On Saturday Feb. 21st, '09 the UFC brought their 95th numbered event to Spike TV. As is becoming the pattern for these free Spike shows, the live event was in England and there were no title fights or even top contender play offs. But Hey -- there was no pay per view bill either and the contestants were recognizable, so it was a pretty good deal anyway.
The main event pitted two former "The Ultimate Fighter" show, AKA "TUF" winners, both of whom had dropped weight and fights since their glory days on reality TV. Joe "Daddy" Stevenson had dropped from being a welter weight on the show, to a light weight, got his light weight title shot and was overwhelmed by B. J. Penn. Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez had already dropped from middleweight to welterweight in search of a title and on that evening was dropping yet again, this time all the way to lightweight, in hopes of garnering a title strap. Sanchez has a strong wrestling background and on TUF displayed high level submission skills. Stevenson is a Brazilian Jujitsu black belt who is noted for his slick and powerful ground finishes. Both men had been working on their stand up skills though and unfortunately that is what they decided to showcase at UFC 95.
The first round saw Joe "Daddy" stalking with some ineffective boxing techniques. Meanwhile "The Nightmare" backed up and countered with a wider variety of striking methods and was somewhat more effective than his antagonist. The second round was highlighted by a Stevenson guillotine choke attempt and Sanchez power slamming "Daddy" into the canvas and shaking his way out of the strangle. Other than that, the 2nd round mimicked the first round's stand up .... action, but was even less effective on both fighter's parts. The 3rd round returned to the all stand up routine of the 1st round,but "Daddy" had figured out "The Nightmare's" counter strike strategy and nullified enough of it to make a pretty even round. Diego Sanchez won a clear cut decision in a "who cares?' match. It wasn't quite the classic Ken Shamrock vs. Dan Severn in the coma inducing slowest most boring match in MMA history, but it was yet another case of good grapplers showcasing their less than stellar striking skills. I doubt that either of these guys represent a serious threat to lightweight champion B. J. Penn ... or top contenders Kenny Florian and former champ Sean Sherk either.
In the upset of the year --- so far --- welterweight contender and former TUF star Josh Koscheck took on the unknown, but also undefeated Brazilian Paulo Thiago. Koscheck, the former NCAA Wrestling champion tore after the Brazilian police officer like a character from the HBO prison epic OZ. Koscheck had won his previous encounter with a devastating KO punch and was out to repeat that feat. His lead right hands looked powerful and on the mark ..... until Thiago dropped him with a picture perfect uppercut, hook combination. Koscheck hit the canvas Hard and bounced his head off the padded floor, so the ref stepped in and stopped the action before the Brazilian could jump on the fallen warrior and finish him off. This gave Paulo Thiago his 11th win against no losses with a 1st round TKO and gave Josh Koscheck a bit of a temper tantrum which was perhaps justified as his eyes seemed to stay clear throughout the ending of the match. Thiago probably would have hurt Koscheck bad enough to keep him out for a few months, had he been able to ground and pound the probably stunned (clear eyes or not)star, but at least it would have been a conclusive ending with out residual whining. I think the ref should have let the Brazilian continue his attack.
Chael Sonnen came to the UFC fresh from his win over the former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho. Unfortunately he didn't bring the title with him as Filho failed to make weight for their match. Waiting to meet him from the UFC middleweight ranks was undefeated and streaking Brazilian Jujitsu star Demain Maia. Maia was 10 - 0, had been displaying true jujitsu wizardry in his last few matches and had no intentions of impeding this flow ---- nor did he. In less than a single round, Maia had Sonnen in a near perfect triangle choke and tapped him out for Maia's 11th straight win and yet again with another spectacular submission.
Middle weight veteran Nate "The Great" Marquardt kept working towards a rematch with champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva with a 3rd round TKO win over top ranked Brazilian middleweight Wilson Gouveia. The match stayed pretty close until Marquardt exploded in the third round with a flurry of knees and hard right hands that cut and dropped his opponent for the stoppage. With both "M Boys", Marquardt and Maia on the rise, perhaps there is serious competition out there for Anderson Silva after all.
Jr. Dos Santos proved that his knock out of heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum was not a fluke by KOing new comer Stefan Struveziyrs in 54 seconds flat and Liverpool's own Terry Etim took out a substitute named Cobb in the 1st round, to the joy of the English crowd.
In the fight of the night Nottingham's notorious warrior, the flamboyant fighter, mohawk haired, Dan Hardy knocked out Militech Camp veteran Rory Markham in one minute and nine seconds of the 1st round. Both of these guys carried skillful stand up techniques and KO power into the ring, so this one was all excitement --- as long as it lasted.
UFC 95 was a wonderful display of tenacity, skill, technique and power ---- right up until the main event. Next up is UFC 96 on March 7th. Its a pay per view and features "Rampage" Jackson vs. Keith Jardine, with the winner most likely getting a shot at lightheavy weight champion Rashad "Sugar" Evans and Brazilian powerhouse Gabe Gonzaga facing the heavyweight division's newest star Shane Carwin. Till then -----
Good Night - Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
"A Good BIG MAN Will Always Beat A Good SMALL MAN - UFC 94
UFC 94 featured the Lightweight Champion challenging the Welterweight Champion for the Welterweight Title. On paper this match up looked to be a war for the ages as Lightweight Champ Baby Jake Penn was a former Welterweight Champion and had battled Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre to a close fought split decision loss in their one previous meeting. B. J. Penn had even publicly stated his post fight intentions to defend and hold both the lightweight and welterweight belts. What a fight looks like on paper and what actually happens on fight night are often two completely different scenarios though and adding cliche upon cliche, the reality of this match played out to simply fortify the ancient adage that states, "A Good Big Man will always defeat A Good Small Man."
This Superbowl Weekend Saturday Night Extravaganza was billed as a momentous historical event for the UFC and a potential fight of the year. Much was made of B. J. Penn having a new training ethic and regimen and that his previous weakness of skills over stamina would not be in evidence on this night. Both combatants entered the octagon at a supreme level of fighting fitness, but it was immediately evident that the Canadian was the bigger man. The first round was pretty even as they matched and neutralized each other's stand up skills and the lightweight champion managed to avoid the bigger man's takedown attempts. St. Pierre's strength and weight advantages began to come into play in the second round as he took Penn down, controlled him on the ground and opened a cut on the lightweight champion with an effective ground and pound attack. B. J. Penn looked tired as he emerged from his corner for the third round and apparently he was as the third and fourth rounds featured the same Georges St. Pierre take down and ground and pound skills as the second round had. Baby Jake's submission skills seemed to have deserted him and his strength and stamina were quick to follow. At the end of the fourth round Penn returned to his corner as an exhausted, battered and beaten fighter. Noting this one of B. J's brothers (they are all named Jake)who was working the corner pulled the plug, leaving GSP with his title and saving Baby Jake from further punishment. After the match, St Pierre exchanged pleasantries with Thiago "Pitbull" Alves, who will next challenge St. Pierre for the welterweight title. At least The Pitbull looked to be the same size as The Champion so it won't be another case of "A good small man and a good big man", but can anyone beat St. Pierre at welterweight or eventually will he have to move up to middleweight to find competition?
At 13 - 0 each, Lightheavy weights,Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva looked to be another classic match up --- and this one proved to be just that. Their styles were made for each other and for an exciting fight. Silva began his training at the famed Chute Box Academy in Curibita Brazil and still primarily uses their classic Thai Boxing style, although he has backed these skills up with extensive BJJ training. Lyoto Machida is half Japanese and half Brazilian and as his father is a long time master of Shotokan Karate, Loyoto has practiced that art since the age of three. He also has a blackbelt in BJJ and well rounded MMA skills, but he tends to use Shotokan's draw the opponent in and then counter his attack strategy. Thiago Silva's aggressive attacking Thai Kickboxing techniques were the yang to Machida's yin counter strikes. Throughout the first round Machida drew Silva into him. avoided Silva's heaviest strikes and caught him with crisp counter strikes. For his part, Silva kept advancing with a confidence that spoke of a coming change of scenario. Then suddenly, with the round almost over, Machida tripped Silva, pounced on him like a hungry cat and KO'd the kickboxer with one big punch, winning with one second remaining in the round. Lyoto Machida has put the UFC's talent laden 205 LB class on notice that there is a new sherif in town.
The show opened with three decision wins, the most exciting of which was new comer Jonny "Bones" Jones win over comebacking veteran Stephen "The American Psycho" Bonner. The 31 year old Bonner had been out due to injury for a full 15 months and his ring rust was evident. Facing him was an extremely athletic, outlandish, undefeated twenty one year old prospect. Jones only had seven fights under his belt to Bonner's 18, but the kid had no idea how to lose. Bonner was solid in the first two rounds, but over shadowed by the youngster's athleticism flashy speed and outstanding techniques like a beautiful spinning elbow score, a couple flashy kicks and amazing greco roman wrestling throws, including the ever popular suplex. Bonner's experience and very solid boxing skills came to the fore front in the third round, but it was too little too late and Jones walked away with the unanimous decision and his undefeated record in tact.
Welterweight vet Karo Parisyan took on the undefeated Korean Dong "Stun Gun" Kim. This match consisted of very even back and forth fence and ground control, equal take downs, unsuccessful submission attempts and ineffective striking. I saw it as a draw, but the official judges gave the split decision to Parisyan. Perhaps it was a consolation prize to make up for Joe Rogan blabing all over the air waves about Parisyan's problems with panic attacks ---- just what a fighter would want the entire MMA world to know --?? --!!
Welterweight standout Clay Guida faced the up and coming younger Diaz brother, Nate. This gave us an outstanding energy bunny wrestler against a Stockton street kid with enormous Brazilian Jujitsu skills, quick educated hands and a middleweight contender older brother to train with. Both these boys came to fight hard and they put on a good show. Diaz controlled the stand up war and the center of the cage with his crisp punching and effective kicking, but the energy laden wild carpenter scored the take downs, controlled the action against the cage and on the mat and even used the UFC's very first effective full nelson. Both these fighters looked good and should have earned future work, but the judges saw Clay Guida's wrestling skills as a bit more prevalent and gave him the split decision win.
UFC 94 might not have lived up to the hype of show of the year, but it was entertaining and well worth the pay per view cash.
Good Night - Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"
This Superbowl Weekend Saturday Night Extravaganza was billed as a momentous historical event for the UFC and a potential fight of the year. Much was made of B. J. Penn having a new training ethic and regimen and that his previous weakness of skills over stamina would not be in evidence on this night. Both combatants entered the octagon at a supreme level of fighting fitness, but it was immediately evident that the Canadian was the bigger man. The first round was pretty even as they matched and neutralized each other's stand up skills and the lightweight champion managed to avoid the bigger man's takedown attempts. St. Pierre's strength and weight advantages began to come into play in the second round as he took Penn down, controlled him on the ground and opened a cut on the lightweight champion with an effective ground and pound attack. B. J. Penn looked tired as he emerged from his corner for the third round and apparently he was as the third and fourth rounds featured the same Georges St. Pierre take down and ground and pound skills as the second round had. Baby Jake's submission skills seemed to have deserted him and his strength and stamina were quick to follow. At the end of the fourth round Penn returned to his corner as an exhausted, battered and beaten fighter. Noting this one of B. J's brothers (they are all named Jake)who was working the corner pulled the plug, leaving GSP with his title and saving Baby Jake from further punishment. After the match, St Pierre exchanged pleasantries with Thiago "Pitbull" Alves, who will next challenge St. Pierre for the welterweight title. At least The Pitbull looked to be the same size as The Champion so it won't be another case of "A good small man and a good big man", but can anyone beat St. Pierre at welterweight or eventually will he have to move up to middleweight to find competition?
At 13 - 0 each, Lightheavy weights,Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva looked to be another classic match up --- and this one proved to be just that. Their styles were made for each other and for an exciting fight. Silva began his training at the famed Chute Box Academy in Curibita Brazil and still primarily uses their classic Thai Boxing style, although he has backed these skills up with extensive BJJ training. Lyoto Machida is half Japanese and half Brazilian and as his father is a long time master of Shotokan Karate, Loyoto has practiced that art since the age of three. He also has a blackbelt in BJJ and well rounded MMA skills, but he tends to use Shotokan's draw the opponent in and then counter his attack strategy. Thiago Silva's aggressive attacking Thai Kickboxing techniques were the yang to Machida's yin counter strikes. Throughout the first round Machida drew Silva into him. avoided Silva's heaviest strikes and caught him with crisp counter strikes. For his part, Silva kept advancing with a confidence that spoke of a coming change of scenario. Then suddenly, with the round almost over, Machida tripped Silva, pounced on him like a hungry cat and KO'd the kickboxer with one big punch, winning with one second remaining in the round. Lyoto Machida has put the UFC's talent laden 205 LB class on notice that there is a new sherif in town.
The show opened with three decision wins, the most exciting of which was new comer Jonny "Bones" Jones win over comebacking veteran Stephen "The American Psycho" Bonner. The 31 year old Bonner had been out due to injury for a full 15 months and his ring rust was evident. Facing him was an extremely athletic, outlandish, undefeated twenty one year old prospect. Jones only had seven fights under his belt to Bonner's 18, but the kid had no idea how to lose. Bonner was solid in the first two rounds, but over shadowed by the youngster's athleticism flashy speed and outstanding techniques like a beautiful spinning elbow score, a couple flashy kicks and amazing greco roman wrestling throws, including the ever popular suplex. Bonner's experience and very solid boxing skills came to the fore front in the third round, but it was too little too late and Jones walked away with the unanimous decision and his undefeated record in tact.
Welterweight vet Karo Parisyan took on the undefeated Korean Dong "Stun Gun" Kim. This match consisted of very even back and forth fence and ground control, equal take downs, unsuccessful submission attempts and ineffective striking. I saw it as a draw, but the official judges gave the split decision to Parisyan. Perhaps it was a consolation prize to make up for Joe Rogan blabing all over the air waves about Parisyan's problems with panic attacks ---- just what a fighter would want the entire MMA world to know --?? --!!
Welterweight standout Clay Guida faced the up and coming younger Diaz brother, Nate. This gave us an outstanding energy bunny wrestler against a Stockton street kid with enormous Brazilian Jujitsu skills, quick educated hands and a middleweight contender older brother to train with. Both these boys came to fight hard and they put on a good show. Diaz controlled the stand up war and the center of the cage with his crisp punching and effective kicking, but the energy laden wild carpenter scored the take downs, controlled the action against the cage and on the mat and even used the UFC's very first effective full nelson. Both these fighters looked good and should have earned future work, but the judges saw Clay Guida's wrestling skills as a bit more prevalent and gave him the split decision win.
UFC 94 might not have lived up to the hype of show of the year, but it was entertaining and well worth the pay per view cash.
Good Night - Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"
Monday, December 29, 2008
THE CHANGING FACE OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS --UFC 92 .....Knockouts ....Knockouts ... Knockouts
The UFC's big end of the year show, "ULTIMATE '08" turned out to be a shining example of THE NEW FACE OF MMA. Gone are the days when the Gracie family members could pull guard, hold on tight, wait for their opponent to tire out from struggling against their weight .......... and then slip an arm bar or choke through their weary opponent's now sloppy defense. For a few years now MMA promoters in general and the UFC in particular have been remembering why actual professional wrestling gave way to its faster paced cousin exhibition wrestling ninety years ago. Quick submissions are as exciting as knockouts, but extended ground grappling is just too slow for the modern pace of life .......... and has been for a long time. As changing MMA rules shorten the time limits of non progressive action mat time and speed up stand ups, the pace of the fights accelerate proportionately. This faster action with less mat time results in a larger number of dynamic knockouts, but a lesser amount of submissions. UFC 92, AKA Ultimate '08 became the prime example of this change in the sport when All of the major fights ended in KO's or TKO's .... And the "Submission of the Night" award wasn't awarded ........... Because there wasn't a single submission on the entire card!
