Archive for the 'Strikeforce' Category

Via the new Wrestling Observer website. Check it out.

Mr. White’s is a Familiar Act

When people say comparisons between pro wrestling and MMA don’t make any sense, keep things like this in mind: according to Sherdog, Dana White and the UFC will run a show on SPIKE TV on July 19th. This is the same day that Affliction debuts with a star studded card on PPV, featuring Tim Sylvia vs. Fedor Emelienko in the main event.

To long time wrestling fans, this will seem all too familiar. In 1987 Jim Crockett Promotions was excited to air their first PPV, Starcade 1987. They were less thrilled when Vince McMahon’s WWF offered a competing PPV on the same day. They were nearly in tears when McMahon informed cable companies they could either carry his show (a brand that had a track record of success) or Crockett’s untested show. You can imagine what happened.

The next January, McMahon upped the ante. When Crockett announced his second PPV, Bunkhouse Stampede, McMahon countered with a free special called the Royal Rumble on the USA Network. Crockett would get revenge by broadcasting the inaugural Clash of the Champions for free on TBS in competition with Wrestlemania IV. And so it went, until WCW was finally laid to rest.

Dana White has a history of vigorously attacking the competition in the courts. Now he’s bringing his bag of dirty tricks to the television industry. And because the UFC is the only brand with regular access to a significant TV audience, it’s not exactly a fair fight. Still, this is dangerous ground to walk for White and the UFC. Boxing promoters are pretty careful about putting on shows in competition to each other. There are enough weekends in the calender year for everyone.

A broadside like this may do irreparable harm to Affliction’s chances, but does White really want to open the Pandora’s box that could lead to the next Kimbo Slice fight being programmed for free on CBS opposite Chuck Liddell’s next pay per view fight? I think White would have been better served letting the market decide whether Affliction could survive the choppy waters of modern MMA promotion. He might have been pleased with the answer.
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Think Cung Le is capable of dissecting Anderson Silva? Do you think Cung Le is a hack that caught Frank while he was doing Mortal Kombat poses? Well, we have a forum dedicated to you!

We’ve all had time to digest Cung Le vs Frank Shamrock now, we’ve gotten our proof that Frank Shamrock did indeed get hurt and that, well, it looks like he was being a tough bastard toughing it out for however long that he did. But the question I want to ask is; where exactly does this leave Cung Le? Right after the fight there was some pretty healthy debate over Cung Le; is he one of the best strikers around, could he challenge Anderson Silva and give him a go for his money, is he one of the best pound for pound, or does he lack knock out power and simply go in there and “point fight” with his fancy kicks that connect but do little damage?
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Editor’s Note: Hardcore MMA fans live in their own insular little world. I know before I click what Josh Gross or Zach Arnold are going to say before they say it. I thought it might be interesting to send an outsider to watch a show up close. A, dare I say, TUF-Newb. What does a California hipster goofball think about MMA. We’re about to find out…

By Andrew Wallace

It was with great excitement that I accepted Jonathan’s kind offer to go to Strikeforce as a member of the prestigious total-mma.com’s elite journalism team. I don’t know much about MMA, or journalism, or anything. As I write this, I am on a train headed towards San Jose. My frantic writing in this notebook will probably give me away as a complete fool. I’m nervous. As a member of the media am I expected to sit passively, completely neutral to the nights proceedings? Or am I allowed to just completely lose my goddamn mind? I guess that all depends on if I find a bar before the show starts.

I have arrived and my mind is completely and utterly lost. As I write, I am in the press room watching Dave Meltzer eat meatloaf. This is the most incredible moment of my entire life, I want to just start laughing. Meltzer has a hearty appetite and an awkward manner of interpersonal interaction. He is my king.

Oh, the sneaky little fellow has crept off somewhere. I shall try to find him!
Total-MMA is apparently lacking in the prestige department as I am seated in a wheelchair landing. This is not ideal.
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by Tommy Hackett

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If you’re like me, you’ve always wanted to like Bob Sapp in his Mixed Martial Arts career.

If you’re at all reasonable, you want that fighting career to end now.

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Bob Sapp is a born entertainer. He’s got an engaging personality and a great laugh. Combine that with his unusual physical size and you’ve got something, certainly enough for a career as a B-Movie villain. Sapp was going to give Hollywood a try. While in Hollywood, Sapp was within a signature of a WWE deal. They planned to bring him in and use him both as a pro wrestler and as wrestling’s representative in the world of MMA.

“K-1 was playing games, games that would consequently lead me to have one of the best years of my life and would save my career. Because I came over here and left K-1, got ready to sign with WWE, a huge contract with WWE, and they threatened to sue WWE. WWE backed out, thank God they did, because my partner was going to be Chris Benoit,” Sapp said. After a narrow escape from being partnered with a child murdering pro wrestler, Sapp’s persistent good luck led him further and further up the Hollywood food chain.

“I was supposed to be on the Anna Nicole Smith show, that’s why I first went out to California. It didn’t work out because she was sick and didn’t show up for the scene the next day. However, I caught the attention of one of the producers from the movie Elektra. I did Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel. That caught the producers from The Longest Yard. I’ve done 8 Hollywood movies so far and I just did Pros versus Joes,” Sapp said. “I’m 33 years old. Everything I’ve done, not only has it not required a job application, but every job I’ve touched has manged to make me well over six figures. Or in that six figure range. My first pro wrestling contract was like $120,000, you’ve got the fighting which is well over a $1 million, you’ve got all the movie work which is now adding up to be over $1 million. You’ve got the NFL in there too which is over a $1 million. It’s like ‘Bob, you’ve lived a huge and an incredible life.’ Everything I’ve done has been a kid’s dream job.”

Back in Japan, K-1 tried desperately to find the next Bob Sapp. Instead of looking for the most skilled and charismatic performers they could find, they tried instead to find another comical giant. Sapp considers the legion of giants and showmen to be acknowledgment of what he’s brought to the sport. The “giant” is back and it all started with Bob Sapp.
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The strong first year that saw Sapp thrash K-1 star Ernesto Hoost twice and almost beat Pride Champion Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera made Sapp a legitimate celebrity in Japan. Things got weird quickly. Soon he couldn’t even walk outside without an escort. “When I would walk down the street and everyone would start flipping over taxi cabs and going nuts,” Sapp said. “The police would ask me not to walk outside. It was nuts.” Japan had its share of gaijin stars in the pro wrestling and fighting industries, but none could compare to Sapp.

His life was pretty crazy. It’s amazing that he even had time to fight at all. He became a staple of the network Japanese morning and evening shows and was on the air every day, sometimes on multiple channels.

“I would eat breakfast early, go to sleep, wake up again at 8 AM. From there I’d go and do television shows from about 8 to 2 o’clock. From 2 to 4 I would eat lunch, from 6 to 9 I would have to do some more television shows and then some rest and go eat dinner. Then I’d have to do some commercials and television shows, some of the late night television shows. The next day I’d get up and go anywhere from a pro wrestling match or pro wrestling practice, then kickboxing practice, followed by MMA practice,” Sapp said. “A kickboxing or MMA match would be followed almost immediately by commercials or pro wrestling. Then the next day I’d have a full onslaught of television. It was hard. And that’s one of the reasons my records are going to stand. I don’t think you’ll find anyone who’s going to be able to work and do that much stuff. I did comedy shows and the only thing beating out my fights were my comedy shows. The entertainment I was providing was ridiculous. They had me doing absolutely everything and anything.”

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By Lee Casebolt  

2007 was The Year of the Upset in MMA, as evidenced by such unlikely happenings as Matt Serra, World Welterweight Champion, and Randy Couture, three time World Heavyweight Champion.  No one gave Serra a realistic chance of defeating the younger, larger, stronger, and generally better skilled Georges St. Pierre.  Similarly, the enormous Tim Sylvia was popularly thought to be too much for an aging Randy Couture who had moved to light heavyweight, after all, specifically to avoid 270+lb monsters cutting down to the 265 limit.

 This year’s upcoming title fights are, on paper, much more balanced encounters than those two contests, so if you think anyone really knows how they’re going to go down, you’re insane.  Which is not to say I (and thousands of others) will not make our predictions, based on either sound logic and keen observation or raw emotion and pure guesswork; it’s the internet, and that’s what it’s for.  For you, the fan, though, the important question at this juncture is not “Who’s going to win?” but “Why should I care?”  A belt is just a shiny piece of metal riveted to a leather strap.  In and of itself, it means nothing with regard to the quality or importance of a fight.  Today we’ll take a look at the upcoming title bouts which have been announced, and go over why they should be both good fights and significant fights. 

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