The Tuesday Takedown 11.06.07
Posted by Adam Morgan on 11.06.2007
In this edition of The Tuesday Takedown, we'll take a look at who Brock Lesnar's first opponent will be, Dana White's decision not to strip Sean Sherk of the title, a look ahead at this weekends EliteXC card, and much more!
UFC Quips & Quotes
Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir on February 2nd, 2008
You heard it right. Frank Mir, former UFC heavyweight champion of the world, is the first opponent for former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar. Lesnar supposedly "asked" for this opponent and if that's the case, he's making it clear that he's not in the UFC to fight cans.
Frank Mir dominated Antoni Hardonk in his most recent win. I don't take much from that considering that Justin McCully dominated Antoni Hardonk, but Mir did what he does best, and that's catch people in slick, technique-driven submissions.
Since coming back from his motorcycle accident, however, Mir has gone 2-2 with victories over Hardonk and Dan Christison and losses to Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz and Brandon Vera. His victory over Dan Christison was a pretty awful performance and Mir's conditioning looked to be pretty terrible.
This is a really interesting matchup. I don't know anything about Lesnar as far as MMA goes, but there's plenty to like about this matchup. Mir has the jiu jitsu edge. Lesnar has the wrestling advantage. This fight will go to the ground pretty quickly and once it gets there, it has a potential to be quite interesting.
David Terrell out, Joe Doerksen in at UFC 78
David Terrell is his own worst enemy. Once again, injury forces him to withdraw from another UFC matchup. What is it this time? Torn tendons in his ankle sustained during training. Joe Doerksen will replace Terrell at UFC 78, taking on Ed Herman. Doerksen is a very apt replacement. He already holds a victory over Ed Herman from back in 2003, so there is a bity of history between the two. While I was looking forward to seeing David Terrell back in the cage, this is still a good fight.
Dana White will not strip Sean Sherk's title
Dana White has said that he will not strip Sherk's title due to the handling of Sherk's appeal with the CSAC. Sherk's appeal was delayed two weeks last Wednesday because of the CSAC's revelation that they forgot to view an important document before the hearing. Granted, this is unprofessional of the CSAC, but Dana should have waited. To go public and announce that you will not strip Sherk of his title before the CSAC rules implies that you don't care what they have to say, even though they regulate your sport in California. This reeks of arrogance. Another one of Dana White's wild west acts.
As a result, BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson will fight at UFC 80 for an interim lightweight champion. Sean Sherk will face the winner of that matchup. Essentially, the bout at UFC 80 will be a #1 contender matchup. BJ Penn has indicated that he will not fight Sherk unless he's cleared of the steroid charges. That will almost certainly not happen, so what does Dana White do if BJ Penn wins at UFC 80 and refuses to fight Sean Sherk?
It's a mess. Sherk should have to deal with the consequences of testing positive for steroids. White, by not stripping him of his title, is basically condoning this steroid behavior among his elite fighters. Let's not forget that the UFC released Anthony Torres from his contract due to "poor performance" a.k.a testing positive for steroids. Dana White is sending a message that if you're his friend or one of his elite fighters, you're above the law. If you're an undercard guy like Anthony Torres, however, you're dead meat.
In other MMA news...
Cung Le to fight Sam Morgan at Strikeforce
This is not the fight I wanted for Cung Le, but with only four MMA fights, I guess it's to be expected. Strikeforce is building Le into a star for a potential big money matchup with Frank Shamrock for the middleweight title. Morgan is known as a ground fighter, but so was Tony Fryklund, who, for some reason, decided to stand in front of Cung Le and get kicked in the head over and over again. I don't see Sam Morgan doing the same, but I do see this as a fight that is very winnable for Cung Le.
EliteXC: Renegade Preview and Picks
Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons (160 lb. Title Fight)
Nick Diaz loves to stand and trade and KJ Noons is a professional boxer. This fight should be fireworks. While I would like to see Diaz take the fight to the ground and showcase his Cesar Gracie black belt jiu jitsu skills, he's just so game when it comes to standing and trading that he never wants to take it to the ground. A lot of people may think this is a cakewalk for Diaz, but it is a very, very tough fight. If Diaz executes a gameplan to get the fight to the ground, I think he can submit KJ, but I give Noons the advantage on the feet. Should be very interesting.
My Pick: Nick Diaz via unanimous decision
Kimbo Slice vs. Bo Cantrell
Ahh, yes. The guilty pleasure of Kimbo Slice. There are still haters out there who see this guy as a freakshow. That's fine, just make sure you watch Showtime on Saturday. It's all been said before, over and over. Kimbo is taking this sport seriously and training with elite trainers. Enough said. Bo Cantrell loses to anybody who's anyone. This is a fight that is tailor made for a Kimbo Slice KO. Look out MMA, here comes Kimbo Slice. He's eating up the marketing for this thing, too. EliteXC has a budding MMA superstar in Kimbo Slice and I expect them to bring him along slowly. Bo Cantrell is just a stepping stone.
My Pick: Kimbo Slice via KO, R1
Jake Shields vs. Mike Pyle
Jake Shields is a world class welterweight who is flying under the mainstream radar. Mike Pyle is a former IFL fighter and Xtreme Couture team member. This is a very exciting fight as well. Shields has spectacular wrestling and good jiu jitsu and is a teammate of Nick Diaz at Cesar Gracie. Mike Pyle is well versed in jiu jitsu as well, so expect a ground battle. Overall, I think Shields' wrestling ability will be the deciding factor in this fight. His great top control coupled with his jiu jitsu will be the advantage in this fight.
My Pick: Jake Shields via TKO, R2
Undercard Picks
Kyle Noke over Seth Kleinbeck via TKO, R2 Yves Edwards over Moses Baca via KO, R1 Antonio Silva over Jonathan Wiezorek via KO, R3
And, as always...
Off The Beaten Path
Ben Rothwell is pissed at Matt Hughes, as he indicated on a recent post on the Sherdog forums:
Q: How is the atmosphere over at MFS now with Hughes and Robbie taking off
Rothwell: "FUCK Matt Hughes and he knows it, how he went about the gym and Pat Mileitich was complete BULLSHIT besides other things."
Rothwell later, with a cooler head it seems, clarifies:
"He treats people around him poorly and has no respect. Really when I hear him talk about God and do this and do that and I love my wife, I want to puke.
You (Hughes) couldn't look anyone in the face anymore, and you fucked Monte (Cox) and Pat (Miletich) over and the fucking gym that MADE YOU."
Sounds like things aren't as kosher over at MFS as they made it seem. And we all know what happens when you make Ben Rothwell ANGRY!
