Chicks Heart Fights

So. Much. To. See.

Watching two separate events tonight was fantastic, as there was rarely a moment when there wasn’t a fight going on. On the flip side of that is the fact that there were few fights that I could watch closely, so I know I missed some things.  You can catch the full results here.  Some observations from the evening:

• Good gosh almighty, Fedor was amazing. He was frighteningly calm going into the ring, but the second that bell rang, Tim Sylvia’s night was over. He had textbook striking, a perfect takedown, and a perfect rear naked choke.
• My favorite  body part of the evening was Andrei Arlovski’s knee. That flying knee to Ben Rothwell’s head was the beginning of the end for Rothwell.
• For Affliction being a clothing company, there were many wardrobe malfunctions. First, Mike Whitehead’s shorts were ripped in a very odd way. DH and I were very concerned that we were going to see a little bit too much of Mr. Whitehead. One friend said he looked like he got fired from Chippendales. Also, Josh Barnett’s shorts looked one size too small, causing Barnett to have a muffin top. Mixed martial artists should not have a muffin top.
• When Anthony Johnson suffered that bizarre eye poke that caused him to lose, one of the guys at my table yelled “He poked him in the brain!” That’s pretty accurate.
• I was so happy to see C.B. Dollaway win, and with the Peruvian necktie, nonetheless.
• Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Nascimento was the all-ugly fight of the night. Nascimento looked like an elephant. Or a bat. Or a rhinoceros.
• I was very happy to see Brandon Vera get comfortable in a new weight class. With Anderson Silva’s win, I wonder if he is going to stick around at light heavyweight.
• Joe Rogan needs a new shirt. I think I’ve seen this one about four times.
• Because I was in a bar, it was tough to judge the overall Affliction production. I like the cage better than the ring, and Michael Buffer just doesn’t seem to fit. However, I enjoyed the overall show. It will be interesting to see where they go from here.

I think that’s it for me. Good night, friends.

In the discussions I’ve read of this weekend’s fights, I keep reading the same theme. Those who watch Affliction are hardcore MMA fans, those who watch UFC Fight Night are only UFC fans, and not real MMA fans. Can’t a person be both?

I was introduced to MMA through the UFC, and most of my live MMA watching is limited to the UFC. I’ve watched plenty of Fedor on Youtube and DVDs, and am excited to see him fight in a non-circus match-up. On the other hand, I am familiar with many of the other Affliction fighters because of their experience with the UFC. Does that make me a bad MMA fan?

Though Saturday’s UFC fights are hardly blistering match-ups, some great fighters are going to be showcased. No matter who he fights, I always enjoy watching Anderson Silva’s all around dominance. Brandon Vera is in a must-win situation, and I am thrilled to get a chance to watch Cain Velasquez. Does this make me a bad MMA fan?

There is a tendency in the MMA world to vilify the UFC as the Evil Empire, which I guess would make Dana White Darth Vader. And possibly the Fertittas the Emperor, who looked a lot like my great-grandmother. Anyway. The reason that they’ve lasted so long is because no matter what, the product in the Octagon is, by and large, good. Is there anything wrong with an MMA fan watching that product instead of paying for Affliction?

By no means am I saying that the UFC is perfect, and competition is a good thing. Like I said, I am watching both shows this weekend. But can we stop with the subtle digs at the people who don’t?

I’m just getting home from the bar, and well, I was pretty disappointed in the overall card. There was not a single “damn, I’m glad I missed my friend’s party to watch that!” fight. (For example, Roger Huerta/Clay Guida fell into that category.) Onto the my thoughts, sponsored by Mickey’s Malt Liquor. (Not really, but was tonight the last fight sponsored by Mickey’s?)

- Fitch vs. Wilson - Wilson didn’t look ready for the UFC and Fitch shouldn’t have let it be that close of a fight. Fitch was not aggressive enough. Everyone is always touting his wrestling experience, yet in the rather important third period, he wasn’t shooting.

- Yushin Okami’s knee might have been my favorite body part of the night. It was quick and decisive in knocking out Evan Tanner.

- Before Leben’s fight begins, Ezra, BBall Coach and I are very confused as to why we are watching this fight. Leben vs. Sakara screams undercard to me! Chris Leben’s sponsor was condomdepot.com, written right across his buttocks. I’ll leave the jokes up to you. He knocked Alessio Sakara back to Rome.

- A few sartorial notes on our announcers: Joe Rogan’s shirt looked like he opened a packaged shirt from JCPenny’s and put it on. Joe, irons are your friend! For Goldberg, his suit coat looked like it was about four sizes too big.

