MMA Commentary

There’s a wide, wide, WIDE, bit of speculation circling the web about Kimbo and Seth Petruzelli. And the truth is, not much is going to change.

Kimbo is not an elite fighter. He’s a sideshow, for lack of a better word. He has a look, he fights the way people expect him to fight, and his name has value. What’s going to happen with Kimbo is that he’s going to fight Shamrock down the line. He’ll pummel him, and he’ll continue to pummel aging veterans, or upstart rookies until he retires, or runs into someone that can throw a decent punch. This was not an upset. This was just what happens when you put in an inexperienced fighter in there against someone who can throw a coherent jab. Kimbo is Houston Alexander, he’s Tank Abbot. He’ll go in there, throw a bunch of haymakers, until him or his opponent falls down. When Dana said he could put BJ Penn in there against Kimbo, and BJ would win, he wasn’t kidding.

I don’t want to take anything away from Seth’s victory, but he was a much more dangerous fight then Ken Shamrock. Look at Seth’s record before the Kimbo fight: 9 – 4 with 8 TKOs, 1 Decision. His losses include 3 submissions and 1 decision. Let’s face it, Kimbo wasn’t going to sub him, and as witnessed by his fight against James Thompson, he probably was going to have a hard time knocking him out. Seth will continue to be what he is, a journeyman fighter, picking up wins against lesser skilled opponents, and getting beaten by people with a greater skill set. This victory is exactly like Frank Mir’s victory over Brock Lesnar. The veteran beat the rookie, it happens. It doesn’t mean Seth is all of a sudden a great fighter.

Well, that was an interesting night. Here’s my thoughts:

Ken Shamrock R E T I R E

You completely ruined my night, i hope you are happy. Not that I really cared about this fight, but I had geared myself up for it, and was ready to see how Shamrock was going to go down. How you manage to get a big gash over your eye hours before a fight is beyond me. Ken could be the reason that Elite XC is done for, since a man named Seth just put the kaebosh on the Kimbo hype train.

Murilo Rua STICK TO BJJ

Man I don’t know why he’s getting into slug fests with huge guys that are known as powerful strikers. He should have been trying to take him down and control him from the beginning. Instead he decides to go toe to toe with a powerful striker. The inevitable happens and Ninja gets his head bounced off the canvas.

Three Minute Rounds? WTF?

Why are women fight rounds three minutes? Anybody? If you want anyone to take this division seriously, then you shouldn’t be making them look weaker by limiting the time they have in the cage.

Gina vs. Cyborg has to Happen

It’s the inevitable bout, but it probably won’t end favorably for Elite XC. Cyborg looks like a beast out there, while Gina looks good, just not as quick and powerful as Cyborg. It’ll be a shame to see Gina’s face rearranged, but the fight needs to happen.

Andrei Almost Let Girth Win

The first round of the fight was a scary thing to watch. You almost got the feeling that Andrei was going to lose. Thankfully he had a great second round to take care of the planet out of orbit known as Big Country.

Jake Shields Ain’t Bad

Jake Shields is not a bad fighter, but to say that he’d be a top welterweight in the UFC is a ridiculous statement. He doesn’t have good hands, he has weak ground and pound, and he manages to get by with good Jiu Jitsu.

Kimbo vs. Seth…

When I heard the name Seth Petruzelli I remembered him immediately. The guy from TUF that had some crazy kicks and almost knocked Brad Imes the fuck out. I knew that this fight was actually going to be tougher than Kimbo’s fight against Ken.

As Seth backed into the fence, I thought he was going to take a dive. I didn’t understand the move, it looked like he was going to be a sitting duck. Then he throws a front kick, and while on one leg he lands a right jab that puts Kimbo down to the mat. I had to watch the replay a couple of times to see what punch did it. It has to be one of the weakest punches I’ve ever seen put someone to the canvas. He then proceeds to pound on Kimbo’s head and win the fight.

You could hear the hearts break of the Elite XC owners as Seth did his run of victory around the cage. You could even hear it over the inane yelling of the announcers acting like this was a huge upset.

