Lord Humungus' World of MMA

2008-08-28T21:39:00.000-07:00

Can now be found writing under his real name here.

2008-04-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

Sam Stout vs. Rich Clementi

Clementi: +130
Stout: -160

What does Sam Stout bring that Anthony Johnson, Ross Pointon, or Melvin Guillard doesn't? Nothing. He will win a kickboxing match, but Clementi is tough and isn't dumb enough to go in and try to kickbox. I really don't understand this betting line at all. Clementi isn't going to be wearing a title belt anytime soon, but look at his record. His only losses in years are all to top level guys, who will reliably beat him, but also bring a well-rounded elite-level game into the octagon with them. Stout does not. He brings big punches and a good chin. That's not going to help against a submission wrestler. Clementi Submission round 1

I have money on Clementi at +140

Joe Doerksen vs. Jason MacDonald
MacDonald: -170
Doerksen: +140

Doerksen has been around a long time, and MacDonald is an up and comer. Macdonald has good submisison skills, very strong wrestling, and some power in his hands. Unless Doerksen can manage to be as dominant a wrestler as Yushin Okami or pound MacDonald as mercilessly as rich franklin did, Macdonald will knock him out again, even with his slow-mo punches.

I have money on Macdonald at -170

Jonathan Goulet vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka
Goulet: +190
Hironaka: -240

Goulet is the ultimate boom/bust fighter. I don't know if Hironaka has the tools or killer instinct to jump on the inevitable openings to finish him off, and I am always worried of Japanese fighters sleeping their way to decision loss in a slow, unaggressive technical standup fight. I don't know why it happens, but sometimes it does. That said, Hironaka SHOULDN'T lose here, because he can take what Goulet has to offer, and can threaten him in areas where Goulet is weak. Hironaka via submissions round 2.

Mark Bocek vs. Mac Danzig

Danzig: -475
Bocek: +375

A showpiece for Danzig. Bocek has the appearance of a threat because of his BJJ experience, but Danzig is a very strong grappler in his own right, and he's shown a variety of skills and great top control, so unless Bocek can put him on his back, Danzig will just show what he can do and win an impressive decision.

Ed Herman vs. Demian Maia
Demian Maia: -185
Ed Herman: +155

Ed Herman has very good grappling, although Maia should be favored there. I just expect that Herman's wrestling and his powerful hands should let him 'smash' any BJJ offense Demian tries to put together. This is a provisional pick, as I haven't watched enough tape on Demian. If I don't find any reason to change my mind, I will be putting money on Herman.

Brad Morris vs. Cain Velasquez
Morris: +175
Velasquez: -215

Noob heavyweights, who cares? Not me. Bet on the underdog if you must, because heavyweights are sloppy like that.

Jason Day vs. Alan Belcher

Belcher: -345
Day: +275

If you haven't seen it, go back and watch Belcher's fight with Kalib Starnes. He beat starnes like a slave, even doing the old Ray Sefo "take it and smile". Belcher has some very nice crisp Muay Thai, with good head movement, although he seems to get hit a lot while trading. If he keeps that up, eventually someone will tag him a good one and put him to sleep, but I don't think Day is the man to do it. While Day is coming off his biggest win (split decision over a sleepwalking David Loiseau) I fully expect Belcher to come in and smash "Dooms"Day's brains all over the canvas. He deserves it for that nickname.

Nate Quarry vs. Kalib Starnes
Starnes: +225
Quarry: -285

Both of these guys looked like shit in their last fights. Quarry was a punching bag for Pete Sell, which is never a good sign when you're a standup-only threat. Starnes looked like a whipped dog whenever Belcher or Leben hit him, although when he wasn't cringing like a little girl, he showed some good offense on the feet, and of course his grappling is on point. I don't think Quarry has the speed or technique to just overwhelm Starnes like those two did, and I don't think he has the athleticism of Belcher or the combination of wrestling and grappling that leben has. Starnes is a threat when he can control the fight and force work on the ground, and I think he can use his length to defend against Quarry and maybe work a little standup to wear the guy down. This fight will end as a blowout, either with Quarry making Starnes crap his pants trying to cower away from his abuser again, or with Starnes dominating position and submitting Quarry. I think Starnes has it.

I have money on Starnes at +265

Rich Franklin vs. Travis Lutter

There's no reason to give Lutter a shot here. He's looked more dangerous with his submissions than ever before, but Franklin is still rich Franklin. Everyone is thinking back to the armlock Okami nearly had on Franklin. I have news for you--Okami didn't finish it, and he has monster wrestling (to put franklin on his back) godzilla strength (to force Franklin's arms around like that, and to just force a sub) and very good defense on the feet (to hang with Franklin that long). Not to mention Okami's athleticism and conditioning. Lutter has none of that, just ugly facial hair. If Franklin comes in with his shoes tied together and falls flat on his back, maybe Lutter can crawl onto him and work his top game and submit, but barring that, Franklin is just going to hammer him to a stoppage. If Lutter isn't spark-out by the end of round 1, I'll be surprised, but his cardio will die and he'll get ground to a TKO in round 2.

Michael Bisping vs. Charles McCarthy
McCarthy: +290
Bisping: -350

McCarthy has a very dangerous offensive submission game, although he can get caught as well. Bisping has phenomenal sub defense, pretty good offensive submissions and sweeps, workable wrestling/takedown defense, and a very dangerous standup game. I expect Bisping to just fight this like a kickboxing match, scoring points and working for the judges. Bisping Unanimous Decision.

Matt Serra vs. Georges St. Pierre

GSP: -500
Serra: +400

Serra is the worst/weakest UFC champion in a LONG time, in my opinion. He shouldn't have been in the octagon with GSP in the first place, and, while he beat GSP with the exact same punch that he nearly killed Karo Parisyan with, GSP shouldn't have let him land it. Serra's putative strength is his ground game, but he has not shown much ability to threaten with is in MMA. Now, if GSP has a weakness (aside from speculative mental weaknesses) it's guys that just come in and beat him up. It puts him on the back foot and messes his day up. The prototypical example is BJ vs. GSP round 1. BJ just came in and hammered him, and GSP couldn't deal with it. That said, GSP should be safe as can be in Serra's guard, so if he comes in and fights smart, he'll drive the world's hardest double leg every time Serra comes in tossing hammers. If he does this for three rounds, Serra will be absolutely spent and GSP can prop him up and kick his head off like a Tee-Ball. GSP also has the power in his strikes to finish Serra at any other time, but I don't think he'll be comfortable at all trading with the Manhattan midget, so expect the takedowns. Serra is tough, but his gas is poor, so GSP by TKO or Submission in the 4th.

I have money on Serra at +400, because those are ludicrous odds. Serra may not be a standup expert, but, since he landed the same punch (to almost the same effect) on Karo, I don't think it's impossible that he does the same thing again. Combine that with the amount of pressure GSP is under, and the generally good performance of underdogs in UFC title fights, and I'll take Serra at +400 all day.

2008-03-20T12:38:00.001-07:00

NEW AND IMPROVED!!!!!!!

Nate Diaz vs. Kurt Pellegrino

To be filled in later. - I have a feeling here.

Manny Gamburyan vs. Jeff Cox

If you haven't seen Thiago Alves' KO of Jeff Cox, you should definitely check it out. Kind of embarassing. Cox has some skills, but he is boom or bust, and doesn't defend himself very well, although his offense isn't bad. Manny is being set up to win here, and I expect he'll be able to Manny by Sub, round 1.

Matt Hamill vs. Tim Boetsch
I love the Barbarian toss. It was seriously awesome. Hamill comes in there and mauls guys with his power, but a lot of that depends on his opponents being afraid of his wrestling. I don't think Tim is a better wrestler, but I think he can do enough to frustrate Matt that it won't impede his strikes on Matt. If Tim comes in and throws the same variety and crispness of strikes vs. Matt, I think he'll only give up the takedown infrequently, and he'll batter Hamill. Hamill is tough, but he seems to fade, so if he gets beaten on, Tim could finish him in the third, Decision is more likely, I think.

Roman Mitichyan vs. George Sotiropoulos
If Roman can't submit George, he will lose. He can't submit George. George is more skilled in every position, as well as more athletic. Roman is tough, technical, and game to fight, so this will be interesting. I expect Roman just won't be able to hang with the skills George brings to the table, and will wear himself down trying. I think George finishes him in the second.

Anthony Johnson vs. Tommy Speer
Johnson can punch well. Speer can punch hard and wrestle. You see where this goes. Speer TKO (punishment) Rd 2

Josh Neer vs. Din Thomas
Neer is a solid fighter; athletic, good power, no glaring weaknesses, decent in all areas. However, his standup seems to rely more on power than technique, which is what made Nick Diaz look like Mohammad Ali in their fight. Someone like Din Thomas, as slick and technical as he is, will continue to pick him apart. I expect to see Din beat on him until he can down him, then jump onto a submission while Neer is still dazed. It's hard to predict how long this takes, but Din isn't the hardest puncher in the world, so it could take longer.

Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard
Maynard is too slow and too raw to win this one. Edgar is just a level above him at this point. Gray may one day be on the same level, but for right now, he's still fresh out of TUF, and raw as hell, mostly relying on his physicality and toughness. Edgar has those things too, but has honed his skills to a sharper edge. I expect Edgar to beat Gray at every aspect of the game they engage in, for Gray to gas, and Edgar to finish him.

Houston Alexander vs. James Irvin
Who lands first? They win it. I expect it will be Irvin, because he won't be afraid of a banger that comes right at him. In fact, he'll invite it. He's used to that kind of thing. Irvin KO round 1 I love this fight. It's like a dirty joke or a late-night cinemax movie. It's inappropriate and embarassing, but it's what I want to see. I giggle a little.

Clay Guida vs. Samy Schiavo
Maybe Guida will get a finish here. I don't really fault him for not being the world's strongest finisher, because lord knows he tries. Samy will probably be overwhelmed and worn down and RNC'd. You know how that goes. Guida RNC Rd 2

Karo Parisyan vs. Thiago Alves
I just don't think Karo can get in there and control Thiago for 3 rounds. Previously I've said Thiago's wrestling isn't the best, but in retrospect, it's very good. Watch his fights with Tony Desouza or John Alessio. He brickwalled both of them. On top of that, Alves destroys people with his shots. His leg kicks sell wheelchairs, and his punches are discombobulating too. Hell, he sat Fitch on his ass within 20 seconds of the opening bell (granted, fitch got back up and owned him). Karo has shown trouble working his game against strong wrestlers, and while he may get some takedowns, he doesn't have the "you can't move me I'm a blanket" skills that wrestlers naturally develop. He won't get submitted, but nor will he credibly threaten Thiago with a submission.

Even if Karo catches every leg kick thiago throws, and takes him down, I expect Karo's leg to fall off in the third round. Karo has won his last several fights primarily with his standup, and that will be problematic, considering he isn't that strong defensively and mostly just relies on being tough. Karo will never quit, he has a good chin, and is tough as hell. I expect Thiago to lay an epic beating on him. Thiago TKO round 2

at +145, I have money on Thiago

Kenny Florian vs. Joe Lauzon

This is tricky. Joe comes out, blitzes his opponents with takedowns and violence and hustle. He doesn't do so well if his opponent is live and can resist that and make him work for it and hit him back. The described strategy is exactly what Diego Sanchez did to Kenny "Shang Tsung" Florian on TUF, but Florian has improved a lot since then and Lauzon is no Diego Sanchez. A lot of people give Kenny credit for lasting 5 rounds with sherk, but he did NOTHING in that fight, and Sherk has never in his career finished anyone that is either tough or good on the ground.

I think Kenny has improved to the point where he's a threat to Joe standing, at least points-wise. Joe will probably get some takedowns, but he'll have to work for them, and Kenny will defend and look to sweep. I think this goes to decision (or at least the third round) with Kenny winning a pretty clear-cut decision.

2008-02-19T11:28:00.000-08:00

All odds are from bookmaker.com, where I do my betting. Please notice that my "expert" advice has irony quotes around the word 'expert'. I am not actually an expert and you should make your own decisions.

Jorge Gurgel -215
John Halverson +175

I've never seen Halverson fight aside from being blitzed by Huerta, but he has a really astonishing KO rate (and a mediocre record). Gurgel used to be touted as the next big thing, but he's been exposed as a fighter that can't follow a gameplan or fight smart. He has skills, he has heart, and he's tough as nails, but he likes to eat punches to the face. He probably doesn't want to do that too much against someone with as much finishing ability as Halverson apparently has, but he's also probably tougher than anyone Halverson has ever fought. Gurgel will most likely make this more of a fight than it should be, and submit Halverson late in the 1st or midway through the second.

Humungus "expert" betting advice: I see no value in this line. Gurgel is enough of a tard to maybe lose to someone so beatable, but the odds reflect that. Gurgel might be underpriced, but I don't like betting on favorites, especially when they're as unpredictable as gurgel.

Andrei Arlovski -355
Jake OBrien +285

This fight is pretty interesting. It's been a while since we've seen Arlovski fight a strong wrestler. He shrugged off the janitor back in 2003, but he also outsized him, and Vladdy was going through his "has been" stage before he decided to become an "Is again" in the IFL. After seeing Heath Herring drop Jake early in their fight, I expect Arlovski will most likely pop the Irish Stallion a good one in this fight, and finish him off, snapping a pretty impressive undefeated streak. However, I'd be very curious to see how Arlovski handles being put on the matt and roughed up for a while. I don't think he'd take it well. Arlovski TKO round 1

Humungus "expert" betting advice: This line is kind of interesting because I think if Jake can out-wrestle arlovski (which I don't expect he'll readily be able to do) then he has a good chance of beating him. That said, Jake has questionable finishing ability when not fighting complete scrubs, and he's still a pretty unknown quantity, so I am hesitant to put any money on him.

Diego Sanchez -550
David Bielkheden +400

Mr. Bielkheden has a very spiffy pocket square;

However, I do not think he can wear it in the ring, so the spiffy swede is SOL. When one's only quality win is Charles McCartyh in 2004, Diego Sanchez is going to take you down and submit you or beat your face in, very quickly.

Humungus "expert" betting advice: Knowing how poor Diego's standup is, it's kinda tempting to put a few bucks down on such a massive underdog with KO power, but resistance to temptation is important. Diego is almost assuredly going to win, but betting on him would be idiocy at these odds.

Luke Cummo -160
Luigi Fioravanti +125
Close fight, hopefully we'll see some more crisp technical kickboxing from Cummo, who has developed some nasty power lately. Neither guy is a world-beater, but neither guy has a lot of embarassing losses either. I can't say I'm that fired up for this one. Cummo is most likely going to win by decision.

Humungus "expert" betting advice: Don't.

Jon Fitch -650
Chris Wilson +500

The difference here is experience. Fitch has been in with some of the top talent from this weightclass, and he's often emerged victorious. He hasn't had an easy fight. Until now. The best fighter Wilson has faced up until fitch is Nick Thompson, who finished him handily. Fitch will most likely do the same thing. Takedowns, grinding, abuse, until Wilson can't handle any more in the second round and gets finished.

Humungus "expert" betting advice: Wilson is such a longshot that it's tempting to bet on him on the off chance that he lands something really solid on fitch. Fitch is hittable and he's been KO'd before, so it's possible. At these odds, it's worth the money if you think Wilson wins 1/6 times. I don't think he does, though.

Chris Leben -160
Alessio Sakara +130

Sakara's chin would appear suspect, since he has been KO'd twice recently, but it's important to remember what happened in those fights. Houston drilled his grill with a brutal knee, and Mcfedries throws bombs like that's all he knows how to do. Which it is. In any case, entering the fight, Leben has more ways to win and more tools in his box, with his wrestling and submission skills in addition to his big right hand. If they just get into a standup exchange, Sakara's boxing SHOULD let him get the better of leben, but with leben's chin and power, he stands a chance in any brawl. If Leben comes in and fights smart, he'll control with wrestling and get an armbar midway through the fight. But 'smart' is a word rarely used to describe Chris Leben.

Humungus "expert" betting advice: If you believe in Sakara's hands AND think that Leben is going to be an idiot and try to just stand and bang all day, Sakara might not be a bad bet. Personally, I don't believe those things.

Cheick Kongo -170
Heath Herring +140

Heath Herring is the slop king. Kongo is the standup mandingo. Kongo's advantage is that he has an identifiable skill to threaten his opponent with. However, he also has glaring weaknesses. Herring's only weakness was the risk of his balls slipping out of his too-tiny fight shorts, which he has corrected by getting some proper pants. Heath doesn't have any readily identifiable dominant strengths, but he is competent in all areas, and brings a lot of hustle and toughness to his game. Herring needs this fight on the ground, and his wrestling is his weakest skill. However, Kongo's is very bad, and Herring can probably manage to drag him down eventually. While Heath did spend 10 minutes staring at Giant Silva before figuring out the freak was useless on the ground, I expect he'll be able to get Kongo to the ground and find a way to rough him up or submit him.

Humungus "expert" betting advice: I like heath in this fight. I think he's tough enough to fool around with Kongo for a while, and Kongo's utter uselessness on the ground even vs. Crocop make me think Heath will beat him up and twist his arms and suchlike. I have some money on Heath here.

Josh Koscheck -445
Dustin Hazelett +365

Losing to GSP doesn't mean you've fallen off. Koscheck still decides where he fights any fight he's in not involving french canadians. However, out-jabbing Diego "T-Rex Arms" Sanchez does not mean you're a dominant stand-up fighter. I don't know what kind of advantage Koscheck gains vs. Hazelett by forcing a standup fight, as Hazelett has hurt a few guys with his hands, and blown Chad Reiner's brains out in seven seconds with them. Hazelett is no mike tyson, but then again, neither is Koscheck. Coming into this fight, I see them pretty even on the feet.

