MMA HQ – Mixed Martial Arts News and Analysis

A potential freakshow fight between NFL legend Herschel Walker (1-0) and former MLB player Jose Canseco (0-1) could happen down the road, but it likely won’t be for Strikeforce.

Strikeforce, No. 2 MMA organization in the U.S., seeks legitimacy and doesn’t want to risk bringing the highly controversial fighter into the mix.

“We are not interested (in this fight),” Strikeforce Director of Communications Mike Afromowitz told MMA HQ during a brief text message.

Walker, who trained at the San Jose American Kickboxing Academy, showed dedication and discipline in training.  Despite it being a sloppy fight in which he could have ended it via submission or TKO (ground-and-pound) on numerous occasions, Walker still came away with the victory.

“Jose wants to do this for money,” Walker said during an interview with the Bob and Dan radio show.  If “he wants to fight me and he thinks it’s going to be a circus, I will hurt him.  This is not a joke, I will hurt him, because I don’t do things as a joke… this MMA fighting is real.  You can get hurt, and he doesn’t understand it.”

However, outspoken coach Cesar Gracie said he’d be interested in coaching Canseco, saying the fight is a “circus” and “spectacle.”  Gracie currently instructs the likes of three different Strikeforce champions (Gilbert Melendez, lightweight; Nick Diaz, welterweight; and Jake Shields, middleweight), along with Nate Diaz and other talented pro fighters.

Even though Afromowitz said Strikeforce isn’t interested, there is an obvious morbid curiosity among some MMA fans — but for a sport that still has seven states holding out on regulation — this could negatively impact the sport.

I don’t want Canseco anywhere near MMA.  He is nothing more than a parasite and leech.  His “fight” against Hong Man Choi was a 77-second fight in which the attention-starved former baseball player had his ass handed to him in a similar fashion to an after school beatdown between a bully and his pray.

Listen, I don’t have anything against Canseco — it sounds like he has found a lovely girlfriend and is enjoying life.  Fine.  My only request is that he stays away from Strikeforce and other legitimate MMA organizations in the United States.

Chris Leben

Before his controversial split decision win to Tom Lawlor, Aaron Simpson appeared unstoppable. And although A-Train didn’t wake up until the second round of the UFN 20 bout, his resilience and toughness was as evident as fan favorite Tom Lawlor’s impressively improved hands.

Simpson will be facing another fighter with good hands at UFC 114 this May in a confirmed bout against Chris “the Crippler” Leben. Leben is also coming off of a unanimous decision victory over Jay Silva at UFN 20. Before that, Leben had lost back-to-back matches to Michael Bisping and Jake Rosholt, tested positive for steroids and served jail time for a DUI. Although his share of problems are quite evident to armchair fans nationwide, Leben is certainly a dangerous fighter with a record of 19-6 including ten knock-outs in his eight-year career.

“Chris Leben is the biggest name that I’ve faced,” Simpson said. “He is very tough and has fought some of the biggest names in MMA. It is an honor for me to fight someone of his caliber and I am really looking forward to battling May 29th in Las Vegas.”

Although the undefeated Aaron Simpson didn’t detail his game plan, his eye is certainly on the prize. “As always, my plan is to go as hard as possible and get my hand raised in the end,” he explained. “I have 16 weeks to prepare…and I will be ready.”

Although he certainly has a lot of wins under his belt, Leben may have trouble contending with Simpson’s right hand and wrestling prowess. If that is the case, I’m sure he’ll be prepared to give a laundry list of excuses aftewards as he does after every loss.

UFC 114 is shaping up to be an incredibly exciting card, with the long-awaited grudge match between Rashad Evans and movie star Quinton Jackson. Rumored fights include Forrest Griffin vs. Antônio Rogério Nogueira, Efrain Escudero vs. Dan Lauzon (the makings of a ground war right there), Todd Duffee vs. Mike Russow, Diego Sanchez vs. John Hathaway and Ryan Jensen vs. Jesse Forbes.

