Posted: 9/19/2011
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It's been awhile. No kidding. It feels like it's been almost a year since I last posted on MMAnews.com I was really starting to enjoy writing on a frequent basis when all of a sudden I was hit with a new career path which has kept me very occupied over the past 6 months. Although, I have remained a loyal MMA fan, I haven't been in the position to write about it as much as before. It has certainly been a task to adjust to my new life and hopefully I can create a balance to be able to do this more often than not, that's my plan anyway. Whew... So much to catch up on since my last blog. Let's just take a look at some of that tonight and I'll give you my thoughts on some of the top stories of 2011. Hopefully after this I can start writing regularly again.
Strikeforce=UFC I can't say this was a complete shocker, but it did catch me a little off-guard. It's very obvious that Strikeforce will no longer be around after this year. The finale of the Grand Prix could very well be the last major card and has already began it's merger by ripping all of the major talent out of the company so far and the remains will probably end up with ProElite. Can't believe I just said that. Anyways, I can't say I'm jumping for joy over this because I did enjoy watching solid cards on Showtime without paying PPV price and it gave the fighters options in fighting for another decent company.
Nick Diaz WHAT IN THE FUCK! Never have I had a love/hate relationship with a fighter as I have had with Diaz. It would appear that he is a walking controversy magnet. It's obvious that Dana didn't want to take the chance with having him win the title by immediately dropping him from the main event. I honestly don't have a problem with that even though I really wanted to see the GSP fight. Nonetheless, stacked card still and will be an interesting card to buy. Rampage/Jones A focused Rampage could easily put up a good fight against Jones. We'll see how it goes though, I just don't see Jackson lasting two rounds with Bones. Check my predictions blog later in the week for more on this.
Fedor Let's face it. Fedor's hayday may be over at this point in his career. Shitty management and picking totally oversized opponents wasn't the best move here in the states obviously. Hell, even Brett Rogers was no cakewalk for him and Henderson is just awesome. If he can make his way up the ladder again and get one more shot to be relevant again, so be it. I wish him the best because he seems very classy and theres always room for that.
Mayweather I didn't fork out the outrageous money to watch this card and I'm glad I didn't. With a whole new attitude, Mayweather could be so much more effective for boxing at this point. I don't have a problem with the way he won the fight so much as I have one with the reffing. Absolutely HORRIBLE and it totally exposed boxing for the joke it was become even more. I'm sure I could write and entire blog and then some on boxing alone. You'll probably see it. Jake Shields Dude has had a rough month and I'll pulling for him. Not to discredit Ellenberger, but I'm sure Shield's Father's death had very much to do with his performance at UFN. Best wishes to you Jake and I'm sure you will come back stronger than before. Sooo much more to catch up on and I certainly look forward to doing that hopefully tommorrow. This is just me testing the waters again and I'll try to catch my stride again.I hope you enjoyed the read and I'm sorry If I was little rusty. The urge for me to write is there but I have been mentally exhausted these past couple of months due to my new job. I will try my absolute best to keep up with everything from here on out but can't make any promises. I'll be sure to never go away for good though! Coming up I will hit on a few other topics and maybe even through in a predictions blog for UFC 136.
Have a great week and check back later!
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Posted: 3/5/2011
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Finally! I’ll be watching the fights live tonight and typing sort of a play by play review. I’ve had a heck of a week and hopefully I will be able to get back on track of my blogs eventually. I have nothing better to do tonight so I figured I’d devote my time reviewing this event to whoever wants to read. I’m looking forward to the next couple of months in MMA. UFC and Strikeforce combined.
Strikeforce Henderson/Feijao Results and Grade Billy Evangelista Vs. Jorge Misvidal Very dull fight here in terms of excitement and definitely a slow start. Not the worst bout I’ve ever seen, but it’s just a typical slow start. Nothing to exciting to see here, just being honest. Winner:Jorge Misvidal Fight ENETERTAINMENT Rating:4
Tim Kennedy Vs. Melvin Manhoef Middleweight bout here. I just want to see Manheof an Cung Le in a kicking contest. Anyways, ever since Manheof got KTFO by Lawler a while back we haven’t seen him in Strikeforce since. Kennedy takes him down in the first round and then got the back of Manhoef and locked in the rear naked choke. Kennedy finished the fight quickly and for that, I commend him. Winner: Tim Kennedy Fight ENTERTAINMENT Rating:5 Showtime plugs. Oh, how I wish I gave two shits about these upcoming boxing events. I did watch the Pacquiao/Cotto fight a while back, and enjoyed it, but I really have no interest in seeing him fight whoever that opponent is. However, I’m REALLY looking forward to Diaz/Daley. This has potential to be a slugfest, but I have a feeling it’s going to end on the ground via Diaz submission.
Liz Carmouche vs. Marloes Coenen A little women’s action tonight, which can be nice and a change of pace. Starts off with the two trading very energetic blows. Coenen has a bulge under her eye about four minutes in. First round is over, nothing really special happened in the first round. Why in the hell are they giving me Mike Kyle thoughts on the main event in-between rounds for the whole crowd to hear? Second round starts up. Carmouche came close to getting submitted early in the round by a standing gulliotine, but quickly responds by delivering a few hard shots to the champion. Carmouche has regained complete control at the moment. Definitely the most entertaining fight of the night so far. Round ends by Coenen taking a pounding from the bottom of a full mount. It’s looking like we may have a new champion at this point as “Gorilla” is completely dominating at this point in the 3rd. Coenen somehow pulls back a comeback submission with the triangle in Round 4. Best fight of the night so far. Coenen is also a class act. Winner and STILL Champion: Marloes Coenen Fight ENTERTAINMENT Rating:7
Dan Henderson Vs. Rafeal Feijao God, please make this fight completely awesome and make this card worthwhile. Amen. The two exchange hard blows and take it to the ground fight away with Hendo on top. They eventually are stood back up and Hendo pushes the champion up against the cage. They are separated again at the end of the round. I’ll give it to Hendo. We are in the second again and back up against the cage. Takedown as Hendo’s wrestling is looking rather pristine at the moment. As soon as I type that Feijao flips him over and they switch positions. Not much happening and they are stood up. Feijao is throwing some wild hard punches. Another takedown by Hendo. Round over and that should’ve given Dan the edge. Fight’s over very quickly in the 3rd as we have a NEW champion. Pretty sweet TKO by Hendo with an “H” bomb. Winner and NEW Champion: Dan Henderson Fight ENTERTAINMENT Rating:6.5
Overall ENTERTAINMENT Rating:6 This card start over very slow. Surprisingly, the women put on a heck of a bout. The main event brought this event up a notch or two as well.Can’t wait for Diaz/Daley! Hope you enjoying reading. See you soon!
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Posted: 2/25/2011
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Fight Week is here! That’s right, UFC 127 is steadily approaching. This card has potential to be great or completely average. It’s definitely a card I’d think twice about paying $50 dollars for, given the outrageous oil prices at the moment. Gas is around $3.20 where I live and I’ve been having my share of driving lately. Thankfully, I have other ways to watch the card. More than likely, I’ll be splitting the costs between a few friends of mine. Whatever you decide to do, have a GREAT weekend.
Random News Thoughts James Toney Speaks….Something This shouldn’t even be relevant anymore. It’s quiet obvious that Toney is just looking for a quick payday given his problems with the IRS. Apparently he wants ANOTHER fight in the UFC with Rampage Jackson. This isn’t going to happen, or shouldn’t within the UFC at least. Unfortunately, Toney didn’t spend money wasn’t spent too wisely and he isn’t exactly a spring chicken anymore. Everyone has their right to make money, but head trauma has taken it’s effect on him. He should consider training other boxers. I used to laugh at his interviews but I really can’t anymore because of his decline financially and mentally. I smell a BLOG topic relating to this next week. Stay tuned! UFC 127 Quick Picks Chris Camozzi vs. Kyle Noke Winner: Kyle Noke Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole Winner: Chris Lytle George Sotiropoulos vs. Dennis Siver Winner : George Sotiropoulos Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera This fight should end in nothing other than a TKO. Winner:Jorge Rivera B.J. Penn Vs. Jon Fitch Let me go ahead and get something out here. I am a B.J. Penn fan. So I’ll be pulling for him. However, ever since he’s been losing to Frankie Edgar, I just believe that he’s lost it. Looking at his face before both fights didn’t instill me with any confidence that his was going to win either one. I’m concerned that the win over Hughes was just a quick KO as I wanted to see him tested a little. However, EVERYONE is picking Fitch by decision it seems. It’s probably a wise choice to do so,but I'm not quiet ready to give up on B.J. just yet. Winner: B.J. Penn I will be watching the event with some friends, so I should have a review up shortly after. Thanks for reading this week and I look forward to dishing out some new topics starting Monday. Keep your eye open for a semi-boxing topic, but it certainly relates to MMA as well. Hopefully, I will be able to publish a "Final UFC 127 Thoughts" tommorow, but that all depends on if I catch the weigh-ins or not. Keep your eyes open. See ya around.
Sunday’s Blog UFC 127 Review & Grade
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Posted: 2/23/2011
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It’s time for a SPECIAL! Going a little off the MMA beat for a day only, as I will still release my planned UFC 127 picks tomorrow. I figured I’d let you know a little bit about myself by posting my taste in a few favorite action movies of mine. I will be doing specials like this occasionally to take a break from the norm, especially on a slow news week or when I can’t think of a topic writing about at the moment. Remember, these are solely my opinions, and if you disagree the best solution would be for you to make your own list. I hope you enjoy! None of these selections will contain any spoilers. Maniac’s Top 25 Favorite Ass-Kicking Movies Of All Time 25)The Karate Kid(1984) Okay, now I know most of the ass-kicking is on the main character in this movie. I even have a hard time putting this movie on this list but I can’t help it. If you love stories about underdogs this is one that shouldn’t be missed. Basically the whole heart of the story is the relationship between Mr. Myagi and Daniel. The fighting is basically a backdrop to that and there is a satisfying payoff in the end. Cobra-Kai, Never Die! 24)Rocky 4(1985) Okay before you criticize me for not putting the first Rocky on this list hear me out for a second. When I think of the first movie, I think DRAMA. An outstanding one at that and the final battle with Apollo Creed is beyond memorable. This movie, is different. The same can be said about the 3rd one. This is very similar to it's previous entry and it focuses less on Rocky's rise from the gutter as he is wealthy now and looks more towards the unstoppable Dolph Lundgren. This guy is a genetics monster and pumped with every steriod known to man. Ultimately, Rocky has no chance, or does he? It's has to take an ass-kicing movie to end the Cold War, and this one did it. 23)The Dark Knight(2008) Yeah, I figured I’d put this movie on the list. It’s hard not to. Eh, you’ve seen it, no need to really explain it. It’s a damn good , but when I think of this movie, I think of the Joker and not so much Batman. That’s the main problem I had with this , but maybe that’s why it’s so good because the villain is so powerful.
22)Scarface(1983) Oh yes, the ambitious Tony Montana just had to make my list. Nothing says ass-kicking more than a 4 foot tall, drug dealing, pissed off Cuban. Arguably the best performance of Pacino’s career. Plenty of memorable quotes and an awesome finish! 21)Full Metal Jacket(1987) My favorite part of this movie is definitely the first hour or so and if you’ve watched it, then you know why. I’d check it out based solely on that. Not that there’s anything wrong with the second half of the movie. 20)Gran Torino(2008) I’ll always be a Clint Eastwood fan. I probably could’ve picked another one of his movies to better fit this spot, but I really enjoyed this movie. I loved how his character changed throughout the movie as stubborn as he was. Clint still managed to kick a little ass here and there. Not many 80 year olds can pull off the whole “tough guy” routine, but he still manages to do it. 19)Universal Solider(1992) What would an ass-kicking list be without Van Damme. This is probably Van Damme’s best movie in the 90s as far as I’m concerned and this was his answer to “The Terminator”. Dolph Lundgren is great and quiet over the top at moments. 18)Braveheart(1995) No matter what your opinion of Mel Gibson maybe with his very public rages, it’s be hard to deny that he is a very talented director. I do feel that his best days are behind him, especially profit wise. He will always have the ability to direct great movies. This movie may not be factually correct by any means, but it still tells a great story with plenty of gore and epic Scotsman battles.
17)Mission Impossible III(2006) Call me crazy, but this is really the only MI movie I really enjoyed. It’s basically a heap of eye candy, but I loved the unlikely villian played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. 16)Commando(1985) Nothing says over the top and unrealistic like this Swarznegger action flick. That’s all it is and there are plenty of unintentional funny parts. Probably the best part of this movie is Vernon Wells, who also played the crazy asshole in The Road Warrior 15)Apocylpto(2006) I think this movie is underrated, perhaps most people shunned it away because it is in another language. I actually didn’t have a hard time reading the subtitles in this one. What you have here is a great love story, with the main character kicking some ass at the same time.
14)Casino Royale(2006) Definitely one of the best Bond movies ever made. Daniel Craig made the character his own. 13)Superman 2(1980) I actually had the Nicolas Cage movie “Con Air” in this spot until I thought about how he almost had the role of Superman in the 90s. Thankfully, it reminded me how awesome this sequel was. Perfect villians, especially Terrence Stamp as General Zod. This IS the best movie in the series.
12)The Deer Hunter(1978) This is a much watch for DeNiro fans. I think the person who definitely steals the show though is none other than Christopher Walken. You are really convinced at one point that he has lost his mind. This is a fairly long movie, but entertaining throughout the whole way/ 11)Above The Law(1988) Last year me and a friend embarked on a journey to watch every Seagal film ever made. We did so over a period of a few weeks and I can’t say I wasn’t entertained. If you ever plan to do with I highly suggest you pick up a book titled “Seagalogy”. It’s a completely uncalled for book, but a must read for action fans. With Seagal’s face now associated with MMA, how could I not include him. This is the first movie he ever made and after this practically became a star overnight.
10)The Departed(2006) This is actually one of the few films that I’m actually make me a fan of Matt Damon. If you’ve never seen this I guarantee you that there will be plenty of surprises. Traditional Scorsese directing and will always be in my collection of films. 9)Die Hard(1988) One of the best action movies of all time. Perfect hero, perfect villian, and stellar action. 8)Dawn of the Dead(2004) I’m a sucker for zombie flicks. Running zombies made this far more intense than the original movie. What can I say? I loved it. 7)The Expendables(2010) Every action fan’s wet dream.
6)Taken(2008) It’s funny how Liam Neeson came out of nowhere and is now one of Hollywood’s newest action stars. I was always a fan of Schindler’s List, but up until he was the villian in Batman Begins I hadn’t really followed his work as I wasn’t a fan of Star Wars. He did the job in this movie as pulling off a convicing pissed off father. 5)GoodFellas(1990) One of my favorite movies of all time as it never seems to get old watching. This movie isn’t necessarily about the action, but about many different characters, mainly Henry Hill. If you have a interest in gang flicks and have never seen this, then WHAT THE HELL are you waiting for. Pick this one up 4)Lethal Weapon(1987) The best buddy-cop movie ever. The sequel does a pretty job as well while the 3rd and 4th begin to diminish the series. Overall a fairly solid franchise though. You want to see Gary Busey’s character get his ass kicked throughout the whole movie.
3)Rambo:First Blood Part II(1985) The first Rambo movie will always be my favorite one of the series, but holy hell, while the first one was more about John Rambo as a person, this movie was straight up explosions and death. Same can be said for Rambo(2008). They are both pretty much equal as they both take place in the jungle. 2)Batman(1989) I hate to be biased towards my childhood, but I’ll always love Tim Burton’s vision of the Caped Crusader. Probaly the most kick ass quality about the movie is the musical score. Danny Elfman did a fine job capturing Batman with his composing. If the ending scene with Batman watching over the city with the music doesn’t give you chills, then I’m not sure what I think about you. Jack Nicolson does an excellent job as the traditional Joker and Michael Keaton is probably my favorite Batman of all time. IMO that’s what makes this Batman so great, you would never think his Bruce Wayne would be Batman, but he still manages to don the suit well and kick a little ass at the same time. 1)Terminator 2(1991) This has to be my favorite action movie of all time without a doubt. The effects still hold up very well. The only problem I have with the first one is how it’s aged. When I think to T1, I think of the 80s. Not to discredit it in anyway as it is highly enjoyable. This movie has it all, action, horror(T1000 use to scare the hell out of me!),comedy, and drama. Honorable Mentions Fight Club Enter The Dragon Independence Day The Road Warrior Training Day Dirty Harry Taxi Driver Tommorow, UFC 127 Picks. Have a great day!
