AB: This is Kalin Johnston from “MMA Authority” here with the former Pride Middleweight Champion, “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva. Wanderlei, how are you doing?
Wanderlei: Very good, very good.
AB: You have recently opened up your own gym in Vegas, how has that been working out?
Wanderlei: Yeah, I’m here now for training in the morning. My gym’s a big gym, I’m so happy with the space. It’s open for me and the other fighters. It’s a very good time.
AB: You have a fight coming up this June against Rich Franklin, how are you training for this bout, and what is your game plan for a good all around fighter like Franklin?
Wanderlei: You know, I have a lot of time. I’m concentrating all my training on Jiu-Jitz, box, Muay Thai, and all basics. I have the space now. I’m going to study his game, and have a plan for him. Rich Franklin is a very good opponent, I’m so happy with him. I watched his fight with Anderson, you know, I have watched a few other fights. He likes to fight in the stand up too. I know he is going to train for the fight. I know we will put on a very, very good show for the fans.
AB: You were undefeated for nearly five years in Pride Fighting Championship, which took place in a ring and allowed kicks to the head of a downed opponent, where as UFC is in a caged octagon and you can not kick a downed opponent in the head, which format do you enjoy more?
Wanderlei: I think you should be able to kick in the head, it’s a fun thing to do. I think in the future, they need to change it where you can knee in the head. You don’t have a lot of problems. A bunch has changed. But the kick on the ground is so aggressive, but knee in the ground you have no problems.
AB: You and Rampage have fought three times, each time being a war. You recently said you would like a fourth fight, how would you see that fight going?
Wanderlei: Of course, I’m going to fight him again. I have a very good time, now I want to fight him again of course. After one or two fights, I come back to fight him again. He needs to enjoy now, because the next time is a different time.
AB: You have fought a lot of opponents in your career, who is one fighter that stands out to you as someone you would like to fight that you haven’t crossed paths with yet?
Wanderlei: Rich Franklin is one of the guys I wanted to fight. He’s a tough guy. He’s an ex champion. He’s one of the guys I have never fight who I want to fight. It is a good fight for me, it is a good fight for him. I and him now have the same situation. He lose the last fight, I lose my last fight. It is a very important fight for us. It’s a good situation. I’m going to give my best, he going to give his best. I’m going to see my best time again. It is a very, very good fight.
AB: You have one of the fiercest nicknames in all of MMA, who came up with “The Axe Murderer?
Wanderlei: One of my old friends gave me the nickname, many, many, many times ago, many many years ago, you know, and it kind of stuck.
AB: Recently you have announced your move to middleweight, how do you feel you will do in the weight class?
Wanderlei: I think now it’s a different in weight, you know, 195 to 185, I talked to Dana White. Three events ago, I talked to him, I think he should create a class for 195. My normal weight is 208, and to cut down for 205, I don’t cut a lot of weight. And so for 185, it’s much different. 195 for me is perfect. I know there is a lot of divisions that have a lot of fighters, and maybe in the future he is going to create a division for 195. There is more fighters in my situation. 205 is good, but the guys in my division are 240 and they drop down for 205. There is a big difference now, then from five to seven years ago. You don’t have too much problems if you have fighters that weigh two, three, five pounds that doesn’t have a lot of difference.
AB: You are known for having intense stare downs, what goes through your head when you are standing across from your opponent?
Wanderlei: Yeah, I have a lot of concentration, a lot of focus. Every fight, I come to fight, it’s very important to me. Every event I fight is a big event. This time everyone is going to see my fight, I’ll work, this is very important for me because I’m training a lot of months. My best is this time. I have a concentration, I want it.
AB: You have been in many crazy fights throughout your career, which is the most memorable to you?
Wanderlei: I have a lot of fights, a lot of hard fights. But I have a very, very good time in the ring, and the octagon now, because I have fought with the best guys in the world. And it’s amazing. I think my first fight was a very good fight, my first and my second fight with Rampage was a great fight too. My first fight with Liddell was a good match. I have a lot of fights.
AB: What is your biggest motivation for fighting?
Wanderlei: I love to fight, this is my life. Every time after the fight I need to stop for maybe one or two or three weeks after the fight. I need to stop to recover in my body. Before I open my gym, I wake up in the morning, and I don’t know where I’m going, cause every day it’s the same thing. I drink my shake and go to training. This is my life. My motivation is the crowd, the crowd is incredible, the energy of the fans is amazing for me, I love it. In America much more, because here the fans is more crowd, more energy for the fans to the fighters. Every time I’m going into the octagon, I stop at the outside of the octagon and I watch the public, it’s amazing because every time it is sold out, there is twenty-thousand people, it’s a big crowd, this is the best motivation for me. I do not fight for the money, I have a good life. I have my gym, I make money outside the ring. Now I’m fighting because I love to fight.
AB: What do you enjoy doing outside of fighting?
