Cardio Freak MMA News Report 07.31.08: Premature Celebration
Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 07.31.2008
Cardio Freak is back with a recap of EliteXC on CBS 2. The show delivered a lot of big hits but did the company blow a big payoff? Plus the latest on Quinton Jackson, Tito Ortiz, and how the UFC killed my hopes and dreams. It's on more pain killers than Justin Levens, it's Cardio Freak on 411.
Welcome back to Cardio Freak everyone. I am your trainer Jeremy ‘MacLess' Lambert.
I'm without my usual tools this week as my Macbook is in the shop, which means I'm stuck using this mediocre Compaq. It obviously doesn't mean much but when you're used to one computer for so long and then you have to use something else and a completely different operating system, it's just weird. The worst part is not having my Gina Carano bookmarks.
10 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week
EliteXC delivers big hits but one gigantic miss
Although it wasn't a heavy hyped show, the second EXC on CBS show was a much better showing than the inaugural episode.
Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith 2 for the EliteXC Middleweight Title headlined the show. Their first fight was a fun stand up battle that was going back and fourth until Lawler accidentally poked Smith in the eye. That fight was ruled a no contest. I don't think fans were clamoring for the rematch between the two but I do believe that fight fans wanted to see a conclusion. I wanted to see a conclusion as well but it's not a fight that I would have used to headline such a big show. It's not like these two were Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva where they could fight tomorrow and sell a minimum of 500,000 PPVs. This was Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith, a very good Middleweight and a solid Middleweight but guys who you wouldn't consider superstars. Then again, I guess EXC had no better options.
This fight wasn't as good as their first fight but it was still a fun fight and at least someone won. That someone was Robbie Lawler, retaining his Middleweight title in the process. Outside of one flurry each by both men, the first round was largely uneventful. Lawler landed a nice body kick and some good punches while Smith threw with good power but neither looked close to being finished, even Lawler did play some gamesmanship, acting dazed after a grazing head kick by Smith. Things picked up in the second round with Smith cutting Lawler with some good elbows from the clinch and Lawler firing back with some huge power punches. The end came when Lawler landed some beautiful knees to the body of Smith, dropping him to all fours. On the ground, Lawler kicked the body of Smith until Herb Dean stepped in and stopped it.
Robbie Lawler likely isn't going to beat Anderson Silva anytime soon but then again, who is? He's a good representation for the EXC Middleweight Division though. He's not very charismatic but he's always in good fights, he's fun to watch, and he knocks guys out. Sometimes that's all you need. Hopefully EXC can put together the Frank Shamrock vs. Lawler fight because if not, I don't know who they have that could fight Lawler. Possibly a rematch with Maurilo ‘Ninja' Rua but that fight isn't as big as a fight with Shamrock. Kazuo Misaki is signed with Strikeforce so he could easily come over and fight Lawler but again, that fight isn't as big as the Shamrock fight. I hope EXC knows what they're going to do next but after watching the CBS show this past Saturday, I have my suspicions. It's not like Lawler and Smith can fight each other every 2 months or so.
In his post fight interview, Scott Smith claimed that he was waiting for the ref to step in and check the cut on Lawler. I like Scott Smith as much as the next guy but this man is doing himself no favors with his post fight interviews. In the first fight, he said that he couldn't see (fight speak for "I'm done, Gus") and then complained when they stopped it and in this fight he cut Lawler and then claimed he was waiting for the ref to step in. Sometimes refs need to check cuts when they don't, I don't feel this was one of those times, but you can't rely on the ref to stop the fight for you. Every fighter knows that. It came out later that Smith broke his hand in first round (how long before that report is false like the broken foot?) so maybe he was tentative but you can't rely on the ref to stop the fight, especially when it comes to a cut. Take a note from Kenny Florian, FINISH FIGHTS!
