The weekend is here again, and that can mean only one thing; the good ship JOE has returned from it’s voyage through the week’s biggest, best and downright bizzarest news, returning with only the rarest treasures from the seven seas of Mixed Martial Arts. Oh, and more stuff about James Toney…
By Brad Wharton.
Saturday:
What better way to start off the MMA week than with some quality fight announcements for your calendar? First up, we learned that UK-based wrecking machine Karlos Vermola would attempt to get his UFC career back on track at 205lbs, against Seth ‘The Kimbo Slayer’ Petruzelli. Loser goes home? We also got the news that Stephan Bonnar would get the chance to build on his recent victory over Krzysztof Soszynski when he tangles with Igor Pokrajac in December. Finally, the long awaited Bellator debut of ‘Judo Jim’ Wallhead will go down on the 15th of October. If you’ve not seen Jimmy fight, imagine a mash-up of Dan Hardy and Karo Parisyan…then do yourself a favour and tune in.
Elsewhere on Saturday, the Brits were out in full force. Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping had some…interesting comments for Patrick Cote, while Jon Hathaway was busy defending the much-derided UFC 120 card. We’re assuming he doesn’t have to spend £150 on a ticket for the pleasure…
Sunday:
It’s been a long-held scientific theory that Bas Rutten + Anything = Hilarious. With that in mind, check out the legendary ‘El Guapo’ in this commercial for Saturday night’s Shark Fight’s PPV, where he’ll be sharing the commentary booth with Don Frye. That’s right folks, Frye and Rutten will have live mics…this is going to be good…
Two weeks removed from his handling at the hands of Randy Couture and subsequent cutting from the UFC, the ghost of James Toney is still haunting us. This time though it’s Vitor Belfort calling out the inimitable Toney for a boxing match. Speaking of guys who’ve probably taken enough punches already in their career, the one mighty ‘Iceman’, Chuck Liddell, revealed that he will likely make a decision on his future this month…lets hope it’s the right one.
Finally, the sexiest column in MMA, The Sunday Supplement, commanded to all to hail the wrestling revolution, taking a look at the dominant runs of mat-based grapplers like Brock Lesnar, Joe Warren and Ben Askren.
Monday:
Upset king Chad Griggs, the fire-fighter and paramedic who derailed the MMA career of WWE star Bobby Lashley last month, is gunning for another big name opponent. This time it’s Brett Roger in the firing line…can Griggs keep the momentum going?
In a refreshing display of humility, Ryan Bader revealed that he had nothing but the utmost respect for his UFC 119 opponent Rogerio Nogueira…but still feels that he will be a future champion. From a show of respect to a show of disrespect, Mike Pyle promised to “beat the s**t” out of his next foe, John Hathaway.
In some sombre news on Monday, it was revealed that Shark Fights veteran Kenny Trevino and his former girlfriend were found dead on Labour Day weekend at the MMA fighter’s home in Texas. Police suspect a murder-suicide. Regardless of what happened, our thoughts go out to the families and acquaintances of all involved.
Tuesday:
In his ongoing mission to never have Jon Fitch fight for the UFC championship again, Dana White revealed that he may offer the boring wrestler’s previously promised title shot to boring grappler Jake Shields instead. We’re sure there’s logic in there somewhere, but we’re damned if we can find it.
Dan Hardy decided to stir the pot this week, unleashing a tirade on wrestling in MMA and dubbing Nik Lentz, the man who put everybody to sleep with a coma-inducing performance against Hardy’s team-mate Andre Winner at UFC 118, a cheat for his ‘timidity’, which is in-fact a violation of the unified rules.
Good news for my fellow geeks, the EA MMA demo will be out later this month for XBOX360 and PS3, with the bonus of unlocking ‘Classic Randy Couture’ in the full game if you share the preview with your friends. We also learned that MMA signature brands TapouT, Silver Star and Fight Gear have all been sold to a Canadian corporation. Look out for your TapouT hoodies at ASDA and WalMart soon!