On the ground, Koscheck's chances are much worse. Hazelett is a huge submission threat off his back, so Koscheck driving into a million takedowns for the decision takes a lot of risks of getting caught. Koscheck Handled Jeff Joslin for three rounds, but he was threatened several times, and I think Hazelett is more of a sub threat in MMA. He sees openings and he takes them. Koscheck will NOT be happy on top of Dustin Hazelett. Nor will he be happy with Dustin Hazelett transitions from a triangle to an armbar and taps out Koscheck in round 1.

Humungus "expert" betting advice: I think these odds are ridiculous. Hazelett is a huge underdog on the odds, and I think he's going to win the fight. Even if you don't think he's more likely to win, the odds are an even bet on Hazelett if you think he wins 1 in 5 times. I have money on Hazelett.

Yushin Okami -240
Evan Tanner +190

Welcome back Evan Tanner. Having been out for two years, it's very difficult to know what to expect from Evan. I'm going to do some more research into what's going on with his training and for how long he's been cleaned up and back into the game, and then I'll update this post with that information.

Humungus "expert" betting advice: At this point, betting on tanner is a total roll of the dice. That said, if he comes in like he did in top form years ago, he has the skills needed to beat someone as one-dimensional as Okami. Might be a good bet if you're a tanner believer.

Anderson Silva -170
Dan Henderson +140

This is going to be a very epic fight. Will Henderson be the lethal ball of fists he was vs. Rampage or Wanderlei (II) or will he windmill aimlessly and act like he has no concept of punching distance or footwork, like he did vs. Misaki? Will Anderson Silva actually go for a clinch? Will Anderson put on another virtuosic performance of perfectly lethal striking and focus, or will he drift away and become the same Silva that struggled with Ryo Chonan's standup and made Daiju Takase look like Rickson? Will one manage to actually knock the other out?

First, a couple things that will NOT happen:

1) Henderson will not submit Anderson, nor Anderson Hendo
2) Anderson will not close the distance to initiate a clinch to deliver knees. He doesn't want Henderson to get his hands on him.

I expect Henderson will come in brawling, looking to smash Silva against the fence and dirty box. Anderson's elbows could give him a lot of trouble at this range, especially since most of Hendo's power is on the end of his punches. Nevertheless, Hendo will control this position and be able to drag him down and beat him up. I expect it to look a lot like Couture vs. Chuck I, with Hendo eating good shots as he brawls in, but eventually just manhandling Silva to exhaustion. Dan Henderson TKO's Silva Round 3

Humungus "expert" betting advice: With Henderson being a decent underdog, I had to bet on him. I think he is a narrow favorite, given the style matchup. I wouldn't suggest anyone bet on Silva, with the odds against the bet like that. I have money on Henderson.

2007-02-23T16:41:00.000-08:00

Okay, I was inspired by James Hirth's expected lackluster effort to go and break down Pride 33. Sherdog, hire me. I obviously have talent, and I can clean it up and be more professional if need be, not to mention stick to a deadline.

Hansen vs. Ireland

Hansen was cruising for a title shot before Aoki set him back another year. Between that and his ball-shot on Kawajiri, the man has no belt to hold his pants up. This is a squash match, so there isn't much to say about it. I just felt like complaining that we're missing out on Hansen vs. Gomi for a while. Ireland is a solid wrestler, which is no good because Hansen is better at BJJ than striking. Not to mention better at striking than Ireland. Plus, Hansen's greatest attribute on the feet is POWAH, so he'll be effective even with the few shots he'll be able to land before giving up the takedown. Hansen by sub in the 2nd

Misaki vs. Trigg

Misaki is talented, and has racked up some excellent victories, but his technical and cautious striking style is poison for the likes of Baroni and Hendo. He hasn't shown me much on the ground, so Trigg has a shot at controlling and beating him up, then coasting to a decision or late stoppage once his man is worn down. That said, Trigg is being lazy by not cutting back down to his best weight and fighting a naturally bigger man, so Misaki can probably outlast and outwork Trigg and take the fight if he can avoid serious punishment early on. Misaki by decision.

Travis Wiuff vs. James Lee

It's the intended fall guy vs the late replacement in a battle to see who can get a W in his debut and never get invited back! Who cares! Sorry Travis, you're talented, but you don't matter in this division right now. Good luck, James. Wiuff by KOTC-style slop KO in the first.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Sokoudjou

I swear the shadowy forces behind pride matchmaking have something agains Rog Nog. The only interesting parts of this match are Sokoudjou's hair and figuring out whether Nog is going to KO him or sub him. I'll go out on a limb and say Nog by KO in the 5th minute.

Sakurai vs Danzig

Sakurai is my homeboy. Brother throws spin kicks, does tight-ass judo throws, and looks like someone's pissed off dad. Plus he has tight gambling debts. Danzig is a legitimately talented fighter with technical skills, but he's limited and Sakurai can do it all (and well). The short right hook comes over your infighting, Mac, and you drop, to be finished with GnP for the TKO. Sakurai KO 2nd

Sergei Kharitonov vs Mike Russow

Sergei has what it takes to be a strong competitor for years. He showed to be a much better fighter than Aleks (if a dumber one) in their match, and the only thing that's going to hold him back is his extreme slowness, and what seems to be a tendency towards injury. If the injuries were flukes, Sergei is going to continue to smash up the division. Russow is green as hell. He's a monster wrestler, so expect sergei to roll around on his back early in the match, but with no knees to the face, the Russian machine will not be stopped. Russow's inexperience will come to the fore later in the match, when he does the all-too-typical one-dimensional-wrestler gas-out after a few minutes of strong control. Then they'll be stood back up, and Sergei will maul him like he insulted the motherland. Sergei by KO 2nd.

Shogun vs. Overeem

Why is everyone saying this match is pointless? Their first match was back and forth. Sure it only went back once, and then came right back forth, but it went pretty far back. Overeem remains a legit threat, and a win here would shake up the division and make for interesting matches in the future. If Shogun wins, he'll have to show more champion-caliber qualities, and this will be an excellent touchstone fight in evaluating him. Maybe Overeem has lost a few and has all the lasting power of a 17 year old on prom night, but he's explosive, and dangerous in a number of weird ways. Not to mention he nearly won the first fight. Shogun is sloppy on the feet, and if Overeem could punch, I'd say he's the favorite. Sadly, Overeem punches with his head and then his arm follows in a wild flail. Don't ask me why. I expect essentially a repeat of the first fight, although hopefully without 30-takedown-combos by Overeem. That said, I've seen odds as strong as +350 for Overeem, and that's a smart bet if you like to play the spread. Shogun KO 2

Nick Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi

First things first: Diaz is not as big as Gomi. Nick might have fought at 170, but the man is not a huge powerful monster like GSP or Hughes are at that weight. Marcus Aurelio is a much bigger man than Nick is, and Gomi is around his size. Gomi is a lock for this fight. Diaz is durable, has tons of fight in him, and has talent on the feet and on the ground. However, a strong wrestler can control him. Gomi has a BETTER chin and more power striking, and, if he gets into trouble with Diaz's reach, he can just shoot takedowns on Diaz and ride it out. Yes Gomi was subbed when he gave up side control to Aurelio with a badly missed haymaker, and yes Diaz stuffed Sherk's takedown when Sherk's midget ass shot in from two miles away, but don't miss the forest for the trees. Diaz has no chance of taking Gomi down barring another slip-up by the champ, and Gomi isn't going to play around on the ground and give Diaz a chance for anything from his guard. Gomi is going to win. Gomi by KO 2nd

Dan Henderson vs. Wanderlei Silva

Silva has only gotten bigger and stronger since their first fight, where Silva clearly outmuscled him. Dan's improve his striking immensely, and forgotten how to wrestle. Wanderlei has honed his brawling style for MMA, and become an absolute killer, with an excellent and tight defensive guard. Silva has a soft head, and Dan a hard one. Both are incredibly tenacious and will NOT give up in a fight. Silva has much better cardio, and trying to control a larger, stronger man will wear Dan down. Dan isn't going to submit Wanderlei, and only Arona has ever been able to control the MW champ for a decision, and that man could control a buffalo. Dan's only hope is landing another monster right and dropping Wandy for the finish. If he looks for the KO, Dan's aimless windmilling style is going to get him KO'd horribly, and trying to wrestle with Silva is just going to wear him out to set up a horrible KO late in the bout. Silva by KO 2nd

So a lot of squash matches and a couple that might be important for their division. A pretty solid card then, and one that has serious talent in every fight, although the bulk of it will be on one side of the ref when the match starts. Should be very entertaining.

2007-02-02T07:02:00.000-08:00

A captive bolt gun is designed as follows.

A 'blank' pistol cartridge or a highly-compressed air source is used to drive a 'bolt' forward several inches at a very high rate of speed. Because the bolt is held 'captive' it will not leave the gun, so it can quickly be reset for another firing.

Captive bolt guns are used in slaughterhouses, to put small holes in the heads of cows and sheep, so that they die and can be eaten.

So you are wondering to yourself, "is this still an MMA blog, did I accidently stumble onto industrialfarmingmethods.blogspot.com?" Of course it's still an MMA blog, and of course I am talking about UFC 67. Say hello to Eddie Sanchez:

I'm sorry, but this kind of matchmaking is irresponsible. Crocop is simply going to cause this man irreparable damage, and then reset himself to slaughter the next scrub the UFC puts in front of him. Why the NSAC sanctioned the fight is beyond me.

Eddie will come out in the standard "holy shit that's crocop" stance, with his hands held up incredibly high, as if to ward off mosquitos, and crocop will throw the left straight down the pipe and smash his nose.

That is if Eddie doesn't come out thinking he can bum rush crocop, in which case you will see a replay of Babalu vs. Chuck II, only with crocop outrunning the punches instead of eating them.

So that's enough said about that fight.

Marvin Eastman is going for a ride.

Remember the last time Rampage fought a powerful striker who stood around 5'9"? If you don't, go buy pride 22 and watch Igor Vovchanchyn take a ride on space mountain. This is going to be a more entertaining fight than crocop's, but only because Rampage isn't the kind of fighter that stops his opponent with a single crushing blow. He just beats the other man into submission, with whatever he deems expedient at the time.

One factor I haven't heard much talk about is Rampage's ability with his elbows. Ask Chuck Liddell's ribs how well 'page can throw dem bows. I think the UFC ruleset will quickly make those his go-to tool for smashing faces. If Rampage doesn't get himself disqualified for spiking Eastman, this fight is going to be a mugging.

Anderson Silva is gifted

I think in a situation like this it's very important to see how quickly a striker can stop a fight. Anderson doesn't have the takedown defense to wear Lutter out and pick his shots over a few rounds--he's going to have to get in and work Lutter early and often. That said, Silva has multiple sub 2 minute stoppages, meaning not only does he have the striking skills, but he can work them very quickly, landing on opponents without much feeling out of their defense or strategy.

This means that Silva definitely can do what many are expecting him to do and simply blitz Travis and leave him lying against the fence. However, Lutter's style is exactly what has given Silva fits before. The man loves to throw his muay thai techniques, and seems to lose his composure to a degree when someone is just grinding him into the floor. Lutter WILL armbar someone underneath him unless they are very tight and conservative, and Silva's long arms will definitely be exposed.

That said, this fight is 50/50. If I had to pick, I'd say Silva, but given the way the odds are, I'd put money on Lutter, as this fight is much closer than +300 would indicate.

2006-11-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

Picks and Predictions for Bushido 13
Denis Kang vs. Akihiro Gono

Many are counting Gono down and out in this fight, and, admittedly, Kang has been stomping through this tournament while Gono has barely squeaked by his opposition. However, I do not expect Kang to be able to annihilate Gono as easily as many predict. Akihiro has been fighting for longer than almost anyone else in this sport, and that kind of experience can either break a man down (Paging Ken Shamrock), or give him a wealth of experience and craft that makes him a dangerous opponent for anyone. Gono falls into the latter category, so he’s going to put up a solid fight. That said, his sit-and-wait striking style has brought him trouble in his last several fights, and I expect a strong explosive striker like Kang will keep increasing the pressure, and not let Gono come into his own. On the ground, this fight should be a wash, while standing I expect Kang to dominate unless Gono has a sneaky counter to Kang’s style prepared. Look for a battered Gono to run from Kang until the final bell, barring Kang gassing out. Kang by Decision

Misaki is a very impressive striker, with a huge variety of techniques he can employ in a number of styles. His fights with Dan Henderson and Baroni opened a lot of eyes. Too bad none of this matters. Filho is going to pin him to the floor in about 30 seconds, and then, depending on a pre-match coin flip, either armbar him for mount, or ride to a unanimous decision. Given Misaki’s grappling experience, the armbar is slightly less likely. Filho by decision.

Nobuhiro Obiya vs. Luiz "Buscape" Firmino

Obiya is coming off losing his undefeated streak in what must have been a confidence-shattering mauling at the hands of Gil Melendez. Buscape is currently competing with Shaolin Ribeiro for the title of “most underutilized talent at lightweight”. Barring huge amounts of ring-rust, Buscape should be able to beat up a unconfident Obiya, but I don’t expect a finish, given Obiya’s lasting power and Buscape’s inactivity. Buscape by decision.

Murilo Bustamente vs. Yoon Dong Sik
Dong needs to have a T-shirt. I would buy it in a second, and buy more for my mom for Christmas. Busta is a tough competitor and a gritty veteran, but I don’t really see him caring about any of his fights lately. Dong has had a really rough road to hoe lately, but after his embarrassing loss to Sakuraba, proved he had what it took in taking a massive beating from Quinton Jackson. Bustamante has two options in this fight, he can force a ground war and probably submit the Judoka, or he can prance around and pick at dong, give him a black eye, and win a decision. Bustamante by submission Round 1

Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Mike Burton

Minowa once again showing he is the hardest working man in the business, Bart Gunn was nearly decapitated by butterbean and has now come back for some sort of weird reverse-revenge meta-vendetta by facing the last man to beat the bean. Whatever, couldn’t this have stopped after pride 2? Minowa by submission (paycheck) round 1

Takanori Gomi vs. Marcus Aurelio

Aurelio shouldn’t have beat Gomi, which is why it was a non-title fight. But he did, but then he shouldn’t have fought Ishida, as the title picture was somewhat clouded. But he did, and he lost. So now we have this wonderful situation, where Aurelio’s claim to the throne is questionable at best, coming off a very clear defeat, and even if Gomi wins here, his belt will remain tarnished until he KO’s that boyscout-looking T-blood coach. Ugly, that is. In his last fight, Gomi looked like he was about to vomit everytime he was on the ground. In his last fight, Aurelio looked like he’d be lucky to remember what his name was. If Gomi sticks to what made him champion, tight boxing and great wrestling, he should make this a painful and frustrating fight for Maximus. If Gomi tries to channel Ishida and GnP his way to victory like he did against Jean Silva, he’s going to get his arm broken. Aurelio may be big enough, but I don’t think he has the technique to force a ground fight. I expect failed takedowns, and then for him to get that Mark Coleman vs. Crocop “I want to fight on the ground but you’re not letting me” look in his eyes, get punched in the gut then the face, and fall over. Gomi by KO round 1.

Gegard Mousasi vs. Hector Lombard

What is this, the “I lost to gono” special? Both of these men nearly blew Gono out of the water in the early going of their fights with him, only to lose to what amounted to his craftiness and staying power. Both had glaring weaknesses in the fight too; Lombard wasting energy like he’d been coached by Alistair Overeem, and Gegard looking hopeless on the ground. What impressed was Gegard’s striking and Hectors power, aggressiveness, and wrestling/groundwork. Matching those facts up, means that Hector, barring another gas attack, is going to throw Gegard to the ground, and beat him up/submit him. Lombard by submission round 1.

Sanae Kikuta vs. Jean Francois Lenogue

Lenogue gets submitted a lot. Kikuta is good at submissions. Kikuta gets KO’d by people who rarely drop someone, like Minotauro and Yuki Kondo. I don’t expect a decision. When one fighter doesn’t have a ground game and isn’t a top wrestler, and the other one is an experienced fighter with a good ground game, you know what happens. Kikuta by submission.

Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. David Bielkheden

In case you’re wondering, yes, Ishida is fighting another jiu-jitsu guy. Just like he has for almost his entire career. As such, we know what to expect here. David is not Shaolin, and, although big for this weight class, he is not Marcus Aurelio either. Ishida will takedown, GnP. Stay, active, keep up the hustle, show that he’s unsubmitable, and make David suffer for his loser’s paycheck. Ishida by decision.

Yoshihiro Maeda vs. Joe Pearson

I really suspect Pride is considering opening up a featherweight division in Bushido, and this is yet another ‘tester’ fight, to build a relationship with the fighters and get them some face time in front of the fans. Maeda is a (at one time rare, but now increasingly common) Japanese KO machine, while Pearson is a (at one time rare, but now increasingly common) American submission machine. I suspect Maeda has been around the block enough to avoid the ground, and just punish the limited Pearson on the feet. Neither of these guys likes to go the distance. Maeda by KO round 1.

Shinya Aoki vs. Clay French

I was really looking forward to seeing Aoki and Melendez go at it. However, last-minute injuries are the reality in the fight game, so we’re being treated to what amounts to an exhibition of Aoki’s talents. Look for him to try (again) to show us a submission that’s never been used in Pride before. This time with less loud tights. Aoki by flying submission, round 1.

Of course, in the finals, my expectations would leave Kang vs. Filho, wherein filho would handily pin him to the floor and rape him. Filho wins this GP easily, no matter who he faces. If Misaki makes it to the finals, he’ll beat Kang. If it’s an all-GRABAKA finals, who knows if they’ll fight, or spar, or put on a grappling exhibition.

“Lock” Order – most certainty first, least certainty last.
Minowa by submission (paycheck) round 1
Aoki by flying submission, round 1.
Ishida by decision.
Maeda by KO round 1.
Filho by decision.
Buscape by decision.
Kikuta by submission round 1.
Gomi by KO round 1.
Kang by Decision
Lombard by submission round 1.
Bustamante by submission Round 1

2006-10-21T10:03:00.000-07:00

PRIDE 32 Picks and Predictions

Prides newest event is having some serious troubles, with visas, contract disputes, and other last minute shuffling that has taken at least one very interesting match off the card.

