Dynamite 2010: The anatomy of a public execution; Ishii to get Strikeforce offer
By Zach Arnold | December 31, 2010
Today’s Dynamite event at Saitama Super Arena can be summarized by the following: the less said, the better. OK, how about… the show got the “Sengoku” treatment and an attendance figure wasn’t initially publicized? Or, maybe we can talk about Kazushi Sakuraba’s ear. Picture of Sakuraba giving a speech after his ear injury.
(Seems to me we’re on a path for one Japanese fighter to lose an ear each year.)
For what it’s worth, both heading into the event and reviewing today’s show, Sakuraba did not garner a lot of media attention this year. The ‘lead’ story, if you want to call it that, was Satoshi Ishii getting booed by the fans and essentially looked at as an uncharismatic goof. He’s got a Brock Lesnar thing going for him in that some people will watch him on TV but less people will pay a lot of money to see him live. OK, not a great analogy, but you get the point. The day before his fight against Jerome Le Banner, there was discussion of Ishii wanting to get into Hollywood. Yeah, you could see where this was going with the fans. After his win over Jerome Le Banner, Ishii said that he wants to fight anywhere (in Japan or in a foreign country).
According to Nikkan Sports, a Strikeforce offer for Ishii in March (for Columbus) is now on the table. While it’s not expected that Ishii would fight in the 2011 SF Heavyweight tournament, the paper claims that the promotion would be open to have him involved.
Speaking of Hollywood, Tadao Yasuda showed up for an in-ring ceremony with Antonio Inoki. Yes, my friends, this was the second headline in the Japanese press from the show… for Tadao Yasuda doing ‘a run-in’ and Inoki laying on the mat.
The most deliciously absurd story from the fight card was the okama Yuichiro Nagashima knocking out Shinya Aoki in 4 seconds of R2. It was a bizarre fight where round one was kickboxing rules with small gloves and round two was MMA rules with small gloves. Aoki agreeing to take the fight was strange enough, but the fact that he lost in the manner in which he did was karma for some of the things he’s done in his past career. The problem for Nagashima, however, is that Aoki is not a star in the eyes of Japanese fans so while the win is a big moment for him, I don’t know if it’s a star-making moment.
(See: when Kazuo Misaki dispatched of Yoshihiro Akiyama and where that led him, which is nowhere.)
A minor story from the show is that Bob Sapp backed out of his modified rules fight against Wakakirin at the last minute. Since it was a ‘no TV’ match on TBS, it’s not as if a lot of people were shedding tears.
Crusher Kawajiri dispatched of Josh Thomson in a fight that unfortunately was not as competitive as I expected it to be. This fight, along with Hatsu Hioki vs. Marlon Sandro, were the two fights that I was looking forward to watching the most. I bring up Hioki vs. Sandro because the Japanese fans and media treated the fight with the same kind of importance that someone would treat a boxing match on an ESPN2 Friday Night Fights card. Meaning, only a few hardcore fans paid attention and the media either didn’t cover the result (like Daily Sports) or covered it in a very minor fashion. There was even one paper that elected to go with Kazuo Misaki’s win over Mike Seal as a top story over Hioki’s win over Sandro. The Sengoku show at Ariake Colosseum with 28 fights was not set up to financially do well, but I was told the attendance was somewhere between 4,000-5,000. It’s not a great number to have publicly out there if you’re running a building like Ariake Colosseum, but given what Sengoku’s drawn in the past at Ryogoku Kokugikan, they should have just gave out a figure.
10 years ago, promoters couldn’t rush out fast enough to give out attendance figures of 40,000+ for New Year’s Eve shows. Now, you can’t get the media to give you a worked attendance figure.
Truthfully, the one foreign ‘ace’ on the Dynamite show was Alistair Overeem and he was given Todd “TRT” Duffee as his opponent. Alistair wanted the fight for a DREAM Heavyweight title and his wish was granted. If you’re wondering where Alistair’s career focus is, read this amazing article by Tony at Sherdog and let your doubts about his Strikeforce reign be… reassured. Of course, the major flaw in Alistair’s career plan is that it goes out the window if K-1 collapses. Then, Strikeforce becomes the easy one-night-stand to go back to at any time.
Putting that aside, Alistair had an execution to attend and the victim succumbed very quickly. Let’s read what the participants had to say.
First, Mr. Duffee:
How did you feel about your fight? “Well, obviously, I’m extremely disappointed. I feel like I’m a much more talented fighter than I got the chance to show. Not to take anything (away) from Overeem, I think he’s an incredible, incredible fighter. I was just disappointed, you know. I wanted to come out and put on a great show, exciting show for the fans but you know obviously I wasn’t prepared. You know, I think I trained seven days for this fight and it definitely showed.”
Any regrets for taking the fight on short-notice? “No, I don’t regret it at all. It was a great opportunity to fight in Japan. It’s been a dream of mine. I hope that, you know, it maybe opened the door for me to come back here and show that I have a much, much better skill set than what I put on display tonight. There’s no regrets, you know. It happened. You just got to move past it and I’ll definitely be back. I just wish that I could have showed the skills that I know that I have and the people that train me and train with me know that I’m capable of to the Japanese audience. But, you know, I don’t think the seven days notice is even an excuse. I just, you know, for whatever reason I didn’t come out and do what I’m capable of, even close. Again, not to take anything away from Overeem, you know, he’s an incredible fighter. I definitely think I have a lot more to offer than that. I know I do, you know, I think he knows that, too, and you know I think anybody that’s trained with me knows that. It’s very frustrating to, you know, I think I got a little overzealous and I kind of opened up a little too much, got too excited. I was very excited to fight in Japan. It’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever been through for a fight. The fans here are incredible. They really love and really truly understand the sport and I think I just got so, you know, it’s the most fun I’ve ever had, too, building up to a fight. It’s just one of those things, you know. You make mistakes, you fall down, and you get back up. I’ll definitely, I just I hope I get the opportunity to show what I’m capable of to the Japanese audience and the rest of the world.”
