I take nothing away from Charlie Brenneman’s victory over Rick Story, because he did earn it.He also received a tiny bit of help from the hometown referee.For good portions of rounds one and two (the two rounds Brenneman won) Brenneman was working from…
I take nothing away from Charlie Brenneman’s victory over Rick Story, because he did earn it.
He also received a tiny bit of help from the hometown referee.
For good portions of rounds one and two (the two rounds Brenneman won) Brenneman was working from inside of Rick Story’s Guard.
It was the prototypical example for the argument of whether fights should get stood up or not in certain situations.
Brenneman was moving in such a manner that you could call him “active”, but he was not really able to inflict any damage or trying to advance position.
The referee decided to let him ride out that position for the rest of those two rounds, thus securing those rounds for him.
Now that is pretty much all fine and dandy, by itself. If the referee wants to see the two men work on the ground, then he is the one to make that call.
Unfortunately for Story, the viewers and the sport, the referee contradicted himself in the third round with a horrible stand-up in a situation that clearly benefited Charlie Brenneman.
Once again, the fight had hit the ground, but this time Rick Story was high on top of Brenneman’s back and was working for a kimura.
Many within the fight community consider the guard position “neutral.” Nobody in their right mind would consider the position that Story had Brenneman in, “neutral.”
Story threatening with the kimura submission before the standup was way more threatening than anything Brenneman ever did inside of his guard—yet the referee completely inexplicably stood them up.
If the referee had not stood them up, there is a good chance that Brenneman would have survived the compromising position on his own and still rode the fight out to the unanimous decision victory.
But to see a referee display such bias towards a fighter is a major problem and should not be overlooked.
Hello fight fans and welcome to the first annual Fighters Creed MMA Awards, presented by Fighters Creed! Here is a list of the eight fights that earned prestigious titles and will go down in MMA history!Each moment has been recapped in stunning detail …
Hello fight fans and welcome to the first annual Fighters Creed MMA Awards, presented by Fighters Creed! Here is a list of the eight fights that earned prestigious titles and will go down in MMA history!
Each moment has been recapped in stunning detail and listed below! Be sure to vote for “Best in Show” in our poll!
*This is purely a fictitious account of fights. All have been made up for comedic and entertainment purposes only and in no way represent any personal or general negative implications of the fighters or persons named. This list is in no affiliation with other awards.
Enjoy!
Award for “Best Closing of the Distance”
Winner: Stefan Struve vs. Demetrious Johnson
This fight was nearly three rounds of intense cat-and-mouse chasing, except the mouse was chasing the cat.
Demetrious continued battering at the shins of the “Skyscraper” in the second round. Near the end of the that round, Johnson went in for a single-leg takedown. Struve held his ground while Johnson went for an inverted kneebar, but the round ended seconds later.
In the third round, Struve used his reach advantage to place his hand on top of Johnson’s head and keep his distance, but Demetrious ran up Struve’s arm, took his back, slapped on a rear naked choke, and tapped out the Skyscraper.
“Mighty Mouse” wins Submission of the Night.
Award for “Most Referee Timeouts in One Fight”
Winner: Clay Guida vs. Urijah Faber
The first round starts and both fighters touch gloves. Clay immediately goes for a clinch and starts to dirty box.
Urijah Faber’s cornrows become undone, and his full mane is now down. Clay Guida goes in for another close exchange, but his hair gets tangled with Faber’s. Referee Herb Dean stops the fight and fixes the hair.
Thirty seconds later, it happens again, this time on the ground. Herb Dean stands them up, and fixes it again. This continues in the second round.
Then they both go for a violent takedown simultaneously and get tangled again. Herb Dean assesses the situation and calls in Stitch to cut the hair apart.
The third round starts and it happens again. Herb Dean rushes in again, but gets his own hair stuck. Doctors stop the fight, and judges call it a three-way draw. Herb Dean is awarded Fight of the Night.
