Cardio Freak MMA News Report 08.07.08: The Pain is Back

Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 08.07.2008

Cardio Freak is back with a big preview of UFC 87. Will GSP defend his Welterweight title for the first time? What problems will Fitch give GSP? How will Lesnar respond? How awesome are the top three fights on the card? Answers to all those questions and more. Plus the latest on Affliction, Quinton Jackson, Randy Couture, and all the other news in the MMA world. All that and so much more. It's more protected than Gina Carano, it's Cardio Freak on 411.



Welcome back to Cardio Freak everyone. I am your trainer Jeremy ‘MacBack' Lambert.

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UFC 87: Seek & Destroy Preview

UFC is back on PPV this Saturday as they venture into Minnesota for UFC 87. They card originally featured Brock Lesnar taking on UFC Hall of Fame inductee Mark Coleman in a "Passing of the Torch Fight" but Coleman went down with an injury. Days after it was announced that Coleman was it, we learned that Heath Herring would take his place and that Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch would headline the card for the Welterweight title. If that wasn't enough, UFC matched up Roger Huerta and Kenny Florian, with the winner likely getting a Lightweight title shot in the near future.

Georges St. Pierre returns to the Octagon as Welterweight champion for the second time in his career. The last time he entered as the champion, he left a defeated man. Since then St. Pierre has rattled off three straight wins with dominating performances over Josh Koscheck, Matt Hughes, and Matt Serra. Jon Fitch is currently riding an eight-fight UFC win streak that has seen him defeat the likes of Thiago Alves, Brock Larson, and Diego Sanchez.

On paper, this is a bad fight for Jon Fitch. Over the course of his career, GSP has DOMINATED wrestlers. Now I will say that with the exception of Josh Koscheck, the wrestlers GSP has faced don't have the credentials of Jon Fitch but the point remains. Fitch isn't like a lot of the other wrestlers GSP has faced though. He has a black belt in jiu-jitsu. While most wrestlers are uncomfortable on their back, I think Fitch will be able to hold his own. I don't think he's going to catch GSP in a submission off his back because GSP has very good submission defense but you never know. When on top, GSP has very underrated ground and pound. Everyone talks about Fedor when it comes to delivering punishment from the guard but I think GSP is just as good. He's got the reach, power, and speed to make opponents life hell when he's on top. The big question is whether or not Fitch can takedown GSP. Hughes and Koscheck were unable to get GSP to the ground while GSP was able to get both of those men down with relative ease. Fitch had trouble taking down Chris Wilson, who is known more for his striking than his wrestling. If Fitch can get GSP to the ground, then he's got a whole other problem and that's controlling GSP. GSP is very active off his back but he looks for sweeps more than submissions.

The feet are where this fight is interesting. GSP is a much better striker than Fitch, there's little doubt about that. He still looks gun shy though since his UFC 69 loss to Serra. He had a distinct striking advantage against Koscheck, Hughes, and Serra but decided to take the fight to the ground. The optimist would say that Koscheck and Hughes were no threat on their back while anyone can catch a lucky punch and Serra was so small that GSP could just bully him but normally when you have an advantage somewhere, you want the fight to take place there. Then again, maybe GSP was just taking the Fedor route and showing that he can beat his opponents at their game. Fitch has never really shown knockout power but he does throw leg kicks to set up his takedowns. GSP has shown knockout power and is very diverse in his striking. If he wants to keep it on the feet, GSP has the advantage.

One chink in GSP's armor is that he's a relatively slow starter. Hughes and Serra defeated him in the first round, Penn won the first round in their fight, and Koscheck had the most success in the first round in their fight. Problem is, Fitch is a slow starter as well. If he can get off before GSP then maybe he catches him in the first or at least takes the round but if they both start slow, you'd probably still give the advantage to GSP.

If you listen to any interview with Fitch's training partners, they all give you the same answer when it comes to Fitch beating GSP, "he's mentally stronger." Maybe a year ago Fitch was mentally stronger but I think GSP has cleared that hurdle. He knows what it's like to win the belt, lose it, and have to fight to get it back. It probably sucked. I don't think he wants to go through that process again. If Fitch and his training partners are banking on Fitch's mind to beat GSP in a fight, then I think they've got another thing coming.

