Archive for the 'Jacob Lawton' Category

Pictured: Dominick Cruz, who recorded the biggest win of his MMA career over Brian Bowles at WEC 47.

Last weekend’s WEC 47 promised the usual WEC formula, with their typical bouts of hyperactive fast action in the light weight classes.

And, it delivered — a quality event. Unable to watch it live due to living in the UK, over the last week I’ve been able to track down one fine WEC 47 bout after another.

Along the way, we appear to have reached turning points for the WEC: first, in the shakeup of the bantamweight division; second, my issues with the promotion’s coverage; and finally, something I’d call the “talent/charisma” crossroads…

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Pictured: A Screenshot from WMMA 2. So, You Wanna Be A Fighter Promoter?

The popularity of mixed martial arts is exploding, with TV shows, books and films springing up all around the sport, along with the newest of mediums, video games.

Most notably, a great deal of media attention was placed on ZUFFA’s release of UFC Undisputed last year. The game had flaws, and many hardcore MMA fans complained that it failed to capture the styles of the fighters. But it seperated itself by capturing the ebb and flow of the fight on the ground, and the deadly “puncher’s chance” that is so widely renowned in our sport. Overall, it give us a reasonably accurate representation of the sport, and easily the best representation of said sport on console today.

Or is it?

World of Mixed Martial Arts II offers a very different option for gamers; and it’s one that I highly recommend.

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It’s fight night! Looking back at our last round of predictions, where I spent more time complaining about advancing age than any actual analysis of UFC 109, it’s hard to miss how uninterested I was. What can I say? Trying to drum up interest for Couture vs. Coleman was like bleeding water from a stone. But ZUFFA’s making me forget it tonight (unless, of course, it’s my old age making me forget things again) — by assembling as strong an MMA card we’ll get in 2010 without the luster of a title fight. It also marks the first ever UFC to grace the shores of Australia, so expect a wild crowd screaming along every kangaroo hop of the way.

This, friends, is more like it.

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Pictured: Demian Maia being Knocked Out by Nate Marquardt at UFC 102.

Demian Maia is a world-class grappler. That needs to be said before I start to point out his flaws, and the flaws in his gaining of a title shot at UFC 112 next month in Abu Dhabi. His MMA record of 12-1 suggests a fantastic competitor – and he is – but he is far from the finished article, and far from the real deal. So let’s take a little look at Demian’s MMA journey, before we look at why he shouldn’t be next in line for the UFC Middleweight Title.

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There are many good things about living in the United Kingdom. Free healthcare. Our currency is vastly superior to yours. All the big MMA cards are on free TV. But there is one major problem, and that’s the fact that MMA events tend to start at 10pm Eastern, which is 2am over here. Last Saturday night/Sunday morning I sat up with a mate and watched a long, long night of TV, including UFC 109. Below is what my poor, poor brain made of it all.

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Last week, I asked myself who exactly is excited about tomorrow’s UFC 109 card. I got my answer yesterday, as one of our new writers, Jacob Lawton, sent along his predictions for it. According to Jacob, it’s PPV-worthy “just for the value of seeing two UFC legends going head to head.” Me, I’m not so sure. To be fair, I wouldn’t pay for Dan Severn vs. Royce Gracie 2 in 2010, either.

But, I might catch it at a bar. How’s that for a ringing endorsement? Ugh… Read the rest of this entry »

I’m sure I’m not the only one who devoted a large slice of New Year’s Eve to watching the big cross-promotional MMA event in Japan. I’m sure I’m not the only one to have found much to love about said event. I’m sure I’m not the only one who can’t help but think how far Japanese MMA has fallen.

Don’t get me wrong, the card was fun, and, the first half of it at least, was competitive. Japanese legends Hayato ‘Mach’ Sakurai and Akihiro Gono had an entertaining, fast paced fight that ended via vicious Gono armbar. Korean upstart Jung Man Kim had a fight of the night contender with Hideo Tokoro and Melvin Manhoef TKO’d ‘The Grabaka Hitman’ Kazuo Misaki (yes, it was an early stoppage, but that’s for another rant). Even the obligatory Judo-player face off between Hidehiko Yoshida and Satoshi Ishii was a surprisingly fun slugfest. But so much of the card was a freak show. Shinya Aoki snapped Mizuto Who-rota’s arm with a nasty reverse hammerlock. Alistair Overeem and Gegard Mousasi dismantled career journeymen Kazuyuki Fujita and Gary Goodridge inside the first round. It wasn’t funny, and it wasn’t safe. Nevertheless, overall the card had been a success.

But neither Sengoku or DREAM have yet to officially book their first event of 2010, and here lies the problem. Japanese MMA is not deep enough to survive a comparison with the near-monthly high quality offerings promoted by Strikeforce and ZUFFA in the States. How has Japanese MMA fallen so hard?

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