- Not a bad show. Not a bad show at all. Why couldn’t this have been their CBS show instead of that Jake Shields/Dan Henderson-headlined suckfest?
- KJ Noons looked a bit out of shape but was still dangerous. It might be nice seeing him slug it out with Jorge Gurgel. Someone like Eddie Alvarez would kill him, though.
- Wow. Tim Kennedy pretty much ate Trevor Prangley for dinner. Cobra Commander doesn’t stand a chance!
- That DREAM championship belt that Marius Zaramoskis won last year is worth about nine dollars on E-Bay now. Tops.
- Best Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos ever. I’d give him a 10% chance of defeating his wife in a fight now.
- When Babalu first fought in the UFC he was a heavyweight. When Robbie Lawler first fought in the UFC he was a welterweight. I’m just going to leave that out there.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Observations from My Couch: Strikeforce's Midweek Melee
Dr. Sherry Wulkan - Not a Fan of the UCL
"To:CNN Money Reports
Re: Illegal Fight Club Hides in NY
Although the content of the report about the UCL/Illegal Fight Club in New York is unfortunately, accurate and if anything, understated, granting UCL’s CEO Peter Storm access to free press makes a mockery of legitimate promotions and Athletic Control Boards and sets the sport of MMA's reputation back at least 10-15 years, prior to the adoption of the Unified Rules of MMA initially drafted by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board in 2000.
The purpose of these rules is first and foremost, to make mixed martial arts competitions as safe as possible for its athletes: the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) has continued to modify the original rules as the sport evolves and the skill sets of its participants change.
In this tape, Peter Storm 'proudly states' that he has only 4 rules. A young, obviously poorly trained young man is knocked out more than once in the same session and is hit on the back of the head multiple times. There are no trained referees, ringside physician(s) or ambulance(s) present. No legitimate trainer permits his athletes to participate in these promotions, since there is no way to ensure appropriate match making. Promoters of this sort claim their injury rate is no greater than that of events which comply with State Regulatory Commissions. However, many problems are not necessarily apparent the night of the event. For example, concussive symptoms (simple or complex) may not manifest immediately. Orbital fractures may be missed as may hand, rib or abdominal issues. Pre-fight testing also eliminates young, deceptively healthy looking athletes from competing (a case in point is Thiago Alves, whose dural fistula, if not fixed, could have ruptured at any time and killed him). The risk of spread of communicable diseases such as hepatitis B or C is also minimized with pre-fight testing.
In the state of New Jersey a fighter who has participated in one of these events must subject him/herself to full pro-medical pre-fight evaluations (which in New Jersey include either a head CT or MRI/MRA, full ophthalmologic examination, an EKG, HIV1/2 and hepatitis B and C screening, CBC and clotting times and a complete physical examination)before being allowed to fight for a licensed promoter, since there is no way to determine what types of injuries were sustained during an illegal match as no official records are kept.
The UCL is illegal and is potentially dangerous to its participants. It is only a matter of time until someone gets severely injured in one of these events. The shows should be stopped and charges should be pressed because of the blatant disregard of fighter safety for personal profit, and because, quite simply, what Peter Storm is flaunting, is illegal.
Dr. Sheryl Wulkan
Chief MMA Ringside Physician, New Jersey State Athletic Control Board
ABC MMA Rules Committee Medical Chair
Ringside Physician, New York State Athletic Commission
Certified Member, American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians"
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
MMA Journalist's Five-Day Forecast
According to the latest available data, it looks like we're in for some interesting weather in the next five days - weather that could include a storm of fists, a light submission shower and possibly even some World Extreme-blizzard-like conditions. Should you wear a raincoat and tote around an umbrella for Wednesday night's Strikeforce show? Is the Bellator welterweight tournament final on Thursday going to be so hot sunglasses and tanning lotion will be required? Will the Ultimate Fighter Finale on Saturday suck so hard that all air will be drawn up into the atmosphere and a deadly tornado formed? Stay tuned, because here's MMA Journalist with the five-day forecast.
- Wednesday: Clouds are gathering in Los Angeles for a mid-week Strikeforce event that will air on Showtime. Watch for scattered excitement if Conor Heun decides to stand with KJ Noons and if Evangelista Cyborg goes toe-to-toe with Marius Zaramoskis. There will be a break in the clouds when Tim Kennedy plays the hugging game with Trevor Prangley, and then severe thunder and lightning when Robbie Lawler rains hell down upon Renato “Babalu” Sobral.
- Thursday: Bellator’s second-season welterweight tournament will draw to a close at night, so expect a quiet, uneventful evening of nothing and then a giant comet in the sky and explosion when Dan Kornbuckle kicks Ben Askren’s ass.
- Friday: Nothing. Absolutely nothing is going on. Sit out on your lawn and read a book.
- Saturday: As we have now finished off eleven seasons of TUF and somewhere around season 5 the Pope declared the reality TV show the most godless and unholy thing to ever be inflicted upon the Earth, expect some serious Revelation-type stuff for Saturday night’s TUF 11 Finale. This includes a plague of locusts when Rich Attonito pounds out Jamie Yager, frogs raining down when Spencer Fisher and Chris Leben KO Dennis Siver and Aaron Simpson, and a freakin’ volcanic eruption that wipes out entire villages when Matt Hamill TKOs Keith Jardine. What will happen when Court McGee takes on Kris McCray for the eponymous TUF winner title? One can only hope for an earthquake and deep chasm that swallows them all whole.
- Sunday: WEC 49 in Edmonton, Canada, rounds out the weekend nicely. Expect some cool breezes every time Kamal Shalorus wings wild bolos at Jamie Varner, a calm and relaxing Josh Grispi submission over LC Davis, and bright sunshine when Mark Hominick takes out Yves Jabouin. The only downside will be Chris Horodecki, who will stink up the joint.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Really Just an Opportunity to Say "Shinnecock"
Today at 11:00am the Shinnecock Indians on Eastern Long Island will get a phone call from the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs telling them they've been granted federal recognition. Whoopty-freakin'-doo, right? Wrong. Federal recognition for the Shinnecock means they won't be bound by New York State law, particularly the one banning pro MMA, and it means the Shinnecock will get to move forward with their plans to open a casino with hotel and entertainment facilities (i.e., a venue to host at least regional-sized MMA shows). To draw a comparison, think of how the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut sprouted up and was soon hosting UFCs, IFLs and Bellators. Now switch Connecticut with Long Island, and trim that 2 1/2 hour drive down to an hour (although the Shinnecock Reservation is in Southampton, they're working out a deal with the state to build their gambling mecca in Calverton, which is much closer to NYC).
Technically, Albany could legalize MMA any time between next week and the year 2027 (and given how smooth New York runs, 2027 might be most accurate). But it's good to know that there will at least be other options out there.
Also, "Shinnecock". Tehe.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Old School Pitts Penn Reunion This Saturday
There will be threats, curses, fist-fights, blood, an assortment of tattoos depicting four-legged animals, and a brawl in the parking lot to cap off the night. If the above description reminds you of a 2003 New Jersey fight show featuring Pitts Penn fighters, you're wrong - it actually depicts a typical weekend at Six Flags Great Adventure, which on Saturday night is hosting the inaugural "MMA Mayhem" event. There are, however, a trio of Pitts Penn old-schoolers featured prominently on the card, three grizzled veterans in the form of Chris Liguori, Jose Rodriguez and Adam Fearon, and as MMA pioneers go, it doesn't get any more historical than them. Each got their start at the BAMA Fight Night shows Dan Miragliotta used to run, in a time when the sport was new and fights began in the ring but only finished after some Jersey Shore kid tried to run you down with his beat-up Nissan Ultima after the event. Thankfully, it's a kinder, gentler and more civilized sport today, and the only post-fight antics we'll likely encounter on Saturday night is when some drunken redneck named Cletus tries to ram his truck into a rhinoceros on the Wild Safari. But how things were "back in the day" made for some interesting (and fun) times, and Pitts Penn - with their hard-charging fighters leaving it all in the ring - played a big role in making Garden State MMA what it is now. Although they currently rep places like RABJJ and AMA Fight Club, expect Liguori, Rodriguez and Fearon to kick ass and take names, or at the very least, go down swinging. That was the Pitts Penn way.
Observations from My Couch: UFC 115 "Ultimate Chuck Takes a Nap"
- Mac Danzig got screwed and he got screwed hard. Referee Yves Lavigne should’ve restarted that one.
- Where the hell did that ref come from in the Ricardo Funch/Claude Patrick fight? Has he ever seen an MMA bout before? Don’t they teach grappling in Canada?
- Evan Dunham and Rory MacDonald – two youngsters who are scary-good. Watching them is like watching Georges St. Pierre circa 2004, i.e., you just know you’re gazing upon the future of the sport.
- It’s good to see Mike Pyle get a chance to showcase his skills without him getting clobbered.
- For an old horse way past his prime, Gilbert Yvel can still throw down.
- I had no problem with CroCop and Pat Barry hugging during their fight. You don’t have to hate someone to fight them, and *gasp* it’s even possible to respect the person you’re fighting.
- So is Rich Franklin going to be remembered for his run as champ? Or is he going to be remembered as the guy who retired Chuck Liddell?
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
ROC 30 Postscripts
This one was definitely one of the top five ROCs of all time. The Jenkins/Porkchop fight was a thriller, Brooks vs. Sepulveda lived up to the hype, and it was good seeing Wing and DeBlass rack up wins. As for the title fights, everyone in press row was predicting Hall, Barboza and LaFlare to score victorities, but Pace/DeAngelis was an absolute toss-up. If Pace isn't in something like the WEC soon, then WEC matchmaker Sean Shelby is just a straight-up hater.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Liveblog: ROC 30 Part 6
TSMMA stand-up assassin Uriah Hall is up and he's facing some grappling specialist named Roger Carroll, who hails from Team Superior. How superior is Team Superior? Well, we're about to find out, and with the ROC middleweight up for grabs no less. Ugh, this one is just as savage as the Barboza/Guidici bout, with Carroll unable to match Hall's power, unable to take Hall down, and unable to do anything but wait to die. Instead of dying, though, Carroll taps out at 3:01 of the first round. Hall now sports a shiny piece of hardware around his waist. Last bout of the evening and it's Bellmore Kickboxing's Ryan LaFlare against AMA FC's Mike Medrano, LaFlare defending his welterweight championship title against someone short but powerful. This one is furious, frenetic and fast-paced as both men throw down with fervor (see what I did there?). Unfortunately, genetics make this contest an uphill battle for Medrano, whose height makes it easier for LaFlare to land strikes while avoiding the AMA FC rep's heavy hands. The end comes when LaFlare delivers a knee right to the bread basket and follows Medrano down with a barrage of leather. Referee Kevin Mullhall steps in at 4:07 of the first round, giving LaFlare the TKO win. And that's a wrap.
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