Cardio Freak MMA News Report 03.27.08: Wrestling For Fighting
Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 03.27.2008
Cardio Freak is back with a preview of all the big events in the next week including Fight Night, Strikeforce, and even Wrestlemania. Plus the latest news on EXC on CBS, UFC 86 taking shape, and Silva vs. Jones Jr. All that and so much more including the return of Dana White and the Top 5. It's all just one click away.
Welcome back to Cardio Freak everyone. I am your host Jeremy ‘PLAYOFFS?!?!' Lambert. A long intro this week as two of my other loves are taking center stage over the MMA world for the week.
The hockey season is winding down and my Avs are surviving in their effort to make the playoffs. After 4 straight losses they bounced back with a win and a 60-minute effort. I still believe that this team will make the playoffs and if that happens, it's a whole new game.
A HUGE week for wrestling beginning tonight with a LIVE edition of TNA Impact and ending with Wrestlemania 24 on Sunday. The three major companies are all holding shows and business should be great for them all. Hopefully all the shows deliver and the wrestling fans in Orlando get their money's worth. My guess is that the Impact tapings should be decent (I'm really liking the Angle/Joe stuff for different reasons), the ROH shows should be great, the Hall of Fame should be amazing as long as they don't short Ric Flair on time, and Wrestlemania should be great despite a less than impressive build. Needless to say, it's a crazy time for fight fans whether you like our violence scripted or not.
As for Mania itself, I expect the show to be great. Lackluster build aside, there are plenty of matches that should deliver. Edge is a good all around worker and Taker always steps up his game when people seem to doubt him. Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show should be a spectacle, which is what Mania is all about. Cena, Triple H, and Randy Orton should deliver a good match although I don't give a fuck about it. And then there's Shawn 'The Greatest Wrestlemania Performer Of All Time' Michaels vs. Ric 'The Greatest Performer Of All Time' Flair. Flair is going to bust his ass in likely his final match ever (certainly his last Mania match ever) and Michaels always busts his ass at Mania just because he hates not having the best match on the biggest show. This match alone makes me excited for Mania and no matter what, people will be talking about it the next day.
Top Story of The Week
Fight Fans Rejoice
Beginning with WEC last night (Results & Ramblings coming next week), MMA once again takes center stage in coming week. The big Shamrock vs. Cung Le bout is this Saturday, Ultimate Fight Night 13 & The Ultimate Fighter 7 debut on Wednesday, and UFC 83: St. Pierre vs. Serra 2 is April 19th. The big preview for UFC 83 won't come until the Thursday before the event but there are still 2 events and a show to preview so why waste time?
Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Cung Le Preview
Strikeforce returns to Showtime this weekend with arguably their biggest event to date. On top of the main event that is expected to be a huge draw in California, EliteXC has "loaned" one of their big talents to Strikefroce, that being Nick Diaz.
Unfortunately there are two things working against Strikeforce this Saturday but both are probably being blown out of proportion as to how they'll affect this event. First, it's Wrestlemania Weekend and a lot of crossover fans will likely fly out to Orlando instead of San Jose. If they're in Orlando fans will obviously attend the WWE Hall of Fame or that nights ROH show instead of going to the nearest bar to watch this event. However, if fans of both sports aren't in Orlando they'll have their pick between a watered down version of the WWE Hall of Fame on USA Network or the Strikeforce event. I would easily pick the Strikeforce event but due to another birthday (Happy 21st Melinda), I'll likely miss both. The other thing that has people up in arms is that UFC will be running an Ultimate Fighter 6 marathon until midnight Saturday. I don't find this to be a big deal simply because if people haven't seen Guida vs. Huerta yet, they probably don't care enough to see it and it's their loss. 9 out of 10 times, fans are going to watch the live event over the repeat event. I think Strikeforce will be fine this weekend, do good numbers (although I don't think it will pass Kimbo vs. Tank), and in the end should do a good job promoting the EliteXC on CBS event.
