The Juggernaut MMA News Report 10.21.09: UFC 104 Preview
Posted by Jonathan Solomon on 10.21.2009
The Juggernaut previews UFC 104 and lays out how the Dragon and Shogun can leave as champion! Plus, comments on the Dan Henderson situation and a preview of tonight's Ultimate Fighter where Rampage is a horrible coach and Kimbo Slice may fight again! Also, your dose of news including NBC, UFC in 2010 and much more!
UFC 104: Dragon vs. Shogun
UFC 104 may have the most intriguing main event match-up of 2009 (and that's saying something with Lesnar vs. Carwin and Penn vs. Sanchez later this year), a light heavyweight championship bout between champion Lyoto Machida and Shogun Rua. The storylines are not absent with this fight despite the fact the only language we may be able to understand is the broken English spoken by the champion. Both have been considered the best light heavyweight MMA fighter in the world at one point or another and there is no ill will between them on a personal level (another interesting fact for this main event fight). They are friendly towards each other and have no beef, remaining respectful towards the other throughout the hype for the show.
Lyoto Machida is 31-years old and is the sudden fan favorite wherever he goes after knockout wins over Thiago Silva and Rashad Evans. He is undefeated as a professional with 15 wins dating back to 2003. His style is famous for confusing opponents and preventing them from fighting aggressively towards him for risk of being knocked out or submitted. Heading into his UFC 98 title fight with then-champion Rashad Evans, all the talk revolved around how Evans' coach, Greg Jackson (master strategist) could develop a game plan to defeat Machida. It did not work out.
The saying goes your not a true champion until you defend the belt. The two previous light heavyweight champions in the UFC never reached that plateau as both Forrest Griffin and Evans lost in their first title defenses. The most talent rich division in the UFC has historically been the light heavyweight weight class and this fight does not disappoint on paper.
Challenger Mauricio Shogun Rua will turn 28-years old in over a month and brings as aggressive a stand-up style as anyone else in the division. Since coming to the UFC two years ago, he is 2-1 with wins over Mark Coleman and Chuck Liddell. His loss came against Forrest Griffin at a time when he was battling injuries. Right now, Shogun has no issue with the change to fighting inside a cage, he has his own to train in. He previously lost to Mark Coleman at PRIDE 31 in 2006 after sustaining a broken arm trying to defend a takedown. Besides those two losses, he has 14-wins since losing to Babalu Sobral in 2003. Shogun is no secret and the puzzle to beating him is not as intrusive as it once may have been. Shogun will be active and swinging for a knockout from the time the bell sounds.
There is no doubt who the favorite is with the betting odds favoring Machida. I don't see this fight as an automatic win for Machida. Certainly he has fought several big punchers like Thiago Silva and Rashad Evans and made them look foolish. Fighters have difficulty taking Machida down, even Tito Ortiz struggled to take him down. By most accounts, this fight will be a stand-up battle. Machida has brought Karate back into the spotlight, a fact many thought would be impossible in modern MMA, but the man has done it.
Machida's technical skills are matched by no one right now. But Shogun brings an arsenal of strikes that can knock out a bull. The question is can he knock out a dragon? (See what I did there?)
The result of this championship fight has big implications as far as potential challengers in the near future. Both Anderson Silva and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira have publicly said they have no intentions of vying for the light heavyweight championship as long as friend and training partner Lyoto Machida holds the strap. With Rampage Jackson out of the picture and the losers of Rashad Evans/Thiago Silva and Forrest Griffin/Tito Ortiz, the list of big name challengers is not all that stout should Machida retain.
The next big fight on the card is a heavyweight contest pitting all-world wrestler Cain Velasquez against UFC newcomer but MMA veteran Ben Rothwell. Rothwell just turned 28-years old over the weekend but this fight will be his 37th professional bout. He is 30-6 overall with four of those losses taking place before 2004. Rothwell was 9-0 in the IFL and his highest profile wins have come against Ricco Rodriguez, Krzysztof Soszynski (twice) and Roy Nelson. His most recent defeat was a knockout loss to Andrei Arlovski at Affliction: Banned last summer.
