It’s another battle of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) contestants as season six alumnus Matt “No Regard” Arroyo (3-1) is scheduled to face season seven’s Matt Brown (6-6) on The Ultimate Fighter 7 finale at The Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, June 21, 2008, at 9 p.m. ET on SpikeTV.
MMAmania.com exclusively learned of the welterweight bout earlier this evening.
This match is not the first meeting between the two. Brown holds a second-round TKO victory over the Cobleskill native from their November 2006 fight during Real Fighting Championship 7 at Tampa’s USF Sun Dome.
TUF 6 notwithstanding, Arroyo is 2-0 since that bout, last defeating John Kolosci via submission (armbar) at the Ultimate Fighter 6 finale last December. Brown on the other hand last fought UFC veteran Chris Lytle at Indiana’s United Fight League where he was submitted in the second round by a guillotine choke.
This should be an interesting rematch between two competitors who are pretty evenly matched.
TUF 7 Finale will feature the middleweight showdown between former 185-pound champion, Evan Tanner, and TUF 3 middleweight winner, Kendall Grove. In addition, Diego Sanchez will meet Luigi Fioravanti in a welterweight tilt and the finalists from this season of TUF will meet in the finals to determine the tournament winner.
For the latest TUF 7 Finale fight card click here.
It’s quarterfinal time and Forrest has to decide who to corner since the first round is teammate vs teammate (blame Forrest for going 6-2 in the preliminary matches) but he can’t / won’t decide so it comes down to the science of the coin toss.
Two will stay at home and train with the rest of Team Brown and two will be cast aside like flotsam and jetsam.
One flick later and it’s official: Forrest corners Jesse Taylor and Amir Sadollah and Rampage is stuck with Dante Rivera and Matt Brown.
Back at the house Jesse gets his White Castle on and sucks down a few sliders to show off his nutritional expertise. They guys hate on him for eating like he’s going to the chair yet has a body like he’s going to the beach.
Dante feels like he’s improved since his last fight and looks to come out with a better showing against Jesse Taylor. Meanwhile, Coach Rampage is so committed to the new additions that he takes a quick nap during training.
Jesse Taylor is tipping the scales a bit heavy so he puts on a rubber suit and sweats his way to success after a game of full contact ping-pong.
He then rewards himself with a dip in the hot tub. Unfortunately he has to bleed the lines and instead of using a toilet like most normal folks, Ol’ Jesse simply steps out of the jacuzzi and urinates through his shorts onto the pavement.
Not content with being merely repulsive, Taylor graduates to reprehensible by shaking off his leg and jumping right back into the hot tub which has now become a urine cappucino.
An unsuspecting Dante jumps in and bathes in Taylors lemonade. And I thought piss-Christ was offensive. Congratulations Jesse Taylor on replacing Gabe “Colonic” Reudiger as TUF’s most egregious contestant.
Prior to the fight, “Gentleman” Jesse Taylor admits he doesn’t like to touch gloves before engaging but will this time because Dante Rivera is a friend. What a guy.
Quarterfinal fight #1: Jesse Taylor (6-2) vs Dante Rivera (10-2)
Round 1: Rivera swings and misses and Taylor takes him down and immediately rains down hammer fists. Rivera trying to hold him close without much success. Taylor is simply overpowering Rivera who is starting to take punishment. Taylor covering the mouth of Rivera and posturing up and landing. Rinse and repeat. Taylor stands up and eats an upkick and returns to Rivera’s guard. More punishment ensues. Thirty seconds left in the round Taylor seems content to simply smother. Round one ends and it was all Taylor.
Round 2: Dante is busted up and Taylor is sucking wind. In a repeat of round one, Rivera swings and misses and gets taken down. Taylor can be heard grunting as he tries to land punches from the top which is a clear indication that he’s low on fuel. Rampage finally chimes in (someone must have woken him up) and screams at Dante to stand up and do something. He seems content to stay in guard and is saved by the referee (as are we) when he puts them to their feet. Taylor laughs in the face of stand-up and immediately takes him back down. Action has slowed but Taylor is landing periodically. Rivera has no answer and seems resigned to just stay in guard and take punishment. Round two ends just like round one. This one is academic (and anticlimactic).
Jesse Taylor defeats Dante Rivera via unanimous decision.
