The weekend is here again, which can mean only one thing. That’s right, it’s time to grab a Bud Light, drop in a Tequila Cazadores depth charge and jump on your Harley Davidson (actually, don’t do that) as JOE sifts though the weeks biggest Octagon-related news so that you don’t have to.
By Brad Wharton
Saturday:
MMA’s wrestling revolution continued, as top heavyweight prospect Daniel Cormier added the King of the Cage Heavyweight Championship to his trophy case. It was the second time in seven days that the wrestling standout had stepped in on short notice and won a title, and if that’s not enough, he’s back in action this Saturday for Strikeforce. Cormier joins the ranks of Ben Askren, Joe Warren and Brock Lesnar as wrestling prodigies that have claimed MMA championships before their records hit double figures. Guess all that time spent rolling around in leotards wasn’t so gay after all…
Saturday was nothing but bad news for Shane Carwin. Still licking the wounds from his failed UFC title bid just over a month ago, the mammoth slugger has seen insult added to his proverbial injury after being named in a list of athletes on the Christmas card list of the recently disgraced Applied Pharmacy Services. And by “Christmas card†we mean steroids. For his part, Carwin has maintained complete silence on the matter. Somehow we think the “If I ignore it, maybe it will go away†tactic won’t quite cut it here…
Sunday:
Sunday saw the dust settling on another busy weekend of MMA action, punctuated by a Strikeforce 135lb women’s tournament and an upstart promotion in California featuring a number of former UFC champions and challengers. When all was said and done, the most hated UFC champion in history, Tim Sylvia, lumbered one-step closer to returning to the promotion with a second-round KO of Paul Buentello, lightweight legend Jens Pulver’s fall continued with another embarrassing loss and Thales Leites fell victim to a late submission against Matt Horwich.
Elsewhere, the brain-numbingly entertaining Sunday Supplement looked at the dangers of the UFC switching to a Pay-Per-View business model in the UK and Ireland. We also got Tito Ortiz’s latest account of his legendary street fight with criminal mastermind Lee Murray. Not only has Ortiz’s story changed multiple times over the years, pretty much everyone else who witnessed the incident (including Chuck Liddell, Pat Miletich and Matt Hughes) recalls Murray using Tito’s giant head as a punchbag, before stomping it into the pavement. In a few years, Tito will be recalling how he knocked out Murray with a flying kick before leading Team Punishment in a march on Buckingham Palace, where after a short scuffle he was crowned King of England.
Sunday ended with some good and bad news for UFC fans. Bad news: Pride legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira pulled out of his rematch with Frank Mir with a hip injury. Good news: Pride legend Mirko ‘CroCop’ Filipovic will take his place in UFC 119’s main event.
Monday:
Monday was a news-fest of the highest order. First up we learned that the California State Athletic Commission are taking the ‘safety first’ approach perhaps a little too seriously, suspending no less than 14 fighters from UFC 117. Anderson Silva, Raphael Dos Anjos, Phil Davis and Christian Morecraft bore the brunt of the bad news, each receiving a hefty 6-month suspension for broken bones. Sounds like some people need to be drinking a little more milk!
Elsewhere on Monday, we learned that EA Sports MMA had released the light-heavyweight roster for their highly anticipated rival to UFC Undisputed. Long time MMA fans will finally be able to pit Frank and Ken Shamrock against each other in the cage, as well as dishing out some liver shots with the legendary Bas Rutten.
The UFC finally made UFC 121 official for October 23rd in Anaheim, California, with Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez taking top billing and Jake Shields, Martin Kampmann, Tito Ortiz and Matt Hamill anchoring the undercard. We also got the latest from the wacky world of James Toney, as the always ‘entertaining’ boxing icon revealed that MMA fans booing him at UFC 118 would, and I quote, “turn him onâ€. If there’s anything worse than watching James Toney trying to compete in an MMA bout, it’s watching a sexually aroused James Toney trying to compete in an MMA bout…
Tuesday:
Tuesday saw the MMA news continue to come in thick and fast. Dream featherweight champion Bibiano Fernandes has refused to fight on the promotion’s upcoming September card, after revealing that he is owed money for previous bouts. More fuel on the fire of Dream’s impending financial collapse. Speaking of finances, Matt Hughes and Anderson Silva’s took a turn for the better, as it was revealed that each man took home a tidy base salary of $200,000 for their efforts at UFC 117.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Roy Nelson added further insult to injury for heavyweight contender Shane Carwin. The affable TUF winner and the former UFC interim champion engaged in a war of words over Twitter, sparked off by some less-than sensitive comments from Nelson about Carwin’s recent steroid scandal. Handbags at ten paces gentlemen…
As Tuesday slowed down at JOE, we passed the time by checking out this preview of the upcoming 12th season of The Ultimate Fighter, as well as Ryan “Randy’s Kid†Couture’s professional MMA debut from last weekend’s Strikeforce Challengers card.