Award for “Overcoming Adversity”
Winner: Frankie Edgar vs. Roy Nelson
Frankie starts off his fight with some quick jabs. Roy Nelson takes the punches, but eats them only to setup a takedown.
He quickly grabs a double-leg using his right arm only and slams Edgar to the ground. Edgar is rocked by the slam, and while dazed, Nelson scrambles and puts Edgar into a crucifix.
Edgar manages to squirm enough to dodge Nelson’s attacks from above. He then gets Roy into side control, but loses it again.
The second round starts and Roy Nelson takes Frankie down. This time he goes immediately to the north-south position. Edgar starts making a waving motion and loses his mouth guard, so referee Herb Dean calls a timeout. He stands both of them up, returns the mouth guard to Frankie, and then tells him to go back down to the position they were just in. Frankie clearly begs Herb Dean to just stand them up, but the ref refuses and places them back the way they were.
Frankie has now endured this torture for almost two rounds, but miraculously he lifts Roy Nelson off of himself. He then proceeds to suplex Nelson and knock him out for KO of the Night and Fight of the Night.
Edgar later says that his adrenaline boost came as a result of Nelson talking trash about the Jersey Shore while he had Edgar pinned.
Award for “Quickest Knockout”
Winner: Mirko Cro Cop vs. Wanderlei Silva
The bout starts and both opponents rush toward each other, meeting in the middle.
Mirko Cro Cop throws a jumping, 360 roundhouse and knocks out “The Axe Murderer” in six seconds.
After the fight doctors attempt to reattach Silva’s nose. Meanwhile Cro Cop is interviewed by Joe Rogan, where he reveals that he has been training with Steven Seagal.
Award for “Fewest Number of Takedowns in a Single Fight”
Winner: Fabricio Werdum vs. Thales Leites
The fight starts and both men touch gloves. They then square off and circle each other for about 20 seconds.
All of sudden, they both fake charge at each other, and in unison, they fall on their backs.
As if tanning under the lights of Mandalay Bay Arena, the fighters refuse to move. They bait each other by kicking at each other’s in-steps from time to time before Herb Dean stands them up.
The second and third rounds continue in the same manner as the first.
Judges call it a draw, and a rematch is setup immediately by Joe Silva. The fight will be the main event, and GSP vs. Silva is its co-main.
The fighters start the fight off by trading blows over and over. Lewis throws a head kick and lands flush to Hominick’s forehead. Hominick responds with a quick superman punch to the eye of Lewis.
Jabs and elbows are exchanged until hematomas have fully formed on both fighters.
In the second round, both fighters go for a quick takedown at the exact same time, causing their faces to smash together.
Joe Rogan’s commentary is briefly interrupted by a loud popping sound. Referee Herb Dean calls a stop to the fight, and corner and cut men rushed in to fix their fighters and the mess.
During the panic, six full bags of ice are spilled. Arianny Celeste slips on the ice that had been swept to the sides, which leads to her falling on her head rendering herself unconscious.
Both fighters are awarded KO of the Night, and Joe Rogan receives an Emmy for his commentary.
Award for “Most Artistic Fight”
Winner: Jason Miller vs. Hermes Franca
The fight starts, and it immediately goes to the ground.
The two fighters scramble for positions, reversing each other and exchanging ground and pound. The sweat and Vaseline converge into their hair, and the dye begins to bleed out by the start of the second round.
The canvas is becoming a rainbow of current and past colors, rendering the sponsors unreadable.
By the end, the mat looks like the insides of a kaleidoscope. Dan Hardy jumps the cage and makes some final touchups.
Award for “Most Memorable Entrance”
Winner: Georges St. Pierre vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza
Entrance music starts and Souza comes into “Welcome to the Jungle.”
Lights dim again and “O Canada” starts to play. Suddenly, a spotlight hits St. Pierre, and he is coming to the cage riding a gigantic moose.
He parks the moose at the prep station, while they apply Maple Syrup Vaseline to Rush’s face. He then enters the cage.
The fight starts, and GSP starts to jab. Souza, being frustrated with the quickness of GSP, lunges all out for a superman punch. He lands flush, and GSP gets rocked. Seeing his companion in trouble, GSP’s moose decides to jump the cage.
In the wake of excitement, Brock Lesnar, who was lazily spectating, perks up. He reaches for his hunting rifle, grabs the ammo under his chair, and takes aim.
He lands a shot dead center of the moose’s head, killing it on the spot. Lesnar, too, jumps the cage and starts to tend to his recent kill.
Confused and thinking GSP would be disqualified, Souza believes he has won the fight and starts to do his signature crawl.
Lesnar turns around and sees this, panics, and shoots Souza, thinking he was a caiman.
GSP is awarded a win, due to Souza being unable to continue.
Fans and critics rejoice…GSP has finally broken his decision streak.
Josh Barnett’s Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal bout against Brett Rogers was just another day at the office. The former UFC champion warmed up prior to the fight backstage in a mini wrestling bout, which involved some vintage Ric Flair …
Josh Barnett’s Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal bout against Brett Rogers was just another day at the office.
The former UFC champion warmed up prior to the fight backstage in a mini wrestling bout, which involved some vintage Ric Flair chops and a backbreaker finish.
After the warmup, Barnett entered the cage to compete on North American soil for the first time in over two years. His return didn’t disappoint as eager fans watched him put on a technical clinic and pick up the second-round submission victory Rogers.
While many will always criticize Barnett for testing positive for banned substances on three separate outings, it would be incredibly foolish to dismiss his skills. There aren’t many world-class wrestlers in the heavyweight division, and Barnett is one of the few fighters that fits that bill.
He has the ability to take down and control any fighter in the entire tournament. The only fighter with the ability to seriously threaten from his back is Fabricio Werdum, but he was ousted by Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem in Saturday’s main event.
With the semifinal bouts finally set, who should be the favorite to win the Grand Prix?
Overeem walked into the American Airlines Center on Saturday night with that honor, but after his performance against Werdum, it’s hard not to like Barnett’s chances.
It’s definitely understandable why some may disagree with that statement. Werdum is a much better fighter than Rogers. With Overeem defeating the tougher opponent, how can Barnett surpass him as a tournament favorite?
There isn’t a single easy bout in this tournament, but Barnett is on the most favorable side of the bracket. After an incredibly tough bout against Werdum, Overeem now faces an even stiffer challenge stylistically in Antonio Silva.
Meanwhile, Barnett coasted through Rogers and slid into the semifinals slot against Sergei Kharitonov. There are a plethora of media outlets deeming Kharitonov as the dark horse of the tournament. The Russian Kickboxer is an attractive pick, and he certainly has the skills to make waves in the tournament.
Still, Kharitonov has shown his struggles against strong grapplers, most recently in his April 2009 submission loss to Jeff Monson.
It isn’t far-fetched to think Barnett gets the fight to the ground and locks up another submission or grinds out a unanimous decision.
Overeem is still one of the most dangerous heavyweights in the world, but he doesn’t have the same aura he did before he fought Werdum. As fans watched “Ubereem” dominate all comers, his problems in past fights somehow disappeared without ever being tested, until now.
Overeem still showed cardio issues and a tendency to fade as a fight goes into deeper waters. He also showed some major holes in his striking defense. Barnett most likely wouldn’t be able to exploit Overeem on the feet, but he should be able to take the fight to the floor and wear the big man down.
Silva could pose problems for Barnett, but he already showed that he was susceptible to being put on his back in his bout with Werdum back in November 2009.
Barnett isn’t the popular choice. Despite his extended WWE-like post-fight promo, most fans will continue to root against him. He has definitely talked the talk. Can he finally walk the walk?
In one of the more anticipated bouts of the event, lightweights K.J. Noons and Jorge Masvidal competed against each other that saw the American Top Team product earn the win via unanimous decision.As the first round began, both men stood toe-to-to…
In one of the more anticipated bouts of the event, lightweights K.J. Noons and Jorge Masvidal competed against each other that saw the American Top Team product earn the win via unanimous decision.
