The Fightin' Stance News 05.24.08: Another Year

Posted by  on 05.24.2008

It's the final stop before UFC 84 and The Fightin' Stance News has your full preview! We've also got tons of news about upcoming cards from the UFC and DREAM, including a big title match! All this and the updated MMA Calendar are inside waiting for you!



It's a big day, and I'm glad you could join me here at The Fightin' Stance News. My name is Adam Tool and I am officially one year older. Yesterday was my birthday and it was a pretty good day. Father Tool and I met up for lunch at my favorite Thai restaurant (I've recently developed a mild addiction to curry), followed by the new Indiana Jones flick. Since this isn't the movie zone I'll spare you a full review, and instead I'd like to share my thoughts HAIKU STYLE~!

Movie was quite good.
Action scenes are all well done.
Ford has still got it.

Of course I'll be celebrating my birthday all weekend, and what better present is there for an MMA fan than a huge night of fights? I've got a full preview of tonight's UFC 84 a little later. For now though…



It's Not Just a Metallica Song Anymore



Earlier this week the UFC officially announced UFC 87: Seek And Destroy, which will take place at the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN on August 9th. The show, which is the company's first in the Twin Cities, was originally set to feature a match-up between Brock Lesnar and Mark Coleman, but it has just been announced that Coleman has been forced to pull out due to a knee injury. No new opponent for Lesnar has been named, although there are rumors that Heath Herring may be the replacement.

We do, however, now know the fight that will headline the show. Late Thursday the UFC announced that the main event will be a welterweight championship bout between Georges St. Pierre and Jon Fitch. St. Pierre just won the undisputed welterweight title last month at UFC 83, while Fitch is currently on a 15 (!) fight win streak, and has yet to be beaten inside the octagon.

UFC 87 will also feature the highly anticipated lightweight bout between Roger Huerta and Kenny Florian. Huerta was the UFC golden boy last year, winning five fights in twelve months. Meanwhile since losing a decision to Sean Sherk at UFC 64 Florian has gone on a four fight win streak. It is all but certain that the winner of this fight will become the #1 contender for the lightweight championship.

In addition to these two announced match-ups, there are also rumors circulating that a middleweight showdown between Demian Maia and Jason McDonald will be added to the card as well. Both fighters last competed on the undercard at UFC 83. McDonald was victorious against Joe Doerkson, while Maia won submission of the night when he beat Ed Herman. Also rumored is a heavyweight bout between Cheick Kongo and UFC newcomer Dan Evenson. Kongo announced the match-up on his MySpace page.

I had been somewhat underwhelmed by some of the UFC's upcoming shows. That is certainly not the case for UFC 87, which is quickly becoming a must-see event. I would have to favor GSP in the main event, if only because the man has shown a dramatic improvement in his wrestling ability as of late and that should nullify Fitch's biggest skill. For the lightweight bout I'll probably end up taking Huerta, although no matter who wins this will almost certainly be a "fight of the year" candidate. I just hope that the rumored Maia/McDonald fight not only becomes a reality, but it is on the main card as well. As for the Kongo/Evenson bout I greeted that news with a solid, "meh."

The DREAM Is Still Alive



The middleweight grand prix will continue in three weeks at DREAM 4. The company held an open vote to determine the next round of match-ups, and the results have just been announced.

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Melvin Manhoef
Gegard Mousasi vs. Dong Sik Yoon
Jason "Mayhem" Miller vs. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza
Zelg Galesic vs. Taiei Kin

DREAM 4 is also reportedly going to feature a bout between Mirko Cro Cop and Jerome LeBanner, but that bout has yet to be confirmed by DREAM officials.

There's no doubt the most interesting fight on the card is the bout between Jason "Mayhem" Miller and submission specialist Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza. Both fighters looked impressive in their first round matches, and the winner of this fight will undoubtedly be the favorite to win the entire tournament. I'm not sure who I would pick, but my gut is telling me Jacare will take it.

Expect more news and additional bouts to be added in the weeks to come. Since it's a Japanese promotion, it's likely the card won't be finalized until about an hour before the show starts.

UFC 85: No Sure Things

Why does it seem like every week I have to report on a change to the card of UFC 85? Is this show doomed before it even starts? Let's look at what's happened so far.

