Weekly MMA News Review- 4/25/09
The week after a UFC event is always a big news week, and this past week was no exception to that. However, a lot of the most compelling MMA news items came from outside the UFC. Here’s the rundown of some of the biggest stories of the week, along with my thoughts.
–It looked early as if we had another title fight greasing scandal on our hands, as SI.com’s Josh Gross and many others observed Anderson Silva repeatedly rubbing his hands, then his body and arms as he entered the cage on Saturday night. However, the story was defused quickly, as Yves Lavigne apparently wiped down the fighter off camera before the bout, and even got Thales Leites’ corner to okay the situation before the fight started.
Although I’m not a fan of how the fight went down, I’m glad to see there won’t be another prolonged controversy made out of nothing here. Leites, bad performance or not, doesn’t seem like the type to look for excuses and stir up controversies, which is a good thing in this case.
–In one of the strangest (and in many ways, inspirational) stories in MMA history, congenital amputee Kyle Maynard will compete tonight in an amateur MMA fight. His opponent was revealed on Friday, and he is Bryan Fry, an amateur fighter with an 0-2 record. The fight will be streamed live on Maynard’s web site for $15.
I don’t know that it’s a good move for Maynard to be fighting, but it’s his choice and you can’t deny the heart of the young man. Whether someone with his physical condition should be allowed to fight in MMA is up for debate, but it does make you think about how many people don’t make the most of their own abilities and gifts. This story will be an interesting one.
–Former amateur wrestling standout and WWE wrestler Bobby Lashley has been busy lately. It appears that he’s as serious about MMA as he claims to be, as he’s got a May 15 fight with Mike Cook (7-3) lined up at MFC 21 in Canada, as well as another fight on June 27 in Mississippi against none other than Bob Sapp. He also found time to make a brief appearance at “TNA Lockdown” on pay-per-view, though he didn’t engage in any physicality.
It’s probably not a good idea for him to continue making pro wrestling appearances, in the case of fan perception. Even UFC Heavyweight Champion hasn’t been able to shake his pro wrestling background, and though Lashley didn’t have the type of notoriety that Lesnar did in the wrestling business, continuing to be a part of it will only make fans take him less seriously, fair or not. Still, it’s good to see him fighting actively and trying to get better.
–Jason “Mayhem” Miller, who you either know as the eccentric fighter who has fought in Hawaii, the UFC and everywhere else, or the host of “Bully Beatdown” (depending on how serious of an MMA fan you are), beat Hawaiian slugger Kala Hose in Honolulu. Next up is a rematch with Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. Mayhem and Jacare will be fighting for the vacant Dream Middleweight Title at Dream 9. The event will also feature the quarterfinals of the 139-pound grand prix.
Mayhem has always been a fan favorite, and the fight should be a good one, if Mayhem sticks to what he’s been saying recently. He has mentioned that he fought Jacare’s fight the last time, stubbornly thinking that he could submit him at his own game. This time around, he’s been working on his standup and says he will bring a better approach to the fight.
–In a never-ending effort to trim down their somewhat bloated roster, the UFC has released Josh Burkman and Jason Day.
This is unfortunate, but not unexpected, as Burkman has an unspectacular 5-5 record in the UFC after getting off to a strong start. Day has lost his last two fights, though the fighters who beat him (Michael Bisping and Kendall Grove) were not exactly slouches, and he did TKO Alan Belcher in the UFC. Both of these guys still have a great chance at having very good careers. Here’s hoping that they get back on track and we see them in the octagon again at some point, or even in a rival promotion such as Strikeforce, which is always looking to gobble up talented young fighters.
–For the first time in years, an MMA video game is being released. THQ’s UFC Undisputed 2009, set for a May release, had a demo released this week for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The demo features a tutorial of the deep control system and an exhibition mode where players could select Chuck Liddell or Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
As a bit of a gamer myself, I played this demo and enjoyed it more than I expected to. The ground game is a bit of a button-mashing exercise at times, but the game has a solid foundation and should improve upon it in the years to come. Most MMA fans seem to enjoy the game, and it should attract some new fans and even give some of the game’s lesser-known fighters a chance to become more popular with those who play it.
by Jon Hartley for Fightmania.com
Tags: Anderson Silva, Chuck Liddell, DREAM, Strikeforce, UFC
