The loss to Emelianenko was Sylvia’s second in a row, though he still was slated to fight again in the cash-hemorrhaging promotion at some point.  Of course, a quick opportunity to cash in against a former pro boxer went horribly as an out of shape Sylvia lasted only nine seconds while standing in front of Ray Mercer, who knocked out the former champion.

Now, Sylvia is on the outside looking in as the UFC has its best heavyweight roster ever and Strikeforce builds upon Emelianenko and a number of young stars and talented veterans.  Outside of those two organizations, it’s difficult for a fighter in Sylvia’s position to rebuild his career.

It’s difficult for any fighter to make a name for themselves outside of the few major promotions that the world has to offer, but it is doubly hard for heavyweights.  With a dire lack of talent available outside of the UFC and Strikeforce, even Dream wouldn’t have been able to offer Sylvia much in the way of heavyweight opponents (other than the possible exception of Josh Barnett).

Meanwhile, Sylvia needs a seriously impressive run to return to prominence, as neither Dana White nor Strikeforce’s Scott Coker is in a hurry to sign the fighter.  White in particular seems disgusted with Sylvia, as he was quickly beaten by a fighter he has not been able to sign (Emelianenk0) and then embarrassed by a ridiculously one-dimensional opponent (Mercer).  White probably does not appreciate that a former champion of his division has performed in such a fashion, and is likely still not over Sylvia making the decision to fight for his one-time competitor, Affliction.  In fact, White says Sylvia will have to win “The Ultimate Fighter” if he ever wants to get in the UFC again.

Sylvia beat Jason Riley last September, who was a decent enough opponent but not nearly enough to prove that Sylvia has what it takes to make a run at the top fighters in the world.  Since then, three scheduled fights have fallen through for him, and his next bout will be not against an up-and-coming heavyweight or a veteran opponent, but a former “World’s Strongest Man” competitor in Mariusz Pudzianowski.  If you’re scoring at home, Sylvia went from fighting the likes of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fedor Emelianenko on pay-per-view events to appearing in small local shows and fighting in novelty bouts in the space of two years.

At 34 years old, Sylvia faces the challenge of regaining the respect and confidence of fans and promoters, all while facing the likes of Pudzianowski and Wes Sims, who Sylvia is slated to face in June.  It won’t be easy to string together an impressive enough run of victories when the vast majority of respected heavyweights are signed to major promotions, and if Sylvia makes another slip-up, as he did against Mercer, he will have to start all over again…if recovering is even possible.

Though I’m not a huge fan, I’ve always been a supporter of Sylvia.  He may not have been the most exciting fighter, but he worked hard and was worthy of more respect than he got when he was the UFC Heavyweight Champion.  However, his troubles over the last year or two have shown how quickly one can go from relative stability and six figure paydays to small regional shows and fights against former strongmen.  What a jarring experience it must be, indeed.  If Sylvia wants to finish his career in the limelight, he’s got a long road ahead of him.

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Nick Diaz: Elite Striker?

One of the more interesting things to observe after Saturday’s events was the many MMA writers and fans that were scrambling to explain how Nick Diaz could dominate yet another striker that was supposedly more skilled than he is.  The best theory is that MMA simply doesn’t have great strikers, which is why Diaz is able to perplex opponent after opponent with his high-volume style.  Of course, this theory was purported by someone who regularly refers to particular fighters as great strikers, so you can try to figure that one out.

OK, one time can be an upset.  A couple of times can still be luck.  However, Diaz has stood with the likes of Robbie Lawler, Frank Shamrock, Scott Smith and now Marius Zaromskis and not only held his own, but dominated his opponents en route to winning the fight.  Sure, there are other great strikers at 170 that Diaz has not had the opportunity to face, and as such, questions remain.  (How would Diaz handle the boxing of Paul Daley or the blistering kicks of Thiago Alves?)  However, it is probably time to just give Diaz his due.  Whether his head movement is great or his footwork is textbook or not, this guy regularly makes good strikers look silly and confused in his fights.  To me, that’s the most important part of being a great striker.

KO of the Year in January?

