MMA Knowledge

My Take on the Kyle Maynard Fight

2009-04-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

The sport of mixed martial arts was very lucky that Kyle Maynard wasn't hurt badly during his fight unsanctioned mma bout in Alabama. It has come a long way from the no hold barred shows with no weight classes that almost drove the sport to extinction.

Opponents of the sport will not understand, nor want to understand, that where he took this fight has no sanctioning body so he didn't have to be licensed to fight. Organizations such as the UFC, Strikeforce, Affliction, or even small local promotions like Next Level Fighting in Steubenville, OH and Tuff N Uff in Las Vegas, NV would never allow for fights like this to occur in their organizations nor would the states these organizations put their shows on in even license a fighter like Maynard to fight. Opponents of the sport will point to this fight as another reason why MMA is still nothing more than "human cockfighting" and that those involved do not care for the safety of the fighters.

While I respect Kyle as an athlete and a man as well as for wanting to chase his dreams, there is a reason he had to go to a state with no governing body in order to be able to fight. Football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and boxing wouldn't allow a spectacle like this to go on and I don't believe that there is a governing body in the country that would have licensed this fight either. Unfortunately at unsanctioned events such as these they can continue to risk fighters with no worry about the consequences to the people involved or the sport they are "promoting." I hope this pushes Alabama to form a governing body for the sport.

If this fight was going to occur the best result was what occurred. His opponent jabbed his way to a boring victory as Kyle shot in for takedowns and became frustrated. I just hope that someone doesn't end up teaching him a harsher lesson about the sport, seriously injuring him and quite possibly the sport he is trying so hard to be a part.

Middleweight Top 10: Anderson Silva and the Rest of the World

2009-04-27T19:39:00.000-07:00

1. Anderson Silva- Despite less than exciting performances in his last two fights this is much like Fedor in the Heavyweight rankings. Is there really any question?

2. Yushin Okami- Give him a title shot soon please. He is a strong talented Middleweight with the ability to beat anyone in the division. Plus he owns a 2006 DQ victory over Anderson Silva. I for one am ready to see this one happen. Plus if Dana White wants to see Anderson Silva at his most dangerous and agressive then the taste left in his mouth when he thinks of his last fight with Okami should bring that out in him.

3. Nate Marquardt-A big win versus Wilson Gouveia has his fans clamouring for another fight with Silva. If he gets it I don't see it ending any better than the last one.

4. Dan Henderson- A win over Mike Bisping at UFC 100 solidifies him as a top 10 fighter in the weight class and ups his win streak to three after his post Pride rough patch. A loss drops him and propels Bisping to the top 10. I see the former happening.

5. Robbie Lawler- Dangerous striking combined with terrific takedown defense. His upcoming fight with Jake Shields for Strikeforce is one to be looked forward to as a fight of the year candidate.

6. Demain Maia- I thought Chael Sonnen would expose him as a one dimensional fighter. Less than one round later I felt foolish in picking against him. I still think he is one dimensional. Admittedly he is phenomenal at that one dimension. I just hope if he gets his title shot he doesn't fight like Leites did against Silva or Lister did against Okami.

7. Gegard Mousasi- Some have him ranked as high as 2 or 3. I feel that's a little high but he is definitely a force to be reckoned with. Would love to see him in the UFC to bolster their weakest division. Unfortunately I don't see that happening at this time. Oh well, it doesn't look like he is going to stay at Middleweight anyway.

8. Vitor Belfort- He sure as heck has looked like he is back. We'll see if he can stay hungry and winning.

9. Jorge Santiago- Nine straight wins. All of those nine by stoppage. He is on a roll and dangerous to anyone he fights right now.

10. Chael Sonnen- Sure he lost in the first round by submission to Demian Maia in his UFC debut. I chalk it up to the Octagon jitters that plague so many fighter in their first UFC appearance. Look for a far more impressive outing in his next appearance.

My Light Heavyweight Top 10

2009-04-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

1.Rashad Evans- This division is tough at the top but right now coming off the Griffin win I have to give the top spot to the UFC Champion. We'll see if he can hold on to it after his date with fellow undefeated light heavy Lyoto Machida at UFC 98 next month.

2.Rampage Jackson- After his win against Jardine he was in line to get a shot at winning the UFC title back but the turn around was too quick. That set up the Evans-Machida match up. I think this man is the only fighter capable of beating both Evans and Machida right now. Let's hope that some out of the cage drama or an upset in his next fight doesn't derail his chance to prove me right.

