The Juggernaut MMA News Report 06.03.09: Kimbo Surprise, Strikeforce & WEC Previews

Posted by Jonathan Solomon on 06.03.2009

The Juggernaut News Report debuts with previews of major Strikeforce and WEC weekend shows. Plus we cover news including Kimbo Slice being UFC bound, Affliction 3, Rampage/Rashad, Trigg, fools not blaming Sokoudjou, Frank Mir taking questions and much more. Also check out your weekly TUF preview as the semi-final fights begin to see which fighters are the favorites to win the six-figure UFC contract.

Welcome to another busy week and for those wondering, the new digs are fantastic. The Juggernaut has adapted to a full fledged weekly news report. What better time for it to happen then right now with two big MMA shows slated for the weekend. This week, I will preview each show, cover all the MMA news and drop some knowledge. Oh yeah.


Up first is the return of Strikeforce on Showtime as they present their third post-EXC purchase event, Lawler vs. Shields from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The main five-fight card is stacked with big names and features some of about everything (sadly, no giant freak show fights here).

An interesting fact is two of the five fights will be fought at catchweights Usually when this happens, it is because promoters want to bring a fight to the people they anticipate will be awesome between fighters in different weight classes. You usually do not see it too often because promoters will tend to want to keep to the weight classes (this is meant towards American promotions). However, one of the few big problems for Strikeforce is the fact their roster is limited. Sure, they have some awesome fighters, but the number is limited. For you and I, why worry about that though? We will see (what should be) amazing fights on Saturday night.






Main Event
Catchweight (182lbs) bout
Robbie Lawler vs. Jake Shields

This fight pits the last Elite-XC Middleweight Champion against the last Elite-XC Welterweight Champion. Neither man has fought since the death of EXC. Lawler last defeated Scott Smith last July while Shields defeated Paul Daley in October. Shields will be moving up in weight (he will have to put on about 12lbs. to make weight while Lawler should be fine (he normally fights at 185lbs.). Shields has fought at middleweight earlier in his career so he should not be effected by the extra weight.

This is an interesting fight because Lawler is known for his boxing skills and power while Shields is recognized as one of the more dangerous Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters in his normal weight class. Lawler trains with Matt Hughes and the H.I.T. Squad while Shields trains with Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez. Both fighters will be well prepared for this fight, to say the least.

Robbie Lawler rarely fights to a decision, he has only two in 23 career fights. He is 18-4 with one no contest. He lost three fights between 2003 and 2004 (submission to Pete Spratt, KO to Nick Diaz, submission to Evan Tanner) and then was submitted by Mayhem Miller in 2006. Otherwise, Lawler has won his fights by using power (15 of his 18 wins came by TKO/KO...damn). It is no secret that Lawler will want to keep the fight standing and force Jake Shields into a boxing match. If he is able to do so, he has the advantage. Shields has said he will not be afraid to stand and trade with Lawler, but hopefully he has a better strategy then Sean Sherk did heading into his UFC 98 fight with Frankie Edgar last week.

Jake Shields is 22-4-1 and has not tasted defeat since a 2004 decision loss to Akira Kikuchi in Shooto. Since then, he has defeated the likes of Yushin Okami, Carlos Condit, Mike Pyle and Nick Thompson. Of his victories, half have gone to a decision and eight have ended by submission. Rarely will Shields win by knockout. Of his defeats, he has only been finished once (by TKO in his third professional fight) so he is not going to quit. That is what makes this fight so interesting on paper. It is clear Shields will be best suited to take the fight to the ground with his wrestling and turn it into a grappling match.

Chances are, we will see how Shields' chin holds up against one of the top middleweight strikers. This is a three-round fight but both men are usually in terrific shape so do not count on either being blown up and gasping for air if they head to the third round.


Heavyweight bout
Andrei Arlovski vs. Brett Rogers

Wow, talk about a step up in competition for Brett Rogers. He is 9-0 with eight wins by KO/TKO and has gone past the first round only once. The most well known opponent he has fought was James Thompson on the same show where Kimbo Slice made quick work of Tank Abbott. Rogers' game is no secret, he is a fighter who likes to stand and punch. He is a big heavyweight, he stands at 6'4 and weighs about 260lbs., so he will have that on The Pitbull.

