Cardio Freak MMA News Report 6.26.08: Beards, Beers, and Body Blows
Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 06.26.2008
Cardio Freak is back with a review of The Ultimate Finale 7. I also return to where it all started with a wrap up of The Ultimate Fight 7 season. Plus the latest news in all of MMA including EXC on CBS, World Victory Road, and UFC 88. It's more put together than Evan Tanner's beard, it's Cardio Freak on 411
Welcome back to Cardio Freak everyone. I am your trainer Jeremy ‘Not Leaving Town' Lambert.
Work kicked my ass again this week so I want to apologize for the end result of this here column. Hopefully everyone still loves me.
10 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week
The Ultimate Fighter 7 is Finale over
It was a card that I had no expectations for going in and because of that, the event surpassed my expectations. It wasn't an Ultimate Finale that people will remember for years like The Ultimate Finale 1 (Thanks for Griffin vs. Bonnar) or The Ultimate Finale 6 (Thanks to Huerta vs. Guida) but it was a fine show to watch on a slow Saturday night.
The main event featured a fight that few people cared about as Kendall Grove took on Evan Tanner. The jury was out on Tanner after his fight with Yushin Okami because he was coming off a long lay-off where he did nothing but boat and drink and he was fighting the top contender for the Middleweight title. Grove was labeled as an underachiever after his losses to Patrick Cote and Jorge Rivera. The fight was billed as a "Loser Leaves Town" fight, which is straight out of wrestling where the loser rarely leaves town for good. I thought Tanner would be able to rough up Grove in the clinch and that obviously didn't happen. Grove ended up winning a split decision (a tragedy that one judge gave the fight 29-28 to Tanner) and is possible back on track. Grove actually did the most damage from the clinch and Tanner seemed to have no answer for Grove's size and control. Tanner didn't really do anything on his feet either, outside of winging on some big shots late in the 3rd round when he knew that was his only hope. Grove's chin is still a bit questionable but it didn't crack from some pretty clean Tanner punches. Tanner has never really been a KO artist though so he's not really the best gauge for Grove's chin.
As I mentioned in the preview for this show, I'm not really sure what a win proves for Kendall Grove. If this were the Evan Tanner of five years ago, it would be a huge win but it's not. It's an older Evan Tanner who has abused his body with beards, beers, and body blows. It's a good win for Grove in the sense that his clinch game seemed much improved and he didn't wilt under pressure but the next fight is really going to be the test for Grove. I still don't think he uses his reach as well as he could and that's something that he should probably better utilize by now but if his clinch game continues to improve then it might not be that much of a factor. The Middleweight division is pretty much a logjam in the middle with no one really standing out. Anderson Silva is obviously at the top, Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, and Yuhsin Okami are below him but Silva's already defeated two of them, and then there's the rest. The two losses hurt Grove but this was a nice bounce back win and another win puts him back in the middle of things where he could climb up and face one of the second tier Middleweight fighters.
As for Tanner, I guess he's gone. I of course don't expect UFC to actually honor those comments made by Tanner and Grove but he's certainly in a bad place. Tanner showed a lot of heart in this fight as he refused to quit and unlike a lot of fighters who know they're losing the fight with a minute left, Tanner actually went for it. I think they keep Tanner around for one more fight and if he loses that one, he'll probably just end up retiring.
In what was the true draw of the show, Amir Sadollah defeated CB Dollaway (again) by armbar (again) to be crowned The Ultimate Fighter 7 Champion. Judging by CB's reaction there would have appeared to be some controversy as to whether or not he tapped but on replay, it seemed clear that he gave a quick tap. It's funny because watching this fight live I clearly saw him tap out but when watching last weeks Ultimate Fighter, I didn't see him tap at first. CB reacted as if he didn't tap and it was so quick that maybe he didn't think he did tap but CB has come out an admitted that he did give a quick tap. He thought you had to tap multiple times for it to count but the rules state that it's at the referee's judgment on when to stop the fight. Obviously Herb Dean felt that CB did quickly tap and if he tried to fight it any more that his arm would have been broken.
