Fightin' Words

Here's a link to a news item about another guy jumping ship and joining the MMA ranks:
http://http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=3674338

No one ever gets girls with Judo anyways

--KS

Here's a story in the Chicago Sun-Times about a boxing fan who admits he's hooked on MMA. It happened to him the way it's happened to a lot of people. Flipping through the channels he stumbled onto the fights on Spike TV. This particular guy found the first Stephan Bonnar-Forrest Griffin fight, which is still the best fight in UFC history.

Now if only the guys at the Neutral Corner had the same inner strength to admit their true love. Well, they have Manny Pacquiao, and they can keep him.

Here's an interview with Shonie Carter, who isn't shy about expressing his opinions.

Shonie says, among other things, that Randy Couture will beat Brock Lesnar. Shonie also wasn't fond of Anderson Silva's antics against Patrick Cote.

(Chicago Tribune photo)

Pete Sell, a Long Island native, finally had his hand raised at the end of a match in the Octagon.

Sell has developed a reputation as a fan favorite for both the level of action during his fights and the dramatic ways he tends to lose them.

A loser of four straight fights in the UFC, Sell returned to the winner's side of the night at UFC 90 in Chicago. He scored a unanimous decision over Josh Burkman in the opening fight, winning 29-28 on all three judges' cards.

Oh, yeah, Anderson Silva scored a TKO over Patrick Cote.

See more photos from UFC 90.

Once again, WFAN morning sports talk radio show "Boomer & Carton" performed a hilarious interview.

This time, it UFC All-Access gal Rachelle Leah. Give it a listen and enjoy.

WFAN interview: Rachelle Leah

It’s kind of sad, really. Boxing fans who cling to the wreckage of their once great sport. What is most tragic about all of this is that most of these boxing aficionados have become closet MMA fans, and they dare not come out.

That’s right. The louder they claim their sport is king, the more clear it is that they have discovered the lure of mixed martial arts. They don’t even believe what they say.

More evidence of this theory comes to us directly from Newsday’s own boxing blog, The Neutral Corner. We here at Fightin’ Words recently pointed out the blog’s cheap attempt to pirate page views by posting about a sport people care about, MMA. They took exception to our jab. It must be tough trying to wipe away the tears with those big 16-ounce gloves.

Well, they’re at it again. Now they’re doing Q&As with UFC fighters, asking Pete Sell who he thinks would win between Randy Couture and Mike Tyson. They can’t even hide it anymore.

This dude is a beast, and ESPN's "60 Minutes" ripoff "E:60" profiled the man who will fight Randy Couture at UFC 91 in Las Vegas in November.

The fight between Junie Browning and Roli Delgado wasn't very good. Not sure what you thought, but I couldn't help but think that either fighter would have been demolished by someone with skills. Yes, they stood and traded, but Delgado had no pop behind his punches, stood with his hands by his waist and left his chin hanging out. A seasoned standup fighter would have made quick work of him.

Junie was definitely the more athletic fighter and you can see that he has potential if he can get his head together. I'm no expert, but asking your opponent to punch you in the face seems like a questionable approach. Delgado was happy to oblige, but he just didn't have the punching power to knock the guy down; he couldn't even knock him backward. Junie just keep walking right through Delgado's slaps.

One interesting angle on the show was the doubt about Delgado's black belt. When Frank Mir asked him where he got it, Delgado needed 10 minutes to explain. It certainly did sound fishy. We didn't get to see any of Delgado's jiu jitsu in the fight because he never came close to taking down Junie, and Junie showed no interest in playing the ground game.

On his TUF blog on fiveouncesofpain.com, Phillipe Nover vouches for Delgado, saying that after rolling with him in practice, he definitely seemed like a black belt to him.

That's good enough for me, but I don't think we're going to see much of Delgado in the future. Sure, other fighters haven't looked great on the show but have impressed in the UFC afterward, but I just don't see Delgado being one of them.

