2009 UFC Fights and Why: Part 1
December 29, 2008
The Ultimate Fighting Championship put on their last event of 2008 last night, which was overall a great event which crowned two NEW champions. Frank Mir not only knabbed the interim UFC heavyweight title from former interim champ Minotauro Nogueria, but he also became the first man to offically stop him, which he did in the 2nd round after dropping him numerous times with his much improved striking game. It was considered a huge upset and big kick in the junk for Nogueria fans, who have to realistically consider the fact that he may not be what he was once before. The other new champ, no surprise to anyone who watched the event, was Rashad Evans, who stopped former champ Forrest Griffin early in the third round and after catching a leg kick and imposing some serious ground and pound action to his face. It was an upset given the odds, but I think most people thought it was a 50/50 chance for it to happen. I wasn’t shocked when it went down, although I did think Forrest was going to win.
Now, after the jump you’ll see some fights I think need to happen in the UFC next year and why, I’m sure some will disagree, some will agree completely, but I think that as a fan of this sport, these are the fights that make most sense…
K1 Dynamite!! 2008 Fight Card Order
December 28, 2008
Props: JapanMMA
December 31st is going to be an awesome day, not only because 2008 sucked and it’ll be nice to see this year go away, but because of this event. Dynamite!! 2008 is easily the most anticipated card coming up for me, I love Japanese MMA, K1, and freak show fights….this event has it all. A total of 19 fights will be on this card, no surprise, FEG pulls no punches when it comes to the last event of the year, and this one should be outstanding. Headlining the event is a long awaited battle between MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba and Kiyoshi Tamura, a fight that’s been in the makings for years and is now just days from reality. Also incorporated in this card is a K1 youth tournament, which should be either pretty exciting or pretty lackluster, I’m trying to be optimistic about it though…more fight = happier me. After the jump you’ll find a complete line-up of the night’s fight card….
UFC 92 Fight Bonuses
December 28, 2008
Props: MMAJunkie
- Fight of the Night: Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans.
- KO of the Night: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson”.
- Submission of the Night: None, none of the fights ended via submission.
- Award Amount: $60,000
Nice chunk of change right there…..All three guys were deserving of this as well. Rampage not only brutally knocked the hell out of Wanderlei Silva, seen here, but also avenged two previous losses to “The Axe Murderer”. Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans put on a helluva battle before Rashad stopped Forrest early in the third round to claim the UFC light heavyweight title, it was no doubt the best fight of the night, both guys did amazing. This was also the first UFC event to have a fight not end in a submission since UFC Fight Night 7, in December of 2006.
UFC 92 Re-Cap and Thoughts
December 28, 2008
Overall I thought it was a good event for the last card of the year, some great matchups and some pretty surprising endings, to include both the Wandy/Rampage fight and the Mir/Minotauro fight. After the jump you’ll find my personal thoughts on the fights we saw on the PPV, as well as who I think each fighter should fight in their next bout.
Justin Eilers 1978-2008
December 26, 2008
Props: MMAWeekly
Mixed martial arts fighter Justin Eilers was shot and killed late Christmas night in Nampa, Idaho. Eilers’ manager and friend, Monte Cox, confirmed his death to MMAWeekly.com on Friday morning.
According to KTRV Fox 12 in Nampa, Canyon County Sheriff’s officers responded to a domestic disturbance call in the 4600 block of Happy Valley Road in Nampa around 10:45 p.m. on Thursday.
When officers arrived on the scene they found that an adult male, later confirmed by Cox as Eilers, had been shot and killed. James Robert Malec, 48, was taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder.
Justin Eilers, for those who didn’t know, was a veteran of the UFC and EliteXC, and even fought for titles in both organizations. Unfortunately he came up short in both his UFC and EliteXC title bouts, but he was a well rounded fighter with KO power and came from a strong camp, Miletich Fighting Systems. It’s really an unfortunate event for everyone involved, I hope Justin is now in a better place doing whatever it was that made him happy, and I hope all who were affected by this are able to find some sort of resolution and peace. Rest in Peace Justin.
I’m not buying the Satoshi Ishii hype…
December 26, 2008
Props: MMAMania
“I don’t think I will sign a contract this time. That will probably be next time I go over. While I’m there this time, I want to invite (Dana White) to a training session to show my potential. Nogueira is a wall that I will need to get through. Next year will be a year of challenge.”
I’m all for young fighters coming in and trying to make a name for themselves, take for instance when Junior Dos Santos literally knocked Fabricio Werdum out a job with a brutal uppercut at UFC 90, or when Dave Terrell came in an brutally wrecked Matt Lindland at UFC 49, or when Antonio Schembri stopped the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba at PRIDE 25 in one of the biggest upsets in the organization’s history. I love when that happens….but I don’t know about this. You’ve got Satoshi Ishii, famed Japanese Judoka who just swept the 2008 Beijing Olympics and knabbed a gold medal, never fought a lick of Mixed Martial Arts, previously calling out WAMMA heavyweight and PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelienanko, and now calling out UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Minotauro Nogueria. There’s a couple problems with this and you’ll see below:
- No MMA experience, calling out arguably the #1 and #2 ranked heavyweight MMA fighters in the world.
- Relying only on a martial art (judo), which hasn’t proven to be a dominant skill in the sport of MMA.
Now, I give the guy credit, he’s taking the steps an aspiring fighter with a lot of hype behind him should do. He’s apparently training at the famed Florida-based MMA camp American Top Team. Out of there, you’ve got a HUGE list of well rounded athletes who can easily help build this guy into something special. I also give him props for straying away from the Japanese based organizations like DREAM and Sengoku, who would no doubt pad this guy by tossing him cans upon cans until he sports a solid looking record, where he’d then possibly get his first real test. Instead, he wants the UFC, where Dana White, the president of the organization, is known for not giving two shits who you are or where you come from and immediately throwing you in with some of the divisions best (see Brock Lesnar, Junior Dos Santos). I’m simply not sold on him, I won’t be until I see him fight, and even then, and in all truth, the success rate of Japanese based fighters in the UFC is slim, just look at Keita Nakamura, Kuniyoshi Hironaka, Michihiro Omigawa, and Kazuhiro Nakamura. All of those fighters (a couple of them judo based), got more or less ran through in the UFC wheras finding success in the Japanese organizations. It’ll be interesting to see how this progresses, if it even does. Ishii will apparently be appearing at UFC 92, sitting in the crowd, which is a strong sign that Dana White and the UFC are seriously considering him as an addition to their heavyweight division.
Updated K1 Dynamite!! 2008 Card/Overeem-Hari bout still not confirmed.
December 24, 2008
Props: MMAJunkie
MMAJunkie.com reported today that two additional fights have been added to the K1 Dynamite!! 2008 card that takes place on New Years Eve over in Japan. Added to the card is Japanese fan-favorite Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, who will take on DEEP, DREAM, and K1 veteran Katsuyori Shibata, who’s sporting a mere 2-5-1 professional record to Sakurai’s impressive 33-8-2. Also added is a fight between Andy Ologun (brother of Japanese-TV celeb Bobby Ologun), who will take on Yukio Sakaguchi, a strong striker from the Pancrase organization. Both fighters are at the .500 mark with their career’s; Ologun brings in a 1-1 record, and Sakaguchi brings in a 3-3 record, but it should be a good fight.
I also reported yesterday that Alistair Overeem is expected to take on Badr Hair under K-1 rules, but FEG officials have not confirmed this possible grudge match. If it is confirmed, this card no doubt is going to be one of the most stacked events in recent years…hell, even without this fight it’s still a huge event with a lot of star talent. Here’s the current fight card with the possibility of the Overeem/Hari fight:
Rumored:
Alistair Overeem vs. Badr Hari (Under K1 rules)
K1 Youth Tournament Semi-Finals (Finals go same night)
Hiroya vs. Shota Shimada
Tatsuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe
K1 Bouts:
Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda
Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko
Mixed Martial Arts Bouts:
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Kiyoshi Tamura
Joachim Hansen vs. “JZ” Cavalcante
Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic vs. Hong Man Choi
Mark Hunt vs. Jerome Lebanner
Shinya Aoki vs. Eddie Alvarez
Semmy Schilt vs.Mighty Mo
Hideo Tokoro vs. Daisuke Nakamura
Looks like two of the world’s biggest asses will fight.
December 23, 2008
Props: Japan-MMA
From Alistair Overeem’s website:
NEXT VICTIM: BADR HARI!
The discussion was who would fight under whos rules first and Alistair stepped up first! Alistair will fight Badr Hari at K1 Dynamite 31 december under K1 rules! Since Badr Hari challenged Alistair he sees no other option than cause another demolition and knock Badr Hari out! Both fighters agreed to fight in MMA rules early 2009!
There were previous rumors, Overeem was expected to take on Russian fighter Sergei Kharitonov in a rubber match at the above event. Well, it’s apparently been changed, and man has it been changed for the better. Badr Hari, the former K-1 heavyweight champion, was recently disqualified for illegally stomping Remy Bonjasky at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 Final. He was stripped of his title, lost all of his cash from the event, and lost a lot of respect due to it.
Jake Shields and Gilbert Melendez…please read this.
December 22, 2008
Even before the demise of EliteXC, Jake Shields has hinted at a possible move to the UFC once his contract was up. Well, it’s more or less up, he’s not signed on to fight anyone in any other organization, you KNOW EliteXC isn’t having anymore shows….yet you’re not in talks with Dana White or anyone else within the UFC as to getting you on board. I don’t know where else you think you’re going to find the competition you say you’re looking for. In all truth Jake, it’s starting to look like you’re simply evading a contract with the UFC. Lets look at the facts with other organizations:
- None of them have the welterweight roster that the UFC has, thus none of them can give you the fights that could solidify your position as a top welterweight fighter.
- None of them can put YOU into a bigger position than the UFC could, both financially and with the MMA fan-base.
Other facts that in turn should help you make the decision to finally get your ass on board with them are as follows and can be found after the jump…
It’s Sapp Time! (Update)
December 22, 2008
Props: Japan-MMA
The guy running Japan-MMA has the lowdown on everything that takes place in the “land of the rising sun”, and what does he have first thing Monday morning? Some Bob Sapp action! That’s right….looks like Bob “The Beast” Sapp will be returning to Japan for K-1 Dynamite!! 2008, where he’ll be fighting Kinniku Mantaro. I have never heard of Manataro, so using my awesome investigative skills I ran him through google and this is what I got.:
