The Juggernaut MMA News Report 08.12.09: Shock & Awe!

Posted by Jonathan Solomon on 08.12.2009

The Juggernaut tries to make sense of the downfall of another elite fighter in Miguel Torres and the continued emergence of another in Anderson Silva. We take a look at UFC 101 and WEC 42 plus preview the weekends long awaited mega fight between Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg and the rest of the Strikeforce card. All that, your news and much more.


SHOCKING~!


Another WEC Phenom Loses


WEC 42 was a tremendous show. It had exciting action and as it turned out, a historic conclusion. About nine months after WEC golden boy Urijah Faber suffered defeat, their biggest talent Miguel Torres, suffered only his second professional defeat in nearly forty fights. It was the strangest sight to witness. Torres appeared like he always is before a fight, like a stone cold killer. His death glare inside the cage was present as was the always defiance in his walk as he waited the bell to ring. However, the one thing that was different from the other fights, his opponent was neither scared nor doubtful of his own ability in the face of such an elite fighter. Brian Bowles, a man with less than ten professional fights (although he is undefeated), a man known to be solid in several parts of MMA such as boxing and jiu-jitsu, but not elite in any, took it to Torres.

Early in the fight, Bowles actually took Torres down but could not do much since Miguel was working his ass off from the bottom like you rarely see. On their feet, Bowles rocked Torres who maintained his composure, a sight we have come to expect from his fights. Torres landed a flurry but Bowles, showing the mark of a champion, did not succumb to the pressure and calmly backed off. Torres went in for the kill and instead, received a hook to the face that sent him to the mat. Bowles finished Torres off with the ground and pound until the referee stopped the fight. The crowd was in shock, as were the announcers (including Mr. Frank Mir, it was great to have him back on commentary...he missed the previous WEC show for UFC 100 training and to be with his pregnant wife) and it looked to me, even for a few seconds, Brian Bowles.




It took Torres a minute or two to sit up as doctors and his corner rushed in to check on him, but he arose shortly thereafter with bruises and cuts around his face. Like the noble man he is, Torres congratulated the new champion, then went to the back.

Brian Bowles was scheduled to receive this title shot months ago but had to cancel it due to a back injury. It healed pretty nicely obviously and he did what no man has been able to do in ages, make Torres' aggression pay. We have seen Torres in countless battle after battle where he was punched in the head and not once did he ever get knocked out...until WEC 42.

"It's only made me a more dangerous fighter. Brian Bowles just woke up a sleeping giant. I coached myself and ran my own training camps. I had not lost in a long time but after this loss, it's going to make me revamp everything. I just got off the phone with Mark DellaGrotte and I'm working with a couple different coaches to make my game step up."

-Miguel Torres with FightHype on what's next in his career

Bowles first challenger for his WEC Batamweight Championship may be Dominick Cruz who bested Joesph Benavidez in an explosive three-round decision. Whenever Cruz took Benavidez down, he scrambled to change position. Benavidez had a difficult time taking Cruz down and the pair traded strikes with such a pace that you can only see it in the bantamweight division.

I missed the beginning of the show so the first fight I saw was the lightweight battle pitting Ricardo Lamas against Danny Castillo. It was another barn burner of a fight with both well known wrestlers deciding to stand and trade with one another. Lamas took the first round with great combination's and seemed to be on the offensive more than his opponent. In the second round, Castillo landed a powerful right hand that staggered Lamas and he finished him with his ground and pound to win the fight. Depending on how the whole Cowboy Cerrone/Henderson/Varner situation works out, don't be shocked to see Danny Castillo challenge for the belt before not too long.


One year ago, our WEC featherweight and bantamweight champions were Urijah Faber and Miguel Torres, respectively. So dominant were they that there was talk amongst fans of wanting to see them fight each other because nobody could envision either losing to anyone else. Last November, Faber was knocked out by Mike Brown. In June, Brown defeated Faber again, by a unanimous five-round decision. Days ago, Miguel Torres went down in similar fashion that saw Brown knock Faber out with one punch. In Torres' situation, he was rocked by Brian Bowles, but was punched into defeat while trying to lock on a triangle submission hold.


WEC 43 will air on Versus next month and feature the interim lightweight championship fight between Donald Cowboy Cerrone and Ben Henderson.

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AWE INSPIRING~!


