MMA

I haven't been following Mixed Martial Arts as much as I used to, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps it was watching the Last Emperor's defeat. Perhaps it was watching Jake Shields leave StrikeForce for the UFC and perform less well than I'd hoped.

I still appreciate the fights, just don't feel the enthusiasm I used to. Perhaps I just need to find a fighter I can get behind. I like watching Gegard Mousasi.

This morning I am watching StrikeForce Henderson vs Sobral II, which I recorded last night. The fact I recorded it and am watching it while I write this is an indication of my lack of attention. The one fight I look forward to is Scott Smith, who I enjoy watching fight. Hands of Steel is a man's fighter, with a chin to match. He's up now, so I log off.

Strikeforce/M-1 Results

Pat Healy v. Josh Thomson:

Good match, and I am not just saying that because my choice won. It was an awesome display of ground fighting and strategy. Watching Thomson fight is a blast.

Cristiane Santos v. Jan Finney:

I'm not sure this fight was good for women's MMA. The beating Finney took was very one-sided. Finney is tough as nails, and if she had five more inches of reach, might have made a better fight of it. She did go to the second round, which I don't believe any other fighter has done in the last five years.

The female ref made a great call penalizing 'Cyborg' for punches to the back of Finney's head. The ref repeatedly warned her, Cyborg was winning handily without them, and they were, as all Cyborg's punches, extremely powerful.

As I called it.

Cung Le v. Scott Smith:

Good fight, hard fought. Le beat Scott, as I thought he would. Scott is game, but fairly one-dimensional.

As I called it.

Fedor Emelianenko v. Fabricio Werdum:

Holy Shit! Werdum's one chance to win, and he executed flawlessly! Got tagged and put on his butt, Fedor followed up very aggressively and Werdum sucked him in for an arm bar after one minute four seconds.

"The one that doesn't stand up, doesn't fall," Fedor said after the fight. Fascinating guy. M-1 is not going to do well as a promotion from here on out. Insanely interested in the Overeem vs Werdum fight.

While not as I called it, Werdum did win the way I gave him a chance.

Strikeforce/M1 Card Picks

Pat Healy v. Josh Thomson:

I really enjoy watching Josh 'The Punk' Thomson, and this appears to me as the most evenly matched on the card. Healy is rough and ready. The Punk will win, I think, but it should be a really good bout.

Cung Le v. Scott Smith:

I loved the last fight, which was a prime example of why MMA is so exciting. Smith appeared beaten throughout the first fight. Cung, who had just come back after making Pandorum (A suprisingly good SF movie, in some regards) gassed and the lack of conditioning led him to be careless of his safety, at which point Smith lent his 'Hands of Steel' moniker further weight with a knockout. I hope Smith does it again, but think Cung will own Smith.

Cristiane Santos v. Jan Finney:

Santos is going to mow Finney over. Then again, Finney is so overmatched she might just win if Cyborg gets careless. I feel women's MMA is not best served with this fight. They should have put Cyborg in with Toughill for a good match. The Strikeforce CEO claimed that fight would happen this year at tonight's weigh-in.

Fedor Emelianenko v. Fabricio Werdum:

Fedor to win. Werdum's only chance is a submission, but Fedor is no stranger to the ground game either... Might be a great fight. Much more likely to be short and brutal. That having been said, someone has to de-throne The Last Emperor.

Observations:

Strikeforce's CEO clearly claimed that the winner of Fedor/Werdum fight would be taking on Overeem for the Strikeforce Heavyweight belt. Fedor, after this fight, will have only two more fights on contract with Strikeforce.

Further, he said of Shields, "From a pure business perspective, it looks like we will have to plan a tournament for the middleweight championship." Looks like Shields will be gracing the Octagon soon. His departure will be a serious blow to the Strikeforce Middleweight division, which I think is their deepest weight class. Worse yet, it might cause other dominant fighters of his camp, like Gil Melendez, to leave as well.

An interesting statement was made by M-1's boss, who's name escapes me: He said that the only empediment to Fedor fighting a UFC champ was the fact that Dana White refuses to open the cage he's locked the UFC fighters into.

Boy Was I Off

Called both of the early fights wrong.

Mousasi appeared a bit off before the fight. Pasty and sweaty. Mousasi, who maintains an almost sloppy calm similar to Fedor, just got bullied around the cage by the stronger Mo. I thought he might win with an up-kick, but Mo took several of them in the gob and kept coming. Mo took the belt in a long, punishing fight, earning the decision. If the few fights he's had can earn anyone title bout, Mo earned the belt with this fight.

Aoki disappointed the shit out of me. I like Melendez, and think he's an excellent lightweight, but I've seen Aoki pull insane submissions in the Dream promotions. He's a savage if he gets a grip on you. Melendez continues to impress with the quality of his study of and strategy against opponents. He studied hard to wrest the belt from Thompson, and it was obvious he had done it again before last night's fight, refusing Aoki any opportunity to even start a submission. Melendez proved the smarter and stronger fighter, pummeling Aoki, who had no answer.

I missed the late fight as I had set my DVR for the scheduled time. MVN told me in an email that the fight was pretty good, but that Shields took it in the end. I had hoped to watch this fight, as Shields is an amazing fighter I think will go very far. I failed to realize that each bout was a title bout and would go five rounds, hence I didn't set the DVR to record more than the two hours scheduled.