Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/18356/randy-couture-coming-to-pressure-lyoto-machida-at-ufc-129-video/
Sugar Ray Robinson Rocky Marciano Vitali Klitschko Wladimir Klitscho
Saturday, April 30, 2011
John Makdessi vs. Kyle Watson Fight Video UFC 129 Prelim
UFC 129 Fight Videos of John Makdessi vs. Kyle Watson . The bout took place on 4/30/2011.
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Source: http://www.mmatko.com/john-makdessi-vs-kyle-watson-fight-video-ufc-129-prelim/
Georges St-Pierre Put to the Test on ESPN?s Sports Science
The lab geeks over at Sports Science recently hooked Georges St-Pierre up to several devices in order to test just how badass the UFC welterweight champion truly is. After the experiment was complete, ESPN?s crew solidified GSP?s status as one of the world?s most dangerous assassins. When examining his anaerobic threshold, the point where most [...]
Source: http://www.5thRound.com/74630/georges-st-pierre-put-to-the-test-on-espns-sports-science/
White believes in Couture, thinks Machida’s style is hurting him
If you questioned why 47-year-old Randy Couture is getting a shot at Lyoto Machida, look no further than the head honcho at UFC. Dana White has long argued that Couture is still a top 10 fighter in the UFC's light heavyweight division.
During this Yahoo! feature, Fight Day, White also says Machida's counterstriking style may be turning into a negative (1:05 mark).
"The style that got him all those wins, all these years is kind of backfiring on him now. I don't think people have figured it out, but he lays back a little too much," White said. "I think he needs to be more aggressive and come forward. And he's definitely gonna have to be that way with Couture. Cause Couture's gonna be right in his face the whole fight."
Couture's recent wins came against boxer James Toney and 45-year-old Mark Coleman. Before that, he struggled to get by Brandon Vera, who was cut and then brought back by the UFC.
The USA Today/Bloody Elbow MMA poll has Couture at No. 16 in the world and No. 12 in the UFC. White says the rankings are [expletive]. Does he really stand a chance against a top five 205er in his prime? The oddsmakers say no. Machida is a massive minus-350 favorite.
Don't forget, you can watch UFC 129 on PPV right here on Yahoo! Sports.
James DeGale whips up storm to win British title
Ask James DeGale what he lacks as a boxer and he would probably tell you nothing, except for a world title. And he plans on taking care of that soon enough.
The 2008 Olympic champion added the British super-middleweight championship belt to his list of honours as he beat Paul Smith at the Echo Arena in [...]
The 2008 Olympic champion added the British super-middleweight championship belt to his list of honours as he beat Paul Smith at the Echo Arena in [...]
Source: http://www.boxing-blog.com/index.php/james-degale-whips-storm-win-british-title/
Friday, April 29, 2011
Mann Dominates, M'Pumbu and Hale Advance at Bellator 42
by Michael David SmithIn an exciting if overlooked Saturday night fight card, Ronnie Mann put on an impressive showing in his Bellator Fighting Championships debut, while Richard Hale and Christian M'Pumbu advanced to the light heavyweight tournament final at Bellator 42.
Mann spent three rounds brutalizing an overmatched Josh Arocho, winning a unanimous decision in which one judge awarded him a shocking (but not completely unreasonable) 30-25 victory, while the other two judges gave him the more conventional 30-27 scores. The British Mann was making his Bellator debut, and he was confident and aggressive, displaying great positional control and violent ground and pound. Mann, who improved his professional MMA record to 19-2-1, showed that he's going to be a force to be reckoned with in Bellator's featherweight division, although he's going to have to beat much better opponents than Arocho, whose record fell to 6-10.
Mann spent three rounds brutalizing an overmatched Josh Arocho, winning a unanimous decision in which one judge awarded him a shocking (but not completely unreasonable) 30-25 victory, while the other two judges gave him the more conventional 30-27 scores. The British Mann was making his Bellator debut, and he was confident and aggressive, displaying great positional control and violent ground and pound. Mann, who improved his professional MMA record to 19-2-1, showed that he's going to be a force to be reckoned with in Bellator's featherweight division, although he's going to have to beat much better opponents than Arocho, whose record fell to 6-10.
