Amidst the tons of talented fighters, celebrities and ex- athletes continue to plague both MMA and boxing. Turning professional is a big deal in these sports, but when big name, low rep people turn “pro” it tarnishes a growing and established sport. Taking nothing away from Herschel Walker and his accomplishments, I’ve been a Cowboys fan since I was knee high, but he is 48 and has a mental disorder. In his book he claimed to be suffering from multiple personalities. His signing to fight professional MMA is the wrong move in an organization that has a lot to prove. I feel bad for calling out Strikeforce so many times, because I actually like a lot of their fighters, but as an organization, they keep making moves that are questionable and have sunk other companies. In boxing we have seen many cases of wtf, such as Danny Bonaduce, Rodney King, Tonya Harding, etc… where does it end? With these people it ended on their back, in humiliation. Now, I’m not saying these people should never try MMA or boxing. I would prefer they would try out amateur fighting and help the up and coming guys get an audience. I would definitely watch Walker in an amateur match working with a guy that’s just honing his skills, rather than a professional beatdown.
-Raul Rangel
Fedor Emelianenko has been the most dominating heavyweight in MMA history. His only defeat was due to a doctor stoppage, a cut on the eye, caused by an illegal elbow strike. Since then Fedor has been unstoppable, defeating opponent after opponent in Pride FC and Affliction.
When the UFC and its parent company Zuffa Entertainment purchased Pride in ’07, many speculated that it was only a matter of time before we would see Fedor in the Octagon. But when negotiations failed between the two due to Fedor’s high demands, many people blamed UFC President Dana White for not getting the deal done.
Affliction, the clothing brand, decided to start promoting fights on PPV and signed Fedor Emelianenko to a 3 fight deal. In his two and only two bouts for the company Fedor was victorious in a :37 second TKO over Tim Sylvia, and a vicious KO over Andrei Arlovski. Both fighters are former UFC heavyweight champions, and for a while were the top talents in their division.
A third bout was scheduled to take place between Fedor and former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Burnett. However, during his application screening Burnett tested positive for anabolic steroids and was denied a license by the state of
Once again the talk of Fedor joining the UFC began heating up. And yet again negotiations fell through when M-1, the Russian promotion that Fedor co-owns, wanted to co-promote with the UFC. M-1 has had a small number of shows. Their most recently planned event on August 28, 2009, in
So, with that, does this mean Fedor Emelianenko is not the #1 fighter in the world? The top match would have been against Brock Lesnar, who is now the #2 fighter in the world. UFC’s heavyweight division finally has some depth behind it with names like Carwin, Mir, Couture, Vasquez, and Kongo. They also have an Ultimate Fighter cast that is dedicated to the heavyweight division, along with an internet sensation named Kimbo Slice. The UFC is where a true #1 heavyweight would seal his legacy.
Raul Rangel
-Best internet quote this week:
“Fedor going to Strikeforce is the equivalence of Albert Pujols going to play little league.”
The week started off like any other week in mma with interviews and physicals leading up to Afflictions 3rd ppv titled “Trilogy”. But all that ended on Tuesday July 21, 2009 when Josh Barnett tested positive for anabolic steriods and was denied a license to fight in California 10 days before the event. This leaving Affliction without ample time to find a suitable replacement and time for proper training and marketing, “Trilogy” was canceled. But the shock of the week was the anouncement on Friday July 24, 2009: Affliction folded up its fight promoting and became the official sponsors of UFC. Oh, and by the way did I mention Tito Ortiz is most likely back in the UFC?
What a week it was. So many stories were popping up left and right no one knew where to start. I guess we can begin with Barnett, he’s done it once and he did it again. Steroids is what got Barnet kicked out of the UFC back in 2002, when testing positive after his fight with Randy Couture. Since then Barnett has fought for companies that were lenient, to say the least, on fighters remaining clean on drug tests and has only fought in America 3 times since his suspension.
With one of the competitors out of the main event, Affliction was looking for a replacement fighter to face the number one fighter in the world. Names like Vitor Belfort, Bobby Lashley. and (I kid you not) Tank Abbott were being asked to fight Fedor Emelianenko in one week. For those living under a rock and do not know about Fedor, let me put it to you like this. Imagine being asked to fight Mike Tyson next Saturday during his prime, get the picture. His only defeat came from an illegal strike that caused a cut to Fedor’s head to re-open a cut from a previous fight.
