OK, it's about 6:50 p.m. here on the Left Coast and I'm really missing being at a UFC event live. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy sittin in my big, comfy sofa chair with my laptop and blogging a "stream of consciousness" of my thoughts on, not only the fights, but the pay-per-view as a whole.
But, as anyone who's ever been to a live event can attest, the feeling is electric in the arena. Especially just minutes before they go live on PPV. There's a UFC highlight video shown, with the perfect song (The Who's "Baba O'Riley") playing.
I interviewed Dana White late last year and we were talking about the production values that UFC has and he said everything they put out goes through the "Goose bump test."
I must have seen that video close to 10 times and it still gives me goosebumps.
(Readers note: You must click refresh every 10 minutes as this page does not automatically update. Also, please leave your comments on anything you see or read tonight, regarding UFC 77!)

OK, I'm turning off the Red Sox-Indians game (As a die-hard Angels fan, I really despise the Red Sox). I can't stand to see Boston fans happy. As a Southern California native, it's just ingrained in me.
On to the pay-per-view!

OK, is anyone else out there extremely worried for Rich Franklin's safety? I'm legit nervous and I'm in the comfort of my own living room. I can't imagine how Franklin must feel. By the way, what are the odds that Ace's nose is in the same place at the end of the night? Yeah, I don't think they're good, either.

Middleweight contenders bout
Kalib Starnes (10-2-1)vs. Alan Belcher (10-3)
Round 1: Very interesting hairstyles in Belcher's corner. Both fighters have fought Kendall Grove, each being defeated by the big Hawaiian. Starnes' loss came when he suffered a broken rib. Good first round. Lots of action. Belcher was the sharper fighter with knees and punches, opening a huge gash well above Starnes' right eye. I'd give the round to Belcher.
Round 2: They just showed an ad for UFC 78, which features Michael Bisping vs. Rashad Evans. Not looking forward to that one. Referee Yves Lavigne just stopped the fight. Apparently, the doctor held the cut open and said he saw his skull. Good call. If there's skull visible, you probably shouldn't be fighting.
Summary: Impressive showing for Belcher, but I think that's about as well as he can fight. I'd doubt he'd beat much better fighter than Starnes.

Matt Hughes is in attedance. I can't decide if I like his personality or not. The two times he's been a coach on TUF, he's kinda rubbed me the wrong way with his attitude. But, I've interviewed him twice and he's a great guy to talk to. Oh well, who cares how I feel, I'm supposed to be impartial, right? By the way, The early poll result has 54 percent of fans predicting that Rich Franklin will regain his middleweight title tonight. I think that number is a tad high and may drop a bit when they show highlights of Silva-Franklin I.

Light-heavyweight contenders bout
Eric Schafer (9-2-2) vs. Stephan Bonnar (13-4-0)
Round 1: Schafer's muay thai trainer is Duke Rufus. Is that the greatest name ever? Awesome! Very good round for Schafer, who was able to keep Bonnar on the mat for most of the mat and nearly had a rear-naked choke. Schafer showed off his strength by picking Bonnar up off the mat and slamming him down. Round goes to Schafer.
Round 2: Excellent round for Bonnar. Schafer pulled him down early into his guard, but Bonnar used his superior length to just pelt Schafer with punches. Schafer tried to deflect them for a while, but eventually was just content to try to cover up. Bonnar was unrelenting forced referee "Big" John McCarthy to stop the fight at the 2:47 mark.
Summary: Bonnar looked above average, but I think part of that was due to ring rust, coming off his suspension (steroids). A good comeback win for Bonnar. He's a fan favorite, so we'll be seeing more of him.

Wanderlei Silva is in the audience, his face looking as puffy as ever. What's up with that? ... Also saw Brock Lesnar sitting in the front row. I can't wait to see that guy step in the Octagon. The guy's an incredible athlete who just needs fights to get to where he wants to be. ... By the way, the poll still says Franklin 54-46 percent. Still no highlights of their first fight, though. I'm sticking by my theory. ... I can't wait for that Dec. 8 fight between Roger Huerta and Clay Guida. UFC has definitely taken the kid gloves off Huerta by putting him in with Guida, who is a beast!