Unfortunately, Kimbo isn’t going anywhere. They’ll probably get Shamrock healed up and put Kimbo against him somewhere down the road. After Kimbo beats down Shamrock, we’ll see the hype train motioning forward again.

As I clicked through my list of MMA news web sites, I came across an article that claimed to have five good fights for Anderson Silva. After viewing the list, I can’t help but agree with Anderson Silva’s recent thoughts of retirement. If this list is the best he’s got going for him, than he should retire right now!

1. Matt Lindland
2. A Top 10 Light Heavyweight
3. Georges St-Pierre
4. Robbie Lawler
5. Michael Bisping

- Source

Matt Lindland is done, Robbie Lawler and Bisping would get smashed. GSP is an interesting fight, but I still think Anderson would beat him, plus who knows what will happen in the BJ Penn vs. GSP fight. That leaves the Top 10 Light Heavyweights. Now here’s a list with some chest hair:

1. Chuck Liddell

Chuck is basically only good for a couple more fights. Why not make a match that is pretty much guaranteed to end in a brutal KO or TKO. Send Chuck Liddell out in a blaze of glory. I guarantee this match would sell more PPV’s than Couture vs. Lesnar.

2. Quinton Jackson

After Anderson puts Chuck out to pasture, another huge match up would be against Rampage. If Anderson ended up destroying Chuck, the only logical step would be towards putting down the only man to beat Chuck twice.

3. Whoever is Champion at the Time

Let’s face it, the Light Heavyweight Championship belt is going to be passed around a lot. The division is too stacked to keep it around one waist. If Forrest has the belt, than that would be a good fight for Anderson. The only wrinkle in this plan is if Lyoto Machida gets the belt, because Anderson has pretty much stated he wouldn’t fight him.

4. Wanderlei Silva

I don’t know if Anderson would fight Silva, as I believe they are friends, but it would be an exciting as hell matchup.

5. Thiago Silva

Thiago is huge and a brutal striker. Another exciting matchup for Anderson.

Let’s face it, there’s nothing left for him at 185. Sure Demian Maia is rising up the ranks, but that doesn’t mean he’d be able to deal with what Anderson Silva is dealing out. He should make a permanent move up to 205, and retire the undisputed pound-for-pound champ.

GSP Dominates

I guess 110% of Matt Hughes only equals about 65% of Georges St. Pierre.

Hughes will go back and question his career, while GSP will be sitting pretty for a while. Who knows how long it will be until Serra is back and that’s a reasonably marketable match up. However, there is one fighter that continues to loom in the background and is patiently waiting for their shot, and that’s Jon Fitch. If GSP were to beat Serra, and then take out Fitch, he’ll be the supreme ruler of the 170 division. The UFC can only hope this will happen, because GSP could be a very marketable fighter.

Hughes still has some fights left in him. He can face Karo Parysian, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, and even Diego Sanchez if he doesn’t decide to drop to the 155 division. There’s also the match against Arch Rival Matt Serra that was marketed for so long. Whether Serra wins or loses, he’d be up for a shot against him, so Hughes shouldn’t consider retiring just yet.

Chuck’s Still Here (In My Face)

I guess when I said the fact that styles make fights didn’t matter here. I was talking out of my ass. Chuck made me look foolish by putting a beatdown on Wanderlei. Silva looked TINY compared to Chuck, and the only time Chuck got hit is when he got into range. Chuck could have played it like Machida and just popped him at distance all three rounds. But, Chuck is Chuck. And he engaged with him multiple times, and almost paid for it, but Wanderlei was too slow to jump on a downed Liddell.

The questions still remain about the Pride guys. Shogun looked small against Forrest, but it could have had something to do with his knee, while Wanderlei looked so small, compared to his Pride days. The steroid questions still loom and with each fight they lose, the questions will get larger.

Chuck can face Shogun and probably land a title shot if he’s able to win. Chuck vs. Shogun would be an intriguing match up and would be a big seller.

Wanderlei could have his rematch with Tito, or go against a powerhouse slugger like Houston Alexander. Thiago Silva would also make a great match. It’s hard to tell if Wanderlei is going to be able to get himself set up for any type of a title shot. He’s got a long road ahead of him, and hopefully he’ll be able to regain some of the dominance that he once had.

Sokoudjou Overrated, or Lyoto Machida Underrated?

It’s a little of both. If you’re going to get in the ring/octagon and stand and trade with someone with as much power as Sokoudjou has, you’re asking for trouble. The guy is so strong, he has the kind of power to knock just about anyone out. He’s still a raw talent and has a much better head on his shoulders than Melvin. He’ll come back strong.

Lyoto is looking like the man to beat in the 205 division right now. Lyoto will get the tasks of fighting the fights nobody wants and that fight is against Keith Jardine. A win against Jardine would cement a shot against the Champion, or at the very least, a fight against Liddell. His path to the belt is almost complete.

Melvin Continues to be a Waste of Talent

Melvin is just not good on the big stage. He needs to go to the WEC and learn how to win again. He needs to check his attitude and ego at the door, get re-centered, and make a comeback. The guy is pure, raw talent, and he’s squandering it at the moment. The good thing for him is that he’s so young; he can lose fights now and still have a good career.

There are murmurings around the net about Rich Clementi’s little crotch chop to Melvin after beating him. Why anyone thinks this was unjustified is beyond me. Melvin got in the ring, walked over and gave him the double middle finger. Melvin is just lucky Rich didn’t hold in the choke and put him unconscious. Melvin brought this all on himself, and now he has to once again get back on the recovery trail.

As being widely reported around the blogosphere, M-1 offered the UFC a chance to cross-promote and bring Randy vs. Fedor to the fans.

“We got an official offer from M-1 to the UFC to do a co-promotion for the Couture-Emelianenko fight, and they (UFC) rejected that offer. Really, the only thing standing in the way for that fight right now is Dana and the UFC. Obviously, M-1 is happy to do a co-promotion like that. It only serves to help them. I think the UFC is looking at it the other way, and it’s like why do we want to help out another organization? The fans want to see that fight. At some point, you have to put that first.”

- Source

So let’s go over the pros and cons of the matter.

PRO

If Randy wins, he successfully KILLS M-1 in the process. The only thing M-1 has going for itself is Fedor. If Randy knocks Fedor off his pedestal, then say goodnight M-1. One of the few reasons why M-1 would offer this chance to the UFC is because they KNEW the UFC would say no, thus making the UFC look bad in the process.

CON

The UFC allows M-1 to enter the casual fans’ scope. Do we really believe that the casual fan is all of a sudden going to jump on the M-1 bandwagon? M-1 has no bandwagon! It’s stalled at the interstate after people dove off when they announced Fedor was going to be fighting Choi Hong Man!

PRO

This is a SUPERFIGHT. This is a dream matchup for a lot of fans, deservedly or not, and people want to see this fight. This is a chance at big money. With lackluster PPV main events lately, the UFC is going to need some kind of punch down the road. Lesnar vs. Mir is not what I call a great main event. The label Superfight has been tossed around lately; the inevitable Pulver vs. Faber fight has been labeled a SUPERFIGHT by some. If no one watches a fight, does it still make a sound?

CON

Randy loses. Randy will not be the Heavyweight title holder at the time. You get that matter settled before you have this fight take place. Although if Nogueira beats Sylvia, Dana White will look doubly as bad about saying Fedor is not a top-5 Heavyweight. Randy losing is not the end of the world. He’ll have gotten the last fight he wanted in his career, and Fedor and M-1 will go back to living in obscurity. The only way M-1 is going to benefit from this is if they some how parlay it into a television deal. It’s doubtful that they’ll be able to accomplish this, with one big fighter and you know… Nothing else.

This fight is most likely going to take place eventually. The UFC may drown Randy in legalities, but eventually he’ll be able to fight again. The UFC maintains control, whether it happens under their banner or not.

