JEFF CURRAN MAPS OUT RETURN IN 2011 [VIDEO]
January 31, 2011 by searstapper
Jeff Curran is looking to bounce back from a rocky 2010 and make 2011 a memorable year. He’s currently recovering from forearm surgery, but that won’t stop him from calling out a fighter(UK bantamweight Greg Knapp) for a potential fight when he’s fully healed. The Big Frog talked to Chicago’s MMA reporter L.J. Tabano about the road back to MMA prominence.
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TIM SYLVIA KO’D BY ABE WAGNER AT TITAN FC
January 29, 2011 by Matt
Tim Sylvia’s 4-fight win streak — and possibly his attempt to make it back to a big promotion — went by the wayside on Friday night when Abe Wagner KO’d the former UFC Heavyweight Champ in the first round.
Sylvia ballooned to 311 lbs. for the fight, and Wagner’s speed was much too much for him. Sylvia drops to 28-6 with the loss. Wagner moves to 8-2 with the victory.
CUT THROAT MMA – FEBRUARY 19
Cut Throat MMA returns on February 19th at the Hammond Civic Center in Indiana with “Supremacy II”. Plenty of familiar local fighters on this card, including Wrecking Ball’s Kent Rexford, Gilbert Grappling’s Brad Muthart, Bobby Reardanz, Keith Wisnieski, Adam Ward, Jay Estrada, Ben Koff, Quinton McCotrell and FLO MMA’s Jonatas Novaes.
CHICAGO CAGEFIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNS MARCH 5
January 27, 2011 by Matt
Chicago Cagefighting returns on March 5th with a stacked card. Jens Pulver will fight in the main event, with Chase Beebe in the co-main event. The card will also feature Eric Kreigermeier, Mike Pitz, Jeff Lavallee, Dennis Dombrow, Christian Reynoso, Mike Santiago, Joey Diehl and Felice Herrig.
Diehl is coming off an impressive win in his pro debut at XFO 38, and Pulver beat Mike Lindquist there. Lavallee is coming off a unanimous decision win at APFC: Aftershock. Pitz dominated at XFO 37, and Dombrow spoiled the pro debut of Ray Grindstaff at the last Chicago Cagefighting Championship by submitting him in the 1st round. Beebe made quick work of the talented Jared McMahan on that card.
Chicago Cagefighting Championship, March 5th
YOUR TAPOUT SHIRT CANNOT STOP A POWER RIGHT
January 27, 2011 by Matt
We love TapouT. Good for the sport and really good for the fighters. But we all know that there is a small segment of fans who wear it for the wrong reasons. And here we have the perfect example of that. Wear your TapouT gear because they were in the game from day one. Wear it because they do more than anyone for the fighters. Wear it because your girl likes it. But it ain’t a cape, so don’t wear it thinking it’ll make you a tough guy. Because this might happen.
For more insane KOs — from actual MMA fights — check out our Killer Finishes section.
h/t: BroBible
ARLOVSKI DOES HIS “300″/KING LEONIDAS IMPRESSION
January 26, 2011 by searstapper
Some people, like UFC light heavyweight Jon Jones, argue that Andrei Arlovski looks like King Leonidas(played by Gerard Butler) from the movie “300.” Andrei takes a break from training for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix to recreate a classic scene from the Zack Snyder film.
SHOULD EYE POKES BE FOULS IN MMA?
January 26, 2011 by Matt
There is nothing that drains the momentum from a MMA fight — or completely ruins it — like an inadvertent eye poke. But having seen them time and again, is it time to make them an offense that would cost a fighter a point? Here’s a post I wrote for Sports Untapped that deserves another look since the Joey Beltran/Pat Barry fight last Saturday night. Beltran was the recipient of an eye poke that might have cost him a round, and definitely inhibited his ability to put up his best fight.
The recent Strikeforce bout between Marius Zaromskis vs. Waachim Spirit Wolf fight lasted all of six seconds before it was stopped due to an eye poke. The bell sounded and the two fighters raced towards each other to the center of the cage. Zaromskis’ right hand was not closed when he attempted a flying knee strike and his finger or thumb jammed into the left eye of Spirit Wolf. Spirit Wolf tried to recover but he could not see. The doctor had to stop the fight.
Just minutes later at the beginning of the next fight between Ovince St. Preux and Antwain Britt, Britt was also the victim of an eye poke. He was able to recover but did not fight as well as he usually does and lost to St. Preux via decision. Did the eye poke affect his vision enough to hinder his ability to perform in the cage? That’s certainly possible.
Strikeforce commentator and MMA legend Pat Miletich likes to joke that the fighters should don “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar goggles” to prevent these frequent pokes. But while most pokes are seemingly inadvertent, making them a foul could decrease the frequency of them while increasing the safety of the fighters. After all, inside leg kicks could strike the groin area much more often, but fighters know that a groin kick is an offense that could cost them a point, and in turn a victory. They employ a greater critical focus when it comes to leg/groin kicks for this very reason.
Couldn’t the same be done with pokes? If fighters start losing points because of eye pokes, you will see an increased level of discipline in keeping them tucked into a fist. I’m not sure I even advocate such a rule, but it is worth considering. After all, the fights and the safety of the fighters is paramount.
INSIDE ROUFUSPORT WITH ANTHONY PETTIS
Duke Roufus and the Roufusport Fight Club are getting a lot of press and props lately. Pat Barry recently just beat Joey Beltran at UFC Fight For the Troops. Anthony “Showtime” Pettis had the “Kick Heard ‘Round the World” and Danny “Danny Boy” Downes roughed up Tiequan Zhang.
Inside MMA on HDNet recently visited with Pettis at Roufusport in Milwaukee.
VIDEO: PALASZEWSKI “MAKE IT HAPPEN, ME AND FLORIAN”
January 25, 2011 by searstapper
Bart Palaszewski holds nothing back, both in the cage nor his words outside of it. As he waits for his next fight, Bartimus makes a wish to the matchmaker gods for a future tussle with popular UFC lightweight and ESPN: MMA Live analyst Kenny Florian.
CLAY GUIDA: “SHOWTIME IS GONNA BE NO TIME”
MMA Canada caught up with Clay Guida and asked him about his upcoming fight with Anthony “Showtime” Pettis.
This is a very interesting matchup, with Guida’s ferocity on the ground and Pettis’ outstanding striking. Will Pettis be able to keep Guida off of him and keep the fight on the feet?
It’s also interesting that Guida doesn’t think he’s next in line for a title shot if he beats Pettis. He said that Jim Miller and George Sotiropoulos should fight to see who the top contender is at 155. Let’s take a look at their recent records.
George Sotiropoulos (14-2)
Undefeated in the UFC at 7-0. Defeated Joe Lauzon, Kurt Pellegrino, Joe Stevenson, Jason Dent, George Roop, Roman Mitichyan and Billy Myles.
Jim Miller (19-2)
8-1 in the UFC, only loss to Gray Maynard, currently riding a 6-fight win streak. Defeated Charles Oliveira, Gleison Tibau, Mark Bocek, Duane Ludwig, Steve Lopez, Mac Danzig.
Clay Guida (28-11)
8-5 in the UFC. Currently has a 3-fight win streak: Takanori Gomi, Rafael Dos Anjos and Shannon Gugerty. Other notable UFC wins: Nate Diaz, Mac Danzig.
On paper maybe Guida is right about who should be up next. Sotiropoulos gets Denis Siver next at UFC 127. Jim Miller gets Kamal Shalorus at UFC 128. But Guida is the one getting the guy who was going to fight for the title. Miller and Sotiropoulos will both have their hands full, so time will tell how it all shakes out at 155.