The evenings main event Lightheavy Weight Championship match between Season #1 The Ultimate Fighter winner and popular champion Forrest Griffin and the undefeated Season #2 TUF winner "Sugar" Rashad Evans featured two rounds of continual stand up action. Griffin seemed to be using his longer arms to good effect and with a good punch landed at the end of the 2nd round, he seemed to be slightly ahead. Then in the 3rd round Sugar Rashad asserted his dominate wrestling skills and scored a single leg take down -- off a well scored punch ... and then started swinging leather like a mad man and scored a ground and pound TKO win to become the new UFC Lightheavy Weight Champion.
In the co-main event of the show, Brazilian Jujitsu master black belt Antonio "Big Nog" Nogueira faced American Brazilian Jujitsu expert Frank Mir. Nogueria is a former PRIDE FC heavyweight champion and entered the ring holding the ambiguous "Interim Heavyweight Championship" that was born of the late UFC - Randy Couture contractual dispute. Mir is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and handed current champ Brock Lesnar his only MMA loss so far. These are two big grappling masters who can both move on the mat like lightweights and both have an arsenal of submission techniques ........ although Big Nog's arsenal is bigger and even Mir knows that. So what did these big 250 LB grapplers do --------- they slugged it out. Mir has been working fastidiously on his stand up skills and Big Nog has trained with the Cuban national boxing team for years and has always been known for the amount of punishment that he can take and still come back to win. Not even Frank Mir gave Frank Mir much of a chance against Nogueria's awesome skills. But the muscular former champ came out swinging and determined to keep the fight standing ... and low and behold he knocked down Big Nog --- twice - in the first round. Given Nogueria's reputation for coming back no one was overly impressed by the knock downs, again including Mir himself. But -- when Mir scored another knockdown in the 2nd round, he pounced on Nogueria like a Big Cat and rained down ground and pound punches until Big Nog was semi conscious and the ref was forced to stop the action and give the TKO win to Frank Mir. Now Mir will meet Brock Lesnar for the title which is a rematch that both men want.
The third big fight of the evening was the third meeting of Vanderlei "The Ax Murderer" Silva and former lightheavy weight champion Quinten "Rampage" Jackson. Their first two matches had happened years ago in Japan for PRIDE FC and Silva had won both of those by KO. Both of these veteran warriors had slipped some since their glory days and perhaps Silva has slipped a little more --- but he had the psychological advantage of two KO wins over his opponent. As the first round began Silva controlled the stand up action with shorter punches and crisp knee strikes. Then suddenly Rampage landed a monster left hook --------- and Vanderlei Silva was OUT --- COLD! Jackson had his revenge in style with a spectacular Knock Out win and has probably earned a shot at Sugar Rashad Evans' light heavyweight strap ---- but the Rampaging One has already stated that the fight he really wants next is another revenge rematch ----------- this one with the man who relieved him of his light heavyweight championship --- Forrest Griffin.
Rounding out the evening of knock outs, up and coming heavyweight Cheick Kongo TKO'd Mustapha Al-Turk, TUF Season #7 star Clarence B. Dollaway got a TKO win over Jersey Boy Mike Messenzio and yet another former TUF standout Matt "The Hammer" Hamill scored a TKO over NCAA Wrestling champion Reese Andy.
MMA has a new face! A broken face of scintillating Knock Out Stoppages ---------- and I Like This Face! I won't see this face for a while though as I'm headed to the other side of the world where they actually don't show the UFC. But -- I'll be back in time for UFC 94: welter weight champ Georges St. Pierre defends his title against light weight champ Baby Jake Penn, on Jan. 31st. Penn may just be the very best BJJ technician in MMA -------- what do ya want to bet he slugs it out with GSP? Till then-----
Good Night - Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"
The evenings main event Lightheavy Weight Championship match between Season #1 The Ultimate Fighter winner and popular champion Forrest Griffin and the undefeated Season #2 TUF winner "Sugar" Rashad Evans featured two rounds of continual stand up action. Griffin seemed to be using his longer arms to good effect and with a good punch landed at the end of the 2nd round, he seemed to be slightly ahead. Then in the 3rd round Sugar Rashad asserted his dominate wrestling skills and scored a single leg take down -- off a well scored punch ... and then started swinging leather like a mad man and scored a ground and pound TKO win to become the new UFC Lightheavy Weight Champion.
In the co-main event of the show, Brazilian Jujitsu master black belt Antonio "Big Nog" Nogueira faced American Brazilian Jujitsu expert Frank Mir. Nogueria is a former PRIDE FC heavyweight champion and entered the ring holding the ambiguous "Interim Heavyweight Championship" that was born of the late UFC - Randy Couture contractual dispute. Mir is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and handed current champ Brock Lesnar his only MMA loss so far. These are two big grappling masters who can both move on the mat like lightweights and both have an arsenal of submission techniques ........ although Big Nog's arsenal is bigger and even Mir knows that. So what did these big 250 LB grapplers do --------- they slugged it out. Mir has been working fastidiously on his stand up skills and Big Nog has trained with the Cuban national boxing team for years and has always been known for the amount of punishment that he can take and still come back to win. Not even Frank Mir gave Frank Mir much of a chance against Nogueria's awesome skills. But the muscular former champ came out swinging and determined to keep the fight standing ... and low and behold he knocked down Big Nog --- twice - in the first round. Given Nogueria's reputation for coming back no one was overly impressed by the knock downs, again including Mir himself. But -- when Mir scored another knockdown in the 2nd round, he pounced on Nogueria like a Big Cat and rained down ground and pound punches until Big Nog was semi conscious and the ref was forced to stop the action and give the TKO win to Frank Mir. Now Mir will meet Brock Lesnar for the title which is a rematch that both men want.
The third big fight of the evening was the third meeting of Vanderlei "The Ax Murderer" Silva and former lightheavy weight champion Quinten "Rampage" Jackson. Their first two matches had happened years ago in Japan for PRIDE FC and Silva had won both of those by KO. Both of these veteran warriors had slipped some since their glory days and perhaps Silva has slipped a little more --- but he had the psychological advantage of two KO wins over his opponent. As the first round began Silva controlled the stand up action with shorter punches and crisp knee strikes. Then suddenly Rampage landed a monster left hook --------- and Vanderlei Silva was OUT --- COLD! Jackson had his revenge in style with a spectacular Knock Out win and has probably earned a shot at Sugar Rashad Evans' light heavyweight strap ---- but the Rampaging One has already stated that the fight he really wants next is another revenge rematch ----------- this one with the man who relieved him of his light heavyweight championship --- Forrest Griffin.
Rounding out the evening of knock outs, up and coming heavyweight Cheick Kongo TKO'd Mustapha Al-Turk, TUF Season #7 star Clarence B. Dollaway got a TKO win over Jersey Boy Mike Messenzio and yet another former TUF standout Matt "The Hammer" Hamill scored a TKO over NCAA Wrestling champion Reese Andy.
MMA has a new face! A broken face of scintillating Knock Out Stoppages ---------- and I Like This Face! I won't see this face for a while though as I'm headed to the other side of the world where they actually don't show the UFC. But -- I'll be back in time for UFC 94: welter weight champ Georges St. Pierre defends his title against light weight champ Baby Jake Penn, on Jan. 31st. Penn may just be the very best BJJ technician in MMA -------- what do ya want to bet he slugs it out with GSP? Till then-----
Good Night - Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Wrestlers Rule The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale
On the evening of Saturday, Dec. 13th, the wrestlers reigned supreme at The Ultimate Fighter Reality Show Season #8 Finale. The most anticipated match of the evening was the lightweight final between Dana White and pretty much everyone else's favorite, the fighting Flipino nurse from Brooklyn, Phillipe Nover and the macho Mexican conqueror of The Lunitic Junnie Browning, an act which in itself had guarentied fan favor, Efrain Escudero.
