"Sherk"ing Responsibility

UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk (left) and number one contender Hermes Franca squared off for the UFC’s Lightweight Championship earlier this month, and after five rounds of complete domination by the champion, Sherk retained his belt with a unanimous decision victory. At no point was the champion close to finishing Franca, but after five rounds of slamming him to the ground, passing his guard, mounting him at will and escaping his submission attempts, one thing became unmistakably clear. Few lightweights will be able to deal with the strength that Sherk brings into the Octagon.

Sean Sherk had become somewhat of a hero in recent weeks. Shortly before UFC 73, UFC All-Access—which gives fans a behind-the-scenes glance at fighters’ home life and training regimen—featured the Lightweight Champion and left the MMA world abuzz. Sprinting up steep hills, smashing truck tires with sledgehammers, sparring ten rounds without a hint of rest, Sherk showed fans all around exactly how he got his chiseled physique…or so we thought.

Last Thursday the California State Athletic Commission revealed that both Sherk and Franca both failed their pre-fight drug tests. Both tested positive for anabolic steroids. Franca quickly issued an apology, admitting guilt and claiming that he took the drugs to help him recover from a pre-fight injury. Sherk denies the allegations altogether. Both fighters will be fined a portion of their winnings and must serve a one-year suspension. Sherk has filed an appeal, and a hearing will take place early next month.

I’m not going to say Sherk is guilty, but look that the picture above. He looks more juiced than a bottle of Hawaiian Punch!

Unfortunately, Sherk and Franca’s failed drug tests are not isolated incidents but rather further evidence of growing steroid problem in MMA. Tim Sylvia has tested positive, as has Royce Gracie. You can add Kevin Randleman and Vitor Belfort to the list too. The problem is that, at the moment, UFC drug testing is conducted on a largely random basis. Those fighting for a title can expect to tested, but other than that, it’s only as unfortunate few.

Doping no doubt gives athletes in other sports an unfair advantage, but in MMA it’s simply dangerous. Remember Diego Sanchez’s knockout of Joe Riggs or Rashad Evans’ high kick against Sean Salmon. Think of what Gabriel Gonzaga did to Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 70. If Sanchez, Evans, and Gonzaga can do that to their opponents when they passed their drugs tests, can you imagine what they could do on steroids?

As much as I love MMA, I must say that it does provide greater risk for injury than most other mainstream sports. And if someone is seriously injured—or worse yet killed—in the Octagon, that just may be the death knell for the UFC. If UFC president Dana has even a scintilla of integrity or concern for his fighters, he will take drug testing into his own hands. At the moment he’s content to leave it up to state athletic commissions.

The fact is this. The more doping in MMA, the more likely it is for someone to get seriously injured in the Octagon. If Mr. White doesn't act soon, he may pay dearly!

Return of the Prodigy

As most of our loyal readers know (all three of you!), I get really excited before each UFC event, and this Saturday night’s Ultimate Fighter finale has me more excited than Sean Hannity at the Republican National Convention. I’m eager to see the fight between Nate Diaz and Manny Gamburyan, which will determine the winner of season five of the Ultimate Fighter and a six-figure UFC contract, but that pales in comparison to seeing BJ Penn enter the octagon for the first time since his loss to Matt Hughes at UFC 63, a matched he dominated until a fluke rib injury at the end of the second round.

In case you’re unfamiliar with BJ Penn, he holds victories over some of the sport’s biggest names. In 2004 he defeated long-time Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes by rear naked choke and was subsequently stripped of the title after fighting for another organization. Making his return to the UFC early last year, Penn was defeated by Georges St. Pierre in a controversial split decision (many still believe he won that fight). After St. Pierre was forced to pull out of his title shot against Hughes, Penn stepped up and fought Hughes for a second time. Penn dominated the first two rounds, but suffered a fluke rib injury at the end of the second. Hughes won the fight, but it became clear that Hughes poses no threat whatsoever to an uninjured BJ Penn.

