Can Hatton change his spots?
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
(will this be the scene Saturday for Ricky Hatton?)
We’ve all heard the expression a leopard doesn’t change his spots. We’re going to find out if that is true Saturday night.
One of Britain’s favorite sons, Ricky Hatton, looks to put himself back into the big money-making fights when he takes on Manny Pacquiao on HBO Pay-Per-View.
Strangely enough (and thankfully), this is the first PPV of the year for HBO after jamming ‘em down our throats the last couple of the years.
You know what you’re going to get with Hatton. A brawler who comes straight at you. He’ll get rough, he’ll get physical and make it as ugly as possible
….
Wait, you say that was the old Ricky Hatton?!? Under new trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr., Hatton is trying to change his game extremely late in his career.
He’s trying to become a slick boxer while still keeping his intensity. Very interested to see how it turns out.
I’ve grown to appreciate Hatton more in the last few years. I still admit I was jumping up and down when Floyd Mayweather knocked him out in the 10th round, but I admire Hatton coming back.
He looked vulnerable in coming back vs. Juan Lazcano but did look good vs. Paulie Malignaggi with Mayweather in his corner.
Hatton says former trainer Billy Graham’s deteriorating health was a big reason for the change. That was a great relationship, and it sucks how relationships like that can be strained and ultimately destroyed. The two have barely talked since the falling out.
Against Malignaggi, Hatton tried to revert back to some basic skills like using the jab and working on his movement.
He’s not downplaying how big this fight is, and that is refreshing. Fighting someone like Pacquiao is not just another fight.
Not sure if Hatton has the tools necessary to beat Pacquiao. And would be even more shocked if the fight goes the distance.
These are two guys that go all-out, and that’s why we love them and that’s why their respective fan bases go ga-ga for them.
If Hatton can use his new plan of attack and be successful, then maybe Mayweather Sr. is the best trainer of all-time. Or as he would say: “not full-time, not part-time, not this time, but of all-time.”
It says a lot that a fight between a Brit (Hatton) and a Filipino (Pacquiao) is generating such interest. As I’ve said before, boxing in America isn’t what it once was but boxing globally is doing just fine.
Friday, a look at Pacquiao.
Silva to get real test…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
UFC President Dana White was very vocal about his displeasure about Anderson Silva’s last fight, a lackluster decision win at UFC 97.
So to make sure it doesn’t happen again, Silva is being paired up with someone who doesn’t know how to not have an exciting fight.
Silva is going to take on Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 as a co-main event as UFC heads to Philadelphia.
I like it in all ways possible. Griffin has that common man factor going for him, and it’s tough to not root for the guy.
Silva is moving up in weight (he was a LH when he destroyed James Irvin last year), so it should be a real and fun challenge.
Either way, whoever wins, I’ll be happy for. If Silva wins, shuts up the vocal critics of his last two outings. If Griffin wins, gets him back on the winning track and puts him in more big fights (and that’s not a bad thing).
***
Sad news out of boxing as former heavyweight champion Greg Page passed away earlier this week in Louisville. He was 50 years old.
I never saw Page fought. To me, his most notable accomplishment was knocking down Mike Tyson in sparring when Tyson was prepping for Buster Douglas in 1990.
Page suffered permanent injuries in his final bout in 2001 and his life was a struggle the rest of the way.
He knocked out Gerrie Coetzee in the eighth round in 1984 to win the WBA heavyweight championship.
***
Congenital amputee Kyle Maynard made his debut in MMA this last weekend, losing a decision to Bryan Fry.
He’s a feel-good story if there has ever been one, but I hope his career is a short one. Some think it’s a freak show display, I certainly don’t feel that way. But I don’t think he can adequately defend himself against fighters.
Having all your limbs doesn’t make MMA a picnic for anybody. His courage and spirit are an inspiration. Just don’t think it’s possible for him to have a real impact on the game.
***
Bobby Lashley and Bob Sapp have agreed to an MMA fight in June. Just like when Lashley agreed to fight Ken Shamrock, I’m digging this one, too.
I admit Sapp helped me get back into the MMA game a few years ago. I pulled for him so hard to become the next big star.
