bUGLYbLOG

Chuck Liddell is not done…I am a fan of Chuck Liddell. I love to watch him fight. I like the knockouts. Up until the Rampage Jackson fight, it was almost a given that if he was fighting, he was going to deliver a knockout (regardless of the opponent). Then Rampage knocked him out. Sure, he wasn’t face down sans his mouth piece, a la Keith Jardine in the Houston Alexander bout, but he was stunned and most definitely on the verge of being Gonzaga’d (referencing the CroCop fight here). This past weekend he made his first appearance back in the octagon since the knockout and ended up losing for the second straight time (a first in the storied career of the Iceman). Keith Jardine out pointed him for most of the fight and earned a split decision victory, one that probably should have been unanimous. With all due respect to the Dean of Mean, Liddell should have knocked this guy out in the first round. Jardine is not Randy Couture, he’s not Vitor Belfort, he’s not even Gumby (aka Jeremy Horn). So, what gives?

Well, it’s one of two things in my opinion. Either he is going through a Roy Jones type career culmination or he just doesn’t care that much anymore. When I say a Roy Jones career culmination, I am talking about the third Tarver fight (October 2005). Tarver had brutally knocked Roy out a year earlier and it appeared that he just wanted to survive the third fight. I saw this fight live on tv and it was difficult to watch. Roy ran most of the fight and never appeared to want to sit and exchange with Tarver. This was the same fighter who had beaten James Toney, John Ruiz, and the Executioner (Bernard Hopkins), and here he was seemingly running from Tarver. This was the end of the great Roy Jones Junior. With respect to Chuck, I don’t think he was afraid to get back in the octagon. He’s been knocked out before and come back strong (referencing the first fights with Rampage and Couture - both ending in TKO’s), so I’m just not buying that he was nervous or worried about getting K.O.’d.

Therefore, my guess is he just doesn’t care anymore (or doesn’t have the desire to do what is necessary to win at the UFC championship level). Chuck’s looked a little pudgy recently, he’s shown up to an interview a little loopy, and lets face it, he is getting paid win, lose, or draw (For the record his base salary, as reported over at mmajunkie.com, for the Jardine fight was $500,000 - while the winner, Jardine, earned a paltry $14,000). Bottomline, he just didn’t seem prepared, either physically or mentally (poor gameplan), for the fight. Will I watch his next big fight? Yes, but for his own legacy he needs to bring it. My guess is that a significant percentage of the mma fan base (talking about the new folks here) have only seen Chuck fight twice - both resulting a loses. Obviously Chucks better than this, but times running out for him to show the newbies what all the fuss is about.

Well, its the Friday before UFC 68, The Uprising. I am pumped up! I haven’t been this pumped since earlier today when I jetted from work after lunch. Actually, around 6 o’clock this evening I was also equally pumped when I discovered a can of mini ravioli in my pantry. On to the predictions:

Rex Holman vs. Matt Hamill - I am pulling for Matt here, but his last performance was pretty bad. I know nothing about Rex Holman except that he’s buddies with Sean Salmon. Hopefully Sean didn’t give him any tips on defending a head kick. Even if he did, I don’t see Hamill launching any kicks to the noggin. This one goes the distance. Hamill in a split decision

Renato Sobral vs Jason Lambert - I say Sobral all the way. Unless he suddenly develops Wanderlei Silva’s propensity for getting knocked out, I think he will walk through Lambert. By the way, the UFC needs to put some marketing behind Babalou. He’s the real deal. Sure, he got knocked out by Chuck, but that was a bad matchup for the guy and Chuck was and is still the champ. After he walks through Lambert, how bout a lining him up against Tito, Evans or the Dean of Mean? Sobral in a 2nd round submission

Matt Hughes vs. Chris Lytle - Lytle got robbed in his bout against Serra. Does anyone know if the UFC used real judges for the TUF finally, or was it some UFC flunkies? Oh well, Hughes is going to hurt Lytle. Not a good matchup for Lytle. Lytle can’t expose Hughes with strikes like George did, and Hughes will win the ground battle decidedly. Hughes in a 2nd round TKO

Rich Franklin vs. Jason Macdonald - This is the second most interesting bout of the night. Rich got his nose pushed into his cranium by the Spider in his last fight. It was probably one of the most one sided title fights I have ever seen. So, how will he respond coming of the loss? Well, lets look at what happened to the Axe Murderer last week at Pride 33. He was coming off a brutal KO from the hands (actually leg) of CroCop and he proceeded to get knocked out again. I am picking the upset - Macdonald in a 3rd round submission

Tim Sylvia vs. The Natural - Hmmmmm. I did not want to see this fight happen. Randy is just too old and Tim is a big big man. Now that its a done deal and going to happen, I think Sylvia is going to walk through Couture. He’s just too big. At the weigh in earlier today I think the dude had 40 pounds on Randy. Sylvia in a 2nd round KO

outtie.

