Lei Tong

- Sakuraba did have a good amateur career, although I don't know to what extent. - Renzo has some good wins to his ame, but he fought a higher level of competition than Royce and his record refelcts it. As far as pure grappling, Renzo's definitely the better of the two. He has many BJJ titles to his name, plus has done well in Abu Dhabi and can tap many of the other memebers of the family, including larger guys like Ryan. - People think what ken did was a little dramatic and a way of saving face. if he had the strength and lung capacity to yell "PETEY, MY HEART!," then he could've easily said "I quit," or simpkly tapped on Fujita's body or his own. Having Williams throw in the towel seemed more like a way of looknig like he wasn't REALLY quitting.

Depite the lack of "name power," on that card, there's some pretty entertaining fights on that card, as well as two "Shoulda, Woulda" guys, Scott Adams & "Crazy" Bob Cook.

As sad as it may be, a broken down Tyson would still defeat most K-1 fighters not skilled and/or smart enough to know how to handle him. Distance would be key in such a fight, esp. considering Tyson's height and K-1's watering down of the clinch.

Personally, I think Silva carried Yoshida a bit in that match, but that's me. Also, it should be noted that Tamura & Silva fought pretty incharacterstic fights against him, but whatever. Anyways,people should start keeping an eye on Hawaii's Rumble on the Rock promotion. They had an awesome 4th card, with Bj penn vs. Takanori Gomi, Renato Verrisimo vs. Gil Castillo, & Dennis Hallman vs. Ray "Brada" Cooper. They've always had some pretty good fighters near the top of their cards, and their latest show keeps that tradition, with Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Wesley Correira in the main event, with matt Lindland vs. Tony Frykland also anounced for the card.

Whoa....whoawhoawhoawhoa WHOA...there's a Victorious Boxers 2?!? Japan only, unfortunately. However, I decided it was worth importing it, and since it's such a huge improvement on an already awesome game and in 90% English, I decided it was worth the cost of buying it and a Flip-Top/Swap Disk. HIGHLY recommended on my end.

Good, but analog punching (the most hyped aspect of the game) was very much a letdown. A big improvement over the KOK series, but I'll stick with Victorious Boxers 2 as my favorite boxing (and comabt game) around.

-Pancrase went full MMA in 1999, w/the gloves and rules very close to PRIDE's. - Of course Kondo has a chance. A fight can be decided in a single moment, and when you have the KO power of Kondo, all you need is a single moment. And I'm rooting for Kondo because I've liked him for a long time, while never being a fan of SIlva's in particular. -I don't doubt Wanderlei's blackbelt was earned, but I don't think it's a true indicator of how his skills will apply to MMA. There are cases like Baret Yoshida, only a purple belt yet with a ground game on par with the best in the world, and happenings like black belt Alexandre Ferreira getting tapped by Chris Haseman & Hiromitsu Kanehara. Overall, while he's shown himself to be able to handle himself on the ground, I don't think his ground game has been proven yet to pose more as much a threat as more dangerous grapplers in his division. Also, although Vitor was prematurely promoted to black belt for the wrong reasons, I think he's shown an overall betetr ground game than Wand's. - Fedor's submission skills and ground game from his back are... unrefined, and that's being nice. He gave up position like it was his job vs. Ricardo Arona, giving him his back at only a minute or two into the fight. And his submission application is equally troublesome, as he tends to try to crank his moves to make up for shoddy technique, which also leads him to sacrifice position should he fail, which is very likely. However, I'd say his has overall more submission knowledge than Coleman, yet MC Hammer is more safe in his application. His saving grace is that he can get out of bad situations well. - On a similar subject, I'm pretty sure Coleman WILL put Fedor on his back, and force him to work from there for much of the fight. However, Coleman will gas, and Fedor will sprawl & brawl late for a JD.

Kondo can handle himself on the ground, but his ground game usually only comes into play when either: A) He's forced there. B) His opponent has been placed there via his strikes. So obviously, he's not likely to take the fight there. As for his striking compared to Silva's, he's a bit more punch oriented as opposed to Silva's Muay Thai style, although he can throw a good kick and has some sick flying knees. In the end, though, I think Silva has slightly more KO power due to his size advantage. In the end, I think his chances at KO'ing are as good as almost anyone's at the 185-205lbs. range, and I'll definitely root for him, but I think Silva will take it.