As for Forrest Jr., what can you say? He was the underdog in every fight this season and he came out on top every time. Not bad for a guy whose first professional fight was on Saturday. Forrest Jr. took the route of a lot of Ultimate Fighters who go on the show, fall in love with their trainer, and then join their camp after the show is over. I think it was pretty obvious to anyone watching the show that Forrest Jr. was going to be training with Forrest and his camp after the show was over. Amir has a ways to go as far as being a complete fighter but he's off to a very good start. He's a muy thai fighter by trade and his submissions are good. His wrestling isn't the greatest but there's plenty of time for him to improve. He's also got plenty of charisma to carry him along the way.
CB Dollaway was the heavy favorite to win the whole thing and it came as a big surprise when he lost to Forrest Jr. the first time. I thought he would dominate in the finals simply because his cardio would likely be better with a full training camp (I don't think you can judge anyone's cardio on the show for obvious reasons) and he would be with his camp. CB is obviously a very impressive wrestler but his submission defense is lacking and his striking didn't look very good on the show. Part of CB's problem may be that his ego is larger than it should be at this point in his career. He's a work in progress but I think he'll be in the middle of the Middleweight pack in a year or so.
In the fight that I thought meant the most, Diego Sanchez stopped Luigi Fioravanti late in the 3rd round. After his two losses to Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch there was a lot of talk that Sanchez would drop down to 155. He decided to stay at 170 and bounced back with a win over David Bielkheden at UFC 82. After seeing this fight, Sanchez might be better off at 155. Fioravanti was a big 170 and Sanchez, who was prided on pushing an intense pace, getting guys down, and pounding them or submitting them, wasn't able to get Fioravanti to the mat. Fioravanti showed good wrestling in his previous fight against Luke Cummo but he's a striker by trade. If Sanchez wasn't able to fight his fight against Fioravanti, I worry about him against the rest of the division. Sanchez did prove that his striking game has come a long way since the days of The Ultimate Fighter 1 as he was able to out strike Fioravanti. Fioravanti landed some good shots on Sanchez but as Diego said, he has a Mexican chin.
At 155 I think Sanchez would be quicker with his striking and stronger than a lot of guys with his wrestling. He also pushes a hell of a pace and that's helped carry Clay Guida to success. Of course with the win he's more likely to stay at 170 but if he suffers another loss to a top guy then I have a feeling he'll drop to 155.
Speaking of guys at 155, Spencer Fisher got back on track with a good performance against Jeremy Stephens. I said in my preview that I liked Fisher in this fight because of his wrestling ability and the fight went exactly how I thought it would. Stephens seemed to be getting the better of Fisher on the feet so Fisher took the fight to the ground where he was able to pound out a decision. I really like Fisher, not just because he's from North Carolina and gave a nice "WOOOO!" before the fight, because he always puts on a good performance. He's a well-rounded fighter although his takedown defense was lacking against Frank Edgar. He also competed in this fight after wrecking his bike and skinning up his knees and arms. Fisher is right back in the mix at 155 and if I had to take a guess, I say he'll fight Joe Lauzon in his next fight. As for Stephens, he's still very young and has plenty of time to improve. His striking is very good and he's not really lacking in any area, he can only improve. In a stacked Lightweight division, one win over the right guy gets you right back in the mix.
In the opening bout of the night, Matthew Riddle retired Dante Rivera. Well, Rivera said he would retire if he lost to Riddle but he said he would be sticking around the fight game in his post-fight interview. Whether or not he sticks around in the UFC remains to be seen. Riddle, another guy making his professional debut, looked very impressive in this fight. He looked strong and he was able to stuff the takedown of Rivera while scoring with his own takedowns. On the ground he controlled Rivera for the most part outside of the mental mistake of going for an armbar from the mount when he was better off pounding him out. A good performance by Riddle and he looks to be a good prospect for UFC considering his age and talent.
