The Fightin' Stance News 05.10.08: At The Last Minute
Posted by Adam Tool on 05.10.2008
It's Saturday which means another edition of The Fightin' Stance News! Chris Leben is out of UFC 85, but who's taking his place? The full card has been announced for Affliction's debut, and there's some big names on it! DREAM 3 is just hours away, and we've got your last look at the card! It's official-Kimbo takes on Chuck! Also be sure to check out part 2 of the Spotlight on The Past vs. The Future! There's more, but you're going to have to click and find out...
It's time again for the Fightin' Stance News. My name is Adam Tool, and I would like to start off by responding to a comment I received last week regarding the Spotlight feature on the past vs. the future.
mir is younger than lesnar...it's not really analagous...a comeback from a
fighter still in his prime isn't really past vs. future...mir's best days could
be ahead...lesnar/coleman fits here, but not mir/lesnar...i don't blame you, you
deserved better editorial oversight as something like that can ruin what was
otherwise a pretty good column
Posted By: romano (Guest) on May 04, 2008 at 09:42 AM
First let me just say I appreciate any and all feedback. That being said, I think you may have missed the point. The feature wasn't designed to look at fights where the competitors had a significant age difference (in fact, aside from Couture I never mentioned anyone's age), instead we were looking at fighters who's biggest achievements were in the past vs. fighters who's best days are ahead of them. Mir hypothetically could still achieve some great things, but it isn't likely. No, it's more probable that his heavyweight title win a few years ago will be the highpoint of his MMA career.
I've got part two of this feature all ready to go for you a little further down. But first…
UFC 85: What Now?
First, a refresher from last week‘s report on Chris Leben serving jail time for a probation violation:
[Leben] will have a hearing on May 8th, after which he expects to return to Hawaii and finish training for next month's bout with Michael Bisping. As of now the fight with Bisping is still on, but there is the possibility that a judge could extend Leben's sentence, which would certainly put the matchup in doubt. -Me, last week
Well that possibility became a reality as Thursday a judge sentenced Leben to 35 days in jail (with credit for eight days already served), meaning "The Crippler" will be released on June 4th and will now be unable to fight as scheduled on June 7th at UFC 85. Yesterday UFC matchmaker Joe Silva confirmed that the Leben/Bisping fight has been postponed. Late Friday it was announced that Jason Day would be taking Leben's place. The fight will still be on the televised portion of the card. Day last competed at UFC 83, where he made his octagon debut and scored a first round TKO of Alan Belcher. Day is currently riding a five fight win streak, and has the potential to upset "The Count" in his home country.
Another big blow to the card in London, after all the injuries and rescheduling done in the wake of Chuck Liddell and "Shogun" Rua's fight. I was looking forward to the Leben/Bisping fight, as I always enjoy a good slugfest. I hope we still get to see that matchup someday down the line, and while Day is certainly not as big of a name as Leben, he brings heavy hands into a fight that could potentially steal the show.
What's Your Affliction?
We have new details and developments on the debut of Affliction, the clothing company turned MMA promoters. First let's review the facts so far. The first show will be July 19th, and will feature a main event of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia. The event was originally scheduled to take place at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, TX, but has since been moved to The Pond in Anaheim, CA. The subtitle for the show is "Banned," which is a subtle nod to the fact that Affliction branded clothing is now being barred from all other organizations.
Now we have more details as well as a full fight card, and here it is:
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia
Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo
Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Negao
Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Mike Whitehead
Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Paul Buentello
Ben Rothwell vs. TBA
Mark Hominick vs. Savant Young
Justin Levens vs. Ray Lazama
Mike Pyle vs. Brett Cooper
J.J. Ambrose vs. Patrick Speight
The report lists the A. Emelianenko/Buentello fight as unconfirmed, however both fighters have agreed to the match. As of now there is still no confirmation on a potential broadcast, although the promoters have expressed an interest in airing the card live on PPV, then on TV (possibly HDNet) a few days later. One interesting note is that of all the big names appearing on the card, only Tim Sylvia has been in the main-event of a show that achieved more than 100,000 buys. It's also being reported that the fights will take place inside a ring, rather than a cage. Finally, Affliction is already looking to put on their second show in October with the winners of the two top fights facing one another.
