Off The Mat

UFC 91 Review

stevenlovett — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:41:18 +0000

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Randy Couture never saw the punch that left him defenseless underneath a 275-pound grizzly bear of a man.

Short-circuited by a right hand behind the ear, the 45-year-old Couture relinquished his heavyweight crown in a technical knockout loss to former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Brock Lesnar in the UFC 91 main event on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The blow sent the hall-of-famer to the canvas, where Lesnar finished him with a series of hammerfists.

“Honestly, I didn’t see it. I didn’t feel it,” Couture said. “Next thing I know I was on the ground eating leather. My corner told me it looked like it caught me behind the ear. I slipped the punch, but again, he had such a long reach that I didn’t slip it quite enough, and the punch caught me right behind the ear.”

Couture (16-9) — who has either defended or fought for a championship in 13 of his past 14 bouts — did not appear overly disappointed by his efforts against a man who outweighed him by some 50 pounds.

Photo by Sherdog.com

Randy Couture was all
smiles after Saturday’s loss.

“I was doing a lot of things I trained to do,” he said. “That’s the fight game with four-ounce gloves.”

Fighting for the first time in 15 months, Couture appeared to lose a competitive first round to the 31-year-old Lesnar. He cut the 6-foot-3, 265-pound behemoth above his right eye, but the match ended before Couture had an opportunity to capitalize. Lesnar indicated the cut provided the motivation he needed to pick up the pace.

“Right away, it made me a little nervous, but then it pissed me off,” Lesnar said. “I wanted to get first blood on Randy. Anytime you fight, you want to get first blood. Something in my head just went, ‘Alright, we’ve got to pick this up,’ and that’s what I did.”

Lesnar (3-1), just four fights into his professional mixed martial arts career, admitted to some pre-fight apprehension as he prepared to enter a cage against one of the sport’s most accomplished and beloved competitors.

“Honest to God, up till when they said, ‘Let’s go,’ I was pretty nervous,” he said. “I didn’t know really what to expect. We watched a lot of film on Randy, and we broke it down. After getting into a few exchanges with him, I felt like I was connecting with him. And he connected with me, but, quite frankly, I just felt like I was hitting harder and I was going to connect before he did.”

Couture declined to concede that the proverbial torch had been passed in the heavyweight division. With an infusion of new talent that includes Lesnar, unbeaten Shane Carwin and the American Kickboxing Academy’s Cain Velasquez, among others, he sees a bright future ahead for a weight class many view as the UFC’s weakest.

“There are a lot of great guys in the division now,” Couture said. “I don’t think we’ve had this kind of depth in a number of years. I think it’s getting stronger and stronger. Brock is a great indication of where the heavyweight division is going. We’re getting these guys that aren’t just big guys; they’re very, very good athletes.”

The former champion sees no shortage of potential challengers for Lesnar, whose next bout will come against the winner of the UFC 92 bout between Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Mir submitted Lesnar with a first-round kneebar in February.

“Obviously, [Lesnar’s] walking around with the title right now, but, more importantly, he’s on the right path to adding all the skills to be a complete mixed martial artist, and I know what that’s like,” Couture said. “It’s fun, but you’ve got to step out there in that cage and prove it every time, too. Sometimes carrying that belt around makes you a target.”

Photo by Sherdog.com

Is Demian Maia ready
for Anderson Silva?

Two-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Demian Maia pronounced himself fit for a shot at middleweight champion Anderson Silva following his efficient first-round submission victory against former title challenger Nate Quarry at UFC 91.

“Yeah, I feel ready,” Maia said. “Since I started in the UFC, I’ve felt ready. Of course, some people say you should say, ‘I want to kill you, I want to submit him, break his arm.’ Of course, I don’t want to say that, but between us, I want to do that.”

Perhaps the premiere submission grappler in MMA, Maia (9-0) became the first man to submit Quarry (10-3) when he cinched a rear-naked choke 2:13 into round one. Once the action hit the ground, it was only a matter of time before Maia’s hand was raised.

“I put him in a good position for me,” Maia said. “I come from jiu-jitsu. If I take the guy down, it’s much easier for me.”

Maia has delivered all four of his UFC victories by submission, as he has rattled off wins against Quarry, Jason MacDonald, Ed Herman and Ryan Jensen since his October 2007 promotional debut. Considering the dearth of legitimate contenders for Silva, the 31-year-old Brazilian appears to be closing in on a title fight.

Foursome Awarded Post-Fight Bonuses

Rising welterweight contender Dustin Hazelett has quite an enterprise going.

The bearded 22-year-old was awarded a $60,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus after he coaxed a tapout from Tamdan McCrory with a first-round armbar at UFC 91. A walking highlight reel of submissions, Hazelett (12-4) has banked $100,000 in bonus money alone over his last two bouts. He pocketed $20,000 “Submission of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” bonuses in wake of his victory against Josh Burkman at “The Ultimate Fighter 7” Finale in June.

Hazelett was not the only fighter to walk away from UFC 91 with a larger-than-anticipated payday.

Aaron Riley and Jorge Gurgel banked matching $60,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses following their hotly contested three-round scrap, and Jeremy Stephens pocketed a $60,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus after he floored Rafael dos Anjos with a wicked third-round uppercut.