I don’t mind nicknames that are actually viable to the person. Georges “Rush” St. Pierre, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, Frank “Twinkletoes” Trigg, etc. But now they’re just playing mad libs with peoples nicknames. This isn’t the WWE, not every fighter needs a nickname, and at the very least the nickname doesn’t need to be stupid.

Here’s some of the new ones that the UFC or whoever, has picked out for some of the TUF guys.

Billy Miles – “The Kid”

Oh.. I get it, Billy the kid. Real fucking original.

Ben Saunders – “Killa B”

Not only did they spell Killer, the gangstah way. They have the nerve to leave out the EE in BEE. It’s a nickname some dumb 12 year old kid would use in Halo 3.

Richie Hightower - “The Dirty Samurai”

I don’t even know what that’s supposed to mean. It sounds like a disgusting sex move that Dustin “Screech” Diamond used in his sex tape.

And then just pulling from various parts of the UFC site you have these gems of wisdom.

• Eddie Sanchez – “The Manic Hispanic”
• Marcus Davis “The Irish Hand Grenade”
• Josh Burkman “The People’s Warrior”
• Josh Haynes “Bring The Pain”

I think Mike Goldberg must be coming up with these nicknames, because he has no friends and needs something to do in the downtime. They sound cheesy enough to be something that came out of his mouth.

The moral of the story is… Well… There is no moral. Enough with these stupid ass nicknames, they make the sport look ridiculous. Keep with using nicknames sparingly, instead of lobbing them against a wall and seeing which sticks.

Frank Mir talks Lesnar, and Frank Trigg talks Clothing.

As most of you know, Serra has dropped out of the fight due to a back injury. I found out and was told that I get to basically pick my opponent. The UFC had called some welterweights, some said they wouldn’t take the fight; but ultimately I got to choose and I chose Georges St. Pierre. I asked to fight GSP.I think there are a few things that will be in my favor in doing this. I get to fight in Vegas, what I consider my home fighting area, NOT Canada. I don’t think it’s a big deal to switch an opponent over a month out, it’s just not a concern for me. Before I was fighting a guy holding the belt, now I’m fighting a guy that I consider number two in the world. Anyone who thinks this fight will be like the second fight with GSP will be shown wrong on December 29th. THIS IS MY FIGHT!

- Source

Apparently Matt Hughes believes in home field advantage. The only problem is, home field advantage is determined by the fans, and the fans will be rooting for GSP. If the fight was maybe in, IOWA, then I’d say he had a SLIGHT advantage.

I don’t think it’s a big deal to switch an opponent over a month out, it’s just not a concern for me.

Of course it’s not a concern for YOU. What does it change? Sure you have to alter your game plan, but you shouldn’t have been worrying about a game plan 5 weeks out.

This just sounds like another situation where Matt Hughes thinks he’s outsmarted everyone, and nobody can see why he’d think that way.

The casual fan is the reason why you’re able to see Shogun vs. Forrest, they’re the reason you are able to see Wand vs. Chuck. (JINX LOL.)

They buy the merchandise, they popularize the sport, they make the UFC a huge amount of money. This is not to say that the hardcore fans aren’t worth shit, they are important for the legitimacy of the sport. If you don’t keep the hardcore fans happy, they have no incentive to spread their blood lust to people they know, thus word of mouth fails. Hardcore fans are your foundation, while your Casual fans sit on top looking pretty.

So when you hear about the UFC doing something you deem as “stupid.” Think about what the casual fan thinks. Do you think the casual fan knows who the fuck Fedor is? No. They think a Fedor is a kind of dog. That’s why the UFC didn’t dump a huge load of money at his feet. The casual fan knows the UFC stars, they know Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, and Matt Hughes. This is why the UFC has done whatever they could to smooth over this Randy Couture situation, because he’s of huge value to them. This is also why Chuck Liddell will continue to get high profile fights, because he’s well known, and no matter how many times he loses, his name is still going to sell tickets, and will still lead to exciting fights.

Unfortunately for us hardcore fans, this is how we get shitty main events like Bisping vs. Rashad. While we may not give a fuck who wins, the casual fan recognizes the names, and will still fork over a load of money to see them fight.