Kazuhiro Nakamuro vs. Travis Galbraith
The fact that he's still under contract to the WFA has pulled Marvin the Beastman Eastman off of the real deal card, to be replaced on short notice by a KOTC standout who usually fights at 185, and has lost when he's fought top fighters at that weight. Nakamura often fights at heavyweight and is extremely versatile.

Great.

Nakamura is going to take him down and beat him up, either scoring a TKO or beating him until he gives up a submission. Nakamura by TKO.

Butterbean vs. Sean O'Haire
What was previously a fun match-up between Mark Hunt and an American no one cared about who would put on a good show has become a match between two Americans no one cares about. I can't believe I"m saying this, but look for Butterbean to gas Sean O'Haire out, and for him to give the big boy the same treatment he gave Bart Gunn back at wrestlmania. Butterbean by head removal KO round 1.

Phil Baroni vs Yosuke Nishijima
Baroni's pride is going to be biting his ass in this one, telling him to stand up and knockout the foreigner in front of the hometown crowd. Fortunately Mark Coleman will be in his corner, telling him to take Yosuke down to the ground where he's useless. Given the relative talent involved, we may see Baroni bust out a submission, but I expect brutal GNP. Baroni TKO Round 1.

Joey Villasenor vs. Robbie Lawler
This is one of three matches on the card that is actually competitive and has any importance for the division. Joey is a very strong finisher, mostly with striking, but his GnP will be weakened without elbows on the ground. Lawler's wrestling and physical power should allow him to control where this fight takes place, and I expect his striking ability will let him but the hurt on the more versatile Villasenor.
Robbie Lawler by KO round 2

Dan Henderson vs. Vitor Belfort
When people expect a fight to be a "mental battle" this is rarely what they're thinking of. However, this fight is going to come down to the minds of the fighters involved. I may have watched too many fights that happened in 2000 or before, but I believe Vitor can knockout Henderson, no matter how good his chin is, at any point. However, I expect Vitor to lose focus and just aimlessly watch himself get his ass kicked. On the other hand, Henderson may choose to pointlessly windmill his right arm the entire fight until he gets caught by Vitor.

That said, Henderson has his head screwed on tighter, so he should turn this into a grinding fight that crushes Vitor's will to fight with greco and clinchfighting. Henderson by decision.

Josh Barnett vs. Pawel Nastula
Barnett's performance in the OWGP oepened a lot of eyes not previously familiar with the big dork. Nastula is a gentleman, a true sportsman, and a tough competitor. He has a natural ability for GnP, and his judo skills will give most grapplers a hard time. If he had been more carefully groomed, he could be a top guy in either heavyweight or lightheavy, too bad he's being used as a "impressive win" for half the top guys in the division.

All of that aside, Barnett is going to control the location and pace of this fight, and should finish Nastula with some naughty pounding from back mount. Barnett by TKO round 2.

Mauricio Rua vs. Kevin Randleman
After Randleman's impressive win over Ninja, I"m sure Shogun will be happy to get some revenge. For his sake, I hope he's watched that tape and prepared for Randleman's speed and power. After the Coleman and Overeem fights, it's clear that Shogun has no chance of stopping Randleman's takedowns when he's still fresh, but with Shogun's extremely active guard, he's the more dangerous fighter in any position. Randleman has a real shot at winning this, by landing a huge bomb on the feet or after a takedown, but his generally poor finishing ability is going to give shogun a LOT of time to come up with a submission or land a headkick that drops the wrestler. Shogun by KO (headkick) round 1.

Fedor Emelianenko vs Mark Coleman
Coleman is a freak. That's the only way to describe the kind of threat he presents. He's not a well-rounded fighter, but nobody can out-wrestle him. Fedor's takedowns from the clinch are impressive, but Coleman is still going to throw him around like a rag doll. The biggest chance Coleman has in this fight is if (as I expect he may) he takes Fedor's back as Fedor tries to fight off a takedown. Coleman has the power and control to avoid the submission or reversal, if he keeps a cool head and doesn't gas.

But this is mark coleman we're talking about. Fedor by submission (armbar) round 2.

"Lock" Order
Nakamura by TKO round 1.
Baroni TKO Round 1.
Fedor by submission (armbar) round 2.
Butterbean by head removal KO round 1.
Henderson by decision.
Shogun by KO (headkick) round 1.
Robbie Lawler by KO round 2

2006-10-14T12:03:00.000-07:00

UFC 64 Picks and Predictions

Kurt Pellegrino and Assuncao may not be hoary veterens in the MMA world, but both of them have been competing at a top level in other venues for yars. Despite leading off the night, this should be a close and technical match, on the matt. Pellegrino should be able to use his superior wrestling to dominate position and submit, but Junior is no slouch. Pellegrino by submission round 2

Clayton Guida may not be the best in the world, but he's an incredible talent. He should be able to dominate this fight, Guida submits James round 1.

I don't understand the Okami vs. Kalib fight. the UFC doesn't really care about promoting Japanese fighters, especially not by giving them wins over TUFers. I suspect that they know something I don't and Kalib is going to surprise me and beat Okami. That said, I can only pick based upon what I DO know, so I say Okami decisions Kalib.

Keith Jardine is ugly as sin, just like Nickel's standup. From looking at them, I"m surprised these two are even in the same weight class. Jardine is going to throw off any wrestling attempts by Nickels, and work him standing. Jardine by TKO in the first.

Spencer fisher is being given a stepping stone here. Several of his wins are more impressive than Lauzon's entire career. I expect Lauzon to continue to try to drag the fight to the ground, only to get beat up by Fisher. Fisher by KO round 1.

Kongo is huge and exciting. He should be able to KO his opponent here, but from the ground skills he's shown me, he can lose at any time if it goes to the mat. With his athleticism though, I think Kongo can avoid this and march to victory. Kongo by KO round 1.

Hironaka is goign to upset Fitch. Hironaka by decision.

Sean Sherk is a wrestling monster and should be very powerful for the LW division. Florian may look like a Wendy's cashier and have gotten lucky several times in the octagon, but the skills he has are real. That said, Sherk should be able to throw him around and rough him up badly. I would laugh to see the faces of the anti-TUF crowd if Florian can slap on a sub, since sherk is still questionable at the very-top level, but I don't think Florian will be the one to expose him. Sherk by TKO gnp round 1.

Rich has two advantages over Silva. First, he should be the much bigger man, as he is with most in the division. Secondly, he should have the edge in wrestling. How much of an edge is what's going to decide the winner of this fight, in my mind. Rich's best bet is if he comes out and can show some great GnP. He's not going to submit Anderson, and I doubt he's going to be able to drop him with strikes. If Rich wants to win, it's going to have to be by muscling anderson around until time is up or he's worn him down and out. Anderson has the skills to finish this fight on the feet, but it's going to be hard with someone the caliber of Rich. If rich gets duped into kickboxing with Anderson, he's going to go down hard. This fight is going to be very rough, no matter who wins. Anderson Silva by TKO round 3.

2006-10-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

Ken Shamrock is the only man Ortiz has finished in years. Don’t look for this trend to change. Ken has shown evidence of becoming chinny in his last couple of fights, and doesn’t have any skill that can be a threat from Ortiz aside from mediocre boxing. Unless tito gets retarded and eats a shot, Ken is going to be hurt badly, again. Tito TKO Round 2.

Chris Price has a nice record, but Kendall Grove has fought better opposition and is being set up to win. Kendall should wrestle him to the ground from the clinch, and submit him there. Grove by sub round 1.

Jason McDonald is in over his head vs. Ed Herman. Jason has had a lot of fights and is a solid fighter, but he doesn’t have what it takes to be a top-tier competitor. Ed is going to grind him down with slow gnp, until he either rolls into the RNC, or the fight has to be stopped. Herman submission round 1.

Matt Hamill is a monster. His physical strength is exceeded only by his wrestling ability, so he is getting the takedown in his fight with Seth Petruzelli. However, seth has dealt with being on the bottom, having fought much larger men for most of his career. His striking is also light-years ahead of anything Matt has shown. Matt is such a developing talent, it’s dangerous to assume anything about what abilities he has now, but I have to go with what he’s shown. If Seth can avoid brutal GnP early in the fight, he should be able to wear Matt down on his feet and eventually drop him. Petruzelli by KO in the 2nd.

Nathan Marquardt is a methodical technical fighter who has submitted almost half of his opponents, and has been in with the best. Crafton Wallace has rarely been outside of the first round, and both of his losses come from submissions. Do the math. Marquardt by submission round 2.

Dustin Hazelett and Tony DeSouza should put on an exciting grappling show. In such cases, it’s good form to bet on the brazillian. DeSouza by sub round 2.

Rory Singer and Josh Haynes are both limited fighters, but they should put on an exciting fight. I expect Haynes’ brawling and toughness to make this a hard night for Rory, with him losing to accumulated damage and gas in the second. Haynes by TKO in the 2nd.

After hiding behind his jab for 3 roudns vs. Diego Sanchez, Alessio is going to have to step up his game to beat Thiago Alves. With his wrestling and jab, he should be able to do it. Alessio by submission round 2, after hurting him with punches.

Forrest Petz nearly killed Sam Morgan at the last UFN, but seemed to lack the aggression or fear the ground so much that he would not move in and finish. He should be able to correct that this time around, as Davis is not a world-beater, although he’s been very active this year. Petz by KO round 2.

“Lock” Order – Most certain outcomes, in decreasing order of certainty
Tito TKO Shamrock Round 2 (Sorry Ken)
Marquardt Submits Wallace round 2
Ed Herman submits McDonald round 1
Kendall Grove submits Chris Price round 1
Petruzelli KO’s Hamill round 2
Petz KO’s Davis round 2
Haynes TKO’s Singer round 2
Alessio submits Alves round 2
DeSouza submits Hazelett round 2

2006-09-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

UFC 63 Picks

Things have been rough around the HumungusMMA office this week, so I didn't get to put together a detailed rundown of my picks, but I thought I should post them here, just so there's an unbroken record of my picks.

Griffin by TKO in the 1st
Pulver by KO in the 1st
Gurgel by Sub in the 1st
Neto Sub in the 1st
Huerta TKO's Dent in the 2nd
Guillard by TKO in the 2nd
Crow TKO in the 1st
Penn by Sub in the 1st
Lambert KO in the 2nd

2006-09-10T23:45:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a great event.

I don't mind this being my worst showing prediction-wise when the fights were this great. It's to be expected anyway, with how tough most of these matchups were.

As an aside, this website will never have spoilers before an event airs, unless the delay is more than 2 days. So that's the official policy.

Crocop looks phenomenal. His head is totally in the game, and while it'll be hard for him to maintain that level of intensity through to the now-inevitable rematch with Fedor, he looked at his absolute best tonight. He's been nipping at the heels of the champions for so long, in K-1 before Pride, it's great to see him finally get the biggest win on the biggest stage, and walk home with a major tournament belt/crown. His boxing looked phenomenal and he proved he can hurt anyone at anytime. He's developed some powerful GNP and seems more comfortable to playing the top game than ever before.

This was a tough loss for Wanderlei, but he shouldn't lose any fans even after taking such a beating. He fought until Crocop MADE him stop. He showed he was a warrior and that Crocop would have lost at any moment until Wanderlei was limp. The fight probably would have been stopped due to Wandy's eye if it hadn't been such a huge fight, but I don't see the decision as being that questionable.

Barnett vs. Nog is going to be ground into dust in the forums as the debate rages on. Nog controlled position and made more sub attempts, but Barnett had a knockdown and a 'catch' (or two, depending on how you score his guillotine/neck crank). Nog's extra weight looked good, and he did a very good job wrestling with Josh and beat him up on the feet.

Josh didn't look great. It looked like he'd focused on mostly grappling in his training, as his always-awkward striking didn't serve him well tonight. This didn't hurt him too badly vs. Nog where he could overcome the disadvantage with his superior weight and power, but Crocop has more power even if he was the smallest man in the tournament at this point.

Arona showed nice aggression in his fight, and continues to demonstrate those brutal low kicks. What is the deal? He's become the Crocop of leg kicks. Rampage was in a wheelchair the day after fighting Arona, and Wanderlei suffered pretty much the same fate twice. Overeem hit him pretty well a couple times, and get again showed that you never know what is going to happen in an Alistair Overeem fight, for the better or worse.

Shogun showed why MMA is not kickboxing, as the snake looked to be very talented and incredibly quick for his length on the feet. As expected, he had no answer for Shogun's ground game, so he's going to be extremely limited unless he can put together a decent wrestling or BJJ game. I would like to see it, as the guy's standup was very exciting. I just hope he can still form complete thoughts after suffering such a brutal curb-stomping. Welcome to Pride, Cyrille.

Sergei showed he's a tough dude, but he threw away what was becoming a blowout victory over Aleksander. Sergei always looks slow and Alek's speed hurt him, but he should have been able to finish the monster. That said, this is one of the most gratuitously late stoppages I've seen, as Sergei was limp for quite a while, and was beaten so badly he forgot how badly he was beaten, arguing the stoppage call. He probably thought he was only dropped by that first punch and then went down. Both fighters looked tough, but their weakneses were also evident here. Sergei is slower than molasses in a Russian winter, and Aleks doesn't have the fighting spirit of his brother and has a tough time with someone who is as hard as he is and can hurt him back.

Cyborg fought the smart fight and Nishijima needs to go train BJJ for about three years before he fights MMA again. This was another horribly late stoppage, as Nishijima looked to go limp as he was tapping, and was certainly out for quite a while while Cyborg continued to choke him.

Nakamura continues to be mediocre, Nakao to disappoint. Hyun is either going to have to bounce back and realize MMA is for real, and train hard and improve like Yoon-Dong Sik, or he can take the same path as Takimoto and leave MMA forever with nothing but embarassment and injuries.

Every one of the GP participants looked sharp and at or near a lifetime best, so Fedor had better be training hard or those “Nobody Beats Me” shirts are going to be on heavy discount by the end of the year.

2006-09-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

OWGP Final Conflict 2006 Picks and Predictions

Alright, it’s time for one of the best mega-cards of the year. The Grand Prix format usually pays off in an incredible final, and this is no different. There can be no argument that the winner of this tournament isn’t the top contender for Fedor’s golden throne, and might even knock him off of it if he doesn’t come prepared.

There are a lot of extremely close fights on this card that could go either way, but it’s my job to predict how the fight will go, so I’m not going to cheap out and say “toss-up”, but be warned before making any bets on my predictions this go round.

Evangelista Santos vs. Yosuke Nishijima

What are the chances that Cyborg had a rough childhood? The man has a Mike Tyson tattoo for God’s sake. That said, Santos should win this fight. He has way more experience, killer instinct, and he’s fighting someone with a boxer’s ground game. That said, Cyborg loves to bang and isn’t a master strategist, and Nishijima should be able to knock him out when he tries to throw. This could be an ugly fight if Cyborg tries some tactics Nishijima isn’t used to, like knees from the clinch or dirty boxing, but I expect Nishijima’s technical ability will net him the win late in the first by KO. Nishijima by KO late round 1.

Sergei Kharitonov vs. Alexander Emelianenko

Battle of the Russian bears. This fight is GUARANTEED to be ugly. Sergei is cold as ice and will not quit, while Aleks can hospitalize someone in 20 seconds.

There are some strong intangibles here that make prediction difficult: Aleks has shown dubious desire to fight in the past, notably faltering in his extremely nervous fight against crocop. Sergei is coming off a serious injury and it’s never safe to bet on a fighter like that.
Aleks hands are faster, but I think that Sergei can take this by hitting harder and better. Sergei can take a shot and he’s going to have to, but he should be able to wear the big boy down and finish him. Hopefully we’ll get to see some Sambo, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Sergei by TKO in the 2nd.

Lee Tae Hyun vs. Ricardo Morais

Another fight to register on the richter scale. The Korean “Sumo” vs. the Brazillian “Godzilla”. Hyun is over his head here. In his first mixed rules fight he’s fighting an enormous heavy hitter. Morais is slower than Christmas, but I doubt Hyun is going to explode with strikes at 6’6” and 300 lbs. It’s time to see if Hyun can take a punch to the face and if he’s been seriously training. If he has, he’ll take Morais down and grind him up for the decision, while defending subs. I don’t think it’ll happen. Top athletes from other sports given a “celebrity match” in pride almost universally rely on their one art and maybe sit in on some BJJ classes if a gracie will give them a free t-shirt. If Morais has been keeping his BJJ skills legit, he’s going to outgrapple Hyun and finish the total novice. Morais by TKO in the 1st.

Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Yoshihiro Nakao

Both of these fighters are pretty one-dimensional, despite being legit fighters. Nakamura has fought much tougher competition and is more experienced, while Nakao has a size advantage. Nakao is going to put Nakamura on his back, and the spunky Judoka is not going to be able to do anything about it. Nakamura isn’t a finisher. Nakao will grind out the decision win unless he gasses or Nakamura brings something more to the table than he ever has before and puts him on his back and finishes it. Nakao by decision.

Mauricio Rua vs. Cyrille Diabate

With this match, pride continues to run rings around the UFC in terms of fighter maintenance. Shogun’s coming off a bad injury, so he’s given an opponent who will look good in the ring, and present a limited danger, but has weaknesses that shogun can easily exploit. Think Feyd Rautha’s drugged gladiatorial opponents in DUNE. “The Snake” is a real threat on the feet, win numerous impressive KO’s . Shogun had better watch out for those knees. That said, shogun can manhandle him to the mat and then Shogun’s extremely slick BJJ game should come to the fore and end the fight quickly. Shogun by submission early round 1.

