Cardio Freak MMA News Report 6.19.08: A Major Breakthrough

Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 06.19.2008

Cardio Freak is back with a look at EliteXC running a better angle than anything WWE has done in years. Plus a recap of DREAM 4, a preview of The Ultimate Finale 7, a breakdown of why UFC countering Affliction is stupid, and thoughts on Dana's big announcement. All that and the latest news in the MMA world. It's bigger than Nick Diaz at 160, it's Cardio Freak on 411.



Welcome back to Cardio Freak everyone. I am your trainer Jeremy ‘Honorary Diaz Brother' Lambert.

10 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week

EliteXC: The Greatest Pro Wrestling Company EVER

I had no intentions of making EliteXC: Return of the King the top story this week as it didn't seem like a big enough event to give top story considerations to. Nick Diaz had other ideas. The moment I read that Nick Diaz missed weight, the obvious answer was to do an article on weight cutting/weigh ins in MMA as Diaz was the 3rd fighter in as many weeks to miss weight. A more condensed version of that article can be found within the top story. Diaz upped the ante at the end of the EliteXC event this past Saturday by causing a near riot in Hawaii when he and his brother Nate got into an altercation with KJ Noons, his father, and the Noons camp. With two events in the past three weeks that have come under fire for being controversial, over the top, and staged; I have concluded that EliteXC does pro wrestling better than pro wrestling does pro wrestling.

Lets face it; EliteXC can't compete with UFC. UFC is making money hand over fist while EXC lost 27 million dollars last year. I wrote an article a few months ago that basically said, "you can't out do UFC so you have to do something different." EliteXC gets that. While I love what UFC does (pre-fight videos, bringing down the house lights, hype for fights, ect…) and I'm almost brainwashed to believe that, THAT'S how it's done and everything else sucks, I know that's wrong. I'm not a fan of how EliteXC does things with two introductions for fighters, dancers on the stage, pyro, ect… but I will give them credit for trying. It's different and like it or not, the EXC on CBS rating proved that it worked at least for one night. Almost everything EliteXC does is very pro wrestling. Kimbo Slice is not the best fighter in the world yet he headlined the biggest MMA event in America just a few weeks ago because Kimbo sells. Just like pro wrestling. Bryan Danielson isn't headlined every Wrestlemania despite arguably being the best wrestler in the world. John Cena is headlining Wrestlemania's because he sells. Other examples are pretty basic: pyro, introductions during the walk in, dancers, women's fighting, That Stoppage Ref, ect….

EliteXC proved just how much they get that "feuds" sell (sorry Kevin Iole) with the angle they did this past Saturday though. KJ Noons defeated Yves Edwards in just 48 seconds via TKO to retain his EXC Lightweight title in his home state of Hawaii. In what should have been a great moment and a great homecoming for Noons, Diaz decided to spoil the fun. We've seen UFC do it before where they bring in the next challenger to the champions title into the cage and most of the time it ends with a respectful handshake after some comments. It's nothing new, UFC and their fighters understands that "feuds" sell (sorry Kevin Iole) just as much as EXC. Who can forget the great "I'm not impressed by your performance" comment by Georges St. Pierre to Matt Hughes after Hughes defeated BJ Penn? GSP knew that comment would get a reaction and that it would help sell the fight. Noons and Diaz took it to a whole other level on Saturday.

After Noons defeated Edwards, Nick Diaz was brought into the ring in order to hype the upcoming title fight between himself and Noons. Noons asked the crowd, "does he deserve a rematch?" and the crowd responded with boos. That led to Nick shooting back with, "don't be scared homie" while Nick's brother Nate flipped off the Noons camp and had some words with KJ's dad. I think once KJ finally realized that Nate was talking shit to his dad, he went after Nick. One of Noons' cornermen threw some punches at Nick while KJ's dad grabbed him with a plum clinch before Bill Goldberg and officials broke it up. As they were backing up the ramp, the Diaz Brothers flipped off the Noons camp and threw up gang signs. It all ruled.