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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/04/23/mann-dominates-mpumbu-and-hale-advance-at-bellator-42/
Pacquiao on Kimmel Videos ? Pacquiao Wows on Kimmel, Again!
Watch Pacquiao on Jimmy Kimmel Interview Videos Here:
Fighter of the Decade, eight-division world champion, and boxing's No. 1 pound for pound fighter and box office attraction Congressman Manny "PacMan" Pacquiao took time from training for his upcoming defense of his WBO welterweight title against three-division world champion Sugar Shane Mosley to make another boffo appearance on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday night.� This was Pacquiao?s fourth consecutive appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in as many promotions, dating back to November 2009 when ...
Fighter of the Decade, eight-division world champion, and boxing's No. 1 pound for pound fighter and box office attraction Congressman Manny "PacMan" Pacquiao took time from training for his upcoming defense of his WBO welterweight title against three-division world champion Sugar Shane Mosley to make another boffo appearance on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday night.� This was Pacquiao?s fourth consecutive appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in as many promotions, dating back to November 2009 when ...
Source: http://www.proboxing-fans.com/pacquiao-on-kimmel-videos-pacquiao-wows-on-kimmel-again_042911/
Georges St-Pierre Mauricio Rua Anderson Silva Nate Marquardt
Jose Aldo UFC 129 Up Close And Personal Part 1 & 2 & 3
UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo UFC 129 Up Close And Personal Part 1 & 2.
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Source: http://www.mmatko.com/jose-aldo-ufc-129-up-close-and-personal-part-1-2/
Rocky Marciano Vitali Klitschko Wladimir Klitscho David Haye
Gina Carano returns to face Sarah D'Alelio at "Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum"
The face of women’s mixed martial arts, Gina Carano will be making her long awaited return to the cage very, very soon.
The EliteXC veteran has been credited to bringing female mixed martial artists to the main stage of top organization’s, now including strikeforce, which currently supports two-divisions: the welterweight (135-pounds) and middleweight (145-pounds) classes.
The [...]
The EliteXC veteran has been credited to bringing female mixed martial artists to the main stage of top organization’s, now including strikeforce, which currently supports two-divisions: the welterweight (135-pounds) and middleweight (145-pounds) classes.
The [...]
Matt Hughes vs. Diego Sanchez Set for Fall UFC Event
A welterweight matchup between 170-pound contender Diego Sanchez and UFC hall of famer Matt Hughes is set for a fall UFC event with a date and location to be announced, the UFC confirmed Thursday.
Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/18343/matt-hughes-vs-diego-sanchez-set-for-fall-ufc-event/
Shinya Aoki - Post Fight - Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley - SHOWTIME Sports - Shinya Aoki
The submission artist, Shinya Aoki, talks about his 93 second win over Lyle Beerbohm and his concerns for Japan.
UFC adds its own online prefight and postfight show
The media isn't moving fast enough for the UFC, so the promotion has decided to move forward with its own prefight and postfight shows. The sport is badly in need of consistent shows before and after the fights. Various websites and even ESPN has dipped their toe into prefight/postfight field, now the UFC is introducing UFC Central at UFC 129.
According to MMAjunkie, the show will be hosted by former WEC voice Todd Harris along with CBS Sports' anchor Molly Qerim. UFC fighters Stephan Bonnar and Kenny Florian will serve as analysts.
The UFC adds that during the PPV event UFC Central gives extra access to the viewer:
Once the UFC 129 live broadcast begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, UFC Central will only be available to fans that purchased the event for viewing on UFC.TV and will capture interviews with fighters on the fight card during the live broadcast as well as other analyst commentary.
UFC Central will be offered as a seventh video feed and fifth audio feed, leveraging UFC.TV's multi-camera view and multi-audio feed experience. During the live event, fans will have the option inside of UFC.TV to select UFC Central as the main broadcast; or, drag and drop it into Picture-n-Picture or Quad View so that UFC Central can be watched and/or listened to alongside the broadcast of the main fight card.
Immediately following the live broadcast, UFC Central will be offered for free at UFC.TV with post-fight analysis, making it the ultimate destination for the most comprehensive UFC 129 news.
