Two hours! Two semifinals! Crabman arguing with Uscola in the house! Are you ready?! Do you wish this wasn’t on opposite Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals and some MLS games?
Let’s go …
The first bit of suspense is in the opening credits. Will they replaced Ortiz with Franklin? The answer: Yes! That must’ve cost some money.
I spoke with Franklin on Monday for a story you’ll see Friday, and it’s strange to see him here. Coming in so late in the season put the mild-mannered fighter in a tough spot.
We start with Chuck Liddell taking out his frustration over Tito Ortiz pulling out of their fight, ranting in front of an amused Dana White. Tito says Chuck doesn’t understand what he’s going through.
Then, in one of the most abrupt segues in Ultimate Fighter history, we have the weigh-in for the Josh Bryant-Jamie “Crabman” Yager quarterfinal.
As we get to the part with teammates talking up each fighter’s chances, we see Kyacey Uscola casting doubt on Yager. They’re both on Team Ortiz. Or is Yager officially on Team Yager now?
Yager, though, gives a good analysis of the Bryant bout. Bryant is busy taking out the trash.
Crabman should be the favorite, based on the speed of his prelim and first-round wins. Bryant needed a majority decision to get into the house, then labored his way to an upset of Kris McCray.
Steve Mazzagatti is the ref. Crabman is the tall one. It’s one of the biggest height differentials in Ultimate Fighter history. We’re off.
Perhaps this is a coincidence, but the World Series of Poker has put its two big events on either side of the World Cup.
The main event, the $10,000 no-limit hold-em tournament that will run ad infinitum on ESPN in months to come, starts July 5 but takes a day off July 11, coinciding with the World Cup final. The field is whittled down from several thousand to nine the rest of the week.
Before the World Cup, we get the Poker Players’ Championship, which is designed to be a more complete test of poker skills. The $50,000 buy-in and the rotation of eight diverse poker variants is supposed to intimidate the amateurs who flock to the main event, leaving only the poker pros with reason to feel confident — and perhaps enough of a rep to attract sponsors who make the $50,000 check a little less painful to write.
In the past couple of years, they’ve used a H.O.R.S.E. tournament (not a basketball shooting competition but a rotation of five games) as the big test for the pros, but they found that ESPN wasn’t interested in televising several obscure, difficult-to-explain games. The compromise: Rotate through eight games but then stick to no-limit hold-em for the final table.
The other events will feature a mix of poker pros, Internet gamers, random amateurs and occasional celebrities. (One early sighting: UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.)
Options for following the 57 official games plus the “Ante Up for Africa” championship:
– Official site: Commentary focuses on big-name pros and celebrities until each event gets to a manageable two or three tables, and then it’s more tightly focused on each hand.
– ESPN: The broadcaster that has paved the way for other broadcasters to show nonstop poker has a blog and other updates.
– Twitter: My list includes the official WSOP feed and Poker News, plus notable players Doyle Brunson (venerable veteran), Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker, thoughtful ambassador for the game), Vanessa Rousso (Duke alum with lots of sponsors) and Annie Duke (Celebrity Apprentice winner — I don’t accept the decision to give the title to Joan Rivers).
Headlines from the other Myriad sports this weekend:
– Cycling: Ivan Basso, back from his doping suspension, cruised to victory at the Giro d’Italia. World champion Cadel Evans made a break for it in a final mountain stage but couldn’t reach the podium. David Arroyo, one of the underdogs who broke away on The Day The Peloton Said “Oops!”, finished second.
– MMA: Rashad Evans took down Rampage Jackson at UFC 114, bringing at least a temporary conclusion to a nasty trash-talking battle. Michael Bisping showed some class and poise in a win over Dan Miller in the co-main event. The other three main-card fights were surprising. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira labored past fill-in fighter Jason Brilz for a controversial split decision win, English prospect John Hathaway outperformed veteran Diego Sanchez, and Chicago cop Mike Russow overcame his love handles and 2 1/2 rounds of being tagged in the face to knock out previously unbeaten Todd Duffee with one punch.
