By John Buchan (
CLOAKING
)
Friday saw Showtime feature another installment in the Strikeforce Challengers series, although the main event
was a particularly curious affair, with Olympic wrestling silver medalist Matt Lindland running roughshod over
Rickson Gracie brown belt, Kevin Casey. Lindland stopped Casey via TKO due to strikes in the third frame.
What made this headlining bout so curious, is that neither Lindland, nor Casey are particularly appropriate choices
to be featured on a show that is supposed to be about showcasing hot prospects on the upswing in their careers.
Lindland, a grizzled veteran, suffered back-to-back losses in his previous two outings, dropping fights to both
Ranaldo "Jacare" Souza, and Vitor Belfort. Casey, on the other hand, is a man whose main claims to fame are that
he got knocked out by Ikuhisa Minowa, and threatened Marc Laimon with a gun.
This card served as yet another example of the missteps being made by Showtime and Strikeforce with respect
to their MMA programming. Indeed, a great deal of this blame probably lies with Showtime, a premium cable
company with little knowledge of the sport. What is upsetting, is that Strikeforce seems to either not have the
clout to steer Showtime executives in the right direction with their programming, or they fail to see the problems
inherent in their model of operations.
After their deal with Showtime and CBS, Strikeforce began signing fighters left and right. Dan Henderson, Jacare,
Lindland, Andrei Arlovski, and arguably the number-one heavyweight on the planet, Fedor Emelianenko were all
inked to compete in the promotion. Unfortunately, the company didn't seem to have concrete plans for these
signings, leaving many fighters in limbo for far too long. This situation exploded onto the internet in recent weeks,
with Lyle Beerbohm, a fantastic lightweight with a hell of a back story and the fanciest pants in the business, taking
to the famed Underground, looking for legal advice on getting out of his deal with Strikeforce. He is not the only
fighter to express dissatisfaction with the promotion in recent weeks. At the heart of Beerbohm's grievance was a
dispute over contractual obligations.
Beerbohm's contract was originally with Pro Elite, the ill-fated promotional brand of laborious breather Gary Shaw.
After the company went bust and Strikeforce bought a portion of their assets, the fighter's contract was re-
negotiated in good faith. He was originally scheduled to fight Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro on the televised portion of an
earlier card, however, an injury Beerbohm suffered in training caused the fight to be postponed to their Heavy
Artillery card, which went down on May 15. With no room on the televised portion of that card, the Beerbohm-
Shaolin fight was relegated to the prelims, meaning Beerbohm, who has a split contract, would be paid significantly
less for his appearance. Sponsors would undoubtedly pay less as well for a prelim fight.
"Shaolin" the man he questionably beat on that card has had his problems with Strikeforce as well. Originally signed
in September of 2009, Ribeiro lingered for nine months before finally being booked to fight at the Heavy Artillery
card. Such problems are separate and apart from Strikforce's complete bungling of the prelims of cards. Refusing to
broadcast any preliminary bouts in any format is a questionable move, for sure, but filling them up with D-level local
talent is also perturbing, given they have a roster of A and B-level fighters sitting on the shelf.
For Strikeforce, this feels like a case of "too much too soon". The promotion excelled when they worked with a
smaller stable of fighters, putting on a smaller number of cards per year, and employing strategies like booking local
fighters to increase gate revenue. Such a strategy however, is incompatible with a national promotion trying to put
on the big fights they are. This is especially true when they aren't able to get fights for their top talent.
Coker and his Strikeforce brand are in a precarious situation. With Showtime's Ken Hershman at the helm, and a clear
track record of doing things the wrong way, they are left trying to make the best of a difficult situation. Meanwhile,
fighters like Beerbohm, Shaolin, and others are left on the shelf, while we see main card spots taken up by fighters
like Kevin Randleman and Kevin Casey.
For the good of his brand and the good of the sport he loves, Coker needs to stop Hershman from sticking his nose
in affairs he not only doesn't understand, but doesn't seem interested in understanding. If he thinks booking Kevin
Randleman on main cards time and time again will draw ratings because he fought in the UFC, he is completely out
of his depth. Randleman has been an irrelevant fighter for nearly a decade now, last competing in the UFC in 2002,
years before it was enjoying any semblance of its current popularity. This is the same logic that would put a fighter
like Kevin Casey in against Matt Lindland. I'm sure it was Casey's association with a vapid television personality,
Spencer Pratt, a man whose specific claim to fame is unknown and irrelevant to anyone over the age of 15, rather
than his fighting ability that got him that main event spot. It certainly didn't have anything to do with his 3-1
professional record at the time. He's now 3-2 after his loss to Lindland, if you were curious.
Stikeforce and Showtime need to figure out what they're doing, and fast. Operating in such a directionless,
haphazard way is detrimental to any kind of longevity they hope to achieve. Not only does it repel and alienate their
core fan base, it does the same to their roster of fighters. Fighters are spending way too much time on the shelf,
only to be booked in poorly-made matches.
By Eric Baker
When Shine Fights CEO Devin Price announced late last year he had a contract with Ricardo Mayorga to fight MMA, fans and media pundits responded with a resounding, "huh?"
Boxing fans know all too well that Ricardo Mayorga is famous for pulling out of bouts involving six-figure paychecks for more money. So why is he fighting Din Thomas under a rule set he has never competed under, for probably less money than he has seen for a fight in years?
Throw in some injunctions courtesy of Don King Productions, and the questions just keep on coming.
Still, Price insists Shine's 3rd show will go on as planned. The company has responded to King's claims by countering that Shine has a contract to promote Mayorga under mixed martial arts - and King's contractual relationship with Mayorga only relates to boxing contests. DKP claims that mixed martial arts contests contain boxing, and that potential injury could affect future bookings for Mayorga.
Legal maneuvering aside, the heat for this fight has been absolutely off the charts. After a press conference that seemed to go down exactly as planned, fans seemed genuinely interested in the Mayorga-Thomas bout. The two exchanged barbs and shoves for the press in New York City, and many mma fans - witnessing the genius that is Ricardo Mayorga at a press conference for the first time - flocked to the forums to declare their interest in the charismatic, hard-nosed, and hard-talking Nicaraguan. (I don't think the cigarette smoking hurt, either.)
The bout itself is as basic as they come. If Mayorga lands, Thomas is done. If Thomas can get inside while avoiding being blasted, he'll get Mayorga to the ground and run game. Still, I'm not convinced we'll actually see it until I see Mayorga in the ring with Thomas on Saturday night.
Overshadowed by a spectacle of a main event, Worlds Collide actually has a solid line up of fights. Following the withdrawal of Travis Galbraith, David Heath will step in to take on Murillo 'Ninja' Rua. 'Ninja' had it rough in his last run on U.S. soil, taking losses to Robbie Lawler and Benji Radach in the ill-fated and conceptually retarded Elite XC promotion. Following another loss to Riki Fukuda in FEG's DREAM promotion in Japan, Ninja rebounded with two wins over PRIDE throwback Alex Stiebling and Golden Glory product Jason Jones in the Bitetti Combat promotion in Brazil.
In what can only be called a PRIDE Bushido tribute match, Charles 'Krazy Horse' Bennett, aka Kid Chaos will take on Chute Boxe's Luiz Azeredo. If you grew up on Bushido, this fight just makes you smile. Let's hope that Krazy Horse doesn't run afoul of the law in the days leading up to the bout.
BJJ phenom Braulio Estima makes his mma debut on the card against Rick Hawn, and mma fans are thrilled to see the grappling phenom compete under mma rules. Estima, who is the 2009 ADCC 88KG and absolute division champion will have his work cut out for him with Hawn, who is an undefeated Team Sityodyong product.
Rounding out the action are Nick Thompson vs. Eduardo Pamplona, Alexandre Ferreira vs. Jamal Patterson, and Luciano Azevedo vs. Zac George. Shine Fights 3: Worlds Collide goes down Saturday, May 15 at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
|
By Eric Baker
Overview
While many of us are still recovering from last weekend's action, another big card looms on the horizon, and Octagon Betting has your MMA picks.
On Saturday, Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem will defend his title for the first time in more than 2 years against unlikely challenger Brett Rogers. While many fans and observers have criticized Strikeforce for offering a title shot to a man who just lost to world number one ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, insiders and those who follow Strikeforce closely know that frankly, there just wasn't anyone else.
Lack of depth across their divisions is something that Strikeforce continues to draw criticism for. Indeed, after their shocking signing of Emelianenko, pundits wondered aloud, "just who is he going to fight?"
The promotion's heavyweight champion, Alistair Overeem was immediately an intriguing possibility, however, Overeem's activity in Japan - both in K-1 and under the DREAM mixed martial arts banner, has kept the big man busy overseas. The situation, combined with Overeem's significant growth in the past 2 years has caused numerous critics to accuse Overeem of steroid and other PED use. Alistair and his camp at Golden Glory have vehemently denied these accusations - citing the fact that Overeem has never tested positive for PEDs in any of his previous appearances in the United States, and his absence from competition in Strikeforce was purely due to contractual obligations to K1 and MMA parent company FEG or Fighting and Entertainment Group.
Regardless of the reasons for Overeem's absence from competition stateside, The Flying Dutchman returns to defend his title against Brett Rogers at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery. The event takes place Saturday night, May 15, from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, and will be broadcast on premium cable network Showtime.
Overeem vs. Rogers - The Breakdown
While Overeem has looked positively monsterrific in recent outings, long-time fans of the sport will remember the days when the Dutch striker was considered flaky, at best. Notorious for problems with cardio, Overeem also had a habit of positively wilting after encountering any kind of resistance. The most glaring - and recent - example of this was probably when Overeem faced former PRIDE compatriot, Sergei Kharitonov. When the two met in September of 2007 under the now-defunct K-1 HERO's banner, Kharitonov straight lamped the Demolition Man. All it took was a couple of measured shots landed by Kharitonov to cause Overeem to wilt and retreat from the fight. It looked, frankly, ridiculous.
