UFC 132

UFC132

UFC132 featuring a great card of fights headlined by the UFC Bantamweight Championship title fight between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. The card featured the following fights:

Carlos Condit vs Dong Hyun Kim
Ryan Bader vs Tito Ortiz
Matt Wiman vs Dennis Siver
Wanderlei Silva vs Chris Leben
Dominick Cruz vs Urijah Faber


Carlos Condit vs Dong Hyun Kim
I predicted Condit for the win in this fight and he didn't disappoint after a brief exchange on the feet and ground Condit threw a flying knee which connected right on Kim's chin knocking him down for Condit to finish the fight with strikes.


Ryan Bader vs Tito Ortiz
What a shock, after a minute of range finding, out of nowhere Ortiz drops Bader, jumped on him and finished him with a guillotine choke. Tito's first win in years and Baders second successive defeat. Tito seems to pull out the w when his back is to the wall. Surprised and not surprised by the result. Well done to Tito.


Matt Wiman vs Dennis Siver
Scrappy fight with some good exchanges, Wiman constantly trying to get the takedown throughout with Siver displaying excellent takedown defence. Wiman opened Siver up with brutal elbows. Close decision win by Siver. Some suspect judging perhaps?


Wanderlei Silva vs Chris Leben
Blink and you'd miss it, as expected both came out swinging. Wanderlei got caught by a left by Leben that rocked him and Leben pounced upon him and finished him quickly with strikes. Wanderlei has called out Vitor Belfort prior to tonight, Vitor would murder him like he did in their first fight.


Dominick Cruz vs Urijah Faber
Busy fight, high pace throughout. I felt that Faber had the better of the standing exchanges, dropping Cruz several times. Cruz did get a few takedowns. It was a very close fight that went the distance, I had Faber shading it slightly but Cruz got the nod and retained his title. How one judge scored the fight 45-50 to Cruz I will never know.

They need to sort the judging out, it's costing fights and damaging credibility of MMA. There has been spate of bad calls, two alone tonight. Other than the judging this was an excellent card of fights with some wonderful finishes and a five round title fight that was a fight from start to finish not five rounds of lay 'n' pray.

I'm looking forward to catching some of the prelims online later. Awesome action apparently. Best card of the year, lived up to expectations.

After watching both boxing and MMA tonight I can easily see why boxing is on the decline and MMA is gaining popularity.

What a boring fight between David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko. The fight went ad I expected with Wladimir dominating with the jab and landing the better punches. It strikes me that Haye can sell and talk up a fight but isn't in the same class as the Klitschko's. Vitali would have battered him tonight. Perfect end would have been a KO by Wladimir to shut Haye up after all the shit he has talked.

Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarterfinals Part 2

On Saturday 18^th June 2011 the MMA organisation Strikeforce held the second part of it's Heavyweight Grand Prix (HWGP) with the second batch on Quarter-finals taking place in Texas.

The event follows on from the first pair featuring Sergei Kharitonov/Andrei Arlovski and Antonio 'Big Foot' Silva/Fedor Emelianenko. Kharitonov and Big Foot advanced with the winners set to the fight the winner of tonight’s two bouts featuring Alistair Overeem/Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett/ Brett Rogers.

The card featured three more bouts:

• Chad Griggs vs Valentijn Overeem
• Daniel Cormier vs Jeff Monson
• Jorge Masvidal vs KJ Noons

I was looking forward to the event especially because one of my favourite fighters Alistair Overeem was on the card and Strikeforce events rarely fail to deliver some excellent fights. Admittedly they don't have the depth or roster of the UFC but in terms of excitement Strikeforce events are second to none. Onto my reviews of the fights....

Chad Griggs vs Valentijn Overeem

I had only seen Chad fight twice, both on Strikeforce where he did better than I imagined. Valentijn Overeem I had never seen before and know him purely as being Alistair’s brother. The fight was a short one and Griggs dominated it from the start. Valentijn seemed to pussy out and tapped to strikes, watching it I didn't see any blow which could cause harm and force him to tap but I'm not in a cage being punched in the face by a 250lb man. It was a disappointing end to the fight but Griggs is looking good in Strikeforce, he's not the best fighter but he's building slowly facing a better calibre fighter with each appearance. I am interested to see how he develops.