There is no doubt this is another step up in competition for Velasquez who defeated Cheick Kongo in June by unanimous decision. Velasquez is a takedown machine and there is no doubt about it, he will take the fight to the ground...multiple times. The question I have is two fold, can he finish Rothwell and can his chin take big shots? He is famous for being able to take monster shots to the head and keep fighting on, something his coaches have tried to get him to stop doing for fear of his chin falling apart sooner than later. Rothwell is a predominantly powerful striker and has wrestling skills as he is a student of Pat Miletich. He will not be able to stop Velasquez from taking him down, period.
Either Velasquez can dominate the fight with his wrestling en route to another decision victory or he will be able to use his ground and pound and win the fight by decisive fashion. It's highly unlikely Velasquez will sweep Rothwell and roll into an armbar for the victory. For Rothwell to win, he will need to control the fight with a mix of strikes. He is undefeated in the few fights he has had as a kickboxer but chances are if he's out there swinging his legs, it will be an easy takedown for Velasquez.
Rothwell will land some big punches in this fight. Whether Velasqeuz will continue to be able to absorb them and not bat an eye, that is my big question.
The lone welterweight fight on the card will pit Yoshiyuki Yoshida against Anthony Johnson. Yoshida's UFC stay may be infamous for being knocked out in horrific fashion by Josh Koscheck last year. Since then, he submitted Brandon Wolff back in May. Yoshida is a Judoka with some power in his hands. However, Anthony Johnson is the more powerful striker and a solid wrestler to boot. Rumble Johnson knocked out Luigi Fioravanti inside the first round of their fight earlier this year. He is going to make the crowd come alive with highlight reel kicks and strikes. This will be an interesting contest to see how well Yoshida can control the pace and keep from being knocked out again. We will see how well Johnson has improved as a total fighter because Yoshida will look to take the fight to the ground. Can Johnson defend the sweeps and if he is taken down onto his back, will he be like a fish out of water?
The winner of this fight will take that next step in a weak welterweight division.
Rounding out the main card are a pair of lightweight fights. Joe Stevenson will fight Spencer Fisher and Gleison Tibau will fight Josh Neer. Stevenson is coming off a big win over Nate Diaz in June. Prior to that he lost back-to-back fights to Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez (gatekeeper much?). Fisher welcomed Caol Uno back to the UFC in June by defeating him via decision. Fisher has simply found ways to win since his last loss to Frank Edgar two years back. He submitted Shannon Gugerty with an awesome triangle choke at UFC 90 to showcase his ground skills.
Stevenson is now working with Greg Jackson's New Mexico camp while Fisher opened up his own training camp. This fight will come down to whether or not Spencer Fisher can keep Stevenson from getting advantageous positions on the ground. Undoubtedly, Joe Daddy will be looking for guillotine chokes all night long and whether he can transition to back control and get his hooks in, that will be the deciding factor. Otherwise if this is a stand-up battle, it will be either man's game.
As for Gleison Tibau, he is coming off a controversial split decision loss to Melvin Guillard in June. Prior to that, he defeated Rich Clementi and Jeremy Stephens. Josh Neer is 1-2 in his last three UFC fights, losing to Nate Diaz and Kurt Pellegrino while handing Mac Danzig a loss. Tibau will be the bigger fighter when they step into the octagon, as he cuts a great deal of weight to make the 155-lbs limit. His bread and butter is grappling and Jiu-Jitsu while Neer is a classic striker. Neer may be the more well rounded of the two if you look at his entire game. But if Tibau can avoid being knocked out, he may be able to do more damage on the ground if he can keep it there.
Tibau will be looking to move up the lightweight ladder
Is this how you will remember Henderson
Dan Henderson & UFC End Negotiations
News broke late Friday courtesy of Yahoo! Sports that the UFC and Dan Henderson ended negotiations on a new contract. Henderson became a free agent as soon as he knocked out Michael Bisping at UFC 100 in July. Henderson made no issue about it, he wanted to fight Anderson Silva for the middleweight championship despite the fact that Anderson Silva's camp was less than enthusiastic about such a rematch. The UFC instead gave the title shot to VItor Belfort after knocking out Rich Franklin last month and wanted to book a number one contenders fight between Henderson and Nate Marquardt (who also recently knocked out Demian Maia).
