MMA's 3R’s 02.04.10: Couture vs. Coleman, Herschel Walker, The Scrap Pack, EA’s Epic Fail, More

Posted by Larry Csonka on 02.04.2010

From the countdown to Couture vs. Coleman and Herschel Walker being a great ambassador for MMA to EA Sports failing at MMA streaming and Strikeforce’s Scrap Pack, 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:

THE UFC 109 COUNTDOWN SPECIAL: Many times I like to discuss the UFC Countdown shows. I feel that they are very important to the built of the PPV, and also have historically been proven to help the PPV buy rates. That being said, I feel that the UFC Countdown special was excellent. First of all they changed up the format, which made the show feel fresh and it also had a better flow than past shows, and that is always a good thing. Next, the Couture stuff was great as always and really puts him over as the old gladiator who is still learning his craft and willing to compete. The stuff on Coleman was also excellent, as they put him over as the legend he is, and also was heart warning at the same time. They way they portrayed him as a loving father fighting for his daughters came across very well. Chael Sonnen can talk, and was an interesting guy to listen too as he built the fight, Thiago came off as a bad ass with the special ops stuff, and I just really enjoyed the show. The only complaint? How can you have a hype special without Serra and Trigg? Seriously…

Bellator Season 2 Is Coming: I have to say, I am getting more and more excited for Bellator season 2. First of all they have a much better TV deal this year, one that will allow more people to see the show, which is a good thing. Secondly, this is more free MMA for us to enjoy, and that is always a good thing. And finally, the talent that they are getting makes me very interested. All too often we forget that there is a whole group of talented fighters that we aren't seeing because they aren't in Strikeforce or the UFC. All of these things have me jazzed for the second season to begin!

Herschel Walker: MMA Ambassador: I will freely admit that I was not exactly on board with the Herschel Walker deal. But honestly, part of that was the fact that it was never explained to us properly. Had they explained that Walker did not want to be a regular fighter, was looking to test himself, and was donating his pay to charity, I would have had some different thoughts on the matter. As far as the fight goes, I pretty much agree with everyone else. His cardio was amazing, his stand up was stiff, and he was flat footed but showed some ability due to his martial arts experience. His takedown defense was good, and he showed a lot on the ground as far as positioning goes, but had no idea how to finish his opponent. But I think the most important thing that came out of Walker's fight was that he developed into a great ambassador for the sport. Considering that mainstream media in the US still likes to call MMA human cockfighting at times, Walker made several appearances leading up to Strikeforce: Miami and came off very well. He explained the sport, how tough it was, how it mixes all of the martial arts and all of the details that MMA fans know, but that the casual fans and so called "sports media" don't. In the end, I think that Herschel Walker should be proud of his performance, and that MMA fans should be proud of how he represented the sport that we love so much.

Lavar Johnson is Coming Back: Back in July, Strikeforce heavyweight fighter Lavar Johnson (13-3) was the victim of a random shooting during a BBQ that killed a family member and injured himself and three others on July 4th of 2009. The 37-year old Johnson was impressive in his Strikeforce debut, and just as life was good, it was almost taken from him. I, along with many others were simply hoping that the man would survive and be able to have a good life with his family. But not only did Johnson battle for his life and live, but also he is about to return to fighting. Strikeforce announced that Johnson will return to fighting on March 26th at Strikeforce Challengers VII when he faces the undefeated Lolohea Mahe (4-0-1). This is a feel good story if there ever was one. From being shot, to battling for your life to living and then returning to the sport you love. Lavar Johnson, I salute you, and wish you the best of luck good sir.

PURGATORY:

HOW GOOD ARE THE SCRAP PACK?: When Strikeforce: Miami was over, I spent hours reading across MMA boards about how "THE SCRAP PACK RULES STRIKEFORCE" And in all reality they do, as they have the Lightweight, Welterweight and Middleweight champions in their "pack". So there is really no doubt that the boys are running Strikeforce right now, but how good are they? All too often we see guys from PRIDE come to the UFC and get destroyed. We see guys from DREAM come to Strikeforce and get owned. So how good is the Scrap Pack?

