Herschel Walker did not too bad for a 47 year old man. Walker defeated Greg Nagy at 2:17 of the third round with a fight stoppage. While Walker did not look like a totally polished fighter, his performance was respectful.
Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner, showed unbelievable conditioning throughout the fight and had plenty in the gas tank when the fight was ended. Walker has always been a conditioning guru and did himself proud for a man of his age.His standup was stiff ,but he continued to take Nagy to the ground where he was the stronger fighter. Walker did have some opportunities for a submission but could not pull them off. Wallker is a sixth degree Black Belt in Taekwondo. You can see that he does possess some fighting skills that are worthy of the MMA game. I love the fact that he wanted to test and challenge himself in the great sport of MMA. MMA has soared in popularity and will continue to attract some of the best athletes in the world to get into the cage.
While you can say that Walker is not threat to any MMA title, I do think that his fight served as some intriguing excitement. You will always have some interest in a former elite athlete when he wants to get in the cage to fight. Walker made people tune into Showtime and did nothing but make the card more appealing to the MMA fan. I am not sure if he will fight again, but I am sure that people would tune in again if that happens. If Walker wants to test himself again that is more than alright with me. I remember how great a running back he was, he gives everything he has when challenged. That is the time of fighter I like to watch. Maybe we will see Herschel fight again. Anyway, Congratulations Herschel.
Strikeforce arrives in Miami tonight with a packed card at the Bell Atlantic Center in Sunrise, FL. Prelminary bouts begin at 7:30pm, with the televised card airing on Showtime at 10pm EST. Nick Diaz and Marius Zaromskis will square off for the vacant welterweight title while Christiane “Cyborg” Santos will make her first defense of the women’s featherweight title against Marloes Coenen. Also featured on the card are the Strikeforce debuts of former NFL running back and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker and former WWE pro wrestler Bobby Lashley.
Benchwarmers United will bring you the play-by-play call of the action throughout the evening:
Preliminary Results:
John Kelly def. Sabah Homasi via rear naked choke submission at 2:48 of Round 2.
Hayder Hassan def. Ryan Keenan via knockout at 2:42 of Round 2
Pablo Alfonso def. Marcos da Matta via arm bar submission at 1:47 of Round 1
David Gomez def. Craig Oxley via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Joe Ray def. John Clark via technical knockout at 3:14 of Round 1
Jay Hieron vs. Joe Riggs
Round 1
The fighters come out cautious feeling each other out. Hieron attacks first, lunging for body which he misses badly. Hieron follows the missed body shot with a weak front kick. Hieron nails Riggs with a solid right. Riggs appears shaken but is able to compose himself. Hieron launches head kicked that Riggs blocks. Riggs lunges with a Superman punch and misses, Hieron counters with a head kick that misses. The fighter toss jabs at each other. Hieron lands an inside leg kick and follows with a combination. Hieron lands kick to midsection. Another inside leg kick for Hieron. Riggs attempts another Superman punch and misses. Hieron follows with a takedown as the bells sounds.
Hieron easily takes Round 1, 10-9
Round 2
The fighters come out cautious again to start the round. Hieron attacks first with a right, followed a combination that Riggs ducks away from. Hieron throws a head kick and follows through with a takedown. Hieron gets inside Riggs’ guard and lands a flurry of shots to the ribs. Hieron goes for the head and misses, then returns back to the ribs. Hieron continues to work the ribs, but doesn’t appear to be hurting Riggs. Hieron now mixes in a few shots to the head, as Riggs is unable to get out from underneath. Riggs is able to gain wrist control and halts the Hieron assault. Hieron goes back to the ribs and Riggs midsection is beginning to turn purple from the barrage of shots he’s taken. Hieron postures up and lands a big shot to the head. Riggs scrambles and gets back to his feet. Hieron lands a nasty knee to the body as the round closes.
Another clear and dominating round for Hieron, 10-9.
Round 3
The fighters touch gloves in the center to start the round. Riggs strikes first, landing a hard right hook. The fighters scramble to the mat and Hieron gets the advantage position. Riggs is bleeding heavily from the left eye now. The blood is clearly affecting Riggs. Hieron is doing little and the ref stands them up. Hieron nails Riggs as he charges in, flooring the him. Hieron scrambles for an advantage position and gets it on the mat. Hieron begins working the ribs again as Riggs tries to work his way back to his feet along the cage wall. Riggs attempts a kimura, but doesn’t have the position or leverage to hit it. The ref stands the fighters up with 10 seconds lift, but there is not enought time for Riggs to pull out a miracle.
Another round to Hieron, 10-9
Official Result: Hieron by unanimous decision 29-28, 30-27, 30-27
Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims
Round 1
Sims has a huge reach advantage over Lashley, as he towers over Lashley with his 6′8″ frame. Sims looks like he took the fight on short notice, looking very soft in the belly. Sims comes out as comedian asking for a pro wresting test of strength. Lashley lunges for a shot due to the reach disadvantage. Sims attempts knee but Lashley gets double leg takedown. Sims is in full guard and Lashley pounds on the side of his head. Lashley postures up and lands a couple of hard shots to Sims head. Sims scrambles to his base position, Lashley takes his back and lands a shot or two. Sims collapses from his base and is flat on mat. Lashley lands a glancing shot and the referee jumps in to stop the action. A very premature stoppage. Sims is very upset and arguing with the ref that he was not hurt.
Official Result: Lashley by technical knockout at 2:06 Robbie Lawler vs. Melvin Manhoef
Round 1
The fighters meet at center and begin feeling each other out in preparation for a stand up war. Manhoef lands a front kick to the midsection. Lawler lands a left head kick. Manhoef lands a roundhouse kick to the ribs. Lower leg kick by Lawler, Manhoef responds with the same. Manhoef lands a combo and follow with flying front kick. Another combo and kick to midsection again. Manhoef lands some harsh lower leg kicks that appear to be bothering Lawler. Manhoef lands a flurry of shots. More lower leg kick by Manhoef and Lawler is limping. Another combination by Manhoef. Manhoef look to land another lower leg kich and Lawler connects with a vicious overhand right counter that knocks Manhoef out cold. A stunning knockout as Lawler limps around the ring in celebration. Manhoef is still down on the canvas being attended to by doctors. Manhoef is finally up and alert.
Official Result: Lawler by knockout at 3:33 of Round 1
Herschel Walker vs. Greg Nagy
Round 1
Walker looks in great physical shape. Walker sticks a stiff lab jab to start the action followed by a leg kick. Walker calls on Nagy to fight him. Nagy attempts a takedown but Walker defends and gets a front headlock. Walker circles around and scoops an ankle. Walker gets a half mount and begins to tee off on Nagy. Walker exposes his leg and presses his knee to Nagy’s chest. Walker begins landing shots to the head. Nagy goes for a heel hook but Walker rolls through. Walker takes front headlock again. Walker is now in side control and is landing to the head. Walker now has a crucifix, pinning Nagy’s arm to mat as he lands lefts to the head. The round comes to an end.
Clear round that goes to Walker, 10-9.
Round 2
Walker lands a leg kick and Nagy moves in for a clinch. Walker locks up Nagy and takes him to the canvas. Walker is on Nagy’s side raining down blows. Walker now moves to Nagy’s back and flattens Nagy to the mat. Nagy rolls to his back and Walker get a full mount, but is a little too high to land anything solid. Nagy scrambles and Walker loses the mount. Nagy stands up and Walker lands a knee to the head. Walker has the front headlock again but is doing little with it. Walker now circles around and gets Nagy’s back. Walker is working for the choke but can’t get it. Walker starts hammering blows to open up Nagy. Walker is landing hammerfists to the back of the head and Nagy rolls to his back. More shots to the head by Walker as the round comes to an end.
Pure dominating round by Walker, 10-8.
Round 3
Nagy comes out aggressive and lands two shots to Walker’s head. They move to the cage wall and Walker gets the takedown. Nagy goes for an arm bar, but Walker is able to defend. Walker is again too high with the full mount and is unable to land anything damaging. Nagy goes back to his stomach and Walker begins landing blows from Nagy’s back. Nagy is told by ref to work and defend as Walker lands more blows. The ref has seen enough and calls an end to the fight.
Official Result: Walker by technical knockout at 2:17 of Round 3
Christiane “Cyborg” Santos vs. Marloes Coenen
Round 1
The ladies come out with a flurry, both attacking. The fighter clinch. Coenen backs out and lands a shot on Cyborg. Takedown by Cyborg, but Coenen is in guard along the cage. Cyborg steps up and lands a hard shot to the head. Cyborg back to the mat, but stands up again and lands some big blows. Cyborg pulls out again, lands a leg kick and pounces back on top. Cyborg postures up and Coenen lands an upkick. Refs stands them up. Coenen lands a big right and Cyborg responds with a left hook. The fighter exchange blows. Cyborg continues to land the left hook. Coenen grabs a clinch and pins Cyborg to the cage. Foot stomp by Coenen. Coenen lands a right elbow, followed by an uppercut backing away. Coenen misses with a right and gets nailed with a counter from Santos as the bell sounds.
Solid round for both fighters, but Cyborg gets the round, 10-9.
Round 2
Cyborg lands a left hook which floors Coenen and rushes straight into an upkick which stops her cold. Cybord postures over top and picks up Coenen for a slam. Cyborg circles like a hyena and pounces Coenen again. Coenen has a solid guard and ties up Cyborg. Coenen is nullifying Cyborg and she finally pulls out to stand up. Refs calls them to the center. Left kick to the body by Cyborg. Stiff jab by Cyborg, Coenen counters with right and Cyborg responds with another jab. Coenen goes for takedown, but Cyborg defends and gets it. Cyborg pulls off and Coenen looks for an upkick. Cyborg lands leg kicks and pounces with a head punch. Cyborg is over top Coenen along the cage as the round comes to an end.
Very strong round for Cyborg, 10-9.
Round 3
Cyborg’s cardio looks good as they open the round. Coenen goes under but Cyborg fends her off. Coenen doesn’t give up and drive Cyborg into the cage wall. Cyborg circles off the cage and lands a flurry of punches and kicks. Coenen goes for takedown and Cyborg overpowers her again. Cyborg lands a few blows to the head. Coenen is in solid guard position and is working her leg up for a triangle choke. Cyborg steps up and slip, allowing Coenen to stand up. Coenen lands a right hand bomb, but Cyborg is unphased. Cyborg lands a few shots, as Coenen goes under again only to be denied the takedown again. Cyborg is posturing up and landing blows at will. Coenen balls herself up and is showing no defense. The referee steps in and halts the fight.
Official Result: Santos by technical knockout at 3:40 of Round 3
Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis
Round 1
The fighters stare each other down as they receive their instructions. The fighters are exchanging big blows on each other. Zaromskis lands a knee which slows Diaz and Diaz moves for a clinch. Diaz is hammering knees to Zaromskis’ right leg. Diaz keeps working that leg, hoping to take Zaromskis leg kicks out of the fight. Zaromskis scrambles off the cage wall. The fighters exchange with Diaz getting the better of the exchange, beating Zaromskis to the punch. Zaromskis land a big left hook that floors Diaz. Zaromskis pounces and lands a hammer fist. Diaz is bleeding. Diaz recovers and gets to his feet. Diaz again beats Zaromskis to the punch and is landing sharp blows. Big right by Diaz rocks Zaromskis. A combination by Diaz. Zaromskis is taking a boatload of shots. Huge uppercut by Diaz and Zaromskis is hurt badly. Diaz is unloading punches and Zaromskis is somehow still standing. A right cross floors Zaromski, Diaz pounces and the referee halts the fight. Diaz wins the welterweight title.
