Five Rounds Of News 12.28.07
Posted by Randy Harrison on 12.28.2007
Five Rounds makes it's full-time Friday debut with a big bang. A UFC 79 preview, an IFL Grand Prix Final preview, a look at all the action coming out of Japan this New Year's Eve, as well as my thoughts on Pedro Rizzo, Rich Franklin, the Sherk/Penn war of words, Floyd Mayweather and much much more. Five full rounds of newsy goodness are only one click away!!
Introduction
Hello friends, and welcome back to your main event, championship fight of MMA news, Five Rounds Of News. I'm your esteemed party host Randy Harrison and I'm happy to hand out all the hats, noisemakers and confetti I can get my hands on as we wind down 2007 and get ready to ring in what looks to be an exciting 2008 for MMA. Before that however, there is quite a bit of business to transact, with the UFC, IFL, K-1 Hero's and M-1 all planning big shows for over the New Year's weekend and Sean Sherk STILL staying in the news despite his neverending steroid situation finally being resolved. There are a ton of videos that will help set up the big fights from UFC 79, as well as some tips from Bas Rutten on how to handle yourself at that New Year's Eve party if someone decides they want to step up and be a tough guy.
I'd like to say at this point that I hope that everyone had a safe and happy Christmas holiday and that you will all continue to be safe through the New Year's weekend. I'm not one to preach, but there is having fun and then there is putting yourself at unnecessary risk. Remember to have enjoy yourselves, but also keep in mind that no amount of fun is worth your own life, or the life of someone you care about. Keep those designated drivers and taxi services busy on New Year's Eve and make sure that every fight fan and every person in general gets the chance to celebrate a Happy New Year and a great 2008. Enough of my soapboxing for now though, you all came here to get my thoughts on all of the goings-on in the world of mixed martial arts. So let's ring the bell and get to it everybody, as your Five Rounds begin NOW!!
Round One
The UFC Closes Out 2007 With A Bang
UFC 79 is all set to go down from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Saturday night, and while 2007 has had some serious ups (the mainstream media coverage from events like UFC 71, a new long-term television contract with Spike, a syndicated highlights show that gets the UFC on network television in many major media markets) and some major downs (the HBO deal falling through, the Fedor contract falling through, the fall of CroCop, the resignation debacle involving Randy Couture), the year-end event is always something special from the Ultimate Fighting Championship and this year proves to be no different. A double main event that includes a fight that has been nearly eight years in the making and another fight that will help crown an interim Welterweight Champion and round out a trilogy of fights between two sure-fire UFC Hall of Famers.
Five Rounds is going to take a look at the top three contests of the evening in depth and I will also provide my quick picks for the remaining seven fights on the card. Yes, this is a ten fight card and frankly I can't remember the last time I saw one of those from the UFC. Perhaps the rise in pay-per-view price that is possibly scheduled for the new year is to cover an extra fight and all future UFC's will be ten-fight cards as well. Hey, a guy can dream can't he? I'd like to think that it's to pay for an extra fight and not just to line Dana White and the Fertitta Brothers' pockets but I'm sure that that's probably not the case at all. Anyhow, we've got three huge fights at the top of the card Saturday night in Las Vegas so let's break them down.
Main Event: For the Interim UFC Welterweight Championship
Georges "Rush" St. Pierre vs. Matt "The Queen" Hughes
Before I get any angry hate-filled diatribes or e-mail bombs destroying my inbox, I am not referring to Hughes as a queen in the literal sense, or as a drag queen or something. It's merely a reference to his ill-fated attempt to get his team to learn a little something through bible study during TUF 6. It always makes me laugh to hear him say something along the lines of "I'm the queen" so I've decided that that is his nickname. I'll readily admit that I don't like Matt Hughes very much but I'm not so biased that I would tip over into slanderous territory. I'm far too poor to get sued by a hay-baling, tractor-riding, cow-milking, hayseed farmboy like Matt Hughes.