Griggs win via Submission (Strikes) 2.55 of round 1

Daniel Cormier vs Jeff Monson

An excellent performance by Cormier saw him nullify the highly regarded grappler in Monson. Monson was at times a punch bag plodding around the cage. I am impressed in Cormier's stand up considering he's a wrestler. He looks a little flabby at heavyweight, I would be interested to see him matched against Griggs or cut to light-heavyweight. A definite future contender.

Cormier wins via unanimous decision.

Jorge Masvidal vs KJ Noons

Prior to this fight I had KJ Noons down as clear winner. I had never heard of Masvidal except his entry into MMA was similar to Kimbo Slice. WHAT A FIGHT! Unlike the earlier Overeem, what heart shown by Noons as he took an absolute, unexpected beating from Masvidal. He was cut brutally in the first round from a sustained attack by Masvidal with particularly harsh knees. KJ's highly rated boxing was non existent, his takedown defence was poor at best. I was very impressed by Masvidal, he gets the next title shot against Melendez, I do think Melendez is a class above and will dissect him.

Masvidal wins via unanimous decision




Josh Barnett vs Brett Rogers

The Baby Faced Assassin is back. I was excited to see Josh back in action and he certainly didn't disappoint, he slammed the 6'5” Rogers with ease, tossed him like a rag doll and tired him out in the mount position. Th second round he quickly submitted a tired Rogers for the win and advance in the HWGP tournament. The loss is Rogers third consecutive in Strikeforce and I don't see anything for him except feed him to Cormier or Griggs. Fair play though his last three losses have been beating by Barnett, Alistair Overeem and a beautiful knockout by Fedor Emelianenko.

Barnett wins via submission 1.17 of round 2

Alistair Overeem vs Fabricio Werdum

Bluster and prolonged periods of inactivity marred this fight, it was clear that Werdum's only strategy was to pull the fight to the ground by any means necessary. So it was a case of a few exchanges on the feet then back down and wait for the fight to be restarted on the ground. The fight was a disappointment for me as I was hoping for fireworks and a knockout by Overeem, though if I think hard about it, Werdum wasn't going to do anything different to take it to the ground 99/100 times.                                                        
Overeem wins via unanmous decision

Compared to the surprise and fireworks of the last HWGP I felt disappointed by this card, it was great to see Barnett and Overeem win but the card as a whole felt lacklustre. Hopefully the semi finals will have some sparks. I have my money on an Overeem/Barnett final, but I could easily see Sergei Kharitonov get the upset, he is the dark horse in this tournament for me.

The line up for the semi finals is:
Alistair Overeem vs Antonio 'Big Foot' Silva
Josh Barnett vs Sergei Kharitonov

UFC 137 bout announced & Strikeforce HWGP thoughts

Awesome news in the MMA World. UFC 137: GSP vs Diaz. What a wonderful fight, I am so glad it has been made. It is really the true test for both men at 170lbs, with GSP clearing out his division and Diaz having no challengers left in Strikeforce.

Hopefully this is the first of many fights made between the rosters of UFC and Strikeforce. I would love to see the winner of the Heavyweight Grand Prix fight the UFC Heavyweight Champion and the other titles unified. I think aside from Jacare the Strikeforce champions have an excellent chance at usurping the UFC Champions.

Seeing as Zuffa own both organisations, I can't see how the Strikeforce contracts hamper the setting up of intra-brand fights. They own both contracts.

On a related note,17 days until the next round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. I hope no injuries occur between now and them. I am picking Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett to go through to the next round, I only hope that Barnett doesn't piss hot afterwards.

The Strikeforce event will certainly make up for the lacklustre/mediocre card that was UFC130. I am glad in the UK we have it included on ESPN FOR £9.99 a month, I would have felt totally ripped off having paid $50 for that fight card. Say what you will about Strikeforce's limited roster and fight matching but they never fail to deliver an entertaining card of fights.

Bank Holiday Sport (Part 2)

The second football match at Wembley that caught my interest was the Championship Playoff Final between Reading and Swansea City. I have a passing interest in the game as Swansea are a local team for me and a rare opportunity for a Welsh team to possibly win a place in the Premier League.

The match was a wonderful spectacle and Swansea took the lead thanks to a penalty from Scott Sinclair, moments later he added a second and the match seemed over when Swansea added a third. The second half was opposite and Reading pulled two goals back and made a game of it. It was squeaky bum time for the fans but Swansea saw the game out and Sinclair netted his third of the game and Swansea were victorious 4-2. Again it was another victory for the beautiful game, Swansea and Barcelona play a similar type of fluid football. Swansea play the football of Barcelona but in the colours of Real Madrid.

The weekend had other finals like the Mangers League final between two Irish sides; Munster and Leinster. munster edged Leinster thanks to two late tries and won 19-9. At Twickenham England played the Barbarians and were edged out in the latter stages of the match 38-32 thanks to a late try by Tim Visser.

UFC 130 took place Saturday night, sadly the card was blighted by injuries and pullouts. Which saw me lost a lot of interest in the card. The fights were rather bland with only one real highlight a beautiful knockout by travis Browne on Stefan Struve. It was a wonderfully timed superman punch that seemed to leave the gigantic Struve in mid air for a split second. Other than that the card was forgettable and I didn't bother with the main event. Roll on Strikeforce on the 18th June and the second part of the Heavyweight Grand Prix.

So all in all it was a very entertaining weekend of sport, much better than watching the tired films that get re-run every holiday. I am finishing it in an insomniac state watching WWE Raw, which is blighted by technical difficulties this evening. I'm looking forward to seeing Averno debut as a foil to Sin Cara on Smackdown. It will be awesome to see more luchadores in WWE.

Bank Holiday Sport (Part 1)

What a wonderful Bank Holiday weekend of sport we have had. Bookended by a feast of football at Wembley with two teams who play the beautiful game as it should be played lifting their respective trophies when the dust has settled. Congratulations FC Barcelona and Swansea City.

I am not the most fanatical follower of sports but I do enjoy it when it is on and this weekend there has a been a lot on. It was either watch sport or the usual repetitive drivel that is aired every Bank Holiday weekend. So this weekend I watched a bit of everything from Football, rugby, MMA, Formula 1, golf and as I type this up I have wrestling on, not a sport but sports entertainment so it's close enough.

The biggest story of this weekend has been the football and the absolutely mesmerising performance by Barcelona against Manchester United. Going in to the match I was looking forward to a humbling of Manchester United and the silencing of their fans, namely because I am a fan of Liverpool & Barcelona whereas my father is a Manchester United fan. I am always subject to his gloats at Manchester United having the more success so Saturday I was looking forward to the favourable outcome I had been hoping for. 

The match was a feast and it always is a pleasure to see an amazing team like Barcelona play, such beauty and fluidity to their game. They are a true proponent of the beautiful game. Without a shadow of a doubt the best side of recent history. A team that can boast the likes of Xavi, David Villa, Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta and of course possibly  the best footballer to step on a  pitch the maestro Lionel Messi. 

In the opening exchanges I fancied Manchester United looked the most likely to score but once Barcelona got into their rhythm there was only going to be one outcome. They played United off the pitch, summed up by the magnificent goals by Messi and Villa. United much lauded team seemed average at best, yes in England they are the best but against continental opposition of Barcelona's class, there is a long way to go before they can blow their own trumpets. It seemed as though the years caught up with some of United's squad, Ryan Giggs was ineffective and seemed an old man compared to the flair of the younger Messi. Paul Scholes equally so. In the end it was a victory for the beautiful game. The best team won and football won. 

Letting Eric Abidal lift the trophy was a lovely gesture, he recently returned to football after having major surgery to remove a tumour and the final marked 70 odd days since the surgery. It puts the game into perspective and what a great, feel good story to have in the match a return against all odds.

I should watch Barcelona more, I have Sky Sports so no excuse not to seeing as they are broadcast every weekend live. Wish I also bought a ticket to see the final. I really want to watch Lionel Messi play in person once in my life.

I will talk about the rest of the sport in a second blog. This one seems pretty long already. 

Zuffa (UFC) buys Strikeforce!!!!

Holy cow!!!

Zuffa (UFC) has just shocked the MMA World and bought leading competitor Strikeforce. Never saw that one coming, completely took me by surprise.

They say the companies will be run independently but they also said that with the purchases of both Pride & WEC. Look what happened there. The clamour for super-fights like Alistair Overeem vs Cain Velasquez or Brock Lesnar may prove too irrestible to not make from monetary and publicity points of view.

Still in shock at the news, can’t wait to see how things develop. I can see a purchase of Dream or FEG next, merge Strikeforce with Dream and certainly have a very strong grip on the MMA talent. All the big names will be in the UFC or Zuffa rather with the exception of a few Bellator fighters.

MMA & Martial Arts

My main sporting pursuit that I enjoy is martial arts, both tradtional and modern. My first love is striking and I studied the Korean martial art of Tae Kwon Do for many years culminating in the rank of a first degree black belt. I would have liked to have gone further up the ranks but I had to choose between school and sport, I had never bothered to take it back up, which is a shame because that was where my talent lay. Double graded in my first ever grading, countless trophies, black belt within four years and a 13 year old instructor teaching people in the thirties towards their blackbelt grading. I would be a third degree by now and well on the way to my fourth.

Over the past few years I have become interested in MMA or mixed martial arts, I have watched almost every single UFC event since UFC 38 (could've been 36) when they came to the UK for the first time. I remember the excitement in the dojo at the time and watching the event on Sky Box Office,  Mark Weir's flash knock out win is an abiding memory as well as Matt Hughes' slam on Carlos Newton where I believe both were out cold, Newton from the slam and Hughes from the choke. 

Since getting into UFC I have watched as much MMA as I can, I love the now defunct Pride FC fighting organisation, something about the ring and the fights, that make me yearn for more. Yes some fights were freakshow fights, others mismatches but the excitement from the crowd was immense. Plus you had legends like Fedor Emelianenko, Wanderlei Silva, Kazushi Sakuraba all in their prime. My favourite fight so far and a very exciting one at that is Don Frye vs Yoshihiro Takayama, they brawl from the first bell, not everyones cup of tea admittedly due to the wild and as goold old JR would say slobberknocker nature of the match. It was an exciting 6 minutes where each man gave his all, not often you see two men both holding eachothers head with one hand and pummeling their foe with the other. 

It is a shame the Pride FC is now defunct, I would have loved to have experience the thril of seeing a Pride event or Grand Prix (GP) live. I have started to collect DVDs of the events and have started to build a nice little collection, I have all the Pride GP tournaments.

I enjoy watching Strikeforce, Dream, Sengoku and K1 events too, sadly they don’t get broadcast much over here so I have to usually trawl online to find a stream or the events on Youtube the following morning. I like Strikforce because it is home to two of my favourite fighters ‘The Last Emporer’ Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem, I enjoy watching them fight and am very much looking forward to the forthcoming Strikeforce Heavyweight GP, hoping for a Fedor/Overeem semi final with either Sergei Kharitonov or Josh Barnett facing the winner in the final.

I would like to take up a ground based martial art in the future, I am well versed in the technicality of the stand up through my extensive Tae Kwon Do training and forays into Muay Thai and boxing but on the ground I have little idea, I pick up a little through watching the fights but I feel to truly understand and appreciate that aspect of MMA I will need to get myself versed and have a go for myself. I would like to take up BJJ or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to give it’s full name but sadly where I live is lacking a decent gym so I may take up Jiu Jitsu or Judo.

I may review some of my DVDs in future blogs and give my opinion on recent events. I am not an expert on martial arts, just a fan like everyone else.