Cardio Freak MMA News Report 8.31.09: Legends Live On
Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 08.31.2009
The week in Cardio Freak: A review of UFC 102 featuring thoughts on all the fights and where certain fighters go from here. Plus thoughts on Fedor vs. Rogers, Guida vs. Florian and a review of M-1 Global: Breakthrough featuring KING MO, a wrestling match, and a space shuttle. It's younger than Randy Couture, it's Cardio Freak on 411.
Headline News
"Well you can't have it back."
UFC 102 was about two legends, arguably at the end of their careers, battling it out to see who still had "it." In the end, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira had a lot more to give than many predicted.
Nogueira took it to Randy Couture for 15 minutes and won a unanimous decision in the process. Forget the Nogueira you saw at UFC 92. Hell, forget the Nogueira that you saw at UFC 73 or UFC 81. This was the PRIDE Nogueira. His boxing was sharp, he showed power that many didn't think he had, his chin was back, and his ground game was as good as ever. He almost finished Couture in each round but like Nogueira, Couture has a lot of heart and doesn't go down without a fight. I was one of the many who thought that Nogueira was all but finished after his fight with Frank Mir but I think this performance showed that it truly was a blown knee and a bad staph infection that hindered his ability in that fight. Nogueira proved in this fight that he has plenty left in the tank and he's ready to make a run at Brock Lesnar. You can say that he beat a 46 year old Randy Couture and you'd be right but it's not like Randy Couture is your typical 46 year old man. Randy put up a good fight against Nogueira, unfortunately for him, Nogueira was just better. Couture caught Nogueira with some good punches, he had him in the clinch, and he put him on his back. Nogueira wasn't fazed by any of it.
I think Couture should have fought from the clinch more than he did in this fight. I'm sure he was worried about Nogueira pulling guard but he wasn't winning the fight on the feet as many thought he would. The most success Couture had in the fight was in the clinch and that's where he's had the most success in his career. If Nogueira had pulled guard, I would think that Couture would be able to back out, get to his feet, and fight back in the clinch. It may not have been a pretty fight or even an exciting fight (although the crowd still would have gone crazy because he's Randy Couture) but it would have been a smart fight for Couture.
It's tough to say what's next for Nogueira with most of the top Heavyweights booked through the year. I have a feeling that if Mirko "Cro Cop" defeats Junior dos Santos at UFC 103 then we could see a rematch between the former PRIDE stars. Who knows, maybe Nogueira will get the first crack at the winner of Carwin vs. Lesnar without having to win another fight.
Randy Couture is in a weird position now. He said after his loss that he only wants interesting fights but all the interesting fights for him seem impossible right now. Obviously the two fights that have been thrown around are Couture vs. Lyoto Machida or Anderson Silva. If Machida loses to "Shogun" Rua then that fight is possible but how interesting is that fight for Couture if Machida loses? The Silva fight doesn't seem possible with Couture coming off two losses and one would think Silva wouldn't be too keen on the idea either given that and the fact that Nogueira, a Silva training partner, defeated Couture. There are potentially interesting fights against the Ortiz/Coleman winner, Cro Cop, and Frank Mir with the Mir fight being very possible. Of course, there's always Kimbo Slice.
There used to be this goalie for the Colorado Avalanche named David Abeischer. In a lot of the games he played, he always gave up a goal on the first shot of the game. Realizing this, the coach threw a puck at Abeischer before every game to get the first shot out of the way. What does this have to do with UFC 102? Well I think that Greg Jackson should punch Keith Jardine in the locker room before every fight to get the first punch out of the way. Of course he'd probably knock out Jardine, rendering him unable to compete to that night. So maybe that's a bad idea.
Thiago Silva turned in by far his most impressive performance to date with a quick KO over Keith Jardine. I said last week that Thiago was a mix between Wanderlei and Anderson Silva and at UFC 102 he decided to be more Anderson than Wanderlei. He wasn't as aggressive as we've seen him. Instead he decided to sit back, pick his shot, and the one shot he picked ended up knocking Jardine down. From there he stood above Jardine, landed some heavy punches, and momentarily knocked Jardine unconscious. It was a big win for Silva to prove that maybe he's not overrated and that Lyoto Machida is just really damn good.
Silva is back in the mix at 205 with this win. He only has one loss on his record and that was against Lyoto Machida and there's no real shame in that. It's possible that he fights Brandon Vera next although maybe UFC revisits their original UFC 101 idea of Forrest Griffin vs. Thiago Silva.
Keith Jardine's run of main events and co-main events is over with this loss. Given his recent history of brutal KO losses, he might be best served fighting a grappler with no punching power in his next fight. I'm sure Greg Jackson is already yelling at Dana to re-sign Renato Sobral as you read this.
