Tag: Eddie Sanchez

“The Hulk” Returns: Soa Palelei Inks Four-Fight UFC Deal [UPDATED], Rumored to Face Stipe Miocic at UFC 161

(Palelei puts a twelve-second beating on Bob Sapp, then visibly regrets accepting the fight in the first place.) 

Way back in 2007, a towering Australian slugger by the name of Soa Palelei made his UFC debut at UFC 79: Nemesis. In what would turn out to be Palelei’s lone appearance in the organization, the Aussie engaged in a tepid, horrendously sloppy clinchfest with fellow future-castaway Eddie Sanchez. It was easily the worst fight of the night — marred by long stretches of inactivity, a pair of low blows, and an equally anticlimactic ending in which Soa basically called it quits due to some swelling around his eye — and ranked among the worst of the year.

Sanchez, having narrowly avoided being fired by virtue of winning the fight, would lose his next two fights before receiving a mercy execution from the promotion. Palelei, on the other hand, would not be given a second shot in the UFC (perhaps rightfully so) and would spend the next five years compiling a 10-1 record in the hopes that he could someday earn a chance at redemption and Zuffa glory.

Well, according to Palelei’s management team (Paradigm Sports Management), the heavyweight KO artist will finally be given that chance, as he has inked a four-fight deal with the UFC. Palelei stated the following in an official press release that was sent out yesterday:

I’m thankful to Dana White and Joe Silva for giving me this opportunity to come back to the UFC to showcase my skills. With determination, hard work and a great team, I’m happy to say that today I have signed with the UFC. I look forward to competing in the best organization in the world. 


(Palelei puts a twelve-second beating on Bob Sapp at CFC 21, then visibly regrets accepting the fight in the first place.) 

Way back in 2007, a towering Australian slugger by the name of Soa Palelei made his UFC debut at UFC 79: Nemesis. In what would turn out to be Palelei’s lone appearance in the organization, the Aussie engaged in a tepid, horrendously sloppy clinchfest with fellow future-castaway Eddie Sanchez. It was easily the worst fight of the night — marred by long stretches of inactivity, a pair of low blows, and an equally anticlimactic ending in which Soa basically called it quits due to some swelling around his eye — and ranked among the worst of the year.

Sanchez, having narrowly avoided being fired by virtue of winning the fight, would lose his next two fights before receiving a mercy execution from the promotion. Palelei, on the other hand, would not be given a second shot in the UFC (perhaps rightfully so) and would spend the next five years compiling a 10-1 record in the hopes that he could someday earn a chance at redemption and Zuffa glory.

Well, according to Palelei’s management team (Paradigm Sports Management), the heavyweight KO artist will finally be given that chance, as he has inked a four-fight deal with the UFC. Palelei stated the following in an official press release that was sent out yesterday:

I’m thankful to Dana White and Joe Silva for giving me this opportunity to come back to the UFC to showcase my skills. With determination, hard work and a great team, I’m happy to say that today I have signed with the UFC. I look forward to competing in the best organization in the world. 

Palelei’s lone loss since leaving the UFC came by way of first round submission via punches to future Strikeforce heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in 2010. And while Soa hasn’t exactly been taking on world beaters as of late — his past two victories have come over the all-too-TKOable Bob Sapp and famed UG troll Sean McCorkle – it’s hard to claim that anyone riding an eight-fight win streak hasn’t earned another shot in the UFC. Unless that person is Jason Reinhardt, in which case you should probably just exit whatever room you are negotiating contracts in before you get crabs.

[UPDATE] 

According to Fight News Australia, Palelei has drawn Croatian Stipe Miocic for his first fight back with the promotion. The two are rumored to meet at UFC 161, which goes down on June 15th in Manitoba, Canada:

A source also revealed to Fightnewsaustralia.com that Palelei is touted to appear on the UFC 161 card in June with 30 year-old Stipe Miocic (9-1, UFC 3-1) slated as an potential opponent. UFC executives have yet to formally announce the event or the fight.

–J. Jones

Mismatch of the Century Alert: Soa Palelei to Face Bob Sapp at CFC 21 in April

(Sapp’s most recent effort attempt “showing” against James Thompson. How do you know it’s a Bob Sapp joint? Because the introductions are twice as long as the fight.) 

In the difficult economic times that we are currently experiencing, Bob Sapp’s continual ability to stay employed as a “fighter” is nothing short of inspiring. And by inspiring, we mean infuriating. The man has fought nine times in the past three years, totaling just over fifteen minutes of ring time. There is not a doubt in any of our minds that the time he spent training for those fights was less than half of that. He has lost all but one of those contests, and word has it that the one man he defeated committed Sepukku shortly thereafter. Yet he continues to get work. He lost his last fight by submission due to (fake) leg injury, and tapped out to approximately two punches thrown by a BJJ expert in the fight before that. Yet he continues to get work.

Perhaps it is a sign, like the popularity of Jersey Shore or Nicki Minaj, that our culture has truly done a 180 in terms of what we consider worthy of our attention. Where in days past, it was a person’s abilities that brought them into the public eye, it seems now more than ever that we as a society are fixated with people who lack any discernable talent whatsoever.

Bob Sapp is living, breathing proof of this phenomenon.

Thankfully, it looks as if Sapp may finally be forced to take on a fighter who could make him reconsider his line of work altogether; someone who could possibly knock Sapp out cold before he gets the chance to call it quits. That man is none other than UFC veteran Soa Palelei, who is scheduled to take on Sapp at Cage Fighting Championships 21 on April 20th.

If there is a God, he will not allow Bob Sapp to walk away from this fight completely intact.


(Sapp’s most recent effort attempt ”showing” against James Thompson. How do you know it’s a Bob Sapp joint? Because the introductions are twice as long as the fight.) 

In the difficult economic times that we are currently experiencing, Bob Sapp’s continual ability to stay employed as a “fighter” is nothing short of inspiring. And by inspiring, we mean infuriating. The man has fought nine times in the past three years, totaling just over fifteen minutes of ring time. There is not a doubt in any of our minds that the time he spent training for those fights was less than half of that. He has lost all but one of those contests, and word has it that the one man he defeated committed Sepukku shortly thereafter. Yet he continues to get work. He lost his last fight by submission due to (fake) leg injury, and tapped out to approximately two punches thrown by a BJJ expert in the fight before that. Yet he continues to get work.

Perhaps it is a sign, like the popularity of Jersey Shore or Nicki Minaj, that our culture has truly done a 180 in terms of what we consider worthy of our attention. Where in days past, it was a person’s abilities that brought them into the public eye, it seems now more than ever that we as a society are fixated with people who lack any discernable talent whatsoever.

Bob Sapp is living, breathing proof of this phenomenon.

Thankfully, it looks as if Sapp may finally be forced to take on a fighter who could make him reconsider his line of work altogether; someone who could possibly knock Sapp out cold before he gets the chance to call it quits. That man is none other than UFC veteran Soa Palelei, who is scheduled to take on Sapp at Cage Fighting Championships 21 on April 20th.

If there is a God, he will not allow Bob Sapp to walk away from this fight completely intact.

Since being bounced from the UFC following a third round TKO loss to Eddie Sanchez at UFC 79, Palelei has gone 7-1 and is currently riding a five fight win streak, with all of those victories coming by way of first round (T)KO. The last fight of Palelei’s we reported on was a brutal 28 second KO of Son Hai Suk at the AFC event that saw Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard submit TUF 7 finalist Jesse Taylor via second round heel hook.

One interesting fact heading into his fight with Sapp is that Palelei is expected to square off against 3-0 slugger Joe Kielur just six days beforehand. Let’s hope he doesn’t injure himself and is able to deliver the just beating Sapp truly deserves.

Also scheduled to throw down at CFC 21 are respectable MMA veterans Jeff Monson and Jim York. Monson was recently able to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Fedor Emilianenko back in November with a decision victory of his own over Alexey Oleinik just ten days ago. York, a Sengoku and KOTC veteran, has not fought since scoring a first round TKO over Lucas Browne in November of 2010.

No other bouts are scheduled for CFC 21 as of this moment. Now here’s a video of Bob Sapp getting rag-dolled by a man one-third his size.

Amen.

-J. Jones

‘Titan FC 20? Results: Jamie Varner Retires, Sanchez Outpoints Rogers, and a Nasty Flying Knee K.O. [VIDEO]

(And he sticks the landing on the celebratory backflip! Props: notohous)

It looks like the end of the line for Jamie Varner. The former WEC lightweight champion fought in the main event of Friday night’s Titan Fighting Championships 20 show in Kansas City, and lost a unanimous decision to a 9-1 Nebraska-based prospect named Dakota Cochrane. Cochrane came into the fight on just three days’ notice, replacing Varner’s original opponent Alonzo Martinez — who was pulled from the fight due to legal troubles — and won all three rounds on all judges’ scorecards.

After the fight Varner tweeted, “I gave fighting another shot I need 2 thank u guys 4 ur support! But I just don’t have it anymore. Love u all but ull never c me fight again.” Shortly after, he deleted the message, so who knows. The loss increases (decreases?) Varner’s record to 1-1-4 over the last two years. No matter what the future holds, Varner can be secure in the fact that he was once responsible for the greatest victory dance in the history of MMA.