3. Lyoto Machida- He gets a shot at Evans and the UFC title at UFC 98. After he beat Thiago Silva his ditractors said that Silva was overrated anyway. What will they say if he is able to beat Evans?

4. Forrest Griffin- Forrest is an enigma to me. He is a tough fighter who on any given night is capable of beating any of the top fighters in his division. See the Rampage and Shogun fights. He is also capable of losing to them as well. See Evans and Jardine. We'll have to see if he can fight his way back into a title shot. At UFC 101 against Thiago Silva he gets to attempt his first step back there.

5. Shogun Rua- It actually pained me a little to put him at number 5 on this list but I couldn't in good conscience put any of the fighters I have below him above him. He hasn't fully impressed me since arriving in the UFC. He debuts by getting dominated by Forrest Griffin. His second fight had him look mediocre against a 44 year old Mark Coleman who was making his first cut to 205 as a fighter. Finally he looked impressive in knocking out a man that is now 1-4 in his last 5 fights including 2 other brutal KOs. Evan if that guy was Chuck Liddell it doesn't mean much in my eyes. He was the best in the world coming over from Pride and he has the potential at his young age to get there again. We shall see when he gets a rematch with Griffin or a shot at some other top 10 fighter in the cage.

6. Luis Cane- The up and comer doesn't have that resume' changing win on his record yet but he is 10-1 with his only loss coming by DQ when he kneed James Irvin to the head on the ground in his UFC debut. Look out for to make some noise in this division.

7. Antonio Rogerio Nogueria- Would like to see him go to the UFC and make an already deep pool of Light Heavys deeper. Don't think he would end up champion but he would surely cause a stir.

8. Wanderlei Silva- Would like to see him make the move down to 185 where he would fit better and make the division stronger. He is a dangerous opponent for anyone still and also a fun fight for the fans to watch whoever he is in the cage with. The Rich Franklin catchweight fight should be interesting.

9. Keith Jardine- The Dean of Mean's awkward style makes him dangerous against anyone. I never see him getting to the top of the division but I see him being there to mess it up for other wannabes who can't solve his jerky style for years to come.

10. Thiago Silva- Lyoto Machida handed him his first loss in emphatic fashion. Can he keep from tasting his first losing streak when he faces Forrest Griffin at UFC 101?

My Top 10 Heavyweights

2009-04-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

1. Fedor Emelianenko- Is there any question?

2. Josh Barnett- He may not have had his best performance against Yvel but I can't see any of the other men on this list defeating him save possibly Arlovski on a good day. Josh should get his chance to show that there is not the gap between Fedor and the rest of the division that their appears to be at the next Affliction card.

3. Andrei Arlovski- Arlovski looked as good as anyone in the world for about 3 minutes in his fight with Fedor. And then he didn't anymore. Kids, I know flying knees look good in the highlight reels but they are not a toy and should be used responsibly.

4. Frank Mir- The interim UFC Heavyweigth Champion owns a win over the UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar by submission and over Big Nog by TKO. We'll get to see if his BJJ has improved by as much as he said it has since he began training with Demian Maia or if Lesnar has improved his sub defense enough to avenge his loss at UFC 100.

5. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria- Despite his losss to Mir, Nog is still one of the most dangerous fighters in the division. I'd probably pick him in a rematch with Mir should that happen and to beat The Natural at UFC 102.

6. Brock Lesnar- Can this monster with a terrific amateur wrestling background and fists like frozen turkeys defend submissions against a top BJJ guy? Stay tuned to UFC 100 to find out.

7. Randy Couture- The Natural looked good in his fight with Lesnar until the superior strength of Lesnar caught up to him. A match up of legends is on the horizon with Nogueira at UFC 102.

8. Alistair Overeem- He is rumored to be defending his Strikeforce Heavyweight Title in 2009. Possibly with a chance to avenge an 2006 loss to Fabricio Werdum.

9. Shane Carwin- After a big win over Gabriel Gonzaga this monster is climbing the ranks. Can he keep his streak of stoppages alive against whoever the UFC next puts in his path?

10. Junior Dos Santos- The young Brazillian Heavyweight followed up his TKO win over Fabricio Werdum with a TKO over Stefan Struve at UFC 95. If he is as good as he has looked he should be able to get past his next hurdle, Justin McCully at UFC 102.

