Let’s be honest, Potato Nation. Tim Sylvia is probably one of the most toughest motherfuckers you know. True story: While in college, I once sent a him a private video message in which I made fun of his fight with Ray Mercer, his appearance on Blind Date, and his nickname, “Fatty Boom-Boom,” for a good twenty five minutes. I’m not sure how, but the very next day, he showed up to my school, slept in my dorm room, beat the fuck out of my roommate and took his bed, then proceeded to smack all of my teachers, professors, RA’s, and deans before my very eyes.
I think anytime you get to fight a guy that held the UFC title, it’s a big deal. If Tim Sylvia’s the guy that they put across the cage from me, then that’s the guy I will fight on that day.
(THIS is what intimidation looks like.)
Let’s be honest, Potato Nation. Tim Sylvia is probably one of the most toughest motherfuckers you know. True story: While in college, I once sent a him a private video message in which I made fun of his fight with Ray Mercer, his appearance on Blind Date, and his nickname, “Fatty Boom-Boom,” for a good twenty five minutes. I’m not sure how, but the very next day, he showed up to my school, slept in my dorm room, beat the fuck out of my roommate and took his bed, then proceeded to smack all of my teachers, professors, RA’s, and deans before my very eyes.
I think anytime you get to fight a guy that held the UFC title, it’s a big deal. If Tim Sylvia’s the guy that they put across the cage from me, then that’s the guy I will fight on that day, but it doesn’t really matter to me. I said that I would like to actually continue my progression, but there aren’t many guys that are a step up from Josh Barnett. I don’t know. I just would like to keep progressing in my career and fighting guys that are better than the last guy. I don’t know who that’s going to be. It doesn’t really matter. I’ll give Showtime their fight and see where I stand in the UFC division when I’m done.
Did someone say SUPERFIGHT?!
Cross your fingers and pray that Cormier’s upcoming hand surgery goes smoothly, because this is the fight that we want, no, need to see by the end of the year. Sylvia wants his shot, we want to see him fail, and Cormier would probably like an easy paycheck. Plus, it’s not like Strikeforce has any other fights to offer their champ…at all.
Hell, we say they let Sylvia weigh in at three, four, or even five hundred pounds if he feels compelled to do so. We haven’t seen a heavyweight freakshow fight this intriguing since Fedor/Zuluzinho. For the love of God, somebody please make this happen.
As he mentioned, Cormier is fresh off a victory over top ranked heavyweight Josh Barnett, whereas Sylvia is on the heels of a plodding UD victory over some guy, so it’s pretty obvious that these two are on a collision course with each other in the near to immediate future. If Sylvia can walk away victorious from his upcoming fight with 14-10 Randy Smith on June 16th, then there will be nothing separating them from a heavyweight clash of epic proportions. Nothing.
So we ask unto you, Mr. Sylvia; when desiny calls, will you pick up the phone?
In June 2010, we posted a list of the ten greatest fighters who had yet to take a loss. By November 2011, none of their perfect records were still intact, proving once again what a cruel bitch this sport is. Half of the fighters on our original list — Shane Carwin (#1), Megumi Fujii (#2), Ryan Bader (#6), Evan Dunham (#7), and Lyle Beerbohm (#10) — have even lost *twice* since then. So we decided to start over from scratch and come up with a new ranking of undefeated MMA fighters. Check it out, and let us know who you think will hold onto their ‘0’ the longest. -BG
#1: DANIEL CORMIER (10-0, six wins by first-round stoppage) Notable victories: Jeff Monson at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum (UD), Antonio Silva at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov (KO R1), Josh Barnett at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier (UD)
Next fight: TBA
The former collegiate wrestling star and Olympic competitor went through hell to get to where he is today. Less than three years after kicking off his MMA career, Cormier battled his way to a career-defining matchup against ex-UFC champ Josh Barnett — a catch-wrestling savant with four times as many fights on his pro record as Cormier — in the finals of Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Grand Prix. But Dan didn’t need to turn the meeting into a grappling match. As he also demonstrated against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in his previous outing, Cormier packs enough speed and punching-power to win fights with his striking alone. It’s only a matter of time before he enters the UFC to take on the best in the world, and we have a feeling he’ll make an immediate impact.