Tommorow’s Blog UFC 127 Picks
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Posted: 2/21/2011
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Welcome Back! I’m releasing this early as gift to my now NINE fans who have been missing out on my postings:) Well it’s still early enough in the year to create one or two of these. It’ll be fun to see how they play out as 2011 could be a very interesting year in MMA. I’m back into the grove of things and If you haven’t checked out my past couple of BLOGS, you should. Just click on BLOGS at the top of the MMANews.com homepage and you can receive about a month’s worth of my opinions are your fingertips. Come on, you know they are important to you. Do it!
Random News Thoughts Paul Daley Wants Nick Diaz…..To Fight Him, But Not Stand With Him. I sense a YouTube war on the horizion! However, this is one of those fights that could be a selling point for Strikeforce if promoted correctly. They have been improving lately as the Grand Prix broke some new records on Showtime. If there is someone I’d rather see be defeated more than Nick Diaz, it’s Paul Daley. Have this event in Nick Diaz’s hometown and you can pretty much guarantee that the fans will be explosive in Diaz‘s corner, which always makes the event better for viewers at home. I’d love to put up my predictions for this fight, so make it happen! Tito Ortiz/Forrest Griffin Exchange Tweets Oh the joy of the social networks. For those who don’t know Forrest posted a Tweet mocking Tito and Ortiz responded in a vulgar manner. As long as there isn’t a Tito/Griffin 2 I will be happy. I have no desire to see it, do you? I think it was just harmless fun on Forrest’s part knowing that it would probably get under the skin of Tito. Maybe they can settle it over a Farmville competition on Facebook. Cain Velasquez says it’s not possible to determine world’s best heavyweight. Damn straight, not just heavyweight, ANY division. You can have your personal favorite, but that sure as hell doesn’t mean he is the best. There is always someone better, regardless of what you shitheads say.
MMA 2011 Predictions Part 1 Season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter Will Be The Most Successful Yet No one can deny the drawing power of Brock Lesnar. Whether he was meant to be a great fighter or maybe he was put here just to bring pro wrestling fans to the sport. If Kimbo Slice can bring 5.3 million views in his bout with Roy Nelson, I expect Brock Lesnar to at least match and go beyond that. It will be more consistently watched that the Kimbo show because he wasn’t featured on every episode like Brock will be. I’ve read where many people are expecting Brock to leave mid-season and be replaced. While anything is possible, I don’t see that happening. You should be able to tell during the show how much passion is left in Brock Lesnar to continue improving in MMA. While I do believe he will be back in WWE one day, it’ll be interesting to see how motivated will be in something MMA related, so keep an eye out for that. Just watch his attitude and see if he’s really interested or just cashing in..
Fedor Emelianenko will find his way back into the Heavyweight GP Lets be honest for a second here. The Strikeforce Heavyweight GP was created for Fedor. No matter what Scott Coker says he never expected his highest paid employee to lose to Silva in the first round. I believe that this whole tournament was created to build to a possible Fedor/Overeem fight or at the very least a rematch with Werdum. This apparently was the only way to get all of the fighters together at one time and it still hasn’t proven that it will all play out right. The first opportunity that Coker receives to put Fedor back in whether it is due to injury to a fighter or one not getting his license. The reserve fights can pretty much forget about it unless more than one fighter happens to drop out. I mean who do you think Scotty is going to chose? Chad Griggs or Fedor? Exactly. Cain Velasquez/GSP will remain champions throughout 2011 This could be a no-brainer at the moment as Velasquez is out until at least fall due to injury. Assuming the winner of Dos Santos/Lesnar will face him next. This is probably the only fight we will see him in this year. I think at this point Dos Santos provides more a threat to Cain losing that title, and it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility, especially with him coming off a torn rotator cuff. There is plenty of room to improve and time for Lesnar to recover to possibly recapture the gold in the future. He did it once, he is damn sure capable of doing it again if he irons out his flaws. I don’t doubt anything anymore, I’ll just brand it as “unlikely”. As far a GSP goes, well we all know who he hopefully goes after he picks up a unanimous decision victory over Jake Shields in the near future.
GSP/ Anderson Silva will NOT happen in 2011. If this fight doesn’t happen in Fall,it won’t happen at all, or at least until 2012. If GSP pulls out a victory against Shields you should expect to hear his comments on a possible bout at the post conference after his fight. I don’t know, I’m sure Dana wants this fight and I really hope it does happen this year. I do think that 2012 is still VERY possible . Retirement Watch for 2011 Matt Hughes Randy Couture Fedor Emenlianenko Anderson Silva Tito Ortiz Andrei Arvloski Mirko Cro Cop Mark Coleman UFC 127 is right around the corner. My predictions should be out soon. Another tough card to predict, especially the main event as I feel BJ has been on the downfall, even with the Hughes KO. Make sure you tune into this channel Wednesday to see my picks.
Wednesday’s Blog UFC 126 Quick Picks
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Posted: 2/21/2011
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It’s Monday! Er. Early morning BLOG for you readers out there. This is a topic I was really looking forward to covering and I FINALLY get to do it. Check back tomorrow for my overdue 2011 Predictions and UFC 127 picks to follow. BTW, if you have any topics you’d like for me cover or just want to stop by to say hi, feel free to do so in the comments section. I’d also be happy to answer questions or just debate over anything MMA related. No Random News Thoughts today. Will Anderson Silva Retire Undefeated In UFC? This is a question I was asking myself shortly after he defeated Vitor Belfort is devastating fashion. We all had reason to believe back in August that the best days of Silva were behind us. Apparently having Steven Seagal in your corner somehow rejuvenates your career. Anyways, I’m assuming he intends to walk out on top of competition whenever he decides takes his ball and goes home in the near future. Honestly, I hope he does. UFC or MMA for that matter needs a great champion that didn’t go past their prime to keep receiving continuous beatings. With Silva, I don’t see that happening as he’s aware he’s dominant and has gave hints of retirement over the past year or two. I’ve created a few points that could decide the outcome of this question. If he wants to retire undefeated, it all depends on these five
Deciding Factors Number Of Fights How many more fights are we looking at before he decides it’s time to hang it up? A lot is riding on this. I do feel his best bet would be to fight 2 more times this year and hopefully retire undefeated by 2012. UFC would have it’s most dominant champion in the books and it’s be a great finish to a storied career if he did go out unscathed under the UFC banner. However, if he decided to fight 4-5 more times I could say with confidence that I see a loss occurring at some point. I’m just assuming he has two fights left. A rematch with Sonnen would be likely and another certain SUPERFIGHT fans want to see. Future Opponents Let’s rewind to August briefly. Had Sonnen not got caught in a desperate submission we more than likely would’ve seen a new champion that evening. This topic has been beaten to death, but, assuming a rematch would take place, the fight would really be a tough one to predict. Part of me believes that Anderson would have learned his lesson and would make a much easier fight of it next time around. The other half of me considers that Sonnen would pull a repeat of the same game plan and finish the job he tried to accomplish at UFC 117. Although, I chose Silva winning a potential second fight let’s look at another legitimate threat. The super fight of GSP/Silva has been in the back of every fan’s mind at least once. I’m not sure how entertaining this fight would actually be, but just seeing them in the same cage face-to-face would be a selling point for me. Will it happen? I have my doubts, but we will find out later this year. I think that would be a fitting end to his career with a victory over GSP after defeating Sonnen for a second time. Moving on. Physical Shape This isn’t something I don’t believe he has a problem with. We’ve all seen fighters that the older they become begin to lose stamina and that physique starts to diminish over the years because they let themselves go or whatnot. At the point in his career he needs to stay in the best physical shape possible to successfully ward defeat a very fit GSP. Keeping up with Sonnen’s wrestling game proved to be a challenge for him and while that probably had nothing to do with his physical shape, it wouldn't hurt to come in ever more prepared next time. Fight Smart Silva is obviously a colorful fighter inside of the cage. It may be considered annoying and unprofessional to some when he shows his opponents how bored he is fighting them. Karma can be a bitch and eventually those antics will catch up and bite you in the ass. You can only play with fire for so long. However, the taunting that we've seen recentley with the Maia and Belfort fights seemed to work to his advantage as he walked out as champion. I’d be happy if he just went out there and defended. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a little taunting at times. Same with Nick Diaz, but it’s just a matter of time before someone puts you on your ass. Whatever though, if he wants to play with his opponents, so be it. Age Anderson is on the verge of 36 in April. Honestly, I feel that most competitors begin to show their age around 35 and we possibly saw a taste of that in his fight with Sonnen. Whether he was out-classed or not is a different topic. Every dog has his day and you can only go on for so long. Thankfully, at the moment, there aren’t many young MW contenders ready to take on Silva or we could possibly witness his streak disappear much sooner than later. Unless your Randy Couture and actually change your game as you age, you should probably start considering retirement around this time, or at least think about it. That goes for any athelete a majority of the time. My guess is that he will not be fighting past 37. Conclusion While I do feel we are in the twilight of Anderson’s career, I can’t help but to ponder if he will be going out on top or not. He’s been pondering retirement since 2009 publicly and I think it would be great for him to hang up the gloves after the potential super fight with GSP. Do I think he will retire undefeated? Well, that’s a tough question to answer. It all depends on what his true plans are. Let’s just assume he fights Sonnen again and GSP in late 2011/early 2012. I say YES, he will retire undefeated in UFC. Anything he decides to do beyond that is anyone’s guess. My vision is that he defeats Sonnen again and then moves on to GSP to pull out a victory and rides off into the sunset being the most dominant middleweight of this generation. Hope everyone has a great day See you tomorrow!