The show on UFC.tv airs at 8 p.m. ET. MMAConvert points out that it's an interesting time slot because it counterprograms the UFC 129 undercard fights on Spike TV at 8.
One would assume this is the beginning of plenty of programming on "UFC Central." UFC president Dana White has always been bullish on the Internet.
"It is (the future), I'm telling you," White told MMAjunkie.com. "I've been saying it for 10 years. Everything is going Internet. I believe that everybody is going to be watching TV and be on the Internet."
The promotion is showing the first five undercard fights on its Facebook page beginning at 6 p.m. ET.
You can watch UFC 129 on PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) right here on Yahoo! Sports.
Dana White not convinced Randy Couture ready to walk away from UFC
Count Dana White among those who are a bit skeptical that Saturday night will be Randy Couture's last fight.During introductions of those competing at the sold-out UFC 129 at its pre-fight press conference, the UFC president wanted to get something out of the way concerning the UFC Hall of Famer's recent proclamation that Lyoto Machida is his last opponent.
"The press started calling me and saying, 'What do you think about Randy Couture retiring?' White said. "And my answer to that was, 'I've heard this before. And I've actually seen it before.'"
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Nick Diaz - Post Fight - Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley - SHOWTIME Sports - Nick Diaz
Following his 10th consecutive win, Strikeforce welterweight champ Nick Diaz briefly shares his thoughts following his title defense against a tough contender Paul Daley.
What you need to know from this week on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’
Team dos Santos has the momentum from last week's win. Who will win the next fight? Will Brock Lesnar misuse more colloquialisms? Who paints his toenails? Read on for spoilers and a recap this week's episode.
Lollygagging of the week: After the loss, Lesnar is disappointed in the work ethic of his team, making me think that Lesnar learned his coaching style from:
You know what that makes you? Lollygaggers.
Fight announcement of the week: Team dos Santos has this week's pick, so he picks Ramsey Nijem to take on Lesnar's Charlie Rader, who Lesnar called out for lollygagging.
J. Crew model of the week: Nijem has painted toe nails and loves Glee, which give his teammates a reason to make fun of him."Everyone makes fun of me for watching Glee, but those kids are talented," Nijem says. No argument here.
Like a two-year-old, he takes his clothes off at the drop of a hat. He likes to joke around with his teammates, which may be a ruse to throw his opponents off. Perhaps, or perhaps not.
Cameo of the week: Brock Lesnar brings in UFC Hall-of-Famer Matt Hughes to work with his fighters on wrestling. Now, far be it from me to question Lesnar, but he is a former wrestler with pretty strong bona fides, and so he brought it another wrestler ... ? I love wrestling as much as anybody, but wouldn't it make sense to bring in a coach to shore up weaknesses? Nonetheless, Brock's team loves working with Hughes, a legendary welterweight.
As both teams talk about this fight, they're absolutely sure that the other team is underestimating the other. Both teams think that their fighter's advantage will be wrestling. Hmmm.
Misuse of the word disgrace of the week: Lesnar tells Rader that if he doesn't win, it's a disgrace because Nijem paints his toenails. I'd like to see Lesnar call Chuck Liddell a disgrace.
Fight of the week: Ramsey Nijem (Team dos Santos) vs. Charlie Rader (Team Lesnar)
Round One: Nijem starts by driving Rader into the fence in a clinch. They continue to pummel for much of the round until Nijem throws an inadvertent knee to Rader's crotch. Once broken apart, Nijem dives in for another takedown attempt. Though he has trouble getting it, he does inflict damage with knees and short strikes. He finally puts Rader on his back after tons of work. Rader springs back to his feet, but Nijem brings him back to the ground and stays in control for the rest of the round.
Round Two: This time, Nijem has no problem getting the takedown. He takes Rader's back and controls him at the beginning of the round, throwing short strikes until he can flatten Rader out and apply a rear-naked choke. Rader didn't put up much of a fight, and tapped to give Nijem the win.
After the fight, Lesnar said that he was worried from the start of the fight, when he saw the look in Nijem's eyes. He also says that Rader quit, an idea that Dana White backed up.
