The Fightin' Stance News 09.26.08: The Age Of Miracles

Posted by  on 09.26.2008

Just what does the UFC have in store when they fight for the troops in December? Does Andrei Arlovski equal ratings? What's going on with the IFL? And just who is going to win when BJ Penn meets Georges St. Pierre for the second time? We'll try to answer all these questions, and we'll look ahead to tonight's ShoXC event in this week's Fightin' Stance News!



Once again I say hello to you and welcome to The Fightin' Stance News. My name is Adam Tool and we've had a bit of a slow news week around the world of mixed-martial arts. I've still got plenty of content on tap today, including a breakdown of the upcoming BJ Penn/Georges St. Pierre bout. But first…



Bring The Good Boys Home



As we found out last week, Fight Night 16 on December 10th will be the UFC's fundraiser event for the troops at Ft. Bragg, Indiana. This week we got an idea of who we could expect to see fighting at the event. Here's some of the bouts currently in the works, although I should note that the UFC has yet to finalize any match-ups on the card.

Josh Koscheck vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Frank Edgar vs. Matt Wiman
Dale Hartt vs. Corey Hill
Ben Saunders vs. Brandon Wolff
Tim Credeur vs. Nate Loughran

Koscheck is still trying to find his place in the crowded ranks at welterweight, and he'll have a tough test in front of him if the fight with Yoshida goes down. For the second time this year Frank Edgar will face a dangerous cast member of "The Ultimate Fighter" season five. Gray Maynard surprised everyone with a decisive win over Edgar earlier this year, will his former Team Penn teammate have the same luck in December? Also from season five is the tallest lightweight in the UFC, Corey Hill. Season six fan favorite Ben Saunders is slated for action, and season seven stand-out Tim Credeur will make his return to the octagon. It's also worth mentioning that Saunders' opponent, Brandon Wolff, is the guy that Jon "War Machine" Koppenhaver refused to fight (for which he was subsequently let go by the UFC).

Also rumored for the military themed event is the former Navy officer Rich Clementi. Currently Clementi is scheduled to face Gray Maynard on the undercard at UFC 90, but if he's in good shape following that fight it's highly likely he'll get a spot in front of the servicemen and women at Ft. Bragg. The turnaround between fights would be about six weeks, which is practically a full camp for Clementi. After all the guy had about a month between his bouts at UFC 83 and 84 earlier this year. Let's not forget that he also fought six times last year.

Arlovski Heads To The Big Country



EliteXC's third primetime special got a whole lot more interesting this week as it was announced that two former heavyweight champions would be doing battle on the show. Former UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski will take on former IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson, in a bout that will be billed as being co-promoted by Affliction and EliteXC. Both fighters were originally slated to be a part of Affliction's "Day of Reckoning" show on October 11th, with Arlovski scheduled to face Josh Barnett and Nelson lined up against Paul Buentello. With that show being pushed back to January the door was open for a co-promotion opportunity between the two struggling MMA promoters.

EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw had this to say:

"I'm very excited, first as a fan as well an executive of EliteXC to be able to put on this fight for the fans. This continues to go with what we started with at EliteXC and what we continue to say, which is we're going let our fighters fight anywhere and that we're willing to work with anybody. We've done with FEG; we've done it with Strikeforce; and now we will do it with Affliction. We continue to break barriers and along with our partners, the winners on Oct. 4 won't be the organizations, it's the fans."

As of now there are no plans to alter the card, and Shaw insists that all of the scheduled fights will be on the broadcast. He said that they have yet to confer with CBS about the possibility of extending the show's allotted two hour runtime, but all five fights will be shown in their entirety. Here's the finalized card:

Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock
EliteXC Welterweight Championship
Jake Shields © vs. Paul Daley
Andrei Arlovski vs. Roy Nelson
Gina Carano vs. Kelly Kobald
Murilo "Ninja" Rua vs. Benji Radach

Obviously the addition of Arlovski is a huge draw for the hardcore fanbase, many of whom would be alienated by a show headlined by the villainous Slice. I can't help but feel a bit annoyed by the fact that a far superior fighter like Andrei in the middle of the show while Kimbo takes center stage. However one cannot overlook the drawing power of Kimbo Slice as both EliteXC and CBS will be looking to grab the biggest audience they can. We'll go into more detail about the event next week.

C‘mere Kid, Lemme Sho You Something



Tonight is the next event in EliteXC's spotlight series "ShoXC," and for the first time in the show's brief history there will be an EliteXC title fight at the top of the card. Here's a look at the lineup:

EliteXC Bantamweight Championship
Wilson Reis vs. Abel Cullum
David Douglas vs. Malaipet
Shane Del Rosario vs. Carl Seumanutafa
Jaime Jara vs. Giva Santana

Reis is undefeated in five professional fights and is coming off a decision win over Brian Caraway on the undercard of EliteXC: Unfinished Business. Cullum is currently on a ten fight win streak, and most recently beat Ryan Diaz to win the King Of The Cage bantamweight championship. Cullum will be making his EliteXC debut. Both fighters are well versed in the submission game, so we can expect this one to go to the ground early and often. Cullum certainly has the edge in experience but Reis has been on a nice little roll as of late.