Wanderlei: I love to read the books, I read a lot. I love to be with my fans. Stay with my wife. Because the days I’m training I don’t have a lot of time for relax, I love to stay with a lot of my family. And now I like to train with my students here in my gym, because I like giving classes to the beginners. It’s nice because you show the guys the right moves, I love to use my experience to help the new guys, it’s great for me.
AB: What is your prediction for the Shogun/Liddell fight?
Wanderlei: This is a very, very good fight. I’m so happy because I’m going to see this fight live, because I’m going to Canada, to Montreal, to promote my fight. And it’s a very good feeling to see the fight live, I’m a lucky man, no? It’s a big fight, it’s a very, very good fight. It’s a tough fight for both, Chuck is a very tough guy, he is an example for a lot of guys because he’s been here around nine years. He throws hard punches. I think it’s a very, very tough fight for Shogun. Shogun, I trained with him a lot of years, he is a very, very tough guy. I know he has a good chin, but he needs to train a lot because Chuck is a very, very tough guy. It’s an amazing fight. I mean, how many times has there been better and better cards, no? There is a lot of good fights, and now we have Rashad and Lyoto, a lot of good fights. Shogun and Liddell is a very, very good match. I can’t wait to see the fight.
AB: Thank you for taking the time for this interview, do you have any closing statements for your fans?
Wanderlei: Yeah, I want to say thanks to my fans, thanks for everyone that goes to my fights, they give me a good energy, a lot of it goes to my fans here in the United States. Understand that every time I do my best, I fight with my heart. I do my best to put on a good show for everybody. Every time, if I win or lose it don’t matter, because I love to fight, and I love to put on a show. But now I am training hard every day, and I want to invite everybody to my fight this June, I promise I’m going to give a very, very good show, and the fans are going to like it, they are going to love the fight. Thanks so much for the support from my fans.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
MMA Authority Blog Exclusive: Houston Alexander Interview
AB: This is Kalin Johnston from “MMA Authority” here with the always exciting, hard hitting, Houston “The Assassin” Alexander. Houston, how are you doing?
Houston: Ah man, I’m great man, it’s beautiful weather in Omaha, Nebraska right now, we’re up to seventy-five degrees.
AB: You have a fight coming up this May at UFC 98 against Andre Gusmao, how are you preparing to go up against a Brazilian Jujitsu fighter like him?
Houston: You know what, nothing has really changed with the way I’ve been training, except we have better partners and we have a great addition to our team, Jeremy Horn. So with Jeremy on, he brings a lot of jujitsu to the team, so nothing has changed except we have brought in another guy.
AB: You had an impressive winning streak going for quite sometime, but you have now lost your last three, how motivated are you to pick up the victory and get back to your winning ways?
Houston: 08 was garbage, it was a learning experience, and now hopefully in 09 we’ll be back on track, I got the experience and know the business, and we really do want to get back on track this following year here.
AB: You were a big underdog going into your fight against Keith Jardine, what was the first thing to go through your head when you knocked him out in the first minute of the first round?
Houston: It was an incredible feeling man, the first thing that went through my head was all the pain and suffering that I had training for the fight. It was grueling man, the training it was grueling, all the pain and suffering was gone, so it was a great feeling. The coaches, the team, they stepped up to the plate. I was happy for the coaches, I was happy for the family, I was just happy for the MMA world.
AB: Growing up, what inspired you to be a professional fighter?
Houston: Actually, I got into being a professional fighter on a dare. A friend of mine dared me to get in the ring with a guy some years ago because she knew that I wrestled and I boxed a little bit. So it was a friend who got me started into MMA, into professional fighting, I was sucked in, I was hooked ever since.
AB: If you could fight anyone in MMA, who would be your dream match up?
Houston: Ah man, I would love to fight Anderson.
AB: How do you see that fight going?
Houston: It would be a D*** good fight, both guys pretty good skilled guys standing up, I just think it would be a really good fight.
AB: You have donated one of your kidneys to your daughter, has that drawn you two closer, and does it affect your performance as a fighter?
Houston: It doesn’t affect my performance at all, and I’ve always been close to my daughter. Even an organ does not even bring us closer cause we have been close from day one. And it was just a blessing that I just happened to be a match for her.
AB: Which do you enjoy more, fighting or dj’ing?
Houston: Both give me a rush, but it would have to be fighting. You know, I love fighting, it’s more of a rush. Both give me a rush, but fighting just gives me more of a bigger rush.
AB: Over your years as a graffiti artist, what has been your favorite piece of work?
Houston: My favorite piece of work was probably my first painting that I did back in 87. It was a picture, it was a mural, she had a quote above her that said it was the pride that makes you strong. And it was for my community, and on the scroll it said it’s the pride that makes you stronger, and it was my first mural back in 87.
AB: From going around and speaking at different places, do you have any neat experiences from different students that you have had the chance to talk to about life?
Houston: Well you know what, I’m a motivational speaker every where, so I get to go to a lot of elementary, middle schools, high schools, colleges, community organizations, so I meet a lot of people because of that fact. So all the experiences are worth something to me.
