Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:
- Bobby Lashley made Bob Sapp tap twice and Gilbert Yvel KO’d Pedro Rizzo at last week’s ‘Ultimate Chaos’ event.
- Nick Diaz and Joe Riggs may be settling an old rivalry next month. But will anybody see it?
- With UFC 100 coming up next Saturday, we counted down the 10 greatest UFC events of all time.
- Nobody seems to think Michael Bisping has a chance against Dan Henderson in their UFC 100 fight. Though if he really plans on out-wrestling Hendo, maybe he really is doomed.
- Indiana became the 39th U.S. state to begin regulating MMA. Last state to legalize the sport is a rotten egg!
- Rampage Jackson says he’ll be knocking out Rashad Evans in his hometown of Memphis in December.
Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:
- Rich Franklin edged out Wanderlei Silva and Cain Velasquez dominated Cheick Kongo at UFC 99 last Saturday. Also, Mirko Cro Cop defeated Mostapha Al Turk via illegal eye-pokes, then told the UFC to kiss his ass.
- We saw some crazy knockouts this week, including Tim Sylvia getting wrecked by a 50-year old boxer, a brilliant flying knee KO at a Bellator show [http://www.cagepotato.com/knockout-day-nick-pace-wrecks-collin-tebo-bellator-xi], and a 9-second head-kick finish followed by a flying referee tackle.
- Brock Lesnar is built like a black man, still not a fan of the gays.
- Team U.K.’s James Wilks cruised to the welterweight finals on Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, ending a season that didn’t really live up to the hype.
- Shaquille O’Neal is seriously considering a switch to MMA after finishing his basketball career, and wants to start off by beating up the giant Korean who smashed Jose Canseco.
- When Cris Cyborg chokes out a reporter, that’s just her polite way of saying she’s finished with the interview.
- Come back tonight [Saturday] at 9 p.m. ET/PT for our liveblog of the Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale show, which will feature Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida, Nate Diaz vs. Joe Stevenson, and the lightweight and welterweight TUF finals. And check out our exclusive interviews with Sanchez, Stevenson, and Chris Lytle.
The Ultimate Fighter Nine Finals take place tonight with the live Ultimate Fighter Finale on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET. The main card will feature five fights including the two championship bouts for the Ultimate Fighter reality show. Overall, it is a nice card featuring the lighter weights in the UFC, which tend to provide stronger fights and better pacing. Here is a breakdown of the card and my predictions (I was 5-for-6 last weekend!!) for tonight’s show.
Lightweight bout (155 lbs) – Diego Sanchez (23-2) vs. Clay Guida (25-9): This fight should be a war as both fighters have great motors and even better stamina. Sanchez has lost just two times in his career, both by decision, but is in just his second fight at lightweight in the UFC. His previous fight was a lackluster decision win over Joe Stevenson where Sanchez picked Stevenson apart on their feet. Guida won’t be quite that easy. The rocker has a fighting style and energy that makes it hard for you to not cheer for him and I think he will be the first fighter to really push Sanchez around in terms of pacing and octagon control. The key in this fight will be if Guida has the size to control the bigger Sanchez on the ground and if he can fight off his back. I would like to say I see Guida winning this fight, but I think Sanchez’ size and speed will ultimately earn him another decision win.
This weekend marks the return of UFC to pay-per-view as the Ultimate Fighting Championships host UFC 99: The Comeback from the Lanxess Arena in Germany . The live fights start at 3 p.m. ET and will feature six matches on the main card.
Last weekend I had an up-and-down couple of days (2-for-5 on Strikeforce predictions and 4-for-4 on WEC predictions), but I am back to give my take on UFC 99, which is headlined by what should be an exciting fight between Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva in a catch-weight bout at 195 pounds.
