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.
Rampage Jackson, who lost a close decision to Forrest Griffin on July 5, was arrested in Newport Beach today for felony hit and run and felony evading arrest. He did this while driving in this truck:
Rampage my dearest, please don’t let this be a sign of things to come with you. The loss to Forrest was tough, no doubt, but your fighting career is hardly over. I think you’ll wear the belt again, if you keep your head on straight. Running from the cops in a truck with your picture on it? Not keeping your head on straight. I, for one, truly enjoy watching you fight, and would like to see you in the Octagon again, soon. Please let this be a one-time bout of being a moron, plead out quickly, and focus on your training.
- Apparently, Dana White doesn’t agree with my plan to have Clay Guida fight in Chicago at the end of October. Clay will fight Mac Danzig at UFC Fight Night 14 , September 17 (the birthday of the Constitution!) in Omaha.
-If you are in Missouri and you want to go to Ben Askren’s send-off, email Brian Smith at Smithbq@missouri.edu, NOW.
- Finally, I have a question for you, my lovely readers. What are you going to do on Saturday? Buy Affliction, DVR the UFC? Say screw it, I’m not spending the money when I get to see the best fighter on the planet? Really say screw it, and catch “Wicked” at the Cadillac Palace Theater? Tell me true, in the comments.
Remember when I whined about the UFC going to other cities not nearly as awesome as my hometown? Dana White heard my cries, and planned UFC 90 in the Windy City , most likely at Allstate Arena on October 25. I could not be happier* about this development because Chicago is a perfect market for MMA. This is a sports hungry town, and it’s an important time to show how Chicago can handle large sporting events. Many MMA gyms are sprouting up around the city, plus the UFC could feature some home grown talent. May I suggest:
Clay Guida
Clay already has lots of fans in the Land of Lincoln!
True, October would be a long layoff for the Carpenter, but I think he’d deal with it to fight in front of hometown fans. (Kind of - he’s from Johnsburg, which may as well be Alaska for a city snob like me, but people from that area like to claim Chicago so I won’t stop them.) The Mac Danzig fight has been on-again, off again, so why not schedule the fight for Chicago?
Stephen Bonnar
Though Bonnar now fights out of Las Vegas, his roots in northeast Indiana and Chicago would be well represented at a fight in Chicago. Bonnar has been languishing in the background of the UFC, and hasn’t fought since last October. A fight in his hometown could be just what he needs.
Others to consider:
Miguel Torres, if the WEC and UFC were to do a joint show - and how cool would that be - Chicago would be the ideal place for Miguel, a native of East Chicago.
Roger Huerta - of course I’d want him in my city!
*Though I’m quite pleased that the UFC is supposed to come to Chicago, I will be at the wedding of two dear friends that evening. Liz, Craig, realize how much I love you two crazy kids, or I would not be missing out on this.
That’s it? The Big Announcement that Dana has been touting is that the UFC is going to start producing dolls? I mean, um, action figures.
I realize that this is exciting for Dana White, because it means that he will finally be able to swim in his money, but for your average fight fan, this was not worth recording CNBC for. Grr.
A friend of mine, curious about my blogging, asked me about when MMA season is. I explained that there isn’t really a season because events happen all year long. Of course, it would be hard to argue that we are not in the middle of MMA season right now, with Elite XC and WEC events last weekend, and three UFC events, and one event each for Strikeforce, ShoElite, and EliteXC.
On Saturday, the MMA marathon begins with UFC 85: Bedlam. Bedlam, of course, is a fitting name for this card, as it has changed many, many times. The following fighters were all on, and then pulled off of, the card, for reasons ranging from injury to imprisonment: Mauricio Rua, Chuck Liddell, Rashad Evans, Chris Leben, James Irvin and Ryo Chonan. The departed from UFC 85 could make a card all on their own.
I will be liveblogging this fight on Saturday using Cover It Live, a software that allows readers to comment and chat right in the liveblog. Please join me on Saturday afternoon for the fight fun! (more…)
Woot! Quarterfinals start tonight. The Cubs are down 1-0 to the Dodgers. Not so woot. Two errors in one inning -wootless. I need to watch people punching eachother. Wait! Zambrano just stranded three on base! WOOT!
First impressions, sort of influenced by the High Life. The Champagne of Beers. Anyway. I have a new bar to watch the fights. It’s the Tap Room and it rocks. Good beer, good prices, good crowd, no cover, I’m sold. Onto the fights…
Mendes vs. Thiago Silva: I’m naming my first child Thiago. Though Mendes had some pretty, baseball bat like kicks, Silva got on top and threw down some lovely punches and got the TKO in the first round. Thiago started out the good night for Brazilians.
Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto Machida: Tito’s first bad sign was that his entrance music was “Mama Said Knock You Out.” For the record, that was the first CD that I ever bought, when I was ten. Enough said. Machida’s kicks were beautiful, as is to be expected. The end of the first round was a flurry, and Tito was quite literally saved by the bell. (Much like Zach Morris.) This fight had lots of stand up, and Yves Lavigne tripping over air. Machida escaped a triangle choke near the end of the third, and won 30-27. Good job, Mr. Brazilian! Tito was very classy in his post fight interview, and thanked the Fertittas. Where will we see Tito fight next? I was expecting to find out tonight.
Gouveia vs. Relijic: Do all Croatians go to the Cro Cop school of kicking? Because Relijic put up some pretty kicks. Relijic wins by TKO in the 2nd.
Jardine vs. Silva: I thought Silva was done. I thought he was ready to retire. I underestimated the night of Brazilians. Silva by KTFO over Jardine.
Salaverry vs. Palhones: How great was that sub? Salaverry was so focused on avoiding the rear naked choke that he didn’t notice the arm bar coming from ten miles away.
Sean Sherk vs. BJ Penn: BJ comes out to Bali Hai. (Not really, but it sounded like that.) Sherk did not come out to Happy Talk . The stand up in this fight was excellent, and Sherk clearly planned on standing up. It’s not a good idea to go to the ground with a BJJ expert like BJ. My notes say about the first round: WOWZA. Lots of jabbing, lots of punch exchanges. In the third round, BJ threw a beautiful knee, and finished with some great punches. BJ wins and keeps his title.
A fantastic night of fights-huzzah! I will write more when I have had a night of sleep.
Trying a little too hard on the title? Oh well. As promised, a round-up of predictions for this weekend’s UFC card, featuring Penn vs. Sherk for the lightweight belt, Jardine vs. Silva, Ortiz vs. Machida, and me against the music .
You can find my predictions here . Around the web, the consensus is that Lyoto Machida will win over Tito Ortiz and Keith Jardine will win over Wanderlei Silva. The blogosphere does not agree on Sherk/Penn. Ben Fowlkes at Cage Potato proclaimed Sherk over Penn the unpopular opinion ; however, Michael David Smith at Fanhouse is picking Sherk. Actually, with the Penn/Sherk fight, I don’t see a fan favorite. Yes, Sherk did steroids, something that fans usually aren’t crazy about. At the same time, in the countdown to UFC 84 show on Spike, BJ said that he will lick the blood off of Sean Sherk. That isn’t really something that warms the cockles of a fanbase, either. In fact, I have to get it off my chest - eww.
