Five Rounds Of News 12.13.07
Posted by Randy Harrison on 12.13.2007
WEC 31 thoughts, tons of news from the UFC including even more on the Sherk fiasco and Ultimate Fighter Finale, and lots of great things to cover from Japan this week in Five Rounds. All of these stories and a very special birthday wish to a certain author's favorite fighter EVER, are no more than a click of your mouse away!
Introduction
Howdy pardners, and welcome to the main event, championship fight of MMA news, Five Rounds Of News! There's lots to cover this week with results from the big WEC card, my thoughts on the Sean Sherk steroid story (AGAIN) and lots of other good stuff along with a very special birthday wish!
Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to say that while I'm disappointed that my challenge wasn't accepted in Larry's news column last week, I'm kind of glad that it went unanswered because after the shellacking my Patriots put down on the Steelers last Sunday, it would have been a little awkward to get a superior to do something somewhat demeaning or whatever the bet would have stipulated, so it turned out for the best. I got to see the Pats win again and I avoided a work situation that would have been uncomfortable at best, and job-threatening at worst.
I don't have a lot of other things to say other than to ask that you all keep a look-out for the next edition of Lay and Pray Radio that will be posting shortly, where good Larry and I will be covering the goings-on and fallout from WEC 31 as well as whatever else we decide to ramble into, so be sure to check it out when it posts. It's entertaining listening and HAS to be better than hearing your wife, girlfriend, husband, boyfriend, mother, father, significant other, aunt, uncle, or grandparent nattering away at you while you're trying to do something. So do yourself a favor and download and plug your headphones in to the best damn MMA podcast on the internet!
Now what you've all come for.....Five Rounds of News!!!
Round One
WEC Makes A Big Splash In Las Vegas
It was an interesting night of fights on Versus as the WEC came back to live cable TV for WEC 31. There were three title fights and a grudge match on the card and those are the fights I'll be looking at here.
First up it was Doug Marshall vs. Ariel Gandulla for the WEC Light Heavyweight Title. I had the fight as going to Gandulla via a TKO when he used his counter striking style to combat the wild stand-up style of Marshall, and I couldn't have been more wrong. Marshall actually ended up getting an armbar submission from the bottom after attempting a triangle choke. I had no idea that he had that kind of ground game and I don't think Gandulla did either, judging from how lackadaisical he was in Marshall's guard. Full marks to him though for managing to secure the submission and add something new to his repetoire that opponents in the future will have to look for now.
With that, we move to the WEC Middleweight Title bout between champion Paulo Filho and challenger Chael Sonnen. The best way to sum up this fight is odd. Sonnen scored a takedown early in the first and Filho looked to be stunned, so much so that Sonnen was telling the referee that Filho was out and looking for the stoppage, but the ref said fight on and so Sonnen stayed on top and pounded out Filho for a good couple of minutes before picking him apart standing up and taking Filho back down where he almost got caught with an armbar at the end of round one.
Round two looked to be the same with Sonnen picking a slowed Filho apart with the stand-up for most of the round and then shooting for a takedown, but this time he ended up in the armbar and the ref called for the bell. Here is where it gets weird though, because the referee called the fight but Sonnen didn't tap out. They announced it as a verbal submission but Sonnen said that he didn't submit in the post-fight interview. To say it was a confusing situation after the stoppage would be an understatement but Sonnen was pure class in his interview giving the credit to Filho for the victory and not giving any type of sour grapes for the loss.
The grudge match between Cub Swanson and Jens Pulver was next and well, it was quick. Pulver sprawled out of a Swanson takedown attempt, locked up the head in a modified guillotine choke and tapped him out in about 30 seconds. Jens looked great and definitely made Cub pay for the smack-talking that he did before the bout, and proved that perhaps the best move of his career was to move back down to 145 to fight in the WEC. Again, I admit that I was wrong, and sadly it's seeming to be a pattern for the evening as I saw Jens perhaps being past it and not ready to fight at the big-time level again after his last two losses that saw him dominated. Jens looked great and he could definitely be in line for a title shot against the Featherweight Champion in his next fight.
