The Dude-Needs-to-Fight-Again-in-October-Award:Anderson Silva, for barely even breaking a sweat against Griffin. No reason to keep him on the shelf for 4-6 months. Guy isn’t made of porcelain.
Fight of the Weekend Award: The WEC’s Joseph Benavidez and Dominic Cruz, for making everyone else look like they were competing in slow motion. I may have actually witnessed a flying takedown attempt. Getting back to you on that.
The Don’t-Make-Aaron-Riley-Angry Award:Aaron Riley, for losing a controversial match to Shane Nelson, rematching him, and then proceeding to beat grade school out of his head for three rounds.
The Maybe-You-Should-Be-Really-Super-Sure-About-Winning-Before-Making-That-Comment Award: To Kenny Florian, for promising to actually cease the pulse of opponent B.J. Penn and then not even coming close to making him blink.
The Only-in-Philadelphia Award: Random Crowd Guy, for swiping Florian’s hat off of his head as Florian made his way to the ring.
Monday, August 10 12:29 pm PT: Nick Diaz may or may not be en route to Los Angeles to take a mandatory drug test needed to complete his re-licensing for a welterweight championship bout against Jay Hieron this Saturday at “Carano vs. Cyborg” in San Jose, Calif.
Meanwhile, Jesse Taylor’s name has been submitted for approval as a new opponent for Hieron, according to California State Athletic Commission Assistant Executive Officer Bill Douglas.
Monday, August 10 12:24 pm PT: Newly minted World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight champion Brian Bowles left Las Vegas with more than just the gold wrapped around his waist.
The 29-year-old pocketed an event-high $28,000 after he blistered Miguel Torres in the WEC 42 main event on Sunday, according to figures released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and WEC representatives. Bowles’ haul included a $9,000 win bonus and $10,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus. Torres, who lost for the first time in almost six years, took home $26,000 after being knocked unconscious 3:57 into round one.
Bowles (8-0) dropped Torres with a short counter right hook, followed him to the ground and teed off with power shots, most of which found their intended marks. The defeat snapped a remarkable 17-fight winning streak for Torres (37-2).
Monday, August 10 11:48 am PT: If you’re only as good as your last fight, Anderson Silva exited the Octagon on Saturday in far better shape than he entered.
After two performances that had fans grumbling, the UFC decided to inflame Silva’s attitude by getting Forrest Griffin to chase him. Hopefully, Griffin got hazard pay for it: after looking aimless and ineffectual in the opening minutes, Griffin walked right into a stiff jab that crumpled his ungainly frame. Power and size leaks confidence at the first sign of accuracy -- and Silva is a sniper.
What does it prove? We knew Silva was a far better muay Thai craftsman than Griffin, so it’s doubtful any eyeballs were singed tonight. But it was evidence that Silva’s recent appearances at middleweight were certainly the result of his opponents’ lax approach.
Monday, August 10 12:00 am PT: A welterweight championship bout between Nick Diaz and Jay Hieron could be scratched from this Saturday’s Strikeforce “Carano vs. Cyborg” at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. Diaz failed to appear for a pre-fight drug test Friday scheduled by the California State Athletic Commission to complete his re-licensing in the state, as first reported by www.f4wonline.com.
CSAC Assistant Executive Officer Bill Douglas informed Sherdog.com that the test has been re-scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday, but could not guarantee the results would be back in time to approve the bout. Diaz’s longtime trainer and manager, Cesar Gracie, is unsure that the fighter will make the appointment at all.
Gracie, who was notified by email Wednesday that Diaz would have to test last Thursday or Friday, said Diaz was caught off-guard by what he calls a change in policy.