The public reason given for the break in talks was money. According to Yahoo!, Dana White said the two parties were far enough in financial figures that they could not come to an agreement. Instead, at least for the time being, Dan Henderson is without a place to fight.
Henderson turned 39-years old in August and is one of the most successful MMA fighters in the sports history. He represented the United States in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games as a Greco-Roman wrestler. If he were to retire today, his career MMA record would stand at 25-7. He won the UFC 17 middleweight tournament by defeating Allan Goes and Carlos Newton in one night. Seven years later, he defeated Murilo Bustamante in the PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix Finals to win their 183-pound championship. Less than two years later, he knocked out Wanderlei Silva to win the PRIDE 205-pound championship and become the first (and thus far, only) man in MMA history to hold two belts simultaneously in two different weight classes.
The seven men who have beaten Henderson are all considered name fighters (Anderson Silva, Quinton Jackson, Kazuo Misaki, Rogerio Nogueira, Rodrigo Nogueira, Ricardo Arona and Wanderlei Silva). Henderson is 5-2 in the UFC and was 13-5 in PRIDE and has an active three-fight winning streak.
Henderson would be a huge "get" for Strikeforce because despite his age, he is a name in the sport. Plus, he has some cache coming off last season as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter.
Whether he would fight as a middleweight or light heavyweight, there would be a host of fresh, intriguing fights. Just think about these possibilities: Henderson vs. Jake Shields. Henderson vs. Jason Miller. Henderson vs. Gegard Mousasi. Hell yeah!
With that said, according to a September 21st appearance on HDNet's Inside MMA show, Henderson said he intends to fight only for the UFC. He even mentioned the two future opponents he was looking at were Nate Marquardt and Anderson Silva. However, last week Dana White was not optimistic a deal could be worked out. The Yahoo! report did say their relationship did not sour to the point where they are not talking so I would expect some time to pass and then talks to resume.
JUGGERNAUT NEWS BRIEFS
- The Brazilian publication, Tatame was able to get quite the interesting story recently. They had Lyoto Machida and Shogun Rua sit down and ask each other questions leading up to their fight this weekend. Pretty interesting gimmick if you ask me, the UFC should do this. One of the questions asked by Shogun to Lyoto was, "Dana White wants to make an event on Brazil, would you like to participate? What would be your dream card to Brazilians?" Machida responded, "Wanderlei against Belfort, Minotauro against Brock Lesnar, me against Quinton Jackson, Shogun against Forrest, Anderson against Fedor and, if GSP moves to middleweight, he'd face Demian Maia." Hell yeah! Let the champ book some fights.
- According to MMAJunkie, the Bellator Fighting Championships has signed a brand-spankin' new TV deal with Fox Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo. The deal would see Bellator's second season air on Thursday nights on Fox Sports Net affiliates throughout the country. Saturdays would see a Bellator highlight show air on NBC and Telemundo. The new season begins April 8th live on Fox Sports Net.
On the forefront, this looks like a solid move. It is better than ESPN Deportes because now they are in more homes combined with the three networks. HOWEVER, Fox Sports Net is not exactly the best of the best, but for them, it's alright. There will be times when Bellator will be pre-empted for local sports teams whether it's the NHL or NBA. However, April is when the playoffs for both leagues begin so I don't think FSN will have an enormous obligation to them. Hopefully the FSN time slot for Bellator is fixed at one specific time and will stick there. When MMA has been on the network in the past, it bounced around to the point nobody knew when it would air.
- Gilbert Yvel has been granted a one-fight license to compete in the state of Nevada. The state's Athletic Commission would not allow Yvel to fight in 2007 after Yvel attacked a referee in Finland three years prior. According to the Commission, the one-fight license will allow them to see whether Yvel has matured and should anything happen, they would almost certainly ban him. Yvel is a free-agent after Affliction gave up promoting fights.
