Revealing recent Fedor Emelianenko interview - last entrance song, his injury, life
Came across another recent Fedor Emelianko's interview from from his official site posted on 08/08/2008. Cool date! He talks about finding religion, his entrance song and a few other interesting things. Read on for details.
Correspondent: Fedor, first fight according to your contract this year took place. It became one of the fastest out of Your stellar record. Did You expect such a desicive victory over Tim Sylvia?
Fedor Emelianenko: I never exect when a fight is going to end and can never tell ahead of time what is going to happen. Of course, I do want it to end as soon as possible, though I always mentally prepare myself for a long and gruelling fight.
Correspondent: Traditionally fighter's entrance is accompanied by music. This time it was a complete surprise a complete surprise when you came out to a kazak song "Stepan Razin's Dream" (Son Stepana Razina) , better known as a fold song "Oi, to ne veter" (Oi, that's not wind). What made you choose it, and who was it performed by? MMANinja's Note: as Fedor said he had father Andrei record it for him. From little searching that I did I found a version sung by a folk band. Download it here.
Fedor Emelianenko: It was my choice, I really like the song. With God's help I met a wonderful man - a priest from Nizhnii Novgorod father Andrei. When I heard him chant prayers and sing this song, I asked him to record it for me and he agreed.
Correspondent: After the fight cameras zoomed in on a moment when Your coach Vladimir Voronov placed a cross on you. You haven't had it that long. Are you a person of faith?
Fedor Emelianenko: Yes, I'm a person of faith and recently my life has changed, I will try to live my life according to God's teachings…
Correspondent: First step back to church many people make after something happened: serious illness, loss of a loved one, other tragic events… What was the reason for you to make that decision?
Fedor Emelianenko: When I met father Andrei, all my doubts left me…After being around this man, I realized that its the only right way. Through father Andrei God brought me to people who helped me realize how I used to live and how I should live going forward.
Correspondent: A disappointing incident from your last fight became an injury: a broken thumb, the same one that You already had a surgery on, put a metal plate on and so on, it happened again…According to international standards, after a fracture you can not even talk about fighting until after half a year. Does that mean that in 2008 You will not be able to fight?
Fedor Emelianenko: In reality, I don't feel a lot of pain, hand is healing and I'll hope that everything will work out. My next performance is planned in November: Combat Sambo world championships will take place in St. Petersburg.
Correspondent: Do you have plans to participate in "Affliction-2" in October?
Fedor Emelianenko: I would like to take part in "Affliction-2", but I'm not sure yet if it will happen.
Correspondent: Your younger brother Alexander was going to participate in the last "Affliction" event. What was the reason for him not being allowed to fight? Many fear if the same situation will happen at the next event?
Fedor Emelianenko: I can't comment on the situation. Alexander was in fact barred from performing from some blood tests. That's why I can't really say anything.
Correspondent: Last few years you have not trained with your brother. He moved to St. Petersburg and your training, mostly, takes place in Starii Oskol. Any plans to resume training together?
Fedor Emelianenko: It's more convinient and better for me to train in Starii Oskol. That doesn't work for Alex. From what I understand from his recent interviews, he likes it in St. Petersburg and he isn't planning to go anywhere for training.
Correspondent: A considerable group of fans went with you to America. How important is that for you?
Fedor Emelianenko: For me, of course, it's important to have people close to me, who always support me, worry about me and pray for me. I wish all of them could come with me, but none the less it was great to see guys who cheered for me at the event.
Correspondent: Are you planning to fly to Beijing to support russian athletes?
Fedor Emelianenko: Unfortunately, they way things are working out I will not be to go to Beijing. But I wish I could.
Correspondent: One of the organizers of the "Affliction" event was world famous make of stylish clothing, gothic style. You came out in an "Affliction" t-shirt as well. Do you prefer such "brave" style?
Fedor Emelianenko: I prefer a more simple style in clothing. Though I do really like "Affliction" clothes, it's comfortable. And on my t-shirt there was nothing that was against Russian orthodox, so I came out to the ring in it.
Correspondent: In one of your recent interviews we spoke about a project "Fighting Fedor". Are the participant already picked? When will it start?
Fedor Emelianenko: That's a question for Vadim Finkelstein - he leads that project. I don't know the exact time frames.
Correspondent: What are your plans for the near future?
Fedor Emelianenko: I am leaving for America to participate in a press conference. I will also be negotiating with "Affliction" company.
