Head Kick Legend

The Farewell Post

2012-05-09T11:01:02Z

Ladies and gentlemen, Head Kick Legend is shutting down. This probably isn't much of a surprise to too many of you, as you've probably seen the lack of comments and consistent updates make this once proud MMA and kickboxing blog turn into a much smaller destination - an afterthought to many of the other blogs on this network and even the internet as a whole.

Thank you to the people who stopped by regularly, followed us on Twitter and Facebook and generally helped and tried to make this a better community. All of us here are kind of sad at how this turned out, but we move on with little regret (at least I do), knowing we did our part to engage with all of you from many different platforms. You'll still see most of us around the MMA sections of SBNation, writing and commenting and being the intelligent, snarky bastards you've come to know and love/loathe.

So long, and thanks again.

BJ Penn and Renzo Gracie Share a Moment on The MMA Hour

2012-05-08T06:48:00Z

BJ Penn and Renzo Gracie Share a Moment on The MMA Hour

Dominick Cruz Tore His ACL, Out Indefinitely

2012-05-07T20:57:56Z

This is pretty bad. No word yet on interim titles or what, but ACL's are bad news bears. Think of what happened to Georges St. Pierre and how long he's been gone. The only small silver lining is that perhaps people will tune into this Friday's episode of The Ultimate Fighter to see who the new coach will be, upping some pretty dismal ratings.

It's true Cruz blew his ACL. Stay tuned for more info
— Dana White (@danawhite) May 7, 2012

Yup @RondaRousey tore @TheDomin8r 's ACL shoulda known better than to mess w her @danawhite @ufc @BarackObama #messwiththebullugetthehorns
— Urijah Faber (@UrijahFaber) May 7, 2012

Might I suggest an interim title fight against Renan Barao at say... UFC on Fox 4, August 4th from the Staples Center? That gives both Barao and Urijah Faber three months to train and gives that card an exciting title fight for the main event.

Slept On It: The Day After UFC On Fox 3 and Mayweather-Cotto, The Reaction Post

2012-05-07T02:06:30Z

UFC on Fox 3 was about the best show that Zuffa could've hoped for. The four fights that made up the FOX broadcast were: first round KO, first round KO, close decision, 2nd round submission. From a personal standpoint, the fighters I was leaning towards didn't do too well, so I'm a bit disappointed there, but from a cold, scrupulous eye of an overall MMA fan, this was a pretty damn good night. The ratings are poor, but quite honestly this was about a perfect storm of bad that you could come up with.

This card had the following poor factors going for it:

No "stars". Josh Koscheck, Johny Hendricks and Nate Diaz are not on the radars of the casual fan.
Cinco de Mayo. It's a big party weekend, and like it or not, a lot of people aren't MMA fans. I went to a party instead of watching the fights live, and I could count on one fist, the number of MMA fans of the ~30 people there.
NBA and NHL playoffs, Mayweather card. Quite frankly, there were quite a few other sports happening that day, and while there are a few people who probably watched two or more of them, there are probably just as many who had to make the choice of which one to watch because of other commitments.
Speaking of other commitments, it was opening weekend for the Avengers, and it just pulled down over 200 freaking million bucks. This SMASHED the previous record (the last Harry Potter movie) by 30+ million.

All in all, I'm completely unsurprised by the bad ratings, and quite honestly felt this would be about right. The bad news out of the way, the people that did tune in who aren't already part of the die-hard crowd (and if you're reading this, you're probably in it) got a really good show. People may bag on the Fox Sports theme music, but as someone who likes traditional sports, I'm pretty OK with it. It's a brand and I identify it with Fox. Curt Menefee and the other folks in the top part of the broadcast did a solid job in their analyst roles, while Rogan and Goldie did pretty decent work covering it live. This isn't to say it was without rough patches - Rogan freaking out over Jim Miller getting caught with his tongue out in the guillotine was kind of uncalled for, but he also did a good job explaining basics and terminology for the neophytes watching.

Lavar Johnson has passed the first real gate in his career, as he blasted out Pat Barry after a couple of rough moments early in the fight. Pat continued to show K1-level grappling skills and fight-IQ as he abandoned mount and proceeded to accomplish nothing with side control.

