SB Nation User Blog: Brett Jones

Super Hulk Tournament Announced for DREAM.9, Jose Canseco to Participate

Brett Jones — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:27:31 -0000

In what may be the greatest news in the yet young history of Mixed Martial Arts, a catchweight tournament "Super Hulk Tournament" has been added to May 26th, 2009's DREAM.9 event. It's a shame that this tournament, which is being called "the tournament to end all tournaments" will overshadow the second round of DREAM's catchweight ("featherweight") tournament, but it does, and how. Here is the line up, courtesy of Nightmare of Battle

Super Hulk Tournament 1st Round Fights:
Minowaman vs. Bob Sapp
Jan "The Giant" Nortje vs. Sokoudjou
Gegard Mousasi vs. Mark Hunt
Choi Hong Man vs. Jose Canseco

That's right: the man who outed the steroid problem in baseball, who famously played a ball off of his abnormally large dome to cost the Texas Rangers a home run, will reportedly fight Hong Man Choi in what would far and away be the greatest freak show match in this history of MMA. I say "reportedly," as I have great doubts about Canseco's involvement in this tournament. I'm sure he could use the money, but he's not promoting anything at the moment, and let us not forget the pounding he took in an exhibition boxing match against Vai Sikahema. What business, then, would Canseco have stepping into a ring with a K-1 fighter?

Perhaps that match won't happen. Perhaps it's all just a publicity stunt where Jose Canseco is much more popular in Japan than I imagine him to be. Or perhaps Minowman will just wind up fighting the seven cardboard cut outs. I'll take the cutouts by heelhook, round one.

Additionally, it looks like Gegard Mousasi will be moving up to heavyweight a bit more quickly than he had planned, facing another K-1 veteran in Mark Hunt. It's interesting to me that Moussasi would fight on the same event where his vacated Middleweight title will be contested, and while a title defense against Jason "Mayhem" Miller would have been compelling, Mousasi's move up, at a time when he seems to be at the top of his game, is at least equally compelling. Hunt, in his most recent fight, was knocked out by Middleweight fighter Melvin Manhoef, who took the fight on short notice. Prior to that contest, Melvin was forced to submit at the hands of Mousasi. Obviously, that means Mousasi will beat Hunt via MMA Math.

Also of note is the return of Sokoudjou to Japan, where he ~~fooled everyone into thinking he was a legitimate contender~~ seemingly legitimized his place in the Light Heavyweight division, knocking Ricardo Arona out after having done so to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at PRIDE 33 in Las Vegas, NV. He'll take on Jan Nortje, who most recently upset the homecoming of Bob Sapp, defeating his fellow tournament participant on the Strikeforce at the Dome event in Tacoma, WA in 2008. The rest of the (finalized?) DREAM.9 card is as follows:

Lightweight Fight:
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. J.Z.Calvan

2nd Generation DREAM Middleweight Title Fight:
Ronaldo Jacare vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller

Featherweight GP Quarterfinal Fights:
Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto vs. Joe Warren
Masakazu Imanari vs. Bibiano Fernandes
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Hiroyuki Takaya
Abel Cullum vs. Hideo Tokoro

art via nightmare of battle.

UPDATE Unsubstantiated Rumor: KJ Noons Signs With UFC, Debut Set for 4/1 Against Melvin Guillard

Brett Jones — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:22:20 -0000

Promoted to the front page from the FanPosts by Luke Thomas. Editor's note: I have no evidence to suggest this scoop is manufactured, but I've had some concerns about the accuracy of some of the claims coming from MMABay. I am not trying to be adversarial, but until this story is corroborated by another source I have some suspicions.

Michael Pepper of MMABay has the rather large news on this relatively small competitor:

The UFC are set to sign one of the hottest free agents in MMA in KJ Noons, the former EliteXC lightweight champion, MMABay can EXCLUSIVELY reveal.

