Brian Foster, one of the UFC’s rising welterweights, may seem like just an average guy. Well, that’s because he is. The fighter who grew up in eastern Oklahoma, in a town with so few people that his entire town could come to his fight at UFC 129 at the Rogers Centre, and there would still be tens of thousands of seats left, is new to Mixed Martial Arts.
Foster who says he likes to relax with friends, play basketball and eat pizza is exactly the definition of a fighter. Always a hard worker, Foster worked with his brother at Comfort Coils, a bed manufacturer. They loaded the supply trucks together until one tragic day, neither showed up to work.
“My brother died April 30 , 2006, when I was 21 years old,” Foster said.
The pair were hiking up a local trail to their favorite swimming hole, and once they reached the top, Brian went for a swim. His brother, Brandon sat on the edge of a rock ledge, and looked out over their hometown of Sallisaw, Oklahoma. Seconds later, the rocks gave way, sending Brandon hurtling 200 feet to the ground below. Brandon died shortly after the fall.
“I needed a way to cope with his death,” Foster said. “I turned to helping a childhood friend, Jeremiah Caves train for a fight.”
At 21 years of age, Brian Foster decided to take his anger from the loss of his brother out in the gym.
“I went into the gym with (Jeremiah) and just never came out,” he said.
Foster began his training as a boxer, and later moved on to training in wrestling so as to become a more rounded fighter. He made his pro debut on July 14, 2006, winning by knockout. In his second professional fight, which took place on the same night for Oklahoma City’s Masters of the Cage promotion, he lost by submission in the beginning of the third round. Foster, who began his career late in life with no experience, had fought seven professional fights by the end of his first year inside the cage.
From October 2006 to May 2008, Foster compiled a seven-fight win streak, finishing all of his opponents. Four of the wins in that time span came by way of knockout. Then, on June 27, 2008 Foster lost a fight to Brazilian, Diego Brandão in his hometown. The fight, for Brandão, was the first in the US.
Before his next fight, Foster left his hometown and began to train at The H.I.T Squad in Granite City, Illinois. The H.I.T Squad, which stands for Hughes Intensive Training, was started and owned by UFC Hall of Famer, Matt Hughes until mid-March of 2011, when Strikeforce fighter, Jesse Finney purchased it. Foster said that nothing is much different with the ownership changing hands. “We’re still running on the same training regimen,” he said. “It’s a great move business-wise, and I plan to continue here for the rest of my career.”
Foster won his first three fights after beginning training at The H.I.T Squad, and after finishing all of his opponents in yet another win-streak, Dana White of the UFC came calling.
In his UFC debut, Foster was originally set to face highly touted Englishman, Paul Daley, who later took a fight to replace Mike Swick in another bout. Foster, who had been training for the right-handed striker, Daley, received a southpaw wrestler in Rick Story.
“I’ll fight anyone the UFC puts in front of me,” he said. “But, when you train for six weeks expecting a certain fighter and get somebody totally opposite in style, that’s a really bad thing.”
After losing his UFC debut, Foster knew the heat was on. White, who is notorious for cutting fighters at the drop of a hat —Paul Daley was cut the fight after he stepped in for Swick because he punched opponent, Josh Koscheck after the bell — undoubtedly had his eye on the prospect.
“I love this sport, I’ll never stop” Foster said. “There will always be a winner and there will always be a loser. I love being a professional athlete, and I’m never going to stop fighting.”
Foster didn’t give up; he went back to the H.I.T Squad and regrouped. He looked at the things he did wrong, corrected them and began to put in work on his next opponent, solid wrestler Brock Larson. In the first round of the fight, Larson was docked two points for an illegal knee and an illegal kick to the head. Foster, determined to not win off of point deductions, ended the fight at 3:25 of the second round, winning by TKO via strikes.
“I just wanted everyone to know, including Brock, that it’s going to take a lot more than illegal strikes to take this guy down,” Foster said.
Foster’s next fight is on April 30, 2011, exactly five years after his brother’s untimely death at 20 years old.
“Its pretty weird that the dates worked out that way,” he said. “I’ll just take it as a sign and go out there and win this one for him.”
Foster will square off against Canada’s own Sean Pierson at UFC 129 at the Rodgers Centre in Toronto, Ontario. It is expected to be the largest event in UFC history, featuring Canada’s golden-boy, Georges St-Pierre, featherweight champ, José Aldo as well as MMA legend, Randy Couture. A card stacked with Canadian-born fighters, the crowd is sure to be heavily leaning in their favor. Foster said he isn’t worried at all about the 55,000 screaming fans, fans who will probably be screaming at him rather than for him.
“They’ll hate me walking in, but they’ll love me walking out,” he said.
Foster said his game plan going into the fight might surprise the fans, and hopefully Pierson.
