Friday Blog: The Worst of White
May 15, 2009
Greasegate
Revisited: Penn Files Motion to Bore
By Jake Rossen ([email protected])
Friday, 6:15 p.m. ET: The otherwise cheerful MMAJunkie brings the depression: Lube-adverse B.J. Penn is continuing his pseudo-legal pissing contest against Georges St. Pierre.
Despite the Nevada Commission’s labeling of Penn’s official complaint as a “non-action item” -- i.e., thanks for letting us know, but we’re not going to get out the paddle -- Penn’s attorney, Raffi Nahabedian, was present during a commission meeting Wednesday to urge members to make a formal statement on the case’s conclusion.
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That sounds very ominous. Does Nahabedian wish to imply he intends to bring criminal or civil charges against St. Pierre?
If there’s even the slightest chance St. Pierre’s torso was
lubricated to the point that it influenced the outcome of the bout,
then Penn has every right to be vindictive. But court appointments
are emotionally and financially exhausting; fights have been won or
lost based on groin shots, eye pokes, illegal blows, fence holding
and slippery mats.
It is not unreasonable that Penn should experience -- as most fighters do -- the effects of an unwanted variable. The fact that the bout autopsy is ongoing increases my belief that a disinterested Penn is going to have a much harder time than anticipated against Kenny Florian on Aug. 8.
Liddell Talks
Retirement
By Jake Rossen ([email protected])
Friday, 4:45 p.m. ET: Sick of the melodrama surrounding the will-he or won’t-he retirement status of UFC staple Chuck Liddell?
Too bad: It’s Liddell’s turn to comment. “The Iceman” told MMA Madness that he’ll make the decision in his own sweet time.
“I’m too emotional to make a rational decision,” he said, “so I want wait and take my time. … Right now, I couldn’t say that I’m not going to fight again. ... It’s hard to stop competing after so many years.”
There should be a big, flashing neon sign above that last comment. The real problem is that prizefighters are allowed to compete well past their expiration dates because of marquee value, a decision that’s not often made in mainstream team sports that depend on divisional success. There’s no other major athletic infrastructure that can accommodate a stubborn, aging athlete the way boxing and MMA can.
Personal responsibility only goes so far. In the end, it really shouldn’t be up to Liddell, Dana White or trainer John Hackleman. If an athlete has been KOed multiple times over a relatively short window, state athletic commissions need to consider the greater potential for damage to their long-term health and cognitive functioning, a morbid subject the NFL is already well-versed in.
MMA and its participants are still young enough to invest in preventative medicine. I’d rather see someone like Liddell walk away a fight too early than a fight too late.
Machida Wants
Lesnar
By Jake Rossen ([email protected])
Friday, 2:05 p.m. ET: Further proof the UFC will never be approved for blanket employee health insurance: Light heavyweight Lyoto Machida recently told Tatame that’d he’d welcome a fight with heavyweight zoo animal Brock Lesnar.
“I don’t think about fight at heavyweight division, but I think about a challenge, maybe against the heavyweight champion, but it’s [not] time for it now,” Machida said. “My focus, for sure, is on my division now, later is later. Maybe a fight against Brock Lesnar.”
Ounce for ounce, Machida probably isn’t much smaller than Randy Couture, who had a valiant effort against Lesnar in November. Problem is, I doubt Machida would be able to scramble as effectively as Couture did from the bottom -- and the bottom is where Lesnar would put him. One can imagine Machida’s head sticking out from the canvas, Daffy Duck-style. Such is the velocity that Lesnar would use to drive him into the ground.
My doubts over his heavyweight potential aside, Machida’s ambitions are what fighting is all about: a human endurance trial. But let’s see what he can do against another very credible wrestler in Rashad Evans before thinking about tackling another 60 pounds of fast-twitch muscle.
Strikeforce
Challengers Goes Head-to-Head with MFC
By Jake Rossen ([email protected])
Friday, 1:45 p.m. ET: A good example of why the world needs TiVos, or at least cable company-supplied FauxVos: two MMA events go virtually head-to-head on television tonight, with Maximum Fighting Championships airing at 10 p.m. ET on HDNet and Strikeforce’s inaugural Challengers event beginning at 11 p.m. ET on Showtime.
Hard to believe, but neither card approaches Yamma-levels of mediocrity. The bigger stories from each:
MFC: Bobby Lashley’s Career Ascent, Lofton/Eastman
The next Lesnar, or the next Sean O’Haire? Lashley, 2-0 in his MMA career after leaving the WWE, is a proficient wrestler with a great camp (American Top Team) behind him, but a decision over Jason Guida in March left fans a little deflated. He’ll need a more violent victory against journeyman Mike Cook to get back on radar.
On the undercard, MFC regular Aron Lofton will take on UFC alum Marvin Eastman. Both are known for quick business: Five of Lofton’s six wins have come under a minute, and Eastman commits to strikes like he’s at an MLB plate. Expect the bell, a flurry and an immediate swarm of physicians.
Strikeforce: Lightweights Don’t Make Weight, Tate/Kaufman
155-pound headliners Billy Evangelista and Mike Aina both missed weight Thursday by two-plus pounds each; at least they’ll have plenty of energy for a scrap. Evangelista, 9-0, enters as the favorite, but Aina garnered attention with a competitive fight versus Nick Diaz in 2007.
A hard-hitter (Evangelista) versus a guy who’s never been finished: a good, combustible mix.
On the undercard, Strikeforce will help prepare for life after the Gina Carano/Cristiane Santos Superfight -- which should happen someday -- by highlighting a bout between 135-pound prospects Sarah Kaufman and Miesha Tate.
Tate, who wrestled on an all-boys’ team in high school, trains under submission artist Dennis Hallman. Kaufman prefers a stand-up fight, and she usually gets her way: The Canadian is 8-0 to date.
Week of White
Concludes: The Worst of White
By Jake Rossen ([email protected])
London
Entertainment/Splash News
Carmen Electra (2001) Clamoring for press -- any press -- following the Fertittas’ acquisition of the promotion, UFC installed professional empty vessel Carmen Electra to be the company “spokesperson.” Electra engaged in fiery debate with Senator John McCain, lobbied for state sanctioning in Nevada, and drafted several revisions to the Unified Rules.
Sadly, most only remember that her contributions were limited to a series of stilted fighter print advertisements and articulating the UFC’s appeal by declaring it “raw.”
Boxing Ortiz (2007) Don’t doubt that White’s animosity toward former UFC poster pugilist Tito Ortiz is genuine: No one could possibly have the energy to sustain artificial venom for this long. But White’s agreement to meet Ortiz in a boxing match -- which culminated in Ortiz refusing to show up and White airing a 90-minute special on his training anyway -- was self-indulgent nonsense.
Purchasing PRIDE (2007) Crippled after being abandoned by television stations, Japanese promotion PRIDE was snapped up by White in May of 2007 and was viewed as the key to unlocking the obtuse and difficult-to-navigate world of overseas fight promotion.
With a purchase price rumored to be anywhere from $15 to $75 million, PRIDE proved a sagging investment: The company was on the verge of death regardless, and some key employees -- particularly Fedor Emelianenko -- weren’t part of the package. It’s going to take another 175 years of repackaged best-of shows on cable and a lot of DVDs to recoup that expenditure.
Jones Ready
for the Spotlight
By Greg Savage ([email protected])
One of the young up-and-coming fighters from the camp, Tito Jones (6-2) will be fighting on Friday’s Strikeforce Challengers card.
Check out the former Roy Jones Sr. pupil’s take on his first primetime match up, a bout with nifty veteran Bao Quach in this exclusive video interview.
Check the blog all day for more entries.
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