Wisconsin yesterday became the 43rd state in the United States to regulate the growing sport of mixed martial arts.

Senate Bill 290 was first proposed in September, and was signed by Gov. Jim Doyle in early February.

“Duke and I are both very pleased to have been involved in the process of regulating the safety of athletes involved in the sport (of MMA) in Wisconsin,” said Scott Joffe, WFC officer and Roufusport MMA academy partner, in a statement to CONCEDE.  “Everyone involved with the process should be proud of this historic day.”

MMA events have taken place in Wisconsin, but have never been regulated and overseen by an athletic commission.  Wisconsin lawmakers expedited the process faster than MMA fans realized, helping start dialogue between the two sides.

“This process actually went really quick,” said Mark Ratner, UFC Regulatory Affairs VP, in a statement.  “I was very impressed with everyone involved.  We had a wonderful lobbyist and I am very pleased with the entire process here in Wisconsin.”

The MMA legislation was heavily based on boxing rules already in place, with several new additions:

Each promoter must be licensed through the state to hold sanctioned events; promoters will have to pay an annual fee that takes city size and ticket cost into consideration; all fighters, physicians, referees, managers, and matchmakers have to be licensed through the state; and a Wisconsin inspector will be at each regulated show.

As expected, fighters must pass a physical and blood work before receiving a license to fight in the state.

Furthermore, a doctor and EMTs must be available at the event for the duration, the new MMA regulation notes.

The UFC could now plan an event in Milwaukee, as the the No. 1 MMA organization in the world continues to host shows across the United States.

UFC officials previously said Wisconsin provides good pay-per-view buy rate along with UFC and WEC events aired on Spike TV and Versus.

The UFC and WEC visited the midwest a number of times in 2008, but has mainly focused on other markets outside of Las Vegas in 2009 and 2010.  I think it’s more plausible for the UFC to bring its Fight Night events to the larger cities in the state.

I’d honestly like to see a Strikeforce Challengers card take place in Wisconsin sometime in the future.  Strikeforce benefits by  sticking to San Jose and other select locations, but there are plenty of rising midwest MMA talent that could greatly benefit from Strikeforce making an appearance in Milwaukee.

A leading reason as to why the bill passed so quickly stemmed from the grassroots effort from the MMA community in Wisconsin.  The state of New York has attempted to regulate MMA for several years now — and still has been unable to do so — as many lawmakers still consider MMA a barbaric sport.

What was thought to be a relatively uninteresting fight card ended up providing some good fights and interesting developments.

The real story of this event was Chael Sonnen, he did a lot of talking in the weeks leading up to this fight, including comments on Anderson Silva, Nate Marquardt, the business of MMA and his political aspirations.  He claimed that he was a better “fighter” than Nate although he did say that Marquardt is a better striker and submission stylist.  He proved his point last night in what might not have been an exciting fight to watch but it was impressive in the sense that he dominated Marquardt the entire fight.  His win over Okami was impressive but this just shows us how imposing Sonnen can be when he’s this determined and focused.

The other most notable result was Paulo Thiago stopping Mike Swick in the 2nd round.  His striking is what impressed me the most, he looks so awkward out there just standing in front of his opponent with no head movement, then leaning back and flailing his arms around when on the defensive.  Unconventional strikers can be the most dangerous sometimes because you don’t know what they’re doing and that big punch can come out of nowhere.  All the rumors about his “lucky” punch against Koscheck were put to bed last night and one more win against a top opponent could put Paulo within striking distance of a title shot.  After a tough fight last night he’s taking a break today, then returning to work on Monday morning at BOPE in brazil.

Demian Maia has been working on his striking game and he decided to test that out against Miller which i thought was a good idea.  Miller is not particularly dangerous on his feet and Maia needed that experience.  Even though he struggled a bit with his wrestling, Maia could have pulled guard at any time and submitted Miller in my opinion, he just chose to go a different way in this fight.