What is your intention next? In the future, you want to keep fighting in Japan mainly? “Yeah, definitely, I want to fight everywhere, but Japan, like I said, it’s one of the greatest audiences in the world. I definitely would like the opportunity to come back and just show my skill set to the Japanese people. Like, you know, I came out there, I haven’t even seen the fight, but I know like I could feel the way that I was doing some things, lack of technique, when I looked you know like I regressed five years from, you know, where I’m at as a true professional fighter and I’d definitely like that opportunity to show them. I’ve had dreams of fighting in K-1, I’ve had dreams of hopefully getting more MMA fights here as well. You know… I just did not do what I’m capable of tonight and it’s very frustrating. I think it’s more frustrating if I had gone out and Overeem would have beat on me for three rounds and shown that he is the better fighter or whatever, but I don’t think I gave myself the opportunity to show the world and Japan what I am capable of and not even what I am capable of but what I am. It’s probably the most frustrating way things could have gone for me.”
In closing, Mr. Overeem:
What did you think of your fight tonight? “Yeah, when I was in the ring, everything was automatic. Of course you know a little what you do and prepare a little bit but it goes really fast and so I didn’t know what the fight looked like, but I saw it back on tape and I was very pleased. It was a very effective fight, very effective knee strike(s) and my knees are hard, nobody can take one of my knee strikes. Not in K-1 and also not in MMA.”
What is your impression of Todd Duffee? “Todd Duffee is a strong guy. He’s very aggressive, in all of his fights I could see that he always goes for the knockout, so in that sense he’s the same as myself. Always want to finish his opponent and I believe he wanted to do that in this fight as well. He came very aggressive, very hard, I felt his strength and his strikes but… I’m too experienced for people to be that aggressive and with my K-1 experience nobody can surprise me with that aggressive attack. I’m just not worried and I know how to handle it and I’m very strong, very strong in the counter-attack and people cannot survive my attack so I just feel really confident and I feel that it shows that I’m confident going into any fight with anybody.”
You won your third title in addition to Strikeforce and K-1. What do you think about it? “Well, I’m very proud, very proud of myself and my team and I do have to stress the fact that it was a team effort. My team is very strong in supporting me on every factor and that pays off. I can focus fully on the fight and fully on training. So, I’m very proud of becoming the DREAM champion today and I’m ready to defend it against anybody. So, anybody in the world, anybody who is listening, please come and challenge me in the DREAM ring and I will defeat you.”
You have any names of people you want to fight? “I don’t have any preference. All my goals for 2010 are met. I became champion for three different organizations: Strikeforce, K-1, and DREAM tonight. There’s nobody who I want to fight. They can come to me. They can challenge me and I will always accept.”
Topics: DREAM, Japan, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 32 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC boss Dana White: ‘Chris Leben is the fighter of 2010’
By Zach Arnold | December 30, 2010
I won’t transcribe the interview entirely, but I will say that what he says in the middle of it about Chris Leben being more mature (even after the interviewer asks about Leben’s recent DUI) is as robotic and shameless as you can get. Remember, Leben’s response when asked about the recent DUI was, “Well, George W. Bush had one and he became President.” I would be remiss in pointing out that Frankie Edgar won the UFC fighter of the year honors and yet Chris Leben is being pushed as the Fighter of 2010.
First question is about Chuck Liddell’s retirement and his new role in the UFC.
DANA WHITE: “Yeah, you know, Chuck Liddell has been with me basically, I managed Chuck Liddell before we even bought the UFC. So, he and I have been together for 12 or 13 years and the way that I look at it is, he’s always been in business with us, since the day we started and even before and it’s very unique to have, and I don’t think there’s ever been a fighter-promoter relationship like this in the history of the world, you know, as long as he and I have been together through the ups, the downs, the success, all the things that usually, you know, strain on a relationship, he and I have stayed very close friends and the way I look at it, business partners. And, you know, everybody knows that I’ve been yapping about him retiring for probably the last couple of years and, you know, it’s tough to go from being a huge superstar like he is, walking in with, you know, 20,000 people screaming your name and all the stuff that goes with it, but I think I got him in a good place now where he… you know, he’s going to move onto the next chapter of his life and his career. And as far as his duties go, he’s the Executive Vice President of Business Development and the way that we work as a company, Lorenzo (Fertitta) and I don’t walk into a room and just barking orders to everybody, ‘this is what we’re going to do.’ We’ve hired a team of executives whom we respect, we respect their opinion, and we want their input, we want to know what they have to say. And now Chuck Liddell is part of the team.”
INTERVIEWER: “Was there was a general consensus to hire him or did you receive any negative feedback, you know, hiring a former fighter?”
DANA WHITE: “From who?”
INTERVIEWER: “Anyone at the UFC?”
DANA WHITE: “Well… heh… push everything I just said aside, me and Lorenzo make that decision, you know, who we’re going to hire and like I said we’ve done a great job of building a great team. So, no, no feedback.”
In the last part of that answer, Dana is absolutely chuckling the whole time when he’s asked about someone giving him negative feedback.
As for fighters getting cut and what Brandon Vera’s status with UFC is, here’s the standard response you would expect:
INTERVIEWER: “Another guy on the card, Brandon Vera. He was a shining star in the UFC, an up-and-comer, everybody was talking about him, he had a big buzz around him. Now he’s kind of seemed to dwindle a little bit. Do you think this fight is do-or-die for him?”
DANA WHITE: “It’s a big fight for him, no doubt. It’s a big fight for him and it’s a big fight for Thiago (Silva). Listen, nobody wants to be in this sport and lose. Everybody wants to win. But for me, it’s not about, you know, people ask me is this a do-or-die for this guy. All I ask of guys, listen, everybody’s going to lose here and there, you come out and you perform on Saturday night. Listen, I can’t stand the guys who go out and talk all this smack, I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that, and this is where I’m at, and then go out and don’t do anything. Those are the guys that are going to get cut. The guys that stick around are the guys who go out and perform and I just don’t see how this fight isn’t a great fight. Brandon’s head is back, he’s very talented, well-rounded, and Thiago Silva comes in to finish people.”
