Friday, June 30, 2006

Pride FC Open Weight Grand Prix Round 2


July 1st, the 2nd Round of the Open Weight Grand Prix takes place. Things now get more interesting with Fedor stepping aside (due to injury) and Wanderlei Silva stepping in. This is the cream of the crop fighting in perhaps, the greatest MMA tournament to date.

Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro " Nogueira (27-3-1) vs Fabricio Werdum (8-1-1): This should be a ground and submission battle, with both being very skilled here. Fabricio has been working on his stand up with Cro Cop, but Rod has a thick Noggin and a KO probably wont' be a factor. Minotauro has more experience and skills. Antonio should win this bout and continue on as the favorite to win the Grand Prix. WINNER-Nogueira by submission rd.2

Mirko "Cro Cop" (18-4-2) vs Hidehiko Yoshida (7-3-1): This will be a close fight, or a blowout (I like to cover my ass on picks). Yoshida is the judo master on the ground, while Cro Cop is one of the most feared strikers in the world. Cro Cop can sprawl well, and must, keeping Yoshida away with the jab setting up a high kick. Mirko must not let this get to the judges card either, where he has tasted recent defeats and Yoshida being the hometown hero. Yoshida will brawl (as evident with his fights against Silva) and Cro Cop should try to lure him into a slugfest. Cro Cop has come so close to being "the" elite fighter, he is hungry enough to do whatever is takes to advance on in the tournament. WINNER-Cro Cop by TKO rd.1

"The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva (30-5-1) vs Kazuyuki "Ironhead" Fujita (13-4): Yet another great match made by Pride (UFC take note). Both men are stand up fighters who throw to absolutely kill you. Fujita has never been KO'd and has much more weight on Silva. Wanderlei will be must faster with strikes as well as more accurate. Don't look for the submission in this fight (Note:Silva has never submitted anyone in his 36 fights!). This fight will probably go on and on. Silva must win on points and avoid being KO'd. WINNER-Silva by decision

Josh "Lovehandles" Barnett (17-3) vs Mark "Larger Love Handles" Hunt(5-1): Both men like to bang, but Barnett has far more skills on the ground and all around better game. Still, only Yoshida has been able to take Hunt down and do anything with it. Recent losses aside, Barnett has been very impressive in his career and should find a way to win this provided, he avoids the KO blow. WINNER-Barnett by decision

Non-Tournament Matches:

Nakamura (8-5) vs "Cyborg" Santos (14-8): Both of these men are susceptible to being caught off guard. Cyborg is making his debut against the Japanese Judo expert. Its Chute Box (Santos) vs Yoshida Dojo, two great camps. Obviously, the ground will defeat Santos while the stand up will be owned by Cyborg. WINNER-Nakamura by submission rd.1

Vitor "The Disappointment" Belfort (13-7) vs Yoshiki Takahashi (28-13-3): Merry X-Mas Vitor! Pride has given you a 37 year old gift to beat by KO. This is a building match, trying to get Vitor respectable again, so they can feed him to Wanderlei later this year. Look for Vitor to screw it up some way or another. I almost can't watch, leery of what nonsense Vitor will pull next. Since the thigh is magically healed.....WINNER-Belfort by KO rd.1 (surely?)

Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira (11-2) vs Alistair "Demolition Man"Overeem (24-7): Look closely ladies and gents, this may not be who you think it is. Rogerio not Rodrigo (who is fighting on this same card against Werdum). MinotOro not MinotAUro. Get it? Anywho, Nog's twin brother is returning after a loss in June of last year. Overeem is coming off a win in a lame ass bout (I can't use the word fight) against Belfort. MinotOro is a decision fighter who doesn't finish fights well while Overeem can strike and submit when in good shape. This could be a very close fight with two solid fighters. Clincher, Overeem already beat this guy by decision in February of 2005. I don't see this rematch much differently. WINNER-Overeem by decision

Yoshihiro "Kiss Of Death" Nakao (4-0) vs Lee Eun Su (?-?): Nakao is the guy who in K-1, thought he should give Heath Herring a kiss before their match on New Year's Eve. Heath promptly KO'd him before the match began, and Nakao is taken out on a stretcher. Fastforward to now, Nakao is the "Heavyweight Hope" for the Japanese. I have no friggin clue who Lee Eun Su is, but I'm guessing he is a punching bag for the "Next Fujita." Nakao is hyped up so much for the Japanese he should do something stupid here (like maybe try to grab Su's ass before the fight). WINNER-Nakao by TKO rd.1

Pawel Nastula (0-2) vs Edson Drago (9-0): I'm going out on a limb on this one....WINNER-Drago by KO rd.1

