The long-awaited Carano vs. Santos Strikeforce fight is now history.

I was looking forward to it, and having watched Gina Carano during her tenure as an American Gladiator and on EliteXC, I was hoping to see her turn in a stellar performance.

Alas, although she got a few good shots in, and reversals, early on, the fight overall was dominated by Chris “Cyborg” Santos. Physically, I thought that Carano seemed to be in excellent shape. She sometimes seems to come in a bit on the heavy side, but I thought she seemed more rigorously conditioned this time around.

Althought Gina seemed to come prepared physically, I think she was too intimidated (perhaps rightly so) by Cyborg in the ring. Carano often looked like a deer in the headlights when facing Cyborg’s relentless assualts.

Cyborg was physically tougher and more aggressive and largely enforced her will on Gina. At the end I think Gina seemed more like she was beaten mentally than physically, she just sort of gave up.

It’s pure speculation, but I would have to think that all the attention that Gina gets because of her looks has to have riled Santos a bit and added a bit of aggression to her training and the fight. Santos had to prove that its all about MMA skill, toughness and conditioning rather than bunny looks–and she did.

Cyborg clearly asserted herself as the stand-out women’s MMA talent, both in terms of physical toughness and conditioning as well as martial arts skill.

That being said, I think that Gina could do better than she did–if only she were to find a way to erase her “fear factor” of Cyborg. If Carano was confident and had the “eye of the tiger” I think she could give Cyborg more of contents than she did.

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Wow! When Affliction folded and Fedor was suddenly a free agent it seemed like a MMA dream come true. Finally, all the dream fights that involved Fedor fighting a in the UFC, for instance taking on the man beast Brock Lesnar were all possible.

Clearly there would be no possible way that the UFC would let Fedor slip through their fingers. True, Fedor isn’t necessarily their idea of a dream fighter from a marketing perspective. The dominant, non-English speaking fighter is very polite and soft spoken (especially in contrast to obnoxious loud mouth Lesnar), all things appreciated by hard core fight fans but not necessarily by those drive-by MMA fans that pick up the occasional pay per view bout on cable. Certainly, despite his incredible prowess and record in the ring, from a “physique” standpoint Fedor isn’t exactly a marketers dream. But with Fedor the UFC would finally lock up 99% of the truly big name MMA talent out there. Having arguably the best heavyweight fighter in the world in another federation had to have been a thorn in the side of the UFC since it called into question the validity of any champion they crowned. All of this doubt could have been erased…

But Fedor decides to sign with Strikeforce! DOH!!

While I don’t doubt there were likely some valid business issues for Fedor, I have to say that his failure to sign on with the UFC given what for them was a very generous deal, calls into question in my mind at least for the briefest moment whether Fedor is ducking Lesnar–there, I said it. Fedor has just opened the door enough to let the thought cross my mind.

Now Fedor will rake in millions fighting in non-fights for another year while the UFC keeps crowning champions that might not be champions. This is a lose lose situation for Fedor, the UFC, and fans alike.

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Looks like a Futurama come back is fast becoming a reality! Whoo hoo!

Back to ‘Futurama’: Voice cast closes deal

A pox on Fox for cancelling it to begin with, but I have to give them credit for realizing their mistake and resurrecting it.

Thanks Fox.

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Just when the legalization of MMA in NY seemed tantalizing close to becoming a reality, passage of the bill to legalize it has been tabled until 2010.

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Came across a good interview with Joe Rogan on MMA Fanhouse.

IMOP, Joe contributes alot to the UFC and MMA in general. He is an incredibly articulate, knowledgeable and entertaining guy whose commentary really adds alot to the events he covers. Maybe someone like Bas Rutten might be my distant #2 as a commentator.

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Schweet! Couture is back. After his pummeling by the big beast Brock Lesnar, I wasn’t sure whether we would be seeing him again any time soon, but Randy is going to fight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who is also coming back after being pretty much owned by Frank Mir. The fight will be on August 29, 2009 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira officially announced as UFC 102 headliner

After Mir and Lesnar meet again to settle the heavyweight crown (at least for the moment) in July, the winner of Couture-Nogueira would then be in line to potentially re-challenge for the heavyweight crown.

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Gina Carano has signed on with Strikeforce to fight Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos on Aug. 15th.

Good to see Gina back in action!

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David Carradine 1936–2009

I have to admit to be a bit bummed by David’s passing. I grew up watching Kung Fu and really loved it. Overall I enjoyed his style of acting and characters. He was also classic as “Bill” in the Kill Bill series.

“Kung Fu” Actor David Carradine Found Dead in Bangkok

RIP David…

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Legalized mixed martial arts moves closer in NY

Chalk another one up for the big grinning smug bastard Dana White and the UFC. Although not necessarily all UFC, certainly their lobbying was a huge factor in the movement to get MMA legalized in the ultimate nanny state, New York.

Ultimately, I’m sure the dire budget situation in New York helped create a more receptive (desperate?) audience for the lobbying to legalize MMA competitions. I think it would be great to see MMA events in New York City, Albany, and Buffalo.

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I had thought that Kimbo would be working at a car wash by now, or maybe pop-up in a Japanese MMA venue, but it looks like Dana White and the UFC have signed Kimbo to be in the next The Ultimate Fighter as a contestant.

I gotta say, Mr. Smug Bastard, Dana White, made a brilliant move on this! The Ultimate Fighter’s ratings and publicity will be huge with Kimbo on it. Good move for Kimbo as well to (a) learn real MMA skills; (b) publicly do his pennance and potentially “earn” a spot in the UFC through legitimate means; and (c) just get back in the limelight. Plus, I’m sure he is getting a decent pay day (although not up to his former star attraction purses), certainly more than any other contestant. Win, Win for the UFC, Kimbo and fans.

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