Eight Sides of Steel 09.07.08
Posted by Wendell Mitchell on 09.07.2008
The same month Couture comes home and Cro Cop seems ready to fight. We have back injuries, bad asses, and contract extensions inside this week's edition of the Eight Sides of Steel.
THE MAIN EVENT
UFC 88 - Breakthrough is in the books and it definitely lived up to its name. I cannot be the only person shocked that not only did "Sugar" Rashad Evans beat Chuck Liddell, but knocked him out in highlight reel fashion. Despite my admiration for Chuck, this is why MMA is so exciting because of moments like this. Who would of thought that the guy that could barely manage a draw against Tito beat the guy that has thoroughly thrashed Tito on more than one occasion?
Here are the full results of the event and Lord Csonka has the full recap.
Dong Hyun Kim defeated Matt Brown via Split Decision (29-28 Kim, 29-28 Brown, 29-28 Kim)
Nate Marquardt defeated Martin Kampmann via RD1 (1:22) TK
Dan Henderson defeated Rousimar Palhares via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Tim Boetsch defeated Mike Patt via RD1 (2:03) TKO
Rich Franklin defeated Matt Hamil via RD3 (0:39) TKO
(Prelim aired after the main event)Jason MacDonald defeated Jason Lambert via RD2 (1:20) Submission (RNC)
Rashad Evans defeated Chuck Liddell via RD2 (1:51) KO
IN THIS CORNER
Alistair Overeem
VS
Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic
The battle of kick boxers awaits us September 23rd. Alistair comes into this fight with a victory over Mark Hunt via Kimura in July, whereas injury prone Cro Cop has not fought since March. Will this be the difference maker? The once, and probably still feared KO artist lost both of his UFC bouts which may be enough to instill a healthy dose of confidence in the younger Overeem.
ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP
UFC announced that Randy Couture is back with the company and that he will fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 in Las Vegas for the Heavyweight Title
Arguably the biggest news of the past few days, my thoughts can be summed up in two words: Hell Yeah! This is epitome of a win-win situation as regardless of the result, this will make the UFC a ton of money and either solidifies Randy's place in the MMA or crowns the fastest rising heavyweight. This is one of those fights that will be divisive amongst the die hard's and guys like me who respect the art form, but get caught up in the atmosphere of an event like this. I am definitely looking forward to this.
UFC.com is reporting that Karo Parisyan has had to pull out of his scheduled UFC 88 fight against Yoshiyuki Yoshida tomorrow night due to a back injury. The fight itself has been scrapped and the UFC has moved Matt Brown vs. Dong Hyun Kim to the main card.
Horrible news for both competitors. You never want to hear anyone get injured, yet at the same time you have to feel bad for Yoshida who misses out on a pay day and pay-per-view exposure. I posted this just in case you wanted to know why Matt Brown was on your pay-per-view last night.
Chute Boxe product Thiago Silva has reportedly been forced to withdraw from his bout against undefeated light heavyweight contender Lyoto Machida at UFC 89 because of a lingering back problem according to MMA Weekly.
Two back injuries? If Silva and Parisyan were competing at the same event, one could joke about the event being cursed. As it stands, I just find it interesting that two guys are suffering back ailments. Unlike with Yoshida, UFC officials are scrambling to find a replacement to fight him, with names such as Wanderlei Silva and Quinton Jackson as prospective replacements. I would like to see if the Axe Murderer has what it takes to put a blemish on the Dragon's record.
Light heavyweight contender Houston Alexander has reportedly signed a five-fight contract extension with the Ultimate Fighting Championship according to the latest print edition of Dave Seltzer's Wrestling Observer.
Alexander is an exciting fighter, though he seems to be all striking and nothing else, which may be his undoing as he UFC has a tendency of releasing fighters that lose two or three fights in a row. The first fight of Alexander's new deal will likely take place on September 17, when he takes on Eric Schafer in a featured main card bout at UFC Fight Night 15, which takes place in Alexander's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. Let's see what Alexander has learned since "The Sandman" James Irvin put him to sleep eight seconds into their fight. Schafer is no slouch and seems to be the type of fighter that wants to end things as early as possible. In fourteen fights, he has only left the first round once.
