Analysis: Calling Roy Nelson well rounded may come off as an endomorphic pun-nery , but it truly is a good description of his skills. Nelson's base is in BJJ, but he has made a name for himself with his outstanding stand-up skills. Nelson entered most folks radar when he engaged in a slugfest with IFL KO specialist Ben Rothwell. Nelson took some heavy blows but came back with even more, losing the fight in a controversial split decision.but gaining fans and respect in the process. In addition to his ground and stand up, Nelson adds in a good clinch game. Watch his fight with Ott and you'll se good clinch work, getting underhooks, nice pummelling from the clinch and even some decent Muay Thai work. The Brian Vetell fight highlighted Roy's wrestling and ground and pound skills...Roy was able to work the takedown against a guy that is on the US Grappling Team and landed some bombs from the guard to TKO Vetell. In the Jaoude fight, faced a guy with better BJJ but was able to sprawl and clinch to keep the fight standing up, eventually leading to the KO victory. In viewing Nelson's fights, he does a good job of not letting his opponent get into his gamplan and fight his fight (Jauode, Ott)... or in some cases letting his opponent fight his game and then beating him at it (Vetell, Rothwell). Nelson's BJJ Experience and superior grappling should favor him if this one goes to the ground and he also has much better stand-up. May want to stay out of the clinch where Scherner has a Muay Thai Edge
Fabiano Scherner:
Scouting Report:
vs Gabriel Gonzaga about 1:30 in
Analysis: Scherner has been in with some big names in the heavyweight ranks (Assuerio Silva, Gabe Gonzaga, Brandon Vera, Gilbert Yvel), but has yet to get a signature win to get his career a jumpstart. Competed in submission and jiu-jitsu competitions then transitioned to MMA. Scherner has recently been in Thailand brushing up on his Muay Thai game, looking to round out his game a little more. In watching his UFC fights, he seemed a bit slow with his hands which lead to him losing the stand-up game. His fight with Gonzaga also showed he needs to work on his takedown defense as Gonzaga was able to get it to the ground when he wanted it. Would be best served in the Nelson fight to close the distance, lean on Nelson with his large frame, and look to use the Muay Thai he has spoken of.
If you are gonna do a preview of the IFL show coming up, it might help to get the card right. Someone call Mark Miller, tell him to stop training for Jay Hieron and get to the nearest all you can eat buffet....you gotta put on 15 lbs and get to Vegas to take on Matt Horwich.
Analysis: Schultz is Team Quest fighter, cutting his teeth in the sport in many of Matt Lindland's SportFight events. Schultz opened up a lot eyes with his big win over the formerly unbeaten Chris Horodecki in the IFL Lightweight GP, but it really shouldn't have been that shocking. Prior to fighting in the IFL, Schultz had a big win over Roger Huerta and fought to a draw with JZ Calvacanti, who now comfortably resides in the Lightweight Top 5. He had also fought but lost to some other higher profile guys like Hermes Franca and Rich Clementi. The perception of Schultz as a Quality Fighter took a hit when he was "highlight reel-ed" in two devastating Ko losses in his early fights in the IFL, once to Bart Palaszewski and once to Chris Horodecki. Schultz didn't take the losses to heart, went on a three fight winning streak and was able to get a re-match with Horodecki when injuries necessitated a repalcement in the GP Final.
Analysis: Schultz is a wrestler, with a nice ground and pound as evidenced by the clip above. Mainly a grappler, lacks the submission skill of his trainer Lindland. He will also be the larger, physically bigger guy in the match-up with Gunderson and will look to use these tools. He generally looks to press the fight and initiate the action. Schultz has good but not great stand-up, he's not the kind to end a fight with one punch or even a flurry of punches. As evident by his two big KO losses in the IFL, tends to get a little sloppy when the exchanges start flying, but Gunderson doesn't really have the heavy hands to exploit this. Having a few submission losses on his record, Ryan may be reticent to take it to the ground with the sub specialist Gunderson. Could use his better stand-up and clinch to control the fight for the decision win. If he does get the takedowns, it will be mainly to score points.... I don't think that he will get to aggressive with the GNP.
