is good for the sport for MMA.
If the message sent by Shukan Gendai on Monday wasn’t loud enough to Zuffa management to hear, then the message sent by Akira Maeda on Tuesday should do the trick. On the latest edition of FO Radio, co-host Luke Nicholson and I discussed the asset purchase of PRIDE by Zuffa LLC and what some of the risks involved in the deal were. One mutual observation we both agreed upon is that despite his public resignation from PRIDE, Nobuyuki Sakakibara is not likely (in our opinion) going to vanish from the fight game any time soon. After all, this is a man who invested a lot of time and energy in promoting what used to be a hot Japanese entertainment property like PRIDE (an organization that made an estimated $50 million USD in 2004).
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Topics: All Topics, BoDog, Boxing, HERO's, Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, Yakuza, Zach Arnold | 30 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Akira Maeda calls out PRIDE
By Zach Arnold | April 3, 2007
By Zach Arnold
On the RINGS HP blog, HERO’s supervisor Akira Maeda wrote a controversial posting discussing PRIDE and the company’s behind-the-scenes activities. Maeda did so in a roundabout way. Gryphon noticed this posting and he thinks the mystery man Maeda is alluding to is Sakakibara. However, my personal guess he’s alluding to the now infamous “Mr. I” (aka Ishizaka), who Shukan Gendai labeled as “DSE’s virtual yakuza owner.” Or he may be in fact talking “to” both men.
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Topics: All Topics, HERO's, Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, Yakuza, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
IFL 10k financial report
By Zach Arnold | April 3, 2007
The link is here. Alternate link here. The IFL stock is at $8.50 USD/share today. We have some financial wizards who are site readers. Have at it with the analysis in the comments section.
Some of my personal thoughts about this filing can be viewed in full-page mode.
Update: At closing time, the stock price dropped to $6.05 USD/share.
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Topics: All Topics, IFL, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 24 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |