Cardio Freak MMA News Report 9.21.09: Acting For Fighting

Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 09.21.2009

This week in Cardio Freak: A review of UFC 103 featuring good performances by Belfort, dos Santos, Daley, Koscheck, and Griffin. Plus a quick review of Fight Night 19 featuring some really good fights and why Strikeforce should promote Brett Rogers and not Fedor leading up to the November 7 event. It's willing to fight more than Josh Koscheck, it's Cardio Freak on 411.



Headline News



"I didn't see a lot of them coming"

UFC 103 was headlined by Vitor Belfort's returned to the Octagon against an always tough Rich Franklin. Belfort started his second UFC stint a lot like his first one by showing off his quick hands and explosive power.

Franklin never really seemed to find his range against Belfort. He was almost tentative on the feet, pawing and then quickly moving away to avoid the quick hands of Belfort. He threw one body kick, Belfort caught it, and he never went back to it. I can't say Franklin had a bad gameplan because his gameplan was to take it into deep waters and tire out Belfort but whatever he was trying certainly didn't work. Belfort was just too quick for Franklin on the feet. He did a good job countering Franklin, caught him, dropped him, and finished him. There's really not much more to say about the fight. It was slow until the end and the ending was really quick.

Although you'll hear plenty of people say, "Vitor Belfort is back" following this performance, I won't be one of those people. It was a big win for Belfort, arguably the biggest of his career, but he won like he always wins. He was quick on the feet, caught his opponent early, and finished him. The question still remains if Belfort can win if he gets pressed or presses but can't finish his opponent early but as long as he keeps knocking guys out quickly, that question may never get asked much lessed answered.

UFC is clearly trying to set up Belfort vs. Anderson Silva, which makes another event go by with another contender for Silva. Now everyone will hop off the "Marqardt should face Silva" bandwagon and hop on the "Belfort should face Silva" bandwagon. I think we need a triple threat fight between Henderson, Marquardt, and Belfort. That's the only way to decide a true #1 contender for Anderson Silva's Middleweight title. I wouldn't worry about Belfort not being able to make 185 either just because he missed weight a couple of times against Franklin. If you watched his video blogs then you saw that it seemed to be a scale issue and not an actual weight cutting issue for Belfort.

Rich Franklin won't be hurt too bad by this loss. He's still a popular fighter who usually has exciting fights. It just wasn't his night. Hopefully he'll get some actual fights at 205 and not more catchweight fights because there are some interesting fights for him. I still think he's a top 10 Light Heavyweight and would favor him against guys like Thiago Silva and Brandon Vera. I don't like his chances against the top guys in the division but at least he'd make a fight out of it.



Arguably the most impressive performance of the night was turned in by Junior dos Santos. The big question surrounding him would be how he reacted if the fight went past the two-minute mark and he certainly answered that. It's easy to get caught up in the hype of a couple of quick knockouts but dos Santos proved at UFC 103 that there's more to him than hype. He's clearly a very skilled fighter who is now a real threat in the Heavyweight division. Even if Mirko "Cro Cop" isn't what he used to be, you can't ignore his performance in this fight combined with his performance over Fabricio Werdum.

Mirko "Cro Cop" may have been wearing a PRIDE t-shirt but he was certainly the UFC version "Cro Cop". He was once again tentative on the feet and never really landed a significant strike except the counter left straight. He seemed to be having success with leg kicks but he didn't use them enough and dos Santos saw the high kick coming a mile away. He faired a bit better in the clinch early but after awhile the knees to the body really took their toll on him and dos Santos really exposed him late with the leaping knee to the body. Junior dos Santos just seemed to be too quick on the feet and too strong in tight.

I don't know where "Cro Cop" goes from here. He's going to beat any mediocre fighter they throw at him but it's clear that he's pretty broken physically and mentally. I don't want to say he quit against dos Santos because he could very well have a broken orbital bone but when you tell the referee that you can't see, that's code for "I want out." It was honestly a smart move for Mirko because if the fight continued to go on, dos Santos was just going to continue to punish him. Joe Rogan hinted at Mirko dropped down to Light Heavyweight but we've all heard that rumor before. It'd certainly be an interesting move that would produce plenty of interesting fights and it really might be his only option. I think it's clear that any Heavyweight he faces is going to bully him around in the clinch because they'll likely have the size and strength advantage. Some Light Heavyweights may be quicker than him but no Light Heavyweight is going to bully him around like dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, and Cheick Kongo were able to do.

It's not likely to happen though as Mirko wants no part of the weight cutting. If he decides to stay at Heavyweight, I hope he has Scott Coker's number because I'm not sure Dana White is going to put up with him much longer.



While Mirko "Cro Cop" has had an unsuccessful UFC run, Paul Daley got his UFC career started on the right foot with an impressive performance against Martin Kampmann. Kampmann is a good striker but it was clear that he wasn't in the same league as Daley. Kampmann just seemed to have no answer for the left hook of Daley, who was landing that punch at will. Kampmann took a lot of them as he has a good chin but it was clear that sooner or later he was going to get knocked out. A lot of people are complaining about the stoppage and on replay they have a case but watching the fight live, I think everyone thought Kampmann was out on his feet. Had the ref not stopped the fight then Kampmann was just going to continue to eat the leather of Daley. As always, I'd rather a fight be stopped too early than too late.

People are saying that Kampmann had a horrible gameplan but those people are just wrong. Kampmann is a good striker who can hold his own against most strikers in the division. Unfortunately for him, Daley is a better striker who hits harder. When Kampmann realized he wasn't going to beat Daley on the feet, he tried to get it to the ground but his wrestling sucks. Kampmann didn't have a horrible gameplan, he just didn't have the style to beat Daley.

Paul Daley looked like a killer in this fight but he still lacks a ground game, which doesn't help him in a division ruled by Georges St. Pierre. His takedown defense isn't bad but it's certainly not good enough right now to stuff the takedowns of someone like GSP. UFC would be best served in pairing up Daley against someone with mediocre wrestling if they have any aspirations of building him up. Guys like Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck probably wouldn't have too much trouble getting Daley down but fights against Mike Swick or Carlos Condit could be fun stand up battles with an exciting finish.



Speaking of Josh Koscheck, he got back to his winning ways with a victory of Frank Trigg. I thought Koscheck would be best served to go back to his wrestling roots in this fight but he obviously had different plans. He kept things on the feet and I can't say it was a poor strategy because it obviously worked for him. He's still rather predictable on the feet but whatever works, right? Really not much to say about this fight. Koscheck caught Trigg with a right that put him off balance, caught him with another right that put him down, and the pounded him out. Trigg complained that the stoppage was early but he clearly wasn't intelligently defending himself. Of course Trigg would complain about the stoppage though, he's Frank Trigg. I expect to hear that he tore his ACL while warming up but fought anyway because he's a warrior.

Koscheck called out Matt Hughes after his victory and even though it would be a smart fight to make (since UFC really wants to set up Koscheck vs. GSP 2), it would probably be a career threatening fight for Hughes. Seriously, does anyone see Hughes winning that fight right now? I certainly don't. I know Josh Koscheck doesn't have a lot of fans but how can anyone not love a guy who wants to fight every month?



Tyson Griffin turned in his most impressive UFC performance to date, finishing Hermes Franca for the first time in his UFC career. Being the better wrestler, Griffin decided to keep things standing against the dangerous grappler and it worked for him. Franca was rather predictable on the feet as he was mainly looking to connect with the looping right hand while Griffin was doing a good job mixing things up. Griffin finally caught him with a straight right that sent him down and then pounded him out.

I don't know about anyone else but I really want to see Griffin vs. Nate Diaz. I want to finally see a Cesar Gracie fighter vs. Griffin for the build up alone. Plus it should be a fun fight although it could go the way of Diaz vs. Clay Guida and Diaz vs. Joe Stevenson if Griffin decides not to "Gurgel it."



Quick Thoughts on the Preliminary Fights:

*Efrain Escudero looks to be the real deal. Good victory for him and I expect big things in the future.
*Drew McFedries has reached "please cut this guy because I feel sorry for him" status. Pete Sell welcomes you to the club.
*Oliveria vs. Lentz was a fun fight. Just think, Oliveira was the guy Affliction was setting up to get killed by Takanori Gomi.
*Jim Miller continues to be awesome although the finish sucked.
*Rick "The Horror" Story might be my new favorite fighter based on his nickname alone.
*Someone tell Rob Emerson that even if you're not very good at fighting from southpaw, it's better than not being able to walk for the next week or so.
*Matyshenko picked up a good win but he's going to have a tough time establishing himself in an already stacked 205 division.
*I haven't seen Brilz vs. Marshall but I heard it sucked.

Full Results:

*Vitor Belfort defeated Rich Franklin by KO at 3:02 in Round One
*Junior dos Santos defeated Mirko "Cro Cop" by TKO at 2:00 in Round Three
*Paul Daley defeated Martin Kampmann by TKO at 2:31 in Round One
*Josh Koscheck defeated Frank Trigg by TKO at 1:25 in Round One
*Tyson Griffin defeated Hermes Franca by KO at 3:26 in Round Two

*Efrain Escudero defeated Cole Miller by TKO at 3:36 in Round One
*Tomasz Drwal defeated Drew McFedries by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:03 in Round Two
*Jim Miller defeated Steve Lopez by TKO (Injury) at 0:48 in Round Two
*Nik Lentz defeated Rafaello Oliveira by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
*Rick Story defeated Brian Foster by Submission (Arm Triangle) at 1:09 in Round Two
*Eliot Marshall defeated Jason Brilz by Split Decision (28-30, 30-27, 30-27)
*Vladimir Matyushenko defeated Igor Pokrajac by Unanimous Decision (30-27 across)
*Rafael dos Anjos defeated Rob Emerson by Unanimous Decision (30-27 across)

Major UFC/WEC News



UFC Fight Night 19 Results:

*Nate Diaz defeated Melvin Guillard by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 2:13 in Round 2
*Gray Maynard defeated Roger Huerta by Split Decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
*Carlos Condit defeated Jake Ellenberger by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
*Nate Quarry defeated Tim Credeur by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-28)

For the first time ever, I watched a UFC event at a bar with a bunch of "fans" wearing Affliction shirts talking like they knew something but of course ended every statement with, "Kimbo Slice would beat him." They weren't MMA fans, they were fans of guys beating each other up, which is fine with me and at the end of the night they got what they wanted. My only problem is that I hate watching MMA with casual fans because I'm far too high brow to let someone say, "This guy sucks, that guy would kick his ass" without giving them a 20 minute lecture on why "this guy" is good and why "that guy" would be in for a tough fight. Of course that's my problem and a problem I don't plan on correcting until I get my ass kicked by one of those Affliction shirt wearing douchebags.

Nate Diaz got back on the winning track thanks to being Nate Diaz and fighting Melvin Guillard. I was honestly shocked by how many people wrote off Diaz and picked Guillard to win this fight. This just wasn't a good match up for Guillard. He has explosive striking and I expected him to tag Diaz early but I also expect Diaz' genetics to allow him to take those punches and either stay on his feet or recover quickly should he get knocked down. Everyone knew that if the fight hit the ground or that if it went past the first round that Guillard was screwed because he doesn't have much of a ground game nor does he have the cardio to hang with Diaz and it's almost a proven fact that Diaz is a slow starter. Actual research is still pending. It was a win that Diaz desperately needed as he couldn't afford to lose three straight fights and he really couldn't afford to lose to someone like "Lightweight Randleman". As mentioned previously, I hope Diaz fights Tyson Griffin next.

Speaking of "Gurgeling it," Gray Maynard did exactly that for two rounds before he got smart and dominated Huerta in the third round en route to a decision victory. I don't know how Maynard got two 30-27 scores as I thought Huerta clearly won the first round by landing the better shots, being more aggressive, and even stuffing a takedown attempt. The second round was close and Huerta was still getting the better of the stand up but he got dropped a couple of times and that probably won the round for Maynard. The third round was all Maynard as he finally decided to use his wrestling and came close to submitting Huerta with an arm lock that looked really painful. Huerta will now go back to making straight to VHS movies but at least he put over the younger (in terms of drawing power, not age) talent on his way out. Maynard has to be a fight or two away from a title shot given his record and quality victories but I'm not sure who his next opponent should be. Clay Guida probably makes the most sense because he's another guy who is close to a title shot but he's facing Kenny Florian next. Other possible names are a rematch with Frank Edgar, Sean Sherk, or Joe Stevenson but they all have to win their upcoming fights.