For the first time since I believe Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson, the #1 and #2 fighters in their division will be squaring off and that alone makes this an appealing fight. Jon Fitch is pretty under the radar in the eyes of casual UFC fans but anyone who knows anything knows that Fitch is more than deserving of this title shot. He's never tasted defeat inside the Octagon but I look for that to change this weekend. I think GSP could be poised for a long run as UFC Welterweight Champion with BJ Penn, not Jon Fitch, standing in his way of putting together such a run. Fitch will put up a fight but like wrestlers before him, he'll go down. I like GSP by TKO before the Championship rounds.

Also on the card, THE PAIN RETURNS~! Except not as many people care this time. There's no "WWE vs. UFC" or "Real vs. Fake" comments this time around. Nope. It's just Brock Lesnar, a guy who lost is last fight, against Heath Herring, a guy who won his last fight.

This is a big fight for Brock Lesnar. Normally losing two fights in a row isn't a huge deal but when you're unproven and making the kind of money that Lesnar is making, it's a pretty big deal. The only saving grace for Lesnar is the fact that he's faced a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and now he's facing a veteran fighter who has faced Fedor, Cro Cop, and Nogueira. Guys with less than four professional fights shouldn't be facing these fighters. But UFC has to justify the salary of Lesnar and show that they don't protect their investments like EXC. This is a pretty big fight for Herring as well. He's been up and down since joining the UFC but he's coming off a big win against Cheick Kongo. A win over Lesnar likely puts him one win a way from a title shot since Werdum will likely get the next shot.

So, what exactly do we know about Brock Lesnar? He's had two fights and less than three minutes of MMA experience. He's looked dominant in all but five seconds or so of his MMA career but in those five seconds, he lost. It's been six months since Lesnar lost to Frank Mir, which means he's had six months to improve. That's scary. But Brock Lesnar isn't going to bring anything to this fight that Heath Herring hasn't already seen. Herring has faced the best of the best. Unfortunately for him, he's never done well against the best of the best. He's faced Nogueira, Cro Cop, and Fedor and he's lost to all of them.

We know what each guy wants to do in this fight. Heath Herring talks about wanting to stand and trade in all of his fights to the point that he should probably be in K-1 while Lesnar is a decorated wrestler. It's really a toss up on the feet though. While Herring likes to strike, he's not really technical and is almost a one trick pony. If something connects for him, he constantly goes back to it to the point that it's predictable. He has good power but Lesnar's head is a rock so I think it's going to take nothing short of a botched shooting star press to knock him out. Lesnar has showed good power with his strikes in his limited action and that's really it.

Lesnar obviously has the wrestling advantage and if he wants to take this fight to the ground, he will. Herring's takedown defense is almost non-existent so there's not much stopping Lesnar from putting him on his back. Herring's ground skills are underrated but he's not going to threaten off his back like Frank Mir. He was able to sweep Cheick Kongo multiple times in their fight but that was Cheick Kongo. Lesnar has much quicker hips than Kongo and I don't see Herring sweeping.

One thing that I don't overlook in this fight is Herring's new training. In the past Herring was a guy who would get tired quick and if you could drag it into the deeper rounds, you stood a good chance of winning. He's now working with a dietitian and looked in the best shape of his career at UFC 82. We don't know what Lesnar's conditioning is like so maybe Herring will be advised to try to take this into the later rounds. That's obviously easier said than done.

Lesnar can't fight this fight like he fought Mir. He was very reckless in that fight and that's what led to him getting caught. If he gets reckless again, he may not get caught, but he may gas himself early. If he keeps his composure and fights smart, I think he'll easily win this fight. Herring is a game opponent but Brock Lesnar is THE NEXT BIG THING! In fact, I'm so high on the Brock Lesnar ladder that I predict Lesnar by MURDER KILL in the first round.

In what should be the most exciting fight of the night and perhaps the year, Roger Huerta battles Kenny Florian for the right to get their ass kicked by BJ Penn. Words can't describe how excited I am for this fight. Roger Huerta has been nothing but exciting since joining the UFC and Kenny Florian is also an exciting fighter (unless Sean Sherk holds him down for 25 minutes) and he FINISHES FIGHTS!

On the feet, I think Huerta has the advantage in power while Florian has the advantage in the technical aspect. Huerta doesn't have great power but Florian's power is almost non-existent. Florian mixes a lot of kicks into his striking while Huerta only likes to throw kicks when he's comfortable and feels he can get away with them. I think Florian has the advantage in the clinch game as he likes to throw knees and of course elbows.

