Upon second viewing I scored the Couture-Vera fight a draw
If I had to choose a winner it would have to be Vera, clearly the judges gave Couture the first round for what was really ineffective bully tactics. I still don’t believe this was a blatant robbery, close fight, neither fighter looked spectacular, I think Vera goes back into the mid tier mix and Couture’s dreams of a title run look shaky to say the least
Anyways, this is just to say that my previous rage at Joe Rogan was misplaced.
It’s 2005, I’m the only one in the world who watches the UFC, least that’s how it feels. The main event rolls round and in one corner stands Andrei ‘The Pitbull’ Arlovski; the man who’d taken a 5 fight win streak coming into the bout and seemed all but invincible.
In the other corner… Paul Buentello….
Who?
exactly.
The bell rings, a split second later Buentello lands on his face, the crowd has to watch several replays to figure out what happened. Easily the worst heavy weight title fight of all time.
What was the point of this nostalgia trip? To highlight the old problem the 205lbs+ division faced: lack of talent.
Buentello went on to prove himself a solid mid to top tier fighter and has ironically ended up back in the UFC fold, Arlovski is still trying to erase the ghosts of Fedor and Rogers.
But in 2005, Buentello got the gig just by having a fight license and a large set of bones; Frank Mir defended the belt against Wes Sims in what where to very competitive fights; Tim Sylvia won the title on only his second fight in the UFC.
Madness, truly the wild west of MMA, fat, ugly, misshapen giants with very little skill set being destroyed by the one or two decent athletes amongst them.
It’s 2009 now and things couldn’t be anymore different. There is no shortage of top talent and best of all: most of them haven’t fought each other yet. It’s never been more exciting in the big boy division and what could possibly go wrong?
Seemingly, most them won’t be fighting each other anytime soon. Lesnar is out for god knows how long (if he ever comes back). Big Nog is battling staph as we speak and pitting Carwin and Velsquez against each other in Jan is out because Carwin is recovering from surgery.
On top of this, throw Fedor not being in the UFC into the equation and it’s easy to get frustrated. there’s already talk of an interim title but whose fit to fight for it? The only luxury afforded by the delays is seeing the up and comers weed each other out.
Look forward to seeing the cream of:
rise to the top and for established talent:
to try their best to break through.
Meanwhile we’ll have to wait some time before we see the big four decide who’s the best, unfortunately, while good fights are great, without a leader and a goal it’s all very rudderless.
29-28 Couture, that’s how I called it, that’s how all three judges called it. It was a close fight, I’d easily have accepted a draw or a decision the other way but according to Joe Rogan; it’s up there with Beebe vs. Easton in terms of this years dodgy robberies.
It’s typical that the two times in recent memory that Rogan has publicly taken exception with the official scorecards, he’s gotten it wrong.
The last time was Akiyama Vs. Belcher at UFC 100, again, I scored it exactly as the official decision did. This isn’t to say I’m perfect in my calls but if more than just two misguided judges agree then perhaps it’s not the blatant robbery you believe it to be.
There is a serious problem with judging in this sport, I just don’t think this is an example of it.
Expect a related article next week where I point out the fights Rogan should have been twittering about in all caps.
UFC 104 is live this Saturday night and here my friends is my first stab at pre card analysis. Before we jump into the fight, Just a few notes about the card:
I’m going to work my way up the card from the prelims to the main event, don’t worry i won’t make a meal of the early bouts:
Stefan Struve (17-3) Vs. Chase Gormley (6-0)
Stefan Struve is best remembered for bloodying up the mat during the prelims of UFC 99 and giving the hostile German press something to shake a finger at. Struve showed tremendous heart and surprising veteranship by wading through the fight, absorbing a lot of damage and submitting Denis Stojnic with only a quarter of his blood still coursing through his veins.
Gormley is an up and coming heavyweight with no losses on his record, not surprising as he’s yet to fight top 10-20 competition.
The fight is most likely Gormleys to lose, whose superior size and strength should give him the advantage over the lanky Struve who showed a weak chin against Junior Dos Santos in UFC 95.
BOTTOM LINE: Gormley by KO or ground and pound
Kyle Kingsbury Vs. Razak Al-Hassan
BOTTOM LINE: Who cares (told you I’d be brief… in truth I’ll care a lot more after the fight, neither man is in title contention any time soon)
Jorge Rivera Vs. Rob Kimmons
Jorge Rivera continues to fight into the twilight of his career, an awe inspiring fist rape of kendell Grove continues to bring him to the minds of fans and he’ll continue to serve as a solid gate keeper until the end of his career.
