Saturday Afternoon Throwdown: Three UFC light heavyweight fights that need to happen

With Quinton “Rampage” Jackson set to defend his UFC 205-pound title against Forrest Griffin in a few weeks at UFC 86: “Jackson vs. Griffin,” it’s a good time to discuss some other potential fights in the stacked division.

It’s obvious that the UFCs light heavyweight class is the deepest division in mixed martial arts today. With guys like Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida, Wanderlei Silva, Thiago Silva and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, among others, there are plenty of contenders who consider themselves the next man in line for a shot at the strap.

Accordingly, there are three fights that needs to take place to give the UFC a much more clear picture of who will face the winner of the Jackson-Griffin showdown later this year.

At UFC 84: “Ill Will” last month, Wanderlei Silva and Machida helped eliminate the pretenders who many thought would be contenders in Tito Ortiz and Keith Jardine. Even with the impressive wins, however, Silva and Machida still have some work to do to be next in line.

Silva returned to the “Axe Murderer” of old in smashing fashion against Jardine, but he still needs one more big win. As for Machida, his style still fustrates both fighters and fans alike.

On the other hand, inactivity has hurt the title prospects of top guys such as Rashad Evans, Rua and Liddell. It’s hard to penalize a fighter or fault him for getting hurt, especially when all three of these fighters were scheduled to headline this past weekend’s UFC 85: “Bedlam” at one time or another.

Because of the lack of fights one can argue that it’s the reason there is no clear cut number one contender. Do you give Machida a shot before Liddell because he’s won five fights in the UFC and his biggest win is against an over the hill Tito Ortiz? Or do you give Liddell the next shot in line because he won one of the biggest grudge matches of all time against Silva and a possible Liddell-Rampage III could mean big bucks for the UFC?

On top of all that, let’s not forget one guy who can also shake things up in this division in Thiago Silva!

And with that let’s look at three fights that have to take place before the 2008 fight campaign comes to a close. Now there are some no brainers for you MMAMania readers have discussed for some time but mine are a little bit different.

Chuck Liddell vs. Lyoto Machida: As reported earlier this week, Liddell is going to headline UFC 88 in Atlanta on September 6. Even though talk now centers around Evans as his possible opponent, why not plug-in the very dangerous Machida instead? If there is one man who can knockout the elusive Machida — or outpoint him on counter strikes alone — it is Liddell.

“Iceman” is as patient as Machida is, but Liddell clearly has the advantage in terms of powerful striking. He throws punches from odd angles and it’s something that perhaps Machida has never seen before.

In addition, Liddell would not allow Machida to dictate the pace of the fight. A win for Liddell could cement his place in the division as the clear front runner, which would set up a big New Year’s Eve weekend showdown with either Rampage Jackson or Forrest Griffin.

A win for the Brazilian, however, could make Dana hang himself because Machida is considered “boring” … and that’s just not going to cut it in the UFCs money-making division.

Shogun Rua vs. Rashad Evans: These men are two of the younger contenders in the division and have big questions to answer. Evans is undefeated, yet he is still looking for that big win that can propel him to super stardom. He was losing his fight against Ortiz at UFC 73: “Stacked” until “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” was deducted a point for grabbing the cage in the second round.

And he barely escaped with a split-decision win over Michael Bisping at UFC 78: “Validation” last November. Is Evans for real and can be a future champion? His next few fights should tell that tale once and for all.

The future looked bright for Rua — he was widely considered the number one fighter in the weight class for some time until he hit rock bottom in his Octagon debut. He entered the bout against Griffin with a bum knee and bad cardio … and it was his ultimate undoing.

Rua looked nowhere near the man who ripped through the likes of Ricardo Arona, Alistair Overeem and Rampage Jackson while competing under the Pride FC banner. Simply put, it was quite a shock to see a tired Shogun tapout to a rear naked choke by Forrest Griffin last September.

He was scheduled to meet Liddell in the UFC 85 main event until he suffered another knee injury that required knee surgery. It’s hard to come back from two ACL injuries and it makes many wonder if we’ll see the same Shogun that was supposedly destined to rule the UFC light heavyweight division. This could be a fight that could put Shogun right back in the thick of things at 205.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Thiago Silva: The backstory of this potential war could be quite compelling because of the fact that both men at one point in their careers fought for the legendary Chute Boxe Academy in Brazil, which churned out an army of great Brazilian warriors.

The list is incredible when you consider that guys like Shogun, Ninja Rua and UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva were all at one point Chute Boxe fighters.

And Wanderlei was arguably the face of Academy during its heyday just a few years ago.

Wanderlei was the past, but at one point, Thiago was the present and future for the Academy. Thiago was clearly the new breed of the Chute Boxe and it showed in all of his fights in the UFC thus far. In the past what made Chute Boxe one of premier fight camps was its emphasis on one thing when fighting: aggression.

The aggressive style overwhelmed essentially all of the guys put in front of Silva and Rua. But with Thiago, he utilizes his striking that leads to his jiu-jitsu game which is a double-edged sword for all of his opponents.

The thing you have to remember with Shogun and Wanderlei is that both men are black belts in jiu-jitsu, but because they’re such powerful strikers, it’s never really was needed. Thiago uses his striking to frustrate opponents standing and then takes them down (See Houston Alexander).

Once he took Alexander down, he exposed Alexander’s ground game and used it to mount Alexander and pound him out.

But the one thing we have to see in Thiago is if he can handle the aggressive style that a fighter like Wanderlei brings the minute the bell rings. It’s would be a big test for Thiago, but a fight he can win. It’s a fight that Wanderlei can win as well because Wanderlei is such a powerful striker. We all know Wanderlei has a chin but does Thiago?

Thiago’s chin hasn’t truly been tested and a guy like Wanderlei will answer that question with one solid right hand.

The three fights proposed here are fights that just have to take place by the end of the year. What do you think? Do you think Liddell should fight Machida in September? Or do you think Evans is a better fight that the fans (not Dana White) want to see? What about the Silvas? Oh let the debates begin!

Quick picks for DREAM 4 and Elite XC this weekend:

• Yves Edwards
• Nick Diaz
• Ron Waterman
• Ninja Rua
• Rafael Feijao
• Shinya Aoki
• Gegard Mousasi
• Melvin Manhoef
• Jason Miller
• Zelg Galesic

I’m going to end this week’s edition of the Friday Night (Saturday Afternoon) Throwdown on a sad note.

It’s going to be quite a depressing site this Sunday at DREAM 4, when Japanese MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba goes against a menacing Melvin Manhoef in the second round of the middleweight tournament. Unless he can pull out a miracle submission (and he can) this could be the fight that puts Kaz out of MMA for good because Manhoef is straight up mean.

This fight will take place under PRIDE-type rules, which allow knees to grounded opponents. It’s been almost three years since Sakuraba has fought under these rules against a fighter like Manhoef — he is a monster in terms of striking and if he gets Kaz in side control, those knees will be coming with bad intentions.

Now Sakuraba has defied the odds many times, but this is one fight that I just can’t see him winning. I could be wrong and I hope I am for the sake of Sakuraba.

Until next time people, I’ll see you right back here in the Throwdown next Friday night!

Written by admin on June 14th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Friday Night Throwdown: Stepping stone for Thiago Alves or return to glory for Matt Hughes at UFC 85?

There’s an intriguing main event on tap this weekend between former welterweight champion Matt Hughes and up-and-comer Thiago Alves at the O2 Arena in London, England.