Lightweight contenders bout
Jorge Gurgel (14-2-0) vs. Alvin Robinson (9-2-0)
Round 1: Very rarely have I seen so much movement with so little result. Gurgel dominated positioning and gained full mount with just under 10 seconds left in the round. But very little damage was done by either fighter. Round to Gurgel just for having top position.
Round 2: Wow. Heckuva round for Robinson. Big difference in this fight is Gurgel had top position for the first five minutes and did nothing with it. Robinson had the position advantage for most of this round and battered the heck out of Gurgel. Easy round for Robinson. Winner of the next round wins the fight.
Round 3: Another dominant round for Robinson. He just battered Gurgel. Robinson was relentless on the ground with punches, totally bloodying Gurgel's face. I have it 2 rounds to 1 for Robinson.
Decision: 29-28, 29-27, 29-27 for Robinson
Summary: Impressive showing for Robinson, who rallied from a slow start to look very impressive. His conditioning was great as he was in constant motion for 15 minutes, even when he was losing the first round. Very disappointing fight for Gurgel, who had control of Robinson early on, but did nothing with it. After that, he was a beaten fighter. Bad, bad loss.

Whose idea was it to have Rich Franklin's trainer fight tonight, when he's going to step into the Octagon against a guy who literally re-arranged his face about a year ago? Is there ANY positive to Franklin knowing his trainer got his butt handed to him, minutes before he steps in against Silva? Not good at all. ... Also, Joe Rogan just announced that UFC has signed Brock Larson .... errrrrrr .... Lesnar (way to go, Joe) to a deal. Lesnar is already better on the microphone than 3/4 of the UFC fighters. I don't know anything definite, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Lesnar in the Octagon on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas. Again, I have nothing to support that, but it's UFC's biggest show of the year.

Heavyweight contenders bout
Tim Sylvia (25-3-0) vs. Brandon Vera (8-0-0)
Round 1: Well the crowd showers both fighters with boos, but I thought it was an interesting round. Vera pulled the bigger Sylvia right into the clench, and I thought that was good strategy. I actually thought Vera was better off, though, when they exchanged strikes. Very, very close round to score, but I gave it slightly to Vera, who landed the cleaner blows.
Round 2: Better round for Vera, who landed the cleaner blows and was able to take Sylvia down. Vera, though, wasn't able to do a whole lot, but drove a few knees into the body. Vera was warned for hitting Sylvia with a knee to the head while he was down. Vera ended with a flurry. He gets the round and, by my scorecard, Sylvia needs a knockout to win.
Round 3: Excellent round for Sylvia, who was the busier fighter. He controlled the action and, depending on how the judges scored Round 1, may have won the fight. I gave the first two rounds to Vera, but it could go either way.

Decision: 29-27, 29-28, 29-28 for Sylvia.
Summary: Very interesting fight. Vera appears to have broken his hand, which would help explain his inactivity in Round 3. Sylvia looked in excellent shape and in great condition. Excellent comeback fight for the former champ, who called out Cheick Kongo after the bout.

UFC Middleweight Title Bout
Rich Franklin (24-2-0) vs. Anderson Silva (19-4)
Round 1: Franklin was dropped at the very end of the round and had to be helped to the corner. He was much better in the first round than he was in their first fight, but that's not saying much. Silva caught him with some hard shots and a big right hand by Silva put him down. First round to Silva.
Round 2: Silva just picks Franklin apart and knocks him out with a flurry of punches and knees. McCarthy stepped in to stop it before Silva could batter Franklin, who was lying on his back, any longer.
Summary: Silva is just the best middleweight in the world right now. He's on his game. Nothing against Franklin, but Silva is a monster.

Posted by James Melroy at 6:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Fight Network is reporting that UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture has quit the organization, vacating his title and his duties as color commentator.
We'll have more on this story in the hours ahead.

Obviously, stunning news in the wake of Fedor Emelianenko's decision yesterday.

Posted by James Melroy at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There has been little argument these last few years, when the question of who was the best heavyweight fighter in mixed martial arts. Heck, most even agreed that the same fighter should be considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
Fedor Emelianenko, the PRIDE heavyweight champion, was nearly unstoppable. He had defeated Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and a host of other big names in the sport. A talented striker, the Russian proved even more potent on the ground, winning 14 of his 27 victories by submission, including the last four in a row.
Fedor was the best ... keyword WAS.

After it was revealed Wednesday that Emelianenko had agreed to a deal to fight for M-1 Mixed-Fight Championship, I will no longer refer to him as the best. I just can't do it.

Don't get me wrong, I respect Emelianenko's skills as a fighter. But skills don't account for everything that a fighter needs to be the best. The heart of a fighter also determines success, as UFC light heavyweight contender Forrest Griffin could attest. But Emelianenko's decision to spurn UFC's offer and fight for what amounts to be a minor-league organization proves to be both frustrating and quite revealing.

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a fighter. I've never stepped inside the Octagon, or in between the ropes. I've never been punched in the face, or had my arm twisted to the point of tapping out. I've never been choked out, nor have I seen my own blood pouring down my face and into my eyes while someone was trying to inflict physical harm.

But, I have played and coached sports on a competitive level and, as a competitor, I always looked forward to competing against the best. How else would an athlete measure him or herself? If you lose to the best, you still have work to do. If you beat the best, well, you still have to work to stay on top, but you know that you're the standard by which all others are measured.

Isn't that what athletes strive for? Apparently not Emelianenko.
Sure, Emelianenko has posted wins over Cro Cop and Nogueira, but those wins have lost a bit of luster with recent performances in UFC. Cro Cop, who entered UFC as the uncrowned heavyweight champ, has been dismantled by average fighters in his last two outings. Nogueira was solid, if not spectacular, against Heath Herring.
Maybe Fedor saw those fights, as well as Griffin's win over PRIDE's pride, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, and decided it might be easier for him to preserve his legacy in M-1, instead of in the Octagon against the likes of heavyweight champ Randy Couture, former champ Tim Sylvia, up-and-coming star Brandon Vera, the talented (yet sporadic) Andrei Arlovski and contenders Gabriel Gonzaga and Cheick Kongo.

Maybe Emelianenko has a good reason for his decision. But on the surface, it's disappointing that we'll likely never know if Fedor was the best, or if he would've suffered the same fate as several other PRIDE fighters have.

Posted by James Melroy at 1:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sherdog is reporting that Cage Fury Fighting's Oct. 12 event has been canceled due to a key investor backing out of the event.
The program was to be headlined by UFC legend Tank Abbott vs. streetfighting icon Kimbo Slice.
Yeah, I'm really disappointed we're all going to be deprived of that fight.
It's bouts like those that give MMA detractors who are uneducated about the sport and its growth the ammunition to knock MMA down a peg in the general public's eyes.
I'm convinced that Abbott's conditioning is so bad, he'd get winded after chewing gum for 10 minutes, let alone fighting. Meanwhile, Kimbo Slice is a joke who is better suited for those old style Toughman Competitions than competing in MMA.

Posted by James Melroy at 2:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to MultiChannel news, negotiations between UFC and HBO have ended without a deal.

This is pretty disappointing, yet hardly surprising. One of the major snags involving previous negotiations had to do with production and which side would be allowed control. UFC has always done its own production work, while HBO preferred to use its own staff, as well as its announcers.
I remember specifically asking Dana White during a conference call a few months ago if Jim Lampley, who has been pretty outspoken in his disdain of MMA, would be announcing UFC fights if the deal were to be completed. White replied with a terse "@#%^ no!"
The article went on to say that today's developments bode well for SpikeTV to extend its deal with UFC.

Posted by James Melroy at 6:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just watched last night's TNA Impact, which was the first in the company's new 2-hour timeslot on SpikeTV.
I've been sort of burnt out on pro wrestling of late. WWE has become quite stale and I always found TNA's breakneck pace in the 1-hour timeslot to be far too hectic to enjoy. Ring of Honor has been my main source for pro wrestling, and, if you haven't checked out any of their DVDs, go to their site right now and purchase a couple. If you're a fan of in-ring performance and believable storylines, you'll love ROH.
Getting back to TNA, I'm not ashamed to admit that, in general, I'm not a fan of the 1-hour format. These last dozen years or so have spoiled many wrestling fans. One hour just doesn't give me my fix of wrestling. When it was announced that TNA was getting a 2-hour slot, I got a little excited. After all, the company employs several of my favorite wrestlers, including Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, Homicide, A.J. Styles and Low Ki (I refuse to call him Sen-Shi). Also, Alex Shelly and Chris Sabin are the best young tag team in the business and I'm really enjoying Jay Lethal's "Black Machismo" gimmick, despite my original reservations.
So, what did I think of last night's episode?
It was a solid first outing.