Here are my top 3 fighters who didn't impress on the show but have been good in the UFC:

1) Chris Leben: His booze-fueled meltdown is legendary in TUF lore. The incident landed him a matchup with nemesis Josh Koscheck, who used his wrestling game to outpoint a tentative Leben in the bout. Leben has proven himself in the Octagon, although he may never quite be championship caliber.

2) Marcus Davis: Davis picked Joe Stevenson for his first fight on Season 2 of TUF. It was not a wise choice. Stevenson took him down and submitted him. Since the show, Davis has come a long way. He has only one loss on his recond in that span, a decision defeat against Mike Swick.

3) Rich Clementi: On the show, Clementi lost his preliminary bout by decision to Shonie Carter. Other than dubbing his team "No Love," Clementi didn't have much of an impact. Since the show, he's shown he is a legit UFC fighter, reeling off four straight impressive wins, including wins over Anthony Johnson and Melvin Guillard. He's on Saturday night's card with a bout against Gray Maynard.

--Hank Winnicki

Jim Genia steps back into the blog-tagon to make his picks for UFC 90. You can check out Jim's blog at MMAJournalist.blogspot.com

On Saturday, the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., plays host to UFC 90 – an event that features a championship bout between one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world against a Canadian with only a marginal chance of leaving the cage on his own two feet. Who will be UFC 90’s winners and losers?

Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Cote
What can you say about Anderson Silva? Other than he’s a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, is the most feared striker in MMA, and that he’s absolutely decimated the best the middleweight division has to offer, there’s really not much that needs to be said. Patrick Cote earned a shot at Silva’s 185-pound title by being the only guy with a winning record left who Silva hasn’t yet destroyed.
Prediction: Silva by KO – an ugly, ugly KO – in Round 1.

Thiago Alves vs. Josh Koscheck
Another Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt with deadly Muay Thai kickboxing skills, Thiago Alves was large and in charge in his destruction of former champ Matt Hughes, former contender Karo Parisyan, and TUF finalist Chris Lytle. Josh Koscheck is a wrestling stud with ever-improving stand-up, but he’s not on Alves’ level if the fight remains on the feet – and no one has been able to keep Alves down.
Prediction: Alves by TKO in Round 2.

Fabricio Werdum vs. Junior dos Santos
Fabricio Werdum is a world champion grappler (i.e., he ties other Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts into knots) who’s fought on the international stage for both the UFC and Pride FC, whereas opponent Junior dos Santos is a “ham and egger” from Brazil’s regional MMA circuits. Who is getting tapped out in this one? (Hint: It isn’t going to be Werdum.)
Prediction: Werdum via submission (armbar) in Round 1.

Tyson Griffin vs. Sean Sherk
The former UFC lightweight title holder Sean Sherk is a wrestling monster and nonstop ground-and-pounder who lost his belt only because MMA phenom BJ Penn wanted it. Tyson Griffin is fighter with a wrestling background who also likes to ground and pound, and he’s going to become well acquainted with the taste of Sherk’s four-ounce leather gloves.
Prediction: Sherk via unanimous decision.

Gray Maynard vs. Rich Clementi
Gray Maynard trains at Randy Couture’s gym in Las Vegas and specializes in taking opponents down and grinding out wins. Rich Clementi is well-rounded, and with a 32-12-1 record is very, very experienced at beating up B-level fighters. Maynard is going to get Clementi to the canvas and hold him there.
Prediction: Maynard via split decision.

Preliminary Bout Fighters to Watch Out For:
If there’s time, the UFC will often show pre-recorded bouts from the undercard. Watch out for these promising fighters:

Dan Miller – The older brother of Jim Miller (who just won at UFC 89), Dan hails from AMA Fight Club/Team Renzo in New Jersey, is an ace grappler, and was middleweight champ of the now-defunct International Fight League.

Spencer Fisher – A Pat Miletich-trained fighter, Spencer Fisher is a skilled striker and competent grappler well known for his ability to wage war in the Octagon.
Pete Sell – Long Island’s own Pete “Drago” Sell lets it all hang out in the cage, swinging for the fences until either he or his opponent is out cold.

Pete Sell – Long Island’s own Pete “Drago” Sell lets it all hang out in the cage, swinging for the fences until either he or his opponent is out cold.

Newsday caught up with Pete "Drago" Sell at Matt Serra's gym in Huntington.

Of course Kimbo Slice's manager would say he's open to joining the UFC. What else do you expect the guy responsible for getting his client paid to say?

The real question is this: Would UFC boss Dana White go after the Big Name after the Big Fall? The follow-up question would then be this: Why?

White bashed EliteXC to the L.A. Times after that CBS card that folded like 2-7 before the flop, saying among other things: "What happened on CBS makes me sick to my stomach. It disgusts me. I've been working . . . for 10 years now to show the world what an amazing sport this is, and what amazing people are in it. It goes against everything the UFC stands for."

And he's hammered away on Slice for a while. Well, I have a feeling White would consider signing Slice (depending on the results of the Florida Athletic Commission's investigation into the comments made by Seth Petruzelli after he dropped the YouTube Heavyweight Champion in 14 seconds.)

To be clear, I have no knowledge of White's thinking, so this is just me thinking out loud and online.

Here's my line of reasoning:

1) To prove a point

If he could bring in Slice and have someone train him properly to fight in the Octagon and turn him into a legitimate contender, White would then prove to any other skeptics out there that UFC is the best of the best in MMA. It would be sort of like the Duke brothers "Trading Places" with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd.

2) The Randy Couture factor

Didn't UFC and Randy Couture go their separate ways a while back, only to have Couture return as Brock Lesnar became a viable opponent? Never say never, right?

3) Money

Kimbo Slice would solicit buckets of interest from sponsors and would sell a disgusting amount of tickets and pay-per-view buys. He'd help pique the interest of the fans who used to like boxing and can't stand the alphabet soup of title belts but still need to watch people punch each other in the face. And despite the negativity surrounding Slice right now, like it or not, he's a draw. Sort of like Britney Spears the past two years: Oh sure, we didn't care about her latest mishap, yet it sold hundreds of thousands of magazines and tabloids every week. White is a fight fan, but he's also a smart business man.

4) The Fedor Emelianenko factor

In a recent interview with the Boston Herald, White said “The door is wide open. I want Fedor to come in and fight the best. At the end of the day, I’m a fight fan. That’s what I really am, and I want to see the best fight the best. Let’s find out if he’s the best. I want to do it.”

But wasn't it White who took some shots at Emelianenko after negotiations for him to join the UFC broke down? Any reason that couldn't happen here with Slice, just in reverse order?

5) Credibility boost

EliteXC and Petruzelli are the ones catching all the heat from the fight. Slice just got exposed as something close to a fraud. But if he gets the training mentioned in No. 1, then he's not the Union Kane in "Rocky V" that people are claiming he is right now.

Again, these are just some thoughts off the top of my head. Surely, you've got some thoughts on this topic (and no doubt some thoughts on my thoughts), so let's hear 'em.

Here is the story in Wednesday's paper by Jim Genia.

Jim spoke to Kimbo Slice's manager, Mike Imber, who says they would consider going to the UFC. Wonder what Dana White has to say about that.

So the question is, do you want to see Kimbo Slice in the UFC?

. . . you've got a few choices of free MMA events to sample:

• Weigh-ins for the main event between Patrick Cote and Anderson Silva at the Chicago Theater at 3 p.m. Friday (If you're not going, Fightin' Words will be streaming it live, provided our coding works.)

• Before the weigh-in, sit in on a Q&A with Matt Hughes. Note: You need to join the UFC Fight Club on ufc.com in order to get in, so if you're traveling, just join now and make your life easier at the door.

It appears that Kimbo Slice is a free agent. Will UFC pick him up? Doubt it.

Here's a story about EliteXC folding by Josh Gross on si.com.

We'll have more in a bit.

Jim Genia of MMAJournalist steps into the Fightin' Words blog-tagon and offers his thoughts on UFC 89.

The dust has settled on UFC 89, and left standing are a collection of battered heroes, wounded warriors and stumbled fighters. Besides those who managed to get their arms raised at the ends of their bouts, who were the events real winners and losers?

• Michael Bisping’s stock continues to rise as a middleweight contender, and as the UFC standard bearer for the promotion’s U.K. efforts, he’s been tapped to coach a team for the ninth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” (dubbed “U.S. vs. U.K.”) The opposing coach for the hit SpikeTV reality series will likely be the winner of UFC 93’s match-up between Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson.

• Chris Lytle may have eked out the decision against Paul Taylor, but Taylor definitely looked impressive throwing hard leather and giving just as good as he got. The UFC brass agreed, awarding the two warriors $40,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses.

• Brandon Vera, wherefore art thou killer instinct?

• Luis Cane earned “Knockout of the Night” honors (and an additional $40,000) for his crushing defeat of Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Sokoudjou just hasn’t been all that impressive in the Octagon. Is the transition from Pride FC’s ring to the cage that difficult? Or is it that the level of competition in the UFC is tougher?

• New Jersey-based jiu-jitsu beast Jim Miller dominated tough Frenchman David Baron, nailing a rear naked choke for a tap out in the third round and snagging the $40,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus in the process. The UFC has wanted Miller on their roster for a while, but contractual obligations had kept him tied up with the now-defunct International Fight League. The preliminary match-up wasn’t shown on the SpikeTV broadcast, but it’s available for free at UFC.com and is worth checking out.

Here is some post-fight video from the Telegraph in London....

The results of the three sets of predictions for UFC 89 by Marcus Henry, Hank Winnicki and Jim Genia:

Michael Bisping decisions Chris Leben
Henry: Leben
Winnicki: Leben
Genia: Bisping

Jardine beats Vera by decision
Henry: Vera
Winnicki: Vera
Genia: Vera

Cane beats Sokoudjou via TKO
Henry: Cane
Winnicki: Cane
Genia: Sokoudjou

Marcus Davis submits Paul Kelly
Henry: Kelly
Winnicki: Kelly
Genia: Davis

Chris Lytle decisions Paul Taylor
Henry: Taylor
Winnicki: Lytle
Genia: Lytle

Final tally:
Henry: 1-4
Winnicki: 2-3
Genia: 3-2

So your winner here is Jim Genia, who correctly predicted 3 of the 5 featured bouts. I guess we'll give Jim another chance with UFC 90 predictions. Nice job, Jim.

If you want to be included in the predictions tally for Saturday night's fights, post your predictions in the comments section.

Results and analysis of the televised bouts:

Michael Bisping defeats Chris Leben via unanimous decision
Oddly enough, Leben spent the fight looking for that knockout blow. It never came. Bisping wore him out, picked him apart and grinded out the victory.

Keith Jardine defeats Brandon Vera via split decision
This one was extremely close, but Jardine seemed to have done just enough to eke out the win. Jardine came out and immediately went for the takedown, but Vera's jiu jitsu was too sharp and Jardine could not do any damage. In fact, Vera wound up cutting Jardine on the top of the head with an elbow from the guard.

Vera was never really able to get his stand-up game going, and Jardine managed to avoid the big kicks and straight lefts. The most damage Vera did was when he landed a straight kick that buckled Jardine's knee, but he never took advantage of the gimpy Jardine.

Luis Cane beat Sokoudjou via TKO in the second round
Sokoudjou came out firing, looking to end the fight quickly. Cane avoided any heavy damage and once Sokoudjou tired, he picked him apart with punches. Give Cane credit for hanging tough and waiting for his chance to score.

