Archive for June, 2009
NBA Draft Pick an Undefeated Fighter
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter will have a few former NFL and College football players vieing to for the six figure contract, but imagine if projected NBA frist round draft pick James Johnson from Wake Forrest tried out for the show.
Johnson sports a 20-0 kickboxing record and is undefeated in his one pro MMA fight. He stands 6′7″ and weighs 257 pounds. His nickname - “Little Ali”.
When Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets questioned Johnson’s fighting acumen, he was treated to a roundhouse kick that swung a mere inches from his face.
To read more, click here: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/James-Johnson-The-NBA-first-round-pick-with-qui?urn=mma,172202
A look at the TUF 10 cast
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
The cast for Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter is a massive bunch and will be quite the handful for Coaches Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans.
Here’s a list that was recently released by UK Newspaper “The Sun”:
Kimbo Slice: will be the star of the show but based on the talent listed below, has next to no chance to win this fight.
Roy Nelson: he may not look the part, but is likely the most talented of the bunch. He’s my early pick to win the six figure contract.
Marcus Jones: former NFL first round draft pick that played for the Tampa Bay Bucs. He’s a 6′6″, 260 lber who trains with the Gracie Camp in Tampa Bay. He’s a tough guy that has a serious chance to win the whole thing.
Wes Shivers: standing 6′8″, Shivers is a 300 lber who was drafted by the Tennessee Titans and played for the Atlanta Falcons.
Scott Junk: a former UFC veteran (lost to Christian Wellisch at UFC 76). Also fought for the MFC and has a victory over the once highly touted Jimmy Armbriz.
Jim York: fairly experienced fighter with a 10-2 record, the New Zealand native is 33 years old share a victory over a common opponent with Kimbo Slice; York defeated James Thompson in his last bout via KO in March, for Japanese promotion WVR: Sengoku.
Wes Sims: Sims fought for me in September of 2004 (http://www.sherdog.com/events/APEX-Genesis-2501) and is quite the character. He is a three time veteran of the UFC but not sure he has the skill set to go far with on the show. If anything, he will be the one fighter in the house that will cause the most drama and will have no issues garnering camera time.
Matt Mitrione: another former NFL veteran who spent time with the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings. He has no professional record, so he’s one guy I can see being matched up against Kimbo Slice.
Mike Wessel: standing 6′1″, the 250 lber is another UFC veteran who is getting his second chance to stay with the organization. He lost his UFC debut to Antoni Hardonk at UFC 92, last December in Las Vegas.
Justin Wren: the native of Ames, USA, sports a 6-1 record and at the tender age of 22, may not be a favourite to win the show, but he may be the one athlete who benefits the most from the experience of being on The Ultimate Fighter. Keep on eye on this kid.
Jon Madsen: a teammate of Matt Hughes and Robbie Lawler’s, Madsen will be well prepared to go into battle and if he can withstand the stress and drama in the household, I will not be surprised to see him make it to the semi’s or even the season finale.
Brendan Schaub: undefeated at 4-0, Schaub has really good hands and a tight ground game. He is a former Buffalo Bill and is considered the best athlete on the show. He may not win the show altogether, but look for him to cut down to light heavyweight - he can be a force in that division, especially after the experience of TUF.
Zak Jensen: sporting a record of 7-3, two of Jensen’s three losses have come to UFC vets Mike Whitehead and Brad Imes. His third loss came to Ryan Kotzea in February, but one week later, he was able to get back on the winning track vs Matt Hirsch (it’s disturbing to note he was allowed to fight one week after being TKO’d). Jensen will need to rely heavily on his experience if he hopes to make it to the semi’s…he looks to be outclassed with this bunch of characters.
Darrill Schoonover: he was given no chance vs Rex Richards and proved everybody wrong. Will he be able to do the same as part of the reality show. Sporting an undeafeated record of 10-0, he stands a serious chance of being the best sleeper pick for the show.
Abe Wagner: he has yet to fight in 2009, so it remains to be seen if Wagner (6-2) shows up ready to rumble, or ready to go home. He is a tough customer who already has a five round war under his belt, a victory over Sherman Pendergarst, who has 25 fights to his name.
Tom Blackledge: the only Brit on the card, Blackledge sports a record of 8-6. He trains at the Wolfslair Academy alongside Michael Bisping and Season 10 coach Quinton Jackson. He will obviously be selected by Rampage, but can he live up to the standard set by Team UK in Season Nine. We’ll find out starting September 16th.
Affliction cuts Andrei Arlovski
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
After suffering a KO loss to Brett Rogers at last month’s Strikeforce event, Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski has since been cut from Affliction’s Fighter roster .
Affliction is probably kicking themselves for overpaying for Arlovski on several occasions, but the Belarussian betterget his act in order. The only real organization out there that ”may” pay him the money he wants is Strikeforce, but his stock value has plummeted after two straight KO losses.
His one time plan to enter the boxing world appears to have also been derailed. Arlovski better fix whatever is broken - if he does not, the fat lady will start singing very, very soon.
TUF 9 Medical Suspensions
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
The Nevada State Athletic Commission medically suspended the following fighters (who competed on The Ultimate Fighter Nine Finale):
The full list of suspensions includes:
- Clay Guida until Aug. 15 with no contact until July 21 for precautionary reasons.
- Andre Winner until July 21 with no contact until July 12 due to a left-cheek laceration.
- Kevin Burns must have right hand cleared by a doctor and is suspended until Dec. 18. If cleared, is still suspended until Aug. 15 with no contact until July 21 for precautionary reasons.
- Brad Blackburn must have right shoulder cleared by an orthopedic doctor and is suspended until Dec. 18. If cleared is still suspended until Aug. 15 with no contact until July 21 for precautionary reasons.
- Edgar Garcia until July 21 with no contact until July 12 due to a right-eyebrow cut.
- Mike Ciesnolevicz until July 21 with no contact until July 12 for precautionary reasons.
- Frank Lester until July 21 with no contact until July 12 for precautionary reasons.
- Jason Dent must have right knee cleared by an orthopedic doctor and is suspended until July 21 with no contact until July 12.
According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (http://boxing.nv.gov/New_Schedule.htm) the UFC has requested Nov 21st and Dec 05th as dates for shows at The Mandalay Bay and The Palms respectively. While the November date would likely be tagged as UFC 106 and the December date for the Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale, would the UFC be brave enough to host their year end show in Sin City? That would be three straight shows in Vegas, just five weeks.
Or do Dana White and company have a surprise up their sleeve? At UFC 97, White commented that Toronto would be an ideal location for a year end show, featuring GSP and Anderson Silva.
Here’s what the UFC’s tentative schedule looks like for 2009:
- UFC 100 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 11, 2009
- UFC 101 from the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pa., on Aug. 8, 2009
- UFC 102 from the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, on August 29, 2009
- UFC Fight Night 19, Oklahoma City, Oklahama, Sept 16, 2009
- UFC 103 from Dallas, Texas (Venue TBD), on Sept. 19 or 26, 2009
- UFC 104 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Cali, on Oct. 24, 2009
- UFC 105, Manchester, England, November 14, 2009
- UFC 106 from the Mandalay bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 21, 2009
- TUF 10 Finale from The Palms in Las Vegas, Dec 05th, 2009.
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