Looking for the Underdog: Shane Carwin

 Posted by at 8:51 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Jun 302010
 

UFC 116 boasts a main event for the heavyweight title between two larger than life (pun intended) opponents. Shane Carwin (12-0) and Brock Lesnar (4-1) will face off on Saturday in what will likely tell the true pecking order of the heavyweight division not only in the UFC but in MMA. This fight has has its ups and downs in getting made but it’s finally upon us, and promises to be an intriguing fight regardless of the outcome.

There are two things that stand out to me in this fight. The first is that Brock Lesnar only has one loss on his record and it was largely due to the slick jiu jitsu of Frank Mir and the inexperience of Lesnar. The second is that Shane Carwin has never lost a fight, seen round two, or even the 4-minute mark of any fight. Today I’d like to talk about Carwin, tomorrow I’ll cover more about Lesnar.

Shane Carwin is a good fighter. He has seen adversity and overcome it during a fight, and he has found success in the most successful MMA promotion in the world. I don’t say this lightly, even more so he has devastated every one of his opponents the majority by KO and TKO, even half of his submissions are by punches. On paper this seems like real trouble for Brock Lesnar.

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UFC 116 Pre-fight Breakdown: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Chris Leben

 Posted by at 8:48 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Jun 302010
 

The MGM Grand Arena is the chosen battleground for the latest high profile UFC Pay-Per-View.  In the Octagon this Saturday, current heavyweight king Brock Lesnar (4-1) will defend his belt against interim champ Shane Carwin (11-0) and Japanese-Korean Olympic Judo prodigy Yoshihiro Akiyama (14-2) will face late replacement and middleweight TUF alumni “The Crippler” Chris Leben (20-7).  Originally slated to face “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (34-10-1), this bout was almost scrapped when Akiyama took slight at what he viewed to be an inferior replacement for the injured Brazilian brawler who pulled out of the bout due to several injuries including damaged ribs and a knee injury.  The UFC was, however, able to persuade Akiyama to take the fight anyway and the bout was made official.  An odd stylistic clash between the hard nosed brawling of Leben and the refined premeditated and technically exquisite Shotokan karate/Judo attack of Akiyama, this fight is definitely one of the more difficult pairings to predict with any certainty.  This is due in part to the less concrete variables of Leben’s condition going into this fight just two weeks after a come from behind KO of Aaron Simpson (6-1) and weather or not Akiyama is writing Leben off as a sure thing.  At UFC 116 we will find out just how much that fight took out of “The Crippler” and just how much respect Akiyama will show his opponent. Continue reading »

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“The Reverend of MMA” Turk Vangel Hired as Color Commentator for Red Canvas

 Posted by at 1:53 PM  MMA Gospel Radio, MMA News  1 Response »
Jun 302010
 

MMA Gospel and MMA Gospel Radio founder “The Reverend of MMA” Turk Vangel has been signed as the color commentator for the newly founded Red Canvas Fights. Turk will be working along side veteran announcer Ron “The Yacman” Yacovetti on July 10 in Palmdale, California at the Clear Channel Stadium for Red Canvas. You can buy tickets to the event or watch live on pay-per-view by going to the Take Down Sports Network . The full press release with additional information is below.

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Are We Actually Helping the Opponents of MMA by Fighting Them?

 Posted by at 10:29 PM  MMA News  4 Responses »
Jun 292010
 

Yesterday, in the wake of the “The Tree” Michael Kirkham (1-3*) disaster in South Carolina, I set about the internet in search of those people who make it their business to rise up and cry for the ban of Mixed Martial Arts on a federal level.  I prepared myself to look on this argument objectively (despite the rage I knew the multitude of anti-MMA sites would bring) by pushing the thought that every anti-MMA argument would be as ignorant and unsupported as the ones found on MMA forums posted by the uneducated out of my mind and I found one very disturbing truth and one almost comic realization:

1. MMA fans and the pro-MMA media are, in fact, the biggest perpetrators of these moronic ideals.

2. The major opponents of MMA are actually as uneducated and unfounded as the morons who choose to join MMA forums just to blast it as human cockfighting! Continue reading »

