PRIDE 9/10 Saitama results
By Zach Arnold | September 9, 2006
Click on full-post link to read results. Special thanks to Burning Spirit for specific match times. A more detailed report of show results can be found here. The claimed paid attendance was 47,410. Post updated at 6:30 PM EST on 9/10.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | 20 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The mass media exodus continues
By Zach Arnold | September 8, 2006
First, it was the Torch. Now, it’s 1wrestling.com.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Media, MMA, Pro-Wrestling, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Pride Final Conflict Absolute 2006: analysis and predictions
By Stephan | September 8, 2006
I enjoy doing these reviews, but I’m no expert, just a fan! If you want a more qualified review, check out a great preview by Stephen Quadros.
First of all, wow, what an amazing card! I really hope that Pride survives, they do have the best fighters. Here are the fights that I’m looking forward to see.
Kharitonov vs A. Emelianenko
Sergei Kharitonov is very well rounder, a very good striker and very good grappler as well. You probably remember his last lost against Overeem at Pride 31, he was on his back and couldnt muster much, he was just taking a beating, the ref finally stopped it. As he got up he looked like he had a dislocated shoulder. It was very nasty looking too. Sergei is probably the most aspiring contender to Fedor.
Fedor’s brother, Aleksander, ya, the one with the grim reaper tattoo on his back holding a baby. He is an accomplished Sambo practitioner. He is coming off a loss to Josh Barnett (who looked much improved). Aleksander really beat himself in that fight, he ran out of gas and was submitted, not taking anything away from Josh.
Regardless, this should be a great war, both fighters are looking to bounce back from a loss. In the end I pick Kharitonov to win by decision, because he has demonstrated that he wont give up. I say by decision, but I can definitely see by KO here, but Emelionenko wont give in and neither will Kharitonov.
Ricardo Arona vs Alistair Overeem
Arona’s totally surprised many people last year in defeating Wanderlei Silva in the tournament. In the New Years Eve rematch, he lost by a slim decision. Ricardo has shown that he has the stuff to hang out with the bests. His ground skill and cardio are excellent, his striking however is not technically as good as Overeem, but his punch have a lot of power.
Alistair Overeem, was defeated earlier in this tournament when his corner threw in the towel against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Nogueira in the rest of this article). Alistair was not happy, the reason the towel was thrown was because Alistair had a neck injury. Alistair is a formidable kickboxer with decent ground skills. His question mark is always his cardio and stamina dropping off.
Based on this, I think Arona will take it, by sub in the 2nd round.
“Shogun” Rua vs Cyrille “The Snake” Diabete
Shogun Rua is the ideal MMA fighter, and he’s young. His JiuJitsu is amazing and his stand up is also very good. His latest lost came from a freak fall to Mark Coleman where he broke his arm falling. Hopefully he review his “Breakfall 101”, because even though that qualified as somewhat of a controversy, any Judo and most JiuJitsu practitioners would have boken their fall properly, but I digress.
I dont know much about Diabete, he seems to be known for his excellent stand up. Based on that, and the fact that “Shogun” is so well rounded, he should be taking this easily, probably by submission. A loss would not be good at this point.
Tournament semi finals
Wanderlei Silva vs “Crocop”
The Axe Murderer is a madman, for jumping without hesitation in the Open-Weight tournament (above his natural weight class) and second to face Crocop. Both fighters have not met in a long time and are definitely different fighters now, specially Mirko. Last time they met under special rules and it was a draw. I cant see see Wanderlei wanting to stand up too long with Mirko, but he is a madman, and probably could hang there for awhile. His best chance is taking him down and pounding Mirko there.
Mirko has become a very well rounded fighter since his early beginnings. He has his sight set on fighting Fedor again, for this he needs to win the tournament.
This should not disappoint. Still because of weight advantage, I can see Crocop winning by decision, I dont see Wanderlei having an easy time of pounding Mirko, Mirko has shown time and time again how string his chin is.
Josh Barnett vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Josh has really impressed me lately with his conditioning and skills, he seems rejuvenated. He seems to be in his best shape ever. I can really picture him winning the championship. He used to fight sloppily, but now seems much more focused. However to win the championship, he has an incredible opponent to face.
“Minotauro” may not be getting younger, but experience is on his side. Nogueira also never gives up, he can and will go the distance, he will not be submitted easily.
I still think Josh will win this, but this should be a great grappling match between two masters of submissions. I give the edge to Josh because of his strength, although we have not seen him go long distance for awhile, while we know Nogueira can.
Josh to win tournament
In the end, I cant wait for this event. This is by far the best card of the year anywhere. As Zach pointed out, there does not seem to be such a buzz about it, but I am stoked for it! I pick Josh to win against Crocop, but regardless of who wins, this should be a great event to watch!
