Sunday, 1 August 2010
Howard gets crushed by elbows as Ellenberger rolls to win
John Howard has knockout power to match anyone in the UFC's welterweight division but like so many sluggers his glaring hole is takedown defense. At any moment, Howard could've knocked Jake Ellenberger for a loop. The problem arose when Howard couldn't keep the fight standing for more than four minutes combined. Howard was taken down in all three rounds, took some huge elbows that caused the left side of his face to blow up. The cageside doctor stopped the fight at 2:21 of the third round, giving Ellenberger his second victory in the UFC.Ellenberger, a wrestler by trade, was brilliant in his approach. The only way Howard was going to win the fight was to engage in a standup war. Ellenberger (23-5, 2-1 UFC) looked to clinch at every opportunity. He scored two first round takedowns and one more in the second round. That's when he landed some huge elbow. One of them blew up Howard's face. By the end of the fight, the swelling had spread from around Howard's eye all the way to his ear.UFC color voice Joe Rogan suggested that it might be a broken orbital bone that Howard (14-5, 4-1 UFC) suffered. chuck liddell
martial art mma fight
mma training
Bellator: Zuffa lawsuit "a big pile of nothing," company moving forward undistracted
While Zuffa, LLC - the parent-company of the Ultimate Fighting
Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting - has traditionally been
voracious in terms of protecting its product, Thursday night's
revelation that the company was suing the Bellator Fighting
Championships, as well as influential agent Ken Pavia, came as quite a
surprise.
Bellator officials were just as taken aback, according to the company's newly hired attorney, Patrick English.
"I was asked to represent Bellator yesterday when they heard there had
been a lawsuit filed," English told MMAjunkie.com.
"Originally, they had no idea what it was about. It was actually Kevin
Iole who was kind enough to tell me what it was about."
chuck liddell martial art mma fight mma training
Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting - has traditionally been
voracious in terms of protecting its product, Thursday night's
revelation that the company was suing the Bellator Fighting
Championships, as well as influential agent Ken Pavia, came as quite a
surprise.
Bellator officials were just as taken aback, according to the company's newly hired attorney, Patrick English.
"I was asked to represent Bellator yesterday when they heard there had
been a lawsuit filed," English told MMAjunkie.com.
"Originally, they had no idea what it was about. It was actually Kevin
Iole who was kind enough to tell me what it was about."
chuck liddell martial art mma fight mma training
UFC 92 picks Forrest Griffin vs Rashad Evans Wanderlei Silva vs Quinton Jackson Nogueira vs Mir
As usual, I say these will be super quick fight picks for UFC 92, but then I'll probably end up writing for an hour. Besides the fact that this is a really star studded event, like the old Pride year end event used to be, here are my picks.
Forrest Griffin Vs. Rashad Evans - what a tough pick this is for me, Rashad has been winning steady and last fight was a huge statement, especially for this confidence in his skills. Even though Forrest beat on Rampage a bit in their last fight, Rampage wasn't nearly at his best, but he has that advantage of going through that tough 25 minute championship fight and after being knocked down in the very first. So I like both guys, but I'm leaning towards Rashad and his power. Picking Rashad Evans.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Vs. Frank Mir - I'm honestly not sure what Mir can do to Nogueira. His striking is still isn't good enough for Noguiera and his latest submissions were against guys that are inexperienced at them. I give Nogueira striking advantage, stamina and submissions for that matter. He'll wear Mir out in the very first round, peper him with all kinds of striking. In the second he'll proceed to doing the same and finish Mir in the third. Picking Nogueira by just being better at everything and experience.
Wanderlei Silva Vs. Quinton Jackson - In both of their previous fights Rampage started off better than Silva and as soon as he got into any type of rhythm or a good position he was interrupted. In the first it was the ref for an odd reason, when Rampage was on top and pretty active and could have very well worn Silva out to finish him later. In the second he did great in the first round and spend good energy to get Silva on the ground and be on top before the bell rung. Silva showed why he was still great after exlusively beating up on 10+ japanese fighters and cought Rampage with some amazing forever-highlight reel shots. Again I really like both guys and both faltered lately. I hope Rampage learned from Silva-vs-Liddell, and Silva vs CroCop for that matter, that straight shots are Silva's cryptonite, Achilles's heel, whatever. Silva hopefully got some more good training in at Randy Couture's. So I want Rampage to win and hope he got whatever messed him up for the Griffin fight taken care of and is in better shape physically and metally.
CB Dollaway Vs. Mike Massenzio - picking CB Dollaway and his peruvian necktie, cause I get a feeling Massenzio is there to make CB look good again and promote him further.
Cheick Kongo Vs. Mostapha Al Turk - picking Kongo because he should be pretty hungry for a win after he basically gave away a fight he was winning a no talent hack Heath Herring.
Yushin Okami Vs. Dean Lister - So...like...wtf is Dean Lister still doing in UFC? Honestly! I know Dana hates Yushin Okami, but it is a damn sport that's already so popular that if there are a few guys that are not exiting but beat other good fighters with skill, IT IS OK. I mean, look at how boring Lyoto Machida can be, but he is damn good and in my opinion has redeemed himself when he gave Tito Ortiz the biggest humiliation of his life. Yep, and that's after Randy spaked Tito in front of millions. Anyways, hope Okami beats up Lister and moves on to the contender list for 185 right after.
Ryo Chonan Vs. Brad Blackburn- picking Ryo Chonan.
Other fights - who cares.
chuck liddell
Forrest Griffin Vs. Rashad Evans - what a tough pick this is for me, Rashad has been winning steady and last fight was a huge statement, especially for this confidence in his skills. Even though Forrest beat on Rampage a bit in their last fight, Rampage wasn't nearly at his best, but he has that advantage of going through that tough 25 minute championship fight and after being knocked down in the very first. So I like both guys, but I'm leaning towards Rashad and his power. Picking Rashad Evans.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Vs. Frank Mir - I'm honestly not sure what Mir can do to Nogueira. His striking is still isn't good enough for Noguiera and his latest submissions were against guys that are inexperienced at them. I give Nogueira striking advantage, stamina and submissions for that matter. He'll wear Mir out in the very first round, peper him with all kinds of striking. In the second he'll proceed to doing the same and finish Mir in the third. Picking Nogueira by just being better at everything and experience.
Wanderlei Silva Vs. Quinton Jackson - In both of their previous fights Rampage started off better than Silva and as soon as he got into any type of rhythm or a good position he was interrupted. In the first it was the ref for an odd reason, when Rampage was on top and pretty active and could have very well worn Silva out to finish him later. In the second he did great in the first round and spend good energy to get Silva on the ground and be on top before the bell rung. Silva showed why he was still great after exlusively beating up on 10+ japanese fighters and cought Rampage with some amazing forever-highlight reel shots. Again I really like both guys and both faltered lately. I hope Rampage learned from Silva-vs-Liddell, and Silva vs CroCop for that matter, that straight shots are Silva's cryptonite, Achilles's heel, whatever. Silva hopefully got some more good training in at Randy Couture's. So I want Rampage to win and hope he got whatever messed him up for the Griffin fight taken care of and is in better shape physically and metally.
CB Dollaway Vs. Mike Massenzio - picking CB Dollaway and his peruvian necktie, cause I get a feeling Massenzio is there to make CB look good again and promote him further.
Cheick Kongo Vs. Mostapha Al Turk - picking Kongo because he should be pretty hungry for a win after he basically gave away a fight he was winning a no talent hack Heath Herring.