Not exactly a barnburner but Taylor gets the win and with only one contract that’s all that really matters.
The focus quickly shifts to the second fight of the evening between Matt Brown and Amir Sadollah - who get awfully chummy before the fight. Amir is once again bursting with confidence and considers Matt Brown a trained killer. Rampage likes Matt Brown’s warrior spirit.
Quarterfinal fight #2: Amir Sadollah (0-0) vs Matt Brown (9-6)
Round 1: Brown stalks and lands a couple of punches and kicks. Sadollah with a front kick. Follows with a jab and a knee. They tie up and Sadollah pushes him to the cage. Nice knee to the ribs by Sadollah. Brown looking for the trip but Sadollah fights it off. Nice display of defense by Sadollah. Brown eats an elbow and tries again for the trip. He fails but backs away and sneaks in some strikes. Nice straight head kick by Sadollah. Brown retaliates with a flurry. Back to the cage for both men. Brown still looking for the trip and backs away. Nice jab lands for Brown. Then a left. A Brown low kick stumbles Sadollah. Back to the cage and they exchange knees. They break and trade punches that land. Brown with a takedown but Sadollah rolls out and they get back to their feet. A return to the cage as time expires. Action packed first round. Very close.
Round 2: Brown opens with a hard flurry. Flying White Lotus kick misses for Sadollah. Brown retreats and eats a few. They end up against the cage and wrestle for position. Nice knee by Brown. Missed kick by Sadollah. Brown lands a few more. Sadollah backs him up and trips him down. Sadollah on top now looking to create space. Brown looking a little lethargic on the bottom. Sadollah punches the body. Brown almost has an escape but falls backwards. Sadollah back on top working the elbow. Brown is bushed. Sadollah resorts to a man-hug and Brown rolls out. Amir immediately looks for the armbar but Brown transitions and gets trapped in the triangle. Brown taps.
Amir Sadollah defeats Matt Brown via submission (armbar - R2).
After the fight Brown shows a ton of class and congratulates Sadollah for the performance. Brown also gets mad respect when he mans up and admits that while disappointed, he gave it 100% and got bested.
This was an exciting fight and pretty much saved the episode. Anyone who doesn’t understand what was wrong with the fight between Taylor and Rivera should re-watch Brown vs. Sadollah. Kudos to both men for a great fight.
Stay tuned next week as Jeremy May comes back from obscurity to start trouble with Jesse Taylor, CB Dolloway tries to punish Cale Yarbrough, and the semifinal matches are announced.
Newly crowned WEC Lightweight Champion, Jamie Varner (14-2), will return to defend his 155-pound belt for the first time ever against Marcus Hicks (8-0) on August 3, according to MMAWeekly.com.
It’s the second title fight slated for the show — WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann is also expected to defend his 205-pound title against Steve Cantwell.
“The Worm” is fresh off an impressive knockout of then-WEC champion, “Razor” Rob McCullough, at WEC 32 back February, defeating the heavy-handed champion at his own game. It was his third straight win and second consecutive victory under the WEC banner.
Varner will certainly have to bring his “A” game — “The Wrecking Ball” is no slouch.
In fact, Hicks is one of the hottest (and most compact) fighters in the promotion, winning his last three fights in the WEC, and overall, is riding an eight fight win streak. He has defeated the likes of Ed Ratcliff and Sergio Gomez en route to being the number one contender in the division.
Put simply, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt — who also has some pro boxing experience — will be a stiff challenge for Varner
Stay tuned for more fight announcements and other news in the next few days as WEC 34: “Faber vs Pulver” is set for this weekend — the organization will certainly look to promote upcoming events on the biggest night in its history.
Elite XC “Saturday Night Fights†is set to go off live from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., this Saturday, May 31 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS. To get us prepared for the historic event, we plan to showcase a daily feature for each main card fight leading up to the historic mixed martial arts debut on network television. These features will include information on the fighters, predictions, as well as training notes and quotes from each fighter.
The second fight set for the televised main card of the night is a middleweight showdown between Phil “The New York Badass” Baroni (10-9) and Joey Villasenor (25-6).
Here’s a little background on each fighter:
Phil Baroni — At 32 years old, Baroni has been around the block in the fight game in nearly a decade competing in the sport. He’s definitely had his share of ups and downs. Perhaps his lowest point came last June when he tested positive for two types of anabolic steroids immediately following a second round submission loss in a Strikeforce and Elite XC co-promoted fight against Frank Shamrock.