AB: What’s your prediction for the upcoming title fight between Rashad and Lyoto?
Houston: You know what, that’s going to be a great fight because both guys move well, both guys know how to use the ring, it’s hard for me to pick one guy, but if I had to pick today it would be Rashad because Rashad probably hits just a tad bit harder.
AB: Thank you for taking the time for this interview, do you have any closing statements for your fans?
Houston: Tell the fans that I appreciate the fans, the fans are the one that pay the bills so I appreciate anything and everything that the fans do.
Houston: Ah man, I’m great man, it’s beautiful weather in Omaha, Nebraska right now, we’re up to seventy-five degrees.
AB: You have a fight coming up this May at UFC 98 against Andre Gusmao, how are you preparing to go up against a Brazilian Jujitsu fighter like him?
Houston: You know what, nothing has really changed with the way I’ve been training, except we have better partners and we have a great addition to our team, Jeremy Horn. So with Jeremy on, he brings a lot of jujitsu to the team, so nothing has changed except we have brought in another guy.
AB: You had an impressive winning streak going for quite sometime, but you have now lost your last three, how motivated are you to pick up the victory and get back to your winning ways?
Houston: 08 was garbage, it was a learning experience, and now hopefully in 09 we’ll be back on track, I got the experience and know the business, and we really do want to get back on track this following year here.
AB: You were a big underdog going into your fight against Keith Jardine, what was the first thing to go through your head when you knocked him out in the first minute of the first round?
Houston: It was an incredible feeling man, the first thing that went through my head was all the pain and suffering that I had training for the fight. It was grueling man, the training it was grueling, all the pain and suffering was gone, so it was a great feeling. The coaches, the team, they stepped up to the plate. I was happy for the coaches, I was happy for the family, I was just happy for the MMA world.
AB: Growing up, what inspired you to be a professional fighter?
Houston: Actually, I got into being a professional fighter on a dare. A friend of mine dared me to get in the ring with a guy some years ago because she knew that I wrestled and I boxed a little bit. So it was a friend who got me started into MMA, into professional fighting, I was sucked in, I was hooked ever since.
AB: If you could fight anyone in MMA, who would be your dream match up?
Houston: Ah man, I would love to fight Anderson.
AB: How do you see that fight going?
Houston: It would be a D*** good fight, both guys pretty good skilled guys standing up, I just think it would be a really good fight.
AB: You have donated one of your kidneys to your daughter, has that drawn you two closer, and does it affect your performance as a fighter?
Houston: It doesn’t affect my performance at all, and I’ve always been close to my daughter. Even an organ does not even bring us closer cause we have been close from day one. And it was just a blessing that I just happened to be a match for her.
AB: Which do you enjoy more, fighting or dj’ing?
Houston: Both give me a rush, but it would have to be fighting. You know, I love fighting, it’s more of a rush. Both give me a rush, but fighting just gives me more of a bigger rush.
AB: Over your years as a graffiti artist, what has been your favorite piece of work?
Houston: My favorite piece of work was probably my first painting that I did back in 87. It was a picture, it was a mural, she had a quote above her that said it was the pride that makes you strong. And it was for my community, and on the scroll it said it’s the pride that makes you stronger, and it was my first mural back in 87.
AB: From going around and speaking at different places, do you have any neat experiences from different students that you have had the chance to talk to about life?
Houston: Well you know what, I’m a motivational speaker every where, so I get to go to a lot of elementary, middle schools, high schools, colleges, community organizations, so I meet a lot of people because of that fact. So all the experiences are worth something to me.
AB: What’s your prediction for the upcoming title fight between Rashad and Lyoto?
Houston: You know what, that’s going to be a great fight because both guys move well, both guys know how to use the ring, it’s hard for me to pick one guy, but if I had to pick today it would be Rashad because Rashad probably hits just a tad bit harder.
AB: Thank you for taking the time for this interview, do you have any closing statements for your fans?
Houston: Tell the fans that I appreciate the fans, the fans are the one that pay the bills so I appreciate anything and everything that the fans do.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
TapouT owner "Mask" dies in car accident.
It has been reported earlier this morning from multiple news stations that TapouT owner Charles Lewis Jr, better known as "Mask," was hit by a car this morning sending the $300,000 Ferrari that Mask was driving onto the curb and into a light pole. Mask died upon impact. He has been a very important figure in MMA going mainstream, and has always been very involved in helping out up and coming fighters. We here at "MMA Authority" will have his family and friends in our prayers.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
MMA Authority Blog Exclusive: Kendall Grove Interview
ITC: This is Kalin Johnston from “Inside the Cage” with Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove. Kendall, how are you doing?
KG: Doing good, doing good, back home on Maui, got my daughter, got my fiancé, just happy to be home, can't wait to go teach class in an hour.
ITC: What does your fiancé think about you fighting?
KG: She likes it, she enjoys it, she knows it makes me happy, it’s a job.
ITC: There were rumors going into your fight Saturday that if you lost you might be cut from the UFC, how great did it feel to pick up that knockout in the first two minutes of the first round?
