Fight Game Blog

The show opens with Randy saying not fighting for over a year has been tough since he likes to compete. Dana and Randy are shown flying on a jet to ESPN studios in early September and they meet Brock in the hotel. Dana says this is going to be the biggest fight in UFC history.

The discussion is about Brock’s inexperience with Randy’s side saying that it’s going to be too much for him, while Brock’s side says that they said the same thing about Heath Herring.

Brock says Randy has to push 275 pounds around the octagon. He says that Randy won’t be able to control him like he has other wrestlers. Brock says that Randy’s going to be a stepping stone. Yikes.

Randy says what’s really important is the journey. Randy talks about his first UFC show at UFC 13. He beat Tony Halme and Stephen Grant to win the heavyweight tournament.

Randy says he was being set up to lose to Vitor Belfort. But he beat Belfort and then beat Maurice Smith to win the UFC heavyweight title.

They talk about Randy leaving the UFC but don’t explain why (money) and fighting in Japan for three years before beating Kevin Randleman to win the UFC belt again in 2000.

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Though Randy Couture hasn’t signed quite signed the dotted line with the UFC (as far as we know), the hot story around the MMA world is his possible comeback to the UFC. The big match that’s been speculated about is a November fight in Portland, Oregon against Brock Lesnar.

But there’s another fight that was bandied about back and forth and that was a fourth match against Chuck Liddell in a legend vs. legend of sorts. Liddell holds the edge in against Couture in their three match-ups with two wins to Randy’s one.

Randy Couture With David Marmet Courtesy Of David Shankbone

Their first bout was held at UFC 43 and it was fight for the interim light heavyweight championship. Tito Ortiz refused to face Liddell for the money that was being offered, and rather than wait for Ortiz, the UFC put Liddell, who was the number one contender, into the octagon against Couture, the former heavyweight champion who was coming off consecutive losses to Ricco Rodriguez and Josh Barnett. Liddell was the hottest star and the money was supposed to be in Tito and Chuck fighting for the undisputed title. Couture showed everyone how to beat Liddell in that fight. He got inside of Liddell’s comfort zone, forced the fight on him, and won by TKO. It was an amazing performance.

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I used to do a post once or twice a week at my old site in which I posted links and recapped news stories. I’m bringing it back. The column was MMA only, but because our new site focuses on MMA, boxing, and pro wrestling, so will this column.

News and notes from around the MMA world …

- The UFC Fight Night payouts were just a we bit less than the Affliction payouts. Yes, it said that Tim Sylvia made nearly $800,000 for 36 seconds of work.

- Eric Raskin (for The Ring Magazine and through ESPN.com) says that if you see one fight all year, you have to see Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito.

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Live bands never translate well when playing at sporting events and Megadeth was no exception. The fighters came out onto the ramp and stood around looking bored while the band played.

Unified rules for all matches.

Pyle vs. Ambrose – Ambrose came out aggressive, they clinched against the ropes for a minute, Pyle took him down with a body lock and went almost immediately to mount. Ambrose gave the back, Pyle worked a few choke attempts and finally caught him with the RNC. Quick bout, nothing to get too excited about as it was very one sided and over with quickly. Good victory by Pyle.

Nogueira vs Dewees – feeling each other out with punches and kicks by Dewees. Nothing has any bad intentions and it’s fairly even. Nogueira catches Dewees in a Thai clinch and lands some good shots, gets him in the corner and lands a nice left to put him down. He finishes some with some punches on the ground and as Dewees starts to work his way between the ropes Herb Dean calls it off. Edwin pops right back up after the fight is called. Nogueira wins by TKO.

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You can call it Super Saturday, or in my house, you can call it “Affliction is $40 and UFC is free, so I’ll watch UFC”. But it truly is a big night of fights.

The big one is Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia for the WAMMA Heavyweight title. UFC counteracts with Anderson Silva in his UFC 205 pound debut against James Irvin.

Your friends at Fight Game Blog have put together a preview of sorts. Since there are two shows, we simply took the best five fights on the shows combined and predicted the finishes, the winner, and included a bit of commentary about the fights. Enjoy.

Fedor picture is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0

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News and notes from around the MMA world …

- Dave Meltzer charts former Pride fighters and how they’ve done in the UFC and also says that neither company came out the winner.

- Now Tim Sylvia is teasing that he might be unhappy.