The biggest star of the night was hometown boy Nick Diaz. He got a stars reaction as he entered the cage and then entertained in his hometown, dispatching of Thomas Denny in the second round. Denny pushed the action early and was getting the better of Diaz but gassed himself out just over a minute into the fight. After that, it was all Diaz and his PEPPERING PUNCHES~! He punched Denny some, punched him some more, continued to punch him, and then the round ended. As the second round started, Diaz punched Denny, kept punching him, continued to punch him, played to the ground, and then finally peppered him to the ground where he added the final salt to the already wounded. It was a fight that Diaz should have won and he did. He took a lot of punches early, didn't cut like he usually does, and didn't fall down. He came off like a star, he was humble in his victory, and he now moves on to fight KJ Noons for the EXC Lightweight Title.
I think.
I believe it was mentioned in passing that Diaz would take on Noons next but if I weren't paying attention to the commentary, I could have easily missed it. It's not like they had footage of Noons and Diaz that they could have shown in order to get the people excited, right? Oh wait, THEY DID! I found out Friday that EliteXC and CBS were against showing the footage of the Diaz Brothers vs. the Noons Clan because they didn't want to come off, "like pro wrestling". I'm sure that made Kevin Iole happy. In doing so, EXC potentially lost a lot of money.
It might not be the direction EXC wants to go but when something like this falls in your lap, you take advantage of it. How big would have Shamrock vs. Ortiz been if they didn't constantly show Ortiz flipping off the Lions Den corner, Shamrock jumping to the top of the cage, the Shamrock finger pointing, the trash talk, and John McCarthy lifting Tito away? UFC didn't plan that moment. It fell into their lap and they made the most of it. The Diaz Brothers starting a near riot in Hawaii could have been that moment for EXC. Could you imagine the number Noons and Diaz would have done on CBS or even Showtime if they aired just the footage this past Saturday? Never mind the fact that they could have added more fuel to the fire by having Noons enter the cage after Diaz won or Diaz calling out Noons after the fight. The footage alone would have been enough to convince viewers to tune in next time. Now imagine if EXC could have somehow convinced Showtime to let them air a 30 minute hype special featuring the Hawaii footage, highlights of the first fight, comments from Noons and Diaz, ect…. That fight would do a bigger number than Kimbo vs. Tank on Showtime or Kimbo vs. Thompson on CBS. Instead, EXC squandered the moment.
Someone who finally got his moment but didn't squander it was Jake Shields. I said in EXC Roundtable that Shields is a class above every Welterweight in the UFC and he proved it here. Nick Thompson was probably one of the best opponents EXC could have found for Shields and Shields made him look like an amateur in this fight. He took him down and locked in a one-arm guillotine that would have made Joe Stevenson jealous. The lesson learned here is that you should never train for a fight against a world-class opponent and study for the Bar during the same time period because one aspect is going to suffer. I wish Nick Thompson the best in passing the Bar exam.
The bigger story coming out of the fight was Jake Shields challenge to the winner of Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch. Shields called out the winner and said he would like to unify the titles. Not happening. I respect Shields as a fighter and I like anyone who wants to fight the best but we all know that this challenge will fall on deaf ears. Dana White isn't cross promoting and he has no reason to. I actually laugh when guys outside of the UFC challenge guys in the UFC because there's no point. I think the point is to show that UFC is scarred or something but if that's the case, what a waste of time. It's like when WCW was going under and Eric Bischoff challenged Vince McMahon to a fight. Which company is still standing? If Shields really wanted to fight St. Pierre or Fitch or any UFC Welterweight, he would have signed with UFC when his EXC contract came to an end. Instead, his contract ended, he talked about fighting the best, and he re-signed with EXC.
In the opening bout of the CBS portion, Christiane ‘Cyborg' Santos beat Shayna Baszler via death. Baszler held her own in the first round, going for submission attempts but she took a beating in the process and looked dead tired heading into round two. In round two, Baszler continued to take a beating until Santos finally dropped her. Then, in the greatest moment in women's MMA history, Santos began to celebrate. Unfortunately for Baszler, the fight wasn't over. Unlike BJ Penn, Santos doesn't have the power to call the end to her own fights. The fight continued and Santos picked up where she left off, defeating Baszler with death. I just hope she passed wellness.
A star was made in this fight. The next time Gina Carano steps into the cage it won't be GINA CARANO IN ACTION~! It will be GINA CARANO VS. MRS. CYBORG~! and I can't wait. It would have been nice if EXC had said that they would for sure fight on October 4th but that's a minor complaint. If EXC is dumb enough to do Gina vs. some other girl on October 4th then God help this promotion.
On the Showtime portion of the card, Antonio Silva captured the EXC Heavyweight Title by defeating Justin Eilers. Silva went through Eilers like a guy on the cusp of the Top 10 should go through a guy lucky to be in the Top 25 but in the end; no one really cares. After dominate performances by Cain Velasquez, Andrei Arlovski, and Fedor Emelianenko against much tougher competition last week, Silva's win just seems flat. I think he's a good Heavyweight but when Fedor and Antonio Nogueira represent the other top organizations and Antonio Silva represents you, you look second rate. Silva's got the potential to be a top Heavyweight but we're never going to know for sure as long as he's in EXC. But hey, if fighting Kimbo Slice is a dream of is then more power to him.
Rafael Feijao continued to look impressive, rolling through Travis Galbraith. Galbraith had to know he was in trouble from the start when he saw Anderson Silva and Antonio Nogueira in the opposite corner. Between Feijao, Silva, the Nogueira Brothers, and Lyoto Machida, it seems like no one in this camp will be losing any time soon. I'd like to see Feijao in the UFC where he can test his skills against some top Light Heavyweights but I guess we'll have to wait on that one.
The night kicked off with Wilson Reis defeating Brian Caraway by decision in a fight that was either very boring or sort of entertaining depending on your taste. Reis, a highly touted BJJ expert, took Caraway down at will but did relatively nothing with him from there. The performance and takedowns by Reis seem less impressive when you factor in that Caraway had a dislocated kneecap. Caraway was easily winning the fight on the feet but he couldn't keep it up long enough to finish. They make a pill for that. Reis stated that he wanted to fight Urijah Faber and ‘Kid' Yamamoto in the near future and I hope by near future he means a year or two.
This show came off a lot better than the first one. They ended on time, the flow seemed better, and the commentary was good. I'm not a huge fan of the three man booth for the entire show but Gus Johnson, Mauro Ranallo, and Frank Shamrock make a fine team. Gus is a very good lead announcer who acts like a professional, Frank gives you the fighters perspective about a million times better than Trigg, and Mauro is fun because he always throws in pop culture references. It was like night and day between Glazer, Trigg, and McCarthy and the CBS team.
It's a shame that the rating didn't show just how good this event was. The overall show did around a 1.7 rating, which is around 2.6 million viewers. That number is down about 43 percent from the first EXC on CBS show. I think the worst news of all this is that a replay of UFC 84 on SpikeTV did better numbers in the key demographic (Male 18-34) then a live show on CBS. EXC and CBS officials knew the number would be down so I can't call this a huge blow for the company. The telling number will obviously be October 4th when Gina and Kimbo return. They're obviously banking on those two considering coming into this event, no opponent was named for either of them. Luckily Christiane Santos made herself a star and there's the obvious fight between here and Carano but they really should have an opponent for Kimbo. It would have at least given him something to talk about during his interview.
This may have actually been the best show out of the past two weekends if you count just the CBS portion. All four CBS fights were good in their own way and if you're going just on fights, you can't ask for much more. Unfortunately, as a promotion that should uhhh, you know, promote fights, EXC didn't do a very good job. They fell into Cyborg vs. Carano, they missed the boat on Diaz vs. Noons, and they had nothing to promote for Kimbo on October 4th.
Playing To Your Strengths
UFC officially announced that UFC 90 will take place in Chicago on October 25th and will be headlined by Anderson Silva defending his Middleweight Title against Patrick Cote
There go my hopes and dreams of seeing two of my favorite fighters on the same card. I was obviously hoping to see Anderson Silva fight in Atlanta but UFC made the smart move putting this on in Chicago. UFC 90 was likely going to lack in terms of star power if Silva fought in Atlanta as there would likely be no title fight and the biggest possible draw would have been Wanderlei Silva whose PPV drawing power isn't really proven at this point. Now UFC 90 will have the backing of a title fight and both Silva's.
The Chicago Sun Times ran the story first and in the story was the following quote by Patrick Cote:
"I'm telling all my friends to bet on me, because they're going to make a lot of money. This guy will need 10 punches to my face to knock me out, and I'll just need one. I have a good chance. He won't exchange with me, and I'm not scared of him."
Did he learn nothing from James ‘I'm going to beat him in the clinch' Irvin? Shut up and just fight. I think Silva has proved every time he's in the Octagon that he only needs one punch to knock someone out and that he's not afraid to exchange with anyone. Why Patrick Cote thinks any different is beyond me. I've got to give Cote credit though; at least he's going full blown heel in this situation. I mean when you know you stand no chance against someone, you might as well try to put yourself over and sell some PPVs. It worked pretty well for Tito against Chuck. He may even draw in some casual fans that just want to see him get his ass kicked even though anyone with a clue knows he's getting his ass kicked any way. Does Vegas have MMA prop bets because I'd love to know the over/under on how long Cote lasts in this fight. If it's anything above one minute, I'm betting the under.
Before his LA joy ride, Quinton Jackson believed he was God. He had a major falling out with his manager, Juanito Ibarra, which led to Ibarra being fired by Jackson. It has been said that Jackson is in good spirits now and could possibly return to the Octagon in November against Wanderlei Silva
I speculated last week that Ibarra may have been partially to blame for the mental breakdown of Jackson and I don't want to toot my own horn (especially without my Gina Carano bookmarks) but it appears that I was correct. Ibarra was good for Jackson inside the Octagon but not so much outside. According to reports, Ibarra really pushed his religious on Jackson during training and while Jackson is a born again Christian, I guess he wasn't drinking all of the Ibarra kool-aid. It seems like Ibarra was half fired due to his actions and half fired because a money dispute between him and Jackson. Obviously we won't know the full details unless Jackson or Ibarra come out and state them and even then we could be looking at a "he said, he said" situation.
The other big news from this report is that Jackson could be returning to the Octagon in November. If this is true, it could really be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it might be good for Jackson to be in the gym, training and getting his mind off things. He'll be around his training partners and I can only assume that he gets along with all those people. I mean, who the hell trains with a bunch of people they can't stand to be around for a long period of time? Jackson stated after the Forrest Griffin loss that he would never take nine months off again and maybe he just wants to fight and make a living again. You have to think that the lay off, coupled with the loss, really got to him mentally and physically. On the other hand, what if Jackson isn't back mentally and he loses? Are we going to have to constantly check TMZ days after the fight for a Rampage update? Quinton Jackson became a born again Christian after the first loss to Wanderlei Silva. He went on his "crazy fasting diet" before their second fight. Now he's mentally broken down before a possible third fight and how will he handle another loss to the man?
At his salary and likely portion of PPV buys, it's not like UFC can protect him forever in hopes that he never loses. He can't fight Reese Andy every three months. It's really a high risk, high reward situation for UFC. He fights, wins, and everything is fine. He fights, loses, and you can only hope that he doesn't breakdown again. Or he gets released, fights, ends up fine, and you lose out on one of your top stars.
Whether he fights in November or not, I just hope he checks in mentally before he steps back into the Octagon. UFC and Quinton Jackson need to put the health of Quinton Jackson first.
James Irvin tested positive for Methadone and Oxymorphone following his loss to Anderson Silva at Fight Night 14. Oxymorphone is a pain reliever while Methadone is prescribed to recovering Heroin addicts or to people managing chronic pain
Taking pain medicine before fighting Anderson Silva? Pretty smart move. At least it wasn't steroids or any other performance enhancing substance. I don't believe Irvin is a recovering Heroin addict so that's a good sign. According to sources, Irvin had a pinched nerve in his elbow and an inflammation of the bursa sac. I just think he knew that fighting Anderson Silva would be bad for his health so he prepared in advance. Everyone else came back clean so that's a good sign.
In separate interviews, Mark Coleman and Mauricio ‘Shogun' Rua hinted at the possibility that they could face each other in December
Mark Coleman: Official Sacrificial Fighter. Paying a fighter a lot of money but he lost his last fight? Can't possibly justify continuing to pay the fighter all that money if he loses again? Don't want your investment fighting in the prelims? Call Mark Coleman. You won't have to pay him to lose (although he won't complain if you do), he'll just lose because he's 43 years old, hasn't fought in almost two years, and isn't Randy Couture. There's very little risk involved, especially if you're fighting in America because they have something called drug testing. It will give your highly paid investment a win over a UFC Hall of Fame Fighter and more importantly, you won't have to release him so Affliction can pay him 1 million dollars per fight and make it look like you don't pay fighters enough. Act now, Mark Coleman doesn't have many fights left. Steroids not included if ordering for Japan.
Fabricio Werdum has signed a new five fight deal with the UFC. He'll return to the Octagon at UFC 90 in Chicago against Junior Dos Santos. If he wins that fight, he'll like face the winner of Nogueira vs. Mir for the UFC Heavyweight Title
Good for Werdum. He's one two straight after a mediocre performance against Arlovski and with such a thin Heavyweight division, he was an obvious candidate for the title shot. I think he should have gotten the shot after he beat Vera but UFC decided to give it to Mir since beating Lesnar and the hype that surrounded him was a bigger deal than Werdum's two wins. Plus Werdum vs. Nogueira just didn't seem like a huge draw.
WEC 35 is this Sunday, August 6th. Here is the card:
Brock Larson vs Carlo Prater
Blas Avena vs Dave Terrel
Kenji Osawa vs Scott Jorgensen
Greg McIntyre vs Mike Budnik
Shane Roller vs Todd Moore
If I didn't have to keep up with the on goings of the MMA world, I would have easily forgotten about this card. It's obviously a step down from the last event that featured Faber vs. Pulver but when have you ever seen a bad WEC on Versus on card? I can't think of one either. I expect this to be another good showing by the company but it's going to be a shame when the ratings drop back down to pre-Faber vs. Pulver levels.
I'm not going to do a preview of the card like I usually do simply because I don't think it's really a big enough event to do a full-blown preview (sorry WEC marks). If you want my predictions, check out the staff Roundtable that should be up soon.
Studying Tape
Since EXC/CBS won't show the footage, I will. I've put this up once before though so here's another video:
I'm sure that more than makes up for it.
Underwater Ice Bath
Tim Sylvia announced that he would be fighting on the next Affliction show in October. No opponent has been named at this time but the consensus seems to be that he'll be fighting Josh Barnett
So Arlovski, Fedor, Sylva, and Barnett will all be back. There goes 3 million dollars spent on talent. I wish the best for Affliction but if they really want to change things, they can't spend this much money on talent and then put them all on one show. I understand that they're running one show every three months or so they feel the need to stack every show with the top fighters but that's the quickest route to going out of business. Not only are they losing money by paying fighters so much and not making a profit in return but you also have to wonder just how long they can continue to get away with the same talent. Sure it's not like these guys are fighting every month and people are going to want to see Fedor every three months or so but I have no desire to see Tim Sylvia or Matt Lindland every three months. Really, what it all comes down to is that without a TV deal to promote the PPVs, Affliction can only survive for so long.
Reports indicate that Tito Ortiz vs. Rento Sobral could co-headline the Affliction 2 event under Fedor vs. Arlovski
If these reports are true, we may only see one more Affliction show. Ortiz can't negotiate with Affliction until August 4th so these reports are nothing more than speculation as it's sort of hard to put a fight together when you can't even negotiate with one of the competitors. If this fight does take place though, you know Ortiz is going to make around 1 million dollars so add that to the payroll. Ortiz will increase PPV buys but I'm not sure if he'll make a huge dent like they expect. I guess time will tell. Still, this company isn't going to last very long when they're spending 4 million dollars on five fighters.
I'm actually shocked that Ortiz would go to Affliction at this point. Obviously the money means a lot to him but I figured Ortiz would want exposure as well. Affliction is going to give Ortiz a lot of money to fight for them but EliteXC would give him the money and exposure. Ortiz vs. Sobral will do 100,000 buys (and that will partly be helped by Fedor vs. Arlovski) while Ortiz vs. Shamrock would do millions of viewers and Ortiz vs. Kimbo would probably do the biggest number ever. I guess Ortiz will milk Affliction for all their worth, they'll go out of business, and then he'll jump to EXC. He just better hope he doesn't lose to Sobral along the way.
Welterweight John Alessio has signed a three fight deal with EliteXC
Alessio is a good Welterweight who has faced some tough guys like Diego Sanchez, Thiago Alves, and Carlos Condit but he's lost to all those men. Like Nick Thompson, Alessio seems to have trouble when he steps up in class. Jake Shields is a step up in class. I like that EXC is trying to get some depth in the division though. He may have to win a fight before he gets a shot at Shields but I wouldn't be shocked if they slotted him in against Shields right away. If you can't fight St. Pierre or Fitch, you might as well fight the guy who lost to the guys who will face St. Pierre or Fitch next.
Doug DeLuca and Gary Shaw officially resigned from their positions in EliteXC
Shaw was pretty much gone a week or so ago when I first had the news in the column. Now I guess it's just official. DeLuca was one of the officials strictly against showing the Noons/Diaz incident so I'm all for him giving up his position. This is a pretty bad time for EXC to lose two of their top officials as the ratings just came back for the second CBS show and they have two ShoXC events, a Showtime event, and another CBS event between now and October 4th. Jeremy Lappen will be the man most in charge of everything for now unless someone is promoted or brought in.
Everyone knows I was pretty much against Shaw from the start as he came across as a second rate Dana White and not a very good one at that. I will give credit where it's due though and say that Shaw did some good things promotion wise for EXC. DeLuca's name was never brought to my attention until it was stated that he was replacing Shaw and then it came out that he was against airing the Noons/Diaz footage. I'm sure DeLuca was very good at his job and I can understand the direction he wanted the company to move in but when it came to a decision like that, I think I would have rather had Shaw at the helm. Cardio Freak wishes them the best in the future endeavors.
Justin Levens, who didn't even compete at the Affliction show, tested positive Oxymorphone. The cut off line for the substance is 120 ng/mL. Levens checked in at 10,141 ng/mL. Levens was fined $1,000 and suspended until January 15, 2009
Well, that sucks. Especially considering Levens didn't even get a chance to fight. He took all that pre-fight pain medication for no reason basically. The 10,141 ng/mL is just crazy. Bill Douglas of the California State Athletic Commission said that even if Levens came in at 119 ng/mL then it would have been a clean test. I don't know how someone checks in at 10,141 ng/mL but I guess we know now that it's possible. I'm thinking Levens had two broken legs or something and wanted to hide the pain so he just took an insane amount of Oxymorphone. I guess Affliction won't be paying him $6,000 not to fight in October.
Taking Time Off
UFC 83 came out of DVD this past Tuesday, which means it's time to review some extras. But first, in light of the Rachelle Leah video posted above, I have to ask: What happened to UFC All Access? I believe the last show was before UFC 81 and it featured Brock Lesnar and I haven't seen it since. I missed my monthly fix of Rachelle. If anyone from Spike or UFC is reading this (ha) I DEMAND ANSWERS!
UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre 2 Behind The Scenes
Before I begin I should note that UFC 83 is a two disc set, the first two-disc set since UFC 76. After UFC 76 it was believed that every UFC DVD would be two discs as a way to include more bonus features but they went away from that until now. Hopefully from here on out every UFC DVD are two discs.
There's a new opening video for the Behind The Scenes feature instead of jumping right into things. That's pretty cool. The video tells me we're going to follow St. Pierre and Serra. Sucks for Bisping and Franklin.
We begin two weeks before UFC 83. Serra takes us on a tour of his house. It's like if MTV Cribs were cut down to where the celebs gets 2 minutes instead of 8. "The guy that got me the house basically. Beatin that guy", is said when talking about beating GSP. St. Pierre and his accent give us a tour of his house and says that he bought it after he lost to Serra.
Serra talks about his scheduled fight with Hughes and how he had to pull out with the back injury. "Things happen for a reason", he claims. He says that GSP is tougher than Hughes. "If Matt Serra thinks he's Rocky 4 and I'm Drago, then I'm Rocky Tree (not a typo, his accent is just awesome) and he's Clubber Lang." Good analogy.