Anyone looking to win knockout of the year (or even comeback of the year) has an uphill battle ahead of them after Robbie Lawler’s ridiculous dispatching of Melvin Manhoef.  I can’t immediately recall a fight where a fighter lands just one strike while being absolutely blasted with leg kicks the likes of what Manhoef was landing, only to land a knockout punch and a follow-up shot on the ground to bring it all to an end.  That’s right: Lawler landed three strikes during the fight, two of which were part of the knockout.

Lawler looked to be in huge trouble just before the big right hand landed to start Manhoef’s downfall.  His lead leg was literally flying out from under him and up in the air with each kick of Manhoef’s, and Lawler himself looked understandably concerned.  In pulling himself together and timing his right hand perfectly when Manhoef dropped his hands to aggressively pursue the finish, Lawler showed equal parts determination, heart and skill.  At the same time, how can you not feel a bit bad for Manhoef?  This guy was absolutely lighting up Lawler and looking great before getting a little careless.  Sure, it’s MMA and you can’t let up for even a second, but it was still definitely an unfortunate turn of events for Manhoef.

On Bobby Lashley and Early Stoppages

Actually, that heading is a bit misleading, as there really isn’t much to say about Bobby Lashley after his expected decimation of the overwhelmed and outclassed Wes Sims.  Okay, now let’s get Lashley a real test, please.  That’s about it.

In regards to the stoppage, though: yes, it was early.  It was early if the definition of a good stoppage is “when a fighter can’t continue and is in great danger if the fight isn’t stopped”.  In that case, I guess Sims would have a legitimate beef.  The thing is, not all early stoppages are created equally.  There’s a big difference between what we saw at the end of Lashley-Sims and an early stoppage where a fighter momentarily gets in a bad spot in an otherwise competitive fight.  Make no mistake about it, while the stoppage may have been early, the outcome of the fight was not altered, except for the ending time of the bout.

When Sims was playing the role of “screwed over combat athlete” like so many in his position have in the past, I wanted to get in the cage and ask him, “Okay, so it was an early stoppage.  Now, please tell me what ingenious strategy you were just about to utilize when the mean old ref stopped your fight too early?  Exactly what was your plan to escape after giving up your back and flattening yourself out with a brutally strong, 250-lb. wrestler on top of you, pounding away?”

People tend to get too worked up about early stoppages.  I don’t like to see them, either, but if it’s in the variety like what we saw in Lashley-Sims, it doesn’t bother me too much.  Like I said, that fight ended up the way it was going to, anyway.  How much longer could Sims have really survived in that position?  Not much.  What were his chances of reversing the position, anyway?  Not good.  In the end, we have to let the athletes determine the outcome, but at some point an athlete has to stop throwing the ref under the bus and realize that the stoppage was also their fault, and that they clearly weren’t anywhere close to winning the fight anyway.

Quick Shots

– What can be said about Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos at this point?  I’ll give credit to Marloes Coenen for being a very game opponent who didn’t look out of place in the fight at any point.  Cyborg just eventually overwhelmed her over the course of the bout.  Still, Coenen will be back, and I wouldn’t mind a rematch at some point.

As for what’s next, it’s kind of hard to tell.  One of the problems with Strikeforce’s women’s division is that it is almost entirely comprised of title fights.  Take Coenen for example- she fought on one Strikeforce show before her title shot, and it wasn’t televised.  It makes it a bit hard to get excited about the next challenger coming down the pipe.

– Let me preface this last bit with a disclaimer.  I have no problem with Herschel Walker, and I think he’s a phenomenal athlete that’s in amazing shape for his age.  What I’m about to complain about has nothing really to do with him personally.  However, I can’t be the only person who was absolutely annoyed with the way Walker’s fight with Greg Nagy was handled by the broadcast team.  For the entire fight, I got to hear them drool over Walker performing basic fundamentals of the sport against a guy who has been training for a year and a half, with no background in any martial arts previous to that point.

