I will now be writing for the Bleacher Report. My first article can be found here:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/30420-UFC-Shows-Its-Might-Anderson-Silva-To-Squash-Competition-At-Light-Heavyweight-
In an attempt to bleed Affliction of its viewers on its inaugural event, July 19th, the UFC will air a live event for free on Spike TV. The Ultimate Fight Night 14 card will feature the headlining bout Anderson Silva vs James Irvin. The most intriguing part of this bout is that it will be at Light Heavyweight. The UFC will test it's middleweight champ at 205 lbs. This is just a test to see how he does at light heavy and will return to 185 to defend his title later in the year. If all goes well, a rumoured superfight between Anderson Silva and Chuck Liddell might become a reality!
Other fights on the card include:
Hermes Franca vs Frankie Edgar (Moved from UFC 87)
Jake O'brien vs Cain Valesquez
This card is being put together in only 5 weeks, so expect the fight announcements to come fast and furious.
I will continue to post the links to my Bleacher Report articles here on my blog and keep tabs on other blogs I enjoy reading.
For more info on Silva's move to light heavyweight, click the link above.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
MMA Fact vs Fiction
Dave Doyle from Yahoo!Sports wrote a very interesting article about the criticism MMA has, and still is, receiving from uneducated sports columnists. It is a brilliant article that I just had to share with you. It outlines many of the ficticious claims made against the sport of mixed martial arts by unprofessional media and fires back against each of these claims with the REAL FACTS!
I find it irritating that many of these supposed "professional" columnists/reporters use their columns to take jabs at the sport of MMA rather than reporting on the growth and success of the sport. I came across this very situation when I was in Montreal for UFC 83. One columnist for the Montreal Gazette covered the event and not once in the article did she mention how good the show was, the professionalism of the production and the athletes, the intelligence and skill of the athletes, or the success of the show. Nor did she comment on the incredible business the UFC brought to the local businesses in Montreal. The article had a sarcastic feel and indirectly slammed the sport of MMA. The columnist reported on the clothes that fans were sporting, she mentioned 5 construction workers who were in line to see the show, made sarcastic remarks about the music in the Bell Centre, made fun of the types of fans attending the show, and basically called the entire event a farce.
Many reporters don't have a choice of what sporting events they cover, they are told by their boss on what to cover. If columnists like this don't like what they cover, they should at least make an effort to understand what it is they are covering. Entering into this agreement with an uneducated, one-sided opinion is not how professional reporters do their work. This columnist should have done her homework, watched an MMA card or two, done a bit of research, talked to people affiliated with the event - fighters, coaches, CEO's, sponsors, etc.
It's frustrating to me that these criticisms are still taking place. MMA has come so far and has evolved into a legitimate sport and should be recognized as such. Dave Doyle does a great job of bringing the facts to the table against all the criticisms made against mixed martial arts.
The full article can be found here.
I find it irritating that many of these supposed "professional" columnists/reporters use their columns to take jabs at the sport of MMA rather than reporting on the growth and success of the sport. I came across this very situation when I was in Montreal for UFC 83. One columnist for the Montreal Gazette covered the event and not once in the article did she mention how good the show was, the professionalism of the production and the athletes, the intelligence and skill of the athletes, or the success of the show. Nor did she comment on the incredible business the UFC brought to the local businesses in Montreal. The article had a sarcastic feel and indirectly slammed the sport of MMA. The columnist reported on the clothes that fans were sporting, she mentioned 5 construction workers who were in line to see the show, made sarcastic remarks about the music in the Bell Centre, made fun of the types of fans attending the show, and basically called the entire event a farce.
Many reporters don't have a choice of what sporting events they cover, they are told by their boss on what to cover. If columnists like this don't like what they cover, they should at least make an effort to understand what it is they are covering. Entering into this agreement with an uneducated, one-sided opinion is not how professional reporters do their work. This columnist should have done her homework, watched an MMA card or two, done a bit of research, talked to people affiliated with the event - fighters, coaches, CEO's, sponsors, etc.
It's frustrating to me that these criticisms are still taking place. MMA has come so far and has evolved into a legitimate sport and should be recognized as such. Dave Doyle does a great job of bringing the facts to the table against all the criticisms made against mixed martial arts.
The full article can be found here.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Half-Guard Heaven
Tuesday was the first Jiu-Jitsu class I attended in 9 weeks. I broke my hand in early march and haven't been able to return to training due to the injury. March 6th was my last class and in this time I have done next to nothing in terms of training. Needless to say, I am a little out of shape.
In my absence from training, I also missed a seminar at the club from Pat Cooligan. He is the instructor at Team Renzo in Ottawa, who we are affiliated with. He is the only Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black-belt in Canada. Our club is very fortunate to have such a skilled practicioner as a friend of ours. Pat makes the trip to Sudbury twice a year, and we make the trip to Ottawa approximately the same amount. We are also fortunate enough to attend seminars by the man himself, Renzo Gracie.
During the seminar with Pat, the club went over a large number of half-guard techniques. Since I missed this seminar, I asked my instructor to run through some of these techniques during class on Tuesday. So here's a few techniques to use from half-guard.
First, a few basic rules of half-guard. Half-guard is when you have your legs triangling only one of your opponent's legs. The major rule here is to make sure you are underhooking your opponent's arm on the same side as the leg you have trapped. If you don't have this underhook, you are not in control. If you don't have the underhook, you have to fight to get it. There's nothing you can do without it. The underhook can't be sloppy either, make sure that your hand (we'll say the left one for this example) is underhooking his right arm and it is gripping his left shoulder. You should never be on your back, always on your side if you wish to mount any sort of offense. So, if you are underhooking with your left arm, you need to hip out and turn so that your left shoulder is off the mat. Pull your right shoulder back to be completely on your right side. Now with your right hand grip your opponent's left bicep or wrist. You need to control that arm. So this is what I consider to be half guard: On your side, trapping one of your opponent's legs, underhooking the arm on the same side, and controlling the other arm. In this position, YOU are the one winning the battle, not your opponent on top.
All these techniques begin from this position.
Escape To The Back
Half Butterfly Roll
In my absence from training, I also missed a seminar at the club from Pat Cooligan. He is the instructor at Team Renzo in Ottawa, who we are affiliated with. He is the only Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black-belt in Canada. Our club is very fortunate to have such a skilled practicioner as a friend of ours. Pat makes the trip to Sudbury twice a year, and we make the trip to Ottawa approximately the same amount. We are also fortunate enough to attend seminars by the man himself, Renzo Gracie.
During the seminar with Pat, the club went over a large number of half-guard techniques. Since I missed this seminar, I asked my instructor to run through some of these techniques during class on Tuesday. So here's a few techniques to use from half-guard.
First, a few basic rules of half-guard. Half-guard is when you have your legs triangling only one of your opponent's legs. The major rule here is to make sure you are underhooking your opponent's arm on the same side as the leg you have trapped. If you don't have this underhook, you are not in control. If you don't have the underhook, you have to fight to get it. There's nothing you can do without it. The underhook can't be sloppy either, make sure that your hand (we'll say the left one for this example) is underhooking his right arm and it is gripping his left shoulder. You should never be on your back, always on your side if you wish to mount any sort of offense. So, if you are underhooking with your left arm, you need to hip out and turn so that your left shoulder is off the mat. Pull your right shoulder back to be completely on your right side. Now with your right hand grip your opponent's left bicep or wrist. You need to control that arm. So this is what I consider to be half guard: On your side, trapping one of your opponent's legs, underhooking the arm on the same side, and controlling the other arm. In this position, YOU are the one winning the battle, not your opponent on top.
All these techniques begin from this position.
Escape To The Back
- Hip out as much as you can to create space. You will have to release the triangle you are using to trap your opponent's leg.
- With your left hand (that's underhooking) release the grip you have on the shoulder.
- Hip out again and shoot your left hand forward (in the direction that the top of your heads are facing), over his right shoulder. This should push your opponent forward.
- Now, he is on his belly, face down. You are on your side with your legs still in half guard.
- Grip his left shoulder again and pull yourself onto his back.
- Sink in your hooks.
Half Butterfly Roll
- Hip out to create space. (Opponent's right leg in your half guard again.)
- Put in your left hook to create a half-butterfly-guard on your left side.
- Remove your right hand from your opponent's wrist or bicep.
- Swim your right arm in between your opponent's legs and hook his left leg.
- Bring your opponent's left knee to your head by pulling your arm forward and placing your fist to your head. (Like you would if you were talking on the phone.)
- Lift your opponent's right knee and suck your hips in to force your opponent on top of you, with his knee up. To keep his balance, he must plant his right foot on the mat. Your foot is now hooking at his right knee.
- Remove your left arm to release the underhook.
- Grab your opponent's right ankle with your left hand.
- In one motion, pull on the ankle and push forward with your left shin. This causes your opponent's right knee to twist and forces him backwards. With your right arm still hooking your opponent's left leg, you can use it to push him over as you are coming up.
- You are now in your opponent's half-guard!
Passing Half-Guard
The most largely used technique to pass your opponent's half-guard, is to lean forward, put pressure on your opponent's jaw, and with the leg that isn't trapped, hook one of your opponent's legs and pry your other leg free.
But that doesn't always work, whether it be because your opponent is trapping your leg too tightly or because you are losing your balance.
If this is the case, then there is a very simple way to pass.
In this example we'll say that your opponent has your right leg trapped.
- Simply roll over your opponent's belly and end up on his left side.
- Make sure that you control you opponent's right bicep during this motion. This is to prevent your opponent from rolling you over as you perform this move.
- Plant your left foot to keep you balanced.
- From here, pulling your leg out becomes much easier.
- Use your available leg to push against your opponent's legs and pull your leg free. You will end up in side control using this method.
Simple enough? Sometimes the most simple techniques are the most effective.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Bell Centre Atmosphere at UFC 83 Was Insane!!!
Saturday, April 19th was the first time I ever attended a UFC event live. It lived up to everything I thought it would be and much, much, much more!!! SO MUCH MORE!!! I'll run you through my entire weekend there and give my thoughts on all of the fights!
I got up early Friday morning with four other friends, two of whom are my brother in-laws, but best friends nonetheless. Equipped with digital cameras, high definition video cameras, a rented minivan, DVD player, and five Section 106, Row L seats at the Bell Centre, we finally left Sudbury around 10:00-10:30am. We arrived in Montreal around 6:30pm on Friday.
Driving in Montreal must be an art that comes with years of practice. It is no easy feat as Montreal is a city jammed with one way streets, very low traffic lights that stand on the side of the road and not above it, weird intersections, and a lot of 'scenery' to look at. Scenery that could get a man in big trouble if travelling with a wife or girlfriend.
After circling our hotel two times, we were finally able to get to the street that would get us to the front entrance. It was clear right away that we were staying at the right hotel this weekend. The entrance to the hotel was buzzing with fight fans. Team Serra were standing against the railing on the stairs to the lobby entrance. When checking in, Michael Bisping and his girlfriend were checking in right in front of us. Perfect picture opportunity. He looked very scrawny!! This was due to him cutting weight to make the 185 lbs middleweight limit. I knew immediately that this was going to be a weekend to remember! This was the hotel that all the UFC fighters were staying at!!
We got into our room and got settled. We decided to hit up a big fishing store in Montreal so we headed to the elevator. When the doors opened to the elevator, Jason MacDonald was standing there eating an energy bar. Another picture opportunity! The entire lobby was buzzing all weekend. Packed with fans and fighters taking pictures! The atmosphere in the hotel was awesome!! You couldn't walk down the streets of Montreal without hearing the "GSP!" chant a few times! One office building downtown Montreal had a huge GSP banner in it's windows many floors up.
When we got back to the hotel, I noticed Kenny Florian in the lobby. He had his back to us as we entered. Me and my buddies immediately got a picture with him and talked briefly. It's actually a very nice picture of the group of us, taken by Kenny's friend. A picture that I am sure to have framed. We headed up to our room to get ready for a night out in Montreal. We then noticed David 'The Crow' Loiseau sitting on a couch in the lobby. More pictures!! On our way back out of the hotel, Arianny Celeste, the UFC ring girl, was standing with a friend in this insanely sexy corset. I was the only one who noticed her as we exited the elevator. I immediately grabbed my brother in law so we could get a picture. This is probably my favorite picture from the weekend.
Walking down the street to the bars, we met Travis Lutter walking the streets. The rules are a little different in the bars of Montreal is all I'm gonna say! Kenny Florian and Mark DellaGrotte were in the same strip club we were at Friday night! They were there right until closing and stood outside with us after. Even at 4 am the hotel lobby was jumping with fans! Simply unbelievable!
Friday, the pictures with fighters didn't stop. Me and my buddies took a walk in the underground mall in Montreal. Walking around in a very quiet part of the mall, who do we see talking on his cell phone, but Forrest Griffin. Once again, I was the first one to notice the fighter. We immediately grabbed our cameras for pictures but then decided against bugging him for pictures since he was on his phone. We didn't want to bug the guy. Aside from us, he was the only other person in this quiet hallway in the mall. We walked past him and waved and nodded at him. We could tell right away that he appreciated not having us harass him for pictures while he was on his phone. He took the time to interrupt his phone conversation to say "Have a good one guys!" We got to the end of the hallway and realized that the doors at the end were locked. So we walked back. On our way back, we noticed Forrest standing outside a little coffee shop inside the mall. This time we bugged him for pictures. He told us that he really appreciated it when we didn't bug him for pictures while he was on the phone and seemed happy to take a few pictures with us. All of the fighters we met so far were alot smaller than I thought they'd be. Shorter and skinner than I am and I weight around 185 lbs. Forrest, however, looked massive! I was the second smallest guy in my group and he made everyone look small. Even my brother in law and friend who both weigh around 210 looked small and short compared to Forrest.
One our way back to the hotel we were walking on the bridge heading back, when once again I noticed another fighter. Dan Henderson was at the lobby entrance taking pictures with fans outside. So we took off across the bridge and down the stairs to the hotel entrance. When we got close, his manager (I think this was his manager) said "Yes, he'll take a picture with you". So we shook his hand talked and took pictures. He is actually alot smaller than I thought he'd be. Of all the fighters, I think Dan's size was the one that surprised me the most. Short with skinny legs. But the back muscles and strength of that guy were scary. When he gripped us when taking pictures, you could tell that this guy could crush you with his fist if he wanted to. Even after taking pictures outside, he was stuck in the lobby taking pictures long after we already made our way back to our room.
