The Tap-Out 08.23.06
Posted by Caleb Newby on 08.23.2006
Bushido and UFC this weekend, Nick Diaz replaces Alves, more on Pride's upcoming USA show, and "Iron" Mike Tyson looks to cash in on the MMA craze. But will he fight?
A lot to get to this week. MMA left and right and more to come. Before I get into this week, just a quick shout out to Karo and Diego for one of the most amazing fights I've seen this past week. If you haven't seen it for some reason, get looking on Youtube or similar sites for the battle. I would try to explain it, but I can't do it justice. Just amazing, amazing fight all around.
The Most Important Thing You Can Ever Do
I capitalized each letter there to show the importance of this. At 411 we have a great pick'em battle for each major MMA event. Winning a 411 Pick'em is widely considered the pinnacle of life. Marriage, children, a promotion at work to the corner office… all secondary. Let me explain the rules by taking 411 Pick'em organizer Michael Huckaby's own words:
Please PM me, Huckaby, with the person you predict to win the fight, the round which it will end (1st, 2nd, 3rd, decision) and the way it will end (TKO, sub, decision). If you pick the correct winner (2pts) you have the chance to get a bonus point for the round and the way of victory. Please get them to me by the start of the show. IE;
Richardson, 2nd Rd, TKO.
UFC 62:
Yushin Okami vs Alan Belcher
Rob MacDonald vs Eric Schafer
Cory Walmsley vs David Heath
Wes Combs vs Wilson Gouveia
Nick Diaz vs Josh Neer
Hermes Franca vs Jamie Varner
Cheick Kongo vs Christian Wellisch
Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar
Chuck Liddell vs Renato Sobral
Once again, just PM your picks to me (Huckaby) by the beginning of the live show (Saturday, 7pm'ish, EST).
And good luck capturing the purest most beautiful thing on the internet, an MMA pick'em title. We must dethrone Jennette before his bloated ego shuts down our forum.
He isn't lying about Jennette. Dude is sick. If enough register we are sure to dethrone him this go around. And to help everyone out, here is a link to get you where you need to be:
Nick Diaz is replacing Thiago Alves who is ill, against Josh Neer. I'm sure this makes most people happy as Diaz is an exciting personality and fighter. He is grumpy though. I mean, just look at this mug.
He needs some happiness in his life. Hope that a win over Neer will do it. Lord knows what will happen if he loses. I can hope for another fight in the hospital though. It's been awhile since we've gotten one of them.
On the boats and on the planes... Pride's comin to America Credit: MMAweekly.com
I am sure I used that exact same headline before too. Might have messed up the lyrics too.
Anyway, recently announced matches for Pride's big show here in the states are Fedor vs. Mark Coleman, and Shogun vs. Kevin Randleman. The announced matches pretty much surprised everyone there until Mike Tyson made his presence known by biting the head off a ferret. Ok, not really, but Tyson was there promoting some sort of working relationship with Pride. But neither side would say the nature of the relationship. Some suggested they are going steady, others proposed it is some sort of a fling. Me? Smells like friends with benefits to me.
Time is sure to tell what plans Pride has for Tyson and if he is going to be competing in a MMA rules match. It will sell tickets I have to imagine and garner plenty of news attention, which is really what Pride is wanting in the American press.
Don't you dare do this to us Dana (or Pride)… Part 2 Credit: MMAweekly.com
"I don't even know if Silva's going to happen… the Japanese are very hard to do business with and you never know what's going to happen." – Dana White
Speculation is that with Pride saying that Silva will be fighting on their Oct. 21st show the ballyhooed battle between Chuck and Wanderlei could be off. I just want to know which side to be pissed off at, because I am if this doesn't go down.
TUF 4 Ratings! Credit: MMAweekly.com
The season premier of The Ultimate Fighter 4 drew a 1.7 overall, which is great for Spike, but below season 3's premier rating of 2.0.
My take… MMA is still quite popular but this concept of a comeback, while nice to throw to the veterans, might not be as popular as seeing unproven (on the UFC stage) talent or pull apart Tito/Ken brawls. Still, it's a good rating yadda yadda yadda.
Question of the Week
I've gotten a few now, but everyone needs to take part of the best crapshoot in MMA. That means you. Readers who never write in to anyone on the site, casual MMA fans who don't think they know enough to guess, savvy 411 forumers who read this… all of you. Take a shot at the glory of guessing Mir's weight. If it is a tie between two people and one person guessed lower and the other higher, we will go Price Is Right style and give it to the low guesser.
What will Mir weigh in at for his bout against Vera?
Email me at cnewbs@gmail.com
We got fights, right here in River City…
That was so cool of me. Anyhow, here are the cards for the upcoming UFC and Bushido events.
UFC 62
Yushin Okami vs Alan Belcher
Rob MacDonald vs Eric Schafer
Cory Walmsley vs David Heath
Wes Combs vs Wilson Gouveia
Nick Diaz vs Josh Neer
Hermes Franca vs Jamie Varner
Cheick Kongo vs Christian Wellisch
Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar
Chuck Liddell vs Renato Sobral
Bushido GP Round 2 Card taken from MMAweekly
Grand Prix Quarter-Final Bouts:
-Dan Henderson vs. Kazuo Misaki
-Paulo Filho vs. Ryo Chonan
-Denis Kang vs. Amar Suloev
-Akihiro Gono vs. Gegard Mousasi
Non-Tournament Bouts:
-Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Chris Brennan
-Takanori Gomi vs. David Baron
-Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. Luciano Azevedo
-Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Cristiano Marcello
-Gilbert Melendez vs. Nobuhiro Obiya
-Shinya Aoki vs. Jason Black
-Hatsu Hioki vs. Jeff Curran
-Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Eric "Butterbean" Esch
-Daisuke Nakamura vs. Seichi Ikemoto
-Hiroyuki Abe vs. Naoki Matsushita
Look at all of these fights. And remember, some of this Bushido event will be on FSN for free Sunday evening. Usually this would be on PPV, so you have to check it out for free.
As for the UFC event, I am rooting that Diaz gets back on track, that Forrest does the same, and that Chuck wins and they find a way to make him and Silva happen because of it.
What now?
I have no idea what The Throwdown is going to be about this week but its been a great read each time. Be sure to check it out Thursday or Friday and see what's in store for you. That's it for me, enjoy the weekend fights and thanks for stopping by 411.
