Tag: Recap

‘Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov’ Aftermath: UFC Auditions, Sans Mansion

King Mo, during the UFC application process post-fight interview. Props: Showtime Sports

Last night, the real story behind “Barnet vs. Kharitonov had nothing to do with the heavyweight grand prix. It had nothing to do with the middleweight championship of a sinking organization. Last night, as with every other Strikeforce show since the promotion was purchased by Zuffa, was little more than an audition. It was about who will get a UFC contract when Strikeforce goes under, and who will have to go through TUF. The fans knew it, the announcers knew it, going as far as confirming the Belfort vs. Le rumor, and the fighters definitely knew it.

Despite Strikeforce’s best efforts to hype Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov as a potentially close fight, we all knew what to expect: A repeat of Kharitonov vs. Monson, except with a far superior version of Jeff Monson. Because of this, it’s hard to be impressed with anything that Josh Barnett does at this point. The tournament’s biggest names and most intriguing matchups for Barnett- Fedor, Werdum and Overeem- were all removed well before last night. Barnett has become such an overwhelming favorite to win that when he wins, he’s simply living up to expectations. He was paired up against an opponent with weak grappling credentials, knew he would dominate the fight once Kharitonov was on the ground, and fought accordingly. At least the tournament was set up so that he would get to face a competent grappler in the finals.


King Mo, during the UFC application process post-fight interview. Props: Showtime Sports

Last night, the real story behind “Barnet vs. Kharitonov” had nothing to do with the heavyweight grand prix. It had nothing to do with the middleweight championship of a sinking organization. Last night, as with every other Strikeforce show since the promotion was purchased by Zuffa, was little more than an audition. It was about who will get a UFC contract when Strikeforce goes under, and who will have to go through TUF. The fans knew it, the announcers knew it, going as far as confirming the Belfort vs. Le rumor, and the fighters definitely knew it.

Despite Strikeforce’s best efforts to hype Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov as a potentially close fight, we all knew what to expect: A repeat of Kharitonov vs. Monson, except with a far superior version of Jeff Monson. Because of this, it’s hard to be impressed with anything that Josh Barnett does at this point. The tournament’s biggest names and most intriguing matchups for Barnett- Fedor, Werdum and Overeem- were all removed well before last night. Barnett has become such an overwhelming favorite to win that when he wins, he’s simply living up to expectations. He was paired up against an opponent with weak grappling credentials, knew he would dominate the fight once Kharitonov was on the ground, and fought accordingly. At least the tournament was set up so that he would get to face a competent grappler in the finals.

Oh, about that: Looks like the answer to overcoming Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva’s sheer size and strength lies in exploiting that glass chin. Much like he did in his fight with Jeff Monson, Cormier kept the one dimensional grappler standing as often as possible. Although he showed off his wrestling credentials with an occasional takedown, Cormier refused to fight Silva in his comfort zone by forcing the fight to be stood up every time Silva was on his back. That strategy will work against Antonio Silva, but is his striking good enough to do that against Josh Barnett? For that matter, is Josh Barnett’s grappling going to prove too much for Cormier at this point in his career? We’ll have to wait until Cormier recovers from the hand injury he suffered, which will more than likely be early 2012. Assuming that Strikeforce is around at this time, of course.

If there’s one fighter who didn’t seem to realize that last night was an audition, it was “Jacare” Souza. Souza seemed to buy into the nonsense that some people were spewing about how Jacare vs. Anderson Silva would be a fight worth watching, and seemed to believe that as long as he could go the distance against Luke Rockhold, the judges would give him the fight. Yes, it was far closer than the 50-45 fight that some people seemed to believe it was. Yes, Jacare probably should have lost by split decision instead of unanimous decision. But does it really matter? A losing effort, no matter how close, is still a losing effort. Still, give Luke Rockhold the credit that he deserves for his performance last night. After shaking off the cobwebs that come with over a year and a half away from competition during the first round, Luke Rockhold fought like someone who saw the fight for the audition that it was. It’ll be interesting to see who he gets to defend the title against (again, assuming Strikeforce is around long enough for him to do so).