– Track and field: American record in the high jump for Chaunte Howard Lowe, who cleared6-8 1/4 in miserable conditions at an obscure meet in Germany. Bryan Clay won the decathlon at the Hypo Combined Events Meeting in Austria.
– Beach volleyball: Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser keep rolling on the FIVB circuit, winning in Poland. Brazilians Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca won the women’s event in South Korea over Americans Angie Akers and Tyra Turner, with Jen Kessy and April Ross unusually dropped to bronze.
– Tennis: Justine Henin’s comeback hit a bump today at the French Open with a loss to Samantha Stosur. Americans have had a rough time — Venus Williams, Andy Roddick and the Bryan brothers are all out. Robby Ginepri upset his way to the fourth round before falling to third seed Novak Djokovic.
– English soccer: Millwall, known for harboring American players and ill-tempered fans, won promotion back to the Championship.
– Judo: Remember the name Kayla Harrison. The 19-year-old won her first World Cup gold and third World Cup medal of the year.
– Weightlifting: We rise for American records — Kendrick Harris lifted 203kg in the clean-and-jerk.
– More Oly sports: Shooting gold and bronze for Olympic multimedalist Matt Emmons, plus three U.S. rowing medals. Check the USOC’s Olympic Sports Scene.
Main event, light heavyweights: Rashad Evans (#3) vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (#4)
It’s the first time a UFC main event has featured two African-Americans, it’s a showdown of former champions, it’s a long-delayed matchup of two coaches from The Ultimate Fighter, and it’s a title eliminator, with the winner getting a shot at champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
The Giro d’Italia and NCAA lacrosse tournaments conclude, the French Open hits the halfway point and national teams prep for the World Cup with various friendlies.
SATURDAY
9 a.m.: Cycling, Stage 19, Giro d’Italia. Final mountain stage. Ivan Basso took the lead in Friday’s stage and will be tough to displace here. Universal Sports
10 a.m.: Soccer (England), Millwall-Swindon. Winner is promoted to the Championship level. Fox Soccer Plus
2 p.m.: Soccer (international), USA-Turkey. The World Cup roster is set; this game is all about trying out combinations and tuning up. ESPN2
4 p.m.: College lacrosse, Notre Dame-Cornell, Division I men’s semifinal. ESPN2
6:30 p.m.: College lacrosse, Duke-Virginia, Division I men’s semifinal. ESPN2
8 p.m.: Soccer (MLS), New England-New York. Red Bulls have been reeling for a couple of weeks; Revs have been reeling most of the season. ESPN2
7:30 p.m.: D.C. United-Chivas USA, Direct Kick/MLSS.com
7:30 p.m.: Columbus-Los Angeles, Direct Kick/MLSS.com
8:30 p.m.: Houston-Philadelphia, FSC
9 p.m.: Colorado-Seattle, Direct Kick/MLSS.com
9 p.m.: Salt Lake-Kansas City, Direct Kick/MLSS.com
10 p.m.: San Jose-Toronto, Direct Kick/MLSS.com
10 p.m.: MMA, UFC 114. Rampage-Rashad in the main event. Full preview coming this afternoon. Pay-per-view
Olympic sports: FIVB beach volleyball men in Poland, women in Korea. Shooting’s World Cup passes through Fort Benning, Ga. Track and field’s Diamond League resumes next week, leaving many athletes free to enter Fanny Blankers-Koen Games in the Netherlands.
Two quarterfinals and the explanation of what happened to Tito Ortiz to scrub his fight with fellow coach Chuck Liddell? Seems promising.
Must be busy, because we start with a weigh-in. Kyle Noke and Kris McCray are bummed because they’re buddies, and they have to fight. They’re also two of the best guys on the show, and one of them has to go out early.
Tito went to his neck doctor, and they want to do surgery. He says he has fought hurt for the last six years and doesn’t want to fight Chuck at less than 100 percent. Someone on the Web is surely cataloging all of Tito’s devastating setbacks and miraculous recoveries. I’ve written at least one of them.