Since the UFC/WEC merger has taken place, a lot more guys are getting cut after losses. So, can fighters really take the chance of having an exciting fight but lose and get cut? Remember — if a fighter wins, he contractually cannot get cut, no matter how ugly the manner in which the win was obtained.
What stood out to me in this interview is the recognition that the Gray Maynard/Frankie Edgar fight has little juice with the casual fans. You can see that not even Dana’s heart is into hyperbolically (if there is such a word) marketing this fight. He recognizes that despite two big wins over BJ Penn that the fans are not into Frankie and that Maynard is a fighter that the hardcore fans are into but not so much the casual fan.
(I thought the most interesting contrast on the UFC 125 Countdown show was between Gray Maynard and his father. His father is very charismatic on television.)
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 22 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Bob Sapp against the ex-Sumo banned from TV (but not PPV)
By Zach Arnold | December 29, 2010
There are many strange things to see on the upcoming Dynamite card by K-1 on Tokyo Broadcasting System. One fight on the card that will be a ‘no TV’ bout, however, is Bob Sapp vs. Wakakirin (the disgraced ex-Sumo fighter who got busted for marijuana). Wakakirin is Antonio Inoki’s new pet project since Naoya Ogawa has basically gone into exile.
The match between Sapp and Wakakirin was originally going to be an IGF rules pro-wrestling match. However, Wakakirin has such a reputation after his match with Mark Coleman that the bout here for Dynamite now has weird grappling rules and is a watered down grappling/MMA bout. Think about the premise of a ‘real fight’ being better conditions for Bob Sapp than a pro-wrestling bout. That should tell you everything you need to know about Wakakirin as a pro-wrestler. The terms ‘cement’ and ‘crowbar’ come to mind.
Here’s Bob talking to the media about his fights in 2010 and what he has in store for 2011. (He hints that the 2011 campaign will be his last one as an active fighter.)
What is your condition right now? “For this fight, my condition is good enough to fight. Of course I would love to have more time, but sometimes as a fighter you have to be ready at the last minute and you must stay in relatively good shape for upcoming matches even if it’s kind of what we would say fill-in or last-minute which happened to be for me at this current time. So, hey, I’m ready to go.”
You’re back at Dynamite. How do you feel about that? “Now, that, I’m definitely excited about. Ever since I participated in K-1 or DREAM or PRIDE and when the first Dynamite was, you know, it’s always been something that I always look forward to in fighting at the end of the year. So, for me, it’s a tradition, history, and coming down a it’s very, very wonderful surprise.”
Please talk about what you have been up to lately in 2010. “The year 2010… I was still doing some fights and I did another movie called Conan the Barbarian that premieres in August and as well I shot some commercials in (South) Korea and did some video games. And for the up-and-coming year I still have some fights on the contract to do. These are mainly now going throughout Europe and parts of Asia and I have a television contract that I will do some television in the United States.”
What’s your training environment like and where is it? “Yes, my training environment now consists of when I was filming the movie Conan the Barbarian I filmed it in Bulgaria, so all of my trainers now are coming from Bulgaria.”
How much knowledge do you have about your opponent (Wakakirin)? Do you have any impressions of him? “Yes. Well, he’s a tough, young guy. I know Suzukawa. I know of him because we fight in the same pro-wrestling promotion of IGF. So, it’s very interesting to actually go against him and to do underneath new rules. These rules being what we’d say fight rules or shoot rules. This is exciting. So, this will be no pro-wrestling match, so I’m really looking forward to this challenge.”
So, this is a special IGF rules match and this is somewhat irregular MMA rules. Do you have any concerns? “Well, one of my concerns is just because it happens to be open-handed and of course my strength is within the punch, I’ve just need to be very aware so I don’t break my fingers doing the open-hand and other than that, that’s about it.”
Over the last several years, you are not as much of a beast as you before. Do you think we will see the comeback of the Beast at Dynamite in 2010? “Definitely. Yes, I’ve had some downs during my career, so without question this is of course correct that I believe everyone’s kind of suffering around as we look back and see where MMA & K-1 once was and where we are now. So, we all kind of suffered some blows and for the year 2011, we look forward to getting a wonderful comeback and for me and my career I would love to have this career kind of conclude on a high note, so I’m still fighting and I will still be fighting so let’s make sure that I’m fighting for some victories.”
Topics: Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 6 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The mood heading into New Year’s weekend for the big MMA shows
By Zach Arnold | December 29, 2010
All that you need to know is that the story everyone is talking about, including on ESPN, is Chuck Liddell’s retirement (and move to UFC front office position). There has been no juice whatsoever for Saturday’s show featuring Gray Maynard vs. Frankie Edgar for the Lightweight title. The fact that the ION story has gained significantly more traction than the PPV should tell you everything you need to know. Yes, UFC on ION and not on Spike could be a precursor of a bigger story ahead, but airing prelims on ION creating more chatter than a title match?
(Unfortunately, another big story developed today with Cain Velasquez out 6-8 months due to a shoulder injury which kills his chances of having a title fight on the April 30th Sky Dome show in Toronto.)
As much as I’d like to say that having Jose Aldo on the card would have made a difference in interest… I don’t know. The truth is that unlike in Japan where Christmas is more or less a working holiday, the bottom two weeks in December is basically family and vacation time in the States. People are less likely to be online and to be active. There are a plethora of college football games to watch and entertainment choices to pick from. It doesn’t feel like the New Year’s show concept has much energy for UFC this weekend. Might be one of those ‘doomed before it started’ scenarios. (Unless, of course, you have a really hot fight like Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell was in the past and you are able to advertise it hard.)
Here’s what Ricardo Almeida had to say about how Frankie Edgar’s training went for this weekend’s bout:
“Frankie’s camp is going really good. This is the time where, you know, about 3-4 weeks out when he always surges. Frankie’s very adaptable, you see every fight he really embraces the game plan and usually it’s not until those last 3-4 weeks that it really starts coming together for him and it’s no different this time, you know, having to address some things for Maynard, just Maynard’s size, his wrestling, his big right hand… A couple of things that we see that he does very well but also try to work with Frankie’s strengths and bring the game plan and make the game plan around that.