Dream 5 Lightweight Grand Prix Finals thoughts - MMA tournaments are best
I've been a big fan of Japanese MMA ever since I could get my hands on some early Pancrase, Japan Vale Tudo, Rings KOK and Shooto tapes. It's the event atmosphere, the knowledgeable crowd who appreciates all aspects of MMA, fighting in the ring, leglocks, tournaments, good fighters and crazy always excited announcers - all those things combined made Japanese MMA very entertaining. I mean if you watched any of the yearly "Best of Shooto" tapes in the late 1990s and compared it to any of the other MMA around the world at the time you'd see how incredible the fights were.
This weekend were the Finals of the Dream Lightweight Grand Prix that started a few months back with first round of the tournament. I was really excited about that card because of several late Pride Bushido stars were to participate. Unfortunately, as it often happens, even the best cards on paper do not always turn out that way. The event was so so and several fighters I was looking out for like Joachim Hansen and Hideo Tokoro were pretty flat. Especially Hansen, who has pulled some amazing grappling moves during his fights, like helicopter armbar, and has had some amazing KO victories as well. I don't know if they layoff affected him or what, but he looked lethargic against a lesser opponent and even though he still finished the fight with a rear naked choke after flipping his opponent over him from all fours right into the back mount he looked like a shadow of his former energetic self. Anyways…onto the fights.
Daisuke Nakamura vs. Andy Ologun - Classic fight between grappler vs striker, as classic as that type of fight can get as Nakamura was even wearing old style Rings shinpad boots, which I thought was awesome. Ologun is brother of Bobby Ologun, who's a some type of comedian-turned-fighter in Japan. It was a fun short fight with Nakamura trying for a kneebar after getting knocked off his feet and finishing the fight with a slick flying armbar!
Joachim Hansen vs. Kultar Gill - Kultar Gill aka Black Mamba is quick striker with some great takedown defence who's given his many mostly grappling opponents hell win or lose. He beat Tokoro twice giving him a beating while escaping numerous submission attempts. To be honest I was a little worried for Hansen because of his last lethargic performance and you have to be very alert fighting Black Mamba. Hansen did good though, he kept pressure on Gill with takedowns so much so that Gill resorted to trying to take Hansen down. Hansen countered with a Kimura and then switched it to an armbar from the bottom for the submission. Good win for Hansen.
Joseph Benavidez vs. Junya Kudo - haven't heard about either fighter before, but Benavidez had Uriah Faber in his corner which only meant that he is from a tough camp and it's going to be a good fight. Benavidez's fighting style resembled Faber's, he was quick with his takedowns, did an awesome slam and looked to have powerful punches. Kudo did catch Benavidez with a few punches and kept up with him for a bit, but they didn't seem to affect Benavidez much. Benavidez pulled off a nice guillotine choke from the mount after quickly turning Kudo over his side from all fours. I'll be looking out for Benavidez now, hopefully he'll get a shot in WEC on Versus soon.
Hideo Tokoro vs. Takeshi Yamazaki - Hideo Tokoro's claim to fame was practically beating the Royce Gracie who outweight him by more than 30lb or so. Tokoro was given a chance of a life time and took full advantage of the opportunity and fought like a little mad man. He's always exciting and has a very slick ground game. Back to this fight with Yamazaki. Great fight with back and forth action. Tokoro actually ended up out striking Yamazaki and had a few kimura attempts. Yamazaki did great at neutralizing Tokoro's great guard and passing it on several occasions. Tokoro took a deserved decision win.
Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Motoki Miyazawa - Hironaka is a pretty tough guy with wins over Ryan Schultz, Nick Diaz and Renato Verissimo and a decision loss to Jon Fitch. Hironaka and Miyazawa tried to grapple for a bit with Hironaka getting a takedown and Miyazawa attempting to play rubber guard for a bit but quickly gave up. They worked their way back to standing and turned it into a striking match with Hironaka getting better and better as they went on till he finished it with flurry for a TKO from a cut. Decent fight.
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Katsuyori Shibata - I think Akiyama was the very first MMA fighter entrance to an opera piece and it actually pretty good. Akiyama is a judoka who's been involved in some controversy with oiling up in a fight with Kazushi Sakuraba and generallyn know to be an a$$hole. He's had some good wins over Dennis Kang and Melvin Manhoef recently. For this fight though he was fighting a tomato can of sort in Shibata, may be cause he needed to recover after a vicious KO courtecy of Kazuo Misaki in his last fight. He was having a hard time with Shibata, who was keeping distance and striking from the outside. Akiyama finally cornered Shibata and threw a huge high kick that missed but gave him an opportunity to tie up and do a sweet judo sweep to side mount. He moved to mount and used his gi to choke Shibata completely out with a front choke. Pretty typical Judo.
