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| Updated: Saturday November 21st, 2009 09:56:37 AM PST |
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| Inside MMA TV report |
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*** This week, Junie Browning cuts his "Kanye on Leno" promo, Scott Coker makes a challenge to unify the World titles, and Todd Duffee comes out of his shell and offers strong opinions on a lot of people, but no one is safe from the verbal barrage of WEC champ, Jamie Varner, who seemingly goes off on everybody! We also find out which former pro-wrestler Shane Carwin is training with to prepare for Brock Lesnar, which major organization signed "King" Mo Lawal, and we find out why Anderson Silva isn't sure he wants to fight Vitor Belfort. Plus the latest on Herschel Walker, War Machine gets his comeuppance, a lively discussion about a super heavyweight division, and tigers and 'gators in MMA?! All this and more on Inside MMA! Inside MMA report by Steve Te Tai ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) Originally aired Oct 16 at 9pm EST on HDNET Kenny Rice & Bas Rutten with panelists: Jamie Varner (WEC Lightweight champ), Todd Duffee (UFC heavyweight), and Stephen Quadros (Strikeforce Challengers commentator) “Cerrone vs. Henderson” Kenny talks about the “match of the year” candidate, and how Jamie Varner (who’s looking more like Joe Rogan than Jamie Varner on this day) had been preparing to fight Cerrone, even going so far as flying in specific training partners, but will now fight Ben Henderson as their next fight. Varner said Henderson surprised him by the win, and while he did think he did the most damage, felt Cerrone won the first, fourth, and fifth rounds. Stephen Quadros felt Cerrone won the fight, and the same rounds that Varner said, but didn’t think it was a “robbery”, and pointed out how Cerrone said he didn’t think he won the fight afterwards. Bas thinks after Cerrone watches tape he’ll change his mind. They show a June clip of Ben Henderson anxious to fight Jamie Varner to be the undisputed WEC Lightweight champion. Jamie Varner says he’s trained with Henderson in the past, and Ben had a rough time trying to take him down. “Did Joe Warren tap?” They show the clip of Joe quickly and lightly tapping from Dream 12 against Bibiano Fernandez, where Joe disputes that he tapped at all. Bas feels it was definitely a tap. Kenny speculates maybe it was inexperience that he didn’t realize that even a short light tap is still a “tap”, based on his reaction as soon as the fight was stopped. Kenny asks if the controversial stoppages, etc. are increasing or decreasing after all of these years. Quadros says MMA is becoming so large, that there aren’t enough quality referees and judges to go around. He considers the Warren fight a “referee stoppage” like Royler Gracie-Sakuraba and Royce Gracie-Yoshida. While he doesn’t think the Warren fight was an officiating error, he does feel there aren’t enough John McCarthy’s and Herb Dean’s in MMA. “Todd Duffee vs. Paul Buentello” On Dec 12 at UFC 107, Todd Duffee takes on Paul Buentello. Kenny puts over Buentello’s jab as they show a clip of him hitting stiff jabs on “Baby Fedor” about a hundred times. Without hesitation, Duffee says Buentello is a better boxer than him, and probably the best striker he’s ever faced which gives him a great opportunity to test himself to “see where he’s at”. Jamie Varner is a big boxing fan although he doesn’t see any many more relevant match-ups anymore. They talk about Duffee’s record 7 second knockout at his last UFC fight. “Newscage with Ron Kruck” --UFC 107 will be in Memphis, TN without hometown hero Quinton “B.A. Baracus” Jackson. BJ Penn will face Diego Sanchez in the main event. Diego says he has an edge in heart and endurance, and can wear him out. BJ thinks Diego is really good, but hasn’t gotten around to studying tapes yet, so they’ll figure out a game plan in the next couple months. Also on that show is Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo and Thiago Alves vs. Paulo Thiago. --Shawn Tompkins is leaving Xtreme Couture to resurrect his own MMA team. --Anderson Silva’s recovery from his Oct 5 elbow surgery may postpone his January fight with Vitor Belfort, so they haven’t officially signed yet. --Chuck Liddell was voted off of “Dancing with the Stars” this week. (Thank God he’s off that show.) --“King” Mo Lawal was signed by Strikeforce, and will still be able to continue fighting in Japan. --Jake Shield says Mayhem is “tough as Hell”, with good cardio, but feels he is too much for Mayhem and looks to finish the fight. --Scott Coker hopes Alistair Overeem will defend the Strikeforce Heavyweight belt in January or February. He also says that Strikeforce and Dream will unify their championships. “Herschel, Herschel, Herschel …” Herschel Walker was to begin training last week at American Kickboxing Acadamy, but no-showed, and AKA expects him later in the month. Ron Kruck wonders if Herschel is for real, or if this was just a publicity stunt. Kenny points out that their calls to him haven’t been returned, and like a woman scorned, Kenny goes off on Herschel for not “being accessible” (Kenny and Ron seem to get so pissed when they’re turned down for interviews.) Bas doesn’t see a problem with turning down media since he should be more focused on training than doing interviews. Bas also respects Herschel because he knows he’s not doing this for money, he just wants to be tested. Still fuming from the interview snub, Kenny asks how good a 47 year old man can be anyway, wonders if it was a gimmick for CBS, and asks if this is good for MMA? Strikeforce’s Stephen Quadros remembers Bob Sapp’s debut as a former NFL fighter, who became the biggest fighter in Japan, behind good training with Matt Hume, Randy Couture, and Maurice Smith. He says Herschel brings a 6th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Doe to the table, but that martial art has never translated well into MMA, and we don’t know how good of an athlete he still is being 47, but he does bring the “celebrity factor” into this, and heavyweights are salivating to fight him because of it. When asked, Todd Duffee, who went to the University of Georgia where Herschel is King, says he’d be excited to fight him and chuckles because he thinks it’d be an easy win. Kenny pounces on that “Exactly!” Duffee doesn’t think he’ll make a big impact, but will come prepared, and he’s a great athlete, and will bring eyeballs. He admits it sort of makes a little mockery of the sport, but he gives him props for being a great athlete. Varner disagrees saying you need to be an elite level athlete to compete in the NFL, and Walker did it for so long, so doesn’t see his entry as a downgrade to MMA. Varner also says it’s good because the heavyweight ranks of MMA don’t necessarily have the best athletes because there are other sports like football, baseball, and basketball where heavyweight athletes go to. “MMA Junkie/Inside MMA Poll” Will Herschel Walker make a meaningful impact on Strikeforce’s heavyweight division? 93% No 7% Yes “Fedor on CBS” Kenny points out how they started running 10 second promo pieces on Fedor during last week’s Sunday football games, and wonders how successful CBS will be in promoting him on network TV. Bas thinks they should’ve done more, like what Pride did for Fedor/Cro-Cop in 2005 with a 20 minute 24/7 type piece, and thinks Brett Rogers should be promoted like Rocky Balboa facing Ivan Drago. Quadros says they have to capture the “everyman” quality stronger with Fedor. He also likes the 15 second piece (Karate Kid gimmick) UFC did on Machida with short audio clips which was very effective. He points out Fedor is very religious, and very old school in his training, and need to present this to the public more. Jamie Varner thinks Fedor is tarnishing his legacy by not fighting in the UFC. He doesn’t think Brett Rogers beat anyone to warrant fighting a Fedor caliber guy. Kenny think Fedor should have to start out fighting Todd Duffee types in the UFC first before getting Brock Lesnar. Zuffa employee Jamie Varner goes off saying Andrei Arlovsky isn’t a top guy, and that Frank Mir, Nogueira, and Carwin are. Todd Duffee (hoping to beat out Varner for employee of the month) takes it up a notch and says Fedor is becoming more irrelevant by doing this fight, and has had too many “freakshow” fights and doesn’t remember him fighting any top guys in his past 4 or 5 fights (Who is on top, changes from year to year and is totally subjective. Weren’t people complaining about Brock Lesnar not deserving a title shot last year? This “top guy” argument doesn’t fly especially when Anderson Silva fights “top guys” like Patrick Cote and Thales Leites. Is Shogun still a “top guy” and he’s getting a title shot? Why wasn’t Quinton signed to face Lyoto, since he’s a “top guy”. Was Mir considered a “top guy” before beating Nogueira just last year? People need to stop hoping for the “top guys” to fight “top guys”. MMA is still an entertainment business, and THAT controls the matchups.) Quadros points out the undercard bout between Fabricio Werdum and Junior Silva will likely determine the next opponent for Fedor, and silence the critics. Quadros says in a perfect world, you can throw matchups like Fedor-Silva out there right away, but it’s not a reality in this business. Junior Silva meets Todd Duffee’s criteria for a top guy, and says if Fedor can beat him, than that’s a good test. “Developing Heavyweights” Kenny says most people would probably say the heavyweight division is the thinnest in MMA (that seems to happen every couple years). There’s also talk of a “Super Heavyweight” division in the future. Todd Duffee says it’s gotten deeper in the past year listing Cain Valasquez, Shane Carwin, and Frank Mir, and 3 or 4 guys from the new TUF season that will make a big impact. Varner says we’re just now starting to see athleticism make its way into the heavyweight division citing Duffee, and the former NFL players. Then they argue some more with Stephen Quadros believing that heavyweight should cap out at 235 because there are guys 270 and up, that have too much of a size and power advantage over 225 pounders. Duffee & Varner go off, saying 225 pounders should “have some discipline” and cut to 205 if they can’t hang with heavyweights. Bas says a super-heavyweight division would force bigger guys to learn more technique because they wouldn’t have as much of a size and strength advantage over each other, and he would love to see leglocks and armbars from bigger fighters. Duffee stuffs back saying heavyweights can knock each other out while on their backs, and would not want to be underneath a 265 pounder by attempting a heel hook. “Kruck’s Korner with Shane Carwin” Shane still makes time to work as a mechanical engineer for the North Weld County Water District as a way to get away from the sport and be with “country people”. To prepare for the size of Brock Lesnar, Shane trains with Ron Waterman (same thing right? Big, pro-wresters?) He says Brock has improved a lot over time. Shane didn’t like Brock getting in Frank’s face after the fight in UFC 100 (Kruck credits WWE for that tactic. If only WWE could ever do something that impactful …) and felt it was disrespectful. He says people who watched MMA for the first time were appalled by Brock doing that (really? I was with a room full of people who thought that was the coolest thing they’d ever seen.) He wants MMA to be as respectful as the NFL (minus the dogfighting, DUI’s, Rush Limbaugh’s, dozens of weekly taunting calls, complaining about officials, threatening to injure QB’s, etc.) Brock said in the Las Vegas Sun that he considers Shane Carwin 1-0, because Gonzaga was the only “top guy” he beat. Carwin says “unlike Brock” he had to work his way up, as the “working man’s fighter” and he wasn’t “gifted” the chance. He thinks the difference in this fight will either be technical aspects, or whoever lands that first bomb. Shane says getting this title shot is a dream come true, and hopes to knock Brock out. He expects to weigh right around 265 by fight time. With Duffee being 250-265, and Carwin and Lesnar 260 and up, Kenny leaves it up to Varner to settle the superheavyweight dispute. He doesn’t think it’s relevant. He thinks if you’re a “heavyweight”, than you’re a “heavyweight” and that’s it. If you’re lighter, than you need to change your lifestyle and cut to 205. Kenny points out the current age of heavyweights, like Todd, Brock, Carwin, and others that are in great shape and not fat slobs anymore, with the exception of Roy Nelson, but he can fight. “Junie Browning” UFC ratings darling, Junie Browning speaks about his recent assault arrest, and being cut by UFC. He calls his incident a “moment of weakness”. A somber Junie, says he regrets everything that happened, which put a lot of people in harm’s way, either physically or he scared them. (well, at least he didn’t interrupt Taylor Swift at the MTV Awards) This is a step back in his career, but everything happens for a reason and he’ll continue training and he will be back. Junie trains with Shawn Tompkins. Quadros says he was always a fan of the “smacktalkers” from TUF like Chris Leben and Junie Browning, but you can’t take that behavior out of the ring. Duffee doesn’t like him and is tired of people making excuses for him. Varner mocks Quadros’ employer, saying that Junie Browning will end up in Strikeforce, and Duffee belly laughs. Kenny puts some blame on the Ultimate Fighter mentality, which seems to encourage certain behavior. Duffee dismisses that, as a character trait, not encouraged by the show. Varner goes on saying he’s not only too small to be a lightweight, but there’s something wrong with his head or his upbringing that won’t allow him to be a real fighter. (Tell us how you REALLY feel Jamie?) “War Machine talks smack” They print a quote from the artist formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver, dismissing his opponent, David Mitchell, as having a worthless 7-0 record, sees no ability at all, and predicts he’s going to smash him. In Lemoore, CA, the War Machine fought Mitchell and they went back and forth for three rounds, and Mitchell won the decision. Also on that show Poppies Martinez beat Sergio Salcido, Chad Mendes (with Urijah Faber) over Mike Joy, and Joe Soto over Mike Christenson with an awesome gogoplata. (I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone successfully pull that off!). “LSU vs. Florida” The day before LSU would play Florida in football, the famous college rivalry spilled into MMA, on October 9 in Baton Rouge, LA with a special card featuring three fighters from LSU fighting three fighters from Florida University. Thomas Webb (LSU) beat Jason Abernathy (FU), Will Florentino (FU) beat Matt Brown (LSU), and Shawn Jordan (LSU) over Corey Salter (FU), so LSU wins 2-1. Kenny thinks that was a nice gimmick for a regional show. “Toe to Toe with El Guapo” --When asked why kickboxing hasn’t caught on in the US like it has in Asia and Europe, Bas says there is no American champion and that’s why. --When asked why there aren’t more American Judo stars, and how Judo compares to Jiu-Jitsu, Bas says JJ focuses more on the throat and judo focuses on the locks, but Jiu-Jitsu did come from judo. Bas likes judo as a foundation, but it doesn’t translate well directly into MMA because of the absence of a gi, among other things. “Split Decision” Who wins, Brock or Carwin? Varner and Quadros pick Brock, Quadros picks TKO on the ground, and I think Duffee picked Carwin but I couldn’t understand him. Should there be a super-heavyweight division? Quadros wants it to start at 235, Duffee and Varner say no. (I’m sure if UFC started one, they’d say it was a great idea.) IMMA Highlight of the week? Chad Mendes’s fight, Joe Soto’s gogoplata, or Florentino’s triangle. The panel all picks the gogoplata. If you don’t get HDNET or missed the show, you can see extended video highlights at http://hd.net/insidemma.html. So like El Guapo always says, Godspeed and party on! |
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