Dustin Hazelett is my new favorite fighter. I don't know how big of a compliment that is considering my favorite fighter changes on a weekly basis (and we all know Chuck will always be #1) but I'm sure Hazelett will be happy to hear this news. Hazelett went for submission after submission in the first round before submitting Josh Burkman with an awesome armbar very late in the second. Hazelett's striking didn't look as good in this fight as it did in the fight against Josh Koscheck and I can't stand how he throws that goofy high kick with the lead leg (a trait of Michael Bisping) but he's allowed to get away with it because he's Dustin Hazelett. Speaking of goofy striking, someone tell Josh Burkman to go away. He throws a lot of karate strikes (which is fine if your name is Lyoto Machida) and although they look flashy, they probably take more out of you than they do your opponent. Big win for Dustin Hazelett and it's a tough Welterweight division but this kid is only 22 and has already made huge strides. Hopefully he'll fight someone like Diego Sanchez next because that could make for a very fun fight.
Marvin Eastman delivered my favorite moment of the night although it was completely unintentional. After taking multiple shots from Drew McFedries, Eastman sat on the mat as the doctor asked him, "Do you know where you're at?" and Eastman responded with, "I'm in Vegas, man." McFedries looked good in this fight and it was nice to see him bounce back after all he's been through in the past year. He's obviously got a lot of power but Martin Kampmann showed that his ground game has a ways to go. Eastman will probably find himself back on some smaller shows after this loss and maybe UFC will bring him back to put over some younger talent as it's always nice to hold a win over, "the guy who gave Quinton Jackson his first loss."
"The guy who gave Chuck Liddell his first loss" also lost this past Saturday. Jeremy Horn suffered his 3rd straight loss and 4th loss in 5 fights. After competing in over 100 fights, it seems like it's time for Jeremy Horn to call it a career. He's only 32 but it's an old 32. It just seems to me that Horn would be better off as a coach (and he makes for an excellent coach) than a fighter at this point in his career. Lister has now won two straight in the UFC and his striking looks to be improving. If he can put together a decent striking game to go along with his world-class grappling, he could finally live up to the expectations that he and others set for him.
Matt Brown proved the hype to be real as he took out Matt Arroyo in the second round. I thought this was a bad fight for Brown since his ground game looked questionable on the show but I may have been overestimating Arroyo's submission skills. Arroyo showed some good striking early but once Brown caught him, Arroyo didn't look the same. Brown did a good job stuffing the takedown of Arroyo and when Arroyo was able to get him down, Brown popped right back up. Arroyo pulled guard, which seemed like a smart idea except he never really went for a submission and Brown delivered some brutal ground and pound. Brown said that the show was his first time fighting at 185 so maybe he'll live up to his "killer" reputation at 170.
Rob Kimmons had a very impressive UFC debut as he submitted Rob Yundt in the first round. Kimmons had a very active guard, going for a guillotine, an armbar, and a kimura in one stint. Once he got on top he delivered some good ground and pound before finally putting Yundt away with a guillotine choke. Kimmons now becomes part of the Middleweight logjam and it will be interesting to see how his striking matches up against some of the guys in the division. Yundt got this fight as a "thank you for taking the fight with Ricardo Almeida on short notice" and after two straight losses, he'll likely be back on the smaller shows.
Tim Credeur was scheduled to fight Cale Yarbrough on this show but the fight was scrapped late as Credeur failed his pre-fight drug test. Credeur failed for Adderall, which is a banned drug by the Nevada Athletic State Commission. UFC knew he was going to fail beforehand so there will be no disciplinary action taken against him. Credeur has a prescription for the substance as it helps his ADHD. I can't fault the guy for taking his medicine but I'm sure he knew it was illegal by commission standards and he knew when he had a fight so he should have stopped taking it. My guess is that this fight gets rescheduled for Ultimate Fight Night on July 19th or possibly UFC 88.
This was a forgettable Ultimate Finale but it wasn't necessarily a bad show. It was nothing to go out of your way to see but it's tough to complain about free fighting when the show will certainly pass your expectations, considering you probably had none.