Tommorow’s Blog 2011 MMA Predictions Wednesday’s Blog UFC 127 Predictions
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Posted: 2/19/2011
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I’m back! I must start off by apologizing to my eight fans on my tardiness. This week I will keep my promise to remain on schedule and continue the flow and publish my future blogs . Let’s catch up on one that could be considered a tad past it's due date:p.
Keep reading the Maniac, I will not fail you again! Continue checking the BLOGS sections of MMANews to get your daily dose of my opinions. But first.
Random News Thoughts Arvloski Plans to Return, Not Retire.
Your playing with fire here Arvloski. Think about your health for a second man! It may not be a factor here at your younger age but it will more than likely take its effect in the later years. All fighters need to be more aware of this as I've always had a fear that it's just a matter of time before we see something terrible happen inside of a cage. It's just the truth.
Fedor’s Future
It appears Fedor will fight again. When? Who the hell really knows? Who is fighting? I sure as hell don’t know. I don’t believe, like many people, that he is the greatest fighter ever. No disrespect to any of his fans or anything. In my opinion NO ONE is the greatest fighter ever. That’s a BOLD statement to give anyone that title at this point. It’s also just hard to believe that age just happens to play a factor as none of his SF bouts have been exactly cakewalks. I wish he’d take initiative more in his fight choices and become his own management at this point in his career. Feel free to disagree with me.
Tito Ortiz out of his next UFC Fight.
Shocker. Lol. No, I wish Tito the best(or do I), but at this point there is very little doubt that he will ever be dominant or even a contender again. I have seen crazier things happen. You never know. Expect random news thoughts to be in most of my BLOGS from here on out. Just giving you the heads up. Now it's time for our main event.
Women’s MMA: The Good, The Bad
Let's say you are watching a Strikeforce event. A women’s fight is about to take place and it’s not one with Gina Carano. Are you going to watch it? Or turn the channel waiting for the next fight.
Aside from about 3 or 4 of the women in Strikeforce, I really don’t know many more beyond that. SF needs to continue building up on other females besides relying on Carano or her looks who obviously has other interests besides MMA. There’s definitely a market for beautiful women who knows how to stand in a cage a trade blows with other competitors.
We all know Gina Carano added a spice to women’s MMA. She’s tough and isn’t exactly what you call hard on the eyes. Even Cyborg for that matter has appeal in some ways, and many people see her as the unstoppable female at the moment. She’s the perfect person to root against. It looks like SF is trying to change that by showing the nicer side of her cage side. I see nothing wrong with that as she does seem dedicated and will hopefully be remembered as one of the early female greats of MMA, but,In a perfect world it’d be nice if Gina spent her time off training hard to get her title back and have another showdown with Cyborg in the future to see if she’s improved. Cyborg is a professional champion nonetheless.
Strikeforce needs women that are COMPLETELY dedicated to the sport with no outside interference from extracurricular activities at this point in MMA.
Now, I’m not 16 anymore where I watch two women go at it just to satisfy my sexual desires, not that’s there’s anything wrong with that. I tuned in to see Gina/Cyborg, not just to look at Gina, but to see her put to the ultimate test against a much more intimidating Cyborg. We all had a good feeling it wouldn’t wind up pretty and it didn’t. There needs to be more of that and I think it will sell fairly well. Go ahead and garner up an excellent taste in people’s mouth when they tune in for a major SF card by putting two talented females in the cage and let them show the casual audience how entertaining it can be.
This isn’t pro wrestling where 99% of the women are beautiful and it seems like most of them are put on the show for eye candy purposes only. I can’t remember the last time I’ve watched a women’s match in pro wrestling and was actually entertained by their performance in the ring. No offense to them or anything, I’m just voicing my opinion. Point is, Strikeforce doesn’t need to follow this suit by putting beautiful women in the ring just for the sake that they are beautiful. That will only take you so far after a while.
I do believe that Strikeforce has something unique that UFC doesn’t and probably won’t have according to Dana. I see no problem with throwing a women’s bout every Strikeforce card as they can be entertaining if they are TALENTED and eat some time on the cards(they usually go to decision) to make them seem a little longer unlike the past couple of SF cards.
Strikeforce has the potential to gain more female fans when they sit down to watch a card with their boyfriend or whatever as it will be fun for them to cheer as well.
The only negative I could assume is biology. I’m no doctor but I don’t think taking a beating on the ground wouldn’t be great for fertility. Actually, I’m not quite sure I’m ready to write on that as I have a hard enough time trying to figure out women as it isJ. If they are willing to put their bodies through the punishment of fighting and training, well, to each his own as a very good friend of mine says!
You also probably won’t see many KO’s from the division if you’re a KO maniac, which is fine by me as long as the two competitors know their game well enough to put on a clinic and it’s not just a catfight. Just make sure you're putting them in the cage for the raw talent and not for their looks!
