Cardio Freak MMA News Report 5.15.08: It's Nice to Win and It's Nice to Lose
Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 05.15.2008
Cardio Freak returns with a look back at DREAM 3. Hansen and Alvarez deliver a Fight of the Year Candidate, Diaz and Miller deliver strong performances, and Uno just delivers. Plus the latest on TUF8, Tito Ortiz throwing GSP under the bus, and the IFL. It's hotter than Gina Carano in primetime, it's Cardio Freak.
Welcome back to Cardio Freak everyone. I am your trainer Jeremy ‘Deuces Wild' Lambert.
10 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week
DREAM Produces Fight of the Year Candidate
It was a big night/early morning for MMA fans. After my first day at my new job, I decided to catch a quick nap in order to wake up at 3 in the morning for DREAM 3. Thank God I did.
I'll get the bad stuff out of the way first. HDNet is a great station and I am thankful that they're showing live MMA on what seems like a weekly basis. Unfortunately, their production is pretty average. They hyped the American fighters, namely Diaz and Miller, so much that they would have come off as the biggest geeks in the world had they lost, they didn't show the DREAM video packages, I'm assuming because everyone was speaking Japanese and no one would have understood a word but it would have been nice to see highlights of fighters, there was no clock shown so we had to rely on Rice telling us how much time was left, and Kenny Rice sucks. Thank God Bas Rutten was his partner because I don't know if I could have survived Rice and Trigg (who is amazingly good on TNA PPVs but sucks on MMA PPVs) at 3 in the morning. Had I watched the Japanese version of this show, I probably would have had no clue what anyone was saying but I also would have enjoyed the show a lot more.
All that said, the fighting on this show was awesome. DREAM 3 was the continuation of the Lightweight GP along with some Middleweight and Welterweight eliminators. Although the Lightweight 2nd Round didn't finish up at DREAM 3, it produced three of the four finalists and they all looked impressive.
In the opening Lightweight fight, Tatsuya Kawajiri defeated Luiz Buscape by decision. Kawajiri showed some good stand up in this fight although he didn't listen to his trainers and trust his stand up enough. Outside of the final minute, he controlled the fight on the ground and pounded his way to the decision. Kawajiri also showed a good sprawl against Buscape and solid submission defense, most notably not allowing Buscape to sink in the rear naked choke near the end of the fight. Buscape is a tough guy to finish so it's not a surprise that this fight went the distance.
Caol Uno returned after an eight-month layoff and not only defeated a top ranked Mitsuhiro Ishida but finished him with a rear naked choke. Uno showed great takedown defense against the usually overpowering Ishida and his hands looked as good as ever. The fact that Uno made Ishida tap out was a huge statement made by Uno as Ishida had never been submitted before this fight. I believe Uno was brought into this tournament because it was a win-win situation for DREAM. Uno is a legend in Japan and had Ishida defeated him, it would have been a huge win despite that fact that Uno is likely past his prime. If Uno won, it would be a tailor made comeback story and they could just sell the "defeating a legend" story if he happens to lose in the semi-finals or finals.
Finally, Joachim Hansen and Eddie Alvarez went to WAR~! Everyone knew going into the fight that this was going to be two guys who weren't afraid to slug it out with each other just letting it all hang out. In the end, we got two guys letting it all hang out on their feet and on the ground. Alvarez knocked down Hansen a few times in the first round but that didn't stop Hansen from continuing to trade. In the 2nd round, they still went at it on their feet but also went back and fourth on the ground. Hansen connected with knees and threw a number of submissions at Alvarez. Alvarez looked in trouble when Hansen locked in an armbar but he managed to survive. In the end, Alvarez did more damage on his feet and was able to fend off everything Hansen threw at him on the ground, leading to a decision victory.
If you go by the Wrestling Observer year for awards, Hansen vs. Alvarez would have to face Guida vs. Huerta at this moment. While it's a close call, I think Guida and Huerta was a better fight and since I'm completely bias and enjoy the hype and history, I would say Liddell vs. Silva was a better fight. If you go by the year 2008 though, Hansen vs. Alvarez seems to be a clear-cut front-runner for fight of the year.
In two Middleweight eliminators, favorites Jason Miller and Melvin Manhoef came away with victories. The highlight of any Jason Miller fight is his antics and there was no disappointment here. He had dancers, he danced, he posed, and he spoke Japanese. In the fight, Miller had a relatively easy time with Katsuyori Shibata, winning by TKO in the first round. With the win, Miller advances to the 2nd round of the Middleweight GP. I can't really say much about Miller in this fight because he was clearly the stronger fighter and he dominated a guy he should have dominated. He could win the wide-open Middleweight tournament but win or lose; we always know Miller will bring the entertainment.
In a fight where the winner could be inserted into the Middleweight GP, Melvin Manhoef had his hands full with Dae Won Kim. The K-1 striking of Manhoef never manifested as he slipped early, which led to the rest of the fight taking place on the ground. Manhoef used his power to sweep Kim and finish him with a knee and hammerfists. If someone pulls out of the Middleweight tournament (and it's being rumored that Sakuraba won't continue and Tamura is injured) then Manhoef will find himself as an official participant. Kim showed some good aggression and didn't allow Manhoef to get off on his feet but when he handles you on the ground, you know you don't belong. In fact, Manhoef isn't in the UFC because Joe Silva thought that he would be exposed on the ground and although Joe Rogan pushed for him hard due to his size, charisma, and striking, Silva didn't want to bring him in. If Manhoef can somehow win this tournament or at least prove he has an improving ground game, he could very well find himself inside the Octagon.
Nick Diaz returned to his winning ways by PEPPERING~! Katsuya Inoue. With the win, Diaz will fight Hayato Sakurai for the Welterweight title. I actually thought Diaz had more power than he normally does in his punches but by the end they turned into his usual peppering punches. Say what you will about those punches but they obviously get the job done as Inoue was out on his feet. Diaz was actually very humble in his win, which shocked me. I expected him to be ‘Prick' Diaz but he was respectful to his opponent and the crowd. Maybe he's turned the corner.
Who am I kidding; he'll be back to his ways once he loses again.
Bu Kyung Jung continues to be the Colin Delany of MMA. He puts up a fight every time he's in there but in the end, he always seems to lose. This time the defeat came at the hands of Daisuke Nakamura. The first round was close but Nakamura took it with better stand up and control. It looked like it was going to be over quick in the second with kimura by Nakamura but Jung survived….and then it was over. Someone throw Jung a bone and give this man a win because he's worked hard in all 3 of his fights only to come up short. It's a workman win for Nakamura but I don't know how much it means.
In the opening fight, featherweights Takeshi Yamazaki and Shoji put on quite a show for the crowd. I was automatically pulling for Shoji when he came out to Rage Against The Machine (and even mouthed the lyrics) but Yamazaki pulled out the decision. I thought Shoji looked good in the fight but he gave up the dominant position far too easily too many times and it led to his downfall.
Overall, this was a very good show by DREAM. The Lightweight tournament is almost down to the final four and if Shinya Aoki wins (as expected), then you've got 2 guys in the Top 10, a veteran with name value, and an exciting young fighter. The whole card was filled with fun fights, highlighted by Hansen vs. Alvarez, a fight everyone should go out and see after you finish reading this. Thumbs up for DREAM 3.
Playing to Your Strengths
UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Nogueira and Frank Mir will be the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 8. The show is scheduled to air on September 17th and the two could fight on the December show
A lot of people saw this coming but UFC continued to try and swerve us by using Justin ‘The Decoy' McCully. McCully was rumored to fight Brock Lesnar before Lesnar vs. Mark Coleman was made official and then he was rumored to fight Mir before this news became official.
I once again hate that UFC is putting a division on ice until December with this but really, who could contend for the title right now? They would have to re-sign Andrei Arlovski and he would probably have to win a fight in order to be considered the number 1 contender. Everyone else in the division seems to be 2 wins away from being considered the number 1 contender so maybe putting the division on ice until December is actually a good thing.
The other thing that comes out of this is, is Frank Mir deserving? He beat his last two opponents rather quickly but Antonio Hardonk is a mid-level fighter and Brock Lesnar is a product of hype for right now. I'm not 100% sold that Mir deserves a title fight but it's in UFC's best interest to give him the title fight. Mir is coming off arguably the biggest win of his career in front of one of the largest UFC audiences ever and UFC is smart to capitalize on it.
With this announcement, I'm not really looking forward to the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. Based on the ratings of the current season (which has been awesome for the most part) it's obvious that the show has pretty much run it's course. Even though the fights have been good and Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin have been Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin, the interest in the show is clearly on the downswing. If Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin can't spark some interest, I just can't imagine how bad Nog and Mir are going to do. No offense to those two but Nog can be tough to understand at times and Mir isn't the most charismatic person in the world. At least one good thing comes from these two as coaches…SPECIAL APPEREANCE BY ANDERSON SILVA~! YEAH~!
Jason Day will be replacing Chris Leben in a UFC 85 fight with Michael Bisping
Although Day doesn't carry the name value of Chris Leben, this is a scary fight for Bisping. Day should good stand up against Alan Belcher and his main game is on the ground, where Bisping always makes a mistake. Once I heard that Leben was out, I immediately thought that a great replacement would have been Kendall Grove. It would have been The Ultimate Fighter 3 winners facing off against each other, something that I think only these two can pull off given that Forrest is never making 170, Diego is never making 205, Rashad is never making 155, and Joe is never making 205. Unfortuantely, Kendall Grove and his glass chin will be main eventing the TUF7 Finale against Evan Tanner and his beer can.
Also, this card is doomed to fail. It's going to be on PPV where it won't do a good number (although I think Hughes is a draw) and it's been doomed to fail for months now. I think it's a stronger card than it once was but it went from Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio Rua headlining to Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves. Leben vs. Bisping was going to take place and it was going to be exciting because Chris Leben rarely fails to entertain and now it's Bisping vs. Day. When it's all said and done, I think the show will be good, it's just a shame that it may be forgotten.
Tommy Speer announced that upon his UFC release, he will be moving to the WEC
As I mentioned last week, it would be in Speer's best interest to fight on some smaller events, gain that experience, and move back up. This is the ideal situation for UFC and Speer. UFC essentially keeps Speer as he just goes down to WEC and Speer can still fight in front of large audiences, keep his name relevant, and get that experience.
Dana White recently commented that he wants to keep Andrei Arlovski but the two sides just can't get a deal done
And they likely won't get a deal done. UFC has the right to match any offer thrown the way of Arlovski but lets be serious, if Affliction offers him $1 million to fight (and you won't be shocked if they will) then UFC isn't going to match that. Arlovski's value has taken a hit over his last few fights with a TKO loss to Sylvia, a boring decision loss against Sylvia, a mediocre performance against Cruz, a lackluster and boring decision win against Werdum, and a non-televised mediocre performance against O'Brien. Still, UFC's Heavyweight division is thinning so losing Arlovski may not be such a smart move.
Studying Tape
Mark Coleman vs. Nabuhiko Takada from PRIDE 5
I included this fight this week because I was reminded of it from reading Randy's review of PRIDE 5. You can tell that even the announcers know something is up with Coleman in this fight as he should have easily destroyed Takada. Just think, this guy is headlining an upcoming UFC PPV against Brock Lesnar.
Sparring Session
Tito Ortiz continues to talk to anyone who will listen about his last fight on his UFC contract and money. The big uproar is that Ortiz mentioned that Georges St. Pierre is unhappy with UFC
I'm not a Tito Ortiz hater by any means. I think he's on the downswing of his career but damned if he doesn't know how to sell a PPV and damned if he doesn't sell those PPVs. I think he needs to learn how to shut up sometimes but that's not who Ortiz is or how he does business.
This is one of those times where he needs to learn how to shut up. I've got no problem with Ortiz bitching about Dana White and his personal problems with him but he should probably keep another fighters name out of his mouth. Georges St. Pierre seems like a stand up guy and if he has a problem with the company, I'm sure he's told the company. I can't see what problem he would have though considering they went to Montreal for him and they turned him into a legit superstar in the sport.
Ortiz mentioned that UFC keeps guys happy by buying them cars and what not instead of giving them money and then goes on to mention that they have to pay taxes on the car and pay for gas. Here's an idea if you want money instead of a car…SELL THE CAR! Randy Couture sold his hummer this past year. Everyone thought he sold it to spite UFC but shit, he probably sold it because it takes damn near $120 dollars to fill up the gas tank.
Underwater Ice Bath
Affliction: Banned has officially been moved to the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The company is still in talks with HDNet to air the event. Here is the current line up:
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia
Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo
Paul Buentello vs. Aleksander Emelianenko
Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Negao
Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Mike Whitehead
Ben Rothwell vs. TBA
This card is for the hardest of the hardcore. The biggest draws on this card to the casual audience are most famous for their losses to Randy Couture (Sylvia) and Chuck Liddell (Sobral). Don't get me wrong, this should be a good show that all 2 of you reading are going to watch but if it's not on HDNet, I can't see it doing more than 20,000 buys, especially with no TV or promotion.
According to reports, Affliction knows they're going to lose money with this show. At least they're prepared. Fedor, Sylvia, and Barnett are probably a cool $3 million. Add in the fact that they're rumored to be going after Andrei Arlovski (who will become the biggest draw) and there's another million. I guess the idea is to lose a lot of money, have a good show, and be successful through word of mouth. Hopefully the show doesn't suck, like YAMMA, and then they'll really be screwed.
IFL announced that they're looking for potential buyers for the company. They also debuted "The Hex", a six sided fighting ring
"The Hex" just screams desperation to me. MMA fans identify with a normal 4-sided ring or a cage. What is the point of this six-sided ring? If anything, it's likely just going to turn fans off because it looks so out of place. I know a handful of people who don't watch TNA strictly because the ring is 6 sides. My only hope is that they use this ring and they do more with it, much like TNA. The company is pretty much dead in the water anyway, they might as well try more desperate attempts at exposure. Have D-list special guest referees, hang the belt on a pole where the winner has to knock out or choke out their opponent and then retrieve the belt, or best year, sacrifice bodies, careers, and LIVES by contesting every fight inside THE TERRORDOME~!
You know what, we can make these ideas happen. That's right, I'm calling on YOU the loyal readers of Cardio Freak (all 2 of you) to help me raise the $200 needed to purchase this company. I have faith in everyone that we can do this. If the Red Sox can come back from 0-3 to defeat the Yankees, if Rob Schneider can continue to make movies, and if Britney Spears can continue to be relevant, then WE can purchase and run a Mixed Martial Arts company. YES WE CAN~!
Gina Carano was featured on E:60 this past Tuesday. Coinciding with that, Gary Shaw announced that he plans on incorporating a Women's MMA Title along with an all Women's MMA Show
I watched the piece on Carano on E:60 and I thought it was very well done, as most things are on E:60. I thought it was interesting that other female fighters thought Carano used her sex appeal to get where she was. While I don't think it's hurt her, you still have to be a good fighter or else you'll just be an after-thought, much like Anna Kournikova. Carano is undefeated in MMA and outside of a very tame Maxim shoot, I don't see her using her sex appeal. She's just naturally sexy.
As for Shaw's plans, I think one will work while the other will falter. A MMA Women's Title will do just fine because there are enough females in the sport and it will be treated like a legitimate title, not a joke like wrestling. However, I don't think an all Women's show is going to work at this point in time. Unfortunately I think many people still see women's fighting as more of a side show than an actual fight and that's why it works when it's once a card and not the entire show. Maybe once they establish the title and establish some fighters other than Carano then it will work but right now I just don't think people will tune in to watch it.
Taking Time Off
With "MMAMonth" upon us, I thought I would quickly look at the Top 5 fights that I'm most looking forward to between UFC 84, EXC on CBS, WEC, and UFC 85.
5. BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk
4. Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson
3. Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto Machida
2. Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver
1. Keith Jardine vs. Wanderlei Silva
Overseas Training
Gesias Calvancante is expected to miss 3-4 months with a torn ACL
Bad news for JZ but this does explain his mediocre performance against Shinya Aoki at DREAM 2 and his reason to not take Aoki's place when he originally pulled out. If you follow other sports then you know that a torn ACL pretty much ends your season and that depending on how your rehab goes, it takes you down a few notches the following season. Hopefully JZ will be just fine and he'll be back in the ring at the end of the year, like he plans. I also hope that this isn't the beginning of an injury-riddled career. Best of luck to JZ in his recovery.
Alex Mattis debuts with a breakdown of Ortiz vs. Machida, Ryan Seymour breaks down the main card of UFC 84, Lofti Sariahmed previews the company that we shall own. YES WE CAN~! BREN~! presents MMA Fact or Fiction featuring BREN~! And Matt McEwen, and Fredrick Peterson profiles Sean Sherk.
Matt McEwen reviews UFC 40: Vendetta featuring the big grudge match between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock while Randy Harrison reviews PRIDE 5 featuring a worked MMA main event between Nobuhiko Takada and Mark Coleman.
Larry Csonka brings everyone a present with the EliteXC Conference Call featuring the voice of Gina Carano.
AND IT'S ALL OVER~!
That wraps it up for this session of Cardio Freak. I return next week as "MMAMonth" begins with a HUGE preview of UFC 84: Ill Will. You're now ready to go 5 Rounds with Randy Harrison tomorrow. Take care everyone.
Cardio Freak Sources: Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer, Bryan Alvarez and Figure Four Weekly, MMAWeekly, and MMAMania