This card just got a whole lot more intriguing. Obviously the Emelianenko/Sylvia fight is a huge draw for anyone that calls themselves a fan of the sport, but with the addition of guys like Barnett, Lindland, Babalu, Aleksander, Buentello, and Rothwell this show is quickly becoming a must-see event. Some one call up the guys at YAMMA and tell them that this is how you showcase the heavyweights.
Stay up and DREAM
Last week I reported on the news that Nick Diaz had been added to tomorrow's DREAM 3 card. Earlier in the week the news went around that Diaz was off the card, due to EliteXC officials concerns that he would be unable to compete this weekend and then also compete on June 14th, where he is scheduled to face Muhsin Corbbrey. Now, it has been confirmed (again) that Nick Diaz will in fact be a part of DREAM 3 in Japan, then he will return to the U.S. to fight on EliteXC's card in Hawaii on June 14th. As I reported last week, Diaz will be facing Katsuya Inoue, with the winner taking on Hayato Sakurai at DREAM 5 for the welterweight championship. Hopefully Diaz has no problems clearing customs (those dogs have excellent noses y'know) and the fight goes down as planned.
Here's the full card for DREAM 3 (although don't be surprised if it changes)
Lightweight Grand Prix Second Round:
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Luis Buscape
Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Caol Uno
Joachim Hansen vs. Eddie Alvarez
Jason Miller vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Takeshi Yamazaki vs. Shoji Maruyama
Melvin Manhoef vs. Kim Dae Won
Daisuke Nakamura vs. Bu Kung Jung
Nick Diaz vs. Katsuya Inoue
As you can see there's only three fights in the lightweight grand prix, due to Shinya Aoki's injuries his bout with Katsuhiko Nagata is being postponed until DREAM 4 on June 15th. This will be the first DREAM card to air live here in the U.S. You can watch the show live on HDNet tomorrow morning at 3 am ET, or you can catch a replay of the event at 4 pm ET. If you are without HD goodness (like myself) then be sure to check back here at 411mania as our own Randy Harrison will be covering the event LIVE as it happens.
Kimbo vs. Chuck…sort of
Later this month Kimbo Slice will headline the first ever live night of fights on network television, when EliteXC presents "Primetime" on May 31st on CBS. Slice will be facing James Thompson in the night's main-event. Now it appears that Kimbo and EliteXC will have another opponent: Chuck Liddell.
In a counter-programming move that's sure to attract plenty of casual fans, the UFC and Spike will air three hours of programming on Saturday, May 31st, starting at 8 pm ET (one hour before the EliteXC broadcast begins). The block will begin with "Ultimate Knockouts 4," which features "The Iceman" and some of his most memorable finishes. Following that is the premiere of "Ultimate Iceman: The Chuck Liddell Story," which is an hour-long documentary following Liddell's career as a fighter as well as his personal life away from the cage. Finally the block caps off with "UFC Unleashed Special Edition: Silva vs. Liddell," which will show the entire fight between Liddell and former PRIDE champion Wanderlei Silva from UFC 79. It'll be the first time the fight airs on cable television.
Obviously this is a clever move on the UFC's part, as they're putting their biggest star up against EliteXC's most important event. Outside of running their own live event, this is the certainly the strongest show Spike could put on. However as Randy Harrison mentioned yesterday in Five Rounds Of News, it's a win-win situation for Viacom, who owns both CBS and Spike TV. I know I'll be watching EliteXC, but the possibility is definitely there for the UFC to steal some viewers away.
The Past vs. The Future Part 2
Last week we looked at five fights that matched up an MMA veteran against a young up-and-comer. I'll admit that not all the fights we looked at fit this description perfectly, but in all honesty the real point of this feature was to showcase these fights that are coming up very soon. So let us once again take a look at the past vs. the future, starting with the event that will feature two of these fights.
Keith Jardine
vs.
Wanderlei Silva UFC 84: Ill Will - May 24th, 2008
Keith Jardine came to UFC fan's attention on season 2 of "The Ultimate Fighter," but his run on the show was ended by eventual winner Rashad Evans. After that Jardine went down to his more natural weight class at light heavyweight, and his post "TUF" career was a series of ups-and-downs. He won his first two fights in the octagon, but then dropped a tough decision to Stephan Bonnar. He bounced back with victories over Wilson Gouveia and Forrest Griffin, but then he was knocked out by the (at the time) unknown Houston Alexander. Following the Alexander fight Jardine was given the biggest fight of his life, against Chuck Liddell in the main event at UFC 76. Although nobody gave "The Dean Of Mean" much of a chance, he worked a solid gameplan and got the decision victory over the former light heavyweight champion.