Conclusion I firmly believe that Women’s MMA can be GREAT for the sport, especially for Strikeforce because they are the only mainstream promotion that currently includes these bouts in their cards. If we are familiar with whoever is fighting, just as with the male competitors, it can add a change of pace and some excitement to the card. It can the make card more entertaining to watch for females who just sit back and roll their eyes at their guyfriends who cheer for Fedor. I’m out. See you tomorrow…. FOR SURE!;) Tommorow’s Blog Will Anderson Silva Retire Undefeated In UFC? Monday’s Blog 2011 MMA Predictions
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Posted: 2/13/2011
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Happy Sunday! Well Strikeforce is over. My predictions faired off pretty well as I went 3/4,not including the Overeem fight. I hope you all enjoyed the fights as I wasn’t disappointed, considering it was free. This isn’t in-depth by any means, but I believe the overall grade is accurate. Have a nice read! Strikeforce 2/13/10 Thoughts/Review -The Weigh Ins SUCKED, everything seemed so unorganized and two of the undercard fighters were late! -Very nice to see all of the heavyweights at the beginning of the show. -I totally forgot about the Overeem fight being on the main card. Kind of a weak finish to the fight, but we can all anticipate where he goes from here. -Nice to see Gina Carano making her return HOPEFULLY sometime this year. -Keep up the non-techno music entrances:) Griggs Vs. Villante Complete slugfest here. Very sloppy, but entertaining. Grigg’s sideburns won the fight. Fight ENTERTAINMENT Rating:6.5/10 Shane Del Rosario Vs Lavar Johnson I had Del Rosario picked for this one in hopes that Johnson would use all of his energy up immediately. That seemed to be the case here. Hopefully, Del Rosario will continue to improve his abilities as he looks to be a solid fighter. A Lavar/Griggs fight would be fun to watch. Fight ENTERTAINMENT Rating:6/10 Andre Arvloski Vs.Sergei Kharintov This fight was a heartbreaker to watch. I do hope that this will be Arvloski’s last fight as it seems he has turned into the new Chuck Lidell. I was pulling for him BIG TIME but had Kharintov getting the KO. We all cringed at the sight of Arvloski laying motionless taking blows. I did at least. I believe that once your chin is gone, it’s always gone. Fight ENTERTAINMENT Rating:6/10 Fedor Emenlineko Vs. Antonio Silva Well, we all witnessed what could be the final fight of the storied career of Fedor. I noticed that his power was still there but completely got dominated by the 2nd round. He seemed pretty confident that it was his last match afterwards. Honestly, I don’t think it matters either way if he comes back for one more fight. The main event gets a higher rating due to the anticipation surrounding it. It was probably fun to watch for anti-Fedor fans and Dana. Even though I don’t think he was the best heavyweight of all time, as no one is. I wish him the best with whatever he decides. Fight ENTERTAINMENT Rating:7/10 Overall FER:6.5/10 I think it was a pretty quick night of fights here. We saw tournament advancements and now we have to wait until April to see the other side of the brackets. It'll be interesting to see how the GP pans out now that Fedor/Arvloski are both surpsingly gone. I'm leaning towards an Overeem or Barnett win, but I will see that in stone in a few weeks. Not an amazing card by any means, but definately nice to sit back and watch if you have nothing else to do on a Saturday. Future Blogs
2011 MMA Predictions
Thoughts on Women’s MMA
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Posted: 2/11/2011
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It’s Friday Everyone!..... Again! It’s a good time to be an MMA fan as we have another major event this weekend. It’s time for me to begin my recovery from the haflway right UFC predictions. I released these later in the week intentionally. If you missed any of my previous articles, make sure you check the BLOGS section at the top of this page to catch up on a few good reads.:) Also, check back Saturday night after the event for an in depth review as I will be probably be typing as I watch. Strikeforce Heavyweight GP Predictions This weekend we are going to experience the first half of the tournament. For those of you who aren’t too enthused about it, Why not? Strikeforce is reportedly making a little money now, so they are doing something right. No promotion is perfect and I applaud Coker for trying something DIFFERENT every once in a while(For FREE). Anyways, expect a quick nights of KO’s as I see this event lasting not much longer than an hour. It should be nothing short of entertaining at the least. Chad Griggs Vs Gianpiero Villante Last year we saw Chad Griggs pound on the unexperienced Bobby Lashley, Other than that, I don’t know much about the guy other than him having a solid record. This fight is apparently a reserve bout for the heavyweight GP. Villante broke his arm last year and is riding a TKO victory from December. Let's go with the guy I know. Winner: Chad Griggs
Shane Del Rosario Vs. Lavar Johnson Another reserve bout here. I watched a few videos on Del Rosario to get more familiar with him. He seems to be the more solid of the two. For what it’s worth, Shane looks to be the faster and I believe this is one of the fights that could end in submission. Winner:Shane Del Rosario
Andre Arvoloski vs. Sergei Kharintov As much as I hate to go against Arvloski, I have to. It seems that “The Pitbull” has been gone from us for a few years and we’ve just been stuck with Arvloski the man himself. This is fight,however, where anything can possibly happen. Hopefully, we won’t see another devestating KO to Arvloski again. If so, it may be time to think about life after fighting. It’s do or die time in the big leagues for Arvloski, so if your going to see a comeback from him, expect it now. I’m going to have to with the numbers on this one and Andre’s recent decline as Sergei is no joke. Winnder:Sergei Kharintov Fedor Emelianenko vs Antonio Silva The return of Fedor is upon us. We will find out how well he will rebound his previous loss and see if his age is beginning to play a factor on him. I wouldn’t exactly call his last two fights cake walks. Sure he KO’ed the hell out of Rogers, but he had to do a little work to get to that point.I’m not expecting anything other than 100% focus from him by the rumors swirling of his retirement soon from his own mouth. For those of you who say Silva isn’t a threat, well shame on you! . Fedor needs to watch out for Silva trying to ground and pound him as he is a lot of fighter to move once he is on top of you. While as submission is possible here, I’m feeling a TKO of some sort by Fedor. Winner: “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko Again, have a great weekend and enjoy the fights, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. My next BLOG would realistically be somewhere tomorrow as it will be on one of the topic’s below. Strikeforce Review will follow the event immediately.
Future Maniac Blogs 2011 MMA Predictions Thought’s On Women’s MMA Strikeforce Heavyweight GP Review Will Anderson Silva Retire With His Streak?
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Posted: 2/9/2011
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Happy Hump day to all! You may be asking yourself, “ Maniac, where’s the Strikeforce Heavyweight GP predictiions?". Let me assure you that is coming as I have had a change of heart by deciding to release it Thursday. Yeah, I figured it’d give me more time to think about my choices and I want to do much better than my UFC 125 predictions. Don’t Alienate Casual MMA Fans, Educate them Okay, this is something I've seen a lot of. I remember back when I first started watching MMA events on a constant basis, which has only inclined these past couple of years. Many happenings could relate to this top but heres an example for you. Story time:) Let’s go back to UFC 116 when we had the colossal showdown of Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin. That night I decided to catch the fights at a local sports bar in town to catch a nice buzz off some tall,cool Budweisers and yell at the screen with other MMA fans. I did notice a group of at least 8 gentlemen who showed up wearing the DeathClutch t-shirts that Lesnar was sporting at the time. The first thought that ran through my head was” yeah,the bandwagon fans have entered the building”. While I was probably right at the same time because I’m fairly sure I made the observation that they ignored every fight there except for the main event that evening. For me, I was 100% sure that Lesnar was going to take a beating and lose his title within the first couple of minutes. The second round ,however, wasn’t as kind to me as we all witnessed Lesnar somehow pull out the submission win. Around that time all of the loyal “DeathClutchers” began to jump up and shout in everyones faces who were pulling for Carwin. Some guy actually confronted me very obnoxiously,because obviously I looked disgruntled with the fact that I did indeed pick the wrong outcome and he could see the look on my face. I wasn’t a happy camper and was hating every Lesnar fan at the moment. These guys can be dickwads and I think we all have seen them. You spend all of your time learning the sport and here comes a guy who probably barely watches and get’s the upper hand on you. It’s not a good feeling, but just shrug it off and move on about your day:) Now, let’s get something straight here. I’m not anti-Lesnar by any means, I was actually pulling for him against Mir both times. The point is that I shouldn’t have been hating on the “MMA noobs” because in my mind, we are all still learning in this young sport. I see it on any MMA website forum just about every day. Some “expert” fan will post hateful remarks on a thread created by a member with 4 posts. While the newbie may be inaccurate with his posting it isn’t a reason to make him believe that diehards are all dicks. Don’t get me wrong here, there is plenty to disagree on and debate about,but it’s kind of like College Football for me. I can’t stand how obnoxious NCAA fans can be sometimes that it makes me hate the sport. Maybe thats my problem and it may make the game more fun for most people,but sure as hell not for me. There’s a fine line between sticking up for a certain team or whatever and just being completely disrespectful, making a complete ass out of yourself. Point being, if your friends have a slight interest in MMA, have them watch events with you and tell them that all of the fights aren’t going to be awesome. Granted, some people will just hate the idea of it and only watch it occasionally. I know that watching the event is much more fun when you have friends around that know at least halfway whats going on. In the end, just be respectful about each other’s opinions, no matter how ridiculous they may seem(I’ve seen my share of absurd posts). Again, maybe I’m in the minority here. This isn’t aimed at anyone in particular. It’s just some of my experiences with MMA fans who think they know more than others. Good for you! Once again, thanks for reading. Check back tomorrow as I have a nice special 2011 prediction blog planned I’d like to get out of my system. We are almost at the weekend! Hang in there. Tommorow’s Agenda’s Maniac’s 2011 Predictions Future Agenda Strikeforce Heavyweight GP Women’s MMA Thoughts Will
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Posted: 2/7/2011
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It’s time to get back to business! Hello everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. I apologize for the tardiness of this review as I just didn’t make it back home until today. This week will be another busy one as I have quite a few topics I’d like to share my thoughts on. So, make sure you check the BLOGS section throughout the week on this website to see what else I can dish out.
