Affliction DOWN!

I was planning to do a photo blog tonight about my day at the Orange County Fair alas I haven't had the chance to upload my photos to the computer yet.

Instead, we'll talk about one of the happiest days in Dana White's life.

Affliction as a fight promoting company is dead. Not a big shock. I think we all saw it coming at one point or another but I think we also all thought they'd manage to get one more show out before the end. Josh Barnett and his love of being muscly ruined that one, didn't it?

So, with Barnett out, apparently Affliction decided they had no marketable Main Event available to save their show - a fair estimation in my point of view as they had presented no potential opponents that I'd pay to see Fedor against. Now, granted, I wasn't going to pay to see Barnett against Fedor either but...

Once again, there's a vacuum in MMA as Dream, Strike Force, and the UFC will scamper to pick up the pieces - not that there's a lot of pieces worth picking up. Anyone not named Fedor could pretty much have been had at any time.

One more obstacle is out of the way for that Fedor vs Brock match.

But will it be enough?

Oh, and don't get me started on the Tito Ortiz stuff!

Here Comes The Pain

After a week of Brock Lesnar being vilified by almost every sportswriter in the country, anyone actually get some perspective on it yet?

No?

I'm guessing not since I'm still seeing people complaining about his "post-fight antics" and the like.

Pro wrestling/MMA journalist Dave Meltzer had this to say - the best column I've seen so far on the situation...

There have been 61 fighters in Ultimate Fighting Championship history who were pro wrestlers at one point or another. There are nine on the current UFC roster. Of the six fighters in the UFC Hall of Fame, three – Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn and Mark Coleman – dabbled in wrestling.

But UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is the only one vilified for it.

...

This is not a defense of anything he did after the fight. But the reaction to Lesnar’s postfight comments and his flipping the bird at fans is just the latest example of a double standard Lesnar has faced in his MMA career.

What if the Lesnar and Dan Henderson fights and postfights on Saturday night were transposed? If Lesnar had thrown that totally legal but devastating second blow on an already knocked-out foe – and remarked in his interview that he was doing it to shut Mir’s mouth – people would have spent the past week demanding that he be banned from the sport. And would Henderson have gotten nearly Lesnar’s heat if he had pulled the same postfight antics as Lesnar?

You want to deny there’s a double standard here?

...

Of all the pro wrestlers who have come into the sport, only two – Lesnar and non-UFC fighter Bobby Lashley – have ever been disrespected by fellow fighters for being a pro wrestler. In Lesnar’s four UFC fights, only one opponent didn’t throw some kind of variation on “It’s not the WWE,” at him before the fight. In hyping the match, Mir implied Lesnar was strong but clueless when it came to fighting. Heath Herring and his camp had complained behind the scenes to company officials that it was a joke he was even put in the ring with a fake pro wrestler, and made public comments about how the punches were going to be real.

The only opponent who didn’t disrespect Lesnar before the fight was Randy Couture. The only opponent Lesnar didn’t trash talk afterward was Couture. Coincidence?

And Mir probably won’t be the last, given the fact that his potential next opponent, Shane Carwin, already has played the pro-wrestling card in starting the hype.

“We have no scripts in this port, no predetermined earning amount and no predetermined outcomes,” Carwin said.

...

Lesnar never asked to become the biggest villain the sport has ever seen, but he’s also smart enough and experienced enough at it that he knows it’s not all a bad thing. While running down Bud Light – UFC’s leading sponsor – was not the best of judgment, he’s turned out to be one of the greatest things for building the popularity of the sport.

Just as tennis had John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, and boxing had Muhammad Ali, and football has Terrell Owens, it is good for the sport to have a great villain. You don’t want a sport where everyone is like him; but when push comes to shove, Lesnar is great for the sport, just as St. Pierre is in a very different way.

...

The history of fights which have garnered the most interest and drawn the most money in UFC history, matches built by inflammatory interviews fashioned out of pro wrestling, are what made the sport and saved the sport. The examples are endless – from Tito Ortiz’s grudge with Ken Shamrock, to Couture spanking Ortiz at the end of their match, to Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans nearly coming to blows in the crowd. It’s a lesson very much worth examining for anyone arguing about what is good or bad for the future of the sport.

That’s not even a bad thing. But it’s simply accepting the truth of what all of this is, as opposed to living in a world of pretend – and then complaining about somebody because he used to be a pro wrestler.

One Step Closer

I know there's been a surplus of MMA stuff on here this week but honestly, what else am I going to talk about? The Home Run Derby? (didn't see it!)

But I did see this article that made me think I am one step closer to my MMA dream come true of Mirko Cro Cop vs Brock Lesnar in Japan! The linked article above basically has Dana White saying that "they" will have to kill him to keep the UFC out of Japan. Who are "they" in this instance?

The "dirty, sneaky, bad guys in Japan" trying to keep the UFC out of the country.

