Thursday, October 21, 2010
Liveblog: Bellator 33 Part 3
First bout of the live broadcast and it's Levon Maynard and judoka Rick Hawn doing the welterweight knuckle-tango. The two exchange kicks and punches in a piecemeal fashion for the majority of the first round. But when Hawn misses a high-kick and Maynard attempt to take his back things really pick up. Tossing Maynard over his shoulder with a picture-perfect seoi-nage and unloading with fists from above, Hawn gets the TKO win at 4:53 of Round 1. Nice technique. Now it's time for champ Lyman Good to defend his belt against Ben Askren. The crowd goes wild over Good's mere presence. God help us if he loses... Round 1 and Askren gets the takedown early, yet is met with a constant barrage of punches and elbows. Good reverses twice and finishes the round on top, but Askren has exerted the most control. Askren spends most of Round 2 in the mount, and does the same for the third round. It seems like the wrestler truly is unstoppable with his takedowns. Round 4 goes just like the two preceding it, but referee Kevin Mulhall doesn't like the stalemate of Askren in mount getting nowhere and he stands them up. It soon returns to the ground, and Round 5 is Askren again doing his ground-and-pound thing. The crowd does go nuts when Good stuns Askren with an up-kick and sinks in the triangle - like, insanely nuts - but it's short lived when Askren escapes and gets back on top. Askren takes the unanimous decision.
Liveblog: Bellator 33 Part 2
First bout of the evening and it's Lewis Cassner against Fran Evans at bantamweight - both making their pro debuts. Other than eating a few short punches whenever he comes in, Evans proves to be the more dangerous of the two, threatening Cassner with an armbar from the guard before nailing the triangle at 3:20 of Round 1. Next up is Nick Cottone vs. Tuan Pham in another bantamweight pairing. This one is a classic blanket- against- striker match-up, so expect... I don't know. Something. Round 1 sees Cottone score four takedowns, but he's surprisingly active on the ground and working to finish, which makes it more exciting yet gives Pham opportunities to get back to his feet. Cottone slows in Round 2, though, due in no small part to the fists and knees Pham lands, and it's clear going into the third that if Cottone doesn't keep up the pressure his opponent is going to knock him out. Round 3 has Cottone absorbing more than a few jumping knees from the clinch but otherwise shutting Pham down and cruising to a unanimous decision. Last prelim and it's featherweights Deividas Taurosevicius taking on Wilson Reis. Cognizant of the fact that his only chance of winning is to get things to the ground, Reis walls-and-stalls Taurosevicius like nobody's business in the first. The Brazilian does more of the same in Round 2, while in the third Reis somehow finds the confidence to throw kicks and punches - and actually scores. Time runs out and Reis edges out the split decision. Not the most thrilling fight.
Liveblog: Bellator 33 Part 1
Bellator. From the Spanish word for "enchilada". Well, truly, Bellator 33 - which takes place at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia - will feature the whole enchilada of combat. Tonight, Philadelphia's favorite son Eddie Alvarez will square off against UFC vet Roger Huerta, while Bellator welterweight champ Lyman Good is set to defend his belt against Season 2 170-pound winner Ben Askren. It's a recipe for excitement, and due to Alvarez's and Good's overwhelming fan presence, it's a recipe for the kind of civil unrest not seen since the 1964 Philadelphia race riots if either man were to lose. So stay tuned for what promises to be the biggest and most electric East Coast show since Kimbo fought Ray Mercer at the Cage Fury Fighting Championship.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Eight Reasons to Care About ROC 32
Ring of Combat 31 may have been just a month ago, but there’s a convention called the MMA & Sports Extravaganza going on at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City this weekend, and what pro MMA show would go better with a kung fu tournament, a grappling tournament, a body building competition and Muay Thai event than a big and juicy ROC installment? Anyway, here are eight reasons to check ROC 32 out (in no particular order):
- John Cholish – Cholish can grapple and he can strike, and his dismantling of Hitalo Machado at UCC 2 was epic. This Team Renzo rep is on the rise, so now’s your chance to get on the train while there’s still seats.
- Munah Holland – With Golden Gloves champion-level boxing, TSMMA rep Holland’s got the skills to put a serious hurting on opponent Kim Couture. And if you used to secretly pretend that Randy Couture was your dad, no doubt you want evil ex-step-mom Kimmie to suffer.
- Costa Philippou – Bummed that Philippou didn’t make it past the opening episode of TUF 11? Yeah, me too. But now this deadly striker steps back into the cage and gets to do what he does best: kill people.
- Brendan Barrett – I don’t know if there’s bad blood between Barrett and opponent Randy Smith or if they’re just hyping their fight, but it’s quite possible that this IFL vet is going to tear open Smith’s chest and eat his still-beating heart.
- Melissa Bopp – This may be TSMMA fighter Bopp’s first MMA bout, but I saw her nearly decapitate a girl with a high-kick at a Combat at the Capitale event. That was kind of cool.
- Liam Kerrigan – Tong Dragon rep Kerrigan was a stud amateur who transitioned into a stud pro, then he ran into the human brick wall known as Ed Guedes back in June. This is Kerrigan’s chance to get back on track, so expect him to perform a Mortal Kombat-esque “fatality” move.
