The Verbal Submission 07.15.08: July 19th, WAMMA calls, Trump/Sylvia calls

Posted by Chris Robinson on 07.15.2008

After a busy week on the phone with the MMA world, I've got words for you to read. Plus, I give my take on the big night for MMA, July 19th. The two pound for pound best are stepping back inside the cage/ring and it's time to examine it. I am not good at teasers.


It's Tuesday and you are reading The Verbal Submission. We are just days away from a very exciting night in the world of mixed martial arts. Two promotions will be vying for your eyeballs on their event and in some cases your ticket money. They're just getting my eyeballs. It's the "T-shirt company" vs. the powerhouse they call the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It's Fedor vs. Sylvia up against Silva vs. Irvin. It's the Patriots vs. the Giants. It's the VS network vs. ....wait, no they're not involved. So in today's column I'm going to throw my thoughts on July 19th out there, discuss the recent Donald Trump/Tim Sylvia conference call that I took part in, and discuss another phone call from the MMA world I received this week. Ready to read? Let's do it.

Two possible captions for this one 1) The former Light Heavyweight Champion of Panties 2) Rampage begins a stint as Outside Enforcer at local Foxy Boxing tournaments


WAMMA: MMA governing body or outlaw Frisbee company?
In my last column, I mentioned that I had my doubts about the necessity of WAMMA in the upcoming Affliction main event of Fedor vs. Sylvia. The day after the column went up I received an email from WAMMA COO Michael Lynch, which said he'd like to talk me on the phone. While I feared this was all a set-up for WAMMA VP Bill Goldberg to break into my home and jackhammer my ass, I obliged. After a 15 minute phone conversation where Mr. Lynch was mostly in press release mode, I felt a lot better about the existence of WAMMA.

My first gripe was that WAMMA would be seen as just another governing body in the vein of boxing governing bodies such as the WBO, WBA, IBF, WBC, WBA, and the list goes on. Michael Lynch assured me that's not the case as those organizations make money from fighters and promotions, while WAMMA will not make a profit that way. Also, WAMMA recognizes promotional titles such as the UFC belts, EliteXC belts, etc, but they feel there needs to be an undisputed World Champion that is recognized by all promotions. That's the kind of thinking I can get behind! Also, Affliction could've easily gone out and created their own titles, but they wanted to add as much legitimacy to their fledgling promotion as possible so they went with WAMMA.

WAMMA is also going to serve as an advisory service for young fighters that need financial counseling, drug abuse counseling, health insurance counseling, etc. So basically, WAMMA is going to improve the sport by insuring fighters know how to handle their money, stay healthy, and be all that they can be. Wait they're the army? Kidding. So before you go bashing WAMMA, remember, they're not an outlaw Frisbee company, and if you have questions, Michael Lynch will call you and sell you a used car. I got a sweet '89 Volvo. It's really got that used car smell!

Trump: "This belt is going to be HUGE!"
Lynch (on left): "Um, the belt is normal sized Mr. Trump. You're holding it."


TRUMP prepares to TRUMP the UFC
Speaking of the Donald, I had the chance to listen in and participate in a conference call on Wednesday featuring Trump and Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia. You see what he did there, he took the state he's from, added -iac on the end, and he's got himself a clever nickname. Beautiful.

All the heavy hitters in MMA were in on the call: ESPN.com, AOL Sports, USA Today, the LA Times, Sherdog, MMAweekly.com, TRUMPhype.com, ITSGONNABEHUGE.net, TIMSYLVIAwon'tbeatFEDORonhisbestDAY.org, etc. All jokes aside, the Donald was on for a short time and spent most of that time boasting about how the arena sold out quickly, he's worked with Mike Tyson more than anyone in the history of people, and the Apprentice will be on for two more years. Seriously, all three of those happened. The only two semi-newsy items to come out of Trump's half of the call were that Trump said he would make sure New York legalized MMA soon and Tito Ortiz "would probably love to be with us(Affliction)".

The call was then turned over to the big man, Tim Sylvia. To be honest, I've never been a big fan of Sylvia's, but to get a chance to ask him a question was very cool. After all the normal "What're you going to do to beat Fedor?" questions, I asked him what his thoughts were on the UFC throwing together their July 19th show. He laughed at first, and then said he was just a fighter, and what the UFC does now doesn't concern him. Good dodge! It's got to be somewhat flattering that the card he's headlining drew the concern of the UFC to the point where they put arguably their best fighter in the main event of a free card. Doesn't it? Another interesting nugget from Tim was his belief that he can beat, and is better, than any current heavyweight pro boxer. Really? Any boxer? Granted the current heavyweight scene in boxing is thin on top talent, but I would really like to see Tim in the ring with current World Champ Wladamir Klitschko (bite me on the spelling).

In the end, it was a good promotional tool for the Affliction show. The most comedic thing to happen was ESPN.com writer Ben Cohen calling in with the worst cell phone connection known to man. Silly English! Thanks go out to the main man here at 411, the Csonk, for providing all the info for the call.

Tim Sylvia showing off the perks of signing with Affliction. Is it me, or does he slightly resemble JD from Scrubs?


AFFLICTION BANNED: Will you be watching?
So we're just days away from Affliction Banned, and I can't remember the last time a new promotion got this kind of buzz going. Of course, not many other promotions had guys like Fedor, Arlovski, Rothwell, Barnett, Sylvia, Lindland, or Rizzo on the card. Sorry BodogFight! It's really going to answer a lot of questions about where these top names stand in the world rankings, depending on which world rankings you believe in. I prefer the Mormon World Rankings myself. I'll save my complete predictions for the 411 roundtable discussion, but I'll give you some opinion-y goodness on the top three matches at heavyweight.