Florian also has the advantage on the ground. He's excellent at jiu-jitsu and has a really good top game. Huerta has excellent submission defense though. In fact, other than his heart, Huerta's submission defense might be his biggest strength. Florian is going to have to punish Huerta if he plans on submitting him. Huerta's top game is just as good as Florian's and he's probably the better striker when on top. If anyone is going to threaten off their back, it's going to be Florian but I can't see him catching Huera with anything.

The x-factor in any Kenny Florian fight is his elbows. He throws them on the bottom, on top, and in the clinch. If Huerta gets hit with a Florian elbow, chances are he's going to cut. Lets just hope that the cut isn't bad because if this fight ends due to a cut, people are going to be pissed off.

The game plan for both these fighters can't be overlooked either. Huerta has been training with Greg Jackson while Florian is training with Mark DellaGrotte. Both are masters at coming up with a game plan.

I think this fight will just come down to who wants it more. Dana White says that, "these guys have hearts the size of Tito's fucking head" and I can't disagree. I'm sure both fighters want to fight for the title but it's just a matter of who wants it more.

I've been back and forth on this fight since it was announced and now that it's decision time, I just can't make one. So I'm going to bring in a gimmick, unfortunately not of the pill variety. I would like to officially introduce THE CARDIO FREAK COIN FLIP~! Unlike certain wrestling companies though, this gimmick won't be used every MMA event. No, the CFCF will only be brought out to decide fights when the following rules apply:

1. A fighters biggest strength is equally countered (ex. Knockout power vs. iron chin, wrestling vs. takedown defense, ect…) and all other skills are on an equal leve.
2. I like/can't stand both fighters equally so I really don't care who wins.
3. The fight will go to a decision. If I thought one fighter would finish the other, I'd pick him to win.

I think I've flipped a coin to determine the winner in the Melendez vs. Thomson fight but I flipped it multiple times and I think if I really decided to breakdown that fight, I probably would have picked Melendez. This is the first official CFCF and who knows when it will return.

Heads will represent Kenny Florian since he likes to elbow the heads of his opponents and tails will represent Roger Huerta since he has a nice ass.

The coin is launched….it flips in the air….it hits the ground…..and…..IT'S TAILS~! Roger Huerta is the official prediction.

There you have it folks, the first ever CARDIO FREAK COIN FLIP! Lets see if a coin is smarter than me.

In an undercard fight that is getting less love than Rich Clementi, Middleweights Demian Maia and Jason MacDonald battle it out. This card is more top heavy than Keeley Hazell so it's not surprising that the bottom isn't getting much attention. Don't put all your attention on the breasts folks; the ass is nice as well. Ok, I better stop. I'm looking forward to Maia vs. MacDonald simply because these guys (more Maia than MacDonald) have the skills to beat Anderson Silva. I'm not saying they will beat Anderson Silva but they have the skills to do so. Those skills are: decent takedowns and a great top game. I think Maia is the better of the jiu-jitsu artists but MacDonald has the better overall game. MacDonald's striking isn't great but he's good at exchanging, eating a lot of punches, and then getting to the ground while Maia just doesn't like exchanging. In his UFC career, MacDonald has had trouble with bigger Middleweights. His two losses are to Rich Franklin and Yushin Okami, two naturally big Middleweights. Maia is a good-sized Middleweight but I don't think he's a guy who could compete at 205 like Franklin has done and Okami could probably do. I think MacDonald will win this fight just because he's more well-rounded and he'll be able to frustrate Maia.

In a fight I don't care about because it features a relative of Karo Parisyan, Manny Gamburyan takes on Rob Emerson. Emerson has had 14 fights, 10 have gone to decision, and one was a no contest. He's relatively boring and it's really that good of a fighter. Gamburyan is a solid fighter who has seemed to improve since his time on The Ultimate Fighter but like his cousin, he's a prick. Gamburyan will probably win simply because he's a better fighter, he'll then call out Nate Diaz, no one care, and we'll move on.

That's the main card everyone. If you want my thoughts on the preliminary card, check out the staff roundtable.

This is probably the second best main card UFC has put out this year only behind UFC 84. I'm excited for four out of the five main card fights and I think one could easily be a fight of the year candidate. There's a lot of intrigue to this card as well, which is always a good thing. The UFC Countdown show hasn't aired at the time of this typing (Dave Meltzer gets them early, why don't I?) but I've heard nothing but great thing and I'm sure I'll be even more excited for the event after I watch that. It's going to be a great night this Saturday and I can't wait.