Jake Rosholt turned in an impressive performance with a submission victory over Chris Leben. Rosholt's striking defense was much improved from his previous outings and when Leben was able to connect, Rosholt was able to survive. He even managed to tag Leben a number of times but unless your name is Anderson Silva, you're not putting Leben down so easy. Rosholt's superior wrestling won out in the end as he was able to put Leben on his back and finish from there. I don't know what it is about Leben but boy does he look lost every time a fight hits the ground. You would think after all this time he would have some sort of ground game but he just doesn't. Rosholt has a lot of potential but someone get this man some charisma.
There's not much to say about Marquardt vs. Maia. Maia rushed in, got hit with a stiff right hand, got dropped, and that was that. I was obviously disappointed with how Maia performed but, "shit happens and shit." Maia will continue to be a player in the Middleweight division because of his great jiu-jitsu but obviously his stand up still needs work. Marquardt called out Anderson Silva after the fight, which was smart on his part but I can't say I'm excited for that fight. I know Marquardt has improved a lot since UFC 73 but his main improvements have come in his stand up game to where he believes he's primarily a striker now. No offense to Marquardt's stand up but it's not on the level of Anderson Silva's and if he tries to stand with Silva, the UFC 73 result isn't going to change much.
I'm far more interested in Henderson vs. Silva 2 because Henderson won a round in their first fight, there's intrigue in that Henderson has never been (T)KO'd, and Henderson is by far the biggest star Silva can face in the Middleweight division. Therein lies the problem as it doesn't seem like Silva wants to fight in the Middleweight division. That means we'll likely get Henderson vs. Marquardt for the vacant Middleweight title in the near future.
I don't know if Brandon Vera is back but Krzysztof Soszynski is certainly gone. Soszynski came out swinging with a lot of power, ate one body kick, and then backed off for the rest of the fight. Vera was just quicker and a better technical striker than Soszynski. A lot people expected Soszynski to have the clinch and wrestling advantage but those people obviously forgot that Vera has a background in Greco Roman wrestling. It's arguably Vera's biggest UFC victory because this was a fight he needed to win, a lot of people gave Soszynski a chance, and Vera just out-classed him for three rounds. I'm one of the few remaining Brandon Vera fans and I hope he continues to live up to his potential.
Quick thoughts on the Preliminary Fights:
*It's unfortunate that Herman blew out his knee because he and Simpson were having a fun fight until that point.
*Someone examine Chris Tuchsherer's brain (and balls) after the Gonzaga fight. I know fighters want to prove they're tough by continuing to fight after getting hit with an illegal blow but when you get kicked in the groin to bad that you're convulsing, coughing, and throwing up, STOP FIGHTING! Gonzaga kept true to his "look scary against mediocre fighters and then wilt against top guys" form so good for him.
*Dear UFC, please release Justin McCully. Thank you.
*I don't know if Todd Duffee is a good fighter or not because it's tough to know how good someone is based on a seven second KO but he's obviously got a bright future.
*Everyone should watch Munoz vs. Catone. It was a fun fight.
*Evan Dunham has the potential to be a contender in the Lightweight division. His sprawl is really good, he's good at getting up off his back, and his striking is crisp.
Full Results:
*Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria defeated Randy Couture by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
*Thiago Silva defeated Keith Jardine by KO at 1:35 in Round One
*Nate Marquardt defeated Demian Maia by KO at 0:21 in Round One
*Jake Rosholt defeated Chris Leben by Submission (Arm Triangle) at 1:20 in Round Three
*Brandon Vera defeated Krzysztof Soszynski by Unanimous Decision (30-27 across)
*Aaron Simpson defeated Ed Herman by TKO (injury) at 0:17 in Round Two
*Gabriel Gonzaga defeated Chris Tuchscherer at 2:27 in Round One
*Mike Russow defeated Justin McCully by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-27)
*Todd Duffee defeated Tim Hauge by KO at 0:07 in Round One
*Mark Munoz defeated Nick Catone by Split Decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
*Evan Dunham defeated Marcus Aurelio by Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Major UFC/WEC News
On August 27 MMAFanhouse.com reported that Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida is likely for UFC 106. UFC 106 is scheduled for November 21 in Las Vegas.