When MMA fans talk about the glory days of PRIDE FC, there is one name that's sure to come up, Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva. Although he did compete in the UFC early in his career (going a dismal 1-2), Silva didn't become a true legend of the sport until he competed in PRIDE, where he went undefeated for twenty fights. In 2001 he defeated Kazushi Sakuraba (for the second time) and won the PRIDE middleweight (205 lbs.) title. He would hold that championship for just over five years, before finally losing it to Dan Henderson at PRIDE 33 in February 2007. Shortly after that the UFC purchased PRIDE and began negotiations to bring Wanderlei back to the octagon. He made his first UFC appearance in over seven years at UFC 79, where he lost a tough decision to Chuck Liddell.
Going into this fight both competitors have a lot to lose. Jardine is riding high off his win over "The Iceman," and a big victory here could propel him to title contention while a loss would deflate all that momentum. Meanwhile Silva is now 0-3 in his last three fights. Granted, those losses were to names like Cro Cop, Henderson and Liddell, but there's no doubt that Wanderlei needs to get back to winning if he wants to stay relevant in modern MMA. Personally I'm pulling for Silva, because I like watching him fight. The guy explodes out of the corner and is guaranteed to put on an exciting show no matter who the opponent.
Lyoto Machida
vs.
Tito Ortiz UFC 84: Ill Will - May 24th, 2008
When you use the term "rising star," there's a good chance you're talking about Lyoto Machida. Currently boasting an undefeated record of 12-0, Machida has been impressing fans since his debut in 2003. Even though his career is relatively young, he already has some big notches on his belt. Machida holds victories over notable fighters like B.J. Penn, Rich Franklin and Stephan Bonnar. Even with his outstanding record, it took awhile for UFC fans to warm up to Machida. This was likely due to the fact that his first three fights in the octagon were won by decision. At UFC 79 however, everyone had to stand up and take notice when Machida submitted fellow up-and-comer Rameau Sokoudjou. All the hype that was on Sokoudjou immediately transferred over to Machida, and now he's preparing for his biggest challenge yet in the UFC.
That challenge comes in the form of former long-time light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz. Ortiz has a record of 15-5-1, and only one of those fights took place outside of the UFC. Inside the octagon Ortiz has beaten Wanderlei Silva, Evan Tanner, Ken Shamrock (3 times), Forrest Griffin, and Vitor Belfort. He held the UFC light heavyweight championship for over three years, before losing to UFC hall-of-famer Randy Couture. For a long time Ortiz was the poster-boy for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and he was in the main-event of UFC 66 which still holds the record as the most watched UFC PPV.
As most people know, this will be Tito's last dance in the octagon. His very public battle with UFC president Dana White has caused Ortiz to take his ball and head home (or to another organization). With that in mind, there's no doubt who the UFC wants to win. Machida is quickly rising up the ladder at 205, and with a win over Ortiz there's no reason he shouldn't be the next in line for a shot at the title. I predict a big win for Lyoto here, and that will be the last time we see Tito Ortiz with UFC gloves on.
Urijah Faber
vs.
Jens Pulver WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver - June 1st, 2008
We don't have featherweight rankings here at 411, but if we did there's no doubt in my mind that Urijah Faber would be #1. He's only lost once in his career (to a much larger Tyson Griffin), and that was almost three years ago. Since winning the WEC featherweight championship in March of 2006, Faber has defeated Joe Pearson, Dominic Cruz, Chance Farrar, and most recently Jeff Curran. The man (who looks like a kid) has outstanding conditioning, brutal strength, and some sick submission skills. As of right now, he looks to be unbeatable.
Speaking of unbeatable, Jens Pulver has been just that whenever he competes at 145 lbs. Pulver made his debut in the UFC in 1999, going to a draw with Alfonso Alcarez. After that "Lil Evil" racked up three straight wins and was pitted against Caol Uno to determine the first UFC lightweight champion. Pulver won the title and successfully defended it against B.J. Penn and Dennis Hallman. He was stripped of the title when he left the UFC due to a contract dispute, and it would be over four years before he returned. In the meantime Pulver competed in a variety of organizations such as Shooto and PRIDE, and he never lost when he fought at 145 lbs. He returned to the UFC in late 2006, losing to Joe Lauzon before becoming a coach on season five of "The Ultimate Fighter." At the show's finale he lost to B.J. Penn, and then announced his intentions to drop to 145 and fight in WEC. He won his WEC debut in just 35 seconds, choking out Cub Swanson.