Alan Belcher wins the balls of steel award for not being afraid of major knee surgery and dealing with Rousimar Palhares' incredible leglock game. Alan stifled Paul Harris for a solid minute and a half on the ground and ended up blasting him with punishing ground and pound to put a huge feather in his cap. Give him the winner of Boetsch/Bisping.

I thought Josh Koscheck did enough to win the fight. He started off strong following the eyepoke that went unnoticed by ref Kevin Mulhall, and while Johny Hendricks did decent the rest of the round, I didn't think it was enough to overcome the strength of what Kos did for the first 2 minutes or so. The second was a Hendricks round, albeit a close one, but I feel pretty safe in guessing that all three judges scored it for Big Rig. The third started out leaning towards Johny - I thought he was getting the edge in the standup, but not in an overwhelming manner. Kos got the takedown and spent the last 90 seconds or so in dominant position landing damaging shots. I thought that should go to him. For the record, I'm not a big fan of Koscheck and I rather like Hendricks for what he did to Fitch, so I'm seeing this as being partially biased the OTHER way.

Nate Diaz is for real. There's not much one can say otherwise at this point. He damaged Jim Miller on the feet both at range and in the clinch with knees, he stuffed takedowns from a fairly solid wrestler (given, not a hugely powerful one, such as Maynard) and finished a guy who'd never been finished in 24 previous contests. Nate is on a three-fight win streak that includes two top-10 opponents, all of which got him fight or submission of the night. This now puts him one win bonus away from notorious bounty-hunter Chris Lytle, and he's only 27. I'll assume he gets the title shot from the brass, but him against Pettis would be great, too.

Floyd Mayweather is clearly one of the best boxers in the world, but he got pushed and pushed fairly hard by a very game Miguel Cotto. This might have been the best fight Cotto's ever fought, or perhaps it's Floyd showing a bit of aging and ring rust, but that was much more competitive than a lot of people were expecting. This was about the best outcome that the sport could have hoped for, because after Manny Pacquiao's lackluster win over Juan Manuel Marquez, it's made both of the top two fighters in the sport look human and vulnerable to each other. If the damn fight ever happens, these last two matches will serve as good fodder for each camp to talk about with the other side.

SBN coverage of UFC on Fox 3

UFC On Fox 3: Head Kick Legend Main Card Predictions

2012-05-05T14:40:04Z

UFC on FOX 3: Miller Vs. Diaz

Jim Miller vs. Nate Diaz

Chris - Riding a two-fight win streak with impressive performances over Takanori Gomi and Donald Cerrone, Nate Diaz is looking good going into this event. But I think this is going to be the end of his title run. Although he a very talented submission grappler, Diaz prefers to frustrate his competition through his high volume striking. I don’t expect Jim Miller to oblige him on that front at all. Because of his confidence in his Jiu Jitsu, Diaz has no problem giving up the takedown that Miller is going to be looking for. Once it hits the mat, I expect a similar fight to when Diaz fought Dong Hyun Kim. Miller probably won’t allow Nate to catch him in a submission, but Diaz won’t let himself be dominated on the ground like Melvin Guillard. Jim Miller by Unanimous Decision

Patrick - Miller will be facing a five-inch disadvantage in height and reach, and that disparity combines with Diaz’s volume striking and Miller’s own boxing-centric style to create a bad matchup on the feet for the New Jersey native. If the fight stays there for any amount of time, Miller will be in trouble, and things don’t get any better for him once he gets into the clinch. Miller possesses a great arsenal of knees and solid takedowns from the clinch, but one of the most overlooked aspects of Nate’s game is his ability to fight in tight; everyone expected Cerrone to dominate him there, but Nate significantly outlanded both Cerrone and Dong Hyun Kim (a nasty clinch fighter himself) in that phase. On the ground, things get interesting. Miller’s aggressive guard passes and submission game present a fascinating matchup with Diaz’s excellent guard and ability to attack from his back. If anything, though, I’d call it a wash. I think Diaz takes this one in a wild firefight on the feet, with some brief, inconclusive, and entertaining scrambles on the ground. Miller is tougher than a coffin nail, so Diaz by Unanimous Decision.

