More reasons Fedor is overrated

Just a quick recap of Fedor Emelianenko's opponents over the last 5 years, and each opponent's most recent significant victory.

Brett Rogers (KO'd Andrei Arlovski)
Andrei Arlovski (KO'd Roy Nelson)
Tim Sylvia (decisioned Brandon Vera)
Hong-Man Choi (TKO'd Jose Canseco. Yes, that Jose Canseco)
Matt Lindland (TKO'd Jeremy Horn inthe IFL)
Mark Hunt (decisioned Cro-Cop)
Mark Coleman (broke Shogun's arm on a double-leg)
Zuluzinho (no relevant MMA wins)
Cro-Cop (KO'd Wandy & TKO'd Barnett in the same night)

So Fedor's most meaningful win was over Cro-Cop, & also happened to take place in 2006.

The win over Zuluzinho can be thrown out the window.

Mark Coleman, bless his heart, hasn't been a contender for years.

Mark Hunt took on Fedor 2 fights into a 5-fight losing streak that has yet to be broken.

Matt Lindland is a Middleweight fighter. Fedor fought him at Heavyweight.

Hong-Man Choi has no place in MMA.

Tim Sylvia's claim to fame is the list of A-list fighters he's lost to.

Arlovski is an ex-champ who's leaving MMA to be a pro-boxer.

Rogers has only one meaningful win: Arlovski.

******************************************************

That makes Arlovski the most relevant win under Fedor's belt. Need I mention that both he & Rogers were picking Fedor apart before getting caught with that Russian bear-paw.

So I ask you...how the fuck is Fedor even in the running for #1 p4p? Maybe if he would have fought & beaten Barnett. Maybe.

But as it happens, Fedor's most recent meaningful win was over Arlovski. And two of his other previous opponents (Sylvia & Rogers) have also done the same.

Actually, I guess you could say Coleman is his most meaningful victory since Coleman beat a LHW contender. And we just saw Randy run Coleman out of the UFC.

So really...Does anyone think Fedor could beat Brock? Does anyone think it would even be competitive?

Training secrets of the LHW elite

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that works out like this.

Fedor is a big Russian scaredy-cat

So I'll blab about the upcoming Emelianenko / Werdum fight later. Right now I want to address a statement from Fedor's camp, demanding that Alistair Overeem take a drug test before getting a shot at The Last Emperor. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Mayweather pull the same lame-ass stunt when he was supposed to fight Pacquiao? And didn't we all call shenanigans on Mayweather for taking the easy way out of the one fight that threatened to tarnish his legacy as an undefeated pound-for-pound great?

More shadiness from Fedor's organizatsiya. I'm not even going to mention the fact that he only fights hand-picked opponents & is too chicken to set foot in the Octagon, opting instead to fight UFC dropouts. Oops, I just mentioned it.

Big Comeback for Little Evil ?

Jens Pulver looked to be all but retired after losing at WEC 41, but I'm glad to see he's back next month against Javier Vazquez. I think Pulver made WEC relevant by moving down to featherweight, even if he's only gone 1-4. I'm hoping he can put together a few wins, or even better, maybe step back up to 155 & a rematch with Takanori Gomi...



There's also a documentary in the works that should be interesting; it's no secret that Pulver has had to fight just as hard outside the cage...

Holy Shit! Bobby Green KOs Rick Legere

I'm stunned. I thought I had this one figured out & I was dead wrong. What else can I say? Only this: I wish I had been there! Sounds like it was a great night. Would have loved to see Reuben Duran's display of last-second KO power. The only downside was Waachiim Spiritwolf causing the N/C with illegal strikes to the back of the head. Mad props to Booyaa for posting live results & shame on all you other sites for not doing the same.

And congrats to the NEW King of the Cage Junior Welterweight champion, Bobby "King" Green!

If you wanna be like him, stop by Pinnacle Jiu-Jitsu & get to work...

UFC in the SEC

Now that Alabama has passed legislation to officially sanction MMA, here's hoping Dana White brings the UFC to the BJCC! Last time the Octagon was set up in 'Bama, Bas Rutten was in it!

KOTC tomorrow night!

On the eve of KOTC "Arrival", here's a snippet of Rick Legere & the gang at Millenia MMA hitting the mats...Legere is defending his Junior Welterweight against Bobby Green.



If Legere is hard at work rolling & Bobby Green is hanging out getting Dragonball Z tattoos, I think I have an idea of who I like going into this fight.