We went out to eat before the fights. After eating we headed over to the Bell Centre. On our way there, we ran into Heath Herring on the street. Tall man. He had a mohawk, black jeans, cowboy boots, and some type of biker t-shirt on. He was on his cell phone so we didn't bother him. We just waved and nodded as we walked by, the same with did with Forrest Griffin.
We stood in line to get into the Bell Centre. I could tell right away that this was going to be a crowd to remember. Chants of "GSP! GSP!" roared from the time we stepped in line till we entered the arena...well the chants never really stopped. Anywhere we went in the Bell Centre there were chears for GSP. There were fans running through traffic with a giant Quebec flag screaming GSP! GSP! This was going to be haywire!!! It was already mayhem outside the Bell Centre and the fights hadn't even started yet!
When we got into the bell centre, Jonathan Goulet's entrance music was blaring out of the arena's sound system. I could see the octagon each time I walked past a section entrance. It looked AWESOME!!!! Everytime I walked past an entrance and looked in, I got more and more excited! The Goulet-Hironaka fight had just started when we sat down in our seats. This was the first fight of the pre-lims and already the arena was nearing capacity!!! INSANE!!! The roar of the crowd was already deafening and this was only the very first fight of the night!!! 11 fights in total on this card!! With each fight, the crowd got louder and louder. You would think that people would get tired of yelling, but that wasn't the case. My voice was practically gone well before they went live on Pay-Per-View!!!
I haven't seen the pay-per-view yet, but I could just imagine what Mike Goldberg was sayin to the camera and to Kenny Florian when the live portion of the event started. It was probably something like "This crowd is ELECTRIC!!" Or something like "The fans are bringing this arena down tonight!!!" I can't wait to see it on TV. Before they went live, Mike Goldberg and Kenny Florian were standing in front of the TV camera waiting to go live for the start of the pay-per-view, and Goldberg was dancing to the music playing in the arena. Pretty funny stuff...stuff you don't see on TV. Oh yeah, Bruce Buffer was doing that between the Franklin/Lutter fight and the St. Pierre/Serra fight. He was standing outside of the Octagon, but still on the platform, facing the crowd, dancing to the music. I wish I got it on tape...You don't get to see this stuff on TV.
There was about a half hour wait between the last pre-lim fight (Jason Day/Alan Belcher) and the live pay-per-view portion. The arena announcer came over the sound system and said "The main card will begin shortly, so do what you gotta do, but come back because we go live on pay-per-view at 10 o'clock!" That was also what was shown on the screens that surround the arena bowl "We go live on Pay-Per-View at 10PM" Again, just stuff you don't get to see on TV. Other things you don't get to see on TV are the stupid camera booms that are used to film the crowd and the fighters' entrances from above.
After the prelims, I could see Sam stout at the back of the floor seats near the rink boards. He just bought a round of beers for the guys in Rich Clementi's corner. They were all standing together talking and laughing. Gray Maynard (from Clementi's camp) was talking with Stout and they looked like best buds. All a show of respect between fighters and their camps.
When the live portion started, the crowd went bananas!!!! The roar was deafening...I know you hear that alot, but I mean it. It was borderline insanity!! The seats were shaking! We were in the lower bowl of the arena. We looked up at the people in the bowls above us and it was just pandemonium!!!!
The crowd never let up. Fight after fight after fight!! The noise level just got increasingly louder!!!
The Nate Quarry/Kalib Starnes fight provided a very interesting switch in crowd reaction and cheering. And rightfully so. Kalib Starnes didn't show up to fight. Quarry did. Starnes backpedalled the entire fight. Barely threw a punch or kick. He pretty much ran from Quarry the entire fight. At first I thought he was just feeling him out, trying to set his distance. But the longer it continued I realized that wasn't the case.
The crowd booed Quarry as they did any opponent to a Canadian. This was natural. We're in Canada so we all cheered for our Canadian fighters. Starnes was no different. We cheered him on during his entrance. Cheered like crazy to support our fellow Canadian. But those cheers immediately turned to boos...both for Starnes and Quarry, as it wasn't immediately clear who was causing these stalemates. But once the crowd realized that Quarry was indead trying to push the action and Starnes was running away, the crowd shifted in favour of Quarry. The boos began for Starnes. Quarry gained even more appreciation when he began mocking Starnes. The crowd erupted in laughter and cheers. Starnes was now hated and Quarry was our hero!!! By the end of the fight, there wasn't a single Starnes fan in the arena. You could have sworn that Quarry was from Canada by the way we cheered for him after the fight. He won us over that night! Starnes was booed out of the arena.
The crowd erupted again when Georges St. Pierre was shown on screen coming out to the arena. The cheers were deafening. But just when you thought this crowd couldn't possibly be any louder, there was an explosion of cheers and screams as GSP entered the arena!!! WOW!!! That crackling sound you hear in your ear when something is way too loud...yeah that happened to me long ago!! This noise level was damn near fatal!!! The cheers got louder yet when he stepped into the cage! Then Matt Serra came out. He was booed with a ferocity that I have never seen before. Unrelenting were us fans. We booed him with everything we had. And then the fight started.
The chanting never stopped!!! From the opening bell, relentless chants of "GSP!GSP!" and "OLE! OLE,OLE,OLE!!!" filled the arena. It was non-stop!! LOUD! Man, was it loud!!! My head was throbbing from the noise level. My voice was gone! I couldn't hear myself think! Everytime Georges took Serra down, passed his guard, threw a punch or a knee, the crowd erupted!!! Near the end of the fight, the crowd began chanting "F*** YOU, SERRA!!" 21,000 fans screaming in unison "F*** YOU, SERRA!!" This is when Georges began unleashing those knees to the body. I began screaming at the top of my lungs because I knew the fight was nearing it's end. I was screaming so loud that I was getting dizzy!!! As was the rest of the crowd!!! And when the ref called a stop to the fight, the thunder came!!!! The loudest outburst of cheers I have ever witnessed and ever been a part of erupted inside the Bell Centre!!!! The floor was shaking!!! The sound waves were enough to knock you on your ass!!! 21,390 fans erupted into a deafening roar the likes of which the UFC has never seen before!!! I thought the building was coming down!! I immediately had goosebumps and chills up the back of my neck!!! The atmosphere and the feeling of being a part of something so memorable is something I simply cannot describe in words. It was something that had to be experienced to be appreciated and understood. It was absolutely unbelievable!!! That was something that I doubt that I'll ever experience ever again and I'm just glad I was fortunate enough to be a part of it.
Best weekend of my life.
I got up early Friday morning with four other friends, two of whom are my brother in-laws, but best friends nonetheless. Equipped with digital cameras, high definition video cameras, a rented minivan, DVD player, and five Section 106, Row L seats at the Bell Centre, we finally left Sudbury around 10:00-10:30am. We arrived in Montreal around 6:30pm on Friday.
Driving in Montreal must be an art that comes with years of practice. It is no easy feat as Montreal is a city jammed with one way streets, very low traffic lights that stand on the side of the road and not above it, weird intersections, and a lot of 'scenery' to look at. Scenery that could get a man in big trouble if travelling with a wife or girlfriend.
After circling our hotel two times, we were finally able to get to the street that would get us to the front entrance. It was clear right away that we were staying at the right hotel this weekend. The entrance to the hotel was buzzing with fight fans. Team Serra were standing against the railing on the stairs to the lobby entrance. When checking in, Michael Bisping and his girlfriend were checking in right in front of us. Perfect picture opportunity. He looked very scrawny!! This was due to him cutting weight to make the 185 lbs middleweight limit. I knew immediately that this was going to be a weekend to remember! This was the hotel that all the UFC fighters were staying at!!
We got into our room and got settled. We decided to hit up a big fishing store in Montreal so we headed to the elevator. When the doors opened to the elevator, Jason MacDonald was standing there eating an energy bar. Another picture opportunity! The entire lobby was buzzing all weekend. Packed with fans and fighters taking pictures! The atmosphere in the hotel was awesome!! You couldn't walk down the streets of Montreal without hearing the "GSP!" chant a few times! One office building downtown Montreal had a huge GSP banner in it's windows many floors up.
When we got back to the hotel, I noticed Kenny Florian in the lobby. He had his back to us as we entered. Me and my buddies immediately got a picture with him and talked briefly. It's actually a very nice picture of the group of us, taken by Kenny's friend. A picture that I am sure to have framed. We headed up to our room to get ready for a night out in Montreal. We then noticed David 'The Crow' Loiseau sitting on a couch in the lobby. More pictures!! On our way back out of the hotel, Arianny Celeste, the UFC ring girl, was standing with a friend in this insanely sexy corset. I was the only one who noticed her as we exited the elevator. I immediately grabbed my brother in law so we could get a picture. This is probably my favorite picture from the weekend.
Walking down the street to the bars, we met Travis Lutter walking the streets. The rules are a little different in the bars of Montreal is all I'm gonna say! Kenny Florian and Mark DellaGrotte were in the same strip club we were at Friday night! They were there right until closing and stood outside with us after. Even at 4 am the hotel lobby was jumping with fans! Simply unbelievable!
Friday, the pictures with fighters didn't stop. Me and my buddies took a walk in the underground mall in Montreal. Walking around in a very quiet part of the mall, who do we see talking on his cell phone, but Forrest Griffin. Once again, I was the first one to notice the fighter. We immediately grabbed our cameras for pictures but then decided against bugging him for pictures since he was on his phone. We didn't want to bug the guy. Aside from us, he was the only other person in this quiet hallway in the mall. We walked past him and waved and nodded at him. We could tell right away that he appreciated not having us harass him for pictures while he was on his phone. He took the time to interrupt his phone conversation to say "Have a good one guys!" We got to the end of the hallway and realized that the doors at the end were locked. So we walked back. On our way back, we noticed Forrest standing outside a little coffee shop inside the mall. This time we bugged him for pictures. He told us that he really appreciated it when we didn't bug him for pictures while he was on the phone and seemed happy to take a few pictures with us. All of the fighters we met so far were alot smaller than I thought they'd be. Shorter and skinner than I am and I weight around 185 lbs. Forrest, however, looked massive! I was the second smallest guy in my group and he made everyone look small. Even my brother in law and friend who both weigh around 210 looked small and short compared to Forrest.
One our way back to the hotel we were walking on the bridge heading back, when once again I noticed another fighter. Dan Henderson was at the lobby entrance taking pictures with fans outside. So we took off across the bridge and down the stairs to the hotel entrance. When we got close, his manager (I think this was his manager) said "Yes, he'll take a picture with you". So we shook his hand talked and took pictures. He is actually alot smaller than I thought he'd be. Of all the fighters, I think Dan's size was the one that surprised me the most. Short with skinny legs. But the back muscles and strength of that guy were scary. When he gripped us when taking pictures, you could tell that this guy could crush you with his fist if he wanted to. Even after taking pictures outside, he was stuck in the lobby taking pictures long after we already made our way back to our room.
We went out to eat before the fights. After eating we headed over to the Bell Centre. On our way there, we ran into Heath Herring on the street. Tall man. He had a mohawk, black jeans, cowboy boots, and some type of biker t-shirt on. He was on his cell phone so we didn't bother him. We just waved and nodded as we walked by, the same with did with Forrest Griffin.
We stood in line to get into the Bell Centre. I could tell right away that this was going to be a crowd to remember. Chants of "GSP! GSP!" roared from the time we stepped in line till we entered the arena...well the chants never really stopped. Anywhere we went in the Bell Centre there were chears for GSP. There were fans running through traffic with a giant Quebec flag screaming GSP! GSP! This was going to be haywire!!! It was already mayhem outside the Bell Centre and the fights hadn't even started yet!
When we got into the bell centre, Jonathan Goulet's entrance music was blaring out of the arena's sound system. I could see the octagon each time I walked past a section entrance. It looked AWESOME!!!! Everytime I walked past an entrance and looked in, I got more and more excited! The Goulet-Hironaka fight had just started when we sat down in our seats. This was the first fight of the pre-lims and already the arena was nearing capacity!!! INSANE!!! The roar of the crowd was already deafening and this was only the very first fight of the night!!! 11 fights in total on this card!! With each fight, the crowd got louder and louder. You would think that people would get tired of yelling, but that wasn't the case. My voice was practically gone well before they went live on Pay-Per-View!!!
I haven't seen the pay-per-view yet, but I could just imagine what Mike Goldberg was sayin to the camera and to Kenny Florian when the live portion of the event started. It was probably something like "This crowd is ELECTRIC!!" Or something like "The fans are bringing this arena down tonight!!!" I can't wait to see it on TV. Before they went live, Mike Goldberg and Kenny Florian were standing in front of the TV camera waiting to go live for the start of the pay-per-view, and Goldberg was dancing to the music playing in the arena. Pretty funny stuff...stuff you don't see on TV. Oh yeah, Bruce Buffer was doing that between the Franklin/Lutter fight and the St. Pierre/Serra fight. He was standing outside of the Octagon, but still on the platform, facing the crowd, dancing to the music. I wish I got it on tape...You don't get to see this stuff on TV.
There was about a half hour wait between the last pre-lim fight (Jason Day/Alan Belcher) and the live pay-per-view portion. The arena announcer came over the sound system and said "The main card will begin shortly, so do what you gotta do, but come back because we go live on pay-per-view at 10 o'clock!" That was also what was shown on the screens that surround the arena bowl "We go live on Pay-Per-View at 10PM" Again, just stuff you don't get to see on TV. Other things you don't get to see on TV are the stupid camera booms that are used to film the crowd and the fighters' entrances from above.
After the prelims, I could see Sam stout at the back of the floor seats near the rink boards. He just bought a round of beers for the guys in Rich Clementi's corner. They were all standing together talking and laughing. Gray Maynard (from Clementi's camp) was talking with Stout and they looked like best buds. All a show of respect between fighters and their camps.
When the live portion started, the crowd went bananas!!!! The roar was deafening...I know you hear that alot, but I mean it. It was borderline insanity!! The seats were shaking! We were in the lower bowl of the arena. We looked up at the people in the bowls above us and it was just pandemonium!!!!
The crowd never let up. Fight after fight after fight!! The noise level just got increasingly louder!!!
The Nate Quarry/Kalib Starnes fight provided a very interesting switch in crowd reaction and cheering. And rightfully so. Kalib Starnes didn't show up to fight. Quarry did. Starnes backpedalled the entire fight. Barely threw a punch or kick. He pretty much ran from Quarry the entire fight. At first I thought he was just feeling him out, trying to set his distance. But the longer it continued I realized that wasn't the case.
