HYDEN BLOG: Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping as TUF coaches? No Thanks

By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

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There was a report this week that the UFC might be targeting Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping to be the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter 14. I have absolutely zero interest in seeing this happen. Actually, I have a negative interest. If those guys are the coaches, I have serious doubts that I'll even watch that season. The bigger problem is Sonnen, but I'll start with Bisping.

Michael Bisping was a coach on TUF just a few seasons ago. His team did well, though Bisping was off-putting throughout the season. There were times where Bisping just came off like a jerk, and there were other times where he seemed to be a fine guy. My only real problem with Bisping as coach again is that it's just too soon since his last stint. The TUF coaching gig should go to guys who haven't been coaches before. It's a chance for us to see and get to know guys that we haven't seen before. It's just simply too soon for Bisping to repeat as coach.

Chael Sonnen shouldn't be anywhere near a coaching gig on a high-profile series like TUF. Sonnen was Charlie Sheen before the real Sheen showed his true colors. And just like Charlie Sheen, Sonnen's act gets old after about two minutes. There's an old saying that there's no such thing as bad publicity, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Look at the myriad psuedo-reality stars that have cropped up in recent years. To add Chael Sonnen to that mix, to give him a platform from which to spew his inane rhetoric, would be the height of absurdity. The Ultimate Fighter may be somewhat stale, but this is not the answer.

I find it hard to believe that Dana White and other people at Zuffa would even consider having Sonnen as one of the TUF coaches. That's like getting The Situation to host a comedy show. You're just asking for trouble and bad publicity. You're also giving away whatever credibility the UFC has a company. All the trouble that Sonnen is in and has caused, and you're going to reward him by giving him the coveted coaching gig on TUF?

Another thing I want to avoid is the dreaded face-off between the coaches. That's where they both yell at each other and threaten to beat each other up, but nothing happens. Maybe you get a couple of pull-aparts, but that gets old real fast. TUF 10 with Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is the best example of the fake face-off and what it does to a season. Kimbo Slice helped bolster the ratings for that season, but you can't count on that. The last thing I want to see is a whole season of Bisping and Sonnen yelling at each other while people stand in between them. Nobody's getting fooled into believing that you're actually going to throw down right then and there so why bother pretending like it might happen?

The first episode of Sonnen and Bisping as coaches might be mildly entertaining, but then it would get incredibly repetitive and you could bet the ratings would drop. To paraphrase Rick Pitino, Kimbo Slice ain't walking through that door. You can't count on someone else in the house holding the ratings up. The idea of Michael Bisping and Chael Sonnen as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 14 is just bad news. If it happens, I know I probably won't be watching and I suspect many others feels the same way.

Comments and suggestions can be e-mailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/hydenstake/article_8980.shtml

Rani Yahya Kenichi Yamamoto Norifumi Kid Yamamoto Ryushi Yanagisawa

Keith Jardine vs. Gegard Mousasi Set for Strikeforce April 9

by Michael David SmithKeith JardineKeith Jardine is returning to the big leagues of mixed martial arts, taking a tough fight on short notice against Gegard Mousasi on the April 9 Strikeforce event.

Jardine, who was once among the UFC's light heavyweight rising stars, was cut by that promotion last year when he lost his fourth straight fight. He then signed with Shark Fights and lost a fifth consecutive fight, and it appeared that his career had been derailed.

But Jardine stayed active and has won two straight fights on small-time MMA shows, and now he's jumping at a major opportunity to fight Mousasi.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/01/keith-jardine-vs-gegard-mousasi-set-for-strikeforce-april-9/

Quinton Jackson Forrest Griffin Rashad Evans Lyoto Machida

Video analysis: ‘Lil’ Nog’ hopes to restore reputation of former PRIDE fighters

Back around UFC 66, what ifs were the way of the world in MMA. With a star-filled roster, PRIDE was still thriving in Japan. Hardcore fans and devotees of Japanese fighting swore up and down that if PRIDE fighters ever got their hands on the stars of the UFC, it would be utter destruction.

