Author: CrushCo

Video Roundup: MFC 30 & The Score Fighting Series

Fickett vs. Cobb from zpzp420 on Vimeo.

A veritable treasure trove of MMA action kicked off with two events last night, MFC 30 and “The Score Fighting Series”. Even if those organizations don’t ring a bell for you, they did line up recognizable names for their cards, and we’ve got the videos of who did what to whom.

At MFC 30, Brian Cobb showed no intimidation when the opening bell rang, but shortly after standing back up from a Drew Fickett takedown, the 18-6 prospect found himself in a world of trouble. Just a minute into the fight, Fickett took Cobb’s back standing, locking up a body triangle and working for his 31st submission when the fight hit the ground. Three and a half minutes and a dozen rear naked choke attempts later, Cobb turned into Fickett’s guard and unloaded a barrage of unanswered punches forcing the ref to halt the bout. To his credit, Fickett did meet all of the criteria needed to challenge an early stoppage, but from the replay it looked like the only thing supporting his bobblehead was the bottom rope.

After the jump, video of Spratt-Davis, a video recap of The Score, and full results.

Fickett vs. Cobb from zpzp420 on Vimeo.

A veritable treasure trove of MMA action kicked off with two events last night, MFC 30 and “The Score Fighting Series”. Even if those organizations don’t ring a bell for you, they did line up recognizable names for their cards, and we’ve got the videos of who did what to whom.

At MFC 30, Brian Cobb showed no intimidation when the opening bell rang, but shortly after standing back up from a Drew Fickett takedown, the 18-6 prospect found himself in a world of trouble. Just a minute into the fight, Fickett took Cobb’s back standing, locking up a body triangle and working for his 31st submission when the fight hit the ground. Three and a half minutes and a dozen rear naked choke attempts later, Cobb turned into Fickett’s guard and unloaded a barrage of unanswered punches forcing the ref to halt the bout. To his credit, Fickett did meet all of the criteria needed to challenge an early stoppage, but from the replay it looked like the only thing supporting his bobblehead was the bottom rope.


Davis vs. Spratt from zpzp420 on Vimeo.

Former UFC southpaws Pete Spratt and Marcus Davis also locked horns on the HDNet-aired card. Davis showed a lot of movement throughout the fight, landing knees on the inside and shooting for takedowns whenever Spratt looked to tee off. Little damage was meted out when the fight hit the canvas, but the same could be said for the stand-up battle prior to the third round. In the end, Davis had done enough to secure the decision victory.

I can’t find any videos of the Sokoudjou-Boughton and Zaromskis-Mein bouts online, so “The Score” video recap will have to suffice. Did Zaromskis pull off the win? Did Sokoudjou fart his way to victory as predicted? Click play and find out.

Full Results

MFC 30 (via MMAFighting.com):

-Brian Cobb def. Drew Fickett via TKO (punches) – R1, 4:44
– Marcus Davis def. Pete Spratt via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
– Sheldon Westcott def. Thomas Denny via unanimous decision (29-27 3x)
*Westcott was deducted a point in the third round for hitting Denny in the back of the head.
– Dhiego Lima def. Jamie Toney via TKO (punches) – R1, 2:47
– Curtis Demarce def. Robert Washington via split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
* Decision was initially announced in favor of Robert Washington, but commission later changed the result after learning the 30-27 score was meant for Demarce and not Washington.
– Andreas Spang def. Cody Krahn via submission (guillotine choke) – R1, 1:18
– Mukai Maromo def. Scott Cleve via first-round TKO
– Garrett Nybakken def. Jevon Marshall via first-round TKO

The Score Fighting Series (via MMAMania.com):

-Mike Reilly def. Tyler Hardcastle via KO (slam) in round 2
-Alex Ricci def. Mike Sledzion via KO (punch) in round 2
-Tristan Johnson def. William Romero via unanimous decision
-Kurt Southern def. Jorge Britto via unanimous decision
-Josh Hill def. Darin Cooley via unanimous decision
-Mick Mamalis def. Adrian Wooley via split decision
-Antonio Carvalho def. Douglas Evans via unanimous decision
-Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou def. Roy Boughton via unanimous decision
-Joe Doerksen def. Luigi Fioravanti via unanimous decision
-Jordan Mein def. Marius Zaromskis via unanimous decision

You can catch the rest of MFC 30 courtesy of Zombie Prophet.