John Gunderson Scouting Report:
vs Wagney Fabiano
Analysis: Fights for Ken Shamrock's Lion's Den. Lacks the resume of his opponent Schultz, with his highest profile win being over the fantastically uneven Krazy Horse Bennett. Is a very well versed submission fighter, two-thirds of his 15 wins coming via submission. Has average stand-up. Has good grappling skills, but not on par with Schultz. Best chance in the fight is to pull guard and work for a sub or press the pace and look for a sub in the scramble.
Sherdog did an interview with Lil Nog mainly dealing with his recent win over Todd Gouwenberg. Toward the end of the clip he says he will fight again in April or May. They offered a fight with Renato "Babalu" Sobral, but lil Nog begged out of it, saying they were friends.
This is a pet peeve of mine. There is a lack of professionalism that permeates the MMA camps that handcuffs the hands of promoters. Babalu and Rogerio are two of the few name guys on the market outside of 205 and when of the few attractive matchups that can be made. These guys need to be businessmen and realize that this attitude hurts the business. The same issue is pervasive in the UFC. Paulo Filho ducked out of the UFC entirely rather than fight Anderson Silva. AKA teamates Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck and Mike Swick tie up a good chunk of welterweight spotlight, but also tie up the hands of UFC foof Joe Silva. Same with the Greg Jackson wonder twins of Rashad Evans and Keith Jardine.
"I’d like to say right now is, who in the hell is Jon Fitch? All of a sudden he’s beaten Diego Sanchez that I lost to and that makes him mister tough guy, like he can challenge me and if I don’t take the challenge that means I’m afraid? These guys were in there mom’s stomach when Karo Parisyan was fighting in MMA…I’d like to clear this up with everybody, there is no way in my life I’ve ever ducked or dodged any opponent…”
As we come to about three weeks away from the initial Dream card, it seems the old Pride practice of last second matchmaking has endured to this new creation. While we have a general idea of who will be on the card, we still have no concrete matchups on the card other than the headlining JZ vs Aoki match. The folks over at Sengoku seem to be much more on the ball in this respect.
Judging from this piece on IFL.com Josh Haynes didn't think much of the "training" he was getting at Team Quest in Oregon:
“I came here (XtremeCouture) because I had to. My game really wasn’t advancing at Team Quest. I wasn’t making the forward progress that I needed to make, and my performances in the UFC were a representation of that. After my fight with Bisping and the way it went, some changes should have been made to my training program and they were not. As a result I continued to have poor performances.”
“Since I’ve been here my skills have improved tremendously and things have been much, much better for me. It’s just two totally different breeds. Team Quest has their pyramid. If you’re not at the top you don’t get the attention you need. It’s nothing personal; it’s just the way it works. I had some fantastic training partners out there, but I wasn’t getting what I needed. Out here in Vegas it’s a fighter mecca.
“I get a lot more focused attention here. We have a real team. We have some of the best fighters you’ll ever come across, guys who fight in every organization across the board. There’s just a real pool of talent to draw from. A lot of gyms just tell you to train harder, they don’t teach you to train smarter. Here at Xtreme Couture we train smart. We don’t just keep banging away everyday, doing the same things wrong.”
Xtreme Couture (Coach Shawn Tompkins) vs. World Class Fight Center (Coach Mario Sperry)
-Santino DeFranco vs. Rafael Dias
Santino DeFranco Scouting Report:
vs Melvin Guillard
vs Robert Maldanado
vs Josh Pacheco
Analysis: DeFranco is fighter out of the Southwest MMA circuit. Pretty slick bjj/submisssion wrestling game. Has some experience on a larger stage, having fought on both Rumble on the Rock and Bodog cards. Has only fought sporadically, sometimes fighting once in a calendar year so rustiness may be an issue. Is 1-1 vs next level competition with a win over Melvin Guillard and a loss to Rodrigo Damm.