Dana White - How To Win Friends And Influence People

So, this week, Dana's been pissed at Brock, Dan Henderson, Electronic Arts, and now... basically, the Yakuza. And yes, one of those things are not like the others in a very big way... unless you think EA Sports might conspire to have Dana murdered on the streets.

It's in the game, you know?

Usually, I'm a big fan of Dana's big talking attitude but on this one... well, I just might keep my mouth shut and not try to antagonize the Yakuza before trying to break into the Japanese fight market.

Just a suggestion!

Quick UFC recap

Fun show. Not a great show by any stretch of the imagination but a fun show.

Like the result or not, the Hendo KO was top notch and I was legit concerned for Bisping for a while there.

Like the result or not (and I don't), you've gotta be impressed by yet another dominant GSP performance. Alves survived five rounds... which is about all I can give him. All throughout the fight, I just couldn't figure out who in the world would be next if GSP wins and to find out it's Mike Swick... I like Mike Swick but I can't imagine he has anything more than a puncher's chance against GSP. The postmatch promo makes me wonder if my Silva/GSP "dream match" has a chance of going down after all.

Like the result or not, Brock was probably the most entertaining fighter of the night. Just absolutely brutal work on the ground leading to the stoppage but the best part of it all was the post-fight promo. The man is a natural heel who realizes how much money there is in it just like Tito did. Now all we need is for Dana to find a face to make the box office blow up.

Like I said, a fun show... but next month's looks just as fun with Penn/Florian [two of my favs] and Silva/Forrest [another two of my favs.] For the first time in a long, long while, the UFC has managed to put together back to back shows that I have great interest in seeing.

Return Of Top Five Friday: Top Five Favorite MMA Fighters

It's the "long-awaited" return of Top Five Friday tonight here at the B-Spot as I celebrate the happening that is UFC 100 with a MMA-themed list...

My Top Five Favorite MMA Fighters!

5. Wanderlei Silva

One of the most dangerous strikers in MMA, the "Axe Murderer" takes the #5 spot in this one. He may not be as dangerous as he once was as he seems to have lost a bit in the move from Pride to the UFC [you can speculate all you want as to why] but he's still one of the most entertaining fighters in the world. The man will throw down from Minute One and not stop until someone is laid out. I have to admit though, I DO miss the head kicks and stomps from Pride Silva.

4. Brock Lesnar

The current UFC World Heavyweight Champion

come a long way from his days throwing around

the WWE's finest. One of my favorite things about

Brock in MMA is that the so-called "purists"

absolutely despise him being there, let alone him

being the champ. It's a beautiful thing to see. To

me, the only thing that would be better is if Brock

used his natural arrogance to the fullest and

embraced his pro wrestling roots while running

down the UFC guys as being "not as tough" as the

WWE folks. It'd make for amazing television as

fighter after fighter stepped up to "protect the

honor of MMA." Vince McMahon is obviously a

huge influence on Dana White - you'd think Dana

would pick up on some of the storyline aspects of

the biz too.

3. BJ Penn

This is a weird one for me because I have a really difficult time explaining why I like BJ Penn so much. There's just something about a guy who talks a ton of trash about people who looks like there's no fucking way he can back it up inside a cage... and then goes in there and does it. Plus, you toss in things like licking the blood off his fists after a fight and well... it's just kinda cool. I'm still pissed he lost to GSP. Fucking Frenchy.

2. Mirko Cro Cop

Fuck yes! CroCop is coming back to the UFC for more! I was so disappointed when I thought he was jumping back to Japan because ever since I stumbled upon MMA, Cro Cop has been one of my favorites. From the Pro Wrestler Hunter gimmick to the "the right leg sends them to the hospital, the left to the morgue" quote - this man oozes badassedness. Plus, he's in Croatian Special Forces so he really could fuck up someone's world. I still think Brock vs Cro Cop in Japan would be a golden ticket for the UFC to do whatever the fuck they want in the Land of the Rising Sun.

And my #1 favorite fighter in MMA...

ANDERSON SILVA

I still remember the first time I saw Anderson Silva fight in Pride. He seemed... interesting. There was nothing amazing about him but I found the spider guard to be pretty impressive as no one else was able to do something like it. When he jumped to UFC, I wasn't excited because all I could remember was the guard. Then he took on Chris Leben - who was one of my favorites at the time... and absolutely KEEEEELED HIM DEAD! It was a beatdown of epic proportions that cemented Anderson Silva as a rising star. The two fights with Rich Franklin put him over the top as someone who was potentially MMA's version of Mike Tyson in the late 80s/early 90s - the guy you would pay big money to see because you wanted to see how badly he'd knock someone the fuck out. Sadly, the shine has come off him a bit with a few unimpressive showings but to me, Silva remains the top dog in MMA.

Are You Ready?

Just finished watching the UFC 100 Countdown special

and I'm pretty stoked about this weekend's event. I'm

fairly sure I'm going to drop the cash for it whcih'll make

it the first UFC PPV I've bought since the first Lesnar/Mir

fight.

This is actually the first MMA fight in quite some time that

I'm excited for so here's hoping it's a good one.