Josh Koscheck Cites Exclusive Apparel Contract, Not Stick Up His Ass, as the Reason for His Lawsuit Against NGAUGE

Smug © (Pic: Zimbio.com)

Perhaps we were all a little quick to bag on Josh Koscheck for taking a legal dump on “Trash Talkin’ Kids“, Stephan Bonnar’s new irreverent line of MMA shirts. True, he does have a track record of being kind of a dick, but this wouldn’t be the first time that we’ve jumped to conclusions about the UFC Welterweight only to back track a little. Lesson learned. From now on, we’ll reserve judgment until all of the facts are in and give Kos the benefit of the doubt. Nah, not really, but here’s the latest on this story.

Koscheck sat down with the folks at BleacherReport.com to give his side of the tale. According to Kos, his problem with the shirt in question has nothing to do with being the butt of a joke, but rather stems from a preexisting exclusive contract.

Smug ©    (Pic: Zimbio.com)

Perhaps we were all a little quick to bag on Josh Koscheck for taking a legal dump on “Trash Talkin’ Kids“, Stephan Bonnar’s new irreverent line of MMA shirts. True, he does have a track record of being kind of a dick, but this wouldn’t be the first time that we’ve jumped to conclusions about the UFC Welterweight only to back track a little. Lesson learned. From now on, we’ll reserve judgment until all of the facts are in and give Kos the benefit of the doubt. Nah, not really, but here’s the latest on this story.

Koscheck sat down with the folks at BleacherReport.com to give his side of the tale. According to Kos, his problem with the shirt in question has nothing to do with being the butt of a joke, but rather stems from a preexisting exclusive contract.

“This situation is very black and white,” (Koscheck who is 14-4 in the UFC said). There’s a side of right and a side of wrong and I’m on the side of right. Stephan Bonnar and his company are on the side of wrong. I have an exclusive deal that is a conflict to use my image, to use my likeness, and to use my name.”

“I spoke to Stephan Bonnar about a year ago and I’ve had my existing contract for about two years now and I spoke to him about a year ago at AKA (American Kickboxing Academy), regarding this situation and he was understanding of the fact that there is an existing agreement with a prior apparel company with myself.”

“He spoke with myself and my manager Bob Cook at AKA when he was filming something for SpikeTV, he was in agreement and in an understanding that they would stop producing and making the shirt. Because I was about to get sued from my preexisting exclusive deal that I’ve had signed for two-years.”

“So, he was putting me in breach of this contract by producing this shirt. Now, with that being said, he was fine with that and was fine with everything after meeting at AKA and he continued to produce the shirt.”

“He basically gave me no other choice, but to go after him legally because of the fact that I’m about to be sued from another company because of Stephan Bonnar and his antics.”

Assuming that all of this information is accurate, and we’ll take it at face value here, the NGAUGE shirt basically forced Kos into a “sue or be sued” scenario, and rather than lose out on a long-term sponsorship deal so Bonnar can sell some t-shirts, he filed suit. Seems fair enough. The whole situation raises some legal questions that I don’t have the answers to: Is NGUAGE protected by parody or satire laws? Can Koscheck be sued by his sponsor for the unauthorized actions of a third party? Though these cases may never actually make it to trial, Koscheck and Bonnar may take the law into their own hands rather than take it to court.

Bonnar stated that he’s willing to cut weight to face Koscheck in the cage. And Koscheck? Yeah, he’s down too:

“Now, Stephan Bonnar is calling me out and it’s absurd, that p***y really needs to think about who he’s calling out because when he becomes a B level fighter, then I’ll take him serious. But right now, he’s not even a B level fighter so I’m not taking him serious.”