Serra talks about GSP being a gentleman after the loss in the cage and then saying some offensive things in the days after the fight. He says he's going to shock the world again. GSP said he used to work three jobs and one of them was being a garbage man. Well, that sucks.
Serra heads over to the gym where he meets up with Ray Longo. Longo talks about meeting and becoming friends with Serra. Longo says that Serra steals all of his jokes. Must be a Carlos Mencia fan. Serra talks about having good cardio for the fight. Highlights are shown of GSP sparring. Looks like he was sparring with Nate Marquardt but with all the head gear on it was tough to tell. GSP says Denis Kang came up to train with him for this fight. GSP says that he looks at this fight as redemption. Serra says, "he says that his mission is to, ‘destroy Matt Serra'" in his best GSP accent. That ruled. Serra punches a dummy that reads "Georges St. Pierre" on the back.
Serra goes to a restaurant where there's a table already reserved for him. "Do you need me to write that in French so they can understand it?" quips the owner. "Best Turkey Burgers in Long Island" says Serra is reference to the restaurant food. "We sprinkle a little crack in it" "If I fail my drug test then you know it's because of the Turkey Burgers." If only Serra could have used his mouth in the exchanges at UFC 83. GSP talks about Serra calling him "Frenchie." If you say that here, you get punched in the face."
Skip ahead to 1 day before the event. GSP and his package weigh in to a huge reaction. Serra weighs in to a round of boos as he taunts the crowd. GSP, the most dapper man in MMA history, gets ready to leave his hotel before the fight. Serra watched UFC 69 before he gets ready to leave. As GSP enters the arena, Jonathan Goulet and his black eye leave. The ref goes into GSP's locker room to asks if he has any questions. Greg Jackson asks about a nose lock and gets a complicated answer.
GSP talks about training for Serra and how he has an answer for everything Serra will try. Serra says GSP is well rounded but his mental game is a question. GSP talks about having fun on the walk to Octagon. "Have all the entourage you want mother fucker, it aint gonna change a thing. First minute or last minute he's gonna get fucked up. I end up in the hospital right here, he's ending up across the hall", Serra rants.
THE FIGHT IS ON! Serra's face looks like hell after the first round. GSP lays in the knees in the second round and the ref stops it.
Serra's face really looks like hell in the locker room after the fight. "Good thing I packed my sunglasses", says Serra. GSP calls it his greatest victory ever.
Well, that was different. It seems like the new Behind The Scenes thing is more a UFC All Access type deal instead of the days leading up to the fight. Instead of focusing on the 2 days before the event, they focus 2 weeks before the event. I think you get to know the fighters a little bit better this way so that's a plus. It's not a bad change by any means, just different. Good stuff overall.
Overseas Training
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Alistair Overeem is in the works for DREAM 6
What a fun fight that should be. As I've said before, Overeem is a fighter who has never really done well against top competition but he can still give guys trouble and make a fight out of things. This would be a real test for Cro Cop to prove that the UFC run was just a fluke or that his best days really are behind him. This would also be a big feather in the DREAM cap when it comes to the survival of the company. Now that they're on primetime TV in Japan, they need to continue to deliver strong ratings. The selling point for DREAM 6 is the conclusion of the Middleweight GP featuring Gegard Mousasi, Zelg Galesic, Melvin Manhoef, and ‘Jacre' Souza. Not really the biggest draws in the Japan. Mirko Cro Cop would add some much needed star power to the card as they've got to continue to draw good ratings in the primetime slot in order to stay on Japanese TV.
John Curry scares with the stare. Larry Csonka gives his thoughts on Affliction. Reuel Mante lists the top fighters we love to hate. Alex Mattis looks back at the July 19th weekend. Scott Kuczkowski gives the good, bad, and ugly of EXC. Larry Csonka gives his take on EXC. Chris Robinson lists the best P4P fighters. Jonathan Solomon profiles WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann. BREN~! presents Fact or Ficton featuring Randy Harrison and Larry Csonka.
Adam Tool reviews Rumble on the Rock 6 featuring Sean O'Haire but I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.
AND IT'S ALL OVER~!
That does it for me this week folks. I'll be back next week with a preview of UFC 87: Seek & Destroy and all the latest news in the MMA world. Take care everyone.
