The Tuesday Takedown 12.04.07
Posted by Adam Morgan on 12.04.2007
In this week's edition of The Tuesday Takedown, we'll look at Randy Couture's decision to decline a title defense, break down the TUF 6 Finale card, talk about Gina Carano in scantily clad outfits, and much more!
UFC Quips and Quotes
Randy Couture is now retired
He may not have come right out and said it, but he might as well have. News broke yesterday that Randy Couture has turned down a title defense against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 81. According to Randy, he and the UFC are still open to working with one another in other capacities, but for all intents and purposes, Randy Couture is now retired, not resigned as he'd like you to believe. We may see him in the Octagon again. We may not. For right now, however, it sounds like he's cooling off at the very least.
It makes me wonder what Randy Couture wanted from all of this in the first place. This is the "endgame" as Dana White calls it? This is it? Randy stated that he wanted to spend more time with his wife and take vacations and spend time in his nice house. Is that what he wanted to begin with? Was it not all about money and matchmaking? Or was it? I'm so confused over this whole mess. For what seemed to be an extremely messy situation on the surface, it has moved quietly onto the backburner of MMA news and has been resolved rather quietly as well. So what the hell was all the hype for?
As a result of all this, we now have…
Tim Sylvia vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 81 for the vacant heavyweight title
Or so it seems. Nothing is official from the UFC yet, but this looks to be the case. Sigh. This isn't a fight that I think anyone wants to see. I like watching Big Nog, but I don't think I can bare to see him lose a five round decision to Tim Sylvia in the most boring fight of his career. Which is exactly what will happen.
Nogueira is one of the most talented heavyweights in the world when it comes to all-around MMA skills, especially when the fight hits the floor. However, Sylvia's size and skillset will nullify what Nogueira's able to do. It's Sylvia's M.O. It's what he does. He outsizes you, overpowers you, and either clinches you or jabs you. As a main event, this fight is a real snoozer.
TUF 6 Finale Preview
Clay Guida vs. Roger Huerta
As exciting a matchup as this is, I see very few areas in which Huerta is better. They both have similar styles in that they both like to push the pace so I expect this fight to be fought at a rather furious pace. Guida has faced the better competition. Guida has been in the tougher fights. Guida has the better wrestling. Huerta might have the better striking but Guida can more than hold his own on his feet as well. Huerta's punches aren't extremely powerful either. He gave Leonard Garcia more than a few of his best shots and couldn't finish him. While I don't see Guida finishing the fight, I do see him winning a rather dominant decision. In the end, his cardio, his wrestling, and his sheer determination to keep coming forward will spell doom for Roger Huerta.
Prediction: Clay Guida via unanimous decision
Matt Arroyo/Mac Danzig vs. George Sotiropolous/Tommy Speer
As far as the fights on Wednesday night on the final episode go, I'm picking Mac and George to win their fights. They're the two best guys in the house and I think they'll win rather easily against their opponents. Danzig vs. Sotiropolous on the finale would be a fantastic fight. Mac and George are both very well rounded and have a good amount of experience. I think Mac's striking and wrestling is probably better than George but that George's jiu jitsu is better than Mac's. It's tough to pick a winner, but I think Mac's experience would eventually be the deciding factor in the fight.
Prediction: Mac Danzig (if he wins on the show) via unanimous decision
Jared Rollins vs. Jon Koppenhaver
The war over the upper decker can continue inside of the cage! "Who shit in our toilet, dawg?!" should be J-Roc's war cry when he comes to the cage. I can't really predict much here, but based on their fights on TUF, I'm expecting Koppenhaver to win. He was one tough son of a bitch in his fight against Speer while J-Roc was "just doing moves out there," as Matt Hughes would say. Either way, I'm glad the upper decker situation is finally going to be resolved by violence.
Prediction: Jon "War Machine" Koppenhaver via decision
Dan Barrera vs. Ben Saunders
This is a fight that I'm actually looking forward to most besides the two main events. Saunders and Barrera put on an absolute show in their fight on the television show and I am looking forward to them scrapping again. They will finally get to fight their three full rounds unlike they were able to do on the show. Saunders also put up a very good fight against Tommy Speer and almost won via submission a couple of times. Barrera is currently in Fort Bragg, NC training with the light heavyweight and middleweight prospect Tim Kennedy for the fight so expect him to come in top-notch condition. These two guys both have very bright futures in mixed martial arts so I expect another war.
Prediction: Dan Barrera via TKO, R3
Other Predictions:
Jonathan Goulet over Paul Georgieff via submission, R2 Troy Mandaloniz over Richie Hightower via knockout, R1 Roman Mitichyan over Dorian Price via unanimous decision In other MMA news…
MMA fighter Sammy Vasquez dies at the age of 35
The name Sammy Vasquez will be remembered by fans of mixed martial arts as the first recorded death in the history of regulated mixed martial arts in the United States. Sammy's story has been well documented over the past month. After losing a fight on October 20th, he was put into the hospital where he suffered a massive stroke due to a pre-existing blood clot in his brain. Sammy was eventually released from the hospital a few days ago but was immediately transferred to Hospice care. He eventually passed away last Friday night.
What went so terribly wrong with the process that a fighter with a pre-existing blood clot is allowed to step inside of a cage or a ring with five ounce gloves on? Sammy Vasquez should never have been inside of the cage on October 20th and now he's no longer with us. Maybe the athletic commissions should be a bit more aware of a fighter's health before letting them step into the cage. Sammy Vasquez is no longer with us likely due to the regulatory process at this particular event. That's a shame.
Our thoughts and condolences go out to the Vasquez family. It's a shame that there had to be a first. An even bigger shame it didn't have to happen.
Gina Carano has reportedly been cast as an American Gladiator
Yes, you read that right. "The face of female MMA," Gina Carano, will be strapping on some scantily clad outfits in the new American Gladiators series on NBC. She'll be going by the nickname "Crush." I wonder how much she'll be involved because, as ridiculous as the show is, there is still a chance of injury. I hope she's going to be a full fledged Gladiator. There's nothing I'd like more than to see Gina tackling some dumb bitches with femullets during a rousing game of Powerball. Or pegging some unsuspecting contestant with tennis balls shot from a high powered CO2 cannon. All while wearing scantily clad outfits of course.
M-1 Global could hold first event in New Jersey, main event could be Josh Barnett vs. Fedor Emelianenko
M-1 Global is rumored to be thinking heavily about holding their first event at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, the location where UFC 78 was held a few weeks ago. This would prove to be a good venue for their first event. UFC 78 drew quite a few fans so you can expect that big league MMA will do will on the east coast where big league MMA is hard to come across. Add Fedor and Josh Barnett to that mix and you have an event that would surely draw hardcore fans at the very least. This match is the furthest thing from official, but we can always dream, right?
And, as always, I leave you with…
Off The Beaten Path
It's a shame that this highly anticipated fight never took place at UFC 75. Anyone know what happened to these fierce competitors?