Cory - It’s incredibly rare that either of the Diaz brothers are in boring fight, so I’m very much looking forward to this. I do have a bit of a rooting interest, as Jim Miller is also from New Jersey and both Diaz brothers wear the black hat fairly well. Both of these guys have great cardio, and if Miller were more adept on his feet, I wouldn’t have been surprised if this went the way of Carlos Condit when he went against Nick. He isn’t however, he’s a wrestler. And until I see EITHER of the Diaz brothers go out and actually beat a wrestler, I’m not picking against one. This should be a great ground battle, but I’m going with Miller - Decision.

Elliot - Nate looked amazing in his fight with Cerrone- the accuracy he displayed with his punching combinations was very impressive; however, I think that Cerrone really gave away that fight, by just standing in front of Diaz and thinking that his Muay Thai based attack would prevail. Jim Miller will have no such illusions, and has the takedowns, top control, stamina, and toughness to execute the same strategy behind every loss in Nate’s UFC career, and pretty much every single one of Miller’s wins. I simply cannot ignore history. Miller UD

Earl - I have gone back and forth on this fight damn near half a dozen times in the last couple weeks. At first I thought it was all Diaz peppering him from range. Then I thought Miller would grind him out on the mat while dodging sub attempts for the duration of the fight. Now I just don’t know at all. I doubt there is a finish in this fight as both guys are tough as hell. This fight will be awesome and I will officially go with Jim Miller via UD.

Josh Koscheck vs. Johny Hendricks

Chris - This fight is either going to be a lot of fun or very very ugly. Right now, everyone is very high on Hendricks following his 12 second KO of perennial number 2 Jon Fitch. That was very impressive, but I’m hesitant to forget how Rick Story was able to frustrate and stifle Hendricks against the cage. Although Koscheck has shown a love of his "ever evolving" striking skills, he also proved against Paul Daley that he’s not above grinding out a win when he needs it. That said, both Paulo Thiago and Thiago Alves were able to find Kos’s chin and I expect Hendricks to be able to do the same. Hendricks by KO, Round 1

Patrick - Koscheck is one of the most overrated fighters in the UFC. He lands an exceptionally low volume of strikes, isn’t particularly accurate, and has bad timing, so his legitimate power is hamstrung by his lack of technical proficiency; his takedown game relies heavily on his athleticism-powered double leg. Okay, so maybe that was a little negative: he’s a legitimate gatekeeper to the top five. Hendricks, I would argue, belongs in that top five. He’s had the benefit of fantastic coaching since he first got into MMA, and possesses both the athleticism and the strong wrestling base necessary to excel at 170 in the UFC. Like his fellow fast-riser Jake Ellenberger, Hendricks has absolutely vicious power in his hands, and like Ellenberger he has solid (and improving) technical ability. If we were going to see Josh Koscheck, competent kickboxer, we would’ve seen it a long time ago. Hendricks by KO, Round 1.

Cory - Speaking of black hats, hello, Mr. Koscheck. I had the good fortune to be right up next to Kos a couple months ago, and the impression I got was someone who was mad at the world. I think Josh is that type of guy with an eternal chip on his shoulder, but that doesn’t always translate well to his fights. His fights against Georges St. Pierre and Paulo Thiago showed how that chip could work against him - he didn’t alter his gameplan when GSP figured out his and he had a poor one to begin with against PT. I’d love to see Hendricks make a huge statement, but I think this will be mostly a slogger, as both dudes are hard to put away. Hendricks - Decision

Elliot - Unlike many people, I like Koscheck. He’s rarely in a boring fight; although his chances of ever getting the belt are slim, and his skills seem to be declining (either due to age or stubbornness), he is still a handful for anyone. Hendricks is a super talented athlete, with insatiable aggression, gnarly punching power, and the well rounded skill set to deal with most threats. I think Kos has a hell of a time getting Hendricks on his back if he wants it there, and with how much Josh likes to hunt for the KO, I think Johnny will start running away towards a decision by simply following the Xtreme Couture mission statement of just beating the opponent up. As much as I’d like to say Hendricks by form of (T)KO, I will go with a Hendricks Decision.

