Fedor to UFC? posted by Drew Lasater

A story posted today( http://www.sbnation.com/2010/3/1/1331361/fedor-emelianenko-hold) states that Fedor Emelianenko's management company M-1 global is having problems with Strikeforce. The story states that M-1 and Strikeforce are unable to agree on co-promotion terms and states that M-1 will not allow Fedor to fight for Strikeforce again without a new contract. Now I'm sure this will work itself out and Fedor will fight Fabricio Werdum in May as planed, but lets just take a walk down fantasy land for a moment and discuss the possible outcomes and what it could mean for us MMA fans.

First, it could mean nothing but Fedor going back to Japan and fighting cans to pad his record and retire in obscurity. I really hope this doesnt happen, but unfortunately with Fedor's travels after Pride it is a very real possiblity.

The second option is he could go to Japan and fight Alistar Overeem and Josh Barnett. This option is interesting because the Josh Barnett is a fight that fans have wanted for years but has never materialized due to many different reasons including injuries, losses and a positive steroid test. The Alistar fight is interesting cause he is a really big, really skilled striker who can give Fedor a run for his money in the stand-up both technically and for a power perspective. I think both of these fights would give Fedor two solid wins and increase his legend to the true fans of the sport.

The third, and the choice that all of us MMA fans hope for, is Fedor finally coming to the UFC and fighting all the fights that people have been clamoring for for years. I will break down the fights and his path to the UFC title that I believe he should follow.
Continue reading "Fedor to UFC?"

locals on the undercard, good or bad? posted by Drew Lasater

Tomorrow marks the UFC's first trip to Australia. When looking at the card from the top it is one of the best of the year. Nogueira vs Velasquez has the makings to be one of the greatest heavyweight fights of the last few months. Wanderlei making a return against of the great heels of the time in Michael Bisping. Sotiropoulos vs Stevenson is a solid test for both fighters and should show a lot about where both fighters are currently in the lightweight division. However, if you look at the undercard you will notice that there are a fight that is of a curious nature. First you have Elvis "the king of rock and rumble" Sinosic. He is a fighter that is 1-5 in the UFC and 8-11 overall. The sole reason that he is on this card is due to his Australian roots. Now, if this were a local promotion trying to get people out to the show I would understand the idea of using a local fighter on an undercard, but with the UFC coming to town is this really necessary. The UFC sold out the Australian show in under 10 minutes. Was this due to Sinosic? You tell me.Continue reading "locals on the undercard, good or bad?"

UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez Predictions posted by Drew Lasater

MAIN CARD
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez - Nogueira via submission round 3
Michael Bisping vs. Wanderlei Silva - Silva via vicious ko round 2
George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Stevenson - stevenson via slightly boring decision
Ryan Bader vs. Keith Jardine - Bader by GnP round 3
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Ben Rothwell - Cro Cop via UD
PRELIMINARY CARD
Chris Haseman vs. Elvis Sinosic - sinosic via UD due to more activity lately
Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski - Soszynski via ko of Bonnars corpse
Brian Foster vs. Chris Lytle - Foster via ko round 3 in surprise of night
C.B. Dollaway vs. Goran Reljic - Reljic via sub round 1
Igor Pokrajac vs. James Te Huna - Te Huna UDContinue reading "UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez Predictions"

Whats next for "King Mo" Lawal? posted by Drew Lasater

Last year when "King Mo" burst onto the MMA scene, with a stunning first round knock out of Travis Wiuff in Sengoku, everyone in the know in the MMA community took notice of the brash, athletic, flamboyant wrestler with the quick and powerful hands. Now, 16 months and 6 fights later, on the cusp of a light-heavyweight title tilt with Champion Gegard Mousasi, he appears to be facing the toughest fight of his career. However, if you look close enough at Gegard's resume he has had trouble fighting from the bottom. He was getting pounded on by Denis Kang before Kang had one of his famous slip-ups. He was controlled and submited by Akihiro Gono in Pride. He was getting beat on in my opinion by Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou before he had a beautiful sweep and followed up with a TKO. Do you see Lawal being swept while in top control? I sure don't. Do you see Gegard getting a take down on the international wrestler? Once again I think thats a no. Do you see Gegard getting a knock out? I think this a possibility, but I believe it will be a quick stand up before Lawal takes the fight to the floor, he is a very intelligant fighter who knows his limitations and more importantly, he is one of the few newer fighters who is truely a student of the game. Lawal knows Mousasi's strengths and he will most likely avoid those areas and take the fight down. I'm sure Lawal is working diligently on submission defense with Fabricio Werdum, who is taking on Fedor next I might add. So, in summary, if you take all of this in there should only be one clear choice on who will win this fight...Continue reading "Whats next for "King Mo" Lawal?"

