MMA Flashback: ‘Babalu’ Cuts Up Southworth To Take Strikeforce Title
Renato Babalu Sobral defeated Bobby Southworth by TKO to become Strikeforce light heavyweight champion in the co-main event of the promotions ‘Destruction’ card on Friday night. Despite leaving with the belt around his waist, it wasn’t a highlight reel worthy finish.
A -350 wagering favorite despite his challenger status, Sobral was expected to use his world class Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills and vast experience against superior competition to dominate the tough but limited Southworth. It didnt happen that way, as Southworth easily got the better of things in the first round. Southworths style isnt exactly one that provides Wanderlei Silva type excitement–he looks to use his strength and conditioning to control his opponent en route to a decision victory. While the result makes him something of a MMA equivalent to boxing’s John Ruiz, it does afford him the best chance of victory.
The first round displayed Southworth’s style in microcosm, with much of the frame spent pushing Babalu up against the cage or on the ground inside his guard not really doing much. Sobral had one effective strike the entire round”and it would decide the fight. During a clinch against the cage wall the challenger rocked Southworth with a hard elbow strike that not only busted his nose but opened a huge cut over his right eye.
Upon seeing the gusher of blood Referee John McCarthy brought the ringside physician over to take a look. The doctor took some time to examine the cut, but eventually the round resumed following the consultation with only a few seconds remaining. As Southworth’s corner futilely worked on the gaping wound during the break the doctor once again took a look and recommended to McCarthy that the fight be stopped. As a result, Sobral was awarded the TKO victory and the championship belt.
The other half of the co-main event was decided in much more decisive fashion as Scott Smith knocked out well traveled veteran Terry Martin in a mere :24 seconds. Unfortunately, Martin didn’t adequately close the distance against a fighter dubbed ‘Hands of Steel’ and was caught with a perfectly placed punch that knocked him out cold.
In the semifinal event, Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig defeated Yves Edwards by unanimous decision in a very closely contested bout. Edwards was originally slated to face lightweight champion Josh Thomson until a toe injury necessitated his withdrawal. Ludwig took the fight on two weeks notice, and after a takedown clinic by Edwards in the first began to control the fight with his superior standup skills. Edwards’ superiority on the ground in the first two frames wasnt enough to sway the judges who obviously favored Ludwig’s more effective striking.
Earlier in the evening, Kim Couture made short work of overmatched Lina Kvokov as she TKOd her foe in 1:44 of the first round. Couture, the wife of UFC legend Randy Couture, gained even more notoriety for the courage she displayed in her professional debut last June. After having her jaw broken early in the first round, she refused to throw in the towel and went the distance despite a horrific injury. She had a much easier time here”despite the fact that both fighters entered with 0-1 records Couture was significantly more polished as she put Kvokov on the defensive from the outset with her sharp punching combinations. Kvokov kept displaying the rookie mistake of trying to turn away from Couture’s blows. The reprieve was only temporary, however, as Couture launched another barrage of punches prompting the referee to step in and wave off the non-competitive affair.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer who has written on sports gambling and how to successfully bet on NFL football. He has appeared as a guest on TV and radio talking about boxing, hockey and NFL pointspreads. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a ferret.
MMA Pioneer Helio Gracie Remembered
Helio Gracie–patriarch of the legendary Gracie MMA family–died earlier this year in Rio De Janeiro at age 95. His influence on martial arts, and even more so the sport that is known known as mixed martial arts, is staggering. The Gracie family name will forever be synonymous with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, MMA and the UFC due to the accomplishments of Helio Gracie and his progeny.
Helio Gracie began his training in mixed martial arts early, and by his teenage years was already teaching judo. While he had no problem mastering the theoretical aspects of judo, he found that many of its techniques were less effective for a practitioner with a smaller build. Along with his brother Carlos, Gracie began to work out his own fighting system by adapting many of judo’s techniques and making them more a product of leverage rather than brute strength. This led to the creation of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), frequently called Gracie Jiu Jitsu in his honor.
Gracie also had a professional fighting career of his own, taking on champions from other fighting disciplines in an early version of modern MMA. These bouts were arduous, unregulated affairs with arbitrary rules and no time limits. By his own recollection, Gracie fought 15 times against the top opponents of his time. He began his career in’32 by submitting professional boxer Antonio Portugal in just 32 seconds. Later that year, he fought American catch wrestler Frank Ebert to a draw after the ringside doctor ordered the bout stopped after an ungodly fourteen ten minute rounds.
Gracie’s most famous opponent was against legendary Japanese judoka Masahiko Kimura. Gracie fought bravely in a losing cause, and ironically may have enhanced his reputation in defeat. He refused to submit to a reverse arm bar (the move that is now known as a ‘kimura’ in honor of its inventor), and the fight ended after his brother Carlos threw in the towel after Helio’s arm had been broken.
Helio Gracie’s impact on fight sports and mixed martial arts would continue through his offspring. Married twice, he had seven sons (Rickson, Royler, Rolker, Royce, Relson, Robin and Rorion) and two daughters (Rerika and Ricci), many of whom went on to make their own mark on the fight sport world. Royce Gracie is well known as the first UFC superstar, while sons Rickson Royler, Renzo have also achieved considerable fame in professional MMA.
The cause of Gracies death was officially given as natural causes. He had been having stomach problems for several days prior to his passing, and was admitted to a Rio hospital for this reason. His seriously epic last words will go down as a fitting envoi to a man who gave so much of himself to fighting:
“I created a flag from the sports dignity. I oversee the name of my family with affection and nerves of blood.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.
UFC 87 Flashback: Lesnar, GSP Steal The Show
The last time that Georges St. Pierre defended his UFC welterweight title, it quickly turned into the low point of his career. Already facing a number of personal issues away from the cage, he looked sloppy and distracted as Matt Serra defeated him by brutal TKO. This time, things were different as GSP brutalized Jon Fitch over five rounds to win an easy unanimous decision. The judges scores of 50-43, 50-44, 50-44 underscored the one sided victory.
After a dominant takedown to open the fight, followed by a barrage of GSP punches it looked as if Fitch wouldnt make it out of the first round. He managed to survive, though generated little offense the rest of the way as the champion had his way with him both on the ground and in standup striking exchanges. Fitch landed enough counterpunches to open a cut near the champions eye, but never even came close to winning a round. Fitch had to gut his way through another tough moment in the 4th, where a big knee followed by a flurry of kicks and punches had him on the verge of a TKO loss yet again. It may have been the champions strategy that saved him, as GSP decided to take Fitch down again rather than continue the striking onslaught as the round closed.
As the final horn sounded, GSP bowed down in front of Fitch in a nice, Muay Thai inspired show of respect. In yet another moment that is thankfully commonplace in fighting and all too rare in other sports, Fitch and GSP sat knee to knee in the center of the cage congratulating each other for over a minute as their respective cutmen worked on their wounds.
And theres very likely not another athlete like Brock Lesnar even within the ranks of fightsport competitors. In his 3rd professional MMA bout the amateur wrestling legend turned WWE champion displayed a brutally effective new fighting style along with stellar patience and cage control as he obliterated tough and highly experienced Heath Herring.
From that point forward, Herring was completely out of the fight though he repeatedly demonstrated his toughness by staying in the fight and not tapping out to strikes as had Min Soo Kim in Lesnars MMA debut. Unlike Lesnars gameplan against Frank Mir in his UFC debut”when he clearly wanted to overwhelm his opponent for a quick win”perhaps the most impressive element of his improvement as a fighter was his patience. There were a number of occasions where Lesnar could have tried and finished the fight by placing himself at greater risk, but took the conservative approach.
Overall, Lesnars performance bordered on amazing”a serious case could be made that he won all three rounds by 10-8 margins, though all three judges scored the fight 30-26. He repeatedly took down and threw around the 64 250 Herring like he was a welterweight, and controlled the fight to such a degree that his opponent didnt land more than a half dozen strikes during the entire fight”and none which were particularly effective.
Lesnars win gives a much needed boost to the UFCs barren heavyweight division. While it may be premature to consider him a top 10 heavyweight, should Lesnar continue to develop and do such a good job of fighting within his abilities his potential in the sport is limitless.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.
MMA Flashback: Kimbo Slice Comes To Prime Time
It wasnt the decisive blowout that EliteXC was hoping far to send Kimbo Slices stardom into the stratosphere but with some seriously tense moments for the former street fighter against a game James Thompson everyone concerned is likely happy with a victory of any sort. Kimbo at times displayed some surprising skill on the ground, while at other times looked amateurish and lost. Slice clearly had the edge in the standup exchanges, and appeared to have Thompson on the verge of going down for the count several times in the fight.
Though “The Colossus” kept his feet through several punishing combinations, the beginning of the end came when a Slice punch nearly sheared his ear off. The bloody, grotesque ear was clearly at risk of being seriously damaged and Kimbo punctuated this with four or five uncontested power punches. Thompson by this point was out on his feet and the ref jumped in to bring the proceedings to a halt giving Kimbo a TKO victory. After the fight an exhausted and relieved Slice flopped onto the mat, clearly relieved to have survived the toughest test hes faced in his embryonic MMA career.
While Thompson and his corner complained of an early stoppage, given the severity of the ear injury and the four or five uncontested power shots by Kimbo its a tough case to make. Furthermore, it was consistent with the officiating all night which obviously was trying to err on the side of caution in the first MMA event on prime time major network television. The ref was quick to call several of the earlier bouts, and the ringside physician was involved in two more bouts. Clearly, everyone concerned wanted to take no chances and risk an ugly late stoppage or serious injury with a huge broadcast TV audience”many of whom were assumed to be MMA neophytes.
EliteXC overall has to be very happy with how the event came off. The presentation was highly professional all night, and the announcing was superb. There was no question that Gus Johnson and Mauro Ranallo are solid pros, and Frank Shamrock is obviously a well spoken and experienced expert commentator but the three meshed together exceptionally well.
The emphasis from the start was on selling the sport of MMA, with the promotion taking a secondary role. This was done via nicely produced and informative instructional videos, which would be helpful to a first time MMA viewer but didnt come off as sophomoric to the seasoned aficionado. Given the often unpredictable nature of the sport, EliteXC has to be pleased with how everything came off and the results of the fights on the card.
Overall, it was a professionally produced and entertaining night of action. The end result is that both of their marquee names among the general public–Slice and Carano–remained undefeated.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected sports betting expert. He is also a staff handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook and is in charge of setting NFL lines. He has written extensively on sports handicapping theory along with a wide range of other topics including fencing, self defense and falconry.