First off, MMA Messiah touched on parts of this subject in his posting...

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/8/4/977549/the-lost-art-of-civil-debate

Another thing that has been issue lately from what I've seen is what is the definition of "fighter bashing" and what constitutes it.  Some people are getting reprimanded for comments about fighters while others are going completely unnoticed.  There should be a standard set in place that we should follow, no matter who the fighter is, if "fighter bashing" is going to be labeled as a "no no" on BE.

In all honesty, in my opinion, there is no way of dodging the "fighter bashing" problem.  If you are not speaking positively about a fighter and his abilities, then you are speaking negatively and if we can't voice negative opinions... what the hell is the point of posting here in the first place?  Its all about tone in your posts, the projection that you are conveying in your opinion or statement.

For example and this is only an example:

Fedor in my mind is running away from competition.  Given the quality level of fighters in the UFC HWY division, he could truly lay claim to his reign as the number 1 HWY, if not number 1 p4p fighter in the world.  The level of competition in Strikeforce in most ways is inferior to that of the UFC, outside of Rogers and Overeem, there is no one and not even those two can provide much competition.

The above posting is a negative posting in regards to the Fedor situation.  In essence, it is bashing him, but it is saying it in a respectful tone.

Fedor is scared and he is tucking dick and running away like a bitch.... Fuck Fedor. (sorry Luke, just using this to make a point)

That posting is also negative and its laced with foul language and malcontent.  This is fighter bashing and considering we're all adults here.... should be avoided and postings like this should be dealt with by the moderators.

Now, I enjoy a lot of the stuff that is posted on here.... mainly I love some of the sarcastic tone and jokes that you all come up with.  I think there is a difference between commenting to make others laugh and commenting to be destructive.... this line should be visible.  If the moderators are to consider policing the "fighter bashing" more appropriately.... there is no difference between Fedor Emelianenko and someone such as Antwann Britt.  You can't just protect your favorites but let everyone run wild on the guys that you don't like.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is the exact same thing your mom or wife says when you're arguing with them.... that is "watch your tone".

via www.combatsports.com

So, I had become a huge Fedor fan after seeing some great battles in Pride.  I thought this was a man who truly could beat whoever was put in front of him and that he truly wanted to fight the best.  Given the events of this week, I'm personally disgusted by the actions of Fedor Emelianenko and M-1 Global.

For those Fedor lovers and those that feel that Fedor and M-1 are not to blame, go ahead and skip this post w/ poll.

I currently own this shirt, I paid 65 bucks for it because I truly bought into the Fedor hype.... I'm not going to wear it ever again so what should I do with it?

 

End of poll:  I saw that the majority of people voted for the "dump and send" option, but I decided to take the higher road and donate to charity... along with all my other Affliction shirts which I'm afraid to admit how many I had and the money I wasted on them.  Oh well, hopefully someone less fortunate will find use in them.

Poll

What should I do w/ this Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko Affliction shirt?

24%

Do the honorable thing and donate it to charity or the homeless

80 votes

1%

Just throw it out

6 votes

5%

Burn it

18 votes

68%

Take a massive dump in it and Fed Ex it to M-1's Headquarters

228 votes

332 votes | Poll has closed

via evanmorgenstern.files.wordpress.com

 

 

 

 

I know with the vast knowledge of boxing that the posters of Bad Left Hook have... we could have "what if" tournaments all day long with infinite matchups that could be made, today I came up with a unique 4 man "what if they fought" tournament featuring the 4 main "villains" from the Rocky movies.  So... Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, Ivan Drago, and Tommy Gunn... lets see what the posters of BLH think of you.

 

Who would win?  In what fashion would they win?  What are the pro's and con's of each fighter?

Our first matchup: Apollo Creed vs Tommy Gunn

Well, I am thinking that I would have to give the edge to Apollo Creed in this one.  While Tommy Gunn has tremendous power, he never came off as an intelligent fighter with the right mental tools to go into the later rounds.  Apollo Creed would frustrate the hell out of Tommy Gunn with his speed and footwork in the early rounds and then take him out in the end.

