The Verbal Submission 11.04.08: Two Title Fights in the WECagon, Legends Returning, and Silva/Liddell
Posted by Chris Robinson on 11.04.2008
The WEC returns for a huge show featuring their poster boy, Urijah Faber. Meanwhile, in the middleweight division, Paulo Filho returns from crazytown. Plus, two MMA fancy pants legends are gearing up to resume their fighting careers. Hope they don't pull a Shamrock and torpedo a company! And what's all this talk about The Spider vs. The Iceman. Sounds like a crappy Sci-Fi channel movie to me.
Well I was going to write this long, drawn out, detailed column about how to save BodogFight, but then Ashish pulled it and I had to write a completely different column. What are the odds? Today's edition of "The Verbal Submission" will focus on (surprise!) the upcoming WEC 36 show which is chocked full of title fights! I'm also in the mood to discuss the pending returns of two MMA legends, Renzo Gracie and Pat Miletich. Then I'll go deep, DEEP into the controversy surrounding Steve "Stache or No Stache" Mazzagatti. Then I'll jump into some super fight talk as rumors begin to swirl like a hyper toilet about a possible Anderson Silva/Chuck Liddell fight. So read my column, then go vote because that's what you're supposed to do. After you vote, in your best Mike Goldberg vote, yell out, "It's all over!". People will look at you funny.
Well he's shirtless and Michael Bisping looks embarrassed. I'm sure someone has his keys.
NEWS THAT BROKE AFTER I WROTE THE BULK OF THIS COLUMN!!!
Chris Leben has been suspended for 9 months following a positive test for the steroid, stanazolol. I'm not a big fan of fighters who feel they need to take a shortcut to get ahead. Luckily, karma stepped in and Leben lost his last fight to Michael "The Count" Bisping. Personally I don't think a 9 month suspension is nearly enough. I believe it should be immediate termination of his contract followed by a re-evaluation after one year to determine if maybe the guy is worth bringing back into the fold. Overall, it's a truly bonehead move by a gifted fighter. It's also a bonehead move by a guy who is respected as a coach, a HEAD coach, at a prominent gym in Hawaii.
Kim Couture is returning to the cage against Lina Kvokov for Strikeforce on November 21st. Some of you may remember Randy's wife from the brutal beating she endured during her last fight to Kim Rose. Broken jaw aside, Kim Couture fighting for Strikeforce is seen more as a step in a positive direction for women's MMA on the national scene. With Strikeforce's rumored live card on NBC in 2009, a healthy women's division will only increase interest. With Gina Carano vs. Cyborg looking for a home, Strikeforce is seeming more and more like the logical choice. You know NBC wouldn't mind having one of their prized American Gladiators back on the network beating people up without giant Q-tips.
Speaking of Q-tips...
Denis Kang was signed by the UFC as they continue to try and bolster the middleweight division. Is he ready for Anderson Silva yet? The answer would be no. Kang is a solid fighter with the majority of his success coming in PRIDE Bushido and SpiritMC. I don't know much about him, but any talent added to the 185 pound division of the UFC is a good thing. Welcome aboard Kang! Oh by the way, he's Korean and Canadian. Wrap your head around that one.
Here's Denis Kang boxing/painting. Yeap.
WEC 36: WEATHER BE DAMNED!
After a brief postponement due to a hurricane, which Dana White immediately signed to a 3 fight deal, the WEC returns with two big title fights. One of those fights will close the middleweight chapter of the WEC story. Plus, Urijah Faber will look to continue his dominance over the world's 145'ers. Let's preview some fights!