Oh, and if the MMA gods are smiling, GSP will get stomped

into oblivion too!

Head Trauma

Somehow, someway, I smacked my head into the side of the door frame trying to get to this computer to post for you people.

The sacrifices I make for you!

So, with a slightly pounding head, I come to write...

...and find nothing to say.

How 'bout this one?

Earlier today, I read that former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley - who left the WWE in hopes of being a black Brock Lesnar in MMA instead of a black Brock Lesnar in pro wrestling - had made some comments on Kimbo Slice's addition to next season's The Ultimate Fighter cast. I'm too lazy to go look up the exact quote right now but he said something like, "I would've loved to do it but it would do nothing for my career and my management team wouldn't let me." Wow.

You may recall that I give Kimbo many props and much love for having the balls to stand up to his management team and put his cajones... err... where his mouth was. Sorry for the imagery on that one.

So, Kimbo Slice, a street fighter who probably could've ridden out freak show fights for the rest of his life and made a decent chunk of change doing it, put EVERYTHING on the line for a shot at getting into the biggest MMA promotion on the planet. You've gotta respect the man for that whether you think he's a joke as a fighter or not.

Bobby Lashley who is a former collegiate wrestler and is a genetic freak... well, he thinks it's a bad career move to try to earn a spot in the UFC. He'd rather slap around also-rans, has-beens, and never-weres until Dana notices him. His next fight is sure to make some headlines against Bob Sapp but Sapp hasn't been truly competitive in MMA in years. He was the product of overhype and believing in that hype did his career in as a fighter. So, a win over Sapp isn't exactly going to set the world on fire for Bobby Lashley.

Mr. Lashley, it's time to put your cajones where your mouth is! You want to be taken seriously as a fighter - and I can't believe I'm about to say this - but you need to follow in Kimbo's footsteps.

Kimbo Slice - The Ultimate Fighter?

This news broke yesterday and I never got a chance to post anything about it so here it is...

Yesterday, the UFC announced that Kimbo Slice would be a contestant on the next edition of The Ultimate Fighter.

Everybody got that?

If not, let me expand on that. Kimbo Slice, the man who was in the most watched MMA fight in history, will now be relegated to one of sixteen heavyweights fighting it out for the chance to earn a UFC contract. Oh, by the way, he'll be doing this while being coached by either Rashad Evans or Quinton Jackson. If the thought of Kimbo Slice trading words with Rampage doesn't give you a little bit of a flutter, you have no soul... well, MMA soul at least.

My thoughts?

First, this is EXACTLY the kind of thing that will make me watch TUF again after skipping the current season.

Second, like him or not, you've got to give Kimbo MAJOR credit for this. If you are to believe the rumors, he may have gone around his management team to make this deal which is crazy, stupid, and ballsy all wrapped up in a grill-covered ball. He's taking the biggest risk of his life here. If he proves to be a bust and gets KOd in the first round of his first fight, odds are high he'll never get a chance at another major fight. If he somehow works his way through and actually makes the UFC, whew, baby. Katie bar the door because MMA might hit a fresh run of awesomeness.

So, yeah... in short, I'm looking forward to seeing Kimbo on TUF and I just might find myself rooting for him as well.

By the way, this might be the biggest non-losing scenario for a promotion I've ever seen. Dana White remains a promotional genius in the vein of Vince McMahon. If Kimbo fails, Dana gets to mock him forever and show the world that not just any overhyped street fighter can be successful. If he wins, it's the ultimate success story and a chance at some big headlines and buyrates.

I'm suddenly excited about MMA again... for now.

Now That's Interesting

Yesterday, MMA sites were all aflutter with the news that Anderson Silva had signed for his next fight. He'll be fighting at Light Heavyweight later this year against the former LHW Champ Forrest Griffin.

Wow.

Just when I think the UFC doesn't have many more fights that I'd pay to see, they somehow manage to dig one up. The mere thought of this one makes me a little giddy. Silva's taken a lot of heat over the past six months or so since he's had two fights in a row that were less than explosive - and far less than entertaining. We miss the Silva who decimated Rich Franklin - twice. Oh, and by the way, how weird is it that Franklin is training with Anderson Silva? Bizarre.

Anyways, in my humble opinion, a fighter like Griffin who will go balls-out to throw down in every fight he's in is exactly what Anderson Silva needs. Plus, it's a top LHW contender for Silva in what many think is babysteps towards Silva going after two titles.

Personally, I still want to see him destroy GSP but after his last couple fights, I'm less convinced that would happen. But the fight is apparently still being discussed. They want another GSP defense and at least one more Silva win before they look at it seriously.

A Silva win over Griffin might just pave the road into what is, on paper, the biggest fight that the UFC can deliver right now.

SILVA!

Haven't written much about MMA lately cause there hasn't been much of interest to write about. I've given up on The Ultimate Fighter after last season's disaster with that jackass Junie so that's been removed from my DVR permanently. I did see the Strike Force show on Showtime last week and I did dig that quite a bit. It had some definite highlights and was a fun show to watch.