Rafael Dias Scouting Report:
vs Eduardo Pessoa in the Copa Brasilia BJJ Tourney
Analysis: BJJ guy, formerly aligned with American Top Team but fighting here for Mario Sperry's team. Started of on the Florida MMA circuit before working several cards for Bodog. In a fight between two ground specialists, Dias seems to have the better pedigree, so i would tend to favor him if it goes to the ground.
Leopoldo Serao Scouting Report: Leopoldo's Tryout with the IFL
Cristiano Lazzarini Vs. Leopoldo Serao
Analysis: Serao is a BJJ guy that has been around for a while, fighting since 1998. Has competed in the BJJ US Open. Has been unable to have that break through performance when facing the elite level talent, with losses to Assuerio Silva, Ninja Rua, and Jorge Santiago. Is Dangerous on the ground, but like a lot of the bjj guys, has a weak stand up game, a weakness that got him KO'ed in his only fight of 07 vs journeyman Rob Wince. He should be able to get Haynes on the ground at some point and when he does he needs to finish him quickly. Haynes has a way of biding his time on the ground, avoiding sub attempts and then making the guy pay for giving him another life.
Josh Haynes Scouting Report
Haynes vs Seth Kleinbeck
Cedric Marks vs Haynes
Analysis: Haynes is the more well known guy in the match-up due to his time on reality TV in The Ultimate Fighter and Ty Murray’s Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge. Haynes isn't the most talented guy in the world but is tougher than a $2 steak, and shows a lot of heart win or lose. His forte is mainly in the clinch and on the ground, as to be expected from a guy aligned with Team Quest and Coach Matt Lindland. He's generally overmatched when in with a striker, but his own striking game should be superior to Serao's and will be his route to the pay window in this fight. He needs to use his clinch and sprawl to keep this on the feet and pick apart Serao's suspect boxing skills.
Analysis: Polley is a former college wrestler at UNC-Pembroke. Trains with American Top Team and will fight for them on next month's card. Is filling in for XtremeCouture because he was referred by EC fighter Benji Radach after one of their fighters got injured. Has a win over highly regarded Roger Hollett. His one loss was in SpiritMC, a fight he took on 2 days notice. Has talked of possibly dropping down to 185. Kinda reminds me of Dan Henderson that he strikes to set up the takedown effectively. Uses the ground and pound but has also been able to work a few armbars in from the top. Lew Probably feels more comfortable on the ground but he's not gonna want to go there with Ferreira. Will need to work at getting underhooks, sprawling and trying to outpoint Ferreira standing.
Alexandre Cacareco Ferreira Scouting Report:
vs Rodrigo Rsicado
vs Paulo Filho Grappling Match
vs Fabricio Werdum Grappling (He beat Werdum)
Analysis: Ferreira is a bit small for 205 but it doesn't seem to slow him down. Has been fighting again the past couple of years after taking about 4 years off from the sport. Had some nice wins pre-2000 (Heath Herring Bob Schribjer Rodney "Die" Faverus). Doesn't have any KO losses on his card so he either has a good chin or is able to get the fight to the ground on his terms (the latter based on his bowling ball physique.) That will probably be his game plan here, get it to the ground where his submission experience should take the day.
Jake Ellenberger of Team Quest vs Pat Healy of the Lion's Den
Jake Ellenberger Scouting Report:
vs Jose Pele Landis-Jons
vs Zach Light
Analysis: Ellenberger trains with Matt Lindland at Team Quest in Oregon. Only losses in IFL competition were to Grand Prix Finalists Jay Hieron and Delson Heleno. Is well rounded with good wrestling, a potent ground and pound, pretty decent stand up. Seems to be a little more athletic and dynamic than Healy. May try to exploit a stand up advantage to overwhelm Healy.
