"Step into my parlor", said the spider to the fly.

Michael Bisping has started expressing interest in stepping down to MW, & who's hot on his heels? Dan Henderson, that's who. That puts two more big names in a division that's been demolished by Anderson Silva. Can either one of them stop Silva? My answer is an emphatic "fuck no".

The person who does eventually beat Silva will be someone who can go toe to toe with him. He's proved that he can survive on the ground & his Muay Thai is the best in MMA right now. While these two are both tough cookies, neither has the winning formula, at least not yet.

Henderson can wrestle, yes, but Silva has been boning up on his wrestling too, training Stateside at a SoCal college, no less (sorry guys, I wasn't able to find out where). So I'm confident that he'll be ready for any matwork Henderson tries to tangle him up with. And while Henderson was able to KO Wanderlei Silva, that was more of a musclebound free-for-all. When these two go at it we won't see that same kind of brawl. It'll be reminiscent of Silva/Franklin; a cruel lesson in the fundamentals of Muay Thai.

Bisping, oddly enough, has a better shot against Anderson Silva...that is, if he drops to MW, trains hard, really tightens up his striking & gets his cardio up to full speed. I'd say in a year or two he'd have the tools to do it. He's a big strong dude with nice stand-up & enough BJJ to hold his own. Right now Silva would bust him up & make it look easy but in time, The Count could be a legit contender. Unfortunately, I don't think the MW talent pool is deep enough to buy that kind of time for Bisping. I predict he gets a title shot right after Hendo loses. And I predict more of the same from Silva: ref stoppages & classy post-win speeches.

So I guess the fight with any real meaning is Silva/Bisping II. In the meantime, enjoy the show...I know I will.

Validated but TUF jaded.

Ok, I'll do us all a favor & keep this UFC rundown quick:

-How the Hell did Joe Lauzon's opponent get cleared by the NJSAC?
-Ed Herman needed the luck of the Irish to beat Doerkson. I haven't seen somone that saved by the bell since Zack, Screech & AC got hotel jobs over the summer.
-And a PPV headlined by two TUFers & two TUFers are on the undercard, too? I thought there was going to be a CSI marathon after the main event, followed by Manswers & TNA Impact.
-That wasn't the same Ryo Chonan that submitted Anderson Silva. It was his evil twin with a more fucked-up haircut.
-Getting injured & having to withdraw from a title fight against Hughes was the best thing to ever happen to Karo Parisyan. He wouldn't have made it past the first round alive.
-If Bisping was awarded point for escaping from those takedowns he would have won the fight. He had the cardio, the chin, the BJJ...the only thing Evans brought to the cage were those NCAA takedowns.

-Sorry, Dana...they're both on their way but neither Bisping or Evans are ready for the LH elite. That was my opinion before & the fight validated it.

Nicked Diaz...& the best thing since Sliced bread?

After seeing EliteXC's "Renegade", I have to wonder if the Sacto stoner will keep getting cut in the same place. The gashes that Noons opened up on him appeared to be the same ones scored by Aina in Diaz's last fight. The scar tissue may just not have been fully healed up due to continuous sparring, but it looks like Nick's next opponent will know where to aim.

And Kimbo's fight was quicker than ANY of his internet brawls. Is Cantrell just that much of a can that he got TKO'd faster than AfroPuff, Big Mac & the Bouncer? WTF?! Maybe he gassed after that spinning backfist. If the Tank Abbott fight ever happens, we'll see Tank get the same kind of ass-kicking he used to hand out back in the day.

---m

Boxing's Not Dead, but Mosley's Career Might Be

Those who say that Boxing is all but dead were obviously not at Madison Square Garden last night, when Miguel Cotto put his WBA welterweight belt on the line against veteran pugilist Sugar Shane Mosley. The roar of the packed house let those watching know that to many, boxing is still alive and well. Going into the fight, it was unclear who the favorite really was, as Sugar Shane had the experience and the bigger fights, while Cotto's notorious body shots are known to have stopped men dead in their tracks. Another factor in determining a favorite was the age discrepancy of 9 years in favor of Cotto's youth. Regardless of who the better man was on paper, the packed Puerto Rican crowd let both men know that they supported their native son Miguel Cotto.

The opening rounds saw both men bring an intensity not usually seen prior to the closing rounds. Mosley seemed to be going for a knockout, and despite several efforts to outbox Cotto, he would continually go back to fighting him, and would pay the price for it in devastating body shots. Mosley also seemed to ignore numerous opportunities to throw uppercuts on the inside, instead choosing to tie up Cotto. This could have easily been a deciding factor in the outcome of the fight, as Mosley could have easily pushed the pace more in these inside exchanges. After the fight, Mosley said he didn't know if he was going to hang up the gloves or keep fighting, but it didn't look as though a rematch was the first thing on his mind.

Cotto looked very impressive in this fight, though not as impressive as in other fights, as he did not put on a dominating performance in the later rounds like he normally does. He seemed to lack the ring generalship he usually commands, but to be fair, he has never been tested by an opponent as formidable as Shane Mosley before. Still, Cotto definitely earned his Unanimous Decision, and showed the world that he is ready for some big name fights in the future. Personally, I think he might need another tune up fight before he goes and trades leather with the likes of Hatton, Mayweather and De La Hoya, if anything, just to get back his KO confidence. It was a good fight, however, and both fighters definitely left everything they had in the ring that night.

