Sengoku 6 Results and Thoughts

Quick Results:

Jorge Santiago def. Kazuhiro Nakamura via TKO (strikes) — Round 3, 0:49

Satoru Kitaoka def. Kazunori Yokota via unanimous decision

Sergey Golyaev def. Takanori Gomi via split decision

Muhammed Lawal def. Fabio Silva via TKO (strikes) — Round 3, 0:41

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Moise Rimbon via unanimous decision

Jorge Masvidal def. Seung Hwan Bang via unanimous decision

Joe Doerksen def. Izuru Takeuchi via TKO (punches) — Round 3, 4:13

Satoru Kitaoka def. Eiji Mitsuoka via submission (heel hook) — Round 1, 1:16

Kazunori Yokota def. Mizuto Hirota via unanimous decision+

Kazuhiro Nakamura def. Yuki Sasaki via unanimous decision^

Jorge Santiago def. Siyar Bahadurzada via submission (heel hook) — Round 1, 1:10

• The big winners of the night: Jorge Santiago and Satoru Kitaoka.  They were the grand prix winners
• The big news may be that Gomi lost a split decision to the Russian, Golyaev. 
• Kitaoka commented on fighting Gomi or Golyaev:

I have no need to fight that Russian fighter. If it was me in there tonight, I would have crushed that Russian in seconds. I had a tougher time than Gomi — my two fights tonight and my training for them — so that’s why I said what I said [when I challenged Gomi in the ring]. Anyone have a problem with that?  I do believe that this weight class is comfortable for me. I don’t typically like to show just how hard I train, but from August to October, I had the hardest training of my life. Mitsuoka was tough he was able to sprawl on my takedown initially, and I felt that it gave him confidence, but I was able to feel out the rest of his abilities and end the fight. If I were to fight him 10 times, I would probably win two or three times, because I think he’s that strong. Still, those two or three times would be impressive showings for me.

• WVR says they still plan to match up Takanori Gomi and Satoru Kitaoka on January 4th for the lightweight title
• Also, Kazuo Misaki will take on Jorge Santiago for the middleweight title on January 4th. Santiago said:

I’ve been waiting for Misaki a long time. I fought here against [Yuki]Sasaki the first time and made my way up. I fought twice today and thought I was gonna have a belt, but I didn’t get it — I have to fight again. How long do I have to fight to get the belt? I beat everybody. Come on. Where’s Misaki

• Muhammed Lawal continued to impress with his win over Fabio Silva
• Takanori Gomi ought to be out of any discussion about being  a top 3 lightweight in the world.  Overrated!

Sengoku 6 Preview and Predictions

Sengoku 6 will be held November 1st and will feature the conclusions of the middleweight and lightweight grand prixs as well as several additional fights…

Non-Tournament Bouts:

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Rimbon Moisa

I am a big Nogueira fan (both Nogueiras).  The littler of the Nogueiras is a star in Japan.  He is also widely consdiered one of the best non-UFC light heavyweight fighters.  I would love to see him against consistently tougher competition.  The only place he will find that at 205 lbs is in the UFC.  I do not look for this to be much of a fight as Nogueira is a world class fighter and grappler.  Nogueira has solid wins in his career over guys like Sakuraba, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Alistair Overeem, Guy Mezger, and Dan Henderson.  Most recently, he is coming off of a win at Affliction’s first card over Edwin DeWees.  I predict that Nogueira will land a few hard blows to Moisa and then take him down and win by rear naked choke in round 1. 

Takanori Gomi vs. Sergey Golyaev

Takanori Gomi has for a long time been considered the best or at least a top 3 lightweight in the world.  However, he has been inactive lately and certainly has not fought tough competition.  Golyaev is not a bad fighter, but he is not in Gomi’s league skill wise.  He has not beaten many top level guys, in fact, he has lsot to the elite guys he has fought such as Joachim Hansen, Rich Clementi and Kurt Pellegrino.  Gomi on the other hand has been in there and won with some of the best in the world.  Gomi dominated in PRIDE boasting wins over guys like Marcus Aurelio, Mitsuhiro Ishida, Hayato Sakurai, Jens Pulver and Tatsuya Kawajiri.  I do not see Gomi losing this fight.  Gomi is rumored to be facing the winner of the lightweight grand prix for the Sengoku lightweight title.  I honestly cannot see Gomi losing to any of the lightweight in this tournament either.  Gomi beat Seung Hwan Bang in his last outing, but looked really unimpressive.  Therefore, I pick Gomi to win by unanimous decision, even though the KO or TKO is likely. 

Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal vs. Fabio Silva

Might Mo looked very, very impressive in his MMA debut against a very tough fighter in Travis Wiuff.  Lawal is a solid wrestler who looks to have great ground and pound skills.  He should have no problem in this fight.  He is a star in the making, especially in Japan.  I think that Lawal will be impressive again and will win this fight by way of TKO in round 1.

Lightweight Semi-Finals

Satoru Kitaoka vs. Eiji Mitsuoka

Mitsuoka is coming off of a win over highly touted Rodrigo Damm.  He also has an impressive resume with wins over guys like Joachim Hansen, Samy Schiavo, and Gleison Tibau.  His opponent Satoru Kitaoka has an impressive win list also, boasting wins over guys like Cage Rage Welterweight Champ Paul Daley, WEC welterweight champ Carlos Condit, and UFC fighter Kurt Pellegrino.  This is a tough fight to pick.  I am very tempted to pick Kitaoka because of the wins he has over Condit and Daley, but I am going to pick Mitsuoka by unaimous decision.

 Mizuto Hirota vs. Kazunori Yokota

Hirota has a big win over Ryan Schultz in his first fight in the tournament.  I expect Hirota to make it to the finals, but I expect him to win by a decision.

Seung Hwan Bang vs. Jorge Masvidal (Lightweight Reserve Bout)

Bang lost his last fight to Takanori Gomi.  Masvidal beat Ryan Schultz.  I think in the end Masvidal is too good and will win this one by TKO in round 1.  Keep an eye on Masvidal he could be a replacement and win the tournament though I won’t pick that. 

