411 MMA Fact or Fiction 11.30.11: Rampage vs Bader in Japan, Chael Sonnen vs Mark Munoz on Fox, The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale and more!.

Posted by Mark Radulich on 11.30.2011

Should the UFC agree to a fight between Cain Velasquez and Fedor Emelianenko? Is Ryan Bader the best opponent for Rampage Jackson? Is Chael Sonnen vs Mark Munoz the best main event for UFC on Fox 2? 411’s Robert Winfree, Wyatt Beougher, Scott Kuczkowski and Jonathan Solomon debate these topics and more!

411 MMA Fact or Fiction 11.30.11: Rampage vs Bader in Japan, Chael Sonnen vs Mark Munoz on Fox, The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale and more!.

The Free for All

Welcome to another edition of 411 MMA: Fact or Fiction. As you have probably noticed, I am not your regular host, Todd Bergman; he's out sick. So I, Mark Radulich – Mandated Reporter (and frankly I'm mortified), have decided to host a little bit of a free for all in his absence. So I threw out the challenge to the writers on this site and they haven't let me down. This week we're going to talk about Rampage Jackson fighting Ryan Bader in Japan, the possibility of Chael Sonnen taking on Mark Munoz in the main event UFC on Fox 2 and whether or not the UFC should work with M-1 Global in setting up a fight in Moscow for Fedor (please don't throw anything yet, my story gets better). We covered some of these topics on the 411 Ground and Pound Radio show last Sunday and you can listen to that show right here:

Listen to internet radio with Mark Radulich on Blog Talk Radio

So Without further dudes, let's introduce the participants.



This week's FoF combatants are:

Name: Robert "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" Winfree
Fighting out of: Bread Loaf, Vermont
411 Column: Locked in a Guillotine
Claim to Fame: Secretary of the Chael Sonnen Fan Club

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Name: Jonathan "Let's Get Physical" Solomon
Fighting out of: Suck-Egg Hollow, Tenn.
411 Column: The Juggernaut MMA News Report
Claim to Fame: Rode the mechanical Bull at "Jilly's" and busted his face

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Name: Wyatt "Stainless Steel Providers" Beougher
Fighting out of: Jackass Flats, Nevada
411 Column: 5 Quick Rounds
Claim to Fame: Safety Inspector of the Year at Springfield Nuclear Plant 2001

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Name: Scott "Beers, Steers and Queers" Kuczkowski
Fighting out of: Ding Dong, Texas
411 Column: A View From the Cheap Seats
Claim to Fame: Panelist for the 411 Ground and Pound Radio Show...which is totally awesome!

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Protect yourself at all times and come out fighting!



1.) Ryan Bader is a terrible choice for Rampage Jackson's opponent at UFC 144 in Japan.

Robert Winfree: FACT. FACT several times over. Not only is Bader well beneath Jackson in the rankings, but the reality is we've already seen this fight. This fight will play out incredibly similar to Jackson's fight with Matt Hamill, and really seeing that once was more than enough. This is supposed to be Jackson's return to Japan, where he made his name, and we'll wind up with a very pedestrian stand up fight between the two.

Jonathan Solomon: FICTION. Let's first take a look at the options. Rashad Evans? I don't see the UFC using him on the Japan show, if anything, he would be on the January Fox card. Shogun Rua? I doubt he'll be ready or even medically cleared to fight by late February. Phil Davis? The UFC would not book him against a guy coming off a loss, although it would be an awesome match-up (plus a huge step up for Davis).

How about Forrest Griffin or Alexander Gustaffson (if he beats Vlad Matyushenko at UFC 141) or even King Mo? Lawal had his first four pro fights in Japan, after all, plus there's always a beef between Mo and Rampage. Personally, I would have gone with Griffin.

I still wouldn't say Bader is a TERRIBLE choice because no matter who wins, it's a good outcome. Either Bader scores a HUGE upset win and is back in the mix (to a degree), or Rampage wins and gets his chance to fight in Japan again. Besides, I doubt Rampage's return to Japan will end up being boring.

Wyatt Beougher: FICTION. Sure, I'd like to see Rampage fight against either Shogun Rua or Forrest Griffin (or even King Mo), but that doesn't change the fact that Rua (in the wake of the Henderson fight) and Griffin (because of a broken rib) aren't cleared to start training and wouldn't be ready for a February fight. King Mo isn't even in the UFC, so that effectively rules him out. With those options out of the way, who does it really leave? Bader is coming off of a big win, Rampage is coming off of a high-profile trouncing, so it's not the worst match-up to make, based on merit. Stylistically, both Bader and Rampage have a lot of power in their hands and good wrestling bases, so this should turn into a slugfest and has the potential to be a very entertaining, and possibly very short, fight.