In a 12 round fight... Apollo Creed wins by knockout in 10th round.

Our second matchup: Ivan Drago vs Clubber Lang

This is a fight that if it could have happened in the real world, I would pay whatever it took to see it live.  Both have ultimate power and technique, this would be the ultimate slug fest.  Ivan Drago would be able to take this one because he has no emotion and Clubber Lang was extremely emotional, that would be his downfall.

In a 12 round fight... Ivan Drago wins by knockout in the 6th.

Thats the opening bouts... figure I'll see what y'all say before nail down a final pairing.  Keep in mind y'all, this is for shits and giggles and the Rocky movies are epic in my mind.

Have fun!!

[Update] In the most humiliating beating since Tyson vs Michael Spinks, Apollo Creed moves to the finals over Tommy Gunn.... Creed gets 100% of the vote.

[Update2] In a grueling 12 round battle, Ivan Drago edges out Clubber Lang... reminiscent of Valuev vs Holyfield maybe?

Now in the finals: Apollo Creed comes back from the grave to avenge an exhibition loss to the "Siberian Bull" Ivan Drago.

Ivan Drago takes the tournament victory.... but ultimately gets his ass handed to him by Wladimir Klitschko 3 months later. 

According to Keith Kizer, the Executive Director of NSAC in a recent interview with MMAJunkie.com:

"We're trying to find out if there's a way to do limited instant replay." "We're hoping to find a way to do that."

"Actually [instant replay] was an idea years ago, and it just never went anywhere – mainly because of technology – but now I think we're finally there." "It has to be a foul or a stoppage that immediately ends the fight."

The outcome of the Al Turk vs Cro Cop stemmed this investigation as to whether instant replay could be implemented in MMA.  Imagine not just the Cro Cop fight, but a lot of the other fights that could have ended differently if instant replay was in effect in the past?

HT: MMAJunkie.com

Poll

Will this...

79%

Help MMA

150 votes

20%

Hurt MMA

38 votes

188 votes | Poll has closed

via static.flickr.com

Well, the game that we've all been waiting for 2 years (at least I've been foaming at the mouth since that video of Rampage and Iceman was released) has been out for a few days and I'm sure a lot of us has been able to tackle the Career Mode.  I'm curious to see or at least hear about what creations in fighters have been made...

What combos have worked best for the striking and grappling techniques?

Who's got the best looking created Fedor?

Any off the wall creations?

Praises or gripes w/ the Career Mode?

I'd be interested to see what y'all think...

via farm3.static.flickr.com

From Bisping's blog on UFC.com

Going off topic for just a minute... as a middleweight contender I feel I have to comment about the performance from Anderson Silva and Thales Leites from the weekend.

My teammate Cheick Kongo had another great win (well done mate!) on the card and I stayed up late to see him in action. I was very happy for him, I know how hard he worked and he richly deserves his success.

But I wasn’t impressed at all with the main event. You never want to disrespect fellow fighters, much less two contesting a UFC world title, but I think both guys should hang their heads in shame, quite honestly. Leites probably won the first two rounds but nothing happened in the fight.

I fought on the first card in Montreal last April, and the Canadians are tremendous supporters of the UFC. They deserved a hell of a lot better than they got from these two. I've seen more aggression from my fiancé when she hits the January sales.

It was very frustrating for me to be sitting on my couch seeing Anderson Silva, who keeps saying how he’s gone through the middleweight division. I would have fought harder than both of them put together, and so would a lot of other middleweights

 

 

Apparently not everyone is going to come to Anderson Silva's aid in this whole matter.  It doesn't surprise me since Bisping wants to be a challenger to The Spider's MW belt.... but this is a bold move in my mind and I'm more surprised UFC.com let him put this in his blog.  Should be interesting to see what may come of this since Wanderlei is calling Anderson out now.

