Catch The Solo MMA

Zuffa LLC: The Answer for Strikeforce Buyout

2011-05-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

Ever since the mixed martial arts owning corporation known as Zuffa purchased Strikeforce, many different opinions have formed about what move is next. Strikeforce, who is a competitor to the mothership UFC, have been competing for years, and contrary to previous buyouts, Strikeforce is yet to merge with the UFC. It is a confusing situation because the strikeforce fighters dont necessarily qualify to fight the UFC fighters, and vice versa, but the two share the same owner: Zuffa. Instead of simply merging the two fight leagues, there is another way that i will explain and is highly more profitable and has the most potential in my opinion.
First of all i think that it is important to have "super-fights" or fights between top ranked fighters of each corporation. For example, there is now much talk now about a possible Nick Diaz vs. Georges St. Pierre because at this point there seems to be no matchup for St. Pierre within 170 pounds in the UFC that is as exciting as a Diaz GSP super-fight. The fights that can be made between fighters of these different associations has close to endless possibilities as there continue to be young prospects in both the UFC and Strikeforce. This is part of the plan that will allow both leagues stay in tact, as well as boost revenue and promotion for big interleague matchups. The difficulty here is deciding who gets what title. If Diaz were to defeat GSP, who would retain the UFC welterweight title? Also should Diaz go back to Strikeforce, who is next for him? These logistics would need to be resolved, but it has great potential.

In addition to having interleague fights, i have created a system that is similar to the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. It would be called the Zuffa Grand Prix, and would be in all weight classes, bantamweight through heavyweight. Essentially it would be a tournament that is Strikeforce vs. UFC. Four fighters from each corporation would fill up each side of the bracket making a total of eight participants. No current champion would be allowed to participate, as the winner of the tournament would be next in line for the Title shot in their respective organization. It would be a way for fighters who are contending at a certain weight class, and even with two victories and losing in the championship, they would be catapulted into the "mix". IF it turns out that UFC or Strikeforce fighters are dominantly winning tournament after tournament, there would be a break in tournament action, and further tournaments would be created when higher level of competition presents itself.
Because Strikeforce is fought in a hexagon, and UFC is fought in a larger Octagon, the fighters would vote and upon a tie in voting, it would rotate every tournament, from Hexagon to Octagon. The winner of this Zuffa Tournament would be crowned Zuffa Grand Prix ____weight champion. This title would include a bonus and title shot, and also great exposure to the world of both Strikeforce and UFC.
Here are a few reasons on why this is better than a merger or no joining at all. First, when two large organizations merge, many fighters would simply not fit on the roster and would be cut (like in the WEC merger), and nobody wants that. Also when merging, everything would become the "new" UFC, and many "Strikeforce-only" fans would lose interest. This would keep Strikeforce there for former UFC fighters who were let go (such as Keith Jardine), who still have a large professional stage to fight on. Lastly, none of this would effect the scheduled fights that both the UFC and Strikeforce have planned, but rather it would add to the amazing schedule of intriguing fights compliments of Matchmaker extrordinairre, Joe Silva. I hope this proposition for Zuffa can be understood to be a great route for Zuffa to go at this point.
Here i have attached my prototype for a Lightweight Zuffa Grand Prix. I created it through a photo editing program.