Even someone knowledgable in Shooto might not be of help, as he's fought mostly in Pancrase. Anyways, he's a very dangerous striker, who has a lot of precision to his strikes. However, he was always succeptable to being held down by larger fighters, but has seem to have worked hard on his takedown defense and ability to regain his feet. I imagine he'll probably give SIlva some scares, but I think Silva's size and strength advantage will pull him through in this one, although I hope I'm wrong.

In RE: to having "one main event per show," it's a matter of not many matches outside of title fights being considered main event material. And even if 3 of the 5 titles weren't vacant, the more title fights on a card greatly increases the likeliness that a few matches won't be seen, and in a worse case scenario (a la UFC 33's 3 titles fights) they actually go over their alloted PPV time before the main card is finished.

A "straight kimura" has roughly the same effect as the regular kimura (IE- targets the shoulder), but is harder to finish, as having to extend one's own arms to get the proper torque lessens the power & leverage you can put into the move.

Diaz & Tiki might be worth some money at those odds, although Tiki is pretty "iffy:" he's 0-3 in the Octagon, yet usually shows promise before losing and is also undefeated outside of the UFC against some good competition, including Ronald "Machine Gun" Jhun.

Morning thoughts: RRR- No prob about not getting the Yamamoto fight. The tournament was mostly for the Japanese fans, so no suprise. Do not insult the HOTNESS~! of Takayama. I'm a little upset that the Russians got stomped at the Russia vs. the World, but most of the guys are untested at that level and Semenov doesn't care much anymore. Anybody have any ideas for my next highlight? Fighters? Music? Speaking music, anyone know how I could possibly rip music from a PS2 disc to my hard drive? A couple of the PRIDE FC themes would fit well.

SHIT! The one card I've wanted to see, if only because of all the things I've heard about Yamamoto's sweet kneebar on Fuji. Anybody feel like recording it and sending me a copy?

Not that much of a money match-up. Probably won't match Randy/Tito money, muhc less Tito/Shamrock money. Anyways: Ortiz def. Liddell via JD: Tito peppers Chuck with a few good strikes early, but gets tagged and falls back on his G&P, keeping Chuck down long enough to get off some shots and keeping the standing action in the clinch to his advanatge en route to a Unanimous Decision. Tim Sylvia def. Andrei Arlovski via KO, Rd.2: Arlovski frustrates Tim early with pestering front low kick and punches from various angles, but his ego and lack of solid defense is his downfall as Tim catches him midway through the 2nd round. Nick Diaz def. Robbie Lawler via submission, Rd. 2: Lawler starts out strong, avoiding Diaz' submission attempts and G&P's early, but slows later as per his usual and eventually succumbs to a Diaz traingle. Sudo def. Brown via submission, Rd.3: Brown's no joke, and his well rounded ground skills will give him an early lead over the lackadaisical Sudo, before Genki turns it up a notch and takes him out via rear naked choke. Wesley Correira def. Mike Kyle via TKO, Rd.2: In a prevailing theme of the night, Kyle is aggressive early, but Cababge's chin lets him withstand the onslaught and flurry late for the win. Hermes Franca def. Yves Edwards via JD: Hermes survives on his feet against Yves' overrated power and controls on the ground enroute to a Unanimous Decision.

No bells going off here. Do you happen to know any of the match-ups taking place on the card?

Actually, for anyone who might still be interested, I made one more change to the video, replacing the Royler Gracie footlock sequence with Fernando Vasconcelos' back suplex on Caol Uno. I think it really adds to video, but was minute enough that I didn't want to rebump a dead topic. But since it's back up anwyays, might as well mention it.

The Vid (read below first) Not everyone's cup o' tea, but any and all feedback would be appreciated. *EDIT: Almost forgot that you need to register to SubFighter.com to see any of the videos. They have quite a few so, I'd say it's worth it... then again, I have ulterior motives.

