SB Nation User Blog: Nick Travaglini

Making a case for a Wanderlei Silva / Rich Franklin rematch

Nick Travaglini — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 23:21:50 -0000

Let me get it out of the way now, I am an unabashed Wanderlei fan for life. He is by far my favorite fighter, the one who got me into the sport when I started watching Pride events back in 2000-2001. As such, this may come off as one-sided argument by an obviously partial fan looking at the situation through rose colored glasses. But I believe that a legitimate case can be made for a rematch of this fight.

Three things jumped out at me at the conclusion of this fight. One, judging overseas has been and continues to be horrendous at best. How anyone can score that fight 30-27 for Franklin is beyond me. Wanderlei obviously won the second round in my eyes, the first and third could be left for interpretation. Second, Wanderlei looked old in this fight. There was an obvious drop off between the Rampage Jackson fight and now. But this point leads to my third point. Wanderlei was visibly the slowest he has ever been in this fight with Rich Franklin. With the realization coming out that he cut 12lbs to make weight on weigh-in day, and never having cut before, he will never be an effective fighter at 185lbs.

The argument is that Wanderlei is well past his prime and all his accumulated damaged over the years is starting to rear its ugly head, that Wanderlei was old and slow Saturday night and its to be expected. But lets examine his UFC fights. He lost a fight of the year candidate decision to Chuck Liddell a year and a half ago. He came back to absolutely obliterate Keith Jardine last May. He then lost a bitter rematch with Rampage Jackson where he got caught throwing wild by a guy who’s hands have improved by leaps and bounds since they had last fought in 2004. Up until that point, his speed and footwork had actually looked improved.

If anyone has ever cut weight, you know what toll it takes out of your body. It can drain you well into the next day if you do not deplete and replenish yourself correctly. With plans of making a bigger drop to 185lbs down the road and still come to the weigh-in at 207lbs leads me to believe that Wanderlei was either not taking his weight cut seriously at all, or he was getting bad weight cutting advice from someone in his camp. The evidence that he had a bad cut was right there at about the three minute mark of the first round, when he looked completely gased out already. Any Wanderlei fan knows that although there are more than a few flaws in his game, conditioning is not one of them.

All things considered I would say that if the UFC actually has Wanderlei’s best interests at heart, which I know is a suspect idea, they would logically see that a drop to 185lbs is not the move for him. A rematch at 205lbs for himself and Franklin offers immediate answers for both fighters futures.

Wanderlei fights at his true weight class and stands an excellent chance of steal a highlight reel knockout and making himself a viable commodity for the foreseeable future. Franklin fights at 205lbs which keeps him far enough away from Anderson Silva for the time and also gives Franklin another viable fight at another dead end weight class for him. As good a fighter as Franklin is, the two fighters that dominated Franklin in his career occupy the two top spots in the two divisions that he can populate. As long as Lyoto Machida is the Light-Heavyweight champ and Anderson Silva is the middleweight champ, Franklin is not a true contender at either weight class. In the absence of a legitimate title run, they need to make viable and interesting fights for a guy who could easily get lose in the shuffle. One of those fights is a rematch with Wanderlei Silva.

I know a lot of my logic depends on how much mileage Wanderlei truly has left in the tank. I saw a fighter in the third round with a lot left to give to this sport, with the proper shepherding. I think the first step in that process is a rematch at 205lbs with Rich "Ace" Franklin.

Quick fun fact!

Nick Travaglini — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:21:00 -0000

The UFC has recycled the name "Redemption" for UFC 97. The first time is was used was at UFC 17. Who is the only fighter who will have appeared on both cards, UFC 17 and UFC 97 Redemption?

Chuck Liddell.......Its was Chuck's first pro MMA fight and it was against Noe Hernandez and he won by decision.

UFC 17 was also Highlighted by Dan Henderson's first UFC tournament win and Frank Shamrock kneebarring Jeremy Horn.

Kron Gracie x Yan Cabral EUROPEAN JIU-JITSU 2009 Rickson's son Kron in the finals of the 2009...

Nick Travaglini — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:19:08 -0000

Kron Gracie x Yan Cabral EUROPEAN JIU-JITSU 2009
Rickson's son Kron in the finals of the 2009 European BJJ championships. Kid is good.

Ricco Rodriguez vs Andrei Arlovski

Nick Travaglini — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:58:39 -0000

Ricco Rodriguez vs Andrei Arlovski

UFC Holiday Tag Rough Cut

Nick Travaglini — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:29:56 -0000

UFC Holiday Tag Rough Cut

Nick Travaglini — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:05:02 -0000

UFC Holiday Tag Rough Cut

Tito Ortiz is like a bad nightmare

Nick Travaglini — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:28:15 -0000

I am a Tito Ortiz fan. Knowing that piece of information should put into perspective where I am at mentally when i say I was actually glad that Tito had finally fought his last fight in the UFC. I was so tired of the Tito-Dana baloney that I figured, like a spurned girlfirend, we could all move on with our lives. But like a nightmare you can't wake from, Tito might be back AGAIN!