Mr. ANDERSON ($#%^*&!) SILVA


He may have had two boring title defenses recently but the Spider more then made up for it with his performance at UFC 101 in Philadelphia over the weekend. The UFC booked his light heavyweight return against Forrest Griffin, a fighter known to stand and trade with anyone, in no minor part to force Silva to have an exciting fight. Strange indeed. Well, Griffin wanted to stand and trade, except he could not land anything. Anderson Silva showing juking and jiving moves that would make Muhammad Ali proud was flying his head like he was on a swivel stick. Silva knocked Griffin down three times during the first round and ended up knocking him out with one punch.

Now there is talk that Silva may decide (with the UFC's blessing) to pass on his middleweight title and fight solely as a light heavyweight. According to Yahoo! Sports, that was something that is being or was discussed by Ed Soares (Silva's manager) and the UFC. Right now, the talk is that Silva's next fight will be defending his 185-pound title against Dan Henderson, likely before the end of the year.


The main event of UFC 101 saw a clear distinction between one of the best of all-time and an improved and great fighter. Kenny Florian did all he could but he just could not make BJ Penn tired. Contrary, Florian may have gassed after trying to take Penn down so many times and failing. Penn won the first round with a great last minute flurry that rocked Florian. Ken-Flo came back in round two and tried his damnedest to bring down the Hawaiian, but he could not do it. Florian instead worked Penn over with leg kicks and body punches. Penn took the next round with superior striking and in the fourth round, it all came to an end.

After countless attempts by Florian to put Penn on his back, it was Florian who was on his back. Penn transitioned to take Florian's back and much like he did against Jens Pulver and Joe Stevenson, he made the challenger submit to a rear naked choke.

Now Penn's next challenger appears to be Diego Sanchez and that poses another interesting match-up for the greatest lightweight fighter in the world. Sanchez is known for his aggressiveness and ground and pound but his stand-up striking talent has improved immensely since dropping down to lightweight. However, after seeing this version of Penn dominate (for the most part), it's tough to pick against The Prodigy again. Consider this lesson learned.


In other, less exciting UFC 101 action:

Aaron Riley defeated Shane Nelson via unanimous decision.
Johny Hendricks defeated Amir Sadollah via TKO.
Ricardo Almeida defeated Kendall Grove via unanimous decision.
Kurt Pellgrino defeated Josh Neer via unanimous decision.

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Caption this bad boy...

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Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg



The Strikeforce card that has evolved and devolved over time is apparently finalized (unless the unexpected continues to happen) for this Saturday night on Showtime. What was originally scheduled to consist of five championship fights will now be three contests for gold. Heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem had to pull out of the card due to a nagging hand injury and Nick Diaz was never given a new license in the state of California because he failed to show up to take a drug test last week.

In Diaz's place, the planned fight for the new welterweight championship has been axed and in its place, Jay Hieron will fight Jesse Taylor of TUF fame. You know Hieron has to be PISSED OFF at this change of events. In Overeem's place, the planned heavyweight title fight was axed and instead, Fabricio Werdum (who was set to get the title shot) will fight Mike Kyle on the undercard.

The originally planned lightweight unification bout had to be altered because champion Josh Thomson's leg was not healing with enough time to allow him to train (he broke a bone earlier in the year). Instead, we will see an interim-title fight as Gilbert Melendez defends that version of the belt against Mitsuhiro Ishida.

The complete televised portion of the card (as it stands now) set for Showtime consists of:


Strikeforce Women's Championship
Gina Carano vs. Cris Cyborg

Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship
Babalu Sobral (c) vs. Gegard Mousasi

Strikeforce Interim-Lightweight Championship
Gilbert Melendez (c) vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida

Jay Hieron vs. Jesse Taylor


Jay Hieron is a good wrestler with power in his hands to help him control fights. He is on a five-fight winning streak and is coming off a knockout victory over Jason High at the final Affliction show in January. Hieron was the final IFL welterweight champion and defended it once before the promotion folded. Of his four career defeats, three have been by technical knockout and one by decision. That shows you Hieron can control fights and is rarely put in a position where he gets rattled. Jesse Taylor is riding a seven-fight win streak and most recently defeated Dong Sik Yoon last month at DREAM 10 after Yoon suffered an injury during their fight. Prior to that, Taylor won four of his last five fights by submission (all by rear naked choke). Taylor was and is known for his wrestling abilities although he was last defeated by a fellow dominant wrestler in CB Dollaway in the UFC last summer. Hieron should be able to control the striking game and their wrestling may cancel each other out.