This & That

Only one match at UFC 91 — the lightweight bout between Gurgel and Riley — went to the judges. That was the lowest total for a numbered UFC show since UFC 66 in December 2006. That event, which featured the Chuck Liddell-Tito Ortiz rematch, also saw only one fight go the distance. In fact, only eight of the last 50 numbered UFC shows — 91, 66, 60, 55, 53, 50, 49 and 47 — have produced fewer than two decisions … UFC 91 drew 14,272 fans to the MGM Grand Garden Arena, resulting in a $4.8 million gate … Heavyweight newcomer Josh Hendricks’ loss to Gabriel Gonzaga was his first since Feb. 25, 2005, a span of 1,359 days. However, in that time, the combined record of his opponents was 39-54 … Matt Brown, a cast member on season seven of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, has delivered his last three submission wins by armbar. Ryan Thomas became his latest victim when he surrendered to a second-round armbar at UFC 91 … UFC rookies went 0-2 at UFC 91, bringing their 2008 record to 13-17.

Credit: Sherdog.com

Photos Of TNA’s New Set Which Will Debut This Week on Impact

stevenlovett — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:18:44 +0000

The following photos are of TNA’s new set which the company will debut on this week’s edition of Impact being taped tonight at Universal Studios. These photos are courtesy of Ashley Colton and PWInsider.com:

source: pwinsider.com

UFC 90 Review

stevenlovett — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 21:26:10 +0000

UFC 90: Silva vs Cote came to us all live on October 25, 2008, from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. As usual, there were several big fights on the card, including the main event between Anderson “The Spider” Silva and Patrick “The Predator” Cote. Fact is, most weren’t giving Cote a shot in hell of winning this one. Were they correct to do that with a man as tough and durable as Cote?Perhaps the fight that people were even more stoked about coming in took place because of a Diego Sanchez injury. We’re talking about Thiago Alves, fresh off of a huge victory over Matt Hughes, against Josh Koscheck. Can you imagine two better athletes in the Octagon? Neither can I. Time to get started now, folks.

Before taking on Tyson Griffin, former UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk said, “this fight’s got no choice but to be explosive.” Two great wrestlers with great cardio and mental toughness— Can’t beat that, now can you? On top of it all, we’re talking about the first televised fight of the night here.

Sherk came in and pressed Griffin up against the cage, taking him down almost right off the bat. From there, Sherk took Griffin’s back and sunk his hooks in. Griffin then stood up and walked with him on his back, eventually throwing him off.

On their feet, both fighters exchanged blows. Then they clinched against the wall, where Griffin landed some strong knees before he was taken down again. Then Griffin got up and landed some shots on Sherk while he held a leg and looked to take his adversary down. Upon separation, Griffin connected with a nice right, then later a leg kick. The two traded some hard kicks and punches, with Sherk getting the best of things. Still, it was close. Moments later, Griffin tried to take Sherk down but The Muscle Shark sprawled easily, and then took his opponent’s back before sliding off.

Both fighters landed some hard shots from there, but two left hooks by Sherk seemed to leave Griffin dizzy. Then the bell.

What an awesome round!

Early in the second stanza, Sherk took Griffin down for a moment. Griffin got up quickly but ate some strikes for his efforts. Then they went to the middle of the ring, where Griffin began sticking and moving well. Then Sherk began to connect with some hard shots in bunches, especially that left hook of his. Then Griffin started connecting again with some nice left jabs and leg kicks. Sherk answered with some hard punches of his own. From there, Griffin sherked a Sherk takedown (no pun intended) and for the rest of the round it was pretty even and exciting with hard strikes being thrown by both fighters.

Give Sherk the first round and Griffin the second. The final round should decide things.

Griffin came out smoking, landing two huge right hands. From there, though, Sherk began connecting with multiple leg kicks. Later in the stanza, Sherk hit home with a nice combination. Though the two traded strikes for the majority of the rest of the stanza in dramatic fashion, Sherk seemed to connect with far more shots.

This was a great fight! The last round was just as awesome as the other two. I believe that Sherk should’ve tried for a takedown in the third. Perhaps he was tired. Regardless, I’m really not sure who won the final round.

In the end, Sean Sherk was handed a unanimous decision. The 30-27 score one judge gave it was a little bit ridiculous. Afterwards, the crowd booed while Sherk was talking. Let me tell you, no one that fought in this fight deserved to hear boos for even a moment.

Next up was a fight between Fabricio Werdum and Junior Dos Santos. “I’m very happy to be in the UFC,” said Dos Santos before this bout. Of course, the question was—Would he be happy after taking on a guy as talented as Werdum?

Early on, Werdum landed some nice low kicks. But then he threw an overhand right that missed, leaving his head coming down and exposed. In that moment, Dos Santos caught him with a huge uppercut.

End of story.

Junior Dos Santos wins via knockout at 1:20 of round one. Talk about making a statement in your first UFC fight.

“Going up against Rich, I’m the underdog,” said Gray Maynard before taking on Rich Clementi in the next fight of the night. That said, Maynard was undefeated coming in with a stellar wrestling background. Then there was the fact that he’s a huge lightweight.

But Clementi was hot as a pistol, having won his last six, making this a fight to watch.

The first round started off slow with both fighters measuring one another up. Then Clementi connected with two nice kicks. Then back to some inactivity, with each competitor throwing stuff at one another but missing.