Affliction decided to cancel their August 1st show and plan for one later, in 3- 4 months. Most insiders and hardcore fans knew it was only a matter of time for the company to fold. Last October it looked like a possibility due to Affliction moving the show 3 months from its original date. The name “Trilogy” most likely meant it was the final card for the fledging promotion venture. But where were the Golden Boy Promotions and Trump Enterprises that helped shape the Affliction ppv in January?
Then on that friday afternoon UFC sent out a press statement: Affliction was no longer promoting fights and was a sole sponsor of the UFC. Even though most knew this was going to happen sooner or later, it still shook the mma community at its foundation. Analysts predicted that if the promotion did fail it would wind up in (UFC’s rival promotion) Strikeforce’s favor, due to their working relations.
Tito Ortiz is possibly back in the UFC, which is eerily reminiscent of the scene in “The Godfather” where Michael Corleone ties up all the family’s loose ends. Now that one of the most infamous feuds in mma is now over, what can we expect to see from both sides? Tito is far from a title shot, but could pose problems for other light heavyweights in the UFC.
So, what now happens to the fighters that were to fight on “Trilogy”? Where does Fedor go? Can Strikeforce benefit now by being the number 2 company in the United States? Is Barnett really the number 2 fighter in the world? And, how long can Tito and Dana tolerate each other before there is bad blood again? Only time will tell with all these lingering questions.
Raul Rangel
Going to surgery to fix my torn ankle and two broken bones. Sorry for not posting lately, but I broke my ankle the night of the fights. I will be back soon after all is said and done. Be good and enjoy the fights.
Women’s MMA has started picking momentum early this summer, after a failed stint in EliteXC. After Elite fell, women’s MMA was in question. Would the UFC pick it up? Could we see Gina Carano in WEC, or would another promotion pick up the division? All questions were answered when Strikeforce bought EliteXC and re-signed several big female talents. Now the fight that most MMA fans have been waiting for over a year is going to happen. Gina Carano will fight Cris “Cyborg” Santos on August 15, 2009.
This fight has already made history and both opponents have barely started their intense pre-fight training regiments. For the first time in history two females will headline a major MMA card. This speaks volumes to the competitors. In a sport dominated by men, they are shown as equals. It has taken decades for some sports to recognize women athletic competitors. The WNBA, the NPF (women’s pro softball league), women’s ice hockey, etc… In a relatively short period of time women’s MMA has grown, taking the faces of these two competitors and others as the heroes of a new era in women’s sports.
This fight will be for the new Womens 145-lb Championship title and will have 5 rounds at 5 minutes. Something that many women competitors have been waiting for since they started fighting.
Women’s MMA has made leaps and bounds, and will continue to grow. The UFC has argued that there are hardly enough fighters to make a division. With Strikeforce holding a title fight, Dana White might be re-thinking his stance on the subject. And, several sources have heard the rumblings of an all female cast for The Ultimate Fighter. This match may break the mold for women in professional sports, this could be our Billie Jean King vs. Chris Evert.
Raul Rangel
With Kimbo going to The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) series, one has to wonder, has hell frozen over? Kimbo Slice, the man who unfortunately tied street fighting with MMA, and was the face of a bankrupt fighting promotion, is now one of the contestants fighting for a lucrative deal with the UFC. Can this work for everbody in the end? Or will it explode in everyone’s face?
One of the biggest critics of Kimbo has been UFC president, Dana White. Calling him everything from a thug to a guy who can’t fight, Dana White once stated that the only way Kimbo Slice could go into the UFC is that he would have to go through TUF. Many thought this scenerio would never happen as both would have to put their differences on the back burner. And how would a man that headlined the first MMA event on a major network go to a show and prove that he can fight professionally? Imagine many peoples face when they found out that such a deal was met between the 2 parties.
So far this experiment benifits everyone from Dana White to Kimbo Slice to the fans. The UFC gets Kimbo almost for no money to help a show that has seen better days. Not to mention the two coaches for season 10, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans, have a deep dislike for each other. Kimbo gets to prove to all the people that he belongs in MMA and is a real fighter. And, the fans get to reap all the benefits of a hopefully soon to be great season for TUF.
