Tag: James Thompson

In Case You Missed It: Bob Sapp Won Another Diving Competition in Holland Over the Weekend


(To activate Sapp’s “duck and cover” signature move, press “UP, UP, A, B” on your controller.”)

When Bob Sapp finally retires from MMA and pens an inevitable tell-all book, there’s a pretty good chance that his 11-10 record will be diminished to a more realistic number like 1-5.

Proof that some promoters still fix fights is the video after the jump of Sapp diving head-first at opponent Volkan Duzgun at an event called Vuisten van Vuur in Den Bosch, Netherlands over the weekend, before turtling and getting TKO’ed via WWE-esque shots to the arms and body. He doesn’t even know how to fake fight well.


(To activate Sapp’s “duck and cover” signature move, press “UP, UP, A, B” on your controller.”)

When Bob Sapp finally retires from MMA and pens an inevitable tell-all book, there’s a pretty good chance that his 11-10 record will be diminished to a more realistic number like 1-5.

Proof that some promoters still fix fights is the video below of Sapp diving head-first at opponent Volkan Duzgun at an event called Vuisten van Vuur in Den Bosch, Netherlands over the weekend, before turtling and getting TKO’ed via WWE-esque shots to the arms and body. He doesn’t even know how to fake fight well.


(Video courtesy of YouTube/kingtvrtko)

We used to think that “The Beast” was just getting crappier as he gets older, which astoundingly probably isn’t true either considering he’s only 37 (in Nogueira years, he’s actually around 50), but recently it’s become clear that he’s simply taking more dives than Greg Louganis. The difference is, the Olympic gold medalist actually put some effort into his flops.

We should have been suspicious when Bob was booked for three bouts in six weeks — two of which were against actual fighters Rolles Gracie and James Thompson. I guess he’s just making sure he doesn’t get hurt so he can still get paid to dive another day.

It Won’t Be Long, We’ll Meet Again: The Five Most Necessary and Unnecessary Rematches of 2011


(I see trouble a brewin’ on the horizon.) 

Given their frequency within the sport, we oft discuss the rematch here at CagePotato: we’ve mentioned a few that we’d like to see, we’ve mocked the possible occurence of others, and we’ve even gone as far as to predict how future ones would go down. And with 2011 featuring over 10 in the UFC alone, we decided to take a look back at at a year that both showcased and disgraced the awesomeness that is the rematch. Join us on this trip down memory lane, won’t you?

The Ones We Needed to See 

#5 – Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami at UFC 134

(Silva v. Okami, though this image could be from just about any of Silva’s fights.) 

Why it had to happen: Because the first fight marked the last time Silva had lost…at anything, and even if it was by way of illegal upkick DQ, it was enough to convince some people that Okami had his number. Plus, Okami had earned his shot by this point, and we were getting pretty damned tired of debating this old issue.

How it happened: Absolute. Domination. In typical fashion, Silva toyed with Okami like he was wrestling with his 4 year old nephew, letting the audience know that the fight would end when he decided it would. A head kick that rocked Okami at the end of the first round reinforced this belief, and Silva mercifully finished him off in the second. Cut. Print. TKO.

What it proved: That, outside of Chael Sonnen, there are no threats left in the UFC’s middleweight division for Anderson Silva. As with Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion Christiane “Cyborg” Santos, Silva must journey to another weight class if he desires a true challenge. Even DW is coming around to the idea, sort of.


(I see trouble a brewin’ on the horizon.) 

Given their frequency within the sport, we oft discuss the rematch here at CagePotato: we’ve mentioned a few that we’d like to see, we’ve mocked the possible occurence of others, and we’ve even gone as far as to predict how future ones would go down. And with 2011 featuring over 10 in the UFC alone, we decided to take a look back at at a year that both showcased and disgraced the awesomeness that is the rematch. Join us on this trip down memory lane, won’t you?

The Ones We Needed to See 

#5 – Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami at UFC 134

(Silva v. Okami, though this image could be from just about any of Silva’s fights.) 

