Rated Next: Joe Warren

Welcome to Rated Next, a new segment we're trying out here to bring attention to fighters who may be flying under the radar of anyone outside of the hardcore set.

The fighters profiled here will be people that will soon be making a splash with the mainstream set and since I like having the upper hand and knowing about a guy before the Affliction-adorned masses start bastardizing their names, I thought I'd share them with you from time to time.

First up is Joe Warren.

It's not often that I throw my unwavering support behind a fighter who is just 2-0 and will turn 33 in 28 days, one more than it will take for me to turn 31. Send presents.

But Joe Warren is an exception to the rule; he's a former World Champion Greco-Roman wrestler who was favored for gold at the Beijing Olympics before testing positive for THC and being handed a two-year suspension.

As an aside, can someone please tell me how weed is a performance enhancer? Unless you're entering a Cheetos eating competition or a sleep challenge, you're not getting any edge from weed... at least that's what I've heard.

After missing out on the Olympics, Warren began his transition to MMA by joining forces with fellow Greco-Roman wrestling standout and Team Quest founder Dan Henderson. On March 8, 2009, Warren made his MMA debut as part of the DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix against former WEC Featherweight champ Chase Beebe at DREAM 7.

When the fighters separated at the end of the first round, Warren was awarded the win after Beebe was unable to continue due to a cut above his right eye.

A little more than two months later, Warren returned to Japan and the second round of the Featherweight Grand Prix, where he would meet the returning Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto. Once a consensus Top 10 Pound-for-Pound fighter, Yamamoto was coming off a layoff of over 500 days, but was still the heavy favorite, having only lost once in 19 previous fights.

As the judge's decision was read, Joe Warren's hands were raised; the American scored a Split Decision victory over his more experienced opponent and is now set for final two rounds this Tuesday where he'll once again be the underdog in his semifinal fight against Brazilian Bibiano Fernandes (5-2).

To put Warren's accomplishments into perspective a little, the first two victories of his career came over figthers with a combined record of 29-4 with one No Contest prior to having faced the former Michigan Wolverine.

Even if he doesn't emerge victorious in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Warren's star is certainly on the rise and he will be a fighter you hear a lot about in the coming months.

Just as Gegard Mousasi came out of nowhere to become a critic's darling and now full-fledged superstar after winning the 2008 Middleweight Grand Prix, a continued Cinderella performance and tournament victory would do the same for Warren.

Win or lose, Joe Warren is Rated Next.

(picture courtesy of Sherdog.com)
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Punch Drunk Predictions: DREAM 9

They always say that the best thing to do when you fall off the horse is get right back up and try to ride again.

Saturday night, UFC 98 threw me out of the saddle and landed me flat on my head. I can go 4-7 over a bad weekend during football season and not lose a wink of sleep. Labor to that kind of record on an MMA card and I'm going over my picks in my head for hours. And cursing Xavier Foupa-Pokam for being dumb enough to walk right into Drew McFedries' only means of winning the fight and Sean Sherk for, sorry about this, sherking his wrestling skills in favor of a standup war that he just couldn't win.

Now, DREAM 9 offers up an opportunity to rectify the situation. Ten fights to pick to get back on the happy side of the ledger.

Enjoy.

Punch Drunk Predictions - DREAM 9
Record: 4-7

Bob Sapp vs. Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa
Sapp certainly personifies the term "Super Hulk," but while the former NFLer has the build to match the tournament's title, he doesn't have the skills or pedigree to hang with Minowa.
Prediction: Minowa via submission

Hong Man Choi vs. Jose Canseco
Do I even need to break this one down? While Choi certainly isn't the most decorated and accomplished Mixed Martial Artist in the world - I mean, he's a kickboxer by trade really - he's fighting Jose Canseco. The baseball player.
Prediction: Choi via TKO due to strikes

Jan Nortje vs. Sokoudjou
I didn't believe the hype surrounding "The African Assassin" when he came to the UFC and continue to believe that he'll gas out come the second round of any fight. That being said, he's a far more skilled fighter than "The Giant" and should be able to get the win here.
Prediction: Sokoudjou via TKO due to strikes

Gegard Mousasi vs. Mark Hunt
The premier matchup of the Super Hulk tournament features a man who is nowhere near Super Hulk status and a dude who has fought some pretty impressive names over his career. Mousasi was my pick for Fighter of the Year last year after he won six fights, including beating both Melvin Manhoof and "Jacare" in the same night to capture the DREAM Middleweight Championship. Now he's fighting a true heavyweight in Mark Hunt, a man who has beaten Cro Cop and "The Axe Murderer," while taking loses against Alistar Overeem, Fedor and Josh Barnett.
Prediction: Mousasi via submission

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante
The skilled veteran who has fought everyone you can think of in his weight class versus the ATT youngster whom everyone is high on. Cavalcante hasn't won since September 2007, but he's had time to heal from various injuries and presents a dynamic style that can be very difficult to deal with.
Prediction: Kawajiri via submission

Hideo Tokoro vs. Abel Cullum
The only loss Cullum has suffered in the last three and a half years was to Wilson Reis, so you know he's got talent. Tokoro is a 31-year-old veteran coming off two straight losses. You do the math.
Prediction: Cullum via submission

Yoshiro Maeda vs. Hiroyuko Takaya
Maeda fought that war with Miguel Torres last year for the WEC, while Takaya seems to lose to anyone remotely known.
Prediction: Maeda via KO

Masakazu Imanari vs. Bibiano Fernandes
Fernandes has three straight wins and his two loses are to Urijah Faber and Kid Yamamoto. Imanari is "The Master of Leglocks" with wins over Mike Thomas Brown and Yoshiro Maeda and is a two-time DEEP title holder.
Prediction: Imanari vai submission

Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto vs. Joe Warren
If you read this blog earlier in the day, you know my thoughts on this one.
Prediction: Yamamoto via TKO

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller
"Mayhem" is just plain awesome; he's entertaining as shit, has fought a laundry list of talent and proved he's back to being healthy with his win over Kala Hose. On the other hand, "Jacare" was riding a 10 fight win streak prior to running into Gegard Mousasi last year and holds a win over Miller from last year.
Prediction: Miller via TKO due to strikes

Hopefully, this one goes better than the last one.




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The Comeback Kid

Lost amid the sideshow of Jose Canseco's Mixed Martial Arts debut at tomorrow night's DREAM 9 is the return of one of the best Pound-for-Pound fighters on the planet, Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto.

While he's certainly not a household name here in North America, in Japan he is a legend, both for his impressive march to the 2005 K-1 HERO Middleweight Grand Prix title and his four second knockout of Kazuyuki Miyata. Yes, your read that correctly. Four seconds.

Unfortunately, injuries have kept Kid Yamamoto out of the ring since he stopped Rani Yahya on New Year's Eve 2007, a period of 17 months. Normally, there is no way that I would expect much from someone who hasn't fought in that long, but this is "Kid" Yamamoto we're talking about.

The same fighter who has rattled of 14 consecutive wins and has fought the likes of Josh Thomson, Jeff Curran, Royler Gracie and Caol Uno. What makes Yamamoto so dangerous is that his always deadly striking is backed by an equally impressive wrestling pedigree, as his father was an Olympic competitor and both of his sisters are freestyle world champions. The least decorated of the bunch, all Kid was able to do was earn three high school state championships in wrestling rich Arizona.

He's not getting a cake walk in his return either, as Yamamoto will face American Joe Warren who made his debut a winning one at DREAM 7 by defeating Chase Beebe. The Team Quest member is said to have been training with WEC standout Urijah Faber and the boys at Team Alpha Male who previously prepared teammate Joseph Benavidez for a fight with Yamamoto that never materialized.

While he's currently a little lost in the shuffle on a card loaded with talent and talked about match-ups, a dominant victory in his return to the ring will put Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto right back into the mix not only in DREAM, but also in the Pound-for-Pound discussion.

Welcome back, Kid.






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