The crowd booed Quarry as they did any opponent to a Canadian. This was natural. We're in Canada so we all cheered for our Canadian fighters. Starnes was no different. We cheered him on during his entrance. Cheered like crazy to support our fellow Canadian. But those cheers immediately turned to boos...both for Starnes and Quarry, as it wasn't immediately clear who was causing these stalemates. But once the crowd realized that Quarry was indead trying to push the action and Starnes was running away, the crowd shifted in favour of Quarry. The boos began for Starnes. Quarry gained even more appreciation when he began mocking Starnes. The crowd erupted in laughter and cheers. Starnes was now hated and Quarry was our hero!!! By the end of the fight, there wasn't a single Starnes fan in the arena. You could have sworn that Quarry was from Canada by the way we cheered for him after the fight. He won us over that night! Starnes was booed out of the arena.
The crowd erupted again when Georges St. Pierre was shown on screen coming out to the arena. The cheers were deafening. But just when you thought this crowd couldn't possibly be any louder, there was an explosion of cheers and screams as GSP entered the arena!!! WOW!!! That crackling sound you hear in your ear when something is way too loud...yeah that happened to me long ago!! This noise level was damn near fatal!!! The cheers got louder yet when he stepped into the cage! Then Matt Serra came out. He was booed with a ferocity that I have never seen before. Unrelenting were us fans. We booed him with everything we had. And then the fight started.
The chanting never stopped!!! From the opening bell, relentless chants of "GSP!GSP!" and "OLE! OLE,OLE,OLE!!!" filled the arena. It was non-stop!! LOUD! Man, was it loud!!! My head was throbbing from the noise level. My voice was gone! I couldn't hear myself think! Everytime Georges took Serra down, passed his guard, threw a punch or a knee, the crowd erupted!!! Near the end of the fight, the crowd began chanting "F*** YOU, SERRA!!" 21,000 fans screaming in unison "F*** YOU, SERRA!!" This is when Georges began unleashing those knees to the body. I began screaming at the top of my lungs because I knew the fight was nearing it's end. I was screaming so loud that I was getting dizzy!!! As was the rest of the crowd!!! And when the ref called a stop to the fight, the thunder came!!!! The loudest outburst of cheers I have ever witnessed and ever been a part of erupted inside the Bell Centre!!!! The floor was shaking!!! The sound waves were enough to knock you on your ass!!! 21,390 fans erupted into a deafening roar the likes of which the UFC has never seen before!!! I thought the building was coming down!! I immediately had goosebumps and chills up the back of my neck!!! The atmosphere and the feeling of being a part of something so memorable is something I simply cannot describe in words. It was something that had to be experienced to be appreciated and understood. It was absolutely unbelievable!!! That was something that I doubt that I'll ever experience ever again and I'm just glad I was fortunate enough to be a part of it.
Best weekend of my life.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tim Boetsch - The Replacement Killer
Before UFC 81, many people - including myself - had never heard of Tim Boetsch before. The unknown fighter from Sunbury, Pennsylvania was a late replacement for Tomasz Drwal to take on David Heath in a light heavyweight matchup. Ten days notice was all that was given to Boetsch, but for a chance to fight in the UFC, it was not something he was about to turn down.
Apparently this man had a deep dark secret that we was dying to let out - he is a beast, a bull looking to run through whoever and whatever stands in his way.
His performance at UFC 81 was one of, if not THE most exciting of the night. Like I said before, I had never seen Tim Boetsch compete before this fight, but what I witnessed in his UFC debut was absolute dominance. I don't think I've ever seen a fighter use push kicks as an offensive tactic before and use it so effectively and so consistently.
Perhaps it was the lack of notice and lack of preparation for a fighter who was virtually unknown, but Heath's inability to defend against the push kicks is what eventually led to his knockout defeat. The one thing that was known about Boetsch was that he was a wrestler so I'm sure Heath prepared his game plan for that of a wrestler and not for a Jeet Kune Do student.
Well, Boetsch Jeet Kune Do'ed the snot out of Heath. With each push kick, Boetsch seemed to gain more confidence as he realized that Heath had no answers for the push kicks - a tactic used in many martial arts to create distance between you and your opponent when you find yourself in trouble. In the closing seconds of round one, Heath was able to close the distance on Boetsch but like I said, Tim Boetsch is a bull and would have none of Heath and tossed him on his head in a move reminiscent of the seniors at Wal-Mart during the year-end clearance sales.
Heath didn't put his hands out to protect himself from the throw and landed face first on the mat. Heath was knocked out on impact. The follow up barrage was just a formality and the fight was stopped at 4:52 of the first round.
With a performance like that, it didn't take long for the UFC to call on Boetsch once again to step back inside the Octagon.
Stephan Bonnar was to face Matt Hamill at UFC Fight Night on April 2nd in Colorado, but had to pull out due to injury. So enter Tim Boetsch. Fresh off his dominant victory over Heath, Boetsch will waste no time getting back into the Octagon to face Matt Hamill. Hamill is an excellent wrestler with alot of power and will have plenty of time to prepare for a fighter like Boetsch, a luxury that David Heath didn't have. It will be interesting to see how this fight plays out. It would be safe to say that Hamill will be looking to put Boetsch on his back and pound him out and that Boetsch will be looking to use those push kicks once again to keep Hamill from closing the distance to set up the takedown. Let's not forget that Boetsch, too, is a wrestler and might have good takedown defense. Hamill not only has great wrestling skills, but showed incredible improvement in his standup in his fight with Michael Bisping. I still know too little about Boetsch at this point to make any sort of prediction on what will happen in this fight, but either way it's still exciting to see Larry The Cable Guy, I mean Tim Boetsch, fight inside the Octagon.
I did some research on Tim Boetsch and here's a few things I've come up with:
- He is 7 - 1 in MMA.
- His only loss was a unanimous decision to Vladimir Matyushenko in the IFL.
- 5 of his 7 wins were in round 1.
- All of his wins came inside the distance.
Hamill will be a very tough test for Boetsch and we will find out on April 2nd whether or not his pummelling of David Heath was a fluke. If Boetsch upsets Hamill, then he might want to adopt the moniker "The Replacement Killer".
Apparently this man had a deep dark secret that we was dying to let out - he is a beast, a bull looking to run through whoever and whatever stands in his way.
His performance at UFC 81 was one of, if not THE most exciting of the night. Like I said before, I had never seen Tim Boetsch compete before this fight, but what I witnessed in his UFC debut was absolute dominance. I don't think I've ever seen a fighter use push kicks as an offensive tactic before and use it so effectively and so consistently.
Perhaps it was the lack of notice and lack of preparation for a fighter who was virtually unknown, but Heath's inability to defend against the push kicks is what eventually led to his knockout defeat. The one thing that was known about Boetsch was that he was a wrestler so I'm sure Heath prepared his game plan for that of a wrestler and not for a Jeet Kune Do student.
Well, Boetsch Jeet Kune Do'ed the snot out of Heath. With each push kick, Boetsch seemed to gain more confidence as he realized that Heath had no answers for the push kicks - a tactic used in many martial arts to create distance between you and your opponent when you find yourself in trouble. In the closing seconds of round one, Heath was able to close the distance on Boetsch but like I said, Tim Boetsch is a bull and would have none of Heath and tossed him on his head in a move reminiscent of the seniors at Wal-Mart during the year-end clearance sales.