I knew Jake Ellenberger was a threat to upset Carlos Condit but he came a lot closer than I think most people expected. This was a really close fight, especially the second round, but like 2/3 judges I thought Condit won. Ellenberger was really impressive early but seemed to fade as the fight went along, which had a lot to do with the pace Condit was setting. Condit is in a tough place because he's a really good fighter but he's in a division filled with really good wrestlers, which is his biggest weakness. I don't know who Condit will fight next but I'm thinking Anthony Johnson (should he beat Yoshiyuki Yoshida) or Paul Daley as potential opponents.

If you looked at the faces of Credeur vs. Quarry after their fight, you would swear Credeur won. Unfortunately he lost. Credeur's strength is his ground game but I think anyone who's watched his fights on and after TUF knew he had good stand up. He was clearly winning the stand up battle against Quarry but every time he left himself open in the exchanges, Quarry tagged him with a powerful punch that sent him down. On the ground both guys were just too tired to do anything. Credeur went for some weak submission attempts and Quarry stayed active enough to avoid a bunch of stand ups but neither looked fight finishing, especially late. It was a fun fight between two guys really going nowhere but as long as they keep entertaining the crowd then all is well.

It was an entertaining night of fights and a great way to lead into The Ultimate Fighter.

Major Strikeforce/Miscellaneous News



On September 17 Strikeforce announced that the Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers event will take place on November 7 and will air live on CBS.

Well I guess it took Strikeforce a month or so to officially announce this event because they were working out the final kinks in getting this thing on CBS. Good for Strikeforce. To this point they've dropped the ball on promoting this fight but with it now being on CBS it's sure to generate a good buzz come November.

This is really going to test the drawing power of Fedor Presented by M-1 Global and Strikeforce. Doing mediocre numbers on Showtime is one thing but doing mediocre numbers on CBS is another. There have been three MMA on CBS events. Two of those did big numbers as they were headlined by Kimbo Slice (whose drawing power can't be questioned anymore after the ratings he helped put up on The Ultimate Fighter) and Gina Carano. The one event that bombed was headlined by a Scott Smith vs. Robbie Lawler rematch.

Strikeforce has put a lot of faith in FPM-1G and his ability to draw and if he flops you have to wonder if he's worth it. Brett Rogers is known but he won't be the guy getting publicity for this fight and it won't be up to him to bring in 5 million viewers on CBS. Can FPM-1G live up to the hype? It's tough to say right now as the heavy push for this show is not even close but I have my doubts. When you really look at it, he was a flop for Affliction. A lot was put on his shoulders in that company and considering they ran two shows, neither did well at the gate or on PPV, and they had to cancel an event he was scheduled to headline. Now that doesn't all fall on him because the people running Affliction were just stupid but his lack of drawing certainly didn't help their cause. He can be a draw a though as long as Strikeforce promotes him right. The problem is FPM-1G doesn't have much charisma or an aura. You need one of those things to draw in MMA even if you're a guy like FPM-1G who dominates everyone he fights and has drawn comparisons to war machines. Chuck Liddell was on top because he was not only knocking guys out left and right but because he had an aura about him and he looked like the toughest guy in the room. Kimbo Slice has zero charisma but he has a presence about him that makes you believe he's a badass fighter.

FPM-1G doesn't really have charisma or an aura. It's tough for anyone to get over without speaking English so that's already one knock on him. On top of that he doesn't really look like a guy who is the best Heavyweight fighter in the world. His Bill Crosby sweaters certainly don't do him any favors. He's an easy guy to sell (how can you not sell the best Heavyweight in the world?) but it's going to be tough for Strikeforce to sell him with almost no video footage. UFC has the PRIDE and Affliction libraries; the two companies FPM-1G had his best and most recognizable performances. I'm sure Strikeforce will use footage of the FPM-1G exhibition fights against Shinya Aoki and Gegard Mousasi but him tossing around smaller guys isn't going to sell anyone on FPM-1G being the best Heavyweight in the world.