It’s not Walker’s fault that he was paired up with Nagy.  But come on.  Nagy was absolutely overwhelmed by and unprepared for the experience of fighting in Strikeforce in his third pro fight.  Unlike Walker, Nagy never competed in, well, anything before thousands of people before.  No offense to Nagy, but he also (like most of us) is not the type of natural athlete that Walker is, even at 47 years old.  Combine that with the fact that Walker was absolutely shredded at 214 pounds, and Nagy appeared to be sporting a healthy amount of, um, “extra weight” at 210 pounds, and this was certainly not something to be in awe of.

If the accomplishment is that great, it doesn’t need to be oversold by the commentators, anyway.  I swear, I felt like I was watching professional wresting for a minute there with the way that Mauro Ranallo and company were gushing over every little thing that Walker did.

As for Walker himself: good for him.  I don’t fault him for fighting or Strikeforce for putting him on television, but let’s not treat the viewers like idiots, guys.  Watching an athlete the likes of Walker control a scared and undersized fellow newbie on the ground is not something that warrants the kind of hyperbole we were getting on Saturday night.

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Sure, we’re watching a former NFL running back and a current professional wrestler in action, but entertainment is entertainment, right?  Here’s a breakdown of the main card fights, along with some predictions that you probably shouldn’t trust enough to put money on…just saying.

Herschel Walker vs. Greg Nagy

First of all, before I get started, let me point out the ridiculousness of trying to pick a winner in a fight between a 47-year old former NFL running back with no professional fights (and a Tae Kwon Do background) and an unknown fighter with two professional fights, neither of which can be found for viewing purposes.

So, here’s what I’m going on.  Nagy has no wrestling experience (not even in high school) and says he just started training a year and a half ago.  He also has said he’d like to fight at 185, and weighed in at a rather soft-looking 210 pounds, while his opponent was a chiseled (at 47 years old, mind you) 214 and would probably have a little trouble making 205, even.  In that case, I’ll go with Walker based on size, athleticism and experience with performing under pressure.  I think the scope of the event and size difference will be enough in a fight between two very inexperienced fighters.  Of course, who can say for sure?  How about I just throw my hands up and wait for the impending slop-fest that this fight will likely be?

Prediction: Walker by KO/TKO (I guess)

Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims

Ah, now this is more like it.  Two relatively well-known commodities with rather obvious game plans.  Lashley will look to take Sims to the mat and grind him into a paste-like substance, and Sims will look to…hmm…what, exactly?

Sims is far from having elite striking, and his submission skills are just serviceable, both offensively and defensively.  He trains out of a wrestling-based camp, but doesn’t have the better wrestling here.  I’m not sure how he expects to win this fight.  I like Sims and think he’s a funny guy, but he was picked for a reason, and it’s great matchmaking by Strikeforce to ensure that Lashley fights a game opponent who won’t give up easily, but also won’t pose much of a threat to finish.  That doesn’t mean this will be a squash for sure, though: Sims will do what it takes to survive, but I can’t see him finishing Lashley or doing well enough to take a decision, even if Lashley isn’t able to put him away and ends up gassing midway through the fight.

Prediction: Lashley by KO/TKO

Robbie Lawler vs. Melvin Manhoef

Here’s another fight with crystal-clear objectives for each fighter.  Lawler loves to strike, but will be in the cage with one of the few fighters in the world at his weight who can pose a serious threat to him in the standup realm.  Meanwhile, Manhoef readily admits before every fight that he is in trouble if the action hits the mat.

The question here is whether Lawler will test the waters and slug it out with Manhoef.  Lawler is not known for being a dominating wrestler, but he does have good takedowns and his control on the ground is excellent.  Combined with his powerful punches and elbows from the top position, it’s clear to everyone that a quick takedown is the smartest move for Lawler…but is it clear to him?

I think it is.  Lawler got ahead of himself and made a slight mistake in his last fight (against Jake Shields) and paid for it with a quick loss, which he has no doubt thought about quite often since then.  I think tactics will be at the forefront of Lawler’s mind tomorrow night as a result, and I expect a smart use of takedowns throughout the fight from Robbie.  This doesn’t bode well for Manhoef, who can knock out anybody in MMA at literally any weight (ask Mark Hunt, who regularly fights at more than 100 pounds heavier than Manhoef) but struggles mightily while pinned to the mat by his opponents.  I believe that Lawler will take Manhoef to the ground and pound him out at some point.

