Great hustle from everyone in the 153 Live Thread Saturday. That was damned entertaining and made an enjoyable event even better. GARY TEBOW! The only non-entertaining part of 153? How awful were Goldberg and Rogan Saturday? Good grief. Both of their worst traits were out in FULL FORCE. People that defend Rogan these days are even losing faith. People that defend Goldberg I look at like they have seven eyes.
Great hustle from everyone in the 153 Live Thread Saturday. That was damned entertaining and made an enjoyable event even better. GARY TEBOW! The only non-entertaining part of 153? How awful were Goldberg and Rogan Saturday? Good grief. Both of their worst traits were out in FULL FORCE. People that defend Rogan these days are even losing faith. People that defend Goldberg I look at like they have seven eyes.
[:: And That's the Way it Was::] Twenty fighters that after the last week who are shining, not fading.
1. Brandon Rios: Before every fighter makes their pro debut, they should be forced to attend a Brandon Rios seminar for inside fighting and uppercuts. Rios doesn't fight in the phone booth, Rios fights in the coin return slot in the phone.
2. Anderson Silva: And boom goes the dynamite. I felt embarassed for Stephan, I really did. Anderson needs to fight a wrestler. Period. They're the only opponents that have taken rounds from him. Bonnar's greatest strength is "grrr", and hustle doesn't win fights against people like Anderson Silva.
3. Eddie Alvarez: WITH AUTHORITY! After a back-and-forth first round (as Alvarez fights are wont to do), he saw that Freire kept feinting low, and took advantage of it with a head kick that sent Pitbull to dreamland. I questioned earlier whether Eddie, in his last fight after being the flag-bearer for Bellator, would go all-out and increase his value on the market, or show up, take a paycheck, and not take much damage to save himself. He took the former and ran out amongst the same fans that have supported him since Bellator 1.
4. Nonito Donaire: Well, it wasn't the brilliant chess match I had envisioned, but at long last, Donaire finally takes the torch of the 122-lb division from Toshiaka Nishioka in the main event of Saturday's HBO card.
5. Hesdy Gerges: Took out my darkhorse favorite, Sergei Laschenko, in the K-1 World Grand Prix Final 16. Now I have it down to either he or Ben Edwards to take the whole thing.
6. Jon Fitch: Jon by God Fitch. With his apparent money troubles on the line, Fitch went out and shrugged off Erick Silva's best, coming home a much-wealthier man. Silva's eyes after that final bell...I've seen eyes like those after fights...it's not a good thing.
7. Demian Maia: I'll never forget the moment when Demian Maia turned Rick Story in to a living, breathing, and worst of all, FULLY FUNCTIONAL SINK. Men with engineering degrees can't make a structure that reacts that well to a crank. Good on ya, Demian. Always liked you. Get your pound of flesh. KICKBOXING MAIA ALWAYS DIE!
8. Adonis Stevenson: I can't paint a better picture of this fight (and I've since watched it twice), then what Scott Christ at Bad Left Hook (the most underrated blog in the SBNation family) did: http://www.badlefthook.com/2012/10/12/3496454/stevenson-vs-george-results-12th-round-tko-boxing-news
9. Jose Pedraza: Unsurprisingly stopped Tevin Farmer, who gamely took on the fight on a few days notice, in the main event of ShoBox Friday night.
10. Rad Martinez: Bellator laid it on a little thick in the sob-story department Friday, but Rad's was one that didn't come close to cheesy or overwrought. It was real, it was stirring, and it made you pull for him. He handed Nazareno Malegarie only his third defeat in 25 fights.
11. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: BREAKING: LOCAL FOLK HERO SUBMITS "UNSUBMITTABLE" DOLT.
12. Ben Edwards: Ran through an overmatched Raul Catinas in the 2nd round of the K-1 World Grand Prix. He becomes my pick to win the entire tournament, but he has to go through Gerges to even get to the final. Yikes.
13. Glover Teixeira: Absolutely turned Fabio Maldonado into a speed bag for the majority of their fight, putting on one of the most grotesque beatings I've ever seen. Up there with Franklin-Loiseau. My only concern with Glover was his lack of finishing ability. I know that Fab is a granite horse, but he was in a lucid dream towards the last minute of the first, and let him hang around long enough to where Maldonado was able to land a hail mary hook to stun him and get him back in the fight. If it's not Fabio flinging that desperation swipe, and it's someone with more power, then what happens? Can't let it get to that point. Otherwise, though, not much to complain about at all.