Maynard shot in but Clementi defended well. From there, Maynard connected with a few punches over time after the separation.

Later, Clementi threw a kick and got taken down for his troubles. For a period of time after, Maynard punched Clementi in the ribs while in his half guard. Then both fighters struck at one another when Clementi improved his position on his back.

Gray Maynard won the first round.

Maynard came out aggressively on his feet in the second, connecting with some punches. Then Clementi landed some kicks before Maynard shot in. Clementi defended the takedown and connected with a knee. But Maynard shot in later and took him down hard. However, Clementi flipped Maynard over and got to his feet. For a moment it looked like Maynard had a shot at a standing guillotine, but then he let it go and took Clementi down again. Clementi worked hard to improve his position but instead ended up with Maynard in his half guard, taking some sporadic shots to the body. Lots of jostling, but the end result before the bell was that Maynard took the second round.

Rich Clementi probably needs a stoppage in the third to come out with a victory.

The final round started off with Maynard taking Clementi down hard with another slam. After a lot of movement, Maynard achieved side control before his adversary got back to half guard. Eventually, Clementi got up and was deposited on his back again. Finally, Clementi turned his opponent over and got to his feet, but Maynard once again took him down. While on the ground, there wasn’t a whole lot in terms of ground and pound, leaving some of the crowd booing again.

At the bell, this was obviously Maynard’s fight based on ground control. Lots of booing. Both guys tried to the bell, though. There just wasn’t a lot that Clementi could do to gain control of the fight.

Gray Maynard wins via unanimous decision.

“I stepped up on two weeks notice to fight this fight. I have nothing to lose. I’m going to let it all hang out,” said Josh Koscheck before taking on Thiago Alves in a huge fight. Alves was coming off dominant wins over Karo Parisyan and Matt Hughes. Josh Koscheck had pretty much looked great against everyone except UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre since TUF 1 (and a brief moment on his feet against Drew Fickett). Would Alves, a man with a great striking background, be able to catch the better wrestler with a big strike like Fickett did?

This fight started off with Alves connecting with a big left that dropped Koscheck. Though the former TUF 1 contestant seemed to recover quickly after getting hit with a few more strikes on the ground, Alves defended two different takedown attempts.

Alves is looking good.

Later, Alves connected with a nice kick after Koscheck hit home with some punches. Then Koscheck connected with a nice punch. Later, he landed a big right and then some strikes to the body that sent Alves backwards. Then Alves landed a nice leg kick. Then another nice leg kick by Alves.

But those were answered by several punches in succession by Koscheck and then a takedown attempt. However, Alves once again defended well and then blocked a big time head kick for his efforts. Koscheck also took a couple of tough leg kicks afterwards. This round went to Alves because of the knockdown. That said, for the rest of the round it was a close battle.

“What did he hit me with?” Koscheck asked his trainers between rounds.

Koscheck connected with several hard punches to start the second, though he did eat a leg kick or two for his troubles afterwards. Then Koscheck followed with a few punches and a nice head kick attempt that hit home a little bit. Koscheck then connected with a knee and pressed Alves up against the cage. But Alves turned things around and came to the center of the ring, connecting with a nice leg kick again.

A couple of jabs were traded, then kicks to the body. Alves then started to come forward with kicks and punches, really beginning to punish Koscheck’s legs. But then Koscheck landed a big body punch and followed things up later by pressing Alves against the cage looking for a takedown. Couldn’t get the takedown, and that’s how the round ended.

This round could’ve gone to either fighter. The third one is big for Koscheck.

The third started off with Alves hurting Koscheck with a knee and leg kicks, followed by punches. Koscheck recovered very quickly. For the rest of the round, Alves controlled things on his feet, and even connected with a devastating leg kick or two on his opponent. When it was all said and done, the third round clearly went to Thiago Alves.

Give Koscheck credit for toughing this one out. But the bottom lines is that Thiago Alves is for real. And with the kind of takedown defense he showed in this bout, he’s a tough fight for anyone.

Even Georges St. Pierre.

Thiago Alves wins via unanimous decision. By the way, he looked huge compared to Koscheck.

“I hope Patrick Cote is coming well prepared. . . If he makes a mistake, I’m going to end this fight early,” said Anderson Silva before taking on Patrick Cote in the main event of the evening.

Thing started off slow in this one, with Silva measuring Cote, who threw some sporadic leg kicks along the way. Further, Silva threw very little in the first stanza. That said, Silva connected with a very hard knee and kick during the round, and what he did throw connected much more nicely than Cote’s efforts.

Give Silva the edge in a somewhat uneventful round.

Starting things off in the second, Silva connected with a big left hand and followed things up with a kick. Cote then landed a spinning backfist. Silva pressed him up against the cage for a moment. A couple of nice strikes were landed by Silva before he turned a Cote takedown attempt around on him and ended up on top on the ground. From there, Cote landed a solid elbow from the bottom. Eventually, Silva let Cote up. For the rest of the stanza, there was very little action until the tail end when the two clinched and Silva connected with some knees inside.

Right now Silva is winning the fight by two rounds. It isn’t the most exciting fight.

Then the third stanza started. Early in the round, Cote looked to kick his opponent. But somehow, his base leg seemed to pop out, leaving him in pain on the canvas. The referee had no choice but to stop the fight. Again, boos after the fight.