As for the fight, I really can't see any way that Hughes can pull the victory out in this one. Against Matt Serra, he had the chance to duck under some punches, take Serra down and ride out a decision or gain a stoppage with his patented ground-and-pound offense. This won't work against GSP however as GSP has proven to be a takedown stuffing machine, frustrating both Hughes and Josh Koscheck on the way to wins over both heavily touted wrestlers. Hughes has his cardio to fall back on as he's NEVER been a guy to have the gas tank fail him in a big fight, but at the same time GSP is just as much of a cardio guy and that should still end up being even despite the relative shortness of GSP's camp for this fight. Striking is not even close and anyone who thinks that Hughes has a chance striking based on what Serra did against GSP, I point you to the second Hughes/GSP fight where he didn't even end up coming close on the feet against "Rush". Georges St. Pierre has all of the tools to win this fight and as long as he has his head on straight to fight, and doesn't suffer any ill effects of taking this fight on somewhat short notice, GSP should be coming out on top and head into 2008 with redemption against Matt Serra on his mind.
Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva vs. Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell
The fight that MMA fans have salivated about for years is finally upon us, and while the bloom is off of the rose a little bit in terms of the fact that this fight could have happened on at least a couple of previous occasions when both men were champions and riding winning streaks, it's still an interesting fight with serious implications in the careers of both men. Both fighters are coming in off of two consecutive losses, and a third loss for either man could signal a death knell in their careers as top-level Light Heavyweight title contenders.
Anything that could be said about Chuck Liddell, could also be said in regards to Wanderlei Silva as well as they're both feared strikers, noted finishers and bring a level of intensity to the fight game that very few can match. Silva's striking is a looping, open style while Liddell has always favored being the counter-puncher that waits for his opportunity to unleash huge rights and lefts from, as Joe Rogan calls them "these wild, crazy angles that guys don't see coming". That being said, I expect both guys to come out rather tentatively as this is a fight that both have wanted for years and neither man wants to be the recipient of a KO thirty seconds into the most important fight of their lives, not to mention that both should be a little gun-shy coming in with two straight losses on their respective resumes.
To me though, the Liddell/Jardine fight was fairly telling, in that Liddell looked beatable, and looked like he was pushing for something to happen and at the same time tentative after what had happened with Rampage. He looked nothing like the Iceman of old, and I fear that it wasn't a one-time thing. Everyone has asked when would Liddell hang it up, when would he finally go off of the hot streak he had been riding for so long? He started to slip with the Rampage loss, he fell even further with the loss to Jardine (going so far as to contemplate retiring after that fight), and I firmly believe that Wanderlei will drive the final nail into the coffin of Chuck Liddell Saturday night in Las Vegas with a furious flurry of lefts and rights as Liddell is either pressed against the fence or on his back attempting to cover up in the second round.
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Lyoto Machida
This is a fight that a lot of people are very excited about, myself included, as it's going to show whether or not the hype that Sokoudjou has been receiving since his two big KO's in Pride has been well-warranted or if he is another Houston Alexander-esque case of lightning striking twice in the same place. Machida for his part is going to be trying to make an impact in the UFC, as he has been having trouble doing so at this point, despite his undefeated record. Many critics point to his plodding, methodical, conterfighting style as the reason that he's possibly the best undefeated fighter hardly anyone has ever heard of before.
I think that Sokodjou is definitely going to have to fight a little longer than two or three minutes against someone as crafty as Machida and I think that the striking style that he employed against both Arona and Nogueira will play right into the counter-striking of Machida. That being said, Machida won't be taking any crazy risks to stand and trade with someone who has proven knockout power so look for Machida to be trying for the takedowns early and often in this one and test out Sokodjou's, to this point unproven, wrestling and judo skills. In my opinion, Machida will be just the man to slow the Sokodjou freight train that has been running roughshod over the light heavyweight division and he will bring Sokodjou down to the mat, and back down to earth by grinding out another slow, yet important decision victory.
The Best Of The Rest: My Picks For UFC 79
Rich Clementi def. Melvin Guillard, decision
Eddie Sanchez def. Soa Palelei, TKO, Rd 2
Luis Cane def. James Irvin, TKO, Rd 2
Manvel Gamburyan def. Nate Mohr, TKO Rd 1
Dean Lister def. Jordan Radev, Submission, Rd 1
Tony DeSouza def. Roan Carneiro, decision
Mark Bocek def. Doug Evans, Submission Rd 1
Random Strikes
Rather light on the MMA news and happenings with the holidays upon us, but there's still a couple of stories that have come across the desk here at Five Rounds in the past week. As usual, news blurb first, my blurb in bold directly following.