“I’m going off of a hunch,” he said.” He is going to want to show the fans, and the UFC that he is more of a well-rounded fighter than people think. I think he is going to try and wrestle me, but he has never fought anyone as tough as me and he is going to get knocked out trying to do so.”
The fighter with such humble beginnings becomes more and more confident every time he steps into the cage.
“I want to fight the best at 170 and 185 pounds,” he said. “I’ve said it a bunch of times, I’ll fight anybody.”
The Ultimate Fighter kicked off its 13 th season recently, featuring fellow welterweights, Foster said he tuned in to watch and shared his thoughts.
“The UFC knew that these guys weren’t good fighters so they brought in Brock (Lesnar) for good ratings,” he said. “The first fight on that show was really boring. The fans want finishers, and if you look at my résumé that’s what I do. None of those guys on TUF can touch me.”
People may say that Brandon Foster is gone, but if you look closely, you’ll see that it isn’t true at all. Every time Brian Foster steps into the cage, his brother is with him, watching over him, willing him to win. Brandon and Brian Foster enter and exit the cage as one.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Bellator Season 4 - Weekly Recap #5
The Bellator Fighting Championships put on a wrestling clinic on Saturday from the First Council Casino in Newkirk, Oklahoma.
Well, that’s what it seemed was going on. It was actually the main card of Bellator 40, which featured the highly anticipated matchup between Bellator season 2 welterweight tournament winner, and current champion Ben “Funky” Askren and former UFC and MMA veteran Nick “The Goat” Thompson.
First was a battle to remain undefeated in Michael Chandler versus Lloyd “Cupcake” Woodard. In the lightweight semi-final bout, Chandler, a former University of Missouri wrestling standout, put the Cupcake in the blender early. Using his dominant wrestling background, he was able to tire Woodard quickly. Maybe becoming a little too confident was Chandler, as he was almost finished in the closing seconds of the second round. The third round was much the same as the first as Chandler put Woodard through the mat with wrestling slam after slam and grinded out the unanimous decision. Chandler will move on to the final against Patricky “Pitbull” Friere, with the winner moving on to face current champion and one of the best lightweights in the world, Eddie Alvarez.
In the second tournament fight of the night, Jay Heiron took on Brent Weedman and came away with a unanimous decision victory. The only fight of the night to feature a lot of stand up striking, it was a true fight of the night. The first round was close as Heiron played it safe. In the second, Hieron came out of the gate swinging, and landed combinations from the clinch. Weedman stayed aggressive, but to his demise, Hieron showed off his impressive counter striking as the second round drew to a close. The final round was similar to the first, with both fighters putting up a solid round, but the dominant performance in the second combined with just being able to eke out a win in the first and last rounds, earned Herion the win. The win puts him one step closer to facing Bellator Welterweight Champion, Ben Askren. First, Heiron must get past Rick Hawn in the season 4 welterweight final.
With Heiron undoubtedly watching carefully, Askren put on an impressive performance to solidify himself as a tough obstacle for any would-be challengers. The fight, Askren versus Thompson, was a non-title Superfight. Askren talked before the fight about how he would take Thompson to the ground with ease, and he backed up his talk superbly. Adding to his already illustrious list of accolades, Askren won by unanimous decision to improve his record to 8-0.
That list, comprised of four All-American nominations and two national championships at the University of Missouri, a 2008 Olympic berth and his current standing as Bellator Welterweight Champion show only one side of Mixed Martial Arts. Askren is an incredible wrestler, who moved with ease all around on top of The Goat. His offense from those positions was suspect, and his stand up striking game was non-existent.
As Askren manhandled Thompson on the ground, Thompson was frustrated and unable to do anything to stop him. Askren passed his guard, and when Thompson would manage to get Askren back in guard, Askren would easily pass yet again. The frustrations culminated in The Goat announcing his wish to end his eight-year, 53-fight career and retire to his law firm in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
The fight was a perfect instruction on flawless wrestling, but not so much on Mixed Martial Arts. Askren has a long road to go before he can take a step up in competition, which would ultimately lead him out of the Bellator Fighting Championships.
Well, that’s what it seemed was going on. It was actually the main card of Bellator 40, which featured the highly anticipated matchup between Bellator season 2 welterweight tournament winner, and current champion Ben “Funky” Askren and former UFC and MMA veteran Nick “The Goat” Thompson.
First was a battle to remain undefeated in Michael Chandler versus Lloyd “Cupcake” Woodard. In the lightweight semi-final bout, Chandler, a former University of Missouri wrestling standout, put the Cupcake in the blender early. Using his dominant wrestling background, he was able to tire Woodard quickly. Maybe becoming a little too confident was Chandler, as he was almost finished in the closing seconds of the second round. The third round was much the same as the first as Chandler put Woodard through the mat with wrestling slam after slam and grinded out the unanimous decision. Chandler will move on to the final against Patricky “Pitbull” Friere, with the winner moving on to face current champion and one of the best lightweights in the world, Eddie Alvarez.
In the second tournament fight of the night, Jay Heiron took on Brent Weedman and came away with a unanimous decision victory. The only fight of the night to feature a lot of stand up striking, it was a true fight of the night. The first round was close as Heiron played it safe. In the second, Hieron came out of the gate swinging, and landed combinations from the clinch. Weedman stayed aggressive, but to his demise, Hieron showed off his impressive counter striking as the second round drew to a close. The final round was similar to the first, with both fighters putting up a solid round, but the dominant performance in the second combined with just being able to eke out a win in the first and last rounds, earned Herion the win. The win puts him one step closer to facing Bellator Welterweight Champion, Ben Askren. First, Heiron must get past Rick Hawn in the season 4 welterweight final.
With Heiron undoubtedly watching carefully, Askren put on an impressive performance to solidify himself as a tough obstacle for any would-be challengers. The fight, Askren versus Thompson, was a non-title Superfight. Askren talked before the fight about how he would take Thompson to the ground with ease, and he backed up his talk superbly. Adding to his already illustrious list of accolades, Askren won by unanimous decision to improve his record to 8-0.
That list, comprised of four All-American nominations and two national championships at the University of Missouri, a 2008 Olympic berth and his current standing as Bellator Welterweight Champion show only one side of Mixed Martial Arts. Askren is an incredible wrestler, who moved with ease all around on top of The Goat. His offense from those positions was suspect, and his stand up striking game was non-existent.
As Askren manhandled Thompson on the ground, Thompson was frustrated and unable to do anything to stop him. Askren passed his guard, and when Thompson would manage to get Askren back in guard, Askren would easily pass yet again. The frustrations culminated in The Goat announcing his wish to end his eight-year, 53-fight career and retire to his law firm in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
The fight was a perfect instruction on flawless wrestling, but not so much on Mixed Martial Arts. Askren has a long road to go before he can take a step up in competition, which would ultimately lead him out of the Bellator Fighting Championships.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Tigers shine in Missouri Relays
The Missouri Tigers track squad opened the home portion of its 2011 outdoor schedule Friday at Audrey J. Walton Stadium with the Missouri Relays.
The Tigers fared well in only their fourth meet of the outdoor season. In total, Missouri captured 10 titles. The women won three titles and the men won seven.
The women did particularly well in the hammer throw event, taking five of the top six spots. Freshman Kearsten Peoples took first overall with a distance of 52.83 meters. Peoples also took first in the shot put while competing unattached. In third was sophomore Megan Collins at 51.56 meters. In the men’s hammer throw, Chris Holly took third with a throw of 59.28 meters.
The Tigers did well in all aspects, but really shined in the field events. In the long jump, Tucker Bounds took the best finish for the men in second place at 6.91 meters. For the women, Erika Miller took the top finish in the event at 5.47 meters.
Freshman Camille Hayes cleared a final height of 1.64 meters to take second place in the women’s high jump and fellow freshman Hailey Twietmeyer took second in the javelin. She threw 42.06 meters to claim the runner up spot.
In the men’s triple jump, freshman Jeremy Lampley won the event with a distance of 13.87 meters. Sophomore Brooks Mosier won the men’s shot put with a distance of 17.67 meters. Mosier achieved his person best at the meet.
Moving on to the track, three Tigers earned second place finishes in the sprints. Freshman Trés Chambers took second in the men’s 200-meter with a time of 21.56. He would have taken first overall if not for team Nike’s Ivory Williams. He was the fastest collegiate runner in the event.
“Taking first out of all the college runners feels great,” he said. “Ivory is an Olympic caliber athlete. He’s a tough guy.”
Freshman JT McCarthy, who finished second for the Tigers in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, said that as a team, they showed a lot of improvement.
“At the Stanford Invite, we had three top ten finishers, and here we took seven first place spots,” He said. “That’s a huge improvement, and I think we’re only going to keep getting better.”
As for his individual performance, he said he hopes to do better in the future.
“I took sixth place overall," he said. "I think I can do better than that. I’ll just keep working for that No. 1 finish.”
In the men’s pole vault, senior All-American Brian Hancock cleared 4.90 meters to take first place. He was accompanied in the top three by fellow Tigers Matt Krogman and Kyle Wessel who both cleared heights of 4.60 meters and 4.45 meters respectively. For the women, it was Heather Green who won the event. She cleared 3.65 meters to take the title for the Tigers.
Missouri placed first in both the men’s 4x400-meter and 4x100-meter relays. Chambers said he is proud of the team.
“Winning a relay is a big thing as a team,” he said. “To go out and take two relays in our first home meet is a big statement.”
The women took second in the 4x100-meter relay with their team consisting of Shawntè Middlebrook, Sierra Gant, Cara Fortè and Lauren Flaker. They finished with a time of 47.55, just under a minute behind top finisher South Dakota State.
The Tigers will be back in action at home this weekend for the Tom Botts Invitational.
The Tigers fared well in only their fourth meet of the outdoor season. In total, Missouri captured 10 titles. The women won three titles and the men won seven.
The women did particularly well in the hammer throw event, taking five of the top six spots. Freshman Kearsten Peoples took first overall with a distance of 52.83 meters. Peoples also took first in the shot put while competing unattached. In third was sophomore Megan Collins at 51.56 meters. In the men’s hammer throw, Chris Holly took third with a throw of 59.28 meters.
The Tigers did well in all aspects, but really shined in the field events. In the long jump, Tucker Bounds took the best finish for the men in second place at 6.91 meters. For the women, Erika Miller took the top finish in the event at 5.47 meters.
Freshman Camille Hayes cleared a final height of 1.64 meters to take second place in the women’s high jump and fellow freshman Hailey Twietmeyer took second in the javelin. She threw 42.06 meters to claim the runner up spot.
In the men’s triple jump, freshman Jeremy Lampley won the event with a distance of 13.87 meters. Sophomore Brooks Mosier won the men’s shot put with a distance of 17.67 meters. Mosier achieved his person best at the meet.
Moving on to the track, three Tigers earned second place finishes in the sprints. Freshman Trés Chambers took second in the men’s 200-meter with a time of 21.56. He would have taken first overall if not for team Nike’s Ivory Williams. He was the fastest collegiate runner in the event.
“Taking first out of all the college runners feels great,” he said. “Ivory is an Olympic caliber athlete. He’s a tough guy.”
Freshman JT McCarthy, who finished second for the Tigers in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, said that as a team, they showed a lot of improvement.
“At the Stanford Invite, we had three top ten finishers, and here we took seven first place spots,” He said. “That’s a huge improvement, and I think we’re only going to keep getting better.”
As for his individual performance, he said he hopes to do better in the future.
“I took sixth place overall," he said. "I think I can do better than that. I’ll just keep working for that No. 1 finish.”
In the men’s pole vault, senior All-American Brian Hancock cleared 4.90 meters to take first place. He was accompanied in the top three by fellow Tigers Matt Krogman and Kyle Wessel who both cleared heights of 4.60 meters and 4.45 meters respectively. For the women, it was Heather Green who won the event. She cleared 3.65 meters to take the title for the Tigers.
Missouri placed first in both the men’s 4x400-meter and 4x100-meter relays. Chambers said he is proud of the team.
“Winning a relay is a big thing as a team,” he said. “To go out and take two relays in our first home meet is a big statement.”
The women took second in the 4x100-meter relay with their team consisting of Shawntè Middlebrook, Sierra Gant, Cara Fortè and Lauren Flaker. They finished with a time of 47.55, just under a minute behind top finisher South Dakota State.
The Tigers will be back in action at home this weekend for the Tom Botts Invitational.
Bellator Season 4 - Weekly Recap #4
n Bellator’s most exciting card of the year, former UFC welterweight, and Ultimate Fighter season six winner, Ben Saunders looked to resurrect his career and arguably the best lightweight to not fight under the UFC banner, Eddie Alvarez attempted to defend his title.
Fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut saw one of the bloodiest beatings this year when Ben Saunders took on 39-year-old Matt Lee. Lee, who had lost his last fight in the Bellator Fighting Championships, was pummeled into a bloody mess by the UFC reject. Saunders wanted to use the fight as the beginning of his road back to the UFC, and he definitely made a statement on Saturday.
The fight opened and Saunders connected with two left high kicks early. Saunders picked when and where to strike, and landed with ease. Eventually, Saunders clinched up with Lee and landed massive knees to the body and legs. At the close of the first round, Lee’s face was bruised badly and there was a cut open under his right eye.
In the second, Saunders threw everything in his arsenal at Lee, tiring in the process. Lee ate knee after knee and punch after punch and somehow just didn’t go down. After almost two rounds of being a human heavy bag, the round ended and the doctor was forced to take a look at his face. The fight was allowed to continue and in the third round, Saunders opened another cut under Lee’s left eye with deadly elbow strikes. In the opening minutes of the final round, the doctor finally deemed Lee unable to continue.
Saunders improves to 10-3-2 overall in his second fight outside the octagon since being released from the UFC in August of 2010.
In the first of Bellator’s traditional tournament fights, submission specialist Toby Imada squared off against Patricky “Pitbull” Freire.
The fight surprisingly began with a lot of standup fighting, and technical footwork. Imada circled and dodged, while the Pitbull stalked his opponent. Not many knockout strikes were traded until middle way through the first round, when Imada ducked and put his hands low to defend the body. Imada was crushed with a big knee that sent him wobbling across the cage. Friere followed up with a punch on the mat to finish the fight. With the win, Friere moves on to the lightweight final to face the winner of Chandler versus Lloyd.
