UFC 108 Preview: The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Matchmakers

It was supposed to be a grand affair, as these UFC New Year’s extravaganzas often are, and it was at various times to feature heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar defending his belt against the dangerous Shane Carwin, Anderson Silva defending his belt against Vitor Belfort, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira taking on Cain Velasquez for number one contender status, plus there was to be an undercard stacked with the likes of Gabriel Gonzaga, Tyson Griffin, Carlos Condit, Rory Markham and Sean Sherk. Yes, it was marvelous. But it’s all gone now, those match-ups most intriguing torn asunder by a heretofore unseen amount of injury and illness, those match-ups still intact for UFC 108 more akin to leftover turkey than must-see TV. To paraphrase John Steinbeck, such are the best laid plans of mice and matchmakers.

In lieu of any epic title bout, UFC 108 will instead give us a light-heavyweight pairing between ex-champ Evans against Brazilian striker Thiago Silva – two men who fell to current champ Lyoto Machida in such convincing fashion, one can only wonder about their futures as long as Machida competes. Yet their respective crushing knockout losses notwithstanding, they’re still tough, hearty badasses who cut a swath through the division, and more than capable of putting on a show. A show worthy of the main event for the UFC’s New Year’s purported extravaganza? Sure, why not. Silva can, of course, throw punches with deadly precision, and Evans has made the ever-evolving-wrestler motif into an art form. Based on the strength of his past opponents alone, Evans should emerge victorious with a brutal ground-and-pound stoppage. But the question lingers: so what?

Brit face-puncher extraordinaire Paul Daley would’ve likely given Condit fits in the cage, yet thanks to a cut hand that later became infected, the well-rounded former WEC champ was replaced with the one-dimensional grappler (but exceedingly good at that one dimension!) Dustin Hazelett. And where Condit would have foolishly stood and maybe traded with Daley, Hazelett will instead do what he does best and what Daley does worst, which is take the fight to the canvas and wage war there. Unless the Brit can stay on his feet, he’s getting tied into some very creative, very painful knots.

With Gonzaga sidelined with a staph infection, the powers that be dug deep into their Rolodex to find an opponent for up-and-comer Junior dos Santos. The result is ultimate blast-from-the-past Gilbert Yvel, an ace Dutch striker whose prime was about ten years ago and who was notorious for breaking rules. But of all the leftovers that have been cobbled together for this UFC 108 plate, this pairing is the most intriguing. For while Yvel is lost on the ground, as long as he’s standing he’s dangerous – very dangerous – and if dos Santos makes a mistake, the storied Pride veteran won’t waste any time feeding him a shin. Expect dos Santos to take the decision… unless he gets knocked out.

Grappling stud Jim Miller would’ve had a thrilling battle with Griffin if that bout had held together. He would’ve also had a thriller with Sherk if that bout had held together. Now on his third proposed opponent, an aging striker in Duane Ludwig, Miller will instead have a walk in the park. Yes, Ludwig is more than able to land KO strikes on nearly anyone. But Miller’s career is headed in one direction and Ludwig’s is headed in another for a reason; watch for Miller to get his opponent down with ease and tap him out.

Joe Lauzon and Sam Stout were set to fight each other from the start, and remarkably, their lightweight pairing – which pits a submission specialist who can throw the occasional strike against the striker who can avoid the occasional submission – has held. As both are veterans, and very skilled and talented at what they do, this one is a toss up that could likely go the distance.

Payout Perspective: FieLDS Dynamite!! 2009

The last major card of 2009 was held just outside Tokyo, Japan last night as FEG held its annual FieLDS Dynamite!! card from Saitama Super Arena. The event drew a strong 37,000+ people and featured a host of interesting MMA bouts including Shinya Aoki, Gegard Mousasi, Melvin Manhoef, and Kid Yamamoto.