Earl - Josh Koscheck is still reacting horribly to strikes ever since GSP jabbed his eye into a living death. Seriously, he makes Brock Lesnar look well composed under fire. He was mentally rattled by strikes from both Matt Hughes and Mike Pierce. Johny Hendricks has stupid power in his hands (especially the left) and the wrestling to dictate where the fight goes. Hendricks will make Kos panic in the stand up and "Big Rig" will not let him off the hook. Johny Hendricks, KO, Round 2.

Rousimar Palhares vs. Alan Belcher

Chris - This fight has been a tossup in my mind since it was announced. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Paul Harris and have been enjoying that bandwagon for a long time now. But I don’t usually sacrifice my picks for fandom. Alan Belcher is a talented MW and his skills should be respect when considering this fight. He’s an effective and creative striker who can cause serious problems for most of his opponents. However, I like Toquinho in this one. His striking has improved enough that I don’t think he’ll get caught by Belcher. On top of that, Belcher has shown an historical weakness in his takedown defense and submission defense. That leaves a lot of options for an incredible talented and ferocious grappler like Rousimar. Palhares by Submission, Round 1.

Patrick - Palhares is a bit overhyped at the moment, and I think most of the top dogs in the UFC (Anderson, Munoz, Weidman, Lombard, and probably Vitor) would handily beat him. With that said, Belcher doesn’t belong among that group. He’s very athletic and has pretty awesome offensive Muay Thai, along with a tricky guard. On the downside, however, he’s eminently hittable and has pretty mediocre takedown defense (he’s been taken down by such wrestling luminaries as Patrick Cote, Kalib Starnes, and Denis Kang), and has been put in bad positions on the ground in the past. Moreover, against as exceptional a submission grappler as Toquinho, Belcher’s active guard is actually a negative, since it produces additional openings and space through which Palhares can work his guard passes. I expect Toquinho to get Belcher to the ground and take the limb of his choice home as a trophy. Palhares by Submission, Round 1.

Cory - When Paul Harris doesn’t go full Tropic Thunder, he tends to win and in devastating fashion. Belcher is slick and a solid all-around fighter, but I don’t think he has what it takes to get through 15 minutes without Toquinho wrapping ahold of a limb and eating it. Palhares - Submission

Elliot- This is a really hard fight for me to pick, mainly because you just don’t know which version of either guy you’ll get; are we getting the Alan Belcher who is easily overwhelmed? Will Palhares have another hilariously awkward communication breakdown with the ref, and miss a chance to close out the fight (Dan Miller fight), or get finished in the confusion (Marquardt fight)? Rousi seems to have a solid beard, and has developed his striking to a point where he won’t be guaranteed to get KTFO for the stretches of this bout spent standing; the same could be said of Belcher, who has displayed some really solid grappling as of late. As reluctant as I am to put my foot in my mouth, I will go ahead and trust in Belcher to avoid the extremely obvious submission en route to a decision win.

Earl - Everyone knows what Tree Stump is going to try to do here. Patrick nailed it. All that Belcher can hope for is that Palhares goes for his left arm and takes that Johnny Cash tattoo clean off Alan’s body. This would give him a nice, fresh start. Might I suggest a tattoo of hologram 2Pac. Toquinho via dismemberment in the first.

Pat Barry vs. Lavar Johnson

Chris - I’ve been a huge Pat Barry fan since I first saw his leg kick TKO over Dan Evenson. That is truly an incredible accomplishment at any level in the UFC. The power he has in his kicks is a huge advantage in every one of his fights. As far as Lavar Johnson is concerned, his knockout win against The Mexecutioner is nothing short of amazing. Beltran is well known as being able to absorb an incredible amount of punishment and brawl through it all. Johnson shut that down in the first round. However, I don’t think he’ll be able to take advantage of his most effective strike in that fight - the jab. He made great use of the jab against Beltran early and often, but he had to put a lot of weight on his lead leg to do it as well as put it way out front. Barry is used to fighting much bigger fighters and should have no trouble dealing with that. I expect this fight to look a lot like Barry vs. Beltran. Pat Barry by Unanimous Decision.

