May 10
13
Top 10 MMA Entrances Of All Time
The old adage goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” When a fighter walks into the arena, it’s sometimes part of a ritual they go through to prepare for a fight. Sometimes, it’s psychological warfare, designed to get under the skin of the opponent. And on occasion, the fighter just wants to make a huge splash. The smart fighter realizes that if you make a memorable impact coming into the arena, win or lose, fans will pay to see you fight again.
The following are my picks for the top 10 best MMA entrances of all time. Some goofy, some impressive, and some just downright fun.
Number 10
Tom Lawlor, UFC 113
It’s a shame this was an undercard fight, because while the Lawlor fight made it onto the UFC broadcast, his epic entrance did not. Borrowing from Rocky IV, Lawlor channeled his inner Apollo Creed, walking out to James Brown’s Living in America and wearing an American flag robe. The crowd was definitely feeling it, as you can gather from the fuzzy video captured at the live event. Unfortunately, life imitated art once again as Lawlor lost his fight, though not as badly as Apollo Creed did. (Spoiler Alert: Creed died.)
May 10
10
UFC 113 Results
Another UFC pay-per-view has come and gone, and not without it’s fair share of drama.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua managed to tame Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, handing him his first Octagon loss in decisive fashion … with a first round knockout. Any doubts about whether or not Shogun won the first fight are a distant memory, as Rua is now atop the Light Heavyweight division where he belongs. Reports that Rua might have had a knee injury (which later ended up being an appendectomy) turned out to be a non-issue.
I’m thrilled to have been wrong about Stout, as Jeremy Stephens won a split-decision against Stout in what ended up being Fight of the Night. Stephens pretty well dominated the fight, and I can’t imagine which fight the judge that scored it 29-28 for Stout could have been watching. The really heartwarming part was after the fight when he said he’s setting aside that bonus for his one-year-old daughter’s future.
Josh Koscheck took down Paul Daley at will and ground out a decision victory, just like most people figured would happen. What wasn’t foreseen was Daley losing his UFC contract after suckerpunching Kos after the fight. Kos apparently said something inflammatory to Daley after the ref separated the two, and Daley took a poke at Kos. White announced at the press conference that Daley would never fight in the UFC again.
Daley wasn’t the only person to walk away from UFC 113 without a job, as Kimbo Slice couldn’t perform at all against Matt Mitrione, who earned a TKO victory in the second round against Slice. Mitrione exploited Slice’s suspect leg and took him down, eventually mounting Slice, who was practically immobile on the ground. Dana also gave Slice his walking papers, as do many fighters coming to the UFC by way of The Ultimate Fighter series who lose an early fight. Not entirely unwarranted (Kimbo was non-competitive against the 1-0 Mitrione), but I really like the guy and wouldn’t mind seeing him fight again. If there’s money to be made, he’ll be back.
Someone who didn’t walk away from UFC 113 at all is Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald, fracturing his leg in several places and dislocating his ankle in his fight with John Salter. MacDonald was a short-notice replacement for Nick Catone, and it was MacDonald’s first Octagon appearance in over a year.
Patrick Coté came in ready to fight Alan Belcher following 18 months on the sidelines with an injury. Sadly, he not only lost to Belcher, but suffered a broken hand that will likely sideline him yet again.
May 10
7
UFC 113 Picks
Keeping this one short because I’m seriously busy today, but below are my picks for the main card of UFC 113.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Lyoto Machida: I’m going with Shogun, partly because I know my girlfriend will root for the karate fighter, but also partly because I believe Shogun will right the wrong that was committed in their last fight. He’ll get the belt by close decision, and we’ll end up looking forward to a rubber match between these two outstanding fighters.
Jeremy Stephens vs. Sam Stout: This is a real “Sophie’s Choice.” I really enjoyed interviewing Jeremy Stephens for FightPastor.com. I love that he’s a family man, and that he’s training hard to put on a good show with Sam Stout. Either way this fight goes, I’m anticipating a Fight of the Night with these two. When you go after Stephens, he comes back at you with the entire arsenal. That said, I think Stout’s power can’t be ignored. Put me down for a knockout from Stout, but in my heart, I’m going to be cheering for the “Li’l Heathen.”
