Hey everyone, I’m going to try a new segment on Fridays called “Friday MMA Review.” Just like Sunday Reflections, hopefully it becomes a sensation and the nation awaits for its post. Cool logo, right!
This Saturday is a big day in the world of mixed martial arts.
First, prayers are with Rampage Jackson right now while he tries to get his life settled. Unless you’ve been under a rock the past few days, Rampage, the former UFC light heavyweight champion who just lost a fight this past Saturday, has had some incidents the last few days and is currently getting mental treatment in a hospital. The entire MMA world hopes he gets well because he’s a good guy and a great fighter. Just hope he gets better.
OK, on to the events. The new MMA promotion, Affliction, will launch its first pay-per-view event, Banned, this Saturday. The main event includes former Pride promotion champion Fedor Emelianenko (try saying that name fast ten times in a row) and respected top-10 heavyweight and former UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia. Fedor is pictured below.
This Saturday is a big day in the world of mixed martial arts.
First, prayers are with Rampage Jackson right now while he tries to get his life settled. Unless you’ve been under a rock the past few days, Rampage, the former UFC light heavyweight champion who just lost a fight this past Saturday, has had some incidents the last few days and is currently getting mental treatment in a hospital. The entire MMA world hopes he gets well because he’s a good guy and a great fighter. Just hope he gets better.
OK, on to the events. The new MMA promotion, Affliction, will launch its first pay-per-view event, Banned, this Saturday. The main event includes former Pride promotion champion Fedor Emelianenko (try saying that name fast ten times in a row) and respected top-10 heavyweight and former UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia. Fedor is pictured below.
Fedor is considered by many, including myself, the top heavyweight in the world. Some even consider him the top pound-for-pound fighter. Another guy can make that claim. I’ll get to him later.
The thing about Fedor is that he has excellent speed for a heavyweight and if the fight gets to the ground, he's a machine. He can submit you in any position and his ground and pound is legendary. He also never loses his cool and stays calm the entire time. The facial expression you see in the above picture, he stays like that the entire time. He can't be broken.
The thing about Fedor that makes this fight exciting is that he hasn’t fought someone major in over a year, Matt Lindland. Furthermore, the last time he really fought a top-10 guy who was primed was Crocop in August, 2005. He will definitely get a challenge from Sylvia.
Many people don’t like Sylvia because he’s a big, tall, lanky guy who you want to be more aggressive with his size. He’s 6’7’’ and weights a legit 265. I actually don’t mind Sylvia.
The added thing about this fight is that Fedor will be fighting in the USA for only the second time in his career. The hardcore fight fans, which I guess I have to put myself in this group, know all about Fedor, but a lot of people who only know about UFC fighters or Kimbo Slice and are marginal fans may underestimate Fedor because he looks bored all the time and pudgy.
Don’t let his looks fool you. He is a bad ass and no joke. Also, he may be only 6’0’’, which is short for heavyweight, but height makes no difference to this guy.
Who do I like in this fight? As much as I like Fedor and think the world of him, I’m going to take the upset and pick Sylvia. For someone like Fedor who is used to fighting several times a year, a year layoff is a big deal. Also, everyone underestimates Sylvia, but love him or hate him, he’s a legit fighter. I think Tim frustrates him to a decision.
The rest of the card is very solid.
You have heavyweight Andrei Arlovski, another former UFC champ, against a solid fighter, Ben Rothwell. If this fight was three years ago, the Pitbull aka Andrei kills Rothwell. However Arlovski hasn’t been the same lately, so it really depends on which Pitbull shows up.
Another former UFC heavyweight champ, Josh Barnett, faces Pedro Rizzo to round out the heavyweights, while former UFC light heavyweight champ Babalu and that same Matt Lindland are on the card.
This is a good first card for any promotion. You have Fedor and the rest of the fighters that I’ve mentioned.
Of course, the current king of the MMA world, the UFC, wasn’t going to sit back and just let this PPV go off without competition.
The UFC has responded with a free fight night on Spike. The main even is a match between current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and James Irwin in a light heavyweight match. Silva is pictured below.
The thing about Fedor that makes this fight exciting is that he hasn’t fought someone major in over a year, Matt Lindland. Furthermore, the last time he really fought a top-10 guy who was primed was Crocop in August, 2005. He will definitely get a challenge from Sylvia.
Many people don’t like Sylvia because he’s a big, tall, lanky guy who you want to be more aggressive with his size. He’s 6’7’’ and weights a legit 265. I actually don’t mind Sylvia.
The added thing about this fight is that Fedor will be fighting in the USA for only the second time in his career. The hardcore fight fans, which I guess I have to put myself in this group, know all about Fedor, but a lot of people who only know about UFC fighters or Kimbo Slice and are marginal fans may underestimate Fedor because he looks bored all the time and pudgy.
Don’t let his looks fool you. He is a bad ass and no joke. Also, he may be only 6’0’’, which is short for heavyweight, but height makes no difference to this guy.
Who do I like in this fight? As much as I like Fedor and think the world of him, I’m going to take the upset and pick Sylvia. For someone like Fedor who is used to fighting several times a year, a year layoff is a big deal. Also, everyone underestimates Sylvia, but love him or hate him, he’s a legit fighter. I think Tim frustrates him to a decision.
The rest of the card is very solid.
You have heavyweight Andrei Arlovski, another former UFC champ, against a solid fighter, Ben Rothwell. If this fight was three years ago, the Pitbull aka Andrei kills Rothwell. However Arlovski hasn’t been the same lately, so it really depends on which Pitbull shows up.
Another former UFC heavyweight champ, Josh Barnett, faces Pedro Rizzo to round out the heavyweights, while former UFC light heavyweight champ Babalu and that same Matt Lindland are on the card.
This is a good first card for any promotion. You have Fedor and the rest of the fighters that I’ve mentioned.
Of course, the current king of the MMA world, the UFC, wasn’t going to sit back and just let this PPV go off without competition.
The UFC has responded with a free fight night on Spike. The main even is a match between current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and James Irwin in a light heavyweight match. Silva is pictured below.
For those of you unfamiliar with the weights, the max pounds for middleweight is 185 and for light heavyweight is 205. So, Silva is moving up one weight class.
Many consider Silva, including me, the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Anderson can do it all. His stand up fighting is sick, especially with the mui thai clinches and knees. His ground game is legit, being a jiu jitsu black belt. He has good defense. There are really no weaknesses in his game.
Irwin is a legit light heavyweight and not a pushover. If Irwin happens to win this fight, even if the odds are against him, it wouldn’t be completely shocking. However, I see Silva winning this fight.
The thing that people forget to remember is that Silva “walks around” at around 210-215 even when he’s fighting at middleweight. The extra weight won’t be as big of a deal for him as other guys trying to move up a weight class.
The rest of the card is decent. I’m looking forward to Brandon Vera’s debut at light heavyweight against Reese Andy. Vera was getting too small at heavyweight and I think he can make a decent run in another weight class. He has to get past Andy first.
Hermes Franca is also facing Frank Edgar. Franca is a fun fighter to watch and hopefully he can put his steroid past behind him.
So there are two questions, which event should you watch and what does this mean for the state of MMA?
First, try to watch both of them because each of them have quality fights in them. I’ll probably watch the UFC event from a bar or home and then use some other sources for the Affliction show.
This is a really, really good thing for MMA. The UFC can’t be the only place where fighters can practice their craft. A monopoly in MMA is a bad thing. This is why we need the WEC, Elite XC, Affliction, Strikeforce, Dream in Japan and some other promotions. I want to see as many interesting fights as I can.
As for Saturday, we get so see probably five of the top heavyweights in the world fight on one card, including Fedor. The guy is that special. On the other card, we get to Silva expand his horizons and his claim as the top fighter in the world. And it’s free!
Give these shows a chance or just talk to me on Monday, because as some of you know, I’ll talk you to death about it. Until then, here’s some Fedor highlights! The frist song on the video is his entrance song, which is the best in all of MMA and maybe in sports in general. War Fedor!
Many consider Silva, including me, the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Anderson can do it all. His stand up fighting is sick, especially with the mui thai clinches and knees. His ground game is legit, being a jiu jitsu black belt. He has good defense. There are really no weaknesses in his game.
Irwin is a legit light heavyweight and not a pushover. If Irwin happens to win this fight, even if the odds are against him, it wouldn’t be completely shocking. However, I see Silva winning this fight.
The thing that people forget to remember is that Silva “walks around” at around 210-215 even when he’s fighting at middleweight. The extra weight won’t be as big of a deal for him as other guys trying to move up a weight class.
The rest of the card is decent. I’m looking forward to Brandon Vera’s debut at light heavyweight against Reese Andy. Vera was getting too small at heavyweight and I think he can make a decent run in another weight class. He has to get past Andy first.
Hermes Franca is also facing Frank Edgar. Franca is a fun fighter to watch and hopefully he can put his steroid past behind him.
So there are two questions, which event should you watch and what does this mean for the state of MMA?
First, try to watch both of them because each of them have quality fights in them. I’ll probably watch the UFC event from a bar or home and then use some other sources for the Affliction show.
This is a really, really good thing for MMA. The UFC can’t be the only place where fighters can practice their craft. A monopoly in MMA is a bad thing. This is why we need the WEC, Elite XC, Affliction, Strikeforce, Dream in Japan and some other promotions. I want to see as many interesting fights as I can.
As for Saturday, we get so see probably five of the top heavyweights in the world fight on one card, including Fedor. The guy is that special. On the other card, we get to Silva expand his horizons and his claim as the top fighter in the world. And it’s free!
Give these shows a chance or just talk to me on Monday, because as some of you know, I’ll talk you to death about it. Until then, here’s some Fedor highlights! The frist song on the video is his entrance song, which is the best in all of MMA and maybe in sports in general. War Fedor!
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