Scott Kuczkowski: FICTION. This is a fine matchup for both guys. Rampage is coming off a loss to Jon Jones and Bader is coming off a knockout win over Jason Brilz. Who else is there? Dan Henderson and Shogun are both out until they recover from their last bout. Rashad Evans is still injured and he's already beaten Rampage. Lyoto Machida is scheduled to face Jones, plus he's already fought and lost to Rampage. Forrest Griffin would be a possibility, but I don't think he could get ready in time for the bout. Phil Davis is out with an injury and Tito Ortiz and Lil Nog are scheduled to fight each other. After those names, we get into guys like Alexander Gustafsson and Vladimir Matyushenko, neither of whom is ready to face someone like Rampage yet. Unless Zuffa wanted to bring someone over from Strikeforce, which they apparently don't, then there isn't anyone else.

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2.) Mayhem Miller will defeat Michael Bisping this Saturday night at the Ultimate Fighter Finale.

Robert Winfree: FICTION. I like Miller, but I don't think he has the tools to beat Bisping. I really don't like Bisping at all, but that shouldn't discount his skill set. Bisping had developed some pretty good takedown defense and is very effective defensively off of his back. Given that Miller's only real shot here is grappling his way to a win I just don't think he can pull it off. I hope I'm wrong though.

Jonathan Solomon: FACT. Bisping cannot knock Mayhem out. Miller has only suffered a KO/TKO loss once and it was in a fight with Frank Trigg where soccer kicks were allowed. Michael Bisping has not submitted anyone since joining the UFC family in 2006. Then, look at who Miller has lost decisions to in his career. Jake Shields, Jacare Souza, Georges St. Pierre, Tim Kennedy and Chael Sonnen. Bisping is neither a high level BJJ fighter or a significant wrestler. Therefore, I do not see how Bisping can come out on top when he won't be able to finish Miller. Instead, Mayhem will be the first man to submit Michael Bisping. Book it!

Wyatt Beougher: FACT. While I don't agree with Solomon's method of victory, I do agree that Bisping doesn't pose a significant threat to beating Miller. I think Mayhem beats down the Count and picks up the decision win.

Scott Kuczkowski: FICTION. This is one of those picks that I hope I am wrong about, but I don't see Miller winning this. Bisping has consistently faced better competition in the UFC while Miller's last two opponents were cans. On top of that, I think Bisping will have the better standup game that he will use to frustrate and outpoint Miller. I know Miller will want to get this fight to the ground, but even Rashad Evans had a tough time taking Bisping down, and Bisping is most certainly working on his take down defense in preparation for this. This fight will probably go to a decision, and although I would love to see Miller win, I think Bisping will take a unanimous decision.

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3.) If the terms are reasonable, the UFC should take up M-1's offer to organize a fight in 2012 between Fedor and Cain Velasquez in Moscow.

Robert Winfree: FICTION. The only way the UFC should book this fight is if Fedor signs with the UFC. Co-promoting a fight doesn't benefit the UFC at all, it's basically a free ride for M-1 and Dana doesn't have the best relationship with those guys anyway. Fedor is in the twilight of his legendary career, there's really no reason for him to be fighting guys like Cain who are near the peak of theirs.

Jonathan Solomon: FICTION. As a fan, sure, they should do it. From a business perspective, hell no. First of all, why use Cain Velasquez? They can just as easily offer to have the Mir/Nogueira winner or Fabricio Werdum or the Barnett/Cormier winner take on Fedor. Aside from that, if I'm the UFC, there is no reason to send a fighter elsewhere to fight. If M-1 Global wants to get paid, they need to play by Zuffa's terms or be left fighting the Jeff Monson's of the world in Europe and Asia (ie. no money, no attention).

Wyatt Beougher: FICTION, but only because I have to have an answer. This isn't going to happen for the simple fact that M1 would want co-promotional rights, and Zuffa has proven that they aren't interested in going that route (wisely, if you look at the current state of Affliction MMA and Strikeforce, M1's last two co-promotional partners). Even if the deal were reasonable, it doesn't make any sense for the UFC. Mark Radulich is one of seven people who still care about Fedor going into 2012, so there's really nothing for the UFC to gain by sending their former heavyweight champion overseas to fight in front of a pro-Fedor crowd. Even if Velasquez defeats Emelianenko (and I have no reason to believe that he wouldn't), what does he gain by beating a guy whose most significant victory in the past three years is over Jeff Monson? Just put Cain in the cage with either Fabricio Werdum or Antonio Silva (hell, even Dan Henderson) - no logistical nightmares, no M1 involvement, and he gets to fight a guy who beat Fedor instead of a past-his-prime fighter who was never very popular in America.

