SBNation.com User Blog: dpk875

Bellator Summer Series... Losers Welcome

dpk875 — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:18:37 -0000

Bellator kicks off it's 2013 Summer Series on June 19th, and for the first time we will see Bellator drop the 8 man tournament format to run 4 man tournaments in the Heavyweight, and Light-Heavyweight divisions. Bjorn Rebney the Bellator CEO has taken some pleasure in pointing out that guys like Frankie Edgar, and Chael Sonnen were coming off of losses when they were given their most recent UFC title shots. He likes to talk about how fighters in Bellator have to earn their shots... OK. I'd like to see someone ask Bjorn why seven of the eight fighters in the HW, and LHW Bellator Tourneys this summer are coming off a loss, 6 by stoppage.

Heavyweight Vitaly Minakov is the only fighter who could come out of these tournaments and go into a Bellator title shot on more than a two fight win streak. What have these fighters done to even earn their way into a Bellator tournament? How is recycling the losers from previous Bellator tournaments immediately into another tournament any way to justify a worthy title challenger? It isn't, wouldn't it make sense for these guys to have to win at least one fight against some fresh talent to earn their spot... but that would make Bellator take it's eye off the prize which is getting King Mo a title shot by the most certain route possible.

HW: Rich Hale, and Vinicius Queiroz both lost in the last HW tourney. Ron Sparks lost by KO in 40 seconds at his last fight to Eric Prindle back in Oct 2011.

LHW: King Mo, Seth Petruzelli, Jacob Noe, and Babalu Sobral all were stopped during the last season LHW tourney.

HW: Rich Hale, and Vinicius Queiroz both lost in the last HW tourney. Ron Sparks lost by KO in 40 seconds at his last fight to Eric Prindle back in Oct 2011.

LHW: King Mo, Seth Petruzelli, Jacob Noe, and Babalu Sobral all were stopped during the last season LHW tourney.

Hitting the right Targets

dpk875 — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:01:33 -0000

A Freestyle wrestling event in Los Angles to stir up interest for the sport is a great idea. Celebrities, and some of the best athletes amateur wrestling has to offer were there to show their support for amateur wrestling. In addition it was the debut of a much improved rule set... but the event was missing one thing... the right demographic.

Hispanics are the fastest growing segment of the United States Population. Between 2000 and 2011 the Hispanic population in the United States grew by 48%, to around 52 Million people. In Los Angles county, 48% of the population is of Hispanic decent. So naturally team USA was wrestling Canadians, and Russians during this event, after the Iranians backed out at the last minute. Maybe they were still mad about the roll Hollywood played in "Argo." Anyone who has seen a USA vs. Mexico soccer game, or a popular Mexican boxer knows that Mexican fans can be among the most passionate in the world when it comes to supporting their country, and the sports that they love. Unfortunately it would not make sense to have the Mexican team compete against a powerful US, or Russian team on the mats today. Mexico has only had 3 Olympic wrestlers combined in the last three Olympic games, and have not won a single match. Two of the Three were actually born and raised in the USA, but used their parents heritage to qualify for the Mexican Wrestling team.

"Beat the Streets" is a great idea, but if you are trying to sell a product to a large, and growing ethnic group, it would be good if there was some Hispanic representation on the mats. Who could help sell this beside the current Mexican Wrestling team? Cain Velasquez, and Henry Cejudo are two well known wrestlers that come to mind. Both are children of Mexican Immigrants, had outstanding Amateur wrestling careers (I know Olympic Gold is much better than NCAA All-American, but both were successful) and are proud of their heritage. Another name comes to mind... Alberto Rodriguez, or as you might know him, Alberto Del Rio, the WWE Wrestler. MMA fans might know that he has a 9-5 record in MMA, and was head kicked into oblivion by Cro Cop back in Pride once. But he also once finished 3rd in the Junior World Championships in Greco Roman Wrestling, and was on track to participate in the 2000 Sydney Olympics before the support, and funding for the Mexican team dried up. Now he is one of WWE's biggest stars, and has a TV outlet for his voice, and message several times a week if they could get him on board with the campaign. From Brock Lesnar to Kurt Angle, WWE has capitalized on many amateur wrestlers over the years to bring in fresh talent for their roster, so they have some incentive to help the cause.

An improved Mexican wrestling team, would benefit USA Wrestling with a passionate, and close regional rival. Can you imagine the atmosphere in downtown LA, or Mexico City if there was a competitive match between Team USA, and Team Mexico, it would be electric. It will not happen over night, but USA wrestling should take some of the high profile opportunities it has to not only Save Olympic Wrestling, but potentially expand the sport among a growing demographic. It would also show that USA Wrestling, and the wrestling community is looking at the population trends, and how the sport can grow over the next 10-15 years.

Where are the 2012 Olympians?

dpk875 — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:59:54 -0000

The 2008 US Olympic team is making it's mark on MMA. I started to notice it when I saw a tweet from Ben Askren (11-0) a few month ago, pointing out that the 2008 US Mens Freestyle Wrestling team was 23-0 in MMA. Since then wins by Daniel Cormier (12-0), Steve Mocco (2-0), and Henry Cejudo (4-0) have pushed that mark to 29-0. If you want to add in the success of Ronda Rousey (Judo, 7-0), and Randi Miller (Women's FS Wrestling, 1-0) the mark of the 2008 US Olympic team is now 37-0 in MMA. Rousey is a UFC Champion, Askren a Bellator Champion, and Cormier won the Strikeforce HW Grand Prix, so it isn't a mark that has been made just bottom feeding and compiling wins. (If I've missed someone, please let me know)

This group of Olympians is also proving to be valuable to MMA as a whole because they are providing depth to some of MMA's weakest divisions. Cormier is the only real Blue Chip prospect to emerge at HW in the last 3 years, and could be fighting for the LHW, or HW title by this point next year. Steve Mocco is less than a year into his MMA career, but his extensive background in wrestling, and Judo should help him progress rapidly. Rousey has dragged Women's MMA into the UFC, and new heights based on her personality and talent. Cejudo will be the most exciting prospect in the UFC's flyweight division's short history when he signs with UFC, and could become it's first breakthrough star. The US team isn't the only one making an impact on MMA.. Satoshi Ishii the Japanese gold medalist in Judo, is 7-2, and honestly the 2 losses can be tacked up as much to poor management, and matchmaking as anything else. He is currently on a nice 3 fight winning streak, and could be in the UFC with 1 or 2 more wins.

A quick look back at the 2004 team shows a group of fighters who did not commit to MMA as much as the 2008 team, but found some success in the sport. It is understandable that the 2004 team was not as active in MMA out of the gate, because of where the sport was in 2004, compared to 2008. Steven Abas (Wrestling, 3-0), Rick Hawn (Judo, 15-2), Rulan Gardner (GR Wrestling, 1-0), Rhadi Ferguson (Judo, 3-0), and Sara McMann (Wrestling, 7-0) have put together an impressive resume in the sport, with the final book still to be written on McMann's career.

That being said, where are the 2012 Olympians? Most of the US Freestyle wrestling team seems happy in their current sport, and competed in the recent Beat the Streets events in New York and LA. Rumors have floated that Marti Malloy, and Kayla Harrison both Medalist in Judo might try MMA, but neither seems to have happened yet. Considering the impact that the 2008 team is having, is anyone else just a little surprised that nobody from the last Olympics is making the jump yet? Guys like Mocco, and Cejudo did not make the jump to MMA until they had failed to make the 2012 Olympics, so we still may see some athletes make the jump down the line.

Investing in the Sport

dpk875 — Sun, 05 May 2013 21:05:40 -0000

Back in 1980 there were 9 baseball players signed out of the Dominican Republic for an average of about $1200 per player. Now over 300 players a year get signed, with the best commanding Million dollar paydays while still 16 or 17 years old. Dominican players make up over 10% of the MLB roster, and 25% of the minor league rosters. There has yet to be a single MLB player from the country they share a border with, Haiti. Why? A commitment to scouting, developing, and a level of economic desperation to get out of a dirt poor country are a few answers. Starting in the early 1980's MLB teams began opening baseball academies where they could identify and train the best talent from an early age. Many of these academies have evolved from poor, run down facilities into modern complexes that would fit in with the spring training complexes used by major league teams. All along teams have fought to keep the MLB draft out of the Dominican so that each team does not risk losing on their investments to other teams

But this is an MMA site, so why should anyone care about baseball players from the Dominican Republic? It comes back to the growth of the sport, and expanding into countries without a strong MMA base and tradition. The first three that come to mind are China, India and Mexico.

UFC makes no effort to hide the fact that they want in on the sports market in the two most populated countries in the world. The Mexican, and Mexican-American communities have supported numerous boxers, and UFC would love to get some more talent on the roster in an attempt to gain some traction in this market. To this point they have been hindered by a couple of things, Lack of a major TV deal (which they are working on), and a complete lack of UFC level talent at any weight class coming out of the countries (Currently 2 x Chinese Fighters, and 1 x Mexican Born fighter on the UFC roster). The training camps, and regional fight scene infrastructure is just not there.

