The MMA News Report 05.09.07
Posted by Morgan Marx on 05.09.2007
A change in the UFC 72 main event, Big Nog’s actual debut, and the return of two MMA legends. All this in the news, plus multiple opinions in this edition of The MMA News Report.
INTRODUCTION
Ah, the joys of coupledom. You share a home, a bed, and the occasional cold. The past few days have featured even more couch time than I'm accustomed to, so this will be a light column. Granted, it will still probably top out at over 2000 words (Author's note: 1800 words, damn!). I'm running on Tylenol and a Jamba Juice smoothie right now. Let's get to it.
MAILBAG
No mailbag this week (I'm sure you're all dismayed). It will return next week, possibly with two entries if we can get some quality questions.
NEWS
Kampmann Out, Okami to Face Franklin in Belfast
Martin Kampmann, the technically gifted striker from Denmark, has been forced to bow out of the UFC 72 main event due to a serious knee injury. Kampmann, who improved his UFC record to 3-0 with a submission victory over Drew McFedries at UFC 68, had been slotted to face former Middleweight champion Rich Franklin. A victory for Kampmann would likely have led to a future title shot at either Anderson Silva or Nate Marquardt.
With plenty of time between Kampmann's withdrawal and the event, the UFC has already found a replacement fighter. Rich Franklin revealed on his personal website that he will now face Japanese ground and pound specialist Yushin Okami. Okami is fresh off an impressive victory over Mike Swick.
UFC 72 will air for free on Spike TV. The change to the main event hasn't damaged the card. In fact, Okami might prove to be a tougher match-up for Franklin than Kampmann. Though Kampmann had won two of his UFC fights via submission, Franklin would have held the edge on the ground, and Rich has proven he can handle stand-up fighters not named Anderson Silva. Okami, on the other hand, is a large Middleweight with serious strength (Swick had remarked he was surprised at how powerful Okami was). While Franklin has beaten ground and pound fighters before (most notable Evan Tanner twice) Okami will not roll over for the once and future champion.
UFC 72 will air on June 16th and marks the debut of the organization in Northern Ireland. The event will reportedly be aired live for American audiences.
Nogueira Won't Debut on Spike, Will Fight at UFC 73
Completely contradicting what I commented on last week, Rodrigo Nogueira will make his UFC debut not on free TV, but at the pay per view UFC 73. "Minotauro" is slated to face fellow Pride acquisition Heath "Texas Crazy Horse" Herring at the event, scheduled for July 7th. UFC 73 will take place at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California
I had speculated that Nogueira would debut on a smaller card, against a weaker opponent (Justin McCully). I'm somewhat baffled by the UFC's decision in regards to Minotauro. Instead of presenting Nogueira to a new audience as a main event fighter in a match he would have been expected to win, they are mixing him into a card so stacked, the event is called UFC 73: STACKED. The event already features big time fights between Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans, Lightweight champion Sean Sherk and Hermes Franca, and Middleweight champion Anderson Silva defending against Nate Marquardt. Nogueira might get lost in the shuffle.
Heath Herring can't be pleased with this situation. He came to the UFC with a lot of hype, only to see all his momentum vanish underneath the blanket that was Jake O'Brien. Now he's being fed to a more talented fighter, a fighter Herring has already lost to twice. On the plus side, Herring has a chance to muddle someone else's debut and improve his stock in the UFC. Granted, I'm not sure the UFC would be thrilled with that upset.
Refuting claims made by Dana White, Pride dual weight champion Dan Henderson told Nokaut.com that he "would love to fight Chuck Liddell." The Team Quest standout stated that the fight would benefit both his career and his wallet. Henderson is both the Pride Welterweight champion and the organization's Middleweight titleholder. Henderson won the Middleweight belt by somewhat-shockingly upsetting Pride poster-boy Wanderlei Silva. A match-up between Silva and Liddell (two of the most feared strikers in MMA) had long been discussed, and Henderson apparently feels he should be slotted into Silva's place.
White had previously remarked that Henderson "doesn't want to fight Chuck Liddell." I'm not sure what motivated White to make that claim. Henderson has proven his willingness to take on all comers, including Silva (who was expected to decapitate Henderson) and Rodrigo Nogueira (who Henderson has gone 1-1 against). Henderson does not seem like the kind of man who would duck a challenge.
While a Henderson v. Liddell match-up doesn't have quite the cache of a Silva v. Liddell megafight, it might actually be a better fight. Silva seems to have lost a big step recently, and Liddell might have walked through Silva had they met. Henderson is not a fighter many men can walk through, and his skill set would be an interesting match-up for Liddell. With relatively few contenders on the horizon for Liddell's Light Heavyweight belt (Rampage, Evans, then ?), we might see a Henderson v. Liddell fight sooner rather than later.