Besides the final fight, this is a stacked card with some of the best fighters in the world. The PPV is worth it for the tournament part alone. UFC should pay attention after the horrible show they put on Wednesday (Ultimate Fight Night 5). There should be a lot of really close matches on this card so sit back and enjoy!-MMA Mafia

Monday, June 26, 2006

TUF 3 Finale Results


Mike Nickels defeats Wes Combs by rear naked choke rd.1

Mike "What?" Hamill defeats Jesse Forbes by sad TKO of rd.1

Luigi Fioravanti defeats Solomon "Dagga" by Ko of rd.1

Kalib Starnes defeats a guy who'll never be back by rear naked choke rd.1

Rory Singer got lucky after almost being KO'd by Ross Pointon winning in rd.1

Keith Jardine got a hard fought victory over Gouveia by unanimous decision.

Kendall Grove some how got the unanimous decision over Ed Herman, who I, and the crowd, and the internet community, thought won. It was a very close exciting fight where both men fought the fight of their lives!

Randy Couture was inducted into the UFC Hall Of Fame.

Michael Bisping beat the crap out of a very tough Josh Haynes, winning by bloody TKO in rd.2

JENS PULVER was announced as officially back with the UFC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kenny Florian defeats another stand up fighter with no ground game by choke, quickly in rd.1

Well, the Ed/Kendall fight was great, though many disagree with the decision. Bisping looked great and dominated Haynes and was wildly popular with the crowd. Kalib Starnes is the only other fighter from the show ready for the UFC. JENS PULVER, the former, and only Lightweight UFC champion, has signed to return to the UFC!!!! This is great and he must be in the title hunt immediately! He can also handle the commentary duties (as he showed here tonight and in the IFL) as he helped call the main event. Not a great card, (Sam Stout embarrassed himself), but what do you expect for a free show? A much better free show will be Ultimate Fight Night 5 Wednesday on Spike TV.

Friday, June 23, 2006

Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale On Spike TV


June 24th on Spike TV, the live Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale will air on Spike TV. The season was plagued with the back and forth (staged) bickering between Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz, but this night should (finally) belong to the fighters. The only stand out of the season has to be Michael Bisping who at 10-0, seems to be ready to jump into the top ten Light Heavyweight fighters in the UFC. Other than him, the show gave us a look at average fighters, acting annoying and like children in a cramped house for 6 weeks. Though, Ross Pointon has become my new favorite. He may not be the best fighter, but he has a ton of heart, pride, and courage. Not to mention, he's funny as hell. Now, on to the fights....

Kenny "Kenflo" Florian vs Sam "Hands Of Stone" Stout: This will be for the #1 contender spot, and a chance to be demolished by Sean Sherk for the Lightweight title (coming soon). Kenny has sharp elbows and ju-jitsu while Sam is a kickboxer with speed as well. This fight comes down to a mat technician, vs a stand up fighter.
WINNER-Sam Stout Sam survived a tough fight with Spencer Fisher and Kenny beat the highly overrated Kit Cope. In this fight, Sam uses his sprawl to stop the takedowns and KO's the also highly overrated Kenflo. Ken's one chance is a sub or cut, but Stout must not be taken down!! Kenny, go home and stop bothering people.

Keith "Dean Of Mean" Jardine (10-2-1) vs Wilson Gouveia (6-3): Keith is coming off his controversial loss to Stephan Bonnar. Wilson is coming off a KO win in an hasn't fought anyone worth a shit. Keith is all around while Wilson, well, he's going to lose.
WINNER-Jardine The only question on this fight is how will Jardine win. He's fought at a much higher level, and is coming in to avenge his recent loss to Bonnar to get back in the Light Heavyweight hunt.

"The Count" Michael Bisping (10-2) vs Josh "BTP" Haynes (7-4): The Count is a stand up fighter with perfect strikes and some submissions. BTP is a Team Quest member who, of course, is a wrestler with some striking ability and all his wins came by submission.
WINNER-Bisping The Count is ready. The guy has the talent to make some noise in the Light Heavyweight division. It would be a huge upset if he loses this fight to an average fighter. But, the UK native should roll right through Haynes who has no future in the UFC.

Kendall "Spyder" Grove (5-3) vs Ed "Short Fuse" Herman (10-3): Kendall was at least amusing on the show, while Ed was a jerk, and pretty much acted like a child throughout the season. However, the Team Quest member (Ed), has great wrestling (shock), and Randy Couture has billed him as the "next big thing." Kendall has a lot of reach with his long, lanky, arms and legs. He has good submissions and can strike from a distance. But can he keep Ed from taking him down?
WINNER-Ed Herman The answer is no. Ed will keep coming until he gets Kendall down, and then the continuous assault will take place. Ed will be in shape for this fight (unlike on the show), but will get a good fight from Ken. Grove will need some luck, he isn't a huge underdog, in what could be a good close fight.