“If he does want to fight me and run his mouth and continue to run his mouth personally, then we can settle this. I’ll fight him at 185 for the fans, because I know there’s a lot of people out there right now that this is a big deal and I’ll make that my comeback fight hopefully in October.”

“All day long, that’d be a nice, easy comeback fight. I’d like to have a nice warmup fight and Stephan Bonnar would be that fight.”

Now that’s some quality trash talkin’, kid! Joe Silva, make it rain.

Not This Sh*t Again: Now Jon Jones Has Caught the Acting Bug

There seems to be a growing trend of fighters getting dazzled by the bright lights of Hollywood, and thus far it hasn’t exactly been a wonderful experience for fight fans. In this interview with MMA H.E.A.T.’s Karyn Bryant, Jon Jones talks about his recent meeting with top execs at Warner Brothers to discuss potential movie roles.

There are two main reasons that one might be opposed to films starring MMA fighters. First off, by and large, they suck. Until very recently, fighters were relegated to roles in ‘C’ and ‘D’ list films, basically anything that was the third or fourth straight-to-video sequel to a hit from twenty years ago or a straight-to-video knockoff of a hit from twenty years ago. But even if the movie is a summer blockbuster, we’re stuck with reason two: these films will interfere with fights. Filming a movie takes a lot of time, and timing is everything in the fight game. If Hollywood takes a shining to Jones, it’s terrific for him and it would undoubtedly raise some mainstream awareness for our sport, but as a greedy fan I don’t want to see important fights delayed any longer than they absolutely must be.

Dana’s thoughts on thespian Jones and a small taste of his acting chops after the jump.

There seems to be a growing trend of fighters getting dazzled by the bright lights of Hollywood, and thus far it hasn’t exactly been a wonderful experience for fight fans. In this interview with MMA H.E.A.T.’s Karyn Bryant, Jon Jones talks about his recent meeting with top execs at Warner Brothers to discuss potential movie roles.

There are two main reasons that one might be opposed to films starring MMA fighters. First off, by and large, they suck. Until very recently, fighters were relegated to roles in ‘C’ and ‘D’ list films, basically anything that was the third or fourth straight-to-video sequel to a hit from twenty years ago or a straight-to-video knockoff of a hit from twenty years ago. But even if the movie is a summer blockbuster, we’re stuck with reason two: these films will interfere with fights. Filming a movie takes a lot of time, and timing is everything in the fight game. If Hollywood takes a shining to Jones, it’s terrific for him and it would undoubtedly raise some mainstream awareness for our sport, but as a greedy fan I don’t want to see important fights delayed any longer than they absolutely must be.

The good news? Dana White says Bones can’t act. According to the Baldfather, he had to step in for Jones and deliver his line–”Here we go!”–when the Light Heavyweight Champ choked on the set of their recent Bud Light commercial. Not exactly a supportive thing to say about your champ when he’s trying to start up an acting career, unless…say, you don’t think Dana’s opposed to that, do you?

As for Jones’s stage presence, you make the call.  Will he be quitting his day job anytime soon?

‘The Ultimate Fighter 13? Finale: *ssholes-1, Good Guys-0

Pettis, and his hopes at a title shot, come crashing down (pic: MMAFightNews.net)

Judging from the sparse commentary throughout last night’s live blog, most of you were out sipping $20 Manhattans and discussing the latest issue of The New Yorker while a few of us sat on the couch watching free cage fights and loathing ourselves. It’s cool. You know what you did was wrong, and you came back home to us. We forgive you, and we’ll give you the gist of what went down.

It only took three minutes and fifty four seconds to send ten weeks of buildup crashing to the mat. The bout between Tony Ferguson and Ramsey Nijem was competitive, with both men finding a home for their hands, but Ferguson was able to employ his collegiate wrestling experience and the time spent with Lesnar’s camp after the show to dictate the fight and set the pace. Following a couple of successful takedowns, Ferguson flipped Ramsey’s switch with a left hook and Season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter crowned its asshole champion.

