ReX13 | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

ONE FC: Champion vs Champion — Impressions From the First Event

Guess who didn’t get the “Bring your big gold belt” memo. PicProps: onefc.com

OK, first: if you didn’t manage to wrangle your ass out of bed this morning to log on and watch ONE FC’s inaugural event, you can still catch all the fights for free at Sherdog:

Eduard Folayang vs A Sol Kwon
Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs Phil Baroni
Mitch Chilson vs Eric Kelly
Gregor Gracie vs Seok Mo Kim
Andy Wang vs Zorobabel Moreira

Under card

Eddie Ng vs Yuan Chun Bo
Radeem Rahman vs Susovan Ghosh
Vuyisile Colossa vs Ma Xing Yu
Daniel Mashamaite vs Yodsanan Sityodong
Soo Chul Kim vs Leandro Issa

Watch em, then come in and we’ll talk. Or you can just come in and we’ll tell you about it.

Guess who didn’t get the “Bring your big gold belt” memo. PicProps: onefc.com

OK, first: if you didn’t manage to wrangle your ass out of bed this morning to log on and watch ONE FC’s inaugural event, you can still catch all the fights for free at Sherdog:

Eduard Folayang vs A Sol Kwon
Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs Phil Baroni
Mitch Chilson vs Eric Kelly
Gregor Gracie vs Seok Mo Kim
Andy Wang vs Zorobabel Moreira

Under card

Eddie Ng vs Yuan Chun Bo
Radeem Rahman vs Susovan Ghosh
Vuyisile Colossa vs Ma Xing Yu
Daniel Mashamaite vs Yodsanan Sityodong
Soo Chul Kim vs Leandro Issa

Watch em, then come in and we’ll talk. Or you can just come in and we’ll tell you about it.

Much the excitement for the event came from the comparisons to PRIDE. According to ONE’s website, they utilize “a combination rule set of global MMA best practices, blending Asian and non-Asian rules”, meaning no restriction to elbow, knee, or kicking attacks on a grounded opponent. We didn’t see any at the first event, and I’m still not entirely clear on how the fighters were instructed.

They didn’t get Lenne Hardt (AKA The Crazy Screaming PRIDE Lady), but they did get Yuji Shimada (AKA “I don’t care, kill him. Do you want to win?”) in to referee.

It does seem that ONE is shooting for high production values as PRIDE did, but there were no grand displays. No elaborate entrances, although there was an amusingly eclectic mix of music chosen for walkouts, which led to the revelation that Bas Rutten digs Lady Gaga and Johnny Cash. The crowd was relatively sparse in the 12,000 capacity stadium, but they were an enthusiastic bunch.

And with good reason: the card was full of good action throughout.

For the grappling fans: Kelly vs Chilson, BJJ aces vs South Koreans named “Kim”. Both Gregor Gracie and Leandro Issa outpointed Kims, and there was jits popping out all over the place. Gracie’s opponent Seok Mo Kim had outstanding submission defense, escaping a triangle and surviving multiple arm triangle chokes from Gracie, who is going to be catching hell from family for failing to finish a fight in which he scored and maintained mount for minutes at a time. Kelly took home a $5K bonus for sub of the night for sleeping Chilson with a standing RNC.

For the KO junkie: Sityodong vs Mashamaite, Ng vs Bo, Colossa vs Yu, Rahman vs Ghosh. Both Ng and Bo are generally favorites of livebloggers everywhere. Beats the hell out of Magomed Sultanakhmedov, Georgi Karakhanyan, and Jadamba Narantungalag, is all I’m saying.

For the “PRIDE mismatch to make the home team look like a ninja” fan: Rahman vs Ghosh. Raheem Rahman picked up the $5K knockout of the night bonus after plowing through his opponent in the first.

For the sadist: Moreira vs Wang. Not a gory fight, but painful nonetheless. Yuji Shimada has seen some world-class ass whoopings in his lifetime, so don’t expect him to stop a fight unless someone’s ear falls off. If a fighter wants to continue to soak up punishment in the second round, Shimada is willing let him. And the fighter does. So Shimada does.