K1/EliteXC Partnership to Feature Saku-Gracie Rematch Photo copyright Dream Stage Entertainment
Along with the former pro-wrestlers and pro football players scheduled to appear at "Softbank present Dynamite!! USA in association with ProElite," the first event being put on by K1 and EliteXC will feature a rematch between two MMA legends, Kazushi Sakuraba and Royce Gracie. The two fought in an epic, 90 minute special fight at Pride Grand Prix 2000, a fight Sakuraba won after a Gracie leg injury forced the UFC champion to throw in the towel.
Since then, Sakuraba has lost to the likes of Mirko Filipovic, Ricardo Arona, and Wanderlei Silva (3 times!). I'm not a Pride expert, but Sakuraba seems to be the organization's answer to the UFC's Randy Couture. However, unlike Couture, Sakuraba has taken a tremendous amount of punishment over the years and does not seem capable of fighting at a high level anymore. While Royce Gracie looked bad in his "fight" with Matt Hughes, he won't have to undergo medical testing before being cleared to fight in LA.
The show is scheduled to take place from the Los Angeles Coliseum on June 2cnd. I'm usually pretty positive in my MMA discussion, but it looks like a disaster in the making. The UFC only semi-regularly sells out 15,000 seat arenas; K1 is expecting to fill a 90,000-seat place? The only thing the card has going for it is the curiosity factor of Brock Lesnar making his MMA debut. I'll discuss the event more once it takes place.
I have some random thoughts about random issues this week, so we'll just run through a few quickly.
--The "Boxing versus MMA" angle has been covered to death in the wake of the comments surrounding the Mayweather v. De La Hoya fight. I find the whole thing silly, really. It reminds me of a David Foster Wallace idea (as retold by Chuck Klosterman for Spin Magazine) about the battle between TV and radio. The author pointed out that it was never a fair fight between the two technologies; it wasn't audio versus video, TV is audio and video. Similarly, this isn't an argument about whether MMA or boxing is superior. MMA is boxing, in addition to other styles.
--It is being widely speculated that former Around the Horn host Max Kellerman will be a part of HBO's MMA team. Kellerman came to the defense of MMA following criticism from the likes of Jim Lampley. I think Kellerman would be a great addition to the HBO broadcasting team for UFC events. Kellerman is a boxing expert who has identified himself as a fan of MMA. He is also enthusiastic when it comes to his appreciation for the sport of fighting. Much like Joe Rogan, Kellerman rides the line between an expert and a fan. You can tell he enjoys what he's calling/discussing.
--Tito Ortiz is up to his usual shtick. Following the bizarre Ortiz v. Dana White boxing match (that either Ortiz no showed or Dana White shorted Ortiz money over), Ortiz decided to hype his upcoming fight with Rashad Evans by engaging in both verbal and physical confrontations. Ortiz and Evans got in a scuffle at a recent UFC event, and Ortiz has repeatedly referred to Evans in a racially derogatory manner. Honestly, I couldn't care less. It bothers me that Ortiz is known more for his antics/girlfriend than for his talents both in and out of the ring. Over the course of TUF3 Ortiz showed himself to be a classy individual and an excellent coach. It's a shame he obfuscates that with all the trash talk that ultimately goes no where.
--Tim Sylvia gave an interesting interview to NBCSports.com. Sylvia haters will probably not empathize with the former champ about back woes and the lack of respect he gets. While I agree with some of the sentiments Sylvia put forth, he needs to go about things in a different way. Someone needs to get that guy a PR coach stat. Every time he opens his mouth, he's pissing off someone one way or another. While Sylvia is out with the back injury currently, the UFC has not lined anything up for his return. While some have pondered whether the UFC is planning on cutting their ties with Sylvia, I expect him to be back, possibly in a rematch with Frank Mir later this year.
--With Chuck Liddell appearing on Entourage and in an upcoming issue of ESPN The Magazine, and Randy Couture set to be on the cover of SI and in an episode of The Unit, I think the UFC has already gone mainstream. We've been talking for a while now about how the UFC will break into the mainstream culture. Well, it's already happened. It should continue to grow in the future. Though hopefully Couture will get something a little better than The Unit.
CONCLUSION
Well, that's all I have the energy for this week. Next week I might take a look at the undercard for UFC 71, the progression of TUF 5, and various other happenings in the MMA world. Take care of yourselves, and check back in next Wednesday here at 411Mania.com.