Rory "Is Gay" Singer (8-5) vs Ross "Gladiator" Pointon (4-6): Look, Rory has all the physical gifts as well as much better competition coming into this fight. He only weakness has been just giving up mentally. Ross, well Ross is a heavy hitter. He's also very funny and has courage for days. The problem is, he's just not that good.
WINNER-Pointon HA, tricked ya. I'm going with my heart, and the heavy underdog. I bet I'm the only one picking Ross but who cares. I like him, he deserves it, and big KO power, and Rorys is an annoying prick. Ross continues the "Year of the Upset!"

Kalib Starnes (6-0-1) vs Danny Abaddi (0-0): Kalib was my pick to win the damn thing before the rib injury. He's back, in good shape, and the #1 ranked contender at 185 in Canada. The guy has all the skills and should come in hungry to showcase his talent. Daniel is making his MMA debut. The guy has good hands and kickboxing, but nothing on the ground, and should be an easy kill for Kalib.
WINNER-Starnes He is a HUGE favorite against a one dimensional fighter. Still, watch out for the KO punch from the boxer.

Luigi Fioravanti (7-1) vs Solomon "Dagger" Huchenson( 6-2): Dagger returns, and exits just as fast. Solomon has some talent, but Luigi has heavy hands and hung well against Chris Leben earning this fight. Luigi has also fought better competition and Solomon has better ground skills.
WINNER-Luigi My gut says Solomon, but smart money is on Luigi. This could be a good, close, brawl.

Matt "What?" Hamill (0-0) vs Jesse Forbes (1-0): Matt is the deaf super wrestler who doesn't like to get hit. Jesse is the young kid who seems to make mistakes while winning fights.
WINNER-What? Matt should take this fairly easily with his great wrestling skills. Jesse's only shot is to put Matt in a war, and make him uncomfortable with the strikes.

Wes "Soldier" Combs (12-0) vs Mike Nickels (3-1): Wes has 9 KO's and Mike has some of the worst hands I've ever seen. All the experience is with Wes who is a KOTC veteran.
WINNER-Wes Obviously by KO.

To recap, Bisping, Herman, and Starnes are really the only Ultimate Fighter 3 contestants to watch. They have real chances to do well. ? marks are can Matt take the hits to be successful, will Wes continue to dominate, and can Ross pull the unthinkable upset? There could be some decent fights here, though they probably won't end up on TV unless the main events end quickly. This ends the lame season 3, but in August comes season 4 with veterans on the cast and new hope.-MMA Mafia

Monday, June 19, 2006

Pride FC Signs New Talent Contracts




Even while in yakuza controversy, Pride continues to move forward signing 3 new contracts for fighters. In the biggest suprise, Vitor Belfort (13-7) was RE-signed for 3 more fights with Pride. Vitor has lost 4 of his last 5 fights, including the lackluster rematch with Alistair Overeem in which the crowd walked out of the fight. Pride can use Vitor in their sister organization WEC, or sell him out to other promotions much like they just did with Strikeforce (for the Overeem fight). This along with the fact they want Vitor to rematch Wanderlei Silva (whom Vitor beat early in his career) could explain why they signed a fighter who hasn't been impressive in a fight in quite some time.

Pride has also signed heavyweight Yoshihiro Nakao (4-0). This is a home town favorite from K-1 who is infamous for kissing Heath Herring before their fight on New Year's Eve, and getting KO'd. Nakao has wins over Cabbage Correira and Don Frye. He is an amateur wrestler who debut at the July 1st PPV against an as yet unnamed heavyweight.

Finally, Pride signed Chute Boxe member Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos (14-8). This exciting 200lb.er loves and I mean loves to fight stand up wars and always makes his fights exciting and brutal. He debut has not yet been announced though it is assumed he will fight on the Bushido series.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Bill Goldberg Joins WFA


In yet more unnecessary news, Bill Goldberg of WWE/WCW/Santa Claws The Movie fame, has joined the commentary crew for WFA. Great, yet another fake fighter/prowrestler gives credence to an otherwise legitimate sport. Awesome and great move WFA! We are trying to get MMA respected and taken seriously, and you bring in Bill "I'm a B-Actor and Lame Wrestler" Goldberg. Finally, that .05 demographic of fans who still believe Pro Wrasslin' is real. That's a good demographic, a lot of money to be made there.