Ricardo Arona vs. Alistair Overeem

Wow, another matchup with the potential of Sergei vs. Aleks, and similar divisional importance. These guys are the most explosively athletic fighters in the LHW division in pride, even if they fight at cross purposes. Arona seeks control and finishes when the opportunity presents itself, while Alistair tries to force a finish early in the fight whenever possible. Alistair’s been fighting a lot and might have nagging injuries, while the injury-prone Arona has been taking time off yet again to nurse his wounds. Alistair’s wrestling is underrated, so he’s going to give Arona trouble to start off the fight, and with Arona’s standup technique, Alistair could work him over early to set himself up for the win. That said, Arona will eventually get the takedown, and I’ve never seen Overeem come back from adversity. He’s too savvy and Arona too oldschool “position before submission” BJJ for the submission to be likely, but in the end, Overeem will stop intelligently defending himself. Overeem is an extremely talented fighter with a great skillset, but he always fails when he’s just on the cusp of greatness, and he never misses an opportunity to fight stupid (witness his 30 pointless takedowns on shogun or patented no-look-hook). Arona by TKO round 2.

Which brings us to the tournament. The big fat belt and fedor beatdown booby prize are up for grabs for anyone. Everyone except crocop is coming into this event extremely hungry. Josh is smaller and in better trim than ever before. Silva is proving he’s just now entering the prime of his career. Nog is bigger than ever, but looks good and comfortable at the weight, and is coming off his 2005 layoff with a renewed passion to win. Crocop is hard to read, but it’s safe to assume he’s going to come well-prepared and extremely dangerous, as always. Both he and Nog still believe they have what it takes to dethrone fedor and burn for that guaranteed rematch. Silva is a psychopath out to prove he’s the baddest man in twelve universes, and Barnett thinks the title belt would be a good ending to the movie and look nice on the shelf next to his anime collection.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Mirko Crocop
Silva’s only advantages in this fight are his will to win and his cardio. Crocop is a mile wide and an inch deep when it comes to both. Wanderlei can’t show Crocop anything he hasn’t seen already, but last time he saw a massive surprise bomb coming at his face, he fell over and was out of the 2004 HWGP. Crocop will use his power to throw Silva out of the clench whenever necessary, and Silva’s fooling himself if he thinks he can take this fight to the ground and have any success there. Crocop is dangerous with any strike he throws (in the first round) and silva has to rely on his punches. On paper, a more experienced crocop should be expected to end Wanderlei’s dream in the first with a shocking KO. In my heart, I see Silva winning, but I can’t say why. My official pick is Crocop by KO in late round 1. If Silva manages to win this, he wins the tournament.

Josh “Hentai Otaku” Barnett vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Another exciting and close fight. Josh has better wrestling, size, and probably strength, whereas Nog has more technical grappling and much better cardio and durability. Barnett’s heavier hands will negate Nog’s superior technical striking. Hopefully they’ll engage on the ground and we don’t just see some “technical striking” while each hopes they can fall into sidemount, in a replay of Werdum vs. Nog or Einemo. Barnett’s stamina has always been a question, but the shorter tournament format will benefit him in this fight, but I don’t know how well he’d do in the next round. Nog has a great game, but Barnett’s wrestling is going to put him on his back. If Barnett can prevent the sweep and keep an active GnP, he can take this fight with the judges before Nog gets a chance to work his game. Barnett wins by decision.

That would make for a Crocop vs. Barnett finals. Crocop was one of the best fighters in K-1 but never won a K-1 tournament. The same goes in pride. He doesn’t have what it takes to keep fighting multiple times a night, and is injury prone, most likely due to the power he puts into everything. If this fight happens, the two most fatigued fighters will be the ones in the finals, and it will likely be anticlimactic. Barnett will have more in the tank after the first five minutes, and he’s shown that his game can last with crocop barring freak back-of-the-knee submissions. Barnett will finish this fight in the late first round.

If silva topples crocop, he’ll win the tournament, regardless of who is put in front of him. He’ll beat a gassed Barnett as he’s never been beaten before, or he’ll abuse Nog so badly that he’ll be stopped for the first time.

If we see Nog vs. Crocop in the finals, it will look the same as the first fight, with a shorter “nog eats it” portion and a longer “Nog puts on the submission on a worn-out crocop” period.

On paper, this card cannot but be the best of the year so far. In reality they’d have to gas the stadium for the tournament finals not to produce at least one fight for the ages. This is one of the most important events of the year as well, with many fights providing “touchstones” to gauge future performance from each fighter.

2006-08-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

Weekend Wrapup: UFC 62, Bushido 12 and Beyond

Last weekend, after a bit of a dry spell, we had two good cards of MMA action. One, UFC 62, rose above the crapulence of its card to put on a great show, while the other, Bushido 12, made good fights out of great matchups.

As is my duty as a serious fan of the sport, I have to look at what we’ve learned from these latest tests of strength and skill. For those of you with a 4th grade reading level (I'm looking at you, Frank Trigg and Joe Rogan) I've bolded the most important part of each lesson (your english teacher would call it a thesis if you'd made it to 8th grade).

The most important lesson: HumungusMMA is awesome at picking fights. Ok, I called the biggest fight of the weekend totally wrong, but still. Most all of the fights turned out exactly as I predicted, check it out: UFC 62 Picks Bushido 12 Picks. Okay, enough tooting my own horn.

The second most important general lesson: I am a fool with nationalities. I called all sorts of different fighters Dutch when they are not, so in the future I’m going to try to avoid even mentioning that sort of thing, or at least being right more often.

UFC 62, What Have We Learned?

Gouveia is the real deal and Combs is not. Anyone with a Record consisting mostly of 1-minute KO’s in small shows is not ready for a top-tier MMA fighter who will take him DEEP into the third minute. Hopefully Gouveia can work harder and make up for his dismal showing vs. Keith “Troll that scares Children” Jardine, where he was 1 leg kick away from victory for three rounds, and still lost.

Sometimes being a seasoned veteran can work against you. Hermes Franca stayed utterly composed, never giving in to nerves, excitement, or frustration. He also nearly lost the fight because Varner came in and tried to win. However, Franca’s strategy paid off in the end, but maybe next fight he should let a little more emotion get involved.

Cheick Kongo may not be Dutch, but he might as well be. In Holland MMA is dominated by strikers, with ground fighting playing very little role. Wrestling is not a popular sport for young people, and a BJJ parlor is hard to find. Kongo came out of a good fight looking like a striking monster who was severely limited on the ground. Hopefully he can take a page out of Bas Rutten’s book, and leave off improving his already great striking to train his ground game intensively with a good camp. Keep your eye on this guy, because he’s going to be exciting to watch even if he never wears a belt.

Nick Diaz is a scrapper. Diaz brought his attitude to the ring with him and outboxed Neer brutally while seeming to hold off on the power to preserve cardio. Diaz looked somewhat gassed after the first round, but continued to throw on strength of will alone. Anyone who faces this kid better come ready.

Forrest Griffen learned to box. While the first fight was so exciting because Forrest had no choice but to wing bombs at bonnar’s head and eat blows to the face, he impressed this time with very sharp striking that frustrated Bonnar and made him retreat into his shell. Definitely not as exciting as the first, but much more impressive, as he maintained a higher workrate without any signs of fatigue.

Chuck Liddell punches hard. Okay, so this isn’t a new lesson, but his fight with Sobral was absurd. If his fight with Tito goes the same way, we’ll have to put Chuck at #1 in his weightclass worldwide. Sure Sobral opened up for the shot, but Chuck was still very impressive placing his shots and generating that kind of power while moving backwards. The Wanderlei fight needs to happen soon, while both men are healthy, a state not likely to continue long given that Crocop has a knack for hitting people really, really hard with his foot. I have next to no interest in the Tito fight, because unless something weird happens and Tito gets it down AND finishes it, it’s going to be a repeat of the first tilt.

Bushido 12

The best grappler in Japan is a pretty darn good grappler. While Black had a monster record, Aoki made him look like a fool with an extremely rarely-seen triangle from half-guard. Aoki’s banana pants might have been offensive, but he looked comfortable at the weight and adds a very exciting new dimension to pride’s already unbelievable LW division, being one of the best and most exciting grapplers in the world. He still runs forwards with his hands out like a gimp though, but he’s fast enough and long enough to get away with it. For now.

Gilbert Melendez is a gangster. From the long hair, to the ghetto-script “Melendez” tattoo across his back like an El Camino window, Melendez is a gritty scrapper. His fight with Obiya looked on the verge of ending in a brutal KO on several occasions, and Gilbert showed absolutely no hesitation in using the Pride rules to their fullest with stomps, flying stomps, knees to the head, and soccer kicks. Melendez looked good at the higher weight, and dominated just as he did at 143, but we’ll have to see him against one of the true giants in that class before we can be sure. Obiya proved to be a gamer, and landed some heavy shots that slowly Gilbert’s onslaught, but was out of the fight from the first time he was dropped.

Don’t mess with spiders. Brennan didn’t come to fight, and hopefully wasn’t hurt too badly on his way to pick up a paycheck. Kawajiri looked good.

Ishida kills grapplers. The energizer-bunny GnP continued to be effective for Ishida against yet another grappler. Ishida simply set a blistering pace that Marcello couldn’t keep up with. Ishida also showed why he has no submission losses on his record despite almost exclusively facing the best grapplers to fight in Japan. When someone tries to lock on a sub, he repositions himself and hits them, and if they still manage to put the sub on, he WILL NOT TAP. I expect Ishida to have to take some time off for healing and therapy on that arm. Tough fight.

Sakurai continues to look good at his new weight, and will hopefully avoid the slumps of his past and remain a major force in the best division in MMA.

Minowa is the hardest working man in showbiz.

Amar Suloev couldn’t deal with Kang’s power. Hopefully Suloev will take some time off and come back stronger. Kang enters the finals with incredible momentum.

Paulo Filho can submit someone if it’s handed to them. Legend has it that before every fight, Filho flips a coin to decide how he will win. Heads, armbar from mount, Tails unanimous decision. I guess the coin came up heads when sloppy bridging from Chonan left an arm vulnerable. A very very impressive fight for Filho, showing why he’s so highly respected as a grappler, and why so many are frustrated he often doesn’t try harder for a submission finish. Filho is an absolute monster in this division and everyone in the world needs to look out for him.

Mousasi might have lost, but he showed himself to be the real deal, and I should have given him more credit. Hopefully Pride will continue to use him to produce some exciting fights. I have my doubts about that though, given that he’s foreign and was brought in to lose.

Didn’t Dan Henderson used to be a wrestler who used his sloppy but powerful striking to setup takedowns from the clinch? Or was that just a dream I had?

Gomi is still a monster. While this wasn’t Gomi’s most spectacular fight of all time, he was never in danger at all. He however looked extremely uncomfortable on the ground, like he was about to vomit, even when he was in dominant position. Gomi used to have a dangerous GnP attack. What’s going on, Takanori?

The finals of the WWGP should be interesting. The best matchups would be Kang vs. Misaki in an excellent strikers matchup, and Gono vs. Filho in another intruiging fight. Filho can obviously win it on the ground, but I don’t see him subbing Gono so easily, and Gono is scrappy and experienced enough to make a real fight out of it, and maybe even win with strikes. It could be made a Final Conflict 2005 style Bushido supercard if they put Hansen vs. Gomi or Aurelio vs. Gomi on it for the title. Ishida is hot right now, but he needs time and I don’t want to see Gomi ruin him for a year or more.

Looking further into the mists of time, other fights can be seen.

Kongo needs to fight someone whose name has been on a PPV before. Buentello would be a great matchup, but OOPS UFC let him go so he’s fighting Tank. Great work Dana, your HW division is so strong you’ll barely miss him.
Nick Diaz needs to fight someone in that monster division he hasn’t fought before. GSP would beat him, but Diaz would make it a good fight, and it would reabilitate GSP for another title run. UFC doesn’t seem to really want Diaz anyway, so they could use that to give him the boot, and then maybe he could sign somewhere he was appreciated, like Pride or WFA.
Forrest Griffen needs someone to fight. When Babalu is done crying, he could beat Forrest, but then what are they going to do, throw him at Chuck again? Hand Tito another loss after Chuck floors him? Sounds like a bad idea to me. This is what happens when you have thin divisions. Wilson Gouveia would be a good fight.
Sakurai is getting his momentum up again after being floored by Gomi and needs someone to fight. He would probably prefer not to face someone else from the Ibraki top team, so Kawajiri and Ishida are out, so maybe a rematch of his bout with Shinya Aoki in shooto.
Kawajiri needs to fight another top guy in Pride. He’s faced checkered opposition since his fighting Buscape and Gomi back-to-back. I wouldn’t mind a rematch of his “win” over Hansen in shooto, because that’s another fight that needs to happen. Shooto might want it to occur within its own ring though. Add Aoki, Melendez, and Ishida to the list of fighters that are in a great position to fight a tough opponent. Throw the names in a hat and no matter what, you’ll get good matchups.

To wrap up, I think butterbean is in good position to challenge Akebono at Wrestlemania LXIX.

2006-08-25T18:42:00.000-07:00

DAN HENDERSON vs KAZUO MISAKI Pre-Fight Interview

All thanks and praise to Tensei for putting all these together. I won't usually hold non-opinion stuff like this, but it's not really available most other places to english-speakers.

KAZUO MISAKI
- My mind-state right now is calm, just waiting for the time. This time I cleaned my room with the determination that I may not make it back alive…well, I’m pretty clean so it wasn’t that messy anyways haha.

- Of course I want to win against Henderson in this rematch. I’m in this match with the intent to take it all. But in this fight, I want to be able to show what I’m about more so than the results. It’s not me who decides who wins or loses, that’s up to god to decide the outcome. I’m fine as long as I can do 100% of what I’m capable of. If I can give it all and lose then I have no regrets, and if I win then it’ll add to my confidence.

- When I went to the states and trained with Ricardo Almeida, it was more MMA than jiujitsu. In his dojo there were champs, big fighters, amateur fighters that were strong, and it was a fulfilling training period. I also did some training in the gi. He taught me techniques I didn’t know about, and it really brought me back to the basics. It reminded me of the time when I first started doing judo and martial arts. “Pounce the opponent in front of you, beat the opponent in front of you,” that feeling. If I can mix his techniques and my own decisiveness, and pull out all of my abilities, then it’ll be good. I need to dig deep and get back to the basics.

- Henderson said “you can’t get that much stronger in a couple months?” I think so too, haha. But the same goes for him too. What’s different is that I still have a lot more room for improvement than him. He was my goal ever since I started, and in terms of age, experience, and mentality, there’s still a large gap that I have yet to fill. Before he was simply the stronger fighter, but in a fight anything happens. Even in a rematch this soon there might be some growth. That, you just have to find out in the fight.

- This time I just want to let out 100% of my potential, so it’s not like a win-or-bust situation for me. If I give 100% of my potential and lose, then that just means it wasn’t enough. I just gotta do what I gotta do. Before I said I will win no matter what, but since my last fight my thinking changed. I will win, well every fighter thinks that.

- Saturday will surely be an exciting fight, so I want the fans to support us with their energy.

DAN HENDERSON

- The reason I’m tanned isn’t because I did something special, when I was at my home in California it just naturally became like this. I’m easily tanned, I’m not necessarily competing with the always tanned Misaki haha.

- Watching the Opening round, I think there are a bunch of tough fighters overall. With that many tough fighters it’ll be a good stage to test my skill. Filho and Kang are named as some of the favorites for the GP, but in a match anything can happen so you never know who will advance. But as a champ ready to take them on, I have nothing to fear. Right now I’m just focusing on the Misaki fight. I didn’t do anything technical for the training, I just trained myself to a good condition.

- When Misaki fought Baroni it has only been two months since my match, so I don’t know too much about where he improved. But any fighter will become better with more experience. At any rate, Misaki is a very tough fighter and should not be taken lightly.

- But I still intend to stand on top. I won’t let anyone take that away. I just took this rematch offer because Pride gave it to me, I will beat down anyone in front of me. Do I have confidence that I will win the WW GP again? If I didn’t have that confidence then I wouldn’t be here.

2006-08-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

AKIHIRO GONO vs GERARD MOUSASI Pre-Fight Interview

Credit to Tensei

AKIHIRO GONO

- Man we’re in huge trouble…I came into Nagoya but the dancers are arriving on that day. I told everyone to practice on their own and I gave them the video, but it’ll be right before the event itself when we all rehearse. I’m okay, I’m worried that we won’t be on the same beat.

- It should be good, we increased the budget this time. Where did the budget increase come from? From my fight money last time. My own pocket, haha. I want to do something different everytime for the fans who come out to see the event. You need the appropriate investment for that. Not that I have any chance of seeing any returns on it.

- I’ll just say one thing to the fans that will come over. This performance is dependent on the audience to catch the joke. Please make sure you catch the damn joke! I hope everyone will have sharp wits and will see what I’m trying to express. “Ohhh I see,” “I can’t believe he said that!” That’s the kind of reaction I’m looking for. Well, whether you like it or not isn’t my responsibility.

- I don’t really know much about Mousasi. I mean, in the three fights he fought Japanese guys he only did one-two combinations. He’s an amateur boxing world champion right? Great. In terms of just punches, I’m above the level of Japan. I think I’m on a world-wide level. I think I’m at least around OPBF level. I even think I have a shot at becoming a champion in Japanese boxing. So I’m above the level of a Dutch amateur boxing champ. If it’s possible I’d like to put on boxing gloves and fight him in a boxing match. I want to try to see who’s better.

- When I was his age I had some amount of talent, and some people called me a prodigy. But now I have a lot of experience instead. I’ll show him what a vet is like. Afterall, I’m “Magic Man” (*OTers flame away). I gave myself that nickname haha. Some boxer had that nickname and I jacked it from there, but my entrance, fighting, everything is jacked too. That’s what learning is, jacking.

- I look weak, and as a farming civilization we’re not physically as strong. In Pride I have a pretty small frame too. So people think they can win, but they end up falling into my pace. That’s Magic Man! This fight will be like magic, and he’ll be in my world before you know it.

- Until the fight I want to wander around the city, maybe enter a book store and spend an elegant holiday. I think most people are looking forward to my entrance rather than my fight, but that’s ok. My entrance improved but my fight is okay, but I’ll try to make it for you guys so yo ro shi ku!