The card this past Saturday had very little buzz around it. Nick Diaz isn't the star that EliteXC wants you to believe that he is, Yves Edwards is a veteran of the sport but isn't really known outside of the hardcores, and KJ Noons doesn't get much respect from the many in the MMA community (myself included). If Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons 2 isn't the most watched EXC event that doesn't feature Kimbo Slice, something is horribly wrong with this company. "Feuds" sells events (sorry Kevin Iole). It's unfortunate that Noons vs. Diaz 2 can't headline the next CBS show because it would be a much bigger draw than Smith vs. Lawler 2 if promoted right. If only they could the Diaz Brothers vs. The Noons Clan in a tag team fight. At the very least they need Nate Diaz and Karl Sr. handcuffed to each other outside the cage.

I would say they should hold off this fight until they can get it on CBS but there's a couple of factors that make it better suited on Showtime. If the second EXC on CBS show flops, CBS could pull the plug on the deal feeling that the novelty has worn off. It's also got to be wondered if CBS wants a riot breaking out on their network. EXC's best bet is to do this fight a week or two after a CBS show and promote the hell out of it on the CBS show. It will alert the audience that there's a big fight coming up that they can't miss and that EliteXC exists outside of CBS. They should also do this fight in Hawaii or Stockton, California, preferably Hawaii since Nick Diaz is a much better heel.

As for the fight itself, it's still tough to get a read on KJ Noons. A victory in 48 seconds shows that he has knockout power but that's something we already knew. I really liked his finishing ability after he knocked down Edwards as he didn't hesitate for a second to pounce on Edwards when he saw him hit the ground. I think this fight earned KJ some respect from a lot of fans and I think it proved that he won the fight against Diaz wasn't because Diaz is a bleeder but it was but because Noons was just better on that night.

Yves Edwards is at another crossroads in his fighting career. He turned his career around when he joined American Top Team and EliteXC but where does he go from here? There's not an influx of great Lightweights in EXC so if he beats mediocre fighters it's not really going to do much for him and if he loses then it obviously harms him. Now that EXC has a working agreement with DREAM I wouldn't be shocked to see Edwards appear on future DREAM events.

Nick Diaz had a busy night inside the cage as well, defeating Muhsin Corbbrey in the third round. Corbbrey was the first ShowXC fighter to make it to EliteXC, meaning he was basically a bone thrown to Diaz in order to give him a win and another shot at the title. It was your typical Nick Diaz fight that saw him use his PEPPERING PUNCHES~! in order to tire out his opponent before dragging him to the ground, mounting him, and pounding him out in the third. It was a good performance by Diaz but that was to be expected. If you wanted to nitpick, you could actually fault Diaz for not finishing Corbbrey in the first round.

The biggest story coming out of this fight is that Nick Diaz weighed in at 169 lbs for a fight at 160. Corbbrey missed weight as well, weighing in at 163.5 but he stated that the Diaz camp informed him that Nick wasn't going to make weight so after cutting to 158 lbs, Corbbrey bulked back up and weighed in with is clothes on and items in his pocket. The excuses coming out of the Diaz camp as to why he missed weight is that, "he went swimming the other weekend, swallowed salt water, and couldn't lose the weight" and "he didn't know what weight the fight was at". Diaz just fought a few weeks ago at 170 in Japan and he's fighting in a month at 170 in Japan so maybe that had something to do with it.

Diaz is the third fighter in as many weeks who missed weight, following in the footsteps of Gina Carano and Thiago Alves. Like Carano and Alves, Diaz won his fight. If this trend continues then something has to be done. I know guys don't have to fight if their opponent misses weight but as I said last week, guys aren't going to turn down fights when they want to be a good company guy, make money, keep sponsors happy, ect…. Right now the penalty for not making weight is forfeiting 12% of your purse. Honestly, that's nothing. The penalty should be harsher. Guys should have to forfeit their win bonus if they win the fight and a portion of their purse. That way if you make weight and lose, you'll make more money than missing weight and winning. I also read a suggestion that stated guys should give up 10% of their purse for every pound they're over. Hell, maybe guys should just fight at their natural weight instead of cutting so many pounds, bulking up, and essentially fighting smaller guys. I would say hold same day weigh ins but I know guys are going to be stupid, try to cut a bunch of weight, and then fight dehydrated. That's just something I don't want to see.

The funniest thing about all this is that once again, an EliteXC fighter failed to make weight in a weight class created specifically for them. Shaw created the 160 pound division specifically for Nick Diaz because that was the weight Diaz felt most comfortable at. The worst thing about all this is that once again, Shaw will play favorites for Diaz. After failing to make weight by a whole nine pounds, Diaz will still get a title shot. If anything EliteXC should wait until Eddie Alvarez gets done in the DREAM Lightweight GP and give him the title shot. They're of course not going to do that, especially now that they've already shot the angle between Diaz and Noons but that whole thing should have been scrapped the moment Diaz failed to make weight.