KG: It felt real good, it’s my first knockout, I’m just happy all that hard work paid off, I trained hard for this fight, and like I said I’m just very privileged that all that hard work paid off.
ITC: Congratulations on your knockout. In your fight I noticed that you were wearing a patch on the left side of your torso, what was that for?
KG: It’s like a Japanese patch, it helps me cut weight , gives me some energy, Ginseng stuff, and I just forgot to take it off (laughs.)
ITC: How has training with BJ Penn helped you as a fighter?
KG: Training with BJ helped me out a lot. He is very motivational, he is one of my heroes in the game. Just for him to be there in my corner and training with him, I couldn’t be any happier.
ITC: I know you have trained with Tito Ortiz in the past. He mentioned a comeback, do you know if he might be coming back to UFC, or staying with Affliction, or what his plans are on that?
KG: I really don’t know what his real plans is with that. There are no guarantees and I really don’t like saying anything because I really don’t know. He just had back surgery and said he’s been good, I seen him in Ohio and he told me he can’t wait to get back in there.
ITC: I was actually at UFC 96 when you got your knock out, I saw you doing your grave digging celebration, a lot of people don’t really seem to like that, but to me it shows that you are showing respect to Tito when you do that, so I was wondering if you could clear up for us where that celebration comes from?
KG: The ending of it comes from Tito, he did it against Evan Tanner, and me and Solomon from Team Dagger, we kinda made that up. We called it the dagger dance. So yeah, we just started running with that. I wasn’t going to do it but it just came out (laughs).
ITC: Throughout your career as a fighter, which fight has meant the most to you?
KG: I would say my Evan Tanner fight.
ITC: How does it feel to know you were the last person to fight him before his death?
KG: It kinda sucks, but to fight a well accomplished fighter like Tanner and come out with the win…I was just privileged to get in there with him, I mean he is such a good fighter, he has been around the game a long time, so when I had the opportunity to fight him, I took it. I knew it would be a good test for me.
ITC: If you could fight any fighter in the UFC, who would be your dream match up?
KG: Would have to be Anderson (laughs)
ITC: On the night of your fights, what is usually your pre fight routine?
KG: The night of my fights I like to stay in, go eat some sushi, and just watch a movie.
ITC: My last question for you is, you have a lot of unique tattoos, which is your favorite and what is the story behind it?
KG: My favorite tattoo would have to be King Kamehameha on my back. He was the chief who united all the islands together. It means a lot to me because it took five hours and I can’t say it was the worse pain of my life but it did hurt, the worse tattoo that I got pain wise. He was the king of Hawaii, he is a warrior, so when I go in there I like to try to be the same.
ITC: Thank you for taking the time for this interview, is there any closing statements that you would like to say for your fans:
KG: Yeah, just thank you to all my fans, my fans that have been behind me one hundred percent through all the ups and downs in my career, and to my sponsors Punishment, Cage Fighter, Approved Electric, Lopez Construction, just thanks for all the help and the support. And Mickey’s Malt Liquor for putting me on a beer can (laughs).
KG: Doing good, doing good, back home on Maui, got my daughter, got my fiancé, just happy to be home, can't wait to go teach class in an hour.
ITC: What does your fiancé think about you fighting?
KG: She likes it, she enjoys it, she knows it makes me happy, it’s a job.
ITC: There were rumors going into your fight Saturday that if you lost you might be cut from the UFC, how great did it feel to pick up that knockout in the first two minutes of the first round?
KG: It felt real good, it’s my first knockout, I’m just happy all that hard work paid off, I trained hard for this fight, and like I said I’m just very privileged that all that hard work paid off.
ITC: Congratulations on your knockout. In your fight I noticed that you were wearing a patch on the left side of your torso, what was that for?
KG: It’s like a Japanese patch, it helps me cut weight , gives me some energy, Ginseng stuff, and I just forgot to take it off (laughs.)
ITC: How has training with BJ Penn helped you as a fighter?
KG: Training with BJ helped me out a lot. He is very motivational, he is one of my heroes in the game. Just for him to be there in my corner and training with him, I couldn’t be any happier.
ITC: I know you have trained with Tito Ortiz in the past. He mentioned a comeback, do you know if he might be coming back to UFC, or staying with Affliction, or what his plans are on that?
KG: I really don’t know what his real plans is with that. There are no guarantees and I really don’t like saying anything because I really don’t know. He just had back surgery and said he’s been good, I seen him in Ohio and he told me he can’t wait to get back in there.
ITC: I was actually at UFC 96 when you got your knock out, I saw you doing your grave digging celebration, a lot of people don’t really seem to like that, but to me it shows that you are showing respect to Tito when you do that, so I was wondering if you could clear up for us where that celebration comes from?
KG: The ending of it comes from Tito, he did it against Evan Tanner, and me and Solomon from Team Dagger, we kinda made that up. We called it the dagger dance. So yeah, we just started running with that. I wasn’t going to do it but it just came out (laughs).
