Liveblog: Strikeforce/Herschel Walker Press Luncheon

MMA Journalist is here at the Strikeforce/Herschel Walker press luncheon at Gallagher's Steak House in Midtown Manhattan, a celebration of the Heisman Trophy winner's impending MMA debut as well as the joys of finely-prepared red meat. Present are, of course, Walker himself, and journos such as Ariel Helwani (interestingly, he's not a mermaid in real life) and the esteemed Fight Nerd. I spoke briefly with Walker, who is very friendly and personable. He's excited for his fight, and is confident, and when I asked him to compare the rigors of football training and fight training, he said MMA is way tougher. "Oh, it's definitely tougher," he said, but was quick to extoll the virtues of his team, American Kickboxing Academy.

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Dani, please forward this pic to young.
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Media Luncheon with Strikeforce Fighter Herschel Walker Tomorrow

There's a media luncheon tomorrow with Strikeforce fighter Herschel Walker slated for Gallagher's Steakhouse in Midtown Manhattan, and MMA Journalist will be there with fork, er, pen and notebook in hand to bring you the facts.  How does Walker feel about making his professional MMA debut at such an advanced age?  Does he believe he'll be sufficiently prepared for his bout on January 30th in Miami?  Which is tastier - a heavily-marbled cut of porterhouse or a lean 10oz filet mignon?  All of these hard questions and more will be answered, so stay tuned.

Observations from My Couch: UFC Fight Night 20 "Gray Maynard Is So Not Ready For BJ Penn"

• There’s something strangely satisfying about seeing an Ultimate Fighter winner lose.  I don’t know why that is, but it just is.
• Amir Sadollah looked good defeating Brad Blackburn.  That’s it.  I have nothing more to say about that.
• I barely know who Tom Lawlor is, and that’s only because he does great ring entrances.  Who the hell is Aaron Simpson and why is he getting decisions he doesn’t deserve?
• Efrain Escudero lost via armbar to Evan Dunham.  Phillipe Nover wouldn’t have succumbed to that armbar.
• Gray Maynard squeaked by Nate Diaz, proving once and for all that in no way, shape or form is he ready for BJ Penn.  Send in Frankie Edgar!

Blind New York Governor Sees MMA as an Answer to State's Fiscal Woes

Blind New York Governor David Paterson, who is so sightless he cannot drive a car or pick out a tie to match his suit, sees MMA as a potential revenue generator for the State and will make provisions for it his 2010 budget plan, according to a report by the New York Daily News (link: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2010/01/11/2010-01-11_gov_wants_deficit_to_go_pow_bam_crunch.html ).  This is great news for MMA fans, who last year saw the bill to legalize the sport crash and burn due to an unrelated legislative breakdown; with Governor Paterson's budgetary provision, legalization (and necessary athletic commission funding) is virtually ensured.  Unfortunately, this is bad news for New York State residents sick of puns regarding Governor Paterson's handicap, because the man is blind and couldn't possibly "see" anything.  Really.

Observations From My Couch: WEC 46 "Thank God, A Night of Decisive Wins"

• Deividas Taurosevicius was a rugby player in Lithuania before coming to the States and taking up mixed martial arts. Obviously, that's where those slick takedowns came from.
• Mike Brown is the second best 145-pound fighter in the world. No shame in losing to him.
• Kamal Shalorus vs. Dave Jansen was like watching a man fight a boy.
• Urijah Faber won, and with that victory comes a viable pay-per-view main event against Jose Aldo and the chance for everyone to get a pay raise. You just know every fighter on the card, Raphael Assuncao included, sent a fruit basket and a thank you note to Faber's locker room afterwards.
• Benson Henderson submitted Jamie Varner to become the new WEC lightweight champ. Meanwhile, in the UFC's lightweight division... no one cared.

Predictions for UFC Fight Night 20: "Ultimate Where Have All the Big Names Gone?"

UFC Fight Night 20 comes to us on Monday night on SpikeTV, a night usually reserved for picking up your dry cleaning and watching "Heroes" and wistfully thinking how good that show used to be but now it completely and utterly sucks. Anyway, UFC Fight Night 20 is another star-studded affair (ha!) featuring three TUF winners with practically zero standing in their respective weight classes. In other words, WHY SHOULD WE CARE? The answer: we shouldn't. Predictions!

• Amir Sadollah won TUF 7. However, TUF 7 was lame as hell, so that's like medaling in the Special Olympics. Expect Brad Blackburn to TKO him. Or not. Who cares?
• Tom Lawlor is not related to Robbie Lawler. In fact, their last names aren't even spelled the same.
• Efrain Escudero dry-humped Philippe Nover to win TUF 9. A quick show of hands, people: how many wish Nover had won it all? Boy, that dude can scrap.
• Nate Diaz won TUF 5. Unfortunately, he's what you get when you can't afford Nick Diaz.
• Gray Maynard didn't win any season of The Ultimate Fighter. He did, however, knock himself out once slamming Rob Emerson to the canvas. Hello dork!

