Last night MMA Journalist trekked on down to Barnes & Noble in Tribeca for a book signing. The book was "At the Fights", which is an anthology of boxing stories edited by old school scribe George Kimball. As the only other boxing-themed event I've been to was a Golden Gloves installment in the heart of the Bronx, the experience was… illuminating. First of all, it ended up being a six-person panel of writers, talking briefly about themselves before taking questions from the audience. It was also packed, as about 70 ardent boxing fans showed up - some of them knowledgeable, eager and excited, some of them clearly insane. And maybe - maybe - a handful were under 45 years old. That said, when it came time for Q & A, someone asked why, in the assembled writers' opinion, had boxing declined. Author Pete Hamill blamed the sport's predicament on a few things, and of course, MMA came up. "Ultimate fighting is preposterous," he said, and everyone laughed and agreed. "I've seen better fights at weddings." So there you have it. Boxing fans are old, cognizant that their sport is in trouble, and they hate mixed martial arts.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Thaigo Silva's UFC 125 Urine Sample Positive for Wampa DNA, Says Nevada Commission
This just in from the Department of Yuck: Thiago Silva's urine sample, taken immediately after his UFC 125 bout against Brandon Vera, has been determined to be of a "non-human source", according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Said Chief Urination Supervisor Keith Kizer, "A post-fight analysis of Mr. Silva's urine sample was deemed inconsistent with human urine. In fact, our laboratory technicians have determined that the DNA in the urine matches that of a Wampa, a large, carniverous creature indigenous to the Hoth system. Which is amazing, actually, since Wampas aren't real." It is anticipated that the NSAC will overturn the win Silva secured over Vera at UFC 125, changing it to a "no contest". Furthers sanctions against the Brazilian are also expected.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Upcoming Northeast Bouts to Watch Out For
With installments of Ring of Combat, Cage Fury Fighting Championship and the Urban Conflict Championship looming, there’s so much ass-kickery impending that it’s almost impossible to sleep at night. In fact, I no longer sleep. I just sit on the couch in my den and ruminate – sometimes with the lights off, sometimes with them on. Anyway, MMA Journalist has of course compiled a list of bouts to watch out for. Thank me later.
- Chris Liguori vs. Mikhail Malyutin, ROC 35 – On April 8, one of the area’s longtime best lightweights in Liguori takes on what could very well be his foreign counterpart. Malyutin has fought about a million times in M-1 against dudes whose names are impossible to pronounce, but he’s got skills, as evidenced by his ROC 31 win against Luiz Azeredo. Fast and frenetic – that’s what this pairing promises.
- Tom DeBlass vs. Sean Salmon, ROC 35 – DeBlass is a Ricardo Almeida-trained light-heavyweight on the rise, and he sports ever-improving boxing. Salmon is a UFC vet who’s really good at getting knocked out in exciting fashion. We’re talking “eyes rolled up in his head-stiff as a board-dropping like a felled tree” here. That, coupled with his wrestling, means DeBlass is either going to KO him or jiu-jitsu him to death.
- Uriah Hall vs. Aung La Nsang, ROC 35 – Hall’s coming off a loss against Costa Phillippou, but he’s still an ace striker with solid ground-and-pound skills. La Nsang is a Muay Thai guy with good submissions. This match-up is either going to end suddenly or violently, or it’s going to go the distance (and still be pretty violent).
- Daniel Akinyemi vs. Mike Andrillo, ROC 35 – Bellmore Kickboxing rep Andrillo’s got a strong guillotine and, like his teammates, is very capable of banging. Akinyemi, meanwhile, bangs so hard, his opponents usually end up fetal against the cage. You see where I’m going with this, right?
- Andre Gusmao vs. Tim Williams, CFFC 7 – April 16 is when we get another installment of CFFC, and the main event features UFC vet Gusmao taking on a very promising grappler in Williams. Does Gusmao still have the striking power to put away people like he used to? Or will Williams get him down and molest him?
- Lester Caslow vs. Eddie Fyvie, CFFC 7 – These two are so well-rounded and evenly matched, they could be sharing DNA. Er, no homo.
- Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Noah Faunce, CFFC 7 – Burrell absolutely slew his opponent at the last CFFC. Faunce, however, hits hard and can wrestle when he needs to. Will he need to? Or will this be another Burrell-inspired bloodbath?
- Andy Main vs. Felipe Arantes, UCC 4 – April 22 will bring us the fourth installment of the UCC, and the marquee bout – between TUF vet Main and a very deadly Brazilian named Arantes – should be one heck of a barnburner. Main’s got KO power in his hands and has jiu-jitsu for days, while Arantes’s got sick Muay Thai and has so much jiu-jitsu he craps whole gis. This will definitely be a good one.
