This week on D’Arce Side radio host Michael Stets breaks down the latest news in MMA and is joined by the host of Pride Fighting Championships on Fuel TV Kenda Perez, and former UFC fighter and Sambo coach of Nick and Nate Diaz Valeri Ignatov.
MMADieHards.com caught up with an emotional Dustin Poirier after his battle with Chan Sung Jung at UFC on Fuel 3 to discuss his tough fought loss and future.
Donald Cerrone (L) stare down with Jeremy Stephens (R) at UFC on Fuel 3 weigh-ins.
MMA DieHards is back with another session of Counterpunch. This time we take on UFC on Fuel 3, which takes place Tuesday at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va.
UFC 146 features a featherweight main event between Dustin Poirier and Chan Sung Jung. The Ultimate Fighter 7 winner Amir Sadollah meets Jorge Lopez, Donald Cerrone takes on Jeremy Stephens, and Jason MacDonald faces Tom Lawlor in the Canadian’s final match of his career.
MMADieHards.com put together a team of our finest writers to bring you Counterpunch for the event. The group independently makes its selections for each fight. Minority picks will be defended by one of the panelists making that selection.
Joining us this week will be Robert G. Reynolds, Joe Rizzo, Michael Stets, Mark Hensch and Bob Badders.
Sadollah, Jeff Curran and Yves Jabouin are not covered below, as they were unanimously selected.
Below we list the match, the fighter being defended and the author of the defence.
Francisco Rivera vs. Alex Soto
Defending Rivera: Joe Rizzo
Kamal Shalorus vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Defending Shalorus: Michael Steczkowski
Both fighters are coming off loses in this matchup. Dos Anjos dropping a split decision to Gleison Tibau , and Shalorus to new comer Khabib Nurmagomedov. Before you give Shalorus points off for losing to someone making their UFC debut, Nurmagomedov is now 17-0 and a World Combat Sambo Champion. Prior to that, he lost to Jim Miller, a perennial top contender. Dos Anjos has shown he is versatile on the ground or standing. That being said, I don’t think we see him giving “The Prince of Persia” his third straight loss. Shalorus’ wrestling pedigree and toughness will be too much, he wins by TKO Round 2.
Carlo Prater vs. TJ Grant
Defending Prater: Bob Badders
Yang Dongi vs. Brad Tavares
Defending Dongi: Mark Hensch
I’m digging Dongi’s chances in this scrap for several reasons. For starters, he trains with the main event’s Chan Sung Jung and thus has well-rounded practice with South Korea’s diverse martial arts traditions.
Furthermore, Dongi’s fought all over the world and more often than Tavares. Though those are minor facts, they show that he’s seasoned and capable of dealing with the jet lag that so often levels foreign fighters on American cards.
Last but not least, Dongi is a stocky dude who’s hard to take down. Even he does meet the mat, his area of expertise is overwhelming ground and pound. My guess is all these factors will set up a smothering for poor Tavares when the two step inside the Octagon.
Marcus LeVesseur vs. Cody McKenzie
Defending LeVesseur: Mark Hensch
In virtually all of my MMA picks, I gravitate towards fighters who have more UFC experience as it’s the sport’s most competitive stage. In the case of this bout, I’m leaning toward LeVesseur despite the fact he’s debuting here.
I admire McKenzie’s heart and his penchant for an absurd variety of chokeholds. Despite this, he’s found mixed success in the UFC and LeVesseur enters with a pedigree I’ll call “quasi-divine.” A decorated amateur wrestler, he picked up a staggering 296-0 record before jumping into the MMA ocean feet first. He’s so far proven he’s a big fish, going 21-5 in the hurt business.
With all this in mind, I’m expecting LeVesseur will have some jitters but he’s used to grappling his way past problems. The same thing will happen here, and my guess is he’ll manhandle McKenzie to a finish or decision, whichever he can get first.
