MMA Crunch

The WEC is definitely kicking it up another notch during its September 10th event which will take place in Orlando, Florida. The WEC recently filled out the car that will feature a Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown main event.

Jens Pulver returns to the cage, fresh off his recent beating which came courtesy of Faber. He’ll square off against Leonard Garcia who will be making his second WEC appearance. Rob McCullough will also enter the cage in a lightweight match-up against little known undefeated Donald Cerrone. Here’s a glimpse at the entire fight card.

Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown (WEC Featherweight Belt)
Paulo Filho vs. Chael Sonnen (WEC Middleweight Belt)
Leonard Garcia vs. Jens Pulver (Featherweight)
“Razor” Rob McCullough vs. Donald Cerrone (Lightweight)
Jake Rosholt vs. Danillo Villefort (Middleweight)
Johny Hendricks vs. Alex Serdyukov (Welterweight)
Steve Steinbeiss vs. Mark Munoz (Light heavyweight)

WEC Donald Cerrone, Jens Pulver, Mike Brown, Urijah Faber, WEC 36

Every so often, talk surfaces of a possible match-up bvetween the boxer and the mixed martial artist. Well, it’s about that time again. This time, the proposed match-up is between Miguel Torres and Manny Pacquiao. Furthermore, this proposed match-up even has a venue. David Mayeda of www.fightticker.com contends that such a fight should take place in the Phillipines.

Mayeda goes on to explain why trhe Phillipines would work and why the match would be a success. But the bottom line that continually resurfaces it that a boxer shouldn’t be able to last one round with a top mixed martial artist. And Torres is just that.

Instead of shipping Torres off to a third world country to fight, why not push for a Urijah Faber vs. Torres showdown right here in the good old United States? A match-up such as that would surely turn into an extravaganza as two of the best fighters in the lighter weight classes would get the chance to square off.

Nevertheless, the boxer vs. the mixed martial artist argument will always arise. Perhaps it needs to be done so that the mma fighter can silence any future ruminations from recurring.

WEC Miguel Torres, Urijah Faber

On Wednesday September 10th, Hollywood, Florida will be the newest battleground for the WEC. The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel will host WEC 36 which will also air live on Versus. Thus far, two feature bouts have been announced.

Urijah Faber will return to the cage to defend his Featherweight championship against Florida native Mike Brown. Brown will face a stiff test as Faber has dominated the division since winning the title in March of 2006.

WEC Middleweight champion Paulo Filho is also scheduled to defend his title against Chael Sonnen. Filho currently holds a 16-0 record and is one of the most feared and dominant fighters in the WEC.

In Faber and Filho, fight fans will get to see the very best that the WEC has to offer. More fights will be announced in the future, although for now, it is as if the September 10th event already has two main events. WEC.tv has all the details involving the September showdown.

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WEC’s golden boy Urijah Faber could be making his return to the cage this September. Whispers running through the rumor mill indicate that Faber could be close to agreeing to a possible Featherweight title defense against Mike Brown on September 10th. The fight would come sooner than expected after Faber received a six month medical suspension due to a hand injury he sustained during his last title defense against Jens Pulver.

However, the suspension was not mandatory. If Faber could get medical clearance, the suspension would be lifted and he would be free to fight at his discretion.

Brown may not be as formidable of an opponent as Pulver, although he brings more credibility than Faber’s previous opponents. Brown is currently 17-4 and riding a seven fight win streak. And during that win streak, only two of Brown’s bouts have gone the distance. Mmamania.com ponders the possibility of Faber vs. Brown showdown.

WEC Mike Brown, Urijah Faber, WEC 36

WEC’s golden boy Urijah Faber will be on the shelf a little longer as he recovers from a hand injury suffered from the skull of Jens Pulver. At WEC 34, Pulver’s head continued to do a number on Faber’s hand while the “Calfornia Kid” pulverized Pulver for five rounds. If that fight wasn’t exciting enough, the Miguel Torres vs. Yoshira Maeida bout that preceded it was equally as riveting.

Torres retained his Bantamweight title when the fight was stopped after the third round due to a severe cut over Maeida’s eye. Torres pulverized Maeida much like Faber did to Pulver in the main event. The one-two punch of Torres and Faber seemed to set the premise for a future battle that could turn out to be an all out war.

Some tinkering would have to be done with the weight classes as Faber currently fights one division higher as a featherweight. It might make the most sense for Torres to pack on a few pounds and bump up a class. Being the prize of the WEC, Faber is the man to beat. So it might be likely that Torres would have to be the one to make the jump.

Notwithstanding the difference it weight classes, a Faber-Torres bout would make sense for a lot of reasons. Both are two of the organizations most esteemed fighters and both were part of WEC’s previous fight card which may have been one of the best in the organization’s history. Capitalizing on that hype would be a bold marketing move as it would manufacture plenty of publicity as well as a lot of interest.

Another plus of this proposed match-up is that it would provide Faber with another excellent test. Up until the Pulver fight, Faber pretty much mowed down his competition. Although Pulver withstood five rounds of a severe beating, Faber still controlled the fight from beginning to end. Coming off that fight, an upgrade in competition would only increase Faber’s luster thtough the world of mixed martial arts.

It all comes down to the fact that Faber and Torres are two of the WEC’s very best fighters. Finding a way to pit those two against one another would be an opportunity for the WEC to put its best on display. After all, isn’t that what fight fans want to see? For those looking for a chance to watch a Faber-Torres showdown, it may not be long before their wish is granted.

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The world of mixed martial arts received a slap in the face this past week when The Wall Street Journal released a list of the world’s top ten athletes. From one to ten, athletes from various sports had representatives who combined to compile the list of thee world’s elite performers. The athletes were selected by a panel of judges was assembled to judge the athletes in six separate categories. Those categories consisted of six criteria: speed; vision and reflex; stamina and recovery; coordination and flexibility; power, strength and size; and success and competitiveness. In the end, the one sport that truly combines each one of those characteristics did not have one representative among the world’s top ten athletes. The Wall Street Journal simply ignored all mixed martial artists across the globe.

The list was as follows:
1.) Roman Sebrle, Decathlete
2.) LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
3.) Floyd Mayweather, Boxer
4.) LaDanian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers
5.) Roger Federer, Tennis
6.) Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
7.) Liu Xiang, 110 meter hurdler
8.) Jeremy Wariner, 400 Meter Sprinter
9.) Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, FC Barcelona
10.) Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees

After reading this list, anyone who follows the sport of mixed martial arts has to be left scratching their head. Not one lone representative from the UFC or WEC managed to crack the top ten. Perhaps the judges didn’t take into consideration the training that essentially takes up the entire life of an mma fighter. Initially, an argument for a single mixed martial artist would not have to be pointed out, but rather the community of mixed martial artists as a whole. For even those fighting on less prestigious stages still spend an endless amount of time peparing for a fight. Furthermore, that preparation is arguably the most grueling of any sport.

Boxing vs. MMA

Floyd Mayweather climbed all the way up to number three on the list. At the beginning of this year, there were rumblings about Mayweather venturing into the cage and testing the mma waters. Early rumors leaked about a possible match-up with WEC Featherweight champion Urijah Faber. Such a bout would be ludicrous to even ponder and would likely end in less than a minute.

There is no disputing Mayweather’s skill in the ring, but the sport of mixed martial arts is another animal altogether. Faber’s training regimen alone might be too tough for Mayweather to handle. Boxers are extremely well conditioned athletes, but they only have to worry about being attacked by their opponents’ hands. MMA fighters must prepare for attacks from every angle. Simply pondering such a spectacle is only one more insult bestowed on the sport of mixed martial arts.

In addition to the rigorous physical training mma fighters endure, they must be mentally tough as well. For in the sport of track and field, there is no one trying to fade a runner’s world to black with vicious elbows as they race towards the finish line. On the clay at Wimbledon, athletes are not trying to put their opponents to sleep with some kind of chokehold. And it would be futile to even ask Alex Rodriguez about mental toughness. A-Rod has made a reputation of not being able to deliver in the clutch. Yet, he rounds out the list of the world’s top ten athletes.

Not mainstream enough?

Perhaps the sport of mixed martial arts is not yet mainstream enough to validate having one of its athletes make such a list. Yet, decathletes and hurdlers aren’t exactly household names. And the sheer premise of jumping over some hurdles seems a lot less strenuous than being locked in a cage with a mixed martial artist. Moreover, pay-per view crowds do not flock to see javelin tosses.

Even the sport of hockey is tough to find on televisions nowadays. And no matter how rugged football players claim to be, they step on to the field protected by a multitude of padding. Lastly, what can really be said about a soccer player being named to the list? Instead of kicking a ball, maybe they should attempt to take just one muay thai kick to the leg.

Such a list cannot be given too much credence, yet it still insinuates that the sport of mixed martial arts is not worthy enough to be considered among the world’s top sports. In all actuality, mma fighters could probably fill out the entire list from one to ten. But then, what would become of world class athletes like Ronaldo de Assis Moreira? Moreira nudged ahead of A-Rod to snatch the number nine spot, yet more of the mass public could probably identify Randy Couture before Moreira.

As the world of mixed martial arts continues to grow, the mass public will have to dish out more respect for the sport. For what other sports combines strength, agility, stamina, skill and mental toughness to such a degree? A closer look at the sport should demand respect even if the audience isn’t too fascinated with the product. So while lists like this continue to insult the sport of mixed martial arts, fighters like Faber and Couture will continue to train longer and harder than most other athletes in the sporting world.

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During the time leading up to any fight, mixed martial artists always keep a watchful eye on what they put into their body. Their diet is critical and sometimes even vital to their success in the cage. Weight limits are also set as a prerequisite before any fight. At times, fighters even fail to make the appropriate weight. Yet, in the world of mixed martial arts, the fight must go on.

Matt Hughes recently felt the wrath of a heavier opponent when Thiago Alves pummeled him during UFC 85. The fight was dubbed a catchweight bout, nevertheless the fight went on even after Alves failed to make weight. And although Hughes loss the fight, he did what he had to win the battle of the scales. The longtime UFC journeyman has been maintaining his fighting weight for more than a decade with a strict regimented diet.

Hughes’ training blog reads, “I try and eat meals as if I was stranded on an island In other words, I want all the nutrients my body needs to survive to come from the food and nothing extra.”

Hughes’ diet consists of lots of fish and chicken and an occasional steak to provide the 170 pounder with protein. Hoards of vegetables also make their way into his six to seven daily meals. Most mma fighters follow a diet very consistent with Hughes. However, other fighters often take on a different approach.

The Faber Diet

WEC Featherweight champion Urijah Faber enjoys a diet that borders on vegetarianism. Raised by parents who were hippies, Faber was introduced to a homeopathic diet at a very early age. Growing up, he was taught to live and crave a healthy diet although his parents were not strict vegetarians. Now, Faber has adapted that diet which enables him to maintain a peak physical condition.

Although Faber eats a largely vegetarian diet, he does manage to mix in his share of chicken. With a target of 5,000 calories per day, Faber takes in a lot of soy and recently delved into the world of supplements to achieve that goal.

In a recent issue of Muscle and Fitness Magazine Faber was quoted saying, “Lately I’ve been having trouble keeping my weight up, so I’ve been getting extra calories with a shake supplement. I put soy milk, peanut butter and bananas in it.”

The diet seems to be working very well for Faber as he continues to cruise through the ranks of the WEC.

On to the Vegan

Over in the UFC, Max Danzig won’t eat anything tainted with meat. The vegan excludes all animal derived products from his diet, including honey and gelatin.

“I’m Mac Danzig and I’m a vegan”, Danzig said in a new advertisement for Peta2, the world’s largest youth animal rights organization for which Danzig is a spokesperson.

“Animals on factory farms and in slaughterhouses don’t have a fighting chance,” Danzig continued. “I don’t eat animals because I don’t want to contribute to their suffering, it’s that simple. Do yourself a favor, do the planet a favor, and help end animal abuse. Go veg.”

With a professional record of 19-4-1, the vegan diet is currently boding pretty well for Danzig. However, he has to work that much harder to supply his body with all the nutrients necessary to be a prolific mma fighter.

The Champ’s diet

UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture is an advocate of a high Alkaline diet and has even attributed past victories to that diet. An Alkaline diet is based on the consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables, roots and tubers, nuts, and legumes while avoiding grains, dairy, meat and excess salt. This is done in order to balance the acidity and alkalinity (the pH balance) of the body.

In an past interview with bodybuilding.com, Couture explained, “There was a huge difference when I changed my eating habits when I went on a high alkaline, more natural raw food diet. I notice that with the same workouts, the same circuit training routines, I get some muscle soreness, but I seem to recover faster and better.”

Couture has also come out with his own line of supplements called Couture Nutrition. He told bodybuilding.com how that venture came about.

“We have things that I always wanted to use or have used over the years to get me through training or help me recover from training. That is where the line came from. It just came out of seeing a need of what I needed as an athlete. Not based in bodybuilding or from any other perspective that many other nutrition companies are coming from. It is truly an athletic based line.”

For most athletes, diet is one of the most important elements of their game. Failure to maintain a proper diet will undoubtedly factor into their performance. And in the world of mixed martial arts, diet may play an even more crucial role. In a sport where every pound counts, it is wise to count every calorie, carb and gram before the time comes to step into the cage.

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This year’s Ultimate Fighter finale will take place Saturday night in Las Vegas, although there will be a slight twist to the final bout. One of the fighters who earned the right to step into the octagon on Saturday night had that right pulled out from underneath of him. Finalist Jesse Taylor was issued his walking papers by UFC president Dana White after his recent meltdown in Sin City.

White dismissed Taylor after he was caught on video tape kicking out a window of a limousine and subsequently terrorizing women inside a Las Vegas hotel. Furthermore, he boasted to security that he was a UFC fighter, as if that simple fact would excuse his behavior. The move didn’t sit well with White.

A New Ultimate Fighter

As a result, Amir Sadollah will replace Taylor and Take on CB Dollaway for the right to be crowned the Ultimate Fighter during its seventh season. The move showed a lot of grit as well as the execution of class on White’s behalf. In the eyes of many, mma fighters are simply revered as nothing more than bruisers and thugs. And, in some circles, even mindless barbarians.

Taylor’s behavior only gave credence to those theories. Yet, White’s decision to nix Taylor has attempted to contradict those theories. Regardless of what transpires inside the octagon, White sent a clear cut message to the mass public as well as the rest of the fighters in the UFC. That message was simply that such behavior will not be tolerated.

In the world of professional sports, so many athletes tarnish their name and the name of their sport because of their behavior outside of the sport. In the recent past, former NFL quarterback Michael Vick fell victim to off the field problems and as a result, he now resides in an 8×11 cell.

But Taylor also wasn’t the only one to fall victim to the perils of Sin City. Las Vegas seduced the NFL’s “Pacman” Jones more than a year ago and prohibited him from pursuing an immediate future in football. While these may just be isolated incidents, each one grabs major headlines and sticks out in the forefront of most people’s minds. Despite most of the positives generated by these sports, these incidents batter them with a black eye.

Going, going, gone

Nowadays, the name of a home run king cannot be uttered with out the word steroid following that name. In a lesser publicized move, the EliteXC banned women’s fighter Carina Damm for one year after she tested positive for steroids. The move took place this past April and nullified a scheduled women’s bout on the past EliteXC television event. Without many women grabbing headlines in the sport, it was a bold move for the EliteXC to take such a drastic measure.

The WEC also got into the act and issued a six month medical suspension to Urijah Faber because of an injury to his hand that was sustained during his last bout with Jens Pulver. Now how many organizations would prohibit a player/fighter from participating because of a medical injury?

It was pretty much a known fact that former Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Favre was on a steady diet of Demerol throughout his NFL career. Nonetheless, no NFL representative ever stepped in and even questioned the status of his health, nonetheless how many pills he was popping at halftime.

Although some may look on the sport of mixed martial arts as one of brutality, it is doing an excellent job of showing it is anything but that. White’s most recent move to ban Taylor is just the latest to show that the UFC wants to be recognized as an organization equipped with a conscious.

A lasting theory?

Now, would White had move such a move if Rampage Jackson had kicked out the window of a limousine? That question doesn’t have to be answered even though White gave the impression that such behavior will not be tolerated. And he evidenced the fact, showing that Taylor is not above the law.

A great deal of athletes in this day and age adhere to a mindset that would repute White’s actions. Lucrative contracts, millions of adoring fans and astronomical endorsement deals lead a lot of athletes to believe as though they can behave however they choose. That way of thinking may suffice in other organizations, but White has made a stand claiming that it will not be part of the UFC.

As the sport of mixed martial arts continues to grow, White is likely to get more opportunities to test his theory. For it is only a matter of time before someone decides to let the fame, fortune and perhaps even the luster of Las Vegas get the better of them. It will be then when the world will get to see if White can duplicate the same sentiment he expressed in his decision to dismiss Taylor.