Mitsuhiro Ishida is 18-5-1 and has fought in most of the worlds MMA promotions not including the UFC. He has competed in PRIDE, Shooto, K-1, DREAM and Strikeforce. He last fought in Strikeforce last September defeating Justin Wilcox by submission. Ishida actually defeated Gilbert Melendez on New Year's Eve in 2007 on a K-1 show by decision. Since 2006, Ishida has only lost three fights, against Takanori Gomi (TKO), Caol Uno (submission) and Mizuto Hirota (TKO). Ishida is coming off the loss against Hirota in May. He is a wrestler known for his stamina although the last time he went into a third round, it was early 2006 when he defeated Kenichiro Togashi on a Shooto show. Melendez will have the height advantage (roughly three or four inches) and is on a win-loss-win-loss pattern in his recent fights. Following his loss to Ishida in 2007, he defeated Gabe Lemley in Strikeforce, lost to Josh Thomson (and his belt, too) before defeated Rodrigo Damm in April to become the interim-champion. Melendez is part of the camp that trains under Cesar Gracie with other top fighters such as Nick Diaz and Jake Shields so you know his submission defense should be outstanding. He is known for his wrestling. This should be a long grueling battle but I see Melendez having grown a lot since their first fight and taking the rematch.

Sobral is a well rounded fighter versed in submissions, Muay Thai and wrestling. He became the Strikeforce light heavyweight champion by defeated Bobby Southworth (remember him?) last year. Saturday night will be his first title defense. He is undefeated in five fights since losing two in a row in the UFC (it's been over two years since he was beaten). This fight will be Gegard Mousasi's American debut, his 25-2-1 record having been compiled worldwide outside the United States. He has not lost since he was caught in an armbar by Akihiro Gono at Pride Bushido 12 in 2006. Since then, he has won twelve fights in a row. He last submitted Mark Hunt in the first round of the DREAM Super Hulk tournament. He is actually set to fight Sokoudjou in the semi-finals of said tournament in October. But first, he will try to become the new light heavyweight champion of Strikeforce. Mousasi is a kickboxer and has trained in Judo, boxing and other disciplines. He even submitted BJJ black belt, Denis Kang in just three minutes at DREAM 2 in April 2008. He is on such a run that it looks almost impossible to put a chink in his armor. Expect this fight to be a grappling match with both men trying to achieve dominant position and ending the fight ASAP.

The main event will make history as it will be the first sanctioned five-round, five-minute championship women's fight in a major MMA promotion. It has been anticipated ever since Cris Cyborg made her debut in EliteXC last July by defeated Shayna Baszler by TKO. Since then, she defeated Yoko Takahashi and Hitomi Akano, both in fierce fights. Cyborg has had trouble making weight (both women here have) as she weighed in more than five pounds over the limit for the Akano fight in April. She is 7-1, only losing her first fight when she was caught in a leg lock submission. She is trained in Muay Thai and BJJ and part of that Chute Box style of throwing knees, kicks, punches as if the world is about to end. She is so active with her strikes that you have to wonder how she may fare if the fight goes the distance. She appeared to gas during the then-routine three, three-minute rounds. Now with a potential to fight ten more minutes, it will be tough.

Gina Carano is 7-0 and lit the world on fire when she made her television debut in the famous fight with Julie Kedzie with EliteXC in February 2007. She has one submission victory on her record, three decision wins and three knockouts. She is actually an accomplished Muay Thai fighter in Thailand and last I read, has been training with Randy Couture for this fight (he may corner her on Saturday night). Unlike Cyborg, Carano is more technical in her strikes and does not simply wail on her opponents.

Anything may happen in this fight, it will be interesting to keep an eye on whether both ladies can even make the 145-pound weight limit and how they will come out fighting with the new time awarded to them. Will they be more cautious? Or will they disregard the potential to fight an extra ten minutes and go balls to the wall from the start of round one?

For me, this is the pinnacle of a toss-up fight but for arguments sake, I will go with Gina Carano.

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JUGGERNAUT NEWS BRIEFS

- Last weekend, UFC President Dana White mentioned that the UFC is going to run a live show in Boston sooner than later. One specific venue he mentioned they are looking into is Fenway Park, the famous home of the Boston Red Sox. Having been to Fenway once (about a decade ago, they have since made a bunch of changes such as adding tons of seats), it's an awesome place to watch a ball game and I imagine it would be even more exciting to watch a live UFC show there.