I think it would be in the UFC's best interest to use it's connections, and financial influence to improve the training and development infrastructure in some of these new markets. Some options that they have are

1.) Sponsor fight team partnerships. Work with Greg Jackson, Grudge, Rufus Sport, AKA, ATT, AMA, AllianceMMA, Alpha Male, Renzo Gracie, Serra-Longo, Tri-Star, Nova Uniao, etc... to develop working relationships with teams in these countries. A regular series of in-depth seminars, fighter, and trainer exchanges for a month or two at a time so that it really can mean something. UFC brought a handful of fighters from China back to Las Vegas to train for a month last year... why not expand this program, and formalize it with some of these top teams.

2.) Sponsor BJJ Black Belt, Muay Thai fighters, and Wrestlers to work in these gyms (Think of Jake Butler and how he found himself a job at EvolveMMA). Make sure these gyms have well rounded classes being offered.

- As far as the wrestling is concerned, this could be done in conjunction with the save Olympic Wrestling Campaign... why just try to save the sport, but try to expand it. Getting more kids onto a wrestling mat, will eventually get more kids into a MMA fight.

- Once the BJJ, Muay Thai, and Wrestling classes are established, UFC can work with the schools to hold competitions for each discipline, and Amateur MMA between their sponsored schools.

3.) Offer some money to these gyms so that they can keep their prices low, or even free for some students. Parts of India, China, Mexico, and many of the other targeted countries are depressingly poor... yet when you look at the Baseball model in the Dominican many of the players have a strong desire to improve their lives through sports. It also has shown through with some of the MMA fighters from Brazil (Palhares, and Aldo come to mind).

4.) For some gyms making a commitment might be just providing a TV, DVD player, and then DVD's of all the UFC, Pride, and Strikeforce fights. Jon Jones has talked about watching fights, and martial arts stuff on YouTube and then mimicking the moves in the mirror... why not use the extensive Zuffa video library to inspire a next generation that may not be able to watch on a regular basis.

5.) Work with regional promotions such as RFA, King of the Cage, Jungle Fights and Ring of Combat to identify top fighters from these countries and fly them in to compete at these shows for a step up in competition. It also never hurts to find out a guy might have issues with his Visa application before he is on a UFC poster.

6.) More and more quality, well rounded Mixed Martial Artist retiring on a monthly basis these days than ever before... where do they go for their next job? Not everyone can announce for UFC like Florian, and Sonnen or own their own gym. I think of guys like Keith Jardine, Jason MacDonald, Miguel Torres, Mark Hominick, Tim Credeur, Eric Schafer, Kyle Kingsbury, and Joe Stevenson who have a ton of skill and knowledge to pass on, but haven't made enough to retire for life off the sport (I know that a few of those guys have their own gyms... just throwing them in there as the type of fighter who could be approached). Maybe they would take advantage of a steady salary provided by UFC to go live in a foreign country for 3-6 months at a time and work with some of these teams while at the same time being UFC's eyes and ears on the ground for promising prospects.

The risk that UFC runs is that they will potentially be stealing title shots, and belts away from fighters from their proven markets in the North America, and Brazil. But on the other hand, if they hit it big with a handful of fighters from India, and China then they can break into two countries that have almost 1/3 of the world's population combined.

I think UFC really can make a decision on how quickly they want results, and contenders from these key markets. Countries traditionally rally behind their successful countrymen in sports, especially combat sports. Does UFC want to let MMA take it's natural course, or speed up the process. Do they want to wake up five years from now, and see Indian, and Chinese MMA at a level of where Irish MMA is now... where they are just starting to make in roads to the UFC? Or do they want to push the issue, and see more talented, skilled, and well-rounded fighters from the massive, and traditionally lucrative markets coming into the UFC in 2-4 years.

- Once the BJJ, Muay Thai, and Wrestling classes are established, UFC can work with the schools to hold competitions for each discipline, and Amateur MMA between their sponsored schools.

Henry Cejudo to Super Fight League would be a perfect match

dpk875 — Sat, 04 May 2013 11:37:11 -0000

Henry Cejudo is a combat sports promoters dream... Olympic Gold Medalist, inspiring backstory, Hispanic Heritage, but for his next series of fights could he do something to make himself even more marketable to the UFC? That thing would be to take 2 or 3 fights with the Super Fight League in India.

India is the second most populated country in the world with around 1.2 Billion people, and as of right now not a single one of them has the skills to fight in the UFC. UFC would love to find a link into this potentially lucrative market and a young prospect like Cejudo should take it upon himself to seek out a couple of fights in the country so that the MMA fans there learn his name, and potentially embrace him as a top fighter who wasn't afraid to embrace their country.

So far in his brief career, Cejudo's three opponents have a combined record of 6-19, and each was on at least a 2 fight losing streak when they stepped in the cage with Cejudo. Cejudo's goal so far appears to stay busy instead of taking steps up in competition. Super Fight League is perfect for this with their weekly fight cards, he could easily fight for SFL 3 times in 3 months. The opponents that Cejudo would be facing in India would probably be about the same caliber, or just a little worse so I don't think it would really set his career back any from a competitive standpoint. He could fight at 135lbs, or start working on his expected drop to 125lbs.

When Daniel Cormier took several fights overseas in Australia early in his career, he said that his international wrestling background had prepared him for dealing with the travel, jet lag, and being able to perform shortly after a long trip. While Cejudo hasn't kept the same international wrestling schedule recently that Cormier did prior to turning pro, it is still a skill set and experience that Cejudo should be able draw on from his athletic past.

Super Fight League has been willing to import foreign talent such as Todd Duffee, Colleen Schneider, Xavier Foupa-Pokam, and Michael Page to headline their shows while they try to develop their own talent. I'd have to think they would have an interest at bringing in a top prospect from the US, especially one with Cejudo's Olympic credentials. It makes sense for both the SFL, and any top prospects looking to make themselves a little more attractive to UFC and their plans for global expansion.

India Wrestling League coming in November

dpk875 — Fri, 03 May 2013 23:46:46 -0000

According to a couple of articles I came across, The India Wrestling League is scheduled to begin in November of this year. It will consist of six franchises, have both men and women and be competed under the Freestyle rules. The bulk of the competitors will be from India, but International wrestlers from Japan and Kazakhstan are also reported to be confirmed for the first season Former World Champion, and two time Olympic Medalist Sushil Kumar is on board for the league, and it also has the support of a Bollywood star named Akshay Kumar. It will be interesting to see if this is a sustainable model that can grow, or if it will go the way of Real Pro Wrestling in the United States and flame out quickly.

Sushil Kumar also had this quote about the effort to get wrestling back on the Olympic program past 2016 "The IOC has sent letters to 175 wrestling bodies across the world asking them to tone down their protests (against the sport's exclusion from the 2020 Olympics). They have also assured the national wrestling bodies that wrestling will be brought back."

"If you have noticed, the protests from wrestlers have reduced drastically of late. There will be another meeting held soon. I think wrestling will be brought back in that meeting," said Kumar

- A lot of US wrestling sources have been in the news over the last few weeks (Tommy Rowlands, Cael Sanderson), speaking about the fight to save Olympic wrestling. and nobody has made any mention of a letter from the IOC asking them to back off... so this is probably an exaggeration

On another note, I'm thinking that UFC will hate the IWL: Lorenzo Fertitta mentioned that he talked with some of the top wrestlers in India while he was there about getting into MMA, and had received positive response. These elite wrestlers would certainly be the guys that UFC was counting on to emerge onto the scene in India. The IWL will now provide them with an outlet to make money, while continuing wrestling. I don't think it will really hurt MMA in India in the long run, but it will probably just take a little longer as some of the elite wrestlers from the country pass.

In parting it is worth noting that in one of the articles Kumar was interviewed while attending a Super Fight League event... and he had the following quote "I will advise anyone, who is unsuccessful in wrestling or boxing to consider MMA as it is a good career option"

"If you have noticed, the protests from wrestlers have reduced drastically of late. There will be another meeting held soon. I think wrestling will be brought back in that meeting," said Kumar

UFC could use a little 2008 at HW

dpk875 — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 22:36:18 -0000

Roy Nelson scored another nice win this weekend, and now a few folks are throwing around the term title shot attached to his name. I enjoy watching Roy, and he is a quality fighter who has never backed away from facing the best Heavyweights in the business... but I generally think of him as a UFC gate keeper, not a title contender. When I look at the division there are really no exciting prospects working their way through the ranks.

Daniel Cormier is the best hope in the division, but he won't fight Cain Velasquez, and seems as likely to end up fighting for the LHW title as he does for the HW title.

Travis Browne could make some noise, but hasn't been able to break through to become an real contender for the belt.

Stefan Struve has never showed the leap in improvement that many have expected. The amount of brutal fights that he has been in (JDS, Beuntello, Nelson, Hunt) will probably catch up with him before old age.

Stipe Miocic is coming off his first loss, but could still crack the top 10 at some point.

Todd Duffee could make some noise, but hasn't been the most active fighter prior to, or since he returned to the UFC.

What UFC needs and should be hoping for is a group like the 2008 group of prospects that infused a lot of life into the division, and set the stage for a great period of HWs.

February 2008 - Brock Lesnar (1-0 MMA) debuts against Frank Mir

April 2008 - Cain Velasquez (2-0 MMA) debuts against Brad Morris

May 2008 - Shane Carwin (8-0 MMA) debuts against Christian Wellisch

Oct 2008 - Junior Dos Santos (6-1 MMA) debuts against Fabricio Werdum

Dec 2008 - Pat Barry (3-0 MMA) debuts against Dan Evensen

Four of these men have held the UFC HW or Interim HW title, and Barry has been a divisional main stay in some pretty exciting fights.

