SB Nation User Blog: BJJDenver

UFC 91 Afterthoughts...

BJJDenver — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:29:16 -0000

So this was supposed to be the biggest UFC card ever. Probably not, but no doubt it will be highly successful. So considering the headliner, are we to assume that many casual fans and FOLs (fans of Lesner) bought the ppv? If so, and I agree, then the UFC may have struck gold. They had a card full of exciting fights that would surely impress even the least knowledgable viewers. I think that even if this doesn't approach UFC buy records, it will be a giant success that will boost the sport even more in the future.

Let's start at the top:

Brock--UFC HW Champion. Like it or not, he is. Brock is improving every time out, and the fact that he could stand and hold his own in the striking department is pretty scary. This sets up a big fight with Mir, which can be touted as the revenge match OR it sets up a huge match with Big Nog, which is what I expect to see. I give Brock props, but also keep it in perspective. He fought a 45 year old guy that hadn't been in the cage for a year. If he next beats Mir, I will be pretty convinced and if he beats Nog, I will be completely convinced. Of course, even then, there is the one thought I always end up with no matter who we are talking about...could he beat Fedor? We can only hope one day, to have all our questions answered. I think the UFC is doing a pretty good job of doing as much as they can to give us some of these answers.

Randy--So many questions. Certainly, can he still fight, is not one of them. Dude is a freak to be doing this at 45. Unfortunately, to an extent, he is a man without an island. At this point in his career, I see him having a lot of trouble with guys like Lesner, Carwin, etc.. Big explosive guys need a class of their own. I am all for a 206-235 weight class, maybe cruiserweight. It would extend the careers of guys like Randy and Chuck and set up the opportunity for even more "superfights". It would also give the UFC the opportunity to promote another title fight for their cards and shrink a huge division that currently spans 60 pounds. I think this has to get done and would have many benefits with few drawbacks. I don't see Randy as a LHW anymore and I don't think he can win regularly against the future of the HW division. If he continues fighting, it will have to be in carefully selected fights. Randy is no gatekeeper.

Florian--Is this guy the least scary looking fighter out there, lol? But you better believe he is for real and should never be overlooked. Unfortunately, I think he "poked the bear" last night and will get hammered by BJ. Of course, losing to BJ is no demeaning thing. This was the most impressive victory of the night for me. Was it his BJJ? No. His striking? No. It was the apparent added strength he displayed. Joe is strong, and Ken seemed to control him with relative ease. Ken deserves the title shot, and may hold the belt someday if BJ vacates. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I would like to see a Ken/Sherk rematch at this point.

Stevenson--Sometimes, even great fighters need to take a step back. Something just doesn't look right with him. Not sure if it his mindset, his gameplan or what, but I think he may need to take a break and re-evaluate his training, technique, coaching or something. Maybe he just needs a break. I still think he is very dangerous, but he definitely needs a change of some type.

Hazelett--Shave that creepy beard, lol! What a fun guy to watch. UFC needs to do a good job of promoting him, as he is entertaining and a fan favorite. Would anyone like to see him fight Condit in the UFC?

McCrory--6'4"?? Damn, some more good training and that could get him places. I hope the UFC has some patience with him. And "The Barncat" has got to be one of the best nicknames around.

Gonzaga--The exit of Werdum opens a huge door for GG, imo. Honestly, this is the guy that should be the future of the HW division. He has good striking, powerful kicks and amazing BJJ. He is big and strong and athletic. If he had Florian's mindset, he would be unbeatable. Hopefully he has regained his mojo, can face either Mir or Nog (whomever loses) and get in the mix for a title shot. Anything but wearing the belt is underacheiving for him, in my eyes.

Maia--I absolutely love watching this guy fight. He has proven himself to be a legit top 10 type of fighter, so let's see some of the matches we know will be great. Almeida, Palahares, Marquardt, etc... Just like the LWs, imo, take the top guy away and the division is very competitive. Not ready for Anderson...yet.