The 170-pound pits two men who are going in two different directions in their careers — one is relatively close to calling it an amazing career and the other is hoping to follow in his footsteps. It will also determine who is heading toward a title shot in the near future.

For Alves, a win over Hughes could be the fight that solidifies him as a legitimate contender in the stacked welterweight division. As for Hughes, a win here could lead him to at least two more fights, another shot at championship glory, and another accolade to tack onto his Hall of Fame career.

It’s no secret by now that tomorrow night is do or die for Matt Hughes.

He only — by his own admission — a handful of fights left in him. He has no intentions of fighting into his early 40s like Randy Couture … for now. Heading into this fight, Hughes has promised that he will return to the Matt Hughes of old who dominated the welterweight division for years.

For him to win this fight, he’s going to have to take Alves to the mat and keep him down. There is no way that Hughes can win this fight trying to trade shots with Alves — a very skilled striker.

The problem with Hughes’ game, however, is the fact that his striking is essentially ineffective. He uses it to set up his aggressive takedowns and monster slams. Hughes is not going to knockout anyone standing and probably never will.

He has to force Alves to respect his striking to the point where he can secure takedown after takedown. If Hughes can’t take Alves down, it could be spell trouble.

Look no further than his last fight with Georges St. Pierre. “Rush” knew that Hughes could not hurt him when the two were trading shots, so he decided to takedown Hughes and punish him from there. In a sense, he beat Hughes at his own game.

Hughes didn’t look comfortable on his back and really never has. His first fight with BJ Penn and third fight with St. Pierre also shows that Hughes isn’t as effective if he’s on his back.

Put simply, Hughes’ bread and butter — the skills that propelled him to the highest level of the sport — are when he uses his strength and wrestling to overwhelm opponents.

And when he can’t get those going it translates into another “L” in the loss column.

Alves, on the other hand, knows that this is the biggest fight in his career. He is riding a five-fight winning streak that includes two impressive victories over Chris Lytle and Karo Parisyan.

Even though the fight with Lytle ended because of a cut, it was clear that Alves was well on his way to winning that fight outright. Yet it was his victory over Parisyan that proved to be the most impressibe to date in his young career.

Karo knew heading into the tilt that a win would guarantee him an eventual title shot. Jon Fitch — who had already defeated Alves — was also looming in the background; however, Parisyan accepted the bout with Alves instead and it backfired.

Alves proved to be no stepping stone for the “Heat.”

He stuffed most of Paryisan’s Judo attempts and kept the fight where he wanted it — standing. Alves then fustrated Karo with his sprawls and the use of his Muay Thai to keep him guessing. Then when Karo finally had a chance for another takedown, Alves used his impressive stand up skills to deliver a big knee that later ended the fight.

Alves will have to do the same thing to Hughes to win this fight.

“The Pitbull” has to bring the fight to Hughes and use his effective leg kicks early to wear Hughes’ legs down. The reason being that Hughes will not have the strength in his legs to attempt takedowns. Alves is by far the superior striker and if he can keep Hughes at bay, Alves could very well find an opening and can knockout Hughes.

In short, Alves will have to let his hands go early and often to fustrate Hughes and win this fight.

Both men clearly need to win this fight for different reasons. Even with news that win, lose or draw Hughes is guaranteed to fight Matt Serra in the fall, he will still have to win both fights to earn a title shot. A win for Alves puts him one step closer to possibly fighting the winner of St. Pierre and Fitch at UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy.”

So much intrigue. And we’ll get plenty of answers tomorrow night at UFC 85.

Quick picks for UFC 85

• Hughes — I see him weathering the storm early and taking Alves down at will to win via decision.
• Michael Bisping — I’ve enjoyed Jason Day’s commentary heading into the fight here on the site, but Bisping is too well rounded for Day.
• Marcus Davis — I’m not a big Mike Swick fan and he should’ve stayed at middleweight. Davis is for real and will show it tomorrow.
• Brandon Vera — He’s going to exploit the striking advantage over Werdum with his kickboxing and take him out in the second.
• Thales Leites — He’s a beast on the ground and I think he can catch Marquardt in the second with an armbar.

MMA news and notes

Alves misses weight and fight at UFC 85 will be fought at catch weight: This isn’t the first time Alves has had a problem making weight and it’s cause for concern. He can’t expect to have St. Pierre or Fitch fight him at a catch weight nor can his boss trust him to not ruin a possible championship bout like Travis Lutter did back at UFC 67. Ultimately, four pounds isn’t going to make a difference in this fight — it’s more of a psychological blow than anything else.

Donald Trump an equity partner for Affliction MMA: It’s difficult what to make of this, but if it helps the sport in the long run then I’m all for it. I’ve got to admit though, now Affliction can make the case that it has the deepest heavyweight division in the sport today. With Sylvia, Barnett, Fedor and now Andrei Arlovski, the class is deep. Really deep. Perhaps Affliction can showcase the heavyweights like boxing in its heyday. That would be something.

If there’s going to be Lawler-Smith 2, then the same for Slice-Thompson 2: Elite XC did its job, considering it wasn’t the best showcase of the sport. But the stoppages of both fights weren’t justified to me. I felt that if Thompson was rocked, then let him be until he got knocked out. By the same token, the fight should’ve been stopped in the second round because of Slice’s inability to improve position from the bottom and the shots that were unanswered. As for Lawler-Smith, Scott should’ve gotten his five minutes … PERIOD!

Faber-Pulver was entertaining, but Torres-Maeda stole the show: Last week, we predicted right here that WEC 34 was the show to watch for great MMA action. Faber surprised everyone with his impressive display of power and technique in outstriking Pulver for five rounds. Granted, he was getting tagged as well but he just kept coming and frustrated Pulver all night. But I have to give praise for Torres-Maeda because that back-and-forth war tore the building down. I was literally standing on my feet when both men had ankle locks on each other. It is an instant classic.

That’s it for this week folks, next week I’ll have a recap of UFC 85 and thoughts on the fights. Other than that, I’ll see you guys right back here in the Throwdown!

Written by admin on June 6th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Friday Night Throwdown: UFC 84 what to watch for

During the past three weeks here in the Throwdown, we’ve covered the “big three” fights that comprise UFC 84: “Ill Will,” from BJ Penn-Sean Sherk to Lyoto Machida-Tito Ortiz to Keith Jardine-Wanderlei Silva.

It’s obvious that this is one of the better cards in recent memory.

But of course there are things that we haven’t discussed about each of the three fights heading into tomorrow night.

This edition of the Throwdown will cover four things that fans should think about or consider while watching UFC 84 tomorrow night (Saturday, May 24), as well as feature some quick predictions on the main card action of the pay-per-view (PPV) event.

How is Sean Sherk going to react if he’s taken down?

We’ve heard so much about how Sherk feels he’s going to take down Penn at will and beat him up there for five rounds. But what happens if it’s the other way around? Consider that the last two instances in which Sherk was on his back for extended periods those fights ended in defeats.

In his fight with Matt Hughes, Sherk was taken down at will by the superior wrestler in a fight that went to a unanimous decision for the former champion (Hughes).

In his fight against Georges St. Pierre, “Rush” picked apart Sherk on the feet before deciding to take it to the ground. It was there that St. Pierre thoroughly dismantled Sherk with brutal ground and pound, ending the fight via technical knockout.

Now an argument can be made that Sherk was the smaller welterweight and is a natural lightweight, but the fact remains that Sherk doesn’t like being on his back.

Therefore, what’s going to happen if and when Penn sweeps Sherk and he ends up on his back?