Catch-weight (195 lbs)- Rich Franklin (24-4) vs. Wanderlei Silva (32-9-1): This fight would have been a blockbuster main event three years ago as the two were both world champions for the UFC and Pride respectively, but now, this shapes up to be more of a “loser leaves town” type of fight. While the loser won’t be gone from the UFC, they will certainly be out of the main event spotlight. Franklin has lost just two of his last six fights, but both come to the top middleweights in the UFC, which has prompted him to move of to light-heavyweight (205 lbs) where he is unbeaten in the UFC. A win for Franklin would further push his light-heavyweight surge and keep him in main event fights for the foreseeable future. For Silva, who has last four of his last five, another loss would leave him without a place to go. He has already been decisively beaten by top light-heavyweights and a loss to Franklin would already put him out of the middleweight picture. Silva will have place in the UFC because of his aggressive fighting style, it just may not be against top-level talent. Silva made a name for himself by taking the action to his opponents and applying pressure, but UFC has evolved more into a sport for counter-punchers, and that is what has been Silva’s kryptonite as of late. I see Franklin landing a solid shot on a Silva counter and putting him to sleep, much like he did Nate Quarry. Silva always leaves himself open and I think Franklin is too skilled to not capitalize. I take Franklin by KO late in round one.
Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:
- Jake Shields choked out Robbie Lawler, Nick Diaz dominated Scott Smith, and Brett Rogers scored a 22-second KO over Andrei Arlovski at the Strikeforce show last Saturday. Afterwards, Rogers shared his feelings about Kimbo Slice and Nick Diaz humiliated a reporter.
- A day later, the WEC one-upped Strikeforce by putting on one of the greatest cards of the year, highlighted by Mike Brown’s five-round war with Urijah Faber, Jose Aldo’s latest highlight-reel finish, and possibly the last appearance of Jens Pulver. If only the fighters got paid what they’re worth…
- Team U.K. swept the lightweight bracket on Wednesday’s episode of the Ultimate Fighter; Andre Winner and Ross Pearson will throw down at next Saturday’s finale show on Spike.
- The upcoming title fight between Gina Carano and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos will be contested at 145 pounds. Cross your fingers.
- EA is prepping its own MMA video game to compete with “UFC Undisputed.” Can they succeed without the involvement of MMA’s most powerful brand?
- Wanderlei Silva explained to us how life was like a bicycle.
- UFC 99 goes down today [Saturday] in Cologne, Germany, starting at 3 p.m. ET. Swing by CagePotato.com for our liveblog, and get familiar with some of the storylines here.
This weekend Mixed Martial Arts has two solid shows taking place outside of the UFC label. It begins Saturday on Showtime at 10 p.m. with Strikeforce presenting a strong card of recognizable fighters, a few of which are still considered among the best in the world. On Sunday, the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) takes center state with WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber 2, which is highlighted by the Featherweight championship (145 lbs) rematch of champion Mike Thomas Brown against former champion Urijah Faber. That show will air on Versus at 9 p.m.
Here is a quick breakdown of the feature fights and my predictions for both shows:
Strikeforce at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
- Kevin Randleman (17-12) vs. Mike Whitehead (23-6) Light-Heavyweight (205lbs): Kevin Randleman was a giant in the MMA world in the late 90’s and in the beginning of the 2000’s, but now Randleman is finding himself in the same position as many of the giants in those days like Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie, where the sport has passed him bye. Loser of five of his last seven fights, Randleman needs a win over UFC veteran Mike Whitehead, who has won 13 of his last 14 and has looked good since his move down to light-heavyweight (205 lbs). I like Whitehead by decision or TKO from ground-and-pound on a tired Randleman.
- Joe Riggs (29-10) vs. Phil Baroni (13-10) Middleweight (185lbs): Phil Baroni and Joe Riggs are classic examples of two fighters that had worlds of potential and never tapped into it. Both men have tremendous power, but both are notorious for their lack of endurance as fights move on. Baroni tries to throw all his power in each punch which limits him later on and Riggs has a suspect chin that has caused quick knockout losses. If Baroni has truly improved his training, I see him winning this one as Riggs is the mentally weaker fighter. I take Baroni by TKO late in round one.
Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:
- YouTube star/MMA punchline Kimbo Slice has agreed to redeem himself on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter. Between his outsized presence and the rivalry between coaches Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans, TUF 10 should be utterly insane.
- The New York State Assembly voted in favor of a bill that would allow MMA to be regulated in New York. Could we be seeing UFC shows at Madison Square Garden in 2010?
- Despite being KTFO’d at UFC 98, Rashad Evans still claims that Lyoto Machida hits like a bitch.
- “Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields” and “WEC: Brown vs. Faber II” go down this weekend. Swing by CagePotato.com Saturday night starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT for our liveblog of the Strikeforce show, and Sunday morning for full results from the WEC event. Get familiar with the fights by reading this heated debate and our gambling advice here and here.
You may not have known who Mike Thomas Brown was a year ago, but chances are you do now if you’re a fan of Mixed Martial Arts. Brown is the WEC (World Extreme Cage fighting) featherweight champion. His career record is 21-4-0 and Brown has won his last nine fights, with his last loss coming on Dec. 2, 2005 by submission. On Nov. 5, 2008, Brown defeated Urijah Faber by TKO in 2:23 to win the WEC title. Faber was then considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world as he had won 13-straight fights lasting over three years before losing to Brown. Since beating Faber, Brown defended his belt successfully against Leonard Garcia on March 1 of this year with a submission in under two minutes after staggering Garcia on his feet with a solid combination of punches. Fighting out of American Top Team in Florida, Brown appeared in the UFC in 2004 in a submission loss to Genki Sudo, but now the former Norwich University wrestler prepares for his rematch with Faber, which takes place Sunday, June 7 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif. The fight can be seen on VERSUS at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Brown took a few minutes away from his training for the fight to speak with us on the rematch and his MMA career.
The Scores Report: How has your life changed since your first win over Faber?
Mike Thomas Brown: Since the Faber win, I probably do a few more interviews and get recognized a little more. You know, each time you win, your pay goes up a little bit, so I am making a little bit more money, but nothing major has changed.
Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:
- Last Saturday at UFC 98, Lyoto Machida buried the last of his “boring” image by knocking out Rashad Evans in the second round and stealing his light-heavyweight title. We wondered if Machida and Anderson Silva had switched bodies, and if Machida’s recent dominance means the light-heavyweight division is no longer “stacked.”
- Speaking of TUF, Wednesday’s episode featured Team U.S. evening the score to 4-4 heading into the semi-finals, as the toothless Frank Lester got a callback as an alternate and outlasted Team U.K.’s “best guy.”
- After a four-year absence, radio host/t-shirt designer/occasional fighter Frank Trigg is heading back to the Octagon. Is a reunion fight with Matt Hughes in the works?
- DREAM.9 featured the sad MMA debut of Jose Canseco, and a middleweight championship main event that ended with blood and chaos. You can watch some videos here and here.
- After countless delays, Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett are slated to face each other this summer, at what will probably be Affliction’s last MMA event.
- Former baseball star/steroid snitch Jose Canseco is having his MMA debut in Japan on Tuesday against 7′2″ kickboxer Hong Man Choi. His preparation is, shall we say, lacking.
- Swing by CagePotato.com tomorrow night starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT as we liveblog UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida, which will feature the UFC’s best title fight in nearly a year. You can see more analysis of the fight card here and here.
Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:
- Last weekend’s Bellator show produced yet another epic finish, as well as the upset loss of featherweight tournament favorite Wilson Reis.
- UFC prez Dana White defended his angry outbursts on ESPN’s “E:60,” and Tito Ortiz stopped by to molest the English language.
- UFC 101 will officially go down August 8th in Philadelphia, and will feature two amazing fights and a bunch of mediocre ones.
- The video promo for DREAM’s Super Hulk Tournament, starring Jose Canseco vs. Hong Man Choi, is sheer cartoonish awesomeness.
- Speaking of which, Canseco isn’t the only athlete we’d like to see make an ill-advised transition into cage-fighting.