Jason MacDonald vs. Tom Lawlor
Defending MacDonald: Michael Steczkowski
Since defeating C.B. Dolloway and earning submission of the night at UFC 100, Lawlor has struggled, going 1-3 in his last four outings. His last fight earned him a default profile pic on Darce Side Radio’s Twitter account, losing to Chris Weidman via D’arce choke. MacDonald hasn’t been impressive himself, and the 36-year-old is on the downturn of his MMA career. I have a hunch he has a couple good fights left in him, tomorrow night being one of them. MacDonald catches him, and finishes with an rear-naked choke in the second round.
Fabio Maldonado vs. Igor Pokrajac
Defending Maldonado: Steczkowski
If you missed Maldonado’s fight of the night performance against Kyle Kingsbury at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale, then you are unaware of his striking ability. Yes, he did lose that fight, but he showcased his talented hands throughout. While Pokrajac looked awesome his last time out, making quick work of Krzysztof Soszynski(I hate having to spell check that) in 35 seconds, he won’t be having an easy night this time out. Maldonado’s boxing is too much for the Duke. Maldonado wins unanimous decision.
Dustin Poirier vs. Chan Sung Jung
Defending Poirier: Robert G. Reynolds
Talk about stealing from the cookie jar.
As my fellow MMADieHard brethren fall for the flashy pizazz of the twister victory over Leonard Garcia, and the fortunate KO over Mark Hominick, they fail to see the reality of Jung’s fate in this upcoming bout.
Poirier has one loss in his career and that came with his inaugural bout in the WEC. With that out of the way, he has compiled five straight wins while collecting submission of the night at UFC 143. Training with former UFC fighter, Tim Credeur at the Gladiator Training Academy, you can ensure that Poirier will be ready for anything Jung has in store for him.
With this fight being a featherweight title eliminator, expect Poirier to make a statement to the rest of the division. Poirier is going to bury “The Korean Zombie” with a ground and pound TKO stoppage in the second round.
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If you are planning to read Chael Sonnen: The Voice of Reason in hopes to get a laugh at senseless literature, you will be disappointed because the book offers a lot more.
As the reader opens the book they will immediately be greeted with a foreword from none other than Jesus Christ, followed by a list of items you will need in order to read the book properly. It is a hilarious beginning, as Sonnen (Twitter: @sonnench) then takes the reader on a telling of his experiences leading up to previous bouts he has competed in or had some part in. These duties included cornerman, baggage handler, stacker of chairs, and exploited, well-intentioned doofus.
Then the book backtracks to Sonnen’s younger days in West Linn, Ore. The author recounted his wrestling experiences, which included grappling with the notorious Crips and Bloods street gangs, attending a multitude of funerals and the impact coach Roy Pittman had on Sonnen’s life.
Numerous chapters throughout the book show a humble side of Sonnen. He talks about his political career going up in smoke after being convicted of money laundering. The infraction resulted in Sonnen losing his real estate license and having his right to vote revoked. Sonnen also talked about his late father and the relationship the two of them had. It was a glimpse of Sonnen’s personality that not many have had the opportunity to see.
Sonnen delves into politics and world history. It was definitely the least intriguing section of the book for me, but the humorous remarks about history’s world leaders encouraged me to keep reading. He also had words for terrorists and the environmentalists out there he refers to as “eco-frekos.”
Sonnen offered a few pages to explain his detest for people using social media platforms as a stage to inform the world of their unimportant statuses. He suggests Twitter should be called “Blather,” and provides various chapters that describe Sonnen’s loathe for pop culture, as well as the people fooled by it.
The book would not be complete without Sonnen contributing advice for fellow mixed martial artists. He warns the up-and-comers to not get into MMA for fortune, fame and women, because it will lead to failure. The UFC No. 1 middleweight contender gives some insight on which walkout songs are acceptable and not acceptable (Aerosmith and Metallica top the list, can’t disagree with that). And of course, Sonnen fired off more than a few sentences at teammates not wanting to fight each other.
It should be well-expected that Anderson Silva would get his own chapter. Sonnen, surprisingly, did not tear into Silva as one might have presumed. He detailed the night of Aug. 7, 2010, when he lost to Silva via submission, following 23 minutes of Sonnen dominating the champ. Sonnen also described the suspension he received from the California State Athletic Commission for accelerated levels of testosterone. It was really quite interesting to read what Sonnen’s mindset was before, during and after that particular contest.
In closing, Sonnen described his emotions and psyche as he enters the Octagon. After crediting Bert Fields on a job well-done, Sonnen admitted the fear and self-doubt he experiences while waiting for the fight to begin. He explained the thoughts running through his mind as his opponent walks down the same ramp he did moments ago. Sonnen was very intricate with his description, but also made comical notes about having troubles taking off his walkout shirt, as so many fighters do.
The Voice of Reason provides the reader with the typical humor MMA fans are used to from the author, however, it also offers little-known facts about Sonnen. There may not be a whole lot of reasoning behind Sonnen’s antics, but it was enlightening to read about his life and experiences.
UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (Photo courtesy of 5th Round)
“When I started practicing martial arts, Chael Sonnen, doesn’t start practicing in martial arts, he is a wrestler. So he doesn’t know what martial arts is. It’s respect. Respect for a country, respect for the people and respect toward human beings. Many times, people ask me, ‘But isn’t he promoting the fight?’ Yeah, okay, but there are many different ways to do that. He did not respect our country, he disrespected my family and above all, he disrespected all the UFC audience and some people don’t realize that. They find it great what he is doing. In my opinion, I think the best fight of the century would be myself and my clone, that’s something I think will never happen. That doesn’t mean I am the best, that means I would like to be beaten by someone, many other things may happen, much like Sonnen here. He beat me for five rounds, but he didn’t do the most important thing which was to win. So, I am going to continue to do my job, I am going to practice really hard and I am going to try and bring this victory to Brazil.”
- Anderson Silva explained at the UFC 148 pre-fight press conference that Chael Sonnen lacks respect due to a lack of being a true martial artist.
“I don’t’ know man, this guy says the craziest things, he is surrounded by such yes men and it’s unbelievable that he actually thinks like that. He talks about his legacy, he is so close to the trees that he can’t see the forest. Come to America and ask people what they think of him. I mean this guy is the real deal, wow, he became the number one contender when he beat up the great Chris Leben, he then defended his belt against the great Patrick Cote and the amazing Thales Leites, what a star this guy is. What about the fact that I called him out for six years, ‘He disrespected my family.’ Yes, I did and what did you do about it? You didn’t do a damn thing and you’re not going to do anything on July 7th. Get your excuses ready now Anderson. I told everybody the first time I fought him that our skills are not even close, I will destroy him and I am going to tell you again now, our skills are not even close. So, go to your Ed Soares school of excuse making and get them handy because you are going to need them on July 7th.”
- Sonnen commented on his bout against Silva at the UFC 148 pre-fight press conference in typical ‘Gangster from Oregon’ fashion.
“I have nothing to say to him. I won’t give him that kinda audience. I don’t care about what he says, I’m not interested. If he wants to say those things looking me in the eye, come here. But that way, saying things when we’re distant, he’s an ass face. Only p—–s say things at your back”.
- Wanderlei Silva talked to Tatame about Sonnen.
“I wasn’t very optimistic about his chances. I didn’t think things were gonna turn out very well for him, as expected. Nine months? That’s not as bad as I thought it was gonna be. I thought he’d get a year, easily a year. Here’s the rules: If he was on anti-inflammatory meds and whatever the deal was, you’re supposed to disclose that to the commission before you get any drug tests. Whatever medicine you’re on, you’re supposed to tell them before you test, not after you test. I’m not a fan. I’m not a fan at all. You’re not going to hear me defending Alistair Overeem on your radio show. We’ll see what happens. He claimed he was on anti-inflammatories which he should have told them before he tested. I know he lied to me. I don’t like it. If they’ll sit in front of you and lie to your face, I don’t know, not the type of guys I wanna do business with.”
- Dana White was a guest of The Jim Rome Show and he explained his anger with Alistair Overeem for failing a drug test.
“There is such fine line with all of the anti-aging stuff that’s out there now. TRT is generally something a guy does in their 40’s and 50’s when their natural production of testosterone drops off. There are other natural ways to boost your own body’s production without replacing it and it’s safer as well, but it still should be under the care of a physician. It’s a very fine and a very personal thing and there is no easy answer. An athlete is using his body to earn a living and entertain the fans, they want to get the most out of themselves, but sometimes they go too far with it.”
- Star of The Expendables 2 and UFC hall of fame member Randy Couture gave his opinion on TRT in MMA to MMA Frenzy.
“I want to see the best fighters; I want to see who is the strongest the best! Guys should be able to do whatever it takes to be the strongest. Getting choked and kicked in the head is really bad for you, worse than pot, TRT, or steroids. I don’t care who’s the cleanest, I wanna’ see the strongest, the fastest and the most gnarly fighters. I don’t want to see who is the best at passing drug test. Overeem isn’t the only guy taking sh*t, he just got caught. I wanna’ see the baddest mother f*ckers going at it. That’s why PRIDE was the best — I wanna see a 205 (ripped) Wanderlei Silva kill dudes.”
- Phil Baroni takes a different stance than Couture when it comes to TRT, as he explained to Fight Sport Asia.
“I really don’t hate Fedor. His management made the biggest f*ck-up in the history of all sports. We flew down there and tried to make Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor and it was for big, big money. They f*ckin’ laughed at it and I told them, and he’ll lie if you ask him this, I told him and he knows I f*ckin’ told him — not Fedor, Vadummy — I told Vadummy, ‘You’re one punch away from being worth zero.’ He didn’t take it. They thought they were too cool and too slick and too f*ckin’ funny. Like I said, they’re not laughing now.”
- White told MMA Interviews he’s laughing at Fedor Emelianenko’s management staff now.
“We’re getting ready to leave Bahrain, and I get detained at the airport. Jardine and Franklin get on the flight, and they take me in the room. They’re asking me all these questions, and they’re furious. One guy’s comin’ in the room and pointin’ at me, all furious, like that. And, what I think is that, I had on the ‘Young Assassin’ shirt, with Melvin Guillard, and there’s a guy with a turban with his brains spillin’ out. I don’t think they liked that too much.”
- Stephan Bonnar detailed his eventful visit to Bahrain, while the TUF 1 finalist was a guest on Inside MMA.
“It’s been said that I might be getting a title shot, but I honestly don’t care at this point. I’m fed up talking about it. I just wanna get in and fight on the 5th. After that, we can talk about it. I try not to (look past Diaz). Nate is a tough fight, and that’s where my focus lies. The title picture got so bottle-necked, with the rematches, and everybody lost. In my opinion, if you have under five UFC fights, let alone wins, you shouldn’t be considered for a title shot yet.”
- Jim Miller told MMA Uncensored his frustrations with the rematches tying up the UFC lightweight belt.
“It was a bittersweet night. I’m glad Jon won, but I’m just sad about the whole situation. It’s nice to just kind of move on and be done with the whole thing. …. I went up after the fight and shook [Rashad Evans'] hand, and we kind of patted each other on the shoulder. That’s kind of where we’re at right now. There’s no animosity or hard feelings on my end at all. We’ll see where it goes from here.”
- Greg Jackson described his current relationship with Rashad Evans on the Savage Dog Show.
“I want to be UFC middleweight champion, and I want to fight Anderson Silva to do it. I have such respect for him as a fighter. It would be an honor and a dream come true to test my skills against his.”
- Recent UFC signee Hector Lombard told mmajunkie he wants the UFC 185-pound title, but he wants to get it by defeating longtime champion, Silva.