Josh Koscheck vs. Paul Daley: Koscheck is great, but Daley has the knockout power. For all Koscheck’s boasting about keeping this fight standing, he’ll take down Daley and grind out a decision at the first sign of trouble. So unless Daley knocks him out with the first few punches that land (which is always a possibility with “Semtex”), it’ll be Koscheck by decision, earning him a position as coach for The Ultimate Fighter Season 12, and a title shot against rival coach Georges “Rush” St. Pierre.
Kimbo Slice vs. Matt Mitrione: This is going to be an ugly fight, especially after the weigh-ins, when Mitrione comes in 30lbs. heavier. Mitrione should take Kimbo down and keep him there. Unless Kimbo’s wrestling and escapes are greatly improved, Mitrione should win this fight. Mitrione by decision. I hate saying that, because I really like Kimbo a lot. He interacts with his fans regularly, and genuinely loves this sport that he’s been thrust into. I really want him to win, but I don’t think he’s got it in him to overcome 30lbs.
Patrick Coté vs. Alan Belcher: This is a tough fight to call. In any normal circumstances, I think you’d give this fight to Coté in a walk. However, coming off a long layoff, cage rust is going to be an issue, and Belcher is too dangerous to give any advantages to … provided he can keep you at distance. I think for his first fight back from a layoff, Coté will look to exploit that with a tight clinch game and grind out a victory.
If you’re in the Seattle area, come watch the fight with FightPastor.com and meet Demico Rogers! We’ll have food, giveaways, and a couple hundred rowdy fans to enjoy the fights on 4 HD screens with! You’ve got to be there!
Posted in Events Fight Night Fight Picks MMA PPV UFC by .
As a mixed martial artist, you have one goal: win fights. For your support team (and you’d better have one you can trust), they’re responsible for working with promoters to get you the fights you need to ascend the ranks, and cultivating the fan base. You might know some marketing basics: It’s a traditional supply/demand system, specific to sports marketing. Fans generate fight demand, and the promoter has the supply. You are the product.
Building a fan base requires some social networking savvy. We can teach you that: social networking works best when it comes directly from you and it’s genuine. What you need to delegate is the responsibility for your reputation management online. What’s that?
This comes down to knowing who’s talking about you, how people can find out who’s talking about you, and how all that affects how and if people who want to find out about you find something about you, or what someone else is saying. Let me explain …
If I were to Google your name, what would I find? You might Google yourself on a regular basis, so maybe you already know. But what if there’s something you don’t like that shows up there, maybe on the top of the search results? Would you know what to do about it? No, and you shouldn’t have to. You have teammates watching your back when you fight. You should have a team watching your back online as well.
Reputation Management is one of the services we offer mixed martial artists, and very likely the most important. If you don’t think the UFC or Strikeforce Googles fighters to find out what’s going on with them, think again. We monitor social networking sites, search engines, and other services, and craft specific plans to make sure that if someone wants information about you, they’re going to the source before anyone else.
Need Reputation Management Online (or off)? Contact us right now for more information.
Note: We cater to mixed martial artists, but if your company needs this kind of service, let us know. We might make an exception, or refer you to a company that can help you.
Posted in Reputation Management Services Strikeforce UFC by .
May 10
4
Griffin Out, Brilz In: UFC 114
I knew it couldn’t last. The UFC had a great card lined up for UFC 114, and sadly, the first big injury has hit the card.
Forrest Griffin had to bow out of the fight due to a shoulder injury, and shortly thereafter, Jason Brilz stepped in to fill that spotm, according to MMAJunkie.com. Brilz isn’t a marketable name yet for the UFC, so I expect this fight to be moved down on the card, and Bisping/Miller to be moved up to co-main event.
Personally, I’m disappointed. Griffin was the first winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” and the poster boy for the UFC’s metoric rise this decade. Watching him win is always a treat, win or lose, and I was really looking forward to seeing him live. I know hardly anything about Brilz, but I do know this … three weeks prep for a fight against any Nogueira isn’t enough to get the job done. Sure, it’s MMA … anything could happen. But it won’t.
May 10
4
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