Anderson Silva wins via TKO in the third round.

In the end, UFC 90 was an overall fun night of fights before the main event ended strangely. Thiago Alves proved to the world that his takedown defense and striking is absolutely top notch. Gray Maynard proved that he’s ready to fight the best in the lightweight division. And the Sean Sherk- Tyson Griffin fight was one of the better ones of the year.

Credit: mmafighting.com

Commission on Slice-Petruzelli: No Wrongdoing

stevenlovett — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 21:16:13 +0000

The Florida State Boxing Commission’s preliminary investigation into the Oct. 4 EliteXC matchup between Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and Seth Petruzelli found no wrongdoing, according to Alexis Antonacci, a Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation representative.

In an e-mail to Sherdog.com, Antonacci said that due to the findings in the preliminary investigation, there was “no need to move forward with a full investigation. The case has been closed.”

The investigation began four days after Petruzelli told the Monsters in the Morning radio program on 104.1 FM in Orlando, Fla., that EliteXC officials had paid him to keep his last-minute bout with Slice, a novice ground student, on the feet.

The state agency’s findings come three days after Pro Elite, parent company to EliteXC, closed its doors after a life-saving deal for its purchase by Showtime fell through. Pro Elite’s August SEC filing reported that the company was more than $55 million in debt.

FSBC Executive Director Thomas Molloy interviewed Petruzelli, EliteXC Head of Fight Operations Jeremy Lappen and inquired with both the Nevada and California State Athletic Commissions regarding the promotion’s past conduct in their jurisdictions.

Molloy also contacted David “Tank” Abbott, who lost to Ferguson at a Miami EliteXC event in February 2008. Molloy asked if Abbott had been asked to fight in a particular manner, to which the former UFC superstar answered, “No, nothing was said.”

Though Pro Elite officials denied any misconduct on Oct. 4, at least one employee has stepped forward to voice his doubts following the company’s demise.

“I have no proof, [but] I’d be amazed if [Petruzelli] wasn’t paid to stand up,” Pro Elite executive consultant T. Jay Thompson told Sherdog.com Tuesday.

Thompson also said two EliteXC employees expressed their confidence to him cageside of an arrangement that had been made with Petruzelli before the fight. Thompson said he alerted Pro Elite CEO Chuck Champion the next day.

“I sent Chuck Champion an e-mail basically telling him my concerns the day after, and after talking to him, he made it clear to me that isn’t what happened and I had to go with his word,” Thompson said.

Thompson was not listed as one of the sources interviewed by the commission during the investigation.

Credit: Sherdog.com

Changing the face of wrestling forever? 10.23.08

stevenlovett — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:14:51 +0000

Tonight, Mick Foley will change the face of wrestling forever.

Wait, didn’t he just do that when he made his first appearance with TNA?

Sigh.

How many times have we heard that from TNA, WWE, WCW, et all? I’m all for the hype, but seriously. Do we need yet another earth-shattering announcement that will cause the world to spin off its axis and hurtle uncontrollably at the sun?

Wrestling’s face has changed more than Joan Rivers and Cher’s mugs combined.

Just Googling “change the face of wrestling forever” will show you that Wrestlemania changed the face of wrestling forever (that may be true). TNA Victory Road ’04 was an “epic event that will forever change the face of professional wrestling.” The Legends of Wrestling video game “changed the face or wrestling video games forever.” Back in March of 2007, Pride Fighting out of Japan announced a press conference to make an announcement that would change the face of wrestling forever. Fred Kreuger, Violent Jack and El Jefe changed the face of the Vegas Wrestling Federation wrestling forever. Even frivolous lawsuits from disgruntled “used-to-be” wrestlers is supposed to change the face of wrestling forever.

Wasn’t WCW’s New Blood vs. the Millionaire’s Club “New Era” angle supposed to change the face of wrestling forever? Well, it didn’t. Just gave it a nasty case of acne and a few boils.

For the love of God and Shawn Michaels, can we please STOP CHANGING THE FACE OF WRESTLING FOREVER!

There is simply no way to live up to that pronouncement. And even if you come close, it will not sustain and wrestling’s alleged “new face” will bubble like Darkman’s visage after 99 minutes. It will go back to what it was. The face of wrestling…whatever that is.

If Mick Foley pulls off the skin on his face that reveals that he is an alien, he will change the face of wrestling forever. If Vince McMahon came out and announced, “You know, I am completely full of shit,” that would change the face of wrestling forever. If the champions from all federations met in the ring and began to furiously masturbate, THAT would change the face of wrestling forever. Well, at the very least, it would require a change in the mat that covers the ring.

If not a permanent ban, may I suggest a ten-year moratorium on announcements that change the face of wrestling forever? You simply cannot live up to them. No way. No how. I would appreciate it if a wrestling promotion announced the following:

“Tonight, on (name the show), we will make an announcement that probably will be real cool, but won’t change the face of wrestling forever. So, don’t get your hopes up. You know, in thinking about it, maybe it’s not such a good idea after all. Forget I said anything. Oh, why do I do this to myself? Get everyone’s hopes up, only to dash them. It’s just like me to do things like this. I do it all the time. No wonder I lost all my friends on my MySpace. Crap. I’m such a loser. I hate my father. WHY ARE ALL YOU PEOPLE STARING AT ME?”