While Baroni was beat pretty soundly by Shamrock, he still showed a lot of heart. Enough, in fact, for Icon Sport — a sister company of Elite XC — to grant him a shot at their vacant middleweight title against Hawaiian, Kala Kalohe Hose. Again, Baroni showed the heart of a lion — albeit in defeat once again — as Hose ended an absolute war with a fifth round technical knockout.
It’s no secret that Baroni’s game is to stand and bang, and that usually makes for an exciting fight whether he wins or loses.
He has notable wins against Ryo Chonan, Dave Menne and Yuki Kondo, as well as notable losses to Matt Lindland (twice), Evan Tanner (twice), Shamrock and Kazuo Misaki.
Joey Villasenor — Villasenor is also 32 years old and has been around the block himself in the mixed martial arts scene. While more than half of his professional fights have been for King of the Cage (KOTC), he has fought in eight different MMA promotions, including two fights under the Pride FC banner.
Villasenor was the KOTC middleweight champion and at one time reeled off 15 straight victories. That impressive feat earned him a berth in the prestigious 2006 Pride FC Middleweight Grand Prix in June of that same year. However, he lost in the first round to Ryo Chonan via split decision.
The eye-catching performance gained him another fight for the famed Japanese promotion, this time against cuurent Elite XC Middleweight Champion, Robbie Lawler. Villasenor was caught by a flying knee less than 20 seconds into the fight. Since then, he’s made his home in Elite XC where he’s 3-1.
He has notable wins against David Loiseau, Jorge Santiago and Riki Fukada, as well as notable losses to Chonan, Lawler, “Ninja” Rua and David Terrell
Training notes and quotes from each fighter:
Phil Baroni — Baroni used to train out of Team Hammer House, but now trains with American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) — home to three of the UFC’s top welterweight contenders, Josh Koshcheck, Mike Swick and Jon Fitch.
The camp has a lot of success in taking accomplished collegiate wrestlers like Fitch, Koscheck and Baroni and helping them develop into better all around fighters. Baroni, in fact, used to train at AKA during his Pride days, and he says he’s undefeated when training out there.
Here’s some quotes from Baroni during a conference call for this event earlier last week:
“I would fight the winner of Smith and Lawler. Isn’t the plan to beat the champion? I was just listening to Smith. He said he can knock out anyone. I don’t get knocked out. Smith won’t knock me out. So, that’s a fight. If he wins, I’ll be there in the center of the ring. We can go toe-to-toe and trade. I don’t lose those fights. I’ll be watching that fight after I put Smokin’ Joe VillaseÅ„or on ice. “
On his ground game:
” It f***ing blows, and it is not going to the ground. Who cares about the ground game? Smokin’ Joe tries to stand and trade. You saw his last fight. He likes to bang. So, this is going to be a great fight. That’s why it’s on CBS. It is going to be two guys in there and throwing down for another exciting fight. VillaseÅ„or is not going to leave until he’s carried out on a stretcher. My ground game doesn’t make a difference. Who cares about a ground game anyway? Nobody wants to watch that s**t.”
And one more snip:
“Guys like me and Lawler have been fighting for a long time. We were in the UFC when no one knew what the UFC was. We’ve been fighting for chump change. We’re fighters. That’s what we do. Yeah, it’s great to be on CBS, but when we got into this sport it wasn’t even on pay per view. So, it’s great to be on CBS and it’s great to have all that exposure and everything else. But, I didn’t get into fighting because I wanted to be a rock star, and neither did a guy like Lawler. That’s not why we did it. I don’t really give a sh**t about Gary Shaw’s watch or his Ferrari. I do it for pride, and I do it to set high goals and accomplishments. Six million people in the world and there’s only one world champion. Lawler is that guy right now. So, I really don’t think it matters to him or the real fighters about fighting on CBS. “
Now that’s a fighter.
Joey Villasenor — Joey trains with one of the premiere camps in all of MMA, the Greg Jackson camp out of Albuquerque, alongside Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans, Nate Marquardt and UFC Welterweight Champion, George St. Pierre.