Chris Lytle defeats Paul Taylor via unanimous decision
An action-packed fight with plenty of trading. Lytle landed loads of long-range punches while Taylor scored with straight shots from both hands. Ultimately, Lytle was too strong for Taylor and simply pinned him against the cage when he was in trouble. The crowd was unhappy with the decision, but it was the right call. Lytle controlled the fight while Taylor simply made the most of his opportunities.

Marcus Davis submits Paul Kelly with a guillotine choke
A mismatch all the way. Davis was never in trouble and could have ended the fight any way he wanted.

Results of the bouts not televised, thanks to sherdog.com:

Dan Hardy defeated Akihiro Gono via split decision
Shane Carwin knocks out Neil Wain in the first round
David Bielkheden decisions Jess Liaudin
Terry Etim wins decision vs. Sam Stout
Jim Miller beats David Baron with a rear-naked choke in the third round
Per Eklund defeats Samy Schiavo with the rear-naked choke in the third round

--Hank Winnicki

Marcus Davis. "The Irish Hand Grenade."

Is there a better nickname in the UFC? In Elite XC? In any MMA organization? In boxing?

I'm only one fight into this free UFC 89 card on Spike, and I'm thinking Davis has the greatest nickname in the sport. It's even a Top 10 in all of sports, at least for active players.

Seriously, Davis is worth rooting for based solely on that nickname. Pull the pin!

Hey guys, just a quick reminder to check out my column tomorrow about Bayshore native Pete "Drago" Sell returning to the Octagon next Saturday. Drago's been out of the game for more than a year after being sidelined by a torn labrum last September. Pete has lost his past four UFC fights, and his opponent Josh Burkman is on a downward spiral, so this do-or-die matchup should be an entertaining one. Plus, should be interesting to see how Drago fares in a new weight class...He's now fighting at welterweight.

--Katie Strang

Although Michael Bisping represents the best the UK has to offer, I'd be shocked if he lasts more than three minutes with Chris Leben. Leben has power in both hands and should prevail with an early knockout.

Brandon Vera shouldn't have any problems taking care of Keith Jardine. Expect a knockout here.

Rameau Sokoudjou and Luiz Cane is a tough one to figure. Cane gets a slight edge here, but it won't be a knockout.

Paul Taylor vs. Chris Lytle: Taylor wins with a surprising second-round KO.

Paul Kelly vs. Marcus Davis: This one is tougher to call than it looks. Kelly wins, but it won't be a KO.

Dan Hardy vs. Akihiro Gono: Gono should win this one via decision.

- By Marcus Henry

First off, thanks to Jim Genia for his predictions on Saturday night's fights.

I have already said I think Chris Leben will beat Michael Bisping via knockout and that Brandon Vera will KO Keith Jardine. Here is the rest of the card:

Rameau Sokoudjou vs. Luiz Cane: Cane wins with a triangle choke.

Paul Taylor vs. Chris Lytle: Lytle via TKO in the first round.

Paul Kelly vs. Marcus Davis: Tough one to call. I'm going to go with Kelly, who gets the mount and pounds out Davis.

Dan Hardy vs. Akihiro Gono: Gono wins a decision.

Now let's see who does better, Jim or myself. And feel free to leave your predictions for the action.

--Hank Winnicki

The Neutral Corner, Newsday's boxing blog, has an item about Donald Trump and Affliction launching an MMA reality show.

MMA news on a boxing blog? It's about time those guys realized that the only way they're going to get page views is to write about a sport people care about.

--Hank Winnicki

Jim Genia of MMAJournalist steps into the Fightin' Words blog-tagon and throws down his predictions for this weekend.

The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England, plays host to UFC 89 tomorrow night, and the event – which will air tape-delayed on SpikeTV – features a potential slugfest between a Brit on the road to title contention and a “Cat Smasher," a light-heavyweight scrap between “The Dean of Mean” and “The Truth," and an assortment of UK fighters mixing it up with journeymen and up-and-comers alike. Who’s going to come out on top?

Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben
Michael Bisping, the winner of "The Ultimate Fighter – Season Three" and one of the best fighters to ever come out of Britain, squares off against TUF 1 contestant Chris Leben for the UFC 89 main event. It’s a bout that promises fireworks. Both men are skilled on the ground, but when you put a technical boxer like Bisping in the cage against a brawler like Leben … well, someone’s getting knocked out.
Prediction: Leben has a great chin and an uncanny knack for finding an opponent’s “off button”, but Bisping will at some point land that right hand. Bisping by KO in Round 3.

Keith Jardine vs. Brandon Vera
Ketih Jardine may have lost on TUF 2 (a decision loss to Rashad Evans), but he made a name for himself in the Octagon by defeating superstars Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell -- and losing spectacularly to Houston Alexander and Wanderlei Silva. With some highlight reel knockouts, Brandon Vera was the heavyweight division’s shining star until a few lackluster performances forced him down a weight class. Both can grapple, but duking it out on their feet is these two men’s bread and butter.
Prediction: Jardine’s unorthodox striking gave Liddell fits, but Vera’s a better and more accurate kickboxer from the outside. Vera by KO (kick) in Round 1.

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Luis Cane
It’s Cameroon vs. Brazil in a bout that pits a judo champ in Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou against an aggressive Brazilian striker in Luis Cane. The spoiler here, though, is Sokoudjou’s heavy hands and the fact that he’s beaten top-level competition.
Prediction: Sokoudjou via TKO in Round 2.

Marcus Davis vs. Paul Kelly
Marcus Davis was a boxer who lost on TUF 1 to Diego Sanchez, but has since breathed new life into his MMA career with an 11-fight win streak (a streak that ended with a decision loss to the tough Mike Swick at UFC 85). Paul Kelly is an undefeated fighter from Liverpool who can bang but has only faced British scrubs. This one is going to get ugly.
Prediction: Davis by whatever he wants in Round 1.

Paul Taylor vs. Chris Lytle
Chris Lytle has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a background in pro boxing, 46 fights on his resume, was a TUF 4 finalist (he eventually lost a close split decision to Matt Serra), and he puts out fires for a living. Paul Taylor lost to both Marcus Davis and Paul Kelly in the Octagon. This is another one that’s going to get ugly.
Prediction: Lytle by whatever he wants in Round 1.

Preliminary Bouts
Fighters to Watch Out For:
If there’s time, the UFC will often show pre-recorded bouts from the undercard. Watch out for these promising fighters:

Jim Miller – A force in the New Jersey fight circuit before jumping to the International Fight League and dominating their lightweight star Bart Palaszewski, Miller employs flawless jiu-jitsu and non-stop offense.

Sam Stout – A Canadian kickboxer-turned-mixed martial artist, Stout is a top-level lightweight with the ability to end fights quickly or grind out decisions.

Akihiro Gono – One part fighter and two parts showman (his ring entrance at a Pride FC event in Japan involved costumes and almost five minutes of choreographed dancing), Gono is a skilled grappler and decent striker.

- Jim Genia

We know Dana White went nuts ripping Kimbo Slice after the 14-second knockout, saying Kimbo is a joke. And we don't disagree, as we posted yesterday.

Here's how you prove it: Get Seth Petruzelli back into the UFC, put him up against some journeyman guy and see how he does. If he loses, then you've shown that Kimbo could never hang in the UFC.

You can thank me later, Dana.

(Note: Iamphoenix points out in the comments section that Petruzelli has already had two UFC fights and lost them both. And he's right. Or she's right. Whatever it is. Thing is, no one knew Petruzelli then. Now he's the guy who beat Kimbo. White needs to bring him back now to prove the point.)

--Hank Winnicki