JAKE ROSHOLT VS. NISSEN OSTERNECK
With only four fights scheduled for the televised card, you know one of these two virtual unknowns must be special to bump "Razor" Rob McCullough off the screen. That big special man is former NCAA champion Jake Rosholt. Fans of the Tapout reality show (are there any?) might remember Rosholt's appearance, but for most the WEC show will be his grand coming out. His opponent, Nissen Osterneck, is no slouch, however. Osterneck is a product of Gracie BJJ, with 5 fights and 5 wins in his career. Somebody is walking out of this one with loss numero uno. It is interesting that they would feature this fight on the show with the middleweight division vanishing from the WEC by year's end. I'm guessing the winner gets a ticket to UFC town, while the loser goes back to obscurity. With a name like Nissen Osterneck, how can you really be obscure though? Rosholt's main game plan will probably be ground and pound, but going to the ground may not be too smart against this BJJ purple belt. With little knowledge of either fighter, I'm going to predict a second round submission win for Osterneck. Love that name. Osterneck.
These two crazy kids will probably watch the fight in Forman's basement.
JENS PULVER VS. LEONARD GARCIA
It's Little Evil vs. The Drug Mule for 145 pound glory! That's not right. He was acquitted of all charges. Pulver will be stepping back into the WECagon for the first time since his epic battle with Faber. That fight is still my favorite from 2008, hands down. It will be interesting to see if there are differences in Jens' gameplan or style in this fight, as his well publicized split from MFS has been um...well publicized. Jens' new trainer, Matt Hume, told Jens he was only utilizing 40% of his abilities. Jens replied,"Huh?". Garcia will be looking for his second straight win in the WEC, one which would probably lead to a title shot against Urijah Faber. I'm tingling just thinking of Pulver vs. Garcia being a combination of Faber/Pulver and Garcia/Huerta. It's going to be a bloody slugfest, and I don't think anyone is getting knocked out. Don't count out Pulver's left hand though. Garcia has a great chin (whatever that means), but it only takes one perfectly placed punch to do the job. If Jens wins this fight, there might be consideration for another shot at Urijah Faber, which could headline the first WEC PPV that everyone is whispering about. Either way, expect a great fight here, and I'm going to go with Pulver by decision.
PAULO FILHO VS. CHAEL SONNEN - WEC MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE
Now I turn my attention to the last middleweight title fight EVER (in the WEC). The winner of this fight will enter the UFC and possibly be in line for a unification bout with Anderson Silva. Of course, if Filho wins, and many think he will, he has vowed to never fight his buddy, The Spider. I've contested this point many times in this very column that if enough money is thrown at both fighters, their friendship will take a backseat. That's neither here nor there at this point. The bottom line is if Chael Sonnen wins this fight, he gets a win over a guy many consider to be the number 2 middleweight in the world. Right now, Sonnen isn't anywhere close to the top 10. The big question in this fight is Filho's mental health. He's starting to obtain that "mental focus" issue that has plagued fighters like Georges St. Pierre and Karo Parisyan. Will the focused, dominant Paulo show up? Will a timid, careless Paulo show up? We'll find out on Wednesday when the cage door closes. If Filho does pull out the victory, he'll walk into the UFC as an immediate top guy. I'd expect the UFC to put him in key match-ups with contenders like Nate Marquardt or Thales Leites (are they friends?). There's also been talk of Filho moving up to 205, but I don't know how solid that rumor is. My prediction for this fight is a first round submission win for Paulo Filho.
URIJAH FABER VS. MIKE BROWN - WEC FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE
Before we get into the fight, let's first focus on a lovely interview with Mike Brown done by my favorite awkward MMA reporter, MMArated.com's Ariel "You're Going Straight To" Helwani.
Did you get all that? Did Mike Brown actually shrug off September 11th as some sort of annoyance? Wow. Sorry to inconvenience you there Mike. Some people in the country didn't know what the hell was going on, so they decided not to let anyone fly for a day or two. I know your fight was super duper important, but I'm sure you still did we.....oh he lossed that fight. Damn. Then in his infinite brilliance, he goes on to say he wants to see Carlos Condit vs. GSP, but stops himself before blurting out that we should get Penn vs. Varner. No one wants to see that fight! Not even Jamie Varner! It makes me rethink my whole theory that more MMA fighters should do video blogs, or video interviews, or anything where they open their mouths and let their thoughts dribble out.
