Cardio Freak MMA News Report 07.17.08: UFC and Affliction and DREAM! OH MY!
Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 07.17.2008
Cardio Freak is back with a preview of Ultimate Fight Night 14 featuring Silva vs. Irvin, Affliction featuring a bunch of Heavyweights, and DREAM featuring Shinya Aoki's colorful tights. Plus the latest on Quinton Jackson and his joyride in California, Lyoto Machida's next fight, and Gary Shaw no longer acting like Dana White. All that and the latest news around the MMA world. It's better than watching Silva and Fedor fighting on the same night, it's Cardio Freak on 411.
Welcome back to Cardio Freak everyone. I am your trainer Jeremy ‘I'll Peanut Butter Your Jelly' Lambert.
It's probably the biggest MMA weekend EVER so why waste time?
10 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week
UFC vs. Affliction
Or as Dana White would say, "The biggest MMA company in the world vs. the t-shirt guy."
When Affliction was first announced, the company had their skeptics. Previously announced companies such as M-1 Global, Adrenaline MMA, YAMMA, ect… fell flat on their face before they even started running. Affliction had other ideas. They began to announce that top-flight fighters such as Fedor, Tim Sylvia, Ben Rothwell, Rento Sobral, Matt Lindland, ect… would appear. Andrei Arlovski became available and was one of the final pieces to the star studded card that ended up looking like this:
-Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia
-Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo
-Andre Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell
-Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Negao
-Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Mike Whitehead
-Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Paul Buentello
-Vitor Belfort vs. Terry Martin
-Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Edwin Dewees
-Trenell Young vs. Mark Hominick
-Justin Levens vs. Patrick Speight
-Mike Pyle vs. J.J. Ambrose
Despite having a card that appealed to every hardcore MMA fan in the world, Affliction seemed to be having problems getting the event to the world. It was widely speculated that HDNet would air the event since HDNet will air any MMA programming that isn't UFC or EliteXC. When that didn't happen, Affliction turned to PPV. PPV with little to no advertising would seem to cripple the company that was already rumored to be paying main event fighters Fedor and Sylvia in the millions but Affliction was willing to accept the loss. They ended up getting Donald Trump on board to back the company although many people, myself included, feel that Trump isn't going to pump millions of dollars into the company the way that Panda Energy pumps money into TNA to keep them alive. Affliction ended up striking a deal with Fox Sports Net that would allow them to air two fights before the actual PPV event. No matter how you look at it, you can't deny that Affliction has assembled one of the best Heavyweight cards ever and one of the best hardcore fan cards ever. Of course they named the show ‘Banned' due to their t-shirts being banned by UFC and EliteXC.
Affliction threw a Wanderlei Silva windmill punch; UFC came back with a Chuck Liddell straight right.
UFC announced Ultimate Fight Night 14 on July 19th on SpikeTV, running opposite of Affliction. Anderson Silva moving up to 205 would headline the show. It was a card that came together fairly quickly and it took fights from other cards along with an influx of new talent that would likely be gone with one loss. The final card looks something like this:
-Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin
-Brandon Vera vs. Reese Andy
-Frankie Edgar vs. Hermes Franca
-Jake O'Brien vs. Cain Velasquez
-Anthony Johnson vs. Kevin Burns
-Jesse Taylor vs. C.B. Dollaway
-Rory Markham vs. Brodie Farber
-Nate Loughran vs. Johnny Rees
-Brad Blackburn vs. James Giboo
-Dale Hartt vs. Shannon Gugerty
-Tim Credeur vs. Cale Yarbrough
Not a star-studded line up like Affliction but a good card for free TV. While Affliction showcases guys that the hardcore fans know and love (or hate, in the case of Sylvia), UFC showcases guys that have a bright future in this sport.
The Main Events
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia was a PRIDE fanboy's dream just a few years ago. Fedor was running through everyone in PRIDE while Sylvia was jabbing through the UFC. Sylvia ended up calling out Fedor after a UFC victory and that sent message boards into a frenzy. It was a fight many thought we would never see but this Saturday, message boards rejoice, as the dream becomes a reality.
