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UFC 115: Highlights and Lowlights

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:14:40 +0000

UFC 115 was one for the record books from the onset as it marked the fastest sellout in Ultimate Fighting Championship history. In only 30 minutes, fans bought up enough tickets to fill General Motors Place to its capacity. The Vancouver crowd inside the Canucks home arena was not left disappointed as the high energy event lived up to its record breaking billing. Here is a look at what when down, both the good and the bad.Highlights:Rich Franklin As a replacement for Tito Ortiz, who withdrew from his matchup with Chuck Liddell after undergoing neck surgery, Franklin put on an impressive performance, knocking out Liddell as the first round wound down. Proving more than man enough to trade blows with one of the sport’s most revered fighters, Franklin fought through a broken arm on his way to a gritty victory.Carlos Condit & Rory MacDonald Both fighters in the northern border dispute between Condit (USA) and MacDonald (Canada) should walk away with their heads held high. Going almost to the close of the third and final round, this hotly contested battle was clearly the fight of the night. Condit got down early with MacDonald asserting his dominance over the first two rounds. To his credit, Condit did not get discouraged or let up, putting the Canadian on the mat before overpowering him with ground strikes. Though he took the defeat, MacDonald showed a lot of promise for a young fighter still early in his career.Lowlights:Chuck Liddell “The Iceman” may be towards the tail end of his career as this knockout notched the 4^th time he’s been KO’d in his last 6 bouts. In the days leading up to his main event matchup with Franklin, Liddell sounded confident with plenty of banter and feather ruffling, but ultimately he could not deliver. Though he did not fight particularly poorly, a first round knockout was hardly the expected result. Fans and peers alike would have liked to see the legend at least go a little deeper into the contest.

Whats Next for Kimbo?

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:15:37 +0000

A mere month after his release from UFC by President Dana White, rumor has it Kimbo Slice is looking to try his hand at bare-knuckle boxing once again. While this style of fighting is no doubt more fitting to Kimbo Slice’s well known talents as a street brawler, it will lack the same attention and recognition he enjoyed as a UFC member. From his relative anonymity as a former collegiate football player at both the University of Miami and Bethune-Cookman to his seemingly overnight transition to an internet street-fighting icon, Kimbo Slice has come to epitomize the idea of a viral celebrity. Perhaps, Slice attempted the jump from simple street throw downs to the professionally trained arena of MMA long before he was well seasoned enough to have real success.While he hasn’t embarrassed himself in UFC competition by any means, the cult like following that amassed around Kimbo Slice prior to his going pro in the fight game has dwindled down a result of his struggles. Still, with such a recognizable face and personality, Slice would seem to be a logical choice for ventures outside of the octagon. Already, he has parlayed his celebrity to secure some smaller endorsement deals, including a comical “Kimbo vs. Caterpillar” bit for an internet anti-virus software company. Though the UFC might not have been the right fit for Slice, it would be a tragedy to see him exit from the fighting world on such a low note. Keep in mind, he is 36 years old, around the time many professional athletes transition to the other side of the camera. Whether he would have the on-air talent to serve as a commentator or color man remains to be seen, but he should strike while he is still relevant and the iron’s still hot before Slice, as Mike Tyson would say, “fades into Bolivian.”

Brock vs. Fedor

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:06:29 +0000

Since Brock Lesnar’s defection from WWE and professional wrestling to the MMA circuit, there has not been a more polarizing figure in the sport. Whether you like admire his macho male image, despise his often off-putting, even chauvinistic attitude or hold your tongue on the subject out of sheer fear he might actually come find you, there is no disputing that Brock Lesnar is a bad, bad man. With his return from illness scheduled for later this summer in UFC 116, it’s time to rehash an old debate that unfortunately has yet to be settled man to man in the ring. The matter at hand concerns who is the rightful heir to the title Mike Tyson once claimed undisputedly as “Baddest Man on the Planet.” The only other conceivable choice is heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, the most feared Russian export since Ivan Drago. Though the Cold War is over with and Lesnar lacks the likeable, heroic quality that endured movie goers to Rocky Balboa, a matchup between the two towering men would conceivably be the biggest fight (both literally and figuratively) in mixed martial arts history, and potentially gain the type of mainstream media following the fighting world hasn’t seen since the glory days of boxing. In pure physical stature, Lesnar is almost unmatched standing 6’5” and weighing 265 lbs., looming large even next to Emelianenko, who is 6 foot and 232 lbs. in his own right. With only a year separating the two men in age, Emelianenko has a much more extensive MMA resume, with a decisive 33-1 record, the sole loss a result of a cut inflicted by an illegal Tsuyoshi Kohsaka elbow. Lesnar on the other hand is still a relative rook on the circuit by comparison, at only 4-1, but was the reigning UFC title holder when illness forced him into a hiatus. The vast improvement shown since the loss to Frank Mir early in his career, particularly his one-sided beat down of Mir in 2009 to defend the UFC belt, has many believing the Lesnar, if anyone, is the only man who’s man enough to give Fedor Emelianenko a run for his money.

Herchel, Conseco Who’s Next?

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:57:14 +0000

After former NFL running back Herschel Walker and Major League Baseball’s tell-all bad boy Jose Conseco became the most recognizable mainstream athletes to test their mixed martial arts skills professionally, curiosity is calling for an quick review or strongest, fastest and most cunning ballplayers who might (in theory of course) find a second home in the octagon. Prior to the never ending Manny Pacquiao build up, Floyd Mayweather had expressed interest in matching up with a MMA pro in what would be sure to be a Pay-per-view extravaganza. While his boxing technique and ability is matched by few, if any, for the purpose of this discussion, consider athletes with no fighting experience, except maybe the school yard.With the NBA playoffs consuming the airwaves for the better portion of the past month, Dwight Howard fill’s up the television screen like few before him. Nicknamed “Manchild,” the guy is a pure physical specimen, with shoulder’s the size of bowling balls. Sure he’d have to put on a little bulk to compliment his 7 foot frame, but despite his good-natured demeanor one wouldn’t want to be on the other side of an argument with him. Staying in the NBA, Ron Artest also comes to mind. Cut from the Dennis Rodman mold of any attention is good attention, Artest has actively seeked the limelight outside of the basketball world, through his bizarre hairstyles and failed rap career. He’s no stranger to confrontation as well, after famously throwing punches at Piston’s fans in the Palace melee. Finally, I’d like to see what Lawrence Taylor has to offer. Coming off his most recent scandal, the man could use some positive publicity. His hall of fame worthy mean streak while roaming the hash-marks for Giants struck fear into the hearts of opposing position players for more than a decade. There’s no telling what kind of shape he’s maintained over the years, but he’s still only three years older than fellow gridiron star turned MMA competitor Herschel Walker.