GREASED - Continued

On the heels of reports stirring that Dana White things GSP was, indeed, grease the man himself has release his statement to the NSAC. In response to BJ Penn's "greasing" allegations Georges St. Pierre's camp has released a 17-page document sent to Keith Kizer (Executive Director, NSAC). In the reply Phil Nurse (primary cornerman in question) and Greg Jackson (head trainer) outline, in detail, their defense, support and "exhibits" from Steven Friend (holistic healer) and John Danaher (BJJ coach). The letter explains they "vehemently deny any allegations as to the intentional and illegal use of 'grease' for Georges' benefit during UFC 94. We would, however, like to summarize the events of that evening , as well as the statements and exhibits attached to this letter."
You can see the letter in its entirety here: GSP response to NSAC



The letter goes on to detail how it "would be an extraordinary feat of ingenuity and dexterity to do so [grease] ambidextrously and completely under the supervision of at least one deputy athletic commissioner and within view of thousands of spectators and numerous television cameras." They have a point. As soon as a member of the crowd expressed suspicion they were watched very closely.
When the letter begins they explain how the practice was developed by Steven Friend (Holistic healer) and that it has been used on several other fighters, as well as was used on a clothed GSP in the locker room. The letter also makes a point to mention that Steven was referred to GSP by Dana White.
One passage I found particularly funny (sarcastic?) was after the "extraordinary feat of ingenuity" section they go on to say "Any finding to the contrary [that they did not grease Georges] would necessarily conclude that the prior history of the development of the [breathing]technique, the use of the technique by another fighter, the history of the use of the technique on Georges, particularly while dressed in the locker room, was all an elaborate ruse to cheat and disguise the application of a minuscule amount of Vaseline to Georges' back."
I think they are on to something? Conspiracy theorist chime in. The breathing technique that has been used for some time. Initially being used on Randy Couture circa 2006.
In Mr. Friend's contribution of the letter he explains the breathing technique, how it applied and why it should work. He also goes on to say "such an intentional action [greasing] would not only be unethical but contrary to Georges' and his corners' character..."

I have felt this way all along but my conclusion is any Vaseline rubbed was minuscule -at best- and completely unintentional.

Chime in with your thoughts. More to come later on INKED-UFC 98/99 & Strikeforce

Forget something? Comments? E-mail me at samantha.lynn.johnson@gmail.com

Mid-week news, rumors and more...

Injury Report:
Brian Bowels (7-0) will not be facing Miguel Torres April 5 at WEC 40. Members of ATT, Florida have confirmed Bowels suffered a back injury during training that he will not recover from in time for the fight. In his place will be Shooto veteran Takeya Mizugaki. Mizugaki (11-2-2) will be making his U.S. and WEC debut at the UIC Pavillion in Chicago, IL against Torres. The Japan-native -coming off a 5-win streak- will be facing the 35-1 Torres in a five-round title bout.

INKED:
The UFC has signed MiddleWeight stand out (rumored to be top-15) Yoshihiro Akiyama (12-1-2). No word yet on how long the deal is; however, the 33-year-old should make an impact once he debuts. He is a decorated Judo black belt with wins over some of some of K-1's best guys (Kang, Manhoef). While the UFC plans for a summer debut, with no word on who the opponent is all we can expect is an exciting fight. Akiyama has never had a fight go to decision, with 7 submissions and 5 (T)KO's.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered...
UFC's Fight Night 18 has announced the completion of the card. Follow this link. I'm most looking forward to the Ricardo Almeida - Matt Horwich & Cole Miller - Junie "Made-me-want-to-never-watch-TUF-again" Browning fights. (Cole better kick his ass!)

UFC has also signed an "Official Spirit" sponsor. Tequila Cazadores will be the "Official Spirit of the UFC" (WOW). *According to a recent press release, “Tequila CAZADORES will be featured nationally through Pay-Per-View broadcasts, digital and print media content as well as venue signage throughout the year. In addition, Tequila CAZADORES will host special adult consumer tastings, events, and promotions to support the Sponsorship.” (*courtesy CagePotato.com)

Strikeforece's April 11 show is coming together nicely. While Shamrock v Diaz is the headline; the card will also feature Melendez-Thomson II for the title. Also on the card is Jake Shields v. Joe "worst-tattoos-in-MMA" Riggs and Benji Radach v. Scott Smith.

GREASED:
Dana White thinks GSP was greased at UFC 94. However, though he thinks cornerman Phil Nurse was cheating, he lays no blame on the Canadian champion. Heard here: with Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press, White expresses his views on what happened. The President also ends with a thought that BJ should stay at 155 "We both know that."

On the same topic you can see Jacob "Stitch" Duran giving his thoughts. He has two theories: either the cornerman (Phil Nurse) is very good and trained like the -days-of-old, or he's really bad and doesn't know what the hell he's doing. Either way... it's been done before and -though cornermen are no longer allowed to have vaseline or apply anything to the fighters- it will happen again.