On paper the boys looked pretty even, but Dana White's gushing praise of Nover as "The New GSP" and then the upgrade to "The New Anderson Silva" had most fans convinced that "The Filipino Assasian" couldn't be defeated at this level of compitition and that maybe the battleing Brooklynite was even ready for the top of the lightweight division. Nover had first been noticed as the guy who passed out at the initial fighter's meeting. But the Brooklyn emergency room nurse quickly went from "Fainting Phillipe" to "The Filipino Assasian" as he tore through his lightweight compitition on TUF 8, with power and style, displaying slick technique both standing and on the ground. Nover has been a student of Praying Mantis Kung Fu Master and former PKA Kickboxing Champion Ralph Mitchell, since the age of 9, and his striking abilities mirror the skills of his mentor. Nover has backed up his standing skills with a black belt in Brazilian Jujitsu and had put his submission skills on display durring the show. In short, Phillipe seemed unbeatable.
But ----------- someone forgot to mention all this to former NCAA wrestling standout and all round quiet tough guy, Efrain "Made In Mexico" Escudero. Efrain had done his homework and knew that Nover's right hand was to be avoided. He also noticed that Nover tended to throw that punch with full abandon, so Escudero not only practiced avoiding the shot, but also ducking under it and coming in for the double leg take down. This technique seemed to take Nover completly by surprise and it worked all night long for Escudero, who used it for clean take down scores in every round. He also controlled the action on the ground and used his wrestling balance and riding skills to thwart all of Nover's submission attempts. In the end Efrain Escudero won the decision and the big UFC contract while the fans won not one but Two New MMA stars to watch.
The light heavyweight final matched 25 year old wrestler Ryan "Darth" Badder against the 24 year old four time Brazilian Jujitsu national champion Vinicius Magalhaes. During the taping of the TUF show much was made of Magalhaes' jujitsu resume and it was even implied that he considered his skills in that area to be better than coach Nogueria's. Magalhaes did back this talk up with some slick submissions on the mat, but during Saturday's introductions it was noticible that the Brazilian was only sporting a 3-2 record while the wrestler was 8-0. Badder's last match on the show had been a less than exciting display of ground and clutch that had left most fans expecting him to sucome to a Magalhaes submission, but these two grappling masters of different styles kept the entire fight on their feet ..... all few moments of it! There was a little sloppy back and forth grappler stand up and then --- Bang! Badder drives a big right hand past Vinnie's guard and into his head, knocking the Brazilian to the mat. Badder was on his fallen foe like a starving hyena and a few hammer fists later, he had his hand raised, with his contract in it. Perhaps even more importantly Ryan "Darth" Badder had shown that he can be an exciting fighter who is worth following.
Also on the card was the rematch of Anthony "Rumble" Johnson and Kevin "The Fire" Burns. Their first match had ended controversially when Johnson had been repeatedly poked in the eyes by the fingers of a hand that Burns can't close due to previous injuries. Both fighters were out to avoid a repeat of these circumstances and much of their match featured over cautious stand up technique. In the first round, Johnson got a take down and Burns attempted a guillitine choke. In the second round the wrestler Johnson scored another take down and Burns again nutralized him on the ground and there was some more inefectual stand up. Johnson had recently been garnishing his wrestling skills with the stand up training of San Da Chinese Kickboxing Legend and MMA Star Cung Le and in the third round Johnson seemed to momentarily channel his striking mentor and caught his antagonist with a perfect round house kick to the head ...... knocking Burns cold before he even hit the canvas.
In a match up of middleweight journeymen, Brazilian Wilson Gouveia failed to make weight and came in four pounds over the 185 LB limit. Canadian Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald agreed to fight Gouveia anyway and as it turned out this was a disasterous decision. MacDonald tore out of his corner and scored a take down, but Gouveia worked his way right back up. Both men got busy with their hands, but the Brazilian quickly slipped in a counter punch which deposited the Canadian on his backside. Gouveia leaped on his fallen opponent and rained down an array of fists and elbows which opened Macdonald's brow and the stunned and bleeding Athlete was forced to tap. Would Gouveia have had the power advantage without the weight advantage? Probably, as it was only four pounds, but we will will never know now.
Probably the second most anticipated match of the evening pitted Season 8 Bad Boy --- Crazy Man --- Complete Hillbilly Dickweed, Junnie Browning against "Iron Jaw" Dave Kaplin. "Diamond" Dave is a BJJ brownbelt, wrestler, striker, who prides himself on the strength of his chin. Oh yeah, and he once won some big singing contest too. Dave is quite the showman, but his showing his jaw to Phillipe Nover hadn't worked out so well for him on the TUF show. His ring enterance was really good though, Saturday and his new hair do made the match "The Battle of the Bleach Blonds". For his part Junnie had been training diligently at the famed Xtreme Courture Gym in Vegas and claimed to have stopped drinking which had been the source of his antics at the TUF house. Junnie was of course unrepentent and retained his Bad Boy image. He was also calling himself Junnie "THE LUNATIC" Browning to capitolize on this image. True to form Junnie landed a very low blow in the first few moments of the match --- but his apology to Kaplin actually seemed sincere. In the rest of the first round Diamond Dave scored a couple take downs while Junnie managed to cut Kaplin with some decent punching. The second round was all different though, as it was Junnie who scored the take down and immediatly worked Kaplin into an arm bar and tapped him out. In his post fight interview Junnie was gracious towards his defeated foe and actually apologized to his TUF coach, Frank Mir for the hard time that he had given him during the taping of the series. Could this be a new Junnie? The Lunatic is fun to watch ............. and apparently the boy can fight.
This was another good show from Dana White and the UFC crew. Next up will be their big end of the year gala, ULTIMATE 2008. This one will have three fights all of which could headline a show themselves. TUF 8 coaches Big Nog Nogueria and Frank Mir will fight for the right to take on Brock Lesnar for the heavyweight title that he recently snatched from the waist of the legend Randy Couture. The ever popular TUF #1 winner Forrest Griffin will defend the light heavyweight strap from fellow TUF winner, the undefeated wrestler "Sugar" Rashad Evans, who KO's Chuck Liddell in his last fight to win this go at the title. And -- Vanderlei "The Ax Murder" Silva and Quentin "Rampage" Jackson will hook up for a third time. Silva defeated Jackson in Japan, under the Pride banner ... twice! But now, Jackson and much of the MMA world think that Vanderlei has slipped a bit too far and that Jackson can finally get his revenge. Personally I think that no matter what of his previous skills have eroded, that Silva can simply out think Jackson. I mean -- come on --- Silva is facing a man who a few short months ago tried to out run the police in a high speed chase ............. in a truck which had a full sized picture .... Of Himself... on the side of it! The UFC Ultimate '08 -- Saturday December 27th -- Be There Or Be Square!
Good Night - Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"
On paper the boys looked pretty even, but Dana White's gushing praise of Nover as "The New GSP" and then the upgrade to "The New Anderson Silva" had most fans convinced that "The Filipino Assasian" couldn't be defeated at this level of compitition and that maybe the battleing Brooklynite was even ready for the top of the lightweight division. Nover had first been noticed as the guy who passed out at the initial fighter's meeting. But the Brooklyn emergency room nurse quickly went from "Fainting Phillipe" to "The Filipino Assasian" as he tore through his lightweight compitition on TUF 8, with power and style, displaying slick technique both standing and on the ground. Nover has been a student of Praying Mantis Kung Fu Master and former PKA Kickboxing Champion Ralph Mitchell, since the age of 9, and his striking abilities mirror the skills of his mentor. Nover has backed up his standing skills with a black belt in Brazilian Jujitsu and had put his submission skills on display durring the show. In short, Phillipe seemed unbeatable.
But ----------- someone forgot to mention all this to former NCAA wrestling standout and all round quiet tough guy, Efrain "Made In Mexico" Escudero. Efrain had done his homework and knew that Nover's right hand was to be avoided. He also noticed that Nover tended to throw that punch with full abandon, so Escudero not only practiced avoiding the shot, but also ducking under it and coming in for the double leg take down. This technique seemed to take Nover completly by surprise and it worked all night long for Escudero, who used it for clean take down scores in every round. He also controlled the action on the ground and used his wrestling balance and riding skills to thwart all of Nover's submission attempts. In the end Efrain Escudero won the decision and the big UFC contract while the fans won not one but Two New MMA stars to watch.