ITC: Throughout your career as a fighter, which fight has meant the most to you?
KG: I would say my Evan Tanner fight.
ITC: How does it feel to know you were the last person to fight him before his death?
KG: It kinda sucks, but to fight a well accomplished fighter like Tanner and come out with the win…I was just privileged to get in there with him, I mean he is such a good fighter, he has been around the game a long time, so when I had the opportunity to fight him, I took it. I knew it would be a good test for me.
ITC: If you could fight any fighter in the UFC, who would be your dream match up?
KG: Would have to be Anderson (laughs)
ITC: On the night of your fights, what is usually your pre fight routine?
KG: The night of my fights I like to stay in, go eat some sushi, and just watch a movie.
ITC: My last question for you is, you have a lot of unique tattoos, which is your favorite and what is the story behind it?
KG: My favorite tattoo would have to be King Kamehameha on my back. He was the chief who united all the islands together. It means a lot to me because it took five hours and I can’t say it was the worse pain of my life but it did hurt, the worse tattoo that I got pain wise. He was the king of Hawaii, he is a warrior, so when I go in there I like to try to be the same.
ITC: Thank you for taking the time for this interview, is there any closing statements that you would like to say for your fans:
KG: Yeah, just thank you to all my fans, my fans that have been behind me one hundred percent through all the ups and downs in my career, and to my sponsors Punishment, Cage Fighter, Approved Electric, Lopez Construction, just thanks for all the help and the support. And Mickey’s Malt Liquor for putting me on a beer can (laughs).
Exit Jackson, Enter Machida
It was confirmed earlier today that UFC light heavyweight kingpin Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is turning down the fight with Rashad Evans now that it has been moved to UFC 98 to replace the Lesnar/Mir fight. The reason for this being that he has fought twice in two months, and after the three round war with Keith Jardine at UFC 96, he would not be ready in time for UFC 98. So as expected, the replacement has been announced as undefeated Lyoto Machida, who always brings a unique style to the cage every time he fights. Stay tuned for more on this story, as well as my phone interview with UFC middleweight Kendall Grove, later in the evening.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
UFC 96 Recap
UFC 96: Jackson vs Jardine...if you watched this on tv, you might of mistaken it for the newest edition of the "UFC Ultimate Knockouts" DVD, because seven of the ten fights ended in either a knockout or a technical knock out. Overall for my predictions i got eight right, and two wrong.
The first preliminary bout of the night had Aaron Riley going up against "Sugar" Shane Nelson. This fight was ruined due to bad reffing. As soon as Riley hit the ground and Nelson landed one or two punches the referee called a stop to the fight, even though Riley was clearly about to get back to his feet and did not seem to be hurt. In the post fight interview, UFC President Dana White was furious about the call, and Nation Wide Arena was exploding with explicit chants towards the ref.
The next preliminary bout of the night showed the return of Brandon Vera as he took on Micheal Patt. Vera came into this fight only winning one of his last four fights, with his last fight being a split decision lost to top ten light heavyweight contender Keith Jardine. Many believed if Vera lost this fight that he would be cut from the UFC. But he showed up ready to prove his haters wrong, and won a second round TKO in dominant fashion after dropping Patt with a vicious leg kick...and no, not a kick to the head, he kicked Patt so hard on his leg that he fell back onto his head.
Next up was Tim Boetsch versus Jason Brilz. In the first round, Tim "The Barbarian" destroyed Brilz on the feet, but then from the second round up until winning by decision Brilz was able to keep Boetsch on the ground and control the fight to pick up the W.
Then it was onto Kendall Grove taking on Jason Day. Although Grove came into this fight off of a split decision win over the late Evan Tanner, Dana White had announced that if Grove was to lose, he would be cut from the UFC. Grove stepped up when it mattered and won with an impressive knock out, and proceeded to do his signature grave digging celebration to pay tribute to Tito Ortiz.
The last preliminary fight of the night had the world's toughest nerd, Tamdan McCrory, going up against Ryan Madigan. Although McCrory got dominated in his last fight against one of my personal favorite fighters, Dustin Hazelett, he controlled the pace this entire match up and went on to win by tap out due to strikes.
Now onto the main card, the first fight of the night featured one of the UFC's most skilled wrestlers, Gray Maynard, as he went up against Jim Miller. Just like I predicted in the UFC 96 preview blog, Maynard used his wrestling and strength to his advantage to work his way to a win by decision.
Next on the card was WEC veteran but UFC newcomer Mark Munoz versus Ohio Native Matt Hamill. When Hamill came out the arena exploded, people in Ohio love Matt Hamill. Even though Matt is deaf, he defiantly felt the vibration going on in that arena. And he didn't come up short of impressing his native Ohio fans, he won knockout of the night by kicking Munoz in the side of the head, and left Mark leaving the ring in a neck brace.