* Gilbert Melendez: is the current Strikeforce lightweight champion, and currently holds a record of 17-2. His only losses were to Mitsuhiro Ishida in 2007, and Josh Thomson in 2008. In the year 2009 he faced both of these men and soundly defeated them. The man is a combined 7-1 under the Strikeforce banner.

* Nick Diaz is the current Strikeforce Welterweight champion, coming off of the destruction of Marius Zaromskis at Strikeforce: Miami. In his last 10 fights he is 8-1-1nc. The loss to Noons some call controversial due to it being a doctor's stoppage, and the no contest was a victory, but over turned due to Nick's Captain Cannabis routine. Diaz also has an impressive victory over veteran Frank Shamrock in 2009 on his record.

* Jake Shields is the current Strikeforce Middleweight champion, defeating Mayhem Miller back the Fedor vs. Rogers event. He has won his last 13 fights, including victories over Robbie Lawler, Carlos Condit and Yushin Okami. Many regard Shields as one of the best non-UFC fighters in all of MMA.

Just by reading that, you'd assume that these guys are some of the best fighters out there. But HOW GOOD are they? There is a standard right now, and I know people hate to hear this, but overall, the top talent is in the UFC. We often see guys that have been hyped up and they come to the UFC, or even Strikeforce as mentioned, and they just aren't the same. Would Melendez, Diaz and Shields succeed in the UFC like they have in Strikeforce? I want to hear your opinions on this one!

THE WRONG:

EA SPORTS FAIL: It was announced that the Jay Hieron (18-4 MMA, 1-0 SF) vs. Joe Riggs (32-10 MMA, 3-2 SF) fight, which was shunned to the prelims, would be shown Saturday night via EASportsMMA.com. Here is what was said about the fight…

"It was a discussion that came up between Strikeforce, Showtime and EA Sports during planning meetings. All parties had seen the MMA community interest in the fight and wanted to give the fans what they wanted to see. We are committed to growing the sport and supporting the fighters in our game, so we were happy to play a part in bringing this fight to the fans. We also really wanted to see the fight ourselves."

Man, what a great plan. Sure it isn't that main card, but it is better than nothing and also reinforces the relationship with EA. Well, it was a great plan, accept for the part where it was a failure of epic proportions. First of all, the fight didn't start until roughly 9:20PM. Secondly, I would say that 9 out of every 10 people I talked with never got past the buffering part. The one out of those 10 that did, only saw the final two minutes of the fight. I mean, damn, that's not good at all. People were pissed about this, but the worst part was that EA and Strikeforce pretty much didn't say shit. They just chalked it up to "our bad" and moved on. No real apology, no real explanation, just bad business by EA and Strikeforce. For shame you guys, for shame…

THE RIDICULOUS:

WEIGHT FAIL: I know that people will say that they are sick of hearing this from me, but I AM SICK of guys missing weight. I really hate when guys miss weight, do your damn job. Let's get some more serious punishments in here for missing weight, can we please? Homasi was over by one-and-one-half pound, while Kelly was over by one-half pound. Both fighters agreed to approve the bout without penalty. Bullshit. Byrnes was late arriving to the proceedings, and he weighed in well after the official ceremony. He got fined, but how do you miss the weight-ins? Bullshit. Some people said "who cares, they are under card guys." Well guess what, unprofessional, and if I ran a company, I would not bring them back. Once again, I beg that we have either same day weigh-ins, or a second day weigh-in to where you cannot re-hydrate more than 10-pounds. I am sick about hearing about the "science of cutting weight", guys need to fight closer to their walk around weight, because weight cutting is very dangerous. Ask Daniel Cormier.


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KYRA says goodbye…