Kimmons is being moved to the big show after two fight nights and a TUF finale (albeit the prelims), he’s a solid Jiu-Jitsu black belt and Rivera has always displayed a lack of submission defence.
BOTTOM LINE: Kimmons by choke
Yushin Okami Vs. Chael Sonnen
It’s possible Okami will never get a title shot. He’s been a contender on the rim for what feels like an eternity now and recent injuries and Anderson Silva dabbling with the 205lbs division might leave him forever on the outside looking in. Throw in the fact that Henderson and Marquart are both arguing over why they should get the ambulance ride ahead of Belfort and Joe Rogan and virtually every MMA journalist pestering the champ with questions of super fights against GSP and Machida, oh, and he also wants to fight Mir at heavyweight.
With all these names ahead of him, it could be a while before Okami finds himself top of the line again and in that time he could easily pick up a loss, completely scuppering those plans completely. However, if he wins this prelim in exciting fashion he could boost himself to a contender match for first dibs after the Henderson/marquardt issue is resolved. Enter Chael Sonnen:
Sonnen, the man who took the WEC middleweight belt from a hallucinating Paulo Filho who found himself in a five round nervous breakdown that all but ruined his career (god that was awkward viewing), is, kind of boring. Don’t get me wrong he’s a brilliantly crafty fighter, however he doesn’t put on the kind of blood and guts shows that make headline fights and push people into title shots and neither does Machida.
This is probably the most contentious fight on the card, it really comes down to who can take top position and grind out a three round decision; unless of course one of them decides to give the UFC brass what they want and kick off round one with a running-flying-armbar. I expect okami to have the better positional skills and to be able to maintain dominant positions for most the fight.
BOTTOM LINE: Okami by decision
Antoni Hardonk Vs. Pat Barry
I have a problem with this kind of fight. Both these men are excellent kickboxers with as much ground skills as 6 of the 8 original fighters of UFC 1 (guess which 6); this is a clear attempt to try and create a stand up striking war without changing the rules to Thai Boxing or kick boxing. I’m ok with matching fights by style, absolutely fine, however: it almost never works. One of the strikers awaits tries to mix it up with wrestling, clinch work and ground and pound (see Kongo Vs Cro Cop, Herring Vs Kongo, Hardonk Vs Kongo… wait I’m seeing a pattern here!) Who can blame them, one dimensional fighters are always keen to show off their new skills and demonstrate their versatility, much like a type cast actor trying to break out of a soap opera.
Expect a lot of banging until someone realises their disadvantage and shoots for a weak single leg and tries to grind out a win from the top.
BOTTOM LINE: Hardonk by ground and pound
Ryan Bader Vs. Eric Schafer
BOTTOM LINE: Bader wins
Anthony Johnson Vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Anthony Johnson would be 5-1 in his UFC run were it not to a clear DQ win becomming a TKO loss being dropped in appeal due to lack of remedy (I’ve got a remedy, over rule the decision). Johnson is incredibly athletic, much more so the Yoshida whose hoping to dodge the superior striking of the American and bring the fight to the ground, be warned though, I believe Johnson’s ground game is very underrated.
BOTTOM LINE: Johnson by stoppage
Joe Stevenson Vs. Spencer Fisher
Joe Stevenson is having a hard time finding a place in the lightweight division. He began his UFC run with a 6-1 record before being beaten like a drunkards wife by BJ Penn for the vacated title. Since that loss he’s gone 2-2 with both wins over mid tier competition and both losses coming from legitimate contenders.
His biggest problem is that his wrestling is good but not the best, his striking is good but not the best, his Jiu-Jitsu is good… you get the idea. Don’t get me wrong, he’s got brilliant submission skills but against BJ Penn and Florian he couldn’t muster much offence. Stevenson suffers from being very well rounded but not seemingly refusing to not fight into his opponents strengths, that and it’s clear he’s not a top tier lightweight, so the question is, what does one do with Joe ‘Daddy’ Stevenson?
This is where Spencer ‘King’ Fisher comes in. Fisher is coming off a win over veteran fighter Caol Uno and has shown a tendency to only lose against superior strikers. A win for Fisher could line him up to fight the likes of Maynard in the near future for a title eliminator. Losing keeps him safely in the mid tier but neither fighter has any desire to stay there.