Noons was stripped of the title last year after refusing to defend it in a rematch against former UFC fighter, Nick Diaz. His contract expired last week, making him one of the most wanted free agents on the MMA scene.

Rumour has it that the former pro-boxer could debut at UFC Fight Night 18 against Melvin Guillard. With Noons one of the best strikers in the lightweight division, he could very well make a massive impact in an already stacked division.

Just a few months ago Noons was complaining that Gary Shaw had forgone an agreement to promote Noons boxing career, something which he seemed very serious about perusing after his falling out with EliteXC. With this announcement, it appears Noons has decided to go in a different route, throwing himself in the mix with some of the very best lightweight fighters in the MMA world.

It's no secret that Noons' strength is his stand up. Hence his stated interest in returning to boxing. Noons was able to force a doctor stoppage by bludgeoning Nick Diaz about the face, and earned a quick TKO victory over former UFC and EliteXC Lightweight contender Yves Edwards. Those, of course, are two solid wins for any fighter to have on their resume, particularly one who is still relatively new to the sport as is Noons, who holds just a 7-2-0 record in MMA competition.

Now that Noons has signed with the UFC, two very important questions come to mind. First, is Noons the truth, or was he merely a large fish in a small pond? Second, will the Noons/Diaz feud extend to the Octagon, leading to a match against Nate Diaz? The former we should find the answer to relatively quickly. Hopefully, the latter will be answered both quickly and affirmatively as well.

(art via www.fcfighter.com)

UPDATE: A source close to Noons says the rumors are false. Yet another reason never to believe anything from MMA Bay. And you can quote me on that, take it to the bank and cash it.

UPDATE 2: I am hearing from another source that the rumor of Noons fighting Guillard did not come from anyone within Noons' camp. Stay tuned.

WEC Adding Flyweight Division

Brett Jones — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:35:40 -0000

Promoted to the front page from the FanPosts by Cannon Jacques.

When I asked Luke to discuss Flyweights, I did so thinking that it would be a good way for people to better understand a division in MMA that has little to no representation in the United States. My feeling is that aside from horse jockeys, you'd be hard pressed to find adult male humans who weigh 125lbs. or less in North America. Apparently, then, WEC is scouring racetracks (or, more realistically, SHOOTO), as MMAWeekly is reporting the organizations intention to introduce their own flyweight division this year:

MMAWeekly.com sources on Tuesday revealed that the WEC is adding a 125-pound flyweight division. With WEC 38 in San Diego just three weeks away, no 125-pound bouts are expected for that fight card. The promotion's next event, likely in March, is a more apt candidate to host the WEC's new commitment to flyweight fighters.

The addition of a flyweight division is interesting for a variety of reasons. While SHOOTO currently houses the world's best in the division, it's unlikely that the WEC will be able to build the division around a Shinichi Kojima or Mamoru Yamaguchi. This leads me to speculate that WEC's sights are set on 2008 Olympic Gold Medal wrestler Henry Cejudo, who competed in Beijing at 121lbs. Cejudo has reportedly been training at a boxing gym, however recent rumors suggested that Cejudo could have faced KID Yamamoto at the recent K-1 Dynamite event. Not only would Cejudo enter the UFC with the greatest wrestling credentials, he would also be an easier main-stream sell given his Olympic backstory and his ability to speak English fluently (a characteristic many of the division's early competitors will likely lack).

Regardless of Cejudo's involvement, the addition of the Flyweight division will add even more excitement to a brand known for entertaining cards, top to bottom. It will surely require a lot of promotion by ZUFFA to get the division off the ground, particularly if Cejudo is not involved, but the hardest of the hadcore fans are surely joining me in an ear-to-ear grin at the thought of some of the potential match ups we could see this year and beyond.

Melvin Manhoef to Replace Jerome LeBanner at K-1 Dynamite!! 2008

Brett Jones — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:55:36 -0000

Promoted to the front page from the FanPosts by Luke Thomas.

