MMA June PPV Double-Shot

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Ok, so the PPV's are a while ahead and the MMA content in this folder is pretty weak, so I plan on doing fighter profiles and analysis in the up coming weeks leading up to each respective event. Both cards look to be worth getting (eps. the Pride one) with some interesting and exciting fights within.

 

UFC 43: Meltdown // Friday, June 6th 2003 // 10 PM est.

UFC Website

 

Ian Freeman vs. Vernon “Tiger” White

 

Yves Edwards vs. Eddie Ruiz

 

Pedro Rizzo vs. Tra Telligman

 

Matt Lindland vs. Falaniko Vitale

 

Frank Mir vs. Wes Sims

 

Vitor Belfort vs. Marvin Eastman

 

David Abbott vs. Kimo Leopoldo

 

Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture

 

Pride 26: Bad to the Bone // Sunday, June 8th 2003 // PPV Date: Friday, June 13th 2003 9PM Est.

PrideFC Website

 

Pride 26 Trailer

 

Anderson Silva vs. Daiju Takase

 

Alistair Overeem vs. ??? (Arona Out)

 

Antonio Schembri vs. Kazuhiro Hamanaka

 

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Kazuyuki Fujita

 

Mirko Filipovic vs. Heath Herring

 

Mark Coleman vs. Don Frye

 

Quinton Jackson vs. Mikhail Illoukhine

Edited June 1, 2003 by RavishingRickRudo

[Guest eiker_ir]

Coleman-Frye looks good, i've always been a fan of both.

[Guest razazteca]

Is that the same Kimo that has religious tatoos, that appeared in the early UFC shows.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Yeah. It was originally rumoured to occur at UFC 41, but it didn't happen..

[Guest Army Eye]

Awesome that the Frye/Coleman rematch is finally happening.

 

Most importantly Pride is now ON INDEMAND PPV!! YES!!!!!

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

It IS????????

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

YOUR Fight and Fighters of the Day are:

 

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Heath Herring

 

Name: Heath Herring

Nickname: “The Texas Crazy-Horse”, “The Destroyer”

Record: (18 - 7 - 0)

Height/Weight: 6’4/250 lbs

Birth Date: 03/02/1978

From: U.S.A.

Style: Wrestling/Muay Thai

Association: Golden Glory (Holland)

• Last Fight: vs. Fedor Emelianenko (Loss *Cut* - Pride 23: Championship Chaos 2)

Key Fight: vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Loss *Decision* - Pride 17: Championship Chaos)

Key Win:vs. Tom Erikson (Win *Rear Choke* - Pride 11: Battle of the Rising Sun)

Team Golden Glory Montage Feat. Herring

Heath Herring Montage

 

VS

 

Name: Mirko Filipovic

Nick Name: “Cro-Cop”, “The Pro-Wrestling Killer”

Record: (4 - 0 - 2)

Height/Weight: 6'2/213 lbs.

Birth Date: 9/10/1974

From: Croatia

Style: Kickboxing

Association: Cro-Cop Squad Gym

• Last Fight: vs. Kazuyuki Fujita (Win *Decision* - Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002: K-1 vs. Inoki)

Key Fight: vs. Kazushi Sakuraba (Win *TKO (Eye Injury)* - Pride: Shockwave)

Key Win: vs. Bob Sapp (Win *KO* - K-1 Saitama Super Arena)

Cro-Cop's Website

*Awesome* Peter Aerts K-1 Highlight Reel (Not Cro Cop, but it gives you a taste of the style)

[Guest Army Eye]

Awesome match, I'm going with Herring though. He should be able to take down Cro Cop pretty much at will.

[Guest The Son of Sting]

Im hyped for the Pride show.

Cro Cop to knock Herring out.

Coleman-Frye is hard to pick, i do think Frye will retire if he doesnt win.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

The reason I put this fight first is because Herring vs. Cro Cop is going to be awesome.

 

Cro Cop is quickly gaining a following from MMA fans after having disposed of Bob Sapp in under 2 minutes in his last K-1 Fight with a bone breaking right. Having gained victories over guys like Kazushi Sakuraba, Kazuyuki Fujita, Yuji Nagata, and Nobuhiko Takada (well, that was a draw), he has earned the reputation as the "pro wrestling killer". He went the distance with (V)Wanderlei Silva (even though it was under Modified rules and Silva dominated) and since then he has gotten better at the ground game. He is a K-1 fighter, and if you take a look at the Peter Aerts video (I have a lil Cro Cop video on my hard-drive and I'll try to get it up on Kazaa soon) there is a tremendous knock-out rate (something like 80% of the fights end by KO)... in other words, he knows how to bang and is dangerous on his feet.

 

Heath Herring, on the other hand, is a Wrestler turned Thai Boxer and is one of my personal favourite fighters and has been since I started watching the Pride shows a few years ago (The first show I saw, Pride 15 - vs. Mark Kerr... Kerr, a world class wrestler who has beaten Kurt Angle in Amateur competition, had Herring down on the mat for the first round into the second and it made for a very boring fight. It got to the point to where Kerr was doing nothing and Herring was asking the ref to stand it back up. The ref did. And Kerr was fucked. Herring got up quickly and looked ready for the Kill. Mark tried to shoot in and his face met with Herrings shin, Herring brought him down and started to reign a series of knees to Kerrs head and the ref stopped it... just a very intense scene.)

 

Anyways, he had an impressive showing against Nogueira at Pride 17 which elevated him to a high ranking even though he lost. His last fight was against current Pride Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko, which he lost and got absolutely destroyed in. So this could mean two things, 1)Herring is eager to prove himself as a top fighter and will come into this fight wanting to win convincingly or, 2)His confidence was shattered in his last fight and he will play it really, really, really safe. One makes for a good fight, two makes for a bad fight. I dunno if Herring will want to stand with Cro Cop, as he actually likes to throw but Mirko is just too freakin good... so either he will and probably lose, or he won’t and probably win... That’s why this fight is awesome, the possibilities these two fighters bring to it are endless.

[Guest Jimmy Saint]

Pride 26: Bad to the Bone

 

picks in bold

 

 

Alistair Overeem vs. Ricardo Arona

 

 

Antonio Schembri vs. Kazuhiro Hamanaka - I am hoping the Takada Dojo can get some revenge but its the man with the side burns and lucky knees for the win.

 

 

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Kazuyuki Fujita - By three rounds of murder.

 

 

Mirko Filipovic vs. Heath Herring - Heath really needs the win here. I can see him taking Cro Cop down and stubbornly g'n'p ing him for the majourity of the fight. Probably going to be a pretty ugly fight to watch broken up by brief flashes of Cro Cop's stand up skills. If Heath does lose he needs to get over to the UFC...

 

 

Mark Coleman vs. Don Frye - I hope Don can kick his ass but I think Coleman is to good to let that happen.

 

 

Quinton Jackson vs. Mikhail Illoukhine - I expect it will be closer than people think but I expect QJ to probably finish the match in fine style ie hopefully some kind of crazy slam.

 

 

 

 

UFC 43: Meltdown

 

 

Ian Freeman vs. Vernon “Tiger” White - No bias in that pick. No bias at all.

 

Yves Edwards vs. Eddie Ruiz - with the thug-jitsu

 

Pedro Rizzo vs. Tra Telligman - again

 

Matt Lindland vs. Falaniko Vitale - probably gonna be zzzzzz

 

Frank Mir vs. Wes Sims - Hopefully. I am not a fan of Frank Mir at all.

 

Vitor Belfort vs. Marvin Eastman - Eastman is the real deal and I can see him causing major problems in this before Vitor realises that he is Vitor Fucking Belfort late on and knocks him out.

 

David Abbott vs. Kimo Leopoldo - Who wins ? well we all win with this a dream match up from UFC that real MMA fans have been asking to see for years. I think Tank will win with a flying Triangle in the last round of one of the greatest fights in the history of the sport.....ahem...

 

 

Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture - Now this could easilly go either way. Couture has all the skills to make Chuck look stupid and cancel out his whole game plan. I think Chuck will catch Couture at some point though forcing a stoppage.

[Guest benoitrulz4life]

Add Anderson Silva vs. Daiju Takase to the PRIDE card.

 

Silva's a badass Chute Boxer while Takase is best known in PRIDE for surviving against Mr. Fat Ass himself Manny Yarbrough.

 

Money's on Silva.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

You know, I was thinking to myself the other day...

 

"Self, this Pride card needs Anderson Silva"

 

 

VERY nice card, indeed. I hope both the Rampage fight and the Silva fight are slaughters... I *know* the Fedor fight will be...

[Guest Jimmy Saint]

Funny when I saw the matches announced I thought.

 

 

"This Pride card needs Vanderlei Silva"

 

 

another Chute Boxe fighter will do though.

 

 

Supposdly Arona is out of the Overeem match through illness and either Jeremy Horn or Murilo Bustamante are being talked about to replace him. Fucking hope its Busta as that fight will get a great deal better to watch then.

[LooseCannon25 0]

Wasnt Ken Shamrock returning and fighting Ian Freeman at the UFC PPv.....what the hell happened?

[Guest Old Brown Heineken]

Funny when I saw the matches announced I thought.

"This Pride card needs Vanderlei Silva"

Vanderlei Silva is scheduled to fight Quinton Jackson at the next PRIDE (26), he won't make it to UFC even if he would be a great addition to the card...

 

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

I really, really, really, REALLY hope Arona is out...

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Shamrock tore something in his leg training and had to drop out... I'm happy with that, cause Shammy didn't really need another loss as his stock would fall as a draw. I hope he commentates though.

[Guest Army Eye]

Funny when I saw the matches announced I thought.

 

 

"This Pride card needs Vanderlei Silva"

 

 

another Chute Boxe fighter will do though.

All Pride cards should have Vanderlei of course, but he is still recovering from knee surgery.

 

 

I'll be glad if Arona is out too. The guy is boring; he fights like he thinks he's still in ADCC trying to score points.

[Guest NoSelfWorth]

Shamrock tore his ACL.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

YOUR Fight and Fighters of the Day are:

 

Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture

 

Name: Chuck Liddell

Nickname: “The Iceman”

Record: (11 - 1 - 0)

Height/Weight: 6’2/204 lbs

Birth Date: 12/17/1969

From: U.S.A.

Style: Kickboxing

Association: Pitfight Team

• Last Fight: Renato “Babalu” Sobral (Win *KO/Headkick* - UFC 40: Vendetta)

Key Fight: vs. Kevin Randleman (Win *KO/Punches* - UFC 31: Locked and Loaded)

Key Win (s): vs. Murilo Bustamante (Win *Decision* - UFC 33: Victory in Vegas), vs. Vitor Belfort (Win *Decision* - UFC 37.5: As Real as it Gets)

*Updated* Chuck Liddell Interview

 

VS.

 

Name: Randy Couture

Nickname: “The Natural”

Record: (10 - 5 - 0)

Height/Weight: 6’1/225 lbs (he will drop down to 205)

Birth Date: 06/22/1963

From: U.S.A.

Style: Wrestling

Association: Team Quest

• Last Fight: vs. Ricco Rodriguez (Loss *Submission/Strikes* - UFC 39: Return of the Warriors)

Key Fight: vs. Vitor Belfort (Win *TKO/Strikes* - UFC 15 Collision Course)

Key Win: vs. Maurice Smith (Win *Decision* - UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan), vs. Kevin Randleman (Win *TKO/Strikes* - UFC 28: High Stakes)

Randy Couture Montage Edited May 29, 2003 by RavishingRickRudo

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Liddell vs. Couture is a head-scratcher. Not in the "who is going to win" kinda way, but a "what the fuck are they thinking" kinda way. Liddell vs. Tito will be huge - so why is Zuffa risking Liddell against a former 2x heavyweight champion?