Wednesday:
Wednesday kicked off with a trademark in-depth preview of WEC 50 from MMABay’s Steve Davies. Steve’s predictions are so eerily accurate that we think he could be psychic. With one rub of his crystal balls, he tells us all we need to know about upcoming MMA cards…
Wednesday was quote central in the MMA world, with the one-liners coming thick and fast. First James Toney’s boxing promoter Dan Goosen revealed that he would offer Randy Couture a boxing match with ‘Light’s Out’ after UFC 118. Then Mirko CroCop chimed in that he definitely would NOT be prepared to fight Frank Mir at UFC 119, but expected to “lay him out†in the first round anyway. BJ Penn revealed that it’s not about being the best, it’s about winning his belt back. Although he also said this week that the belt doesn’t matter as much as winning the fight. You figure it out.
Chael Sonnen rounded out the quote-fest, proving that a loss to Anderson Silva has done nothing to dent the Republican’s supreme confidence in himself. According to Chael, he could move up and take the 205lb title without breaking a sweat, he just chooses not to.
Thursday:
Thursday saw the aftermath of another great WEC offering; you can check out the fighter salaries, bonus payouts and of course, the most in-depth review on the internet right here.
Fans of K-1 and giant Dutch people will be happy to learn that one of the sports most decorated strikers, 4-time K-1 WGP winner Semmy Schilt, is in talks with Zuffa about a return to the Octagon, in what could be another indication of the impending implosion of Dream/K-1. Speaking of collapsing promotions, M-1’s court case against Affliction (for breach of contract following the demise of their MMA wing) has been put back to June of next year to allow more time for discovery and depositions, which in plain English means digging up shit on each other.
Thursday closed out with the news that TUF 11 winner Court McGee will get to compete on the televised portion of the UFC 121 card after all, as Spike have earmarked him for the Prelims Live show preceding the PPV. Previously it was thought that Court would be the first TUF winner to make his promotional debut in an untelevised bout, which many took as a lack of faith from Spike and the UFC in the show’s future. Seems there is life in the old dog yet. Opposing McGee will be Ryan Jensen, and joining them on UFC 121 Prelims Live will be Patrick Cote and Tom Lawlor.
Friday:
That Friday feeling is here again, which can only mean one thing; the working week is almost over and we can all enjoy a few beers and some quality fights before the Monday blues strike again. This weekend, those fights will come courtesy of Strikeforce: Huston, headlined by King Mo Lawal’s first defence of his 205lb title and a middleweight championship bout between Tim Kennedy and ‘Jacare’ Souza. You can check out all the news and notes from last night’s press conference here.
The card for the UFC’s upcoming Fight Night 22 seemingly changes more than I change my underwear. Now I’ll admit, I don’t change my underwear as often as I should (I’m a firm believer in the ‘back-to-front, inside-out’ rule) but the point still stands. Friday saw Matt Wiman become the latest fighter to withdraw, with Charles Oliveira in as a replacement against Efrain Escudero. Escudero himself was a last minute switch for Wiman’s original opponent Mac Danzig, leaving John Gunderson free to take on the returning Yves Edwards. Still with us? Damian Maia, Alan Belcher, Nick Catone and Aaron Simpson have also been pulled from the card in recent weeks. It never rains…
Finally, Bellator woke up with a post-event hangover on Friday morning following its disappointing effort the previous evening. Heavyweight prospects Damian Grabowski and Cole Konrad failed to impress in victory, as did women’s 115lb prospect Zoila Frausto, who was unable to replicate her highlight-reel KO of Rosi Sexton against a much smaller opponent. On the plus side, Dan Hornbuckle returned to his winning ways, but made a meal of his bout with UFC cast-off Brad Blackburn. Can’t win em all Bellator, can’t win em all.
That’s all for another fun filled week in the wacky world of MMA, so be sure to check in this time next week for all the best bits in another JOE Weekly News Round-Up. Play nice kids…