Anderson Silva Owes No One an Apology

2009-04-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

According to Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports Dana White and many other fans seem to think otherwise though.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=Ap00z02T62kU_98u9tOwYx89Eo14?slug=ki-silva041909&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

I find it ridiculous that Dana White is apologizing for Anderson Silva and that fans and writers are attacking him for what was admittedly a very boring fight with Thales Leites on Saturday night in Canada. I am one of the few fools that decided to pick Leites to pull the upset in this fight but my pick was contingent on Leites actually wanting to fight. What is Silva supposed to do when a fighter runs the entire fight and when he feels he may be hit he flops to his back. Dean Lister and Kalib Starnes must have been watching and thinking to themselves, heck I could have done that why can't I get a title shot? Silva may have been able to push the pace a little more at times in this fight but the overall tone is mainly on Leites head. Was Silva supposed to reward Leites for his flopping by giving him what he wanted and falling into his guard making the fight a grappling match? That thought process is preposterous. Silva is much too smart a champion to get sucked into that type of game. I know he didn't want to stand with Silva but if he wanted to win he would have attempted to fight in and score takedowns or even got in close and attempted to pull guard. Instead of looking like a hungry fighter that wanted to be champion he looked every bit of the fighter that many said belonged nowhere near a title fight. Is it possible to go from challenger in a title fight to completely out of the UFC in one night? It may very well be after Saturday and Leites most likely laid the blueprint for any fighter trying to accomplish this embarrassing feat in the future.

Anderson Silva will lose at UFC 97

2009-04-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

That's right. You read the headline correct. Anderson Silva is going to lose his fight with Thales Leites at UFC 97 this Saturday, April 18. The number one middleweight in the world and one of the fighters in the "best pound for pound" discussion is going to be upset by his fellow Brazillian. This fight has all the makings of an upset. You don't even hear much about it. It's a given in the minds of most that Silva will walk right through Letes using his superior striking ability. Also you hear more talk about Chuck Liddell fighting Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Heck the UFC sign on the 15 here in Las Vegas has a picture of Liddell and Shogun on it. What does the UFC think of Leites chances in this title fight when their own billboard near the Las Vegas strip hypes a fight between a past his prime fighter that is 1-3 in his last 4 fights against a fighter that has nowhere near lived up to his hype since arriving in the UFC? That fight would have been a superfight 3 or 4 years ago. Today? Eh. The Silva fight is for the middleweight title for Pete's sake and it involves someone that Dana White hypes as the best pound for pound in the world and the UFC doesn't even put it on their own billboard? Let's be honest about it. When Silva is discusssed recently the only things you really hear are questions about whether he will be fighting GSP in a potential superfight or will he move up to 205 permanently where the proverbial water is deeper. People have seemed to forget that Thales Leites is 14-1 and has world class grappling skills. His submissions are deadly. He is not a fighter to be slept on. Travis Lutter in his loss to Anderson Silva was able to obtain a mount. You mean to tell me people don't believe Leites can put himself in the same position? He can and will. And believe you me when he finds himself in this position he will hand Silva his third loss by submission and fifth overall. Daiju Takase and Ryo Chonan own submission victories over Silva in their careers. Daiju Takse? Who? Exactly. You mean to tell me none of you believe that Leites is capable of pulling off this mythical feat? I'm not not one of those people that believe just because one guy wins in a certain way that another guy will definitely do the same. MMA doesn't work that way. And I also know Silva hasn't tasted defeat since 2006 against Yushin Okami by DQ and his last submission loss was 2004 to Chonan. But when something that is possible is believed to be impossible that is when big things happen. Sure, on most nights Anderson Silva is the superior fighter. On most nights I would pick him to win by a first round KO. Every fighter loses though. I just believe this is one of those times for Silva. The time and situation are ripe for one of those jaw dropping upsets. Thales Leites is going to pluck that upset right off the tree and bring himself home Anderson Silva's middleweight title along with one of his arms or legs.

Strikeforce musings.

2009-04-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

After watching the Strikeforce card on Showtime headlined by Nick Diaz and Frank Shamrock I have a few things to talk about.

1. Cris Cyborg and Gina Carano are setting back their sport with there inability to make weight for nationally televised fights. These are supposed to be the two best female fighters in the world and a potential match up between them should be huge for the sport of women's mma. Unfortunately a sport that would probably not even be noticed if it weren't for the fact that it's biggest star possesses covergirl looks takes another huge hit at legitimacy when said star and her potential biggest rival have these embarrassing moments for televised fights. How professional does it look to not make weight for a fight. Even for "women troubles." Women troubles? Are you serious? While I admit that there are physiological differences between men and women the athlete still needs to know her body and do her job by making the set weight for the fight she is getting paid for. I also find it extremely embarrassing that Cyborg had the audacity to celebrate beating a fighter that was a 128 lb champion in Japan and who typically fights at 135 like she had just won a world title in a legitimate fight. Jumping to the top of the cage after dominating a fight that you were 7 lbs overweight for is ridiculous. Hopefully women's mma's top two fighters get their act together professionally so they can help lift there sport for the future.