The rest of the fights on the card were quick. Murilo Rua defeated Tony Bonello with a dominant performance. Bonello was very jumpy and vocal during the staredown (I hate that EVERY fight gets a staredown by the way) and Rua decided to ground him, side mount him, and just lay a beating on him. Dave Herman laid a beatdown on Ron Waterman, finishing him from the mount in the first round. Rafael Feijao was destined to win considering Anderson Silva was in his corner and he trains in the camp with Silva, Nog, and Machida. He defeated Wayne Cole with an impressive performance, pounding him out in the first.

I have yet to watch the preliminary fights on this card but I did notice that Kala Kolohe Hose was fighting. Hose is coming off a victory over Phil Baroni where he won the ICON Sport Middleweight title. Of course EliteXC just sticks Hose on the preliminary card, makes the fight nontitle, and then he loses. I already hate the fact that champions from other organizations compete in different companies but if you're going to have a champion from another company fight under your banner, at least put the fight on the televised portion of the card and put the title on the line. Non-title fights are just stupid, especially if your champion loses.

Overall the show was a good showing by EliteXC. I'm still not a fan of a lot of the stuff they do production wise and I think Bill Goldberg sounds scripted as an announcer and is a horrible post-fight interviewer. Still, when you deliver exciting fights with finishes and set up your next big fight with a good angle, I can't hate on this show. If you missed this show, check out the angle between Noons and Diaz because it ruled.

Playing to Your Strengths

Dana White's big announcement is that Lorenzo Fertitta is stepping down as the president of Station Casino's. Feritta will now work full-time alongside Dana White in order to expand the UFC

This certainly wasn't the HUGE announcement that had fans speculating that: UFC had been bought out, Floyd Mayweather was signing with the company, or a network TV deal, but in all fairness, Dana backed off some comments less than a week ago, saying it was more of an employee announcement than a media announcement.

Lets be honest, no matter what this announcement was, the internet wasn't going to be happy. When you really look at it though, this announcement isn't as big as Dana hyped it to be (but nothing was going to live up to the hype created by Dana and the internet) but this is still a big announcement for the long term. If Dana announced UFC had been bought, people still would have been pissed and then it would be questioned where UFC would go from here. If Dana announced the signing of Mayweather, people would be upset that UFC would spend so much money on an unproven MMA fighter who may quit if he gets beat in his first fight. If Dana announced a TV deal, what good would that really do? UFC already runs plenty of specials on SpikeTV, their PPV business is doing just fine, they don't really need the exposure that EXC needed when they got the CBS deal, and there would be no point in getting a bad TV deal just to get a TV deal. If Dana announced some major superfight or big event then that would have been nice for that night but it wasn't going to do much after that night.

With this announcement, Dana White is no longer THE guy in UFC. I'm sure he'll continue to be all over ESPN trying to watch his language and all in the press not watching his language but it's no longer just him. Give credit where credit is due, Dana White is a great promoter. He didn't single handedly make UFC into what it is today but he was the guy who did most of the work and he was the guy in front of the camera. Basically, he was the Vince McMahon of the UFC. The problem with Dana is his brash, in your face style. It's pretty much the biggest reason as to why high profile fighters like Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, and Fedor Emelianenko won't sign with the company. With Lorenzo now next to Dana, maybe some of these problems won't occur. Dana can stick to doing what he does best and that's promoting fights and events while Lorenzo can continue to expand the company, work on major deals, and deal with fighters without saying the word "fuck" in every sentence.

You've got to give credit to Dana and Lorenzo with this announcement though because those two have goals to make UFC the biggest event in the world. Both men have stated that they want to make UFC bigger than all major sporting leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA) and the World Cup within 8 years. Those are some pretty steep goals. The World Cup was watched by 93 million people across the world in 2006 so if UFC can reach over 93 million people in 8 years then they'd be making some major moves. Dana has already talked about expanding to Germany, Brazil, China, Australia and other countries and with the help of Lorenzo being his censor, I expect this to happen a lot faster than originally expected.

