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Strikeforce: Nah-Shon Burrell Vs. Christopher Spang Dissection by Dallas Winston 18 May 2012 at 7:00pmStrikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier goes live this Saturday from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The promotion's alpha-heavyweight will finally be determined in the headlining bout of Josh Barnett vs. Daniel Cormier and the lightweight belt of Gilbert Melendez will be on the line in the last leg of his trilogy with Josh Thomson. Welterweights see action on the main card in the Nah-Shon Burrell (8-1) vs. Chris Spang (4-1) match.
Spang comes from a family of fighters, as his father was a pro-boxer and his brother, Andreas Spang, just knocked out Brian Rogers (on short notice) and faces Maiquel Falcao in the finals of Bellator's Season 6 Middleweight Tournament. The 24-year-old Spang is an undefeated pro-boxer himself (2-0 with 2 KOs) and an understudy of the great Skipper Kelp and John Lewis at J-Sect in Las Vegas. In MMA, he's notched 2 KOs and a single submission and decision. Spang stepped up when Bobby Voelker withdrew from the card with an injury.
Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier - Preliminary Card Dissection
At just 22-years-old, Burrell is building a name as a rising phenom for his exceptional athleticism and natural fighting instincts. He trains out of Philadelphia's Fight Firm and, with less than 2 years of experience, has amassed 6 KO wins and 2 decisions. Burrell has a long and lean physique that's complemented by considerable strength and agility. He was a bit of an unpolished diamond but has now been displaying huge strides with his boxing -- which has become rather sharp and quick -- his defensive grappling and overall fight awareness.
Continued in the full entry.
SBN coverage of Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier
Burrell is typically the rangier fighter in the cage but will encounter an unusual disadvantage in height (6'1" vs. 6'2") and reach (73" vs. 76.5") against Spang. Though Spang only has 5 MMA fights, he will have the more refined kickboxing and grappling arsenal. He started training in the pure striking arts at a young age and has a technical medley of boxing and Muay Thai, and his ground game is deceivingly effective after spending time rolling with BJJ whiz Robert Drysdale.
Both fighters have struggled against wrestling-based opposition, as Burrell just eked out a split decision over the multi-dimensional James Terry that could've gone either way and Spang dropped a unanimous decision to Ricky Legere Jr. in his last. Burrell's god-given gifts will probably give him the wrestling edge; a factor that could be pivotal if he has trouble getting inside on Spang's faraway kicks and fundamental footwork. Striking diversity goes to Spang, who will unleash push kicks and roundhouse kicks to augment his technical boxing; speed and strength goes to Burrell, who is a freakishly athletic specimen.
Spang's short notice in replacing Voelker is likely behind the strong push for Burrell on the betting lines, who ranges between -250 and -300 to win. This along with the imposing physical strength of Burrell and surging momentum of Burrell gives him my vote, but I think Spang is a live dog here. Having the edge in height and reach, in addition to the more technical striking and submission game, is a formidable challenge for Burrell to overcome. If Burrell can't slice his punches through or deal with Spang's distance, he'll be forced to fall back on shooting takedowns from outside, which is not necessarily his bread and butter.
My Prediction: Nah-Shon Burrell by decision.
Poll
Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Chris Spang
Burrell Spang 46 votes | Results
Strikeforce: Daniel Cormier's Wrestling Style And Why It Is So Uniquely Suite... by Mike Riordan 18 May 2012 at 6:00pmAbout midway through the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix semi-final between Daniel Cormier and Antonio Silva, Silva attempted something perplexing when he attempted to shoot a straight double leg on Daniel Cormier. Cormier, like any freestyle wrestling world bronze medalist possesses excellent takedown defense, but Cormier's case is special and Silva's misguided take down attempt was particularly futile.
Daniel Cormier happens to be the king of the go-behind. He can proficiently shoot singles and doubles, but these are not the skills that brought him close to amateur wrestling's summit. Daniel may be the best ever at stuffing opponents down and spinning behind them, in fact. he became a world medalist and Olympian based mostly on this distinct ability. Though "going behind" may sound dismissively primitive and it certainly is not the foxiest ways to succeed at wrestling, its effectiveness is undeniable. In an MMA bout, Cormier's incredible go-behind skills pose a big problem for any opponent, particularly those who want to take him down. This could lead to big problems for Josh Barnett, his opponent in Saturday's Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Final this Saturday on Showtime.
SBN coverage of Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier
Continue reading after the jump for a closer examination of Cormier's wrestling style and an argument as to why his brand of wrestling may be even better suited for mixed martial arts than Olympic competition.
Daniel Cormier is one of the few truly elite wrestlers I have seen whose choice of a go-to move happened to be the very first move every wrestler learns. On every youngster's first day in a wrestling room, a coach will invariably explain that where a person's head goes, his body will follow. If one is to pull an opponent's head down to the mat, then his body will also drop, and if an opponent drops to shoot, the response is to sprawl and stuff the head, either allows for the first take down most wrestlers can successfully execute, the go behind. There is no takedown more rudimentary, and few, if any, were ever as good at it as Cormier.
He was so good at it that he used it to take down the greatest college wrestler of all time. This is Daniel wrestling Cael Sanderson in the 2001 NCAA 184 lb. finals. (It is interesting to note that in the match immediately before this, Josh Koscheck won his NCAA title and in the match immediately after Mark Munoz earned his national championship) Wrestling does not get any simpler than this. Cormier catches Sanderson leaning forward, snaps his head down to the mat, cross-faces and rotates behind for a take down. This move can be seen repeatedly at any junior varsity wrestling tournament throughout the nation, and here Cormier uses it on folkstyle wrestling's biggest stage and against its biggest star.
On many a wrestling room wall is a poster listing the 7 basic skills of wrestling: penetration, lift, back arch, back step, motion, positioning, and changing levels. This is wrestling on an ontological level. Every single wrestling movement reduces to one of these skills. A great coach once taught me that of all these 7 skills, the most important was positioning. If a wrestler can maintain perfect position, he can never be scored upon. By extension,a wrestler who continuously maintains position only needs his opponent to lose position once to win a match. This is wrestling's version of the "three yards and a cloud of dust" philosophy; he who makes fewer mistakes wins. Daniel took this philosophy to heart. He would beat extremely good wrestlers with an approach both brutal and basic: staying in position throughout a match, when an opponent lowered his head to shoot or he pulled it down by relentless pressure, he would stuff it and and go behind.
I suspect that Daniel's wrestling style harkens back to his origins in Louisiana. Louisiana does not have much of a wrestling culture and those Louisianans that end up coaching wrestling most likely lack a high level of technical sophistication. Coaches can experience success without technical sophistication by teaching rigid adherence to sport's foundational principles, and I suspect that Daniel's early wrestling coaches did just this. Cormier took a bare-bones approach to wrestling, added SEC football scholarship-level athleticism with an intense love of the sport and rose to wrestling's stratosphere: two Olympic berths and a world bronze medal.
This is not to say that Cormier's approach was without technical merit when just the opposite is true. Though going behind a prone opponent seems like such a mundane matter, it requires technical involvement and the application of a variety of methods. Here is a small sampling of the many methods used by Cormier.
This is Daniel, back in his days as Oklahoma State's 184 pounder, wrestling Iowa standout Jessman Smith. Jessman takes a shot and Cormier immediately catches him in his short offense. Cormier initiates the go behind by first pulling Smith forward onto his knees.
Next, Cormier places his head "in the hole", dropping the head behind the opponent's arm far enough that the back of the head is in the ribs. Placing the head on the other side of the opponents arm prevents that arm from being raised to block the go behind.
Pressuring in with the back of the head actually improves the angle and shortens the distance between each wrestler's hip. Daniel finishes with his arm around Jessman's far hip.
The next two go behinds feature Cormier wrestling FILA 2006 wrestler of the year, Georgi Gogshelidze (GG). GG is also holds three World championships medals (one silver, two bronze) and possesses an Olympic bronze medalist as a Georgia (the country) representative. GG won a World championship for Russia in 2001 as well.
Here, Daniel finds himself with a front chestlock on GG. The Georgian is face down on the mats and looking to defend any offense by the American. Cormier lifts and poises to throw GG - but as a means of misdirection. When GG concerns himself with defending the throw, Cormier quickly steps back and spins behind.
In a second go behind against GG, Daniel again has the chest lock. GG refuses to flatten out and walks backwards to defend. This time, Cormier uses his knee the same way he uses his head against Smith in the college GIF above. The knee comes up and blocks the upper arm, while Cormier's weight shifts just right to set up the go-behind.
The knee prevents GG's arm from raising to block just long enough for Cormier to secure a butt drag and pull himself around for the takedown. This series is evidence that Cormier's simple tactics can work on a very high caliber wrestler on the international stage.
However, Daniel has other tricks in his books beyond the head/arm block.
On the right is the finals of a U.S. Open where Cormier is wrestling Nik Fekete. I find it particularly impressive that Nik achieves a Russian control tie with both hand on Daniel's arms and Cormier manages to shuck him all the way to the mat with the arm being "controlled". This demonstrates remarkable power.
Daniel Cormier bolstered his offense with good throwing and tripping ability, as has already demonstrated this in his mixed martial arts career against some of his lower level Strikeforce competition.
These techniques put Cormier's incredible explosiveness on display. Here are two for your enjoyment (admittedly, the second is a finish to a shot, which erodes the point of this piece a bit, but I couldn't resist inserting it).
Unfortunately, the confines of Cormier's skill set are what probably prevented him from standing on top of an Olympic podium (that and some weight issues). While he dominated his weight class domestically for what seemed like forever and spent several years as one the top five wrestlers at his weight in the entire world, he ultimately came up short against his most skilled opponents, particularly those with the words "Russia" or "Iran" written on their backs. These wrestlers were good enough to score on his impressive defense and Daniel's inability to reliably convert leg attacks on the world's very best left him without the means to put the necessary points on the scoreboard.
This was certainly the case against Russia's Khajimurad Gatsalov, possibly the greatest of all time in the 211 pound weight class, in the Athens Olympic semi finals. Here Gatsalov hits a superb knee-pull single off a collar tie on Cormier.
Losing in the Olympic semis is not shameful, nor is losing to a wrestler of the caliber of Gatsalov, but those fans of Cormier the wrestler are left with the keenest disappointment of all, the disappointment of near success. Daniel was very close to ultimate wrestling success; he had enough talent to beat anyone in the world, and to his credit he had actualized most of it. Unfortunately, when it was all said and done, he simply lacked the pure point scoring firepower to consistently create his own offense against the world's best, and this kept him from world or Olympic gold.
When Daniel Cormier walks into the cage against Josh Barnett you will see much of the same skills you saw with him on a wrestling mat, but I believe that his array of skills are even better suited for mixed martial arts than freestyle wrestling. Daniel's skillful trips and throws allow him to bring a fight to the ground without the risk of lowering a level and shooting. Without the need to shoot he will not get out of position and disrupt his world class takedown defense. Finally, Cormier, maybe as much as anyone in the entire world, possesses the ability to turn an opponent's offensive wrestling into take downs of his own. The difference, now that he is in a cage, is that now that Cormier has the offensive firepower that he always needed to consistently score big and win. This firepower packed away in his tightly clenched fists.
Finally, my prediction for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Final: Cormier by decision
Mike Riordan is a high school wrestling coach, unsuccessful division one collegiate wrestler, and student of the sport of wrestling. He contributes to Bloody Elbow on matters of collegiate and Olympic wrestling.
Bellator 69 Preview: Falcao Vs. Spang, Amossou Vs. Rickels, Aguilar Vs. Fuji by Ben Thapa 18 May 2012 at 5:00pmLater tonight, Bellator 69 will air on MTV2 and be streaming on Spike.com. We at Bloody Elbow will cover the event live - as well as The Ultimate Fighter - and we welcome you to the best place to hang out and talk MMA for the evening.
The main event fighters, Maiquel Falcao and Andreas Spang, are competing in the Bellator Middleweight tournament semi-finals. Karl Amoussou and David Rickels, the fight just prior, is the other semi-final.
We last saw Falcao in action at Bellator 66, where he took two rounds and a unanimous decision from Vyacheslav Vasilevsky. The bout was fitful in its pace and yielded in most memories to the amazing comeback of Andreas Spang over Brian "The Predator" Rogers in the very next fight.
Spang was in a back and forth first round with Rogers, but lost the round on most unofficial cards. In the second round, Rogers started lighting Spang up with huge punches and backed an obviously hurt Spang against the cage. Spang took the opportunity to launch a Hail Mary left hook and it connected - knocking Rogers down and opening him up for the finish.
After the fight, Falcao and Spang got into a shoving match, which saw Spang fined and warned by the athletic commission for instigating it. Tonight's bout should have an air of emotional intensity - although not nearly as much as the famous Falcao/Leandro Gordo match from Amazon Combat (ask in comments for the full story to that insanity).
Amoussou took out Chris Lozano at Bellator 63 in the first round with rear naked choke obtained after a very nice sweep to top position that made for a nice Judo Chop. Lozano was perhaps stunned by a head kick Amoussou landed just before the fight went to the ground, but "Psycho" Amoussou looked very impressive. His opponent, David "The Caveman" Rickels, made it to the semi-finals by punching out Jordan Smith in 22 seconds. Smith has had a tough time keeping opponents away from his tender chin in the past, but the demolition Rickels put on him was impressive. Amoussou should enjoy a considerable size advantage, but Rickels has powerful punches and could surprise Psycho at an inopportune moment.
Tonight, we also get to see Jessica Aguilar battle Megumi Fujii. Aguilar (13-4) last fought for this promotion at Bellator 58 in November of 2011, but picked up a win against Patricia Vidonic at Fight Time 8 in February of 2012. She is perhaps most notable for being the first victim of the Zoila Gurgel (nee Frausto) judging streak at Bellator 31. Her opponent, Fujii (25-1), is perhaps the single most complete mixed martial artist in the women's game. Her sole loss was to Zoila in October of 2010, a horrendously judged match, and since then, Fujii has won three fights with ease. This fight is being billed as the world's #1 strawweight versus the world's #2 strawweight - and it is exactly that.
If the world was a more just place, Fujii would be undefeated and Aguilar would have already battled her at Bellator 34. This is the bout that should have been and will feature some of the best talent in the world in that division. Fujii is known for her considerable grappling prowess, but has taken to striking for extended periods of time with her opponents. Aguilar will have her work cut out for her in fending off the punches and takedowns enough to implement her own offense.
Related Stories:
Bellator's Jessica Aguilar Comes Out As Bi-Sexual | Mini-Chop: Megumi Fujii's Japanese Mount Armbar | Megumi Fujii Goes 22-0, Best MMA Record Ever? | Judo Chop: Karl Amoussou and the Pendulum/Scissors Sweep | Andrey Koreshkov ranked as #1 Welterweight Prospect in 2012 Scouting Report
The rest of the card is after the jump and a note on a very promising prospect fighting tonight.
Main Card:
Maiquel Falcao (188, then 186 at re-weighing) vs. Andreas Spang (185.8)
David Rickels 170.6) vs. Karl Amoussou (170)
Megumi Fujii (116) vs. Jessica Aguilar (115.6)
Ron Sparks (264.6) vs. Kevin Asplund (239)
Preliminary Card
Shanon Slack (146) vs. Booker Arthur (145.4)
Josh Quayhagen (158.2) vs. Cliff Wright (155.6)
Josh Burns (206) vs. Richard Hale (205.5)
E.J. Brooks (156.6) vs. Kalvin Hackney (156)
Andrey Koreshkov (170.8) vs. Derrick Krantz (170.8)
Mark Holata (250.5) vs. Abe Wagner (248.8)
Why You Should Watch The Preliminary Card:
Andrey Koreshkov is probably the most exciting young gun in the entire sport of MMA right now.
The Bloody Elbow Scouting Report ranked Koreshkov (9-0) as the #1 prospect in the welterweight division back in January. The day after the article appeared, Bellator announced it had signed Koreshkov to a contract. We saw "Spartan" in action at Bellator 63 at the end of March, where he took one minute and twenty six seconds to finish Tiawan Howard (9-9) with a barrage of strikes.
Despite the unexceptional record of Koreshkov's opponents, he truly is special for his incredibly fluid striking. Undeserved hyperbole attached to a prospect can be damaging, but honestly, there are few fighters that throw smoother and more accurate strikes than Koreshkov right now and Anderson Silva is the most prominent of them.
Derrick Krantz is the best opponent Koreshkov has faced thus far and has submission grappling tendencies to boot. This is exactly the type of bout we need to see Koreshkov in to determine just how much hype he rightly deserves.
Amir Sadollah's Lack Of Experience Leads To Questions Of How To Appropriately... by Brent Brookhouse 18 May 2012 at 4:00pmAmir Sadollah's career has certainly stalled out. Since winning The Ultimate Fighter, Amir has struggled with steps up in competition and, in cases such as this past Saturday night's UFC on Fuel TV 3 card, struggle at times against even middling opposition.
