J.G.’s “What We Learned from April” Mailbag
Rampage’s Rib
Josh Gross May 13, 2005
Stuck in a Corner
What in the world was Rampage’s corner doing in his fight with Shogun? All they were doing was screaming at him when he was obviously hurt! — Matt Barton, Mason, WV
It wasn’t fun to watch, I’ll give you that. Less than two weeks
before Jackson and his trainer, Colin Oyama, left for Japan I was
invited into their gym to do interviews and shoot some video. More
than once I mentioned to Rampage how happy and at peace he
seemed.
Oyama was convinced that Jackson had what it took to beat Shogun. But boy did he lack the explosiveness to compete with the Brazilian.
That said, I always believe trainers, especially those as close to their fighter as Oyama is to Rampage, know the limits of the men in the ring. To an outside observer like you or me, his beating seemed unnecessary. But Oyama — and I haven’t had a chance to speak with him — must have felt Jackson was still in the fight.
Jackson explained that at no point was he stunned. (On a side note, Jackson shocked me when he said that Rua was better than his more famous teammate Wanderlei Silva. Interesting and scary at the same time.)
Expect Jackson to make some changes in the future. But he promises he’ll continue to work with Oyama in their No Limits gym.
Best fight ever?
Gotta say, Matt Hughes coming back and beating the snot out of that ball buster Trigg was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. Reading what you wrote, you sounded impressed. Where do you rank it with the best fights in the history of MMA? — Bruce Rosen
I always love these questions because they force me to jar this memory of mine. I also hate them because invariably I leave something off the list I shouldn’t have.
Because I’m a fight snob I have a few criteria before granting BFE status:
1) It should be a championship bout (unless it’s so miraculous that just doesn’t matter);
2) at least one of the fighters must come back from adversity;
3) when a good fight has a possibility of being a great fight, you immediately think of a BFE fight to compare it to.
So, my top five fights (in no particular order):
Randy Couture vs. Pedro Rizzo I — an absolute war. Both men were almost done. It was the first great five-round championship bout to go the distance.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Bob Sapp — and I killed DSE/K-1 afterwards for making this match. Put this one in the VCR if you ever want to hook someone on MMA and/or fool them into thinking you’ve got a murder on tape.
Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson II — it was the match we wanted to see outside the tournament format. Jackson nearly had this one, hurting Silva with a minute left in round one. But the Brazilian stormed back to deliver one of the most brutal knockouts in MMA history.
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Royce Gracie — this falls under the “so miraculous that it just doesn’t matter” caveat. Half an hour into the bout it was already special. Sixty minutes later, it one for the ages.
Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar — I’m taking the easy way out. Sure, the two fought their hearts out. But the reason for making this list has more to do with the venue in which they did it. During a six-minute stretch an estimated 10 million Americans tuned in to watch this fight. Yeah, that says just about everything.
Handicapping the PRIDE GP second-round matches
What matches would you make for the second round of the Pride GP? I hope they do Igor vs. Silva. But I bet they don’t want four Brazilians in the finals — Eric Swain, Boca Raton, Florida
Well, let me apologize for not getting to this one before PRIDE had the audacity to officially announce quarterfinal bouts. Let’s take the opportunity to break down the fights as the currently stand.
Wanderlei Silva vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura — according to those who voted in Wednesday’s Sherdog.com poll, this is the least anticipated bout of the second round. I like Nakamura. He’s athletic and aggressive. Silva, however, is too much for the judoka. And you have to wonder what kind of psychological games Silva will play with Nakamura after the Brazilian twice beat Hidehiko Yoshida, Nakamura’s mentor.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Rua — the most anticipated bout of the quarterfinals, say you guys. And it’s hard to argue. Two young bulls on the verge of taking the next step. It’s a tough bout to call, but I think Shogun is too athletic for Nogueira and his aggressive striking is the difference.
Ricardo Arona vs. Kazushi Sakuraba — if there’s one guy in the tournament I can let myself root for it’s Sakuraba. He can win this fight, but it won’t come easy. Arona is equal parts muscle and technique. When he feels like he can be aggressive, he’s ultra dangerous. And I think he’ll walk into the ring acting like Sakuraba cannot hurt him. He’s probably right.
Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Alistair Overeem — the sleeper bout. Igor was my pick to win the whole thing and I’m not flip-flopping — yet. Physically, Overeem presents the Ukrainian’s most difficult challenge. Can’t you envision the Dutchman driving a knee into Vovchanchyn’s face? I can. But my gut says Igor advances to August’s championship night by knockout.
An E-mail from Japan … I think
Simply … which show did you like the best as a editor of biggest MMA site in the universe? Tell us why too. — Dirk Digler, Tokyo
Ahem, Dirk? I dislike all promoters equally. Actually, that’s not true. Some I actually despise.
Here’s my perfect “show”:
Five-minute round structure as used in sanctioned North American events; same for the rules of the ring, with the much-needed addition of knees to the head on the ground; no cage, just a ring exactly like PRIDE’s; and the 10-point must scoring system.
Until there’s an event matching that and it’s making me millions like I’m a King of the Cage promoter, I can’t pick a favorite.
The best event in April? As an American MMA watcher it had to be the TUF Finale. It meant more for the long-term future of the sport in the U.S. than any other event since, well … ever.
What in the world was Rampage’s corner doing in his fight with Shogun? All they were doing was screaming at him when he was obviously hurt! — Matt Barton, Mason, WV
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Oyama was convinced that Jackson had what it took to beat Shogun. But boy did he lack the explosiveness to compete with the Brazilian.
This might make news: On Saturday I saw Rampage at KOTC and he told
me that while the rib was injured, it was not broken. More of a
cartilage issue, he said, which no doubt was still painful.
That said, I always believe trainers, especially those as close to their fighter as Oyama is to Rampage, know the limits of the men in the ring. To an outside observer like you or me, his beating seemed unnecessary. But Oyama — and I haven’t had a chance to speak with him — must have felt Jackson was still in the fight.
Jackson explained that at no point was he stunned. (On a side note, Jackson shocked me when he said that Rua was better than his more famous teammate Wanderlei Silva. Interesting and scary at the same time.)
Expect Jackson to make some changes in the future. But he promises he’ll continue to work with Oyama in their No Limits gym.
Best fight ever?
Gotta say, Matt Hughes coming back and beating the snot out of that ball buster Trigg was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. Reading what you wrote, you sounded impressed. Where do you rank it with the best fights in the history of MMA? — Bruce Rosen
I always love these questions because they force me to jar this memory of mine. I also hate them because invariably I leave something off the list I shouldn’t have.
Because I’m a fight snob I have a few criteria before granting BFE status:
1) It should be a championship bout (unless it’s so miraculous that just doesn’t matter);
2) at least one of the fighters must come back from adversity;
3) when a good fight has a possibility of being a great fight, you immediately think of a BFE fight to compare it to.
So, my top five fights (in no particular order):
Randy Couture vs. Pedro Rizzo I — an absolute war. Both men were almost done. It was the first great five-round championship bout to go the distance.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Bob Sapp — and I killed DSE/K-1 afterwards for making this match. Put this one in the VCR if you ever want to hook someone on MMA and/or fool them into thinking you’ve got a murder on tape.
Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson II — it was the match we wanted to see outside the tournament format. Jackson nearly had this one, hurting Silva with a minute left in round one. But the Brazilian stormed back to deliver one of the most brutal knockouts in MMA history.
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Royce Gracie — this falls under the “so miraculous that it just doesn’t matter” caveat. Half an hour into the bout it was already special. Sixty minutes later, it one for the ages.
Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar — I’m taking the easy way out. Sure, the two fought their hearts out. But the reason for making this list has more to do with the venue in which they did it. During a six-minute stretch an estimated 10 million Americans tuned in to watch this fight. Yeah, that says just about everything.
Handicapping the PRIDE GP second-round matches
What matches would you make for the second round of the Pride GP? I hope they do Igor vs. Silva. But I bet they don’t want four Brazilians in the finals — Eric Swain, Boca Raton, Florida
Well, let me apologize for not getting to this one before PRIDE had the audacity to officially announce quarterfinal bouts. Let’s take the opportunity to break down the fights as the currently stand.
Wanderlei Silva vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura — according to those who voted in Wednesday’s Sherdog.com poll, this is the least anticipated bout of the second round. I like Nakamura. He’s athletic and aggressive. Silva, however, is too much for the judoka. And you have to wonder what kind of psychological games Silva will play with Nakamura after the Brazilian twice beat Hidehiko Yoshida, Nakamura’s mentor.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Rua — the most anticipated bout of the quarterfinals, say you guys. And it’s hard to argue. Two young bulls on the verge of taking the next step. It’s a tough bout to call, but I think Shogun is too athletic for Nogueira and his aggressive striking is the difference.
Ricardo Arona vs. Kazushi Sakuraba — if there’s one guy in the tournament I can let myself root for it’s Sakuraba. He can win this fight, but it won’t come easy. Arona is equal parts muscle and technique. When he feels like he can be aggressive, he’s ultra dangerous. And I think he’ll walk into the ring acting like Sakuraba cannot hurt him. He’s probably right.
Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Alistair Overeem — the sleeper bout. Igor was my pick to win the whole thing and I’m not flip-flopping — yet. Physically, Overeem presents the Ukrainian’s most difficult challenge. Can’t you envision the Dutchman driving a knee into Vovchanchyn’s face? I can. But my gut says Igor advances to August’s championship night by knockout.
An E-mail from Japan … I think
Simply … which show did you like the best as a editor of biggest MMA site in the universe? Tell us why too. — Dirk Digler, Tokyo
Ahem, Dirk? I dislike all promoters equally. Actually, that’s not true. Some I actually despise.
Here’s my perfect “show”:
Five-minute round structure as used in sanctioned North American events; same for the rules of the ring, with the much-needed addition of knees to the head on the ground; no cage, just a ring exactly like PRIDE’s; and the 10-point must scoring system.
Until there’s an event matching that and it’s making me millions like I’m a King of the Cage promoter, I can’t pick a favorite.
The best event in April? As an American MMA watcher it had to be the TUF Finale. It meant more for the long-term future of the sport in the U.S. than any other event since, well … ever.
