The MMA News Report 04.16.08
Posted by Morgan Marx on 04.16.2008
News on Miguel Torres, Yoshiro Maeda, and Manny Tapia. Plus, when will Elite XC's second CBS show take place. And, a look at 5 themes for UFC 83 focusing on the expectations heading into the event.
INTRODUCTION
We're flying through the column this week.
MAILBAG/RANT TIME
I'm really surprised I haven't seen this mentioned more on the Intertubes, but did you catch the Sports Illustrated piece on Lee Murray? SI writer L. Jon Wertheim did a fantastic job telling the crazy story of Murray, a former promising MMA athlete turned apparent criminal mastermind. Murray is known for a variety of things. First and foremost, he is a heavy-handed striker that holds a win over Jorge Rivera in the UFC. Murray is also the last man to go three rounds with current UFC champion Anderson Silva. Though outgunned, Murray gave The Spider all he could handle.
On the seedier side, Murray also has a reputation for being involved in street fights, including a few that left the Brit sporting stab wounds. Murray stars in one of the biggest UFC legends. After a UFC PPV in England, Murray found himself in a street brawl involving several big name stars, including Chuck Liddell. The story goes that Murray found himself squaring off against the much larger Tito Ortiz. Murray ended up knocking Ortiz out cold. I imagine Dana White still gets a chuckle out of that story.
Today, Murray sits in a Moroccan jail, accused of organizing "the largest cash heist in history," according to the article. Murray is awaiting a decision on whether he will be extradited back to England to face charges for robbing a Securitas cash deposit site along with several others. The heist involved fake police uniforms, identity-altering makeup, kidnapping, heavy artillery, and a ton of planning.
The story is incredible. Wertheim does a great job chronicling both the robbery and giving background on Murray. The MMA aspects of the story are treated properly (thankfully Murray didn't triangle any guards). Silva comes off as the biggest name in MMA. At one point Wertheim calls Silva "the Zeus of MMA." High praise for the fighter many thought would lose to Dan Henderson.
Anyway, if you get a chance to check out the April 14 edition of SI, read the Murray story. It's not quite an SI profile of Silva, but it's a great read.
NEWS LEG KICKS
Maeda to Face Torres at WEC 34
Japanese fighter Yoshiro Maeda will step in as an injury replacement opposite WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres, according to MMAMania.com. The fight will take place June 1 on the card featuring Jens Pulver's attempt to capture Urijah Faber's featherweight title.
Torres was originally set to defend his title against Manny Tapia , but a knee injury scrapped those plans. Maeda, a former PRDIE and DEEP veteran, will instead be the first competitor to face Torres as champion.
Torres recently won the 135-pound title by submitting Chase Beebe in the first round of their fight in February. The victory immediately increased Torres exposure. Though the jiu jitsu fighter has an incredible record of 32-1, he was largely unheralded in MMA circles more in tune with The Ultimate Fighter than organizations like Ironheart Crown (myself included).
Maeda will have a chance to capitalize on Torres' newfound notoriety. Maeda, 26, recently knocked out Charlie Valencia with a viscous body kick. Maeda and Torres should put on an exciting bout, though it will be interesting to see if Maeda can handle Torres' submission skills.
Buried beneath updates on Big Brother and Greatest American Dog comes confirmation that CBS has scheduled the second installment of Elite XC. The second live broadcast of MMA on network TV will take place Saturday, July 26. No other details have been released on the event.
You don't want to read too much into an announcement like this. At best, it signifies that CBS is committed to Elite XC beyond the debut event. Elite XC is depending on a solid performance in the ratings department from the debut show, which features several of the roster's top stars, including Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano. Slice last fought in February, defeating Tank Abbott via strikes. The July date makes me doubt Kimbo would be prepared to fight again just two months after his upcoming fight against James Thompson. Whether Elite XC can hold a show on CBS without its top star is a big question.
1. The Canadian Audience UFC 83 seems to be a night full of expectations. From the main event to the betting line, fans ordering the PPV broadcast will bring a variety of preconceived notions to the show. Even the audience in attendance has some pressure to perform. After an instantaneous sellout, expectations are high that the Montreal crowd will be one of the largest and loudest to attend a UFC event. Canadian crowds have always performed well at WWE events, often bringing more knowledge and passion to the table than their American counterparts. I would expect the same from the Canadian MMA fans.
As much as the American MMA audience has changed in the past few years, UFC crowds are still stereotyped as somewhat lowbrow. Ground fights are sometimes met with boos, TUF fighters get more attention then they deserve, and the overall knowledge of worldwide MMA probably isn't that great at events like Fight Night 13. Hopefully, on a night stocked with native fighters, the Canadian crowd delivers. A great fight can become an epic event with tremendous crowd support.
2. Have we set the bar too high for GSP? I'm picking Georges St-Pierre to defeat Matt Serra in their rematch for the UFC welterweight strap. So are you. In fact, almost anyone that has watched an MMA fight is touting GSP to avenge his loss. But I'm afraid we've once again overlooked Matt Serra's abilities to make this fight interesting. Will UFC fans be disappointed if GSP doesn't obliterate Serra within the first three minutes?