It didn’t really happen, but he’s done well for himself, and it should be exciting (for however long it lasts).
Lashley is giving up a lot of size in this one, to state the obvious.
***
A lot of discussion about the recent Thrilla in Manila documentary on HBO. Thought it gave a lot of insight into the mind of Joe Frazier.
Know what else is? This piece by Thomas Hauser.
Well, it’s not really a piece by Hauser as much as he has compiled everything Dave Wolf thought about Smokin’ Joe.
But it says a lot about Hauser (the authoritative source on Muhammad Ali) that Wolf’s daughter and brother gave him all these notes.
***
Wanted to get all this out there as the rest of the week is all about Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton.
Know how I know this is big? Because I have co-workers who know nothing about boxing asking me about it.
The Ghost Dog is still Sweetness…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
That was a great weekend of boxing in preparation of the big one the sport has been hanging its hat on all 2009.
With Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton now less than a week away, it’ll be tough to outdo the drama of Friday and Saturday.
Allan Green TKO 2 Carlos De Leon
After a good opening round by Green that saw De Leon have some moments late, Green ended this one early.
One gigantic left hook caught and floored De Leon for the first time in his career in round 2. He ended up going down four time en route to the referee stopping the bout.
He may be the Ghost Dog now, but Green was all “Sweetness” on this night. This was the most impressive outing from Green since his destruction of Jaidon Codrington. Ironically enough, both were on Showtime.
Green puts himself right in the mix at 168 and is now 28-1. Future looks bright for the Tulsa native in an ultra-competitive division.
Carl Froch TKO 12 Jermain Taylor at 2:46
Oh, this hurt. It hurt, and you could see it coming, which made it hurt that much more.
Classic Taylor (both good and bad). Dynamite start, can’t finish the job, fades late. Seen this script before.
Taylor was criticized heavily for going after Kelly Pavlik too hard in their first bout in round 2 back in Sept. 2007. He was out of gas after not being able to finish the job.
Saturday was the opposite. After dropping Froch for the first time in his career in round 3, Taylor didn’t throw one meaningful punch in the final 30 seconds and to quote Dennis Green “let ‘em off the hook.”
Tough to find fault with Froch who stay composed in a hostile environment and was as fresh in the 12th round as he was in the first.
Didn’t know Froch had that type of chin. And big kudos to Froch trainer Robert McCracken who was the MVP of Saturday.
Froch was humble, witty and confident in his post-fight interview. Gave credit to Taylor for a great fight and wants Joe Calzaghe. Hmm, don’t think it’ll happen.
For Taylor, oy. Taylor doesn’t just find a way to lose, but to break your heart in doing it. In his two KO losses, he’s had the other guy on the deck first.
It almost seems like he’s thinking way too much out there. Nothing comes naturally for the Little Rock native. That’s too bad because thought he was the next big thing the common fan could get behind.
Part of me is frustrated at him because he’s cheated himself in training for so long that now is not the time you start taking that seriously. There are no shortcuts in boxing.
Had Taylor stood up another 14 seconds, he would have won a split decision. He was up four points on two cards than despite what would have been an obvious 10-7 round, he would have won.
For the record, no question about the stoppage. Good call. My American pride wanted Taylor to stand, but it wasn’t happening.
Cory Spinks split decision 12 DeAndre Latimore
Spinks dug deep after tasting the floor in the first. I said the winner of round 12 wins the fight. Spinks clearly won the 12th, and in the Boneman’s eyes, clearly won the fight.
Latimore was out of gas by round 5, which was a shame after his fantastic start. He had no experience to rely on and was just getting hit (though not hard) and not doing anything vs. Spinks.
Off the top of my head, believe I had Spinks winning 6-1-1 in the final eight rounds or 7-1. He won his home crowd back over with a courageous performance.
Juan Manuel Lopez TKO 9 Gerry Penalosa
Leading a lamb to slaughter. This fight irritated me. Don’t pass this off as Juan Ma getting a stiff test.
It’s against a gutsy veteran who is small for a weight class he’s normally not in vs. a dynamite younger fighter who is big for the weight class.