But this weekend on the other hand...

SILVA!

Ahhh, the return to the cage of my favorite MMA fighter. I love me some Anderson Silva. The comparisons they write to Silva being like Tyson was in the 80s seems to ring true to me. I can totally picture people gathering nationwide waiting to see just how badly Silva's going to outclass his opponent. He's the most explosive striker in the sport and a true joy to watch in the cage.

And then there's Chuck.

Chuck's at a major crossroads in my opinion. Another loss has GOT to make him seriously consider retirement. He needs a win and an impressive one because at the moment, I have no desire to see him fight anymore. It's becoming kind of sad actually. Chuck was once the UFC's biggest draw - but how much longer can that last if he can't win a fight convincingly?

It should be a fun night of fighting.

Damn, I'm Good

Sometime during the year, I kinda quit the whole UFC Picks thing since I wasn't getting out to watch most of the PPVs anymore. But damn, after tonight, maybe I should've stuck with it.

Earlier today, when asked my thoughts on a winner for Brock vs Randy, my text message answer was:

"I think Randy will be suffering from cage rust, make a mistake, get caught with a big punch and then get GNPd to a stoppage."

Wow. I basically nailed that one, right?

So, what's next for both the new champion and the former champ?

Brock gets to wait for the winner of Mir and Noguiera in a unification fight. I really like Nog but part of me is rooting for Mir to see the rematch. But after that... hrm. The UFC Heavy division isn't exactly overflowing with top contenders after those four.

Randy? Well, I can't imagine he'll stay at heavy. Unless they sign Fedor, there doesn't seem to be much there for him. Light heavy? Maybe. There'd probably be money in Forrest/Randy, Silva/Randy, Rampage/Randy, maybe even another Chuck/Randy. I'd see that as more likely at this point.

Brock needs to channel that inner heel though. Now's the time. Buyrates could explode with people paying to see who can take the title off the hated champion - it's the Ric Flair Syndrome.

I didn't get to see the rest of the show since I got home from work just in time to see Ken Flo choke out Joe Daddy - a result that pleases me muchly. But the Main Event was a lot of fun and had that "big match" atmosphere.

Is Brock Lesnar once again "The Next Big Thing?"

Time will tell.

Chinese Food, Bad Service, & Small Town Racism

Tommy's Wok was amazing! I quite honestly think it was the best Chinese food I've ever had in my life. We had the Crab Cheese Puffs for an appetizer. Those are a common appetizer that you see at almost every Chinese food place - even the fast food places like Panda Express - but these were bar none the best I've ever had. We followed that up with the Tommy's Chow Mein and the Sesame Beef. The Chow Mein had chicken, BBQ Pork, and shrimp in it - all of which were amazing. But the crown jewel of the meal was the Sesame Beef. The perfect amount of breading, not overly saucy, and just the right hint of spice - I'm drooling right now thinking about it. Luckily, we had a small box of leftovers for later. So, obviously, I thought the food was awesome. The service was lacking a bit as there was only one server for the whole place. But since the place is on the small side to begin with, I guess can understand why. Super friendly staff though and I highly recommend this place to anyone who happens to be in Carmel.

With plenty of time to go in the UFC show, we crossed the parking lot over to Ody's - a local bar that had a review on Yelp that a] mentioned they show UFC shows and b] likened it to the Regal Beagle - two requirements for an amazing bar. We walked in to find a pretty light crowd and took a side table away from the bar. Again, a very small place not much larger than our living room. It's a far cry from the typical sprawling Orange County bar. I didn't see much that reminded me of the Regal Beagle so I was a little disappointed in that though. We got quick service as we settled in to watch the Clementi/Maynard fight. Some nice slams in that one to get some people in the crowd buzzing.

There was a high level of intoxication in the air as some guy at the bar drunkenly slurred to me about if we were there to see "Anderson Silva against that other guy in the Main Event." I said we were which apparently made me the bar's MMA expert as every once in a while, he'd shout a question in my direction. At the other end of the bar, a group of older former veterans were screaming about Obama being a socialist - a conversation that made us laugh because we had discussed the whole socialism debate at dinner. Oh, and they later started marching in place shouting cadence - a good time had by all.

But my favorite by far was the little old man about ten feet away taking photos with his iPhone. The female bartender shouted at him, asking what he was doing and if he had remembered what she told him. Apparently the week prior, he was "taking photos of her tits and ass" and had been warned that if he did it again, he was going to be kicked out. She actually sent another bartender over at one point to check his phone to see what he was taking photos of. She was quite spunky as she got attitude with several customers throughout the night. One of the benefits of a small town, I guess, is that you know the customers have no other place to go and will always come back so you can do whatever you want. It's like the opposite of an Orange County bar where the bartenders can afford to be rude because they know there's always someone coming to replace you soon enough.