Topics: All Topics, MMA, PRIDE, Stephan Marceau | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
World Wide Cage Network Formed
By Mark Pickering | September 8, 2006
GCM Communications, parent company of Japan’s only cage fighting organisation D.O.G have announced the formation of a World Wide Cage Network.
The network features promotions who have nurtured fighters and worked tirelessly towards the development of the sport.
Five promotions have been announced for the provisionally named initiative – England’s Cage Warriors, Australia’s Warrior’s Realm, Finland’s Nordic Fightsport, America’s Pangaea Fight and Japan’s D.O.G.
The network’s thesis is to exchange talent and pool together resources in conjunction with establishing an international platform for fighters to compete.
In addition, the newly established WWCN will broadcast events from the aforementioned five promotions via satellite in Japan.
Network founder D.O.G recently announced a TV deal with Tokyo Television, to broadcast events over six major urban areas from September 13th.
Topics: All Topics, Japan, Mark Pickering, MMA, UK | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Cage Gladiators 2 – ‘Next Generation’ Results
By Mark Pickering | September 8, 2006
The fledgling Cage Gladiators promotion which superseded the Cage Fighting Championship presented ‘The Next Generation’ on Sunday, September 3rd, at the Liverpool Olympia, England.
Liverpudlian Jason Tan competed before a partisan crowd in the main event against fellow welterweight standout Jim Wallhead in an eagerly awaited bout to crown the first Cage Gladiators Welterweight Champion.
Wallhead, who along with Paul Daley and Dan Hardy forms a fearsome welterweight trio at Nottingham’s Rough house Gym, captured the title by split decision after three intense rounds of action to hand Tan the first loss of his career and become a double champion having defeated Paul Jenkins for the House of Pain British Title last year.
Perversely Tan’s heavily touted student Terry Etim preserved his perfect record with a submission victory over Northern Ireland’s Greg Laughran.
Cage Fighting Championship veteran Carl Morgan defeated Macclesfield’s Lee Threlfal who is yet to record a victory in five professional outings.
Full Results:
Cage Boxing: Carlo Dekkers drew with Isla Venjecic after three rounds
Vaughn Harvey def Rob Molyneux via TKO (corner throws in towel) 1.08 Rd1
David Justice def Dan Levelle via TKO (ref stoppage) 0.31 Rd1
Dreejlijus Kerpe def Franco Clemence via Submission (RNC) 3.29 Rd3
Peter Irving def Kev Axworthy by TKO (Axworthy choked unconscious) 3.53 Rd1
Ronnie Mann def Dennis Benavicious via Submission (strikes) 1.42 Rd1
Mark Scanlon def Richard Evans via TKO (GnP) 2.05 Rd1
Terry Etim def Greg Laughran via Submission (RNC) 2.50 Rd2
Carl Morgan def Lee Threlfal via Submission (strikes) 1.24 Rd1
Jim Wallhead def Jason Tan via Split Decision (30-29, 30-27, 28-29) after three rounds
Topics: All Topics, Mark Pickering, MMA, UK | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
PRIDE event in Saitama
By Zach Arnold | September 7, 2006
Time to get predictions from everyone on the Grand Prix tournament fights.
a) Josh Barnett vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira – pick a winner
b) Mirko Cro Cop vs. vanderlei Silva – pick a winner
c) winner of a vs. winner of b – your tournament winner?
Jeff Thaler commented on his site that the PRIDE 9/10 Saitama show eerily has little to no buzz. I completely agree with him 100%. As I commented on this week’s radio show, Barnett vs. Nogueira is a true dream fight in every sense of the word (a pure pick ’em fight if I ever saw one), and the reaction has been noticeably silent everywhere. You really have to wonder if there is a growing sense of apathy right now or not for this company. I don’t understand it in terms of the 9/10 Saitama event, which should end up being an excellent show.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | 8 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Update on UFC DVDs
By Zach Arnold | September 7, 2006
First Look keeps UFC distribution.
First Look Home Entertainment last week won the rights to continue distributing Zuffa’s UFC Fighting Championship DVDs for the next 3½ years, while Zuffa won the rights to audit First Look’s books.
First Look Studios acquired the assets of Ventura Distribution earlier this year. Zuffa had been distributed by Ventura and began investigating the company for alleged accounting violations. Zuffa believes Ventura charged unauthorized distribution fees and hid rebates, among other issues.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Media, UFC, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The Ultimate Fighter Season 4, Episode 4
By Erin | September 7, 2006
Recap of Team Mojo’s asskickery from the past three episodes. And the really odd submission from last week.