Scott Kuczkowski: FICTION. Put. Down. The. Crack. Pipe. First off, the UFC will never co-promote with M-1 simply because of the bad history they have from trying to negotiate for Fedor. The UFC certainly won't follow M-1 into Russia because they probably won't be able to trust that M-1 will live up to any terms of their agreement and the UFC would be powerless to force their hand in Russia. Second, Fedor isn't alone worth co-promoting a fight card. Sure, he just had a win over Jeff Monson and he still has a following amongst hard core fans, but the UFC would make more money having Cain rematch with Brock than they would having him face a past-his-prime Fedor. Fedor simply isn't worth the time and effort anymore. Third, Russia isn't the market the UFC is looking to expand into right now. The UFC is making a push into South America and into Asia; I doubt Russia is even on their radar. The UFC will have more shows in Brazil, a card in Japan, a card in Australia, and probably a card in China in 2012; all those countries combined with Canada and the UK already gives the UFC a foothold into anywhere else in the world. The UFC doesn't need M-1.

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4.) Chael Sonnen vs Mark Munoz is the right match to headline UFC on Fox 2.

Robert Winfree: FICTION. FICTION fiction fiction fiction. This is a terrible idea, in so many ways. Firstly neither guy is a really exciting fighter; secondly they're both great wrestlers. This means we'll get a very sloppy standup fight for a few minutes per round between these two clinching against the cage and trying to take each other down. That's just speaking from an MMA fans perspective.

From a non-fan, or potential new fan, there's very little to get me excited about this fight. We went from a heavyweight title fight to this? I know not every fight on FOX will be a title fight, but they should at least be special. This isn't.

Jonathan Solomon: FICTION. As a main event fight, no, it is not the right fight. As a co-main event contest, I can live with it. Remember, the key for the Fox shows is to A) get as many viewers as possible and B) turn as many of them into PPV buyers as possible. Ideally, the winner between Sonnen/Munoz gets a crack at Anderson Silva in the summer and they can push that on Fox. However, there needs to be a better main event. I thought a Rampage/Griffin rematch would have been perfect (since Ramapage is one of the few fighters with a legit mainstream name) but that's not happening. I know Rashad Evans by himself is not a pay-per-view draw, but why not have him fight in the main event and promote him as the next challenger to Bones Jones (if he beats Lyoto Machida)?

Wyatt Beougher: FACT, based on the conditions that Anderson Silva is injured and Chael Sonnen wants to stay active while Silva heals. In a perfect world, Sonnen would be fighting Silva on UFC on FOX 2, but since that's not going to happen, they might as well let Chael end the contendership hopes of another up-and-coming middleweight. So long as Sonnen gets his well-deserved rematch with Silva after he beats Munoz, I'm perfectly okay with this fight taking place. Hopefully Sonnen brings his trash-talking "A" game; after all, Munoz has trained pretty extensively with Silva in the past.

Scott Kuczkowski: FICTION. Does anyone remember the fight between Jason Miller and Jake Shields for the vacant Strikeforce Middleweight Title? It was a 25 minute grappling match that bored the crowd to tears, and I fear that this matchup could produce the same results. Munoz and Sonnen are both great wrestlers, and my concern is that those attributes would cancel each other out, leaving us with either some really ugly striking exchanges on the feet or positional stalemates on the ground. Plus, it appears that many fans want to see Sonnen fight Anderson Silva, which won't happen if he loses to Munoz. While this fight would probably be O.K. for a Fight Night event, this isn't the bout the UFC should put on Fox.

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5.) James Thompson had every right to, "go on a tirade," after losing a majority decision to Mariusz Pudzianowski at KSW 17.

Robert Winfree: FICTION. Bad decisions happen in MMA, and they can happen more frequently when you're fighting a national figure in his home country. For the record, that was an absolutely horrible decision, but that certainly doesn't give James Thompson the right to grab a microphone and insult the promotion. There are places and times to air grievances like that, and he chose a bad one.

Jonathan Solomon: FICTION. If I lost a decision to Mariusz Pudzianowski, I'd be pissed too. Nevertheless, it was not the time or the place to drop curses and run down the promotion. As long as he was getting paid (perhaps he lost out on a sizable amount with the loss), why get so upset at that point? It wasn't going to change the judge's minds and certainly will not endear him to the promoters.

Wyatt Beougher: FICTION. Thompson needed to be at least somewhat professional, no matter how badly the judges screwed up the result of the fight. Yes, he should've won (or at least ended in a draw), but throwing a fit doesn't change anything or make the decision any less awful. The best course of action would've been to protest the decision to the KSW management and ask that they change the result of the fight. Sure, that's what happened as a result of the outburst, but if you were KSW, would you feel totally comfortable booking Thompson for your next show? I know I wouldn't.