The third fight on the pay per view card had Ultimate Fighter alumni Matt Brown touching gloves with Pete Sell. Just like the first fight of the night, this ended due to bad reffing, but instead of stopping too soon, this stopped too late. For about two minutes Brown continued to just beat on Sell while Sell was unable to defend himself, and the whole time Dana White is banging on the cage yelling to the Yvels to stop the fight.
The nights co-main event of the night showed off two of the UFC's top heavyweights as Gabriel Gonzaga went up against the hype machine that is known as Shane Carwin. A lot of people had fell into the hype that Carwin is unbeatable because of his 10-0 record going into this match up, but in truth I don't know of anybody who could name one person Carwin had beat going into this fight, because they were all cans who were cut from the UFC soon after. Gabriel Gonzaga on the other hand has taken on a list of veteran UFC greats, and has already had one title shot. The fight started off all Gonzaga, who dominated Shane on the feet, and broke his nose with a punch. But despite being beat on for the first two minutes, Carwin silenced the haters with a one punch knockout on Gonzaga. Although Carwin won the fight, I am still not totally convinced. Other then his incredible knockout, he just didn't have an answer for Gabriel's striking, and Gonzaga is more of a submission fighter then a striker, which makes me wonder what Carwin could do against a top Heavyweight striker such as Cheick Kongo. I look forward to seeing who he is matched up with next.
And finally, the main event of the evening had MMA superstar Quinton "Rampage" Jackson taking on the always dangerous, awkward style fighter that is "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine. This was defiantly one of the most exciting fights I have seen in a long, long time, thanks in a big part to great calls being made by the ref. It was a stand up war with both men being rocked multiple times, including Jardine getting dropped twice and taken down twice. Every time that the two would tie up in a clinch, the ref would very quickly separate them, which kept it an extremely quick paced match. Jackson went on to win the fight by Unanimous Decision, but Jardine deserves all the respect in the world, because many, many people were saying that he would be knocked out in the first round, but he gave Jackson a very tough fight.
Thank you for reading my recap of UFC 96, look back in a few weeks as I will have a new blog up focusing on the upcoming Ultimate Fight Night.
The first preliminary bout of the night had Aaron Riley going up against "Sugar" Shane Nelson. This fight was ruined due to bad reffing. As soon as Riley hit the ground and Nelson landed one or two punches the referee called a stop to the fight, even though Riley was clearly about to get back to his feet and did not seem to be hurt. In the post fight interview, UFC President Dana White was furious about the call, and Nation Wide Arena was exploding with explicit chants towards the ref.
The next preliminary bout of the night showed the return of Brandon Vera as he took on Micheal Patt. Vera came into this fight only winning one of his last four fights, with his last fight being a split decision lost to top ten light heavyweight contender Keith Jardine. Many believed if Vera lost this fight that he would be cut from the UFC. But he showed up ready to prove his haters wrong, and won a second round TKO in dominant fashion after dropping Patt with a vicious leg kick...and no, not a kick to the head, he kicked Patt so hard on his leg that he fell back onto his head.
Next up was Tim Boetsch versus Jason Brilz. In the first round, Tim "The Barbarian" destroyed Brilz on the feet, but then from the second round up until winning by decision Brilz was able to keep Boetsch on the ground and control the fight to pick up the W.
Then it was onto Kendall Grove taking on Jason Day. Although Grove came into this fight off of a split decision win over the late Evan Tanner, Dana White had announced that if Grove was to lose, he would be cut from the UFC. Grove stepped up when it mattered and won with an impressive knock out, and proceeded to do his signature grave digging celebration to pay tribute to Tito Ortiz.
The last preliminary fight of the night had the world's toughest nerd, Tamdan McCrory, going up against Ryan Madigan. Although McCrory got dominated in his last fight against one of my personal favorite fighters, Dustin Hazelett, he controlled the pace this entire match up and went on to win by tap out due to strikes.
Now onto the main card, the first fight of the night featured one of the UFC's most skilled wrestlers, Gray Maynard, as he went up against Jim Miller. Just like I predicted in the UFC 96 preview blog, Maynard used his wrestling and strength to his advantage to work his way to a win by decision.
Next on the card was WEC veteran but UFC newcomer Mark Munoz versus Ohio Native Matt Hamill. When Hamill came out the arena exploded, people in Ohio love Matt Hamill. Even though Matt is deaf, he defiantly felt the vibration going on in that arena. And he didn't come up short of impressing his native Ohio fans, he won knockout of the night by kicking Munoz in the side of the head, and left Mark leaving the ring in a neck brace.
The third fight on the pay per view card had Ultimate Fighter alumni Matt Brown touching gloves with Pete Sell. Just like the first fight of the night, this ended due to bad reffing, but instead of stopping too soon, this stopped too late. For about two minutes Brown continued to just beat on Sell while Sell was unable to defend himself, and the whole time Dana White is banging on the cage yelling to the Yvels to stop the fight.