Other than that, King Mo showed that having “good striking for a Gracie” is like being “a good fighter for a professional reporter”, shutting out Roger Gracie’s lights early. Do we even bother angling for a fight against Dan Henderson, or do we just assume that both guys will be in the UFC before the next Strikeforce card? That isn’t rhetorical, comments section. Also, Pat Healy managed to survive Maximo Blanco’s wild strikes- some of which illegal- long enough to spoil Blanco’s hype. Healy sure has a habit of killing the hype for Strikeforce prospects. Let’s see if that translates into a step up in competition for him.

Full results, courtesy of MMAJunkie:

OFFICIAL MAIN CARD RESULTS

Josh Barnett def. Sergei Kharitonov via submission (head-arm triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:28
Daniel Cormier def. Antonio Silva via knockout (strikes) – Round 1, 3:56
Luke Rockhold def. Ronaldo Souza via unanimous decision (50-45, 48-47, 48-47)
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal def. Roger Gracie via KO (punch) – Round 1, 4:33
Pat Healy def. Maximo Blanco via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:24

OFFICIAL PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS

Mike Kyle def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante def. Yoel Romero via KO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:51
Jordan Mein def. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:18
Alexis Davis def. Amanda Nunes via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:53
Dominique Steele def. Chris Mierzwiak via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)

Bellator 49 Quick Results: Ben Saunders, Douglas Lima Advance in Welterweight Tournament


(Chris Lozano jacks Brent Weedman with an uppercut during their three-rounder at Caesars Atlantic City. Photo via Bellator)

Bellator’s fifth season kicked off last night, featuring the quarterfinals of their latest welterweight tournament. Still undefeated since his release from the UFC last year, Ben Saunders grabbed his second Bellator victory — and a spot in the semi-finals — in classic “Killa B” fashion, abusing Chris Cisneros for two rounds before ending the bout early in the third frame with a storm of knees from his infamous Thai clinch. Former MFC welterweight champion Douglas Lima also impressed in his promotional debut, winning a unanimous decision over Steve Carl.

On a less-triumphant note, former Bellator standouts Chris Weedman and Dan Hornbuckle ate their second-consecutive losses at the event. Weedman, who ran through his first four opponents under the Bellator banner before getting outpointed by Jay Hieron at the Season 4 Welterweight Finals, fell short once again against Chris Lozano. Weedman took the first round easily on the strength of a knockdown and a slam-takedown, but Lozano controlled the next ten minutes and won a unanimous nod from the judges. Earlier in the evening, Dan Hornbuckle was thoroughly handled by season Brazilian vet Luis “Sapo” Santos.


(Chris Lozano jacks Brent Weedman with an uppercut during their three-rounder at Caesars Atlantic City. Photo via Bellator)

Bellator’s fifth season kicked off last night, featuring the quarterfinals of their latest welterweight tournament. Still undefeated since his release from the UFC last year, Ben Saunders grabbed his second Bellator victory — and a spot in the semi-finals — in classic “Killa B” fashion, abusing Chris Cisneros for two rounds before ending the bout early in the third frame with a storm of knees from his infamous Thai clinch. Former MFC welterweight champion Douglas Lima also impressed in his promotional debut, winning a unanimous decision over Steve Carl.

On a less-triumphant note, former Bellator standouts Chris Weedman and Dan Hornbuckle ate their second-consecutive losses at the event. Weedman, who ran through his first four opponents under the Bellator banner before getting outpointed by Jay Hieron at the Season 4 Welterweight Finals, fell short once again against Chris Lozano. Weedman took the first round easily on the strength of a knockdown and a slam-takedown, but Lozano controlled the next ten minutes and won a unanimous nod from the judges. Earlier in the evening, Dan Hornbuckle was thoroughly handled by season Brazilian vet Luis “Sapo” Santos.