Joe Silva continues to read this column as I booked this fight after UFC 101 and Florian's loss to BJ Penn. Clay Guida is obviously a Cardio Freak favorite because this column is named after Guida. He's a ball of energy that never stops fighting and I'm a ball of energy that never stops writing. Unfortunately Clay Guida just seems to lose when he fights top fighters. Kenny Florian is certainly a top fighter but unlike most of Guida's losses, Florian doesn't have the wrestling background of guys like Tyson Griffin, Diego Sanchez, or Roger Huerta. It's also not like Guida was blown out in any of those fights. Many thought he beat Griffin, he was certainly beating Huerta before getting caught, and the Sanchez fight was close. The only fighter Guida has lost to in the UFC who wasn't a wrestler was Din Thomas. Kenny Florian is well-rounded but obviously his biggest weakness is wrestling. He tried his harder to takedown BJ Penn, failed every time, and when Penn decided to takedown Florian he did so with ease. I think Florian is going to have a tough time in this fight with Guida's pace and wrestling. He's a better striker and has good jiu-jitsu but his main striking tool, kicks, could land him on his back and I don't know if his jiu-jitsu is good enough to submit Guida.
I'm looking forward to the fight though because anytime Clay Guida fights it's a treat.
On August 28 WEC confirmed that WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson had been moved to San Antonio, Texas and is scheduled for October 10. The original event was scheduled for September 2 in Youngstown, Ohio but was canceled due to Benson Henderson being injured.
Personally, I'm not buying the Benson Henderson injury excuse. The show was scheduled the day after DirecTV was planning to pull VS. from their line up and reports were that ticket sales weren't so hot. What did WEC expect ticket sales to be with Donald Cerrone vs. Benson Henderson as the main event? Cerrone is a good fighter with charisma and relatively known because of the Tapout show and because he fights on cards featuring Urijah Faber but no one knows who Benson Henderson is and Cerrone's name alone certainly isn't enough to carry the show.
WEC is facing the reality that they only have four draws right now: Mike Brown, Urijah Faber, Miguel Torres, and Jens Pulver. I think with two wins over Faber and a win over Leonard Garcia, Brown is a legit draw for the company. He doesn't have much of a personality but when you beat top fighters impressively, sooner or later the fans get behind you. Faber is obviously their biggest draw because win or lose he's always exciting and he has a ton of charisma. Torres' drawing ability may be hurt after his loss to Bowles but we've seen time and time again that top draws can lose a fight or two and the fans will continue to pay to see them fight. Pulver doesn't have the ability he once had but people love him as a sympathetic fighter. If one of those four aren't on the card, even though WEC always delivers a top notch show, people just don't seem to care.
Major Strikeforce/Miscellaneous News
On August 26 Strikeforce announced that Fedor Emelianenko will fight Brett Rogers later this year. No date or venue has been announced at this time but the event will air on Showtime.
A lot of fans are upset about this fight because it's not Fedor Presented by M-1 Global vs. Brock Lesnar, which is fine but don't throw your anger in the wrong direction. No one should be angry at Strikeforce for making this fight. In fact, I'd argue that Brett Rogers is the perfect first opponent for FPM-1G. Sure Fabricio Werdum is more of a veteran but he still has the stench of Junior dos Santos' glove on his chin and he beat Mike Kyle but Kyle is mainly a Light Heavyweight and Kyle had him rocked on the feet before going to the ground and getting submitted. It would have been more logical if FPM-1G fought Alistair Overeem for the Strikeforce Heavyweight title but maybe Overeem wouldn't be cleared in time and even if he were, I don't think Overeem is as big of a star in the US as Rogers anyway. Rogers is undefeated, has some charisma, and is coming off a victory that put Andrei Arlovski on suicide watch. In terms of name value and marketing, I think this is the best fight Strikeforce could set up for FPM-1G's debut.
If you're going to be mad at anyone for this fight taking place, be mad at M-1 Global for turning down the UFC offer and taking the Strikeforce offer.
There's not much to this fight as an actual fight. Brett Rogers is still largely unproven while FPM-1G is the best Heavyweight in the world. Rogers best chance is to catch FPM-1G early with one of his heavy punches and hope for the best. Rogers cardio and ground game are unproven so obviously he wants to keep it on the feet and try to end it early. He obviously has heavy hands but his striking defense isn't very good and it's not like FPM-1G doesn't have heavy hands as well.
It's an intriguing fight, I'm personally looking forward to it because after all, it's still FPM-1G fighting and he's still the best Heavyweight in the world. Would I have preferred a fight against Brock Lesnar? Of course, who wouldn't? But given the situation, Rogers is an intriguing fight for FPM-1G. At least for 30 seconds.