Quick look at the quarterfinal matchups, posted here so I can focus on the Tito drama in tonight’s recap (if the previews are to be believed):
* Court McGee (Liddell) def. James Hammortree (Ortiz), submission
* Kyle Noke (Liddell) vs. Kris McCray (Ortiz)
* Brad Tavares (Liddell) vs. Seth Baczynski (Ortiz)
* Josh Bryant (Liddell) vs. Jamie “Crabman” Yager (Ortiz)
Noke-McCray
Noke has been a forgotten man this season, appearing little on screen since dismantling Clayton McKinney in the first fight of the first round. All else we know about him: He was Chuck Liddell’s first pick, and he was a bodyguard for Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter himself. Noke spent much of his screen time in that first episode thanking the late Irwin for his support. His resume includes a draw against current Bellator champ Hector Lombard and and a win over George Sotiropoulos.
McCray, for me, is the local guy, living a county or two away and fighting in the local UWC. He had a good record of winning fights in rapid fashion until Josh Bryant shocked him by surviving the first round and finding McCray’s gas tank empty. He got a wild-card slot and returned to fight Kyacey Uscola, again going to the second round but getting a solid submission win.
This should be the highlight of the quarterfinals.
Tavares-Baczynski
Tavares is part of Team Crabman / Team Yager, the unofficial group of pranksters and yappers who were irritating in the first few episodes but have faded into the background. He won a close decision over James Hammortree, perhaps not deserving a third round but taking full advantage of the opportunity. The coaches seem impressed with Tavares.
Baczynski came into the house to replace Chris Camozzi, who won his prelim fight but broke his jaw and couldn’t continue. Baczynski lost his prelim fight to Court McGee, which looks less and less negative as McGee progresses through the tournament. Personality-wise, we don’t know much.
Bryant-Yager
Bryant won a tough prelim fight to get into the house, then surprised everyone by outlasting McCray.
Yager was marching steadily down the Josh Koscheck / Junie Browning road to infamy with a couple of early pranks and feuds, but he has either settled down or become less interesting to the camera crew and directors. His personality may be grating, but he has looked sharp in two brief appearances in the cage.
10 a.m.: Soccer (England), Championship promotion final, Blackpool-Cardiff. Yes, one of these teams will be in the Premier League next season. Probably not the season after that. Fox Soccer Plus
Noon: Ice hockey, World Championship semifinal, Czech Republic vs. Sweden. Universal Sports
** 2:30 p.m.: Soccer (Europe), Champions League final, Inter Milan vs. Bayern Munich. Fox
3 p.m.: Soccer (MLS), Seattle-San Jose, Fox Soccer Channel
4 p.m.: Ice hockey, World Championship semifinal, Russia vs. Germany. Universal Sports
** 6 p.m.: Soccer (Women’s), USA-Germany in a huge international friendly. No WPS games this week due to international play. ESPN2
6:30 p.m.: Cycling, Stage 7, Tour of California. It’s a time trial, though unlike the Tour de France, it might not be the last word. Versus
SUNDAY
5 a.m.: Tennis, French Open, first day. Tennis Channel
8 a.m.: Track and field, Diamond League in Shanghai, with Usain Bolt in action. Universal Sports online
2:30 p.m.: Ice hockey, World Championship semifinal, Universal Sports
6:30 p.m.: Cycling, Final stage, Tour of California. Hilly circuit. Versus
Ahead to Monday: England-Mexico (3 p.m., FSC/Telemundo) and more French Open.
NCAA Championship watch:
Men’s lacrosse (quarterfinals): One of two Duke-North Carolina matchups this weekend. Two first-round shockers saw perennial contenders Princeton and Syracuse ousted. Duke routed another usual suspect, Johns Hopkins. The big story, of course, is top-seeded Virginia, playing with one of its players in jail facing charges in the death of a women’s player.
Women’s lacrosse (quarterfinals): Not as many upsets in this bracket.
Already at the eighth episode? And we still don’t know why Tito isn’t fighting Chuck. We still don’t know if any two fighters will be healthy enough to fight in the finale. We still don’t know if anyone eventually tapes Crabman’s mouth shut.