The nights co-main event of the night showed off two of the UFC's top heavyweights as Gabriel Gonzaga went up against the hype machine that is known as Shane Carwin. A lot of people had fell into the hype that Carwin is unbeatable because of his 10-0 record going into this match up, but in truth I don't know of anybody who could name one person Carwin had beat going into this fight, because they were all cans who were cut from the UFC soon after. Gabriel Gonzaga on the other hand has taken on a list of veteran UFC greats, and has already had one title shot. The fight started off all Gonzaga, who dominated Shane on the feet, and broke his nose with a punch. But despite being beat on for the first two minutes, Carwin silenced the haters with a one punch knockout on Gonzaga. Although Carwin won the fight, I am still not totally convinced. Other then his incredible knockout, he just didn't have an answer for Gabriel's striking, and Gonzaga is more of a submission fighter then a striker, which makes me wonder what Carwin could do against a top Heavyweight striker such as Cheick Kongo. I look forward to seeing who he is matched up with next.
And finally, the main event of the evening had MMA superstar Quinton "Rampage" Jackson taking on the always dangerous, awkward style fighter that is "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine. This was defiantly one of the most exciting fights I have seen in a long, long time, thanks in a big part to great calls being made by the ref. It was a stand up war with both men being rocked multiple times, including Jardine getting dropped twice and taken down twice. Every time that the two would tie up in a clinch, the ref would very quickly separate them, which kept it an extremely quick paced match. Jackson went on to win the fight by Unanimous Decision, but Jardine deserves all the respect in the world, because many, many people were saying that he would be knocked out in the first round, but he gave Jackson a very tough fight.
Thank you for reading my recap of UFC 96, look back in a few weeks as I will have a new blog up focusing on the upcoming Ultimate Fight Night.
Monday, March 2, 2009
UFC 96 Preview
This Saturday, March 7th, UFC will be proud to present UFC 96 from Columbus, Ohio. The main event of the evening pits former Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson against "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine. But before I get around to that, as always with preview blogs, I'll go around whats happening in the UFC. With a surprise turn of events, it is now being said that there is a small possibility that Fedor will come to the UFC for UFC 100 to fight Randy Couture, but that is not as likely as Couture taking on Antonio Nogueria at UFC 101. The biggest MMA news this week though would defiantly have to be the UFC signing middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama. While most American fans arent familiar with Akiyama, he is an overseas sensation. He sings, dances, is a male model, but for the most part is regarded to as the man who could dethrone Anderson Silva, and now that he is in the UFC we will hopefully be able to soon find out.
In other news, here is how the upcoming months are looking main event wise. At UFC 97, Anderson Silva will be defending his Middleweight Championship against Thales Leites, in my opinion Thales does not yet deserve a title shot, but then again the UFC is running out of people to throw Silvas way. Also that night, Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell returns to action after being brutally knocked out by "Sugar" Rashad Evans to take on Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Shogun's cardio looked absolutely terrible at UFC 93 against Mark Coleman, but he has been training with Wanderlei Silva's cardio coach, and i think he will be more then ready to take on The Iceman. UFC 98 is shaping up to be a really good card, with the Main Event being Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir 2 and Matt Hughes vs Matt Serra. Like i said in my UFC 95 preview, UFC 99 will feature Wanderlei Silva vs Rich Franklin, and then at UFC 100 the only match-up we know of right now is Welterweight Champion George "Rush" St. Pierre defending his title against the always dangerous Thiago Alves.
And now onto my UFC 96 predictions, like always ill just do quick picks for the prelims. I have Shane Nelson (12-3) over Aaron Riley (27-10), Brandon Vera (9-3) defeating Micheal Patt (15-3), Jason Brilz (16-1) over Tim Boestsch (8-2), Kendall Grove (11-5) over Jason Day (17-6), and lastly Tamdan McCrory (11-2) defeating Ryan Madigan (5-0).
Now onto the main card, the first fight of the evening has Gray "The Bully" Maynard (7-0) taking on Jim Miller (13-1) I see this fight going Maynard's way throughout the whole fight, he has such good control over his opponents to where he can keep their back to the mat the whole fight, and thats how i see him beating Miller, winning by decision via lay n' pray. Next up is a light heavyweight bout where Matt "The Hammer" Hamill (7-2) going up against Mark "The Philippine Wrecking Machine" Munoz (5-0). If you look at the betting lines, Munoz is listed as a huge underdog, but in my opinion Munoz will dominate this fight. Munoz is an excellent striker, winning his last two fights in WEC by knockout, while the only two times Hamill has went against strikers he has lost. Hamills only hope in this fight would be to out wrestle Munoz, but i don't see that happening because Munoz is also a very good wrestler, and because of that i see this fight staying on the feet. Next on the card is a very interesting match up to me, Pete "Drago" Sell (8-5) against Matt Brown (11-7). Many will remember Brown from The Ulimate Fighter: Team Jackson vs Team Griffin, while Sell is not as familiar to the casual fan. Matt Brown is an excellent striker, while Sell has a pretty decent ground game, but i see this match up being more of a kick boxing match, with it going to decision after a very bloody fight, and Brown winning the decision. Now to the co main event, which has top ten ranked heavyweight Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga (10-3) taking on the quickly rising, undefeated, Shane Carwin (10-0). This is a hard match up to call, just because of the lack of talent Carwin has faced, but that being said he hasn't had a fight go past the first round and makes quick work of all of his opponents. But i still think Gonzaga will just be too much for him, i see Napao winning by TKO. And now onto the main event, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (29-7) versus Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine (14-5). A lot of people are saying the UFC is feeding Jardine to Rampage to get Jackson a title shot for UFC 100, but i tend to disagree. Quinton's most recent loss came to Forrest, who won a controversial decision over Rampage by controlling the fight with kicks. But when Jardine fought Griffin, he beat Griffin in the same way that Griffin beat Jackson, with kicks. To me, that shows that Jardine has stronger kicks then Griffin, and with Rampage having trouble checking Forrest kicks, Jardine could very easily win this bout by decision. But with that being said, I still have Jackson picked to win by Knock Out.
