MMA's 3R’s 12.23.09: GSP And Steroids, Diaz Gets A Title Shot, Lashley’s Dangerous Opponent And More

Posted by Larry Csonka on 12.23.2009

From Bobby Lashley’s rumored opponent and Georges St. Pierre being accused of steroid use to Scott Smith ruining Cung Le’s return and Nick Diaz getting a title shot, 411’s Larry Csonka breaks it all down in the latest edition of the 3R’s of MMA!



* The Column Concept *
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of the column, here it is. The column will look at events and or happenings in the world of MMA. They will be broken down into the three categories, the Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right will be the good and great fights or positive news items of the week. Perhaps even big fight announcements. The wRong will be bad fights, bad booking decisions and the like. Finally, the Ridiculous are the things that were just the worst of the world of MMA. They get grouped in their categories, and for a show, they will get a score from 1-10, based on the 411 ratings scale.


* And now, the 3R's of…MMA*

THE RIGHT:

THOMSON vs. MELENDEZ II: In my opinion the best fight of the weekend was the long awaited rematch between Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez. This is one of those fights that seemed as if it would never happen, due to injuries suffered by Thomson. So much so that Strikeforce set up an interim title, which Melendez won. But we got the date, Thomson was cleared, and promised no excuses, even though he couldn't do road running and didn't start kicking until three weeks before the fight. In many ways this was like the first fight, as Melendez could not get the takedown he wanted, but this time, Melendez's striking was MUCH better, and that allowed him to control things. Melendez's ability to work the double jab leg kick combo really kept Thomson on the outside, and allowed him a good level of control. This thing developed into a war, and yes, a late fight of the year candidate. This is just an amazing fight, and it is unfortunate that such a small TV audience saw it, because Melendez is quickly becoming one of the top Lightweights in the world, in my opinion. If you didn't see the fight, gout of your way to do so. I also have to give respect to Thomson, who did not make any excuses and praised Melendez after the fight. I want to see Thomson vs. Melendez III.

SCOTT SMITH RUINS STRIKEFORCE'S PLANS: Strikeforce seemed to have the plan all set. They got the Middleweight title off of Cung Le, but they also got his to agree to fight as a "special attraction" for the company. They announced his return, they put the fight in San Jose where he is almost a GOD, and they gave him a guy that will stand and bang, so that he can display his skills and get the win. Unfortunately for them they picked Scott Smith, the man that has mastered the "MMA Hail Mary". As expected, Le came out and dominated with a great display of kicks, one that looked as if it broke Smith in half. If Le had any kind of ground game, he would have finished Smith. But he got tired. People need to understand, Le is 37 and has not fought in nearly two-years. Many thought if he didn't get the job done in round one that he could lose. So after owning the second round as well, they go to the third, and Le was controlling, but tired. An then Scott Smith put on his Scott Smith PJ's (yes you read that right) and threw the Hail Mary, and he knocked out Le. Scott Smith did what Scott Smith does; he takes an ass kicking and somehow grabs victory from the jaws of defeat. And he knows that. Le to his credit did NOT make excuses, and praised Smith. And Smith, as mentioned, knows exactly what he is. He plugged the sponsor, said he knew he wasn't a title contender, and just wanted good fights. Bless this man, and I hope he gets some good bonus money for the show he puts on.

PURGATORY:

LASHLEY LIKELY TO DEBUT AGAINST DEL ROSARIO: With Bobby Lashley signing with Strikeforce, we all knew that the rumors would start regarding his first opponent. Most have said that Lashley (4-0) needs to step up his level of competition, and if the rumors are true, that is what will happen because his opponent is rumored to be Shane Del Rosario. Shane Del Rosario is 9-0, 3-0 in Elite 1-0 for M1 Global 1-0 in Strikeforce and 1-0 in KOTC. He has spent time as a professional Muay Thai fighter, with a record of 5-1 (5KO's.) He is a smaller heavyweight with a ton of agility and speed and KO power. His last fight with Brandon Cash was very telling as he was overwhelmed early in the fight, Del Rosario felt the power as he was DROPPED quickly, Cash hit the button and the ass whooping was on. Cash did about everything he could to finish it, and at one point the ref was about to stop it. But much to his credit, Del Rosario stayed composed and got the fight under control. Cash would get him to the ground again, and Del Rosario began trying for triangles and arm bars, but Cash had too much power still and was able to escape. Unfortunately for him, he didn't see the slick ass OMOPLATA from Del Rosario coming, and he would tap out. These are the fights that prove the guys with potential to the flashes in the pan. Del Rosario survived a huge onslaught and was able to come back and win in impressive fashion. That is why I think he is a very dangerous guy for Lashley to be facing.