Now, if Kimbo ultimately fails, all responsibility falls on one man, Kimbo himself. Everything that his critics have said will have been vindicated and UFC will be able to wash their hands of him very easily.
However if he does lose a fight in TUF, it does not means that the venture was a failure in any way. Look at some of the other fighters that lost on TUF, only to go on and have a great career in MMA: Stephan Bonnar, Matt Hamil, Keith Jardine, and others.With all the scenerios that can play out this makes it the most anticipated season of The Ultimate Fighter ever.
Raul Rangel
Like it or not MMA is a business and should be treated like a business. Fighters agree to fights and that they will meet a certain weight. But if no contracts are signed between the two, where is the accountability? Continuously fighters are not making weight and sometimes are not even showing up to weigh-ins. It hurts the other fighters, fans, and promoters when fighters do not meet their end of the bargain. Fighters sometimes come from out of town to get a fight, only to be let down by someone else’s lack of focus and training. With a written contract between the fighters, all terms are covered, and there are no ifs ands or buts. But what should the penalties be if the fighter does not meet the standards of the contract? Suspension? Expulsion? Or a fine? Whatever it is, something needs to be done to penalize the unprofessional.
-Raul
When someone says rematch many different bouts come to mind: B.J. Penn vs. George St. Pierre, Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier, Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar, etc… The point being these entire match ups came with closure between 2 combatants. Fights come and go, but the truly special ones need one more match.
One match that comes to mind was the fight between Stetson Horne and Noel Santiago. The intensity was high from the beginning to the end, with both fighters putting their heart and soul into the fight. Stetson was standing tall with Noel, just barely winning by points on his standup, while Noel was clearly dominant on the take downs and on his ground game. The match ended with a split decision for Noel, but most of the crowd thought they needed to go a few more rounds to determine a real winner. I personally would love to see this match again with the winner receiving a title shot.
Another match, which I would like to see again, happened on the same night as the previous bout. Michael Martinez vs. Antwon Williams was a match that was 5 months in the making, due to Williams’s accident. This was a fight during which Martinez took damage from powerful kicks by Williams, but stood his ground and fought threw the pain until the end.
There are also many other fights on mainstream that I would love to see, let me know your opinions.
By Raul Rangel
Yep, it’s beginning to sound true. Talks are getting more serious for the UFC to hold an event at the AT&T
For a few years the UFC has been trying to gain a more hispanic audience, to lure boxing fans. UFC is also in talks with Mexican television for the broadcast their programs. With
UFC’s hispanic fighters could use some recognition with the hispanic audience. Fighters like Roger Huerta, Rolando Delgado, Nate Diaz, Efrain Escudero, and others have a high appeal to hispanic fans.
By Raul Rangel
We all get to a point in our life when we start to wonder, ‘how much do I have left in the tank?’. When we are young the sky is the limit on how far we can push our abilities, but father time catches up to us. Athletes feel it the worst. With aging, your performance starts to slide and before you know it the sport you loved has moved on, leaving you behind. But, when should a fighter retire and what determines that a person should retire.
Is it losses that determine retirement? Guys like Ken Shamrock, Chuck Liddell, and Tank Abbott are losing in first and second round efforts, to guys who would not have stood a chance against them in their prime. To watch Tank gas out in a fight 2 min into round 1 makes people forget the devasting punching power he once had. Chuck Liddell, has gone 1 and 3 in his last 4 fights, 2 losses coming from knockouts. Many claim Shamrock should have called it quits after his run with Tito Ortiz, when he could not work in much of his offense.
The training fighters go through these days is different from what it used to be. A lot of focus goes into conditioning and proper knowledge of Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, etc…. Where as, the early nineties fighters focussed on one of their strengths. For a fighter at 35, picking up these skills is next to impossible.
With age also comes a longer recovery time from a fight. A younger fighter could probably go 2 months after their bout, but the older you get time keeps moving further apart. Also, the older you get the more likely you are to suffer an injury or even be knocked out.
Maybe it’s just me, but I like seeing superstars leaving on a high note. Coming from a pro wrestling background, I always felt sad looking at the old vets hoping to get on a show. I like to remember my heroes as Gods that can’t be touched, not the ones trying to re-live their old glory days. Raul