- Dana White also squashed rumors that there are serious talks going on about the possibility of merging the UFC and WEC into one. It stems from an internet report which cited White as saying they were discussing the issue. White answered a question during the post-UFC 101 show and said it was taken out of context. There are no talks about the issue anymore and White was referring to past talks and that at some point they did occur, but the issue is dead right now.


- The 4-0 Bobby Lashley is set to fight Ron "H2O" Waterman (he is 16-6-2) on a Prize Fight Promotions card on October 3rd. This is an interesting match-up because both are former pro wrestlers. Waterman spent some time in the WWE developmental system, the same system in which Lashley shot through a few years ago.


- The M-1 Breakthrough card that had to move out of California because they could not receive the proper licensing is now headed to Kansas City, Missouri. Also, the scheduled main event between Don Frye and King Mo Lawal is off. Instead, King Mo (4-0) will fight Mark Kerr (15-10) in the main event. There will also be a special exhibition held between Fedor Emelianenko and Gegard Mousasi, both are represented by the M-1 folks. The card is set to go down later this month on August 28th.


- A UFC Fight Night 19 fight between Chris Lytle and Carlos Condit will not take place due to an injury sustained by Lytle. According to his agent, Lytle has a torn mensicus and a blown ACL. The UFC has yet to officially announce a change in the fight although it's expected a replacement fighter will be announced in the next week or two to fight Condit.


- Strikeforce officially announced the preliminary card for their Saturday show in San Jose, California. These fights will happen in front of the live crowd and are not guaranteed to make television. They are Mike Kyle vs. Fabricio Werdum; Mike Cook vs. Scott Lighty; David Douglas vs. Justin Wilcox; Zak Bucia vs. James Terry; and Isaiah Hill vs. Alex Trevino.


- Officially announced by both the UFC and Spike TV, PRIDE is returning to television. At least, it's archives will. Beginning on Sunday, January 11th in 2010 at 11pm eastern, "Best of PRIDE Fighting Championships" will air. It will air weekly in that time slot. FSN formerly had a PRIDE highlight series hosted by Jay Glazer and Frank Trigg which occasionally still airs at random times.


- New WEC Bantamweight Champion Brian Bowles broke his left hand during the title fight on Sunday evening. He has received a medical suspension of (at most) five months unless a doctor clears him before then. He is set to see a hand specialist within the next couple of weeks who will likely inform Bowles whether he will need surgery or not.


- The Adrenaline promotion will hold their next show on September 18th in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The main event will feature heavyweights Tim Sylvia and Jason Riley. This will be Sylvia's first fight since his embarrassing defeat at the hands of 48-year old boxer Ray Mercer in an MMA bout in June. Riley has won three of his last four fights and all in the first round. Sylvia would be the biggest name he has fought so far in his career.


- Added to the prelims of UFC Fight Night 19 on September 16th is a middleweight bout between CB Dollaway and Dan Miller. Dollaway is coming off his second career defeat, a submission loss to Tom Lawlor at UFC 100. Miller is also coming off is second career defeat, a decision loss to Chael Sonnen at UFC 98. This match-up joins such fights as Steve Cantwell vs. Brian Stann, Brock Larson vs. Mike Pierce, Sam Stout vs. Kyle Bradley and Jeremy Stephens vs. Justin Buchholz (among others) on the Fight Night prelim card.




- Dana White has voluntarily removed all of his video blogs from YouTube. This has nothing to do with the episode a while back where White got himself into trouble with GLAAD before apologizing. According to FightersOnlyMagazone.co.uk, the UFC is negotiating and working on a potential behind the scenes-style show with HBO. It's not definite but there is a possibility the video blogs were removed with the belief they did not want to jeopardize any originality of a new series.


- Chalk up another accomplished American Olympian who will make the leap into MMA. Two-time United States Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier has signed with an agent that represents big MMA names such as Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin. Cormier will begin training at American Kickboxing Academy where current names such as Jon Fitch, Mike Swick, Josh Koscheck, Cain Velasquez and Josh Thomson all train.


- Patrick Cote will not return to the octagon anytime soon. Due to a lame MCL, he will require additional surgery. He is expecting to return in the spring of 2010. Cote signed a new deal with the UFC earlier this year while rehabbing an injury sustained during his October 2008 fight with Anderson Silva.

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JUGGERNAUT VIDEO OF THE WEEK

This week, I ask you one question. Forget Fedor, here's one dream match we finally get to see. Are you ready?









Thanks for reading another Juggernaut. Top fighters maintained their spot and fell like gladiators last week. What will Strikeforce on Showtime bring us over the weekend? Either way, come back next week to read all about it.



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