Prediction: Lawler by KO/TKO

Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos vs. Marloes Coenen

We all wondered what would become of the women’s division if the lovely, charismatic Gina Carano faltered in her bout against Cyborg.  Well, tomorrow night we will start to find out.  Will the public respond to female fighters who are just as skilled as Carano, but not as likely to star in a major motion picture or grace the pages of Maxim?

Either way, the public’s reception of a Gina-less women’s title bout has nothing to do with the fight itself, which should be a good one.  We all know Cyborg’s game by now: she simply destroys whatever is in front of her, or at least attempts to do so until the fight is over.  Meanwhile, we have seen much less of Coenen, who boasts a very good submission game and competent stand-up skills, to boot.

I do wonder if Coenen will respond well to the intensity that Cyborg will bring right from the opening bell.  Coenen has said that she’s confident in her striking, but even a polished striker (like Gina Carano) can easily be overwhelmed simple by the volume and power of shots that Cyborg fires off.  Furthermore, I don’t foresee Coenen easily taking Cyborg down, so I’m not expecting her jiu-jitsu skills to affect the fight much.

Prediction: Santos by KO/TKO

Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis

While MMA fans often get knocked for prefering stand-up exchanges to the subtleties of the ground game, fighters often become just as enamored with trying their hand at striking instead of sticking to their strengths.  Diaz is one of many great submission artists and/or wrestlers that has foregone their best skills many times in favor of slugging it out.  His successes against some pretty good strikers, including Frank Shamrock, Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith, have only reinforced the bad habit of duking it out instead of getting some mileage out of that black belt of his.

Diaz has a style that uses an incredible quantity of punches that often don’t appear to landing with a lot of power, along with a good reach that helps him to stay outside of the range of harder hitting opponents that utilize looping punches.  The problem is that he will be facing a bonafide striker tomorrow- one who can use high kicks more effectively than anyone else in MMA right now.  Marius Zaromskis will have one objective- to keep the fight standing and mix his deadly high kicks into a variety of combinations to keep Diaz guessing before putting him away for good.

The thing is, Diaz will likely make part of Zaromskis’ plan very easy to follow through with.  Diaz chose to stand with Lawler, he chose to stand with Takanori Gomi, and I expect him to choose to stand with Zaromskis.  If he gets tagged, will he change his thinking?  Probably, but what’s the likelihood of Diaz even surviving a big mistake long enough to adjust his strategy?  This fight plays out similarly to Lawler-Manhoef in that it’s all about whether Diaz can overcome his urge to strike with his opponent in order to use his best skills to help him win the fight.  I don’t think Diaz will have the self-control to do that, and it will cost him.

Prediction: Zaromskis by KO/TKO

Lesnar to Return Quickly, Believes Heavyweights are “Sh-tting Their Pants”

After months of speculation, second- and third-hand information and silence from Brock Lesnar, the man himself finally spoke up this past week, declaring his intent to return this summer and making it clear how dire his situation really was. Lesnar said that he had lost 40 pounds of mass before putting 30 back on recently (which, if accurate, is amazing), and physicians have checked in on sites like Sherdog.com to provide more information on Lesnar’s condition, which could very easily have ended his career, or even his life.

Still, it’s behind Lesnar now, and he has already changed his diet, which should lead to a leaner Lesnar in the future. We haven’t seen Lesnar in the “championship rounds” yet, but I don’t see how the change in diet could hurt him. Oh, and Lesnar hasn’t changed, which I love and many of you may hate. He quickly made comments about his competition crapping their pants, and got in some shots at Frank Mir, too, who he labeled as his stalker.

On the topic of Frank Mir, this guy is absolutely licking his chops at the thought of facing Lesnar in his first bout since, well, the last time he faced him. Do I think Mir would mind taking on a Brock Lesnar that is even a bit less than 100%? Not in the slightest. Mir is a shrewd guy, and is no dummy. He knows that not many feuds go past the “trilogy” stage in MMA (though, with he and Lesnar figuring to stay near the top of the division for years to come, this could be an exception). If he can rack up a 2-1 edge on Lesnar, he won’t have to worry about his big buddy for a long, long time.