14. Wagnney Fabiano: The longtime WEC vet armbarred his way into the semifinals of Bellator's Featherweight tournament and put on a jiu-jitsu clinic in the process. It was a stupid decision at the time for Zuffa to not bring him over from the WEC, and it's really dumb now.
15. Caio Terra: Avenged his submission loss at May's World Jiu-Jitsu Expo (the one Nick Diaz no-showed) to Jeff Glover with an armbar at the wonderful Metamoris Pro event Sunday that I stupidly forgot to include in YWICS last week, picking up a cool $5,000 SOTN bonus.
16. Mirko Cro Cop: Filipovic ran roughshod over Randy Blake to advance in the K-1 WGP. It certainly seems like K-1 really, REALLY wants Cro Cop to get to the finals. I can't blame them, but it's rather obvious. They loaded up the half of the bracket away from Mirko as best they could (Edwards, Laschenko, Jarrell Miller, Gerges) and made his half absurdly thin. He might make it to the finals, but as far as getting him prepared for whatever monster comes out of the other half, they did him no favors here.
17. Mike Richman: It was quick and it was violent. Only 23 seconds via head kick for Richman to fell Jeremy Spoon and advance to the second round of Bellator's Featherweight tournament.
18. Phil Davis: Yeah, that's pretty much what Davis will do to an opponent like Wagner Prado. That gator roll was beautiful, and faced with someone smaller, slower, and wrestling-deficient, Davis will do what he did. I'm not sure about what direction to take Phil, as there aren't a ton of LHW options for him. King Mo would have made a lot of sense.
19. David Price: Absolutely walked over Audley Harrison in less than a round in a complete walk of a fight. He got called out afterwards by Tyson Fury, so that's something we could, and should, see in 2013.
t20. Mike Alvarado: Even jab though Alvarado jab look the loss jab to Rios, he put jab on a gosh darn clinic jab. Before jab the stoppage, I had Alvarado jab ahead on jab my card. This was jab a stock-raising loss jab for Alvarado, who is now jab a valuable asset jab in the junior welterweight jab division. Jab.
t20. Marcus Almeida/Roger Gracie: Fought to a draw in the main event, and put on the best match of the show, of Metamoris Pro's Jiu Jitsu Invitational.
t20. Yoshiyuki Yoshida: In the main event of Finland's excellent Fight Festival promotion, Yoshida guillotined Finnish veteran Niko Puhakka in the third round.
t20. David Lemieux: One-time super-prospect Lemieux continued to get his career back on track with an absolutely NASTY knockout of Alvaro Gaona.
t20. Jose Benavidez Jr.: On the Donaire-Nishioka card, 20-year old welterweight uber-prospect Jose Benavidez Jr. kept his rise to the top on course, taking a dominant UD over Pavel Miranda in eight rounds.
t20. Kultar Gill: SUPA FITE LEEG! Gill, unsurprisingly, took out Amr Fathee Wahman in the first round in the headlining fight of Super Fight League 4. That's a good thing for the promotion, which is having weekly events and Gill is their homegrown poster-child right now.
t20. Joe Riggs: At the inaugural Made For War event, Riggs viciously KO'd Josh Cavan in the first round in the main event, improving his record to 38-14.
