THE WEEK THAT WAS

Fighters of the Week:

1. Alistair Overeem (Strikeforce) Sigh. I really like Brett Rogers, and if he beat Overeem, he would have made a great champ. But it wasn't to be. He looked tentative and nervous. He looked 10x better against Fedor. But all the credit in the world to Overeem, I didn't think there was a chance this fight would happen, but he manned up, took all the neccessary tests, fought, and dominated. My mouth is shut. I just hope he fights in Strikeforce more often, preferably against the Fedor/Werdum winner.
2. Hector Lombard (Bellator) - Jesus Christ, I know Jay Silva will never be confused with Anderson, but six fucking seconds? Six seconds. Most fans weren't even back from the fridge when that happened. When the fight with Filho (of course) fell through, I was dissapointed (but not surprised), but I thought "Hey, at least Silva's a banger, should be fun", but I didn't expect this. Sweet sassy molassey.
3. Patricio Pitbull (Bellator) - Got a hard-fought win over Wilson Reis to advance to the Bellator Featherweight Tournamant Final against Joe Warren. He's a submission wizard, so I'm not sure Warren's strength can overcome that.
4. Antonio Silva (Strikeforce) - Well it wasn't pretty, but he outstruck the striker in Arlovski to take the win. I'm assuming a fight with Brett Rogers is on the horizon for him, he looked MUCH better than he did against Werdum.
5. Joe Warren (Bellator) - If you disagree with the decision, I can understand, but what is indisputable is that Joe Warren is a freak. He's barely been a professional MMArtist for a year, and is 4-1 with wins over Chase Beebe, Kid Yamamoto, Eric Marriot, and Georgi Karakhanyan. Dude's a freak, he's probably the best wrestler in the 145 division (yup, looking at you, Urijah), and is freakishly strong. I'm pumped for the finals.
6. Rafael Cavalcante (Strikeforce) - Very surprising upset by knocking out Antwain Britt in the first round. His training with Anderson Silva is paying dividends.
7. Shamil Abdurahimov (ADFC) - Shamil defeated the now, apparently very beatable Jeff Monson, in the Abu Dhabi Fighting Championships. Easily the best win of his young career.
8. Mike Kyle (KOTC) - It took five rounds and a split decision, but Kyle finally took down "Kryptonite" in the main event of KOTC: Honor for the KOTC Light Heavyweight Championship.
9. Lyle Beerbohm (Strikeforce) - Fancy Pants stays undefeated with a split-decision victory over Vitor Riberio. Wonder if he'll want to stay in Strikeforce after this?
10. Tom Watson (BAMMA) - The underrated Brit defeated Matt Horwich in the main event of BAMMA 3 to retain his title by unanimous decision. The UFC goes to England in October and I hope he gets a shot.


Quote of the Week:

"I finish fights!" - Kenny Florian

Upset of the Week:

Shamil Abdurahimov def. Jeff Monson


Event of the Week:

Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery

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May 18-May 25

THE WEEK THAT WILL BE



[:: Bellator 19 ::]
May 20
Verizon Theater
Grand Prarie, Texas
8:00
TV: FSN

Notable Fights:
Diego Saraiva (FW #31) vs. Joe Soto (FW #23)
Dan Hornbuckle (WW #14) vs. Steve Carl (WW #74)
Ben Askren (WW #209) vs. Ryan Thomas (WW #151)



[:: Moosin: God of Martial Arts: Sylvia vs. Pudzianowski ::]
May 21
DCU Center
Worcester, MA
9:00
PPV

Notable Fights:
Mariusz Pudzianowski (HW #131) vs. Tim Sylvia (HW #19)
Mu Bae Choi (HW #54) vs. Travis Wiuff (HW #21)
Roxanne Modafferi (#20) vs. Tara LaRosa (#5)
Rafael Natal (MW #139) vs. Travis Lutter (MW #35)



[:: Strikeforce Challengers 8 ::]
May 21
Rose Garden
Portland, Oregon
10:00
TV: Showtime

Notable Fights:
Kevin Casey (MW #126) vs. Matt Lindland (MW #61)
Nathan Coy (WW #92) vs. Tyron Woodley (WW #86)
Bryan Travers (LW #93) vs. Pat Healy (LW #68)
Nate Moore (MW #188) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (WW #96)



[:: FCF 42: Watson vs. Lofton ::]
May 22
Douglas Everett Arena
Concord, New Hampshire

Notable Fights:
Aron Lofton (HW #161) vs. Josh Lofton (LHW #239)



[:: UWC 8: Judgement Day ::]
May 22
GMU Patriot Center
Fairfax, Virginia
7:00

Notable Fights:
UWC Bantamweight Championship: Mike Easton (c) (BW #33) vs. Ryan Diaz
Jessie Riggleman (BW #48) vs. John Dodson (FLW #35)
Mike Seal vs. Timothy Woods (MW #183)



