The MMA News Report 04.30.08
Posted by Morgan Marx on 04.30.2008
A plethora of news updates including: Roger Huerta’s next UFC fight, Mayhem’s next non-UFC fight, additions to WEC’s next card, Kimbo as coverboy, and a new UFC partnership. Also, thoughts on news you already know, including why Franklin v. Henderson might not be such a great idea.
INTRODUCTION
I'm back after a sun filled weekend at Coachella. Boo to horrible parking lot management, yay to solid performances all round. But you'll have to check out the Music Zone for thoughts on all things Flogging Molly. Instead, we're here to talk about MMA, and the news gods didn't disappoint this week. So let's get to it.
MAILBAG/RANT TIME
The Reader's Question: Will the UFC's roster binge help or hurt MMA?
NEWS LEG KICKS
Florian v. Huerta in Minnesota?
Rumors of fight between highly ranked lightweights Roger Huerta and Kenny Florian have gained more credence thanks to confirmations coming from both camps. Though no official word has come down from the UFC, sources have stated that the fight will take place in Minnesota at UFC 87, according to MMAWeekly.com.
Even at this early date, one would have to consider the match a potential ‘fight of the year" candidate. Both fighters possess tremendous heart and determination. Both are currently riding winning streaks (Huerta at 6, Florian at 4). And both fighters are coming off impressive performances in their last UFC appearances.
A lightweight title shot against the winner of BJ Penn v. Sean Sherk hangs in the balance for Florian and Huerta. If Huerta were to dispose of Florian, he would answer critics claiming that his record has been padded with less than stellar opposition. Florian would surely earn another title shot with another impressive victory.
UFC 87 is already slated to feature Brock Lesnar's second UFC performance, when the big wrestler takes on former UFC tournament winner Mark Coleman. Both Lesnar and Huerta hail from Minnesota and should receive strong fan support. A headlining fight is expected to be announced in the future.
Jason "Mayhem" Miller has confirmed that we will be appearing at DREAM 3 on May 11. Miller announced that he would be fighting Japanese professional wrestler Katsuyori Shibata, according to MMANews.com.
As much as I understand Miller's desire to entertain fans, I can't help but be disappointed by this announcement. It's getting difficult to tell how good Miller is at 185. Shibata is a heavyweight with a sub-par 2-3 record, including three straight losses. Will a victory really bolster Miller's status in the middleweight ranks?
At 20-5, Miller's record speaks for itself. Miller's decision loss to UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is just as impressive as victories over the likes of Denis Kang and Robbie Lawler. Miller's recent decision victory over Tim Kennedy proved that Mayhem is still a talent, though he had to work hard to secure the nod. If Miller found a stable home in a respected organization, he could easily be a title contender.
Instead, Miller will once again be fighting in an "attraction bout," much like his win over Stefan Gamlin (of the 0-3 record and 362 lbs.). There are many fighters I would like see inside the UFC (such as Jake Shields) to accurately gauge their talent against top level competition. With Miller, I'd just like to see him within any organization in the States. Even Elite XC.
While Miguel Torres will defend his WEC bantamweight title live on Versus, former champion Chase Beebe will be appearing on the undercard portion of the show. Beebe will face Brazilian Will Ribeiro on the June 1 card, according to MMAWeekly.com.
Beebe will be looking to bounce back from just the first stoppage loss in his career. Though some expected the former standout wrestler to become a lighter version of Urijah Faber (that would be me), Beebe was submitted in the first round against the ultra-prolific Torres. A strong showing against Ribeiro will remind fans of Beebe's capabilities.
Ribeiro will be looking to make a name for himself in the US. Fighting in Brazil, Ribeiro amassed a good record against lower quality opponents (lots of .500 records on his hit list). Anyone that finishes seven of their first eight professional fights has to be taken seriously, but I doubt Ribeiro has faced anyone with Beebe's game. Though Ribeiro has yet to be finished, I expect Beebe to take things to the ground and end things early with a submission.
The undercard slot should allow Beebe to enter the fight with less pressure than if he were appearing alongside Torres and Faber.
The UFC recently announced via its website that the company has partnered with Internet ticket brokerage outfit StubHub to assist fan-to-fan ticket sales. StubHub is the largest online ticket marketplace, as well as an official partner with 29 MLB teams.