It's been a disappointment for many UFC fans in many ways. After all, Amir won his season of TUF despite never having fought professionally, only having a 4-0 amateur fighting record when he started his time in the house. Beating Gerald Harris, Matt Brown and C.B. Dollaway (twice) to win the competition was a huge moment that seemed to cast Sadollah in the role of a mixed martial arts prodigy.
After beating unheralded Jorge Lopez by controversial, and quite boring, split decision on Saturday, many fans feel they have seen enough of the 31-year-old to write him off. Chad Dundas of ESPN still thinks fans should note the extreme circumstances of Amir's career:
It would be a little like playing a few touch football games, winning a televised punt, pass and kick contest and then, in your late 20s, getting a starting job in the NFL.
Could anyone succeed under those circumstances? Could anyone be reasonably expected to compete? And while they tried to compete, would a bunch of people sit around posting messages on Twitter about what a crappy job they were doing tackling Adrian Peterson? Because that's essentially what happens to Sadollah.
SBN coverage of UFC on FUEL TV 3
Amir does deserve considerable credit for managing an unspectacular, but certainly credible, UFC run that began with no professional experience. But he has been getting top of the line training over the past four years and was put into a prominent spot on Saturday's card (even if Dana suddenly acted as though he had no clue of Amir's position on the card).
To answer Dundas' question: yes, people would sit around criticizing any player on a pro team who was put into an important position and looked incapable of handling it. Especially after four years in the big leagues. Fair or not, there are expectations that come with positions in professional sports.
For me, what is most disappointing is that the Amir who ran through a pretty good TUF cast is struggling all this time later against a guy like Jorge Lopez. There simply were expectations that came along with what Amir had been doing that fans expected him to run through a guy like Lopez four years after the reality show run.
And at 31, it's not as though we can continue pretending that Amir is a young man with infinite time to refine his game. This may simply be as good as he gets, and that is disappointing.
Bellator 69: Megumi Fujii - The Forgotten Queen Of MMA by KJ Gould 18 May 2012 at 3:00pmStrikeforce Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey is the current 'It Girl' of Women's MMA, combining her ability to collect arms with that of a savvy social media and publicity presence. With Gina Carano missing in action, the attractive American Olympic Judo Bronze medalist has effortlessly taken the reigns and become the new face of her sport. Her domination of all opponents, including former champion Miesha Tate, will lead some to believe she's the current Pound For Pound Queen and the best in the world.
For many years previously though, a lighter-weight fighter had been competing and winning, amassing 22 wins in a row, with no losses over the course of 6 years. But because of the majority of her fights happening in small promotions, mostly in Japan, and the lack of attention Women's MMA typically gets, not many outside of an Internet literate hardcore knew anything about her.
Megumi Fujii is, as it stands, perhaps the best Women's MMA fighter of all time. The Judo / Sambo / Catch Wrestling Specialist is a submission magician and had a chance to make waves in America in 2010's Bellator 115lbs (Strawweight) Women's Tournament. Two submissions and a TKO got Fujii into the tournament final, but the championship bout with Zoila Frausto-Gurgel was to be her undoing.
Related Stories:
Bellator's Jessica Aguilar Comes Out As Bi-Sexual | Mini-Chop: Megumi Fujii's Japanese Mount Armbar | Roxanne Modafferi vs. Rosi Sexton, and the Continual Fight for WMMA Recognition | Megumi Fujii Ready to Cement Her Legacy at Bellator 34 | Megumi Fujii Goes 22-0, Best MMA Record Ever? | Gina Carano and the Power of Women's MMA
Perhaps wanting to prove she was multi-faceted and a true mixed martial artist, Fujii chose to keep the fight standing and attempt to out-strike her larger Muay Thai specialist opponent. What surprised many, was Fujii was seemingly able to, making it competitive and bloodying and bruising the face of Frausto. Unfortunately the perennial weed that is bad judging reared its ugly head, and many believe Fujii ended up on the bad side of a split-decision. More than the judging though, Fujii's choice of strategy came under the most scrutiny; her tactics even frustrating her coach Josh Barnett. Many questioned why she didn't take the fight to the ground when she had the clear advantage, and could well have finished.
continue reading after the jump.
SBN Bellator 69 Coverage
If Fujii had generated a small amount of buzz from her participation in the tournament, it was almost as quickly forgotten as she returned to compete in Japan. With that loss, Cristiane Santos was heralded as the women's pound for pound best, until at least her PED positive test scandal had her suspended for a year. Meanwhile, Fujii had rattled off another 3 wins making her career record to date 25-1.
Frausto-Gurgel was jubilant in her win over Fujii, but had made it clear she would likely not fight at 115lbs again, preferring to compete in her more natural weight class of 125lbs or higher. Due to time away from the sport as well since getting married, the 115lbs title had to be vacated, and is up for grabs tonight at Bellator 69 when Fujii takes on Jessica Aguilar in a feature fight, who had also suffered a split decision loss for Frausto-Gurgel.
At 38 years old, time could be running out for Fujii to make her mark on the American market. Unfortunately without the might of Zuffa behind her for promotional purposes, she may become ignored due to the historical revisionism that can occur when one super power in promotion dominates the landscape.
Between you and me, she'll always be the best.
Fantastic Megumi Fujii Highlight Video
I Wouldn't Advise UFC's Chael Sonnen To Go Back To Brazil Anytime Soon by Steph Daniels 18 May 2012 at 2:01pmIf this were Brazil, I'd be seriously worried about Chael Sonnen's safety. The outspoken middleweight number one contender is slated to challenge Anderson Silva in Las Vegas, this July for the title, at UFC 148. The Mandalay Bay casino is likely to do Ironman numbers due to the amazing hype leading into this fight.
Now let's get back to why I worry about Chael. In a recent interview with MMA30TV (transcribed by Yahoo Sports), Sonnen has once again lobbed a whammy at Anderson Silva stating,
I don't want his autograph,I want to spit on him. I want everything that he has. I'm jealous and I'm envious. And I will never apologize for that. There can only be one champion, and you have to fight it out. He's not gonna give it up; I'm not going to give it up. We're going to have to fight this thing out and figure it out like men.
With Chael's recent trip to Brazil resulting in pen zapper pranks and heavy security, I can only imagine how this would go over if the bout were to still take place in the originally planned outdoor soccer field arena. The king of smack talk hit a stroke of good luck when the venue changed, and I, for one, am grateful. I am an admitted Sonnen fan, so my hat is off to the UFC for keeping his safety a priority (even though it actually came down to a scheduling issue with the venue).
Chael's big misunderstanding after the jump
One other thing that needs to be addressed is Chael's understanding (or lack thereof) of the rules. As stated in a recent interview with Jim Rome (transcribed by Cage Potato), he laid out his reckoning of the rules:
I tapped. So what I thought is you go to the cards. I win four rounds, he wins that round. Apparently, if you tap, it ends the entire contest, which I was not ever made privy to.
Now I'm fairly certain after clenching victory so closely, only to have it snatched away, Mr. Sonnen has a clear view of the ruleset this time around, and will pay closer attention to the slick ground sorcery that Anderson Silva is notorious for. Tapping is not an option, even if you did win four and a half rounds the first time.
There are still 6 more weeks to go until fight day, so you can be assured the hype is going to be at a feverish pitch, and it couldn't come at a better time for the UFC, considering the recent ratings dips. July 7 can't come fast enough. Here's to hoping it lives up to all our expectations.
Michael McDonald Injured, Out Of UFC Interim Bantamweight Title Picture by Josh Nason 18 May 2012 at 1:00pmA favorite to get a shot against Urijah Faber for the interim UFC Bantamweight title, Michael McDonald will not get his opportunity in July as a hand injury has put him on the shelf.
Wrestling Observer founder Dave Meltzer reported in his Thursday update that UFC president Dana White said McDonald's hand was injured but didn't go into details about the severity or how long he would be out for. Meltzer added that one source told him that McDonald was the favorite to get the nod against Faber.
As of this writing, McDonald had not acknowledged the injury on Twitter. Faber's opponent will be announced on Friday night's edition of The Ultimate Fighter Live. He was to fight UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz in the main event of UFC 148 in Las Vegas on July 7, but Cruz suffered a torn ACL in training and will be out indefinitely.
The leading candidate is Renan Barao, a 25-year-old who is undefeated in 29 straight fights over the past seven years. A WEC transplant, Barao is 3-0 in the UFC with wins over Cole Escovedo, Brad Pickett and Scott Jorgensen. He is scheduled to fight on the July event against Ivan Menjivar.
Strikeforce: Barnett Vs. Cormier - Preliminary Card Dissection by Dallas Winston 18 May 2012 at 11:19amThe long awaited finale for the Heavyweight Grand Prix is upon us, as Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier takes place this Saturday night from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Catch-wrestling connoisseur Josh Barnett meets Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier in the headliner of the 4-piece main card and the 5 preliminary matches listed below will air on Showtime Extreme.
Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg
James Terry vs. Bobby Green
Virgil Zwicker vs. Guto Inocente
Gian Villante vs. Derrick Mehmen
Quinn Mulhern vs. Yuri Villefort
Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg
Once expected to become an undisputed force in the stateside lightweight class, "JZ" Cavalcante (16-4) has hit a rough stretch of road after setting the overseas market afire. The Brazilian drew attention right out of the gate with a commendable 8 wins throughout a 9-fight stretch. The sequence included a submission (1st-round guillotine choke) of Bart Palaszewski and becoming only 1 of 2 fighters to stop the venerable Michihiro Omigawa with strikes (1st-round TKO). The sole defeat was in his 3rd pro-fight; a competitive decision to Joachim Hansen, who had just lost the Shooto welterweight (154-pounds) title to Vitor Ribeiro by submission.
The surge earned Cavalcante a spot on the K-1 Hero's roster and his dominance continued, only with more intensity and against higher-caliber opposition. JZ devoured a who's-who of the Japanese lightweight scene, finishing 6 of his next 7 foes in the 1st round -- and did so with supreme violence. Hiroyuki Takaya, Nam Phan and the aforementioned Ribeiro were all vanquished by TKO while Rani Yahya -- the WEC/UFC fighter and former ADCC World Champion -- and Chute Boxe rep Andre Amado were dealt submission losses. Savvy veteran Caol Uno was the only to survive to a decision.
Cavalcante is a dually (2006 and 2007) crowned champion of the K-1 Hero's Middleweight (154-pounds) Grand Prix and amplified his hype even more with a game decision loss to Masato in a straight kickboxing match. He transferred to the Dream organization in 2008 and things went downhill from there.
Continued in the full entry.
SBN coverage of Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier
In his last 7 turns, Cavalcante has won a measly 2 (split-decisions over Katsunori Kikuno and Bobby Green) with 3 defeats (Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri and Josh Thomson; all by decision) and 2 No Contests (vs. Aoki for illegal elbows and Justin Wilcox for an inadvertent eye poke). Many things are worth noting from this stretch: JZ was plagued with a number of injuries that hindered him from 2008-2010, the lightweights he lost to undoubtedly represent the most elite competition outside of the UFC and many thought he deserved the nod against Thomson -- which was one of the most controversial decisions of 2010.
Isaac Vallie-Flagg (12-3) is a Greg Jackson welterweight now dropping to lightweight for the first time. Starting his MMA career in pedestrian fashion in 2003, Vallie-Flagg split results in his first 6 turns (all losses were via submission) but has gone undefeated in his last 10 with 9 wins and a draw. He's earned 5 wins via TKO and 3 by submission, holds a purple belt in BJJ and could be a handful at 155.
Despite his momentum and size advantage, this will be an astronomical leap in competition for Vallie-Flagg. He crept by brawler Brian Melancon by split decision in his last outing and was nearly choked out in the opening moments. Cavalcante has a stiff set of hands, wicked knees (especially of the flying variety), a strong clinch with good wrestling and an elaborate, black-belt-level ground game. He might not be the terror he once was, but he's still competitive with top-tier lightweights and should have his way with Vallie-Flagg, standing or on the mat.
My Prediction: JZ Cavalcante by submission.
James Terry (11-4) vs. Bobby "King" Green (17-5)
James Terry is a student of Cung Le who started wrestling at age five and went on to wrestle for Arizona State University. However, he can chain a variety of kickboxing techniques together so fluently that you'd never guess his background is in wrestling. Terry started as welterweight and won 7 of his first 8 matches to get a shot at Tarec Saffiediene in Strikeforce. In the 6 outings since, Terry has dropped to lightweight and won 4, though he's dropped 2 of his last 3 to stiff competition in Caros Fodor and main-card participant Nah-Shon Burrell.
You might recognize the name Bobby Green from a few different places: he's the reigning King of the Cage lightweight champion, he appeared on MTV's Bully Beatdown and petrified his inexperienced "opponent" into quitting in between rounds and he unleashed a confusing but vicious animosity toward Dan Lauzon's groin on the Affliction: Day of Reckoning card. (Green had two-points deducted and lost by 1st-round submission.) Green is a quick and athletic fighter with 8 wins by sub and 7 TKOs. Since the Lauzon fight, Green has won 9 of 12 with losses to legit, A-level competition in "JZ" Cavalcante and the UFC's Tim Means and David Mitchell.