Heath didn't put his hands out to protect himself from the throw and landed face first on the mat. Heath was knocked out on impact. The follow up barrage was just a formality and the fight was stopped at 4:52 of the first round.
With a performance like that, it didn't take long for the UFC to call on Boetsch once again to step back inside the Octagon.
Stephan Bonnar was to face Matt Hamill at UFC Fight Night on April 2nd in Colorado, but had to pull out due to injury. So enter Tim Boetsch. Fresh off his dominant victory over Heath, Boetsch will waste no time getting back into the Octagon to face Matt Hamill. Hamill is an excellent wrestler with alot of power and will have plenty of time to prepare for a fighter like Boetsch, a luxury that David Heath didn't have. It will be interesting to see how this fight plays out. It would be safe to say that Hamill will be looking to put Boetsch on his back and pound him out and that Boetsch will be looking to use those push kicks once again to keep Hamill from closing the distance to set up the takedown. Let's not forget that Boetsch, too, is a wrestler and might have good takedown defense. Hamill not only has great wrestling skills, but showed incredible improvement in his standup in his fight with Michael Bisping. I still know too little about Boetsch at this point to make any sort of prediction on what will happen in this fight, but either way it's still exciting to see Larry The Cable Guy, I mean Tim Boetsch, fight inside the Octagon.
I did some research on Tim Boetsch and here's a few things I've come up with:
- He is 7 - 1 in MMA.
- His only loss was a unanimous decision to Vladimir Matyushenko in the IFL.
- 5 of his 7 wins were in round 1.
- All of his wins came inside the distance.
Hamill will be a very tough test for Boetsch and we will find out on April 2nd whether or not his pummelling of David Heath was a fluke. If Boetsch upsets Hamill, then he might want to adopt the moniker "The Replacement Killer".
Friday, February 8, 2008
UFC 81 Produces No Losers In Its Heavyweight Matchups
For the UFC heavyweights who competed in the main, and co-main events at the Mandalay Bay Events Centre in Las Vegas on Saturday, UFC 81 was their chance to fire back at the critics and make a statement. The UFC heavyweight division is strong!
After being unable to sign a deal with Fedor Emelianenko and losing its heavyweight champion Randy Couture, the UFC heavyweight division seemed to dwindle a little bit. Added to the loss of the top two heavyweights in the world, were very lackluster performances by Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia.
Not to mention all the PRIDE heavyweight imports were losing inside the Octagon. Many of the fighters who were considered the top heavyweights in Pride were having difficulty finding themselves in the win column inside the cage. The biggest dissapointment being Mirko Cro Cop - who was considered, in Pride, to be the most feared striker in all of MMA. But after an average performance in his UFC debut victory against Eddie Sanchez, Cro Cop received a rude welcome to the UFC when he was knocked out via head kick by Gabriel Gonzaga. Cro Cop went on to lose his next fight via decision in a poor performance against Cheick Kongo. The first Pride heavyweight to step into the Octagon, Heath Herring, lost in his UFC debut to Jake O'brien. Fabricio Werdum lost via decision to Andrei Arlovski in his UFC debut in what turned out to be a hellishly boring fight. Nogueira made his UFC debut against Herring last July and aside from being fairly unimpressive in that fight, he nearly had his head kicked off by Herring. If Herring hadn't let him up, Herring would have most certainly won the fight.
The UFC desperately needed its heavyweights to step up and put on some great performances.
And that they did.
Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Tim Sylvia, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira all put on great performances in their bouts at UFC 81.
The co-main event featured the much anticipated UFC debut of former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar as he took on former UFC Heavyweight champ Frank Mir.
There were some major questions that were answered in this fight.
Is Brock Lesnar the real deal? Absolutely. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he can handle himself in there with top competition. He has the strongest ground and pound that I've ever seen. The man is a monster. He took Mir down in the opening 10 seconds of the fight. From there, he began a relentless onslaught that saw him dropping heavy, heavy bombs with the speed of a lightweight. He had Mir in big trouble early on, but was deducted a point and forced a standup after hitting Mir in the back of the head. After the fight was stood back up, Lesnar dropped Mir with a right hand and endup up in Mir's guard and began pounding away again. Mir attempted several arm bar submissions, but Lesnar was able to power out of them with relative ease. Lesnar stood up in Mir's guard and was caught with a kneebar and forced to tap out.
Is Mir still suffering from the effects of a motorcycle accident that nearly claimed his life? Definitely not. Fighting pretty much the entire fight on his back, he proved that he has the hip movement and mobility to be able to compete with the biggest and strongest in the division. The win reignites Mir's career and puts him back on track towards a title shot.
This was a win-win fight for both fighters. With the win, Mir proved that he's back and is ready to be one of the top heavyweights in the division once again. Lesnar showed incredible ability inside the cage. He showed that he is the strongest heavyweight in the UFC, he showed scary ground and pound, and even displayed the power he has in his standup with that right hand that sent Mir to the canvas.
The main event featured Sylvia vs Nogueira for the interim heavyweight championship.
Sylvia has become the man that the fans love to hate. He is booed with increased volume and regularity. Fans don't like him because of his awkward fighting style. He has become a very boring fighter to watch. After winning the title, he began fighting simply to not lose. Not to win. This survive-only style resulted in a number of very boring, very long 25 minute fights. Even in his win against Brandon Vera, he used his size to hold Vera against the fence and keep him there. This was the entire fight. He's also known for making excuses and being very cocky at times. This is why he has become a 6'8" target for criticism.
He wanted to make a statement and hopefully gain some respect from the fans. He did just that in his fight with Nogueira and in his post fight comments. He poured it on in this fight. He let his hands go and tried to finish the fight. He handed Nogueira a beating for most of the fight and nearly finished after knocking Minotauro down in the first. But anyone who knows Nogueira as a fighter, knows that this man can take a beating and still pull out the win. Sylvia ended up tapping out due to a guillotine choke in the third round after handing Nogueira a ten minute pummelling. At the post fight press conference, Sylvia showed both humility and humour in his comments. He joked with the press saying "I hate jiu jitsu". He gave respect for Nogueira acknowledging Nogueira as a legend in the sport and the number one heavyweight jiu jitsu practicioner. He event joked with Lesnar, poking fun at Lesnar's pre-fight comments saying "So he broke Tim Sylvia's arm, who cares. Who cares?! He almost broke you're leg!" With both fighters sitting next to each other, laughing, Sylvia ended his answers with "Brock's gonna go fishing, I'm gonna go hunting and kill some pigs, then we'll go back and work on our jiu jitsu." All of this made him more likeable. I for one, was disgusted watching Sylvia's previous fights, and didn't like him for his attitude. However, after this fight and the post-fight press conference, I have gained new respect for Tim Sylvia. If he keeps it up, I just might become a fan.
Nogueira squashed any notion that he was past his prime in this sport. He proved that he has the biggest heart of any fighter. This man takes punishment and keeps coming forward. He proved that any opponent he faces is going to have a very long night ahead of them if they think they're going to take that belt from him. He is the only fighter to hold a Pride belt and a UFC belt. Nogueira reminds me of Homer Simpson in the episode where Moe trains him to be a boxer. Homer's uncanny ability to take a beating was how he won his fights. He took a beating and when his opponent was tired, he just pushed him over for the win. OK, Nogueira isn't Homer Simpson, he can actually fight. But this is what I think of when I watch a fight like this where Nogueira takes a beating and pulls out the win at the end.
