Saturday, August 8 11:04 am PT: “It’s time to kill the master” is not the most sporting of declarations, but with six straight wins -- and only one decision -- in the UFC since 2007, Kenny Florian has sweat and bled enough to earn a little hyperbole.
More than a few observers see Florian as the ultimate example of a non-gifted athlete who clawed his way into success and respect. (And they’re right: there’s no video footage of Florian jumping out of a pool, which means he’s practically useless physically.) Lightweight titleholder B.J. Penn has seen more, done more, and is more. Right?
Both Florian and Penn beat Joe Stevenson convincingly; Penn hammered Sean Sherk, who defeated Florian.
Saturday, August 8 10:15 am PT: In preparation for his bout with B.J. Penn on Saturday, Kenny Florian trained with the man who holds two wins over the Hawaiian -- Georges St. Pierre.
“Any time you get a chance to train with different people outside of your camp, it’s a huge help,” Florian said. “Sometimes you train with guys -- and they can be the best guys in the world -- but once you get on to their strengths and weaknesses, it’s almost like cheating a little bit: You know the answer to the test before you get out there.”
Florian said, however, that the training didn’t necessarily lead to any strategical secrets.
“It doesn’t help really on the technical side,” he said. “A lot of the things that (GSP) saw, I saw as well. It’s going to take a different type of strategy (for me) to beat B.J. Penn, in my opinion. … GSP and I are definitely different fighters. He can do way more things than I can do in the cage, but yeah, I think there are some things I can take away from that fight, but I will have to have a completely different game plan if I want to win.”
Saturday, August 8 8:37 am PT: In an evening full of decisions, former light heavyweight and current interim middleweight King of Pancrase Yuki Kondo took out Ki Beom Kim in the main event at Pancrase “Changing Tour 4” on Saturday at the Differ Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
The first meaningful exchange came when the southpaw Kondo landed a big right-left hook-body kick combination. Kim threw punches with abandon, hoping that sheer numbers would overwhelm the Pride Fighting Championships veteran. While some got through, Kondo braved the assault and landed counter punches, knees and kicks to the body.
Saturday, August 8 8:23 am PT: Forrest Griffin’s career since his 2005 “Ultimate Fighter” run has been repeatedly marked by bookmaker suspicion. In each of his bouts with Tito Ortiz, Mauricio Rua, Quinton Jackson, and Rashad Evans, he was given little chance to win: bouts were handicapped with the idea Griffin would be opposing a speeding motor vehicle instead of a human being. (To the pleasure of those holding tickets in his favor, he went 2-2.)
Against Anderson Silva this Saturday, it should come as no surprise that he is again eliciting more sympathy than support.
If you don’t get answers to these questions by 1 a.m. on Monday morning, call and ask for a refund from your cable company. I’m sure they’ll understand.
Anderson Silva can deal with Forrest Griffin’s striking. But can he deal with his size?
Stranger things and all that, but it is unlikely the muscular striking style of Forrest Griffin will prove to be much of an issue for Anderson Silva, who practices muay Thai like it’s his religion. If this becomes a kickboxing match, Griffin will find himself having lots of time to learn what brand and wattage of bulb the house lights use.
But if he can bully Silva into the fence and force the middleweight champion into wasting energy in scrambles, carrying Griffin’s weight, he may find himself on the proper end of a decision
In fighting, there are sacrifices. In preparation for his preliminary bout against Amir Sadollah this Saturday at UFC 101, Johny Hendricks switched gyms to train apart from his Xtreme Couture teammate.
The former Oklahoma State wrestler breaks down the move and predicts how his initiation into the UFC from the WEC welterweight ranks will go.