2. Scott Smith vs. Benji Radach is an early contender for fight of the year 2009. If you saw it you know why. If you haven't find a video of it and watch it. You will not be sorry. I look forward to a rematch between these tough, entertaining fighters.

3. Nick Diaz knocked out probably the only fighter in mma that I could enjoy watching Nick Diaz knock out. I have always thought of Diaz as a punk. A gifted punk but a punk nonetheless. Though I have felt this way Shamrock's arrogance has always rubbed me wrong and to see Diaz dominate him the way he did actually brought a smile to my face. Adding to it was the way Diaz handled his win. He helped Shamrock up, called him a legend, and displayed class in victory. Maybe I was wrong about Diaz. Is it possible to go from disliking a fighter to becoming a fan? After last night I think it may very well be.

4. Strikeforce and Showtime need to keep Pat Militich as a broadcaster. He is knowledgeable, well spoken, and seems to keep what he is watching in perspective. That being said Gus Johnson should go back to other sports and Mauro Ranallo should sign a deal with the WWE and stay out of legitimate sports broadcasting. I typically like Gus Johnson but with mma he seems like a fish out of water. Maybe with time though he can improve and I may change may mind but I'm not sure I can forgive him calling Seth Petruzelli Rocky after he knocked out that overhyped clown known as Kimbo Slice. Ranallo on the other hand is absolutely attrocious. He overhypes everything he sees, his comment are rarely on point and when he said to Militich that it must have been a wise man who said that Scott Smith could only win his fight with Radach by knockout I thought Pat was going to slap him. Please lose him.

5. Strikeforce overall put on a terrific mma show on Showtime. A solid, yet one-sided main event. A fight of the year candidate on the undercard. A bruising heavyweight match up featuring a tough up and comer in Brett Rogers. A world top 10 lightweight in Gilbert Melendez. Subtract a debacle of a female fight and some needed improvements in their announce crew and I would give it an A-. With those minor, fixable minuses I still give it a solid B.

UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine

2009-03-06T12:18:00.000-08:00

This Saturday in Columbus, Ohio the Ultimate Fighting Championship brings us UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine. While I'm not a huge fan of the headlining fight there are several intriguing match ups in this event. Here are my predictions for this upcoming card.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs Keith "Dean of Mean" Jardine: Though this is a fight that I personally don't feel Rampage should need to take before he gets a title shot at Evans but it is one that has a lot of intrigue implications in the light heavyweight division. I just hope he doesn't feel the same way I feel about the fight and come in with his mind on things other than Jardine whose awkward fighting style makes him a difficult match up. Just ask Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin. Lyoto Machida will most likely be Jardine's biggest fan Saturday night since he has stated that because he and Evans are friends and training partners that he would not want a title shot if he wins. This would put Machida at the top of the list for a crack at Evans' title. Evans is most likely happy not only because the UFC decided that Rampage needed another fight before getting a shot at the title but also because that fight is with Jardine. Either Jardine beats him and knocks Rampage out of the title shot or at the least he and trainer Greg Jackson gain the benefit of developing a gameplan based on Jardine's experience. I personally feel it will be the latter though as I see Rampage knocking out Jardine late in the first or early in the second round.

Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga vs. Shane Carwin: Carwin puts his unblemished record on teh line against former Heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga. This is a fight I am personally loking forward to this match very much. There are some that feel that due to Gonzaga's size, striking, and jiu jitsu combination that he is a dangerous match up in the future for Brock Lesnar or whichever fighter comes out of the May heavyweight title fight with the belt. Shane Carwin looks to be the future of the sport with his size and athleticism and would like nothing more that to move a step closer to the future with a win over the respected Gonzaga. Though I like Carwin and look forward to seeing him grow in this sport I believe that at some point this fight will end up on the ground and that Gonzaga will use his jiu jitsu skills to secure a submission victory. In any event I expect an exciting match up between two talented big men.

