The MMA (Non-UFC) Thread

[Hammy]

Well since we have a thread dedicated to UFC i felt we needed one for the rest of the MMA world.  I make a point of watching as much MMA stuff as i can and watched PRIDE until it's final days.  Now i make a point of watching Elite XC/StrikeForce, K-1, BoDogFight and Cage Rage who get coverage on Sky channel TWCFight! and who have got themselves a deal with Sky Sports.  Now we all know UFC is #1 but variety is the spice of life and there are some really entertaining things in these other companies.  Brock Lesnar's debut (Which was a complete mis-match), the entertaining scrap between Baroni & Shamrock and Cage Rage's penchant for getting watched up stars for us Brits to demolish.  CR has had plenty of big names, Anderson Silva was a champion there, Mark Kerr, Tank Abbott, Butterbean, Vitor Belfort have/are active stars of the group.  Last night was CR22 - Hard As Hell and it was damn fun.  Herb Dean (UFC Referee) had his last ever MMA fight and after dominating the first round lose due to losing the sight in one of his eyes.  Butterbean got stopped after nailing a vicious shot, he failed to finish the fight and lost to ground and pound.  James Thompson got knocked out cold in 10 seconds in hilarious fashion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKlHMkcQ61A), his opponent, a farmer in only his 3rd MMA fight was a last minute replacement (2 days notice...) for Cabbage.  It was a fun event, obviously the class difference in fighters is clear to be seen but this stuff is great entertainment and Dave and Andy the presenters/people who run it are so much fun....great stuff! Cage Rage 22 Highlights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjQpWatmbrE

[C0ma]

Well since we have a thread dedicated to UFC i felt we needed one for the rest of the MMA world.? I make a point of watching as much MMA stuff as i can and watched PRIDE until it's final days.? Now i make a point of watching Elite XC/StrikeForce, K-1, BoDogFight and Cage Rage who get coverage on Sky channel TWCFight! and who have got themselves a deal with Sky Sports.? Now we all know UFC is #1 but variety is the spice of life and there are some really entertaining things in these other companies.? Brock Lesnar's debut (Which was a complete mis-match), the entertaining scrap between Baroni & Shamrock and Cage Rage's penchant for getting watched up stars for us Brits to demolish.? CR has had plenty of big names, Anderson Silva was a champion there, Mark Kerr, Tank Abbott, Butterbean, Vitor Belfort have/are active stars of the group.? Last night was CR22 - Hard As Hell and it was damn fun.? Herb Dean (UFC Referee) had his last ever MMA fight and after dominating the first round lose due to losing the sight in one of his eyes.? Butterbean got stopped after nailing a vicious shot, he failed to finish the fight and lost to ground and pound.? James Thompson got knocked out cold in 10 seconds in hilarious fashion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKlHMkcQ61A), his opponent, a farmer in only his 3rd MMA fight was a last minute replacement (2 days notice...) for Cabbage.? It was a fun event, obviously the class difference in fighters is clear to be seen but this stuff is great entertainment and Dave and Andy the presenters/people who run it are so much fun....great stuff! Cage Rage 22 Highlights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjQpWatmbrE

I can't wait for the next EliteXC card another guy from my hometown (I am starting to wonder why I didn't see more fights) is making his debut.

[D]

I really like the TapOuT show

U need to Torrent some episodes.

The guys who own TapOuT go and find new fighters and take them to a fight and if they do good they sponsor them


Its a cool show.

[C0ma]

I love the Tapout show, you really get a feel for exactly what these guys go thru prior to a fight. Sure the Ultimate Fighter gives you a look at training and weight cutting, but this gives you a really good look at the behind the scenes things that go on durring a small show. It also give you a look at the non-UFC business end of things.

[Hammy]

The following is the current fight card for the December 1st-scheduled Cage Rage 24 "Feel The Pain" show scheduled to emanate from the Wembley Arena in London, England:

-Abdul Mohammed vs. Robbie Oliver
-Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos vs. Paul Cahoon
-James McSweeney vs. Robert Paczkow
-Neil Grove vs. Robert Berry
-Mark Epstein vs. Tom Watson
-Ross Pointon vs. Marios Zaromskis
-Brad Pickett vs. Ronnie Mann

There is also a rumour that "Krazy Horse" Charles Bennett may make it on the card to.  Main interest for me would be Grove vs Berry, 2 very heavy hitters, Grove is a monster, he's won his last few fights and demolished James Thompson in mere seconds (Although he's kind of joining a list of "Who hasn't?" in that respect..)