Quarry--I think we all knew what was coming for him last night. Maia is just to good on the ground and he is on a roll. Get Quarry a fight to keep him on track and let's see him in entertaining slugfests where he excels.

Gurgel and Robinson--Please get these guys in the WEC. Gurgel can take a beating and Robinson has a lot of heart, but it is clear they do not belong in the UFC.

Bocek--He needs to get his game rounded out, but his BJJ is awesome. I hope he lasts long enough to develop.

Riley--Some great striking, could provide us with some entertaining fights before he faces BJJ guys that actually use their ground skills.

Brown--Definitely a tough guy, but I see him as a .500 fighter in the UFC. I hardly recognized him without his goatee, lol.

Dos Anjos--I think he has a future, but...

Stephens--...look out for the uppercut!!! All I have to say is, DAMN!

So, overall, i would say this was a very entertaining card. We saw about everything there is to see, without a lot of controversy and negatives. I think what we witnessed was a preview of what should be a very interesting 2009 for the UFC and the sport of ultimate fighting...I mean mma, lol.

And finally, if you are declaring the sport tainted by the fact that Brock was a wrassler, then you clearly have issues. This guy is a world class athlete, great wrestler and developing mma fighter. If anyone thinks just any pro wrestler can cross over into mma, then they are ignorant to the sport. Many of today's mma fans originated as pro wrestling fans, and found something real and better in mma. I think this will only continue as the sport grows.

UFC 90 Sunday Morning Musings...

BJJDenver — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:31:38 -0000

Ok, so the train derailed last night. I won't go so far as to say this was a bad card, but the main event always leaves a lasting impression, and this one wasn't good. UFC has put on some great shows this year, and I can live with the quality of 90, in that respect.

-Silva. I have called for him to retire, but that is just me being a selfish fan. I actually don't want him to even consider it. I do want him to come in and be the pro that he is, and destroy subpar competition. Cote was out of his league and should have been finished early in this fight. Some have called Silva cautious, but in reality, he was bored, clowning and trying to put in a show. He failed. MMA has room for flamboyant, flashy stars, but the respectful, professional is always appreciated.

-Cote. I like Cote, but he is what he is, a very solid, but not contending, fighter. Hanging your hat on getting to the 3rd round with Silva, is not something to brag about. You did absolutely nothing to Silva. Go rehab, keep training hard and get back at it. While I don't see him ever being champ, if Silva is gone to 205 or retires, there isn't any one I wouldn't at least give him a slugger's chance against.

-Alves. What a great fight it would be against GSP. Two large WWs getting after it. I think we need to see Alves destroy Diego, while GSP battles BJ. Then, whether GSP wins or loses, Alves vs GSP. I do think GSP's superior technical striking, will help keep Alves at a distance and make for a very interesting fight.

-Koscheck. Great athlete with amazing recovery. I expect him to improve every time out, and even in a battering loss, he showed a lot of good things.

-Maynard. Many people think he is the next great LW. I think he almost bored me to death last night.

-Sherk. Not sure if he won, but what a great fight. Two guys whose ground game cancelled the other's out, resulting in 15 minutes of slugging it out. Damn, the LW's are deep and muddled, lol.

-Griffin. See Sherk.

-Werdum. Damn! You just knew this was going to happen. I really wanted Fabricio to be the HW tournament spoiler, but we can forget that for a while.

-Dos Santos. I think this guy maaayyyyyy have some striking power. I'm not going crazy about him, but lets see him vs Kongo.

-Franca/Maximus. Where was the most intriguing match of the night? Why do we not see this fight (or Miller/Horowich) instead of McFedries getting choked and 20 minutes of Rogan and Goldy? This was a perfect opportunity to make up for the main event, and instead they only made it worse.

-Rogan and Goldy. Please shut up. These guys are really starting to grate on me. Please stop describing a turd like it is a bar of gold. Just tell us like it is, we can handle it.

High points...Rachelle Leah, Chicago, Sherk and Griffin and Kos and Alves, oh my.

Low points...main event, Maynard and Clementi, lackluster card to an extent.