Well that wraps up my picks for UFC 96, I am traveling to Columbus for the event, so next Monday when my recap goes up I am sure I will have a few stories for you guys. Thanks for your support, and feel free to comment.
In other news, here is how the upcoming months are looking main event wise. At UFC 97, Anderson Silva will be defending his Middleweight Championship against Thales Leites, in my opinion Thales does not yet deserve a title shot, but then again the UFC is running out of people to throw Silvas way. Also that night, Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell returns to action after being brutally knocked out by "Sugar" Rashad Evans to take on Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Shogun's cardio looked absolutely terrible at UFC 93 against Mark Coleman, but he has been training with Wanderlei Silva's cardio coach, and i think he will be more then ready to take on The Iceman. UFC 98 is shaping up to be a really good card, with the Main Event being Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir 2 and Matt Hughes vs Matt Serra. Like i said in my UFC 95 preview, UFC 99 will feature Wanderlei Silva vs Rich Franklin, and then at UFC 100 the only match-up we know of right now is Welterweight Champion George "Rush" St. Pierre defending his title against the always dangerous Thiago Alves.
And now onto my UFC 96 predictions, like always ill just do quick picks for the prelims. I have Shane Nelson (12-3) over Aaron Riley (27-10), Brandon Vera (9-3) defeating Micheal Patt (15-3), Jason Brilz (16-1) over Tim Boestsch (8-2), Kendall Grove (11-5) over Jason Day (17-6), and lastly Tamdan McCrory (11-2) defeating Ryan Madigan (5-0).
Now onto the main card, the first fight of the evening has Gray "The Bully" Maynard (7-0) taking on Jim Miller (13-1) I see this fight going Maynard's way throughout the whole fight, he has such good control over his opponents to where he can keep their back to the mat the whole fight, and thats how i see him beating Miller, winning by decision via lay n' pray. Next up is a light heavyweight bout where Matt "The Hammer" Hamill (7-2) going up against Mark "The Philippine Wrecking Machine" Munoz (5-0). If you look at the betting lines, Munoz is listed as a huge underdog, but in my opinion Munoz will dominate this fight. Munoz is an excellent striker, winning his last two fights in WEC by knockout, while the only two times Hamill has went against strikers he has lost. Hamills only hope in this fight would be to out wrestle Munoz, but i don't see that happening because Munoz is also a very good wrestler, and because of that i see this fight staying on the feet. Next on the card is a very interesting match up to me, Pete "Drago" Sell (8-5) against Matt Brown (11-7). Many will remember Brown from The Ulimate Fighter: Team Jackson vs Team Griffin, while Sell is not as familiar to the casual fan. Matt Brown is an excellent striker, while Sell has a pretty decent ground game, but i see this match up being more of a kick boxing match, with it going to decision after a very bloody fight, and Brown winning the decision. Now to the co main event, which has top ten ranked heavyweight Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga (10-3) taking on the quickly rising, undefeated, Shane Carwin (10-0). This is a hard match up to call, just because of the lack of talent Carwin has faced, but that being said he hasn't had a fight go past the first round and makes quick work of all of his opponents. But i still think Gonzaga will just be too much for him, i see Napao winning by TKO. And now onto the main event, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (29-7) versus Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine (14-5). A lot of people are saying the UFC is feeding Jardine to Rampage to get Jackson a title shot for UFC 100, but i tend to disagree. Quinton's most recent loss came to Forrest, who won a controversial decision over Rampage by controlling the fight with kicks. But when Jardine fought Griffin, he beat Griffin in the same way that Griffin beat Jackson, with kicks. To me, that shows that Jardine has stronger kicks then Griffin, and with Rampage having trouble checking Forrest kicks, Jardine could very easily win this bout by decision. But with that being said, I still have Jackson picked to win by Knock Out.
Well that wraps up my picks for UFC 96, I am traveling to Columbus for the event, so next Monday when my recap goes up I am sure I will have a few stories for you guys. Thanks for your support, and feel free to comment.
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