Fight Hype - MANMMA 317
Apr 29, 2016 13:03:16 GMT -5
The Sandmen, The Rocketmen, and 1 more like this
Post by ~ The Hype Train ~ on Apr 29, 2016 13:03:16 GMT -5
FIGHT HYPE - ManMMA 317
SuperFight Championship
Bas Rutten (29-23) vs. 
Cain Velasquez (47-31)Let's get one thing straight fight fans, when it comes to the SuperFight Championship, Bas Rutten is king around these parts. Only one of his past five Super Fights have gone longer than ten minutes, but he's finished every single one of them in devastating fashion: He dismantled Anthony Johnson in 80 seconds, he submitted the Dragon Machida in the first round, He forced Tank Abbott to tap to a Rear Naked Choke, and then returned to Tim Sylvia by forcing a TKO 50 seconds into round 3 with low kicks - you read that correctly. And finally, he smashed in Gary Goodridge for a KO win. You know what you don't see in those fights? A decision.
In his last fight at ManMMA 314, Bas TKO'd Jake Shields with kicks in 6 minutes. The last time he's lost a match was back at ManMMA 298, and it's not because of a decision and it's not because he was knocked out or tapped. No. That fight was stopped because of a swollen eye, and by all accounts Bas was ready to continue fighting. It's difficult to blame a loss because the doctor said the fighter couldn't go. Fighters breathe and live to keep pushing.
Coincidentally, that Doctor Stoppage was for the Heavyweight Championship against none other than Cain Velasquez.
Cain's ManMMA career is bizarre to put it lightly. Just looking back to that 298 victory over Bas Rutten, Cain moved on to defeat Brock Lesnar in a brawl that ended with the challenger crumbling to knees, and then losing to perennial challenger Alistair Overeem from vicious punches in under 7 minutes. That seemed to turn Cain's promising season into a series of nightmare performances. His follow-up fight left much to be desired as the Axe Murderer Wanderlei Silva dismantled Cain in just over 4 minutes, forcing the ref to call a TKO. In his most recent effort at ManMMA 312, Cain was slaughtered with elbows by Anthony Johnson midway through round 2. To say this Super Fight against Bas Rutten is important is an understatement - this fight may very well be what defines Cain for seasons to come.
But let's not put the losses solely on the shoulders of Cain Velasquez. Including Bas, Cain's last five fights were against guys ranked 6th (Rutten), HW Champ (Lesnar), 2nd (Overeem), 5th MW (Silva), and 1st (Johnson). And again, he's routinely beaten the current champ.
So where does that leave these two? When it all comes down to it, you'd have to decide if the history of continuously winning the SuperFight Championship is worth more than constantly competing against fighters at the top of the HW division. If Rutten is flying on a high from his 6 fight win streak, then it's easy to select your winner. But if it comes down to grinding it out, fight in fight out, against the World's Strongest, you'd be hard pressed not to go with Cain.
Needless to say, this could be the most compelling SuperFight Challenge we've had since Rutten took it away from the current number one ranked HW, Anthony Johnson.
Don't blink on this one.
In his last fight at ManMMA 314, Bas TKO'd Jake Shields with kicks in 6 minutes. The last time he's lost a match was back at ManMMA 298, and it's not because of a decision and it's not because he was knocked out or tapped. No. That fight was stopped because of a swollen eye, and by all accounts Bas was ready to continue fighting. It's difficult to blame a loss because the doctor said the fighter couldn't go. Fighters breathe and live to keep pushing.
Coincidentally, that Doctor Stoppage was for the Heavyweight Championship against none other than Cain Velasquez.
Cain's ManMMA career is bizarre to put it lightly. Just looking back to that 298 victory over Bas Rutten, Cain moved on to defeat Brock Lesnar in a brawl that ended with the challenger crumbling to knees, and then losing to perennial challenger Alistair Overeem from vicious punches in under 7 minutes. That seemed to turn Cain's promising season into a series of nightmare performances. His follow-up fight left much to be desired as the Axe Murderer Wanderlei Silva dismantled Cain in just over 4 minutes, forcing the ref to call a TKO. In his most recent effort at ManMMA 312, Cain was slaughtered with elbows by Anthony Johnson midway through round 2. To say this Super Fight against Bas Rutten is important is an understatement - this fight may very well be what defines Cain for seasons to come.
But let's not put the losses solely on the shoulders of Cain Velasquez. Including Bas, Cain's last five fights were against guys ranked 6th (Rutten), HW Champ (Lesnar), 2nd (Overeem), 5th MW (Silva), and 1st (Johnson). And again, he's routinely beaten the current champ.
So where does that leave these two? When it all comes down to it, you'd have to decide if the history of continuously winning the SuperFight Championship is worth more than constantly competing against fighters at the top of the HW division. If Rutten is flying on a high from his 6 fight win streak, then it's easy to select your winner. But if it comes down to grinding it out, fight in fight out, against the World's Strongest, you'd be hard pressed not to go with Cain.
Needless to say, this could be the most compelling SuperFight Challenge we've had since Rutten took it away from the current number one ranked HW, Anthony Johnson.
Don't blink on this one.
Lightweight Championship
Shinya Aoki (60-34-1) vs. Takanori Gomi (14-19)
Shinya Aoki (60-34-1) vs. Takanori Gomi (14-19)At ManMMA 317, the Lightweight Championship will be on the line for the last time until Zenith. So, to recap, Shinya Aoki is still the champion. Are you surprised? You shouldn't be. Not unless you've been living under a rock and Shinya, somehow, hasn't gotten bored with the competition in his division and subsequently arm-bared your rock to high hell. That's what he does. That's practically all he does. But dammit, he may just be the greatest submission expert in ManMMA history.
Let's take a stroll down memory lane. ManMMA 260. Shinya Aoki takes on Joachim Hansen for the Lightweight Championship. 20 seconds into Round 2, Aoki is on the mat with his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Hansen's hands are raised for the KO finish. If you don't remember that fight, it's alright. No one blames you for it. That was merely 57 fight cards ago and was the last time Aoki lost a fight.
He bounced back from that fight with a TKO victory over Clay Guida (Aoki broke Guida's ribs forcing a stoppage), and a unanimous decision win over BJ Penn - both of which occured at that season's Grand Prix. That may as well have been his warm-up for what was to come - a number one contender fight against Benson Henderson where he won via kneebar submission. And so it began. For the next 17 fights, Aoki finished the likes of Michael Chandler (Leglock), Yves Edwards (Americana), Mac Danzig (Triangle), BJ Penn (Armbar), Dominick Cruz (Kimura), Joachim Hansen (Rear Naked Choke), Urijah Faber (Amercana), and Conor McGregor, widely considered the consensus number 2 in the division, via armbar.
But do you know what name is missing from that list of phenoms? Takanori Gomi. That isn't to say the two have never met in the octagon. They have. Just once. Way back at ManMMA 194 - in Gomi's 10th fight and Aoki's 53rd. Big difference: Shinya Aoki (26-27) vs. Takanori Gomi (5-4). They now boast records of Aoki (60-34-1) -> since gone 34-7-1, and Gomi (14-19) -> since gone 9-15. If you're wondering, their first fight ended with Aoki submitting Gomi in round 2 via Kimura.
But don't discredit Gomi's rise to his title shot. He wasn't just staring a gift-horse in the mouth. He had to work his way into the mix. His first challenge came in the form of Rafael dos Anjos, where Gomi put him down for the count with elbows at the end of Round 2. Next was a semi-finals fight against Miguel Torres, where Gomi finished him off with punches 90 seconds into round 3. And finally, Sean Sherk learned that Gomi can also deliver kicks as he fell 2 minutes into Round 5 from a KO (High Kick).
If you're not noticing a trend, you should be. The more difficult the opponent, the better the finish for Gomi. His biggest obstacle is keeping the fight standing. If he's able to stuff Aoki's takedowns, then Shinya better watch out. Gomi's a striker. And we all know it only takes one shot to be heard around the world.
And Gomi just might have that shot.
Let's take a stroll down memory lane. ManMMA 260. Shinya Aoki takes on Joachim Hansen for the Lightweight Championship. 20 seconds into Round 2, Aoki is on the mat with his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Hansen's hands are raised for the KO finish. If you don't remember that fight, it's alright. No one blames you for it. That was merely 57 fight cards ago and was the last time Aoki lost a fight.
He bounced back from that fight with a TKO victory over Clay Guida (Aoki broke Guida's ribs forcing a stoppage), and a unanimous decision win over BJ Penn - both of which occured at that season's Grand Prix. That may as well have been his warm-up for what was to come - a number one contender fight against Benson Henderson where he won via kneebar submission. And so it began. For the next 17 fights, Aoki finished the likes of Michael Chandler (Leglock), Yves Edwards (Americana), Mac Danzig (Triangle), BJ Penn (Armbar), Dominick Cruz (Kimura), Joachim Hansen (Rear Naked Choke), Urijah Faber (Amercana), and Conor McGregor, widely considered the consensus number 2 in the division, via armbar.
But do you know what name is missing from that list of phenoms? Takanori Gomi. That isn't to say the two have never met in the octagon. They have. Just once. Way back at ManMMA 194 - in Gomi's 10th fight and Aoki's 53rd. Big difference: Shinya Aoki (26-27) vs. Takanori Gomi (5-4). They now boast records of Aoki (60-34-1) -> since gone 34-7-1, and Gomi (14-19) -> since gone 9-15. If you're wondering, their first fight ended with Aoki submitting Gomi in round 2 via Kimura.
But don't discredit Gomi's rise to his title shot. He wasn't just staring a gift-horse in the mouth. He had to work his way into the mix. His first challenge came in the form of Rafael dos Anjos, where Gomi put him down for the count with elbows at the end of Round 2. Next was a semi-finals fight against Miguel Torres, where Gomi finished him off with punches 90 seconds into round 3. And finally, Sean Sherk learned that Gomi can also deliver kicks as he fell 2 minutes into Round 5 from a KO (High Kick).
If you're not noticing a trend, you should be. The more difficult the opponent, the better the finish for Gomi. His biggest obstacle is keeping the fight standing. If he's able to stuff Aoki's takedowns, then Shinya better watch out. Gomi's a striker. And we all know it only takes one shot to be heard around the world.
And Gomi just might have that shot.
Have 9 points in celebration of this monumental achievement!