ProphetFighting

Josh Barnett’s Affliction: Day of Reckoning opponent?

New article just posted about Josh Barnett’s as of yet unknown opponent at Affliction: Day of Reckoning:

Josh Barnett waiting for Affliction: Day of Reckoning opponent @ The Savage Science

Despite claims by Aleksander Emelianenko in the Russian fight media that he’ll be in the opposing corner against Barnett, every indication is that his opponent is still up in the air.

Aleksander Emelianenko interview translated @ Nightmare of Battle

Sean Sherk tests positive for steroids, will appeal…

In a story that broke while I was out of town, Sean Sherk tested positive for steroids after his 7/7 title defense against Hermes Franca. Franca also tested positive for steroids, as did Phil Baroni following his 6/22 fight against Frank Shamrock on a Strikeforce/Elite XC card.

All three men will appear before the California State Athletic Commission to appeal their tests/suspensions on 8/6. For his part, Sherk has retained an attorney and started to work the media in hopes to spin things in his favor:

Sean Sherk has retained an attorney and plans to fight the allegations that he used anabolic steroids in the run-up to his July 7 title defense against Hermes Franca. In a press release, Sherk clearly maintained his innocence although he had no immediate explanation for the positive test.

“At the present time, I cannot explain the positive drug test in Sacramento, California,” stated the UFC lightweight champion. “I know that I have never used any steroids or other banned substances, and I am investigating possible causes of the positive test with my attorney. I have never cheated, and all of my success has come from hard work and dedication to my sport.”

Full story at Sherdog

I don’t blame Sherk for hiring a lawyer but he’s got to do better than claiming cluelessness about why he tested positive. I guess he deserves some credit for not making up some ridiculous story (like Wladimir Klitschko using the “I was poisoned” excuse after his KO loss to Lamon Brewster in their first fight). Of course no one would buy the defense that he didn’t know what he was taking–the prefight promos on Sherk produced by the UFC followed him to a health food store where he scrutinized every piece of organic produce that he was to eat. If a guy won’t eat non-organic veggies its hard for me to believe that he doesn’t know everything that goes into his body, how it got there and what its supposed to do. Perhaps there’s a chance that this was a “false positive” and Sherk will be exonorated, but even in this unlikely case his reputation has taken a hit.

Obviously Baroni’s suspension isn’t something the UFC can do anything about, but they should note well the media firestorm the WWE is enduring in the aftermath of the Chris Benoit murder/suicide. Right or wrong, the mainstream media is blaming steroid use for the tragedy and by extension blaming the WWE for encouraging (or failing to discourage) abuse of performance enhancing drugs. So while the UFC doesn’t have any direct action they can take against Baroni they better take care of business with regard to steroid users in their own organization. Not only do their actions set a precedent that other groups will then be pressured to follow but in the eyes of the mainstream media and casual fans the UFC is MMA, at least in America. And while there’s nowhere near the justifiable outrage created by the Benoit murder/suicide, there’s already been some negative press directed at the UFC. Up north in Canada, one article calls the UFC fighters who tested positive “cheaters” and calls upon the organization to send a strong message that this sort of abuse of performance enhancing drugs won’t be tolerated. A similar message was conveyed by Josh Gross at Sherdog in “An Open Letter to Dana White“, who pulled no punches in assigning responsibility for leadership on steroids to the “King of the F-Bomb” himself:

You like to recall the tale of how you came into MMA and saved everyone. It was your money, no one else’s. It was your work, no one else’s. It was your guts. Your blood.

So, then, is it not your responsibility to lift this current carnival of a sport onto your shoulders and carry it to a place where we can actually discuss Sean Sherk versus B.J. Penn instead of The Muscle Shark’s nandrolone levels?

With all that’s on the line, for you not to recognize that the UFC needs to be the industry leader and aggressively go about stamping out drugs in MMA boggles the mind.

Let me offer a suggestion if I can be so bold.

I know your company propagated the message that Zuffa changed MMA by bringing in new rules that cleaned up the sport. (Pay no attention to the fact that the SEG-era UFC promoted a regulated show in New Jersey when you still were tasked with getting sponsors for Tito Ortiz’s shorts.)

Here’s an opportunity to actually do something you can rightfully take credit for:

Dana, clean up mixed martial arts.

Returning to pro wrestling for a moment, there’s clearly a big difference between Dana White and Vince McMahon. In the “worked” environment of the WWE McMahon calls the shots on who gets “pushed” and who wins and loses matches and championships. And its undeniable and during the McMahon era the prototype of a championship wrestler was transformed. Back in the day, champions typically had a lanky, athletic build like Jack Brisco or Dory Funk, Jr. In the territory era they were also legit tough guys who could take care of an opponent for real should a promoter seek to double cross the champion and “go into business for himself”. Thus there were “hooker” champions like Lou Thesz or just tough SOB’s like Harley Race. I vividly remember watching bodybuilder types during the territory days with announcers like Gordon Solie providing analysis that strength was no match for flexibility, agility, technical skill or experience (and, of course, booking decisions were made accordingly). While there were successful “bodybuilder” types before Hulk Hogan became WWE(then WWF) champion–guys like Superstar Billy Graham–none had Hogan’s dominance. Hogan was pushed as a “superman” and as he helped Vince McMahon dominate the industry he also became the prototype for a championship pro wrestler. There have been a few short term exceptions along the way like Ric Flair, Chris Jericho or the late Eddie Guerrero but clearly McMahon puts as much–critics would say more–of an emphasis on physical appearance than in-ring ability or interview skills. And even if the biggest, most powerful guys aren’t holding the championships they’re invariably pushed as the top guys in the promotion. Its no secret that McMahon is a “mark” for bodybuilders, as his disastrous World Bodybuilding Federation promotion clearly demonstrated. In short, that’s why McMahon is often singled out for blame–he not only is in a position to conduct and enforce drug testing requirements but he also has final creative control of his product and he’s sent a message to his workers that the top guys have a certain “look”.

Dana White, conversely, doesn’t have that sort of creative control. If he did, we’d be anxiously anticipating a matchup between Mirko Cro Cop and Randy Couture instead of Couture/Gonzaga. As the Sherdog “open letter” suggests, however, he’s currently the steward of the sport. I’ve written extensively in the past about how the UFC as a promotion and MMA as a sport is at a fork in the road. One path leads toward acceptance as a legit sport, the other toward the sideshow status of pro wrestling and “The American Gladiators”. Even though the UFC has blown up in the past year and received an amazing amount of mainstream media coverage, its position as a “legit” sport is still tenuous. And while I’m not of the opinion that MMA has anywhere near the drug problems (performance enhancing or otherwise) that pro wrestling does, even the slightest perception that its fighters are juiced up ‘roid heads is unacceptable. Dana White likes to claim that he “saved MMA”. There’s some dispute about that, but what isn’t disputable is that the decisions he makes in the months to come will certainly determine the future of the sport.

[tags]Sean Sherk, Hermes Franca, Phil Baroni, Dana White, MMA, UFC, Strikeforce, Elite XC, mixed martial arts, steroids [/tags]

The Prophet looks at Klitschko/Brewster II

I had some technical problems this past weekend (my laptop screen broke) which has left me behind the 8 ball somewhat in keeping things up to date. It’s fixed now, so I’ll be posting my thoughts on this fight as well as the UFC 73 PPV.

The resurrection of heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko under the tutledge of Emmanuel Steward continued this past Saturday as he avenged his 2004 TKO loss to Lamon Brewster in front of a crowd of enthusiastic Euros in Koln, Germany. Like the previous meeting, Klitschko dominated out of the gate but unlike last time–where Wlad gassed midway through the fight, after which he claimed he was “poisoned”–a more efficient performance by the Ukranian heavyweight allowed him to coast to an almost effortless win.

The biggest difference between Wlad 2004 and the current model is his efficiency and conditioning. In his previous incarnation, he’d come out of the gate swinging for the fences and trying to end it early. If he didn’t, he’d frequently tire as the fight wore on. The combination of improved cardio and a less frenetic workrate has worked wonders. Furthermore, Manny Steward–who trained Lennox Lewis at his prime–has taught Klitschko to take advantage of his height (he’s 6′ 6 1/2″) by establishing and maintaining spacing to allow his powerful left jab to be used to devastating effect. Steward has had considerable success leveraging the height of taller fighters in the past–in addition to the last undisputed heavyweight champ in Lewis he also worked with a freakishly tall and rangy welterweight you may have heard of named Thomas Hearns. Watching Wlad on Saturday I kept thinking how much he’s fighting like the aforementioned Lennox Lewis, and one of the HBO announce team (can’t remember if it was Lamps or Larry Merchant) suggested as much. Lewis himself–who was working the broadcast–quickly said that “there’s only one Lennox Lewis” before agreeing that he was following the Steward blueprint perfectly. The quick witted Lampley also observed that Lewis had been in the ring with both Klitschko brothers–against Vitaly in Lewis’ last professional fight, where he lost despite fighting bravely due to the fact that his eyeball was hanging out of the socket. He was “in the ring” for a few minutes against Wlad in the George Clooney/Brad Pitt remake of “Oceans Eleven”.

One looming question remains about Wladimir Klitschko–his chin. Steward has claimed in the past that Wlad’s chin is fine, and that when he was knocked out in the past it was due to fatigue caused by poor conditioning. Hard to tell if that’s just Steward trying to pump up his fighter or whether he’s right. All I know is that whenever Wlad has been in a brawl it hasn’t worked out well for him. More recently, he put on a boxing clinic in decisioning the hardest hitter he’s faced in some time–the “Nigerian Nightmare” Sam Peter. Of course Peter has very limited boxing skills and it was only a matter of time before he came up against a superior tactician that would expose this fact. As long as Wlad is able to fight “his” fight it might not be a concern, but to be a complete fighter I’m of the opinion that you have to be able to compete when you’re forced into a fight style not to your liking.

Wlad’s salvation might be the current crop of heavyweights–there’s just not a lot of good boxer/punchers out there at the moment and he’s simply the best technical boxer in the division at the moment. He has a good chance of boxing his way to a unified heavyweight crown. Unless a hard hitter with good boxing skills comes on to the scene soon its hard to see guys like Ruslan Chageav or Oleg Maskaev giving him much trouble.

The other notable takeaway from Saturday’s Klitschko/Brewster fight was the first rate performance of Brewster’s trainer, Buddy McGirt. Before the 7th round he “pulled the plug” and threw in the towel for his fighter. It was evident from the between round commentary that Brewster wasn’t able to execute the fight plan they had worked on and McGirt wasn’t going to let him absorb more of a beating than he had to. In light of the fact that Brewster was fighting with a surgically repaired retina, this is a decision that McGirt should be praised for.

[tags]boxing, HBO, Jim Lampley, Buddy McGirt, Wladimir Klitschko, Vitaly Klitschko, Lamon Brewster, Lennox Lewis [/tags]

Phil Baroni tests positive for steroids

Sherdog is reporting that [tag]Phil Baroni[/tag] tested positive for two types of steroids following his loss to [tag]Frank Shamrock[/tag] on 6/22/07. He’s been fined $2500 by the California State Athletic Commission and suspended for one year. Note that the Baroni camp is using the “didn’t knowingly take [tag]steroids[/tag]” first introduced by Major League Baseball players:

“While we respect the process and intent of the test we are disappointed with the results as they are completely unexpected,” said Baroni’s manager, Ken Pavia. “Phil did not knowingly ingest these drugs, which we are told are veterinary in nature.

“We intend to exercise all rights that are afforded by the state commission and (CSAC Executive Officer) Armando Garcia.”

Baroni joins Carter Williams, who was suspended six months and fined $1,000 following a positive test for cocaine, as the second fighter to test for banned substances following the [tag]Strikeforce/EliteXC[/tag] co-promoted card.

“Phil Baroni feels that worse than any fine or suspension is the disgrace associated with the positive test to himself, his family and fans,” Pavia said. “As such he asks that judgement be withheld until all facts are in evidence.”

Full story here

[tags]MMA, mixed martial arts, California Athletic Commission[/tags]

“Krazy Horse” out of jail, will still miss Elite XC show..

I’m fortunate in that I’ve not spent any significant time in the “grey bar motel”, but should that ever occur I’ve learned a valuable tip from Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett–apparently being scheduled to fight on a MMA card is good enough to get you sprung from jail. Bennett improbably got cut loose from the hole on Friday morning, but missed the last flight to San Jose in time for the weigh-ins. Unlike Bert Bacharach, Hal David Dionne Warwick and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, he apparently *didn’t* “know the way to San Jose“. Edson Berto will replace him in his fight against Victor “Joe Boxer” Valenzuela. Valenzuela deserves to have his ass kicked for that nickname alone.

But not to fear, MMA fans, since “Krazy Horse” will be in the house on Saturday night. The always entertaining Bennett–who makes Quinton “Rampage” Jackson look shy and retiring by comparison–will make an appearance and will likely cut a promo challenging the winner of the fight. Since he’s just been out of jail 24 hours, my guess is that he’ll be in rare form.

The Wrestling Observer reported the information thusly:

Edson Berto will be replacing Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett in his match with Victor “Joe Boxer” Valenzuela. Bennett was actually released from Marion County Jail in Ocala, FL, this morning, but missed the last flight that would get him to San Jose in time for weigh-ins, claiming he was stuck in traffic. He will be arriving in San Jose and make an appearance on the show, likely challenging Valenzuela if Valenzuela wins the fight.

Bennett’s brush with the law and personal version of “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” notwithstanding, the rest of the weigh-ins went smoothly with no incidents and all fighters making weight. Since Bennett has been in jail, you can insert your own “my hand is between two pillows” joke here…

Full coverage of the Strikeforce/Elite XC weigh-ins here

Showtime is producing the event, which will air live on PPV Friday night starting at 10 PM EDT with the highly anticipated matchup between Frank Shamrock and Phil Baroni–a couple more guys never at a loss for words–headlining. Full details of the PPV here

If I can swing the logistics I’ll do a live round by round commentary on the event…check back tomorrow for the final word on that.

knows the way to San Jose…

doesn’t know the way to San Jose…

ESPN bungles their MMA coverage…

MMA may be the “trendy” sport among mainstream media outlets, but don’t expect the 400 pound gorilla of the bunch–ESPN–to cover it any better than their shoddy treatment of boxing. Via The Wrestling Observer comes a report about a story they did on the Royce Gracie steroid suspension. Within the span of a minute or so they committed the following errors:

–they pronounced Gracie’s first name with an “R” (it’s pronounced with an “H”, being as he’s Brazilian and all that)

–they referred to the sport as “Ultimate Fighting”, despite the fact that Gracie’s suspension came from a test result after a K-1/Elite XC event. This would be like reporting a story from Formula 1 racing as “NASCAR”, or saying that the Indy 500 is a “NASCAR race”. Amazing that these dunderheads can’t even get the name of the sport they’re covering right…

–they reported that there’s been 30 steroid test failures in California since testing began. Actually, there’s been 21 total drug test failures–many for pot and other recreational drugs–and that number includes a few boxers. But, hey, why let easily verifiable facts get in the way of their “take”.

–they showed a UFC graphic with the story. Obviously Gracie has quite a history with the UFC, but I’m sure the ESPN “braintrust” doesn’t know this. qv my “Formula One/NASCAR’ analogy above.

–they reported on the forthcoming Kimbo Slice/Ray Mercer fight as if it were some sort of legitimate event, and if Slice was some sort of legit MMA fighter. Actually they called him a “undefeated street fighter”. ESPN is never been above giving train wrecks like this higher profile coverage than real sports, so this isn’t so much a “mistake” as it is their boneheaded editorial policy.

I understand that MMA is “new” to all of the traditional stick and ball sport honks at ESPN, but this sort of utter stupidity is inexcusable. How hard would it have been to do a little fact checking? For that matter, how hard is it for a network with their resources to hire a couple of production consultants who actually know the sport since no one else there appears to?

They’ve apparently been sent corrections to the above, but since they’re too busy working on new “catch phrases”, producing promos for poker telecasts and teaching their on-air talent to TALK REAL LOUD like the unctuous Chris Berman they couldn’t be bothered.

Full story from The Wrestling Observer here