Lightweight Finals:

Hirota/Yokota vs. Mitsuoka/Kitaoka

If my picks are correct the finals will be Mitsuoka vs. Hirota.  I would pick Mitsuoka to win that fight by decision.

Middleweight Grand Prix Semi-Finals:

Yuki Sasaki vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura

Sasaki is a verteran of MMA who has fought nearly everywehre including the UFC.  However, I think Sasaki is the underdog in this fight.  Nakamura who is a top 25 light heavyweight who has amde a smart drop down to 185.  Following a unsuccessful stint in the UFC Nakamura will try his hand at Sasaki.  I pick Nakamura to win this fight by decision. 

Jorge Santiago vs. Siyar Bahadurzada

Santiago is the clear favorite to win this tournament because he is clearly the most talented of the guys in the competition.  He has a solid resume with good wins over good fighters.  He also is a UFC veteran who struggled inside the octagon, but has won his last 5 fights (Logan Clark, Yuki Sasaki, Sean Salmon, Trevor Prangley, and Jeremy Horn).  We have yet to really see what Siyar the Afghan Killer can do.  By the way, his nickname, “The Afghan Killer”, I have to wonder about the meaning of it.  I know he is from Afghanistan, but does the “Afghan Killer” mean that he is a killer of Afghans or that he is an Afghan who is a killer.  That is my deep thought of the day.  Nevertheless, I pick Santiago to win this fight by a submission in round 1.

Joe Doerksen vs. Izuru Takeuchi (Middleweight Reserve Bout)

I know that Takeuchi will have home ring advantage, but in the end Doerksen will prove to be too good, especially on the ground.  I pick Doerksen to win by first round submission. 

Middleweight Finals:

Sasaki/Nakamura vs. Santiago/Bahaduzada

My prediction is that Nakamura and Santiago will square off in the finals.  If both come into the fight injury free then I think Santiago will have an advantage stepping in.  I would say he will have better cardio and that he will win his fight before it gets to a decision.  Therefore I think that the final will consist of Santiago trying to take down the judoka and then submitting him.  Santiago will win the middlweight grand prix and in doing so will earn a shot at Kazuo Misaki for the middleweight title. 

MMABlog’s Lightweight MMA Rankings

Rank	Name	Organization	Next Fight
1	B.J. Penn	UFC	St. Pierre (#1 WW) 1/31
2	Takanori Gomi	World Victory Road	Golyaev (NR), 11/1
3	Shinya Aoki	DREAM
4	Eddie Alvarez	EliteXC?
5	Sean Sherk	UFC	T. Griffin (#15), 9/25
6	Mitsuhiro Ishida	DREAM/Strikeforce
7	Tatsuya Kawajiri	DREAM
8	Kenny Florian	UFC	Stevenson (#10), 11/15
9	Josh Thomson	Strikeforce	Edwards (NR), 11/21
10	Joe Stevenson	UFC	Florian (#8), 11/15
11	Gesias Calvancante	DREAM
12	Joachim Hansen	DREAM
13	Gilbert Melendez	Strikeforce
14	Jamie Varner	WEC
15	Tyson Griffin	UFC	Sherk (#5), 9/25
16	Roger Huerta	UFC
17	Gray Maynard	UFC	Clementi (NR), 9/25
18	Frank Edgar	UFC	Wiman (NR), 12/10
19	Vitor Ribeiro
20	Nate Diaz	UFC
21	K.J. Noons	EliteXC?
22	Joe Lauzon	UFC
23	Nick Diaz	EliteXC
24	Spencer Fisher	UFC	Gugerty (NR), 9/25
25	Caol Uno	DREAM

 

Others Considered: Clay Guida, Hermes Franca, Marcus Aurelio, Jim Miller, Jorge Masvidal , Rich Clementi, Matt Wiman, and Mac Danzig.

Best Non-UFC Fighters

Here are the best non-UFC fighters.  This shows where the UFC is stacked and where they lack.  There competition is mainly in Affliction at heavyweight and DREAM at lightweight.  Here are the best non-UFC guys that the UFC should look to sign if possible. 

Rank	Heavyweight	Light Heavy	Middleweight	Welterweight	Lightweight
1	Fedor Emelianenko	Antonio Rogerio Nogueira	Paulo Filho	Jake Shields	Takanori Gomi
2	Andrei Arlovski	Ricardo Arona	Matt Lindland	Carlos Condit	Shinya Aoki
3	Josh Barnett	Rafael Feijao	Robbie Lawler	Jay Hieron	JZ Calvancante
4	Tim Sylvia	Vladimir Matyushenko	Kazuo Misaki	Nick Thompson	Eddie Alvarez
5	Ben Rothwell	Babalu Sobral	Gegard Mousasi	Mach Sakurai	Mitsuhiro Ishida
6	Mirko Cro Cop	Tito Ortiz	Vitor Belfort	Mike Pyle	Joachim Hansen
7	Roy Nelson	Steve Cantwell	“Jacare” de Sousa		Tatsuya Kawajiri
8	Aleks Emelianenko	Brian Stann	Jason Miller		Josh Thomson
9	Antonio Silva		Melvin Manhoef		Gilbert Melendez
10	Alistair Overeem		Murilio Rua		Vitor Ribeiro
11			Cung Le		Jamie Varner
12			Denis Kang		Ryan Schultz
13			Joey Villasenor		KJ Noons
14			Frank Shamrock		Nick Diaz
15			Yoshihiro Akiyama		Caol Uno
16			Jorge Santiago
17			Chael Sonnen

Best Pound for Pound Fighter

Following July 19th the debate began as to who is the best pound for pound fighter in the world in Mixed Martial Arts.  Before July 19th two people were really thought of as perhaps the top guy: Fedor Emelianenko and Anderson Silva.  Following July 19th the debate gets tougher with both guys winning.  Let me begin by defining the term best pound for pound.  The best pound for pound fighter does not necessarily mean that he could beat any fighter in the world.  For example at 145 lbs, Urijah Faber would stand little chance against most heavier opponents.  The pound for pound title is for the best fighter in the world, size and weight has nothing to do with it and a fight between #1 and #2 wouldn’t necessarily settle the debate.  That is why the title best pound for pound fighter is difficult to determine and is very subjective.  Here is my list of the best pound for pound fighters. 

1. Anderson Silva –  Anderson is number one to me for a few reasons.  First, he has cleaned out the middleweight divison of the UFC.  There is not a middleweight that I think can beat him.  Second, he has beaten top fighters constantly.  He beat a top notch fighter in Dan Henderson and another in Rich Franklin, and he destryoed Franklin.  He beat a solid guy in Nate Marquardt.  Third, he challenges himself.  He moved up to 205 to fight James Irvin.  Irvin is not a stud a 205, but he has serious KO power.  He could have KO’d Silva, but Silva destroyed him quickly.  Fourth, Anderson is so well rounded.  His striking is legendary.  His Muay Thai is deadly.  His jiu jitsu is incredible although we don’t see much of it.  I don’t see him getting beat any time soon at 185 or 205. 

2. Fedor Emelianenko –  I am tempted to rank Fedor 1b.  Someone could make a solid argument to him being number 1.  Fedor always impresses.  He really impressed against Sylvia.  Not just that he won, but that he won in 36 seconds.  He is no doubt the best heavyweight, but I put him second to Anderson because I do not feel he has cleaned out the divison like Anderson has.  Fedor still has several guys to beat that are top level.  I’d like to see him fight Couture, Arlovski and Barnett.  Don’t get me wrong Fedor has a great resume and has beaten great guys like Nogueira and Cro Cop.  Fedor is incredible.  As for now he is numebr 2 pound for pound and I think he has to win another and Silva has to lose to change that.

3. B.J. Penn –  Pure talent B.J. may be up there with Anderson and Fedor.  I believe B.J. may be the guy to challenge the two above guys.  He has looked dominant since his return against Pulver, Stevenson, and Sherk.  He wants to fight St. Pierre in what would be a dream match.  B.J. is one of those guys that can fight at several divisons and he has made clear he wants the welterweight belt.  If he beats St. Pierre he has to be in the talk for number 1.  He has beaten solid welterweights before and can fight well at 170.  He has even talked about going up to 185 to challenge Anderson.  B.J.’s knock has always been his drive.  That has changed lately it seems and when on his game he can beat anyone at any weight.  B.J. made very good fighters in Sean Sherk and Joe Stevenson look bad.  I am on the Penn bandwagon right now and think that right now he can beat anyone at 155 and maybe anyone at 170. 

4. Urijah Faber – Some people may want St. Pierre in this spot, but I have Faber.  Faber is an awesome featherweight.  He may be the best featherweight ever.  I and many still want the Yamamoto fight, but the Pulver fight was great.  Faber impressed there and moved up my rankings because of that.  I don’t see any 145 lb guy beating Faber.  His boxing is great and he is so innovative on the ground.  The category is best pound for pound fighter and I think Urijah is one of the best. 

5. Georges St. Pierre – St. Pierre is not ranked higher because he does have a recent loss to Matt Serra.  I know he avenged that loss since then, but Serra I consider far less talented than him.  St. Pierre is the total package.  When he is on he is unstoppable, and the key is when he is on.  I don’t suspect he will lose to Jon Fitch and a matcvh with B.J. Penn is on the horizon.  St. Pierre looked great against Serra, Hughes and Koscheck lately.  He is beating top level talent at the welterweight divison.  he is a few fights away from cleaning out the divison.  If he beats Fitch, Penn, Alves and Sanchez, he may move up to 185.  St. Pierre is an awesome fighter and he has room to climb up.  I think what is so impressive about him is his desire to learn more and grow as a fighter. 

6. Miguel Torres – A 135 pound fighter is hard to rank, however there is no doubt that Torres is the world’s best bantamweight.  His popularity is growing by leaps and bounds.  His last fight may be fight of the year.  He has sick jiu jitsu and showed he can stand and bang.  He has an incredible overall record and he sports a mullet unashamedly.  Torres is great at 135.  Many are calling for a Torres vs. Faber fight and that would be awesome as I believe Torres would be a challenge to Urijah.  I do not know if we know how good Miguel is and I do not know if we ever will.  He has to be one of the most underrated fighters in the world. 

7. Lyoto Machida – I do not know how many people consider Machida in their pound for pound rankings, but I think it must be considered.  He is undefeated.  He dominated Tito Ortiz.  I know many people are critical of him, but right now he may be the world’s best light heavyweight.  He certainly fits the bill of being underrated.  Many people do not like him because of his style, but he keeps winning.  Some accuse him of running in fights, but he strikes and moves.  He is very effective.  If he keeps winning he needs to move up lists.  His fight with Thiago Silva at UFC 89 will tell us a lot.  Don’t sleep on Lyoto as a pound for pound top fighter. 

8. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira – Big Nog is the UFC Heavyweight champion.  He has beaten great guys.  He takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’.  He has tons of talent and is very well rounded.  Most consider him the #2 or #3 heavyweight and in the midst of Couture’s desire to fight the best in Fedor he has overlooked fighting Nogueira.  In my opinion Randy should have challenged Nogueira for the belt before pulling this cry baby crap with the UFC and pouting because he wanted Fedor.  He could have foguht out his contract against Nogueira and one other guy and then left with no conflict to get the Fedor fight.  He could have fulfilled his contract with no controversy with the UFC.  His legacy is tarnished.  I think Nog would beat Randy.  He has proven himself over and over.  Nogueira is a solid fighter and I look forward to his fight with Mir and his TUF 8 coachind stint. 

Others: Kid Yamamoto, Takanori Gomi, Paulo Filho, Forrest Griffin, Dan Henderson, Randy Couture, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

Who Benefited Most From PRIDE’s Collapse?