IN BETWEEN ROUNDS
OTHER MMA NEWS
Two years after initial inquiries into establishing an official sanctioning body for Amateur MMA, the Ontario Mixed Martial Arts Association (OMMAA) received a letter from the Ministry of Government Services explaining why MMA would not be permitted in the province of Ontario in Canada.
Oddly enough, there are no amateur MMA organizations in Canada. Every province that does recognize MMA only do so at a professional level. While I can certainly understand the Ministry of Health's apprehension about the choking and striking downed opponent aspect of MMA, it seems odd to me that one of their major issues is that no other province recognizes amateur MMA and therefore OMMAA is the only member of a coalition trying to establish such programs. You can read the entire article here.
The Palace Fighting Championship on Thursday announced the full line-up for its Sept. 26 event at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif. The main event features Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride veteran Phil Baroni squaring off with popular Mexican fighter Olaf Alfonso.
Despite his age, Baroni seems to be on a roll since dropping down to 170. I don't see a 7-8 fighter beating him. Alfonso has fought several times for the WEC, where he has a less than stellar 5-6. To his credit, he is on a two fight-winning streak and Baroni's just north of .500.
The sport of mixed martial arts will be seen on network television in Quebec for the very first time beginning Sept. 5. TQS will air "TKO, Friday Night Knockouts" for the Canadian based TKO Championship Fighting organization every Friday night at 9pm.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again - man I love being a turtle. Love of my mutant heritage aside, it is always a good thing when MMA gets televised. TKO is Canada's largest mixed martial arts promotion and several notable fighters, such as Georges St. Pierre (former TKO Welterweight Champ) and Urijah Faber have competed there in the past.
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic will return to the ring as he takes on Dutch heavyweight Alistair Overeem on September 23 at Dream 6 in Saitama, Japan.
Not to wish misfortune upon the Croatian Sensation, but I will believe it when I read the results, right here on 411mania.com. Cro Cop has had some injuries recently, which have hindered him from competing at the previous two Dream Events. In fact, Cro Cop has not been active since the inaugural Dream event back in March when he won by TKO in fifty-six seconds. His opponent is the current Strike Force Heavyweight Champ and is riding a three-fight win streak including a submission victory over Mark Hunt at Dream 5. As both guys are kick boxers, it should be an interesting battle of strikers. Of note, Overeem has quadruple the amount of submission victories on his resume and his last victory was against a man that has beaten Cro Cop in the past. Cro Cop, to his credit, has submitted and knocked out fighters of a higher caliber than Overeem.
World Extreme Cage fighting and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Friday gave in to the forces of Mother Nature and postponed Sept. 10's WEC: Faber vs. Brown event back to Nov. 5.
One of the few times the WEC ventures out of Vegas and they land smack dab in the potential trajectory of a hurricane. What are the odds? Seriously, I'm a numbers geek, I like hearing or reading about that sort of thing. Selfishness dictates me to spew all manner of expletives and profanities at hurricane Ike for denying me the pleasure of seeing URIJAH vanquish yet another would be usurper to his throne. All tickets purchased are valid for the rescheduled date, but if ticket holders cannot attend on that day, they can contact WEC and receive full refunds.
In a move sure to make many MMA fans happy, Strike force announced that Sherdog.com will be providing a live stream of the organization's upcoming "Strike force at the Mansion II" event, which will take place at the at the Playboy Mansion in Hollywood, California on September 20.
I once was the type of person that would never plop down in front of my computer to watch more than a five-minute clip of anything, but hey, the internet is a very naughty, naughty tempting maiden and I too have been drawn to her. So unless my roommate forgets to pay the cable, I will definitely check this out and it would not hurt if you guys did as well.
Passing the Guard just wants you to rejoice in the fact that Couture Comes Home.
That's it for this week's cats and kittens. Join me next week for more news pertaining to the world of MMA. Thanks for stopping by the Eight Sides of Steel.
Great piece. I stop by here to get my indulgence of MMA news. You nailed it with why MMA is so exciting. Just when you think something is a lock, nights like last night happen. Yet we never learn.
Posted By: Steve Gustafson (Registered) on September 07, 2008 at 08:24 PM