Arlovski will be stepping into the cage/ring for the first time since he was KNOCKED OUT by Fedor Emelianenko in January. Arlovski has been talking about going into professional boxing and just within the past three weeks, his name popped up for this show when Alistair Overeem was not going to fight. Arlovski is one of the best heavyweights in the sport (ranked #4 by 411mania) and may have the best boxing skills out of any heavyweight in the sport.

In case you could not tell, this fight will end quickly. It will end with a knockout. Unless Arlovski's chin is totally shot, he should win.

Rogers has never fought a heavyweight who can move like a light heavyweight and hit harder than most. Really, this fight comes down to how well Rogers' has improved in terms of defense. If Arlovski wanted to surprise most, he would use his Sambo/Wrestling skills and take Rogers down. However, Arlovski may underestimate his opponent and feel a quick KO is on the horizon. If he does, watch for an upset if Rogers can land the right shot.

With that said, looking at the facts, Andrei Arlovski should win this fight. It would be an upset if he did not.


Catchweight (179lbs) bout
Nick Diaz vs. Scott Smith

Another mix of fighters here as natural welterweight Nick Diaz fights natural middleweight Scott Smith. This should be another exciting fight and with the two men involved, it is almost guaranteed to be so. Smith is a walking highlight reel after his amazing knockout of Benji Radach in April. Nick Diaz is fresh off his massacre of Frank Shamrock on that same show and with no premiere welterweights available, they decided to match the two together. If nothing else, the fight should be entertaining.

Smith has not won a fight by submission since 2003 (his only submission win) and of his five career defeats, two are by submission. This will be something to pay attention to against the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Nick Diaz. Smith lost to Robbie Lawler because Lawler was the better boxer. Smith lost to Ed Herman because he could not defend the takedowns from the wrestler and was weakened by his ground and pound, then finished by a rear naked choke. Smith has his weaknesses that Diaz should be able to exploit. Obviously, you can never underestimate any professional fighter, but Diaz may have the advantage heading into the fight because he should not be worried about Smith taking the fight to the ground.

Smith has power in his hands and will undoubtedly look to turn this fight into a boxing match. The interesting storyline here is whether or not Nick Diaz can hang with him. Some may say Diaz has not fought a great striker since he was beaten by K.J. Noons (on cuts) in 2007. If Diaz chooses to stand and trade, Smith will return the favor and he may hurt the elder Diaz. Nick Diaz may be best suited to take the fight to the ground and work for the submission (he has not won by submission since 2006), otherwise, this is an equal fight.

We should throw the Diaz/Frank Shamrock fight away when looking at this upcoming fight. No offense to Frank Shamrock, but from most accounts, he was injured heading into the fight against a much bigger foe. Scott Smith is not a smaller fighter than Diaz and he will not be bullied, the way Shamrock was. Nick Diaz's patented "pitter patter" (for lack of a better description) style of punching may not look like the most powerful strikers but they get the job done. I don't see how Diaz will be able to stand and pick apart Smith with unlimited combinations as he did Shamrock.

To review, this fight will come down to the following factors:
1) Will Nick Diaz look to take the fight to the ground? If so, can Scott Smith defend the takedowns?

and

2) Is Nick Diaz willing to stand in the pocket and trade with Scott Smith?


As an aside, Scott Smith recently talked about his desire to fight for the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship soon. Don't remember that belt? That's because Cung Le is the reigning champion and has not defended it since he defeated Frank Shamrock in March of last year. Le is busy in Hollywood and has no plans to return to the cage anytime soon. Smith even suggested Strikeforce create an Interim-Middleweight belt if Le is not going to fight. If Smith is able to win this fight, you have to assume he shoots right to the top of championship (or interim-championship) consideration for Strikeforce.


Welterweight bout
Phil Baroni vs. Joe Riggs

There is some heat between these two fighters as Riggs was disappointed with having to fight Baroni and not Jake Shields (prior to the Shields/Lawler fight being scheduled). Baroni is pissed at Riggs for underestimating him, yada yada yada. Phil Baroni is on a three-fight win streak with each fight being held in different promotions. He last defeated Olaf Alfonso by decision last September. Joe Riggs last defeated Luke Stewart via TKO at a Strikeforce show in November.