Pat Healy vs Chris Wilson
vs Rory Markham
Analysis: Healy has a spotty record, but he has been in there with a long list of "name" guys. He has wins over WEC Champ Carlos Condit and Cage Rage Champ Paul Semtex Daley. Has been in there with Denis Kang, Chris Lytle, Jay Hieron, Chris Wilson, Carlo Prater, Rory Markham, and Tiki. Known to have a good chin despite the two knockout clips above, he usually puts on some entertaining fights. Is only 24 but is a veteran at that age with all of the quality fighters he has faced. Will probably want to use his wrestling to take Ellenberger down a try to work for a sub from the top or get Ellenberger's back and choke him out.
This was a feature of the old Pride coverage and one that I was hoping someone would integrate into their coverage.....it is an item that will differentiate coverage from the UFC. The quality of the footage needs to be worked on but hopefully they can add this to the live show at some point.
This thing has been out for about a year but like most everything IFL, if a tree falls in the forest with no one around does anyone hear it? I just ran across it today and after recovering from case of the ROFL'ers, i had to post....
Matt Lindland, Pat Miletich, and Bas Rutten rapping? So this is what the IFL shareholders have to show for their worthless stock, this is where the money went? You may have heard of the site WrestleCrap.com, but i may just have to purchase fightcrap.com if more of this stuff bubbles to the surface.
According to Adam Swift over on Sherdog Mark Cuban has filed suit in federal district court against Zuffa LLC and Randy Couture. Cuban's HDNet Fights "asks the Texas court to provide the company with declaratory relief -- a ruling on when Couture's promotional contract will expire."
Cuban has spoken recently about Zuffa's contracts and their possible non-compliance with the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act. Could this also be a tactic that HDNet Fights uses in it's seeking of declaratory relief. Inclusion of MMA under the act and it's provisions against multi-fight, long term contracts between Fighter and Promoter would greatly affect the value of Zuffa's UFC. Zuffa's number one asset is it's exclusive contracts with it's some 250 fighters. I'm not sure if HDNet Fights/Cuban would be able to launch a legal motion to have UFC covered by the Ali Act or if that is something Couture would have to sue Zuffa over. As Zuffa steps up it's legal wranglings against Couture, one has to believe that either Cuban or Couture will seek to use the Ali act in the legal warfare that is ensuing.
Trying to hold on to Couture and basically retire him may open a up a Pandora's box for Zuffa in regards to their contracts.
Additional Bouts 155 lbs.: Chris Horodecki (London, Ontario) (7-1 IFL, 11-1 overall MMA) vs. TBD
American Top Team vs. Miletich Fighting Systems 145 lbs.: TBD vs. LC Davis (Kansas City, Mo.) (2-0, 9-1) 170 lbs.: Emyr Bussade (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) (0-0, 10-5) vs. Rory Markham (Chicago) (6-2, 12-3) 205 lbs.: Lew Polley (Coconut Creek, Fla.) (0-0, 6-0) vs. Mike Ciesnolevicz (Williamstown, Pa.) (5-3, 13-3)
Midwest Combat vs. Renzo Gracie Academy 155 lbs.: Bart Palaszewski (Wonderlake, Ill.) (8-3, 29-10) vs. Deividas Taurosevicius (Lithuania) (3-0, 9-2) 170 lbs.: TBD vs. Delson Heleno (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (6-3, 13-4) *205 lbs.: **Vladimir Matyushenko (Belarus) (5-0, 20-3) vs. Jamal Patterson (Jersey City, N.J.) (4-1, 4-1)
Additional Championship Bouts *170 lbs.: **Jay Hieron (Freeport, N.Y.) (6-2, 14-4) vs. Mark Miller (Chicago) (2-1, 8-2) *145 lbs.: **Wagnney Fabiano (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (5-0, 9-1) vs. Shad Lierley (Seattle) (2-1, 2-1)
*Championship Bout **Current Titleholder
Analysis: First off, I like that they have divorced two of their title fioghts from the team concept. This allows them to put on the best possible match-up, not just the one that fits the teams. Even the Matyushenko vs Patterson is a quality match-up. This is in contrast to the Heavyweight title Match coming up with Roy Nelson facing off with Fabiano Scherner, a fight that seems to match up the champ against a guy undeserving of the shot. The Renzo vs Midwest Combat Match-ups look to be some quality fights.
Should be interesting to see who they put in the fight with Horodecki. At this point Horodecki needs a win to boost his rep back up a little bit. I can't see anyone to challenging being thrown in there. As evidenced by the Schultz fight, Chris needs to work on his guard game and also his grappling/wrestling skills. Give him a can to run a highlight reel, do some magic on and in the mean time he can be tweaking his training to become more well rounded.
Palaszewski vs Taurosevicius should be a great match-up. Taurosevicius pulled the upset in their previous match, notwithstanding a little controversy. Tauro was able to lock in an armbar, and the ref stopped the fight, leaving Bartimus somewhat incredulous. The winner of this fight will be the nominal #1 contender with a title shot waiting in the wings.
Fabiano vs Lierly looks to be decent, but Lierly is a bit green and will have problems with Fabiano's well versed BJJ skills. Lierly showed he could bang a little in his highly regarded match-up with Chris Horodecki, but I see Wagney being able to impose his will and getting a sub within the first couple of rounds.
Curious about Lew Polley being included on this fight card. He is listed on the Feb. card fighting for XtremeCouture and is now listed on this card Fighting for American Top Team. I know Polley has been affiliated with ATT in the past but this is leaving me a bit confused.
Here is a nice little primer from Randy Couture on the clinch game, from a wrestling perspective. Hendo won't be afraid to work a clinch game with Anderson because it is a bedrock of his Greco Roman base:
We’re waiting to hear from him,” said White, “We told him we’d wait for him to make a decision, but he’s not making a decision.”
The UFC does not want to hold off any longer.
“The deadline is pretty much up, and I need decision from him by Monday (February 4),” White said.
High tail it outta there Mirko and do some Japan shows every once and a while. Also mentioned in the article, Dana has basically told Matt Lindland to go fuck himself and that his services aren't needed in the 185lb UFC division. Now, Matt, get off your ass and start fighting some decent 185ers in Elite or something.....
According to 15rounds.com the UFC to Network tv may be close at hand as i intimated in my Chris Leben - Alessio Sakara post. To witless:
UFC to negotiate network deal?
The long awaited debut for the Ultimate Fighting Championship on a major network may not be very far off. Ongoing conversations are heating up. UFC President Dana White expects major progress in the next few days.
“I am going out of town tomorrow for a week. Hopefully, I’ll come back with good news,” White said.
Dana will have a undercard full of names if he wants to put the March undercard on Network.
Dana did an interview with Mr Sunshine Steve Cofield lately and threw out a nice Asian slur at Hong Man Choi at around the 6:20 mark:
SEGMENT TWO - DANA WHITE:
Long Duck Dong? Dana must have been hanging out with his good buddy, Phil "Pork Fried Rice" Baroni! Is it any wonder Dana wasn't able to make a Zuffa owned Pride viable in Japan. I mean he really seems sensitive to the sensibilities of the Asian market based on these comments.
Congrats UFC, You've got the 3rd best heavyweight in the world Big Nog was able to with stand a ton of punishment but came out of the fight with the W. the only thing that came out of the fight with more damage was the image of the UFC Heavyweight division. With his dominant wins over Nog, there is little doubt that Fedor is the better fighter, whether they hold the fight in a pride ring, UFC cage, YAMMA Pitfighting hydraulic dome of doom. And though I'm not sure who would win between the two, most folks are gonna place Couture ahead of Nog as well. Couture has generated enough goodwill over the years that many will place him ahead of NOg, though he probably wouldn't deserve it otherwise.
UFC Brass - The Model of Professionalism Once again, after the fight we get to see that the entire UFC crew are a bunch of homers, from the refs down to the matchmakers. The point deduction by Mazzagatti was kinda ridiculous, there was no warning and it didn't really look like Mazagatti even checked to see if Mir recovered from the blow... he didn't have to because it hardly even grazed him. Mir sold it like a champ, though, so who knows maybe he and Brock can exchange careers. Mir was clear eyed and cognizant until Mazzagatti told him that he was hit in the back of the head, but that was a nice stagger he did getting up. Then after the fight, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva engaged in a passionate man hug with Mir that made the Jean Claude Van Damme - Fedor embrace at Yarennoka look absolutely heterosexual. They cut away real quick, so there may have been a liplock in addition to the earlier leglock, but I can't confirm it. This was shades of the Forrest Griffin - Shogun fight when every UFC employee in sight was visibly plotzing themselves after the win. Mazzagatti was reffing that fight and could hardly keep the grin off of his face. A little professionalism isn't much to ask for, is it?
Brock - Meet Eddie Sanchez, Antoni Hardonk, and Cheick Kongo. Brock looked very impressive in his performance, and the fans will buy him as legit if the UFC bookers look to build him up rather than throw him to the lions. The next ideal match-up for Brock would be someone like Hardonk or Kongo, strikers that can be taken down at will. Have him work with some BJJ guys while taking these other fights. Hell, I'd send him out to Vegas every so often and have him roll with Mir to get some live action BJJ training. IF they are just gonna throw Brock to the wolves so to speak, Luke Thomas over at bloodyelbow.com had a good suggestion in putting on a Mirko Cro-cop vs Brock Lesnar fight. I would love to see that.... if you are gonna pay both guys big money then get something out of them.
Mir - Is his resurrection a Mir-age? While Mir has looked good in his last two fights, folks are a bit misguided in thinking this is some kind of resurrection of sorts for his career. Some folks are even talking title shot. Slow Down....... He was able to work his BJJ against noobs on the ground in Hardonk and Lesnar. This is still the same guy that destroyed by Brandon Vera in record time and the one who took a beating from Pe DePano. The best fight for Mir next would be a re-match with Big Tim, a fight that could be sold as a grudge match and one that Mir stands a chance in hell against. Trying to throw him in with Nog would be a mismatch of epic proportions. Mike Goldberg stated after the PPV that we saw two of the greatest BJJ practitioners in the history of MMA on the card. Well, one guy is and the other guy is probably not even the best BJJ guy in his own dojo.....I'll let you decide which is which.....
Boestch wins, IFL gets credibility boost IFL veteran Tim Boesch just demolished UFC vet Heath. You have to think this is a feather in the cap of the IFL. While the IFL is dismissed as a second rate org with third rate fighters by UFC nut huggers of the world, Boestch's win shows that the IFL guys would hold their own with a lot of the UFC roster. Wonder if this will bring the odds down any on the upcoming Jon Fitch - Chris Wilson fight. Wilson is another IFL vet who is great with the stand up game.
The disembodied randy Couture Ralph Ellison may have written Invisble Man but it was also an apt description of Couture's persona non grata presence at the PPV. Randy was cornering Tyson Griffin for his fight with Gleison Tibau and you heard a disembodied voice that seemed familiar but the camera shots were so tight on Griffin that you couldn't make out who they were coming from. Oh Yeah, that was the company's current Heavyweight champion . Rogan and Goldy no sold it, something a crew like Lampley and Merchant wouldn't do over at HBO.
Beginning Feb. 9 The Score, a Canadian sports network, will air four shows from the "Title Wave" HCF card featuring Aleksander Emelianenko. The first show from the 2/1/08 card is scheduled to run on The Score on Saturday, March 8 at 8pm ET with a midnight repeat, followed by 4-6 shows from the event. Depends on how many shows can be cut from the event, these will be one hour episodes, with likely 2 fights per show.