Regarding Penn, he will likely return late July or August. While Florian was initially told a date of July 11th, the champion wont have it. Big brother/manager JD Penn told Sherdog.com (via text) "No, it's too close to his last fight. He wants to spend time with his baby." His daughter, Aeva, was born in October last year. He spent most of her first few months preparing for the Jan. 31st fight with GSP. Again via text, Brother Penn added "We are still negotiating the fight. No date scheduled, but we are thinking late July or early August." Whatever BJ wants BJ gets I guess.
Timelines are not so easy to flex for the challenger, Florian. Unlike Penn, he comes from humble beginnings and budgets his paydays. A July/August pay day would put him 8-9 months out from his last fight (Nov. against Stevenson). However, he's willing to wait if in means he'll get the best Penn yet.

Forget something? Comments? E-mail me at samantha.lynn.johnson@gmail.com

UFC 95 Recap

What a good relaxing weekend. Nothing better than making Italian and settling down for some good fights.
To start, a quick run down of the winners and losers.

Main Card
Sanchez def. Stevenson via Uni. Dec. (R3,M5)
Hardy def. Markham via KO (R1,M1:05)
Marquardt def. Gouveia via gassing... TKO (R3, M3:10)
Maia def. Sonnen via Submission (tri-choke) (R1, M2:37)
Thiago def. Koscheck via KO (R1, M3:21)

Prelim Card
Etim def. Cobb via TKO (head-kick) (R2, M.10)
Dos Santos def. Struve via TKO (R1, M.54)
Dunham def. Eklund via KO (R1, M2:14)
Ciesnolevicz def. Grove via Submission (heel-hook) (R1, M1:03)
Kelly def. Mandaloniz via Uni. Dec. (R3, M5)

And now the fun part...
Sanchez v Stevenson was slightly boring and not the "I'm going to eat your children" bout I think most of us were expecting. What was with the entrance by the way?!?! "YES!! YES!! YES!!" ??
While Sanchez was aggressive, he didn't present that "Nightmare" fury I was looking for. However, his efforts were enough to get him an Unanimous Decision and earn them both an extra $40,000 for fight of the night.

Hardy -admittedly- came in with something to prove. He stated in his post fight interview that he wanted to show "I can stand there with the best of 'em and trade punches." Well, he did. Markham is known for getting rattled and knocking people out. He did it in the IFL and I expected him to do it to Hardy. The Brit followed up with, "I was confident in my speed and my range." He did have a slight reach advantage over the Iowan, but I don't think that's all he had going for him. I'm not making excuses for Rory, but all the British boys won. Can jet-lag and a huge time difference have something to do with that? Maybe. Can it also be that the Brit's are bringing their "A" game? Probably.

I stated before I wish Marquardt and Gouveia's fight were the main event. I'll stand by that statement. They were more exciting than Sanchez-Stevenson and it was finished, barely in time, but nonetheless finished.

Maia v Sonnen was beautiful. Jitz at its finest. There's a reason Maia has so many titles.

Thiago v Koscheck... so much that could be said but will probably be left alone. Wait, Koscheck is a whiny bitch. Okay, moving on. Paulo had a great debut, even humble after his KO win. He said (via translator who also had a thick accent), "When he connected the upper cut, completely out. No, he is a good guy. It's not that he cannot defend himself, he is tough. The judge not stop it, he stopped it. He come and whine a little, to make a good show. You understand?" Oh we understand... barely, but we get it. Kos just whines like a little girl with a scratched knee.

Etim's toe-flick-head-kick-knock-out was great.
He's one to watch for. Young, quick and only room to improve.

Struve was nervous and Dos Santos had his way with him. It happens. It's his first time in front of a HUGE crowd, with millions watching on T.V. Hopefully he'll return, because his height alone will lead to some interesting fights if matched well enough.

I'm omitting addressing the Dunham-Eklund & Kelly-Mandaloniz fights.. just not feeling it.

But last, and certainly not least. Ciesnolevicz's win via heel-hook. As gross as it was to see it pop, it was perfectly executed.

Long time coming..

So it's been 8 or so months since I've posted. I'm going to try and make this a regular thing from now on.
In the 8, or so, months since the last post GSP has successfully defended the belt (twice), BJ got a stomp-down, Chuck and Hughes have been M.I.A., Spyder has showed us his blaze' side, Fedor surprisingly KO'd Andrie and not so surprisingly demolished Fatty Sylvia, Koppenhaver is officially "War Machine" (and possibly gay?), Burkman has been released, The LHW belt passed hands, The Brazilians are taking over and Kimo Leopoldo put his hat in the ring for CSAC CEO only to be arrested for Meth (and possibly impersonating a P.O). Phew... it's been a long 8 months.