Stevenson needs this win, expect a back to basics approach with added aggression as he takes ‘king’ Fisher down and controls the fight to a late stoppage.
BOTTOM LINE: Stevenson by stoppage
Gleison Tibau Vs. Josh Neer
Gleison Tibau has gone 5-3 in his UFC career that stretches back three years now. He’s a fighter that always puts on a solid performance, has great grappling skills and can go the distance three hard rounds. He is, however, not about to challenge BJ Penn anytime in the near future.
Josh Neer is also coming off a decision loss, he’s better than Tibau in most ways and will most likely keep the fight on the feet until he’s forced to do otherwise. If Neer can stay standing it should be a decision win for him, I Tibau can bring it to the ground and keep it their then he can catch Neer.
BOTTOM LINE: Neer by decision
Cain Velasquez Vs. Ben Rothwell
This is a very important fight. It seems like only yesterday that this was destined to be a title eliminator between Carwin and Velaquez, now of course, Carwin finds himself with the first shot and Cain can’t be too far behind. Both Cain and Shane have long been heralded as the UFC’s best kept secrets and weapons of the heavyweight division and both men should get the chance to prove themselves very soon.
Ben Rothwell, of IFL fame, Has long sought respect as a top ten heavyweight in the sport but seldom found it due to sub standard competition. His most notable win was a split decision over Roy Nelson and his most notable opponent was Andre Arlovski who used his face as a speed bag last year. Rothwell hasn’t fought so far in 2009 and claims to have made massive improvements. Cain Velsquez is being heralded as the best fighter to come out of ATT (no mean feat).
Some fans question Velasquez’s chin after being dropped by Kongo in his last fight. I don’t think there’s much shame being dropped by possibly the best striker in the division, especially when you show a serious ability to recover and fight through the haze. More questionable surely was his inability to finish, despite a ferocious ground and pound that must have consisted of over a hundred punches to the head (just checked compustrike, it was 176), he failed to put Kongo away.
The fight goes like this: neither man will be afraid to stand and trade, Cain is a far superior wrestler. Good fight, expect Cain to fce the winner of Carwin Vs. Lesnar or alternatively Minotauro in a title eliminator.
BOTTOM LINE: Velasquez by decision
Lyoto Machida Vs. Mauricio Rua
Here we are at the main event and I really haven’t a whole lot to say. Lyoto is king of the hill and ‘Shogun’ is only taking the first shot because TUF 10 stole both contenders. A lot of questions will be answered after this event, such as: win or lose, where does Shogun stand in the lightheavyweight world; What is the selling power of Lyoto Machida in terms of PPV buys; Is the dragon as untouchable as some think.
Truth be told, It took me a long time to come round to the Machida hype, I thought people were blowing their horns too soon, he’d fought no one relevant in the division and he’d done so with a slow and boring pace that I knew for sure would have him ripped in two against his first real opponent. However, after tearing through Tito ortiz and Thiago Silva I was forced to think differently. Lyotos found a way to adapt a Karate base to a MMA style and that’s not something that’s ever been successful at this level, expect a thousand copycat cases to fail miserably over the next 2-3 years.
Shogun is a man whose had mixed success since coming into the UFC as the worlds #1 ranked lightheavy (mostly by Pride fanboys). He was slaughtered by gigantic lightheavyweight Forest Griffen and failed to put 40+ mark Coleman way until the last second, despite Coleman looking like he needed a Coroner. His last win, the only good fight of his UFC career, involved him knocking out a questionable Chuck Liddel and being pushed straight into the title picture. From a marketing point of view it makes sense, you can’t have the most famous fighter in MMA ‘retired’ and not capatalise on the victor, however, this will be no comeback story for Rua.
If Shogun fights dramatically unlike Shogun, he’s in with a slim chance. His best bet is to control distance and pick his shots to close into the clinch where he can most effectively utilise his striking skill, this involves avoiding any reap or sweep tactics from Machida. However, if the fight does find its way to the ground we have yet to see Machida be tested by someone with this high level of grappling and submission skills (fat BJ Penn in his wild rover years doesn’t count), it might be in Rua’s best interest to remember he once subbed Ricardo Arona and make BJJ his best friend again.
