3 Reasons Why Faber vs. Pulver 2 is an AWFUL Idea!

The wonderful folks over at MMAWeekly.com are reporting that the WEC is planning a rematch between Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver at WEC 38 on January 25th. Both guys are coming off tough losses at WEC 36 are are likely very eager to get back in the cage and prove themselves again.

However, the WEC would be making a huge mistake by holding this match.

First, Urijah Faber is the WEC's golden boy and the promotion did take a small blow when he was knocked out by Mike Brown. Jens Pulver is clearly past his prime, but he is still a very powerful striker and could catch Pulver with a punch and put him out. People are still chalking up Faber's loss to Brown as something of a fluke, but two losses in a row would seriously damage his image as one of the world's top 145-pounders.

Secondly, a win over Jens Pulver just isn't considered a very big deal. Jens has lost four of his last five fights, and seven of his last ten. While these losses have mostly been to big names like BJ Penn, Takanori Gomi, and Faber, a win over a guy on a streak this bad just wouldn't do much in terms for Faber's rep.

And finally, Jens Pulver should not be getting back in the cage so soon after such a brutal loss. He's at that point in his career where he should start seriously thinking about how much damage his brain has taken, and whether or not he should continue fighting. Plus, if the WEC cares about keeping Pulver, they should give him an easier opponent.

Jon Fitch Cut By UFC!

MMAMania.com is reporting that top-ranked welterweight Jon Fitch, along with heavyweight Christian Wellisch, has been released by the UFC for refusing to sign away exclusive video-game rights to his name and likeness. MMAMania also noted that other fighters out of the American Kickboxing Academy camp, namely Josh Koscheck, could also be let go if they don't sign an agreement.

This is pretty disturbing news. Signing away any kind of rights for life is a VERY big deal to any professional athlete, so it's not really surprising that some fighters are willing to walk away. I could understand if the UFC wanted rights for a reasonable time period, but lifetime is pretty extreme.

This is especially true since some MMA stars like Georges St. Pierre are on the cusp of mainstream stardom. It's not crazy to imagine a guy like GSP breaking out as an action star after some acting lessons, and the rights to his name and likeness in video games could be enormously valuable five or seven years from now.

Grappling Wars: 3 Possible Opponents for Dustin "McLovin" Hazelett

Dustin Hazelett is quickly making a name for himself in the UFC's welterweight division with his highlight-reel submission finishes like his amazing armbar on Josh Burkman at the TUF 7 Finale, which is #2 in this armbar highlight video:


And just this past Saturday at UFC 91, Dustin again won submission of the night honors with a devastating reverse armbar on latest victim Tamdan McCrory.

So who could be next for Hazelett in the UFC's competitive welterweight division? I have three guys in mind:

Karo Parisyan

Karo has been suffering from panic attacks which have plagued his ability to get in the cage and fight competitively. However, the UFC must have faith in Karo's ability to return to his old form because they just signed him to a new eight fight deal.

A Parisyan/Hazelett fight could be an amazing BJJ vs. Judo war. Neither guy's striking is anything special, but I'd have my eyes glued to the screen waiting for Dustin to slap on a nasty submission or for Karo to toss him through the air.

Dong Hyun Kim

Interestingly enough, Kim is another judo guy, though taller and stronger than Karo. When Kim is on his game, he is absolutely brutal. At UFC 84, I actually felt sorry for his opponent Jason Tan who could not mount any sort of offense on Kim. Kim didn't do as well against Matt Brown at UFC 88 as he slowed a bit in the second round, but I still consider him a key up-and-comer in the welterweight division.

Hazelett vs. Kim could be a great second fight at an Ultimate Fight Night, and would make for a dazzling display of grappling. In fact, it would probably be even more exciting than a Hazelett/Parisyan fight.

Jake Shields

Jake Shields would be a great addition to the UFC's stable of 170-pounders, assuming he can get out of his EliteXC contract, and is willing to face top competition in the UFC.