This announcement isn't going to set the world on fire and your casual UFC fan probably isn't even going to know a difference for the time being (although to be fair, your casual UFC fan probably didn't even know there was a major announcement) but for the long term, this is a huge announcement.

And if you're upset that you didn't get your instant gratification of a show in New York, the signing of a major star, a super-fight, or a super-event with this major announcement, just think of UFC announcing the July 19th event with Anderson Silva changing weights as the major announcement.

The Ultimate Finale 7 is this Saturday, June 21st. Here is the card:

*Evan Tanner vs. Kendall Grove
*Diego Sanchez vs. Luigi Fioravanti
*The Finals of The Ultimate Fighter 7
*Spencer Fisher vs. Jeremy Stephens
*Josh Burkman vs. Dustin Hazelett
*Marvin Eastman vs. Drew McFedries
*Jeremy Horn vs. Dean Lister
*Rob Yundt vs. Rob Kimmons
*Matt Arroyo vs. Matt Brown
*Dante Rivera vs. Matthew Riddle

I don't know about you guys but I have very little interest in this show. Grove is coming off two straight losses while Tanner is coming off a loss and two years of inactivity. It's about so many steps down from the Ultimate Finale 6 main event that saw Huerta vs. Guida is arguably the Fight of the Year that God hasn't invented the number for it. I would honestly rather see Sanchez vs. Fioravanti as the main event because at least those guys are coming off of wins. At the time of this typing, the finals for the Ultimate Fighter tournament are not known outside of Jesse Taylor but it's widely speculated that he's the one who gets kicked out of the finals and out of the UFC due to his actions on the final TUF episode. I think as long as CB Dollaway makes it to the finals, he's winning it. I'm not going to do a big preview of this card simply because I'm not interested enough in it to do a big preview and I honestly think that outside of maybe the Sanchez vs. Fioravanti fight, no fight really means much in the big picture.

Quick Preview:

*What a horrible main event that does nothing for me or the Middleweight division. If Grove wins, he beats a guy coming off a loss to a true contender, Yushin Okami, and two years away from fighting. If Tanner wins, he beats a guy coming off two losses, one to a true contender, Patrick Cote, and the other to a gate-keeper, Jorge Rivera. Either way these guys are clearly three fights away from a title shot. More than anything this is just a crossroads/confidence fight instead of a contender fight. It's tough to get a read on Tanner based on his return fight against Okami because he was dominated for the most part. This will be the true test for him as Grove isn't a frustrating fighter like Okami. We've all seen Grove get exposed in his recent fights for his weak chin and if you can get inside on him and rough him up, chances are he's going to wilt under the pressure. Before leaving the game, Tanner was great at getting into the clinch, roughing guys up, getting guys down, pounding them, and submitting. I think he'll do the same thing in this fight, just without the submission.

*This is probably the most important fight of the night because I think the winner, especially if it's Diego, will be a fight or two away from a title shot depending on the match-ups. Both guys are coming off victories with Diego returning to his dominant ways against David Bielkheden and Fioravanti boring the hell out of everyone against Luke Cummo. Fioravanti showed good wrestling in his fight with Cummo but once he got him to the ground, he really did nothing with it. Diego's wrestling is very good, better than Fioravanti's, and if Fioravanti is able to takedown Diego, he better do something with the position. Diego Sanchez is a CARDIO FREAK, which doesn't mean that he never gasses but it means that he sets an incredible pass and never gasses. I like Diego by submission in this one.

*I can't really predict the finals without knowing who is in it but if CB Dollaway is in the finals, he's going to win. If he's not in the finals, does it really matter who wins?

*Fisher vs. Stephens should be a very fun stand up battle with fight of the night potential. I give Fisher the advantage on the feet and I give him the advantage on the ground. I also believe that his wrestling is better so if he is losing the stand up battle, he can take the fight to the ground. Fisher by decision.

*Josh Burkman is on my Eff Off List© due to his fight with Mike Swick (and the fact that he's banged Arianny Celeste) while I actually became a fan of Hazelett's during his fight with Josh Koscheck. I'll go with Hazelett by TKO.

*This is another fight that should be a good stand up battle with someone getting knocked out. I think Eastman has a bit of a suspect chin while McFedries has loads of power so I'll take McFedries by TKO.