Caol Uno vs. Shinya Aoki - Both are exciting fighters. Uno with a good mix of stand up, ground and tenacity (dig up his classic fight with Joachim Hansen!) and Aoki with his rare submission skills, he's the only one so far to pull of a go-go plata from the mount! I was very excited to see the fight even though I know that when two really good guys fight it may not be too exciting. It wasn't the most faced paced fight, but it was great. In round 1 Aoki had a good heelhook attempt, then he took Uno's back and set up Uno to roll out straight in a tight triangle, then an armbar. As great as Aoki was moving from a submission to a submission, Uno was right there with him escaping from the jaws of defeat. Round 2 started off with Aoki taking Uno down, passsing his guard and taking his back again. Uno eventually worked his way out into Aoki's rubber guard to finish the round and the fight. Great round work and control by Aoki, he moved to the finals of the tournament.
Eddie Alvarez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri - Kawajiri a long time top lightweight and generally exciting fighter with strong wrestling and powerful striking from Shooto and Pride Bushido days. He beat Black Mamba and Luis Fermino to get to the semi finals of this tournament to face Alvarez. I haven't really seen Alvarez fight till the begining of this tournament and he really impressed me with his win over Andre Dida and then beating Joachim Hansen. This match just had to be good I thought. What a great fight it turned out! Both guys were really going for it with striking. Alvarez caught kawajiri with a great flurry and almost had him out. Kawajiri recovered and knocked Alvarez down and mounted him. Alvarez escaped to standing and they were both slugging it out out with both of them getting knocked down and still punching. Alvarez kept pushing forward and knocked Kawajiri down yet again and referee made him finish Kawajiri off on the ground. This wasn't the kind of fight to engage in as part of the tournament though. Alvarez had a big mouse with a cut under his right eye to go into the final against Aoki.
Mark Hunt vs. Alistair Overeem - Meaningless fight? Yes. Are Mark Hunt and Alistair Overeem fun to watch? Yes. Thats another thing Japanse MMA always offered over MMA - can't be serious all the time so once in a while it's ok to put on fight purely cause they'd be fun to watch! Hunt landed a few hard shots on Overeem to start off, then he kinda just pushed Overeem down and …gasp.. he proceeded to intelligently pass Overeems guard. Good for you Mark Hunt! Hunt passed Overeem's guard into side mount but Overeem managed to lock in an Americana from the bottom, which he proceeded to crank like crazy and working in his legs as if he was going to go for an armbar on the other arm. He turned Hunt over and submitted him with a kimura from the guard. I wish it was longer, but it was fun while it lasted.
Tournament Final: Shinya Aoki vs Joachim Hansen - Turns out Eddie Alvarez couldn't continue with one eye shut, so Joachim stepped in as a winner of the alternate fight earlier. Hansen had a shorter earlier fight, but Aoki had a go-go plata submission win over Hansen only 2 years ago. Aoki took a charging Hansen down and kinda took his time working for position. Hansen proceeded to literally pester Aoki with a lot of punches from the bottom and making him move. Aoke is forced to stand up and Hansen accidentaly, though lightly, kick Aoki in the groin. To Aoki's credit he takes a very short break and they restard. Hansen throws wild puches, they scramble and Aoki plays rubber guard. Hansen gets out to land some hard punches form the top. He works to get out, stands up and lands a HUGE punch falling down and finishes and stunned Aoki. Hansen in the tournament winner.
Hansen said he want's to fight Alvarez next, but for me I think Alvarez should fight Aoki to resolve the real winner of the tournament.
MMA Tournaments are so exciting to follow and Japanese MMA has always provided us with some amazing events based on the tournaments. While Dream's tournament wasn't the best ever, it was still a decent tournament with excitement and unpredictability that only tournaments can provide. MMA Fighters that won tournaments or had to fight several times in one night always stand out for me as fighters who are just a little bit tougher than others. Vovchanchyn, Fedor, Noguiera, Henderson, Silva, Shogun, CroCop, Gomi are men's men.
MMA Opinion will be Live at Ring of Combat XXI
Lou Neglia’s Ring of Combat XXI returns to the Tropicana Casino & Resort in Atlantic City, NJ on September 12th and MMA Opinion editor Brandt DeLorenzo and staff writer John Philipavage will be cageside. Check out commentary on live results as shown on HDNet starting at 8:30PM ET on MMA Opinion and look for photographs […]
World Victory Road: Sengoku III Preview & Predictions
Since some of these fights are old guy vs. old guy, this is my disclaimer. If one of these idiots shows up completely out of shape, it isn’t my fault. Thanks, management.
Kazuo Misaki vs. Logan Clark
Looks like another attempt at Zuffa to get a win overseas in a win-win situation for them. A lower ranked fighter beats a well-known Japanese fighter? Didn’t work for Rani Yahya.