[Hammy]

The following is the final official fight card for the October 28th-scheduled K-1 HERO's MMA show from Seoul, South Korea:

-Denis Kang vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
-Carlos Newton vs. Shungo Oyama
-Marcelo Garcia vs. Dae Won Kim
-Zelg Galesic vs. Taiei Kin
-Yoon Dong Sik vs. Fabio Silva
-Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Min Soo Kim
-Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs. Tae Hyun Lee
-Katsuyori Shibata vs. Min Suk Heo
-Daisuke Nakamura vs. A Sol Kwon
-Bernard Ackah vs. Poai Suganuma
-Masanori Tonooka vs. RYO
-Eun Soo Lee vs. Magomed Sultanakhmadov

If anyone get's the chance K-1 Hero's is really worth checking out, great to see Carlos Newton and Denis Kang fighting for them, now PRIDE has gone they have the chance to fill the void in Japan.....

[Hammy]

PRIDE FC 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix Champion, Mirko ?Cro Cop? Filipovic, will no longer compete inside the Octagon, signing an undisclosed contract with the newly-minted DREAM promotion, according to Nokaut.com.

He will fight on March 15 against a yet to be named opponent. Lightweights J.Z. Calvan and Shinya Aoki will also fight on the card ? it was the only other match announced for the debut show, according to WrestlingObserver.com.

The Croatian still had two fights remaining on a UFC contract that he signed with much fanfare and high expectations toward the tail end of 2006. No details were provided regarding how or the reason he was released from his contract.

However, speculation has swirled that after two losses in three fights the UFC was not willing to pay him the base $350,000 to compete on under card matches (he more than likely pocketed more than that.)

Dave Meltzer indicated in the print edition of the Wrestling Observer newsletter recently that UFC officials were trying to negotiate a new deal that would pay him less ? perhaps the ?deadline? UFC President Dana White mentioned earlier this month.

Since his Octagon debut against Eddie Sanchez, Cro Cop looked uncomfortable and listless in his new surroundings. And even though he won that fight, he went on to drop his next two bouts ? a knockout loss to Gabriel Gonzaga and a lackluster unanimous decision defeat to Cheick Kongo.

It was a far cry from the devastating striker who made a name for himself decapitating people half a world away in Japan. It was also a major disappointment for fans who expected Cro Cop to soar to the top of the heavyweight division.

Oh well.

DREAM is a new collaborative effort between FEG (K-1, HERO?S) and former Dream Stage Entertainment staff (Pride), according to the announcement. Cro Cop was a star in K-1 prior to becoming a star on Pride FC. And he?s still extremely popular in Japan.

He?ll look to regain his old form; however, unless Cro Cop returns to the UFC before he retires he might always be remembered, at least here in the states, for what he didn?t do in the Octagon rather than what he accomplished outside of it.

Shame he didn't stay round for longer to show what he was capable of, because despite what a lot of haters want to say, he was capable of much more.  The positive though is him joining DREAM which, word is, is PRIDE under a different name basically, and that's just, GREAT!

[D]

I really feel tank Abbott is gonna test Kimbo Slice tomorrow.

Kimbo has never fought any competition, He fought Sean Gannon who got smoked in the UFC and lost in one of his backyard fights.


Tank looks in shape and He is gonna test Kimbo tomorrow night. I cant wait to watch this.

Also Ricco Rodriguez is fighting.

[Hammy]

I really feel tank Abbott is gonna test Kimbo Slice tomorrow.

Kimbo has never fought any competition, He fought Sean Gannon who got smoked in the UFC and lost in one of his backyard fights.


Tank looks in shape and He is gonna test Kimbo tomorrow night. I cant wait to watch this.

Also Ricco Rodriguez is fighting.

Can't see it.  Last fight he was in he was horried, admittedly he took it on one days notice and drunk beer to the cage and even rocked the guy but he gassed so soon.  I mean even with the right training he still gasses in the first minute or two.  Kimbo isn't stupid, as long as he doesn't get over eager he should beat him with ease.  His first fight was real short but he still looked impressive and more than just a brawler.  Tank's a relic and as fun as he is in truth he's an embarrasment to the sport and should retire, I mean the dude has lose like 7 of his last 8 fights, he's simply collecting pay cheques.

Ricco Rodriguez is a hell of a talent who went off the rails after he lost his title to Tim Sylvia.  I really wanna see him get back to his old self, hopefully he will beat Big Foot Silva.

[D]

Tank has taken the fight against Kimbo seriously. He weighed 263 which is really really small for tank. we are talking Ultimate Ultimate weight. And u remember what he did to Don Frye before slipping.

Kimbo has beat no one. A bunch of crackheads on the internet that u and i both would destroy.



I think Kimbo will end up subbing Tank maybe, but on the feet tank will kill him.


Ricco looked great at the weigh ins. No belly really at all.

[*Timothy*]

Kimbo defiantly need to take this to the ground other wise it may be a very early night for him.

The Ricco Rodriguez fight is one that I am looking forward to . Should be interesting to see if we have the old Ricco .

[Hammy]

I think Kimbo will knock Tank down and finish him via Ground N' Pound, I think his stand-up will surprise.

[D]

Wow this fight was a complete work.

Did u see the Ric Flair face bump Tank took at the end? Tank was pulling his punches and threw ZERO Right hands.


This fight was totally fake.

[Hammy]

So my prediction came good, get in!

[*Timothy*]

hope Tank got paid well for taking the dive.

[D]

So my prediction came good, get in!

Find the fight Hammy and tell me if u think this shit was a work or not.  That was my first reaction when watching this.

[Hammy]

So my prediction came good, get in!

Find the fight Hammy and tell me if u think this shit was a work or not.  That was my first reaction when watching this.

Just seen the event.  Liked the first 3 fights, some sweet finishes.  All the praise for Ricco seemed odd, he looked awful to me.

Tank didn't take a dive.  I mean really, the dude's lost 7 of his last 8 fights going in to this bout, and like I said Kimbo has trained well, I said he could beat him on the stand up, it's no surprise at all, guys with negative records who are expected to lose and have fuck all chances are hardly gonna be paid to take dives....

[Hammy]

Before tonight, Elite XC signing Ken Shamrock pointed to many top name fights, him vs his brother Frank and vs Kimbo Slice.  After tonight though, one thing is certain, he really needs to retire.  He was up against Robert "Buzz" Berry, an alright British Fighter, who was coming in off 2 losses, is 37 himself and is never likely to be a top contender.  Shamrock should of picked him apart.  For the opening 2 minutes Buzz kept clipping him with little shots, Shamrock did nothing, no attacking, I was sure he was building to something, ready to explode.  With 3 minutes left in the round he finally moved forward throwing a combination that came nowhere near.  He then went for a takedown which was easily blocked, he got clocked and looked rattled, Buzz opened up a cut on his face and soon after knocked him down for the 1st round stoppage.  Shamrock's value has vanished, just like guys before him such as Mark Kerr, Don Frye, Tank Abbott, he's past it and has become a joke, hasn't he lost something like 7 of his last 8 fights?  Kimbo would eat him alive and Frank would beat him with ease to, I know they signed him to a 4-Fight Deal but after tonight's performance he needs to call it a day.

In other news concerning relics coming out of retirement.  Ian Freeman announced he's coming back in May for Cage Rage 26 against Paul Cahoon, another medicore British Fighter coming off a win over Elvis Sinosic.

Masakazu "Ashikan Judan" Imanari tonight had a lovely little fight, only going 2 and a half minutes but it was action packed submission attempt after submission attempt, he finally won pulling off a lovely knee bar which led to his opponent being carried out of the cage.

[Hammy]

DREAM's debut Event this weekend, can't wait, hopefully I can find a torrent not long after.  We start with a kick ass Lightweight Grand Prix and hopefully the return of the Cro Cop of old.

DREAM 1

Mirko Filipović  vs. Tatsuya Mizuno 
Hayato Sakurai "Mach"  vs. Hidetaka Monma 
Shinya Aoki  vs. Gesias Calvancanti "JZ"
Tatsuya Kawajiri "Crusher"  vs. Kultar Gill "Black Mamba" 
Kazuyuki Miyata  vs. Luiz Firmino "Buscape" 
Joachim Hansen  vs. Kotetsu Boku 
Eddie Alvarez  vs. Andre Dida 
Mitsuhiro Ishida  vs. Bu-Kyung Jung 
Artur Oumakhanov  vs. Katsuhiko Nagata 
Minowaman  vs. Lee Gwanbom

The winner of the Grand Prix will get the GP Belt and the Lightweight Title, and looking at those belts and the company roster, owners and style, let's face fights, this is PRIDE under a different name, and it's going to be sweeet.

[Skeletor]

Hope Cro Cop can get back to business as usual... So he fucked up (in a way, I suppose) in the UFC, but he's still an entertaining fighter, and seems to be a fairly stable & down to earth personality as well. All the best to Mirko!