Like Hazelett, Shields is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist that likes to finish fights. Shields also has a pretty average striking game, so there's no doubt a fight with Hazelett would go to the ground fairly quickly. The result would likely be a lightning-fast display of submission attempts and counters.

Hazelett would also be a perfect test to see where Shields really stands in the 170-pound division. Shields isn't ready for guys like Georges St. Pierre and Thiago Alves, but Hazelett is a perfect opponent. Both guys are on the cusp of the top-10 rankings, and a victory would put either guy close to the top of the division.

UFC 91 Was the Best MMA Event of 2008

I was pretty worried headed into UFC 91. It didn't seem that the UFC was very much interested in building out a well-rounded card, but the fights were absolutely awesome as just about every fighter on the card put on a great show. Everyone was looking to finish, and the UFC truly delivered maximum bang for the buck by squeezing every fight from the event into the three-hour time slot. In fact, i was so elated by UFC 91 that I forgive the company for UFC 78.

Now, let's look at the key takeaways from UFC 91:

Kenny Florian is the Real Deal

I was sure Joe Stevenson would come out on top in this bout, but Kenny looked fantastic last night. I was simply stunned at how easily he buzz-sawed through Joe Stevenson on the ground, and by how confident he looked in the cage.

Kenny was also smart in calling out BJ Penn during his post-fight interview. BJ clearly has no will to stay in the lightweight division, but maybe a little smack-talk can change that? BJ is a nightmare for any lightweight - he's a great striker with an iron chin, has the best takedown defense in MMA, and otherworldly grappling skills. So I don't think Kenny has a chance in hell of taking him out. But if BJ stays at welterweight permanently, Kenny Florian/Sean Sherk II could be a monster fight.

Brock Lesnar is a Dream Champion for the UFC

Brock Lesnar beating Randy Couture was the best possible outcome for the UFC last night. The fact that Brock is a cocky ex-pro wrestler who had an easy road to a title shot simply pisses a lot of people off, and that's going to make people even more eager to see him lose. The result? Brock Lesnar is now an even bigger pay-per-view draw.

Assuming Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira destroys Frank Mir at UFC 92, the build for a Lesnar/Nogueira match could be simply amazing. Nogueira is impossible to finish and has made a career from coming back from the dead to win fights. Plus, a Lesnar/Nogueira match definitely has some Pride-style freak show appeal to it. If the UFC aggressively promotes Nog to US fans, it could be a huge success on pay-per-view.

Demian Maia Should Face a Top Grappler

Demian is one of my favorite fighters in the UFC as he's just destroying anybody foolish enough to tangle with him on the ground. He might even be able to give Anderson Silva some trouble. Demian called out Michael Bisping last night, but I'd rather see Demian take on a top-level grappler like Dean Lister or maybe even Thales Leites.

Demian's better than 99% of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts, and he could probably submit half of the UFC's middleweight division with one arm tied behind his back. So if he wants a title shot, he should first fight someone who can actually give him a challenge when the fight goes to the ground. Alternately, I think putting Maia up against Nate Marquardt, Wilson Gouveia, or Kendall Grove could make for interesting fights.

UFC 91 Fight Picks - Brains vs. Brawn

Okay, time to get down to business. I was pretty happy with the results of my fight picks for http://www.mmaeruption.com/2008/10/mma-eruption-almost-wins-ufc-fantasy.html and UFC 90, and I'm looking to do even better with UFC 91. With that event coming up this Saturday, it's time to dig into the fight card.

Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar - I'm finding myself at a loss when trying to pick a winner in this brains vs. brawn matchup. There are so many variables at play that my head is spinning.

We just don't know much about Brock. He's big, fast, and strong, but we don't know if he can take a punch, and how comfortable he is on the bottom defending. Randy's had a lot of big wins in his career, but he's also had trouble with some big guys, namely Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodriquez. However, both those guys had vastly superior technical skill sets relative to Brock Lesnar.