Spike.com’s broadcast of the prelims turned out to be a crowd-pleasing affair, as all five local feature fights ended by stoppage. Full Bellator 49 results are below.

Main Card (Season 5 Welterweight Quarterfinals)
– Chris Lozano def. Brent Weedman via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Ben Saunders def. Chris Cisneros via TKO, 0:29 of round 3
– Luis Santos vs. def. Dan Hornbuckle via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Douglas Lima def. Steve Carl via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x 2)

Spike.com Prelims
– Alexandre Bezerra def. Scott Heckman via TKO, 1:38 of round 2
– Giedrius Karavackas def. LeVon Maynard via TKO, 1:32 of round 3
– Joel Roberts def. Brylan Van Artsdalen via technical submission (triangle choke), 1:47 of round 2
– Lester Caslow def. James Jones via TKO (injury), 0:15 of round 2
– Azunna Anyanwu def. J.A. Dudley via TKO, 4:16 of round 2

ONE FC: Champion vs Champion — Impressions From the First Event

Guess who didn’t get the “Bring your big gold belt” memo.    PicProps: onefc.com

OK, first:  if you didn’t manage to wrangle your ass out of bed this morning to log on and watch ONE FC’s inaugural event, you can still catch all the fights for free at Sherdog:

Eduard Folayang vs A Sol Kwon
Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs Phil Baroni
Mitch Chilson vs Eric Kelly
Gregor Gracie vs Seok Mo Kim
Andy Wang vs Zorobabel Moreira

Under card

Eddie Ng vs Yuan Chun Bo
Radeem Rahman vs Susovan Ghosh
Vuyisile Colossa vs Ma Xing Yu
Daniel Mashamaite vs Yodsanan Sityodong
Soo Chul Kim vs Leandro Issa

Watch em, then come in and we’ll talk.  Or you can just come in and we’ll tell you about it.

Guess who didn’t get the “Bring your big gold belt” memo.    PicProps: onefc.com

OK, first:  if you didn’t manage to wrangle your ass out of bed this morning to log on and watch ONE FC’s inaugural event, you can still catch all the fights for free at Sherdog:

Eduard Folayang vs A Sol Kwon
Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs Phil Baroni
Mitch Chilson vs Eric Kelly
Gregor Gracie vs Seok Mo Kim
Andy Wang vs Zorobabel Moreira

Under card

Eddie Ng vs Yuan Chun Bo
Radeem Rahman vs Susovan Ghosh
Vuyisile Colossa vs Ma Xing Yu
Daniel Mashamaite vs Yodsanan Sityodong
Soo Chul Kim vs Leandro Issa

 

Watch em, then come in and we’ll talk.  Or you can just come in and we’ll tell you about it.

Much the excitement for the event came from the comparisons to PRIDE.  According to ONE’s website, they utilize “a combination rule set of global MMA best practices, blending Asian and non-Asian rules”, meaning no restriction to elbow, knee, or kicking attacks on a grounded opponent.  We didn’t see any at the first event, and I’m still not entirely clear on how the fighters were instructed.

They didn’t get Lenne Hardt (AKA The Crazy Screaming PRIDE Lady), but they did get Yuji Shimada (AKA “I don’t care, kill him.  Do you want to win?”) in to referee.

It does seem that ONE is shooting for high production values as PRIDE did, but there were no grand displays.  No elaborate entrances, although there was an amusingly eclectic mix of music chosen for walkouts, which led to the revelation that Bas Rutten digs Lady Gaga and Johnny Cash.  The crowd was relatively sparse in the 12,000 capacity stadium, but they were an enthusiastic bunch.

And with good reason:  the card was full of good action throughout.

