We know the story, and we know how it often ends: Randy Couture, who has somehow avoided the debilitating effects of 12 years spent inside the Octagon, takes on a younger, faster, hungrier opponent. People with microphones and laptops gather around and shake their heads at the waiting disaster. And then Couture makes us all -- observers, fighters, bookies -- eat a big, fat one.
This pattern has been repeated against Chuck Liddell, Vitor Belfort (twice), Tim Sylvia, Pedro Rizzo (twice), Gabriel Gonzaga, Kevin Randleman, and Tito Ortiz -- and to a lesser extent, in respectable efforts against Antonio Nogueira and Brock Lesnar. It is not Couture’s viability at his age that impresses, but his ability to resist the cumulative wear of spending over a decade in a sport that treats participants like a wood chipper welcomes trees. It’s an inexplicable career we should probably be grateful for witnessing first-hand. ... Read More
Mamed Khalidov stopped Jorge Santiago with punches at Sengoku “Eleventh Battle.” Daniel Herbertson was ringside at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo to photograph the event for Sherdog.com. ... Read More
The expectations created by Fedor Emelianenko’s media profile make it impossible for him to perform in a way that pleases everyone: if he had crumbled Brett Rogers Saturday in a manner akin to Tim Sylvia -- women sobbing cageside, Medivacs hovering overhead -- fans would sigh and complain that Rogers never belonged in the ring with him.
In taking nearly seven minutes to finish Rogers off, gushing blood all the while, Emelianenko is instead viewed by a portion of the audience as a less-than-prime fighter. The paint, some would argue, is coming off the pedestal.
There is some truth in the idea that we don’t yet know how impressive it really was to beat Rogers: maybe he’s a devastating heavyweight who hasn’t had much of a chance to show off. (His lone win over a top-10 opponent, Andrei Arlovski, earned him this slot.) Maybe he’s a one-dimensional athlete who won’t go much further. ... Read More
TOKYO -- EliteXC veteran Mamed Khalidov stopped middleweight champion Jorge Santiago on first-round strikes in a non-title bout at Sengoku “Eleventh Battle” on Saturday at Ryogoku Kokugikan ... Read More
(PRESS RELEASE) -- HDNet will broadcast exclusive LIVE coverage of "HDNet Fights Presents: World Victory Road - Sengoku 11," early Saturday morning, November 7, at 2:00 a.m. ET from Tokyo, Japan. ... Read More
The Sengoku period in Japanese history was marked by social evolution, political drama straight out of “The West Wing” and more military conflict than a game of “Risk.” ... Read More
(PRESS RELEASE) -- Paradise Warrior Retreat (PWR), in cooperation with M-1 Global, announced today its 14th celebrity-filled retreat to be held on November 7th and 8th in Chicago, Illinois. ... Read More
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