There’s really nothing quite like a good throwback weekend to make you forget about the Summer of Injuries and PED Frenzy 2012. It’s hard to pinpoint why exactly, but there’s something special about seeing the likes of Tim Sylvia, Karo Parisyan, Drew Fickett, “Krazy Horse” Bennett and even Bob Sapp back in action all in one night that gets the nostalgia levels humming at the perfect buzz.
And of course when the 2006 time capsule snaps back to the present, and the realization hits that there are about to be back-to-back UFC events on Friday and Saturday, it’s hard to complain about where we’re at as a sport right now. So I hope you enjoyed the time off, because chances are you’re not getting anymore of it this upcoming weekend.
5 MUST-READ STORIES
Weekend fight results. Catch up on everything you may have missed from our time away with MMA results for Titan Fighting Championships 23 and ShoFight 20, as well as boxing results for Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Andy Lee.
Big Nog hurt; Struve-Miocic headlines UK. Legendary heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira withdrew from his UFC 149 bout against Cheick Kongo due to injury, eventually being replaced by up-and-comer Shawn Jordan. Meanwhile, a heavyweight contest pitting Stefan Struve against Stipe Miocic was tapped to headline UFC on FUEL 5, which is slated for September 29 at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England.
Gray Maynard not a fan of Clay Guida’s hair. The trademark untamed locks of Clay Guida will be forcibly braided for his UFC on FX 4 fight against Gray Maynard, after Maynard’s camp successfully filed a complaint to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board.
Feijao tests positive. Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante tested positive for an undisclosed banned substance in the aftermath of his May victory over Mike Kyle.
Pacquiao-Marquez rematch rumored. Despite the controversy surrounding Manny Pacquiao’s recent “loss” to Timothy Bradley, the pair’s tentatively scheduled November rematch is rumored to be unlikely as Pacquiao is instead mulling a fourth bout against his foremost rival, Juan Manuel Marquez.
MEDIA STEW
Tim Sylvia hopped back on the comeback express this weekend by going full-out beast mode on an unfortunate man in a northeastern regional event.
We know, we know. You probably came into this expecting a 40-second video of Bob Sapp tapping out via single-leg takedown or invisible strike. But, what if we told you it doesn’t actually happen here? In fact, Sapp almost seems to find himself in an actual fight. Sure, it may be against unheralded South Korean middleweight Jong Dae Kim, but let’s just chalk this one up to babysteps.
Our own Luke Thomas traveled upstate to question the key players involved in the fight to legalize mixed martial arts in New York and carry the state out of the dark ages.
The Fight For New York
Get More: The Fight For New York
Drew Fickett has had a bit of a rough road, so it wasn’t easy watching him get put away this quickly last Saturday.
FIRST TWEETS SINCE FATEFUL MORNING OF MAY 19
Getting ready to watch Journey 2 the mysterious island 3D with my little girls.. Happy fathers day to all the dads out there
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) June 17, 2012
Rooting for my boy @KingJames and the heat to take it all the way this year
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) June 18, 2012
I BELIEVE IT
Fact! 40% of all tweets are sent from the shitter. Ok not true, but this one was. … Wink,but not with
— Forrest Griffin (@ForrestGriffin) June 18, 2012
ACE ANSWERS
@MartLaw68 Forrest
— Rich Franklin (@RichFranklin) June 15, 2012
@Mr_Westfall @RichFranklin mike tyson just to experience how fast he was and hard he hit
— Rich Franklin (@RichFranklin) June 15, 2012
@LouisFightOn @RichFranklin at 185 usually between 15-20lbs
— Rich Franklin (@RichFranklin) June 15, 2012
@arthurdsweeney @RichFranklin /Arianny-Celeste and brittney palmer
— Rich Franklin (@RichFranklin) June 15, 2012
@Pashiiix3 @RichFranklin one of them is holding the belt and the other one is fighting for it
— Rich Franklin (@RichFranklin) June 15, 2012
want to know if @jimcarrey knows who i am. I invite all of u to tweet him & find out. First 1 w an official response wins somethin cool
— Rich Franklin (@RichFranklin) June 15, 2012
JUST NICK DIAZ HYPING HIS OWN HYPE VIDEOS
Soon ill let you go Nick Diaz: youtu.be/t47bYWzLtKY via @youtube
— nick diaz (@nickdiaz209) June 18, 2012
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced over the weekend (Friday, June 15, 2012 – Sunday, June 17, 2012):
UFC 147: Cezar Ferreira (4-2) vs. Sergio Moraes (6-1) for TUF Brazil middleweight finals
UFC 147: Rony Mariano Bezerra (10-3) vs. Godofredo Castro (8-0) for TUF Brazil featherweight finals
UFC 147: Hugo Viana (5-0) vs. Jhon Teixeira (13-0)
UFC 147: Francisco Drinaldo (10-1) vs. Delson Heleno (23-6)
UFC 147: Anistavio Medeiros (12-7) vs. Rodrigo Damm (9-5)
UFC 147: Thiago Perpetuo (8-1-1) vs. Leonardo Mafra (5-0)
UFC 147: Marcos Vinicius Borges Pancini (19-3-1) vs. Wagner Campos (11-3)
UFC 149: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (33-7-1) out, Shawn Jordan (13-3) in against Cheick Kongo (17-7-2)
UFC on FX 4: Francisco Rivera (8-2) out, Dustin Pague (11-5) in against Ken Stone (10-3)
UFC on FUEL 4: Dan Stittgen (7-2) vs. Marcelo Guimaraes (7-0-1
UFC on FUEL 5: Stefan Struve (24-5) vs. Stipe Miocic (9-0) announced as main event
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes courtesy of Honkleton7, who hopes you can appreciate the benefits of: Judo: The Most Underutilized Art in MMA
I start this rant by acknowledging what many of you will be desperate to highlight. “Who am I to criticize the elite Mixed Martial Arts fighters in the world today!?!” That is not what I’m trying to do, I am simply highlighting an incredible art of combat that I think is being hugely underutilized in our sport. It is also important that I state that I have very limited knowledge of wrestling due to being born on the wrong side of the damn planet, so I’m unable to comment on how relevant that is to the topic.
What I do know however, is judo. I understand that many judo throws are hugely reliant on the gi and therefore transition to MMA very poorly. Having said that there are a number of throws that would be useful tools against some of the elite take down defence artists in MMA today. How many fights do you watch and vast majorities are spent pressed against the cage in the clinch? This is prime territory for a number of throws. With the exception of Akiyama, Parisyan, Nakamura etc, there have been very few experts entering into the octagon. I will highlight a number of judo throws I feel are being particularly ignored. I’ve included videos because its fair to say the names of judo throws are not common knowledge
1. Harai Goshi- This throw is particularly useful in the clinch scenario. A recent example of this throw being utilized in the cage was Frank Mirs fight against Roy Nelson, where Mir threw Nelson beautifully (which left me drooling like a kid in a candy store.) It is not uncommon in MMA to see a taller fighter struggle to get a shorter opponent to the matt due to their advantageous low centre of gravity. This throw utilizes long legs and can play into the hands of taller ground fighters. It also worth noting that when you get thrown with Harai Goshi…sweet Mary, you are going to know about it. From personal experience, it is one of the most painful throws to be on the receiving end of, as your opponents weight lands flush on your stomach. Consider your wind officially knocked out…
Found something perfect for the Morning Report? Just hit me on Twitter @shaunalshatti and we’ll include it in tomorrow’s post.