1. The main event is set as Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.
2. Rua gets injured and Rashad Evans takes his place.
3. Liddell gets injured and Evans is slated to face James Irvin. The fight moves down the card and Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves is set-up as the new main event. A fight between Michael Bisping and Chris Leben is added as well.
4. Leben's legal issues force him to withdraw and Jason Day is picked to fight Bisping.
5. Irvin has to pull out and Evans is then slotted to face Luiz Cane, who was previously on the pre-lims fighting Jason Lambert.

Now Rashad Evans has been pulled from the card entirely and Cane is back to facing Lambert. With the loss of Evans the bout between Nate Marquardt and Thales Leites has been moved to the main card. No reason was given for Evans being taken off the show, but one would assume that he is being saved for a future event.

Of course there's a pretty good chance that by the time this report has been posted there will have been another major change to the card, so be sure to stay posted as 411mania will have all the news about the next UFC event all the way up until showtime.

The Night of Fight Returns



We currently know very little about Fight Night 14. We do know that the show will be September 17th and it will precede the eighth season of "The Ultimate Fighter." So far the UFC has not officially announced any match-ups taking place at the show, but there are rumors and reports going around.

Those reports say that Houston Alexander will be on the card, and he has agreed to face Eric Schafer. Alexander burst onto the UFC big stage last year when he demolished Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara in quick fashion. He couldn't keep up that momentum as he soon lost to Thiago Silva, and most recently he suffered an 8-second knockout to James Irvin at Fight Night 13. Schafer last fought, and lost, to Stephan Bonnar at UFC 77.

It's also being reported that Fight Night 14 will also feature a middleweight bout between Alan Belcher and Ed Herman. Both fighters are coming off of a loss at UFC 83 last month. Belcher was stopped in his fight with UFC newcomer Jason Day, while Herman was the victim of a vicious combination of a triangle choke and strikes delivered by Demian Maia.

Also rumored for the card is a lightweight showdown between Josh Neer and "Ultimate Fighter" 5 winner Nate Diaz. Both fighters last competed at Fight Night 13. Neer won a tough decision against Din Thomas in one of the show's undercard bouts, while Diaz gave a memorable performance on the main card against Kurt Pellegrino. Let's take a look at that performance again, shall we?

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UFC 84: ILL WILL HONEST-TO-GOODNESS FINAL PREVIEW



I have been eagerly awaiting this show for a long time now. This is, without a doubt, one of the finest cards the UFC has put on in a while. There are three big-time fights on the main card, and the rest of the show is peppered with a number of exciting possibilities. Even though a lightweight match-up is the main event, this show will go a long way in determining the future of the light heavyweight division. We have a number of fighters that could move up the ranks toward a possible title-shot, but only if they are successful here.

Main Event: UFC Lightweight Championship
BJ "The Prodigy" Penn © vs. Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk

The Facts:
-This will be Penn's first lightweight title defense. In fact, it will be his first defense of any title. Even though he is a former UFC welterweight champion, he never defended that belt because he signed with K-1 and was stripped of the title after winning it.
-Speaking of titles being stripped, this is Sherk's first fight since he was stripped of the lightweight belt following his positive drug test last year.
-Sherk has only lost twice in his career, to Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes.
-BJ has won his last two fights by rear naked choke. Sherk has never been submitted.
-This is the only fight on the card where both competitors hail from the United States.

The Pick: Even though you may not like the guy, it‘s awfully hard to deny the talent Sean Sherk has. He‘s easily the strongest fighter competing at lightweight, and his takedowns will be difficult for anybody to stop. That being said, he is a one-dimensional fighter. If he can‘t take BJ down and hold him there, he doesn‘t have many other options to pick up a victory. He‘s shown some jiu-jitsu skills in the past, but his BJJ is nowhere near the level of Penn. On the other side BJ has world class jiu-jitsu along with some very heavy hands. As Sherk himself pointed out while commentating on the Penn/Stevenson fight, it‘s very difficult to train for somebody with the kind of flexibility and dexterity that BJ possesses. I believe Penn will come out quickly and try and set a very fast pace early on, knowing that the longer the fight lasts the more it will swing in Sherk‘s favor. With that in mind, I‘m taking BJ Penn via submission in round 2.

Keith "The Dean Of Mean" Jardine vs. Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva

The Facts:
-Jardine is 4-2 in the UFC, with his last fight ending in a decision win over Chuck Liddell.
-Silva is winless in his last three fights, losing to Cro Cop, Henderson, and Liddell.
-Silva has two career wins over current UFC light heavyweight champion "Rampage" Jackson.
-Jardine has a win over current #1 contender Forrest Griffin.
-This will be both fighter's first match of the year. They both last competed against Liddell.

