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By Anthony De Franco  March 6, 2010, at 3:57 am  Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oy, Oy, Oy! At least I think that’s how would spell that.
Sotiropoulous’ performance in front of his home fans was nothing short of dominating. He completed tooled a very capable Joe Stevenson on the ground and made him look like he was a rookie. Going forward, The Australian is on the short list in the lightweight division.
Jaco has been pushing clothing with flags and other sort of patriotic symbols on it for awhile now, so it’s only natural that they would provide the Aussie’s with some national pride of their own.
MMA Warehouse has it for 34.99.
For more gear from UFC 110, Check out The 3rd String Store.
By Anthony De Franco February 23, 2010, at 3:58 pm I find this fascinating, and thought about it when we were watching the fight, but didn’t say anything beacuse I thought I must be insane. However, more and more people are starting to jump on the idea that the aussie was circumventing the system and wearing grappling pants. From MMA Fighting:
During last weekend’s UFC 110, George Sotiropoulos turned in a star-making performance in a win over Joe Stevenson, but the victory also caused a minor controversy by some who questioned Sotirpoulos’ fight attire as flouting the rules.
Sotiropoulos wore fight shorts, compression shorts, knee sleeves and ankle sleeves that left little of his legs exposed, causing some to think he exposed a loophole in the rule prohibiting grappling pants.
Although the bout took place in Australia, MMA Fighting spoke with Nevada state athletic commission executive director Keith Kizer, who oversaw a previous UFC event in Nov. 2009 during which Sotiropoulos wore the same gear.
“We had a situation where one guy had ankle sleeves, but it was that material, non-slip rubber, so he wasn’t allowed to wear them,” Kizer said. “Equipment can’t give the opponent any kind of abrasion or pain, or allow the fighter wearing it an advantage to slip out of a submission or get one clinched in.”
I mean, really? Look at the picture:
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The dude has about four inches of exposed flesh on his legs. While he doesn’t make the same kind of living on leg locks that Aoki does, you can’t tell me that it wasn’t an advantage.
You know what they say: “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.”
By Jason Comack February 21, 2010, at 7:03 pm After each major Mixed Martial Arts event, our very own matchmaker, Jason Comack, does his best Joe Silva and breaks down all the possibilities for the fighters who waged war last night in a little feature we like to call: What’s Next?
Igor Pokrajac: Let’s call it like it is. Pokrajac is in the UFC because of his association to one Mirko Cro-Cop. He got his chance and didn’t succeed in two fights. Maybe the UFC keeps Pokrajac around if they get desperate to get someone a win, cough Bonnar cough, otherwise he’s bound for the unemployment line.
James Te-Huna: The local product had an impressive debut at UFC 110. Considered one of the best prospects in Australia there are a few opponents that make sense for Te-Huna.
- James McSweeney doesn’t have a fight booked. The former Ultimate Fighter contestant carries some name value and Te-Huna would be a nice test for him. McSweeney struggles against wrestlers and this fight could get Te-Huna on a winning streak.
- Fighting either the winner of Eric Schafer and Jason Brilz (who meet at UFC Live: Jones/Vera) or Rodney Wallace and Jared Hamman (who meet at UFC 111) would also help separate the fringe prospects.
Goran Reljic: Maybe everyone’s, mine included, expectations were a littttttle high for the Croatian fighter. Reljic dropped a weight class, and after a long layoff he did look somewhat rusty. So maybe he’s not the world beater right now some thought he’d be but he’s still a solid prospect.
Reljic fighting a lower tier middleweight on a loss is his most likely next booking. Reljic needs training time at a real training camp to work on his wrestling.
The loser of Gerald Harris and Mario Miranda would make sense. James Irvin would also make sense if he loses and is not cut by the UFC.
By Anthony De Franco February 19, 2010, at 3:48 pm This just won’t stop. Now, fighters are pulling out of fights with injuries just days before cards. From UFC.com:
A shoulder injury suffered by Elvis Sinosic has forced the cancellation of his rematch with countryman Chris Haseman, and heavyweight Ben Rothwell has been sidelined by an illness, forcing him out of his bout with Mirko Cro Cop. Australian veteran Anthony Perosh will step in to face Mirko Cro Cop.
The rest of the now nine bout UFC 110 card remains unchanged.
First of all, this is amazing because how often does the UFC break news? Normally, some website figures it out before the UFC is ready to admit that anything happened. I’m not sure it’s because they are in Australia already, or what the reason is, but that is pretty weird.
While no one cares about the cancellation of the Sinosic fight, moving Rothwell out of the Mirko Cro Cop fight might mean prolonging his career. Perosh is simply not nearly the opponent that Rothwell is, and the old Cro Cop jab-head kick combo could put him down at any point. However, if he loses to someone who took the fight on just a few days notice, then he really is done.
By Anthony De Franco February 18, 2010, at 2:21 am There are plenty of careers on the line at UFC 110. That’s part of what makes it the most interesting card we’ve had in months. However, there is some debate in the community about the UFC cutting some of the losers on Sunday morning.
After UFC 109, when the organization cut six fighters, there are worries that the clear-cutting could continue. With legends like Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop, and vets like Keith Jardine on the chopping block, there could be some wholesale changes on the way home from Australia. Let’s take a look at some necks on the line and assume they lose. Should they stay?
- Stephan Bonnar - All these years later, and Bonnar is still living off the good will that he created for himself when he put the UFC on the map with Forrest Griffin. Since that war took place on that magical night in 2005, Bonnar is 5-6 in the UFC. Until UFC 100, you could have made the argument that all his losses had come against top competition, but then he lost to Mark Coleman. Oh yeah, there is also that whole horse steroids thing.Bonnar is fighting a decent opponent in Krzysztof Soszynski, but he still should be out as he loses. However, his saving grace may be Strikeforce. Would Scott Coker want Bonnar if he is cut by the UFC? I think we are going to find out.
In or Out?: Out.
- Wanderlei Silva – The Axe Murderer is an MMA legend. He was the best fighter in the world for most of his tenure in PRIDE. His blinding strikes put down many a fighter for a long winter’s nap. However, that success has not translated to the UFC as he is just 1-3. I personally believe that he won the Rich Franklin fight, but whatever. Now, he makes the drop to 185, which he should have done a long time ago, to fight Michael Bisping.Silva has also just had facial surgery to remove all the scar tissue that 10-plus years of fighting has accumulated on his face. He won’t cut as easy and won’t be as easy to knockout.Silva is a real legend, and his action-filled style always is exciting. He’s safe.
In or Out?: In
- Mirko Cro Cop – No PRIDE star has struggled more than Cro Cop. He claims to have a mental block from fighting in the cage, but I think that it has more to do with lack of steroid testing in Japan and Cro Cop getting up their in years.That’s not mention that his flawed gameplan of relying on head kicks has stopped working as mixed martial artists have become more skilled.If he loses to Rothwell, he’ll be 1-4 in the UFC. At some point, even the most insistent PRIDE fans (Jason) will have to admit it’s over.
In or Out?: Out
- Keith Jardine – Jardine has always been overrated in my opinion. His “unorthodox” (DING!) striking can be neutralized by the fact that he has a tendency to go down VERY early in fights. Of his five UFC losses, three of them have come in the first five minutes. To make it worse, he already trains at Greg Jackson’s. He just doesn’t have what it takes to make it as a contender in the UFC.He simply isn’t all that good, and in a crowded division, there really isn’t any room for him to hang around to be a gatekeeper.
In or Out?: Out
By Anthony De Franco November 27, 2009, at 4:30 pm Awhile ago, we got really really pumped for the UFC 108 fight that would likely tell us who was the number one contender for the heavyweight title would be. When Cain Velasquez and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira took to the cage, it was going to be a battle of a MMA legend against one of the hottest prospect in the sport. What a fight.
Until it was found out that Nogueira had staph infection in his blood and wouldn’t be able to fight in January. We even surmised that Velasquez would get a different opponent, but it turns out we were wrong. Here’s the news from MMA Weekly:
Ask and ye shall receive.
“In February I’ll be ready to fight when they ask me to fight. In February I think I’ll be in shape. I’d love to fight in Australia. If they put me on the card, I would love to fight there,” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira told MMAWeekly.com recently, addressing his return from a fourth staph infection in the past year.
He was initially slated to face fellow heavyweight contender Cain Velasquez on Jan. 2 at UFC 108, but the infection derailed those plans.
Despite several reports that UFC 109 on Feb. 6 was under consideration, MMAWeekly.com has confirmed an MMAJunkie.com report that UFC 109 is not likely. Sources close to the bout informed MMAWeekly.com that UFC 110 in Sydney, Australia, is expected to host the bout.
It looks like Nogueira gets his wish.
All of a sudden, That UFC 110 card is looking very strong with Velasquez and Big Nog, and Bisping taking on Wanderlei Silva.
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