Last night saw the ever excellent Resurrection Fighting Alliance put on their first card of 2014 and it was an absolute cracker, as seen by these highlights from the AXS TV broadcast.
RFA is always worth keeping an eye on for the next generation of top talent, and on this showing we’ll be seeing the likes of Keoni Koch and Pedro Munhoz in the UFC sooner rather than later.
The first few weeks of the year are usually quite quiet so we’ve not had too much movement with the most significant event easily being Cage Warriors year-end show with some moves occurring on more regional shows and the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye end of year show. So for the most part, these are the rankings as would have been if I’d done them in the first week of January after all the Hogmanay shows. Ho-hum, let’s see where we stand as it all starts moving again…
Let’s get into it…
Heavyweight
1- Vitaly Minakov (Russia) 13-0, Bellator
2- Andrei Arlovski (Belarus) 21-10, WSOF
3- Stefan Struve (Netherlands) 25-6, UFC
4- Cheick Kongo (France) 20-8-2, Bellator
5- Alistair Overeem (netherlands) 36-13
6- Damian Grabowski (Poland) 19-1, IND
7- Alexander Volkov (Russia) 19-4, Bellator
8- Sergei Kharitonov (Russia) 21-6, IND
9- Alexey Oleinik (Ukraine) 53-9-1, IND
10- Magomed Malikov (Russia) 7-2, M-1
No movement due to inaction, but Phil DeFries and Konstantin Erokhin both moved closer to the top ten with late December wins over Brett Rogers and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou respectively.
Light Heavyweight
1- Alexander Gustafsson (Sweden) 15-2, UFC
2- Jimi Manuwa (England) 14-0, UFC
3- Attila Vegh (Slovakia) 29-4-2, Bellator
4- Mikhail Zayats (Russia) 22-7, Bellator
5- Gegard Mousasi (Armenia) 34-3-2, UFC (*returning to Middleweight in February)
6- Jan Blachowicz (Poland) 17-3, KSW
7- Victor Nemkov (Russia) 19-4, M-1
8- Linton Vassell (England) 12-3, Bellator
9- Jason Jones (Netherlands) 20-10, BAMMA
10- Cyrille Diabate (France) 19-9, UFC
No movement due to inaction, although February and March already have five of our ranked fighters booked to compete in UFC events.
Middleweight
1- Michael Bisping (England) 24-5, UFC
2- Mamed Khalidov (Poland) 28-4-2, KSW
3- Frances Carmont (France) 22-7, UFC
4- Alexander Shlemenko (Russia) 49-7 IND
5 – Luke Barnatt (England) 7-0 UFC
6 – Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (Russia) 23-2 M-1
7 – Michal Materla (Poland) 19-4 KSW
8 – Tom Watson (England) 16-6 UFC
9 – Ramazan Emeev (Azerbaijan) 11-2 M-1
10 – Faycal Hucin (France) 10-3 Cage Warriors NR
Several ranked fighters set to compete in February & March, while Andrey Koreshokov is removed due to his entry in the upcoming Bellator Welterweight tournament, proving his middleweight tenure was a one-off. He is replaced by Faycal Hucin.
Welterweight
1- Tarec Saffiedine (Belgium) 15-3, UFC def. Huyn Gyu Lim 1/4
2- Martin Kampmann (Denmark) 20-7, UFC
3- Gunnar Nelson (Iceland) 11-0-1, UFC
4- Cathal Pendred (Ireland) 13-2-1, Cage Warriors
5- Adlan Amagov (Russia) 13-2-1, UFC
6- Gael Grimaud (France) 19-6, Cage Warriors
7- Nicolas Dalby (Denmark) 11-0 Cage Warriors
8 – Paul Daley (England) 34-12-2 BAMMA
9 – Jim Wallhead (England) 25-8, BAMMA
10 – Aslambek Saidov (Poland) 15-3 KSW
Win for John Maguire at Cage Warriors on 12/31 moves him back towards to rankings contention following his losing streak and UFC release.