Jackson’s fighters are always known to have great cardio, training in the high altitude in Albuquerque and spending a lot of time running in the mountains. Sparring with other great fighters can only be doing wonders for every part of Villasenor’s game.
Here’s some quotes from the conference call from Joey:
“Come on, this is ‘Phil the Mouth’ Baroni. Hands down, he is going to beat me in a words war, but he definitely has to deal with a lot of heart. I know I’m going into enemy territory, which totally gets me pumped. I know Baroni is going to have some family members there, and I’m excited, man. I’m actually shaking in my pants right now. I’m a little nervous right now, and Baroni has quite the mouth. I am not going to talk much. I respect Baroni. I respect the power. But, he says he doesn’t get knocked out. We’ll just have to test that out.”
And on Baroni’s all around game:
“I think Baroni is right. His ground game does suck. I’m sure that’s what he wants, for us to bang it out where he has an opportunity win. I hope he doesn’t go down form shock because I’ll have to have to choke him out like Shamrock did. I think my overall game is improving daily. I have power with movement. It’s about executing. Overall, we all know that Baroni has stand‑up power, but I’m going to try to expose him with my movement. So, it’s just all about executing.”
How the fight will go:
This one isn’t hard to figure out. Both guys usually prefer to stand and trade strikes. And both have really good boxing and knockout power. This fight is definitely going to be a stand up war.
Like Villasenor said, I look for him to use a lot of movement at first to avoid Baroni’s early attack. Baroni always comes out like a bat out of hell and looks for the knockout as early as possible. He has a lot of power, especially during his early runs, and Villasenor will have to weather that storm.
While Baroni’s first round onslaughts are always exciting and sometimes lead to early finishes, he always wastes a lot of crucial energy in that first round. If Villasenor can use some head movement and footwork to avoid Baroni early, he’ll probably be able to use that same movement and footwork to out box him late, possibly even earn a knockout.
Here’s what I see happening:
Baroni will come out swinging for the fences and the two will trade some early blows. Villasenor, however, will frustrate Baroni with his boxing and he won’t be fazed by the early charge from Baroni. He’ll stick to his gameplan of good footwork, head movement and boxing.
Even though Baroni has the edge in power, I don’t think he is a better technical striker. I can see him getting picked apart in this fight. And unless Baroni gets a big knockout early, I think he’s in trouble.
The longer the fight goes, and the more tired Baroni gets, the more he’s going to get frustrated with Villasenor’s boxing and more importantly his cardio. We know those Greg Jackson guys are always in great shape. I think it’ll be the difference in this fight.
I say it ends in the third round. Baroni won’t have enough left to be doing anything more than throwing lazy haymakers and shooting for half-hearted takedown attempts.
The fresher Villasenor will still be executing his gameplan of outboxing Baroni, and Baroni is going to be vulnerable to a knockout late. His hands will be down, his chin will be up and he’ll lean right into a Joey Villasenor knockout punch.
Final Prediction:
Joey Villasenor via third round knockout.
Check back in tomorrow as we go in-depth with a look at the ladies, Gina Carano and Kaitlin Young.
It’s no secret that the UFC loves controlling stuff, especially if that stuff has to do with the media. The L.A. Times has apparently had enough of it. Their Las Vegas blog, The Movable Buffet (get it?), took issue with the UFC’s strict rules following UFC 84 this weekend:
One local journalist who covered Saturday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship card at MGM’s Grand Garden Arena wrote me an e-mail, offering this impression: “UFC attempts to be more controlling than other sports. UFC sounds like it’s trying to hem in media.”
…
We were discussing his experience as well as the credential application that UFC demanded that I sign to be approved to cover the fight. The application specified everything from the trivial, forbidding my wearing certain clothes, to the ridiculous, controlling where and when I was allowed to write about the event forever more. In explaining this bizarre credential application that most would call not an application but a contract, UFC events manager Diann Brizzolara wrote me: “We have the right to protect our brand and how coverage taken from our events is disseminated.” Actually, UFC does not have that right to control “how coverage taken…is disseminated” at all. This rather unique privilege in fact is what the credential application is trying to give them a back door claim to having.
When you hear these stories about the UFC’s obsession with control, it makes you wonder what they’re so afraid of. Is it a holdover from the dark days when the “human cockfighting” label nearly drove them into extinction? Or is it just that the UFC is leery of the media in general, despite the fact that they need the media in the same way every pro sports organization does: it’s free advertising.