The Ultimate Wrap Up 2 (Season 7)
For those that don't know, The Ultimate Wrap Up 1 (Season 6) spawned this here column. I recapped Season 6, did the wrap up column, and the great Caleb Newby decided to give me a weekly slot. After recapping Season 7, I thought it would only be right to do another wrap up of the entire season.
Overall, I thought this was a fine a season. Most of the fights were good although the fighters weren't the greatest in terms of quality. The show created some stars based on character and talent so that's always a plus. As with any Ultimate Fighter it's tough to judge just how good a season was in terms of producing good fighters because guys could always surpass expectations or fall short. I don't think this season produced any high level fighters for years to come but in a Middleweight division where two wins earns you a shot at one of the big names in the division, I could be wrong. Overall, I would say this show produced more quality fighters than Season 6. I don't know how much that's saying but I'd take it as a compliment.
Jesse Taylor is probably the guy most ready and least ready for the UFC. I think if he were in the finals that he would have been able to defeat Amir simply because his wrestling is good and thanks to Tim, his submission defense is better than CB's. Jesse also turned out to be one of the better characters on the show with his JT Money persona. Unfortunately his drinking got him in trouble and kicked off the show after it was over. Dana left the door open and I think we'll see him in the UFC before the year is up. It's just a matter if Dana wants to possibly turn him into the star that he has the potential to be or if Dana wants to bury him for screwing up.
CB Dollaway was the odds on favorite to win the whole thing but he came up just short. There's no doubt that CB has great wrestling but the rest of his game seems to be lacking. His striking wasn't very good against Tim, a guy known for his submissions, and his submission defense was lacking against Amir, a guy known for his striking. CB's biggest problem may be his confidence. He went into the show very confident, looked over-confident on the show, and seemed to have no confidence after he lost. CB might turn out to be the best prospect from this show but he has to improve other aspects of his game and he needs to find his confidence again.
Matthew Riddle produced the biggest knockout of the season in one of the qualifying fights and then went on to smile his way through the show. I couldn't stand Riddle for most of the season but I didn't mind him on the Finale, probably because his hair was so absurd that he was impossible to hate. He looked good in his fight against Dante at The Ultimate Finale, showing good takedown defense and a good takedown. He made some dumb moves in the fight but in the end, he won, so what can you do?
Matt Brown isn't the most charismatic guy in the world but he built his reputation through the word of the other guys in the house. Brown is a natural 170 so maybe he'll have success by dropping weight, like many previous Ultimate Fighter alums have done.
Amir Sadollah won The Ultimate Fighter 7 and based on the track record of winners compared to the rest of the guys on the show, he'll go furthest in the UFC. Amir is a striker by nature but he finished four out of his five fights by submission. Amir is a guy who lacked confidence going into every fight but once he got inside the cage and took a punch, he seemed fine. I think I made mention in his first fight that he had "Forrest Griffin Hair" and that wasn't the end of the comparisons. Amir is a great character so he'll get over huge based on that and as he continues to work with Forrest and his camp; he could turn into a hell of a prospect. Amir's story is a great story as well and I think he got over the biggest by far on the show. He was the underdog in every fight, got his ass beat in every fight, and always found a way to win. I don't know how long he can keep that shtick up but it's worked for Forrest Griffin for awhile and it's worked for Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for forever so I guess we need someone who can pull it off at Middleweight.
I guess we've been spoiled with three of the past four seasons as they featured coaches who couldn't stand each other and it came out on the show. With Quinton and Forrest, there was no real hate. SpikeTV and UFC tried to play it up but they got upset at each other once and it was squashed within one episode when Forrest netted Quinton and Quinton sprayed Forrest with a water gun. I wasn't upset that there was no coach rivalry but I don't think this show did much to build their fight on July 5th. I'm still excited for this fight simply because Forrest Griffin rarely has a boring fight and I'm excited to see Jackson fight again since it feels like forever since he last fought.
