There are alot of different sets of rankings, alot of different sets of criteria. My personal views are based on the numbers, to a certain extent, but I also look at things like who each fighter has fought and the quality of that performance. For me, belts are secondary, what's most important is that the fighter has fought top tier competition with some success and displayed multiple impressive performances in the upper echelon of MMA.
Heavyweight (265 - 206 pounds)
1) Fedor Emelianenko (26-1-0)
2) Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic (22-5-2)
3) Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira (30-4-1)
4) Josh "The Baby-Faced Assassin" Barnett (20-5-0)
5) Mark Hunt (5-3-0)
6) Randy "The Natural" Couture (15-8-0)
7) Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski (11-5-0)
8) Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga (8-1-0)
9) Aleksander Emelianenko (11-3-0)
10) Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia (23-3-0)
Lightheavyweight (205 186 pounds)
1) Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (16-2-0)
2) "Dangerous" Dan Henderson (22-5-0)
3) Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva (31-7-1)
4) Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (27-6-0)
5) Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell (20-4-0)
6) Rameau Thierry "The African Assassin" Sokoudjou (4-1-0)
7) Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira (12-3-0)
8) Ricardo Arona (13-5-0)
9) Kazuhiro Nakamura (11-6-0)
10) Ryoto "Lyoto" Machida (10-0-0)
Middleweight (185 - 171 pounds)
1) Matt "The Law" Lindland (20-5-0)
2) "Dangerous" Dan Henderson (22-5-0)
3) Paulo Filho (15-0-0)
4) Denis Kang (27-8-1)
5) "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (14-4-0)
6) Kazuo "The Grabaka Hitman" Misaki (18-8-2)
7) Frank "Twinkle Toes" Trigg (15-6-0)
8) Anderson "The Spider" Silva (19-4-0)
9) Murilo "Ninja" Rua (14-7-1)
10) Frank Shamrock (22-8-1)
Welterweight (170 - 156 pounds)
1) Georges "Rush" St. Pierre (13-2-0)
2) Matt Hughes (41-5-0)
3) B.J. "The Prodigy" Penn (11-4-1)
4) Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk (32-2-1)
5) Matt "The Terra" Serra (9-4-0)
6) Karo "The Heat" Parisyan (17-4-0)
7) Jon Fitch (14-2-0)
8) Josh "Kos" Koscheck (9-1-0)
9) Diego "The Nightmare" Sanchez (17-1-0)
10) Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (30-7-2)
Lightweight (155 pounds and below)
1) B.J. "The Prodigy" Penn (11-4-1)
2) Takanori "The Fireball Kid" Gomi (27-3-0)
3) Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen (15-5-1)
4) Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto (15-1-0)
5) Genki "The Noe-Samurai" Sudo (15-5-1)
6) Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (30-7-2)
7) Shinya "Tobikan Judan" Aoki (11-2-0)
8) Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk (32-2-1)
9) Hermes Franca (18-6-0)
10) Nick Diaz (14-6-0)
Monday, August 13, 2007
Thursday, August 9, 2007
A Big Day For Judo
Recently, the UFC announced the signings of two of the greatest judo practitioners in MMA. In fact, they probably run #2 and 4 in the sport.
Both PRIDE fighting star Kazuhiro Nakamura (considered a top ten lightheavyweight in many circles, #2) and lightweight Michihiro Omigawa (sports a decieving 4-3 pro record, with very good judo and two very impressive recent performances in Japan's DEEP organization, #4) were announced as members of the UFC roster a little while ago.
I've been behind on my writing for a little while now, but I found that the UFC has announced both Nakamura and Omigawa are set to appear on the UFC's 76 card.
While I have alot of issues with this card (the fact that Jardine and Griffin are getting way more publicity than they are due and are matched up with two of the most dangerous fighters in the world when they don't deserve to be has been bugging me for a little while now), the UFC's announcement has made this card much more exciting for me.
Judo fighters are fun to watch. Though, for some reason, alot of the new UFC fans have been booing foreign fighters and fighters from the PRIDE organization, I think that guys like Nakamura add a new level of depth in the UFC.
I like to talk about Nakamura much more than Omigawa mostly because Nakamura is a much more well established fighter in mixed martial arts. He has had an impressive performance (though a loss) against former UFC champion Josh Barnett (Barnett is a weight class above Nakamura), he took the worlds #1 lightheavyweight Mauricio "Shogun" Rua 20 minutes to a decision, he's only been stopped by former PRIDE 205 pound champion Wanderlei Silva and current champion "Dangerous" Dan Henderson and he lost a very close decision to Jiu-jitsu legend Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (little brother to former heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo).
Nakamura is a fighter of epic proportions in the UFC. While many think that he is just a judoka, I, personally, resent the term.
People will rank Nakamura #9 or 10 in the world pretty regularly, but when I look at the numbers I have to rank him higher than UFC champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and, as a result, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Rashad Evans and the rest of the pack in the UFC's 205 pound division.
I think that the real top 5, statistically speaking at 205, belongs to Shogun, Henderson, W. Silva, Sokoudjou and Jackson. However, I put Nakamura in the 6 spot.
Getting Nakamura is good news for everybody, especially Zuffa. Now Zuffa has half of the majority of the world's top ten, between Nakamura, Rua, Jackson, Liddell and Evans/Ortiz (whoever you believe should be in the 10 spot).
Personally, I like the arrangement that they have right now, though I'm still hoping for the likes of one Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (aka "The African Assassin") to grace the octagon.
Still, for the time being, this 205 pound weight class looks absolutely stacked.
Both PRIDE fighting star Kazuhiro Nakamura (considered a top ten lightheavyweight in many circles, #2) and lightweight Michihiro Omigawa (sports a decieving 4-3 pro record, with very good judo and two very impressive recent performances in Japan's DEEP organization, #4) were announced as members of the UFC roster a little while ago.
I've been behind on my writing for a little while now, but I found that the UFC has announced both Nakamura and Omigawa are set to appear on the UFC's 76 card.
While I have alot of issues with this card (the fact that Jardine and Griffin are getting way more publicity than they are due and are matched up with two of the most dangerous fighters in the world when they don't deserve to be has been bugging me for a little while now), the UFC's announcement has made this card much more exciting for me.
Judo fighters are fun to watch. Though, for some reason, alot of the new UFC fans have been booing foreign fighters and fighters from the PRIDE organization, I think that guys like Nakamura add a new level of depth in the UFC.
I like to talk about Nakamura much more than Omigawa mostly because Nakamura is a much more well established fighter in mixed martial arts. He has had an impressive performance (though a loss) against former UFC champion Josh Barnett (Barnett is a weight class above Nakamura), he took the worlds #1 lightheavyweight Mauricio "Shogun" Rua 20 minutes to a decision, he's only been stopped by former PRIDE 205 pound champion Wanderlei Silva and current champion "Dangerous" Dan Henderson and he lost a very close decision to Jiu-jitsu legend Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (little brother to former heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo).
Nakamura is a fighter of epic proportions in the UFC. While many think that he is just a judoka, I, personally, resent the term.
People will rank Nakamura #9 or 10 in the world pretty regularly, but when I look at the numbers I have to rank him higher than UFC champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and, as a result, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Rashad Evans and the rest of the pack in the UFC's 205 pound division.
I think that the real top 5, statistically speaking at 205, belongs to Shogun, Henderson, W. Silva, Sokoudjou and Jackson. However, I put Nakamura in the 6 spot.
Getting Nakamura is good news for everybody, especially Zuffa. Now Zuffa has half of the majority of the world's top ten, between Nakamura, Rua, Jackson, Liddell and Evans/Ortiz (whoever you believe should be in the 10 spot).
Personally, I like the arrangement that they have right now, though I'm still hoping for the likes of one Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (aka "The African Assassin") to grace the octagon.
Still, for the time being, this 205 pound weight class looks absolutely stacked.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
The Law
It’s a hard knock life for Matt Lindland. He’s coming off a loss against the greatest fighter in the world, in any weight class (Fedor Emelianenko) and Dana White still hasn’t made any effort to put him on the UFC payroll.
As far as I’m concerned, Matt Lindland is the best fighter in the world at 185 pounds. While UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva may dominate the popular rankings and Lindland’s teammate Dan “Hollywood” Henderson may hold the title in the highly competitive PRIDE welterweight division (the Japanese 185 pound crown; I ran Henderson #2 and hang Silva at around the #6 spot), the Law doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.
Lindland holds an Olympic silver medal in wrestling and has one of the best and most aggressive ground-and-pound attacks in the sport, his loss to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt David Terrell ended his stint with the UFC (the closest Terrell would ever get to tasting gold would be his loss in a title match to Evan Tanner).
Since leaving the UFC, Lindland has improved every aspect of his game and, like his training partner Dan Henderson, has stopped letting himself be defined by the boundaries of weight classes. Lindland recently finessed his way to a decision against 205 pound powerhouse and UFC lightheavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. While he lost the decision, it was a split decision (meaning one of the judges scored Lindland as the winner, while the other two scored for Rampage). Personally, I thought Lindland won the fight.
My first encounter with Lindland was watching him smash coaching legend and former UFC welterweight (170 pound) champion Pat Miletich at UFC 36 (to this day, UFC 36 is my favorite card). I’ve been a fan ever since.
Lindland coaches the IFL’s Portland Wolfpack, who have been mildly successful in the short time the IFL has been around.
Personally, people ask me why I think Lindland is better than Henderson (the newer fans ask me why I rank him above Silva). The answer is simple: Lindland will fight anybody, anywhere at any time, and he will give them a fight.
While he lost to Emelianenko in the Bodog Fight organization recently, he took Fedor down. There has been a lot of controversy around Emelianenko holding the ropes to hold off the takedown from the former Olympian. My opinion: Who cares? Fedor finished him from the bottom anyway.
However, Lindland joined the league of fighters like former UFC heavyweight champions Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman, becoming one of the few to put the incredibly talented PRIDE Heavyweight champion on his back. While all three were submitted (Coleman was arm-barred in both of his fights with Fedor and Randleman was finished with a Kimura after suplexing Fedor on his neck), it is still a big feat, particularly for Lindland, because while Randleman weighed 220 pounds and Coleman 250 before their fights with Fedor, Lindland was slightly about the 200 mark, giving up 30 pounds to the Russian champion.
Frankly, to fight an opponent with a 30 pound weight advantage isn’t unheard of in the heavyweight division, but to give up weight to a guy with skills on the level that Emelianenko has them is just incredible.
Lindland has the balls to do what no one else in the 185 pound division can or will, that’s why I rank him #1.
As far as I’m concerned, Matt Lindland is the best fighter in the world at 185 pounds. While UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva may dominate the popular rankings and Lindland’s teammate Dan “Hollywood” Henderson may hold the title in the highly competitive PRIDE welterweight division (the Japanese 185 pound crown; I ran Henderson #2 and hang Silva at around the #6 spot), the Law doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.
Lindland holds an Olympic silver medal in wrestling and has one of the best and most aggressive ground-and-pound attacks in the sport, his loss to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt David Terrell ended his stint with the UFC (the closest Terrell would ever get to tasting gold would be his loss in a title match to Evan Tanner).
Since leaving the UFC, Lindland has improved every aspect of his game and, like his training partner Dan Henderson, has stopped letting himself be defined by the boundaries of weight classes. Lindland recently finessed his way to a decision against 205 pound powerhouse and UFC lightheavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. While he lost the decision, it was a split decision (meaning one of the judges scored Lindland as the winner, while the other two scored for Rampage). Personally, I thought Lindland won the fight.
My first encounter with Lindland was watching him smash coaching legend and former UFC welterweight (170 pound) champion Pat Miletich at UFC 36 (to this day, UFC 36 is my favorite card). I’ve been a fan ever since.
Lindland coaches the IFL’s Portland Wolfpack, who have been mildly successful in the short time the IFL has been around.
Personally, people ask me why I think Lindland is better than Henderson (the newer fans ask me why I rank him above Silva). The answer is simple: Lindland will fight anybody, anywhere at any time, and he will give them a fight.
While he lost to Emelianenko in the Bodog Fight organization recently, he took Fedor down. There has been a lot of controversy around Emelianenko holding the ropes to hold off the takedown from the former Olympian. My opinion: Who cares? Fedor finished him from the bottom anyway.
However, Lindland joined the league of fighters like former UFC heavyweight champions Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman, becoming one of the few to put the incredibly talented PRIDE Heavyweight champion on his back. While all three were submitted (Coleman was arm-barred in both of his fights with Fedor and Randleman was finished with a Kimura after suplexing Fedor on his neck), it is still a big feat, particularly for Lindland, because while Randleman weighed 220 pounds and Coleman 250 before their fights with Fedor, Lindland was slightly about the 200 mark, giving up 30 pounds to the Russian champion.
Frankly, to fight an opponent with a 30 pound weight advantage isn’t unheard of in the heavyweight division, but to give up weight to a guy with skills on the level that Emelianenko has them is just incredible.
Lindland has the balls to do what no one else in the 185 pound division can or will, that’s why I rank him #1.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Matt Hughes: The Welterweight Icon
I'm not a hardcore Matt Hughes fan. I don't think he's the best fight in the world at 170 right now (I rank him #3, behind Georges St. Pierre and Shinya Aoki), but there are some things about Hughes that every hardcore fan knows only he has done.
After all, no one else has knocked an opponent out with at 170 pounds.
No one has defended a title (in any weight class) 7 times. (Tito Ortiz is second with 5 defenses, Chuck Liddell has 4)
No one else has destroyed Jiu-jitsu legend the way that Hughes did.
No one else has held the 170 pound title more than once.
He's a living legend, and the fact that he may hold the belt for a 3rd time if he defeats Matt Serra in November.
Matt Hughes will go into his fight with Serra the favorite, because many believe that Serra's win over former champ Georges St. Pierre was a fluke and have a hard time respecting anyone who was on TUF 4.
While many think that the way St. Pierre beat Hughes (demolishing him with a headkick a minute and a half into round 2) has demoralized Hughes, they know that the incredibly strong wrestle from Hillsborough, Illinois is going to have a hard time getting back in the mix. After all, after he was beaten by BJ Penn the first time he lost his title, he was quick to take it back.
While Hughes' wrestling skills are well documented and well known, there is one facet of his game that everyone who "analyzes" the Serra fight seems to forget about. Matt Hughes is very good with submissions.
At Abu Dhabi (the worlds top submission wrestling competition, Hughes holds a record of 2-2, with a win over 185 pound grappling legend Jeremy Horn (Hughes competes at 170 pounds in MMA). His two losses are to former lightheavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz (a 6 time defending UFC champion at 205 pounds) and Jeff Monson (a former heavyweight title competitor in the UFC who weighs about 240 pounds and has held the ADCC Heavyweight and open weight titles).
Matt Hughes is only 1 of 2 fighters to repeat his success in the UFC and take back a belt he has lost. The other is Randy "The Natural" Couture (who has done it 5 times in 2 weight classes). If Hughes beats Serra he will up his number to 3 at 170 pounds.
Hughes has already sealed his place in the UFC hall of fame and will, without a doubt, be remembered for championing the 170 pound division longer and more powerfully than any fighter in the sport so far.
After all, no one else has knocked an opponent out with at 170 pounds.
No one has defended a title (in any weight class) 7 times. (Tito Ortiz is second with 5 defenses, Chuck Liddell has 4)
No one else has destroyed Jiu-jitsu legend the way that Hughes did.
No one else has held the 170 pound title more than once.
He's a living legend, and the fact that he may hold the belt for a 3rd time if he defeats Matt Serra in November.
Matt Hughes will go into his fight with Serra the favorite, because many believe that Serra's win over former champ Georges St. Pierre was a fluke and have a hard time respecting anyone who was on TUF 4.
While many think that the way St. Pierre beat Hughes (demolishing him with a headkick a minute and a half into round 2) has demoralized Hughes, they know that the incredibly strong wrestle from Hillsborough, Illinois is going to have a hard time getting back in the mix. After all, after he was beaten by BJ Penn the first time he lost his title, he was quick to take it back.
While Hughes' wrestling skills are well documented and well known, there is one facet of his game that everyone who "analyzes" the Serra fight seems to forget about. Matt Hughes is very good with submissions.
At Abu Dhabi (the worlds top submission wrestling competition, Hughes holds a record of 2-2, with a win over 185 pound grappling legend Jeremy Horn (Hughes competes at 170 pounds in MMA). His two losses are to former lightheavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz (a 6 time defending UFC champion at 205 pounds) and Jeff Monson (a former heavyweight title competitor in the UFC who weighs about 240 pounds and has held the ADCC Heavyweight and open weight titles).
Matt Hughes is only 1 of 2 fighters to repeat his success in the UFC and take back a belt he has lost. The other is Randy "The Natural" Couture (who has done it 5 times in 2 weight classes). If Hughes beats Serra he will up his number to 3 at 170 pounds.
Hughes has already sealed his place in the UFC hall of fame and will, without a doubt, be remembered for championing the 170 pound division longer and more powerfully than any fighter in the sport so far.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
The Koscheck Conspiracy
My latest conspiracy in the UFC might seem trivial to alot of people, but if I were Jon Fitch, I'd be fucking pissed.
Joe Silva, Dana White and whoever else is responsible for those sort of decisions at the UFC set up the high profile matchup of former UFC Welterweight Champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre (13-2) v Josh Koscheck (9-1), one of the high-profile offspring of the Ultimate Fighter reality show.
While Koscheck recently ended the undefeated run of Diego "The Nightmare" Sanchez (17-1), I don't think that it's fair to give Koscheck his shot at the well recognized #3 man in the UFC Welterweight division (St. Pierre follows behind current Champion Matt Serra and former champion/UFC icon Matt Hughes).
Look at it this way, it wasn't so long ago that Koscheck was tapping out from a rear naked choke applied by Drew Fickett. While he has beaten some very accomplished opponents in Sanchez, Jeff Joslin (5-3), Jonathan Goulet (19-8), Ansar Chalangov (7-3), and former UFC Middleweight champion Dave Menne (39-15-2) since then, he stopped two opponents. Goulet submitted due to strikes and Chalangov due to rear naked choke.
In 5 fights, Koscheck has only finished without the help of the judges twice and has been remarkably boring, but who else deserves the shot at St. Pierre.
What about Jon Fitch?
Jon Fitch (14-2, 1 NC) has won his last 13 fights, 6 of which were in the UFC.
In his 6 UFC appearances, Jon Fitch has not been given any respect. Only recently did the UFC start to hail him as "the best kept secret in the welterweight division." Damn right he is, after all, no one else in the world has won 6 in a row.
Not only has Fitch kept his perfect UFC record of 6-0 unblemished when he beat very dangerous Brazilian Roan "Jucao" Carniero (11-6), submitting Jucao with a rear naked choke in the second round. While Fitch was dominated in the first, he showed resiliance and came back with a groundnpound performance that shocked everyone. No one gets out-wrestled in the first round and then holds their opponent down for that kind of an ass-whupping in the second, right?
Apparently, Jon Fitch does.
Fitch's other victories in the UFC include a submissions of top contenders Josh Burkman (8-4) and Luigi Fiorvanti (9-3) along with a TKO of Thiago "The Pitbull" Alves (11-3).
Not only does it look like Fitch should be fighting St. Pierre on paper, but even stylistically and from a fan's perspective, Fitch deserves that high card fight.
After all, Koscheck is a great wrestler, but he uses a lay and pray attack, which is why he has so many decisions. He is meticulous and slow when he's working, he's not explosive and he's not fun to watch. He also has really only displayed his one-dimensional wrestling.
While Fitch doesn't have the NCAA wrestling pedigree that Koscheck has, he does have a D-1 wrestling backround, and his standing, powerful ground and pound is something that is, honestly, really fun to watch.
Koscheck is a great, technical wrestler, but he doesn't stand over his opponents while hammering them with punches the way that Fitch does. He doesn't have aggressive attack skills, just meticulous and constant ground control.
Koscheck goes to a position than attacks, that's not what Fitch does.
In the eternal style of great ground and pounders like Fedor Emelianenko and Tito Ortiz, Fitch attack from anywhere. He passes guard while throwing strikes. That's his form of ground control.
This is all just me theorizing, but I think that Fitch's credentials and exciting skills make him a much better candidate for a position making shot than Koscheck.
I guess it won't matter, since Georges St. Pierre is going to beat Koscheck anyway.
Joe Silva, Dana White and whoever else is responsible for those sort of decisions at the UFC set up the high profile matchup of former UFC Welterweight Champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre (13-2) v Josh Koscheck (9-1), one of the high-profile offspring of the Ultimate Fighter reality show.
While Koscheck recently ended the undefeated run of Diego "The Nightmare" Sanchez (17-1), I don't think that it's fair to give Koscheck his shot at the well recognized #3 man in the UFC Welterweight division (St. Pierre follows behind current Champion Matt Serra and former champion/UFC icon Matt Hughes).
Look at it this way, it wasn't so long ago that Koscheck was tapping out from a rear naked choke applied by Drew Fickett. While he has beaten some very accomplished opponents in Sanchez, Jeff Joslin (5-3), Jonathan Goulet (19-8), Ansar Chalangov (7-3), and former UFC Middleweight champion Dave Menne (39-15-2) since then, he stopped two opponents. Goulet submitted due to strikes and Chalangov due to rear naked choke.
In 5 fights, Koscheck has only finished without the help of the judges twice and has been remarkably boring, but who else deserves the shot at St. Pierre.
What about Jon Fitch?
Jon Fitch (14-2, 1 NC) has won his last 13 fights, 6 of which were in the UFC.
In his 6 UFC appearances, Jon Fitch has not been given any respect. Only recently did the UFC start to hail him as "the best kept secret in the welterweight division." Damn right he is, after all, no one else in the world has won 6 in a row.
Not only has Fitch kept his perfect UFC record of 6-0 unblemished when he beat very dangerous Brazilian Roan "Jucao" Carniero (11-6), submitting Jucao with a rear naked choke in the second round. While Fitch was dominated in the first, he showed resiliance and came back with a groundnpound performance that shocked everyone. No one gets out-wrestled in the first round and then holds their opponent down for that kind of an ass-whupping in the second, right?
Apparently, Jon Fitch does.
Fitch's other victories in the UFC include a submissions of top contenders Josh Burkman (8-4) and Luigi Fiorvanti (9-3) along with a TKO of Thiago "The Pitbull" Alves (11-3).
Not only does it look like Fitch should be fighting St. Pierre on paper, but even stylistically and from a fan's perspective, Fitch deserves that high card fight.
After all, Koscheck is a great wrestler, but he uses a lay and pray attack, which is why he has so many decisions. He is meticulous and slow when he's working, he's not explosive and he's not fun to watch. He also has really only displayed his one-dimensional wrestling.
While Fitch doesn't have the NCAA wrestling pedigree that Koscheck has, he does have a D-1 wrestling backround, and his standing, powerful ground and pound is something that is, honestly, really fun to watch.
Koscheck is a great, technical wrestler, but he doesn't stand over his opponents while hammering them with punches the way that Fitch does. He doesn't have aggressive attack skills, just meticulous and constant ground control.
Koscheck goes to a position than attacks, that's not what Fitch does.
In the eternal style of great ground and pounders like Fedor Emelianenko and Tito Ortiz, Fitch attack from anywhere. He passes guard while throwing strikes. That's his form of ground control.
This is all just me theorizing, but I think that Fitch's credentials and exciting skills make him a much better candidate for a position making shot than Koscheck.
I guess it won't matter, since Georges St. Pierre is going to beat Koscheck anyway.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Randy Couture: The Smartest
Sorry to whoever is readying out there in internet land, I've been gone the last two weeks. I apologize, but I'm back now and here's the new bit:
There are guys who can beat Randy Couture. I have a hard time seeing the current UFC heavyweight champion coming out on top of his upcoming title defense against the Brazillian behemoth of Gabriel Gonzaga.
Personally, I have Couture hanging around the #8 spot of modern MMA heavyweight fighters, but when it comes to knowledge of the sport, Randy Couture is the Alpha and the Omega. As far as I'm concerned, Randy Couture is the prophet of MMA.
There are alot of reasons you can find for Coutures intelligence: Division I education; world class wrestling pedigree and constant exposure to some of the best fighters in the world at Team Quest. He's the oldest title holder in the history of the sport (holding UFC Heavyweight hardware at 43), he has repeated his success in multiple weightclasses (Couture has held heavyweight gold 3 times and the lightheavyweight strap twice) and he has been a constant force in the sport, in and out of the cage, since the 90's, with every performance being a memorable one (everything from his victories over Tito Ortiz, Pedro Rizzo and his first win over Chuck Liddell to his losses to Liddell and Josh Barnett are well remembered by the hardcore fans).
Whateer the causes and the results, one thing remains:
Randy Couture is smart.
Whether he is knocking down a 6'8 striker with an overhand right, outboxing a legendary power-puncher or spanking a top groundnpounder, Couture is a force.
Will he beat Gonzaga?
Will he ever retire?
Will he ever fight a top PRIDE fighter?
I don't know, but I'll be watching.
There are guys who can beat Randy Couture. I have a hard time seeing the current UFC heavyweight champion coming out on top of his upcoming title defense against the Brazillian behemoth of Gabriel Gonzaga.
Personally, I have Couture hanging around the #8 spot of modern MMA heavyweight fighters, but when it comes to knowledge of the sport, Randy Couture is the Alpha and the Omega. As far as I'm concerned, Randy Couture is the prophet of MMA.
There are alot of reasons you can find for Coutures intelligence: Division I education; world class wrestling pedigree and constant exposure to some of the best fighters in the world at Team Quest. He's the oldest title holder in the history of the sport (holding UFC Heavyweight hardware at 43), he has repeated his success in multiple weightclasses (Couture has held heavyweight gold 3 times and the lightheavyweight strap twice) and he has been a constant force in the sport, in and out of the cage, since the 90's, with every performance being a memorable one (everything from his victories over Tito Ortiz, Pedro Rizzo and his first win over Chuck Liddell to his losses to Liddell and Josh Barnett are well remembered by the hardcore fans).
Whateer the causes and the results, one thing remains:
Randy Couture is smart.
Whether he is knocking down a 6'8 striker with an overhand right, outboxing a legendary power-puncher or spanking a top groundnpounder, Couture is a force.
Will he beat Gonzaga?
Will he ever retire?
Will he ever fight a top PRIDE fighter?
I don't know, but I'll be watching.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Greg Jackson: It Must Be His Birthday
I revere Greg Jackson.
When I watch one of his fighters step into the cage I know that it's going to be a fight, because that fighter is going to do something new.
I'm not saying I always bet on Jackson's fighters (I'm betting against Marquardt on Saturday), but I never count them out.
Greg Jackson is one of the guys who watches fighting as an art, looks for new things that he can try, new ways to win and new ways to make the sport interesting. He is always looking to take his fighters to the next level in their conditioning and their intelligence.
When I saw Rashad Evans kick Sean Salmon in the head I was shocked. I was surprised that a short, thick wrestler like Evans would consider using a headkick, but those are the types of things that Greg Jackson teaches his fighters to do.
While Greg Jackson had a slight skid, with Joey Villasenor losing recently and Diego Sanchez falling to Josh Koscheck via decision, I expect him to bounce back this Saturday and I expect his fighters to bring their A-game. Make no mistake, Greg Jackson learns something new with every defeat and every victory.
This saturday must be like Christmas in July for Greg Jackson. He has the opportunity to win a belt when Nate Marquardt squares off against Anderson Silva, but perhaps an even bigger opportunity is for Rashad Evans to defeat former UFC champion and (almost definitely) future hall-of-famer Tito Ortiz. There is no doubt that if Evans beats Ortiz he will be in a position where he could very well be within view of the World Lightheavyweight Title (the unified 205 pound titles of the UFC and PRIDE, which will end up unified when Quinton "Rampage" Jackson fights Dan Henderson at UFC 75).
For me, this Saturday is another event. An exciting event to watch, but still just another card that the UFC has put together. For Greg Jackson, this is the opportunity of a lifetime, the gift that only comes on your Birthday. So good luck to Greg Jackson, and I wish him the best.
When I watch one of his fighters step into the cage I know that it's going to be a fight, because that fighter is going to do something new.
I'm not saying I always bet on Jackson's fighters (I'm betting against Marquardt on Saturday), but I never count them out.
Greg Jackson is one of the guys who watches fighting as an art, looks for new things that he can try, new ways to win and new ways to make the sport interesting. He is always looking to take his fighters to the next level in their conditioning and their intelligence.
When I saw Rashad Evans kick Sean Salmon in the head I was shocked. I was surprised that a short, thick wrestler like Evans would consider using a headkick, but those are the types of things that Greg Jackson teaches his fighters to do.
While Greg Jackson had a slight skid, with Joey Villasenor losing recently and Diego Sanchez falling to Josh Koscheck via decision, I expect him to bounce back this Saturday and I expect his fighters to bring their A-game. Make no mistake, Greg Jackson learns something new with every defeat and every victory.
This saturday must be like Christmas in July for Greg Jackson. He has the opportunity to win a belt when Nate Marquardt squares off against Anderson Silva, but perhaps an even bigger opportunity is for Rashad Evans to defeat former UFC champion and (almost definitely) future hall-of-famer Tito Ortiz. There is no doubt that if Evans beats Ortiz he will be in a position where he could very well be within view of the World Lightheavyweight Title (the unified 205 pound titles of the UFC and PRIDE, which will end up unified when Quinton "Rampage" Jackson fights Dan Henderson at UFC 75).
For me, this Saturday is another event. An exciting event to watch, but still just another card that the UFC has put together. For Greg Jackson, this is the opportunity of a lifetime, the gift that only comes on your Birthday. So good luck to Greg Jackson, and I wish him the best.
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