Lyoto’s approach is already known by everyone, that’s the beauty of having something that’s never been broken, you don’t have to fix it. Lyoto will use his wide stance and low guard to bait his opponent into over extending and constaantly attacking while he works out their range and timing and uses circular foot work to carry himself away from danger allowing him to get off with accurate power shots in the counter. If the fight goes to the ground or clinch it will be interesting to see what Machida does, I however, don’t see it ever coming that close.
Bottom line: Machida by spectacular knock out.
Despite some complaints, top to bottom it’s a pretty solid card with mostly contentious match ups, expect some post fight analysis from yours truly early next week and enjoy the event.
Any suggestions or corrections? email me at colmivers@gmail.com
Last nights episode of the ultimate fighter (season 10 episode 6) featured probably the worst fight of the six, and that is not to detract from Schoonover’s impressive striking and confidence to pull gurad. It comes down to this: You will often hear the phrase “even I could have done x” in relation to a sporting blunder, whether it be scoring a penalty, making a putt, etc.
last night was the first time I said it and meant it; I. Colm Ivers. could have escaped that triangle hold… and lost with impressive gusto immediately after, but I still could have escaped that triangle, classic case of a fighter losing mentally before the fights ended.
As a refresher, here’s a few ways of escaping a triangle:
Every time the UFC decides to expand into a different market; it happens. The specter of John McCain running the sport into the ground and forcing it into unsanctioned barns and Indian reservations.
Alas, the UFC’s planned domination of Australia has proven no different as this article will testify to:
yet another badly researched article claiming MMA will bring about the apocalypse
With such sterling observations as:
‘It’s madness. If this was the animal world, the RSPCA would come down on you like a ton of bricks.’
(I can do stereotypes too)
I’m pretty sure if we made the animal world drive a F1 car down he streets of Monte Carlo we’d evoke a similar sort of reaction but the fact is:
Journalists just don’t care about being right anymore.
This isn’t just about MMA but almost all editorials and press releases across the entire spectrum of news, science articles are at the very best misleading if not completely incorrect. Political commentary is half assed and watered down and everything is sensationalised and watered down for a much patronised audience whom the truth doesn’t seem to mean a whole lot to.
It’s a mouthful I know but it’s the truth, Perhaps I’ll save the wealth of examples and proof of this for another article but when you examine this particular Australian editorial… They called it ‘pound and ground’… they got even that wrong; not to mention claiming it was illegal to throw in the towel (yeah it’s a foul, like spoiling your vote, it’s half the point).
This happened when the UFC came to Germany earlier this year and I fear it’s not the last time it will come up. While their are still people in this world who resist womens boxing becoming an Olympic sport and even those who still do not accept boxing; there will be millions who get up in arms when they see a person being ‘pounded and grounded’ (sic)
Just be aware that the majority of the public still doesn’t even know what MMA is and arm yourself for the inevitable argument and defence against those who fail to comprehend the difference between violence and sport.
No I don’t intend to do a show by show commentary like the phat UFC critics on youtube, but I did want to make a couple of observations on last nights testosterone drama.
Firstly, can we please stop pandering to Kimbo?
He lost, yet we spent what felt like half the show listening to confessional interviews about how awesome he was doing it. “Champions have lost in that (crucifix) position,” so have losers.
He’s a good fighter, better than most probably give him credit for, seems like a nice guy, he’s 34 and never going on a serious title run, there’s 15 younger fighters with better games I’d like to learn more about.
Secondly, wow Rampage abandons his fighter after the loss, that was really quite upsetting. However, I get the feeling we may be witnessing some crafty editing here, Ken Shamrock came off looking like an incredibly amateur moron who didn’t care at all about his fighters when he had his stint on TUF 3.
It does make for interesting viewing though; hearing the difference between the advice the two camps gave, watching Rashads fighter warming up on the pads and primal screaming while Rampage’s team sit around and relax.
Can we expect more of this kind of editing and show to follow Rampage’s shock retirement and withdrawal from the fight with Rashad? Would they actually change the show because of that? It’s easy to speculate but watching Demico Rogers experience his first loss on a stool in the middle of a cage while his coaches berated him from a distance was pretty awful.
you can expect to hear from me again if something noteworthy happens next week 🙂
Let’s get one thing straight rom the get-go:
When I say bad-boy i do NOT mean the moody, angry type of guy who still has time to gel his hair and style his beard. Not the leather jacket, deep in his thoughts, young girls wanna nail kinda bad boy.
I’m also not talking about the would be tough guys and fire starters who are all trash talk and no action.
I’m talking about the bad guys, the seriously dangerous “do not mess with” men of MMA.