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The WEC will have to find a new poster boy for its ever growing organization over the next six months. Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber, the WEC’s most recognized face, will be on the shelf with an injured hand. The California Kid could receive medical clearance before his six-month medical suspension is up, however it is a certainty that he won’t be stepping back into the cage in the immediate future.

The injury came during Faber’s victorious decision over Jens Pulver in which Faber pummeled him for five straight rounds. Usually more reliant on his wrestling skills, Faber continually used his quick hands to batter the body of Pulver. As a result, Pulver was also issued a six-month medical hiatus because of an orbital injury in his right eye compliments of Faber.

The epic battle between the two also couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. Approximately twenty four hours before Faber moved his record to 20-1, Kimbo Slice did his best to sully the name of MMA in front of a national television audience. A day after the EliteXC put on a show more comparable to the WWE, Bantamweight champion Miguel Torres (33-1) also helped the MMA cause. Torres also emerged victorious in a five round grudge match against Yoshiro Maeda. That twenty-five minute battle coupled with the Faber-Pulver clash not only helped both MMA and the WEC that night, but it could have a lasting effect.

Now it is up to other fighters to claim the spotlight inside the cage. On the heels of Faber’s latest victory, WEC just announced a trio of matches that will take place during its next Las Vegas extravaganza on August 3rd. During this triple championship affair, new fighters will have the opportunity to ride the wave of momentum that was created last weekend.

The fighter with perhaps the best chance of stepping to the same podium on which Faber now stands is welterweight champion Carlos Condit. Condit (22-4) has made quite a splash since signing with the WEC. He’ll headline the August 3rd event when he defends his welterweight championship against Japan’s Hiromitsu Miura. Miura will have his work cut out for him as Condit hasn’t much trouble mowing down opponents in the WEC. Furthermore, the WEC recently recognized Condit’s prominence and rewarded him with another four fight contract.

Condit may be one of the more underrated welterweights in MMA, nevertheless the WEC doesn’t seem him in such a light. In fact, the way he has been dominating recent opponents is very emblematic of the way Faber manhandled his competition. Although ‘The Natural Born Killer’ may not have the flair of ‘The California Kid’, he could very well find himself as one of the new poster boys fro the WEC.

Light heavyweight champion Brian Stann (6-0) also seems to be headed down a similar path. He’ll also be a part of the triple championship card when he squares off against Steve Cantwell (5-1). Stann has been laying people out ever since his arrival in the WEC, including Cantwell whom he disposed of in 41 seconds in March of 2007.

There’s nothing an audience loves more than a knockout, particularly when it involves bigger fighters. If Stann can continue a repeat his past performances, his popularity should also threaten to rise to the ranks of a Faber. But before he can truly attempt to reach that status, the WEC will have to supply Stann with more formidable opponents.

Rounding out the trio of matches already set for the August 3rd event will be a matchup between lightweight champion Jamie Varner (14-2-1) and Marcus Hicks (6-0). Coming off his toughest match in the WEC, lightweight champion Varner will be facing another rising star. This match figures to be a win-win situation for the WEC as both fighters are up and coming. Hicks holds a nine year age advantage over the 23 year old Varner, although Varner has the edge in experience. Both fighters are undefeated in WEC competition and another notch in the win column will unquestionably boost their status among the WEC elite.

More bouts for the August 3rd fight card, will be introduced in the future, but none figure to have the hype which the Faber-Pulver bout carried into last weekend. However, the hype generated by that Faber-Pulver bout should generate more widespread interest. It is now up to this new set of fighters to keep that interest level high. No one person can truly carry any organization, particularly in the world of sports. But what athletes can do is raise the bar and hope that their peers can also climb to that elevated status.

So while WEC’s next big event will not include its most recognizable face, it could have the makings of another historic event. But that is a something that will have to be decided inside the cage. Regardless of how much hype is pumped into an event, it all comes down to one man against another. The EliteXC learned that painful fact as it stumbled in its attempt to sensationalize the sport. But the WEC bailed MMA out of the proverbial gutter with a sensational effort one day later. On August 3rd, the organization will get another prime opportunity to solidify its status in the world of mixed martial arts. Faber-less as it may be, someone else in the WEC should be ready to create a new wave of momentum in sin city.

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