Over at Yahoo! Kevin Iole is doing his typical fighter fluff piece, extolling the virtues of Gina Carano and simultaneously forcing a storyline about her sister’s struggle with drug addiction into every possible inch of the article. Seems like someone really took to heart those journalism classes where they discussed ‘theme’.
Anyway, one of the more interesting moments comes when Carano expresses confusion at MMA fans and their preoccupation with her as a sex object:
“All the attention has helped me, but it’s also hurt me,†she said. “Sometimes, you get portrayed the way you don’t want to be portrayed. People start thinking about you a certain way. I’m like, ‘What’s everybody talking about with this sex appeal thing?’ I don’t get it. I’m not that way. I’m not that person and I’m never going to be that girl, because it’s not in me to get people’s attention sexually. But that’s what people are saying out there now.”
I have to ask myself a couple different questions when I read that. For starters, do I believe that Gina Carano doesn’t realize that she is very attractive for a woman in general, and extremely attractive for a successful female athlete? I do not. I’m pretty sure she knows by now. I’m also pretty sure she knows that it’s a big part of the reason she’s getting all these career opportunities outside of MMA while other female fighters toil in relative obscurity.
If my assumptions are correct, then I have to ask myself, why is she being so coy about it? If she realizes that the Maxim photo shoot and the tight American Gladiators outfit were designed to promote her as a sex object, why is she pretending to be surprised? The answer, I suspect, is that no matter how great the money and attention is, it probably gets really annoying to have everyone focus on only one thing about you, especially if that one thing is your looks.
“My greatest joy was without a doubt to be able to bring happiness to those of you who never gave up on believing in me. My true friends, now we have been redeemed. I spent the day reading and re-reading the messages from you on the internet. You have no idea how happy I am. I am certain any fighter would love to have fans like you. I went through three hard months, training for this fight, and it wasn’t just once or twice that the messages from you uplifted me and stimulated me to keep on training intensely. This fight was decisive. I was under a lot of pressure. I had to win by all means. But at these tough times I could see you guys were with me. To have the affection of you guys on my side is an honor, it is priceless. I was very moved and felt like crying after the win. Thank God I cry from happiness. At that moment I thought of all of you excited by this so long-awaited moment!! Now you can also talk to me on MySpace (myspace.com/wanderleisilva). Here I’ll be able to get to know you better. I haven’t the words to thank you enough for the strength you have given me. Let’s beat our chests and celebrate with much joy, because this victory is ours!! Thank you so much.â€
-UFC light heavyweight Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva sends a personal message to his fans via his blog after defeating Keith Jardine at UFC 84: Ill Will in just 36 seconds.
Gladiator Challenge and Palace Fighting Championship veteran, Danny Castillo (5-0), will step in for an injured Rich Crunkilton to face Donald Cerrone (7-0) at WEC 34: “Faber vs Pulver” at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif., on June 1.
The Zuffa-owned promotion recently confirmed the lightweight match up on its Web site.
Castillo has only been fighting nearly a year and a half; however, his five victories have all ended in the first round — four via submission and one technical knockout. “Last Call” — who will make his WEC debut — is a two-time National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) All-American wrestler out of Menlo, Calif.
Meanwhile, his opponent, Cerrone, is currently riding a seven-fight winning streak of his own, defeating Kenneth Alexander via submission (triangle choke) at WEC 30 in November 2007. However, it was later ruled a “no contest” because Cerrone was found to have a banned diuretic in his system after the bout.
This will mark his first fight back after an eight month suspension and $2,400 fine.
Both of these fighters are red hot, but someone’s zero has to go and it will take place LIVE on the Versus network at 9 p.m. ET this Sunday.
WEC 34: “Faber vs. Pulver” is headlined by the biggest featherweight title fight in recent memory. Urijah Faber will defend his 145-pound strap against MMA legend, Jens Pulver, in the evening’s main event.
Just another reminder: It’s FREE on Versus at 9 p.m. ET.
Gladiator Challenge and Palace Fighting Championship veteran, Danny Castillo (5-0), will step in for an injured Rich Crunkilton to face Donald Cerrone (7-0) at WEC 34: “Faber vs Pulver” at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif., on June 1.