Smacktalk 06.04.07: Heroes Arrive
Posted by Damian Sarcuni on 06.04.2007
Hirings, firings, revenge matches and more as K-1's Dynamite!! card enters into the history books.
Welcome to Smacktalk, this will now be appearing on 411mania on Mondays. The K-1 Heroes promotion arrived on U.S. shores in a big way this weekend, and like all the top MMA events out there, this one evoked serious emotion and feedback from fans around the world. I'm Damian Sarcuni and with me as always is Jose Chavez, and we're here to give you a foothold on the massive buzz created by K-1's Dynamite!! event as well as insight into the rest of the news and rumors going on around the MMA community.
As always, our format is as follows: "They say" is the topic or news item chosen, "You say" are your comments and feedback, and "We say" is our own personal opinions on each story.
They say
Last night's K-1 Dynamite!! card had a bit of a sour note added to it as Sakuraba/Gracie II lacked the showmanship and tenacity of their first bout. The judges saw the bout in favor of Gracie, with Cecil Peoples scoring the bout 30-27.
You say
What a shock Cecil Peoples gave Royce the first rnd. I guess lying on your back for 4 min after getting dropped and kicking someone in the legs from your butt wins you the rnd. Why does Cecil still have a job? I thought Sak won the first and won the fight. I know neither did much but what did Royce do in the 2nd that won him the rnd. I thought the 3rd was close with Royce winning but that was only because Sak did not do anything. I thought Sak won 29-28. - Brandon Dukes, sherdog.net
I defiantly give the first 2 rounds to Royce. Royce did the most damage, and I am sure that Royce is walking around fine today, while Saku took a beating to his knee and legs. Saku did dictate most of the action, but Royce did the most damage, and landed way more shots. Those up kicks in round one, with the combination of the leg kicks won Gracie that round. Saku hit him with one punch that knocked Royce down, but it looked more like an off balance drop than a knockdown drop. Saku looked absolutely awful. - TapOut27, forums.mmanews.com
We say
Damian: I actually wrote a preview here at 411 for this match and I have to say I'm extremely disappointed that it turned out the way it did. While everyone did expect a decision outcome I certainly expected a bit more action in the final minutes of the match, particularly on the ground. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the inevitable rematch overseas, and I wonder if maybe all this match did was serve to hype up a third meeting. Either was, one thing is certain: Cecil Peoples is the hands down worst judge ever. His name is a joke in the MMA community and fans cringe at the sound of it. His inept calls have to stop. The man is simply awful at his job.
Jose: Cecil Peoples has definitely made a name for himself as a horrible judge of fight. I didn't expect Gracie/Saku to be a barn burner but it is what it is. Just bring me the head of Cecil Peoples!
They say
According to American Top Team's website, Marcus Aurelio has recently signed a contract with the UFC and will be competing in the lightweight division very soon. Aurelio is best known for his defeat of Pride's lightweight champion, Takanori Gomi.
You say
Sherk vs. Aurelio could turn into one of those three fight wars. Very good pick-up for the UFC. - Masscore, forums.mmanews.com
Another ATT member has joined the UFC. Will Kang be next? I hope so. Anyways, great signing for the UFC and I look forward to watching him in the octagon, hopefully against Huerta in August. – Led, sherdog.net
We say
Damian: I'm not the biggest Aurelio fan and honestly I could do without him. The guy has a mouth far bigger than his capabilities. Yes, he is known for absolutely dominating Gomi, but in the rematch he had no answer for Gomi's defense. Beyond superior wrestling skill, Aurelio doesn't have much that makes him a stand out fighter. It would be nice if he was a harbinger for Denis Kang though.
Jose: I don't find Aurelio to be a particularly exciting fighter, but he's got skills on the ground. He was able to exploit a big flaw in Gomi's game the first time they fought, but he seemed to be pretty one dimensional himself in the second outing. All Gomi had to do was stay away from him and pick his shots. I guess it'll be interesting to see who they match him up with first…
They say
Shortly after his fight at last night's K-1 Dynamite!! event, former NFL football player Johnny Morton (who lost the bout by KO in the first round) was suspended indefinitely by the CSAC after refusing to take a post-fight drug test.
You say
Gets KOed in barely half a minute, then has his $100K purse held up because he wouldn't take the whiz quiz. Say adios to your career, Johnny. On the other hand, FEG could use the $100K, since they had to have lost their ass on this show. - ralphus1, sherdog.net
If he was trying to hide something, i doubt it was roids. If he gave a sample prior to the fight, and then refused the post fight one, it's not roids. No roids given just before a fight would have any substantial effect during the fight. If he was trying to hide something, most likely it was some kind of stimulant. Then again, it could have been weed. It's been known to make you numb to pain. Just ask nick Diaz....- MMA**PHREAK, forums.mmaweekly.com
We say
Damian: Is it just me or are those getting caught with drugs in their system generally doing worse in the MMA ring? Barnett and Diaz found victory while on banned substances, but for the most part those who get caught end up losing anyway (ala Kevin Randleman and Pawel Nastula). Anyway, it's kind of a depressing that a former football player couldn't do a little more research on the sport he was entering and prepare himself for the inevitable drug test. On the other hand, for all we know he could just be trying to hide some leftover stuff from his previous career.