If 89 and 90 were combined, we would have a very nice card. is the UFC getting diluted? Or was it just a hiccup in scheduling/match making?

The answer? UFC 91. If this card lives up to its potential, we will forget the low points of the last two weekends.

ShoXC Musings...

BJJDenver — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:36:45 -0000

Another decent card, knocked back by a couple of messes.

-Olivera was very impressive until the vagina on his head opened up. Seriously, that was one of the nastiest cuts I have seen. Thank You HD!!

-Schlemenko/Mcdaniel looked to be a great war, until it ended. Great knee and good job by the ref to get the correct outcome. I can't remember the last time I saw a fighter writhing in pain like that. I look forward to seeing both of these guys fight again.

-Lapsley/Stumpf. Not sure what to say, but it was a good action filled fight. Did they only have one ref last night?

-Guida/Khalidov. Oh man, just when I thought Jason couldn't look any creepier, lol. If nothing else, ShoXC had great sound last night! Listening to the ref vent his frustration while searching for the mouthpiece was great. Guida acted like a loser, and that is exactly what he was. Khalidov showed some great moves and I would really like to see him and Feijao get it on. Guida might need to concentrate on training his brother and give up fighting.

-Pee Wee/Meat Truck. The names alone were worth it! Herman has some serious talent, but his flashy style is going to get him destroyed against a top HW. The thing is, I think he is smart enough to not pull that against a serious threat. Enough with the cans, let's see Rogers/Herman. His sense of humor is great, but doesn't really fit the crowd, lol.

Overall, I think this was another decent showing for EXC on Showtime, where their best cards seem to happen. It was pretty entertaining and they have shown that they do, in fact, have some good young fighters hiding in their ranks. I doubt we will ever see them reach their potential with EXC, but we should be looking for them in places like the UFC in the near future. Unfortunately, I just don't think EXC can move forward with tripping over themselves and falling backwards.

Baroni out!

BJJDenver — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 01:47:53 -0000

Just heard from one of our instructors that is fighting Friday night, that Phil "New York Bad Ass" Baroni is off the Strikeforce card in Denver this weekend. It was just a few days ago that he fought in the Palace Fighting Championships, so this is not a big surprise, imo. Apparently he has a cut, above one eye, I believe. To bad, he always adds something to a card, even if it is mostly personality. No word if there is a replacement, or more likely the fight cancelled.

TUF 8...the season of quotes (or close misquotes)!!

BJJDenver — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:35:13 -0000

So, I'm watching the first episode of TUF 8, and my initial reaction is...man, there are going to be some great quotes this season. Not neccessarily a bad thing, as it makes for memorable moments.

Dana-""Machette"? More like "Butter Knife"".---Awesome, I was literally laughing out loud!

Guida-"You'll never be forgiven".---Ooooooh, lol!

Guida-"I'm not Gabe Reudiger."---Great reference, unfortunately Guida also missed weight, though to his credit, I think he would have made it if they had allowed him another hour. At least he didn't go the "Put me in B" route.

Junie Browning-""Do I think Jose Aguillar can beat me? He has a better chance of getting me pregnant.."---Another laugh out loud moment. This is not only one of the best lines ever on TUF, but in the entire history of the world. I didn't like Junie at first, but that line and the way he backed it up, changed my mind.

Jose Aguilar-"At least I'm pretty, that's all that matters"---So glad this moron is gone. Weak sauce after a lopsided beating which caused him to give up, after telling us how he fit in with Napoleon and Hitler. After that performance, maybe he was right.

And my sentimental favorite...

TUF voiceover guy-"And one fight turns into a three round bloodbath."---Because it's my guy handing down the beating! Can't wait until next week!!

Sorry for any inaccuracies, going from memory. this season promises to be fun, if the first episode is any indication.

Please feel free to add any quotes, thoughts or comments from episode one!

UFC reaction and thoughts on other reactions

BJJDenver — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:47:27 -0000

Well it turned out to be a pretty good card, but no doubt, 88 will be remembered for the brutal KO of the Iceman, Chuck Liddell.