That brings us to the main event of the evening for the WEC Featherweight Championship between the champion Urijah Faber and Jeff Curran. Round one started with Faber on the bottom and the two stalemated for a long time before Curran took the back of Faber where they stalemated again for a LONG time until Faber slammed Curran and was able to move into the guard and break free to end the round out of danger. He lost the round but managed to somehow avoid losing the fight and managed to show why he's the champion by fighting through that body triangle and back control.
Faber had a MUCH better second round with him landing elbows viciously standing and on the ground that cut Curran across the nose pretty badly. Faber spent the entire round in top position and rained in elbows, pressing Curran against the fence and just dominating him for nearly the entire five minutes until he slapped a tight guillotine on and forced Curran to tap. I thought this was a great fight for Faber because he had to finally figure out a way to fight out of a negative position and gain the win.
Faber has been dominant for so long in so many fights that there has been a worry that possibly he might have ended up beginning to take fights for granted and possibly slip up and beat himself, but I honestly don't see that happening EVER. He's just too good and trains too hard and is FAR too smart to let himself have a letdown against anyone and after this win Faber continues to steamroll his way through the 145 pound class setting up a fight against Jens Pulver.
Jens vs Urijah would be a great fight and the classic wrestler vs. boxer bout that would be fought at an absolutely frenetic pace for the entire time. When this fight happens in 2008 I will be there with bells on people!
Random Strikes
Everything else that didn't fit in Five Rounds becomes Random Strikes! My thoughts on the stories come in bold after the stories...
§ Matt Hughes will be working with Simon Spotlight Entertainiment in the United States and Pocket Books in the United Kingdom to publish his life story in January of 2008.
I will not be buying this book as I can guarantee that I would be able to get maybe 50 pages into it at the most before I start to gag. Hughes irritates me like few other fighters have ever irritated me and to have to read him tell story after story about how great he thinks he is would make me never want to read again. The title of the book says it all "Made In America: The Most Dominant Champion In UFC History" Yuck. Just...YUCK!!
§ Sources have indicated that a possible fight with Travis Lutter has been offered to former UFC Middleweight Champion, Rich Franklin. Franklin's business manager has confirmed that Franklin has been offered a fight against Travis Lutter for UFC 82, which is set to take place March 1 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Good for Rich for getting back on the horse, and good for Travis for getting another fight in the UFC after the weight cutting debacle at UFC 67 damn near cost him his job. Look for Rich to dominate this one the same way he beat up Jason MacDonald after his first loss to Silva, but after that where does he go really? He can't fight Anderson again so I guess he just keeps fighting until Anderson loses the belt and hopes he can get a shot at the new champ.
§ UFC.com has confirmed that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will defend his UFC Light Heavyweight Title against Forrest Griffin at an upcoming UFC PPV in 2008. It was also announced recently that the two fighters will be coaches on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter, whichs begins filming in January.
NICE! Quinton is a character and Forrest is the guy that everyone LOVES to cheer for, so this could make for an entertaining season and a pretty good fight when the time comes. Rumor has it that the UFC is also going to shake up the format of the show a little bit so that should be interesting to see as well.
§ The EliteXC & ICON Sport Middleweight Champion Robbie Lawler has had to withdraw from competing against Kala Kolohe Hose at December 15th's ICON Sport's Card in Honolulu, Hawaii. It's been reported that Lawler has torn a tendon in his right arm during training causing him to miss up to 6 weeks.
Robbie has had some injury problems as of late, and this just adds to it. It's a shame that the injury had to occur so close to the fight, not allowing ICON to find a replacement, but it is what it is. Everyone here at 411 wishes Robbie the best of luck in a speedy recovery.
§ After having Robbie Lawler pull out of the main event of their December 15 card with a torn bicep, ICON Sport has cancelled the entire slate of fights after being unable to find a suitable replacement for the injured ICON Sport Middleweight Champion.
That's a real shame for the other fighters that were scheduled for the card but I commend the ICON Sport people for them trying to find a suitable replacement and also in their efforts to put the fighters affected by the cancellation on other cards to replace the income they're going to lose from the card being pulled.
§ Strikeforce announced today that Bob "The Beast" Sapp will be headlining their February 23 show at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington against a yet-to-be determined opponent.