[:: Shark Fights 11: Humes vs. Buentello ::]
May 22
Ector County Coliseum
Odessa, Texas
7:00

Notable Fights:
Bryan Humes (HW #175) vs. Paul Buentello (HW #58)
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Fighters I'm Rooting For This Week:

1. Tyron Woodley (T-WOOD! I'm a huge Woodley fan and I think he's Strikeforce's best chance to hone a homegrown superstar along with Luke Rockhold. Part of me is bummed he isn't on a major card yet, but, much like being on a Spike TV Prelim, he gets a lot more exposure this way then being on a major fight undercard.)
2. Dan Hornbuckle (WAR HORNBUCKLE! His march continues. I've said my feelings on Hornbuckle many-a-time here, so I'll just let it rest.)
3. Matt Lindland (It's not that I don't want Kevin Casey to make a name for himself in the biggest fight of his career, but I have a soft spot for MMA veterans and founding fathers. It would be nice to see The Law get at least one more win under his belt.)
4. Tim Sylvia (I've never been the world's biggest Timmeh fan, but hopefully that embarassing loss to Ray Mercer showed him that being a UFC champ doesn't entitle you to a win. I hope for his sake he gets it together, gets serious, and puts away that hack freakshow for the sake of MMA.)
T5. Travis Wiuff (He's 60-14, has a shitload of tread on the tires, and was defeated in his two attempts in the UFC, but he's coming off one of the biggest wins of his career over Jeff Monson. I have a soft spot for the road warriors, the journeymen, and I want to see him get one more crack at the big leagues.)
T5. Paul Buentello (The guy is one-dimensional, sure, but he's a warrior. An absolute warrior that I'll always pull for.)


Best Cards:

1. Moosin: Sylvia vs. Pudzianowski
2. Bellator 19 (By the way, how awesome is that poster?)
3. Strikeforce Challengers 8
4. UWC 8
5. Shark Fights 11


Fights I'm Looking Forward To:

1. Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. Tim Sylvia (Ugh, I feel like such a sellout putting this against of Coy-Woodley, but I'm a little more interested in this fight: I view this as a turning point of sorts for MMA. Mixed Martial Arts is as mainstream now as ever, but it's still new to the bloodstream, relatively speaking. Massachusetts is a rookie in the game of MMA, and this is their first major taste. This is crucial. We hardcore fans know Tim Sylvia for what he is. The best of a bad lot at a weak time for Heavyweights, and a fighter who's star has faded. But to casual fans? He's a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. To them, Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira...he's their equal. Absurd, yes, but it is what it is. So not only is Big Tim fighting for himself, but he's fighting for the reputation of MMA versus that of the "oh, anyone can come in and fight in this cagefighting freakshow of a sport". Don't think Dana White isn't watching this fight very closely. Ultimately, what Tim does or doesn't do will give the casual fan an opinion on his brand, the brand he built, the UFC. When the UFC comes to Boston, and the casual fan is choosing between attending or not, is he going to want them saying "The UFC? Yeah, I saw some steroid freak beat one of their old champions, they suck". We all know someone like that who would utter those words. All the breath in your lungs will be worthless, because the casuals believe what they want to believe. That's why this fight is interesting to me.
2. Nathan Coy vs. Tyron Woodley (Coy is no can. He's a hell of a fighter. 8-2 with wins over Mike Pierce and Rick Story. Coy is a great test for Woodley and could be a player of his own. Can T-Wood use his devestating arm-triangle choke to claim another victim? I can't wait to see.)
3. Roxanne Modafferi vs. Tara LaRosa (If Bellator plans to run a women's tournament, as they say they will, these two ladies should be at the top of their list. A combined record of 32-6 with 20 stoppages. LaRosa won their first matchup by UD five years ago, and now they'll meet again.)
4. Dan Hornbuckle vs. Steve Carl (Here we go, Buckle, two more to go.)
5. Ben Askren vs. Ryan Thomas (Hey! A rivalry! In Bellator! In their quarterfinal matchup, Thomas was victimized by a horrible, horrible stoppage, but was redeemed by being a last-second replacement due to the Icelandic volcano hampering the travel of "Judo" Jim Wallhead. Thomas TKO'd Jacob McClintock in the first round to earn a rematch with Askren with the winner going to the finals. Simple, but effective backstory.)


In Closing:

Weird week coming up. Strikeforce Challengers, Moosin, Bellator's crazy welterweight tourney, and some unique indies? Weird week, but good fights nonetheless. The Spring of MMA rolls on! WAR HORNBUCKLE AND T-WOOD!