Tag: FX

I’m still coming off of what I call my “MMA high” that I get after an MMA event, but I’ll try to contain myself.

I’m still perplexed by this one. Koscheck was wrecking Lawler’s grill and controlling the cage, and gets KO’ed? Well, that’s what happened. I never saw this coming…ever! Koscheck slipped up, and just got knocked out of title contention. With the only knockout of the night, there was no one to compete with. According to Dana White, Koscheck was knocked out, and then awakened by subsequent blows.

I thought it was called early. Lawler definitely deserves the bonus, though.

Wow, this could have gone to Faber and/or Rousey easily…but the kneebar is the winner. A mounted rear naked choke, or a record seventh first-round armbar, have more impact in my opinion, but Jardine almost tapped out Robertson, so maybe that’s what Dana figured into his equation. A comeback crazy submission may weigh more in this situation, although Rousey almost lost, too. What heart and resilience she showed by not tapping to that neck crank! Her head was almost backwards.

In closing, Faber and Rousey probably make way more money than Robertson, so he would need the money more. Congrats my man on a sick kneebar.

Check out this Brazilian kneebar technique at ehow.com.

I have seen fans say that McGee/Neer should have gotten this, and I say that although there could be a case made for that, there were moments you lost interest in the McGee/Neer battle. Both were awesome fights, and very fun to watch. Bermudez and Grice take the cake, though.

Neer is one tough son of a gun! McGee, move your dang head next time somebody jabs you four times in a row. I’m hard on McGee because we have been working the same thing at the gym I box at, and coach jabbed me four times and told me why he was able to do so. Long story short, move your head at all times.

Liz Carmouche neck cranks Ronda Rousey at UFC 157

Ronda Rousey attempts Arm Bar of Liz Carmouche

Uriah Faber begins his transition to rear naked choke against Ivan Menjivar

Bellator just got on a channel that I’m actually willing to pay for, and I couldn’t be more excited. Just as Strikeforce concludes its prolonged implosion, another American promotion is trying to make a move into the mainstream, and they’ve got some likable characters hanging about to boot. Jimmy Smith, of Fight Quest fame is doing some commentary, and Randy Couture is going to be doing some Hype work for them. If Bjorn Rebney could quit being so slimy with this messy matching deal debacle he’s got going on with Eddie Alvarez, I could really see myself getting on board.

But a fight is a fight, and if it’s got the least bit of a chance to be entertaining or show some decent athletes at work, then you can bet I’ll be watching it. And they must just really want my attention because they’re doing a live show about a half hour’s drive from my doorstep in less than a week.

Sometimes the stars just align, y’know?

And up until last night, I was actually debating on whether or not I wanted to go. Can you believe it? Live nationally televised MMA action and a fan-boy like me was on the fence. Then I saw a match that was just too interesting. Oddly enough, it’s a fight that nobody is likely to be talking about ever, but it got my attention and I’ll tell you why.

Samuel Quito and Ben Lagman were on the undercard. They weren’t even meant to be televised, but thanks to some quick finishes and a touch of controversy, they made it to the big show. The fight started off as a blowout. Lagman was imposing his will on the feet and landing some very impressive offense from the top. I thought for sure Dan Miragliotta was going to stop the fight when Lagman landed a clean elbow that seemed like it was designed for invasive surgery. Blood was explosively regurgitating out of Sam Quito’s scalp like an ill-conceived tequila concoction from a 21 year old birthday girl’s mouth.

Doctor took a look, and said the fight was going to continue. The scent of blood was in the air, and it was just wafting into Lagman’s nostrils. He was going in for the kill, and the unthinkable happened.

He got caught in a knee bar attempt—escaped, continued doing considerable damage with his ground and pound, and then got caught in another knee bar!

Oh, the drama! The determination! The grit! That’s why we love the sport, ladies and gents.

Here is where this gets really intriguing. The knee bar is deep. The kid is clearly in pain. He’s writhing. He places his hand against Quito’s leg, in what looks like an attempt to push off and create space, but to no avail. He’s stuck.

He looks upwards with tightly clenched eyes and delivers a subtle Sonnen-style half-tap in an attempt to trick his opponent into loosening the grip. Dan Miragliotta catches it, and ends the fight.

Lagman is irate. He protests! He says he didn’t tap. Miragliotta quickly informs him that they both know he tapped… and probably calls him a bitch. They really should mike the refs, so I can start confirming these sorts of suspicions.

Now I told you that story so I could elucidate on this point: you can never allow yourself to quit. Not in your eyes, not in your movements, and especially not in your mind. An official who wasn’t quite as savvy as Dan might not have ruled it a tap, but he saw submission in Ben Lagman’s movements, in his demeanor, and in his contorted face.

I feel sympathy for Lagman, because I don’t think he meant to tap. I think he could have countered the knee bar and ended the fight. That is, if he hadn’t allowed the pain to get the better of him. Quito was already done, and that knee bar was a shrewd jits practitioner’s last resort. He was holding onto Lagman’s leg like it was an oxygen tube at the bottom of an ocean. It was his life line to victory, and he deserves all the credit in the world for holding fast.

However, this isn’t a story of an underdog coming from behind, it’s the story of a superior athlete making a stupid mistake and falling prey to his own weakness.  Even looking back at the replay now, I have a hard time saying that Lagman definitively made the decision to give up, but what he absolutely did NOT do was show the determination to win, and that cost him the victory.

He left the possibility of his own submission open, and he didn’t slam the door on the idea of quitting quickly enough. That was all it took for the official to end the fight. That’s all it takes to miss any opportunity.

Ultimately, it might even have been the smart move to make, but he’s still got to head back to the drawing board and consider what went wrong. He’ll need to determine whether or not he did everything he could’ve to win that fight. He’ll have to look himself in the eye and reexamine those crucial moments that led to his defeat, and in that brutal introspection, he’ll have to admit that he was weak. If only for a moment, he was weak, and it ended his shot at victory.

It’s certainly not a fight that will go down in history. To be honest, I’ll be surprised if anyone ever mentions it again. But there’s a lesson in there somewhere that I thought was definitely worth pointing out, and most certainly worth remembering.

The UFC announced yesterday that Chael Sonnen and Jon Jones would coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter…and I’m not even funnin. For proof, here’s the audio of today’s media conference call for the event.

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The weigh-in ceremonies for Friday night’s UFC on FX 4 from Atlantic City, New Jersey have concluded without a hitch – or at least without much of one.
C.J. Keith, scheduled to fight Ramsey Najim at Lightweight, weighed in at 157 pounds, 1 over the allowed limit. Keith was given an hour to cut the remaining pound.

All told, 24 fighters weighed in for the event, with Middleweight Chris Camozzi and opponent Nick Catone the heaviest at 185.5, and Dustin Pague the lightest at the Bantamweight standard of 135.

Read more

| Show Open Featuring Discussion on The Ultimate Fighter Live | UFC 145 Review of the Bocek, Yagin and McDonald Wins | UFC 145 Review of the Rothwell and MacDonald Wins | Review of Jon Jones – Rashad Evans and MMA News | Knockout – Bad Decision for April 28th 2012″ | Fight Stat of the Week for April 28th 2012 | Interview Excerpt of Junior Dos Santos Discussing Frank Mir and UFC Heavyweights |

The crew open up the show with a discussion of the new Ultimate Fighter, airing on FX Friday nights.

Length: 10:00

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