Serra looked good in his fight, but Trigg should either retire or relegate himself to fighting in the smaller shows.  The problem with Trigg is that although he has a solid offensive game, his defense both standing and on the ground is lacking.  At least he was gracious in defeat for the most part, so who’s next for Matt Serra?

Randy controlled the entire fight and to be honest i think he was carrying Coleman a little bit.  He wasn’t throwing bombs like he did against Sylvia and a few times when Coleman was hurt Randy decided to give him a bit of a breather.  I think Coleman should hang it up before he gets hurt, he just looked so slow out there, even from the opening bell he was sluggish and you can’t be a sitting target out there with all  the powerful strikers in the division.

This event played out better than i thought it would, which isn’t saying much but i was pleasantly surprised by some of the outcomes.

Here are the results and standings for our camp after the UFC 109 event.

UFC 109 points

1.  robnashville – 54

2.  JasonConwell – 46

2.  Bola14 – 46

UFC 109 wagers

1.  JasonConwell – $1,680

2.  Bola14 – $1,308

3.  robnashville – $1,075

Overall points

1.  robnashville – 195

2.  JasonConwell – 178

3.  RJStCroix – 151

Overall wagers

1.  robnashville – $4,448

2.  JasonConwell – $4,334

3.  RJStCroix – $1,470

Great job by robnashville and JasonConwell so far this season, they have been dominating both the points and wagers.  robnashville was our season 4 champion and tied for 3rd place in season 3.  JasonConwell just joined us last season and he’s been doing a great job so far and he’s looking for his first championship.  In 3rd place is our season 5 silver medalist RJStCroix looking to claw his way to the top.

The rest of us are about 50-100 points behind but that can easily change considering the amount of events we have left this season.

Good luck everyone.

I tried to get excited about UFC 109. I really did. After all, there’s nothing like a good night of fights and some beer to help me forget the worries of the day. And this isn’t a diss on the fighters. In fact, there’s some great fighters on the card. Demian Maia, for example, is one of my favorites. But I just can’t get into this card. Here’s why.

Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman
Am I the only one who lost some interest in watching Couture after his so-called “win” vs. Brandon Vera? Plus, I’m all for older guys fighting but the combined age of the two is close to a hundred years old. I know it’s a fight for the MMA history books, but I just can’t get into it.

Nate Marquardt vs. Chael Sonnen
I actually love Marquardt, and Sonnen’s wrestling is pretty impressive. I suppose it’s possible to argue it could go either way. But Marquardt is just so incredibly dominant, it just feels like cheering him on wouldn’t even count.

Mike Swick vs. Paul Thiago
This is probably one of the more interesting match-ups of the night, but the whole stand-up guy vs. ground guy thing is getting kind of old.

Demian Maia vs Dan Miller
I love Demian Maia, and a quick submission win is always fun to watch. And again, I know anything can happen, but the result just seems so predictable.

Matt Serra vs. Frank Trigg
Another wrestling vs. BJJ fight. At least this one is harder to call.

What’s Missing
Some fights set to take place on this card that were postponed could have maybe salvaged this fight card: Renzo Gracie vs. Matt Hughes, Silva vs. Beltfort, Nog vs. Brandon Vera. Alas, they were postponed.

UFC 110
I know that many readers are die-hard MMA fans who order every card. And it’s been a month since UFN, and all. But I also know that some people can’t afford to order two fights in a month. UFC 110 just has such better match-ups. Who doesn’t want to see Cain Velasquez test himself against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira? Or how Ryan Bader will fare against Keith Jardine, the guy who once made Forest Griffin cry? And you either love Bisping or (more likely) love to hate him, and may be excited about watching Wanderlei Silva pick him apart. Why Joe “Daddy” Stevenson vs. Sotiropoulos is on the main card and CB Dollaway is on the undercard is beyond me, but Goran Reljic will be an interesting test for the wrestler. Hell, Chris Lytle and Stephan Bonnar are on the undercard which very well might be more exciting than the 109 main card… Perhaps tomorrow I’ll be proven wrong; only time will tell.

Lovingly dubbed as “the Geezers at Caesar’s” by keyboard warriors everywhere (even though the event will be held at Mandalay Bay), UFC 109 is headlined by a long awaited battle between two UFC  Hall of Fame legends.  This Saturday should provide some entertaining fights even though they are not particularly relevant in terms of  title contention.  Also, a portion of the preliminary card will aired live and for free on Spike TV.

Randy Couture vs Mark Coleman – These guys are both great wrestlers which will likely end up canceling each other out.  Any wrestling that does happen will pretty much be a sheer test of endurance for both fighters which would ultimately benefit Couture.  Randy also has the advantage in the boxing department including footwork and head movement as he displayed against guys like Chuck Liddell and Vitor Belfort amongst others.  Coleman has a slow plodding style which is easy to predict and he is known for gassing out in fights, his only hope of winning this fight is to catch Randy with a lucky punch or take him down and put his patented Ground and Pound to work.  I see Couture easily going home with a decision victory in this fight and possibly even finding Colemans chin for a 2nd round KO.

Winner: Randy Couture

Nathan Marquardt vs Chael Sonnen – This is a fairly one sided fight considering that Sonnen has very little chance of finishing Marquardt anywhere this fight takes place.  The best thing Sonnen has going for him in this fight is that Nate hasn’t faced a strong wrestler for a long time and it may pose some problems for him, but that alone is not enough to get Chael the win on Saturday.  Marquardt is also the physically stronger fighter of the two which will help him keep this fight standing allowing him to utilize his vastly superior striking abilities against Sonnen.  I see Nate winning a decision here because Sonnen is also a very tough guy and he’s a survivor but Marquardt could get the KO at any time during this fight.

Winner: Nathan Marquardt

Mike Swick vs Paulo Thiago – Coming off his loss to Dan Hardy, Mike Swick is coming back sharper than ever and he will be looking to stop Thiago early with his fast hands.  Swick should have the striking advantage in this fight and Thiago will have the edge in submissions.  I feel that Mike will be able to stay on his feet and hurt Thiago in the 1st round for the TKO victory but it could easily go the other way if the fight hits the mat.

Winner: Mike Swick

Demian Maia vs Dan Miller – This fight seems like a bit of a mismatch considering both these guys are expert BJJ practitioners but one of them is practically a genius of the art.  Demian Maia is a 2nd degree black belt but it hardly does him justice, he has a rare talent and understanding of BJJ which he’s shown with his success in tournaments all over the world for the past decade.  Dan Miller is a great black belt but he’s clearly outclassed and he doesn’t have the striking skills to stop Maia from making this a Jiu Jitsu match.  Eventually this fight will end up on the ground and Maia will submit Miller in the 2nd or 3rd round.

Winner: Demian Maia

Matt Serra vs Frank Trigg – The old BJJ vs Wrestling feud is back with these two salty dog veterans and they both have fairly decent striking abilities which should make for a fun night.  There are many factors in this fight but I believe the only thing that will matter is this: performance against recent opponents.  Matt Serra has been fighting GSP and Hughes while Trigg was fighting lesser opposition in the smaller shows.  I just think Serra has been more focused on his fighting career than ever and he has improved because of that, while Trigg appears to be on the decline.  Frank basically got this fight by calling Matt a short guido and an angry midget but i believe he will be eating those badly chosen words by way of knockout or rear naked choke submission.

Winner: Matt Serra

As with most female Strikeforce fighters (except for Gina, of course), Erin Toughill is virtually unknown outside of hardcore feMMA circles.  She is, however, the top contender in the 145 lb. weight division and will most likely be the next opponent for Cris Cyborg. So let me bring you up to speed with ten facts about this tough and crazy woman.