Jose: I guess that's the end of him. Not a great precedent to be setting…well besides getting KTFO anyway
They say
In a recent interview with bodybuilding.com, Tito Ortiz issued challenges to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua as well as Pride champion Dan Henderson. Ortiz gave no specific reasons for this, saying he would want to fight opponent ranked top 5 in MMA competition.
You say
Tito needs to worry about winning a big fight before he goes off challenging Shogun or Henderson. But here's an interesting question-- If Tito loses to Rashad and whomever he faces in his last bout on his contract, would the UFC resign him? Hypothetical I know...just thought it was something to think about. – Mayhem Monkey, 411mania.com forums
Well, that's what I said. If he beats Rashad, then he should fight and beat one top opponent before he gets a title shot. It could be Machida, it could be Silva, Shogun, it could be Bisping. If Tito wins his next two fights, I think he will have a good chance at getting a title shot, as long as Chuck isn't back on top by then. - Dominus, forums.mmanews.com
We say
Jose: Apart from the whole Coleman thing, and looking a little lackluster against. Nakamura (anyone can have a bad night) Shogun has been an unstoppable whirlwind. I really don't think Tito has what it takes to reckon with this man, but I'd drop some tokens to find out.
Damian: Yeah, good luck with that Tito. Ortiz hasn't been able to do anything against top competition in years and at the rate he's going I doubt he ever will. I'll admit Tito can still promote fights and pack the house when it comes time for the big events, but I don't think anyone considers him a serious competitor anymore. It'll be funny to see if Liddell's recent loss and Tito's quest to advance up the ranking ladder leads to a third confrontation. I love watching Tito get his big head bashed in, and nobody does that better than Liddell.
They say
In an interview with the Boston Herald, Chuck Liddell acknowledged that he will likely be facing long awaited opponent Wanderlei Silva later on this year. Silva will likely be the next opponent Chuck faces in the UFC.
You say
I think Wanderlei's style is similar to Rampage style as where they both are aggressive fighters who like to smother their opponents. Chuck obviously has problems with fighters like that and i don't see anything different in this match. – Lee978, forums.mmaweekly.com
Ok so Wandy gets knocked out and doesn't deserve to fight Chuck, but since Chuck gets knocked out. Wandy now deems worthy. So technically, Rampage knocked Chuck on Wandy's level... love how Dana thinks. - Afro Samurai, forums.mmanews.com
We say
Jose:This match could've meant a lot more if the guys were at the top of their game, but I guess life doesn't always turn out that way. I'd like to especially see Silva get a warm up match to awaken the sleeping tiger, but it doesn't look like we're going to get that so I think this might be less than what it could be. I hope I am wrong
. Damian: I think this is a great time to have this match. Recent losses have both men in weird mental states and both men are always incredibly dangerous. This is the equivalent of putting two starving hyenas into a sand pit and putting a steak between them. If the history and hype behind this match has waned at all (which I'm not sure it has) then the desperation of the two competitors will more than make up for it. I say bring it on.
They say
There are conflicting reports about just how well the attendance was at the K-1 Dynamite!! event this weekend. K-1 claims to have broken an attendance record, but several sources are reporting that the show actually did far worse than expected.
You say
No such luck. K-1 flooded the market with about 90,000 free tickets. Two Los Angeles Police Department sources on duty said they were told there were about 1,000 paid admissions going into the day; the actual count will be announced by the state athletic commission early next week. It appeared somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 of those who got freebies showed up. – skarface, sherdog.net
Why are attendance # so important for people? The important part is the money they made at the gate. The UFC could probably do outdoor events with extremely cheap tickets that would totally out number what K-1 did but the fact is it's not really profitable. Packing relatively small venues at huge ticket prices is alot more profitable, lower risk and easier to coordinate. - _SiniS_, Sherdog.net
We say
Damian: I seriously wonder why this matters to so many people. Everyone acts like a few open seats are going to put K-1 down the road of Pride FC. On top of that, it seems like if you hold your event in a ring instead of an octagon, dozens of UFC fans will be there to call BS on your attendance record. Everyone really needs to calm down about this stuff.
Jose: Well, not being Dana White or whatever, I could care less about these figures. If the place wasn't half empty, that's good enough for me.
That's it for us this Monday. Stay tuned to the 411mania MMA section for the rest of the week for more thoughts on the K-1 event as well as breaking news and previews on all upcoming MMA events around the world. Thanks for reading.
