UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr
duane@bluraymma.com
Earlier this week the TUF 11 cast was made public:
BAMMA is back, bigger, bolder and on Bravo. Recently the Brit MMA organisation returned to the scene, promoting a night of mixed martial arts action at the Roundhouse in London. BAMMA’s production is looking slick, but which do you the ultimate fighting fan prefer, the established promotion Ultimate Challenge (formerly Cage Rage) or new contender BAMMA?
In comparison Dave O’Donnell’s Ultimate Challenge already is an established brand, complete with recognised theme music plus fighters own entrance songs. Resurrection their most recent offering aired on Sky Sports amongst others match-ups showed a brilliant bout featuring former TUF 9 entrant Dean Amasinger in a gruelling contest. Both promoters book some excellent established fighters alongside upcoming MMA talent but ultimately I feel it’s important how the TV product is presented to sell the fights to the punters. BAMMA may just have the edge in this department, judging by their most recent output BAMMA 2, shown on Bravo.
If I’m honest I don’t follow Brit MMA as closely as the UFC, the reason being the excellent job the Zuffa brand do at putting over the cage competitors to us. We know who the present champions are and who their challengers are in good time to get hyped for the octagon showdowns.
Currently there is one Brit MMA championship bout I know of and when it takes place, Mr Katie Price himself Alex Reid versus Tom ‘Kong’ Watson in May at BAMMA 3. That fight promo video interviewing the middleweight mixed martial artists is the way forward for the sport in this country. The style of presentation is very professional, the Celebrity Big Brother 7 winner Reid comes across so natural, rather than hamming up.
Having 2 top Brit MMA fight promotions on TV is great news, meaning there is a choice for us viewers and choice where the fighters can compete, but most importantly we’ll see healthy competition between the companies fighting over the ultimate fighting pound, thus upping their game.
Over to you, who is your pick of the UK fight promotions? Comment here or feel free to air your views over on the BluRayMMA.com Facebook group.
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Blood and Bone: Kung-Fu action in Timberland boots
Urban fight flick Blood and Bone is the latest DVD release from Momentum, drawing on the current mainstream explosion of mixed martial arts AKA ultimate fighting.
Gina Carano: Everyone's favourite fight babe.
Overall a pretty decent release for this genre. A good movie, not only featuring Kimbo Slice but also Bob ‘The Beast’ Sapp in a more prominent role, a glimpse of Strikeforce’s Gina Carano and even a cameo from Ernest ‘The Cat’ Miller, a pro wrestler, whose last screen role was in the hugely successful The Wrestler, alongside Mickey Rourke.
UFC 100 - now available on DVD
Back on July 11th 2009 took place the Zuffa brand’s monumental hundredth numbered event. I remember the weekend well having timed my Sky + installation so I had no fear of missing this epic card. The biggest bonus of all the UFC treated those with Sky to the PPV card for free, on an obscure horse racing channel, despite all the Setanta debacle plus hours of extra UFC viewing thrown to boot.
UFC 100 was truly something special, drawing in the punters via a hat-trick of marquee match-ups. Making up that trifecta were all highly anticipated fights 2 of which were contesting over championship title ownership.
Team USA coach Dan ‘Hendo’ Henderson versus rival TUF 9 rival, our very own Mike ‘The Count’ Bisping was a fight the fans on both sides of the pond were eager to see, having followed the middleweight contenders coach their nation’s team each week on the MMA reality TV show – The Ultimate Fighter: US vs UK. The outcome of their middleweight showdown was not what I and most British fans hoped for, Bisping was not the best man on the night. Despite the loss for Bisping the bigger disappointment was the way Henderson dived in fist first when his opponent was clearly out of it. It was a brutal move, not good for the sport of MMA, neither was his reaction post fight. If Brit Bisping acted in the same manner smirking, acting all cocky the American crowd would have reacted in a far different way but hey, Mike is the British villain.
The second reason for buying this collectors DVD is Georges ‘Rush’ St Pierre successfully defending his welterweight crown versus Thiago Alves, in gruelling 5 round battle of wills.
The hugest history making moment, making up the third part of the triple main event at the top of the card was the most highly anticipated heavyweight title clash between former pro wrestler Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir. Lesnar solidified his thrown, sitting at the top of the UFC heavyweight division, dominating Mir in brutal style, thus avenging his only MMA loss. In the process he shut up Mir and all the doubters.
Disc 2 includes 6 preliminary fights, including UFC hall of famer Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman in action against The Ultimate Fighter 1 light-heavyweight finalist Stephan Bonnar. 44 year old Coleman proves he can still do it versus a man 12 years his junior in this bonus bout. Further bonus material includes Countdown to UFC 100 plus UFC 100: Behind The Scenes.