Back to the fight, is anyone betting on Brown to win? I wasn't overly impressed with his decision victory over Jeff Curran although he looked good in the fight. Isn't Brown just filler before Garcia or Fabiano are ready for a title shot? I don't see Urijah Faber having much difficulty disposing of Brown, but then again I am a biased Faber fan. Look for The California Kid to take this one with a second round submission.
FABER SUPER FIGHTS!
With all the talk of super fights happening in the UFC, some MMA fans are hitting up the blogs and message boards with talks of super fights for Urijah Faber. I think it might be a bit soon for this discussion with top contenders like Leonard Garcia and Wagney Fabiano waiting in the wings. Urijah hasn't cleaned out the entire featherweight division just yet. I also wouldn't mind seeing Faber knock out Jamie Varner and becoming WEC lightweight champ, but Urijah recently stated he walks around at 155, so the size difference comes into play.
If he IS interested in moving up to 155, that's where the super fights are. Possible fights with BJ Penn, Sean Sherk, or Kenny Florian could potentially be big draws. Of course, Faber could also move down to 135 and compete with rising star and WEC bantamweight champion, Miguel Torres. The only fight out of those four that I would truly consider a Super Fight is the match-up with BJ Penn. Both hold wins over Jens Pulver. Both enjoy sunshine. Um, they both like long walks on the beach. Seriously though, a Faber vs. Penn fight could definitely draw a good buy rate for a potential WEC pay-per-view. If BJ takes out GSP in their upcoming super fight, a follow-up with Faber would be even more explosive in the revenue department.
CRIPPLE FIGHT!!! I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I meant, SUPER FIGHT!
LEGENDS RETURN: RENZO GRACIE & PAT MILETICH
Legendary MMA legend Pat "The Legend" Miletich returns to active competition for Adrenaline MMA on December 11th. Miletich is a former UFC welterweight champion whose last fight was a first round submission loss to Renzo Gracie. Miletich will be facing Thomas Denny, whose last fight was a loss to Nick Diaz on CBS. Obviously, Adrenaline is trying to garner some attention and attendance for their upcoming show, as the last show was seen as largely lackluster, especially with Jason Guida in a headlining role. To me, Adrenaline is yet another futile attempt for M-1 Global guru, Monte Cox to become a real MMA promoter. Isn't this the same guy that represents Fedor? Isn't this the guy all the blame should be placed on for the lack of Fedor vs. Couture?
I have no problem with Miletich returning to active competition, but the guy has lost three of this last four fights. He's also spanned those four fights over a seven year time frame. Miletich is more recognizable for his MFS trained fighters such as Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia, and Jens Pulver among others. Miletich wanting to fight again is clearly a monetary move in the same vein as a Ken Shamrock. Fortunately for Miletich, his upcoming fight isn't on CBS and a promotion's entire existence doesn't hinge on it. Will the Miletich/Denny fight draw a huge crowd to the show? Maybe if the show was in Iowa? With the general lack of talent depth in smaller organizations, I'd strongly recommend Monte Cox stick to managing fighters poorly instead of promoting shows poorly. Just saying.
The blonde on the left is cross eyed, right?
Another legendary legend that's planning a return to active fighting is Renzo Gracie. Renzo has been a tad more active than Miletich in recent years with victories over Pat as well as Carlos Newton. He also scored a DQ victory over Frank Shamrock in 2007 on an EliteXC card. The majority of Renzo's success, or lack there of, came under the PRIDE banner. As I realized before writing this column, Renzo has actually never competed in the UFC. With the talk of a comeback on the heels of a new documentary chronicling his life, maybe Renzo should think about a UFC debut at the tender age of 40. Then again, the UFC may not exactly have the doors open. Despite Renzo's legend status and his viability as a great BJJ coach, his MMA record doesn't exactly scream dominance. He lost four of his last five fights in PRIDE and then lost to BJ Penn on a K-1 show. His only notable MMA success are his victories over Miletich and Newton, but those are hardly impressive due to their timing.