It's fair to say that this is the biggest fight in WEC's short history. It's certainly the biggest fight ever to contested over the WEC featherweight championship. It's still hard to say exactly how good Pulver is in this day and age. He looked impressive against Swanson, but we can't forget his quick defeat against Joe Lauzon just a few years ago. Meanwhile Faber has been unstoppable in each of his fights, showing a ton of skill along with the ability to impose his will against anyone he faces. I'm going to give the edge to Faber, because honestly I'm not sure if anybody can beat him right now.
Thiago Alves
vs.
Matt Hughes UFC 85: Bedlam - June 7th, 2008
Since first entering the octagon in 2005, Thiago Alves has been a tough fighter to nail down. He lost his debut fight against Spencer Fisher (by submission), then won his next two fights in impressive fashion. After that he ran into the Mack truck known as Jon Fitch, but he bounced back and won his next four fights against guys like Tony DeSouza and Chris Lytle. The fight that really got people talking about Thiago Alves happened last month at Fight Night 13. There, Alves overwhelmed former title contender Karo Parisyan, dropping him with a knee and finishing with strikes. After that win the rumor began circulating that "The Pitbull" would be next in line for a welterweight title shot.
There's one man who knows all about fighting for the welterweight title, because he's done it more times than anyone else in history. As we discussed last week, Hughes is the most dominant welterweight in UFC history, winning and defending the belt nine times. Now it seems as though his career is nearly over, as he said himself on "The Ultimate Fighter" that he thinks he's only got 2-3 more fights left in him. It's clear that he won't be receiving another shot at the title anytime soon as he's already lost twice to the man on top, Georges St. Pierre.
This is an intriguing matchup. Hughes was clearly dominated by GSP in his last fight, but let's not forget who we're talking about here. Matt Hughes has the skills to beat anyone, as there are few who can match his power and stuff his takedowns. Thiago looked impressive against Parisyan, and it would appear that he's only getting better as his career goes on. A win over Hughes would firmly cement him in the top-tier at 170 lbs, and a title shot wouldn't be too far behind. However my gut tells me that this is going to be a return to form for Matt Hughes, although I reserve the right to change my pick once we get closer to the fight.
Kendall Grove
vs.
Evan Tanner The Ultimate Fighter Finale - June 21st, 2008
We come now to the man who is almost a forgotten "TUF" champion, Kendall "Da Spyder" Grove. After winning the competition in season 3, Grove picked up victories against Chris Price and Alan Belcher, and all signs pointed to another success story from "The Ultimate Fighter." Then Grove ran into the fist of Patrick Cote and suffered his first loss in the octagon. He was then pitted against Jorge Rivera, and again Grove came up short. Now people are questioning his chin, and wondering if he has what it takes to succeed inside the UFC.
Evan Tanner made his MMA debut more than ten years ago, and quickly racked up a 22-2 record before he made his octagon debut at UFC 29. He then went on to challenge Tito Ortiz for the light heavyweight title, but was KO'ed in just 32 seconds. After his loss to Rich Franklin at UFC 42 Tanner decided to drop down to middleweight, where he picked up wins over Phil Baroni (twice), Robbie Lawler, and David Terrell. The fight with Terrell was for the vacant UFC middleweight championship, however Tanner would drop the belt in his first defense against Franklin (who had also dropped down a weight class). It wasn't long after that Tanner disappeared from the UFC, to set up a foundation for disadvantaged athletes. The plans fell through, and Tanner battled alcoholism before finally returning to the UFC in March, where he was defeated by Yushin Okami.
For Grove, this fight is a must-win. Should he lose to Tanner that would drop his UFC record to 3-3, and with all the roster cuts being made it's likely that Grove would find himself on the unemployment line. For Tanner a win would certainly help his comeback attempt, but at this point it would seem that he has enough goodwill built up with the UFC brass that he should have a job there no matter what. Although I'll be rooting for Tanner to get the win, I'll have to pick Grove. He's got everything to lose in this fight so I believe we'll be seeing the best Kendall Grove there is.