Attendance

The crowd was great – at one point the announced attendance was 45, 406 – and there’s still very much something to be said for the ability of Japanese MMA to draw 37,000 people to an arena. The feeling is that a great deal of the support for this event surrounded the retirement of Masato, but the showing is nonetheless a good one for MMA as a whole.

That panoramic television view showing the huge crowd really gave the event a big time feel, and it’s undoubtedly something that North American MMA events will be shooting for in the coming years. It’s the kind of picture that communicates a thousand words, and something that would surely signal to a larger audience that MMA is legitimate. It’s hard to think that the UFC won’t try to accomplish a massive event like this within the next two years; either with GSP in Canada or BJ Penn in Hawaii.

Ratings

Expect the ratings late this week or early next.

Business Story Lines

- Kid Yamamoto and Masanori Kanehara put on perhaps the fight of the night with a spirited back and forth affair. It would appear that Kid will have to re-tool his game in order to compete in the more well-rounded and competitive bantam and featherweight divisions. His ability to draw in Japan – and the appeal of him crossing the pond to fight in the WEC – will now be called into question. However, his lack of wrestling/ground game could fuel the fire for him to join a camp like Xtreme Couture.

- Alistair Overeem looked impressive, but faced a clearly over-matched opponent in Fujita. He remains committed to K-1 until late March, but Strikeforce has been adamant about getting him into the cage in time for their CBS show in April. The organization would then look to setup a bout between the behemoth and Fedor Emelianenko on PPV later in the year.

This strategy isn’t without its risk, however. Not only might there be issues surrounding the status of Overeem’s contract in the future, but the swirling allegations surrounding PED use at Overeem’s gym in Holland are also a concern. Strikeforce could invest a lot of time and money in this big fight – not really having any other clear alternative at this point – and then have it crumble as the result of a contract or a bad test. There’s always some risk involved in any fight, but it seems to be heightened in this case.

- Gegard Mousasi mentioned about a week ago that he’d likely be a part of the Strikeforce card in April, which bodes well for the CBS event that’s already likely to feature Fedor and Henderson.

- Shinya Aoki was very impressive, but the lack of respect he displayed at the end of the fight took away from the performance. It was reminiscent of Lesnar’s antics after the Mir fight, only worse because Aoki was taunting a downed opponent that wasn’t getting up any time soon.

On one hand, these gestures at the end of the fight are the types of thing that MMA’s opposition – or even the fence sitters – look at and use as ammunition as to why the sport is brutal savagery.  On the other hand, it’s something that a promotion can use to fuel interest in a fighter – people like to see bad guys get beat.

- Melvin Manhoef is always so impressive on his feet. It’s a real shame that he’s stated he has no desire to work on the ground, because he could be a force in MMA with some solid take down and ground defense. That’s the real danger as a promoter, too: the guy wants big bucks, but you risk flushing that investment down the drain. Manhoef is far too one-dimensional and that just doesn’t cut it in MMA anymore.

Fighters Only World MMA Awards 2009 Results

The Fighters Only 2009 MMA Awards were held last night in Las Vegas, Nevada, and not surprisingly Georges St-Pierre, the UFC, and Tapout came away as the big winners.

Here’s the entire list of winners on the evening:

• Fighter of the Year: Georges St-Pierre
• Fight of the Year: Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida (TUF 9 Finale)
• KO of the Year: Dan Henderson over Michael Bisping (UFC 100)
• Submission of the Year: Toby Imada’s inverted triangle over Jorge Masvidal (Bellator 4)
• Special Achievement Award: Charles “Mask” Lewis
• Best Promotion: UFC
• European Fighter of the Year: Gegard Mousasi
• Breakthrough Fighter of the Year: Brock Lesnar
• Female Fighter of the Year: Cristine “Cyborg” Santos
• Leading Man of the Year: Dana White
• Coach of the Year: Greg Jackson
• Ring Girl of the Year: Arianny Celeste
• Best MMA Media Coverage: MMAJunkie.com
• Best MMA Gym: Jackson Submission Fighting
• Best MMA brand: TapouT
• Best MMA Clothing: TapouT
• Best MMA Shorts: TapouT
• Best Gloves: UFC
• Best Journalist: John Morgan (MMAJunkie)

You decide: Cagewriter knockout of the year

Cagewriter readers, it's your turn to decide the best of 2009. Today, we select the best melding of power, timing and speed that MMA has to offer: the knockout. Which was the best KO of 2009?