This match up is extremely close on paper and a virtual toss-up. Terry has displayed huge potential with his effective combination of footwork, kickboxing and wrestling, and Green has a similar arsenal and physical stature. Both fighters typically draw from their agility, strength, striking and/or wrestling to pinpoint their opponent's weakness and have been difficult to put away. I can see this one going in either direction but will take the polished kickboxing and pedigreed wrestling of Terry in what could be a great scrap.
My Prediction: James Terry by decision.
Virgil Zwicker (10-2) vs. Guto Inocente (5-0)
Virgil "Rezdog" Zwicker is a Team Quest fighter of Native American descent and a former heavyweight making the drop to 205-pounds for the first time. He was undefeated throughout his first 8 fights, which ended with an impressive TKO over Ovince St. Preux, but has dropped 2 of his last 4, the most recent being a 1st-round knockout loss to Lavar Johnson. Zwicker was always a smaller heavyweight (222-pounds) who relied on quickness and heavy-handed boxing (7 TKO wins, 2 subs), so it will be interesting to see how his size and speed translates to 205.
Carlos Augusto Filho, aka "Guto Inocente," is an undefeated member of the newly formed Blackzilians team with a nice medley of striking and BJJ. Though only 5-fights deep and lacking big-name wins, Inocente is a solid prospect who's long overdue for his stateside debut: he signed with Strikeforce many moons ago (July of 2011) and also turned down a 4-fight deal from the UFC.
Zwicker is a tough cat and will be Inocente's biggest test, but I don't think the drop in weight will help much against the Brazilian, who is a good-sized light-heavy himself (6'3") and a young (25-years-old) up and comer.
My Prediction: Guto Inocente by submission.
Gian Villante (9-3) vs. Derrick Mehmen (12-4)
Villante was a standout wrestler and football player at Hofstra University with hopes for a career in the NFL. He's the current Ring of Combat heavyweight champion and even after 4 appearances in Strikeforce, though both losses were to reputable opposition in Chad Griggs (in the Heavyweight Grand Prix reserve bout) and Lorenz Larkin (back at his intended weight of 205-pounds). Villante is a physical specimen and a banger with 6 TKOs and 2 subs.
"Caveman" Mehmen has also fallen to respectable names in former UFCers Rodney Wallace (decision), David Branch (rear-naked choke) and Mike Ciesnolevic (guillotine choke). Mehmen trains at ATT and is a heavy-handed clubber as well, lacking big-name wins but finishing 9 of 12 by TKO with 2 catches.
Anything could happen with these sluggers. 2 of Villante's 3 losses are by TKO and Mehmen is a beefy 6'4" who will come out swinging. His hands are pretty quick for being such a hulking 205er, but Villante is a little more polished with his boxing and should be able to out-finesse the "Caveman" if he keeps his chin protected.
My Prediction: Gian Villante by decision.
Quinn Mulhern (17-2) vs. Yuri Villefort (6-0)
2010 Bloody Elbow Scouting Report nominees collide here, as former King of the Cage welterweight champ Quinn Mulhern, the #8 prospect, meets the #1 prospect in Yuri Villefort.
Bloody Elbow Scouting Report #1 Welterweight Prospect: Yuri Villefort
Bloody Elbow Scouting Report #8 Welterweight Prospect: Quinn Mulhern
Mulhern is a gangly (6'3") BJJ specialist with submissions accounting for 11 of his 17 wins with 3 TKOs. His only defeats are to UFC-level fighters in Mike Guymon (submission via strikes) and Jason High (decision). Yuri trains with the Blackzilians and is one-time UFCer Danillo Villefort's brother. He's an intriguing concoction of Judo, BJJ and Muay Thai, and just a mean S.O.B. overall. He's finished 5 of his 6 wins with 3 TKOs and 2 submissions.
Mulhern will have an edge in experience -- both in volume and value of competition -- and is fluid on the mat. I see him struggling to match the physical strength and aggressive Thai onslaught of Villefort, who should have the grappling savvy to avoid entanglements on the mat.
My Prediction: Yuri Villefort by TKO.
Poll
Cavalcante vs. Vallie-Flagg, Terry vs. Green
Cavalcante and Terry Cavalcante and Green Vallie-Flagg and Terry Vallie-Flagg and Green 278 votes | Results