- The Brother's Miller are back on the UFC schedule according to preliminary reports. Lightweight Jim Miller is expected to fight Tyson Griffin at UFC 108 on January 2nd. Miller is 4-1 in the UFC while Griffin is 7-2 in the promotion. Each fighter is on a two-fight win streak. Meanwhile, middleweight Dan Miller is expected to fight Demian Maia at the UFC Super Bowl show in February. Although not official, the show is expected to take place on February 6th in Las Vegas. Maia is coming off his first professional defeat, a knockout loss against Nate Marquardt. Dan Miller lost a unanimous decision to Chael Sonnen this past May.
- November 7th will be the date of Sengoku's 11th show promoted by World Victory Road. Middleweight champion Jorge Santiago (who has not fought since January) is expected to fight Mamed Khalidov in a non-title fight. Kevin Randleman is also expected to return to the ring to fight Stanislav Nedkov. The event will air on HDNet. Other fights scheduled for the show include Eiji Mitsuoka vs. Kazunori Yokota, Satoru Kitaoka vs. Jorge Masvidal and Dave Herman vs. Jim York.
- In a fight that could create the next big welterweight championship contender in the UFC, Carlos Condit will fight Paul Daley at UFC 108 in January. Daley made his UFC debut last month, defeating Martin Kampmann in impressive fashion. Condit, the final WEC welterweight champion, is 1-1 in the UFC. Condit lost a split decision to Kampmann in the spring and defeated Jake Ellenberger by split decision in September.
- Strikeforce Challengers will take place on November 20th in Kansas City. Bouts expected to be confirmed soon for the show include Tyron Woodley vs. Rudy Bears, Sarah Kaufman vs. Takayo Hashi, Kim Couture vs. Kerry Vera and Rafael Cavalcante vs. Aaron Rosa.
- Frank Trigg underwent successful knee surgery last week and will miss just two weeks of training. The procedure was meant to fix his right knee and took just thirty minutes to complete. Trigg is coming off a TKO loss to Josh Koscheck last month and hopes to return early in 2010. The rumors flying around last week pointed to a potential fight with Matt Serra.
- The UFC has signed the undefeated King of the Cage lightweight champion Rory MacDonald to a four-fight contract. MacDonald brings a 9-0 record to the octagon. He is only 20-years old and has recently begun competing at welterweight, where he is expected to transfer over in the UFC.
- The UFC is looking to make its debut in the state of Virginia in January 2010. According to MMAJunkie, UFC Fight Night 20 is scheduled for Monday, January 11th. However, the Virginia Pro Boxing, Martial Arts and Wrestling Program said no date has been confirmed. The report says the UFC is at least considering running a show at the Patriot Center, the arena on the George Mason University campus. If they do run in Virginia and in the Patriot Center, it would be in direct competition with the UWC MMA promotion which calls the arena their home.
- Speaking of UFC Fight Night 20, the card is shaping up to be quite the show. None of these fights are official just yet but the rumored card is: Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz (with a potential title shot on the line for Maynard), Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce, Efrain Escudero vs. Nik Lentz, Chris Leben vs. Jay Silva, Tom Lawlor vs. Aaron Simpson and Mike Guymon vs. Rory MacDonald.
- Former UFC fighter Sean Salmon has been suspended by the Ohio Athletic Commission for one-year and fined him $2,500. The OAC suspension will end June 6th, 2010 and stems from a Salmon commentary in which he admitted to allowing an opponent to submit him during a recent MMA fight.
- Last week's episode of The Ultimate Fighter contained about 2.8 million viewers and tied with South Park for the most viewers in the male 18-34 demographic. The third episode which featured the Kimbo Slice vs. Roy Nelson fight drew 5.3 million viewers. So needless to say, this season is a tremendous success thus far if you judge by TV ratings.
- The UFC has signed James Te Huna out of Australia to a multi-fight contract. Te Huna fights at light heavyweight and his MMA record stands at 11-4. He is riding a five-fight win streak and is expected to debut for the promotion at UFC 110 in February when they run Sydney, Australia. Expect many more local talents to be signed in the coming weeks.