§ According to SUN Sports and Entertainment, Pedro "The Rock" Rizzo has signed a three-fight extension with the company. Rizzo has fought twice for SUN's "Art of War" promotion where he most recently defeated Jeff Monson for the Art of War Heavyweight Championship
Good for Pedro. He's experienced a bit of a career resurgence in the past year or two and looks to be on a possible collision course with Fedor in 2008. I've been a fan of "The Rock" since his early days in the UFC and I'm glad to see him getting back on track and making some big money during this boom period for MMA
§ Rich Franklin's camp has announced the former UFC Champion will be on the shelf until June 2008 with a torn meniscus in his right knee. The injury will require surgery and involves the same knee/meniscus "Ace" tore a number of years back.
This is a shame for Rich as I'm sure he was excited to get to possibly fight again in Ohio in March and he was anxious to get back into the cage after being schooled for the second time by Anderson Silva. Hopefully the problem is solved permanently this time and we won't have to hear about Ace having any knee problems again. 411Mania and myself personally wish Rich the best on a full and speedy recovery from surgery.
§ WEC fighter Ariel Gandulla, who lost a fight to Doug Marshall at WEC 31 on December 12th, recently tested positive for the steroid, Nandrolone.
EPIC FAIL. Your steroids got your ass beat in about a minute. Hope they were worth the fine, the suspension, and the shriveled testicles. Jackass.
§ t's being reported that the UFC has offered Justin McCully a fight against top UFC Heavyweight, Cheick Kongo to take place at UFC 81 on February 2nd.
This is the equivalent of a placeholder fight, someone that Kongo should have no problems with whatsoever while he waits for the UFC Heavyweight title picture to clear so he can possibly claim his shot in the first half of 2008. Kongo wins convincingly and McCully ends up looking for employment or fighting in the WEC.
Round Two
A Busy New Year's Eve In Japan
Keeping in the tradition of New Year's Eve weekend being a huge weekend for mixed martial arts, there are two huge Japanese offerings coming up as well as K-1 Hero's presents it's Premium Dynamite! 2007 show, while a collaboration of promotions with M-1 at the lead will be putting on their farewell show to Pride, Yarennoka at the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo. These are two huge shows in combat sports featuring some of the absolute best fighters in the world, and both cards have big stars and compelling matchups. Let's take a look at some of what both shows have to offer starting with K-1 Hero's.
Joachim Hansen vs. Kazuyuki Miyata
Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen is coming off of a hotly disputed loss in his return to Shooto recently and is going to be looking to prove himself against a tough opponent in Miyata. I look for Hansen to win this one though as Miyata has had trouble everytime he has stepped up in competition level and Hansen is definitely a step-up when it comes to the lighter fighters. Hansen wins big and redeems himself in this one.
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Siala "Mighty Mo" Siliga
Kharitonov comes into this fight hot, fresh off of his destruction of Alistair Overeem earlier this year, while Mighty Mo is the K-1 crowd favorite that always packs a huge punch. Kharitonov is fighting better than I've ever seen him fight at this point in his career and I don't see that changing in this one. He'll avoid taking any of the heavy shots that Mo will be throwing, wait for his chance and finish off Mo to continue the biggest string of success in his career.
Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto vs. Rani Yahya
The always exciting Kid Yamamoto makes his return to K-1 and he's drawn a worthy opponent in ground fighting wizard Rani Yahya. Yahya is fresh from taking WEC Champ Chase Bebee the distance but I don't think that is going to help him against someone as devastating as Yamamoto is. Kid has a bad taste in his mouth from his last foray into fighting and he's going to want to take it out on someone. Unfortunately for Yahya, he's that someone.
With many more fights featuring talents like Kazushi Sakuraba, Ikuhisa "The Punk" Minowa, Bob Sapp, and Melvin Manhoef, look for K-1 to deliver Dynamite on New Year's Eve in Osaka.
