Tumultuous Card Topped with Showdown
Fickett-Lim
Mar 29, 2008
After a series of cancellations, controversies and calamities,
Strikeforce and EliteXC have finally settled on a bout between
Drew Fickett (Pictures) and "The Korean Icepick" Jae Suk Lim (Pictures). The winner is slated to face
Jake Shields (Pictures) for the vacant EliteXC
welterweight championship June 14 in Honolulu.
With the stakes as high as they are, three days' notice is hardly ideal. Yet the opportunity to vie for gold on a big stage is rare in this sport, and it is an opportunity neither man can afford to pass on.
That reality is doubly true for Fickett (32-5), who may be looking
at his last chance to become something more than a fan-favorite
gatekeeper. While he certainly filled the role admirably during his
long tenure with the UFC, Fickett was also stuck playing the Peter
Gibbons role in "Office Space," forever doomed to a never-ending
cycle of knocking off the occasional prospect, losing to the
established veterans and filing mind numbing TPS reports.
Never again will Fickett have to worry about those damn cover sheets, but he will have to contend with the man making a play for best nickname in the game today.
A product of the burgeoning South Korean MMA scene, Lim cut his teeth on local Neo Fight and Spirit MC events before signing up under the EliteXC umbrella. The move has proven sage thus far, as Lim scored an impressive first round submission over Daniel Pinedo (Pictures) in his first foray outside the kimchi capital of the world. Another win here and Lim could be on the verge of becoming one of the few Korean fighters to find success stateside.
Luckily, Lim won't have to worry about the pressures of carrying his country's flag in a foreign land. Fickett is simply too skilled and too experienced for him. Originally scheduled to be a rebound win for Nick Diaz (Pictures), Lim stumbled into the contender's spotlight, and it will show come fight time.
Given that most of Fickett's struggles come against opponents who force him to work from the guard and Lim lacks an arsenal of takedowns, bank on Fickett gaining the top position early and methodically advancing position before cinching the deal via rear-naked choke in the first round.
I will say this, though: If quality of nickname were a determining factor for success in MMA, "The Korean Icepick" would be running the show. In fact, he'd be the show.
Mike Kyle (Pictures) vs. Wayne Cole (Pictures)
Because no card is complete without a volatile heavyweight just waiting to pull a Dennis Rodman and make us all cringe, Mike "MAK" Kyle will make his return to professional MMA against Wayne Cole (Pictures) in a bout that will undoubtedly have the entire CSAC on the edge of their seats for all the wrong reasons.
For the uninitiated, Kyle (9-6-1) went from promising heavyweight prospect to MMA pariah in the same amount of time it took Britney Spears to lose her dignity.
In Kyle's case, the fallout from his fall from grace nearly claimed the MMA career of Brian Olsen (Pictures), who suffered multiple serious facial injuries after Kyle went certifiably Howard Hughes and landed several illegal blows on Olsen in their bout at WEC 20. So out of control was Kyle that a second referee had to storm the cage to get the implacable one under control. Where exactly one goes from there is anyone's guess, but for Cole's sake, lets hope Kyle spent some of his lengthy suspension reacquainting himself with the unified rules of MMA.
The lead-in to this bout for Cole (10-6) is hardly the headline fodder that Kyle's return has become, but for a fighter whose spent most of his career toiling for local promotions in his native Oklahoma, this fight is the whole world encapsulated into one evening.
That one evening also represents Cole's chance to exorcise the demons of his past brush with high-profile MMA -- a short-lived run in the IFL that saw Cole lose both of his matches in uninspiring fashion.
With vindication, albeit of two different varieties, being the theme of this bout, you can bank on both men coming out ready to erase the past and position themselves to be Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson's next opponent.
Given Cole's marked size disadvantage and lax striking, expect Kyle to have a field day while he easily shrugs off any takedown attempts and lands at will on the feet. The end should come midway through the first as Kyle scores a knockout for the win.
Perhaps the audience should be supplied with "STOP" signs to hold up once the final bell rings to keep Kyle from reverting to form. Then again, the color red might only enrage him further.
Undercard
A three-bout undercard rounds out the latest combined offering from the Strikeforce/EliteXC tag team and features the usual mixed bag of fistic enjoyment for all you diehards out there.
First up is a showdown between undefeated jiu-jitsu ace Luke Stewart (Pictures) and often-defeated Team Punishment disciple Tiki Ghosn (Pictures). This one might be more interesting than you think simply based on Ghosn (9-7) having an edge in the striking department, but his takedown defense remains suspect at best.
I wouldn't be surprised if Tiki had his moments on the feet, but Stewart (5-0) should be able to score a takedown before things get too dicey. From there, the outcome is practically a religious mandate: Tiki ends up tapping the canvas late in the first round.
The up-and-comer special on the undercard features Jesse Jones taking on Jesse Gillespie (Pictures) in the battle for Jesse's girl. OK, Rick Springfield has nothing to do with this one, but you won't need to appreciate cliché ‘80s songs to enjoy this scuffle.
While neither fighter has shown us much of anything in their short careers, Jones (1-0) did at least show off some power in his lone bout. A strong boxing background bodes well for him against Gillespie (1-0). Watch for Gillespie to make the mistake of trading blows and for Jones to capitalize with a resounding knockout win in the first round.
Opening the evening's offering is the matchup of Anthony Figueroa (Pictures) against Darren Uyenoyama (Pictures). A couple of Strikeforce regulars despite not even having a dozen fights between them, these two could be battling it out to see who will be the next prospect Strikeforce hitches its wagon to.