*Horn vs. Lister has the potential to be the greatest technical fight ever or just a boring fight with both guys sort of cancelling each other out. Horn hasn't really showed a commitment to fighting as of late and after over 100 fights, who can blame him? I think this will be more boring than technical and I'll go with Lister by decision.

*Yundt is coming off a loss to Ricardo Almeida where he took the fight on short notice and got caught with a submission. While Kimmons is no Almeida in jiu-jitsu, he has a solid game. I think Yundt will be able to keep it standing though and he'll win via TKO.

*Matt Brown was built up as a killer on TUF7 but how much of a killer is he really with a horrible ground game and a 6-6 record. He actually holds a win via TKO over Arroyo but I'm sure Arroyo has improved by leaps and bounds since then (he was one of the better looking TUF6 members) while Matt Brown is more hype than anything. Arroyo by submission.

*Is it bad that I remember nothing about these two despite recapping TUF7 every week for the site? I think Riddle is the guy who had the big punch in the qualifying fights but lost to Matt Brown in the first round while Rivera is the guy who was really boring and lost to Jesse. I'm probably wrong. These guys are going nowhere so really, who cares? Rivera by decision.

I have no expectations for this card so anything below average will surpass those expectations. I guess that's a plus.

UFC is planning on holding a live special on SpikeTV on July 19th, the same night as the debut of Affliction. Here is the rumored card:

*Anderson Silva (Debuting at Light Heavyweight) vs. James Irvin
*Hermes Franca vs. Frank Edgar
*Cain Velasquez vs. Jake O'Brien
*Anthony Johnson vs. Kevin Burns
*Brandon Vera vs. Reese Andy

WHAT?!?!?!?!

Has Dana White lost his mind? I'm one of the biggest Dana fans on the internet but this has to be one of the dumbest ideas I have ever seen in my life. This is such a stupid idea that I need numbers to break down just how stupid it is.

1. Why are they running against Affliction? Does Dana White read the great columns here at 411 or the message boards and conclude that Affliction is putting together the greatest card in the world so they have to counter it? Affliction is putting together a very good card…for the hardcore fans. Outside of Arlovski and Sylvia, the Affliction card doesn't have a big name draw and even those two are mediocre draws at best. Also, that card has ZERO television to build a PPV. This card is honestly no better than YAMMA except that it has bigger names that the hardcore fans know.

2. If you're going to counter any programming in July, why not counter the second EXC on CBS show? Their attempt to counter the first show didn't work out so well but they were countering Kimbo Slice and the MMA debut on network TV with a fight that was four months old. This time they wouldn't have to deal with the hype that is the first ever MMA event on network TV and they would be up against Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith, two guys who don't have the same appeal as Kimbo. Plus they would be countering with a live event instead of one fight. It's stupid enough to just randomly throw this card together just to throw a card together and counter a rival promotion but if you're going to do it, at least counter the right promotion.

3. This pretty much confirms that everything Dana says about rival promotions is bullshit and Dana actually considers "the t-shirt guy" a threat. If he didn't he would just let Affliction run their event, lose a ton of money, and move on. Instead I think the fact that Donald Trump jumped into bed with Affliction has rattled Dana a bit. What Dana needs to understand Trump is nothing more than a big name for Affliction to leech off of. Trump is going to get the word out the best he can and I'm sure they'll hold some events at Trump's hotels but I highly doubt that Trump is feeding millions of dollars to Affliction and the moment they lose a ton of money, he'll be out.

4. Why is Anderson Silva moving up to 205? As I've stated many times, I'm not a fan of a champion moving around in weight classes because it just serves no value. Honestly, it's no different than a non-title fight, which is just a dumb concept that I expect from EliteXC (and actually got in EliteXC this past Saturday). If Irvin beats Silva, suddenly your unbeatable champion looks beatable and he lost to a guy who probably isn't even going anywhere at 205. It's one thing to lose to Chuck Liddell at 205, it's another thing to lose to James Irvin. If Silva wins, big deal. He beats a mediocre 205 fighter and then what? Is he going to continue to fight at 205 and just give up the Middleweight title, is he going to continue to fight at 205 until he loses while the Middleweight guys fight for seemingly nothing, or is he going to fight at both weight classes? If you're going to have your champions fight at different weight classes, at least have them fight other champions. I know that I'm completely against that idea as well but at least if your champion loses, he's losing to another champion.

