RavishingRickRudo

Bad Ass Breakdown: UFC 57 - 2/1/2006 by Phil Baroni UFC 57 is an intriguing card from top to bottom. All nine fights present interesting matchups that will answer one or more questions lingering questions about virtually every fighter on the card. Plus, it’s nice to see a UFC card that isn’t littered with guys from “The Ultimate Fighter.” We only have two TUF 2 guys on the card and neither one has a gimmie matchup. Instead, they’re facing each other. So that leaves 16 guys who’ve truly earned their right to be in the cage. Let’s take a look at the first half of the card: Brandon Vera vs. Justin Eilers Brandon Vera is a pretty good wrestler. He’s trained with a lot of top guys, like Randy Couture and other guys at the Olympic Training Center. Now, is he a world-class wrestler? No. He’s never competed and placed at the world level, but he’s still got a big edge over Justin Eilers in this fight. When it comes to striking, I’m not so sure about Vera. He’s never shown me anything with his hands. But he’s got very strong leg kicks and solid knees. Eilers, by contrast, has real knockout power in his hands. We saw that when he stopped a very big Mike Kyle. That power, plus his willingness to stand and brawl with anyone, will be a big asset in this fight. If this comes down to a standup fight, I give the edge to Eilers. Normally, guys who rely on kicks and knees aren’t that comfortable against guys who bull rush in, check the kicks and then let their hands go. The kicker needs space to land big shots, and an aggressive puncher who knows how to defend kicks typically won’t give him that space. Eilers is the bigger, stronger, more aggressive fighter. So, Vera really should try to take the fight to the ground or really focus on getting the Thai clinch. On the ground, Vera has the edge. He used to train with Dean Lister down at City Boxing in San Diego. They were top training partners. But Lister left that gym and Vera didn’t for whatever reason. So we know his ground game is very good. If he puts Eilers on his back, then he has an overwhelming advantage. I’d still give Vera a slight edge if he ends up fighting from his guard. Eilers could be dangerous pounding down on him, but Vera will still hold the advantage in that scenario. The one asterisk to that analysis is the fact that Eilers is coming off back-to-back losses. There’s no hiding from the fact that losses chip away at your confidence. And there’s nothing worse than a humbled fighter. I should know that better than anyone. Fighter’s need to be cocky. They need to be completely sure of themselves before they step into the cage. Eilers knows he needs to win in order to keep his UFC career alive. He knows he needs to look impressive. That’s a lot of pressure. Will he wilt from the pressure? Or, will he step up and use the pressure as extra motivated? He needs to start out quickly, impose his will on the softer, weaker Vera and focusing on trying to win the fight right from Jump Street. He has to completely forget about fighting not to lose. I fought trying not to lose against Pete Sell and we all know how that one turned out. Eilers has to avoid falling into that trap. In truth, both of these guys should probably fight 205 pounds. Neither are big heavyweights. I’m not sure either can really compete with the giants in the division like Arlovski or Frank Mir. Personally, I’d like to see the winner drop down in weight and see what kind of noise he can make among the light heavies. Alessio Sakara vs. Elvis Sinosic This should be another fight for Alessio Sakara to demonstrate his standup skills. In terms of skill level, there are MMA strikers, like Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar. Then, there are guys who are on another level. Not necessarily world-class strikers, but still at another level above good MMA strikers. Sakara is one of those guys, principally because of his solid amateur boxing background. He looked great on the feet in his last fight until he got kicked in the balls. He uses his jab better than anyone I’ve ever seen in MMA. He pumps it over and over to control the distance and set up big power punches as he steps inside. His hands look nice and fast, but his ground game still has a huge question mark hovering over it. Elvis Sinosic showed some improvement in his standup game in his last fight against Griffin. He had Griffin rocked early, but he still got knocked out in the first round. If he stands with Sakara, he gets knocked out early – no doubt about it. Sakara is a much bigger puncher than Griffin. And he’s able to take better advantage of Sinosic’s mistakes, countering more effectively compared to Griffin. That means Sinosic’s best bet is to take the fight to the ground and try to find a way down there. Can Sakara defend the takedown? Sinosic doesn’t have the best takedowns. So that’s a tough one to answer. Can he defend submissions? I don’t know. But I’m still not sold on Sinosic’s ground skills. He’s lived too long off one submission win over a top guy. That doesn’t mean all that much to me. Let’s face it, Elvis Sinosic is a journeyman. He’s just an opponent in this fight. Granted, he’ll try to make the best of the opportunity. But he’s being brought in to lose to Sakara, and lose in spectacular fashion. Brandon Lee Hinkle vs. Jeff Monson Jeff Monson’s fought at both heavyweight and light heavyweight, so he’s a smallish, but durable, heavyweight. His big strength lies in his grappling. The guy has serious skills in that area, competing in what seems like every big tournament from Abu Dhabi to NAGA to Grappler’s Quest. My Hammer House teammate, Brandon Lee Hinkle, is known for having two of the top five greatest fights in IVC history – the fights with Ebenezer Braga and Carlos Baretto. So he’s a durable fighter that can survive a total war, though I don’t know if he’ll need that durability against a grappler like Monson. In breaking down the matchup, I’d give the wrestling advantage to Hinkle. When you get in deep against a grappler like Monson, they pull guard a lot. So I expect Hinkle to get on top and stop pounding away with his right hand. The guy is very right hand happy inside the guard. He once threw like 37 consecutive right hands from the guard in a fight. Monson is a short, stocky guy. He’s not really built for submissions. He’s more of a takedown-and-hold fighter who looks to grind out decisions. So I don’t see him tapping Hinkle. He’s going to try to pull out a lay-and-pray win. To me, this fight comes down to whether Hinkle shows up in great shape. He doesn’t always get in the greatest shape. He trains hard, but still likes to party a bit. I expect Hinkle to get the early takedown and start pounding away with right hands. If he’s in great shape, he should ground-and-pound his way to a win. If not, Monson can gas him out by surviving the first onslaught and then doing what he does best – takedown and hold him down for a decision. Keith Jardine vs. Mike Whitehead This is a do-or-die fight for Mike Whitehead. He’s got what seems to be a very beatable opponent. Although Keith Jardine is rumored to have great ground skills, I haven’t really seen them. He didn’t really show them in any of his TUF 2 fights. So, he might be like David Terrell, where he has tremendous ground skills in the gym, but doesn’t bring them to the cage. Evan Tanner’s ground and pound made Terrell’s submission game look subpar. Why? It’s a whole new ballgame when someone’s pounding on your face in a real fight compared to the controlled environment of training camp. The problem, though, is that Whitehead has shown a tendency to choke when he’s on the big stage. He didn’t put up a good effort against Brandon Vera at WEC 13. And his loss to Rashad Evans in the quarterfinals of TUF2 was forgettable effort. So, I wonder if he’ll show up in his true UFC debut on Saturday night. Will Whitehead finally step up to the plate and go down swinging, or is he going to strikeout looking like he did against Evans? If he brings the fight to Jardine, I like him to win. His training partners at Team Miletich hold him in high regard because of his good wrestling and solid ground-and-pound game. So he needs to forget about Jardine’s jiu-jitsu game, put the guy on his back up against the fence and blast away. Even though Jardine hasn’t looked good on the feet, he probably has the edge over Whitehead standing. But why mess around with a big guy who can hurt you with a right hand? Jardine should try to put Whitehead where he’s the most uncomfortable – on his back. From there, he can work for submissions or pound away.

I think you are expecting too much out of people if you think they wonder what you sound like.

Zuffa would like to send its sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Carlson Gracie Sr., who passed away today in Chicago at the age 72. A legendary Grandmaster and practitioner of jiu-jitsu, Gracie was cited in 2001 by Men's Fitness magazine as "arguably the best fighter ever produced by the Gracie clan," and he was just as special as a teacher, to not only a host of elite jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts competitors, but to everyone who stepped through the doors of his schools. He will be sorely missed. --UFC.tv

The name "Gracie" in both MMA and BJJ has several connotations attached to it, both positive and negative. When mentioned, words like "innovators" and "revolutionaries" as well as "out-dated" come to mind, depending on who's hearing it. The name Carlson Gracie, however, doesn't have that third word associated with it. The thing which made Carlson different from guys like Rorion, Royce, and Rickson was that he never got caught up in the myth, aura, and ego of "Gracie Jiu Jitsu". He was a modernized fighter, a true warrior who saw the change in fighting and changed with it. It is no coincidence that many of the successful, modern Brazilian fighters have been associated with him. Here is a really good interview that sheds light on Carlsons issues with Gracie Jiu Jitsu and how he looks at the sport of MMA. http://bjj.org/interviews/carlson-1997.html Looking at who he taught, and who his students taught, you can see a long-line of fighters who were in some way effected by Carlsons teaching. This is best illustrated in the link provided below. http://bjj.org/a/people/gracie-carlson-sr.html Students: 7th Black: Marcus Vinius de Macedo Soares 5th Black: Edson Carvalho, Ricardo de la Riva Goded, Carlos Rollyson, Orlando Saraiva 4th Black: Antonio Ricardo Cavalcanti, Rey Diogo, Julio "Foca" Fernandez, Allan Góes, Carlson Gracie Jr., Sergio de "Bolão" Souza 3rd Black: Marcelo Alonso, Anibal Braga, Andre Pederneiras, Jorge Popovitch, Marcelo Saporito 2nd Black: Walter Mattas, Nelson Solari, Renato Tavares Black: Francisco "Toco" Albuquerque, Roberto Bebeo, Vitor Belfort, Amaury Bitetti, Murilo Bustamante, Franco de Camargo, Cássio Cardoso, Vinícius Cruz, Luís Roberto Duarte, Marcos Flexa, Rocian Gracie Jr., Wallid Ismail, Ricardo Jucá, Aaron Lapointe, Ricardo Libório, Luis Carlos "Manimal" Mateus Dias, Marcos da "Parrumpinha" Matta, Rodrigo Medeiros, Fernando Pinduka, Clóvis Rodrigues, Rosando, Alberto dos Santos, Rinaldo Ribeiro Dos Santos, Luis Sergio, Clovis Silva, Crézio de Souza, José Mario "The Zen Machine" Sperry, Mário Sukata, Luiz Carlos Valois, Oswaldo Viana Brown: Carlos Chermont, Wilson Junior, Scott Willner Purple: Stephan Bonnar, Dave Kujawski Blue: Darrin Durham A true MMA legend is gone, but his legacy lives on in many of those which fight today.

Cross-posted from DVDVR: “As of yesterday, everyone had good spirits. It looked like he’s going to pull this one out. The worst is over.” Stephan Bonnar commented about this morning’s news of Carlson Gracie’s death. Carlson Gracie had been sick for a couple of weeks, but his death comes as a shock to the Martial Arts and Mixed Martial Arts communities. Carlson, reportedly, wasn’t feeling well every since Stephan Bonnar’s ‘Ultimate Fight Night 3,’ bout against James Irvin on January 16th. Bonnar told MMAWeekly Carlson had been ill, “Ever since my fight. He got in the night before my fight, on Sunday. He said he wasn’t feeling good. He was sick. You could just tell he was sick. I thought he’d pull through and be all right, but he just got worse. He checked into the hospital last week and had a really bad infection, kidney stones. I guess he looked really, really bad, and they were surprised that he was able to pull through the worst. He was on the road to recovery as of yesterday, and then he passed away this morning.” The emotional Bonnar added, “It sucks man, I mean, because he was always in such good shape. He was so healthy and vibrant. He got sick a few weeks ago. It just got worse and worse. I saw him yesterday. He looked bad, but they said he was looking a lot better, and he’s going to pull through, and the worst is over. Then, I got the call this morning, so it sucks.” Stephan Bonnar has trained under Carlson Gracie since Carlson moved to the United States in 2002. Reflecting on his time with Carlson, Stephan commented, “What was great about him was he didn’t hold anything back. I know a lot of Jiu-Jitsu guys that will kind of save their best techniques. If you had a question, how do you defend this? He would answer. It really didn’t matter who you was, your first day of class. He was honest and open about it, his Jiu-Jitsu and about other things too. You know? He would give you the last dollar in his wallet. He was a real good person. I mean honestly. I just wouldn’t say that about anyone. Like a really, really good person Carlson was.” The impact of Carlson Gracie’s life on Jiu-Jitsu and MMA is obvious. He trained Murilo Bustamante, Vitor Belfort, many of the fighters that are now Brazilian Top Team... but what will be the impact of his death be on the Carlson Gracie Team and his academy? Answering that question, Bonnar said, “I really don’t know. I’m kind of sitting here with question marks. You know? What do I do from here? I mean, I’ve still got my guys to train with and that, but it does feel like something is missing. I’m all confused right now . . . It was just an honor to work with someone like him.”

That there are naked pictures on Vinces cell phone does not surprise me. That Vince has and knows how to use a cell phone does.

Oh god, that's disgraceful. Considering Vince McMahon a celebrity, that just ends up hurting real celebrities like Brad Pitt, Paris Hilton, and K-Fed. The whole "newsbit", if not already posted... ----------- Tanning attendant cries foul A booth attendant at a Boca tanning salon has told cops that she was groped by someone she identified as World Wrestling Entertainment boss Vince McMahon, according to two Boca Raton police sources. In a report expected to be made public this week, an attendant at Tanzabar on North Federal Highway claims McMahon, 60, came in for a routine tanning session late Sunday night. But things got a little weird. "The alleged victim says Mr. McMahon first showed pictures of himself naked on his cellphone," said one source, who saw the report. "Then she says he made unwelcome advances and finally cornered her in a tanning booth and groped her." Calls left for Tanzabar owner Amy Murray were not returned. An attendant at the salon said she couldn't comment on the incident. McMahon, who starred in a wrestling show Monday night, has been a longtime Boca resident. He lives with wife Linda at The Excelsior on South Ocean Boulevard. Apartments there fetch in the $6 million range. McMahon couldn't be reached. But, at home in Boca, Linda called the allegations "totally bizarre." His daughter, Stephanie, also a star of wrestling specials, confirmed her dad goes to Tanzabar. "Yeah, he was there the other night," she said. "I'm not aware something happened." The tanning attendant's name is being withheld until police investigate further and classify the nature of the alleged incident.

If Eddie ISN'T helping Rey or playing tricks on him, then WHO IS? My bet... Always the ribber...

You know, with Eddie being dead and all, it's hard to imagine him having a problem with this. I think his number 1 problem would be being dead.

That was fucking awesome. LOGAN~! shows his stuff and why he deserves the ~! treatment. Paris goes fucking NUTS. The end scene(s) were hilarious. Fuck, I should have taped that.

The first one I remember was UHF.

I haven't seen Brokeback or Capote, but Syriana spanked Munich and Crash and deserves to be up there in Best Picture.

While I liked it A LOT, I would have liked to have seen more talking heads in it - like with Horn vs. Liddell. This was just Dana, Tim Sylvia for some reason, and Hackleman.

So Benoit vs. Finlay gets ignored thus far?

The thing with Cummings totally had me off guard. Brilliant. I like the idea of letting people know only so much, anticipating them betraying you and then changing the plan. But Cummings is still in on it, right?

Hale was one of my favourites to watch on WCW Saturday Night back when they had him squashing guys. This sucks.

*Big Pop*

http://www.youtube.com/w/MURILO-NINJA-vs-M...V?v=ww9mggo3eGo WOW! This is a fucking sweet match from PRIDE 30. Non-stop action, lots of swings.