-BREAKING NEWS: Friday night Gesias "JZ" Calvancante was a guest on The Savage Dog Show on Sherdog.com and he announced that he has a torn ACL which will take at least 4 months to heal. This means the former #1 lightweight will likely be out of action for the rest of the year.
-Last week I reported that a fight between Jonathon Goulet and Paul Kelly had been added to UFC 85. Now it appears that Goulet has turned the fight down, and no new opponent for Kelly has been named.
-The UFC has added another popular U.K. fighter to their ranks, as Dan Hardy has reportedly signed a four-fight deal with the organization.
-Following news of his release last week, "Ultimate Fighter" season 6 runner-up Tommy Speer will now be heading to WEC. He hopes to make his debut in August.
-On August 15th the IFL will debut a new six-sided cage dubbed "The Hex," which will replace the standard four-sided roped ring they use currently. The move is reportedly being made to differentiate the league from boxing and other MMA organizations. Smart move by the IFL, as the UFC has been able to brand "The Octagon" extremely well over the years.
-In other IFL news, next Friday's card was originally scheduled to feature a heavyweight title bout between champion Roy Nelson and Branden Lee Hinkle. Now Hinkle is out with an injury, and taking his place will be "Ultimate Fighter" season 2 runner-up Brad Imes.
-Adrenaline MMA has announced the card for their first show on June 14th, which will be headlined by a bout between UFC veteran Jeff Monson and Mike Russow. Also on the card will be Terry Martin, Alberto Crane, Tony Fryklund, Bart Palaszewski, and Clay French. Nothing on this card excites me just yet, but we'll wait and see.
-In an effort to improve his jiu-jitsu skills, UFC lightweight Frank Edgar has begun training with Ricardo Almeida. Great move by Edgar, as the fight with Maynard showed he can't simply rely on his wrestling.
-The UFC videogame that was shown at last year's E3 is now slated to be released sometime in the Spring of 2009. That is all.
I Keep My Pimp Hand Strong
Sure I'm great, but why not check out some of our other fine writers?
411's own John Curry scores another great interview, this time he talks to Jens "Lil Evil" Pulver.
Sergio Hernandez wraps up his look at the final days of PRIDE FC in Beyond The Fight.
John Curry also looks at the role of "The Ultimate Fighter" in another edition of The Ground and Pound.
Frederick Peterson gets ready for UFC 84 in The Weekly CrapSHOOT.
This week‘s 411 Fighter Profile gives you two for the price of one as Dustin James looks at the careers of Nick & Nate Diaz.
Dustin also delivers another controversial edition of 411 Fighter Rankings, where this week we pick the top Pound-for-Pound fighters.
Jeremy Lambert has a whole new design for The Cardio Freak News and he also found time to recap The Ultimate Fighter.
5/11 - DREAM 3 - Lightweight Grand Prix Rd. 2
Live on HDNet at 3 am ET (replay at 4 pm ET)
5/16 - IFL
Live on HDNet at 8:30 pm ET
5/24 - UFC 84: Ill Will - Penn vs. Sherk
Live on PPV at 10 pm ET
5/31 - EliteXC: Primetime
Live on CBS at 9 pm ET
6/1 - WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver
Live on VS. at 9 pm ET
6/7 - UFC 85: Bedlam
Live on PPV at 3 pm ET (replay at 10 pm ET)
6/14 - EliteXC: Noons vs. Edwards
Live on Showtime at 10 pm ET
6/15 - DREAM 4 - Middleweight Grand Prix Rd. 2
On HDNet (time TBA)
6/21 - The Ultimate Fighter Finale
Live on Spike (time TBA)
6/27 - Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson
(time and broadcast TBA)
7/5 - UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin
Live on PPV at 10 pm ET
Kite - 1
Man - 0
A great band with an awesome name (video starts about :20) Holy Fuck - "Lovely Allen"
A slow week for news, but what can you do? As I mentioned before be sure to come back late tonight as Randy Harrison will be covering all the action from DREAM 3. I'll be back in this spot in seven days, until then…
Credit: MMAJunkie.com, Sherdog.com, Fiveouncesofpain.com, MMAWeekly.com, TAGG Radio