We do know the wild-card matchup. One wrinkle: Kyacey Uscola gets special dispensation to take a phone call from his wife, who has just delivered their baby boy. It’s a touching scene. Kris McCray, his opponent, sincerely congratulates him. No trash-talking going into this one. McCray, humbled by his earlier loss, says he’s probably the underdog. No, Kris, you’re not.
Steve Mazzagatti is our ref, and we’re underway before the first ad break! That has to be a record.
Uscola seems looser and more confident early, letting his hands go a bit. McCray answers with kicks. Then an Uscola leg kick catches McCray badly, and his corner urges him to pounce on his grimacing opponent. But McCray recovers quickly and lands some shots against the cage.
It’s one of the quietest fights in the show’s history. Tito, as promised, is keeping his mouth shut, not willing to pick sides between teammates. Other fighters are also staying out of it. You hear one or two guys from each corner.
McCray catches Uscola in the groin with a knee, and Mazzagatti breaks them up, giving Uscola time to recover and, more importantly, escape from being pinned against the cage. But McCray presses the action again and easily takes the first round.
Dec. 31, 2004. Fedor Emelianenko defeats Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the second time. He is Pride’s heavyweight champion and the winner of the heavyweight Grand Prix. At the same time, UFC is in heavyweight limbo due to Frank Mir’s motorcycle accident. Few can doubt that Fedor is the best heavyweight fighter in MMA.
Fedor has won 10 more fights since then. Some have had good resumes. But at most, one has gone on to do anything significant since facing Fedor.
Call it the Curse of Fedor. Or perhaps bad matchmaking and bad timing. Emelianenko is still ranked No. 1 in the world, a claim helped by the relative inexperience of UFC champion Brock Lesnar and interim UFC champion Shane Carwin. But that ranking isn’t as certain as the No. 1s in the next three classes — Mauricio Rua, Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre.
Here’s a breakdown of what Fedor’s opponents have gone on to do:
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Pride Bushido 6, April 3, 2005 (doctor stoppage after first round): A rematch of Fedor’s only “loss,” a 2000 Rings tournament bout that was stopped early when Fedor was cut by an illegal strike. In most circuits, that would be declared no contest. But someone had to advance in the tournament, so Kohsaka was credited with the win. He went on to lose to Randy Couture in the same tournament and then lost to a succession of top fighters before facing Fedor again.
After Fedor: 2 wins (neither notable), 2 losses. Retired.
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Pride Final Conflict, Aug. 28. 2005 (unanimous decision): Perhaps the last great Fedor fight. Certainly the last time to date that he’s gone the distance. Cro Cop had marched through some of the best in the game — Sakuraba, Vovchanchyn, Barnett and Coleman.
After Fedor: 11 wins, 4 losses, no contest. The best record by far of any of Fedor’s opponents of the last five years, with wins over Josh Barnett (again) and Wanderlei Silva. Yet the man with the short shorts has struggled in UFC fights, compiling a 3-3 record with no big wins and losses to Gabriel Gonzaga, Cheick Kongo and Junior dos Santos.
Zuluzinho, Pride Shockwave 2005, Dec. 31, 2005 (first-round submission to strikes): The glorious world of Japanese matchmaking brought us this Brazilian fighter, who was 15-0 when he made his Pride debut against Fedor. Twenty-six seconds later, he was 15-1. Here’s how:
After Fedor: 4 wins, 5 losses. He went on to lose to Nogueira and Eric “Butterbean” Esch in a not-so-stellar Pride career. Best win was against Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa, whose 45-30-8 record tells the tale of an up-and-down career.
Mark Coleman, Pride 32, Oct. 21, 2006 (second-round armbar submission): Coleman was a fine choice as Fedor’s opponent when Pride made its first trip to the USA. He would later be named to the UFC Hall of Fame, and he was Pride’s 2000 open-weight Grand Prix champion. He had lost to Nogueira, Cro Cop and Fedor himself in the years since then, and his most notable win — over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua — was the result of a catastrophic mistake in which Rua broke his arm.