UFC 126 Review Well it’s official. I got ANNIHALATED on my UFC 126 undercard predictions. The main card was a little more forgiving by me going 3/5. Oh, if I just would’ve stuck with Forrest picking up the victory, maybe it would’ve sounded a little better. I guess I’ll just have to redeem myself at the upcoming Strikeforce event this weekend. I shall try my best. Miguel Torres vs. Antonia Buenlos Our first bout of the night was a fight that should’ve been much better. Other than a few nice kicks/ punches here and there. Nothing really here to see. Fight ENTERTAINMENT Rating: 4/10 Jake Ellenberger vs Carlos Rocha This fight could’ve went either way IMO. Rocha started out strong and Ellenberger improved in the 2nd round. Unfortunately, the judges didn’t agree and that cost me a prediction point. Fight ENTERTAINMENT Rating:6/10
Jon Jones Vs. Ryan Bader So apparantley this submission victory earned Bones a short notice title shot at UFC 128. He continues to finish his opponents. Let’s see if he can do it against Shogun next month! Fairly entertaining bout for me! Fight ENTERTAINMENT Rating:6/10
Forrest Griffin Vs Rich Franklin For the last two fights I have gone against Forrest as the victor. Especially, this one. I did predict this would go to decision as it did. Both fighters seemed to have a little rust. I have to give credit where it’s due. Forrest came in after over a year’s absence and pulled out the victory. May not have been the most aggresive fight it should’ve been, but the third round made it watchable. Fight ENTERTAINMENT Rating:6/10 Anderson Silva Vs. Vitor Belfort Now the main event of the evening. Those workouts with Steven Seagal must’ve paid off because apparantley the final kick of the fight was taught by none other than the Aikido master himself. Belfort didn’t look as comfortable as he sounded pre-fight and Silva took complete advantage of that. Silva defended his title again and showed the world how dangerous he can be to his opponents. The final kick of the fight makes it really worth watching and will bring it up a few points of the F.E.R. Hopefully Silva won’t be taking dieting advice from Seagal anytime soon and this comes from a Seagal fan. Fight ENTERTAINMENT Rating:7/10 Overall FER: 6/10(C+) The most exciting moment of this card was the main event KO that lead it to a particularly strong finish. Nothing really historic took place tonight other than Silva maintaining his streak and the continuous rise of Bones. It’ll be interesting to see where these fighters go from here. The card had potential to be at least an 8/10, but it started off with a really SLOW fight that should've been as entertaining as a WEC bout. I guess that’s a gamble you have to take as every fight isn’t going to be slugfest or MMA clinic. It did have it’s moments and would’ve been relaxing to go to a bar and watch. Worth $50 dollars though? No way Jose!(Be sure to check out my Should UFC PPVS Be Cheaper? blog) If you have any suggestions on improvements that would make this blog more entertaining for you than it already is(ha) ,let me know. I’m looking forward to giving you my thoughts and predictions on the major event next weekend that Strikeforce is holding. Have a great Tuesday and always remember that negative feedback is accepted but frowned upon:) Tommorow’s Agenda Strikeforce Heavyweight GP Predictions Future Blogs Don’t Alienate Casual Fans, Educate Them Women’s MMA Will Anderson Silva Lose Before He Retires?
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Posted: 2/4/2011
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It's FRIDAY night, and I feel alright. Pardon the cheesy 90‘s hip hop reference. Well, we are officially at the end of my first week of blogging. If you just happened to stumble across this and have no clue what I’m referring to, check out the"BLOGS" section of this website at the top and you will see more articles I’ve created throughout the week. Feel free to leave comments on whether you disagree or not. I’ll definitely find time to respond. Let’s press on, shall we? Weigh Ins I did take initiative tonight to catch the weigh-ins tonight to familiarize myself with some of the undercard fighters that I didn’t know. I’ll go ahead and give you my quick picks to the entire card since I wasn’t able to in my earlier blog. For a more detailed list of the main card fights,check the BLOGS section of MMANEWS.com. Predicted winners are in bold. -Mike Pierce vs. Kenny Robertson -Kyle Kingsbury vs. Ricardo Romero -Paul Taylor vs. Gabe Ruediger -Kid Yamamoto vs. Demetrious Johnson -Chad Mendes vs. Michihiro Omigawa -Donald Cerrone vs. Paul Kelly -Miguel Torres vs. Antonio Banuelos -Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader -Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha :-Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin -Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort Everyone seemed to be in excellent shape for their fights, which is always a good thing. The mask thing with Anderson Silva was a tad bizarre. Um, yeah other than that, I can’t really find out much to say about this. Just your typical night of weigh-ins!
FINAL UFC 126 Thoughts If any of you read my predictions blog, I’d say most of them are fair and hopefully accurate on my part. I’ll be sticking with the same ones as I released Wednesday. As far as the undercard goes, there is plenty of potential there to make for some exciting fights. - I’m looking forward to the Kid Yamamoto bout -I can’t say that I’m completely surprised that Donald Cerrone didn’t make the main card, but at least it will be televised by SpikeTV and probably be shown after the main event as an extra. -Miguel Torres looks so small! Until I saw him look about a foot taller than Banuelos face to face. I was hoping someone would dethrone him in WEC, and now I want him to dominate again. Strange. -Bones Jones has the personality of a professional athlete from the interviews I’ve always seen from him. I wish him the best, as I believe he has a tough opponent in Ryan Bader. -The loser of Griffin/Franklin apparently has to get a tattoo, according to a Youtube video I saw on Facebook. Again, the only fight I’m truly worried about not predicting correctly. -I still don’t believe Silva has lost his drive or dominance, we will find out! That’s all I have for you this week. It SHOULD be an awesome card and I look forward to sharing my review with you hopefully Sunday evening or Monday. Everyone have an awesome weekend and be sure to check back next week. Enjoy the fights! Sunday’s Agenda UFC 126 Review Future Agenda Strikeforce Heavyweight GP Don’t Alienate Casual Fans,Educate Them Thoughts On Women’s MMA
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Posted: 2/3/2011
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Happy end of the week folks! That sounds amazing doesn’t it? Why shouldn’t it? We are about to witness the second major UFC event of 2011. A fully stacked card should provide your Saturday night with enough entertainment, should Buddha provide. Hopefully, I will have a review of the event at some point Sunday evening. Since it is my birthday weekend, it may be quite the challenge because I will be out of town for the duration. We shall see how it goes as I hope there will be no breath holding. It WILL come! Anyways, let’s get on with today’s topic. Should UFC PPV’s Be Cheaper? The weekend is quickly approaching and this is the situation. You have nothing better to do this weekend and then you remember that it’s time for UFC 126, ah snap! All of your close friends are too busy to accomdate you Saturday night to split the cost and this is a card you don’t want to miss. Do you go to your local Hooters or sports bar? Or maybe you decide you want some time alone to sit back with a cold one inside the comfort of your own home with Oscar, your pet Chihuahua and buy the event on PPV. After all, what the hell it’s $44.95 and you’ll be receiving your income tax back soon. Wait. you also have an awesome HDtv that was received for Christmas. Then you have to shell out an additional $10 to put HD to good use and make the event worthwhile. This is blog is excluding any illegal alternatives to watch the fights. Let’s say that this is your situation. Your an average working-class individual with bills to pay. Even adding more spice to, your a sporadic MMA fan who is only watching this fight for the main event and vaguely familiar with the undercard fights. It would be very unrealistic for you to purchase all of these events on a monthly basis. You may not be the sports bar type and your supply of MMA friends may be limited. What are you options? Maybe you have your own UFC cookie jar to buy selected events? What about those who don't and want to watch the fight,but are willing to pay a little less? My question is once again resurrected. Should UFC PPV’s Be Cheaper? Yes Now, I’m not calling for a drastic price drop in any way. Hell Dana, if you don’t want to drop the price of the PPV’s at least include some sort of nice package that gives us and nice little discount in a tough economy(Don’t try to pull that whole “You get free Fight Night on Spike TV” either). For instance, let me make up a realistic deal. How about this,if you buy at least three UFC events per year, in return you receive three PPVs for $29.99 within that same year. Especially, the cards that hold less star-power.That shouldn’t be too big of a hit to UFC’s wallet and it would help the sport continue it’s uprise. I believe that MMA isn’t anywhere close to peaking in popularity yet. It’s also possible that the expensive events once a month may scare some people away from the sport since UFC is probaly the first thing that comes to mind to a non MMA fan. The more people watch and enjoy, the better chance they will buy next time. There would’ve been at least 4 PPV’s I would’ve paid for last year had they been about $10-$15 cheaper. MMA PPVs will always be a shot in the dark on wherther they will be entertaining or not. You are not guranteed to get your money’s worth. That’s part of it,I suppose. Will this ever happen? I highly doubt that the overall price of the PPV will never go down, it will more than likely actually increase the more it’s popularity increases. I realize that it takes money to put on the best events and pay the fighters well. They deserve it. Would there be any harm in decreasing the price? Even if it’s just for a year or two? Let me know. See you tommorow! Tommorow’s Agenda Final UFC 126 Thoughts Sunday’s Agenda UFC 126 Review Future Agenda Strikeforce Heavyweight GP Don’t Alienate Casual Fans,Educate Them Thoughts On Women’s MMA
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Posted: 2/2/2011
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Cue Pearl Jam. Let the typing begin. Well tonight I’m giving you my thoughts on one of the top MMA stories of 2010. You’ll have to excuse my jumping around from promotion to promotion. Hopefully, you are one of the 20 people that read my article on Strikeforce Improvements:). I think it would blend it well with this particular topic if you have a few minutes to spare. Check it out.