Credit: Steve Anderson

Huge Main Event Signed For Live TNA iMPACT! on 10.23.08

stevenlovett — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 06:30:55 +0000

Check out the iMPACT preview AND the new “Cross The Line” music video below, the read more below on Thursday’s huge HD broadcast from Las Vegas!

PREVIEW FOR THURSDAY’S HUGE LIVE iMPACT FROM LAS VEGAS AS TNA GOES HD ON SPIKE TV

On Thursday night, it will be one of the biggest nights in TNA “iMPACT!” history as we will be live from Las Vegas with the first HD broadcast on SpikeTV!

The event will take place at “The Joint” at the Hard Rock Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. Tickets are on sale now at the Hard Rock Hotel box office, all Ticketmaster locations, and www.ticketmaster.com.

The below is the official preview for the huge broadcast (card and talent are subject to change):

- The big main event for the broadcast will feature TNA World Heavyweight Champion Sting teaming up with Kevin Nash to face Samoa Joe and “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles! With the war for respect in TNA heating up, you don’t want to miss this collision between the top stars of Total Nonstop Action on TNA’s biggest night on Spike!

- What is the big announcement that Mick Foley and Jeff Jarrett will make on Thursday night? Foley made his farewell speech this past Thursday, but Jeff Jarrett apparently talked him out of leaving! What did they discuss in private? What is their big plan? Does it have anything to do with Kurt Angle? The wrestling world wants to know – and we’ll find out on Thursday’s live broadcast from Las Vegas!

- Booker T has promised to finally reveal the contents of the mysterious briefcase to the world on the live broadcast! What’s inside, and why has he been keeping it a secret? Tune in Thursday night to see the reveal live on SpikeTV!

- In an X Division Championship match, it will be Sheik Abdul Bashir defending the gold against number-one contender “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal

- The Knockout Women’s Championship will be on the line as Taylor Wilde faces her nemesis Awesome Kong

- Christy Hemme made the challenge to The Beautiful People to fight her on the live iMPACT! Which one of the Beautiful People will step into the ring against the vixen of The Rock N’ Rave Infection? Tune in and find out!

- It will be TNA World Tag Team Champions Beer Money vs. Team 3D vs. Matt Morgan & Abyss vs. LAX in a “Hard Rock Hardcore Tag Team Text-off Gauntlet”

Fans decide the order that the eight TNA wrestlers will enter the ring for the “Hard Rock Hardcore Text Off Gauntlet”. From now until Thursday October 23rd at 9pmET fans can pick the order of the wrestlers that will under the Gauntlet. The order will be determined with the wrestler with the fewest votes entering first, with the wrestler with the most text votes being the last to enter the ring. Fans can cast their vote by texting the keyword (listed below for each wrestler) to the number 81676. Vote now and vote often. Standard Text Messaging rates apply.

Text Keyword to 81676

Wrestler            Keyword
Hernandez         HERNANDEZ
Homicide           HOMICIDE
James Storm     STORM
Robert Roode    ROODE
Brother Devon    DEVON
Brother Ray       RAY
Matt Morgan      MORGAN
Abyss               ABYSS

All this and much more on the live HD iMPACT broadcast from Las Vegas, starting at 9pm ET on SpikeTV – plus news on the huge November 9 “Turning Point” Pay-Per-View event!

Credit: TNAwrestling.com

Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling Recap 10.18.08

stevenlovett — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 04:55:41 +0000

The Hulkster and friends are here with 10 celebrities hoping to become the first CCW Champion!

Hi, hello and welcome to 411′s recap of Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling! I’m Steve Cook, and you may be wondering why 411 Wrestling is covering this show. Well, there are two simple reasons:

1. Hogan = Hits
2. There’s wrestling! Maybe it’s not great wrestling, but it’s wrestling nonetheless.

As for why I’ve chosen to recap it…well, I took a look at the cast and this thing just has potential for all sorts of craziness! Let’s look at the line-up…

Danny Bonaduce

Danny’s most remembered for his stint with The Partridge Family, but he’s also known for being abrasive and annoying. Woot!

Todd Bridges

Willis! Bridges also has experience in celebrity boxing and has appeared on The Surreal Life, Skating with Celebrities & Fear Factor.

Butterbean

Butterbean has experience in boxing and mixed martial arts, and appeared on a WrestleMania. He’s also really fat, and fat people are funny.

Trishelle Cannatella

Trishelle is most known for her time on The Real World: Las Vegas, where she was the stereotypical sex-crazed alcoholic hot chick. Since then she’s appeared on other reality shows and remained hot. I wish I could link you to some pictures I really liked, but I don’t think Our server would like that too much.

Dustin Diamond

Screech needs no introduction, does he? If this is anything like his stint on Celebrity Fit Club it will be tremendous. Also, he’s rocking the Triple H/Lemmy beard.

Erin Murphy

Erin was on Bewitched, which was quite before my time. Unfortunately she doesn’t seem as crazy as the other cast members, so I assume she’ll be complaining about them a lot.

Dennis Rodman

Speaking of crazy…Rodman does have some experience in pro wrestling, so he’d have to be considered one of the favorites here.