The main event, featuring Triple X (Daniels and Low Ki) teaming with Styles and Christian Cage against LAX (Homicide and Hernandez), Junior Fatu (formerly Rikishi in WWE) and Samoa Joe, was outstanding. It showcased everyone's skill set and kept a fast pace.
This is one of the things that WCW was really good at when the company was kicking WWF/E's butt in the ratings in the mid-90s. They'd allow the strong workers (Jericho, Malenko, Mysterio, Guerrero, Benoit, etc., etc.) do their thing on one half of the card, and let the big names (Hogan, Hall, Nash, etc., etc.) do the storytelling in the main events.
Sometimes when I watch TNA, I get the feeling I'm watching a company that was founded by a group of over-the-hill wrestlers and WWE castoffs in order to be big fish in a small pond and continue their long-should've-been-over wrestling careers (watching The Steiners attempt to do a "run in" is almost painful to watch).
But if Vince Russo and the rest of creative takes advantage of the extra time on their TV shows and gives the fans a little bit of everything (some great wrestling, some soap opera angles, etc) then TNA will continue to grow.

The biggest mistake TNA can make, though, is to keep wanting more. Two hours is the perfect amount of time. Wrestling fans saw when Nitro went to 3 hours on Monday, followed by another couple hours of Thunder a few days later. That's just too much wrestling.
Two hours to develop characters, put over storylines and put on one 3-4 star match is more than enough to get that company over in the long term.

Posted by James Melroy at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love YouTube
Below is one of the funniest videos I've seen since I began browsing the site.

Posted by James Melroy at 1:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When my co-worker, Miguel Lopez, approached me Thursday shortly after I had arrived at the Press-Telegram sports department, I knew there was some big news regarding mixed martial arts. Sure enough, he told me that UFC had set its main event for UFC 77: Validation, which takes place on November 17 in Newark, New Jersey.
I began to think big and rattled off a few:
Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva? ... No.
Did they move Serra vs. Hughes to N.J.? ... Nope.
Hmmmmm.
I was quickly running out of ideas.
Miguel stood there with a slight grin on his face, and, right then, I knew I was never going to guess it.
"I give up, dude. What is it?"

Rashad Evans vs. Michael Bisping.
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Rashad Evans vs. Michael Bisping?
Wow.
OK, don't get me wrong, I think Evans-Bisping is an interesting matchup between two talented young fighters. I also know that UFC was trying desperately to put together a rematch between Evans and Tito Ortiz. But, Ortiz, either because of a rumored back injury or money squabbles with Dana White and the Ferttita Bros., refused to accept the fight.
So, the new main event consists of two guys who were less than impressive in their last fights. In Evans' fight against Ortiz, he seemed very passive, almost overwhelmed by the moment until the late moments of the fight. Only a point deduction against Ortiz (for grabbing the fence) kept Evans from losing the fight.
Meanwhile, Bisping is coming off of a "victory" over Matt Hamill. I used quotation marks because many observers felt Hamill, who is far from being a seasoned fighter, defeated the talented Brit. But the judging favored Bisping, who was fighting in his home country of England.
The one thing UFC does have in its favor to possibly pull in a good buyrate is Bisping came off as a huge heel (wrestling jargon for "bad guy") after his controversial win. Instead of acknowledging the tough fight, he remained overly cocky, to the point where fans who wildly cheered him minutes before, booed him during his post-fight interview.
Add to that, Evans comes off as extremely likeable and you have a good mix of personalities in the main event. But, UFC has its work cut out for it. The organization will have to do a good job of interviews, countdown specials and highlight videos to get the casual fans interested in forking over $40 for the pay-per-view.

Posted by James Melroy at 12:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)