Quote of the week: "I don't even care. These guys don't want to even be here." -- Brock Lesnar
Lesnar clearly doesn't know how to handle fighters who don't have the same drive as he has. He rips them for choking and not caring. It's going to be a long season if Lesnar and his fighters don't get on the same page.
Recap Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley, Melendez vs. Kawajiri, Mousasi vs. Jardine, Aoki vs. Beerbohm - Strikeforce
The official recap of April 9th Strikeforce Diaz vs. Daley. Relive the main event between Nick Diaz and Paul Daley, plus Gilbert Melendez, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Gegard Mousasi, Keith Jardine, Shinya Aoki, and Lyle Beerbohm.
Hilarious video: Liddell’s still got it and loves busting Tito’s chops
See, it was a brilliant move to give Chuck Liddell an office in the Las Vegas headquarters of Zuffa. The new Vice President of Business Development can act, book the biggest and best for mega-fights and if you need someone KO'd in the break room, he's still got it!
This is funny stuff from Liddell and the UFC. The best line comes from Liddell "conversation" with Tito Ortiz.
"I'm not sure Ortiz-Machida II is what the fans want," Liddell said. "Ain't happening Tito, no one likes you."
To no one's surprise Tito tweeted that the acting sucked.
Dana White chimed in later to try and calm down Ortiz.
Liddell also knocks out a co-worker for several slips of the tongue. He reminded us of Mike Tyson in The Hangover (NSFW).
Reminder: "UFC Primetime: St-Pierre vs. Shields" concludes tonight on Spike TV
As a reminder, "UFC Primetime" returns tonight in anticipation of UFC 129's championship main event.The three-part series focuses on UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre and former Strikeforce titleholder Jake Shields, who headline this month's massive UFC 129 event.
Episode No. 3, the final episode of the series, debuts tonight (early Thursday) at midnight ET/PT.
Freedom, Glorious Freedom: UFC 129 Now Features Five Free Fights On Facebook
UFC 129 will be a record-setting, game-changing event in a number of ways. It will be the UFC?s debut in Ontario. It will take place in front of over 55,000 fans. And best of all, it?s recently been confirmed that UFC fans with an internet connection, cable, and Pay-Per-View will be able to watch every [...]
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Bellator 42 Predictions
by Michael David SmithFor the second consecutive Saturday night, Bellator has the mixed martial arts spotlight to itself, as Bellator 42 is the weekend's only major MMA card. The big question facing Bellator is whether the match-ups they've put together will result in the kind of exciting card that will get fans buzzing, and create a little momentum for the promotion heading into the home stretch of its fourth season.
Bellator 42 took a hit when Paul Buentello suffered an injury and had to pull out of his fight with Bellator heavyweight champion Cole Konrad, so whatever attention this card can garner will come from the semifinals of the light heavyweight tournament, and the promotional debut of Ronnie Mann.
Here are the basics on Saturday night's card:
What: Bellator 42
Where: Lucky Star Casino, Concho, Oklahoma
When: Saturday, the MTV2 broadcast starts at 9 PM ET.
Predictions on the three main card fights below.
Bellator 42 took a hit when Paul Buentello suffered an injury and had to pull out of his fight with Bellator heavyweight champion Cole Konrad, so whatever attention this card can garner will come from the semifinals of the light heavyweight tournament, and the promotional debut of Ronnie Mann.
Here are the basics on Saturday night's card:
What: Bellator 42
Where: Lucky Star Casino, Concho, Oklahoma
When: Saturday, the MTV2 broadcast starts at 9 PM ET.
Predictions on the three main card fights below.
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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/04/23/bellator-42-predictions/
MMA Marketplace: Randy Couture’s last stand
If he is to be believed -- and I believe him -- this weekend, we will see Randy Couture fight for the final time. That means it will also be the last time he has a walkout shirt. Behold, the final Couture walkout shirt:
It's a typical Randy shirt. Not in my taste, but ... OK. It's ugly. I like the chevrons, which are a nod to Couture's service in the Army, but that's about it. Since it's Couture's last shirt, it could become a collector's item. Buy it here for $29.99. If that's not enough Couture for you, Everlast has select Couture items for half off. Check it out here.
