UFC 100: A Centennial of Striking, Grappling, and Grounding and Pounding

Dan Henderson over Michael Bisping, Georges St. Pierre over Thiago Alves, and Frank Mir over Brock Lesnar.

It’s a wish list not prophecy.

Only the divinely-inspired are infallible but that won’t stop anyone from predicting the outcome of anything. The hype leading to the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been as relentless as Wanderlei Silva stalking Kazushi Sakuraba and as Dana White insisting that Anderson Silva is the world’s pound-for-pound best MMA fighter. There have been press conferences, a weigh-in, a top 100 UFC fights series, match-up predictions – lots of MMA on the buffet table – that you just get the urge to come up with your own crystal-ball gazing.

Free-For-All’s 10 cents’ worth comes from a fan’s perspective more than from a fight analyst’s point of view.

I am biased towards Henderson for his pug and pit-bull approach to fighting. He will try to knock you out as quickly as he can. If he has to use his formidable wrestling skills to do it, he will. But Henderson relies more on his striking than his wrestling, no doubt about that.

I also like St. Pierre’s workmanlike attitude and careful strategic preparation for a fight. He will study his opponent and set a plan on how to devastate his foe. His athletic abilities would not matter if his mental approach to the fight game were not at par.

I am a sucker for underdog. Mir is smaller and less powerful than Lesnar. More people believe Mir will lose to Lesnar. Mir was gone from MMA for about a year and a half after breaking his knee in a motorcycle accident. He fought again but lost two of his first three comeback fights. He did not quit and won all of his next three fights including a kneebar submission victory over Lesnar and a stunning win by strikes over legendary Brazilian jiujitsu black belt Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Mir’s rise from the ashes of his terrible accident and discouraging early comeback defeats is inspirational. He was known for his world-class grappling and submissions but has added a standup game to his arsenal.

After the bells and whistles, Free-For-All’s look into the future less than 12 hours from now:
Henderson will win via knockout in Round 2; GSP by submission in three; and Mir by submission in two.

Don’t bet on it.

UFC 98: Enter The Dragon Machida

Lyoto Machida overwhelms Rashad Evans

In one of the most stunning and exciting outcomes in UFC history, the light-heavyweight belt changed hands in just two rounds of a masterful display by the challenger. It wasn’t exactly unexpected as the online voting had something like 63% of the fans of the opinion that Machida would win it against 37% for Evans.

Round 1 seemed to confirm people’s belief as in the last minute Machida kicked Evans to the right side of the body and followed up with a straight left punch to the face, knocking down the defending champion. Evans did get up and survived the first round.

Besides Machida’s left kick to the body of Evans at 2:00, practically nothing happened in the first three minutes, as both fighters were still probing, waiting for each other to make the first significant attack and counter – which is a big part of both fighters’ styles.

At 3:03, Machida struck with a left roundhouse kick to the head of Evans, then Evans came back but missed with left overhand right.
At 1:21, Machida let go of a quick left straight punch and right straight that didn’t do any damage.

Round 1 obviously went Machida’s way.

In Round 2, both fighters again took some time to warm up. In 3:30, there was an exchange of punches but not many landed. At 2:22, Machida missed with a right frontal kick to the body. At 2:13, a left roundhouse kick to the body by Evans missed. But then, with 1:28 left in the fateful round, a hook to the jaw of Evans started it all. Evans crumpled. Machida got side mount and let go of several right straights to the head of Evans. Evans struggled to get back on his feet and got as far as the Octagon fence where Machida kept abusing him with punches to the head. A right hook to the jaw and a left to the other side knocked Evans senseless, falling on his back like a limp rag doll.

If Evans had not fallen properly, there would have been a repeat of the terrible accident that broke Mirko Filipovic’s ankle in UFC 70 when he fell after receiving a right roundhouse kick to the head by Gabriel Gonzaga.

The Lyoto Machida legend has been cemented. He had earned the reputation of being the most elusive fighter ever in mixed martial arts. Translation: Hard to hit. Very hard to hit. He has a knack of dealing so much pain while remaining unscathed. Ironically, that also earned him a lot of skeptics and naysayers had a field day sniping at him. They accused him of being afraid to engage in an offensive attack. Until yesterday, that is.

Well, Machida’s destruction of Thiago Silva (in one round) and Evans (in two) in succession should cancel out that criticism. Elusiveness equals good defense. And it makes a lot of sense. Why should you get hit in the process of hitting someone? MMA is not Christian charity. It is a black eye for a black eye, a broken tooth for a broken tooth. But if you can avoid getting hurt while beating up on someone, why not take that blessing?

Machida is a very quick and powerful striker. His martial-art base being karate, he is a natural striker. Add to his arsenal a black belt in Brazilian jiujitsu, sumo and muay Thai training, and maybe also in other arts, make him one well-rounded mugger.

Indeed, and if he stays elusive as an eel with the sting of a stingray, it will be sometime before he gives up the UFC lightheavyweight championship belt.

Petruzelli's Turn At 15 Minutes Of Infamy

After Kimbo Sliced Off In 14 seconds

Four million three hundred thousand TV viewers saw Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson humiliated in 14 seconds. Talk about 15 minutes of fame and all that transitory glory certain individuals enjoy or suffer from. Mr. Slice had his temporal anomaly, his chance at disproving naysayers and he blew it. But not before cashing in on whatever amount of fame and glory that was available to him...and poor cash-strapped EliteXC. Slice reportedly got $500,000 for his troubles, $200,000 more than what Fedor Emelianenko supposedly got for battering Tim Sylvia in the more credible newbie promotion Affliction MMA's Affliction: Banned heavyweight championship bout.

OK, a bit of recent history. Ken Shamrock, once tagged as the World's Most Dangerous Man, was another in a series of tomato cans thrown Slice's way to add to the illusion of his being one of the, if not the, toughest banger out there. Shamrock, is not exactly a worthy opponent to who is supposedly the meanest mother in existence. Shamrock is a mixed martial arts pioneer who helped make the Ultimate Fighting Championship what is today the most lucrative MMA organization in the world with reported assets of at least a billion dollars. But having lost all of his last four fights since April 9, 2005, Shamrock at 44, is no spring chicken with everything to gain and nothing to lose in the MMA arena. But, yes, Shamrock had a lot to profit from with a win over Slice. But it wasn't meant to be, as Shamrock was deemed unfit by Florida state fight officials to go up against Slice as Shamrock suffered a cut on his eye during training. His adoptive brother, Frank Shamrock, a former UFC champion who is part of the EliteXC commentators pool, said that he was offered and agreed to take his brother's place but EXC brass realized that Frank was too dangerous an opponent. EXC said that Florida state fight officials did not clear Frank to fight. Frank said it was EXC promoters who blocked the proposal.

Whatever the truth of the matter, what is true is that the honor of exposing Slice as purely a product of Internet (particularly YouTube.com) hype went to Seth Petruzelli, a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter 2 who was dropped by the UFC after losing to Wilson Gouveia in 39 seconds of Round 2 by submission via guillotine choke in Fight Night 9 on April 5, 2007.

PINK SPOTS AND STREAKS. As the bell for Round 1 rang, Slice, pumped up by three wins in his short MMA career and at the sight from across the cage of a white boy with bright pink spots and a streak on his hair, rushed to his doom. A weak left jab by Slice at nothing was met by Seth (much easier to type and spell and it alliterates with Kimbo's faux last name) with a right-hand parry and right push-kick and a short right mestiza jab/overhand that missed, even as Seth backed off while maintaining balance. Slice kept on charging, letting go of a right straight that got nowhere. Seth kept him at a distance with another right push kick and the short right jab that landed on the face of Slice, felling him. With Slice down on all fours, Seth hit him on the back of the head with hammer fist.

Probably realizing he just did an illegal blow, Seth's next strike was on the right side of Slice's head. Hitting Slice on the shoulder with the next two punches, Seth kept on delivering power punches that made Slice turn and roll on his back, maybe seeking to get Seth in his guard, but Seth was relentlessly striking, forcing referee Troy Waugh to step in between the two fighters, pushing Seth away as a dazed Slice grabbed Waugh's left leg, thinking it was Seth's.

It was all right hands. Seth could have fought Slice with his left hand tied behind his back and still knock him out. He was that dominating and he deserved to celebrate like he had just sank a last-second 3-pointer to edge out the other team by a single point in the last game of a best-of-seven basketball championship game, or hit a game-ending home run in the bottom of the ninth.

No, Seth Petruzelli (no e) did not make like Ralph Macchio (no a) in Karate Kid with a crane stance after referee Troy Waugh stopped the punishment. Seth merely threw away his mouth guard and threw his arms up in celebration as he ran around the cage while Kimbo, half out of his mind, grappled with the referee. And, yes, one of the guys in the commentary booth was right to dig up a Rocky analogy. Seth Petruzelli was indeed Rocky-like in earning a win over the Apollo Creed-like Kimbo Slice. Not many expected white-boy Seth to pound out black-dude Slice. To distinguish MMA Seth from the Hollywood Rocky, it didn't take Petruzelli 15 minutes of pounding and a bucketful of blood to have the crowd rise to its feet and roar in unison. Fourteen frigging seconds...That's all it took. Even the fading power kicker and puncher Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic might have needed 30 seconds to take out Slice.

EXCITING COMMENTARY. If the outcome of the match didn't excite you enough, the fight commentary might have:

“And it's about to get serious. Slice quickly across...the fight is over...”

“Slice goes down. Slice in trouble. Oh, my goodness. Slice gets pounded out and they stopped it. Rocky, Rocky is here! Seth Petruzelli shocks the world!...Kimbo Slice is shooting on the referee. He is trying to get the referee down...The most incredible victory in the history of mixed martial arts. Seth Petruzelli!!!...It can happen! Believe!...This is what mixed martial arts is all about. If you have a dream. If you're willing to step into a cage and fight for your life, you!, can be anything you want...Kimbo Slice battered, bruised, bloodied...Seth Petruzelli, a young man from Fort Myers, Florida. His nickname is The Silverback. He came here tonight, found out that he would be the main event. And he has shocked the entire world of mixed martial arts!”

Well, shocked is not exactly the word for it. Try, amused. The casual fight fan, brainwashed by EliteXC and CBS' hype machine on the awesomeness of Slice would be stunned immobile on his/her feet or seat at the sight of the largely unknown Petruzelli taking out Slice in less than 20 seconds of the very first round. Who wouldn't, if you had figured out Slice to be the best thing in the fight game since Mike Tyson? Thirty pounds heavier, two inches taller, and with a reach four inches longer, the then undefeated Slice (now 3-1, 2 KOs, 1 submission), on paper, looked like an overmatch for Seth (now 11-4, 9 KOs, 1 submission).

Anyone skeptical of Petruzelli's KO win over Slice should be allayed that the former can really hit and hit hard. His MMA win-loss record is rather middling, unimpressive from a Western boxing fan's perspective. But in MMA, a winning record like 11-4 is a badge of honor and respect. Considering that Petruzelli's nine wins before the Slice fight included eight victories by KO and a lone submission, while his four losses were by way of three submissions and a decision, Petruzelli is a decent MMA fighter.

TRADITIONAL. Like traditional karatekas Lyoto Machida (Shotokan) who looks so cool in the Octagon he makes cool hot, and Georges St. Pierre (Kyokushinkai), Petruzelli (Shito-Ryu) didn't get stuck in his traditional base and explored other avenues of martial arts. Machida has done sumo and Brazilian Jiujitsu, St. Pierre wrestling, Petruzelli kickboxing, all of them are mixed martial artists.

Now, the bad news. In an interview, Seth Petruzelli claimed that EliteXC offered him money to stand up and trade punches with Kimbo Slice; meaning, if Seth had any plans of going to the ground to cancel out Slice's assumed advantage on strikes standing up, he better give up that notion for an x amount of cash. As it turned out, Seth did say that he planned to shoot or take down Slice.

On The Monsters in Orlando radio show, Seth said: “The promoters kind of hinted to me, and they gave me the money to stand and trade with him. They didn’t want me to take him down, let’s just put it that way. It was worth my while to try to stand up and punch with him.”

That is exactly the kind of dubiousness that EliteXC and mixed martial arts in general do not need. Growing by leaps and bounds after the novelty early years of the UFC in the 1990s, MMA has gained fight fans' interest, if not loyalty, for its brutal mystique and general reputation for reality, as opposed to the fantasy of the WWE nee WWF, the UFC of professional wrestling.