Baroni predicts a blazing knockout victory in this fight and proclaimed that Riggs was too small and not 100% healthy. I chalk all this up to Baroni's hyping abilities, Riggs should be as healthy as a fighter can be.

Frankly, this is a toss-up fight for me. Baroni can end it quickly with a knockout, and for that matter, so can Riggs. However, is Baroni's cardio up to par? If he blows his gas in the early minutes looking for the big knockout, Riggs should have the opportunity to control the rest of the fight and look for a submission.

Both are veterans with some kind of success and if nothing else, this fight may produce a possible contender for Strikeforce's welterweight division.


Light Heavyweight bout
Kevin Randleman vs. Mike Whitehead

Kevin Randleman returns to fight in the United States for the first time since 2006 and the second time in almost seven years. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion has had a slew of controversy surround him in recent years from a failed Nevada State Athletic Commission drug test (submitted fake urine), serious health issues (kidneys) and overall wear and tear from a ten-plus year career. Now he is finally sanctioned to fight stateside and will be fighting for just the second time since the end of 2006. He returned to MMA last year with a win of Ryo Kawamura at Sengoku II.

Randleman's wrestling and power are legendary, but I do not feel comfortable picking him to win just yet. This is still just his second fight in about three years, a fact that will affect any man.

His opponent will journeyman veteran Mike Whithead who has been an active fighter for the better part of this entire decade. This will be his first fight of 2009 after going 2-1 in 2008 (two first-round submission wins, over Zak Jensen and Leo Pla; and a decision loss to Babalu Sobral).

An interesting (possibly irrelevent) side story to this fight is the role of Xtreme Couture. Mike Whitehead left the camp some time ago and Randleman has been training with them for this upcoming fight. While both fighters have downplayed the roll of pre-fight strategy, you have to wonder if there is something to it.

I will be picking Whitehead simply because right now, Randleman is a huge, blonde question mark.



He's Baaaaack




Now it's time to take a brief look at WEC 41, airing Sunday evening on Versus. With Frank Mir training for his big fight next month and Jens Pulver on the card, the color-commentator will be Kenny Florian (who has his own big fight set for August). The long awaited championship rematch between Mike Brown and Urijah Faber has finally, and quietly arrived. I will say that it has been a bit odd to see UFC people hype this fight as the biggest rematch everyone has wanted to see. Obviously this is the fight that's here but I think it's pretty safe to say Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir 2 is the rematch everyone wants to see. Not that Brown vs. Faber 2 will be bad or people don't want to see it, because it should be a classic, but WEC has hit a dry spell in terms of marketing (WEC 41 is not doing numbers close to Faber vs. Pulver 1, let's face it).






Main Event
Featherweight Championship bout
Mike Brown (c) vs. Urijah Faber

An interesting trivia note for each fighter: Mike Brown's four career defeats have all occurred by submission. Urijah Faber's two career defeats have all occurred by technical knockout. What does this tell us? While both men are great fighters and two of the best featherweights on Earth, they can be beaten. They have weaknesses like any other human and you have to figure each fighter has studied everything about their opponent to where they feel like brothers (...who don't speak).

This is one of the most anticipated fights of the year. Sadly, as I mentioned earlier there has not been much hype besides "the hardcore fans.". Where have all the advertisements been? Remember the hype before the first Faber/Jens Pulver fight?

In any event, this is an intriguing match-up because both men are physical freaks. They are both powerful and great wrestlers. They are both dangerous in any situation in the cage and for that reason, the fight may end at any given moment. It is those reasons why it is difficult to pick a winner here.

An interesting angle being portrayed is whether Urijah Faber will underestimate Mike Brown again and try those unorthodox maneuvers in the cage, which arguably cost him the championship at WEC 36 in November. Since then, Mike Brown totally decimated Leonard Garcia in under two minutes by battering him with punches and finishing him with a beautiful arm-triangle chokehold. For Urijah Faber, he defeated Jens Pulver a second time, and it only took him 94 seconds to do it. He submitted Pulver with a guillotine choke in January. Yes, these two men are the best featherweights in the world, no doubt in my mind.