Also, Mir is no doubt thinking that while he hasn’t had enough time to fully complete his goal of beefing up to Lesnar’s level, if Lesnar is not back to where he once was, the size advantage could be very small, indeed. My personal thoughts? It’s too soon. Of course, they already made the Mir-Carwin fight, so what can you do? I’d rather see Carwin or the winner of Nogueira-Velasquez face Lesnar first, but I don’t get a vote here. Also, has anyone in MMA history ever fought the same guy three times out of their first six professional fights?

In any case, welcome back, Brock. Even the most stubborn Lesnar haters should be happy that the man is okay and ready to compete. After all, with Lesnar back, you have someone to root against again, right?

No, Really, They’re Calling it “UFC on Versus 1″?

It looks like the first UFC card on Versus (to kick off a series that apparently will be aptly titled “UFC on Versus”) will be a strong one, indeed. The event, headlined by Jon Jones vs. Brandon Vera, will also feature Junior dos Santos getting a real test from Gabriel Gonzaga, a sure-fire slugfest between Cheick Kongo and Paul Buentello, as well as Anthony Johnson and Clay Guida facing John Howard and Shannon Gugerty, respectively.

The undercard will feature such fighters as James Irvin, Vladimir Matyushenko and Alessio Sakara, who apparently has the same “contract for life” deal going on with Zuffa that Stephan Bonnar does. My pick for the fight to watch, though, is a great match-up between Spencer Fisher and Duane “Bang” Ludwig. Awesome fight. Here’s the full card:

Jon Jones vs. Brandon Vera
Junior dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Cheick Kongo vs. Paul Buentello
Anthony Johnson vs. John Howard
Clay Guida vs. Shannon Gugerty
Eliot Marshall vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Spencer Fisher vs. Duane Ludwig
James Irvin vs. Alessio Sakara
Brendan Schaub vs. Chase Gormley
Mike Pierce vs. Rob Kimmons
Eric Schafer vs. Jason Brilz

And the…Um, Winner? of the Lashley Sweepstakes Is…

I guess that we should feel happy for Wes Sims. He landed on his feet after a hilarious but unproductive stint on “The Ultimate Fighter”, getting a fight in Strikeforce against a well-known, up and coming heavyweight. Unfortunately, that heavyweight is Bobby Lashley, who not a lot of people are lining up to fight.

Sims is a “real fighter” (sorry, Dana- check’s in the mail), though, which won’t change the result any but does help him to get fights like this one. Who knows, maybe Sims can pull off a huge upset, or maybe taking the fight will get him at least one more fight in Strikeforce. Either way, good for him. Now, he’s got a lot of work to do.

Passed-Over Contenders Take It All in Stride

For a sport where people are literally beating the crap out of each other for a shot at their respective division’s titles, fighters sure have been gentlemanly about waiting in line for their chance lately.

Both Mike Brown from the WEC’s featherweight division and Gray Maynard of the UFC’s lightweight division are getting ready to watch fighters that they beat fairly recently get shots at their division’s champions before they do. In Brown’s case, Urijah Faber will get a crack at Jose Aldo (who just beat Brown for the title), and in Maynard’s case, Frankie Edgar (who has only lost to Maynard in his MMA career) will get the nod against the seemingly-unstoppable BJ Penn.

Both fighters seemed perfectly cool with the possibility of waiting for their shot even before it was all set in stone. Brown was interviewed prior to Urijah Faber’s fight against Raphael Assuncao and had no problem with the idea, which makes sense given that he just lost to Aldo, anyway. In Maynard’s case, it’s a little more surprising that he doesn’t seem to mind: he has yet to get a title shot in the lightweight division, even with an undefeated MMA record and the afore-mentioned win over Edgar. However, after his disappointing split decision win over the tough Nate Diaz, Maynard gave an interview to Sherdog.com where he seemed almost happy to wait to fight Penn. Maybe he just wants the extra time to polish his skills, or maybe he wants to see how Edgar, who has similar wrestling ability but better boxing, will tackle Penn. Either way, it’s probably smart to be patient. Who knows? Penn could even get bored and vacate the title altogether.

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