Wednesday:
Good news for DREAM Featherweight Champion Bibiano Fernandez, he’s finally been paid for his bout with Joachim Hansen…six months after the fight took place. Still, better late than never I suppose. Speaking of which, the Shine Fight’s saga took another twist on Wednesday as Marcus Aurelio, the biggest name on the card, pulled out due to injury. He’ll fight Shinya Aoki in DREAM two weeks later…
Bad news for UK fans, as it seems the first step has been taken towards UFC programming moving to Pay-Per-View, with news that TUF12 will air on Sky Sports…hopefully the impending rating disaster from putting a weekly episodic TV show on a premium sports channel will cause a re-think.
Todd Duffee, the 6’3, 265lb smashing machine, revealed that he was “hurt and confused†after being dumped by the UFC this week. Aww, diddums. Anybody got a tissue for the big man? Elsewhere, KJ Noons said that he’d love to welcome boxing legend Manny Pacquiao to MMA. I’d also like to see him go toe-to-toe with ‘Pacman’ wearing 4oz gloves…mostly because I don’t like KJ Noon’s very much.
Wednesday closed out with some more juicy fight announcements. First we learned that Damian Maia would face Kendall Grove at the TUF Finale in December. Just a month later, Thiago Silva will return after a year on the shelf to face Brandon Vera on New Year’s Day.
The MMA world collectively took time out on Wednesday to remember the late, great Evan Tanner. The greatly troubled yet equally inspirational Tanner rose from a self-trained oddity, who learned moves in his front room from video-tapes, to a UFC champion. Wednesday marked two years since his passing, and the world has been worse off ever since.
Thursday:
Rumours were the order of the day on Thursday, as everyone’s favourite wild-man, Clay Guida, hinted at a future fight with either Takanori Gomi or BJ Penn. Elsewhere, the annual “Fedor negotiates with the UFC†rumour reared it’s ugly head one again, this time due to Strikeforce’s inability to come to terms with M-1 Global on an opponent for the last fight on their man’s contract.
The ongoing disaster that is Shine Fights’ attempt to put on a PPV has been bubbling away all week, and was expertly broken down by Brad Wharton on Thursday. From one man with an inflated opinion of himself to another, Frank Mir humbly suggested that he has the advantage over Mirko Cro Cop, well, everywhere.
Nate Marquardt took the stand to rebuke Dan Hardy’s comments about wrestling in MMA, insisting that ‘The Outlaw’ simply needs to earn his stripes on the mat. Your move, Dan… Finally on Thursday, with the new season of The Ultimate Fighter just a week away, check out this countdown to TUF12 to get you in the mood.
Friday:
Friday is here, which can mean only one thing; it’s time for your weekly check-up with ‘The Doctor’ Michael Pepper, as he takes the temperature (in the worst possible way) of the biggest issues in MMA this week, as sent in by you, the fans. This week’s prescription includes Evan Tanner, Sky Sports and Brandon Vera.
Friday saw the confirmation of Ultimate Fighter 11 runner-up Kris McCray’s move down to the welterweight division. He’ll make his 170lb debut as he returns to country of his birth, at UFC 122 in Germany.
Outside of the UFC, Trevor Prangley discussed his high-risk, high-reward return to the light-heavyweight division against UFC veteran Keith Jardine at this weekend’s Shark Fights, while middleweight superstar Jorge Santiago put Strikeforce on notice. Coming off the back of his ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate, the resurgent 185lb’er has thrown his hat into the cage for the California promotion’s rumoured middleweight tournament.
Finally, we may have seen a changing of the guard in the lightweight division as Frankie Edgar went 2-0 against BJ Penn last month, but ‘The Prodigy’ is hoping to get back on track as soon as possible. The Hilo boy is planning on a return as soon as November, making UFC 123: Rampage vs Machida a likely candidate for the next chapter in his storied career.
That’s another action-packed week in the wacky world of MMA in the books then! The UFC takes this weekend off to allow Shine Fights, MFC and Shark Fights to take the spotlight, before returning with a hectic end-of year schedule that includes no less than nine live fight cards. You know exactly where to come for the latest on all of them, and more. Until next time folks; train hard, fight easy and for god’s sake, shower afterwards.