Frank Stallone

Sylvester’s brother, which is pretty much all you need to know.

Tiffany

ELIMINATED!

Remember when she used to sing? The website calls her a pop music icon, which may lead to a dispute with Hogan over who the real icon is.

Nikki Ziering

She was a Barker Beauty and has appeared in Playboy. These are good things because she’s hot.

And of course there’s all the actual wrestling people. You’ve got Brian Knobs & Brutus Beefcake as coaches, which kinda strikes me as learning how to play football from the Cincinnati Bengals. Eric Bischoff & Jimmy Hart are judges, and if the picture on the site is any indication, Bisch is rocking the grey hair. That should be fun. So without further adieu…

Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling Episode 101: Down to the Basics

Episode Description: “Our 10 celebrities meet for the first time in the CCW training facility and are divided in two teams, coached by Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake and “Nasty Boy” Brian Knobs. Hulk Hogan explains the rules of the competition and gives them their first three wrestling skills to learn. With only a few days of training, they compete in their first main event, and one of the celebs is sent home.”

We start off with a video package explaining how in the world of pro wrestling, one man is king. I’ll give you three guesses who, and it isn’t Jerry Lawler. The celebrities will be guided by two legendary coaches. The routines are rehearsed, but the pain is real! In the end only one will survive, and they’ll get a belt. That beats the heck out of a recording contract, doesn’t it?

The celebrities walk out to the ring one by one…Dennis says he’s known for being a bad boy. Trishelle thinks she will kick ass. Dustin will bring it. Danny’s willing to do things they can’t show on television. Nikki’s never watched wrestling, but she’s tougher than she looks. Butterbean has 93 wins. Tiffany thinks it will be a challenge. Erin’s good with the unexpected. Todd has a bad side. Frank is old, but fast.

We meet the judges, Eric Bischoff & Jimmy Hart! Eric welcomes the celebrities and introduces our coaches, Brutus Beefcake & Brian Knobs. Legends in the business, by the way. He then introduces the man who made the industry, Hulk Hogan. Hulk says he expects big things out of all the celebrities. Wrestling is an art form, but it requires personality. He says that they all have personality, but they need the skills. Hulk asks Dustin if he can call him Screech, and Dustin says Hulk can call him whatever he wants. Dustin says in a cut-away that he’s been a Hogan fan forever. Hogan says Trishelle looks like she’s nervous, but she says she’s honored. Hulk tells them that they’ll be put into teams, they will learn three moves each week, and use them to put together a match with their teammates. Each team will be judged on technical ability and showmanship, and the winning team will be safe from elimination. The losing team will lose a member. The last competitor remaining will get a title belt and be the CCW Champion. Danny says he broke one of the Ten Commandments by coveting the belt. We go to commercial…

We’re back and Brutus & Brian are picking teams. Erin’s known Danny since he was a kid, so she’s glad he’s not on her team. Ouch. Dennis is impressed with his team, Team Nasty. Eric explains the rules to them again, and tomorrow night they will perform in front of a crowd. The three moves this week are the kick to the mid-section, a forearm smash, and a clothesline. The celebs look nervous as Knobs & Beefcake demonstrate the moves for them. We go to commercial…

We’re back, and Team Beefcake & Team Nasty are training. Knobs is unimpressed with Dustin’s forearm smashes, saying he’s pulling up like a woman. Dustin does better on the second try. Nikki seems to be having a tough time picking things up, and Erin says that Nikki is easily distracted by outside stuff. They start doing the kicks, and Todd ends up accidentally kicking one of Beefcake’s helpers in the nuts. Whoops. We see Knobs explaining the art of the clothesline, and to be honest none of these guys looks quite like JBL. Erin hits her head pretty hard trying to take a bump, but she says she had six kids, so this doesn’t hurt. Knobs starts banging peoples’ heads into the turnbuckle. We then go to the night of the match, with each team in their locker room. Team Beefcake is confident, Butterbean says that the other team doesn’t have a base like him to work off of, and none of them have the balls that Danny has. Todd heard that Nikki was up at 3 in the morning to make sure her hair was just right. In the Team Nasty locker room, Dustin is nervous and tells the camera that he will pick up the slack of some of his teammates and be the ring general. Cocky Screech, you gotta love it! Nikki is more focused with the mirror than Knobs’ pep talk. We go to commercial…

We’re back, and it’s fight night! The ring announcer introduces Eric (to boos), Jimmy (to cheers), and Hulk (to many cheers). Hulk welcomes the fans to the show and thanks them for coming.

Match 1: Team Beefcake

Heels: Tiffany & Danny Bonaduce (w/Todd Bridges) vs. Faces: Trishelle Cannatella & Butterbean

Bubba the Love Sponge is your commentator and does make some interesting comments so I won’t hate on him too much. Anybody who makes a Brian Pillman reference is ok with me. Danny & Butterbean start us off, the Bean pushes Danny around some to the pleasure of the crowd. Danny offers to shake hands, but kicks Bean on the handshake! Forearm smash, and Danny tries a clothesline but it has no effect on the 400-pounder. Bean gives Danny a clothesline and walks over him. Trishelle tags in and does some gesturing before slapping Danny! Big kick by Trishelle, and she rams Danny’s head into the turnbuckle one time on each side of the ring. Danny takes control with a kick, and we hear the judges discuss how impressed they are with Danny as he works over Trishelle. Hulk says he should have been in the business from the start. Tiffany tags in, and her offense unfortunately isn’t nearly as impressive. Trishelle comes back and a double clothesline leads to both ladies tagging in the men. Bean just waylays him, but Danny seems to be going into everything way too fast. Bean misses a corner splash and Danny tries a cross-body, but Bean turns it into a front powerslam and gets the win!