BJ Penn vs. Jens Pulver

Saturday night Penn will square off against former lightweight champion and longtime rival Jens Pulver for the opportunity to fight for the lightweight title. Penn was defeated by Pulver via controversial split decision at UFC 35. Pulver, a world-renowned striker fighting out the Militech camp, lost his last fight to UFC newcomer Joe Lauzon and will be looking to put his career back on track.

When you really break this fight down, it becomes difficult to find a way for Pulver to win. Pulver usually likes to stand and trade shots with his opponent, but his last several fights have shown a weakness in his chin. Moreover, Penn has great striking ability and very heavy hands. Thus Pulver has little chance of knocking Penn out. Should the fight go to the ground, Pulver’s chances of winning quickly fade away. BJ’s grounds skills are second to none—and if he gets the top position, Jens will be fighting for his life.

My Prediction:

Although I gained a lot of respect for Jens Pulver during this installment of the Ultimate Fighter, he will be no match for BJ Penn.

Penn by whatever he wants, whenever he wants.

fighting pundit

All These Upsets--I'm a Little Upset!

Those of you who share my obsession—or “healthy appreciation,” as I like to think of it— for MMA may be startled by the unprecedented string of upsets in the UFC lately. In recent months we have seen the following:

1) Forty-three-year-old Randy Couture came of retirement at UFC 68 to defeat heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, a man thirteen years his junior. Giving up six inches of height and fifty pounds to the much larger Sylvia, Couture dominated the fight, winning all five rounds and earning a unanimous decision victory.

2) Outspoken underdog Matt Serra TKO’d welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, arguably the UFC’s best pound-for-pound fighter, with a barrage of strikes in the first round. Odds makers gave Serra virtually no chance to win this fight.

3) Relatively unknown Gabriel Gonzaga took on international superstar Mirko Cro Cop in the main of event of the much-hyped UFC 70. Gonzaga appeared to be little more than a sacrificial lamb for Cro Cop on his road to a title shot. With less than a minute in the first round, Gonzaga landed devastating right high kick and handed Cro Cop the most brutal loss of his career.

When I first started watching MMA a little over a year ago, I could pretty much tell you who would win most of the fights I saw—like that Matt Hughes would beat Royce Gracie, or that Tito Ortiz would brutalize Ken Shamrock in their rematch. I’ll admit, however, that there would be an occasional shocker—like Joe Lauzon over Jens Pulver or Anderson Silva over Rich Franklin—but there seemed to be an overriding logic that governed the MMA world. The aging fan-favorite would fall to the younger, trash-talking champion. The endearing reality show winner would be pummeled by his stronger, more athletic adversary. The fearsome heavyweight striker would slaughter his sacrificial lamb without incident. The recent rash of upsets, however, has left an indelible mark on the MMA landscape.

Although we’re still amid the most tumultuous period in UFC history, let me assure you that normalcy will return. The MMA gods are a fickle bunch, but they will soon restore order. Here’s how I explain the recent flurry of upsets.

First, it can be argued that MMA is the most fluke-friendly sport on the planet. Roger Clemens can take the mound one night and give up seven or eight earned runs. That’s highly irregular for the rocket, but it is not without precedent. But Clemens will still have thirty other starts that season—many opportunities to redeem himself. One bad night is barely a blip on the radar screen during a 162-game season. At UFC 70, on the other hand, Mirko Cro Cop had his first bad night in several years—and now his career has been irreparably damaged. When you only compete three or four times a year, one mistake can have catastrophic consequences. What’s worse, an athlete like Clemens can hang a slider that’s hit out of the park in any given game—but if that’s his only mistake that night, he can still pull out a “w.” When Cro Cop dropped his hands for a moment—just one moment!— he found himself suffering the most brutal knockout of his career. Whereas sports like football, baseball, and basketball leave ample room error, one mistake in MMA can tarnish your career forever. Given the lack of major MMA venues, the ever-increasing competition, and the promotional politics behind each fight, MMA is an unforgiving business.