Anyways, Misaki has looked good in his last two fights. His battle with Akiyama was ruled a No Contest due to an illegal soccer kick KO, but the moments leading up to the KO still showed some improvements from Misaki. His striking was definitely a danger for Akiyama.
Clark is coming to Japan from the WEC. While he sports an 11-1 record, he’s fought a lot of subpar competition. If Misaki is truly on the rebound from his losses in PRIDE, Clark could be in for a rude awakening. After all, how can I pick against a guy who beat Baroni, Henderson, Kang, and Shooto champ Siyar Bahadurzada. I can’t.
Leland’s Prediction: Kazuo Misaki via decision
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Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Maurice Smith
Battle of the veteran MMA gods, Yoshida is coming off a loss to Josh Barnett at Sengoku I while Smith is back after a win over Rick Roufus at Strikeforce at the Dome, the most boring card ever! At least YAMMA had Butterbean rolling on the floor.
Yoshida has fought much better competition over his career, although he’s lost nearly every single battle against top 10 competition. He’s a judoka with some decent submission game, but he’s been fighting on a less regular basis lately.
Maurice Smith hasn’t fought regularly in nearly 7 years, but has recently begun to make his way back into the sport. Smith has some decent standup and submissions, but I doubt he can catch Yoshida with a punch or submit him. Yoshida should have the edge, and his judo skills will likely be the culprit in putting Smith on his back. I’d like to think Yoshida can submit Smith in this one.
Leland’s Predictions: Hidehiko Yoshida via submission, Round 1
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Nick “The Goat” Thompson vs. Michael Costa
This should be a win for Thompson all the way. Thompson has great wrestling, grappling, submissions, and some decent striking along with very good cardio. He’s a well-rounded athlete who can take it to opponents from the get-go or wear them down gradually. It’s a shame he hasn’t made his way back to the UFC just yet.
Costa has some submission abilities along with KO power, but it’s likely that Thompson will use his wrestling to control the fight on the ground.
Leland’s Predictions: Nick Thompson via TKO/KO, Round 1
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Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Travis “I need a room with a” Wiuff
Fujita has fought the best in the world at Heavyweight. In fact, he’s only lost to top competition in the sport. He has a solid wrestling background and heavy, heavy hands coupled with the hardest chin we’ve ever seen in the sport. It’s next to impossible to knock Fujita out.
I don’t expect Travis Wiuff to try to knock out Fujita, but I will expect Wiuff to try to take Fujita down for some lay n’ pray fun. Wiuff has some ground and pound capabilities and is able to pull off choke submission from time to time, but against another wrestler like Fujita, we could see Wiuff falling like a tree.
Leland’s Prediction: Kazuyuki Fujita via TKO/KO, Round 2
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Quick Picks
Mu Bae Choi vs. Marcio “Pe de Pano” Cruz: I haven’t seen the legacy of “Pe de Pano” in the UFC, but I’ve heard it’s quite humorous. Regardless, Choi will have some wrestling abilities in this fight while Cruz has the jiu-jitsu background to counter. I’ll go with Cruz due to his credentials in the grappling department and flexibility. Cruz via submission, Round 2
Kazuo Takahashi vs. Fabio Silva: Takahashi has a weak chin, and Silva loves to strike, what more could you ask for in a match tailor made for Fabio to win. Silva via TKO/KO, Round 1
Sanae Kikuta vs. Chris Rice: Kikuta hasn’t fought since 2006 in PRIDE, but he’s still a very tough submission fighter. He doesn’t have the finishing power for the KO, and he’s had problems submitting opponents in his more recent battles, but Rice is a straight up striker from Britain. Look for Kikuta to take this one to the floor quickly and end it. Kikuta via submission, Round 1
Jorge Masvidal vs. Rodrigo Damm: This should be an interesting fight. Damm holds some decent wins including a submission stoppage over Kultar Gill. He’s definitely going to try to get this to the floor where it favors him. Masvidal has a well rounded skillset though, and he’s got some able striking to punch out Damm. His training at American Top Team can only help him defend against the submission. Masvidal via decision
Dana White Open To Bringing Tito Ortiz Back To UFC
The Two Sides Set To Negotiate
Jason Lambert – The New and Improved ‘Punisher’
Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - As a 5 foot 10 heavyweight, nothing was ever going to be easy for Jason Lambert. But as he began his pro mixed martial arts career in 2001 and started battling it out with the big boys, he found out that more often than not, he was able to not only hold his own, but win.
UFC 86 Quinton Rampage Jackson vs Forrest Griffin quick picks
This is going to be a great event with an excellent main event in Rampage vs Forrest and some great undercard fights. Quick picks is all I have time for these days so here they are.