Prediction for WEC 46: "Varner vs. Henderson vs. Honestly, Could These Guys Hang with Anyone in the UFC?"

Another installment of the WEC awaits, an installment featuring what the organization is best known for: the absolute toughest featherweights in the world, plus some lightweight dudes who would get slaughtered if they fought in the UFC. So... predictions!

• Deividas Taurosevicius is taking on Mackens Semerzier. Get ready to witness the first-ever injury to a ring announcer on television. Seriously, these fighters can't even pronounce their own names.
• I remember when Anthony Morrison was knocking out opponents in New Jersey's amateur shows, so of course I'm rooting for him. But Mike Brown is the number two ranked 145-pound fighter in the world... I'm just saying,
• Kamal Shalorus? Kamal, shamazzle, hossenfeffer corporated!
• Remember when Urijah Faber was like the WEC's superstar posterboy hero? Man, times sure change.
• Jamie Varner: the best lightweight the WEC has to offer, and still not good enough for the Octagon.

Nefarious Internet Disinformation Plot Uncovered

Last week an imposter hacked into former WEC featherweight champ Mike Brown's Facebook account and began issuing challenges to Urijah Faber, while this week, a Vadim Finkelstein doppelganger announced on Twitter that talks had resumed between M-1 Global and the UFC over Fedor Emelianenko. Was this the work of some random pranksters? Or was it something more? "The evidence suggests that foul forces are at play," said Josh "Sherlock" Gross, who managed to get to the bottom of the mystery of the Finkelstein tweets whilst wearing his usual deerstalker hat and smoking a pipe. "As to just what these hidden forces are driving at, I cannot say. But one thing is certain: we must all remain vigilant. The veil between truth and lies is ever thin." Added the intrepid investigator's faithful companion, a bespectacled Steve "Watson" Marrocco, "Hmmm. Quite."

Observations From My Couch: UFC 108 "Ultimate Irrelevance"

• I don’t know what they call what Martin Kampmann did to Jacob Volkmann back in Denmark, but here they call that “rape”.
• Cole Miller only wishes he were Toby Imada.
• Okay, great, Mark Munoz won.  Now why should I care?
• Jake Ellenberger: when you absolutely, positively have to have someone’s faced caved in overnight.
• Yeah, Junior dos Santos defeated a heavyweight ten years past his prime.  Does that earn him a title shot now?  Probably!
• I don’t know who that Sam Stout was who trounced Joe Lauzon, but he totally kicks the old Sam Stout’s ass.  We need to see more of him.
• I was worried that with all the injured opponents, Jim Miller would ultimately have to face a grappling dummy in the cage.  But thankfully, he got Duane Ludwig instead, who is just as capable as said dummy.
• Paul Daley looked like a beast in there.  Now match him up against someone who knows how to strike.
• Rashad Evans defeated Thiago Silva, a turn of events that rocked the very foundation of the 205-pound weight class.  Okay, not really.

Mitch the Intern's Predictions for UFC 108: "Ultimate Brock Lesnar! Woo!"

*Editors note: Mitch the Intern is an NYU undergrad whose favorite Saturday night pastime involves chugging two bottles of Robitussin cough syrup and watching the UFC at a local dive bar. Enjoy!*

It's time once again for that annual Octagon bash we've all come to love and expect, that grand affair when the UFC pulls out all the stops and presents their biggest names to celebrate the New Year - and boy is this card a doozy! Heavyweight champ Brock "Drink Coors and Lay On Top of His Wife" Lesnar is set to take on Shane Carwin for what is sure to be a war, while on the undercard the Brazilian master of weird postfight expressions Gabriel Gonzaga faces Junior uno dos tres Santos and lightweights Tyson Griffin and Jim Miller square off. Intrigued? Excited? You should be! So here are some predictions!

• Shane Carwin is an awesome wrestler and he punches like... like... someone who punches. But Count Brockula has simply got too much intestinal fortitude. No way is Lesnar giving up that belt.
• Gonzago is either going to win and make a retarded face, or get knocked out and make a retarded face. Guaranteed.
• Oh my God, I am so glad Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva is not the main event. Can you imagine? Lame!
• Carlos Condit is going to kick. Paul. Daley's. Ass. Believe it.
• Tyson Griffin has got... uh... er... remember when Joe Rogan talked about his butt? He called it "badonkadonk" or something? Boy did that make me feel uncomfortable.
• Sean Sherk can really flip those tires. Which is very relevant to MMA competition. You know, because of how often fighters must face tractors in the Octagon.
• Did you know if you rearrange the letters in Rory Markham's name you get "Hkrya Mrroam"? Isn't that crazy?
• I think Steve Cantwell probably misses those WEC days.

Save the Date

Gene Fabrikant is organizing a Paul Rosner memorial event called the "Festival of Martial Arts", which will take place on February 28th at Atlantic Oceana in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.  Rosner was the driving force behind the United States Kickboxing Association and a key player in the growth of amateur MMA; he passed away earlier this year and he is still dearly missed.  The specifics of what will transpire at the event are a bit unclear, although based on the flyer it looks like there should be kickboxing, Muay Thai and grappling.