When PRIDE fell they were clearly the biggest competitors with the UFC, having many of MMA’s top guys.  They had some big time stars. Then PRIDE got into trouble and was bought by Zuffa.  So who benefited the most from PRIDE’s deminse?  There was a mad scramble to sign those guys who were now unemployed. I have been critical of the UFC’s ability to sign top PRIDE guys like Fedor, Gomi, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Arona, Kang, Mousasi, Melendez, etc. However, it looks like the UFC has done great due to PRIDE’s fall.  I ranked the PRIDE guys at the time of their collapse in order of who I would want to sign and the UFC benefited from it.  Now, the guys they have signed haven;t had huge success, but they are popular and will win eventually.  Can you imagine the UFC heavyweight divison without the influx of Nogueira, Werdum, and Herring???  The light heavyweight divison also was greatly boosted with the signings of Shogun, Wanderlei, Dan Henderson, Nakamura, and Sokoudjou.  UFC just struggles to get the lightweights. UFC signed 13 of those guys I listed and they have faired well, this doesn’t even include other guys who came in before the fall of PRIDE like “Rampage” Jackson.  Out of those guys you have some stars now in the UFC, some guys that can draw a crowd and one of them owns the belt (Nogueira).  DREAM and Affliction seemed to clean up what UFC couldn’t sign.  DREAM picked up the ligtweights, signing 8 of those PRIDE guys.  Affliction has a few signings.  So while I am critical of the UFC, let us give Dana and the UFC brass some credit for signing many of the top PRIDE guys.  I still would like to see the best of the best in one place, but it won’t happen, so this puts things into perspective and the UFC did good and benefited the most from PRIDE’s fall.

 

Name	Fight Organization Signed With
Fedor Emelianenko	Affliction
Wanderlei Silva	UFC
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua	UFC
Mirko Cro Cop	UFC (DREAM)
Takanori Gomi	World Victory Road
Dan Henderson	UFC
Josh Barnett	Affliction
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	UFC
Paulo Filho	WEC
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira	HCF
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou	UFC
Ricardo Arona
Gilbert Melendez	Strikeforce
Fabricio Werdum	UFC
Gegard Mousasi	DREAM
Denis Kang	DREAM
Aleksander Emelianenko	Affliction
Marcus Aurelio	UFC
Akihiro Gono	UFC
Kauo Misaki	DREAM
Ricardo Almeida	UFC
Heath Herring	UFC
Joachim Hansen	DREAM
Ryo Chonan	UFC
Kazuhiro Nakamura	UFC
Tatsuya Kawajiri	DREAM
Mitsuhiro Ishida	DREAM
Alistair Overeem	Strikeforce
Kevin Randleman
Phil Baroni	EliteXC
Hayato “Mach” Sakurai	DREAM
Murilio Bustamante
Murilo “Ninja” Rua	EliteXC

UFC’s Best Divison

I went to HDnet’s fighter rankings and based this on which UFC weight divisons had the most top 20 fighters.  I know there are other ways to judge the best, but this is interesting…

1. Light Heavyweights –  They are stacked in the UFC.  This is where the light heavyweight competition lies.  They have the top 11 (Jackson, Henderson, Griffin, Liddell, Jardine, Machida, Wanderlei, Evans, Thiago Silva, and Sokodjou) guys in the world and 20 of the top 25 guys.  This is a great divison, full of star power.

2. Welterweights – They have 10 of the top 20 (St. Pierre, Fitch, Hughes, Serra, Koscheck, Sanchez, Alves, Parisyan, Davis and Gono), but 8 of the world’s top ten.  They have a near top ten monopoly only missing out on Shields and Condit.  I feel that there are other UFC guys to mention in top 20 talk (Chris Wilson and Chris Lytle), but the divison is strong and has the top tier welterweights in the world.

3. Lightweights – In most rankings the UFC gets cheated in the lightweight divison.  The system I used ranked 8 of their guys as top 20 in the world (Penn, Sherk, Huerta, Stevenson, Florian, Guida, Tyson Griffin, and Gray Maynard).  I know some of those other guys are good, but they are overrated.  Gomi can’t beat UFC guys.  Nick Diaz, B.J. Penn and Marcus Aurelo all beat him.  Aoki, Melendez, Calvancanti and bunch are unproven in my opinion against top guys.  Plus I feel some guys unfairly got left out of rankings.  Where is Marcu Aurelio?  FranK Edgar?  or Joe Lauzon?  or even Nate Diaz?  You mean to tell me Edgar is not a top 20?  This divison is stacked and has more contenders than any UFC divison.  DREAM does have some great lightweights.  I’d love to see a fight card of UFC’s top lightweights against DREAM’s top lightweights.  I think UFC would win easily.

4. Middleweights – They have 7 of the top 20 fighters in the world at this divison (Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin, Dan Hemderson, Marquardt, Okami, Bisping and Leites.  I put this above heavyweights first of all because I believe there are some guys that could be in the top 20 mix (Quarry, MacDonald, Leben, Cote, Kampmann and Almeida). It still is weak, not because it isn’t deep, but because they can’t find anyone to compete with Anderson Silva.  Anderson Silva is the second reason I put this divison above Heavyweights…enough said.

5. Heavyweights –  They also have 7 of the top 20 fighters in the world at Heavyweight  (Nogueira, Werdum, Gonzaga, Kongo, Vera, Mir and Herring).  Only 3 of those guys are top ten in the world.  All this assumed Arlovski signs with Affiction.  If that happens Affliction will have 6 of the top ten (Fedor, Sylvia, Barnett, Rothwell, Arlovski and Aleksander Emelianenko) plus Pedro Rizzo.  This is a weak divison for the UFC, but they do have some good prospects in Carwin, Lesnar and Velasquez.  This divison was once strong, but since has lost Couture, Cro Cop, Sylvia, Arlovski, and O’Brien.

Fighting Organizations Rankings

I have ranked the organizations before, but here is the updated rankings of who has the best product.

