Working for the Weekend
So my boxing gym was closed the entire Labor Day weekend and neglected to post a sign. Though I should have expected as much, as it's an old school place... you know, lots of duct tape, the blood gets scrubbed off at the end of the month, and any teeth that come out are kept in the lost and found. But still, it totally threw off my week.
This weekend, on the other hand, is freaking packed with action. First off, tonight the IFL returns with its second season. If you've haven't bought into the IFL, now's the time. I was at the inaugural event and was very impressed with everything: the production, attention to detail, quality of the fights, not mention bumping into Pat Miletich in line for food. Then there was the Smashing Machine himself sitting one section over, as well as Tim Sylvia working the crowd and supporting Miletich's Silverbacks. Say what you want about Sylvia, but he's a hell of a nice guy to the fans, he's an enormous son of a bitch, and he wears his belt to stuff like this. I think that whomever the reigning champ is, they should wear the belt out all the time.
A. You're the best in the world at something (not too many folks get to say that), and
2. People want to see the belt. It's a big gold monstrosity with writing and all sorts of crap etched into it. Not too many people get to see one of those. Something to think about.
Sorry about the tangent. On to the fights. The biggest names are of course Matt Lindland and Jeremy Horn in the Superfight (yet another great idea for this league). Lindland looked great against the power of Quinton Jackson last month. Took everything Rampage threw at him and, on several occasions, nearly finished him off. Since losing to Sobral almost a year ago, Horn has made short work of two guys who probably aren't in his class. And since he's had to drop down for this fight (at 185), I'm lookin for Lindland to take it. Either way, I'd love to see eiter of these guys tee it up against Rich Franklin. I really think that Dana White is waiting for challengers to be born instead of throwing his champs against the best fighters available. Just one man's opinion. But really, after Tito beats Ken again, does he get another shot at Liddell? Tito hasn't fought anyone at the top of the heap in over two years, and hasn't beaten anyone at the top in over five. And I'm not counting an on-the-skids Vitor Belfort as top of the heap.
After Lindland and Horn, look for Horodecki's power to stop Ed West in a good fight, Mike Pyle to get back on my good side by tapping John Cole, and Alex Schoenauer to earn another check against Kazuhiro Hamanaka. Good times!
Tomorrow night is the long awaited final two rounds of the PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix. Final Conflict Absolute. I love the way stuff gets named in Japan. Big, bigger biggest. What's next.. Ultimate Ultimate Absolute Final Armageddon I Mean It This is The End of The World . This is sick stuff. Even the undercard is loaded. But I'm thrilled PRIDE matched up the fighters that they did. Barnett / Big Nog is going to be terrific. I don't know if, even with the 20 lb advantage, Barnett has the power to stop Nogueira. I think Nog submits him. On the other side, with Silva up to 218, I don't think CroCop can handle him. Look for Wand to fight his way inside and CroCop to try and keep the distance. Lot's of power in this one. If he doesn't just charge in, I'm going with Wanderlei Silva, simply because he really seems to be peaking as a fighter right now and CroCop's style doesn't put him at a disadvantage.
In the final, I think Nog gets Silva to the ground and locks him up.
The undercard has Aleksander Emelianenko against Sergei Kharitonov. Aleks has a lot of big fight experience for a kid, and he's enormous. If he shows up in shape, he's my pick to win the title as injury substitute for tomorrow's final. He's going to have a very good career. Watch out when he turns 30. Ricardo Arona against Alistair Overeem is another good fight. Arona can go with anyone from 185 to 205 and has. Overeem is six inches taller and is better than his losses indicate. This could be a big fight for Overeem's career if he pulls it off. Shogun Rua, who really should be going head to head with Wanderlei Silva for the middleweight belt, is looking to get back after breaking his arm after giving up over 30 lbs to Mark Coleman. A 6'6" Muay Thai fighter should be an interesting challenge.
That's it for me. Hopefully I can get something together for after the OWGP.
This weekend, on the other hand, is freaking packed with action. First off, tonight the IFL returns with its second season. If you've haven't bought into the IFL, now's the time. I was at the inaugural event and was very impressed with everything: the production, attention to detail, quality of the fights, not mention bumping into Pat Miletich in line for food. Then there was the Smashing Machine himself sitting one section over, as well as Tim Sylvia working the crowd and supporting Miletich's Silverbacks. Say what you want about Sylvia, but he's a hell of a nice guy to the fans, he's an enormous son of a bitch, and he wears his belt to stuff like this. I think that whomever the reigning champ is, they should wear the belt out all the time.
A. You're the best in the world at something (not too many folks get to say that), and
2. People want to see the belt. It's a big gold monstrosity with writing and all sorts of crap etched into it. Not too many people get to see one of those. Something to think about.
Sorry about the tangent. On to the fights. The biggest names are of course Matt Lindland and Jeremy Horn in the Superfight (yet another great idea for this league). Lindland looked great against the power of Quinton Jackson last month. Took everything Rampage threw at him and, on several occasions, nearly finished him off. Since losing to Sobral almost a year ago, Horn has made short work of two guys who probably aren't in his class. And since he's had to drop down for this fight (at 185), I'm lookin for Lindland to take it. Either way, I'd love to see eiter of these guys tee it up against Rich Franklin. I really think that Dana White is waiting for challengers to be born instead of throwing his champs against the best fighters available. Just one man's opinion. But really, after Tito beats Ken again, does he get another shot at Liddell? Tito hasn't fought anyone at the top of the heap in over two years, and hasn't beaten anyone at the top in over five. And I'm not counting an on-the-skids Vitor Belfort as top of the heap.
After Lindland and Horn, look for Horodecki's power to stop Ed West in a good fight, Mike Pyle to get back on my good side by tapping John Cole, and Alex Schoenauer to earn another check against Kazuhiro Hamanaka. Good times!
Tomorrow night is the long awaited final two rounds of the PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix. Final Conflict Absolute. I love the way stuff gets named in Japan. Big, bigger biggest. What's next.. Ultimate Ultimate Absolute Final Armageddon I Mean It This is The End of The World . This is sick stuff. Even the undercard is loaded. But I'm thrilled PRIDE matched up the fighters that they did. Barnett / Big Nog is going to be terrific. I don't know if, even with the 20 lb advantage, Barnett has the power to stop Nogueira. I think Nog submits him. On the other side, with Silva up to 218, I don't think CroCop can handle him. Look for Wand to fight his way inside and CroCop to try and keep the distance. Lot's of power in this one. If he doesn't just charge in, I'm going with Wanderlei Silva, simply because he really seems to be peaking as a fighter right now and CroCop's style doesn't put him at a disadvantage.
In the final, I think Nog gets Silva to the ground and locks him up.
The undercard has Aleksander Emelianenko against Sergei Kharitonov. Aleks has a lot of big fight experience for a kid, and he's enormous. If he shows up in shape, he's my pick to win the title as injury substitute for tomorrow's final. He's going to have a very good career. Watch out when he turns 30. Ricardo Arona against Alistair Overeem is another good fight. Arona can go with anyone from 185 to 205 and has. Overeem is six inches taller and is better than his losses indicate. This could be a big fight for Overeem's career if he pulls it off. Shogun Rua, who really should be going head to head with Wanderlei Silva for the middleweight belt, is looking to get back after breaking his arm after giving up over 30 lbs to Mark Coleman. A 6'6" Muay Thai fighter should be an interesting challenge.
That's it for me. Hopefully I can get something together for after the OWGP.
posted by Larry at 4:34 PM
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