Also on the card is Malaipet, who will be making his third ShoXC appearance. Earlier this year he lost to Thomas "Wildman" Denny, after Malaipet was disqualified for elbows to the back of the head. Douglas is also making his third ShoXC appearance, after his 72 second TKO win over William Jacobson last month. Both Del Rosario and Seumanutafa are unbeaten in four pro fights, so somebody's ‘0' must go. Expect a big time slugfest as each man rarely lets a fight go past the first round. Finally we have Jara, currently riding a three fight win streak, taking on the undefeated Santana. Santana has earned the nickname of "The Arm Collector," as he has won 10 of his 11 fights via armbar submission (all in the first round).

ShoXC airs live on Showtime tonight starting at 11 pm ET. If you can't watch the show be sure to come back to 411mania as our own Larry Csonka will be covering the event live as it happens.

Is This The End? Part III (Yes, It Certainly Is)



You remember the IFL don't you? They were the fighting league that made this sport of individual accomplishment into a team-based competition. Once the company started to have serious financial troubles earlier this year, there were rumors of a sale to Zuffa (parent company of the UFC and WEC). We even saw a number of former IFL fighters enter the UFC with footage from their IFL days to help hype them up. Now a new bidder has entered the fray, and all reports indicate that the IFL's remaining assets could be going to HDNet.

The IFL recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and court documents indicate that the tape library, trademarks, web domain, and existing broadcast contracts with Fox Sports Net could be sold to Mark Cuban's HDNet for $650,000. The law requires that the IFL accept bids up until October 23rd but anyone caring to step in and snatch the IFL's assets will have to beat the $650,000 offer.

For clarification purposes, it should be pointed out that all of the IFL's fighters have already been released from their contracts. Most have already found new homes in the UFC, Affliction, or EliteXC so the only real prize from the sale is the huge fight library. HDNet is still looking for just about anything to fill up their airtime, and the channel is quickly becoming a must-have for any serious fight fan.


BREAKDOWN: BJ vs. GSP II



Over the past twelve months BJ Penn and Georges St. Pierre have each cut a path of destruction through their respective weight classes. Penn has notched up wins over Jens Pulver, Joe Stevenson, and Sean Sherk to become the UFC's undisputed king at lightweight. Meanwhile St. Pierre has beaten Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, and Jon Fitch to regain and retain his welterweight championship.

Penn and St. Pierre have clashed once before, at UFC 58 where St. Pierre won by split decision. When they face off again early next year the welterweight belt will be up for grabs. Penn will look to avenge his loss and make history by being the first man in UFC history to hold titles in two different weight classes at the same time. St. Pierre has less to gain from a win, but he certainly doesn't want to lose his precious title to a man he's already beaten once.

In the past week I've re-watched UFC's 58, 83, and 84. I saw these two men go at it once, and I also saw them put on dominant performances 4-5 months ago. Certainly they're both different fighters from where they were 2 ½ years ago, as each of them have had their ups and downs (mostly ups) since that first meeting. Even though the rematch is still months away, I felt like breaking down the individual strengths and weaknesses (mostly strengths) that each champion possesses.

STRIKING

This is going to be tough, as both of these top level fighters are pretty damn good in everything they do. I don't expect the fight to stay on the feet all that much, but if it does I would give the slightest of edges to BJ. St. Pierre is masterful with his legs and his arms, but Penn hits harder and is always looking to finish. Plus he seems to have a lot more weapons in his arsenal. Lately GSP has relied more on the ground and pound but if he can't keep Penn down he's still pretty dangerous in the exchanges. Again though, I'm not expecting a five round slugfest when these two come together again.

Advantage: Penn

JIU-JITSU

So if the fight goes to the ground, who benefits? It really depends on who takes it down, and what position they're in. If you were to put both fighters on their backs, BJ is much more dangerous. He's one of the top BJJ guys in the sport, and he's had many years to adapt his black belt skills into the fight game. St. Pierre won't hesitate to lock in a quick armbar if he gets the chance (sup Hughes), but there's really no argument about this one.

Advantage: Penn

WRESTLING

There isn't much of an argument to be made here either, as GSP has evolved into the best MMA wrestler there is. If you think of guys with top notch wrestling credentials at welterweight, you're going to say some combination of the names Hughes, Koscheck, and Fitch. St. Pierre beat them all, and at their own game. None of them could stop his takedowns, and neither could they get any of their own. Penn doesn't have the size nor the strength to get St. Pierre down and hold him there for an extended period of time, so I'd look for GSP to shoot in early and often.