Friday October 19
12:00am Josesito Lopez vs. Saul Alvarez (Showtime Extreme)
1:00am UFC Tonight (Fuel)
1:30am UFC Ultimate Insider (Fuel)
3:00am Delvin Rodriguez vs. Jesse Feliciano (ESPN Classic)
3:30am UFC Ultimate Answers (Fuel)
4:00am Emile Griffith vs. Jorge Fernandez (ESPN Classic)
4:00am UFC on Fox: Diaz vs. Miller (Fuel)
5:00am Andy Heilman vs. Emile Griffith (ESPN Classic)
9:00am Bellator 76 (MTV2)
10:00am UFC 153 (Fuel)
11:30am Super Fight League 5 (FREE YouTube)
2:00pm UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann (Fuel)
4:00pm Best or Pride (Fuel)
5:00pm UFC on Fox: Diaz vs. Miller (Fuel)
7:00pm Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer (ESPN Classic)
7:00pm ATA Songahm Nationals (ESPN3)
7:00pm Best or Pride (Fuel)
8:00pm Bellator 77 (MTV2)
8:00pm UFC on FX: Johnson vs. McCall (FSN)
9:00pm Inside MMA w/Daniel Cormier, Rich Franklin, Frank Shamrock, Randy Couture (AXS)
10:00pm The Ultimate Fighter: Carwin vs. Nelson (FX)
10:00pm Score Fighting Series 6 (AXS)
10:00pm UFC Ultimate Insider (FSN)
11:00pm Andres Guitierrez vs. Carlos Valcarcel (Showtime Extreme)
Saturday October 20
1:00am The Ultimate Fighter: Carwin vs. Nelson (FX)
1:00am Inside MMA w/Daniel Cormier, Rich Franklin, Frank Shamrock, Randy Couture (AXS)
2:00am UFC on FX: Johnson vs. McCall (FSN)
2:00am Score Fighting Series 6 (AXS)
2:30am UFC Tonight (Fuel)
3:00am UFC on Fuel: Struve vs. Miocic (Fuel)
4:30am Assault In The Ring (HBO Zone)
6:00am UFC 153 (Fuel)
8:00am 30 For 30: One Night In Vegas (ESPN Classic)
8:00am UFC 101: The Fundamentals (Fuel)
9:00am 30 For 30: The Real Rocky (ESPN Classic)
9:00am UFC Ultimate Answers (Fuel)
9:30am UFC Ultimate Answers (Fuel)
2:30pm Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story (ESPN Classic)
4:00pm UFC Tonight (Fuel)
4:30pm UFC Ultimate Insider (Fuel)
5:00pm Fidel Monterrosa vs. Pablo Cesar Cano (Fuel)
6:00pm Garcia vs. Morales Prelims (Showtime Extreme)
7:00pm National Fighting Circuit 8: Caged on Campus (FREE GoFightLive)
8:00pm Best of Pride (Fuel)
8:00pm Danny Garcia vs. Erik Morales/Pablo Cesar Cano vs. Paullie Malignaggi (Showtime)
9:00pm Best of Jungle FC (ESPN3)
9:00pm UFC Unleashed (Fuel)
10:00pm UFC 135 (Fuel)
Sunday October 21
1:00am UFC on FOX: Velasquez vs. dos Santos (Fuel)
1:30am Danny Garcia vs. Erik Morales/Pablo Cesar Cano vs. Paullie Malignaggi (Showtime Extreme)
2:00am UFC Ultimate Knockouts 9 (Fuel)
4:00am Fidel Monterrosa vs. Pablo Cesar Cano (Fuel)
4:15am Kassim The Dream (ESPN Classic)
9:30am Danny Garcia vs. Erik Morales/Pablo Cesar Cano vs. Paullie Malignaggi (Showtime)
12:00pm Luis Ramos Jr. vs. Noe Bolanos (Fuel)
12:00pm Danny Garcia vs. Erik Morales/Pablo Cesar Cano vs. Paullie Malignaggi (Showtime)
2:00pm UFC 153 (Fuel)
11:00pm UFC on Fuel: Struve vs. Miocic (Fuel)
[::Under the Radar::] Names that aren't on American broadcasted shows this week.
Daisuke Nakamura vs. Takafumi Ito: Deep 60 Impact, Friday, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Ryuta Sakurai: Deep 60 Impact, Friday, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Katsunori Kikuno vs. Yasuaki Kishimoto: Deep 60 Impact, Friday, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Daniel Acacio vs. Ismael De Jesus: Shooto Brazil, Saturday, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Ricco Rodriguez vs. Darren Towler: Ultimate Warrior Challenge, Saturday, Garons Park, Southend, England
Orlando Cruz vs. Jorge Pazos: Friday, Kissimmee Civic Center, Kissimmee, Florida (will be on Telemundo)
Kell Brook vs. Hector Saldivia: Saturday, Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield, England
[::Best Viewing Options::] So this past weekend we had a UFC PPV, ShoBox, an incredible HBO boxing card, K-1, professional jiu-jitsu, Bellator, tons of British boxing, PPV Muay Thai....I guess I'm just saying we're all in this together....*crickets*...*tumbleweed*...well at least have Strik....oh...*sobs hysterically*...*vomits*...