GERARD MOUSASI
- I got the scar beneath my right eye when I got punched during sparring. Usually my partner is very careful about these things though. It’s just an accident, haha.

- I wasn’t really satisfied with how the Opening round fight went. I really wanted to be more aggressive when I got his back but I was too cautious about his subs and couldn’t really go all out. In the Gono match I want to fight like I usually do.

- I’m a striker, but I trained a lot of ground work during this time. I worked a lot on controlling the opponent and punching in various situations. I also did some weight training and so I’m more powerful now too.

- Gono is a tough fighter and it’s hard to stop his movements. He’s undoubtedly a good fighter. I respect his boxing skills but I’m better. Gono said he’ll use plenty of time to hurt me? He’s a funny guy, he probably just says those things haha.

- I think Gono is looking for ways to tire out the opponent, but I won’t fall for that. I don’t mind standing or the ground, but standing is better for KO. It’ll be a tough fight but I’ll be the winner.

- I’m looking forward to Gono’s entrance performance too haha. If he takes time like that entering then I can spend that time focusing in the ring, and I can warm up too. The audience will be in an uproar as well. If I was good at dancing then I could dance too, but I don’t think that’s my character haha.

2006-08-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

RYO CHONAN vs PAULO FILHO Pre-Fight Interview

Tensei did the translation, I'm just the monkey who put it up.

RYO CHONAN

- My mind is clear right now, in a state of nothingness. Last time I was on a two loss streak so I was a bit nervous, but I’m usually pretty empty with my thoughts.

- Filho is very strong. Takedown, jiujitsu on the ground. That’s where he puts his game on the line. I don’t think he’ll be the champ. I’m not saying that I’ll be the one to stop him, but the top athletes like Dan and Kang are great in takedowns, ground, stand up, basically everything. Filho doesn’t do the stand up so that’s a question mark. That’s what I want to go for two. In most cases I’d be very glad to be fighting Filho….

- Not to make any excuses, but to be honest my condition is the worst. But when I fought Suda in DEEP my condition was also bad, in that case though it actually helped me get into it even more. So it’s not all bad. I have nothing to lose, so I’m just going to go right in and give it all I got. I hope the fans will enjoy watching it.

- I don’t hate summer, but you kinda wanna party around if you can right? Haha by the time my fight is over, summer is pretty much at an end. Before, the room I lived in didn’t have A/C and we only had a fan so I’m used to the hot weather. Also my neighbor was very loud and so I would rather be outdoors than stay in the room. Well I still like training too.

- I don’t know how far I can go, but I want to entertain the fans at least. If I gas out then you can just laugh and say “that fool didn’t practice enough.”

PAULO FILHO

- Condition is extremely good. Training went well. In the Opening round I was sick and couldn’t train well, but this time I’m doing ok.

- Chonan is a very tough fighter. He’s also a dangerous opponent. I respect him but I will defeat him in a good fight. I can’t really explain his strengths, but he never gives up. With that determination, when he’s about to lose he comes back to win. That’s dangerous. When my teammate Jucao fought him, I was surprised by the way he fought. I want to be cautious this time in order not to let him turn the fight around.

- At the press conference a day after the Opening round I said “I want to fight a Japanese fighter,” and it came true so I’m happy. Not just this tournament, but there are a lot of strong Japanese fighters so I wanted to have the opportunity to face one of them. I’m glad it became a reality. Japanese fighters are tough, and they have decisive techniques. I think all the fighters are dangerous.

- I didn’t train with Rickson this time. He was busy so there was no time. But we did some talking. So this time, like always, I did a lot of sparring with my teammates. At the gym I do striking as well as the ground game, so while I don’t know how things will go in a match, I can react against both. Of course I’m a BJJ fighter so I want a sub, but I want to end the fight in a good fashion so I’m interested in a KO too.

- In the other GP matches I’m watching out for Kang VS Suloev and Misaki VS Henderson. Also, it’s not the GP but Mach VS Azevedo as well. I actually knew Azevedo for a while now, he has technique and a lot of heart. I was very happy to hear that he would be in Bushido. I’m confident that he will be able to fight a good match.

- I’m very happy about the news that Mike Tyson, who I respect, will be a part of Pride now. I think he’ll do well in Pride as well. If I get matched against him then I’ll take it any time, but I’d rather be a friend than his opponent haha.

2006-08-25T18:33:00.000-07:00

DENIS KANG

- My condition is very good. This year I’ve been fighting a lot without rest, so I’ve been maintaining my good condition at all times. I feel I’m naturally staying in shape.

- Suloev is in the second round, so he must be a strong fighter. He’s especially strong with kicks. His kickboxing skill and footwork is good too. But I’m better at applying pressure and in terms of overall skills, so I don’t feel intimidated by him. I will be relaxed going into the fight, but it’s times like these where you can eat a counter so I want to be cautious too.

- I will first engage in stand up, and want to eventually take it to the ground. Subs are the fastest ways to finish a fight. I think the fight will go basically the way I just said. Recently I’ve been doing a lot of wrestling, boxing, and jiujitsu. For subs I like kimura, arm bars, and RNCs.

- Some fans are saying that I’m one of the strong contenders in winning the GP, after watching my fight at the Opening Round. To me that’s a great source of pride and honor. I really deeply appreciate the fans. Right now I’m maintaining a good condition, but in order to become a champ I think I would have to train even harder.

- In this event, Butterbean who joined the American Top Team 3-4 weeks ago will also be completing. He’s very famous in the states. He has a lot of experience, and he’s huge so everyone’s surprised. And he only came to ATT recently, but he absorbs techniques amazingly fast. For us this was really surprising. He basically has no neck, so he has the advantage of being hard to choke.

- I have pride in representing ATT. Compared to the other teams we are relatively young, but we have a lot of strong fighters. I want to take home the belt and give the team an additional boost. I don’t know the percentages of winning or losing, but I have 150% confidence in fighting on the ring. I want to win for the Japanese fans and dedicate the belt for you guys.

AMAR SULOEV
- My condition is very good right now. I went to a training camp in terms of special preparation for the match. We trained in a school gym type place with the Emelianenko brothers and the Red Devil team for a month. We did a lot of things so I can’t explain it all here.

- I’ve always been interested in my opponent Denis, I’ve known about him for a while now. Our weights are the same so I thought I’d face him eventually. My game plan is to just go out there and fight. It’ll be a good fight. If he goes to the ground it should be a pretty good match. I’m ready all round, including grappling.

- I’m glad people say I’m one of the favorites to win after the Opening round. I think in the 2nd Round all the fights will be great.

2006-08-25T18:29:00.000-07:00

NOBUHIRO OBIYA VS GILBERT MELENDEZ Pre-Fight Interview

Tensei did the translation. I owe him.

NOBUHIRO OBIYA

- All that’s left to do is to do it. It’s exciting. My fatigue from training is recovered too. I went to a wrestling training camp for a week so it took a little time to get the fatigue out, but I got to relax so it turned out well.

- Did I gain anything from the training camp? Yes, I haven’t trained that much before. Aniki (big bro = Gomi) also went to tune up, so it was fun getting ready for the fight. I ran forever on the summer ski slopes so my stamina and my lower body strength are definitely better. Also it was at a high altitude, so all that running was in thinner air. My athletic capabilities are increased and my balance is better than before.

- For this fight I trained in a different training environment from before. Gomi-san built his own gym and moved away from our team, so I decided to think for myself and take advantage. That lead to me building my confidence too.

- I talked with Gomi-san, he told me “Don’t let your fight end as a tidy little victory.” “This is Bushido, it’s Pride.” Of course, I don’t intend to just go for a small non-descript win. I will always fight to the best of my abilities, and I will go buck wild. I want to fight a match where people will say “it was the most dangerous and insane.”

- Gilbert Melendez is young and aggressive. I’m pissed off. He said in an interview that he wants to fight Gomi. I’ll show him it’s a hundred years too early for Melendez to take him on.

- I’m just trying to hold back the urge to go buck wild. I’ll relax for now. For me, I wait to turn on the switch til the very last moment. Until the fight I will zone out, relax, and increase my focus. I think everyone went to all the summer festivals of Japan, but I think this fight can make people say that “Bushido was the best festival of summer.” I want this fight to be a manly fight.

GILBERT MELENDEZ

- I’ve been training all this time to fulfill the dream of being in Pride, so I’m glad that it came true. Pride has the top fighters from all over the world, its competition level and entertainment value are both wonderful.

- I trained a lot for this fight, I’m in great shape. I used to fight as 65kg but I wasn’t really feeling good. By going to 73kg I feel more healthy, and stronger as well.

- I respect Obiya, I saw a couple of his fights in DEEP and he was a really strong fighter. I feel honored to be able to fight him. His left hook has a lot of speed and is dangerous, so I want to especially look out for that. I will keep fighting with the intent to finish him, and I want to finish him as quickly as possible.

- I’ve been training a lot of grappling and wrestling, I want to show that technique in the fight. To give you a hint, I want to fight with wrestling as the backbone. But I became pretty tough now, and my jiujitsu skills have increased. In one word, you can say that I’m an all-round fighter.

- I feel that my striking skills have increased since first coming over to Japan. I’ve been training hard, haha. I think I’m stronger now than the last time I fought in Japan, so I want you guys to look forward to that. I’m a pretty chill person, but once I’m on the ring I will beat anybody who steps in front of me.

- Do I want to fight the champ Gomi? Right now I want to gain some experience inside the Pride ring. But I will definitely climb to the status of the champion. Gomi knows no fear and you can tell he has killer instinct. He’s a very tough fighter. But that’s the same for me too. I always want to win with a KO, never a decision.

2006-08-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

SHINYA AOKI PRE-FIGHT INTERVIEW

Thanks to Tensei for translation. Jason Black was unavailable.

- My mentality is as usual. I don’t feel different about being in Pride, and just because I’m in a fight I don’t feel anything special about it too. I think I should be in my best form for the fight.

- My impression of Jason Black…he’s white, haha. That’s about it. I think he’s pretty good on the ground, but I think I’m better. His mentality of winning by submission is very good, I should take notes from him haha. He’s like me, somewhat big for this division. The cutting this time was pretty good. I was pretty small to be fighting in Shooto at 76kg, but I didn’t think the weight would drop this smoothly. I realized after cutting but I think this is my best weight at this point.

- It’s just my personal opinion, but I think my ground game’s the best, so I’m just out working hard to prove my personal opinion. I don’t have a game plan, but I have an image of how I’ll pull off the win. Regardless of the circumstance I think my body will react, and I always think going into a fight that I’ll be winning with a sub, so it’s the same as usual. In Pride, I think Big Nog and Fabricio are good grapplers. But I won’t be the “New Nogueira,” I’ll be the “New Imanari” haha. By the way Imanari told me to be careful because the Pride fight times are long. But grappling matches often have 10 minute first rounds, and it’s sometimes easier to have longer rounds for grappling.

- The number of subs I can use? I should say something like 2000 for you guys, haha. I don’t usually do those kinds of lip service, but my moves are all textbooks, I just have a lot of “transitions into techniques.” I can’t brag like I have a couple thousand……maybe as much as the stars in the sky? haha

- For the fans that see me for the first time, I want them to see….my face. Haha seriously, I really want them to see the ground techniques, the accuracy of submissions. People tend to think subs are bland, but I will show a flashy and attractive submission game. Ofcourse, if I have a chance to pull off a flying something then I definitely will go for it.

- To get here I’ve been helped and supported by a lot of people, so I want to show them a great fight. After making weight I want to eat and fight in a good condition.
*Jason Black flew in late, therefore was not present for the interview.

2006-08-25T18:23:00.000-07:00

HATSU HIOKI vs. JEFF CURRAN Pre-Fight Interview

All praise to Jesus...err....Tensei

- I just feel that my match is approaching. I don’t especially feel any pressure. I’m usually able to turn nervousness to my advantage. My condition is great, all my techniques should be functioning well.

- I saw several of Curran’s videos, he’s also well rounded and his submissions are especially strong. I am going to be watching out for his guillotines and triangles from the guard. Other than that, he seems tough and persistent. I think he’ll be a good opponent for me.

- It’s my first time fighting in Pride, everyone around me is hyped and there will be 130 people coming to cheer me just in terms of the people related to my gym. For the fans that will see me the first time, I want them to see the Strike-Throw-Submit interaction that is unique to MMA. I’m not going to change my style because it’s Pride, instead I’ll fight the same way I usually do. I believe that if I’m able to fight at my pace, the performance will naturally be received well by the audience. I trained hard for this fight, so I will relax for the rest of the time leading up to the fight.

JEFF CURRAN

- I’m very excited to be in Pride for the first time. They gave me the opportunity to be in such a big show, I want to give it everything I got. I always wanted to be in Pride, it’s an exciting show for those that are watching too. I was getting all pumped up watching the fighter intro clips, haha.

- In this fight, I want to show the best performance of my career as a fighter. That way hopefully I can continue to participate in Pride. My strongest point as a fighter is my high level of technique. I’m also confident that I can fight intelligently. It’ll be a very tough fight for my opponent because I have a low chance of making mistakes. I think he’ll be very frustrated because the fight won’t go according to his game plan. I also have confidence in the power of my punches. On the ground I’ll go for a submission victory too.

- Hioki is an all-round fighter, and he’s proven that he’s a good fighter with his record. I think he’s talented, and he can stand as well as submit. His reach is long so he has an advantage in his boxing too. But in terms of physical strength, I can overcome him. Can he still stand after taking my punches?

- There’s danger lurking in every fight. As for me, the key point in this fight is power. If you ask what’s his most dangerous skill, you can say everything. Also, I’m not the type to formulate a deep game plan before the fight, I just go with the flow on the ring so I’m ready for whatever he brings to the table.

- I did special training for this fight. I usually do my routine training, but with each opponent I make slight adjustments. Also, I fine tuned my condition and technique. This time I want to fight smart. I’ll just say that I trained in a way where I can keep fighting in a good condition even if it becomes a long fight.

- Hioki wants to have a fight with a lot of Strike-Throw-Submit action? Same goes for me. Both of us are smooth on the ground and have good takedown technique. I’m confident in my punches too. It’ll be exactly what the fans want.

- Do I want to fight the champion Gomi? I can’t really say anything at this point, but if they will give me the match then I will love to take it. Personally, I think since Aurelio beat him, Aurelio is the rightful champion at this point. But Gomi is a super star, even if it’s a non-title match I’d like to take him on.

- A lot of fans probably think of me as a ZST fighter. I intend to step on the ring representing ZST. I appreciate what ZST has done for me, and ZST is a great event too. For ZST who gave me good experience, and for my team, I would like to fight representing them. I want a good result.

2006-08-25T10:15:00.000-07:00

BUSHIDO 12 PICKS AND PREDICTIONS

Feel free to disagree in the comments, and to remind me how awesome I am once they all come true. Or you know, what a retard I am and how poorly I picked them.

Hatsu Hioki vs. Jeff Curran
Both guys are very impressive, and really should help form a new 143 lb division in Pride. Make it happen. Curran has fought and beat the better fighters, notably taking Kid Yamamoto to decision, but don’t be surprised if Hioki steps up his game and wins it. Should be a very close fight. Curran by submission round 2.

Shinya Aoki vs. Jason Black
Black has a ridiculously good record, but against low-level fighters. He has trouble dealing with great grapplers. Aoki is pretty much the best Japanese grappler alive right now. Uh-oh Mr. Black. Black stands a chance of winning it because Aoki isn’t incredibly durable and runs forwards with his arms out like a gimp, but Black isn’t a GnP monster. Look for Aoki to just cream him with subs. Black could survive to the end of the match to lose a decision based on sub attempts, but Aoki has made incredible grapplers look like children, so expect a sub round 1. Aoki by submission round 1.

Nobuhiro Obiya vs. Gilbert Melendez
Two undefeated former shooters are stepping up in weight to fight it out. Obiya trains with Gomi and has wins over tough opposition in DEEP. Melendez is a monster in the featherweight division, so he shouldn’t be badly outsized at 160, but the real question is how much of his ability depends on being a giant compared to his opponents, who don’t cut nearly as much weight at featherweight. That said, Melendez is a finisher and a brutal one. I’ve never seen him even in trouble in a fight, and he can smash people standing or on the ground. Look for him to finish early. Melendez TKO Round 1

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Chris Brennan
A few weeks ago, Brennan was bitten by a brown recluse spider and tried to pull out of this fight. A brown recluse’s venom dissolves and kills muscle and tissue and is very serious. Serious business. For reasons unknown (most likely involving the phrase “never fight for DSE again”) Brennan has decided he will take the fight after all, so expect him to look worse than usual and gas badly. That said, Kawajiri is still burning from his embarrassingly one-sided loss to Gomi, and wants to prove a point in every fight. He’s out for blood, so I would expect a stoppage in round 1 even if Brennan came at 100%. Kawajiri TKO Round 1.

Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Christiano Marcello
Marcello is the BJJ coach for Chute Boxe. Since Chute Boxe is the best thing to happen to Pride since Takada dojo, he gets to fight in the big show. Unfortunately, he’s being set up in a “look how awesome our ‘new’ Japanese fighter is” match. Ishida is essentially un-subbable. In addition to great grappling skill, the guy WILL NOT TAP. He’s a workhorse and is going to drive a GnP pace Marcello can’t hang with. Marcello isn’t nearly as big as Aurelio, so he’s going to get beat up worse, but will most likely make it to the closing bell, with lots of bruises and swelling. Ishida by decision.

Hayato Sakurai vs. Luciano Azevedo
Sakurai is an elder statesman of MMA at this point, but he looks to be in the best shape of his life. The guy can do it all, judo throws, wrestling, kickboxing, and submissions. These years will be regarded as the peak of his career if he can avoid going into another lazy slide of uninspired fights. Azevedo is a very talented fighter with a great submission rate for any grappler, especially one that claims luta-livre as his style, but I don’t think he’ll be able to control Sakurai’s game. “Mach” is going to take it to him standing with short punchs and heavy leg-kicks, in what should be a highlight fight.. Mach KO round 1.