The light heavyweight final matched 25 year old wrestler Ryan "Darth" Badder against the 24 year old four time Brazilian Jujitsu national champion Vinicius Magalhaes. During the taping of the TUF show much was made of Magalhaes' jujitsu resume and it was even implied that he considered his skills in that area to be better than coach Nogueria's. Magalhaes did back this talk up with some slick submissions on the mat, but during Saturday's introductions it was noticible that the Brazilian was only sporting a 3-2 record while the wrestler was 8-0. Badder's last match on the show had been a less than exciting display of ground and clutch that had left most fans expecting him to sucome to a Magalhaes submission, but these two grappling masters of different styles kept the entire fight on their feet ..... all few moments of it! There was a little sloppy back and forth grappler stand up and then --- Bang! Badder drives a big right hand past Vinnie's guard and into his head, knocking the Brazilian to the mat. Badder was on his fallen foe like a starving hyena and a few hammer fists later, he had his hand raised, with his contract in it. Perhaps even more importantly Ryan "Darth" Badder had shown that he can be an exciting fighter who is worth following.
Also on the card was the rematch of Anthony "Rumble" Johnson and Kevin "The Fire" Burns. Their first match had ended controversially when Johnson had been repeatedly poked in the eyes by the fingers of a hand that Burns can't close due to previous injuries. Both fighters were out to avoid a repeat of these circumstances and much of their match featured over cautious stand up technique. In the first round, Johnson got a take down and Burns attempted a guillitine choke. In the second round the wrestler Johnson scored another take down and Burns again nutralized him on the ground and there was some more inefectual stand up. Johnson had recently been garnishing his wrestling skills with the stand up training of San Da Chinese Kickboxing Legend and MMA Star Cung Le and in the third round Johnson seemed to momentarily channel his striking mentor and caught his antagonist with a perfect round house kick to the head ...... knocking Burns cold before he even hit the canvas.
In a match up of middleweight journeymen, Brazilian Wilson Gouveia failed to make weight and came in four pounds over the 185 LB limit. Canadian Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald agreed to fight Gouveia anyway and as it turned out this was a disasterous decision. MacDonald tore out of his corner and scored a take down, but Gouveia worked his way right back up. Both men got busy with their hands, but the Brazilian quickly slipped in a counter punch which deposited the Canadian on his backside. Gouveia leaped on his fallen opponent and rained down an array of fists and elbows which opened Macdonald's brow and the stunned and bleeding Athlete was forced to tap. Would Gouveia have had the power advantage without the weight advantage? Probably, as it was only four pounds, but we will will never know now.
Probably the second most anticipated match of the evening pitted Season 8 Bad Boy --- Crazy Man --- Complete Hillbilly Dickweed, Junnie Browning against "Iron Jaw" Dave Kaplin. "Diamond" Dave is a BJJ brownbelt, wrestler, striker, who prides himself on the strength of his chin. Oh yeah, and he once won some big singing contest too. Dave is quite the showman, but his showing his jaw to Phillipe Nover hadn't worked out so well for him on the TUF show. His ring enterance was really good though, Saturday and his new hair do made the match "The Battle of the Bleach Blonds". For his part Junnie had been training diligently at the famed Xtreme Courture Gym in Vegas and claimed to have stopped drinking which had been the source of his antics at the TUF house. Junnie was of course unrepentent and retained his Bad Boy image. He was also calling himself Junnie "THE LUNATIC" Browning to capitolize on this image. True to form Junnie landed a very low blow in the first few moments of the match --- but his apology to Kaplin actually seemed sincere. In the rest of the first round Diamond Dave scored a couple take downs while Junnie managed to cut Kaplin with some decent punching. The second round was all different though, as it was Junnie who scored the take down and immediatly worked Kaplin into an arm bar and tapped him out. In his post fight interview Junnie was gracious towards his defeated foe and actually apologized to his TUF coach, Frank Mir for the hard time that he had given him during the taping of the series. Could this be a new Junnie? The Lunatic is fun to watch ............. and apparently the boy can fight.
This was another good show from Dana White and the UFC crew. Next up will be their big end of the year gala, ULTIMATE 2008. This one will have three fights all of which could headline a show themselves. TUF 8 coaches Big Nog Nogueria and Frank Mir will fight for the right to take on Brock Lesnar for the heavyweight title that he recently snatched from the waist of the legend Randy Couture. The ever popular TUF #1 winner Forrest Griffin will defend the light heavyweight strap from fellow TUF winner, the undefeated wrestler "Sugar" Rashad Evans, who KO's Chuck Liddell in his last fight to win this go at the title. And -- Vanderlei "The Ax Murder" Silva and Quentin "Rampage" Jackson will hook up for a third time. Silva defeated Jackson in Japan, under the Pride banner ... twice! But now, Jackson and much of the MMA world think that Vanderlei has slipped a bit too far and that Jackson can finally get his revenge. Personally I think that no matter what of his previous skills have eroded, that Silva can simply out think Jackson. I mean -- come on --- Silva is facing a man who a few short months ago tried to out run the police in a high speed chase ............. in a truck which had a full sized picture .... Of Himself... on the side of it! The UFC Ultimate '08 -- Saturday December 27th -- Be There Or Be Square!
Good Night - Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"
Friday, December 12, 2008
UFC's "Fight For The Troops" Features Ferocious Knock Outs
Wednesday December 10th the UFC took their show to North Carolina and put their wares on display for a crowd that was primarily made up of troops and dependants from Fort Bragg. The theme of the evening was the collection of donations for the "FALLEN HERO'S FUND", which is working to establish a Traumatic Brain Injury treatment center for veterans of the recent wars in the middle east. This worthwhile and relevant theme was presented with intense emotion and yet still gracefully through out the evening.
The main event of the show featured an All American Wrestler against a Japanese Judo expert. On paper it was TUF veteran Josh Koscheck's near unstoppable double leg take downs and relentless ground and pound techniques against Yoshiyuki Yoshida's masterful Judo throws and locks. Apparently though someone forgot to remind Kos and Yoshida of this plan as instead the wrestler and the Judo guy opted to trade blows while on their feet. Koscheck stalked his cautious foe, who seemed to be very aware of the destructive potential of a Koscheck hook and was ever on his guard for them. Then just barely past the two minute mark, while Yoshida was diligently watching for the hook, Koscheck drove a perfect straight right hand through Yoshida's guard and on to his chin. You could see the lights go out in Yoshida's eyes as he remained standing and then Boom -- in came the hook that the Judo man was so diligently looking for a few mere seconds ago and it drove him off his feet and into a motionless heap on the canvas. Josh Koscheck had in less than a month rebounded from his loss to Thiago Alves and vaulted himself back into the upper echelon of the welter weight ranks.
In the Co-Main event of the evening another TUF vet, "Quick" Mike Swick was looking to prove that his move down from middleweight to welter weight had been a good decision and that he still wielded power at the lesser weight. Swick's previous welterweight matches had been a bit lackluster and had left the lanky fighter in need of an image change. Looking to derail these plans was welter weight champion Georges St Piere's lower level sidekick, Jonathan Goulet. I'm not sure if I've ever seen Goulet before on a card that didn't feature his team mate GSP in the main event, but For The Troops he was on his own and in the Co-Main. The French Canadian's trademark wild hair do was his best feature of the evening as Swick tore out at the bell and began delivering knee strike and punch combinations as if he was channeling middle weight and pound 4 pound champ Anderson Silva. Then at around the half minute mark "Quick" Swick crashed a short straight right hand into Goulet's Gob and the Frenchman crashed into the canvas. Swick was on Goulet like a hungry cat on a fallen mouse and a few ground and pound punches later Mike Swick had a TKO win in a mere 33 seconds, proving that he can contend with the best of the welterweights.