 

Sure, Liddell has better standup and a really nice sprawl, and sure, Randy has lost his last 2 fights and seems to have lost his fire for fighting, but do NOT count Randy Couture out! Do not take him lightly Zuffa, because he very well could beat Chuck Liddell and that big Tito vs. Chuck match that you've been waiting for will be FUCKED!

 

Randy Couture burst on the scene beating former WWE Wrestler Ludwig Borga (aka Tony Halme) quickly with a Rear Choke. He then went on to win the 4-man Heavyweight Tournament Finals easily. From there he faced "The Phenom" Vitor Belfort; a man thought unbeatable due to his incredible handspeed and quick wins. Not only did Couture beat Belfort, but he beat him STANDING UP. Like Don Frye before him, Couture was both an amateur wrestler and a boxer... except his wrestling was at a world class level, which made him very dangerous. He beat Maurice Smith in UFC Japan to capture the title Heavyweight title, but contract disputes kept him away from ever defending it. Fast Forward to UFC 28 and he beat Kevin Randleman to recapture the title he never really lost. From there he had an explosive bout vs. Pedro Rizzo where he won a controversial decision, but all disputes were settled in their rematch a few months later where Couture easily disposed of "The Rock".

 

.... Oh, did I mention he was "past his prime" all those times?

 

Couture kept beating the odds, kept showing all those who said "he's too old" that an old guy like him could still beat young guys like Rizzo, Randleman, Belfort. However, since his loss to Josh Barnett at UFC 36 he hasn't been the same. I recall watching that fight and looking into Coutures eyes and seeing a beaten man. That beaten man lost again to Ricco Rodriguez a few months later.

 

So can "The Natural" once again prove himself to all the naysayers? Can he find that fire to fight, even at the age of 40? Because he will need that fire to beat "The Iceman".

 

Chuck Liddell has proven himself over, and over, and over, and over, and OVER again. Bustamante, Belfort, Babalu, Mezger, Randleman... World Class fighters all walked over and passed by on a quest to the lightheavyweight title. He should have gotten his title shot at UFC 40, but he let Ken Shamrock challenge for the title instead. Liddell is both an excellent kickboxer and wrestler, which makes for a sickening combination. He can take you down, or he can stop you from taking him down and knock you out in the process. Couture hasn't really faced anyone like Chuck Liddell, nor has Chuck ever faced anyone like Randy Couture. Liddell's closest opponent would be Kevin Randleman, and Coutures would be Rizzo... and it's not really that close.

 

I'm a big Couture fan, but I also like Liddell, so this fight will be fun to watch. I think Liddell has been training for Tito, and Couture is similar in terms of style, so I think Liddell has the advantage here. Couture also is in a funk and is on the verge of turning 40, two big blows against him. He is also cutting 20 lbs of weight and Liddell is more used to fighting at the 205 range. But even with all these things stacked against him, Couture still has a chance to win this and I don't think it will be an easy fight for Liddell to win.

[Guest wildpegasus]

They showed Randy Couture on TSN the other night defending his UFC title before RAW.

 

Some questions:

 

 

1) What differences are there in the rules from Pride compared to the UFC?

 

2) I really enjoyed Pancrase (more so than the Couture fight TSN showed) back when Bas Rutten, the Shamrocks, and Funaki were wrestling. I heard they've now changed the rules to where they're more Pride like. So, currently how does Pancrase compare to the UFC and Pride in match quality?

 

3)What's everyone's opinion of using rounds instead of just going through the match without any breaks?

[Guest Army Eye]

1) UFC allows elbows to the head, Pride does not. Pride allows kicks and knees to the head of a downed opponent, UFC does not.

