The Juggernaut MMA News Report 03.03.10: WEC 47 Preview
Posted by Jonathan Solomon on 03.03.2010
The Juggernaut previews WEC 47 including Bowles' first defense and the return of Miguel Torres. Plus, all of the Strikeforce news including fights with Henderson, Aoki, Arlovski and others, including Alistair Overeem's next U.S. fight. Read all the details on the entire 28-man cast of the latest Ultimate Fighter and much more.
The Reign Champion Bowles and The Return of Torres
WEC is back on the front burner for the first time since January with a solid card based out of the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio this Saturday night on Versus. The main event will feature Brian Bowles' first WEC bantamweight title defense against top contender Dominick Cruz. Former champion Miguel Torres begins his climb back up the ladder against Joseph Benavidez. Among the three other televised fights will be the next contest involving Jens Pulver as he tries to get back in the winning lane.
WEC 47: BOWLES VS. CRUZ TELEVISED CARD
Bantamweight Championship: Brian Bowles (c) vs. Dominick Cruz
Miguel Torres vs. Joseph Benavidez
Jens Pulver vs. Javier Vazquez
Deividas Taurosevicius vs. LC Davis
Karen Darabedyan vs. Bart Palaszewski
The main event is another close match-up between a pair of fighters with similar styles. Bowles and Cruz are each known for their wrestling backgrounds and for their improved striking over the years. Both have finishing power although Cruz has won his last four WEC fights by unanimous decision. Cruz is 14-1 with the only defeat coming at the hands of Urijah Faber in a WEC 145-pound title fight back in 2007. Bowles is 8-0 and has never gone the distance. The longest fight of his career went about a minute into the third round in December 2008 when he submitted Will Ribeiro.
It is tough for me to say look for a weakness in Brian Bowles' game because thus far, we have not seen them. He has submissions wins, he has knockout wins and his wrestling is proven to be as good as anyone else in the division.
Both men will look to knock each other's blocks off so expect to see a counterpunch act as a game changer in this one. I'd be surprised if this one ends in a submission only because both men are strong wrestlers.
With the prospect of a potential five-round war, when the fighters are as close as they are here, I will usually lean with the champion although neither fighter has ever fought into the championship rounds.
Miguel Torres has had to enter a cage after being beaten since January 2004 when he came back from a decision loss in November 2003. Since then, Torres reeled off 17 victories before running into Brian Bowles last summer. After that shocking first round knockout loss, Torres changed his entire way about training. Instead of training himself, Torres brought in a slew of coaches including grappling and striking coaches to help him improve his talent. Imagine that, what we will see this weekend is a version of Miguel Torres that has been refined with the help of trainers. SCARY!
This will not be a cakewalk by any means for the former champion as he must contend with Joseph Benavidez, one of Urijah Faber's proteges, and one of the more entertaining bantamweights in the sport. Benavidez suffered his first defeat on that same show last summer, a decision loss to Cruz. He came back to defeat grappling expert Rani Yahya by TKO in the first round back in December. He is dangerous because he has powerful hands, a motor that never quits and a submission game based out of his strong wrestling skills.
What does this spell? WAR!
Torres is fighting to redeem himself after the loss and to earn a chance to fight for the belt he lost. What are the odds that Torres, a healthy 29-year old, loses consecutive fights for the first time as a professional? Not very likely, although stranger things have happened in the cage. What I like about this match-up is both men fight like they have nothing to lose, they always leave whatever they have in the cage with no regrets.
Like I have no reason to pick against Bowles, I have no reason to pick against Torres. I have never done so and I don't plan on beginning now.
Who knows what will happen on Saturday night. Jens Pulver's career may be on the line, or perhaps he will continue as long as his body allows. Either way, every time we see him fight these days, it's with an emotional twist that even he cannot avoid. Jens has lost six of his last seven fights and if you want to be favorable, only two of those six losses were in a competitive fight. Yes, that means over the past four years and five months, Pulver has won just one fight (he submitted Cub Swanson in 2007).
The man who takes the role of the heel on Saturday through no fault of his own is the Cuban born Javier Vazquez (13-4). Vazquez is 0-2 in WEC after being on the losing end of consecutive split decisions (to LC Davis and Deividas Taurosevicius) and may be fighting for a job, much the same way Pulver is.