The heavyweight division has seemed to pick up steam after UFC 81. All four of these heavyweights came out winners and I can't wait to see these guys get back into the Octagon!
After being unable to sign a deal with Fedor Emelianenko and losing its heavyweight champion Randy Couture, the UFC heavyweight division seemed to dwindle a little bit. Added to the loss of the top two heavyweights in the world, were very lackluster performances by Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia.
Not to mention all the PRIDE heavyweight imports were losing inside the Octagon. Many of the fighters who were considered the top heavyweights in Pride were having difficulty finding themselves in the win column inside the cage. The biggest dissapointment being Mirko Cro Cop - who was considered, in Pride, to be the most feared striker in all of MMA. But after an average performance in his UFC debut victory against Eddie Sanchez, Cro Cop received a rude welcome to the UFC when he was knocked out via head kick by Gabriel Gonzaga. Cro Cop went on to lose his next fight via decision in a poor performance against Cheick Kongo. The first Pride heavyweight to step into the Octagon, Heath Herring, lost in his UFC debut to Jake O'brien. Fabricio Werdum lost via decision to Andrei Arlovski in his UFC debut in what turned out to be a hellishly boring fight. Nogueira made his UFC debut against Herring last July and aside from being fairly unimpressive in that fight, he nearly had his head kicked off by Herring. If Herring hadn't let him up, Herring would have most certainly won the fight.
The UFC desperately needed its heavyweights to step up and put on some great performances.
And that they did.
Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Tim Sylvia, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira all put on great performances in their bouts at UFC 81.
The co-main event featured the much anticipated UFC debut of former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar as he took on former UFC Heavyweight champ Frank Mir.
There were some major questions that were answered in this fight.
Is Brock Lesnar the real deal? Absolutely. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he can handle himself in there with top competition. He has the strongest ground and pound that I've ever seen. The man is a monster. He took Mir down in the opening 10 seconds of the fight. From there, he began a relentless onslaught that saw him dropping heavy, heavy bombs with the speed of a lightweight. He had Mir in big trouble early on, but was deducted a point and forced a standup after hitting Mir in the back of the head. After the fight was stood back up, Lesnar dropped Mir with a right hand and endup up in Mir's guard and began pounding away again. Mir attempted several arm bar submissions, but Lesnar was able to power out of them with relative ease. Lesnar stood up in Mir's guard and was caught with a kneebar and forced to tap out.
Is Mir still suffering from the effects of a motorcycle accident that nearly claimed his life? Definitely not. Fighting pretty much the entire fight on his back, he proved that he has the hip movement and mobility to be able to compete with the biggest and strongest in the division. The win reignites Mir's career and puts him back on track towards a title shot.
This was a win-win fight for both fighters. With the win, Mir proved that he's back and is ready to be one of the top heavyweights in the division once again. Lesnar showed incredible ability inside the cage. He showed that he is the strongest heavyweight in the UFC, he showed scary ground and pound, and even displayed the power he has in his standup with that right hand that sent Mir to the canvas.
The main event featured Sylvia vs Nogueira for the interim heavyweight championship.
Sylvia has become the man that the fans love to hate. He is booed with increased volume and regularity. Fans don't like him because of his awkward fighting style. He has become a very boring fighter to watch. After winning the title, he began fighting simply to not lose. Not to win. This survive-only style resulted in a number of very boring, very long 25 minute fights. Even in his win against Brandon Vera, he used his size to hold Vera against the fence and keep him there. This was the entire fight. He's also known for making excuses and being very cocky at times. This is why he has become a 6'8" target for criticism.
He wanted to make a statement and hopefully gain some respect from the fans. He did just that in his fight with Nogueira and in his post fight comments. He poured it on in this fight. He let his hands go and tried to finish the fight. He handed Nogueira a beating for most of the fight and nearly finished after knocking Minotauro down in the first. But anyone who knows Nogueira as a fighter, knows that this man can take a beating and still pull out the win. Sylvia ended up tapping out due to a guillotine choke in the third round after handing Nogueira a ten minute pummelling. At the post fight press conference, Sylvia showed both humility and humour in his comments. He joked with the press saying "I hate jiu jitsu". He gave respect for Nogueira acknowledging Nogueira as a legend in the sport and the number one heavyweight jiu jitsu practicioner. He event joked with Lesnar, poking fun at Lesnar's pre-fight comments saying "So he broke Tim Sylvia's arm, who cares. Who cares?! He almost broke you're leg!" With both fighters sitting next to each other, laughing, Sylvia ended his answers with "Brock's gonna go fishing, I'm gonna go hunting and kill some pigs, then we'll go back and work on our jiu jitsu." All of this made him more likeable. I for one, was disgusted watching Sylvia's previous fights, and didn't like him for his attitude. However, after this fight and the post-fight press conference, I have gained new respect for Tim Sylvia. If he keeps it up, I just might become a fan.
Nogueira squashed any notion that he was past his prime in this sport. He proved that he has the biggest heart of any fighter. This man takes punishment and keeps coming forward. He proved that any opponent he faces is going to have a very long night ahead of them if they think they're going to take that belt from him. He is the only fighter to hold a Pride belt and a UFC belt. Nogueira reminds me of Homer Simpson in the episode where Moe trains him to be a boxer. Homer's uncanny ability to take a beating was how he won his fights. He took a beating and when his opponent was tired, he just pushed him over for the win. OK, Nogueira isn't Homer Simpson, he can actually fight. But this is what I think of when I watch a fight like this where Nogueira takes a beating and pulls out the win at the end.
The heavyweight division has seemed to pick up steam after UFC 81. All four of these heavyweights came out winners and I can't wait to see these guys get back into the Octagon!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
From WWE to UFC - Lesnar Makes His Debut
The clock is ticking away for the biggest fighter debut in UFC history. WWE superstar Brock Lesnar will make his UFC debut this saturday in Las Vegas when he squares off against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir at UFC 81.
Lesnar was made famous during his three years in the WWE, where he became the WWE Undisputed champion. During his reign in the WWE, Lesnar - who was known as "The Next Big Thing" - had feuds with Hulk Hogan, The Rock, and The Undertaker.
Although Lesnar is the first WWE superstar to make the transition to MMA, he's not the first to have toyed with the idea; Kurt Angle has also made it quite clear that he would like to give mixed martial arts a try. Angle talked a lot of smack about the fighters in MMA, and the UFC in particular, saying that the only fighter that he'd have trouble with is 'current UFC Heavyweight champion' Randy Couture. Apparently Angle had spoken with Dana White about making the move, but Dana discarded any idea of Angle coming to the UFC saying Angle would get smashed.
Professional wrestling and mixed martial arts are two very different sports. But don't let Lesnar's stint with the WWE fool you; Lesnar is a legit wrestler with some very real and very big accomplishments in amateur wrestling.
Lesnar won the 2000 NCAA wrestling championship as a heavyweight after placing second in 1999. Lesnar finished his amateur career as a two-time NJCAA All-American, two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Champion, and the 2000 NCAA heavyweight champion with a record of 106-5 overall in four years of college.
That's one track record that is hard to match by anyone. Let's not forget about the shear size of the man; Lesnar is 6' 3" and will have to cut weight to make the UFC Heavyweight division's 265 pound weight limit! He is enormous and frighteningly powerful! So, if there's any professional wrestler that can make the transition to MMA, it's Brock Lesnar.