Scott Kuczkowski: FICTION. > Look, I know Thompson is probably used to only losing to top tier competition like Aleksander Emelianenko, Butterbean, and Kimbo Slice, but this is MMA where anything can happen. I mean seriously, Thompson has gone 4-12-1 since May 2006, so who is he to get upset that a decision didn't go his way? His ENTIRE CAREER hasn't gone his way, but he picks one meaningless freak-show fight to get all upset over? To even accept a rematch with Pudzianowski in his home country and actually get upset that he was screwed in the decision tells me Thompson doesn't recognize that sometimes the judges have hometown favorites. This is the same guy that thought he was screwed in his decision loss to Kawaguchi and Kimbo, so for him to act upset at this point is pretty naïve. The problem is that he's not a good fighter, which has forced him to accept fights with promotions like KSW and get screwed in the process. Maybe he should pursue barber college.

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6.) TJ Dillashaw will win the Ultimate Fighter Bantamweight Tournament.

Robert Winfree: FACT. Sure, why not. He certainly seems like the front runner at this point, and could definitely have a future in the UFC. This whole season has been about introducing new fighters to undefined and somewhat shallow weight classes, much like the season between BJ Penn and Jens Pulver was designed to get new lightweights into the UFC.

Jonathan Solomon: FACT. In my opinion, it will be either Dillasaw or Dodson and I hope that's the final fight. On paper, it's an outstanding match-up (both stylistically and from a camp perspective, Team Alpha Male vs. Greg Jackson). From that perspective, I would consider Dillashaw the favorite with his dominant wrestling. Dodson is a fast fighter but nearly half of his pro fights have gone to a decision. Thus, I would not bet on a great wrestler to lose too many decisions in American MMA right now.

Wyatt Beougher: FACT. Dillashaw is a dominant enough wrestler that he shouldn't be in over his head no matter who he ends up facing. Plus, he's won his fights on the show by KO, by submission, and by decision, so I think he's well-rounded enough to roll with whatever his eventual opponent throws at him and turn the situation to his advantage.

Scott Kuczkowski: FACT. Dillishaw appears to be the most well-rounded fighter of the bunch and comes from the best camp (Team Alpha Male) so I think he has the best chance to win the whole thing. While his teammates have tried to paint him as the guy that wants easy fights, he's proven himself in the cage each time, so I think his teammates might just be a little envious of him.

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Before I announce the winners of this free for all Fact of Fiction I wanted to address the M-1 question. Some of you may be wondering why I even bothered to broach the subject when the history of the UFC and M-1 vis a vis Fedor's contract was…unproductive and therefore the likelihood of cooperation between the two entity's would be extremely unlikely. Allow me to lay out the particulars of this story:

Shortly after Fedor defeated Monson M-1 Global's Director of Operations Evgeni Kogan went on twitter and tweeted the following:

"@danawhite Fedor vs Velasquez in 2012, lets make this happen. Fedor is back, and a fight w/ Cain will prove it."

Admittedly there's not much to that statement and if you know nothing else except that M-1 usually demands co-promotion and a list of demands that would make a terrorist blush, then I would agree it's worth ignoring; especially because White's immediate reaction was, "Hell no!"

But wait, there's more! "Not necessarily co-promotion. We just want to see this fight happen, that's all. No craziness, no weird terms," Kogan said in response to one commenter. Additionally, when someone asked "no co promotion, no stadium, no signed M-1 fighters. Just a Fedor contract?", Kogan's response was "If that's what it takes. It's time for things to be put right."

Shortly thereafter Vadim Finkelstein stated the following in an interview with Russian media, "I am not a negotiation. But it's a good idea. I will turn to Dana White about this fight. I am ready to discuss the holding of several fights Fedor in the U.S. and Russia. I think that such a great fight Emelianenko Velazquez will be the arena to collect up to 45 000. We can do it. Fedor insanely popular in Russia and Europe. UFC tried repeatedly to raise the arena, but there was no more than 13 000 spectators. We can make quality and beautiful show. We have just proved it."

So you be the judge dear readers. What do you think M-1 is really offering to the UFC? The writers above as well as the panelists on the 411 Ground and Pound Radio show (Sundays 11:00 AM EST) clearly think M-1 wants to co-promote a show in Moscow between Fedor and Velasquez and gave their rationales accordingly. It could also be that they are looking for a one time fight deal strictly under the UFC banner but are also offering themselves as consultants for opening Russia as a market for the UFC. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? I'll let you decide where the truth lies. I have my own thoughts but I'll save that for another day.

And while we're at, you can pick today's winner of Fact or Fiction as well. Was it Winfree? Wyatt? Kuch? Solomon? Was it Samer Kadi, wherever you are? It's all in your hands so tell me below in the comments section. In the meantime, I'll see you all tomorrow night for the final episode of the Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV.