Hey there O-sters, it’s theLUKE again, and it’s time for the first ever weekly recap of the happenings in the MMA universe. However, may my thoughts first go out to the family and friends of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper; many of us sadly know what it’s like to live with such diseases as cancer, and I hope that he makes a quick and full recovery.Following the prompt review of Georges St. Pierre’s utter domination over Matt “The Best Welterweight of All Time” Hughes, the UFC seems to be on a high. Georges himself must be feeling proud, his career being one of the best that I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching.
Having beaten a literal 'who’s who' of the UFC including Matt Hughes, B.J. Penn, Sean Sherk and Karo Parisyan, it’s become blatantly obvious that this man is one of the top fighters in the world.
Pound for pound, he may even be better than Fedor; a few title defenses and we’ll see if he lives up to my towering hypothesis.
On the other side of the globe, strange rumblings are taking place in the land of the rising sun. It’s no secret that PRIDE has had its fair share of problems as of late, and with rumored fighter contract talks with the UFC (Aleksandr Emalianenko), it may just be a matter of time before the world’s premier fight organization closes its doors.
Nobuyuki Sakakibara has, within the past few days, announced a number of changes that are slightly worrying for those that adore lightweights, given that the PRIDE Bushido events are about to end. However, if you’re an optimist, you’ll be glad to hear that Fedor Emalianenko is about to face yet another challenge this year against the moderately successful fighter Mark Hunt.
Whilst Hunt is known for an iron chin, the likes of which may never be seen again, it has become obvious in his more recent fights that his ground game leaves something to be desired. Against Fedor, it may just be a case of keeping the fight standing and pounding out shots quicker than bees in a burning nest. Even if he keeps the fight standing, though, conditioning may become a factor, and again, Fedor must be given the edge in this category.
My prediction for that fight is obvious; Fedor by first round tap out. The rest of the PRIDE New year’s eve show is looking good, judging by the lineup. With ratings that are literally running off a cliff like lemmings, it would be in their best interests to put up a half-decent lineup, rather than a card full of squashes. It’d be interesting to see announced fighters Mirko Crocop and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira face off again, to see if Fabricio Werdum’s training with Crocop has given him the edge necessary in MMA competition, as opposed to the K-1 fights of his younger days.
Another thing that PRIDE will have to look into will be Mauro Ranallo’s replacement on the commentary desk; I hope to Christ it won’t be the man who was on the team with Trigg and Mauro at the Las Vegas show. Not only was his voice very remiscent of a boxing commentator, to say that his knowledge of the ground game that was displayed was a little.. below par, would be a horrific understatement.
From reports that have made things clearer (yeah, right), the meetings between PRIDE and WWE were purely initial talks regarding some unknown subject, but we are being told that no deal regarding anything was being reached. Hope you all found that as ridiculously helpful as I did.
That’s about it for this week. The next few days see the K1 World GP final, along with the Bodog Fight USA VS. Russia show. Hopefully they’ll be good shows, but who knows?
Until next time, I’ve been theLUKE.
1 comments: on "MMA Bag O' News"
I do believe so; there's no TV station that's been announced as picking it up, November 10th was hinted as a date when an agreement would be announced, but obviously that's come and gone with no fruit.
If they keep relying on foreign markets, they won't be around for much longer.
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