#2: MICHAEL CHANDLER (10-0, eight wins by stoppage) Notable victories: Patricky Freire at Bellator 44 (UD), Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 58 (sub R4), Akihiro Gono at Bellator 67 (TKO R1)
Next fight: TBA
Michael Chandler is the perfect example of how a tournament can transform a fighter from unheralded prospect to breakout star. After winning his first two Bellator appearances by swift first-round stoppage in 2010, Chandler was invited to participate in the promotion’s season four lightweight tournament. The Xtreme Couture product sliced through it, starting with a first-round submission of Polish prodigy Marcin Held, and ending with a decision win over knockout artist Patricky “Pitbull” Freire in the finals. Then, Chandler did the unthinkable — he took the lightweight belt from Eddie Alvarez, choking out the formerly untouchable Bellator champ in the fourth round of an insane Fight of the Year candidate last November. (A follow-up non-title match against Akihiro Gono was little more than a one-minute showcase of his killer instinct.) In eight months, Chandler went from 5-0 up-and-comer to newly-minted champion with a win over a top-ten ranked opponent. Is it okay if we use the “meteoric rise” cliché, just this once?
In June 2010, we posted a list of the ten greatest fighters who had yet to take a loss. By November 2011, none of their perfect records were still intact, proving once again what a cruel bitch this sport is. Half of the fighters on our original list — Shane Carwin (#1), Megumi Fujii (#2), Ryan Bader (#6), Evan Dunham (#7), and Lyle Beerbohm (#10) — have even lost *twice* since then. So we decided to start over from scratch and come up with a new ranking of undefeated MMA fighters. Check it out, and let us know who you think will hold onto their ’0′ the longest. -BG
#1: DANIEL CORMIER (10-0, six wins by first-round stoppage) Notable victories: Jeff Monson at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum (UD), Antonio Silva at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov (KO R1), Josh Barnett at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier (UD)
Next fight: TBA
The former collegiate wrestling star and Olympic competitor went through hell to get to where he is today. Less than three years after kicking off his MMA career, Cormier battled his way to a career-defining matchup against ex-UFC champ Josh Barnett — a catch-wrestling savant with four times as many fights on his pro record as Cormier — in the finals of Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Grand Prix. But Dan didn’t need to turn the meeting into a grappling match. As he also demonstrated against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in his previous outing, Cormier packs enough speed and punching-power to win fights with his striking alone. It’s only a matter of time before he enters the UFC to take on the best in the world, and we have a feeling he’ll make an immediate impact.
#2: MICHAEL CHANDLER (10-0, eight wins by stoppage) Notable victories: Patricky Freire at Bellator 44 (UD), Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 58 (sub R4), Akihiro Gono at Bellator 67 (TKO R1)
Next fight: TBA
Michael Chandler is the perfect example of how a tournament can transform a fighter from unheralded prospect to breakout star. After winning his first two Bellator appearances by swift first-round stoppage in 2010, Chandler was invited to participate in the promotion’s season four lightweight tournament. The Xtreme Couture product sliced through it, starting with a first-round submission of Polish prodigy Marcin Held, and ending with a decision win over knockout artist Patricky “Pitbull” Freire in the finals. Then, Chandler did the unthinkable — he took the lightweight belt from Eddie Alvarez, choking out the formerly untouchable Bellator champ in the fourth round of an insane Fight of the Year candidate last November. (A follow-up non-title match against Akihiro Gono was little more than a one-minute showcase of his killer instinct.) In eight months, Chandler went from 5-0 up-and-comer to newly-minted champion with a win over a top-ten ranked opponent. Is it okay if we use the “meteoric rise” cliché, just this once?
#3. RONDA ROUSEY (5-0, all wins by first-round armbar) Notable victories: Sarah D’Alelio at Strikeforce Challengers: Gurgel vs. Duarte (sub R1), Julia Budd at Strikeforce Challengers: Britt vs. Sayers (sub R1), Miesha Tate at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey (sub R1)
It seems that there are two paths to recognition as a female MMA fighter — be a fight-finishing beast like Cris Cyborg, or a feminine sex symbol like Gina Carano. In the relatively brief time we’ve been aware of her, Ronda Rousey has proven herself to be both. Add in a dose of Sonnen-esque trash-talk, and it’s easy to see why we’ve become infatuated with the bronze-medal-winning Olympic judoka. After dispatching her first four pro opponents in a combined time of two minutes and 18 seconds, Rousey fought/talked her way to a Strikeforce title shot against bantamweight champ Miesha Tate. Was it too much too soon? Not exactly. Rousey went home with a new belt and another shattered arm for her trophy case, proving once again that success is the best revenge.
#4: TRAVIS BROWNE (13-0-1, nine wins by first-round stoppage) Notable victories: James McSweeney at the TUF 11 Finale (TKO R1), Stefan Struve at UFC 130 (KO R1), Chad Griggs at UFC 145 (sub R1)
Travis Browne answers the age-old question: “What if Tim Sylvia was a fucking badass?” Browne has the imposing height and reach of the Maine-iac, but uses those natural gifts with a bloodthirsty aggression that has led to most of his opponents being laid out in the first five minutes. “Hapa” entered the UFC on a three-fight stretch where he knocked out Brian Campbell, Abe Wagner, and Aaron Brink in a combined 52 seconds (!), and did everybody a favor by squashing TUF 10 heel James McSweeney at his UFC debut in June 2010. Though a follow-up match against Cheick Kongo was a dirty mess of a fight that ended in a draw, Browne’s been golden ever since, most recently turning Chad Griggs from Strikeforce Cinderella-story to ex-heavyweight.
#5: CHRIS WEIDMAN (8-0, five wins by first-round stoppage) Notable victories: Alessio Sakara at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann (UD), Tom Lawlor at UFC 139 (sub R1), Demian Maia at UFC on Fox 2: Evans vs. Davis (UD)
His nickname is “All American,” but you might as well call him Mr. Clutch. When Chris Weidman made his UFC debut against dangerous middleweight striker Alessio Sakara, he was just 4-0 at the time and coming in as an injury replacement on just two weeks’ notice. Despite the lack of preparation, Weidman’s top-shelf wrestling chops and unbreakable spirit carried him to a unanimous decision victory. Two masterful first-round submissions of Jesse Bongfeldt and Tom Lawlor followed, proving that the Serra-Longo product was the real deal. Weidman passed the biggest test of his career at UFC on FOX 2 in January, coming in once again as a last-minute injury replacement against Demian Maia. Though his conditioning began to fail him late in the fight, he didn’t stop pushing forward, and the judges rewarded him for the effort. With a little more seasoning — and a full training camp — Weidman will be a threat to any contender in the middleweight division.
#6: PAUL SASS (13-0; eight wins by “Sassangle,” three by heel-hook) Notable victories: Jason Young at OMMAC 4 (sub R1), Michael Johnson at UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson (sub R1), Jacob Volkmann at UFC 146 (sub R1)
Next fight: TBA
Also known as one of the greatest one-trick ponies in MMA, Paul Sass kicked off his career with seven consecutive triangle-choke victories. Once he racked up ten professional wins in his native Liverpool, Sass was picked up by the UFC where he’s gone 3-0 so far, with all wins coming by first-round submission. His latest appearance at UFC 146 was by far his most impressive. Facing lightweight contender Jacob Volkmann — who had out-pointed five straight opponents since dropping from welterweight — Sass needed less than two minutes to tie up Volkmann on the mat and submit him with a triangle-armbar, thus saving us from another uncomfortable post-fight interview.
#7 BEN ASKREN (10-0, four wins by first-round stoppage) Notable victories: Dan Hornbuckle at Bellator 22 (UD), Nick Thompson at Bellator 40 (UD), Douglas Lima at Bellator 64 (UD)
Next fight: TBA
Maybe you don’t like his top-control-based style of fighting, and maybe his unapologetic attitude about it makes you like him even less. Doesn’t matter. Ben Askren’s wrestling expertise — honed during a legendary collegiate career — suggests that he’ll probably be Bellator’s welterweight champion as long as Bellator’s welterweight division exists. So while Dana White has called him “the most boring fighter in MMA history,” we feel obligated to quote Pat Miletich’s more respectful viewpoint: “The level of wrestling in mixed martial arts needs to improve in order to stop a guy like Ben Aksren from controlling them and putting them on their back.”
#8: STIPE MIOCIC (9-0, seven wins by KO/TKO) Notable victories: Joey Beltran at UFC 136 (UD), Phil De Fries at UFC on FUEL: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger (KO R1), Shane Del Rosario at UFC 146 (TKO R1)
Next fight: TBA
Any fighter who pulls on a pair of Croatian flag shorts sets himself up for lofty comparisons. But this 29-year-old knockout machine (and firefighter/EMT) has exceeded our expectations, going 3-0 in the UFC since his debut last October. In his last fight, Miocic faced another undefeated heavyweight blue-chipper in Shane Del Rosario, and demonstrated the difference between “prospect” and “contender,” pulling off the gnarliest elbows-from-above TKO since Melendez vs. Kawajiri. The UFC’s heavyweight division is deeper than ever this year, and it’s because young lions like Miocic and Travis Browne are coming in to clear out all the dead weight.
#9: JIMY HETTES (10-0, nine wins by submission) Notable victories: Jacob Kirwan at MASS: Inauguration (sub R2), Alex Caceres at UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle (sub R2), Nam Phan at UFC 141 (UD).
We don’t like to toss around the word “prodigy” unless it’s truly warranted, but honestly, Jimy Hettes is the Little Man Tate of grappling. At just 24 years old, the Pennsylvania native is already an expert, innovator, and educator of the ground game, and submitted his first nine MMA opponents with shocking ease. The only guy he wasn’t able to finish was Nam Phan in his last UFC appearance, and even then, the thrashing he gave Phan was so lopsided that two judges scored the fight 30-25. We can’t wait to see Jimy’s run in the UFC featherweight division continue once he’s healthy again.
#10: KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV (17-0, 13 wins by stoppage) Notable victories: Vadim Sandulitsky at ProFC Ukraine Cup 3 (sub R1), Arymarcel Santos at ProFC 36 (TKO R1), Kamal Shalorus at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller (sub R3)
There’s a good chance you may not be familiar with Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov, so here’s a brief primer: Nurmagomedov is a 23-year-old Russian lightweight who made his MMA debut a week before his 20th birthday, and spent three years running through local competition in Russia and the Ukraine before the UFC took notice. The 17-0 start to his career is nearly unprecedented, outside of Megumi Fujii. Judging from the above weigh-in photo, he might be a Ben Askren fan. And in his Octagon debut, he choked out former WEC standout Kamal Shalorus, which earned him a crack at longtime UFC vet Gleison Tibau in July. The former Combat Sambo Russian National Champion currently trains out of KDojo MMA in Fairfield, New Jersey. God help the CagePotato writers who have to type his name during liveblogs. (Not it, guys.)
Now, if that happened to my hand, it would be a wrap — you wouldn’t be able to stop me from sobbing. But Josh Barnett is cut from a different cloth than you or I. Despite suffering this uncomfortable-looking break within the first 30 seconds of his Strikeforce headlining fight against Black Fedor/Bro Cop on Saturday, the Warmaster bravely battled on for five agonizing rounds, only letting the pain show after the match was over. That’s what you call a savage and a true champ. Daniel Cormier also re-broke his hand early in the fight, but until he provides us with x-ray evidence, we’re going to have to proclaim Barnett the winner of their unofficial Gnarly Hand Injury contest.
Now, if that happened to my hand, it would be a wrap — you wouldn’t be able to stop me from sobbing. But Josh Barnett is cut from a different cloth than you or I. Despite suffering this uncomfortable-looking break within the first 30 seconds of his Strikeforce headlining fight against Black Fedor/Bro Cop on Saturday, the Warmaster bravely battled on for five agonizing rounds, only letting the pain show after the match was over. That’s what you call a savage and a true champ. Daniel Cormier also re-broke his hand early in the fight, but until he provides us with x-ray evidence, we’re going to have to proclaim Barnett the winner of their unofficial Gnarly Hand Injury contest.
Strikeforce – Barnett vs. Cormier: Thoughts and Opinions –Saturday night’s Strikeforce card was much better than advertised. Especially by me. It featured the arrival of Daniel Cormier as a major contender and a fight between.
Strikeforce – Barnett vs. Cormier: Thoughts and Opinions
–Saturday night’s Strikeforce card was much better than advertised. Especially by me. It featured the arrival of Daniel Cormier as a major contender and a fight between Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thompson that proved all of us who said we had no interest in seeing this rivalry become a trilogy wrong. Unfortunately, it doesn’t leave us with much to anticipate going forward. Melendez has no one else in the division to fight. Yes, he could fight Pat Healy. But in reality, Healy is clearly the third best 155 pounder in Strikeforce after Melendez and Thompson. Cormier has even less competition. And by that, I mean no competition. If he doesn’t move to the UFC, Strikeforce is going to have to sign someone just to get him a fight. The only interesting fight to be made after this card is Rafael Cavalcante vs. Gegard Mousasi, which brings me to my next point.
–The UFC appears to be continuing its strategy of purchasing, pillaging and disbanding its competition. And with their ridiculous success over the last ten years, I don’t blame them for sticking with the gameplan. But I think they might be ignoring one aspect of running a professional athletics empire. They are clearly modeling their organization more on successful team sport endeavors like the NFL and NBA than on the combat sports model created by boxing. They want to be the one venue where the best athletes compete for the most important championships. And to a large extent, they have already achieved that. But before those athletes are ready to be amongst the best in the world, they need to develop their skills somewhere. The NHL and MLB both have extensive minor league systems where young players compete to earn the right to play at the highest level. The NBA and NFL both use the NCAA for the same purpose. With collegiate MMA an unlikely proposition any time in the near future, the UFC is going to need a developmental system for young fighters who are not ready for the octagon. My suggestion to the UFC would be to use Strikeforce for that purpose. Make Strikeforce the proving ground for fighters trying to earn their way into the UFC. This model would create an interesting dynamic by adding a promotion/relegation element to MMA and MMA discussion. When is an emerging star ready for the big show? Should a struggling veteran be “sent down” to Strikeforce? The counter argument to this of course is why should the UFC pay to develop talent when smaller promotions are perfectly willing to do the work for them? My answer is that a clear pattern is emerging. It goes like this. Non-UFC organization X signs young fighters with raw talent for a minimal investment. Over time, several of those fighters develop as projected and begin to gain recognition. Those fighters have a sense of loyalty to the organization that gave them an opportunity. The organization rides those fighters to financial viability and begins to make enough noise that the UFC is forced to acknowledge them. The UFC attacks Organization X directly by scheduling competing events and luring away fighters. Organization X’s growth slows or plateaus, which causes financial issues. The UFC swoops in and buys out Organization X at a good price to eliminate competition. I don’t know what this process is costing the UFC but instead of going through this every few years, why not just be proactive in eliminating competition by having a place for emerging talent to compete instead of allowing that talent to sign elsewhere and being forced to deal with the problem on the back end? Even if you only break even or take a slight loss in raw financial numbers, isn’t the increased strength of the monopoly and brand singularity worth the investment?
–I have a feeling that this is going to become a consistent theme of this column for as long as I’m allowed to write it but I feel compelled to address another judging issue. And by “issue,” I mean the absurdity of lazily copycatting boxing’s system. MMA should not be scored on a 10-9 round by round system. Based on the judging criteria, Melendez won the first three rounds last night and Thompson won the last two. But Melendez barely won those three rounds and did no damage to Thompson. In the final two rounds, Thompson completely controlled the fight and came the closest to finishing it. I know that damage isn’t everything but Thompson obviously inflicted a significantly greater amount than Melendez. That has to count for something. We’re scoring a fight. Damage matters. If you ask me to assess who won that fight without regard for any scoring system, I’d be adamant that Thompson won. But within the confines of the scoring system currently in place, Melendez won. And to me, that’s a problem. We need a mechanism that allows for greater flexibility. I don’t know exactly what that is but I do know that Thompson was robbed on Saturday night. Not by the judges, who did a great job throughout the event, but by the framework within which they were forced to operate.
Mauro haters, hit mute now. Actually, everyone hit mute and read what I say about the fights below. (Video: YouTube/ShoSports)
Bruised and battered. Cut and bloodied. Josh Barnett’s face wasn’t one of a man who got out-wrestled last night. Olympic-level or not, wrestling doesn’t leave you looking like you put your head through a meat grinder. Don’t get me wrong, he did get out-wrestled last night, he just got out-struck as well. He got out-everythinged, if you want to get technical.
It didn’t have to be that way, of course. A lot of men would have wilted earlier–much earlier–in the onslaught of Daniel Cormier’s attack. But Barnett never thought of taking the easy way out, and today his face testifies to the evolving game of Cormier. The AKA product showed great versatility in his striking, staggering Barnett with heavy hands, head kicks, and knees. His combinations come fast, hard, and often, which explains why his hand surgeon is on retainer (yeah, he broke his hand again last night). When he did grab hold of “The War Master”, his grappling pedigree shone as well. He sent Barnett stumbling across the cage from the clinch and dolled out single-leg frequent flier miles, at one point flipping the former UFC champion in the air before slamming him to the mat.
Mauro haters, hit mute now. Actually, everyone hit mute and read what I say about the fights below. (Video: YouTube/ShoSports)
Bruised and battered. Cut and bloodied. Josh Barnett‘s face wasn’t one of a man who got out-wrestled last night. Olympic-level or not, wrestling doesn’t leave you looking like you put your head through a meat grinder. Don’t get me wrong, he did get out-wrestled last night, he just got out-struck as well. He got out-everythinged, if you want to get technical.
It didn’t have to be that way, of course. A lot of men would have wilted earlier–much earlier–in the onslaught of Daniel Cormier’s attack. But Barnett never thought of taking the easy way out, and today his face testifies to the evolving game of Cormier. The AKA product showed great versatility in his striking, staggering Barnett with heavy hands, head kicks, and knees. His combinations come fast, hard, and often, which explains why his hand surgeon is on retainer (yeah, he broke his hand again last night). When he did grab hold of “The War Master”, his grappling pedigree shone as well. He sent Barnett stumbling across the cage from the clinch and dolled out single-leg frequent flier miles, at one point flipping the former UFC champion in the air before slamming him to the mat.
If Cormier looked great last night it was only because Barnett forced him to. Josh had DC in trouble on more than one occasion, visibly hurting him in the second frame with a right hand-left knee combination, and later working dutifully for leg-locks on the ground. He too will have to nurse a broken hand suffered in the opening frame, but hopefully he’ll find his way to the Octagon soon.
The rubbermatch between Gilbert Melendez and challenger Josh Thomson was far more evenly contested and therefor far more difficult to judge. The old rivals started off slowly in a pair of cautious opening rounds. Both men found a home for their fists in those first two frames, but with the more active hands and several short-lived takedowns the champion edged out Thomson on the cards. “The Punk” came alive in the third, turning up the heat in a pivotal swing-round that could arguably have gone either way on a night where the scorecards bore little resemblance to the action taking place inside the cage.