Critics (read: boxing purists and loyalists) are waiting on the wings to descend on every perceived weakness and fakeness of MMA. Slice-Seth I was hardly rigged: neither did Slice take a dive nor did Seth put a horseshoe in his glove, but that kind of talk plants the seed of distrust in the minds of fight fans.

Petruzelli did explain himself right after, saying that he didn't mean to say what people heard on the The Monsters in Orlando. He told yahoo.com MMA writer Dan Wetzel in a phone interview: “What that meant was they offer a Knockout bonus, Submission bonuses, Fight of the Night bonuses. I think it just got misconstrued.

“I wanted to have an exciting fight and I wanted the Knockout bonus, so I wanted to keep it standing...They just said, ‘We want to see an exciting fight no matter what happens.’ I took it as I wanted the Knockout bonus.”

This suspiciously sounds like backtracking and spin control by a professional fighter pressured by management to turn bull shit into chocolate cake.

This is bad news for MMA. But, if bad publicity is good, this is the kind of bad that is very good for MMA. Bad seed can grow into a twisted tree that bears edible sour fruit. Tamarind* anyone?

* Tamarindus indica (from the Arabic: تمر هندي tamar hindi = Indian date) is in the family Fabaceae.

UFC 88: Breakjaw

Breakthrough for Rashad Evans; maybe Chuck Liddell's career is through

Polled by sherdog.com on UFC 88: Breakthrough's main-event match of Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans, MMA pros Randy Couture and Jaime Fletcher proved to be the most prescient. Couture said pre-fight: “Tough one to pick! Can make a case for either guy, but in my mind, it depends on Evans. We know what Chuck is gonna try to do. Can Evans pull the trigger and push himself and Chuck? That’s the question.” While Fletcher had this to say: “Liddell by KO. Rashad is a good fighter, but Chuck takes chances, is hard to take down and looping punches from weird angles are hard to deal with.”

Both were non-committal but came closest to making good predictions. Could Evans pull the trigger and push himself and Chuck? Yes, Evans did pull the trigger and push himself and The Iceman. And what result did this create? Fletcher provides the rest of the answer: Chuck takes chances, is hard to take down and looping punches from weird angles are hard to deal with. Only that it was Evans' looping punches from weird angles that were hard to deal with, giving Liddell possibly the most devastating knockout he ever suffered.

Ironically, or prophetically, Liddell had his two-cents' worth: “I don’t tend to take any shots, so he won’t have to show his takedown defense with me. I am planning on striking. We’ll see how he responds.”

And boy, did Evans, respond.

Evans jabbed, missed, jabbed and missed again. Liddell's jab missed too and almost simultaneously both fighters loaded – Evans with a looping right hand and Liddell with a right uppercut. Evans' punch landed, Liddell's didn't. With full force and his stance perfect for a strong strike, Evans hammered Liddell on the left jaw. The slow-motion replay shows Liddell's head bearing the brunt of what might as well have been a rock on a fist. Liddell fell backward unconscious. Any more strikes after that would have been overkill.

Evans tried that particular punch a few times before striking the motherload and mother of all knockouts – the kind where the victim is asleep even before hitting the deck without a pillow and a good-night lullabye. Evans faked with a short left jab and quickly followed with that arcing right bolo punch which found its mark on Liddell's jaw.

“Age won’t be a factor in this fight. I feel sharp and I’m ready for Rashad.” Liddell was right on the first one, he indeed looked fit and moved well for a 38-year-old, sadly for him, he was wrong on his second statement. He was sharp but he wasn't ready for that looping right by Evans. Call it a lucky shot, call it carelessness but luck had nothing to do with it. Evans obviously practiced that shot knowing Liddell is a sucker for a quick strong strike. It helped that Evans had Keith Jardine, who knocked down Liddell 12 UFCs ago, giving him tips on how to deal with The Iceman. It helped that Greg Jackson trained Evans. It helped that Liddell is 10 years older than Evans and has taken a lot more damage in a decade of fighting in the UFC.

Good punch. Liddell always had a problem with standing up to a good punch. When Quinton “Rampage” Jackson kayoed him in UFC 71, Rampage's right hook didn't look much but it knocked down The Iceman and eventually he was knocked out with a few more shots on the ground. Rampage's strike is nothing compared to the one-punch bomb that Evans almost decapitated Liddell with.

Yes, maybe encroaching middle age and all those knocks on the head in mixed martial arts have something to do with it. That is not to count the time Liddell spent fighting as a kickboxer.

The main co-event of the night was the Rich Franklin-Matt Mitchell encounter. It didn't have the fireworks of Liddell-Evans but it had its moments. Strangely, some will remember this fight not for the rare kidney shot that took down Mitchell in Round 3, but for the hearing-impaired (this politically-correct thing can be difficult) Mitchell looking at his cornermen asking for instructions with Franklin just a few feet away ready to pounce on him. Ironically, Franklin won but he looked like he lost with that huge cut under his right eyebrow.

This is one of those fights where you start rooting for one fighter but gradually is impressed by the other fighter and end up wishing no one gets hurt. If only a draw could be had for all fights like this.

This fight is a breath of fresh air especially with the memory of the bad aftertaste of Mitchell's bout with Michael Bisping in UFC 75, the calling out in the traditional media and in the Internet. This time, Mitchell let his fists do the fighting for him, not his mouth and his manual sign-language skills. After he lost, there was no rancor evident, Mitchell took it like the man that he really is, while Franklin, gentlemanly and a sport that he has always been, consoled his former training partner and said: “Thanks to God I don't have any serious injuries, and thanks to God my opponent doesn't have any serious injuries.”

I am not sure, though, if God approves of two grown men fighting for the entertainment (and edification) of thousands of people live in the arena and millions more on TV, while adding to the hundreds of millions in the bank accounts of Dana White and the Fertita brothers.

Anyway...we love MMA. Call it a sport, call it sports entertainment like its distant cousin professional wrestling, but one thing millions of God's creatures in hundreds of countries will agree on – this is one fragging bloody affair we don't tire watching month after month if White and the F Bros. had their way. And watch out for Affliction 2! Dang! Randy Couture is back in the UFC! Looks like there won't be a Fedor-Couture I at least until the year ends. The
Emelianenko will have to content himself with fighting lesser lights in his chosen organization and for lesser money, we think.

Hollywood Dangerous. Oh, before we forget, another of MMA's greatest fighters ever – Dan Henderson – call him Dangerous or Hollywood but one thing's for sure, he will deliver win or lose. He lost both his Pride welterweight and middleweight belts after he made the jump back to the UFC after it bought out Pride FC, but judging by the way Henderson fought a very game but less experienced, less-gifted (meaning, he doesn't have the striking ability of Henderson) and shorter by five inches, Rousimar Palhares, Henderson still has a lot of fight left in him.

The Brazilian jiujitsu black-belt Palhares was surprisingly adept with his striking especially with his kicks (marvel at those wheel kicks!) but he was simply outsized (outreached?) by Henderson, who landed the more solid blows while escaping from Palhares' submission attempts. Henderson deserved the Unanimous Decision victory. Palhares may have lost but he proved he deserves to be in the big leagues by lasting three rounds with a future hall of famer.

Other results:
Nate Marquardt over Martin Kampmann by TKO in 1:22 of Round 1. Marquardt overpowered the muay Thai specialist from Sweden with a surprise roundhouse to the side of the head followed up with punches to the head and body, a knee to the head. All Kampmann could do was cover up and wait to be knocked out or for the referee to put a stop to his suffering. The Referee Stoppage came first.

Dong Hyung Kim over Matt Brown, Split Decision in 3 rounds. This one was an injustice. Except for a late takedown in the 3rd round by Kim, Brown dominated the fight. An SD is always controversial. “I don't fight for the judges, I fight for a submission and the fans,” Brown took a shot at the men on the table. Kim had his say too: “I will be different next time.” This was a translation, so maybe he meant something else, because if he means he will win decisively next time, we sure hope so.

Tim Boetsch over Michael Platt, TKO 2:03 R1. Boetsch misses with a left hook to the head but his right straight/overhand lands squarely on Platt's chin. Platt falls on his back, Boetsch follows up with more strikes. Referee Herb Dean steps in to stop the punishment.

“I would like to thank God, without Him none of this is possible,” Boetsch said. A brawler after my own heart, someone who flashes the website nosubmit.com (Jesus Didn't Tap).

Kurt Pellegrino over Thiago Tavares, UD. Tavares almost gets armbarred but improbably escapes the hold of Pellegrino. Pellegrino though gets all the judges' nod.

Jason “The Athlete” Macdonald over Jason Lambert, Submission Rear-naked choke R2 1:20. Both very good grapplers with Macdonald with the edge on striking but he wins this with a real tight rear-naked choke. The Athlete was in Lambert's guillotine choke twice in the first round but survived with great stamina and high pain-threshold level.

De La Hoya ‘will beat’ Pacquiao

God forbid – PacMan forever but Manny, please, be careful out there, the Golden Boy is one tough hombre

De La Hoya will beat Pacquiao.

That’s the biggest fear in the minds of Filipinos this year, bigger than the fear of the peso-dollar rate not reaching 50-1, bigger than the fear of a resurgent Muslim insurgency in Mindanao, bigger than the fear of killer storms and killer inter-island ships, bigger than the fear of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo somehow finding a way to run for president in 2010, or worse, Joseph “Lalo Tayong Maghihirap Erap” Estrada vying for the same seat, bigger than the fear of the oil, rice, and Iraq-Iran-Afghanistan crisis put together.

It’s only boxing but we love it. With too few things to be happy and optimistic about, at least with Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao we have reason to be hopeful. Whoever first dubbed him Pambansang Kama-o or National Fist is a genius. And whoever (everyone has this feeling it was Bob Arum) came up with the idea of pitting little Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao against “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya in a big-money fight is a mercenary.

PacMan, at 5-feet-7 or thereabouts and perhaps 150 pounds when not watching his weight, taking on a decidedly taller 5-10 ½ Golden Boy who could naturally balloon to 175lbs when he downs too many tacos and doesn’t scrimp on tequila, is like a wide-eyed first-grader standing up to a polished fourth-grade bully. OK, defiance has its merits, but not when you could get beaten to a pulp. Live to fight another day is way smarter than no guts no glory.

Moving up five pounds to 135lbs to pound out a decisive TKO victory over erstwhile WBC lightweight champ David Diaz, Pacquiao was on top of the world, a celebrity in such lofty firmaments that even newly-crowned NBA champions the Boston Celtics mobbed Pacquiao for photo ops. In fighting De La Hoya, Pacquiao will add another 12lbs for their match at 147lb, the heaviest Pacquiao will be as a pro. In some (actually, many) quarters they're saying that the move is ill advised for Pacquiao.

Not many will question Pacquiao’s courage and smarts. He did show he could be a sucker to a sly businessman’s promises. And definitely no one will doubt De La Hoya’s business acumen. From being an Olympic boxing gold medalist, media monster, world boxing champion many times over, and a big-time boxing promoter, roll all of these into one and you have Oscar Gonzalez De La Hoya. That’s not to count Grammy-nominated recording star and playboy.

The nation of Mexico and the vast Mexican community in the US put De La Hoya on a pedestal, but their breadth of idolatry for Golden Boy pales in comparison to that of Filipinos' hero worship for Pacquiao. PacMan is the kind of national hero that Golden Boy will never be. PacMan bears the expectations and hopes of a whole downtrodden nation, archipelagic and abroad, that clutches at anything that resembles Filipino international achievement. Golden Boy bears the expectations of his accountants.

This fight is not about pride, it is about money. Lots of it. How much exactly is up to speculation. We have been fed figures of 65-35 sharing in favor of appropriately enough -- the Golden Boy. A disparity, perhaps, but all things considered including the current US dollar-Philippine peso exchange rate, that’s a lot of campaign funds for governor/congressman wannabe PacMan. Whatever De la Hoya wants to do with his share is up to him. We, the “once-great” (remember “this nation can be great again” quip by someone we still remember?) Filipino Malayan race is collectively concerned with our national fist. There are not many like him in supply. In fact, he is the only one we got. Boom-Boom Bautista proved to be a bust and is now reduced to fighting Mexican throwaway boxers that promoters won’t stop advertising as “world-rated” and “one of the best” this and that. AJ Banal was just as big a disappointment as Bautista, so were Rodel Mayol and Z Gorres.

PacMan doesn’t grow on trees. He is an aberration, a rebellious gene that fought neighborhood bullies or maybe was a bully himself. He knew he was good with his fists and he built his life on these. He grew up in poverty, worked for a living, learned to warm his stomach on a cup of cheap coffee and just-as-cheap pan de sal.

Pancho Villa, Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, Rolando Navarette, Luisito Espinosa, the list grows of past and present heroes who flirted with the title Greatest Filipino Boxer Of All Time. Some still vie for that honor; some have fallen on the wayside with the footnotes.

Manny Pacquiao could still prove to be the best Pinoy pug there ever was -- if he keeps on winning. If he starts losing, starting with De la Hoya, his star will dim and fall just as fast as it rose. We never tire of being told: “Boxers are only as good as their last fight.”

Here’s hoping that Pacquiao-De La Hoya I will not be the beginning of the end for our National Fistic Treasure. Go PacMan! Yes, but go with care.

P.S. We love you.
P.P.S. Win or lose we will always love you…maybe.

Was Kung-Fu Panda the Olympics mascot?

2008 Beijing Summer Games a success, yes!

Fittingly enough, the only sporting event I saw in the just-concluded Summer Olympics in Beijing was the US-Spain basketball game in the elimination round -- all 5 minutes or so of the game.

I'm not sure why I ignored the games (the way it ignored me, I guess). About three years ago, when Cebu hosted several events in the Southeast Asian Games, I was still with the print media. I had a 4 by 3 inch (thereabouts) official ID with all the trimmings, signatures and photo, but I did not once use it or had someone else use it (substituted photo or not) to enter the games venues, not even the Cebu Coliseum for the pentjak silat martial arts competition.

After working for the sports section of a community newspaper for almost a decade, it seemed I reached a saturation point. Or maybe I was just bored. It was too predictable. Only two things could happen (three if you counted a draw), one contestant or team would win and another would lose.

Surely, China either made billions or lost a corresponding number of money on the games. What the heck! They were the hosts, and for almost a month, China was the focus of the world stage despite more pressing issues elsewhere in the world -- the never-ending war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the melodrama and comedy of the US presidential campaign, the MILF war in Mindanao, the price of gasoline and pirated DVDs.

So, London gets to host the next Summer Olympics. Congratulations and all the luck to you, mates! May you have fewer pseudo-terroristic events and more gold medals (Wow! Britain placed fourth overall this time with 19 golds!) May the notorious but romantic London drizzles and downpours not rain on your parade.

Bayan kong Pilipinas? Hey, why not send more than a 15-person contingent to the 2112 Games? Medal or no medal (again), what does it matter? It's how you play the game, right? Wrong! Junket anyone? That's one Filipino sport we always excel in.

P.S. John Pages, hey, partner, let's have that beer again sometime, OK?!
P.P.S. Sadly, I never got to read much of your colored-page correspondent-in-Beijing columns (no newsprint budget and laziness) but I'm sure you had lots of fun; next time we have beer (light for you, and on you :) naturally, pilsen or Red Horse for me, maybe) you could tell me some of your escapades, er, experiences (place smiley here).

UFC 87: Sought and Destroyed

KenFlo’s even flow, Hard Brock’s afternoon café, GSP’s Fitch Festival

Florian was very smart and surprising. Lesnar was huge and unrelenting. St. Pierre was just being himself.

I take it back. Kenny Florian is a stud. I’ve always thought he was too soft to be successful in MMA. He wasn’t particularly tough against Roger Huerta two Sundays ago, but he used as much brain cells as muscles in carving a win in three fun (for Florian and fair-minded fight fans -- alliteration can be fun too) rounds.

Staying away most of the time from Huerta’s Superman punch and a toe-to-toe stand-up battle, Florian circled, stepped back, kept his distance from Huerta except when he struck, took down and tried to submit No Conquistador, er, El Matador (lo siento mucho, Rogelio).

In honor of Florian’s well-deserved victory over Huerta, I hereby name my new puppy KenFlo. (Wipe that smile/smirk off your mug! Or I’ll have “KenFlo” bull rush you for a quadruple leg takedown and lick your lips. She hasn’t had her shots yet.)

While Brock Lesnar was just sheer size, power, and determination against Heath Herring. Getting in the first shot attempt (a flying knee, of all things), then a right straight that landed on Herring’s chin, dropping him, Lesnar charged into Herring with what looked like a spear against a stunned horse who reverse rolled. Lesnar got caught in a left standing guillotine. He escaped and kept the fight on the ground for most of the three rounds of 15 minutes. Herring did get in licks of his own a few times, but these were few and far between, hardly fazing the hard Brock.

At 3:39 of Round 1, Herring was already bleeding below the left eye. Lesnar controlled Herring’s back with a little over two minutes left, Herring fell back to get Lesnar in his guard but Lesnar pushed him away and kneed Herring on the body, three times before the bell rang. Herring’s left eye was obviously damaged. Lesnar’s speed was amazing.

The next two rounds were almost picture-perfect copies of the opening round. It was Lesnar all the way. He fully deserved the unanimous-decision victory.

As to Georges “Rush” St. Pierre, what can you say about the cool GSP? With talk focused on Fedor Emelianenko and Anderson Silva as to who is mixed martial arts’ pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, GSP tends to get left out in the mix. Rush is as well-rounded as Fedor and Silva, maybe even more so than “Spider” Silva, and definitely at par with “The Last Emperor.” The trouble is GSP has his two losses to two former welterweight champions, the two Matts -- Hughes and Serra. But he did win in the rematches, decisively at that.

That’s similar to what GSP did to No.1 challenger Jon Fitch in UFC 87. Judging by the way GSP manhandled a game and durable Fitch, GSP has no plans of letting go of his belt, not even to Mickey-Mouse-voiced but Mighty-Mouse-muscled BJ Penn.

After Fitch had lifted GSP on his shoulders as Rush was declared the winner by an all-too obvious Unanimous Decision, Penn entered the Octagon and declared on the microphone Joe Rogan was holding: “Let’s do it! Let’s put the fight together.” Penn, looking manic as usual, spoke in a squeaky voice that sounded funny. But him and GSP in the Octagon is not funny at all. And yes, GSP-Penn would be an explosive match. Let the UFC grant Penn’s wish!

The other results:

(Middleweights)
Demian Maia over Jason McDonald (by Submission/Tapout Rear-Naked Choke in 2:24 of the 3rd Round) -- Great technical ground game with some strikes.

(Lightweights)
Robert Emerson over Manuel Gamburyan (KO R1 12 seconds) -- Emerson’s right straight overhand to Gamburyan’s chin and left hook to the head when Gamburyan was already on the ground did in the latter. Referee Yves Lavigne caught Emerson’s right hook to prevent more punishment.

(Heavyweights)
Cheick Kongo over Dan “The Viking” Evensen (TKO R1 4:55) -- Thrice Kongo got Evensen on the ground, twice ref Lavigne stood them up. Kongo hit Evensen on the chin with a right straight, knocking him down, pounded him some more before the fight was Stopped for a TKO win by Kongo.

Joe Rogan tried to interview Kongo post-fight but was brushed off with an I-am-wasting-my-time-I-am-one-¬of-the-best-fighters-in-the-world-give-me-a-title-shot!

(Lightheavyweights)
Jon Jones over Andre Gusmao (UD 3 rounds) – Jones dominated a stand-up and ground match that was marred by capoiera stylist Gusmao acting as if he got hit in his groin but the crowd disagreed and expressed its displeasure with boos. The judges seemed to agree and awarded Jones the victory after three rather uneventful rounds.

(Welterweights)
Tamdan McRory over Luke Cummo (UD 3 rounds) -- McRory had several submission attempts, while Cummo tried to strike quite successfully but not consistently enough to lose by unanimous decision.

Addendum: Looking at the UFC 87 poster, you will notice that all the fighters to the left won. Perhaps for UFC 88, managers should do everything in their power, including bribery and grave threats, to have their clients take the left spot. There’s a thin line between superstition and faith. Another reason those who subscribe to this dictum can be excommunicated by the Church.