Archive for the 'MMA' Category

Pictured: “Lion” Takeshi and Hatsu Hioki battle it out. Picture from MMAFighting.com.

It’s hard to believe that half of 2010, and then some, has already passed us by! There have been so many great fights this year; sometimes it all comes off overkill, and sometimes it seems every show rewrites the book. Just last weekend’s UFC brought a memorable comeback from Brock Lesnar against Shane Carwin and yet another clinic from George Sotiropoulos.

But on 30 May at JCB Hall in Tokyo, one bout’s combination of passion and skills stood out — to at least one observer.

This is my “Fight of the Half-Year” for 2010: “Lion” Takeshi Inoue vs. Hatsu Hioki for the Shooto Lightweight Title. Some of you may not be familiar with Shooto. An MMA organization with a more than 20 year history, Shooto has brought so many classic fights in the past, and one that I’ve been happy to rediscover this year. This very show also featured a spirited comeback from Rumina Sato, whose Shooto bout against Caol Uno was often described as the best of the 1990’s.

Hopefully you feel the same. Is it a perfect fight? No. Everyone knows how much I love a bout on the mat and that never developed here. But, nothing else this half year had quite this combination of guts and skill. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it too. At least you may agree that while MMA in Japan may not enjoy the glamor of years past, this bout shows it still has the passion.

Please click here for the video.

October 16, 2009: The October 2009 Independent World MMA Rankings have been released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple web sites.

In addition to the numerous MMA web sites that publish the Independent World MMA Rankings, you can also access the rankings at any time by going to www.IndependentWorldMMARankings.com.

Some of the best and most knowledgeable MMA writers from across the MMA media landscape have come together to form one independent voting panel. These voting panel members are, in alphabetical order: Zach Arnold (Fight Opinion); Nicholas Bailey (MMA Ratings); Jared Barnes (Freelance), Jordan Breen (Sherdog); Jim Genia (Full Contact Fighter, MMA Memories, and MMA Journalist Blog); Jesse Holland (MMA Mania); Robert Joyner (Freelance); Todd Martin (CBS Sportsline); Jim Murphy (The Savage Science); Zac Robinson (Sports by the Numbers MMA); Leland Roling (Bloody Elbow); Michael David Smith (AOL Fanhouse); Joshua Stein (MMA Opinion), Ivan Trembow (Freelance); and Dave Walsh (Total MMA).

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Nick Diaz is a polarizing character; you either hate him or you love him. When it comes to him there really isn’t much of a grey area. Nick Diaz is one thing that you cannot argue; Nick Diaz is a fighter. In a world that is full of fighters who were trained in the rigid world of “Mixed Martial Arts” Nick Diaz is different, Nick Diaz is a martial artist. Diaz might not fit into the traditional view of a Martial Artist, Nick doesn’t go off on long tales of honor, he doesn’t practice any mystical arts. In fact, he is rather straightforward and has an attitude that upsets many.

Nick talked to Black Belt magazine recently, where he talked about being a Martial Artist and how MMA really isn’t his thing. Nick likes to be a martial artist, but feels the world of MMA to be rather cumbersome; full of steroid abuse and cocky attitudes with nothing to back them up. What is interesting is Nick’s view on Frank Shamrock, who has become quite a proponent to the Martial Arts way, as he sees Frank as one of the guys who showed the MMA world that athleticism and training in a few different styles can put you on top of the heap. He also sees Frank as one of the guys that introduced MMA into the bodybuilder look and helped push steroid abuse. As with everything Diaz, this is quite an interview.

Your brother Nate fights for the UFC and you used to fight for them. Do you give him advice about how to handle things?
Yeah, I do. I give him the heads-up about what they do. He understands that they’re not completely all for you over there. You have to watch out and be ready for what you’re doing. It’s geared to that sportier athlete.

I’m at war. As far as I’m concerned, this is warfare and I’m a ninja warrior and I’m taught to kill in the most efficient way possible. That’s the sort of mentality I’m going in there with.

I don’t want to sit next to you and have a conversation and lunch and have an interview together and talk and shake hands. I’m like, Fine, if the media wants to talk to me or see me or ask me questions, they can hear about whatever.

The UFC thinks [marketing] is good for the sport, but we don’t need to worry about that anymore. I’m sorry—I just don’t believe that we do. It’s not like we’re marketing Crystal Pepsi—this thing’s here to stay now.

I’m sorry that it scares people and that they’re not mature enough to understand that violence is a part of life. It’s just the way it is and it’s not my problem. That’s just the way I feel.

I don’t mean to be bad for the sport. I’m sorry if I’m bad for the sport. I don’t necessarily love this sport, either. I love jiu-jitsu and martial arts and competition, but mixed martial arts and what it is today, I don’t necessarily love it. It’s just not an easy job. And people like to point their fingers a lot and think it’s a ballgame and they think it’s an easy job, and it’s not that easy. I need to look like this killer to my adversary. I need to have that mental edge and I will have it. It’s the most important thing if I’m going to be fighting.

September 25, 2009: The September 2009 Independent World MMA Rankings have been released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple web sites.