Official Result: Diaz by technical knockout at 4:38
After numerous injuries, bout changes, last minute fight matchmaking and fan outcry about the televised main card, Strikeforce: Miami is finally here. You can bet Scott Coker and his team are happy this one in almost in the books and they can move forward towards their next event after the roller coaster they have been on for the last six weeks. The bright side after all of the craziness is that the fight is a can’t miss event in the middle of the two week NFL party leading up to the Super Bowl in South Florida.
Diaz Fights For Welterweight Title
The evening is highlighted by two championship bouts and two major name debuts. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos will defend her championship against contender Marloes Coenen and Nick Diaz and Strikeforce newcomer Marius Zaromskis will square off for the vacant welterweight championship that was vacated by Cung Le. Former NFL running back Herschel Walker and former WWE professional wrestler Bobby Lashley will make their debuts with Strikeforce on the undercard.
Here’s the breakdown of the night’s main fights:
Jay Hieron vs Joe Riggs
Hieron is the jilted former lover of Strikeforce. Signing a contract with the promotion with the understanding he’d fight for the welterweight title, his bout with Nick Diaz was canceled in August after Diaz was unable to obtain a fight license. Now he’s fighting on a Diaz undercard, his title shot given to another fighter, and to top it off his fight won’t be telecast on Showtime. Something tells me I wouldn’t want to be Scott Riggs on Saturday night.
Hieron (18-4) will look to apply his boxing and wrestling skills to his advantage against the journeyman Riggs (32-10). Making his return to Strikeforce, Riggs poses a solid matchup for Hieron to prove the hype that is surrounding him. Riggs, a former UFC vet, holds victories over Diaz, Kendall Grove and Phil Baroni and is no slouch, ending 29 of his 32 victories before the bell.
Expect Hieron to exact some damage and send a message that he’s next in line for the title shot that was rightfully his. The Hierson vs. Riggs fight will be available via free internet video stream live at EASportsMMA.com.
Herschel Walker vs. Greg Nagy
Former NFL running back and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker will make his MMA fighting debut versus Greg Nagy (1-1). Given the marketing dollars put behind Walker, you can expect that Nagy is a carefully chosen opponent that will make Walker look good. At age 47, Walker’s best days are way behind him and his body is worse for wear after the pounding he took in his NFL career. Expect a carnival show as Walker gets his first MMA victory.
Bobby Lashley vs Wes Sims
The former WWE’s pro wrestler’s debut had been up in the air as two fighters backed out on Lashley in recent weeks. Strikeforce was able to obtain a solid last minute replacement in securing former UFC vet and recent TUF 10 contestant, the resident comedian Wes Sims. Lashley (4-0) will make his Strikeforce debut and significantly step up his level of competition with the veteran Sims (22-12-1). After watching Sims get choked unconscious and having the cockiness slapped out of him by Justin Wren, expect Lashley to pound it out and dispatch of Sims with relative ease. It will be a solid stepping stone for Lashley as he becomes acclimated with the sport.
Robbie Lawler vs Melvin Manhoef
The likely fight of the night candidate for the event. Lawler (16-5) is coming of a bad loss to Jake Shields and hops back into the cage against the dangerous striker Manhoef (24-6-1). Both are finishers on their feet, with Lawler registering 13 stoppages in his 16 victories, while Manhoef has finshed 23 of his 24 victims with his strikes. You can bet the house that this fight will not end by submission. The key for Lawler is to get this fight to the canvas and take advantage of Manhoef’s weak defense. If Lawler keeps it on his feet, expect him to get rocked consistently by Manhoef’s shots.
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos vs. Marloes Coenen
The champ Santos returns to the cage to make her first defense of her belt after a brilliant and dominating performance that ended the reign of Strikeforce’s female face, Gina Carano. Cyborg (8-1) will be pushed a little more by the accomplished Coenen (17-3). Coenen will want to get this fight to the ground quickly and test Cyborg’s cardio by taking the fight deep. The Carano fight showed some weaknesses in Cyborg’s game on the ground and Coenen will look to exploit this and fend off the expected all-out assault Cyborg will deliver in the first period. If Coenen can take this fight past the 2nd round, her chances of victory increase dramatically. Don’t be surprise if Coenen pulls out an unexpected victory.
Nick Diaz vs Marius Zaromskis
Diaz (20-7) has been on a tear since his departure from the UFC, with only a doctor’s stoppage loss to K.J. Noons blemishing his record. Zaromskis (13-3) makes his USA and Strikeforce debut after winning the Dream 10 Welterweight Grand Prix with a vicious knockout of Jason High. For Diaz to pull out the victory, he will need to rely on his ground game as it appears that toe-to-toe, Zaromskis will eat him alive. Expect to see Diaz bring this fight to the mat and display the wide range of skills he has honed against top-level talent to hammer out a victory against the untested Zaromskis.
Strikeforce: Miami will air live on Showtime this Saturday night, with the main card beginning at 10pm EST.
In an interview with the Vancover Sun, the UFC has vowed to take legal action against both the companies broadcasting the pay-per-view events illegally across the web as well as the individuals who knowingly are watching these broadcast to avoid paying fees associated with the event.
UFC Preparing Piracy Crackdown
Zuffa head and casino magnet Lorenzo Fertitta recently testified in front of the US House Judiciary Committee during a referendum on internet piracy of sporting events. Fertitta shared on the record that his company monitored internet activity and uncovered 271 illegal streams of UFC 106, which aired on November 21, 2009. The streams had generated over 140,000 viewers.
Sites such as these have proliferated the web. One of the more visible players in this space is Justin.TV. Most of website are hosted in foreign companies, making it difficult for broadcast to bring legal suit in countries where copyright infringement is given a pass. These companies utilize blog boards to post comments and links to their websites that will air the fight illegally.
(At BenchwarmersUnited.com, it is our policy to delete comments promoting these illegal practices and we can share that we deleted more that 150 comment post over the last 2 weeks leading up to UFC 108 promoting internet piracy)
UFC President Dana White told the Vancouver Sun, “It’s going to be a battle, man, but I’m ready to [expletive] fight. We’re gonna go after them, we’re gonna go after them hard, and we’re gonna hurt them. When people start going to jail, people will stop doing it.”
The timing of UFC announcement that they plan to crackdown on internet piracy is interesting to say the least. The organization is struggling to generate the quality fight cards it once did, its top stars are aging and the UFC has been hit heavily by the injury bug.
While UFC boasts PPV sales in the six-digit neighborhood, most industry observers believe the numbers fall quite short of these figures given that UFC refuses to allow a third-party audit their books. Following a head-to-head competition in September between the Mayweather/Marquez boxing match and UFC 103, Golden Boy Promotions President Rich Schaefer challenged UFC to an audit of PPV sales after Dana White said the UFC would outsell them that night. The UFC declined the invitation as rumors circled that sales were less than 20% of the boxing card. That night’s headliner was a “contender” fight between soon-to-be-retired Rich Franklin and previously-UFC-banished Vitor Belfort,
More concerning are the inroads being made by other organizations in obtaining television deals that offer fans MMA fights for free or at less substantial costs. Strikeforce has struck a deal with Showtime and CBS to air its events. Bellator scored a major deal with FoxSports Network, Univision and NBC. And Dream and Sengoku have deals with HDNet to air their events. Free mixed martial arts is proliferating the television cable box.
The once mighty UFC is facing strong competition like never before and it has found itself in the middle of a struggling economy where consumers will choose free MMA rather than paying $50 per event, especially when the pay-per-view cards don’t carry a title fight. The announcement of fighting piracy comes about shortly after what most industry observers deemed a lackluster event at UFC 108.
Is the timing a coincidence. We shall know more as 2010 plays out and UFC is stuck with a second-tier TV broadcasting arrangement with Spike TV.
Mixed martial arts had a tremendous year om 2009. The UFC put on more fights, garnered its largest attendance levels and generated the most revenue in the history of the company and the sport. Everything was clicking on all cylinders and mixed martial arts is on the cusp of a breakthrough. All of this in spite of a struggling economy
Happy New Year UFC
With all the success, Dana White and his organization have still not reached the pinnacle, that being reaching a mainstream sports audience. To reach that “tipping point”, as defined by Malcolm Gladwell in his famous book, White and the UFC must make a few changes to its business to make mixed martial arts. Once those changes are implemented, the unstoppable force will come into line and take MMA mainstream.
The following are a few New Year’s Resolutions for the UFC to consider that will finally get mixed martial arts into the mainstream.
Resolution #1 – Pay The Fighters
If the UFC is the elite promotion, then it should pay fighters correlative to the gate. Over the course of 2009, many other promotions are sharing the proceeds at events at a much higher rate. Bellator Fighting Championship guaranteed its tournament champions $150k over the course of three fights. Strikeforce’s recent Evolution event featured on Showtime paid out $481k on a gate of $634k (76% of gate went to the fighters).
In contrast, Zuffa took in $818k at WEC 41 while paying out salaries of $216k or 26% of gate. For UFC 106, they took in a live gate of $3.00M and paid salaries of $1.02M, or 33% of the gate. At UFC 104, they took in a live gate of $1.9M and paid out $922k, or 48% of the gate. These revenue figures do not include PPV revenue and sponsorship fees. When included, this doubles to triple the gross receipts. What we can surmise is that fighters appear to be getting about 10%-20% of revenue. The remainder goes into Zuffa’s pockets.
The UFC needs to begin improving its payouts into the 75%-100% neighborhood of live gate. The fighters are being paid peanuts in relation to the revenue they are generating. If improvements don’t occur, expect more defection like that of Dan Henderson in 2010.
#2 – Fine Tune or Cancel “The Ultimate Fighter”
The original concept of The Ultimate Fighter served as a launching pad for the organization in 2005. It introduced the sport to new fans and found a special recipe of connecting the fighters personally with the fans. The most recent season jumped the shark and has shown that the reality show is not about creating a training ground for new fighters, it’s just Big Brother in a cage where losers of the fight are banished from the house.
Not since 2007, Season 5, has the show produced a quality contender. The focus has shifted to personality rather than fighting ability. Season 10 epitomizes the problem. While scoring record-level ratings with its media barrage of Kimbo Slice, his time in the house helped him little and he displayed why he should not have been considered for the show during the TUF 10 Finale.
Either the show needs to return to its roots of seeking out talent or the UFC should shut it down. The Ultimate Fighter is part of the branding of MMA, and the circus-like stench of the show lowers the sport to the ranks of professional wrestling.
Resolution #3 – Make The Best Championship Fights By Cross Promoting
The UFC’s biggest issue for 2010 is the lack of bonafide championship belt matches. Outside of the light heavyweight division, there are no interesting championship bouts on the horizon. Anderson Silva, George St. Pierre, BJ Penn and Brock Lesnar are head and shoulders ahead of their competition. Simply put, who is left in the UFC for these guys to beat?
Fans want to see Lesnar hook up with Fedor Emelianenko. They want to watch Penn hook it up against Shinya Aoki or Eddie Alvarez. They are aching for GSP to fight Marius Zaromskis or Jay Hieron. Or how about Anderson Silva against Jake Shields or Gegard Mousasi?
For the good of the sport, the UFC must break its stance on cross-promotion that will help the sport as a whole breakthrough. The upcoming “Dynamite” event in Japan that pairs DREAM and Sengoku’s best fighters is the road map for the future. If the UFC’s champs are truly that great, then what is the issue?
Resolution #4 – Expand The Number Of Fighters Under Contract
While the UFC has expanded the number of events it hosts, the number of new fighter signings have not increased at the same rate of growth. This has left the UFC to regurgitate the same fighters over and over again on its PPV broadcast. You can really only enjoy so much of the same guys until it gets old…and old quickly.
The great thing about combat sports is the belief that there always somebody coming up the ladder behind you to take your belt. As noted previously, none of this is happening in the UFC. The champs stand at the top and the contenders are a few rungs below, not one. This can only be turned around by signing new fighters and developing them.
Recent contract cancellations for Jake Rosholt and Brock Larson are key examples of bad judgment by the UFC. These guys were thrown to the lions immediately and tossed out with the garbage after two losses. If you want to develop fighters, black marks eventually have to occur on their record. Every UFC champ has a blemish on their record. Its better these blemishes occur in the UFC rather than elsewhere.
It’s the end of the year. Its the end of a decade. Nothing great ever ends without a list and a debate over that list. Today, we focus on the 10 best sports stories of the 2000 decade and their impact on sports in America.
10. Emergence of Mixed Martial Arts
In January 2001, Zuffa LLC purchased the fledgling, close-to-bankruptcy MMA promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship for $2 million. They then secured state sanctioning with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Zuffa struggled for a few years to emerge from the shadows of the negativity that surrounded MMA until it secured a reality TV show called The Ultimate Fighter which first aired in January 2005 on Spike TV. The sport then exploded with a multitude of competitive promotion both regional and national. The sport is now on the brink of generating near $1 Billion in revenues per year and is on the cusp of mainstream acceptance. Love him or hate, Dana White is responsible for making MMA the sport it is today.
9. Rulon Gardner Upsets Alexander Karelin
Do you believe in miracles? Most fans of the Olympics are familiar with that saying and its forever bond with the 1980 USA Hockey team’s upset of Russia. In the Summer Olympics of 2000, a much more unimaginable upset of a Russian occured when Rulon Gardner shocked the world with his stunning victory over undefeated superstar Alexander Karelin. Coming into the finals, Karelin had not lost a match in 15 years and had not even surrender a point in the last 10 years. Gardner pulled out a 1-0 victory and delivered the most stunning upset in Olympics history against the 3-time gold medal winner that was deemed to be invincible.
8. New England Patriots Near-Perfect Season
The New England Patriots were the darlings of the 2007 NFL season, putting together the first perfect regular season in a dominating fashion never before seen in the sport. One toughed out victory against Baltimore and a valiant effort by the New York Giants in the final game of the season were as close as anyone got during the regular season. The Patriots then carved out two solid, conservative victories in the playoffs, setting up a rematch with the upstart New York Giants to end the season 19-0 and go down in history as the greatest team ever. An Eli Manning circus-like pass to and catch by David Tyree will forever be remembered in NFL lore that drove the nail into the coffin of this special team that was denied greatness. And in the process, the Patriots scored the largest Super Bowl viewing audience in the history of the game.
7. Red Sox Break The Curse
Buck F-ing Dent. Bill Buckner. Aaron Boone. The Red Sox were perhaps the unluckiest team in professional sports. Down 3-0 to their bitter rival New York Yankees in the 2oo4 ALCS, the Red Sox forged the biggest comeback in baseball history to defeat the Yankees and go on to win their first World Series since 1918, the year before they traded Babe Ruth away to those very same Yankees. Curt Schilling pitched one of the most courageous game ever by a pitcher, his bloody sock on display in Cooperstown for all to remember the pivotal moment of that amazing playoff season.
6. Roger Federer Streak at Top Ranking
There having been many great tennis players over the years. Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Bjorg, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Federer did something that none of them ever did, holding the #1 ranking in tennis for almost four and half consecutive years between February 2, 2004 to August 17, 2008. During that span, Federer won 65 straight matches at Wimbeldon and holds a 72-1 record on grass over the past seven years. Federer also holds the record for most Grand Slam titles at 15, while finally earning his first French Open championship this past year. Without question, the greatest tennis player in the history of the game and he still has a lot left in the tank to set records that may never be matched.
5. Tiger Woods Wins Four Straight Majors
Woods made history in April 2001 winning his 2nd Masters championship. With that victory, he became only one of five player in the history of golf to win all four major titles in his career. To one up them, Woods won the championships consecutively, becoming the first ever to hold all four major golf championships at the same time, earning him a pseudo Grand Slam. Woods has gone on since that point to win 8 more majors, bringing his career total to 14, leaving him just four shy of the all-time record of 18 held by Jack Nicklaus.
4. 2001 World Series
With the country reeling from the recent terrorist attacks that had taken over 3,000 lives, Major League Baseball gave grieving Americans an outlet to cope with their losses. The New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks provided perhaps the most exciting World Series in history, filled with riveting National Anthems, seventh-inning stretches echoing to God Bless America and some of the most unbelievable ends to World Series games ever seen. In Game 4, Tino Martinez hit a game-tying two run homer in the bottom of the ninth and Derek Jeter closed the game with an opposite field walk-off homer in the 10th to win the game. The very next night, Scott Brosius hit a game-tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth that would lead to another extra inning victory. The magic would fade in Game 7 though, as Mariano Rivera would surrender two runs in the bottom of the ninth to end the Yankees consecutive World Series run. A truly magical World Series for the ages at a time when America needed its pastime the most.
3. Major League Baseball Steroids Scandal
In a sport defined by stats and where Hall of Fame hitters fail 7 out of 10 times, baseball has been defined by its statistical records and comparison of current ballplayers to those in its past. At the end of the last decade, MLB treated its fans to the most compelling drama in years when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled it out to surpass Roger Maris’ single season home run record. At the turn of the decade came BALCO, a book by Jose Canseco and revelations that MLB owners and execs turned a blind eye to rampant steroids abuse. After a humiliating Congressional hearing where Mark McGwire pleaded the 5th Amendment so, baseball was forced to implement drug testing. The Mitchell Report would then follow, containing over 100 names that were linked to steroids, many of them the biggest names in the sport. In the end, we are left with era that will forever be scarred and represents some of the darkest hours in the sport’s history.
2. Michael Phelps’ 8 Olympic Gold Medals
The swimming star from Baltimore MD had prepared for this moment all his life, but nobody expected the drama that would go down at the pool in Beijing. Phelps and his relay teammates were heavily favored in six of his eight races. The remaining two races will go down in Olympic history forever. Teammate Jason Lezak would anchor the final leg of the 4 x 100, facing off against Alain Bernard of France, the current world record holder in the 100 freestyle. The Frenchman was provided an ample lead for the final leg, all but assuring Phelps quest being over. But in the final 25 meters Lezek tracked Bernard down for the gold. The drama was even more amazing a few days later, as Phelps dug deep in the final 25 meters of the 100M butterfly to defeat Serbian Milorad Cavic by 1/100 of a second for his seventh gold medal. You can be assured most Americans will not forget that moment as they cheered and screamed in front of their TVs trying to help will Phelps to victory.
1. Lance Armstrong Winning 7 Tour De France Titles
Armstrong lays claims to the greatest story of the decade. In a sport dominated by Europeans, Armstrong did the unthinkable…he dominated them at their own game. Armstrong set the record of seven victories, besting the previous record of five held by Miguel Indurain. A survivor of testicular cancer, Armstrong became an American hero in a sport that most in this country rarely followed or cared much about. With his unbelievable climbing ability in the mountains and untouchable time-trial sprinting, Armstrong dominated the competition like nobody before him. His victories spawned an explosion of interest in cycling in America and his story gave hope to everyone around the world that you can beat cancer and strive forward to be the best in your craft.
Another year has come and gone with MMA broadening it fan base while moving closer to mainstream acceptance in the sports marketplace. UFC hosted it 100th major event, Strikeforce brought Fedor to CBS and Bellator came out of nowhere to deliver some of the best fights all year. It was a year of milestone and big fights.
Here are this year’s awards winners:
Fighter of The Year
Fighter Of The Year
Lyoto Machida (UFC)
2009 was the Year of The Dragon, as Machida laid claim to the title of best light heavyweight in the world. All he did was dispatch two previously undefeated fighters in Thiago Silva to earn a title and Rashad Evans to win the UFC championship belt. He then fought a tightly contested matchup versus former Pride champion Mauricio Rua and earned a controversial unanimous decision. Machida recently underwent surgery on his hand, but a rematch versus Rua is on the schedule for early 2010
Fight Of The Year
Donald Cerrone vs. Benson Henderson (WEC 43)
Unquestionably the best display of mixed martial arts skills in any fight this year amongst top-tier fighters. While other may point to Sanchez vs Guida or Melendez vs Thomson as their pick, those bouts were merely street fights in a cage. Albeit entertaining, they are not representative of true MMA skill sets. The Cerrone/Henderson was a back and forth war between the athlete (Henderson) and the technician (Cerrone). Henderson would be the aggressor and land his shots and get his takedown, then Cerrone would turn the tied with his great defense and submission moves. It was every MMA fans true delight to watch this match and most cannot wait for the rematch of this tightly contested fight.
Knockout of the Year – Dan Horbuckle vs Akihiro Gone (Sengoku)
This was a tough decision, as there were some fantastic knockouts in 2009. UFC’s Dan Henderson’s drilling of Michael Bisping was one of the best punches delivered in a long-time. Bellator’s Yahir Reyes’ spinning backfist of Estevan Payan rates high purely based on the sound of the crack of that hit. In the end, you gotta give the kudos to Dan Hornbuckle for his leg kick to the head of Akhiro Gono. Rarely do you see a guy knocked cold from a leg kick like the one delivered by Hornbuckle. When you watch the super slow motion replay of the kick, you really feel Gono’s pain.
Submission of The Year – Toby Imada vs. Jorge Masvidal (Bellator)
The was the easiest to pick, simply because MMA has never seen such a move applied in its history. Imada had everything thrown at him but the kitchen sink by Jorge Masvidal. Imada never quit and Masvidal let his cockiness supercede sensibility. Masvidal lifted Imada off the ground for a slam, and in the process got himself choked unconscious while standing on his feet. It wasn’t just the submission of the year, it was the greatness submission of all time.