1. Danny Garcia vs. Erik Morales/Pablo Cesar Cano vs. Paul Malignaggi: This card is LOADED. Four-deep including Hassan N'Dam vs. Peter Quillin and Devon Alexander vs. Randall Bailey. Since I couldn't watch HBO's card live, I'm absolutely looking forward to throwing myself head-first into boxing this weekend, even if that involves the shot shell of Erik Morales. Plus, Devon is outside of St. Louis, so Bailey actually has a chance.
2. Bellator 77: I really like Bellator's lightweight tourney this season. Great mix of veterans, prospects, and nationalities. Nobody that's going to beat Chandler, but still.
3. Score Fighting Series 6: ONLY ON HDN...Axs. Featuring *sigh* Schiavello. Here's another BV fact. Michael Schiavello was the first person I followed on Twitter. Maybe the second, besides my friend that badgered me to join. Regardless, the first meaningful follow. Why? BE NIGHT CREW (never die)! For those of you that are too new to remember, HDNet used to broadcast Dream, K-1, and other Japanese events live, so Schiavello would give us at BE a shout-out! The Bloody Elbow Night Crew! Regardless of his cheap pop to us, I always thought Mike was A+ for commentating. The problem is, so did he. A lot. In the span of a year or so, Schiavello went from a cheeky, fun guy on Twitter to two of my least favorite guys on Twitter: 1. Guy/Gal Who Retweets Compliments and 2. Guy/Gal Who Only Plugs. That's it. On top of that, his Voice Versus series, which was an excellent profile of ACTUAL Mixed Martial Artists? Michael Jai White and Steven motherfucking Seagal were his last two. If AXS wants to get more into Hollywood with creepy-ass Marc Cuban at the helm, so be it, but there are casualties in the wake. Voice is one, and it's a god damned shame.
4. Jorge Pazos vs. Orlando Cruz: If you get Telemundo definitely check this out. I'll be very, very curious what the reaction will be, as well as how Cruz will react in and out of the ring.
5. Assault in the Ring: I've had this listed on previous YWICS, and it's always worth a view. It chronicles a 1983 bout between Billy Collins Jr. and Luis Resto where Resto's gloves were tampered with and the subsiquent fallout and careers and lives of the two.
6. Inside MMA: Just a mammoth lineup there. Plus they always seem to be ahead of the curve on news.
7. Ring of Fire: We talked about this doc in the Orlando Cruz thread when he came out. Probably not a surprise that HBO is airing this on the same weekend as Cruz's first fight since the announcement.
8. Super Fight League 5: No names on this show, whatsoever, but they're showcasing and grooming a ton of local talent, which is fantastic. Plus, Free Friday afternoon fights!
9. Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer: Their 1994 first meeting that made Moorer a world champ before he got Foreman'd. Razor-thin decision when they were both in their heavyweight primes.
t10. The Ultimate Fighter: Be one of the proud 624,000!
t10. National Fighting Circuit 8: Caged on Campus: NFC is a high-level amateur promotion featuring really good talent. It's free, and on a college campus, should be pretty damned fun before you settle in for the Showtime card.
t10. ATA Songahm Nationals: Tae Kwon Do. JOE ROGAN SAYS IT'S LEGIT, BRAH!
[::Fight of the Week::] Who's ready for more Glover violence?? *raises hand* You got it, me! Glover vs. former UFC star Ricco Rodriguez at the MMA Against Dengue event from last November.
New UFC start, Glover Teixeira vs Ricco Rodriguez. (via JackoMMA)
[::Bold, yet Laughable Predictions::] Like an idiot, I predicted Donaire vs. Nishioka for FOTW thinking Rios-Alvarado would end early and it'd be a chess match against the consensus #1 vs. #2 of their division for years. Hoo boy. I never have any shame about admitting when I was wrong, and I was DEAD wrong here. I also picked Fitch vs. Silva as my disappointing fight of the weekend! I am teh dum. From now on, to own up to my awfulness, I'm going to include last week's predictions as well.