- Sean Santella vs. Sedico Honorio, UCC 4 – Santella is among the best “little” fighters the Northeast has to offer, and brings to the table some serious wrestling mixed with submission grappling. The first words out of Honorio’s mouth when he was a child were “mata leon” and “you just try to pass my guard, mom. I dare you.” Enough said.
- James Jenkins vs. Jay McLean, UCC 4 – McLean’s proven himself to be durable as all hell, and his wrestling tends to give fighters fits. Jenkins is a well-rounded dude on the rise, so this should be a nice test for him.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Predictions for UFC Fight Night 24
The UFC comes to Seattle on Saturday night for UFC Fight Night 24, which will feature Antonio Rogerio Nogueira taking on wrestler Phil Davis, Sir Mix-a-Lot as a guest in the VIP section, and various coffees served to fighters in between rounds in lieu of water. And before any of you complain that I’m stereotyping, yes, I have been to Seattle. Yes, the Sasquatch does in a cardboard box downtown with the rest of the mass of homeless people. Yes, this event is airing for free on SpikeTV. So, predictions!
- Bruce Leroy returns from his less-than-stellar stint on TUF to take on WEC refugee Mackens Semerzier, with Semerzier coming off of three losses and clearly meant to be fodder for the not-quite-breakout star. Will the afro prevail? Or will the man who nailed a one-in-a-million submission on Wagnney Fabiano come out on top? Geez, who cares. Bruce Leroy by reality television.
- Thanks to Nam Phan getting injured, Leonard Garcia will instead get a rematch with someone else who he got a gift decision against: Chan Sung Jung, the Korean Zombie. When last the two met, there was an epic seesaw battle. Will we see the same again? Doubtful. Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar II sucked, and Dan Severn vs. Ken Shamrock II defined “suck” for generations to come. Expect this one to end in a draw after three full rounds of the hokey-pokey and hide-and-seek.
- TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah has established beyond a shadow of doubt that he’ll never work his way up to a title shot, so on Saturday night he’ll meet TUF 9 runner-up DaMarques Johnson in the Octagon for what can only be described as “crap, these guys have too many fights contractually owed to them. Who should we have them fight? Each other? Brilliant, Joe, brilliant,” bout. Both men can strike and grapple about as well as any regional star, so watch for them to get up against the cage and play the “huggy game”,
- Dan Hardy, Anthony Johnson, solid conditioning, hard strikes and the ability to never ever make weight. That describes this match-up, and as Hardy and Johnson are both coming off losses, this bout could determine who gets to eat filet mignon next week and who’s out of a job and eating ramen noodles on the cluttered floor of their apartment. Hopefully, Hardy takes it via KO.
- Nogueira barely squeaked by wrestler Jason Brilz and got decision by wrestler Ryan Bader. You know what wrestling superstar Phil Davis is going to do to him? Clue: it rhymes with “smash him to bits”. No, wait, it is “smash him to bits”.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
M-1 Challenge on Showtime This Friday, And Why You Should Watch
M-1 Challenge, one of the last bastions of non-Zuffa MMA left in the world, airs for the first time on Showtime this Friday night. And while the main event between Artiom Damkovsky vs. Jose "I won the M-1 Challenge Americas Tournament with only nutshots" Figueroa may not be much of a draw, there is one solid reason to tune in. His name: Tyson Jeffries. Jeffries won the M-1 Challenge Americas tournament last year at middleweight, and after watching him fight a few times it became apparent that the dude is a Terminator. Not a Terminator like the T-1000, which can take on the appearance of whomever it touches and form simple shapes like blades with its appendages. No, more like the T-888, which is a more advanced model than those seen in the Terminator movies and is used for high-level infiltration and assassination (see the The Sarah Connor Chronicles TV series). As skills go, Jeffries employs some deadly Muay Thai, and his camp - Team Quest - has got his wrestling and anti-grappling honed to a keen edge. However, the most telling trait Jeffries possesses is that Chris Leben-esque ability to get rocked and, while on autopilot, simply go for the kill. It's actually kind of awesome to watch, and with Jeffries facing Russia tough guy Magomed Sultanakhmedov for the vacant M-1 Challenge belt, the chances are pretty good that we'll see a legitimate "termination" in the ring. So yeah, M-1 Challenge on Friday. Tune in.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Liveblog: TUF Tryouts Part 5
Also, some kid named Bruce Ferguson is wearing a rashguard imprinted like a tuxedo. Where does one buy such things?