Patrick - If you’re a gambler, there’s probably value on Johnson right now: he’s at about +165, and all of the late money is coming in on him. This is a really tough fight to pick: Barry’s technical kickboxing is legit, and Johnson has great power. Then again, so does Barry, and he has a substantial track record suggesting that he’s fast enough to get inside on much longer and taller fighters. Johnson’s never been knocked out, but Barry will get to that chin. Barry by KO, Round 2.

Cory - I can see this fight going either way. Both dudes hit very hard, and both have avenues to win. Barry is more technical and has a wider arsenal that Johnson, who is also somewhat slow and dare I say it, a bit plodding. I say Barry - Late KO

Elliot - Another hard fight to predict... both men have iffy stamina, questionable submission wherewithal, and pack absolute dynamite in their strikes. Part of me thinks that Lavar’s significant reach and size advantage will be very hard for Barry to overcome at range, with Lavar’s telephone pole jab, and especially in the clinch (where Beltran had the most success against Barry) if ‘Big’ Johnson runs Pat into the fence, leans on him, and grinds him down with dirty boxing and clinch knees/ bows. Hell - Lavar can be nasty on top, so Barry had better be on point with his takedown D on Saturday. Really, Pat "The Pizza Man" Barry’s best chance is to stay outside of Lavar’s range, explode inside and unload with crisp punch + kick combos, and hope to be able to keep that up until the final bell or a (T)KO. I don’t trust the inconsistent Barry to be able to do this, and will go with Lavar Johnson via decision (or perhaps a late (T)KO).

Earl - A lot has been made of Lavar’s size, reach and power as significant advantages for him. Pat Barry is always undersized and facing a disparity in reach. That didn’t stop him from lighting up Kongo, Hardonk, Cro Cop, Hague and Evensen. I think the keys to this fight are Pat’s lightning quick jab and sledgehammer leg kicks. "Big" Johnson has a little gas tank and those kicks are going to make him desperate and give Pat all the openings he needs. Pat Barry, TKO, Round 2.

Most Influential Moment In MMA Fandom By Earl, Cory And Chris

2012-05-05T13:30:12Z

Despite the wealth of controversial story lines in MMA over the last few weeks, I have found myself feeling incredibly jaded as a fan. Both Nick Diaz and Alistair Overeem have been battling the NSAC in failed drug tests and I couldn't drum up an ounce of outrage. The Ultimate Fighter premiered live only a few weeks ago and I couldn't get excited. The UFC return from a six week hiatus with a LHW title defense and Rory MacDonald fight - I wanted to watch, but I wasn't inspired. A year ago, I was like junkie looking for any information, analysis, or discussion on MMA and now I felt little to no connection to any of the story lines. Because of that I wanted to return to my fan roots and remember what really made me a fan, so Earl and me got together to look back at our most influential moments in our fandom.

Please share your own story in the comments

Chris - It may seem odd to some, but I truly became a fan of the sport of MMA from the beginning. I have very few "favorite" fighters and rarely have an emotional involvement in any fight. I love good fights from STANDANDBANG to epic ground battles and everything in between. The first exception to this was BJ Penn. I became his fan while watching TUF 5 and have stayed true ever since. Since I was a low income fan I was forced to follow his career through UFC Unleashed and online fight updates. That is until his complete and utter destruction of Diego Sanchez at UFC 107.

That was a great time to be a BJ Penn fan. He was had just hooked up with the Marinovich brothers and seemed completely indestructible. However, that’s not my high point of fandom. Penn followed that up by being outpointed in two incredibly frustrating 5 round fights against Frankie Edgar. He once again brought joy to my heart with a quick knockout of Matt Hughes in their rubber match and a grueling draw with Jon Fitch.

Oddly enough, my favorite moment in MMA fandom was his next fight against Nick Diaz. There was a huge lead up to this fight with Nick losing his title shot against GSP then being matched up in the Co-main Event against my favorite fighter. Then Georges St. Pierre got injured and Penn vs. Diaz was the Main Event. This was truly the first time since I became a fan of MMA that I really felt invested in a fight. I knew Diaz was a tough challenge for the undersized Penn. But BJ Penn was BJ EFFING Penn.

