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More Notable Bouts Confirmed for Shark Fights 13 Card

Yes, generally this site is largely dedicated to the punching and kicking of the sport’s larger shows; the Strikeforces, the WECs, the Dreams and of course, the omnipresent / monolithic UFC. Naturally, there is much more to MMA than all this, and if you’re truly a big fan (and have little else to do) you should […]

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Yes, generally this site is largely dedicated to the punching and kicking of the sport’s larger shows; the Strikeforces, the WECs, the Dreams and of course, the omnipresent / monolithic UFC. Naturally, there is much more to MMA than all this, and if you’re truly a big fan (and have little else to do) you should be making the most of what the entire MMA menu has to offer. Don’t just limit yourself to two or three dishes on the buffet; gorge yourself with quadruple-‘that guys got a plate in each hand’-style helpings.

While there are plenty of local shows out there that book way too many has-beens, or throw the hometown prospect a tomato can with a .200 winning percentage, Shark Fights is an organization that’s been making some headlines for its upcoming September 11^th card. In case you hadn’t heard, the Texas promotion has already booked several UFC vets for it, as Keith Jardine will face Trevor Prangley and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou will take on Houston Alexander. Granted, they’re not MMA landscape altering title fights, but they could be pretty damn entertaining. Former UFC slugger Drew McFedries is also booked to fight Strikefore vet Joey Villasenor, which should be awesome, and Paul Daley is also scheduled to compete (opponent TBA).

Well, according to a report from MMA Junkie today, Shark Fights has announced several more ‘I wouldn’t turn that off’ fights for the Sept. 11^th card, including Dave Herman vs. Aaron Rosa, Pete Spratt vs. Eric Davila, Ronnie Mann vs. Doug Evans, and Karen Darabedyan vs. Marcus Hicks. Brock Larson has also been confirmed (opponent TBA).

Not bad huh? Broadcast plans for the card will be announced next week.

Jake Shields Says Return to Welterweight Was His Decision

It’s been a few days since the UFC confirmed the signing of Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields (yes, yes, technically he’s the ‘former’- but really, until blood is spilt over winning the vacated belt why argue?) and it’s probably still too soon to tell, whether the average TUF generation fan even gives a damn about […]

It’s been a few days since the UFC confirmed the signing of Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields (yes, yes, technically he’s the ‘former’- but really, until blood is spilt over winning the vacated belt why argue?) and it’s probably still too soon to tell, whether the average TUF generation fan even gives a damn about his upcoming Octagon debut. Of course, Shields has long been a highly regarded fighter in the eyes of MMA nerds and pundits, but there’s a ton of people who’ve never seem the grappling master cruise through an opponent like Dan Henderson (save the first round beat down of course).

As far as the aforementioned hardcore fans, as always, we continue to discuss and debate every last detail of the Shields signing (you could do a lot worse). What, if any, will be the impact on Strikeforce? How will Shields fair in the UFC? And who and why was it determined that Shields should return to the welterweight division? (You may recall that Dana White stated he believed Shields was better suited to compete at 170)

Well, speaking on MMA Weekly Radio recently, Shields had this to say about making his UFC debut as a welterweight.

“They called and asked if I wanted (Martin Kampmann) at 70 and I said sure. They didn’t give me any pressure; they gave me the option. Some people were saying I was forced to go down, which certainly wasn’t the case. They said I could fight at either weight, but they offered me a fight at 70, and I was like I might as well jump and take it.”

Next topic or?

Vladimir Matyushenko Sees Maintaining Pressure as Key to Victory Over Jon Jones

If you’re thinking Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko is going to clean the Octagon floor with Jon Jones this Sunday, you sir / madam, are a rare find (like the lil play there with the nickname? No? Not so much?) In fact if you even think Matyushenko has a decent chance of winning, stating you’re in […]

If you’re thinking Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko is going to clean the Octagon floor with Jon Jones this Sunday, you sir / madam, are a rare find (like the lil play there with the nickname? No? Not so much?) In fact if you even think Matyushenko has a decent chance of winning, stating you’re in the minority, is likely a massive understatement. Evidence? BETUS has Jones at -600 and Matyushenko at +400; yup, if you throw some money down on the Belarussian and he actually wins…you could make out pretty sweet.

Now of course, ‘if he wins’ are the key words here, and although Matyushenko is an accomplished vet who has lost just once since 2003, Jones isn’t one of the sport’s most highly touted prospects without good reason. Just ask Brandon Vera’s doctors as to why. Speaking to MMA Weekly, Matyushenko was asked to outline what he plans on doing, in order to pull off the underdog win:

“I’ve watched his fights and tried to find holes in his game,” said Matyushenko. “But it’s very hard, because he’s very unpredictable. He doesn’t have a particular style where he is consistently doing certain things. There are a few things he does, but he changes from left-hand stance to right-hand stance and just does some crazy stuff. But I think in order to win, I have to keep him backing up, keep the pressure on.”