-Many of us gave Rashad a slim shot, and he was underrated for sure. However, I think we may have been as guilty of overrating Chuck. He has been a very good champion, but the style of hands out wide and at his waist, did him in last night. As I rewatched the end of the fight, what stuck with me was the location of his left hand, it was nowhere near a defensive position. We all knew Rashad was the superior athlete and much quicker, didn't Chuck?

-Poor Rich Franklin. The mysterious black left eye and now a right eye that looks like Mike Tyson stopped by for a Midnight snack. Hammill looked huge and I think he has a future, but Franklin's striking looked pretty good. Still not sure how he will fare against a top 8-10 LHW, but I think his future is at 205.

-Dan Henderson, thanks for the win, I just didn't want to see him drop three in a row. This was a very good win and should keep Dan's name in the title shot talk (with another win, of course). Palhares showed he is a tough guy, took some big punches and almost finished Hendo. This dude is legit and I am expecting some big things from him. Where was Henderson's ground 'n' pound? Greatly absent, due to the fact that he knew the ground was no place to be. When a great fighter alters his gameplan like that, it should tell you something about his opponent.

-Nate Marquardt. I remember a couple of years ago, thinking that he wouldn;t be around long, due to his "boring" style. Not that I didn't like it, but I know the mentality of the UFC fans. Kampmann is a good fighter, and Nate looked like he was doing drills on him. Damn, I want to see a Marquardt/Almeida rematch! On a side note, Nate was at the Colorado Open BJJ/Sub Grappling tournament last Saturday, supporting and coaching his students. Even though I am from a rival school, it impressed me that he was there, when he easily could have stayed away prepping for this fight.

-Dong. Dong won, 29-28. Neither guy looked that great and you have to love the boo birds at mma events.

-Jasons. Jason McDonald is tough and I thought he was done in round one, but boy did he look to finish in round two. Lambert, I just don't know. That was a tough fight, so let's see what he does next.

-So we get Rashad/Forrest, not what I would call a big draw. BUT, it is two TUF guys fighting for a title, which lends that much more legitimacy to TUF. Add it to a card with Nog/Mir, and we could have a huge card.

Overall, it turned out to be a pretty good card. Now, hold on, as we get a ton of mma over the next few months!

Cro Cop vs Overeem is on!

BJJDenver — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:44:18 -0000

This should be an awesome fight! CroCop is looking to regain his mystique and Overeem has looked awesome at heavyweight. Could be a great battle for us to see. Any of you that haven't caught Dream yet, check it out, it is well worth the time and effort to see on HDNet.

Ricardo Mendoza at MMA Weekly is reporting--

Three bouts have been added to Dream 6 at the Saitama Super Arena on Sept. 23, which is headlined by the finals of the Dream Middleweight Grand Prix.

After months of talking and bad blood, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic will return to the ring as he takes on Dutch heavyweight Alistair Overeem. Cro Cop hasn’t seen action since Dream’s debut event, where he made easy work of Pancrase veteran Tatsuya Mizuno, stopping him with strikes. Overeem comes off a convincing submission victory over fellow Pride veteran Mark Hunt at Dream 5.

In an intriguing heavyweight showdown, Pride veteran Sergei Kharitonov faces off with K-1 veteran Mighty Mo. Kharitonov avenged an earlier loss to Alistair Overeem at K-1 Hero’s 10, stopping him with strikes, while Mo hasn’t seen mixed martial arts action in over a year since knocking out Ruben "Warpath" Villareal at K-1 Dynamite!! USA.

Korean judoka Dong Sik Yoon faces off with karate stylist Andrews Nakahara in the Dream Middleweight Grand Prix reserve bout. Yoon comes off a decision loss to Armenian striker Gegard Mousasi at Dream 4, while Nakahara was unsuccessful in his mixed martial arts debut, being submitted by Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba at Dream 2.

Already announced for the event are the semi-finals and finals of the Dream Middleweight Grand Prix with Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza meeting Zelg Galesic and Melvin Manhoef meeting Gegard Mousasi. Featherweights Hideo Tokoro and Atsushi Yamamoto are also set to battle.