Well, the most entertaining part of an otherwise very dissapointing main event is Ruas' corner trying to inspire him to continue the fight, with such vigor-unducing phrases like "Do it for your family, Marco!" and "For your country!"... all of which had no effect except to amuse those who could hear them.

Jackson/Alger: IIRC, Alger put on a wrestling clinic early against Jackson, but begins gassing late in the first. Ends with a very audible KO. Pederneiras/Miletich: Like most match's during Miletich's reign, none-too eventful. Pederneiras was actually a good fighter, facing pretty much top level talent in his short career (Uno, Sudo, Pat & Sato), but was outsized here. Jones/Moura: By this points Jones was still defeating good opponents like Moura, Paulson & Kikuta, which makes Chuck Liddell's win over him at 22 that much more suprising. TK/Lajcik: Don't remmeber it, but I remember liking most of TK's fights (sans a few, like his "exhibition" with Pete Williams), and the Bohemian usually put up a good fight. Fulton/Dodd: Of the few Dodd fights I've seen, they were entertaining. FUlton was a bit off/on, although against a guy like Dodd, I iamgine he turned it up a bit. Probably won't be shown, tough.

Actually, Ruas' team is called Ruas Vale Tudo.

Back when I was more of a Tito nuthugger, I hated the way that match happened out. Nowadays, I can understand why Arona went about things the way he did (and a better udnsertanding of how the scoring system wrosk helps): Arona had just had a long, drawn-out matches with Hiromitsu Kanehara (although he dominated via points) and tough ex-champion Kareem Barkalaev, whereas Tito had won his first two matches in about 10 minutes combined via subs. So, Arona pulls guard before points time starts, and waits for Tito to start tiring himself out. Once he's tired in OT, Arona comes back and keeps Tito on the defensive and wins via Advantage. However, I still hate watching Arona in ADCC for the most part.

Actually, I've gotten a few "Who's that?" questions from some of the guys I've shown, so hear's a quick rundown of who does what in the video (may have missed a few, and be prepared to see a whole lot of familiar names): - Mark Kerr passes Josh Barnett's guard - Tito Ortiz escapes Ricardo Arona's triangle choke - Rodrigo Medeiros sweeps Roberto Magalheas - Ricardo Liborio passes Kiyoshi Tamura's guard - Jean Jacques Machado sweeps Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - Royler Gracie sweeps Joao Roque - John Lewis rolls Caol Uno - Vitor Ribeiro takes down Rumina Sato - Alexandre Ferreira sweeps Chael Sonnen - Ricardo Liborio sweeps Kiyoshi Tamura - Murilo Bustamante & Ricco Rodriguez scramble - Rodrigo Gracie takes down Carlos Newton - Tito Ortiz reverses Matt Hughes - Leo Viera backmount rolls (?) Eddie Bravo - Royler gracie armbars/triangle chokes Juan Valles - Ricardo Almeida takes down Yuri Stetsenko - Mario Sperry kneebars against Mark Kerr - Ricco Rodriguez kimura's Rodrigo Noguiera - Ricardo Almeida gulliotines Ricardo Arona - Ricardo Arona & Karim Barkalaev scramble - Tito Ortiz takes down Rumina Sato - Mark Robinson sprawls on Ricardo Morais - Mark Kerr takes down Josh Barnett - Vitor Ribeiro takes down Rumina Sato - Vitor Belfort takes down Genki Sudo - Matt Hughes take down Tito Ortiz - Jean Jacques Machado omo platas Caol Uno - Rumian Sato attempts a flying armbar/kneebar on Tito Ortiz - Marcelo Garcia locks a choke on Vitor Ribeiro - Rodrigo Gracie gullitones/takes down Carlos Newton - Ricardo Arona prepares for a triangle agaisnt Tito Ortiz - Baret Yoshida attempts a flying triangle against Naoya Uematsu - Royler Gracie footlocks Joao Roque - Ricardo Arona takes down Tito Ortiz - Mark Kerr gulliotines/takes down Mario Sperry - Genki Sudo leaps down on Rodrigo Gracie - Tsuyoshi Kohsaka escapes Jean Jacques Machado's triangle - Akihiro Gono & Nino Schembri scramble - Rumina Sato & Vitor Ribeiro scramble - Nino Schembri triangles/omo-platas Alexander Savko Sasha - Ricardo Arona & Tito Ortiz scramble - Carlos Newton foils Rodirgo Gracie's attempt to pull guard - Roberto Magalheas attempts a rolling kneebar on Rodrigo Medeiros - Vitor Ribeiro & Rumina Sato scramble - Tito Ortiz escapes Matt Hughes' gulliotine with a sweep - Rodrigo Gracie leg tosses Genki Sudo - Jean Jacques Machado armbars Caol Uno - Tito Ortiz slams Matt Hughes - Genki Sudo & Vitor Belfort scramble - Tito Ortiz escapes Ricardo Arona's gulliotine - Caol Uno takes down John Lewis - Tito Ortiz takes down Ricardo Arona - Akihiro Gono escapes Nino Schembri's backmount - ? - Jeff Monson in Roberto Traven's guard - ? - ? - Mario Sperry defeats Enson Inoue - Sean Alvarez defeats Ricco Rodriguez - 1999's 66-76Kg weight class top 3: Jean Jacques Machado (1st), Caol Uno (2nd), Hayato Sakurai (3rd) - Mark Kerr chokes/neck cranks Mario Sperry - Caol Uno locks a finishing choke on John Lewis - Jean Jacques Machado submits Caol Uno via back choke - Ricardo Morais footlocks Mark Robinson - Baret Yoshida kneebars Alexandre de Freitas - Naoya Uematsu kimuras Jean-Neol Charollais - Mario Sperry armbars Larry Parker - Leonardo Silva dos Santos rear naked chokes Tetsuji Kato - Jean Jacques Machado rear naked chokes Sergei Onishuk - Mark Kerr kimuras Josh Barnett - Leo Vieira arm triangle chokes Morris Clifoni - Fabiano Iha armbars Joe Hurley - Hayato Sakurai armlocks Eddie Ruiz - Tito Ortiz North/South chokes Rumina Sato - Baret Yoshida flying armbars Wellington Dias - Baret Yoshida kneebars Gustavo Dantas - Ricco Rodriguez kneebars Rodrigo Noguiera - Carlos Machado triangle chokes Arystos Aleksandridi - Alexandre de Freitas gulliotine chokes Yoshinori Konishi - Nino Schembri omo-platas Alexander Savko Sasha - Jean Jacques Machado armbars Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - Ricardo Almeida rear naked chokes Yuri Stetsenko - Nino Schembri triangle armbars Akihiro Gono - Ricardo Liborio armbars Kiyoshi Tamura

Well, Arlovski has been facing a rather high calibre of opposition early into his career, thus his 6-3 record to Vladdy's 12-2. Also, stylistically, he matched up very well with the Janitor. however, it kind of burns me that one loss to ana animal like Andrei has made people instantly forget Vladdy. No, he's not a very exciting fighter, but it was a breath of fresh air to see the clinics he put on agaisnt Rogerio, Rizzo & Wiuff.

Of those guys who's names you didn't mention: Valeri Ignatov (v. Hughes): Sambo fighter from the the former Shamrock 2000 team. IIRC, Hughes actually injured Ignatov's shoulder with a slam relatively early in the match, but the tough bastard still went the distance. Jason Godsey (v. Horn): Submission fighter from Integrated Fighting, with notable teammate Alex Stebling. Holds wins over Yuki Kondo & Yoshiki Takahashi early in his career. Has slid a bit, but can still put up a decent match now & then. Anderson (v. Lewis): One guy I know next to nothing about. Probably trained with some former UFC fighter's so as to explain his earning a spot on the card. Jones (v. Liddell): Formerly undefeated fighter, w/ wins over Sanae Kikuta, Larry Parker & Erik Paulson (who he also drew with). Left the game shortly after the Liddell fight (unsure why). Liddell's domination over him would be an early indicator of his ability.