UFC 100: Making History is a must have DVD, however it is just a shame they chose to edit some of the post fight interviews and octagon entrances from the live recording. Plus a hall of fame induction ceremony, announcing the new inductees would have completed the package. In the world of pro wrestling the WWE make a huge deal of their Hall of Fame inductions annually at the weekend of Wrestlemania, the UFC would do well to do similar, I’m sure the fight fans would love it.
Soul Power
You might well ask what are we doing reviewing a music DVD release at BluRayMMA.com? Good question. I took the opportunity to review this very special release since it ties in with one of the biggest fights of all time – The Rumble In The Jungle: Muhammed Ali vs George Foreman. If you enjoyed docu-movie When We Were Kings, there is a good chance you will enjoy this gem also.
UFC 107 - Penn vs Sanchez
December 12th 2009, FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn.
Here is a brief preview of the event broadcasting live tonight on ESPN and ESPN HD on the Sky and Virgin Media platforms.
B.J. “The Prodigy” Penn vs. Diego “The Nightmare” Sanchez
So who is your money on in this lightweight title contest? The odds on favourite in the UFC 107 main event is veteran Penn but in the world of MMA anything can happen. If I was a betting man Penn would be the fighter I would choose to place a bet on. The Hawaii native is the man with the tools needed for the job, knock-out boxing, awesome Ju Jitsu skills packaged up with experience.
As has been discussed frequently on the internet forums in recent times the UFC fighters wearing the belts around their waists look to remain dominant for some time, although questions look to be answered with light-heavyweight champ since his controversial points win over Shogun Rua. However I don’t see BJ leaving the octagon minus the strap.
Sanchez is an overwhelming force inside the octagon but versus veteran title holder BJ Penn he could well make a mistake rushing in, giving Penn the opening to take advantage of in the heat of cage combat. A question to be answered in this championship showdown is whether The Nightmare has the conditioning required to go the full 5 rounds as the challenger. Tonight we shall find out.
Cheick Kongo vs. Frank Mir
Both heavyweight fighters are on the comeback trail, hoping to avenge their summertime losses. Mir lost to Lesnar at UFC 100 and Kongo to Velasquez at UFC 99. The humble Kongo intends to end the reign of the big mouthed American. A contrast in characters here I feel. Taking on big Brock many UFC fans booed Lesnar and cheered Mir, partly because of arrogance displayed by the former WWE star and partly due to him being a former pro wrestler. In this match-up it’s clear Mir is the one with all the swagger. Despite Mir not endearing himself, I’m picking him to beat Kongo via tap-out within the 2nd round.
The full fight line up:
B.J. Penn vs. Diego Sanchez – lightweight title clash
Cheick Kongo vs. Frank Mir
Jon Fitch vs. Mike Pierce
Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida
Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve
Unaired prelims:
Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia
Shane Nelson vs. Matt Wiman
Ricardo Funch vs. Johny Hendricks
Lucio Linhares vs. Rousimar Palhares
Edgar Garcia vs. DaMarques Johnson
Kevin Burns vs. T.J. Grant
UK viewers can see UFC 107 live as it happens on ESPN and ESPN HD in the early hours of Sunday morning at 3am. As a subscriber you can see the prelims and more from 11:30pm onwards:
11:30pm-UFC Unleashed
12:30am-MMA Live
1am-Countdown to UFC 107
2am-UFC 107 Prelims Live
3am-UFC 107:Penn vs Sanchez Live
UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr
duane@bluraymma.com
Rich "No Love" Clementi.
This month BluRayMMA.com is proud to introduce a new member to the team, welcome on board Gareth Doherty, debuting via an interview with TUF 4 veteran Rich Clementi.
On a cold winters night in Belfast, Northern Ireland “Cage Wars – Nightmare” raged with a clearly partisan crowd, having witnessed two local fighters crowned victorious with Colin “The Gift” McKee (7-2) beating BJJ Brown Belt Neydson Santos Ferreira (0-1) via TKO taking “The Gift” on a seven fight winning streak. Also victorious was Lee “The Dragon” McKibbin (3-5) defeating UFC veteran John ‘”The Machine” Lober (5-9-4) via standing guillotine choke in only 45 seconds, then it was time for the main event.
The home crowd hoped that the top three fights could be rounded out with victories from the home fighters. The main event featured another UFC veteran Rich “No Love” Clementi (34-15-1) vs Chris “Menace 2 Society” Stringer (5-10-1) with Stringer taking the fight on a months notice after Peter “Slam” Duncan (4-5) got injured. The first stanza begins with both fighters exchanging on their feet until Stringer catches a kick and takes Clementi to the ground. The crowd erupts in what seems to be the local fighter gaining control, however Clementi remains calm and we soon see why, with Stringer being reversed and put on his back with “No Love” living up to his moniker by seeing out the round with strong elbows from the top.