Lopez hit him with everything but never dropped Penalosa, who fought gamely as one could.
Think CompuBox gave Juan Ma way too much credit for punches landed, but that’s my opinion.
Anyway, great weekend as we now shift gears to Pacquiao and Hatton. In-depth look at both men later this week and a prediction.
Battle for St. Louis tonight…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
I’ve been so wrapped up in the Showtime card Saturday night for boxing that I nearly forgot how good of a card, well, fight there is tonight.
You have two St. Louis fighters fighting in The Lou. Imagine that, a fight taking place where it should.
It pits Cory Spinks vs. DeAndre Latimore for the IBF junior middleweight crown and the unofficial “King of St. Louis” title.
Latimore impressed me a lot last year with his destruction of Sechew Powell. So much I named him 1B for Prospect of the Year.
No bad blood in this one so far as Latimore has said repeatedly how much he admired Spinks on his way up.
So that’s tonight, then tomorrow Showtime returns with Tulsa’s Allan Green vs. Carlos De Leon Jr., which I’ve chronicled before and a main event of Jermain Taylor vs. Carl Froch.
Got a soft spot for Taylor. One after another, he took on the best when he was still young and raw. He’s not young anymore, but some would still consider him raw.
He looked good in dismantling fellow US Olympian Jeff Lacy, but I don’t know what that means in the long run.
Like I said (and have defended) Taylor about before: deep down, he’s a fighter. Some think he just wants the payday. Uh uh, he’s a fighter.
I admit to not having seen Froch fight. I’ve seen his name a lot in the news the last couple of years.
He’s 24-0 and beat a shop-worn Robin Reid two years ago before dominating Jean Pascal last year for the WBA Super middleweight title. Admit to picking Pascal in that one.
It’ll be Taylor’s first fight on Showtime after having a home away from home on HBO since his debut in 2001.
***
UFC President Dana White spoke openly about Chuck Liddell retiring. And their business relationship goes way back, so I’m not gonna jump on White for basically announcing it for Liddell.
Hope the IceMan gets out as well as the Shamrock brothers (Frank and Ken). Their legacies are set.
Liddell will always be credited in some regard for helping MMA bust out into the mainstream. I’m sure he’ll always have a home in the UFC, just hope it’s never in The Octagon again.
***
I’ve tried to avoid the “will he/won’t he return” saga of Floyd Mayweather. But it looks like it’s a done deal that “Money” will be back in the ring. And as an avid Floyd fan, pretty pumped about it, except…
Calling a potential fight with Juan Manuel Marquez a “tune-up” is among the most disrespectful things I’ve heard lately.
JMM is anything but a tune-up, no matter the size. Marquez is a lot like Bernard Hopkins to me. They’re “hard” fighters.
They’re wired differently and that makes them even more of a challenge than 95 percent of the guys out there.
Floyd Sr. said Junior wants to fight Marquez and eventually land a date with Shane Mosley. Hope Mosley is still around at that point and still think Mosley and Miguel Cotto have some unfinished business in a rematch.
Cotto eked that one out, but this Mosley might be the most confident one we’ve seen in years after his destruction of Antonio Margarito.
***
Bobby Lashley has signed with Maximum Fighting Championships. That fight is May 15 in Canada. Much more on that in the future as there are a couple of Oklahoma products on the card as well…Comanche Casino event coordinator Jason Reynolds has notified me that Grady Brewer will be fighting in his hometown of Lawton, also on May 15. George Tahdooahnippah will also be on the card.
Fans sound off on Bellator…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Bellator definitely made some impact here in the Oklahoma City area. Had some good responses from fans at the event as well as e-mails from readers, so let’s get to it, shall we…
“It was better than what I thought. I didn’t know too much about the group, but I was impressed.” – John Franks, Edmond
“The set up was amazing. You only think Lloyd Noble Center as the basketball place, but this has been cool.” – Angela Johnson, Norman
“The monitors helped because my view was blocked a lot. I’m glad they thought about people who can’t see everything all the time.” – Bill Huss, Oklahoma City
“Enjoyed the event, but it was a little long. I remember reading about Jared (Hess) in the past, so I wanted to see his fight. It was fun to see him fight so well.” – Steve Kirk, Edmond
“I hope they come back. It was a lot of fun and didn’t look like your normal bush-league program.” – Ed Macon, Norman
***
In case you didn’t catch today’s items in the paper, here they are:
The career of Tulsa super middleweight boxer Allan “Ghost Dog” Green hasn’t gone the way he would have hoped in the last couple of years.
After losing to Edison Miranda two years ago, Green (27-1) has fought and won four times since and is hoping to get back on the national stage.
With his promotional issues behind him, he gets that opportunity Saturday night vs. Carlos De Leon Jr., the son of former cruiserweight champion Carlos De Leon.
The bout is at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut and will be televised by Showtime. Both are ranked in the top 15 in the world.
(Green is an interesting case study for The Boneman. I saw Green fight in Norman back in 2005 and thought maybe he wasn’t just good for an Oklahoma fighter, but a good fighter.
He’s definitely had some great moments (remember the KO of Jaidon Codrington?), but the last two years have gotten away from him with his issues with former promoter Tony Holden.
For those wondering, not sure what those issues are. And the name change from “Sweetness” to “Ghost Dog” is odd, but do admit Ghost Dog makes you stand out more.
With a win, Green throws himself back into the mix of the super middleweights. With a defeat, pretty easy to get lost in the shuffle.)
There aren’t too many opportunities for 38-year-old boxers. That made what happened last weekend to Lawton junior middleweight Grady Brewer even more frustrating.
Brewer (24-11) was scheduled to fight Delray Raines in Wichita Falls, Texas, last week. Some states require boxers older than 35 to go through more tests than normal.
Brewer’s camp was not aware of this initially, and he got the paperwork in from the extra tests a day after the deadline and was not allowed to fight.
No word on when his next fight will be.
(Brewer can’t catch a break. After winning the second season of The Contender, things just haven’t worked out the way Brewer thought they might.
Age, injuries and being unable to find opponents have all but stalled his career. Even when he wins (think last November vs. Cornelius Bundrage), it doesn’t do much for his marketability.
Just another setback for Brewer, nothing new for the Lawton native. He’ll be back and hopefully he can get that one last payday/run, so we can see if he really had the talent.)
Back Friday with some UFC thoughts (Chuck Liddell retiring?) as well as a preview of Jermain Taylor who is on Showtime for the first time in his career Saturday.
Bellator ‘really pleased’ with Norman show
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
It’s been a couple of days since the Bellator event. Enough time to reflect back and kinda judge the event as a whole and not on impulse reactions.
The same can be said for the Bellator group on trying to evaluate how things went in Norman and the Lloyd Noble Center.
Had a chance for a follow-up interview with CEO Bjorn Rebney about the event, and if you’re an Oklahoman who likes MMA, it’s good news.
Rebney said he was really pleased with the way the event went down. He said it looked great on TV, and it was a terrific set-up.
At each of Bellator’s show, there have been interns polling the audience of what they thought. The No. 1 complaint: the length of show.
Rebney said he tries to have nine bouts on a card, and this one had 11 and ran more than four hours. Rebney is an MMA purist, so it didn’t bother him. And all things considered, there were more people in the arena at 12:30 a.m. than I thought there would be.
On whether or not Bellator would make its way to Oklahoma again:
Absolutely, especially if Jared Hess (former Central Oklahoma product) can reach the final. That’s a big if, but he was impressive in his first performance.
With someone like Jared, we would have a legit local star. The Oklahoma City area is such a neat area. There are so many little things to see. I don’t know if we would necessarily go back to OU, but if there’s a chance, I have no problems coming back.
Bellator taped two shows in Norman last weekend. The first show was on Saturday on ESPN Deportes. The English version will be shown Wednesday on the Web.
Hess fights Yosmany Cabezas in the semifinals of the 185-pound (middleweight) tournament. Damien Stelly takes on Hector Lombard in the other semifinal. Lombard and Hess were the show-stealers last Friday.
Snap Shot UFC 97 review…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Like I said, wasn’t able to watch UFC 97, so this is purely off what I read on Sherdog.com.
Anderson Silva earns unanimous decision vs. Thales Leites. Scores were 48-47, 49-46 and 50-46.
Apparently, not the most popular fight of all time. I kept reading “Leites flops.” I would love an accurate account from a reader about what that actually meant.
I know what it means in basketball, hockey and soccer, but MMA now has flopping? Oy.
This is the second fight in a row where Spider Silva hasn’t looked good but has won. Former boxer George Foreman likes to say “win this fight, look good in the next.” It’s time Silva look good in the next.
Silva has won nine straight UFC bouts. Don’t quote me, but I believe that is a record. And Saturday was the first time he’s been pushed the distance, so maybe being too critical. Guess when it comes to talents like Silva, you expect to see something new and jaw-dropping every time out there.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua TKO 1 Chuck Liddell. Sherdog said Rua dropped Liddell with a “messy” left hook. Don’t know what we can gauge after this one.
Liddell (21-7) has now lost four of his last five and has one win in the last 28 months. It’s the way he’s losing that has to break the hearts of the IceMan’s fans.
Not in a position to judge, but I hope Liddell gets out of the game fairly soon. Seen it too many times in boxing – don’t stick around hoping for that one last run. He can beat 90 percent of the guys out there, but it’s the top 10 percent that he’s going to want to fight.
Cheick Kongo TKO 2 Antoni Hardonk. Jumpin’ off the Gabriel Gonzaga bandwagon and firmly entrenched on the Kongo one.
Where the hwt. division in boxing is almost beyond pathetic, the MMA heavyweights have me giddy and Kongo deserves to be mentioned in that breath.
He lost a split-decision to Heath Herring in March 2008 and has run off three straight decisive wins.
Throw it out to the readers. Thoughts on UFC 97 and if you attended the Bellator event in Norman, love to hear what you thought on that.
Is Bellator the future?
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
That was the question I was constantly asking myself all Friday night. I am witnessing the start of something big, or am I a part of another flash-in-the-pan organization?
The Bellator promotion gets instant credibility the second you start seeing those ESPN graphics. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, ESPN is dictating what the popular sports are in the culture.
And if ESPN gets behind MMA 100 percent and not just through MMA Live Web shows and bottom line updates, Bellator may indeed be the future.
I took some pictures of the event to try to give you guys a sense of the environment and atmosphere at Lloyd Noble Center. When I get a chance, I’ll upload them.
The video packages are well-produced, and I felt they were the perfect length. Not too short where you didn’t get a real glimpse at the fighter. But not too long where it kinda dragged on.
I also appreciate any event where ring announce Lupe Contreras is at. He’s big-time, even if some people don’t recognize it yet. He’s just below Jimmy Lennon Jr. and Michael and Bruce Buffer.
Logistical issues
- Only having one side of the concession stands open. It was a madhouse from 7-8 p.m. in those lines. You didn’t know what was a line, what was people trying to get through. For their part, those concession workers handled it very professionally.
- The start time. Having it start at 8 with 11 bouts is something I hope Bellator chooses to not do again.
This was the first time Bellator taped two shows at one venue, and it drained on the crowd. For a crowd that was revved up in those first two hours, that same excitement cannot be said for the last two + hours.
A start time at 7 is more feasible. I even suggested 6, but I understand not many people could actually be there when it starts if you do it that way. But 8 is a little too late.
- The intermission hurt. Right after a spectacular KO by Hector Lombard, there was a good 15-20 minutes of nothing. It was already past 10 p.m. at that point and saw a lot of people head to the exits after that one.
- Phenomenal presentation. From where the cage was located to the big monitors on all sides of the arena, never felt like I didn’t know what was going on. Big ups to the monitors having the time left in the round. Little things like that go a long way.
- Good atmosphere. Felt like a big-time event. Didn’t feel like club-level quality all night. Obviously some of the guys were more talented than some of the others, but it’s just starting out. And any mismatch in the tournament is nullified when the semifinals and finals come around.
Fight Thoughts
- Most impressive was easily Lombard. He’s the total package and the one guy on that night that I would say is ready for the UFC right now.