Pete "Drago" Sell vs. Matt "The Immortal" Brown: This one could end up as fight of the night in my opinion as these two aggressive fighters lock horns. I don't see this one as a battle of elite fighters with future UFC title shots but I do see two men who like to fight and will put on a show for the Columbus crowd. The way I see this fight going down is they start out standing and going toe to toe but in the end I see Matt Brown realizing that he has slightly less power than Sell and taking the fight to the ground for a submission win. I'm calling for a rear naked choke.

Matt "The Hammer" Hammill vs. Mark "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" Munoz: The 5-0 Munoz makes his UFC debut after two TKO victories in the WEC. Unfortunately for him that's probably not going to be the outcome of his fight with Matt Hammill. I see Hammill taking Munoz to the ground and pounding out a TKO victory.

Gray "The Bully" Maynard vs. Jim Miller: My gut is telling me that Miller is going to pull off a submission in this fight but my head says that Maynard is too strong and is going to pound out a decision. Miller is 13-1 in his mma career including 2-0 in the UFC. His only loss was to Frankie Edgar a little over 2 years ago. Maynard sits at 6-0 with one no contest and in his last two fight has had strong decision wins against Frankie Edgar and Rich Clementi. I'll go with my head in this one as I believe that Maynard will get the decision but when its on the ground look for Miller to throw up a few submission attempts to keep it interesting.

Tamdan "The Barn Cat" McCrory vs. Ryan "The Lion" Madigan: Ryan Madigan is, like Mark Munoz, 5-0 and making his UFC debut. Like Munoz I don't like his chances in this fight. Look for McCrory to get the best of the stand up and end up securing a TKO victory

Kendall "Da Spyder" Grove vs. Jason "Dooms" Day: My initial reaction was to take Grove in this one. I'm not sure why. As I look at it better Grove is 1-2 in his last 3 fights having been KO'd and TKO'd in the first round of back-to-back fights followed by a split decision win over Evan Tanner. This doesn't exactly breed confidence in Da Spyder. I think Day will test Grove's suspect chin and in the end he will walk away with the TKO victory.

Tim "The Barbarian" Boetsch vs. Jason "Hitman" Brilz: Jason Brilz sits at 16-1-1 in his mma career finishing 14 of those fights including 9 by submission. Very impressive. I just don't think he is strong enough to either submit or KO Boetsch and I look for the Barbarian to pound out a victory in Brilz's head with his fists.

Brandon "The Truth" Vera vs. Michael Patt: Look for Vera to finally leave a positive impression in his foray into the light heavyweight division with a first round KO over an overmatched Michael Patt. Patt has 9 submission wins in 13 fights. Unfortunately I think Vera may be better both standing and on the ground.

Aaron Riley vs. Shane "Sugar" Nelson: Look for Aaron Riley to continue looking solid following his fight of the night award winner for a unanimous decision victory over Jorge Gurgel at UFC 91. The Ultimate Fighter alumnus Shane Nelson will be game but in the end I see him falling to Riley by TKO.

The UFC Hasn't Locked Up This One Yet

2009-02-26T23:01:00.000-08:00

Worldwide the lightweight divsion is about as stacked as a weight class can be. I will begin by discussing how BJ Penn's antics are adversely affecting the UFC's lightweight divsion because it's champion doesn't feel the need to be bothered with fighting there and defending the belt. I will follow with a look at how deep this division is outside of the UFC and finish with my 155 lb rankings.

In the wake of BJ Penn being dominated so one-sidedly by GSP I as a fan was really hoping that he would come to the realization that he is naturally a lightweight fighter and that he would stay there, dominate, and go down as probably the best ever at his weight class. Unfortunately, due to what many have deemed Grease-Gate, Penn is calling for another fight with GSP and has declared that he needs some time off. What that leaves us with is an exciting weight class with some terrific fighters that is currently surviving without a champion. You have a fighter like Kenny Florian that has been declared the number 1 contender for the UFC belt and yet he finds himself in limbo wondering when he will get this shot the UFC has told him he earned. You have a guy like Sherk who basically has shown he can beat anyone that the UFC has to offer him except Penn and he's in an even longer holding pattern for a shot at his former title knowing that a guy he beat has first dibs when and if BJ decides he wants to grace them with the champion's prescence. The UFC's version of this division has several young, exciting up and comers including Gray Maynard and though he lost his last fight Nate Diaz. You have a guy like Clay Guida that never seems to stop coming forward and though his style can be ugly at times it has been quite effective. Diego Sanchez made the move down and had an impressive win over Joe Stevenson. Still think he has some more proving at this weight before his name gets thrown in the title picture but the fact that he didn't gas in his first fight at the smaller weight, which most fighters seem to do, is a good sign of what could be to come from him at 155. I am getting to the point where I almost wish Dana White would just take Penn's belt due to him not actively defending it, let him do what he wants at Welterweight, and let the Lightweights move on. I have to believe that one of the things is holding him back is that without Penn at 155 he would not have the top lightweight in the world.