If this card happens (and there doesn't look like there's much preventing it from happening) then I'll obviously watch it and I'll actually be excited about it because it is a good card for a free event. It's still a dumb move by UFC and one that I just can't agree with.

UFC officially announced UFC 88: BREAKTHROUGH~! on September 6th in Atlanta, Georgia. The card will be headlined by Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans

This obviously wouldn't be news if I weren't going to this event. By the time some of you read this (and shame on you for reading a Thursday column on Friday), I'll already have my tickets.

Outside of Liddell vs. Evans, no other fights have been announced but I have a strong feeling that Wanderlei Silva will be on this card. UFC wanted him on the July 19th event but he didn't feel there would be enough time to train. I think September 6th gives him plenty of time to train for a fight and I think UFC would love to headline an event with a Liddell/Silva doubleshot. I'm not sure who he would face but if I were a betting man, I could very easily see him matched up against Lyoto Machida. Obviously I'll be hyping every fight announced for this card as the greatest fight ever and only in a dream world would UFC put two of my favorite fighters on the same card.

Studying Tape



The greatest angle ever.

Sparring Session

The Noons Clan and the Diaz Brothers still hate each other. KJ Sr. stated that, "The Diaz Brothers are punks who have no respect" and Nick Diaz responded back with, "I think that when he's that drunk he should stay at home."

WWE should hire Nick Diaz immediately. He's by far the best heel in MMA who doesn't have boring fights to draw heat. Plus he just looks like someone who you would love to hate. I now believe that this fight can draw a bigger audience on Showtime than a Kimbo fight because you know Nick Diaz isn't going to shut up about the whole thing and I expect the Noons Clan to fire back each and every time. Seriously, if EliteXC fails to create a buzz with this fight, there's no hope for the company. I actually believe that if they took this fight, put on some good undercard match ups featuring a few well-known names, and put it on PPV, that it would do more buys than the best TNA PPV. I don't know how much that's saying but considering TNA has a weekly TV show to build up their PPVs and EliteXC has nothing outside of the CBS specials where upcoming events are marginally hyped, I think it says a bit.

Underwater Ice Bath

EliteXC returns to CBS on July 26th. Here is rumored card:

*EliteXC Middleweight Title: Robbie Lawler © vs. Scott Smith
*EliteXC Welterweight Title: Jake Shields vs. TBA (Rumored to be Nick Thompson, Jay Hieron, or Paul Daley)
*Antonio Silva vs. TBA (Rumored to be for the EliteXC Heavyweight title and rumored to face Roy Nelson)
*Shayna Baszler vs. Kelly Kobald

THIS is the program that UFC should counter. The appeal of the first MMA show on network TV is gone and this show doesn't have a big draw. Smith and Lawler had a great first fight but I don't know how many people are really clamoring for a rematch even with the eye poke of doom finish. Everyone else on the card are essentially unknowns to the general public.

This card, like the first one, is destined to go over the two-hour limit. Three fights could potentially go 25-minutes so this is looking like a four hour event between the fights, the pre-fight stuff, the post-fight stuff, the stuff in-between, and commercials. It's a good card though and something completely different than the first event. The first EXC on CBS show was built around stand up fights and headlined by the spectacle that is Kimbo Slice. This is built around a rematch and fights that could actually go to the ground (and be good). I think the turnaround if a bit too quick and CBS should have let the sizzle of the first show marinate and allow EXC to put a draw like Kimbo or Gina on the card but this is a good card for less than two months of time off.

Affliction confirmed that Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia will be for the WAMMA Heavyweight Title

For those that don't know, WAMMA (not to be confused with YAMMA) is basically a ranking site that claims they play no bias when it comes to organizations. That pretty much means they're just like the rankings by MMAWeekly (widely considered to be the best rankings on the net) just with better-known rankers. I don't believe any site has a bias when it comes to rankings because anyone with an eye can see who the best guys in each division are. The fact that WAMMA will now be tied to Affliction makes you believe that there will now be biasness when it comes to their rankings. Plus, lets just say Sylvia beats Fedor and wins the title, does that mean they're going to consider Sylvia the best Heavyweight in the world despite his losses to Couture and Nogueira? I understand Affliction wanting to make Sylvia vs. Fedor a 5 Round fight and I'm all for it but using WAMMA to brand their Heavyweight title just doesn't make sense. Affliction should just brand their own Heavyweight title and go from there. I always thought that fighters fighting for five (how is that for alliteration?) different companies was dumb and now you know that the winner of this fight will defend this one other shows that aren't under the Affliction banner.