As mentioned, this is a very strong card for Strikeforce. On top of the Shamrock vs. Cung Le main event; Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez
Melendez and Diaz have favorable match ups facing off against Gabe Lemley and Jae Suk Lim respectively. I expect to see a fired up Melendez after he lost his first professional fight on a questionable decision at Yarennoka show on New Years Eve 07. I think Diaz will have a tougher time against Lim but in the end, should come out on top as long as he fights a smart fight.
Jake Shields was scheduled to face MMA veteran Drew Fickett but pulled out on Tuesday due to a back injury. At the time of this typing, no replacement has been named. This is a very tough loss for the Strikeforce card and Jake Shields, who was finally getting his chance at gold. The Shields vs. Fickett fight was scheduled to be for the EXC Welterweight title.
The main event between Frank Shamrock and Cung Le is a huge draw in San Jose, California and a fight that appeals to many hardcore fans. The legend Frank Shamrock against the undefeated Cung Le. Despite only having 5 professional fights, Cung Le has already become a legit threat to Frank Shamrock thanks to winning all 5 fights by knockout. The problem is Cung hasn't been tested like I expect Shamrock to test him. I think if Frank Shamrock wanted to, he could decisively win this fight by taking down Cung and securing a submission. The problem is, this is Frank Shamrock. Frank is the type of guy that likes to put on a show before winning. He will likely stand and trade with Cung, which could lead to his downfall. I think Cung believes his own hype though. In his fight with Sam Morgan he didn't set up the high kick, he just tried to shoot his load and go for it. If he tries that against Frank, he's in for trouble. If Cung is patient though, sets up his strikes, and Frank is willing to trade, I think Cung could defeat Frank. Having to make a decision though, I'm going with Frank Shamrock by 3rd round submission.
UFC Ultimate Fight Night 13
WE ASKED FOR IT AND WE GOT IT~! NOT A MAIN EVENT THAT SHOULD FEATURE NATE DIAZ INSTEAD OF JOE LAUZON, NOT CLAY GUIDA IN A DARK FIGHT, NOT KARO PARISYAN FACING SOMEONE NOT NAMED JON FITCH, NOT THREE HOURS, NO, WE GOT THE RETURN OF HOUSTON ALEXANDER~! YEAH~!
All non-kidding aside, this event looks awesome for being free. I could nit pick at this event (and probably will) but when April 2nd rolls around, I know I'll be sitting in front of my TV watching, getting pissed at commercials, and enjoying the fights. With a title fight main event, this could easily be a PPV event.
The undercard itself it full of good fights. A number of Ultimate Fighter veterans plus THE ‘Cardio Freak' Clay Guida round out the UFC OnDemand portion of the card. Quick picks: Tommy Speer over Anthony Johnson, George Sotiropoulos over Roman Mitichyan, Clay Guida over Sammy Schiavo, Manny Gamburyan over Jeff Cox, Din Thomas over Josh Neer, and Marcus Aurelio over Ryan Roberts.
It only gets better when the show goes live at 7 on SpikeTV. Name fighters like Houston Alexander, Nate Diaz, Karo Parisyan, Frankie Edgar and others fill out a main event that pits Kenny Florian against Joe Lauzon.
I was down on Houston Alexander before UFC 78, not believing the hype like so many others. At the end of the night, I was right (I was actually right on every fight that night, not that I'm bragging) and Houston lost to Thiago Silva. But something happened before the fight started. Thanks to the prefight video and Houston's walk in, I all of a sudden became a Houston Alexander fan. You can't tell me that it wasn't awesome seeing Houston bark at a fan for a few seconds before entering the Octagon. Even though I picked Thiago Silva to win that fight and above everything I love being right, I wouldn't have been upset had Houston destroyed Thiago in under a minute. In fact, I may have preferred it. Unfortunately, Thiago was a bad match up for Houston and he may have been exposed. Fortunately, UFC picked the right match up this time around. I think Houston Alexander will run through Irvin and regain any popularity he may have lost after UFC 78. While I don't think Houston Alexander will ever be champion, there's just something about a big black dude beating up geeks in a matter of minutes. It's working for Kimbo Slice right?