This could be a huge factor, and Sherk can’t panic if Penn gains the upper hand when the fight hits the ground. Sherk has to look to get back up and try to take Penn down to score points. I say that because let’s face it … Sherk isn’t going to choke out or knock out Penn.

But anything can happen right?

It’s imperative that — if Penn can’t finish Sherk in the first three rounds — he wins at least the first two rounds while he’s fresh. It will then put the pressure on Sherk to try and win the final three rounds to reclaim his title. And even if Penn becomes susceptible to the takedown in the later rounds he has a very active guard, which can help him score points with the judges … especially if Sherk does not stay busy.

Regardless, Penn will look to finish the fight because you never want to leave it in the judges’ hands. (See St. Pierre, Georges UFC 58).

Can Jardine handle adversity?

The last time we saw Jardine look overwhelmed in a fight it ended in just 48 seconds against Houston Alexander. We all know that Silva brings the pressure as soon as the bell rings, but can Jardine handle that “in your face,” bullish pressure?

In his fight with Alexander, he underestimated Houston when it came to fighting on the inside. Jardine is a much more effective fighter when he fights from the outside and uses his great kickboxing to neutralize opponents. His kicks are by far some of the best in the business, but in the fight with Alexander he felt he could knock out Houston, which ended up biting him in the ass.

In this fight, Jardine cannot be content to stand and trade with Silva. “The Axe Murderer” will throw with bad intentions from all angles, and one slip up for Jardine and it’s all over. There is going to be a point in this fight — especially if Silva is losing – that he is going to leave everything in the Octagon and will look to finish the fight by any means necessary.

Jardine has to use his leg kicks and pick his shots. If he does that then he wins this fight easily and a title shot is a given. If Jardine ends up in the clinch or trading with Silva, he’s going to sleep.

Win, lose or draw … Wanderlei has to move to 185

Silva’s legacy as an all-time great is secure, but a loss here tomorrow will only question how much Silva has left in the tank. Have the wars he’s had with the likes of Dan Henderson and others taken such a toll on him over the years that he will never be the Silva of old again? Will he ever be the Wanderlei Silva that ruled PRIDE for more than five years? Or are we just going to see an over-the-hill fighter in the twilight of his career from here on out?

For me, Silva is just a natural middleweight who can thrive with the move down to 185. A win tomorrow night will lead to much bigger fights at light heavyweight but at what cost? Many of the guys at light heavyweight are truly bigger fighters than the ones Silva dismantled in PRIDE. PRIDE fed Silva cans here and there, but this is the UFC for crying out loud. I would still pick many guys in the division to defeat Silva.

I would have Machida, Griffin and EVEN Tito Ortiz beating Wanderlei Silva right now. And yes to all those Rampage fans: a third fight between the two will not end up like the first two meetings. The fact is it would benefit the UFC and Silva for him to move to middleweight. The possibilities at that weight class are endless for Silva to show that he’s still got it.

Silva against Rich Franklin would be a huge draw and we all know that Wanderlei wants another crack at Hendo. Silva can rack up a couple more wins at middleweight and possibly fight another Silva down the line sometime next year. Of course that would be Anderson Silva — the most dominant fighter in the world bar none right now.

I could see it now: Silva vs. Silva, Brazil vs. Brazil for the middleweight title! Let’s get real … who wouldn’t want to see this fight happen next year? The middleweight division and Wanderlei need each other right now. A loss to Jardine will force the UFC to either consider redoing his current contract or convince Silva that moving down is the best thing for him.

Will the UFC give Tito Ortiz the proper send off?

Boy, will Dana White be the most anxious person in the MGM Grand Garden Arena when Ortiz faces Machida. If you guys haven’t seen the “Countdown to UFC 84″ show, then please do because if Ortiz does what he says … I’m going to leave it at that.

Can you imagine Tito giving Dana the finger if he gets by Machida? Will he revert to his old school “grave-digging” taunt in front of Dana if he stops Machida?

This is the fight I’m most anxious to see just because of the post-fight interview when it takes place. I mean whatever Ortiz or Dana White plans on doing after the fight will be live on PPV for the whole world to see. But the one thing you have to hope for is the best and the UFC gives Ortiz his dues by allowing him to say one last goodbye to the fans.

Love him or hate him, Ortiz is a mixed martial arts pioneer, was a credible and defending champion, and he rakes in money. Period. Wherever Tito goes, the money will follow. His rematch with Chuck Liddell is still the highest grossing PPV show in MMA history. And his third and final destruction of Ken Shamrock is still the most viewed fight in the history of Spike TV.

The numbers speak for themselves.

And last but not least, he will go down as one of the most recognizable fighters of all time. It’s because of this that the next organization that Ortiz ends up with will be in good shape. I would hope Dana allows Tito to say goodbye whether he wins or loses against Machida.

Tito deserves it and I’m looking forward to it.

UFC 84 Predictions

BJ Penn over Sean Sherk: I’ve had this fight for a while as my upset pick but BJ Penn is just simply a level above everyone else at 155 right now. Penn has fought twice at 155 and Sherk hasn’t fought in over eight months. Ring rust will show in this fight for Sherk in the early rounds, and it’s those rounds, like I stated earlier, that Penn must win if the fight goes the distance. I see Penn winning by TKO in the fourth round.

Keith Jardine over Wanderlei Silva: Jardine’s technique is simply tailor-made to defeat an aggressive fighter like Silva. Jardine will keep Silva from swinging for the fences from the inside with his superior kickboxing to keep him on the outside. If Silva wins this fight, it will be because he pressures Jardine to make a mistake and capitalizes on it. I just don’t see that happening, and I expect Jardine to win via split decision.

Thiago Silva over Antonio Mendes: This Silva is in the right weight class and is truly a diamond in the rough for the UFC. He has great striking and his jiu-jitsu is top notch, making Silva a great well-rounded fighter. Although Mendes is no slouch, this is clearly a showcase fight for Silva. A win here moves him up the rankings. Do I see a Silva-Evans fight finally taking place toward the end of the year?

Wilson Gouveia over Goran Relic: Not much to say for this fight because it’s a fight that Gouveia can win in many ways. He can knock out Relic if they stand and bang, or he can submit him on the ground (which will be tougher to do). I just see this fight going to a decision and it will be a close fight.

*UFC 84 UPSET SPECIAL*

Tito Ortiz over Lyoto Machida: Let the roasting begin from guys like Adam G. and others with my pick of Ortiz defeating Machida. I like to switch things up and not be so predictable with all of my picks for each fight card. I just got a gut feeling that Ortiz can pull a rabbit out of the hat and win this fight. Machida’s offense-defense approach will confuse Ortiz in the first round, but I see Ortiz adjusting in the second and taking the fight to the ground.

Although Machida is a jiu-jitsu black belt, it doesn’t mean a damn thing if you’re eating elbows to the face. Ortiz still has one of the best ground and pound skills in the game today. If Ortiz can win rounds two and three by taking Machida down, he wins. If not, well, Machida will win by decision. I’m just going with my gut here guys, so take this pick with a grain of salt.

MMA news and notes

Lesnar-Coleman off, St-Pierre-Fitch on for UFC 87 — It brings music to my ears to know that Lesnar will not get the opportunity to smash UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman for three rounds in August. I mean I have to be honest, that fight had all the potential to be a snooze fest. Anyway you look at it, that fight was going to hit the ground and stay there for 15 minutes.