Vazquez is a jiu-jitsu fighter with eight wins by submission. All four of his career losses are by decision so it appears difficult to finish him. We cannot say the same for 'Lil Evil Pulver.
Take away the awesome first fight with Urijah Faber and all of Pulver's eleven losses have been by knockout or submission.
Pulver is the fan favorite but it is difficult to pick him in this fight when it appears his only chance to win is to knock Vazquez out.
Round5MMA.com
MAJOR STRIKEFORCE NEWS
Strikeforce said they would have a major announcement this week during their Strikeforce Challengers broadcast on Friday and, it's refreshingly big news indeed. There is no new toy news but there are plenty of fights to discuss for their upcoming show in April and the rumored show in May.
First the confirmed news.
Saturday night, April 17th on CBS in Nashville, Tennessee, Strikeforce will present a stacked card that will include three championship fights. The three championship fights are the only contests confirmed as of this morning and are as follows:
Strikeforce Middleweight Championship: Jake Shields (c) vs. Dan Henderson Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship: Gegard Mouasi (c) vs. Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal Strikeforce Lightweight Championship: Gilbert Melendez (c) vs. Shinya Aoki
Oh yeah. Each of the three fights above are pretty damn big by itself but put them all together and if you're a fan of MMA, your anticipation meter just went haywire. Of course, if this can move the casual viewers to turn on their TV's that night is a whole different story. However, we don't have to worry about that right now, let's just hope each fighter remains healthy during training and makes it to April in one piece.
This will be Dan Henderson's first non-UFC fight since he knocked out Wanderlei Silva in 2007 to become the first man to hold championship belts from two different weight classes at the same time. He is coming off his stint as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter and his major KTFO of Michael Bisping at UFC 100. He challenges Jake Shields who is only fighting at middleweight because his buddy Nick Diaz is the Strikeforce golden boy at welterweight. Shields became champion by grinding out a win over Mayhem Miller in November, and has since become known as one of the most boring fighters in the sport. Shields will be the huge underdog here as he will be giving up a lot of size and power, not to mention the fact that Henderson was an Olympic-caliber wrestler. If Shields can win this fight, color me impressed.
Gegard Mousasi has been one of the best fighters over the past two years since coming onto the scene in DREAM as a middleweight. He has moved up in weight and has not looked back since signing with Strikeforce. He has knocked out both Babalu Sobral (to become champion) and Sokoudjou (to retain the championship) and has looked almost bored in these fights. His next test is in the form of the undefeated (in six fights) King Mo who is as cocky as he is a skilled fighter. Lawal brings a strong wrestling background with powerful fists that will make this an interesting match-up. Despite Mousasi's experience (he has over 30 professional MMA fights), for many, this will be a toss-up.
Now to the fight that I am REALLY anticipating, more so than the two above. Gilbert Melendez is the undisputed 155-pound champion for Strikeforce after defeating Josh Thomson in a fight of the year candidate this past December. Melendez, like his training partner Jake Shields, can grind out victories but has no issue if he has to stand and trade. Shinya Aoki has been recognized as the #2 lightweight in the world for much of the past few years and this will mark his American debut. He is known for his almost unparalleled submission skills, this despite the fact that he is considered an average striker at best. Aoki was last seen fighting on the New Year's K-1 Dynamite!! show in which he broke Mizuto Hirota's arm.
Other fights rumored for the show include Herschel Walker (Strikeforce wants him on the show) and possibly even Bobby Lashley. Neither has been confirmed yet and it appears unlikely Walker will fight as soon as April. At this point, Strikeforce and CBS may be set with three guaranteed televised fights with the assumption that each title fight goes the maximum length, 25-minutes. The broadcast is scheduled for the 9-11 PM eastern time slot so with commercials, they would likely barely be able to fit those fights as it is. I would assume they will find another fight to use in case either of the three fights go short and they have time to fill.
The news isn't over yet. Through various means, the unofficial Strikeforce show on May 15th in St. Louis, Missouri is also taking shape. Three fights were believed to be set for the show but as of now, only two appear ready. The rumored card includes:
Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship: Alistair Overeem (c) vs. Brett Rogers
Andrei Arlovski vs. Antonio Silva
Perhaps the biggest news is word that Fedor Emelianenko will NOT be fighting in April or May. The early word is there is a real disagreement between M-1 Global and Strikeforce and their relationship is at least in some way, strained. According to some reports, M-1 feels Strikeforce has not stuck their contract as far as co-promotion goes and want a new contract for Emelianenko. Strikeforce denies all this publicly.