In the undercard, The Tijuana Tornado Antonio Margarito put on a truly dominating performance against Golden Johnsen, knocking him down 3 times in the first round for the win. Margarito wanted to show the world he is back, and he certainly did just that. Hopefully we will see him have some bigger fights in the near future. I think a Margarito-Cotto fight would be a great showcase of talent and heart, but only time will tell if this fight will happen.

Another great fight was between Victor Ortiz and Carlos Maussa, in which Ortiz KO'd Maussa in the first round. It was a quick, brutal, and very one-sided fight.

The night's biggest travesty, however, was the split decision victory for Joel Casamayor against Jose Armando Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz clearly dominated at least 9 of the 12 rounds, and even had a first round knockdown. He outboxed Casamayor, landing more punches, and boxing much more effectively than Casamayor. The commentators all had it scored for Santa Cruz, and so did everyone in attendance at MSG, but the inexperienced judges that the NYSAC picked scored it for Casamayor. Hopefully, the Santa Cruz camp will apeal the decision, as it was clearly an injustice on the part of the NYSAC. In my eyes, and in everyone else who saw the fight's eyes, Santa Cruz is the new Interim lightweight champion, not Casamayor.

All in all, I say that boxing is still alive, and wont be going away anytime soon.

-o

Kimbo Slice: YouTube Comes Alive...more Elite than the Ultimate?

I have to admit I was pretty taken aback by Kimbo's promo on Proelite.com. The only time I'd heard him talk before this was when he was grunt at the camera after literally breaking some guy's face. So I was shcoked to see a well-spoken, soft-spoken dude who can also do some pretty talking with his hands. Do I think he'd be a contender in the UFC? No. At least not right now. Do I think EliteXC is the best place for him? Hell yes.

The more I see from these guys, the more I like 'em. They're carving out a certain niche for themselves that in my mind has made them a surprisingly close # 2 to the UFC, leaving the IFL waaaay waaaay behind. I like that they were able to wrangle a cable deal, which is one thing that the UFC couldn't pull off. Signing Kimbo was just as savvy as signing Brock Lesnar. I'm sure it cost way less, & will put just as many asses in the seats. Bottom line: A few of the fight cards for EliteXC: Renegade, even if you don't count Kimbo's MMA debut, could easily outshine UFC 78: Validation's main event. We'll see if I have to eat my words but between Diaz/Noons, Shields/Pyle, & Kimbo vs that poor, brave man...? It wouldn't surprise me if "Renegade" shoxc the competition.

---m

TUF 6 Review: Serra's Streak Continues

So last night on The Ultimate Fighter, it was Jared 'J-Roc' Rollins versus George Samalamadingdong, or whatever his last name is. Going into the fight, we saw Matt Hughes clearly overtraining all of his guys, including J-Roc, as punishment for the 5 fight losing streak they've been on. As Matt Serra pointed out, that is a purely egotistical move, as the training only served to frustrate and tire Team Hughes, and also injure J-Roc's ribs before his fight.

Conversely, Matt Serra and his team of trainers worked closely with George, and gave him a chance to learn what he needed to learn in order to be successful in the fight. And what happened? George countered most of J-Roc's punches, and ended up getting the KO.

I see several reasons why J-Roc lost, and I would say that the number one reason he lost is that he is not a real fighter. If you look at him, it is painfully obvious that he likes the image of being a fighter, and being tough, but as far as skills go, he just doesn't have any. I'll give him credit for grappling and maybe even BJJ, but his standup is simply atrocious, as we saw on the show, he was getting picked apart by jabs and didn't know what to do. It seems to me that despite his impressive 9-3 record, he is really just some washed up jock who is looking for fame and adoration. No wonder Matt Hughes picked him.

George, on the other hand, is the smartest guy I have seen on the show, and he is currently my pick to win it all. Why, you ask? Because he knows why he's on the show, and he knows what he needs to do in order to win. He's not on the show to make friends with the other fighters or promote his vegan lifestyle, he's on the show to work his ass off and learn as much as he can so he can be the next Ultimate Fighter. The fact that Ben Saunders was pissing and moaning that he didn't wake everyone up at 10 was bullshit. Why should it be on George to wake everyone up? I think Saunders wanted George to pat his back and wipe his ass for him while he was at it. George is there to train and to win, not to be Ben Saunders' fucking nanny.

Anyways, the fight was really good, in that George showed patience, and was able to counter punch effectively. He got caught with a brutal leg kick, but it really didn't seem to phase him. J-Roc, however, pulled a couple punches and kicks, and really was not the same guy who tried to mad dog George at the weigh ins. He looked scared, and was way too tentative. George's patience flushed J-Roc out, which was exactly what George wanted. J-Roc really should have tried to use that leg kick, since he didn't know what to do with all of George's jabs. If he was smart, he would have thrown that leg kick each time he got caught with a jab to even out the score in the judge's eyes. But instead, he got caught up and then knocked out. His tantrum in the dressing room and then outside only proves that he is not a real fighter. He's just some guy who wants to be famous and have everyone like him.

It seems there's a lot of guys like that on TUF this season. And one of them is a coach.

-o