Following the Dec. 30, 2006 event, Dana White announced the signing of PRIDE superstar Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic," Mitch Moss of ESPNRadio1100 became a hero to every PRIDE fan:

"Is there any fear or concern that by bringing everybody over that they might come over and completely dominate and crush these guys that you have signed up?"

Much of the gathered media laughed, yet many of them were thinking the same thing might happen. After the raucous laughter subsided, White said he wasn't worried because all those fighters would be his and they'd get a chance to compete under the UFC banner.

As it turned out, even Moss asked a great question, but the PRIDE fighters, who were added mostly in 2008 and 2009, far from dominated. It's actually been a tough run for most of them aside from Quinton Jackson and Anderson Silva. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, 34,  is 2-1 with the UFC. This weekend at Ultimate Fight Night 24, he faces one of the new breed in 26-year-old former Penn State wrestler Phil Davis.

Yahoo!'s lead MMA writer Kevin Iole joined us to talk about what's happened with the PRIDE fighters and "Lil Nog's" chances against Davis.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Video-analysis-Lil-Nog-hopes-to-restore-repu?urn=mma-wp590

Mac Danzig Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik Marcus Davis

Fabricio Werdum looking to win Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, rematch Junior Dos Santos in the UFC

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Fabricio Werdum picked up the biggest win of his career last June, submitting Fedor Emelianenko on Showtime to snap "The Last Emperor's" decade-long unbeaten streak. Now prepping to return in June in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, Werdum's looking ahead to another goal now that the UFC has purchased Strikeforce: a rematch with Junior Dos Santos.

Werdum was knocked out by "Cigano" at UFC 90 in Dos Santos' debut, a loss that derailed Werdum's hopes at gaining a title shot in the UFC and led to his release after a contract dispute. The UFC didn't want to pay him what he had been making after the knockout loss, and Werdum admits he wasn't in a great state of mind at the time, and the release came about due to that.

"That time Cigano defeated me it was the first time I was knocked out, I wasn't [accepting] it," Werdum said in an interview with Tatame.com. "Then I had that [contract] discussion with UFC, it wasn't that we argued, but I was upset for losing the way it happened. I had been defeated before, but on a judge's decision, this was the only time I was knocked out. So I wasn?t on a good state of mind because I had been defeated, I was far from my family.

"I'm not saying Cigano didn't deserve it, because then he went there and kept winning. I'd be surprised if he had beaten me down and then lost. He went there and proved himself to be pretty good. I want to win this GP, to earn a belt, because I've never won one, and fight UFC's champion. If it's Cigano, [it would] be a dream coming true. To do this unifier fight and against Cigano, a rematch, it'd be perfect."

First thing's first, and Werdum returns in June to meet Alistair Overeem. But with Strikeforce delaying the quarterfinal bouts from April to June, Werdum's not entirely happy about that aspect of it, and with the UFC purchasing Strikeforce, he's not entirely sure if the tournament will be played out to completion.

"I don't like [the delay]," Werdum said. "If it was up to me, I'd like to fight four times a year, that's the ideal by me, but it happened that they postponed the fight and I'll get there being off for a year, because I had my elbow surgery and I'm fully recovered from it... It's too much, it's too much not to fight for an entire year. It'll be an exact year since I last fought, and in my mind June is the months on which I've beaten Fedor, so it's my month, it's a special month, so that's my thought.

"I guess [the Grand Prix] will go on until the end, but as Strikeforce has been [purchased] by UFC, I don't know if it'll actually happen, if there'll be a next round or if they'll cancel it... I don't know what will happen, I don't know what's on their mind. I said it a while ago: I intend to win this GP, then challenge the top guy form UFC. I actually said that in some interviews, but people said I couldn't do that since it's two separate organizations, the events are each other contender, but now it's possible because the events belong to the same organization. UFC purchased Strikeforce, so it's possible they match this GP's champion with UFC's champion.

