Unnecessary Rematch Alert: Sean McCorkle vs. Mariusz Pudzianowski 2 Booked for KSW 24 in September


(Say, did you hear the one about the Polish MMA promotion? / Image via facebook.com/konfrontacja)

In June, super-heavyweight insult-comic Sean McCorkle snapped a three-fight losing streak when he submitted Mariusz Pudzianowski by first-round kimura at KSW 23: Khalidov vs Manhoef in Gdansk, Poland. As international freak-shows go, it was decent enough. But we had no idea it would be the first chapter in Polish MMA’s next great rivalry.

McCorkle has confirmed with MMAFighting that he’ll be fighting Pudzianowski in a rematch at KSW 24, which is slated for September 28th in Warsaw, Poland. Of course, KSW and Pudzianowski have a reputation for this sort of thing. When the Pudz was submitted by James Thompson at KSW 16 back in May 2011, the promotion set up an immediate rematch at its next event, where Pudzianowski got the nod from the judges despite clearly getting his ass beat. That fight was later overturned to a no-contest due to “judge’s error” (yeah, no shit), but the fact remains — if you beat Poland’s most beloved MMA star on his own turf, they will keep re-booking you until you lose, one way or another.

So how will Pudzianowski get his revenge on Big Sexy? Our prediction: food poisoning.


(Say, did you hear the one about the Polish MMA promotion? / Image via facebook.com/konfrontacja)

In June, super-heavyweight insult-comic Sean McCorkle snapped a three-fight losing streak when he submitted Mariusz Pudzianowski by first-round kimura at KSW 23: Khalidov vs Manhoef in Gdansk, Poland. As international freak-shows go, it was decent enough. But we had no idea it would be the first chapter in Polish MMA’s next great rivalry.

McCorkle has confirmed with MMAFighting that he’ll be fighting Pudzianowski in a rematch at KSW 24, which is slated for September 28th in Warsaw, Poland. Of course, KSW and Pudzianowski have a reputation for this sort of thing. When the Pudz was submitted by James Thompson at KSW 16 back in May 2011, the promotion set up an immediate rematch at its next event, where Pudzianowski got the nod from the judges despite clearly getting his ass beat. That fight was later overturned to a no-contest due to “judge’s error” (yeah, no shit), but the fact remains — if you beat Poland’s most beloved MMA star on his own turf, they will keep re-booking you until you lose, one way or another.

So how will Pudzianowski get his revenge on Big Sexy? Our prediction: food poisoning.

If Either Tito Ortiz or Forrest Griffin Get Their Way, Then We Will Be Seeing Ortiz/Griffin 3


(That moment when Punch face becomes Troll face.) 

As we all know, inspirational icon Tito Ortiz plans to call it a career after his next fight, or so he has claimed. He has also stated a desire for his final fight to take place on 4th of July weekend, and against either Forrest Griffin or Chuck Liddell. Talk about specific. And while Liddell can’t compete for obvious reasons (specifically, Jackrack commercials), Griffin has already come out in favor of a rubbermatch, and it seems the trilogy’s completion is all but inevitable at this point. On a recent episode of “Inside MMA,” Griffin received a surprise, but pre-recorded (for even more obvious reasons) video call-out from “The People’s Champ,” who all but begged Griffin for another rematch, as if FoGriff was somehow in charge of making those kinds of decisions:

Forrest, you know I deserve it, man. Step up. Let’s do this. It’s an awesome fight for you. I lost my last one. You lost your last one. Let’s do this — unless you’re scared!

Well, not to get technical Tito, but you’ve actually lost your last two, and six of your last eight. Join us after the jump for Forrest’s response.


(That moment when Punch face becomes Troll face.) 

As we all know, inspirational icon Tito Ortiz plans to call it a career after his next fight, or so he has claimed. He has also stated a desire for his final fight to take place on 4th of July weekend, and against either Forrest Griffin or Chuck Liddell. Talk about specific. And while Liddell can’t compete for obvious reasons (specifically, Jackrack commercials), Griffin has already come out in favor of a rubbermatch, and it seems the trilogy’s completion is all but inevitable at this point. On a recent episode of “Inside MMA,” Griffin received a surprise, but pre-recorded (for even more obvious reasons) video call-out from “The People’s Champ,” who all but begged Griffin for another rematch, as if FoGriff was somehow in charge of making those kinds of decisions:

Forrest, you know I deserve it, man. Step up. Let’s do this. It’s an awesome fight for you. I lost my last one. You lost your last one. Let’s do this — unless you’re scared!

Well, not to get technical Tito, but you’ve actually lost your last two, and six of your last eight. Anyway, join us after the jump for Forrest’s response.


(Skip to :30 to see….wait, what is Laura Prepon doing there?)

Other highlights from FoGriff include:

On making the Ortiz fight happen: “Do you wanna know how fights get done now? If enough people get on Twitter, it’ll happen.” [As sad as it is true.] 

On his Inside MMA stats: “Now, I’m looking at your ranking, let’s be honest. Speed…I’m a slow son of a bitch. I am so slow.”

On fears: “I’m scared of a lot of things. But, you know, no offense, [Tito’s] not one of them.”

So, is anyone as stoked for this one as Donna Pinciotti, or stoked at all for that matter?

-J. Jones

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?