Playing to Your Strengths

The pregnant woman injured in the Quinton Jackson hit and run suffered a miscarriage. Under California state law, a fetus is not considered a person so Jackson will not face vehicular manslaughter

It's unknown if Jackson side swiping the woman caused the miscarriage or if the stress caused it but its still unfortunate news for the woman and her family. Luckily for Jackson, he won't face federal charges and if the miscarriage happened due to stress, there won't be a civil case either. Jackson is only facing charges in this situation if it's proven that the miscarriage was caused because Jackson physically hit her with the truck then he's got a civil case on his hands.

As for his fighting career, I don't think we're going to see him back in November. I think that it's in the best interest of Quinton Jackson to take as much time off as possible, clear his head, and come back 100%. I think the only reason we would see Jackson back so early is because he begs and pleads to come back because fighting is his escape. The worst-case scenario for everyone is that he does come back too early, he loses, and something bad happens. UFC and Jackson have to avoid that situation. I hope to see Jackson back in the Octagon at some point in his career but right now, I'm having doubts that we'll ever see him again.

The Dallas Court of Appeals ruled against HDNet and Randy Couture in his legal battle against Zuffa. All this means is that Nevada will hear the case between the two parties, not Texas

On InsideMMA this past week, Couture sounded very pessimistic about fighting Fedor in the near future unless it happens in the UFC. According to reports, Couture and UFC have talked about fighting Antonio Nogueira to unify the Heavyweight titles. At this point, it looks like if Couture, at the age of 45, is going to fight again then it will be inside the Octagon.

As an almost parallel to this story, Ric Flair left the WWE this past week. Flair and Couture are similar in the fact that WWE and UFC treated them like Gods and despite their age, they could compete at a high level. Couture left UFC citing a lack of respect (and money) while Flair left because he could make more money elsewhere. It looks like Couture could come back to the UFC and the smart money is on Flair returning to WWE. The question is, how will they be treated if they return? I don't think things will change much with Flair. He'll still be put over huge and everyone will love him. I can't say the same about Couture. Joe Rogan will continue to put him over every chance he gets because I think we've all learned that Joe Rogan can say what he wants on commentary and get away with it. I don't think Couture will return to the booth though, which is really a shame and something I think has been missing since he's left. It's a shame to see two legends have a falling out with the companies that did so much for them and I hope they aren't blackballed to future generations. It would be a crime for future fans of the sports to not know the names Randy Couture and Ric Flair because of how things ended between them and their respective companies.

Added fights to upcoming card:

*UFC 89: Martin Kampmann vs. Nate Marquardt

*UFC 90: Spencer Fisher vs. Melvin Guillard, Hermes Franca vs. Gleison Tibau Sean Sherk vs. Tyson Griffin

Before I get into these fights, let me just say that there are currently EIGHT fights on the UFC 88 card. Bullshit. There are ten fights on the UFC 87 card and a rumored 12 (with 8 already confirmed) on the UFC 89 card. Bullshit. I obviously wouldn't care that much if I wasn't going to UFC 88 but I am. We're less than a month away from UFC 88 and they still need one more main card fight. Don't let me down Joe Silva.

Kampmann vs. Marquardt was reportedly going to round out the UFC 88 but my guess is that both fighters felt they needed more time to train so it got pushed back a month. That's an interesting fight because Kampmann is one of those guys who has the skills to fair well against Anderson Silva while Marquardt has already lost to Silva. Marquardt is coming off a loss but he probably got more over in the loss than Leites got in winning. Kampmann is probably two wins away from a shot at Silva so this will be a big fight for him.

The fights added to UFC 90 are very interesting. Spencer Fisher and Melvin Guillard are expected to go out there and bang until someone falls down. Both fighters looked impressive in their last outing and I expect them to have a fun fight. Franca vs. Tibau could very well be a "Loser Leaves UFC" Fight as both guys are coming off back to back losses. It should be a fun grappling contest although both guys have some good striking as well.

Sherk vs. Griffin is the really interesting fight though. Tyson Griffin's excitement level has slipped with every performance since his fight with Frankie Edgar and now they pair him up with Sean Sherk. If nothing else, this fight will probably determine the next Lightweight contender. Obviously the winner of Florian vs. Huerta will face BJ Penn next (unless Huerta wins, more on that later) but the winner of this could get the winner of Penn vs. Florian/Huerta. Even if Sherk wins and Penn wins I could see them doing that fight simply because Sherk wasn't the Sherk we're used to seeing in the first fight. If Sean Sherk constantly goes for the takedown and doesn't try to strike with Penn, we could see a different result. I don't have high hopes for this fight as far as excitement simply because it's Sean Sherk and my expectations have lowered for Tyson Griffin but it's still an interesting fight.