Not to be outdone is the offering from Saitama Super Arena, Yarennoka, which features the return to Japan of Fedor Emelianenko, as well as Gilbert Melendez, Ricardo Arona, and Fedor's brother Aleksander Emelianenko. The card took a bit of a hit when it lost the lightweight superfight between Gesias Calvancante and Shinya Aoki, but Aoki remains on the card and that fight is looking to happen sometime in early 2008 once Calvancante recovers from a surgery on his knee, but there is still plenty to look forward to from the M-1 card as well. Here's a look at the top three bouts that will be coming from Tokyo this New Year's Eve.
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Hong Man Choi
Emelianenko is the recognized #1 heavyweight mixed marital artist in the world, despite his less than thrilling resume as of late. Choi is 1-0 in MMA and is known simply for being really, really big. Fedor will win this fight by anything he wants and frankly, Choi might be lucky to escape with all of his limbs attached and the ability to walk.
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. Hidehiko Hasegawa
Again this fight looks to be pretty much a done deal as Sakurai has fought and beaten some of the world's best while Hasegawa has mainly fought in DEEP against guys who seem to be a step below the top level of MMA. Both have spotty records but Hasegawa's is much weaker given the competition he has faced and I expect Sakurai to win this one going away and continue the handy little winning streak he has been on, despite not competing in MMA since his Pride 33 win over Mac Danzig.
Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida
A battle of two top ten lightweights closes out our look at Yarennoka and I am very excited to get to see Melendez fight again. He put on a bit of a lackluster performance against a tough Tetsuji Kato at the Strikeforce Playboy Mansion show and will be looking to put on a fireworks display against Ishida here. Look for Melendez to win the striking battle early and often and continue forward with his perfect record unblemished as Ishida will be overwhelmed by the fury of "El Nino"
That covers everything that will be happening in Japan over the course of the next few days, as well as our previous look at the big UFC show this weekend. I know I'm thinking that this is absolutely an MMA fan's dream weekend, a late Christmas present if you will, and that there's no way that things could get any better. Well as we'll see in Round Three, there's still more MMA to discuss for this upcoming weekend.
El Guapo Says...
El Guapo Says returns this week, and Bas is going to help you out this New Year's. You know how you'll most likely be heading out to a party on New Year's Eve, and that there is no accounting for everyone that is going to be at a party that you aren't the host of. Well, this could lead to some drunken jackass besmirching your fair lady's honor at this particular party. I trust that you won't want to cower and hide away from such a confrontation, leaving your woman to fend for herself, and leaving yourself with the assurance that you will be without sex for a long, long, LONG time. Well Bas is here to help with more self-defense tips that will help you save your lady and your love of getting to stick it to her whenever you please. So this week.....
El Guapo Says...
"Somebody's telling me that about my wife, I'm sorry sir, but I'm gonna break your leg.."
Bas In All His Street-fighting, Ass-kicking Glory!
Round Three
IFL Crowns Five Champions In Connecticut
The IFL will be holding their Grand Prix Finals Saturday night, going head to head with both the New England Patriots pursuit of perfection (which will possibly hurt live attendance as Connecticut is huge Pats territory) as well as UFC 79 (which will hurt their television reach, despite the deal that will see the entire show televised on HDNet). The card has been plagued by injuries and bout changes, but then what IFL card isn't at this point. There are still five HUGE championship fights as well as some other great action so let's take a sneak peek at what to expect from the IFL this weekend at the Mohegan Sun.
IFL Heavyweight Championship:
Antoine Jaoude vs. Roy Nelson
Jaoude is undefeated in IFL competition, while Nelson took Ben Rothwell to the limit in their first fight, narrowly losing a decision, before putting together two straight wins. Both guys have the ability to finish and I don't see this one going the distance. In terms of skillsets it's pretty much a pick'em fight as both guys can work standing and on the ground. I'm going with Jaoude simply because he hasn't lost yet in the IFL and it's hard to pick against someone who is unbeaten like that, but I will say that I would not be surprised in the least to see Nelson pick up the win with a KO or TKO.
IFL Middleweight Championship:
Benji Radach vs. Matt Horwich
Horwich seems to be a bit of a mixed bag, as he's had ups and downs all throughout his career while Radach is undefeated in the IFL and has looked VERY impressive in compiling that unbeaten record. Horwich has been hit-and-miss his entire IFL career, ending up with a .500 record, and I just don't think he's going to be able to handle the pace that Radach is going to be pushing. Radach is hungry to prove that he belongs in the talk of the best middleweight fighters in the world that includes Anderson Silva and Paulo Filho, and I'm looking for Radach to continue his winning ways with an early TKO.