Alistair Overeem said on his twitter that he is expected to fight Brett Rogers and recent confirmation courtesy of Mauro Ranallo says the belt will in fact, be on the line. Ever since he lost to Fedor, Rogers and his camp have been pulling for a fight with Overeem. It's a great match-up and should prove to be a spectacle between two big strikers. Of course, Overeem's striking is believed to be light years better than Rogers'. After all, Overeem has the skills to compete at a high level in K-1, surely he can put away Rogers, right? We shall see. For those who may cry about Rogers getting a title shot after having been defeated, the fact is Fedor and Strikeforce appear to be in a contract dispute. Thus, any other man who gets a shot at Overeem's belt may not be the true number one contender. At this point, we should all be happy Overeem will be fighting in the United States for Strikeforce again.
Lastly, Andrei Arlovski has signed with Strikeforce and his first fight is believed to be against Antonio Silva. "Big Foot" may not have that awesome one-punch knockout power so on the surface, this should be a fight that Arlovski can push the pace. We have not seen Arlovski compete since he was knocked out by Brett Rogers so there will be plenty of questions surrounding his performance.
All in all, the Strikeforce landscape has gotten a LOT more interesting over the past 48 hours.
The 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter debuts on March 31st and will feature 28 middleweights vying for a single UFC contract. This is the first time the show will feature 28 fighters and the exact tournament format has still not been announced.
The coaches will be Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz who both will return to coach their second full season (Liddell was on the first season, Ortiz coached the third season).
Here is a brief rundown of the 28 fighters:
1. Jamie Yager (2-1) - Competed on the BET 'Iron Ring' show and is based out of California.
2. Rich Attonito (7-3) - 32-years old, American Top Team fighter, was collegiate wrestler.
3. Seth Baczynski (11-5) - Trains with Efrain Escudero and Apex MMA in Arizona.
4. Woody Weatherby (7-3) - A U.S. veteran, he has trained at Renzo Gracie's Academy and Micky Ward's Boxing Gym.
5. Cleburn Walker (9-3) - Trains and coaches at Team Lutter.
6. Kyacey Uscola (18-15) - Trains with Team Alpha Male (Urijah Faber's camp) and is 28-years old.
7. Charles Blanchard (7-2) - Was a high school wrestler and holds a brown belt in jiu-jitsu.
8. Josh Bryant (10-0) - Trains out of the Absolute Combat Alliance in Oklahoma.
9. Brent Cooper (5-1) - Fights out of California and Team Oyama.
10. Jacen Flynn (8-2) - Has wins over Denis Kang and Dean Lister.
11. Chris Camozzi (11-3) - 22-years old, fights out of Denver.
12. Joseph Henle (3-0) - Trains out of Big John McCarthy's MMA and has an MBA.
13. James Hammortree (4-0) - 23-years old, former collegiate football player.
14. Warren Thompson (5-0) - Known as a Muay Thai fighter and trains out of Georgia.
15. Brad Tavares (4-0) - 21-years old, trains with Tapout in Vegas.
16. Jordan Smith (10-0) - A school teacher, former pro boxer, trains with Throwdown Elite Fight Team in Utah.
17. Ben Stark (3-1) - Trains with American Top Team.
18. Lyle Steffens (5-2) - A firefighter and EMT, trains with Apex MMA in Arizona.
19. Greg Rebello (9-2) - Trains under Mark DellaGrotte in Massachusetts.
20. Nick Ring (10-0) - 30-years old, former pro boxer, has recovered from a major knee injury.
21. Charley Lynch (6-0) - Trains out of Minnesota with Northway MMA.
22. Kris McCray (5-0) - Member of Army Reserve, based out of Virginia and trains with Chute Box.
23. Court McGee (9-1) - BJJ fighter, defeated DaMarques Johnson in 2007.
24. Clayton McKinney (4-2) - BJJ black belt, trains with Jungle MMA in Florida (also home to Tom Lawlor).
25. Victor O'Donnell (8-1) - Trains with Vision MMA in Ohio.
26. Norman Paraisy (5-1) - Born and raised in Paris, BJJ fighter, trains with American Top Team.
27. Costantinos Philippou (5-1) - Former boxer, born and raised in Greece, trains with Serra-Longo MMA in New York.
28. Kyle Noke (16-4-1) - Trains with Greg Jackson MMA in New Mexico, former bodyguard for Steve Irwin and has a win over George Sotiropoulos.