Lightweight
1- Khabib Nurmagomedov (Russia) 21-0, UFC
2- Rustam Khabilov (Russia) 17-1, UFC
3- Alexander Sarnavskiy (Russia) 26-2 Bellator def. Alexander Butenko 21/12
4- Ross Pearson (England) 15-6, UFC
5- Musa Khamanaev (Russia) 13-3, M-1
6- Norman Parke (Norther Ireland) 19-2 UFC
7- Ivan Buchinger (slovakia) 25-4 Cage Warriors (c) def. Steven Ray 12/21 UP 2
8- Piotr Hallmann (Poland) 14-2 UFC UP 1
9- Mansour Barnaoui (France) 11-2 BAMMA UP 1
10- Ramazan Esenbaev (Russia) 6-1 IND NE def. Satoru Kitaoka at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye on 31/12
Steven Ray drops out from #7 with his title loss to Buchinger, but given that he beat him up for three rounds only to fall into a submission, he’s a solid #11 and only held out of the rankings by Esenbaev’s win over Kitaoka in Japan.
Featherweight
1- Dennis Siver (Germany) 22-9, UFC – UP 2 def. Manny Gamburyan 28/12
2- Conor McGregor (Ireland) 14-2, 10-1 UFC DOWN 1
3 – Tom Niinimaki (Finland) 21-5-1 UFC DOWN 1
4- Magomedrasul Khasbulaev (Russia) 21-5, Bellator
5- Shabulat Shamhalaev (Russia) 12-2-1, Bellator
6- Joni Salovaara (Finland) 14-7 IND
7- Sergei Greicho (Lithuania) 15-5-1 OC
8- Chris Fishgold (England) 10-0 Cage Warriors
9- Akira Corassani (Sweden) 12-3, UFC
10– Marat Gafurov (Ukraine) 8-0 IND NE
Dennis Siver’s win on the undercard of UFC boosts him back to the top spot at the expense of injured Conor McGregor and Tom Niinimaki. Graham Turner’s loss to Jim Alers drops him from the rankings, bumping everyone below him and allowing Marat Gafurov into the #10 slot.
Bantamweight
1- Brad Pickett (England) 23-8, UFC
2- Brett Johns (Wales) 8-0, Cage Warriors ©
3- James Brum (England) 14-2, Cage Warriors
4- Ronnie Mann (England) 23-6-1 Cage Warriors
5- Timo-Juhan Hirbokangas (Finland) 8-2 Cage FC
6- James Pennington (England) 9-1 Cage Warriors
7- Martin McDonough (Wales) 11-4, Cage Warriors
8- Sirwan Kakai (sweden) 9-2, IND
9- David Haggstrom (Sweden) 7-2-1 IND
10 Ruslan Abiltarov (Ukraine) 15-4-1 IND
No movement due to inactivity of ranked and near-to-ranked fighters.
Flyweight
1- Ali Bagautinov (Russia) 12-2 UFC
2- Neil Seery (Ireland) 13-9 Cage Warriors ©
3- Phil Harris (England) 22-11 UFC
4- Pietro Menga (England) 10-0 FCC ©
7- Paul Marin (Romania) 7-3, Cage Warriors
8- Shaj Haque (England) 4-1 Cage Warriors
5- Mikael Silander (Finaland) 8-3 IND
6- Paul McVeigh (Northern Ireland) 19-8 Cage Warriors
9- Chris Miah (England) 5-0 IND
10- Rany Saadeh (Germany) 5-1 BAMMA
No movement due to inactivity of ranked and nearly ranked fighters.
Women’s P4P
(Due to the less developed state of Women’s MMA we’re ranking our top ten female fighters from across the weight classes – we hope to expand this section in future.)
1- Joanne Calderwood (Scotland) 8-0 Invicta FC
2 – Marloes Coenen (Netherlands) 21-6 Invicta FC
3 – Katja Kankaanpaa (Finland) 8-1-1 Invicta FC
4- Rosi Sexton (England) 13-4 IND
5- Aisling Daly (Ireland) 12-5 Cage Warriors – UP 4 def. Karla Benitez 13/12
6- Milana Dudieva (Russia) 8-3 ProFC DOWN 1
7- Maria Hoegaard Djursa (Denmark) 5-4 IND DOWN 1
8- Shiela Gaff (Germany) 10-6-1 UFC DOWN 1
9- Pannie Kianzad (Sweden) 4-0 IND DOWN 1
10- Joanna Jedrzejczyk (Poland) 4-0 IND
European National Rankings
(Each ranked fighter scores points for their nation, with a no.1 ranking earning 10 points, down to a 10 ranking earning 1 point. This is just for fun.)