1. UFC – Still the best of the best.  Has more ranked fighters by far.  Has the most recognizable names in the likes of Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Shogun, Wanderlei Silva, Rampage Jackson, Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Georges St. Pierre, Matt Hughes and B.J. Penn.

2. Affliction – By far the best competitive heavyweight divison with Fedor, Tim Sylvia, Aleksander Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Ben Rothwell, Pedro Rizzo and maybe Arlovski.  Not to mention Lindland, Whitehead and Babalu. 

3. WEC –  The WEC has some star power, but is in the UFC’s shadow majorly.  The growing featherweight divison will help them as will the bantamweight with star Miguel Torres.  Guys like Condit, Stann, Filho and Faber give WEC the name recognition.  WEC still seems to be the minor league UFC.  Their success will not come with the bigger fighters, but with lightweights, featherweights and bantamweights. 

4. EliteXC –  Their CBS deal will help them.  Kimbo can be a star.  They do great partnering with other promotions like Strikeforce and allowing guys to fight in DREAM. 

5. DREAM – DREAM 1-3 have been solid with solid fighters especially lightweights and middleweights. Has guys like Aoki and Ishida as well as Caol Uno and Kwajiri. Has other guys fight for them like Alvarez, Gilbert Melendez, JZ Calvancante, Diaz, Cro Cop, Jason Mayhem Miller, Manhoef, Denis Kang, Mark Hunt, Jacare, Kid Yamamoto, Sakurai and Hansen. 

6. Strikeforce – They have a few good fighters which helps them greatly.  They have Thomson, Le and Melendez

7. World Victory Road –  They don’t have an American appeal, but they do have Gomi and some other solid Japanese fighters.  Also they have Kazuo Misaki, Kevin Randlemen, Jeff Monson, and Nick Thompson

The Stars of the UFC

There is a recent shift in stars of the UFC.  Those stars are the great investments, the money makers. The stars are not necessarily your best fighters, but they are well liked by the fans and they draw a crowd.  The stars are the people that the UFC will market and set up to be successful.  The stars get the most money and the best fights.  The stars have a louder voice with the UFC brass.  Some of those stars have been discontent like Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski and Tito Ortiz.  Those guys leaving hurts the UFC.  The guys the UFC recognizes as their stars are the ones they need to cater to more.  The stars are prized in all MMA organizations.  The WEC has Filho, Faber, Condit, and Stann.  PRIDE had Fedor, Cro Cop, Barnett, Wanderlai, Dan Henderson, Gomi, Arona, Shogun and the Nogueira brothers.  EliteXC has Lawler, Kimbo, Frank Shamrock, and Carano.  Strikeforce has Gilbert Melendez and Cung Le.  The stars are not always the champs, but they may be.  In the UFC there is a shift.  The old guard is moving on.  They are still there, and still draw a crowd and are still good PPV fights, but in a few years will be gone.  The old guard consisted of Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Ken Shamrock, Tito Ortiz and Matt Hughes.  There is a star level, then there is a second tier level of guys you want to hold onto at all costs, who have a following, and then there is the emerging star tier. Then you have your great fighters who perform in the octagon are respected, but may not have the charisma to be the face of the organization.  These guys can win and hold belts, but they won’t be the Chuck Liddell’s.  This system explains why the UFC gives a title shot and coaches spot to Forrest Griffin, who i no way has earned the title of number 1 contender.  He is good, but not that good.  He may eventually earn that, but this is premature.  Why did he get it?  Because he is popular.  He will sell PPVs and people will watch TUF because of him.  Personality will carry a guy a long way, just look at the Houston Alexander bandwagon. A lack of personality will hurt a guy, just ask Yushin Okami and Nate Marquardt, who if they had the charisma would be stars because they have the ability.  These guys can move up and down these different levels, but some guys have already been crowed as stars and can do little to harm that.  Your stars are the guys you hold on to at all costs.  Your second tier you want to keep because they are your contenders and can become stars.  Your third tier you be careful with because they can become stars if you play your cards right.  Your fourth tier are some of the best fighters, they put on good fights, they win fight night bonuses and they should be signed and kep in the organization if you can.  The effect of a star leaving the UFC is much greater than when someone else does.  The UFC is hurt by loosing their four biggest heavyweight stars Couture, Cro Cop, Arlovski and Sylvia.  The UFC is not so much hurt by loosing Jake O’Brien.  It would be nice to keep O’Brien, but if you can’t you move on.  Also, you sign MMA free agents based on this tier.  I and many others consider Fedor for example a star level guy, an instant smash hit and a great investment.  You pay him well, but he will make you money.  Dana White apparently considered him second tier, and didn’t sign him.  My opinion you give the Fedors and the Couture and the Liddells whatever they want.  My system looks like this:

UFC’s Stars:

• Anderson Silva
• Georges St. Pierre
• B.J. Penn
• Rich Franklin
• Chuck Liddell
• Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
• Forrest Griffin
• Tito Ortiz
• Matt Hughes
• Wanderlai Silva

Second Level: UFC’s Near Stars:

• Brandon Vera
• Matt Serra
• Jon Fitch
• Diego Sanchez
• Dan Henderson
• Josh Koscheck
• Sean Sherk
• Kenny Florian
• Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
• Rashad Evans
• Michael Bisping
• Joe Stevenson
• Gabriel Gonzaga
• Chris Leben
• Karo Parisyan
• Clay Guida

Third Level: The UFC’s Emerging Stars:

• Brock Lesnar
• Roger Huerta
• Mac Danzig
• Joe Lauzon
• Cain Velasquez

Fourth Level: UFC’s Stud Fighters, but Not Stars:

• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
• Fabricio Werdum
• Keith Jardine
• Frank Mir
• Thiago Silva
• Heath Herring
• Lyoto Machida
• Marcus Aurelio
• Yushin Okami
• Marcus Davis
• Patrick Cote
• Evan Tanner
• Stephan Bonnar
• Martin Kampmann
• Marvin Eastman
• Ricardo Almeida
• Mike Swick
• Thiago Tavares
• Nate Quarry
• Wilson Gouveia
• Nate Marquardt
• Kauhiro Nakamura
• Jason MacDonald
• Demian Maia
• Thiago Alves
• Thales Leites
• Frank Edgar
• Matt Hammil
• Nate Diaz
• Akihiro Gono
• Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
• Gray Maynard
• Hermes Franca
• Cheick Kongo
• Din Thomas
• Spencer Fisher
• Tyson Griffin

