Bellator 48 Weigh-In video and thoughts on Rodriguez vs Petruzelli

On the horn with:

Johnny Waugh

LEAD SR WRITER


Petruzelli with a TKO win over Slice



            Seth Petruzelli and Ricco Rodriguez fighting each other is a match up I honestly. . . . . . . . want to see. Believe it or not I am excited that the "Kimbo Killer" is back in the cage against a guy who many don't know is riding a 12 fight win streak in Ricco Rodriguez.

             Even though James McSweeney is the biggest name that Rodriguez has beaten during that streak I am still excited for "Suave" to throw down with the man that basically brought down the a promotion at EliteXC: Heat single handily by destroying Kimbo Slice in about 14 seconds of the first round by TKO. I predicting another TKO stoppage by Seth Petruzelli.

          And check out how big Cole Konrad really is at Heavyweight. He had to cut weight to make the Heavyweight limit. That's just a big boy right there.

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Throwback Boxers You May Have Missed

On the horn with:

Scottie 2 Piece
SR BOXING WRITER

          Boxing is losing its luster. Since my early days with my Father I would watch the greats go toe to toe with other greats and it was thrilling to say the least. They dont make fighters like they used to, So when i come across true BOXERS I cant help but feel a since of what THE SWEET SCIENCE really means. Enjoy:

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Pat Promrangka vs. Mitch Heron Fightworld Cup 9. AWESOME Fight KO

Pat Promrangka vs. Mitch Heron
Fightworld Cup 9, 8/6/11

What does it take to beat the "Unbeatable"? UFC 134 Silva vs Okami

On the horn with:
Schroe
SR MMA WRITER



Silva sinking in a triangle ckoke against Sonnen

            Imagine you wake up one morning with an e-mail from Dana White. You open it and all it says is "You have a shot at the Title, 8/27/11 in Rio, if you want it." Title? Yes, a UFC title.

 

            The end game and only thing every fighter strives for and now you have been given the chance to go for that title after years of dues paid in pain, sweet and blood.

 

            There are so many fighters that never get to have a fight defined as "5, Five minute rounds." With one e-mail notification and a phone call you now have a chance that some fighters never get. And if you're in the 185 pound divison, some fighters fear.

 

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Golden Glory gets the AX from Zuffa Contracts. Whats Going On?

On the horn with:

MattZilla

SR MMA WRITER



Alistair Overeem

            As I said before, the world of contracts and business is heartless, brutal, and not the least bit convoluted.

           Now, from the dark depths of the paper jungle comes news that Zuffa released a handful of fighters who were under the Golden Glory management company, including a freshly-dethroned champion (Marloes Coenen) , a current champion (Alistair Overeem), and his brother (Valentijn overeem).

            This conflict has two sides, Zuffa and Golden Glory, and appears to center around how the fighter is payed. Zuffa wants to pay the fighter directly, while Golden Glory wants to get the check, and then distribute it to the fighters.

Valentijn overeem



          At first glance, this may sound a bit shady on Golden Glory's part. However, according to Marloes Coenen (fighter) and Bas Boon (Golden Glory's co-owner), this allows the fighters to get their pay weeks sooner than if they were paid directly.

         The fighters at Golden Glory seem to be happy with the company, so I don't sense that they're mistreating the fighters in any way.



Marloes Coenen

             Dana White said, "That's not the way we do business." So at this point, we have a disagreement on how the money is transferred.

            This shouldn't be too difficult to iron out; Zuffa either needs to write the check to Golden Glory, or Golden Glory needs to let Zuffa pay however they want.

            Either way, everyone gets paid, and we at home get to watch Overeem and friends punch faces. Those payment details are certainly a secondary concern, right?

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Overeem's Employment Situation- A Mattzilla Editorial

On the horn with:

MattZilla

SR WRITER

Overeem

         Let's say you were running a Denny's in your neighborhood. You have one waitress that everyone loves: efficient, charming, beautiful, but not threateningly so.

       Customers often cite her great customer service as their reason for patronizing your restaurant. One week she can't come in, because she's sick. What do you do?

          Fire her, of course. That's what Strikeforce did. Alistair Overeem, our allegorical waitress in question, was fired because he could't fight, because he had a broken rib.

          Okay, so he wasn't exactly fired, as he still has one fight on his contract. But in the entertainment business, when your employer publicly states that you are no longer performing under their name, it's essentially a public sacking.

          If Strikeforce never actually relieved him of his services, then they need to get a new publicist

Overeem talks Golden Glory, Professional Boxing, Werdum, and UFC title shot

On the horn with:

Johnny Waugh

LEAD SR WRITER

Alistair Overeem (Brown Shirt) signing autographes at a Strikeforce event

            It was reported before that Alistair Overeem was cut from Strikeforce and stripped of the heavyweight title, read more here, but it seems that Overeem in not necessarily stripped of the title and not necessarily cut from Zuffa.

            If this sounded confusing before it was and now its very simple according to Overeem at the 8 minute mark of the interview, " Do I want to fight in the UFC? Yes. Do I need to fight in the UFC? No."

        Overeem will not sign an exclusive fighting contract if he is unable to defend his K-1 and Dream titles that to be completely fair, he has earned and rightfully have value to Overeem.

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Henderson & Cerrone Legitimize the former WEC’s Lightweight Division (Part 2) with Fight Video!

On the horn with:

Scott Mota

SR MMA WRITER

     If fighting and dominating a guy like Jim Miller wasn’t enough to shut up the naysayers about the legitimacy of the former WEC Lightweight fighters then Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone definitely helped prove that the WEC fighters are right where they belong.

     Donald Cerrone was the underdog going into the fight against Charles Oliveira but apparently Cerrone didn’t get that memo because he put on a vicious show that saw him winning a “Knockout of the Night” bonus for finishing Oliveira in the first round at three minutes and one second.

Donald Cerrone

     The young upstart Oliveira started off well, feeling out his competition and trading strikes.  Donald Cerrone

Henderson & Cerrone Legitimize the former WEC’s Lightweight Division (Part 1) with Fight Video!

On the horn with:

Mota

SR WRITER



BEN HENDERSON

           When it was first announced by UFC President Dana White on October 28, 2010 that the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) would merge its Bantamweight, Featherweight and Lightweight divisions with the UFC, many fighters of the now defunct WEC felt that they had just received a golden opportunity to show the world just how good they are. 

            Many fighters had expressed that to the casual fan, unless a fighter was in the UFC they were viewed as being no good or as a second tier fighter. 

          Since the UFC, WEC merger, fans have witnessed some iconic fights that helped to establish the lower weight classes into the UFC.  UFC 132 saw former WEC superstar Uriah Faber take on Bantamweight champ Dominic Cruz for five intense rounds of non stop action.

            Jose Aldo defeated Mark Hominick to keep his Featherweight belt after narrowly hanging in through a fifth round come back from Hominick at UFC 129. As these fights laid out the blueprint for the smaller divisions, the Lightweight fighters from the WEC never received the same positive attention. 

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The curtain closes on "Lights Out" , but not before the performance of a life time

On the horn with:

Johnny Waugh

LEAD SR WRITER

            Chris Lytle: $35,000 + $35,000 win Bonus + $65,000 "Fight of the Night" Bonus + $65,000 "Submission of the Night" Bonus + Retiring with a win and FINISH in a main event with all of the above money = The best way to retire. . .  ever!!

Chris "Lights Out" Lytle

            On Sunday, August 14th, a day usually set aside for rest and relaxation, Chris Lytle and Dan Hardy went toe to toe and hit each other with every shot they could throw.


            The fight was a back and forth clash of hay makers digging into eachother's faces.

            Chris Lytle landed some huge and extremely painful blows to the body of Dan Hardy repeatedly through out the almost full 3 round affair.
            I kept asking myself  "When is one of them just gonna hit the floor face first?!?" Hardy's side was red from the hands that Lytle kept throwing and landing to the ribs and midsection of the outmatched Brit.


            The fight was unbelievably close at times but it seemed like Lytle had the first 2 rounds in the bag which pushed Hardy to become more aggressive.

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Unrivaled MMA Striker dead at 37.

On the horn with:

Johnny Waugh

Lead SR Writer



Shawn Tompkins



            Heralded MMA striking coach, Shawn Tompkins, passed away while in Canada Sunday morning. Tompkins was world renowned for his unrivaled teaching ability when it came to striking.

           The sweet science of distributing your intent and force onto your opponent via punches and kicks was a concept that many believe no one else in the world was better at showing his fighter than the recently passed trainer.

          Tompkins had fans from everywhere around the world. One of those such fans was the legendary Bas Rutten who was quoted by ESPN.com as saying "Shawn is one of my best friends, one of the best if not the best striking coaches on the planet, and I mean this," said Rutten, who made the blond-haired Canadian the head coach of an International Fight League team in 2007.

      "He always put his students and friends before him, would do anything for them."

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Can "The Outlaw" steal the spot light form "Lights Out"?

On the horn with:

Johnny Waugh

LEAD SR WRITER


Dan Hardy



            Dan Hardy came into the UFC with a lot of hype, courage, and confidence. He seemingly has a love it or leave it fight mentality and frankly I love it.

            He burst onto the UFC stage with 4 straight wins until GSP showed Hardy his flaw and since then Hardy has been unable to make the change that flaw with 3 straight UFC losses.

            Chris Lytle is a banger by heart and nature. His fight against Brain Ebersole in Australia was probably the most entertaining fight on the card.

            Lytle is always worthy of a big fight because he consistently gives the fans a fight they remember when they walk away from the event thinking about the nights festivities.



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Outlaws and Dark Rooms are Dangerous. Hardy vs Lytle Hype

On the horn with: 
Scottie 2Piece
SR WRITER

       Dan "The OutLaw" Hardy is exciting. Flat Out.

             From what I heard he actually called Lytle OUT!! But anyone who's ever watched "Lights Out" Lytle knows that he has Delinquent SMUD BILLS in both hands, he loves to bang, and his submission game is sound (to say the least).

            Long story short: Dont go to the frig after this one starts.

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Hardy-Silent but deadly

Lytle

Contact Scottie: TheSRCrew@SRMMA.com

Administrator: Johnny Waugh

UFC Live on Versus 5 Fight Preview!

On the horn with:

Scott Mota

SR WRITER

            This Sunday on Facebook and Versus the UFC will be back to give MMA fans their fix for action.  Milwaukee,Wisconsin is the place and it will be the fifth event the UFC has televised on the Versus television network. 

            Headlined by British brawler Dan Hardy, who is in hopes of snapping a three fight losing streak and his opponent Chris Lytle, a crafty veteran looking to bounce back from a loss after previously carrying a four fight win streak.  

            Jim Miller will have the opportunity to answer the question as to whether he’s ready and worthy of a lightweight title shot and Charles Oliveira will try and prove that the hype behind his name is warranted. Below I give my predictions on the main card and the two most important fights on the preliminary card.

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