On a world scale this is probably one of the most well-stacked divisions in mma. You just don't see the amount of top 10 fighters outside of the UFC in any other division save possibly heavyweight where Fedor, Arlovski, and Barnett all call Affliction their home. At the moment due to his plans to move up to welterweight for Dream's Grand Prix at that weight you have Shinya Aoki who is an extremely talented fighter with sick submissions who owns wins over Eddie Alvarez and Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante as well as having split fights with Joachim Hansen. In case you didn't know all 3 of those guys are top 10 lightweights in their own rights. Heck, Aoki subbed Alvarez in the first round of their New Years Eve fight in Japan. Alvarez is a fighter that had been on a 5 fight win streak before falling to Aoki. That win streak included wins over Hansen and a very tough Tatsuya Kawajiri who owns a win, be it by DQ, against Hansen. JZ had a 13 fight unbeaten streak that included a win over Caol Uno also ended by Aoki. This one was ended by unanimous decision in April 2008. He was scheduled to attempt to avenge his early career loss to Hansen but a head injury forced Hansen to withdraw from the fight so that will have to wait. As mentioned above Hansen has split his two fights with Aoki and has a win over JZ to go with his win over Uno. Besides these 4 great fighters you have Strikeforce's lightweight champion Josh Thomson who is on an 8 fight win streak since his 2006 decision loss to Clay Guida that includes an unanimous decision win over Gilbert Melendez. You could also mention a fighter like Satoru Kitaoka who subbed a double tough Takanori Gomi early in the first round of their January fight. Would love to see what would happen if some of these guys ended up fighting in the UFC.
My Lightweight Ranking:
1. BJ Penn
2. Shinya Aoki
3. Joachim Hansen
4. Sean Sherk
5. Eddie Alvarez
6. JZ Cavalcante
7. Kenny Florian
8. Josh Thomson
9. Satoru Kitaoka
10. Gray Maynard

Great article about UFC, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Japan, and South Korea

2009-02-25T21:06:00.000-08:00

Just thought this was a great article about Yoshihiro Akiyama as well as the UFC's attempt to gain a market in Japan and South Korea. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. As much as I disliked sherdog's addition of Paulo Thiago in their welterweight top 10 at this time I respected this article that much more.
http://sherdog.com/news/articles/ufcs-akiyama-a-key-to-other-asian-market-16345

The Welterweight Top 10: Paulo Thiago?

2009-02-25T07:38:00.000-08:00

As I was wandering through cyberspace I landed at sherdog.com. Typically this is a site that I really enjoy. You can get up-to-date information on the sport of mma on their site. What I was reading today was their top 10 welterweights and who was sitting at number 6 on that list but none other than Paulo Thiago. I even read a fan post on mmajunkie.com that Thiago was 1 to 2 fights away from deserving a shot at GSP. Paulo Thiago? Are you kidding me? Sure he was 10-0 outside of the UFC but he was regarded as a rung on the ladder Koscheck was climbing to get to a title shot in the future before that fight. One flash KO and he is suddenly the 6th best 170 lb fighter in the world. Really? Sure it was an impressive win. Sure it should open people's eyes to what Thiago could potentially become. It does not make him the 6th best welterweight in the world. Included in his 10 fights were only 4 wins were against fighters with records above .500 in their mma careers: Luis Dutra, Ferrid Kheder, Leonardo Pecanha, and Igor Pakoto. Also included in those 10 fights were exactly 3 against fighters with more than 6 fights in their mma career: Dutra, Kheder, and Pecanha. Pakoto has 4 fights in his mma career. Now don't get me wrong,I am not putting down Thiagos' skills. This is not an indictment on the fighter he could become. Thiago could very well become a tremendous fighter and a title contender and I would like to see him get the chance to continue to build up his resume'. I am merely expressing my displeasure with fans and the media's need to make every fighter that pulls off an upset into one of the top fighters in their division immediately. Let him prove his skills at a top level a couple more times and then we can start talking about how high in the rankings he should be and how close he is to a title shot. Here are my top 10 Welterweights:
1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Thiago Alves
4. Jake Shields
5.Carlos Condit
6. Marcus Davis
7. Mike Swick
8. Josh Koscheck
9. Matt Hughes
10. Nick Thompson