Note: The reality show really helped some of these fighters draw a fan base, because people saw them on TUF they root for them to suceed in their careers

UFC’s Competition

I have been critical of Dana White’ abilitiy to sign the free agents in the MMA world.  I think the bottom line is that Dana is unwilling to bend.  I just heard that Jacare, an excellent jiu-jitsu guy signed with DREAM.  The negotions broke down with the UFC because Dana felt they wanted too much money.  Maybe he is right, but nevertheless Jacare is now in a competitong organization.  Furthermore, it seems the UFC fails to sign top notch fighters especailly Japanese guys like Ishida, Ayoki or Sakurai.  There are other top level fighters that the UFC couldn’t sign.  Worse than that there are several top tier guys I don’t know if the UFC even cares about (Jakes Shields, JZ Calvancante, Gilbert Melendez).  He won’t sign Fedor.  He won’t sign Lindand.  In my opinion UFC will never be a monopoly and has some serious competition. With some of the internal problems and some of the UFC stars upset we could see another organization become the “big dog” in MMA.  In my opinion here is UFC’s biggest competitors.

1. EliteXC.  Dana’s feud with Shaw hasn’t helped.  Shaw is a much more typical commissioner than White.  The CBS deal will bring them in a lot of viewers, but will also help all MMA.  They have some stars in EliteXC (Nick Diaz, Jake Shields, Cung Le, Robbie Lawler). They are willing to take chances as seen by the future star Kimbo Slice.  They offered Fedor, and may get him.

2. WEC – I know it is Zuffa owned, but they have some great fighters that the UFC should bring over to the UFC.  I don’t know why you have another organization with top level fighters.  They have some great guys that would translate well anywhere (Paulo Filho, Carlos Condit, Urijah Faber, Miguel Torres, Doug Marshall, Brian Stann, Rob McCullough, Jamie Varner, Chael Sonnen, Leonard Garcia and Jens Pulver)

3. DREAM – Not much competition now, but has some good fighters (Sakurai, Cro Cop, Calvancanti, Ishida, Aoki, Denis Kang, Yamamoto, Joachim Hansen, Eddie Alvarez and Mark Hunt).  The American market is next to nothing though.

4. World Victory Road — Josh Barnett and Takanori Gomi enough said.  A few more big names and they have something good.

5. Strikeforce.  Not great competition, but still have a few guys any monopoly would want (Frank Shamrock, Josh Thompson and Gilbert Melendez)

6. ICON.  They have Jason “Mayhem” Miller and a future star in Kala Hose.

 Right now the UFC is doing fine.  They have a few competitors, but they are still the big leagues.  They have the best fighters.  Some divisions they are better than others.  For example at Light Heavyweight they have a near monopoly and at welterweight they are doing pretty well.  There are several key free agents out there (Fedor, Arlovski, Couture).  If EliteXC or someone else picks up the other guys they can really compete.

Why can’t the UFC Sign Top Fighters?

Why isn’t the UFC able to sign some of the top fighters in the world?  If I was a fighter I would want three things that would determine where I fought.  1. The best money 2. The best competiton 3. The best exposure

If this is the same guidelines others go by why isn’t the UFC signing guys.  The money is there in the UFC.  The competiton is there.  The exposure is no diubt the best.  The UFC flat missed out of Takanori Gomi, who went to World Victory Road.  Why?  I think because he wants to keep winning.  He is scared of the UFC.  He hasn’t done good against UFC fighters.  B.J. Penn and Nick Diaz gave him trouble.  He will blame it on the money or on Dana White, but I think it is his pride.  I do think Dana should be careful because he does rub people the wrong way.  UFC also missed out on Fedor, who apparently was insulted by White.  In loosing Fedor the UFC lost Couture.  You could argue that was Dana White’s biggest mistake ever and really lost out on 3 top 10 heavyweights, because Aleks would have surely followed.  I also wonder why UFC couldn’t ink Antonio Rogeri Nogueira?  Why is Arlovski and Ortiz about to leave? 

I must admit the UFC did well with inking the PRIDE guys.  If I could have given Dana a list of those PRIDE guys to sign here is what it would have been.

Heavyweights:

• Fedor Emelianenko
• Mirko Cro Cop
• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
• Heath Herring
• Josh Barnett
• Fabricio Werdum
• Aleksander Emelianenko
• Maurico “Shogun” Rua
• Murilio Rua
• Wanderlai Silva
• Ricardo Arona
• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
• Rameau Thierry Sokodjou
• Kazuhiro Nakmura
• Akihiro Gono
• Mitsuhiro Ishida
• Dan Henderson
• Paulo Filho
• Denis Kang
• Takanori Gomi
• Marcus Aurelio
• Hayato Sakurai

UFC has signed 11out of 22of those guys

UFC News: Gomi, TUF 7, UFC 83

Takanori Gomi Deal Falls Through                                                                                                                                                            It has been reported that a dead between the UFC and Takanori Gomi has fallen through.  Apparently, the deal was close to being signed because Frank Edgar was offered a fight with him.  I think that would have been a great fight, but I think Gomi should have stepped right in for a title shot.  I still think he should get the winner of the Penn/Sherk fight as a unification title bout.  I hope that the deal works out because Gomi is worth the investment.  There are only maybe 20 fighters worldwide that I believe should be catered to when negotiating contracts and Gomi is one of those guys.  I hope this deal works out

TUF 7

I have compiled a list of the TUF 7 fighters here. It looks like another good season.  I am not sure if any of these guys are run away favorites.  Apparently the Brazillian “Jacare” is not on the show.  We are still awaiting news as to when the finale will be and when Griffin and Jackson will fight.  It is looking like a June event. 

