Planet Tapout 5.21.08: MMA Summer Preview!

Posted by Lotfi Sariahmed on 05.21.2008

It is the 50th and Final Edition of Planet Tapout (for the foreseeable future) and we're going out with a bang. Starting with UFC 84 this Saturday, 411Mania's Lotfi Sariahmed takes a look at all the big MMA events this summer. From Ill Will to the debut of the Hex it's all inside! All that plus Miscellaneous Musings and This Week in Fight Picks in the 50th edition!

Welcome to the MMA column that celebrates it's one year anniversary with its 50th column here this week (I know what you're thinking, if it's one year shouldn't it be 52nd column? Yes but let's not get caught up in the numbers). It's Planet Tapout here at 411Mania.com and this is the man who plans to go out with a bang, Lotfi Sariahmed. There is a mailbag this week after my IFL Preview. So to the mailbag we go!

Mailbag!
"Hohlraum" is a big fan of Devidias Taurosevicius:

RUSSIAN DAVE!! RUSSIAN DAVE!! Christ I love watching this guy fight. Ryan
Schultz is very good as well. Can... not... wait!

Well "Hohlraum" my apologies your boy lost on Friday. I mean it was the best of the three title bouts in terms of competitiveness. It went the full five rounds. But somehow Schultz found a way to retain. It certainly helped Russian Dave broke his foot early in that fight but that's just the way these things go sometimes. I thought the lightweight title in the IFL would be constantly changing hands with all the fighters they have in that division. But after beating Gunderson and now Taurosevicius, it seems like we're headed toward another Schultz v. Horodecki fight toward the end of the year as the only bout where Schultz might lose his belt before 2009. My thoughts on the rest of the IFL card in Miscellaneous Musings…


The next two (and last two) comments for this week's mailbag come from "Jr." and Mike Farrow respectively and they're both talking about the IFL's "Hex." First "Jr." who doesn't see what all the fuss is about:

I don't see the big deal about the hex... they are just trying to be different than most other mma promotions... I don't watch the IFL very often, but I enjoy it when I do. So for everyone who thinks this is a desperate cry for attention, well it is, so just shut up, get over it, and enjoy

Touchee "Jr." but Mike Farrow comes in with some history for us…

I thought I posted this on the last Punch Drunk column but the multi-sided ring was tried in the UK by a group called FX3 (Freestyle Fighting Federation). They used an octagonal ring but they dumped it. PRIDE used an octagonal ring for their "The Best" series but dropped it when they created Bushido, its replacement.

Basically, it doesn't work. It may create more corners but they're not as effective as they are in a square ring and the more sides, the more difficult it is to cut a ring off. It brings the worst elements of a ring and mixes it with the worst elements of a cage.

Thank you Mike for the history lesson and "Jr." for your comment of course. But "Jr." allow me to address your point and the problem with the IFL's Hex is (at least) two-fold. First off, like Mike points out, it doesn't work. It's been done before and failed miserably. The other part to this is that it comes off as an insult to the hardcore fans. I understand where IFL CEO Jay Larkin is coming from on this. He's put on very good fight cards but people haven't come. So why not try something that could bring people out? And the reasoning isn't flawed. Maybe the casual fan will come in and watch the IFL because of the "Hex." But if you're a hardcore fan watching the IFL, it's now trying to sell you a gimmick. For the IFL to be successful it needs to continue to put on quality cards but more importantly it needs to cross-promote and help put on the best fights. Pro-Elite is doing it with everyone. Deep and ZST are doing it and the IFL needs to.


While this may be my last edition of Planet Tapout, you can still leave your comments. I'll respond back to as many of them as I can. Also, my email will still be active so feel free to send me your questions there and I'll get back to them as quickly as possible. The email address is [e-mail] . Now on to Planet Tapout!


Planet Tapout's
MMA SUMMER PREVIEW!

So in my 50th and final Planet Tapout for the foreseeable future, I decided why not take a look into that foreseeable future? I was browsing through the various MMA and other sports related sites out there and the good people at BloodyElbow.com recently put out a calendar of events. Starting this weekend with UFC 84, there will be good MMA on every weekend until the middle of July. So that inspired yours truly to do his readers one better, we'll take you through the middle of August with UFC 87 and the IFL's next scheduled event on August 15th. We'll go through all of the big events (and possibly some of the smaller ones) and give you a couple of big storylines for each one. So lets get started with UFC 84: Ill Will.



Storyline #1:
Can ANYBODY beat BJ Penn at lightweight?

If Sean Sherk can't do it, no one will. That's not to say I won't be interested in a Penn v. Huerta fight, but Huerta won't win. You've all heard the hype around this fight enough already. Sean Sherk is made out of concrete with the limbs to match. And while Penn is dubbed as "The Prodigy," his cardio is still suspect. Sherk could knock him off if he grinds out a decision. I think Penn is going to beat Sherk but I'm interested if for no other reason than how he's going to do it. The 10th wonder of the world would be to see Sean Sherk get submitted. He has a better striking game but do you really think this fight won't go to the ground? This could be the most entertaining fight of the year.

Storyline #2:
Who's the next in line for the light-heavyweight belt?

Injuries to Chuck Liddell and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua have added even more intrigue to this card because the next challenger to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's (or Forrest Griffin's) light heavyweight belt could come from this card. Everyone talks about the bouts with Silva taking on Jardine and Ortiz taking on Machida. BUT don't forget about Wilson Gouveia or Thiago Silva. The former is closer to a title shot than the latter but this is a card highlighting a ton of very good light heavyweights and I didn't even mention the Sokoudjou v. Nakamura bout. I have Silva and Machida winning their respective bouts and for as much as Dana White loves Silva, I think he would have to put Machida as next in line for that belt.

Storyline #3:
What happens to Tito?

Love him or hate him he's still very marketable and could give one of these smaller promotions instant star power. But if you don't think Tito Ortiz will end up with EliteXC by July 1st you're out of your mind. Tito Ortiz v. Frank Shamrock as a main event for one of these other three shows EliteXC has on CBS is just too obvious.




EliteXC on CBS: May 31st
Storyline #1:
So what does everyone ELSE think?

This event really is bigger than EliteXC, Gary Shaw, Kimbo or any one thing. This, like it or not, will determine just how far the sport has come and where it will go from here on out. What's it going to be like to cover MMA AFTER EliteXC's first go on CBS? How is CBS going to determine whether or not this was successful? What will this mean for the sport in the eyes of some of its critics? What will this mean for the sport in the eyes of the notorious "casual fan?" Can it bring in more viewers? Never has a fight card excited more fans for its results outside of the ring. A lot falls on Gina Carano and Kimbo Slice, but they can only do so much if Kaitlin Young and James Thompson don't do their share. I don't know how you could be a fan of this sport and not at least be anxious about what could happen.

Storyline #2:
Kimbo and Gina, welcome to your new lives!

Never in a million years could anyone have ever predicted Kimbo Slice would be presenting an award at the Country Music Awards (video below). It would be almost as hard to imagine that Gina Carano was going to star in a video game and be one of the American Gladiators. But such is the case for EliteXC's golden children and after May 31st, they will be 100 times more popular. They've both handled the stardom very well so far but it'll just be interesting to watch how their lives transform over the course of the summer.

Storyline #3:
Who else is going to "blow up?"

Phil Baroni anyone? Piggybacking off an idea Sam Caplan had at fiveouncesofpain.com, Baroni is RIPE for mainstream media exposure. They will be all over him if he can score that big KO victory many expect…or heck, maybe if he loses too.

As for other guys (or girls) who could see their star boom…the winner of the Lawler v. Smith fight, Kaitlin Young in a win and Carlton Haselrig. The former New York Jets guard will be all over ESPN the next day if he scores a win and it ends up being televised.





WEC 34: Faber v. Pulver: June 1st
Storyline #1:
Will Faber avoid the featherweight upset epidemic?

First it was Garcia over Takaya, then Akitoshi Tamura lost to Hideki Kadowaki, Takeshi Inoue lost to Savant Young and now Masakazu Imanari lost to Dokonjonosuke Mishima. Those are four top 10 featherweights that have all gotten picked off and the last three happened relatively recently. Now Urijah Faber is back in action after beating Jeff Curran and he's taking on a longtime lightweight in Jens Pulver. But don't sleep on Pulver considering the way the featherweight division has gone lately. I don't think it's going to be the greatest cagefight of all time, as the promo suggests, but this is a great main event on what's probably one of the two or three best cards of the summer.

Storyline #2:
A Frog, A Razor and a Beebe return.

Jeff Curran, Rob McCullough and Chase Beebe all make their returns on this card coming off losses to Faber, Jamie Varner and Miguel Torres respectively. All three of those losses came in title fights as well. It's always interesting to see big name guys come back off losses. I'm very interested in McCullough and Beebe. Both guys were really beat up in their losses and it's tough to shake that off no matter who you are. McCullough is set to fight Kenneth Alexander while Beebe faces Will Ribeiro. Both fights should be easy for the former champs…emphasis on should.

Storyline #3:
The most exciting champ you're not watching…

Ladies and Gentlemen, Miguel Angel Torres and his fight with Chase Beebe:






UFC 85: Bedlam: June 7th
Storyline #1:
Who's "for real?"

If you look up and down this card it is filled with fights featuring guys who are looking to prove themselves. Matt Hughes takes on Thiago Alves and that's a fight that's just as interesting for Hughes as it is for Alves. A loss for Hughes there might mean the fight with Serra would be the end of the road. Michael Bisping takes on Jason Day and while Bisping looks to continue his middleweight wrecking tour, Day looks to pull off another surprising upset. James Irvin was supposed to fight Rashad Evans trying to ride the high of his eight-second knockout over Houston Alexander. But now he's out and Luiz Cane will fight Evans. Then there's Marcus Davis and Mike Swick who are both looking for a solid welterweight win at UFC 85. On first instinct, I like all the favorites in these bouts (Hughes, Bisping, Evans and Davis). But you know that's never how it works out.

Storyline #2:
Will enough people watch?

If the answer to that is "yes," the UFC will be thrilled after having to do a patchwork job putting this card together. To be fair, outside of the Hardonk v. Wain fight I'm interested in all of the bouts. But are Hughes and Bisping big enough stars to bring in solid PPV numbers for a card in London? It'll be another notch in Zuffa's ever expanding belt if that ends up being the case.


June 14th, 15th: EliteXC, Adrenaline MMA, Dream 4
Storyline #1:
Who's going to watch?

I'm referring more to EliteXC and Adrenaline MMA here than I am Dream of course. I'm not going to question what Monte Cox is doing with Adrenaline MMA…at least not yet. He's a smarter MMA mind than I and a first show is lucky to have any big names on it. He has a couple of dozen guys you've heard of on the first card along with a decent main event in Russow v. Monson.

EliteXC's going to be interesting because the success EliteXC has on CBS could mean more success in a couple of weeks later when they're in Hawaii. You know they're going to inundate that show with ads telling you to check out the show, as well they should. Although I question how successful the card will be because KJ Noons v. Yves Edwards on its own does not sell the card for me.

Storyline #2:
Jerome LeBanner v. "Cro Cop"

Man o man. This is a fun fight between two guys that will let the leg kicks fly as part of that Dream 4 card. Jerome LeBanner is that guy you were telling all your friends about years ago. He's that AA prospect in baseball you knew about before anyone. He's that free agent pickup you knew would be vital for that team. LeBanner is that guy that hardcore fans have been saying could take MMA by storm. Many of you remember his battles (or lack thereof in this case) with Tim Sylvia. He's over his head in a fight against "Cro Cop," but I'll be watching nevertheless.

Storyline #3:
What are they going to do with the MWGP?

As long as "Jacare," "Mayhem," Mousasi and Manhoef/Sakuraba/Tamura are in the final four…I'm ok with it.


June 20th: Sportfight XXIII: Heated Rivals

No real storylines behind this card as much as it is a plug. They do good things up at the Rose Garden with Sportfight. HDNet will be broadcasting the show so you should watch it. Mike Pierce v. Nathan Coy for the welterweight belt will not disappoint.


June 21st: Yamma II
Storyline #1:
Could it really get any worse?

So I lied, not every card this summer will be exciting. This is more like a car wreck type deal. What does Afromowitz really have in mind for this second go around? He came up with the Yamma, so I'm honestly afraid to find out.




The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale: June 21st:
Storyline #1:
Three Hours Long…Really?

Don't get me wrong. I love fights just as much as the next guy. But who in the UFC brass thought making this card three hours long was a good idea? Evan Tanner v. Kendall Grove is nice but what else is there? So far not a lot. Sanchez v. Fioravanti? I mean the optimist in me could sell five of those fights. But it's a head scratcher from a business standpoint. I guarantee you they looked at the last three-hour fight night, saw the success it had and thought they could do it again here. The big difference though is that while the main event may be better, there's not a fight on this card that comes close to Parisyan v. Alves or Edgar v. Maynard or Pellegrino v. Diaz. Again, more fights are always good for the fan…but I question the business acumen behind this move.

Storyline #2:
Tanner v. Grove…loser gets cut.

Unfortunate as it may be, I just don't see the loser of this fight sticking around. It would be Grove's third loss in a row and it would take too much to build Tanner back up after losing two fights to Okami and then Grove. I would love to see the UFC keep Grove win or lose because I think he could do some big things in MMA despite his glass chin. But I just don't see that legitimately happening.




June 27th: STRIKEFORCE: Melendez v. Thomson
Storyline #1:
Can Josh Thomson remain relevant?

Relevant is probably too harsh of a word but this is a big fight for Thomson. For as much as Thomson and Frank Shamrock hate each other, they really do have a lot alike in that they have stayed relevant based on potential and what could be. Sure Shamrock beat Phil Baroni after people were about to write him off but then he lost to Cung Le. This fight with Gilbert Melendez is like Shamrock's fight with Le. If Thomson wins he's a top lightweight who's very much in the conversation when it comes to any Top 10 and despite any lack of competition, his supporters will look to this win to fend his critics off. But if he loses, then Thomson is just another B-level lightweight in a sea of them.




UFC 86: Jackson v. Griffin
Storyline #1:
Will we have our first (legitimate) TUF titleholder?

Throw Serra out of the mix here because TUF 4 was an anomaly. There was Stevenson v. Penn and Florian v. Sherk. Neither of those fighters stood a shot against their respective opponents. I thought Griffin beat Tito Ortiz. Griffin DID beat "Shogun." So to say he couldn't beat "Rampage" is just stupid. But being competitive and winning a title are two almost completely separate things. "Rampage" has power that Griffin will have a lot of trouble with. "Rampage" will have a window there early to beat Griffin because he always starts slow. If he can't finish him there then we'll have a heck of a fight. But it's hard for me to see how Griffin wins this fight. Even if it goes to a decision, I think it's because he stayed alive long enough through a Jackson beating. I'm excited for the fight…but I don't think Griffin's going to win one for Team TUF.

Storyline #2:
The Next #1 Contender…

At both middleweight and lightweight could be determined at UFC 86. At middleweight I think it's already clear that Yushin Okami will/should be next in line to face Anderson Silva. But at UFC 86 you have a fight in Patrick Cote v. Ricardo Almeida that could determine who's got next, if Cote wins. Cote's a feel good story. After losing his first four fights in the UFC, Cote's won four in a row and a win over Almeida could be just enough in a weak division to put him in that #2 hole. It's nowhere close to a guarantee obviously as the UFC would probably do anything to slide Bisping into a title fight, but at least Cote has a shot. The other fight I'm looking at for a #1 contender's spot is Tyson Griffin v. Marcus Aurelio. Griffin's been thrown into the discussion along with Huerta and Florian as to whom would face the winner of Penn v. Sherk. But obviously Huerta v. Florian are facing off at UFC 87 to determine who gets that honor. In the meantime, Griffin has quite the opportunity to cement himself as the head of that next group when he takes on Marcus Aurelio. You could certainly sell Griffin as a contender for that belt even before this fight. He has two FOTY candidates in 2007 and only has one loss on his record to Frank Edgar.




Affliction: Banned: July 19th
Storyline #1:
If you build it…will they watch?

It's hard to come up with a fight card much better than what Affliction/Golden Boy has for a debut show. Money is clearly not an issue with at least seven fighters making at least six figures for their respective fights. With seven of the world's top 15 heavyweights (and an 8th one certainly watching the main event closely), Affliction has also done an outstanding job putting the focus on the heavyweights. Nothing will bring in a crowd better than a good heavyweight bout and you have a few of them here. It's also good to play on the patriotism angle and the main event does that with the American taking on the Russian in Sylvia v. Fedor. This card puts a lot of things in question. Jay Larkin has questioned whether or not fans really want to see MMA or just a good lights show with some violence. This question will be answered on this card. Also, if Andrei Arlovski does end up fighting Ben Rothwell, that would be seven legitimate former UFC fighters competing on this card. If it's successful, this could also signal a significant shift in the MMA power structure that's been so heavily tilted toward Zuffa.


August 9th: UFC 87: Seek and Destroy
Storyline #1
Can "The Next Big Thing" deliver?

Brock Lesnar's first bout against Frank Mir was doomed from the start. Anyone who knew anything about MMA knew that Lesnar was going to have too much trouble going to the ground against the jiu-jitsu specialist in Mir. But now the UFC is putting Lesnar up against the UFC Hall of Famer, Mark Coleman. It's a bout that was made to get this Lesnar train rolling again. He should win this bout and really steamroll the older and smaller Coleman. If he doesn't, Lesnar will be a bust.

Storyline #2
The Lightweight #1 Contender's Bout

Roger Huerta v. Kenny Florian
Please Don't Let Florian Win… Please Don't Let Florian Win… Please Don't Let Florian Win… Please Don't Let Florian Win… Please Don't Let Florian Win… Please Don't Let Florian Win… Please Don't Let Florian Win… Please Don't Let Florian Win… Please Don't Let Florian Win… Please Don't Let Florian Win…

Why? You're out of your mind if you think Florian v. Sherk II would sell. Florian lasted five rounds because Sherk doesn't finish people, not because he somehow exhibited some incredible talent. And if you think Florian v. Penn would be competitive, I want whatever you're on.


August 15th: IFL: New Blood New Battles





Miscellaneous Musings!
●I'll start off this week with a couple of videos. With the announcement that Gus Johnson will be doing play-by-play for EliteXC's first show (I'm still giddy over that news), I give you some of his best calls during college basketball's March Madness. Trust me, all you need is the audio…



I'm excited…

●On a slightly more serious topic, ESPN's E:60 put together a story on Gina Carano. It was another very good story following the piece on Kimbo Slice. Here it is in case you missed it…




●And in the interest of fair time, her opponent Kaitlin Young is going through one interesting training regimen.



That's going to be a very good fight. And Young doesn't have half the pressure on her that Carano does with all the face time Carano gets.


●Speaking of Kimbo Slice (or maybe not, who knows?), he was at the Country Music Awards presenting an award. I think his ensemble alone is worthy of me putting this clip up.



And then of course there's the news CBS commercial hyping the EliteXC event with Detective Slice.



And don't disrespect Kimbo's Mama.



●If you don't factor in the lightweight division, we learned two things from the IFL's latest show this past Friday. First, the middleweight division is absurdly weak. The belt has changed hands for the second time in as many title fights this year. The IFL's first middleweight champ (Matt Horwich) struggled on that same card in a fight against Joey Guel. It's not to say Dan Miller isn't a good fighter, because I think he is and I wanted to pick him to beat Ryan McGivern. But the good middleweights in MMA are spread around so many different places that each promotion to have a hard time putting on big time fights in that division consistently.

●And for those of you interested in gambling on UFC 84 (and I know there are a few), I like Sherk +200 in the title fight. If I get anything less than that and I don't know if I want to take that chance.

●I said the same thing before Cain Velasquez's first fight that I'll say for Shane Carwin. If he's nearly half as good as all the hype makes him out to be, he should beat Christian Wellisch in the 1st by whatever he wants.


This Week in Fight Picks!


UFC 84: Ill Will
Shane Carwin over Christian Wellisch
Dong Hyun Kim over Jason Tan
Yoshiyuki Yoshida over Jon Koppenhaver
Rich Clementi over Terry Etim
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou over Kazuhiro Nakamura
Rousimar Palhares over Ivan Salaverry
Thiago Silva over Antonio Mendes
Lyoto Machida over Tito Ortiz
Wilson Gouveia over Goran Reljic
Wanderlei Silva over Keith Jardine
UFC Lightweight Title: BJ Penn retains over Sean Sherk


That's it for this week on Planet Tapout! Don't forget about the mailbag and comments. Send me your thoughts, loving, hateful and otherwise. The email address is [e-mail] .

We like Meehan. He made the banner. So in return go read his column. He's good people.

If you're interested in what will happen to Planet Tapout, check out the MySpace page. I'll do my best to keep it more up to date and you'll find out where I go through there. The Planet Tapout Army is growing! So come and join us on MySpace?

I hope you've enjoyed the last year here on Planet Tapout as much as I have. This week in MMA gives us a Tuff-N-Uff card on the 23rd. RFC XII is also on the 23rd. Of course UFC 84: Ill Will is on Saturday featuring the two light-heavyweight bouts and the lightweight title fight between B.J. Penn and Sean Sherk. There are also cards from KOTC, Absolute Fighting and Deep on the 24th. Finally Sunday gives us MMA from Japan with Shooto and Pancrase cards. Enjoy the fights everyone.