SB Nation User Blog: MMAEruption

Shogun, You Are the People's Champ

MMAEruption — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 06:10:50 -0000

(even the Google agrees!)

I normally don't complain much about close decisions. If a fight's close enough to go either way, odds are that I didn't remember every little thing that could have swayed the judges one way or the other. So why go crazy?

But tonight, there was zero doubt in my mind that Mauricio "Shogun" Rua beat Lyoto Machida. Shogun clearly won rounds 1, 4, and 5 by outstriking Machida. Round 2 was close and could have gone either way, and Shogun probably edged out Round 3.

Bottom line, Shogun won at least 3 rounds and the decision was crap. Machida's facial expressions said it all.

Shogun, you may not hold the light heavyweight belt, but tonight you proved that you are a true champion and a legend of the sport. After a loss to Forrest Griffin, two knee surgeries, and an underwhelming performance against Mark Coleman, just about everyone counted you out.

But you did the unthinkable tonight - you made the invincible Machida look not only human, but bad. And with that, you now have a bigger fan base than you ever did before. The judges may have made you a loser on the scorecards, but the fans know who the real champ is.

Dana, thank you for making an immediate rematch. (Dana seemed to make it clear that it will happen during the press conference)

And Shogun, you'll have the people on your side next time.

Poll

In your opinion, who won the Lyoto Machida/Shogun Rua fight?

Machida

42 votes

Too Close to Call

49 votes

Shogun

359 votes

450 votes | Poll has closed

10 More Fights I Want the UFC to Make Happen (with free Strikeforce bonus while supplies last)

MMAEruption — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:52:09 -0000

I recently wrote 10 Fights I Want the UFC to Make Happen, a Fanpost now famous for its revelation that 110 BE readers can't live without seeing Dustin Hazelett fight Paulo "Silva" Thiago.

In the spirit of that post, here are 10 more fights I want the UFC to make happen:

1) Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin - After being finished two straight times, Forrest needs a big win to get back into the title mix, and Rich Franklin would be a perfect fit. Franklin has a name among casual and hardcore MMA fans, and would surely like his own chance to defeat a marquee 205-pounder.

2) Joe Lauzon vs. Nate Diaz - This is the fight I really wanted to see on Season 5 of The Ultimate Fighter. Joe is a wild, wide-open type of fighter, but Nate has proven he can capitalize on overly-aggressive fighters. This would be perfect to headline an Ultimate Fight Night, and would almost certainly lead to a Fight of the Night award.

3) Kenny Florian vs. Hermes Franca - At times, Kenny's practiced a diet-Machida sort of elusiveness, but Hermes would push straight forward and make it a brawl. Can Kenny catch Hermes overextending himself? There's only one way to find out.

4) Randy Couture vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - Randy wants to go back down to 205, and he likes "interesting" fights - so why not put him up against Rampage? Randy may have come up short against Nogueira at UFC 102, but he still put on one hell of a show that night. Would Randy try to outwrestle Rampage? Stand and bang? Who the hell knows, but the anticipation for this bout would be incredible.

5) Thiago Silva vs. Brandon Vera - Is "The Truth" for real? After yet another lackluster performance at UFC 102, I say no. But against an aggressive striker that's only been out of the first round once in his UFC career, Vera would be forced to prove that he's not just taking up space on the main cards of PPV events.

6) BJ Penn vs. Josh Koscheck - One of my favorite fights of all time was BJ Penn/Matt Hughes 2. An in-shape BJ against a bigger, strong wrestler could be a recipe for an equally exciting bout. Koscheck isn't well-rounded enough to massacre Penn GSP-style. Rather, he's good enough to give the Prodigy one hell of a fight. If BJ gets tired of the lightweight division after the Diego fight, a fight with Koscheck is a definite possibility.

7) Tito Ortiz vs. Dan Henderson - You have one big wrestler and one smaller wrestler, with the latter having KO power that can end a fight at any time. Tito wants his world title back, and a win over Hendo would put him in the running. However, there's not much chance of this happening.

8) Eddie Bravo vs. Royler Gracie - In a stunning upset that some call a fluke, Eddie Bravo submitted Gracie by triangle choke at the 2003 ADCC tournament. Eddie would like to prove 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu critics wrong by fighting Royler in an MMA match. The UFC should try to make it happen. Casual MMA fans wouldn't care, but the BJJ world would go crazy for this fight.

9) Thiago Alves vs. Paul Daley - If both guys beat their next opponents (Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann), they should fight each other. Dana loves a good stand-up war, and there is no way these guys take it to the ground. Daley will have a hard time with Kampmann, but with his power, anything can happen.