Brock Lesnar Will Return To "The Top Of His Game Real Quick" posted by Colin Linneweber

The trainer of current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar said last week that his fighter is “definitely coming back” to scrap in the octagon.

“Brock Lesnar is definitely coming back to fight,” Lesnar’s head trainer Greg Nelson stated in an interview with ESPN.com’s MMA Live. “He’s just kind of coming up slowly, training, trying to get his body ready and being smart with his recovery.”

Lesnar (4-1), a former three-time WWE champion who played for the Minnesota Vikings during the preseason in 2004, has not fought since he successfully defended his title versus Frank Mir (13-4) by TKO (strikes) last July in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Lesnar was scheduled to matchup with Shane Carwin (11-0) at UFC 108 before the champion cancelled the bout due to a previously undisclosed illness.

It was later revealed that Lesnar, 32, had suffered from mononucleosis and an intestinal disorder called diverticulitis.

The disorder badly damaged Lesnar’s intestine and he was forced to undergo surgery November 16.

“Lesnar’s not well and he’s not going to be getting well anytime soon,” UFC President Dana White enigmatically said at a post-fight conference days before his titlist went under the knife.

Lesnar is expected to speak publicly about his illness at a press conference in Las Vegas for the first time sometime this week.

“He’s been going into the doctor and making sure everything is going well for him and he’ll continue to go in for a couple more tests to make sure he is 100 percent ready to train when he starts up,” Nelson said. “He still has a few more things to go through.”

Freddie Roach & Manny Pacquiao are a tandem for the ages posted by Colin Linneweber

WBO world welterweight champion Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao will defend his crown versus former IBF welterweight titlist “The Hitter” Joshua Clottey March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) was initially scheduled to fight “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) on the identical date.Unfortunately, the two childish camps were ridiculously unable to agree to terms on a matchup that was expected to pay both prizefighters in excess of $30 million.

“Manny is going to fight Clottey on March 13 and we’re just going to move on,” Pacquiao’s renowned trainer, Freddie Roach, 49, told the Las Vegas Sun this past weekend.

Roach (39-13, 15 KOs), a former professional boxer who was born in Dedham, Mass., said he was disappointed that the extremely lucrative bout between Pacquiao and Mayweather disintegrated.

“I definitely thought this fight would happen when Manny beat Miguel (Cotto, in November),” said Roach, a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame and the New England Hall of Fame.

“Floyd had made his comeback and looked really good against (Juan Manuel) Marquez. He had a tune-up fight under his belt and he’s a talented guy. I was looking forward to the challenge.”

Roach, who has worked with Pacquiao, 31, since 2001, believes that Mayweather, 32, simply cowered and weaseled his way out of the potentially epic matchup because he is afraid of being defeated.

“As we got close to the fight we could see Floyd pulling away,” said Roach, who also works with WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan (22-1, 16 KOs), Cuban boxing sensation Guillermo Rigondeaux (4-0, 3 KOs) and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (25-4).

On his deathbed, Brock Lesnar would beat Shannon Briggs posted by Colin Linneweber

Former heavyweight titleholder Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs was suspended for 90 days by the New York State Athletic Commission last week once it was revealed that he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs after he knocked out Marcus McGee in the first round of his comeback fight December 3.

Briggs (48-5-1, 42 KOs), who had previously been retired from the sport of boxing for nearly three years, was considered one of the heavyweight divisions rising stars before his career fizzled in the late-1990’s.

Briggs’ manager, Ivaylo Gotzev, claimed in an interview with ESPN.com that the product of Brownsville, Brooklyn likely tested positive for an unrevealed banned substance because of medication he takes to alleviate his asthma.

“Shannon is on enough medication to kill a horse because of his asthma,” Gotzev said of the past New York City Golden Gloves champion.