In the welterweight semifinal, Lyman Good and Rick Hawn waged a war in the clinch. The two clinched up early, and Good landed a lot of knees. Hawn escaped and got caught with a right uppercut that rocked him and almost sent him to the mat. In desperation, Hawn clinched and attempted a takedown, but was stuffed.
In the second, the fighters clinch yet again, and Hawn, a black belt Judoka, managed to trip Good and land a few shots from the top. Working to advance his position, and striking from the top, Hawn clearly won the second round.
With both fighters having won a round, the third was a decisive one. Good looked worried about the takedown, so he avoided the clinch. Hawn finally managed to stalk Good and gain the clinch. Good quickly escaped and later caught Hawn’s leg on a kick and landed a few punches. Good clearly won the standup battle, and pretty much any battle that was had in the third round, but Hawn earned a takedown with seconds left in the round. That was enough for the judges to award Rick Hawn the split decision. Hawn now awaits the winner of Weedman versus Heiron.
In the most anticipated matchup of the night, Eddie Alvarez carefully defended his lightweight title against Pat Curran with a unanimous decision victory to retain his title.
Alvarez is considered the best lightweight not fighting in a promotion owned by Zuffa. Gilbert Melendez formerly held that title, but with Zuffa’s recent purchase of Strikeforce, Alvarez is the best lightweight to not fight in any of Zuffa’s promotions.
Alvarez defended his title winning it in a safe fashion with the decision, but he did anything but play it safe. Alvarez dominated the fight with scores of 50-45, 50-45, and 49-46. Alvarez simply out worked and out hustled Curran for 25 minutes. Landing brutal punches to the body that left Curran gassed heading into each round worked heavily in Alvarez’s favor, as he was able to strike to the head at will.
Alvarez was able to secure a few takedowns as well, demonstrating his well roundedness. A true mixed martial artist, Alvarez landed strikes to the body, legs and head with precision. In the fourth and fifth rounds, Alvarez picked up the pace and unloaded, bloodying Curran’s nose in the process. Curran was able to counter somewhat effectively when he chose to, but the awesome power of Alvarez was just too much.
Alvarez will take on the winner of this season’s lightweight tournament, and Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney hopes to see him back in the cage in August.
Fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut saw one of the bloodiest beatings this year when Ben Saunders took on 39-year-old Matt Lee. Lee, who had lost his last fight in the Bellator Fighting Championships, was pummeled into a bloody mess by the UFC reject. Saunders wanted to use the fight as the beginning of his road back to the UFC, and he definitely made a statement on Saturday.
The fight opened and Saunders connected with two left high kicks early. Saunders picked when and where to strike, and landed with ease. Eventually, Saunders clinched up with Lee and landed massive knees to the body and legs. At the close of the first round, Lee’s face was bruised badly and there was a cut open under his right eye.
In the second, Saunders threw everything in his arsenal at Lee, tiring in the process. Lee ate knee after knee and punch after punch and somehow just didn’t go down. After almost two rounds of being a human heavy bag, the round ended and the doctor was forced to take a look at his face. The fight was allowed to continue and in the third round, Saunders opened another cut under Lee’s left eye with deadly elbow strikes. In the opening minutes of the final round, the doctor finally deemed Lee unable to continue.
Saunders improves to 10-3-2 overall in his second fight outside the octagon since being released from the UFC in August of 2010.
In the first of Bellator’s traditional tournament fights, submission specialist Toby Imada squared off against Patricky “Pitbull” Freire.
The fight surprisingly began with a lot of standup fighting, and technical footwork. Imada circled and dodged, while the Pitbull stalked his opponent. Not many knockout strikes were traded until middle way through the first round, when Imada ducked and put his hands low to defend the body. Imada was crushed with a big knee that sent him wobbling across the cage. Friere followed up with a punch on the mat to finish the fight. With the win, Friere moves on to the lightweight final to face the winner of Chandler versus Lloyd.
In the welterweight semifinal, Lyman Good and Rick Hawn waged a war in the clinch. The two clinched up early, and Good landed a lot of knees. Hawn escaped and got caught with a right uppercut that rocked him and almost sent him to the mat. In desperation, Hawn clinched and attempted a takedown, but was stuffed.
In the second, the fighters clinch yet again, and Hawn, a black belt Judoka, managed to trip Good and land a few shots from the top. Working to advance his position, and striking from the top, Hawn clearly won the second round.
With both fighters having won a round, the third was a decisive one. Good looked worried about the takedown, so he avoided the clinch. Hawn finally managed to stalk Good and gain the clinch. Good quickly escaped and later caught Hawn’s leg on a kick and landed a few punches. Good clearly won the standup battle, and pretty much any battle that was had in the third round, but Hawn earned a takedown with seconds left in the round. That was enough for the judges to award Rick Hawn the split decision. Hawn now awaits the winner of Weedman versus Heiron.
