The MMA News Report 05.28.08

Posted by Morgan Marx on 05.28.2008

Thoughts on UFC 84: which group of fighters truly dominated the event, what rematches will UFC fans be clamoring for, and why did Sean Sherk and Tito Ortiz fight out of character? Plus, a look at the big fights and story lines taking place at WEC 34: Faber v. Pulver live this Sunday night. What? Who’s Kevin Ferguson?

INTRODUCTION

It's an "on the road" edition of the Wednesday News Report, as I got to watch this past Saturday's UFC show from back home in Boston. That meant no HD broadcast (thanks, Comcast!) and an Internet connection so slow that keeping up with the news was a little difficult (Sherdog should be loading by sometime next Thursday). In any event, we have enough to talk about between UFC reviews and WEC previews. I figure that most of the focus will be on Elite XC's CBS debut. You'll read countless previews, fight picks, and fighter profiles. It's up to me to focus on WEC 34, meaning you'll get to read my preview, fight picks, and fighter profiles. Yay me.


MAILBAG/RANT TIME

Thoughts on UFC 84

By the time Wednesday rolls around, most of the obvious story lines have been picked over. Saturday's event certainly lived up to the hype, providing a night of finishes, brilliant debuts, and legacy affirming victories. I think the UFC's decision to air nine fights in total influenced some of the more glowing reviews posted around the web. I don't think the main card was head and shoulders above the average UFC show. But then, I happen to rate most UFC shows highly, so it was still a B+/A- effort in my book. Here are some left over thoughts I haven't heard repeated ad nauseam.

Brazillian Domination Four fighters hailing from Brazil won at UFC 84, and each moved into striking distance of a title shot. Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida, and Thiago Silva made sure the spotlight stayed on the light heavyweight division, even though the lightweight title was the centerpiece of the evening. Newcomer Rousimar Palhares put on a BJJ clinic and put his name among countrymen Ricardo Almeida and Demian Maia as possible threats to the middleweight crown.

More and more, the colors of the UFC are starting to resemble green, yellow, and blue. Antonio Nogueira and Anderson Silva sit atop the rankings of Brazilian superstars, with younger, up-and-coming fighters performing well on nearly every UFC card. The diversity in the organization, buoyed by the acquisition of PRIDE and numerous smaller organizations, is at an all time high.

Two Brazilians did fall in defeat on Saturday. But the overall winning record is less important than the sheer number of talented South Americans competing in the UFC. Just a few years ago, white Americans such as Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, and Rich Franklin dominated the industry in the states. The UFC has succeeded wildly in developing (and poaching) stars with diverse backgrounds. Wanderlei received one of the largest ovations of the night, a great achievement considering the event also featured Tito Ortiz.

There will always be fighters like Forrest Griffin and Brock Lesnar that conform to a mainstream, majority look. But the Brazilian superstars combine with fighters like Quinton Jackson, Georges St-Pierre and Roger Huerta to truly represent the worldwide audience that supports MMA. Diversity is one area Dana White and co. have done wonders in embracing.

Rematches Galore One of the bigger complaints of the UFC circa 2005-2006 was the number of rematches the company rushed into booking. Fighters like Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski (and Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture) faced one another again and again in relatively short periods. The fights were indicative of the lack of depth in certain weight classes and the lack of major stars.

Just a few years later, fans are in a reverse position, clamoring for certain rematches to take place. BJ Penn almost requested a rematch with welterweight champion St-Pierre, a fight that first took place in 2006. Wanderlei Silva's victory means rematches with both Chuck Liddell and Quinton Jackson could take place, fights that shouldn't generate many complaints. Other second time around fights could include Anderson Silva v. Yushin Okami and Rich Franklin v. Lyoto Machida (though that would involve a change in weight classes).

These fights are all intriguing for a variety of reasons. Some would let prior wrongs be righted (Silva v. Okami, the "tuck rule" of MMA DQ's). Wanderlei Silva's rematches would be sequels of very good fights. A Penn v. St-Pierre rematch would answer the question of whether a 100% motivated Penn could fare better against a pound-for-pound best champion.