Thomson took control in the championship rounds. Another slick trip takedown in the fourth round ended with the challenger taking Melendez’s back and threatening with several rear naked choke attempts. “The Punk” outlanded the champion two-to-one in significant strikes in the final round, taking Melendez down and maintaining top-control to close the bout.
Thomson suffered from repeated unintentional eye pokes throughout the bout, and a potential point deduction would have yielded a majority draw in a bout that either man could have been awarded under the Unified Rules. Under Melendez’s hometown ‘Stockton Rules‘, however, that belt is changing hands. “El Nino” got busted up in the exchanges and looked far more worse for wear after the fight. Though Thomson wasn’t exactly unleashing hell from above as the final bell rang, momentum had clearly shifted in his direction in the latter half of the battle. No matter who you had ahead, there will be no fourth fight and Melendez is keeping the strap.
In a far more decisive battle, Rafael Cavalcante evened the score in his rematch with Mike Kyle. Only seconds into their bout, “Feijao” connected with a knee to the grill that sent Kyle flying back against the cage. The Brazilian swarmed him on the ground with a torrent of hammerfists, many to the back of the head, before Kyle worked his way back to his feet. Perhaps inspired by Jon Jones pulling guard at UFC 145–not!–Feijao jumped around MAK’s waist and sunk in a guillotine. Kyle stayed standing for a bit before attempting to slam his way free of the choke, but Feijao rolled with the momentum and cranked away for the tap once they hit the ground.
In the evening’s opening tilt, late-replacement Chris Spang needed less than a round to dispatch Nah-Shon Burrell and even up his family’s MMA record over the weekend. Spang dropped Burrell halfway through the first then threw more high knees than a Rockettes performance. Fortunately for Burrell, he was out on his feet for much of the abuse, and referee Josh Rosenthal mercifully called the bout once Burrell collapsed his way out of Spang’s thai clinch and sprawled out on the canvas.
Also, if you didn’t catch the Virgil Zwicker-Carlos Inocente throwdown in the prelims, do yourself a favor. The only part of Zwicker’s body that Inocente doesn’t smash was his heart. It’s an entertaining scrap that casts Zwicker as the loveable anti-Sapp.
Main Card (on Showtime): -Daniel Cormier def. Josh Barnett by unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-45)
-Gilbert Melendez def. Josh Thomson by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
-Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante def. Mike Kyle by submission (guillotine choke) at :33, R1
-Chris Spang def. Nah-Shon Burrell by KO at 1:35, R1
Preliminary Card (on Showtime Extreme): -Isaac Vallie-Flagg def. Cesias “JZ” Cavalcante by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
-Carlos Augusto “Guto” Inocente Filho def. Virgil Zwicker by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
-Gian Villante def. Derrick Mehmen by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
-Quinn Mulhern def. Yuri Villefort by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
-Bobby Green def. James Terry by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Daniel Cormier defeats Josh Barnett via Unanimous Decision Last night, Daniel Cormier officially arrived at the top tier of the heavyweight division. Josh Barnett is one of the top five heavyweights in the world and.
Daniel Cormier defeats Josh Barnett via Unanimous Decision
Last night, Daniel Cormier officially arrived at the top tier of the heavyweight division. Josh Barnett is one of the top five heavyweights in the world and Cormier completely dominated him for five rounds. Cormier was never in trouble at any point in the fight. He controlled the striking game despite Barnett’s huge reach advantage. He closed the distance easily and used his quickness to outstrike Barnett on the inside. He consistently landed combinations damaging Barnett over and over with his uppercut. Any time he felt his opponent building a bit of momentum on the feet, he used his Olympic caliber wrestling to put Barnett on his back and dominated the fight on the ground as well. Barnett’s only opportunity to win the fight came when he latched on to Cormier’s leg and attempted a heel hook but he was never able to get a decent grip and Cormier slipped away easily. Considering the UFC’s history of handling organizations it purchases, one would have to expect that Cormier will make his way into the octagon for his next fight because the Strikeforce heavyweight division is basically non-existent at this point and Cormier is one of the fastest rising fighters in MMA. Considering Barnett’s history, his future is much less clear but provided his post fight PED testing comes up clean, he has earned another chance to compete at the highest level.