Honestly, if I'm Scott Coker, I would try and sell Brett Rogers more than FPM-1G. You may think I'm crazy but look at it like this: everyone expects FPM-1G to win. If you put all your stock into FPM-1G and no stock into Brett Rogers, what does that really say about FPM-1G if he wins? That he beat another guy that every fan, hardcore and casual, thought he should beat? Now lets say you most of your stock into Brett Rogers. If FPM-1G wins then it could be looked at as an upset by casual fans and if he wins impressively, everyone will think FPM-1G is the best fighter ever because he beat an undefeated big Heavyweight who Strikeforce told me was the best, most powerful, and most explosive striker in the Heavyweight division. If Rogers actually wins, casual fans will still consider it a big win because he'll have a victory over a guy with a bunch of notable wins and really no defining losses plus they were tuning in to see Rogers kill a Russian, they'll get their wish, so they'll be happy. And of course hardcore fans will make the Internet explode. Plus Rogers has the aura and charisma that makes him easy to sell and he's good at selling himself. All I'm saying is that if you're a casual sports fan (the fanbase Strikeforce needs because hardcore fans are tuning in no matter what) and you're watching College Football on CBS in the weeks leading up to the fight are you more likely to get excited for a fight featuring a big black dude with a Mohawk knocking out guys or a pasty pudgy Russian with no usable highlights? It's basically the reverse Kimbo Slice strategy. Sell the more marketable but lesser skilled fighter but sell him against the guy you truly want to market who really is a great fighter. Strikeforce probably won't do that and maybe M-1 Global won't allow them to do that but that's what I would do.

This is why Tom Atencio should have called me to promote his company because they'd still be in business right now.



On September 18 Cung Le vacated the Strikeforce Middleweight title due to inactivity as he plans to go into acting full time. The vacant title will be on the line November 7 when Jake Shields takes on Jason Miller.

This should have happened months ago but I guess Strikeforce was holding out hope that he would return. I don't know if Cung has a future in acting as I've yet to see any movie that has featured him but based on reviews of Fighting, he's pretty much what you would expect: An MMA fighter with a good look and no real acting talent. At least his movies are getting big releases and they're not straight to VHS like Roger Huerta.I'm sure plenty of MMA fans are upset by this move as Cung Le was an exciting fighter to watch but he was never tested by an elite fighter so I guess we'll never know just how good he really was.

Shields vs. Miller is a big fight for Strikeforce, especially being on CBS. You could easily argue that Miller is the biggest star on the show thanks to the publicity he's received on MTV Bully Beatdown. Jake Shields has appeared on the show twice but lets be honest, no one really remembers the fighters. This fight now being a title fight means it should headline the show but it obviously won't.

That's one thing I hated about EliteXC and I'll probably grow to hate about Strikeforce: putting marquee fights over title fights. I know Fedor Presented by M-1 Global vs. Brett Rogers is a bigger fight than Jake Shields vs. Jason Miller but there's no title on the line in the Heavyweight showdown. It's just an important fight with their best fighter. It devalues the titles a bit when they don't headline the show. That's one thing that UFC has done a great job of doing, making titles seem important. Would anyone have been really upset if Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva went on last over Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra when they were scheduled to fight for the Welterweight title or even Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre when that was made for the Interim Welterweight title? Probably not. Even something like Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock should have headlined over Andrei Arlovski vs. Tim Sylvia or Chuck Liddell vs. "Shogun" Rua over Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites. But UFC knows that people are going to tune in to see the big fights as long as they're promoted as big fights but it's most important to put the title on last because even if the title fight is something like Shields vs. Miller, it's still a title fight and the title should be the most important thing in the company.

No More News

That does it for me folks. I'll be back next week with something new. Take care everyone.

Before I officially sign off, I want to give a big THANK YOU to Larry Csonka, Adam Tool, and Patrick Mullin for filling in for me last week in my usual slots. Also a thank you to anyone and everyone who wished me a happy birthday.

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