Fight of the night: Folayang vs Kwon. Supposedly a mismatch on paper, this was a fast-paced, even contested fight with lots of fun kick technique and some wild exchanges. Go watch it.

Notes to Victor Cui (ONE CEO): Can you hook up with HDNET? That would be great, then we can watch these in high def, and rewind when Folayang and Kwon are moving to damn fast for us to follow. Also, a little pyrotechnics never hurt nobody.*

All in all a fun event, albeit short of rivaling PRIDE’s inaugural event or UFC’s current dominance. If the first broadcast is any indication, ONE FC will be the leader in MMA in the eastern hemisphere in short order. I know I’ll tune in again.

[RX]

*Not intended to be a factual statement.

Bellator Season 5 Preview: Once More, With Feeling

Remember: *this* is the guy that the middleweights are competing to fight. Hector Lombard knocked Vitale down twice with one punch. VidProps: BellatorMMA/YouTube

So anybody notice that I mentioned Bellator yesterday? You did? And you didn’t comment about how splendiferous Bellator is, and how much you like watching the fights, and in general how witty and good looking we are here at CagePotato?
Well that’s just rude. I’m inclined to not even bother running down the other two tourneys planned for this season. Really, it’s like you don’t care.

Oh, alright. Come on in and we’ll have coffee and talk. But no staying over.

Remember: *this* is the guy that the middleweights are competing to fight. Hector Lombard knocked Vitale down twice with one punch. VidProps: BellatorMMA/YouTube

Oh, alright. Come on in and we’ll have coffee and talk. But no staying over.

We covered the bantamweight and welterweight tournament lineups yesterday, but Bellator’s fifth season will also feature fighters in the middleweight and heavyweight divisions, with some returning contenders and some fresh faces.

Middleweight

When Jared Hess ruined his knee fighting Alexander Shlemenko, he had to go through hours of grueling physical therapy. Not to be outdone, I spent a few hours in therapy myself, because that shit was disturbing. And when he returned to fighting at Bellator 42 against Chris Bell, I made one of the funniest jokes I’ve ever written (to me, at least): “Jared Hess is so tough that the production crew played Anita Ward as Chris Bell’s entrance music.”

Hess faces another Bellator favorite, Bryan Baker, who is kinda tough himself: dude was fighting in Bellator tournaments while going through chemotherapy treatments and still almost won the whole damn thing. He returned at Bellator 43, knocked out Joe Riggs, and then proposed to his girlfriend on television. Basically, whoever wins this fight gets a hole punched in his “Certified Badass” card.

Alexander Shlemenko returns as well after unsuccessfully challenging Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard, and meets DREAM veteran Zelg Galesic in the quarterfinals. Galesic dropped two submission losses in DREAM (to Kazushi Sakuraba and Ronaldo Souza) before rebounding with a KO win over some poor English chap named Lee Chadwick.

Vitor Vianna makes his Bellator debut against “Smilin’” Sam Alvey, who picked up a split decision win over Karl Amoussou in a tournament qualifier in May. Vianna, who trains in Vegas with the Wand Fight Team, is 10-1-1, with his only loss due to an injury TKO (broken arm) against Thiago Silva.

Brian “The Predator” Rogers and Victor O’Donnell round out the 185 brackets. O’Donnell almost made it into the TUF house during the eleventh season (Ortiz vs Liddell), but was outpointed by Chris Camozzi. You may remember that Camozzi didn’t make it through the season either… because O’Donnell broke his jaw. Rogers enters the tournament on a hot streak, having defeated his last six opponents via KO or TKO in the first round. So look for these two guys to hit each other a lot.

Bryan Baker vs Jared Hess
Alexander Shlemenko vs Zelg Galesic
Vitor Vianna vs Sam Alvey
Brian Rogers vs Victor O’Donnell

Heavyweight

Looks like Bellator is going to try to find some more big men to challenge Cole Konrad, the man-mountain that I never say nice things about. I should really stop that. Here goes: Cole Konrad does really nice interviews. He seems like a really decent fella.

Ok, on to the tournament….

Neil “Goliath” Grove and Mike “300″ Hayes both participated in the first heavyweight tourney in season 3: Grove lost in the finals to Konrad, and Hayes dropped a split decision to Alexey Oleinik. Grove is a big dude and has a nasty habit of knocking his opponents out (all eleven of his wins came out of his fists), but Hayes has never been finished. First time for eveything? I think Goliath has got this one.

Ron “The Monster” Sparks joins the fray, currently 7-0 and ready for a step up in competition. I am a bit amused that Jonathan Ivey took him to decision, but I guess everyone has a bad night, right? Sparks will face Mark Holata, a regional fighter who is 2-0 under the Bellator banner, including a submission (due to strikes) win over Tracy Willis in April.

Blagoi Ivanov is a Bulgarian Sambo specialist, and you should really be excited about seeing him. While still barely into his MMA career, Ivanov holds a win over Kazuyuki “Ironhead” Fujita — a fight in which Ivanov broke both his hands. (Hey, they don’t call him “Ironhead” for nothin’.) Oh, and he also won the 2008 World Sambo Championships, defeating a Russian guy by the name of Fedor Emelianenko in the semifinals. He’ll face Thiago “Big Monster” Silva, a heavy-handed BJJ black belt who has been out for a year due to unrevealed injuries.

Abe Wagner, another guy that got bounced out of the TUF house (he lost a decision to Jon Madsen), has had mixed results lately. After a quick win over a grossly out of shape Tim Sylvia, Wagner was submitted by Aaron Rosa, then got back in the win column with a submission win of his own. Now 10-4, Wagner meets Eric Prindle in the quarters. Prindle, a US Army vet, has a submission win on his record, but don’t let that fool you: the other guy tapped to strikes. Not that he’s not learning some subs — Prindle is currently training at Team DeathClutch with guys like Rodrigo Medeiros and Erik Paulson.

Neil Grove vs Mike Hayes
Mark Holata vs Ron Sparks
Blagoi Ivanov vs Thiago Santos
Eric Prindle vs Abe Wagner

Now, comment, you bastards.

Oh, and have a safe and happy weekend.

[RX]

PS Don’t forget about ONE.

Looking Ahead: Check Out the New Promo for UFC 135

In: “I WANT MY BELT BACK!” Out: “There’s gone be some black on black crime.” VidProps: UFC/YouTube

Check this out: official UFC propaganda would have us believe that Rampage Jackson is actually out there somewhere working. They even have the nerve to pause on a calendar square labeled “JIU JITSU”, when we all know damn well that ‘Page would pull guard right after he lets someone hold an umbrella for him.

On the other hand, we’re pretty sure we’ve found the guy shooting footage of Jackson and passing it on to Jones.

Bones v Rampage goes down in just 22 days, and there’s plenty of action to keep you occupied until then.

The full UFC 135 card is after the jump.

In: “I WANT MY BELT BACK!” Out: “There’s gone be some black on black crime.” VidProps: UFC/YouTube

On the other hand, we’re pretty sure we’ve found the guy shooting footage of Jackson and passing it on to Jones.

Bones v Rampage goes down in just 22 days, and there’s plenty of action to keep you occupied until then.

The full UFC 135 card is after the jump.

Main Card
Light Heavyweight Championship: Jon Jones vs Quinton Jackson
Matt Hughes vs Diego Sanchez
Ben Rothwell vs Mark Hunt
Nate Diaz vs Takanori Gomi
Travis Browne vs Rob Broughton

Spike Card

Tony Ferguson vs Aaron Riley
Nick Ring vs Tim Boetsch

Facebook Card

James Te Huna vs Ricardo Romero
Takeya Mizugaki vs Cole Escovedo

We were supposed to get a fight between Kid Yamamoto and Damacio Page, but it was announced yesterday that both guys had managed to get hurt in training.

So what’s the over-under on KOs on this card?