For the grappling fans:  Kelly vs Chilson, BJJ aces vs South Koreans named “Kim”.  Both Gregor Gracie and Leandro Issa outpointed Kims, and there was jits popping out all over the place.  Gracie’s opponent Seok Mo Kim had outstanding submission defense, escaping a triangle and surviving multiple arm triangle chokes from Gracie, who is going to be catching hell from family for failing to finish a fight in which he scored and maintained mount for minutes at a time. Kelly took home a $5K bonus for sub of the night for sleeping Chilson with a standing RNC.

For the KO junkie:  Sityodong vs Mashamaite, Ng vs Bo, Colossa vs Yu, Rahman vs Ghosh. Both Ng and Bo are generally favorites of livebloggers everywhere.  Beats the hell out of Magomed Sultanakhmedov, Georgi Karakhanyan, and Jadamba Narantungalag, is all I’m saying.

For the “PRIDE mismatch to make the home team look like a ninja” fan: Rahman vs Ghosh. Raheem Rahman picked up the $5K knockout of the night bonus after plowing through his opponent in the first.

For the sadist: Moreira vs Wang. Not a gory fight, but painful nonetheless. Yuji Shimada has seen some world-class ass whoopings in his lifetime, so don’t expect him to stop a fight unless someone’s ear falls off. If a fighter wants to continue to soak up punishment in the second round, Shimada is willing let him. And the fighter does. So Shimada does.

Fight of the night: Folayang vs Kwon. Supposedly a mismatch on paper, this was a fast-paced, even contested fight with lots of fun kick technique and some wild exchanges. Go watch it.

Notes to Victor Cui (ONE CEO):  Can you hook up with HDNET?  That would be great, then we can watch these in high def, and rewind when Folayang and Kwon are moving to damn fast for us to follow.  Also, a little pyrotechnics never hurt nobody.*

All in all a fun event, albeit short of rivaling PRIDE’s inaugural event or UFC’s current dominance. If the first broadcast is any indication, ONE FC will be the leader in MMA in the eastern hemisphere in short order. I know I’ll tune in again.

[RX]

 

*Not intended to be a factual statement.

UFC 134 GIF: The Fight Is Over When Rousimar Palhares Says It’s Over


(Props: IronForgesIron via MMAMania)

If you missed the UFC 134 Spike TV Prelims broadcast on Saturday, then you missed Rousimar Palhares act as judge, jury, and (almost) executioner against Dan Miller. Near the end of the first round, Palhares landed a huge head kick that flattened Miller, and followed it up with some nasty punches from the top. And then he raised his arms in victory and strolled off to jump on the cage, as if the fight had been stopped, which it definitely hadn’t.

Herb Dean was forced to corral Palhares and tell him the fight was still going on. When the action was re-started, Miller immediately floored Palhares with a punch, but Palhares quickly recovered and did enough through the rest of the match to earn a comfortable unanimous decision win (29–27, 30–27, 30–25).

For ‘Toquinho’, it’s just the latest chapter in a controversial UFC career that has already included a 90-day suspension due to brutality, and an epically failed attempt to file a greasing complaint against Nate Marquardt while Marquardt was beating the crap out of him. But Palhares says the Miller non-stoppage was just a simple misunderstanding:


(Props: IronForgesIron via MMAMania)

If you missed the UFC 134 Spike TV Prelims broadcast on Saturday, then you missed Rousimar Palhares act as judge, jury, and (almost) executioner against Dan Miller. Near the end of the first round, Palhares landed a huge head kick that flattened Miller, and followed it up with some nasty punches from the top. And then he raised his arms in victory and strolled off to jump on the cage, as if the fight had been stopped, which it definitely hadn’t.

Herb Dean was forced to corral Palhares and tell him the fight was still going on. When the action was re-started, Miller immediately floored Palhares with a punch, but Palhares quickly recovered and did enough through the rest of the match to earn a comfortable unanimous decision win (29–27, 30–27, 30–25).