“A big concern for us is always technique. You know, this is Frankie’s big quote, ‘we don’t prepare for fighters, we prepare for technique’ you know and we’re not getting ready to fight Gray Maynard. We’re getting ready to fight his collection of technique, be it his double-leg, his bullying style of just putting you on the fence and taking you down at will and staying on top with that control and also we really just watching tape and try to stay away from any trash talk or anything, just focus on the technical and physical aspects of the fight.”
New Year’s Eve and Golden Week are the biggies in Japan for celebration, which is the MMA shows used to draw so much attention. This year, not so much. Satoshi Ishii has been relatively quiet in the media. The problem with him is that he does garner some mainstream interest, but not an expansive amount. The more he does media, the bigger the goof he comes off as and the more people just shake their head at him. The problem for K-1’s show (of which there are many and we’ve documented them well the last two months) is that it’s largely a one-fight card for the casuals and even that fight is not a hot one. Amazingly, the second biggest star on the show is not Sakuraba (he’s been nearly silent in PR) but Alistair Overeem, who now has the ‘Fedor’ mantle in the Japanese media as the dominant foreigner. I think it’s fairly obvious that the finish for his fight versus Todd Duffee will be a highlight reel moment that will make for great TV. The question is whether or not the rest of the show can hold up or if people will just tune in for a couple of quarter-hours and fade away.
Here’s Alistair doing a PR session with Masato training and fielding media questions:
How is your condition? “Condition is good. Fortunately, I suffered no injuries from the K-1 Grand Prix 11 of December, so I took a good some days rest, some good rest, some good days rest after and I slowly started training again. I’m very motivated. My conditioning is good. Very motivated to show the fans a great fight December 31.”
Is there any particular reason you are highly motivated? “Dynamite show is a great show. For me, it’s a very, it’s become a ritual to fight at the Dynamite show. This is going to be my third time in a row and if I have no injuries, I would like to fight there. So, yeah, very fortunately I’m hoping it’s going to be for the DREAM Heavyweight title. … Very motivated to fight at Dynamite, very motivated to fight for the DREAM Heavyweight title.”
You stayed here in Japan after the Grand Prix tournament. Why did you elect to stay here to train instead of going back to Holland? “Well, actually I like staying here. I like Tokyo, I like Japan, I love my sushi. Some of you might know. But, um, also in Holland it’s currently very cold, it’s been -10, -15 (Celsius), a lot of snow. I don’t like snow for me it was very good timing to stay here in Japan.”
“No. I feel confident. After K-1 Grand Prix I had my MMA coach fly in with some sparring partners, so we trained MMA. My MMA is a top level. I’m ready to beat anybody.”
It’s easy for to make the transition from K-1 to MMA this quick? “Yes.”
No worries? Confident for this upcoming fight? No frustration because of late opponent announcement? “No, I think my level currently is at a level that it doesn’t matter who I fight. So I’m ready for anybody.”
He closed out the session by saying “I’m going to be pissed off” if his match isn’t for the DREAM Heavyweight title.
As far as the Sengoku show is concerned, it’s such a voluminous show that there is bound to be some highlights to come out of it. A weird buffet but people like all-you-can-eat spreads and I think for the hardcore fans, they will end up being rewarded. Marlon Sandro is too great of a fighter not to make a big splash this weekend. He’ll show up big.
Topics: DREAM, Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, Sengoku, UFC, Zach Arnold | 23 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The UFC’s big network TV deal is on… ION
By Zach Arnold | December 27, 2010
Here’s the MMA Junkie report on the matter.
It’s a curious move. ION is an over-the-air channel in the states but not available in all American markets.
(People confuse free-to-air with over-the-air. Free-to-air is using a satellite dish to legally pick up unencrypted channels. See Sathint for examples.)
To see if your area has the ION channel on cable or antenna, use Antenna Web or TV Fool or Rabbit Ears. On Rabbit Ears, when you get a list of TV networks on your search, the blue links can be clicked on and you’ll get a listing of main channels and sub channels.
The ION network will air three preliminary fights for this Saturday’s UFC 125 event from Las Vegas. (ION airs in 720p resolution for over-the-air. If you have a free-to-air set-up with a satellite dish, you can pick up all ION channel feeds including an HD version on bird AMC 1 at 103W. However, the frequency is C band, not Ku band.)
For a complete listing of ION affiliates in the States, click here.
Josh Gross brings up the obvious angle, which is contract negotiations between UFC and Spike TV.
Here’s the PR launch on Youtube for promoting the 125 event. It needs all the help it can get with the Frankie Edgar/Gray Maynard main event. If you’re interested in watching the show at a bar locally, use this Joe Hand Promotions link to find the nearest location.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 23 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
14-15 match card planned for 2010 K-1 Dynamite event
By Zach Arnold | December 27, 2010
If you recall Mr. Tanigawa’s comments a couple of months ago, the plan was to trim to fight card down to 12-13 matches. in the end, we’ll get a voluminous card.
- DREAM Heavyweights: Satoshi Ishii (w/ Santa suit) vs. Jerome Le Banner
- IGF rules (pro-wrestling) match: Bob Sapp vs. Wakakirin
- DREAM Heavyweights: Sergei Kharitonov vs. Tatsuya Mizuno
- DREAM Heavyweights: Alistair Overeem vs. TBA
- Celebrity fight: Katsuaki Furuki (Twitter) vs. Andy Ologun
- Featherweights: Kaoru Uno vs. Kazuyuki Miyata
- Lightweights: Josh Thomson vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
- DREAM/K-1 Mixed rules fight: Shinya Aoki vs. Yuichiro Nagashima (the crazy okama)
- Welterweights: Marius Zaromskis vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
- K-1 MAX Rules Lightweight fight: Akiyo “Wicky” Nishiura vs. Tetsuya Yamato
- DREAM Featherweight title match: Bibiano Fernandes vs. Hiroyuki Takaya
- K-1 Heavyweight rules match: Kyotaro vs. Gegard Mousasi
- Featherweights: Hideo Tokoro vs. Kazuhisa Watanabe
- Welterweights: Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Jason High
- Open-weight fight: Minowaman vs. Hiroshi Izumi
December 27th: The momentum for the Dynamite show on NYE for K-1 on TBS is… strange. One of the strange fights on the card, of course, is Shinya Aoki vs. the okama Yuichiro Nagashima. Mr. Aoki says he will be ‘Killer Aoki’ for the fight. Here he is slapping around an unfortunately shirtless Mr. Saeki. Aoki is slapping him in honor of Antonio Inoki’s famous slap to the face. If that picture doesn’t haunt you, we got video!
