The Reel Deal on Chuck Liddell

Hi everyone, today we're looking at Chuck Liddell, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, who takes on the former Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin this Saturday in Vancouver. The main event of UFC 115, Liddell was supposed to fight fellow Ultimate Fighter coach Tito Ortiz, but Ortiz was forced to drop out of bout for unknown reasons.

So how does this new match up suit the Iceman? Not well. Coming off of more than a year hiatus, Liddell will be facing a much younger fighter, and a former title holder at that. Looking at his last few fights, it really seems as if Liddell's best years are behind him. In his last fight, he was Knocked Out by current 205 pound champion Mauricio Shogun Rua in the first round.

Before that, he suffered KO defeats at the hands of Rashad Evans and Quinton Rampage Jackson. It seems like the Knockout artist we came to know and love is now being beaten at his own game. As his speed and power seem to fade, he was unable to finish off a struggling Wanderlei Silva back in 2007, and even lost to journeyman fighter Keith Jardine by Split Decision.

While everyone hopes for the Old Chuck to return to the cage, I fear that an Old Chuck is all we're going to get this saturday. Rich Franklin is a remarkably well-rounded fighter, and is famous for his unparallelled physical conditioning. While Franklin hasn't demonstrated the KO power to finish off top tier opponents, against an aging Hall of Famer, the fight is his to lose.

I predict Rich Franklin will beat Chuck Liddell by Unanimous Decision based on superiour offensive volume and physical conditioning.

Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery Review

...in quotables.

*End of Round One Bell*

F. Shamrock: I liked it.

(beat)

M. Ranallo: ...yeah.

G. Johnson: You'll see the gator clap, or the gator crawl, if Jacare wins.

M. Ranallo: Maybe we'll even see a gator roll!

(crickets)

A. Arlovski: My game plan is pretty simple--fight. hard.

M. Ranallo: I think it's time for [Arlovski] to throw a flying knee.

F. Shamrock: To be the man, you've gotta beat the man.

M. Ranallo: (howls) Oooooohh!!

F. Shamrock: [Overeem's] hair folicles have muscles!

A. Overeem: [Fedor's] management declined me. Respect to Brett Rogers for stepping up to fight--like a man.

"WEC" 48: Aldo vs. Faber

This is what fight of the night looks like:

Source: http://middleeasy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2043

The Reel Deal on Dan Hardy

Today we're looking at Dan Hardy, who is in the final preparations for his title fight against the UFC welterweight king, Georges St. Pierre. It's a tall order to fill, since GSP is widely touted as being the most complete mixed martial artist of all time. One of the pound-for-pound best, St. Pierre is a frightening combination of precision striking, world-class wrestling, and black belt level jiu-jitsu. He's faced down wrestling champions like Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck, BJJ black belts like Matt Serra and BJ Penn, and striking machines like Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves. It's hard to imagine anyone at 170 beating him at this stage in his career.

Joe Rogan and Dana White have been hyping the fight by talking about Dan Hardy's top-level striking abilities, where he's supposed to have an advantage over GSP. GSP's last loss was a TKO to Matt Serra back in 2007, so it makes sense that Hardy would at least have the proverbial puncher's chance. Still, if we take a look at the record, the chance of KO really isn't as high as people would want us to believe.

Firstly, St. Pierre has only ever been knocked out once, which was the aforementioned loss to Serra. Since then, he has all but cleaned out the 170 pound division, with his last defense against power striker, Thiago Alves. Alves is much bigger and stronger than Dan Hardy, but was simply unable to stop GSP's takedowns. Now, Hardy is definitely a good balance of technique and power, even working with esteemed boxing coach Freddie Roach for his last couple of fights. still, it's not like Alves is just a big guy with nothing but power, so let's not discount his technical abilities. For a fighter with 60 percent of his wins by knockout, Alves was only able to land three significant strikes on the feet during the five rounds he spent with St. Pierre, and none of them put the champ in any trouble.