Corey Hill Vs. Justin Buchholz - picking Corey Hill to win by height and ferocity.
Melvin Guillard Vs. Dennis Siver - Guillard is like a mini Randleman in a sense that he has better physical tools than most fighters but lack other important qualities like hard work and mental aspects of the fight game. On talent alone and lots of trashtalk mixed in with some substance abuse in the last year he only managed two very embarassing losses to Stevenson and Clementi. It seems to me he's on his last chance to stay in UFC and this fight with Siver is make it or break it. Siver has good striking credentials and has decent ground game, at least defensively. Siver's loss to Gray Maynard only showed his toughness and ability to stay in the fight when the going gets tough. Picking Siver because he is a serious fighter unlike the underachiving Guilldard.
Jorge Gurgel Vs. Cole Miller - hmm.. I could be entertaining for a little bit, but neither are impressive fighters. Miller should be able to land a tonn on Gurgel's face early on given his reach advantage and hopefully finish it there. There is a chance that Gurgel could smarten up for this fight and try doing the ground game as soon as can, but I think Cole's been training with Marcus Aurelius for this fight at American Top Team and his ground game should be as tight as ever. Picking Cole by Gurgel's inability to do anything serious.
Gabriel Gonzaga Vs. Justin McCully - Gonzaga was on top of the world after KOing Mirco CroCop and should not have had much shame inlosing to Randy Couture. But then fell apart in his cowardly loss to Fabricio Werdum. He definitely took a giant step back as a fighter that night. So hopefully he got some type of help with the mental aspects of the game which nowadays is becoming a necessity for many top fighters, see Chuck Liddell's use of Tony Robinson. Zuffa is throwing Gonzaga a bone here and having him face a scrub really, Tito "The embarrased" Ortiz's training parner Justin McCully. Should be an easy win for Gonzaga by whatever he wants, picking him by a head kick probably.
Tyson Griffin Vs. Marcus Aurelio - Clay Guida vs Marcus Aurelio should have been a barn burner too, but Marcus supposedly got the "UFC debut jitters" and Clay shaked his long hair enough for a split decision. I believe in Tyson Griffin to not be too scared of Aurelio and really push the action. But I think Aurelio got past the jitters and being more comfortable being in UFC should be able to at least decision Griffin, if not submit him. Picking Aurelio
Josh Koscheck Vs. Chris Lytle - this one is a tough one for me to pick because Lytle has fought some tough competition and even responded to recent critisims of being to timid with being more agressive. Koscheck will be definitely stronger of the two and I hope he'll not be smart and stand with Lytle. Picking Lytle by TKO of some type
Joe Stevenson Vs. Gleison Tibau - Stevenson will most likely come back strong from his bloody affair with BJ Penn and show off his great ground game coupled with constantly pushing the action. Picking Stevenson by decision
Patrick Cote Vs. Ricardo Almeida - I really like Cote and glad he has a 3 fight winning streak with some cool knockouts in his last two fights, but he has very little chance against Almeida. Many years ago, Renzo Gracie's top dog Almeida had a rough run in UFC, then he went to beat up a bunch of tough guys in the longest running Japanese promotion, Pancrase, including Nathan Marquardt and then decided to take an unexpected break to concentrate on the art of jiu-jitsu and teaching. Well, not that UFC is out in the open and is very popular I guess he got another itch to fight and make some serious money this time. His comeback fight in UFC was quick and impressive. Picking Almeida to make a statement and get a title shot at Anderson Silva, though I don't he's ready for that one just yet.
Quinton Jackson Vs. Forrest Griffin - I have lots of emotions about this one. I've been following Rampage since his days in KOTC and Pride, UFC should man up and release Rampage's greatest Prefight Interviews DVD cause there is some funny stuff there. He did pretty good for himself since his entrance to UFC and if Chuck's KO could be argued as a fluke, he did beat Dan Henderson handily. Forrest beat Mauricio Shogun in his last fight which was awesome. I think everyone was rooting for him and he pulled it off smashingly. That night he certainly could hold his own and push for a decisive win. So Forest beat Shogun, Shogun beat Rampage, so….blah blah blah. In reality Rampage wasn't well when he fought Shogun, Shogun wasn't well when he fought Forrest. Rampage has loads more experience of facing top notch competition than Forrest and it will show tonight. I have a feeling this will be some what similar to Wanderlei Silva showing everyone Keith Jardine isn't quite there yet and Rampage will do the same with Forrest. Picking Rampage
Now go order it ……it starts in 30 mins!
Say It Ain’t So: WEC Headed to Pay-Per-View?