This match will come down to Randy's ability to get Brock in the clinch, and how Lesnar reacts once he's put there. If Brock freezes up when Randy pressures him, it's game over. My gut tells me Randy survives an early storm from Brock, then begins to take over in Round 3, squeaking out a decision victory.

Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson - Now this is a match I'm really looking forward to. I have my doubts about the consensus view that Kenny is a top lightweight, and he certainly might prove me wrong on Saturday night.

From a skills standpoint, I'd put Kenny's technique as slightly above Joe's in every category except wrestling. However, I think Joe will his superior physical strength and wrestling to control Kenny, and that will make all the difference in this fight. Roger Huerta didn't have the skills to impose his will on Kenny, but Joe's toolbox is more than enough to get the job done. I see Joe winning by decision as Kenny is too smart to put his neck out there for Joe to grab.

And if I had to put money down on this fight card, I don't see any better bets than Joe Daddy as a +160 underdog.

Nate Quarry vs. Demian Mai - Nate Quarry is a pretty solid all-around fighter and he'll be looking to put on a good show for the crowd given the fiasco that was his fight with Kalib Starnes at UFC 83. Demian Maia, on the other hand, will be going for his fourth straight submission-of-the-night award.

I'm looking at this fight in a fairly simply manner. If the match goes to the ground with any time for Maia to work, he's likely to lock Quarry in a submission. Maia's ground game is unbelievable and Quarry hasn't faced anyone even remotely as skilled.

I'll take Maia by submission.

Dustin Hazelett vs. Tamdan McCrory - I was bummed about Amir Sadollah being pulled ouf of UFC 91 due to a leg infection, but I perked right up when the Hazelett/McCrory fight was pushed up to the main card

Dustin "McLovin" Hazelett has one of the best ground games in the welterweight division, and I see him using McCrory as a stepping stone into the upper tier of the 170-pounders. McLovin by submission.

As for the other fights, I see:

Gabriel Gonzaga > Josh Hendricks
Jorge Gurgel > Aaron Riley
Rafael Dos Anjos > Jeremy Stephens
Alvin Robinson > Mark Bocek
Matt Brown > Ryan Thomas

Fabricio Werdum Fired By UFC? Huh?

MMAWeekly.com is reporting that the UFC is giving heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum the boot following his first-round knockout loss to newcomer Junior Dos Santos at UFC 91:

Sources tell MMAWeekly.com that Werdum's exit comes on the heels of a failed contract renegotiation following the loss to dos Santos. The Brazilian came into the fight with the expectation that he would soon be contending for a heavyweight title shot.

The knockout at UFC 90 derailed anything of the like in the near future, and spurred a renegotiation of his contract. Werdum and the UFC were apparently unable to come to an agreement. He has already opened talks with other promotions in the U.S. and Japan.

Assuming this report is true, I can't imagine the justifications the UFC is making for Brandon Vera, who has retained his status as one of the UFC's highest-paid fighters despite putting up a string of lousy performances.

The prospect of Werdum being fired by the UFC doesn't bode well for the promotion's thin heavyweight division, but at the end of the day, Werdum just isn't very marketable, especially following the loss to Dos Santos. But this move is a bit disturbing and it sends a clear message to fighter that the UFC won't ever hesitate to turn on anyone at the drop of a hat.

UFC 91: Kenny "Asterisk Man" Florian's Proving Ground

Don't get me wrong. I like Kenny Florian. He's a game opponent always striving to fight better competition, and more importantly, he's good for the sport. While The Ultimate Fighter has devolved into a circus of vomit-inducing food tampering, Kenny's friendly personality and professional appearance give the public a different picture of what an MMA fighter can be.

But has he proven himself as a top lightweight? I don't think so.

I call Kenny the "Asterisk Man" because I feel compelled to add an asterisk to just about every one of his victories in the UFC. For example:

Roger Huerta* - With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, Roger is an average fighter who couldn't handle quality competition after being fed a string of easier opponents.