Best Fight of the Weekend: Danny Garcia vs. Erik Morales (LW: Nonito Donaire vs. Toshiaki Nishioka)
Disappointing Fight of the Weekend: Paulie Malignaggi vs. Pablo Cesar Cano (LW: Erick Silva vs. Jon Fitch)
Who will be #1 on BV's List Next Week: Danny Garcia (LW: Nonito Donaire)
If My Life Depended on One Pick: Danny Garcia over Erik Morales (LW: Phil Davis over Wagner Prado)
Upset of the Week: Brad Cardinal over Chris Horodecki (LW: Patricio Freire over Eddie Alvarez)
Fight to Keep Your Eye On: John Fraser vs. Tyler Toner (LW: Cristiano Marcello vs. Reza Madadi)
Card that Will Deliver the Best Pound-for-Pound Action: Garcia vs. Morales (LW: Donaire vs. Nishioka)
[::BV Loses You Money::] Boy, that uhhh. He he he. Um. Well it feels good to lose money. I was getting too comfortable with success.
Last Weekend's Hangover:
If you put down $100 on each of my predictions last YWICS, you'd have today:
$220
BV Lost You: $280
This Weekend:
Kell Brook -1200 Hector Saldivia
Devon Alexander -700 Randall Bailey
Danny Garcia -1000 Erik Morales
Lines courtesy of BetUS
[::The Non-Profit Black Velvet Sponsored Bloody Elbow Combat Sports Fantasy League Challenge For All Ages: (NPBVSBECSFLCFAA) ::]
Last Weekend Lineup: 7-1 (Donaire, Pedraza, Rios, Tibau, Taylor, Silva, Price)
My Lineup This Week:
Flyweight: Dave Morgan
Bantamweight: Tyler Toner
Featherweight: Danny Garcia
Lightweight: Kell Brook
Welterweight: Peter Quillan
Middleweight: Daisuke Nakamura
Light Heavyweight: Carmelo Marrero
Heavyweight: N/A
[::Take a Knee::] Even the biggest combat sports fan needs to recharge their batteries before diving back in. Here are five games that are nationally broadcasted this weekend that deserve your eyes as well on Friday and Saturday. To avoid suspected homerism, I won't be including my favorite teams.
UConn @ Syracuse: Friday, ESPN, 8:00: Here's a factoid about Syracuse. It snows. A lot. Syracuse University combats that by playing their football games indoors. To that I say, BALDERDASH! I currently live in the sixth snowiest city in these United States. I've played football, lacrosse, and baseball at the high school and collegiate (it was Club, OK, don't judge me) levels outdoors. I say TO HECK WITH EVERYONE, 'CUSE! OUTDOORS! Can you imagine a team like Baylor rolling in to a field covered with three feet of snow that is constantly being plowed while it's -5F outside?? "BV, the fans won't show!" They're not showing now! Have you seen the Carrier Dome at SU games?? We once had a lacrosse team from Detroit forfeit because it was sleeting in May. DETROIT! FORFEIT! And they would have kicked our collective asses. Caution to the wind, Orange. Your students will love having an actual home-field advantage. It'll be like Lambeau-East. DO IT!
San Francisco @ St. Louis: Friday, Fox, 8:00: How do the Cardinals JUST. KEEP. WINNING? DAMN THE NL CENTRAL TO HECK!
LSU @ Texas A&M: Saturday, ESPN, Noon: Why is this excellent and essential SEC game being played at 11:00am local time? I'll turn it over to Clay Travis: http://outkickthecoverage.com/protecting-texas-game-screws-am-lsu-fans-on-11-am-kickoff.php
South Carolina @ Florida: Saturday, CBS, 3:30: Spurrier, The Swamp, National title implications, SEC supremacy. Must-watch...even if they're just going to get slaughtered by Alabama.
Kansas State @ West Virginia: Saturday, Fox, 7:00: The Dana Holgorsen war wagon hit a wall and burst into flames, meeting its skulletly demise at the hands of THE TUBERVILE in Lubbock. Nevertheless, this is still a biiiiig game in the Big 12 (WVU...BIG XII...still weird). Collin Klein vs. Geno Smith.
[::Your YouTube Finale::] I've never watched Cougartown, thankfully. But boy howdy, have I watched Scrubs. So, anyway...Scrubs Reunion!
Scrubs Reunion on Cougar Town (via MstrSpartan117)