Next is a fight that probably won't feature a bar room brawl likeness. Instead high-class grappling should be on display as Kurt Pellegrino battles Nate Diaz. Although I'm not a big fan of his brother, I really Nate Diaz. He has a goofy charisma about him and I also think he's a better all around fighter than his brother Nick. In fact, I think he should be in the main event against Kenny Florian instead of Lauzon but for some reason, the TUF5 Winner is in the undercard. At any rate, this should be a very technical fight but I think Nate will win after setting up a submission with some punches.
More lightweights do battle as Frankie Edgar puts his undefeated streak on the line against Gray Maynard. I'm really looking forward to this fight mainly because Edgar is normally entertaining (his last fight fell victim to ‘The Griffin Theory') and Maynard trains with Randy Couture. Both guys are very good wrestlers but I give Maynard the advantage on the feet as I feel he has the knockout power that Edgar lacks. I don't expect this one to end decisively though and the more that I think about it; the more I think that this fight could actually be pretty boring due to it being two wrestlers with not much finish. Hopefully they prove me wrong and put on an entertaining bout like I first expected but thanks to this paragraph, I've no longer set myself up for disappointment.
‘The White Houston Alexander' returns to battle Matt Hamill as a replacement for Stephan Bonnar. Tim Boetsch made a quick impact in the UFC by running through David Heath at UFC 81 in what can only be described as a BEATDOWN~! The big difference between Boetsch and Alexander is the fact that more is known about Boetsch and he's actually faced a top guy in Vladimir Matyushenko, losing by decision. Aside from that fight though, Boetsch has run through his opponents in what seems to be impressive fashion. He'll have his hands full with Hamill though, he displayed a lot better stand up against Michael Bisping and is a world-class wrestler. In the end, I like Hamill to grind out a decision although I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Boetsch winning, just to see him fight Houston Alexander in the near future.
Karo Parisyan returns to the Octagon against NOT JON FITCH~! It seems that the more Karo Parisyan talks, the more I can't stand him. He's put on some entertaining fights for fans and me but his current smugness irritates me. After his last performance against Ryo Chonan and the interview that followed, Karo will need to redeem himself with a good performance against Thiago Alves to avoid falling into a category with Tim Sylvia and Sean Sherk. Thiago normally has some entertaining fights with his last fight against Chris Lytle being very good. I like Alves to win the stand up battle but Karo is favored in the grappling battle. I would love to pick Alves to win but Karo is very good at avoiding a big punch, clinching, throwing, and grinding out a decision.
In the main event, BJ Penn understudy Joe Lauzon takes on Kenny ‘I FINISH FIGHTS~!' Florian. This should be a very good grappling match and although I feel Nate Diaz should be in this fight, I'm excited for the bout. Florian has been on a roll since losing to Sherk and Lauzon has been on a roll since coming to the UFC. On the feet, I think Lauzon has the advantage and he's shown some KO power in some of his previous fights, most notably his fight against Jens Pulver. Florian has the big fight experience but Lauzon has always seemed to show good composure. Unlike a lot of fans, I'm not really sold on Florian. For some reason he's never grown on him and despite his recent success, he still hasn't grown on me. I became a fan of Lauzon on The Ultimate Fighter show and the fact that he trains with BJ Penn makes me like him that much more. It should be a fun battle but in the end, I like Lauzon to win this one and put an end to the Florian Finishing Train.
It should be a great night of fights on April 2nd and I for one am excited to put everything aside for four hours and watching SpikeTV.
The Ultimate Fighter 7
And in that final hour of the four hour block is the debut of The Ultimate Fighter 7. Now I've done my best to avoid any type of spoilers regarding the show so as of now all I know is that Forrest Griffin and Quinton Jackson are the coaches and the guys will fight their way onto the show. I don't know who the fighters are and I don't know who is the favorite to win the whole thing. I feel that this approach will allow me to enjoy the show a bit part as I watch and review it.