[RX]

Bellator’s Fifth Season is Coming

Above is the decidedly high-def looking promo for Bellator’s fifth season, kicking off on September 10th in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I mention the spiffyness of the visuals because one of the few complaints that I’ve ever leveled at BFC is the standard definition broadcasting. When the trailer was released a few weeks ago, I honestly thought it was just a little accidental irony.

Nope. A couple of days ago, it was announced that Bellator season five tournaments will be broadcast in HD baby! Now go dig out your cable programming guide and try to determine if you have EPIX. I’ve never heard of it, but apparently it’s an actual channel somewhere, so I’m going to call DISH Network and start offering them money until they can confirm that I’ll see Bellator in 1080p.

If you’re not excited about the upcoming season, watch that video again. You may not realize it, but that’s Bruce Lee talking about being like water. It’s some deep philosophical type shit, and it’s pretty much him guaranteeing that he’s going to join a tournament and wreck shop. Seeing the founder of Jeet Kun Do step away from his acting career and FINALLY step into the cage is going to be sick, and I’m looking forward to putting an end to all that speculation about how good he’d be.

(For an actual preview of two of the four planned tournaments this season, come on in past the jump.)

Bantamweight

The 135 pound tournament is packed full of storylines and rivalries. Current featherweight champ Joe Warren is joining the field in an attempt to earn Bellator gold in two weight classes. Here’s the thing about Joe Warren: before Chael Sonnen, there was Joe Warren: he doesn’t lack confidence and he’s not afraid to tell you what’s on his mind. The self-proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet” missed the 2008 Olympics due to smoking a little reefer, where he would have represented the US at 60kg in wrestling. (Just my opinion, but if you can smoke grass and stay on weight , you deserve a medal at something. Damn IOC always trying to bring a man down. )

His opponent will be the Cuban Olympic wrestler Alexis Vila, who won a bronze medal in at the 1996 Games at 48kg. You may remember Vila from his appearance in the Genghis Con web documentary Miami Hustle, in which he was angry a lot and hit people really hard. If anyone wants to bet me that Vila does not beat the absolute piss out Warren in the first round, I will laugh and take your money.

Chase Beebe, who fought Warren in his first pro MMA fight and lost (Beebe was 12-3 at the time), joins the tournament looking for redemption. To get it, Beebe will have to get through Marcos Galvao, who gave Warren all he could handle at Bellator 41 (and lost a controversial split decision). Still with me?

Eduardo Dantas out of Brazilian powerhouse Nova Uniao signed on with Bellator, and will face perennial contender Wilson Reis for his North American debut. Dantas won the Shooto South American title, but failed to win the world title in a bout with Masakatsu Ueda in 2009.

Ed West made it to the finals in season three before losing to current champ Zach Makovsky, and he draws Team Renovacao product Luis Alberto Nogueira in the quarterfinals. Nogueira has a loss on his record to Dantas, and if the two meet, expect Bellator to fill you in on Luta Livre vs BJJ.

Joe Warren vs Alexis Vila
Chase Beebe vs Marcos Galvao
Wilson Reis vs Eduardo Dantas
Ed West vs Luis Nogueira

Welterweight

Welterweights will kick off the fifth season, with the quarterfinals in the 170 pound tournament taking up the card at Bellator 49 on the 10th. Welterweight has always been a deep division for Bellator, and new free agents add some spice to the brackets.

MFC’s former welterweight champ Douglas Lima enters the quarterfinals against Steve Carl, who lost to Dan Hornbuckle in the season two tournament, then rebounded with win over Tyler Stinson via CTFO.

Hornbuckle, meanwhile, will run into a welterweight almost as tall as he is — Luis “Sapo” Santos, a Brazilian wrecking machine that’s every bit as well-rounded as Hornbuckle. Check your DVR twice, because you are not going to want to miss this fight.

Ben Saunders draws Chris Cisneros, a 13-3 Hawaiian fighter who stepped in for the recently injured Rick Hawn, and Kentucky fighter-philosopher Brent Weedman battles the Cleveland Assassin Chris Lozano. Weedman went 5-0 in Bellator until he met Jay Hieron in the semifinals a few months ago, and he’s totally worth following on Twitter. Lozano has earned all eight of his wins via stoppage, with just one loss — a decision to former Bellator champ Lyman Good.