My point in all this is that I don't want to see the supposed "legends" of MMA (the Ken Shamrocks, Pat Miletich's, Renzo Gracie's, etc.) returning for one last shot at glory. It reminds me too much of the pro wrestling world where 50, 60, and even 70 year old "legends" continue to return in hopes for one more pay day. I'm pretty sure that being a top name coach can lock down the financial security for these MMA Hall of Famers. If the itch to fight was so strong, they'd pull down more than one fight per year. I also hate to see guys with successful careers and historic fights tarnish their legacy with embarrassing losses to unknowns or to each other! Some fans may be looking forward to the return of two icons such as Gracie and Miletich, but I can honestly say I am not.
Renzo's niece, Kyra Gracie. Get this broad in the ring with Carano, STAT!
LESNAR VS. MAZZAGATTI: DON'T TRASH THE 'STACHE!
Well by now you've probably heard that Brock Lesnar's management told the NSAC to give them a "Hell no!" on Steve Mazzagatti being the referee for the upcoming Lesnar vs. Couture fight. The fine folks over at the XFA got these comments from Mazzagatti and he didn't stir up much controversy on the issue.
I've watched the Lesnar vs. Mir contest several times and Lesnar did come into contact with the back of Frank's noggin, but where was the warning? Without that break in the action, Brock may have continued to pound Mir and ultimately gotten a referee stoppage for a victory. We'll never know. I think specifically requesting that Mazzagatti not officiate the upcoming fight is a bit absurd, but understandable. It's not like Brock's camp is saying that Brock would like to utilize hitting Randy in the back of the head. A shot to the back of the head can alter a fight drastically, and I think any referee will be quick to act especially in a title fight. Hopefully the referee issue won't be a distraction for Brock as he trains for the biggest fight of his life. The only thing this request does is draw more attention and add controversy so maybe that's what they intended. If Brock and his people request Stone Cold Steve Austin as special guest referee, well then all hope is lost. Let's pray that doesn't happen.
ANDERSON SILVA VS. CHUCK LIDDELL: PROS & CONS
PRO: Anderson Silva has only five fights left on his contract and a super fight with The Iceman would do a gigantic buy rate and feed Anderson Silva's family Big Macs for years to come.
CON: Chuck Liddell's stock has dropped with his recent losses and he may not be the same fighter he once was. This could cause him to be a more tentative striker. Anderson Silva fought an odd fight against Patrick Cote. Two odd, tentative fighters in a cage fighting oddly and tentatively may not be super exciting.
PRO: Chuck Liddell may finally utilize his wrestling skills and/or unleash unknown submission skills. A ground battle between Silva and Liddell would be unexpected and unpredictable. It may resemble something similar to the picture below.
PRO: Anderson Silva would reach a new level of stardom with a win over Liddell. He would reach Jardine-ish or even Evans-ish proportions of notoriety and fame.
CON: Anderson Silva would be as famous as Keith Jardine. Ouch.
PRO: A win for Chuck Liddell would completely salvage his ailing fight career. It could rocket him into a title shot with little argument from fans due to Silva's status as #1 Best Pound for Pound Fighter in the Galaxy.
CON: If Liddell loses, it's pretty much over for him.
For the sad Liddell fans...
END OF THE THIRD ROUND
That ends another That 70's edition of "The Verbal Submission". Thanks to CombatLifestyles.com, Sherdog.com, MMAJunkie.com, MMA-Core.com, MMARated.com, UFC.com, and WEC.tv.
The Empire Hardcore Podcast will be back soon and until then you can listen to past shows at Podomatic.com and on iTunes. Be sure to check out my video crapshoots on YouTube. Also, my personal love nest is here. I'll be back next Tuesday to ramble about all things MMA and to personally challenge Chuck Norris. Enjoy your week!