Topics: DREAM, Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 16 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Sengoku 12/30 Tokyo, Ariake Colosseum fight card (match order finalized)
By Zach Arnold | December 27, 2010
The match order established for the show:
- SRC Jacket match (Lightweights): Sotaro Yamada vs. Kim Lee Sak
- SRC Jacket match (59 kg): Kiyotaka Shimizu vs. Ichiro Sugita
- SRC Jacket match (Lightweights): Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Jung Jin Suk
- Kickboxing match (61.23 kg): Hironobu Ikegami vs. Yuji Tanaka
- Kickboxing match (70 kg): Yusuke Ikei vs. Shintaro Matsukura
- Kickboxing match (70 kg): Yutaro Yamauchi vs. Gou Yokoyama
- Muay Thai match (52 kg): Arashi Fujiwara vs. Mutsuki Ebata
- Muay Thai match (60 kg): Kanongsuk Weerasakreck vs. Genki Yamamoto
- Muay Thai match (73 kg): Musashi Miyamoto vs. Hiroki Komata
- Kickboxing match (Heavyweights): Kazuki Ozawa vs. Lee Chang Seob
- Muay Thai match (86.18 kg): Fabiano Cyclone vs. Andrew Peck
- Women’s Muay Thai match (mini-flyweights at 47.62 kg): Erika Kamimura vs. Chiharu
- Amy Davis vs. Misaki Takimoto
- Rin Nakai vs. Mika “Hari” Harigai
- Roxanne Modafferi vs. Hitomi Akano
- SRC Bantamweight Asia Tournament 2010: Manabu Inoue vs. Shunichi Shimizu
- SRC Bantamweight Asia Tournament 2010: Akitoshi Tamura vs. Taiyo Nakahara
- Heavyweights: Yoshihiro Nakao vs. Dave Herman
- Middleweights: Yuki Sasaki vs. Mamed Khalidov
- Lightweights: Kazunori Yokota vs. Jadamba Narantungalag
- SRC Welterweight GP Series: K-Taro Nakamura vs. Yasubey Enomoto
- Lightweights: Maximo Blanco vs. Won Sik Park
- Welterweights: Ryo Chonan vs. Taisuke Okuno (filling in for Dan Hornbuckle who Sengoku says is out due to influenza but MMA Junkie claims Bellator wouldn’t let Hornbuckle do the fight)
- Featherweights: Masanori Kanehara vs. Yoshiro Maeda
- Megumi Fujii vs. Emi Fujino
- Kickboxing match (70 kg): Buakaw Por Pramuk vs. Hiroki Nakajima
- Middleweights: Kazuo Misaki vs. Mike Seal
- SRC Featherweight title match: Marlon Sandro vs. Hatsu Hioki
Topics: Media, MMA, Sengoku, Zach Arnold | 12 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Ex-UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is who we thought he was
By Zach Arnold | December 26, 2010
Yesterday, we celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Fight Opinion web site. (Quietly.) One of the goals of this web site when we started was to create a platform that would help educate readers to become smarter about the business side of Mixed Martial Arts. I think we’ve successfully been ahead of the curve on a lot of stories and, in turn, have readers who have gone on to become writers on various platforms. Remember, five years ago, Fight Opinion was one of the first hybrid news/opinion MMA sites out there before blogging platforms like Movable Type and WordPress helped create the boom we have today. I wrote about MMA long before Fight Opinion, but we moved into territory where there were only a couple of online radio shows for MMA (at most). The landscape back then versus today is completely different.
One of the stories that I’ve longed warned everyone about is the career of Brock Lesnar in the UFC. We know his history — he does something for a little while, makes some money or fame, and moves on before he gets completely exposed and runs out of sugar daddies willing to recruit him into something else. In many ways, he reminds me of having the spirit of Bruiser Brody (look him up on Google, non-wrestling fans) leaving one place after another before his welcome is warn out. Lesnar was in WWE for a few years, then he went to try out for the Minnesota Vikings, then he went to New Japan, and eventually ended up in UFC.
When Brock was pummeled by Cain Velasquez, there was the goofy Undertaker incident that was caught on camera by Ariel Helwani. Immediately, the rumors started flying about Vince McMahon wanting Brock Lesnar to appear at Wrestlemania. As we know with Vince McMahon, the harder it is for him to sign someone the hungrier and more motivated he gets to make it happen. (Kind of reminds me of someone else we know as a boss as well.) Anyhow, when Lesnar lost to Velasquez everyone started talking about when he would come back to training to redeem himself in the cage. At first, there were indications Lesnar would get back in the swing of things quickly. Then, he decided to take a break for hunting season. Now? Keith Harris notes (from hearing/reading the cryptocity of Dave Meltzer) the waiting game that Mr. Lesnar is playing. It’s a game that Dana White wants no part of. However, Mr. White should have thought of this when he signed Lesnar in the first place to a contract. What’s intriguing about UFC being relucant to allow Brock to appear at Wrestlemania is that not only is UFC destroying WWE in PPV buys but they have also taken away a lot of disgruntled WWE/wrestling fans who are sick of the McMahon/Kevin Dunn cookie-cutter production. In one respect, Dana’s objections make complete and total business sense. On the other hand, why should he be worried about Lesnar appearing at Wrestlemania if the public at-large knows that UFC is real and WWE is not so much? Despite the amazing growth of UFC, I do think the situation with Lesnar indicates how nervous people in MMA still are to the fact that the public at-large, or at least the media, is willing to lump the two into the same business category.
Brock Lesnar is who we thought he was — and we’ve been saying it for many, many years on Fight Opinion. In fact, since day one this site was created. Happy Anniversary, everyone.