Strikeforce Heading to Denver

BJJDenver — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:56:33 -0000

Fronted by Luke Thomas.

Sam Caplan is reporting that Strikeforce will be putting on a show in Denver October 3rd. The show will be at the Broomfield Event Center, the same location as UFN 13 a while back:

FiveOuncesOfPain.com received a press release this afternoon announcing that Strikeforce will hold its first-ever show in Denver, Colo. on Oct. 3 at the Broomfield Event Center.
A request for comment from Strikeforce Vice President Mike Afromowitz was not immediately returned but the release indicates that one of the featured matches on the show will pit hometown hero Duane “Bang” Ludwig against Sammy Morgan.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com was able to confirm the matchup with Morgan’s trainer, Mike Reilly of Team Bison in Minnesota. Morgan is scheduled to fight Fabricio Camoes for EliteXC this Friday during a ShoXC event.

The release also indicates that both Phil Baroni and Frank Trigg will be involved in a “Superfight.” However, it is unclear from the release whether they will be fighting each other or compete in separate bouts. Five Ounces Of Pain contacted Trigg for comment via e-mail and he indicated that he is not scheduled to fight Baroni adding that the two currently compete in separate weight classes.

I think this is great, as it is in my backyard and I have been awaiting promotions to take advantage of MMA's growing appeal by heading out into new markets. This is key to gaining a certain level of success. I think, for example, the IFL really missed the boat by not spreading out and exposing their product to new audiences. Regardless of the business side, I will be there, cage side, supporting MMA and my school's Muay Thai instructor "Bang" Ludwig.

How UFC should pay their fighters

BJJDenver — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:49:31 -0000

Let me start by saying I am no advocate for fighters or promotions. These guys are grown ups and have the option of not signing any contract. That said, I do think the UFC holds almost all the power and sometimes takes advantage of their position. I'm just not as militant about it as some fans.

So we know that PPV is the main revenue source for the UFC and I'm going to use a number of 500,000 buys for this topic. So my system, is to pay the fighters based on their appearance on the card, the fights position on the card and how many buys the card gets.

So, lets say this

Headliner and main event, often a title fight:

Winner gets $1.00 per buy ($500,000)/Loser gets $.50 per buy ($250,000)

Fight #2, sometimes co-headliner, but smaller draw, often contender fight:

Winner gets $.20 per buy($100,000)/Loser gets $.10 per buy ($50,000)

Fight #3, 4 and 5, usually up and comers or contender vs. easier opponent:

Winner gets $.08 per buy ($40,000)/Loser gets $.05 per buy ($25,000)

Swing fight, usually a TUF guy or hard luck type:

Winner gets $.06 per buy ($30,000)/Loser gets $.03 per buy ($15,000)

Now we all know that the other 5-7 fights usually make it on the card. Not all of them, but usually at least a couple. These guys are frequently getting $3,000-$8,000 per fight, so I say if they make it on the broadcast, they automatically double the pay. So If a fighter was contracted for $5,000, they would automatically switch to $10,000. And I would have no problem with a $5,000 minimum to fight at all.

Dana is pretty good about handing out bonuses, and they should definitely do that still, rewarding the guys that really get the fans excited.

So, let's add it up, slightly over $1,000,000 for a 500k ppv, excluding bonuses. Seems to be about right, fighters performing make more money and fighters who don't, slip down the pay scale. The numbers are just examples, and if you think they should have a higher overall payroll, you could easily double the payouts and be around 2 million in salary.

Examples:

A guy like Roger Huerta, who has gained popularity, fans and had some entertaining fights. He has worked his way up to main card and title contender, yet is still paid like a UFC newcomer. No doubt he is becoming more of a draw and the UFC is getting him for the cheap. With this system, he would be in line to make a much higher salary than on a straight contract, basically getting paid for his performance.