- Norman native Wayne Cole ran out of gas vs. Oklahoma City’s Rudy Lindsay. Cole called me Thursday and said how I was working his butt off to make the weight, but it depleted him of his strength. Lindsay weathered the storm and finished the job.
- New Mexico’s Tyler East had me write down one thing: “youthful exhuberance.”
The 18-year-old made his pro debut at Bellator and had so much pent up emotion and just let it all hang out. He wasted so much energy, but this was his night.
At 6-5 and 230 pounds already, East has a future with the proper amount of seasoning. He was badly injured in a car accident his sophomore year and has a new lease on life because of it.
- Dave Menne was the feel-good story of the night. The former UFC champ has overcome Lyme’s disease and at 34, might be the final run. Trailing after the first two rounds, came back to win. His record is a ridiculous 46-15-2. Not too many fighters with 63 MMA fights.
- Excited about the potential of Jared Hess. Admit the name was familiar from his UCO days but first time I had actually seen him fight.
Solid head on his shoulders, good technique and making $25,000 in one night is not that bad, either.
Bellator is on Saturday nights on ESPN Deportes on a tape-delay situation. The English version of the broadcast is played Wednesday on the Web.
According to Bellator executives their blog traffic for last night’s show was better than the previous two weeks, so that’s a positive sign.
Hope to check in with Bellator representatives later this week for their thoughts at how it went in Norman, and if they would consider coming back.
***
Won’t see UFC 97 tonight because I will be at a horse racing event in Oklahoma City. I’ll chime in with what I read, but hate to not actually see the fights. Anderson Silva and Chuck Liddell are the two picks. And just saw a heavyweight bout between my Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics. Let’s just call that Derrick Rose’s coming out party.
Hess wins, Lombard steals show…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
No, that’s not a misprint on the time this was written. Just got home from the Bellator MMA event at Lloyd Noble Center.
The promotion did a lot of things right, and the view from LNC looked pretty cool. A lot of military in the crowd tonight as CEO Bjorn Rebney believes in honoring those men and women whenever he gets a chance.
Former Central Oklahoma star Jared Hess closed out the night at just before 12:30 a.m. with a win by rear-naked choke against Daniel Tabera in the first round to advance in the 185-pound tournament.
“I saw an opportunity to take control of his back, so I went for it,” Hess said.
By the time Hess walked out, the LNC was near empty, but when the night began, much better crowd than I anticipated.
Student tickets went for $20, and the crowd was definitely in the college, just out of college age group for the most part.
Official results:
Non-tournament bouts
William Albrecht (6-6) TKO 2 Mike Messina (2-2): Ref stoppage
Johnny Eduardo (22-8) unanimous decision Donald Sanchez (15-9): 30-27 on all cards, including Boneman’s.
Marcelo Alfaia (10-5) TKO 1 Joey Gorczynski (13-6): Ref stoppage
Tyler East (1-0) TKO 1 Amedio Viola (0-2): Ref stoppage, pro debut for East.
Rudy Lindsay (9-5) TKO 2 Wayne Cole (13-10): Ref stoppage
Jason Norwood (6-1) rear-naked choke Rd. 2 John Kirk (13-6)
Tournament bouts
185: Yosmany Cabezas (8-1) armbar submission Rd. 1 Edwin Aguilar in 4:31. Aguilar actually started off pretty well and was the first fighter of the night to really utilize the uppercut as a weapon.
Cabezas did a great job of being patient and not getting flustered. Aguilar gets a little too aggressive on top and Cabezas turns it into an armbar and Aguilar has to tap.
185: Hector Lombard (18-2) TKO 1 Virgil Lozano (6-2) in 1:10. Lombard stole the show with one left uppercut. No doubt about it.
Lombard, on first glance, is easily the man to beat at 185. He stalked Lozano and caught him with a short left uppercut as Lozano was moving right in to the punch. Lozano went down face first and didn’t move for abotu 30 seconds before recovering.
Lombard brought the LNC crowd to its feet and had ‘em in a frenzy. The 31-year-old from Australia is someone to watch.