Why it had to happen: Because the first fight marked the last time Silva had lost…at anything, and even if it was by way of illegal upkick DQ, it was enough to convince some people that Okami had his number. Plus, Okami had earned his shot by this point, and we were getting pretty damned tired of debating this old issue.

How it happened: Absolute. Domination. In typical fashion, Silva toyed with Okami like he was wrestling with his 4 year old nephew, letting the audience know that the fight would end when he decided it would. A head kick that rocked Okami at the end of the first round reinforced this belief, and Silva mercifully finished him off in the second. Cut. Print. TKO.

What it proved: That, outside of Chael Sonnen, there are no threats left in the UFC’s middleweight division for Anderson Silva. As with Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion Christiane “Cyborg” Santos, Silva must journey to another weight class if he desires a true challenge. Even DW is coming around to the idea, sort of.

#4 – TIE: Leonard Garcia vs. Nam Phan/Chan Sung Jung at UFN 24 and UFC 136

(Deep in the recesses of my brain, a tiny, red hot little flame began to grow.) 

Why they needed to happen: Because not many believed Garcia beat Jung, and not even Greg Jackson believed he beat Phan.

How they happened: Things didn’t go so well for “Bad Boy” the second time around; after falling prey to Jung’s Submission of the Year earning twister at UFN 24, Garcia would be upended by Phan in a Fight of the Night earning performance at UFC 136. Though detrimental to Garcia’s career, it did restore the balance between the sacred realms that had been thrown into chaos as a result of his previous “victories.” And hey, at least he took it with class.

What they proved: That MMA judging has not followed the sport’s rapid evolution over the past ten years, and perhaps it was time for a change. We’ve already discussed what needs to be done, but are still waiting for our lawyer to draft up the official documents. Anyone else got an idea?

Photo of the Day: Apparently in Poland MMA Judging is Much Different Than it is Here

We got the following snapshot of one of the judge’s scorecards from Saturday night’s KSW 17 show from a reader today and we’re still trying to decipher what the hell it means.

We got the following snapshot of one of the judge’s scorecards from Saturday night’s KSW 17 show from a reader today and we’re still trying to decipher what the hell it means.

We’re thinking the stick figures on the left indicate knockdowns or takedowns, and that the author is a Conan O’Brian fan, but why he actually gave props to his homies at Copacabana Fight Team, unless he knew the cards would be published, is beyond our comprehension. Then again, he did score the main event in favor of Pudzianowski, so it’s not likely he even knows what the hell he was doing.

FYI, the Pudz-Thompson bout has since been ruled a “no contest.”

Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. James Thompson II Result Changed to No Contest

Filed under: Fighting, NewsA controversial weekend match in Poland that ended with former World Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski on the winning end of a judges’ decision has been changed to a no contest.

According to KSW company officials, a judge’s…

Filed under: ,

A controversial weekend match in Poland that ended with former World Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski on the winning end of a judges’ decision has been changed to a no contest.

According to KSW company officials, a judge’s error led to the incorrect initial announcement of Pudzianowski’s win in the co-main event of their KSW 17 show.

The promotion said that judge Piotr Baginski scored the two-round fight in favor of Pudzianowski’s opponent James Thompson on his official scorecard, but told the in-ring referee he had favored the local fighter. That gave Pudzianowski a majority decision.

Upon review of the scorecards, the fight was in fact a two-round draw, with one judge scoring it for each fighter, and the third having a 19-19 tie. Under KSW rules, a two-round draw is extended into overtime.

“Due to the fact that the overtime round did not happen, KSW owners along with KSW officials have decided to erase this fight from fighters’ records and declare the sixth bout at KSW 17 a no contest,” the promoters said in a statement announcing the change.

Company officials added that they would review scoring procedures to ensure such errors do not occur in future events.

With the new result, Pudzianowski’s record is 3-2 with 1 no contest, while Thompson is 16-14 with 1 no contest.