So if you're in the LA area & feel like a little driving & a lot of action, head over to the San Manuel Casino & support a promotion that's done more for MMA than the UFC. Don't believe me? Affordable ticket prices & accessible venues have brought MMA to people who can't afford a trip to Vegas & a seat at Mandalay Bay. Forrest, Jardine, Rashad, Rampage, Danzig, Faber, Stevenson, Credeur, Ricco & Jeremy Horn all wore the yellow gloves, just to name a few. They brought you "Bully Beatdown" & that's a better show than TUF. So show some love, people.

California Kid vs Prodigy, please

If BJ Penn is able to successfully defend his title against Frank Edgar, we want to see Urijah Faber move up to Lightweight!!! Please, Dana White...make it happen. Giving Gray Maynard a title shot is a waste of money for the fans & a waste of time for Penn.

Braulio Estima is on a roll

PanAm/ADCC champ Braulo Estima is training in Albequerque with the Jackson camp as he prepares for his transition from competitive grappling to MMA. Rashad Evans has tweeted that rolling with Estima is "dope", which is a good sign.

Estima is also giving a BJJ seminar at Gracie Barra Northshore - Baton Rouge on 2/26. If you're in the pelican state, check it out...you can reserve a spot by emailing graciebarrala@gmail.com.

If you haven't heard of this cat, check out his HL reel...

Celebreality crossover

Tonight's episode of VH1's Celebrity Fit Club featured Debi Purcell, woman's MMA pioneer. Purcell is a black belt in Marco Ruas Vale Tudo & the 1st woman to compete & win in KOTC, not to mention the the only female coach in the short but illustrious history of the IFL, assisting Ruas as he oversaw the Southern California Condors...

LA Academies pt1

I try to go out & visit a different school for their intro lesson now & then just to see what's out there. Here's a little rundown on a few of them...

Dartanian Jiu-Jitsu (North Hollywood): More of an MMA place with kind of a random criteria; gi, no-gi, judo throws & boxing, depending on Dartanian's mood that day. Bring sanitizer because students & teacher walk in off the street wearing their wrestling shoes.

Hollywood Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (West Hollywood): Renzo's LA satellite. Very regimented criteria; they teach the same lessons in cycles & checkoff your progress on an attendance card. White belts are introduced to rolling by going through positional training to recap each class. Clean technique but dirty mats.

Legends MMA (Hollywood): Eddie Bravo's flagship school. All no-gi. No warm-ups or conditioning, but plenty of innovative technique. Doesn't hurt to already have some jits in your background before signing up. Very clean mats!

If any of these sound like your cup of tea, what are you waiting for? Any BJJ is better than no BJJ.

Life after Gina Carano

Props to Strikeforce for keeping women's MMA alive, even after Gina Carano disappeared. Sarah Kaufman & Takayo Hashi are scheduled for 5 rounds on Feb 26; the winner will be the first Strikeforce Women's Champion @ 135 lbs...

UFC 110 results (predictions revisited)

Well, let's go over my predictions...not too bad, if I may say so!

Bonnar vs Soszynski = Soszynski by decision...or maybe possibly submission?
Hey, you have to admit Bonnar was getting the worst of it before that cut. Should it it have been a n/c? We may never know.

CroCop vs Anthony Perosh = Perosh By TKO (ref stoppage).
I was way off on this one. Sorry I misjudged you, Mirko!

Jardine vs Bader = Jardine by decision...this will probably be the fight during which I excuse myself to fix some homemade guacamole.
Wrong here too. But I actually made quesadillas & they were pretty good.

Stevenson vs Sotiropoulos = Sotiropoulos by submission. Hopefully some trippy 10th Planet stuff.
No submission but Sotiropoulos almost got the armbar using the Spiderweb & almost nailed the omoplata from rubber guard.

Silva vs Bisping = I just have this feeling that Wandy will KO the Count.
And no KO here but Wandy earned the win with true grit...looks good at 185 & the new nose isn't bad either!

Big Nog vs Velasquez = Velasquez by KTFO.
Yup. A showdown with Brock has to happen...it just has to!

Now please excuse me while I finish watching the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" DVD that I got from Netflix yesterday...

Vegemite knuckle sandwiches

I'm giving serious consideration to biting the bullet & getting the UFC 110 ppv as a birthday present to myself, so here are my bold predictions:

Bonnar vs Soszynski = Soszynski by decision...or maybe possibly submission?

CroCop vs Anthony Perosh = Perosh! By TKO (ref stoppage).

Jardine vs Bader = Jardine by decision...this will probably be the fight during which I excuse myself to fix some homemade guacamole.

Stevenson vs Sotiropoulos = Sotiropoulos by submission. Hopefully some trippy 10th Planet stuff.

Silva vs Bisping = I just have this feeling that Wandy will KO the Count.

