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By Anthony De Franco  March 18, 2010, at 4:21 pm  Women can fight. It’s that simple.
I’ve always imagined myself as somewhat of a feminist. I beleive that women have a place in MMA, the same way that they have a place in any other sport. However, I’ll be perfectly honest, I can’t watch women’s basketball. I can’t watch softball. Women’s MMA, I can watch, and I like it almost as much as the men. That should say something.
So, when I come across something like this, I make sure to bring it to the masses. This is Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson. She is 7-3 in her MMA career. She weighs in at 105 lbs, so for those of you who think it’s important that she is good looking, she is. As a matter of fact, check this out.
Now, pull your tongue off the floor and focus. Michelle pulls off a truly spectacular move here, and although the ref is blocking it a bit, Bas Rutten, MMA godfather, goes nuts on Inside MMA.
A chick that looks like that and can pull off a flying armbar? Sold.
By Anthony De Franco March 14, 2010, at 7:40 pm UFC Fans, Roger Huerta has left the building.
After claiming that he wanted to leave the sport to pursue an acting career after his last fight, Roger Huerta received his UFC formal release this week. That allowed him to negotiate with other companies and he’s landed in Bellator, according to MMA Junkie.
Sources close to the situation confirmed to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the popular lightweight received his formal release from the UFC this week, which opened the door to finalize a deal with the upstart promotion.
Bellator has called a video press conference for Monday at 3 p.m. ET that will stream live at Bellator.com.
He’ll be part of an 8-man, multi-event tournament that will pit the winner against last year’s champ and top ten lightweight Eddie Alvarez. For those who are suggesting that Roger Huerta will walk through the competition because of his UFC experience, Don’t be so sure. Fighters like Toby Imada, and Jorge Masvidal are not going to go down without a fight.
By Anthony De Franco March 7, 2010, at 3:39 pm Stock Up
- Joseph Benavidez – I did not see that one coming whatsoever. Miguel Torres was the class of the division for so long that no one could have ever guess that he would lose to someone like Benavidez. He had the reach advantage, the experience advantage, and had been improving his striking with Mark DellaGrotte. However, Benavidez charged ahead and stifled just about any offense that the mullet could muster and dominated Torres from bell to bell. We can only assume that a rematch with Dominick Cruz is on the docket.
- Dominick Cruz – Speaking of the new banntamweight champ, Cruz impressive dispatched of Brian Bowles using a jumpy, movement based style that left me confused. You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t beleive that it will work against someone who is an equal athlete to him, but for the moment he is the champ. Expect the aforementioned rematch sooner than later.
- Scott Jorgensen – How about that guillotine? He lifted Chad George up off the ground and than let him go and left him laying on the floor. With that performace, Jorgensen enters the top five at 145 and will likely need just one more win before getting his title shot.
Stock Down
- Miguel Angel Torres – Things are looking grim for the former champ. There was a time where Miguel was at the bottom of the pound-for-pound top 10. Now, he is coming off two consecutive losses and has seemingly been passed by three separate fighters at 135. Will he ever gt back to being dominant? It’s not looking good.
- Jens Pulver – It seems like I’ve wrote this column six times now. Pulver remains a legend of the sport, but simply can’t cut it anymore. He came out with a terrible gameplan. He knew that Javier Vasquez wanted to take him down, but instead of concentrating on his sprawl, he was throwing kicks. It didn’t make much sense. Now a loser of 9-of-13, you’d have to assume that he is done as a fighter and will concentrate on coaching.
- The WEC – With the move to pay-per-view coming, the best thing that could have happened to the WEC was the fighters that already have name recognition winning. Guys like Torres and Brian Bowles winning was an important step towards creating stars that can headline money making cards that aren’t named Urijah Faber. However, they now have to start all over again with Cruz and Benavidez. Not good.
By Anthony De Franco March 5, 2010, at 4:44 am Bart Palaszewski vs. Karen Darabedyan
The Fighters: Palaszewski is just 26 years old, but has 44 fights under his belt. Recently, he has gone 2-2 in the WEC. He defeated Anthony Pettis by Split decision in his last fight. He is well rounded, as he has achieved his 31 wins in a variety of ways.
Darabedyan is another of the Armenian judo practitioners that came into the MMA world with Karo Parisyan. Although he is not related to Karo like Manny Gamburyan, he is their training partner. A black belt in Judo, Darabedyan also has a background in Kickboxing and Karate. He is 9-1 in his burgeoning career, and his most recently victory came over the always overrated Razor Rob McCullogh.
The Breakdown: While Palaszewski holds the massive experience edge, he simply doesn’t have a part of his game that really jumps out at you. We’ve seen from Karo that Judo can take you far in MMA, it just won’t ever get you into the elite level. Expect Darabedyan to continue proving his worth.
The Prediction: Darabedyan via unanimous decision
Deividas Taurosevicius vs. LC Davis
The Fighters: Taurosevicius is a pseudo-local for us. He fights out of Copiague, New York, which is like thirty minutes from our hometown. He is 15-3 in his career, with eight of the wins coming by submission. He’s 2-0 in the WEC and is coming off a win against the previously undefeated Mackens Sermerizer.
Davis is a survivor of the former Pat Militech camp with a virtual gaggle of big fight experience. He’s fought in the IFL, for Affliction, and now with the WEC. He’s 15-2 in those fights, and 2-0 in the WEC. He’s coming off consecutive wins against Javier Vasquez and Diego Nunes. And yes, I really wanted to get the world gaggle in there.
The Breakdown: This is a matchup of a wrestler and a BJJ specialist. Naturally, that will probably lead to a boring standup fight. If it does go to the ground, Davis will look to stymie the guard of Taurosevicius and do his damage without getting submitted.
The Prediction: Taurosevicius via submission
Jens Pulver v. Javier Vasquez
The Fighters: Pulver is a legend of the sport and the UFC’s first lightweight champion. He is also a survivor of the Pat Militech camp in Bettendorf, Iowa, but has had harsh words for his former trainer recently. Pulver has lost 8-of-12 and is really fighting on nothing but reputation at this point. Some of the losses are good ones, like the two losses he suffered at the hands of Urijah Faber. However, some of them aren’t so good like the time he was choked out by Josh Grispi. Pulver knows that this is his last chance, and has discussed retiring if he loses.
Vasquez seems to be the place WEC featherweights go when they need a win. He is 0-2 and also likely fighting for his WEC life. He is 17-4 in his career with most of those victories coming by submission.
The Breakdown: I’ve watched a lot of Pulver fights in preparation of this column and I’ve noticed some things. While he’s never had the best boxing technique, it’s almost gotten worse recently. Also, when is the last time that we saw Pulver wrestle? He won’t break that streak against the BJJ skills of Vasquez. The real question is: Does Pulver have anything at all left?
The Prediction: Pulver via TKO
Miguel Angel Torres v. Joseph Benavidez
The Fighters: Until recently, Torres ruled over the bantamweight division with an iron fist. He is well-rounded, and capapable of fighting for an eternity before he gets tired. Unfortantely, that didn’t mean much when he rushed in to finish Brian Bowles and gotten flattened. Now, Torres must climb back into the title picture with a win. He is 37-2, and is still improving his game. He brought in noted Muay Thai trainer Mark DellaGrotte to work with him for this fight.
Benavidez is a pupil of Urijah Faber who is 12-1. His only loss came in a number one contender’s fight against Dominick Cruz. Another energizer bunny of a fighter, his cardio is off the chain. He has won most of his fights by submission, but does have some TKOs to his credit. His last win was over noted BJJ stylist Rani Yahya.
The Breakdown: Torres has taken the “That loss was the best thing that ever happened to me” road and vows to come back stronger than ever. He can win the fight just about anywhere, but I expect his biggest advantage to come on the feet and for his to try and outstrike Benavidez.
The Prediction: Torres via unanimous Decision
Brian Bowles v. Dominick Cruz
The Fighters: Bowles dethroned Torres and shocked the world in his last fight. He also broke his hand on Torres jaw, forcing him out of action. He is 8-0 and looks like just about any middle America wrestler. While he may not look imposing, he is strong as hell for 135, and has imposed his will on his opponents with various skills taught to him by former UFC fighter Rory Singer. In fact, Bowles trains at the gym where Forrest Griffin got his start.
Cruz is 14-1 and 4-0 in the WEC. The majority of his wins have come via decision, but he is a stand up specialist with five T/KOs to his credit. He trains at Alliance MMA alongside UFC light heavyweight Brandon Vera. While he does have some wrestling, don’t expect him to go to it much in this one.
The Breakdown: Bowles is a powerhouse. He is so thick for 135 that I can’t really see anyone in the division taking him down. However, he also packs a powerhouse punch. Just ask Torres. Cruz’s only hope is to stick and move for five rounds.
The Prediction: Bowles via TKO
By Anthony De Franco March 3, 2010, at 7:30 pm The war has been raging on for quite sometime. To boxing fans, there are two kinds of people. There are fight fans, and then there are those idiots that watch two gay dudes roll around on a mat for fifteen minutes and call it fighting.
To us with half a brain, we realize that boxing is an integral part of MMA, and one that has gotten people far in the sport. Well, another Boxer is trying to make the crossover to the octagon, and for once, Dana White and the boys are biting. Today, they signed James Toney to a multi-fight deal, according to Mike Chiapetta of MMA Fighting.com:
After a long period of off-again, on-again courtship, the UFC has pulled the trigger and signed 41-year-old boxing champion James Toney.
UFC President Dana White confirmed the signing to MMA Fighting after it was first reported by FiveOuncesofPain.com.
Toney had actively campaigned for a contract from the UFC, following White around the country to several events and eventually meeting with him in Las Vegas. Toney reportedly turned down at least one contract offer before signing.
Asked when Toney would debut, White said he had “no idea.”
So, Dana White has repeatedly thrown mud towards Strikeforce for the idea of the “freak show” fight. He killed the Herschel Walker fight, and there are those that say that this is the same thing. Toney is out of his prime, seemingly out of shape, and lacks any sort of well-rounded game. He will stand in the middle of the cage and throw bombs, believing that he can knockout just about anyone out. Until he gets in the cage against a wrestler than puts him through the mat.
More than that, this whole courtship has had a bit of a carnival feel to it. From Toney following the UFC around the country, to his rants that you can’t understand, like this one:
Toney has seemingly “publicized” his way into the world’s largest MMA organization.
Is Dana wrong for this signing? Probably not. It’s not like Toney is a professional dancer wanting to fight without proper training. He is a professional boxer and what he lacks on the ground he will inevitably make up for with crisp standup. The problem will be remaining on his feet. Which I don’t believe he can do.
Look for Toney to be 1-2 and out of the UFC sooner than later. If they do keep him, it will be to market the brand to boxing fans.
Side note: Does anyone else really hope that James Toney does one of those videos calling me out and threatening to kick my ass? That would really make my day.
By Anthony De Franco March 1, 2010, at 2:25 am There is a lot to report in the world of video game MMA. THQ has begun the UFC 2010: Undisputed news cycle as they are going to release a new blog post every tuesday and Thursday, and do a Q & A with the community every two weeks. Be sure to get your questions in on their forums to make sure that they get answered.
Of course, We’ll be here to break down the news for all the true MMA fans. You know, all the people who are more excited about Gogopalatas than Kimbo Slice.
Let’s get started with some of the answers from this week’s Q & A:
Q: Are there going to be TKO’s due to injury and stoppage in Undisputed 2010?
Yes! Victories in 2010 can be achieved in a number of ways, one of which is stoppage due to cuts and injury. Did anyone tune in to UFC 110 and see the Bonnar fight that ended due to ref/doctor stoppage? ‘Stoppage’ was one of the biggest requests from our fan base, so we just had to implement these victory conditions.
A welcome addition for sure. MMA is a complex sport that has a lot of different ways to end a fight, and as such all of them should be represented in virtual form. It remains to be seen if Herb Dean is going to dive in and pull you off of your counterpart, but I hope he does.
Q: KO animations: have they changed?
Completely. Last year, we divulged that KO animations were a combination of animation and free form physics. The same is still true this year, but we changed a few things…We’ve emphasized the physics share of the equation much more. This makes the Knockout a much more high fidelity experience. How the KO looks will also be a product of how a player gets his lights put out: depending on where and how hard you land a strike, you’ll get a different looking KO. Cant wait to see some community compilations come May!
Last year, one of my biggest gripes with the game was the flying mouthpieces. While it was cool the first few times, it just made the whole thing feel fake. Now, no word on if that still happens, but we do get new KO animations. Let’s just hope that knocked out fighters don’t end up looking like ragdolls.
Q: Whats up with the game menu this year?
We redesigned the entire navigation system so you can get to where you want quickly and easily. ‘Nuff said.
Thank you, Jesus. Last year’s game was so clumsy in terms of menu navigation that it made not want to change the sponsors on my shorts in career mode. Seriously, it took SIX clicks of the “A” button to change one logo on my shorts. Does that make any sense to anyone? It’s good to hear that this complaint was heard. Hopefully the menu system makes more sense the second time around.
Alright, that is it from the Q & A, so let’s move on to the Blog entry regarding submissions.
We’ve kept the bread and butter subs that you know and love from last year’s Undisputed, but we’ve added some great variations and new options for those who want to use them. We saw a ton of people asking for the full Omoplata submission in 2010, which you’ll now be able to execute in the virtual octagon. Even the rare and elusive Gogoplata is making its Undisputed 2010 debut. Nothing spells ‘awesome’ like an shoulder lock to submission, right?
We’ve also added the Americana, D’Arce (think Thiago vs Swick in UFC 109), Peruvian Necktie, Achilles lock, Ankle Lock, Heel Hook, Arm Triangle, and tons of leg locks, just to name a few. You’ll even see some Ultimate fighters breaking out their signature subs on the mat, like BJ Penn’s rear naked choke by way of arm trap (think UFC 101 and his submission of Kenny Florian).
In addition to over twice as many new submissions along with their own distinct animations, there are new positions from which you can attempt a submission. Your posture when in the guard will affect what submission you can initiate. So if you’re down posture, you’ll be going for a Kimura whereas if your postured up, you’ll be going for a kneebar.
Another complaint from last year’s game was that there simply were not enough submissions. Now, that should be solved as just about every submission I can think of that I’ve seen in a fight in the last five or six years is in there. Well, actaully, there is no anaconda choke, which has to annoy Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Nothing lifeshattering, but some good reveals nonetheless.
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