"Don't be surprised if Tito Ortiz's last fight is with the UFC. Sources close to the situation have informed us that despite being courted by several other organizations, Ortiz apparently prefers to finish his career with the organization he started it with and is currently considering possible fight offers from the UFC."

It goes on to state who they have offered and even so far as to say that he is possibly two fights away from a TITLE SHOT by virtue of his split decision victory over Forrest Griffin and his draw with Rashad Evans. If Evans would happen to defeat Chuck Liddell at UFC 88, things would fall in place for Tito. Just when you think he's out, they pull him back in!

I really wouldn't mind having Tito back in the fold at LHW if he and Dana could promise to keep the cat-fighting to a minimum. It exhausts me listening to those two argue, and more importantly it takes away from the sport.

Calling out Mirko CroCop

Nick Travaglini — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:23:09 -0000

Calling out Mirko CroCop

It seems MMA fans have let Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic (23-6-2) off the hook. Quotes from Mirko yesterday are hitting the blog sites and the smell of horse manure is starting to stink up my computer:

“My goal is to become the first heavyweight champion in DREAM and to do that I need to be ready to fight on September 23 [when DREAM.6 is scheduled to take place]. I'm not interested in summer time, vacations or things like that; I'll focus on getting back to shape and hopefully I'll fight in September. I would really like to fight Alistair Overeem, we all know why and I won't let it go. My career is far from being over, I'll be fighting some strong competitors soon again and hopefully I'll meet Fedor in the ring once more in 2009.”

Does anything stand out to you here? Does no one remember his Parting shot to fans back in February of this year? Let me refresh your memory for you:

"I have already mentioned that I will take part in three fights for DREAM and that then I will return to the UFC," Filipovic told the website javno.com. "And to all Internet know-it-alls, I say to put gloves on and to enter the ring or the cage themselves before insulting (any) fighter. I repeat, I am not avoiding the UFC, and will come back by the end of the year."

Well Mirko, all of us internet-know-it-alls are calling bull$hit on you not running as fast and as hard as you can from the UFC and its weak heavyweight division. From the sounds of you yesterday, you have no immediate plans to make an attempt to return to the UFC by the new year, and quite frankly you sound very comfortable where your at and have long term plans for your stay in DREAM. It does not sound like the fighter who proclaimed he needed to “fight more” than the UFC could offer. One 56 second fight since February and a second tentatively scheduled for September does not seem like a schedule that the UFC could not have matched.

I am a CroCop fan. I want to see the Mirko of old head kicking the crap out of the competition. But I cannot stand people who lie, especially to the fans. A multitude of reasons could have explained his absence from the promotion, but to claim inactivity and a deviated septum as your issues and continue to present the same general malaise towards fighting that you showed in America is inexcusable.

Making some sense of the Light-Heavyweight Division

Nick Travaglini — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:03:45 -0000

Making some sense of the Light-Heavyweight Division

Well, another UFC has come and gone, and the muddy waters of the UFC light-heavyweight division have gotten murkier. This is like a convoluted night-time soap opera. Trying to figure out who stands where without a true ranking system is becoming a sport unto itself. Well, I am just going to use good old-fashion wins and losses with some ingenuity and common-sense to attempt to sort out this mess as best I can. I am sure no one will agree with my assessments. But it wouldn’t really be MMA if everyone did agree now would it?

After the dubious and somewhat controversial win by Forrest Griffin (16-4 ) over former LHW champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (28-7), Forrest will most likely ascend to the top of the rankings. As the champ, he gets to be matched up first. If I had my own personal preference, I would like to see an immediate rematch between Forrest and Rampage. I think it makes the most sense considering the circumstances surrounding the first fight. But since this is the UFC, let us assume common sense is out of the picture for a minute.

Forrest will probably fight one more time this year, even though he seems to have sustained minimal damage from his tussle with Rampage. His possible match-ups seem to be Chuck Liddell(21-5), Lyoto Machida(13-0), and Rashad Evans(11-0-1). I do not think Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1) will be included in this group for two reasons. One, he really needs one more win to justify a title shot, he does not have enough time to squeeze in two fights between now and the end of the year. And the second reason is as teammates I think they will put off fighting each other until all other options are exhausted.

If Liddell beats Evans in September, he makes the most sense for Forrest’s first title defense. The Story line of Chuck being Forrest’s coach on the Ultimate fighter TV show, along with the added attraction of getting the two most popular fighters in the promotion in the same cage are a virtual slam dunk. And style-wise they match up well, very similar to the fight he had with Rampage. This fight makes the most sense outside of a rematch with Rampage for the fans and for the promotion as it is probably the one fight that could eclipse the Tito-Chuck fight for PPVs and ticket sales.

One fighter does have something to say about this though, and that’s Rashad Evans. He is the only one in this group that may control his own fate. If he beats Chuck in September and sustains minimal damage, he is almost guaranteed a title shot. Even Dana White with his convoluted logic will have a hard time denying Rashad’s undefeated record a shot at the champ. This is maybe the least attractive fight with the biggest downside, as Evans is somewhat of a boring fighter and has not proven he can draw yet for the UFC. It will be fun to watch Dana try to talk his way out of this if Evans beats Liddell and the UFC decide to try and deny him a title shot.

Machida is maybe the most intimidating opponent for Forrest on paper, as his unorthodox fighting style is giving opponents fits and the rest of the fighters in his class a sudden list of excuses not to fight him. He also flaunts an unblemished record and notable wins over Tito Ortiz and Sokoudjou. Machida’s karate point-fighting style is boring fans and confusing opponents. A matchup with Forrest promises to be a snore fest as Forrest is not known for his knockout power and likes to attack in bunches and back out of the pocket. This would be a chess match for hardcore fans but not appealing in the slightest to the casual fan. This fight would be a last resort and in my opinion a few fights away for Forrest in the event he successfully defends his title.

In an effort to abbreviate this process I am going to list the future fights I think should happen in the division. These fights would go a long way towards sorting out a pecking order in the LHW division of the UFC. I welcome suggestions and criticisms as I do not pretend to have all the answers, just more questions in the end.

Forrest Griffin vs Chuck Liddell- (Assuming Chuck beats Rashad Evans)- for reasons listed above

Rampage Jackson vs Lyoto Machida- I am assuming that he will not get a rematch right away and will need one fight before a rematch is presented. I like this match up for both fighters. A win for Rampage justifies a rematch for the title immediately. Rampage’s aggressive style and power might be the foil for Machida’s striking game and at minimum will push Machida to engage and make an exciting fight for once.

Wanderlei Silva vs Sokoudjou- Wand needs one more victory to push him to the front of the line for a title shot and this one is it. Sokoudjou likes his opponent to set the pace and seems to be a fighter who steps up to competition as well as steps down. Wanderlei will bring the best out of him.

Thiago Silva vs Andre Gusmao- I know Thiago was rumored to fight Wand, but in my opinion the UFC needs to nurture one of these two for a future high caliber opponent. Add in the fact that Thiago has not shown that he is ready for the upper echelon of the division just yet, and this fight makes sense. Gusmao has potential galore, and if he beats the undefeated Thiago he has instant credibility. And If he loses its his first loss in a young career, will be easy for him to bounce back from, and can still be a contender down the road.

There are a few wildcards in all of this. Injuries to maybe the most talented fighter in the division, Shogun Rua(16-3) make his future very questionable. I would not expect to see him back until 2009. The beating Keith Jardine(13-4-1) took from Wanderlei Silva is not something fighters come back from easily. I think Jardine takes some needed time off to get his marbles together in his head. Then there are two migrations from the middleweight division, Anderson Silva and Rich Franklin. They are both getting showcase fights and both fighters say they are taking it one fight at a time. They are most definitely players in the division down the road. Finally, there is Brandon Vera. No one is denying his talent, but he is having trouble putting it all together in the ring as of late. A drop to LHW was almost forced on him for his own good, and after this showcase fight on July 19th, could instantly become a contender as well.

I think I am more confused now then when I started this article. This is the most talented and exciting division in the sport, and should be publicized as such. The ferris wheel keeps going around and where it stops nobody knows. And that is why this is the greatest combat sport in the world.

My Scorecard: Rampage WON!

Nick Travaglini — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:40:40 -0000

My Scorecard: Rampage WON!

I feel like a lonely man on an isolated Island, but I scored this fight for Rampage Jackson. I have only seen the fight once, and this is my initial reaction, but I thought it important to get this down in print first. I scored this 48-47 or 47-47, depending on if you score the second round 10-8 for Forrest, and I couldn’t argue with that score. At worst this was a draw in my book, and I think I am going to need someone to explain to me how Forrest’s kicks scored more than Quinton’s power shots. That seems to be the only reason why Forrest won as far as I can tell, and quite frankly I think Rampage did more damage than Forrest did to him. The first two rounds were definitive, but the last three are open for interpretation. I scored the first, third, and forth rounds decisively for Rampage. Forrest won the second and probably the fifth, and if he got a 10-8 round in the second the worst this should have been was a draw. I am not declaring a complete disaster here, I definitely need to re-watch this a few times before I can confidently confirm or deny my initial thoughts. I know I am probably in the minority here, but I just wanted to know if anyone else sees it like I did. I think the bottom line either way, the rematch has to happen and very soon.

P.S. One more thing, I can't make up my mind of Rampage fought that badly or is Forrest really that good? Thoughts?