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?
Chris Lytle: Lytle is a much better fighter then he shows in the ring. He’s content with banging out KO’s, fights and submissions of the night and banking the extra cash. Lytle is a much crisper boxer then we’ve seen as of late but the truth is his giant hay-maker of doom punches have put money in his wallet so he’s unlikely to stop them. Against Brian Foster we were reminded that Lytle does in fact have a submission game as he won with a devastating knee bar.
Lytle has settled nicely into the gate keeper role. He’s a guy you can put either on the under-card or a Spike TV Prelim/Fight Night and know your going to get a solid fight. His role is taking on young guys who are ready to move up in competition and while there’s a bunch of fights that make sense a lot of the young welterweights are already booked in fights.
Rory MacDonald; The 20 year old Canadian welterweight is an exciting prospect. However he’s been rumored to be fighting Carlos Condit at UFC 115. Rick Story and Nick Osipczak are fighting each other at UFC 112. Amir Sadollah and Dong Hyun Kim are fighting each other at UFC 114. T.J Grant and Johny Hendricks are fighting at UFC 113.
So due to timing issues most of those guys are out of the equation. So whose left?
Paulo Thiago: Thiago has been fighting top guys non-stop. This fight would give him a chance to hone his skills, he’s still very raw, and give him a win against a solid welterweight. Let’s not kid ourselves though Thiago isn’t going to take such a drastic step down in competition.
Matt Serra: That already happened and my wallet still is hurting.
Rob Kimmons and Mike Pierce: Pierce and Kimmons are fighting on UFC Live: Vera/Jones on March 21rst so the timing works out nicely. Pierce, 10-3 (1-1 UFC), took out Brock Larson is his UFC debut and then lost to Jon Fitch. Obviously there’s no shame in losing to Jon Fitch and in fact he looked very good in that fight. Kimmons hasn’t enjoyed much UFC success, 2-2, but is moving down to welterweight for the first time.
Ben Saunders and Jake Ellenberger: Saunders was originally set to take out Martin Kampman before a horrifying gash knocked hm out of the fight. Ellenberger is 1-1 in the UFC and much like Pierce has looked good even when he’s lost. He lost to Carlos Condit in his UFC debut but lost a close split decision, he followed that up by beating Mike Pyle.
Saunders is 4-1 in the UFC and a win over Ellenberger would probably put him in line to fight bigger fish then Lytle. If Ellenberger does win however Lytle would probably be a fight in his range.
Ricardo Almeida and Matt Brown: Almeida is moving down from middleweight, where he had sucess and draws Matt Brown as his first opponent. Brown is riding a fight win streak and is 4-1 in the UFC. Almedia would probably draw a bigger name if he wins considering his original opponent before injury was Jon Fitch. Brown already fought and lost to Lytle although it was outside of the UFC.
Nate Diaz and Rory Markham: The less sane Diaz brother is moving up in weight because well in his own words “I don’t make enough money to cut to 155.” Diaz is 6-3 in the UFC and a marketable fighter because of his personality. Markham had success in the IFL but has struggled as of late. He lost is UFC debut to Dan Hardy and has struggled with injuries since.
If Diaz can beat Markham I can’t think of a more perfect fight then Diaz/Lylte. Your bound to get a fight of the night with both guys winning wild hay-makers at each other. Unlike Gray Maynard Lytle actually has the boxing acumen to make Diaz pay for his goofy striking style. Also unlike Gray Maynard if he gets KO’d he really doesn’t care. Lytle and Diaz would also be a wildly entertaining scrap if it hit the ground.
Diaz has to get by Markham first but, Lytle Vs. Diaz would be awesome as a Spike TV Prelim or Fight Night fight.
Kimbo Slice is a ratings juggernaut. There is simply no other way to describe it. He’s fought twice on Spike TV and he’s been over 5 million viewers each time. That is just insane.
While Slice as a fighter is still developing at the advanced age of 35, he is a brand all to his own, and the UFC is giving him an avenue to make even more cash.
Kimbo’s newest TapouT shirt uses the area code of his Miami digs. When did repping your area code become cool? Was it when Reggie Bush started wearing “619″ on his eye black? Dethrone also has an area code shirt. I gotta get me a “516″ shirt.
MMA Warehouse can help you rep yo’ hood for 27.99. Slice’s shirt’s are always a litter cheaper than average.
Why does news always happen on days where I can’t get to a computer for various reasons?
Anyway, Brock Lesnar appeared on Sportscenter this morning to discuss his future. Every time MMA news is on ESPN, I get giddy. I don’t know why, because it’s happened a bunch, but it just makes me feel like a school girl.
First thing is first, Good for Brock for getting better. I may not be the guys biggest fan, but I certainly think that he is a talented fighter. I never want to see anyone be sick like that.
Second, what does this mean for the UFC? Well, they get their cash cow back. Lesnar is the biggest draw in the UFC, and Dana is more than glad to have him back. As for the fight with Carwin/Mir, I’m pumped to see Brock back in the ring against a real test, but it would be a shame to see him at less than 100% and have him lose his belt because of it.
All in all, it’s good to have Brock back. Never thought I’d hear myself say that.
With the last loss that the Jets suffered, the season is pretty much over. In order to get to 10 wins, the team will have to win six of their final seven games. With a rookie quarterback, a rookie head coach, and a team that is seemingly snake bit, I don’t that it’s going to happen.
However, I’m not so sure that this season is the only issue the Jets face. With Mark Sanchez at the helm of this team, there is a misconception that this is a young team that is going to get better as their movie star-esque quarterback does. The problem is that the rest of the team around him isn’t nearly as young as him, and in fact, might be considered an aging experiment that isn’t really working.
In the backfield, Thomas Jones is a back running on borrowed time. He’s 31 years old and has has over 2,000 career carries. He’s going to inevitably break down in the coming season, and when it happen slowly. It’s going to look a lot like the train wreck that the Chargers are currently going through with LaDanian Tomlinson. He’s going to fall off a cliff. Behind him, you have Leon Washington who is going to be coming off a devastating leg injury that might effect him for the rest of the career, and Shonn Greene, who has some potential, but lacks big play ability.
At receiver, Braylon Edwards is a huge problem. It’s not just that he is dropping two point conversions that are costing the Jets games, it’s what going to happen after the Jets play their final game this year. Edwards is going to be a free agent after the season. He’s going to demand that kind of contract that a receiver like Andre Johnson or Larry Fitzgerald has. Is anyone crazy enough to think that Edwards has proven he’s in that tier of wide receivers, or has earned cash of that magnitude? If you give him that huge contract, and add his deal to the big free agent pay days that they gave too of players like Kris Jenkins, Calvin Pace, Damien Woody, not to mention the contract extension that they will have to give super cornerback Darelle Revis and the Jets find themselves in a situation where they may HAVE to keep Edwards, but will be crippling themselves for the future in the process.
As for the defense, the key to it remains the previously mentioned Jenkins. In the past two years, there has been two different Jet teams. When Jenkins is on the field, the defense has been as good as any in the league. He stuffs up the middle of the field and allows for the very average Jets linebacking corps to make plays. Not the mention the fact that he is one of the few 3-4 nose tackles in the league that can actually push the pocket and get sacks. The problem is that he just can’t stay healthy. In two seasons, he’s played at one hundred percent in roughly six games. The Jets also have not built quality depth behind him, meaning he can’t come off the field. What they have now is a 31 year old player who can’t stay healthy at a position where players break down quickly who is making 15 million dollars over the next three years.
Those are just a few players on the Jets that are going to be seeing their careers on the downswing over the next few years. Add an aging offensive line, and a linebacking corps that is expensive, but not very good and the Jets are not a team that is building something.
I have a teacher who is one of those “things were better when I was young” guy. He loves to tell stories about how sports have all gone to hell and how all the NFL and other leagues do is steal money out of everyone’s pocket. The scary part is that there are a lot of people that really feel this.
The first thing that all of these people mention is how much players get paid. I hate this argument. It’s capitalism at it’s best. These players have skills that are in demand and the supply of them isn’t very high. That combination of things drives up the price of these players. I think that anyone that questions athletes salaries should have to sign a form saying that if they are ever offered too much money to do a job, they will turn it down.
Well, all of those people should be happy today as Michael Crabtree finally ended his absurd holdout and signed with the 49ers. For those who don’t know the situation, Crabtree was trying to buck the trend of “slotting” of NFL rookies. Basically, he was picked 10th, so he is normally paid something inbetween what the 9th and 11th pick made.
Crabtree wasn’t interested in that. He felt he was the best receiver in the draft, and thus wanted to be paid more than the first receiver taken in the draft, Darius Heyward-Bey of the Raiders, who was selected 7th. While’s its only three spots, it represents millions of dollars.
The 49ers weren’t playing that. They insisted that their slotted offer was fair. Crabtree and his people (which included a bail bondsman, Deion Sanders, One of the NFL’s most notorious agents, and MC Hammer) pushed him to hold out for more cash.
They didn’t beleive the Niners would start the season without their number one draft pick. They did. They went 3-1, and are a Brett Favre miracle away from being undefeated. They showed that they didn’t really need Crabtree to win. Rather than being a key piece to the 49er puzzle, he was the icing on the cake.
Without any leverage, Crabtree came to San Francisco with his tail between his legs. He signed a deal that looks huge, but in reality is pretty much a slot deal with a lot of monopoly money at the end of it that Crabtree will never see.
I applaud the 49ers for the way they handled this. This was more than just one player holding out. This was a player attempting to change the system. He thought that he was so good that the whole league would change the format of the whole draft just for him. What happens if the Niners cave and give in to his demands? Does the next player who wants to be paid more holdout until midseason? Does the slotting system go out the window?
So, well done Niners. Way to get your man and stand up for a system that works.
Antonio Minotauro Nogueira makes Georges St. Pierre money. This is just shocking to me. I know that Nog was a huge draw in PRIDE, but I just feel like he’s been far too average since coming over to be making the kind of cash he is. Other shocking news: Jardine makes 55,000 for losing to Silva. Talk about being overpaid.
– Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira ($400,000/includes win bonus of $150,000) def. Randy Couture ($250,000)
*Nogueira and Couture also earned an extra $60,000 for “UFC 102 Fight of the Night”
MAIN CARD FIGHTERS
– Thiago Silva ($58,000/includes win bonus of $29,000) def. Keith Jardine ($55,000)
– Jake Rosholt ($26,000/includes win bonus of $13,000) def. Chris Leben ($30,000)
*Rosholt also earned an extra $60,000 for “UFC 102 Submission of the Night”
– Nate Marquardt ($80,000/includes win bonus of $40,000) def. Demian Maia ($28,000)
*Marquardt also earned an extra $60,000 for “UFC 102 Knockout of the Night”
– Brandon Vera ($70,000/includes win bonus of $35,000) def. Krzystzof Soszynski ($8,000)
PRELIMINARY CARD FIGHTERS
– Aaron Simpson ($18,000/includes win bonus of $9,000) def. Ed Herman ($24,000)
– Gabriel Gonzaga ($120,000/includes win bonus of $60,000) def. Chris Tuchscherer ($10,000)
– Mike Russow ($20,000/includes win bonus of $10,000) def. Justin McCully ($15,000)
– Todd Duffee ($10,000/includes win bonus of $5,000) def. Tim Hague ($7,000)
– Mark Munoz ($24,000/includes win bonus of $12,000) def. Nick Catone ($5,000)
– Evan Dunham ($14,000/includes win bonus of $7,000) def. Marcus Aurelio ($13,000)
UFC 102 DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $1,285,000
UFC 102 AWARD BONUSES
(as disclosed by UFC president Dana White)
Each fighter received a $60,000 bonus for the following awards.
Fight of the Night:
– Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
February 21, 2010, at 12:55 pm
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