Thanks to Yahoo! Sports for some of the details.
JUGGERNAUT NEWS BRIEFS
- Sengoku 12 takes place this Sunday in Tokyo, Japan. Here is the card: Jorge Santiago (c) vs. Mamed Khalidov for the Middleweight Title; Akihiro Gono vs. Diego Gonzalez; Maximo Blanco vs. Armbar Kim; Marlon Sandro vs. Tomonari Kanamoto; Sentoryu vs. Kiss Nakao; Yuji Hoshino vs. Nick Denis; Leonardo Santos vs. Kiuma Kunioku; Shigeki Osawa vs. Kang Kyung Ho; Shigeki Osawa vs. Kyung Ho Kang.
- Marius Pudzianowski, the five-time World's Strongest Man champion will fight again on May 7th in his native Poland at KSW XIII. An official opponent has not been named. There have been reports that they have been trying to book a fight with Tim Sylvia but there has been no confirmation either way. Pudzianowski made his successful MMA debut last year and won via TKO rather quickly.
- Cage Potato has researched which fighters have received the most fight bonuses in the UFC. According to their work, Chris Lytle has received the most with seven bonuses totaling $310,000 over his career. Four fighters received five bonuses including Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz, Tyson Griffin and Joe Lauzon.
- According to HeadKickLegend.com, Alistair Overeem's management have said, "the next announcement we will hear about Alistair Overeem will come from Strikeforce." The reigning Strikeforce heavyweight champion has not competed for them since beating Paul Buentello several years back for the belt. Overeem is expected to fight at DREAM 13 next month and possibly fight for Strikeforce in May. Whether Fedor Emelianenko's management team at M-1, Strikeforce and Overeem's people could work out a deal remains to be seen. Fedor is expected to fight Fabricio Werdum in May. Word is that Overeem may fight Brett Rogers on the May Strikeforce show.
- There are rumblings that M-1 Global is not happy with Strikeforce for reportedly not following their contract. M-1 is reportedly desires a new contract for Fedor. Stay tuned.
- Bellator has signed heavyweight prospect Cole Konrad, who trains with Brock Lesnar in Minnesota. He has a 2-0 professional MMA record.
- Results from last Friday's Strikeforce Challengers VI show on Showtime: Sarah Kaufman def. Takayo Hashi by unanimous decision to become the first Strikeforce women's welterweight champion; Trevor Prangley and Karl Amoussou fought to a technical draw after an accidental eye poke prevented Amoussou from being able to see; Luke Rockhold def. Paul Bradley by TKO in the first round; Tarec Saffiedine def. James Terry by unanimous decision; Yancy Medeiros def. Raul Castillo by unanimous decision.
- Paulo Filho ended up no showing his fight at Bitetti Combat 6 against Yuki Sasaki due to his pay, according to Filho. He denied he has any issues with drugs or other substances. Ed Soares, the man who managest many Brazilian MMA fighters, publicly alluded to Filho's substance abuse problem recently.
- Luke Rockhold has been added to the EA Sports MMA video game roster.
- Josh Barnett has signed to fight for DREAM and will be on the DREAM 13 show on March 22nd in Japan. On his twitter, Josh Barnett said according to rumors, Tim Sylvia and Antonio Silva both turned down fights with him in DREAM.
- According to MMAJunkie, the UFC is looking to book a fight between Michael Bisping and Dan Miller for UFC 114 in May.
- Strikeforce has signed Andrei Arlovski to a multi-fight contract over 16-months. Here's hoping the former champion can bounce back and become a top competitor again.
- In an interview with MMAWeekly, Jamie Varner spoke about his loss to Ben Henderson. He said, "I was really disappointed even a few days after the fight. I was like I never want to fight again, this sucks, Ben fought like a girl, he got lucky, and I was so angry and making excuses, but honestly looking back on it, I've had time to take a breath and relax and really reflect on the fight, and I had a lot of fun."
JUGGERNAUT VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Here is George St. Pierre's professional MMA debut from 2002 against Ivan Menjivar. GSP will attempt to make yet another title defense later this month on March 27th against Dan Hardy at UFC 111 in New Jersey.