Since we're talking about a knock out shot here, let's take a look at Hardy's own record. Prior to his debut in the UFC, he had 10 combined knockouts and TKOs, along with 2 submissions to strikes, over the course of 26 fights. Since debuting in the UFC, although he has won all four of his matches, he only has one KO to his name. His fights have been against steadily tougher and tougher competition, further reinforcing the much higher level of talent that Dana White keeps in his stable. Hardy has managed to knockdown his opponents with strong counter-strikes, such as in his fights with Marcus Davis and Mike Swick, but I have to wonder whether or not he has the finishing power to score the KO against GSP.

It's just hard to imagine Hardy having the tools to knock out St. Pierre with those kinds of odds, especially when you compare him to real power strikers at 170 like Alves or Paul Daley, who have made their careers on maintaining high KO numbers. Not to say that Hardy doesn't have the power to do the deed, I just wouldn't bet the house on it.

I should say that it's not like he has absolutely no chance against the champion. The first GSP/Serra fight proved that a fighter can really win on any given sunday, even if the odds are stacked against them. Dan might put his tenth planet system to work after a takedown and pull off one of Eddie Bravo's crazy submissions, or he might even get that one good shot that puts an the champ to sleep.

The point is that it would be foolish to assume that he has the knock out power to give him any significant advantage in this fight. Maybe against lesser fighters this advantage might be more pronounced, but against an elite fighter like georges st pierre, he doesn't have that luxury. Hardy needs to level up his game in all areas of the cage, and not rely on the off-chance that he might get in one or two lucky shots.

WEC 47 Review

The WEC's revolving door of champions continues to spin-- a testament to how competitive the lighter weight divisions are in the sport of MMA. A night of great fights and pulse-pounding upsets, tonight will certainly change the course of the bantamweight division.

Javier Vazquez def. Jens Pulver (Armbar, 3:41 of Rd 1)

It was hard to see Jens go down so early, marking his fifth loss in a row, and fourth in a streak of first round finishes. The fans of Pulver have gathered around the slogan "Forever Relevant" since career began to slide, but now I wonder just how much truth that has left in it. Obviously, no one can take away what he has done for the sport. He is and will forever be a legend in MMA. Still, after falling on such hard times as a fighter, perhaps it would be better for him to pass the torch on for good. I'm sure at this point he would make a much better coach or trainer than a fighter.

Joseph Benavidez def. Miguel Torres (Guillotine Choke, 2:57 of Rd 2)

Benavidez definitely earned himself a new fan after tonight. Coming in as a heavy underdog, no one expected him to take the fight to the former champ like he did. Torres looked more than a little shaky coming into the fight, which I'm hoping was a case of ring rust from his seven month layoff. After a lot of good action in the first round, Joseph hit a beautiful double leg takedown in the middle of the second, following up with a vicious elbow that opened Miguel up like a fountain. In the ensuing scramble, Benavidez quickly seized an arm-in guillotine choke that won him the Submission of the Night. It is likely that this victory will move him up for a title shot against the new 135 lb. champion, Dominick Cruz, whom he lost to last August.

[Update: I didn't realize how bad the Benavidez had cut Torres, but now a photo has surfaced showing the extent of the damage. It's not for the faint of heart, click here to see it.]

Dominick Cruz def. Brian Bowles (TKO due to doctor's stoppage, 5:00 of Rd 2)

A dazzling display of footwork and counter-punching was put on for two rounds as Dominick Cruz danced his way into the bantamweight championship. Bowles was definitely a game fighter, but seemed to lack the technical skill to compete with Cruz, who constantly cut new angles and landed a variety of counter-rights and low kicks. While not as crisp and composed as fighters like Anderson Silva or Lyoto Machida, Dominick's boxing skills are definitely something to watch out for. Currently undefeated as 135 lbs. (and his only loss coming from Uriah Faber at 145), Cruz continues to improve, and I think he just might stick around as champ for a long time.

Tim Sylvia vs World's Strongest Man, April 23, 2010

You can't make this stuff up. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia, after a lot of drama following the "I got KOed by a crazy old boxer in his MMA debut" fiasco, has been signed to scrap with Mariusz Pudzianowski, 5-time World's Strongest Man Champion, in Boston on April 23rd at the DCU Center.

And there's more! Not only that, the fight is being promoted by Moosin, a Korean company, through a guy named Corey Fischer and Eric Esch, better known as the superheavyweight boxer, Butterbean.

Somewhere in this big circus of name-dropping, there is going to be an enormous fight between two enormous fellows. There's not many more details about anything else, but to be honest, I can't imagine there being much more that could be added.

The Boston Herald

Middle Easy

Bad Boy of Sumo Retires, is MMA Next?

Asashoryu, the resident bad boy of the sumo world, announced his retirement from Japan's national sport on Thursday. This announcement comes right on the heels of a convincing victory at the January grand tournament, his 25th championship. The retirement follows allegations of a drunken brawl during a night on the town in Tokyo.

Rumors have surfaced that the sumo-tori is being courted by some of the prominent Japanese MMA organizations, where he would be a huge draw due to his reputation both in and out of competition. I can't help feel like it would be another "freak-show" attraction if he did enter MMA competition, similar to the use of other celebrities and athletes such as Jose Canseco and Herschel Walker. Still, at only 29 years old, Asashoryu is still very young for a fighter, and could feasibly become a legitimate competitor if he trains for it. As a big fan of the wrestler, I must admit that I've always hoped he would step into the cage eventually.

What would he need to make it? Cardio would be the first thing to work on. Other sumo-tori who tried MMA (Chad "Akebono" Rowan, Emmanuel Yarborough, and others) quickly found themselves gassed after the first few minutes of stalking down their opponents. This is because sumo matches are short bouts of explosive energy, not the long wars that MMA matches tend to be. If Asashoryu can bring his endurance up to speed, he'll at least have gotten himself a real chance at victory, should he decide to give the sport a shot.

Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Zaromskis Review

Herschel Walker, athletic Messiah of the United States, looked amazing in his debut against his mediocre opponent, Greg Nagy. I'm not sure if Nagy/Nudge/Nooge was supposed to be a tomato can to make Walker look good, but whatever the case, Walker definitely demonstrated a well-rounded set of skills in the cage. It remains to be seen, however, if he can put these skills to use against an opponent of higher caliber.

An absolutely dominating victory for Cris Cyborg over Marloes Coenen. Coenen showed tremendous heart throughout the match, but just couldn't handle the pressure and strength from the Brazilian brawler. Cyborg shucked off all the attempted takedowns, submissions, and power punches that Coenen threw at her, and marched forward in typical and terrifying Chute Boxe fashion.

I'm not sure how he did it, but Nick Diaz put on another display of his awkward, yet frighteningly effective, boxing skills against Marius Zaromskis. After brutalizing the Lithuanian's leg early in the fight with knees, Nick went to work on the head with an onslaught of punches from all angles. Marius had Diaz in trouble a couple times with hard punches of his own, but just couldn't hold him down in the end.

Wishful Martial Artists

Inspired by a thread on Bullshido, I created this quick infographic to help categorize martial artists according to desire to fight, desired visibility, and fighting ability.

It's not perfect, obviously, and nothing is this cut and dried. Still, I think it should be useful for a quick reference guide to some of the more "eccentric" martial artists we come across.

UFC 107 Preview

Some quick picks for the fights tonight:

Kenny Florian v. Clay Guida

Florian, Round 3, Unanimous Decision

As much as I like Guida, I just don't think he has the tools to defeat Florian, who has better skills in just about every range of the fight. He'll frustrate Clay by sticking to the outside, and then threaten with submissions if Clay shoots for a takedown. Even without subs, Kenny has the skills to sweep for his own ground-and-pound in an dominant position. Clay's good, but I don't think he's at the same level as KenFlo.