It can be hard to defend these online ticket conglomerates. I don't think anyone is pleased with the current ticket sales model, one that saw tickets to the recent UFC event in Montreal sellout almost instantaneously. Some writers have been negative (i.e., issuing death threats) in regards to this partnership, focusing on the exorbitant prices tickets can fetch through StubHub. While true, there are some positives.
For one, fans desperate to go to a live UFC event now have an outlet to secure tickets (so long as they're willing to pay the price). StubHub is a reliable source of tickets, much more so (in my opinion) than sites like EBay or Craigslist. While not a huge StubHub supporter, I have gone through the site for events I was willing to empty my bank account over (TOOL shows, lots of TOOL shows).
Ideally, one would like an Internet brokerage site where unwanted tickets could be sold at face value. That model works with the MLB (I'm thinking Red Sox here) due to the large quantity of games and unwanted season tickets. With the smaller number of shows of the UFC (and the limited engagements in all cities other than Vegas) means that this might be the best plan for fans currently available.
Ideally, you don't want to see the common fan priced out of attending events by corporate ticket holders and scalpers. Granted, since the "average" fan is typecast as an ignorant redneck all too willing to boo fighters, perhaps that's not a bad idea.
Kimbo Slice has been selected as the second MMA fighter to appear on the cover of ESPN the Magazine. The Elite XC heavyweight joins Chuck Liddell and Roger Huerta in the brotherhood of "fighters on reputable magazine covers" (Huerta, as we all know, was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated). According to MMAJunkie.com, the article will appear in next month's edition of the mag.
This is just another instance of how Kimbo may turn into the new face of MMA. While there are countless fighters with more experience and more impressive records, Kimbo has jumped to the head of the pack when it comes to marketability. So long as Kimbo keeps winning, the spotlight will only grow brighter.
Correct me if I'm wrong (not like I had to encourage you readers in that department), but Kimbo appeared in a mostly-positive piece on ESPN last year on the E:60. Between that and the coverage Liddell received in the magazine, there's no reason to assume that the article will focus on the negatives of the Kimbo experience. Despite his past, there's no reason the Kimbo can't convert both hardcore and mainstream fans alike with the proper spin. Personally, I've done somewhat of a 180 on Kimbo. I don't think he's ready to take on Chuck, but I'm obviously not banning Kimbo talk in my column anymore.
Either way, check out the magazine when it's released to find out whether Kimbo comers off as a savior or sinner.
1. Matt Hughes v. Thiago Alves While not quite Liddell v. Rua, Matt Hughes has salvaged the main event slot at UFC 85 by agreeing to take on up-and-coming contender Thiago Alves. Though the fight won't be on of Hughes' most hyped events, it may be one of his most interesting. It will certainly be better than Hughes v. Riggs at least.
Hughes deserves credit for taking this fight at this point in his career. While St-Pierre can make anyone look terrible, one has to wonder if Hughes' dominant days are a thing of the past. Alves is good, but he doesn't carry the biggest name. A loss for Hughes would certainly signal the beginning of the end.
Hughes has made a point of reminding people that win or lose, he will still fight Matt Serra later this year. That's great news for anyone that wants to watch Serra get absolutely mauled for however long Hughes wants to inflict punishment. But that quote also leads me to believe Hughes is already giving himself leeway for a loss to Alves. It sounds like he's mentally preparing himself for a rough night.
That's not to suggest that Alves is going to run roughshod over a former great. A motivated, in-form Hughes has the ability to ground any fighter. While Alves is a BJJ fighter, only one of his victories has come via submission. If Alves can't keep the fight standing, Hughes will likely walk away the winner.
Either way, it will be great to watch Hughes in an interesting fight that matters. Like many post-Zuffa UFC newcomers, Hughes was one of my first favorites upon entering the sport. Though his demeanor can rub some fans the wrong way, there's no doubt he's one of the top three fighters ever to grace the octagon. I'm not sure a Hughes v. GSP III will ever take place (much in the same way we won't be seeing Franklin v. Silva for a while). But I would love to see Hughes regain his past swagger, mow through Alves and Serra, and then look to score one last impressive victory. Whether Hughes competes for the welterweight strap one last time, faces nemesis BJ Penn in a decisive battle, or decides to move up a weight class, I think he's got another run in him. Hopefully, he trains accordingly.