Georges St. Pierre: Hurts So Good

2011-05-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

Georges St. Pierre has been viewed as the pound for pound best fighter in the world for many years and rightfully so. The 170 pounder has now defended his title 6 straight times with his most recent victory over Jake Shields. Many claim GSP lacks a killer instinct, as he is yet to finish a fight in quite a while, but i believe it is a different factor than that.
GSP, since gaining a TKO victory over B.J. Penn at UFC 94 has gone four straight victories without a finish and many fans dont take very well too that. I believe that before becoming one of the many critics of fighters who dont finish their opponents, it is crucial to delve deeper into the nature of Mr. St. Pierre and figure out why he appears to be unable to end fights.
I knew that there was something special about St. Pierre as a fighter and a human being when i first was introduced to his smooth, precise, and almost perfect athleticism in his fighting career, yet i was not sure what exactly made such a fighter. Georges, as seen on the hit show UFC Primetime, is one of the hardest workers in professional athletics, and he is simply a physical specimen. His explosive takedowns, to his perfectly timed counters and leaping superman jabs can only be performed by some people and when at peak performance. When the basic fan is looking at the Hardy, Koscheck, or Shields fights, it appears just like St. Pierre is losing his ability, and his dominance is diminishing. Upon seeing his reaction to the first Matt Serra fight, when he was knocked down, and soon after finished on the ground, i gathered that the glass chin was GSPs biggest flaw, but upon more recent examination of the Shields bout, i see that it is more than that.
Georges St. Pierre works for perfection, and nothing less and as of admirable a trait that is, it may be hurting him inside the octagon. St. Pierre always is ready for each opponent in a unique way for that specific opponent, and continues to control fights and come out on top. With this persona of GSP, comes a big downside that has recently become evident. Mixed Martial Arts is simply not a sport for perfection. Any two guys can train and train in preparation for a fight, and build it up as much as they please, but come fight night, it comes down to two men fighting each other in a caged stage, and in this situation, anything can happen. Mr. St. Pierre is so confortable with his brilliant game plans and the manner in which he is able to execute them, that he sees no problem, but what happens when he must divert from his original plan? What happens when he is cut on his eye and has blurred vision, or is rocked and must recover before continuing to play out his fight plan? Adapting to change not only with different opponents but within the fighter during the course of a fight is vital to a fighters survival. If Georges St. Pierre is the best fighter when things are going his way that is great, yet his biggest issue is his lack of resilience when falling behind in a fight.
In order for Mr. St. Pierre to win the fights (decisively) in which he is forced outside his comfort zone, he has to greatly improve his ability to recover and not simply switch to survival mode when pushed away from plan. When GSP can beat a fighter, in an instance where his opponent brings the fight to GSP, he will have made a significant step in becoming the "perfect" fighter. Maybe it has something to do with his French-nature; to fold when things aren't going perfectly according to plan, but taking punishment is part of the game even for perfectionists like St. Pierre, and once he learns that no one is perfect, he can begin fighting with a different mindset. And in the words of Firas Zahabi, (GSP's head trainer and corner man) in response to a complaint from GSP about his bad eye, "shut up, you have another eye, your fine"

UFC 129: Truly a Night to Remember

2011-05-01T23:32:00.001-07:00

I have been waiting so long to begin documenting my many thoughts on the world of mixed martial arts. After last night, I figured there was no better time to begin sharing my opinions. With the action packed event that took place at the sold out Rogers Center in Toronto, I along with millions of fans around the world may have witnessed an event that truly lived up and beyond the hype that was surrounding this “biggest event yet” fight card. For those of you that are avid mma watchers you already know that there can be great disappointments as well as amazing performances, but never in my year and a half of intensely following each event in the Mixed Martial Arts world have I seen a card that “wow’d” me the entire night as much as last nights did. The overwhelmingly stacked card on UFC 129 was speculated to be the biggest event since UFC 100, in which GSP vs. Alves, Lesnar vs. Mir, and Henderson vs. Bisping headlined. Almost every single fight last night achieved so much more quality action and with the combination of a flying triangle submission, and a spinning back fist KO, this was already one of the most exciting fight nights I have watched live, and I was saying this before the main card had begun.

With the exception of the fight between Claude Patrick and Daniel Roberts (nothing against either fighter), I was simply taken aback with the constant highlight reel fights appearing all the way through the preliminary fights. The very first fight that took place in the home of the Toronto Blue Jays (a baseball stadium) was one that would win a bonus at the conclusion of the night. Yves Jaboulin and Pablo Garza took the stage at 3pm PT. After the first round appeared to be in the books, Garza had a hold of Jaboulin as he was moving backwards, and out of nowhere, he slingshot his legs over the shoulders of his opponent, and seconds later forced Jaboulin to tap due to a flying-triangle choke. I feel like that needs a second mention, Flying triangle choke! John Makdessi was next to capture attention of anyone watching at barely 4pm PT (a mere two hours before the start of the main card). He had picked apart Kyle Watson for two rounds, and seconds after Watson found his under hooks and almost made it to the ground, Makdessi faked a right leg kick and spun around giving Watson a backhand and earning him a knockout. This did not look like undercard fights, but rather Pay Per View competition.