Yushin Okami Vs. Dean Lister - So...like...wtf is Dean Lister still doing in UFC? Honestly! I know Dana hates Yushin Okami, but it is a damn sport that's already so popular that if there are a few guys that are not exiting but beat other good fighters with skill, IT IS OK. I mean, look at how boring Lyoto Machida can be, but he is damn good and in my opinion has redeemed himself when he gave Tito Ortiz the biggest humiliation of his life. Yep, and that's after Randy spaked Tito in front of millions. Anyways, hope Okami beats up Lister and moves on to the contender list for 185 right after.
Ryo Chonan Vs. Brad Blackburn- picking Ryo Chonan.
Other fights - who cares.
chuck liddell
Munoz looking to turn the corner and get rid of the junker
There's going to be some competition for the fight-night bonuses at UFC on Versus 2. Tuesday, we told you about John Howard and his 1994 Honda Accord. Wednesday, it's Mark Munoz and his 1992 Honda Accord. It proves two things, Hondas last and the crew of contenders on this card are still climbing the ladder to riches.Munoz, a former All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State, was having trouble supporting his wife and four kids. That's while he was the wrestling coach at UC Davis. So he decided to get into prize fighting and mixed martial arts."There were times where I couldn't even provide for my family," Munoz told the Orange County Register. "I accumulated much debt. The car got repossessed. The house foreclosed."Munoz (8-1) seems to be on the right track now as he preps to face Yushin Okami (24-5, 8-2 UFC). He's entering his fifth fight in the UFC and owns his own gym, Reign in Lake Forest, Calif. But his frugal ways continue, he still has that old Honda. He also trains a lot with Blackhouse MMA, the famed Southern California gym that houses Anderson Silva, Junior Dos Santos, Lyoto Machida and the Nogueira Brothers. Munoz has served as a stand-in for Chael Sonnen as Silva preps to defend his title next weekend at UFC 117. Silva also has a win over Okami on his ledger. Munoz said via Examiner.com: "Anderson actually told me that after sparring with me, and after fighting Okami, Yushin has nothing for me. He knows what Okami has, so we've been working really hard to understand how he moves and how to counter back. He's got a lot of great stuff that he's showing me."Okami was once considered one of the top-five middleweights in the UFC. He's a solid ground and pound fighter but his takedown defense was a big issue two fights ago against Sonnen. That would seem to play right into Munoz's hands. Okami did show a more dangerous standup game in his last fight against Lucio Linhares. mma training
anderson silva
chuck liddell
martial art
Light heavyweight politics puts a damper on UFC 119
The Nogueira brothers headline UFC 119 in Indianapolis. Antonio Rodrigo will rematch against Frank Mir while Antonio Rogerio will battle light heavyweight prospect Ryan Bader. It's a solid start to the card but we're left thinking what could've been. The UFC has a ton of fight cards to close out 2010 but it's being hamstrung by fighter's wishes at 205 pounds. The best fights aren't being made according to Yahoo! Sports' Dave Meltzer in his Wrestling Observer newsletter: The original idea for this show was to headline with Lyoto Machida vs. Quinton
Jackson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Rashad Evans, but both Jackson and Evans turned
down the fight.According to Meltzer, Team Machida wants Evans for an interim title shot. That could set up a unification bout when the UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio Rua returns form another knee surgery. Rua is sidelined for a minimum of eight more months. And Jackson wanted to fight "Lil' Nog." This notion that Evans will sit on the sidelines for nearly 10 months is getting more preposterous by the day. Tip via Bloody Elbow martial art mma fight mma training anderson silva
Jackson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Rashad Evans, but both Jackson and Evans turned
down the fight.According to Meltzer, Team Machida wants Evans for an interim title shot. That could set up a unification bout when the UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio Rua returns form another knee surgery. Rua is sidelined for a minimum of eight more months. And Jackson wanted to fight "Lil' Nog." This notion that Evans will sit on the sidelines for nearly 10 months is getting more preposterous by the day. Tip via Bloody Elbow martial art mma fight mma training anderson silva
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)