For Werdum to get his rematch, he'll need to get past this Grand Prix field, and Dos Santos needs to defeat both Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez in consecutive fights, a feat Werdum believes his fellow Brazilian will accomplish.

"UFC is the best event on earth, Strikeforce was growing a lot too, so it's the two greatest events and my goal is that: my main goal is to beat Overeem, get to the next phase, and I've beaten Overeem in 2006 in Pride's GP on the first phase of the event, so things seems to be conspiring in my favor," said Werdum. "It'll be in June, my month, so things are good for me. So, I want to win this GP and then do this super fight against whoever UFC champion is. I don't know if it'll be Velasquez, Dos Santos, or other guy... Whoever is the UFC champion is the one I want to fight, that's what I want to do. I want to unify the titles, like it happens [in] boxing."

"Cigano's coming from a great sequence of wins. He proved he's really good in what he does, so I think if he strikes with Brock Lesnar, he beats the guy up. And about him fighting [Cain] Velasquez I guess it's the same thing: if he sticks to striking, defend the takedowns, which will be a hard task, because Velasquez will manage to take Cigano down at least once, so Cigano has to work his guard, work his feet on the groin, and knows when to stand-up and do it quickly, I think he'll win. I believe Cigano wins it standing up, and he'll do also a great work on the ground and pound. I'm Brazilian so sure, I cheer for him to win."

Link to Full Interview

Penick's Analysis: Werdum has a very good chance of getting himself back into the UFC, but it may not be in the scenario he'd like to see play out. He's got a very tough test in Alistair Overeem, despite the fact that he's beaten him once before. And after that, Bigfoot Silva remains a tough test, again despite the fact that he holds a win over him. If the Grand Prix finishes out, he could be there at the end, but even if he's not he could get back into the UFC fold. As for Dos Santos, he certainly could get past Lesnar and Velasquez, but that's no easy task either. Ultimately, I think he'll have a chance to rematch Dos Santos down the line, but they'll each have lost a fight by the time they meet again.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Affliction2/article_8954.shtml

Frank Shamrock Tito Ortiz Randy Couture Vitor Belfort

Johnson flips the script on Hardy, taking him down at will for UFN 24 win

Anthony Johnson and Dan Hardy have excellent knockout power, so the fans were expecting an all-out firefight. In fact during the prefight teleconference, Johnson promised there wouldn't be any takedowns. He lied, and for good reason.

Instead, Johnson decided to prey on Hardy's biggest weakness. Johnson scored takedowns and maintained top control in every round to cruise to a unanimous decision victory, 30-27 on all three cards, in the co-main event at Ultimate Fight Night 24 in Seattle.

All five of Johnson's previous UFC wins had come via KO or TKO. Hardy's takedown defense was shown to be very weak against Georges St. Pierre at UFC 111, so Johnson turned to his JUCO wrestling pedigree. The crowd at Key Arena booed loudly at different times, but there was no reason to risk anything on the feet. Johnson outlanded Hardy 72-5 over the course of the 15 minutes.

Johnson's best moments came in the first, when he floored Hardy with a head kick, and the third when he took Hardy's back. He went from attempting choke to locking an arm-triangle choke and even worked a neck crank in the final seconds. When he rose to his feet, as the crowd howled, Johnson blew some kisses.

Hardy's lost three straight fights. This was a big one for Johnson, who'd missed the last 16 months battling injuries and recovering from knee surgery. While sidelined Johnson (9-3, 6-3 UFC) blew up to 220-plus pounds. He normally cuts a lot of weight and has suffered stamina issues in some past fights. Tonight, he looked fresh for all 15 minutes. He said during the postfight press conference that walked into the cage in this 170 pound fight somewhere between 190-195 pounds.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Johnson-flips-the-script-on-Hardy-taking-him-do?urn=mma-wp682

Rich No Love Clementi Mark The Hammer Coleman Wes Soldier Combs Ray Cooper

BJ Penn Withdraws From Slot on UFC 132

Filed under: ,

Penn vs. Fitch is the main event for UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia.Just one week after Jon Fitch pulled out of his UFC 132 rematch with BJ Penn, leaving the UFC looking for a new opponent for the Hawaiian great, Penn has now been forced out of the event as well.