10) Kurt Pellegrino vs. Roger Huerta - I'm beginning to think that Roger "I Want to Be An Actor But You Couldn't Tell By Looking At My IMDB Page" Huerta will sign a new deal with the UFC after his upcoming loss to Gray Maynard. Hollywood hasn't been kind to Huerta, and he still has a name in MMA. The aggressive Pellegrino would probably love to take it.

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

Special Strikeforce Bonus:

11) Nick Diaz vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller - Nick's gone on record saying he doesn't think fighters should do things like dye their hair and paint their toenails, and has complained about guys getting more publicity than him. Well, then he'll love to fight Mayhem, a guy with pink hair AND a show on MTV! The smack talk would be epic...

Poll

Can you live without seeing Kurt Pellegrino fight Roger Huerta?

Yes

171 votes

No

21 votes

192 votes | Poll has closed

10 Fights I Want the UFC to Make Happen

MMAEruption — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:03:57 -0000

Like many MMA fans, my aptitude test indicates that I'd be a good UFC matchmaker. What could possibly be more fun than coming up with great fights for the world to see? So in no particular order, here are ten fights I want to see happen in the UFC:

1) Anderson Silva vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic - The Spider is interested in fighting at heavyweight, so why not put him up happen against one of the best heavyweight strikers of all time? Sure, Cro Cop is past his prime, but he still packs a whallop with that left leg of his. This matchup could be especially hot if UFC pull of a show Japan. I also wouldn't mind seeing Anderson take on Cheick Kongo.

2) Randy Couture vs. Cain Velasquez - Randy likes interesting fights, and one with Cain would fit the bill. Cain is young, strong, aggressive, and one of the hottest heavyweight prospects in the sport. If Cain gets past Ben Rothwell, a match with the Natural should be on everyone's mind.

3) Brock Lesnar vs. Roger Gracie - Obviously, Roger Gracie isn't in the UFC, and there are rumors that he's ducked some fights, but just close your eyes and imagine seeing the headline UFC 1XX: Gracie vs. Lesnar. Like Lesnar, Gracie doesn't have a lot of MMA experience (2-0 with both wins by submission), but he is one of the greatest grapplers in history with record-setting performances at the BJJ Mundials and ADCC. It would be the biggest BJJ vs. wrestling match of all time.

4) Brandon Vera vs. Jon Jones - Brandon Vera's gone from hot prospect to big question mark. His lackluster victory over a slower and clumsier Krzystof Soszynski couldn't have pleased UFC management, who have already cut his reported fight purse by 70%. Does Brandon want to be a f*cking fighter? Let's find out by putting him up against Jon Jones, one of the hottest prospects in the light-heavyweight division.

5) Matt Hughes vs. Karo Parisyan - Due to injuries suffered a few years back, Karo never got his desired title shot against former welterweight champ Matt Hughes. Since then, Karo's star has taken a fall due to a knockout loss to Thiago Alves and a positive drug test after UFC 94. At the same time, Hughes' wrestling-focused game is clearly losing its effectiveness. This is a perfect "who still has it?" matchup.

6) Dan Henderson vs. Nate Marquardt - There's a big debate over which guy is more deserving of a title shot, and there's only one way to settle it - let them fight. Dan vs. Nate is more interesting than either guy taking on Anderson Silva anyway. This could be a perfect co-main event to the BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez fight in November.

7) Diego Sanchez vs. Kenny Florian 2 - Kenny Florian's improved quite a bit since he appeared on The Ultimate Fighter, where he fought at middleweight. But just how much has he improved? The best way to find out is to put him up against Diego, who creamed him at the original TUF finale.

8) BJ Penn vs. Gray Maynard - Gray is probably a couple of wins away from a title shot, but this dominant wrestler may be the only lightweight capable of giving the Prodigy a run for his money. BJ is worlds above Gray in terms of technique, but Maynard has outstanding physical strength and takedown ability. If Maynard murderizes Roger Huerta with an impressive finish at UFC Fight Night 19, his name should come up in title contention talk. The UFC could also work a student vs. teacher storyline - Gray got his start in the sport as a training partner for BJ, and was on Team Penn during TUF Season Five.

9) Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 2 - Frank Mir doesn't like people discounting his victory over Big Nog, who came into their UFC 92 contest with some serious injuries. Now that Minotauro is back on track with a big win over Randy Couture, let's give Frank Mir a chance to shut the naysayers up. I mean, I'm still trying to find somebody who cares about his upcoming bout with Kongo.