After Fedor: 1 win, 2 losses. Coleman was inactive for more than two years until the UFC brought him back for a light heavyweight rematch with Rua, in which he fought gamely but showed his age. He then took an impressive unanimous decision over Stephan Bonnar, taking down the younger fighter and beating him up old-school. But he showed little in a loss to Randy Couture and was cut from the UFC despite his Hall of Fame status and the desire of many to see him beat up Tito Ortiz, who heckled him during his postfight interview.
Mark Hunt, Pride Shockwave 2006, Dec. 31, 2006 (first-round kimura submission): The New Zealand kickboxer, whose best results were split decisions over Wanderlei Silva and Cro Cop, wasn’t the top choice to face Fedor in what turned out to be the last Pride heavyweight title fight. He still made a decent go of things before Fedor’s class won out.
After Fedor: 0 wins, 3 losses. All solid opponents — Alistair Overeem, Melvin Manhoef, Gegard Mousasi. All quick losses.
Matt Lindland, BodogFight, April 14, 2007 (first-round armbar submission): The gambling company’s brief dalliance in fight promotion included a trip to Russia, offering Fedor a chance to fight in his home country for the first time in six years. The choice of opponent was curious — middleweight Matt Lindland, who packed on a few pounds to try to even the scales. The 2000 Olympic wrestling medalist had a respectable 20-4 record, mostly against UFC and IFL opposition, but jumping two weight classes was a tall order.
After Fedor: 1 win, 2 losses. He moved to Affliction and took a unanimous decision over Fabio Nascimento, but Vitor Belfort knocked out in spectacular fashion, and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza spoiled his Strikeforce debut. He fights again Saturday against Kevin Casey.
Hong-Man Choi, Yarennoka!, Dec. 31, 2007 (first-round armbar submission): The ultimate in Japanese matchmaking eccentricity is this 7-2 Korean kickboxer. That’s his height, not his record. He had a decent kickboxing record but was 1-0 in MMA coming into this fight, having beaten TV personality Bobby Ologun. Fedor took some damage in the fight, mostly from trying to take down the much larger Choi and having him topple on top.
After Fedor: 1 win, 2 losses, but at least he beat Jose Canseco.
Tim Sylvia, Affliction: Banned, July 19, 2008 (first-round rear naked choke): Surely this would be a more legitimate traditional matchup. Sylvia had held the UFC belt 18 months earlier and was coming off a loss to Nogueira, hardly a shameful result. But the UFC had parted ways with him for some reason. And his next two fights lasted a total of 45 seconds. He survived 36 seconds against Fedor and NINE against Ray Mercer, the former boxer most notable in MMA for losing an exhibition to Kimbo Slice before Slice started training seriously.
After Fedor: 1 win, 1 loss.
Andrei Arlovski, Affliction: Day of Reckoning, Jan. 24, 2009 (first-round KO): Again, a relatively recent UFC champion would face Fedor. And Arlovski was fresh from a second-round win over Roy Nelson, albeit a mildly controversial one. Arlovski took the fight to Fedor early on. Then he rushed toward an apparently stunned Fedor with a flying attack, and Fedor swatted him out of the air and out of the fight with one well-timed punch.
After Fedor: 0 wins, 2 losses. Brett Rogers (see below) took him out in 22 seconds. Then he lost a decision to Antonio Silva.
Brett Rogers, Strikeforce, Nov. 7, 2009 (second-round TKO): Rogers was unbeaten entering the bout, having just beaten Arlovski. He was competitive in the first round, but Fedor caught him in the second and pounded him out.
After Fedor: 0 wins, 1 loss. Overeem finally returned to Strikeforce to defend his title, and he did so convincingly, taking a first-round TKO.
TOTAL RECORD: 21-24
RECORD SINCE CRO COP: 8-18
RECORD SINCE ZULUZINHO: 4-13
Fedor’s next opponent, Fabricio Werdum, beat Overeem in May 2006. He’s 5-3 since then, losing to Nogueira, Arlovski and Junior dos Santos.
Duresport.com 