As for possible opponents for Lesnar, Justin McCully springs to mind — he was originally scheduled to fight Frank Mir at UFC 86: “Jackson vs. Griffin” before Mir was pulled to coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). One concern if you pair Lesnar with McCully is that McCully is a black belt in jiu-jitsu. Frank Mir was able to submit Lesnar, and McCully too has a chance to do the same. But if we see the same McCully that laid on Antoni Hardonk for 15 minutes, Lesnar has a great chance to defeat him as well.

Guess we’ll wait and see in the coming weeks.

As for the announced main event of Fitch-GSP … it’s about time! I was hoping that the main event would’ve been Silva-Okami, but hey, I’ll take Fitch-GSP anytime. It’s a great match up, but it’s going to be the true litmus test for Fitch. One must consider that he looked shaky against Chris Wilson at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion” this past March. Perhaps Fitch was in cruise control and underestimated Wilson, but he looked a bit uncomfortable even though he won the fight.

Either way it’s a fight that won’t go to a decision, and the early line has to go the way of GSP as the favorite. GSP is on a roll once again in winning three straight fights and regaining the UFC welterweight title this past April at UFC 83. For GSP, he knows it’s one thing to be champion but it’s another thing to stay champion. Everyone thought he would rule the division for years to come during his first title reign. Then came along a guy named Matt Serra, and one of the biggest upsets in MMA history came to fruition.

We’ve got three months to digest this match up and it should be fun.

DREAM Middleweight Tournament Round 2 match ups announced: — When you look at the current match ups that comprise the second round of the tourney, two fights stands out.

Sakuraba goes against a monster in Melvin Manhoef, and you have to worry about Kaz in this fight. Melvin throws heavy hands and his kickboxing is among the best in the world. We’ve seen Sakuraba take some serious punishment, but Manhoef has the ability in terms of striking to retire Kaz for good. I sure hope you have one more ace up your sleeve, Mr. Sakuraba.

The second match up will be Ronaldo Jacare and fan favorite Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller. This is a big fight for Jacare to show that he’s the real deal and worth every penny. Miller brings a whole lot to the table with good striking and a great ground game. Jacare will have to look to try and test Miller on the feet because Miller’s takedown defense could cause Ronaldo some trouble. For Miller, a win here and his career takes another step in becoming one of the best middleweights out there.

Hell, winning the tournament as a whole will do wonders for his career, especially in Japan. The other match ups include Gegard Mousasi going against Yong Sik Yoon and Zelg Galesik facing Kin Tailei. Mousasi has to still be considered the dark horse in the tournament especially after submitting Denis Kang. This is a tournament for fans who love to see fights that never hit the ground.

Man I would go into more news but that about wraps up this week’s edition of the Throwdown. Next week will be the first mailbag edition of the Throwdown, so be sure to email me with any questions, comments or story ideas right here. We’ll also cover the EliteXC card that takes place next Saturday as well. Until next week folks … I’ll see you right back here in the Throwdown.

Written by admin on May 23rd, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Friday Night Throwdown: UFC 84 fight preview part III

“… I know there are a lot of people out there doing steroids, cheating and every time I run into one of them, I’m going to call them on it and then I’m going to beat the shit out of them.… It’s going to be a historic night because all the kids out there will realize that you can do it with just hard work alone … he wants to say he has heart and all this different shit, but you can’t confuse steroids with heart…. It’s two different things, a guy with heart is a guy doing it with blood, sweat and tears, waking up with the sore back, the sore body..… What would happen in the old days when you get caught with a couple of aces up your sleeve, they kill the guy right there and that’s why I say Sean Sherk is dead….”

– UFC Lightweight Champion, BJ Penn

“I think he needs to talk to a psychiatrist. That sounds pretty sick to me, but good luck. I’m sure there will be blood, both mine and his, so we’ll see what happens. I don’t know, that’s kind of a weird thing to say and I did hear that he said that. I was like, ‘What the hell is he talking about?’ What can you say. He’s got some issues, but I’m not going to let anything he says bother me.”

– Former UFC lightweight champion, Sean Sherk

In this week’s edition of the Friday Night Throwdown, it’s the final part of a three-part series that covers UFC 84: “Ill Will” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 24.

And we’ve saved the best for last.

Of course, we’re finally going to touch on the main event of the evening and preview the UFC lightweight title fight between division champion, BJ Penn, and former 155-pound beltkeeper, Sean Sherk.

It’s no secret that these two men don’t like each other –- check out the war of words at the top of this column for proof of that. For weeks fans and others have referred to this showdown as a grudge match.

I see it more as war … let the games begin.

A chance for redemption for Sherk

We all know the story about Sean Sherk and how he got to this point as a challenger and not as a champion. In case you don’t, a quick summary would be this: defends title, post fight drug test comes up positive for steroids, suspended and then stripped of his belt.

Sherk has maintained his innocence since the moment the test results came back from the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) back in July 2007. In fact, he mounted a significant defense, which included polygraph tests, testimony, independent re-tests and a whole bunch of finger pointing.

Yet in the end, it didn’t matter.

The only positive thing to come out of everything for Sherk was his appeal with the CSAC that reduced his suspension to only six months and $2,500 fine.

Fan backlash since the news broke has been swift and harsh — similar to that of other sports stars such as Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds who are also embroiled in public scandals.

In spite of all this, the UFC has remained steadfast in its belief in Sherk. And has awarded him with another chance for the gold, putting him at the front of the line to be the first person to challenge Penn for the vacant title for which he defeated Joe Stevenson back in January.

Now here we are, Sherk — who is five months removed from the suspension — is headlining one of the better UFC cards of the year.

“The Muscle Shark” may still have that positive test hover over him for the rest of his career, but he will get the opportunity to show everyone that he is the rightful lightweight champion in little more than one week.

It should be a chance that has driven Sherk to train like never before (if that’s possible). Sherk has all the tools to be a long-time reigning champion (when he’s clean) because of his world class wrestling, decent striking and amazing cardio.

In addition, he knows he has to be ready for anything and everything when it comes to fighting Penn.

Sherk has stated in several interviews leading up to the bout that when Penn is losing a fight, his will is broken and he gives up. His example was Penn’s fight with Matt Hughes, yet at the same time … Penn was winning the fight but sustained serious rib damage!

Anyway you look at it this fight will determine who is the clear cut number one lightweight in the organization and quite possibly in the world. Why wouldn’t Sherk come into this fight in the best shape? A win over Penn silences critics for the time being. All joking aside next Saturday could be a day of redemption for Sean Sherk … look for him to be at his best.

BJ Penn: Time to put up or shut up

At UFC 80, we saw the BJ Penn who truly lived up to the moniker of “The Prodigy” in dismantling Stevenson rather easily in two rounds. It was at the same event he unleashed the “you’re dead!” post-fight remark toward Sherk that started the war of words between the two.

Now it’s time for Penn to back up those remarks when he faces Sherk next Saturday night.

Penn and Sherk share two common opponents: Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre. Penn went 1-2 against the two whereas Sherk went 0-2; however, you can argue that Penn could’ve won all three of the fights that he lost.

In fact, he won the first round of his battle with St. Pierre at UFC 58 big time and the third round depending on who you ask (just not two of the three judges sitting ringside. On the other hand, Sherk was manhandled by St. Pierre in their fight and stopped for the first time in his career.

Penn had a split with one of his other rivals in Hughes, whereas Sherk was outwrestled for five rounds against the same man. Now granted Sherk was considered a small welterweight but he was gritty and tough against both GSP and Hughes. With Penn, no matter what weight class, he has all the skills to hang with anyone.