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MMA Gospel Radio 51: Jake Rosholt, Strikeforce and Keith Evans

 Posted by at 3:21 PM  MMA Gospel Radio  No Responses »
Jun 292010
 

MMA Gospel Radio comes back after the big 50th episode with two great guests. Jake Rosholt joins us to talk about his injury and what the future holds for him. Then “The Reverend of MMA” Turk Vangel and Gary Friedman talk Strikeforce including the legacy of Fedor, Jan Finney vs Cyborg and much more. We finish up the show with a man who has been on the inside of MMA for a quite some time. Keith Evans is the former Director of Information Technology for the UFC, former VP of Operations for the International Fight League and current President and co-founder of the Take Down Sports Network.

MMA Gospel Radio airs live each Wednesday from 8-10 PM EST/ 5-7 PT. You can listen live and take part in the live chat room here

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UFC 116 Pre-fight Breakdown: Chris Lytle vs Matt Brown II

 Posted by at 10:57 PM  MMA News  1 Response »
Jun 282010
 

At UFC: 116 Lesnar vs. Carwin the always exciting “Lights Out” Chris Lytle (28-17-5) will step into the Octagon and square off with TUF season 7 standout “Immortal” Matt Brown (11-8) in a showdown that has serious Fight of the Night potential.  The pair last met in 2007 at United Fight League: Fight Night at Conseco Fieldhouse where Chris Lytle stopped “Immortal” via a second round guillotine choke but with an additional three years of full time training including time with Matt Hume in Seattle and the Throwdown Training Center in Las Vegas, Matt Brown should be more than ready for the rematch.  This bout is most definitely most casual fan friendly match on the card.  With both fighter’s tendency to stand and bang and always search for the finish, there is no reason to think this fight will be anything less than spectacular, especially considering that their first encounter was a fight worthy of a fight of the night nomination in terms of excitement on any organizations card.             Continue reading »

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Strikeforce: Chaos Ensues! Dana White Smiles

 Posted by at 5:13 PM  MMA News  1 Response »
Jun 282010
 

Strikeforce strikes again, and I’m trapped inside a glass box of emotions on this one.

There were four fights on the main card of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum and none of them went to decision. This sounds like it could be a promising night for Strikeforce however the only issue is that the heavyweight division appears to be in a bit of disarray after a surprising outcome in the main event.

By now many of you already know the result of “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emilianenko (32-2) and Fabricio Werdum (14-4) which was a relatively quick submission for the underdog Werdum in round 1. One thing about this fight seemed a little odd to me. I don’t believe this fight was “fixed” in the sense that the majority of people may suspect it was however, I found it strange that an MMA veteran of 34 fights would go into the guard of a BJJ black belt for ground and pound with his head down. When they showed the replay I couldn’t believe what was happening in front of me. It’s not that I believe Fedor is untouchable or unbeatable, I just refuse to believe that he’s never heard of a triangle and doesn’t know how to defend one.

Shortly after the Main event ended quickly Dana white tweeted the following “:D”. I’m pretty sure I know why Dana is smiling, and furthermore how Strikeforce will keep the smile on Dana’s face.

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Why Cutting Keith Jardine is the Only Option for the UFC

 Posted by at 11:05 PM  MMA News  1 Response »
Jun 242010
 

Photo: Kalooz.com

On June 24, 2010, after suffering his fourth straight loss at the hands of “The Hammer” Matt Hamill (8-2) at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Finale, the UFC brass has decided to terminate light heavyweight “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine’s (14-8-1) contract with the promotion.  Despite his less than stellar 6-7 record in the promotion, this decision actually comes as a surprise to many fans due to a combination of Jardine’s exciting style and Dana White’s tendency to give the early Ultimate Fighter contestants a certain special protection.  This move is, however, the only real option for the UFC at this juncture.  Here is a more in depth look at why the UFC had no choice to cut “The Dean of Mean” and how it may actually work in favor of both the UFC and Jardine. Continue reading »

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MMA Gospel Radio: 50th Show and Andy Hug

 Posted by at 4:34 PM  MMA Gospel Radio, MMA News  No Responses »
Jun 242010
 

Do you know who the man above is? Well if not you have come to the right place. Last night we at mmagospel.com and MMA Gospel Radio were proud to have our 50th episode. The show was three hours of what many are calling the “legendary”.  Guests included Ariel Helwani, Jason “Mayhem” Miller who was live in studio and “The Voice” Michael Schiavello.