I'm very excited for this season of The Ultimate Fighter despite not knowing the fighters. The fact that the guys have to fight their way on the show means we're going to get fights right off the bat and that's been a big knock on the show since it's inception. Outside of that, the coaches have to intrigue any UFC and MMA fan. Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin are two of the most charismatic fighters in the world and now every week for an hour we get to see their charisma shine. With these coaches, this season should bring back memories of the first season but only better. These two aren't hated rivals like Shamrock/Ortiz, Penn/Pulver, or Serra/Hughes. They seem to have respect for each other much like Liddell and Couture but these guys have much more of a personality than Chuck and Randy combined.
This season has a lot of potential and hopefully it lives up to expectations. I can't wait to see the debut on April 2nd and then follow the season until the Finale followed by UFC 86 where Jackson defends the Light Heavyweight Title against Griffin.
UFC Event News & Notes
According to Rashad Evans, UFC 85: Liddell vs. Evans will be free on SpikeTV. UFC has yet to confirm this report
As it should be. I think it's clear that UFC doesn't like running live overseas shows on PPV because the buyrate never comes back in their favor. They wanted UFC 72 on Spike but just having done UFC 70, Spike turned it away. UFC also wanted UFC 80 on Spike but Spike officials didn't feel that BJ Penn vs. Joe Stevenson would be a big enough main event to compliment a mediocre undercard. With UFC 86, Spike would be getting an undefeated TUF winner against Chuck Liddell. They would be crazy not to pass this up.
Now is this a good move for UFC? Despite being in London, one would have to think that with Chuck Liddell on the card the buyrate would be up no matter what timeslot they promote. Of course on Spike you know they're going to get at least 5 million or so viewers, possibly more by the time the main event rolls around. They'll also be able to put their new sponsorship with Bud Light to good use.
Another reason to put this on free TV could just be an "Eff You" statement to EXC. One week after EliteXC premieres on CBS, UFC has a chance to put their biggest star on free TV and go head to head in the sense that ECW goes head to head with TNA.
MMAMania.com is reporting that Gleison Tibau vs. Joe Stevenson will battle at UFC 86
Both guys are coming off a lose with Tibau not having an exciting battle with Tyson Griffin and Joe Stevenson falling short of his quest to capture the Lightweight title. This should be a very fun battle and I became a bigger fan of Stevenson after he showed a lot of heart in his battle with Penn. I hope Stevenson bounces back and eventually fights Penn again with the cut hopefully not playing a factor if they do indeed battle again.
MMAMania.com is also reporting that Josh Koscheck and Chris Lytle will also battle at UFC 86
UFC 86 gains some more star power and this fight looks even better after the performances Koscheck and Lytle put on in their previous fights. Koshceck actually showed a good stand up game to go along with his wrestling pedigree and Lytle has stated since his loss to Matt Serra that he's going balls to wall in every fight from here on out. This could be a very fun fight on a card that is starting to look stronger by the day.
Also at UFC 86 Ricardo Almeida will battle Patrick Cote according to FightNetwork.com
Speaking of the UFC 86 card getting stronger. This fight could determine who faces Yushin Okami for the right to face Anderson Silva and a shot at the Middleweight title (pending Silva's involvement in a boxing match against Roy Jones). This is one of those "styles makes fights" bout with Cote loving to stand up and Almeida strength being grappling. I'm very interested in seeing this fight.
According to MMAWeekly.com, Corey Hill vs. Justin Buchholz is scheduled to take place at UFC 86
I don't think this fight will make TV unless another fight ends quickly. With Griffin/Jackson, Stevenson/Tibau, Koscheck/Lytle, and Almeida/Cote already announced/in the works and other fighters being available, I think the PPV audience will once again be robbed of seeing Corey Hill. Hill didn't prove too much in his first fight against Joe Veres but there's still a lot of hype surrounding the lanky Lightweight. Buchholz is a good fighter but a guy Hill needs to beat if he wants to take that next step.