Secondly, one might argue that the groundswell of MMA competition has led to better athletes entering the sport. In years past, the world’s best athletes would usually set their sights on the NBA, NFL, or Major League Baseball. But with the recent spike in MMA popularity and the resulting increase in fighter salaries, top athletes are now beginning to train in the sport. And many of them, it appears, slip under the radar. The fact remains that the both the UFC and Cro Cop should have given Gabriel Gonzaga more respect. The UFC sent him into the octagon to lose to Cro Cop, and Cro Crop failed to treat him as a dangerous opponent. We know how that one turned out.

Hopefully, top-tier fighters in the UFC are beginning to take notice. Gone are the days where title holders and contenders square off against mediocre talent. But with lots of preparation and a little vigilance, I think most UFC stars will make the adjustment and begin to enter the octagon more prepared. The upsets, I predict, will soon come to an end. Make no mistake, however. The competition will be tougher than ever!

fighting pundit

My Post-UFC-71 Thoughts

Well, UFC 71 has come and gone. Keeping with the last few pay-per-views, there were some startling surprises. Most striking was newcomer Housten Alexander’s complete domination of veteran Keith Jardine. Jardine looked less like “The Dean of Mean”—his UFC moniker—and more like “The Dean of Mildly Upset” as Alexander rained down a series of unanswered blows less than a minute into the first. Jardine entered the fight a heavy favorite and drew Alexander’s ire when he stated in pre-fight interviews that he needed to fight quality opponents. Alexander made a bold statement in his debut and has gone from unknown newcomer to contender overnight.

My thoughts:

Keith Jardine has to feel like a real doofus right now. He failed to give a dangerous opponent any respect before the fight and was then brutally KO'd-- and that in less than a minute!--by a man who, by his own determination, didn't possess the credentials to fight him. A loss to Alexander under any circumstance would have been detrimental to his career, but now his beatdown is stigmatized by poor sportsmanship and refusal to respect his opponent. He didn't only lose badly; he looked like a total fool in the process.

Challenger Quinton “Rampage” Jackson stunned all those in attendance with his first-round knockout of long-time champion Chuck Liddell. About three minutes into the fight Liddell attempted a shot to the body, but Jackson countered with a looping right hook that dropped the champion. Jackson followed up with a series a strikes to the head before the referee had to step in and stop the fight. In the post-fight interview, Pride star Dan Henderson, who currently holds both Pride’s welterweight and middleweight belts, stepped into the octagon to challenge Jackson. Given Liddell’s two losses to Jackson and his lack of competitiveness in both fights, it seems that Liddell will not get a rematch anytime soon, or at least as long as Jackson has the belt.

My thoughts:

What's got to be going though Chuck Liddell's head right now? He enters the fight with one of the most impressive strings of victories in the history of the sport. He has been dominating some of the fiercest fighters in the business. He has shown no signs of mortality. Then after a quick right hook and some follow-up shots, his title run has come to an end. Given Chuck's ego and his confidence in his own abilities, it's going to be interesting to see how he recovers from this. The early rumor is that his comeback fight will be against long-time nemesis Wanderlei Silva, but we've been promised that fight before.

Final Thoughts:

I got to say that I was a little disappointed with Liddell-Jackson fight. MMA fans like me have been anticipating this fight for the better part of three years, and the whole fight barely three minutes! What’s worse, both fighters spent the first two minutes barely throwing a punch. The first fight was a war—even at first but with Jackson gaining momentum as the bout progressed. Most of us expected the same in the rematch, but instead we saw two and a half minutes of hesitancy followed by five seconds of action. I would’ve like to have seen a couple rounds of action—that at the very least.

But what’s done is done, and Quinton “Rampage” now sips atop the light-heavyweight hill.

Fighting Pundit

My UFC 71 Prediction

We are only one day away from the Chuck Liddell-Quinton Jackson rematch, and I can’t wait for the fight. If you’ve read my previous post, you’ll see that I don’t have much new to say. Liddell will certainly enter the Octagon the favorite, but I’m surprised to how close the betting lines are. Most websites have it about -180/+150 in Liddell’s favor. When you take into account that Liddell has shown very little weakness since his fourth round TKO over Horn, and that Jackson still has unavenged losses to Shogun and Wanderlei Silva, you’d think the betting deck would be stacked a lot higher against against Jackson. Regardless, this fight is way too close for me to call with any degree of confidence. But when I really think about—when I really examine each fighter’s motivation —my gut tells me that Jackson is going to take this fight.

Jackson has everything to gain by winning on Saturday. He’s been of the verge of MMA superstardom for several years now, but has yet to secure a title in one of the major organizations. He fought Wanderlei Silva for Pride’s middleweight championship, but lost that fight via brutal KO. He was subsequently maimed by Mauricio “Shogun” Hua and never saw another title shot. Come tomorrow night, however, Jackson will be fighting for the sport’s most coveted light-heavyweight title on the world’s largest stage.

When you really break it down, Jackson every reason to fight like his life depends on it. A second victory over Liddell will completely change Jackson’s life, and he knows that. He knows that the wealth and fanfare that accompany the title will replace the indigence and humility that marked his childhood. Pride, on the other hands, seems to be Liddell’s primary motivation for taking this fight. He is no doubt approaching the twilight of his career, and at this point he seems to want only to prove to himself that he is better than Jackson—that the first fight was a fluke. Both fighters will enter the octagon tomorrow night with bestial aggression, but only Jackson will be able to maintain it throughout the fight. I don’t think’s pride will not be enough to push him for five rounds. If Jackson makes it past the first three rounds, the UFC will have a new light-heavyweight champion

My reluctant pick: Rampage via referee stoppage

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Title Turmoil in the UFC's Welterweight Division

The UFC now has an unlikely welterweight champion. Divisional powerhouse Georges St. Pierre won the welterweight belt in a lopsided TKO victory over longtime champion Matt Hughes at UFC 65, and most predicted a long title reign for the Canadian. Matt Serra, however, had other plans. Serra, who earned a title shot by winning season four of the UFC’s popular Ultimate Fighter reality show, shocked the world at UFC 69 with a first-round TKO over the heavily-favored St. Pierre and, in doing so, turned the division on its head. St. Pierre’s all-but-certain victory over Serra would have set the stage for Hughes-St. Pierre 3, one of the more anticipated fights of 2007. Instead what we’re left with is a relatively uninspiring match between Serra and Hughes, where Hughes will most likely turn out another a boring decision victory (did anyone enjoy that Lytle fight?). What’s worse, UFC president Dana White announced recently that the two will coach competing teams in the next installment of the Ultimate Fighter, which will postpone their bout until the end of the year. White no doubt recognizes the bad blood that exists between the two and seeks to capitalize on it, but the problem is that by doing so, he essentially stagnates the entire division.

I’m not one known for taking for taking a lot of strong positions, but I feel obliged to say that the UFC brass is making a big mistake here. The division is replete with championchip-caliber fighters, but now guys like Karo Parisiyan and Josh Koschek must wait in the wings while Hughes and Serra try to one-up each other on national television. Not only do I think that this is a terrible business decision, but it’s also horribly unfair to those in title contention. Josh Koschek, for example, is 7-1 in the UFC and has won five consecutive fights. Moreover, his one loss came due to a fluke knee landed late in the third round by Drew Fickett. Koschek was dominating that fight. But even with his five consecutive wins and recent decision victory over rising star Diego Sanchez, he finds himself in a precarious position. Next for Koschek is a fight with the deposed champion St. Pierre, but even a victory there will most likely not gain him a shot at the belt. Since the Hughes-Serra fight is so far off, he will likely fight again before his time comes.

Karo Parisiyan is another example. He’s 6-2 in the UFC and his only recent loss came to Diego Sanchez. He was awarded a title shot at UFC 56 but had to pull out due to injury. He hasn’t seen a shot since, and he probably won’t for some time.

Why Dana White would choose to halt the UFC’s most dynamic division just to spice up the next season of the ultimate fighter is beyond anything I understand. And it’s certainly not fair to the rest of the division. I recognize that future of the UFC rests in its ability to make the sport entertaining, but it must not do so at the expense of its athletes.

fighting pundit

Mixed Martial Arts

Hey All,

My name is Scott Menner and I’m just another buddy of Paul’s. We work in the same office—about three cubicles apart, in case you were wondering. Paul’s notorious in our building for his Cardinal bashing and his pro-Cub rhetoric, which is a cardinal sin (pun very much intended) when you work in Saint Louis. He even walked in the office during our Cardinals opening day celebration proudly donning a Mark Prior jersey. Think what you may, but the guy’s got guts!

Paul has recruited me to be this site’s resident MMA expert, but I would say that calling me an MMA expert is about as accurate as calling Spike Lee a casual Knicks fan. I don’t train in any martial arts, nor have I ever even been in a real fist fight. I can, however, offer a layman’s insight into a sport that I love. My knowledge isn’t extensive, but it’s ever increasing.

Introduction to Mixed Martial Arts

For those of you who are new to Mixed Martial Arts, referred to hereafter as MMA, it is an amalgam of your more traditional martial arts--including Brazilian Ju Jitsu, Judo, Sambo—and other combat sports like boxing and Greco-Roman wrestling. What events boil down to is essentially two unarmed combatants in a ring or cage. The sport, once branded as “human cockfighting” by Senator John McCain, has undergone a metamorphosis in recent years.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship, or the UFC, hails as the world’s largest MMA organization and the sport’s premier venue. Whereas in the past the UFC allowed your more brutal maneuvers like hairpulling and groin shots and allowed bouts with large weight disparities, recent political scrutiny as well as efforts to maintstream the sport have tempered it a bit. The UFC has instituted five weight classes and has prohibited many of the controversial facets from its past. What we’re left with is an event where opponents combat using a combination strikes (punches, kicks, knees, etc) and submission techniques. Bouts consist of three five minute rounds for non-title matches, and title bouts may last up to five five-minute rounds. Matches are won knocking out your opponent or forcing them to submit.

Hope you enjoy MMA as much as I do.

MMA Pundit

05/17/2007

Well we’re about a week away from one of the most anticipated bouts in MMA history. Reigning light heavyweight champion Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell will be taking on brawny number one contender Quintion “Rampage” Jackson. This will be a rematch of their 2003 bout, which Jackson won after Liddell’s corner threw in the towel. What was surprising about their first match was that Jackson not only beat the heavily favored Liddell, but that he outstruck him in the process. The loss may be blamed in part to the fact that Liddell was venturing out from the UFC’s familiar confines in Vegas to fight halfway across the world in the Japanese-based PRIDE organization

The rematch, however, will unfold differently. The two will be fighting in the UFC, that is, on Liddell’s home turf. After suffering losses to several of his recent big-name opponents, Jackson has rebounded with consecutive victories over middleweight standout Matt Lindland and rival Marvin Eastman, to whom Jackson suffered his first professional loss. Chuck Liddell, on the other hand, has been unstoppable since his loss to Jackson, posting wins over many of the biggest names in the sport, including Tito Ortiz, Vernan White, Randy Couture, Renato Sobral, and Jeremy Horn. Moreover, all of Lidell’s recent victories have come by way of knockout, and only Jeremy Horn has made it past the third round.

Unlike Liddell’s last few fights, this match is difficult to pick. Once again I would have to say that the smart money is on Lidell, but Jackson poses a much bigger threat than Liddell’s last few opponents. Tito Ortiz had a shot at UFC 66, and Jackson arguably has better striking and wrestling than Tito and a significant strength advantage over Liddell. The problem for Rampage is that he must take Liddell to the ground and pound him out, and to do so he’ll have to take a few shots from the heaviest hands in the business. All Chuck needs, though, are a few solid shots to put Rampage away. Jackson definitely has the best chance of any of Liddell’s opponents since Randy Couture, but he will enter the octagon that night as a solid underdog.