Breakthrough Fighter Of The Year
Breakthrough Fighter
Jose Aldo (WEC)
Jose Aldo was a relative unknown to most MMA fans to start the year, just another featherweight in the stacked WEC. His body of work was questionable as well, having fought mostly guys that had many losses on their records. He caught the attention of fans with his highlight reel flying double-knee knockout of top contender Cub Swanson and followed that up with a dominant victory over WEC champion Mike Brown. While’s Aldo longevity at the top is still questioned by many industry observers, his rise in 2009 from a preliminary bout fighter to close out 2008 to champion.
Scott Smith (17-6) stole the show in San Jose, scoring a stunning come-from-behind knockout of former Strikeforce middleweight champions Cung Le (6-1). Smith was being dominated in all aspects of the fight before landing a short left hook that dropped Le to a knee. Smith pounced to close out the fight, scoring the knockout at 3:25 of the third round.
The fight marked the comeback of Le, the previously undefeated MMA champ and world champion kickboxer. Le had taken a 20 month hiatus from the sport since his highlight reel victory over MMA legend Frank Shamrock to win the championship. Instead of defending his title, Le set out on a movie career with a successful release of his movie “Fighter” in April 2009 and the upcoming Tekken. Strikeforce subsequently stripped Le of his belt due to inactivity.
Le’s defeat is stunning in of itself, but more shocking in that this was considered to be a tune up fight. Smith, while a solid fighter, had no victories against substantial competition, losing all the major fights of his career. Le’s resume included a 22-0 kickboxing record and a 17-0 record in Sanshoum, a form of Chinese Kung Fu. Tonight’s defeat was the first in Le’s career in any fighting style. It was a mismatch of grand proportion on paper, but that why they keep the cage locked until the final bell.
The defeat halt’s Le’s progression back to the top of the middleweight conversation at Strikeforce. Le’s inactivity, coupled with his relative MMA inexeperience does not warrant contender status in the division. While his Jackie Chan style of fighting is exciting to watch, total reliance on spinning back kicks and leg strikes leaves a fighter open to counter attacks. And that’s exactly what happened this evening when a second-tier fighter such as Scott Smith knocked him out, leaving him bloodied at the nose and with multiple hematomas on his forehead.
Le still has tremendous upside, but it will take learning how to grapple and dedicating himself to the sport.
Gilbert Melendez (17-2) shed the interim title from his Lightweight championship belt, unifying the division title with an impressive victory over Josh Thomson. With the victory, Melendez avenged a previous loss to Thomson (16-3), to whom he lost the title. In the process, they may have just earned 2009’s fight of the year. Although Melendez won the fight convincingly, earning scores of 49-47, 49-46 and 49-46, Thomson showed heart and determination by continuously coming forward.
Right from the bell, this fight was an all out brawl. Both fighters put martial arts techniques aside and turned this bout into a street fight that rarely found the canvas. Each fighter stunned the other and both had their opportunities to take the upper hand.
The difference in the fight came down to Melendez’s ability to get his punches off quicker, stay more active and unleash flurries of punches. Punch stat number showed that Melendez threw more than double the strikes of Thomson, frustrating Thomson throughout the bout due to Melendez’s speed and counter strikes. Melendez also fended off Thomson’s takedown attempts, a big difference from their first fight.
Thomson entered the cage after a 15 month layoff due to various injuries. His time away from the cage was evident, as he appeared slow and loafing from the start. Melendez took advantage, getting a clear cut victory with a dominating performance.
Despite the Melendez showcase, it was disappointing to see Strikeforce force Thomson back into the cage not only too soon, but also without a primer fight to get back into a fighting groove. Where former champ Cung Lee gets a warm-up fight as the night’s headliner, Thomson’s desire to schedule the fight in January due to his injury recovery was declined by Strikeforce executives.
Strikeforce owes Josh Thomson a re-match with Melendez soon given their actions that may have led to Thomson being unprepared for the bout. Hopefully this matchup will occur sooner than later, as it will no doubt be another entertaining affair. While Strikeforce is in a heated battle with UFC, the promotion’s success should not supercede the welfare of the fighter.
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (11-2) impressed in his debut, displaying his world-class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique, submitting former Olympic gold medalist and MMA veteran Matt Lindland (21-7) by arm triangle choke at 4:18 of the first round. With the victory, Jacare won his debut bout with Strikeforce and ended a two-fight streak that left him winless for over a year.
Souza, the open weight World Jiu-Jitsu Champion in 2004 and 2005, brought an aggressive approach at Lindland immediately from the start. Lindland attempted to apply his wrestling skills to counter the attacking strikes and Jacare was able to defend his body lock and get a clean start. Lindland got a takedown by rolling through Jacare with a arm-pinned body lock, but Jacare was quick to get into guard as Lindland attempted to posture up.
From that point on it was all Jacare. As Lindland came back down and went for a mount, Jacare attempted a triangle choke that Lindland defended. He then got lock on an arm bar and pulled it down tight. Lindland was able to defend and break the hold, which Jacare then shifted into an gogoplata. Lindland again defended where it appeared Jacare had his arm bent in a position that may actually break Lindland’s arm. As the fighters scrambled, Jacare got into an advantage position locking in an arm triangle choke to close out the action.
Jacare’s performance this evening sends a message to the middleweight contenders at Strikeforce. He showed unmatched Jui-Jitsui skills that make him dangerous at any point in any fight, especially for LNP specialist like Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields.
In January 2001, Zuffa LLC purchased the fledgling, close-to-bankruptcy MMA promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship for $2 million. They then secured state sanctioning with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Zuffa struggled for a few years to emerge from the shadows of the negativity that surrounded MMA until it secured a reality TV show called The Ultimate Fighter which first aired in January 2005 on Spike TV. The sport then exploded with a multitude of competitive promotion both regional and national. The sport is now on the brink of generating near $1 Billion in revenues per year and is on the cusp of mainstream acceptance. Love him or hate, Dana White is responsible for making MMA the sport it is today.
