Tim Boetsch Proves He's Got Balls the Size of Grapefuit, Maybe Bigger

At the IFL's semi-finals event tonight at the Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey, the Michigan Squirrels will square off against the South Dakota Prairie Dogs, and the Maine Lobsters will take on the New Mexico Armadillos. Or something like that. Anyway, the big news is local light-heavyweight Reality Fighting, Extreme Challenge Northeast, and USKBA champ Tim Boetsch stepping in to face Vladimir Matyushenko. For those who don't know, "Vladdy" is a heavy-handed wrestler and a four-time UFC veteran, with his losses to Tito Ortiz in 2001 and Andrei Arlovski in 2003 two of the only three blemishes on his 18-3 record. Yes, folks, Vladdy is one bad dude. Which makes Boetsch's getting in the ring with him the act of either a raving lunatic, or the act of someone with a huge set of balls. Having seen Boetsch fight, and dominate, and pull out the win even when he himself was getting dominated, I'm more inclined to believe it's the latter. Matyushenko is a huge step up in competition, and Boetsch deserves a ton of respect for even considering it.

Matt Lee Succeeds In Not Getting Butt Totally Kicked; In Fact, Looks Impressive

New Englander Matt Lee landed on the wrong side of a unanimous decision when he took on Eddie Alvarez at the July 14th BodogFIGHT show in Trenton, New Jersey. However, the veteran Team Elite representative was successful in one regard: he survived - a feat made so much more notable by the fact that few predicted he'd last more than a round when the match-up was announced. Lee ate a ton of leather taking the heavy-handed superstar the distance. But he dished it out too, and even bloodied his opponent's nose and tripped Alvarez to the canvas as time ran out. When it was all over, there was no question Alvarez, BodogFIGHT's recently dethroned welterweight king, had won. And there was also no question that Lee - who fought hard out of every bad position and refused to be bullied around the ring - had looked impressive.

To Do: Buy Stock in CFFC

Whatever the folks behind the Cage Fury Fighting Championship are doing, they're doing it right. Case in point: the recently announced card for their October 12th, Atlantic City event. Kimbo versus Tank. Former King of Pancrase Ricardo Almeida coming out of retirement to face Dennis Hallman. Old-school kickboxing champs Derek Panza and Duke Roufus squaring off in an MMA bout. Veteran fighter Chris Brennan against local champ Jim Miller. The UFC may have a stranglehold on top talent, but CFFC matchmaker Gary Marino has used his fight knowledge, creativity, and negotation skills to turn water into wine (i.e., made compelling bouts out of nothing). If the MMA market is finite and dominated by the UFC, well, CFFC is doing a great job with their product and carving out their own share. Now excuse me while I call my broker.

The Trouble with Bloggers

I read just about anything and everything related to MMA, and this morning I spied some gems on two seperate blogs. One blogger spoke of TUF veteran Luke Cummo's up-coming fight and said that Cummo is well-known for his jiu-jitsu skills. Another blogger talked of UFC Lightweight Champ Sean Sherk being stripped of his belt, and he suggested that BJ Penn fight for the vacant title against either Joe Stevenson or Roger Huerta. Please, God, smite these bloggers - obviously newcomers to the sport and weaned on nothing but Zuffa's MMA milk - for their ignorance. Cummo was a Muay Thai fighter (his last venture into the ring just before TUF was a kickboxing bout at Combat at the Capitale in NYC), while it's universally accepted that Stevenson and Huerta are far from ready for the likes of Penn. Sadly, those two web-writers know only what they've seen on SpikeTV or pay-per-view, and neither have a knowledgeable editor to catch these gaffs. They can print anything. Which, ultimately, is the trouble with bloggers.

UFC Lightweight Division Sticks Needle in Ass, Gets Caught

I like Hermes Franca and Sean Sherk. Really. They’re amiable, friendly and down-to-earth guys, and they embody a lot of the hard work and dedication that makes this sport great. But them testing positive for steroids – after their epic, five-round war at UFC 73 – truly sucks. Words like “integrity” and “honesty” come to mind, as well as phrases like “true champion” and “role model to many”. Ultimately, though, like fellow juicers Royce Gracie and Phil Baroni, the top 155-pound challenger and the UFC lightweight champ are only human. Sometimes the money is worth the risk.

Just prior to the test results being made public, Franca issued an apology, saying he was injured during training and under a lot of pressure to perform. Sherk, on the other hand, is purportedly going to appeal the test results (remember: in 2005, UFC fighter Nate Marquardt failed a post-fight drug test only to be retested and deemed clean). I sincerely hope it’s a false-positive in Sherk’s case. The word “cheater” should not belong in the same sentence as “champ”.

Laura D'Auguste Injured, Breakdancing Career in Jeopardy

Laura D'Auguste, top-ranked competitor in the world of breakdancing, injured her ankle late last week while practicing at Bittencourt's B-Boy Academy in Newark, New Jersey. Known for her ability to windmill, downrock, and freeze at a moment's notice, D'Auguste was preparing for the eagerly-anticipated championship battle she was to have against Tara LaRosa, scheduled for the July 14th BodogFIGHT "Electric Boogaloo" event. Via text message, D'Auguste had this to say: "Not broken but hurt ligaments... Couple weeks be ok... I hope going for a MRI... Chipped the bone just a little nothen [sic] they can do for that..." No word yet on what this may mean for her career down the road - although it's safe to assume she'll be forced to incorporate more handstands into her routine.