Every man has a right to make a living (of the legal persuasion of course). This is true whether you’re good at flipping burgers, changing tires, or mopping floors. I read this week that the Tommy Gun, Tommy Morrison, is going to box again. Boxing is apparently his profession of choice, and honestly he was a good boxer (46-3-1 ain’t to shabby, including a heavyweight title fight win against George Foreman). However, this is the same guy that ten years ago allegedly tested positive for the HIV virus. I say allegedly because he’s denying it was a positive test. Anyway, boxing isn’t chess. Blood can and probably will mix, regardless of the lack of skill Tommy or his opponent will bring into the ring if and when the fight goes off. So, what kind of horsecrap is this? It’s not like this is going to be a blockbuster fight with a huge-mongous payout. The kicker, per Tony and Michael of ESPN’s PTI, is that the fight is going to take place in West Virginia (< -- please click this), the only state that doesn't require mandatory blood tests before boxing matches. I am disappointed in Tommy, but I am most concerned with his opponent. Regardless of the payout, it's not worth it. If the guy wins, he has beaten an almost 40 year old guy who hasn't fought in 10 years. That's not going to get you a title shot and it may prevent you from ever finding another guy who will get in the ring with you. If you lose, well, you've lost to a 40 year old guy and may have contracted the HIV virus as a bonus. Don't do it. Please, somebody step in.

Now, for a prediction in this weekends Pride 33 headliner between Wanderlei the “Axe Murderer” Silva (31-6-1, Pride Middleweight Champ) and the U.S.’s own Dan Henderson (21-5-0). Well, I have no idea. I know nothing about Dan Henderson except for what I have read on Sherdog.com. I have never seen Dan in the ring. I have, however, seen the “Axe Murderer” a number of times. I have seen him dismantle Quinton “The Rampage” Jackson twice, as well as seen his loses to Tito, Vitor, and most recently CroCop. He is the real deal, no doubt about it. He’s a striker like Chuck Liddell, but his style in my opinion is very different from the Icemans. When the bell rings, he’s a charger (except against Victor - lol), where as Liddell likes, or appears to like, knocking you out as you charge him. Anyway, the interesting this here is he’s a champ, but he had the living crap beat out of him in his last fight against CroCop (his head was cracked open). This is first fight since that butt whooping. How will he respond? I think I can relate. When I was in 4th grade I got in a fight where the guy punched me in the breadbasket. I lost. I also cried. Anyway a couple of weeks later I got socked in the garbage by this weird dude. I cried then too. So, I think Silva is going to go down again: Henderson in a unanimous decision.

Next Week - UFC 68 Predictions

P.S. - A couple of years after I graduated college, I stopped into a Taco Bell sometime before midnight and the guy who had punched me in the garbage back in forth grade was asleep in a booth. If I recall correctly he had a piece of rice stuck in one of his eyebrows. I didn’t cry this time. In your face!

Three questions the bUGLYbLOG would like answered:

• What if a guy got an artificial elbow due to a surgery, would he be allowed to compete since it could legally be used as a weapon?

My guess is this is a no. You really don’t want some guy like David Loiseau unloading on your skull with a titanium bow.

• How would the Royce Gracie of the early nineties fair against the guys dominating the UFC today?

We all know the Hughes fight was just a payday, similar to the Ortiz/Shamrock fights, but back in the day Royce was putting guys of all shapes and sizes asleep. I really can’t even make a guess on this one. And would it matter if he was allowed to wear the Gi?

• Who is a bigger has been, Ken or Frank Shamrock?

I think this is a draw. I don’t fault Ken for the payday bouts with Ortiz. For one, TUF made him look like a jerk, so I think they (the UFC) owed him. My feeling is Ken knew he was done as a fighter and just took advantage of a money making opportunity. Frank, however, doesn’t appear to know he’s done. The EliteXC fight against Renzo was a joke. He had no answer and decided to cheat to get out the bad situation. We’ll all know for sure after the Baroni fight. Scratch that, Baroni may not be the best measuring stick to answer this. I heard Baroni is cutting back to a pack a day in preparation for the fight.

I have the Showtime package. I have had it for about 8 months. Until last night I probably had logged about 6 hours total on any of the Showtime channels. Bottomline, I am of the opinion that it is a crappy version of HBO so I don’t watch it. Anyway, when it was announced that Showtime was starting a new MMA production, I got excited. Well, after seeing the debut in its entirety, the EliteXC, like Showtime, is a crappy version of the UFC.

First the good

The knockout from Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett of Mr. Noons was sweet. Make no mistake, Bennet has some dynamite in those fists. Aside from the Horse being disrespectful to a fallen opponent, he was entertaining and I enjoyed watching him. Even more impressive than his knockout was his backflips off the top of the cage after the knockout. He sold some tickets to his next fight by way of his antics. Tupac’s got nothing on this thug.

Gina Carano beat the crap outta Julie Kedzie. The casual observer (me) could see Gina was winning the fight, but when it was all over by the looks of Julie’s face one would have thought she fought the Krazy Horse instead of Miss Carano. Gina on the other hand, looked like she had just gotten finished shopping, not fighting. If anyone was able to get a picture of Julie after the fight, send it to the guys over at The Smoking Gun. It would fit in nice with the Courtney Love or Yasmine Bleeth mug shots.

No A.C. Slater. I wish he would get in the ring with the Horse. I can’t stand Mr. Lopez. Again, what kind of loser cheats on his wife the night before they are to get married.

Now the Bad

Thanks for the cheesey intro’s Talk about some crap, the intro’s were major league horse crap. Nothing like a terrible sounds system coupled with fighters who looked like they were getting ready to take a nap (i.e. The Crow) as they walked in to really pump up the crowd. I was underwhelmed to say the least.

The Cabbage man either needs to lose some weight and focus on being a student of the mixed martial arts game, or give up fighting alltogether and set his sites on Kobeyashi.

Where did the real Crow go? What’s happened to this guy? Someone needs to tell him that he’s allowed to throw a punch before the last 30 seconds of a fight. Neither of these fighters looked like they had been in a fight after the final bell rang. Money has changed everything. I like seeing guys who like to fight and aren’t afraid of losing. Guys who would fight even if the money wasn’t there just to prove something to themselves.

Frank Shamrock is apparently a joke. I can’t stand the Gracies and was looking forward to Frank ceremoniusly retiring Renzo (I actually dislike this Gracie the least - if he wasn’t a Gracie I’d probably like him). Instead it seems like he might have realized he was beat and thought the only way to protect the potential revenue for his Baroni fight later this year was to get DQ’d. During his post fight press conference he tried to convince us that he had Renzo right where he wanted him. If having a Gracie with side control dropping bombs on your noggin is “right where he wanted him”, then Frank may just be the best fighter ever. I will say this though, the whole time Renzo had him pinned, Frank was throwing kicks to his mid section and did not appear to be tired or in any serious trouble. Oh well, I stayed up after midnight to see a 2nd round DQ in a main event. Thanks. I’m sure this is exactly how Showtime wanted to announce to the world that the EliteXC is a premier fighting league.

Outtie Five Thoutie…

In addition to the “Tuesday Mass Media Updates”, bUGLY is proud to announce the “Thursday - Bust You in the Chops” segment. Without further procrastination, let’s get started.

First off, I found another good MMA podcast. It’s called Fight Opinion and you can subscribe to it via iTunes. This panel isn’t as entertaining as the folks over at the BeatDown (kudo’s to TJ and Josh), but they do produce a pretty good show. The one I listened to tonight featured interviews with the guy from UFCJunkie.com (awesome site for MMA news) as well as Sean Salmon (last Thursdays TUF Fight Night main event co-headliner with Rashad Evans). I feel like a turd for not remembering the UFCJunkie’s real name, but he was a good interview. He discussed how his sponsorship of Sean Salmon for the Evans fight came about as well as Sean’s continued future involvement with the UFCJunkie web site. His comments suggest it wasn’t a whole lot of money that was invested in the sponsorship and he went on to add that it has significantly increased traffic to his site. I have a feeling that others will try and mimic this type of business arrangement with the lesser known fighters. I also suspect that the cost to do so will also significantly increase (his website url got some major airtime during the show as it was printed in Sean’s shorts). Great show, but I’ll admit I didn’t finish the whole show though as it was a whopping 2 1/2 hours in length.

Segue - We didn’t have MMA when I was a kid. The closet thing to it was watching my neighbors, the Brisco boys, duke it out in their front yard. I remember shooting hoops with Rick one afternoon and without provocation Steve (aka “the Slimer”) came out the side door of the garage and shot Rick point blank with a BB gun. I never saw Rick, who weighed in at about 320 I’m guessing, move so fast. He punched through the interior door of the garage and proceeded to destroy his younger brother. I haven’t seen Rick or Steve in ages - where are you dudes?

Five Sean Salmon Factoids
1) Sean Salmon has an MMA Record of 9-2
2) Sean Salmon wrestled at Ohio State
3) Sean Salmon’s age in dog years is 203
4) Sean Salmon was the high school state of Ohio wrestling champ in 1997
5) Sean Salmon won the first round of last Thursday night’s fight against Rashad Evans

Five Salmon Factoids
1) Salmon has an MMA Record of 0-0
2) Salmon is the common name of several species of fish of the family Salmonidae
3) The Chum Salmon is also known as the Dog Salmon
4) According to Norse Mythology - Loki (the god of mischief and strife), after killing Baldr (the god of beauty and light), jumped into the river and transformed himself into a Salmon in order to escape punishment from the other gods.
5) Salmon gives me diarrhea sometimes.

How would you like to get your butt kicked by a dude name Loki?

Three UFC Fights I would like to see:

Hermes Franca vs Sean Sherk - Well, this one is going to happen. I saw the replay of the Franca Fisher fight that went off (tip to TJ De Santis) last Thursday and sure, Hermes was a little reckless, but his strikes look heavy. When he finally connected with Fishers jaw, it was lights out. With that said, Sherk’s probably going to win this fight, but I would like to see Hermes land a couple strikes to see what kind of chin Sean has.

Forrest Griffin vs Rashad Evans - Rashad flat out cleaned Salmons clock on Thursday (he’s okay by the way), but before that kick found pay dirt Evans didn’t look like a real contender for Liddells belt. I’m not sold. I honestly only want to see this fight because this division is a little crowded right now. If Forrest loses, well that would be two in a row and although he’s a fan favorite, the big pay day will fall farther from his grasp. He may be relegated to Chris Leban status (interpret that anyway you want). If Rashad loses, I wouldn’t even expect to see him headlining a T.V. event, much less a pay per view. The reason I am talking money is because that is what the UFC appears to be about (which is fine). If you aren’t a marketable personality, your road to the top will be a difficult and probably unsuccessful one.

Heath Herring vs. Nobody - I listened to Heath on an episode of Beatdown and I was excited about seeing this guy fight. After Thursday nights fight, I am wondering if this guy should be in the WWF or something. This was probably the most underwhelming fight I have seen the UFC promote. Aside from his intro and crazy hair (both of which would translate well to the fake wrestling leagues), it was a bore fest. Josh Gross mentioned that someone from Herrings camp said he had a real bad knee injury 3 weeks before the fight (he was sporting a knee brace), so maybe that’s why he sucked so bad. Regardless, I have no interest in seeing this guy fight again.

bUGLY recommended music for this week:

“World Apart” by “And You Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead“ - I found these guys through LastFm by searching for groups similar to “At the Drive In”. Anyway, very good stuff here. My favorite cuts from this album include “Will you smile again for me”, “Worlds apart”, and “Let it drive”. Weird, but they sound like a mixture of Hum and Social Distortion to me. For instance, the vocals from “Will you…” and “Worlds Apart” sound similar to Social Distortions “Ball and Chain” hit, but “Let it drive” sounds just like the dude from Hum (Pick any song from “You’d prefer an Astronaut”).

This week in sports:

No joke, the NHL all-star game was this past week. Sidney Crosby may very well be the second coming of the “Great One”, and nobody is watching.

How many head coaches in the SEC have won a national championship as a head coach? 5 Fulmer - Tennessee, Spurrier - South Carolina (won at Florida), Tuberville - Auburn (I know I know, but he got ripped, so I’m giving him credit), Saban - Alabama (won at LSU), Urban Meyer - Florida.

Now, compare that to the Big Ten: 3 The Vest - Ohio State, Lloyd Carr - Michigan, Joe Paterno - Penn State
ACC: 2 Bowden - FSU, Davis - North Carolina (Won at Miami)
PAC Ten: 1 Pete Carroll - USC

Big 12: 2 Mac Brown - Texas, Bob Stoopes - Oklahoma

Is there any question that the SEC is the premier college football conference? I think not.

Kevin Garnett drops 44 on the Suns and ends their win streak. Wow! By the way, what ever happened to Troy Hudson. Did he go the way of Mike Bibby? (One good great playoff series and then never heard from again).

Bob Sanders - Terrible first name for a elite NFL difference maker.

RIP Barbaro.