There's a good chance that Serra's determination and ability to sustain punishment will force this fight into the later rounds. Serra's record serves as a reminder that he can take a superior fighter past the second round. It's not likely that Serra lands another one-in-a-million punch (or somehow finishes GSP from his back). But it may be equally unlikely that St-Pierre will blow though Serra like Matt Hughes.
St-Pierre is an intelligent and patient fighter. He may be more than willing to play it safe until Serra slips up. I don't think that this fight will go the distance, but hopefully fans aren't expecting another quick finish.
3. A night of favorites I was surprised at how heavily the favorites were…umm…favored by the posted betting lines. It seems that people are once against expecting the "big name" fighters like St-Pierre, Franklin, and Bisping to roll over their respective opponents. After a year and half of stunning upsets, you'd think that fans and handicappers alike would be more realistic in their pre-fight predictions.
The GSP line is once again astronomically high. Yet the line for Mac Danzig v. Mark Bocek is even higher. I'm a big Danzig supporter, but are we to believe that he's head and shoulders above Bocek, an extremely talented grappler in his own right? I am nowhere near comfortable with MMA betting (even after the 53 part MMAJunkie explanation piece). But it seems like there is a lot of money to be made by picking just one upset at UFC 83. Now, if we only knew which one.
4. Can the TUF champs start in the right direction? Danzig will be making his first official UFC appearance (discounting the reality show and an old WEC fight). Michael Bisping will be fighting at 185. Both are heavily favored over somewhat dangerous opponents. Are you willing to be that both will cruise to victory?
Bisping is a polarizing fighter. A lot of fans seem put off by his perceived arrogance. Bisping seems incapable of letting slights slip by, responding to every negative quote from the fighter he's preparing to face. Charles McCarthy, a completely forgettable fighter, has taken the opportunity to rile Bisping up with a bunch of interview appearances. Bisping can't afford to slip up in his new weight class against a fighter like McCarthy. If the Brit every wants to be taken seriously as a potential title challenger, he has to run roughshod over "the Chainsaw."
Danzig seems to know the bind he's in against Bocek. Like Bisping, Danzig blew through substandard competition on TUF. The going gets much tougher in the UFC, as fighters like Kendall Grove have found. Danzig has a wealth of experience and is not the sort of fighter to take an opponent lightly. Hopefully, fans will understand that he's facing a talented foe if Danzig doesn't look quite as impressive. Not every fighter can make you look like a superstar like Tommy Speer.
5. Will fans ever forgive Travis Lutter? I'm still surprised at the vitriol Lutter faced after failing to make weight against Anderson Silva. After one weight in, Lutter went from an unheralded TUF reject that didn't deserve a title shot, to a talented fighter that wasted an opportunity to dethrone Silva. If half the fans that now claim Lutter could have pounded out Silva though that prior to their fight, perhaps Lutter would have been more motivated during the arduous weight cutting process.
The jiu jitsu fighter returns against the always game Rich Franklin. I'm not sure if this match up benefits Lutter, but I'm hoping he puts on a good show. I don't think Lutter deserved nearly the amount of criticism he received for his debacle. In the past, I've ranted against the typical sports journalist rebuke, "You don't know about it unless you've played the game." In this one instance, I can't really criticize Lutter for something I've never gone through. How many MMA fans have cut the 23 pounds that Lutter left himself before his title shot? Lutter tried to squeeze out every advantage he could, and it backfired. Hopefully, he's learned a lesson and UFC fans are willing to forgive and forget, so long as he comes to fight.
PICKS
Georges St-Pierre over Matt Serra, TKO
Rich Franklin over Travis Lutter, TKO
Kalib Starnes over Nathan Quarry, Decision
Michael Bisping over Charles McCarthy, TKO
Mac Danzig over Mark Bocek, Decision
Jason MacDonald over Joe Doerksen, Submission
Alan Belcher over Jason Day, KO
Damien Maia over Ed Herman, Submission
Sam Stout over Rich Clementi, Decision
Cain Velasquez over Brad Morris, Decision
Kuniyoshi Hironaka over Jonathan Goulet, Submission
CONCLUSION
Enjoy the show, check out all the various previews and recaps on 411Mania, and I'll see you next week.
There's a lot more to the Lee Murray story than him just being a streetfighter. However, people won't talk about all the other stuff behind it, except those who don't know all that much and just want to be known. He was apparently a cheeky, likeable and professional guy in MMA but the story outside the cage is very different.
Also, he didn't lay a glove on Anderson Silva, who just danced around Murray for three rounds.
Posted By: Mike Farrow (Registered) on April 16, 2008 at 04:27 AM
Good to see you around Farrow!
Posted By: highone (Registered) on April 16, 2008 at 10:14 AM
"TUF fighters get more attention then they deserve,"
How do TUF fighters get more attention than they deserve? These guys are largely the reason for the surge in MMA in the states. I do understand that some of them do not deserve the positions they are in, not all are great fighters, but they do deserve the attention. I'd venture to say, that without TUF, Elite XC might not have a Network TV deal.
Posted By: Toddo (Guest) on April 16, 2008 at 11:35 AM
I read the SI story on Lee Murray. The street brawl story was awesome. Especially the part with Murray supposedly beating Tito Ortiz's ass in the street.
I'm personally afraid of Lee Murray after reading that story.
Posted By: Dustin James (Registered) on April 16, 2008 at 12:11 PM