Without further ado, your winners are:
3. Gilbert Yvel
A mid Tier fighter at best who’d do well to stay in K1. He recently knocked out a long past his prime Pedro “the rock” Rizzo after losing a third round stoppage to Josh Barnett
(before Josh tested positive for a banned substances for the third time in his career, destroying our chance of seeing the most relevant heavy weight match up outside of the UFC between himself and Fedor… but this is a rant for another day)
Gilbert is best known for his complete lack of sportsmanship with many calling into question the California state athletic commission’s decision to license him stateside. ‘Why’ you ask?
a picture tells a thousand words and many thousand moving pictures will give you a pretty clear picture, here is Gilbert’s finest hour captured on film for all to cherish:
Add in a few DQ’s, holding his yellow card in the air with pride and generally being a scum bag and you’ve got a pretty good idea as to why he comes in at number three.
2. Joe Son
WOW! I’m actually writing about Joe Son, I knew this day would come but where to start? How do I get out all I have to say?
Ok from the start:
Joe Son first appeared at UFC 3 as Kimo Leopaldo’s manager.
A quick note on Kimo; say the words ‘cage fighter’ to someone who doesn’t know the sport, they’d probably think of someone a lot like Kimo.
He’ll be remembered for a few things:
Joe Son then made his next … ever see Austin Powers? he was Random Task, they Asian guy who threw the shoe, sorry had to get that off my brain.
Where was I? Oh right, he appeared in the subsequent UFC tournament as a fighter and pulled the same crazy giant wooden cross trick.
His opponent was Keith Hackney, a supposed ninja who struck Joe Son in the balls about 13 times to take the win. Groin shots did not become a foul until UFC 14.
Joe Son also claimed to be a master of his own martial arts style called “Joe Son Do” (I am not making any of this up) the style seemed to include a little wrestling, no ground game after the take down and putting your chin in the air as if inviting your opponent to hit it flush with their fist.
the following video should fill you in on the treat that the tiny, misguided little man was to the online MMA community for many years. Truly, he was the butt of every joke and a complete gag, everything from his goaté to his 0-4 record.
But last year, he stopped being a harmless joke. On October 7th 2008 he was arrested in connection to a gang rape involving him and another male assailant that took place in 1990.
Son has been charged with five felony counts of forcible rape, two felony counts of forcible sodomy, two felony counts of sodomy in concert by force, seven felony counts of forcible oral copulations, one felony count of sexual penetration by foreign object by force, and sentencing enhancements for kidnapping to commit sexual assault, personal use of a firearm, use of a firearm during a sex offense, and great bodily injury to sexual assault victim.
If convicted, the 39-year-old Son faces a maximum sentence of 275 years to life in prison.
This alleged rape took place 4 years before he carried that ridiculous cross on his back, I guess now we know he had something to seek forgiveness for, also it’s hard to hold it against Hackney for punching his testicles in.
In truth, all stories I’ve heard from people who have actually met him both during and prior to his fight career point to Son being something of a mad man, someone mentally ill and in dire need of some help. A truly sad ending to such a funny story.
There have been no developments on his case up to the time of this publication.
1. Lee Murray
“Lightning” Lee Murray, the movie is in the works and reports point to Darren Aronofsky of “The Wrestler” fame as director.
For those unfamiliar with Lee, he’s suspected of masterminding the biggest bank robbery of all time, over 50 million British pounds. He’s currently in Morocco and residing in a small cramped cell awaiting judgment on his extradition to Britain.
Below I’ve included a short documentary to catch you up on Lee’s criminal undertakings. The reason he makes it top of this list is three fold:
1. He pulled off the biggest heist of all time
2. He knocked out Tito Ortiz in a bar fight
3. In his last fight he went three round with greatest fighter on the planet Anderson Silva. No shame dropping a decision to the best and remarkable that he could even hang that long with him (just ask Rich Franklin)
If Murray had stuck with the sport he could have been a star, what Michael Bisping is now but a few years earlier and a viable middleweight contender or champion. of course we’ll never know, i wonder does he ever think about it while lying in his tiny Moroccan prison cell. My money says it’s probably the only thing on his mind.
Those who failed to make the grade:
So their you have it folks, three genuine scum bags and a hand full of lesser losers (in some regards at least).