The Koscheck/Alves fight brought some cheers from the crowd for the brutal kicks of Alves. Lots of cheers for Koscheck which made me a little nauseous. I did enjoy a really drunk guy yelling, "He's a soldier! He's a soldier!" when Koscheck didn't crumple like a bitch from the beating he was taking. I was glad to see Alves take the win but the lack of a KO disappointed me.

Oh, and I was still on my first drink even though it was sitting empty on the table. I didn't care that much or I would have just gone to the bar but I did find it kind of odd that the bartender wasn't coming back to see if we wanted anything else. Again, only two servers for the whole place though.

Did I mention they had a Wii hooked up to the TV too? That seemed absolutely brilliant to me. Imagine a bunch of drunk guys playing Wii Sports? Pure comedic gold.

So, the Silva match comes on. The people with the slightest bit of MMA knowledge seemed to be very solidly behind Silva but the others... For a long time, there's been live reports from UFC shows saying that non-white fighters got lower amounts of support than white fighters at the shows. The writers always implied that there was a very clear level of racism present at the shows. I never really saw it because I don't watch many shows with the "unwashed masses" but now that I have, I understand it a little better. There were quite a few comments about "I'm rooting for the white guy!" although they were a little uncomfortable with Cote getting kisses from his corner - not surprising considering all the "Yes On 8" signs I've seen up here.

Anyways... it was a little uncomfortable to hear how angry some of them were at Silva, especially when he started showboating a bit. "Kill that arrogant fucker!" is a comment that comes to mind. I think these guys would've fit in well at a McCain/Palin rally actually.

The finish was deflating for the whole bar - and the bartender made it worse by running around implying that Cote was faking it because he was "being a bitch." Eh... whatever. I would've obviously preferred a finish but we paid our bill and were on our way [oh yeah, they finally brought me a second drink] - sixteen bucks for two Jack and Cokes - YIKES!

Some crazy fog on the way back to the hotel but we made it. We're already running late this morning because the Missus is feeling a little under the weather but we've got to get going soon to make it to the concert by 2 PM. On the way up, we decided we're going to do a joint review of the show when we get home but until then, I'll probably still do a little bit of liveblogging at the concert.

I know you're excited for that!

Everyone's A Critic!

Before I start my screenplay writing for the day (still not sure which one to write by the way), I thought I'd get today's post out of the way. I woke up and checked my e-mail to find a comment left by our good friend Poff Daddy...

"What's Happening Big Dog? Hey, I thought you were a baseball and wrestling fan? What? No comment on Yankee stadium closing? No comment on Mick Foley in TNA? Plus the Ultimate Fighter is back and no comment on that? Wow!!! I used to look up to you. You let me down my friend. Lets get back to basics and keep the game plan going when you first started as a young blogger pup. Later Poff Daddy"

God forbid I disappoint anyone with my random ramblings! Let's talk about the topics you want to talk about and forget all about anything that scratches beyond the surface and makes you think a little bit.

Yankee Stadium is closing and that's a horrible thing. It bums me out beyond belief that I wasn't able to get to New York this year to see the House That Ruth Built before it closed up shop for the last time. I understand the need for older stadiums to close for financial reasons but that doesn't mean I have to like it. You're telling me that the Yankees need a new stadium to make money? Nah. They're just greedy. I can't believe Yankee fans let that historic stadium go away without a fuss. I think I'd chain myself in front of the bulldozers if they ever came for my Blue Heaven On Earth. It's just another example of corporate America pissing all over the history that came before it in order to make a buck. God bless Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, and Dodger Stadium - the only stadiums left in baseball with true character.

Mick Foley in TNA? Does anyone really care? Let's look at this rationally. The rumors say he signed a six month contract to do two matches. He's coming in on the face side of this fucked up Millionaires Club vs New Blood Part 2 angle that Vince Russo has decided he should try again after it failed miserably in the dying days of WCW. An old, crippled former wrestler who retired years ago is part of the New Blood? I don't get it. They don't get it. And they likely never will. Jeff Jarrett is back on my TV and without having even watched a second of it, I already want him to go away again. TNA just won't be something worth watching every week until they figure out that they need to clean house creatively - and I mean everyone. You've got one of the greatest minds in the business in the employ of the company - and he's an on-air figurehead and nothing more? You've got another one of the greatest minds in the business as a free agent and you're throwing money at Kevin Nash instead of Mr. Heyman? Look, if TNA wants me to take them seriously, they should take themselves seriously. Throw money at Heyman and put him, Cornette, Foley, and hell, maybe even someone like Bill Watts in a room and see what they come up with. It'd be an explosive room to be in but it'd be a lot better than what they've got on TV right now. All that being said, I'm still thinking of checking out their live show when they're in Anaheim in November. It's been a long time since I've seen Styles and Joe live.

The Ultimate Fighter started up again - and I really think no one cared this time. This concept has been used so many times that what was once fresh, new, and exciting is just recycled crap. Mir and Noguiera as coaches just doesn't have the same fire as Tito and Shamrock or the like. The fighters all seem bland and personality-free. It's just a series of sometimes entertaining fights broken up by moronic frat boy type stunts where they get drunk and break apart the house they live in. Yawn. Dana needs to re-tool TUF and badly because at this stage, I couldn't even tell you who won last season - or the one before that or before that or before that. The Ultimate Fighter winner just doesn't have the same weight that it did before.

So, there you go, my friend.

My thoughts on your thoughts? Try to keep an open mind and think about stuff other than the same stuff you've always thought about. There's a whole new world out there - a dazzling place you never knew. Let me share this whole new world with you.

Random Randomocity

Some thoughts about some stuff...

UFC Fighter Evan Tanner Found Dead
I guess this would somewhat qualify as "breaking news" since it just hit the wires tonight. Weird story. Evan Tanner's always been known as a kind of weird guy. He's had his demons chasing him for a long time and really always came off as a fighter who fought so he'd have enough money to not have a normal job. The most recent time he emerged from the shadows, he had this crazy, amazingly cool beard that I was envious of. Basically, he decided to go on some kind of adventurous camping trip and blogged somewhere telling people that it was the kind of trip where he could die if something went wrong. Well, something went wrong and they found his remains out in the desert somewhere. Like I said, weird story.

Dodgers Engaged In Match Play
I wasn't going to post about this out of jinxing fears but a loss tonight changed my mind. So, at this stage of the season with a 1.5 game lead, the Dodgers have their postseason hopes in their hands. If they win their games, it doesn't matter what anyone else does. Of course, when you decide to get shut out by the last place Padres, you have to do a little bit of scoreboard watching. Here's how it breaks down. If the other team wins, you need to win. If the other teams loses, it'd be real nice to win - but if you have to lose, make it on that night. Tonight, the D-Backs lost - the Dodgers used up their loss too. Hope you enjoyed it, fellas!

Chris Jericho - New WWE Champ
Eh. Why not? If you've got an amazingly over heel act right now, might as well hitch your wagon to it and see where it takes you. I liked seeing Punk with the title but Jericho as the smarmy heel champ is a lot of fun too. To be honest, I've been a little over the current wrestling scene lately. I usually skim Raw, I might occasionally watch ECW, I usually skim or skip Smackdown, and I almost never watch TNA. I think I'd watch my WWE 24/7 package if I had it back but so far, I haven't been bothered to get it back. Too much other stuff to think about lately.

New TV Season Begins
I haven't been as excited for this TV season starting as I have in recent memory. I think it might be because Lost and 24, the two shows I'm most eager to see again, won't start until 2009. It'll be nice to see The Office, 30 Rock, Pushing Daisies, How I Met Your Mother, and some of the others back soon though. So far? The Entourage premiere was underwhelming, The Shield's long-awaited return was solid, and the Gossip Girl premiere was fun. Everything else (Sons of Anarchy, 90210, True Blood) sits on the DVR unwatched so far.

Apple Media Event Tomorrow
New iPods? New iTunes? Deal me in. And you just never know if you'll get a "One more thing..." that knocks the gadget world on their collective ears. It should be an interesting couple of days.

Will Smith as Captain America
Robert Downey Jr... Ed Norton... Will Smith? One of these things is not like the others. I pray this is just a wild rumor with no substance.

The End Of The Iceman?

I wasn't able to see tonight's UFC show so this expert commentary will come only from seeing the results of the show which can only be summed up in what had to be Dana White's words on this night.

"Oh fuck."

Let's start on the undercard which really only had two matches of interest. 

First, there was Dan Henderson against... some dude.  Basically, it was designed to be a squash for Hendo so he can be built back up as a legit contender for whichever title they decide he should be a legit contender for.  Instead, it sounds like he had trouble with the guy and ultimately had to squeak out a decision victory - and just barely at that.  This has got to be considered a bust.  Hendo's usefulness is fading fast.

Then, we've got the Franklin/Hamill fight.  I have to imagine that Dana was really kinda hoping he'd make a new superstar tonight and nothing would have cemented that more than Matt Hamill knocking off former UFC golden boy Rich Franklin in impressive fashion.  Hamill's story is a gold mine and would have easily gotten the UFC mainstream pub all over the world at a time when the words UFC would be best not associated with stories like Quinton Jackson's "rampage."  Instead, Franklin wins which really accomplishes nothing.  No one really wants to see him get a Light Heavy title match and while seeing Silva destroy him makes for fun TV, I don't know if they could sell a third fight between those two.  This too would be declared a bust in my humble opinion.

Of course, the worst news of the night?  Rashad Evans knocks Chuck Liddell the fuck out.  From the sound of the reports I've read, it was a crazy highlight reel knockout too. 

Rashad Evans.

Yes, THAT Rashad Evans.  The one who for the majority of his fights, could only be described as a slightly less boring version of Josh Koscheck.  The Human Blanket himself.  The King of Lay & Pray. 

He knocked out Chuck Liddell.

What do you do now?  No one really has any interest in seeing Rashad fight Forrest.  Rampage has fucked his world up for the time being I'd imagine.  Chuck still can make some money in rematches with Rampage and Silva and... well, a few others.  But seriously... the Iceman has lost three of his last four fights and if Vanderlei had been a little sharper that night, I think it'd be a solid four for four.  Is Chuck done?  Has his looping haymaker punches gotten just a little too slow with time?  Is the killer instinct gone?

I expect we'll be seeing Chuck Liddell in the cage for a long time to come because there's still money to squeeze from his bones - but I don't know if we'll ever see the sport-dominating Iceman again.          

Lesnar vs Couture: Let's Get It On!

Hooooo boy.

Dana White sure does know how to make a splash. You've got to wonder just how long he's been holding that in his back pocket. Just when Quinton Jackson had been formally charged and there was a nice-sized black eye on the UFC's rep - BOOM! - Dana puts y'all in check.

So, Randy Couture is officially back in the UFC and is still UFC Heavyweight Champion. And apparently he's back on a multifight deal as Dana says the winner of Randy/Brock will meet the winner of Noguiera/Mir for a unification fight in 2009. Now that's how you stir up interest in your heavy division. And if that wasn't enough, Dana drops the teaser that he wants to do the Fedor fight and as soon as Fedor is clear of contractual obligations to Affliction, they'll try to put it together.

Hoooooo boy.

At first, the Randy/Brock fight seemed a poor choice to me but the more I think about it, the more I start to like it. After his last fight, I saw dollar signs all over Brock Lesnar. The showboating after the win, the crazy near KO at the beginning, the total domination [boring as it was] of a legit heavy contender - all good signs for the UFC. If Brock can improve as much between Herring and Randy as he did between Mir and Herring, this could be an interesting fight. After all, even Randy can't harness the Flux Capacitor and make himself ten years younger. With this long of a layoff, will he have ring rust? If he does, this could get interesting. Randy's whole fight strategy is usually based around getting people down, dirty boxing, and ground-and-pound. I don't think you want to get that close to Brock for any of that so I think it could be a serious style clash for the champ.

And if Brock loses? Well, he's losing his first title fight to Randy Couture. No shame in that. That's an easy rebuild. If he wins? He beat Randy Couture! Oh, and if he beats Randy, you can bet that Dana's praying for Mir to upset Noguiera. Mir/Lesnar 2? I can smell the cash from here.

Dana is predicting that Lesnar/Randy will be the biggest fight in UFC history and do over a million buys. How much of that is promoter hype, I just don't know. But I do think that if Lesnar gets a chance to show his natural personality before the fight - and I mean shoving a mic under his face EVERY possible chance until then - people will want to pay to see him lose. And that's where the money is. The money is in people wanting to pay to see the heels lose - just like in pro wrestling - no matter how many people want to deny it. It worked for Tito. It would work for Josh Koshcheck if he'd embrace his inner dick. It'll work for Brock.

Biggest fight in UFC history? I guess we'll all know soon enough.

Far Too Easy But... RAMPAGE ON A RAMPAGE!

I saw a headline about it pop up in the TMZ section of my Google Reader earlier but I wanted to wait til there was more detail to "report" on. Well, we've got 'em now thanks to Dave Meltzer at the new Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Daily combo site.

Here's the gist of it...

Now-former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was pulled over and taken in by police in Newport Beach [actually Costa Mesa from the photos, I believe] after a car accident. He was charged with felony hit and run, reckless driving, and felony evading arrest.

From the police statement, he was observed driving with a flat tire and talking on his cell phone [dammit Quinton! BLUETOOTH, BABY!] The cop tried to pull him over to no avail as Quinton just kept on going, ignoring the officer in pursuit. They had gotten another report of his vehicle busting out a hit and run on other VEHICLES [yes, plural] on the 55 Freeway earlier.

Oh, how do they know it was his vehicle?



Yep, his picture was on the side of it. Subtle.

So, a little chase ensued with Quinton weaving in and out of traffic and apparently driving on the wrong side of the road and the sidewalk at one point. While in pursuit, the office saw him hit yet another car. Thankfully, no one appears to have been injured in any of these collisions.

Eventually, the tire blew out and came off the rim. He finally stopped, got out of the car AT GUNPOINT and was taken directly to jail without passing go and without collecting $200.



He's currently being held on $25,000 bail and apparently Dana White is en route to post bond.

Whew. Not the kind of press Dana was hoping for one of his top stars, I'd imagine. And he thought someone kicking out a limo window was bad.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Forrest Griffin is the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

Everybody got that?

Now, with a very close fight just barely in the books, a lot of people will immediately call for a rematch with Rampage for Forrest's first title defense. It makes sense and probably will draw very well. Rampage obviously was not quite the same after those early leg kicks and quite possibly was injured going into the fight. I would have no problem with an immediate rematch for Rampage.

But it's not what I would book.

There's a lot of groundswell building for a Machida title shot. It's getting hard to deny him a shot even though he's boring as hell in the cage. But he keeps beating everyone in his path so at what point do you give in and let him have a shot? Not yet. Forrest doesn't strike me as a good matchup for Machida in an attempt to make an entertaining fight.

So, that's not it either.

A lot of people will say the winner of Rashad Evans and Chuck Liddell should get the next shot. I have absolutely no desire to ever see Rashad Evans fight for a title - but I don't think that'll be a problem. Not that I think it would stop Dana but doesn't it seem odd to give Chuck a title match against someone that Chuck lost to?

That would also seemingly take Wanderlei Silva out of the equation since he lost to Chuck who lost to Rampage.

So... who gets the shot?

Here's my vote...

Winner of Rashad/Chuck gets a match with Rampage. I hate to put poor Wanderlei in a match that might suck but face him off with Machida. Whoever puts on the best showing out of those five gets the New Year's title shot.

So, who does Forrest get?

How about Michael Bisping? Should be a fun, exciting, marketable fight that Forrest would probably win to keep all the possible big matches alive.

Thoughts?

RAMPAGE

I don't feel like writing so... in honor of this weekend's UFC show, one of my favorite MMA KOs from one of Saturday's PPV main eventers.

Random MMA Discussion

At the Wrestling Observer, they had a post where several MMA "experts" discussed a few issues going on in that world at the moment. So, I figured "What a fantastic post idea to steal!"...

...or something like that.

UFC vs Affliction
In case you haven't heard, the UFC decided to put on another free show on Spike. This one will be held on July 19th - the same night, of course, that Affliction is having their debut PPV.

I'm actually of mixed opinion on this. On one hand, it seems like the UFC is getting dangerously close to watering down their own product. It just seems like there's so much UFC on TV now, it's getting a little excessive. You just had a PPV with a shoddy lineup and a very weak main event that you made people drop $40 for and now you're giving out a free show with Anderson Silva? Something's wrong there.

On the other hand, cross-promoting your own show against the competition's has been a long-standing tradition in all sports - especially combat sports. Vince McMahon and Jim Crockett [later Ted Turner/Eric Bischoff] did it to one another to varying degrees of success for years. Affliction is the first promotion that looks like a legitimate threat [talent-wise] to the UFC so why not go for a kill shot before they get going?

Me? I'm still more interested in the Affliction show. Not sure I'm $40 interested but interested nonetheless.


Anderson Silva: 205
Again, if you're unaware, the aforementioned UFC show is going to be headlined by Anderson Silva making his debut in the Light Heavyweight division against James Irvin. Personally, I think this is a bad, bad idea. I understand that the well is running dry for legit Middleweight contenders for Silva to face but you're not having him vacate the Middleweight title so that situation is still unresolved.

I think this is a very risky move. You have a dominant Middleweight Champion that many people tune into to see the wild knockouts. The guy is getting some Mike Tyson-esque buzz. He has gotten so much attention, even the boxing world has taken notice of him. He seems like an opportunity to create a lasting, unique superstar for your promotion.

There was a rumored Silva/Liddell fight for a while. I didn't think that was a good idea either but I liked it better than this. If you do that fight, you promote it as a one-off fight for Silva, testing himself. You draw a MASSIVE buyrate and really don't lose anything no matter the winner. In the Irvin fight, it's a lose-lose situation. If Silva wins, he beat a nobody in the division and proved nothing more than he would have if you'd fed him another Middleweight. If he loses, uh oh... you potentially killed a cash cow.

Honestly, I would have rather seen Silva go the other way, dropping down in weight to take on GSP. Arguably the two best pound for pound fighters in the world going at it? That's a money match too. But maybe they're going to actually let BJ Penn make that challenge now.

Anyways, I usually think Dana is pretty smart with the matches they choose to promote - this isn't one of them.


TUF Finale
Eh. TUF has lost a lot of the magic for me over the past few seasons. At this point, almost none of the fighters do anything to distinguish themselves from the rest. That first season had characters that you could love/hate - hell, I still hate Koscheck and Bobby Southworth to this day when I see them fight. Most of the seasons since then have just been dry in that respect. For a show like this to succeed, not only do the fights need to be interesting - but the people in them need to be interesting too. And lately, they just don't have the kind of characters that you can get behind.

Granted, the two finalists are probably the most interesting. You can get behind Amir because he's inexperienced and looks to be way in over his head. You can rally behind a guy who looks like he should have no chance in hell yet somehow keeps on winning. And CB is a dick. No doubt about that. So, you can root against him.

But there's just something missing. I can't quite put my finger on it but I just don't feel a strong attachment to anyone from this show.

Oh, and last night's show with that jackass getting kicked out of the UFC after the show was over was just ridiculous. Does the UFC realize they don't do themselves any favors when they show these guys get drunk and act like idiots destroying the house every season? The first couple of seasons it was interesting - now it's just embarrassing to watch. There's a reason a lot of people look down on MMA competitors and when the people striving to be the next big MMA star do shit like that, we can see why.