As the first round began, both men stood toe-to-toe and began to stand and trade with each other. Noons landed an uppercut, before Masvidal threw a leg kick that forced Noons to aggressively attack his opponent.
Masvidal nearly connected with a knee on Noons. Masvidal successfully took down his opponent, winding up in his guard; Noons attempted for a submission, but neither competitor could produce much offense, and the fighters were forced back to their feet.
As the bout continued, Noons appeared to be cut, but would remain fighting as Masvidal landed another knee. Masvidal gets the better of the exchange, as he dropped Noons with a high kick and swarmed all over him. Masvidal continued to land hard shots but the round would come to a close.
The second round began and Noons continued to move forward and press the action as he landed a hard shot to the body and head of his opponent. Noons landed a hard uppercut that connected, and he appeared to be getting the better of the exchange.
Noons threw a kick, but Masvidal countered and took down Noons again. Noons moved near the cage and quickly retreated to his feet, but Masvidal answered with another successful takedown and wound up in his opponent’s closed guard.
Masvidal began to throw elbows but did not do enough damage, as Noons got to his feet again. Masvidal attempted another takedown, but Noons utilized the cage to defend. Eventually, Noons pulled guard and began to stand and land shots on his opponent before Masvidal landed a flying knee on Noons to close the round.
The third round saw Noons not as aggressive as before, but he did continue to pick up the attack as he landed combinations. Noons continued his attack, landing an uppercut and a left hook, but Masvidal doesn’t appear to be fazed.
Masvidal attempted a takedown but Noons briefly stuffed it. Masvidal continued to work for the take down and eventually brought Noons down, only for both men to return to their feet.
Masvidal took down his opponent again, as he landed in side-control and began to work on him. Masvidal attempted a submission, but Noons tried to get back up, only to be brought down to the canvas once again. Masvidal continued to control his opponent on the ground, and tried to secure a submission, but the round came to a close.
At the conclusion of the bout, all three judges awarded Masvidal with the unanimous decision over K.J. Noons.
In one of the more anticipated bouts of the event, lightweights K.J. Noons and Jorge Masvidal competed against each other that saw the American Top Team product earn the win via unanimous decision.As the first round began, both men stood toe-to-to…
In one of the more anticipated bouts of the event, lightweights K.J. Noons and Jorge Masvidal competed against each other that saw the American Top Team product earn the win via unanimous decision.
As the first round began, both men stood toe-to-toe and began to stand and trade with each other. Noons landed an uppercut, before Masvidal threw a leg kick that forced Noons to aggressively attack his opponent.
Masvidal nearly connected with a knee on Noons. Masvidal successfully took down his opponent, winding up in his guard; Noons attempted for a submission, but neither competitor could produce much offense, and the fighters were forced back to their feet.
As the bout continued, Noons appeared to be cut, but would remain fighting as Masvidal landed another knee. Masvidal gets the better of the exchange, as he dropped Noons with a high kick and swarmed all over him. Masvidal continued to land hard shots but the round would come to a close.
The second round began and Noons continued to move forward and press the action as he landed a hard shot to the body and head of his opponent. Noons landed a hard uppercut that connected, and he appeared to be getting the better of the exchange.
Noons threw a kick, but Masvidal countered and took down Noons again. Noons moved near the cage and quickly retreated to his feet, but Masvidal answered with another successful takedown and wound up in his opponent’s closed guard.
Masvidal began to throw elbows but did not do enough damage, as Noons got to his feet again. Masvidal attempted another takedown, but Noons utilized the cage to defend. Eventually, Noons pulled guard and began to stand and land shots on his opponent before Masvidal landed a flying knee on Noons to close the round.
The third round saw Noons not as aggressive as before, but he did continue to pick up the attack as he landed combinations. Noons continued his attack, landing an uppercut and a left hook, but Masvidal doesn’t appear to be fazed.