Another TUF alumni on the card was " Crazy" Tim Credeur. Facing him was undefeated young middle weight, the 9 - 0 Nate Loughran. Tim was an experienced 11 - 4 and known for his take downs and ground control. As of late though "Crazy" Tim had been sporting a highly unorthodox wild swinging standing game and that was what he decided to exhibit for the troops. It must a been the right move --- it could a been the right time --- (Tim's from Louisiana) .. cause Nate Loughran appeared to be completely bewildered by Tim's relentless chin up, wild swinging attack. Tim owned the entire first round with this tactic and then after controlling the youngster on the ground for about three quarters of the second round Tim reverted to his wild man act and set about beating on Loughran again. The kid had absorbed enough and retired on his stool at the end of the second round giving the lovable "Crazy" Tim the TKO win.
22 year old Steve "The Robot" Cantwell was the last WEC light heavy weight champion before that Zuffa owned organization gave up both the Lt. Heavy and Middle weight divisions in favor of the lighter weight classes. Now young Cantwell had to prove that he was ready to enter the talent laden UFC light heavy weight division. Across the ring and planning to stop Cantwell's rise in the ranks was the 7-0 undefeated Tae Kwon Do expert "Razor" Razak Al Hussan. Hussen looked like a chiseled ebony warrior and his Tae Kwon Do striking techniques were backed up with an array of rudimentary grappling skills. Razak controlled the early parts of the first round, appearing to be bullying his seemingly smaller statured opponent with a blizzard of somewhat sloppy kicks and punches. Suddenly young Cantwell took down his stronger opponent, quickly moved to the mount position and almost immediately locked in a devastating arm bar. Razak made the decision to "Man Up" and refused to tap, with the result that his arm snapped at the elbow and suddenly bent at a 90 degree angle .......... the wrong way --ooppps. Sometimes discretion Is the better part of valor. Cantwell was overjoyed with his jujitsu skills, gushing, "I've waited sooo long to do that!". I think the boy is ready for the UFC's light heavies.
"Fight for the Troops" was a good show for a good cause! Up next is Saturday's The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale. The light heavy weight final pits wrestler Ryan "Darth" Badder against BJJ Hot Shot Vinicius Magalhaes and the light weight final will feature the ultra talented fighting nurse Phillipe Nover facing the Ever Tough Mexican Efrain Escuerdo. Also on the card will be Canadian Star Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald against Brazilian Wilson Gouveia and TUF 8 Bad Boy Junie Browning against Iron Jaw Dave Kaplin. Two UFC Shows Free On SPIKE TV in One Week! It doesn't get much better than that.
Good Night - Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"
The main event of the show featured an All American Wrestler against a Japanese Judo expert. On paper it was TUF veteran Josh Koscheck's near unstoppable double leg take downs and relentless ground and pound techniques against Yoshiyuki Yoshida's masterful Judo throws and locks. Apparently though someone forgot to remind Kos and Yoshida of this plan as instead the wrestler and the Judo guy opted to trade blows while on their feet. Koscheck stalked his cautious foe, who seemed to be very aware of the destructive potential of a Koscheck hook and was ever on his guard for them. Then just barely past the two minute mark, while Yoshida was diligently watching for the hook, Koscheck drove a perfect straight right hand through Yoshida's guard and on to his chin. You could see the lights go out in Yoshida's eyes as he remained standing and then Boom -- in came the hook that the Judo man was so diligently looking for a few mere seconds ago and it drove him off his feet and into a motionless heap on the canvas. Josh Koscheck had in less than a month rebounded from his loss to Thiago Alves and vaulted himself back into the upper echelon of the welter weight ranks.
In the Co-Main event of the evening another TUF vet, "Quick" Mike Swick was looking to prove that his move down from middleweight to welter weight had been a good decision and that he still wielded power at the lesser weight. Swick's previous welterweight matches had been a bit lackluster and had left the lanky fighter in need of an image change. Looking to derail these plans was welter weight champion Georges St Piere's lower level sidekick, Jonathan Goulet. I'm not sure if I've ever seen Goulet before on a card that didn't feature his team mate GSP in the main event, but For The Troops he was on his own and in the Co-Main. The French Canadian's trademark wild hair do was his best feature of the evening as Swick tore out at the bell and began delivering knee strike and punch combinations as if he was channeling middle weight and pound 4 pound champ Anderson Silva. Then at around the half minute mark "Quick" Swick crashed a short straight right hand into Goulet's Gob and the Frenchman crashed into the canvas. Swick was on Goulet like a hungry cat on a fallen mouse and a few ground and pound punches later Mike Swick had a TKO win in a mere 33 seconds, proving that he can contend with the best of the welterweights.
Another TUF alumni on the card was " Crazy" Tim Credeur. Facing him was undefeated young middle weight, the 9 - 0 Nate Loughran. Tim was an experienced 11 - 4 and known for his take downs and ground control. As of late though "Crazy" Tim had been sporting a highly unorthodox wild swinging standing game and that was what he decided to exhibit for the troops. It must a been the right move --- it could a been the right time --- (Tim's from Louisiana) .. cause Nate Loughran appeared to be completely bewildered by Tim's relentless chin up, wild swinging attack. Tim owned the entire first round with this tactic and then after controlling the youngster on the ground for about three quarters of the second round Tim reverted to his wild man act and set about beating on Loughran again. The kid had absorbed enough and retired on his stool at the end of the second round giving the lovable "Crazy" Tim the TKO win.
22 year old Steve "The Robot" Cantwell was the last WEC light heavy weight champion before that Zuffa owned organization gave up both the Lt. Heavy and Middle weight divisions in favor of the lighter weight classes. Now young Cantwell had to prove that he was ready to enter the talent laden UFC light heavy weight division. Across the ring and planning to stop Cantwell's rise in the ranks was the 7-0 undefeated Tae Kwon Do expert "Razor" Razak Al Hussan. Hussen looked like a chiseled ebony warrior and his Tae Kwon Do striking techniques were backed up with an array of rudimentary grappling skills. Razak controlled the early parts of the first round, appearing to be bullying his seemingly smaller statured opponent with a blizzard of somewhat sloppy kicks and punches. Suddenly young Cantwell took down his stronger opponent, quickly moved to the mount position and almost immediately locked in a devastating arm bar. Razak made the decision to "Man Up" and refused to tap, with the result that his arm snapped at the elbow and suddenly bent at a 90 degree angle .......... the wrong way --ooppps. Sometimes discretion Is the better part of valor. Cantwell was overjoyed with his jujitsu skills, gushing, "I've waited sooo long to do that!". I think the boy is ready for the UFC's light heavies.
"Fight for the Troops" was a good show for a good cause! Up next is Saturday's The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale. The light heavy weight final pits wrestler Ryan "Darth" Badder against BJJ Hot Shot Vinicius Magalhaes and the light weight final will feature the ultra talented fighting nurse Phillipe Nover facing the Ever Tough Mexican Efrain Escuerdo. Also on the card will be Canadian Star Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald against Brazilian Wilson Gouveia and TUF 8 Bad Boy Junie Browning against Iron Jaw Dave Kaplin. Two UFC Shows Free On SPIKE TV in One Week! It doesn't get much better than that.
Good Night - Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Pac Man Pummels Boxing's Cash Cow
On Saturday December 6th boxing's biggest star entered the ring for what turned out to be his last performance at the top of his game. Oscar De La Hoya has won ten world titles at six different weight classes and has consistently commanded more money for his performances than any other boxer on the planet. If a boxer wanted to make the most money for a single fight in his entire career --- he had to fight De La Hoya. Oscar was looking for a huge payday with a rematch against the one fighter who was almost in his economic range Floyd "Money" Mayweather, but The Pretty Boy up and retired from boxing ... and promptly pocketed twenty million dollars for a professional wrestling exhibition match ......... why bother to box!
This sent Oscar scrambling for an opponent. Enter the Filipino Sensation, Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao entered boxing as a 106 LB fighter and grew to win world titles at 122 LBS, 126 LBS, 130 LBS and 135 LBS. He is fast, ferocious, famous and personable. Therefore the best known man in the entire Philippines found himself lined up for The mega buck match with boxing's cash cow.