“I had to pay them back my signing bonus, but at this point in my career, I would rather do that than sit on the shelf.”
- Jay Hieron explained to NBCSports that he had to pay Bellator to get out of his contract.
“Eddie has been an amazing and important, productive part of Bellator since day one,” Rebney said. “He was one of the first guys I ever signed and one of the first guys I ever went out on a limb for and paid a signing bonus for. He has been worth every penny we’ve paid him. He’s been a class act and a great ambassador for not only Bellator, but the sport of MMA.”
- Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney told MMA DieHards his pleasure of having Eddie Alvarez in his promotion.
“They are so far away, but the thing is, I don’t care about them. I really don’t. I see so many holes in their game, I see a ton. I think it’s confusing, what they do. I’m an expert in martial arts, I could tell them what they could fix, but they’re too arrogant and they don’t know (enough) about my sport that they could understand and fix it. I don’t need to talk about them, but I just know what they do is confusing for fans.”
- MFC owner Mark Pavelich told MMA DieHards what he thinks about Bellator.
Kaitlin Young (L) in mid-battle (Photo courtesy of Sherdog)
Invicta Fighting Championship presented their inaugural event in Saturday, which took place at Municipal Hall in Kansas City, Kan.
The event was the first ever all-female MMA card, with the purpose being to give women a platform to compete often, at their desired weight-class.
Kaitlin Young and Leslie Smith put on a fight so good that my 64-year-old father sent me a text message midway through the third round to tell me how awesome it was – no joke.
Young and Smith traded strikes for 15 minutes with great technique. It was a back-and-forth battle that had both combatants bleeding. Neither athlete was timid on the ground, as both contestants fought to win when the bout hit the canvas. As they closed the final round, both trying to finish, they exchanged kicks and punches until the horn sounded.
It was the most spectacular fight of the night, without question, but don’t be surprised to see an immediate rematch due to the bout ending in a draw.
Marloes Coenen and Romy Ruyssen had the most competitive match of the night, with both fighters showing equal skills for the most part. Coenen had the slight edge throughout the fight, not to mention Ruyssen lost a point in Round 1 for grabbing the fence, which assisted in in the Golden Glory teammate’s decision victory.
Coenen controlled Ruyssen against the fence for most of the duration of the bout, which may not have been the most action-packed fight of the evening, but it got her another victory in their rematch.
Jessica Penne nullified Lisa Ellis’ takedowns with strikes, and when the bout hit the floor she turned up the intensity. Penne pounced on her downed opponent and brutalized Ellis with powerful punches until the bout was brought to a halt. Ellis was leaking blood from her nose like a running faucet prior to the referee deeming her as unable to continue.
Liz Carmouche dominated Ashleigh Curry in a one-sided beating. Carmouche pinned Curry on the mat and unleashed a ground and pound that possibly should have had the bout been stopped sooner than it was. Cageside commentator Mauro Ranallo and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal pleaded for the referee to call the fight, but Carmouche kept slamming leather on her opponent’s face until the she was forced to stop.
Amy Davis fought off an early onslaught from Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc. They struggled with one another for a moment, but Davis out-grappled “The Night Queen” and landed in a position that placed her seated on Rivera-Calanoc’s head. Davis was attempting what looked like a mounted triangle-choke, but Rivera-Calanoc left her arm dangling and succumbed to a kimura.
Sarah Maloy came out of her corner and threw what cageside commentator Ranallo described as a ‘superwoman punch.’ She was the aggressor early on, but Michelle Gutierrez stuck to her methodical game plan and waited for her opportunity to capitalize. The chance never presented itself and Gutierrez lost a unanimous decision in a bout that was technical, but lackluster in excitement.
Sarah D’Alelio dominated the ground game and owned Vanessa Mariscal’s back for the majority of Round 1. After a slow start to the second frame, D’Alelio took the back of Mariscal again. D’Alelio searched for a rear naked-choke, but resorted to punching her opponent into submission.
During a terrific evening of WMMA, cageside commentator Julie “Fireball” Kedzie summed the event up quite well.
“You people watching from home, women can fight,” she said.
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MFC owner Mark Pavelich (@MarkPavelich) accepts that the UFC is the world’s premier MMA organization, but his hustle will not allow his promotion to be second to Bellator.
The MFC (Twitter: @MaximumFighting) is a Canadian mixed martial arts company that has been entertaining MMA fans with events for over a decade. They have yet to cross the border and put on a show in the U.S., but with the success of their American broadcasting deal with HDNet, they intend to do so in the near future. The MFC offers quality bouts and have a number of combatants that went on to the UFC, making them a respected organization in the MMA community.
Though, the MFC is not the pay-per-view powerhouse the UFC is, Pavelich doesn’t think everybody is clear on where his show ranks amongst other promotions.
“I’m one of the biggest promotions in the world,” Pavelich told Michael Steczkowski on D’arce Side Radio on the MMA DieHards Radio Network. “I’m the undisputed champ right now in Canada; I have been for 14 years. That’s a foregone conclusion. I’m on the same field as UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator; that’s the game. Those are the four horsemen right there. UFC being No. 1, Strikeforce on their way out, and then it will be a fight between me and Bellator eventually, which I am looking forward to.”
In July 2011 Bellator put on their inaugural event in Canada with Bellator 47 at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario. They returned to the same venue in November with Bellator 57, which was headlined by Ben Saunders and former MFC welterweight champion Douglas Lima.
Pavelich is not concerned with Bellator entering Canada, as most of MFC’s events take place three provinces away in Alberta. Nor is he upset with Lima, who’s brother Dhiego is an MFC welterweight competitor, for vacating his belt and signing with Bellator. When it comes down to it, Pavelich doesn’t care about Bellator at all.
“Bellator is not coming in my backyard,” Pavelich stated. “Canada is the second largest land mass country in the world. They’re so far away from me I can’t even give you an analogy in the United States because (Canada) is so much bigger.
“They are so far away, but the thing is, I don’t care about them. I really don’t. I see so many holes in their game, I see a ton. I think it’s confusing, what they do. I’m an expert in martial arts, I could tell them what they could fix, but they’re too arrogant and they don’t know (enough) about my sport that they could understand and fix it. I don’t need to talk about them, but I just know what they do is confusing for fans.”
Pavelich supposes his opinion should be valued due to his vast knowledge and experiences in MMA.
The Canadian trained Jason MacDonald and Victor Valimaki during their UFC stints, while also building the MFC brand in the promotion’s infancy. He’s dealt with mixed martial artists from all over the globe, made brilliant broadcasting deals with HDNet and TSN2, and persevered through obstacles to grow the MFC into the successful company it is today.
When it comes to knowing MMA, Pavelich considers himself a regular Ken Jennings.
“I’m a connoisseur of mixed martial arts,” Pavelich said. “I can tell you good fights, bad fights, why it’s going to be a good fight, and that’s what people need to understand. I’m not just a guy that owns a mixed martial arts organization, I’m a guy who’s been in this sport since its inception and I’ve done everything from the bottom to the top. I’m an expert, so if anyone wants to play mixed martial arts Jeopardy with me, I dare you.”
Pavelich sits atop of the company with his wife Manon, but that doesn’t mean he is afraid to do the hard labor that goes into promoting an MFC event.
Pavelich said he was out with the street team five days before a sold out MFC 29 in Windsor, Ontario. He has admitted in the past that he is involved with every aspect of the show, from placing MFC labels on the spit buckets to hanging posters in the street.
On Pavelich’s Twitter account there is often a term that reads #PavelichGrind. It symbolizes his everyday hustle to improve the MFC, and that is something he believes cannot be matched.
“No one can outhustle me in this industry, that’s one thing people need to be very clear on,” Pavelich said. “UFC is the best show in the world, I agree, but nobody can outhustle me in this business.”