 Also, it seems that one of the new twists to TUF is that the show will feature 32 cast members rather than the typical 16.  Right off the bat there will be 16 fights with the winners earning a spot in the house.  I think there is a good and bad to this move.  The good is that some of the weaker fighters will be off the show right away.  However, they could match to of the best fighters off with each other and one of the top 2 or 3 could not even make the house.  I will be interested to see how they pair off the fights for the first round. 

UFC 83 to be  April 19

It has been reported before that UFC 82 would be March 1 and UFC 83 would be March 8, which never made sense.  It seems that UFC 83 will actually be April 19, 2008 in Montreal Canada.  Headlining the card of course will be the title bout between Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra.  It seems the previously rumored bouts from UFC 83 are being moved.  The Alexander/Irvin fight was moved to UFC Fight Night 13 and Bisping’s middleweight debut may happen at UFC 83 in Montreal, but may be delayed until the June London card.  Also rumored to be on this card is Mac Danzig vs. Mark Bocek, the return of “Shogun”, Rich Franklin vs. Travis Lutter, Jason MacDonald vs. Joe Doerksen and Keith Jardine, possibly to take on Shogun or even a re-match with Liddell.  Stay tuned to my “Upcoming Events” section which I regularly update.

Who will hold the UFC Titles at the End of ’08?

Heavyweight

 (Click Above to Vote)

The UFC’s Heavyweight divison is hurting for contenders.  Coming up Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Tim Sylvia are fighting for what is being called the “interim title”.  Randy Couture will probably be offered to fight the winner and I suspect will turn it down, though beating up on Tim Sylvia again could be a temptation.  I doubt Randy will be the guy unless somehow the Fedor fight works out.  I voted for Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, but that vote could be blown in one week from now.  If he beats Sylvia I think he will have the title at year’s end.  Reportedly the winner of the Sylvia/Nogueira fight will get Fabricio Werdum, who would be a tough match up either way.  I just don’t know how many guys will even geta  title shot in 2008.  There are some good fighters, but most still have some work to do to get to number one contender status.  Arlovski may be out of the UFC.  Gonzaga has lost two in a row and just had a title shot which he lost to Randy.  Kongo has won a few, but is fight Herring, which won’t put him next in line.  Cro Cop is yet to do well, but could turn it around, but not by year’s end.  Crop Cop’s career may help him get quickly up the ladder though and his losses overlooked.   Frank Mir or Brock Lesnar won’t be on 2008 best case scenario.  Brandon Vera has to beat a few big names.  The winner of the Sylvia fight may have to defend twice in 2008.  Once to Werdum in the summer I imagine, and one more fight to someone else in the latter part of 2008.

Light Heavyweight

 (Click Above to Vote) 

This divison is the most complicated with the most talented fighters who are top contenders.  I believe there are up to 8-10 guys who are near deserving a shot.  However, they will fight among each other for the shot.  Right now Forrest Griffin will fight Rampage, but I can’t imagine him winning and even if he does I don’t see him holding the title in year’s end.  The question is who will get the title shots.  It seems that Machida and Silva are destined for a shot at the title or maybe will square off some time with the winner getting a title shot.  However, both have fights lined up for this spring.  I would guess Jardine and Liddell could fight with the winner getting a title shot.  Maybe even if Forrest beat Rampage, Jardine could earn a re-match with Griffin.  I would say more likely than that Shogun could earn a re-match with Forrest if he wins, if he can win one fight prior.  I really don’t think Rampage will hold the title at year’s end for some reason.  I have an eerie feeling that we haven’t see all of Shogun.  He is young and good.  He will hold the title some day, the question is will it be in 2008.  I picked Shogun, but it may be a long shot, because a lot has to happen for him to get a shot.

Middleweight

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It sure is hard to pick against Anderson Silva for this, isn’t it?  My prediction is simple, the winner of the Henderson vs. Silva match will have the title at the end of the year.  I have a feeling that the Okami vs. Tanner winner could get a shot at the Silva vs. Henderson winner.  Rich Franklin could get a shot if he beats Lutter and if Henderson wins.  He won’t get a third shot against Anderson.  I picked Dan Henderson because I think he stands a great chance against Silva with his great clinch and strong jaw.  There could be a sleeper in this class as well, someone like Matt Lindland or Paulo Filho who is yet to sign with the UFC, they may get a instant shot.

Welterweight

(Click Above to Vote)

The contenders are minimal here.  I was tempted to just put three guys as options (St. Pierre, Serra and Fitch).   I think St. Pierre will beat Serra.  I also think that if Fitch gets by Chris Wilson he will earn a title shot.  However, I would not be totally shocked if regardless of the outcome of the St. Pierre vs. Serra fight if Matt Hughes got Matt Serra.  If Serra somehow beats St. Pierre again, Hughes could get a shot at the title again, but not likely.  I think Fitch has earned it, and supposidly Parisyan is in line for a title shot as well, but I do not know if anyone of those guys will beat St. Pierre.  Marcus Davis is climbing, but he still needs to beat one of the top five in the divison before he can be talked about.  I also put B.J. Penn on the list because he still says he wants to take the welterweight title, but I doubt it will be in 2008. 

Lightweight

(Click Above to Vote)

I am sorry with the way B.J. Penn looked I couldn’t vote against him.  He is good.  He destroyed Joe Stevenson.  He looks determined and I do not know who can beat a focused and fit B.J. Penn.  He could become legendary if he wants to.  I believe he is in a league of his own.  Sean Sherk will be a tough fight, but I suspect B.J. to beat Sherk.  In the title mix you really just have Huerta, Florian and Edgar.  I would imagine each has to win one more fight before they earn a title shot and that win has to be over a quality guy.  Florian is lined up with Joe Lauzon already.  Edgar is expected to fight soon.  Huerta may get the next shot if he holds out until the summer.  I wouldn’t underestimate the second tier in this divison either (Tyson Griffin, Joe Lauzon, Clay Guida, and other up and comers like Danzig) but not in 2008.  One possibility is that Takanori Gomi signs with the UFC and will get the winner of B.J. Penn vs. Sean Sherk.  That is a good possiblity and he could very well hold the UFC title, but I would still pick B.J.

