Category: MMA

It Takes 4 to Tango

Posted on by

Last night’s live final of The Ultimate Fighter Season 4 ended just as I predicted. Lutter beat Cote and Serra won over Lytle. Lutter ended his match quickly due to his superior wrestling skills. Serra earned a split decision win, but rightly so since he pressured the fight the entire way. Of the two winners, I think that Lutter will have the best chance of winning the title shot that last night’s victories offer.

Next Saturday, UFC 65: Bad Intentions takes place. It offers a couple of potentially exciting fights. Matt Hughes defends his title against George St. Pierre and Tim Sylvia puts his title on the line against Jeff Monson.

Hughes has already beaten St. Pierre once. Both fighters have improved a lot since then and St. Pierre was in awe of Hughes at that first meeting. That won’t be the case next Saturday. Still, I’m giving the nod to Hughes.

Sylvia vs Monson could be a lot of fun, even if it doesn’t last long. Sylvia is 6’8″ and Monson is 5’9″. Sylvia likes to stand up, use his reach and punch. Monson is a grappler and will want to take Sylvia to the mat and submit him. I’m not ready to make a prediction for this one…

… are you?

Shamrock Goes Out a Winner

Posted on by

Let’s get this clear from the start, Ken Shamrock lost the fight to Tito Ortiz. Shamrock was stopped in the first round and there was no controversy. Ortiz was clearly the victor.

How then, you might ask, can I title this post, “Shamrock Goes Out a Winner.”? Those of you that saw the fight, probably already know where I’m going with this; but in case you don’t, or you didn’t see the fight, let me explain.

Shamrock came prepared to fight. He was in great shape. When the fight started, Shamrock didn’t rush in. He had a plan. When he and Ortiz came together, Shamrock met him head on. Ortiz went for the big takedown, and Shamrock was able to hold him off… for a bit. When they went to the mat and Ortiz started to ground and pound, Shamrock stayed cool. Ortiz was just too strong. Finally punches began to come through Shamrock’s guard and the fight was stopped.

Ortiz jumped up and began to go into his after fight antics. He did the gravedigger thing that he does. When Shamrock started to come to the middle of the octogan for the announcement of the winner, he reached out to shake Tito’s hand. Instead Ortiz began to flip off Shamrock with both of his hands. In the post fight interview Ortiz made sure to point out that he was wearing a “Punishing Him into Retirement” shirt and then gave the webstie where fans could buy one of their own.

Normally these antics would have sent Shamrock into orbit. But not tonight. Shamrock instead said that Ortiz won and that the stoppage was a good one. Shamrock thanked his fans for the support over the years and said that he wanted to go out with no hard feelings for Ortiz. In fact he wished Ortiz continued success and added “God Bless all of the guys who fight in the octogon.”

Ortiz must have been listening, because he came over and when Shamrock was done speaking, took the mic and apologized directly to Shamrock for his antics after the match. They shook hands and hugged.

Ken Shamrock has probably fought his last battle in the octogan. He went out a warrior. He went out with class. Although defeated, he acted like a winner.

It Ain’t Over Until It’s Over

Posted on by

We’re just a little over 24 hours away from Ortiz vs Shamrock 3 and while Ortiz is heavily favored to perform a three-peat, it ain’t over until it’s over.

So, what does Shamrock have to do to win?

First of all, he must stay off his back. If Ortiz takes Shamrock down, the fight could be over quickly. That’s because Ortiz is at his best when he’s “groundin’ and poundin’.” If Shamrock can avoid the takedowns and push the fight into the second and third rounds, Ortiz will get frustrated.

The second thing that Shamrock must do is to keep moving and punching. If he stands still Ortiz will take him down. If he doesn’t throw a lot of punches, Ortiz will take him down. [Heck, even if Shamrock is moving and sticking, Ortiz may still take him down.] By constantly changing his angles and throwing hands, Shamrock will force Ortiz to slow his attack. And of course open up the opportunity for Shamrock to land a knockout blow.

So, what does Ortiz have to do to win?

Ortiz needs to be careful when shooting for the takedown. Everyone is expecting Ortiz to go for the big slam, so if Shamrock has trained and is able to execute, Ortiz could get hammered coming in. Ortiz needs to be patient and pick his shots. If he takes Shamrock down, he needs to swing away as fast and as hard as possible. Shamrock can be rocked and will then take a few punches before responding. This could lead to another quick stoppage.

So how do I see the fight going?