Japan-MMA has the scoop:

Last minute changes to the Dynamite card! Jerome is out due to the flu and FEG has been working hard to find a replacement, it is announced now that Melvin Manhoef steps in!!

With the tremendous weight difference between Manhoef and Hunt, and the fact that Hunt has at least shown that he's heard of ground fighting, it's going to be a tough road to hoe for Manhoef. Regardless of the outcome, Manhoef deserves a tremendous amount of respect for taking this fight on a day's notice. Credit should also go to FEG for finding a replacement fans could actually care about on such short notice.

(art via www.mmatko.com)

Mark Hunt v. Alistair Overeem at DREAM 5

Brett Jones — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:55:30 -0000

The Fight Network has the scoop:

Alistair "Demolition Man" Overeem (27-11-0) has been confirmed as the opponent for Mark Hunt (5-3-0) at Dream 5 from Osaka, Japan this Monday. Overeem confirmed the heavyweight bout with The Fight Network on Friday.

Overeem, a veteran Dutch kickboxer, was victorious over Tae Hyun Lee (1-2-0) at Dream 4 in June. He holds notable wins over Vitor Belfort (16-8-0) and Paul Buentello (25-10-0), both of whom will be competing at Affliction: Banned this Saturday. The seasoned Pride Fighting Championships star looks to extend his winning streak to three in a row against another fighter who is no stranger to the defunct Japanese promotion.
While Hunt may only have eight fights under his belt, he holds wins over some of the most established names in the sport, including Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1) and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (23-6-2). Since then, however, Hunt has been on a two-fight losing streak, last suffering defeat at the hands of Fedor Emelianenko (27-1-0, 1 NC) and Josh Barnett (25-5-0), two top-five ranked heavyweight fighters. In his first appearance for the Dream promotion, Hunt looks to rebound when he takes on "Demolition Man" at Osaka Castle Hall.

Quite the match up to put together at the last moment. While Hunt has done well for himself in his still young MMA career, Overeem seems to be fighting as well as he ever has.

This is a tough one for both guys on short notice. On the one hand, Hunt had been preparing for a fight, despite not knowing who his opponent would be, on the DREAM 5 show, so he may be in better fighting shape that Overeem. On the other hand, this is Hunt's first fight since losing to Fedor on New Year's Eve 2006. Overeem is not a top heavyweight, which Hunt had become accustomed to facing in PRIDE, but he is a dangerous striker, which will likely make this an exciting fight for as long as it lasts.

Big Announcement Next Tuesday, Not Tomorrow

Brett Jones — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:51:25 -0000

It looks like we'll have to wait a few extra days to learn what Dana White has in store. Dave Meltzer breaks the news:

The announcement today of the UFC action figures deal with Jakks is not the big announcement that has been teased all week. According to the UFC, that announcement will be made a week from today, and not on Thursday.

It seems we'll have to wait a bit longer for that mind-blowing announcement. On the plus side, now I have more time to finalize the brackets for my UFC action figure tournament.

Photo courtesy of Ralph Fountain.

Kimbo Slice vs. Brett Rogers in October

Brett Jones — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:36:29 -0000

This Fan Post was promoted to the front page by Nick Thomas.

So much for the notion that Rogers wouldn't get a shot at Kimbo. Michael David Smith of AOL Fanhouse has the news:

If that was Rogers' attempt to hype himself up as the next opponent for Kimbo, it worked. Slice appeared on Dan Le Batard's radio show today and said he'll fight Rogers next, "probably in October."

"They called me out, and now they got the fight," Slice said of Rogers and his camp.

One rumor suggested that Kimbo would take on current IFL Heavyweight champion Roy Nelson his next fight. By comparison, Kimbo v. Rogers is absolutely the better booking as I'm concerned. If Kimbo loses to Roy Nelson, sure, it was his toughest test in his young career and losing to a champion is no indictment on one's abilities. However, Nelson then goes back to IFL, and where is Kimbo left? In EliteXC, battling low level competition for his next handful of fights as Shaw and co. try to rebuild the aura of Kimbo.