(By the way, 25% off all “UFC gear” at Sears today.)
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, WWE, Zach Arnold | 39 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Is there a legitimate sales pitch for the Shane Mosley/Manny Pacquiao fight?
By Zach Arnold | December 26, 2010
Today was an interesting day in Japan, as all three Kameda brothers fought at Saitama Super Arena for the “Kameda Matsuri (festival” event and won their respective fights. Koki Kameda defeated “Japanese killer” Alexander Munoz by unanimous decision after 12 rounds for the WBA World Bantamweight title. Daiki Kameda defeated Silvio Olteanu by split decision after 12 rounds for the WBA World Flyweight title. (Fightnews completely dumped on this fight as one of the worst technical bouts ever.) Tomoki Kameda defeated Pichitchai Twins Gym by TKO in R3. The event was titled “Thank God it’s BOXING DAY” but no attendance for the show was given.
The boxing show drew a 13.8% rating on TBS and got crushed by All Japan figure skating on Fuji TV which drew a 29% for the women’s freestyle program.
Speaking of trying to sell a fight, we have the upcoming Shane Mosley/Manny Pacquiao fight. As Steve Cofield and Kevin Iole put it, this is one of those fights where protesting boxing fans are going to have to talk themselves out of impulse-buying the PPV at the last minute.
STEVE COFIELD: “They made the fight. Not a big shocker. Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao going at it. Not a big shocker, but there’s a lot of anger out there right now. I don’t know if the response you’re getting is positive. I know the response I’ve heard on radio and on the blogosphere, not good.”
KEVIN IOLE: “Not good. I mean it’s about 4 to 1 against this fight. Shane Mosley against Manny Pacquiao, people are upset. And I think it’s going to show in the PPV results. I don’t think it’s going to be as good as what they think. I… I wish they would have picked Juan Manuel Marquez. I think they’ve had two sensational fights. They’re both in the Top 5 pound-for-pound, Manny Pacquiao obviously number one. You know, Marquez seems to have had the style of Manny Pacquiao figured out and maybe the only guy to do that. To me, that would have been the fight to put on to make. Secondarily since we’ve got this whole Golden Boy/Top Rank feud that gets into things, you know Andre Berto’s sitting there, an undefeated Welterweight with speed, with power… In Top Rank’s defense, Berto hasn’t beaten a top-level well-known guy yet so you might say, what has he done to deserve a fight against Pacquiao, you know, that’s a legitimate argument. I can understand that. But I think most people understand that Berto has the skill and when you see him in there, when you project, he’s going to put on a good fight. I mean, he’s going to force Manny Pacquiao to be better. And that’s what we want, I mean, ultimately this is entertainment and it’s about the customers and the people buying and we want to give them the best possible product. When you’re at a restaurant you don’t go and if you’re going to sell a $12 hamburger you go to McDonald’s to buy it, you try to give them the best burger that you can give. Well, in boxing, if you’re going to put on the fights you want to give them the best product and I think it only helps, you know, repeat business but unfortunately, you know, I don’t see this, dissing Shane Mosley. Shane Mosley is one of the best of this era but he’s 40 years old and we’ve seen a decline in his game. I really am disappointed that this fight was put together.”
STEVE COFIELD: “I remember sitting there about a month ago and both Lou DiBella with Berto was at a press conference along with Richard Schaefer and his guy Juan Manual Marquez and without knowing even what was going to go happen, I think they sort of knew, but without even knowing the final conclusion they were ready to rip someone’s head off so I cannot imagine what those two guys are like today and yesterday.”
KEVIN IOLE: “Lou DiBella… Lou just went off the deep end. But you know rightly so. You know… and even DiBella admits the right fight to make was Marquez, you know, but DiBella said, hey, if you couldn’t get the fight done, my guy’s here, my guy’s ready for this fight, he’s ready to step up to the next level and even though in Berto’s last fight he didn’t fight a very tough opponent, Freddy Hernandez, he was challenged, hey, let’s see you do something to make a statement and he went out there and had a dramatic knockout, really went for it, had a dramatic early knockout. I think that both Schaefer and DiBella have a right to be angry as do the fans.”
STEVE COFIELD: “Absolutely. So it’s going to be Mosley and Pacquiao, the guy who’s put this together is Bob Arum. Now, if I tell Bob face-to-face I don’t like the fight, it might get ugly. He likes you, but you know, you ripped it and you’re going to continue to rip it so Bob’s reaction to someone like Kevin Iole who’s a pretty respected, really respected boxing writer ripping his fight?”
KEVIN IOLE: “It depends who we’re talking about. Well, I had a conversation with Bob yesterday and he disagrees with me but he understands, you know, it’s not a personal thing and I think that criticism about it is just about, hey, I am advocating for what I believe is best for the public and best for the sport of boxing and I understand Bob, Bob makes a couple of points that I understand because I understand the PPV industry and sometimes the people in boxing, the fans, don’t understand how PPV works and Bob is right when he says that it’s really the casual fans, the fan who maybe watches one or two fights a year who determine a success or a failure of a PPV because all of us who are the hardcore fans, you know, the ones who tape ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights and watch ShoBox, you know, I have on my DVR I have ShoBox set to automatically record, I have HBO fights that automatically record, I have ESPN2 set to automatically record, I have HBO set to automatically record, so I have all these fights coming on and when I watch the Top Rank Live fights in Spanish so I’m not the guy that they have to worry about selling. (The casual fan) That’s the person who really sells the PPV so I understand where Arum is coming from, but I think in this case here is where my argument with Bob is… 1.4 million people bought Mayweather/Mosley on PPV and they saw Mosley kind of lay an egg, they saw Mosley not look very good against Floyd Mayweather Jr. and if we’re saying Pacquiao and Mayweather are the numbers one and two in the world pound-for-pound and I personally have Pacquiao one and Mayweather two, how do we expect it to be any different against Manny Pacquiao? You know, Shane is not getting younger, he’s going to be only four months shy of his 40th birthday at that point and I understand styles make fights but I think Shane has lost enough off of his fastball at this stage that he’s not the same fighter so the argument that Bob makes doesn’t carry water only because Shane is a diminished fighter.”