A lot of people have commented that The Ultimate Fighter has run its course and maybe it has. I mean how many times can you see guys fighting (that never gets old to me), guys going crazy, and guys destroying the house before it gets old? There's also been comments that UFC has done seven seasons and that if there's any prospect to be found, he's been found. I don't know how much truth there is to that considering Riddle and Amir were 0-0 and they make very good prospects. I honestly think that there just wasn't a lot of material for this season and we got what we got. Most of the shows centered on the fights without much build as far as characters. I think it's like that with any reality show though. As I type this, I'm watching the Shot at Love with Tila Tequila Reunion Show and I can't recognize half these people. I'm sure if we had an Ultimate Fighter 7 Reunion Show, I wouldn't recognize half the fighters. In fact, I know that would be true because I watched episodes of the show during the marathon on Saturday and I didn't recognize a bunch of the guys. The further the guys make it, the more they stand out unless they just have something about them that make them stand out (like Riddle).
Even if the show has run its course, there's going to be another season. The Ultimate Fighter 8 premieres in September and as long as things stay the same, I will be recapping the show on the site. YEAH~!
Playing to Your Strengths
Latest Fight Card Updates:
*Ultimate Fight Night 14: Rory Markham vs. Brodie Farber, Brad Blackburn vs. James Giboo
*UFC 88: Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares, Karo Parisyan vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
*Ultimate Fight Night 15: Joe Lauzon vs. Kyle Bradley
The Fight Night 14 card on July 19th is being filled with a lot of UFC newcomers, probably in large part due to the fact that this card came almost out of nowhere. The winners will likely get another fight in the UFC while the losers will be back to fighting on the smaller shows. Joe Lauzon is getting a rebound fight when he takes on Kyle Bradley, who lost to Chris Lytle in 33 seconds at UFC 81.
But who cares about those shows when the card has been updated for UFC 88: BREAKTHROUGH~! Karo Parisyan being added to the card excites me and angers me at the same time. I'm excited at the prospect of seeing Karo lose but of course I'm angered because there's a great chance Karo will bore me. Yoshida looked good against Jon Koppenhaver but that fight lasted under a minute and we didn't get to see Yoshida's striking, which I hear is great. Yoshida has never been finished, which is great for Karo because he doesn't know how to finish.
Dan Henderson also returns to the Octagon in Atlanta and I'm very excited. He's lost two straight but those two losses came against the best fighter in the world and the best Light Heavyweight in the world. He looked good in both those fights as well and it's not like he was completely destroyed in either fight. Palhares is the perfect example of my Middleweight theory. He's had one UFC fight, won, and now he's fighting a 2nd tier Middleweight. A win here put him right into title contention. He's got a tough fight against Henderson and I would love to get into it but that's what the preview columns are for.
The best thing about this is that Henderson and Parisyan have been added to the card yet neither fight is semi-main event caliber. That means there's likely to be another big fight with a big name added in the coming weeks.
Studying Tape
HYPE~! For Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thomson. This fight takes place this weekend on HDNet and it's going to be awesome. Both guys are two of the top Lightweights in the world. Melendez has great wrestling and his only loss came in the form of a questionable decision against Mitsuhiro Ishida. Thomson has won six straight and his only career losses have come against Yves Edwards and Clay Guida. Both guys are great all-around fighters and this is a pick em fight if I've ever seen one. I flipped a coin 11 times and Melendez came out on top 7 to 4. It's a horrible way to pick a fight but it worked for Forrest Griffin the entire Ultimte Fighter season so I'm sticking with my pick.