In each case, the rematch would be a positive decision, not a hasty, desperate attempt to generate buy rates. Even though it's a repeat of a pattern popular three years ago, it's actually a sign of growth within the company. Hopefully, we see a few of these fights in 2008 and the rest in 2009.

So much for my predictions For once, I'm not talking about my fight picks. For UFC events, there's almost no excuse in scoring below 8-3 on your fight picks, a number I routinely end up with after the events have ended. It's a good number actually; I can crow about calling the Goran Reljic upset without falling too in love with myself. I'm not sure what's worse: that I talked myself into picking Kazuhiro Nakamura before the fight, or that during the fight I actually thought Kaz might have pulled it off before Sokoudjou dropped the hammer.

Instead, I'm talking about my prediction that Sean Sherk and Tito Ortiz would fall back on the game plans that made them champions. I truly thought that the two wrestlers would ignore the stand-up against supremely talented strikers. Instead, both men fell right into their opponent's trap and emerged worse for the wear. Was this a case of fighters falling in love with their secondary offense (like Matt Hughes deciding to become a boxer)? Or were both men simply outclassed?

In Sherk's case, I think he let Penn's reputation get the better of him. We all know that Penn has arguably the best takedown defense in all of MMA thanks to his flexibility. But fighters like Matt Hughes and Georges St-Pierre have shown that the way to beat Penn is to pressure him on the ground. I'm sure Penn's disinterest in training (and injuries) played the biggest part in both of those losses. But until someone KOs Penn, I think the only proven way to defeat The Prodigy is by ground and pound.

Sherk stated that he felt comfortable on his feet. I'm not sure how he thought the fight was playing out, but
At no point in the first three rounds did Sherk put any real pressure on Penn, a fighter known to have a great chin. All the pre-fight talk centered on Sherk's desire to take the fight deep, steal one of the first three rounds, and then grind out a weary Penn in rounds four and five. Even before the flying knee ended things, that simply wasn't an option. Did Sherk truly believe he had the striking ability to take out Penn? Or did Sherk lack the confidence to rely on his strength and come up empty?

For Tito, I'm not sure what there is to say. I'm slightly baffled by the reaction Ortiz garnered after both this fight and the second Chuck Liddell fight. In both cases, Ortiz surprised viewers by doing all right in areas that aren't his strength, striking and jiu jitsu. In both cases, Ortiz didn't come close to winning the fight. It's great that Ortiz is improving his boxing and his submission offense. It's also a fact that Ortiz probably won't win a fight by relying on either of those two areas.

Ortiz's shots looked slow and weak against Machida, a fighter he was supposed to physically dominate. I picked Ortiz to win this fight, thinking that he could outmuscle a smaller foe to the ground. Instead, Machida was the fighter shucking off takedown attempts and planting Ortiz on his back. The triangle attempt was the most dramatic point of the night, and Ortiz deserves a ton of credit for almost gutting out the victory. But the most surreal point of the night had to be Ortiz pulling guard against a BJJ blackbelt.

Ortiz was thoroughly dominated and frustrated in the fight, taken out of his game by a superior opponent. Perhaps if Tito had decided to apply 100% pressure straight from the get go, things would have turned out different. But I believe that submission just caught Machida off guard, a Hail Mary from a fighter facing a loss.

Both Sherk and Ortiz decided to stray from what they do best. One fighter probably lost the mental battle. The other probably isn't physically capable of delivering bone shattering ground and pound. When facing fighters as good as BJ Penn and Lyoto Machida, you can play their game and survive, or you can play your game and maybe lose. Or maybe you'll get lucky. At least you'll go out on your own terms.

The Reader's Question: Who deserves a light heavyweight title shot – based on both record and marketability – first: Lyoto Machida or Wanderlei Silva?