I believe that Ortiz is going to win. Shamrock has a puncher’s chance, but odds are against it.

Still… I can’t wait to see how it all goes down because, as we all know, it ain’t over until it’s over.

Two Reasons to Watch

Posted on by

Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock have fought twice. Ortiz has won both fights. Most folks in the know expect him to win again when the two warriors square off in the octagon on Tuesday night. So if everything points to another Shamrock win, why is everyone so interested?

I believe that it’s because of two reasons: 1] They really, and I mean really hate each other and 2] because when anything can happen when two skilled men are trying to knock each other out.

You can see the pre-fight weigh-in on Monday at 8pm on SPIKE. Then tune in to watch the fight for free at 8pm on Tuesday on SPIKE.

Predictions?

Hughes vs Penn & Help!

Posted on by

Tonight Matt Hughes defends his UFC title against the last man to have beaten him, BJ Penn. Hughes, like Chuck Liddell [the light heavyweight champion], has been completely dominating his division. I don’t think that will change tonight. Still, the fact that Penn has beaten Hughes previously adds another dimension to the fight.

I won’t be ordering the pay-per-view since I have to work tonight, but I would be interested in reading or hearing the results once I get home. Since several ZONERs are probably going to be watching the fight live or know of a site that will be live blogging, I thought that I ask for suggested site to visit for the latest news. Any suggestions?

Ultimate Fighting – Legitimate Sport or Guilty Pleasure?

Posted on by

One of the most popular topics on the ZONE and SZ Messageboards is Ultimate Fighting. I’ve become a fan despite the fact that I refused to watch the stuff for years.

It wasn’t until I started tuning in to The Ultimate Fighter [season one] that I came to realize that the majority of these fighters are trained martial artists [wrestling, judo, boxing, etc.] and not just a bunch of knuckleheads who love to fight. Don’t get me wrong, they DO love to fight, but most have skills and love to test theirs.

Another reason that I avoided watching UFC fights is that I didn’t want to see people getting their bones broken or worse in an “athletic” event. And while it is true that many fights do end up with one or both contestants bleeding, and it isn’t unheard of for a knockout to occur; these injuries are similar to what one could get in a boxing match. Sure, I understand that UFC fights do sometimes end with broken bones, but that is pretty rare. My guess is that more bones get broken in football games than UFC matches.

Still, there are times that I feel that watching a UFC fight is something of a guilty pleasure. I wouldn’t want to see two guys brawling on the street and yet I find myself watching The Ultimate Fighter and UFC Unleashed every week.

I guess I’ll ponder this a bit more during commercials. The Ultimate Fighter is coming on SPIKE TV now…

Third Time a Charm for Shamrock?

Posted on by
On October 10th, Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz will meet in the octagon for the third time. Despite the fact that Ortiz has won both previous fights, there has always been enough “controversy” to bring the two [and fans around the world] back for a rematch. That and the fact that Shamrock and Ortiz have a REAL dislike for each other.

This time the fight will be televised on SPIKE tv for free. My guess is that the third time won’t be a charm for Shamrock. I look for Ortiz to win… but there is a chance that Shamrock could pull off the upset.

Which of course would pave the way for another rematch.

The Ultimate Fighter

Posted on by

Are any of you ZONErs, watching The Ultimate Fighter?

I do and am hooked. Just to bring you up to speed in case you don’t watch. The Ultimate Fighter18 fighters who are split up into two teams. Each week the teams compete in a compitition to determine which team chooses the two who will fight. The loser leaves the house. [which is in its second season] brings together

It’s like The Contender on steroids.

The guys who compete in Ultimate Fighting are real life tough guys. They usually have a strong background in wrestling, boxing and the martial arts. Many are experts in more than one discipline. And…

They. Love. To. Fight.

I’m not talking about sparing. Or working out. Or where you knock a guy down and then back up until he’s on his feet. I’m talking about fighting… you know, FIGHTING!

This sport isn’t for everyone. It’s not even a sport that everyone can watch, let alone compete in.

Still, I have to admit, I tune in each week.

Lesnar Takes a Shot

Posted on by
Brock Lesnar, touted as The Next Big Thing in the WWE, a legitimate National Champion in college and a 3 time Champ in the Pros has walked away from his multi-million dollar contract to try out for the NFL.

And while Brock is big enough, strong enough, and even fast enough to make it in the NFL, he has an uphill battle to get picked up since he hasn’t played in nine years and the last time was on a high school team.

Still ya have to admire a person willing to turn down millions of dollars to pursue a dream.