Sapp is a huge draw in Japan, but still a bit of an unknown commodity here in the US where he's best known as being one of the stars of The Longest Yard remake a couple of years back. Sapp puts on exciting, albeit sloppy fights, and the people in Tacoma are going to get a show in February watching "The Beast" that's for sure.
§ The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board released word today that all 18 fighters submitted urine samples to be tested for performance enhancing drugs following the UFC 78 show on November 17, and that all 18 came back clean.
Thank Christ. I'm glad that we had an event where every fighter came back clean. I've outlined my stance before on what I think about performance enhancing drugs in MMA, and with a slew of positive tests recently, it's nice to see an entire card come back without any positives.
§ MMA veteran BJ Penn was sentenced to a year of probation, as well as ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution, in relation to a 2005 fight outside a bar in Waikiki where Penn was alleged to have punched a cop.
BJ is a GOD in Hawaii and I think he probably could have beaten that cop up, shoved the nightstick up his ass and made him sing show tunes and he still would have only gotten probation and a fine. I don't know all the particulars but I would say that Mr. Penn got very luck in this one.
Round Two
Sherk Gets Stripped.....FINALLY
In one of the biggest stories of the week, and the year, Sean Sherk was officially stripped of his UFC Lightweight Championship after the California State Athletic Commission denied his appeal of a positive steroid test that was found after his UFC 73 title defense against Hermes Franca. While his suspension for the positive test was reduced from one year to six months by the CSAC and this makes him eligible to fight as early as January of next year, the UFC did the right thing and stripped him of the title, making the fight between BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson for the Undisputed UFC Lightweight Championship.
I am glad that he has been stripped of the title, as earlier last week there were rumors circulating that he might have been able to keep the title based on his suspension being reduced, but those rumors proved to be false. My stance on steroids in the sport is firm, and I believe that anyone caught doping for any reason should be subject to an automatic year-long suspension and that if someone repeats the offense for a second time a lifetime ban should be considered as a possible punishment. Performance enhancing drugs take away one of the best aspects of mixed martial arts, the ability to determine who is the better and more skilled fighter, man vs. man, with no outside interference and no other determining factors than the men themselves.
When performance enhancing drugs are introduced into that equation, the fight becomes less about man vs. man or the particular skills of the fighter, and more about which man was able to cycle properly or which one found the newest designer drug that is untraceable in a urinalysis. Sherk was found to have a level of Nandralone six times higher than the acceptable level determined by the CSAC and as such was deemed to have tested positive for that particular steroid. Many theories have been floated around, from Sherk having a higher natural level of the hormone based on being a highly trained athlete, to possible tainted supplements, to a false positive on the test. Let's break these down one at a time, shall we?
For Sherk to have a natural level of the hormone that was a slight amount higher would not be totally outside of the realm of possibility, but for him to test six times higher than what is recognized as a normal amount seems a little implausible to happen naturally. I understand that he trains like a beast and is religious in his diet and supplement routine, but to say that someone could fine-tune themselves to such a degree that their hormone levels would shoot to levels five or six times more than the average person seems to be reaching just a little bit.
If it was a tainted supplement that led to the positive test, again most of the blame would have to lie with Mr. Sherk himself as no one forced him to take any of the particular supplements and if he suspected even one iota that any of his supplements may have been tainted in any way, or even if he didn't suspect, he still should have had the wherewithal to get them tested to ensure that something like this wouldn't happen. To be a professional athlete and not know EXACTLY what you are putting into your body is just asking for trouble and in this case, if it was a tainted supplement, Sherk found trouble.
Lastly, there is the idea that there was a false positive on the test and that Sherk should have been completely exonerated of any and all of the charges laid against him by the CSAC. I find this one to be the most ridiculous as a false positive is usually cleared up by a B sample during the testing process, but Sherk's A and B samples proved to be positve for high levels of Nandralone. Sherk has suggested that the CSAC is incompetent and that there may have been treachery afoot, going so far as to say that he will never fight in the state of California again.