The bout had been a rematch of their May 2011 fight, which Thompson won with a second-round arm triangle. There was no word given if the inconclusive second bout would lead to a third fight.

 

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Weekend Results: War Machine TKOs Roger Huerta

Filed under: Fighting

In his first fight back after serving a year-long prison sentence for felony assault, War Machine, formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver, stopped Roger Huerta this past Saturday at the inaugural Ultimate Warrior Fighting event in Pha…

Filed under:

In his first fight back after serving a year-long prison sentence for felony assault, War Machine, formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver, stopped Roger Huerta this past Saturday at the inaugural Ultimate Warrior Fighting event in Pharr, Texas.

Huerta, who was fighting up a weight class at welterweight, said afterwards that he suffered a fractured a rib during the final scramble in the third round where he rolled out of War Machine’s submission armbar attempts to claim side control.

From there, War Machine escaped from Huerta’s side mount to directly take full mount with ease. Machine (12-4) then rained down punches for the referee stoppage at three minutes and nine seconds. Huerta (21-6-1) has now lost three in a row.

On the same stage as War Machine-Huerta, former UFC middleweight champion Dave Menne won by first-round guillotine submission over Eric Davila.

Thompson explodes after controversial decision
Last May at KSW 16, James Thompson submitted Mariusz Pudzianowski with an arm-triangle choke and he probably needed another finish as well to ensure victory at Saturday’s KSW 17 in Poland. In a two-round fight with a potential overtime round, Thompson won the first round clearly on ground control, while Pudzianowski arguably scored enough on punches in the second. But instead of going to a Thompson win or an overtime round, Pudzianowski was awarded the majority decision.

Stunned by the scores, Thompson took the mic away from the announcer and went off on the promoter.

“F—ing joke. Give Mariusz a big round of applause,” Thompson said. “What a f—ing joke. I thought KSW was really trying to be serious. If you can watch that back and call it serious, then you’re f—ed and KSW is going down the f—ing toilet.”

On Monday, KSW said there was an error on one of the judge’s scorecards and the result has officially changed to a no contest.

Here’s the video of Thompson’s post-fight speech. Language not safe for work.

Dantas wins Bellator bantamweight tournament
Eduardo Dantas (13-2) outpointed Alexis Vila (11-1) in the finals of Bellator’s bantamweight tournament on Saturday to earn a shot next year against champion Zach Makovsky. On the same card, UFC veteran Kurt Pellegrino announced his retirement from MMA.

Bongfeldt wins tune-up
Two-time UFC competitor Jesse Bongfeldt (16-5-1) won by second-round submission over Brandon MacArthur (6-18) Saturday at Rumble in the Cage 45 in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Bongfeldt was released by the UFC in June following his loss to Chris Weidman at UFC 131.

Zaromskis pulls off a front roll somersault kick
Marius Zaromskis pulled off an incredible somersault kick to set up a KO finish against Bruno Carvalho at Rumble of the Kings 6 in Stockholm, Sweden. Zaromskis (16-6) was coming off a decision win over Eiji Ishikawa at DREAM in July.

Riggs snaps three-fight losing skid
Joe Riggs won in 56 seconds against Shannon Ritch at Duel for Domination on Saturday in Phoenix, Ariz.

 

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KSW-17 “Revenge” Results: Mariusz Pudzianowski Puts the Heavyweight World on Notice (LOLZ!!)

(Pudz v. Thompson, courtesy of Ironforgesiron) 

If there was anyone out there who felt that a rematch between former World’s Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowksi and world renowned punching bag James Thompson was an absolute necessity, well then I hope you’re satisfied. The fight, which went down yesterday and thankfully was only scheduled for two rounds, saw Thompson thoroughly dominate Pudzianowski in the first round with top control and pitter-patter punches from side control. In fact, the most significant offense Pudianowski was able to mount was a fricken’ jab early in the second that managed to rock Thompson nonetheless. However, the judges, whom I can only assume were members of Pudzianowski’s immediate family, saw the fight in his favor, despite Thompson’s multiple takedowns that would have won him the fight in any other promotion on this planet. “Revenge” indeed.