There is no fighter out there with the hype of Lesnar, but is there someone with the ability? Is there a group like these guys who could come onto the scene over the next year and blast the old guard of guys like Mir, Nog, Nelson, Hunt, Carwin, Bigfoot, Gonzaga, Rothwell, Kongo and Overeem out of the way?

Steve Mocco the former Olympic Wrestler, and 2 x NCAA D1 national Champ made his debut several months ago. He could fast track to UFC with a few more nice wins... but what other prospects are out there. The lack of talent that I've seen not just coming into UFC, but also Bellator tells me that there just isn't much out there.

Daniel Cormier is the best hope in the division, but he won't fight Cain Velasquez, and seems as likely to end up fighting for the LHW title as he does for the HW title.

Travis Browne could make some noise, but hasn't been able to break through to become an real contender for the belt.

Stipe Miocic is coming off his first loss, but could still crack the top 10 at some point.

Todd Duffee could make some noise, but hasn't been the most active fighter prior to, or since he returned to the UFC.

What UFC needs and should be hoping for is a group like the 2008 group of prospects that infused a lot of life into the division, and set the stage for a great period of HWs.

February 2008 - Brock Lesnar (1-0 MMA) debuts against Frank Mir

April 2008 - Cain Velasquez (2-0 MMA) debuts against Brad Morris

May 2008 - Shane Carwin (8-0 MMA) debuts against Christian Wellisch

Oct 2008 - Junior Dos Santos (6-1 MMA) debuts against Fabricio Werdum

Dec 2008 - Pat Barry (3-0 MMA) debuts against Dan Evensen

Four of these men have held the UFC HW or Interim HW title, and Barry has been a divisional main stay in some pretty exciting fights.

Fights to make following UFC on FOX 7

dpk875 — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 23:05:03 -0000

Ben Henderson - Gray Maynard / TJ Grant winner. If the Maynard/Grant winner get's hurt and can't fight by Sept/early Oct then UFC will likely wait for the Aldo/Pettis winner.

Gilbert Melendez - Jim Miller / Pat Healy winner - I expect this to be Miller.

Daniel Cormier - Dan Henderson / Rashad Evans winner - I'd like to see DC make the cut to 205, but he would need a fight before fighting for the title

Frank Mir - Alistair Overeem - I don't know if Mir has the takedowns to get Overeem down, but these are two of the bigger names in the division

Josh Thomson - Diego Sanchez - Winner would be right in contention for a number 1 contender fight *edit* - If Eddie Alvarez can get free of Bellator and sign with UFC in the near future then Thomson/Alvarez is the best fight.

Nate Diaz - Yves Edwards - Nate needs to rebound after a couple of tough losses

Matt Brown - Thiago Alves - Brown wants to play with the Big Boys... let's start with Alves

Jordan Mein - Amir Sadollah - There is no need to rush Mein, and I think there are some lessons he can learn from the Brown fight. Sadollah would be a good bounce back fight.

Undercard -

Chad Mendes - Clay Guida

Darren Elkins - Hatsu Hioki

Francis Carmont - Rousimar Palhares

Lorenz Larkin - Ed Herman

Joe Benavidez - Chris Cariaso / Jussier Da Silva winner

Darren Uyenoyama - Phil Harris

Jorge Masvidal - Ross Pearson

Tim Means - Ramsey Nijem

Myles Jury - Fabricio Camoes

TJ Dillashaw - Takeya Mizugaki - Dillashaw has proven that he needs a step up in competition.

Hugo Viana - Chico Camus

Anthony Njokuani - Takanori Gomi

Roger Bowling - Michael Johnson

Yoel Romero - CB Dollaway

Cut:

Clifford Starks

Ben Henderson - Gray Maynard / TJ Grant winner. If the Maynard/Grant winner get's hurt and can't fight by Sept/early Oct then UFC will likely wait for the Aldo/Pettis winner.

Gilbert Melendez - Jim Miller / Pat Healy winner - I expect this to be Miller.

Daniel Cormier - Dan Henderson / Rashad Evans winner - I'd like to see DC make the cut to 205, but he would need a fight before fighting for the title

Frank Mir - Alistair Overeem - I don't know if Mir has the takedowns to get Overeem down, but these are two of the bigger names in the division

Nate Diaz - Yves Edwards - Nate needs to rebound after a couple of tough losses

Matt Brown - Thiago Alves - Brown wants to play with the Big Boys... let's start with Alves

Jordan Mein - Amir Sadollah - There is no need to rush Mein, and I think there are some lessons he can learn from the Brown fight. Sadollah would be a good bounce back fight.

Undercard -

Chad Mendes - Clay Guida

Darren Elkins - Hatsu Hioki

Francis Carmont - Rousimar Palhares

Lorenz Larkin - Ed Herman

Joe Benavidez - Chris Cariaso / Jussier Da Silva winner

Darren Uyenoyama - Phil Harris

Jorge Masvidal - Ross Pearson

Tim Means - Ramsey Nijem

Myles Jury - Fabricio Camoes

TJ Dillashaw - Takeya Mizugaki - Dillashaw has proven that he needs a step up in competition.

Hugo Viana - Chico Camus

Anthony Njokuani - Takanori Gomi

Roger Bowling - Michael Johnson

Yoel Romero - CB Dollaway

Cut:

Clifford Starks

BrainStorming... How to improve Wrestling as a Sport

dpk875 — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 01:15:38 -0000

The Keep Olympic wrestling movement seems to be picking up more momentum as the weeks go on. Dana White and UFC are no on board, along with BellatorMMA which is owned by Viacom. This comes at the perfect time, as Bill Scherr the Chairman of CPOW (Committee for the preservation of Olympic Wrestling) wrote a piece about lessons that wrestling can learn from UFC. It appears that there is some Hollywood star power about to get behind the cause, and also some Wall Street money guys are working to put give the effort a much needed influx of Cash.

As I read this succession of articles this week, I started brain storming ideas for how USA Wrestling, and the wrestling community as a whole can improve the sport. Everything should be on the table in these discussion, and I'm just putting out some of my ideas..

1. Find a broadcast outlet for the finals of the US Open, and World Championships. NBC Sports, CBS Sports, Big 10 Network, FoxSports 1 or 2, ESPN 1, 2 or 3... AXS... Pretty much anything, but they need to find a way to get these events on TV or at least distributed.

2. Jordan Burroughs is undefeated since graduating college with a world Championship, and Olympic Gold medal... every sports fan in the country should know who he is. He should be the face of the sport, and getting as many interviews as he is willing to do.

3. Sell the hell out of Ed Ruth, Logan Stieber, and Tony Nelson. All three will be going for their 3rd National title next season, and are projecting as potential Olympians in 2016. With Nelson, America loves heavyweights, and I'd also be selling that he is following in the line of great Minnesota HWs like Brock Lesnar, and Cole Konrad.

4. Taylor vs. Howe... Ok, this came into my mind, and then I saw that Howe may compete at 174lbs next year... The point is that the wrestling community should focus on the biggest rivalry in the sport next season and hype it up. It worked with Taylor and Dake this season.

5. Why doesn't the University of Texas have a Division 1 wrestling program? They have their own sports TV network just for the University. Are you telling me that between November and March they wouldn't love to have matches with their natural rivals Oklahoma, and Oklahoma St. to show. They have a wrestling club... but seriously. Somebody get down there and fund that program. They show every football practice during the season, and then provide a breakdown of what they are looking at... that sounds like they need some more programming.

6. Should NCAA wrestling be under the international Freestyle rules? Might that be an item that the IOC would wrap it's hands around and look at as a major step forward.

7. Made for TV events - BIG10 Alumni who are competing regularly in International compeition (Iowa, Penn St., Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio St.) vs. BIG12 (OK St, Iowa St, OK) Alumni meets find a way to keep their fan bases interested, and another reminder that besides MMA there is life after College Wrestling. BIG10 Network would be a nice place to show something like this. PAC 12 also has it's own network, and might be willing to show an event like this.

8. More Beat the Streets - It is cool to watch it in Time Square... but how about Chicago, LA, Houston

9. Work with UFC to get a wrestling event into the UFC fan expo. Get guys like Jordan Burroughs, Kyle Dake, Coleman Scott, Tervel Dlagnev, and Jake Varner in front of UFC fans. Why does it just have to be grappler's quest competitions?

10. If Dana White really is on board... ask if they can use the FOX, FX, or at Least PPV platform to get a few minutes to sell the cause. Let Dan Henderson, and Daniel Cormier have a spot to talk. How about a free sponsorship spot on the mat for one of the save wrestling websites, and USA Wrestling

11. Propose using the MMA weight classes (Men: 125, 135, 145, 155, 170, 185, 205, 265; Women: 95, 105, 115, 125, 135, 145, 155, 170).. Work to develop a "combat sport standard." Gender equality is also a buzz of the day... Wrestling needs to get an equal number of female to male weight classes.