Big Nog vs Velasquez = Velasquez by KTFO.

Me vs the Heineken mini-keg = Me! By unanimous decision.

And you know, I was actually confused as to whether or not the fight would air Saturday or Sunday, since it's taking place on Aussie time. Luckily Dana White is always on duty...

Baby-faced Assassin turns heel

Josh Barnett is back! Well, sort of. The 'roided out rassler graced Grappling X with his presence at their event in Long Beach, CA. What was the former King of Pancrase, PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix finalist & former UFC HW champ doing on the mat in a local amateur tourney? Who knows. Much fun as it is to watch him grapple (like it or not, he's one of the world's best), this doesn't do much for his case as a disgraced fighter who's dirty piss-test pulled out the foundation from the house of cards that was Affliction. Even more so now that he's kveching about not being offered fights that he likes.



Seriously, though...can you imagine signing up for a run-of-the-mill no-gi event & finding out you have Josh Barnett in your bracket?

Project run away

The Ohio Athletic Commish has nixed a proposed fight between Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia & Wes "The Project" Sims, on the grounds that they "felt the fight was not going to be competitive at this time after comparing records and the opponents both fighters had faced."

I have to admit I was confused. Yes, Sylvia is a former UFC HW champ, but Sims has won 3 of his last 4 & just finished a stint on TUF. Sure, he just lost to Bobby Lashley, but Lashley may or may not be the next big thing in MMA. Plus Sylvia just got his lights turned off by Ray Mercer (yes, the old boxer) 9 seconds into Round 1 last summer...non-competitive for who?

Are You Tougher Than a 5th Grader?

Check out these two crumbsnatchers going at it over at the Fight Academy in Pasadena, CA. This is a relatively new place run by David Dunn (Jean-Jaques Machado black-belt), Savant Young (IFL & Affliction) & Herb Dean (celeb MMA referee). If you're in the San Gabriel Valley & looking to train, check them out...they don't just train kids!

Former LHW champ Sergeant Bosco "B.A." (Bad Attitude) Baracus

Loved the show as a kid, but will probably pass on the movie. Might spend the money on the PPV instead. If he ever mans up & fights Rashad! Oh snap.

Brock Lesnar bowhunting

No real news here but as both an MMA & archery enthusiast I enjoyed it, so here it is...

catching up on KOTC

Sorry for the lack of updates for KOTC "Vengeance", no excuses.

I'll make up for it with coverage of "Arrival" out here in California next week, starting off with this piece from Junior Welterweight challenger Bobby Green as he prepares for his fight with Rick Legere.

UFC 112 still looking invincible

Here it is, people...what we've all been waiting for. Demian Maia will now be facing Anderson Silva at UFC 112. The best jits in MMA vs the best striking in MMA...I almost don't want to know who would win! Can't this be settled out of the cage, in a more civilized forum? How about an old-school dance-off...





Advantage Silva.

Iron Man taps Kritter

As promised, here's floor-seat view of Travis "The Iron Man" Fulton submitting James "Kritter" Neely at Thunder Promotion's "Battle for Alabama". While the Pelham Civic Center may not be the MGM Grand, it's always nice to see a bout that covers all 3 phases of combat...the pair exchanged on their feet, worked for control while clinched against the cage, & then engaged in the chess game affectionately known as "jits" to the enthusiasts. Here's the takedown & sub that sealed the deal:

The Spider at Wild Card

Vitor Belfort hurt his shoulder & is pulling out of his much-anticipated challenge for the MW title. Maybe Anderson Silva will get to show off his stuff against an unlucky 205-er?

So anyways, here's a clip I found of the pound-for-pound poobah squeezing in a workout at Freddie Roach's gym out here in LA...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qntHWtZqWaY

Wish I woulda known, I woulda stopped by that night!

Hit Man takes one

Gory photo of the day news is courtesy of Martin Kampmann, who's pulling out of UFC 111 after sustaining a nothing-short-of-horrific cut during his training at Xtreme Couture.



Ouch.

Shameless self-promotion: Kampmann gave me pointers on my stand-up at an Xtreme Couture seminar.

Hammered out

So my prediction of a pro-wrestling style feud between Mark Coleman & Tito Ortiz seems to have been as real as Stone Cold's AA sponsor; Coleman was just cut from the UFC roster. Randy Couture's longevity in the sport is looking more & more amazing when compared to fellow "old-school" fighters...

Gracie gossip

Well, Renzo blames "nerves" & a rib injury sustained during training on Rolles' one-sided loss at UFC 109.

Also, if you have $27,293 to spare you can join Rorion & Ryron for their annual seminar in Fiji...

isn't it gay enough that we get sweaty & roll around?

