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UK Scene - Park
UK SCENE: Andre Winner and Nick Osipczak weigh in on UFC 118 bouts, Pickett vs. Jorgensen thoughts and more
UFC 118 will hit Boston, Massachusetts this Saturday night as B.J. Penn looks to reclaim the Lightweight title from the man who dethroned him in April: Frankie “The Answer” Edgar.
The solid main card includes the battle between the undefeated Gray Maynard and home-town hero Kenny Florian – a fight which will decide who is next in line for a shot at the Lightweight title.
The undercard will also provide a host of strong match ups that will include two British fighters, as Team Rough House welterweight “Slick” Nick Osipczak aims to bounce back from his first career loss when he takes on Greg Soto. Fellow Brit and team-mate Andre Winner will go head-to-head with Nik Lentz as part of the “Prelims Live” special that precedes the main three-hour broadcast, with Winner aiming to make it three UFC wins on the bounce.
I caught up with both fighters this week before they headed to Boston to put the finishing touches to their fight preparations. Discussing his current training camp with MMATorch, Osipczak said: “[I trained with the] usual team for this one, fighting out of the Rough House in Nottingham where I do most of my sparring. Plus my individual coaches Harry Selby, Kieran Keddle, and Dave Boycott-Brown.
“[I trained at] BJJ School and New Wave Academy and I also did a week at [Team] Kaobon for this fight as I always like to get out my comfort zone. I've been working extra hard on my wrestling for this one.”
Osipczak, who dropped an extremely close split-decision to Rick Story at UFC 112, will be competing in America for the first time since defeating Frank Lester at The Ultimate Fighter Finale in June 2009. Osipczak will have fellow Team Rough House member Winner on hand for moral support as he aims to get back to his winning ways this Saturday.
“Me and Dre always work a lot together so nothing new there,” Osipczak said. “We are training to peak at the same time so we've been pushing each other hard in training to reach new heights. It's much better to have someone from you're gym on the same card. It helps for the training the week leading up to the fight when you are away from home, and the larger the group the more relaxed it feels. Fight week can be very boring so it helps to kill time easier by having more familiar faces around.”
Andre Winner will have more viewers tuning in for this fight as he and Nik Lentz take a spot on the “Prelims Live” show. The fight was promoted to the 1-hour special, replacing Terry Etim vs. Joe Lauzon after Team Kaobon Lightweight Etim was forced off the card with a broken rib.
Unfazed by the change in scheduling a confident Winner told me, “I have just tried to improve myself as a fighter, I'm going to do what I always look to do and that is push myself on others and stop them from doing what their good at.
“I don’t feel any more pressure now I’ve moved up the card, when the fight starts it’s just like any other fight. Obviously I am happy to be getting the exposure as it helps put my face out there more and I want to entertain the fans who support me.”
After Winner and Osipczak entertain it will be on with the main card, and one fight that has come in for a lot of criticism is the evenings co-main event between MMA legend Randy “The Natural” Couture and former IBF World Boxing Champion James “Lights Out” Toney.
UFC President Dana White has been accused of creating a freak show with this fight, but in all honesty White will finally provide an answer to the question that has been asked for so long: Can a boxer really cut it in an MMA fight?
Over the years there has been a lot of snobbery towards MMA from people within boxing circles, but while White is the one who finally made such a fight happen, it is James Toney who will be putting his neck, not to mention his legacy, on the line when he takes on one of the greatest fighters to ever step into the Octagon.
In 1994 a decision loss to Roy Jones Jr snapped a 46-fight undefeated streak, but to this day James Toney has never been stopped in over 90 professional boxing fights. Andre Winner praised the former boxing champion, and his bravery for accepting this fight, but suspects that the well rounded Couture may be too much for him at UFC 118.
“I’m a fan of James Toney,” said Winner, “He is a legend in boxing and I love that he is giving MMA a chance. But, he is definitely past his peak and he’s coming against a high level wrestler in Couture. I think that match up more than deserves its place near the top of bill, these are two legends!”
Nick Osipczak also supported this match-up stating, “I don't mind Toney being made into such a big deal, it will attract a lot of viewers and he's the right boxer for this fight.”
Once the Boxing vs. MMA fight is settled there will be the small matter of the rematch between Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar and B.J Penn. This week there have been several reports suggesting that Penn may have been carrying an injury going into the first fight with Edgar; but while Penn remains tight lipped it will be interesting to see if Edgar can replicate the success he enjoyed at UFC 112.
It is very unusual for a Champion to defend his title while also being considered the underdog, but that is the position that Frankie Edgar will be in when he takes on Penn come Saturday night.
Both Andre Winner and Nick Osipczak had no doubt who they believe will leave Boston with the UFC Lightweight belt around their waist. Osipczak told me: “I think B.J Penn is the most talented of all fighters and when he has the right motivation going into the fight - he will crush any lightweight!”
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OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF:
-Brad “One Punch” Pickett came up short last week when he dropped a unanimous decision to Scott Jorgensen in a No. 1 contender fight for the WEC Bantamweight Title.
Jorgensen won all three rounds on the scorecards, but all three were close, with the takedowns being decisive as Jorgensen cemented his spot as the next man to challenge Bantamweight Champion Dominic Cruz, in a fight that will likely happen towards the end of the year.
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-UK journalist Gareth Davies of The Daily Telegraph has been nominated for the Fighters Only World Mixed Martial Arts Awards. Davies was third last year and will be hoping to improve on that result with the support of UK fans.
To support Gareth please follow the following link: http://www.onlineawards.co.uk/fightersonly/Home.asp
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It was an unfortunate result for Brad Pickett last Wednesday in a fight that will go down as one of the best of 2010. The first time I met Brad he told me that the “smaller guys” put on the best performances, and when you look at some of the fights the WEC has provided recently - with Chan Sung Jung vs. Leonard Garcia and this absolute war between Pickett and Jorgensen - who could disagree with him?
It is only a matter of time before these “smaller guys” get the kind of attention they deserve and will subsequently enjoy the benefits that MMA fighters in the heavier divisions already do.
Good luck to both Andre Winner and Nick Osipczak as they represent Team Rough House in Boston on Saturday in what promises to be a fantastic event. Join me next week for the fallout and another roundup of The UK Scene.
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Chris Park is the MMATorch UK Specialist and guest columnist at ESPN.co.uk. Please email any comments or questions to Chris at; mmatorchuk@gmail.com or look us up at http://www.facebook.com/mmatorchuk2 our new MMATorch Facebook home for UK Fans!
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