My Thoughts On The Koscheck Stoppage

2009-02-24T07:31:00.000-08:00

After watching the Josh Koscheck vs. Paulo Thiago fight from UFC 95 this past Saturday I am of the mindset that the stoppage was completely justified. Sure the ref could have let it go longer but all that would have been accomplished was Koscheck eating more shots. The look in his eyes when he hit the ground accompanied with how his limbs sort of locked up told me and anyone else that watched it objectively that Koscheck was out. To Thiago's credit he did not feel the need to jump on and add unnecessary punishment. He could have jumped on before the ref stepped in and and landed 2 or 3 solid, undefended shots to Koscheck's head. To his detriment though is that the pause he took could have cost him the fight had the ref not stopped the fight and Koscheck was able to get his wits about him after he hit the ground. All-in-all it was a terrific win for the undefeated Brazillian Jiu Jitsu ace and I look forward to seeing more from him in the future. He will need to work on his standup defense though. Against a fighter that is going look to land more than just a big looping hook to the head he could have some problems. As for Koscheck he's going to have to pick himself up and begin the long march back up the rankings. I know he didn't go for takedowns in this fight because he felt his real worry was in Thiago's submission game but he is going to have to get back to basics. Joe Rogan, as he is so found of doing whenever Koscheck fights, pointed out that his standup game has improved drastically since he was on the Ultimate Fighter. He's right, it has. I would hope it would have though considering when he was on the show he was purely a wrestler. No submissions, no stand up, barely any ground and pound. The gains he's made in his skill sets are therefore obvious. The problem is that he relies on his standup to the point where he seems to forget what is still his true strength in the octagon. His wrestling. Also his standup has improved but it seemed as though that coming off his highlight reel knockout of Yoshiyuki Yoshida that he believed that he needed only push in and throw the haymaker and he would get the KO. He didn't seem to feel the need to set it up with a consistent jab. That is not improved striking in my mind. It's just brawling and you see what brawling got him in this fight. Koscheck is an impressive fighter. He is very athletic, has amazing wrestling, and his other skill sets are improved. I'd just like to see him get back more to his wrestling roots and if he is going to use his standup more that he use a total standup game, not just look for the home run everytime he throws. If he doesn't we could very well see more of that glazed look in his eyes that we saw on Saturday against Paulo Thiago.

MMA vs. Boxing

2009-02-23T22:58:00.001-08:00

One of my biggest pet peeves is the mma vs. boxing debate. I grew up a fan of boxing and still today when there is a big fight on I am eager to watch. Heck, my bachelor party began with my buddies getting the Floyd Mayweather-Ricky Hatton pay per view. It didn't end there though if you know what I mean. That being said I am one of the people that scream that there is no need for a debate over which is better. Does it matter whether football is better than baseball or basketball. No, they all have their niches and are doing well because they are all separate sports. That's what mma and boxing are, separate sports. The blind out there would like you to believe that since they are both "combat sports" that they can't coexist. That's just plain idiocy. They are completely different sports with completely different rules. There are similarities of course. They are person to person, you can get punched to the head or the body resulting in possible KO or TKO, and you don't want the fight to go the distance because what a judge sees and what the rest of the world sees can be drastically different, to paraphrase a football saying, on any given fight night. MMA though allows the fighters to incorporate kicks, takedowns, ground and pound, and submissions into the give and take that occurs in the fight. Does that make it better or worse. More or less it just makes it different. I personally appreciate a great boxing match, just not as much as I appreciate a great mma fight. That doesn't mean boxing should be done away with more than it means that mma should be done away with because boxing fans enjoy it more. There is room for both in the sports world. I would love to live and let live when it comes to this debate but it becomes hard when top boxing announcers like Jim Lampley and Larry Merchant take shots at the sport unnecessarily during boxing telecasts. To make statements after fights like Lampley has that you will never see the skill on any level of "ultimate fighting" that you see in a great boxing match or when Merchant makes ill informed comments about the absurd amount of money that the "t-shirt company" Affliction had to give De La Hoya in order to get him to attend their fights when a Golden Boy promotion was going on the same night is the sign of an old guard scared of where their sport is going. The funny thing is that boxing doesn't have to fear mma. Heck, many boxers embrace mma. De La Hoya and Golden Boy being involved with Affliction, Roy Jones talking about dipping into promoting mma, and close to home Fernando Vargas was involved in a boxing/mma cross-promotion in Primm, NV. Boxing just has to follow the mma template. Get the best fighters to fight each other and do it before they are nearing the end of their careers, Chuck-Wandy not withstanding. The two sports can coexist. I for one would like to see them do so. Boxing is hurt when they put 2 headliners like Cotto and Pavlik on the same card but put them in tune up fights charging $45 while the UFC has a card televised free in the US that shows the main event, 4 fights scheduled to be televised, plus 4 more that were listed as "may not be televised". MMA isn't a threat to boxing, those in charge of boxing are a threat to boxing. Here's wishing long lives to both sports and many great fights to watch for their fans.