- Earlier today, I was looking forward to the Kongo/Herring fight. I was really thinking that this fight was what would put Kongo on the map. I was wrong. Herring didn’t so much win as Kongo lost. He had no idea what to do when on bottom, and that is not only his fault, but his coach’s fault. A fighter should go through every possible scenario before a fight, so that nothing is a surprise. I mean, Kongo lost a split decision to a guy with stars shaved into his head!  By the way, Bball Coach decided that Herring looked like Andre the Giant in the Princess Bride - aaaaaaaaaaaas youuuuuuuuuuuu wiiiiiiiiiiiish!

- After the fight, Herring said that he wants Bud Light to send him on a crazy horse tour of Iraq. I have no idea what that means.

- Ahhhhhh, Dan Henderson vs. Anderson Silva. Hendo came in to a song that is beloved by all wrestlers, Lunatic Fringe.  He was escorted by some of the members of the USA world greco team, including this guy, who is serving out a suspension during an Olympic year due to positive drug tests. Hendo, I love ya, but really?

- Hendo looked great in the first round. He looked like a different fighter in the second round. Silva’s rear naked choke was a well-deserved submission of the night, as it was locked in so tight that Hendo couldn’t hang on for 10 more seconds, because that’s all that was left in the round.

- I was happy to get to see Koscheck’s knockout of Dustin Hazelett after the Silva fight.

Ok, I think that’s all I have for you five readers tonight.

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Seriously, I can’t wait for Saturday night. I’m not the only one either. Watching Countdown, I see that Dana White is ready to jump through the camera he’s so excited.  The rest of the MMA blogosphere is pretty damn excited, too:

• MMAJunkie has a preview from fighter Frank Trigg
• Dave Meltzer on Yahoo Sports has a profile of Hendo
• Cage Potato has a couple of clips from ESPN interviews of Hendo and Silva.

During the Countdown show, both fighters claimed that the fight won’t last long. I couldn’t disagree more. They are both strong and have excellent physical conditioning. Silva can take punches like few other fighters. Hendo’s wrestling is possibly the best in the UFC but is also an excellent striker. Silva’s muay thai skills are impressive. With the resume of these two fighters, I can go on for days. Hendo is cutting down, but at the same time, he’s a wrestler. Those boys cut weight in their sleep. (Seriously. Talk to any wrestler and he’ll tell you that he’s slept off a pound.) My pick? You actually want me to make a pick?… I have to go with (more…)

As I’ve mentioned before, I will be working on February 2, thus missing UFC 81 and Brock Lesnar’s debut in the Octagon. I am so not happy about this. However - if I had to work on March 1, the night of UFC 82, I would probably just quit my job. This card, which was officially announced on Saturday at UFC 80, is too jampacked to miss.

UFC 82: MARCH 1 IN COLUMBUS, OHIO
venue: Nationwide Arena

-Anderson Silva (#1 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Dan Henderson (#3 Light Heavyweight in the World)*
-Josh Koscheck (#5 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Dustin Hazelett
-Diego Sanchez (#8 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Roan Carneiro
-Cheick Kongo (#10 Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Heath Herring
-Andrei Arlovski (#6 Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Jake O’Brien
-Luke Cummo vs. Luigi Fioravanti
-Jorge Gurgel vs. John Halverson
-Jon Fitch (#4 Welterweight in the World)* vs. TBA

The rankings are from MMA Weekly. A few of my favorites, Koscheck and Kongo are on the card, not to mention the title fight between Silva and Hendo. According to MMA Junkie’s rumor page, UFC 83 is not such a loaded card, and is just a week after after UFC 82. Does that make any sense? Why load up one card and yet leave the other one so weak, and schedule it just one week after UFC 82? Since Jon Fitch is opponentless, it would stand to reason that he would be moved back to UFC 83, but will that one week difference really help the UFC find Fitch an opponent? Before fights are announced officially, a ton of rumors tend to come out about that fight. If the UFC is holding off a major fight for 83, they sure are keeping it under tight wraps. That is a shame, because that hardly gives them the appointment-television cache of UFC 82.

A wonderful friend of mine, we’ll call her Ezra, kept me apprised of the happenings of UFC 77 last night by text messages. Read them, after the jump: (more…)

- Sylvia has love handles.

- It would have been better for the UFC if Vera won.

- Silva will enjoy the top spot for a while because no one is all that good at that weight class.

Good night.

Tomorrow night is UFC 77, and with all the Couture discussion this past week (and by the way, if you haven’t seen Dana White’s ESPN interview, WATCH IT. It’s the smartest I’ve ever seen Dana play an interview.) these fights has been relatively overlooked. Unfortunately, I will not be able to see tomorrow’s fight. Nonetheless, my picks of the top fights, and the picks of people who know better than me, after the jump.

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