De La Hoya and Pacquiao signed to meet at the meridian weight of 148 LBS, as Pacquiao had never fought above 135 LBS and Oscar hadn't been below 154 LBS in over a decade. The match up presented plenty of drama as HBO annalist Larry Merchant had first thought of the match, Bob Arum and De La Hoya were co promoting the fight and Oscar's trainer for the Mayweather match Freddie Roach was to be in the Pacquiao corner and not feeling to kindly towards the cash cow. De Lay Hoya has had a habit of changing trainers like shoes and leaving them not to kindly disposed towards himself. He on the other hand had hired Mexican trainer Natcho Berinstein who had handled J. M. Marquez during the Mexican Buzzsaw's encounters with Pacquiao. Both trainers were sure that they had the key to defeating the men in the opposite corner.
Roach made himself present in the pre fight negotiations by complaining about Oscar's regular hand wrapping with extra tape rolls between the knuckles and sometimes a plastic protector for his bum thumb. In the end the tape stayed the same, but the plastic stayed in the locker room. With a new experimental diet at his training camp, Oscar weighed in at a svelte 145 LBS to Manny's 142 LBS. Then at the unofficial weigh ins before the match, Manny was up to a respectable 148 1/2 LBS, but Oscar, who was expected to rehydrate to around 160 was still only tipping the scales at 147 LBS and actually giving away weight to his five foot six inch opponent.
The first round set the pace of the entire match as Pac Man glided in and out of range and peppered De La Hoya with crisp leads and counters while The Golden Boy only managed to land one solid shot. Had Pacquiao employed his usual unbridled aggression, Oscar would probably have been able to land his vaunted counter left hooks and stymied the attacks of his shorter and shorter armed opponent, but Roach had Pac Man moving in and out with precision and Oscar just couldn't catch him. In the 4th round Oscar got in one good punch and near the end of the 5th round he landed a great four punch combination that almost looked like the Oscar of old .......... but that was about it as the Filipino Flash continued to pepper him with a multitude of mighty missiles. By the 6th round Oscar face was beginning to discolor and his left eye was beginning to swell. By the end of the 7th his left eye was almost closed. At the end of the 8th round Oscar's corner had seen enough and had realized that he just didn't have the where with all on this occasion to answer Pacquiao's assault ............ so the called a halt to the action and Manny Pacquiao had a TKO win.
De La Hoya just never looked himself that night and although he is a bit past his prime at 35 years old, some of the blame has to be placed on his eccentric diet. He had obviously lost muscle mass through his training and was left with neither snap in his punches or gas in his feet. His dietitian should be drawn and quartered ............ or at least fired. Oscar has what it takes to fight on if he should so desire, but he will need to stay at Jr Middleweight or above and ......... hey -- he is also one of the top boxing promoters of this time period, so he doesn't need to fight, if he feels he's had enough.
The sport of boxing still needs Oscar De La Hoya more than he needs to fight. No one can draw money like Oscar can and even if this match has diminished his stardom a bit, there is still no one to replace him. Manny Pacquiao is now the number one pound 4 pound boxer in the world, but he just doesn't have the size ... charisma .... or Americanism to replace Oscar De La Hoya. If Pacquiao meets English sensation Ricky Hatton next, it will be a Big fight, but nothing approaching a De La Hoya event. American fans have shown to have little interest in the current crop of top Russian heavyweights, Be Hop and RJ are at the end of their careers and there just doesn't seem to be another big boxing star on the horizon. With MMA eating more and more of the pay per view dollars with their seven and eight fight cards the sport of Boxing Needs Oscar De La Hoya To Stick Around for A while!
Good Night -- Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"
This sent Oscar scrambling for an opponent. Enter the Filipino Sensation, Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao entered boxing as a 106 LB fighter and grew to win world titles at 122 LBS, 126 LBS, 130 LBS and 135 LBS. He is fast, ferocious, famous and personable. Therefore the best known man in the entire Philippines found himself lined up for The mega buck match with boxing's cash cow.
De La Hoya and Pacquiao signed to meet at the meridian weight of 148 LBS, as Pacquiao had never fought above 135 LBS and Oscar hadn't been below 154 LBS in over a decade. The match up presented plenty of drama as HBO annalist Larry Merchant had first thought of the match, Bob Arum and De La Hoya were co promoting the fight and Oscar's trainer for the Mayweather match Freddie Roach was to be in the Pacquiao corner and not feeling to kindly towards the cash cow. De Lay Hoya has had a habit of changing trainers like shoes and leaving them not to kindly disposed towards himself. He on the other hand had hired Mexican trainer Natcho Berinstein who had handled J. M. Marquez during the Mexican Buzzsaw's encounters with Pacquiao. Both trainers were sure that they had the key to defeating the men in the opposite corner.
Roach made himself present in the pre fight negotiations by complaining about Oscar's regular hand wrapping with extra tape rolls between the knuckles and sometimes a plastic protector for his bum thumb. In the end the tape stayed the same, but the plastic stayed in the locker room. With a new experimental diet at his training camp, Oscar weighed in at a svelte 145 LBS to Manny's 142 LBS. Then at the unofficial weigh ins before the match, Manny was up to a respectable 148 1/2 LBS, but Oscar, who was expected to rehydrate to around 160 was still only tipping the scales at 147 LBS and actually giving away weight to his five foot six inch opponent.
The first round set the pace of the entire match as Pac Man glided in and out of range and peppered De La Hoya with crisp leads and counters while The Golden Boy only managed to land one solid shot. Had Pacquiao employed his usual unbridled aggression, Oscar would probably have been able to land his vaunted counter left hooks and stymied the attacks of his shorter and shorter armed opponent, but Roach had Pac Man moving in and out with precision and Oscar just couldn't catch him. In the 4th round Oscar got in one good punch and near the end of the 5th round he landed a great four punch combination that almost looked like the Oscar of old .......... but that was about it as the Filipino Flash continued to pepper him with a multitude of mighty missiles. By the 6th round Oscar face was beginning to discolor and his left eye was beginning to swell. By the end of the 7th his left eye was almost closed. At the end of the 8th round Oscar's corner had seen enough and had realized that he just didn't have the where with all on this occasion to answer Pacquiao's assault ............ so the called a halt to the action and Manny Pacquiao had a TKO win.
De La Hoya just never looked himself that night and although he is a bit past his prime at 35 years old, some of the blame has to be placed on his eccentric diet. He had obviously lost muscle mass through his training and was left with neither snap in his punches or gas in his feet. His dietitian should be drawn and quartered ............ or at least fired. Oscar has what it takes to fight on if he should so desire, but he will need to stay at Jr Middleweight or above and ......... hey -- he is also one of the top boxing promoters of this time period, so he doesn't need to fight, if he feels he's had enough.
The sport of boxing still needs Oscar De La Hoya more than he needs to fight. No one can draw money like Oscar can and even if this match has diminished his stardom a bit, there is still no one to replace him. Manny Pacquiao is now the number one pound 4 pound boxer in the world, but he just doesn't have the size ... charisma .... or Americanism to replace Oscar De La Hoya. If Pacquiao meets English sensation Ricky Hatton next, it will be a Big fight, but nothing approaching a De La Hoya event. American fans have shown to have little interest in the current crop of top Russian heavyweights, Be Hop and RJ are at the end of their careers and there just doesn't seem to be another big boxing star on the horizon. With MMA eating more and more of the pay per view dollars with their seven and eight fight cards the sport of Boxing Needs Oscar De La Hoya To Stick Around for A while!
Good Night -- Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"
Monday, November 24, 2008
Good Boxing Month For The Brits As HATTON HAMMERS POWERLESS PAULIE
November '08 will be remembered as a big month for British boxers. At the beginning of the month Bernard Hopkins conqueror Joe Calzaghe stormed The Garden and overwhelmed the legend that was Roy Jones Jr. Then at the end of the month The Manchester Masher Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton descended on Sin City and destroyed Brooklyn speedster Paulie Malignaggi.