1 – Russia – 109 pts
2 – England – 105 pts
3= Finland – 31 pts
4= Ireland – 31 pts
5 – Poland – 28 pts
6 – Netherlands – 25 pts
7 – France – 24 pts
8 – Sweden – 19 pts
9 – Denmark – 17 pts
10 – Germany – 14 pts
Check out the UFC on FOX 10: Smooth vs. Punk weigh ins right here at 10pm GMT.
Recently, WSOF threw down a challenge to bellator to see who was best in a cross-promotional PPV which has been completely ignored by the scared/superior (delete according to opinion) promotion.
Given that WSOF have increasingly become a promotion who’s cards I look forward to and Bellator have gone down in my estimation, I figured it would be interesting to see how they compare when viewed objectively.
So we can tally this up as if it were a championship match, I’ve split the criteria down into five handy categories – resources, roster, reach, credibility and x-factor.
Seconds out, round one…
1- Resources
While WSOF are clearly not short of cash, sponsors, committed and talented staff etc. it’s clear that they are nowhere near what Bellator can command given they can call on the resources of Viacom.
10-8 Bellator
2- Roster
With well over ten times as many events, five years of a head start, a more active schedule and a more established brand, you can hardly doubt the fact that Bellator have a deeper roster, boasting top ten talent in most divisions.
However – what WSOF have built in a year is impressive and their roster continues to improve, snapping up some of the choice ex-UFC talent some good free agents and building up some new talent of their own.
Throw in the fact that Bellator’s roster has been losing top players for a while, either by being poached, dropped via promotional madness or just plain getting pissed off with the company (Hector Lombard, Ben Askren, Cole Konrad, their entire women’s division) and this one isn’t as clear cut as it might once have been.
Bellator have the advantage in depth, but pit the cream of each promotion’s roster against one another and it’s a coin flip…
10-9 Bellator (20-17)
3- Reach
Bellator are on a major TV channel in the US and have some international distribution deals. WSOF are also on a major channel, if not quite as far ranging but crucially, they make their shows available online for free to fans from around the world which Bellator have never done (a week’s tape delay on a channel I usually do my best never to watch? Great job guys…)
10-9 WSOF (29-27, Bellator)
4- Credibility
Once upon a time, Bellator’s tournament model would have earned them a solid win here, but of late they have displayed contempt for the format, shortening the tournaments, repeatedly giving big stars as clear a route to a title shot as they can manage and handing out title shots to folks who haven’t won tournaments out of pure expedience and favouritism.
Across the cage, WSOF have rightly fielded accusations of being a ‘low impact’ promotion, subsisting on the fading allure of stars who washed out of bigger promotions.
While there is some truth to that, you have to look at how they’ve booked those stars. Jon Fitch got a tough match on his debut and lost, Andrei Arlovski and Anthony Johnson haven’t exactly been given squash matches (even if it’s sometimes ended up that way) and Jessica Aguilar was given the hardest match that WSOF could provide.
For me, credibility is more about doing what you say you’re going to…
WSOF give you ‘fun fights, building something new’ while Bellator have sold out on their boast ‘where title shots are earned, not given.’
WSOF 10-8 (37-37)
5- X-Factor
Both promotions interest and excite me. WSOF for the new talent, the almost guaranteed knockouts from journeyman fighters , the redemption stories being acted out by more than a few of their fighters and a sense of it being something different.
Bellator holds my interest for it’s conveyor belt of new talent, and the entertainment level of their established stars.
However this is tainted but the mismatched booking, the way the promotion has sold out it’s USP by demeaning the tournaments and seemingly has no faith in the fighters and format that brought them to the consensus #2 position.
10-10 Draw
Final Score
47-47 DRAW
So, in the final reckoning what should on the books have been an easy win for Bellator is a drawn contest, with WSOF’s freshness, openness and fun combining with the sense of Bellator being jaded, corrupt and increasingly uninteresting to pull the upstart promotion level.
In my eyes, that is practically a win for WSOF, and I reckon with a draw in a title match the only thing we can do is have a rematch, say at the end of the Summer?