• Toughill is 10-2-1 in MMA. She started fighting in 1999. Her biggest win was actually a 1st round knockout of Marloes Coenen back in 2004.
• Toughill also has a pro boxing background, with a record of 8-2-1-1. Her most notable boxing match was a TKO loss to Laila Ali in June 2005.
• Like Gina Carano, Toughill appeared on American Gladiators. Her nickname was “Steel.”
• Toughill was supposed to rematch Coenen in November 2009 at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers. She had to withdraw due to a medical condition we didn’t really need to hear about.
• Sadly, Toughill doesn’t really have a family. Her sister was killed in a drunk driving accident, and her father died from cancer shortly thereafter.
• She had an interesting break-up with her exhusband, fighter Clark Bevans, who filed a restraining order against her less than two years ago.
• Since then, Toughill has gotten remarried to Xtreme Couture Jiu Jitsu coach Neil Melanson. (There are no restraining orders pending that we are aware of.)
• Toughill is notorious for starting all kinds of drama on various internet forums, and has been accused of repeatedly texting fighters who have to pull out of bouts due to injury. This has been alleged multiple times and on several occasions.
• The last fight Toughill had set up after the SF bout with Coenen fell through was against Romy Ruyssen at Freestyle Cage Fighting on Jan. 30. Ruyssen is a 1-1 fighter who hasn’t stepped in the cage since August 2008, so fighting someone 10-2-1 hardly seems fair. Although Toughill said the bout was canceled due to a lack of opponent, sources close to MMA HQ reveal that lack of money was more of an issue.
• Although she is one of the most dominant fighters in the 145 lb. division, Toughill has normally fought at 160. The outcome of a fight between Toughill and Cyborg is too close to call.

Cris Cyborg

Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos first broke hearts in August ‘09 in her stunning first round defeat of media darling Gina Carano. As even Dana White pointed out (who knew he watched women’s MMA), both girls showed considerable holes in their stand-up and ground games in what amounted to a slugfest (much like Forest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar, though White liked that fight).

Cyborg seems to have cleaned up her game significantly in just four and a half short months, defeating Dutch superstar Marloes Coenen (17-4) by 3rd round TKO. Although Coenen showcased a solid defense and did not back down (and the fight was perhaps called a bit prematurely), Cyborg definitively won every round, avoiding takedowns, escaping submission attempts and shucking off the few punches Coenen landed like they were nothing while unleashing a barrage of her own.

Erin Toughill was mentioned as a possible next opponent for Cyborg. Toughill made her MMA debut in 1999. She holds a 10-2-1 record, and defeated Marloes Coenen back in 2004. Toughill is a much bigger fighter than Cyborg, but has successfully cut weight before. She is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt and has an extensive boxing background (with an 8-2-2 record) and was “Steel” on American Gladiators.

Should Toughill lose to Cyborg, the talent pool at 145 appears to be quite shallow. However, there are fighters in higher weight classes that could cut weight, and a catchweight bout is also a possibility. The former appears to be a better option with Cyborg’s strength. She also showcased much improvement on the ground in her last fight, and has obviously been working hard on closing some of the holes in her game.

Strikeforce has stated in the past that a win for Coenen would put her square up against Gina Carano for the title. Carano, however, has been shooting a movie and probably has some ring rust. Having her fight Coenen (or someone else) and letting her win a fight or two before a title match might be a wise idea. Coenen vs. Carano–with both coming off of losses to Cyborg–is a matchup I’d love to see.

Then there is Belgian FILA grappling champ Cindy “Battlecat” Dandois, who beat Coenen in her first and only

Cindy Dandois

professional MMA fight. It almost doesn’t seem fair to put a 1-0 fighter against someone with 9 or more fights, but is a possibility for the future.

To recap, here are the top 145-lb matchups I’d like to see. I’d like to see Gina Carano fight Marloes Coenen or Cindy Dandois. Cris Cyborg vs. Erin Toughill appears to be in the works. Erin Toughill vs. Lana Stefanac (at a catchweight) would be awesome. Then, Lana vs. Cyborg and Toughill vs. either Carano or a rematch with Coenen. So many possibilities.

Strikeforce is also planning a 145-lb. women’s tournament to find a top contender for Cyborg–more details will be posted as they become available.