Dana White On…
Kurt Angle vs. Randy Couture in a Grappling Match
Are both of these guys fucking serious? Randy Couture left UFC for this? I still think Randy Couture is one of the best Heavyweights in the world but why is he reducing himself to this? Kurt Angle isn't fucking serious about MMA and a grappling contest is the closest thing he's going to come to MMA. This whole thing is a joke and everyone is fucking crazy if they don't think Randy Couture will school Kurt Angle. A fucking joke.
UFC Fighter News & Notes
According to NBCSports.com, Anderson Silva vs. Roy Jones Jr. talks have heated up as of late and it's up to UFC to clear Silva to compete
No chance of this happening. Dana White isn't dumb enough to risk the #1 fighter in the world to a potential ass kicking. Roy Jones might be out of his prime but he's still a professional boxed while Anderson Silva is a professional mixed martial artist. Everyone likes to bring up the Boxing vs. MMA argument and who would win and the smart fans know that the winner depends on the sport. Anderson Silva wouldn't last 12 rounds with Roy Jones in a boxing fight and Roy Jones wouldn't last 5 rounds with Anderson Silva in a MMA fight. Risking top guys to prove some notion that one sport is better than the other is dumb. Anderson should continue to dominate the world of MMA and leave boxing alone.
Top 5
Reasons EXC will flop on CBS
5. Lacks Chuck Liddell
4. Gary Shaw is in charge
3. Kimbo Slice isn't the draw that he's thought to be
2. Nobody watches CBS unless Britney Spears is on it
1. It's not UFC
Other MMA News & Notes
EliteXC/ProElite has reportedly offered Fedor Emelianenko a 4 fight, 7 year figure contract
"Ya'll got drama, the saga continues." Fedor is like that top notch free agent in any sport that every team wants, only a handful of teams have the money for, only two teams can meet his extra terms, and only one team can sign him. EXC obviously wants Fedor (who isn't a proven draw in America) for one of their CBS shows so they can boast in their advertisements that they have arguably the best fighter in the world. It's not a bad move for EXC because it's never a bad move to try and sign the top free agent in the market but the money they could potentially give him may not be worth the reward.
CageSideLive.net is reporting that Phil Baroni vs. Murilo ‘Ninja' Rua has been booked for the EXC debut on CBS on May 31st
Love him or hate him, Phil Baroni gives you a show. I may have said that last week but it's worth repeating. This is good fight for EXC to put on the first CBS show because Baroni is going to bring it and ‘Ninja' Rua is a good fighter.
ProElite.com reports that Robbie Lawler will defend his EXC Middleweight Title against Scott Smith on the first EXC on CBS show
So Robbie Lawler has 2 months to get injured and pull out of this fight. What's the over under on when the injury occurs? Someone start a pool and count me in. If the fight happens, it should be a fun slugfest and something the potential new fans will want to see. I'm not holding my breath on it happening though.
WEC announced that June 1st in Sacremento will play host to Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver for the WEC Featherweight title
And the biggest WEC fight finally gets a date. I'm obviously looking forward to this fight as Jens Pulver always brings it at 145 and Urijah Faber just always brings it. While I think Faber will roll through Pulver, this is still the biggest fight in WEC history.
HDNet plans to air the grappling contest between Randy Couture and Kurt Angle
As a huge Randy Couture fan and a fan of wrestling and all the great matches Kurt Angle has put on, I have some interest in this. It gives me a chance to see Randy Couture compete for the first time since last August and a chance to see Kurt Angle compete in MMA to the extent that he's going to compete in MMA. I thought Couture will school Angle but Kurt is the kind of guy that if he sets his mind to do something, he's going to do it to the best of his ability.
Sid Needelman catches a few words with Phil Baroni and brings some trivia.
Matt McEwen reviews UFC 36: Worlds Collide featuring known names such as Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, Andrei Arlovski, Josh Barnett, and others.
Randy Harrison reviews DREAM 1 featuring the first round of the Lightweight Grand Prix and Mirko Cro Cop.
AND IT'S ALL OVER~!
That wraps it up for me everyone. I should be back next week but if not, I'm likely dead thanks to no skateboarding experience, idiotic thinking, and a half pipe. Enjoy the huge weekend full of plenty of wrestling and fighting.