12. People will get hung up on the word "belt"... but establishing a ranking system, so that wrestling becomes more of a lifetime sport. I've been training in BJJ for a little while now, and would feel comfortable going to a BJJ tourney, because I know I can enter in the "White Belt" division... I haven't wrestled much since high school, so I would not feel comfortable entering a tourney where I could be matched up with a 23 y/o who just wrestled for four years in college... Someone like that would be at least the equivalent of participating in the Purple, or Brown Belt divisions. More opportunities to attend a wrestling class exist now than ever before thanks to the many MMA gyms that offer them. We see Ben Henderson working on his BJJ game, showing up in a Gi to a Brown Belt competition... we never see Dan Hardy, Pat Barry, Carlos Condit, Brian Stann, or Michael Bisping rolling into a "White Belt" wrestling tourney on a Saturday morning to work on their game (haha, no they don't need to wear a singlet... rash guard and shorts fully acceptable). These guys would be more comfortable knowing that they are going against White or Blue belt level wrestlers. It would be good publicity for the sport, and also give many wrestlers the opportunity to be in competitive matches after they leave high school. And, no it doesn't have to be an actual belt.

13. Jake Butler helped himself by finding EvolveMMA and fitting their need. How many other international teams could use a NCAA all American in their camp? Sound out some recent college grads, and see if they are interested in helping an MMA camp in India, Britain, China, Philippines, Australia, Ireland, France, Italy etc? This is something that UFC, and Bellator could really help take the lead on, and possibly fund part of a salary for the coach.

So many MMA athletes have a background in wrestling, some all the way to the Olympics, so just High School ... They are all potential assets for the cause of improving wrestling as a sport, and keeping it in the Olympics.. Cain Velasquez, Shane Carwin, Daniel Cormier, Steve Mocco, Jared Rosholt, Jon Jones, Phil Davis, Rashad Evans, Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen, Ryan Bader, Matt Hamill, Anthony Johnson, Mo Lawal, Brandon Vera, Rampage Jackson, Ilir Latifi, Chris Honeycutt, Jake Rosholt, Chris Weidman, Mark Munoz, Tim Boetsch, CB Dolloway, Clifford Starks, Karlos Vemola, Stanislav Nedkov, Mario Miranda, Johny Hendricks, Ben Askren, Jake Shields, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Sean Pierson, Jake Ellenberger, Mike Pierce, Rick Story, Kenny Robertson, Jay Hieron, Court McGee, Ben Henderson, Gilbert Melendez, Gray Maynard, Michael Chandler, Eddie Alvarez, Jim Miller, Jacob Volkmann, Tony Ferguson, Danny Castillo, Tim Means, Michael Johnson, Myles Jury, Melvin Guillard, Justin Salas, Frank Edgar, Pat Curran, Chad Mendes, Clay Guida, Ricardo Lamas, Daniel Straus, Dennis Bermudez, Matt Grice, Mike Brown, Darren Elkins, Lance Palmer, Bubba Jenkins, Darrien Caldwell, Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber, Scott Jorgensen, TJ Dillashaw, Joe Warren, Jens Pulver, Shawn Bunch, Joe Benavidez, Demetrious Johnson, Kid Yamamoto, Henry Cejudo, Sarah McMann, Miesha Tate, Randi Miller... and I know I missed plenty.

Hell... sell Brock Lesnar, Jack Swagger, Alberto Del Rio, and Kurt Angle... guys with legit wrestling backgrounds who are making a ton of money in the "entertainment industry"... or Ray Lewis, and Roddy White who are very successful Football players who wrestled.

Just some of my ideas, would love to hear others.

6. Should NCAA wrestling be under the international Freestyle rules? Might that be an item that the IOC would wrap it's hands around and look at as a major step forward.

8. More Beat the Streets - It is cool to watch it in Time Square... but how about Chicago, LA, Houston

Just some of my ideas, would love to hear others.

Tito's big Chance

dpk875 — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 01:10:55 -0000

Tito Ortiz and Cyborg should just forget the name Ronda Rousey... Tito instead should be taking a very close interest in Veronica Rothenhausler, Randi Miller, Tamikka Brents, Peggy Morgan, Gabrielle Holloway, Pannie Kianzad, Allanna Jones, Ashlee Evans-Smith, Elaina Maxwell, Romy Ruyssen, Amanda Lucas (If she can cut the weight), Germaine de Randamie, and every other female fighter between 145lbs, and 155lbs. He should not be looking at these women as potential opponents for Cyborg (right now), but as the backbone, and depth of a credible Women's Featherweight division. Marloes Coenen, and Julia Budd are already two obvious picks to move to UFC eventually, but three fighters does not make a division, and unless Cyborg can cut the weight UFC has no real need for her. Ronda has plenty of fights with the likes of Tate/Zingano winner, McMann, Davis, and others from the ever growning BW roster for the near future. Ronda and Cyborg are far and away the two biggest (active: Carano) names in Women's MMA. UFC seems to be enjoying the business that the Ronda Rousey show is doing, but more importantly to Tito and Cyborg is how the McMann/Gaff, and Davis/Sexton shows do in moving the needle. If these non-Ronda promoted fights draw some buzz, then it opens the door for more Women's MMA, and that means Cyborg.

If Tito can find a way to showcase a legitimate division of 10-15 quality fighters at 145lbs across MMA, then it would make it very easy for Dana and UFC to bring Cyborg in Rousey fight or not. Do any of these women provide a true challenge to Cyborg... I don't have a clue and that is the problem. I've never seen half of these women fight, and the others I have only seen once. Tito needs to become their biggest advocate, and in the ear of Shannon Knapp, or any other fight promoter looking to fill a slot on their show. Maybe he promises regional promoters that Cyborg or he will make an appearance if they get 2 x 145lbs women's fights on the show as an incentive. I've see a lot smaller celeberties than those two advertised on Regional MMA posters. Work to get these women interviews and build some hype around the fighters.

Tito likes to think that he is some genius, if he can get UFC to establish the Women's Featherweight division he might just prove all of us wrong who question his ability to manage fighters. If there is any two people who know the difference between a headlining UFC Paycheck, and an Invicta paycheck it is Tito and Cyborg, so getting Cyborg into UFC with some good fights should be the first step. Of course the other option is to talk Gina Carano out of retirement...

Prospects and Initial Perception

dpk875 — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:41:35 -0000

The signing of the "Best Bantamweight in China" by UFC should be big news. By all accounts Tuerexun Jumabieke is a very good fighter, and should be able to hang right away with the bottom level of the UFC's BW division, while potentially developing into a UFC mainstay. China is a key market that UFC is targeting, so we know that he will be given every chance to succeed. Inside though, I know that this fighter is coming from a country that has no track record of producing successful UFC fighters so why should I get too excited. It also got me thinking about how I view a prospect just based on the country he is from. Fair or not, just hearing what country a prospect is from puts an instant stereotype in my mind. I don't just judge the style of fighter, but the quality based on what reputation his home country has for producing MMA talent. I started listing the countries by Tiers that define them based on the general quality of their MMA prospects, and with some stereotypes next to the countries. I really want to know if I'm on track here and if other MMA fans views things the same way...

Tier 1 - Fighter's coming out of these countries have access to top flight camps, and solid regional fighting scenes. The vast majority of UFC and Bellator Champions and contenders are from the first tier.

Brazil (BJJ, Muay Thai), USA (Wrestling, well rounded)

Tier 2 - Fighters have access to good camps, but not always the most well rounded games. Some of their countrymen have found success at the highest levels, but the country as a whole has yet to flood the top 15.

Canada (If it was just WW's, they would be Tier 1), Great Britain (No Wrestling), Netherlands (Strikers), Japan (Judo), Korea (judo), Russia (Sambo), Sweden

Tier 3 - I'm not sold on the overall level of training if fighters want to compete at the highest levels. There are not many fighters from these countries competing in UFC or Bellator and bringing the skills and training from elite level camps home.

Poland, Australia (No Wrestling), Philippines (145 and below), South Africa (Still learning), France, Singapore (Evolve), Croatia (Trains w/ Cro Cop)

Tier 4 - MMA is new, and there is no established track record of success in biggest promotions. When I hear about a prospect from these countries I need to see it before I believe any hype.

India (Superfight league), Indonesia, China (Learning and growing), Italy, Egypt

There are or will be individual exceptions to each and every country on this list. I'm just trying to help it make sense when someone is quoted as saying "fighter XX is the best prospect in country Y," sometimes that really means something... other times, not so much.

Brazil (BJJ, Muay Thai), USA (Wrestling, well rounded)

Canada (If it was just WW's, they would be Tier 1), Great Britain (No Wrestling), Netherlands (Strikers), Japan (Judo), Korea (judo), Russia (Sambo), Sweden

Poland, Australia (No Wrestling), Philippines (145 and below), South Africa (Still learning), France, Singapore (Evolve), Croatia (Trains w/ Cro Cop)

Tier 4 - MMA is new, and there is no established track record of success in biggest promotions. When I hear about a prospect from these countries I need to see it before I believe any hype.

India (Superfight league), Indonesia, China (Learning and growing), Italy, Egypt

Just When It Looked Like UFC had Learned it's Lesson

dpk875 — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 23:09:59 -0000

The lesson I'm referring to is that injuries happen... they happen early in camps, or late... before tickets are sold, and after. There are things that can be done to mitigate their effects... but assuming they won't happen is the quickest way to assure failure.