The first round came along and I thought, "BJ is landing the quicker harder punches." He’s looking good, I thought. He got a takedown and even though he lost position, I was still confident. Then the second round happened. Penn kept getting backed against the fence on the end of Diaz’s straight punches. It was brutal. He was getting hit and wasn’t doing anything about it. It only got worse. And the third round didn’t bring any sanctuary. My favorite fighter was taking the beating of his career in front of my eyes and seemed to have no answer for it. I was devastated.

Before UFC 137, I had never been really invested in a fight. It was mentally painful for me to watch that fight. I’ve never been a fan of any other sport and the disappointment of my team not achieving their potential had never touched me before. October 29, 2011 was the first time I felt that. I still look for BJ Penn to come back from his hiatus and return to form. It may be wishful thinking, but it is one of the things that keeps me watching.

Earl - My favorite moment in MMA fandom is not from a fight at all. I was fresh off my 2nd shoulder reconstruction and therefore in a bit of a stupor thanks to my pain pills. My significant other and I went to a rally for a political figure in my home state to support the cause. The way she hooked me into going was simple. Dana White and Chuck Liddell are going to be there to introduce the man of the hour, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

We arrived at the event and my girl and apparently the organizers thought I might get caught up in a mosh pit or something after seeing me with my arm immobilized so they put us behind in the press section. She soon after got up to run to the restroom and upon her return she said, "Dana and Chuck are right over there!" Now, I normally don’t go up and pester athletes or anyone else out in public. I have bumped into fighters before weigh ins at MGM Grand and at most I wish them good luck as I pass by. This time was different because I was under the influence of pain medication which caused any sense of courtesy or shyness to never surface at all. I just got up, walked over to them and introduced myself. I thanked Dana for all his work and thanked Chuck for all the memorable fights in his career and asked them if they would take a picture. Dana’s reply was "of course!" After this, we left and watched the rally and I thought that was very cool of them both but the experience did not end there.

This was about a week before UFC 121 and in the morning Dana tweeted that he might have tickets to give away. A few hours later, we bumped into Chuck Liddell again. This time, he had a fistful of tickets and The Iceman handed me two of them. I couldn’t believe it. One of the most legendary fighters of all time had just given me the opportunity to see Brock Lesnar face off against Cain Velasquez. The only problem was, two tickets was not enough. My girl was out of work and I was out on medical leave due to my shoulder and we could not afford the gas and hotel with just the two of us. She explained this to Chuck and he gave us two more tickets to the event. It was so nice of him to do that.

I got home and went online to check my seats and I was blown away. I would have been happy with $50 cheap seats but Chuck gave us tickets in the lower concourse that were $325 per seat. I was stunned by the kindness and generosity of the UFC. Not only did I meet the UFC President and one of the most beloved fighters in the world and take pictures with them, but Chuck Liddell just handed me $1300 worth of fight tickets. I am convinced that no other organization has this close and benevolent of a relationship with their fan base. You never see this from any other people of that stature in any other sport and it cemented my fanhood and respect for the company and the people who work for it.

Cory - Mine isn’t quite as impressive, but I’d say the best thing that MMA’s done is it reconnected me with a friend I hadn’t seen in years. For UFC 100, I went out to Playwright’s Bar in Manhattan. I’d called ahead and everything, and when I get there, it turns out they were charging a cover. As I stood on the curb, debating whether or not to pay it, up strolls a couple of dudes and they, too, stare at the sign. Then one of them turns around and it’s this guy, James, that I’d known for a couple of years, but had completely lost touch with.

He and a bunch of his friends who showed up a couple minutes later got a bit blindsided by the cover. We’re all kind of poor, working-class, and middle-age is starting to peek at us from around the corner, so we’re all at that somewhat "responsible with money" level where we stop and think before we all drop coin on an unexpected cover. The manager bought us all a round and some wings to entice us in, and we acquiesced. Great night, and I’ve kept in touch with James since, thanks to our shared enjoyment of this sport.

Pat Barry Answers Your Questions

2012-05-05T11:11:26Z

Pat Barry Answers Your Questions

99 Problems but Jon Fitch Aint One

2012-05-05T05:58:10Z

99 Problems but Jon Fitch Aint One