The Future of Fighting Blog

Kimbo Slice is ready to take his career to the next level, which is saying something given how far he’s come in recent months.

Once merely relegated as an Internet freak show, and relegated by critics as a YouTube pretender with a penchant for knocking out hapless challenges, Slice’s progression into mixed martial arts carries with it the eyeballs of the fight nation — and the expectations that he’ll carry EliteXC up a few notches on the promotional ladder.

Slice (aka Kevin Ferguson) carries the dual expectations of EliteXC across his shoulders as the organization will kick off the first prime time mixed martial arts broadcast on CBS May 31 at 9-11 p.m. ET/PT.

Facing James “The Colossus” Thompson in a heavyweight main event, Slice’s second sanctioned MMA bout pits him against a 14-8 veteran with a penchant for quick fights — he’s only gone past the opening round five times — heavy hands and a suspect chin.

Slice has been on the cover of the latest issue of ESPN the Magazine. People recognize him on the street everywhere, he explains. Promoter Gary Shaw says they had 150 interview requests pending at one point. The Kimbo phenomenon may be the most pervasive meme in recent sporting memory, fueled by the weird convergence of television, media hype and broadband beatdowns. Fittingly, each next outing carries with it ever-larger stakes for Slice, but the money is a lot better than thumping guys in street fights for a few thousand per winner-take-all match.

Not bad for a former porn set bodyguard from the ‘hood who was beating up no-namers during the peak of the housing boom. Unlike that trend, Kimbo’s prospects keep rising.

“I shut it all out,” said Slice on a recent media conference call.

He said his focus on Thompson is absolute, despite the tempting conflagration of mass exposure, surreal hype and a pending debut on network TV in a landmark moment for the sport. It’s just another scrap.

“No drinking, no smoking, no sex. I’m fighting not to be back in the gutter again. To raise my kids in a different environment. I’m no longer one-dimensional in my life. I’m more excited about being on the ground than standing up right now,” Slice said when asked about how his ground game was coming along. “I’m really looking forward to that.”

His tutelage under Bas Rutten (Pictures) has carried him to quickie wins over Bo Cantrell (Pictures) and UFC vet David “Tank” Abbott (he choked out former heavyweight contender Ray Mercer prior to turning pro). Slice said he’s still working toward becoming a complete fighter.

“It’s like the people who love boxing, they’re transitioning into MMA. Like back in the days when the Romans would fill their stadiums up with thousands of people. This is a new millennium, a new era,” he said. “People love to be entertained, and I’m fortunate. I love to fight. I can take a punch. Can you take a punch? That’s what it’s about with me.”

Thompson, for his part, steered clear of the trash talk typical of the event. A loser by quick knockout in his last two bouts, the 6-foot-5 hulking Englishman sees the bout as an opportunity to fight a rising name in the game and steer his career back on track.

“Obviously I’m being brought in, I’m a big guy, the hope is that I get hit on the chin,” Thompson said. “It doesn’t bother me. After my last two fights, I didn’t think I deserved the chance. To get this chance is massive to me.”

With a first-round knockout of Abbott at the EliteXC event Feb. 16, Slice’s win created a buzz, even though Abbott’s best days were well behind him. According to some, Slice would lose because he wasn’t legit, wasn’t bopping out would-be tough guys in street fights that made him an Internet sensation. Instead, he blitzed Abbott, though the slugger landed his booming trademark right hand during an exchange.

Instead of crumpling as many expected, Slice fired back.

And won.

In doing so, he almost prompted as many new questions as old ones answered.

Slice added that he is “not worried” about anything Thompson brings to the table. But he does respect the game and is enjoying the slow process of acceptance from fans and fighters.

“He’s an aggressive standup fighter,” said Thompson. “I’ve got holes in my standup defense. Got to make sure I’m tight. I don’t want to be doing a three-round standup war with Kimbo. I want to go to the floor and see what he’s got there.”

The Rutten/Slice duo is working on an unfinished product, as both are quick to acknowledge, but the former UFC heavyweight and King of Pancrase champ was typically enthusiastic about his charge’s upside. And Slice said he’s with the perfect guy to refine his abilities and bring out his best.

“I saw Bas in Pancrase,” Slice said. “I said if I’m gonna train (MMA) with anybody, it has to be that guy. That’s what made me cross over to the MMA world and leave the street fighting alone.”

Rutten’s years in Pancrase and the Japanese circuit, beginning in the early 1990s, were bouts often contested with watered-down rules, dubious endings and combatants sporting effete knee-high boots. That’s a long time ago, and the sport has come a ways. Yet he made the transition into modern MMA due to being a fighter by birth — and he maintains Kimbo’s got the same thing going for him.

“I had to learn the hard way. A long time ago, I lost to Ken Shamrock (Pictures) by submission. I started training (grappling) two to three times a day, then my next eight fights I won by submissions,” he said. “When Kimbo came in, we started working on it. I knew he was gonna be a striker, but guys are not going to stand with him. I think Kimbo’s hands are better than 80 percent of the guys out there.”

“Bas is the man. You can’t ask for a better trainer, coach or advisor,” Slice said when asked about the fast-changing nuances of combing striking and grappling. “He explains everything to me so I can understand the cause and effect. I still have love for the sport, all my brothers and sisters in the MMA world. We’re only gonna get bigger and better and make more money. That’s what we do.”

Jason Probst can be reached at jasonprobst@hotmail.com

My UFC 84 Picks are in! [With Detailed Analysis and Bet Slip]

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Just finished placing my last bets with Bowmans for UFC 84. Wish me luck! All feedback welcome

For those of you who don’t know how lines work, here’s an example of the calculation:
-175 = Take 100/175 and multiply by the amount of your bet to determine your potential return
+175 = Take 175/100 and multiply by the amount of your bet to determine your potential return

1) $500 on BJ Penn at -250 = $700 potential return
- Many of you believe that cardio will decide this fight. Many of you believe Sherk has what it takes to grind out a decisive victory with his relentless pace. However, cardio will not be an issue in this fight. I truly believe that this is a new, focused, rejuvenated BJ Penn who has rededicated himself to training, and that’s a scary thought since the only man who can beat BJ Penn is BJ Penn. This will not be a Hughes/BJ third round gas-out affair. Instead, much like Hughes/St. Pierre 2, I gotta go with the guy who has more ways to win (BJ) than just a lay and pray grinded out decision (Sherk). BJ Penn by stoppage in the 4th round.

2) $275 on Wanderlei Silva at -175 = $432.14 potential return
- Wanderlei is not the counter-puncher Chuck Liddell is. He will push the pace and go right after Keith at every turn. Wanderlei will not be content to just stand and strike with a guy who has better range and can literally pick him apart on the feet. He will relentlessly try to get on the inside. Surprisingly enough, I see this fight being decided on the ground. The training with Team Couture should pay off in this one. Wanderlei will utilize his jiu-jitsu well in this one and make Keith look pretty bad on the ground. Wanderlei by stoppage in the 2nd round.

3) $125 on Tito Ortiz at +175 = $343.75 potential return
- OK, I have very little confidence in this bet. Machida should win this fight nine tiomes out of ten in however fashion he wants. This should be a coming out party of sorts for Machida at the expense of one of the UFC’s top stars. So why did I bet on Tito, you ask? Well for one thing, I loved the odds and can’t justify Tito as that much of a dog. Secondly, Tito can wrestle and ground and pound anyone he wants, but that is his only chance in this one. Sadly, Tito will likely be relegated to sideshow acts with Kimbo in the future while Machida goes on to have a long and successful career. Still, it’s worth the risk for Tito to give a big F-U to Dana and raise his market value in the process by taking out one of the UFC’s top stars. Machida by 3rd round stoppage.

4) $100 on Kazuhiro Nakamura at +188 = $288 potential return
Judo v.s Judo in this one. If its broadcast, grab the biggest and strongest coffee you can find ’cause this will be a snooze-fest. Sokoudjou left a lot to be desired with his groundwork display against Machida and will do the same in this one. Sadly, I see Sokoudjou as another incarnation of Houston/Gonzaga, guys who got surprising wins and were pushed to the moon before crashing and burning. I haven’t seen enough from Sokoudjou to justify his favorite status and we all know Nakamira has been in many a war against the world’s best. The teachings of Yoshida will come into play here as I see most of this fight being on the ground. I see Sokoudjou getting out-classed on the ground in the most boring fashion imaginable. Nakamura needs this win to stay in the UFC while Sokoudjou’s fan base should eb enough to keep him there win or lose. Nakamura by Unanimous decision (he rarely Splits for some reason)

Total Potential Return = $1,763.89, a 76.4% return
Total Estimated Return (with Tito Loss) = $1,420.14, a 42% return

Sean Sherk (Pictures) sleeps soundly at night, like a man who has come to grips with all he has lost in a matter of months.

The 34-year-old married father of two no longer struggles with his immediate past, now 10 months removed from the positive steroids test that brought him to his knees and resulted in his being stripped of the UFC lightweight championship. Brushed aside by fans, chastised by the media and vilified by many of his peers, Sherk acknowledges the fallout may have permanently soiled his reputation.

“A lot of fans out there think I [took steroids], and I’m not going to change their minds,” Sherk says. “It’s going to take time to repair that.”

Sherk spent countless hours in deep thought while struggling to put the pieces of his career back in place. He appealed his failed drug test before the California State Athletic Commission in December, and although it reduced his suspension from one year to six months, the ruling failed to vindicate him fully. A perception of guilt continued to shadow the once-proud champion.

“It was like a bad dream,” he says. “It took me a while to realize what was going on. I never imagined in a million years that I’d test positive. It made me lose faith in the system, because I know the system doesn’t work. The commission is the judge, jury and prosecutor. How am I supposed to defend myself against that?”

Adversity sapped Sherk of his drive, as frustration mounted within a man whose chiseled body seems sculpted by Michelangelo himself. According to those closest to him, reality bit hard.

“I think at first it affected his motivation,” says Bodog Fight welterweight champion Nick Thompson (Pictures), Sherk’s teammate at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy. “Why try if success is going to be attributed not to his work ethic but rather to steroids? I completely understand how he felt. What surprised me was how quickly he resolved to push himself even harder than he had before.”

Sherk channeled his anger into long hours at the gym, and soon he returned to form through his legendary training sessions. Time away from competition allowed for nagging injuries to heal, but his flame had been lit.

“Sean is the hardest worker I know,” Thompson says. “I think he’s now taken the attitude that he has something to prove to everyone. Now he’s not pushing himself just out of a sense of pride; he wants to show everyone who doubts him how wrong they are.”

As he flew over the Atlantic Ocean in January — bound for Newcastle, England, where he planned to watch B.J. Penn (Pictures) and Joe Stevenson fight over the belt he once wore — Sherk mapped out his strategy. A hunch told him Penn might find him in the crosshairs, and, sure enough, after the popular Hawaiian submitted Stevenson with a second-round choke, he took the microphone and fired the first salvo in what would become a lengthy war of words with the Minnesotan.

“Sean Sherk (Pictures),” Penn said, “you’re dead.”

Seated cageside as an on-air analyst for the pay-per-view broadcast of UFC 80, Sherk put aside his headset, walked into the Octagon and answered Penn’s rhetoric with some of his own. Sportsmanship took a backseat.

“I knew he was going to do it,” Sherk says. “That’s why I flew all the way out to England. I wanted to be there to defend myself in person.”

Their feud escalated in the days, weeks and months that followed. Penn labeled Sherk a cheater who had “perverted” the sport to which he had dedicated his life. Sherk answered on his end, casting doubt on Penn’s heart, fortitude and desire.

It all pointed to this Saturday, when Sherk (32-2-1) will challenge Penn for the lightweight crown in the main event of UFC 84 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Sherk wants nothing more than to leave the 29-year-old champion a beaten man inside the cage and thinks his strengths line up favorably with Penn’s weaknesses.

“His cardio’s really bad, and I don’t see a lot of heart there,” says Sherk, who has lost only one of his 12 fights that have gone the distance. “When the going gets tough, he tends to quit, and there’s not a situation, mentally or physically, that can make me quit when I step in that cage.”

One of the sport’s most dynamic and physically gifted competitors, Penn intensified his pre-fight attacks by questioning whether Sherk deserved to be a champion in light of his positive test for suspected steroid use. Sherk claims he has learned to ignore Penn’s antics, viewing them as an attempt to bait him into an emotional tug-of-war.

“He’s just one of those guys,” he says. “I know he’s talked a lot of garbage about me. He definitely wants to believe I took something because he doesn’t have the work ethic I do. His theory is if you look like I do, you have to be on something.”

Sherk’s credentials are undeniable. Undefeated at 155 pounds, he suffered the lone defeats on his resume to reigning UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) — arguably the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world — and future UFC Hall-of-Famer Matt Hughes (Pictures). He will enter his match against Penn with 15 wins in his last 16 fights, his latest conquest coming at the expense of former World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight titleholder Hermes Franca (Pictures) last summer.

Recognition, however, has proven elusive.

“I look at some of these rankings, and I’m still not on some of them,” Sherk says. “What sense does that make? People say I don’t have any credentials because I dropped down to lightweight, but I’ve got credentials as a welterweight. Those don’t follow me?”

A touch of bitterness clings to Sherk’s voice, though he appears to have moved past his season of resentment. He understands many will view him as the Joker to Penn’s Batman when he walks into the cage in Las Vegas for a fight that may define his career and could determine the course of the UFC lightweight division for years to come.

“Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but I’ve been nothing but respectful,” Sherk says. “I’m just a working guy trying to support my family. I carry myself better as a professional than [Penn] does. There’s no reason to see me as the villain.”

Spike TV announced today(Monday) that the UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and former champion Frank Mir will be the coaches for season eight of The Ultimate Fighter. The show will be taped May 18-June 28 in Las Vegas and will air September.

Mir (11-3) has won his last to fights but lost twice in his last five bouts. The former champ is coming off a submission victory over the super hyped pro-wrestler turned MMA fighter Brock Lesnar at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” and has defeated Antoni Hardonk at UFC 74: “Respect” . It appears that the two back-to-back wins has earned Mir another shot at championship glory.

Nogueira (31-4) defeated Tim Sylvia to win the interim heavyweight championship at UFC 81 and is the first man ever to hold Pride FC and UFC belts. He is undefeated inside the Octagon (2-0) and looks forward to winning several new fans while on the show.

TUF 8 is expected to feature light heavyweights and lightweights, breaking from recent tradition of focusing on just one weight class.

It’s official: Affliction Clothing will officially launch its fight-promotion business in July, and the event will feature Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia, as well as Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo.

A company executive made the announcement on tonight’s episode of “Inside MMA.” A preview of the segment can be watched here on MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) thanks to our partnership with the weekly MMA news show.

VP of Affliction Clothing Tom Atencio confirmed that the event, “Affliction: Banned,” takes place July 19 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The show’s main card will air live on pay per view

“I think we have one of the biggest cards ever,” Atencio said.

There have been rumors the preliminary card might air on HDNet. However, HDNet officials have been tight-lipped, and Atencio said “we’re still in negotiations” for anything beyond on the PPV card.

Joining Atencio on tonight’s panel are UFC heavyweight champion Barnett and MMA trailblazer and UFC hall-of-famer Dan Severn. They join hosts Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten, and reporter Ron Kruck.

For more on the event and Affliction’s debut show, check out the embedded clip.

HDNet’s “Inside MMA” program has provided this exclusive video clip to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) due to a partnership between the two news outlet. Catch new episodes of “Inside MMA” on Fridays at 9:30 p.m. ET. For more information on “Inside MMA” and HDNet Fights, visit www.hdnetfights.com. For more information on HDNet and how to subscribe, visit www.hd.net.

The first fight and a few participants have been announced for SENGOKU III. The announced fight is between Nick Thompson and newly signed Chute Boxe fighter Michael Costa. Hidehiko Yoshida, Marcio “Pe De Pano” Cruz, Fabio Silva and Rodrigo Damm have also been announced as participants for the event in addition to Kazuyuki Fujita.

SENGOKU III
Date: June 8th, 2008
Place: Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan

Fights:
Nick Thompson vs. Michael Costa

Participants:
Kazuyuki Fujita
Hidehiko Yoshida
Marcio Cruz
Fabio Silva
Rodrigo Damm

Possible Participants:
Takanori Gomi

In an unfortunate turn of events, Chris Leben who is scheduled to face Michael Bisping on June 7th at UFC 85 in London, England, has been sentenced to serve time in jail for a parole violation. Leben was not apprehended or breaking the law in anyway(well technically I guess…) , but rather turned himself into authorities for a probation breach related to an old DUI charge. Leben was serving probation in Oregon for the charge when he left to focus on his training and MMA development in Hawaii.

MMAWeeklyreports that Leben was recently sentenced to 35 days in jail and his probation revoked after turning himself in to police.  The entire purpose for Chris to turn himself in, besides doing the right thing, was to ensure his ability to make the trip to England for his pending fight against “The Count”.  It seems that the plan isn’t working out quite as designed.  Leben will be released from jail only 2 weeks before the fight date, leaving little time to properly train. Obviously the trouble has been brought on Leben by his own poor choices in the past, but at least he is getting his act together, regardless of the motivation.

Something tells me that Leben will be looking to fight either way.  He needs to get his Visa request in order to travel to England, and I’m not sure if that timing could be a problem, but other than some legal red tape, I can’t see him bowing out of the fight.  First of all the guy is hard headed as witnessed on The Ultimate Fighter reality series that was the source of Chris’ original public exposure.  On top of that, you don’t go to jail for a month to not get what you wanted in the first place.

Sparring partners could be an issue, but there is no reason that Chris couldn’t maintain a training regiment in jail.
In a pinch, a fight is probably only about 5 seconds away if he wants one, although that would not help his case either.

All joking aside, hopefully everything works out for Chris and he can fight at UFC 85 as advertised.  The fight against Bisping is a good match-up and the event has suffered a lot of card changes already.

I’m sure we will be hearing more on this story very soon…

Check out the entire MMAWeekly article.

The debut card for the upcoming Affliction promotion is starting to unveil itself before the promotion has even been officially announced. Josh Barnett, on MMAWeekly Radio on Monday night, revealed that he will return to U.S. soil to face Pedro Rizzo in a heavyweight rematch from a fight the two had in 2001.

Barnett said the fight with Rizzo was “pretty much” a done deal and he’s looking forward to the opportunity to fight on the debut Affliction card.

“I said after he knocked me out with one of those really nice, well put together Pedro Rizzo right hands, I stood right there for the challenge and said you know what, I’m going to come back here, I’m going to fight him again and next time I’m knocking his ass out,” said Barnett about the match-up with Rizzo. “So I’ve got to make good on my promises and I’ve got to stick to my word.”

The perennial Top 10 heavyweight is currently training for a May 18 showdown with former training partner Jeff Monson for World Victory Road’s Sengoku II event in Japan.

After that bout, Barnett will return home to prepare for the rematch with Rizzo. He expects big things out of the card, which will feature a main event of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia.

“As much as I love my buddy Fedor, it’s going to suck for him because I’m stealing the show,” Barnett stated about his bout on the same card.

Matt Lindland is also expected to fight on the debut Affliction card, but as of yet no opponent has been named or speculated for his bout.

Boxing films have long been a classic part of American movie history. With classics such as “Rocky” and “Raging Bull”, the sport of boxing has long standing ties with Hollywood.

Mixed martial arts is now starting to see producers and directors point their attention at the hugely popular sport for inspiration in film.

“Redbelt” is one of the first big budget films produced, that revolves around the sport of mixed martial arts. Written and directed by legendary filmmaker David Mamet, the film focuses around a Jiu-Jitsu instructor who is pulled into the fight world after a series of unfortunate circumstances.

The film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, who recently co-starred alongside Academy Award winner Denzel Washington in the film “American Gangster”, plays the lead role of Mike Terry, a martial arts instructor who has pursued an honorable life as a teacher, never using his skills for competitive gain.

Many familiar faces from the world of mixed martial arts also star in the film, led by current UFC heavyweight champion, Randy Couture, who says the film is rooted firmly in the traditions of MMA.

“It’s very grounded in jiu-jitsu and you’re not just going to go see a fight movie. It’s not a fight movie,” said Couture in a recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “There’s a plot, in typical Mamet style there’s a trail and deception and a lot of things happening in this movie. And for all intensive purposes it’s kind of like of an American samurai story.”

Mamet has been intrigued by the sport of mixed martial arts for some time, and the famed writer of classics such as “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “The Untouchables” has gone as far as to earn his purple belt in jiu-jitsu.

“It’s more interesting because there are more possibilities,” said Mamet about the sport of MMA. “And after you’ve watched mixed martial arts, especially if you understand something of any of the various techniques, watching boxing is generally like watching paint dry. Boxing’s a standup game. The whole point of boxing is to render your guy unconscious, give him a concussion so he blacks out and falls to the canvas, and knock him out. So that’s more or less the only thing that can happen, or the referee can step in and award the fight on points.”

“But in mixed martial arts, a lot of things can happen. You can win on points, the opponent can pass out or he can do something which you don’t find in boxing, which is he can tap out. Which is to say that a person can be put in a position whereby if his opponent applies a little bit more pressure, the victim is either gonna pass out or break something. And so the fellow who’s getting beaten can simply say, “Tap, you win.” And he can do that because he’s being punched, because he’s exhausted, because he’s put in a choke hold, he’s being chocked out or because something is about to break.”
The film also features appearances from other figures in and around the sport of mixed martial arts such as Enson Inoue and John Machado.

“Redbelt” opened in New York and Los Angles on May 2 and will open nationwide to audiences on May 9.

For more information check out the film’s website at www.sonyclassics.com/redbelt

DREAM on Friday announced that it has added five fights to its DREAM.3 event, which is scheduled to take place on May 11 at the Saitama Super Arena. The second round of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix highlights the show, but significant individual bouts have been added as well.

Among them is a welterweight title elimination bout between Cesar Gracie fighter Nick Diaz and former welterweight King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue. The winner will move on to face Hayato “Mach” Sakurai for the championship on July 21 at Dream.5.

Diaz hasn’t fought since losing due to a doctor’s stoppage to K.J. Noons at Elite XC: Renegade, while Inoue drew with Djamal Kurbanov at Pancrase: Shining 3.

In a bout that serves as the final addition to the first round of the Middleweight Grand Prix, Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Jason “Mayhem” Miller makes his Japanese debut against Masakatsu Funaki pupil Katsuyori Shibata. Miller won a decision victory over Tim Kennedy at HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon. Shibata was stopped by Min Suk Heo at K-1 Hero’s Korea 2007.

Dutch striker Melvin Manhoef faces off with Korean wrestler Dae Won Kim in a reserve fight for the Middleweight Grand Prix. The winner will step in if Kiyoshi Tamura is deemed unable to compete due to an injury he suffered in the opening round of the tournament or if another tournament fighter is unable to compete.

Manhoef’s latest MMA action was a stoppage victory over Yosuke Nishijima at K-1 Dynamite!! 2007, while Kim stopped Marcelo Garcia at K-1 Hero’s Korea 2007.

Korean judoka Bu Kung Jung takes on Pride veteran Daisuke Nakamura in a non-tournament bout. Jung suffered a decision loss to Mitsuhiro Ishida at DREAM.1, while Nakamura won a decision over Juri Ivlev at M-1 Challenge.

Also announced as participating on the show is DEEP veteran Takeshi Yamazaki, who scored a submission victory over Daikai Ozaki at Cage Force: Ex Eastern Bound.

Second round lightweight match-ups include, former Shooto welterweight champion Tatsuya Kawajiri facing off with Brazilian Top Team fighter Luis Buscape; Pride veteran Joachim Hansen taking on EliteXC veteran Eddie Alvarez; former Shooto Pacific Rim welterweight champion Mitsuhiro Ishida against K-1 Hero’s veteran Caol Uno; and 2000 Olympic silver medalist Katsuhiko Nagata tentatively scheduled to fight Shooto middleweight champion Shinya Aoki.