Mrs. Kim and Emily met. It was GLORIOUS.

OH MY JESUS! RICHARD FUCKING GILMORE HANDLES HIS SHIT. How have I missed all this for so long?! Oh my jesus, Lorelai and Christopher fuck while Luke is waiting for Lorelai to come and help him paint. Yeah, well, that helps put things in Season 5 in context.

CHRISTOPHER!!!!!!!!!!! The King is in the House, baby. Hey, is Taylor gay? Cause, like, he's not married and doesn't have kids. He's very animated and well groomed. Is this Stars Hollows dirtiest secret?

Ok, like, seriously, the Luke and Lorelai stuff is pretty freakin heavy in Season 1. My god, the silent moments between the two. I am really surprised, cause they held off until the end of Season 4 to get them together. I almost think they forget about what happened in Season 1 just because it was so heavy. With that said, I can see Lorelai avoiding anything with Luke initially because of the shit with Max, and then she gets back together with Max and the whole marriage thing, and then she dates a few guys and forgets about Luke, and then Luke has that thing with that girl at the end of season 3/beginning of Season 4.

I am so fucking all about Season 1 right now. They're into the groove, everyone is there, the music at the end of the credits is the guitar playing, the lighting is better, the dialogue is better, the camera work is better, and they are toootally playing up the Luke and Lorelai storyline. The episode where Richard has his medical problems was what sent me over the fucking edge on this season. Rory was invited to the Christmas party at the Gilmores House for FND and Lorelai wasn't (after bitching out Emily when Rory was found sleeping at Miss Pattys with Dean and Emily basically called Rory a lil slut - which is about 4 Seasons too early), so Lorelai was all alone and had nothing to eat. So I'm all like "You gotta go to Lukes" and she fuckin does and I mark out because I'm aaaalllll about Luke Danes saving the day. So Luke makes her a Christmas Burger and I'm happy and then Lorelai gets a call from Rory telling her that Richard is in the hospital and Lorelai sorta has a meltdown. And who's there to save the fucking day? LUUUUKE DAAAANES. So I am all afuckingbout this now. Cause I can never, NEVER, get too much of Luke Danes rocking the house and kickin it. So yeah, this is Lukes break out from "Obsessive Health Freak Diner Owner" into "Blue Hat Wearin, Lorelai Day Savin, Taylor Bitchin Outer, King of the Fucking Town." I really wanted Lorelai to break down when she saw Richard in the hospital bed. But I was content enough to see Richard stunned that Lorelai had to see him like that. It was like this shared understanding of the situation. And then they had to fucking have everyone come in right before Lorelai says something. This show is pure evil. Tristan gettin up in Deans face was fabulous, Todd -the dude who Lane gets Rory to set her up with- needs to make a triumphant return, MAX MEDINA is still the man, and the scene where Rory has the picture of Lorelai and Christopher in her pocket when she sees Lorelai and Max together, and you get this sad look on her face, and you realize that she always wanted her real dad and Lorelai to get back together, it's like one of the best moments the show has done because it's so understated and heart-breaking. I can't wait for Christophers debut. Oh, and CASTING CONTINUITY ERROR!!! The waiter who waits on Sookie/Jacksons date is the guy who played Sookies old cookin buddy in Season 2. I like Rorys "No... Yes." schtick. And the "Poor Bunny" of this season has GOTSTA be from Sookie. They are sitting in the diner, Lorelai has skates, Luke offers to fix, clean and sharpen them, to Lorelais delight. Sookie then drops "Wow, you get really good service here". Which, has to be, the all-time most accurate and truthful quote that I have ever heard. A laufed and laufed and laufed after that one. And in Buffy and Seinfeld casting news, you get to see Whistler and Mr. Lipman respectively in Season 1.

Or steal from Arrested Development and have them be a group of male strippers who get called upon when someone needs fake cops.

PRETTY PRETTY PRETTY!!!