Strikeforce Fight Week Previews: Fedor vs. Rogers

Now it's time for the big dance. Before breaking down the fight, here is my one shout out to the rest of the MMA community:

We're getting a chance to see one of the greatest fighters to ever grace our sport for free tomorrow night. This is like Ali fighting on ABC's Wide World of Sports back in the day.

Tell your friends, tell your enemies and tell all the people you talk to today, because I don't want to spend Monday writing about the sad state of affairs this sport really is when Fedor Emelianenko can't draw as many fans to a fight on FREE TV as Kimbo Slice.

There... onto the breakdown.

"The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko (30-1-0, 1 NC) vs. Brett "The Grim" Rogers (10-0-0)

Chances are you're going to see a trend develop throughout this preview. It's going to involve Fedor and some variant of the word "win" and be used to for every category, starting with where these two train.

Fedor trains with his brother Aleks, Amar Suloev and Gegard Mousasi at Red Devil Sport Club. The second most prominent member of Ambition MMA where Rogers trains? Kelly Kobald.

Here it is: Fedor wins.

Experience doesn't even really need to be dissected, as even the biggest Fedor bashers can admit that the Russian superstar has three-times as many wins as his opponent with wins over Minotauro Nogueira, Cro Cop and Mark Coleman in their primes to his credit.

Again, Fedor wins.

The one area some will argue in favor of Rogers is their shared opponent, Andrei Arlovski.

For three minutes, Arlovski had Fedor backed into a corner and on the defensive, pushing the pace and bringing the fight to the WAMMA Heavyweight champ. Though that is very much the case, the end result for both fighters against Arlovski are the same: big punch, down goes Arlovski.

Rogers was quicker, but you could even argue that Fedor was more lethal as he needed just one well-placed punch to drop the former UFC champ. Then again, some might call me the always charming "nuthugger" for backing Fedor so strongly.

Call it a push and let's move on.

There is no question that Brett Rogers has the power to change the course of a fight with one punch and sometimes, one punch is all you need.

Without question, the youngster who will be fighting in his own backyard is going to be a force to be reckoned with moving forward in the heavyweight division, especially if he adds some ground skills to the lethal leather he already throws.

But therein lies the rub: while Rogers brings big punching and not much else, Emelianenko has shown over the last eight years that he's got more tools to work with than Bob Villa.

He can knock you out, submit you or go the distance and perhaps more incredibly, you can't beat him.

Kaz Fujita had him wobbled with a well-placed power shot to the head. Kaz Fujita tapped out at 4:17 of the first round.

For everyone who is impressed - and rightfully so - with Lyoto Machida's undefeated run prior to the controversial finish of UFC 104, Fedor has doubled that in the eyes of some, myself included, as his one "loss" should rightfully be a DQ or No Contest.

Imagine, the guy has gone almost ten years without a loss in a sport where everyone loses.

Perhaps now you know why the theme of this preview has been Fedor wins.




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Strikeforce Fight Week Preview: Jake Shields vs. Jason Miller

I've already gone on record in a couple different places saying this will be the Fight of the Night. That's what happens when you get a guy who likes to submit people fighting a guy who just doesn't tap.

While my prediction for this fight has been known to readers of my work at Bleacher Report, that won't stop me from breaking in down FWP-style as always. I mean, just because I think Mayhem is going to win doesn't mean I can't discuss the finer points of this outstanding match-up.

Some would call that remaining objective; undoubtedly, others will call it an attempt to pad my stats. I don't care what you call it, as long as you read it.

Jake Shields (23-4-1) vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller (22-6-0, 1 NC)

The Cesar Gracie black belt is head and shoulders ahead of Mayhem in terms of training; while Miller is the big dog in the yard and does most of his training solo, Shields is the captain of "The Scrap Pack," a collection of Gracie students that includes The Diaz Brothers and Gilbert Melendez.

In terms of experience, these two a neck-and-neck; both have close to 30 fights and have been inside rings and cages with some high caliber 170 and 185 pounders over the years. Combined, their list of competition really is quite impressive.

Strength of schedule falls in favor of Shields, as his current 12-fight winning streak has included Robbie Lawler, Paul Daley, Nick Thompson and Carlos Condit, while Miller's most recent wins came over Kala Hose, Hiromitsu Miura and Tim Kennedy.

From here on out, the fight gets real interesting, at least to MMA geeks like me.

First off, Shields is a natural welterweight, having fought the bulk of his career at 170 with a couple of catchweight fights interspersed for flavor. On the other hand, Miller has been making 185 routinely for the last five years and isn't a small middleweight either.

The former EliteXC Welterweight champ has stated he wants to fight in both classes, so packing on 15 pounds of muscle is out of the question.

While Shields certainly looked great in his 182-pound catchweight win over Robbie Lawler, the chances of Miller getting caught in a standing guillotine are slim and none, which brings us nicely to the next wrinkle.

Simply stated, "Mayhem" will not quit. He might take a nap and he might end up with a broken limb, but the guy is not going to tap. This is a guy who grins his way through fights and went 15 minutes with GSP while covered in blood.

Additionally, the Bully Beatdown host actually has some strong defensive skills on the ground. People seem to mistake the fact that Miller hosts a TV show with him being a sub-par fighter and that simply isn't the case. You don't last ten years in the business if you don't know what you're doing.

There is no question that Shields is going to look to win this fight on the ground. Anyone who wants to point to his improved stand-up and tell me that he was handling Robbie Lawler on their feet last time out needs to remember the fight lasted just two minutes.

This one is going to last far more than that. Besides, Mayhem has better stand-up.

The key to this fight is going to be who scores more points where they are least comfortable; can Shields steal a round standing and trading or can Mayhem weasel out a 10-9 with solid defense, submission escapes and reversals?

We'll find out Saturday night, won't we?





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Strikeforce Fight Week Previews: Gegard Mousasi vs. Sokoudjou

Grab a pen and write this down: In no more than three years time, Gegard Mousasi will be considered the best Mixed Martial Artist on the planet.

Remember who told you that when everyone who follows the sport is fawning over the Armenian-born, Dutch-raised soon-to-be superstar.

Saturday night, fight fans will get to see why the man known as "The Dreamcatcher" is on the verge of becoming a household name and one of the top pound-for-pound performers in the sport.

Gegard Mousasi (26-2-1) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (7-4-0)

The training camp component might be the only win Sokoudjou can steal from Mousasi, as "The African Assassin" gets his instructions from Dan Henderson and company at Team Quest in Temecula, California.

However, it's not like Mousasi comes from some scrub gym either; the guy is Fedor Emelianenko's boxing coach with Red Devil. Training on a daily basis with the best in the business certainly counts for something.

The only reason this isn't a win for Mousasi is the relative lack of depth with the Russian outfit, compared to the laundry list of competitors who call Team Quest their home.

Here is where things get awful impressive for the 24-year-old Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champ.

Saturday marks his 30th fight as a professional and he's riding a 12-fight winning streak. By comparison, Sokoudjou will only be making his 12th appearance in the cage.

There was a time a couple of years ago where Sokoudjou was in Mousasi's shoes; a highly-regarded prospect coming off two shocking upsets in Pride. But after beating Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona on back-t0-back Pride cards, things went south for Soko.

While Mousasi's conquests may not have the same name brand cache as his opponent's signature wins, do not be fooled by the fact that you haven't heard of some of Mousasi's victims. Hector Lombard and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza are Top 20 Middleweights, while there isn't a long line of people looking to step into the cage with Cyborg Santos or Melvin Manhoef.

What makes the streak of "The Dreamcatcher" all the more impressive is that he's done it across various weights and in various fashions; submitting heavyweight Mark Hunt, outlasting the aforementioned Lombard and forcing the ref to call off his one minute beatdown of Renato "Babalu" Sobral in his North American debut.

Not to diminish the talents of Thierry Sokoudjou, but this isn't going to be close and the game plan for scoring a win is pretty well known.

Sokoudjou has a three minute gas tank, give or take 30 or 40 seconds. He comes out like gangbusters, expends all his energy and then is like a wounded gazelle being stalked by a pack of hungry lions; try as he might, it's only a matter of time before the end comes.

Though Mousasi showed a fierce aggressiveness in stopping Sobral last time, look for the young phenom to bide his time, ensuring he doesn't suffer the same upset fate that fell Arona and Little Nog back in Japan before bringing the fight to the ground and forcing Sokoudjou to tap.

From there, expect to see his name start popping up on more and more Pound-for-Pound lists and people to mention his name in conversations about the future of the sport.

Just remember who told you all of this first...



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Strikeforce Fight Week Previews: Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Silva

Sorry I've been slacking on breaking down the Strikeforce Main Card this week; in addition to moving, writing revisionist histories on Brock Lesnar and trying to find a job has taken up all of my time.

Now that it's already Thursday, here's what we're going to do: two today, two tomorrow and Punch Drunk Predictions on Saturday, just like always.

With that out of the way, let's get down to brass tax and break down this bout.

Fabricio Werdum (12-4-1) vs. Antonio Silva (13-1-0)

As always, where each fighter trains is Step One in trying to figure out who is going to have their hand raised and who is going to be standing there all grumpy and defeated.

With these two, we're talking about two very accomplished combat teams, as Werdum works out of the famed Chute Boxe Academy, while Silva trains with American Top Team.

Though both are top tier training camps, Silva gets the edge, as ATT is one of the very best teams in the sport and the presence of a heavyweight grappler like Jeff Monson who can mimic the offense Werdum will present is greater than anything Chute Box can offer their charge.

That being said, Werdum has a massive edge in experience and what we call "strength of schedule," the next two components.

Silva's greatest challenges to date have come in the form of former UFC fighters like Wesley "Cabbage" Correira, Ricco Rodriguez and Justin Eilers, with his lone loss coming at the hands of Eric "Big E" Pele, a fighter some might recall from his days on A&E's Inked.

Meanwhile, in addition to being a multi-time medalist at the Abu Dhabi Submission Grappling Championships, "Vai Cavalo" has faced the likes of Andrei Arlovski, Junior dos Santos, Gabriel Gonzaga, Minotauro Nogueira and Alistair Overeem.

Stylistically, these two are polar opposites, which could make for an interesting altercation.

Silva will surely look to keep this fight standing, as his powerful hands are his greatest weapon. Despite using an arm triangle to defeat Jim York last time out, taking this fight to the ground against Werdum is far from a good idea.

As mentioned earlier, Werdum is a championship-caliber submission fighter and will surely look to put his large opponent on the mat. While Silva is no slouch on the ground and working positions on a man of his stature isn't the easiest thing in the world, neither is winning the heavyweight division at the 2009 ADCC Championships, something Werdum did just two months ago.

One interesting wrinkle that presents itself and is certainly in the memory banks of fight fans is Werdum's crushing knockout defeat at the hands of Junior dos Santos.

Silva is equally as strong - if not stronger - than the young Black House standout and every fight starts standing up, so Werdum will most likely have to weather a storm initially before trying to transition to the ground where he will be in considerably less danger.

Whatever happens, this is going to be an interesting fight; Werdum is looking to keep building towards a marquee fight with either Fedor or Alistair Overeem and Silva is looking to return to title contention following a North American suspension and decimating weaker competition.

And honestly, the whole damn thing is on CBS for free and live fights are certainly more appealing to me than a night of main events I've already seen on Spike.





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Brock Lesnar: A Lesson in Revisionist History

Brock Lesnar is the UFC Heavyweight Champion. That fact cannot be disputed.

Apparently, everything else in the Mixed Martial Arts history of the athletic freak of nature is up for reconsideration, depending on what side of the Lesnar Line you land on.

If you're Team Lesnar, than there is no need to reconstruct the events that have taken place thus far; after all, your guy has a shiny gold belt holding up his pants.

The quick UFC history of the organization's top heavyweight looks like this to you:

• Debuted against a former champion with great submission skills and got caught
• Pulverized a veteran gatekeeper
• Defeated one of the most respected fighters in the history of the sport to claim heavyweight title
• Avenged debut loss in dominant fashion to unify titles
• Got sick, pulled out of UFC 106
• Still sick, might not fight at UFC 108
  

Stripped down, that sounds about right.

However, things are quite different if you fall on the other side of the Brock Lesnar Line and quick histories are not enough.

While fans of the impossibly athletic big man like to ignore his professional wrestling past, everyone knows that anyone who came out of the WWE surely abused steroids, HGH, painkillers, booze and small barnyard animals. How people can overlook such things is ridiculous to you.

From there, he made a rookie mistake in his debut, succumbing to a move that a novice in jiu jitsu could escape. You escaped it on your third day of jiu jitsu classes, as well as every other submission attempt sent your way, prompting you to quit and declare yourself the greatest jiu jitsu practitioner in your house.

Then came the Heath Herring fight. Beating Heath Herring means nothing, as he's a "tomato can" if ever there was one. Sure he's closing in on 50 professional fights and has been in the ring with some of the best heavyweights the sport has ever seen, but who has he beaten?

Cheick Kongo? The only time a win over Cheick Kongo counts for anything is when your name is Cain Velasquez...

Next up, Dana White and his fellow Lesnar Lovers put the steroid and small animal abusing lack of talent in a title fight AFTER JUST TWO FIGHT! What makes it even worse is that they all but handed the muscle-bound meathead the title by matching him up against an old and decrepit Randy Couture.

Honestly, the guy is like 904-years-old and hasn't been a good fighter in years. Why not just hand Lesnar the belt?

Then came UFC 100 and a rematch with Mir, where Lesnar simply lay on his opponent in a position that surely merited a stand-up, not that the two should have been fighting each other in the first place, right?

After all, Lesnar has a massive weight advantage over every in the division and that has never happened before. Divisions should be 10-15 pounds apart and just because Lesnar can get within the vast limits of the division before bulking back up overnight - ON STEROIDS - it shouldn't mean he gets to outweight everyone by 30-40 pounds.

What happened next was the worst moment in Mixed Martial Arts history, perhaps the history of the world.

Lesnar shot his mouth off, gave the fans the finger, made a lewd comment about his wife, punched Joe Rogan in the throat and murdered 13 civilians on his way to the locker room. He is an absolute disgrace of a human being and what he did is worse than anything any athlete or common citizen has ever done and he should be barred from the organization and forced to live on a remote island by himself... forever.

Scared to death that Shane Carwin is going to beat him, Lesnar is "sick" and unable to defend his title at UFC 106, so Dana White gave his meal ticket a stay of execution until January. He sure didn't look sick when he showed up at the Minnesota Vikings game though.

Still petrified from knowing without a shadow of a doubt that Carwin is going to punch a hole in his overblown chest, Lesnar might not even be able to fight at UFC 108. While some people are saying it could be mono, the real reason he can't fight is two-fold:

1. He's scared. Carwin is a beast and has beaten everyone he's face with one punch, including a bear he encountered in the Colorado Rockies.
   
   
2. Lesnar needs extra time for his latest cycle of steroids, HGH and radioactive materials to clear his system so he can keep passing drug tests.

Now that he's not going to be able to fight, the UFC should strip him of the belt, give it to Carwin and make Lesnar admit to all his cheating, apologize for senselessly beating Joe Rogan after UFC 100 and create a brand new division where guys like Lesnar have to fight, so smaller heavyweights have a chance to win titles too.

* * * * * * * *

Randy Couture is not 904-years-old. He's old, but not that old.

Brock Lesnar has not abused any barnyard animals, killed any ringside civilians and never beat Joe Rogan senseless. He's never failed any drug tests either...

But that doesn't matter to the legion of Lesnar Haters out there.

He HAD to have done steroids and HGH and everything else under the sun.

He's a deplorable human being, unworthy of a place in the UFC and deserves to be slandered, defamed and criticized at every turn, right?

Just make sure that if he ever comes near your glass house, you run as fast as you possibly can...











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"Lil' Evil" Jens Pulver to Return in 2010

When Jens Pulver was submitted in 33 seconds by Josh Grispi back at WEC 41 in Sacramento, the fan favorite known as "Lil' Evil" tearfully thanked the fans for years of support and hinted that the last fight of his career may have just taken place.

Thankfully, that doesn't look like it is going to be the case, as the first lightweight champion in UFC history plans on returning to the cage in 2010.

Candid as ever, Pulver discussed the time between the Grispi loss and now with Mike Chiappetta of AOL Fanhouse, divulging that moving back to Idaho and medication prescribed following visits to a psychiatrist have helped Pulver deal with feelings of anxiety and depression that have plagued him for a number of years.

While the news is certainly welcomed by the legions of Lil' Evil fans that includes this writer, many will ask a variation of the question posed to Pulver by WEC analyst Todd Hummer following his second loss to Urijah Faber: is he still relevant?

Having lost four straight and six of his last seven, his recent track record certainly would make it hard for anyone to argue in his favor. After a strong showing in a five round war with then Featherweight champ Faber in June 2008, Pulver has spent a combined 3:19 seconds in the cage over his last three losses.

But you shouldn't count out a guy with Pulver's track record, both inside the cage and outside.

In addition to racking up wins over the likes of B.J. Penn, Caol Uno, Dennis Hallman and Cub Swanson, Pulver has overcome the abusive childhood detailed in his book Little Evil, the sudden death of close friend Justin Eilers and the aforementioned struggles with anxiety and depression.

If Lil' Evil says he's feeling better than ever and he's ready to go again, this writer is inclined to believe him.

In an era where more and more athletes offer nothing but robotic answers and show as little emotion as possible, Jens Pulver has always been candid and worn his hear on his sleeve. He's as likable a fighter as their is in the sport.

Just don't let the smiles and emotions fool you; a motivated and committed Pulver could be a dangerous opponent and stirring story once he gets back into the cage in 2010.

Welcome back Lil' Evil...


(Photo courtesy of Evan Shoman. Visit Shoman Art for more details.)


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Red Jelly Beans, Kleenex and Mixed Martial Arts: Oddly Logical Analogies on a Sunday Morning

If given a choice, which would you rather have: as many red jelly beans as you could possibly eat or all the jelly beans you could stomach in a variety of colors?

Those who love red jelly beans see no reason to venture away from their favorite, content to consume the one and only option they enjoy. But some people enjoy and even need variation, different options and possibilities in their jelly bean intake, and the idea of only being allowed one color ruins the enjoyment.

Now that you're craving jelly beans, think about this: what if the red jelly beans represented the UFC? Now what would you choose?

The idea of a Mixed Martial Arts monopoly has been discussed in various incarnations since the emergence of the Ultimate Fighting Championship as the dominant brand in the sport.

Advocates of the idea speak of the other major sports leagues, Major League Baseball and the NBA for example, where all the best athletes aim to play under the banner of the marquee name in the game.

They talk about dream match-ups between fighters who have yet to face each other, the thought of Brock Lesnar and Fedor Emelianenko meeting in the center of the Octagon for the UFC Heavyweight title sending them into an imaginary fight euphoria.

If the sport of Mixed Martial Arts was derived to determine which style was the best and ultimately, which fighter was the best, wouldn't having all the best fighters in the world under one roof make a great deal of sense?

Opponents of the idea would argue differently.

For starters, variety is the spice of life; imagine how boring listening to the radio would be if your only option was an all-muzak station? Or, more in keeping with the topic, all aggro-alternative like the music the UFC always uses? Sometimes you want a nice, soft ballad or some old fashion gangsta rap and having a multitude of MMA options give fans that choice.

Additionally, the most popular sport in the world (to make it easiest, let's just call it soccer) is not contested in just one league. While some would argue that the best of the best participate in the English Premiership, others would point to the La Liga in Spain as the home of the best soccer clubs and players, while others still would argue for Italy's Serie A.

None of those leagues is close to struggling, despite the fact that the best players in the world are spread amongst them, not to mention those playing in Germany, France and the countless other countries with professional leagues.

We're already at a point where the UFC is becoming the Kleenex of MMA; so prevalent within the sport that people simply refer to MMA as UFC, just as all facial tissue is commonly referred to as Kleenex.

Perhaps the key to remember in the Kleenex analogy is that while the name has been genericized, there are still a multitude of manufacturers making facial tissue.

The difference, of course, is that while the people at Scottie's don't care if you call their product Kleenex or facial tissue, Scott Coker and Strikeforce will certainly be saddened if you refer to their product as UFC...

Whether it's relating the sport to jelly beans or drawing comparisons with facial tissues, there is no definitive answer to whether a Mixed Martial Arts monopoly and the genercizing of the sport is good or bad moving forward.

Those who love red jelly beans are still going to want to do away with all the other colors and Scottie's is still going to make facial tissue, even if you call it Kleenex.

Some will forever argue that all the best fighters belong in the UFC, just as many will mistakenly label Mixed Martial Arts with the name of the biggest brand in the business.

Personally, I don't want to live in a world with only red jelly beans and while I call the stuff I blow my nose in each morning Kleenex, I know that it's really called facial tissue.

What about you?

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