Ikuhisa Minowa vs Eric “Butterbean” Esch
Who cares, how it turns out, this fight is going to be awesome. Seriously though, Minowa’s wrestling and subs will probably let him submit Butterbean without too much trouble. But the bean is taking his training seriously it seems, and is actually with a great team in ATT. He’s beaten 5 in a row with submissions under various special rules, and he can always turn someone’s face inside out with a punch, so it should be pretty exciting. Minowa Submission round 1.

Takanori Gomi vs. David Baron
David Baron has a lot going for him. He’s 10 and 1. He’s a snappy dresser and has a cool haircut. He’s also probably going to make a decent payday getting chin-checked by the best LW in the world. Gomi KO round 1 2 minutes

THAT OTHER PRIDE TOURNAMENT

Gegard Mousasi vs. Akihiro Gono
Please do not be confused by Gegard’s record. Travis Fulton would blush to have wins over some of these guys. Gegard was brought in for one purpose: to lose to Takimoto and put him over, to make DSE’s investment in him worthwhile. It seems reasonable: French kickboxer with questionable ground skills and an impressive-sounding record with nobody that great on it vs a great judo player. Has UFC 1 written all over it. Too bad Takimoto doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. Gono is going to have his with with Mousasi, if he doesn’t gas out during his entrance (or blow a knee Aerts style). Gono submits Mousasi round 1.

Denis Kang vs. Amar Suloev
Kang, a former BJJ fighter, has gotten a taste of the knockout and likes it. Look for him to gun for more bombs in this fight. It’s really hard to judge where Kang is now from the Ninja fight, because in any fight that ends that fast, someone got lucky. He hasn’t lost since 2003, which, interestingly, is the last time he faced a great opponent. Still, 18 fights without a loss against even middling opponents is impressive, and Kang has fought a lot of good, if not great fighters. Meanwhile Suloev has been fighting very solid guys and impressing everyone when he comes out of his shell and tries to win. If Kang can get aggressive and score early and put Suloev on the back foot, he could take this. But I expect quality will shine through in a close fight, and Suloev will surprise people by winning this one. Suloev by Decision.

Ryo Chonan vs. Paulo Filho
I’m sorry. I want Ryo to win, but Filho is going to hold him down. Chonan’s only hope is some kind of cut or injury, which isn’t impossible as he’s won by cut before and Filho is often injured. Don’t be surprised to see the armbar, but I don’t think it’ll come, because Chonan really wants and needs this fight. Filho by Decision

Dan Henderson vs. Kazuo Misaki
This rematch should be interesting. I honestly don’t think Dan is that hungry anymore, or really ever was. The man is just naturally a competitor, but I don’t think he cares about the belt particularly, and just wants to go in there and fight. I think Misaki really feels he can prove something and be the great Japanese hope in the 183lb division. Expect Misaki to try to implement the same game of technical striking, with a little more refinement. Dan’s going to come in and do what he always does: use his power and toughness to keep it even on the feet, and use his wrestling ability to control the pace of the fight. If Misaki doesn’t screw up and eat a bomb, and Dan comes in shape and doesn’t fall apart later in the fight, Dan’s going to take a clear decision in a solid technical fight. Henderson by Decision

2006-08-24T23:24:00.000-07:00

TAKANORI GOMI vs DAVID BARON PRE-FIGHT INTERVIEW

Thanks to Tensei for translation.

TAKANORI GOMI

- This time I'm feeling excited for my match. Unlike last time when I was feeling like I had to do this. The WWGP is going on, and there are also the LW fighters who made things pretty interesting the first half this year.

- For some reason I'm the main eventer this time haha. I learned that just now, but no one wants to see a decision in the main event. They want some sort of results. A KO loss or a sub loss. KO or sub, they must see this happen. So I feel good and relaxed. It's a great opportunity to bring out everything I did in training. Right now it's summer vacation for people, maybe alot of people will come. It feels good. I don't have to worry about the results, I'll just keep going forward. That's my mentality this time.

- I do feel that I want to show the Nagoya fans something great live. Maybe I can show them something amazing. My theme is "Explosion." In the end we can all get rowdy.

- The last time I exploded was in NYE. It feels like the first fight in 8 months since then. So I don't know what will happen. I do have some nervousness, but I'm working hard everyday so I think it's fine. I even made my own gym. I built it with the prize money I won with my own fists. That's why I can explode as I like on the ring. Going forward I want to fight a few fights where I have no regrets. I don't have to be preoccupied with the results.

- I want to be on the ring soon. I'm even a bit antsy, which is rare. That's why I want to be natural, not worried about the results, and fight with a bit of curiosity about where I will go next. It's not like last year when it was all "Gomi must win." The fans this time will get to see "What will Gomi be like when he goes all out?" I don't think they want to see a solid decision. I will be in there relaxed and free of worries. There's only several fights an year, so I want to have some fun.

- After the wrestling camp, I tuned up at the gym for a week. I didn't get anything special from training at the camp, but maybe it'll show up in the gym.

- David Baron seems like a solid opponent. He looks like the type who trains the basics alot. He's good at fighting from the top and holding opponents down, he punches well too. To win in this ring, you gotta show that you're on another level from the opponent. There are that many top fighters around, and some fighters become top fighters after going into Pride. So I want to be on the offensive against those upcoming fighters, and press the fight.

- An event is over with the main event, so I just want to go all out. I want the crowd to be heated up too. I want everyone to just burn up into flames this summer. Everyone has their festivals and fireworks to go to in the summer, but from September schools begin, so I want them to think of this event as the final festival of the summer.

- Rascal Gym opened recently, and I get to be at the starting line before any of the gym members so I feel a little destiny in that sense. I want them to see me and follow me. It's a good timing, this time alot of things are happening at the right time. I think all the students at the gym are interested in what happens, but they already get to see a peak of this world 1 month after they started. I hope they would think "some day I'll be the one" and have fun training. I want to fight in a way to signify the birth of the Rascal gym.

- My corner will be Bushin-juku's Suzuki Nobuya-san. Also my gym students. They take care of me too. I don't really want a top 3 fighter in my corner. If everyone says different opinions then it messes things up. I'd rather have support than advice. This time I'll fight blond. My color is pretty faded now. If I have time I'll try to go to a salon.

DAVID BARON

- I'm glad to be fighting in Pride. I started judo at 9, I started Savate and Kempo, I feel that I finally made it here. In judo I won the military's regionals, and I eventually became the champ for the military. The reason I was in the military tourneys was because I used to be a fireman, and firemen in France are under the military.

- Unfortunately I didn't make the Olympic team, but in the judo world tournament for firefighters I lost to a Japanese guy and was second place. The reason I started MMA was because I wanted to become a more complete fighter.

- I use my Savate skills in MMA alot. Savate is basically like Muay Thai, but as opposed to using the face of your feet like in Muay Thai, you use the whole feet in Savate.

- I saw Gomi's videos alot of times, he can punch, wrestle, and grapple. It won't be an easy fight. But in terms of ground technique I'm definitely better. I'm finally able to enter the event I wanted to. I want to give my best and have an exciting match. Gomi's called the Fireball Kid, well I'm a firefighter so I'll put out that fire haha.

2006-08-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

Eric "Butterbean" Esch Pre-fight Interview

Again thanks to Tensei. Minowa was unavailable. Probably flagpole sitting or swalloing goldfish.

BUTTERBEAN
- I'm very excited about my first Pride fight. I always liked Pride, I feel honored to be able to fight in the best ring in the world.

- The reason I've been doing MMA lately is because MMA is fun. Because of my big body, boxing tends to get boring. By contrast there are so many factors in MMA, it goes well with my big heard. I train at ATT now, they're like family to me now.

- My best weapon is obviously punches, but my ground game improved now too. Before people used to say "he's over after he gets taken down" but now it's different. I'll shock everyone with my "Bean"JJ, haha.

- My best move I guess is the choke? I won several times with chokes and it'll be fun to beat Minowa with a choke. Well I'm like a turtle and I don't have a neck, so I don't think Minowa will be able to choke me. By the way I'll fight at around 390 pounds. There are other MMA fighters that are as big as me, but they don't have stamina. I have that stamina, and I know how to use my body effectively.

- Minowa is strong and brave, he's one of my favorite fighters. This match will be between two brave warriors, so I think it'll be really exciting, and I myself am looking forward to this fight. I have to watch out for his leg locks though. So I will try to keep him from geting to my legs. On the other hand if I'm standing then there's nothing to be afraid of. Minowa, go ahead and punch me as much as you want, I'll just stand there smiling haha.

- Minowa fought tall fighters before, but he probably never fought a big and strong guy like me. This fight will be Minowa's techniques versus Butterbean's power. Some are comparing this to Ali VS Inoki, but Inoki knows nothing about the ground game. I will show you the new style: BeanJitsu I'm learning at ATT. I'm as big as two Ali's!

- Would I rather win with a KO or a win? What does the audience want to see? I don't mind either way. If they want a KO, I'll give them a KO!

2006-08-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

HAYATO "MACH" SAKURAI VS LUCIANO AZEVEDO Pre Fight Interviews

Thanks again to Tensei for translation.

LUCIANO AZEVEDO
- I'm excited to be fighting in Pride. Pride is the top MMA event in the world so I'm very glad. I trained well for Pride, and results aside I want to have a good match. I think it's a great chance for me to fight here. I want to have a great showing this time and keep fighting in Pride.

- I started Luta Livre when I was 12, then considering the financial factors I started MMA five years ago. When I debuted I didn't have experience and lost twice in a row, but afterwards I'm on a 9 win streak. I overcame my losses because of experience. By compiling experience I started training differently, and I think that worked out well for me.

- I want my landmark 10th victory by defeating Mach. I have alot of techniques, but I especially like RNC, guillotine, armbar, and leg lock. But for the fans who sees me for the first time, I want them to look not only at my techniques but at my big heart. It's important to win, but it's also important to not give up.

- Mach is a really wonderful fighter, he has alot of experience and he's one of Japan's top fighters. I saw his fights before in the past, I never thought I would be facing him. You never know what's gonna happen in a fight, I want to watch out for Mach's skills and fight. I want to finish him with striking or subs. In Saturday I will surprise everyone.

- To my Japanese fans, I will fight to win, and I will fight a good match. I will try my best, so god will be on my side as well.

HAYATO "MACH" SAKURAI

- My condition in the summer is never really good. Summer's not a good time for me. It's my birthday today but I'm pretty pissed off at summer. I seem to have a jinx where I lose my summer matches, so this time I want to break that trend.

- I cut weight to just 2kg to go, but when I drank water I had 4-5kg to lose again. Last summer was good because I was in Seattle and I didn't have to deal with a hot summer. From next year on I won't fight in the summer. This is the Grand Finale to my summer career. I will never fight in summer again! From this point forward I retire my summer fights. I want to give it all for my match. My opponent grew up in the hot Brazillian weather so maybe he's used to it, but I love cold places. In the summer I have to go to the beach to cool my body down. In the future when I'm an old man I'll croak during summer. That's how much I hate summer!

- I only watched my opponent fight Din Thomas, I didn't really come away with much knowledge of how he fights. He probably watched a bunch of my fights. With the heat, this is gonna be a tough match. One punch KO? Did I say that? It probably won't go down like that.

- If I lose then I'll be pissed so I might fight in the summer again just to win, but if I win then I won't fight in the summer any more. I'm burning with motivation in that sense. I fought alot of strong opponents before, so this time I'll try to win against nature! First andd foremost I'll beat summer! And I always fight before my birthdays and lose, and spend a terrible birthday. That I don't want anymore, so I will overcome summer! I fucking hate summer!

2006-08-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

CHRISTIANO MARCELLO VS MITSUHIRO ISHIDA Pre-Fight Interview

Tensei absolutely rocks, and has done these translations of the pre-fight interviews, so I am going to post them here for easy access

MITSUHIRO ISHIDA

- I never thought about matches being easier or harder in the summer. I fought in August last year, in the arena there's the cooler, I don't think it'll matter. I do feel I need to make sure my conditioning is good though. I'm a bit worried that the Captain of Ibaragi (Mach) is suffering though. Well I think he'll probably be alright, haha.

- It's two more days til the fight, but I haven't even met my opponent, I still don't feel like I am fighting. I'm relaxed as usual.

- I saw Marcelo's video but it was from four years ago. I can't really say anything about him since I haven't seen his recent fights....My impression is that he's aggressive. His attacks and advances from the bottom are great, so I want to make sure I'm not overwhelmed. His heart and ground technique are also very strong, so it'll be a battle of who has the biggest heart too.

- Marcelo broke Shaolin's arm in a match he lost by decision? If it was a recent fight it's amazing, but I don't really know what to think of a story from the past. I would think that Marcelo would be pretty formidable if he pushed Shaolin of now that far. I don't really care for past stories so I don't know what to make of it.

- I feel that Chute Boxe is always one with the team as the fighter is in a match. On the ring it's one on one, but feeling wise it seems like one on four. Of course I never got up on the ring with him so I'm not too sure though. I always thought that if I stepped up to the Bushido ring that I will fight a Chute Boxe fighter, but I never thought it would be in my third fight, haha. It'll be a good experience for me.

- I don't have any special plans for this fight, just to go all out. Last time I was thinking alot, so this time I'm going by pure instinct from the get go. Like last time, regardless of the results I want to fight an exciting match that only me and Marcelo can do. Theme is the same as always, it's an important fight. Not much has changed since the win over Aurelio, but it was a good experience. It's my first fight in Nagoya so I hope that MMA fans will come to watch. I want to meet their expectations with a great showing.

CHRISTIANO MARCELLO

- It was a good timing for me to fight in Pride in alot of ways. I'm a coach at Chute Boxe, I got married and my life is settled. I want to show everything I got, and for the Japanese fans I want them to think of me as someone who always goes for a sub or a KO, not win on points.

- When I first joined CB, honestly the ground skills of the academy wasn't vevry high. So Rudimar asked me to focus on being a coach rather than a fighter. I tried my best as a coach to think of what's good for the academy, and started wearing a Gi during practice to seriously start working on the jiujitsu. The academy's levels improved alot since then, and starting with Wanderlei there are 7 black belts in Chute Boxe now. Of course I'll continue to be a coach at the academy, but I think now was a good time to be a fighter again in MMA.

- My base is Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. I learned it in Rio, but that was an environment where you could only grow if you're truly strong. Due to the environment my jiujitsu skills rose very rapidly, and even when I was in Gracie's school I learned Muay Thai as well. Coming to Chute Boxe I believe I became a very complete fighter. My street fighting stories? I'm basically against street fighting. But that just means I won't start a fight myself, I will accept any fight I'm offered. If that was for my academy or my family's honor, I will definitely get him back!

- I lived at Rickson's house for two years learning jiujitsu. Rickson is like a father to me. I learned alot not only about fighting but about pride and lifestyle from him (Marcello shows the "To Rockson" tattoo on his back). Rockson was like a best friend and a smaller brother to me. He passed away, but I got this tattoo because I wanted to show that I always kept him in my heart.

- I never saw Ishida's fights before. I know that he beat some strong opponent, but I don't really care. I will fight Ishida with the intent to kill, and I will fight a good fight. Ishida says "you won't be able to get away from my tackle?" It doesn't matter to me. On the other hand if I bring him to the ground, I think he will be in big trouble. I hate stalling so I want Ishida to be aggressive like he was in the Aurelio match.

2006-08-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs Chris Brennan Pre-Fight Interview

Tensei absolute rocks, and has done these translations of the pre-fight interviews, so I am going to post them here for easy access

CHRIS BRENNAN

- I feel happy to be fighting in the Pride ring again. But I got bitten by a poisonous spider on the right leg on August 5th, I was even hospitalized. I was on anti-biotics for a few days and I thought about not fighting. But I had two good weeks to train and I'm basically fully healed. I moved to Texas recently and my training environment isn't completely set up, but I trained hard with Richard Kidrano and Pete Spratt. Kawajiri is a tough fighter so I'm looking forward to this fight.

- Kawajiri is a world class fighter, his wrestling's strong and his GnP is good. He has a great record, and regardless of the result it'll definitely be a tough fight. Both Kawajiri and I are the types to keep going forward, so I think it'll be a good match between us. I have nothing to lose so I can give it my all, but I think Kawajiri may feel a bit of pressure while fighting.

- What I'm watching out for the most from Kawajiri is the wrestling. Strong wrestlers can usually keep the fight standing, and they can also take it to the ground in they want. So wrestlers tend to take control of the match when I face them. My winning pattern is to look for chances while striking, takedown, then bring him into the ground game. I want to follow that gameplan. Even if Kawajiri takes me down, I can take his back or go for a sweep. But it's not good to be on the bottom for too long on the ground.

- But I do have confidence in my submissions, and I have confidence I can get a sub off of Kawajiri. Before in Pride I was fighting at 80kg, but this is my best weight. I won't lose in terms of power, and I think I can show my true self this time.

- My last fight I was just held down by Takase, which was the most frustrating fight in my career. I constantly move for 15 minutes and go for subs, if it was to go to a decision I would rather stand and bang and risk eating a KO loss.

TATSUYA KAWAJIRI

- Before a fight I always get a hair cut. When I get a hair cut I get into fight mode. I want to fight soon. I did everything I had to do, so I think this fight will be great. I feel more confident than ever. I want to see how strong I got.

- Til now I didn't like summer, I couldn't really finish up my training like I wanted to. But this time I was able to do some good training, and my trainer pushed me to the hardest limits ever since turning pro. I gained more confidence, and I feel during sparring that the striking I did for this one year has really improved my stand up.

- My impression of Brennan? Macho-man, haha. It's a Japan VS US Macho Match. I heard he's one of US' great grapplers, but I'm one of Japan's great MMA fighters, so as an MMA fighter I can't let myself lose to a grappler. Of course he has the strong ground technique to submit an opponent, so I'll watch out for that. But that just means I shouldn't get into the submissions game. So I just have to fight as usual.