The man fought Lyoto Machida as a light heavyweight for crying out loud! And not only did he hang with Machida, but he was not in trouble at anytime during the fight, which eventually went to a decision. That alone shows how talented and truly special BJ Penn really is.

Penn now realizes that to be a champion, you have to train like one. And once he realized that, he became the best BJ Penn we’ve seen in quite some time.

In regard to this fight, everyone knows by now if there is one Achilles heel for Penn it is his questionable cardio. In his fights with Hughes and St. Pierre he started strong only to fade as the fights wore on. One also has to think about the post fight interview after he defeated Stevenson — he was barely able to stand.

Perhaps it was just elation or mind games for Sherk to think hard about. But it’s something to be concerned about heading into this fight.

We all know that Sherk could go 10 rounds if he wanted to, but we can’t say the same for Penn. If the fight goes past the second round, we’ll have to see if Penn is truly in the best shape of his career. If he’s fresh in the third and fourth rounds like he was in the first, Penn could win this fight quite easily.

Between the two, only Penn is the more likely fighter to end the fight at any point. Sherk will just lay on you for five rounds with his grappling and rabbit punches.

For Penn, a win here secures his legacy as one of the best and most complete fighters on the planet. With Takanori Gomi fighting cans in Japan, the best lightweight in the world will clearly be Penn (although Shinya Aoki might have something to say about that).

You’ve got to remember now that Penn decimated Gomi in Hawaii a few years back. A win here also could lead to a possible rematch with St. Pierre down the line — a fight in which I give Penn a slight edge at this point.

At the end of the day, this all depends if the real BJ Penn shows up next Saturday night. If we get the Penn who gassed in the big fights (not likely), Sherk will lay on him for five rounds and take the decision. If we get the BJ Penn that ran through Jens Pulver and Joe Stevenson en route to his second UFC belt, then all you have to do is pick the round and whether he finishes the fight via technical knockout, submission or decision against Sherk.

All in all, it’s going to be quite the spectacle in the main event of the evening. So who do you got?

MMA news and other notes

Affliction: “Banned” card finally revealed — I’ve got to say that the card is quite solid even if Andrei Arlovski ends up not signing with Affliction next week and fighting Ben Rothwell on the July 19 debut show. You’ve got Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo II (which Barnett should win easily), Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Negao and the main event of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia.

Even though the card looks juicy, I’m unsure if I’m going to watch this pay-per-view (PPV) — I might wait for the following day to see the fights. The thing that irks me is that Fedor is not a big draw in the United States even if he’s fighting Big Tim. If I’m correct, his fight with Lindland a year ago only did a reported 55,000 buys on PPV. It would take a miracle for this card to get at least 200,000 buys, which is the reason I only hope that HDNet will show the replay or be able to show the event live.

Elite XC wants Tito Ortiz — Surprised? Not even. Elite XC is the safest place to go if you’re a free agent with the popularity that a guy like Ortiz has. The fights he could have there could be quite interesting — a rematch with Frank Shamrock, a huge payday in fighting Kimbo or even fighting Cung Le at a catchweight, are all money-making and marketable possibilities.

The key in all this is that Elite XC has the CBS deal – massive exposure for an exposure-hungry guy like Ortiz.

If Ortiz wants to be champion again, then Elite XC is the place to go. The UFC light heavyweight division is stacked and even with a win over Machida next weekend, he’s looking at Wanderlei Silva, Keith Jardine, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Chuck Liddell as possible opponents before a crack at Rampage Jackson (who also just so happens to be a good friend of Ortiz).

All it takes is one fight in Elite XC and he’ll more than likely get a title shot. Without question, there will be some intrigue next weekend should Ortiz get by Machida.

The lightweight DREAM tournament is living up to the hype — I’m loving this tournament right now, and not because my boy from my hometown of Philadelphia, Eddie Alvarez, is still alive, but because we’re getting some great fights. Alvarez-Hansen has to be considered a “Fight of the Year” candidate because that fight was even after two rounds. I had Alvarez winning the first and Hansen coming back strong in the second after getting rocked twice.

With Kawajiri and Uno advancing as well, the match up for the semifinals will be insane. I expect Shinya Aoki to be in the semis as well, so you could have Akoi-Alvarez and Kawajiri-Uno or even Kawajiri-Alvarez and Aoki-Uno. Either way this tournament could go down as one of the best ones in recent history. I would also put it up there with the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix and 2006 PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix. The tournament is that good people.

As for Alvarez, he could be making his way toward everyone’s top 10 lightweight rankings. If he were to win this tournament … easily top five. He was a small welterweight and still was knocking folks out, but at lightweight the man is a monster. Great wrestling, and one punch knockout power in both hands, Eddie could make a big splash in the MMA world after this tournament.

Mir and Noguiera to coach The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 — I’m getting sick and tired of the whole champion vs. challenger as coaches on TUF. You’re basically putting divisions on ice for a whole year. We basically had to wait a whole year for Serra and Hughes to get dismantled by GSP, and now the heavyweight division is on ice this time. The show is getting stale and the UFC has to do something because the ratings for this season of TUF are heading south.

That wraps things up this week on the Friday Night Throwdown. As always, if you agree or disagree with today’s column … you know the drill. Just write what you think in the comments section below. I appreciate everyone’s support (and criticism) on this great site.

Other than that, I’ll see you next week with my final thoughts of UFC 84 heading into next Saturday night’s great card of fights. But I will leave you with this one question as I go and please reply in the comment section as well:

If you’re Tito Ortiz, do you stay with the UFC or leave with Elite XC?

Until next time, I’ll see you guys right back here in the Throwdown! Feel free to email me with any questions, comments or story ideas to include in a future column right here.

Written by admin on May 16th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Friday Night Throwdown and UFC 84 and MMA.

Friday Night Throwdown: UFC 84 fight preview part II

A “Dragon” looks for his coming out party while a “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” looks to be the spoiler in this week’s edition of the Friday Night Throwdown.

In the second part of this three-part series, we will look at the other light heavyweight battle between Lyoto Machida and Tito Ortiz at UFC 84: “Ill Will” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 24.

This fight could be the fight that could reshape the rankings of the light heavyweight division in the UFC and possibly send Ortiz riding off into the free agent sunset in search of his pot of golf at the end of the rainbow.

It’s time to breakdown this fight for both fighters.

Machida’s coming out party?

There is no question that Lyoto Machida is one of the most unorthodox fighters in the sport of mixed marital arts today. His style is more of a defense-first, counter-attacking in-and-out style, which throws off most if not of his opponents (he’s undefeated). He is very patient on the feet and waits for all of his opponents to make the first mistake. Once they do, he unleashes a great balance of kicking and striking that just frustrates anyone he faces.

The knock on Machida, up until his utter destruction of Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at UFC 79: “Nemesis” in December 2007, was his inability to finish fights. He without question laid to rest that myth as he derailed the “African Assassin” hype train in quick fashion.

From the opening bell, Machida took the fight to Sokodjou and dominated the entire bout on the feet and on the ground. It was on the ground, however, where he just about put the Team Quest member to sleep via arm triangle. It’s because of that brilliant performance that he was given the chance to make a name for himself by fighting the popular, whether you like him or not, former champion in Ortiz.

Let’s not get it twisted here: Machida has beaten quality fighters during his undefeated streak. For example, he knocked out Rich Franklin and defeated others talented stars such as BJ Penn and Stephan Bonnar. Yet many The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) generation fans don’t know much about him unless they are diehard MMA fans. This fight with Ortiz could be the springboard that could launch Machida into stardom and easily in the top five in anyone’s light heavyweight rankings.