If anyone cares, also former Pro Wrestler (do I have to say "Pro," I feel like an idiot when I do) Brock Lesnar is debating contracts between K-1 and UFC. He was supposed to sign to fight Bob Sapp in K-1, but with his troubles there (with Yakuza and death threats) the match was called off. Now Brock is free to, aw fuck it, I hope he gets KO'd by a lightweight where ever he signs. Wrestlers ("Pro" or whatever fuck I said it again?) cannot transfer successfully to MMA, just ask Sean O'Haire.-MMA Mafia

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Strikeforce Revenge Lackluster Night


Strikeforce (ha, picture is of Strike Force tag team, get it?) put on their 2nd show saturday night and nobody was impressed. The event was called "Revenge" with Vitor Belfort getting another shot at Alistair Overeem. The 1st time they fought, Overeem won by choke. This time the experts were saying Vitor's head was right and he was giving away his "life story" books to everyone in attendance.
Instead, we got the same old Vitor, head case who would not finish his fight. As always Vitor came out strong with his fast hands and even wound up with the mount on Alistair. Vitor could do little with it and the ref had to stand them up. From there, they battled and Vitor began his weird "pulling guard" position every time his fists didn't land. This happened non-stop in the fight, even into the later rounds which caused most of the crowd in attendance to exit the building before the unanimous decision for Overeem was read. Another head shaking fight for Belfort, but congrats to Alistair for stepping up to take the fight on short notice, and after a tough loss in pride.

Cung Le won his 2nd MMA fight against a tomato can by TKO.

Daniel Puder won his 3rd MMA fight by armbar against a nobody.

Gilbert Melendez defeated Clayton Guida for the Lightweight Title by split decision, though the fight was not close and Melendez clearly won. What was interesting, was before the weigh in for the fight, an anonymous call to the athletic commission promted Melendez to take 2 uring tests before the fight. He passed both and while this went on, Josh Thompson and Clayton exchanged more words over their previous fight and the "cheating" Josh said went on. Josh won his fight on this card and you would think he'd get another shot at Guida who just beat him the PPV before. However, Guida called out Jochim Hansen claiming they had been arguing on the internet (yawn) and the winner would get a title shot at Gomi in Pride. We'll wait and see if any of this is true, and hope the bitter rivals Guida/Thompson will fight again and settle their nasty fued.

Bobby Southworth was set to fight James Irvin but James came in overweight. Bobby allowed James to fight anyway, and was awarded $1,500 of Irvin's purse. When the fight began, the two clinched into the cage where the door gave way and the fighters crashed to the floor. Why the door wasn't immediately closed we'll never know (seems pretty standard to latch the damn thing) but James claimed he hurt his knee causing the fight to be ruled a no-contest 17 seconds into the 1st round. Nice job Strikeforce.

Also on hand, Frank Shamrock came out with Phil Baroni (fresh off his embarassing lost in the Pride Welterweight Tournament) to promote their upcoming bout for Strikeforce. One thing is for sure, this promotion needs to get their act together and have some decent fights on a pathetic undercard. Also, Baroni main eventing anything is just sad. An all around piss poor event with crappy fighters with the exception of Overeem, Melendez, and Thompson.-MMA Mafia

Hopkins Upsets Tarver

The "Year Of The Upset" continues as Bernard "Executioner" Hopkins (47-4-1) defeated Antonio "Big Mouth" Tarver (24-4) for the Light Heavyweight title. The 41 year old Hopkins dominated the 37 year old Tarver with uppercuts and a steady assault even knocking down the former champ once. Antonio's eyes were both very swollen by the end of the fight. Tarver also lost a $250,000 bet with Hopkins that the fight would be stopped within 5 rounds. We're not saying Tarver took Hopkins lightly, but he did gain almost 40lbs. for his role in the upcoming Rocky Balboa (Rocky 6) movie, which he was forced to lose for this 174lb. weight limit.

Congrats to Hopkins on a dominating performance winning on all the judges score cards and winning almost every round. Despite the win, Bernard Hopkins claims he is still retiring after this fight.-
MMA Mafia

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Fuji TV Cancels Deal With Pride FC



In a stunning though not unforeseen move, Fuji TV, has cancelled all dealings with Dreamsage Entertainment, the company that promotes Pride FC. For Americans, this would be like the UFC losing a TV deal with NBC, or another national station. Public relations for Fuji TV said, "An accidents which interrupts to continue our relationship occurred in the agency. It was a violation of our contract." Yes I know, the english not good, but to say in Merican, DSE was dumped because of ties to the Yakuza. The equivalent of the Cosa Nostra, or Mafia, in Japan. This group (Yakuza) is very powerful and very real in Japan.