COMMENTARY

WEC 34 Preview



While the mainstream attention and audience will likely focus on Kimbo Slice and Elite XC this weekend (and he/they deserve it), the most entertaining event may take place the next night. The WEC travels to Urijah Faber's home state to watch their featherweight champion take on Jens Pulver in arguably the company's biggest fight. The event will air live on Versus and should benefit from a large in house crowd. Here are some thoughts and previews for the event, airing Sunday night at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific.

WEC Featherweight Championship: Urijah Faber (c) v. Jens Pulver Truly a win/win for the organization. Should Faber take out the former UFC lightweight champion, his legend continues to grow and he remains the biggest name within the WEC. If Pulver lands the KO shot, the WEC can promote a recognizable name as the new champion, and build to a huge rematch down the road.

Both Faber and Pulver are great for the WEC in almost opposite ways. Faber has the California looks, the perfect sound bytes, and the work ethic of a true champion. He's also arguably the world's top ranked featherweight, meaning the WEC gets mentioned in all discussions of the weight class. He has taken on the responsibility of being an organization's standard bearer, headlining his last two WEC events. Faber has almost single handedly legitimized the smaller weight classes in the USA, and has done so without dropping a fight.

On the other hand, Pulver is brash, quotable, and "interesting" to look at. He works as hard as Faber, but is at a different point in his career. If Pulver were just coming into his prime in 2008, perhaps he'd sit in Faber's spot. Instead, Pulver profited during a time when the attention wasn't on MMA and was certainly not on the lighter weights. Pulver's highest profile fight is probably his lowest point, and absolute destruction at the hands of BJ Penn following his run on The Ultimate Fighter. With a win on Sunday, Pulver can finally achieve the success he deserves as the pioneer of the 155 and under weight divisions.

It's interesting to compare the buildup of this championship bout and the pre-fight smack talk between Penn and Sean Sherk. Both Faber and Pulver respect one another as competitors. Both stress that they want to win (and will have no problem putting a fist through the opposition). But neither man has resorted to the name-calling and faux histrionics that the UFC has relied on recently. It's refreshing to see the athletic contest take center stage of an event as opposed to a personal grudge match.

Now, this fight could play out similarly to Penn v. Sherk in a negative way. There's no guarantee that Pulver belongs in the same cage as Faber. Though rededicated to his craft, Pulver's WEC debut (a 35-second submission of Cub Swanson) didn't allow for a thorough examination of Pulver's skill set. There are reasons to believe in Pulver: he's undefeated at 145, Faber has never faced a lefty striker like Jens, and Pulver's determination is tremendous. But Faber is the #1 featherweight for a reason. Hopefully, the fight will make superstars out of both men. But we can be sure that both fighters will give their absolute best on Sunday, in an evenly booked contest with a belt on the line. That's something Elite XC may not be able to boast.

WEC Bantamweight Championship: Miguel Angel Torres (c) v. Yoshiro Maeda While watching Manny Tapia finally lose his undefeated record would have been great, fans will have to wait for The Mangler to heal. Instead, PRIDE, DEEP, and Pancrase veteran Maeda gets the call to step in against sudden star Torres. I can't believe how quickly Torres has risen in prominence. I consider myself a UFC hardcore fan, but I don't claim to have a Jordan Breen like knowledge of MMA. Torres was a Fight Finder favorite, a fighter I hadn't seen but that sported a tremendous record. Now, two fights into his WEC career, Torres is a titleholder that has popped up on some pundits' pound-for-pound rankings.

I underestimated Torres in his first bout against former champ Chase Beebe. I doubt you'll be seeing many writers and fans underestimate Torres again. Maeda sports a good record, but almost universally Torres is being touted as a champion destined to dominate his division. Unless Urijah Faber drops down another 10 pounds, I'm not sure what kind of a fighter will trouble Torres.