I would go as far and pick Machida over at least half of the fighters in the top 10, including the likes of Forrest Griffin, Wanderlei Silva, Keith Jardine and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Of course, I’m going to catch some heat with that last statement but I stand by it. I would even be nervous for Rampage if he were to fight Machida.

Put simply, Machida has defeated several of the best fighters in the world during his reign of terror — his record isn’t padded with journeymen or gatekeepers, folks.

In fact, he knocked out Franklin in only his third fight!

Machida is battle-tested and will be a significant player in the light heavyweight division for years to come. All he needs right now is the fight that will put him over the top. Enter a former UFC light heavyweight champion and easily of the biggest draws in MMA history.

Enter Tito Ortiz

A chance to stick it to Dana White and the UFC?

It’s no secret by now that this is Ortiz’s last fight on his current contract with the UFC. He’s also made it clear that he plans on leaving the UFC after this fight and explore his free agent options. Ortiz will clearly be the biggest free agent on the market and the UFC would be hard pressed to try and resign him. Therefore, Tito has to be thinking that if he’s going the leave, he’s going to leave with a bang.

And what better way to do that than defeat Lyoto Machida at UFC 84?

The problem that Ortiz will face is to try to take Machida to the ground. Machida is a fighter like I’ve said earlier, will let his opponent make the first mistake. Throughout his career, I’ve seen no big improvements in Tito’s overall game. He’s a one trick pony: take it to the ground and GNP (ground and pound) from there. His striking is still above average and isn’t going to knock anyone out anytime soon. I’ll give him the benefit of a doubt that he is one of better ground fighters in the world but it won’t mean a damn thing if he can’t take Machida down.

Ortiz will simply have to press the action and force Machida to the fence. From there, he will hopefully get the takedown and start to work on Machida. If that doesn’t happen, Ortiz will have no other choice but to try and get the best of Machida on the feet. That’s where his chances to win will diminish in a big way. Unless Ortiz has some tricks up his sleeve, Ortiz is the heavy underdog in this fight.

I won’t count out Ortiz in this fight even though it seems like he has no chance in hell of winning. Love him or hate him, Ortiz will at least make this fight exciting. He may be training as hard as he ever has in Big Bear as we speak … or being Jenna Jameson’s “Huntington Beach Boy Toy” at the club or something.

My theory is that Ortiz has to win this fight so that the price in signing him will have to be very substantial to leave the UFC. It’s clear that promotions like EliteXC or even Affliction will be chomping at the bit to sign him. Ortiz will have to bring his A-game in order for him to win. If he does, boy I can only imagine his post fight interview if he’s allowed on the mic … that’s must see TV right there!

Considering everything we covered, I’ve got to admit that this fight is the one I’m looking forward to the most. Machida is looking to get a shot at the belt while Ortiz will be looking to get paid. Who’s going to win this fight? Check out the site later in the month for my prediction on this fight. Either way, this could the upset special (hint…hint).

MMA news and other notes

Chris Leben gets 35 days in jail and fight with Bisping is off: It’s unfortunate that Leben was sentenced to 35 days in jail yesterday. After serving the sentence, it’s been reported right here that he would only have less than two weeks of training, which is just not enough time to prepare for a fighter like Bisping. But the man did his part to finish up his probation so that he could be cleared to fight Bisping.

The good news is maybe they could add this fight as the co-main event of UFC 86: “Jackson vs. Griffin.” Unfortunately, since this fight was scheduled to be fought in London there is no way Bisping is being pulled from the card. In fact, we just learned that he’s fighting Jason Day — a very solid Canadian fighter. It’s not Leben, but it could be worse.

The IFL “Hex:” I’m sorry but with the IFL revealing its new plan for a six-sided ring, I’ve officially considered the IFL to be as good as dead before the year is out. I was supporting the company for the sake of MMA, but this whole six-sided ring is too much. It only tells me that they probably think the UFC is the WWE and they’ll be TNA or something. I mean, I had no problem with a four sided ring for the IFL. But seriously six?! I don’t know how much more I can take with the IFL. Good as dead, folks.

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) wasn’t that bad this week: Although I ripped this season of TUF, I must admit that I’m guilty as charged because I’m still watching it. And this week’s episode was by far the best one this season and it just wasn’t because of Jeremy May. I mean the whole, “I predict Matt Brown is going to win … by murder” prediction by Amir was down right hilarious. And how he finished off May as well, you might have thought it was downright murder.

But in all seriousness, Brown is some character but has to be considered one of the favorites to win the show. His attitude in the Octagon is the same attitude when he’s not in it, showing he’s determined to win at all costs. He did look lethargic the first couple minutes of the fight but as the fight wore on, he took total control. From there, he ended the fight with a beautiful head kick that would make even Gabriel Gonzaga happy. He’s all business and you have to feel sorry for whoever’s in his way in the semifinals.

My favorite part of the show was the Cramer-Zachrich fight to end this week’s episode. That fight wasn’t the most technical form of striking I’ve seen but it was just pure entertainment. These guys were swinging from the fences until they had nothing left. It was back and forth action that left me on the edge of my seat. In the end, Cramer took Zachrich down in the second round and won the fight via technical knockout (strikes) to give Team Rampage control of the next fight.

Best fight of the season by far and I’m definitely looking forward to next week. Couldn’t help but notice that we could see the blowup between Rampage and Forrest next week as well. Got to love when the coaches get angry and all hell breaks loose. Hopefully it puts the Ken-Tito confrontations to shame, but then again it’s just for entertainment purposes sometimes right?

That’s about it for this week’s edition of the Friday Night Throwdown here on MMAmania. Next week’s will be the third and final part of my three-part series on UFC 84. We’ll look at the main event between BJ Penn and Sean Sherk for the UFC Lightweight Title. Agree or disagree with anything I said in today’s column? Be sure to reply in our comments section below (and THANKS for all the responses last week, I was overwhelmed by the support!) or e-mail me at the address right here.

Written by admin on May 9th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Friday Night Throwdown and UFC 84 and MMA.

Friday Night Throwdown: UFC 84 fight preview part I

Welcome back folks for another edition of the Friday Night Throwdown here on MMAmania.

This latest installment will be one of a three-part series that takes a look at the three key fights that will headline UFC 84: “Ill Will” on May 24. In part one today, I’ll go in-depth on the upcoming light heavyweight tilt between Wanderlei Silva and Keith Jardine.

In the coming weeks, the Throwdown will also cover both the Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto Machida and BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk match ups.

Put simply, a stellar card takes place 22 days from now as UFC 84 will feature not only a grudge match for the lightweight title, but two key light heavyweight super fights that will determine who could be in line for a title shot.

One of those encounters features the return of Silva and Jardine, who both fought Chuck Liddell at one point last year with mixed results. Wanderlei went to war with Liddell in arguably one of the greatest slugfests ever in the sport while Jardine outworked Liddell to a split decision win.

There are two BIG questions that have to be answered on May 24th:
Is this Wanderlei’s last stand?

There is no question heading into this fight that the fighter who needs to win the most is Silva. One must give credit to Silva because of the fact that the fighters who have defeated him in the past three fights are no slouches. It’s almost a murderer’s row of fights in Henderson, Liddell and Cro Cop. It’s because of this that Silva is already a living legend in this sport.

But the fact still remains that he is on a three fight losing streak and he can ill afford to lose four in a row.