The Voice Goes Giddy Over Alistair Overeem Gif
MMA Gifs – The Voice Goes Giddy Over Alistair Overeem.
Thank Gordo for the gif.
Thank Gordo for the gif.
Source: http://www.mmatko.com/the-voice-goes-giddy-over-alistair-overeem-gif/
MMAjunkie.com's John Morgan on "MMA Show Roundtable" tonight at 7 p.m. ET
MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan, MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani and MMA fighter Robin Black are guests on tonight's "MMA Show Roundtable."The trio joins host Mauro Ranallo in studio to discuss Saturday's historic UFC 129 event.
Watch a live video stream of the show, or listen on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 98 beginning at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT). You can submit any questions to the panel with the hashtag #StateofMMA on Twitter.
Gilbert Melendez and Daniel Roberts at Fairtex Gym: An MMAjunkie.com image gallery
Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez recently turned in one of the best performances of his career with a stunning finish of Tatsuya Kawajiri.Fast-rising UFC contender Daniel Roberts is hoping to do the same in a UFC 129 bout with Claude Patrick.
Both fighters recently spent significant time training at San Francisco's Fairtex Gym, where Jake Shields, Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz, Scott Smith and Tim McKenzie can often be found. Fairtex Gym boss Michael Bruno shared images of the fighters' workout with MMAjunkie.com.
Georges St-Pierre Mauricio Rua Anderson Silva Nate Marquardt
With addition of five Facebook fights, every UFC 129 match is ‘televised’
If you were worried about missing the atmosphere of 55,000 fans at Rogers Centre next weekend, you'll get a pretty good feel for it across three platforms. In addition to seven guaranteed fights on pay-per-view and Spike, the UFC announced all five of the remaining undercard fights will stream free on the UFC Facebook page.
Main card:
Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields
Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick
Jason Brilz vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida
Mark Bocek vs. Ben Henderson
On Spike:
Nate Diaz vs. Rory MacDonald
Jake Ellenberger vs. Sean Pierson
On Facebook:
Claude Patrick vs. Daniel Roberts
Ivan Menjivar vs. Charlie Valencia
Jason MacDonald vs. Ryan Jensen
John Makdessi vs. Kyle Watson
Pablo Garza vs. Yves Jabouin
Don't forget you can watch UFC 129 on PPV right here on Yahoo! Sports.
Thompson Boxing Updates: Perez Valiant in Defeat; New Blood this Friday
This past Saturday, Thompson Boxing Promotions' former IBF bantamweight champion Yonnhy "El Colombiano" Perez made a valiant attempt in the main event of Showtime's Bantamweight Tournament:� "Winner Takes All" when he went toe-to-toe with the now two-division world champion Vic "Raging Bull" Darchinyan.
The highly disappointed Perez, who suffered an arterial bleed because of an accidental head butt, was unable to continue on in the 12-round competition when the referee called the fight due to the severity of the cut.� Explained ringside physician Doctor Paul ...
The highly disappointed Perez, who suffered an arterial bleed because of an accidental head butt, was unable to continue on in the 12-round competition when the referee called the fight due to the severity of the cut.� Explained ringside physician Doctor Paul ...
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Nick Diaz - Post Fight - Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley - SHOWTIME Sports - Nick Diaz
Following his 10th consecutive win, Strikeforce welterweight champ Nick Diaz briefly shares his thoughts following his title defense against a tough contender Paul Daley.
5 Reason Why Jake Shields Could Beat Georges St. Pierre
Hello once more fans and friends and welcome back to today?s edition of ?5 Reasons Why?, the series that takes a big upcoming fight and then gives five reasons why both fighters could beat each other. Today?s entry focuses on the upcoming UFC 129 mega-match that will see Georges St. Pierre fight Jake Shields. For [...]
