The Fightin' Stance News 07.25.08: Domination & Devastation

Posted by  on 07.25.2008

Check out the latest edition of The Fightin' Stance News for your full preview of EliteXC: Unfinished Business, as well as all the fallout from the huge MMA weekend! Plus we've got all the latest fight confirmations, including news on Fedor's next challenge!



Hello again and welcome to The Fightin' Stance News. This week I'll be previewing tomorrow night's show from EliteXC. You do know that EliteXC has an event tomorrow, right? I've also got some thoughts and news from the three big cards that went down over the weekend. But first, there's news to cover so…



Ready To Do It Again



Hot on the heels of their debut show this past weekend, word has gotten out that the Afflictions's next event will be on October 11th from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The main event for the card will be another heavyweight dream match, as Fedor Emelianenko will take on Andrei Arlovski.

The show has not been officially announced yet, but Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports has confirmed the date and the main event after speaking to Thomas & Mack arena director Daren Libonati. Libonati is a big supporter of MMA, and was a key player in bringing PRIDE to Las Vegas for their first U.S. event back on October 21, 2006.

Emelianenko will likely be defending his newly-won WAMMA heavyweight championship at the event. He won the belt on Saturday with his 36 second submission win over Tim Syliva. Arlovski was also victorious this past weekend, as he defeated IFL standout Ben Rothwell via KO early in round three.

The show has not been officially confirmed by Affliction, but it should be made official in an announcement on Tuesday.

I've been saying for a few months that I wanted to see Fedor vs. Arlovski, and now I'm getting my wish. In my opinion this is a bigger main event than the Fedor/Sylvia match-up because while Sylvia may have been custom made for Fedor, Arlovski has a skillset that matches up better with Emelianenko.

Break On Through



This week the UFC confirmed a number of fights for UFC 88: Breakthrough on September 9th. The show will be headlined by a light heavyweight match-up between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans. It has been widely speculated that the winner of this fight could be next in line for a shot at the belt currently held by Forrest Griffin. Here's a look at the current card:

(Main card)
Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans
Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill
Karo Parisyan vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares
(Pre-lims)
Kurt Pellegrino vs. Thiago Tavares
Matt Brown vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Tim Boetsch vs. James Lee
Ryo Chonan vs. Roan Carneiro

The main event will certainly go a long way in determining the future of the light heavyweight division. Liddell has had plenty of luck against wrestlers in the past, but it'll be interesting to see if Evans decides to try and stand with Chuck. Of course, if he does go for the takedown he'll have to contend with Liddell's LEGENDARY SPRAWL~!

Rich Franklin is obviously at a stand still in the middleweight division, so a return to the higher weight class makes good sense. He's got a tough opponent in Matt Hamill, who will certainly have the advantage should this fight hit the ground.

Dan Henderson could potentially get himself another crack at Anderson Silva, but first he'll need to worry about the dangerous Rousimar Palhares. This will be Hendo's first non-title fight in almost two years. Palhares will be taking a big step up in competition, and could be on the fast track to a title shot should he emerge victorious.

He's not my favorite, but Karo Parisyan will be back in action for the first time since losing to Thiago Alves earlier this year. His opponent, Yoshida, came into the UFC with a fair amount of hype. At UFC 84 he made quick work of Jon Koppenhaver, but he'll be in for the toughest opponent of his young career here.

At this point the UFC is lining up some tremendous shows for the rest of the year. We have UFC 87 in two weeks, and let's not forget UFC 89 which will be shown on Spike. As Dana White said, it's a great time to be an MMA fan.

Saturday Night's War In Numbers

The fights are over and the wounds are starting to heal. Now it's time to try and figure out who came out victorious in this weekend's showdown between the UFC and Affliction. Obviously these were two different types of shows from two very different companies, so it's hard to draw direct comparisons. But let's try anyways.

We'll start with the new guys. In terms of the live crowd, Affliction drew 14,832 attendees for a total live gate of $2,085,510. The total number of tickets sold was 11,242, with 3,590 tickets given away as complimentary.

From the fighter salaries that were released, the total reported payroll was just over $3.3 million. Topping the list was Tim Sylvia, who earned $800,000 in his loss to Fedor Emelianenko. Fedor earned a reported $300,000, but Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that his actual take home pay was at least three times that amount. Andrei Arlovski received $750,000 for his win over Ben Rothwell. Josh Barnett and Matt Lindland each got $300,000 for their wins, while Rothwell made $250,000. Vitor Belfort was the last fighter to make six figures, as his salary was $140,000. Of course, the reported salaries don't include the payouts for other members of the staff, including the announce team, production crew, and Megadeth.

Pay-per-view buyrate numbers were not released, but Affliction VP Tom Atencio said that the show did "well over 100,000." This is a solid number for a show that, outside of the internet, had little-to-no advertising. Of course, this number is not official, and Meltzer is reporting that the buyrate was somewhere between 50,000 and 85,000.

It looks as though Affliction's gamble paid off. Not literally, of course, as the company has almost certainly taken a big loss financially. Atencio said that he knew the show would be a calculated risk, and they needed to put on a big event to make a splash in the market. It will be interesting to see what kind of card they put on for their next show, as I would guess it's unlikely that we'll see so many big names up and down the card.

Onto the UFC. Fight Night salaries were reported at $623,000. The top earners for the night were Anderson Silva and Brandon Vera, who each made $200,000 for their wins. Most of the other fighters were paid somewhere in the low five figures, with Frank Edgar earning $26,000, James Irvin made $20,000, and Hermes Franca received $17,000. Keep in mind that these numbers don't include any win bonuses that may have been handed out afterwards.

The UFC and Spike were the big winners in viewership, as the show scored a 2.1 rating with an average of 3.1 million viewers. Viewership peaked during the Silva/Irvin main event, with over 4.46 million people tuned in. The numbers were especially strong in the coveted demographics of men 18-34, men 18-49, men 25-34, and persons 18-34. Fight Night easily beat out all other programming (including the major networks) in all of these categories. This is great news as the high ratings will ensure more UFC programming on Spike, since the company is obviously a proven winner in the areas advertisers look for.

In terms of financial success, obviously the UFC wins this one. They also succeeded in terms of viewership, but that's to be expected since their show was free versus Affliction's on PPV. It's unknown whether or not Fight Night was successful in drawing viewers away from Affliction, since it was assumed that most hardcore fans would be tuning in to see Fedor, Arlovski, Barnett, etc. regardless. For more on this action packed weekend, read on…


The Top 10 Performances From Last Weekend

Over the course of 36 hours, three promotions put on events that changed the landscape of the MMA world. Champions were crowned, challenges were met, and grudges were settled. 60 different fighters all stepped up to prove their worth, but only half of them achieved victory. Instead of recapping each show, I wanted to take an opportunity to showcase the athletes that rose above the rest to accomplish something truly special.


1. He‘s Not Human

There were those that speculated that Tim Sylvia would easily beat Fedor Emelianenko, and prove that the famed Russian was simply overrated. Those same people liked to say that Emelianenko's place atop the heavyweight rankings was undeserved, based on the level of competition he had faced over the years. On Saturday night, Fedor silenced any and all of his critics in just thirty-six seconds. If there are any doubters left they're going to need to come up with some fresh excuses, because as far as I can tell Fedor has cemented his place as the greatest heavyweight ever to compete in mixed-martial arts.


2. Hellboy Shocks The World

It seemed as though Shinya Aoki was unbeatable. JZ Calvancante couldn't do it. Caol Uno couldn't do it. Most people figured it was Aoki's destiny to win the DREAM lightweight championship and ascend to the top spot in the world lightweight ranks. Joachim Hansen was not one of those people. After dispatching of Kultar Gill, Hansen got the news that he would be replacing Eddie Alvarez in the tournament finals. For the first few minutes of the fight it looked as though Aoki would be on his way to achieving the glory that many had pegged him for. Of course in MMA you can never underestimate the potential of one big punch. Hansen laid Aoki out, and rained down blows until the fight was stopped and a new star was born. Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen is now the first ever DREAM lightweight champion, and destiny is overrated.


3. Weight Is Nothing But A Number

We all knew that Anderson Silva was the undisputed king of the middleweight division, but what we didn't know was how well his skills would transfer to a higher weight class. James Irvin thought that he could take Silva's best shots and answer back with his own. When "The Spider" entered the octagon Saturday night he clearly looked different. He was still lean and lanky, but there was definitely an added layer of thickness. One had to wonder if any of his speed or precision had been sacrificed with the additional weight. He didn't need long to answer those questions, as he caught Irvin's kick and leveled him with a bullet-like punch to the face. Irvin was finished, and the pound-for-pound king reigned supreme for another night.


4. Edgar Answers All The Questions

For a fighter bouncing back after their first loss, the first step is rebuilding your confidence. Frank Edgar had been manhandled by Gray Maynard earlier this year, and he needed a dominant performance on Saturday if he wanted to maintain a foothold in the crowded UFC lightweight ranks. He certainly didn't have an easy opponent, as Hermes Franca has ended many fighter's nights with a crushing blow or a slick submission. Edgar took everything Franca could dish out and ended up on top. It may not have been the most exciting fight, but in the end Edgar got the job done and showed he belongs amongst the elite in the 155 lbs. division.


5. The Pitbull Gets His Bite Back

Oh Andrei, how could I have ever doubted you? Even though I had picked him to win, I knew there was a good chance that Ben Rothwell could upset Arlovski. While he was once the kind of fighter that struck fear in many opponent's hearts, a few lackluster performances in the last few years had dulled Arlovski's edge. When he entered that Affliction ring it was clear that tonight, "The Pitbull" meant business. Even though the fight dragged a bit at times, once Arlovski got on the offensive he mauled Rothwell and silenced any doubt that his skills were not what they used to be.


6. What Was, And What Could Have Been

Monday night was a very bittersweet evening for Eddie Alvarez. He had basically come out of nowhere to make it to the final rounds of the DREAM lightweight grand prix. He engaged in a brutal battle with Tatsuya Kawajiri, and came out the victor. But his win came with a price, as a cut under his eye left him unable to continue in the tournament and the man he had already beaten took his place. Even though he missed out on his chance to face Aoki and claim the lightweight title, Alvarez still left DREAM 5 as a winner. In his post-fight interview Hansen announced that he planned to give Alvarez the first crack at the championship. MMA fans are already salivating at the idea of a rematch of one of 2008's candidates for Fight of the Year.


7. The Future Is Now

When we did the staff Roundtable for Fight Night 14 I was a little surprised that some of my fellow writers had picked Jake O'Brien to win over Cain Velasquez. I can understand that some people hadn't quite bought into the hype, but in my mind a dominant win for Velasquez was a foregone conclusion. I was happy to be proven right, as Cain plowed through his toughest opponent to date and showed exactly why he is worth the hype. Of the five weight classes in the UFC, the heavyweight division is the one most in need of some new blood. With guys like Shane Carwin, Brock Lesnar and of course, Cain Velasquez, the future looks bright indeed.


8. Two Words: Peruvian Necktie

In previews for the UFC's Saturday night card, it was clear that most people were not looking forward to the meeting between CB Dollaway and Jesse Taylor. Neither man was a fan favorite from "The Ultimate Fighter," and with their particular fighting styles this match-up had the potential for a snooze-fest. However I don't think there were any other fights on the show that had more on the line. Both men were fighting for their future in the company, and they each came out with something to prove. After some good back and forth action, CB Dollaway made a new fan out of me when he locked Taylor up in the rarely seen Peruvian necktie. It was easily the submission of the night, not just for Fight Night, but for the entire evening.


9. Don‘t Call It A Comeback

You know the history. Vitor Belfort was the man that overwhelmed the UFC and PRIDE heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions before beating Randy Couture to win the gold (yes it was from a cut, but the win still counts). Then there was the unfortunate business with his sister, and Vitor just wasn't the same. By knocking out Terry Martin on Saturday Vitor sent notice that he was back. It was his first win over a credible opponent in over four years, and it was even sweeter considering that Couture himself was in Belfort's corner. I don't know what's next, but I know that I'm a Vitor Belfort fan once again.


10. Cro Cop Would Be Proud

During his year and a half in the IFL, Rory Markham had a lot of ups, but also some big downs. One thing he had going for him was that none of his fights had gone to a decision, and it was clear he was a guy that had exciting match-ups. That's just the kind of fighter Dana White loves to have, and so Markham made his way to the UFC. His fight against Brodie Farber was on the undercard of Fight Night 14, but with some time left in the broadcast it was an easy choice to put this one on. Markham took some punishment from Farber and then at just the right moment, he delivered a vicious head kick that knocked his opponent out cold. Once Farber went down Markham started to walk away, because he didn't need the referee to tell him it was over. An awesome debut for an exciting young athlete.

ELITEXC: UNFINISHED BUSINESS PREVIEWICATION

Here we go again. It's time to see if MMA can truly be successful on broadcast television, or if the first show's success was simply due to the cross-over appeal of Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano. Tomorrow's show is unique, in that it will be split between two networks. The broadcast begins at 8 pm ET on Showtime, where there are three fights scheduled. Then at 9 pm ET it will switch over to CBS for the remaining four fights. We'll hit the CBS portion first and the Showtime section afterwards.

On CBS

Main Event: EliteXC Middleweight Championship
"Ruthless" Robbie Lawler © vs. Scott "Hands Of Steel" Smith

The Facts:
-Before the no contest earlier this year, Lawler was on a four fight win streak over Joey Villasenor, Frank Trigg, and Murilo "Ninja" Rua.
-Smith was on a two fight win streak.
-This will be Lawler's second defense of the EliteXC middleweight championship.
-Smith has never gone to a decision in 18 fights.

The Pick: It's Lawler vs. Smith, take two. The first meeting between them was a great little slugfest, but the ending left a bad taste in everyone's mouth and no clear winner. Lawler was dominating the first round, but Smith rallied back in the second. In the few months since that first fight I doubt either man has made any big changes to their skillset or their gameplan, so we can expect more of the same tomorrow night. My prediction doesn't change, Lawler will be able to sustain any damage Smith can dish out and eventually his superior striking will win out. Lawler by TKO in round 2.

EliteXC Welterweight Championship
Jake Shields vs. Nick "The Goat" Thompson

The Facts:
-Shields is on a nine fight win streak, and has not lost since December of 2004.
-Thompson is on a twelve fight win streak, and has not lost since April of 2006.
-These two share a common opponent in Yushin Okami, who Shields beat by decision and Thompson lost to due to an injury.
-Thompson has more wins by submission (21) than Shields has total (20).
-The winner of this fight will become the first EliteXC welterweight champion.

The Pick: This could go either way, as is often the case when two fighters with similar skillsets meet in the cage. Shields should have the edge in wrestling, but Thompson will be fairly comfortable on his back working for submissions. Both fighters have good striking, but I doubt this one will stay on the feet for long. I see Shields looking for the takedown early and often, but Thompson will prove to be a difficult opponent to finish so I'm predicting Shields winning by unanimous decision.

Nick Diaz vs. Tommy "Wildman" Denny

The Facts:
-Diaz has won his last two fights after losing to KJ Noons in November of last year.
-Denny is coming off of a DQ win over Malapiet at ShoXC this past March.
-Even though he is known as a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu fighter, Diaz has won a majority of his fights via TKO.
-Denny has 14 wins and 10 losses by submission.

The Pick: It's become quite fashionable to hate on Nick Diaz. After his debacles with weight cutting and drug testing, coupled with his less-than-sparkling attitude outside the cage, it seems that there are very few Diaz fans left in the world. Regardless of your personal opinion of him, you can't deny that he is a tough little S.O.B. He's got that unique striking style and most people underestimate his power considering his rather lean frame (let's not forget that he did knock out Robbie Lawler). On top of that you throw in some world-class jiu-jitsu, and he's a guy that can win the fight in a variety of ways. Tommy Denny has always been mediocre at best and I fully believe that he was brought in for this fight just to give Diaz an opponent to look good against, in order to help build to the Diaz/Noons rematch. This one's not too hard to pick, so I'm taking Diaz via submission in round 2.

Shayna "The Queen Of Spades" Baszler vs. Christiane Cyborg

The Facts:
-Baszler is on a four fight win streak.
-Cyborg will be making her U.S. debut here.
-Every one of Baszler's nine wins has come by submission in round one.
-Cyborg has won her last three fights by KO in round one.

The Pick: Shayna Baszler has already had some words for Gina Carano. I would imagine it's tough to be a female fighter with more experience that's constantly passed over for the "face of women's MMA." All signs point to a Carano/Baszler showdown later this year for the first EliteXC women's championship, but first "The Queen Of Spades" will have to get past Christiane Cyborg. Just so you know, that's not her real last name. She's the wife of Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos, and has apparently decided to take her husband's nickname. What's next, Kim Natural? Anyways, Cyborg is making her U.S. debut and her record indicates that she is one powerful lady. Baszler should have the edge in jiu-jitsu as well as experience, so I‘m taking Baszler by submission in round 1.

On Showtime

EliteXC Heavyweight Championship
Antonio "Junior" Silva vs. Justin Eilers

The Facts:
-Silva has won three straight since coming to EliteXC.
-Eilers is also on a three fight win streak.
-Both fighters have won a majority of their fights by (T)KO.
-Silva has only had one fight go past the first round.
-The winner of this fight will become the first EliteXC heavyweight champion.

The Pick: Three title fights in one night? Who do they think they are, the WEC? Probably the least intriguing title bout is the one that will be on Showtime, and I have to wonder how many times the announcers will try to hype up Eilers by referring to the fact that he challenged for the UFC heavyweight belt. You can expect big-time fireworks here, as both men are strikers first and foremost. The major difference is that Silva has shown an ability to absorb punishment, while Eilers has been saddled with a glass chin for most of his career. I foresee a brief feeling-out period, followed by a wild exchange. After that I see Eilers unconscious and Silva with the belt being strapped to his waist. Silva by TKO in round 1.

Wilson Reis vs. Brian Caraway

The Facts:
-Reis is undefeated in four pro fights.
-Caraway is on a seven fight win streak.
-Three of Reis' four wins have come via submission while all nine of Caraway's wins are by submission.

The Pick: Wilson Reis is one of the EliteXC's top prospects, and he'll be tested here by the wily Brian Caraway. These two have 13 submission wins between them, so it's likely this one will get to the ground early. Caraway obviously has the edge in experience, but it's hard to tell if that plays a factor in this type of match-up where both guys have similar skillsets. I've gone back and forth on this one a few times, but in the end I'm taking Reis by submission in round 2.

Travis "The Gladiator" Galbraith vs. Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante

The Facts:
-Both fighters are on a two fight win streak.
-Of Galbraith's 15 wins, 10 have come by submission.
-Feijao has never been submitted.

The Pick: Another of EliteXC's big prospects will be fighting on the Showtime portion of the card, as Rafael Feijao enters the cage to do battle with Travis Galbraith. Galbraith has made his career out of submitting guys left and right, and so he'll likely be looking for the takedown as early as possible. Feijao is a big striker and unless he gets careless, I think he'll win this one quickly. Feijao by TKO in round 1.




-Keith Jardine gave a radio interview earlier this week where he stated he would be facing Brandon Vera at UFC 89. The UFC has yet to confirm the bout.

-A welterweight match-up between Thiago Alves and Diego Sanchez was originally rumored to be in the works for UFC 89 on October 18th, but it now appears that fight will in fact take place at UFC 90 the following week. No official announcements have been made regarding the UFC 90 card, but it is likely that the Alves/Sanchez fight would serve as the co-main event.

-After coming out of Fight Night 14 unscathed, it looks like Anderson Silva will be defending his middleweight title in the very near future. With Yushin Okami injured on the sidelines, Silva will be defending the belt against Patrick Cote. Right now it's being rumored that the fight will be added to UFC 89.

-He was pulled off the Affliction card for unknown medical reasons, and now it has come out that Aleks Emelianenko was not allowed to fight because he has tested positive for Hepatitis B. This is just a rumor for now, but if it's true it could mean the end of Aleks' fighting career.

-In other Affliction news, Renato "Babalu" Sobral recently stated that he has told Tom Atencio exactly who he wants to fight next. Sobral said, "Tito Ortiz is my dream fight." Ortiz has yet to announce his future plans after leaving the UFC earlier this year, but he was at Affliction's debut show on Saturday.

-Following the controversial ending to the Anthony Johnson/Kevin Burns fight on Saturday, Johnson's agent Ken Pavia has stated that he plans to file a formal appeal with the state athletic commission to try and overturn the decision.

-EliteXC is tentatively scheduling their next card for September 26th at the Chumash Hotel & Casino in Santa Ynez, California. The card will be aired on Showtime, likely as part of the "ShoXC" series.

-In other EliteXC news, the company's next broadcast on CBS could take place in September or October. It's assumed that Kimbo Slice would headline the event, and the show would also feature Gina Carano as well. There is no word yet on any possible opponents for either fighter, but a formal announcement could come during tomorrow night's event.

-Now that he's been cleared of all federal charges in a drug ring bust earlier this year, Leonard Garcia is looking to return to the cage and move up the featherweight ranks. For his first fight back he'll have his hands full, as it is being reported Garcia will face Jens Pulver on the September 10th WEC card.

I Keep My Pimp Hand Strong

Sure I'm great, but why not check out some of our other fine writers?

The Cliff Burton to my Jason Newstead, Jeremy Lambert has your Cardio Freak News.
Morgan Marx recaps his experience at Affliction in this week's MMA News Report.
Controversy abounds in this week's 411 MMA Rankings as Dustin James gives us the top 10 Lightweights.
Two men enter, one man leaves. You know the law. It's 411 Fact or Fiction.
Wendell Mitchell looks at the EilteXC Middleweight Champion in this week's Fighter Profile of Robbie Lawler.
Chris Robinson delivers his thoughts on this past weekend in The Verbal Submission.
Our own Bren Oliver delivers exclusive photos from Affliction here and here.



7/26 - EliteXC: Unfinished Business
Live on Showtime at 8 pm ET, then on CBS at 9 pm ET

8/3 - WEC 35
Live on Versus at 9 pm ET

8/9 - UFC 87: Seek And Destroy
Live on PPV at 10 pm ET

8/15 - EliteXC presents ShoXC
Live on Showtime (time TBA)

9/6 - Adrenaline MMA II
Live on HDNet (time TBA)

9/6 - UFC 88: Breakthrough
Live on PPV at 10 pm ET

9/10 - WEC: Faber vs. Brown
Live on Versus (time TBA)

9/17 - UFC Fight Night 15
Live on Spike (time TBA)

9/26 - DREAM 6: Middleweight Grand Prix Finals
Live on HDNet (time TBA)

10/18 - UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben
On Spike (time TBA)

10/25 - UFC 90
Live on PPV at 10 pm ET



A brand new video for one of my favorite songs of last year
The Besnard Lakes - "Devastation"



Quite possibly the greatest graphic novel of all-time is coming to the big screen next year
Here's the first trailer for The Watchmen



And so ends another edition of The Fightin' Stance News. As always I want to thank you for reading, and I hope to see you back here next week as I'll be looking ahead to WEC 35 and the three title fights at the top of the card. Until then…


Sources: MMAJunkie.com, Sherdog.com, Fiveouncesofpain.com, Yahoo! Sports