To Sherk, I say, good riddance. If that means that I never have to see you fighting in my state again, it would be none too soon. I lump you in with guys like Tim Sylvia, Josh Barnett and others who have tested positive for steroids and whom I can never look at as a fighter without feeling a pang of suspicion. It's a shame because I used to be a fan of Sean Sherk's but no longer. The even bigger shame is that after his suspension is served he is going to be dished up an immediate title shot without even having to win a fight clean to earn it. My only hope will be in that, win or lose Sherk tests clean, because if he somehow wins the title again and taints not only the title but himself with another positive test, I will have no use for him in the sport whatsoever and I think many, if not all, would agree with me.
El Guapo Says...
Well folks, it's a special day here at Five Rounds, as El Guapo Says makes its return to the column and with good reason. December 12 is, in fact, Bas Rutten's birthday and I figured that it would be the perfect time to bring back the most popular feature in the column on such a momentous occasion. Here's to you Mr. Rutten, my all-time favorite fighter. May you have many more fantastic birthdays, and best holiday wishes to you and your lovely family as well good sir. This week...
El Guapo Says...
This is not going to be technical, because I'm an angry man here...
Bas Rutten vs. Kengo Watanabe
A class act in victory and as a fighter..
Bas Gives Up His Gloves
One of the funniest and most charismatic fighters of all time...
Disco Bas RETURNS!!!
And a hell of a dancer to boot....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAS!!!!
Round Three
TUF 6 Finale Delivers The Goods!!
This past Saturday night in Las Vegas, The Ultimate Figher Season Six came to a close with the Ultimate Finale, and frankly one of the best free TV cards I have seen in a long time. Two absolute wars, and seven fights making it to broadcast makes me a happy, happy MMA fan, and I really feel like this was the best Finale of all of them, including the first season finale that had the epic Bonnar/Griffin fight that many people feel was the beginning of the MMA explosion we are all currently enjoying here in the United States.
Discussing the two most exciting fights of the night leads me firstly to the fight between Jon Koppenhaver and Jared Rollins. These two left every ounce of strength, energy, heart, determination, guts, and just plain BALLS that they had in the octagon and in the end the "War Machine" Koppenhaver came out on top. It was an absolutely vicious back and forth fight that saw Rollins bloody up Koppenhaver with rapid-fire elbows from the bottom and Koppenhaver withstand barrage after barrage from the bottom before finally reversing Rollins with a kimura and, with his last gasp, unleashing some wicked strikes from the mount that forced the stoppage a couple of minutes in to the third round.
This was a great fight between two guys that had a legitimate beef in the house and nearly came to blows over it in fact. Usually fights that are hyped up based on bad blood tend to be either boring snoozefests (Sanchez vs. Koscheck), or they're fights that end up so one-sided one has to wonder why they were made in the first place (ANY of the Shamrock vs. Ortiz fights). This fight had bad blood to get people interested and then delivered SERIOUS action when it came time for the bell to ring. It was a great effort by both guys and they both came out winners from this one even though technically someone had to lose. I look forward to seeing both guys fight in the octagon again and they both look to have bright careers in the UFC.
Speaking of bright careers, Roger Huerta has been on the fast-track to MMA superstardom since his debut in the UFC at UFC 63 last September. Huerta, who came into the fight against Clay Guida on Saturday with a 5-0 record in the Octagon and 19-1 record overall, has been on the cover of Sports Illustrated and was considered by many to be the new face of the UFC. This has led to some serious backlash against him, as many detractors suggest that he has been spoon-fed opponents and that he has fought against lesser competition in an attempt to pad his record and improve his marketability as a fighter.
After surviving two rounds of vicious attacks from Guida, and winning in the face of some serious adversity against one of his toughest opponents ever, I would have to think that Roger Huerta managed to silence a lot of those critics with his performance. He looked to be in big trouble after the first two rounds where Guida managed to take him down at will, and inflict some damage from the top position, but in the third, a carefully timed knee while Guida shot in for a takedown changed the momentum of the fight and tipped the balance in favor of "El Matador".