In the most anticipated matchup of the night, Eddie Alvarez carefully defended his lightweight title against Pat Curran with a unanimous decision victory to retain his title.
Alvarez is considered the best lightweight not fighting in a promotion owned by Zuffa. Gilbert Melendez formerly held that title, but with Zuffa’s recent purchase of Strikeforce, Alvarez is the best lightweight to not fight in any of Zuffa’s promotions.
Alvarez defended his title winning it in a safe fashion with the decision, but he did anything but play it safe. Alvarez dominated the fight with scores of 50-45, 50-45, and 49-46. Alvarez simply out worked and out hustled Curran for 25 minutes. Landing brutal punches to the body that left Curran gassed heading into each round worked heavily in Alvarez’s favor, as he was able to strike to the head at will.
Alvarez was able to secure a few takedowns as well, demonstrating his well roundedness. A true mixed martial artist, Alvarez landed strikes to the body, legs and head with precision. In the fourth and fifth rounds, Alvarez picked up the pace and unloaded, bloodying Curran’s nose in the process. Curran was able to counter somewhat effectively when he chose to, but the awesome power of Alvarez was just too much.
Alvarez will take on the winner of this season’s lightweight tournament, and Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney hopes to see him back in the cage in August.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Bellator Season 4 - Weekly Recap #3
When Bellator 37 kicked off from the Lucky Star Casino in Concho, Oklahoma on Saturday, they kicked things off a little bit earlier than usual.
Bellator wanted nothing to do with competing for the cable TV slot against the UFC 128 prelims, which aired at 9p.m. ET on SpikeTV. Bellator chose to move its event up to 7p.m. ET and showcased some young talent in the featherweight class, which is particularly thin across all current fighting promotions.
The card was one of Bellator’s most exciting to date. To start, Kenny Foster fought Eric Larkin. Larkin was a popular competitor, well known for his wrestling. Larkin currently trains at The Lions Den in Scottsdale, Arizona alongside Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren. Training alongside a former four-time All-American, two-time NCAA Champion and 2008 Olympian has helped Larkin take his wrestling to a whole new level. Larkin boasts a lofty resume himself, having captured a National Championship and also being a four time All-American.
Much was said about Larkin going into the fight, but Foster seemed to be overlooked in much of the pre fight talks. Foster came into the fight holding an 8-2 record with very few impressive victories. He stunned his critics, and Larkin early. When Larkin went in for a takedown to start the fight he landed a big knee that opened a cut in the beginning minutes of the fight. Larkin seemed very defensive from that point on. Larkin eventually finished the fight with a guillotine choke midway through the first round.
After such an action packed first fight, the second went to unanimous decision, but didn’t disappoint. Daniel Straus vs. Nazareno Malegarie started off with a lot of grappling, with Malegarie holding the edge on the ground. A well accomplished Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, Malegarie, who holds a black belt, and 12 of his 20 wins by submission, was bested by Straus on his feet, and was knocked down several times. Early in the third round, Malegarie was hit with a left cross and knocked to the mat. Straus subsequently mounted him and unleashed a barrage of strikes.
When Wilson Reis and Zac George entered the cage, no one expected Reis to be exiting the cage seconds later. In easily the quickest bout of the night, Reis started aggressive, landing a lot of strikes to open up the round. He knocked George down, dazed him with several hammerfists to the head and later took his back to finish the fight via rear-naked choke at just over a minute into the opening round.
In the main event, Patricio Freire squared off against Georgi Karakhanyan. The fight saw both fighters upright almost the entire time. Karakhanyan decided to pull out a flashy flying knee and ended up with his back on the mat, three times. In the second round, the fighters clinched and Karakhanyan tried to get a takedown several times, but just ended up eating a lot of strikes to the body. Friere ended the round with a takedown.
With Friere winning the two previous rounds, Karakhanyan knew that if the fight went to the judges’ scorecards, he was a dead man. He came out very aggressive, maybe a bit too much so. Friere managed to counter, circle and connect with a left hook that buckled Karakhanyan. Friere finished the fight with a TKO via strikes in the third round.
Bellator wanted nothing to do with competing for the cable TV slot against the UFC 128 prelims, which aired at 9p.m. ET on SpikeTV. Bellator chose to move its event up to 7p.m. ET and showcased some young talent in the featherweight class, which is particularly thin across all current fighting promotions.
The card was one of Bellator’s most exciting to date. To start, Kenny Foster fought Eric Larkin. Larkin was a popular competitor, well known for his wrestling. Larkin currently trains at The Lions Den in Scottsdale, Arizona alongside Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren. Training alongside a former four-time All-American, two-time NCAA Champion and 2008 Olympian has helped Larkin take his wrestling to a whole new level. Larkin boasts a lofty resume himself, having captured a National Championship and also being a four time All-American.