Let's get off and running...
Most recently the WEC has eliminated the welter weight (170#) division and has added Flyweight (125#). All WEC WW's will be moved to the UFC. There are questions of when WEC title holder Carlos Condit will face GSP. Also moving over from the WEC is Chael Sonnen, who has previous UFC experience. Chael will be facing top-ranking Jiu Jitsu expert Demian Maia in UFC 95.

UFC 95 will be aired via tape-delay, from London's O2 Arena, free on SpikeTV Saturday 2/21(Check local listings). Accompanying Maia and Sonnen on the card will be (what I think should be the main event) Nate Marquardt v. Wilson Goveia. Headlining the event is Joe "Daddy" Stevenson v Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez. Making his third appearance in 4 months AKA team member Josh "KOS" Koscheck will be facing Brazil's undefeated B.O.P.E officer Paulo Thiago. As reported via CagePotato.com, Thiago has signed a one-fight-deal with the UFC. I wonder what's the catch.

In non-UFC news: StrikeForce has purchased parts of ProElite. Strikeforce C.E.O., Scott Coker, has been making the media rounds explaining the details (the ones they will release anyways) and future plans. If you're wondering, the CBS and Showtime deals were written into the purchase. A proposed 3 cards on CBS and up to 13 on Showtime should be aired in the next year -if all goes well. An April 11th show has already been announced, it will be broadcast on Showtime from San Jose, CA. The line up (as of now) is as follows courtesy MMAWeekly.com:
Strikeforce, April 11, Main Card Bouts (Bout order not confirmed):

-Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz
-Josh Thomson vs. TBA
-Scott Smith vs. Benji Radach
-Jake Shields vs. Joe Riggs
-Gilbert Melendez vs. TBA
-Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos vs. TBA

Strikeforce, April 11, Undercard Bouts (Bout order not confirmed):

-Raul Castillo vs. TBA
-Eric Lawson vs. Richard Montoya
-Luke Rockhold vs. TBA
-James Terry vs. Zak Bucia
-Jeremy Tavares vs. TBA-
-Marcus Royster vs. Yohan Banks

Maxim-posing Gina Carano should be on the organization's May card.

I can say I'm glad women's MMA is back and at it on a national stage. I understand it can be less "intense" than the men; however, it's great to see women get out there and show they can bang it out too.

Look for a new post soon!!!

Missed something? E-mail me at samantha.lynn.johnson@gmail.com

The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale

Thanks in part to circumstance and a very generous fighter I will be attending this weekend's TUF Finale... with excellent seats. The card is as follows (my predictions are in RED, there's a time crunch so I wont determine "how" for the W):

Main Card Bouts:

-Evan Tanner vs. Kendall Grove (Tanner)

-Ultimate Fighter 7 Final: Amir Sadollah vs. C.B. Dollaway (Dollaway)

-Diego Sanchez vs. Luigi Fioravanti (Sanchez)

-Spencer Fisher vs. Jeremy Stephens (Fisher)

-Dante Rivera vs. Matthew Riddle (Riddle, KO)


Preliminary Bouts:
-Josh Burkman vs. Dustin Hazelett (Burkman)

-Marvin Eastman vs. Drew McFedries (McFedries)

-Matt Arroyo vs. Matt Brown (Brown)

-Dean Lister vs. Jeremy Horn (Horn)

-Tim Credeur vs. Cale Yarbrough (Credeur)

-Rob Yundt vs. Rob Kimmons (Yundt)


I can't really express how excited I am.... we'll just say REALLY, really, really, really excited. It's going to be an action packed event with knock outs and stunning moments. I'll take pictures and post with a full write up upon my return from Sin City.

In other MMA news...

UFC President, Dana White, announced in a recent ESPN interview that the UFC will be heading to Atlanta, GA for a show to be held in the Phillips Arena (21,000 seating) sometime in August. As with their ventures in other areas, one can only assume fighters from the southern region will flood the card.

JAKKS Pacific and the UFC have partnered to produce UFC action figures as well as accessories like an Octagon. The line will also include figures well known by fans such as announcers Joe Rogan, Mike Goldberg and Bruce Buffer. JAKKS did not have a size determined for the figures but speculated they would be similar to the 6" WWE (that's right, they make WWE figures too) s. They will make more high-end figures for collectors as well as marketing to children with "less authentic" options available.

Elite XC’s Scott Smith did not suffer a broken foot in his bout with Robbie Lawler. There was topical bruising but after a few days off the foot Smith reports he’s back to normal. A rematch between Lawler and Smith is expected to be the headlining match for the next Elite XC – CBS card; however, the date is yet to be announced.