(And he sticks the landing on the celebratory backflip! Props: notohous)

It looks like the end of the line for Jamie Varner. The former WEC lightweight champion fought in the main event of Friday night’s Titan Fighting Championships 20 show in Kansas City, and lost a unanimous decision to a 9-1 Nebraska-based prospect named Dakota Cochrane. Cochrane came into the fight on just three days’ notice, replacing Varner’s original opponent Alonzo Martinez — who was pulled from the fight due to legal troubles — and won all three rounds on all judges’ scorecards.

After the fight Varner tweeted, “I gave fighting another shot I need 2 thank u guys 4 ur support! But I just don’t have it anymore. Love u all but ull never c me fight again.” Shortly after, he deleted the message, so who knows. The loss increases (decreases?) Varner’s record to 1-1-4 over the last two years. No matter what the future holds, Varner can be secure in the fact that he was once responsible for the greatest victory dance in the history of MMA.

Things didn’t fare much better for Strikeforce vet Brett Rogers, who is a free man while awaiting sentencing on his domestic-assault case. Fighting in Friday’s co-main event, Rogers dropped a split decision to UFC/Bellator journeyman Eddie Sanchez. Sanchez snapped a two-fight losing streak, while the Grim falls even further into irrelevance. Rogers has now lost four out of his last five fights, the lone victory being a gassy decision win over Ruben “Warpath” Villareal last October.

Also, some dude named Andrew Whitney opened the show by putting another dude named Laramie Shaffer on his highlight reel. Video is at the top of the post, in case you haven’t figured that out yet. Full results from Titan Fighting Championships 20 are below…

– Dakota Cochrane def. Jamie Varner via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

– Eddie Sanchez def. Brett Rogers via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)

– Anthony Gutierrez def. Shane Hutchinson via submission (anaconda choke), 1:04 of round 1

– James Krause def. Sean Wilson via submission (guillotine choke), 2:39 of round 1

– Justyn Riley def. Alex Huddleston via TKO, round 2

– Andrew Whitney def. Laramie Shaffer via KO, 0:21 of round 3

Strikeforce Challengers and Titan Fighting Championship Thoughts

Excellent fights in Titan tonight. Varner lost in the main event to newcomer Dakota Cochrane. This guy is someone to watch. His skills are rusty, but he has good wrestling and excellent escapes. Couple all that with some decent power. Keep an eye on him. Brett Rogers lost to Eddie Sanchez. I figured if Sanchez

Excellent fights in Titan tonight. Varner lost in the main event to newcomer Dakota Cochrane. This guy is someone to watch. His skills are rusty, but he has good wrestling and excellent escapes. Couple all that with some decent power. Keep an eye on him.

Brett Rogers lost to Eddie Sanchez. I figured if Sanchez can avoid those first few attacks Rogers brings on opponents the more technical Sanchez can win.

Strikeforce is also put on a decent show here. Both Couture and Shawn Jordan were impressive. Brian Melancon is one to watch though at 170. All around good and had a tough opponent, but won relatively easily.

Lorenz Larkin is an interesting fighter doing weird stuff like heel kicks to the calf while up against the cage. He came out with a jumping round house to kick things off as well. Larkin’s movement is a problem for anyone he is going to face. That is probably more important skillset than his dynamic striking.

It was back and forth through the first 2 rounds, but in the third, Nick Rossborough comes out with a fury backing Larkin in to the cage and starts unloading on him.

Out of nowhere, Larkin lands a hard knee to Rossborough’s body that makes him fall back in slow motion and on to the ground – unreal. Larkin jumps on top and tries to pound. Rossborough survives and Larkin lets him up. Now up against the cage Larkin takes Rossborough down and ends up on top. Larkin dropping elbows to the body while in the guard, but Rossborough has him tied up now pretty good.

Now Larkin slashing some Florian like elbows. Really good short elbows and Rossborough is now bleeding badly. Larkin remains on top until the bell.

Lorenz Larkin takes it 30-27 twice and 29-28

Eddie Sanchez Beats Brett Rogers by Split Decision

Filed under: HDNetBrett Rogers returned to the cage on Friday night for the first time since being released by Strikeforce, and it did not go well. At the end of a dull three-round contest, the judges awarded Eddie Sanchez a split-decision victory.

Th…

Filed under:

Brett Rogers returned to the cage on Friday night for the first time since being released by Strikeforce, and it did not go well. At the end of a dull three-round contest, the judges awarded Eddie Sanchez a split-decision victory.

The fight could have gone either way, and neither fighter did enough to really earn a victory. For most of the bout they were gasping for air, sweating profusely and not looking like they were in very good shape, but someone had to win and two judges scored it 30-27 for Sanchez, while one judge had it 29-28 Rogers.

After the fight, Sanchez did his best to talk up what had been a relatively uneventful fight.

“He caught me a couple times,” Sanchez said of Rogers. “He does have some power.”