While Fedor hasn't fought a top 10 Heavyweight since his victory over Mirko Cro Cop, Tim Sylvia has done just the opposite. Hate Tim Sylvia all you want but there's no denying that the man doesn't back down from a challenge. He fought Andrei Arlovski when Arlovski was just as feared as Fedor, he fought Jeff Monson, who wasn't a Top 10 Heavyweight but had undeniable talent and looked to be a bad match up for Sylvia, he fought Randy Couture, who despite coming out of retirement and moving back up to Heavyweight, is still Randy Couture, he fought Brandon Vera who wasn't a top Heavyweight but was a charismatic fighter who rolled through everyone he faced, and he fought Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who is considered one of the best Heavyweights of all time. Counting this fight with Fedor, you could argue that Sylvia has faced the top 3 Heavyweights in the world in his last 4 fights.
Fedor is on the opposite end of the spectrum. Although he's widely considered the best Heavyweight in the world, Fedor hasn't been fighting the best in the world. His last five fights were against Hong Man Choi in a freak show fight, Matt Lindland who is a natural Middleweight, Mark Hunt who has no ground game, Mark Coleman who was over the hill, and Zulu in another freak fight. Now I give Fedor credit for running through all those guys because the best fighter in the world should run through all those guys but when you are the best, you should fight the best. Finally, like it or not, Tim Sylvia is one of the best and Fedor will fight him.
Another guy who have been facing the best and actually jumped over Fedor in the Pound 4 Pound rankings by doing so is Anderson Silva. In his current UFC run, he's 6-0 and hasn't been out of the second round. He's the current Middleweight Champion but after cleaning out the division, he's moving up to Light Heavyweight.
His opponent is James Irvin, who is coming off a quick knockout over Houston Alexander. Irvin isn't a top Light Heavyweight but he's a test for Silva at the new weight class. Irvin is putting a lot of pressure on himself in this fight as he feels that Silva is an outsider and that he must protect the 205 division from the beast. If I were Irvin I would probably take the opposite approach and put no pressure on myself, feeling that Silva is the best fighter in the world and if I lose, oh well but if I win, it's a major upset.
The main event is the selling point to most events. It's the fight you promote the most and it's usually between the two best fighters on the card. Fedor vs. Sylvia is a better main event because it features the best Heavyweight in the world fighting a top Heavyweight in the world. Silva vs. Irvin is arguably the more intriguing main event though because it features Anderson Silva, widely considered the best fighter in the world, moving up a weight class.
Despite Fedor and Silva being two of the best fighters in the world, neither is what I would consider a draw. Silva has done decent numbers on PPV but when you're the best fighter in the world, you should do better numbers. The biggest problem with him is that he speaks very little English and understands less, making it hard for the fans to connect with him. Fedor is king among the hardcore fans but very few casual fans care about him as evident by his weak PPV numbers with Bodog Fight and PRIDE in the US. You could actually argue that Tim Sylvia is the bigger draw than Fedor for Affliction. UFC is doing the smart thing by putting Silva on free TV because it will expose him to his largest audience ever and if he rolls through Irvin like he's rolled through the Middleweight division, the idea is that fans will want to see more.
The Undercards
Under Sylvia vs. Fedor are a slew of former UFC and PRIDE superstars that have found greener pastures. Andrei Arlovski, Aleks Emelianenko, Ben Rothwell, and Josh Barnett are all Top 10 Heavyweights. Aside from the Heavyweights there are well known fighters like ‘Bablu' Sobral, Matt Lindland, and Vitor Belfort on the card. The Affliction card really is a hardcore fans dream card considering every hardcore fan hates the UFC.
Affliction is banking a lot on Aleks Emelianenko vs. Paul Buentello and Vitor Belfort vs. Terry Martin as both fights are on the FSN broadcast and both fights are expected to be stand up battles. If they're entertaining stand up battles, it could cause casual fans to order the PPV but if they're boring, those fans are going to move on with their night.
The UFC card features guys that aren't all that well known but guys that could make a splash in the future. Brandon Vera, Frank Edgar, Cain Velasquez, ect… are all future contenders in their respective divisions and Edgar and Velasquez in particular could take big steps in the right direction with a win on Saturday.
Breakdown & Predictions
Affliction
*It's been reported that Affliction will use the unified rules, which means elbows will be legal. That could mean trouble for Fedor, a man who cuts and bleeds easy. Tim Sylvia uses his reach probably better than anyone with the advantage in MMA. He's good at keeping people on the outside with his jab and when they get inside, he's good at clinching and not allowing his opponent to do anything. Fedor is a well-rounded fighter who will be comfortable standing or on the ground. Sylvia has a decent ground game that was good enough to stifle Jeff Monson but not good enough to stop Antonio Nogueira. Fedor is one of the best fighters in the world at inflicting damage when in his opponent's guard. Randy Couture had success with taking down Sylvia and doing damage from the guard although Fedor has better ground and pound but worse wrestling. If he's able to take him down though, Sylvia is in for a long night. I don't think Sylvia will try a takedown because Fedor is always dangerous off his back with the armbar. I think Sylvia will try to keep the fight standing while Fedor will have no problem standing until he feels in trouble. I like Fedor by submission in this fight.
*In his last two fights, Josh Barnett hasn't looked himself. Then again he was fighting two of his friends in Hidehiko Yoshida and Jeff Monson. This time he's fighting a guy that beat him in 2001 and he's no doubt looking to avenge that loss. Pedro Rizzo is a fighter who is past his prime but could still give Barnett a challenge. Barnett is a submission fighter by trade but Rizzo has never been submitted. Barnett's only TKO loss in his career was to Rizzo so you know he would love to return the favor. I'm taking Barnett in this one simply because he is a top 5 fighter while Rizzo's best days are behind him. The telling thing in this fight is going to be if Barnett can finish him or not.
*Andrei Arlovski used to be the Fedor of the UFC but since his TKO loss to Tim Sylvia, he hasn't been the same fighter. He's won three straight fights but he hasn't looked like the Arlovski that was knocking people out left and right. Ben Rothwell is on a 13-fight win streak and will be a tough test for Arlovski. He's a well-rounded fighter who could easily defeat the former UFC Heavyweight Champion. Three years ago I would take Arlovski in a heartbeat but not today. Arlovski's head doesn't seem to be in MMA anymore, he's already talking about making a pro boxing debut, and he's honestly looked like he's been sleep walking through his last three fights. He's ripe for the picking for someone and Rothwell has the talent to pull off what may be considered an upset.
*Matt Lindland returns to action after over a year off. He lost his last fight to Fedor although he stepped up to Heavyweight for that fight and there was some controversy with rope grabbing. He takes on Fabio Negao who is good but inexperienced. Lindland was a ranked Middleweight before his time off so it will be interesting to see where he's at now. I think Lindland should have a relatively easy time with Negao although the year lay off may hurt him. I'm still picking Lindland though as this is a fight he should win.
*In what should be a very good grappling contest, Mike Whitehead takes on Renato Sobral. Whitehead has never been submitted in his career while Sobral has only been tapped out once, 8 years ago. Both guys have a lot of experience although I think Sobral has fought the tougher competition. This should be a top-notch grappling contest but I have a feeling it's going to be on the boring side, as I don't think either guy can put the other one away. I'll take "Babalu" by decision.
*Fighting on the same card as his brother for the sixth time in his career, Aleksander Emelianenko battles Paul Buentello. I expect this to be a fun stand up battle until someone falls down. Given his track record, this is a fight Aleks should win considering he beats everyone who isn't a top ranked Heavyweight and I don't consider Buentello a top ranked Heavyweight at this point in his career.
*I don't know about any of you but I'm pretty sick of, "Which Vitor Belfort will show up?" Has the real Vitor Belfort shown up since his fight against Marvin Eastman in 2003? I don't think so (Couture fight excluded because it was a freak cut). Terry Martin is a guy who hits hard but if he doesn't knock you out in 30 seconds, he becomes frustrated. The fight should be another fun stand up battle and I'll take Belfort just because I think he has the better stand up and a more well-rounded game.
*Also moving to 205 is Brandon Vera. After two straight losses at Heavyweight, Vera is moving to Light Heavyweight to take on UFC newcomer Reese Andy. I'm a fan of Vera because of his charisma more than his skill but the man does have talent. He's a good striker with a decent ground game but Fabricio Werdum showed that Vera's ground game isn't world-class. Reese Andy is an inexperienced fighter and falls under the "Two First Names" theory, which usually isn't a good thing. Andy has good wrestling so if Vera can avoid the takedown or get back to his feet, he should win this fight.
*Frank Edgar and Hermes Franca return to the Octagon after losses to Gray Maynard and Sean Sherk respectively. Edgar was undefeated until he ran into the bigger and stronger Maynard while Franca dropped a decision to then Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk. Franca ended up taking a year off due to a failed drug test where he admitted he used steroids in order to heal from an injury but didn't get his suspension reduced. Edgar is a good wrestler while Franca is a BJJ black belt. I don't except this fight to play out like Sherk vs. Franca though because Edgar seems to be a more natural 145 than 155 while Sherk is a big and strong Lightweight. I'm going into this fight with low expectations because it seems like every time I have high expectations for Edgar or Griffin they haven't delivered. I think Franca will take this fight.
*Jake O'Brien was boring, won, was boring again, lost, got released, signed with another promotion, and is now back to take on Heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez. Both guys are wrestlers by trade so this has the potential to be very boring but I don't think Cain will allow that. He's a big Heavyweight who actually stood with Brad Morris and showed off his stand up skills at UFC 83. I don't think O'Brien can takedown Cain and if the fight stays on the feet, I don't like O'Brien's chance.
*'THE FIRE' BURNS RETURNS~! Kevin ‘The Fire' Burns takes on Anthony Johnson in a Welterweight battle. Johnson is a big Welterweight who showed really good striking in his last fight against Tommy Speer while Burns showed impressive grappling in his UFC debut. Johnson comes from a wrestling background so it's going to be tough to take him down but if Burns can do it, he obviously has the advantage on the ground. If the fight stays standing, I expect Johnson to roll through him. I'm pulling for ‘The Fire' Burns because he has the most awesome "Play on Words Nickname" but I don't like this match up for him.
*Jesse Taylor and CB Dollaway face a must win situation on Saturday. Both guys are strong wrestlers but lack pretty much everything else. Taylor has better submission defense but I don't think CB is going to threaten with too much off his back. Neither guy has great striking but I'd give the advantage to CB. The biggest question in this fight will be the cardio of both men. Taylor's cardio proved to be solid on the show while you could partially credit his loss to Amir on the show to a lack of cardio and he showed even less cardio against Tim. This fight has the potential to be very boring but I'll go with Jesse.
What To Watch?
My ideal situation would be to order Affliction while recording UFC but I just dropped 55 dollars on UFC 86 in HD and another 60 dollars on NCAA Football 09 so I'm trying to save my pennies. I'm going to watch UFC on Saturday, not because I'm some UFC fanboy (although, admittedly, I do enjoy UFC more than any other promotion) but because I don't feel like paying 40 dollars for MMA when I can watch it for free. I'll of course watch Affliction and if I hear nothing but good things about the event, I may even order the replay because I'm a nice guy.
DREAM ends the weekend
If Affliction and UFC weren't enough, there's also DREAM 5 this weekend, featuring the conclusion of the Lightweight GP. Here is the card:
Lightweight Grand Prix Finals
-Shinya Aoki vs. Caol Uno
-Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Eddie Alvarez
[Semi-Finals and Finals will take place on the same night]
Lightweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout:
-Joachim Hansen vs. Kultar "Black Mamba" Gill
Non-Tournament Bouts:
-Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto vs. Joe Benavidez
-Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Katsuyori Shibata
-Motoki Miyazawa vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka
-Mark Hunt vs. Jerome LeBanner
The winner of the Lightweight GP will likely be considered the #2 Lightweight in the world behind BJ Penn unless Shinya Aoki wins, in which case you could argue that he would leapfrog Penn for that spot. Caol Uno is a great story that obviously isn't getting love here in America but is getting plenty of love in Japan. Uno is past his prime while Aoki is in his but this obviously isn't a cakewalk for Aoki. The fight should be a good grappling contest but I think Aoki will get the victory. Eddie Alvarez is quickly becoming a favorite of mine because of his stand and bang style but he's going to have a tough test against Kawajiri, who has done just enough to win his two previous tournament bouts but hasn't looked overly dominant. I'm pulling for Alvarez to win the whole thing but if I were a betting man then I would put my money on Aoki.
The rest of the card shapes up nicely with guys like ‘Kid' Yamamoto, Akiyama, and Hunt. It's another good card from DREAM and considering I'm a mark for tournaments, I can't wait to see the conclusion of the Lightweight GP.
It's a great weekend for fight fans and there's something for everyone.
Playing to Your Strengths
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton ‘Rampage' Jackson was arrested this past week. He was charged with felony hit and run, reckless driving, and felony evading arrest. Jackson has been released after posting $25,000 bail
I guess Jackson didn't judge the situation correctly. I promise that's the only lame joke I make on this situation.
I don't want to speculate on anything but based on all the reports I read, Jackson had to be under the influence of something (likely Nyquil, a favorite among former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions). I don't understand how a sane man would flee the scene after a routine accident. He would have had to pay for damage done to the other car and then he could have gone on. Instead he started a police chase, in a truck that had a picture of him on the side of the door and "RAMPAGE JACKSON" on the back. The only other likely situation is that Jackson is mentally unstable and I'm not sure which is worse. Either way Dana White has a situation on his hands because we've all heard his tirades on Kimbo Slice and his background and now his most recent Light Heavyweight Champion does this. My guess is that Jackson gets suspended, his rematch with Forrest Griffin is out the window, and if he does have some type of drug problem, he may end up in rehab. It's really sad to see this happen to Jackson, who seemed to turn his life around once he found God. I hope the best for Jackson and for everyone involved in the accident.
Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva has been added to UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben
So much for Wanderlei Silva fighting Thiago and so much for Machida getting a title shot. This is a fight I figured would happen because UFC wants to push Thiago Silva while they don't want to push Machida. A win for Thiago gives him a win over an undefeated fighter who has been literally untouchable in the Octagon while a win for Machida gives him a win over an undefeated fighter who honestly hasn't fought any top level Light Heavyweight in the UFC. You tell me who is in the better situation. The fight should be a good stand up battle and Thiago is an aggressive fighter, something Machida hasn't really faced in the UFC. I'll probably be an idiot and pick Thiago to win come fight time because I've already dubbed him a future Light Heavyweight champion and Machida will make me look stupid again but oh well.
UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben has added the following fights to the card:
-Chris Lytle vs. Paul Taylor
-Shane Carwin vs. Neil Wain
-Luis Cane vs. Sokoudjou
-Akihiro Gono vs. Dan Hardy
-Sam Stout vs. Terry Etim
-Marcus Davis vs. Paul Kelly
Some very solid bouts added to the free PPV card. Chris Lytle also signed a new deal with UFC so despite his 4-8 record with the company, I guess having exciting fights and heart was enough to keep him around. I think he's a really good gatekeeper for the Welterweight division and while UFC will never acknowledge that, I think they know it. Shane Carwin is one of the WFE3 who will look to continue his roll against undefeated Neil Wain, who has KO power. I think Cane vs. Sokoudjou is the most interesting bout on the card because it could be one hell of a stand up battle. Soko has the power while Cane has the technique and I would think that the winner would earn a shot at one of the top Light Heavyweights. Hardy and Gono should have a fun battle that puts the winner right in the Welterweight mix. Stout and Etim go at it with the loser being on thin ice in the UFC. My guess is that if Etim loses, he'll be gone from the company for a while since it would be his third straight loss. Marcus Davis is a staple on the England cards and considering he isn't facing a top notch Welterweight, he should roll through Kelly.
Despite not having a top-level main event, UFC 89 is shaping up to be a really good card. Leben vs. Bisping isn't main event material but considering it's on free TV you can't really complain too much. Plus below the main event there are two really good fights in Alves vs. Sanchez and Silva vs. Machida and now the fights listed above.
Studying Tape
Hey look, it's Anderson Silva.
Sparring Session
Brandon Vera stated that Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson, and Sokoudjou turned down the chance to fight him on July 19th. Vera turned down a fight against Lyoto Machida. Vera will face Reese Andy this Saturday
Vera said that he didn't want to fight Machida on short notice because Machida is a guy you have to prepare for. Way to put over his skills while almost devaluing your skills and others.
The only person that doesn't make sense to me is Sokoudjou. Wanderlei Silva likely didn't take the fight because he didn't want to take any fight on short notice. Plus that's not really a fight that makes sense for Wanderlei or his camp. Vera is coming off two straight losses while Silva is more popular than ever after his fight with Chuck Liddell and destruction of Keith Jardine. Wanderlei is in line to fight Quinton Jackson or Liddell so a fight with Vera could have jeopardized that. Henderson, no matter what he says, is more comfortable at 185. Plus I don't think he wanted to fight a guy coming off two straight losses while he himself is coming off two straight losses. Sokoudjou is the surprising one because it would seem like he would actually have something to gain from fighting Vera. He obviously wasn't going to fight ‘Shogun' Rua next like he wanted but a fight with Vera would have been a good option. This story is even more baffling when you consider that Sokoudjou took a fight with Luis Cane, who is a very good fighter, but doesn't have the fanbase that Vera has, who seems to get over even more by losing.
At any rate, Vera will seemingly get a confidence fight against Reese Andy instead of a fight that would have been more high profile but off on the wrong foot at 205.
Underwater Ice Bath
Gary Shaw is no longer the Dana White of EliteXC
Children, God does answer prayers.
This move comes because Shaw is a east coast guy in a west coast company so the traveling took its toll on his family and health. Shaw will remain with the company but has very limited power. Sucks to be him. Doug DeLuca will be taking his place and my only hope is that he doesn't try to be Dana White-lite either.
Taking Time Off
I went to WWE Raw on Monday. The show was good, mainly thanks to some very good promos by John Cena and Rhodes & Dibiase. The wrestling was largely mediocre but I didn't expect anything great. The ending angle with Cena and JBL was retarded and made even more retarded by the fact that Cena was "grazed" by the car and not dead. Before the show I went around back to see if any wrestlers were arriving. Outside I saw Cena, JBL, Chris Jericho, and Vince McMahon (he's alive, Kane) talking. A security guard pointed us away so I couldn't get any SCOOPS~! I should have told him I know Larry Csonka.
NCAA Football 2009 came out this past Tuesday. It rules. Go buy it now.
John Curry asks, "What if Fedor loses?" John Curry also interviews Forrest Jr. Alex Mattis previews UFC and Affliction. Ryan Seymour tells you to watch fighting. Chris Robinson has a picture of Tim Sylvia in goofy clothing on a scooter. That's all you need to know. BREN~! presents Fact or Fiction featuring John Curry and Jonathan Solomon. Ryan Seymour profiles Tim Sylvia.
Matt McEwen reviews UFC 46: Supernatural featuring Belfort vs. Couture 2. Adam Tool reviews Rumble on the Rock 4 featuring Penn vs. Gomi.
AND IT'S ALL OVER~!
That does it for me this week folks. I'll be back next week with a recap of UFC, Affliction, and DREAM as well as all the news in the MMA world. Take care everyone.
Cardio Freak Sources: Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer, Bryan Alvarez and Figure Four Weekly, MMAWeekly, and MMAMania
That could mean trouble for Fedor, a man who cuts and bleeds easy.
That would be fucking great if Fedor lost cause he got cut by an elbow.
Posted By: Guest#2133 (Guest) on July 17, 2008 at 09:54 AM
I know this is a little off topic but did anyone else see the tragic events unfold in the Oscar Diaz fight on ESPN last night. It had to be one of the constant reminders of how dangerous combative sports can be. Everyone put Diaz in their prayers. He is currently undergoing brain surgery right now and is in critical condition.
Posted By: anthony (Guest) on July 17, 2008 at 10:26 AM
just a quick comment on the lindland/fedor fight - to me, it took balls for fedor to fight lindland (and to a lesser extant that hong choi) in that the risk reward aspect of the fight was heavily tilted towards risk. Quick, who was the first guy to beat Big Nog in MMA?
Dan Henderson.
A natural middleweight high flight wrestler can face off against naturally bigger men without necessarily giving up a strength advantage...about the only bigger guys that will give top flight wrestlers difficulty are other wrestlers who are bigger and stronger (like don frye/mark coleman)...Lindland was a threat and an unnecessary risk con sidering Fedor got no reward (as far as respect and legacy are concerned) for facing that threat.
MMA's biggest hurdle moving forward is to have real legitimate journalists (NO OFFENSE 411) covering the sport and educating the public (even those of us that feel we already know it all). Boxing has many subjective arguments, but they are littered with credible voices giving weight to the issues at hand....MMA has no burt sugars to lend that credibility to any argument, which leads to my next point.
The facing "top ten" competition argument is pointles bs...based on who's top ten? There isn't a Ring Magazine or a commisioning body in MMA that has the credibility to hand down a top ten ranking that means anything....you said that Fedor's last top ten opponent was cro cop, well i seem to remember mark hunt being on a whole helluva lot of top ten lists at that time for having beaten the "number two" heavyweight in the world at that time, the afformentioned mirko cro cop...and was couture ranked when sylvia beat him? i'm sure some would have ranked him, but he had just come off two knockout losses to a light heavyweight and a retirement, so i would not have had him ranked in the heavyweight division (his last two fights before sylvia at heavyweight were beatdown stoppages at the hands of bigger men)....furthermore, i know serra wasn't ranked when he beat GSP and if Forrest was top five at the time he beat Rampage in the majority of rankings i'd be shocked, what was Aoki ranked before his first fight with JZ and what was nick diaz' ranking when he submitted gomi...the point? Ranked opponents are useless due to the fact that the rankings are subjective and you don't need to be ranked to whup a ranked guy's ass.
I'm running out of characters, so i'll finish my last thought in the next comment.
Posted By: romano (Guest) on July 17, 2008 at 12:39 PM
my biggest beef with many mma writers, is that instead of looking at mma in the traditional way that one views combat sports, most internet writers bring with them a wwe mentality...it's understandable seeing as how so many folks made the switch from wrestling to mma, but frustrating...well if you can't beat it, cater to it.
Fedor's opponents since Pride has folded aren't entirely the former champ's fault...his promotion crumbled around him, and he started to get alot of flak from the internet mma crowd for not signing with the ufc...my next imaginary situation is not factually accurate, the i'm using the wrestler in question due to his never having wrestled for wwe.
Ok, so in this situation, Sting is the WCW heavyweight champ and considered the greatest wrestler on the planet(i know, not historically accurate)...in a combination of bad business for wcw and shrewd business for vince mcmahon wwe buys wcw...and now the internet wrestling community is all a buzz..."Sting is coming to WWE! Dream matchups to follow!"...But Vince disrespects Sting, offers him a contract that doesn't allow sting to pursue other interests followed by Vince insulting Sting during negotiations...Sting decides to hell with the wwe, he just can't work under those conditions.
So in the meantime many of the top wrestlers are either jumping to wwe or otherwise busy or just waiting for the right opportunity(what was josh barnett doing during 2007?) so Sting works a couple of small promotions to get a payday and the internet wrestling community writes him off as a guy that just doesn't care about wrestling anymore, that never proved himself in the wwe and who's past accomplishments can be ignored...they're angry he took away their hopes at seeing him fight dream matches in the wwe and they attempt to taint his memory and paint his loyal fans as a bunch of brainwashed nuthuggers....but things are looking up, there's a new startup promotion in the horizon and they've signed former wwe champ Kurt Angle...
See its all the same. Fedor's promotion was in shambles, there really weren't any available "top ten" heavyweights available, so what would you have him do? Go to work for a little asshole that called him and his management team "Crazy Russian" and then wouldn't allow Fedor to take part in Sambo competitions and events on his home soil? no he waited it out, he fought a giant that has defeated semmy schelt, mighty mo, gary goodridge and bob sapp in k1, and fedor waited for the opportunity to fight on HIS terms...this friday the naysayers will find something else to say about the last emperor...but i say this...had fedor never fought again after pride, he'd still be the greatest of all time and it's time folks that call themselves fans of this sport learned to respect him
Posted By: romano (Guest) on July 17, 2008 at 12:55 PM
I Disagree with the "hardcore fans hate UFC"
I'm hardcore MMA fan since years and I'm enjoying the UFC pretty much THANK YOU
With that in mind I will still order BANNED in a second because it's quite simply the most exciting card of the year so far .
Fedor vs Sylvia = GOLD
Barnett vs Rizzo = Greatness
Arlovski vs Rothwell = Exciting
Alexsander E is a vastly underrated and super exiciting fighter to watch (I even prefer him to his older and unbeateable bro)
Add the always fun Matt Linland in the
equation and you have a stacked card that will deliver BIG TIME and will weap UFC's ass to the ground this very saturday .
That's said can't wait for UFC 87 and Lesnar vs Herring !
Posted By: Van Daminator (Guest) on July 17, 2008 at 02:40 PM
WTF The legendary WCW Icon The Stinger has to do with MMA man ?
Dana White is no Vince O Mac anyway
as for Fedor "having balls to fight a middleweight" is this an april fool joke ?
If someone had balls to fight a super heavy while being ten times smaller it's definitively NOT Fedor but his opponent that night (thank you the ropes right fedor ?)
Posted By: Van Daminator (Guest) on July 17, 2008 at 02:43 PM
Isn't Mark Hunt off of the Dream card?
Posted By: Sonny Phono (Guest) on July 17, 2008 at 03:26 PM
Nice job mentioning that a number of MMA writers look at MMA with a WWE mentality romano. It was also insightful for you to then go into a stupid (and pointless) diatribe about professional wrestling to make a pseudo-point. You may be the smartest troll on this site.
Nice comment about legitimate journalists though. Of course 411’s lack of legitimate journalists hasn’t stopped you from trolling these waters, has it? Maybe you should lend your “expertise” to this site if your mom will let you use her computer.
Posted By: Scott Kuczkowski (Registered) on July 17, 2008 at 05:39 PM
That would be fucking great if Fedor lost cause he got cut by an elbow.
Posted By: Guest#2133 (Guest)
@ He did Big Nog !NC and his first fight he lost Tsuyoshi Kohsaka TKO (cut)
Posted By: UU ! (Guest) on July 17, 2008 at 06:58 PM
re: scott whateveryourlastnameis
I enjoy this site, but if writers and registered users don't want to hear oppinions from those of us who have loyally read this site since scott keith did battle with hyatte, i suppose that you should not allow us to comment. my point wasn't meant to be an insult to this site (the first site i ever read on the internet was Ashish's brothers site Rajah's)...now Scott, if you'd like to get to know me before blasting me, let me know and i'll email you...but guys that throw insults at strangers (AND WTF is a troll? I'm a pretty sexy cat dammit)aren't cool...it's a weak move. I would totally write for 411, but aside from work, i don't have time to give that kind of commitment...i gave up my blogs and the only sites i check out during free moments are mma (411 is my fav) and the Drudge Report.
I think that the analogy to a wrestling company folding was on point...but sometimes we fail to communicate effectively, if that's the case i apologize to anyone bored by reading the comment.
Posted By: romano (Guest) on July 17, 2008 at 08:09 PM
re: van daminator
my point was, fedor was taking a risk without much of a chance of a reward...it was a no win situation...like michael moorer fighting george foreman...had michael won, he would have beaten an old man, who cares? but he lost! it ruined moorer and his legacy forever...that's what lindland represented..an unnecessary risk, what if he had lost? there goes that beautiful legacy....so no, it wasn't an april fool's joke, i just don't think that you understood my point---most likely my fault, i think faster than i type.
Posted By: romano (Guest) on July 17, 2008 at 08:12 PM
"Affliction threw a Wanderlei Silva windmill punch; UFC came back with a Chuck Liddell straight right." - bas rutten would kick you in the teeth... read fight magazine.. a ligitmate mma magazine, he makes a good point in it... you dont call it a hook right... you call it a right hook. make sense? and for those of you harping on romano, thats the fun thing to do on these comment boards, he was simply trying to prove the point that sometimes mma analysts present their ideas on mma in a wresling perspective, so he put the fedor situation in a wrestling perspective. i have followed wrestling for years, and it makes perfect sense to me.
Posted By: woolfrey (Guest) on July 18, 2008 at 03:17 PM