UFC 85: Bedlam

June 7, 2008

Controversy leads the night

“That ref sucks!” was Brandon Vera’s first response when asked his thoughts on the controversial referee stoppage of his fight against Fabricio Werdum. To start the fight Werdum landed a good takedown, but Vera was quickly back to his feet. “The Truth” then landing a left hook that opened a small cut over Werdum’s right eye. Fabricio clinched and took the fight to the ground, passing Vera’s guard and moved to full mount. The Brazilian unloaded with a barrage of punches, leading Vera to cover up and expect to ride out the rest of the round. With twenty seconds left, Vera –unscathed- was shocked to hear Referee Dan Miragliotta call a stop to the bout. In post fight press conferences Vera claimed, “"The referee was asking me, talking to me, saying something like, 'are you okay?' He was talking to me. I remember he was talking to me and I was saying, 'I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay.' I said it three times. I made sure I stressed, 'I'm.' My last fight I fought with a broken hand after the first thirty seconds, all three rounds, no complaints. I was getting punched in the face man. Come on. He hit me three or four times. The rest were on my arms." Vera asked for a rematch as soon as the fight was over; however, Werdum stated in the post fight press conference that Vera would have to “get back in queue” to fight him again. Most speculate that Werdum will fight the winner of the Noguiera – Mir title match.

The Vera-Werdum controversy was followed by the Leites-Marquardt dispute. Shortly into the second round Marquardt threw a powerful knee to the downed Thales (an illegal move). Leites only needed half of the allotted 5 minutes to recover, but Referee Herb Dean took a point from Marquardt as penalty. Back to action Marquardt comes out very aggressive, sure he has to win the round following his point deduction. After receiving a brutal punishing from the American, Leites reverses a takedown and mounted his opponent finishing the round with a choke attempt. Even with the one-point deduction the round would have been split on the judges’ cards.
The final round opened with Thales going for a flying knee only to be took down by Marquardt. Leites pulls from his Jiu-Jitsu arsenal and tried for a triangle choke. Marquardt worked horizontal elbows which the referee saw land to the back of Thales’ head; leading to another one-point deduction. Once the fight was restarted Marquardt opens another cut on his opponent’s head after taking the fight to the ground. With second left in the round Marquardt borrowed a move from the WWE and piledrived Leites into the mat. With a total of two points being deducted from Nate Marquardt, Thales Leites won via split decision. (28-27, 28-27, 27-28)

The Swick-Davis fight was classic striker against striker. Davis comes from a boxing background and Swick’s first 4 fights (at 185lbs) totaled just more than 5 minutes, two due to KO. After three hard fought rounds “Quick” pulled another “W” via unanimous decision, leaving Davis with only a brutal gash under his left eye. The two started their exchange as soon as the opening bell rang. “The Irish Hand ” throwing punches, Swick with high kicks. After taking the fight to the ground Swick opened a cut on the bridge of Davis’ nose before the round ended.
The second round opened with another takedown by the Houston-native. Still on the ground, Davis tries for a kimura but Swick defends and continues his ground and pound assault. Getting back to their feet Davis caught his opponent in a clinch and lands uppercuts and a good takedown. They got to their feet in time for the round to end with Swick taking Davis down again.
With more intensity than before Davis is much more aggressive as the second round starts. While entwined in a clinch, “Quick” grabbed the fence, leading to Referee Herb Dean to direct the judges to deduct on point for the violation. This round ends with another Swick-takedown followed by more ground and pound.

After stepping in for Chris Leben, Jason Day thought he was getting his big break early. Michael Bisping was determined to clobber that fairy tale, as he defeated Day with an impressive ground and pound assault at only 3:42 of round one. After leading with a huge takedown the “Count” postured up beautifully out of Day’s guard. After moving to the Canadian’s back Bisping reigned down with unanswered hammers while Day could only turtle up in defense. Next up: “The Crippler”.

Most underestimated Thiago Alves… myself included. I thought the seasoned Hughes would have a challenge but ultimately he’d come out on top. The Brazilian proved every doubter wrong Saturday night with an impressive TKO delivered via a flying left knee.
Hughes tried to take it to the mat as soon as the first bell rang. Alves opened a cut over the bridge of Hughes’ nose before getting back to their feet. While executing another takedown Hughes was caught with a knee to the body; Thiago finished the round with powerful punches on the mat.
The Brazilian came out aggressive with another nice knee. Back on the mat Alves opens another large cut on the former champion’s face with some ground and pound. Just as they were back to their feet Alves delivered the knee that ended it all. 1:02 into the second round; "The Pitbull" claimed the victory that inched him closer to a title shot.

Young guns claim bonuses: Saturday night’s bonuses went to the young stars gracing the octagon.

Fight of the night: Matt Wiman & Thiago Tavares

Submission of the night: Kevin Burns (submitted BJJ Black Belt Roan Carneiro via triangle choke)

KO of the night: Thiago Alves

Ø All of the above fighters received a $50,000.00 bonus.