Winners: Trishelle Cannatella & Butterbean

Trishelle hits Todd Bridges after the match, and I completely forgot he was out there. He leads Tiffany & Danny in a post-match beatdown, but it’s not really much of a beatdown and it doesn’t go anywhere.

After a commercial we get…

Match 2: Team Nasty

Heels: Frank Stallone & Dustin Diamond (w/Nikki Ziering) vs. Faces: Erin Murphy & Dennis Rodman

Dennis & Dustin start things off, and it’s Dustin missing an attack from behind that leads to lots of offense for Dennis. A big kick, a forearm smash and a clothesline by Dennis, whose physicality impresses the judges. Erin tags in, but Dustin still manages to get another forearm from Dennis. Erin’s offense isn’t all that impressive, and Dustin manages to take control. Tag to Frank, who does a little offense and Nikki even gets to do some choking on Erin. Dustin locks in a sleeper on Erin and wears her down some. Dustin misses a corner splash and Erin tags in Dennis, who proceeds to clean house. 2 clotheslines impress the judges, and Dennis goes up to the second rope and hits a flying clothesline that gets the three count!

Winners: Erin Murphy & Dennis Rodman

After a commercial break, Hulk says that he and the judges are proud of the celebrities and they were impressed. He declares that Team Nasty is safe from elimination tonight, as they had the better performance.

Now we find out who will be eliminated from Team Beefcake…Eric says Trishelle has a good look for the business but runs her down some before finally saying that she’s safe. Jimmy says that Danny caught fire when he was out there and he’s safe. Hulk tells Butterbean that the crowd loves him, but he can’t get away with the Hulk Hogan style in this day and age. He needs to move more and step his game up, but he’s safe tonight.

Your final two are Tiffany & Todd. Hulk says Tiffany’s showmanship was good, but she needs to step up and be more physical. He says Todd had no presence out there until the run-in at the end, but his performance there was good enough to keep him safe, as Tiffany will be going home. Hulk calls her a jabroni and tells her to get out of his ring. Ha!

Tiffany had fun anyway, it was a great experience. Your typical reality show losing interview

And that’s all for this week! Join me next week, when the celebrities learn how to fall off of high places!

You can watch Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling at 2 PM & 8 PM every Saturday (along with other replays all week long) on CMT…………………brother.

Credits:411mania.com,Cmt.com

UFC 89 Results Michael Bisping defeats Chris Leben

stevenlovett — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:20:11 +0000

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Michael Bisping fought a smart fight Saturday at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England, to win a unanimous decision over Chris Leben in the main event of UFC 89.

A very calm Leben chopped away early with leg kicks. Bisping, England’s favorite MMA son, tried a pair of takedowns that failed, but he found success later with his hands, which were quicker and more accurate than Leben’s. In one good exchange for Bisping, the Brit countered a leg kick with a straight right and a follow-up left.

Bisping continued to work angles and pick his shots in the second round. Leben kicked less, instead preferring to throw the big left hand he had used throughout his career. It didn’t land, and Leben, who had pursued his opponent for most of the period, was bloody but not hurt badly entering the last round.

Both men connected with kicks early in the third. Bisping looked fresher, and his footwork and superior boxing allowed him to outpoint Leben on the feet. Leben finished a takedown late, but Bisping stood before any damage was done. The fight closed with Leben leaving his hands down and taunting Bisping, who didn’t hesitate to throw a few more punches to his face.

All three scores went to Bisping: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.

Now 17-1, Bisping said the middleweight fight had unfolded according to his stick-and-move strategy. He declined to say he was ready for a title shot, noting he was probably one or two bouts away.

Leben, 18-5, acknowledged Bisping’s win and called the fight “fun.”

Keith Jardine vs. Brandon Vera

Keith Jardine surprised Brandon Vera with a takedown 10 seconds into their 205-pound match. The action was slow on the ground, and didn’t pick up until the end of the period, when both men were knocked off balance while striking on the feet. Jardine then closed out the round by hammering a kneeling Vera with several solid right hands.

After a close second round that Vera might have taken on the strength of his kicks and a sneaky stomp that buckled Jardine’s knee, the final stanza was also tough to call. At one point Vera scored with a straight left out of a southpaw stance. Jardine, however, punched well while working from behind Vera on the feet and also threw a late flurry that likely impressed the judges.

The final tally was a split decision for Jardine: 29-28 twice and 28-29.

Cameroon’s Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou attacked for most of the first round of his light heavyweight bout against Brazilian Luis Arthur Cane. He kicked hard to Cane’s body and then chased after him with power punches. Late in the round, though, Sokoudjou slowed and Cane put his own kick into his foe’s midsection.

Sokoudjou continued to throw the more explosive strikes in the second round, including jumping, smacking kicks. Cane kept moving forward, however, behind his jab and punch combinations that occasionally led into a knee strike. More knees followed as the round drew near its end, and Cane, patient throughout, eventually floored a tiring Sokoudjou with a left hand and kept punching on the ground until the fight was stopped at 4:15.