- Shooto’s “Final Tradition” event was highlighted by Takanori Gomi’s return to the win column, and a wild one-rounder between Takeshi Inoue and Rumina Sato.
- Lyoto Machida may be fighting for the UFC light-heavyweight title next Saturday, but he’s already looking ahead to Brock Lesnar. Could we eventually see an epic battle between foot-sweeps and hammer-fists?
- Set your DVRs: Former WWE star Bobby Lashley returns to action tonight at MFC 21, and Strikeforce kicks off their “Challengers” series with a lightweight battle between Billy Evangelista and Mike Aina.
- Toby Imada pulled off the most epic submission in MMA history against Jorge Masvidal at last weekend’s Bellator event.
- Hatsu Hioki, Marlon Sandro, Michihiro Omigawa, and Masanori Kanehara advanced to the semi-finals of Sengoku’s featherweight grand prix.
- Team U.S. and Team U.K. split a pair of quarterfinal fights, while a bounty offered for knocked-out teeth hilariously backfired on Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter. Plus, will Rampage Jackson return for season 10?
- Two new people will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame the day before UFC 100 in July. The smart money’s on Charles “Mask” Lewis and Chuck Liddell.
- Speaking of UFC 100, a new viral effort has been launched to get the crowd to chant “Fedor!” immediately following the Brock Lesnar/Frank Mir main event, pretty much just to screw with Dana White.
Let’s take a look at Jose Canseco’s checklist of things to do in your life:
1) Become a MVP winner in Major League Baseball. Check, as he won the 1988 American League MVP Award with the Oakland A’s.
2) Become a star on a television reality show. Check, as he became a cast member in Season five of the Surreal Life on VH-1.
3) Write a tell-all book on the steroid era in baseball. Check, as he wrote the book entitled Juiced.
And now you can add headlining a mixed martial art event to his list, as Canseco will fight 7-foot-2 and 330 pound Hong-Man Choi on May 26 in Japan.
Canseco vs. Choi is one of four matches in DREAM’s “Super Hulk Tournament” organized to boost television ratings. Here is the entire card:
Super Hulk Tournament (Open-Weight)
- Jose Canseco vs. Hong-Man Choi
- Gegard Mousasi vs. Mark Hunt
- Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa vs. Bob Sapp
- Jan “The Giant” Nortje vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Despite a 1-2 record, Choi is a dangerous MMA fighter due to his size and sheer strength. This is a definite step up from Canseco’s last opponent inside the ring, actor Danny Bonaduce. They boxed to a draw in an exhibition bout last January, and Canseco was also knocked out in a boxing match against former NFL player Vai Sikahema last summer.
Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:
- Congenital amputee Kyle Maynard’s MMA debut went about as well as we thought it would.
- Clearly bored with the garbage-ass challengers he’s been getting in the UFC’s middleweight division, 185-pound king Anderson Silva will go up to light-heavyweight again to face Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 in August. Meanwhile, Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia will be facing off to determine who really deserves the next middleweight title shot.
- Despite some intense infighting, Team U.S. was able to put its first victory on the board on the last episode of The Ultimate Fighter, while coach Michael Bisping vanished into thin air.
- Japanese promotion DREAM is putting together the greatest MMA freak show in history with their “World Superman Championship,” which will feature steroid-snitch Jose Canseco, pituitary case Hong Man Choi, Bob Sapp, and five more warriors, hopefully fighting to the death.
- Speaking of freak shows, Fedor Emelianenko used his 70-pound weight advantage to toss around Shinya Aoki in a grappling exhibition at the last M-1 Challenge event.
- Less than two months after Nick Diaz and Scott Smith scored victories at “Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz,” the two will be fighting each other at “Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields.”
- Kim Couture’s wife pulled out of her upcoming fight against Miesha Tate, and Tate responded by telling everyone that Kim and The Natural are getting a divorce. Real classy.