Advantage: St. Pierre

CONDITIONING

This was once the big question mark hanging over BJ's head. Go back and watch the first fight at UFC 58 if you don't know what I'm talking about. We know now that Penn is rededicated to his training, but we still have yet to see him go past the third round. St. Pierre just won a tough five round battle with Jon Fitch, and at the end of it he still looked like he could go another 10 minutes. St. Pierre is quite possibly in the best shape out of anybody in the sport, while that question mark is still hanging around the headspace of Penn.

Advantage: St. Pierre

TOUGHNESS

I'll just start by saying that BJ Penn and Georges St. Pierre are both WAAAY tougher than I am. That being said, If you want to talk about a fighter's heart Penn is pretty much second to none. He's only got one speed: murderous. If GSP expects to go 25 minutes with BJ he'd better be ready to keep his guard up from bell to bell, as one tiny mistake could end the fight at any moment. Penn has never been submitted, and was only finished by strikes when Matt Hughes trapped both of BJ's arms in a crucifix position and punched his head for three minutes. St. Pierre can take a lot of punishment, but he was submitted by Hughes (a long time ago, of course) and TKO'd by Matt "Never Forget" Serra.

Advantage: Penn

INTANGIBLES

St. Pierre has a known history with the mental part of the fight game. However it's pretty safe to say that he's gotten over that hump, although a big-time showdown with Penn could bring all those old issues (whatever they may be) back to the surface. Still, GSP seems to be in peak form in all areas so I don't expect too many holes in his game.

If there's one thing you can count on hearing from Joe Rogan during a BJ Penn fight it's something about BJ's crazy flexibility, and Joe is spot on when he says that BJ can use his legs like other people use their arms. On top of that Penn is notoriously difficult to take down, and even harder to keep down. It's something that St. Pierre doesn't have, so the nod goes to "The Prodigy."

Advantage: Penn

So who's going to win? It looks like I‘m picking BJ Penn, but even I‘m not so sure of that. After all, we're talking about two of the top fighters in the entire world right now. It could very well be the biggest match-up in UFC history, but for now we can only speculate while we wait.

Who do you think will win? Make your pick in the comments box down below and I'll try to include your thoughts in next week's column.



-After their Fight Night 14 bout ended in controversy, Anthony Johnson and Kevin Burns will meet each other again immediately at the Ultimate Finale 8 on December 13.

-A welterweight showdown between IFL refugee Brad Blackburn and Ryo Chonan has been set for UFC 92 on December 27th.

-Speaking of UFC 92, we were expecting a heavyweight bout between rising contender Cain Valasquez and Cage Rage heavyweight champion Mustapha Al-Turk, but Valasquez has suffered an injury and had to pull out. Taking his place will be Cheick Kongo.

-Even though top ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko appeared at DREAM 6 and announced his intentions to fight at the company's New Year's Eve show, his management team has issued a statement in which they clarified that Fedor is not slated to fight on that show and he is still under contract to Affliction and M-1. Affliction VP Tom Atencio also issued a statement assuring everyone that Fedor would be on the company's second event in January.

I Keep My Pimp Hand Strong

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

The Venus to my Serena, Jeremy Lambert has your Cardio Freak News.
Dustin James brings you the big shake up in this weeks 411 Fighter Rankings of the Light Heavyweights.
Reuel Mante throws his Spotlight on Ken Shamrock.
Jonathan Solomon mixes it up in this week's MMA Juggernaut.
Dustin contributes the latest 411 Fighter Profile. This week it's a special look at the life and career of Evan Tanner.
BOSS Csonka throws out his Take on Fight Night 15 and KJ Noons being stripped of his belt.
In case you missed episode 2 of "The Ultimate Fighter," Jeremy has you covered with his recap.



Tonight - EliteXC Presents ShoXC
Live on Showtime at 11 pm ET

10/3 - Strikeforce: Payback
Live on HDNet at 10 pm ET

10/4 - EliteXC: Heat
Live on CBS at 9 pm ET

10/18 - UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben
On Spike at 9 pm ET

10/25 - UFC 90: Silva vs. Cote
Live on PPV at 10 pm ET

11/15 - UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar
Live on PPV at 10 pm ET

12/10 - UFC Fights For The Troops
On Spike (time TBA)

12/13 - The Ultimate Fighter Finale
Live on Spike (time TBA)

12/27 - UFC 92
Live on PPV at 10 pm ET



Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane has a new series of web shorts entitled "The Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy," and you can find more like this on YouTube.



My favorite band in the world has an amazing new album out, and I couldn't recommend it more.
TV On The Radio – "Golden Age"



That's about all I've got on tap for you this week. In seven days I'll be looking ahead to EliteXC's do-or-die third CBS special. Expect a full preview as well as any breaking news between now and then (as always). Until then…


Sources: MMAJunkie.com, Sherdog.com, Fiveouncesofpain.com, MMAWeekly.com