Frank Mir v. Chiek Kongo

Mir, Round 2, Submission

Kongo is definitely the most dangerous striker in the UFC heavyweight division, but he doesn't have the skills to put him with the top fighters. As long as Frank doesn't try and prove his striking credentials by standing with Kongo, it should be a relatively easy night for him.

BJ Penn v. Diego Sanchez

Penn, Round 4, T/KO

Sanchez has certainly made a name for himself recently, but I'm still surprised to see him in title contention. I really don't think he's ever been in this kind of high-level fight before, and I don't see him winning in any way for this match. Penn has better skills standing, on the ground, and everything in-between. Sanchez says that he plans using his cardio to outlast the champ, but with BJ's much improved strength and conditioning program, I see that as a shaky strategy at best. I suppose anything can happen when BJ is fighting, but everything seems to be in his favor tonight.

UFC 106 Review

Wow, was I wrong about this card! Great fights all over, I'll try and keep it brief.

George Sotiropoulos def. Jason Dent (Armbar, 4:36 of Rd 2)

Absolutely stunning groundwork by Sotiropolous, the guy is like water with his top game. Smooth and fluid transitions kept him in control for both rounds, then finished with a sweet arm crush to armbar submission.

Caol Uno vs Fabricio Camoes (Majority Draw)

The one prelim that wasn't aired. I'm told it was an awesome fight, and I'm very much looking forward to watching it when I can get it.

Brian Foster def. Brock Larson (TKO, 3:25 of Rd 2)

Both were doing pretty well, but Larson fouled a couple of times in Round 1. He didn't lose any points, but it made him tentative enough to hold back in the second round, where Brian Foster recovered enough to take the fight to his opponent and come out with the win.

Kendall Grove def. Jake Rosholt (Triangle Choke, 3:59 of Rd 1)

Good wrestling by both fighters, but Grove's jiujitsu was just too much for Rosholt to handle. Those long legs make for some dangerous triangle chokes.

Ben Saunders def. Marcus Davis (KO, 3:24 of Rd 1)

Saunders dominated the fight with great use of the Thai clinch. Davis tried to counter with uppercuts to the head and body, but it was no match for those clinch knees.

Amir Sadollah def. Phil Baroni (Unanimous Decision)

Another clinic on the devastating effectiveness of Thai boxing. Baroni was certainly back in form, all five minutes of it. After lasting through Round One, Amir outclassed Baroni with beautiful combinations of punches, kicks, knees, and elbows.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Luiz Cane (TKO, 1:56 of Rd 1)

Big Nog may own the ground game of the Heavyweight division, but his little brother definitely makes up for it with his amazing boxing.

Paulo Thiago def. Jacob Volkman (Unanimous Decision)

Awesome action all over the cage in this fight. Thiago's stand-up looked incredible, slinging together fast combos that really kept Volkman on his toes. Jacob scored a takedown in Round Two, but even his top game wasn't a match for Thiago's guard. The Brazilian finished the fight with a crucifix ground-and-pound, then an unbelievable D'arce Choke from the bottom. Didn't finish the fight, but it sure looks pretty.

Josh Koscheck def. Anthony Johnson (Rear-Naked Choke, 4:27 of Rd 2)

Some questionable techniques in this fight, but I don't want to assume anything about the intentions of either fighter. All we know for sure is that Johnson threw a knee to a downed Koscheck in Round One, and Koscheck's fingers ended up in Johnson's eyes in Round Two. All that aside, Johnson had some phenomenal kicking combos in this fight, switching up stances and throwing kicks like a real pro. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to stop Josh's takedown, elbows from the top, and eventual submission.

Forrest Griffin def. Tito Ortiz (Split Decision)

Amazing fight. I think Tito won the first two rounds with his power takedowns and great ground-and-pound, but Griffin definitely owned the third with some beautiful Muay Thai. Lots of kicks from Forrest on the feet, something I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of in the future.

UFC 106 Preview

I'm actually not too jazzed about this card.