The second round shows a determined Clementi taking to the cage and employing superior wrestling skills to take the fight to the ground where the barrage of elbows start anew until Stringer is caught in a triangle choke and forced to tap 3:11 into the second round. Within ten minutes of the fight ending the hall was empty. Five minutes later I was conducting this interview in Clementi’s changing room among the well wishers after his victory. Sporting no signs of injury apart from a cut on his left foot received from landing a kick on Stringers elbow.
Clementi was relaxed saying training went well for the fight and was happy to be back in Northern Ireland again having previously seen his student JC Pennington (19-9-1) victorious at Cage Wars Decade. Among his trips included an opportunity to come over for UFC 72 also in Belfast, where he had accepted a fight with Dustin “McLovin” Hazelett (12-4) on two days notice however Hazelett’s opponent was passed fit, so his time was spent drinking instead.
Clementi known for his time on season 4 of the Ultimate Fighter had mixed views on his association with the UFC saying, as others had, that the TUF house was not an enjoyable place but was thankful his season was full of seasoned professionals. The show helped rejuvenate his career with notable victories coming inside the octagon over Anthony Johnson, Melvin Guillard and Terry Etim. “No Love”’s girlfriend, shortly after standing on his injured foot, stated she feared for him whenever she saw Anthony Johnson (a man who weighs as much as 200 pounds between fights) at the weigh in. Her fears were not helped when Johnson weighed in at 177.5 lbs for the welterweight bout, Clementi submitted the then unbeaten Johnson in the second.
Although believing the UFC gave him the chance “I earned what I got, I fought for them on short notice and helped them out. It was disappointing being cut, one month after I had been re-signed to another contract and to find out online that I’m not needed I feel like they could have treated me better.” Clementi was open to a return , “I’m willing to fight for anyone, anywhere or for any promotion I just want to stay active and fight as much as possible. I doubt the reason behind why any fighter wouldn’t want to be in the UFC.” Probed on Fedor’s move to Strikeforce rather than UFC, Clementi admitted “well whenever your the number 1 fighter in the world, things are different.”
Clementi was complimentary on emerging UK talent, when asked who was his toughest fight, “Terry Etim” declaring “he was quick, long and knew how to use his reach to his advantage. He needs to be watched out for and nurtured to let his skills develop, the UFC tries to make stars out of everyone and he just needs to be given the chance to fulfill his potential.” Lofty praise for Liverpool’s Etim (14-2) who has a four fight winning streak since his decision loss to Clementi at UFC 84.
Clementi’s next opponent is Derek Krantz (9-1-1) on a December 12th Louisiana show, but when asked about his dream opponent he declares “that fucking wrecking machine, you know him the Lithuanian guy, Zaromskis”. Marius “The Whitemare” Zaromskis (13-3) recently signed to Strikeforce and fighting out of London Shootfighters impressed with his underdog victory in the Dream Welterweight Grand Prix with two Head Kick K.O.’s bringing victory. Apparently the fact that Zaromskis is heavier and a “fucking wrecking machine” only excites Clementi who would love the chance to fight the Lithuanian.
When asked about his MMA career Clementi disputes his official 50 fight record “you know not even every fight is on my record. I knocked out Krazy Horse in Floridia in an underground show, which isnt there.” “No Love” prefers limited rules MMA, stating “ I like knees to the head on the ground, its true to the sport, I prefer the Vale Tudo style, I fought 16 men tournaments where I have had to fight three times in one night, ” Concerning the 16 man tournaments for ZST, Clementi talks of his discontent with the Kotani brothers because of the disrespect shown. He illustrates that “whenever your training for someone you hate its easier. The worst thing is if a guy disrespects you, I would wake up fantasying about the guys and what I would do to them, putting pictures of their face everywhere to keep me motivated” a sentiment also expressed regarding the Melvin Guillard fight.
The final point of discussion between Clementi and I centered upon the scoring system, with the boy from the Bayou believing “the ten point must system isn’t accurate in MMA”. He explains, “You can have a guy beat the shit out of the other guy for one round and doesn’t finish him whereas the other guy could use his jab and work around him for two rounds and will get a decision”. And with regards to a remedy to the current ailing system Clementi suggests that “increments could be used to make the difference and reflect the fight itself better”and expresses a personal preference for the Japanese style of scoring as “the fight as a whole is scored rather than the rounds.”
Clementi’s next opponent is Derek Krantz (9-1-1) at “Team 3:16 – Seasons Beatings” at Shreveport, Louisiana.