STEVE COFIELD: “I’ll tell you the big challenge, they get me every time with the 24/7. What’s the hook this time? They can’t get me, I know they can’t.”
KEVIN IOLE: “Well you know what I think they’re going to do on the 24/7 this time is they’re going to play up the discontent. I think they’re’ going to talk Shane Mosley about, hey, are you an old man and they’re going to talk Nazim Richardson about that, they’re going to talk to fans, we’re going to you know just like we saw in 24/7 on the Pacquiao/Margarito fight where they very had on and maybe to some people said overkill talked about the hand wrap issue with Margarito, they’re going to do the same thing with Shane Mosley and they’re going to, you know, discuss how there was a lot of animosity toward the fight and people didn’t think he should have gotten the fight and I think that’s what is going to be the angle and it’s going to be, you know, Shane Mosley, you know what, I’m going to prove all of you doubters wrong.”
Topics: Boxing, Japan, Media, Zach Arnold | 8 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC Heavyweight Roy Nelson: ‘When you officially get sued, you’ve officially made it’
By Zach Arnold | December 25, 2010
Here’s Roy Nelson, in his own… inimitable way, explaining the lawsuit that Roy Jones Jr.’s promotional company has filed against him.
KENNY RICE: “We’ve pulled out all of our legal documents. We’re going to try to get this straightened out. Roy Nelson’s with us. He’s going to straighten this out for us. Here’s the deal — Roy was getting ready to fight Shane Carwin, UFC 125, of course Carwin’s injured so they’re trying to get all of that figured out. The contract issue with Roy and I believe I’ve got his straight now, it’s with Roy Jones Jr’s Square Ring. You did a fight for them a little over a year or so ago, they’re contending now that they have basically like a first right of refusal, a first right of negotiations which would mean with Zuffa, with UFC, in terms of putting you on a card or not putting you on a card. Is that the gist of this?”
ROY NELSON: “Um… I think they also said that we, me and the UFC, teamed up in a conspiracy theory, we you know, like, it’s… All I know is that officially, you know, when you officially get sued, you’ve officially made it.”
KENNY RICE: “You’re officially sued, right?”
ROY NELSON: “So, I think, this is like really it’s like nine months old, I mean that’s how long this technically has been, over two years. This is nine months old but I think when you get on TV people think you’re TV rich because we know you guys are very extremely rich.”
BAS RUTTEN: “Yes, of course.”
ROY NELSON: “So it’s that TV rich, it’s that stardom. I think anybody can try to milk something for what it is. But the one thing I’ve learned out of this whole thing is everybody’s going to always try to knock you down, you know what I mean?”
BAS RUTTEN: “For no reason. It’s only good for him. And he’s trying to stretch it out for as long as he can.’
ROY NELSON: “Yeah, but the thing is is you got to have that champion mindset, you know, where it doesn’t matter how many times people knock you down, it’s how fast you get back up and how fast you get back in there. So like for me, it’s just one of those things that just a little speed bump to get where I have to go.”
KENNY RICE: “We contacted Roy Jones Jr., by the way, and talked to his camp and Square Ring and at this time they have declined to give any additional comment on this because the lawsuit’s still out there, it’s still going down.”
ROY NELSON: “Yeah, it’s still one of those things that, you know, eventually it’s going to work itself out. I mean, the law, you know, I guess in the United States it’s been going on for nine months so it’s slow, you know.”
KENNY RICE: “But you were going to fight at UFC 125, so I mean something was worked out. If Carwin doesn’t get injured, you’re fighting him coming up.”
ROY NELSON: “That was the plan, you know, so I mean you know things happen, you know, there’s other things that, you know, pop up in our world of MMA.”
KENNY RICE: “But they were going to let you fight, though. I mean, the Roy Jones Jr. people said you could fight at 125.”
ROY NELSON: “I don’t think they…”
KENNY RICE: “Oh, they didn’t?”
ROY NELSON: “I don’t think it had anything to do with Roy Jones Jr. I don’t think because the thing is with the Roy Jones Jr. there was never like an injunction or anything like that so it’s not, has nothing to do with that. I think it’s just, you know, either to sideline some stuff some you know paperwork out and then just call it a day.”
BAS RUTTEN: “You know because it has to be, it’s a very bad promotion for Roy Jones if he does it. If you’re a fighter, you know, and we all love the UFC, we all love the fighters in it, you’re going to start thinking twice to go to that organization. So that would not be smart if that’s the case now.”
ROY NELSON: “You know what? It actually doesn’t matter if you’re going to 12 different organizations or not. In the world of the US, you can sue anybody.”
BAS RUTTEN: “That’s it and I can put on a light on an organization that has just started by doing this.”
KENNY RICE: “Have you talked to Roy Jones Jr. personally? Fighter to fighter and said, hey, you know how it is, you can’t be on the shelf for 8-9 months, I mean when do you fight again now?”
ROY NELSON: “I think if it really came down to it I think no one can really stop you from making a livelihood. I think there’s some legal stuff that you can maneuver for like, you know, someone trying to stop you from making an actual living.”
KENNY RICE: “Do you think you guys should sit down and talk? I mean, seriously, fighter to fighter, I got to believe he’s going to understand a little bit more this situation and cut through the attorneys and the red tape.”
ROY NELSON: “Well, we can always fight. That’s always another way.”
KENNY RICE: “Well, that’s one way to settle it.”
ROY NELSON: “We can do a thumb wrestling match or whatever. I mean, it’s one of those things.”
KENNY RICE: “Rock, paper, scissors with you and Roy Jones Jr. That would be interesting.”
ROY NELSON: “We can make it a PPV.”
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Meet 17-year old heart transplant patient Nick Beach
By Zach Arnold | December 25, 2010
I am encouraging you to watch the video, which is why I didn’t do a transcript here. The short story – Nick Beach is a 17-year old training who trains in Big Bear, California and had a heart transplant at age 7. According to the piece done on HDNet, he is currently undergoing medical tests in a hospital to determine if he needs a new transplant or not. We most certainly wish him the best of luck and I think you will be interested in his life story.
