Fedor vs Barnett at Affliction: Trilogy

Affliction’s third event will take place August 1st and the main event will again feature the biggest non-UFC MMA star in the world, Fedor Emelianenko. Fedor will again take on another top heavyweight challenger as he meets former UFC Heavyweight champion and PRIDE 2006 openweight Grand Prix Runner-up Josh Barnett. This should further silence critics of Emelianenko as it is the third top contender Fedor will have faced in just over a 12 month period after the PRIDE Heavyweight Champion destroyed Tim Sylvia last July and then scored a dramatic 1st round knockout over Andrei Arlovski in January. Barnett is riding a four fight winning streak since PRIDE where he went 5-4 with all four losses coming against either Mirko Cro Cop or Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Barnett’s last outing in January saw him score a third round stoppage over MMA bad boy Gilbert Yvel.

The undercard has yet to be announced, although a few rumours have been floating around. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia has been rumoured to meet Paul Buentello who is 2-0 under the Affliction banner. Vitor Belfort and Gegard Mousasi could meet in what would be an excellent matchup with the only obstacle being the weight. Belfort wants 185lbs, Mousasi wants a catchweight as he can’t make Middleweight anymore. Mousasi’s request seems more reasonable as Vitor has campaigned as a 205lber for much of his career. There’s bound to be a few developments over the coming weeks.

Rampage and Evans to coach TUF10, Shogun-Machida likely in September

A bit of news out of this week. Top Light Heavyweight contender and former UFC Champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson will coach the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter alongside Rashad Evans, not Lyoto Machida. Evans and Rampage will coach the season which culminates with the Finale in early December before likely meeting for the number one contender slot and a title shot early next year on the end of the year show. The champion they will be facing will be decided in a September fight between champion Machida and probably 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua.

I know a lot of people are bitching about this as they wanted to see Machida-Jackson first, but I’m not tha pissed off about the whole situation. Evans vs Rampage seems to be a good feud that’s going in an exciting direction after their confrontation at UFC 96 and a coaching stint on TUF could be a good way to throw fuel on the fire. Plus I’d like to see Rampage coming off the back of a solid win (assuming he beats Evans) instead of a layoff when going to face Machida. The other good thing about this is that the belt won’t be held up for TUF’s sake like has happened in the past. We get a title fight, plus two of the top fighters in the game coaching. Basically I think this is the best solution right now.

The thing that has pissed people off is that Shogun is getting a title shot. People still don’t realise how good this guy is/was. Sure he looked like shit against Griffin and Coleman, but that was on the back of layoffs and injuries. His performance against Liddell surely erased some of those doubts? Only Rampage and Rashad have done that to Liddell, and it’s one of those guys everyone wants to see in there with Machida. Throw in Shogun’s one sided brutalisation of Rampage in 2005 and this guy is as serious a contender as you can get right now. Shogun on top form in my opinion starts favourite over anyone at Light Heavyweight. I still hold a question mark over his conditioning but thats one of those things that will have to be found out.

Mundine defeats Geale

I should have had this up sooner, but I’ve yet to find the time to re-watch the fight in a more sober and quiet area. This fight was one of the best in recent times for Australian boxing. I scored the fight for Geale 115-112, but in the situation I was in watching the fight I find it hard to believe that my scoring was 100% accurate. First of all, I had money on Geale. Secondly, the idiot commentators and the idiots at the pub I was watching it made the fight hard to watch without being biased. Basically, I’m going to sit down and rewatch the fight in the coming days with no sound on and without anyone else watching it and rescore it and I’ll post my scorecard up then. However, there’s a few things I have to talk about that I can’t wait any longer or they won’t be nearly as relevant.

Barry Michael should be removed as the on-air scorer. There were rounds that were clear one way or the other yet Michael always seemed to score them the other way (and not just for Mundine). The guy has absolutely no idea how to score a boxing match and thats a fact. On top of that, the guy’s inability to see the bleeding obvious in a fight continues to astound me. It’s got to the stage where he can’t tell a right hand punch from a left one, and a body punch from a headshot. Combine him with that moron Andy Raymond who hasn’t got the faintest idea when it comes to boxing, and Paul Upham, who I have tremendous respect for although I think he sells himself short to make Raymond look good, and it makes for very unpleasant listening to say the least.

Next there is the obvious one, Sonny Fucking Bull Williams. That was the worst excuse for a professional fight I’ve ever seen in my many years watching this great sport and things like this only bring boxing down more and more in this country especially when the media covers the likes of him and not the likes of Alex Leapai who scored a devastating knockout win over a much better opponent then the retard they brought in to fight Williams. Williams looked like he’d got himself in shape like he would for a Rugby League match, then watched how Mundine does it and tried to impersonate him. His jab was pathetic, his right hand even more so, his stance was garbage and he looked winded after the first round.

It was just lucky that his opponent didn’t know his right foot from his left leg or his ear from his arsehole when it came to boxing. If that guy knocked out bouncers in New Zealand I have to wonder whether he did it with his hands or if he slipped something into their drinks while they weren’t looking. I’ve seen better punches in pub brawls then what that guy was throwing. The thing that really pisses me off about this is the media coverage though and the praise for Williams’ performance. Let’s call a spade a spade here and this is where I lose a bit of respect for Paul Upham. If Upham was as serious about Australian boxing, then he’d be calling this what it was which was a freakshow. This fight was more of a freakshow then the baseball player Jose Canseco vs 7′2 Korean Kickboxer Hong Man Choi on the night before. The boxing watcher will always get entertainment out of this sort of garbage but for the media to approve of it, especially someone like Upham who is the top boxing journalist in this country makes me sick!

You know what, I was going to end it there but I’m on a roll right now. I’m going to attack the production of the shows while I’m at it. Would it be so hard for the ring announcers to do a decent job on an Australian boxing show? For example, with the split decision in the Geale-Mundine fight was announced, the first score was scored for ‘the blue corner’ and the 2nd for ‘the red corner.’ I seriously had no idea which fighter was out of which fucking corner when they said this. Would it be that hard to say the fighters name instead? Also, while I’ve got absolutely no objection to the National Anthem being played before a fight, could they do it before the fighters get in the ring instead of after the boxers have been introduced like they do it everywhere else but here?

I have to say, if boxing wasn’t coming back to free to air shortly, I’d be really depressed about the current scene after that night. Anyway, my scorecard and views on the fight itself will be up in the next week or so.

DREAM.9/K-1 (Lodz) Results

 

Super Hulk Tournament Results

Minowaman submits Sapp
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (sorry). Bob Sapp decided that he knew jiu jitsu after getting on top of Minowa early and instead of sitting in half guard and pounding Minowa’s face to mince meat, he tried to mount him. Minowa showed superb technique (well, superb compared to Sapp) and reversed him, got on top and sunk in a deep ankle lock for the quick submission victory. Watching Sapp tap out in pain is always fun, especially when the guy is half his size!

Hong Man batters overmatched Canseco
This fight didn’t go as expected as Canseco actually landed some shots, although he looked like he was impersonating the Karate Kid while he was at it. Then Canseco managed to blow his knee out and end up on the ground where Hong Man proceeded to pound him into submission. Glad it ended quickly and without much pain to Jose as it could have been a bad thing for MMA if he had of got seriously hurt.

Sokoudjou and Mousasi score quick wins
Both Sokoudjou and Mousasi were too much for their opponents. Sokoudjou got a takedown after about three attempts and mounted Jan Nortje with ease before pounding him until the referee stopped the fight, and then pounding him some more which resulted in a mini brawl between Nortje’s cornermen (mainly Ray Sefo) and Sokoudjou’s camp. Does anyone else smell a Sefo-Sokoudjou matchup down the road?
Mousasi surprisingly did what Fedor and Cro Cop and even Overeem had trouble doing in disposing of Mark Hunt very quickly with little trouble. He got an easy takedown and finished the fight quickly with a figure four arm lock. This tournament is Mousasi’s in my opinion and I don’t see any of the others giving him any trouble. Rumour has it that Mousasi will face Vitor Belfort at Affliction III in August first.

Featherweight Grand Prix 2nd Round Results

In one of the biggest upsets in recent times, one fight veteran Joe Warren upset Kid Yamamoto by split decision. Yamamoto, who was the heavy favourite to win the entire tournament, couldn’t stop Warren’s wrestling skills as he was taken down five times in the fight. Furthermore, Yamamoto couldn’t take advantage of the referee’s overzealous stand-ups or get anything working from his back. After a rally at the end of the opening 10 minute stanza, Warren controlled the entire five minute 2nd round and took a pretty comfortable decision (a split decision in Japan against a Japanese fighter who you didn’t completely batter means you won comfortably). In what was a lacklustre affair, Bibiano Fernandes outpointed Masakaszu Imanari over 15 boring minutes. Imanari repeatedly dropped to butt-scoot while Fernandes didn’t want to risk going into the Japanese grappling stars guard as he had the superior stand-up and wrestling (and probably jiu jitsu).
The other two fights in the grand prix stand out as fight of the year candidates. Hiroyuki Takaya survived a fierce ground and standing assault from Yoshiro Maeda before scoring a stunning one punch knockout with 20 seconds remaining in the first round. In the other match, Hideo Tokoro took full advantage of his 2nd chance in the tournament scoring a 2nd round submission win over Abel Cullum. After a ground battle of epic proportions which saw constant transitions and submission attempts from both men, Tokoro sunk in a rear naked choke early in the 2nd round to earn his place in the Finals.

Kawajiri dominates Calvancante

In a highly anticipated battle between two of the Lightweight divisions non UFC stars, Tatsuya Kawajiri dominated the middle and end portions of the fight with good stand-up skills and effective ground and pound to grind out a unanimous decision over Gesias ‘JZ Calvan’ Calvancante. After a good start by JZ in which he landed with several hard strikes, Kawajiri shot in for a takedown and had to battle out of a tight guillotine choke. Once free, Tatsuya started a pattern in which he dominated the stand-up, scored a takedown, espcaped a guillotine choke and dominated with punches from on top. JZ could do little back as his long layoff showed its effects as Kawajiri grinded out the decision.

Mayhem-Jacare ends prematurely

In the main event of the evening, the DREAM Middleweight title fight between Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller and Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ De Souza ended in a no contest after an illegal kick from Mayhem left Jacare unable to continue.

K-1 Results
Last years Amsterdam qualifier runner-up Zabit Samedov earned a place in this years Final 16 (and I’d say a rematch with the man who beat him in Amsterdam last year, Errol Zimmerman) by winning the Qualifying event in Lodz, Poland on Sunday. Samedov defeated Sakalauskas and Raul Catinas on points to reach the final of the qualifier. His opponent, Sergei Lascenko, fought three times the previous day in the European Muay Thai Championships, then scored first round knockouts over Noel Cadet and Dimitri Bezus before succumbing via third round stoppage to Samedov.

DREAM.9 Preview

The stacked MMA week finishes Tuesday as the next installment of DREAM takes place and minus the last New Years Eve show this has to be the best of all DREAM shows so far. There’s a mixture of classic fights in the making, significant fights and just pure Japanese MMA freakshows on display which should make this event very entertaining. In a nutshell the card consists of the quarter finals of the Featherweight Grand Prix, a Lightweight Super Fight, a Middleweight title fight and four freakshow matches that are going to be watched for no other reason then curiosity.

Super Hulk Tournament Round one
The Super Hulk Tournament was announced a few weeks back and people are still shaking their heads at some of the matchups. Most notably is the matchup between baseball (yes, baseball) superstar Jose Canseco and the world’s largest professional fighter Hong Man Choi. Canseco has no fighting background and was knocked out in a celebrity boxing match by a man much smaller then him. This is the only fight on the card I’m not looking forward to as Canseco could be seriously hurt which would have major mainstream implications for the sport.

Bob Sapp returns to Japan to take on the Japanese journeyman Ikuhisa ‘The Punk’ Minowa who is now referred to as Minowaman. Sapp has about a 200lb weight advantage over the 190lb Minowa, but his lack of ground game could get him in a lot of trouble against the leg lock specialist. Minowa has submitted big men before, most notably Kimo Leopoldo in a PRIDE Bushido event a few years ago. I like Sapp in this fight, probably by quick and brutal knockout. In the same league as this bout is the one between gigantic journeyman Jan Nortje and Light Heavyweight fringe contender Sokoudjou. Sokoudjou needs this win or his career will basically be over. Nortje is most known for his knockout win over Bob Sapp at a Strikeforce event last year, but that win was one of only two in his MMA career. Sokoudjou will likely win this fight quickly by submission.

The interesting (in terms of skill vs skill) fight in this tournament and the one that will likely produce the eventual winner is the Gegard Mousasi vs Mar Hunt fight. Mousasi is last years DREAM Grand Prix winner in the Middleweight division after memorable upset wins over Denis Kang, Melvin Manhoef and Ronaldo Jacare. Hunt is a former K-1 World Grand Prix champion who has been fighting in MMA of late although with little recent success as he suffered an 18 second knockout loss to Melvin Manhoef at New Years Eve last year. Hunt on his game though will be a very stern test for Mousasi, especially considering the 90lb odd weight advantage he has. I’m picking Mousasi, his grappling should help him win a clear unanimous decision.

Featherweight Grand Prix Quarter Finals
Some very interesting fights in the 2nd round of this tournament. The return of Kid Yamamoto against one fight veteran Joe Warren being the exception. While I didn’t give Warren a chance against Beebe, I’m going to risk making the same mistake twice as Yamamoto is simply too good for a one fight veteran, Kid should win this fight quickly. The other fight I think will be one sided is the one between Yoshiro Maeda and Hiroyuki Takaya. Takaya is the weakest of the fighters in the eight and despite any size advantage, Maeda’s skills are exceptional and I can’t see him losing this one outside of the punchers chance that Takaya has.

The Fernandes-Imanari fight should is the most interesting as Fernandes is an exceptional BJJ player while Imanari is one of the stand-out Japanese ground fighters. Hopefully the fight hits the ground and we get an old school classic MMA ground fight and I’m picking Fernandes to win this one because although Imanari has never been submitted, I doubt he’s grappled someone in the elite class of Fernandes. The other fight in the tournament sees American Abel Cullum up against Japanese fighter Hideo Tokoro who despite his loss in the first round advances due to Daiki Hata’s inability to be in shape for this fight. Tokoro is a brave fighter who has fought many men larger then himself in his career which explains his average record. Cullum is a solid grappler who will likely win this fight over the allotted time.

Super Fights
 
Gesias Calvancante vs Tastuya Kawajiri
This is the fight I’m looking forward to the most on this card. Two of the world’s most exciting and skilled Lightweights battling for what will likely be the next shot at the DREAM Lightweight title after Aoki and Hansen battle again at DREAM.10. JZ Calvan hasn’t fought since the loss to Aoki at DREAM.2 last year. Kawajiri made the semi finals of the tournament last year before losing to Eddie Alvarez in what was fight of the year in my opinion. Calvancante is a very well dangerous fighter in all aspects of the game while Kawajiri throws some of the best punches in MMA and is dangerous against any man he fights because of this. I give the edge in the stand-up to Kawajiri, while JZ has a big advantage if he can get on top although that will be hard as Tatsuya has shown good takedown defence in the past. Both guys are big for the weight, although JZ is probably the bigger guy having fought in higher weight divisions in the past. I’m going with Kawajiri, although I’m not at all confident. I think he’ll win this over 15 exciting minutes in what will likely be a fight of the year candidate if someone doesn’t totally dominate.

Ronaldo Jacare vs Mayhem Miller
(DREAM Middleweight Championship)
The main event sees a rematch of last years DREAM.4 match between Jacare and Mayhem for the vacant Middleweight title that was vacated by Gegard Mousasi earlier this year. Jacare won last years contest in an exciting grappling match by unanimous decision before losing to Mousasi by knockout in the final of the tournament. Mayhem stands a serious chance in this fight if he can keep it standing but I’m picking Jacare to win the rematch, probably over the full distance as their last fight was.

The Machida era has begun

Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida became the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion at UFC 98 with a 2nd round knockout over Rashad Evans. Machida looked his usual self as he gave Evans no chance to land anything significant and scored with laser-like accuracy. After an uneventful first few minutes in the opening round, Machida briefly dropped Rashad with a short left after a leg lick in the only significant moment of the opening frame. The champion was more aggressive in the 2nd round which played right into Lyoto’s hands as he made Evans miss with ease before nailing the champion and dropping him again. Visibly hurt, Evans rose but was forced back into the cage by a barrage of strikes before being knocked out with another short left hand. The win sees the third UFC Light Heavyweight champion in as many fights with Forrest Griffin and now Evans both having lost their titles in their first defence.

This win surely puts Lyoto in the pound for pound mix. While he isn’t up there with the Silva’s, GSP’s and Fedors, he sits on or just below the same shelf as Penn and Torres. He’s gone through everyone he’s faced with such ease that it makes you wonder what is needed to beat him? The grapplers can’t get their hands on him and the strikers can’t land. His footwork, reflexes and defensive instints are on another level and he’s shown increased punching power so far this year with his two knockout wins. Rampage has to be next, although he might be looking for another fight before his next crack at the title. Light Heavyweight may have just joined Middleweight, Welterweight and Lightweight as a division with a seeminly unbeatable champion.

In the co main event, Matt Hughes won the long awaited grudge match with Matt Serra by unanimous decision. Serra had Hughes hurt in the first round after he followed up a head clash with a series of damaging punches before Hughes took Serra down and briefly had his back. The second round saw Hughes score with a takedown and control the entire round doing little damage from on top. The third was almost more of the same as Hughes scored another takedown and did nothing from on top as Serra attempted several submissions from his back. The lack of action forced a stand-up by Steve Mazzagatti before Serra took Hughes down and landed some decent shots from on top. Hughes escaped as the buzzer sounded and took the decision 29-28 on all three cards.

This fight made me kind of disappointed that these two didn’t fight over five rounds back at UFC 79. Rounds four and five would have likely decided the rightful winner in a razor thin fight that could have gone either way. I actually scored the fight for Serra as I thought he did more in the third round, but it really could have gone either way. I’d like to see these two fight again ASAP as there’s no one else out there that would make for a good fight with either of them right now. It was good to see them hug after the fight and exchange compliments, although I’m sure the ill-feelings between these two are fully resolved or ever will be.

Frankie Edgar scored the best win of his career with a unanimous decision over former UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk. Sherk showed the complete lack of versatility in his stand-up game that got him in trouble against BJ Penn as Edgar boxed and moved and did it easy for most of the fight against the former champion. Sherk only attempted a takedown once and scored it, although Edgar got back to his feet in quick time. This win shakes up the division a bit and really establishes Gray Maynard as one of the top contenders as he’s beaten Edgar as well as a few other decent opponents. Also on the main card, Drew McFedries scored a devastating knockout over Xaier Foupa-Pokam in just 37 seconds. McFedries jumped on Professor X quickly and ended the fight with a barrage of hard, accurate hooks. Chael Sonnen scored his 2nd win in the Octagon with a three round domination over Dan Miller.

Preliminary Results
Brock Larson 1st round submission (arm triangle choke) Mike Pyle
Tim Hague 1st round submission (guillotine choke) Pat Barry
Kyle Bradley 1st round TKO (referee blunder) Phillipe Nover
Kryzstof Soszynski 1st round KO (punch) Andre Gusmao
Yoshiyuki Yoshida 1st round submission (guillotine choke) Brandon Wolff
George Roop split decision Dave Kaplan

UFC 98 Predictions

The Pacquiao-Hatton hangover ends this weekend with a good few days of fight action, none of it more spectacular then the UFC event this weekend. Headlining the card is Rashad Evans making the first defence of the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship that he won in December from Forrest Griffin. His opponent is the undefeated Brazilian star Lyoto Machida who has won all six of his fights in the UFC against the likes of Tito Ortiz, Sokoudjou and Thiago Silva. Outside of the UFC he has defeated two legends of the sport; Rich Franklin and BJ Penn (although Penn gave him a huge weight advantage). The co feature on the card is the long awaited grudge fighting between TUF6 coaches and former UFC Welterweight Champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. The two were expected to fight at UFC 79, but a back injury forced Serra off the card and both were then beaten in their last outings early last year.

Predictions
Main Card
Rashad Evans vs Lyoto Machida
Prediction- Evans by 4th round knockout
Yes I am picking against the so far unchallenged Machida (and when I say unchallenged, he’s definately beaten good fighters, just none of them have tested him yet). There’s a few factors in this pick. First of all is Evans new found boxing skills which is something Machida is yet to face in the Octagon. None of his opponents have had good technical boxing ability and with this I believe Evans can capitalise on some of Machida’s unorthodox evasive maneuvers and land his hard right hand. Next there’s Evans wrestling background, which Machida has faced in the past but not combined with the hand speed and boxing ability that Evans has. Rashad should be able to better use his stand-up to set up takedowns should he choose to take the fight down whereas someone like Tito Ortiz or Kazuhiro Nakamura had no set-ups to their takedowns which made them useless. Not to mention that Evans has probably the best tactician in MMA in his corner. If anyone can figure Machida out it’s Greg Jackson.
The key factor though is Evan’s incredible conditioning. I can’t remember ever seeing Rashad tired in a fight. Machida’s stamina has never really been questioned because he’s never had to fight in the late rounds at anything other then the pace he wanted to go at. If Rashad can land some shots or score some takedowns he could fluster Machida and break him down with his workrate. I think Machida will be overwhelmed especially as the fight hits the 3rd and 4th rounds and Evans will come over the top of him and score a knockout in what should be a very entertaining fight.

Matt Hughes vs Matt Serra
Prediction- Serra by 2nd round knockout
Yes I’m going with both Rashad and Serra. While Matt Hughes is very effective at what he does and it could work against Serra, I think he’ll need more then just good wrestling and a strong top game to win this fight. If the fight stays on the feet for a long period of time it’s big advantage Serra. If Serra gets on top in this fight it’s big, big advantage Serra. If Hughes gets on top of Serra he could very well get submitted although I think if Serra is on his back for too long he’ll do well to pull anything off on the bigger man. I think the big key in this fight is Serra’s improved stand-up and his punching power. Hughes’ stand-up has always been garbage and his keeness to trade in recent fights makes me believe Serra will take his head off with an overhand right and finish Hughes’ career.

ps- I’m going for Serra as well just so you know who’s side I’m on.

Frankie Edgar vs Sean Sherk
Prediction- Sherk on points
Sherk will give Edgar a chance if he’s stupid enough to box with him like he did with Tyson Griffin. If he fights like the Sherk who held the belt he’ll win this one easily.

Drew McFedries vs Xavier Foupa-Pokam
Prediction- Foupa-Pokam by 1st round submission
Like Sherk, Xavier gives McFedries a huge chance if he stands with him. He has excellent Muay Thai, but McFedries is as dangerous a banger as there is. Xavier’s submisison game is also good while McFedries’ is poor. If Xavier takes this to the mat he’ll tap McFedries quickly. If they stand up this could be fight of the night.

Dan Miller vs Chael Sonnen
Prediction- Sonnen on points
I’m picking this based on quality of opposition. I think Sonnen’s experience will help him in this one and his wrestling should dictate the course of the fight.

Preliminaries
Patrick Barry vs Tim Hague
Prediction- Barry by 2nd round knockout

Kyle Bradley vs Philipe Nover
Prediction- Nover by 1st round knockout

Andre Gusman vs Krysztof Soszynski
Prediction- Soszynski on points

Dave Kaplan vs George Roop
Prediction- Kaplan on points

Brock Larson vs Chris Wilson
Prediction- Larson by 2nd round submission

Brandon Wolff vs Yoshiyuko Yoshida
Prediction- Yoshida by 1st round submission

Arlovski vs Rogers completes Strikeforce: Lawler vs Shields

A Heavyweight clash between top five contender Andrei Arlovski and undefeated prospect Brett Rogers will be the final fight on the main card of the June 6 Strikeforce: Lawler vs Shields event. With the catchweight bout between EliteXC welterweight and middleweight champions headlining the event and the inclusion of this fight to an already decent undercard, this looks to be one of the top non UFC cards in recent memory. Also appearing on the card is Nick Diaz, fresh off his TKO victory over Frank Shamrock, facing up against the always entertaining Scott Smith. Bouts between former UFC Heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman and Mike Whitehead and former UFC contenders Joe Riggs and Phil Baroni rounds out the main card of this event.

Arlovski was set to make his professional boxing debut on the undercard of the Victor Ortiz-Marcos Maidana pay per view, but that fight looks to be on hold pending the outcome of his fight with Rogers. As much as I would like to see how Arlovski did inside the ring with 10oz gloves on, I think his home is MMA and there’s far more entertaining matchups for him in this sport. Plus the fact that two of his biggest weapons (leg kicks and takedown defence) won’t be a factor in a boxing match and it makes me think that Arlovski’s boxing career would have been short lived anyway.

Brett Rogers is highly untested, but he’s done what any top fighter would do to his competition in blowing them out. Out of his 9 professional wins, all of them have ended via strikes and only one of them has gone into the 2nd round. The biggest name on his record is a win over James Thompson, who is most famous for his fight with Kimbo Slice in the first nationally televised main event in MMA history. Arlovski stands as a huge step up in competition for the 28 year old in a fight that should prove to be an exciting stand-up battle while it lasts.

Hari destroys Schilt at “It’s Showtime”

2008 K-1 World Grand Prix Runner-up Badr Hari made his comeback a successful one, destroying three time K-1 Champion Semmy Schilt in 45 seconds at the annual “It’s Showtime” event in Holland. Hari jumped on Schilt at the opening bell and pushed the K-1 Super Heavyweight champion across the ring with hard blows. A barrage culminating with a left hand dropped Schilt onto the ropes and although he was up at one he was on clearly wobbly legs. Hari then showed his superb finishing skills reigning in combinations knocking Schilt out with a right hand.

This fight had been built up for a number of years and was probably the best thing Hari could have done for his career. I’m not sure if he’s allowed in K-1’s Grand Prix this year, but if he is it’s going to be difficult for anyone to beat him. I’d love to see a rematch between him and Overeem at the Final 16 to prove the first win was not over the prime Hari but rather an out of conditioned fighter who had just fought three hard fights on one night only three weeks prior. As much as I (and a lot of fans) don’t like Hari, on his night he’d probably beat anyone in a kick boxing match in the world.

As for Schilt, his career has really slipped. The loss to Aerts in the Final 16 was unfortunate for him but this one was only the 2nd time he has been knocked out in his kickboxing career (the other was five years ago). Yes Aerts and Hari are among the very best in the world, but Schilt in my opinion seems to have been worked out. He looks the best in the world when he can stand his ground and deliver unanswered blows on his opponents but when someone big like Aerts or Hari takes the fight to him the technical flaws that his size allows him to get away with become more obvious and easier to take advantage of.

In a bit of an upset, unheralded Mourad Bouzidi scored a first round TKO over K-1 semi finalist Errol Zimmerman. The fight was stopped due to a cut caused by a clean Bouzidi knee landing flush to the face. Bouzidi seemed to be in control of the fight, mixing up good movement with his aggression to keep Zimmerman off balance. The loss is the third in a row for Zimmerman who needs to get a few fights with some decent veterans in before he fights the likes or Hari and Aerts again. Also victorious on the card was Andy Souwer, Gago Drago, Tyrone Spong and Melvin Manhoef who scored a KO win over Stefan Leko. I actually forgot this card was even on and probably would have made an effort to watch it as it was on Setanta had I known.

TV Ringside making a comeback

Probably the best news for Australian boxing in a long long time, the 70’s weekly boxing program ‘TV Ringside’ will be making a comeback on the new channel ten digital station that will start July 1st. They will feature weekly boxing cards with Australian fighters making up the card and will start in July.

This is huge news for boxing in Australia if it comes off. The big problem with boxing in this country is the lack of media coverage in this sport. The sport is in the shadows so to speak as no one can watch boxing unless they actively seek it by buying tickets to local shows or paying for pay per views or a Foxtel subscription. The way the sport is set up, it’s almost impossible to attract new fans because boxing isn’t in there face. With TV Ringside back, the chances for people who don’t normally watch any boxing to be flicking through the channels and see boxing on are good and it should attract a wider audience.

The other positive this brings is that ‘lesser’ fighters can make a name for themselves and attract a wider range of sponsors with good showings on free to air TV. Guys who hold State and Australian titles and constantly fight good opposition but don’t get paid good money for it will benefit a lot by this. It’ll also help rid out the likes of Rugby League players who get paid more then proper pro boxers having one off fights which will raise the respectability of the sport in the general public’s eyes.