There’s plenty to love about the WEC. Zuffa’s brand of minor league MMA features competitive bouts between lesser-known fighters, including the lighter weight classes that get so little love in other organizations. But does that mean MMA fans are willing to pay extra for it? Dana White seems to think so, as he told […]
UFC 87 Georges St. Pierre vs Jon Fitch, Brock Lesnar vs Heath Herring quick picks
I didn't get a chance to do quick picks for last few UFC events, but the picks are back. Here they are this UFC 87: Seek and Destroy. Obviously St. Pierre vs Fitch, Lesnar and Roger Huerta vs Kenny Florian are interesting fight, but the rest of the card on paper is so so for me.
Cheick Kongo Vs. Dan Evensen - Kongo was kinda ripped off in favor of no talent hack Heath Herring in his last fight but showed some improvement in his ground game and I think came away with a few lessons from the fight. That's all that matters in a close loss like that and Kongo will be better off. Evenson fought in Bodog several times but hasn't beaten anyone of note. UFC's heavyweight division is lacking right now so they're bringing him in to feed to Kongo. Picking Kongo by KO
Luke Cummo Vs. Tamdan McCrory - should be a fun fight as both of the guys have decent standup and like to push the action in their fights. Picking Tamdan McCrory based on his better record of winning against better fighters and his reach.
Jason MacDonald Vs. Demian Maia - another fight that has the potential to be pretty exciting from the ground game perspective. Both MacDonald and Maia's previous victories were exciting finishes. Picking Maia by submission.
Manny Gamburyan Vs. Rob Emerson - Rob Emerson has actually faced several good guys like Pulver, Vasquez, Mishima in his MMA career prior to his appearance on the Ultimate Fighter TV show. Gamburyan has gotten on a few win streak, both by submissions, since list injury loss to Nate Diaz. Seems like Emerson has had issues with good ground guys in the past, so I'm picking Manny Gamburyan by a few very hard rights, takedown, some pounding and submission.
Kenny Florian Vs. Roger Huerta - after watching UFC 87 Countdown and watching the Roger Huerta segment all I can say is wow. What a story! It's amazing what he has achieved coming off his childhood experiences. He was lucky to have had the people that helped him get on his feet, but his hard work and determination kept him on course. This completely throws out his image of happy go lucky mexican college kid who's fed easy fights. Come on, Clay Guida is an easy fight?
Onto Kenny Florian. He is very intelligent and established himself as a lifelong learner of MMA. His dedication and motivation to be the best has been showing in his recent fights. With that said, I think Huerta's has more power and faster pace, so I'm picking Roger Huera by an exciting decision.
Brock Lesnar Vs. Heath Herring - picking Brock Lesnar to give Heath Herring a retirement beating. Straight right, takedown, vicious ground and pount till TKO. Herring still sucks on the ground after 11 years of being in MMA. This will be much like Jake O'Brian's domination of Herring, only Brock Lesnar will do killer damage.
Georges St-Pierre Vs. Jon Fitch - the event will start in a few minutes, so I'm out of time. Picking Georges St. Pierre by a clean win over the blood and guts of Jon Fitch in a long exciting and gruelling fight!
UFC Octagon Girls Powerpoint / Picture Slideshow For Myspace, Facebook Etc
I recently saw a new website called Slideshare.net and thought that it would be cool if someone made a UFC Octagon Girl Slideshow presentation that could be posted to Myspace, Facebook or whatever. So here it is, with all of your favorite UFC ring girls including Ali Sonoma, Arianny Celeste, Edith Larente, Amber Nichole Miller […]
Brett Rogers directs anger at Ken Shamrock and "Kimbo," not EliteXC 
Despite being skipped over for a much-desired fight with fellow undefeated heavyweight Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson (3-0), Brett Rogers (8-0) has no ill will toward EliteXC.
In fact, all his anger is now directed at Kimbo and his recently announced opponent, UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock (26-13-2).
Although Rogers has declined recent interview requests, his camp today issued a statement through fiveouncesofpain.com — one in which he calls Kimbo “more myth [than] Sasquatch, Chupacabra and a [expletive] unicorn combined” and Shamrock “103 years” old and a “Jurassic MMA” fighter.
Pictures: Jason Lambert trains for UFC 80
Dave Mandel captured this exclusive photo gallery of Jason Lambert (Pictures), who squares off against Wilson Gouveia (Pictures) this weekend at UFC 80 in England
Sep 13, 2008 - Mainstream MMA 10 - Reloaded
By Mainstream MMA on Saturday, August 30, 2008
Mainstream MMA 10 - Reloaded (Mainstream MMA) on 9/13/2008
Not making weight needs tougher consequences…
Within the last couple of weeks, an issue has arose that usually hasn’t caused too much of a fuss in the past when it comes to weigh-ins. Fighters usually make their contracted weight since they are professional athletes and are being paid to cut down to their respective weight classes. Unfortunately for the fighters, fans, and promotions, not everyone is able to make weight as easily as the next person.