- While we’re talking about Tim, did he use lotion to make his skin slippery against Big Nog?

- Diego Sanchez says he wants Josh Koscheck in a rematch.

- Referee Steve Mazzagatti says that he warned Lesnar, but Lesnar might not have heard him before docking him a point for hitting Frank Mir in the back of the head.

- Frankie Edgar thinks his fight with Gray Maynard at the next UFC Fight Night could end up at every position.

- Strikeforce At The Dome will be broadcast on HDNet.

- Don Frye to fight Oleg Taktarov at YAMMA’s first PPV?

Talking Points

Tim Sylvia doesn’t have the same kind of drawing power that Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz do. When a fighter talks about leaving the UFC because of money reasons, the idea that they can go to another company and increase their worth to the MMA buying audience is preposterous. Randy Couture could make a lot of money for one or two fights, but in no way are those fights going to reach the same kind of PPV audience that a UFC show could. Tito Ortiz has one possible fight with Frank Shamrock that could do decent business outside of the UFC. But Tim Sylvia? He’s not a draw like both of those men are. Even if he were to go to M-1 to fight Fedor Emelianenko, that fight doesn’t draw to a non-hardcore audience. He’s upset that Brock Lesnar made more money than he did, but he has to understand that Lesnar and Mir drew the PPV buyrate and the house. Sylvia is a decent fighter when it comes to a semi-main event spot, like the last PPV (even though they fought last, Lesnar/Mir drew the house), but he’s not going to command the kind of money Couture or Ortiz would because of his history as someone who doesn’t sell fights.

1. Tyson Griffin vs. Gleison Tibau

Really good first round. Griffin and Tibau were simply standing and trading punches. Griffin was getting the better of it standing, utilizing both straight rights and overhand rights. Tibau shot in and took him down, but they were both back up in the middle. Griffin was tagging him near the end of the first and it’s his round.

The second round wasn’t quite as fast paced as the first. Griffin was still winning the stand up game, but Tibau was able to take him down a few times. But he couldn’t keep him down. Even with the shorter reach, Griffin is still landing from the outside at will.

The third round was very much like the second. Tibau was able to take him down, but not do anything with him. Griffin was landing overhand rights pretty much at will. The fight ended with Griffin pushing Tibau up against the cage and foot stomping him.

Winner: Tyson Griffin by way of unanimous decision.

2. Ricardo Almeida vs. Rob Yundt

Almeida got a takedown and locked in a guillotine. Yundt tried to get up and fall forward on Almeida, but momentum took them completely over and they ended up in the exact same position. Yundt tapped.

Winner: Ricardo Almeida by way of first round submission.

3. Nate Marquardt vs. Jeremy Horn

Marquardt was landing some good shots and then took Horn down twice by underhooking him and taking him down with one arm. He was able to throw some bombs from the top, but Horn controlled him after that. Horn tries to get a shoulder lock near the end, but Marquardt gets out of it right before the end of the round.

Marquardt slipped early in the round and Horn got on top of him. They got back up and Horn shot in and pushed him up against the cage. Marquardt locked him in a guillotine and Horn tried to slip out by going to the mat, but Marquardt blocked him and cranked on the neck at the same time. Horn had to tap or risk his head being detached from his neck.

Winner: Nate Marquardt by way of second round submission.

4. Tim Boetsch vs. David Heath (taped from earlier in the night)

Boetsch simply owned him for the fight. Heath was able to land some punches in a flurry, but other than that, front kicks, knees, and overhand rights were landed at will by Boetsch. Late in the round, he threw him into the cage and Heath landed on top of his head and a few punches later, it was over.

Winner: Tim Boetsch by way of first round TKO.

5. Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar came out and immediately took him down. He was on top and throwing hammer punches from the top position. Mir turned his head and Lesnar hit him on the back of the head. The referee came between them and took a point away from Lesnar for hitting him in the back of the head. Back in the middle, Lesnar landed a punch and Mir pulled guard. Lesnar was on top again and landing. Mir was already bloody. Mir grabbed Lesnar’s leg and Lesnar turned into the knee bar and had to tap out. Great fight for what it was.

Winner: Frank Mir by way of first round submission.

6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Tim Sylvia

Sylvia knocked Nogueira down early in the round and blanketed him. He let him back up and snapped his head back again. Nogueira went for a half-assed shot, but Sylvia ended up on top again. He let him up and then let him catch his breath. Nogueira ended up catching his breath and taking Sylvia down at the end of the round. But it was all Sylvia. Maybe even 10-8.

The second round was a boxing match. Rather than go after Nogueira, he let him get his breath back and it’s back to a striking match. Nog went for a single leg and didn’t get it. Nog landed a short left hook, but it was still Sylvia’s round.

In the third, Nogueira finally got the takedown, but Sylvia ended up on top. He swept Sylvia and immediately his guard into his half guard. Sylvia tried to get out, but got caught in a guillotine and immediately tapped.

Winner: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria by way of third round submission.

7. Chris Lytle vs. Kyle Bradley

Lytle came out swinging and landing. Bradley was so out of it that when the referee stopped it, Bradley pulled guard on the referee.

Winner: Chris Lytle by way of first round TKO.

8. Rob Emerson vs. Keita Nakamura

Emerson pretty much had his way with Nakamura by using good boxing and following up with counterpunches. Nakamura scored with a big knee that knocked Emerson down near the end of the round.

Second round was much of the same. Both guys landed many punches, but Nakamura got a takedown late in the second. But he’s also bleeding from an inadvertant elbow.

The guys were tired, but didn’t stop throwing punches. Nakamura got a takedown near the end of the round and ended up on top of Emerson when the fight was over.

Winner: Rob Emerson by way of split decision.

News and notes from around the MMA world …

- There are a ton of UFC 81 articles out there, most of which surround Brock Lesnar.

Lesnar wants to fight for the competition.
Both Lesnar and the UFC have a lot riding on UFC 81.
Mir’s comeback trail leads to Lesnar.
Dana White compares Frank Mir to B.J. Penn.
Mike Coughlin previews Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar.
Dave Meltzer has last minute weigh in notes.

- Shogun says he’s fighting Chuck Liddell next.

- Dana White asks Randy Couture to be a man.

- Mark Cuban thinks the The Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act of 2000 will have to be adhered to by the UFC eventually.

Talking Points

Is Brock Lesnar the real deal? That question will be answered tomorrow evening when he does battle with Frank Mir. As you can tell by the links I posted above, most of the publicity surrounding this battle have to do with Lesnar and whether he can hang or not. If my prediction is right, then he will show that he’s the real deal. Frank Mir himself has stated in the past that he believes that if it lasts the full three rounds, he won’t be able win the decision. But he does think that he will get the better of the stand-up as well as be able to beat Lesnar on the ground. On the Countdown To UFC 81 show, there were highlights of Mir putting on sick submissions. If Lesnar’s strength is going to be his wrestling, wouldn’t taking Mir down mean that he’ll be set up for submissions? I think it comes down to a matter of who is in shape. Lesnar is going to be much stronger than Mir and Mir’s shot is to tire out Lesnar, weaken his defense, and get a submission locked on. If Lesnar outlasts him from a stamina standpoint, Mir is most likely going to tire out and his submissions will be far weaker. And if Lesnar outlasts him, I see Lesnar simply laying on top of him and pounding him. I think the first round will be important from Lesnar’s perspective in that it will be his first five minutes in the big time. He’ll be wide eyed and finally in the octagon for real. If he lasts the first five minutes, I think he’ll win the fight. Mir’s chance is to weaken Lesnar enough to be able to put him in a hold. Lesnar’s a big man and won’t be easy to maneuver.

There is an interim championship match, but it’s not the focus of the show. Tim Sylvia is facing Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Both men are battle tested, but one would think Sylvia’s size would be too much for Nogueira. That’s definitely going to be an issue, but Sylvia’s style is going to be a bigger issue. Randy Couture laid out the blue print in how to beat Sylvia. Get in close, use your inside strikes, take him down, be quicker and don’t be afraid to take a punch to land a punch. Nogueira’s wrestling isn’t as strong as Couture’s and he may not be as crafty a boxer as Couture either. So it’s going to come down to whether or not he’ll be able to frustrate Sylvia enough to where he’ll be able to use quickness to take him down. On the ground is his best bet, but Sylvia doesn’t go down easily. Sylvia also has good ground defense and utilizes his size to keep his foe away from him as far as possible. I don’t think Sylvia will be able to knock him out. But I do think he’ll be able to fight his fight and beat Nogueira by decision after five rounds. And if that’s the case, it’s going to be a boring match.