UFC 149 left fans chanting for a re-fund after injuries decimated the card, and the patchwork main card did not deliver... UFC 151 was an even worse debacle... Strikeforce went down twice in the fall, leading to the death of the organization. UFC 153 was a near miss after Koch, Aldo, and then Rampage all went down, but Anderson Silva, and Big Nog stepped up on short notice to save the show. Since October though, UFC has been on a good run. The injury bug that plagued most of 2012 had not hit the big names too hard recently. UFC had also built some better cards that looked like they could absorb injury a little better.

UFC 154 - GSP vs. Condit, with Hendricks vs. Kampmann in the co-main. Either guy from the co-main could have stepped up.

UFC on FOX had Rampage, and Pettis/Cerrone backing up a FLW title fight

UFC 156 - Aldo vs. Edgar, Overeem vs. Bigfoot, Rashad vs. Lil' Nog - Both co-main's could have stepped into the main.

UFC 157 - Ronda vs. Carmouche, Hendo vs. Machida - A lot of people said the co-main should have been the main anyway.

UFC 158 - GSP vs. Diaz, Hendricks vs. Condit, Ellenberger vs. Marquardt - This card did survive an injury one of the big fights... and was built to survive a Diaz pre-fight meltdown.

Even UFC on Fuel 8 was a stud card.

Now UFC on Fuel 9 happens. It was a card built around hometown stud, and top 5 LHW Alexander Gustafsson facing a tough test in Gregard Mousasi. The card was suppose to have a quality co-main event with Meisha Tate vs. Cat Zingano throwing down to determine the next challenger for Ronda Rousey... but UFC's VP for European Operations turned down the fight, saying the market wasn't ready for WMMA. When that happened, I think everyone expected a quality co-main event to take it's place... and then that never happened.

Compare the last two Fuel cards... UFC on Fuel 8 had Stann vs. Wandy, Hunt vs. Struve (3 fight win streak vs. 4 fight win streak), Sanchez vs. Gomi (Sanchez returns to LW to fight Gomi coming off 2 straight wins), and Okami vs. Lombard (top 10 MW's both coming off wins) ... UFC on Fuel 9 has the UFC debut of Ryan Couture vs. Ross Pearson, a potential loser leaves town fight between De Fries and Mitrione, Pickett vs. Easton in a fight of guys coming off a loss (I know Stann and Wandy were coming off loses... but don't even try to compare the star power, and fan base of Wandy to either of these BWs)...

OK if this is all they are going to give us... then at least they will put a few other LHW fighters on this card in case one of the headliners gets hurt... nope. UFC couldn't have put Davis vs. Magalhaes on this card? Throw together something like Bader vs. Vera once the Tate/Zingano fight fell through? Now what are the options on less than a weeks notice with an overseas card? Davis or Magalhaes should be in shape getting ready for their fight on April 27th... Glover might be in decent shape, but now that he is in every discussion when title contenders come up, fighting a tough SOB like Mousasi overseas six time zones away on six day notice would be a risk not worth taking. Will work visa's, and weight cuts hurt this card?

I don't know how this will all turn out... but as of Sunday evening I'd be pissed if I lived in Sweden and had a ticket to a Couture vs. Pearson main event.

UFC 154 - GSP vs. Condit, with Hendricks vs. Kampmann in the co-main. Either guy from the co-main could have stepped up.

UFC on FOX had Rampage, and Pettis/Cerrone backing up a FLW title fight

UFC 156 - Aldo vs. Edgar, Overeem vs. Bigfoot, Rashad vs. Lil' Nog - Both co-main's could have stepped into the main.

UFC 157 - Ronda vs. Carmouche, Hendo vs. Machida - A lot of people said the co-main should have been the main anyway.

UFC 158 - GSP vs. Diaz, Hendricks vs. Condit, Ellenberger vs. Marquardt - This card did survive an injury one of the big fights... and was built to survive a Diaz pre-fight meltdown.

Even UFC on Fuel 8 was a stud card.

I don't know how this will all turn out... but as of Sunday evening I'd be pissed if I lived in Sweden and had a ticket to a Couture vs. Pearson main event.

GSP's End Game

dpk875 — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 02:10:06 -0000

GSP has probably made between $8-$10 Million since November 17th. Maybe it was an illness, or an Achilles injury that made GSP look slightly less than his vintage best at times, but a quote from Marvin Hagler also came to mind. "It's hard to get up and train when you are sleeping on silk sheets." GSP has been a spectacularly driven athlete when it comes to taking care of his body, training with the best instructors, and leaving no stone un-turned when it comes to being the best fighter and athlete that he can be, but with big PPV pay-days, mounting injuries, blue chip sponsors like Under Armor, and Gatorade paying him to endorse their products how long will GSP's drive and determination remain?

It is also very interesting to see that GSP signed on for a role in the next Captain America movie, and it could just be the first opening of the door to GSP's exit from MMA. It is no secret that one of GSP's heroes is Jean Claude Van Damn, and it isn't too much of a reach to see GSP acting in similar roles to what JCVD has had over the years. GSP likes to be great at everything he does, I doubt he will spilt too much time between MMA and movies and risk being just good or mediocre at either.

But what is the end game to GSP's MMA career? Is one of the great MMA careers coming to an end in the next 18-24 months? Here is my take on how things could play out

Sep/Oct 2013 - Johny Hendricks - This is the easy one to predict. Hendricks provides a serious threat to GSP with his punching power, but in the end I expect GSP to walk away from this fight still as the champion. Does the UFC make Maia vs. Ellenberger as the co-main event for this fight? That would once again give GSP's potential next opponent the chance to advertise himself in front of a large PPV audience. But UFC may not want that to happen, so that they can force the issue of an Anderson Silva fight.

Feb/Mar 2014 - Prior to UFC 158 GSP's former manager said that his plan was to fight Diaz, Hendricks, Anderson Silva then retire. But I honestly think that part of GSP's thinking is that his training partner Rory MacDonald would be ready to fight for and win the UFC Welterweight title when GSP steps aside. He still might be, but MacDonald has been slowed by injuries throughout his career, including currently recovering from his most recent. I would not be surprised if GSP was to take a fight with the winner of a potential Demian Maia / Jake Ellenberger fight. Let's face it once those two are done, GSP will have cleaned out the Welterweight division of interesting contenders for him to face. No offense to prospects like Gunnar Nelson, Tyron Woodley, or Jordan Mein but they all would have go through some big steps up in competition to be viewed as a threat to GSP by this time next year...

July 2014 - GSP vs. Anderson Silva - Even if Silva loses to Chris Weidman, this fight could still happen. Fans have wanted to see it for a long time, and as we learned from Chuck and Wandy a big fight has a long expiration date.

2016 - After making several straight to DVD (Except in Montreal) level movies, including one where GSP and JCVD are brothers out for revenge, for something... GSP decides he misses MMA and announces his come back. The timing is perfect because Gunnar Nelson has just defeated Canadians Rory MacDonald and Jordan Mein in back to back title defenses. GSP will only be 34-35 years old, and will look as good as ever in the gym to sell the fight. Everyone at Tri-Star will swear that GSP is still in his prime. When he loses to Nelson, it solidifies Nelson as the new biggest PPV star in UFC. GSP becomes UFC VP of Canadian talent relations.

Just a scenario...

But what is the end game to GSP's MMA career? Is one of the great MMA careers coming to an end in the next 18-24 months? Here is my take on how things could play out

Just a scenario...

Bellator does a disservice to itself, and WMMA!

dpk875 — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 23:08:55 -0000

Maybe Bjorn Rebney didn't read the front page of CNN, USAToday sports, the LA Times, Yahoo, or ESPN back in February. Maybe he didn't watch UFC 157 and see two women deliver a great fight in front of a sell out crowd that loved every minute of it. But somebody at Bellator should have, and they should have let him know that Women's MMA has arrived in a big way. I know that the Ronda Rousey show dominated all the press, but Liz Carmouche helped deliver in both the build up to the fight, and an action packed main event that was filled with drama, and near finishes. UFC is following up with a second WMMA fight as a co-main event on one of it's FX cards. Rousey, and the winner then get a 12 week platform to sell their upcoming title fight. So, someone at Bellator should remind Bjorn that not only does he have women on his roster, he has some of the best in the world at the 115lbs weight class, and he is not getting the most out of his fighters.

Why are Jessica Aguilar, and Felice Herrig on the undercard of this week's Bellator show? I'm not saying that either women is Ronda Rousey in or out of the cage, but they are talented and don't need a whole lot of help to sell themselves. Aguilar is ranked number 1 in the world at Strawweight, and frequently contacts MMA reporters prior to her upcoming bouts so that she can volunteer an interview. She is also a bi-sexual, living with her girlfriend an angle Liz Carmouche used to generate a lot of support from the gay and lesbian community. Maybe I'm the only who thinks that a good publicist would find a way to parlay Aguilar's story into some different demographics from the normal Bellator group. Herrig is not hard to find on twitter, not only tweeting about her training, but MMA, and life in general, with some very nice pictures mixed in. She is also on a three fight win streak, and her skills are improving. Aguilar and Herrig's fights are not being buried by elite prospects, or tourney finals... they are bumped by Luis Melo vs Trey Houston, and Ronnie Mann vs. Rodrigo Lima... please let me know if you are tuning in just to see those fights on SPIKE.

Maybe Bellator doesn‘t want to look like it is promoting a poor man's Ronda Rousey, but I can't think of another reason that they would not promote top 10 rated female fighters on the main portion of their card at a time when WMMA has buzz and is getting attention and gaining a wider acceptance. Neither of these fighters, or Bellator could have made these fighters into Ronda and the publicity wave that took over her last fight... don't get me wrong, but Bellator is doing it's best female fighters, and itself a disservice this week by the fight placement of it's two female fights.

Phil Davis should have signed with Bellator

dpk875 — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 02:39:18 -0000

In 2008 Phil Davis won a NCAA Division 1 wrestling title, rounding out a career where he was a 4 time All-American. He made his MMA debut later that year, and by June 2009 he had racked up a 4-0 record and was noticed by the UFC. He came in and immediately found success with wins over Brian Stann, and another hot prospect named Alexander Gustafsson. Davis racked up three more victories before running into perhaps the best version of Rashad Evans that ever fought in the UFC.

But what if Phil Davis had chosen to go to Bellator back in 2010. LHW outside of UFC, and Strikeforce was, and for the most part still is a waste land. Bellator's first LHW tourney was in 2011, but for the sake of argument lets say that they would have held a tourney to accommodate a hot prospect back in 2010, they did for Cole Konrad at HW. I have little doubt that Davis would have run through any competition that Bellator could have produced at the time. The first Bellator Tourney had guys like Christian M'Pumbu, Chris Davis, Tim Carpenter, and Rich Hale. I don't just think Davis would have won, but I think he would have submitted, or TKO'd most of them. Then Bellator would have brought in journeymen like Travis Wiuff to fight Davis giving him the chance to once again look like an MMA wrestling monster. He would have experienced some periods of inactivity, but when he did fight he would have looked great, and have quickly been in the discussion for best fighter outside of UFC.

Fast forward to 2013. UFC has an amazing LHW Champion in Jon Jones, who also made his MMA debut in 2008. Many people don't think Jones has a legitimate threat at LHW. But what if Davis, with his elite amateur wrestling credentials, and athleticism was coming upon free agency at the end of a dominating run in Bellator. If Hector Lombard can land a $400K signing bonus, six figure per fight salary, and PPV points, what would the younger, and probably even more hyped Davis command? Eddie Alvarez 2 fights removed from a loss in Bellator has also commanded a $250K signing bonus, $70K/$70K salary, PPV points, and wording in his contract regarding a quick title fight.

Instead of a situation where Davis leaves Bellator with a ton of hype, and would probably be walking into a title shot later this year, the reality is that Davis is a solid contender but isn't near the top of the list for a title shot. Alexander Gustaffson (Only has lost to Davis), Glover Teixiera, and Lyoto Machida all seem to be well ahead of Davis in line. Another fighter he has defeated "lil Nog" is also likely to jump past Davis in line for a title shot if he can defeat Shogun Rua in June. Davis is next matched against a marginal top 25 talent in Vinny Magalhaes to answer being called out on twitter. A win here will do little for Davis except to help him tread water and hope for a big fight next time out.

The thought to write this piece came from comments I have heard where fans ask, why would top young prospects sign with Bellator? To me it actually makes sense. I almost wrote this piece about Johny Hendricks, but he is actually in a position to cash in on a title shot right now, so Davis is a better example. Michael Chandler, Pat Curran, and even Ben Askren are getting close to cashing in on the bidding war that is breaking out between Viacom and Zuffa for elite Bellator talent. Prospects are going to notice this, and think that if they have a better chance of looking good running the Bellator tourney on SPIKE TV, instead of grinding away up very deep divisions in UFC sometimes on Facebook it is worth the risk. I think that HW, and LHW prospects will especially take notice considering how weak the divisions are in Bellator.

Henry Cejudo pick's up his 2nd MMA Win

dpk875 — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:59:57 -0000

Looks like 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Henry Cejudo picked up his second professional win last night under the Gladiator Challenge banner.

Henry Cejudo ‏@HenryCejudo55m

First round TKO last night for my second win. I am not the golden boy I'm the "messenger" I fight with a purpose! pic.twitter.com/h5p0jTHLgu

Here was the info from the promoter's web site about this fight before hand. Sean Barnett appears to have a few wins to his name, but not a big step up... but seeing that it was only a few weeks after Cejudo's debut that can be expected.

Henry also responded by saying his next fight is on April 19th in Phoenix, which is another quick turn around for a young and developing fighter.

Henry Cejudo ‏@HenryCejudo37m

Apr. 19th "@TheRealDPK: @HenryCejudo when is the next fight?"

It is surprising that this fight slipped under the radar this week, considering there was no UFC card, and Cejudo made an appearance on the tonight show in support of the Save Olympic Wrestling campaign

Looks like 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Henry Cejudo picked up his second professional win last night under the Gladiator Challenge banner.

Henry Cejudo ‏@HenryCejudo55m

First round TKO last night for my second win. I am not the golden boy I'm the "messenger" I fight with a purpose! pic.twitter.com/h5p0jTHLgu

Henry also responded by saying his next fight is on April 19th in Phoenix, which is another quick turn around for a young and developing fighter.

Henry Cejudo ‏@HenryCejudo37m

Apr. 19th "@TheRealDPK: @HenryCejudo when is the next fight?"

Flyweights? What Gives and Where is This Going?

dpk875 — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:14:53 -0000

The first UFC Flyweight fights were held on March 3rd 2012, over a year later the division sits at 13 fighters under contract. The next FLW title fight will feature a challenger who was on the Facebook Prelims in his last fight... not the prime place for a potential title challenger to make a name for himself. What's worse is that it really didn't take too much thought to see that the Moraga vs. Cariaso winner could be in line for a title shot, or at least a number 1 contender's fight. So why hasn't UFC invested more, and used a better strategy for promoting this division?

There are a couple of reasons for this.

1 - The main reason the FLW division has not grown is that Bellator does not have a FLW division, so if UFC goes out and signs a bunch FLWs, it will leave some Featherweight, Lightweight, and Welterweight prospects out there and available to their competition's strongest, and most credible divisions. For the first 3 years of Bellator's existence they were just another glorified regional organization as far as Dana White was concerned. Their tournament format was interesting, but they did not have the resources, or serious TV partner to challenge (or hold onto) UFC for top talent on a consistent basis. That all changed when UFC signed with FOX, leaving SPIKE TV and Viacom to swoop in and cement a partnership with Bellator. Not only does Bellator now have a viable and stable TV partner, but they also have an ownership group that can compete financially with UFC, if it chooses. This makes them a direct threat. Bellator has top 10 fighters at FW, and LW as Champ, and Ben Askren is easily a top 15 if not top 10 WW. UFC lets too many other potential top fighters slip through the net, then these division could become credible threats over the course of 3-6 years. The last thing UFC wants is to have to get into an Eddie Alvarez style bidding war for every top fighter coming out of Bellator. The UFC has had great success with guys like Wandy, Big Nog, Shogun, Rampage, and now Diaz who had their biggest successes outside of UFC, but it still prefers to bring the talent up from with-in like it has with GSP, Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, and now Johny Hendricks. When it comes to Flyweights, UFC is the only serious game in town, and they know that they can sign the prospects whenever they feel like getting around to it. There is no reason to pay health insurance on guys until UFC is totally impressed, or really needs them.

2- The other reason is that Demetrious Johnson is no Ronda Rousey when it comes to star power. Even as UFC launches a season of TUF with Male Bantamweights that will certainly see some fighters drop to FLW, it is Rousey who is the no brainer as coach, not Johnson. Even though Johnson is re-habbing an injury, and the extra time off that comes with coaching TUF might help him. Ronda Rousey has proved to have the star power that the FLWs are lacking, and only about a month after the first female fight, UFC has already signed 11 female Bantamweights, with Dana White saying that the number is going to go at least to 15 in the near future, and with TUF I'm guessing the number will actually be around 20 by the end of the year. I guarantee that none of Ronda's challengers will be having their previous fight on the facebook prelims anytime soon. Henry Cejudo might be the FLW answer 2-3 years down the road if he develops into the top flight fighter, and star many expect him to be but, or it could be a another fighter who polarizes the Asian, Mexican, Brazilian, British, or Canadian markets. Until UFC finds this future star they will do enough to keep the division viable so that the Champ can allow UFC to market "World Title fights" at the top of three more cards a year.

For the record... If I was playing Joe Silva and Sean Shelby I'd make offers to add these guys to the FLW division soon.

Sergio Pettis, Steve Swanson (UFC has done well with Diaz, Miller, and Nogueria brothers why not use some of Anthony, and Cub's success to try and sell their brother's in this division), Sean Santella, Darrell Montague (Ranked in top 10 by most people), Henry Cejudo (I'd ask him to get one fight against a fighter with at least a .500 record at FLW, and then I'd sign him), Pedro Nobre (a FLW prospect should have never been put in with a BW contender to start with, let this guy have a chance in the right division), Josh Sampo, Will Campuzano, Dustin Ortiz, and Giorgio Andrews (Never hurts to have an undefeated British guy).

There are a couple of reasons for this.

For the record... If I was playing Joe Silva and Sean Shelby I'd make offers to add these guys to the FLW division soon.

The Rise of 24/7 Sports, and MMA's Growth Opportunity

dpk875 — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 01:05:15 -0000

99.4% of all sporting events are watched live. While people record their favorite sitcom on DVR, and then fast-forward through those annoying adds, not many people are doing that with sporting events. It is a big part of the reason that according to Forbes magazine, ESPN is valued at $40B dollars, and generates around $10B in revenue yearly. But they have plenty of competition coming from Fox, NBC, and CBS who are all beginning to throw some muscle into competing sports networks.

Anyone reading Bloodyelbow knows UFC has been tagged to be a cornerstone of FOXSports 1, along with College Football, Basketball, MLB, and some NFL programming. This deal will give UFC a stable channel to call it's home for at least the last 5 years of their current 7 year deal with FOX. Fox Sports 1 should get off to a great start as it kicks off on Aug 17th with an UFC event, and will then roll right into College Football programming and plenty of promos during NFL games on FOX throughout the fall. You can bet that ESPN, NBC Sports network, and CBS Sports network will all be watching very closely to the ratings that UFC and MMA generate over the next few years, as they look at ways to grab market share in an ever crowding environment.

UFC is not the only MMA organization benefitting from the increasing value of live sports programming. Viacom saw the value and was willing to buy into Bellator, and place it prominently on their SPIKE network. It will be very interesting to see if Bellator remains on SPIKE long term, or if Viacom eventually plans on moving it to help their CBS Sports Network that generally isn't viewed as being as strong as the competition at this point. NBC Sports has picked up six World Series of Fighting shows per year for the next three years. While NBC sports is only available in 80 Million homes compared to over 100M for ESPN, and the expected 90+M for FS1 it is still a valuable commodity and great exposure for a MMA organization that is less than a year old.

AXS TV was one of the first to plug into MMA, and in an interview today Mark Cuban the owner said that he has no plans to change his strategy of showing promotions like RFA, XFC, and Legacy FC. This is good news for these regional organizations that fit in the class right below Bellator. I think that lower regional MMA organizations will also find a way to benefit from all the networks out there. The Los Angeles Dodgers have announced their plans to launch their own regional sports network to show Dodger's games, and sports programming throughout the year. This brings the number of regional sports networks in Southern California to six. New York has the Yankees regional network (YES), SNY, MSG, and MSG +, all of these channels need to fill sports programming 24/7, and regional MMA is going to look very attractive as a consistent product that can show case local fighters and draw eyeballs when needed.

Also interesting for MMA fans is the expansion of College conferences owning their own networks. Right now the Big 10, PAC 12, and University of Texas (Longhorn Network) have locked down deals to have their own channels. This is more sports programming that will be needed to fill time on these channels. That can only be good for College wrestling. I was stunned to find while overseas in February for work that I checked into my hotel room and turned on my TV just in time to see the Penn State vs. Iowa dual meet. It had been picked up by Fox Sports International from the Big Ten Network (which is partially owned by FOX). For years young wrestlers, and fans of the sport have had limited opportunities to watch wrestling but now through these Conference networks, and the sheer volume of programming required by all the 24/7 sports networks it will almost certainly find its way onto TV on a regular basis. I'd also say that USA wrestling would have to be more inept than even some of their recent actions have shown to not get some kind of TV deal for the Beat the Streets event, National Team trials, and the World Championships with-in the next year or two... but I'm sure Mike Riordan is not holding his breath.

The growing competitive market for live sports programming offers a great opportunity for MMA organizations, and fans in general. MLB, and NFL have seen their value sky rocket as ESPN, FOX, CBS, and NBC bid for their rights. With more and more networks coming on the scene, sports like MMA stand to profit. UFC while not threatened now will also have to maintain a high standard, because it is going to get harder and harder to justify spending $45-$60 a month on PPVs when more and more free MMA is available to occupy the casual, and hardcore fans time.

Bellator's Moneyball Philosophy

dpk875 — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 23:02:18 -0000

In the early 2000's the Oakland A's embraced a philosophy that used enhanced baseball statistics to find players who were being undervalued, and could be had on the cheap. Oakland had a good run of success making the playoffs on a consistent basis, but then fell on hard time through the middle of the decade before recapturing some magic last year. (Personally, I think the success was more based on Hudson, Zito, Mulder, with an assist from BALCO for the first run, and then the next crop of good Pitching talent showing up last year... but that is a debate for another time and place.) One of the misconceptions about Moneyball is that the philosophy is only tied to a narrow set of stats (On base Percentage (OBP) or On base plus Slugging (OPS)) but the real key to the system is finding the quality players who are not commanding high salaries and bringing them in.

In 2009 when Bellator first launched it needed to find ways to attract quality talent, and an audience. At the time they were not just competing against UFC, but Strikeforce, and Dream were all established entities that could pull fighters away from what Bellator was trying to build. Landing corner stones like Eddie Alvarez, and Hector Lombard was key, but Casino ballrooms, and ESPN deportes was not going to support too many fighters of their caliber in such a competitive marketplace. Using the talent to value equation, Bellator first keyed in on Hispanic fighters that they hoped would catch on with their ESPN deportes audience. Mexican fighters like Jorge Ortiz, Yahir Reyes, and Nick Gonzalez were part of the show, along with American fighters with Hispanic heritage like Payan, Masvidal, Martinez, Soto, Padilla, and Urbina.

Two season's later their next shot at finding the most value possible was the opening up of the Bellator Female divisions. At the time Women's MMA was the farthest thing from UFC's mind, Gina Carano had fought her last fight, and Strikeforce was in what became their struggle to find Cyborg not just quality opponents, but any opponents. Female fighters at 115lbs were there to be had by any organization, and it was clearly worth it for Bellator to continue to try and carve out its niche. Megumi Fugii, Jessica Penne, Jessica Aguilar, and Zoila Frausto were part of the first group of female fighters to compete in the Bellator tourney.

Now starting in season six, Bellator has keyed in on MMA talent from a region of the world that has been under represented across UFC and Strikeforce to this point, Russia. Over the last decade there has been only one Russian fighter that UFC, and Strikeforce really cared about and that was Fedor. Young talent coming out of the Sambo ranks was competing on M-1, and regional cards, but not making to the big shows on a regular basis. Difficulties in dealing with M-1, and no real urgency to get involved in the market were keeping some of the bidders away. While Alexander Shlemenko started fighting for Bellator in Season 2 he was not followed immediately by many of his countrymen. It was season six that featured three Russian fighters, and that was the trickle before the flood. Season Seven showcased eleven Russian fighters on Bellator shows, and season eight has seen many more Russian fighters in the Bellator cage with increasing amounts of success. How long will Bellator be able to pull from this region with no serious competition? UFC has also added a handful of Russian fighters over the last 16 months. Dana White also recently mentioned that a UFC live show in Russia is closer than many people think, with the rumors implying that 2014 is realistic. If Khabib Nurmagomedov continues to win and move up the LW rankings he will give UFC the home town guy that they love to push in new markets.

Have the backing of Viacom, and a quality TV partner in SPIKE means that Bellator can better compete to sign, and re-sign top talent, but they are still not drawing Million dollar gates, and big PPV revenue so Bellator will have to continue to play "Moneyball" to find the undervalued areas of MMA. They will likely become more like the Boston Red Sox of 2003-2009 who spent big money at times while using the statistical principles of "Moneyball." The one area that stands out right now is lower weight Women's MMA. The popularity and success of Ronda Rousey in UFC is something that Bellator can potentially parlay into their own success. With fighters like Jessica Eye, and Felice Herrig, Bellator has a quality base to build off, and promote the division while Invicta is their only competition for fighters 125lbs and below.

What will we remember in December

dpk875 — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 21:27:54 -0000

Bermundez vs. Grice, Stann vs. Wandy, and now Hendricks vs. Condit all have had fans saying that they are potential FOTY candidates. Sometimes Fight of the year candidate is thrown around a little loosely after a very good fight, but recently we have seen some great ones that warrant it. The problem is that by the time we get to the end of 2013 these great fights from February and March will struggle to get the credit they deserve. It is more of an informal award and everyone has their own opinion, but it is also an area where I think UFC is missing out on an opportunity. Their new relationship with FOXSports 1 might give them the chance to capitalize on the debate while showcasing some of the great fights from the year.

What I would propose is that:

UFC offers a $100K bonus for the fight of the year as voted on by the fans.

In an UFC special on FS1, they show the top 5 fights of the year, and then opens up the polls on FoxSports.com, and UFC.com for the fans to vote with all the fights fresh in their minds.

Present the award during the year end PPV show.

I think could be a big time winner for UFC. Hardcore fans could have a night where they can guarantee to their casual fan friends that the fights will be great, and potentially draw in some new fans. UFC gets some great interaction with the fans, and the fighters in the best fights of the year get a financial reward. Another bonus for UFC is that from a production stand point it is pretty cheap to put on what would be a very good TV event.

If it was a success they could easily add SOTY, and KOTY as well.

What I would propose is that:

UFC offers a $100K bonus for the fight of the year as voted on by the fans.

In an UFC special on FS1, they show the top 5 fights of the year, and then opens up the polls on FoxSports.com, and UFC.com for the fans to vote with all the fights fresh in their minds.

Present the award during the year end PPV show.

If it was a success they could easily add SOTY, and KOTY as well.

All the reason Cutting Jon Fitch was the right move

dpk875 — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 12:00:24 -0000

Like many fans I was surprised when UFC cut top 10 Welterweight Jon Fitch, but the more I've thought about it cutting Fitch is a good move. Here are all the best reason's I've seen for cutting Jon.

- Jon is too expensive. Some people are harping on the $66K number, and saying that is crazy to think that Fitch is being cut over $66K. When budgeting a fight card UFC cannot count on Fitch to make $66K, they have to consider the $132K that he can potentially make with a win. They also have to consider the amount of business that a fighter paid that much will generate. Is Jon Fitch selling $132K worth of seats, and PPVs? No, the other fighters on the card are, but I seriously doubt any casual fan is bought UFC 156 because of Jon Fitch.

- Fitch is on the way down - Jon turns 35 next week. How many MMA fighters (or any athlete's in any sport) have improved after their 35th birthday (without Steroids)? Considering Dana's new take on TRT, take out a guy like Hendo who used it to revive their careers. The only guys that were mentioned to me are Randy Couture, Damien Maia, and Anderson Silva hasn't declined much. If sure I'm missing a few, but the point is that Fitch is at the point in his career where he can be expected to start declining rapidly. Some also look at the 9 or 10 year rule in MMA as the point where fighters decline rapidly... Fitch has passed those marks as well.

- Health Insurance Cost Money - With all the injuries that UFC had last year, UFC had to keep a bloated roster, and bring in a lot of guys to fill in fights on short notice. All of these fighters are entitled to the UFC health insurance policy. Jon has had two 10 months lay-offs since his BJ Penn fight. That is a lot of time that UFC has been paying insurance on Fitch to sit on the side-lines. Dana White said they are looking to give guys three fights a year, so keeping a guy who had two long recent layoffs isn't fitting some of the plans. If we want to go back to the age argument, is there any reason to think Fitch is going to suffer fewer injuries during training moving forward?

- Jon is Bellator Bait - Dana White pretty much said it... "Viacom MMA has a lot of money, let him sign over there." UFC would love to see Fitch sign with Bellator for a few reason. First, as Ben Askren has shown, many of the Welterweights on the Bellator roster have a wrestling deficiency, Fitch even in decline would run through that division and set up a fight with Askren. Ben Askren became Bellator Champion in October 2010... If he had the same, or similar three year contract as Eddie Alavrez he might be in line to be a Free Agent this fall/winter. UFC would love to know just how good Askren is, and Fitch, or even Santiago could be the guy to help them figure it out before they have to make an offer.

- There is a market for MMA right now - Bellator, and WSOF both have TV deals in North America. OneFC is looking to make noise in Asia. Jon Fitch is a free agent, and the market will tell him exactly what he is worth. Bellator has said they are not interested, and that is very telling because the MMA folks at Viacom had a very close look at the prime years of Fitch's career while they were working with UFC.

- Jon will make an amazing trainer and coach, this might be the best thing for him - Nobody has ever confused Jon with being an all time great athlete. He is a grinder, who in my opinion got the most out of the natural talent he had. If Jon retired now, and began training fighters he could become an all-time great at that. He has D-1 level wrestling, Black belt in Guerilla Jiu Jitsu, has improved his striking over the years, and was always good at game planning, and exploiting the weaknesses of his opponents. He also works with one of the best camps out there at AKA, and could tie in with elite trainers to help him along the way.

Like many fans I was surprised when UFC cut top 10 Welterweight Jon Fitch, but the more I've thought about it cutting Fitch is a good move. Here are all the best reason's I've seen for cutting Jon.

Wrestling to be dropped from 2020 Olympics

dpk875 — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:01:34 -0000

I'm scrolling through the news this morning and I come across this article on FOXNEWS.com. To summarize it says that the International Olympic Committee has decided to drop a sport from the 2020 Olympics, and that Wrestling did not make the cut. The article does not say if it is Freestyle, Greco Roman or both that are on the cutting board. Honestly if this report is true I'm stunned. Wrestling is a sport that traces it's lineage back to the original Olympics in Greece, and is well represented by countries across Europe, Asia, and North America, with both Men and Women competing at the most recent Olympics.

Being a bigger MMA fan than Wrestling fan my immediate thoughts are how, if any impact will this have on MMA? The Olympics is the biggest showcase for Wrestlers on the world stage, and the USA Wrestling "Living the Dream" fund set up the reward US Wrestlers for Medal success on the world stage is much more lucrative for Olympic success vs. the World Championships. My initial thought is that even more guys will push toward MMA immediately when the graduate college instead of pursuing wrestling through the Olympic four year cycle. Time will tell, and this is just an early report, and my first thoughts.

I'll be very interested to hear more about this over the coming months, and see if powerful Olympic Contingents like Russia can do something to protect a sport that is certain to provide them with medals at every Olympic games.

The Strikeforce Leftovers -

dpk875 — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 17:17:47 -0000

Strikeforce has come to an end, and we know many of the fighters who will be moving over to the UFC, but there are a handful of fighters we will take a look at who did not fight on the final card who could end up in the UFC.

Light-Heavyweights -

Gian Villante - After a rough start, he finished his Strikeforce Tenure with a 3 fight winning streak. Add to the fact that he has spent time training with Team Serra-Longo and I'd expect him to get a chance in UFC.

Guto Inocente - An undefeated prospect who won his only Strikeforce fight, he should at least get a shot in a not so deep LHW division.

Ovince St. Preux - Went 6-1 under the Strikeforce Promotion, his only loss coming to Gregard Mousasi. OSP should be an easy pick up for UFC, especially in this division.

Middleweight -

Adlan Amagov - He was 3-1 in Strikeforce, and trains with a quality team at Greg Jackson's in New Mexico. He finished with a solid KO win and I see UFC at least offering him a chance to prove himself.

Welterweight -

Jason High - Since he lost his UFC debut and was cut, High has won seven straight fights, including three straight in Strikeforce. He also defeated recently UFC addition Jordan Mein during that streak, so if he doesn't end up in UFC I'd be very surprised.

Jorge Santiago - Santiago was set to fight at the September card that was cancelled by Strikeforce. He has had two previous runs in UFC that did not end well, and I doubt that UFC gives him another shot.

Quinn Mulhern - He has won 10 of 11, and his last 3 in Strikeforce. He doesn't have a very high ceiling, but he could be a solid middle of the pack guy for a while, and I expect UFC to give him a chance.

Chris Spang - Went 2-1 in Strikeforce, and has a 5-1 overall record. A Swedish fighter, is something that UFC can always use on its roster as it takes time to target that region, but UFC might cut him loose to let him get some more seasoning. His brother has fought for Bellator, so I'd expect to see him head in that direction if UFC doesn't pick him up.

These were just the names I noticed looking through guys who were tied to Strikeforce that we did not see on the final card. Any fighter on this list that UFC doesn't pick up, I'd expect to at a minimum get an offer from Bellator.

Light-Heavyweights -

Guto Inocente - An undefeated prospect who won his only Strikeforce fight, he should at least get a shot in a not so deep LHW division.

Ovince St. Preux - Went 6-1 under the Strikeforce Promotion, his only loss coming to Gregard Mousasi. OSP should be an easy pick up for UFC, especially in this division.

Middleweight -

Welterweight -

Fights to make for Strikeforce Fighters

dpk875 — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 13:38:12 -0000

It has been rumored that all the winners from the Strikeforce card are coming over to UFC so how will they be matched up -

Tarec Saffiedine vs. Mike Pierce - Saffiedine pulled the big upset of the night by destroying Nate Marquardt's leg... I want to know if the big upset was a fluke, and there is no better fluke checker at Welterweight than Mike Pierce

Daniel Cormier vs Alexander Gustafsson - I know Cormier is probably going to hang out at HW until the Velasquez/Overeem fight happens... but I would rather see him start his drop to LHW and fight Gustafsson. Realistically we will see Cormier vs. Mir on FOX in April.

Josh Barnett vs. Roy Nelson - I think both guys would enjoy building this fight... plus the better option for Josh like Mir, Nog, and Werdum have other things going on.

Gregard Mousasi vs. Shogun Rua - Mousasi could be fighting for the UFC LHW title at some point, and he is a top 12 talent with a lot of good fights to be made over the next few years .

Jacare Souza vs. Costa Phillippou - Both have worked their way into my top 10. It would be a big time contrast in styles, but one would come out a true contender.

Ed Herman vs. Tom Lawlor - Why not, a couple of journeymen who need to establish what level of gatekeeper they are going to be.

Ryan Couture vs Rustam Khabilov - Couture is still very much a prospect, and Khabilov could launch himself to be a star off the Couture name

KJ Noons vs Nate Diaz - KJ lost, but many think he won. He has a family history with the Nick Diaz, so why not let him throw down with Nate

Tim Kennedy vs. Alan Belcher - Kennedy will be a solid gate keeper to the top 15 of the division, and a fight with Belcher would give everyone a good idea of exactly how good he is.

Pat Healy vs. Mark Bocek - Healy is a big powerful grappler... so is Bocek, who is going to fill that role in the middle of UFC's pack

Roger Gracie vs. Chris Leben - Gracie is a money name, and Leben is more name than fighter at this point. This would be an interesting fight, that UFC could make to take advantage of the name value of the fighters.

Adriano Martins vs. Jon Tuck - I look at Martins and Payan the same as guys who come off of TUF, and that is unproven... so why not give them some TUF level fighters to prove themselves to.

Estevan Payan vs. Mike Rio