An aMMAzing Week in Review vol. 6: Strikeforce - Fedor vs. Rogers, Fight of the Week, Ochocinco to the UFC?, fight announcements, Dumbass of the Week and more!
Well hello, and welcome again to another exciting edition of An aMMAzing Week in Review! I'm your host, Brent Henderson, and I'm here to give you a rundown of all the MMA action from the past week, and hopefully entertain you for a moment or two. There are no strings attached! I do a ton of research/typing for you guys, and all you have to do is read! It's a win-win situation for you, the reader, so sit back and enjoy the show!
Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers
This event lived up to the hype, but only because of the main card. Once again, I'm not going to do a fight-by-fight breakdown, mainly because I've already done one, but if you'd like to read it, go here: Strikeforce
For those of you too lazy to click a link, I'll summarize. Antonio Silva gassed, and got beat. Sokoudjou impressed but gassed and got beat. Shields hugged Miller for the better part of 25 minutes, and is now the new Strikeforce Middleweight Champ. Rogers cut Fedor with the first punch thrown, so Fedor retaliated by decapitating Rogers in the 2nd round…
That is seriously one of the best gifs I've ever seen. I'm pretty sure even Dexter would've been proud of the blood spatter work the creator of that gif incorporated.
The only real letdown with the Strikeforce show was their inability to manage/allot enough time for all of the fights, see Fedor and Rogers walk to the cage or to see the main event if you had set up your DVR to record the action.
FIGHT OF THE WEEK: TIE (FEDOR VS. ROGERS / SCHRUTE VS. SCHRUTE)
This was going to be an easy one for me after watching the Strikeforce event on Saturday night, until I watched the first few minutes of The Office on Thursday. I know, I know, Fedor is the greatest MMA fighter the world has ever known, but when is the last time you've seen a man attack/defend himself because he is the most worthy opponent of himself (besides measles)?! Ok, so maybe the Fedor vs. Rogers bout was a more technical affair, but until Fedor or Rogers decides to take themselves on in a no rules contest then this week shall remain a tie. Just watch the first 2:05 of the clip below, and you'll understand my decision.
CHAD OCHOCINCO TO THE UFC?
According to Ochocinco and Dana White's Twitter pages, it seems as if Mr. Ochocinco wants to fight a UFC fighter with all of the money going to charity. If that wasn't enough of a challenge for the Bengals wide receiver, he decided that he wanted to face Anderson Silva, and it seems as if Dana is going along with it. I don't think the Bengals will allow their star receiver to take part in a legitimate MMA match, but I do believe this is a marketing opportunity neither Dana nor Ocho will let slip through the cracks. Ocho vs. Silva
THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 10, EPISODE 9
This is the hardest part, and always the last thing in my column I write about. I don't know how Frank Hyden writes a full report on this season week after week, but my hat is off to you, sir. I really just can't put my finger on it, but something, or maybe everything sucks about TUF 10. Was it all the Kimbo hype, Dana telling us it was the best season they've ever had, or Rampage walking away from the fight with Rashad and the UFC before the season ever began that started it all? Is it the fact that I've seen better fights between my Pomeranian and my cat than I've seen on this season that makes it so hard to watch? I'm pretty sure it's a combination of all of these things, but I would rather watch The Vampire Diaries with my wife (which I haven't, yet) than sit through this hour of garbage and pretend to be entertained. I just want it to end...even more than I want Celine Dion, Whoopi Goldberg and Ben Affleck to end.
Now that I've got that off my chest, this week Rampage and Tiki put live chickens in Team Rashad's coach's cars as a prank. Once again Rampage's shenanigan's backfired as Rashad and his team thought it was hilarious and then spent a lot of time chasing chickens across Zuffa's parking lot.
Justin Wren and Roy "Big Country" Nelson were chosen to fight in the first semi-final matchup. Wren hit Roy really solid on a couple of occasions in the first round, and actually had Nelson in trouble, but Roy clinched and regained his composure. Round two was a lot of swinging and missing with Nelson getting the better of the exchanges. It's obvious to everyone who watched the fight that each fighter had won a round, but two of the judges decided Roy had won both rounds giving him the majority decision.