Hatton was returning to the site of his only loss when he walked in to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but this was to be another night. Paulie Malignaggi might be almost as fast as the retired undefeated champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., but he not only didn't have the ring strategies of Hatton's conqueror, he also was noted for his total lack of power. Also Hatton had a brand new brain in his corner as he entered the ring with .............. Floyd Mayweather Sr. as his head trainer. Ricky was so loose and relaxed that he climbed the steps and lumbered around the ring in a "fat suit" designed to poke fun at his between fights weight gains and his home town moniker of Ricky "Fatton".
Hatton and Mayweather Sr. had promised a new Hitman who would box more, give away less in trades and rely less on raw strength and sheer energy and more on solid strategies and ring generalship. You could see Ricky struggling with his new skills in the first round as Paulie slipped his punches, popped him with quick jabs and slid around the ring like a top level figure skater. At this point it was obvious that the Brooklyn Boy had the potential to rise to the top of his craft ................ if only the lad had some pop in his punches. Unfortunately, for him, Malignaggi can't break eggs and didn't even slightly discourage the man from Manchester.
In the second round Hatton hit his stride and began to successfully mix his boxing and brawling. When Ricky cracked Malignaggi with a hard right, stunned the speedster and Paulie held on to his antagonist for dear life to keep from hitting the canvas ............ the tone of the match had been set. The second round was followed by eight more rounds of repeated similar action. Ricky stalked and Paulie ran. Paulie would pop Hatton with a few powerless jabs and Hatton would respond with bombs that repeatedly stunned the Brooklynite and Malignaggi would hold again. Considering that the Malignaggi team had made loud complaints about expecting Hatton to hold in pre fight conferences, Malignaggi's continual clutching was shameless.
In the Malignaggi corner between rounds, head trainer Buddy McGirt begged, demanded and asked his fighter over and over again to stay off the ropes, employ more effective angles and to Please throw his right hand, but to no avail. Between the tenth and eleventh rounds McGirt told Malignaggi that he would stop the fight if Paulie couldn't find a way to stop being pounded by the Englishman. When Hatton stunned Paulie, yet again in the 11th, McGirt mercifully threw in the towel, giving Hatton a TKO win. In his post fight interview Malignaggi was very complimentary of Hatton, but incensed that his own corner had stopped the fight while he was still on his feet. Paulie may be powerless, but he has the heart of a warrior and he was lucky that Buddy was there to save him from himself. Hatton spoke kindly of his defeated opponent and stated that he doesn't think that anyone can beat him at the Jr. Welterweight level and that he is ready again to face the best there is at both 140 .... and 147 LBS.
The primary undercard fight of the night pitted two Texas power punching middleweights. James "The Mandingo Warrior" Kirkland is an up and coming Jr. Middleweight to keep an eye on. He is trained by master woman boxer Ann Wolf and she puts her young charge through hell each and every training camp to be sure that he is in tip top condition and ready to fight all night. Across the ring was tough Texas middleweight Brian Vera. These bangers were meeting at a catch weight of 157 LBS and they were both ready to rumble. The first round saw Kirkland on the attack and Vera countering, but neither man was particularly effective as they warmed to their tasks. Then a mere thirty seconds into the second round Kirkland floored Vera. Vera rose on fairly steady legs and fired back with vigor, but Kirkland stayed on him, caught him off balance and floored him once again at the end of the round. Rounds three through seven repeated the scenario of Kirkland stalking and landing regularly and Vera keeping it interesting by staying steady, occasionally landing a telling right hand of his own and grinning like a jack o' lantern throughout the entire process. In the 8th round Kirkland once again put Vera on the canvas with an explosive short, right, southpaw hook. Vera once again demonstrated his toughness, by climbing upright, but when Kirkland cornered him and landed solid yet again the ref stepped in and ended the action giving Kirkland an 8th round TKO win. James Kirkland is one hell of a fighter and as long as he listens to Ann Wolf, will be ready to stand up to anyone and everyone in the Jr. Middleweight division. Brian Vera is one tough hombre and probably should have been given an opportunity to finish that fight. Win or lose he will remain a crowd favorite.
Good Night - Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"
Hatton was returning to the site of his only loss when he walked in to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but this was to be another night. Paulie Malignaggi might be almost as fast as the retired undefeated champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., but he not only didn't have the ring strategies of Hatton's conqueror, he also was noted for his total lack of power. Also Hatton had a brand new brain in his corner as he entered the ring with .............. Floyd Mayweather Sr. as his head trainer. Ricky was so loose and relaxed that he climbed the steps and lumbered around the ring in a "fat suit" designed to poke fun at his between fights weight gains and his home town moniker of Ricky "Fatton".
Hatton and Mayweather Sr. had promised a new Hitman who would box more, give away less in trades and rely less on raw strength and sheer energy and more on solid strategies and ring generalship. You could see Ricky struggling with his new skills in the first round as Paulie slipped his punches, popped him with quick jabs and slid around the ring like a top level figure skater. At this point it was obvious that the Brooklyn Boy had the potential to rise to the top of his craft ................ if only the lad had some pop in his punches. Unfortunately, for him, Malignaggi can't break eggs and didn't even slightly discourage the man from Manchester.
In the second round Hatton hit his stride and began to successfully mix his boxing and brawling. When Ricky cracked Malignaggi with a hard right, stunned the speedster and Paulie held on to his antagonist for dear life to keep from hitting the canvas ............ the tone of the match had been set. The second round was followed by eight more rounds of repeated similar action. Ricky stalked and Paulie ran. Paulie would pop Hatton with a few powerless jabs and Hatton would respond with bombs that repeatedly stunned the Brooklynite and Malignaggi would hold again. Considering that the Malignaggi team had made loud complaints about expecting Hatton to hold in pre fight conferences, Malignaggi's continual clutching was shameless.
In the Malignaggi corner between rounds, head trainer Buddy McGirt begged, demanded and asked his fighter over and over again to stay off the ropes, employ more effective angles and to Please throw his right hand, but to no avail. Between the tenth and eleventh rounds McGirt told Malignaggi that he would stop the fight if Paulie couldn't find a way to stop being pounded by the Englishman. When Hatton stunned Paulie, yet again in the 11th, McGirt mercifully threw in the towel, giving Hatton a TKO win. In his post fight interview Malignaggi was very complimentary of Hatton, but incensed that his own corner had stopped the fight while he was still on his feet. Paulie may be powerless, but he has the heart of a warrior and he was lucky that Buddy was there to save him from himself. Hatton spoke kindly of his defeated opponent and stated that he doesn't think that anyone can beat him at the Jr. Welterweight level and that he is ready again to face the best there is at both 140 .... and 147 LBS.
The primary undercard fight of the night pitted two Texas power punching middleweights. James "The Mandingo Warrior" Kirkland is an up and coming Jr. Middleweight to keep an eye on. He is trained by master woman boxer Ann Wolf and she puts her young charge through hell each and every training camp to be sure that he is in tip top condition and ready to fight all night. Across the ring was tough Texas middleweight Brian Vera. These bangers were meeting at a catch weight of 157 LBS and they were both ready to rumble. The first round saw Kirkland on the attack and Vera countering, but neither man was particularly effective as they warmed to their tasks. Then a mere thirty seconds into the second round Kirkland floored Vera. Vera rose on fairly steady legs and fired back with vigor, but Kirkland stayed on him, caught him off balance and floored him once again at the end of the round. Rounds three through seven repeated the scenario of Kirkland stalking and landing regularly and Vera keeping it interesting by staying steady, occasionally landing a telling right hand of his own and grinning like a jack o' lantern throughout the entire process. In the 8th round Kirkland once again put Vera on the canvas with an explosive short, right, southpaw hook. Vera once again demonstrated his toughness, by climbing upright, but when Kirkland cornered him and landed solid yet again the ref stepped in and ended the action giving Kirkland an 8th round TKO win. James Kirkland is one hell of a fighter and as long as he listens to Ann Wolf, will be ready to stand up to anyone and everyone in the Jr. Middleweight division. Brian Vera is one tough hombre and probably should have been given an opportunity to finish that fight. Win or lose he will remain a crowd favorite.
Good Night - Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"
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