Pettis, and his hopes at a title shot, come crashing down (pic: MMAFightNews.net)

Judging from the sparse commentary throughout last night’s live blog, most of you were out sipping $20 Manhattans and discussing the latest issue of The New Yorker while a few of us sat on the couch watching free cage fights and loathing ourselves. It’s cool. You know what you did was wrong, and you came back home to us. We forgive you, and we’ll give you the gist of what went down.

It only took three minutes and fifty four seconds to send ten weeks of buildup crashing to the mat. The bout between Tony Ferguson and Ramsey Nijem was competitive, with both men finding a home for their hands, but Ferguson was able to employ his collegiate wrestling experience and the time spent with Lesnar’s camp after the show to dictate the fight and set the pace. Following a couple of successful takedowns, Ferguson flipped Ramsey’s switch with a left hook and Season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter crowned its asshole champion.

About 10 seasons ago that would have meant something, perhaps that a new player had arrived in the Welterweight division, but these days it just means that the TUF champ was simply the best fighter in the house, and that’s assuming that the best fighter didn’t succumb to injury during the hectic fight schedule. The legendary “six figure contract” carries little guarantee of future employment, but at least Ferguson left with the $40k “Knock Out of the Night” bonus in his pocket. So where does Ferguson go from here? In true Ultimate Fighter fashion, he said a drop in weight class is likely in his future. Then again, he also called out fellow TUF champion and resident UFC hipster Amir Sadollah, so who knows.

In the “co-main event”, Clay Guida was able to take Anthony Pettis off of his feet and reduce his highlight-reel style to a few momentary bursts of gif-worthy brilliance. Pettis took a major gamble in accepting this fight, preferring to stay active and risk losing his title shot rather than sitting idly by and waiting for a turn that may never come. It’s hard to imagine a fight so active resulting in so little damage. Guida used his strong wrestling base to put Pettis on his back each and every round, but it was all he could do to avoid the constant submission threats of Showtime’s active guard. Guida’s major offensive weapon, outside of his takedowns, came in the form of shoulder strikes from the guard and half guard while pressed against the cage. It was enough to secure the decision from the judges, but not enough to earn him the title shot that would have gone to a victorious Pettis. Dana White said post-fight that Guida is still behind Jim Miller in line for a shot at the belt. In short, Pettis will need to work on his wrestling to flourish in the UFC’s lightweight division, and Guida still needs to work on everything else.
In other action…

Ed Herman turned the longest layoff into the evening’s quickest win with his 48-second TKO of Tim Credeur. It was an exciting and much-needed win for “Short Fuse”, but with both men coming off of two year absences it tells us little about how he’ll fair against other competition or how he’s recovered from multiple knee surgeries.

My how far Josh Grispi has fallen. Once lined up to challenge Jose Aldo for his belt, “The Fluke” has now lost both of his matches in the UFC. George Roop also came into the bout 0-1 in the UFC, but he looked solid last night in his return to the win column.

The evening’s “Fight of the Night” was a throwdown between Light Heavyweights Kyle Kingsbury and Fabio Maldonado. Kingsbury landed some big knees from the clinch, but ate more than his fair share of digging body shots for his effort. Kingsbury left the cage with his fourth consecutive UFC win and an eye that looked possessed by demons.

Danny Downes was outgunned on the feet, and Danny Downes was outgunned on the mat, but damn Danny Downes is tough. Downes took a beating and probably should have left the cage with a detached arm, but he hung in there for the long haul in what ended up serving as a showcase fight for Jeremy Stephens.

I wouldn’t expect to see much more out of the TUF Class of Season 13. The undercard bouts featuring the non-finalists didn’t give much reason to believe anyone will be making an impact in the UFC. Chris Cope did look improved, and you never really know who’s a diamond in the rough, but even the shallow end of the Welterweight pool may prove too deep for these guys to tread. For some, this may represent their first chance to train full time with a credible gym; they’d better make the most of the opportunity.