 

There is also the issue that in Pride, when the fight gets too far under the ropes, the fighters are moved to the middle of the ring but with their relative positions retained. On the other hand, UFC encourages you to mash your opponent into the cage and pin him there so he can't move.

 

2) Wish I could tell ya. Pancrase fights are awful hard to get in the States.

 

3) I strongly prefer no rounds.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

I like Prides system of a 10 minute round, and 2 Five minute round. No rounds leads to crap like Gracie/Shamrock 2 or Shamrock/Severn 2.

 

Pride is generally more liberal than the UFC and the refs will stand the fight up quicker. The Octagon bothers me because it favours guys like Matt Hughes who just do Ground and Pound until the fight is over.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

YOUR Fight and Fighters of the Day are:

 

Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Fedor Emelianenko

 

Name: Kazuyuki Fujita

Nickname: -

Record: 7 - 3 - 0

Height/Weight: 6’0/220 lbs.

Birth Date: 10/16/1970

From: Japan

Style: Wrestling

Association: -

• Last Fight: vs. Manabu Nakanishi (Win *TKO* - NJPW: Ultimate Crush)

Key Fight: vs. Mirko Filipovic (Loss *Decision* - Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002: K-1 vs. Inoki)

Key Win: vs. Mark Kerr (Win *Decision* - Pride GP 2000 Finals), vs. Ken Shamrock (Win *Towel* - Pride 10: Return of the Warriors)

vs.

 

Name: Fedor Emelianenko

Nickname: -

Record:12 - 1 - 0

Height/Weight: 6’0/234 lbs.

Birth Date: -

From: Russia

Style: Sambo/Judo

Association: Russian Top Team

• Last Fight: Egidijus Valavicius (Win *Submission/Kimura* - RINGS Lithuania - Bushido Rings 7: Adrenalinas)

Key Fight: vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Win *Decision* - Pride 25: Body Blow)

Key Win: vs. Heath Herring (Win *TKO/Cut* - Pride 23: Championship Chaos 2)

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Fedor Emelianenko, a man who made his name destroying two of the top fighters in MMA. A man who redefined the term "Ground and Pound" with sharp, precise, and powerful punches. A man who shrugged off countless triangle attempts by a man who has triangled the best of them. A man who, in just two fights, has established himself as the most dangerous man on the planet.

 

Kazuyuki Fujita...

 

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

YOUR Fight and Fighters of the Day are:

 

Alistair Overeem vs. ??? **

 

Name: Alistair Overreem

Nickname: -

Record: 15 - 3 - 0

Height/Weight: 6’5/209 lbs.

Birth Date: -

From: Holland

Style: Kickboxing/Submission

Association: Golden Glory

• Last Fight: vs. Aaron Brink (Win *Submission/Choke* - 2H2H: Simply the Best 6)

Key Fight: vs. Yusuke Imamura (Win *TKO* - Pride: The Best Vol. 2)

Key Win: vs. Bazigit Atajev (Win *TKO/Knees to the Body* - Pride 24: Cold Fury 2)

Overeem Interview

 

 

**Ricardo Arona is out of next Sunday's Pride match with Alistair Overeem due to the flu. They are looking for a late sub.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

I really hope Overeem gets to fight as I haven't seen a lot of his matches and his combination of Kickboxing and Submissions intrigues me. He is able to tap or knock you out. I hope they find a suitable opponent.

 

Any Guesses??

 

Possible:

 

Gary Goodrich

Tom Erikson (both are heavyweights, but have been itching to fight)

Akira Shoji

Daijiro Matsui (aka, the two usual subs)

Alex Steibling

Igor Vovchanchyn

Yoshihiro Takayama

Johil de Oliveira

Jerrel Venetiaan

Ebenezer Fontes Braga

Kevin Randleman

Murilo Ninja

Mario Sperry

Murillo Bustamante

Allan Goes

[Guest MrRant]

I hope to at least do UFC for TSM. Free baby.