Today, Thiago Alves, who is scheduled to take on Matt Hughes in the UFC 85 main event, missed his weight by nearly 4 pounds. He weighed in at a bloated 174 pounds.
To most fans, four pounds may not seem like a lot of weight to stir the pot over. Four pounds can easily be overcome by a small amount of strength, but the bigger issue here is that Thiago cut down from a larger weight. Obviously, only cutting down to 174 is going to allow him to be a bit bigger come fight time. Will this be a factor? Probably not, and there are other issues that arise when a fighter doesn’t make weight.
The most important issue is professionalism. These are professional athletes being paid to make their weight, fight their fights, and make a lot of money doing so if they can be successful. In order to make those dreams a reality, each fighter must rely on their opponents to make their scheduled weights as well. In this case, Hughes agreed to take fight with the overage, but it’s likely he will get a cut of the purse.
I ask this question… at what point does someone speak up and ask why these fighters continually miss weight without further consequences. Do we seriously have to put up with Gina Carano missing her weight nearly every single fight?
My solution… multiple offenders should have an escalating scale of disciplinary action. While the purse percentage is a perfect way to hurt these fighters who are missing weight, making weight should be a priority as a fighter gets close to their fight date. Gina Carano is making some good money, and 10% here and there may not hurt her much. How about we push some percentage on top of that if she misses weight again and again? What if 50% of her purse was on the line? Would she make weight then? I would think it would be a huge priority then.
Modafferi on State of Female MMA
Sherdog.com’s Tony Loiseleur sat down with recent AFL signee Roxanne Modafferi (Pictures) to discuss the current state of female mixed martial arts
Regular posting to resume Monday
Sorry to the readership here for the non-updates this week. Since I analyze MMA during the work week, sometimes WORK actually gets in the way. Swamped at work right now, but I will resume my usual analysis of the MMA landscape on Monday.
I'll have some time this week to start posting regularly again hopefully. The Affliction, DREAM, and UFC cards will all be recapped, but I must say one thing to all the doubters out there. Fedor's pure domination of Tim Sylvia was textbook of what I believed he would show to all the fans who haven't seen him in awhile. Fedor's underrated standup game has always baffled me when it came to what other critics thought. He's always been stunningly quick in his approach and also threw huge punches with power that simply look too fast for anyone to see.
Plain and simple, Fedor hit Sylvia with nearly 5-6 straight power shots consecutively on the chin. For a top 3-5 heavyweight that Tim Sylvia is, his defense was absolutely destroyed by Fedor's quickness. I hope this puts into perspective what heavyweights around the world must deal with. Fedor is truly the complete fighter, and he's a machine that will likely not be stopped anytime soon.
UFC Fight Night Anderson Silva vs James Irvin thoughts
I'm sure it's been talked about to death by other MMA outlets, but I'm going to chime in on this anyways. Dana White says he isn't "threatened by a T-Shirt company" (Affliction Clothing's first PPV event evah), YET he goes out and puts on a free Fight Night on Spike TV with a STUPID main event with only a few decent match ups. Ya, I get why UFC did it but as most I'm sure predicted it turned out for the worse. Anyways… I still watched it.
Anderson Silva vs James The Scrub Irvin - well, they circled for a while, sure enough Irvin throws a low kick, Silva catches it, counters and Irvin folds for a paycheck. WTF was the point?
Brandon Vera vs Reese Andy - I used to make excuses for Vera and his crappy performances after his contract disputes, which didn't do him any good, but after his tonight's performance I say stick a fork in him for a while and let him go see Tony Robbins, who did wonders for Chuck Liddell. I don't buy Vera's lack of any type of triggerering mechanism against a guy who can't take you down or strike with you on weight cutting. After the first round even a strategerist like Tito Ortiz would have realize that his opponent had nearly non-existent offence and that all Vera had to do is jab Andy's chest and follow up with some crosses or jumping knees or high kicks or wtfever. Seriously, I like Lloyd Irving's Grappling Plan and all, but he isn't doing anything for Vera's obvious flaws with his mental aspect of the fight game.
Hermes Franca vs Franky Edgar - at first I thought - cool, former title challenger vs rising star but then the fight took place. Franky Edgar kept a fast pace and Franca didn't care at all about getting taken down. So Edgar took him down and worked him over with repeated elbows. Joe Rogan tried to defend Franca's relaxation routine under elbow assault saying he's just waiting to explode. Good timing for Rogan cause Franca did almost pull off a nice armbar, but Edgar just as nicely escaped and proceded to gift Franca with face swelling elbows. It was all Edgar most of the fight for a relatively unanimous decision. This fight left me wondering though why would Franca just give the fight away? He's just one of those guys that tries to do everything last minute, unfortuntely for him the hard workers of the world will cosistenly come out on topof the slackers.