January is always a time where MMA journalists, bloggers and forum trolls opine as to who they think will make waves in the upcoming year and we’re no different, so here’s our selections.
Amanda Kelly (1-0)
There’s already one female, Scottish kickboxing champion in the UFC but another could easily be on the fast track to follow.
Despite a limited MMA record, Amanda showed her quality with a first round knockout win on her pro debut and her striking credentials are second to none.
A leading contender for CWFC’s breakthrough fighter of the year and sure to be a big part of that promotion’s expanding women’s diviions, the sky is the limit.
Next fight – vs. Laura Howarth, CWFC 64, Feb 15th
Follow @AmandaKellyMT on Twitter.
Emil Weber Meek (5-1)
Recommended to us by our good friend Anneli, Meek had a stunning 2013, going 4-0 and all via TKO finishing up with a win over Per Franklin on Scandinavia’s biggest show, Superior Challenge in November.
With the UFC seemingly committed to regular visits to nearby Sweden, Cage Warriors also expanding into Scandinavia not to mention the fact that his native Norway finally seems to be moving towards legalising combat sports, the future seems bright for ‘Hulk’.
Meek was named as MMA Viking’s Prospect of the Year for 2013 and we’re only to happy to agree with them.
Connect with Emil on Facebook.
Mike ‘Biggie’ Rhodes (6-1)
Recently signed by the UFC as the reigning RFA Welterweight champion, Rhodes is following in the footsteps of a production line of exciting talent to take the same path.
A well rounded fighter training out of Roufusport, Rhodes has already shown an ability to win via knockout, submission or grinding out a five round decision.
Like the rest of the RFA graduates, I can’t see him freezing on the top stage and if any debutant looks capable of swimming in the UFC’s insanely deep Welterweight division, it’s him.
Next fight – vs. George Sullivan, UFC on FOX 10, January 25th
Tweet Mike @TeamRocBiggie
Mizuki Inoue (7-1)
19 years old with eight pro fights under her belt, a successful Invicta FC debut over a fighter who is now signed to the UFC and currently sitting on a 5-0 win streak, it seems Inoue is destined for stardom.
The fact that she is one of the few top ranked Straw-weights not hoovered up the UFC almost makes her prop sects more interesting.
Not destined for the Ultimate Fighter house, she could just as easily be competing for the now-vacant Invicta belt or being called over to World Series of Fights to face the likes of Jessica Aguilar or Ailda Gray in 2014. Interesting times.
Keep up with Mizuki’s fight announcements on Facebook.
Toni Tauru (7-1-1)
The pick of Cage Warrior’s latest batch of signings, submission specialist Tauru looks to extend his seven fight win streak on a bigger stage, entering a stacked division with the prospect of compelling bouts against the likes of David Haggstrom, James Pennington, James Brum and Ronnie Mann all very possible.
Give Toni a follow on Twitter.
In the past few days, Bellator have been receiving a metric fucktonne (that’s slightly less than an imperial fuckton but more comparable to other measurements of internet bile, being exactly ten times later than a trollocaust) of criticism for their decision to award Pat Curran an immediate title rematch with Daniel Straus for the Featherweight title despite there being two tournament winners, Patricio Freire and Frodo Khasbulaev waiting for a shot.
This is even more rage inducing as a year ago, Curran narrowly beat Freire via split decision, leading to many calls for a rematch, but Bellator then stuck with the format, compelling Freire to re-enter the tournament. The Freire-Curran match was MUCH closer and more entertaining that Curran-Straus, yet Freire (never mind Khasbulaev & Straus) is the guy left feeling undervalued by the company.
I’ve seen quote a few respected MMA journalists opining that this criticism is an example of how the tournament format is holding Bellator back and they should dispense with the format if they intend to truly compete with the UFC.
To me, thats an insane notion.
Bellator attained #2 status on being markedly different from the UFC, scouting wider, growing their own stars and being slavishly devoted to the understandable, promotable concept that title shots are earned through tournaments, not just awarded willy nilly as in most promotions.
That is an idea which works brilliantly in sport, as shown with the major soccer tournaments, Wimbledon and even in contact sports with the enduring success of kickboxing tournaments (K-1, Glory) and the much beloved PRIDE FC grand prix events.