Joe Lauzon* - Joe gassed in the second round, essentially handing victory over to Kenny. Prior to that, the match was fairly close and Joe could have grinded out a win.

Din Thomas* - Din blew out his knee against Kenny, leaving Ken-Flo's submission victory looking better on paper than it did in reality.

Kit Cope* and Sam Stout* - Both these guys are one dimensional strikers who obviously weren't ready for anyone with a decent ground game.

Alex Karalexis* - This is a cut stoppage victory over a guy who subsequently moved down to the WEC - not very impressive in my opinion.

So while the UFC is clearly positioning Kenny for a title shot, I'm not sold on the story just yet. From a technical standpoint, Kenny is up there with the best in the UFC's lightweight division, but he needs an impressive win over a top-quality opponent to get me on board.

And at UFC 91, he'll have one to tangle with in Joe Stevenson. Joe will be a huge test for Kenny, mostly because Joe presents a rough approximation of Sean Sherk - a guy who beat Kenny via sheer brute physicality at UFC 64.

Joe Daddy will not go quietly. He has a great ground game and brutal strength, and is coming off a submission victory over Gleison Tibau, the biggest lightweight fighter in MMA. Tibau is so big that Kenny Florian will feel like a little kid in comparison.

Has Kenny's technical skill-set evolved to the point where he can overcome a physically imposing top-10 lightweight? The betting odds say yes, but for now I'm saying no. In fact, if I was a betting man, my money would go on +150 underdog Joe Daddy.

WEC 36 Was a Disaster

I woke up this morning, put my eggs on, and did some deep thinking about last night's WEC 36 event. And now that I've had some time to think about it, the only conclusion I can come to is that the event was a total disaster.

Urijah Faber's loss to Mike Brown was a serious blow to the WEC, as Urijah was their poster boy. After all, we saw about 9,000 energy drink commercials featuring Urijah during the show, and he's been widely regarded as a top 10 pound-for-pound fighter. Nobody thought Brown was a scrub, but he was relatively unknown to casual fans, so there's an appearance that the top dog Faber just lost to a nobody.

We know that Zuffa had been considering putting the WEC on pay-per-view, but now that Faber's star has dimmed a bit, they don't have anyone that can carry a pay-per-view card. And of course, he has to rematch Brown and beat him as soon as humanly possible.

The WEC's middleweight division also took some damage as Paulo Filho looked like a damn fool in his match with Chael Sonnen. The stars weren't exactly aligned for a great match as Filho came in overweight and possibly depressed, and the fight basically had no action save for some conservative striking on the part of Sonnen.

The UFC is folding the WEC's middleweight division into its own, and Filho was pegged as a top contender. Forget that for now, because the guy obviously needs some mental help to get his head together.

One bright spot, however, was Leonard Garcia's TKO victory over Jens Pulver. With a victory over a well-known fighter like Jens Pulver, Leonard Garcia just dramatically built his notoriety as a fighter and put himself in line for a title shot vs. Brown, or potentially a fight with Faber to determine a number-one contender.

WEC 36 Recap - Somebody Get Paulo Filho a Shrink! And Richard Simmons!

Oh Lordy Lord, WEC 36 started off as a pretty decent show, with the Jake Rosholt/Nissem Osternek providing us with some decent back-and-forth action. I picked Osternek as an underdog, but Rosholt pulled it out with a second-round TKO. However, Rosholt's striking looked pretty awful and he's clearly not ready for the UFC, which will soon absorb the WEC's middleweight division.

Leonard Garcia scored a pretty impressive first-round TKO of Jens Pulver. Garcia is a damn good fighter, but tis was an ugly loss for Lil Evil and he's clearly at a crossroads in his career. You can't knock Jens for losing to top pound-for-pound fighters like BJ Penn and Urijah Faber, but he clearly can't hang with top competition these days.