Just two months later, Overeem fought Paul Buentello for the Strikeforce heavyweight strap, and - certainly to the promotion's surprise, stopped the heavy-handed Buentello on second round knee strikes to the body. That would mark the last time that Overeem competed on U.S. soil.
This fight is interesting because both fighters thrive in the clinch, but for different reasons. Overeem will look to get Rogers in the Thai Plum, and deliver one of his laser-guided knees to the jaw line of his foe. Rogers, for his part, will look to lock up with the Dutchman, avoid damage, and rain blows in the form of overhands and uppercuts. While Overeem has looked unstoppable as of late, Rogers' power combined with the questionable durability of Overeem makes for an interesting angle.
One marked advantage the Demolition Man will certainly have going into the fight will be his ground game. Overeem has an absolutely crushing guillotine, and has looked dominating when fighting opponents out-matched on the ground.
Ultimately I don't think Rogers will have the durability to withstand a barrage of strikes from Overeem. The Demolition Man will prove too big, powerful, and technical for the brawler from Minnesota - look for Alistair to stop Rogers on first round strikes, and setup the only match we want to see in the Strikeforce heavyweight division. Expect Emelianenko vs. Overeem to go down later on this year on CBS.
The Undercard
No. 8 ranked heavyweight Andrei Arlovski returns to face off with Antonio Silva, who is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Fabricio Werdum in November of last year. Arlovski is a better fighter than Silva - this is not up for debate. Moreover, Arlovski is acutely aware of his lack of durability at this point, and the work he has put in to his striking will pay off in this bout. Look for Arlovski to work his jab and land on Silva at will. Arlovski has experience taking on big men - see Ben Rothwell - and I don't see Silva's impressive frame causing the Belarusian too much discomfort. Look for Arlovski to use punches and leg kicks to take a unanimous decision over Pezao.
In other action, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza takes on Joey Villasenor in an excellent test for both men. Villasenor, a veteran of PRIDE and Elite XC, has a significant experience advantage over Jacare, but Jacare's grappling acumen is in and of itself simply too much to ignore. Moreover, Jacare displayed serious improvement in his striking in his last fight against Matt Lindland. Jacare outstruck the more experienced Lindland on the feet, took the former Olympic wrestler down, and submitted him in short order.
For his part, however, Villasenor has shown his ability to hang with solid grapplers. That said, an mma fighter with ground skills akin to Jacare's is virtually unheard of - only Roger Gracie, Damien Maia and Marcelo Garcia come to mind.
The X-factor here is Jacare's chin. Being the victim of a KO loss to Gegard Mousasi is no shame for any fighter, but perhaps the same cannot be said about Macaco. If Smokin' Joe can land on Jacare, he has shown on more than one occasion he has the power to put him to sleep.
Unfortunately for Villasenor, I expect Jacare to get inside and take the fight where he's most comfortable. After that, it's only a matter of time before the crocodile sinks his teeth into his prey.
The Rest
Look for Antwain Britt to get busted up by Anderson Silva's best bud Rafael Cavalcante. 'Feijao' was highly touted before a shocking knockout loss to Mike Kyle of all people. Yes, that Mike Kyle. Now his future seems uncertain, but he matches up well with Britt. While Britt has knockout power, people have been too quick to dismiss Cavalcante. Feijao takes this win via submission.
Did you know Vitor Ribeiro was under contract with Strikeforce? Well, he is. And has been, for about nine months now. Well, at least he's finally fighting now, and against an excellent opponent in Lyle Beerbohm. This fight is so great, I'm shocked it's on a Strikeforce undercard, typically reserved for D and E level local talent. While Beerbohm clearly has the fancier of the pants, those interested in MMA betting picks should look for Ribeiro to positionally dominate and take a unanimous decision.
By Octagon Betting Staff
MMAJunkie's John Morgan is reporting that Travis Galbraith has withdrawn from his scheduled fight with Murillo 'Ninja' Rua, at Shine Fights 3: Worlds Collide. Additionally, Morgan has named UFC veteran David Heath as Galbraith's replacement. Frankly this does little to change my opinion of the match - Ninja has looked so flaky as of late, I'd have a hard time picking him against Tony Bonello in a rematch at this point.
In the piece, Galbraith tells his version of the events leading up to his withdrawl - and given the speculation surrounding the main event, it does little to give potential pay-per-view buyers confidence about this card.
"It was kind of a compilation of a few things," Galbraith said. "First off, we were only sent the travel schedule three days prior to the fight. My manager was trying to get hold of them two weeks prior to the fight regarding my travel itinerary and didn't get a rely until three days prior. "On top of that, being in the co-main event, it was in my contract that I could have two cornermen accompany me to the fight. Also three days prior to the fight, I was told I was only allowed one guy. So we chose not to participate in the event because the contract was not being met."
Check out the full article at MMA Junkie here.
|