Some of the best and most knowledgeable MMA writers from across the MMA media landscape have come together to form one independent voting panel. These voting panel members are, in alphabetical order: Zach Arnold (Fight Opinion); Nicholas Bailey (MMA Ratings); Jared Barnes (Freelance), Jordan Breen (Sherdog); Jim Genia (Full Contact Fighter, MMA Memories, and MMA Journalist Blog); Jesse Holland (MMA Mania); Robert Joyner (Freelance); Todd Martin (CBS Sportsline); Zac Robinson (Sports by the Numbers MMA); Leland Roling (Bloody Elbow); Michael David Smith (AOL Fanhouse); Jonathan Snowden (Heavy.com); Joshua Stein (MMA Opinion), Ivan Trembow (Freelance); and Dave Walsh (Total MMA).

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In case you haven’t been following the world of MMA lately, Alistair Overeem is basically a large area of confusion. Overeem is the current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion. What is funny about Overeem; Strikeforce Champion is that he hasn’t fought in the promotion, nay, the United States, since November 2007. So, of course, the internet is getting up in arms over it. Overeem as champion wasn’t a big deal until Strikeforce moved into the obligatory #2 spot in the United States. Then the questions started coming; why wasn’t Overeem fighting in the US? Why won’t he defend his title? Is he on the roids and afraid of drug tests? Overeem claims its a contract thing;

My contract with Strikeforce was only made about three months before the incident, I think they let me fight against (Vitor)Belfort and Paul (Buentello) to lose, but I won. Normally in a contract it says you have to defend your title within a certain period. But my contract just ended there. As I had a long term contract with FEG, I kept fighting for Dream and K-1. It’s ironic that we finally got an offer from Strikeforce and reached an agreement, and I get in some stupid brawl and cut my hand. In jail it got infected and it took longer than expected.

He has been fighting for FEG for quite a while, and is scheduled to fight for Golden Glory on October 17. Of course, he is also taking part in the K-1 World Grand Prix. Overeem and Strikeforce will collide eventually, but honestly, don’t hold your breath.

June 19, 2009: We are proud to announce the launch of the Independent World MMA Rankings. Some of the best and most knowledgeable MMA writers from across the MMA media landscape have come together to form one independent voting panel.

These voting panel members are, in alphabetical order: Zach Arnold (FightOpinion); Nicholas Bailey (MMA Ratings); Jared Barnes (Houston Chronicle); Jordan Breen (Sherdog); Jim Genia (Full Contact Fighter, MMA Memories, and MMA Journalist Blog); Jesse Holland (MMA Mania); Robert Joyner (MMA Payout); Todd Martin (CBS Sportsline); Zac Robinson (Sports by the Numbers MMA; Michael David Smith (AOL Fanhouse); Jonathan Snowden (Author of “Total MMA: Inside Ultimate Fighting”); Joshua Stein (MMA Opinion), Ivan Trembow (Freelance); and Dave Walsh (Total MMA).

These rankings are independent of any single MMA media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple web sites.

The rankings are tabulated on a monthly basis in each of the top seven weight classes of MMA, from heavyweight to bantamweight, with fighters receiving ten points for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, and so on.

The rankings are based purely on the votes of the members of the voting panel, with nobody’s vote counting more than anybody else’s vote, and no computerized voting.

The voters are instructed to vote primarily based on fighters’ actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition that they’ve actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective perception of which fighters would theoretically win fantasy match-ups.

Special thanks to Eric Kamander, Zach Arnold, and Joshua Stein for their invaluable help with this project, and special thanks to Garrett Bailey for designing our logo.

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Wrestling is fucked. Excuse the language, but it is true. Also excuse me making a post on this, a blog about MMA and everything legitimate in the fighting world, but this goes unsaid. Mitsuharu Misawa, one of Japan’s living legends in the pro wrestling world is dead and it raises a lot of questions. A lot of legitimate questions. What it also provides for combat sports fans, is a clear line between safety and dangerous when it comes to competing.

What Misawa did for a living was fake fight, essentially. He went out and put on a show that was based loosely on the world of combat. Part showman, part athlete, part fighter and part idiot is how you can explain most people who choose to do what Misawa did for a living. Misawa helped pioneer, along with his peers in All Japan and later Pro Wrestling NOAH a dangerous, high-risk, blurred-reality version of pro wrestling. While still staged, the name of the game was one-up-man-ship and “fighting spirit.” This wasn’t new to Japan, but the way that they went about it was different. Instead of using legitimate strikes and submission holds like wrestlers like Inoki, Maeda and Takada, they opted to toss each other on their head and necks repeatedly to get the crowd excited. Instead of the occasional high risk move where one of the wrestlers lands on their head, matches broke down to what at times felt like an endless cycle of being planted directly on their heads.

It came about during a time when this “real fighting” stuff (the stuff this site is about) was starting to gain steam across the world and leave wrestling behind like the fad that it was. To keep the fans’ fickle interest, wrestlers had to prove how tough they are. What needs to be said and why this is important is that Mitsuharu Misawa was not only the posterboy for this style, but one of the innovators of this style, and this style essentially murdered him while performing. Think about that. Thousands of wrestlers have been inspired by Misawa and his style and adopted it as their own, fighting through the pain and injuries because that was what the fans wanted. The rude awakening is this; it is incredibly dangerous.

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