 

So giving credit to where it is due needs to be given to Kid Nate for his book reviews that he does on BE.  I've recently gone back to training part time after about a year lay off and I wanted to get some extra knowledge before I stepped in against any "live" competition so I went to Nate's reviews of Mixed Martial Arts Striking by Anderson Silva and The Fighting System of the World's Undisputed King of MMA by Fedor Emelianenko.

I was going into reading these books thinking I'd pick up some tips to use, but after reading these books... I've found a much better and efficient way of fighting all together.  The striking techniques shown by both fighters are amazingly effective, the takedown and submission techniques (both offensive and defensive) of Fedor are simple to follow and utilize in sparring situations, and the movement techniques by Anderson Silva have opened angles and situations that never presented themselves to me in any prior Muay Thai/MMA competitions that I've taken part in.  After a year lay off, I'm not as "rusty" as I thought I'd be...now I just have to get my conditioning straight.

These two books are incredible and I highly suggest them to anyone who is interested in learning more.  I won't be competiting in any fights officially until after my daughter is born... but I'll be ready none the less and I'll definitely have some more tools in my arsenal that hopefully won't get me killed.

Thanx for the great work Nate and making these awesome suggestions...

via www.tatame.com

"I see (Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Renato) 'Babalu' (Sobral) out here running around slapping his lips," Ortiz said. "That might be a pay-per-view fight. After the fight they're going to be saying 'Baba-who?' So that's going to be good."

Ortiz did admit he'd like to have a little time to warm up first.

"I really think I need a tune-up fight before (a fight with 'Babalu')," Ortiz said. "I probably shouldn't be saying 'tune-up fight,' but I had major back surgery, and I have no more pain.

Tito Ortiz quote from an article on MMA Junkie

Blackout had some great footage of Tito and Babalu jawing at each other from the Strikeforce event this past Saturday, although it would be a great fight between Tito and Babalu.... you cannot look past Babalu's next opponent in Rafael "Feijão" Cavalcante.

"Feijão" is an incredible light heavyweight that trains with the likes of Anderson Silva and the Noguiera Bros among others.  Interviews with him are showing that he is incredibly focused for this upcoming bout with Babalu on June 6th at the next Strikeforce event that will also feature a catchweight fight between Jake Shields and Robbie Lawler.

"My goal has always been this, fight for a belt independent of the event I’m in. I’m training hard, I was already training hard and let’s go, I will be prepared for this fight", says Feijão, who trains with Anderson Silva, the Nogueira brothers and others great athletes. "I’m very well trained and at this time off I wasn’t without fight. When I went to the United States to fight for EliteXC’s title, and unfortunately it didn’t happen, we hired a sparring and I did five rounds against him, so that I wouldn’t be without fight rhythm", says.

"Feijão" interview from Tatame.com

"Feijão" has won his last 3 fights by first round KO's.  Of his 7 wins, 6 are by KO and his submission victory was a submission from punches and his lone loss was a DQ from an illegal kick so technically he hasn't been beaten.  Babalu is a huge step up in competition for him, but considering his training camp and the degree to which he has won his fights.... it maybe in Babalu's best interest to not look past "Feijão" and get his mind set on a clash with Tito.

F

via mmajunkie.com

rom a story on MMA Junkie:

A proposed lightweight bout between Gilbert Melendez (14-2) and late replacement Rodrigo Damm (8-2) will earn the winner an interim Strikeforce world lightweight title.

The Melendez vs. Damm fight is scheduled for the night's televised main card, which is headlined by a bout between Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz at a catch-weight of 179 pounds.

Thomson defeated Melendez and took his belt in the summer of 2008. The rematch was scheduled for Strikeforce's debut on Showtime this weekend, but Thomson pulled out of the bout in late March and recently had surgery for a broken leg.

This is a definite twist to this Saturday's Strikeforce event.  I guess Josh Thomson is going to be out for quite a while if Strikeforce is going this route.  I don't know much about Rodrigo Damm but Gilbert Melendez is a serious player.... I would have rather seen him rematch Ishida, but this will be good.