Masvidal attempted a takedown but Noons briefly stuffed it. Masvidal continued to work for the take down and eventually brought Noons down, only for both men to return to their feet.
Masvidal took down his opponent again, as he landed in side-control and began to work on him. Masvidal attempted a submission, but Noons tried to get back up, only to be brought down to the canvas once again. Masvidal continued to control his opponent on the ground, and tried to secure a submission, but the round came to a close.
At the conclusion of the bout, all three judges awarded Masvidal with the unanimous decision over K.J. Noons.
Strikeforce came to Texas and brought on the second installment of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.The HW GP fighters on the card were Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers, and Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum. By the end of the night, Barnett had …
The HW GP fighters on the card were Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers, and Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum. By the end of the night, Barnett had risen victorious in a submission victory in the second round, and will now face Sergei Kharitonov.
The main event did not go as quickly or exciting as the co-main, however. Watching Overeem and Werdum fight was like a flashback to Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites.
As soon as Overeem would close the distance, Werdum would fall to his back and teasingly invite and plead for Alistair to join him on the ground. Alistair did not oblige him.
What did happen was that Overeem seemed to hold back his hands and would not let them go. In fact, Werdum many times got the better of striking exchanges. In the end, Overeem walked away with a decision win, and will advance to face Antonio Silva.
Alistair Overeem, Fedor Emelianenko, and Fabricio Werdum are arguably three of the most well known and popular fighters in the heavyweight division of Strikeforce, however their performances recently have been quite abnormal and not impressive.
With Fedor’s two losses in a row, Alistair’s struggle with Werdum, and Werdum apparently not wanting to keep the fight flowing, is the heavyweight division starting to look less exciting?
Of course, Werdum was using his advantages and strategy for the fight, but one has to look at his stamina and willingness to engage. Both he, and Overeem, did not look like the fighters many had hyped them up to be.
Fedor, whom many revered as one of the greatest of all time, was submitted quickly in his fight vs. Werdum, and then was dominated by Antonio Silva.
Right after his bout with “Bigfoot,” he made remarks about possible retirement in the near future. With his new opponent, Dan Henderson, he has the chance to gain his aura back.
But for now, how do fans view the heavyweight division in Strikeforce? Before, fans have expressed that Strikeforce’s HW division is better than the UFC’s.
One has to wonder after a fight like Overeem vs. Werdum, and Rogers losing his fight, does the heavyweight division still have the strength it did before?
In boxing right now, many people believe that the reason the sport is not as popular as it used to be, is because it is missing a good heavyweight division.
In fact, if Pacquiao and Mayweather do ever fight, boxing could have nothing much left after to offer the Pay-Per-View community.
But how does the UFC heavyweights stack up against the Strikeforce ones?
If the UFC and Strikeforce ever decide to merge, or if the HW fighters sign with the other organization, we will see how some of these potentially exciting matchups will play out.
The heavyweight division in MMA has always been one of the divisions that has had great fluctuations of talent and popularity. But are fighters like Emelianenko, Werdum, and Overeem able to keep it afloat?
With both UFC and Strikeforce being under the same roof, the HW division is sure to get the attention it needs from the company, but as far as pleasing the fans, we very well may be hitting a lull.
With media-magnet fighters like Brock Lesnar being sidelined, the UFC’s Heavyweights seem to be composed of guys who are very tall, very round, or get very gassed.
Not to say they are bad fighters, since all are very good and fight on the most prestigious stage in the sport, but as far as promotionally, the divisions of the UFC and Strikeforce could be stronger.
But this article wants to ask YOU, the fans, what you think of Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum, and the heavyweight divisions in general in MMA.
Is it losing its luster? Is it doing just fine? Who needs to fight each other to make a great Heavyweight bout? Who are some of your all-time heavyweight favorites and why? And last but not least, if there were a MMA Heavyweight Hall of Fame, what three fighters would you put in it?
I take nothing away from Charlie Brenneman’s victory over Rick Story, because he did earn it.