185: Damien Stelly (9-2) unanimous decision Alex Andrade (7-5). 29-27 twice and 30-26. Boneman’s scorecard: 30-27.
This was the most intriguing fight of the night because Stelly worked up such a large lead heading into the third round that he just had to survive.
Andrade had UFC vet Tra Telligman in his corner (there’s a name I haven’t said in a long time). But when he needed to turn it on the most, just didn’t have the gas tank to do so.
Stelly was cut over the right eye but stay composed. He was also helped by a point deduction to Andrade for grabbing the fence. Stelly dominated the first two rounds. Blow-for-blow, this was the best bout of the night.
170: Dave Menne (46-15-2) rear-naked choke Rd. 3 Norman Paraisy (5-1) in 12:39. The last fight was the best, but this was the comeback of the night as Menne had clearly lost the first two rounds before turning it on for the win.
The first two rounds were nothing to write home about, but Paraisy clearly had the edge. Menne’s only attacks were attempted ankle locks that were shut down pretty quickly.
But in the third, Paraisy gave Menne, the former UFC champion, an opening. Menne got Paraisy’s back, and that was all she wrote with the RNC.
185: Jared Hess (7-0-1) rear-naked choke Rd. 1 Daniel Tabera (12-1-2) in 2:34. Whatever crowd was left was going nuts for the UCO product, and he left ‘em going home happy.
He took control early, often and never let up. He mounted Tabera and hit him with a barrage of punches for nearly the last minute of the bout. Finally, Tabera gave Hess a clean shot at his back and Hess locked in the RNC not too long after for the win.
Back later with more thoughts from the Bellator show.
MMA dominates the dojo this weekend…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Boxing is taking a week off (well, fights that would actually matter). But MMA has UFC 97 on Saturday, and I’ll be at the Bellator event tonight at Lloyd Noble Center.
The last couple of UFC events have made me cringe. “This is pay-per-view,” has been what I’ve been thinking.
Not this time. This is a solid card, and the Montreal fight crowd might be among the top five in the world. Boxing, MMA, doesn’t matter to that group. It’ll be an electric atmosphere.
The main event feature Boneman’s pound-for-pound best fighter, Antonio “Spider” Silva vs. Thales Leites.
Silva didn’t look good in his last fight vs. Patrick Cote, but he got the job done. Any lingering memories from that bout will be erased as I think Silva walks right through Leites.
The lack of contenders in the middleweight division really led Leites to getting this shot. Doesn’t mean he can’t pull off the upset of the year, but I wouldn’t bet .02 on it.
Leites is a great grappler and is solid on takedowns and would appear to give Silva some threat. But may be overstretching the bounds here, don’t think there is a real blueprint to beat Silva right now.
Silva is the real deal.
In the other main attraction, as fighters get older, the Boneman gets softer. It happened with Lennox Lewis and Roy Jones Jr. And it’s happening now with Chuck Liddell.
He’s no longer the King of the Hill or the most talked about fighter in the world. He’s no longer the man that will bring MMA into the mainstream media.
He’s just a fighter looking for that one more chance. I don’t know if it’ll happen vs. Shogun Rua, but I’m not 100 percent down on the IceMan this time around.
Liddell is getting older and Rua’s injuries have kept him from reaching his full potential.
There’s a term I use with my brother in boxing bouts like this: “Loser leaves the sport…please.” The term crossroads fight gets thrown out there too much, but this is definitely it.
One more hurrah for Liddell or a return to glory for Rua?
***
Tonight is the Bellator card from Norman. How important is it? Norman native Wayne Cole called me yesterday to say this might be the most important fight of his career. He can’t wait to fight in front of his hometown crowd.
Cole and former Central Oklahoma star Jared Hess are the local fighters competing tonight.
But I’m very interested in the setup, atmosphere, crowd, production values. The fights to me are way down on my list. Because if you have good fights but can’t present it right, eh, doesn’t matter.
Tickets are still on sale, from $20-100. The event starts at 8 p.m.
Bringing along a friend who isn’t too into MMA. Figure this might be the event where I show him “see, that’s why I love it.”
Back tomorrow with some Bellator thoughts.