How often do you see the top two very best in any given weight division square off? Not too often. For those wondering, I will be picking Mike Brown to win and retain his championship belt. He has the skills to match Faber and win. He may have more power in his hands than Faber and it is there I think his advantage will most help him win the fight. If Faber comes out and chooses to stand and trade, he will need his speed and footwork to pick Brown apart without leaving himself open for the big, devastating punch.

Since Brown's last defeat, in 2005, he is 9-0 and has only left the first round three times, going to two decisions. He is a disciplined fighter who rarely is taken out of his realm. The same can be said about Faber, but there is something about the fact he is the face of WEC and all that comes with that. Is Faber going to underestimate Brown again? Mike Brown certainly thinks so and don't think for one second that does not add fuel to his fire to win this fight.

I do not see Faber knocking Brown out which means for Faber to win, he will need to wear Mike Brown down and submit him or take him the distance for a decision. Right now, I do not see Mike Brown wearing down and allowing himself to be caught in a submission hold.

In any event, whether this is a striking war or a wrestling match, it should be a million kinds of awesome. Enjoy it because huge fights like this do not roll by too often.


Featherweight bout
Jose Aldo vs. Cub Swanson

This is an easy fight to pick and it's not meant to be disrespectful to Cub Swanson. On paper, Jose Aldo is just plain better. Swanson's strength is his grappling abilities. Well, Jose Aldo is a world Jiu-Jitsu champion and a Black belt in BJJ. It just so happens that Aldo also possesses a downright dangerous boxing skill set that is great in its own right.

I think it's a fair statement to say Swanson has never fought someone who is great at both grappling and striking like Jose Aldo is.

Frankly, this fight is on the card to get Aldo another TV win and build him up to receive the next WEC Featherweight Championship shot later in the year against the winner of the main event.

If Swanson does pull off the upset, it would be a bigger upset than Brown's win over Faber last year. Much, much bigger.


Lightweight bout
Donald Cerrone vs. James Krause

This will be James Krause's debut in WEC and his record is in question. According to WEC, he is 10-10 in his career. According to Sherdog, he is 10-0. Someone is right, someone is wrong, I'm going with the Sherdog ranking.

Krause is going to have a two-inch height advantage against the top WEC lightweight championship contender, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone.Cerrone was close to realizing his dream of becoming a champion until an errant injury forced his title fight with Jamie Varner to end prematurely during the fifth round, resulting in a split-decision win for champion Jamie Varner. This will be Cerrone's first fight since then, four months ago.

Frankly, everyone expects Cerrone to waltz to victory here and he probably should. However, nobody knows much about Krause and Cerrone self-admittingly does not know much about his opponent. That should definitely play to the WEC-rookie's advantage.

Krause has never gone to a decision and has only left the first round once in his ten-fight career. He has eight wins by submission and two by knockout. Despite being new to the scene, this may turn into a fun, explosive contest.

Still, without knowing too much about Krause, I have to go with the known quantity that is "Cowboy."


Featherweight bout
Jens Pulver vs. Josh Grispi

Jens Pulver tries to right his career at this stage of his life. Of his last six fights (dating back to 2006), he has lost five of them. Frankly, besides his one win (over Cub Swanson), he was only competitive in one fight (the first Faber fight). Josh Grispi is a 20-year old MMA fighter with a 12-1 record. He went undefeated last year by choking out Mark Hominick and knocking out Micah Miller.

Pulver may not retire but it is showing often in his fights that his time is closing as a competitive professional MMA fighter. Hopefully he does not get seriously hurt in any fight he has these days and for a competitive individual, it has to be difficult to come to terms with that.

Grispi is a solid grappler with striking skills to boot. Unless Pulver can land that big left hand, I think Grispi will take the fight early with a submission.