Sanchez landed a number of leg kicks on the flat-footed Rogers, and eventually it was Sanchez who looked the worse for wear from all that leg-to-leg contact: Sanchez had a deep cut on his right shin and a swollen right foot from landing all those kicks to Rogers’ lead leg. But Sanchez said afterward that the injury to his lower leg hadn’t affected him.

“I really didn’t notice it,” Sanchez said. “It split open, I think, in the second round. With the adrenaline rush you don’t really feel it.”

Rogers, the former Strikeforce fighter who was released by Zuffa following three losses and an arrest on domestic violence charges, may not have anywhere to go from here. He has now lost four of his last five fights, he has been involved in trouble out of the cage, and his recent fights have been snooze-fests that left the fans booing. Those are three big strikes against him: Rogers’ career has just about hit rock bottom.

The Sanchez-Rogers fight took all the energy out of the building after what had been shaping up as an entertaining Titan Fighting Championships card. Some of the energy returned, however, when Dakota Cochrane turned in a solid showing in upsetting former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner. Of particular note on the Titan Fighting undercard, Andrew Whitney got things started on the HDNet broadcast with a sensational flying knee knockout of Laramie Shaffer. After Shaffer had won the first two rounds, Whitney exploded with a knee to Shaffer’s face at the start of the third, knocking him cold in one of the highlight-reel knockouts of the year.

It was disappointing that Sanchez and Rogers couldn’t provide such fireworks.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Rogers Pleads Guilty to Assault and Has Other Charges Dropped As Part of Plea Deal in Domestic Abuse Case


(Brett “Crisco” Rogers. Ain’t nothin’ sticks to him.)

Well, as expected, Brett Rogers isn’t going to have to answer for the crimes he committed against his wife back in July.

The former Strikeforce heavyweight today reached a plea deal in his domestic assault case stemming from an incident that occurred in the summer in which neighbors and Rogers’ nine and 10-year-old daughters witnessed the hulking former Sam’s Club employee ground and pounding his wife in the backyard of their Apple Valley home. During the attack, his wife, Tiuana was momentarily rendered unconscious, had one of her teeth knocked out and was left bloodied and battered and with cauliflower ear as she fled the scene. Following the incident, Rogers was charged with felony third-degree assault, felony domestic assault by strangulation, and felony stalking as well as one gross misdemeanor count of endangerment of a child.

According to the Apple Valley Patch, as a result of the plea deal his attourney was able to strike with prosecutors, Rogers pled guilty today to a simple charge of third-degree assault — which is not a felony — and the rest of the charges were dropped.


(Brett “Crisco” Rogers. Ain’t nothin’ sticks to him.)

Well, as expected, Brett Rogers isn’t going to have to answer for the crimes he committed against his wife back in July.

The former Strikeforce heavyweight today reached a plea deal in his domestic assault case stemming from an incident that occurred in the summer in which neighbors and Rogers’ nine and 10-year-old daughters witnessed the hulking former Sam’s Club employee ground and pounding his wife in the backyard of their Apple Valley home. During the attack, his wife, Tiuana was momentarily rendered unconscious, had one of her teeth knocked out and was left bloodied and battered and with cauliflower ear as she fled the scene. Following the incident, Rogers was charged with felony third-degree assault, felony domestic assault by strangulation, and felony stalking as well as one gross misdemeanor count of endangerment of a child.

According to the Apple Valley Patch, as a result of the plea deal his attourney was able to strike with prosecutors, Rogers pled guilty today to a simple charge of third-degree assault — which is not a felony — and the rest of the charges were dropped. Although it is possible that he could be sentenced to jail, his lawyer, Murad Mohammed doesn’t think his client will do time behind bars because of his clean criminal record and because Rogers “is owning up to what he did,” which is pretty much the opposite of what he did on Inside MMA two weeks ago when he told host Ron Kruck that the media was making a mountain out of a molehill.

“The situation that occurred, it happened and it was more of a misunderstanding when I look at it. The papers can write whatever but we still going through the legal process,” Rogers told Kruck with a straight face. “I’m confident that things are going to dropped, squared away and then we can move forward like we said. We’re a married couple, we have our ups and down just like everyone else.”

“Overall, Brett and I are pleased with the outcome,” said Mohammed. “I think it’s important for everyone, especially Brett’s wife and family, to know that Brett has taken ownership for everything that’s happened. It’s an unfortunate situation for the family and the end result is Brett not having a felony conviction resulting in him returning to his family and continuing to fight.”

A pre-sentence investigation will be take place prior to a scheduled November 30 sentencing hearing. In the meantime, Rogers remains free on his own recognizance and the $100,000 bond he posted back in July. His first fight since the incident and his subsequent firing by Strikeforce is scheduled for September 23 when he takes on UFC veteran Eddie Sanchez in the main event of Titan Fighting Championship 20 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.