Patrick Cote and his large Canadian Leafed hat say that he is ready to be the next fighter.
Team No Love picks up on this and McCarthy says that he’s ready to fight. I’m gonna laugh if it’s not him again.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Erin Bucknell, MMA, UFC | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Fight Opinion Radio: Episode 23
By Zach Arnold | September 7, 2006
This edition of Fight Opinion Radio turns a new leaf, as we welcome in new lead host Jeff Thaler. Jeff is a former agent of many fighters (including Babalu), and he brings a unique perspective to the radio show that I think you will enjoy. On this week’s show, we have a recap of the UFC 62 event, a preview of the upcoming PRIDE event in Saitama, plus discussion on the futures of both Mike Tyson & Kurt Angle.
As you have surely noticed, Rob Sayers has taken a leave of absence from the show. In the last couple of months, Rob has faced many challenges in his personal life. Rob was a very integral part of the Fight Opinion project, both with his programming skills and his radio show hosting duties. I cannot express my gratitude enough for what Rob has contributed to us and, more important, to me personally. He was a very important person in getting this web site up and running from the beginning stage to what this site has transitioned to today. Rob is a very good human being and deserves all the accolades he receives. If you would like to send mail to Rob, you can e-mail him at [email protected].
The 23rd edition of Fight Opinion Radio is now online and available to download. Here are your options for listening to the show:
Broadband (MP3) | Dial-up/Streaming
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Erin Bucknell, Fight Opinion Radio, Jeff Thaler, Luke Nicholson, Media, podcasts, Rob Sayers, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Did Jim Ross point the finger at K-1?
By Zach Arnold | September 7, 2006
By Zach Arnold
Several years ago, WWE announcer Jim Ross used to have a weekly column on the WWE site called “The Ross Report” that became controversial for many reasons, with one of those reasons being some of the cryptic comments he made in the reports. No matter what you thought about Ross and his columns, he always knew how to stir the pot.
Today, Jim Ross has essentially brought up a new version of The Ross Report online. Here’s today’s column. One item that I immediately noticed was his paragraph about Kurt Angle. For those who are ardent readers of Fight Opinion, you know my feelings about where Kurt Angle’s career direction is heading (and all roads point to Japan). As I wrote last week, I fully expected K-1 to make Angle an offer to face Brock Lesnar (perhaps on New Year’s Eve).
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, HERO's, Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, Pro-Wrestling, WWE, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Holyfield’s next fight
By Zach Arnold | September 7, 2006
By Zach Arnold
It was annouunced on Thursday that Evander Holyfield’s next fight would take place on November 10th at the Alamodome against Fres Oquendo. This AP report suggests the fight will air live on Fox Sports Net, while this report suggests that Fox Sports Net is getting into the PPV business and will promote it on pay TV for a price tag of $44.95 USD.
The Holyfield fight from August 18th supposedly drew a 0.71 rating on US cable.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Boxing, Media, Zach Arnold | 8 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
K-1’s message to PRIDE
By Zach Arnold | September 7, 2006
Today is the start of the heat-up for this weekend’s PRIDE show in Saitama (with two mega-matches on the card). Instead, K-1/HERO’s cleverly scheduled a press conference for today to announce a fight between Kazushi Sakuraba and Yoshihiro Akiyama in the second round of the HERO’s Light Heavyweight tournament (10/9 Yokohama Arena event). Shungo Oyama faces Melvin Manhoef in the other tournament match. Guess which announcement has top media headlines today? Yes, the Sakuraba fight announcement.
Meanwhile, today’s PRIDE coverage involved Josh Barnett talking about wanting to do a Northern Lights Bomb in his match against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, HERO's, Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Internal media speculation on Tyson
By Zach Arnold | September 6, 2006
By Zach Arnold
Kakutolog (in Japanese) has a very interesting post about a Gendai Net report on PRIDE & Mike Tyson working together. More specifically, the supposed motives on PRIDE’s behalf for booking Tyson.
The Gendai Net article claims that PRIDE’s real motive behind signing Mike Tyson (to an exhibition boxing match) is to try to market a Tyson vs. Bob Sapp or Tyson vs. Emelianenko Fedor exhibition match to either Nippon TV or TV-Asahi, two large Japanese free TV networks who have reportedly shown interest in working with PRIDE. Despite the fact that Tyson cannot work in Japan due to his felony rapsheet, it’s certainly possible that PRIDE could market a foreign show to be aired on tape-delay on New Year’s Eve for a Japanese TV network. The end game for PRIDE seems to become much clearer now.
DSE is likely putting their future in the hands of a man who doesn’t know what the future holds in store for him.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Boxing, Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | 2 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |