Friday, May 29 8:58 pm PT: So it’s the following morning and did I mention I was sharing a room with Fedor Emelianenko’s youngest brother Ivan? Well I am. Being a journalist does have its perks!
Today I’ll talk with both of Fedor’s coaches about his bout with Andrei Arlovski, and the one coming up against Josh Barnett. I’ll talk to Fedor himself, while he’s at the airport waiting for a plane to go home to Stary Oskol to continue his training for the August fight.
Finally I will have a very insightful interview with M-1’s originator and Fedor’s co-manager
Vadim Finkelstein about the state of MMA in Russia, filming movies in Thailand and plans to set up “Selection” tournaments all over the globe -- including places such as India and China.
Friday, May 29 8:30 pm PT: The logistics of this one could get interesting. USA Today reports that Quinton Jackson will make his sophomore coaching effort on Season 10 of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter” series, while Season 2 alum Rashad Evans will fill the opposing slot. Filming is slated to begin next week.
You’ll recall that Jackson, who earned the shot by defeating Keith Jardine in March, turned down a May meeting with Evans because of jaw surgery; replacement Lyoto Machida went on to defeat Evans via the improbable return of karate as something other than fuel for Ralph Macchio’s residual checks.
Most assumed Jackson would be next for Machida, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. With Jackson filming, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has apparently agreed to step in against Machida in October.
Expect Jackson to take some heat for his apparent reluctance to jump in against Machida right away. As reality melodrama goes, though, Evans-Jackson is about as good as it gets. Machida’s mystique has marketing potential, but until his English becomes conversational, he’s probably not ready for prime time. Whether that decision was Machida’s or the UFC’s is of great interest to me.
“I am always 100 percent involved in the negotiations, especially with regards to the Barnett fight,” he told the site. “… as a team, we agreed to a fight with Barnett … besides, Josh’s qualities as a fighter, he is also one of the best representatives for MMA in the USA. We often had drinks after our fights in Pride and Affliction, so I do consider him a friend.”
Typical Fedor. No profanity or chair-throwing. The fight is exciting, but more for the fact that it’ll finally graduate from hypothetical rounds to real ones and we can finally stop talking about it.
After Barnett, Emelianenko’s opposition starts to look pretty thin. If this is Affliction’s last show -- and the subtitle “Trilogy” indicates some kind of closure -- I hope the UFC can make him an attractive offer before Jose Canseco starts swinging a bat at him on New Year’s Eve.
If you’re in the Kansas City area, you can go beg Emelianenko yourself. He’ll be in town June 5 for an M-1 Challenge event and is expected to attend the Strikeforce show in St. Louis the following evening.
Friday, May 29 3:42 pm PT: Friday brings the ninth installment of ESPN Deportes’ Bellator Fighting Championships and, with it, one of the better main events in the promotion’s short history: Cuban Judo animal Hector Lombard will tackle Army ranger James Damien Stelly to determine one of the finalists for the middleweight title next month.
Lombard knocked out Virgil Lozano in just over a minute in April’s quarter-final match; Stelly decisioned former Lion’s Den fighter Alex Andrade the same night.
If you’re wondering what the hell happened to Bellator 8, it turns out the company labeled a best-of show with that number. Installment 9, taped in Monroe, La., airs on ESPN Deportes on Saturday.
Friday, May 29 1:59 pm PT: Results are in for the latest M-1 show. More to come as Sherdog.com explores "From Russia with Glove" day two.