M-1 Global: Breakthrough took place on Friday, August 28 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City. Here are the results:
*Mo Lawal defeated Mark Kerr by KO at 0:25 in Round One
*A space shuttle launched
*Fedor Emelianenko defeated Gegard Mousasi by Submission (Armbar) in an Exhibition Sparring Contest
*Karl Amoussou defeated John Doyle by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:15 in Round One
*Lucio Linhares defeated Mikhail Zayats by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:00 in Round One
*Jessie Gibbs defeated Rob Broughton by Unanimous Decision
*Michal Kita defeated Lloyd Marshbanks by Submission (Strikes) at 1:50 in Round One
*Daisuke Nakamura defeated Ferrid Kheder by Unanimous Decision
KING MO injured a mans shoulder and beat him unconscious in 25 seconds. I've never slept with Logan Stanton so the things I've accomplished in 25 seconds are far less impressive than KING MO's performance at Breakthrough. The win didn't prove much other than Mo is scary strong and hits really hard but we already knew that. Hopefully he'll get a chance to prove he's the real deal in the UFC soon. I was disappointed that he didn't do his usual "KING" "MO" crowd hype after his win but my theory is that the crowd would have gone crazy for him and M-1 Global wasn't about to allow someone not named Fedor (Presented by M-1 Global) get a huge reaction.
Speaking of FPM-1G, he and Gegard Mousasi competed in a pro wrestling contest that I rated **. It was a decent little contest where both men were afraid to hit each other so it was a glorified grappling contest and of course FPM-1G being bigger, stronger, and well versed in Sambo threw Mousasi around before finally submitting him. It meant nothing, it proved nothing, but don't tell that to M-1 Global.
Karl Amoussou turned in an impressive performance against a mediocre fighter. The announcers were hyping this guy as the greatest fighter ever to come out of France, which is like claiming you're the best basketball player in the European league. Amoussou clearly feels he can beat the best though, which is why he said he wants to fight in Strikeforce. Aim high young man.
I thought Lucio Linhares turned in the best performance of the night because he avenged a loss and looked like Andrei Arlovski back when it was cool to look like Andrei Arlovski. The announcers were ridiculing Linhares striking, which didn't make a ton of sense given that two of his past four wins were by (T)KO and he really made them look stupid when he dropped Zayats before submitting. Linhares is awesome, hopefully he aims high and makes it to Strikeforce as well.
Jessie Gibbs beats Rob Broughton. The less said about this fight the better.
I don't know who the ref was in the Kita vs. Marshbanks fight but I hope he and Dan Miragliotta end up on an island somewhere far away. So far away that no one on earth could possibly see it, just like those two can't see what's happening right in front of them.
Nakamura just connected with another jab on Kheder.
"Where else can you see a spectacular space shuttle launch and incredible fights?"
Only in M-1 Global folks. Only in M-1 Global.
No More News
That does it for me folks. I'll be back next week with something new. Take care everyone.
I hope to see a ton of backlash towards Thiago for his standing over, pointing and asshole behavior after the KO. I don't quite understand why it was necessary, unless there is some beef between these two (there isn't). Like both guys still, but Thiago needs to simmer, the KO was impressive, but come on, Thiago is 3rd place in the "Who KTFO Keith Jardine fastest" contest. Luiz Cane vs Thiago please. I know there's beef there.
Marquardt beats Maia 9.5 out of 10 times. And I'm a huge Maia fan, but Marqaurdt's entire MMA game is on another level.
Brandon Vera will never hold a title in the UFC. Hopefully he fights a tougher test in his next outing so I can enjoy watching him lose. Yes, hater.
Gonzaga and Turscherer should rematch. Props to Chris for fighting after puking up his balls, but I still think he could take Gabe down and pound him out.
Nogs.
And finally, hoping for a Bert Rogers KO of Faydor. Won't happen, but I can dream.
David Abeischer... lol.
Posted By: dale (Guest) on August 31, 2009 at 12:45 AM
You kinda have to feel bad for Frank Murr. In the span of two months the two biggest wins of his career were proven to be complete flukes.........
Actually no, you dont have to feel bad for him at all, it's AWESOME! I guess Brock was on to something with all that horseshoe talk.
Posted By: A. Coolman (Guest) on August 31, 2009 at 02:35 AM
FPM-1G = funny shit
Posted By: gaggle (Guest) on August 31, 2009 at 09:08 AM
Actually no, you dont have to feel bad for him at all, it's AWESOME!
Posted By: A. Coolman (Guest) on August 31, 2009 at 02:35 AM
haha It IS Awsome! I almost forgot how much I hate Mir until you reminded me at the end there.. ahaha
Posted By: Guest#5012 (Guest) on August 31, 2009 at 10:23 AM
I've wondered for awhile now why you have a picture of Randy as your article header instead of one of Guida. I mean, I love Randy as much as anyone, and I'd put Randy above Guida in anything...just curious, that's all.
Posted By: Nick (Guest) on August 31, 2009 at 10:47 AM
Just would like to give my respect to Randy Couture even though i bet on Nogueira to win Randy showed why even in his fourtys he is still The natural a classy man and a world class fighter. P.S was loving seeing Chris Leben get choked out the only thing that could have made it better would have been for silva to come and knee him in the head again shut him up for good!
Posted By: irs (Guest) on August 31, 2009 at 04:43 PM