After stunning Guida with the knee, Huerta landed some more strikes, took the back of the talented wrestler and gained the submission with a rear naked choke. It was impressive to see Huerta battle through the early problems he had containing Guida's offense to get the win and I think it spoke highly of his heart and determination to battle through and get the win against a tough opponent. It appears to only get tougher though as Kenny Florian is rumored to be on the horizon for Huerta. If that fight goes down and Roger wins, he will definitely be able to shut down ALL of his naysayers.
This brings us to the finale of The Ultimate Fighter Season Six welterweight tournament which featured Mac Danzig taking on Tommy Speer in an all-Team Hughes final. Danzig looked dominant on his way to the finals while Tommy overcame adversity with cuts and injuries to make it to the finals as a bit of an unexpected dark horse. In the end, the man who was predicted from the beginning to make the finals and win the whole damn thing, did just that as Mac Danzig dominated Tommy Speer and took the crown of The Ultimate Fighter for Season Six.
The fight wasn't even close as Mac got the takedown, unleashed a little ground and pound, and then took Tommy's back and sank in the choke for the victory. Tommy looked completely outmatched in this one and there really isn't a lot more to say about it other than that the guy that deserved the UFC contract, after years of putting in his time and effort fighting in smaller promotions like King Of The Cage, won and will make the most of it. Tommy has already had a fight in the WEC so I expect him to bounce back either in that promotion or to continue on with the UFC as he looked great before being handled by Mac and he's a big strong wrestler a la Matt Hughes that could be a dominant force in the welterweight division with the right training and dedication.
Danzig had announced even before he won the final that he would drop to his natural weight class of lightweight after the tournament, and I think that this is a perfect fit for him and a real boon to what is fast becoming the most competitive division the UFC has to offer. To see Danzig in the mix with guys like Roger Huerta, Tyson Griffin, Frankie Edgar, BJ Penn, Joe Stevenson, Joe Lauzon, and yes even Sean Sherk, is going to be VERY exciting and I think will provide the UFC with tons of entertaining matchups for them to make all throughout 2008 and beyond.
Links In The Cage
The same high quality writing you've all come to expect from the 411 MMA zone, all in one convenient location for your reading pleasure so check em ALL out!!!
The New Year's Eve Cards In Japan Continue To Fill Out
Both M-1's "Yarennoka" card and the K-1 offering "Dynamite! 2007" are starting to fill out nicely and it looks like it's going to be an absolute monster of a night in the world of Mixed Martial Arts in both Tokyo and Osaka on New Year's Eve. M-1 has already a card of both confirmed and rumored fights that includes Fedor Emelianenko vs. Hong Man Choi, Shinya Aoki vs. Gesias Calvancante, Gilbert Melendez vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida, as well as fights scheduled for Ricardo Arona, Aleksander Emelianenko, and Murillo Bustamente against yet-to-be determined opponents.
K-1 Hero's is answering with a card that includes Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Masakatsu Funaki, Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto vs. Rani Yahya, Sergei Kharitonov vs Siala "Mighty Mo" Siliga, and fights from Joachim Hansen, Melvin Manhoef, and Ikuhisa "The Punk" Minowa as well. Both cards look phenomenal and matched up with the UFC 79 card and the IFL Grand Prix card on December 29, make for a veritable smorgasbord of MMA in the post-Christmas, pre-New Year's lull that everyone seems to hate.
For the Japanese fans and fans abroad, it will be like getting two Pride cards for the price of one really, as fighters from the once-dominant Japanese MMA powerhouse litter both cards and feature heavily in the main events on both shows as well. The M-1 show is being billed as a send-off to Pride from the fighters and people who used to put on the fights, in arguably the most famous of all of Pride's venues, and I can't wait. Both cards have compelling fights with big names and both have many great reasons to tune in.
M-1, of course, has Fedor Emelianenko and that's about all that needs to be said to get most hardcore MMA fans salivating, but there is also an incredible lightweight fight between arguably the top two fighters in the 155 pound class featuring Shinya Aoki vs. Gesias Calvancante, in what could be a fight of the year one day before the calendar changes over. In addition, the chance to see fighters like Ricardo Arona, Gilbert Melendez and Aleksander Emelianenko makes this card an EASY choice as a must-watch night of fights and thanks to HDNet (in a story I touch on in the Fifth Round) it is a night of fights that I will not have to miss out on.