Of course, Bellator have had troubles with the format, with injuries delaying tournaments and scheduled title shots or a lack of tournaments compelling a champion to go years without defending their belt
Hector Lombard is a great example. He was the Bellator champion for 2 1/2 years between 2009 and 2011 and between his title win and leaving the company for the UFC he fought ten times, only five of them under the Bellator banner and only once in defence of his title.
Now, tournaments seem to have become an annoyance to Bellator’s brain trust, with them preferring to give relatively big names like Eddie Alvarez and Pat Curran rematches for the belt without the indignity and uncertainty of having to go through a tournament first.
I understand that. They want to compete with the UFC by keeping their most bankable stars in main event/title matches. Thats understandable, and it’s the M.O. of almost every promotion on the planet.
However, it sells out their unique selling point, effectively shits on the rest of their roster, devaluing their tournaments and effectively shooting themselves in the foot.
Bellator need to grow stars and they do that via the tournaments. Now, if a tournament win doesn’t lead to a title shot and there is nobody in the tournaments who is already considered a bit of a star, then what’s the point?
What made Pat Curran a star? Winning a tournament, losing a close fought title match and then winning another tournament to go and win the title. What made Alvarez a star? Winning a tournament and then defending his belt against tournament winners.
The same is true of Mike Chandler, Ben Askren, Hector Lombard – fighters who made their name via Bellator’s transparent and compelling platform.
The fact that Bellator have fighters who they built up via the tournaments who are now considered by the promotion to be exactly the guys they want in main events is a testament to the success of the format.
The problem with tournaments, isn’t that they restrict a promotion’s booking, that they can be delayed by injuries or that they can result in champions having nobody to defend their belt against or just as likely having a backlog of challengers…
…it’s that promotions so easily lose faith in them.
Fans understand injuries, they understand champion vs. tournament winner, they will wait for the RIGHT match and rail against a fighter cutting to the front of the queue, reeking as it does of murky back room deals, favouritism and hypocrisy.
Tournaments provide a narrative, a structure, a credibility that the usual (UFC-esque) model of MMA promotion just doesn’t have.
Bellator have spent over a year trying to get away from the model that brought them to the dance, shortening tournaments to two fights instead of three, placing big name fighters in situations where they are clearly intended to progress (Emanuele Newton is one of my heroes of 2013 for twice upsetting Bellator’s preferred story of Mo Lawal cruising to the gold), and offering big stars rematches for titles that weren’t earned through the tournament format.
Combine that with the reversal of their policy to not sign former name UFC stars as Tito Ortiz, Rampage Jackson and Cheick Kongo being signed in 2013 and their nonsensical decision to cut their women’s divisions just as WMMA starts drawing and it all seems a little reactionary, a little desperate…
There is a cautionary tale here – if there is a big dog in an entertainment industry, you don’t compete by imitating everything about them because you will inevitably come across as a cheap knock-off.
Look what happened to WCW when they started trying to win back the Monday Night Wars with increasingly car crash TV, trying to out-Attitude the WWF.
Yeah, that company doesn’t exist anymore, it’s name an a byword for failure, hubris and waste.
If I was Bellator, I would stick with the tournament format, but eliminate the problems of yesteryear by using their now greater TV footprint, budget and schedule.
Basically, if you have a champion in a division, you run a tournament in that division. If a champion leaves the company or is injured, the two backed-up tournament winners face off for the (interim) belt.
If there are no fit challengers, the champion should have to spend no more than one season on the shelf as a new challenger will and could easily face a former champion in a non-title main event ‘super fight.’ The key phrase there is NON TITLE.
This model allows Bellator to produce an ongoing stream of episodic television, building stars and eliminating any concept of a glass ceiling or favouritism.
Perhaps they could arrange their PPVs around their TV schedule, with mid-season and end-of-season pay per views, with the tournament finals, perhaps some title bouts (although these should be sprinkled through the free TV cards as well) and even some one-shot big stars, who are ‘above’ the tournaments but are worth the buck to add meat to the PPV card.
WWE have been doing exactly this with some success for over twenty years…
As things stand, by promoting fallen UFC stars over home grown talent, devaluing their tournaments gaining bad press via disputes with fighters, releasing dominant champions and playing fast and loose with their own stated booking conditions – not to mention running scared of World Series of Fighting’s challenge to a cross-promotional pay per view, Bellator are starting down the barrel of irrelevancy, apathy and a demise that could come faster and more completely than you might imagine.
I’d prefer not to see that. The MMA world is big enough for variety, for more big companies, indeed MMA NEEDS Bellator and it’s formerly distinct nature on the scene. they could so easily be the Yin to the UFC’s Yang and be a major, credible and well received player on the MMA scene for the foreseeable future.
They just need to take a step back, cut away the more parochial elements of their broadcast, go back to basics and promote events on the model they first came to the dance with, but taking advantage of their greater profile.
Then again, I’m not Bjorn Rebney or a Viacom executive, just an idealistic blogger watching on from afar…
Voting is now open in the 2013 Cage Warriors Fighting Championship awards and we’d ask you all to vote, not only because CWFC is Europe’s #1 promotion but because stacks of Scots are on the list.
As a wholly impartial media source, we would in no way urge you to vote for Dean Reilly or Joanne Calderwood for best KO, for James Doolan as best coach, for Stevie Ray as Breakthrough Fighter of the year or for his part in the match of the year against Ivan Buchinger or the Dinky Ninjas as Best Team because that would be unprofessional.
In fairness, it’s a stunning field of contenders with plenty deserving winners. If you’re not persuaded by our subtle push towards rabid pro-Scottish voting, you could do worse than vote Jim Alers for fighter of the year, Martin Buschkamp vs. Matteus Lahdesmaki as Fight of the Year and Brett Johns or Sean Carter as Breathrough Fighter of the Year.
Or actually, pretty much anything that is nominated because the nominees are wall to wall awesome, which is a testament to all involved in Cage Warriors and reinforces the promotion’s status as one of the world’s top promotions.
Make your votes known here and if you need a refresher, Cage Warriors have kindly posted all of 2013’s fights on their YouTube channel, so check them out and while you’re there, subscribe as well, just to make them feel appreciated.
In West African mythology, Anansi is the trickster god, who takes the form of both a spider and a man and while always in the middle of some kind of grift, he is always more than happy to confound expectations, puncture self importance and generally make everyone’s day just a little more interesting.
Now, who in MMA fits that description?
Of course it’s Anderson ‘the Spider’ Silva – so named for his proficiency in the eight limbed art of Muay Thai – but the similarity to Anansi in terms of seeming to view things, try things and achieve things differently from other folks is there as well.
Dana White posted up a picture the other day saying that Anderson’s leg was healing well following it’s break and he could be walking unsupported within a month.
Of course, that probably means 2-3 months before meaningful rehab, another 2-3 months for contact sparring and then a 2-3 month camp. At best, we could see Anderson back in the Octagon in August-September, but more likely the start of 2015.
I’m a little torn on Anderson’s potential return.
On one hand there is the concern that at 39 years old (by the time he returns), having achieved almost everything possible in the sport, decidedly NOT needing the money and coming off back to back stoppage losses that he might not be the fighter he once was, his body or his mind might not be quite back in it.
There’s also the concern of seeing him get badly injured in the Octagon. Again.
I don’t think any of us want to see him put in a performance that truly reminds us of his mortality and harms his legacy. Even less, do we want to see him brutally knocked out or injured. I don’t need to hear a man scream in pain the way Anderson did in December EVER again.
But…
Is Anderson Silva mortal? Are his methods supernatural?*
*Obviously the answer here is yes. I’m speaking rhetorically for the benefit of the narrative.
Can any martial arts fan in the world not get a little excited by the idea of an Anderson comeback, an indian summer to his career, perhaps the much-awaited super fight with GSP, a shot at the title, a trilogy bout with Weidman (which could of course be a title match) and then, with his GOAT status assured beyond doubt a triumphant retirement.
On balance, if Anderson is fit in mind and body and really wants to come back, it’s something I’d love (and pay) to see. I bet you would too.
We must remember that the stories belong to Anansi, even when it seems that other character are in the driving seat. Who would bet against the Spider having one last grand trick, one last epic tale, one last big surprise to spring on us?
PS – I feel I have to say something here about Chris Weidman. Like a few folk, I was initially disappointed in the finish of the bout at UFC 168 – for all that it was a clean and righteous stoppage, the fact that it came from blocking an attack rather than making one and the sheer suddenness of it all made it feel a bit cheap – the kind of finish I’d feel unsatisfied by if it was in a pro wrestling match.
With a little distance, I don’t feel that way.
In fact, I’m more of the opinion that Weidman isn’t really getting the credit he deserves for his achievement. He’s stopped the greatest fighter of all time, within two rounds, twice – and neither were flukes or freak events.
The first time came via his tuning into the rhythm of Anderson’s ‘clowning’ evasion moves (nobody had ever done that before) and landing a punch on the button.
The second time came from his improving his game to negate the area Anderson had the most success in the first fight (leg kicks) and he improved his checking to a degree that he broke Anderson’s leg with the check.
Weidman has twice defeated the consensus GOAT, both times showing a versatility and maturity beyond his years or experience and he showed an evolution as a martial artist between the fights. Credit where it’s due, or in other words…
The King is Dead, All Hail the King.
However, let us remember that history is written by the victor, and all the stories belong to Anansi…
(In a totally non-MMA related aside, I’d also recommend checking out the music of the band Skunk Anansie and Neil Gaiman’s take on the character in the novels American Gods and Anansi Boys.)
The first Fight Pass event proved the oft repeated maxim that the quality if fights is not directly proportional to the casual fan name value on offer with some fun scraps and a very satisfying main event.
As to whether it was worth the £6.99 charge we were asked to pay on UFC.TV is another question but in any case BT Sport pulled through and we got to watch the main card at the very reasonable timeslot of 9-11pm – and it makes me think it would be pretty cool to get mainline UFC events replayed from 9-12 on a Sunday night, for those of us who succumb to sleep during the live card…
Just a thought.
The undercard saw redeeming wins for established fighters like Max Holloway, Dustin Kimura and debut victories for Russell Doane, Royston Wee and Mairbek Taisumov.
The main card opened with a physical mismatch as Kyung Ho Kang rag-dolled the experienced and skilled Shunichi Shimizu for thirteen minutes before finally sinking in the submission.
The match was made all the more interesting as Kang had two points deducted in the first round for a pair of 12-6 elbows (this would become a theme of the evening) meaning he needed to win all three rounds to win the fight.
Shimizu showed plenty heart and ability and I’d like to see him get another go round at Flyweight, as he looked way to small to compete in the UFC’s 135lb division. This wasn’t helped by the fact that Kang is one of the biggest bantams I’ve ever seen…
Next up, we had our compulsory scowling Brazilian in the shape of Luis Dutra facing off against Kiichi Kunimoto and living up to his grim aspect by using multiple 12-6 elbows to the back of Kunimoto’s head when pressed against the cage.
It’s never good to see a fighter stretchered from the cage as Kunimoto was here and it’s even worse to see his opponent show such a lack of remorse and dispute the perfectly correct call of a DQ for the use of (two!) illegal moves, resulting in a stoppage.
The co-main event saw long time Asian superstar Tatsuya Kawajiri making his UFC debut against a fellow debutant, Blackzillian product Sean Soriano. Soriano showed some good skills, especially in the first round while evading Kawajiri’s takedowns but in the end experience and grappling skills won the day and ‘Crusher’ took the second round submission victory.
Kawajiri then embarked on the most expressive promo I’ve ever seen from a Japanese fighter, ignoring Brian Stann’s questions and totally wrong footing the always-nice translator lady.
I choose to interpret this outburst as ‘BANZAI!!!’ and look forward to seeing more from him…
The main event, featuring Tarec Saffiedine against late replacement Hyun Gyu Lim was a great match, pitting Saffiedine’s speed, technique and rightly celebrated leg kicks against Lim’s size, aggression and utter lack of quit.
Saffiedine dominated the bulk of the match, slipping Lim’s punches, landing counters and peppering leg kicks from the outside. On a few occasions, lim would land a heavier blow and push Saffiedine back or catch a leg kick and end up in top on the ground but the balance of the bout
Into the fifth, with Saffiedine surely well ahead on the scorecards and Lim almost unable to put weight on his lead left leg, the Korean started pushing forward and was very much the winner of the round, with the Belgian backing up and desperately grappling to stop getting punched as the bell went.