Much was said about Larkin going into the fight, but Foster seemed to be overlooked in much of the pre fight talks. Foster came into the fight holding an 8-2 record with very few impressive victories. He stunned his critics, and Larkin early. When Larkin went in for a takedown to start the fight he landed a big knee that opened a cut in the beginning minutes of the fight. Larkin seemed very defensive from that point on. Larkin eventually finished the fight with a guillotine choke midway through the first round.
After such an action packed first fight, the second went to unanimous decision, but didn’t disappoint. Daniel Straus vs. Nazareno Malegarie started off with a lot of grappling, with Malegarie holding the edge on the ground. A well accomplished Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, Malegarie, who holds a black belt, and 12 of his 20 wins by submission, was bested by Straus on his feet, and was knocked down several times. Early in the third round, Malegarie was hit with a left cross and knocked to the mat. Straus subsequently mounted him and unleashed a barrage of strikes.
When Wilson Reis and Zac George entered the cage, no one expected Reis to be exiting the cage seconds later. In easily the quickest bout of the night, Reis started aggressive, landing a lot of strikes to open up the round. He knocked George down, dazed him with several hammerfists to the head and later took his back to finish the fight via rear-naked choke at just over a minute into the opening round.
In the main event, Patricio Freire squared off against Georgi Karakhanyan. The fight saw both fighters upright almost the entire time. Karakhanyan decided to pull out a flashy flying knee and ended up with his back on the mat, three times. In the second round, the fighters clinched and Karakhanyan tried to get a takedown several times, but just ended up eating a lot of strikes to the body. Friere ended the round with a takedown.
With Friere winning the two previous rounds, Karakhanyan knew that if the fight went to the judges’ scorecards, he was a dead man. He came out very aggressive, maybe a bit too much so. Friere managed to counter, circle and connect with a left hook that buckled Karakhanyan. Friere finished the fight with a TKO via strikes in the third round.
Wrestlers struggle at NCAA tournament
The Missouri wrestlers had a tough time at the NCAA Wrestling Championship in Philadelphia, Pa.
Only two Missouri grapplers placed in the tournament. Junior heavyweight Dom Bradley, and senior captain Todd Schavrien were the two Tiger finishers. Bradley dropped just one match to top ranked Zachery Rey from Lehigh, taking third. Schavrien lost his final two matches to take sixth place at 141 pounds.
Junior Dorian Henderson and sophomore Brent Haynes both were sent to the consolation round early, but managed to get wins to stay afloat. Both exited the tournament later the second day of competition.
Redshirt freshmen Zach Toal and Kyle Bradley as well as freshman Alan Waters and sophomore Nathan McCormick all bowed out of their first NCAA Championship with tournament records of 1-2.
Kyle Bradley lost in a heartbreaking final minute as Edinboro’s Torsten Gillespie got the fall victory with just 11 seconds remaining. Toal saw his tournament come to an end with Penn State’s Stephen Burak collecting riding time to win and Waters was the next victim of No. 4 James Nicholson of Old Dominion.
Only two Missouri grapplers placed in the tournament. Junior heavyweight Dom Bradley, and senior captain Todd Schavrien were the two Tiger finishers. Bradley dropped just one match to top ranked Zachery Rey from Lehigh, taking third. Schavrien lost his final two matches to take sixth place at 141 pounds.
Junior Dorian Henderson and sophomore Brent Haynes both were sent to the consolation round early, but managed to get wins to stay afloat. Both exited the tournament later the second day of competition.
Redshirt freshmen Zach Toal and Kyle Bradley as well as freshman Alan Waters and sophomore Nathan McCormick all bowed out of their first NCAA Championship with tournament records of 1-2.
Kyle Bradley lost in a heartbreaking final minute as Edinboro’s Torsten Gillespie got the fall victory with just 11 seconds remaining. Toal saw his tournament come to an end with Penn State’s Stephen Burak collecting riding time to win and Waters was the next victim of No. 4 James Nicholson of Old Dominion.
Friday, March 18, 2011
The Legend vs. The Hybrid
Right kick, hospital; left kick, cemetery. Left hand, fight of the night; right hand, knockout of the night. Each fighter has his own saying for his striking talents, and Mirko Cro Cop and Brendan Schuab will showcase those talents at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey at UFC 128.
“The Hybrid,” Schaub, originally started as an NFL football prospect for the Buffalo Bills. After spending a season on the practice squad, Schaub returned to his home state of Colorado and began to focus on his MMA career.
The history behind Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović is as illustrious as any, and by far one of the most brutal. Cro Cop’s left high kick is legendary, and as dangerous as any strike in MMA. Constantly featured in collections of the best knockouts in all of Mixed Martial Arts, Cro Cop is one to be revered with certain fear.