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JUGGERNAUT NEWS BRIEFS

- Yahoo! Sports broke the news Monday evening that has sent a lightning bolt through the MMA community. Kimbo Slice will participate as one of sixteen heavyweights in the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, which began filming this week. Yes, you read that right. The UFC confirmed yesterday that TUF10 will feature an entire cast of heavyweights (not half heavyweights, half middleweights as long believed) and coaches Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans. WOW. Imagine the possibilities of Kimbo Slice on TUF. How will he coexist with the other fighters? Will Slice be chosen #1 by the coach with the first overall selection? Imagine if he is not. That would be hilarious. Imagine if Rampage coaches Kimbo, the television would be outstanding. UFC President has long talked about the only way Kimbo would make it to the UFC would be to go through TUF, especially after his knockout loss to Seth Petruzelli last year. Now it appears Slice has put his money where his mouth is and will try and bust his ass to get a UFC contract. This is the type of shot in the arm the show has needed for years. If you look at TUF's TV ratings on Spike TV, the series averaged its highest rating during the third season (1.7) and has been on the decline ever since. Kimbo Slice is a PROVEN television draw. Now with the UFC brand behind him, he should become a bigger draw and help TUF become as close to "must-see" television as it was in its initial season. The TUF10 finale is set for December 5th so I assume the season will begin on Spike around late-August/early-September. There is absolutely no negative that can come from this, so color me happy.



UFC, Meet Slice, Kimbo Slice


- Dana White is blogging in the lead up to WEC 41 this week. In this first video blog, Kimbo Slice appears and talks about his reasons for participating in TUF10. He wants to prove the haters wrong (Dana White included) and make money to provide for his family. At the end of the video blog, Dana White talks about some business deal he's working on with Lorenzo Ferttita in Los Angeles. He hyped it up by saying once it is finalized, it would change the UFC and MMA forever. Ugh, don't you just hate when he does that? I may be wrong, but the last time he did that, didn't the deal turn out to be something frivolous like action figures or big sponsorships? Don't get your hopes up, that's all I will say.


- August only has five weekends, but already we are set to witness at least four big MMA shows. The newest addition to the line-up (which already includes UFC 101 on 8/8, WEC 42 on 8/9 and UFC 102 on 8/29) is the next presentation from AFFLICTION. Scheduled for Saturday night, August 1st, Affliction: Trilogy will be the next stacked card from the other t-shirt people. Held from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, we shall finally see the fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett. Yes, the WAMMA strap will be on the line whose only purpose is to make the fight a five-round contest. Also on the card will be Tim Sylvia's return to MMA against Paul Buentello, Jay Hieron vs. Paul Daley, Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon and much more. One fight that may be cancelled is the proposed battle between Vitor Belfort and Gegard Mousasi. Originally slated as a middleweight fight, Mousasi has no intention of moving back down in weight. Belfort has no intention of fighting at any other weight besides 185lbs and will likely not agree to a catchweight fight.




Throughout Fedor Emelianenko's famed career, he has fought just about every significant heavyweight to pass through Japan, and some who have made their name in the United States. Other than the UFC crew (Randy Couture, Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, etc.), the one guy he has not fought all these years is Josh Barnett. If memory serves correctly, they were supposed to fight at several points in their career but for one reason or another, it always fell apart. Well, with no real option, Affliction has made the fight and we shall finally see it. Barnett is bigger than Fedor, although it's not like The Last Emperor has not fought bigger men before. This fight will mark Barnett's 30th professional contest. He has only been beaten five times including three by Mirko Cro Cop. Otherwise, he lost by KO to Pedro Rizzo at UFC 30 and a decision to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at PRIDE Shockwave 2006. Fedor has never fought Rizzo, but he is 2-0 against Nogueira and 1-0 against Cro Cop.

My big question, cab Barnett wrestle with Fedor and control him on the ground? The smaller question, will Dana White actually pull for Fedor Emelianenko?


- M-1 Global is reporting that Gegard Mousasi is expected to fight Renato "Babalu" Sobral at Affliction 3. This came about after Vitor Belfort refused to fight Mousasi at catchweight (which would have been about 195lbs.) and Mousasi refused to fight at middleweight. Back when the news first broke about a possible Mousasi/Belfort fight, I thought it sounded odd after all the talk from Mousasi about needing to move up in weight. Apparently he's too big to fight at 185lbs. and is interested at fighting as a light heavyweight or heavyweight. Right now this leaves Belfort without an opponent although there is plenty of time for an announcement to be given. Perhaps even as soon as later today at the Affliction press conference in New York City. The possible Mousasi/Sobral fight should be great and right now, I would have to pick Mousasi who is on a great streak of performances.


