Uriah Hall KO From TUF

Heads up!

Kimbo Slice on The Ultimate Fighter

Kimbo to the UFC? Well sort of. Dana White has always said the only way Kimbo would compete in the UFC is if he went on and won the reality show. For Kimbo, step 1 is in the books. He will join 15 other Heavyweights for the upcoming season of TUF to be coached by Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans, two former Light Heavyweight Champions. Theres two will also square off when the season if over, meaning the next challenger for Lyoto Machida will be none other than Shogun Rua.

Anyway I am excited to hear the news that Kimbo will be on TUF. Just a few days ago I wrote "Enough of TUF" (scroll down a bit to see it). I was getting sick of the stale show that focused much more on the coaches than that of the new fighters. Well Kimbo just changed all of that. I'm going to watch every show. Nice job out of Kimbo for stepping up and taking this challenge and hey, good job out of Dana for putting him on the show after talking so much crap about him. Plus he knows the rating are going to "spike" right back up. Should be very interesting to see how he does.

-Keefe

Also be sure to check out all the "great" 1st pitches Besse has found below and vote on our poll (top right.)

Enough of "TUF"

I loved The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV. The UFC came up with an idea for a show to promote the sport, the organization, and some new fighters. With such fighters as Forrest Griffin, Josh Koscheck, Diego Sanchez, Chris Leben, Stephen Bonnar, Kenny Florian, Mike Swick, Nate Quarry, Rashad Evans, Joe Stevenson, Marcus Davis, Michael Bisping, Mac Danzig, not to mention the comeback cast that included Matt Serra, Chris Lytle, and Travis Lutter, all living in the Ultimate Fighter house, it couldn't miss.

The coaches early on were UFC stars, that were being introduced to the majority of the public. Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Rich Franklin, and Matt Hughes put their "teams" through work outs preparing them for elimination fights. But Season 3, Dana White got an idea. Let's promote an upcoming fight, a grudge match. Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock would coach opposite sides, then square off in the octogon. It made for good tv. You had to tune in each week to see the confrontations between Tito and Shamrock, two guys that couldn't wait to fight each other.

The problem may have been that this was successful. Now Dana and the UFC wanted to promote big fights through TUF. Rather than letting a guy fight for or defend the belt in a couple months, they would film a season of the show and then finally have their fight. (See: Rampage vs. Forrest & Mir vs. Big Nog.) As Besse and I have pointed out many times, it essentially puts a hold on a division.

Well mmajunkie.com and other outlets have confirmed that Season 10 of TUF will be coached by Rampage Jackson (again) and former TUF winner Rashad Evans. What? Why recycle coaches? Why put a guy in who's getting a title fight against some one else? Is Rampage still getting the first crack at Lyoto? I don't get it. The season is going to be all heavyweights, 16 of them, and possibly including a few former NFL players. Rashad, the former Light Heavyweight Champ, was the only Heavyweight Champion of TUF, so I understand bringing him back to the show, but Rampage?

The focus has become more on the coaches then the new talent, plus let's face it, the show has run its course. They took out the Real World/ Road Rules Challenge type tasks after the first or second season, but since then its been basically the same stuff. I'll still watch every once in awhile, but it used to be appointment television. Can't say the same thing now.

TUF brought in a ton of fans to MMA, the Griffin vs. Bonnar fight at the TUF 1 Finale may very well be the most important fight in the history of mixed martial arts. Despite all that it's time to hang it up.

Enough of TUF.


-Keefe


Side note: Frank Trigg signed a new deal with the UFC. Should be very interesting to see what he has left, and who he will face next.

The fruits of one's labor

Lyoto Machida is one scary, scary dude. Should be a lot of fun watching him take on "Rampage" Jackson later this year. There are rumors swirling about him and Jackson taking opposing sides as coaches on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter. I have mixed emotions about this. The positive in doing this is that it would give Machida even more exposure to American fans, perhaps even moreso to casual fans who may be checking the show out. It's hard to believe that a lot of hardcore fans still watch TUF because of the antics within the house, the fact that it's the same boring format every season, and quite frankly, the fighters are decent at best. But for a casual or new fan to the sport, it's a solid way to become introduce to MMA and UFC, and also gives them exposure to some of the sports stars who are serving as coaches.

However, I'm weary of Jackson and Machida being coaches on this show for a couple reasons. First and foremost is that show starts filming in the first week of June. It wouldn't start airing until September and thus Jackson and Machida would not square off for "The Dragon's" belt until the end of the year, most likely headlining the final card of 2009. Secondly, Jackson has already served as a coach on the show against Forrest Griffin. Admittedly, Jackson said he didn't really enjoy it and that he got extremely overweight being on the show. Obviously it could serve as a nice PR move to continue rebuilding his reputation with fans after his meltdown following the loss of his title to Griffin, but I'm skeptical. I want to see the best Rampage take on Machida because it could make for an all-time classic matchup. Rampage has terrific standup with his boxing skillset and his defense, and he also brings great wrestling and tremendous ground and pound to the table. I honestly don't know if he has the tools to take out Machida - he is one dangerous BAMF - but it could make for an exciting fight. Rampage always brings the fight, and it would be interesting to see Machida karate take on such an aggressive, yet calculated and disciplined style of boxing and wrestling. Dana White's announcement comes on June 2nd, so we'll just have to wait and see, but with every other title currently scheduled for upcoming matchups, all signs point to it happened. Unless they're bringing Tito and Ken Shamrock back for another grudge match.

-Bess

UFC 86 Predictions

With Keefe on vacation this week in the lovely town of Auburn, NY, I’m flying solo for this rendition of The Sports Brief’s UFC 86 predictions. I’ll actually be on vacation myself in Virginia Beach, VA, but don’t think for a second that I’ll miss two of my favorite fighters on this card in Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Ricardo Almeida.

Top to bottom, I don’t think this card has the luster and allure as others, such as UFC 84 have had in the past. Part of the reason is the lack of marketability in the fighters. “Rampage” and Griffin is a very marketable main event, but with both fighters being shelved for the taping of TUF7, I think it’s hurt their appeal and interest from the fans, which is becoming a bit of an unfortunate trend for some of the high-profile stars in the UFC. The most recent case has come in the announcement of TUF8, which will pit former Heavyweight champ Frank Mir opposite current interim UFC Heavyweight champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. They’ll most likely fight at the end-of-the-year show around New Year’s, which means neither will have fought for over 10 months when they finally clash. God forbid one of them gets hurt, Matt Serra.

But that’s enough ranting from me. On to the picks!

Preliminary bouts

Jorge Gurgel def. Cole Miller via decision
Ben Saunders def. Jared Rollins via 2nd round submission
Melvin Guillard def. Dennis Siver via (T)KO in the 1st round
Justin Bucholz def. Corey Hill via submission in the 2nd round
Gabriel Gonzaga def. Justin McCully via decision

Televised bouts

Tyson Griffin v. Marcus Aurelio
Aurelio fought some of the best lightweights in the world for three years over in PRIDE; he’s never been stopped in his career. Griffin, meanwhile, hasn’t finished an opponent since 2006. You can credit Griffin for stopping several opponents early in his career, including current WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber, but I attribute that more to Faber fighting out of his weight class as opposed to being soundly beaten by a better opponent. I thought Griffin elevated his status in his last victory over Gleison Tibau at UFC 81, but Aurelio has rattled off two impressive wins since dropping three straight fights. One of those wins came on one of the best armbar maneuvers I’ve seen since watching MMA. Aurelio is a proven veteran, and while Griffin will be game, I think Aurelio will simply be too wily, smart and more prepared.

Marcus Aurelio def. Tyson Griffin via decision

Joe Stevenson v. Gleison Tibau
This is a great matchup for Stevenson in a comeback fight after his championship loss to BJ Penn earlier this year at UFC 80. He was outclassed by Penn in that fight, but show he can compete at an extremely high level. In Gleison Tibau, I think Stevenson gets to face a fringe prospect at best whose name carries more weight than his game. He’ll be a low level threat for “Daddy”, and I think he’ll look for the takedown to control the fight from there. However, I see Stevenson working well out of guard and eventually sweeping Tibau, achieving the mount and then working a rear-naked choke.

Joe Stevenson def. Gleison Tibau via submission (rear-naked choke) in the 2nd round

Josh Koscheck v. Chris Lytle
For me, this is one of those classic fights where I am completely biased to one of the combatants and pick for him out of adoration or against him out of pure spite. I’d say I’ve been wrong on picks like that 9 out of 10 times. And something tells me this is one of those trap fights, so I’m going to pick Koscheck even though I’ll rooting for Lytle. Koscheck has always come across as an arrogant d-bag since his days with Bobby Southworth on the original TUF series. He was a lay-n-pray guy back in his early days, and for the most part, I still think he is. I thought he was fortunate in his victory over Hazelett, and I don’t think he’d beat him in a rematch.
Lytle, meanwhile, is becoming the Chris Leben, Heath Herring and Tito Ortiz of the welterweight division. He’s essentially a gate-keeper; if you’re a rising prospect or fringe contender, throw him in with Lytle and see how it pans out. I’m hoping Lytle catches him with a right hook then pounces for the finish in the 2nd round, but something tells me Koscheck will utilizes his incredible wrestling skills and ride out a lackluster decision.

Josh Koscheck def. Chris Lytle via decision

Patrick Cote v. Ricardo Almeida
This is my favorite fight on the card. I enjoy watching both of these fighters, but Almeida has become a personal favorite. His black belt jiu-jitsu is world class, and his submission over Rob Yundt was amazing. I think there’s still ring rust there, as he took off almost four years from MMA competition. But if he gets this fight to the ground, it’ll be over before Cote’s back even hits the mat. Cote has dynamite in his hands and has put that on full display in his recent string of knockout victories over Jason Day, Kendall Grove and Drew McFedries, who was a feared and respected striker in his own right. If Cote keeps this on his feet, he’ll certainly prevail, but I don’t see that happening. I look back on his losses to Travis Lutter and Joe Doerksen; those give me enough support to believe that Almeida will lock in a submission and re-establish himself as one of the elite contenders at 185.

Ricardo Almeida def. Patrick Cote via submission in the 1st round

Main Event

Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson v. Forrest Griffin
Up until his victory over Shogun, I can’t say that Griffin had a substantial victory over a big name opponent yet. In my eyes, he was still a fringe contender who had yet to prove he belonged among the UFC’s elite, nevermind the world’s. And while I do believe Rua’s health – or lack thereof – played a role in that fight, Griffin smother him with attacks and wore down the last man to defeat Jackson before finally securing a fight-ending rear-naked choke. It was an impressive victory for Griffin, and while I don’t think he was the most deserving of a title shot, he was certainly a very marketable solution.

I’m reading comments by many people who seem to think that Griffin training with Wanderlei Silva means he’ll have the gameplan to dethrone the champ by smothering Jackson up against the cage and overwhelming him with strikes. It’s a valid argument, and certainly one worth discussing. But I don’t agree with it. At all.

Silva is a completely different fighter than Griffin. He has a better chin, better, more compact and powerful strikes, and knees are at a premium in his arsenal. Griffin is a more tactical fighter. He’ll throw kicks and his punches are accurate, precise and very deliberate. But that’s when he’s on the outside. He has a tendency to stand in the pocket when he’s in trouble and trade, and when you have a glass jaw and your punches aren’t as powerful as your opponents, that won’t work out very well.

Jackson, meanwhile, has evolved into one of the most complete MMA fighters in the world. Against Eastman and Liddell, he showed that his striking is efficient, powerful and well groomed. Against Dan Henderson, he displayed an excellent ground game, terrific cardio and has shown time and time again that he has a solid chin.

I think Griffin will put up a solid fight here, and I think he may actually have the champ in trouble at some point. But Jackson is too well rounded and very tough. He’ll work his way inside, sustaining any punishment on his way in, and find himself in the pocket with Griffin trading bombs. At that point, advantage goes to Jackson, who will wobble the challenger, land a big takedown and finish the fight with some ground-n-pound before the ref stops the fight and Jackson retains the belt.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson defeats Forrest Griffin via (T)KO in the 2nd round

I’d love to hear your feedback on these fights and who you think will win this weekend in Las Vegas. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the fights.

-Bess