Let's say Brock Lesner loses to Herring. The UFC still has him as a highly paid fighter, yet so far an under performing one. Next time out, he slides down the card, fights a lower level fighter and wins. He still gets good money and the UFC isn't on the hook for huge bucks, thus less likely to release him before he lives up to the hype.

Same thing could go for Affliction and Tito. He thinks they will sell 500k in ppvs because of him, so let him sign for $2.00 per buy, which would pay him 1 million if he meets his prediction. They will probably sell a minimum of 100k ppvs, so if that is the low end, they only are out $200,000, which is still a decent payday.

Like I said, you can adjust the scale, have minimums or do some other things, but the main point is, fighters aren't stuck in low paying contracts and the promoter isn't stuck with a ridiculous payout for under performers.

You might say, well they will put guys down the card so they don't pay them as much. Why? They will be paying it to someone, and they won't want to hold down their rising stars. Guys like AA will have a better guaranteed minimum, so they will be less likely to bury them.

Obviously not perfect, but what do you guys think?

What Affliction did or can do right...

BJJDenver — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:35:08 -0000

Ok, so many of us have spent the last couple of days pointing out the faults and downside to the first Affliction show. I think we may have taken the easy route, so I have decided to note a few things they did correctly or could correct easily for the next card.

-THE RING. I personally liked it. I enjoy having the opportunity to watch fights in a ring, as well as a cage. While it may be to their benefit to switch to a cage for fans that believe it is the only surface for mma, I hope they stick with the ring. The large surface greatly kept fights off the ropes and reduced the amount of clinching against the sides, a huge problem in the UFC, imo.

-BIG FIGHTERS. They did have some of the top guys in the world and hopefully spread the awareness of how good guys like Arlovski, Fedor and Barnett, actually are. Many newer fans of mma have little knowledge of these guys and how exciting they can be. Plus, they have Aleks, one of the most entertaining fighters around.

-BIG FIGHTS. So they weren't on this card, but they are there for the future and may now be even more appealing. If they can get Couture in action and add Fedor/Barnett, Fedor/AA and so on, they can be home to some of the most historic matches in mma history.

-NOT A BUNCH OF FLUFF. One thing I dislike about UFC cards, is the amount of filler between fights. For the most part, Affliction moved quickly from fight to fight. And there was no preview for crap like Never Back Down.

So it wasn't ALL bad, but some certainly was, and here is where they can improve quickly.

-ANNOUNCERS. Trigg, Glazer and Big John, have potential. That said,
they are missing a personality along the lines of Bas Rutten or Mauro Ranallo.

-MUSIC. Yeah, the live crap, lol. Megadeth was pretty bad and I think this is just something that needs to be eliminated. There really is no reason for it, and it seemed to distract from the show. Props to them for trying it, but learn and change. Eliminate bands and DJs from mma shows.

-PRODUCTION. I know it was their first show, but it was very generic. I would like to see some medium ground between UFCs slick, straightforward production and Pride's theatrical, over the top shows. Give it some character, but not so much it takes away from the fights.

-BIG FIGHTS. I know that most of us expected Sylvia to put up more of a fight, but the main events need to be a little better from here on out. Fedor/Randy, Fedor/Barnett or Fedor/AA for example.

-LIGHTER WEIGHTS. America loves heavyweights, but the most entertaining fights are usually at lower weights. Plus the talent pool seems to be much deeper as you drop in weight classes. They need to start building their roster and soon, so they avoid running out of big fights to soon.

These are just a few thoughts about Banned and where they can go from here. I have bashed them pretty hard, but in this market, my expectations are fairly high. I spend a lot of money on training and as an mma fan, so I expect a lot in return. I am hardly condemning them and expect them to improve in their next outing, which I most likely will purchase again.

One last note. To those of you comparing Affliction: Banned to UFN:Silva/Irvin...don't. You are comparing a long planned ppv card to a hastily produced free card. If you want to compare, then use any recent or upcoming UFC ppv. And if you want to see great production from a "new" promotion, check out Dream 5. Alvarez/Kawajiri was awesome! Unfortunately, this also showed why one night Grand Prix tournaments are little more than a fun time.