Should referee Josh Rosenthal have stopped UFC 116’s main event in the first round? Can you name an overall card that was more entertaining than last weekend’s show? Is Chris Leben a “Top 10” middleweight? How likely is it that Cain Velasquez will beat Brock Lesnar when they square off later this year?

Keyboard warrrrriors….come out to plaaaay-yay!

If you’re reading these lines you are back in the friendly digital confines of “Grappling with Issues”, our site’s resident Friday feature highlighting insight and opinion from Adam Tool and myself on six subjects plucked from the Mixed Martial Arts landscape. However, just because we staffers get the fancy set-up, please don’t feel precluded from dishing out your own thoughts on each matter in the comments section at the bottom of the column…

Was there a more entertaining MMA event than UFC 116 in the past twelve months?

Tool: For my money I would say no. There were plenty of enjoyable events in the last year (UFC 110 and WEC 48 come to mind) but I can’t think of a single thing wrong with the show we saw on Saturday. All the fights were exciting, the main event lived up to the hype, and there was nothing to complain about in regards to the judging and/or officiating. Some events will feature one great back-and-forth battle, and on this card we got four. Simply put, if you didn’t enjoy UFC 116 then you aren’t a fan of MMA.

Some of my favorite moments from the evening took place outside of the actual fights during the moments before and after the individual rounds. I won’t soon forget the dejected look on Kurt Pellegrino’s face before the third round, as he was a man who had clearly already been beaten. I also enjoyed the way Stephan Bonnar refused to touch gloves before his battle with Krzysztof Soszynski, only to change his mind and then touch gloves at the start of the second round. Who can forget Chris Leben raising his arms and feeding off the crowd as he went into the third round with Yoshihiro Akiyama? Then at the end of evening we got Brock Lesnar smiling at the crowd instead of snarling into the camera as he did back at UFC 100. These little moments combined with the stellar action from each fight made this one of the greatest events in mixed-martial arts history.

Conlan: No, and though the sights and sounds of UFC 116 are admittedly still fresh in my mind, I suspect it would take a bit of research to find a more entertaining card in the past three years (if not longer). As Tool said, the event had something for everyone – comeback victories, surprising finishes, brutal knockouts, jiujitsu wizardry, heated exchanges, and a bit of blood to boot. On top of the memorable moments Adam listed I’d also add Gerald Harris’ brain-rattling slam, Ricardo Romero enduring Seth Petruzelli’s power before shredding his arm with a slick submission, Bonnar’s look into the camera after his win and post-fight speech, Leben’s blank-stare brawling, and Lesnar not only escaping Shane Carwin’s early onslaught but also showing his improved ground attack en route to successfully defending his title. UFC 116 was the perfect mixture of entertainment and athletic art, and definitely a show that will stand out from its peers for a long, long time.

Using a percentage, how likely is it Cain Velasquez will knock Brock Lesnar off of his heavyweight throne?

Tool: I’ll go with 75%. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t bet against Lesnar in any fight these days, especially now that he’s answered some very important questions about his heart and his submission skills. Even though Lesnar overcame his greatest challenge to date this past weekend, I still think Velasquez has his number.

One issue Lesnar still has is his striking. He’s got no head movement to speak of, and outside of that straight right hand he hasn’t got any real weapons in his stand-up arsenal. On the opposite end we’ve got Velasquez whose stand-up has looked better with each appearance in the Octagon. He’s got a great stance, and while his power may not match Shane Carwin’s, he’s far more precise when he throws. Go back and check out that laser of a right hook that floored Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and then watch the pinpoint accurate punches Velasquez threw to finish the job.

The other major factor that will come into play is the wrestling, as that’s the skill Lesnar relies most upon to beat his opponents. It’s safe to say that Lesnar and Velasquez represent the highest level of wrestling in the heavyweight division, and I’ll be interested to see if either man can take the other down. Lesnar’s size advantage could play a part, but we can’t sell Velasquez short. Even if Brock can take Cain down, I don’t believe he’ll be able to keep him there. If the fight stays on the feet it’s all the more likely that it will be Cain’s fight to lose.

Conlan: Since I did so good by giving Fabricio Werdum a “1%” chance of beating Fedor Emelianenko I assume my opinion on this particular topic carries a lot of weight in the MMA community. That being said, I think Velasquez has a 47% chance of becoming UFC champ once he and Lesnar eventually lock horns.

Tool has done a nice job breaking down the finer points of each heavyweight’s abilities, and I don’t disagree with any aspect of his assessment beyond his certainty Velasquez will beat Lesnar. Both have shown clear progression from fight to fight, including improved ground-work and an immense amount of heart displayed after enduring early scares. Each is also a threat to score a knockout with a well-placed punch for different reasons (technique/power). Cain’s striking is more precise and diverse than Brock’s, as you might expect from someone who weighs 30-40 pounds less, and he definitely has the tools in his singlet to give the champ a real test when it comes to wrestling. On the flip-side, Lesnar’s combination of size and athleticism is remarkably unique in a division generally featuring men who are typically either fast or big/strong, not both.

Their upcoming title bout should be a close one with each having minimal advantages over the other. However, I think it has to be pointed out the match-up will be Velasquez’s first crack at a belt while half of Lesnar’s career fights have involved gold. As such, I’m giving him a razor-thin nod to beat the American Kickboxing Academy phenom.

Who on the DREAM 15 card would you most like to see inside the Octagon? Include a match-up as well.

Tool: Well if he was actually on the card the easy answer would be Alistair Overeem. DREAM officials announced he would be fighting, Overeem denied it, and yet DREAM is still saying that he’ll be there. I’m inclined to believe the fighter over the promotion, so any “Ubereem” fans hoping to catch a glimpse of their hero may as well just catch up on their sleep Friday night.

As for the fighters that are actually confirmed for the show, my pick would have to be Gegard Mousasi. Obviously this isn’t a hard choice as Mousasi represents one of the best fighters in the world to have never set foot in the Octagon. His stock has certainly fallen a bit since the loss to “King Mo” Lawal but he’s still one of the most exciting fighters in the light heavyweight division. If he were to be signed tomorrow and brought into the UFC I would match him up with Thiago Silva. Silva is a respectable name and a perfect stylistic match-up for Mousasi, and a fight between the two would have a great chance at picking up “Fight of the Night” honors.

Conlan: He may not be the hottest prospect after being dominated by Gilbert Melendez but of the entire DREAM 15 group I’d most like to see Shinya Aoki test his skills in the UFC’s iconic eight-sided cage. I understand the logic behind Tool’s choice of Mousasi, but I’d personally think “The Dreamcatcher” needs a little more experience at 205-pounds before attempting to crack the upper echelon of the UFC’s flagship division. On the other hand, Aoki has competed against a number of top lightweights and come out on the winning end of things more often than not. His jiujitsu is elite, he’s got a colorful personality, and signing him would help Zuffa further reestablish their reputation in the Far East. Sure, his less-than stellar wrestling would cost him a bout or two along the way, as it did against Melendez, but that’s nothing a little clever match-making couldn’t prolong from happening.

As far as an opponent goes, my “dream” choice would be B.J. Penn simply to see what would unfold as soon as both hit the mat and started grappling. However, Aoki would likely need a few wins in the Octagon before earning a shot at “The Prodigy”, so in that regard I’d select Tyson Griffin as his opening foe. Griffin has the name-recognition to earn Aoki the Zuffa Zombies’ respect were he to defeat him, while also having the wrestling prowess and stand-up to provide a significant threat to the spandex-clad superstar in the eyes of hardcore fans. The pairing would almost certainly result in an entertaining display of action making Aoki’s Octagon debut a memorable, if not successful, one.

TRUE/FALSE – Chris Leben is a top 10 middleweight.

Conlan: True or false, you can’t give a wrong answer on this topic because rankings are for the most part subjective. For that reason “Top 10” lists vary from person to person, as every individual has a different way of weighing the numerous circumstances involved in. Where this particular subject is concerned, I’ll say “false”, though “The Crippler” is certainly on the cusp of cracking my collection of top ten middleweights. When you run down the 185-pound pool there are a few clear-cut entries deserving a spot without question, but the water gets a little murky in the 8-10 range leaving room for Leben after two solid performances against a pair of respected opponents in a span of three weeks. If he comes out Zombie-smile in tow after scrapping with Wanderlei Silva, who he called out on the heels of beating Yoshihiro Akiyama and will likely get as long as “The Axe Murderer” doesn’t run into a problem during recovery from his recent surgeries, then he’s absolutely a “Top 10” guy for me. However, as of right now he’s in the 12-14 range.

Tool: Brendhan’s absolutely right in stating that all rankings are subjective, but then again this is an opinion column wherein everything we say is subjective. As for the question itself I’m tempted to go with “true.” Leben’s UFC career has been full of ups and downs, and we certainly can’t ignore the fact that it wasn’t that long ago when he was choked out by Jake Rosholt. While “The Crippler” may not have the most impressive win streak to hang his credentials on, he does have some impressive wins over solid competition. Akiyama has been hanging around the bottom rungs of the top ten rankings for awhile so a win over him certainly has to count for something. Plenty of sites have Jorge Santiago in their top ten list, but we can’t forget that he was on the receiving end of a devastating Leben knockout during his brief stint in the UFC. Alessio Sakara is riding a nice hot streak at the moment but he too was separated from consciousness courtesy of Leben. The point is that while I don’t envision Leben climbing his way towards contendership anytime soon, he certainly deserves to be considered amongst the top level of fighters in the UFC’s middleweight division.

If we assume that the winner of the upcoming Kenny Florian/Gray Maynard fight gets the next shot at the lightweight belt, who would you put George Sotiropoulos against in a potential #1 contender’s bout?

Conlan: Though possibly a dark-horse due to his relative lack of widespread name recognition, I think a deserving candidate for such a slot would be Evan Dunham (assuming he gets by Sean Sherk at UFC 119). Dunham looked extremely sharp against Tyson Griffin, has a well-rounded skill-set to match Sotiropoulos’, and includes the added benefit of a spotless record where promotional purposes are concerned. In fact, I’m not sure there are a lot of other logical choices unless the UFC goes out and somehow signs a top lightweight like Eddie Alvarez or Gilbert Melendez, as the bulk of the company’s notable 155-pounders aren’t too far removed from a losing performance.

Tool: I can certainly get behind a potential match-up with Dunham, although in between Brendhan sending me his answers and me writing mine it was announced that Dunham would instead be welcoming Sean Sherk back to the Octagon. A win over Sherk would certainly put Dunham right into the mix of contenders and a meeting with Sotiropoulos would make even more sense then.

Looking at the rest of the UFC’s lightweight roster it’s clear that the most credible fighters are the four guys fighting at UFC 118. Therefore I’d have no problem with Sotiropoulos meeting up with the loser of the Florian/Maynard bout, or perhaps even the loser of the Frank Edgar/BJ Penn title rematch. The only other opponent I could see propelling Sotiropoulos to a title shot would be perennial gatekeeper Clay Guida (assuming Guida can get by Rafael Dos Anjos next month). In any case it may be a few months before Sotiropoulos finds out who his next opponent is, as pretty much any other match-up would represent a step backwards in competition for the Aussie.

Would you have disagreed with the result of the main event if referee Josh Rosenthal had stopped the fight in the first round?

Conlan: It would have depended on Lesnar’s immediate reaction after the stoppage. If Brock sprung up foaming at the mouth, full of energy and arguing the call I reckon I would have been steamed at an early stoppage. Had he remained on the canvas, curled up and confused, then I would have applauded the bout’s initial action and Rosenthal’s stoppage of it. Since Lesnar was able to recover/defend without absorbing more than a few cinder-blocks to his head before ultimately showing his improved ability on the ground supported by the wrestling technique making him a NCAA champ, it appears clear Rosenthal made the correct call by allowing things to continue after a few tense moments on the mat and he should be applauded for his decision. It’s not as if fans were watching Cris “Cyborg Santos” vs. Jan Finney II or something.

Tool: While watching that first round I was quite literally on the edge of my seat, as Rosenthal was right on top of the action and seemed to be very close to stepping in. Had he done so I don’t believe there would have been a huge outcry of injustice from the MMA community, even if Lesnar had stood right up and argued the decision. I’ll go one step further and make the assumption that if this hadn’t been the main event and a huge title fight, Rosenthal probably would have pulled the trigger and awarded Carwin the win. I certainly have no way to know this for sure. I just know that usually when one fighter delivers 50 or so unanswered punches to his opponent’s head, that fight ends with a stoppage. The end result shows us that Rosenthal made the right call in allowing the fight to continue, but it’s still intriguing to think of how different the MMA landscape would be right now had he made a different decision on Saturday night.

Who should be the next to taste Cung Le’s feet? Will Shane Carwin see his first career “second round” against Brock Lesnar this Saturday night? Is Keith Jardine destined for Strikeforce? Is Fedor Emelianenko’s loss to Fabricio Werdum the biggest upset in the history of MMA?

Keyboard warrrrriors….come out to plaaaay-yay!

The weekend is upon us and sure to be filled with explosive action, both in the night sky on July 4th and come Saturday night in Las Vegas when Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin test the Octagon’s durability during a championship clash! If you’re reading these lines you are back in the friendly digital confines of “Grappling with Issues”, our site’s resident Friday feature highlighting insight and opinion from Adam Tool and myself on six subjects plucked from the Mixed Martial Arts landscape. However, just because we staffers get the fancy set-up, please don’t feel precluded from dishing out your own thoughts on each matter in the comments section at the bottom of the column…

Also, make sure to have a happy, fun, and safe Fourth of July weekend! Enjoy the BBQ, beers, and brawls!

TRUE/FALSE – Fabricio Werdum tapping out Fedor Emelianenko is the biggest upset in the history of MMA.

Conlan: False, and this is coming from someone who gave Werdum a 1% chance of beating Emelianenko in last week’s GWI. However, as I also explained in that response, the percentage wasn’t based on a lack of talent on the Chute Boxe fighter’s part so much as Fedor’s “aura”, as well as his history of escaping every dangerous position he’d ever found himself in. The reality is that Werdum is an extremely skilled competitor and in a sport like Mixed Martial Arts, as evident in the upset loss last weekend, anything is possible.

I don’t think Werdum’s win is the “biggest upset” in MMA’s history because of the Brazilian’s credentials regardless of how invincible Fedor appeared to be entering the bout. In fact, I’d say Matt Serra‘s TKO of Georges St. Pierre in 2007 has the Brazilian’s submission beat. Serra hadn’t beaten any welterweights of real note prior to the fight, gave up a good deal of size to GSP, and was known for his jiujitsu rather than his hands. In the case of Werdum, not only had he competed against and beaten a number of respected heavyweights, but he finished Emelianenko with a technique associated with his primary discipline (BJJ) and is also taller/heavier than “The Last Emperor”.

Tool: I’m going with “true,” and here’s why: Fedor went nearly 10 years and 29 fights without suffering a loss. His string of victories is a feat that will be all-but-impossible to surpass anytime soon. While St. Pierre was a heavy favorite against Serra, it wasn’t as though he had never suffered a legitimate defeat before then. We can’t say the same for Fedor though, as the lone loss on his record before Saturday was a TKO with a huge asterisk attached to it. Yes, Werdum had a clear path to victory before the bout had even begun, but in the days leading up to the fight it was impossible to find a single fan or journalist who had definitively stated that Werdum would get the win.

In a way I think Fedor’s decade of dominance has helped to soften the impact of Werdum’s win. We all knew that sooner or later somebody would find a way to beat Fedor so even though nobody figured it would be Werdum that would do it, we still knew that it was bound to happen sometime. Couple that with Fedor’s respectful demeanor afterwards and it’s easy to see why some people might not make such a big deal about it. Make no mistake though, it is a big deal. This fight has permanently changed the landscape of the heavyweight division, and destroyed the aura of invincibility surrounding one of the greatest fighters the sport has ever known.

Do you think that Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin will make it past the first round?

Conlan: I believe it will. Don’t get me wrong. Both behemoths have the power to knock each other out with a single shot. Hell, each could likely turn a cow into a leather sofa with one well-placed fist. However, Lesnar hasn’t shown himself to be a first-frame finisher thus far in his career and should be looking to utilize his wrestling ability rather than exchanging strikes with someone who has made his living thus far by avoiding the opening round’s fourth minute, let alone bout’s second stanza.

I feel Lesnar will rely on his grappling in an attempt to neutralize his adversary’s gift of immediately rendering opponents defenseless, as well as in order to test Carwin’s post-five minute cardio. I also don’t think Carwin is afraid of going a full five-rounds if necessary because he’s intelligent and understands the opportunity at hand, and in that regard I don’t think he’ll risk a year of preparation by rushing in right away only to catch a quick strike that ends his night.

Tool: I’ll say no, but this is an extremely tough question to answer with all the variables in play. We don’t know what kind of punishment Lesnar’s chin can endure, but Carwin is the perfect opponent to test it. We also don’t know if Carwin can be taken down at will, although we do know that if anyone can do it it’s got to be Lesnar. I don’t want to underrate the UFC Heavyweight Champion but he’s got some pretty severe ring rust to overcome against what is arguably his toughest opponent to date. I won’t be surprised to see Lesnar take this fight to the mat in order to employ his vicious brand of ground and pound, but I also can’t say I’ll be surprised to see Carwin add another notch to his string of first round stoppages. All these question marks are what makes this particular title fight so intriguing, and I for one am thrilled that the UFC’s heavyweight division has become wildly exciting for the first time in years.

Aside from the main event, which bout at UFC 116 are you most excited for?

Conlan: I’m definitely looking forward to seeing George Sotiropolous mix it up with Kurt Pellegrino and won’t be surprised if they end up with the event’s “Fight of the Night” honors when everything is said and done in Vegas. Sotiropolous and Pellegrino, who with fellow UFC 116 participant Krzysztof Soszynski account for the greatest gathering of Scrabble-friendly last names on a PPV card in recent history, are similar in their slickness on the mat and fearlessness in the cage. Both go 100% at all times and have shown the kind of heart which makes me believe neither would ever mentally tap out in a bout; that they only quit when physically forced by their body to do so.

Beyond that, their skills match-up well as far as promise for entertainment goes. Sotiropolous has yet to be finished in fourteen fights and Pellegrino is 8-2 in his last ten in-Octagon appearances with losses to the typically-tough Nate Diaz and Joe Stevenson along the way. I can see them trading shots for the first round, then putting on a ground-clinic until the third round ends or one of them is submitted/TKO’d. Their pairing should definitely be a ton of fun to watch and an excellent way to open up the PPV portion of the show.

Tool: I’m extremely excited about the Sotiropolous/Pellegrino match-up as well, but they’ll have some stiff competition for “Fight of the Night” in the form of Matt Brown vs. Chris Lytle. The end of the night bonus for best fight usually goes to the most entertaining slugfest of the evening, and there can be little doubt that that’s exactly what these two will deliver. Both fighters possess an underrated ground game, but it’s only underrated because they’ve each had plenty of success punching guys in the face. These are also two of the toughest fighters in the UFC, as each man has proven to be all but impossible to put away. Add all these element together and you’ve got the perfect recipe for the kind of fight that should have fans on their feet for 15 minutes.

Is it a given freshly released free-agent Keith Jardine will sign with Strikeforce?

Tool: I would think so. Jardine brings two things to the table that any MMA promotion would want: name recognition and an exciting fighting style. Even if Strikeforce didn’t want to say the name of their biggest competitor, I’m sure they’d have no problem promoting Jardine as a man with wins over Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin. His fights are almost always guaranteed to end in a knockout, and I have yet to see anyone label him as “boring.” The light heavyweight division in Strikeforce is one of their weakest weight classes so any added star power would obviously benefit them. There might be some trepidation on signing a guy who’s on a four-fight losing streak, but in this case I think the positives outweigh the negatives.

Conlan: Though I’d say it’s definitely “likely” Jardine will ink a deal with Strikeforce, I wouldn’t say it’s as certain as tomorrow’s sunrise or even Arianny Celeste flirtatiously flicking her tongue out at the camera in-between rounds at UFC 116. Coker’s company could use Jardine’s relative star-power but inserting him into the deep end of their 205-pound pool has little benefit to it other than name-recognition. He’s 34 and lost five of his last six fights, yet also is a game opponent who is a threat to beat anyone who doesn’t land a clean shot to his chin. Stepping in and potentially beating one or two of Strikeforce’s top light heavyweights doesn’t necessarily look good because of his age/recent struggles or give the company an individual with a large enough following or bright enough future to promote their division around (like “King Mo” Lawal, Dan Henderson, or Gegard Mousasi). It also wouldn’t do Jardine a lot of good to bring his losing streak up to five in a row by thrusting him into the ring with highly touted competition. Rather, I could see “The Dean of Mean” seeking out a couple of bouts on smaller shows or in Japan to possibly string a couple of victories together and hopefully end his career in the UFC.

Who would you like to see Cung Le face in his next match-up?

Tool: I’m going to assume that Jake Shields is on his way to the UFC, and as such Strikeforce will be going ahead with their proposed middleweight tournament to crown a new champion. If that is the case then it’s entirely possible we’ll get to see Le face up to three quality opponents, although the lineup and start date for the tournament hasn’t been anywhere close to finalized.

If I had to pick an opponent for Le though I’d go with the best middleweight in Strikeforce not currently wearing gold: Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. It’s your classic striker vs. grappler match-up, only with two guys who are extremely good at what they do. “Jacare” is certainly one of the most aggressive grapplers in the business as he’s more than capable of executing a strong double-leg takedown instead of simply flopping on his butt. Le would be in for a bit of a challenge as well since he may not be quite as eager to throw his signature kicks against the threat of winding up on his back. “Jacare” has been knocked out before so it would be interesting to see how his chin stands up against the Sanshou attack of Le.

Conlan: When I originally prepared this question for Tool it included a limited number of options at the end. However, it quickly dawned on me the one individual I want to see Le face most wasn’t among them (so I changed it to invite a wider range of responses). Though I understand the appeal of matching up contrasting styles I think Le is best served by opponents who engage in stand-up wars. When he’s on his feet, throwing the kind of combinations typically reserved for pre-plotted action-movie sequences, he’s as exciting as any other Mixed Martial Artist in the business. When he’s on his back he becomes any other fighter, i.e. he loses most of his appeal as a competitor. He’s also a 38-year old fighter who strikes 99% of the time so the window of opportunity in terms of putting together legacy-making fights is a limited one.

I think Robbie Lawler is a perfect fit to fill the current vacancy where Le’s next in-ring adversary is concerned. He’s respected by most if not all and has no interest in taking action to the mat unless it involves posturing over a fallen fighter to rain down punches. Putting Le and “Ruthless” Robbie together would surely result in fast-paced fireworks and a TKO victory for someone. Lawler could also use a big fight at 185-pounds after his catch-weight loss to Renato Sobral and the winner of a Le bout could easily be promoted as Strikeforce’s top middleweight contender.

Comparably, risking a situation where someone wet blankets their way to victory (as a high-level grappler like Souza could) would be akin to having ring girls circle the cage dressed in burlap sacks. The sexier the situation, the more eyes watch, and I’ll be damned if the thought of Le vs. Lawler might not result in a 90 second wet dream for most MMA fans.

How concerned should fans/promoters/merchandisers be regarding the recent report the UFC threatened TapOut into dropping their sponsorship of Fedor Emelianenko?

Tool: It’s hard to say. On one hand the UFC is a business, and as such they’re perfectly capable of running that business however they see fit. On the other hand it’s obviously a bad situation for any and all MMA clothing manufacturers as they have no real way of knowing when Zuffa could decide to pull the plug on their sponsorship capabilities. After all, TapOut is arguably the biggest sponsor in UFC history (one of the company’s founders is in the UFC Hall Of Fame), so if the company is willing to severe ties with them then is anyone really safe?

Clearly the ones who stand to lose the most out of this is the fighters themselves. Somebody like Fedor will obviously have no trouble finding another company to make his shirts, but for a lot of lesser-known fighters their sponsorship is crucial to their livelihood. Why should Johnny Noname have to suffer by having his sponsor pulled because that particular company decided to partner up with somebody that the UFC doesn’t care for?

Dana White talks all the time about how much of a fan he is of the sport, and how he’s doing everything he can to make MMA the biggest sport in the world, but the action of banning sponsors from the UFC only serves his petty vendettas at the cost of fighters’ careers.

Conlan: Fans should only be mildly concerned but promoters/merchandisers are in an entirely different boat. Tool is correct in saying the UFC has the right to conduct their business in a way they feel is appropriate as long as it doesn’t violate any established laws/regulations. Hell, he’s correct in all of what he says.

In my eyes, threatening to ban a sponsor as a means of affecting a fighter in a rival promotion is the not-so-distant cousin of racketeering. It takes money out of Mixed Martial Artists’ pockets, as well as the companies who are forking out cash to back them and support their careers. Furthermore, it’s a problem that only exists because the UFC created it. No forward-thinking or informed fan would ever assume M-1 or Strikeforce was superior, nor related, to Zuffa’s product simply because the apparel fighters wear crosses over between the companies. Rather, the UFC apparently felt it was a way to get at Emelianenko’s camp and less directly at Strikeforce, so they exerted their power and did so.

How likely is it that Fabricio Werdum will beat Fedor Emelianenko? What event from the past ten days did you enjoy most from top to bottom? Will Cris “Cyborg” Santos beat Jan Finney faster than her husband beat Marius Zaromskis a week-and-a-half ago? What’s next for newly crowned Ultimate Fighter Season 11 champion Court McGee?

Keyboard warrrrriors….come out to plaaaay-yay!

If you’re reading these lines you’ve made it through another work-week and are back in the friendly digital confines of “Grappling with Issues”, our site’s resident Friday feature highlighting insight and opinion from Adam Tool and myself on six subjects plucked from the Mixed Martial Arts landscape. However, just because we staffers get the fancy set-up, please don’t feel precluded from dishing out your own thoughts on each matter in the comments section at the bottom of the column…

Best overall event – “Strikeforce – Los Angeles”, “Sengoku 13″, “TUF 11 Finale”, or “WEC 49″?

Adam Tool: I should probably start by saying that since I have neither a)HDNet or b) insomnia, I have yet to see Sengoku 13. I’ve been trying to track down a copy online but thus far I have been unsuccessful, so I’ll have to make my pick from the other three events which I did see.

Of those three my pick would be WEC 49. In terms of fight quality there was plenty of good stuff to be had on all three cards. While thinking back on those events I can’t point out a single fight which I considered boring, but it was the action in the WEC cage that kept me closest to the edge of my seat. The only knock I can make against WEC 49 would be the unsatisfying result rendered in the evening’s main event, but that only came about as the result of the incompetent judging of Cameron Quwek, the lone judge who scored every single round for Kamal Shalorus. Some blame could also be leveled against referee Josh Rosenthal, as I still can’t understand why he didn’t take another point away from Shalorus for the third low blow delivered in the final frame. Other than that though, WEC 49 was a barrage of non-stop action and tremendous performances from everyone involved.

I would also have to give the edge to WEC 49 in terms of the show’s pacing. During the two and a half hour event we saw seven fights, with what seemed like a minimal amount of commercial interruption. The Ultimate Fighter Finale featured five fights over the course of two hours, with some interminable commercial breaks, endless shilling of upcoming Spike programming, and an extremely dull interview with Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin. Strikeforce: Los Angeles was well-done from a production stand-point, but I still don’t understand why the show’s producers chose to air backstage interviews in between rounds of some of the fights. On top of that we saw once again that Strikeforce has no interest in promoting new stars of the sport, as the event ended a half-hour early without a single preliminary fight shown.

Brendhan Conlan: Though each broadcast featured moments of brilliance I tend to side with Tool as far as WEC 49 being the strongest overall show in the bunch. Sengoku’s action was top notch but primarily involved talent 1% of the English-speaking audience could have picked out of a line-up prior to it airing, Strikeforce had some highlight-worthy moments but also had issues related to the card’s E3-specific production and promotion’s continuing trend of going off the air early without promoting undercard competitors, and save for Court McGee’s story and a fun scrap between Keith Jardine and Matt Hamill the Ultimate Fighter Finale was one of the least memorable in recent history. The scoring in Varner vs. Shalorus certainly detracted from the fight’s result but not from the entertaining battle that occurred during the fifteen minutes prior. Other than that, viewers were treated to the continued ascension of Josh Grispi as a top featherweight, late-replacement Danny Downes showing a ton of heart en route to a third-round submission loss at the limbs of Chris Horodecki, an edge-of-your-couch affair between Will Campuzano and Eddie Wineland, and a whole lot more.

True/False – Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos will beat Jan Finney tomorrow night faster than her husband beat Marius Zaromskis ten days prior?

Tool: I’ll go with “false,” although I have little reason to justify it. A quick peak at Finney’s record online reveals two things two things: 1) her nickname is “Cuddles” (seriously?) and 2) she’s only had one TKO loss on her record which came in the second round. Despite her unimpressive record and the overwhelming odds against her, I think it’s safe to assume that Finney is not the easiest opponent to put away. Cyborg is clearly the toughest opponent “Cuddles” has faced in her career and it would certainly be no surprise if the Strikeforce Women’s Middleweight Champion finishes this fight in under two minute, but unless Finney makes a crucial error (flying knee anyone?) I believe she’ll last a bit longer than Zaromskis did.

Conlan: Zaromskis lives and dies on his feet, as evident by four of his five career losses coming by way of TKO, so it was inevitable he or “Cyborg” (XY Chromosome version) was going to sleep sooner than later in their bout. That’s not the case with Finney – ahem, “Cuddles” – so I think I’ll also have to go with “false” on this. Granted, Santos is unlike any other striker let alone overall fighter in women’s MMA. However, Finney has been in the ring against a few females with above-average hands (Erin Toughill for example) and remained conscious throughout save for a single loss to Julie Kedzie. Her grappling is good enough to lock onto “Cyborg” if need be and her stand-up is decent, so as long as she avoids going toe-to-toe with the champ she should be able to make it past the 2:38 mark.

Should Cung Le retire from MMA and focus on acting if he loses to Scott Smith a second time?

Tool: To be honest, I’m not really sure. Thus far Le’s acting career has yet to really take off. He’s played smaller roles in some big-screen releases, although his work in the film Tekken has yet to be seen here in America. He would probably have better luck in Asian cinema as a straight-forward martial arts action star, as there’s little call for someone with his particular talents in the current Hollywood system.

While Le took a large chunk of time off from MMA to focus on acting, the loss to Smith seems to have re-lit the competitive fire within him. He certainly believes that he’s a better fighter than Smith (and up until the final seconds of their first fight, he was) and with the (presumably) impending departure of Jake Shields the door could be wide open for Le to try and regain the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship. After all, he never lost the belt. Of course he never had a chance to lose it since he didn’t defend it, but that’s beside the point.

Le could very well lose to Smith a second time. It’s unlikely, but certainly possible. He’s pushing 40 years old so he doesn’t have all the time in the world to get better in the sport, and as such retirement from competition probably isn’t too far off anyways. His exciting fighting style and built in fanbase in the San Jose area will allow him the opportunity to continue on as long as he wants, but if he’s trying to be the best in the world then his chances to do so will live or die on Saturday night.

Conlan: I’m a firm believer fighters should hang up their gloves when they are ready to do so unless there are health-related reasons at play. Yes, Le is 38 and power/speed are typically the first thing to deteriorate with increased age. Yes, he’s only been in the ring three times since June 2007. Yes, he’s a one-trick pony as far as being 100% stand-up based. However, losing his rematch with Smith would only drop him to 6-2, and it’s not as if “Hands of Steel” is some out-of-shape, over-the-hill can they plucked from the street. He’s got 3X as many fights as Le and beaten some notable opponents in his career. He has the striking to put any adversary to sleep and a solid jaw of his own to boot as indiciated by Smith’s only career TKO losses coming to Robbie Lawler in 2008 and James Irvin in 2004. If he walks away victor again this Saturday night it should in no way be considered a slight on Le’s talent but rather a credit to his fellow soft-spoken Californian’s. As Tool said, Le is a huge regional draw and possesses an incredibly entertaining style, so as long as he is still interested in stepping into the ring and competing he should be allowed to do so.

Using a percentage, how much of a chance do you give Fabricio Werdum of beating Fedor Emelianenko?

Conlan: 1%. Don’t get me wrong – Werdum is a world-class competitor on the mat and has some solid Chute Boxe-based striking to compliment the skill. He’s beaten a number of ranked opponents and only been finished once in eighteen fights. However, we’re talking about frakking Fedor here. He’s weathered punches that would have dropped most for the count and worked his way out of any tough position he’s ever been put in. He’s gone to decision less than 1/4 of the time he’s fought, is on a ridiculously long win-streak, and…well…I probably could have stopped at “frakking Fedor”, because the reality is if you’re reading this paragraph you already know the Russian phenom’s resume. There will always be a chance Werdum could perfectly time a punch and pull a “Matt Serra”, so he at least deserves “1%”, but beyond that I don’t see there being any way he comes away from the event as the first fighter to legitimately beat Emelianenko.

Tool: I’ll be a bit kinder to Mr. Werdum and go with 10%. Obviously I’m still backing Fedor to win, but Werdum does have at least one avenue to victory. His striking isn’t quite good enough to give Fedor trouble, but there can be little argument that he’s one of the best pure grapplers in the heavyweight division. Fedor has never really been close to being submitted, but then again it’s been a long time since he’s faced anyone that’s on Werdum’s level in BJJ. I still can’t see Fedor tapping out, but if there’s any opponent in the world that can do it I think it’s Werdum.

Do you think that Jamie Varner and Kamal Shalorus should have an immediate rematch?

Conlan: Though I’m typically in favor of immediate rematches when a particularly poor decision is rendered, this situation is different because Varner is going to miss a good deal of time with his broken hand/foot. Shalorus, however, was relatively uninjured after their original bout and isn’t scheduled to sit on the sidelines beyond his regular recuperation/training period. Based on that, it’s likely he’ll be ready for action before Varner is so it doesn’t make sense for him to twiddle his thumbs while waiting for the former lightweight champion to recover. As such, I could see a date with Donald Cerrone at a future event.

However, if WEC is determined to pair him with Varner again, I have a suggestion on how “The Prince of Persia” can kill his new-found time. There’s a new James Bond movie on the horizon that’s certain to need evil henchman and if ever an individual was born with the physical attributes to play a role…

Tool: Let’s also not forget that the recent Prince of Persia film was a resounding success, so perhaps Shalorus could have a role to play in a potential sequel? Shalorus vs. Gyllenhaal: book it!

As for the topic at hand, I believe that a rematch should be made as soon as both fighters are healed up and ready to go. I can point to no less than three reasons why this should happen. First, this bout was intended to determine the next #1 contender for Ben Henderson’s WEC Lightweight Championship. That honor will likely now go to the winner of the upcoming Shane Roller/Anthony Pettis bout, but right now there’s a serious lack of competition for the company’s “Smooth” young champion.

The second reason I would like to see a rematch is due to the decision rendered in the first fight. Clearly a draw does nothing to further either man’s career, but on top of that it’s a decision that has not sat well with a majority of the fanbase. Just about anyone that watched that fight could tell that Varner won, but obviously that’s not the case. Look at it this way; if it hadn’t been for the point deduction in the second round Shalorus would have won a split decision, and the controversy would have been even greater.

Finally I say match these two up again because their first meeting was simply a great fight. Groin shots aside, these two kept things competitive for the majority of the fifteen minutes. Shalorus’ strategy of staying in the pocket and slugging it out with Varner may not have been the best gameplan but it certainly kept things entertaining. I say let’s have rounds four, five, and six.

Who would you like to see Court McGee matched up with for his first post-”TUF” fight?

Conlan: I have a feeling McGee may actually drop to welterweight for his next in-Octagon appearance since he’s only 5′11 and size is crucial in a promotion as deep in talent as the UFC. It also makes sense considering a number of past seasonal champions have done the same thing. The Ultimate Fighter is a great opportunity and often fighters are willing to risk competing against bigger guys to earn a contract, plus it makes maintaining/making weight easier.

As far as when Court will be in session again (you’re welcome Mauro Renallo), there are ton of opponents at 170 pounds for “The Crusher” to, well, crush. He clearly can’t be matched against one of the division’s top fighters but he also deserves better than a “gimme” dubya. Amir Sadollah seems possible based on his status as a former TUF winner himself and the fact that, at 3-2, the master of “Baboo Baby” technique could use a semi-winnable fight. Season 9 champ James Wilks is also in a similar position but ended up on the right side of a decision at UFC 115 instead of the wrong one, as Amir did at UFC 114.

Tool: I’m not so sure that McGee will drop down in weight, since he’s not yet announced any plans to do so. I’m going to try and pick someone at middleweight, and furthermore I’ll try to follow the UFC’s traditional model of giving their “TUF” champs a somewhat “lesser” opponent in their first post-show fight.

With that in mind my pick goes to Joe Doerksen. Doerksen is the very definition of a journeyman fighter, with enough name value to provide McGee a nice little boost with a win. At the same time if McGee comes up short in this fight it’s a bit more understandable given the fact that he’s facing an opponent with such a depth of experience. Stylistically the two match up well, as neither man is technically proficient in striking even though they are willing to stand and trade. McGee would have the wrestling advantage, but Doerksen could present a problem with his jiu-jitsu skills.

Whose performance stood out the most at UFC 115? Is it time for Tyson Griffin to dip down to 145 pounds? What WEC 49 bout has you more pumped than the others? Should Keith Jardine receive his pink-slip this weekend if he loses a fourth straight fight in the UFC?

Keyboard warrrrriors….come out to plaaaay-yay!

If you’re reading these lines you’ve made it through another work-week and are back in the friendly digital confines of “Grappling with Issues”, our site’s resident Friday feature highlighting insight and opinion from Adam Tool and myself on six subjects plucked from the Mixed Martial Arts landscape. However, just because we staffers get the fancy set-up, please don’t feel precluded from dishing out your own thoughts on each matter in the comments section at the bottom of the column…

True/False – Tyson Griffin needs to seriously consider dropping to featherweight.

Adam Tool: False. I find it kind of funny that people are talking about how small Tyson Griffin looks and how he needs to drop down, when he actually looks a bit bigger than current lightweight champion Frank Edgar (although both fighters are 5‘6“). Griffin and Edgar are on the shorter end of the lightweight spectrum, but they’ve each proven that they are more than capable of handling a number of other fighters at 155 lbs. Manny Gamburyan had two tough losses in the UFC before he decided to drop down, so let’s at least give Griffin the benefit of the doubt and see how he does in his next fight before declaring him too small for the lightweight division.

Besides, at this point what does Griffin stand to gain by moving down? He’d likely be accepting a paycut by going to WEC, and he would undoubtedly be fighting with far less exposure in the featherweight division. It’s much easier for a light heavyweight fighter to make the move to middleweight, since they know they’ll still be fighting in the UFC. For a lightweight fighter the move down in weight also means a move down in organizations, and I fail to see how that could be truly beneficial in this case. Griffin holds wins over a number of respected lightweight fighters, he’s well-known amongst the fan base, and he’s been one half of five different “Fight of the Night” match-ups. The loss to Evan Dunham certainly sets him back, but it’s much too soon to think that he can’t hang in the UFC anymore.

Brendhan Conlan: If Griffin’s motivation as a Mixed Martial Artist is to solidify his legacy in the sport as a great champion and pinnacle of his division he absolutely needs to give the move some thought; if his motivation is purely based on fame and fortune then he should sit tight in the UFC. I happen to believe he leans towards the former, as most fighters do, and as such I’ll be answering this topic as “True”.

Tool is right when he says Griffin has proven he can hang at lightweight. After all, the Xtreme Couture OG is 7-3 in the UFC. He’s also gone to the judges in eight of those ten bouts with his only finishes coming against David Lee nearly four years ago and a portlier-than-normal version of Hermes Franca at UFC 103 last September. Fighting smart is one thing; not being able to submit/TKO mid-tier competition is another.

What does Griffin stand to gain from a drop to 145 pounds? For one, a chance at being the best in the world at featherweight when such a goal is almost certainly unobtainable at 155. If Tyson can out-work larger opponents then imagine how he might perform against competition similar, even smaller, in size. For another, an opportunity to headline cards and be featured in marquee match-ups. WEC has already dipped their toes in the PPV market once with plans to do so again in the near future and it seems inevitable the promotion will end up on Spike TV at some point too. Griffin vs. Faber II, Griffin vs. Aldo, Griffin vs. Brown, etc. – the list goes on and on in terms of who he could be paired against, as WEC features the world’s deepest featherweight division. Yes, he would sacrifice some money and exposure in the short term, but there are still plenty of both to be had in UFC’s sister promotion. Also, let’s not forget there has been talk about the UFC absorbing the WEC featherweights, so if that ever happens then the finance/fame stuff becomes a moot point.

Long story short, if Griffin stays at lightweight he’ll win more than he loses but I don’t think it’s likely he’ll ever be champion. You can make comparisons to Edgar if you want but there are lots of people out there who think BJ Penn deserved to retain his belt (enough to where Frank’s first defense will come against the former champ). The title-shot was also a very fortunate opportunity for Edgar and lightning won’t necessarily strike twice with Griffin as the recipient. If he wants to really take a crack at making a significant impact in MMA he HAS to consider featherweight. After all, he’s shown he’s familiar with coming out on the favorable end of “decisions”. This is just one more he needs to deal with.

UFC 115 featured two more incidents where fans got “hands on” with fighters during an entrance. Is that aspect of “fighter safety” something the UFC needs to address or a situation not worth paying attention to?

Tool: While the stealing of hats may not be worthy of Zuffa’s attention, it’s just a short step to fans getting too close to the fighters and potentially doing something far more damaging. Arena security is supposed to be taking care of this sort of thing, but as we saw on Saturday the guys walking with the fighters to the cage aren’t necessarily doing their job. Stronger security measures are needed before something truly bad happens, and this may be a case where Zuffa needs to step in and do something about it themselves.

Conlan: In the words of Diego Sanchez, “Yes, yes, yes!!!” Last November I wrote a piece called “The Exit of the Entrance” based on a few similar incidents at UFC 105. Essentially, my concern is this:

We live in a culture where Average Joes and Janes will do nearly anything for fifteen minutes of fame. People have rushed the ring at WWE events, attacked on-field coaches in MLB, and streaked on countless fields across the world. If the audience at a UFC show is in close enough proximity to take an item of clothing from the fighters’ heads then they are also able to do a multitude of things with the pathetic hope of getting a reaction or making a highlight reel on cable/sports news. Do we need to see a drink poured on an athlete’s head or punch thrown before the issue is truly examined? Do we want to see a main event ruined because one of the participants is distracted by an unnecessary occurrence? The answer is clearly “no”, so why wait for something to happen when the odds dictate its almost guaranteed?

Should Keith Jardine receive his walking papers if he drops a fourth straight bout by losing to Matt Hamill at the Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale?

Tool: I believe so. Keith Jardine is the biggest enigma in the UFC. He’s got wins over respected opponents like Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, and Brandon Vera. He’s also had his share of crushing defeats to Thiago Silva, Wanderlei Silva, and Houston Alexander. He’s more than capable of putting on exciting fights, but at this point his chin has been more exposed than Britney Spears’ private parts. The UFC’s light heavyweight division is one of the most competitive weight classes in the world, and if Jardine can’t hang with most of his opponents than he really has no place in the organization. He’s got a winnable fight on Saturday so we’ll have to wait and see what happens then, but if he ends up unconscious in the octagon again it will probably be for the last time.

Conlan: No, but a fifth straight should merit the proverbial axe swing. With the exception of Alexander his losses have come to highly-touted opponents. Even Hamill is a respected competitor as far as wrestling and power goes. “The Dean of Mean” has lost five of his last seven fights, so he’s definitely on thin ice as is and being released on the heels of a possible loss to “The Hammer” wouldn’t surprise me, but I think he deserves a step down as far as adversaries go before the company makes the decision to cut him. Win or lose, putting him against a lesser-skilled fighter would give Jardine a chance to get a little confidence back or prove he’s a liability the UFC can’t keep around.

Of all the winners at UFC 115, whose performance impressed you the most?

Conlan: Evan Dunham with Rory MacDonland a very close second. I felt confident in Dunham’s ability to beat Griffin based on size and technique but he looked more convincing doing so than I’d expected. He’s definitely shown he deserves to make a lateral, if not vertical, move where competition is concerned. That could possibly mean a date with the loser of Ken Florian vs. Gray Maynard, or more likely the winner of a fight closer to occurring like Kurt Pellegrino vs. George Sotiropolous (UFC 116) or Takanori Gomi vs. Joe Stevenson (UFC on Versus 2). At 11-0, and with three consecutive wins against tough opponents, Dunham is definitely a 155-pounder that has to be watched and is in position for a nice push within the organization.

Tool: This is a tough one, because there were so many awesome performances on the show. Rory MacDonald and Chuck Liddell certainly get the nods for “Best Showing In A Losing Effort,” but as far as the winners go I’m going to have to cheat and pick two.

First up is Martin Kampmann. Like most everyone else I picked Paulo Thiago to emerge victorious on Saturday night, but apparently I had some sort of mental blockage that made me forget just how great Kampmann can be. We all knew he would likely have the edge in a striking battle, but what really impressed me was the way Kampmann continually threatened Thiago on the ground. Most fighters, when matched up with a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, would simply do everything in their power to keep the fight standing while avoiding any ground action at all. Kampmann was not only willing to go with the mat with Thiago, he was the one attempting numerous submissions to try and end the fight. At no point did it look like Thiago was going to tap (seeing as how he’s fought out of these situations far too many times), but kudos to “The Hitman” for showing what a complete mixed-martial artist he is.

Secondly, I’d like to give some much-deserved props to Rich Franklin. In the days following UFC 115 there’s been so much focus on the end of Liddell’s career, with hardly anyone talking about what a dramatic victory this was for “Ace.” While some people will discount the win seeing as it’s coming at the end of Liddell’s career, it’s fair to say that Franklin was facing the best version of the “Iceman” that we’ve seen in years. Franklin took Liddell’s best shots and kept on coming. He broke his arm early in the fight yet powered through the injury and pulled off the win. On top of that he proved the doubters wrong that said he didn’t have KO power, and his $85,000 bonus check was the perfect icing on the cake.

Now that the season is coming to a close, rank the latest edition of The Ultimate Fighter on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the highest).

Conlan: “6″, which is actually a full point below where I ranked TUF 11 in a previous GWI written a few weeks after the season started. A handful of episodes featured exciting in-ring action but for the most part there was little to get worked up about. Any momentum the season had after the opening round of qualifying fights was sucked dry by the remaining episodes’ one-sided decisions, disqualifications, injury-based substitutes, and Jamie Yager’s refusal to answer the bell and come out of his corner in a quarter-final match-up with Josh Bryant. Hell, both finalists lost earlier in the season. The personal rivalry between team-heads Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell flared up once or twice but remained tame for the most part and Ortiz’s eventual replacement as coach on the show came so late in the season it was somewhat anti-climactic. Overall, it was a vanilla season which was supposed to culminate in a fight nobody wanted to see and instead resulted in Liddell getting knocked out, and likely retired, by Rich Franklin. It’s not to say there weren’t a few positives as well, but definitely not enough to deserve a rating any higher than being slightly above average.

Tool: I’ll go with a “7,” as this was a relatively entertaining season overall. Jamie “Fro Cop” Yager was a constant annoyance, but otherwise the stuff at the house was just fine. Obviously the drama makes for more entertaining television, but I for one am glad that we didn’t get inundated with the kind of in-house shenanigans that have characterized past seasons. In terms of the fights we saw plenty of quality match-ups. The number of fighter injuries is proof that the various cast members left everything in the cage each time (unlike a certain rotund “TUF” champ that did the minimal amount of effort to win). The competitiveness of the tournament goes a long way towards making a quality season, and I’m genuinely interested in seeing who wins the various cast member match-ups on Saturday.

The only real knock I can give this season is the coaches. Chuck Liddell is a legend in the sport and one of the greatest light heavyweight fighters of all time. What he is not though, is a good on-camera performer. Chuck looked mildly uncomfortable in nearly every second he was talking on screen, and most of that time was spent pacing back and forth in small steps. Tito Ortiz was clearly much more comfortable on-camera, but that’s because he spent a good portion of the time talking about his favorite subject: Tito Ortiz. Their rivalry was hardly interesting due to two separate factors; we knew Chuck would almost certainly be winning their third fight, and we knew that fight wasn’t going to be happening anyways.

Which fight are you looking forward to the most at WEC 49 this weekend?

Conlan: There are a few solid match-ups on the card but without a doubt I’m looking forward to Josh Grispi vs. L.C. Davis more than the others. Their combined record is 29-3 with Grispi emerging victorious the last nine times he’s stepped in a ring and Davis winning seven of his last eight fights. Both have above-average striking and grappling skills as indicated by the almost 50/50 split between submissions/TKOs in terms of their finishing performances. Grispi, as a matter of fact, has rendered his opponents unable to compete in twelve of his thirteen wins including seven straight. Both are also 3-0 in WEC. Though I think the card’s main event (Jamie Varner vs. Kamal Shalorus) will be highly entertaining, as should Chris Horodecki vs. Ed Ratcliff, I think Grispi vs. Davis should be more competitive than both and involve more than one highlight-worthy moment.

Tool: I’m going with the slightly easy answer and taking the headliner as my pick. Varner vs. Shalorus may not be a fight worthy of the main event status its been given, but it will most likely be a solid contender for “Fight of the Night.” Varner got out-classed by Ben Henderson, but that doesn’t take away the fact that the former lightweight champion is still a serious threat in the WEC. He’s beaten everyone else he’s faced since coming over from the UFC and with his name value he’s likely just a win or two away from another shot at the belt. Meanwhile you’ve got Shalorus taking on the toughest opponent of his brief career, and a definitive victory on Sunday could shoot him right to the top of the list of 155 lbs. contenders. Looking past what’s at stake in this fight, stylistically these two match up real well. Shalorus has a wrestling background but has clearly favored the stand-up in both of his WEC fights, and we all know that Varner will go toe-to-toe with anybody.

In closing I’d just like to remind everyone that while the WEC 49 card may not be all that impressive on paper, it’s oftentimes the weakest looking cards that end up entertaining us the most. We were reminded of that fact again this past Saturday, so do yourself a favor and don’t miss another (potentially) great event this weekend.

Should fans be thankful Rich Franklin is fighting Chuck Liddell as opposed to Tito Ortiz? If KJ Noons can get by Conor Heun next Wednesday should Strikeforce promote a rematch with rival Nick Diaz or let him focus on the lightweight division? Who will pull off the biggest upset at UFC 115? Will Saturday night mark Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s last appearance in the Octagon if he falls to Pat Barry? Are you interested in seeing “The A-Team” because of Quinton Jackson’s involvement or are you planning to skip it altogether regardless of “Rampage”?

Seven months ago, a crack commando journalism unit was sent to prison by a court of editors for a typo they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Underground. Today, still wanted by the FCC, they survive as soldiers of fortune without the actual fortune involved. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire… The GWI-Team!

Please forgive me if this week’s introduction is brief, but I’m fairly certain I saw a Predator drone marked with Sherdog’s logo circle my current location so time is clearly of the essence. As always, Adam Tool (callsign: B.A. Tool) and myself (callsign: Brend-hannibal) are here to provide insight and opinion on topics plucked from the MMA landscape. However, this week’s edition has SEVEN savory subjects for the two of us to dissect in honor of Quinton Jackson’s potentially star-making role in “The A-Team”. However, just because we staffers get the fancy set-up, please don’t feel precluded from dishing out your own thoughts on each matter in the comments section at the bottom of the column…

Fastest finish come June 16th’s “Strikeforce – Los Angeles” card – Robbie Lawler vs. Renato Sobral or Marius Zaromskis vs. Evangelista Santos?

Adam Tool: I’ve got to go with Zaromskis vs. Santos for this one. Both men are highly-touted strikers with plenty of KO wins on their records. Santos is certainly more than capable of using his jiu-jitsu to get the job done, but I believe it’s more likely we’ll see these two come out aggressive right from the opening bell. If this fight makes it past the first round I’ll be somewhat surprised, but of course I have been wrong about this sort of thing before.

As for Lawler and Sobral, there’s certainly a chance this one could end quickly as well. Lawler will certainly be looking to lay into “Babalu” early and often, but at the same time I would hardly expect Sobral to try and get into a slugfest with such a dangerous opponent. Sobral hasn’t been seen since his devastating knockout to Gegard Mousasi and as such I would imagine he’ll be taking a more cautious approach in this fight. Don’t expect “Babalu” to stay in the pocket for too long, as he’ll likely try and keep his distance and pick his shots before looking for the takedown. Sobral has a steep advantage in the grappling department and he knows that Lawler is weak on the ground, so in the end this one will come down to which fighter can best implement their gameplan for victory.

Brendhan Conlan: Tool makes some good points yet I’m still inclined to pick Sobral/Lawler. Zaromskis and Santos are strikers to be sure, though I’m not sure “highly-touted” is the phrasing I’d use unless “touting” them after a few hours with Nick Diaz. “Cyborg” has been out-struck by a handful of relative nobodies in his career and Zaromskis’ biggest win to date is “Mach” Sakurai (who is on the backside of his career and currently riding a three-fight losing streak). They’re aggressive and have knockout power but neither is particularly technical or skilled in terms of overall striking ability. Granted, neither are Lawler or Sobral, but in the case of Zaromskis and Santos I think they’re comparable enough to cancel each other out. I can see their bout going into the second or third round, while in the case of “Babalu” vs. Lawler I think there’s a better chance of Sobral’s lights being turned out in the first round. His last three losses have all been by way of knockout and he’ll have to absorb some damage each time he attempts to drag Lawler to the mat in hopes of attacking with submissions. All “Ruthless” Robbie needs to do is land a single, relatively clean shot to the Brazilian’s chin to win and I don’t think it will take him very long to do so.

If KJ Noons beats Conor Heun next week, should Strikeforce focus on promoting him as a lightweight or instead on putting together a long-anticipated rematch Nick Diaz?

Tool: I see no reason why Strikeforce shouldn’t try to put together the Diaz/Noons rematch, as it’s a fight that people have been wanting to see since both guys were still getting paychecks from EliteXC. Noons has had his profile decrease substantially since moving over to the world of boxing, and if he has any desire to be a star in MMA then he needs to get that pot-smoking monkey off his back. Noons won the first fight, but it was due to a cut and Diaz has been unstoppable ever since. If KJ wants to prove that he’s still a threat in this sport then the best way to do that is to beat Diaz again.

Let’s be fair though, this fight makes more sense for Diaz than it does for Noons. KJ could potentially make an impact in the Strikeforce lightweight division, and there’s some intriguing match-ups to be made (assuming he can get past the unheralded Heun). At the same time Diaz has next-to-no competition left for his Strikeforce Welterweight Championship (except a potentially over-matched Tyron Woodley) and is going to be needing a fight soon. I’m sure Diaz would love to finally get his rematch with Noons, and since he’s one of the biggest stars Strikeforce has it makes sense to give him the most high profile match-ups possible.

If Strikeforce tries to put this fight together, and if Noons turns it down (again), then he can probably look forward to a spot on the next Strikeforce Challengers event. If Noons is willing to take the rematch then it’s a fight that could easily be featured on a regular Strikeforce card, and maybe even CBS (if that ship has not already sailed). Noons went over to boxing because the money was better, and right now he won’t have a better payday than the one he would get for fighting Diaz again. I hope Scott Coker can make it happen.

Conlan: I agree that Diaz is the better option between the two. Strikeforce doesn’t have a wealth of depth in any division so catch-weight attractions are something they should take advantage of when the possibility presents itself. There’s a great deal of personal heat between the two based on the outcome of their first fight and the miniature in-ring riot occurring two years ago after Noons successfully defended his EliteXC title against Yves Edwards. Each also brings an exciting style into every bout so from that standpoint it’s almost guaranteed to entertain as well.

Beyond that, current lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez is out of action until November/December based on the impending birth of his daughter, and likely on a collision course with Bellator title-holder Eddie Alvarez as is, while 155-pound contenders Josh Thomson and Lyle Beerbohm have already been rumored as a future match-up. Other than a few DREAM lightweights and Roger Huerta there aren’t a lot of available fighters who, when paired with Noons, have the potential to draw as much interest from fans as Diaz does. The same rings true in reverse, as Diaz’s best options at 170 pounds are Woodley and a handful of mid-tier free agents. He could definitely give middleweight a go to establish himself as a top contender and maybe even become a two-division champ in the process, but other than Jason “Mayhem” Miller I don’t think there are any 185-pound opponents fans are as interested in seeing Diaz face in comparison to Noons. Strikefoce needs to put them back in the cage together, promote it in the same way “Rampage” Jackson vs. Rashad Evans was hyped, and let fans sit back and enjoy two guys who legitimately dislike each other exchange some leather. Frankly, to not capitalize on their fading rivalry before it’s too late to do so would be an utter blunder on the part of Scott Coker’s team and maybe even a nail in their coffin.

What UFC 115 bout features the most potential for the biggest upset to occur?

Tool: When trying to figure out the answer to this question I started by looking up and down the card. Upon doing so I realized that it’s kind of tough to figure out who are the underdogs in a lot of these fights. I then looked up the betting odds for the show and soon discovered just how close the lines are on almost every fight this weekend. Seriously, the biggest favorite on the card is Ultimate Fighter season 9 winner James Wilks. Wilks is facing Peter Sobotta, who is 0-1 in the UFC and whose win column is filled with names you’ve never heard of. Rich Franklin is a slight favorite in the main event, but I’m sure that line will get closer now that we’ve all seen what tremendous shape Chuck is in. Mirko Cro Cop is a slight underdog against Pat Barry, but everyone (including Barry himself) knows just how dangerous Cro Cop can still be.

With so many fights being so evenly matched there’s not a lot of options as far as one guy being a “sure thing” to win his fight, so I‘m forced to resort to the betting lines. The underdog fighter I’d pick to pull off a victory would probably be Carlos Condit, although if you didn’t check the lines you probably would think that he’s the favorite to win in his bout with Rory MacDonald. MacDonald is undefeated and has finished every one of his fights, but Condit represents a huge step up in competition for the young man from British Columbia. The former WEC Welterweight Champion is extremely dangerous wherever the fight takes place, plus he’s got a will to win and the drive to never give up.

Conlan: Betting lines are certainly the mark of an “underdog” but definitely not the entire indicator of it. After all, am I to believe fans don’t consider Mario Miranda a huge underdog to David Louiseau or Gilbert Yvel to Ben Rothwell simply because the involved odds may not dictate it?

Moving on, the fight I see with the most potential for a significant upset is Evan Dunham’s clash with Tyson Griffin. Griffin has struggled to finish opponents in the Octagon, so he leaves a lot of time for his foes to slip in and steal bouts (Sean Sherk and Frank Edgar clearly being the best examples based on their actual success against the Xtreme Couture OG). Dunham is a solid grappler with nice hands and reminds me a bit of a 5′10″, stronger, paler version of the 5′6″ Griffin. It was hard not to be impressed by his submission of Efrain Escudero at Fight Night 20 last January, and he’s undefeated ten fights into his career, so I won’t be surprised if he walks away with a decision win against Griffin. However, I think a lot of fans will be and I don’t just mean the Zuffa Zombies out there.

Are you more excited about Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin than you would have been for Liddell’s third fight with Tito Ortiz?

Conlan: Absolutely. Neither of their original encounters were particularly competitive bouts and the only people clamoring for a third throwdown seemed to be Liddell, Ortiz, and UFC President Dana White. The former 205-pound champions’ mutual dislike of one another made it logical to pair them from the standpoint of producing an entertaining season of the Ultimate Fighter but not from one based on in-ring competition or fulfilling fans’ phantom wishes for a trilogy as necessary as “The Matrix: Revolutions”. Enter Franklin and you have a fresh match-up featuring two former title-holders and fellow icons of the Octagon. Although “Ace” may have dropped two of his last three fights he remains a credible threat against all opponents not named Anderson Silva and has the style to give Liddell a run for his money. He’s got multi-point striking, good power, and solid grappling. Unlike Ortiz, Franklin won’t have to rely on dragging the action down to the mat to procure a win, and similarly he’s a threat to knock Chuck out whereas Ortiz hasn’t TKO’d anyone other than Ken Shamrock in the last nine years. All the involved factors add up to a scenario far superior than the one created by a third helping of Liddell vs. Ortiz.

Tool: Brendhan hit the nail on the head here. Liddell and Ortiz’s rivalry makes for good reality TV, but there’s really nothing left to prove by pitting these two against one another in the octagon. Only the most die-hard Ortiz fan (does such a thing exist?) would be upset by this change in the lineup. Okay, I suppose Chuck’s fans are upset because they thought he had this one in the bag, and now Franklin presents a much bigger challenge.

Personally I wouldn’t be surprised if this main event goes down as the “Fight of the Night” when bonuses are handed out. Liddell and Franklin both know what they do best, and that’s hitting people in the face. Neither one has a “legendary” chin, but I’m pretty sure they can each still take their fair share of punishment. I expect both fighters to be tentative at the start, given their cage rust and the stakes involved, but I can certainly see a nice little slugfest erupting as the time ticks on.

Besides, if the fight had gone down as scheduled it’s safe to assume that Ortiz would have lost in dramatic fashion and blamed his neck injury for his performance. If the parties involved are serious about doing Liddell vs. Ortiz 3, then we may as well do it when Tito can fight without the slightest possibility of an excuse.

TRUE/FALSE – This will be the last time we see Mirko Cro Cop in the UFC if he loses to Pat Barry.

Conlan: I’m not 100% sure how his contract looks but, assuming the paperwork is in place, I think he’ll be around for a few more fights as long as he doesn’t look like a fish out of water against Barry. After all, like Mirko, Barry is a kickboxer by nature and the thought of him mopping the mat with Filipovic would significantly detract from the Croation’s remaining mystique.

That being said, though “Cro Cop” is on the backside of his career, he’s still a viable commodity in terms of his ability to compete against mid-tier opponents and in his standing as a major draw in Europe. Technically he’s 4-1 since losing back-to-back bouts during his first run in the UFC (with a “No Contest” against Alistair Overeem after having his gonads launched into orbit by the Strikeforce heavyweight champ occurring along the way). Were the numbers reversed he likely would have already hung his checkered shorts up and called it a career, but seeing as how they aren’t and the single loss came to rising star Junior Dos Santos I think it’s premature to think Filipovic is finished in the UFC. He’s too valuable a name, and seems to have enough left in his tank, to give walking papers to unless “Cro Cop” comes out of UFC 115 with a horribly one-sided defeat to Barry.

Tool: I’ve got to go with True here. This is the last fight on Cro Cop’s current UFC contract, and a loss to Barry would put him at 3-4 in the octagon. Those three wins all came against meager competition and offered little to be impressed with. His losses just prove that “The Croatian Sensation” can’t hang with the current level of talent in the heavyweight division. The guy got out-wrestled by Cheick Kongo, is there any reason to think that he would hold his own against somebody like Cain Velasquez?

The name value and drawing power Cro Cop brought at the beginning of his UFC run is all but extinguished. Modern day fans have seen nothing in his fights that lives up to the terrifying reputation the hardcore fanbase has given him. His fans will keep tuning in for the hope that they’ll see some of that old Cro Cop magic, but there’s been no sign of the old Cro Cop since PRIDE went quietly into that good night. Unless Pat Barry is on the receiving end of a highlight reel knockout this weekend, I wouldn’t get my hopes up too high about hearing “Wild Boys” on the UFC PA system ever again.

If Paulo Thiago beats Martin Kampmann, should he be the next welterweight contender?

Conlan: No, because he’ll need to fight someone in the period between UFC 115 and George St. Pierre’s post-TUF title defense against Josh Koscheck. If all goes according to plan the Ultimate Fighter Season 12 coaches will face off in December meaning the eventual welterweight champ won’t be available for at least another 3-4 months after that. Asking Thiago to sit out for close to a year is ridiculous, especially in a class as deep as 170 pounds and with Jake Shields potentially showing up in a few months. A victory over Kampmann would definitely make Thiago more deserving of a shot at St. Pierre’s belt than some who’ve had a crack, so I see how “should” could apply in that instance, but as far as reality goes the timing isn’t right for it to occur. Rather, if the Brazilian police specialist emerges with his hands raised in Vancouver, I think he’ll have to serve as Shields’ debut opponent or fight the winner of Jon Fitch’s rumored rematch against Thiago Alves before receiving an opportunity at the title.

Tool: It’s a little weird how much Thiago has slipped under the radar in the welterweight. He’s got decisive wins over two of the top ten guys in the world (including the next #1 contender) and the lone loss of his career was against the second best guy in his weight class. Brendhan makes a solid point in that even with a win on Saturday, Thiago would still likely need at least one more fight to solidify potential contender status.

The idea of matching up this weekend’s winner with the almost-certainly-soon-to-be-signed Shields is not bad, particularly since Shields will likely be thrust right into the thick of things at the upper levels of the UFC. I can also support a potential match-up for Thiago with the winner of Fitch/Alves, although that may not be a bad idea for Shields’ debut either. I was certainly intrigued by the Paulo Thiago/Thiago Alves fight when it was initially rumored earlier this year, although a Thiago/Fitch rematch doesn’t excite me quite as much.

One fact that remains to be seen is whether or not Thiago can pull out the win this Saturday. Martin Kampmann may have been knocked around by Paul Daley last year, but in the meantime he managed to Jacob Volkman in a much more convincing fashion than Thiago did. It goes without saying that Thiago has a firm edge on the ground, but there are few strikers in the welterweight division that can stand toe-to-toe with Kampmann. For me this is easily one of the most exciting fights on the card, but it’s also a fight that could determine one of 2011’s welterweight contenders.

Do you have any interest in seeing The A-Team and if so how much of that interest is due to “Rampage” Jackson’s starring role?

Tool: In all honesty, my interest level for this movie begins and ends with “Rampage” Jackson. I don’t have some huge attachment to the original series and overall the movie looks a little bland to me. I’ve seen Jackson’s acting before (there’s my review of direct-to-DVD crapfest Never Surrender somewhere out there on the internet) and it’s not terrible. Of course, at the time I was comparing it to the acting chops of BJ Penn and Heath Herring. I’ll catch this one at home in the future, but don’t look for me in line at the theater this weekend.

Conlan: It was basically a prerequisite to love “The A-Team” if you grew up in the 80s like I did. As such, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the movie and the fact “Rampage” is in it as “B.A. Baracus” makes the pot THAT much sweeter. After all, he apparently read against the likes of Ice Cube and Common so his presence is not only excellent from a MMA enthusiast’s standpoint but also in terms of being appropriately cast for the role. The action sequences I’ve seen look good and the other three actors involved are all entertaining in their own way. I don’t know if I’ll spend $20 to catch it at the theater, as it takes a lot for me to throw that kind of cash down on any movie, but I’m absolutely planning on seeing it at some point in the near future.

Is Michael Bisping destined for a title shot? What side of the love/hate debate are you on in regards to Rashad Evans‘ performance against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson? Should fans write off Joachim Hansen on the heels of three straight losses? Was Diego Sanchez’s return to welterweight a mistake?

Keyboard warrrrriors….come out to plaaaay-yay!

If you’re reading these lines you’ve made it through another work-week and are back in the friendly digital confines of “Grappling with Issues”, our site’s resident Friday feature highlighting insight and opinion from Adam Tool and myself on six subjects plucked from the Mixed Martial Arts landscape. However, just because we staffers get the fancy set-up, please don’t feel precluded from dishing out your own thoughts on each matter in the comments section at the bottom of the column…

After picking up his third consecutive loss is it safe to say the ship has sailed on Joachim Hansen as a lightweight/featherweight star?

Adam Tool: Absolutely. Hansen has been on a fairly steady decline since 2005, as almost all of his best wins came prior to that. He had only regained status in the lightweight top 10 after his win over Shinya Aoki, but that was followed by his second loss to Aoki. We also now have the added hindsight to realize that Aoki isn’t quite as good as everybody thought he was, so Hansen’s victory loses even more luster.

Hansen hasn’t won since that upset over Aoki in the DREAM Lightweight GP Finals, and unless he can turn the tide quickly and string together a few wins his days of being ranked are essentially over. He’s still a dangerous veteran of the sport that can provide a stern challenge for up-and-coming fighters, but I’d be surprised to see him holding gold in a major organization ever again.

Brendhan Conlan: I disagree with Tool though acknowledge his argument is based on undeniable facts. Where my opinion parts ways with his lies in the interpretation of the word “star”. Hansen has done enough in MMA to have solidified his spot as a veteran worth watching regardless of card or opponent. His three-fight slide is cause for concern to an extent but it’s also important to maintain perspective.

Examine the losses in question for a second. “Hellboy” was knocked out by an opponent known to successfully throw leather (Hiroyuki Takaya), out-pointed in his featherweight debut by a guy whose only losses are to Urijah Faber and “Kid” Yamamoto (Bibiano Fernandes), and submitted at the last second by one of the sport’s top jiujitsu practitioners (Shinya Aoki). He wasn’t out-classed by vastly inferior competition; he hasn’t been victim to a striker’s submission or BJJer’s brawling. The Norwegian nightmare is freshly 31, so he’s not over the hill by any means, and remains a threat regardless of a fight’s action taking place while standing or on the mat. He’s beaten a number of top lightweights throughout his career, has a unique look separating him from the pack, and brings an exciting style into the ring with him on every occasion. While those characteristics may not serve as the definition of a someone destined for “holding gold in a major organization” they do work for me in terms of summing up Hansen as being a “star” in MMA.

True/False – Diego Sanchez needs to go back to lightweight and stay there.

Tool: I’ve got to go with True, although I hate trying to make judgments about what weight class a fighter should be at. Each person knows their own body better than anyone else. If Diego had troubles cutting in his three bouts at lightweight than maybe it is in his best interest to work on adding mass and sticking around at welterweight. Without knowing him personally there’s no way for me to give a definitive right/wrong answer to the question.

That being said, Sanchez looked positively tiny compared to John Hathaway. Granted, Hathaway is 6’1” but he’s still not the tallest guy in the division. The UFC’s welterweight division is defined by its powerhouse wrestlers, and is there any reason to think that Sanchez could hang with the top guys in the division? I don’t think so.

There are still plenty of intriguing match-ups for Sanchez at 155. First and foremost, Kenny Florian deserves a rematch. Florian is almost unrecognizable compared to the fighter that Sanchez steamrolled to win the first Ultimate Fighter title, and at this point in their careers it makes sense for them to hook up again. On top of that, at the moment BJ Penn is not the division’s champion. If Frank Edgar can successfully defend the UFC Lightweight Championship in a few months then the division will be wide open. A few solid wins in a row could easily land Diego back into the contender’s circle, especially given his name value with the fans.

Conlan: Tool hit the nail on the head with this one. True, Sanchez knows his body’s limitations better than anyone other than the originator of the “YES-cartwheel” ever could, but he looked small at UFC 114 and not just from a height standpoint. He also appeared to be a lot lighter in terms of body mass. If Diego wants to attempt a serious run at the division’s top fighters he’s going to need to bulk back up and that isn’t necessarily easier to do than cut back down to 155 pounds. He beat two solid lightweights en route to facing Penn for the title and, as Adam pointed out, has a ready-made match-up in the form of Florian which could easily be a PPV co-headliner or main event a Spike/Versus show. Meanwhile, at welterweight Sanchez hasn’t beaten anyone of real significance since Karo Parisyan in October 2006, and most recently served as the proverbial rung a relatively unknown young fighter used in lopsided fashion to ascend up the UFC’s internal rankings last weekend. Regardless of how much he may dislike the process, what I see as being best for Diego’s career is a return to 155 pounds and perhaps full-time immersion in one of MMA’s top camps.

Does Rashad Evans deserve to be criticized or praised for his performance against “Rampage” Jackson?

Tool: I’ll say this: if we’re going to criticize the way Evans won then we must also open the floor to criticism for Georges St. Pierre’s recent wins. Evans fought to win, just like GSP does, and while it may not always be exciting it is a smart way to win.

Did anybody really think that Evans was going to decide to stand and trade with Rampage? I’m sure that shot he landed in the first gave him some confidence in his hands, but the near-finish in the third just proved that Evans chose the right way to fight. You can’t get knocked out if you don’t get hit, so by closing the distance and pressuring Jackson in the clinch Evans stayed away from his opponent’s somewhat-legendary power.

The simple fact is this: wrestling will be the dominant avenue of mixed-martial arts until fighters figure out how to stop it. At the moment there’s a relatively small percentage of fighters with impeccable takedown defense, but as the sport goes on and the new guys get better we’ll see that percentage grow. It’s similar to how jiu-jitsu was practically unstoppable in the early days, but once everybody began training submission defense the number of tapout victories started to dwindle. I suspect we’ll see a similar effect towards wrestling, the only question is how long it will take.

Conlan: I think praised for his patience and grappling, though I totally get why a number of people who watched his win over “Rampage” have a desire to go Sugar-free in the future. The success of Mixed Martial Arts as a whole is as dependent on entertainment as it is on athletic endeavor. Without exciting finishes and colorful personalities the sport and its participants would not find themselves in the place they are today or where they hope to be tomorrow and beyond. If every fighter elected to compete as cautiously as possible in hopes of merely out-decisioning an opponent the public’s interest in the sport would take a significant nosedive. The butterfly effect of “Griffin vs. Bonnar” was not a result of the judges’ final influence but the warrior spirit each showed in respectfully slugging it out for fifteen minutes. The performances we remember in life are ones of righteous victory and heartbreaking loss, not of proverbial filibustering or monotone success. Slow and steady might win the race but fast and exciting win the war in an endeavor based on drawing human interest. Had Evans followed up on his success in the first round with a greater willingness to put his chin on the line, especially after weathering Jackson’s storm in the third, he would have come away looking brilliant instead of leaving the flavor of milquetoast on fans’ collective pallets.

However, as Rashad elected to play it safe for the bulk of the action instead of backing up the pre-event hype, he exited the Octagon to boos and will continue to hear them in arena’s for the foreseeable future. Then again, I don’t suspect Evans necessarily cares what people think neither do I fault him for that attitude if such is the case. After all, he’s in line to compete against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the UFC Lightweight Championship, is he not?

After everything that happened in their fight, who are you more excited to see fight again: Todd Duffee or Mike Russow?

Conlan: Let’s see…one is a hard-hitting, 24-year old physical specimen who isn’t afraid to speak his mind and the other is a 33-year old, fairly flabby wrestler who was getting hammered until landing a shocking knockout punch midway through the third round…who to pick, who to pick…

Sarcasm aside, obviously Duffee is the more exciting prospect in every way minus his recent stumble against Russow (not to mention he was dominating the bout prior to having his lights turned out). The time he spent in the Octagon against Russow was the first third round he’d ever seen and nearly equivalent to the total amount of time he’d spent in a ring when adding up his six fights preceding his only career loss. He’s relatively inexperienced and his skills are still raw in nature, but he’s exciting to watch and appears to have a bright future ahead of him as long as he keeps training at a high level. “Duff Man” remains a name to watch in the heavyweight division no matter where he fights while Russow’s star, even with nine straight wins, is more likely to fade simply based on age, style, and appearance. One surprise knockout does not a must-see-fighter make.

Tool: Looking at this question, I’m inclined to go the other way. I can agree with Brendhan’s points regarding Duffee, and he’s definitely a fighter to watch. Within a few years time we could be looking at the next big thing in the heavyweight division, but it’s clear now that he’s got some things to work on in the gym before he’s climbing up the ranks of contenders.

In terms of each man’s very next fight, I have to admit that I’m a bit more curious to see what Russow can do. Other than the Duffee fight he’s shown some solid skills, particularly in terms of his grappling. We now know he can take a punch, and if the situation arises he can land one two. I wouldn’t put him in there against the top guys in the division, but there’s some interesting match-ups to be made with the former Chicago cop. Until somebody in the UFC beats him we won’t have a real solid idea of just how far Russow can go, and I’m curious to see how his next few fights play out.

Do you think Michael Bisping will ever fight for the UFC Middleweight Championship?

Conlan: I think it’s definitely more likely than not. He’s lost three times in his career – Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson, and Rashad Evans – and only been finished once in 22 professional bouts. He has middleweight wins over Chris Leben, Denis Kang, and most recently Dan Miller, and though they may not be as impressive in stature as the trio who have claimed victory over Bisping, all three are still solid 185-pounders with respectable accomplishments in the sport. In my mind, another comparable win (certainly two) would elevate “The Count” high enough from a statistical standpoint to merit a title-shot. If Vitor Belfort can earn one without a single fight in the UFC at middleweight then why shouldn’t Bisping get a go at the belt with a number of them over worthwhile competition?

Also, keep in mind contendership is not wholly established by numbers. Beyond being a high-quality Mixed Martial Artist, the Brit also possesses a polarizing personality and serves as the UFC’s poster-boy in the UK. Love him or hate him, the reality is he puts asses in the seats and opponents on the floor. The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 champion is somewhat of a celebrity in England, yet also has a large contingent of MMA followers who want nothing more than to see someone knock the accent off his tongue with a solid series of strikes. He’s finished sixteen of the nineteen foes he’s faced and sells a match-up to media/fans like few of his peers can.

All of the above things add up to a crack at the UFC middleweight strap as soon as an opportunity, even one that needs nudging, presents itself.

Tool: It’s clear that the UFC wants Bisping to be a contender, as they would have given him that shot if he had beaten Dan Henderson. As we all know though, Bisping did not even come close to accomplishing that task. Thus we arrive at the crux of the problem.

As Brendhan pointed out, all three of Bisping’s losses have come against some of the top names in the sport. Unfortunately there are no such names in Bisping’s win column. The man is clearly capable of beating the middle-tier of talent in the UFC, but he’s consistently come up short against the best competition. He has yet to put forth that kind of stand-out performance that makes the fans and front office stand up and demand that he get a title shot.

In this sport you can never say never, so maybe in the next year or two we’ll see “The Count” string together some quality wins over big-name opponents. The middleweight division will be opening up again soon once Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort get their shots, so now would be the time for a hungry young middleweight to make his cause.

Would you be in favor of a Jason Brilz/Antonio Rogerio Nogueira rematch with both fighters getting a full camp to prepare?

Conlan: Eventually, yes. Immediately, no. Like a lot of other people who watched the fight I felt Brilz did enough to emerge ahead on the judges’ scorecards, but I’ve also come to grips with the reality ringside officials don’t always see things as I do and know there’s an ever present risk a questionable decision might be rendered when a bout goes the distance. Also, though I personally felt Brilz won the first round, I recognized a little wiggle room at the time based on Nogueira’s defense and boxing. I may not have agreed with the bout’s result but I wasn’t infuriated by it either.

In terms of a rematch, the reason I favor the possibility of one taking place down the road as opposed to being the next stop on their professional paths is fairly simple. Brilz exceeded nearly everyone’s expectations by coming in on late notice to take on the toughest opponent he’s ever locked horns with while also competing on the biggest stage of his career. Throwing him back into the fire with the memory of his performance fresh in fans’ minds would create unnecessary and unfair pressure to perform at least as well as he did at UFC 114.

Rather, Zuffa should build on the momentum he created by giving him a few fairly winnable match-ups while utilizing Nogueira as originally intended. Establishing a positive streak in the W/L column for Brilz would make the rematch THAT much more interesting, as would putting Nogueira and the value of his name/record/skills against top 205-pounders like Forrest Griffin or Thiago Silva. Comparably, hot-shotting the bout would do little good for either man, especially when the actual decision wasn’t horribly controversial to begin with. Let them move forward in their careers and then remind fans of how close their first fight actually was.

Tool: I was leaning towards a yes answer, but I can’t argue with Brendhan’s…argument. Nogueira did get the win, so his career trajectory will likely continue unabated. It’s entirely possible that “Lil’ Nog” could rebound with an impressive win over a top-ranked opponent (Griffin or perhaps the winner of the upcoming Rich Franklin/Chuck Liddell bout) and work his way into title contention within the next year. Now that his good friend Lyoto Machida is no longer the champion the path is clear for Nogueira to make his run at the belt.

Meanwhile Jason Brilz scores a career-making loss, in a fight that nobody expected him to win. He had less than a month to prepare for the biggest fight of his life and he very nearly pulled it off. Count me amongst the fans that thought Brilz would have his hand raised after the scores were read, and I think the narrowness of the decision is the main factor that warrants a rematch. I wouldn’t make it immediately but I would make it within the next two years. In the meantime I think the UFC has found a new potential star within the light heavyweight division.

Who poses the bigger threat to the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: “Rampage” Jackson or Rashad Evans? Which Ultimate Fighter champ will have the best showing at UFC 114? Which underdog fighter do you think will pull off the upset this weekend? Which fight at DREAM.14 are you most excited for?

There were two MMA events last weekend and we‘ve got two more coming up this weekend. On the eve of UFC 114 and DREAM.14 it‘s time once again for me, Adam Tool, to do battle with my esteemed colleague Brendhan Conlan as we go around the world of mixed-martial arts in a back-and-forth battle to the finish. Once we’ve had our say you can make your voice heard in the comment box below.

And now, in the words of Cecil Peoples…LET’S DANCE!

From top to bottom, was Moosin MMA better, worse, or on par with what you originally expected it to be?

Adam Tool: This will be a particularly hard question to answer, seeing as how I (probably like you) didn’t watch the event. I did catch the bout between Roxanne Modafferi and Tara LaRosa over the weekend, as it was the only reason I would have made any effort to watch the show. That bout was highly entertaining, but I just couldn’t get interested in tracking down the rest of the card. From what I read on Twitter it sounds as if the event suffered from some extremely annoying commentary (including the usually entertaining Bas Rutten) and odd production choices. I remember reading something about them showing a backstage interview with Yves Edwards while he was fighting. It sounds as though event co-promoter Eric “Butterbean” Esch was trying to insert some humor into the proceedings, and by all accounts that effort failed. I saw the results afterwards and they offered little surprise: Tim Sylvia beat a guy in his third professional fight, Travis Lutter gassed before the first round was over (SHOCKING!), and Travis Wiuff took the co-main event spot to destroy some guy you’ve never heard of.

I didn’t expect much from Moosin, so I guess they met those expectations. I’ll just defer to my colleague here since he actually watched the event, so perhaps he will enlighten us all as to what a stellar card we missed.

Brendhan Conlan: I’d say it was slightly “better” than expected. I enjoyed the in-ring action for the most part. The preliminary bouts featured a gritty, three-round scrap between Forrest Petz and Ralph Johnson and highlight-worthy knockout from Lukasz Jurkowski two minutes into his fight against Ho Jin Kim. The main card lived up to its billing as well. Modafferi and LaRosa went back and forth for fifteen minutes with Roxanne, a huge underdog in terms of the betting odds, winning the biggest fight of her career while appearing to also be having the best time of her life. If you watched that bout and weren’t smiling at some point, especially given Modafferi’s infectious grin, then I believe there’s a job opening on a cliff overlooking the town of Dr. Suess’ Who-ville you may want to look into. Local competitor Mike Campbell also pulled off an upset by beating Edwards and weathering a number of slick attacks from the MMA veteran in the process. Lutter’s loss was the result of being smacked around like a pinata, not a lack of conditioning, and Rafael Natal deserves credit in the sense he again showed he’s not wholly reliant on his jiujitsu to beat opponents. As far as Wiuff, I don’t see the harm in a thirty-four second knockout, and even Sylvia vs. Pudzianowski had its moments including an exceptionally excited audience, a Polish rapper, and “Pudz” absorbing a few brutal knees to his face without flinching once.

There were definitely some questionable production choices throughout the event but I would be lying if I said they didn’t also add a level of unintentional comedic, entertainment value to Moosin’s offering. The backstage interviews were plentiful to be sure and included classic moments like the ring girls awkwardly making conversation with the camera in their dressing room, as well as Rutten exiting the restroom. “El Guapo” delivered his unique brand of Bas’isms, and his play-by-play guy was…well…frankly, he was terrible but in a way that lived up to the cliche of being “so bad” it was “good”. Fortunately for me, I caught a large portion of the Polish broadcast instead of the American one, and I have to say it was nice focusing on the action instead of the commentary. I also have to offer my praise to a nation of Polish advertising executives for creating some of the best beer commercials known to mankind.

My standards entering the show, as they are with every event, was that the evening’s proceedings would result in a product more entertaining than not. As such, I’d say Moosin definitely exceeded my expectations. Was it stellar? No. Was it entertaining? Yes (though not always for the “right” reasons).

Based on last Friday’s Strikeforce event, would you rather see Tyron Woodley or Roger Bowling get the call up to round out a future non-Challengers event?

Tool: Just going by their performances on Friday, it’s hard not hop on the Bowling bandwagon. That being said though, I still feel that Woodley deserves to move on from the Challengers series first. His win over Nathan Coy wasn’t the most impressive performance we’ve seen thus far, but it’s hard to discount his previous fights and the domination he’s shown in them. Woodley is still undefeated and is arguably the biggest star created by the Challengers series, so I say put him on the main card of an upcoming regular Strikeforce event and see what happens. He needs more exposure and some better competition before we can truly see where he stacks up, so why not toss him in against somebody like Joe Riggs?

Conlan: Woodley may be more deserving of the honor but there’s no question Bowling should get the call up in favor of “T-Wood” based purely on what each individual displayed at the Challengers event. Bowling’s fight with Voelker was akin to seeing a lighter version of Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar duking it out. It was fast-paced, full of “oohs” and “ahhs”, and a bout MMA fans owe it to themselves to watch regardless of either man’s name value. On the other hand, Woodley barely got by Coy and was fortunate to have avoided the first loss of his career. Bowling is a striker (somewhere Mauro Ranallo is smiling), so his style is more fan-friendly than Woodley’s wrestling and ground-based attack, and in that sense it also makes sense to feature him on a bigger card. Then again, both men are welterweights and remain undefeated, so why not kill two birds with one stone and have them fight each other alongside a few of Strikeforce’s premier names to open up a future CBS card? I for one, to paraphrase NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens, would have my “popcorn ready” for that particular pairing.

Which underdog on the UFC 114 card do you feel has the best chance of pulling off an “upset” in his respective bout?

Tool: Looking at the current betting lines for the showdown there’s a pretty clear choice as to who my favored underdog is on this card, as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is currently a slight dog against Rashad Evans. The line (at +105 as of this writing) represents the 14 month layoff Jackson has had since he beat Keith Jardine at UFC 96, although recent pictures show that Jackson has clearly gotten himself back into fighting shape since filming wrapped on The A-Team. Still, we can’t forget the sluggish version of “Rampage” that lost a decision to Forrest Griffin, and Jackson himself said that the long stretch of downtime filming “The Ultimate Fighter” hurt his performance that night. I’m picking “Rampage” to win on Saturday, but I can certainly understand why Evans might be a small favorite right now.

If we’re talking about true underdogs on the card, then I would have to advise people not to sleep on Dan Miller in his bout with Michael Bisping. Miller represents one of the toughest grapplers that “The Count” has had to face in his UFC career. While the elder Miller brother may be on a two-fight skid, those losses came against the last guy to fight for the title and the next guy to fight for the title. Against everyone else he’s faced in the UFC, Miller has looked outstanding. Bisping has been favoring the takedown/ground control element of MMA more and more lately, but if he chooses to take this fight to the ground he may end up receiving the first submission loss of his career.

Conlan: I don’t view Jackson as an underdog so he’s out of the running. After all, I don’t want him EVER hitting a punching bag while screaming “he’s dead” and thinking about me. Moving on, while I think John Hathaway has an above-average chance of beating Diego Sanchez, like Tool I’m going to show some love to Miller by saying I think he’s likely to beat Bisping assuming he doesn’t get caught on the chin while standing. Miller’s boxing is good enough to exchange with the Brit, though he doesn’t possess Bisping’s power or diversity of strikes. However, his grappling is of enough quality to control “The Count” in most positions, and if you look at Bisping’s record he’s traditionally struggled against opponents who excel on the mat.

I also feel there’s an intangible quality involved on Saturday that favors Miller because New Jersey native is fighting with a special sense of motivation. ESPN journalist Franklin McNeil did a far better job documenting the particulars than I will in this paragraph, but essentially Miller’s young son has dealt with health problems since conception that have recently, fortunately, taken a turn for the better as of late. He competed against Sonnen shortly after losing a daughter during birth and against Maia weeks after his boy’s (not to mention he fought with a dislocated thumb). I will never underestimate the power of the human will or mankind’s ability to achieve the incredible when such personal stakes are involved.

In my mind, the sum of the circumstances, as well as how the two match-up, favors Miller to pull of the upset in comparison to the other respective bouts on the card. I don’t know that he’ll submit Bisping but I can definitely see a decision win going his way.

UFC 114 features 5 former “Ultimate Fighter” champions on the card. Make your pick for the “TUF” champ who you think will have the best performance of the evening.

Conlan: Efrain Escudero, though he arguably has the easiest fight of the night in the bunch, and that’s not a knock on Dan Lauzon but rather a compliment to the other competitors the former Ultimate Fighter champs will be facing (Quinton Jackson, Dan Miller, Dong Hyun Kim, and rising star John Hathaway). Escudero has shown flashes of possessing exceptional talent in a string of solid performances. Though he suffered damaged tendons in his arm after refusing to tap against Evan Dunham at Fight Night 20 last January, I don’t suspect he’ll show any ill effects come showtime on Saturday night as the injuries weren’t particularly severe and the limb in question carries different weight both literally and figuratively than would be the case had he shredded his knee/ankle.

Escudero has the grappling ability to win most of the takedown and positioning battles plus the kind of heart willing to take a fight into deeper waters than most. It’s one thing to go out on your shield when it comes to being choked but to accept the possibility of a broken bone or snapped ligament, as he did against Dunham, is an entirely different level of ballsy foolishness. Lauzon appears to have the better striking based on the number of TKOs he’s earned over a career comparable to the Ultimate Fighter Season 8 champion, but I get the sense he’s more of a brawler than technically proficient on his feet, and I can see Efrain committing to movement/jabs to set up his ground game rather than engaging in a slugfest that could favor “The Upgrade”.

Also, though I have no insight into the matter, based on statements from all involved it has to be noted that the Massachusetts native is dealing with some personal issues involving his camp and brother/fellow UFC fighter Joe Lauzon. Regardless of which side is telling the truth there remains a definite divide between the two, and I would be shocked if it didn’t wear on Dan to some degree given the importance of one’s mental state in the cage. In my mind, all the factors add up for Escudero to look sharp and Lauzon to potentially seek employment elsewhere on the heels of a loss, and as such he’s my pick for being most likely to have the “best performance” out of the all event’s TUF alumni.

Tool: It’s hard to argue against picking Escudero here, as his previous performances combined with his opponent’s questionable training regiment should make this a relatively easy win. The rest of the “TUF” champions have some much bigger challenges ahead of them. Amir Sadollah gets to face the first high-level judoka of his career, Michael Bisping has to contend with the aggressive grappling skills of Dan Miller, and Rashad Evans will have to deal with the knockout power of “Rampage” Jackson.

Aside from Efrain, my money would be on Diego Sanchez to pull out the best performance of the “TUF” champs. He’s facing the highly-touted British prospect John Hathaway, who will be looking to maintain his perfect record and move to 4-0 in the octagon. There’s always plenty of question marks when an up-and-comer faces one of the UFC’s veterans. We don’t yet know how Hathaway will perform in this, the biggest test of his career. He could stun the crowd by dominating Sanchez early, but that’s probably the least likely result.

The loss to BJ Penn has undoubtedly put a big hit on Sanchez’s momentum, but we should all remember that he can be one of the most aggressive fighters in the UFC. His striking isn’t always technically impressive but he throws with plenty of power, especially when demonstrating his own brand of brutal ground-and-pound. Sanchez will also have a clear advantage if the fight goes to the ground, so he may very well look for the takedown early and often. The loss to Penn will give Diego plenty of motivation, and the fact that he doesn’t have to cut down to lightweight should allow him to come into the octagon in tremendous shape. Add in a dash of self-realization (YES!) and it should be a good night for the “Nightmare.”

Which of the main event participants do you think has a better chance of dethroning Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship?

Conlan: I think Quinton is a pretty clear favorite between the two in terms of potentially snatching “Shogun” Rua’s title, and I’ll be very interested to see the case for “Sugar” ‘Shad if Tool or any of GWI’s readers choose to make it. He has the power to flatten any opponent when standing or ground-and-pounding, as well as the ability to absorb a good amount of damage, and I honestly don’t think the same can be said about Evans.

Jackson’s jaw appears to be made out of the same material as the chain he wears en route to the ring and has only been unlocked three out of thirty-seven times. Those knockouts were each the result of a series of vicious knees/stomps and came 5-7 years ago. Yes, Rua was one of two opponents to accomplish the feat against “Rampage”, and the method in which Jackson avenged his losses to the other isn’t relevant because the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion is most certainly not Wanderlei Silva. However, Jackson has improved since his days in PRIDE, and competing in the Octagon, as well as under a set of rules allowing elbows and preventing the type of kicks to a downed opponent which assisted in his defeat to “Shogun”, could result in a very different fight than their original clash in April 2005. I’m confident the “A-Team” star would be as motivated to erase the taste of Rua’s knees from his mouth as he’d ever been for any bout in his career, and as has been evident in his career, an amped Jackson can be a very dangerous foe to deal with.

Tool: I can’t argue with Brendhan’s reasoning for leaning towards “Rampage,” but just for the sake of comparison I think perhaps I should make the case for Rashad.

Since winning the second season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Rashad Evans has been nearly flawless in the octagon. Other than the knockout loss to Machida he’s been the clear winner in every contest he’s entered. There have been moments of weakness, such as the first round against Forrest Griffin or the last round against Thiago Silva, but overall Evans has shown a tremendous ability to force opponents into fighting his fight. Despite all the trash-talking and high emotion heading into Saturday night, I’m fairly confident that Evans will utilize the most logical gameplan: get “Rampage” on the ground and keep him there for 15 minutes. If Evans can score the win then he’ll get a second shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, but can he beat “Shogun?”

I believe that he can. Evans has made great strides in his striking and while he may not be able to match the attack of Rua, he’s shown several times that he’s got knockout power. Nobody figured that Evans would be able to hold his own on the feet against Chuck Liddell, but we all know how that turned out. “Shogun” had trouble avoiding the takedowns of Mark Coleman, and I can guarantee that Evans will come into the fight in better shape than “The Hammer” did. If the fight happens then I’d probably pick “Shogun” to win, but I also wouldn’t count Evans out as he’d be more than capable of pulling off the victory.

Which fight at DREAM.14 are you most interested in seeing?

Conlan: Though the same stakes aren’t involved as in the past, “Sakuraba vs. Gracie” still rolls off my tongue and is Coltraine to my ears. It conjures up memories of a MMA rivalry dating back more than a decade; of the Japanese superstar’s run against the family earning him one of the sport’s classic nicknames – “The Gracie Hunter”; of his hour-plus test of endurance against Royce in 2000.

Come DREAM 14, Ralek will mark the fifth member of the Gracie clan Sakuraba has stepped into the ring against. That in itself is an amazing accomplishment on both sides of the equation. However, the 24-year old Brazilian bearer-of-the-flame is more than just a name. He’s 2-0 with the kind of submission skills fans of Mixed Martial Arts expect of a Gracie. His lack of fights is based more on choice than circumstance, as he apparently prefers teaching jiujitsu to getting punched in the face (go figure), but it isn’t as though he’ll be stepping into the ring with a pound-for-pound great or even the “Saku” of ten years ago.

Sakuraba is pushing 42 and has been through a number of in-ring wars in his career. He’s not in any way a threat on his feet, but then again neither is Gracie so it’s a push where stand-up is concerned. That leaves what should be one HELLUVA competitive grappling match between the two! Even if you think the iconic catch-wrestler is “over the hill” or “used up”, there is no denying his 9-3 record over the past five years or the fact he’s coming off a first-round submission of Zelg Galesic. I think it makes for an intriguing match-up regardless of their difference in experience, unranked status, or the nostalgic value of the last names involved, and without a doubt it’s the one I’m most anticipating at the event.

Tool: I’m going to take the easy route and pick the evening’s main event: Nick Diaz vs. Hayato “Mach” Sakurai. Diaz has all but abandoned his jiu-jitsu game in favor of his boxing, and we know Sakurai will be more than happy to oblige him in a stand-up war. I don’t think there’s too much question about the outcome, especially given Sakurai’s recent slide, but in terms of sheer entertainment value this bout promises to give fans their money’s worth.

When it comes right down to it I’m a fan of Nick Diaz. That’s getting harder and harder to say with each passing in-cage brawl that he’s been a part of, but I find the guy to be fun as hell to watch in the cage. The peppering punches, relentless taunting, and endless aggression all ensure that a Nick Diaz fight will not be boring. In the end that’s really all I’m asking for.

Would you prefer Alistair Overeem fought Fedor Emelianenko or signed with the UFC before the end of 2010? What would you tell Andrei Arlovski after watching him lose for the third straight time? Is Matt Lindland on his last leg where current relevance in MMA is concerned? Are you more excited about the heavyweight headliners at Moosin MMA or the battle between bad-ass Betties a few fights down on the card?

Keyboard warrrrriors….come out to plaaaay-yay!

If you’re reading these lines you’ve made it through another work-week and are back in the friendly digital confines of “Grappling with Issues”, our site’s resident Friday feature highlighting insight and opinion from Adam Tool and myself on six subjects plucked from the Mixed Martial Arts landscape. However, just because we staffers get the fancy set-up, please don’t feel precluded from dishing out your own thoughts on each matter in the comments section at the bottom of the column…

More appealing match-up at this weekend’s Moosin MMA event – Tim Sylvia vs. Mariusz Pudzianowski or Tara LaRosa vs. Roxanne Modafferi?

Adam Tool: In essence this question is asking which fight I’ll be looking for first when I hit the internet Saturday morning to catch up on some fights, and the answer is LaRosa vs. Modafferi. I could care less about anything Tim Sylvia does anymore; he lost a big chunk of whatever respect I had for him following is 36 second clowning at the hands of Fedor Emelianenko. He could have salvaged his career by coming back with a hard-fought win over a respectable opponent, but instead he got knocked out in less than 10 seconds by a 48 year old boxer making his professional MMA debut. The headlining bout at Moosin seems like it’s designed to give Pudzianowski (who comes up second to Krzysztof Soszynski in the “Fighters Whose Name I Hate Typing” category) a legitimate name to add to his meager record. A win over the former body builder does little to help Sylvia’s reputation, and a loss just sends him further down the heavyweight rankings.

LaRosa and Modafferi are two legitimate fighters in the world of women’s MMA, with LaRosa being one of the top P4P female fighters in the world. We’ve got the always intriguing striker vs. grappler dynamic for this bout, and Modafferi will no doubt be hungry to avenge her loss to LaRosa in their previous meeting. Strikeforce is supposed to be the home for women’s MMA but so far this year they’ve dropped the ball as far as promoting new talent. With a win here Modafferi could easily be pegged as an upcoming contender for Sarah Kaufman’s championship, but it’s tough to see where LaRosa goes from here unless she’s willing to move back up to 135 lbs. In any case this should be an entertaining scrap between two aggressive young ladies, and I’m looking forward to watching it in grainy flash video on Saturday morning.

Brendhan Conlan: Tool essentially squished my opinion into a little ball and smacked it over the fence for a homerun. Though the result of Sylvia’s almost-guaranteed slop-fest with Pudzianowski is fascinating in a sick way I’m far more interested in seeing how the action unfolds in LaRosa vs. Modafferi.

I don’t fault “The Maine-iac” for taking what he felt would be an easy win against an opponent with some name value (Ray Mercer) on the heels of losing 3-of-4 against top shelf competition. It was a calculated risk and a gamble he ultimately paid for by sacrificing his already-wavering reputation in the sport with both the loss and by showing up as though he’d trained at Pillsbury Top Team for the bout. However, embarrassing knockout aside, it has to be noted Sylvia had only finished a single opponent in the four years prior. Looking at his record seems to indicate Tim-meh benefited more from a distinct size advantage coupled with a shallow heavyweight pool, rather than a particular set of skills, to earn his reputation as a two-time UFC champion. His physical dimensions and past praise will always make Sylvia an attraction, but then again the same can also be said about the “World’s Biggest Ball of Yarn”. Fighting a 2-0 former strong-man who once tested positive for performance enhancing drugs has “freak show” appeal but doesn’t compare from a competitive standpoint to the other pairing mentioned in this topic’s subject line.

Modafferi is 7-1 since 2007 with the lone loss coming in a match she took on short notice against Marloes Coenen, a naturally bigger and equally respectable Mixed Martial Artist. LaRosa is currently riding a fifteen-fight win streak and is 18-1 over her eight-year career. They fought to a decision in 2006, so there’s a familiarity there that should breed engagement because both already have a fair idea of what to expect when they lock horns or stand and bang. Their combined skill, heart displayed in previous fights, and styles should make for an entertaining scrap and definitely one I find to be more appealing than that featuring 4X the weight.

What advice would you give Andrei Arlovski on the heels of losing his third consecutive fight?

Tool: Honestly, I have no idea. He’s spent the last two years dedicating a bulk of his training to boxing, yet he was clearly being handled on the feet by Antonio Silva. I don’t know if that owes more to Arlovski’s decline or Silva’s improvement, but there’s little left of the mystique “The Pitbull” once had. He’s still got plenty of name value amongst casual fans so he’ll keep getting fights as long as he wants to but there’s no reason to believe that he’ll have a spot amongst the heavyweight elite any longer.

If I had to mark one area for improvement it might just be cardio. Late in the fight it looked as though Silva had all but punched himself out (at least, that’s the only reason I can think of as to why he insisted on continually clinching against the cage) and Arlovski could have turned things around if he would have had to the gas to really pour it on. He’s got to be feeling better about his chin after taking some of Silva’s best shots, and I still believe that his striking looked awesome against Fedor (right up until the flying knee of course), so I don’t think I’m ready to write Andrei off completely. The long layoff between his last two fights might have played a factor, so I think he should try and get back in the cage as soon as possible if he’s to have any hope of breaking this losing streak.

Conlan: If I was in Arlovski’s ear I would concentrate on the positives stemming from his loss to “Bigfoot” Silva, encourage him to continue training outside of his comfort zone, and get him in touch with Georges St. Pierre (or comparable high-level athlete) to discuss the benefit potentially derived from speaking to a sports psychologist.

As Tool mentioned, “The Pitbull” absorbed a few clean shots from Silva and never went limp in the process. Obviously Arlovski is interested in actual victories, not moral ones, but his retention of consciousness is an important fact to note when owing 3/4 of his career losses to having it taken from him while Silva has an equal ratio of career wins by TKO. The bout as a whole was relatively close and essentially up for grabs. A few tweaks in strategy and perhaps a bit more mental focus between bells would have likely resulted in a Belarusian victor rather than a Brazilian one.

Moving on, my understanding is that Arlovski spent some time training at American Kickboxing Academy and Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting rather than working with his regular group of pre-fight handlers. I think it was a wise decision on his part regardless of result, as I truly believe improvement goes hand-in-hand with the type of preparation Mixed Martial Artists receive in camps as deep and experienced as those mentioned (as well as 5-10 others). There’s no doubt in my mind Andrei would get an infinite amount more out of sparring and grappling with actual peers rather than peons, and the type of knowledge found in places featuring guys like Jackson or Dave Camarillo is an asset any fighter is lucky to have in their corner.

Finally, though I have no idea if he’s already sought counsel on the matter, I think it would behoove Arlovski to spend some time speaking with a sports psychologist. There is no underestimating the influence an athlete’s mental state has on his/her performance during “go” time. I would be shocked if the manners in which Emelianenko and Brett Rogers beat him don’t still play his mind at some level, and I suspect his hesitance to fully engage against a lessened Silva in the final round may have actually been evidence of doubt-laced caution rather than questionable conditioning. I don’t think it’s far-fetched to think his self-esteem may have taken another dip with a third consecutive loss nor is it crazy to think Arlovski may enter his next match-up with additional stress/anxiety due to the possibility of going 0-4. Talking to a professional equipped to handle people in similar situations could genuinely help the former UFC Heavyweight Champion regain his mojo and get back to baring his fangs in the cage.

Of the four Brazilian’s to emerge victorious at “Strikeforce – Heavy Artillery”, who were you most impressed by – Rafael Cavalcante, Roger Gracie, “Jacare” Souza, or Antonio Silva?

Tool: Each fighter’s win was impressive for one reason or another, but the fighter whose performance stood out the most to me would have to be “Jacare.” I’ve been watching Souza’s career with interest for a few years now and I’m pleased to see him starting to make waves here in the U.S. While the announcers on Saturday night might have wanted you to think that “Jacare” and Joey Villasenor were having a great back-and-forth battle, the reality is that Souza dominated the fight from bell to bell. His cardio may not have been where he wanted it to be in the third round, but that’s only the second time in his career he’s gone the distance (and he won both times). As Jason High pointed out on Twitter, Souza isn’t like most jiu-jitsu fighters when it comes to taking the fight to the ground. Whereas Demian Maia or Thales Leites might pull guard, Souza has a mean shot that worked almost every time on Saturday. Once he’s on the ground there are few fighters in the world that can match his grappling ability, and I’ll give credit to the toughness of Villasenor for surviving and getting out of some bad situations. I’m sure he would have preferred to get the finish but in the end “Jacare” gave a dominant performance that puts him right at the top of the list of contenders for the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship. Now we just have to wait and see who he’s going to fight for that title (note to Scott Coker: please not “Mayhem” Miller).

Conlan: Credit to all of the names involved, and I can’t argue against Tool’s choice of “Jacare” (though I wouldn’t mind seeing he and Miller give it a third go-round with the Strikeforce title involved), but I was actually most-impressed by Rafael Cavalcante’s performance against Antwain Britt. “The Juggernaut” may not quite be at Villasenor’s level in terms of experience of success in the cage, but he also wasn’t coming off nearly a year’s layoff between bouts and has twice as many fights in the last two-and-half years as “Smokin” Joe does. Britt has heavy hands and put them on “Feijao” a few times to no avail only to end up slumped against the cage, then finished, due to some well-placed strikes from the blackbelt in BJJ. Cavalcante is now 9-for-9 in terms of finishing opponents he’s beaten in the first ten minutes of action and has yet to rely on his submission arsenal to pull out victories. The performance was too impressive as far as I’m concerned to opt for someone who fought to a decision.

Which would you rather see: Alistair Overeem fights Fedor Emelianenko before the year is up, or Overeem goes to the UFC and mixes it up with the new class of top heavyweights?

Conlan: Tough question! I’ll go with Overeem vs. Emelianenko by the width of a thread plucked from the Russian’s favorite sweater. I’m confident “The Demolition Man” will eventually end up in the UFC regardless of when the move actually takes place, while I think the number of Fedor’s future fights – especially against top competition – is a bit more debatable and its limited nature should be capitalized on. Also, assuming Emelianenko emerges victoriously from his San Jose showdown with Fabricio Werdum on June 26th, an added bonus to a bout with the imposing Dutch striker is it serving as a proper Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship match rather than inviting criticism of the title due to the involvement of lesser competition or enormous gaps in the strap being defended.

I’d love to see Overeem slugging it out in the UFC against Junior dos Santos, Cain Velasquez, Shane Carwin, or Brock Lesnar as much as anyone else, but all involved parties are young enough to see those outcomes to fruition within the next couple of years. On the other hand, “The Last Emperor” has recently dealt with a slew of nagging injuries and has little left to prove in his career outside of the Octagon (a possibility seeming less-and-less likely with each passing day). Putting the two together before year’s end would give Emelianenko a chance to further solidify his legacy against a respected, and much larger, heavyweight while also allowing Alistair an opportunity to become the first fighter to legitimately beat Fedor and reap the benefits attached to such a feat.

Tool: At the moment I would also probably have to lean towards Emelianenko vs. Overeem myself, if for no other reason than because Overeem represents the lone interesting opponent for Fedor at the moment. If Fedor can’t fight Alistair then what is there left for him to do? Fight worthless cans in Japan on New Year’s Eve? Take on guys out of their weight class like Dan Henderson and “King Mo” Lawal? I know Fedor doesn’t really care about taking on the best fighters in the world, but it’s something his fans would like to see if they’re going to have any ammunition in the ongoing pound-for-pound debate.

Overeem will have to make his way to the UFC sooner or later if he wants to considered the best in the world, but he does have the luxury of time. The UFC’s heavyweight division has four guys at the top right now, and none of them have faced each other yet. There’s still some work to be done in establishing the pecking order amongst Lesnar, Carwin, Velasquez, and Dos Santos, and by the time things start to sort themselves out the timing should be right for Overeem to come in and establish his place. If he enters the UFC as the man who shattered Fedor’s mystique, then the interest level shoots right up for any potential dream bout he takes in the octagon.

Should the winner of tonight’s Tyron Woodley/Nathan Coy fight become the top contender to Nick Diaz’s Strikeforce Welterweight Championship?

Conlan: I can see Woodley receiving a title shot with a win, especially with Jay Hieron’s Strikeforce future currently in limbo, but in no way should Coy get a crack at Diaz’s belt regardless of how convincing his method of victory might be. The three-fight streak he’s riding was preceded by back-to-back losses and involves competition with a combined record equating to a single win over even. Tonight only marks his second appearance in Strikeforce with the initial bout coming more than two years ago. Beating a rising star like “T-Wood” would be impressive but isn’t enough to thrust him into championship contention.

However, if Woodley walks away winner he’ll move to 7-0 as a professional and 4-0 in Strikeforce. He’s finished five of his six opponents in the first round and the sixth only made it through about ¾ of the second stanza. Another early submission or TKO would further establish the 28-year old as one of the company’s legitimate rising stars, and with a roster of welterweights thinner than Cory Hill trying to cut to 135-pounds it would make sense to give the Mizzou alumnus a shot. Additionally, if Strikeforce wants to capitalize on the recent heat between Jason “Mayhem” Miller and champ Nick Diaz, they can always make a future catch-weight bout for the two rivals while pairing Woodley against either Marius Zaromskis or Evangelista Santos (depending on who walks away winner at June 16th’s Strikeforce event in Los Angeles) to keep him active and erase any leftover doubts about how deserved his contendership is.

Tool: Brendhan’s right on the money here, as Strikeforce has a very real prospect in Tyron Woodley. His run on Strikeforce Challengers has been impressive, but with a win tonight the time will be right for him to take on a bigger role within the company. The welterweight division in Strikeforce is so devoid of talent that Woodley makes as much sense as anyone else. He also represents a great stylistic match-up for Diaz, as his wrestling pedigree could likely allow him to dictate where the bout takes place, and his heavy hands would be a good test for Diaz’s legendary chin and peppering punches. Other than the aforementioned Hieron, I can’t think of anyone else that Strikeforce could get to represent a credible threat to Diaz’s title.

TRUE/FALSE – His headlining spot on tonight’s Strikeforce Challengers card represents Matt Lindland’s last chance at relevancy in the current MMA scene.

Conlan: False, though certainly a loss to any associate of reality television whore Spencer Pratt would destroy the bulk of his remaining credibility as a contender. Lindland may be 3-4 over his last seven bouts but keep in mind the people he’s lost to over that period – Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (a split decision by the way), Vitor Belfort, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, and Fedor Emelianenko. It’s not as if low-level fighters are mopping the mat with the Team Quest founding-father. Yes, he’s 40 and on the downside of his career, but he’s not on the border of crossing over into “Ken Shamrock” territory. It would take a string of consecutive losses to fighters of Casey’s caliber before I’d comfortably state Lindland had lost all relevance in the sport.

Tool: I’ll go with true, as I can’t see Lindland doing anything of note in the near future should he fall to Kevin Casey. Personally I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror anymore if I lost to a guy that uses Spencer Pratt for credibility, but that’s me. Brendhan has a good point about the quality of opposition Lindland has lost to, but it’s also fair to point out that his last win was two years ago against the less-than-impressive Fabio Nascimento. “The Law” has gone 1-3 since then, and the only real interest he’s garnered from the MMA media is centered around his attempt at a political career and the upcoming documentary about his life. He doesn’t have the fan support of somebody like Jens Pulver, so will anybody still want to see Lindland fight if he can’t get a win or two along the way?

Does Lyoto Machida or “Shogun” Rua need to finish his opponent to be a successful champion? How long will Josh Koscheck wait before trying to take down Paul Daley? What are the chances of Kimbo Slice going 2-0 in the UFC? Is Alan Belcher ready to be a contender with a win over Patrick Cote? Should Ken Shamrock or Mark Coleman call it quits if they lose their upcoming fight?

Adam Tool here, and after a brief respite from high level mixed-martial arts action last week things kick back into full gear with UFC 113 on Saturday. I’m joined as always by my colleague Brendhan Conlan as we look up and down the card for all the issues that need grappling with. Once we’ve had our say you can feel free to leave your own opinions in the comment box below.

Using a percentage, how certain are you that Kimbo Slice will raise his record in the Octagon to 2-0 after this weekend’s clash with Matt Mitrione?

Adam Tool: I’ll go with 50%. We saw Kimbo make improvements to his overall game in the Houston Alexander fight, but he’s still got a long way to go if he wants to hang with the UFC’s elite heavyweights. Fortunately for him, Matt Mitrione is not in that group. Mitrione doesn’t have a lot of weapons in his arsenal but he does have some heavy hands. There’s a good chance these two will decide to trade blows early and often, and at that point it’s basically a coin flip as to who goes down first.

Brendhan Conlan: 35%. “A long way to go” might be the understatement of the year in terms of how far Slice must travel to serve as a competitive opponent for any “Top 10” heavyweight. In reality, the distance is equivalent to Heidi Montag’s trek towards delivering an Academy Award winning performance in a four-star film. Fortunately, as Tool said, Mitrione isn’t close to being an “elite” fighter at this point in his career, and furthermore Kimbo doesn’t need to be a world-beater in order to have a successful career. He simply needs to win more often than not while avoiding a razor blade at all costs.

The reason I’m giving the former NFL defenseman the slight nod in this bout is because I think he has more ways to win than Slice. Granted, some of Mitrione’s flaws have undoubtedly been masked by how little time he’s spent inside the cage, but I think I’ve seen enough of both fighters to have a basic idea of what each currently offers as a Mixed Martial Artist.

Kimbo definitely showed a few things against Houston Alexander (the slam, some ground work, mildly improved cardio) that hadn’t previously appeared in his arsenal but, as good as he looked, I couldn’t help but be concerned about what he didn’t display – knockout power. Alexander’s chin has been shown to possess a relatively loose on/off switch, and similar to his fight against an equally glass-jawed James Thompson, Slice wasn’t able to put him face down on the mat. The Miami native’s YouTube-based reputation as a devastating striker is slowly fading away in my mind, and if Kimbo can’t knock people out then what does he really have to threaten his adversaries with?

On the other hand, Mitrione has decent, albeit punishing, stand-up and is at minimum a comparable grappler to his opposition on Saturday night. I’d favor him in the submission and takedown departments, and I also think his boxing is a little more technical than Slice’s which should afford him the ability to land jabs while avoiding most of the wild blows the bearded brawler is known for throwing. Seth Petruzelli was able to rattle Kimbo’s brain off of his back foot, and I’m confident “Meathead” can do the same if not worse by landing one or two clean shots.

Approximately how many total minutes (or seconds) will Josh Koscheck keep things standing against Paul Daley before shooting in for a takedown?

Tool: If he’s smart it will be less than a minute. I know Koscheck has made some big improvements on his striking, and his ego might tell him to test the waters standing for a little while. Unless Koscheck didn’t watch any tape whatsoever on Daley, he has to know that this is a dangerous proposition.

While Daley has a clear advantage in the striking, there’s a much bigger gap between these two in terms of grappling ability and Koscheck would be a fool to not take advantage of that. We know that Daley has fallen victim to more than his fair share of submissions, and we also know that Koscheck is on another level in terms of wrestling ability. Koscheck recently choked out the heavy-handed Anthony Johnson, so is there any reason to think that he won’t look to do the same on Saturday?

Conlan: 94 seconds (because round numbers are boring). I believe Koscheck’s confidence in his striking will cause him to get a better look at Daley on his feet before committing to a ground war, but I also think he’s intelligent enough to recognize the opportunity in front of him, i.e. a likely title-shot and gig coaching the Ultimate Fighter, and won’t throw it away by playing to Daley’s primary method of attack.

More than just the fact eighteen of Daley’s twenty-three wins have been of the TKO variety, five of his losses have been by submission and two of the other three came in the form of decisions to above-average grapplers. There’s no mistaking “Semtex” is in serious danger of having his fuse snuffed if the Ultimate Fighter O.G. drags the action down to the canvas, while also recognizing Daley can easily straighten Koscheck’s trademark curls by knocking the blond out of them while standing. Based on that equation it would be silly for “Kos” to spend serious time doing anything other than attempting to take Daley down with the goal of finishing things horizontally as opposed to vertically.

Should Alan Belcher be considered the UFC’s top middleweight contender if he beats Patrick Cote?

Tool: It took me a while to answer this question, but only because I had to stop laughing first. Alan Belcher is a good fighter, and he’s able to consistently put on entertaining fights. But a title contender? No way.

We’re talking about a guy who has losses to Kendall Grove and Jason Day. He recorded a narrow split decision win over Ed Herman in a fight that many thought should have gone the other way. He beat Denis Kang, but only after getting his ass kicked for the first nine minutes of the fight. Yes he did score a nice win over Wilson Gouveia recently, but prior to that he came up short against Yoshihiro Akiyama (and despite what Joe Rogan might tell you, Akiyama deserved to get the decision). Personally I feel that the winner of the upcoming Akiyama/Wanderlei Silva fight would have a better claim for contendership.

A win over Cote would undoubtedly move Belcher closer to reaching the higher levels of competition, but I don’t think anybody believes that beating Cote puts a fighter right into the title contenders’ pool. It’s true that Cote is a former title contender himself, but then again so are David Loiseau and Nate Quarry. I’m looking forward to a great fight from these two on Saturday, but I don’t expect the winner to be talked about as a future contender on Sunday morning.

Conlan: Did your fit of laughter come before or after you penned the next topic? But I digress…

Perhaps not THE top contender, but I absolutely think Belcher should be considered among them. No, I don’t actually believe he’ll be given the opportunity based on the minimal push the bout has received from the UFC and the superior marketability of middleweights like the afore-mentioned “Axe Murderer” and Akiyama, as well as Vitor Belfort who the company seems intent on offering a title shot to regardless of how few wins he actually has at 185-pounds, but my case for Belcher is this…

Even if Tool thinks my opinion was influenced by Joe Rogan, or perhaps even by a batch of Rogan’s brownies, I feel Belcher beat Akiyama at UFC 100 based on aggression, ring control, and the actual damage dished out. I wasn’t horribly offended by the split decision but I didn’t agree with it. The win would’ve marked his third in a row instead of being the lone defeat in his last four Octagon appearances and brought his current record to 6-1 in the organization since losing to Grove three years ago. He may have dropped the actual bout to “Sexyama” but the performance still stands. A convincing victory at UFC 113 (in his opponent’s home-base of Montreal no less) would be an impressive achievement and comparable to what any other 185-pounder in the UFC has done in the division as of late. Were Cote, Thales Leites, Demian Maia, or current contender and friend-of-the-scorecards Chael Sonnen so much more qualified for the chance they received to dethrone Anderson Silva than Belcher would be with another win over a respectable opponent like “The Predator”? I don’t think so, and as such I think he and his oddly fascinating Johnny Cash tattoo deserve to be on the cusp of top contendership.

BUY/SELL – If he’s going to have a truly successful reign as champion, the winner of the Lyoto Machida/”Shogun” Rua title fight must finish his opponent.

Conlan: Sell, as I don’t see the relationship between finishing a single opponent and defining a fighter’s tenure as title-holder. The measure of a champion’s success involves the quality of competition faced and number of times the belt is put on the line. It doesn’t hinge on how a particular outcome was achieved so long as it was a victorious one.

While a second win over Rua would actually double the lone positive result found between the last three 205-pounders who entered the Octagon as UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, it would still only be his second defense of the belt and few can forget the first involved a questionable judges’ decision. Soundly beating “Shogun” on Saturday night certainly wouldn’t hurt how Lyoto’s reign is perceived by fans and media, but even memories of a shaky five-round performance will fade away as long as he keeps the strap around his waist for the foreseeable future. Likewise, if he drops his subsequent bout the UFC 113 result means very little no matter how highlight-filled it may be.

As far as the challenger goes, even if Rua wins in the most devastating of fashions he’ll still be a new champion with zero title defenses to his credit. If he loses the following fight, or even the one after that, why would it matter what he did against Machida in terms of labeling his reign a success when it clearly wasn’t?

Tool: I’ll go with buy, because if you think either man’s reign won’t be affected by this fight’s outcome then perhaps you should consider what would happen if this rematch ends the same way as the first fight. Should Saturday night’s main event end in another extremely narrow decision with one fighter getting the nod while everyone and their mother believes it should have gone the other way, the winner of the fight will never hear the end of it.

The success of a champion’s reign is obviously predicated on the quality of opposition he beats, but the methods of victory can play a huge role in the fans’ perception of a champion. Georges St. Pierre is the most dominant welterweight fighter in the world, but he’s currently facing a staggering amount of criticism for his inability to finish his opponents.

This rematch comes under the most auspicious of circumstances, as the results of their first fight gave us more questions than it did answers. I’m hoping that we see this fight stopped by the referee and not the buzzer so we can truly determine who is the better fighter and move on with all our lives.

Which of the six prelim fights at UFC 113 are you hoping to see on the live broadcast?

Conlan: The preliminary action I’m most looking forward to, Tom Lawlor’s entrance not withstanding, is the scheduled bout between Jonathan Goulet and Marcus Davis. Though neither is within a stone’s throw of title contendership or is likely to dramatically improve their standing in the immediate future, both are veteran fighters who prefer to strike and may be in a “loser leaves town” situation. UFC 113 will be Goulet’s first scrap since December 2008, while “The Irish Hand Grenade” is coming off a brutal knockout loss to Ben Saunders sustained at UFC 106 which also marked his second consecutive defeat in the Octagon. It makes me feel as though the pairing definitely has “Fight of the Night” potential based on their styles and the “must win” nature of the match-up. Additionally, Goulet is from Quebec so the energy of his Canadian countrymen in attendance should amp the drama up a notch when the cage door shuts.

Tool: I like the chances of Davis/Goulet making it on the live broadcast, as Davis’ heavy hands combined with Goulet’s paper mache chin should result in a rather brief affair.

I’ll go with the middleweight showdown between Tom Lawlor and Joe Doerkson. Lawlor should be on the main card simply by virtue of his crazy personality, but he’s also got some decent skills as a fighter too. His opponent is the very definition of a journeyman, with more submission wins than most guys have professional fights. Lawlor could look to rely on his wrestling, but I won’t be surprised if these two decide to stand and trade instead. It may not be the most evenly matched fight on the card, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be competitive.

It has been announced that Mark Coleman will face Ken Shamrock on an upcoming Australian card. Given the two men involved, is there any chance that the loser of this fight will retire afterwards?

Conlan: Of course there’s a chance – it’s just a very, very slim one. Other than satisfying any lingering competitive desire still burning inside, I’m sure both icons enjoy the spotlight fighting on the upper-echelon of a Mixed Martial Arts card provides as well as the financial rewards included. I doubt either man is remotely poor but I’m also willing to bet neither is lighting their cigars with crisp hundred-dollar bills either. Fighting is what they know, and, similar to a lot of other athletes in the twilight of their careers, they don’t seem willing to give up the sport they love until forced to do so.

So no, though their combined age is a decade short of a century and between them they’ve won a total of five fights since 2004, I don’t think Shamrock or Coleman will trade in their five-ounce gloves regardless of how their fight unfolds. It’s just too bad this match-up couldn’t have happened 10-12 years ago because both men were fearsome competitors in their respective primes.

Tool: I believe Shamrock will be the one to lose this fight, therefore the question I’m forced to answer is whether or not I believe the former WWF Intercontinental Champion will call it quits afterwards. I’m guessing not, because if Shamrock wanted to retire with some dignity he would have done it three years ago.

While Shamrock’s contributions to the sport are unmatched, his willingness to continue as a competitor long past his prime is profoundly embarrassing. His lone win in the last six years was against a guy that weighed nearly 400 lbs., and Ken needed steroids to get the job done. I won’t pretend that I know for a fact what Shamrock’s motivation is to continue on in the sport, but I’m sure there’s still some decent money to be made for somebody with his kind of name value. That being said, I wonder how much is enough when your legacy is taking a significant hit every time you fight?

Does Randy Couture’s rumored bout with James Toney rub you the right or wrong way? Is it time for Ben Henderson to leave WEC and give the Octagon a shot? How long will fans have to wait before seeing Leonard Garcia and Chan Sung Jung attempt to repeat their WEC 48 classic? Would Jose Aldo beat Frank Edgar if the two faced off at lightweight?

Keyboard warrrrriors….come out to plaaaay-yay!

Thank you for stopping by to check out either your first or yet another edition of “Grappling with Issues”, a weekly smorgasbord of insight-and-opinion featuring myself and fellow 5 Ouncer Adam Tool offering our thoughts on six subjects related to MMA. However, just because we staffers get the fancy set-up, please don’t feel precluded from dishing out your own thoughts on each matter in the comments section at the bottom of the column…

True/False – WEC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo would beat UFC Lightweight Champion Frank Edgar even at 155-pounds.

Adam Tool: Who can really say at this point? What I mean by that is; how can any of us really say for sure who Frank Edgar can or cannot beat at this point? Nobody figured that he could have beaten BJ Penn, but sure enough that’s just what he did. Will anyone give Edgar the same consideration when he rematches with Penn later this year? Probably not.

My point in this is that at the moment Frank Edgar is still being underrated by a lot of fans and journalists. At the same time it’s hard to say whether or not Jose Aldo is being overrated. He’s looked spectacular thus far in his WEC run, but so did Mike Brown, Miguel Torres, and Brian Bowles. All of those aforementioned fighters had their aura of invincibility shattered, and as a result people are starting to see now just how much there is left to prove within those lower weight classes. They don’t have the benefit of an Anderson Silva or a Georges St. Pierre, where one guy has thoroughly outclassed any and all potential challengers. There is still a need to find those dominant champions at feather and bantamweight and perhaps Jose Aldo is such a fighter, but we won’t know for sure until he’s had a chance to defend his belt several more times.

With all that being said, I suppose I should try to answer the question. If Aldo vs. Edgar were to happen at the next Zuffa PPV, my money would be on Aldo. These two would likely have one hell of a striking contest, but if they went to the ground I’d have to favor the BJJ black belt.

Brendhan Conlan: There’s no magical formula for accurately predicting exactly how a particular bout will unfold meaning questions like this are always going to involve guess-work. My assessments are generally based on how I feel the individuals compare to each other physically and in terms of skill, as well as the opponents each has faced in his career, and occasionally involve outside factors like training camps, probability of nerves, personal problems endured, and what sort of previous performance the fighters are coming off of. Whether I’m overrating or underrating a Mixed Martial Artist is something I’d rather let time decide while instead focusing on what I do actually know.

Like Tool, I’d favor Aldo to beat Edgar if the two were to face off regardless of division. The New Jersey native doesn’t drop down much to make 155-pounds and is actually an inch shorter than WEC’s featherweight phenom so size wouldn’t be an issue. Edgar is obviously a talented wrestler and has a great set of hands, but Aldo’s striking is more dynamic and is on the heels of a pair of one-sided, eye-opening showings against a duo known for their mat-based acumen (Faber/Brown). I don’t think the 23-year old Brazilian would be phased by Edgar’s speed – an important factor in his title win over Penn – anymore than was the case in his recent defense against “The California Kid”. Mix those things in with his ability to finish opponents (13 of 17 wins) in comparison to Edgar (5 of 12 wins) and I think it’s relatively clear Aldo would be considered a slight favorite to emerge victorious in the potential pairing. He hasn’t faced the caliber of competition the UFC Lightweight Champion has in his career, but as far as how they measure up side-by-side I think Aldo has more tools to work with and fewer flaws to exploit.

How would you compare WEC 48 to both “Strikeforce – Nashville” and “UFC 112” in terms of entertainment value – better, worse, or equal?

Tool: This is definitely the easiest question to answer this week. WEC 48 blew away both of those other shows, as well as every other fight card we’ve seen this year. From top-to-bottom there was plenty to love and very little to complain about. We saw a couple of outstanding back-and-forth wars, some slick submissions, a shocking KO upset, and two truly impressive champions. The only gripes that people can make is the awful decision rendered in the best fight of the night (more on that later), and the fact that the show was on PPV. It sucks that fans had to pay for this event after getting so many great WEC fights for free, but I don’t think anybody who ordered the event can say that they didn’t get their money’s worth.

Conlan: Have no fear, Tool, as next week I’ll make sure to include a topic involving a mixture of jiujitsu and quantum physics. I think WEC 48 slightly edges out Strikeforce as the best show of the past month in terms of pure entertainment value. While fans were able to see more, and arguably better, fights on WEC’s offering the attached price tag can’t be dismissed nor can the overall caliber of competitors involved. Beyond that, I’m not sure that the “best fight of the night” being as sloppy and devoid of technique as Garcia vs. Jung is necessarily a good thing, but I won’t argue against how much fun it was to watch because there were plenty of “oohs” and “ahhs” coming from the vicinity of my couch. Like Adam pointed out, in general WEC 48 boasted a slew of enjoyable fights, career defining moments from promotional champs Henderson and Aldo, and a few upsets including the first-round knockout of former featherweight title-holder Mike Brown. What else can a MMA fan really ask for when forking out cash for an event?

Would you prefer Ben Henderson defended his WEC Lightweight Championship or abandoned it and went to the UFC?

Tool: After much deliberation I’ve decided that I am in favor of Henderson moving on to the big stage that is the octagon. He’s already stated that he has no interest in a rematch with any of the WEC lightweights that he’s already beaten (and that include most of the top contenders within the company), so he’s already essentially cleaned out the division. I could see Kamal Shalorus getting a shot if he beats Jamie Varner in June, but at the same time I have no interest in seeing Henderson vs. Varner II if Jamie gets the win at WEC 49.

Some people will undoubtedly bring up other former WEC champions who have had mixed success upon transitioning to the UFC. Former light heavyweight champs Steve Cantwell and Brian Stann have each had their share of defeats in the deep waters of the UFC LHW division, but it’s important to remember that the WEC’s 205 lbs. roster was weaker than a handshake from Clay Aiken. Former WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit is 1-1 in the octagon, but that loss was a very close split decision to the always dangerous Martin Kampmann. Lastly we have the uncrowned WEC Middleweight Champion Chael Sonnen, who lost in his UFC debut but has since rattled off three straight wins to earn a title shot.

Henderson is still essentially a prospect and that’s a double-edged sword. He may not do as well amongst the deep waters of the UFC lightweight division but he’s still getting better every time he fights. I wouldn’t pick him to win against a Kenny Florian or a BJ Penn, but I absolutely believe that he could be a problem for guys like Gray Maynard and Tyson Griffin. If nothing else it’s essentially guaranteed that any time “Bendo” steps into the cage, it’s going to be an exciting fight.

Conlan: After watching “Bendo” grow on a per fight basis, and the ease in which he beat a game opponent like Donald Cerrone, I’d prefer Henderson abandoned his title and tested his skills inside the Octagon (unless the UFC absorbs WEC’s lightweight division in which case the notion of having a choice to do so becomes a moot point). His physical attributes translate into a tough draw for any 155-pound opponent he faces and his style/skill, not to mention the likelihood of his continued progression based on age, make him a threat to beat a good deal of them. It may turn out that he’s not ready for the UFC’s elite, but there’s only one way to find out and having him repeatedly fight the same second-tier lightweights is not it.

How long do you think it will be before the WEC rematches Leonard Garcia and Chan Sung Jung?

Conlan: I firmly believe in striking while the iron is hot and as such I think an immediate rematch makes sense. Their slugfest was far from a master class on stand-up technique but highly entertaining nonetheless, and I have no doubt the two would deliver something similar to their original Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em display if linked up a second time. Both fighters exited the bout with more buzz surrounding them than was the case prior to the event due to the bravado each showed in the cage, and while that momentum can be carried into other match-ups it can also dissipate with a losing performance or two. After all, when was the last time you heard mention of a super-fight between Urijah Faber and Miguel Torres in comparison to a few years ago? I think it would be wise for WEC to capitalize on the public’s present perception of Garcia and Jung instead of letting it potentially go to waste. If the promotion decides to wait and one of the men wins a couple fights while the other drops a pair there won’t be the same interest in a rematch as is currently the case. Throw in the questionable nature of the judges’ decision and you definitely have a bout that can serve as a co-headliner of a Versus card rather than involving either in a televised opener due to the lower marketability they possess as individuals.

Tool: I would have to agree that these two should meet again as soon as their injuries heal from the first bout. I’m mostly interested in a rematch because I firmly believe that Jung should have gotten the decision, so here’s hoping a second chance will correct the matter. Of course there’s a good chance that lightning won’t strike twice, and the rematch could just as easily end in the first 30 seconds with a flash knockout. It’s also likely that even if these two went at it for another 15 minutes, they won’t be able to match the performance of that first bout now that everyone has specific expectations of what to expect.

In any case these two fighters are now easily amongst the most well-known fighters in the promotion, as their fight was witnessed by a peak audience of 1.5 million homes. Given the high visibility of their first bout and the expectations for a second, I see no reason why these two couldn’t be given a headlining spot on an upcoming Versus card. It might make even more sense to hold off until the next WEC PPV, as this rematch would undoubtedly be a nice draw for anybody that saw the first fight.

Given the fact that the WEC brand name was not used at all during Saturday’s broadcast, is there any reason at this point for Zuffa to keep the two promotions separate?

Conlan: I do think it’s time for the UFC to assimilate the company’s 155-pounders and finally eliminate any lingering confusion between Zuffa’s top lightweights, but instead of completely merging promotions I’d rather see WEC be a home for showcasing smaller fighters fans may not be as interested as seeing on larger events and possibly even a feeder system for the UFC. Yes, “Ultimate Fight Night” and “Ultimate Fighter Finale” events already serve that purpose to an extent, but if Zuffa is serious about making WEC successful on PPV they’ll need to do more than stack the card with match-ups featuring fighters whose combined weight is approximately the same as Brock Lesnar’s when he steps into the Octagon.

Mixing in something along the lines like UFC 113’s fight between Alan Belcher and Patrick Cote, or either of Jon Jones’ “UFC on Versus” headliners, with Jose Aldo’s next title defense or Dominick Cruz’s initial one could be a winning situation for all involved parties. The fighters would likely be entitled to additional exposure they wouldn’t normally receive due to the format, the event would almost certainly sell more buys because of the increased star-power, and the fans would get a nice mix of weights and styles due to the involved synergy. The same would be true by letting a fight possibly destined for the cutting room floor, like UFC 114’s Amir Sadollah vs. Dong Hyun Kim or Efrain Escudero vs. Dan Lauzon bouts, serve as a co-headliner on Versus alongside WEC establishing a #1 contender in any given division (though substitute increased “buys” with “ratings”). The bottom line is the WEC has a great deal of worth and I think it would be a mistake for Zuffa to whitewash it from the MMA landscape.

Tool: I’d love to know exactly what kind of worth the WEC brand has, as the only people who are aware of it are the same kinds of fans that read this website (sidenote: hello!). Facts are facts, and the reality of this sport is that there are still plenty of MMA fans who think that the sport is called “ultimate fighting.” Zuffa is in ownership of the strongest brand in the business, so why not put all of their best fighters under that banner?

I’m welcome to the idea of keeping the WEC around as a “minor league” or sorts. The guys in that promotion could be limited to fighters with less than 5 professional fights (or something of that nature) and they would have the chance to move up to the UFC based on their performance in the WEC. That way Zuffa can get a hold of more raw prospects, and help their growth along until they’re ready for the big stage.

Right now Zuffa is trying to market the WEC as “the best fighters in these two divisions, and some pretty good fighters in this other division.” Bring all of your weightclasses under the same roof and let the little guys take the spotlight more often. It can only create bigger stars out of the smaller fighters, and it gives the company a much deeper bench to work with. Each year the UFC is putting on more events than in the previous year, so I fail to see where having more fighters and titles to put on those shows can be a bad thing.

Now that the match-up is becoming a reality, how do you feel about Randy Couture being the one to welcome James Toney to the UFC?

Conlan: I suppose more or less the best word is indifferent. I don’t think the pairing is too far off something you’d find on a card in Japan on New Year’s Eve which is interesting in a way because Dana White has historically scoffed at the appeal of match-ups comparable to the one he’ll supposedly be hyping in August. Toney hasn’t been considered a relevant boxer for years and has tested positive for performance enhancing drugs on more than one occasion. His foray into Mixed Martial Arts reeks of desperation, and I’ll actually be a little surprised if/when an athletic commission sanctions the fight since the 41-year old will be debuting against a man with multiple UFC championships to his credit. I think it’s a waste of Couture’s limited future appearances inside the Octagon but then again it would also be a waste of Toney’s dimming luster if he was scheduled against someone with less name-value so I understand why the bout may be made. Regardless, it does little for me in the interest department from a competitive standpoint, but I’m always down for a good “freak show” fight so I’ll still be watching with a dumb-founded grin on my face even if I don’t necessarily care about the result.

Tool: I love it from the standpoint that Couture is the kind of fighter with enough intelligence to not get drawn into Toney’s game, and enough skill to put the (former?) pro boxer away. We all know Toney hits hard, nobody doubted that before he started stalking Dana White. Couture isn’t going to try and stand with Toney, he’s going to clinch up, take it to the mat, and finish Toney by whatever means he likes.

In case you couldn’t tell, I don’t like the idea of James Toney in the UFC. He has little-to-no drawing power left over from his days in boxing, and he’s way too old to be just starting out in a sport as complex as this. His only appeal in the UFC is for that first fight, when everybody wonders what the boxer will do in MMA. I really have no desire to see Toney try and make a career out of this, so here’s hoping Dana comes to his senses and cuts Toney right around the time the referee is raising Couture’s hand.