Rating fights
Roman Mazur def. Levan Persaev by submission R1 2:48 Alexander Volkov def. Adam Alikhanov by TKO R1 0:20
Red Devil vs Crazy Bears (Perm)
Amirkhan Mazikhov def. Pavel Balmasov by submission (choke) R1 0:58 Marat Ilaev def. Havazh Beldurov by submission (guillotine choke) R1 3:39
Alexey Nazarov def. Anatoly Lavrov by submission R2 0:39
Viktor Nemkov def. Ilya Malyukov by unanimous decision R2 5:00 Kirill Sidelnikov def. Rezvan Daniyalov by submission R1 1:30
Red Devil 5:0 Crazy Bears
Team Moscow vs Team Anapa
Anton Bestaev def. Ratmir Teuvazhukov by unanimous decision R3 5:00
Alexender Butenko def. Anzor Kardanov by submission R1 1:47
Alihan Magomedov def. Vadim Khazov by TKO R1 0:59
Shamil Tinagadjiev def. Shamil Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision R2 5:00
Magomed Ibragimov def. Konstntin Strizhak by TKO R1 3:43
Team Anapa 3:2 Team Moscow
Action Force vs Rusfighters
Maratbek Kalabekov def. Karen Grigoryan by submission (guillotine choke) R2 2:00
Sergey Baly def. Aliev Islam by KO (body kick) R1 2:17 Arthur Guseinov def. Stanislav Molodcov by KO (body kick) R1 2:44
Alexey Belyaev def. Makasharip Makashripov by submission (guilyotine choke) R1 1:37 Stanislav Shushko def. Shamil Vajsurov by KO (punch) R1 3:29
Friday, May 29 1:36 pm PT: ESPN the Magazine’s Ryan Hockensmith has composed a brave, brave editorial postulating that today’s crop of UFC champions are the most intimidating and difficult to beat of any in company history.
Hockensmith’s preferred term is “unbeatable,” though all five -- six if you count co-heavyweight champs Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar -- have blemishes. Hockensmith qualifies this by only noting losses at natural weights in the past year, and there weren’t any.
Is he correct? For most of these guys, it’s simply too soon to tell. Of the batch, only Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn have defended their titles: Lyoto Machida, Lesnar and Mir are all newly minted champions.
Once you have a belt, the pulse of opposition livens up considerably. You get one tough guy after another, and they’re all very eager to punch your face and take your money every chance they get. The tired rap about not being a real champion until you defend your belt might sound macho-corny, but it’s more or less true.
I wouldn’t place a wager that any one of these guys is champion a year from now. The sport is that unforgiving.
Perpetual footnote: I don’t vote. Only organizational -- UFC, Strikeforce, etc. -- rankings make any real sense because everyone can be measured only relative to the opportunities offered by their promotion. That’s just me being a s--t head.
With his win over Rashad Evans last weekend, Lyoto Machida has jumped from his No. 4 ranking in April to take the No. 1 slot in the 205-pound division. All well and swell, but I’m still questioning Mauricio “Shogun” Rua taking the No. 5 slot -- or his probable title shot against Machida -- based on his win over a considerably slowed Chuck Liddell. Rua was the third man to knock him out in five fights. This was not breaking new ground.
Interesting statistic: of all the number ones on the list, Georges St. Pierre has defeated the highest number of ranked fighters under him (four). Perpetually bored B.J. Penn has the least (one).
Friday, May 29 4:09 am PT: You’ll never see a professional golfer attempt a fight. And if you do, they’ve clearly gone far off the reservation. But other mainstream athletes -- usually from the equally gritty sport of football -- find the cage to be a compelling second career.
Two more who took off their helmets, only to get hit harder:
Alonzo Spellman (1-0) Affiliation: Defensive Lineman, Chicago Bears Resume: Just five months of the basics before his debut; freaked out on a plane shortly after 9/11, sentenced to 18 months in prison, charged with taking medication for a bipolar disorder. Naturally, a perfect fit for MMA. Bench? He’s appeared to have made the decision already: Spellman fought just once in 2006, a win over unheralded Antoine “Herc” Hayes. He was arrested again in 2008 after a convenience store altercation led to a 20-minute police chase.
Bob Sapp (10-4-1) Affiliation: Self-professed “assback” for Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens, Oakland Raiders. Played in one league game. Resume: Massive; trained inconsistently in Seattle and Japan; frequently preoccupied with Japanese superstardom, then praying his size would prevail in bouts. Recently defeated by relative infant Ikuhisa Minowa via submission. Bench? Unwarranted. Sapp’s size -- think chest freezer with board shorts -- usually precludes any serious beatings.