Fedor Emelianenko over Andrei Arlovski at Affliction: Arlovski was keeping up with "The Last Emperor," which gave him a bit too much confidence. He aggressively tried to throw a flying knee, which was the perfect opportunity for Emelianenko to throw a beautiful right and knock Arlovski clean out. 

Jose Aldo's flying knee stops Cub Swanson: Heading into this fight at WEC 41, Cub Swanson was so hopeful that he smiled as he touched gloves with Aldo before the fight. He wouldn't be smiling for long, as Aldo immediately threw a flying knee, knocking out Swanson in 14 seconds and opening up an ugly gash on his head. 

Dan Henderson "shuts up" Michael Bisping: Before their fight at UFC 100, Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping were coaches on the ninth season of "The Ultimate Fighter." Bisping liked to trash talk, but it didn't suit Henderson's demeanor to talk back. Instead, Henderson knocked out Bisping with a brutal right, and followed up with an extra shot.

Lyoto Machida takes belt from Rashad Evans: At UFC 98, Evans had his first chance to defend the light heavyweight belt against the elusive Machida. Instead of doing that, he got knocked out in the second round just as he was talking trash to Machida. 

Nate Marquardt wins quickly over Demian Maia: With Maia's slick submission skills, Marquardt needed to keep the fight off the ground. He did that, with a 21-second knockout at UFC 102. 

Dan Hornbuckle kicks Akihiro Gono into la-la land: At Sengoku 9, Akihiro Gono was trying to get his career back on track after getting cut by the UFC, and losses to Dan Hardy and Jon Fitch. Unfortunately for Gono, Dan Hornbuckle and his near-perfect kick stood in Gono's way, with Hornbuckle delivering the knockout kick to the head in the third round.

Yahir Reyes throws a spinning backfist: Just a week after Toby Imada's inverted triangle choke made Bellator an internet sensation, Yahir Reyes followed it up with another highlight-reel finish. His spinning backfist knocked out Estevan Payan. 

 

Olympic gold-medalist Ishii loses debut, proves toughness

As one of the most sought-after free agents, Satoshi Ishii had high expectations going into his debut fight with Hidehiko Yoshida. Though Yoshida prevailed, Ishii showed his potential to move beyond his judo training. 

In the first round, Ishii survived a huge punch from Yoshida, and then Yoshida followed up with a beating, throwing knees, uppercuts, punches and still, Ishii survived. His training both from working with American Top Team and Xtreme Couture as well as his experience at the Olympics, sports' biggest stage, served Ishii well. He survived the Yoshida onslaught, but it was still a lost round for Ishii.

In the second, Ishii was controlling the round until he landed a knee to Yoshida's groin. Yoshida took the full five minutes and then some returning to action. He had to have his cup replaced because it had cracked in two. When the action finally continued, Ishii was given a red card, meaning he had lost a point.

In the third, Ishii was dominant, but the point deduction came into play. Yoshida won the decision, but will definitely need many icepacks to the groin as he recovers.

Ishii is only 23 years old, and showed that he is capable of taking a punch and surviving. With good training, he showed that he has limitless potential. Though it was a loss, it was still a good debut for Ishii. 

White talks egos and politics with MMA referees

He's been a one-man wrecking crew the last four cards. Well not really, but Dana White has been "wrecking" referee Steve Mazzagatti. Each of the last four cards, White has flipped out on Twitter sending out requests for fans to email complaints to Keith Kizer, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. His war against Mazzagatti and Kizer has almost become laughable. It's got to be getting personal for at least one of them, or all three, 

White said he's not to stop calling out bad officiating until things change. With Mazzagatti, he thinks the longtime referee is getting more indecisive and that it's putting fighters in harm's way. If Mazzagatti is losing it, you have to wonder if White's constant attack is a contributing factor. On the flip side, is there a possibility Kizer is taking all this personally, and is losing his objectivity when rating Mazzagatti?