- By forcibly retiring Chuck Liddell, is Dana White looking out for his friend’s health or his company’s wallet? Little from column A, little from column B?
- With the 2009 Kentucky Derby set to run this Saturday, THE LOVE OF SPORTS puts together a betting system that admittedly, probably won’t work. (But God love ‘em for trying.)
- THE BIG LEAD details the heartless act of the Baltimore Sun, who fired two writers who were in the middle of covering an Orioles’ game from the press box – and by phone, no less.
- SPORTSbyBROOKS.COM details the story of Angelo Hadley, a top football recruit for North Carolina who recently helped his brothers burglarize a 14-year old girl’s home while he had sex with her. Looks like young Angelo is on the Marcus Vick-plan of success.
- AWFUL ANNOUNCING has the lowdown on Jerome Bettis reportedly being out at NBC.
- YARDBARKER shares that Jose Canseco is set to fight in the professional MMA ‘Super Hulk’ tournament…whatever that is.
- SPORTSbyBROOKS.COM uncovers the story that ABC (via ESPN) might expand the NFL draft to three days and show it in prime time. Holy overexposure, Batman…
- CAGE POTATO.COM compiles the eight greatest technical submissions of All-Time. (With Video)
- THE LOVE OF SPORTS breaks down the hilarity that ensues when fans don’t like the players their favorite NFL teams select at the draft.
- YARDBARKER has video of new Lions’ quarterback Matthew Stafford, who got to poke fun of himself recently on the David Letterman show.
Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:
- Chuck Liddell stepped into the cage (and got knocked out) for the last time, while Anderson Silva and Thales Leites put on one of the most boring title fights in UFC history at UFC 97 last Saturday. Regarding the Silva/Leites scrap, UFC prez Dana White said “I’ve never been embarrassed of a UFC fight like I was tonight,” while Silva’s manager tried to do damage control.
- The Iceman may be retired from the fight game, but it seems like his acting career is taking off. Meanwhile, Andrei Arlovski is going to appear in the next Jean-Claude Van Damme joint.
- Nick Osipczak put the Brits up 1-0 with his crushing head-kick knockout of Mark Miller on Wednesday’s episode of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
- Gina Carano does it for love, not money. Yeah, right.
- Pro wrestler-turned-fighter Bobby Lashley will be colliding with cartoonish brawler Bob Sapp in a June pay-per-view event that will also feature Affliction’s vice-president actually fighting on the card.
- Congenital amputee Kyle Maynard makes his MMA debut tomorrow night. But will it be a triumph or an ill-advised freak show?
- Speaking of freak shows, lightweight grappling-genius Shinya Aoki and world’s-best-heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko will be tangling in a “special sparring exhibition” next week in Tokyo. Ah, what’s a 70-pound weight-difference between friends?
- Enter our “Underground Heroes” giveaway and win a pair of tickets to UFC 98! And if you’re going to the May 23rd event, be sure to check out our fan’s guide to Las Vegas.
Despite chants of “boring” and boos that echoed inside the Bell Centre, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champ Anderson Silva entered the record books with a unanimous decision over Thale Leites at UFC 97:Redemption in Montreal on Saturday evening.
Silva posted his ninth-straight victory in the octagon that broke a tie he held with MMA legend Royce Gracie and Jon Finch. This was overshadowed by the lack of action generated in a less-than-stellar main event, as the two fighters avoided contact for the first minute of the fight and they often went for long stretches without exchanging blows.
This didn’t sit well with UFC President Dana White, and he didn’t mince words in the post-fight press conference.
“I can honestly tell you that I’ve never put on an event that I was embarrassed to be at until tonight,” White said. “I want to publicly apologize to all the fans.
“Watching that was hard. That was tough to take. It was embarrassing, honestly. It was really and truly embarrassing.”
The fans booed throughout the match and started a “boring” chant at the beginning of the final round. They also cheered for UFC welterweight champion George St. Pierre, who was sitting at ringside. The Canadian star is rumored to be the next opponent for Silva.