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UFC 116 Pre-fight Breakdown: Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Stephan Bonnar II

 Posted by at 10:21 PM  MMA News  2 Responses »
Jun 232010
 

In addition to the main event showdown between Brock Lesnar (4-1) and Shane Carwin (11-0) UFC: 116 Lesnar vs. Carwin will also play host to the rematch between “American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar (11-7) and “The Polish Experiment” Krzysztof Soszynski (20-9-1).  The two TUF alumni first met at UFC 110 where their bout was ended early by a cut caused by an accidental head butt.  Unfortunately, referee John Sharp missed the head butt and ruled the bout a TKO victory for Soszynski.  The result is an instant rematch between the two light heavyweight stalwarts in what should prove to be one of the most exciting fights on the card.  The head butt may indeed be a blessing in disguise for both fighters as their initial meeting was an under card affair the aired only after the main card had finished and the rematch is two fights into a main card headlined by the unparalleled drawing power that is heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar.  This provides both fighters with an opportunity to showcase themselves to the vast majority of the UFC fan base and possibly move the winner into a position as a main card staple.  If the rematch is anywhere near as fast paced and exciting as the first fight, we could see both men leaping ahead of other mid tier Light heavyweights into a position as featured fighters on future Pay-Per-View events. Continue reading »

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UFC 116 Pre-fight Breakdown: George Sotiropoulos vs Kurt Pellegrino

 Posted by at 11:11 PM  MMA News  1 Response »
Jun 212010
 

On July 3, the UFC returns to its old stomping ground at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin.  Once again, the UFC will show just how deep its roster is packing its fourth card in five weeks with several quality under card bouts and a main card that features not only the title affair between Brock Lesnar (4-1) and “The Engineer” Shane Carwin (11-0) but also a collection of fights pulled from the middle ranks of the UFC’s talent pool.  The main card starts with a lightweight tilt between Australian submission fighting ace George Sotiropoulos (12-2) and New Jersey bred wrestler “Batman” Kurt Pellegrino (16-4).  These two lightweights have put together impressive winning streaks in their efforts to break into the upper echelon of the division and will now meet in a battle that promises to be a fast paced affair that will be the grappling fans delight.  The only question that remains is what will be the deciding factor, Pellegrino’s superior wrestling or Sotiropoulos’ more well rounded BJJ centric skill set. Continue reading »

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Chris Leben might be back….

 Posted by at 3:27 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Jun 212010
 

“Crippler” Chris Leben (20-6-0) hit the wall that many people in the middleweight division had hit before and its name was Anderson Silva.

Before Leben faced Silva, he was on a 6-fight win streak with 4 of the 5 wins coming by submission or TKO. After the loss to then UFC newcomer Anderson Silva Leben entered a phase of his career where he accrued the majority of his losses. Touting a record of 20-6 four of his losses have come since the Silva fight.

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WEC 49 Know your roots: A plea to Mixed Martial Artists

 Posted by at 8:20 AM  MMA News  No Responses »
Jun 212010
 

Lightweight  Kamal Shalorus (6-0-2) is possibly one of the best wrestlers to ever enter into Mixed Martial Arts. Not that you would have known it during the three round battle he endured to a draw with Jamie Varner at Sunday night’s WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus. The odd judging and reffing could have been a non-factor had Shalorus imposed his greatest strength, his wrestling. But he chose to take Varner down only once, even while being easily out-pointed on the feet.  Are fighters delusional, thinking their striking game has evolved faster than it has? Or are they risking their victories to entertain the masses? Continue reading »

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