Interested to hear what your votes are, let me know and discuss it below!

Any Chance of the UFC Signing…

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira –  The UFC signing his brother with too similar of a name.  Rogerio the smaller of the Nogs is a quality fighter.  Again, PRIDE guys haven’t faired well in the UFC, but little Nog is no push over.  He is a top five lightheavyweight any way you look at it.  I would say the strike against him is that the UFC is already stacked at lightheavyweight.  In his favor his brother is fighting for the UFC and that might help his chances some.  I’d like to see a focus put on singing him.  I haven’t heard much chatter about it either way.  Anyone else have any scoop?

Ricardo Arona

At one time it was reported UFC signed Arona, but I guess it fell through.  I still look for him to be signed and contend wherever he goes. 

Josh Barnett

Chances are slim to none.  He is too good to let slip by though in my opinion.  If UFC wants to be the best it needs to have the best fighters and in order for their Heavyweight divison to be the best the need to sign Barnett and Fedor and work things out with Randy yesterday.  Barnett and Dana have issues so it won’t happen. 

Matt Lindland

Again, Dana has some issues with Lindland, and Dana has been known to be slightly stubborn.  he could care less about signing Lindland.  I guess there has been some chats though about getting him.  I think with the weak middleweight divison Dana is going to be pressed to sign someone to contend.  It very well may be Matt Lindland.  I’m glad to see Jeremy Horn step in for the Marquardt fight, he is a quality add, but not a Matt Lindland quality. 

Paulo Filho

I never had considered Dana White’s stubborness a good thing, however if he is too stubborn to sign Lindland he very well could out of pure stubborness go and sign Filho.  Filho is unquestionably the number 2 middleweight, but will never likely fight Anderson Silva because of their friendship.  The only reason Filho would move to the UFC would be to get the belt.  Perhaps if Henderson wins we could see Filho.  I still think Matt Lindland stands a better chance.

Gilbert Melendez

Gilbert was considered one of the best lightweights until his recent loss to Ishida.  He still is a top 5-10 guy.  I’d like to see him against top tier UFC talent.  His recent loss could provoke a move to UFC.  I wouldn’t rule it out, but I wouldn’t bank on it.  I think Melendez likes fighting the lesser talent and winning most of the time.

Jake Shields

He has said he would like to fight for the UFC, but he holds the EliteXC title.  He could come, but I think he just signed an extension with EliteXC. Dana never has done great with the Diaz Brothers so perhaps their friendship to Jake will hurt this.  I don’t rule out Nick being back though.  Perhaps Nick Diaz and Jake Shields would be a package deal as well as their bud Gilbert Melendez. 

Takanori Gomi

I think there is a good chance we will see Gomi.  Perhaps the most likely of all these guys to land in the UFC and the most likely to get Dana’s respect and the big bucks.

 Other guys who may be on the radar: Vitor Belfort, Denis Kang, Nick Diaz, Robbie Lawler

Takanori Gomi to the UFC? Maybe.

UFCdaily is reporting that Takanori Gomi was ringside at UFC 79.  What exactly does that mean?  I’m not sure, but it certainly means that he has intrest in the UFC.  Gomi has been the longshot in my mind for who Dana could sign.  Gomis seemed uninterested in the UFC and I thought he would go fight in Japan somewhere.  When PRIDE collapsed I had greta hopes for the UFC to sign the best out of PRIDE.  This has been one of the most interesting things to me.  From the begining I have though that the priority list from PRIDE should look like this… 1. Fedor 2. Shogun 3. Wanderlai Silva 4. Cro Cop 5. Takanori Gomi 6. Dan Henderson 6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria 7. Ricardo Arona 8. Antonion Rogerio Nogueria.  Gomi was a star in PRIDE.  Granted he got beaten by a stoned Nick Diaz he is still a great fighter and a big lightweight.  I think he is a serious contender, and would content for the UFC belt immeditley. 

        I believe one of the best ideas Dana White has had of late has been the unification fights.  We are awaiting the second one in Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson at middleweight, which should be an awesome fight.  After Rampage Jackson Ko’d Chuck Liddell the second time Dan Henderson walked into the ocatgon carrying his two PRIDE belts and it was announced that he was signed to the UFC and would immeditley get a title shot.  Is it possible that following the Penn vs. Stevenson main event at UFC 80 that Takanori Gomi could come into the ring and Dana announce another unification fight.  Here is what Dana had to say when questioned about it…“I’ve wanted to sign Takanori Gomi for a long time. I am very interested in him. Gomi was just here to watch the fights. He did stop by and say hello though.”

    I won’t get my hopes up, but I think this shows a potential for a huge signing.  Obviously, he woudl be signed with the promise of an instant title shot.  The problem in the lightweight division is that it is stacked with seemingly a line of people waiting for a shot and a handful climbing their way into contention for a shot at the title.  You have Roger Huerta, Sean Sherk and Kenny Florian all due a title shot in ’08 if they keep winning.  I don’t know how long until Sherk gets another chance.  It is reported Florian is going to fight Lauzon in April, could the winner of that get their shot? I’d say Lauzon is stilla  few fights away.  Then you have guys like Franca, Nate Diaz, even Mac Danzig and Clay Guida climbing the ranks.  I believe with those guys in mind Gomi could beta most of them handily and contend with any of them.  Florian, Sherk and Huerta better hope that Gomi isn’t signed because that would push back their chances to fight way back, and if BJ Penn beats Joe Stevenson he will probably only fight one maybe 2 more times in 2008. 

        Neverthess, my advice to Dana White is that Gomi is worth the big bucks.  He is a top fighter.  He is popular and exciting.  He is one of the studs of PRIDE.  He is the best of all the japanese fighters.  I will keep my finger crossed and hope you sign him soon.