WEC 35 results from this past Sunday:

*Carlos Condit defeats Hiromitsu Miura via technical knockout (strikes) in round four to retain the WEC welterweight title
*Steve Cantwell defeats Brian Stann via technical knockout (strikes) in round two to become the new WEC light heavyweight champion
*Jamie Varner defeats Marcus Hicks via technical knockout (strikes) in round one to retain WEC lightweight title
*Brian Bowles defeats Damacio Page via submission (guillotine) in round one
*Josh Grispi defeats Micah Miller via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
*Brock Larson defeats Carlo Prater via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
*Blas Avena defeats Dave Terrel via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
*Shane Roller defeats Todd Moore via submission (guillotine choke) in round one
*Mike Budnik defeats Greg McIntyre via submission (triangle choke) in round three
*Scott Jorgensen defeats Kenji Osawa via unanimous decision

It's really a shame that WEC doesn't get as much love from casual fans because they always deliver exciting shows. If there was ever a doubt that the "names sell, not fights" theory wasn't true, I think WEC proves that it is. WEC on Versus has never not delivered yet only Faber vs. Pulver has done any type of a number. It's really a shame.

Carlos Condit and Hiromitsu Miura put on a fight of the year candidate although the ending may have knocked it down a peg. Condit knocked down Miura with one of the weakest looking knees I've ever seen but Miura was so exhausted that he fell to the mat where he was finished off with some of the weakest strikes I've ever seen. You could argue the stoppage and you'd probably have a case but both guys were dead tired and you just have to wonder how much they had left in the tank. This entire fight ruled. In true Japanese fashion, Miura showed the FIGHTING SPIRIT~! as he was mounted by Condit numerous times in the fight and he kept getting out. Miura also display some awesome Judo throws that would have made Karo Parisyan scream "DO YOU KNOW YOU I AM?!?!" Condit hit Miura with everything and it wasn't enough until Miura just had nothing left. I wanted this fight to go to the 5th round just because as tired as these guys were, they were going to continue to fight. I could just envision Condit and Miura throwing tired punches from their knees and they used each other for support. I demand a rematch.

Steve Cantwell avenged the only loss of his career by defeating Brian Stann to win the WEC Light Heavyweight title. This was a hell of a fight with two guys slugging it out until someone fell and in the end, skill beat power. Stann pretty much built his reputation on being a former Marine who knocked out guys early and he was exposed in this fight. Cantwell, who isn't even that great, took everything Stann had and fired back. In the end, Stann gassed and lost. It was a fun fight between two guys trying to crack the top 25 Light Heavyweights in the world.

In the Lightweight Title fight of the night, Jamie Varner defended his belt against Mini Marvin Eastman. Marcus Hicks put on a hell of a show in this fight. The way his face beat up the fists on Varner was just amazing. My hat off to him. In all seriousness, Marcus Hicks is a tough and bad dude and I sure as hell wouldn't want to fight him. Jamie Varner is turning into a very well rounded Lightweight but he's not going to get the recognition he deserves until he's in the UFC or Japan.

In the opening bout of the night, Damacio Page learned that you shouldn't taunt your opponent unless you plan on beating him. Page tried to take Brian Bowles to the ground and in doing so, got himself stuck in a guillotine. He tired to slam his way out of it but knew he was screwed so he just conceded the fight and tapped out. Bowles looked good in this fight and now puts himself in line for a shot at Miguel Torres.

In a preliminary fight shown on TV, Josh ‘THE FLUKE~!' Grispi defeated Micah Miller. I though Micah was better than his brother Cole but he did little in proving me right in this fight. He got caught with a punch behind the ear, dropped, and was finished. The stoppage was debatable but after viewing the replay it looked like Miller got hit, went out, got hit again, and came back. Everyone knows that if you argue the stoppage, you look like more of a bad ass.

And finally, Brock ‘Don't call me Lesnar' Larson defeated Carlo Prater. Nothing really happened in this fight except Larson hit with him a left straight down the pipe and Carlo went down. From there, Larson finished him off. You know UFC is hoping their Brock can turn in the same performance this Saturday.