Is that also a contributing factor why Nevada and Kizer told veteran referee John McCarthy they weren't adding different referees to the roster? White did point out that guys like Herb Dean are doing a great job.

Mousasi with easy TKO, Aoki breaks Hirota’s arm for win

Gegard Mousasi took his fight with Gary Goodridge at Dream on late notice, but you would never know that from the way he won in Japan.

Mousasi (pictured standing on left) got a quick takedown, and then began with tough ground and pound. Goodridge covered up and held on as best he could, but when he stopped trying to improve his position, the ref stopped the fight and called the win for Mousasi. 

Aoki breaks Hirota's arm for win

Shinya Aoki got a takedown early in the fight, and controlled Mizuto Hirota's arm, landing punches on Hirota's exposed face. Aoki then turned Hirota and broke his arm. Hirota could have tapped but didn't, and Aoki was called the winner. Immediately afterward, Aoki gave the middle finger to his opponent with the broken arm. Aoki's win secured the win for the Dream Team over Sengoku, after Sengoku had shot out to an early lead. 

Just as with Alistair Overeem, MMA fans have to hope that both Aoki and Mousasi will step up their competition. Mousasi is the Strikeforce light heavyweight champion and won over Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in November in Chicago, and Aoki has shown interest in fighting for Strikeforce. They have both been through the best that Japan has to offer. It's time for them both to step up their level of competition. 

The Injury Story of UFC 108

Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports does a good job of chronicling the injuries that have made UFC 108 “the cursed” show of 2009. Never before has a card started with so much promise and fallen so quickly.

Back in September, UFC 108 looked to be a card with the unique problem of having too many big matches.

 

Then, the dominoes started falling. Middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s minor surgery to repair bone chips in his elbow healed slower than expected.

 

Lesnar fell ill, which ended up diagnosed a case of diverticulitis, which has him out indefinitely. Light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida had surgery on his left hand. Suddenly, with B.J. Penn scheduled for Dec. 12 and Georges St. Pierre not being ready to fight until February due to a torn abductor muscle, UFC was in a position where instead of too many title matches for one night, there were none available.

 

A prospective Dan Henderson vs. Nate Marquardt match to determine the top contender for the middleweight title was bandied about, but it fell apart as Henderson and UFC couldn’t agree to terms on a new contract and he signed with Strikeforce.

 

Then the middle of the card got gutted. Carlos Condit, Gabriel Gonzaga, Rory Markham, Griffin and Sherk all pulled out for a variety of ailments over the past six weeks. White decided to go on with the show on pay-per-view, avoiding what would be a stream of logistical nightmares in trying to make a late change in plans.

Payout Perspective:

The injuries that this card has suffered have obviously made the UFC’s job a nightmare: everything from advertising, to logistics, to matchmaking has taken a hit.

The advertising and promotion for the event has likely changed 3-4 times by now – which are marketing dollars spent that now return next to nothing. Moreover, the constant changing of the fight card has to at least slightly impair the UFC’s goodwill amongst fight fans. It didn’t help that the UFC failed to correct some material for 106 and 107 that, until one week before each original date, still ran trailers for Lesnar-Carwin and Jackson-Evans.

Logistically, the injuries have put the UFC in the position of having to fulfill obligations to venues and PPV providers that the it might otherwise have wanted to avoid. UFC 108 as a PPV is much more of a problem than UFC 108 as a free gift on Spike.