In looking back at the Liddell fight, Liddell’s significant reach advantage was the difference maker. Liddell kept Silva at bay throughout the fight. Silva didn’t have the opportunity to get inside of Liddell’s range without getting caught. Had he been able to close the distance, Silva would’ve been able to utilize his dangerous clinch game. The one thing that Silva should’ve done was to soften Liddell with leg kicks as Jardine did in his fight with Liddell.

But it wasn’t to be and in the end, Liddell won the fight.

Silva will have no problem getting in Jardine’s range in this fight. It’s no secret that Jardine will look to use his effecting kickboxing game to keep Silva from getting too close to throw bombs. Wanderlei has to look to the kicking game as well to soften Jardine to strike with him. Wanderlei has more power than Jardine and his best way to finish the fight is with his strking.

At the end of the day, Silva clearly needs to win this fight to get his esteemed career back on track.

The big money fights are in the light heavyweight division for him. Although many are clamoring for Silva to move down to 185, the man still has the talent to dominate the 205-pound class. The only way I see a move to middleweight is if he doesn’t get back to his winning ways on May 24.

Why does Jardine doesn‘t get any respect?

I’m a big Forrest Griffin fan, but it’s a travesty that Griffin got a title shot before Jardine did.

The reason I say this is because let’s get real here. Griffin defeated Hector Ramirez and Shogun Rua, but Jardine defeated Liddell and GRIFFIN! It’s painfully obvious that the UFC felt a Griffin-Jackson PPV would sell more than Jackson-Jardine, which is the reason Forrest got the title shot.

And what is Jardine left with to prove he should be next in line … a date with the Axe Murderer that’s what!

I’m not the biggest advocate of Jardine but I feel that Jardine deserved the first crack at Rampage. He has the more qualified resume. Granted, Shogun was arguably still the number one light heavyweight in world when Griffin defeated him. By the same token, Jardine defeated the greatest light heavyweight champion in the history of the UFC.

Who was the more popular fighter at the time … Shogun or Liddell?

Back to this fight. A win here for Jardine clearly puts him ahead of Lyoto Machida for the winner of Jackson-Griffin. A loss for Jardine puts him right back on the bottom of totem pole. It’s a travesty folks, yet all Jardine has to do is win this fight and win it convincingly. And he has a hell of chance of winning this fight. All Jardine has to do is not slug with Silva but outwork him on the feet and he walks away with a decision win.

If he decides to get reckless (see Houston Alexander) it will a very short night for Jardine and POOF there goes that title shot!

Who wins this fight?

Tune in to our UFC 84 fight predictions in three weeks of course! Shameless plug to remind you guys to keep coming to the site for all the latest updates and fight predictions!

MMA news and other notes

Rich Franklin moving up to 205?: Rich is between a rock and a hard place at this point. He is perhaps the second best middleweight in the world. But it doesn’t mean a damn thing if the man atop of the division is your kryptonite in two fights. I would trade Franklin to light heavyweight and Wanderlei to middleweight in a heartbeat.

Franklin is clearly still a top draw and fan favorite in eyes of many. I would pick him to defeat the likes of Jardine and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. It wouldn’t hurt for Franklin to even fight Liddell — he would likely him a run for his money. The only fighter I would recommend Franklin to stay away from is Machida, of course, the reason being that Machida KTFO’d Franklin in Japan years ago.

Now I may be getting far ahead of myself here because there is one more big fight for Franklin at 185 against Dan Henderson. Add that with the inevitable middleweight showdown between Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami, and you have one star studded card that could take place in the fall. If Franklin indeed does get by Henderson, it would be wise to move up to 205.

NO ONE WANTS TO SEE FRANKLIN-SILVA III!

Chris Leben turns himself in to clear off a past DUI charge: At first, everyone I knew assumed that Leben was back to his old ways during the first season of the Utimate Fighter. Turns out that it wasn’t the case and that Leben turned himself in to allow him obtain his visa for his fight with Michael Bisping at UFC 85 in London. First off, big props for Leben because he’s one of my favorites and he’s one of the main reasons I was watching that first season of TUF. To see the way he was in that season to the man he is today, got to give respect to the man.

He’s changed for the better and is riding a two fight winning streak since his last defeat. Leben has a hell of chance in the fight with Bisping. I don’t think that Bisping has fought anyone who has power in his hands like Leben. Plus, Leben’s ground game is seriously underrated and if it goes to the ground the edge has to go with Leben. All in all it should a great fight but once again great job Chris on cleaning up your life to be a better fighter.

What do you take from DREAM 2?: For me if there was anything that stands out after the first round of the DREAM 2008 Middleweight Grand Prix is simply one thing. Until he gets a win, Denis Kang is the most overrated middleweight in the world right now. Many sites and experts have Kang in the top 10, but I just don’t see it. He was the prohibitive favorite in this tournament and came up small again. When he gets a win, then people can argue with me if he’s top 10 material or not.

Loser of the Week: CBS Chairman Sumner Redstone was quoted in a report that he doesn’t support his network’s decision to air MMA on free TV. The typical reason of an incompetent moron who doesn’t know a damn thing about MMA is simply this, “I just don’t like the sport.“ Add that with his statement that he thinks it’s not “socially responsible” to air the fights for free. That’s a bad sign for EliteXC with its first card on CBS just four weeks away.

The head honcho of the network doesn’t even support the decision to have MMA on his network!

This is clearly another hurdle MMA must go through to get respected as a legitimate sport and not a flash in the pan like the XFL. Add to the fact that the President of Fox Sports, Ed Goran was quoted as saying about a possible deal with the UFC as “We don’t need money badly.” These guys are clearly unbelievable and just doesn’t give the sport the chance to succeed. The fact of the matter is that FOX, the network that airs shows like Moment of Truth and Celebrity Boxing will eventually have to get a deal done with UFC.

At the same time, if the EliteXC show bombs it could be a huge setback for the sport in regard to being on national television. It doesn’t matter if you a fan of EliteXC or not, if you truly love the sport then you will watch the May 31 show on CBS. Do it for the sport folks, we all know they need the support because it’s clear that the big man upstairs at CBS doesn’t.

That ends another edition of the Friday Night Throwdown here on MMAmania.com. Next week is part two of my UFC 84 preview. Part two will highlight the other light heavyweight bout between Lyoto Machida and Tito Ortiz. Should be a fun FNT next week and I’m looking forward to it. Agree or disagree with the statements made in today’s column? Then be sure to reply in the comments section at the bottom of the page or e-mail me at
chris_Fridaynightthrowdown@yahoo.com.

Until next time … I’ll see right back here next Friday in the Throwdown!

Written by admin on May 2nd, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Friday Night Throwdown and UFC 84 and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and MMA.

Friday Night Throwdown: UFC 83: ‘Serra vs. St. Pierre 2? winners and losers and other notes

Welcome to the debut of the “Friday Night Throwdown” here on MMAmania.com.

Every Friday night here on MMAmania.com, I’ll wrap up the major weekly MMA news and attempt to digest it all. The Throwdown will also include featured columns, fighter interviews and fight previews of all of the big events in the coming months.

In addition, the Throwdown will have a mailbag edition where I’ll be taking questions from you guys on the last Friday of each month.

Whoot! Now I think I can get on with the debut column!

UFC 83 winners and losers

There have been mixed reviews throughout the MMA world and forums about UFC 83. It was a solid show from top to bottom in my opinion. I would’ve given the show a A-; however, one Kalib Starnes brought it down to a B+.

More on him later.

