Batista MMA career in limbo after Strikeforce buy-out

 

Batista MMA career in limbo after Strikeforce buy-out

27 May, 2011

Dave Bautista, better known as fromer WWE superstar “Batista”, has had to shelve plans to enter the cage and embark on an MMA career.

Batista, a six-time world champion and firm fan favourite in the WWE, had hoped to emulate Brock Lesnar and make a successful switch from the pro wrestling ranks to MMA.

Since leaving WWE a year ago, Batista has been publicly courted by Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker. Negotiations were slow and complex.

But that didn’t stop Batista from engaging in a public slanging match with another former pro wrestler, Bobby Lashley, who has been building his own combat career (6-1) since leaving Vince McMahon’s company in 2008.

The two were building up heat ahead of a potential fight that would have surely generated big numbers for Strikeforce.

A clash between Batista and Lashley, both Wrestlemania headliners, would have generated huge interest from the crossover fanbases of pro wrestling and MMA.

However, since the UFC’s shock purchase of Strikeforce, Batista has admitted that any agreement is “dead”. The last few weeks have bought no further news and it seems that his fighting career is genuinely over before it started.

Unlike Lesnar, who had top drawer genuine wrestling credentials from his college days, Batista would have had to start from scratch in building an MMA skill base. At 42 years old, it would have been a mammoth task to expect him to make an impact.

However, like many MMA fans, I’m genuinely disappointed that he won’t get the chance to even try.

Ralph Welch

info@ultimatefightclub.co.uk

Final Thoughts on Groves - DeGale

Final thoughts on Groves-DeGale

Posted 25^th May, 2011

Booth proves himself the chess master

After a build-up dominated by insults and heated exchanges, there was one very cool head in the O2 Arena.

Adam Booth, trainer to both George Groves and David Haye, has rightly attracted the plaudits for masterminding victory.

It was a tactical masterclass, nullifying DeGale’s strengths and convincing the occasionally erratic Groves to stick to a gameplan.

With Booth in his corner, Haye may well succeed where all others have failed and finally conquer the Klitschko’s.

DeGale will reach his destiny

It would be easy to dismiss Saturday as a setback for James DeGale. But the loss of face aside, in fact the defeat may hasten his journey to a world title.

I’m convinced DeGale will emerge from this a better, hungrier fighter. He may have lost an unbeaten record, but in truth it’s a vastly-overrated prize in modern boxing.

This experience of promoting and competing in a super-fight will steel him for the challenges that lie ahead.

He will be eager to prove two things to the doubters hastily writing his obituary. Firstly, that he is capable of being a world champion. And secondly, that he CAN beat George Groves.

I wouldn’t bet against either.

Beware the Cobra

One extremely interested observer on Saturday was Carl Froch. “The Cobra” returns to our TV screens in early June against grizzled veteran Glencoffe Johnson in the next instalment of the Super Six.

Once that tournament concludes, it’s no secret that Froch, one of the most entertaining fighters around, will be seeking a huge fight on home territory.

If George Groves continues to progress, Froch may well have found his opponent.

Ralph Welch

info@ultimatefightclub.co.uk

Talking point: Diaz at a crossroads

23 May 2011

Talking point: Diaz at a crossroads

Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz claims he is ready to ditch the Octagon and enter the professional boxing ranks.

But can fighters switch from the cage to the boxing ring that easily?

Diaz: “There’s no more fights for me here….”

Over the past 15 months Strikeforce’s 170-pound champ Nick Diaz has  dominated the division. His most recent victory, over British hopeful Paul “Semtex” Daley, was a real barnstormer. The two sluggers served up five minutes of brutal striking that had the arena on their feet.

A bloodied Diaz emerged victorious and his most dangerous opponent had been dispatched. It’s left him with little incentive to stay with Strikeforce. Glory and bigger paydays lie in boxing and a fight with former IBF champ Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy.

Lacy is known to British fans as the man Joe Calzaghe dominated in 2006 to win the IBF super-middleweight title. Entering the ring with an unbeaten record and a puncher’s reputation, Lacy was outclassed that night.

Since then the American’s career has nosedived. In 2009 he was stopped by Roy Jones Jr, a fortysomething fighter well past his best.

But if Diaz thinks he will be an easy ride, then he‘s wrong. Lacy may no longer be a world-class operator. But the boxing ring is his home. And whilst Diaz might be a force in the Octagon, the skills required to compete between the ropes are entirely different.

Trading places is hard to do

In recent times there have been a few occasions where MMA fighters have taken up boxing and vice versa.

They’ve almost always ended in failure.

The most notable was James “Lights Out” Toney’s shambolic attempt to challenge UFC legend Randy Couture in the cage at UFC 118. Toney, a legendary trash-talker, was scornful of MMA and its reliance on mat grappling. In his eyes, he’d simply knock Couture out before the fight went to the ground.

Universally, MMA commentators thought this incredibly naïve and Couture would teach the boxer a lesson.

They were proved right.

Within 15 seconds, Couture had taken down Toney and three minutes later submitted him via an arm triangle. It was an embarrassment and Toney was duly released from his multi-fight UFC contract.

The difference between punching in boxing and MMA

Toney’s disregard of the striking skills in MMA is typical of many boxers. They see the upright stance and looping punches of an MMA fighter as crude. They’ve honed their own boxing skills on tight guards, crisp punches and lots of upper-body movement such as the “bob and weave”.

In boxing, long, looping punches are predictable and rarely result in knockouts. Many boxers operate best “in the pocket”, nose-to-nose and able to release short, punishing punches to both head and body. Ricky Hatton was a fine exponent of this.

Those tactics are completely redundant in MMA for one reason: takedowns.

If you’re that close to your opponent, then it’s all too easy for them to suddenly switch from striking to grappling and shoot for the legs. Within miliseconds you’ll find yourself on the mat, in a vulnerable position.

That’s why MMA striking must happen at a greater distance. And whilst looping punches may be less effective in boxing, where fighters wear heavy gloves, MMA fighters wear 4oz versions.

This means that every fighter has potential knockout power.

Toney showed the danger of under-estimating what’s required to switch disciplines.

Nick Diaz should heed that warning.

Money, money, money

Of course, the big variable in all of this is UFC supremo Dana White, whose company has just purchased Strikeforce. Notoriously unafraid to speak his mind, White has voiced his disapproval at Diaz’s latest move.

In my opinion, White will dangle a carrot in front of Diaz in the shape of a bout with all-conquering UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre.

Both have big reputations. And In this business, big reputations equal big bucks. It will be too hard for Diaz to ignore.

There’s one thing that boxers and MMA fighters will always agree on…

Money talks.

RIP Randy Savage

Very sad news breaking that Randy Savage passed away yesterday, as a result of a car crash. A true legend, and hero to many growing up, when he was in his pomp in the WWF. RIP Macho Man Randy Savage

This week at a glance

This week at-a-glance

Posted: Thursday 19^h May

Bellew answers Warren call for help – or does he?

Tony Bellew yesterday stepped into the breach to save Saturday’s card at the O2 Arena following Juergen Braehmer’s last-minute withdrawal from his title bout with Welshman Nathan Cleverly.

After the farce last month with the Amir Khan bout, the last thing Sky needed was another pay-per-view event falling through. They’ve invested a huge amount in the build-up to Groves-DeGale which shares top billing.

It looked as if Frank Warren had pulled a rabbit out of the hat and gotten Bellew to take the title fight at short notice.

But following this afternoon’s press conference, Bellew has failed to make weight. Replacing him is Polish fighter Aleksy Kuziemski.

Who’d be a promoter?

Tony Bellew v Nathan Cleverly and George Groves v James DeGale can be seen on Sky Box Office on Saturday night.

Couture retires, Holyfield fights on

This column recently compared the fortunes of two ageing fighters, Randy Couture and Evander Holyfield.

Couture was the victim of a spectacular knock-out at the hands of the unpredictable Lyoto Machida at UFC 129. Beforehand the 47-year-old UFC Hall of Famer declared this would be his last fight.

He’s sticking to his word. And he retires with the thanks of MMA fans worldwide.

Meanwhile in Denmark, Holyfield’s victory over a bloated Brian Nielsen, who hadn’t fought for a decade, has prolonged his career further. The attendance for the fight was sparse, despite Nielsen’s great popularity in his home country.

Even the fans are turning their back on Holyfield.

But he’s not listening.

The curious case of Steven Seagal, The Karate Kid and the UFC

It’s been an odd week in the world of Mixed Martial Arts.

Betting ahead of the UFC 129 matchup between Lyoto Machida and Randy Couture was cagey. It would have been foolish to bet against UFC legend Couture causing an upset, despite facing an opponent sixteen years his junior.

After six minutes of absorbing to-and-fro, Machida made his move. In an astonishing departure from cagefighting best practice, he eschewed takedowns or striking, opting instead for the crane kick to finish his opponent.

See the kick here

That’s right. The crane kick. A move immortalised by Daniel LaRusso, “The Karate Kid”, in his victory over arch-nemeses the Cobra Kai dojo.

The last time we saw a crane kick, Nelson Mandela was still in prison, the US and Russia were firmly embedded in a Cold War and the Ford Capri was Britain’s car of choice.

For someone to reproduce that kick, a full twenty-seven years later, and in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the UFC, was truly astonishing.

Even more astonishing was Machida’s subsequent comment that the man who taught him this deadly move was not LaRusso, but action movie star Steven Seagal.

Steven Seagal: back from the wilderness

Seagal’s top-flight career, much like Queens Park Rangers, has been something of a distant memory since the early nineties. He signed off from the top level of cinema after his 1993 hit ”Under Siege”, perhaps most notable for the sight of Baywatch beauty Erika Eleniak emerging topless from a giant birthday cake.

For a generation of young men, that scene proved two things. Firstly, that the pause button was an adolescent’s best friend. Secondly, that back in the nineties, cinema was symptomatic of English football – you couldn’t get success without a big front two.

Since then the movie business has moved on, leaving Seagal has to ply his trade exclusively in the straight-to-DVD section of Blockbuster.

Titles such as “Mercenary for Justice”, “Shadow Man” and “Attack Force” all failed to trouble the scorers at the Oscars.

After such a fall from grace, many wondered which director would be brave enough to give him another job at the top-level.

None, as it happens.

Instead, after various flirts with reality television, Seagal, a 7^th dan black belt in Aikido, has re-appeared in the world of MMA.

And the sport is all the better for it.

Grudge Match

What follows will surely be a protracted debate about whose crane kick was the most impressive. Seagal has been all over the MMA media, citing his pride in his protégé, and the difficulty in performing such a kick in the Octagon.

In contrast, La Russo has stayed remarkably silent. His supporters point out his kick was executed under the most extreme pressure.

Not only was he carrying an injury, and shouldering the expectations of his ageing master Mr Miyagi, but LaRusso was facing a brutal truth: Defeat meant he had absolutely no chance of sleeping with Elizabeth Shue.

For me, that makes his effort the more notable.

There is also the question of the resources at their disposal. Seagal’s profile has afforded him considerable wealth and the ability to train in top-class facilities.

I sincerely doubt that Machida’s preparation involved the waxing/ polishing of 1950s cars, and catching insects with a pair of chopsticks.

Perhaps there is a more fitting way to decide this…

UFC 140: Seagal v LaRusso:  “No Pain, no Crane”

It can happen. It must happen.

Protect Yourself at All Times

“Protect yourself at all times”

In the next fortnight two legends in boxing and MMA, Evander Holyfield, 48, and Randy Couture, 47 will compete once again in their chosen arenas. One is adamant this bout will be his swansong. The other ignores the pleas of those who fear for his safety…

Couture: “I’m not crazy. I realise it’s not going to last forever”

When Randy Couture announced he was going to fight Lyoto Machida at UFC 129, it would have been tempting to dismiss the forty seven year-old’s latest bout as an attempt by another veteran fighter to regain past glories.

But to do that is to misunderstand Randy Couture.

The UFC Hall-of-Famer is remarkably circumspect about his own abilities and how he wants to leave the sport. He has in fact retired once already (in 2006). But he came back into the Octagon because he was convinced he could beat the reigning – and much younger champion – Tim Sylvia. He was right. That night Couture proved that despite an age difference of 12 years he was still a world-class competitor.

But time waits for no man.

Couture has learnt from the mistakes of others. He likens his situation to that of fan-favourite and former light-heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell. The “Iceman” was the undoubted star of the UFC between 2004 and 2007, knocking out a succession of opponents with his devastating hands.

But then the wheels came off. He suffered four brutal knockouts at the tail end of his career. After each bout, fans pleaded with him to call it a day and not tarnish his legacy. But Liddell wanted to go out on his shield. And he did. A heavy k.o at the hands of Rich Franklin was enough for Dana White, UFC supremo and personal friend, to call time on Liddell’s career.

Couture is adamant that he will not go out the same way.

He recently told ESPN "There had to be an end. So why not take control and do it on my terms? When I want to do it and not because I've been knocked out the last three times and nobody wants to see me get beat up again? I never want to have that conversation with anybody."

It’s an attitude that is refreshing in a sport where fighters so often fail to heed the warnings of their own body. But whatever the result this Saturday, Couture has nothing further to prove in the Octagon.

He will be remembered for pushing his body to extraordinary limits. For being the oldest-ever UFC title holder and for being the first MMA competitor to make the crossover into pop culture.

His legacy will take some matching.

Holyfield : “I’m gonna be the heavyweight champion of the world one last time”

Mark the date, May 7^th 2011. Many fans hope it will be the last time that Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield steps into a boxing ring.

But few would bet on it.

His bout against fellow veteran Brian Nielsen, 46, has attracted little media interest. Some boxing writers see it as an act of compassion. Their hope is that if he’s no longer afforded the spotlight, then Holyfield will lose his relentless desire to force himself back into title contention.

Holyfield seeks the fairytale end to a career that has seen him take on and beat a who’s who of heavyweight boxing; James “Buster” Douglas, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Michael Moorer, John Ruiz, Hasim Rachman all fell to “The Real Deal”.

And his bouts with Riddick Bowe (three) and Mike Tyson (two) and Lennox Lewis (two) produced the finest drama heavyweight boxing has seen since in the past twenty years.

If you haven’t checked them out on Youtube, then do. What you’ll see is a warrior who never took a backward step. Whose heart could never be in question. Whose mixture of speed and skill made him a match for any heavyweight in history.

Watch some his more recent bouts and they tell a different story.

Like many ageing fighters, the speed and reflexes are dwindling. He’s taking many more punches than he did in his heyday. But the warrior’s heart remains.

His career has becomes something of a twitching corpse. Just when you think he’s gone, a victory flickers his career back to life.

He’s called out both of the dominant Klitschko brothers but his cries fall on deaf ears. The younger Russian, Wladimir, recently told popular Sky boxing magazine Ringside that he would never fight Holyfield. Not out of fear. But out of compassion. He doesn’t want to further tarnish the reputation of a man he once rated so highly.

Perhaps the fairytale has become a pipedream.

But still Holyfield fights on.

Couture/ Holyfield: The next chapter

So where will we be in two weeks’ time?

The consensus amongst MMA experts is that Couture will prevail in a close-run fight over Machida. Irrespective of the result, we hope that “The Natural” will stick to the promise he has made.

There is no reason not to. He has invested wisely and has forged a career outside of the Octagon as a film star, reprising his role in the sequel to Sylvester Stallone’s action homage “The Expendables”.

For Holyfield, things are less clear. As a father to eleven children and with two costly divorces, there are fears that economics, as well as an immensely proud fighting heart, are forcing him to prolong his career. His grandiose Atlanta mansion was seized by the banks in 2007 and he’s currently being pursued over large unpaid debts.

The fight against a bloated Nielsen, who’s been out of the ring for eight years, should provide little danger.

But then the greatest danger is not his opponent, but Holyfield’s stubborn refusal to call it quits.