- It's true that I polished my stand up, but I trained in a way to be able to fight in any situation I face. I think I can hold my own against anyone in grappling in MMA. I'll show that an MMA champion who can grapple well will have no problems against a pure grappler. Brennan can find a sub in a flash, so there's a possibility that he'll find that opening, but I will construct my gameplan with that in mind.

- I felt terrible after last year's match in Nagoya. I couldn't train well since I wasn't feeling well, and that carried on into the fight. I think there are alot of Nagoya fans that think that that was the true me, that's no good so I want to show my true self to the Nagoya fans.

- I will chill until the fight time comes, haha. I will become a solid block of mental distractions, I want to pass time thinking about what to do if I win, what I'll eat, and stuff like that. I feel great, but that's what I also said before the Hansen fight...then it ended as a DQ win after a shot to the groin, I hope that doesn't happen again.

- In Nagoya, I will crush everything in the past with my fists, and fight my fight.

2006-08-24T21:20:00.000-07:00

SEIICHI IKEMOTO VS DAISUKE NAKAMURA Interview
Tensei absolute rocks, and has done these translations of the pre-fight interviews, so I am going to post them here for easy access, with his permission.

SEIICHI IKEMOTO

- I trained hard to be in Bushido once again. I thought that if I beat Matsushita convincingly at Real Rhythm (DEEP Spin-off) then I would have a chance, I feel that I'm off to a good start. I think it was for the better that this is a "challenge" match, it makes my circumstance very clear.

- I made alot of mistakes in the Yves fight. He came at me with combinations, I was only able to answered with single shots. I felt that my striking could still use alot of work. In terms of defense, I couldn't show anything I trained for at Team Yoshitaka, I didn't get receive any huge hits but I couldn't show the counters I learned at the boxing gym. Also, I never went for takedowns before, so even though I was losing the stand up battle I couldn't take him down. Therefore I kept continuing with the stand up, I felt I was incomplete in MMA.

- I'm the type of guy that wants to try many things, so I pick a theme for every fight. In the Matsushita fight I decided I will KO him in the first round with a flying knee, and I was able to do that. I need to pick a theme again, but Nakamura is someone I wanted to fight for a long time so I'm really excited about it. I think our styles will make an exciting fight, and he really does the same kind of moves that I would do in a situation. He's U-style and that's how he wins, so I'm excited for this bout.

- Also, Nakamura is good at short punches as well as counter hooks. He doesn't retreat in the stand up so I think he's a tough guy as well. Like me, his takedown isn't that strong, he is flexible and he's hard to sub. His bridge seems strong, so I think he's good at reversals as well. If it goes to the ground then I want to move around to be exciting for the audience.

- The owner at RiRoots Conan where I started MMA was also an ex-U style fighter, and the subs I learned are U style as well. I think he wants to as well, but I really want to go for armlocks and Victor-type techniques.

- Ever since the Real Rhythm match was cancelled I always wanted to fight him, and I'm glad that it happened in front of such a large audience. Ofcourse if I lose here it's over, so it's a must that I win. That's my two themes for this match. Win convincingly, and become one of the fighters on the main cards. I will move as much as I can on Saturday's match. I have the U style pride too, so I want to go for a sub with the Real U style.

DAISUKE NAKAMURA

- I slept early yesterday so I woke up early today. I changed my geta-sandals because it was all worn down, it wasn't because of a special superstition. It is my "lucky sandals" though. Did my body get bigger? I did a little weights, but I'm not doing anything special.

- This is another chance for me in Bushido, it's a challenge match but I want to get the results and make it back into the main cards. In the Aurelio match I couldn't move that well and I have some regrets. Losing in a part of it, but it also has to do with being trapped in Aurelio's pacing and style. This is a challenge match so if I do a shitty match then there won't be another. I will fight with that fact in mind.

- I do realize that it's the "U style DNA match" but Ikemoto is one of my favorite fighters. His fights have alot of movement, so I want to give him all that I got and fight. Ikemoto's aggressive submission style I think is close to the U style, and I can only fight in a way where I'm always moving around so I'll just fight as usual. I always listen to the UWF theme song before fights to pump me up, so it's nothing special this time around.

- I want the fans to see me fight my hardest til the bell rings, and I want to give everything I got for the fight. Of course, I will go for a submission win.

2006-08-24T21:12:00.000-07:00

NAOKI MATSUSHITA and HIROYUKI ABE pre-fight interviews

Thanks to our good friend Tensei, I have access to the interviews Pride does at the pre-fight press conference. He has personally translated all of these for us.

HIROYUKI ABE

- I trained on my basic condition at my school's wrestling gym as an AACC member. I go every year so it's not something special I did for this fight, but it was before a match so it was good timing. I usually just act like a big-mouth old guy, but this time I trained pretty hard too haha.

- In terms of this being a challenge match, I lost last time so there's nothing I can say. Last Bushido I lost without being able to do anything, so I want to have more fun this time. Winning or losing is important too, but I want to think more about how I can overcome myself rather than the opponent.

- Matsushita seems like a guy who loves to bang and has alot of power. In terms of weight division he's one above me, and he does judo so his core must be solid and he must have strength as well. I hope both of us moves around alot for this match. I want to do MMA, not just striking. Taking him down and GnP is the ideal, but I have no set plans for now. Matsushita said I taught him? I knew he was in A-3 but I don't remember that haha.

- I talk to Josh Barnett alot these days, and when I sent him an email saying my opponent's decided, he sent me Matsushita's whole career stats (Fight Finder ftw!) and told me to do this and that. Some of those though, I thought to myself "man I can't do that!" haha. The loss in July's ClubDEEP, that's just the way it goes sometimes. I think there's alot I could've done, and I trained with those things in mind. I really want a strong win in my hometown.

NAOKI MATSUSHITA

- I'm really happy that my lil bro and my team and everyone around me is cheering for me for my first Pride fight. Until I made a team as brothers, I thought it would've been great if I could enter Pride as a result of doing MMA, but holding events on our own I really wanted the brand-name, the market value of Pride to myself as well.

- The knee I got in the Ikemoto match did no damage to me. But the wound opened in a Y shape and the blood wouldn't stop, a loss is a loss but I really had alot of regrets about that fight. Rather than winning, I really wanted to show what I was about in my hometwon Osaka. My wound is okay, I asked them to stitch very intricately so I can go fight right away haha.

- I always try to fight aggressively, and I'm always thinking about showing some strong point about myself in a fight. For example the striking, the throws, or in defense, be resilient enough to never get taken down, I want to show that something. I also don't want to think too much. If the fighters are having fun then it's fun for those that are watching, if the fighters are bored then I think the audience will be too. The Osaka fight is a good example, if I can fight a really dramatic fight then I don't really care about the victory or loss.

- I fought alot before, but Abe is an even longer veteran. I used to be in WK (Uno) and Abe taught me for a while. Well it doesn't matter in a fight, but he's really senior to me in a sense. People say this is a brothers match? (**they both have brothers) Maybe I might lose, but as brothers we will win haha.

- In this fight, rather than just myself, I want people to be impressed by MB3z and my supporters. In Nagoya there are people that will support me and those are the ones who helped me get into Bushido, so I want them to see me fight.

2006-08-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

Alan Belcher vs. Yushin Okami

Japanese in the UFC are like Koreans in Pride: not meant to last. That said, I don’t think Okami is going to “put over” Belcher here. Belcher is a finisher when he fights totally inexperienced fighters below his level, but he has trouble with fighters like Buck Meredith and Marvin Eastman. Okami has fought more and tougher opponents, and has never been stopped with strikes either (barring his unfortunate “win” over Anderson Silva). Okami doesn’t have killer instinct and Belcher is most likely bigger than he is, so he might throw the fight away to a big shot late in the match, but I expect him to pull this one out in an unremarkable fight. Basically the Japanese circuits are superior to the low-level American ones. Okami by decision.

Wilson Gouveia vs. Wes Combs

Combs has a much more impressive-looking record here, stopping a huge number of fighters in under 2 minutes. However those opponents are frequently stopped in the first round. Gouveia has won far fewer fights, but has fought more talent than Combs. Look for combs to come out blasting early in the first, gas, and be TKO’d on the ground. Gouveia by TKO in the 1st

David Heath vs. Cory Walmsley

Here was have more impressive records, Heath being undefeated. Similar level of opponents, but Walmsley hasn’t been in a fight for almost two years. Heath is going to GnP him into a submission in the second. Heath by submission/tko in the 2nd

Rob Macdonald vs. Eric Schafer

Rule of thumb: when 3 of a fighter’s teammates have recently been on PPVs, and his opponent is new to the organization and not with a big team, he’s being set up to win and win big. Eric has an okay record but can’t get it going when he faces someone with a winning record. Rob is being gifted here, look for a smash. Macdonald submits Schafer round 1.

Nick Diaz vs. Josh Neer

Usually a late replacement is some random guy from the weightclass below you. In this case, it’s a scrapper with all the pent-up rage of a 15 year old who just got his homework thrown in the mud by the school bully. Plus serious BJJ credentials. Diaz is pissed to be alive, and he’s going to smash Neer, submitting him if he can get the fight where he wants it, and knocking him down if he can’t. Nick Diaz submits Neer round 2

Hermes Franca vs. Jamie Varner

When the UFC actually lays out money to aquire a talented property, they do one of two things. They either immediately put the guy against another popular UFC fighter, for the ‘instant street cred’ of crushing a TUF guy (Anderson Silva) or to boost that TUF fighter’s reputation should they beat the known talent (Yves Edwards vs Stevenson). The second option is they slowly feed the guy better and better throwaway fighters (Joe Jordan and now Jamie Varner) until he is clearly a top contender for the division. Varner has a good record but Franca is one of the best in the division. Franca defeats Varner by decision.

Cheick Kongo vs. Christian Wellisch

Don’t bet against a dutch striker vs an American kickboxer. This should be an exciting fight until Christian gets kicked in the face and falls over. Kongo KO’s Wellisch 1st round.

Forrest Griffen vs. Stephan Bonnar

Well, it’s a revenge match and their last match was a standup slugfest. Both of them are extreme company men, so look for them to try to emulate it for the first round at least. Both of them are durable and only Forrest has knockout power and only then when he really winds up and bombs it, and Bonnar is a good enough boxer to not get hit by any of Griffen’s knockout bombs, so expect it to last at least into the second. If someone is badly cut by then, or otherwise obviously losing the brawl, look for a change in gameplan. Bonner can’t stop Griffen on the feet, and I don’t think he has what it takes to get the fight on the ground and end it there. Forrest is going to come close to finishing him, but I don’t know if he’ll have what it takes to do it. Forrest defeats Bonnar by decision.

Chuck Liddell vs. Renato Sobral

Babalu has what it takes to beat Chuck, but the question is will he be able to? A lot of people forget Babalu is a monster wrestler, which he’s going to have to rely on to win the fight. Chuck’s obviously the favorite, but I think that his luck is going to run out. Ou can only fight so many top guys without losing to one of them. Babalu is going to last until the later rounds, and Chuck’s going to slow down. The question will be whether Babalu is totally ruined in the face by then. If he is, he’s going to die out in the 5th round and get stopped. If Bablu can make it into later in the fight without being too crushed up, he’s going to beat Chuck by managing to take him down and working his voodoo. Babalu submits Chuck Liddell round 4.

2006-08-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

Kampmann vs Wallace: Kampmann by KO – never bet against a dutch striker vs. another striker, especially if the dutchman has subs too.

O'Brien beats Midoux: his wrestling will see him through the night

Healy will sub Torres after a close fight

Morgan will sub Petz early.

Riggs will hurt von Flue badly, so long as he doesn't fall into that weird guillotine counter choke he does--Riggs is simply too powerful and too damaging.

Koscheck is going to show us yet again why no one wants to see him fight, and win a decision over Goulet.

Sasaki is going to put up more of a fight than most people expect. He's fought a lot of tough guys. Dean Lister is going to win a decision on positioning and sub attempts.

Leben is going to re-assert himself by hurting Jorge Santiago badly.

Main Event: I don't like Diego. He seems like a space retard. That said, Karo isn't going to sub him. Karo has stopped only one fighter with strikes (the unheralded Nick Thompson), so I don't think Karo is going to lay him out either. Diego is going to end up out-positioning Karo for the win, unless Karo manages to throw him into an injury.

Disclaimer: all of these picks are excluding the possibility of a horrific cut opening up because of elbows. Remember kids: in the UFC, anyone can win at any time from any position.

2006-08-15T18:50:00.000-07:00

Highlight of two of the strongest fighters in LW MMA today. Let me know if you like it.

2006-08-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

Non-Title Fights, Paper Champions, and Takanori Gomi

Marcus Aurelio has really done a number on the lightweight picture in Pride. He summarily dispatched Gomi in a non-title fight, casting a huge shadow across the belt that Gomi still wears. For his next act, Aurelio took a beating at the hands of Mitsuhiro Ishida, a relatively unheralded fighter that 'experts' who had never watched him fight in shooto gave little chance. So Aurelio simultaneously put himself in the title picture, destroyed Gomi's image as an unbeatable winning machine, and pushed Ishida into the picture too.

What a lot of confusion.

So first, the role of non-title fights. UFC doesn't have them... aside from Hughes/Riggs and Hughes/Gracie. Those were fights we as fans were happy to see, right? That's why non-title fights should exist. Sometimes a guy doesn't deserve a shot at the title, but you want to see him fight the Champ. Big Nog/Henderson is a great example here. It was a revenge match, and one of my favorite fights of all time, but it wouldn't make any sense at all if Henderson had been able to win the fight and had to defend a heavyweight title belt. Sometimes fights have a backstory like that, or Liddell-Horn II. Horn had no business trying to win the LHW title belt in the UFC, but there was a history. Sometimes it's just nice to see the champ smash someone to remind us why he's the champion. This would be Fedor/Zulu and Hughes/Riggs. Don't ask me about Franklin/Quarry because there was no reason for it to happen.

However undeserving of a title shot the challenger may be, sometimes they win. A fighter can have an off night, or they can just fall victim to the fact that at the top level of competition any mistake can lead to a loss immediately, as Gomi found out. Aurelio might not have belonged in the title picture, but he's a solid fighter and dispatched Gomi with ease once the mistake was made. The only sensible solution at this point is to give that fighter an immediate title shot rematch. That way you can't have fluke belts awarded to fighters who had a great night, only to have them lose it to a better man in their first defense, but you have an undisputed champion who's unquestionably the best in his division, like Wanderlei Silva after Wand/Arona II.

If you don't have that, you end up with a paper champion. While the term is bandied about on internet forums for any champion seen as undeserving, it is literally reserved for situations like Gomi is in, where he is no longer indisputably the champion, having lost a fight or received the belt through some other shady means. A non-title fight that has the champion losing must immediately be followed by a title-fight rematch to preserve the integrity of the belt and the status of the champion.

Where does this leave Aurelio, Gomi, and Ishida in the rankings?

To this writer, Gomi is still unquestionably number one with a bullet. His past performances have cemented that. However Joachim Hansen, and to a lesser extent Sakurai are nipping at his heels. He is beatable, but I don't expect we're going to see him taking back-to-back losses again anytime soon.

Ishida has exploded onto the international scene with his impressive wins in Pride. With his sub defense and stamina, it's only a matter of time before he earns his way to a title shot, but he needs a few more solid wins to join the elite. Azeredo is in the same position, racking up close losses to the titans of his division. Have them fight.

Aurelio? While he's earned another shot at Gomi, and needs to fight for the title, I don't expect him to emerge as a world-beater. He's huge for the division and very dangerous, but he doesn't have the stamina, wrestling, or drive to be able to force his game onto elite fighters. I expect him to have some more ups and downs in pride and then move back out of the organization and into the smaller shows. DSE doesn't maintain foreign fighters who aren't contenders, popular heros, or reliable company men.

2006-07-25T03:28:00.000-07:00

Organizations in Trouble

Both the major orgs are in some degree of trouble. The UFC is facing attacks on all sides, from ICON in Hawaii, the IFL, the WFA, just to name the organizations buying up fighters that the UFC has spent money developing and promoting. Pride isn't bleeding fighters (the losses of Sakuraba and Rampage aside) and its pockets are still deep, but the loss of their cable contract in Japan is serious business. Today I plan to look at the model each business is using in these troubled times.

Revenues for the UFC are exploding, between TUF, UFN, whatever is going on with HBO, and an increased number of PPVs and growing PPV buys, monopoly rents are coming in like there's no tomorrow. Much of this money is surely going to grease the wheels of further deals, and more promotion, but some of it is getting kicked back to the fighters.

Rival leagues in sports cause this. When the UFC was the only game in town, they could pay whatever they wanted because they were the only ones hiring fighters. Just like baseball's reserve clause, when one has an effective monopoly in a sport's top league, profits go primarily to the owner of the league/team. When players gain power because they can switch to another league/team, prices don't go up (despite the claims of every baseball team owner in existence) the owners just get a smaller share of the profit pie. The prices are invariant here because they've already been set to maximize profit, the only thing that changes is the power relationship between the players and the owner.

That's why the UFC's solution to their problem is so interesting. A fighter like Chris Leben 2 years ago has no power over the UFC, sure he's a solid fighter and a rival league would be happy to have him, but they're not going to get into a bidding war for him. A fighter like Chuck Liddell or Randy Couture, however, did have this power. TUF means that Forrest Griffen sells like Couture. The UFC has created a two-tiered system this way. Couture, Ortiz, Liddell, these guys are getting paid big money contracts, as they'd be paid in any other organization, because that's what they're worth. They have huge drawing power created by their skills, and the UFC has to hold on to them. The odd part is the aforementioned drawing power of Griffen. Forrest is a product, not of his own skill, but of the TUF fighter machine. I'm not decrying his skills, but he is what he is today because he signed the dotted line and the UFC put their machine behind him. The key thing here is his signing on the dotted line. Forrest is a steal now. The guy is getting paid less than what Matt Lindland was being paid, per fight, with that “six figure” retainer spread over 3 years, and he's as big as Ortiz.