Douglas Lima vs Steve Carl
Dan Hornbuckle vs Luis Santos
Ben Saunders vs Chris Cisneros
Brent Weedman vs Chris Lozano

[RX]

Keyboard Warriors #4: How Do You Solve a Problem Like A. Silva?

Panic reigns supreme at UFC headquarters in the aftermath of Anderson Silva’s destruction of the strongest middleweight in the world. Dana White has been asking the same question for hours: NOW who do we put in front of Silva? In a late-night spitballing session, Dana puts his question to his closest friends and confidants, hoping […]

In a late-night spitballing session, Dana puts his question to his closest friends and confidants, hoping to devise a title defense that would actually be competitive. But while brainstorming can lead to bizarre, innovative ideas, Dana is unprepared for what sleep deprivation and caipirinhas have done to Joe Silva…

Ok, this is totally fake and i made it all up. There, you’ve been warned.

Come on in past the jump (if you dare), and check out the return of Keyboard Warriors. Props to Brandon Stroud over at WithLeather for coming up with a fun concept, but he doesn’t help write any of the jokes — blame those on me.

[RX]

Scott Coker Continues to Act Like Strikeforce Titles Are Cursed

“And then the hair on my arms stood up, and I felt a cold hand on the back of my neck, and a voice saying … “Well, well, well, motherfucker.” PicProps: AllElbows

Scott Coker commented today during a media call today about the possibility of awarding the Strikeforce heavyweight championship to the winner of the Heavyweight Grand Prix, saying that the decision hasn’t been made, but that the company probably would not do so.

Because, you know, why would you?

After promoting a tournament as a way to “finally answer once and for all who is the world’s most dangerous man” (uh, hello? Ken Shamrock. /thread), obviously the most rational thing to do is hand the winner a large trophy or a poster-sized check, right? But to go ahead and award that winner the title of “champion”, a title that is currently vacant? Well that’s just not a decision they’re in any hurry to make.

Now call me crazy, but it seems Scott Coker believes that the belts he gives to fighters are cursed. I mean cursed like “made from the skin of blind puppies”, “hexed by crazy-haired blood witches”, “directly connected to Cenobites” cursed. Nothing else could explain the ghost town that is Strikeforce Championville, USA, but that it’s been built on the sacred land of indigenous peoples whose souls rest uneasily.

“And then the hair on my arms stood up, and I felt a cold hand on the back of my neck, and a voice saying … “Well, well, well, motherfucker.” PicProps: AllElbows

Because, you know, why would you?

Heavyweight champ Overeem: gone, and no title for the GP winner. Light heavyweight champ Henderson: free agent, probably gone. Welterweight champ Nick Diaz: gone for a GSP superfight. Coker isn’t in a hurry to crown a new guy there, either. Melendez would be gone, too, but the UFC picture at 155 looks like the DMV complete with a sign that says “Take a Number”. The women’s division is plagued with similar absences, but that’s really an entirely different dynamic. Unless the title belts are haunted by angry ghosts hungry for vengeance.

Clearly, Coker has gotten the message that the UFC will handpick fighters from his roster, and he’s powerless to do anything about it. So he’s taken the ingenious tactic of refusing to make new champions, like he’s the babysitter in the house with the hook-wielding escaped lunatic and as long as he doesn’t acknowledge the problem, he won’t get gutted even though the call is coming from inside the house!

That analogy may have gotten out of hand, but the craziest thing is this: Coker just might be on to something. Rather than have a bunch of belts that might as well say “Gone to UFC, BRB” on them, maybe focusing on putting on good fights with good matchups and an odd tournament or two would help carve out a solid niche for the promotion. Accepting a role as a feeder organization, and excelling at it, could be the best thing for Strikeforce as part of the Zuffa family.

Of course, that would put the promotion on a collision course with Bellator, but with Zuffa backing and cable distribution deals already in place, Strikeforce would smash Bellator in ratings.

Either that, or Coker is going to need to get those belts into a containment unit.

[RX]