Badass Fighter Gets Badass Marketing Campaign Because He is Badass

Eddie Alvarez. He's the fighter you've seen plastered all over New York City. Formerly BodogFIGHT's welterweight champ, Alvarez will be returning to the East Coast after competing in such exotic locales as Costa Rica and St. Petersburg, and he's being pushed as the star of BodogFIGHT's July 14th Trenton, New Jersey show. The former high school wrestling champ is well-known for his knockout hands, his ability to kick ass, and his knack for packing a venue with hundreds of cheering fans.


Alvarez is one of the best fighters not signed by the UFC, and would have no problems competing in the Octagon. In fact, he was flown out to Las Vegas as an alternate for the second season of "The Ultimate Fighter" (SpikeTV and Zuffa ended up not needing him). He's that good. And fans of action can expect an extra-large dose of it on July 14th.

Kimbo Slice Breaks All the Rules

On Saturday night, when bare-knuckle pugilist Kimbo Slice defeated former world heavyweight boxing champ Ray Mercer by guillotine choke in just over a minute in an exhibition MMA bout, he broke all the rules. Not for giving the 7,300 in attendance at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall their first glimpse of the Internet-created legend. Not for making Cage Fury Fighting Championship’s first pay-per-view venture a memorable (and successful) one. No, Slice broke all the rules pertaining to debut fighters: he headlined the event and made 75,000 bucks. Aside from main eventers Chuck Liddell and Quinton Jackson, that’s far more than any of the veterans were paid at UFC 71.



Did the ex-backyard boxing star – whose record lists wins over the likes of Big Mac, “The Bouncer” and Afro Puff – deserve it? Hell yes. Regardless of where he may rank amongst the world’s MMA heavyweights, Kimbo brings a ton of charisma and hype, and that kind of love only helps the sport. Thousands of fans showed up or tuned in and droves of media cast a watchful eye, and everyone got to see not just him, but CFFC’s brand of quality MMA, as well as a roster of outstanding undercard fighters. And for that, Kimbo deserved every penny.

TapouT Breathes Life Back into MMA Television

What season of “The Ultimate Fighter” are we on? Fifty? What (or when, exactly) was the last episode of BodogFight? Fuck if I know. But one thing I do know is whoever thought up the concept for the new “TapouT” reality TV show – a show that combines elements of a road trip and a fighter profile with behind the scenes perspectives – deserves some serious “Yeah boy!” For those Generation TUFers out there who don’t know, the TapouT crew have been around forever, supporting the sport while promoting their brand of clothing. Hell, the man behind TapouT, Charles Lewis, was even on the box cover of the old UFC PlayStation game (he was the “fighter” getting smashed by Tito Ortiz).


Sadly, as MTV has taught us, when the “Real World” gets boring and “Road Rules” has run its course, the “Real World/Road Rules Challenge” will soon follow. But until those Ultimate Fighter and TapouT veterans square off in some producer’s pugilistic permutation, I’m going to enjoy the Mask, Skyscrape and Punkass ride.

Clash of the Titans at EC78

The skies will darken, the clouds will rumble and the earth will shake at Extreme Challenge 78 in Asbury Park this weekend - an event featuring a clash of heavyweight titans in Jon Murphy versus Carlos Moreno. Murphy, the current EC Northeast heavyweight title holder, earned his belt when he struck UFC vet Sherman Pendergarst's chin with a bolt of lighting at EC75. Moreno is a former Ring of Combat champ whose return to MMA has given him fresh opportunities to devour his foes. Promoter Ed Hsu's matchmaking machinations have two of the best in the Northeast squaring off, and when these knockout artists step into the cage, you can bet the gods will be watching with interest.

How the Cage Fury Fighting Championship Will Save MMA

In 1993, the UFC captured our imagination with a ton of violence and a shitload of spectacle. Jiu-jitsu versus kickboxing versus sumo versus boxing – legions of fightfanboys were created because of what transpired within the cage, fightfanboys so numerous they would sustain this emerging combat endeavor until Generation TUF was handed the baton. Yet nowadays there’s little room for the magic that once was. Mixed martial arts is an accepted (and well-regulated) full-fledged sport, and evolution and the passage of time have coaxed the one-dimensional fighter to go the way of the Dodo bird. As millions tune in to watch the virtually homogenous Chuck Liddell and Quinton Jackson slug it out, another nail will be driven into the coffin of the “spectacle” we fell in love with.

But thank God for the Cage Fury Fighting Championship. On June 23rd, at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City and broadcast live on pay-per-view, when former heavyweight boxing champ Ray Mercer squares off against legendary street fighter Kimbo Slice, every fightfanboy will once more taste what originally got them hooked. Yeah, that’s grade-A spectacle right there. And really, it doesn’t matter who wins or loses that night. What matters is that CFFC has managed to keep that magical spark alive.