The Pick: Will this be the night where Keith Jardine finally proves his worth in the upper-levels of the division? Or will tonight see the return of the most dominant light heavyweight the world has ever seen? Even though Wanderlei is a legend in PRIDE, having held the 205 lbs. belt for over 5 years, he is on a three-fight losing streak that is starting to kill any mystique he may have previously had. Meanwhile Jardine is gaining a lot of momentum after he beat Liddell, and should he pick up a win here it would certainly put him in line for a future light heavyweight title shot. With his current situation Silva will need to go for broke in this fight. He can‘t afford to be cautious so I look for him to let his hands fly early and often. If Jardine can keep some separation and avoid any big shots there‘s no reason he can‘t win here. However I think Wandi will be going full-throttle for the entire fight, so I‘m picking Wanderlei Silva by TKO in round 3. I'm also going to predict that this bout wins "Fight of the Night."

Wilson Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic

The Facts:
-Gouveia is on a four fight win streak. In his last fight he KO'd Jeremy Lambert at UFC 80.
-Reljic is undefeated in seven professional fights.
-Of those seven wins, five have been by submission, while Gouveia has never been submitted.
-Gouveia has a win over current #1 welterweight contender Jon Fitch.
-Reljic will be making his octagon debut.

The Pick: This is a tough one to pick, mostly because I have not seen Reljic in action. He has yet to be defeated, but he also has yet to face any real competition. On the other side you have Gouveia who is a black belt in BJJ with a few nice wins on his record. However I personally have not been impressed by anything he‘s done in the octagon, including his last fight with Lambert where he was getting smothered for the entire first round before catching Lambert with a perfect right hook that knocked him out. Like I said, it‘s tough to pick a winner here, but that‘s what I have to do so I‘ll go with Goran Reljic via TKO in round 2.

Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida vs. Tito "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz

The Facts:
-Machida is undefeated, with wins over BJ Penn, Rich Franklin, Sokoudjou and Stephan Bonnar.
-Machida trains at Black House, with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and the Nogueira brothers.
-Barring a sudden change of heart, this will be Ortiz's last fight in the octagon. The last time he competed somewhere other than the UFC was almost ten years ago.
-Ortiz's last win came against Ken Shamrock in October of 2006.

The Pick: His fighting style has been called "frustrating" by opponents and "boring" by some fans. He has impressive wins over some of the biggest names in the sport. With a victory here he will cement his place in the light heavyweight rankings. Of course, these descriptions could apply to either fighter, but I'm mainly talking about Lyoto Machida. This is a big fight for both men, as Machida wants to prove he belongs in the top-tier at 205 lbs. and Ortiz wants to prove that he can still get the job done at this stage of his career. I don't think Tito will be looking to stand and bang with Machida, who I feel has the advantage in the striking game. If Ortiz can take him down, Machida has the jiu-jitsu skills to stay busy off of his back. This will likely be a war of attrition, but I would have to give the edge to Machida winning by decision.

Thiago Silva vs. Antonio "Samurray" Mendes

The Facts:
-Mendes is on an 11 fight win streak. His last loss was over four years ago.
-Silva is undefeated in 12 fights, and only one of those wins came by decision.
-Both fighters hail from Brazil.
-Silva last fought at UFC 78, where he defeated Houston Alexander.
-Mendes will be making his octagon debut.

The Pick: Last week I profiled several top fighters from Brazil, and I called Thiago Silva the future of the light heavyweight division. Obviously if he wants to prove that fact he‘ll need a dominating win here. Mendes is a tough guy, and he certainly has the ability to hand Silva his first loss. Of course, people said the same thing about Houston Alexander. Like I said I feel Silva is destined for greater things in the future, so I‘ll go with Thiago Silva via TKO in round 1.