Sparring Session
Reports came out that Brandon Vera turned down a fight with Lyoto Machida
I'm not sure if I believe this report considering Vera has always been a, "I'll fight anyone they put in front of me" type of guy. If it is true, I honestly don't blame Vera. He's lost two straight and Machida would have been a very tough fight for his first bout at 205. Most of the big names who change weight get a warm up fight unless they had good success at the other weight class. Machida probably would have won that fight, given Vera three straight, and he would have ended up fighting the Reese Andy's of the world anyway. At least this way they can make sure everything goes well with Vera as far as the cut, they can get him a win in a very stacked division, and then they can have him fight a bigger name. It also seems like no one wants to fight Machida, which just seems wrong. They obviously don't want to fight him because his style is a horrible match up for anyone and they're afraid of losing and having a boring fight. I say, tough shit. If you want to be the best, fight the best. If you can't figure out Machida's style, tough shit.
Underwater Ice Bath
Nick Diaz was pulled off DREAM 5. He will now face Thomas Denny on July 26th, the second EXC on CBS show
Sucks to be DREAM. Then again, they should have expected this. First off, they're working with Gary Shaw. Second, they're trying to use Gary Shaw's boy Nick Diaz. Thank God EliteXC wasn't dumb enough to do KJ Noons vs. Nick Diaz on July 26th. They need to use CBS to build that fight, not give it away within a month and a half of the big angle. I like that Diaz has to have another fight before he gets a shot at Noons since he failed to make weight in his last fight. The problem is, if he loses, that screws up the whole Noons vs. Diaz fight. Then again this is EXC and they'll probably give Diaz the title shot even if he loses this fight. If they don't show the Diaz Brothers vs. Noons Clan video at least five times on this CBS show then I conclude that this company has no clue what they're doing.
WAMMA Clarification
Last week I typed that WAMMA (still not to be confused with YAMMA) would be loaning their name to the Affliction Heavyweight title. I said that WAMMA is a rankings site and that they're really no better than MMAWeekly and their rankings.
To my surprise, Michael Lynch, Chief Operating Officer of WAMMA, contacted me and set up a call to explain basically what WAMMA is. The gist of WAMMA is that they want to be the sanctioning body of MMA. They want to crown an undisputed champion in every weight class but of course that takes the cooperation of all companies. I asked Michael about the Sylvia vs. Fedor fight and if Sylvia would be ranked #1 with a win. Michael explained to me that Sylvia wouldn't be #1 but he would "The Champion" with all the challengers ranked below him. Same goes for Fedor.
The biggest problem facing WAMMA is the fact that they're pretty much relying on other companies in order to succeed. They want to crown undisputed champions in every weight class but if Matt Lindland is the WAMMA Middleweight Champion, how much does that really mean? You know UFC and WEC aren't going to cross promote and EliteXC and Strikeforce establishing their own belts so you wonder if they're going to be on board. WAMMA's thought it very good and they've got some good people on board but they're not going to be looked at as legitimate in the eyes of many fans until UFC is on board.
I wish WAMMA the best and want to thank Michael Lynch for taking time out of his schedule to speak with on this past Saturday.
Taking Time Off
I finished 97th in UFC Fantasy for the Ultimate Finale 7 event. I find that amazing since I only went 5-5 in picking fights but you gotta love those bonus points. I'm now ranked 16th overall. YEAH~!
I want to thank everyone who signed up at CentSports last week. If you missed out, here's the link. Sign up, make some bets, win some money, have some fun.
Since UF 82 just came out on DVD I was planning on reviewing the extras but I actually have yet to purchase the DVD. By the time some of you read this, I'll likely have the DVD. Next week a review of the extras will be here. I promise.
Overseas Training
Takanori Gomi vs. Chris Horodecki is being rumored for the World Victory Road: Sengoku 4 event
This is a very interesting fight. Horodecki never struck me as the type of guy who would want to go to Japan to fight but more power to him for taking this fight, if it indeed happens. Both guys like to stand and trade so I expect this to be a really fun striking contest. Gomi has the better striking and more power but Horodecki is a gamer and he could make a big splash with a win.
AND IT'S ALL OVER~!
That does it for me this week folks. I'll be back next week with a preview of UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin as well as all the latest news in the MMA world. Take care.
Cardio Freak Sources: Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer, Bryan Alvarez and Figure Four Weekly, MMAWeekly, and MMAMania