You can’t teach heart like that.
All in, this was a fun event and almost everyone involved (aside from Luis Dutra and referee Steve Perceval who made some very weird calls) raised their stock. I just wonder how many fans actually watched it…
Full results
MAIN
• Tarec Saffiedine def. Hyun Gyu Lim via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)*
• Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Sean Soriano via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 0:50*
• Kiichi Kunimoto def. Luiz Dutra via disqualification (illegal elbows) – Round 1, 2:57
• Kyung Ho Kang def. Shunichi Shimizu via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 3:53
PRELIMINARY
• Max Holloway def. Will Chope via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:27
• Katsunori Kikuno def. Quinn Mulhern via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Royston Wee def. David Galera via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
• Mairbek Taisumov def. Tae Hyun Bang via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Dustin Kimura def. Jon Delos Reyes via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:13
• Russell Doane def. Leandro Issa via technical submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:59
* – Not officially announced
I’m always happy to give credit where it’s due and today BT Sport renewed a chunk of my faith in their commitment to MMA (well, UFC but at this level the terms are interchangeable) by confirming that they will show Saturday’s UFC Fight Night Singapore event, albeit on a few hours tape delay starting at 9pm.
The tape delay could be construed to be an annoyance, but in fairness it keeps everybody happy as it allows the UFC to charge for the live event on ufc.tv (although I’d be astonished if anyone aside from dedicated journalists buy it), it allows BT Sport to stick with their preferred daytime lineup – let’s be honest, the weakest UFC card in a while isn’t gonna draw them more viewers than FA Cup football, NBA basketball or top level rugby, is it? – and we still get some MMA action on our screens at a relatively decent time of night.
All credit goes to BT Sport for moving quickly to placate the ruffled feathers of UFC fans in the UK and facilitating an outcome which is acceptable to all, although it has to be said that the UFC haven’t come out of this episode with shining colours as their attitude towards the UK and European markets has shown we are very much an afterthought.
I have two questions…
Why don’t we have access to the free Fight Pass trial and can anyone confirm whether we’ll be able to watch the upcoming London card on BT Sport?
Aside from all that, and the fact that this is the least marketable UFC card I can remember, it’s still well worth a watch and not just because it’s MMA on your TV (which is usually reason enough for me.)
Here’s Five Reasons To Watch
(they all happen to be fighters you should be interested in)
Tarec Saffiedine
The last ever Strikeforce champion makes his UFC debut almost a year removed from his title winning effort against Nate Marquardt, looking to make up for lost time and stake his claim as a top contender in the now wide-open Welterweight division.
A well rounded fighter with quality grappling and striking skills and some impressive international experience, Saffiedine is definitely one to watch.
Hyun Gyu Lim
Stepping up as a late replacement for Jake Ellenberger, Korea’s Lim is riding a seven fight win streak including two stoppage victories in the UFC and a Fight of the Night award in his last bout against Pascal Krauss.
Almost an opposite to fellow Korean 170lber Dong Hyun Kim, Lim is a finisher with 13 stoppage conclusions in his 15 fights.
Tatsuya Kawajiri
For so long the #2 Lightweight in Asia behind Shinya Aoki, Kawajiri has dropped to Featherweight and makes his UFC debut on a five fight win streak, including victories over standouts like Joachim Hansen and Michuhiro Omigawa.
‘Crusher’ could easily become a major player in the UFC’s featherweight division, so keep an eye out.
Royston Wee
The UFC’s first ever Singaporean fighter is remarkable more in his apparent unworthiness for the accolade, with his two professional fights earning him two first round submission victories… against fighters with a total combined record of 0-3.
Of course, you can only read so much into a fighter’s record but there is a strong sense that Wee is here as a token local. That said, he could be a complete prodigy and make every Western MMA blogger and journalist look like a tool, starting tomorrow.
The fact that his name sounds like a public order offence in the the north of Glasgow is neither here nor there…
Ok, my real fifth reason is that watching the show will confirm to BT Sport (and other broadcasters) that there is a serious demand for MMA programming in the UK, solidifying BT Sport’s commitment to the UFC deal and perhaps inspiring other channel’s to take a look at other promotions for broadcast…
KUMITE 