Based on everything shown on TV, this could be the best card of the year. It didn't have the name value but every fight was exciting and there was never a dull moment while watching. It was also nice to see Todd Harris interview fighters after the fight instead of Frank Mir. It saved a lot of awkward moments.

Studying Tape



Frank Mir teaches you proper bedroom etiquette


Sparring Session

Roger Huerta is upset with the UFC because they paid him $50 to do publicity for the company. Things got worse when UFC edited Huerta's comments to make it seem like he was calling his fight with Kenny Florian a cakewalk when he was calling it a cakewalk when compared to his life. Huerta has one fight left on his current UFC contract after his fight with Florian

El Matador is messing with the bull and he might get the horns.

If Huerta got a flat $50 for his UFC promotional work then I could understand why he would be upset. If he got $50 on top of all expenses paid then I don't fully understand him complaint. $50 is a pretty low fee but I don't think I would expect any money if the company were to pay for my travel, lodging, and food. Huerta stated that he would never do promotional work for the UFC again after the incident and yet he's done promotional work for the upcoming UFC 87. So either they ironed things out or Huerta is minding his manners. As for the "cakewalk" comment, for shame on UFC to sell a fight. That comment was part of the countdown show, which hasn't aired so maybe the comment is said in full on the show. If it is, I don't see why Huerta would have a problem. If it's still taken out of context, it won't be the first time and it won't be the last. It does clear up Huerta completely heeling it up for the online preview though. I watched the clip and wondered when Huerta decided to be a prick all of a sudden. Now I know.

The final piece of information is the fact that Huerta will have one fight remaining on his contract after he fights Florian. This is an interesting situation because it's widely believed that the Huerta/Florian winner will get a title shot. If Huerta wins and decides not to re-sign with the company, they can't possibly give him a title shot, can they? Not that I think Huerta could beat Penn but it's still far too big of a risk to take. If Huerta loses and decides not to re-sign then he'll probably get the Andrei Arlovski treatment.

Underwater Ice Bath

Affliction officially announced ‘Day of Reckoning' for October 11th in Las Vegas. Here is the rumored card:

Josh Barnett vs. Andrei Arlovski
Tito Ortiz vs. Renato Sobral
Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Roy Nelson vs. Paul Buentello
Pedro Rizzo vs. Jay White
Tim Sylvia vs. TBA
Chris Horodecki vs. TBA
Jay Heiron vs. TBA
Mark Hominick vs. TBA
Mike Pyle vs. TBA

Notice how Fedor is missing. He was suspended for six months with a broken hand although a doctor could have cleared him. I guess the broken hand is enough to keep him off the October card, as Barnett vs. Arlovski is now the main event.

This is obviously a big card for Affliction. If they lose a ton of money this time around, we could see the end of the promotion. Reports indicated that Affliction authorities were requesting their fighters to take a 50% pay cut, which is never a good sign. Josh Barnett already came out and said he wasn't taking the pay cut and I can't imagine anyone else taking the cut either. Affliction made their high priced bed and now they have to lay in it.

This is another strong card for Affliction but how will it do? You would think they would save money without Fedor but Tito Ortiz pretty much replaces Fedor dollar for dollar. When you throw in Matyushenko, Nelson, and White; you're looking at an even higher payroll this time around. I think Affliction would be smart to hold Ben Rothwell and Tim Sylvia off this card as then they may actually save some money. If both of those fighters are on the card, they're certainly going to lose money.

Speaking of Matyushenko, Horodecki, and Nelson, I guess they won't be going to the UFC after all. It really makes you wonder why UFC would buy the IFL if they couldn't get some of their top fighters. The tape library couldn't be that important could it? I've even seen people compare this deal to the PRIDE deal with not getting the top fighters. That's not really fair though. UFC managed to grab the likes of Cro Cop (came over before the PRIDE deal but he saw the writing on the wall), Wanderlei, Henderson, Shogun, Nogueira, and others. They really only missed the boat Fedor (who they did try to get but you know those crazy Russians) and Barnett. So far they've secured a few IFL fighters but not the guys everyone was hoping for.