- To the surprise of some, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson chose to coach on TUF10: The Heavyweights and fight Rashad Evans, instead of jumping straight into a title fight with Lyoto Machida. Rampage/Evans is slated for December 2009 (possibly UFC 106). Apparently, there is a bit of bad blood between the two former light heavyweight champions coming from their stare down after Rampage defeated Evans' friend, Keith Jardine in March. Rampage has also talked about taking the time to spend with his family and refine his skills. Specifically, Rampage said, "I haven't been slamming people in a while. I want to get back to slamming people and stuff like that. I want to be more unpredictable. I was unpredictable back in the day. And be like the ultimate fighter, the one who can do everything, like GSP baby."


- Electronic Arts announced on Monday at E3 (check out 411mania.com/games for all the information) under their EA Sports brand that EA Sports: MMA is in production and will hit stores in 2010. EA Sports is one of the most popular sports video game producers in the world and will try their hand at MMA. The biggest question is which fighters will be in the game? The UFC contracted fighters will not be available (and you wonder about guys like Tito Ortiz or Andrei Arlovski who may be in the UFC Undisputed game, I'm not sure) and how about former UFC fighters? This is where the contracts come into play and whether the former UFC fighters have control over their likenesses. If EA doesn't align with an MMA promotion such as Strikeforce, this may end up being one of those old-school baseball games with no real people. No information is available so we're still grasping at straws.


- Contrary to reports last week, Frank "Twinkle Toes" Trigg does not have a fight with Josh Koscheck officially set up. Trigg announced he signed back with the UFC last week and will fight as a welterweight inside the octagon for the first time since 2005 when he lost to both Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre. Trigg left the UFC and compiled a 7-2 record since 2006 including wings over Jason Miller, Kazuo Misaki and Edwin Dewees. His two losses were at the hands of Carlos Condit and Robbie Lawler. Trigg recently turned 37-years old and despite the natural pairing, a potential third fight with Matt Hughes does not seem logical. Hughes defeated Trigg twice, in 2003 and 2005 both by rear naked choke. After their amazing fight at UFC 52 (check out my UFC 52 DVD Review here), their feud for all intents and purposes came to an end. Perhaps the UFC may go towards a rematch between Trigg and Carlos Condit. As of today, no official word so continue to wonder.




- It would have been sweet to see Rampage/Machida but there is no way anyone should not be happy they get to see this fight. Plus, we get to see Rampage and Evans coach for thirteen weeks on SpikeTV. While Rampage's first stint on the show was a bit of a disappointment, this time he is hungry and has some sort of rival opposite him. It will be interesting to see Evans as a coach on the same show he was criticized for being too much of a showboat by Matt Hughes. Somehow, I doubt Evans will bring Hughes in as a guest coach.


- With Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans and Forrest Griffin all booked for fights, that left new champion Lyoto Machida with a space to fill. The UFC announced late last week that Lyoto Machida will make his first UFC Light Heavyweight Championship defense against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. The fight is slated for October 24th at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. My how things change. If you had said to any MMA fan in 2008 that by the end of 2009, Lyoto Machida would be defending the gold against Shogun Rua in Hollywood, you would have been called names that would even make Boss Csonka blush.

Nevertheless, this fight now is going to be highly anticipated by the time the fall season rolls around. People will criticize Shogun for beating two old men (Mark Coleman and Chuck Liddell) to get the title shot, but this (on paper) is a great match-up. Assuming both men will be healthy and in the same form that brought them to the dance, it has the makings of a classic fight. Both men have knockout power and tremendous striking capabilities. Machida has the famous style that absorbs few strikes while Shogun loves to fight from the clinch and use his knees and Muay Thai background.

Yes, this will be awesome. The Karate fighter taking on the Muay Thai fighter. Hell friggin' yeah~!


- Some MMA commentators tried to twist the fiasco surrounding Sokoudjou around into taking any blame away from the fighter. At DREAM 9, Sokoudjou was "ground-and-pounding" Jan Nortje, even after the ref stopped the fight. To my count, Sokoudjou landed four or five shots after the fight was over. Nortje's corner was angry but cooler heads prevailed and a brawl was avoided. Sokoudjou apologized in the ring and after the fight backstage. He even went on HDNet's Inside MMA show to publicly apologize and accept blame. For the record, DREAM has not punished him in any way (he will advance in the Open Weight Super Hulk Tournament). Some MMA commentators have placed full blame on the referee for allegedly not jumping in and forcefully stopping Sokoudjou. Well, if you watch the video, the referee clearly jumps in and tries to stop the action. Sokoudjou actually had to go around the ref to land a shot or two. So to conclude, Sokoudjou is to blame for the way his win ended and the ref is not.

