Weekend Conflicts
The weekend dubiously named “confliction 2008″ has come and passed, and fans of mixed martial arts – the salivating dogs that they are – found their appetites satiated, after gorging themselves on three separate fight cards, spread out over the course of just one weekend.
Okay, one weekend with a little spillover into Monday.
Some of the sport’s biggest names competed and triumphed. Others, lay vanquished, their hopes of victory extinguished in brutal, devastatingly-quick fashion.
Me? I had a BBQ and watched it all go down.
AFFLICTION: BANNED
In an outcome most expected, the Last Emperor, Fedor Emelianenko, former Pride FC heavyweight champion and widely considered best fighter on the planet, unleashed absolute destruction on Tim Sylvia, toppling the former UFC champion in just 36 seconds.
While the outcome was heavily predicted, the unequivocal domination displayed by Emelianenko in victory cannot be ignored – even those who predicted Sylvia’s demise imagined somewhat more of a fight before the predictable finish. After numerous pundits have regurgitated the line regarding Emelianenko’s lack of competition in recent years, it seems noteworthy that Matt Lindland, Hong Man Choi, and Mark Hunt – Emelianenko’s last three opponents, all put up much better fights than Tim Sylvia, lasting significantly longer, and actually displaying semblances of offense against the formidable Russian. Mark Hunt, in particular, lasted close to 10 minutes with Fedor, spending much of that time in top control and working for a keylock.
In fairness to Sylvia, perhaps it was Emelianenko who chose to do things differently on Saturday, opting to show new fans his best, rather than toying with an outmatched opponent for the amusement of fans used to seeing him fight – fans well aware of his devastating capabilities.
Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett were also impressive in victory. The Belarusian dominated a game Ben Rothwell for two and a half rounds before ultimately destroying the Militich heavyweight product with a knee and punches in the third. Barnett, for his part, mimicked his game plan from seven years ago, choosing to engage in a stand up battle with Pedro Rizzo – this time however, the plan paid off. Barnett knocked Rizzo out cold with a right jab, early in the second round.
Both fighters, when asked who they would like to fight among Affliction’s deep heavyweight roster avoided specifics, although the Babyfaced Assassin assured fans that he would “cut promos with any mofo out there”.
The rest of the card saw solid action as well. Vitor Belfort knocked out Terry Martin in a promising debut performance at middleweight. Matt Lindland showed some ring rust in his workmanlike decision-victory over Fabio Negao, while Renato “Babalu” Sobral bested Mike Whitehead in a competitive and exciting bout. Rounding out the card, Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira showed his excellent striking in a stoppage of Edwin Dewees, and Mike Pyle stopped JJ Ambrose in the first round via rear naked choke.
Despite early scheduling hiccups, odd bursts of static in the broadcast, and awkward interruptions from Megadeth, Affliction’s inaugural show looked great. (Dave Mustaine, on the other hand, did not look great. I suppose ingesting $500/day worth of cocaine and heroin over a sustained period will do that do a person.)
The crowd was solid, with reports showing a near-sellout crowd of approximately 14,000 on hand for event. With a fighter payroll in excess of three million, however, pay-per-view buyrates will be crucial in determining success.
Regardless of the event’s profitability, the card’s quality can surely be considered a moral victory, with fickle MMA fans almost universally praising the promotion’s first effort.
One criticism worth leveling at the promotion is in regards to the broadcast team. Jay Glazer headed up duties, flanked by Frank Trigg, and “Big” John McCarthy. Big John is solid as an analyst. He contributed – whenever possible, with insightful observations, and he did a good job as the in-ring personality as well.
Jay Glazer doing commentary, on the other hand, is the audible equivalent of punching yourself in the crotch, over, and over, and over again. Excruciatingly painful, and of no benefit to anyone.
Jay Glazer and Frank Trigg together, is enough to destroy the psyche of any rational human being.
Affliction, please, next time fly Mauro in to do the job, let him deal with Frank, and keep Jay Glazer away from MMA.
UFC: SILVA vs. IRVIN
Meanwhile, in a land far, far away – Las Vegas – the IFL, I mean, the UFC, was holding an event of their own.
In the “main event”, Anderson Silva moved up from the middleweight division to light-heavyweight to fight James Irvin.
An odd premise, perhaps, but let’s put that aside, for now.
The fight card boasted a litany of IFL ex-pats, quietly assimilated to the UFC nation, bound by honor and blood to pledge allegiance to the MMA juggernaut. Seriously. They put that in contracts now.
In a battle of Ultimate Fighter alum, CB Dollaway submitted limousine abuser and all around bad-drunk Jesse Taylor. Expect the Peruvian Necktie to make several appearances in the future, as Dollaway utilized the low percentage choke to secure the victory.
In the most controversial bout of the night, Kevin Burns did a Gilbert Yvel, gouging opponent Anthony Johnson repeatedly, before finally digging in so bad he stopped Johnson, who screamed in pain from the final gouge. Curiously, referee Steve Mazzagatti awarded the victory to Burns via TKO.
In the wake of the decision, Johnson and camp have promised to appeal, and one can only hope the NSAC will do the right thing, and overturn the decision.
IFL-vet Rory Markham scored the knockout of the night with a brutal head-kick KO over fellow UFC newcomer, Brodie Farber. In a lightweight contest, Frankie Edgar muscled his way to a unanimous decision win over Hermes Franca. Franca was unable to deal with Edgar’s superior offensive wrestling, and save for the final moments of the fight, could not land any significant shots. Franca looked sluggish, and with good reason, coming off a year-long layoff due to a suspension for steroids.
Sluggish, is an apt way to describe Brandon Vera’s performance against Reese Andy. Vera’s debut at 205 was a forgettable one, beating Andy by unanimous decision, although never really displaying any significant offense or aggression. Andy, for his part, was simply much smaller than Vera, and out pointed in the lackluster contest.
This brings us back to our curious main event.
When first announced, Dana White claimed Anderson moving up to fight at 205 was entirely the fighter’s idea. White claimed he had to oblige the request, after his champion dismantled all comers. In the preshow leading up to the event, Silva claimed he was asked by White to take the fight as a favor. To what, is this inconsistency due?
Was Dana White being disingenuous? Was this not really just a perfectly-timed request by #1P4P contender Anderson Silva to fight the man everyone in the 205 division is gunning for, “Sandman” James Irvin? Was this somehow just part of a ridiculous, last-ditch effort to drum up some competition – any competition for Affliction’s first show?
I don’t think I could even stand the thought.
Whatever the reason it happened, Anderson Silva fought James Irvin. “Fought” might not be the appropriate term. To put it in technical fightsport jargon, he punched his face off.
Lasting just over a minute, it was a hollow, but fun reminder of Silva’s dominance. The Brazilian seems to finally have endeared himself to mainstream UFC fans, showing them he may not speak English, or be from their favorite three-letter nation, but he can really beat guys down and bust them open. And they can certainly appreciate that.
DREAM.5: LWGP FINALS
The best violence of the weekend was saved for last, as the final four participants of DREAM’s inaugural light weight grand prix battled it out for the coveted pair of belts – one for the tournament itself, and one to be defended in the winner’s new role as champion.
Fate had seen enough of FEG’s bias and intervention, and sent its own representative to the finals, in the form of Nordic warrior Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen. After Eddie Alvarez bested Tatsuya Kawajiri in another Alvarez-involved early candidate for fight of the year, FEG’s medical staff refused to let the American continue, citing a nasty eye injury, suffered at the hands of the crusher in his semi-final bout.
Kawajiri could not step in, however, as FEG’s arcane tournament rules dictate that a fighter stopped with strikes cannot fill-in for an injured fighter. The spotlight turned to the winner of the alternate bout earlier in the evening, a bout between Kultar “Black Mamba” Gill, and Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen. In the short contest, Hansen secured an armbar victory over Gill, avoiding most of the Canadian’s punches and vicious knees. His emerging from the fight unscathed would prove helpful, later in the night.
Hansen fought Shinya Aoki in the finals, after Aoki dominated Caol Uno to a unanimous decision win in the semi finals. Aoki seemed the obvious favorite – the two met before at Shockwave 2006, where Aoki turned Hansen into a highlight reel with a beautiful submission win via gogoplata.
Thor would have none of that this weekend, however.
The Norwegian stopped Aoki with a series of brutal punches on the ground to secure the win and the tournament championship. In the replays, it looked as if Aoki may have tapped due to the strikes.
In victory, Hansen promised his first defense would be against the American Alvarez. The two continue to show each other profound respect in the wake of their war a few months back.
In other action from the night, Mark Hunt made his long-awaited return to MMA. To be honest, I wish the wait was a little longer.
Hunt did not look good, weighing a reported 290lbs for the contest. Despite showing early displays of his formidable power, he was keylocked from the bottom by Alistair Overeem, just over a minute into the contest. This marks the second disappointing performance from Hunt, after he suffered a Clydesdale-esque roundhouse kick to the body KO from Semmy Schilt, in his obligatory return to K1 earlier this year.
Overeem for his part continues his hot streak. With a bout against Crocop now appearing inevitable, the Dutch striker looks to put together the most momentum his career has seen.
Other bouts saw Japanese fan-favorite Yoshihiro Akiyama put hard-lucker Katsuyori Shibata to sleep with a gi choke, Hideo Tokoro decision win over Takeshi Yamazaki, and UFC-vet Kuniyoshi Hironaka stop Motoki Miyazawa. Additionally, Uriah Faber prospect Joseph Benavidez stopped Junya Kudo via guillotine choke.
The card was probably DREAM’s most solid effort to date – and, has reportedly drawn the highest ratings so far for FEG’s new MMA venture. It will be interesting to see what this success brings – “bigger” fights, staged to maintain and heighten interest?
This wrapped up the weekend’s events, and, like other happenings from the weekend, set the stage for promising upcoming fights. Affliction’s second show is reportedly being finalized for early November, possibly November 8 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. While suitable venues abound in the gaming town, Donald Trump’s famed Taj Mahal seems a likely possibility to play host.
Meanwhile, UFC 87 is coming up just a few weeks away, and DREAM.6 looms on the horizon in September.
For fans feeling over-saturated with fights, rest easy knowing you watched and digested an historic weekend of mixed martial arts.
For the rest of us, still hungry for more, rest easy – its only a short respite this week until Elite XC’s second live show on CBS.