Former football practice dummy against one of MMA’s most feared strikers, easy pick right? This fight has a lot of interesting wrinkles to it, and is not an obvious pick, nor an upset.
Cro Cop turned 36 last September, and is reaching the end of his outstanding career. The days of highlight reel knockouts and PRIDE Grand Prix Champion are long over, and it has been a long time since any opponent has even respected his high kick much less him throw one. He showed glimpses of his powerful kick against Pat Barry at UFC 115, but none did any significant damage. Maybe that will be Schaub’s undoing; maybe this is the fight where fans will finally see the only thing modern MMA fans want out of him.
The days where Cro Cop had a massive fan base are long past. Most modern MMA fans that know him now know him only because of his highlight reels and never witnessed a true Cro Cop fight live. All of the fights in his recent UFC stint have been far from being called a “true Cro Cop fight.” Mirko Cro Cop’s story is a sad one, because most fans today do not appreciate him for the amazing things he was able to do in PRIDE, the fact that it didn’t translate over to the UFC was a result of age, not lack of talent.
Enough of the sob story, Brendan Schaub certainly wont be feeling sorry for Cro Cop when he steps into the octagon, and he shouldn’t. Cro Cop is in the best shape he has ever been, and said he feels as good as he did in 2006 when he won the PRIDE Championship. Schaub has always been known as a hard worker, and is in quite stout shape himself.
The fight between legend and budding newcomer will be a standup affair. Don’t expect to see Cro Cop throwing any head kicks; expect to see solid boxing out of the grizzled veteran. Schaub will look to counter, and avoid the kick, knowing that it is a weapon Cro Cop always keeps in his back pocket. Schaub may not have admitted it in his many interviews leading up to the fight, but he knows his striking is nowhere comparable to Cro Cop’s, so he will wait for an opening and capitalize.
Cro Cop has become confident in his striking once again, and that will lead to his demise. His striking isn’t on a one-hitter-quitter level as it was before. He doesn’t have the knockout power he thinks he does. Cro Cop will come out fists flying and eat a few counter jabs from The Hybrid before he finds that out. On paper, this should be a really exciting fight, but more than likely it will be two very skilled mixed martial artists waiting for their chance to strike. Schaub wins by decision.
“The Hybrid,” Schaub, originally started as an NFL football prospect for the Buffalo Bills. After spending a season on the practice squad, Schaub returned to his home state of Colorado and began to focus on his MMA career.
The history behind Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović is as illustrious as any, and by far one of the most brutal. Cro Cop’s left high kick is legendary, and as dangerous as any strike in MMA. Constantly featured in collections of the best knockouts in all of Mixed Martial Arts, Cro Cop is one to be revered with certain fear.
Former football practice dummy against one of MMA’s most feared strikers, easy pick right? This fight has a lot of interesting wrinkles to it, and is not an obvious pick, nor an upset.
Cro Cop turned 36 last September, and is reaching the end of his outstanding career. The days of highlight reel knockouts and PRIDE Grand Prix Champion are long over, and it has been a long time since any opponent has even respected his high kick much less him throw one. He showed glimpses of his powerful kick against Pat Barry at UFC 115, but none did any significant damage. Maybe that will be Schaub’s undoing; maybe this is the fight where fans will finally see the only thing modern MMA fans want out of him.
The days where Cro Cop had a massive fan base are long past. Most modern MMA fans that know him now know him only because of his highlight reels and never witnessed a true Cro Cop fight live. All of the fights in his recent UFC stint have been far from being called a “true Cro Cop fight.” Mirko Cro Cop’s story is a sad one, because most fans today do not appreciate him for the amazing things he was able to do in PRIDE, the fact that it didn’t translate over to the UFC was a result of age, not lack of talent.
Enough of the sob story, Brendan Schaub certainly wont be feeling sorry for Cro Cop when he steps into the octagon, and he shouldn’t. Cro Cop is in the best shape he has ever been, and said he feels as good as he did in 2006 when he won the PRIDE Championship. Schaub has always been known as a hard worker, and is in quite stout shape himself.
The fight between legend and budding newcomer will be a standup affair. Don’t expect to see Cro Cop throwing any head kicks; expect to see solid boxing out of the grizzled veteran. Schaub will look to counter, and avoid the kick, knowing that it is a weapon Cro Cop always keeps in his back pocket. Schaub may not have admitted it in his many interviews leading up to the fight, but he knows his striking is nowhere comparable to Cro Cop’s, so he will wait for an opening and capitalize.
Cro Cop has become confident in his striking once again, and that will lead to his demise. His striking isn’t on a one-hitter-quitter level as it was before. He doesn’t have the knockout power he thinks he does. Cro Cop will come out fists flying and eat a few counter jabs from The Hybrid before he finds that out. On paper, this should be a really exciting fight, but more than likely it will be two very skilled mixed martial artists waiting for their chance to strike. Schaub wins by decision.
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