That was something, I guess. Bellator 237 was a middling card full of unknowns and prospects with an interlude featuring two legends from Pride Fighting Championships. I’d like to talk a bit about Fedor vs. Rampage, each of the two men involved, and circumstances that led them to this point. While it may seem like I speak ill of them, I still hold them in the highest respect for their achievements. (more…)
It took me a while to find a way to watch Canelo Alvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs, but my patience was rewarded as I got to watch a pretty high level fight with two world champions vying for middleweight supremacy. The story was mostly Daniel Jacobs trying to find a way to get through this brick wall known as Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. The solutions he tried to employ to do that were interesting, but to no avail. (more…)
This took me time to write, but I thought I had to say something about do-it-yourself self-defense solutions like this. Commercial solutions tend to be expensive and specialized, so it’s more of a chore to carry them around and replacing them when they’re no longer fresh, whether it’s stun guns or pepper spray. In this post, let’s talk about the latter, specifically a DIY version of it. (more…)
I’ve been binge-watching videos on the SB Nation YouTube channel and related channels, specifically ones produced by SB Nation Labs creative director Jon Bois. There’s also the Deep Rewind series, which is also fascinating, even if it involved sports I don’t give two shits about. Recently, he came out with a five-part documentary series called “Fighting in the Age of Loneliness.” I watched it as it came out and am pretty depressed now because of it. (more…)
Having left the tutelage of Freddie Roach for the first time in almost forever, Manny Pacquiao’s latest career decisions as far as boxing is concerned are still questionable. However, results can’t be refuted. His first knockout win in nine years doesn’t get by without some suspicion, but that’s what happens when he has the closest thing to home advantage in this card and winning a world champion at 39 years old. Pacquiao vs. Matthysse was an odd duck of a spectacle—technically interesting yet didn’t feel like that big of a deal. (more…)
The past two weeks have been quite interesting for the fight game, and I wanted to talk about it in a show. However, with the amount of production needed and lack of time due to work, preparation for MWF 1: Kasaysayan, and chronic procrastination, I finished writing a script with neither the time nor patience to produce the actual video. I thought it would be a really good show since I’d get to talk about a lot of boxing, a freak injury, and even a bus attack. (more…)
Here’s a video that just got uploaded with seemingly little to no fanfare, yet got me incredibly excited. Kazushi Sakuraba, the legendary Japanese MMA fighter, deserves a lot more mainstream attention. He’s now pushing 50, yet can’t stay away from competition. It’s granted that he hasn’t had a fight since the end of 2015, yet he’s nowhere near retired just yet. The man known as “The Gracie Hunter” and “The IQ Wrestler” has now come up with a new submission grappling event unlike any other. (more…)
A week after MWF Balikbayan (late blog post on that coming soon), I had to do another ring announcing gig in the same venue. It was the Andy Kunz Fight Night, an amateur kickboxing event. I did think it was going to be a relaxing day of me just shouting out names of two guys about to beat the shit out of each other, but it turns out I had to do more things than that. In fact, particularly for this event, I had to do even more juggling than I usually do with MWF events. (more…)
With the announcement of Mayweather vs. McGregor, I had planned to write about it here. Never mind how it has been a circus show with a ton of dosh on the line, it was still a circus show. Since it did happen anyway, let’s do something most aren’t willing to do—take it (kind of) seriously. Conor did something most wouldn’t, and Mayweather did what he needed to even at 40 to bring his record up to 50-0. I watched it (because I had to) and it was entertaining while it lasted. I then turned off the stream as soon as the referee stopped the fight. (more…)
Lately, whenever I’ve written about the UFC, I get a sense of urgency, but not outright fun. UFC 211 has made me confront these feelings because of how much in limbo the company seems to be at the moment, as well as many of those who competed in this event. I’m not one to talk bad about anything related to pro wrestling (other than those in it who are named Vince), but maybe I’m starting to change my mind when it comes to pro wrestling-style promotion of combat sports. (more…)
It took me a while, but I finally got to watch Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko. I already had a lot to say about it when I got wind of the results, but I had to see the whole boxing match for myself before I even think about writing this. After over a decade of stagnation, the heavyweight division is exciting again. This is the first step to Anthony Joshua’s rising star, and all he has to do is to fight Deontay Wilder (or maybe a hopefully rejuvenated Tyson Fury) and get a big deal with a brand to become a household name. (more…)
Be the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world and tie Anderson Silva’s record for the most number of consecutive title defenses in the UFC, but be made to do it on free television. That’s Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson’s predicament in this event, and it doesn’t help that Dana White likes to shove it into people’s faces that they know best when questioned why their champions tend to not get promoted properly. It’s understandable how he doesn’t want to be told how to do his job, but it’s also ridiculous how some of their champions are not made to look strong at all. (more…)
