I've been a little under the weather this week, which is why I haven't been posting as much. But I did catch the great WEC show last night. Great main event. The WEC is the most underrated promotion in MMA. Those fighters simply do not get the credit they deserve.

On a sadder note, it looks like Brock Lesnar's health situation is a lot more serious than first thought. Here's a great story by Yahoo's Dan Wetzel on the situation. Dana White said Lesnar had a hole in his intestine and that his doctor thinks he hasn't been right for more than a year. He also said he doesn't know at this time if Lesnar will ever fight again.

It would be a tragic end to a career that was starting to show real promise, but it's still far too early to assume Lesnar is finished. No matter what your thoughts on Lesnar's quick ascent may be, I think everyone is hoping the big guy can make a full recovery. 

Just a sad situation, but hopefully it's just a minor setback in the grand scheme of things. The rumor now is that the UFC will have an interim heavyweight championship, and that match will probably involve Cain Velasquez and Shane Carwin.

Posted by Mark Chalifoux at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

UFC 105 was an entertaining night of fights and you’re rarely going to find me complaining about a free card with some big fights on it. I was surprised to see Dan Hardy beat Mike Swick and I think he has zero chance against Georges St. Pierre, when that fight does happen. I was also surprised to see Michael Bisping bounce back into the win column but it’s one he needed in a big way.

What didn’t surprise me? Randy Couture getting the decsion over Brandon Vera. I’ll say this, Vera put up a better fight than expected. And I’m not exactly on pins and needles waiting to see Randy fight again. But if there was any shadow of a doubt, you had to know Couture was getting the decision. He’s earned too much respect over the years and he’s always getting those decisions.

This is a classic case of having to definitely beat the champion to win the fight, although it’s Couture’s history that puts him in that champion class. It’s a dumb thought but it does exist.

I think Couture did a good job of pushing the action but did he definitively win the fight? Meh, but he did enough to win it. And that’s all that matters.

Time to refocus on UFC 106 this weekend and the mounting injuries plaguing many of these cards. GSP and Anderson Silva are still on the mend and Dana White said at UFC 105 that Brock Lesnar has taken a turn for the worse. Lesnar’s been hospitalized and has a ‘very serious’ secondary illness in addition to mono. It’s going to be awhile before we see Lesnar fight again, which sucks, since he's been out so long.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who was supposed to headline UFC 108 with Cain Velasquez, has pulled out of that fight with a staph infection. Who could replace him? Not Shane Carwin? He’s recovering from knee surgery.

Posted by Mark Chalifoux at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

UFC 105 is this weekend and I'm looking forward to it. It is actually a very solid card. Randy Couture is back in action after an entertaining bout with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and he's taking on Brandon Vera. Vera used to be an exciting fighter and Couture used to be a champion, but this isn't a bad fight. Especially because it's a free show on Spike.

Both men need a win. It's Couture's return to light heavyweight and if he loses to Vera, who has been less than impressive in his fights recently, there won't be a ton of interesting fights left for him. You can't have one of the most storied fighters in the UFC ending his career with a .500 record (he's 16-10 right now). 

I'm also excited to see Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy. I don't think either makes a good matchup with Georges St. Pierre but this should be another entertaining bout. And say what you will about Michael Bisping (OK, I will -- he's overrated and lost to Matt Hamill), but pairing him with Denis Kang should be interesting as well.

I don't think it's as good as the Strikeforce show on CBS, but it will be a solid weekend for MMA fans.

(Photo courtesy of Zuffa, Inc.)

Posted by Mark Chalifoux at 12:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

CBS had an entertaining night of fights Saturday and while a few of them were closer than I anticipated, there were no real shockers. Fedor did what he does, even if it wasn't as quickly as he's been doing it lately, and Jake Shields won with a terrific ground performance. And I had little doubt about the fights involving Gegard Mousasi and Fabricio Werdum, although they were both in some tough spots at points in their bouts.

The big question for CBS has to be, what's next for Fedor? It isn't like Strikeforce has a ton of interesting matches for him, especially with a heavyweight champ that likely won't fight in the U.S. anytime soon. Is anyone dying to see him fight Werdum? What about Dan Henderson if they sign him? He's probably a little small but I don't know who else could be on the horizon for Fedor.

That's why I wish he was in the UFC. Not so Dana White would win that whole thing, but just so we could see him fight Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture, among others.

Posted by Mark Chalifoux at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

MMA returns to CBS this weekend as Fedor takes on Brett Rogers and Strikeforce assembles a fairly entertaining card overall.

ESPN.com gives a quick breakdown on the two main fights, but I think it's pretty clear that Fedor and Jake Shields are going to win.

This is a big show though because it is Fedor's U.S. prime-time debut and it marks the first real MMA show on CBS. EliteXC was a joke and even the most casual fan now recognizes that. I know plenty of UFC fans were angered at the mention of EliteXC and their CBS deal.

 How do casual fans feel about Strikeforce and CBS? At least they are marketing the right fighter. One of the sport's all-time greats instead of the biggest fraud in the sport's history. I think, at least, we can all agree that this will be good for the sport, right?

It seems like Fedor is a heavy favorite (-500, it seems) and there seems to be little money headed Rogers' way. Has there even been more of a sure thing than Fedor winning this fight? Especially with his superior ground game and Rogers lack of a ground game? 

Even still, I can't wait for this show. It's about time to see Fedor back in action.

Posted by Mark Chalifoux at 2:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Brock Lesnar still isn't healthy enough to resume training, so rumors are swirling that he won't be able to fight Shane Carwin on Jan. 2 at UFC 108. Another bout rumored for that card, the middleweight title fight between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort, will also be pushed back as Silva still is rehabbing his elbow. And now it looks like Georges St. Pierre may not return before March, as he's still rehabbing from the injury he suffered at UFC 100.

While some bouts are being pushed back and fighters are taking a little longer to heal, at least there's some good news this week. It looks like the bout between Kimbo Slice and Houston Alexander is close to official. It will be on the TUF finale card and it should be a heck of a fight. Neither guy has much of a ground game, both will be going for quick knockouts. Smart money has to be on Alexander but at least Kimbo fans will have one (final?) chance to see him fight. Alexander, a light heavyweight, and the heavyweight Slice will likely fight at a catchweight.

 A great read about Pat Barry cashing his $120k check from UFC 104.

 Finally, it's a big weekend on the horizon with the return of MMA to CBS. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers ... is anyone crazy enough to throw their cash behind Rogers? Anyone?

Posted by Mark Chalifoux at 1:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

This doesn't happen too often. While both parties agreed to it, rematches like this, especially with a title on the line, usually don't happen so quickly. Yet, it appears Dana White and both Lyoto Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua have signed off on it so the rematch is a reality.

 The first one was an enjoyable fight to watch (from my perspective) and I think the rematch will be even better. I definitely feel like it won't make it to the judges this time around. I also feel like the Machida backlash will force him to do more in the next fight. I wouldn't be surprised if Shogun felt the same way, since he won the fight and still wasn't awarded the victory.

This seems like the right call. Especially since there's no one knocking on the door for a title shot at light heavyweight. With Rampage out of the picture, the Rashad Evans-Thiago Silva winner seems poised for the next shot, and neither of those guys can make as interesting a fight as Shogun part two. 

I think the lack of quality challengers has a lot to do with it, because other fights have had controversial decisions but weren't given immediate rematches. The Rampage-Forrest Griffin fight comes to mind.

Posted by Mark Chalifoux at 1:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

In devastating news, Brock Lesnar was forced to withdraw from his scheduled bout with Shane Carwin at UFC 106 in November. The match will now be held at UFC 108 on Jan. 2.

Lesnar has been suffering from an illness that sounds an awful lot like H1N1, but is unconfirmed. Lesnar reportedly claimed it's the sickest he's been in his life and his people say he wouldn't have near the time needed to train for a big fight.

Instead, the Forrest Griffin-Tito Ortiz rematch will be moved into that slate instead.

Tough news, but this sort of thing happens. You can catch the full story here at Yahoo.

Posted by Mark Chalifoux at 1:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua fought a very tactical fight against a difficult opponent in UFC light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida and Rua fought it to perfection. He landed a flurry of devastating leg kicks and while the fight was extremely close, it's hard to see Machida as the winner in this bout. You could argue that Shogun won 49-46, but even most rational fans had to assume Shogun was going to be announced as the winner when it was declared a unanimous decision.

Rua completely took Machida out of his gameplan and looked much more like the Shogun of old. The Shogun of old, however, would've finished the fight. The Shogun we saw at UFC 104, however, certainly did enough to win. He was never in too much danger and really controlled the tempo of the fight. He threw some ferocious kicks to the legs and body of Machida and handled the "elusive" fighter very well. He should've won that fight. I thought Machida looked as surprised as the fans at the Staples Center were when he was announced as the winner. 

 Some will argue that the challenger has to take the belt from the champion and that any close fight will go to the current champ. That wasn't the case with Forrest Griffin and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Even so, I felt (as many other writers, fans in attendance and both Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg) that Rua did more than enough to get the decision.

Outside of Rua getting robbed, it was a pretty enjoyable show. I thought the prelim fights on Spike were terrific. I was surprised that Chael Sonnen handled Yushin Okami the way he did but I thought it was a good fight. Joe Stevenson looked terrific and Cain Velasquez dominated Ben Rothwell. I still don't think Velasquez is ready for Brock Lesnar, though. I'd like to see Velasquez face someone like Nogeuira or even Frank Mir before getting a shot at Lesnar. Anthony Johnson had a sick knockout as well, but his came against a fighter with no chin.

 Overall, a pretty enjoyable night of fights, outside of a highly controversial decision. Even though he lost, Rua proved he's a fighter to be reckoned with again at light heavyweight. And, more importantly, it showed that Machida is human. He was thought to be one of the most unbeatable fighters in the UFC but that was simply not the case Saturday night. He still doesn't belong in the St. Pierre/Anderson Silva class, not yet.

Although I would've loved to see Rua win, just on the chance that Dana White would make that Shogun vs. Anderson Silva fight. That would be a great one to watch.

Posted by Mark Chalifoux at 2:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (25)
        

UFC 104 is this weekend and outside of the Lyoto Machida vs. Shogun Rua bout for the light heavyweight championship, there’s not a whole lot of intrigue.

I’m excited for the Joe Stevenson-Spencer Fisher fight, but the rest of the card? Take it or leave it.

I’m curious to see how the PPV sells since it’s headlined by a pair of Brazilians. Both great fighters but I’m curious how the casual fan will support it. I’m still on the fence. This may be one show I catch at a sports bar instead of shelling out the 50 bucks.

I wish we could see the Yushin Okami-Chael Sonnen fight, but what are you going to do? Cain Velasquez and Ben Rothwell could be a decent fight, but not for second billing.

I don’t know though ... if PRIDE Shogun shows up, that main event might be worth it.

Posted by Mark Chalifoux at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)