Will the IFL Shit the Bed?

A fellow journalist asked me this as we sat watching the IFL's semi-finals at the Continental Airlines Arena last week, and I'm not sure if he heard my answer over the din of the 7,077 people in attendance. Amidst a sea of fans wearing a variety of IFL team jerseys, I told my cohort that it's a race against time. Can the relatively new promotion reshape the MMA market with its team concept before it runs out of capital? Or, as the published quarterly statements might imply, has it been hemorrhaging money? As men, women and children alike clamored by to ask for Deividas Taurosevicius' autograph or shake Chris Horodecki's hand, I pointed out that the IFL business model seemed somewhat sound - more so than that of the failed WFA or Ultimate Athlete. Obviously, the IFL would like the teams to matter more than the individual fighters to consumers. But, I said, as the ring announcer hyped the weekly TV show and the crowd cheered the unusually large number of local competitors populating the card, it really boils down to whether the general public accepts - or rejects - the IFL brand. Again, I'm not sure if my colleague heard me, as just then a team mascot in a furry pitbull suit blew a trumpet in our faces and we were showered with confetti.

The First Rule of Underground Combat League

The first rule of NYC's Underground Combat League: do not talk about the Underground Combat League. The second rule of the Underground Combat League: DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE UNDERGROUND COMBAT LEAGUE!

The WEC: Same Great UFC Taste, but with Half the Calories

Have SpikeTV reruns got you down? Are you thirsty for some UFC but unwilling to wait a month until the next pay-per-view? Then try the new and improved World Extreme Cagefighting on the Versus channel! With a faint hint of the top tier thanks to Paulo Filho, Carlos Condit and Urijah Faber, plus a big serving of journeyman in Jamie Varner, Tiki Ghosen, and John Alessio, the Zuffa-owned WEC gives MMA fans a boost while providing eight essential vitamins and minerals. Try some WEC today!

Lyman Good Crushes His Enemies, Sees Them Driven Before Him, and Hears the Lamentation of Their Women

He's undefeated, with dangerous grappling, fearsome striking and unmatched conditioning. He's Team Tiger Schulmann 175-pounder Lyman Good, a.k.a. "Lyman the Terrible", a.k.a. "Lyman the Barbarian", and at the recent IFL semi-finals event in New Jersey, he met Team Quest's Mike Dolce on the field of battle and emerged victorious. Few can withstand what Good brings into combat, and fewer still can bear what defeat at his hands may bring. For their losses at Ring of Combat 9 and Ring of Combat 10, Adam Fearon and John Zecchino were sold into slavery, while it's rumored that Dolce returned to Team Quest's kingdom in Gresham, Oregon to find the city pillaged and burning. Is there none out there who dare meet the challenge of this conquering warrior? Someone who won't wither under the cold steel of his lead roundkick, or falter under the fury of his razor-sharp flurry? Perhaps there is. Or, perhaps there isn't, and we all shall soon be calling him "Lyman the King".

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.