The worst part about all of this is I didn't even care who won. Yeah, I wanted Justin to win, but the bad decision didn't even bother me. I was just glad the credits started rolling…
STEFAN STRUVE REPLACES TODD DUFFEE
I was personally hurt by this announcement, but only because I wanted to see one of my favorite fighters, Pat "HD" Barry, fight Struve. How awesome would it be to see 5'11" Barry fight 6'11" Struve?! Anyway, it looks like we'll have to wait a little while to see the fight Barry has described as a "David vs. Goliath" bout. Struve will step in against Paul Buentello at UFC 107 in place of injured Todd Duffee. This will be an interesting return match for Buentello, and give Struve a chance to cement himself firmly in the UFC Heavyweight division.
MINOWA VS. SOKOUDJOU
The mullet and Speedo combo known worldwide as "Minowaman" will return to combat against the half-empty gas tank known as Sokoudjou. This will be a great challenge for both men, and the outcome rests solely on if Minowa can withstand the early barrage of Sokoudjou. My thoughts on this are based on the fact that Soko hasn't been able to fix his cardio issues that have plagued him since UFC 79 when he gassed against Machida. Any fighter who can defend against Soko for greater than six or seven minutes will eventually win the fight. It's really hard to watch because he has a really good mix of technique and athleticism, and was actually winning the fight with Mousasi until he gave out. This fight will take place on December 31st at DREAM/FEG's Dynamite!! 2009 event.
MARQUARDT VS. SONNEN AT UFC 110
Wow! Marquardt must've really made someone in the UFC really mad. How can you go from knocking out Demian Maia in impressive fashion, and be mentioned as one of the top contenders to fight Anderson Silva to having to fight Chael "The Unanimous Decision" Sonnen? If you think the Jason "Mayhem" Miller vs. Jake Shields fight was boring, you must not have ever seen Sonnen fight before. Miller vs. Shields was like Don Frye vs. Takayama BEATDOWN! compared to watching Sonnen fight. I hope Marquardt makes quick work of Sonnen so maybe we won't have to suffer through watching him in the UFC again.
BONNAR VS. SOSZYNSKI
I'm actually pretty excited about this fight. This fight will also take place at UFC 110 in Australia. Soszynski has looked really good since his stint on The Ultimate Fighter, compiling a 3-1 record in the UFC. His only loss was at UFC 102 when he went the distance with Light Heavyweight title contender Brandon Vera. Bonnar is in desperate need of a win after back-to-back losses inside the Octagon. If you remember, Bonnar injured his knee in training back in February 2008, and has been unable to visit the win column since his return. I think Dana White does owe Bonnar as much as he owes Forrest Griffin for the resurrection of the UFC, but he has to start winning again to deserve a spot on the roster over a more deserving up and coming fighter.
POOR CHOICE OF THE WEEK: CHUCK LIDDELL
If you somehow missed the unfortunate video of Chuck leaving Leonardo Dicaprio's party, then you're in for a treat! Apparently Drunk Chuck was trying to defend Lindsay Lohan, who was trying to enter the party, when this happened: Angry Drunk Chuck
Chuck isn't helping his case for his return to the UFC. It looked like he had gotten a lot of the partying out of his system and had rededicated himself to getting in fighting shape, until now. I hope this was an isolated incident, and not something Chuck is participating in on a regular basis. As much as I didn't like watching him get knocked out in three out of his last five fights, I would still like to see him walk out of the Octagon as a winner, I think he deserves that for what he's done for the sport.
MATT HUGHES VS. RENZO GRACIE
Matt Hughes has finally found an opponent worthy enough to face him in the cage. It appears that Hughes will be facing top prospect Renzo Gracie at UFC 109. Is Renzo one of the big name fighters Hughes was talking about when he was giving his reasons (excuses) for not fighting the guys from AKA? Seriously, I like Renzo, and I've never really heard anything bad about him, but he hasn't fought in three years, and never in the UFC! It's almost as if Hughes is taking a page out of the "Overeem: How to Avoid Fighting Top Competition" handbook. Honestly Matt, if you think you can walk through the guys at AKA, then step in the cage and prove it. I would have absolutely no problem with Matt stepping up and saying he didn't want to tarnish his legacy, or he's gotten too slow to keep up with the new breed of fighter, but saying he would walk through them is laughable.
