Fight Game Blog

Though I’d been following the UFC for about a year through newsletters and the Internet, I hadn’t bought a PPV until UFC 43. I was a big Chuck Liddell fan, mostly because my co-worker Jeremiah Miller was a college buddy of Chuck’s. He gave me a signed poster that I still have today and I’ve been a big Liddell fan since. Jeremiah was even named in Chuck’s biography.

I remember buying this show mostly because my then wife was out of town on business and I had two toddlers to watch all weekend. When they went to sleep, I didn’t really have anything to do and figured that because I was a young dad home alone with his two young boys, I deserved to spend some money on an event. But also, I expected Chuck Liddell to win the interim light heavyweight championship in his match with Randy Couture and I wanted to see it happen. Let’s just say that I wasn’t a happy Chuck fan that night.

Couture wasn’t necessarily a set up for Liddell that night, but the fight was there for Chuck to win. Couture was a former heavyweight champion, but he was 38 years old and people were saying that he was now over the hill. He dieted down to make the 205 lb weight limit and looked to have nearly zero body fat. The reason Randy and Chuck were fighting rather than Chuck and Tito Ortiz (who was the champion at the time) was because Ortiz bailed on the fight. After beating Ken Shamrock (which was actually the first UFC PPV I ever saw), Tito seemed noncommittal about fighting Chuck after pretty much saying that he had to take care of Shamrock first and then he’d be ready. When push came to shove, Tito wasn’t there so Dana White and company decided to put Liddell in there with Couture to determine the interim champ. And then, Ortiz would have to face the winner.

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News and notes from around the MMA world …

- We have a full write-up on the latest EXC from last weekend featuring Kimbo Slice knocking out Tank Abbott.

- Speaking of the fight, there’s a ton of media surrounding the outcome.

The Miami Hurricanes newspaper has thoughts on Kimbo.
The Miami Herald has it’s take on Kimbo.
What’s next for Kimbo Slice?
What did Kimbo and Tank make for less than a minute of fighting?
Bryan Alvarez reports that Showtime did 522,000 viewers for the fight.

- HDNet Fights and Randy Couture apparently have a contract together that starts when his contract with UFC is over.

- Dave Meltzer has more on HDNet and Mark Cuban entering the fray.

- Brock Lesnar looks to have done a top five UFC buyrate.

- Frank Mir says he needs one more win to be in line for a title shot.

- Floyd Mayweather Jr. may have been talking to Mark Cuban, but he’s working for Vince McMahon.

Talking Points

EXC took a lot of flack from the hardcore MMA fan base for putting Kimbo Slice up against Tank Abbott as the main event of their big show last weekend. As I said last week, it’s a much different approach from a show that also happened last week, WEC 32. That event showcased smaller fighters and more technical bouts, while the EXC show was fixated around the freak show main event. At the end of the day, as far as I’m concerned, it’s about having a business model that works. If the EXC can utilize main events that help them make money that might not be your prototypical MMA fight, so be it. Watching that show, Kimbo Slice looked like a huge star. They need to figure out a way to keep him at that level and find more eye balls. I don’t know if they are THE ALTERNATIVE, but they definitely have someone who can draw a crowd in his hometown (over 7,000 in Miami vs. a little over 4,000 for Carlos Condit in Albuquerque) and possibly get some folks to give it a shot.

1. Brett Rogers vs. James Thompson

Rogers knocked this man silly. It was slow until the middle of the round and then Rogers hit a knee and four straight punches. He was knocked completely loopy.

Winner: Brett Rogers by way of first round TKO

2. Edson Berto vs. Yves Edwards

They were both landing early, but Berto took it to the ground. He had a guillotine in and it looked tight, but Edwards got out and nearly got a kimura. Edwards was on top and both men were striking from their positions, but the referee stood them up anyway. Berto shot in for a single leg and actually grabbed a hold of his right leg, but Edwards jumped with his free leg and threw a wicked knee and Berto went down and was out.