Taylor connects on Lytle.

At 170 pounds, Chris Lytle and Paul Taylor came out exactly as expected: swinging for each other’s head. Both men landed big shots in a blistering first minute. Lytle winged the harder strikes while Taylor threw the shorter, crisper counters, which seemed to connect more often as the pace slowed and the round progressed.

Another toe-to-toe trade opened the second round. Lytle landed two left hooks before getting a takedown, though he couldn’t keep his opponent pinned for long. Taylor stayed with short combinations during the period and also kicked well. Meanwhile Lytle tired quickly behind his big punches, though he did plant a powerful right hand into Taylor’s body.

Lytle had Taylor hurt early in the third. After landing to the head, Lytle backed the Brit against the fence and went to work on his ribs. Taylor stayed on his feet, however, and closed the fight with another solid combination that included a right uppercut and two left hooks.

In the end, Lytle won a unanimous decision: 29-28, 30-27, 29-28.

Taylor, fighting out of Walsall, England, dropped to 9-4-1. Lytle, 26-16-5, credited him for a tough fight and then asked for a matchup with Marcus Davis at the UFC’s January event in Ireland.

Davis chokes Kelly.

Davis had opened the main card against England’s Paul Kelly, peppering him with kicks and punches throughout the first round of their welterweight fight. The attack kept Kelly guessing, and at one point, Kelly, a ground-and-pound stylist, even gave up a takedown.

In the second round, Kelly started to exchange standing. Davis punched back and then angled away from him, but by offering a threat on the feet, Kelly was able to score a takedown. Davis got up, though, and Kelly tried to put him back down with a single-leg. That’s when Davis wrapped up a guillotine choke for the submission at 2:16.

Davis, who improved to 15-4, has now won 12 of his last 13 fights. The loss was the first for Kelly, who fell to 7-1.

Credit: Sherdog.com

UFC 89 Weigh-In Results

stevenlovett — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 02:38:07 +0000

Michael Bisping and Chris Leben were deemed fit for battle at the official weigh-in for UFC 89 on Friday at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England.

The two middleweights will collide in the main event Saturday, as the UFC makes its final 2008 visit to the UK.

A former light heavyweight, Bisping makes his third go at middleweight after a pair of successful bouts against former American Top Team fighter Charles McCarthy last April and Canadian standout Jason Day in June. The Clithoroe native weighed in at 185 pounds on the dot.

Leben, a former Team Quest disciple, weighed in a pound heavier. His two most recent wins came over Italian bruiser Alessio Sakara and Chicago slugger Terry Martin.

At light heavyweight, Cameroon’s Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou tipped the scale at 205 pounds. Brazilian opposition Luis Arthur Cane rang in at 206 pounds.

In another 205-pound offering, Keith Jardine will look to rebound from a swift KO loss suffered at the brutal hand of Wanderlei Silva last May when he takes on Brandon Vera, also on redemption’s path. Jardine weighed in at 205 pounds, and Vera continued to show off his svelter side at 203 pounds for his second run in a lighter weight class for the promotion.

Credit: Sherdog.com

Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling debuts 10/18/08 on CMT

stevenlovett — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 02:01:54 +0000

I personally do not think this show will last very long, let alone be able to compete with any of this big name wrestling federations like wwe or tna. I guess we will find out tommorow night when the show makes its debut. Now lets take a look at what we know about the brand so far.

Ten brave celebrities come together to learn, train and compete in competitive wrestling while being eliminated one by one each week based on judges’ selections and head-to-head matches with one another. World champion wrestler Hulk Hogan, former president of World Championship Wrestling Eric Bischoff and professional wrestling manager Jimmy Hart judge the celebrities on their performances throughout various challenges which include mastering complex wrestling moves, trash talk to intimidate the opponent and working a live audience. On the road to transforming them into wrestlers, the cast will be coached by former professional wrestlers Brutus “the Barber” Beefcake and Brian Knobbs.

The Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling cast includes:

- Danny Bonaduce – television and radio host, reality star and actor The Partridge Family- Todd Bridges – television personality, actor Different Strokes

- ButterBean – super-heavyweight boxer

- Trishelle Cannatella – television personality, reality star Real World: Las Vegas

- Dustin Diamond – television personality, actor Saved by the Bell

- Erin Murphy – television personality, actress Bewitched (Tabitha Stephens)

- Dennis Rodman – five-time NBA champion

- Frank Stallone – actor, singer, Sylvester Stallone’s brother

- Tiffany – chart-topping ’80s pop singer

- Nikki Ziering – actress, Playboy playmate

The celebrities will be faced with exhausting challenges and elimination matches that will lead up to the heart-pounding finale that will determine the winner. The contestants will be divided into two teams, then taught the same set of moves to create the most exciting wrestling match against one another in an attempt to win over the judges and a live audience. Hogan, 12-time world champion, will be just as tough on the cast as he was on his challengers in a match, and each week the celebrity who doesn’t bring their A-game will be thrown out of the ring. Ultimately only one will become the celebrity all-star wrestling champion.

Credit: CMT.com

Credit: Me

Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Champion Wrestling Debuts 10/18/2008