From the Mailbag re: Should Dana White Go for MMA to Grow?

From the mailbag: "Congratulations! You have been awarded the sum of $10,000,000 USD from the Royal Nigerian State Lottery. To collect your prize, send your full name, address, telephone number and date of birth to ukoffice10@btinternet.com and you will be mailed a check for the sum. Do not delay in your reply." - Online Notification

Gee, thanks Mr. Online Notification. That really doesn't address the whole Dana White question, but I appreciate your response.

Congrats to Team New York San Da

Congrats are in order for Team New York San Da for their performances at that New York-area underground show in Friday. The event may have been unsanctioned and unregulated, but the fact that you stepped into the cage to test and sharpen yourselves speaks volumes to your progress as a fight team.

Observations From My Couch: Bellator FC Week 7

• Alonzo Martinez, Victor Meza, Jose Chalupa, Chico Gonzales... A whole bunch of people I still don't know fought and won and lost. Yippee.
• Boy was that Jay White/Eddie Sanchez bout a non-starter. That shouldn't even count as a win for Sanchez. That should go on his criminal record as a mugging.
• It was nice of Jorge Ortiz to get all in shape for his welterweight semifinal bout. Please, someone get that guy a sandwich or something and then make him do some calisthenics.
• Lyman Good is like a life-sized action figure that can punch you in the face really hard and choke the crap out of you. Fear him.
• It's sad seeing someone like Dave Menne - the UFC's first middleweight champ and a true elder statesman in the sport - get his ass completely handed to him. Time is the enemy of us all.
• Omar De La Cruz versus Good for the welterweight crown. Can I get a woot-woot?

Observations From My Couch: "Strikeforce Challengers"

• You'd think that at some point someone would have clued Tito Jones in on the fact that he was in a fight and not a sparring match. In fights, you actually have to defeat your opponent, not just rock them and let them recover.
• Aaron Rosa and Anthony Ruiz - not ready for prime time!
• I'd like to see Lavar Johnson against someone like Alistair Overeem or Brett Rogers. He'd probably have to throw two or three punches then.
• Sarah Kaufman and Miesha Tate had a decent little scrap, but one thing was very apparent as the bout went on: neither one were Tara LaRosa.
• It's good that the Mike Aina/Billy Evangelista bout was stopped in Round 2. If it had gone the distance, there's no telling how many more fouls Evangelista would have committed.

Question for the Weekend: Does Dana White Need to Go for MMA to Grow?

Here's a question for you: Does UFC president and head potty mouth Dana White need to step down from his highly-visible position for MMA to grow? It goes without saying that White has been instrumental in taking the UFC and the sport in general to its current heights. But are his profanity, reputation and in-your-face style hindering further growth? Ponder that, then send your response to mma_journalist@yahoo.com . If you say something smart - or at least funny - MMA Journalist will discuss the email next week.

Weekend Schedule

A lot of MMA this weekend. ShoMMA airs tonight on Showtime, while the latest installment of Bellator FC touches down in Chicago and features the welterweight semifinals of Lyman Good vs. Jorge Ortiz and Dave Menne vs. Omar De La Cruz. If Good and Menne win (which they should), they'll be facing each other in the finals (most likely at Mohegan Sun on June 12th). Check out ESPN Deportes tomorrow night for the airing of tonight's Bellator event.

Also tonight is a very hush-hush underground show not far from New York City. The card is a mix of different kinds of bouts, including MMA.

On Saturday night promoters Lou Neglia and Carl Mascarenhas are teaming up for an Asylum Fight League event dubbed "Fusion". Club Abyss in Sayreville, New Jersey is the venue.

ShoMMA Fun Facts

ShoMMA, aka Strikeforce Challengers, aka "Strikeforce Lite", aka "Where the Up and Comers Earn Their Paychecks", airs tonight on Showtime. The card reads like a West Coast regional event - which is fine - but most of the names may be foreign to casual MMA fans, so MMA Journalist has compiled a handy list of fun facts! Did you know...

• That undefeated lightweight Billy Evangelista is the cousin of supermodel Linda Evangelista? Neither did he!
• That Mike Aina was the original "Punchy" - the official mascot of the fruit drink "Hawaiian Punch"? When Aina reached adulthood and was deemed "too old" for the role, he was replaced by actor Haley Joel Osment.
• That neither Sarah Kaufman nor Miesha Tate have ever worked at Hooters?
• That Lavar Johnson's nickname "Big" is misleading, as the 246-pound heavyweight is actually only 4'6"? He was raised on Jupiter, where gravity is far greater, so his body is more compact and much more dense than that of a normal human!
• That Bao Quach was named after a Vietnamese sandwich containing pork, pickled diakon, shredded carrots and field mouse on a toasted baguette? The sandwich is delicious!

Mitch the Intern's TUF 9 Recap: Episode 7

*Editor's note: Mitch the Intern is an NYU undergrad whose favorite Wednesday night pastime includes the TV in his dorm room, a green beanbag chair and two hits of acid. Enjoy.*

Like a Steven Soderbergh film, this episode is layered with scenes and montages of only tangential relevance to the TUF premise of aspiring fighters locked away in a house and competing for a UFC contract. In other words: WTF?