For ‘Toquinho’, it’s just the latest chapter in a controversial UFC career that has already included a 90-day suspension due to brutality, and an epically failed attempt to file a greasing complaint against Nate Marquardt while Marquardt was beating the crap out of him. But Palhares says the Miller non-stoppage was just a simple misunderstanding:

As he explained after the fight, “[Herb Dean] said, ‘Stop, stop, stop’ so I stopped. I thought the fight was over so I jumped onto the top of the cage…God is on my side. So I can win once, twice, three times.”

In reality, Herb Dean never said anything of the kind. It’s possible that Palhares’s head was simply tuned into the same radio frequency that only insane Brazilian fighters can hear.

Dana White wasn’t too impressed by the bizarre moment either: “I said, ‘This is fucking crazy. I’ve never seen anything like this before.’ I was tweeting about it while it happened. It’s the second time that he’s done… And then, could you imagine… First of all, he does that. In no way shape or form did Herb Dean stop that fight or even come close. He didn’t even make a move toward them to stop that fight. He runs over and jumps on top of the cage like he won, comes back, then almost gets knocked out. Just like he did against Nate Marquardt. It was crazy. I mean, Palhares, I went back and told him, ‘You don’t stop fights! The referees stop the fight.’”

“ProElite 1? Aftermath: Rising from the Ashes

That’s the damnedest case of jock itch we’ve ever seen, Kendall. (Pic: ProElite.com)

As the crowds in Rio walked out of UFC 134 and headed for the Copacabana Club, MMA fans in Honolulu, Hawaiia made their way to the Neal S. Blaisdell Center to witness the rebirth of ProElite. Those who watched were treated to submissions and knockouts galore as not a single bout went the distance, but there was more at stake than mere wins and losses. Last night’s biggest fights weren’t waged for a fight purse or sponsorships, but for the value in a name.

ProElite has a name many hardcore fans recognize, but not for reasons the promotion would want. From their previous partnership with noted scumbags to the messy collapse of their first run, they return to the promotion game carrying a lot of baggage. They can distance themselves from previous debacles by doing one thing, and that’s putting on quality, scandal free events. Last night was a step in the right direction. ProElite needs to build, but build slowly.

A run down of the fights, and video of the the Reagan Penn fight, after the jump.

That’s the damnedest case of jock itch we’ve ever seen, Kendall. (Pic: ProElite.com)

As the crowds in Rio walked out of UFC 134 and headed for the Copacabana Club, MMA fans in Honolulu, Hawaiia made their way to the Neal S. Blaisdell Center to witness the rebirth of ProElite. Those who watched were treated to submissions and knockouts galore as not a single bout went the distance, but there was more at stake than mere wins and losses. Last night’s biggest fights weren’t waged for a fight purse or sponsorships, but for the value in a name.

ProElite has a name many hardcore fans recognize, but not for reasons the promotion would want. From their previous partnership with noted scumbags to the messy collapse of their first run, they return to the promotion game carrying a lot of baggage. They can distance themselves from previous debacles by doing one thing, and that’s putting on quality, scandal free events. Last night was a step in the right direction. ProElite needs to build, but build slowly.

At one time Andrei Arlovski was a versatile force in the heavyweight division. The former UFC champ seemed equally dangerous on the ground and standing up. But in recent years his name has become associated with the words “brutal KO loss”, and debates turned from whether or not he was a top-level fighter to whether or not he should be fighting, period. “The Pit Bull” controlled most of the action last night, though Ray Lopez proved tough to put away. Lopez survived full mount numerous times throughout the bout, even reversing to take Arlovski’s back and threaten with a choke as the first round ended, but the 5-2 gamer was eventually overwhelmed by ground and pound half way through the final round. Arlovski dominated the bout, as well he should have, but his problem has never been how he looks when he’s winning, it’s how he looks when his jaw gets tapped.