- The October 25th DREAM 12 card is shaping up with several big names. Remember it will be the first major Japanese MMA card to be fought inside a cage. The card features: Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Zelg Galesic, Welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis vs. Myeon Ho Bae (in a non-title fight), Paulo Filho vs. Yoon Dong Sik, Chase Beebe vs. Yoshiro Maeda, Eddie Alvarez vs. Katsunori Kikuno, Tokimitsu Ishizawa vs. Katsuyori Shibata and more.
- Brock Larson may have suffered his first loss in a long time to Mike Pierce last month, but he is not crying over it. He will return to the octagon at UFC 106 next month to fight Brian Foster.
- 411mania's Larry Csonka will be happy with this news bit. His favorite fighter, Brian Stann will return to the octagon at the end of the year on December 5th on the TUF 10 Finale to fight Rodney Wallace. Wallace is 9-0 and is a UFC newcomer.
The Ultimate Fighter Review and Preview
Last week's episode highlighted the difference between coaches this season. 411mania's favorite Wes Sims was chosen to fight Justin Wren in a match picked by Team Rashad. Rampage Jackson felt Sims would easily win because Wren was simply a green wrestler. Ouch. Even Dana White had no idea who Wren was and expected the 'ol UFC veteran to steam roll over him. Boy did he look like a fool for once. (ZING~!_) The fight lasted all of ninety seconds. Slow Wes Sims looked to stand in one place and work his jab against Wren who is a powerful wrestler. As is the case in most modern fights where that happens, the wrestler takes the fight wherever he wants it. Wren took Sims down, easily passed to side control and then to North-South positioning. Wren hooked Sims' arms, in a great show of submission fighting, and locked on an arm triangle. It was in deep as referee Herb Dean checked Sims' arm to see if he was out. He wasn't at first, then he passed out and Dean stopped the fight.
Rampage said afterwards he was shocked Wes Sims did not "Hulk Up" like Hulk Hogan always did in pro wrestling matches. Now that may have been the best part of the season...well, until the end of the episode. In the locker room area, Rashad Evans and Rampage got into another war of words. Rashad was pissed that Rampage again did not enter the cage after the fight to support his own fighter. Rampage defended himself by saying he can do nothing at that point and instead waits to talk to them in the dressing room. Rashad criticized Rampage's abilities as a coach and fighter while Rampage tried to stop himself from throwing a punch. It ended with Rampage, pissed off, walking away as Rashad had a gigantic grin on his face.
The similarities between season three and season ten of The Ultimate Fighter in respect to the coaches are astounding. Two feuds where the "babyfaces" going in were Ken Shamrock and Quinton Jackson, respectively. I guess it could be argued between Rampage and Rashad but I figure Evans always comes off like a pompous trash talker. It turns out both guys are horrible coaches who do not fit well in that environment. Instead, it's the "heels", Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans who come across as earnest, concerned and tremendous teachers. Shamrock's team was awful for a variety of reasons while Rampage's team was chosen because of size and look. Team Rampage may never win a fight (although I will say they will win at least one...KIMBO) but lets wait to see whether there will be any infighting and rebellion among the fighters themselves.
Tonight's episode looks like a doozie. A fighter injures himself and KIMBO SLICE may be back! Elsewhere, Rampage Jackson has picked on Darrill Schoonover for the last time and the young fighter has had enough. FIREWORKS~!
JUGGERNAUT VIDEO OF THE WEEK
UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida makes his first title defense in just three days. Below is a highlight video of most of Machida's undefeated career. It is simply amazing how difficult it is to lay a big punch on this man. Can Shogun Rua do it?
Thanks for reading, tune in next week for the all the UFC 104 results and coverage you could ever want. Don't forget to check out 411mania on Friday for the Roundtable Preview for the big show.
would suck to have kimbo fight again then win and on the next fight he loses (which is a high probability). why risk having kimbo you`re biggest ratings draw probably ever lose twice in the show?
Posted By: Guest#3847 (Guest) on October 21, 2009 at 12:22 AM