Check the video for yourself.





- Two days ago, the UFC officially announced the Mirko Cro Cop vs. Mostapha Al-Turk fight for UFC 99 in Germany. The UFC hoped to be able to promote his fight for weeks now with Mostapha Al-turk to help draw more fans from Europe. They have not been able to do so because until now, it was still unclear as to whether the fight will still go down. I have not heard a real reason as to why the contract took so long this close to the date of the fight to complete. If nothing else, this shows the UFC does not consider Cro Cop has a potential serious contender. That is not to say that most people did, but he still has some drawing power somewhere in the world. Definitely not in North America, but you would figure the two spots he could most help would be in Japan and as close to his native Croatia as possible. The UFC is not going to run a show in Japan in the near future so why not use the once feared heavyweight now? The UFC won't lose anything by using the heavyweight at least once in 2009.


- Tim Sylvia is not doing much to get rid of that aura of "BIG GOOF" that followed him around in MMA. As you probably don't know, and don't care, Sylvia will be boxing (alleged 48-year old) Ray Mercer on June 13th in Alabama (because they could not be sanctioned elsewhere). In an interview with Fighters Only Magazine, Sylvia said, "I didn't know when I was gonna fight [MMA] again and this kind of came around and presented itself to me so I said 'Yeah', you know? [Boxing] is something I've always wanted to pursue, and if it works out like I'd like for it too, I can switch over. I don't want to be done with MMA, but the money is a lot better in boxing. Plus it's a lot easier on your body and it's a lot easier to train for a boxing match than it is an MMA match." So yeah, the man who has a crazy contract in MMA is going to try his hand in pro boxing because the money is better? Give me a break. Tim Sylvia is not a draw of any kind. What makes him think that he will be able to earn more in pro boxing than the approximate $800,000 he did for his Affliction fight with Fedor Emelianenko last year? Bless the guy for trying, but I am left wondering why he really is trying to box. Besides the whole competition part, why? Does he think he can somehow magically turn his novice boxing background into a chase for one of the Klitschko's? Perhaps he felt he should open his options up in case Affliction stopped promoting fight cards? Maybe Affliction asked him to take a pay cut and he was unhappy? Who knows, but one thing I do know is if old man Mercer can stand with Sylvia, no good can come of it. Hell, no good can come of the fight in any way. Nobody will pay to see it. If Sylvia knocks him out, so what? He beat up a possibly 50-year old man. Otherwise, an old and washed up boxer was able to stand (or worse, beat) with a former UFC champion (arguably) in his prime. Ugh!


- Satoshi Ishii, the 22-year old Japanese gold medalist at last year's Summer Olympic Games has officially signed an MMA contract with the World Victory Road promotion in Japan. This comes several months after Ishii began negotiations with the UFC with the intention of fighting in the United States as a light heavyweight or heavyweight. I'm not sure if Ishii ever actually signed with the UFC (only because Dana White said earlier this year if Ishii wanted to "cash in" on a lucrative Japan offer, he would let him out of a contract), but I will assume he did not. Ishii has spent time training with the American Top Team, the Machida's in Brazil and even stopped by to train for a few days with the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York. Ishii has also expressed a desire to travel to Russia to train with Fedor Emelianenko. It is safe to assume he signed with WVR for many millions (one number I saw said a max of $4 million) and will fight "safe" opponents to increase his already giant-sized celebrity in his native land. The promoters can go in any direction in terms of his first MMA opponent but you would think they would not throw him to the proverbial wolves. Why kill a cash cow before he can make you a ton of money? A quick glance of the WVR roster shows the following heavyweights: Josh Barnett (non-exclusive), Hidehiko Yoshida, Travis Wiuff (of Yamma "fame"), Antonio Silva, Kazuyuki Fujita and other lesser known fighters. Not exactly a who's who of non-UFC fighters, that's for sure.