Do you believe in miracles? Most fans of the Olympics are familiar with that saying and its forever bond with the 1980 USA Hockey team’s upset of Russia. In the Summer Olympics of 2000, a much more unimaginable upset of a Russian occured when Rulon Gardner shocked the world with his stunning victory over undefeated superstar Alexander Karelin. Coming into the finals, Karelin had not lost a match in 15 years and had not even surrender a point in the last 10 years. Gardner pulled out a 1-0 victory and delivered the most stunning upset in Olympics history against the 3-time gold medal winner that was deemed to be invincible.
The New England Patriots were the darlings of the 2007 NFL season, putting together the first perfect regular season in a dominating fashion never before seen in the sport. One toughed out victory against Baltimore and a valiant effort by the New York Giants in the final game of the season were as close as anyone got during the regular season. The Patriots then carved out two solid, conservative victories in the playoffs, setting up a rematch with the upstart New York Giants to end the season 19-0 and go down in history as the greatest team ever. An Eli Manning circus-like pass to and catch by David Tyree will forever be remembered in NFL lore that drove the nail into the coffin of this special team that was denied greatness. And in the process, the Patriots scored the largest Super Bowl viewing audience in the history of the game.
Buck F-ing Dent. Bill Buckner. Aaron Boone. The Red Sox were perhaps the unluckiest team in professional sports. Down 3-0 to their bitter rival New York Yankees in the 2oo4 ALCS, the Red Sox forged the biggest comeback in baseball history to defeat the Yankees and go on to win their first World Series since 1918, the year before they traded Babe Ruth away to those very same Yankees. Curt Schilling pitched one of the most courageous game ever by a pitcher, his bloody sock on display in Cooperstown for all to remember the pivotal moment of that amazing playoff season.
There having been many great tennis players over the years. Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Bjorg, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Federer did something that none of them ever did, holding the #1 ranking in tennis for almost four and half consecutive years between February 2, 2004 to August 17, 2008. During that span, Federer won 65 straight matches at Wimbeldon and holds a 72-1 record on grass over the past seven years. Federer also holds the record for most Grand Slam titles at 15, while finally earning his first French Open championship this past year. Without question, the greatest tennis player in the history of the game and he still has a lot left in the tank to set records that may never be matched.
Woods made history in April 2001 winning his 2nd Masters championship. With that victory, he became only one of five player in the history of golf to win all four major titles in his career. To one up them, Woods won the championships consecutively, becoming the first ever to hold all four major golf championships at the same time, earning him a pseudo Grand Slam. Woods has gone on since that point to win 8 more majors, bringing his career total to 14, leaving him just four shy of the all-time record of 18 held by Jack Nicklaus.
With the country reeling from the recent terrorist attacks that had taken over 3,000 lives, Major League Baseball gave grieving Americans an outlet to cope with their losses. The New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks provided perhaps the most exciting World Series in history, filled with riveting National Anthems, seventh-inning stretches echoing to God Bless America and some of the most unbelievable ends to World Series games ever seen. In Game 4, Tino Martinez hit a game-tying two run homer in the bottom of the ninth and Derek Jeter closed the game with an opposite field walk-off homer in the 10th to win the game. The very next night, Scott Brosius hit a game-tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth that would lead to another extra inning victory. The magic would fade in Game 7 though, as Mariano Rivera would surrender two runs in the bottom of the ninth to end the Yankees consecutive World Series run. A truly magical World Series for the ages at a time when America needed its pastime the most.
In a sport defined by stats and where Hall of Fame hitters fail 7 out of 10 times, baseball has been defined by its statistical records and comparison of current ballplayers to those in its past. At the end of the last decade, MLB treated its fans to the most compelling drama in years when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled it out to surpass Roger Maris’ single season home run record. At the turn of the decade came BALCO, a book by Jose Canseco and revelations that MLB owners and execs turned a blind eye to rampant steroids abuse. After a humiliating Congressional hearing where Mark McGwire pleaded the 5th Amendment so, baseball was forced to implement drug testing. The Mitchell Report would then follow, containing over 100 names that were linked to steroids, many of them the biggest names in the sport. In the end, we are left with era that will forever be scarred and represents some of the darkest hours in the sport’s history.
The swimming star from Baltimore MD had prepared for this moment all his life, but nobody expected the drama that would go down at the pool in Beijing. Phelps and his relay teammates were heavily favored in six of his eight races. The remaining two races will go down in Olympic history forever. Teammate Jason Lezak would anchor the final leg of the 4 x 100, facing off against Alain Bernard of France, the current world record holder in the 100 freestyle. The Frenchman was provided an ample lead for the final leg, all but assuring Phelps quest being over. But in the final 25 meters Lezek tracked Bernard down for the gold. The drama was even more amazing a few days later, as Phelps dug deep in the final 25 meters of the 100M butterfly to defeat Serbian Milorad Cavic by 1/100 of a second for his seventh gold medal. You can be assured most Americans will not forget that moment as they cheered and screamed in front of their TVs trying to help will Phelps to victory.
Armstrong lays claims to the greatest story of the decade. In a sport dominated by Europeans, Armstrong did the unthinkable…he dominated them at their own game. Armstrong set the record of seven victories, besting the previous record of five held by Miguel Indurain. A survivor of testicular cancer, Armstrong became an American hero in a sport that most in this country rarely followed or cared much about. With his unbelievable climbing ability in the mountains and untouchable time-trial sprinting, Armstrong dominated the competition like nobody before him. His victories spawned an explosion of interest in cycling in America and his story gave hope to everyone around the world that you can beat cancer and strive forward to be the best in your craft.