You can expect a few more articles over the next couple of weeks and I’ll put together a pre-show package for UFC 104
other than that, watch the ultimate fighter and laugh at the out of shape heavy weights, Wes Shivers actually made me feel good about my cardio, like maybe I can afford to skip that third round of circuit training.
-Colm Ivers
Did I get something wrong? Any suggestions? email me at colmivers@gmail.com
After years of blackballing the biggest MMA website and news source in the world has had its press credentials restored by the biggest MMA promotion in the world. If you’re unfamiliar with the feud i suggest a quick google followed by a lot of interesting reading.
however, neither sherdog nor any other news outlet seemed to think this was a news worthy story, i clearly on the other hand disagree.
enjoy.
For a sport with foundations as shaky and carnival like as MMA, it’s not hard to understand why it’s come across its fair share of crazy and dubious moments. Strangely, all the bouts below are from the last couple of years, and the controversy comes from the surroundings of the fight rather than the matches themselves.
Think I missed one better? email me at colmivers@gmail.com
5. Nick Diaz Vs. Takanori Gomi
Pride 33 – Second Coming
February 24, 2007
Thomas & Mack Center,
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
what happened:
Nick Diaz upset Gomi in what was easily a fight of the year candidate, it marked the end of Gomi’s dominant status at lightweight and the return of a dedicated and dangerous Nick Diaz.
The controversy:
The Nevada state athletic commission overturned Diaz’s victory and ruled the fight a no contest after Diaz tested positive for a banned substance. This was smack in the middle of the steroids explosion in MMA of 2007, when suddenly fighters were testing positive all over the board (probably a symptom of increased testing rather than a new found fad amongst fighters)
The difference here was simple however, Diaz didn’t test positive for your typical performance enhancers, he was found to have been taking cannabis. I must stress the term performance enhancer because despite what we all know about this indolence inducing drug, NSAC doctor Tony Alamo seemed to believe that Diaz had so much of the drug in his system it lessened his ability to feel pain and as such gave him an unfair advantage over his opponent.
“Mr. Diaz was 175.(a THC level of 50 was the limit in Nevada at the time of testing) This creates a unique situation. I was there at this fight and believe that you were intoxicated and… that it made you numb to the pain. Did it help you win? I think it did.”
What followed was a debate over state law in California which allows for medicinal cannabis use as Diaz was later denied a license for Elite XC based on what Armando Garcia described as a ‘verbal test’ over the phone, as a fiveouncesofpain.com article read: “at least test the guy and suspend him based on those grounds”. The mans bad judgment and lunacy often knew no bounds and luckily his successors have done much to improve on his position, but that’s an article for another day.
The result:
One of the most important fights of one of the most important years in the sports short history will forever carry an astrix and a tale that overshadows the quality of the fight itself.
4. BJ Penn Vs. George St. Pierre II
UFC 94
January 31, 2009
MGM Grand Garden Arena,
Las Vegas, Nevada
What happened?
BJ Penn wins the lightweight title (third times a charm) and asserts his dominance over the division. Finally living up to the hype and fanfare he entered the sport with, he elects to move up to welterweight (again) and challenge GSP (again) for the divisions title (again). BJ fails to avenge his previous loss and is plain outworked by a much stronger GSP who makes BJ work hard for much of the first and then smothers him for the next two rounds. BJ doesn’t come out for the fourth. It wasn’t quite the superfight the UFC brass hyped it up to be but at least fans could look forward to hearing about something else, right?
The controversy:
GREASEGATE! During the course of the fight someone in BJ’s camp pointed out officials that one of GSP’s corner men was rubbing a vasoline clad hand (used for shielding the face from potential cuts) into the French Canadians back. NSAC top dog Kieth Kizer reportedly confronted trainer Greg Jackson during the course of the fight and a complaint was made by BJ and camp following the fight.
BJ and his attorney (and his mom… no seriously) all made statements in regards the matter with the probable goal of:
1.having the decision overturned to DQ or NC
2.Convincing the fans and the UFC that a third pairing was necessary
Unfortunately for BJ, most media coverage was quite negative as the case did seem to drag for an eternity, Sherdog radio host TJ DeSantis actually threatened to cut any callers who mentioned greasing or vasoline. Most editorials on the net painted BJ as a whiner and sore loser, something he takes personally to this day, BJ went as far as to say that he refused Sherdog’s Greg savage access to his training camp in the run up to the Florian fight because he couldn’t produce one article from the site in BJ’s favour. (something Savage later denied was ever discussed)
Kieth Kizer downplayed BJ’s efforts and even belittled them on occasion:
“Anyone can come to me and say, ‘Keith, we think there is a concern here. We think you should look at this… I have no plans to bring a complaint against anybody in this case,”
In the end, GSP and Jackson apologized for any inadvertent wrong doings and despite a few more allegations that this had been an ongoing problem with GSP, the fans and media seemed to forgive and move on, as did baby-Jay, though the incident clearly left a bitter taste in his mouth.