We all know that the UFC has many of these guys set up, and it has its hooks in deep with all of them. It owns these guys, and its banking on them for its future. Sure it's bringing in free agent lightweights, a weight class chronically underpaid in every organization, and I'm not going to talk about the heavyweight division, because there might be children reading, but the UFC is dropping Ivan Salaverry and Matt Lindland and replacing them with Nate Quarry and Chris Leben. Another factor worth considering is the reject TUF guys. Bobby Southworth, Lodune Sincaid, half the IFL. All these guys are getting face time and drawing (some) buys for other organizations, on the UFC's promotional dime.

Will reality television really bring in new stars for the UFC, or two years from now will we have the hardest working crew of contenders lining up to get knocked out by millionaire champions, for 6,000 to show. Of course, Rich Franklin will only be halfway through his contract by then, so he'll still be earning less than Mayhem Miller is getting to fight for Hawaiian crowds. I guess we'll have to wait for the proof to come out.

Pride doesn't bleed fighters a) because they have more money and b) because they rehab their fighters in-house. Ivan Salaverry lose on national TV? Toss him out on his ear, if he wins in other people's promotions, Dana White will consider bringing him back. Same with Baroni, Robbie Lawler, Nick Diaz, etc. Crocop get his ego hurt by Kevin Randleman? Pride gives him some pro-wrestlers (or the ever-durable kanehara) in a Bushido show. Granted, Pride USA seems to have chased off Rampage and Bas, but I'm pretty sure Sakuraba was whisked away on a flying carpet of yen notes in large denominations. Prides' problem is needing to make up for the loss of revenue from their missing PPV contract, without cutting production values too much.

The solution: raid shooto hardcore and sell Bushido. What do Japanese fans like more than japanese pro-wrestlers or judo players? Japanese fighters that have the skills to embarrass foreigners and be champions. Meaning the lower weight classes. It's cheap too, despite being the most professionally-run MMA organization in the world, Shooto isn't overflowing with cash. Gilbert Melendez was paid $3,500 for his win over Naoya Uematsu, and he was the number one contender. His, and other recent signings point towards Pride playing around with the idea of an official 143lb weight class through superfights at contract weights lower than 160, much as happened in the early Bushido shows prior to the codification of the weight classes.

For Pride, the question is whether the smaller Japanese fighters can draw big. Despite the incredible quality of the Bushido cards, more fans buy tickets to see the thundering heavyweights. Will Japanese blood outweigh foreign mass?

My only prediction is that we're in for a serious out-of-the-ring bloodbath on America's west coast. As fans, we can only hope it leads to more fights and more cooperation between top leagues.

2006-07-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

WFA: King of the Streets, Lessons Learned

Any serious MMA fan looks not just at the results of an event, but at what each performance means for the future of the fighter and the fight game in his weight class. Thus, I am going to make this a regular series after I'm able to complete each event.

The Event: The sound quality (and lack of commentary) during the fighter walk-ins was jarringly like watching one of those youtube videos of Jens Pulver filmed by Eddie Pulver in the stands at Cattle Congress: Extreme Cagefighting, but production values were okay other than that. It was very pleasant to hear the fight professor's velvety voice again. Goldberg is okay for some color once he loosens up, and the third man is obviously an excellent commentator with no MMA experience. Hopefully Quadros can hang with those guys and bring them up to speed and they could form the best announcing team in MMA. (Hardly a feat). The ring announcer guy is forgetable, but Bruce Buffer has just been pounded into my skull through repetition.

I can't commentate on the dark matches as I don't exactly get press passes right now, but a first round knockout is always nice. The Beastman isn't the greatest fighter in the world but he always shows up to fight and is genuinely pissed about it too. Someone should really have the Beastman fight James Irvin as the first live fight on a PPV card. The UFC absolutely wasted Irvin giving him the matchups they did. 1-dimensional striker vs. wrestler? Come on, give us 1-dimensional striker vs. brawler, nothing like seeing a clean knockout by two guys who aren't anywhere near title contention just to get the juices flowing.

Razor Rob McCullough over Harris Sarmiento by Decision (Leg Kicks)

155 is the most stacked division in MMA right now, with Shooto, Pride, K-1 Heroes, and the UFC all churning out awesome talents. Rob's striking was incredibly sharp here, although he did play it safe, he's at the stage where he needed a win and he was really beating his man up and moving forward almost the entire fight. Harris didn't do anything so the knockout didn't come to Rob, and chasing it would have been foolish. Find a brawler and match him with Rob and you're going to see a great match.

Ricco “Meatloaf” Rodriguez def. Ron “Really Strong” Waterman TKO (right hand bombs X 20)

Ricco was never an incredible athlete. He was extremely skilled. Now he's really fat. Waterman is really strong (I'm still horrified by the kimura he put on Randleman). Apparently now Waterman is also slower than Sakuraba after a tussle with Wanderlei. Ricco showed he still refuses to train properly for a fight, and Waterman can't make any kind of reaction until after the punch has landed and Ricco has stepped away. At first I thought Waterman was just being a tough guy and eating punches Mark Hunt style but he really just couldn't react to Ricco's speed. That's right the Ricco who was surprised when he weighed in at 298lbs and said “Hey, I lost weight.” Was too fast for Waterman. On a side note, Ricco's flying knee could have killed a man, what with 1200 quarter pounders (with cheese and extra pickles) behind it. This fight had all the depth of a UFC Heavyweight division fight.

Ivan Salaverry def. Art Santore KO (ninja skills)

Art couldn't hit Ivan in this match. Ivan used distance and footwork worth of an olympic fencer to prevent anything from touching his weird-looking head, while peppering Art with all manner of strikes. Ivan is really someone the UFC should not have let go, and they aren't going to get him back unless they start a bidding war with the WEC. For information on bidding wars in rival leagues, refer to chapter 8 of Pay Dirt by Quirk and Fort. Ivan made a talented fighter look awful here, as he tends to do when he wins. He kept plugging away with those awkward high kicks until he snuck one in, only to follow it with a very nice combo. Ivan is a competent, skilled striker with excellent footwork. He's not going to outstrike the best strikers in his division, but he can most likely outgrapple them if he can take it to the ground. Santore has the limited boxing skills of Dan Henderson without the killer instinct, tougher-than-nails body, and lead right hand to make up for it on the feet.

Jason Miller def Lodune Sincaid Submission (banana slamma)

Jason Miller has several screws loose, and he's great to watch. The UFC paid him 2,000 bucks to get his face turned inside out by GSP, and cut him loose. If they want to do a successful show in Hawaii they're going to have to shell two hundred times that much to get him back. Smart move Dana. In this fight, Lodune seemed confused by what was happening to him, much as I imagine many of Miller's dates in highschool felt. I doubt Miller opened those dates with a chute-boxe impression followed by a back-mount bonanza. Miller may not be the absolute top of his division (whatever division that IS, Joe Riggs Junior) but he's a big draw, a surefire entertainer, and hardcore fans approve of him more than Tank Abbot and Ken Shamrock combined. Although I will never tire of seeing Tank KO'd or subbed. Paging James Irvin.

Ryoto Machida def Vernon “Tiger” White decision (Shotokan Side Stance)

Ryoto was born to a karate master and put in a time capsule at the age of 17, then emerged to fight journeyman Vernon White with a classic side-stance karate style. Whereas Ivan Salaverry nimbly pranced out of all harms way, Ryoto kept his hands low, dropped both hands whenever he threw anything, and simply ran away from the slower Tiger whenever he tried something. Ryoto mixed it up with what is apparently his money punch, a blindingly fast straight left. To finish or hurt Vernon he was going to have to really beat on the man, and that wasn't going to happen. Vernon looked tough and game, but wasn't aggressive enough to force the Karate Master to get anything started, mostly seeming confused and unable to effectively land.

Bas Rutten def Replacement Fighter TKO (paycheck)

Warpath entered this fight afraid, and took shots to the face in the way only a pro-wrestler can. He knew he'd done his job and laid down once he really started to get a beating. Bas looked very sharp and powerful, but with the injuries he got just training for this fight, he might really need to fight off his incredible warriors spirit and sit back in the broadcast booth for good. Bas, you don't have to prove anything to anyone, don't take another fight unless it's against Rickson or Ken Shamrock. You've still got it, but your body probably can't take it. Step out of the fight game while it's your choice.

Quinton Jackson def Matt Lindland Decision (fight)

Traditionally a rival league's best chances of success are if it can lure away the oppositions best players with higher salaries and move into a city with a demand for the sport that isn't fufilled by the current league. In the case of the WFA, they just need to wait in the locker room after a UFC event and say “hey, you're not in the UFC anymore because you offended Dana white/lost once (whatever happened to building a fighter as a draw through fights and not reality tv shows)?/got paid 2,000 and had to go back to being a plumber. Lindland is another big loss to the UFC. He can fight slow fights, and he ALWAYS fights ugly fights, but he can fight good fights with the proper matchmaking, and I KNOW the UFC has a great matchmaker who could set it up for them. The sherdog crowd is going to dog Rampage because he didn't rip off lindland's head and shit down his neck. And they're going to continue to dog him until he kills Liddell and Wanderlei in a 2 on 1 handicap match. He's the new Alistair Overeem – the talented fighter everyone loves to hate.

Styles make fights. Rampage wins by using powerful basic standup combined with a powerful and dominating clinch wrestling game. CLINCH WRESTLING you know, like Greco-Roman style. Lindland was able to slow this to a crawl and sneak in many sneaky sub attempts (how many times has rampage been caught in a guillotine (I'll tell you: every fight he's ever in, and never subbed by one. How many times has he been caught in a Kimura (every second fight he's in, and never subbed by it.) Lindland came close to finishing both those and the RNC, because he has more technical grappling. Rampage was really only saved by his strength and agressiveness. If you watch closely you'll see Rampage had about 30 seconds total where he didn't have Lindland all over him like the rash Lodune Sincaid is going to get from Mayhem Miller. In those 30 seconds, page threw about ten strikes (including a flying knee) and socked the creepy-looking farmboy good with about half of them. And sherdoggers say 'page has lost his killer instinct. The man gutted out of sunk-in subs and tried to kill his opponent by any means possible, and even cut a decent promo after the fight. Put page in with another striker, or a grappler who isn't a silver medalist, and you'll see someone take a ride on the pain train.

And have Lindland fight Rich Franklin. Fuck you Dana White, the ugly bastard has earned it and more. What does he have to do, kill Nate Quarry in the parking lot 30 minutes before airtime?

2006-06-23T02:08:00.000-07:00

You don't even need to know any Korean.
Click to enlarge.

2006-06-15T00:50:00.000-07:00

Fujita Vs. Silva
Oh boy oh boy.

Unstoppable force vs. Immovable object. Although a more apt comparison would be "a fighter whose will to fight is only matched by his aggression" vs "a fighter whose will to fight is only matched by his skull's thickness".

Neither one of these guys will quit. Look at any number of silva fights, where he's been smashed right in the face, dropped, yet kept trying to kill the other guy. The best one is the shot Tito dropped him with, because it seriously looks like silva is about to try to bite off his ankles after face-planting. The guy will fight you until you make it physically impossible for him to do it. Same thing with Fujita; he's never been stunned like Silva has, but he's walked through vicious prolonged beatings vs. shamrock and thompson, and eaten monster shots from fedor and crocop. This fight could get ugly, with silva slowly smashing all the skin of fujita's face and fighting a screaming skull. Or Fujita could just deliver another brutal mugger beating like he did to Sapp, or just stretch silva like happened to Ibrahim.

Both of these fighters bring an incredible amount of power to the table.

Wand's power punching power and ruthlessness are off the scale. Knocking out Quinton Jackson is no mean feat, as many people forget. Rampage is a guy who took huge shots from Kevin Randleman (who has massive punching power if not technique, ask Ninja or Crocop) and Igor (nothing need be said) and kept fighting--even in the Shogun stoppage his head was clear, he just gave up due to his rib injury. And Kondo has only been finished in a couple of his 70+ fights. Silva does this by simply beating a man with everything he can, until that man stops moving. Silva punches extremely hard, and anyone who doubts that he can stop any man in the business given the chance (Hunt and Noguiera included) is a fool. Fujita may have a hard head, but he's still mortal, and an accumulation of strikes will put him out of this fight if he lets Silva tee off. And he just might, lacking a defense other than his football-helmet like head and wrestling ability. It's become fashionable to criticise silva's aggression after his fights with Arona, but it is extremely difficult to fight aggressively when a man is pining you to the floor as hard as he can. Which may happen again vs. Fujita, given the Yvel fight. Put Silva in there with a BJJ guy with no wrestling or an inferior striker, and he will throw until his arms fall off, I guarantee.

Fujita's power is his strength and arm power. This guy muscled SAPP around the ring, and stood up to James thompson too. He will just keep coming at guys and grab hold of them, making them deal with his strength, until he has worn them down and can smash them with an extremely primitive array of strikes that look like the monkey smashing the other with a bone in the "Dawn of Man" segment of 2001: A Space Odyssey. You know I'm right. It's hard to gauge against a monster like Thompson, but in his last fight Fujita didn't seem to have the same kind of strength he used to, weighing in a good deal lighter too. Silva is extremely strong for a middleweight, but I think Fujita is still going to have little problem powering him around the ring, especially given that Silva's wrestling is about on par with Noguiera's.

The thing so many people ignore about Fujita is that he has extreme KO power. Look at what he did to Fedor's head in slow-motion, or the punch that finally put down Thompson, or the one that nearly killed Ibrahim. All of those punches were thrown starting down at Fujita's hip, but he didn't turn into them or use his leg strength. He simple picked up his hand, and used his awesome upper body strength to sling it to the other side of the guy's head. This guy can KO a man easily, and he's hard-nosed enough to punch through punches and rely on his chin. It's entirely feasible that we see Wanderlei dropped by such a punch and then hammerfisted into unconciousness.

However I feel the most likely outcome is that Wanderlei uses his superior speed to set up strike after strike, and unloads an unholy barrage to eventually stop the fight, either on a cut or a TKO, when Fujita gets disoriented and doesn't defend himself. I do not expect him to knock Fujita out cold, although of Fujita finishes him, that's how it's going to be. If this becomes a brawl, both men have suffered massive cuts before, especially Silva, so one could open up again and create another unsatisfying cut stoppage. Given both guy's will to fight, and Silva's reasonable ability to counter groundwork and get back up, I expect this will be a fight, not another Yvel control session from Fujita, and Wanderlei is a finish-or-be-finished fighter when he's not on his back. But we never know what will happen until it happens, and that's why they fight.

2006-06-14T01:40:00.000-07:00

The Case for Bob Sapp

In the serious MMA/K-1 fanbase, Sapp is an almost universally reviled character. He's a giant-sized, steroid-using buffoon, he's an untalented fighter, a marketing gimmick. He's a failed NFL player who doesn't train much and gives up easily. Some of this is certainly true.

Sapp is also a man making a living; he was essentially broke before he started with K-1, and he knows he doesn't have the skills to be a fighter when his popularity receeds. So who can fault him for trying to make money to support himself, in any way he can?

But I won't be talking about the human side of this story, that's not why we're here. I would argue that Sapp is good for mma.

First of all, Sapp is a character. That doesn't translate to exciting fights, but it does produce emotional investment in his fights. Fedor doesn't cower and cover up for major portions of his fights, or display amateur-level skills, but he doesn't bite the head off crocop dolls prior to fights either. It's the Tito effect - tito runs his mouth and people develop an emotional investment in the guy. Either they enjoy seeing the brash guy back up his loudmouth statements, or they enjoy seeing Chuck Liddell smash his mouth shut. Keeps it interesting.

However, that's not the reason to keep Sapp around and continue to pay him big bucks. Lebanner is big and brash and cartoonish, and the guy can fight. Rampage and Gary Goodridge are quite capable of playing black stereotypes to a Japanese audience that eats it up, and they are both far better fighters than Bob.

What Bob Sapp does, is what Royce Gracie did in '93. He destroys the myth of the big man. Of course, Sapp is on the other end of the table, so he's like an inverse Royce, but still.

Hollywood loves the big man. The big man is invincible; Indiana Jones can't hurt him with a punch, he has to wait for the plane propellor; Jackie Chan must similarly outwit enormous foes who are immune to his strikes. However, when we see a much smaller Ray Sefo or Mirko Crocop absolutely blasting Sapp, it means that training is still better than size. For one, it establishes the guys who beat the Beast as certified badasses. Look at the respect that Minotauro gets for his absolutely incredible performance vs. Sapp. It's good to see our favorite fighters tested by a force of nature like Sapp.

He isn't just a freakshow--he brings freakshow talents in with him- his incredible size and strength. He's a danger to anyone they put in the ring with him-ask Hoost. (dodgy officiating aside, Hoost was in rough shape). A Sapp fight isn't going to be a technical masterwork, but it WILL be impressive, no matter who wins.

He deserves to be there more than a lot of warmed-over TUF failures, or legends who are past it like Sakuraba (We can only hope that K-1 has the brains to take a page from Shooto's book and put Saku in grappling-only exhibition matches or hand him gentler matches than Matt Hamill is going to get). Besides, I think that in the fight game today there is no greater threat than Bob Sapp to Fedor Emelenienko.

2006-06-13T01:44:00.000-07:00

So, to start off with. Here's one to boil your noodle.

Have you ever seen Fedor make a mistake? I'm not the BJJ guy some are, so maybe his grappling is more in the Russian style than a tight technical Brazillian style, but still. Has he ever tried something to have it countered, failed in a takedown to land in a bad position? (I'm not talking about being taken down)

Whenever he does anything, he does it correctly, and whenever he tries something, he succeeds. That's pretty scary.

The only miscalculation I can think of is him getting sloppy vs. Fujita in the standup. Yeah I know, real insight there. But still. I mean, Herring swept him once or twice, and Herring has terrible wrestling (both statements are true of Nogueira too), but he was never in a really bad position.

Call me on it if I'm wrong.