While I was satisfied with those two fights, the Paulo Filho/Chael Sonnen fight was a complete disaster. Paulo fought four pounds overweight, gassed early, and clearly looked as if he didn't want to be there. And was he taking instructions from an imaginary friend? Because I can't figure out who he was talking to during the match! It wasn't long ago that Paulo was widely considered to be a contender to Anderson Silva's throne, but don't be surprised if he failed the drug test for WEC 36.

And finally, we have the headlining Urijah Faber/Mike Brown fight, which I'm watching right now. And holy crap, Mike Brown just TKO'd Urijah Faber! Now that wasn't supposed to happen, given how many Urijah Faber commercials were played during this broadcast.

Hmmm, Leonard Garcia, meet Mike Brown!

WEC 36 Preview - Nissen Osterneck Worth a Bet

WEC 36 is on tonight, and hot damn am I pumped for this card!

Even with Paulo Filho ruining his middleweight title fight with Chael Sonnen by coming in 4 pounds above the 185 pound weight limit, you have to be excited for this event. The fight I'm most looking forward to is Jens Pulver vs. Leonard Garcia, which should be awesome as both guys hit hard and like to push the pace. Both Pulver and Garcia are hungry for a win, and Jens appears to be turning over a new leaf in his training, moving away from his typical sprawl and brawl style.

As for Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown, I'm not going crazy over this one because nobody in the WEC can hang with Faber at 145. If the WEC does decide to enter the pay-per-view realm, let's hope Zuffa will pay the big bucks to bring in Kid Yamamoto from Japan. Elsewhere, the Rani Yahya vs. Yoshiro Maeda and Rob McCullough vs. Donald Cerrone fights should provide some excitement.

Now if I had to put a bet down on WEC 36, I'd pick Nissen Osterneck over Jake Rosholt. Jake is an extremely strong wrestler with rudimentary striking, but he's compiled a 4 - 0 MMA record, finishing all his fights. Osterneck, an underdog going off at +260, is no slouch himself and has a much better jiu-jitsu game than Rosholt.

Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle... ...in a Boxing Match?

I don't know about you folks but I'm pretty peturbed by what Marcus Davis recently said on TAGG Radio regarding his upcoming fight with Chris Lytle at UFC 93:

"Chris Lytle and I want to fight each other," Davis said at the time. "He's expressed that he wants to fight me. I've expressed that I want to fight him.

"We like each other, we respect each other, but we want to have that fight. And my pitch to Chris is, 'The first guy that starts grappling is a pussy, so let's not do that. Let's just stand up and just beat the hell out of each other. If we get in a clinching scenario, and somebody wants to throw somebody or whatever, go ahead and do it. But let's not try to finish it on the ground. Let's stand up, and let's bang it out.'"

Call me crazy, but aren't these guys mixed martial arts fighters? Sure, stupid fans cry and moan when fights go to the ground, but if these guys are vowing not to go to the ground, they should just have a boxing match!

Talk like this sets a bad tone for the sport, because the whole point of mixed martial arts is to use a variety of skills to neutralize and defeat your opponent - not to do what will get some cheers from a blood-thirsty crowd.

EliteXC Back from the Dead?

Now this is an interesting one:

MMAWeekly.com on Sunday learned that ProElite, Inc., parent company of Elite XC, has notified several fighter managers the company still intends to promote mixed martial arts events.

“Elite XC and ProElite are currently downsizing its staff in an effort to improve its business moving forward,” the notice states. “As this process is implemented, Elite XC cancelled the event previously scheduled for Nov. 8 in attempt to re-schedule another event in early 2009.”

The notice also disputes reports the embattled company is declaring bankruptcy.

I find this new development rather baffling. With fighters clearly itching to move on, a bare bones staff, and the bursting of the Kimbo Slice bubble, EliteXC is going to have an awfully hard time putting on successful events anytime soon.

My guess is that EliteXC is holding out until it can sneak itself into the government's bailout plan.