Gilbert Melendez defeats Josh Thompson via Unanimous Decision
Gilbert Melendez nearly lost his belt last night. I scored the first three rounds for Melendez with the first round being the closest of the three. But Josh Thompson dominated the last two rounds and had the fight continued past the fifth round, Thompson would have won the fight. By the end of the fight, I was looking for ways to justify scoring the fight in favor of Thompson but the scoring system is what it is and based on the criteria as they exist, Melendez was the winner. But that didn’t stop one of the judges from giving the fight to Thompson and even though it was the wrong way to score the fight, Thompson deserved the split decision. The first three rounds were basically a boxing match with Melendez barely getting the best of Thompson in the exchanges. He repeatedly stuffed the challenger’s takedown attempts and landed a takedown of his own to seal the second round. After the fight, Melendez claimed that he knew he won the first three rounds and that he started to “cupcake it” after that. If that’s the case, his face payed for his lack of effort. Over the last two rounds, Thompson began to dominate the exchanges and his cardio was clearly better than the champion’s. Thompson landed a right hand that proved to be the most powerful strike of the fight early in the fourth round. At the end of the round, he took Melendez’s back and in the most dangerous moment of the fight for either fighter, attempted to finish with a rear naked choke. The fifth round was more of the same with Thompson’s cardio continuing to be the difference and Melendez unable to keep pace. After the fight, Thompson seemed surprised at the decision but it was really the only one that could have been made. In his post-fight interview, Melendez tried to explain his performance by saying that he had a hard time getting motivated to train as hard as he normally would for the fight because he felt that he had nothing to gain by beating Thompson again. Whatever the case, Thompson proved that he deserved a third chance at Melendez and he also proved that he is back as a contender at the highest level of the lightweight division.
Rafael Cavalcante defeats Mike Kyle via 1st Round Guillotine Choke
Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante made a statement with an explosive first round stoppage of Mike Kyle. He hurt Kyle with a knee early in the round and latched onto a guillotine while Kyle was trying to recover. Kyle tried to slam his way out of it but only succeeded in pushing the choke in deeper and was forced to tap. The performance by Feijao was impressive but we did not get to see if he had improved the main deficiency in his game, which has been his cardio. With the heavier divisions in Strikeforce currently in flux as the UFC cherry picks fighters to bolster its roster, the future for both of these fighters is unknown but I expect that Feijao will eventually make his way to the octagon.
Chris Spang defeats Nah-Shon Burrell via 1st Round TKO
In a matchup of up and coming welterweights, Chris Spang scored an impressive knockout over Nah-Shon Burrell. Burrell came out more aggressive throwing looping right hands and controlling the center of the cage. Spang seemed to struggle initially with the distance and unorthodox style of Burrell but once he figured it out, he closed the distance quickly and started landing combinations. Spang then landed a big left hand that hurt Burrell but didn’t drop him. Instead of going crazy as one might expect from a young fighter, Spang stayed under control and continued to throw combinations of punches and knees. He battered Burrell around the cage who showed a great heart and chin in trying to stay in the fight despite being hit with several huge strikes. Eventually, Burrell could not stay on his feet and Josh Rosenthal stepped in to mercifully end the fight. Burrell will need to study his technique and come back with a tighter defensive game. He clearly has the athleticism to compete in MMA but he has now had two consecutive losing performances in Strikeforce and needs to come back strong if he hopes to continue competing at this level. Spang, on the other hand, found an opponent willing to engage in a striking match with him and he showed that he’s dangerous in that aspect of the game. If he continues to develop his overall game, he has a chance to make an impact in the 170 pound division.
