Its time for that MMA Review:
-First, my prayers and thoughts are with the friends and family of Charles “Mask” Lewis, the founder of the premier MMA sports wear company, TapouT.
I’ve always had respect for the pioneers of this beautiful sport and Mask was definitely one of them. When I first head about his death, it saddened me greatly. His energy was infectious and I admired how he gave so much of himself to the sport. The thing that I ultimately respected about the guy was shown on the TapouT show on the Versus channel. Everytime one of his sponsored fighters won or lost, he treated them the same way.
There have been many tributes to him written and I recommend that you do a search and look at them for yourself. Here’s one from Loretta Hunt of Sherdog.com that I found enlightening: http://sherdog.com/pictures/event/the-man-that-was-mask-16626
-Here was the highly entertaining exchange between Rampage v. Evans
I think that Rampage pulling out of this fight was a good thing for the UFC and MMA fans overall. Machida has deserved a title shot for a while and now he gets his chance against Evans on May 23rd. Now, the winner of this fight gets to face a recharged Rampage probably around September or November. This is good for everyone overall.
-I missed Sengoku this time around because I’m on the road on business, but I heard that King Mo did his thing. I like Mo and think that he has the potential to be a major force in MMA in the next few years. I like his advancement in the sport and he’s getting the chance to fight more in Japan. We all know that he will probably end up fighting for a North American based promotion like UFC or Strikeforce, but he is gaining experience right now.
I’m also frustrated that I wasn’t able to watch the first round of the featherweight tournament.
-Some quick links to articles of interest. Here’s an excellent interview with John McCarthy, who many of us know as the premier referee in MMA. However, he has expanded his work to include running an MMA gym, teaching refs and partaking in the continuing regulation of the sport. Good insight: http://sherdog.com/news/articles/18-questions-for-john-mccarthy-16629
Another one is an eloquent article by my man Matt Serra about the legislation of MMA in New York State. If that happens, I’m going to the first show, no matter what: http://www.newsday.com/sports/custom/boxing/ny-opser206075531mar20,0,3962198.story
-I know that some of you may find the whole BJ vs. GSP saga to be nauseating but I actually don’t mind the whole process at all. If MMA is going to continue to legitimize itself as a sport, this has to happen.
The whole event will probably make BJ look like a sore loser but he has the right to file a complaint if he feels that he was cheated in the context of the fight. Personally, I’m a big fan of BJ and think that he lost the fight fairly but the charges that he’s bringing up are legitimate and should be listened to and acknowledged.
-March Badness card. I’m intrigued to see Bobby Lashley fight but it would have been more fun to see him kick the crap out of Ken Shamrock. Now he gets to take out Jason Guida, that joke. Now, I probably won’t look to seeing these fights.
-Ken Shamrock needs to hang it up, seriously. When it gets to the point that you’re getting pinched for steroids at this stage of your career, its time to move on. Restart the Lion’s Den, train some people but your days as a major draw are over. You haven’t won a legit fight in years and I’m not counting that win in February.
That’s all for now.
-First, my prayers and thoughts are with the friends and family of Charles “Mask” Lewis, the founder of the premier MMA sports wear company, TapouT.
I’ve always had respect for the pioneers of this beautiful sport and Mask was definitely one of them. When I first head about his death, it saddened me greatly. His energy was infectious and I admired how he gave so much of himself to the sport. The thing that I ultimately respected about the guy was shown on the TapouT show on the Versus channel. Everytime one of his sponsored fighters won or lost, he treated them the same way.
There have been many tributes to him written and I recommend that you do a search and look at them for yourself. Here’s one from Loretta Hunt of Sherdog.com that I found enlightening: http://sherdog.com/pictures/event/the-man-that-was-mask-16626
-Here was the highly entertaining exchange between Rampage v. Evans
I think that Rampage pulling out of this fight was a good thing for the UFC and MMA fans overall. Machida has deserved a title shot for a while and now he gets his chance against Evans on May 23rd. Now, the winner of this fight gets to face a recharged Rampage probably around September or November. This is good for everyone overall.
-I missed Sengoku this time around because I’m on the road on business, but I heard that King Mo did his thing. I like Mo and think that he has the potential to be a major force in MMA in the next few years. I like his advancement in the sport and he’s getting the chance to fight more in Japan. We all know that he will probably end up fighting for a North American based promotion like UFC or Strikeforce, but he is gaining experience right now.
I’m also frustrated that I wasn’t able to watch the first round of the featherweight tournament.
-Some quick links to articles of interest. Here’s an excellent interview with John McCarthy, who many of us know as the premier referee in MMA. However, he has expanded his work to include running an MMA gym, teaching refs and partaking in the continuing regulation of the sport. Good insight: http://sherdog.com/news/articles/18-questions-for-john-mccarthy-16629
Another one is an eloquent article by my man Matt Serra about the legislation of MMA in New York State. If that happens, I’m going to the first show, no matter what: http://www.newsday.com/sports/custom/boxing/ny-opser206075531mar20,0,3962198.story
-I know that some of you may find the whole BJ vs. GSP saga to be nauseating but I actually don’t mind the whole process at all. If MMA is going to continue to legitimize itself as a sport, this has to happen.
The whole event will probably make BJ look like a sore loser but he has the right to file a complaint if he feels that he was cheated in the context of the fight. Personally, I’m a big fan of BJ and think that he lost the fight fairly but the charges that he’s bringing up are legitimate and should be listened to and acknowledged.
-March Badness card. I’m intrigued to see Bobby Lashley fight but it would have been more fun to see him kick the crap out of Ken Shamrock. Now he gets to take out Jason Guida, that joke. Now, I probably won’t look to seeing these fights.
-Ken Shamrock needs to hang it up, seriously. When it gets to the point that you’re getting pinched for steroids at this stage of your career, its time to move on. Restart the Lion’s Den, train some people but your days as a major draw are over. You haven’t won a legit fight in years and I’m not counting that win in February.
That’s all for now.
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