10) Dustin Hazelett vs. Paulo Thiago - I want to see these BJJ experts take it to the ground and attempt to tie each other in knots. Grappling wars with guys who go for the finish are awesome. They could even try a reverse Marcus Davis/Chris Lytle vow - the first guy to throw a punch is a pussy. We'd also get to see Thiago fight someone at his own level - not a top-5 title contender.

Joe Silva, you hiring?

Poll

Can you live without seeing Dustin Hazelett fight Paulo Thiago?

Yes

357 votes

No

120 votes

477 votes | Poll has closed

This video outlines Brock Lesnar's grappling training for his bout with Frank Mir at UFC 100....

MMAEruption — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:03:50 -0000

This video outlines Brock Lesnar's grappling training for his bout with Frank Mir at UFC 100. What's in it isn't news, but it was posted just two days ago and really shows that Brock had a superb plan to deal with Mir's BJJ game.

Did Florian and Sherk Mix Up Their Game Plans for BJ Penn?

MMAEruption — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:59:31 -0000

Let's give some props to Kenny Florian. For nearly four rounds, he hung in with the best lightweight fighter in the history of MMA. There's no shame in losing to BJ Penn, but watching Kenny's fruitless attempts to outwrestle BJ led me to one thought:

Did Kenny Florian and Sean Sherk mix up their game plans for BJ Penn?

At UFC 84 last May, BJ dominated Sean Sherk in what was essentially a boxing match. It was expected that Sherk would use his dominant wrestling to wear down the Prodigy. After all, BJ was a superior striker with excellent head movement, big power, and a rock of a chin - not to mention a reach advantage.

BJ has the best takedown defense in the game, but Sherk could tire out Penn and eventually begin scoring takedowns to squeeze out a decision. And if he exhausted BJ, a TKO victory wasn't out of the question.

It wasn't to be. Sherk stood and traded with Penn for the entire fight. At the end of round three, Sherk succumbed to a flurry of strikes and the Prodigy returned to Hawaii, lightweight belt and Sherk's blood in hand.

Bizarrely, this past Saturday at UFC 101, we saw Kenny Florian try to outwrestle BJ - precisely what the MMA world thought Sean Sherk would do

The best possible strategy for Kenny was to try to outpoint and frustrate BJ with kicks, and potentially go for a finish late in the fight when BJ wasn't so fresh and sharp. Kenny certainly had little chance of knocking out or submitting BJ - and even less of a chance of outwrestling him.

When Matt Hughes has trouble taking a guy down, that guy is a damn good counter-wrestler. Even GSP, the best wrestler in the history of MMA, had difficulty in taking a fresh BJ down. (of course that would change as BJ tired...)

But instead of playing Machida, Kenny tried to play GSP - a fatally flawed strategy for a guy who's just not a wrestler. Kenny' supposedly superior camp may have failed him strategy-wise by giving him a game plan fit for Sean Sherk.

I didn't give Kenny Florian a snowball's chance in hell of beating BJ Penn. But in MMA, there's always a chance, especially when a guy is well-trained and hungry to win.

Kenny couldn't exactly stand and bang with BJ given the disparity in punching power. But a focus on scoring points rather than physical domination would have made for a more competitive bout.

Poll

Did Kenny Florian Have a Bad Game Plan for BJ Penn?

Yes

128 votes

No

41 votes

169 votes | Poll has closed

The BJ/Kenny Song!

MMAEruption — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:16:45 -0000

The BJ/Kenny Song!

THQ to Expand Blockbuster UFC Franchise

MMAEruption — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:23:20 -0000

THQ delivered its first-quarter earnings report yesterday after the stock-market close, and as expected, UFC 2009 Undisputed was the main topic of discussion.

Here's what we learned:

1) Undisputed has sold 2.9 million units to date, echoing recent statements made by Lorenzo Fertitta. The game was the best-selling video-game title in the June quarter.

2) THQ is taking the UFC franchise to new gaming platforms including handheld ones, and possibly the Nintendo Wii. I personally feel the PS2 would make much more sense because of its huge installed base and the fact that third-party Wii games are a total crapshoot.

3) Just 30% of Undisputed sales were to international markets (Canada probably did well here), vs. about 50% for THQ's WWE franchise. Given the UFC's efforts to expand internationally, that 30% figure should grow significantly.

All in all, it's obvious that the UFC is THE hottest game franchise in the sports category. EA will have an awfully tough time coming up with something to match the UFC/THQ juggernaut, especially if the UFC signs some of the better free agents out there.

It's also worth nothing that the impressive 84 Metacritic rating given to Undisputed could go up next year - further boosting sales. This year's game was impressive but there is plenty of room for improvement by cleaning up the interface and menu systems, further finetuning the gameplay, and adding new fighters and features.

For example, it would be awesome to connect with other gamers online the day of a pay-per-view event to play through that night of fights. THQ could post the results to see how the results of simulated fights compared with the real ones. I'd also love to see a reasonably-priced WEC add-on, fighter entrances, more classic fights, and maybe even a Pride mode (not holding my breath on that last one).

Do you own the UFC game?

Yes

190 votes

No, but I plan on buying it

26 votes

No, and I don't plan on buying it

17 votes

233 votes | Poll has closed

Is Dave Camarillo Training Kenny Florian to Face BJ Penn?

MMAEruption — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:52:19 -0000

If you're like me, you receive plenty of Twitter updates from MMA fighters. Normally, I don't pay too much attention to them, but one from Kenny Florian took me by surprise:

Kenny_Florian View my new spoof film "Don't Pull Half Guard" Pt 1 - http://tinyurl.com/mwfz4u Pt 2 - http://tinyurl.com/nxydez 19 minutes ago from web

Of course, I clicked through to the videos, and what did I see?

A spoof film starring Kenny, and well-known BJJ trainer Dave Camarillo of the American Kickboxing Academy, in black face no less.

That struck me as pretty odd, since Dave is known to be buddies with BJ Penn, Kenny's opponent at UFC 101. They both came up in Ralph Gracie's BJJ academy in California, and even authored a book together, "BJJ Closed Guard" which you can see here.

Camarillo also briefly appeared in the Renzo Gracie Legacy documentary, helping BJ train for the Renzo fight.

So does it strike anyone else as odd that Kenny and Dave are so buddy-buddy right before UFC 101? Could Kenny have enlisted Dave for help with combatting BJ's monster ground game? Perhaps they were just goofing around after taping Time Warp, but you never know...

The video of BJ Penn jumping out of 3 feet of water onto the side of a pool just made the front...

MMAEruption — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:53:37 -0000

The video of BJ Penn jumping out of 3 feet of water onto the side of a pool just made the front page of Yahoo! and Digg.

Dana, Lorenzo, Frank Getting Rich(er) Off UFC Undisputed

MMAEruption — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 12:45:44 -0000

"We've got a lot of what it takes to get along!"

The Las Vegas Sun was kind enough to provide a transcript of a Q&A Session with UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta from the Fan Expo. He had some interesting things to say about UFC Undisputed: 2009:

Fertitta: "There is no such thing as banned, but this is something that does get under my skin and Dana's skin because when we had the opportunity to go out and build a video game who do you think the first people we called was? EA Sports… We sat in the room with them and I would have cut a worse deal just to be with EA Sports. I wanted them so bad. They looked at them and they told us they didn't think MMA was a sport. This was three years ago. They said the UFC was irrelevant and that we were wasting their time. So we went down the street and did a deal with THQ and they thought MMA was a sport. So we stick with the guys who stick with us. Now the UFC video game has been a massive success with three million copies sold. And guess what EA wants to do? They want to do an MMA game now… If you are young fighter coming up, it just makes sense to stay under the umbrella of UFC companies, sponsors and marketing to ensure yourself a cut of the action for the rest of your life."

So Lorenzo basically leaked out information that UFC Undisputed has sold a whopping three million copies sold, an amazing number. If you recall, Wall Street analysts predicted the game would move two million units in THQ's fiscal year, which ends next March. But the UFC and THQ have beaten that number by 50% in just a couple of months!

It's also notable that like Dana, Lorenzo is stressing loyalty over all else - this means that when the current UFC/THQ licensing deal ends in 2011, it will almost certainly stay with THQ. This lends credence to my view that EA should acquire THQ for the runaway success of the UFC Undisputed (it certainly doesn't hurt that THQ has some other very solid licenses and properties). EA's not going to get the license and not having a major brand name like UFC will hurt them big time in MMA.

As for my title, Zuffa is making a TON of money from UFC Undisputed. This game has already crossed the $100 million mark for THQ, and as with any video-game licensing deal, Zuffa is entitled to a piece of the action. One industry analyst pegs Zuffa's cut as 17%.

But even if its share is lower than that - Zuffa's going to make tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars from the video-game license over the long term.

Licensing dollars tend to be extremely profitable. Lending out trademarks, copyrights, and patents for money does not require much work or effort on Zuffa's part. That means the majority of that licensing revenue flows right down to Zuffa's bottom line.

Zuffa is a private company whose three owners keep what's left in the register each day. That means a huge chunk of the coming hundreds of millions of dollars in video-game licensing revenue will go right into the pockets of Dana, Lorenzo, and Frank.

So if you were wondering Frank is going to afford his new pad, the mystery is now gone!