Slick as Uyenoyama (3-1) may be on the ground, his wrestling leaves plenty to be desired, and Figueroa (4-1) is the far more versatile of the two. That should be enough to win the day, as Figueroa takes home a decision.
With the stakes as high as they are, three days' notice is hardly ideal. Yet the opportunity to vie for gold on a big stage is rare in this sport, and it is an opportunity neither man can afford to pass on.
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Never again will Fickett have to worry about those damn cover sheets, but he will have to contend with the man making a play for best nickname in the game today.
Lim (9-3) already gets to walk around calling himself "The Korean
Icepick," but he could end up calling himself a title contender as
well if his stateside tour continues the way it began.
A product of the burgeoning South Korean MMA scene, Lim cut his teeth on local Neo Fight and Spirit MC events before signing up under the EliteXC umbrella. The move has proven sage thus far, as Lim scored an impressive first round submission over Daniel Pinedo (Pictures) in his first foray outside the kimchi capital of the world. Another win here and Lim could be on the verge of becoming one of the few Korean fighters to find success stateside.
Luckily, Lim won't have to worry about the pressures of carrying his country's flag in a foreign land. Fickett is simply too skilled and too experienced for him. Originally scheduled to be a rebound win for Nick Diaz (Pictures), Lim stumbled into the contender's spotlight, and it will show come fight time.
Given that most of Fickett's struggles come against opponents who force him to work from the guard and Lim lacks an arsenal of takedowns, bank on Fickett gaining the top position early and methodically advancing position before cinching the deal via rear-naked choke in the first round.
I will say this, though: If quality of nickname were a determining factor for success in MMA, "The Korean Icepick" would be running the show. In fact, he'd be the show.
Mike Kyle (Pictures) vs. Wayne Cole (Pictures)
Because no card is complete without a volatile heavyweight just waiting to pull a Dennis Rodman and make us all cringe, Mike "MAK" Kyle will make his return to professional MMA against Wayne Cole (Pictures) in a bout that will undoubtedly have the entire CSAC on the edge of their seats for all the wrong reasons.
For the uninitiated, Kyle (9-6-1) went from promising heavyweight prospect to MMA pariah in the same amount of time it took Britney Spears to lose her dignity.
In Kyle's case, the fallout from his fall from grace nearly claimed the MMA career of Brian Olsen (Pictures), who suffered multiple serious facial injuries after Kyle went certifiably Howard Hughes and landed several illegal blows on Olsen in their bout at WEC 20. So out of control was Kyle that a second referee had to storm the cage to get the implacable one under control. Where exactly one goes from there is anyone's guess, but for Cole's sake, lets hope Kyle spent some of his lengthy suspension reacquainting himself with the unified rules of MMA.
The lead-in to this bout for Cole (10-6) is hardly the headline fodder that Kyle's return has become, but for a fighter whose spent most of his career toiling for local promotions in his native Oklahoma, this fight is the whole world encapsulated into one evening.
That one evening also represents Cole's chance to exorcise the demons of his past brush with high-profile MMA -- a short-lived run in the IFL that saw Cole lose both of his matches in uninspiring fashion.
With vindication, albeit of two different varieties, being the theme of this bout, you can bank on both men coming out ready to erase the past and position themselves to be Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson's next opponent.
Given Cole's marked size disadvantage and lax striking, expect Kyle to have a field day while he easily shrugs off any takedown attempts and lands at will on the feet. The end should come midway through the first as Kyle scores a knockout for the win.
Perhaps the audience should be supplied with "STOP" signs to hold up once the final bell rings to keep Kyle from reverting to form. Then again, the color red might only enrage him further.
Undercard
A three-bout undercard rounds out the latest combined offering from the Strikeforce/EliteXC tag team and features the usual mixed bag of fistic enjoyment for all you diehards out there.
First up is a showdown between undefeated jiu-jitsu ace Luke Stewart (Pictures) and often-defeated Team Punishment disciple Tiki Ghosn (Pictures). This one might be more interesting than you think simply based on Ghosn (9-7) having an edge in the striking department, but his takedown defense remains suspect at best.
I wouldn't be surprised if Tiki had his moments on the feet, but Stewart (5-0) should be able to score a takedown before things get too dicey. From there, the outcome is practically a religious mandate: Tiki ends up tapping the canvas late in the first round.
The up-and-comer special on the undercard features Jesse Jones taking on Jesse Gillespie (Pictures) in the battle for Jesse's girl. OK, Rick Springfield has nothing to do with this one, but you won't need to appreciate cliché ‘80s songs to enjoy this scuffle.
While neither fighter has shown us much of anything in their short careers, Jones (1-0) did at least show off some power in his lone bout. A strong boxing background bodes well for him against Gillespie (1-0). Watch for Gillespie to make the mistake of trading blows and for Jones to capitalize with a resounding knockout win in the first round.
Opening the evening's offering is the matchup of Anthony Figueroa (Pictures) against Darren Uyenoyama (Pictures). A couple of Strikeforce regulars despite not even having a dozen fights between them, these two could be battling it out to see who will be the next prospect Strikeforce hitches its wagon to.
Slick as Uyenoyama (3-1) may be on the ground, his wrestling leaves plenty to be desired, and Figueroa (4-1) is the far more versatile of the two. That should be enough to win the day, as Figueroa takes home a decision.
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