Patrick Cote Involved in Minor Tiff at Ringside 11 Weigh-Ins

There’s nothing like a pre-fight kerfuffle to generate interest in an upcoming bout. Tonight’s fight between “The Predator” and Todd Brown largely flew under the radar until things escalated at last night’s weigh-ins. Just when the two were working their way toward a nice little Frye-Thompson homage, people had to get all pushy-shovey and ruin it. As the two men were separated an indignant Cote offered his opponent the sort of white-glove slap usually reserved for Warner Brothers characters. Whether the beef was sincere or not, congrats, you got our attention.

Brown comes into this bout on the heels of an 0-2 run in the UFC that saw him drop a decision to Tim Boetsch and lose via TKO (retirement between rounds) after barely surviving a first round beatdown from Igor Pokrajac last March. Cote rebounded from his own UFC exile with a victory over Kalib Starnes at Ringside 10 two months ago. Both men are hungry for a return to the big leagues. Will we see the same Cote that came close to dethroning Anderson Silva?

There’s nothing like a pre-fight kerfuffle to generate interest in an upcoming bout. Tonight’s fight between “The Predator” and Todd Brown largely flew under the radar until things escalated at last night’s weigh-ins. Just when the two were working their way toward a nice little Frye-Thompson homage, people had to get all pushy-shovey and ruin it. As the two men were separated an indignant Cote offered his opponent the sort of white-glove slap usually reserved for Warner Brothers characters. Whether the beef was sincere or not, congrats, you got our attention.

Brown comes into this bout on the heels of an 0-2 run in the UFC that saw him drop a decision to Tim Boetsch and lose via TKO (retirement between rounds) after barely surviving a first round beatdown from Igor Pokrajac last March. Cote rebounded from his own UFC exile with a victory over Kalib Starnes at Ringside 10 two months ago. Both men are hungry for a return to the big leagues. Will we see the same Cote that came close to dethroning Anderson Silva?

Heads Up: The 2011 IBJJF World Jiu Jitsu Championships Are Under Way

(Cyborg Santos gives Amanda Lucas a guided tour of the mat)

Since the very beginning of our sport, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has been a critical component of Mixed Martial Arts competition (spoiler- Royce Gracie wins). Odds are good that unless you’re a diehard republican or an MMA judge, you share at least some appreciation for the subtle art of torquing limbs and rendering folks unconscious. Good news for you- the 2011 Mudials go down this weekend.

Competition in the lower belt rankings began on Thursday. In the video above you can check out Strikeforce’s 145lb women’s champion Cris Santos slam MMA fighter/George Lucas’s daughter Amanda Lucas in every manner possible en route to claiming a gold medal in the purple belt division. It is a little surprising that the most intimidating female fighter on the planet is competing as a purple belt, but not surprising enough that we would ask her about it to her face. ‘Grats to Cyborg for the medal and for finding a way to keep busy while her fighting career is inexplicably left to die on the vine.

Info on how to watch the event is after the break.

(Cyborg Santos gives Amanda Lucas a guided tour of the mat)

Since the very beginning of our sport, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has been a critical component of Mixed Martial Arts competition (spoiler- Royce Gracie wins). Odds are good that unless you’re a diehard republican or an MMA judge, you share at least some appreciation for the subtle art of torquing limbs and rendering folks unconscious. Good news for you- the 2011 Mudials go down this weekend.

Competition in the lower belt rankings began on Thursday. In the video above you can check out Strikeforce’s 145lb women’s champion Cris Santos slam MMA fighter/George Lucas’s daughter Amanda Lucas in every manner possible en route to claiming a gold medal in the purple belt division. It is a little surprising that the most intimidating female fighter on the planet is competing as a purple belt, but not surprising enough that we would ask her about it to her face. ‘Grats to Cyborg for the medal and for finding a way to keep busy while her fighting career is inexplicably left to die on the vine.

For those of you whose thirst for action cannot be quenched by TUF Finales alone, you’re in luck. BudoVideos.com will be broadcasting the event live from Long Beach, California on Saturday and Sunday, starting at 9:00 a.m. PT. Saturday’s stream is free, but Sunday’s finals will set you back a cool $9.95. It’s a small price to pay to catch some of the world’s greatest submission artists go head to head.