Ok this is admittedly extremely gay subject matter but in local jits news, Joe Rogan is apparently being stalked by some weirdo at the new Legends gym. What can I say, that place draws some real wackos. That'll happen when you're spending nights at an MMA gym cozily nestled on Tranny Monica Blvd that's also home to a state of the art pole-dancing academy. Next time you're there, look out for bulges in those hot-pants, people!

btw the fat kid standing next to Joe was in a couple of my classes when I trained there; he doesn't wash his shorts. If you roll with him defend the mount at all costs.

MMA in the South will rise again

In the interest of a "fair & balanced" mma blog, here's some non-UFC news. Thunder Promotions just hosted "The Battle For Alabama" at the Pelham Civic Center. My girlfriend's brother was there so if I get my hands on any fotos I'll be sure to post them.

UFC 109

Well, first I have to admit that I watched this one on the internet. It's very difficult to justify shelling out for a ppv with no title fights.
So my thoughts:

Mac Danzig still doesn't have a win over a recognizable fighter in the UFC. He's gone from blue-chip to buffalo chip.

Serra should consider dropping to 155. I bet he would still keep enough power after the cut & he could finally put that black belt to good use. I would pay to see him take on Penn. Plus the Renzo backstory would be a selling point.

If he's cut, as I suspect he will be, Frank Trigg can retire with nothing to be ashamed of. His UFC losses came to the elite of the WW division: Hughes, GSP, Koscheck & Serra. So he never won a title...he'll live forever in clips of his 2nd fight against Hughes.

I expected Miller/Maia to unfold the way Swick/Thiago did & vice-versa. Neither fight really grabbed my attention but I did like seeing that textbook D'arce.

I was shocked to see Nate Marquardt flat on his back for so long. I think a fair share of the blame has to go to his camp; there are no secret weapons in Sonnen's arsenal.

Now, I don't like Chael Sonnen's style but it seems to working for him. I will point this out: all of his UFC wins have been via unanimous decision & there's no evidence that he's any less vulnerable to top-shelf jits. Draw whatever conclusion you want from that.

I think Tito may have inadvertently prolonged Coleman's career by heckling him after that one-sided loss. A win over Tito would be a nice swan song for The Hammer.

Randy looked really, really good. Granted, he wasn't facing top-tier competition, but that was a textbook display of stand-up, clinch, dirty boxing, takedowns, ground'n'pound & submissions, all in a round & a half. Could it be...Couture/Machida?!?! Now that I would pay to see.

The Iceman Comebacketh?

Here's a little gossip for you, m' hijitos. Chuck Liddell, gearing up for another coaching stint on TUF & another title run, has broadened his horizons a wee bit. He's hired Eddie Bravo protege Scott "Einstein" Epstein as an assistant coach for the upcoming season of TUF, & rumor has it he's been indoctrinated into the 10th Planet system. This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, since he'd been spotted working out at 10th Planet Burbank during his stint on Dancing With the Stars...I, for one, am hoping to see him pull off a gogoplata against Tito.

...flash forward to 2010

I'm resurrecting this little blog 'o' mine after 3 years of sifting though the gawd-aful writing on 5 Oz of Pain & getting a virus on both my home & work computers off of Sherdog.

So, uh, let's see...what's been new since then? Lemme see if I can lay out the current situation as I see it. In no particular order:

-Penn is still sitting pretty atop the LW division (big surprise) & Frankie Edgar won't be the one to topple him. This is my plea to Zuffa: tell Faber to pack on 10 more lbs.

-Machida beat Shogun fair & square, and next time he won't be so nice about it.

-GSP vs Hardy is a nothing more than a token gesture to the up & coming MMA scene in the UK.

-Kimbo could have been a contender if he had started sooner. Alas, Miniver Cheevy...born too late!

-Who was Tito sparring with to give him that cracked skull before his rematch w/ Forrest? Next time just have them fight instead. Unlike fellow old-skool UFC alum Randy Couture, Tito never took the time to surround himself with a talented "brain-trust" of fellow fighters. Now that his speed is going, anyone can beat him.

-What's up with Lesnar's bout with diverticulitis? First it's threatening to end his career & now it's miraculously disappeared? Something is fishy in Denmark. That kind of drama doesn't bode well, & indicates a deeper, Tyson-esque problem.

-Dan Henderson was right to leave the UFC. His KTFO over Michael Bisping will be the last meaningful win of his career.

-Don't get me started on Fedor. I STILL say he's overrated & will prove it in a later post...











-Oh & btw, have you seen the venue for UFC 112? No wonder Zuffa sold 'em %10...they must wipe their asses with $100 bills!