Tito and Forrest doesn't feel like a super-fight, as Ortiz is coming out of retirement, and Griffin is coming off the worst loss of his career. I suppose it'll still be pretty good, but I feel like it's lacking some magic. Maybe watching the countdown will hype it up?

Koscheck and Johnson, another sort of gatekeeper fight. Both have done well, but aren't exactly big draws. Haven't heard anything of Koscheck for while, and I didn't even know Johnson existed until he came in 6 lbs overweight for his last fight a month ago.

Amir and Baroni is probably the best fight on the card. Amir is looking to get his career started in earnest, and Baroni is trying to keep his from ending. Should be interesting.

Cane and Lil Nog is cool, but Rogerio will forever live in Big Nog's shadow. Shame, really.

Karo and Hazelett sounded good at first, but then I realized Karo's been injured forever, then was suspended for painkillers after that. I'm as big a Karo fan as they come, but I feel like he's been out of the picture for far too long. Now with Karo out of the picture, I really can't think of any fights I'm excited for.

UFC 102 Predictions

With UFC 102 on the horizon, I figured this would be a good time for my inaugural event prediction. While I’m certainly not a professional (at least, not yet), I like to consider myself pretty knowledgeable on fighters, camps, and mixed martial arts in general. I’m only going to go ahead and do the main card, because I’m not particularly familiar with a lot of the undercard fighters. Maybe when I know more of these guys I’ll do the undercard along with the main card. These picks are based on my own opinions, and you’re free to debate them with me in the comments.

Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt

Rosholt, Rd. 3 by Unanimous Dec

I’m not terribly fond of Leben as a fighter, I don’t think he’s ever really impressed me too much technically. He’s got a good wrestling base and can certainly bang it out, but I don’t think his wrestling is good enough against Rosholt’s, who is a three-time NCAA champ, and has been training with Xtreme Couture for a couple years now. On the other hand, Leben’s got tons more experience than Rosholt, and this will probably help him survive most of the fight. I see Rosholt dominating in the clinch, probably getting a lot of takedowns and some ground-and-pound, but I don’t think it’ll be enough to finish Leben off.

Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Socynski

Vera, Rd.3 by Unanimous Decision

Socynski is a very dangerous challenge for Vera, who’s just getting out of a huge slump in his career. Socynski hits hard, has a great top game, and even if he doesn’t have the best jiu-jitsu, he’s probably got the Kimura as good as any black belt. Vera, however, is no stranger to hard-hitters, going the distance against Tim Sylvia, who’s one of the biggest fighters the UFC has ever seen. I think Vera’s kickboxing is better than Socynski’s, and I don’t know if Socynski will be able to power through for a takedown. I think the fight will stay standing, and we’ll see Vera pull off a dominant victory.

Nate Marquart vs. Demian Maia

Maia, Rd.1 by Submission

If you asked me a week ago about this fight, I would have told you that Marquart would keep the fight standing and maybe even score a TKO or decision victory. But after watching UFC’s 102 Countdown, I think Nate’s got a bit chip on his shoulder about people disrespecting his ground game. It’s not that his jiu-jitsu is bad; it’s just that Maia’s is so much better. I think he’s going to try and prove something by tangling with Maia on the ground in the first round (probably after a Maia sweep or takedown), and then getting caught by a submission. If Marquart keeps his cool, I do think he can pose a big threat to Maia with his big power and clinch fighting.

Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva

Silva, Rd.2 by KO

Jardine’s a great fighter, and is very difficult to train for, but I really do see Silva just walking right through him. Silva went on a 13-fight winning streak (with 10 knockouts and 2 submissions, one to ground-and-pound) before finally losing to Lyoto Machida, who happens to be the current champion and one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

A lot of people talk about how Jardine’s beaten some of the best in the world, with wins over Griffin, Liddel, and Vera, but he’s also lost to top fighters like Jackson, Wanderlei, and Houston Alexander. All of the fighters he lost to were very similar to Silva, packing big power in the hands and constantly pushing the action. Silva may not have faced the very best in the division, but judging by his record, I’d say he belongs up there with them.