Why Mayhem/Diaz Shoud Happen About a year ago on the Mayhem/Shields event broadcasted by CBS, we witnessed the infamous brawl that took place after the main event. Apparently, that ignited one of the most heated rivalries of the year. Let’s go with the "controversy creates cash" objective here and use perhaps the two of argubaly the most colorful fighters in SF or MMA. Now what would be the problem sticking them in a cage for five rounds and seeing what fireworks occur? -Let’s just say that hypothetically Scott Coker penciled in this event for June on CBS, which should be booked at least 3 months prior to the event to buildup even more so that it has reached beyond the typical MMA fan and into the mainstream once again.I’m talking billboards,late night shows, and ESPN coverage. Imagine Mayhem on Conan or Leno. It would be classic. The guy has the talk of a pro wrestler in the early 2000's when wrestling was at it’s peak. I’m assuming he would become the proverbial face/good guy of the bout (Unless we are in San Jose). I also failed to mention he is the host of his own show “Bully Beatdown “shown by MTV which has obviously garnered success on that god awful channel. Then we have Nick Diaz the proclaimed “Bad Boy Of MMA”. The possibilities for a headline in this match are endless, one off the top of my head “Mayhem Finds His Own Bully Beatdown”. Run commercials as many times as possible for this, it’s unfortunate that this isn’t really happening that soon so that Strikeforce could air promos for this during Superbowl Sunday on CBS. -I throughly believe that this fight has the potential to bring some of the younger fans who aren’t as familiar with MMA with the proper buildup. Hell, throw Gina Carano in the mix with a heavily hyped return and you have yourself a night of fights and it will show people how attractive and talented some of these female fighters are at the same time! Surround the event with the best you have to offer SF.Assuming Fedor sees success in February's tournament, have his next fight soon following so you can hype it to hell and back the same night! -Now let’s stop for a second and ramble on something here. The UFC is considered the primetime of the MMA world and it will more than likely be that way for years to come unless something drastic takes place. Instead of trying to become the UFC, Strikeforce needs to be the same,but different.They need to offer something that Dana doesn’t. The idea of having edgy fighters with explosive personailties meet inside of the cage to sort our their differences makes for great entertainment. Not that UFC doesn’t have their share of grudge matches. They are just completely focused on the MMA aspect of the sport and that’s professional. SF needs to become the go to promotion when a UFC PPV weekend isn’t upon us.The question I’m asking is it possible for Mayhem/Diaz to take place on a professional level? Probaly not,but this is a bloody, fighting sport! We are on the verge of heading back into the Roman times where mass crowds enjoy two men beating the living hell out of each other! Think about that. In the end whether it happens or not is up the CEO. It shouldn’t be in the fighter’s hands to decide business decisions for the company. I will go on the record and say that Mayhem should move to Nick’s weight class in order for it to be a title fight. It would make it more exciting with a strap on the line, regardless of how skinny he thinks will be. I’m also not proclaiming that Mayhem/Diaz are the greatest fighters in the world by any means, but they are talented and very fun to watch regardless of who their opponents are. So for those of you who don't want to see it, that's fine. I don't see why you wouldn't want to? Feel free to tell me why:) I'll be sure to respond. Well, that’s all I have to offer tonight. I hope you enjoyed reading. If you have any comments on this or just think I’m an completely idiotic for even suggesting it. Let me know and always remember negative feedback is accepted,but frowned upon:) Take it easy.
Tommorow’s Agenda Should UFC PPVs Be Cheaper? Future Agenda Strikeforce Heavyweight GP UFC 126 Review Don’t Alienate Casual Fans,Educate Them Thoughts On Women’s MMA
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Posted: 2/1/2011
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Well, UFC 126 is right around the corner. These predictions aren’t described in much detail. Hopefully, after I watch the weigh-ins I will publish another blog discussing them further. Overall, it should be a good night of evenly matched bouts. I apologize for the halfassism. Think of these as quick predictions. UFC 126 Predictions Miguel Torres Vs Antonio Banuelos Should be an awesome WEC bout here. Miguel Torres via Submission
Jake Ellenberger Vs Carlos Eduardo Rocha Another tough pick for me. I'm guessing the technician will pick up another W. Carlos Rocha Via Submission Forrest Griffin vs Rich Franklin In what could be the toughest fight on the card to call, I expect nothing less than a slugfest between these two. This has potential to become FOTN and I believe it will. I really was close to chosing Forrest as the victor to this fight. Who knows, it should be a very entertaining fight nonetheless. It's been over a year since Forrest fought inside of the cage so I'm expecting a little rust. Rich Franklin Via Decision
Jon Jones Vs Ryan Bader The undefeated Bader has a good shot at taking this one home,but I''ll be jumping on the hype train for this one! Jon Jones Via TKO
Anderson Silva Vs. Vitor Belfort Ever since Silva was nearly dethroned by Sonnen many began to question if he’d lost his dominance. I think not. I’m expecting Vitor to take the aggressive approach in the fight and be rocked early on. Anderson Silva Via TKO Again,hopefully after watching the weigh-ins I will be able to elaborate further on these bouts. I'll just delete this entry and update it with more thoughts?K Thnx:)Hope everyone has a great one! Be Sure To Check The BLOGS section of the website to read more! Tommorow's Agenda Why Mayhem/Diaz Should Happen
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Posted: 1/31/2011
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Welcome back! Well if your reading these words, maybe you read yesterday's words. If not, well to hell with you and WELCOME to my latest writing. As promised I was going to give you my opinion on a couple or five things Strikeforce should work on to better their product. Let's countdown to make it more dramatic. And now... 5 Things Scott Coker Needs To Do Make Strikeforce More Successful Here We GO!
5)Make Some Tweaks To The Production If anyone was watching the card on 1/29 you could notice the same holes in their production game. Before I get to those lets point out something positive. I did take note that they actually were using songs that were copyrighted which wasn't something SF usually does. That's fairly significant upgrade to that generic shitty techno being used for entrances. Gripes I see quiet frequently on the forums is SF's usage of commentary work. While I don't think its absolutely horrible like some do, I'd agree there could be a few changes to have it more balanced. Don't get me wrong, it is the job of the commentators to promote each fighter, but quit telling me the same useless garbage over and over! Maybe have Militech do more of the talking and have Shamrock chime in when the fight goes to the ground. Mauro Ranallo is good in smaller doses. His stronger moments are in the more dramatic stages of the fight. Oh yes and finally, for God's sake, let Jimmy Lennon Jr. finish his introduction before you start fighting, Herschel.