- George Sheppard – This MMA Institute rep was winning his M-1 Global lightweight championship bout until he took two successive kicks to the sack. Tragic? For sure. However, he’ll be facing top-notch opponent Tim Troxell at ROC 32 and Troxell is not a nut-kicker, so it should be a good fight.
- Tim Troxell – Again, top-notch. Not a nut-kicker.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Bellator 33 Card: Awesome Upon Awesome Upon Awesome
As season whatever of Bellator trundles on and it becomes next to impossible to watch their events on live on television, the promotion comes to Philadelphia on Thursday with what could be one of the best East Coast cards ever put together. Seriously, with hometown hero Eddie Alvarez taking on UFC vet Roger Huerta and TSMMA superstar Lyman Good defending his belt against wrestling beast Ben Askren, the amount of frenzy expected from the audience will be enough to cause any sharks within a 20-mile radius to spontaneously go into cardiac arrest (note the nearby Adventure Aquarium in Camden: monitor your sharks). And that’s just two fights! Take a gander at the others:
- Wilson Reis vs. Deividas Taurosevicius – Reis was an EliteXC champ and Taurosevicius just went 2-1 in the WEC, so we’re going to see high-level jiu-jitsu clash with high-level toughness. Expect Reis to get TKO'd trying to pronounce his opponent's name.
- Rick Hawn vs. Levon Maynard – Hawn is some kind of judo stud with an undefeated MMA record and Maynard is a rock-solid veteran with a ton of fights. Watch for Hawn to get on top of Maynard and try to play the “facial reconstruction” game.
- Lester Caslow vs. Kenny Foster – Teen-pop sensation Caslow of Pellegrino MMA has got the tools to get the job done wherever the fight goes. Foster, meanwhile, is a Bombsquader with an aggressive and relentless all-around game. This one could end with a spinning back-kick, a flying triangle, or with a spirited debate where Caslow and Foster discuss politics. I just don’t know!
- Jamal Patterson vs. Tim Carpenter – Patterson is a Renzo Gracie black belt with a mean arm-in guillotine and Carpenter once came out to a fight preceded by a short dude in an American Revolution costume ringing a bell. Weird, right? I think it’s a Philadelphia thing or something.
- Luiz Azeredo vs. Ed Guedes – Apparently eager to get in as many fights as possible before Christmas, Azeredo enters the cage for about the eighth time in a month to take on Guedes, an Armory ground-and-pounding badass. Azeredo may be an accomplished jiu-jitsu guy with top-level experience, but Guedes is the kind of fighter you want to be at 100% for, not worn down to about 17% peak ability.
- Tuan Pham vs. Nick Cottone – Pham is a heavy-handed striker susceptible to grappling and Cottone is a master lay-and-prayer who usually wants no part of the stand-up game (he often crawls from the locker room to the cage to avoid kicks to the head). This one is either going to end with a colorful knockout, or with Cottone pretending to be Pham’s favorite down comforter.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Observations from My Couch: UFC 120 "Ultimate UK MMA Sucks"
- It’s clear to me that Cheick Kongo wanted to remove Travis Browne’s shorts so badly that he did not care about being docked a point. Now the question remains as to why – did Kongo find them offensive? Did Kongo want to wear Browne’s shorts himself?
- Alexander Gustafsson. Now that’s a cool name.
- Paul Sass. Now that’s a regrettable name.
- Mike Pyle beat John Hathaway? Really? Mike Pyle is who you get when your star welterweight’s opponent dropped out at the last minute and you need a warm body fast.
- Scoring a knockout is cool and all, but nothing says “badass” more than beating someone at the one thing they’re good at. Carlos Condit is officially a stud.
- Michael Bisping has become the nicest fighter in the cage today. Seriously, that guy gives more hugs, high-fives and various displays of respect more than anyone. At one point I thought he was going to pause and give Yoshihiro Akiyama pointers.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Scenes from an UFC Video Game Tournament
MMA Journalist is here at a video game store in the East Village for the Fight Nerd's UFC video game tournament - which is a lot like a real MMA tournament, only with less drunk people in the audience and zero fighters getting laid afterwards (because they're digital recreations. Duh.). Anyhoo, Matt Kaplowitz the Fight Nerd is here, as is old school UFC honcho Paula Romero. KOTC champ Jimmie Rivera, WEC vet Nick Pace and M-1 Global champ Tom Gallicchio are all scheduled to drop by. With all the free-flowing Mountain Dew and unbridled geek testosterone, are Rivera, Pace and Gallicchio walking into a potential powderkeg of violence? Possibly. May cooler heads prevail.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Observations from My Couch: Bellator 32 "Ultimate Cole Konrad Can Finish After All"
- Mike Chandler's guillotine over Chris Page reminded me of Dan Miller's guillotine over Dave Phillips in the IFL. But submissions were hella tight, and both victims nearly had their heads torn off.
- Maybe I missed something, but since Jim Wallhead's nickname is "Judo Jim", shouldn't he have used at least a little judo in his bout?
- Mark my words: Zach Makovsky will be the first MMA fighter to ever take an opponent down TO DEATH. That's right. A nonstop stream of single-legs and double-legs and trips and tosses until someone croaks. Just watch.
- Congrats to Cole Konrad. No, not for winning the Bellator heavyweight tournament, but for fighting like he has a pulse.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)