It’s no easy to task to make a name for yourself when everyone already knows it. That was the challenge before Reagan Penn as he walked to the cage for his MMA debut. If the younger sibling of former UFC Lightweight and Welterweight champion BJ Penn had hoped to avoid the inevitable comparisons to his brother, he shouldn’t have employed the same great takedown defense, grappling skill, and killer instinct that made “The Prodigy” famous. Reagan fought the takedown well, but once things hit the mat his BJJ took over. In only 1:10, he had locked in a rear naked choke and drawn the tap. Maybe living up to the family name is better than making a new one for yourself after all.

Kendall Grove made very quick work of Joe Riggs in their headline bout. “Da Spyder” sunk in a deep standing guillotine only 59-seconds into the bout, giving arachnids a 2-0 record for the evening. This was Grove’s first bout since being released by the UFC.

(Reagan Penn’s bout, courtesy of Zombie Prophet)

Full Results (via: FightOfTheNight.com)

Main Card:

Kendall Grove def. Joe Riggs via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:59
Andrei Arlovski def. Ray Lopez via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:43
Reagan Penn def. Paul Gardiner via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:10
Mark Ellis def. Jake Heun via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:29
Sarah McMann def. Raquel Pa’aluhi via submission (armlock) – Round 3, 2:53
Drew McFedries def. Garrett Olson via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:04

Prelims:

Kaleo Gambill defeated Sale Sproat via TKO (strikes) at 1:31 of round 1
Dustin Barca defeated Reno Remigio via TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of round 2
Brent Schermerhorn defeated Jesse Kaala-Akana Lundgren via TKO (punches) at 1:38 of round 1

“UFC 134? Bonuses: Three Fighters Pocket $100 G’s

I know this hurts right now, Big Nog, but it will all be worth it in a minute. (Pic: UFC.com)

UFC 134 was the outfit’s first return to Brazil in thirteen years, and with plans for four more Brazil-based events in 2012, Zuffa needed to make a lasting impression. The fighters delivered, big time, and for their efforts three of them walked away with a cool $100,000 bonus in their pockets. That’s a lot of Bony Acai.

Much was made of the homecoming to Rio, Royce Gracie’s home, the birthplace of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Yet in the land that helped transform hyper-extending limbs into an art form, there wasn’t a single submission landed. Brazilian fighters have evolved just like the rest of them, and last night they chose to showcase their fists.

I know this hurts right now, Big Nog, but it will all be worth it in a minute. (Pic: UFC.com)

UFC 134 was the outfit’s first return to Brazil in thirteen years, and with plans for four more Brazil-based events in 2012, Zuffa needed to make a lasting impression. The fighters delivered, big time, and for their efforts three of them walked away with a cool $100,000 bonus in their pockets. That’s a lot of Bony Acai.

Much was made of the homecoming to Rio, Royce Gracie’s home, the birthplace of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Yet in the land that helped transform hyper-extending limbs into an art form, there wasn’t a single submission landed. Brazilian fighters have evolved just like the rest of them, and last night they chose to showcase their fists.

Multiple fighters were able to shatter the tenuous bonds that link our bodies and our brains, with Shogun, Erick Silva, Nedkov, Anderson Silva, Tavares, and Nogueira all scoring wins by KO or TKO. All were impressive in their own right, but in the end the check went to the war-torn Big Nog, whose win was not only meaningful to the heavyweight landscape but completely unexpected. Coming off an 18 month layoff that saw a rushed rehab from multiple surgeries, few gave the local hero much of a chance against the quickly rising Schaub. For Minotauro, the win buys him some more time to recover and another shot at proving that there’s still life in that high-mileage body of his. For Schaub, losing to a legend isn’t as great as beating one, but it is a learning experience that will help him in his young career.

Edson Barboza edged out Ross Pearson in a split decision battle that earned both men the $100k nod at the end of the night. Pearson’s strategy of applying constant pressure and pushing Barboza backward paid off for much of the fight, limiting the full range of the Brazilian’s Muay Thai arsenal. But when he found any bit of room, Barboza was ready to uncoil a spinning kick of one variety or another. Was his win a case of style over substance or perhaps home-cage advantage? I don’t know, but FightMetric seems to think so.