4)Deliver The Fights We Want For every SF event you watch they seem to hold some sort of texting polls as to which opponents should fight next. How often do they actually follow through with these? I'd say no more than 30% of the time. I see plenty of complaints and some may argue this could be the biggest problem with SF. For instance, when Fedor made his memorable debut in the company by delivering a devastating KO to undefeated Brett Rogers, as like many of you, I was expecting Fedor to receive his title shot against Allistair Overeem hopefully that following spring. Wrong. We saw yet another nontitle fight with Fedor being submitted in 69 seconds last June.In a perfect world, this shouldn't have happened. Fedor should’ve received the shot that we all wanted to see and it would've been a complete war. Instead, with the Fedor loss, it left plenty of skeptics a reason to point their finger at SF and criticize. This has nothing to do with Werdum being a worthy contender by the way. He just should've received his shot after Fedor/Overeem. SF blew a huge opportunity to air a much more attractive fight, regardless of the outcome. Another example would be the Kimbo/Ken Shamrock card for EliteXC. Some say this event was doomed from the beginning anyway, as they were right. Then we have the whole Mayhem/Diaz fiasco which raises another question. Many of the fans want it, but many feel that Mayhem doesn't deserve it. Again, a separate issue, but it would make a fun fight.... Right? Should Scott Coker make the fight anyway? That's always up for discussion, but If I were him I would make the fight .Why, may you ask? Well, you will see why in Wednesday's blog:p. In the end, just learn from past mistakes SF. 3)Sign A New TV Deal UFC practically rapes SpikeTV, especially the weekend of a UFC event. The whole CBS night that SF held made the event seem more important for some reason. It had a Superbowl feel to it and I had the feeling that more people were watching. Although the last event with Mayhem/Shields didn’t pan out as well in the ratings as the Fedor/Rogers card. The potential is still there for the larger cards. Get this promotion a lucrative TV deal that keeps us up to date with the fighters so we don't have to search online to find out what Tim Kennedy's MMA record is. Also, how many bars do you know that show SF events? I sure as hell don't know any. They have enough fights in the library to run a 30 minute show. Before their larger events they should be airing one of those 24/7 programs that hype each televised bout.SF could heavily benefit from this if it's done properly. If Bully Beatdown can keep getting recycled on MTV. Why not some entertaining fights from the SF/Elite XC vault. Gotta start somewhere. Yes, I am aware that Showtime does show past events. A major advantage Strikeforce has over UFC right now is that all of their events are free. They need to capitalize on this as much as possible while new fans are flocking to the sport and automatically assuming UFC is the cream of the crop because of the exposure it receives. Step up SF. 2)Buckle Down Fedor I believe, as well a many others that Fedor could carry a majority of SF's weight on his shoulders if they could break whatever barriers with M1-Global. He should be the face of Strikeforce at the moment. This may sound easier said than done as even Dana White hasn't landed him yet. Fighting once a year, especially after a quick loss to Werdum isn't going to cut it. We all know this and I hope Fedor does. We all would like to believe and assume that "The Last Emperor" has plenty of gas left in his tank to represent the company who pays him the big bucks to compete. 1)Promote Promote Promote! This is where Strikeforce falters the most if you ask me. Take UFC,for instance. Dana has taken a basically once near-defunct company and turned it around by promoting his guys to be the top fighters and monsters in the world. Whether they are the best or not is a different topic(That's what the forums and comments section is for:p)I'm not sure how it works on the west coast, but for every major Strikeforce event I have seen minimal to zilch promotion for these events on this side of the states. It's going to take more than a few bus billboards, interviews, and Showtime promos to accomplish this. Start by advertising some of your most marketable fighters(Diaz, Jacare, Fedor,Mayhem, ect.) and ram them down our throats the same way Dana does with Lesnar and his guys. Now, sometimes I'll watch events and have no idea who the fighter is. I'm just an MMA fan, it’s not my life or my duty to research every upcoming fighter who competes. Would you like to know one thing that the casual and diehard MMA fans have in common? Both parties enjoy the fight ten times more when they are at least familiar with whoever is exchanging blows. That’s a valid reason that Brock Lesnar was/is huge. I remember going to the bar the night Mir/Lesnar l. It was a packed out house and there wasn't one person in that place who wasn't cheering for the outcome. The fact that Lesnar was well-known by wrestling fans is beside the point. There isn't any reason we shouldn't be familiar with who's fighting on heavily hyped card, and yes that includes the casual fans. Boxing is suffering from this EXTREMELY bad at the moment. Anyways, you get my point right? PROMOTE the shit out of it! How about some honorable mentions for shits and gigs? Honorable Mentions
Have A Deep Supply Of Worthy Contenders For Each Division This probably should've made the list, but in a way it falls under #4. Make Sure Your World Champion Defends His Title At Least Twice A Year Again another fairly important point as most of us forgotten who the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion was for a while. Lock this down stipulation down for all champions! Well I was fortunate enough to make it to the 2nd edition of MMAManiac It's a loose list but I think these five points will greatly improve Strikeforce. If there is something that isn't factually correct in this article. I kind of apologize, I guess. Hell, I don't know everything like most of you do:) Feel free to discuss any of this in the "comments" section. Tell me if you liked it or hated it, but remember negative feedback is accepted but frowned upon.Kidding. Oh yes, and thanks to Matt Boone for posting my previous blog on the main page. Until tomorrow. Happy Surfing!
Tommorow's Agenda UFC 126 Predictions Wednesday's Agenda Mayhem/Diaz:Why It Should Happen
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Posted: 1/30/2011
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First things first. I'm the Maniac. On a daily or every other day basis(hopefully), I will be giving my thoughts on the sport of MMA. I don't think of myself as an expert by any means. I have been a fan of the sport since early 2000 and a fairly consistent viewer ever since. Over the course of time I will be sharing with you my random thoughts, predictions, and whatever else may be on my mind as I'm writing. I really hope you enjoy reading. If not..... Strikeforce 1/29 Diaz vs Cyborg Roger(Hoger) Gracie vs. Trevor Prangley We begin our first fight of the night with Trevor Prangley and the much younger technician HOGER Gracie. Predictable finish here and Gracie continues his undefeated streak and moves up the ladder, I suppose. Fight ENTERTAINMENT Rating:6.5/10 Herschel Walker Vs. Scott Carson Being from Georgia, I can't help to see how this fight is going to turnout no matter how pointless or "sideshowlike" it may be to some MMA fans. Walker has been the butt of a jokes lately due to his age,very questionable footwork ,and finish in his last bout with Greg Nagy. I for one am open to this as it was in the under-card and it wasn't a complete waste of time to watch. My only request. Next fight give Herschel an upgraded opponent with decent stand up game and sub par ground game. Let him work his way up and see what becomes of it. If nothing Fight ENTERTAINMENT Rating:6.5/10 Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler This particular title bout ended exactly the way I was anticipating. I was banking on Jacare getting rocked in the first couple of minutes and regaining his composure. I mean as a fighter your expected to take a few hits right? Well, that's exactly what happened as we saw "Ruthless" get choked out once again by Jacare's superior ground game. I'm a fan of both fighters, although I was kind of pulling for Lawler to have a nice title run it will be nice to see how dominant of a champion Jacare may be. It's always fun seeing if Robbie can pull a surprise knockout,or is it a surprise? Good watch,predictable finish my friends. Fight ENTERTAINMENT Rating:7/10 Nick Diaz vs Cris Evangelista Cyborg Now we have our main event of the evening folks.Going into this bout I was expecting a Diaz win, I just wasn't completely sure how. I was leaning towards submission, but who knows?Well that seemed to be the case in this bout.The fight began with explosive kicks from Cyborg onto the right leg of Diaz..You could literally hear the thunder and see the shockwave from those kicks which seemed to shake Diaz,but not effect his mugging facial expressions.The fans in attendance and myself seemed to enjoy the fact that Diaz chose to stand and trade with Borg. Diaz is CRAZY over with the San Jose crowd,It'll make you a fan for those few minutes even if you hate the guy.Totally entertaining fight which saw Diaz lock in the arm bar. Why Cyborg chose to stay on the ground? We may never know. People question this bout due to the assumption that Cyborg wasn't a worthy contender. That may be the case,but he looks scary enough to hold his own and have one of the best fights of 2011 thus far. Nick Diaz retaining the title is definitely a good thing for the SF brand, I'll get to why in my next blog. Fight ENTERTAINMENT Rating:8/10 Seemed like a short night of televised fights. No titles changed hands,but I'd be lying If I didnt say I enjoyed watching the final two fights.Plus it was FREE.not $50.If your not down with that,sue me. Overall Rating:7/10 Tommorrow's Agenda 5 Things Scott Coker needs to do to make Strikeforce more successful.
Tuesday's Agenda UFC 126 predictions So this was the first edition of MMAManiac. I hope you enjoyed. Send all of your shitty grievances and opinions somewhere else.Have a nice day:)
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