IFL Welterweight Championship:
Delson Heleno vs. Jay Hieron
Hieron is an Xtreme Couture fighter and that is a VERY good pedigree to have in this day and age as it's pretty much the top fight camp going. Hieron will look to us his wrestling to control from the top and ground and pound his way to the victory. Heleno looks to take this fight to the ground any way he can and draw the submission from the tough Hieron. I actually think that that is how the fight is going to end up as Hieron will either score the takedown or have Heleno get things on the ground, and Heleno will use his jiu-jitsu to put a bit of a hurting on Hieron and gain the submission victory and the IFL Welterweight crown.
IFL Lightweight Championship:
Chris Horodecki vs. Matt Schultz
This fight was supposed to be Horodecki vs. Wagnney Fabiano, but that was changed to Horodecki vs. Shad Lierley who pulled out due to an injury, leading to Jon Gunderson getting the title shot. He however ended up hurt which led to Matt Schultz getting the opportunity for fight for the IFL Lightweight title in this one. None of this makes too much of a difference however as Horodecki has shown since his debut that he is something special in the lightweight class and I'm expecting him to make short work of Schultz, who is a talent in his own right, but nowhere near the class of Horodecki.
IFL Featherweight Championship:
Wagnney Fabiano vs. L.C. Davis
The aforementioned Fabiano gets bumped down to his more natural weight class to fight for the title as opposed to facing Horodecki for the lightweight crown. This fight comes as a result of the Light Heavyweight Championship being decided at the Grand Prix Semi-Finals due to injuries and the IFL's desire to maintain having five title fights on the card. Fabiano has to be happy because not only does he get to fight at his natural weight class, he has a much better chance against Davis than he would against the talented Horodecki. Fabiano will get this fight on the mat and gain an early submission against the overmatched Davis.
As mentioned before the main card portion of this fight which was previewed here will be shown on HDNet on December 29 starting a half an hour before the UFC show at 9:30 EST/6:30 PST and it will be interesting to see how things break down ratings-wise for the show based on opening alone and then having their stronger competitor's program begin a half hour after them. I think that it will end up being a bit of a ratings flop because the majority of the US doesn't have HDNet to begin with, and well, the UFC is offering Chuck/Wand and GSP/Hughes III. Which would you rather watch?
Links In The Cage
As always, and even with the holiday break, the 411mania.com MMA zone brings great content and great reading for you all to enjoy while you try to return that godawful present you received for Christmas online rather than trying to deal with the zoo of people making returns from now until New Year's. Happy reading folks!!
Finally looking at a story that isn't a preview for an upcoming fight card, news broke late last week that Floyd Mayweather, undefeated boxing champion and sometimes outspoken critic of mixed martial arts was in talks with Mark Cuban, head of HDNet and HDNet Fights, and that the potential was there for Mayweather to possibly want to try his hand at MMA in 2008.
Coming off of the Mayweather/Hatton PPV blockbuster that did big numbers, this is a huge coup for HDNet Fights to even be able to say that they're in talks with Mayweather. Granted I see the chances of him actually competing in MMA someday to be slim at best, he brings with him a sure-fire star quality as well as prowess in the promotional aspect of combat sports that would serve Mark Cuban and HDNet Fights very well moving forward. Mayweather has talked of wanting to wind down his career as an active boxer on numerous occasions, and while I think that his time to compete in MMA has come and gone, there is no reason to suggest that he wouldn't be willing to train up-and-coming fighters with his overwhelming boxing skills, and perhaps even help in the cornering, developing and promoting of some of the younger talent that HDNet Fights is looking to build their brand on for years to come.