One thing Maeda has going for him (as opposed to Beebe) is experience. He won't be cowed by Torres' record, nor will he be overawed by the champion's submission game. Maeda is a striker, and Torres reportedly will stand and trade. I'm not sure how long that will last, as Torres' can likely outwork Maeda on the ground any way he wants.

Is Miguel Torres the next WEC star? He's a proven fighter with a huge history outside the organization. Yet for a variety of reasons (his size, the organizations he was fighting for, his humble nature) he flew under the radar. The WEC didn't make Torres, but they can make him a focal point of their productions. From there, the two benefit in a symbiotic relationship, further developing an appreciation for the lighter weights within the US.

Keneth Alexander v. Rob McCullough; Chase Beebe v. Will Ribeiro In both fights, a former champion will attempt to rebound against a less heralded opponent. Both McCullough and Beebe lost their belts at inopportune times. As the WEC continues to grow, the organization's champions will benefit from more notoriety, bigger paydays, and contract clout. Both Beebe and McCullough dropped their belts to WEC newcomers now receiving the posh treatment.

Alexander and Ribeiro also have a big opportunity. The WEC rewards fighters that score big wins with higher profile fights and possible title shots. Taking out a recognizable name like McCullough could boost Alexander's stock tremendously.

It would be an accomplishment Alexander has already achieved. In 2002 Alexander decisioned McCullough in Razor Rob's third fight. Since then, McCullough has grown into one of the most devastating strikers at 155. Alexander hasn't done nearly as much, taking four years off from the sport before returning in 2007. McCullough should return to his winning ways in this fight. I'm not sure what got to Razor in his fight with Jamie Varner. Lack of training, underestimating his opponent, or fight fatigue could all have played a role. For McCullough to get a rematch, he must destroy Alexander.

As for Beebe, the wrestler clearly wasn't ready for a fighter like Miguel Torres. It wasn't so much the superior submission skills of Torres's that undid Beebe; he had already passed the BJJ test by beating Rani Yahya. But Torres' posses a wealth of experience that Beebe is still acquiring in the sport. Beebe reeled off six straight wins following his first professional loss. There's no reason Beebe can't make a run similar to Georges St-Pierre, another fighter that had to lose a title belt in order to learn a lesson.

Donald Cerrone v. Danny Castillo I'm not sure if this continues Cerrone's run of bad luck. First, Cowboy tested positive for a diuretic following his quick submission victory over Kenneth Alexander at WEC 30. Now, Cerrone's intended opponent, Richard Crunkilton, pulled out of this fight due to injury. Instead of getting to prove himself against a credible (and dangerous) opponent, Cerrone steps in against an unknown and unproven competitor.

With seven wins via seven submissions, Cerrone is headed for big things. Cerrone's record stands in stark contrast to his background as a decorated kickboxer. Training under Duane Ludwig was not supposed to turn Cerrone into another Miguel Torres. Eventually, Cerrone will get a chance to unleash his striking in the MMA cage. Danny Castillo may be the unlucky recipient of that coming out.

Castillo has already fought three times in 2008. Unfortunately, Castillo's opponents had a combined record of 7-19-1. For someone making his major organization debut (and the WEC is a major step up from the Palace Fighting Championship), Cerrone is not an ideal opponent. Wherever the fight goes, Cerrone will be favored. For Cowboy, another victory will land him in a high profile fight on a main card. Hopefully, his next opponent will make it to the event in one piece.

Terrible, Favorite-leaning Picks You Should Bet Against:

Urijah Faber over Jens Pulver
Miguel Angel Torres over Yoshiro Maeda
Mark Munoz over Chuck Grigsby
Rob McCullough over Kenneth Alexander
Donald Cerrone over Danny Castillo
Chase Beebe over Will Ribeiro


CONCLUSION

Enjoy this monumental weekend. As an MMA fan, I truly hope for the best on Saturday night. Next weeks I'll have some thoughts on both shows, plus a look at a Kimbo Slice bandwagon jumper (cough*thatwouldbeme*cough). Take care and keep reading.