The result:
Worthy and deserving contenders Thiago Alves and Kenny Florian had to wait what must have seemed like an eternity for their respective title shot’s, Florian’s made worse by not knowing if BJ would retire after the bout win or loss and fans spent several weeks reading about GSP’s greasy back.
3. Hermes Franca Vs Sean Sherk
UFC 73 – Stacked
July 7, 2007
ARCO Arena,
Sacramento, Calif.
What happened:
Sherk defended his title for the first time since beating Kenny Florian, a five round fight ensues, the tale of which was Sherk controlling on the ground convincingly but displaying Dan Severn like inability to finish the fight, Franca kept things interesting by dropping Sherk a couple of times with heavy knees. Sherk takes the decision and retains the title.
The Controversy:
Both fighters tested positive for steroids. The fight became the exclamation point of what would be a very ugly year in MMA where the rampant steroid problem would become very apparent. This fight became the morbid poster boy because not only was it a title fight but both fighters were using, so regardless of the result there would have been a cheating champion (I love alliteration).
What followed the initial storm and confusion was two very different responses:
Hermes Franca apologised before the commission, claimed he was taking the substance to aid recovery, he needed the money to feed his family, knew he’d done wrong, etc. etc.
Sherk on the other hand went a very different route; he denied use, claimed the tests were wrong, hired a lawyer and went to war against the CSAC. In Sherks defence, the actions and behaviour of the mostly misguided commission (this was the height of the Armando Garcia days) were nothing short of dubious, they seemed to make the rules as they went along and stacked the chips in there favour against Sherk and what seemed to be very plausible evidence worth investigation and consideration.
In the end, Sherks sentence was reduced but upheld, the UFC and Dana White had no choice but to strip him of his title (they had held off doing so for as long as they could) and pit BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson against each other for the now vacant title.
The result:
Sherk maintains his innocence to the present day and not in an OJ Simpson way but in an active and angry way, his determination to deny wrong doing is actually quite convincing at the best of times but unfortunately his levels were above the limit (not by much mind you) and he is therefore a steroid user until such time as he has that judgment over ruled.
BJ went on to talk nothing but trash against Sherk from the moment the story broke, this resulted in Sherk being booed by the crowd after BJ’s win, something Sherk took quite personally, he even refused to sign autographs after it happened.
Sherk would get a title shot soon after but he failed to deal with BJ’s jab and was badly out struck by the Hawaiian, he remains one of the top lightweights in the world and gradually the fans have stopped booing.
Franca has since returned to the UFC and racked up a 1 – 1 and is scheduled to fight again at UFC 103.
After this incident it seemed like there wasn’t a week that went by without an MMA fighter testing positive for steroids, between both competitors using in a title fight and the original ultimate fighting champion Royce Gracie failing a test that would have made Elvis proud, it was clear that MMA had lost its innocence, it was now a real sport, for better and sadly worse.
2. Kevin ‘Kimbo Slice’ fergusson Vs. Seth Petruzelli
EliteXC – Heat
October 4, 2008
BankAtlantic Center,
Sunrise, Fla.
What happened:
Seth Petruzelli, a TUF vet who didn’t quite hack it in the UFC is moved up from the under card as a last second replacement for Ken Shamrock to face off against Kimbo for the CBS broadcast main event. Shamrock had cut himself with an accidental head butt while warming up earlier in the day and was denied clearance to fight, of all the replacements to pit against Slice they picked a no win situation; a Petruzelli win would cripple Elite XC’s credibility as it would take out there main meal ticket and at the same time provide Dana White with all the fodder he needed, A Kimbo win would result in a far less marketable outcome then taking out a big name such as Shamrock. Frank Shamrock offered to take the fight but it was deemed by management that getting him clearance to fight would be too difficult. In the end, Petruzelli threw two teeps and a short right hand, he dropped the massive striker in less time than it took to text the result to a friend. In the background you could clearly see Jared Shaw (general PR guy without a real job description) reacting like he’d watched his family die in a car crash, an unprofessional and all to telling display of how much stock they put into the over hyped Slice, he later apologised for this on Sherdogs ‘Beatdown’. Elite XC folded less than a week following the event.