“Crazy” is definitely one way of putting it. It’s going to be really interesting to see how Matyushenko fairs. Who knows? Maybe the old school warrior will shock the MMA world? Care to wager?

Pat Barry Told Mirko “Cro Cop” His Hand Was Broken During UFC 115 Bout

Now depending on how you’ve been spending your free time since June (as certain ‘recreational activities’ have been known to diminish one’s memory), you may or may not recall Pat Barry dropping Mirko “Cro Cop” at UFC 115, only to let the legendary fighter get back to his feet. At the time many were perplexed […]

Now depending on how you’ve been spending your free time since June (as certain ‘recreational activities’ have been known to diminish one’s memory), you may or may not recall Pat Barry dropping Mirko “Cro Cop” at UFC 115, only to let the legendary fighter get back to his feet. At the time many were perplexed by the fact that Barry didn’t swarm in for the finish, particularly because the bout soon turned in Cro Cop’s favor, who went on to tap out his younger opponent in the third round.

Well as it turned out, Barry had a pretty damn good reason as to why he didn’t swarm Cro Cop early in the bout; the punch that put Mirko on his ass also shattered Barry’s hand. We’re guessing searing pain like that justifies some hesitation…In an interesting interview with MMA Fighting Barry discussed not only breaking his hand in the fight, but also his foot, which apparently had Cro Cop wondering soon after:

“We were on the ground in the second and he was on top of me punching me and he asked me what was wrong,” said Barry. “He said, ‘What’s wrong with you? Why’d you stop fighting?’ I told him, ‘I broke my hand,’ and he was like, ‘Bullsh*t.’ I said, ‘No sir. My hand is broken. That hand is gone.’”

Wow. There’s some honesty for you. Maybe Barry’s injuries partially explain why Cro Cop has been humming and hawing about retirement; taking nothing away from the legend, but this does dampen the ‘Cro Cop’s back’ mood a little no?

MMA Artwork that Doesn’t Suck

(BJ painting a masterpiece in his preferred medium)
Looking around at the walls of my office, I’m reminded of a cold, hard reality: Most MMA artwork sucks.
That’s why I’m staring right now at a few framed MMA magazine covers and some vintage boxin…

(BJ painting a masterpiece in his preferred medium)

Looking around at the walls of my office, I’m reminded of a cold, hard reality: Most MMA artwork sucks.

That’s why I’m staring right now at a few framed MMA magazine covers and some vintage boxing posters, but no drawings or paintings of anything MMA-related. There just isn’t a hell of a lot cool stuff out there.

Marshall Zelaznik Believes Fedor Signing with the UFC Still Possible

Many die hard MMA fans have not fully adjusted to the post-Fedor-Can-Lose world, a place where up is down, nights is day, and fantastic tales on an unbeatable Russian fighter, are no longer fired at newcomers to the sport. You remember: ‘You think Anderson Silva is good? Dude, there’s this guy named Fedor Emelianenko who […]

Many die hard MMA fans have not fully adjusted to the post-Fedor-Can-Lose world, a place where up is down, nights is day, and fantastic tales on an unbeatable Russian fighter, are no longer fired at newcomers to the sport. You remember: ‘You think Anderson Silva is good? Dude, there’s this guy named Fedor Emelianenko who doesn’t even fight for the UFC, and…’

Of course after Fedor’s shocking loss to Fabricio Werdum, UFC boss man Dana White declared that the promotion was no longer interested in acquiring the services of “The Last Emperor.” A stark reversal after the company reportedly tried their damndest (short of co-promoting with M-1) to sign Fedor when he was a free agent. Was Dana being serious? Or was he being more tactical? You don’t have to have taken Marketing 101 to know Fedor’s bargaining power isn’t what it used to be.

Well, in keeping with speculation as to whether or not Fedor will in fact ever step foot in the Octagon, UFC UK President Marshall Zelaznik recently told British ESPN the following:

“Up until now there hasn’t been a possibility of it. I don’t know what his contract situation is, but these things don’t come down to money. Yes defeat to Fabricio Werdum has probably lowered his stock, but I don’t think we’ve ever decided not to sign a fighter due to money.”…”You never say never, and Emelianenko is a good fighter so it wouldn’t surprise me if Dana and Lorenzo [Fertitta] tried to work something out.”

Maybe Fedor had to lose to make a UFC deal workable?