The UFC has officially confirmed Penn's withdrawal to MMA Fighting. The possibilty was first reported by MMAJunkie.com.

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/07/bj-penn-withdraws-from-slot-on-ufc-132/

Andre Amade Dean Amasinger Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen

BJ Penn Withdraws From Slot on UFC 132

Filed under: ,

Penn vs. Fitch is the main event for UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia.Just one week after Jon Fitch pulled out of his UFC 132 rematch with BJ Penn, leaving the UFC looking for a new opponent for the Hawaiian great, Penn has now been forced out of the event as well.

The UFC has officially confirmed Penn's withdrawal to MMA Fighting. The possibilty was first reported by MMAJunkie.com.

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/07/bj-penn-withdraws-from-slot-on-ufc-132/

Andre Amade Dean Amasinger Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen

Should the UFC allow Tito Ortiz to drive racecars?

One can only imagine Dana White's reaction when he heard Tito Ortiz wrecked his car. The good news is that Tito came away unscathed and it was a race car he was driving during a practice run for a celebrity event. But it's begs the question - why is one of the most injury-prone guys in MMA putting himself at risk?

TMZ posted the photo of Tito's trashed Toyota Scion. The gossip website claims Ortiz wrecked the car twice during a Tuesday practice run for the "Fueled by Fame" Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race on Apr. 16.

Ortiz, who has a history of neck and back problems, already bailed on a 2011 fight against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at Ultimate Fight Night 24. He's scheduled to face Ryan Bader in July at UFC 132.

If Tito goes through with the race it is for a good cause.

On behalf of each celebrity racer, Toyota donates $5,000 to Racing for Kids every year and another $5,000 to the winning racer's charity of choice. Racing for Kids, a national nonprofit program benefiting children's hospitals throughout the country, (in this case, Miller Children's Hospital in Long Beach and Children's Hospital in Orange County, Calif.), was created as a way to connect sick children with their favorite celebrities and race-car drivers. Toyota has donated more than $1.9 million to various children's hospitals since 1991, on behalf of this race and its participants.

Additionally, a $15,000 donation will be made in conjunction with the 14th-annual "People Pole Award." Sponsored by People magazine, the award honors the pole-position winner of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race qualifying session on Friday, April 15.

Other celebrities racing include Anthony Anderson, Jillian Barberie Reynolds, Tyson Beckford, Kevin Eubanks, Dennis Haysbert, Megyn Price and Kimora Lee Simmons. The race takes place on the downtown streets of Long Beach, Ca. Insert your Quinton Jackson joke here.

Tip via Cage Potato

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Should-the-UFC-allow-Tito-Ortiz-to-drive-racecar?urn=mma-wp1004

Wu Haotian Rani Yahya Kenichi Yamamoto Norifumi Kid Yamamoto

UFC Fight Night 24: Anthony Johnson Beats Dan Hardy

by Michael David SmithAnthony Johnson is back in the Octagon after an absence of more than a year, and he looks great.

Johnson, who had been sidelined since 2009 with a knee injury, stepped up and destroyed former No. 1 welterweight contender Dan Hardy Saturday at UFC Fight Night 24.

For Johnson, it was a big win that shows that when he's healthy and in shape, he's a force to be reckoned with at 170 pounds. For Hardy, the showed, a year after he lost his welterweight title fight to Georges St. Pierre, that he still doesn't have much in the way of takedown defense or ability to fight off his back. Any good wrestler is going to give Hardy problems until he shores up those weaknesses.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/03/26/ufc-fight-night-24-anthony-johnson-beats-dan-hardy/

Ao Hailin Shinya Aoki Andrei Arlovski Ricardo Arona