Fedor vs. Sylvia. The last PRIDE heavyweight champ vs. the former two time UFC heavyweight champ. Fedor's overall abilities are never in question, but with a man the size of Big Tim, other questions arise. Who wears the bigger pants? Will Fedor rock a boss mustache? I see both men keeping this fight standing for the majority of the match, but I think Sylvia will have the advantage if it ends up on the ground. His size coupled with his ground and pound may be too much for Fedor to handle. Does Fedor have the wrestling ability of a Randy Couture? Maybe, but doubtful. The bigger question that comes up is what happens to the mystique of "The Last Emperor" if he loses? Sylvia's stock goes through the roof if that happens. That's for shit sure.

We're still waiting for this fight


There are other intriguing match-ups even if Fedor loses. MMA fans have wanted to see him battle Josh Barnett for years, and it could finally happen under the Affliction banner. Barnett will have his hands full with Pedro Rizzo on July 19th as the two meet for the second time. The last time they clashed was way back in 2001 at UFC 30. So it's been awhile! Rizzo has some big wins and losses against the biggest names in MMA since that loss, but a win here could really get him back in some top 10's. I don't see it happening, but you never know! Most of Barnett's losses since their first meeting have been to some guy named Mirko Filipovic. Sounds familiar. Anyway, the winner of Barnett and Rizzo should be in line for something whether it be groceries, movie tickets, or a bank teller, after this fight.

Pure intimidation. Fear this man.


Two other top heavyweight that want to be in line will go to war on July 19th, that being Andre Arlovski and Ben Rothwell. Rothwell is probably most known for his domination over portly rednecks in the IFL, while Andre is a former UFC champion that pissed in the gas tank of Dana White's Hummer. Seriously, why did the UFC release "The Pitbull"? It's going to be nice to see Rothwell take on some real competition. He's riding a 13 fight win streak, but most of the guys he's beaten aren't well known. Yes, he recently beat Ricco Rodriguez, but this is 2008, not a different year where Rodriguez was relevant in the heavyweight rankings. I wasn't aware that Rothwell has faced Tim Sylvia before. They squared off in 2001, but I think Rothwell might've improved since then. Anyway, look for this fight to stay standing and probably go to a decision OR someone might get knocked out OR there could be a submission. There probably won't be a submission.

They're not friends. Xyience paid them $5 million each to take this picture. Then Xyience went bankrupt. Tough break.


UFC presents WEIGHT CLASS SWITCH PARTY 2008: SILVA VS. IRVIN
So if Brock Lesnar loses to Heath Herring he's going to drop to 155 and fight Penn right? Hell, let's drop Chuck Liddell down to 145 for a battle with Urijah Faber. No? I thought that's how it works now. Everyone wants to fight at every weight class. How about another open weight tournament like PRIDE tried?

Well call it what you will, UFC: WE'RE NOT THREATENED goes down on July 19th, with Anderson Silva making his debut at 205 pounds. Expect a great fight between him and James "Sandman" Irvin because if Irvin wins, we have a problem. Would Irvin drop down to 185 if he were to beat Silva? I hope the answer is YES MA'AM. The money is in the rematch people. Imagine if Silva and Fedor both lost on the same night. I believe the headline would read "BEST POUND FOR POUND FIGHTERS GET POUNDED".

Wouldn't you?


Along with the stand-up war between Silva and Irvin, Brandon "The Truth" Vera drops down to 205 to face off with UFC newcomer/IFL veteran Reese Andy. Reese Andy wins the award for fighter who's last name should be his first name and vice versa. The funny thing is, if Silva is moving up to 205, and Vera is moving down, why not just have them face each other? The answer is probably because Vera has lost two straight, and a third loss is going to have him teetering on the brink of bye-bye.

Another top match on this card is New Jersey's own Frankie "The Answer" Edgar vs. Hermes "I pissed in Sherk's cup too according to Sherk" Franca. You may remember Hermes as a former title contender at 155. Well this is his big return, and Edgar is not someone he's too excited to face. Edgar is going to have to rely on his wrestling and overall ground game to win this fight. I'm sure Hermes is going to come out wanting to prove a point after being suspended for a year. The big question is what color will Franca's hair be?

The last fight I'll talk about is CB Dollaway vs. Jesse Taylor. Some fans are up in arms that Jesse "I'M A UFC FIGHTER, HICCUP, BURP, VOMIT ON COP" Taylor is getting his second chance in the UFC so soon. It doesn't say much when you chew a guy out for being immature, but then two months later he's all grown up. I think maybe waiting a few months would've sent a clearer message to the fighters out there thinking about mimicking Jesse's behavior. Frankly, I hope CB knocks him out in the first. My biggest advice for CB: "WATCH OUT FOR THE ARM BAR". That might help him just a little.

Oh yeah, watch what you eat for breakfast.


MMA LIVE EPISODE 9
Just watch it already!


END OF THE THIRD ROUND
That ends the sixth edition of "The Verbal Submission". If you get a chance, give a listen to the Empire Hardcore Podcast, which is up on Tuesdays and Saturdays at Podomatic.com and is also available on iTunes. The show focuses mostly on pro wrestling, but we've been talking a lot about the upcoming UFC and Affliction shows. Also, be sure to check out my latest comedy vlogs on YouTube. Also, be sure to head on over to my sweet pro MySpace page here. I'll be back next Tuesday with my thoughts on JULY 19TH a.k.a. THE BIGGEST NIGHT IN MMA HISTORY UNTIL THE NEXT BIGGEST NIGHT IN MMA HISTORY.

Kick. Punch. It's all in the mind.

-CPR