When asked about the possible collaboration with Mayweather in 411mania's exclusive interview, Mark Cuban has this to say:
"I think Floyd's opinion was shaped by what he has seen on some of the reality shows out there. No knock on the Tapout guys or some of the guys in the TUF series, they are doing what they have to do to make a living, but they create a certain perception of the sport that isn't necessarily positive. Floyd and I have discussed how different boxing and MMA are. They are basically two different sports with some crossover skills. Floyd is going to explore a little deeper into MMA. He is a businessman first, middle, and last, and based on our conversations, he knows there are unique opportunities with HDNet Fights. We are exploring all of them. I would love to see Floyd in a cage and I think he would love to try it. However, he has a ton of respect for the best MMA athletes and knows he can't just walk in and be the best in the world. He knows he has to bring the commitment to training and preperation to MMA that he has brought to boxing. Floyd works harder to get ready for work than just about anyone I have ever seen. Combine that with his strong business acumen and however he gets involved, he will only do it with the goal of being the best in the world."
This move, to me, is just another concept that speaks to the brilliance of Mark Cuban to think outside of the realm of regular business and find ways to cross-promote not only his brands and products, but the sport of mixed martial arts as a whole. If Mayweather gets on board and is firmly behind the MMA bandwagon, there's no telling how many people he will draw to the sport from boxing and mainstream sports, even if he chooses not to fight in an actual bout. Mayweather knows how to draw people and draw money. Cuban knows how to take money and give people what they want and turn that money into even BIGGER money down the road. These two working together could signal huge things for HDNet and HDNet Fights into 2008 and beyond and to me this is just another reason why Dana White and the UFC should be taking a cold, hard look at what the Texas billionaire has up his sleeve in regards to MMA and the possibility of him being their biggest competition for a long time to come.
Random Strikes Part Deux
Time to get you all ready for the double main event at UFC 79 the best way I know how..Tons and tons of fight videos!!
Chuck Liddell vs. Paul Jones – UFC 22
Wanderlei Silva vs. Kazushi Sakuraba – Pride Total Elimination 2003
Matt Hughes vs. Jorge Pereira – WEF 8
Georges St. Pierre vs. Dave Strasser – TKO 19
Round Five
Sherk And BJ Think This Is High School
Sean Sherk and BJ Penn kept things at a tenth grade level again this week as they continued their very public, very childish war of words in the media, centering on drugs and both of their desires to be the next UFC Lightweight Champion. Penn came out after the UFC stripped Sherk of his Lightweight belt and said that Sherk being on steroids was something that was well-known for a long time and that he was happy that he was finally caught at it and being punished. Sherk fired back angrily in an interview late last week, referring to BJ Penn as "a pothead" and that he thinks that BJ "has a big mouth, and I'd love to be the guy that shuts him up."
Really children, I think that this is a bit much. BJ, don't you have an actual championship fight to worry about against a more than ready and willing challenger in Joe Stevenson in a little over three weeks? And Sean, shouldn't you just shut the sweet fuck up and thank your lucky stars that you are even eligible to fight in February and that you're not stuck serving an entire year's worth of a suspension, despite the fact that in my eyes you deserved the full year? Honestly, I get that there is animosity between you two, and if it were in the course of setting up, or leading into a fight, I'd be all for it as there's nothing like some smack-talk to get the fire burning for an all-out grudge match.
However, this fight is at this point only a potential fight as Joe Stevenson has a lot to say about whether BJ Penn will come out with the title around his waist on January 19. To spend all this time talking about each other and essentially calling each other names like this was the week before prom and you were both wanting to go with the star quarterback, is silly and pointless and comes across as pretty damn unprofessional. Both of you shut the hell up and fight and if you end up signed to fight each other down the road, THEN bring out the mad shit-talking to try to get into your opponent's head and fire yourself up for the bout. Until then, seriously BJ and Sean, just shut the fuck up. No one cares about your little slapfight in the media and no one cares about flinging around accusations back and forth. Please, for my sanity, let it die until your names are both inked on the dotted line.
Post Fight Wrap-Up
Well that's it for this first official Friday edition of Five Rounds Of News. I thank you all for reading, and again would like to wish everyone out there a safe, happy and prosperous New Year, and I would also like to take this time to wish the best of luck to my New England Patriots in their pursuit of history this Saturday night against the New York Giants. It's going to be a busy night for me between the Patriots game, UFC 79 and the IFL Grand Prix, but I am going to love every second of it and I hope you all do as well. Take care and we'll see you here again in just seven short days for the main event, championship fight of MMA news, Five Rounds Of News! Happy New Year everybody!!!