Now that I know rankings sites can establish their own title, I'm accepting calls from any company who wants to use THE Cardio Freak Title in their organization. I'm not bias either. Much.

Taking Time Off

The other week I discovered a site called CentSports.com. It's a betting website where you start off with 10 cents and bet on sports. If you lose the change, the site gives you another 10 cents. It's not a site for you high rollers who want to throw away $500,000 on NBA games but if you want to start with nothing, slowly work your way up, put some meaning into games that you otherwise wouldn't care about, and have fun then this is a good site. Once you're satisfied with your earnings, you can cash out. So you can start with nothing and over time end up making 20 bucks or so. MMA betting is included so join now and put 10 cents on a fighter in this Saturdays Ultimate Finale 7.

In this weeks The Mole update, Ali Sonoma is off the show and I no longer have a reason to watch. She decided to take $30,000 instead of continuing with the game and it probably made her the smartest one of the group since she guaranteed herself money instead of going through the rest of the competition and possibly winning nothing. Beauty and brains, I love that woman.

Overseas Training

Results from DREAM 4:

*Shinya Aoki defeated Katsuhiko Nagata via Submission in Round One
*Alistair Overeem defeated Tae Hyun Lee via KO in Round One
*Ralek Gracie defeated Alavutdin Gadzhiyev via Submission in Round One
*Hideo Tokoro deteated Darren Uyenoyama via Unanimous Decision
*Gegard Mousasi defeated Dong Sik Yoon via Unanimous Decision
*Zelg Galesic defeated Taiei Kin via TKO in Round One
*Ronaldo Souza defeated Jason Miller via Unanimous Decision
*Melvin Manhoef defeated Kazushi Sakaraba via KO in Round One

*Complete domination by Aoki. He was able to take Nagata down, quickly mount him, and then do whatever he wanted from there. Nagata had no escape from the mount due to either his lack of skill on the ground or Aoki's balance from the top. The finish saw Aoki secure a gogoplata from the top, which is the first time I've ever seen that done. I'm sure The Undertaker will be using that one upon his return. Aoki is making a strong case as the #1 Lightweight in the world with his performances in this tournament but even if he wins the whole thing he'll still likely be considered second best behind BJ Penn.

*Alistair Overeem made short work of Hyun Lee, knocking him out in just 36 seconds. Overeem isn't a favorite fighter of mine or anything but I do enjoy watching him fight simply because I know the fight isn't likely to go to decision. Hyun Lee isn't a quality fighter or anything so I don't know what this win really does for Overeem but sometimes it's just fun to see guys get knocked out, you know what I mean?

*Ralek Gracie went from facing Mirko Cro Cop in a grappling match to Alavutdin Gadzhiyev. Sucks for him. He handled it very well though in a fight that he could have easily lost. Gadzhiyev has KO power and you could clearly see that Gracie's striking is very limited. Gracie was able to get the fight to the ground though and it was all him for there. He was able to mount and then transition into an armbar for the submission victory. I'm still waiting for the day that a Gracie comes along and is a striker instead of a jiu-jitsu wizard.

*Tokoro vs. Uyenoyama is easily a Fight of the Year candidate. I don't think it was as good as Alvarez vs. Hansen, Torres vs. Maeda, or Faber vs. Pulver but if you want to argue for this fight, be my guest. The fight could have gone either way but I gave it to Tokoro as well. He landed the much better shots on the feet, did more damage when he was on top, and was constantly looking for submissions. You could argue that Uyenoyama was on top more but I don't feel that he did the damage that Tokoro did. This fight was highlighted by the fact that top Featherweight ‘Kid' Yamamoto has joined DREAM. Now if WEC would only send Urijah Faber or Miguel Torres to Japan for a dream fight.

*Dong Sik Yoon's win streak came to an end as Gegard Mousasi moves on in the Middleweight Tournament. Mousasi dominated the entire fight outside of a minute or so where Dong went for an armbar. I've got to give props to Mousasi in that first round for throwing my favorite strike, the leg kick. Mousasi controlled the entire the second round but what was up with him being able to hit the back of the head at will? I know Japan has different rules but I thought it was believed worldwide that hitting the back of the head is a foul. I understand Mousasi continuing to strike the back of the head because he was getting away with it but at the same time, he should have stopped out of respect. Mousasi looked very good in this fight and this tournament continues to be wide open.

