Hominick secures title shot

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are aware that not only did Mark Hominick defeat George Roop at UFC Fight for the Troops 2, he beat him quite handily. Taking almost no damage and landing 70% of his strikes, Hominick put on what was likely the most impressive performance of his career.

Here is a link to the bout for those interested: http://www.mma-core.com/videos/_UFC_Fight_For_The_Troops_2_Mark_Hominick_vs_Geor?vid=10016049&tid=100

Canadian Tim Hague was also on the card; however, he did not fare as well as his Canuck counterpart. In the first round Hague was knocked out my rising prospect Matt Mitrione, leading to his release from the promotion later in the week.

Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg took place this past weekend and things finally seem to be going in the right direction for Strikeforce. Two straight shows their fighters have had impressive performances with exciting fights and finishes. Middleweight Champion Ronalda “Jacare” Souza and Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz both defended their championships successfully.

No further announcements have been made as it pertains to the UFC 129 fight card, other than the Mark Hominick vs. Jose Aldo featherweight championship bout is official for the card. Ticket prices were released on Jan. 26. Prices go from $50 for nosebleeds all the way up, depending how close you want to be to the action. For those interested, tickets go on sale Feb. 12.

Speaking of Feb.12, this is the date that “The Last Emporer” Fedor Emelianenko will return to the Strikeforce Cage in hopes of winning the heavyweight grand-prix and their world championship. Emelianenko is coming off of his first loss in nearly 10 years and will be looking for redemption.

Personally, I think Emelianenko has a great chance of winning the tournament and should dispatch of his first round opponent, Antonio Silva, with ease. Although Silva has a clear size advantage and powerful hands, the faster and more technical Emelianenko should be able to weave in and out of the punches and control where the fight takes place.

Keep your eyes on the site as more news comes from UFC 129.

- SS

UFC 129 Ticket Sales Announced and Other Happenings

Another interesting week in the world of mixed martial arts culminates with tonight’s UFC “Fight for the Troops 2” event, headlined by rising star Evan Dunham taking on gatekeeper Melvin Guillard.

Although that’s the main event, Ontario fans will have a closer eye on the featherweight bout between London’s Mark Hominick and George Roop. With a victory, Hominick will lock up a shot at UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo at the upcoming UFC 129 event, emanating from the Skydome (not the Rogers Centre) on April 30^th.

Hominick is the favourite in the bout, but my guess is that it could be much closer than people expect. Roop has solid stand-up skills and if he’s smart will use his reach to keep the shorter Hominick at bay. That being said, I’m still picking Hominick to find a way to get it done, probably via submission. For my full predictions on the event, check out http://www.mmahq.com/blog/2011/01/21/writers-pick-fight-for-the-troops-2-main-card/

The rumoured James Wilks vs. Rory MacDonald for UFC 129 has now been upgraded to Nate Diaz vs. Rory MacDonald in what is guaranteed to produce fireworks. After his recent unanimous decision loss to Dong Hyun Kim, Diaz complained of fighters coming to win a decision instead of actually fighting. He will not face the same problem with MacDonald, who proved how tough he was in his controversial loss to Carlos Condit at UFC 115 in June of 2010. These two will likely keep the fight on the feet and exchange strikes until one of them cannot take it anymore or the time expires.

The UFC 129 card as of right now is:

UFC Welterweight Championship: Georges St. Pierre (GSP for those new to the sport) vs. Jake Shields

Light-heavyweight: Randy "The Natural" Couture vs. Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida

Lightweight: Ben Henderson vs. Mark Bocek (of Woodbridge, Ont.)

Welterweight: Rory MacDonald (of Quesnel, B.C) vs. Nate Diaz

Lightweight: Kyle Watson vs. John Makdessi

Featherweight: Pablo Garza vs. Yves Jabouin

Light-Heavyweight: Phil Davis vs. Matt Hamill

Welterweight: Sean Pierson (of Toronto, Ont.) vs. Brian Foster

Welterweight: Daniel Roberts vs. Claude Patrick (of Toronto, Ont.)

Bantemweight: Ivan Menjivar (fights out of Montreal, Qbc.) vs. Charlie Valencia

Middleweight: Jason MacDonald (of New Glascow, N.S.) vs. Ryan Jensen

Tickets go on sale Feb. 12 to the general public. They will go fast so be prepared. Official ticket prices will be released next Wednesday (Jan. 26) but there are rumours that nosebleed seats are going for upwards of $200. Start counting your change now, this one isn’t going to be cheap.

Nate’s brother, Nick Diaz, recently riled up a few feathers in the mixed martial arts community by essentially refusing to fight arch-nemesis Jason Miller without a hefty paycheque on the line. You may recall that Diaz jumped Miller during the now infamous melee that took place last April at Strikeforce: Nashville. The two have gone back and forth with verbal assaults since the event and for one reason or another have not been able to get a contract signed. This is one of many fights that fans want to see that Strikeforce have not been able to deliver to fans, but that is another story for another time.

In closing, I encourage everyone to donate to those struggling in Brazil right now with the heavy rainfall that have wiped out whole communities. The two I've donated to are http://www.combatathletecharities.com/ and http://teampopovitchlive.com/?p=163

One of the worlds best grapplers, Pablo Popovitch, lost his mother in the landslide and his father is in intensive care. Even a few dollars can go a long way.

- SS

A big week in the Heavyweight Division

It’s been a busy week in the world of mixed martial arts. The recent announcement that Junior Dos Santos and Brock Lesnar would coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter sent shockwaves through the MMA community.

Never before has there been such a weight difference between where the coaches fight (265lb. heavyweights) and those competing on the show (170lb. welterweights). For my full thoughts on the decision to have Dos Santos and Lesnar coach the show, visit http://www.mmahq.com/blog/2011/01/11/does-lesnar-vs-dos-santos-make-sense/. In short, I’m not a big fan of the idea and think it was a weak attempt to get ratings and reinvigorate the television show, which becomes less relevant by the season.

The other major news this week is the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand-Prix, scheduled to take place throughout 2011. If they can pull it off, this tournament will be huge. It will likely solidify the victor as the number one heavyweight in the world.

Of course, the most important word is IF.

Scott Coker and his team have had trouble getting fighters to actually….ya know…fight. Coker’s inability to separate himself from the friendship side of the business and become the leader he needs to be is one of the major downfalls of Strikeforce. There are fights that people want to see happen which he for one reason or another has been unable to make. Until he does, he’ll continue to be parked behind the UFC in terms of popularity.

February 12 the first round of the grand-prix takes place. There are two fights that everyone wants to see out of this tournament: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Alistair Overeem and/or Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum (the rematch). Overeem and Werdum face off in the first round of the tournament so ultimately one of them are guaranteed to move onto the second round.

It’s now on Emelianenko to bounce back from his first loss in ten years and make one of the dream fights happen. A first round loss by Emelianenko to Antonio Silva will put a significant dent in the tournament’s marketability.

In closing, don’t buy this video game. It’s a joke and it makes the sport many of us have worked extremely hard to legitimize over the last ten years look horrible. Nothing like this happens in real life so why sell it? This is Street Fighter or Mortal Combat in a cage. People already think mixed martial arts is some bloodthirsty violent group of misfits and things like this don’t help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5ctYwwenbQ&feature=player_embedded

Also, check out my story on the mysterious 10-8 round. It was fun to write and I think it supplies good insight into what a 10-8 round should look for.

http://www.mmahq.com/blog/2011/01/09/the-mysterious-10-8-round/

I just received word that I’ll be doing a cover story on Anthony Pettis for the next edition of Scrapp Fight Magazine. One article at a time I’m making my mark.

- - SS

New rumoured bouts for UFC 129

Since my last entry two days ago, a few more match-ups for the upcoming UFC 129 have been rumoured.

Just so we're clear, these are rumours at this point, and are in no way official.

Light-Heavyweight - Phil Davis vs. Matt Hamill

Welterweight - Sean Pierson (of Toronto, Ont.) vs. Brian Foster

Welterweight - Daniel Roberts vs. Claude Patrick (of Toronto, Ont.)

Bantemweight - Ivan Menjivar (fights out of Montreal, Qbc.) vs. Charlie Valencia

Jason MacDonald (of New Glascow, N.S.) vs. Ryan Jensen

I will have more in-depth discussion on these bouts in the near future.

Here we go again

After multiple failed attempts at blogging, i'm going to give this another go. This time i'm really going to focus my efforts on keeping this casual. I'll give my honest opinions on upcoming fights and other general happenings in the business of combat sports.

For the most part it will centre around mixed martial arts, but I will also give my thoughts on upcoming boxing and kick-boxing fights if they interest me.

This will also be your one stop for happenings in Ontario's mixed martial arts scene, beginning with the UFC's upcoming 129 card, emanating from the Skydome (not the Roger's Centre, sorry) on April 30, 2011.

For those wondering, tickets have not went on sale yet but will be very soon. UFC President Dana White has said they plan on keeping the event under 40,000 people to not take away from the viewing experience.

The card to date, including both officially announced bouts and rumoured bouts, includes:

UFC Welterweight Championship: Georges St. Pierre (GSP for those new to the sport) vs. Jake Shields

Randy "The Natural" Couture vs. Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida
Ben Henderson (or Black Hendo as i've dubbed him) vs. Mark Bocek (an Ontario native)

Rory MacDonald (of Quesnel, B.C) vs. James Wilks

Jonathan Brookins vs. John Makdessi

Pablo Garza vs. Yves Jabouin

As I mentioned, i'll keep you updated as more bouts are announced for the Toronto card. With UFC Featherweight Champion saying he would be ready to return in March, don't be surprised if he makes his way onto this card, possibly against London's Mark Hominick.

Here is a link to the recent racism and vulgarity filled rant that former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson released via youtube about former boxing powerhouse James Toney. These two can go back and forth all they want, Dana White isn't going to make this fight. Despite this, it will be fun to watch these two go back and forth with these rants.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iha1o5y3HM0&feature=player_embedded

As more fights become official for the Toronto card, I will give in-depth breakdowns on the mechanics of the bouts.

Enjoy

- SS