Cain Velasquez vs Jake O'Brien - Heavyweight division is kinda hurting so it was good to have this fight to expose Velasquez a bit. He was on a mission and he completed it with non stop punching of trapped O'Brien's head. Kudos to Yamasaki for letting it go for a while so that there weren't any doubts.
Anthony Johnson Vs. Kevin Burns - Burns did impress everyone by beating a really tough Roan Carneiro with a submission in his last fight. However Anthony Johnson made him look very average. The fight was ok until Johnson started feeling more comfortable in the second round and began to pick Burns apart, however lazy. Burns poked Johnson in the eyes about three times in second and in the third round he did it again and really deep. Johnson falls downs, he can't continue, replays show a finger jab going straight into his eye and they award victory to Burns? WTF?
Jesse Taylor Vs. CB Dollaway - I'm glad Jesse was brought back, but at the same time why make such a big deal on the TV show, take him off the Finale show and bring him back not a month later. When did he have time to go to the Alchoholics Anonymous, EH? Anyways, the fight was good, Jesse was controlling CB pretty well, till CB pulled a nice Marcello Garcia move to get behind Jesse and set up his now famous peruvian neck tie choke.
On it's own and without the stupid main event, this Fight Night was ok for me. But considering why it was put on, it was bust. Especially knowing how the competing event went. Dana should be ashamed of his ego, not willing to set up Randy vs Fedor and trying to be a bastard when others do it without him.
All odds are from BestFightOdds.com, aggregator to all the odds on various sites around the Internet. Check out their site for the best odds on each fight at UFC 85
UFC 85 isn’t shaping up to be a heavy betting event like some of the others we have seen in the past. For the most part, many of the higher profile fights have lines that are close to one another. Nonetheless, there still are some steals in the mix.
Vera vs. Werdum
While I believe Vera is going to have a significant standup advantage, it’s hard to say how well Werdum’s move to Chute Box is improving his striking skills. He may very well come out with much improved striking along with a size advantage. If he can use that size advantage on the ground as well, it’s very possible he could beat Vera there. It’s a risky bet, but Werdum is looming at +150 right now. A small bet might be something to think about.
Davis vs. Swick
Davis is sitting at EVEN to -105, but Sportsbook actually has him at +105 currently. I firmly believe Davis can crush Swick, and with some sites underdogging him slightly, it’s tough not to bet some small change on this one.
Lambert vs. Cane
If you believe that Lambert’s horrible boxing technique will show up once again against Cane, this may be the betting line of the evening. Cane has some great standup skills, but it’s hard to imagine Lambert not getting a takedown and pounding him out. Nonetheless, Cane could expose Lambert’s striking once again. At +135, it’s small bet worthy.
Hughes vs. Alves
A lot of fans think Hughes is going to win, and I’ll admit that my prediction of Alves winning isn’t solid. It’s definitely a chance. Regardless, Alves is sitting at +170 at the moment. For those fans believing in Alves’s standup game and Hughes’s aging skills, this could be the big bet of the night.
Liaudin vs. Taylor
I’ll include this one for the mere fact that Liaudin does have some submission skills that could catch Taylor. Sitting at +200 on most sites, it’s a nice 2 to 1 betting line.
Day vs. Bisping
+300 is a bit ridiculous for this fight for Day. While he isn’t a top middleweight, he still holds a solid record and has knockout power. For the chance that Day catches Bisping, big winnings could come from the 3 to 1 odds.
For some great betting action, check out BetUS. Join and receive $60 free with a deposit of $100 or more. Click the banner below to sign up or click here. Trust me, it definitely makes the lower ranked fights much more fun to watch when a small amount of change is involved, and ya never know, you might come out with some big winnings.
Donofrio Presents: Meadow Brook Cage Fight Festival
Donofrio Entertainment Returns September 6 at Meadow Brook Music Festival in Rochester Hills, Michigan, with another installment of his Caged Warrior Combat series featuring live, full-contact MMA action. On Saturday, September 6, promoter Joseph Donofrio of Donofrio Entertainment will return to the Meadow Brook Music Festival in Rochester Hills, Michigan, for another of […]
Rutten: Kimbo Gets Shamrock Now, Others Later
Bas Rutten’s powerful presence in the mixed martial arts world can be largely attributed to two names outside his own: Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and Ken Shamrock.
Ferguson (3-0) gained an unprecedented amount of legitimacy as a street brawler when he began formal MMA training under