Now that being said, Lesnar has only one MMA fight under his belt. His lone fight was last April at K-1 Dynamite! in Los Angeles where he blitzed his opponent, Min Soo Kim, in just over a minute. Lesnar immediately shot in for a takedown, gained full mount and from there, he pounded Min Soo Kim into submission.
The lack of experience creates big question marks for Lesnar. The UFC may be taking a huge risk with Lesnar. His fame alone is what got him a multi-fight deal with the UFC and with only about a minute of fight time, no one really knows what to expect from the former WWE superstar.
The UFC isn't giving Lesnar any gimme fights first either. They're throwing him right into the heavyweight mix for his first fight. His opponenent, Frank Mir, is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and is a very big man in his own right, standing 6'1" and weighing 240 pounds.
Mir won the UFC heavyweight title in 2004 by breaking Tim Silvia's arm via armbar in the first round.
This will be a very big test for Lesnar. Although, Mir has looked shaky in his first few fights back after a serious motorcycle accident put him on the sidelines for nearly two years, he looked in top form in his last fight submitting Antoni Hardonk in the first round.
It will be interesting to see how this fight plays out. It's fairly obvious that Lesnar won't try to stand and box with Mir, he'll look for the takedown from the opening bell. I'm not saying that Mir has great boxing skills, it's just that he has more experience with it than Lesnar. This is only Lesnar's second MMA fight and I don't expect him to stray too far from what he does best. Lesnar will look to make this a wrestling match where he will easily have the upper hand. There are very few fighters, if any, that have wrestling pedigree that Lesnar has.
Mir also doesn't have the greatest takedown defense, so I would assume that this fight will almost definitely go to the ground with Mir on his back. The thing here is that this is where Mir is most dangerous. Mir is very good at sinking in various submissions from his back. Lesnar is still very new to the Jiu Jitsu aspect of fighting and I think he may find himself in a bit of trouble in this position. He will no doubt be able to pin Mir on his back for as long as he likes, but will have to be very aware of Mir's submission attempts and look to avoid those at all costs.
This fight will end one of two ways: Mir by submission or Lesnar by decision. Mir by submission is pretty self explanatory; Lesnar takes Mir down, puts him on his back, and gets caught in a submission. Lesnar by decision because again, Lesnar takes Mir down, puts him on his back, keeps him there, and pounds out the decision win. I don't think Lesnar will be able to put Mir away while Mir's on his back because of the fact that Mir isn't just a BJJ Black Belt, he's an MMA BJJ Black Belt. Where alot of Jiu Jitsu black belts have a hard time implementing their game plan when getting punched in the face, Mir trains for that type of fighting/BJJ all the time. He his comfortable on his back while taking punches and can block very well from there.
I can't wait to see this fight. Sure, it has the potential to be a very boring fight, but there's too many questions that I need to have answered for me to miss this one.
From the Squared Circle to the Octagon, in just a few days, the fight world will find out whether or not Brock Lesnar really is "The Next Big Thing".
Lesnar was made famous during his three years in the WWE, where he became the WWE Undisputed champion. During his reign in the WWE, Lesnar - who was known as "The Next Big Thing" - had feuds with Hulk Hogan, The Rock, and The Undertaker.
Although Lesnar is the first WWE superstar to make the transition to MMA, he's not the first to have toyed with the idea; Kurt Angle has also made it quite clear that he would like to give mixed martial arts a try. Angle talked a lot of smack about the fighters in MMA, and the UFC in particular, saying that the only fighter that he'd have trouble with is 'current UFC Heavyweight champion' Randy Couture. Apparently Angle had spoken with Dana White about making the move, but Dana discarded any idea of Angle coming to the UFC saying Angle would get smashed.
Professional wrestling and mixed martial arts are two very different sports. But don't let Lesnar's stint with the WWE fool you; Lesnar is a legit wrestler with some very real and very big accomplishments in amateur wrestling.
Lesnar won the 2000 NCAA wrestling championship as a heavyweight after placing second in 1999. Lesnar finished his amateur career as a two-time NJCAA All-American, two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Champion, and the 2000 NCAA heavyweight champion with a record of 106-5 overall in four years of college.
That's one track record that is hard to match by anyone. Let's not forget about the shear size of the man; Lesnar is 6' 3" and will have to cut weight to make the UFC Heavyweight division's 265 pound weight limit! He is enormous and frighteningly powerful! So, if there's any professional wrestler that can make the transition to MMA, it's Brock Lesnar.
Now that being said, Lesnar has only one MMA fight under his belt. His lone fight was last April at K-1 Dynamite! in Los Angeles where he blitzed his opponent, Min Soo Kim, in just over a minute. Lesnar immediately shot in for a takedown, gained full mount and from there, he pounded Min Soo Kim into submission.
The lack of experience creates big question marks for Lesnar. The UFC may be taking a huge risk with Lesnar. His fame alone is what got him a multi-fight deal with the UFC and with only about a minute of fight time, no one really knows what to expect from the former WWE superstar.
The UFC isn't giving Lesnar any gimme fights first either. They're throwing him right into the heavyweight mix for his first fight. His opponenent, Frank Mir, is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and is a very big man in his own right, standing 6'1" and weighing 240 pounds.
Mir won the UFC heavyweight title in 2004 by breaking Tim Silvia's arm via armbar in the first round.
This will be a very big test for Lesnar. Although, Mir has looked shaky in his first few fights back after a serious motorcycle accident put him on the sidelines for nearly two years, he looked in top form in his last fight submitting Antoni Hardonk in the first round.
It will be interesting to see how this fight plays out. It's fairly obvious that Lesnar won't try to stand and box with Mir, he'll look for the takedown from the opening bell. I'm not saying that Mir has great boxing skills, it's just that he has more experience with it than Lesnar. This is only Lesnar's second MMA fight and I don't expect him to stray too far from what he does best. Lesnar will look to make this a wrestling match where he will easily have the upper hand. There are very few fighters, if any, that have wrestling pedigree that Lesnar has.
Mir also doesn't have the greatest takedown defense, so I would assume that this fight will almost definitely go to the ground with Mir on his back. The thing here is that this is where Mir is most dangerous. Mir is very good at sinking in various submissions from his back. Lesnar is still very new to the Jiu Jitsu aspect of fighting and I think he may find himself in a bit of trouble in this position. He will no doubt be able to pin Mir on his back for as long as he likes, but will have to be very aware of Mir's submission attempts and look to avoid those at all costs.
This fight will end one of two ways: Mir by submission or Lesnar by decision. Mir by submission is pretty self explanatory; Lesnar takes Mir down, puts him on his back, and gets caught in a submission. Lesnar by decision because again, Lesnar takes Mir down, puts him on his back, keeps him there, and pounds out the decision win. I don't think Lesnar will be able to put Mir away while Mir's on his back because of the fact that Mir isn't just a BJJ Black Belt, he's an MMA BJJ Black Belt. Where alot of Jiu Jitsu black belts have a hard time implementing their game plan when getting punched in the face, Mir trains for that type of fighting/BJJ all the time. He his comfortable on his back while taking punches and can block very well from there.
I can't wait to see this fight. Sure, it has the potential to be a very boring fight, but there's too many questions that I need to have answered for me to miss this one.
From the Squared Circle to the Octagon, in just a few days, the fight world will find out whether or not Brock Lesnar really is "The Next Big Thing".
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