The first Affliction show buyrate is rumored to be between 90,000 and 100,000 buys, much higher than many believed it would be. The buzz after that show was amazing but it was amazing because everyone wanted to see Fedor. The second show won't have Fedor but it will have Ortiz. The question is: how much does Tito Ortiz mean nowadays? He's 0-2-1 in his last three fights, he hasn't finished anyone not named Ken Shamrock in seven years, and he has no outlet to promote this fight. Everyone loves or hates Tito because they see him on TV talking up the fight. How much does Tito Ortiz really mean if he's not on TV to promote the fight? We can't forget that the first Affliction show did so well because UFC decided to run head to head with it. Wrestling peaked when WWE and WCW went head to head every Monday, did Affliction peak because UFC went head to head with them on July 19th? I believe so. UFC isn't going to run another live event head to head with Affliction this time around so it will be interesting to see how much the media gets behind Affliction when they can't run the, "UFC vs. Affliction" headline this time around.

Gina Carano will face Kelly Kobold at the October 4th EXC on CBS 3 event

This company has no clue what they're doing. Did Kelly Kobald DESTROY some chick on the most recent EXC on CBS show? No. Was Gina Carano talking about fighting Kelly Kobold after watching Mrs. Cyborg DESTROY some chick? No. There's protecting your investments and then there's flushing money down the drain. Did EliteXC learn nothing from UFC? UFC usually books better than pro wrestling (which really shouldn't happen) but UFC dropped the ball a couple of times last year, namely trying to build Liddell for the fight with Silva. When you have fights, book them. EliteXC had the biggest women's fight of all time and now they're back to "Gina Carano vs. some chick"

There are only 2 reasons that I can think of as to why they're doing Carano vs. Kobold instead of Carano vs. Santos

1. They figured EXC on CBS 2 did bad ratings and not many people know about Cyborg. Still, one million more people saw Cyborg destroy Baszler than they even know about Kobold. It's almost as EXC would be admitting that their marketing campaign is a failure if this is their reason. Not because EXC on CBS 2 was a failure but because they don't have the competency to run advertisements that say, "watch the most recognizable face in women's MMA, Gina Carano, take on bad-ass Brazilian who just destroyed #1 contender Shayne Baszler, Cris ‘Cyborg' Santos."
2. Rumors have it that EXC wants to run on PPV in early 2009 and they're holding off on Carano vs. Cyborg until then. Is the risk worth the reward though? If Carano loses, that throws their big PPV fight out the window. Plus, wouldn't it still make more sense to put this fight on CBS than PPV? One million people minimum will watch the fight on CBS, 200,000 people maximum will watch the fight on PPV.

I hope Carano wins and everything turns out good for EXC but I still don't think they should tempt the fate of the MMA Gods.

Kala Kolohe Hose and Phil Baroni were victorious this past weekend at ICON Sport

I haven't seen either of these fights because they don't seem to be found anywhere on the net but I was asked to talk about the event and I'm here to please.

Hose, the ICON Sport Middleweight Champion, defeated Rolando Dominique in a fight that wasn't for the Middleweight title. This is Hose's second straight fight without defending his belt (he lost a fight under the Strikeforce banner) so I wonder why they even bothered vacating the belt from Robbie Lawler. Hose is a decent fighter who will likely never be considered a top Middleweight, especially if he stays in ICON sport and continues to not defend his title.

Phil Baroni is finding some success at Welterweight as he knocked out his second straight opponent. Kevin Iole might not like it, but Baroni could be brought back to EXC as a potential challenger for Jake Shields.

Taking Time Off

Not much to talk about this week. I finished my job so I'm now taking two weeks off to do nothing before heading back to college.

I'm still looking for an invite to MMA-Tracker.net. Help a brother out.

UFC 88 IS LESS THAN A MONTH AWAY~!

Training Partners

Adam Tool, Stephen DeAugustino, Wendell Mitchell, BREN~!, and Morgan Marx bring the news.

Reuel Mante gives you the 10 most exciting fighters. Adam Tool presents the fighter of the month, as voted on by the staff. Dustin James presents the 411 Heavyweight Rankings, as voted on by the staff. Alex Mattis previews the 3 big UFC 87 fights. Chris Robinson talks UFC 87 and includes a picture of Kenny Florian with an alligator. Larry Csonka gives his take on WEC 35. Ryan Seymour looks forward to the return of Wanderlei Silva. BREN~! present Fact or Fiction featuring Adam Tool and Ryan Seymour.

Adam Tool completed his busy week by reviewing Rumble on the Rock 7 featuring Tank ‘The Greatest Fighter Ever' Abbott.

AND IT'S ALL OVER~!

That wraps it up for me folks. I'll be back next week with a look back UFC 87 and all the latest 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