I will be giving my thoughts and predictions on the upcoming WEC promotion scheduled for 3/1/09 in Corpus Christi, TX later in the week. It may be my next post, it may not. Depends on my mood.

My First Blog: The Pound for Pound Debate

2009-02-23T07:02:00.000-08:00

Ok so this is my first blog on the sport of mma. Heck this is my first blog on anything so I hope this goes well. I want to discuss the absurdity of the idea of who is the best "pound for pound" mma fighter in the world. People make these rankings and then argue them like they mean anything. How does anyone know or even begin to argue that a fighter is better at his weight class than another is at his. Ok so Georges St. Pierre mauled BJ Penn in their rematch at the end of January. Does this make St. Pierre better pound for pound? No, it makes him a better 170 lb fighter than Penn. If St. Pierre attempted to cut to 155 he would be emaciated and lose much of his conditioning and some of his strength. I know now people will say that its hypothetical, what if a 155 lb version of St. Pierre existed, then he could defeat Penn at that weight class. Well, no that wouldn't be the case. Penn is obviously a stronger, faster, more well conditioned fighter at 155 lbs than he is at 170 so this mythical 155 lb version of St. Pierre would be fighting a different animal. A different animal that actually exists in the real world. I know I've been focusing on a Penn-St. Pierre match up but this idea would work for any fighter listed in this mythical pound for pound weight class. What if anyone mentioned in the pound for pound discussion were to fight Fedor at heavyweight or if Fedor dropped to fight anyone on that list. What would happen? Well in the real world Fedor would drop any of them at heavyweight because they would be horribly out of shape to fight at that weight, would have bulked up so much that they lost their speed, or would be fighting at a huge weight disadvantage. In the mythical world we would be led to believe that a heavyweight version of Penn, St. Pierre, or Anderson Silva would keep their smaller version's speed at that weight. How does Fedor deal with a heavyweight Penn or St. Pierre that possess the speed of the 155 lb or 170 lb versions. But on the same token do they keep that speed but their strength as well because then they would be fairly weak for a 206 lb or higher fighter so they probably would be unable to hurt Fedor. I know, this all sounds ridiculous but that is what the pound for pound fighter argument should be considered. There has been discussion of St. Pierre eventually stepping up to 185 to fight Anderson Silva. If Silva would win this fight would it make him a better pound for pound fighter? No it makes him a better fighter at 185. The fight would most likely be completely different at 170. If St. Pierre would win that fight does it make him a better pound for pound fighter? Not really. Sure he would be better at 185 that night but Silva has shown an ability to fight at 205 and he could move up and dominate there. Could St. Pierre follow and remain as good a fighter? I think not. I like to give fighters credit for being great at their weight class and keep it at that. Sure a fighter like Penn has held titles at 155 and 170 in the UFC and that is part of his legacy that should be celebrated but that doesn't make him "pound for pound" the best because he is a great 155 lb fighter that is good but not great at 170. I'll stick to who is best at each weight class. I personally feel that Miguel Torres is the best fighter in the world at 135; Uriah Faber is the best at 145 and will beat Mike Brown when they fight a rematch; BJ Penn is the best fighter at 155 especially when he is focused on that weight class; Georges St. Pierre is obviously the best at 170 lbs with or without the vaseline; Anderson Silva is without a doubt the best at 185; Quinton Jackson is the best in the world at 205 and when he gets the chance will take back that title in the UFC; and Fedor Emelianenko is the best at heavyweight, sorry Lesnar fans but no he isn't. That makes all of these fighters, in my opinion, great, but as far as who is the best fighter pound for pound it's a pointless discussion that goes nowhere. That being said I'm not one to avoid a pointless argument so here is my pound for pound top 10:
1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Fedor Emelianenko
3. Anderson Silva
4. Miguel Torres
5. Quinton Jackson
6. Rashad Evans
7. BJ Penn
8. Uriah Faber
9. Forrest Griffin
10. Jon Fitch