Not only has Joe Silva’s hand been forced in many situations, but the ultimate product fight fans will see on the 2nd is likely to be hampered by a lack of preparation time for many of its fighters. Every injury to one fighter, affects at least one other. Jim Miller trained for three different opponents leading up to this bout, and now faces a last minute replacement that is far different, stylistically, than the opponent he’d anticipated to face previously.

——

The quesiton is now, trend or fluke? Javier Mendez and Greg Jackson give their different opinions on the future toll that injuries my take on MMA, but it was interesting to hear both men mention increasing competition as a critical component in the new MMA landscape.

Another by-product of MMA’s surging popularity is the impact it may have on the development of future talent. There are over 26,000 martial arts facilities in the United States – all with a growing membership base. Not only are martial arts once again seen as a popular athletic activity, but also a trendy way to get in shape. Thus, the sport of MMA can expect to see a continued influx of talent in the coming years – should the sport sustain this growth and popularity – which will ultimately boost competition levels.

If Mendez is right, this increased competition will bring greater wear and tear on the MMA fighter.

However, if Jackson is correct, this competition will push training methods to become more efficient but less intensive from an overall health perspective – train smarter, not harder. He might also be supported by the theory that better competition often comes as the result of superior athletes. Superior athletes being those that can better withstand MMA’s intensive training regimen than some of the fighters a part of MMA’s founding generation.

Kanehara squeaks out win over Yamamoto, Overeem with quick KO

Masanori Kanehara, the Sengoku featherweight champion, helped the Sengoku team continue to dominate over the Dream team today in Japan. Kanehara eeked out a close decision over Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto.

Kanehara (pictured on left) showed off wrestling skills throughout the fight, taking down Yamamoto, who came to the fight with the better wrestling credentials. Kanehara was particularly strong in the second round, controlling Yamamoto.

If Yamamoto had a shot to win the match, it was in the third round. He dropped Kanehara with a left with less than a minute left in the fight. Yamamoto tried a guillotine, but fell through the ropes. The two were brought back to the middle of the ring, and Yamamoto lost his chance. 

Overeem knees his way to knockout of Fujita

Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem pulled out a quick win over the aging fighter Kazuyuki Fujita. Overeem, who has apparently grown in size even since his last fight in October, threw a vicious left knee to the temple of the 39-year-old Fujita, knocking him clean out.

Though Overeem seemed impressive, his lack of competition is becoming a farce. Fujita hasn't won a fight since March of 2008. His previous opponent, James Thompson, had five losses in a row before the fight with Overeem, including a loss to Kimbo Slice. Overeem needs to come to the United States and defend his belt against some of Strikeforce's top competition, or he will not be take seriously.

Gono beats ‘Mach’ with flair, Manhoef wins in quick stoppage

Akihiro Gono may have had a rough year, but he ended it with a bang, winning with a second-round armbar over Hayato "Mach" Sakurai at Dynamite! 2009 in Japan. The win helped Sengoku move ahead in the Sengoku vs. Dream battle.

After Gono made an entrance to remember, complete with a blond bouffant and a popular Japanese band singing and walking behind him, Sakurai was aggressive in the first round. Gono secured a takedown near the end of the first but didn't accomplish anything with it.

In the second, Gono seemed determined to bring the fight to the ground, and for good reason. Sakurai gave up a takedown easily, and then was pushed into the crucifix position. Gono rolled over and pulled out a beautiful armbar, forcing Sakurai to tap.

Gono started 2009 off by getting knocked out at UFC 94, and then lost his job with the UFC. After that, he was knocked out by Dan Hornbuckle in Sengoku. He won a decision in November over Yoon Young Kim, but the win over Sakurai is a sweet way to end the year for the flamboyant star. 

Melvin Manhoef knocks out Kazuo Misaki ... or does he? 

With his lack of ground skills, Melvin Manhoef needed to avoid the ground with Kazuo Misaki, and he did that with a flourish, knocking out Misaki (pictured on right) with a flurry of punches in the first round. The ref called the end of the fight, but Misaki protested. He never appeared to be out, but it was too late. The fight was over, and Manhoef won.

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