*Shame the fight ended the way it did with Kin breaking his arm as he tried to stop the takedown. Galesic was controlling the only minute of the fight before the freak injury and he was clearly upset at how the fight ended. No fighter wants to win due to a freak injury like that, especially in a tournament where you're trying to prove that you're one of the best fighters at a certain weight in the world.

*Souza and Miller had quite the battle that saw Souza come out on top via decision. This is another fight that could have gone either way but I think Souza controlled the fight more than Miller and that led to him picking up the victory. We all know that Souza has a very impressive ground game that translates well to MMA but this fight showed just how much the rest of his game is lacking. His wrestling isn't great but I'll give him credit because once he tries for the takedown, he's very committed to getting it. His striking has a long way to go though because Miller was able to score with some big strikes. Miller showed very good submission defense in this fight and he was the first guy that Souza wasn't able to finish. If Souza draws Manhoef next round then he could be in some trouble.

*What a sad fight this was to watch. Sakuraba is a legend in the sport but he was completely dominated by Melvin Manhoef in this bout. Sakuraba took one kick to the head, got dropped, and then got a beating laid on him. After his last few performances, I just don't know how much Sakuraba has left in the tank. I know he still wants to do the New Years Eve fight against Tamura but outside of that and maybe one more fight against a Gracie, it may be the end of the line for Kazushi Sakuraba. As for Manhoef, there are still questions about his ground game but there's no denying his striking skills and power. Mark my words, if Melvin Manhoef wins the DREAM Middleweight GP, UFC will sign him. There was a small interest in him not too long ago but Joe Silva didn't like the idea because he thought his ground game would leave him exposed in the UFC. And while that may still be the case, I believe that UFC will take a chance on him if he wins this tournament. If nothing else it will give the division some extra spice and if he puts some wins together, it could lead to a hell of a battle between himself and Anderson Silva.

I watched every fight via the web after the event was over so I can't comment on the usual production stuff. I'm sure if you watched the Japanese stream then you couldn't understand the commentary but you enjoyed the spectacle and if you watched HDNet version then you probably enjoyed Bas Rutten, couldn't stand Kenny Rice, and hated pretty much the entire production of the event. Based on just the fights though, this was a very good event. All of the fights were average or better with a Fight of the Year Candidate thrown in there, the Middleweight tournament continues to be wide open, and there were some very fun finishes. The only knock you can really put on this event is the ending to Galesic vs. Kin but that was out of the hands of DREAM. Like UFC in 08, DREAM has been on a nice roll and hopfully it continues with DREAM 5 in July.

DREAM announced the pairings for the semi-finals of the Lightweight GP. They are as followed:

*Shinya Aoki vs. Caol Uno
*Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Eddie Alvarez

I assume Aoki and Kawajiri will be the favorites in their fights and my guess is that DREAM wants to see those two in the finals as well. Aoki should be Uno but after Uno's latest performance against highly ranked Mitsuhiro Ishida, nothing is a given. Kawajiri vs. Alvarez could be a very fun stand up battle and you would have to suspect that both guys will be willing to standing and trade. I'm pulling for an Alvarez vs. Aoki final just because I think Aoki is the best fighter in the tournament and considering I want Alvarez to win the whole thing, I want him to beat the best.

Training Partners

Adam Tool, Stephen DeAugustino, Wendell Mitchell, BREN~!, and Morgan Marx bring the news.

John Curry proposes a MMA union. Larry Csonka gives his thoughts on the latest EXC show. Alex Mattis talks TUF 7, Fedor/Sylvia, and UFC 87. Ryan Seymour looks at the positives of EXC on CBS. Chris Robinson looks at knees being legal in MMA. BREN~! presents Fact or Fiction featuring BREN~! And Jonathan Solomon. Jonathan Solomon profiles Diego Sanchez.

Matt McEwen reviews UFC 43: Meltdown featuring the first fight between Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture.

AND IT'S ALL OVER~!

That's all for me this week folks. I'll be back next week with a recap of The Ultimate Finale 7 and a review of the season itself. Take care everyone.

Cardio Freak Sources: Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer, Bryan Alvarez and Figure Four Weekly, MMAWeekly, and MMAMania