The Controversy:
There’s actually a hell of a lot of things I could focus on here but we’ll stick to the one pertaining to the sport. In a post fight interview (with who) Petruzelli let slip that he was told to stand with Kimbo and keep it off the ground
“The promoters kinda hinted to me and they gave me the money to stand and throw with him, they didn’t want me to take him down. Let’s just put it that way. It was worth my while to try and stand up punch him”
This naturally caused something of a storm, Dana White was right on the case issuing a response that damned Elite XC for not caring about MMA and requesting an investigation into the incident.
The eventual result was released On October 23, 2008, by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, no wrong doing was found to have occurred, not that that mattered by then. Elite XC, which had long been in serious financial trouble, was in the process of negotiating a refinancing deal that would have saved there skin and allowed them to continue trying if even just for a little longer. However, after the stand up scandal broke the deal fell through and Elite XC crumbled.
The result:
Elite XC fell apart and left a sour taste in the mouth of fans, fighters, and most importantly: network television executives, MMA was off national television and had left an appalling impression, miraculously, CBS and Showtime were still interested in MMA and eventually picked up the diligent hard working and never over stretching Strike-force to pick up where the Shaws had left off.
Several promotions snapped up by the Pro elite parent company such as King of the cage and Cage rage were washed away in the the collapse, the move almost obliterated the middle tier of MMA leaving basically no one to compete in the middle ground and destroying years of history and cumulative work in these smaller promotions. (I still miss Cage rage contenders visits to Dublin)
Seth Petruzelli took this momentum and did basically nothing with it, he still hasn’t competed since the win. Kimbo also disapeared and eventually signed up to appear on TUF season 10, Dana White eventually got the best end of the stick as when Kimbo loses on the show he will have gotten all the ratings Slice brings but none of the soreness when he falls.
The Shaws exited MMA (there’s always a silver lining).
1.Kyle Maynard Vs Bryan Fry
April 25th, 2009
an out door venue near Auburn University campus, Alabama
What happened:
Bryan Fry keeps Maynard at a distance with his jab and wins a three round decision.
The controversy:
Kyle Maynard had no arms or legs.
Now i hate to use the word freak show so early in this paragraph but it’s unfortunately hard to avoid, Kyle Maynard is an inspirational young man who despite the fact is missing forearms and shins (and hands) has accomplished more athletically and shows more balls and heart than I or any other man reading this will ever know in their entire life, regardless of how hard we try. He set weightlifting records, competed successfully in amateur wrestling, wrote a book and appeared on the likes of Oprah and Larry Kings shows on TV. I have nothing but respect for the man and wish for nothing more than to be a fraction of the man he is, honestly, he’s a hero and an inspiration.
…But I still laughed during the fight (I’m going straight to hell, straight to hell) the sight of limbless man scurrying around the mat at break neck speed like a dog chasing an opponent who did his best Kalib Starnes impression (look it up) for 15 minutes was unpalatable, at times funny, at times creepy and deeply unsettling, reminiscent of Tod Browning’s freaks. I do feel bad but let’s face it, this was a freak show fight. The only reason anyone covered it in the media was because of that, the only reason anyone bought a ticket to the minuscule event was because of that. I was really just relieved he didn’t get hurt.
The result:
A couple things came out of this fight, the most important of which was this: MMA was a sport people dreamed about, it now had its Rudy, its story of a man who dreamed of stepping into the sport and tasting it if even just for a second, MMA was a dream come true and something people aspire to do and partake in, huge stuff really considering most of the planet still don’t know it exists and if they do, don’t like it.
Maynard also proved he’s the bravest man on the planet, most of us wouldn’t be too keen to go into a cage against a trained opponent, let alone at a disadvantage such as his. My real hope though is that Maynard has satiated his thrist and can now retire the four ounce fingerless gloves, mission accomplished.
“I didn’t win tonight,” Maynard said. “I have to get back on the horse and perfect things. This has given me a taste. I want to get back in there and do it again. I’m only 23 years old. I’ve got a lot of time left athletically.”
With any luck Maynard will sleep tonight and have a dream that’s easier to watch.
Quotes sourced from sherdog.com and fiveouncesofpain.com
photos sourced from sherdog.com and bloody elbow.com
Man up 