Topics: Media, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The MMA media’s version of ant-infested fruitcake: Year-end awards
By Zach Arnold | December 23, 2010
The Bazzie Awards (Dec 31st on HDNet at 8 PM EST), on HDNet. It’s the channel’s year-end awards. Here’s the categories and the nominees they selected.
KO (Punch of the Year)
– Hector Lombard’s 6-second KO of Jay Silva (Bellator 18)
– Mike Russow finishes off Todd Duffee (UFC 114)
– Cain Velasquez pummels Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 110)
– Robbie Lawler disposes of Melvin Manhoef (SF Miami)
– BJ Penn gives Matt Hughes a 20-second greeting (UFC 123)
– Marlon Sandro’s 38-second KO of Masanori Kanehara (Sengoku 13)
KO (Kick of the Year – video package)
– Anthony Pettis has a special greeting for Danny Castillo (WEC 47)
– George Roop sends The Korean Zombie into a deep sleep (WEC 51)
– Maximo Blanco finishes off Chang Hyun Kim (Sengoku 12)
– Tom Watson (MFC 24) over Travis Galbraith
– Cole Escovedo sends Yoshiro Maeda to get some smelling salts (DREAM 13)
Submission of the Year (video package)
– Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor at Strikeforce last June in San Jose
– Scott Jorgensen vs. Chad George (WEC 47)
– Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida (UFC 117 in Oakland)
– Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen (UFC 117 in Oakland)
– Michelle Waterson with flying armbar on Rosary Califano (Extreme Beatdown)
– Shinya Aoki achilles’ hold on Crusher Kawajiri (DREAM 15)
– Douglas Lima (MFC 27) triangle arm-bar on Jesse Juarez
Most Bizarre Moment (video package)
– Paul Daley’s post-fight punch on Josh Koscheck last May in Montreal
– Strikeforce Nashville post-fight brawl with Mayhem Miller and the Cesar Gracie camp on CBS
– Krzyszstof Sozysnski ‘checks the oil’ at UFC 122
– Post fight celebration (V3 Fights)
– Jonathan Ivey’s rolls (USA MMA)
– Robin Black vs. Matt Knysh (Aggression MMA)
Female MMA fighter of the year
– Marloes Coenen
– Megumi Fujii
– Cris Cyborg
– Zoila Frausto
– Miesha Tate
MMA Fight of the Year (Best Bout – video package)
– Leonard Garcia vs. Korean Zombie (WEC 48 at Arco Arena in Sacramento)
– Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama (UFC 116 in Las Vegas)
– Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin (UFC 116 in Las Vegas)
– Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen (UFC 117 in Oakland)
– Jorge Santiago vs. Kazuo Misaki (Sengoku 14)
– Chris Lozano vs. Jason Dent (NAAFS)
MMA Fighter of the Year (MVP)
– Jose Aldo
– Frankie Edgar
– Alistair Overeem
– Anderson Silva
– Cain Velasquez
2010 MMA Upset of the Year
– Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn (UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi)
– Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor (Strikeforce last June in San Jose)
– Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro AKiyama (UFC 116 in Las Vegas)
– Jake Shields vs. Dan Henderson (Strikeforce last April in Nashville)
– John Hathaway vs. Diego Sanchez (UFC 114 in Las Vegas)
– Manny Gamburyan vs. Mike Brown (WEC 48 at Arco Arena in Sacramento)
2010 MMA Fight Team of the Year
– American Kickboxing Academy
– American Top Team
– Jackson’s MMA
– Black House MMA
– Golden Glory
– Team Tompkins/Tapout
2010 MMA Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
– Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis
– Frankie Edgar
– Jon “Bones” Jones
– Rory MacDonald
– George Sotiropoulos
Feel free to write in your own choices for each of these awards.
Topics: HDNet, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 17 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
What it was like meeting Fedor in his locker room after he lost to Werdum
By Zach Arnold | December 23, 2010
I would encourage you to check out this video interview with Dr. Gary Furness, a respected physician with the California State Athletic Commission.
(He was at the Chael Sonnen hearing a couple of weeks ago and knew what the situation was all about.)
He’s based out of Santa Rosa, which is the very northern edge of the Bay Area. So, to go to Sacramento, San Jose, and other cities in central California he definitely does travel quite a bit. In addition to all that, he’s a graduate of a school I familiar with called Humboldt State.
During the interview, Dr. Furness talks about some of the signed photos and posters on his wall including a photograph of him taking care of Cal Worsham on the mat in 2006 when Worsham fractured his eye socket in his last MMA fight. There are other photos observed, including a picture of his kids with David Terrell and a signed K-1 Battle at the Bellagio 2007 poster.
With that noted, check out what he had to say about meeting Fedor before and after his fight last June with Fabricio Werdum in San Jose.
“This past June I was very lucky, I got assigned to work the Fabricio Werdum/Fedor Emelianenko fight in San Jose. I also got to do their pre-fight physicals, which for me is a thrill. I’m always a professional but as a fan to meet Fedor and those guys at that level is always very exciting.
“One of the more difficult things I have to do after a fight is to try to help take care of someone who’s just lost. That’s the one time where even the best guys are sometimes a little upset, don’t want to talk about things, preferred to be left alone, which is totally understandable. What I found just fascinating about Fedor is his 10-year win streak was over with, uh, and he was still a complete gentleman, completely cooperative, no anger. After I checked him out, he thanked me for making sure he was okay and shook my hand, nodded, and went on his way. It was a very interesting experience.
“Sometimes, Santa Rosa seems like a very small town. One of the local sports writers, a gentleman named Phil Barber (LinkedIn) who has an interest in MMA, he was interested to find out (that) one, that we had a world-class gym like Dave Terrell’s NorCal Fighting Alliance, and then also he was interested that he actually has a real life doctor who works at these things and so we became friends. He got interested and wrote a story on it, which was a lot of fun.”
This is a recent HDNet video segment where they went and visited the NorCal Fighting Alliance gym. It’s good viewing.
Topics: Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |