Wednesday, August 11, 2010

A Collection of News Haiku

So much news, so little time to digest it all.  But fear not, as MMA Journalist has the more salient points of what’s going on in the sport today in easy-to-swallow haiku form.  Get zen, people.

    • Chael Sonnen’s big mouth/ made 117 huge.  White and/ Silva should thank him.
    • Paul Daley got just/ 30 days for punching Josh/ post-fight.  What a joke.
    • If you thought Mike Swick/ had bulimia, you were/ wrong.  Close, but still wrong.
    • Anderson is out/ for the rest of the year.  The/ reason: CHAEL SONNEN.
    • Matt Hughes is out too./  He has to hide in the woods/ and shoot some animals.
    • Bellator files suit/ against Zuffa.  Why do that? / Because it sounds cool.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010


Ridiculous Amount of Female MMA This Week is Ridiculous

First there was Moosin giving us Tara LaRosa vs. Roxanne Modafferi in May.  Then came Bellator, with a few choice female MMA pairings, followed by Strikeforce's Sarah Kaufman/Roxy stunner.  The summer of 2010 has been absolutely killer for those keen watching the ladies throw down, and this week things get kicked into high gear with both Bellator and Strikeforce rocking the women's tournaments.  Bellator is up first on Thursday with the opening round of their 115-pound four-person tourney, and the competitors include top-ranked Megumi Fuji, who will be taking on wrestler Carla Esparza, and Jessica Aguilar, who will be taking on Lynn Alvarez.  Fuji is a shoe-in to take the whole thing, but if we've learned anything from watching these Bellator tournaments it's that no one is immune to getting their ass unexpectedly beaten.  Strikeforce picks up the baton the following night with their one-night 135-pound tournament, and it's packed with big names like Hitomi Akano, Meisha Tate and Carina Damm.  The winner of that little conflagration gets to take on the winner of Kaufman vs. Marloes Coenen, so there's tons of weight attached to the outcome.  The bottom line: there's a ridiculous amount of female MMA this week, and it's ridiculous.  Ridiculous!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Observations from My Couch: UFC 117 "Ultimate Heartbreak"

    • Roy Nelson is an entertaining dude, but he had nothing for Junior dos Santos.  Senior dos Santos would’ve killed him.
    • People always talk about Ricardo Almeida’s jiu-jitsu black belt and accomplishments in the world of submission grappling.  Often overlooked, though, is Matt Hughes’ black belt in wrestling.
    • Clay Guida’s hair: so unstoppable, just rubbing it on an opponent’s face elicits a tap out.
    • Stefan Struve got a much-needed win on Saturday night.  Against who, I have no idea.  But he got the win.
    • Oh boy, I can’t wait for Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves to have another rematch.  There are still so many unanswered questions!
    • But for that ultra-last-minute triangle, Chael Sonnen was boldly striding down Champions’ Lane and not stopping for anything.  No one kicks Anderson Silva’s ass like that, and no one can talk so much crap and back it up the way he does.  I would now watch anything – anything – he’s on, including UFC pay-per-views, stints as a coach on TUF, guest commentating gigs for the WEC, paid endorsements for Xyience on late night SpikeTV, and even appearances on daytime soap operas. 
    • Silva may still be the champ, but the blueprint is now out there.  His days are numbered.

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Photo by veteran fight photog Keith Mills.
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M-1 Global "Selections" Postscript

After a slow summer, M-1 Global really hit this one out of the ballpark.  The venue, some ballroom in Bally's, was packed, and the crowd went nuts over Andrei Kapylou and every other bout that delivered excitement.  Aaron Meisner looked as deadly as ever, and Tom Gallicchio showed that he's been working on his striking - although once he took a few hard shots to the head all that new stuff went out the window and he just went into his usual slug-the-hell-out-of-you mode.  His rear naked choke finish was MONSTER.  Mike Geurin looked great, too, and can take a beating with the best of them, and Plinio Cruz would've won his fight if not for that point deduction for the groin strike.  Can't wait for the next M-1 installment.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

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Liveblog: M-1 Global Part 5

More heavyweight action, as Kenny Garner of ATT takes on a Russian boxer named Andrei Kapylou of Team Kapylou. Round 1 is all Garner, who absolutely puts the Russian through the grappling ringer, mounting him again and again and even nailing an omoplata. The crowd is nuts over Kapylou, though, and he makes it to Round 2 to land maybe two punches before getting owned on the ground yet again. The beating continues throughout Round 3, and despite possessing the heart of a lion, Kapylou has to watch as the unanimous decision is awarded to Garner. Last bout and it's Gallicchio vs. Meisner. This one starts out with them clinching and throwing knees, and Gallicchio taking one square in the jewel box. Gallicchio takes a breather, and when the fight resumes they simply blast each other. Both are bloody come Round 2. Things get even uglier in the second, with Gallicchio getting a takedown and dropping some leather and Meisner punishing him repeatedly with knees to the body and punches over the top. It's Meisner's show up to this point, but if there's one thing you learn after years of covering Northeast MMA, it's that you can never ever count "Da Tank" out. He comes out in Round 3 and guts out a takedown, and goddamn if he doesn't sink a rear naked choke. The official time of the tap out is 1:45, and it's a storybook ending to a very solid show. Out!

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