The Fights to Watch This Week
Consider this the unofficial week of women’s mixed martial
arts.
While August go down as a month dominated by Zuffa-run events, the next few days feature the start of the first Bellator Fighting Championships women’s tournament and Strikeforce’s attempt to pull off a zany one-night tournament in the 135-pound women’s division. Mixed in with that violent goodness, King of the Cage welterweight champion Quinn Mulhern gets a chance to show off his super funk jiu-jitsu game on HDNet.
Even during slow weeks, MMA still delivers on its quality fight quota.
Megumi Fujii vs. Carla Esparza
Bellator Fighting Championships 24, Aug. 12, Hollywood, Fla.
Fujii has been regarded by fight heads as the premier female mixed martial artist in the world since practically time began. Signing up with Bellator represents a chance to drive that opinion home to casual fans accustomed to hearing such praise for Strikeforce champions Sarah Kaufman and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos.
Unfortunately for Fujii, her campaign’s start fell flat in an uninspiring win over Sarah Schneider. However, the Bellator 24 event and the beginning of the 115-pound women’s tournament on Thursday give Fujii the chance to erase that dull memory and cement her status against one of the greatest collections of talent ever assembled in the history of women’s MMA.
Fujii was originally slated to take on solid veteran Angela Magana, but injuries forced Bellator to bring in two-time All-American wrestler Esparza as a replacement on extremely short notice. The matchup will be no less compelling, however, as Esparza represents the first wave of amateur wrestlers entering women’s MMA.
Just about every knock on women’s MMA revolves around the division being in its embryonic stages. With cross-training and proper conditioning programs already known and accepted throughout the sport, regardless of gender, all that’s missing is an influx of elite athletes from various combat sports to come in and force a quantum leap. Given the disheartening lack of opportunities for female combat sport athletes at both The Amateur and professional levels, women’s MMA appears to be in perfect position to become the ultimate meeting ground for them.
Esparza may only have three professional fights to her name, but she has shown preternatural instincts for the sport, and plenty of amateur wrestlers have made preposterously easy transitions to MMA (see Joe Warren). While Fujii will be rightly considered an overwhelming favorite to win based on her experience and sassy submission game, anyone expecting Esparza to function as a sacrificial lamb will be in for a rude awakening.
It’s only a matter of time before amateur wrestlers, judokas, boxers and all the other representatives of the combat sports rainbow overrun women’s MMA. Esparza may not be the one to open the floodgates, but she will at least put a crack in them.
Quinn Mulhern vs. Levi Stout
King of the Cage “Imminent Danger,” Aug. 13, Mescalero, N.M.
The average King of the Cage show compares favorably to a Halloween basket: occasionally one finds a king-sized candy bar in between all the candy corn and razor blade-studded apples.
KOTC welterweight champion Mulhern has become one of those ginormous confections worth looking for and, if he ever gets out of his KOTC deal, a free agent worth courting. His first official title defense will take place Friday on HDNet against the undefeated Levi Stout at KOTC “Imminent Danger.”
The great thing about watching Mulhern fight is that he has proven just flawed enough to make most any fight against decent opposition an exciting affair. Just how decent Stout is remains anyone’s guess since his record was built on the back of mostly junior varsity-level competition. However, Stout’s bullying, physical style seems like a good match for Mulhern’s Gumby-inspired grappling game.
Expect plenty of upside down mount, double mission control and all the insanity that has become part and parcel of a Mulhern fight. Considering how many times that wackiness has gotten him into trouble, bank on Stout getting in a few licks along the way before succumbing to something that looks cool.
As long as your remote control has a mute button strong enough to drown out Michael Schiavello’s incalculably grating commentary, you will want to see this fight. Plus, when one of these guys ends up in a major promotion you can play the expert card and talk about how you saw him fight way back when.
Strikeforce Women’s 135-Pound Tournament
Strikeforce Challengers 10, Aug. 13, Phoenix
Crazy is the only word that comes to mind when thinking of the Strikeforce women’s 135-pound tournament that will begin on Friday at Strikeforce Challengers 10. Is the two-headed monster of Strikeforce and Showtime crazy like a fox or crazy like Orly Taitz?
For now, the mere fact that Strikeforce has managed to convince quality fighters like Carina Damm, Hitomi Akano, Miesha Tate and Maiju Kujala to compete in a single elimination, random-draw, one-night tournament should be viewed as an accomplishment by itself. The rules are just as bizarre as the setup, with semfinal fights being scheduled for two three-minute rounds and the final bout consisting of three three-minute rounds. (The Arizona State Boxing Commission nixed a proposed sudden victory round in case of a draw in the opening bouts.)
In spite of the tournament’s unusual setup, the prospect of seeing three world-class women’s MMA bouts in one evening provides the real draw. Now, I’ve never pulled any punches on women’s MMA and still feel it has a long way to go since it basically mirrors the same gradual evolution through which men’s MMA had to go. However, between Strikeforce and Bellator, the time has come to give the division a real chance.
The winner of the tournament will not get an automatic title shot, and the blame for that lies at the feet of Strikeforce matchmakers. Besides, if this eclectic collection of talent makes for the kind of fights for which everyone hopes, no one will be thinking about the perceived promotional incompetence that tainted the buildup.
With that said, tournaments are an unbelievably difficult thing to pull off in MMA. They either come together perfectly or fall to pieces within minutes. No middle ground exists, and seeing which side of the equation Strikeforce ends up on serves as just as good a reason as any to tune in.
Follow Tomas Rios and his esoteric “Twilight” saga fan-fic on the Twitter device at www.twitter.com/Tomas_Rios.