DUMBASS OF THE WEEK: JUNIE BROWNING
Junie, Junie, Junie. Anyone who saw The Ultimate Fighter Season 8: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir, knows that Junie has mental problems. I know that alone doesn't make anyone a dumbass, but continuing to train in combat sports when you have these problems, combined with alcoholism and anger issues without trying to get help certainly does. Junie's more recent troubles stem from an incident on October 6th when he tried to commit suicide, and then assaulted three healthcare workers.
According to the Las Vegas Review Journal (via CageWriter), Browning was rushed to St. Rose Dominican Hospital on Tuesday night after taking 16 Klonopin pills in an apparent suicide attempt. It was just the beginning of Junie's troubles:
After being taken to a room at the hospital, the Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter tried to leave and became angry, pushing a female nurse, punching a male nurse and kicking another male nurse, the report states.
"Do you know who I am? I will kill you and rape your family," police said he yelled to nurses.
Browning faces three counts of battery on a health care provider, according to his arrest report. He was booked at the Henderson Detention Center, where he was released [yesterday].
If the suicide attempt and threatening to rape and kill the family members of the nurses weren't enough, Junie has since missed his court appearance prompting the police to issue an arrest warrant. Junie has been completely apologetic as seen in this heartfelt post on his facebook page:
"ha ha! just an accident! i thought my court date wasnt untill dec. but im getting it taken care of this week! untill then im on the run! fuck fuck fuck the police! o! and when i made that comment about killing that guy at the hospital and rapein his family they failed to mention why i said that. the male nurse punched... me in the face while I was in restraints like a bitch! so then i said that to him. As you can tell from the pic! and i never hit anyone at the hospital! i was just pushing them away because they were trying to restrain me"
In case you were wondering, Junie was released from his UFC contract following his unfortunately unsuccessful suicide attempt. Maybe he could call War Machine...I hear they're hiring fluffers.
JOE LAUZON/PAT BARRY UPDATE
Good news Lauzon fans! I texted with Joe the other day, and we have moved the interview up from mid-December to next Friday! With this being my first interview, we both expect it to be complete garbage, but you have my word that I will submit the interview no matter how tarded I come across, or how unprofessional it may sound. Now, if Wade or Jamie think it may be an embarrassment to www.mmatorch.com, and it doesn't get posted I'll put it on my facebook page and link it from there.
With that being said, I've got more exciting news! Mr. Pat "HD" Barry has agreed to be my second interviewee! If you missed my column two weeks ago where Pat was my pick for "Fighter of the Week" go back and check it out. I've also requested if he is ever within "serving" area to please add me to his ever-increasing collection of "served" pics. SERVED!
Thanks again for taking the time to read An aMMAzing Week in Review! Be sure to check out all of the other great columns/writers www.mmatorch.com has to offer. See you guys next week!
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Another great article! I looked for it yesterday, but couldn't find it. I
was afraid you had quit, or been killed by Todd Duffey! Imagine my joy when
I saw it on here today.
I do agree with you about the Shields vs Miller match it was more boring
than Couture vs Vera last night.
Hey guys! If anyone has any questions you'd like for me to ask Mr. Lauzon
on Friday just put it in a comment. I'm sorry I forgot to add that in the
column.
Brent
eric
17 Nov 2009, 09:31
nuff said, it was a long saturday not having our review on time. but better
late than never.
please ask j-lo about how he got his unique first name. ive always wondered
about that.
everyone has aids.
J-Mac
17 Nov 2009, 11:16
Great read again Brent. Is there any way you can post Harvey v. Amber the
next time they throw down?
Jake T
18 Nov 2009, 03:23
Brent, great job again. I've hated Junie Browning since TUF8. The guy is a
real tool. You making him the dumbass of the week has made me a very happy
man!