Winner: Yves Edwards by way of first round TKO

3. Kyle Noke vs. Scott Smith

Noke took the first round on points strictly from boxing his way through it. He was sticking and moving but never hurting Smith. Smith got a few shots in early. In the second, Noke threw a couple punches that Smith walked right through and then Smith landed a right hand to Noke’s mouth and Noke went out completely. He was out before he hit the ground.

Winner: Scott Smith by way of second round TKO

4. Ricco Rodriguez vs. Antonio Silva

The story of the fight was that Rodriguez was far more active and game than he seemed to be early on. He looked to be afraid of Silva’s strength, but eventually got a takedown late in the first. In the second, Silva was on top and was hitting Rodriguez with some heavy shots, cutting him over his left eye. Rodriguez got the referee to stop the fight so the doctor could check his eye, but it seemed like he did it more so to catch his breath as he winked at the camera. The second was all Silva. In the third, Silva got a takedown but the referee stood them back up and Rodriguez got the takedown. He tried to steal the round, but didn’t do much while on top. It was a boring fight, and afterwards Silva said that he tore his MCL a couple weeks ago. The surprise was that even as fat and out of shape Rodriguez looked, he fought well.

Winner: Antonio Silva by way of split decision

5. Tank Abbott vs. Kimbo Slice

Abbott came out and pushed Slice against the cage, but Slice was able to push him off. Slice put him on all fours, but the referee came in the middle of them because of a punch to the head and Slice received a warning. He knocked Abbott back down twice, with one shot to the head and one to the back of the shoulder. It was more like a forearm. Abbott was back up and was knocked out off a right/left combination.

Winner: Kimbo Slice by way of first round TKO.

News and notes from around the MMA world …

- We have a write-up about WEC 32 from earlier this week.

- Mark Cuban and HDNET Fights are now involved with the Randy Couture and the UFC war.

- Who else is possibly getting into the MMA game?

- Ricco Rodriguez thinks that Kimbo Slice and Tank Abbott are tomato cans.

- Leonard Garcia wants Urijah Faber.

- Matt Lindland says that the UFC won’t offer him a new deal.

Talking Points

Tomorrow night is the big EXC show with Tank Abbott and Kimbo Slice in the main event. When you look at this show, versus the WEC show from earlier this week, you see the difference between the two companies. With EXC, you have a slobberknocker of a main event, but not one that is going to show off the arts part of the name Mixed Martial Arts. These guys are going to swing until one of them can’t swing anymore. With the WEC you had some very technical matches at lighter weights. Tomorrow night, the semi-main event is a second heavyweight bout between Ricco Rodriguez and Antonio Silva being the semi-main event. The WEC focuses on the smaller weights, including ones that other promotions don’t feature like 135 and 145 pound weight divisions. The two promotions are both different enough to where they don’t cancel each other out in my opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed the WEC show on Wednesday, and I imagine I’ll enjoy the EXC show for different reasons.

EXC is really banking on Kimbo Slice and this is another opportunity for him show people that he’s the real deal. He’s going to have his hands full, for at least some of the first round. Tank’s strategy is usually to come out swinging for the knockout and then tire out completely if he doesn’t get it. I’d imagine that will happen tomorrow. Scott Smith, a former UFC fighter, also makes his EXC debut.

Here’s the card.

News and notes from around the MMA world …

- Ken Shamrock has an opponent for his March Cage Rage fight.

- MMAPayout looks at the UFC 80 Countdown Show.

- Dave Meltzer writes about Fabricio Werdum and Gabriel Gonzaga which is a rematch of a fight that Werdum won 4 years ago.

- CBS Sportsline analyzes UFC 80.

- UFC is going to work with TNA Wrestling to help in promoting Brock Lesnar.

- Kimbo Slice says that he’s going to make Tank Abbott piss blood.

- B.J. Penn wants another crack at Georges St. Pierre after Joe Stevenson.

- FHM showcases the girls of the octagon.

- Dana White doesn’t think Europe is a profitable market.

Talking Points

UFC 80 comes from Newcastle, England on Saturday and it has an early start for US viewers. It’s a 3PM Eastern/Noon Pacific start time, which means I’m going to be watching this show before I eat lunch. I should have live play by play here on the blog.

B.J. Penn faces Joe “Daddy” Stevenson in the main event for the lightweight championship. Interestingly enough, it’s a title that has evaded Penn, who is a former welterweight champion. The reason why this fight is for the lightweight title is because former champion Sean Sherk failed his drug test for steroids and was suspended. He was then stripped of the belt, but according to Dana White, will get the first shot at the new champ. Penn and Sherk have been squawking at each other through the media and their match-up is a natural one, and would’ve been the match-up had Sherk not failed his drug test. Stevenson was the next in line and he’s in his first main event on a PPV show. The show itself is one of the weaker efforts on paper and is a show that more than likely will be one of the lower bought efforts since the UFC explosion in 2006.

But at least the this fight should be good. The match has all the makings of a ground war that should be fast paced for at least a few rounds. Stevenson will probably try and push the pace to test Penn who has been out of shape in the past. But after watching the countdown show on Spike TV, he looks to be taking his training very seriously. I think Penn will win by submission, but not until at least the third round. This is one of those fights where Stevenson can make his name just as much by losing a great fight, as he could by upsetting Penn. Not too many people are expecting him to win. While it’s not the marquee style of main event, especially after all the star power on the December card, it should still be a fun fight and one that should bring the goods.

The semi-main event pits Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Fabricio Werdum. After beating Mirko Cro Cop and main eventing against Randy Couture, Gonzaga is now a big name in the UFC. But I’m not sure about Werdum. Werdum actually beat Gonzaga when both were early in their career, so this is a revenge fight for Gonzaga. Werdum fought in Pride and made his name there, but after his fight last year against Andrei Arlovski, it doesn’t seem like he and Gonzaga should be all that close. You’d think that with the level of competition he’s faced in his last two fights, Gonzaga should be ready to fight at different level than Werdum. I think Gonzaga wins the fight, either by a knockout or submission in the second round. They’re both jiu-jitsu fighters, but Gonzaga seems to have the better stand-up based on what I’ve seen from both in the UFC. With a win, you’d think that Gonzaga would be thrown right back in with the top heavyweight fighters again.

News and notes from around the MMA world …

- Where does Matt Hughes go from here?

- Thales Laites is out of UFC 81 because of injury.

- Sam Caplan predicts his breakout stars for 2008.

- Adam Swift chooses his 2007 awards and summarizes 2007’s power players.

- Tank Abbott vs. Kimbo Slice is on for February.

- What’s next Mirko Cro Cop?

- Dave Meltzer recaps the business of 2007 and and foretells the business of 2008.

- How well do you know MMA? (I scored 7 out of 10. If you take the quiz, let me know your score in the comments section.)

- Guess who’s back, back again?

- It looks like Diego Sanchez is staying at welterweight.

- Look at how they are building up Brock Lesnar.

Talking Points

Two big MMA names are on prime time network television, and there’s not much buzz about it. Tito Ortiz is one of the contestants on Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice and Gina Carano is a gladiator on American Gladiators. I missed the first episode of Celebrity Apprentice because of DVR difficulties, but I’ll be watching it from here on out. Based on previous episodes I’ve seen of the show, this is tailor made for Ortiz and he should do well. As for American Gladiators, based on the Sunday Night premiere (I haven’t watched Monday’s show yet), Carano isn’t really show cased and doesn’t stand out, but she is the prettiest of the female gladiators (though really, that’s not saying much). I’m interested to see how she does because by being natural looking, she’s not memorable right off the bat.

If you get the chance, make sure you check out the UFC 81 site that I linked above. There’s a trailer where they show Brock Lesnar with his WWE belt and in the hype video for Mir and Lesnar, they even talk about his pro wrestling background. I think it’s great that the WWE allowed the UFC to use the footage, and let’s face it, it probably helps WWE just as much as it does UFC to have WWE footage on UFC TV. I especially liked it when Lesnar called Mir, Frank Mur.