“Ken Flo” did a good job commentating in the absence of everyone’s favorite commentator, Joe Rogan. He’s certainly no Rogan, but his expertise in the fights were spot on and it’s good to hear educated assessments while watching the fights.

Take note, Bill Goldberg.

All I can ask from the UFC is to please stop showing all these damn commercials of the next PPV and upcoming events … GIVE US MORE FIGHTS!

I’d prefer to watch the Damian Maia devastate Ed Herman than another promo for UFC 84. Some of us paid $54.95 to watch the PPV (in HD) and I think we deserve to watch preliminary fights to fill up the time while fighters on the main card get set to enter the Octagon.

The last time they did that was at UFC 80 and man was that one of the best cards of the year. It was worth 55 bucks. Come on Dana, that UFC “On Demand” service is a joke and a couple of my buddies complained of technical difficulties.

Whatever. Now to the losers of UFC 83.

Losers

Travis Lutter: Cripes, his cardio is worse than the gas prices at the pump. He couldn’t make weight in the biggest fight of his career and gassed after one round with Rich Franklin. Everyone thought heading into the fight with “Ace” that Lutter would be in great shape and could give Rich trouble. Well turns out everyone was right, but that was until the end of round one. After that he went from having Franklin in an armbar in the first round to not even able to keep his hands up in the second. Back to the preliminaries is where Lutter goes from here.

Matt Serra: Let’s give Serra credit for showing the heart of champion that night. He took a fight with GSP in his hometown of Montreal and showed no fear. But I couldn’t help myself from saying that the first time was a fluke while GSP was delivering devastating knees to the body at the end of the second round. The good news for Serra in all of this is that there is the potential of finally seeing Serra fight Hughes later in the year. One must not forget as well that there could a future in moving down to 155 if he desires. He would have the resume of being a former champion in a higher weight class and could give guys like Penn and Florian some trouble. Serra could be a big lightweight and his overall MMA game has evolved since moving up to 170.

Kalib Starnes: Man, what hasn’t been said already this past week about Kalib Starnes in his fight against Nate Quarry. It’s one thing to run away from a guy like Quarry for three rounds, it’s another thing to do it in your home country. I picked Starnes in our fight predictions to defeat Quarry by the accounts of having better all around skills. I should’ve known better by Starnes’ character as a fighter alone. The perfect example of this was his fight against Kendall Grove during the third season of the Ultimate Fighter — he literally quit in the middle of the fight with bruised ribs. You just don’t do that, and a bigger man would let the round come to an end then throw in the towel or get pounded vis a vis BJ Penn. Granted, bruised ribs are no joke, but when you’re competing for a UFC contract, you got to leave everything in the Octagon. I’ll give Quarry credit for entertaining everyone but for fans like me who paid a hefty sum to watch fighters give their all, I never want to see him on my TV again.

Winners

Rich Franklin: I was tempted to put Rich Franklin on the list of the losers at UFC 83. Why you ask? Because it’s one thing to get a win to get back on track, but it’s another thing when the division you are in has a champion who has destroyed you twice in convincing fashion. The bottom line is that even though Franklin is a top five 185 pounder he is limited as long as Anderson Silva is still the champ. Rich is going nowhere near the Spider. The next logical matchup for Franklin is possibly a high profile showdown with one Dan Henderson.

Michael Bisping: This fight was almost a given for Bisping but he did what he was supposed to do in defeating Charles McCarthy. In a division that isn’t as deep as the light heavyweight division, the 185-pound class is the perfect division in which Bisping can excel. He’s not ready for the Dan Henderson or Anderson Silvas of the world, but a couple of solid wins could get him in line for a title shot in a year or two. He’ll fight Chris Leben at UFC 85, which MMAmania.com revealed first, and it’s going to be a slugfest from beginning to end.

Georges St-Pierre: Of course, GSP was the biggest winner of UFC 83 in the way he thoroughly dominated Serra from the opening bell. This was the GSP we all thought would destroy Serra in the first fight 12 months ago. The GSP that ripped through the welterweight division en route to his first welterweight title. It’s a scary thought for anyone at 170 who thinks that GSP is a mental midget. Remember this though: it’s one thing to be champion and it’s sure as hell harder to stay champion. Everyone thought that GSP would rule the welterweight division for years to come until Serra came along. I think this second go around for GSP will go much more smoothly. Next up for GSP is obviously Jon Fitch, the man who’s as hot as anyone in the UFC right now. It’s a tough fight but a fight GSP should win … key word is “should.”

Other MMA news and notes of the week

Chuck Liddell out, James Irvin in at UFC 85 to face Rashad Evans: With a torn hamstring suffered during training, the “Iceman” was forced to pull out of his fight with Rashad “Boogie Nights” Evans at UFC 85.

Irvin is penciled in to fight Evans after his eight second knockout over Houston Alexander at the last UFC Fight Night. It’s a solid matchup but not quite the fight Rashad needs right now. Rashad blew his chance to enter the upper echelon of the light heavyweight division by going to a draw with Tito Ortiz at UFC 73. A win over Liddell would have boosted his stock in the division overnight and put him, more than likely, next in line for a title shot.

Irvin is no pushover of course, but the fact remains that he’s a gatekeeper in this division. I have been telling people for years now that a move to middleweight would benefit Irvin. If he continues to fight in this division, he’s only going to be a gatekeeper where he could be a contender if he moved to 185. In the end, Evans will dance around Irvin until he takes him down and pounds out the decision win.

If there is any winner in all of this, it’s Liddell in the end. Why? Because if it can be fully healed by say September; there’s a guy name Shogun who could be healthy by then as well. The original main event of UFC 85 was to be Liddell-Rua, but now there’s a good chance it could take place in the fall. Liddell benefits from this greatly because if were to get by Rua in Septemember and Rampage defeats Griffin in July, you can put money in the bank that we’ll see Rampage-Liddell III in December.

But then again … shouldn’t Keith Jardine be the next man to fight for the title if he gets by Wanderlei Silva?

WEC 34 is loaded: If you’re not a fan of the WEC yet, be sure to watch the next WEC card on June 1. It’s the biggest card in the young promotion’s history. Besides the main event of Jens Pulver and Urijah Faber, you have the debut of ‘Pequeno’ Noguiera to the return of Jeff Curran and Rob McCollough. Oh yeah, and the one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, Miguel Torres, will also be in action. This card is star-studded and will answer a lot of questions for guys like Faber and McCullough.

Bad DREAMS: Sucks to be a fighter in the DREAM promotion after news that the promotion no longer has a television deal in Japan. This hurts because the closest thing to PRIDE was DREAM and they couldn’t even survive one event in terms of viewers. The biggest rating during the whole telecast was when Mirko Cro Cop fought and after that the ratings plummeted from there. The organization in Japan that benefits from this is World Victory Road, who have former PRIDE stars Josh Barnett and Takanori Gomi.

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) looks the same: This season of TUF is really no different from past seasons once the whole win or go home portion of the show ended. The only thing that keeps me watching is Rampage and what he says. It’s a damn shame that the UFC has failed to market him after he defeated Liddell. Sure, he’s being marketed now with the show, but it’s been a long time coming. With aging stars like Liddell, Ortiz and even Couture, the UFC needs to showcase the future in guys like Rampage and GSP.

Wrap Up

That’s all I got this week in the debut column of the Throwdown.

If you have any questions that needs to be answered, don’t be afraid to e-mail me at chris_Fridaynightthrowdown@yahoo.com. Your comments would be greatly appreciated and I want to hear from you guys soon!

Written by admin on April 25th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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