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TUF9 Concludes First Round Fights


The ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter has been a mix of solid shows and passable episodes. Most of the welterweight and lightweight fighters do not appear to have the skills necessary to stick around in the UFC long after the Finale later this month. The USA vs. UK theme is hit or miss and generally the entire team concept has been a bit stale since 2006-07. However, every now and then you get an episode that is awesome.

Awesome was last week's airing featuring the best UK fighter (and Michael Bisping/Wolfslair training partner) David Faulkner against someone from the United States. Jason Pierce was hurt and Dana White saw through him and ruled he was not able to fight. Next comes Frank Lester who will be famous for having his false teeth knocked out (real time, occurring two days before this fight...TV time, several weeks back). Lester is a brawler with limited defense and apparently, no ground skills. His big asset is his heart as the former U.S. Army man is filled with the desire to fight. In this episode, his mental doubts returned and there was no crazy Lester shadowboxing air like there was before his first, first round fight.

Faulkner has been hyped by Team UK for weeks, except his big problem is the mental side in addition to a mouthpiece issue. He tends to gag with the mouthpiece, which obviously inhibits his ability to fight a potential three-round fight. Faulkner is known for his submission game and not for his striking.

The fight was a war that never reached the mat. They swung at each other for ten minutes. Faulkner took the first round, 10-9. In the second, Faulkner gassed as Lester was able to take his punishment and unleash his own. By the end, Faulkner was literally jogging away and putting his hands on his own knees to try and get some air. Lester earned the 10-9 there which meant sudden death overtime. However, Faulkner had trouble breathing and would not come out of his corner for the third round, making Lester the winner. The editing of the episode was tremendous. Obviously, Bisping was pissed off at his teammate for not wanting to fight. What made it worse? Faulkner said he was pleased with the fight and was ecstatic for his opponent who earned a spot to the semi-finals.

Also in the episode, the first real blow-up between Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping. In a bit of a childish display, Bisping was not happy with Henderson's request to switch training times. This led Bisping to squirt water at Damarques Johnson for something he did not say. Henderson concluded Bisping is like one of his young children when they don't get their way.


This evening, TUF9 loses the country-nature of the show. Dana White wants countryman to fight countryman in the name of better match-ups and guarantee a USA/UK match-up for the finale. Coaches Henderson and Bisping dislike the idea, but obviously, Dana will get his way.

Also in the preview, off all people (ie. he looks like the nicest guy on Team USA), Richie Whitson gets in Jason Pierce's face about his lack of fighting spirit.

The semi-finals include the following fighters:

Welterweights: Nick Osipaczak, James Wilks, Frank Lester and Damarques Johnson
Lightweights: Ross Pearson, Andre Winner, Jason Dent and Cameron Dollar

Right now, I have no clue or feeling as to whom may win the welterweight contract. Lester has to be considered the biggest underdog as his skills are simply striking. For example, if he were to fight James Wilks (a BJJ fighter), Lester would likely be submitted. Osipaczak had only three pro fights before heading to the show while Damarques Johnson has been given a lot of TV time and has either a 9-6 or 13-6 record depending on who you believe.

Among the lightweights, the big underdog would have to be Cameron Dollar. Not to say that Dent is a favorite but he seems to be 'just there.' A lot of people refer to him as a gatekeeper in the sense that he will beat lesser competition and usually fall to better fighters. The two favorites would be UK's Ross Pearson and Andre WInner. If they were forced to fight to get to the finals, that would be one hell of a fight and would likely produce the lightweight contract winner.

Of course, Cameron Dollar may be this season's Amir Sadollah, so the only way to know is to watch them fight.

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JUGGERNAUT VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Last week at UFC 98, Frank Mir held a Q & A session for UFC Fight Club members and below is a nine-minute excerpt. Mir is joined by UFC play-by-play man Mike Goldberg as they talk about training and other subjects. Mir takes fan questions and as always, gives interesting and entertaining answers. Yes, he does discuss Brock Lesnar and even goes as far to say he hopes the fight turns into a boxing match.





UFC 100 is just five weeks away before the two big heavyweights square off to determine the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion.





That's a wrap as The Juggernaut kicks off June. You can always check me out on Twitter, if you feel so inclined. As always, thanks for reading. Next week you can expect recaps of both weekend shows, news and much more. See you then.