As the story goes, in January of 2003, then Pride FC president, Naoto Morishita held a press conference hyping up the company and speaking positively about their recent growth and development. He then went to his office where he committed suicide. The Japanese press long believed it was murder. It is well known in Japan that the Yakuza has ties in boxing, kickboxing, Pro Wrestling, and MMA. The Japanese press and many MMA fans have long said the Yakuza had an input, if not the entire say, in Pride's business. Current Pride FC president, Sakakibara, and general manager Takada, have long held ties to Goto, a man well known in the Yakuza clan. Sakakibara has even been seen at Yakuza tattoo ceremonies in public. Recently, when MMA star Sakuraba left the company for K-1, Yakuza men were rumored to have been sent to literally block the star's driveway and convince him to stay in Pride. Back in 2003 when Naoto died, Pride held an event called "Inoki Bonbaie." At this event, heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko was confronted by Professional Wrestler Nagata (who also has Yakuza ties) and three men. Police say the three men tried to extort 200 million yen and were arrested.

It wasn't just these incidents but a growing concern over the Japanese press constantly finding connections between Pride and the Yakuza. Fuji TV made a decision and cancelled their show. So what does this mean for us MMA fans? Well, the Fuji TV deal was where Pride got most of its money to keep its talent signed and seen by the public. They have now lost financial backing and now the shows will be Pay Per View. We could very well see many of the Pride roster following Sakuraba to K-1 or even the UFC. The current welterweight and open weight tournaments are now in hiatus, and may never be completed. President Sakakibara is supposed to make a announcement at a press conference soon. -MMA Mafia

Friday, June 02, 2006

Bas Rutten vs Kimo is Official in the WFA



Bas "El Guapo" Rutten (27-4-1) will return to MMA action in the WFA, facing the legendary Hawaiian Kimo Leopoldo (9-5-1). Bas is 41 years old and hasn't fought since 1999 when he beat Kevin Randleman for the UFC heavyweight title. Kimo last fought in July of 2005 in a submission loss to Ikuhisa Minowa and is 38 years old.

Both guys are older, but still very dangerous fighters. Kimo is an absolute monster who has faced many legends (Shamrock, Royce, Sakuraba, TK, Dan Severn, ect). Bas was a Pancrase legend with many titles and faced Ken & Frank Shamrock, TK, Maurice Smith, and Guy Mezger. Bas is a legend who had to retire early due to an injury in training. Many consider Rutten one of the best MMA fighters of all time and have wondered for years how he could do today. The difference between this fight and the Miletich/Gracie, is both of these fighters were achieved legendary status in MMA, and fought at a much higher level.

Another reason this fight is interesting, is this all came about when Kimo and Bas got into an argument at a photo shoot. Angered words were exchanged and Kimo left the shoot early. Bas then requested someone get him into a ring, or cage, for a fight.

This July 22nd show called, "King Of The Streets," will also feature the Matt Lindland/Quinton Jackson fight. Other participants will include Ivan Salavarry vs Art Santore, Ricco Rodriguez vs Kevin Waterman, Ryoto Michida vs Tiger White, and possibly Jason Miller, Rob McCullough, Kit Cope, and Tiki. The WFA's return show is shaping up to be a real good event. More official fights will be announced soon.-MMA Mafia

Pat Miletich vs Renzo Gracie In The IFL



June 3rd at the 2nd IFL show, the new company will be announcing"The Croatian Sensation" Pat Miletich (28-6-2) will return to fight, Renzo Gracie (10-6-1). Renzo last fought in 2005 losing a decision to BJ Penn. Pat last fought in 2002 losing to Matt Lindland. Neither fighter has been dominant in quite some time and at 38, and 39 years of age, one has to wonder what the draw will be for such a bout. The answer is simply their names.

Pat Miletich has built success as a former UFC champ who began the Miletich Fighting System. This camp spawned such talent as Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia, Spencer Fisher, Jason Black, Jens Pulver, and many more. Renzo brings the legendary Gracie name to the card. The fact remains, both of these fighters are past their prime and have had multiple losses while active fighters. Both men will use their submission styles for what should be a very technical bout. This fight will help promote the IFL as well as their teams (both are coaches) though the fight means little else.

Fighting on the card, fellow family member Daniel Gracie (3-1-1) will have his rematch versus Wes "The Project"Sims (10-7-1). Both young heavyweights will be ready for this grudge match and both need the win to help build their young careers.

Pat Miletich's Silverbacks will compete against Maurice Smith's Tigersharks for the first MMA team championship.

There will be 4 more non-team fights on the card as well. Enjoy this weak ass card.-MMA Mafia