DANA SAYS WEC and UFC WILL STAY SEPARATE: With the recent news that the UFC will be airing two shows on Versus in 2010, there has been a lot of talk about the rumored WEC/UFC merger. Now the merger has been a big old bunch of bull for some time, we knew this, but with Zuffa running UFC and WEC on the same channel, there had been talk of some cross promotion. Dana White recently shot this down, stating that the company wants to continue to build the WEC brand separately from the UFC brand. While I respect that, I strongly feel that they should look into some cross promotion for the sake of the WEC. The WEC is constantly putting on good shows, and they have a ton of talented fighters, but if no one is watching, does it matter? The ratings, outside two big shows, have been in the 400,000 viewer range, and they aren't improving. The WEC fighters are, in my opinion, underpaid and their bonuses I feel are too small. I really think that a small level of cross promotion, at the very least on the Versus shows, could help the WEC, and in no way will it hurt the UFC product. The UFC product is extremely strong right now, the WEC product puts on strong shows, but lacks promotion. I think that they are closing the door a bit too quickly on the potential benefits of some minor cross promotion.

THE WRONG:

DIAZ vs. ZAROMSKIS FOR THE STRIKEFORCE WW TITLE: After the Strikeforce evolution event, news came out that Nick Diaz would fight Marius Zaromskis for the vacant Strikeforce Welterweight Title. Diaz is undefeated since his 2007 loss to KJ Noons, while Zaromskis recently won the DREAM Welterweight grad prix with a series of SICK high kick KO wins. Nick Diaz was to face Jay Hieron for the title on August 15th. Diaz was to take a drug test, Caesar Gracie said he would be there, but he did not show up. Representatives for Diaz claimed that he was busy training in the mountains, in an Indian sweat lodge, smoking a peace pipe; but promised to show up for the test on the following Monday. Diaz also felt that he did not have to take the test, because he thought he had an agreement with former CSAC executive Armando Garcia. Scott Coker ended up looking like shit as he defended Diaz on a conference call, and then during that, the CSAC was feeding emails out to the MMA news sites that Diaz was not coming and that they would not license him for the show. Bottom line, he had to be tested. He failed a test for Marijuana in the past, and basically, any state will make you take a test for a drug that you failed before giving you a new license. It is the way it is. I personally do not give two shits that he smokes up. But the fact is that in sports testing, Marijuana is not allowed. Many over the counter things like Bronch-Aid or any number of legal supplements will trigger a test failure, that's the way it is. Diaz screwed Strikeforce, hurt the card as they lost a title fight and screwed Jay Hieron out of his chance for the title. Hieron went on to fight on the show, defeated Jesse Taylor, and was said to be in line for the vacant title shot. And now, because Scott Coker has a huge hard on for Diaz, Hieron gets crewed again. I personally love that they are bringing in Zaromskis for this, but giving Diaz a title shot shows that Strikeforce is making another mistake with the same fighter. I wish Coker would wake up.

THE RIDICULOUS:

GSP ACCUSED OF STEROID USE: There are times that some people speak and put their foot in their mouth, and then there are times that they eat the whole shoe store. BJ Penn's longtime trainer Rudy Valentino essentially accused Georges St. Pierre of steroid use. Here is what he had to say…

"I think it's because of his so-called steroid use, and all of that, that B.J. felt it was an unfair fight. Just the whole thing about not being fair, and fighting fair, you know. That's what B.J. wants to get off of his back; The greasing stuff, the steroids, and all of that. We heard from certain people that used to train with him, telling us what he did in the past. That's why, we had a heads up on that. When you cycle steroids, you're not going to test positive. You can cycle it right up to the time of the fight and not test positive on that. That's what we suspected he did in this fight."

For the life of me I cannot imagine what the hell Valentino was thinking when he said this. This is simply slanderous. I know that BJ Penn and his camp still have a severe case of Sandy Vaginitis about OWNING that GSP put on Penn in 2009, but they really need to get over it. First it was grease-gate, and now they pull the steroids card. I will not say whether or not GSP used or uses steroids, but the simple fact is that he has NOT been busted for it, and to me, you're innocent until proven guilty. By making statements like this, Valentino has lost all credibility in my eyes. He's like the little kid that loses and insists that the winner cheated with no evidence, just "I heard he cheated once from someone else". You heard from some people, that's your evidence? The fact that people can run around and say something like this with little chance of punishment is criminal. Can we please let this go? BJ talked his trash, but the fact is that GSP OWNED him in their fight. BJ Penn is the best and possibly the greatest lightweight fighter we will see, and he would likely defeat numerous welterweights, but GSP is not one of them. If you want another fight so bad, go talk to Frank Mir, he'll show you the proper way t0 build a fight. Bottom line, until GSP Pisses dirty, shut the hell up.


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KYRA says goodbye…

Happy holidays to all!