It’s just baffling how anyone could have given Mariusz that fight, especially considering how the first round went. But perhaps more interesting than the fight itself was that of the post fight interview, wherein Thompson stole the microphone and went on a verbal tirade that would have made Brock Lesnar be like, “Chill, bro.”

The evening’s main event saw Mamed Khalidov score another quick submission win over TUF 7 alum and late replacement for Paulo Filho, Jesse Taylor, to retain his middleweight title. Capitalizing on an early takedown from “JT Money,” Khalidov transitioned beautifully between submission attempts, finally locking in a kneebar just 46 seconds into the fight. I think it’s safe to say that Khalidov is currently one of the most overlooked fighters in the middleweight division, and if the UFC doesn’t give him a call then they will be seriously missing out.

In other action, Polish born fighter Jan Blachowicz evened the score with Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, taking away a unanimous decision victory over the Cameroonian and scoring some revenge of his own for his second round TKO via retirement loss to Sokoudjou back at KSW 15.

And the bad luck streak continued for our buddy Matt Horwich, who dropped his third straight unanimous decision loss to Michal Materla. I guess we can salvage the fact that someone with a Dan Quinn level of craziness is still competing on a professional level, right?

Full results from the event, Thompson’s tirade, and the Khalidov submission are all after the jump, courtesy of Ironforgesiron. 


(Pudz v. Thompson, courtesy of Ironforgesiron) 

If there was anyone out there who felt that a rematch between former World’s Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowksi and world renowned punching bag James Thompson was an absolute necessity, well then I hope you’re satisfied. The fight, which went down yesterday and thankfully was only scheduled for two rounds, saw Thompson thoroughly dominate Pudzianowski in the first round with top control and pitter-patter punches from side control. In fact, the most significant offense Pudianowski was able to mount was a fricken’ jab early in the second that managed to rock Thompson nonetheless. However, the judges, whom I can only assume were members of Pudzianowski’s immediate family, saw the fight in his favor, despite Thompson’s multiple takedowns that would have won him the fight in any other promotion on this planet. “Revenge” indeed.

It’s just baffling how anyone could have given Mariusz that fight, especially considering how the first round went. But perhaps more interesting than the fight itself was that of the post fight interview, wherein Thompson stole the microphone and went on a verbal tirade that would have made Brock Lesnar be like, “Chill, bro.”

The evening’s main event saw Mamed Khalidov score another quick submission win over TUF 7 alum and late replacement for Paulo Filho, Jesse Taylor, to retain his middleweight title. Capitalizing on an early takedown from “JT Money,” Khalidov transitioned beautifully between submission attempts, finally locking in a kneebar just 46 seconds into the fight. I think it’s safe to say that Khalidov is currently one of the most overlooked fighters in the middleweight division, and if the UFC doesn’t give him a call then they will be seriously missing out.

In other action, Polish born fighter Jan Blachowicz evened the score with Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, taking away a unanimous decision victory over the Cameroonian and scoring some revenge of his own for his second round TKO via retirement loss to Sokoudjou back at KSW 15.

And the bad luck streak continued for our buddy Matt Horwich, who dropped his third straight unanimous decision loss to Michal Materla. I guess we can salvage the fact that someone with a Dan Quinn level of craziness is still competing on a professional level, right?

KSW 17 Results
Mamed Khalidov defeated Jesse Taylor via submission (kneebar) in round 1
Mariusz Pudzianowski defeated James Thompson via majority decision
Jan Bachowicz defeated Sokoudjou via unanimous decision
Michal Materla defeated Matt Horwich via unanimous decision in an overtime round
Artur Sowiski defeated Maciej Jewtuszko via KO (punches) in round 1
Antoni Chmielewski defeated James Zikic via split decision in an overtime round
Aslambek Saidov defeated Rafal Moks via majority decision

Thompson’s speech, for anyone who can understand it

Khalidov v. Taylor (video missing first 30 seconds)

-Danga