“All the medications he takes, other people couldn’t even get out of bed. But he’s out there running and training and fighting. He’s not a steroid user or a drug user. He’s using medication. We’re consulting with his physicians and seeing how we can make the proper adjustments so this doesn’t happen again.”

Briggs, who was homeless for a period in his childhood, has earned a solid reputation as being a genuinely nice individual outside of the ring.

Briggs is tentatively planning his return as a prizefighter in the spring once his ban is lifted.

Boston's Dana White says "boxing has fizzled out" posted by Colin Linneweber

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White recently announced that his organization will venture to Boston for a card that is tentatively scheduled for August 28 at the TD Garden.

White, who as a young adult lived in South Boston and worked as a bouncer at the famed Irish pub “Black Rose” near Quincy Market, made his announcement just weeks after Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill into law sanctioning mixed martial arts.

“I’m going to bring the fight game back to Boston,” said White, 40, an amateur pugilist who once established a boxing program for inner-city youth at McDonough Gym in Southie. “I’m going to bring back the excitement of big fights, the energy of it.”

White may have never abandoned his boxing gym had he not been threatened with extortion by Whitey Bulger before the Irish gangster went on the lam in 1995.

“I had a kind of run-in with Whitey Bulger and his guys,” said White. “They showed up at the gym looking for money. It was time to leave.”

Prudently, White vacated the Hub and resettled in Las Vegas.

White eventually became involved with mixed martial arts and in due time he helped resurrect the flailing UFC from virtual extinction.

Instead of the utter freak show that Arizona Senator John McCain once labeled “human cockfighting,” the UFC evolved into a mainstream fixture that rivaled boxing in popularity.

Particularly in the city of Boston, mixed martial arts have emerged as a fashionable and legitimate sport.

MMA can't beat boxing...Only boxing can beat boxing posted by Colin Linneweber

There is a widespread belief that mixed martial arts (MMA) have put the sport of boxing on the ropes and near extinction.

The preeminent U.S.-based MMA promotion is the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

When the UFC was initially established in 1993, it was essentially an utter freak show that was littered with gratuitous violence inside of a cage that appeared almost medieval.

The UFC and its savage brutality eventually caught the attention of authorities and lawmakers who were absolutely horrified when they witnessed one of the promotions bloody spectacles.

In particular, Arizona Senator John McCain viewed footage of one of UFC’s events and he notoriously labeled the competition “human cockfighting.”

Subsequently, McCain led an exhaustive campaign to outlaw UFC.

McCain’s crusade to ban UFC ultimately led to a litany of rules changes that helped to legitimize and improve the sport.

The noticeable modifications in combat allowed UFC to become more nationally accepted and their events gradually evolved into mainstream attractions.

While the UFC ascended in popularity, the sport of boxing saw their number of followers steadily diminish.

One of boxing’s biggest issues is clearly the dearth of genuine talent that has lately graced the glamorous heavyweight division.

Still, boxing and its many key figures are primarily responsible for hindering the sport with their insatiable greed and rampant corruption.

Hopefully, Brock Lesnar is not the next Bo Jackson posted by Colin Linneweber

UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar was released from a hospital in Bismark, N.D., Tuesday and he is currently recovering at his home in Minnesota from Mononucleosis and a serious bacterial infection in his intestinal tract.

Last month, Lesnar (4-1), the 2000 NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion at the University of Minnesota, was forced to cancel his scheduled title defense at UFC 106 against Shane Carwin (11-0) due to a previously undisclosed illness.

The bout versus Carwin, 34, was almost immediately rescheduled for UFC 108 in early-2010.

However, Lesnar, 32, indefinitely postponed his slated match with Carwin last week because his illness had yet to subside.

“Brock’s very, very sick,” UFC President Dana White told TMZ. “He’s not well and he’s not going to be getting well anytime soon.”

White said that Lesnar’s condition would necessitate “major surgery.”

Last July in Las Vegas, Lesnar avenged his only defeat as a professional mixed martial artist when he pulverized past titlist Frank Mir (12-4) with strikes and won by TKO in the second round.

Lesnar, a former three-time WWE champion who was invited to try out for the Minnesota Vikings in 2004, is UFC’s glittering attraction and he seemed destined to dominate his division for the foreseeable future.

“There’s a possibility Lesnar will never fight again,” said White of the native of South Dakota.

If Lesnar is unable to return to UFC, it will be one of the most premature and unfortunate retirements in recent sports history.

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