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira

Couture, Rd.3 by T/KO

Tough fight to call, for sure. Two living legends, the very best of the sport. On one hand, Couture has incredible power in his hands and is one of the best wrestling-style fighters in the world. Incredible endurance and conditioning, coupled the ability to use the Greco-Roman clinch to wear down his opponents, makes him the winner of just about any war of attrition. No one doubts the fighting ability of this 46 year old, and anyone who does should try spending even just one round wrestling with him.

However, even after all that’s said and done, Nogueira is probably the only person able to take everything Couture can dish out, and then still throw some crazy armbar or leglock for a tide-turning victory. If you’ve seen his fights in Pride, Nogueira has taken punches from people like Dan Henderson, Fedor, and Tim Sylvia, and even a full-on head kick from Mirko Cro-Cop, and still can keep on fighting. The first time that Nogueria was ever knocked out was by Frank Mir last year, after ten years and 37 fights. Granted, we haven’t seen Nogueira at the top of his game lately, and it’s possible that all the punishment he’s taken is catching up with him. But if we do see a strong and well-conditioned Nogueira tomorrow night, I can guarantee that Couture will have his hands full trying to stop this man. I think Couture has the tools and conditioning to beat Nogueira eventually, but I feel like it’s going to go all the way down to the wire before he can finish him, if he can at all.

Fedor's Fighting Philosophy

Fedor isn't what you'd expect of a top caliber fighter. He's chubby and round, hardly physically imposing. He's soft-spoken and articulate, and he's always smiling. Looking at him, you half-expect him to be greeting you at Best Buy or bagging your groceries, not hitting mitts or throwing armbars. If you’ve seen him train, or heard him comment about his training, it’s not particularly spectacular. A little boxing, a little grappling, then some push-ups and pull-ups, a fair bit of running. Definitely not the vicious conditioning and sparring you’ll see on UFC’s Countdown shows. He's disarmingly unassuming, shy even. People expect fighters to be like Brock Lesnar, fierce and powerful, more mountain than man. Fighters should be bold and adventurous, proud and sensational.

So what makes Fedor Emelianenko such a big deal?

He doesn’t fight with the jaw-dropping talent of Anderson Silva, nor does he have the flawless technique and execution of Georges St. Pierre. He’s not the super-athlete like Lesnar or Shane Carwin, he’s not the caged tiger like Wanderlei Silva or Sean Sherk. He walks to the ring calmly, even as chaos surrounds him. If you’re lucky you might catch him crack a smile here or there as he prepares for battle, but mostly his face is blank and unreadable. Truly, the only person who knows what Fedor Emelianenko is thinking at those moments is Fedor himself.

So what makes this man the most feared fighter in mixed martial arts?

The answer lies in those exact moments. He likely knows that he’s not the biggest or strongest, not the most skilled or even the most aggressive. It’s likely that it is because he knows all this that he pushes forward, to fight against the steepest of odds, to come back from the deepest of dangers, to throw punches until his hands break. His determination to always fight back, to never give his rivals a moment to rest—this is what makes him a dangerous fighter. He uses controlled aggression in one solid burst beginning when the bell starts and ending only when the ref pulls him off the limp body of his opponent. And as soon as it’s over, he’s the first one to shake hands with the man he’s beaten, a smile on his face once again.

It’s been said that Fedor’s never been truly tested by the top competition, but I contend that this is untrue. If you watch his fights, even the short ones, it rarely looks like he has an easy night. He gets hit frequently, and often finds himself in dire straits as his opponent starts working the game plan. But somehow, by constantly pushing the pace and forcing the action, he finds his one opening, his one chance at victory, and he pounces on it as soon as he can.

There’s a lot we can learn, as fighters and as people, from this method, because as unsophisticated as it seems, it continues to win him fights.