Tuesday, November 24 5:35 pm PT: Leland Rolling of BloodyElbow.com took a break from the post-UFC 106 discussion to point out the increasing appeal of Kerry Vera: Vera, wife of Brandon, needed less than a round to mug Kim Couture during last Friday’s Strikeforce Challengers program. Rolling figures she could be the 135 lb. version of Gina Carano. (Carano, who sits at 145 uncomfortably, couldn’t make 135 if a tapeworm were in her corner.)
It’s a little early for the 2-0 Vera to be the “Gina Carano” of anything, but it does speak to an interesting dilemma in women’s MMA. Collectively, there are a number of talented and captivating females in the sport -- but they happen to be spread across the 125, 135, and 145 lb. weight divisions, meaning that any one class can sort itself out fairly quickly. It makes you wonder if, based on the relative popularity of the standouts, we won’t see promotions try to shoehorn catch-weight fights in an attempt to keep the public’s interest in the gender. If Vera begins steamrolling people, there might be casual-fan confusion over not meeting 145 lb. champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos.
In April, Santos -- whose physique puts some male fighters to shame -- couldn’t even make 145 for a contest with Hitomi Akano, who once won a 128 lb. Japanese title. Predictably, she bullied Akano for the win. It would be a shame if Vera, 125 lb. Megumi Fujii, or any other smaller-stature fighter was pressured by promoters or public to take fights beyond their physical capability.
Well the Thanksgiving holiday is upon and that means The Sherdog Radio Network staff gets a little vacation from our on air responsibilities. However, I want to encourage you to enjoy our archived broadcasts from this week.
On Monday “The Savage Dog Show” was joined by UFC welterweight contender Ben Saunders and on “Beatdown” Brandon Vera joined the program. Tuesday Jordan Breen and Bruce Buffer went live for new installments of “The Jordan Breen Show” and IT’S TIME!!!” Breen was guest free as he normally is on Tuesdays, while Bruce was joined by PRIDE veteran Wallid Ismail. Also available on The Sherdog Radio Network is a newly pieced together best of show. The best of features interviews with Matt Serra, Forrest Griffin, Frank Trigg and Dan Hardy. It’s available now at the download page or for podcast under “Beatdown” in iTunes.
From everyone on The Sherdog Radio Network we wish you a happy beginning to the holiday season. We will be back live again on Monday. Be safe and eat well!
Tuesday, November 24 3:01 pm PT: It’s not often a fighter coming off consecutive losses is in high demand, but records don’t always tell the entire story. Roger Huerta lost to former number-one contender Kenny Florian via decision; he split scorecards with imminent No. 1 contender Gray Maynard. He remains better-looking than most of us. No reason to hang his head. Now Huerta is available to take bids for his services.
While his UFC contract has expired, the promotion has the right to match any monetary offer for up to one year, which is good for Huerta: it means he can leverage competitor interest against the UFC. And that interest may be considerable: Strikeforce, Bellator, and others would perceive Huerta as a key for the burgeoning Latino market.
The problem with remaining in the Octagon is that Huerta has hit the wall: he could not beat Florian or Maynard, which gives champion B.J. Penn odds on deconstructing both his game plan and his face. (It may not matter: his style, like Forrest Griffin’s, is to lose the tough fights but win fans with lockjaw determination.) Strikeforce is on solid footing, but the whims of CBS dictate that company’s long-term viability as a major player; Bellator hasn’t yet spent beyond their means, and they’re not likely to start with Huerta.
As with fellow free agent Dan Henderson, Huerta’s best bet remains the UFC. He just can’t act like it.
Tuesday, November 24 11:40 am PT: The world of celebrity boxing captivates me. Not the actual competition, which is a ludicrous and boring display of limp-fisted rejects so heavily padded they could survive a three-story fall, but the politics of it. What goes through the mind of a Todd Bridges in the moments leading up to a bout? Does he tell his family about it, or does he hope they don’t stumble across a flyer? Does “Screech” from “Saved by the Bell” put a trophy earned over “Horshack” from “Welcome Back, Kotter” on his mantle? And do promoters really need to file a lawsuit when one of them comes to his senses and backs out of a fight?
Apparently, they do: according to a wire press release, rapper DMX is being sued for one million dollars following his exit from a planned December 12 match against non-celebrity Eric Martinez. Thunder Promotions is claiming DMX backed out when he realized the outcome would not be fixed in his favor.
While I admire the integrity displayed by promoters inclined to employ Vanilla Ice, it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which DMX’s participation has a market value in the seven figures. Thunder will forge ahead with the show, now topped by an MMA bout between Jeff Monson and Travis Fulton and featuring Martinez facing Coolio in a kickboxing match. If you can find a better time in Birmingham, Alabama, I’d like to see it.
Tuesday, November 24 11:03 am PT: Vitali Mitu, a political science major with an eye on a pro fighting career, died last Thursday in a Bucharest, Romania gym after a session. Physicians who examined him claim lung edema, bleeding, and pneumonia were present, and the translations circulating seem to imply Mitu’s death was due to existing causes, not any damage sustained in training. Early reports pointed fingers at Semmy Schilt, the 6’11” K-1 attraction who was at the gym that day and was alleged to have either kicked or kneed Mitu before Mitu collapsed. This is likely a load.
Since I’m not in communication with Romania’s version of Mike Wallace -- and because I strongly suspect there is no Romanian Mike Wallace, or even a Romanian Stone Phillips -- I’m going to imagine that Schilt’s name was dug up because his was the most notable associated with the gym and that Semmy-kills-man-in-training stories circulate strictly because of their morbid appeal.
Good shape and fight shape are two different beasts. If Mitu was attempting any one of the borderline-psychotic routines prizefighters favor with the added handicap of pneumonia, his demise is sad, but not shocking.
For many, 1999’s “Universal Soldier: The Return” left a lot of unanswered questions. For example: why was this movie made? Who funded it? Why was the film stock not used for other, more valuable purposes, like compost additive?
We continue to wait for answers and studio-funded counseling. In the meantime, Tri-Star and Sony have completed work on “Universal Soldier: Regeneration,” a straight-to-DVD sequel featuring returning stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, and new mope-faced recruit Andrei Arlovski. After back-to-back losses, it must be nice to return to being the toughest man in the room again.
“Soldier” scholars will recall that the Van Damme films, of which this is the third, refuse to recognize the canonical contributions of the Jean-Claude-deprived “Universal Soldier II” and “Universal Soldier III.” If you are under the assumption this is “Universal Soldier V,” you can expect to be the running joke of your social circle.
Lundgren fans should be advised that he allegedly has only a small part in the film; Arlovski receives top billing, at least in the trailer, which may chafe Mr. Van Damme considerably. The disc is slated for a January 5 release: a bit of a bummer for Christmas, until you realize that anyone you gave this film to would hold a grudge.
