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.