K-1 might not have the biggest names in terms of the top of the card draws, but their matchups are no less compelling as we get to see Kazushi Sakuraba attempt to turn back the clock and give another performance like the ones from the early days of Pride that thrilled his home Japanese fans, and "Kid" Yamamoto make his return to action which will be exciting and filled with controversy as anything with "Kid" usually is. Add to all of that, Joachim Hansen fighting again and a great heavyweight match featuring Sergei Kharitonov, fresh from his anhiliation of Alistair Overeem on the last K-1 Hero's card, fighting against "Mighty Mo", one of K-1's most popular stars and it's another can't-miss card in a weekend seemingly full of great action.
I can safely say that from the 29th through to New Year's Day I will be firmly planted in front of my television and all of my newly opened Christmas presents and New Year's Eve piss-up plans will need to be put on hold so that I can enjoy the bounty of fights that the MMA gods have decided to bestow upon us to close out 2007. I hope you all will be as well.
Random Strikes Part Deux
A big video pick for Random Strikes: Part the Second this week as in honor of the Yarennoka card featuring both Ricardo Arona and Fedor Emelianenko, we feature their historic bout from the Rings promotion in December of 2000, a fight which most people feel is the closest Emelianenko has come to a legitimate loss (his cut loss to Tsuyoshi Kohsaka not withstanding). Enjoy this rarely seen classic everyone!!
Fedor vs. Arona – Round One
Fedor vs. Arona – Round Two
Fedor vs. Arona – Round Three
Round Five
HDNet Becomes A Big Player In MMA Overnight
Firstly I must apologize for the headline being a little misleading. I'm not suggesting that HDNet just recently got into MMA, as they were the broadcast home of the WEC for years before Zuffa purchased the company and they moved over to Versus. Instead, by saying that HDNet has become a big player overnight, I'm saying that in this month alone they will have four live events being covered from all corners of the globe and featuring fighters like Jason Miller, Gesias Calvancante, Chris Horodecki and, of course, Fedor Emelianenko.
HDNet made announcements this week that they would be broadcasting the M-1 New Year's Eve spectacular, Yarennoka, the IFL Grand Prix Finals on December 29 and Sportfight's "Season's Beatings" card to be held December 22. This is in addition to their regularly scheduled HDNet Fights card that is set to be broadcast this weekend featuring a double main event of Jason "Mayhem" Miller vs. Tim Kennedy and Edwin Dewees vs. Frank "Twinkletoes" Trigg. This is BIG news for HDNet as they are instantly proving to be a credible outlet for non-UFC MMA promotions to get their shows televised and get their product established.
The biggest story of course is the broadcasting of the M-1 spectacular from Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo as it will feature the return of Fedor Emelianenko to the ring along with a spectacular lightweight fight featuring Shinya Aoki vs. Gesias Calvancante. The show was looking at a rather bleak future here in the United States as pay-per-view providers seemed a little cold to giving time to the Japanese card, and there was no real interest from any other potential broadcasters. Enter HDNet, who stepped up and put their money where their mouth was and enabled this history-making card to be shown here in the United States in its entirety.
HDNet is starting to make a splash in MMA, and with High Definition Televisions quickly becoming the norm, they are positioning themselves to be the stiffest competition to the Zuffa empire to date. While Elite XC has a bigger promotion and perhaps a wider base to draw viewers from being on a premium cable channel like Showtime as opposed to an exclusively hi-def channel like HDNet, HDNet has the advantage of being able to show multiple promotions as well as focusing on their excellent Inside MMA weekly news program. If the HDNet Fights promotion can stage a successful showing this weekend and HDNet can continue to find ways to show quality cards from around the world, then Zuffa and the UFC could find themselves with some serious competition from an unexpected source in 2008.
Post-Fight Wrap-Up
That does it for this week's Five Rounds folks. Remember Larry's in tomorrow with Your News and His Views, and that the WEC 31 recap edition of Lay and Pray Radio will be available for your listening enjoyment shortly, if it isn't already. Take care folks, and I'll see you all back here in seven short days for the main event, championship fight of MMA news, Five Rounds Of News!!