2. Franklin v. Henderson Based on a brief reference in a Dave Meltzer column, many are speculating about a potential fight between Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson, two former middleweight champions (or did Hendo hold onto the PRIDE title after losing to Silva?). Like many fans, my first inclination is to cheer the fight. Franklin can test himself against a top five opponent that doesn't own his soul, and Henderson gets another chance at scoring a big UFC victory. But that last bit troubles me. Can the UFC really afford to risk another Henderson loss?
In the rush to crown Henderson as the man "totally capable of beating Anderson Silva," many columnists failed to consider the implications of a Henderson loss. Henderson is now 0-2 in his current UFC run, and in many newer fans, he still hasn't had a defining moment. Sure, his decision loss to Rampage was impressive, and he is the first fighter to a win a round off Silva in the UFC. But if Henderson drops to 0-3, can we really make any excuses for him?
The UFC is currently trimming its roster, focusing on expensive deadweight. How will an 0-3 Henderson (and his salary) fit into the UFC plans. At that point, it may be too late to build Henderson up through a series of lesser fights. Henderson doesn't have the exposure in the US to carry an event by himself, meaning he needs to be matched with a known opponent. Henderson is too dangerous to be placed opposite someone like Michael Bisping (say goodbye to Bisping's run at middleweight gold if that were to happen), yet he hasn't shown the ability to handle the upper echelon UFC fighters.
If the fight does happen, I'm sure many will tout Henderson as the favorite. Franklin hasn't faced a wrestler with Henderson's accolades, and he again showed weaknesses in the ground game against Travis Lutter. But Franklin has surprised us before, and Henderson has that annoying habit of trading on his feet when taking the fight down is the right thing to do. If Franklin wins, Henderson's title ambitions at 185 will be effectively over. And with the current UFC outlook, so might his UFC career
3. DREAM Thoughts Like many fans, I'm dying for a credible alternative to the UFC's borderline monopoly on MMA. I love the WEC, but that hardly counts. Without a Showtime subscription, I haven't yet fallen under the Elite XC spell (and ‘m not that thrilled with their roster). For all intents and purposes, I'm waiting for a Japanese organization to fill the void. A deal with HDNet would instantly push DREAM to the top of my list. With that in mind, I checked out the more interesting fights from DREAM II.
With any Japanese organization, you're going to have to accept wonky rules, odd booking, and a preponderance of aging "legends." DREAM comes with all those hallmarks, but the quality of the fighters mostly makes up for the mistakes. Denis Kang, Aoki, JZ, and Jacare all count as top tier fighters in my book, so I'm willing to suffer through the likes of Tamura v. Funaki.
While Kazushi "I really shouldn't be fighting 0-0 karate guys" Sakuraba was the headliner, the most intriguing match was the "redo" between Shinya Aoki and JZ Calvancante. I'm an unabashed supported of Aoki's ground game (and his gorgeous tights), but even I was disappointed by the controversial end to their first go round. I'm glad that Aoki came out inspired. JZ had no answer for Aoki's will to keep the fight a jiu jitsu contest. While it may not be the most entertaining style for al fans, you have to give credit to Aoki for controlling where the fight took place. Plus, he makes the art of pulling guard beautiful.
Elsewhere, Denis Kang once against came up short. After back-to-back losses, Kang's decision to sign outside the UFC seems like less of a loss for Dana White and co. We all know that Kang has the talent to be a world-beater, but his losses are getting more difficult to explain. Kang was dominating the early goings against Gegard Mousasi, but fell prey to what seemed like an avoidable triangle. Having been stopped eight times in his career, it seems that Kang is more a B tier fighter than I would have guessed.
Ian Murphy may develop into an excellent MMA fighter, but I'm not sure how he found himself facing off against Ronaldo Jacare. Jacare is a tough task for any wrestler, let alone one making his MMA debut. From the opening bell, Jacare put a clinic on Murphy (well, maybe other than that flying knee attempt), controlling Murphy's positioning at every turn. Murphy did survive some early submission attempts, but the end of the fight was almost a foregone conclusion prior to the event. The rear naked choke didn't have the sudden beauty of a Marcus Aurelio armbar. Instead, it had the slow development of a python consuming a sloth. Do pythons eat sloths? Let's assume they do.
All in all, there were some good fights. I love the idea of multi-event tournaments, and there's a good chance we'll see some exciting match-ups down the road. You know, as long as DREAM settles its TV situation and doesn't go belly up first. Here's hoping for that not to happen.
CONCLUSION
Thanks again for reading. Be sure to check out 411 for all the rest of MMA's breaking news later this week. Take care.