In the training center, the Brit team works out using various methods of "man holding man" machismo. Somewhere in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, a gay bar's patrons hoot and holler as they watch on a big-screen TV. Then Michael Bisping introduces a giant tire and sledgehammer, and Team UK proceeds to smash the floor, themselves and their guitars and drums because that's what The Who did back in the day.

Cut to Team America: World Police, and a brooding Jason Pierce. He hates his teammates, he hates MMA, he hates living in the TUF house and he hates Smurfy.

Meanwhile, Carrot Top has cooties. "Don't touch me," says Pierce. "I hate cooties."

Back to Team UK and David Faulkner, whom everyone loves and wishes he were their dad or something. Due to their accents I gather that Faulkner can wrestle well and has good stand-up, but one of the Brits either says Faulkner is a "pitbull" or a "pickle". God, who knows.

We then return to Team America: World Police and the ongoing saga of Pierce, now revealed to have an injured foot. "I hate feet," Pierce declares. "Just be positive," suggests the Queen of England (aka Dan). Big Tall French Guy chimes in with a "Oui" - which means "yes" in kickboxing. "I hate you all," says Pierce, and he hobbles away. "I don't know what's going on in Jason's head sometimes," says the Queen of England, and then he lies down in a corner of the gym and becomes very, very still. Eventually a cactus sprouts up and grows around him.

Cut to the next fight selection, where Carrot Top is paired up against Nottingham Forest's favorite son, Ross the Incoherent. Will Carrot Top's cooties clear up in time?

Then it's time for tennis! What a second, tennis? WTF? Anyway, Dana White gathers both teams at a tennis court, and after he and Bisping embrace - and stare long and hard into each other's eyes, their mouth's just inches apart and their lips quivering like a fat kid quivers when faced with a real-life version of Mayor McCheese - Dana announces that Bisping and the Queen of England will play tennis for money. Hilarity does not ensue. The Queen of England wins handily, but the real winners are the fans of tennis, who will never have to be subjected to watching this unless they somehow click on SpikeTV while changing channels on an afternoon they're not out horseback riding or playing polo.

Fast-forward to a birthday celebration at the TUF house. It's Carrot Top's birthday!

Switch to outside, where Big Tall French Guy and Frank Loser are listening to Cameron Dollar-Dollar-Bill-Y'All weep over love lost. "I really miss 'Sex in the City'," Cameron Dollar-Dollar-Bill-Y'All says amidst sobs. "Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha... I miss them all."

And then it's fight time. Ross the Incoherent keeps picking up Carrot Top and dumping him on the mat, and though he delivers an illegal knee to the grill while Carrot Top is on the ground, the point deduction means nothing; he eventually gets Carrot Top in position for a submission and snags an armbar. The end.

Extreme Challenge and WCA Team Up to Create Mega-Grand-Superduper-Two-Day MMA Marathon

Monte Cox's Extreme Challenge and the World Cagefighting Alliance are teaming up to create "Caged Combat" - a mega-grand-superduper-doubleheader MMA marathon on June 5th and June 6th at the Trump Marina in Atlantic City. Headlining Friday night's card will be Tara LaRosa versus someone - anyone - female, as well as Tom Gallicchio against some kid from Detroit, Lester Caslow, Kevin Roddy, Tim Troxell and a bunch of other local guys. Headlining Saturday night's card will be Doug Gordon against WEC refugee Justin Haskins, plus rising star Steve DeAngelis against hard-hitter Jeff Lentz, Greg Soto, Plinio Cruz and Tuan "The Career Derailer" Pham. Two consecutive days of MMA is an awful lot, so MMA Journalist may set up a small tent and camp out in the marsh beside the venue. Maybe even fire up a barbecue and grill some steaks. How do you like yours? Medium rare?

Upcoming Bellator FC Installment to Feature New York Fugitive Jay White

This week's upcoming installment of Bellator FC will of course provide us with the eagerly-anticipated welterweight semifinal match-ups of Lyman Good vs. Dead Man Walking and Dave Menne vs. Dude Destined to Die, but also on the card is heavyweight Jay White against Eddie Sanchez. Who is Jay White? Originally hailing from Troy, New York, White was a Team Renzo grappler on the fast track to MMA success back in 2003. But he made the mistake of jumping into the deep end of the pool before he'd mastered the art of swimming (which in non-metaphor speak means he took fights against killer opponents when he should've taken it slower; he lost to Jeff Monson twice, then fell to Mark Burch and Jake O'Brien - tough heavyweights all). With those losses, White played fugitive and absconded to training camps like Team Quest and Xtreme Couture to change things up, and Northeast fans hoping for a 265-pound jiu-jitsu rep to root for were left high and dry. Well, now White is back and hopefully has those chinks in his armor all patched up. And while his 4-5-1 record may not be all that awe-inspiring, a more talented prospect in his weight class you will not find. Keep an eye out for him if his bout is aired.