So it happened. IceMan KOed Babalu. It's no surprise, really, Chuck Liddell is now at the top of his game. Forget the stunning loss by TKO to Randy Couture and Quinton Jackson and Babalu's impressive previous record. Like Matt Hughes, Liddell is king of the hill...for now. And Hughes? He is likewise his promontory's top dog. He may have lost by submission via rear-naked choke to BJ Penn in UFC 46, but that is ancient history now. Seventeen editions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship later, Hughes is a changed man, and so is Penn. Hughes has run over all five of his opponents, including the Bob Dylan of the MMA -- Royce Gracie. It's like Bruce Springsteen blowing Dylan off the stage. Age has something to do with it beating a legend is like giving God a scratch. It's not just possible. But this is MMA not theology and anything can happen. Like a fight promoter challenging a journalist to go up the ring. Challenge accepted, prick! GnP 2, October 28, 2006. Mark the date. Names withheld to protect the guilty. But people already know. What are you gonna do, make the rules? Get in the ring, punk. Receive your just punishment. Yeah, YOU! You know who you are, deluded ass. OTSS. What is that? Another spelling for OUCH? Four and counting, start discounting. GnP may be the new kid in the MMA block but the older (not by much) "group" is starting to feel the pinch. A GnP guy told me that one of the incorporators of OTSS offered a tie-up of sorts. My GnP source said that his colleague said "no, thank you." Good. Two "groups" can play this game. It's the same game but played with different rules. I would love to write about the rather touchy city ordinance on local MMA, re: only those 18 to 40 years old allowed to fight legally. How about illegally? Heh... Hey, ass, remember the time you told Richard (you know who) to hold MMA fights with betting in your family's building basement? You conveniently cannot remember? That's because your memory is selective, same as(s) your few friends and plenty of enemies. Oops! Not a very politically-correct term...how about opponents? Adversaries? Rivals? I like the last one. No more monopoly.
Back to reality. Hughes vs. Penn. I have to take Penn on this. The way he dominated Hughes in their first fight, despite going up in weight to welterweight from lightweight. That was the upset of the year in MMA in 2004. At the time, Penn was arguably the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter. Then he left the UFC and was lost, directionless in his fighting career. Sure, he lost two of his five fights by decision. Decision, sometimes the judges see it differently or it just means the match was boring and someone had to be declared the winner so let the better looking fighter get the win. Penn also looks Filipino. Despite the Anglo last name, Penn looks Oriental and being from Hawaii...he could be Ilocano. Let's root for the Pinoy or maybe Pinoy here.
Evenly matched on paper, this fight could go the full route and anything could happen. MMA is by far the more difficult sport to judge compared to boxing. Ringside judges have to consider strikes by hand and foot, knees and shins, elbows, grappling prowess and ring control. And if you are a bleeder, that could be a minus. Penn by KO in less than five, Hughes by decision in five. Betting starts now.
Hey, readers, if any. Please excuse the grammatical errors and typos; the cybercafe girl is yelling: "Five minutes na lang!" I don't even have time to spell check. Whew. Just barely.
Three weeks without a new post. Well, when I was doing this for pay (ahem...and the self-expression), 90 percent of the time, at the very least, I was 10 to 20 hours early in sending my column. Giving up that far-from lucrative enterprise, I have no editors, ASSistant editors, manAGING editors, NOOSE editors, editors in CHEAP, yeah, CHEAT, too, pressuring me to make the deadline that they themselves can easily disregard. Admit it! Now, I only have the Internet cafe attendant saying: "Manirado mi og 9 p.m.!" I used to rush against the onslaught of daylight, now it's a lowly-paid cybercafe attendant baying at my heels. Did I omit anybody? Reporters, your time will come. Photographers! Yours too. Nah, reporters and photographers are the coolest people in print media. There are exceptions, of course. But the bad is outnumbered by the good.
Speaking of one reporter, SSC ace justice beat reporter Karlon N. Rama of Stage Fright (sorry, couldn't resist, grasshopper) fame/infamy -- thanks for the mention of this blog in your column, man. I owe you coffee. KNR doesn't drink alcoholic substances anymore, he only smells gunpowder nowadays. And Bong Wenceslao (one of the more cool print editors in Cebu), my gratitude goes to you too, Sir Bong, for the similar mention in your column. That's how it goes in local media: you scratch my back, I will knife yours. Joke.
Did I say Saturday? Well, we've got about an hour to go before Sunday, so technically,it's still Saturday. Okay, sorry for the delay. I'm still trying to get a phone line and just got hold of a brand-new second-hand laptop sans mouse. I'm setting up, so please bear with me.
For all those who sent in comments, good and bad, to Free-For-All, thank you. A little request, though, please use a name besides Anonymous -- that guy's gotten too famous for his or her own good.
To Lionheart, John Pages and "Anonymous", I appreciate your posts, I just got a few comments of my own: Lionheart has always been one of Free-For-All's biggest supporters, and dare I say it...fans. Go on, my friend, do the thread. To John, a mean columnist himself, I still have those heartwarming text messages you sent me regarding the "brilliance," AHEM!, of my print columns. Nah, I was never your "boss," buddy, yes, I was your buddy. You never gave me a hard time waiting for your columns. And you always called to inform if you couldn't send in one. "Assistant sports editor"? I was a sports editor before I was coerced into sliding down to asst. ed. And "Anonymous," you freak, I neither "tapped out or was axed or passed out" -- I quit! Now stop using that gasgas moniker. Glad to know though that despite the namecalling, you "missed" my column.
'Til next time (Saturday? Sunday sounds good to me), keep submitting and tune in. Peace.
That article was my last print column for my former employer (yeah, you read that right). Now, Free-For-All is really free! Anything goes from now on. I can't promise you a regular update on matters mixed-martial-arts local and/or international, that really depends on the availability of material, but this I can assure you -- you will have a post to peruse once a week, at least...tentatively every Saturday, depending on your time zone.
Now, if you will excuse me, I have to take a break to take a meal or I will have to tap out due to decreased blood-sugar level. 'Til next posting. Tune in on Saturday (RP time), same blog site, same blogger. Take your vitamins and practice your submissions. Spread the word, Free-For-Allers!
CHUCK “The Iceman” Liddell will beat Renato “Babalu” Sobral, that’s for sure. But as our neighborhood sage said, “Nothing is sure under the mango tree.” But if Liddell plays it stupid by letting Sobral take him down, Sobral will have a huge chance to steal the win from The Iceman.
Liddell relies on his striking, more on punches than on kicks but he can do both well, having been a former kickboxer with a record of 20-2-0 with 16 knockouts. Sobral can stand up with Liddell but he can’t sustain striking it out with Liddell for long.
From the get-go, Sobral has to take down Liddell and go for a submission or mount Liddell for the pound. That’s easier said than done. Liddell’s sprawl and escape from the single-leg takedown is very good. And when he breaks away from a hold with his opponent still in the ground or just about to get back on his feet, Liddell will be waiting to pounce.
“Chuck also wants to prove that his first victory over Babalu was no fluke. My pick, Chuck by decision…The last big event I’m waiting for is the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix semifinal round. CroCop versus Wanderlei, and Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Josh Barnett. These are, by far, the best fights.
CroCop and Wandy drew their first match. But I would give CroCop the advantage as he is a natural heavyweight. Wandy is a light heavyweight, but who knows.”CroCop will always have the edge over Silva due to his size, like Liddell against Sobral. CroCop may have drawn with Silva the first time out, but things this time may change this time.
CroCop has improved a lot his defense to the sprawl and push out. And his punching and roundhouse kick are still a force of nature.
He wasn’t able to knock down or knock out Silva the first time out because Silva, as usual, was so aggressive, taking the fight to Crocop and getting very close.
It was also CroCop’s first mixed-martial-arts match and he was swamped by the type of attack. He said that it was confusing defending against, punches, kicks, clinch, takedown, etc.
Silva is one of the most athletic MMA fighters active. He is strong, quick, and almost totally fearless. He loves toe-to-toe exchanges and is very durable.
After his defeat to Ricardo Arona, a little shine was taken off his being one of the world’s best MMA fighters. He has a lot to prove, everything to lose, while CroCop, being bigger, has his pride and future prize money to think of.
Silva is still one of Pride’s top attractions and CroCop is right behind him. If no one plans to play it safe, Silva-CroCop will be a blast.
“The second match up would be interesting, grappler versus grappler. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (the older of the twins) has never lost to a guy that wasn’t named Fedor (Emelianenko). Josh is on a roll.
I would give Big Nog the edge as he is a very good striker being a former amateur boxer. Also, I want to know what you think about the decision of UFC and Pride to pit their top fighters (Chuck vs. Wanderlei) against each other? I think this is very good for MMA as this will be the first ‘true’ undisputed world championship match for MMA.
“Thanks for taking the time to read my somewhat amateurish view on the fights. Hope to read your expert views on these fights. More power to you!”
You have never been amateurish, Aldie. If you had a column yourself, I would be a tad insecure as you see the fighters and analyze fights as well as anybody I know. I have never claimed to be an MMA expert, I just know more than most and have the upper hand in articulation and venue (I have a column, you don’t) like CroCop over Silva size-wise.
Nogueira has some edge over Barnett. Big Nog has probably the best submission of all heavyweights. Barnett is no slouch in that department, either, but on a level of one to 10, Big Nog is at least a nine, while Barnett can barely make seven. Barnett has a better chance striking it out with Big Nog. You have to break eggs to make eggnog. Heheheh…
I see this as a win for Nogueira by submission. A KO win for Big Nog is not a remote possibility either.
As to UFC and Pride getting together? This is a momentous event in MMA. It’s like the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association agreeing to unify their rating systems and putting all their champions in one pool. The UFC-Pride combo can only mean good things for MMA.
from SunStar.com.ph