Source: http://www.fighters.com/04/22/5-reason-why-jake-shields-could-beat-georges-st-pierre
Georges St-Pierre Mauricio Rua Anderson Silva Nate Marquardt
Five Boxers Stoned In One Night? Or: What Tommy Zbikowski's Been Up To
Getting drunk or snorting coke before a fight: Maybe it'll help, but probably not. Getting stoned: Not a chance. Thus, this story about five different boxers -- including boxer/Baltimore Raven Tom Zbikowski -- testing positive for marijuana from this past Saturday in Oklahoma is being met with skepticism, and it's not just all the boxers' representatives being all high and paranoid themselves. You have to wonder if maybe, just maybe, the tests were screwy.
The wacky tobaccy headline nonetheless gives me a chance to weigh in on Zbikowski's boxing experiment, since all my pals who don't follow boxing extraordinarily closely keep asking me about him. I caught his allegedly stoned fight over the weekend, and here it is. His total lack of lack of focus betrays how not-high he probably was Saturday.
That fellow he's fighting is less than a tomato can, with all due respect to anyone who gets in the ring at all. He's the kind of guy you bring in to lose to other guys who lose a lot. Really, mad respect for someone in that line of work, but it must be said to keep in proper context Zbikowski wrecking the fellow. Like everyone else he's fought, the dude had less than four pro fights on his record, and I am willing to wager there's no amateur background of any consequence for any of Zbikowski's conquests. It's normal for a new pro to take easy bouts early in his career, but Zbikowski's have been easy even by that standard.
Zbikowski still did some good things and some bad things in that fight independent of whom he did them against. He looks very comfortable in the ring, befitting a man who has a fairly extensive amateur boxing career. Apparently he was nervous in some other outings, but not this weekend. That flurry of body punches was pretty nifty for someone in just his third pro fight, and he was properly explosive in finishing off his hurt man. His speed looks like it might be pretty good for a cruiserweight, although his power will be an open question until he fights someone with a pulse. I didn't like him reaching so much. He made himself needlessly vulnerable. At 5'11", that could become a permanent problem for Zbikowski, since most cruiserweights stand above 6' and they'd be able to keep him reaching. (I wonder whether he'll keep dropping divisions; Zbikowski's first three fights were at heavyweight.) Zbikowski primarily defended himself by jumping back, and that made it so that at one moment he got trapped on the ropes, something this opponent couldn't capitalize on but that a better boxer could have. With trainer Emmanuel Steward in his corner, he is learning from one of boxing's best teachers.
Truthfully, we probably won't know anything about Zbikowski's chances as a pro prospect for a long time, and given that the NFL labor strife could end and lure him back to the gridiron before he gets many nights in the ring, we might never really find out at all. Pro boxing is not an easy sport to pick up for a 25-year-old, even for a proven athlete like Zbikowski with a boxing background, so among boxing fans and writers the confidence level is not high. But I'm glad he's giving it a try, and that Top Rank is taking advantage of it by putting him out there regularly. He's drawing attention to the sport, and boxing can never get enough of that kind bud.
The wacky tobaccy headline nonetheless gives me a chance to weigh in on Zbikowski's boxing experiment, since all my pals who don't follow boxing extraordinarily closely keep asking me about him. I caught his allegedly stoned fight over the weekend, and here it is. His total lack of lack of focus betrays how not-high he probably was Saturday.
That fellow he's fighting is less than a tomato can, with all due respect to anyone who gets in the ring at all. He's the kind of guy you bring in to lose to other guys who lose a lot. Really, mad respect for someone in that line of work, but it must be said to keep in proper context Zbikowski wrecking the fellow. Like everyone else he's fought, the dude had less than four pro fights on his record, and I am willing to wager there's no amateur background of any consequence for any of Zbikowski's conquests. It's normal for a new pro to take easy bouts early in his career, but Zbikowski's have been easy even by that standard.
Zbikowski still did some good things and some bad things in that fight independent of whom he did them against. He looks very comfortable in the ring, befitting a man who has a fairly extensive amateur boxing career. Apparently he was nervous in some other outings, but not this weekend. That flurry of body punches was pretty nifty for someone in just his third pro fight, and he was properly explosive in finishing off his hurt man. His speed looks like it might be pretty good for a cruiserweight, although his power will be an open question until he fights someone with a pulse. I didn't like him reaching so much. He made himself needlessly vulnerable. At 5'11", that could become a permanent problem for Zbikowski, since most cruiserweights stand above 6' and they'd be able to keep him reaching. (I wonder whether he'll keep dropping divisions; Zbikowski's first three fights were at heavyweight.) Zbikowski primarily defended himself by jumping back, and that made it so that at one moment he got trapped on the ropes, something this opponent couldn't capitalize on but that a better boxer could have. With trainer Emmanuel Steward in his corner, he is learning from one of boxing's best teachers.
Truthfully, we probably won't know anything about Zbikowski's chances as a pro prospect for a long time, and given that the NFL labor strife could end and lure him back to the gridiron before he gets many nights in the ring, we might never really find out at all. Pro boxing is not an easy sport to pick up for a 25-year-old, even for a proven athlete like Zbikowski with a boxing background, so among boxing fans and writers the confidence level is not high. But I'm glad he's giving it a try, and that Top Rank is taking advantage of it by putting him out there regularly. He's drawing attention to the sport, and boxing can never get enough of that kind bud.
WEC vets Renan Barao and Cole Escovedo meet at UFC 130
A bantamweight bout between UFC newcomers Renan Barao and Cole Escovedo has been added to May's UFC 130 event.A source close to the negotiations today told MMAjunkie.com that verbal agreements are in place for the fight.
UFC 130 takes place May 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The night's main card airs on pay-per-view.
MMA Marketplace: GSP’s ugly UFC 129 Affliction shirt
Georges St-Pierre is a good-looking man. I say this not only from my own judgment, but because my friends who know nothing about MMA often ask about "that hot French-Canadian fighter." Objectively, he is nice to look at.
Perhaps this is why he thinks he can get away with having a ridiculously ugly shirt for his bout with Jake Shields.
Do I need to break down the ugliness? OK. The griffin with the mottled background and the too-small maple leaves combine with the actually cool GSP logo to say, "Too much." The best (worst?) part of this Affliction shirt of ugliness? It's reversible. No, really. You get two awful shirts in one, which is good because it costs $57.99. Buy it here, if you really, really want to.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Former NHL enforcer is trying MMA in June
On skates, Donald Brashear could always fight with the best of them.
Can he do it bare-footed and against trained professional fighters? Brashear wants to find out.
According to the Canadian Press, the former NHL henchman, who's still playing hockey in the minors, has signed a deal with Ringside MMA to fight in June in Quebec City.
"Despite Brashear's lack of experience in MMA, he's a very athletic guy, he's in good shape, he's gutsy, he's learning pretty fast and showed an early interest and motivation," a Ringside MMA spokeswoman said. "Plus, he's no stranger to fighting."
Keep in mind, Brashear is also 39 years old. The 6-foot-3, 237-pounder will have to get approval from local authories before he steps into the cage.
Brashear may want to look at MMA sparring videos with another former NHL player George Laraque. Sure he was facing one of the best in the world, but Laraque was schooled a few months ago by Georges St-Pierre.
We're guessing the biggest test for Brashear will be conditioning and avoiding the potential adrenaline dump that happens in fighting. Baltimore Ravens safety Tom Zbikowski, who's crossed over to professional boxing, said fighting is unlike any conventional sport.
"You have to control it in boxing, because in football maybe that first series you get real excited. The warm up in boxing is far, far more important than in football," Zbikowski told ESPN1100 in Las Vegas.
During his 17-year career, Brashear piled up 2,634 penalty minutes in 1,025 NHL games.
Broken hand healed, UFC's Falcao eyes return, still interested in "disrespectful" Sakara
Brazilian slugger Maiquel Falcao has a message for the man he was supposed to fight this past March: Be careful what you wish for.The one-time UFC vet has fully healed from the lingering hand injury that forced him out of a planned UFC on Versus 3 fight with Alessio Sakara, but "Big Rig" still remembers the Italian striker's pre-fight comments.
Falcao is now training in a gym in his hometown of Pelotas, Brazil, and eyeing a quick return to action. And while Sakara is currently lined up for a UFC 133 bout with Jorge Rivera, Falcao certainly isn't ruling out a future date with "Legionarius."
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