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
After a few hundred aspirants, it's all starting to blur together. A few standouts: Carlos Oliviera, who nailed two omoplatas and a straight armbar. When he went up to collect his $300, he declared, "for milk and diapers." Everyone applauded. Amazingly, he was not chosen to move on to the striking round.
Also, some kid named Bruce Ferguson is wearing a rashguard imprinted like a tuxedo. Where does one buy such things?
Also, some kid named Bruce Ferguson is wearing a rashguard imprinted like a tuxedo. Where does one buy such things?
Liveblog: TUF Tryouts Part 4
The striking portion involved guys like Clay Guida and ROC vets James Gabert and Al Iaquinta holding pads and contestants getting looked at by Silva and White for about 15 seconds each. Then names are rattled off of those who get to move on to the interview stage.
And in case you're wondering, yes, the mats are cleaned in between tryout sessions.
And in case you're wondering, yes, the mats are cleaned in between tryout sessions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)