The Undercard:
Shane Carwin vs. Christian Wellisch
Dong-Hyun Kim vs. Jason Tan
Jon "War Machine" Koppenhaver vs. Yoshiyuki "Zenko" Yoshida
Rich "No Love" Clementi vs. Terry Etim
Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Rameau Thierry "The African Assassin" Sokoudjou
Rousimar "Toquinho" Palhares vs. Ivan Salaverry

The Facts:
-Carwin is not only undefeated, none of his fights have gone past the first round.
-Wellisch last fought at UFC 76, where he submitted Scott Junk with a heel hook.
-This will be Carwin's first fight of the year.
-Kim is a veteran of DEEP and is not only making his octagon debut, but his American debut as well.
-Tan has been in the UFC once. He competed at UFC 72 where he was KO'd by Marcus Davis.
-Koppenhaver last fought at The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale, where he defeated Jared Rollins.
-Yoshida has never been finished, and is currently on an 8 fight win streak.
-Clementi just fought at UFC 83, where he won a decision over Sam Stout.
-Etim suffered his first career loss at UFC 75, where he dropped a decision to Gleison Tibau.
-Clementi is on a five fight win streak.
-Both Sokoudjou and his opponent Nakamura last competed against, and lost to, Lyoto Machida.
-Nakamura has lost twice to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, who Sokoudjou KO'd last year.
-Salaverry's last win in the octagon was three years ago at UFC 52. His last fight was one year ago, where he lost to Terry Martin at UFC 71.
-Palhares is on a five-fight win streak.
-Carwin, Kim, Yoshida, and Palhares will all be making their UFC debuts.

The Picks:
Carwin, Submission, Rd. 1
Kim, KO, Rd. 1
Yoshida, TKO, Rd. 2
Etim, Submission, Rd. 1
Sokoudjou, TKO, Rd. 2
Palhares, Submission, Rd. 1



-New WEC light heavyweight champion Brian Stann has said his first title defense will be August 3rd against Steve Cantwell. The two met previously at WEC 26 last March, where Stann won the fight in only 41 seconds. The WEC has yet to officially announce their next event.

-Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (twin brother of UFC interim heavyweight champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira) has been announced as the newest addition to the upcoming Affliction card on July 19th. It is being reported that Nogueira's opponent will be Vernon "Tiger" White.

-More new on the Affliction front, as it was announced this week that the evening's undercard fights will air live on Fox Sports Net. This is good news for the start-up organization, as they'll need all the promotional help they can get.

-Top ten middleweight fighter Matt Lindland was victorious in Tuesday's Republican primary for the 52nd District of the Oregon House of Representatives. Lindland now moves on to the general election where he will take on the Democratic candidate Suzanne VanOrman.

-IFL light heavyweight champion Vladmir Matyushenko will reportedly defend his title against Alexandre Ferreira at the company's August 15th event. This will also be the show where the IFL debuts it's new six-sided cage.

-Chris Leben is a free man once again. After serving 11 days of his 35 day sentence Leben was released earlier this week. He will still be unable to compete next month at UFC 85, but at least the guy has got this whole ordeal behind him.

-The announce team for next Saturday's EliteXC show will consist of longtime CBS announcer Gus Johnson, Showtime play-by-play man Mauro Ranallo and the always outspoken Frank Shamrock.

-During a recent conference call Gary Shaw announced plans to create an EliteXC heavyweight championship.

I Keep My Pimp Hand Strong

Sure I'm great, but why not check out some of our other fine writers?

He may be under the weather but Randy Harrison still delivers Five Rounds Of News.
In case you aren‘t hyped enough for UFC 84 then check out part 1 and part 2 of the Roundtable.
It‘s time again to deliver the 411 Rankings. This week it‘s the world‘s best Middleweights.
Yours truly delivers the latest 411 Fighter Profile for BJ Penn
Our own Lotfi Sariahmed is taking an extended leave of absence from 411, but not before delivering a jam-packed Planet Tapout.
More shameless self promotion: Check out my head-to-head with UFC vet Brad Imes in this week‘s Fact Or Fiction
Jeremy Lambert stays busy now that school‘s out with The Cardio Freak News and The Ultimate Fighter Recap



Tonight - UFC 84: Ill Will
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
Live on HDNet at 3 am ET

6/21 - The Ultimate Fighter Finale
Live on Spike at 9 pm ET

6/27 - Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson
(time and broadcast TBA)

6/27 - ShoXC
Live on Showtime (time TBA)

7/5 - UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin
Live on PPV at 10 pm ET

7/19 - Affliction: Banned
Live on PPV (time TBA)

7/21 - DREAM 5
On HDNet (time TBA)

8/9 - UFC 87: Seek And Destroy
Live on PPV at 10 pm ET

That's all the time I have for now. Enjoy the fights tonight and come back next week. Until then…


Credit: MMAJunkie.com, Sherdog.com, Fiveouncesofpain.com, MMAWeekly.com, TAGG Radio