With Rogers as Kimbo's opponent, it's a win-win-win for Kimbo, Rogers, and most importantly, EliteXC. Regardless of who wins, Kimbo or Rogers would come out as a significantly bigger star than they entered the match as, and would be the face of the organization going forward. Rogers could even become the "new Kimbo," while Kimbo would have beaten not only his toughest opponent to date, but an undefeated fighter with more than twice as many matches as Kimbo to his credit. From EliteXC's perspective, this will be a grudge match, which has historically been the biggest drawing matches in MMA. While this won't appeal to audiences in the same way as Ortiz v. Shamrock, adding this level on intriguing to Kimbo's already massive, albeit subdued, aura could make this event even more successful for EliteXC than last Saturday's.

All that having been said, I think it's clear that Kimbo will come in as the underdog for the first time in his career. At the very least, Rogers has as much power in his hands as Kimbo. Unlike Kimbo, Rogers was able to stop James Thompson inside of one round. While Rogers isn't known for his ground game, he was able to prevent James Thompson from taking their fight to the ground, something Kimbo struggled with mightily. Questions arise when comparing the chins of each fighter. We have yet to really see Roger's chin tested, while it's understood that Kimbo has a very durable chin. It's a safe bet that Rogers will test it nonetheless in October.

Photo credit: Combatlifestyle.com

Jenna Jameson uses pantomime to motivate boyfriend Tito Ortiz at UFC 84. HT: MMA Fight Girls

Brett Jones — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:35:22 -0000

Jenna Jameson uses pantomime to motivate boyfriend Tito Ortiz at UFC 84.

HT: MMA Fight Girls

Andre Gusmao (Finally) Signs with UFC

Brett Jones — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:35:39 -0000

Some folks may remember several months back when rumors had Andre Gusmao signing with UFC to face David Heath. The rumors ultimately wound up being false, but it appears that Gusmao signing with UFC was only a matter of time. MMA Weekly is repoting that Gusmao, a former IFL fighter on Renzo Gracie's New York Pitbulls, will debut at UFC 87 on August 9.

After almost signing with the Ultimate Fighting Championship earlier this year, it now appears capoeira and jiu-jitsu expert Andre Gusmao will finally make his debut for the promotion in August at UFC 87, as confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources inside Gusmao’s camp.

...

At this time no opponent has been named for Gusmao in his debut, but more fights for the Minnesota card are expected soon.

Gusmao brings an undefeated 5-0-0 record into the UFC, with all but one victories coming by TKO or submission. His addition to the UFC's roster brings yet another talented Light Heavyweight to an already stacked division.

Akiyama to Return at DREAM 5

Brett Jones — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:25:50 -0000

According to Sportnavi.yahoo.co.jp, Yoshihiro Akiyama will return to competition at DREAM 5 on July 21. Akiyama will be competing for the first time since facing Kazuo Misaki at the Yarrenoka event on new year's eve. The match. initially declared a KO victory for Misaki, was later changed to a no contest, as it was determined that the kick Misaki used to end the fight was illegal.

No opponent for Akiyama has been announced.

The return of Akiyama in addition to the return of KID Yamamoto add to an already intriguing card, featuring a welterweight title fight between Nick Diaz and Hayato "Mach" Sakurai and the conclusion of DREAM's Lightweight tournament.

The full card, which looks to be one of the strongest of the year, below:

Yoshihiro Akiyama (10-1-0) v. TBD

Lightweight Tournament Finale - Participants:

Shinya Aoki (15-2-0) -or- Katsuhiko Nagata (4-2-0)

Eddie Alvarez (14-1-0)

Tatsuya Kawajiri (22-4-2)

Caol Uno (25-10-4)

Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto (17-1-0) v. Joseph Benavidez (7-0-0)

Nick Diaz (16-7-0) v. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (32-8-2) - Welterweight Title Match

Japan MMA