While August go down as a month dominated by Zuffa-run events, the next few days feature the start of the first Bellator Fighting Championships women’s tournament and Strikeforce’s attempt to pull off a zany one-night tournament in the 135-pound women’s division. Mixed in with that violent goodness, King of the Cage welterweight champion Quinn Mulhern gets a chance to show off his super funk jiu-jitsu game on HDNet.
Even during slow weeks, MMA still delivers on its quality fight quota.
Megumi Fujii vs. Carla Esparza
Bellator Fighting Championships 24, Aug. 12, Hollywood, Fla.
Fujii has been regarded by fight heads as the premier female mixed martial artist in the world since practically time began. Signing up with Bellator represents a chance to drive that opinion home to casual fans accustomed to hearing such praise for Strikeforce champions Sarah Kaufman and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos.
Unfortunately for Fujii, her campaign’s start fell flat in an uninspiring win over Sarah Schneider. However, the Bellator 24 event and the beginning of the 115-pound women’s tournament on Thursday give Fujii the chance to erase that dull memory and cement her status against one of the greatest collections of talent ever assembled in the history of women’s MMA.
Fujii was originally slated to take on solid veteran Angela Magana, but injuries forced Bellator to bring in two-time All-American wrestler Esparza as a replacement on extremely short notice. The matchup will be no less compelling, however, as Esparza represents the first wave of amateur wrestlers entering women’s MMA.
Just about every knock on women’s MMA revolves around the division being in its embryonic stages. With cross-training and proper conditioning programs already known and accepted throughout the sport, regardless of gender, all that’s missing is an influx of elite athletes from various combat sports to come in and force a quantum leap. Given the disheartening lack of opportunities for female combat sport athletes at both The Amateur and professional levels, women’s MMA appears to be in perfect position to become the ultimate meeting ground for them.
Esparza may only have three professional fights to her name, but she has shown preternatural instincts for the sport, and plenty of amateur wrestlers have made preposterously easy transitions to MMA (see Joe Warren). While Fujii will be rightly considered an overwhelming favorite to win based on her experience and sassy submission game, anyone expecting Esparza to function as a sacrificial lamb will be in for a rude awakening.
It’s only a matter of time before amateur wrestlers, judokas, boxers and all the other representatives of the combat sports rainbow overrun women’s MMA. Esparza may not be the one to open the floodgates, but she will at least put a crack in them.
Quinn Mulhern vs. Levi Stout
King of the Cage “Imminent Danger,” Aug. 13, Mescalero, N.M.
The average King of the Cage show compares favorably to a Halloween basket: occasionally one finds a king-sized candy bar in between all the candy corn and razor blade-studded apples.
KOTC welterweight champion Mulhern has become one of those ginormous confections worth looking for and, if he ever gets out of his KOTC deal, a free agent worth courting. His first official title defense will take place Friday on HDNet against the undefeated Levi Stout at KOTC “Imminent Danger.”
The great thing about watching Mulhern fight is that he has proven just flawed enough to make most any fight against decent opposition an exciting affair. Just how decent Stout is remains anyone’s guess since his record was built on the back of mostly junior varsity-level competition. However, Stout’s bullying, physical style seems like a good match for Mulhern’s Gumby-inspired grappling game.
Expect plenty of upside down mount, double mission control and all the insanity that has become part and parcel of a Mulhern fight. Considering how many times that wackiness has gotten him into trouble, bank on Stout getting in a few licks along the way before succumbing to something that looks cool.
As long as your remote control has a mute button strong enough to drown out Michael Schiavello’s incalculably grating commentary, you will want to see this fight. Plus, when one of these guys ends up in a major promotion you can play the expert card and talk about how you saw him fight way back when.
Strikeforce Women’s 135-Pound Tournament
Strikeforce Challengers 10, Aug. 13, Phoenix
Crazy is the only word that comes to mind when thinking of the Strikeforce women’s 135-pound tournament that will begin on Friday at Strikeforce Challengers 10. Is the two-headed monster of Strikeforce and Showtime crazy like a fox or crazy like Orly Taitz?
For now, the mere fact that Strikeforce has managed to convince quality fighters like Carina Damm, Hitomi Akano, Miesha Tate and Maiju Kujala to compete in a single elimination, random-draw, one-night tournament should be viewed as an accomplishment by itself. The rules are just as bizarre as the setup, with semfinal fights being scheduled for two three-minute rounds and the final bout consisting of three three-minute rounds. (The Arizona State Boxing Commission nixed a proposed sudden victory round in case of a draw in the opening bouts.)
In spite of the tournament’s unusual setup, the prospect of seeing three world-class women’s MMA bouts in one evening provides the real draw. Now, I’ve never pulled any punches on women’s MMA and still feel it has a long way to go since it basically mirrors the same gradual evolution through which men’s MMA had to go. However, between Strikeforce and Bellator, the time has come to give the division a real chance.
The winner of the tournament will not get an automatic title shot, and the blame for that lies at the feet of Strikeforce matchmakers. Besides, if this eclectic collection of talent makes for the kind of fights for which everyone hopes, no one will be thinking about the perceived promotional incompetence that tainted the buildup.
With that said, tournaments are an unbelievably difficult thing to pull off in MMA. They either come together perfectly or fall to pieces within minutes. No middle ground exists, and seeing which side of the equation Strikeforce ends up on serves as just as good a reason as any to tune in.
Follow Tomas Rios and his esoteric “Twilight” saga fan-fic on the Twitter device at www.twitter.com/Tomas_Rios.