Next up was a matchup between Ryan Jensen, and Jason McDonald. McDonald, who has overcome many personal issues throughout his life, came into the octagon with a goal to win and make his biggest move towards the right direction. He did just that, as 1:37 into the first round, he secured a triangle choke, just after withstanding a slam (which in fact tightened the choke), and multiple frantic, dying shots from Jensen before he tapped. After a Claude Patrick Decision over Daniel Roberts, the excitement picked up again in sudden fashion (again, nothing against those fighters) as Jake Ellenberger faced off against Sean Pierson. Pierson, who was supposed to fight Brian Foster (who couldn’t take the fight due to head injuries discovered weeks before the fight), was slightly favored simply due to the fact that Ellenberger took the fight on around two weeks notice. It was a relatively evenly matched bout as both were exchanging, that is until Ellenberger continued the surreal entertainment of UFC 129 with a left hook catching Pierson’s head as he slowly tilted his way to the canvas. Ellenberger’s body glided after his right finishing cross onto the top of Pierson’s body and was taken off by Herb Dean before any further damage could be done.

The next in line was a man who has been well known for his abrasive personality, yet won the show The Ultimate Fighter in season five against Armenia Manvel Gamburyan due to shoulder dislocation. Nate Diaz. He was matched with a new face in Mixed Martial Arts but immediately respected Rory MacDonald. MacDonald trains with Georges St. Pierre at TriStar Gym in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. From hearing that anyone who knows their mma would assume he would be a solid test for Diaz, yet once he started working in the octagon that night it became very clear that he was a prodige of Mr. St. Pierre. Almost everything that MacDonald did was GSP-esque, including the part where he dominated his opponent. His quick jabs, superman punches, athletic movement, and takedown defense were all indicators of a young GSP. Even more so, his quick diving superman jab to a leg kick (landing multiple times) was a spitting image of the Welterweight Champion. Not to mention the three ground-breaking suplex throws, when he slammed Diaz around like a rag-doll sending chaos through the stadium full of his Canadian faithful. Out of all the fighters that I saw on the night of April 30^th, this kid was the one who I am most excited to see in the octagon again.

Next comes the Main Card. Wait, what? That was the undercard? Deep Breath, and now time to pay attention to the headliners. Bocek vs. Henderson began the second half of UFC 129. In a fight that was though to be submission specialist versus the speedster standup guy in Henderson, it was almost just that. There were many attempts to end the fight on the mat by Bocek, as he wore a number of punches and kicks compliments of Bendo. Many of Bocek’s submission attempts such as a third round guillotine looked to be a finishing product, yet later at the post-fight press conference, Henderson confidently claimed that none of them were close to finishing him. Henderson would take the unanimous decision and retain the title as the “toughest guy to submit”.

A Hitman would next square up against a Janitor for the second main card fight. Vladimir Matyushenko faced Jason Brillz, in a light heavyweight matchup. Many people knew both men had knockout power, but Brillz is a younger fighter and up until this fight, many had only seen Matyushenko ground and pound his way to victory. It was another amazing finish that had you on your toes for an entire 20 seconds. Yes, 4:40 was left in the first round when Brillz wore a Janitor’s right hand to the top of his head, and fell to the mat giving Matyushenko his TKO victory which was standing, just not for long.

Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida followed this fight with his bout against the legend in Randy “The Natural” Couture. Many speculations surrounded this fight, both about who would take the victory, but more importantly, if this would be Couture’s last fight in his decorated career. Machida has an elusive and precise striking style that originates from his Machida Karate, and when he is at his best he has proved to be just as brilliant as the great Anderson Silva at times. Couture, who had moved back and forth from Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight, retaining multiple belts in both divisions, is a strong fighter and is talented at controlling the fight at the ground. Couture, after the fight said he felt like he was “standing still” when fighting Machida, and that is just what it looked like. From the beginning of the fight to the end, Machida was displaying his movement, and in n’ out quickness to pick Couture’s game apart. It was just a minute into round 2 that Machida re-created the impossible, as he brought déjà vu back into the minds of all watching, and front kicked Couture in the face. It brought me to utter disbelief as I watched Couture’s shocked and stiff body plummet to the mat, as it was way too familiarly amazing to witness. This was in a way, emotionally and amazingly bittersweet, as Rogan interviewed the Couture after the fight, and the Natural said that was it for him in the octagon. For a kick that was thought to be one of the best and amazingly executed ever by the spider, to be recreated with such precision on such a stage, against such an opponent is simply mind-blowing.

Mark Hominick was by no means expected to win his championship bout against the great Jose Aldo, but he, as well as all in attendance knew that he was fighting at home and was ready to put on the fight of a lifetime. In watching Hominick battle his way through five exciting, disconcerting, and emotional rounds, I had immediately gained all the respect in the world for the guy, as everyone should have. Aldo was throwing everything he had in his arsenal that had been used to beat all 12 of his previous opponents, and the Canadian continued to wear all of it as he pushed forward. It was a truly inspiring performance by Mark Hominick to continue to live through his determination in the Octagon. He was battered and rocked number of times by Aldo’s lightning quick strikes, and it was in the middle rounds of the fight that one of Aldo’s left elbows landing on Hominick’s forehead forced a hematoma the size of a golf ball to appear. As people watched, they were trying to decide if they could even comprehend the size of the bump on his head, yet it was his undeniable courage, and perseverance that gained Hominick all the respect he could have ever gained with a loss. Mark Hominick’s head was swollen and huge, but not nearly as big as his heart.

Finally the main event; Georges St. Pierre vs. Jake Shields. This was the fight that people had been talking about for months. With the help of the brilliant marketing and advertisement department of the UFC, as well as the hit show UFC Primetime, this fight was pumped up and promoted as much as any big fight in UFC history has been. Shields, known for his version of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, “American Jiu Jitsu” (refer to his right forearm), is a dangerous man on the ground. To quote light heavyweight contender, Phil Davis (who trained with Shields in preparation for this fight), “I take him down, and I lose.” Shields has an extremely testing ground game, and has control at many different positions, and he hasn’t lost in 6 years, (although was literally saved by the bell in his decision victory over Jason Mayhem Miller). Despite all this, it is important to remember who St. Pierre is. GSP has strived to be perfect, and has come just as close as any mixed martial artist ever will. He re-creates himself for every opponent he faces, and is a physical specimen. Many people had predicted a wrestling GSP to continue to take down the great Jake Shields, and beat him in his own game. Not only did St. Pierre pertinently stay away from the ground, but didn’t bother with Shield’s guard when he did take him down. Georges St. Pierre, with a few cuts (a rarity) and an irritated eye, had jabbed and overhand right-ed his way to victory to another decision. As GSP will face much criticism for not finishing a fight once again, a win is a win, and if the French-Canadian wants to be perfect, he will continue to be reminded that this isn’t the sport for that, like when he was when he noticeably affected by a few little shots. The important thing to remember is that Georges St. Pierre retained his belt, and didn’t give Shields a chance to win. He was ready for anything his opponent presented, and continues to prove how unpredictable he is, even to the fans.

For someone like me who is simply an educated fan on MMA, I have come a long way in understanding this sport, and every day I appreciate it more and more. It is only a matter of time until everyone respects (doesn’t have to be a fan, but will respect) this sport for what pure competition it is. The fight that I along with millions of people worldwide were privileged enough to witness in UFC 129 was not only a milestone for the UFC, Dana White, and all the participating fighters, but also extremely important for the fans, and for the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, and what better way to display it that such a highlight reel packed night of fights.